#but I can also see how it's intended to come across as playful. like.

[vimbry]

jumping off the back of the post about genres of song lyrics, another thing about tmbg's lyrics in particular is that even when they write about pleasant themes, they still manage to frequently do so through a sinister lens:

the experience of having children and looking after them:

a nice little nightlight protecting a child muses on the shortcomings it would have outside its assigned responsibility:

fantasising about getting high in the park with your crush:

[onlyhuis]

cranberry concoctions

member | bartender!joshua x f!reader genre | smut, a little angst & a little fluff, 1920s prohibition au, speakeasy au word count | 4.6k synopsis | you came to the infamous diamond glass looking for a good cocktail. instead, you found love in a hot bartender who also makes the best cosmos you’ve ever had. warnings | reader has a vagina and breasts, alcohol consumption (drink responsibly kids), reader smokes cigarettes (only 2), big dick joshua, the sex is not historically accurate sorry, actually most of this isn't historically accurate oops, praise, some degredation, multiple orgasms, name calling/petnames (slut, whore, darling, sweetheart, baby, my lady), kinda size kink maybe (he has big hands i'm sorry i can't not mention it), creampie notes | lowercase intended. this is part of rose's sax, settlements, & speakeasies collab! masterlist will be linked here. this fic has taken so long but it's finally finished!! thank you all for your patience!!

you slip into one of the many empty seats at the bar, placing your beaded evening bag on the counter and pulling out a cigarette with a sigh.

“what can i get you, darling?”

you glance up to see a man in a crisp white button-down, casually swiping a rag along a glass mug.

“what kinda cocktails you got?” you reply, pushing the cigarette between your teeth.

“anything you can dream up, honey.”

you pause, taking the cigarette out of your mouth to think. “how about… cranberry juice, with vodka, and triple sec? and a little lime?”

he grins. “coming right up.”

he grabs bottles from the long shelves behind him, setting them back on the counter in front of you before pulling a cocktail glass from below the bar. 

you slip the cigarette back into your mouth, your eyes following his movements as you pull your lighter out of your bag. you flip the arm up and flick the wheel, creating a tall flame that ignites with a pop, and you bring it carefully up to the end of the stick.

he pushes his sleeves up, revealing a small tattoo of what looks like a diamond on the inside of his wrist. your gaze catches it for a moment before your eyes flick up to find his looking back at you. 

with his sleeves rolled up, you don’t miss the way his muscles bulge against the tight cotton of his dress shirt. he tosses the container effortlessly from one hand to the other. the tendons in his wrist flex as he flips the shaker back and forth, a gleam in his eye and a confident grin on his face as the bottle twirls between his fingers. you take a long drag and give him a smile.

“cool tricks you got there,” you say, sitting back in your seat.

“i spent a year abroad at school in london,” he beams, holding the mixer high in the air and tilting it slightly to let the pink liquid fall into your glass. “picked up a thing or two.”

he tops off the drink with a lime swirl, sliding it gently across the counter. you hold your cigarette between two fingers as you lift the glass to your lips, taking a small sip.

“mm,” you nod, smiling. “ ‘s good.”

the dark room is quiet save for the light chatter from other patrons and the sultry piano music coming from the opposite side of the room. it’s late in the evening—well, by now, more like morning—and the speakeasy is mostly empty. you’re the only one at the bar, and you’re also the only one here alone, noticing the few couples scattered around the room in booths, drinking and laughing together.

you sigh and take another drag off your cigarette.

“you waitin’ on someone, sweetheart?” the bartender asks with a sly smile, tossing the rag behind the bar. “boyfriend, perhaps? or a coworker? can get their drink ready for them, if you’d like.”

you scoff, resting your hand on the counter above an ashtray. “do you often get women comin’ in here by themselves, mister?” 

he leans back against the bar and crosses his arms, but the playful gleam in his eyes tells you he isn’t offended. “not as often as i get pretty ladies like yourself in here,” he flirts. “and the name’s joshua. joshua hong.”

you stick out your hand to shake his, telling him your name. “so, joshua, what do you do? other than serve fancy drinks to pretty ladies, of course,” you say, taking another sip of your cocktail. damn, that is good. your friend wasn’t lying when she said that the diamond glass had the best drinks around.

“nothin’ much,” he shrugs. “i like to sing, sometimes. but not anything special. just a hobby.” he hands you a napkin, to wipe up the drops of your drink that splashed out onto the counter when you bumped it. “what do you do when you’re not ordering fancy drinks from sexy gentlemen?”

“thanks,” you say, squinting at him as you take the napkin, the name of the speakeasy embossed on it in pretty gold lettering. “and who ever said you were a gentleman?”

he smiles. “let me take you out to dinner and i’ll show you.”

your eyes widen, though you try to hide your reaction. “is that so, mister joshua?”

“mhm. and you never answered the question.”

you huff and raise an eyebrow at him. “how ‘bout i tell you over dinner instead?”

you take another big sip of your drink and look down at your watch to check the time. “shit,” you curse under your breath.

you look up and meet joshua’s eyes, standing patiently behind the bar. “i’ve got work in the morning– er, in a coupl’a hours,” you offer in way of explanation. “gotta run.”

“i see,” he nods, his features falling into a faux-serious expression. “the mysterious work.”

“better hold me to that dinner if you wanna find out,” you reply with a laugh as you pull on your coat. 

he grins. “oh, i will, darling.”

you pull your bag off the counter and go to take out some bills, but a large hand falls on your wrist and you freeze.

“on the house,” he says with a grin, letting go of your hand and sliding your empty glass across the counter. “come find me if you ever want some company, and we can set up that dinner, hm?”

you nod at him, unable to hide the hint of a smile growing on your face. “i’ll do that.”

the next time you visit the diamond glass, the place is packed.

it’s earlier in the evening this time, so you aren’t too surprised, but you didn’t think there were this many people who’d break the law to come here in search of a little fun. but, then again, isn’t that why you’re here too? a little fun, a little drinking, and hopefully a little more flirting with joshua, if you can manage to find him again.

the bar’s crowded, and you can barely manage to find a place to slip in between all the occupied stools. you crane your neck to look around, searching to see who the bartender working tonight is. this time there’s not one but two men in stiff white uniforms, handing out bottles of beer and pouring wine for the patrons at the other end of the bar. you can’t see either of their faces, so you lean against the counter and pull out a cigarette while you wait.

you’re leaning down putting your lighter away when you hear a familiar voice call your name.

“didn’t think i’d see you back here so soon,” joshua says when you look up, meeting his eyes.

“came to collect on my free dinner, of course,” you reply with what you hope is a teasing smile.

he chuckles. “well, i hate to break your heart, darling, but i’m a little busy at the moment. how ‘bout i get you a drink instead?”

“fine by me.”

“same as before?” he asks, already reaching for a glass.

you pause to put your cigarette to your lips. “sure, why not. show me more of those gentleman bartender skills you like to show off.”

he starts pouring liquor into the shaker as he continues to talk. “i’m sure i’ve got other skills you’d like a lot better than my drink mixing, sweetheart. maybe i’ll show you after that dinner we keep talkin’ about.”

you suck in a sharp gasp of air, accidentally inhaling a mouthful of smoke and sending you into a coughing fit. you grab a napkin to cover your mouth with as you struggle to regain your composure, feeling your cheeks grow hotter by the second.

joshua just smiles, clearly amused by your reaction as he slides you your finished drink. “well, don’t lose your cool now, miss, i haven’t even done anything fancy yet. gotta give me a chance to wow you like a gentleman.”

you clear your throat, hoping your voice sounds at least a little levelheaded. “how very courteous of you, mister joshua. i–”

you’re definitely about to come up with the wittiest of comebacks, is what you tell yourself before you’re interrupted by a group of flapper girls, talking loudly as they walk up to the bar.

“and that’s when i told him, ‘if you don’t stop necking on with that sob sister from the newspaper’s, we’re through!’ he really thought i wouldn’t see through that baloney, screwing that reporter and then coming home to me as if he could have us both!”

the group bursts out laughing, and joshua looks over at them, then looks back at you. “mind if i go get these ladies seated, darling? then we can finish our conversation.”

you stutter out a “sure” and he gives you a wink as he walks away. even over the ruckus of the speakeasy, you can still hear him greet the girls, and it makes you irritated for reasons you can’t explain.

“well hi there, girls! how’s the partying goin’ for you all on this fine evening, and how can i make it better?”

the chorus of flirty, drawn out “hello”’s from the group makes your stomach churn, though you have no reason to care. it’s this man’s job to flirt with customers to make an extra buck and keep this joint running. to him, you’re probably just another broad with money to throw away on booze.

you turn around to see one of the drunker girls hanging on joshua’s arm, laughing at something he’s said like he’s the funniest man on the planet. the sight is enough to push you over the edge, and you down your drink in a huff, slipping a bill under the empty glass as you walk out of the speakeasy, pretending your feelings aren’t hurt.

you wake up the next morning feeling guilty about the night before. sure, you probably did overreact, but it had been a long day at work, getting badgered by your boss for no reason other than the fact that he didn’t like having women employees in his office.

and joshua seemed like a nice man, and even if he was just trying to earn some tips, at least he was friendly. 

so that night, you put on your finest dress and head back to the diamond glass, hoping for the chance to talk to him again.

but as you walk across the bar, you see that there’s only one bartender at the counter, and it’s not joshua. he looks vaguely familiar, so you figure he must’ve been the other bartender working with him the other night.

“hey,” you call out to him as you sit down, and he turns to face you, black hair falling into his eyes. 

“how can i help you, miss?”

“what’s your name?” you ask him straight away, and he furrows his brows.

“it’s vernon, miss, but i don’t see—”

“you work with a fella named joshua?”

vernon rests his hands on the counter, leaning towards you. “i do indeed, but he ain’t here right now. it’s his day off.”

you frown. well. that messes with your plans.

“you gotta pen?” you ask, grabbing a napkin from the stack.

he pulls a pen from his breast pocket and twists it open, handing it to you. you scribble something quickly on the napkin, then cap the pen and hand it back to him.

you fold up the napkin and give it to vernon. “when you see him again, can you give this to him for me? it’s real important, make sure he gets it.”

he looks confused, but he shoves the pen and napkin into his pocket. “i’ll make sure it does.”

you nod soberly and stand up from the stool.

“wait– d’you want anything to drink, miss?”

you shake your head, shouldering your purse. “no. that’s all i came for.”

and with that you walk back out the door, frustrated but at least a little more hopeful.

joshua, sorry for taking off last night. phone me and we can do that dinner if you’d still like. #: SE-0317

the wait for joshua’s phone call is unbearable, so instead of pacing by the telephone you try to busy yourself with something more productive: getting work done for your hard-boiled boss. 

but even the pressure of his deadlines is enough to take your mind off what you’ve done. in fact, you don’t even know for sure if he’s single. for all you know you could be trying to screw a married man (though you didn’t notice a ring on his finger, but who can ever know for sure these days?)

the worst part is, you don’t even know for sure if he’s going to phone you, or if he even got your message. vernon seemed like a trustworthy guy, but maybe he and his coworkers get people like this all the time. maybe they’re having to fight off hordes of drunk, horny women with a stick. you scoff, thinking back to the last time you were at the speakeasy. that was certainly the case the other night with the flappers.

in all honesty, joshua was probably just being friendly, trying to make a repeat customer out of you. which he was successful in, of course; he had you hook, line, and sinker, and you didn’t even care. of course his offer to wine and dine you wasn’t genuine: it was a line, one he’d probably used on dozens of people, and you had fallen for it.

you’re so far deep in your own thoughts, you almost miss the sound of the telephone ringing in the other room; until you realize there’s no one else that would be calling you at this hour in the evening.

in a panic you scramble out of your chair, sprinting to the kitchen to grab the call.

“hello?” you answer, a little breathless but still holding onto hope.

“hi, sweetheart. thought you weren’t gonna pick up.”

you breathe out a sigh of relief at the man on the other end. maybe he really was sincere about everything after all, though you still don’t truly believe it.

“are you finally gonna take me out like you keep saying, or are you just tryin’ to get me to buy more drinks?” you ask, hoping he doesn’t hear the shake of nerves in your voice.

“‘course i am, baby. i don’t just go around offering dinner to every woman i meet at work, y’know.”

your cheeks warm, and you hold the receiver closer to your ear with a smile. “flattery will get you nowhere, joshua hong, but i won’t deny it, i like to hear it.”

he laughs, and it’s a beautiful sound, one that you find yourself wishing you could hear in person.

“there’s a new restaurant on the main drag that i’ve heard’s real fancy,” he starts. “been meaning to try it, so i might as well take my pretty lady along with me, too, hm?”

you chuckle, leaning against the doorframe and twirling the phone cord between your fingers. "your pretty lady, huh?"

"wouldn't say it 'f it wasn't true. you've got me wrapped around your little finger, miss," he says, and you have to bite the back of your hand to stop yourself from letting out an embarrassing noise in response.

he clears his throat, interrupting the silence on the line. “anyway, if you'd like, the speakeasy’s closed tonight for the holiday… could bring you back behind the bar after our dinner, show you a thing or two. although i got plenty of other nice things i could show you besides the drinks.”

"sounds like you got a grand evenin' planned, joshua," you say finally, swallowing your excitement.

"only for you, doll," he says, and even over the shaky static of the call you can hear the grin in his voice. "can i pick you up at 6 o'clock? just had my car waxed too; only the best for my lady."

"six is nice," you reply, still smiling.

"i'll see you then, sweetheart," he says, and the line goes silent as he ends the call. 

exhaling a shaky breath, you put the receiver back on the hook and check the time on the clock across the room. better go fix your makeup before he gets here.

at 6 o'clock sharp joshua’s car rolls up in front of your apartment, freshly waxed and polished just like he'd said. 

the drive to the new restaurant isn't far, but it feels like it stretches on for hours as you and joshua talk about anything and everything.

as for dinner, it by far isn't the best meal you've ever had, but your date's company more than makes up for the mediocre food.

as promised, after the dinner joshua drives you over to the speakeasy, using his key to open the back entrance where customers aren't allowed and lets you inside. it's an odd feeling, being alone in the space that's normally bustling with activity.

you slide into a seat at the counter as joshua grins, walking to the opposite side to stand behind the bar.

"sorry, miss, we're closed today," he says with a playful grin. "you'll have to come back tomorrow."

you giggle, playing along. "oh, but please, sir, can't you spare just a little glass of wine for me?"

the restaurants aren't allowed to serve alcohol, but even without it you feel tipsy in joshua’s presence, high on the excitement of being with him with nobody else around.

he places his hands on the counter and leans forward, his gaze meeting yours. "hmm, i could… but i think i have something better i could give you instead."

"better than wine?" you ask, pretending to be shocked. although if you've been reading this right like you think you've been, you have a feeling you know what he might be offering.

"mhm," he says, and he lifts a finger to beckon you closer.

you grin and lean forward to meet him across the counter, his lips locking with yours, and the feeling is heavenly. almost instantly you feel his hands behind your head, pulling you closer as he deepens the kiss. you tell yourself to fight the urge to moan, but when his lips part just enough to let his tongue slide into your mouth, all your inhibitions go out the stained-glass speakeasy windows and you decide, screw it, whatever happens, happens; not when you're having the most fun you've had in a long time and not when his touch feels this good.

he breaks away for just a second and to your surprise, jumps onto the bar and slides across, and then his hands are back on your body and he's kissing you more fervently than before.

"say the word and i'll stop, sweetheart," he moans, he really moans, but the thought of stopping doesn't even cross your mind as you pull him closer and lift your leg to wrap it behind his thigh.

before you know it, your back is against the counter and joshua is hovering over you. his large hands gently knead your breasts over the fabric of your dress and his mouth is still tangled with yours as you begin to feel heat pooling in your stomach.

"god, you drive me crazy," he breathes when your hands find his body and start to slide lower. you look up at him, one hand hovering carefully over the uncomfortably large bulge in his pants.

"please, joshua?" you ask softly, squeezing lightly around him and drawing another whine out of his gorgeous lips.

the second you hear his throaty "yes", your fingers are scrambling to undo his belt buckle and shoving his slacks down to his knees. his fingers are equally rushed, sliding over your back and quickly undoing the buttons holding up the fabric that hides your beautiful skin from his sight.

your breath hitches as he carefully slips the dress off your shoulders, watching as his eyes wander over you. he meets your eyes, fingers toying with the hem of your panties, and you nod, giving him permission.

“you’re even prettier than i imagined,” he whispers. his hands trail down your chest, mapping out every inch of your naked body.

his words barely even register, because you’re too busy staring at his hard cock. you figured he would be beautiful, but nothing you could’ve dreamed up in your wildest dreams would have even come close to what’s in front of you now. 

you reach out and take his cock in your hand, holding him delicately and observing the way his eyes flutter shut. he lets out a soft sigh at your touch, and his hands settle at your waist for a moment before he reaches to grab your hand. 

it doesn’t escape you how tiny your hand looks in comparison to his; while your fingers could barely reach all the way around his cock, his hand easily covers the space. the sight is almost hypnotizing. you carefully let go, bringing your hand up to the counter to brace yourself.

he leans down to capture your lips in another kiss, and you moan as you feel the head of his cock begin to brush through your soaking folds. he breaks away, and you look up into his dark eyes, waiting.

“been stuck on you since the first time i saw you, sweetheart,” he groans, and you feel the heat in your core grow hotter at his admission, knowing he’s been wanting this just as much as you have.

he curses under his breath, and finally he starts to fill you up. the stretch is perfect as he rocks his hips slowly back and forth, pushing into you a little more with each movement. his brows knit together in concentration, and his lips firmly press into a thin line as his gaze zeroes in on your pussy.

you look down where he’s watching, and you also can’t help but fixate on the sight of his girthy cock inside you. he’s not even nearly halfway inside you yet, but the feeling is already making you dizzy with pleasure. seeing him stretching you open, you feel the knot in your stomach begin to tighten almost instantly.

with his sleeves rolled up, you can clearly see the definition in his muscles, flexing as his hands slide across your half-clothed figure. his thick fingers hook around the straps of your bra, tugging them further down your chest to expose your breasts. he pushes his thumb into your mouth, and immediately you begin to suck on it.

he laughs, pulling his thumb out of your mouth and smearing your own spit across your nipple. “such a whore. should’ve known you would like that, my pretty slut.”

you let out a moan at his words, unintentionally clenching around him as he continues to push into you. you feel his grip on your thighs tighten, enough that you know it’ll leave bruises.

your first orgasm hits you out of nowhere when joshua bottoms out in you. the feeling of his cock sitting snugly inside of you, filling you up to the brim and then some, is enough to send you over the edge without warning. joshua curses, your cunt squeezing around his cock as you ride through your high.

“fuck, just like that, baby,” he grunts through gritted teeth, his other hand snaking down to rub at your clit. “cum all over my cock like my good girl.”

when you recover enough to breathe again, you look up to find joshua staring down at you, eyes blown wide with lust. his fingers are still on your clit, your only source of stimulation since he had stopped moving his hips once he was fully inside you.

he meets your eyes and begins to drag his cock out of you, just barely pressing an inch or two into you with slow, meticulous thrusts.

he gradually begins to build up speed, his cock perfectly hitting every sensitive part inside of you until you can’t think straight. you let your eyes close, mouth falling open in pleasure at his pace.

“god, you look so pretty when you cum,” joshua growls, and it feels like you stop breathing altogether as another orgasm slams into you, his words drawing your high out of you like a command.

this time he doesn’t give you a moment to recover, instead pulling nearly all the way out before pushing into you with so much force, you can feel him moving you back and forth across the counter with each thrust, the smooth oak grain growing sticky with sweat with each sharp snap of his hips.

already sensitive from two powerful orgasms, you cry out his name, dragging your nails along his biceps placed on either side of your face as he holds onto the counter. his thrusts get rougher, plunging into you over and over again and already beginning to build you up for another.

“sh-shua, please,” you gasp, reaching out to grab onto his shoulders for support.

the drag of his cock against your walls feels heavenly, quickly sending you hurtling into yet another orgasm that has your legs trembling around his waist. the waves of pleasure seem almost never-ending as his hips jerk into you sporadically, until finally he throws his head back and buries himself as deep as he can go inside of you, his pelvis flush against your cunt. his cock pulses inside you as his orgasm hits, feeling each spurt of cum fill you up, a satisfying feeling like you can’t even fathom.

breathing hard, you manage to drag your eyes away from where the two of you connect to glance up at his face, and the sight is one you’ll never forget: his thick eyebrows knitted tightly together and his nose scrunched up, his beautiful lips parted in a breathy, high-pitched whine.

the bar is quiet, but your ears are ringing and your head is spinning from everything that just happened. joshua stands over you, his cock still nestled in you as he breathes in and out shallowly, trying to catch his breath. you stay still, too exhausted to move until you feel his cum start to drip down your leg and you force yourself to sit up.

but his arms wrap around you, holding you tightly and you stop. you feel so secure, so grounded, despite your shaky legs dangling off the edge of the counter.

he sighs and begins pressing kisses along your neck, though this time they’re softer and gentler, instead of frantic and heated.

he kisses you once more on the cheek, then walks around to the other side of the bar to grab a towel.

“sorry about the mess,” you say shyly, reaching down to pick up your dress off of one of the barstools it had landed on. 

he comes back around, towel in hand, and kisses you again. “don’t be,” he grins, and he squats down so that he’s eye-level with your cunt, his cum still leaking out of you. you resist the urge to snap your legs closed as he gently wipes the damp towel over your skin, a little embarrassed despite him being inside you no more than a couple of minutes ago.

once he’s satisfied he lifts you up off the counter, setting you gently on the floor and helping you into your dress before putting his own clothes back on.

you slide onto a stool, watching him fondly as he walks back around to the other side of the bar and picks up another towel to wipe off the counter with.

“so,” he says finally, rolling up his sleeves with a cocky smile that makes your stomach do backflips. “what can i make you, darling?”

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[yanderes-galore]

I can request yandere Bumblebee with human darling? Pls🐝

Of course! Here's what I thought of :) No specific Bumblebee was given so I just picked a version.

Yandere! TFP! Bumblebee with Human! Darling

Pairing: Romantic/Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Human/Transformer, Overprotective behavior, Paranoia, Violence, Dubious companionship/relationship, Slight invasion of privacy, Implied kidnapping, Human pet behavior, Manipulation, Slightly oblivious yandere.

Bumblebee seems like he'd be a very caring yandere.

Most of the Autobots usually are to some degree.

He doesn't speak to his darling but usually speaks through actions.

That is unless you can understand his beeps, then he'll communicate that way.

Bumblebee is playful and sometimes goes against orders due to being the youngest of the Autobots.

Although, Bee knows when to be serious.

Deep down he also feels insecure about not doing enough for his team, always feeling he should prove himself.

As a yandere Bee would be Overprotective, Affectionate/Caring, Jealous, and a bit Reckless.

Bee may even be a yandere who doesn't intend to do anything wrong but his actions come across as bad.

Bumblebee has already shown he can get attached to a human.

Maybe in this concept Bumblebee still has Raf, you just become another human he's attached to.

It'll soon become clear that Bee sees you in a different light to Raf, however.

Bee seems rather innocent with his obsession towards you.

It's actually pretty cute to see the large Cybertronian perk up at the mention of you.

He gets excited about hanging out with Raf, yet when you come up the reaction gets stronger the longer you know him.

The other Autobots take note of this behavior from their youngest member.

He gets so giddy like a kid when he sees you enter the base.

What you two primarily do is watch TV with each other or play games.

Raf joins in at times.

Speaking of which, Raf may notice Bee's excitement towards you.

The two are very close friends and the boy may tease Bee on it.

Raf may tease Bee by saying the bot has a crush on you.

A phrase that affects Bee more than he thought.

Maybe he actually does?

The issue with that is Bee would have no idea where to start with asking you to be with him.

Due to the whole Cybertronian and Human pairing thing and all....

Truthfully Bee doesn't mind how the bond between you goes.

Romantic or Platonic, Bee still shows a great deal of care towards you and hopes you reciprocate.

If Bee's feelings caused harm to you he feels horrible.

The goal of his actions towards you is for what he feels is your benefit.

If he hurt you he tries his best to apologize.

Bee is a somewhat lucid yandere.

If you tell him what he's doing is wrong he will try to fix it in a way that eases your discomfort and his obsession.

A primary concern for Bee with a human darling is your safety.

Cybertronians with human partners have to come to the realization humans are very... fragile.

Bee will soon realize how easy it would be to lose you in the dangers he deals with.

As a result he may offer to pick you up from your home and just keep you at the base for long periods of time.

This plan irritates people like Ratchet as the doctor feels you've better off at home.

Meanwhile Bee likes the idea of keeping you at the base because not only does it mean he can hang around you all the time, you're safe!

He doesn't mean to keep you as a human pet... but it comes off that way.

Never said this in his yandere behavior but I think Bee would be clingy with his darling.

He just likes to watch you around the base, often making small beeps of what you can only assume is happiness.

He is obsessive with being around you and holding you.

It's like a child with a pet hamster.

Bee tries to be super affectionate and loving with you to show you how much he cares.

Admittedly he does take Raf's teasing to heart....

You are surprised with the bot cooing at you in beeps when he strokes your small body in his hand.

Private, public, doesn't matter.

Many find your effect on Bee strange.

Raf tries to explain to the others that Bee loves you in his own way.

Yet it feels off somehow?

Bee would probably be a childish jealous.

If he saw someone else around you or giving you attention he gets moody.

You'll probably hear him from a distance giving an upset string of beeps before trying to gain your attention again.

He won't hurt anyone when jealous but he can get a bit petty at times.

Bee would also be reckless with his obsession.

He acts emotionally driven and would do anything to keep you by him an safe.

We've seen in the show how desperate he was to get his T-Cog back.

He'd be the same with you if someone took you from him.

Bee would have no issues getting violent and attacking with blasters or his weight if a threat decided to kidnap you.

It's dangerous and he could get severely hurt... yet he's willing to do it.

He feels like you're a part of him.

Bee would keep you in the base until something happens to it.

You can plead with him to let you go home and he tries to convince you against it.

Make excuses and he may just counter it.

For example, you want to get your things from your home?

Bee suggests he comes with and helps you carry them here!

He seems very passionate about being beside you for every waking moment.

Even when you're nodding off or take a nap, Bee's right there to keep an eye on you.

His behavior quickly becomes concerning to those around him.

It was cute at first... now he legitimately kidnapped you.

Bee can be scolded and told not to do what he's doing is wrong.

While he feels guilty and bad about it... he can't seem to give you up.

In his eyes you're one of the most important things to him.

The others simply don't get it, right?

It doesn't matter that he spilled Energon for you... as long as it was to protect you?

Isn't he supposed to protect you?

Bee is very conflicted with his obsession.

On one hand... he should correct himself and let you go.

On the other... he hates the idea of letting you go despite it being the right thing to do.

Bumblebee has to make a decision with his obsession... should he listen to his friends or pursue his obsession?

Sadly, you fear he may just choose the latter based on his previous actions, even if the decision tears him apart.

[mywritingonlyfans]

I wrote something. I intend to do this more often with the things you guys send me. usually I wait for a perfect situation to come so I can use a request but it never ends up happening… anyway, this one is kind of long (2K words) but I intend to make the next ones a little smaller. I hope it works well.

To this one I added: "-something on tour bus trying to be quiet could be very sexy." and what you wrote me!

I understand you perfectly. every picture I see of Alex with a beard I feel like rubbing agaisnt himself like a cat. and I like to think that Alex feels contemplated just by the fact that he's giving pleasure, without necessarily being geared towards him. I think he's a good man, yes. Also, I like to think he'd catch himself in the middle of the tour missing you and find himself idealizing something about you; touches, savores, smell… his serious face and spread legs as he sits…

...

The bus's light was bluish, not too bright, but it still cast a dim hue inside. He placed you on one of the beds, which you assumed was his, and knelt in front of you. Your flight that day had been delayed, causing you to arrive in the middle to the end of the show. But it was enough to etch the movements of his hips and fingers strumming the strings into your mind, as if it were your own guilty pleasure that needed repeating before sleep to learn a lesson. You were tired, and Alex knew it. The way your playful gaze and mischievous smile danced around him, your body melting every time he touched you, left you completely surrendered to him. Words were unnecessary; you understood each other well. You knew what was coming, and he was sure of what he was doing. Your eyes, defined by doll-like eyeliner, followed him eagerly, and it left a tingling sensation in his head—not that it was a bad thing. You enjoyed how the light bathed him, the tip of his nose gaining a seductive glow, his eye sockets darkening with desire for you, and his beard seemingly begging for your touch.

You pondered allowing him to take control of you, so you could come undone in front of him and taste him in your mouth, along with the breathy moans that never failed to encourage you. A few buttons of his shirt were open, his exposed and sweaty chest, with your most recent thought, widened your smile as that memory you knew well and didn't mind experiencing again crossed your mind. You liked how he looked after a show; it was good to be back. "Why’re you smilin’?" He asked rhetorically. Amused. In seconds, he unfolded the green scarf he had awkwardly draped around his neck and passed it across your mouth. His eyes locked onto yours, and without looking at his own hands, he pulled the fabric tighter, your head falling backward as he led, and he laughed. He wasn't being too rough; you were simply surrendering yourself too willingly. When you tried to touch him or hold onto him in any way, he restrained you, saying, "I just need you to be still and quiet. There’ll be more people ‘ere soon." His voice was low, the drawl both tired and effective on you. Minutes before the show, he could have you clinging to him, your arms around his neck and your legs wrapped around his waist. You often lightly nuzzled your nose against his skin and told him how good he smelled, and while he enjoyed the affection, he also loved how your scent clung to him, something he could savor throughout his performance.

He tightened the knot, caressing your cheek and feeling warmer as your eyelids closed so angelically while his thumb traced circles on your skin. He sighed deeply, his own muscles trembling in discordance, and he took off your dress, the soft fabric peeling away from your body and landing abruptly on the floor. You felt comfortable like this, not necessarily because you were exposed, but because you could sense, even without words, how much he appreciated having you.

Still, knowing the risks, he took off his blazer and draped it over you. It wasn't in his nature to let others see you like this. You laughed at that and pointed out to you that the scarf would probably leave marks from being firmly tied, but you liked it like that. His fingers gently traced your body, revisiting each spot with soft caresses, and then he moved his hands until he could get rid of the flimsy fabric. Before that, he pushed his thumb into the moist patch that had already formed, ran his nose along the inside of your thigh, kissed the area, breathed hotly against your skin, and bit it, determined and mesmerized enough to leave teeth marks.

Your moans and arching back made his shoulders relax. His beard tickled you, and upon realizing that, he kissed the area even more. Your hand, so delicate in his view, went to his hair, pushing his face closer to you, and he chuckled. Your eyes were on him, they were begging, and he found himself marveling at how, even without being able to speak, your whimpering seemed futile; not that he would resist you.

Freed from the fabric that had been keeping him at bay, he ran his tongue across his lips in anticipation, his breath catching in his throat as he vividly remembered the incredible sensation it brought him. When you weren't around, he often found himself fantasizing about it, calling you in the early hours as if hearing your voice would alleviate the intensity, but it only seemed to heighten it further, leaving him with no options but not to relieve himself before sleep. He scratched his beard, his fingers gently dancing through his chin. At this point, you would be panting and pleading so fervently; that thought further fueled his anticipation.

Alex rolled up the shirt sleeve, wrinkling it completely. It wasn't of any importance. He pushed the stray strands of hair that had fallen over his forehead behind his ears and spread your legs for him. He slowly inserted a finger into you, using his thumb on your clit to make things easier. He watched as your eyes closed in a sigh and watered. "I've got you, babygirl, I know it's been a while," he reassured you, still gentle but persistent as he felt your hips moving with each deeper thrust. Soon, he added another one, stretching you further as your tears flowed. It was magical to watch; you were so wet, and Alex was well aware of your ragged breath as he watched you swallow his fingers until they disappeared into you.

Compared to yours, his were rougher, thicker, and longer, and given the time that had passed, it was expected that you would need some time to adjust. Amid your protesting sighs, he brought his fingers to his mouth, taking time to admire how his tips were gummy from you, licking them clean and savoring the long-awaited taste on his tongue. He let out a satisfied groan, a lingering flush of how good it was for him, and you could never truly describe how it made you feel, but it was wonderful. You wanted to grind against him, to give more of yourself to him until he didn't have to worry about anything else but being relaxed.

The next steps unfolded quickly, as both of you were in need. It happened like a choreographed dance, something rehearsed before, with the only difference being that this was born from a deep understanding of each other and a certain frequency of indulging. He closed his eyes tightly, straightening his body and neck, his head resting on the bed, while he sat on the floor. Upon opening them, adjusting to the bluish light, he found himself even tighter in his pants as he watched your frame fold and nestle into his blazer in front of him. You were trembling, not from embarrassment but from wanting it as much as he did and struggling to contain your desire in your own flesh. Your tears still clung to your waterline, and your face was disheveled due to how he had tied the scarf, mussing your hair and marking your cheek. However, as he pulled you closer, you simply nodded continuously; it wasn't a problem, and you were well aware that you could get quite loud when it came to him, which might not bode well for him.

He appreciated your confidence, especially considering how insecure you had been at the beginning of the relationship. At the moment, he wouldn't hesitate for a second to support you. Your palms on the mattress and the scarf couldn't entirely muffle your sounds as his beard brushed between your legs and his tongue delving into you, destined to be enveloped in your juices and warm ardor. As you watched him, Alex skillfully held you in place, providing the necessary hold up as you rode his face. His facial hair tickled, making you melt into him, and his guttural moans urged you on, the tip of his nose repeatedly grazing your clit, making you crave him even more and more.

You held his hair tightly between your fingers, his delighted moans becoming vibrations within you as your heavy breathing filled the room and left his head somewhat dizzy. As your thighs began to quiver more languidly, he gently shook his face into you, helping you guide yourself in the same manner and rhythm that had been satisfying you before. Your enjoyment of the act made him feel hot and delirious. Your hand clutched his soft curls forcefully; he would feel your fingers there for a while even if they were removed, but that was pleasurable. Although you couldn't keep your eyes open most of the time, they were mostly closed or squeezed shut tightly, something he understood. Alex, on the other hand, kept them on you. He noticed how your body moved up and down on him and how he was exhausting you. He was aware of how he would have imprinted in his mind the way you moved on his tongue, the sensation of you soaking his beard, and how you rubbed against him eagerly for your pure pleasure throughout the week you were there, even if you repeated it more times.

When your legs closed around him, and he could feel his mouth growing warmer and wetter as your body spasmed, he savored every drop and continued to work his tongue until he felt overwhelmed. He was there for you, entirely yours. He only stopped when you felt too sensitive, pulling his face away. You collapsed onto his lap. He had a goofy, satisfied smile, while you were still dazed. You only realized you were crying with how hypersensitive you were when you felt relief as his hands untied the scarf and used it to wipe your face; your mouth and cheeks had marks from the fabric. Your ragged breath continued, as did a few more tears that you couldn't control. As your blurred vision returned to normal, you felt weaker; Alex's nose and beard were shiny, his cheeks were red, and his eyes were bright as he looked at you with care. He was beautiful, and in that exact moment, even more so. It was reassuring to know that it was all because of you.

"Fuck," you breathed out, your voice barely coming out, your throat raspy. He laughed, caressing your back and putting you on his chest. "It's okay, little one. I'm right ‘ere," he assured you, your hand touching his jaw, bringing him closer to you, and once again, his laughter filled your chest. As your lips touched his, you could taste yourself on him. The kiss was slow and lazy, respecting your still unsettled breathing. You moaned briefly at his touch, and he chuckled into your mouth, "I know, you taste really good, babygirl," he made you laugh, kissing away the remaining salty tears on your face, and you nestled against him. Everything about it was magical. He liked how your sweat would be embedded in his blazer, which he would certainly wear the next day, and he knew your inner thighs would be irritated because of his beard (but he would help soothe that). Not to mention that it would be impossible for anyone entering that part of the bus not to notice. The place already had a very distinctive smell that would spread over the next few days while you were there.

...

taglist: @ohladymoon @indierockgirrl @bloo-wisteria @bellaturner @cosmoschaotic @nikisfwn @andrews-lovr @nela-cutie @artimonkii @alexturnersbbg3

[sleepingdeath-light]

Open requests you say 👁👁 Could we get some headcanons of Billy Lenz with a S/O that's like, super into biting? Receiving and giving, casually nipping as an 'I love you' and doing it sexually, just biting as a love language <33

Bitey S/O Headcanons | Billy Lenz (18+)

thank you for requesting anon!

reader is assumed as gender neutral

minors and ageless blogs will be blocked

links : slasher blog | masterlist

biting is a love language (change my mind)

and it’s one of many ways that billy can get across his desire for casual affection and playfulness without triggering himself accidentally with full on affection and physical contact

he appreciates the little nips you give him once he knows the meaning behind them and will even return and initiate the gesture further down the line - following it up with a lot of giggling and a potential crude comment about how you taste or something similar

though at first he’d definitely be startled and even hurt by it, viewing it as a more aggressive action than you intend and flinching away and rubbing the area - staring at you with wild, wide eyes

he’s muttering quickly and getting louder and more incensed about how “pretty piggy bit billy”, “piggy hurt billy” and “piggy hates billy”

and then he’s yelling and teary-eyed and confused so you’ll have to shush and soothe him before you even get the chance to explain that it’s just a way to show affection - a wordless “i love you” - and then his demeanour shifts from startled to appreciative and relieved

now when it comes to sex this man can’t get enough of you - particularly when it comes to having some part of you in his mouth, so it’s a natural progression of things for him to end up biting you during intimate moments

he also tends to get overly eager and almost animalistic during sex because he’s just so eager to be inside of you, to taste you, to feel you, so you’ll end up with marks all over your body no matter what - bites are just the most common ones that he leaves

thighs, neck, throat, shoulders, stomach, chest and ear lobes; loving nips, cheeky noms and deep bites that leave bruises as well as bite marks

you won’t be able to look in the mirror (or even look down for that matter) without seeing some type of imprint of his mouth and affection on your body

when you bite him he will moan in an incredibly loud and vulgar manner as his mouth runs a mile a minute with crude and lewd remarks about how eager you are, how you love biting him, how you’re just as naughty as him and how you’re the naughtiest piggy and his favourite person in the world

bonus points if you bite him on the following areas of his body: nape of his neck, column of his throat, on his nipples or just above his crotch (near the top of his happy trail)

[xhikers]

moments like these - k.jh

pairing- kim junghoon (xikers) x reader

synopsis- you and your boyfriend, junghoon, get bored and decide to bake some cookies! however, things don’t go exactly as planned…

warning(s)- flour fight, lmk if I missed anything! (lowercase intended)

word count- 0.7k

authors note- i know there’s a mistake in here somewhere it’s okay we move

you and your boyfriend, junghoon, we’re sitting in your room with nothing to do. you had invited him to spend the night  at your house so you could do your homework together, but after you finished that and had exhausted all of your other options, you had nothing left to do. you were both on opposite sides of the room, looking down at your phones as if the other wasn’t there. that was, until, you came across a video of someone baking chocolate chip cookies. you unknowingly watched the entire thing, and when the video ended you realized how hungry you actually were.

     “junghoon…” you said quietly making him look away from his phone and up at you, sitting in your desk chair. 

he hummed in response to you, looking back down at his phone for a second before you chimed in again.

     “we should make cookies!” you said excitedly, looking at the boy hopefully.

after seeing how eager you looked to make said cookies, he couldn’t say no. so, he and you walked down to your kitchen and began to wash your hands in the large sink, playfully fighting over the stream of water. after you had gotten your hands clean, you pulled up the recipe on your phone and started grabbing the ingredients from various places in your kitchen. 

     the two of you were taking turns pouring the ingredients into different bowls, laughing at an occasional comment from the other. until, junghoon accidentally poured the flour into the bowl closest to you a bit too harshly. the flour came right back up from the bowl and hit you in the face! you closed your eyes instinctively from the flour getting on your face before opening them again. you were faced with a shocked junghoon. you could tell that he was very surprised with himself, apparently he had underestimated his own strength. you figured the only way to get back at him would be to do the same thing he did. however, he figured out your plan before you could put it into action, so he ran to the other side of the counter, practically begging you for forgiveness…

     “y/n!! please it was an accident!” he said trying not to laugh at your flour covered face (but failing miserably).

     “this is a new shirt! and you didn’t have to be that aggressive!” you said, also laughing, chasing him across the kitchen.

 you finally caught up to him after at least five or six laps around your kitchen counter. you wrapped your arms around his torso and rubbed your flour covered face into his back, covering his black t-shirt with flour, vaguely resembling the shape of your face. 

     “y/n!! come on that’s way worse than what i did!” he said escaping your arms and trying to get a good look at the back of his shirt. 

     “no it’s not! i have flour all over my face and my shirt! you’re lucky i just-” before you could finish your sentence, you felt more flour hitting your clothes. you let out an audible gasp, immediately grabbing a handful of flour and throwing it at your laughing boyfriend. 

     the two of you continued to play around until the floor, the counter, you, and junghoon were completely covered in flour. you looked around at the ginormous mess you had made and you couldn’t help but laugh. bringing out such a fun and playful side of your boyfriend was rare. he was usually very monotone, so it felt special. your train of thought was cut off when junghoon suggested that the two of you should start cleaning up the huge mess.

     “i’ll vacuum the floor and you can wipe down the counters”, he suggested. 

you could tell just by the tone of his voice that he regretted his decision of throwing the flour at you just a little bit, but you didn’t. moments like these would always be worth it.

[lokifan2]

Just a Little Bit Ticklish?

Rated: G

Language: None

Pairing: Loki and female reader

Tagline: “Uh!….He knows! (Sebastian from The Little Mermaid)

It was a beautiful spring day. The sun was shining and the birds were chirping. It was the perfect day to go outside and sit in the warm weather for a while. Loki was yet to come home from a mission, so you thought you’d soak up some much needed Vitamin D today. You spread out a blanket and laid in the grass for a while and you instantly felt better. It’s not that you were in a bad mood, you just needed a pick me up. The god of Mischief was also closer to home than you thought, as he undid his invisibility spell and watched you from the sliding glass door that lead to the back yard.

You lay on your stomach with your hand underneath your cheek as you slowly closed your eyes and breathed in the cool afternoon air. You exhaled and smiled as you finally heard your prince open and close the sliding glass door. “ Hello, my prince,” you said as your eyes were still closed but you were fully aware now. “Good afternoon, my princess. How are we feeling today?” You finally lifted your head and rested it in the palm of your hand as you looked at Loki. A smile still on your face. “Very well. I just needed an energy boost so I came out here to soak up a bit of sun.” By the time Loki arrived home, you had been outside for thirty minutes and decided to get up and greet your lover. You both smiled as you embraced and walked back inside the house hand in hand.

As Loki closed the door, he slyly smiled to himself. “You know, there is another way that I can make you feel more energized. Do you wish for me to tell you?” You giggled and shook your head. “Of course,” you replied. His wicked grin grew even bigger as he began to tell you. “ I know you have a little secret, darling. A little secret that, in the wrong hands, say, mine. Could be very detrimental to you.” You looked confused for a moment and then the pieces started to fall into place. Ticklish. You were ticklish, but Loki didn’t know to what extent. He thought you were just a little ticklish but he was about to find out that he was very wrong.

You both sat on the couch as he ordered you to then lay down. Your heart began to beat a little faster as he took both your hands and kissed them, raising them above your head, making them magically stay. “Be gentle,” you smiled. “Darling,” he gasped. “It’s like you don’t know me at all, as I cannot agree to your terms. Therefore, I will not be gentle. I will tickle you until you scream my name and beg for mercy! That’s why I brought you inside. So no one would misconstrue your screams of joy. Now that I have you alone my sweet dove, shall we begin?”

You nervously agreed as he traced his long thin fingers from your wrists to just above your armpit and stopped. His face turned even more maniacal as he hovered his fingers over the area and gaged your reaction. You trembled slightly as the soft pads of his fingers glided across your skin. You giggled cutely as Loki made an “aww” face, which made you laugh more. “S-stop t-teasing! Hehehe! That makes it w-worse!” He paused his playful torment for a second and replied, “oh, but darling, your face is absolutely adorable! How could I stop? You cute little mortal, you!”

He squished your cheeks as you continued to laugh. “Now…For the moment we’ve been waiting for…Your most ticklish spot…Where is it?” You gasped and replied, “I’m not telling the god of Mischief that! You have to find it!” That’s when Loki scrunched his nose up adorably and shook his head at you. He knew but not to what extent. The sides of your belly were your worst spot and he intended to play it up. Show some theatrics of sorts to really get you going. “How about here, darling?” He tickled your neck a little and you scrunched up, laughing harder. “Nope. Not my most ticklish,” you replied with a sly grin. “I see….,” he pondered. “Maybe, here.” He tickled your chest. You squeaked but no big laughter came out of your mouth. “Well, I know it’s your upper body, so….maybe….HERE!” He clamped his fingers around your belly and moved them wildly as you shrieked with laughter. “Th-hat’s i-hi-hit! Hahahah!” Loki’s eyes playfully brightened as he knowingly replied, “ oh, how did I know?! I don’t know how I could have found it, and so quickly! My! You’re even more ticklish there than I remember. This is very good information, darling. Now, I can focus on your “death spot” and have you howling within seconds!” All you could do at this point was laugh your heart out as he tormented your belly and its sides. You obviously couldn’t move your arms, so defending yourself was completely useless at this point.

“Stahahahap!” you laughed while also screaming. Your face red and stained with tears of joy. You thought your face would get stuck that way because it became sore but you couldn’t help but continue laughing. The pain was well worth it though. Finally, Loki showed you mercy and undid your trapped wrists. You two sat there smiling like a couple of idiots for a few seconds before you pecked each other on the lips and continued on with your day out in the warm sunshine. This was true bliss.

[whumble-beeee]

Whumptember 2023, Day 9

“This was always going to happen”

Doomed relationship | Opposing sides | Fatal wound 

The Bee’s Whumptember Masterlist

CW: character death, blood, guns, kinda creepy whumper, manipulating someone's brain (not really mind control tho, and it's not gross. you'll see what I mean), kidnapping

~1900 words

(This story is a continuation of Day 5: What Do You Want Me To Do?, a prologue of sorts. You also don’t have to read the other story to understand this one lol)

------------

Sidekick shuddered. He didn’t want to do this. He shouldn’t have to do this. Leader and the team had always been so good to him. They’d taken Sidekick in without a second thought when he'd been dropped on their doorstep, half dead and practically frozen through. They’d nursed him back to health until he could have run away screaming, knowing full well the risks they took helping him. They’d let him into the team when he finally proved time and time again that he had what it takes, and dammit, Sidekick had worked hard to earn his place. They all trusted him. They loved him. He shouldn't have to. He didn’t want to.

He didn’t have to. "Hey, Rogue?" Sidekick whispered urgently, tapping his fingers in a rhythmic pattern on his palm, warm white breath dissipating into the frigid air.

Rogue didn’t look up from the wires and keypad faceplate she was fiddling with. “Not now,” she responded, letting out a frustrated grunt every time the door didn’t open and she had to slap away Youngest’s hands as they unhelpfully tried to pull wires out of the way for her.

“Okay, but this is kinda… really important…”

Youngest hissed sarcastically at Rogue, before standing straight to regard Sidekick with a crooked smile. “What's up, Sidekick? Getting cold feet on your first mission?” they teased.

“Ah… kind of… a little…” How could Sidekick explain this to them without coming across as a lying, filthy traitor? He probably couldn’t. He was a lying, filthy traitor, after all. He should just get it out before it was too late.

Youngest’s playful grin turned gravely curious, and even Rogue cocked her head at him with a questioning eyebrow raise, fingers still tangled within the colorful spaghetti puzzle.

“Wait, actually?” Youngest whispered, eyeing the darkness around them with wide-eyed uncertainty. Rogue spun around to scan to room with narrowed eyes, resting her hand on her holster. “What’s wrong?”

“I– uh–” Just spit it out. “We need to leave. Right now. Villain–”

“That’s enough, Sidekick.”

The voice came from behind them, melting out from the shadows like warm chocolate fudge on ice cream. Sidekick’s heart skipped a beat, perfectly timed with the deafening BANG! that sounded out from the deadly instrument clenched in Rogue's hand. Blinding sparks showered to the floor across the room as the bullet missed its intended target.

Then a loud cry of agony as Rogue toppled to the hard concrete floor, clawing at her gushing leg and clutching it close to her body, unsuccessfully attempting to staunch the torrent of crimson pooling onto the floor.

Both Sidekick and Youngest froze, stunned, gawking in horror at Rogue's writhing form. Sidekick noticed a flash of movement in the corner of his eye. Scientist. No.

Sidekick grabbed a fistful of Youngest’s shirt and practically hurled them toward the door they’d entered from. “RUN!”

Youngest shocked back into their right mind as they were thrown across the room, tripping over themself as they attempted to regain their footing. Before Sidekick could even blink, an arm wrapped around Youngest’s chest from behind, a knife teasing their throat. 

“Oh, I can already tell you’re gonna be fun!” Scientist grinned as Youngest froze in their grasp.

Then everything was suspended in time.

Sidekick could feel clammy air wafting around his exposed skin. He could see the sinister glint of the knife that Scientist pressed way too far into Youngest’s neck, their unnervingly excited smile juxtaposing Youngest’s own expression of pure terror. He could hear Rogue hissing and cursing as they lay prostrated in a pool of their own blood, desperately trying to quell the bleeding as their consciousness slowly faded. He could sense a faint sparkle in the walls near him, barely even there. A telltale sign. Something Sidekick wasn't even sure was real, giving away Villain's position.

Sidekick clenched his fists by his side. “VILLAIN!” he shouted, out to somewhere between the heavens above and the cold dark dirt below.

“Yes, my traitorous sidekick?” Villain purred right beside him. Sidekick cursed and stumbled back, his body dumping a fresh supply of adrenaline straight into his nervous system. He couldn’t keep taking these surprise appearances; his heartbeat was practically a continuous buzz already.

He leaned forward on his knees, mostly to catch his breath, but also so he could only see the tips of Villain’s shoes. He wasn’t ready to face them just yet. “Let them go,” Sidekick panted.

Youngest squeaked in confusion at the display, and even Rogue grunted out a weak “Sidekick…“ through gritted teeth. Sidekick ignored them, finally straightening up to look villain in their icy blue eyes. “Especially Youngest, and especially Rogue.”

Villain quirked an eyebrow up at him. “‘Especially Rogue’?...” they quoted. They meandered toward Rogue while sizing her up: The blood spilt all over the ground, the bullet would, the keypad plate still clutched in her hand. Villain narrowed their eyes. “I can understand Youngest, sure, but Rogue?”

They stepped on the dropped gun and skidded it out of Rogue’s reach just as she lunged for it, bending down and grabbing it up like a seagull stealing food from human hands.

“Oh, fuck you, Villain.” Rogue spat, flinching as she fought uselessly to force her leg upright again. “I’d rather get tortured for hours on end than have to deal with your bullshit one-liners.”

“Rogue, don’t!” Youngest cried, just as Sidekick screamed out a horrified and pleading “WAIT!”

Both commands seemed to go unheard.

Villain examined the gun, then cocked it and aimed it right between Rogue's eyes. “I’m sure you would.”

BANG!

Sidekick duck-and-covered with a screech, sprays of red staining his vision before he could clamp his eyes shut, tears streaming down his face and staining the fabric of his pants as he desperately covered his ears and head. Or maybe it was Youngest who was screaming and crying. He couldn’t tell. It didn't matter. He just had to be a ball.

After awhile, Sidekick felt a heavy hand rest on his back, rubbing in small circles. He stayed nicely curled up in his safe little ball. Safe from Villain and Scientist and Youngest and Rogue and all the other dangers lurking around him, ready to swallow him whole. If he ignored them, then they weren't there. Perfect.

“Oh, Sidekick…” Villain comforted. Their voice was silky smooth. Like chocolate. Way more comforting than Sidekick would ever admit. “I don’t understand why you’re acting this way, I mean, you brought them here. You knew the plan. This was always going to happen.”

“You… Y-you… Si-idekick?”

Sidekick clenched into himself harder, so hard he was sure his muscle fibers would tear right off the bone. But Youngest deserved better than that. They deserved better than him. He peeked his head up just enough so he could look Youngest in the eyes.

Youngest was on their knees now, eyes red with fresh tear tracks blazing down their cheeks, staring at Sidekick with a face twisted into a ghastly mixture of anguish and horrible, painful disbelief. They were being held up more by Scientist's fist twisted in their hair than any sort of exertion from their own body.

“Y-y-you-ou… knew abou-out this-s-s… Si-idekick-k-k?...” Youngest whispered, breath puttering so fast it was a wonder they hadn’t passed out yet.

Sidekick squeezed his eyes shut and nodded mechanically, shakily, his jaw clenched so tight he could just feel his teeth shattering into tiny pieces. “I’m so… so, so s-sorry…”

“Ugh,” Villain scoffed with a roll of their eyes. They stood up from where they crouched beside Sidekick and strolled over to Youngest. “Now, now, Sidekick, we can’t be having any of that… ”

Villain crouched down in front of Youngest, and Youngest growled and yelled and threw themself back to get away from them, glaring a look that could have punched a hole through diamonds. Scientist just tightened their grip on Youngest’s hair and thrust them forward so they were kneeling at Villain's feet.

“I’ll KILL YOU!! I’LL KILL YOU VILLAIN!! SIDEKICK!! LET ME GO!!” they screamed, struggling violently against Scientist’s grasp, thrashing into them and nearly hitting their head on the ground if Scientist weren’t holding them so still.

“See, Sidekick? All this–” Villain gestured vaguely to Youngest’s ongoing struggle. “They’ve brainwashed you. They took you in as we planned, yes, and then you started thinking of yourself as part of their team. Not as we the planned…”

Sidekicked rocked himself back and forth, back and forth, unable to pry his eyes away from the scene; Youngest snarling and hissing and fighting with all their might, Scientist easily securing them knelt down. Villain slowly and confidently raising their hand toward Youngest, their fingers gently phasing into Youngest’s hair and through their skull. Youngest froze. Some unseen force seized each and every one of their muscles, locking them in place. Villain's hand glided down until it reached near the back of Youngest’s brain, and with a small quirk of their wrist, Youngest crumbled face-first onto the floor.

All the blood drained out of Sidekick's face as he watched the display. No. Not Youngest. Please. “You–... You didn’t–”

“I didn’t kill them, if that’s what you’re sputtering about.” Villain interrupted. They stood up and wiped their clean hands off as they once again walked over to Sidekick. “I have half a mind to, though, with all they did to you. Making you think you actually belonged with them, or god forbid, making you loyal to them.”

Scientist threw Youngest’s body over their shoulder, their arms and legs swinging limply as Scientist adjusted them into a better hold. “I’ll get them all situated for us, then!” they said with a giddy smile, eyes shining. They entered some code into the half-broken keypad and unceremoniously stepped over Rogue’s body to get through the door, splashing small blood droplets across the floor and walls and leaving behind maroon footprints as they disappeared down the following hallway.

“Thank you, Scientist.” Villain called. They then turned their burning gaze back to Sidekick, still cowering in a ball on the floor, trembling and hyperventilating and staring straight ahead. Villain tilted their head down at the pitiful scene.

“It can’t be helped though, I suppose...” Villain balled their fist into the fabric of Sidekick’s shirt and hauled him up to his feet. He jolted at the touch, but dutifully let Villain pull him up, forcing his knees to lock so he didn't collapse again. “I always knew this was a possibility when I sent you in there.”

They turned Sidekick to face them. When Sidekick wouldn’t meet their eyes in favor of staring unblinkingly into the middle distance, they gently tilted Sidekick's chin up with their forefinger and thumb, waiting patiently until Sidekick’s gaze finally met theirs. Villain smiled lovingly, like a parent at their child’s final graduation.

“But now I know, and now I can fix it.” they soothed. “So there’s no need to worry anymore. Not about that team, not about Caretaker and Leader back at their base, not about Rogue–” they nodded toward the heaping body collapsed in the doorway. Her blood pool had finally stopped widening and started to dry, dark brown and bright red filling Sidekick’s entire vision, swirling around in his brain and seeping itself into the very fabric of his being as he stared into her unseeing eyes-- “--and most certainly not about Youngest. Doesn’t that sound great?”

Sidekick nodded slowly, once again starting to tremble, eyes locked on Rogue.

“Good.” Villain grabbed Sidekick by the shoulders and guided him toward the door. “Let’s get you settled back in. Then you and I can get straight to work on your new training.”

@whumptember

[bouncykhotchillipeppers]

I did my first astrology reading for Baekhyun four years ago, and now I’m doing a second natal chart reading with more insights!

✦ Disclaimer

I do not know him personally, no harm intended, others may interpret differently. I’ve been studying astrology for six years, and I take this seriously and try my best. Feel free to ask any questions you have!

✦ Note

Astrology is complex and difficult to explain, please ask for clarification if you need it. I will not be discussing parents, family, or earlier life to preserve some privacy. This is not a full chart reading, just some highlights I found to be fascinating.

✦ Ascendant and Moon in Gemini (First House)

The Ascendant is the lens through which someone views the world—it’s your perception of your reality—and any planets in contact with the Ascendant affect it. The Ascendant and First House are the beginning of someone—it’s partially how people perceive them, and it shows the world “this is who I am.” Gemini is playful and chaotic and indecisive, concerned with making connections within their immediate surroundings. Having his Ascendant in Gemini therefore makes his chart ruler his Mercury in Aries, which is direct and blunt and to the point. All of this seems to overpower his Sun in Taurus. It’s why he can come across as brash and exuberant and, to put it bluntly, the most unhinged person in the room at all times. Connections are easy; boundaries are not.

Moon in Gemini here is interesting because Gemini is so logical while the Moon presides over emotion. He wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s like an emotion sponge. He is highly aware of the atmosphere in the room at any given time and reacts accordingly, though maybe not appropriately. This mix of Mercury and Mars in Aries combined with Moon and Ascendant in Gemini creates someone approachable, a moodmaker, a trusting balance of logic and emotion. Gemini Moons are restless and need to talk through their emotions in order to get their point across; connection to the immediate surroundings is the root of emotion. It’s how we parse through our feelings. Our minds need to be constantly active with something or we get bored and boredom is the most terrible thing because it leads to overthinking, so these are the people keeping four conversations going at once while playing a video game and also thinking about the chores they are definitely not doing. It’s fickle and petty and childish and eternally curious.

Jupiter square Ascendant exacerbates plenty of these qualities in him, but since Jupiter is in Virgo, where it’s detriment, it doesn’t act the way it’s supposed to. He remains humble when he should be outgoing, his sense of identity is compromised, his overconfidence leads to stepping across a boundary he shouldn’t have, his enthusiasm overrides his sense.

Optimistic, but not illogical. He’s thinking about a lot more than he lets on to others not because he has to but because it’s all he knows how to do.

✦ IC in Leo, Jupiter in Virgo (Fourth House)

IC in Leo is intense. He needs to learn, fundamentally at his core, to be himself. Individuality is important.

Jupiter is lovingly placed in Fourth House and accidentally exalted. As long as he is not confined in his home (literally or metaphorically) and has the creativity and expression to be himself, he will be content. He very much works on his inner self and his inner world and re-emerges with new ideas and philosophies about these things. He consistently sees himself as a new person in this regard. (With Sun opposite Pluto, this also emphasizes this “transformation” of the self and how he won’t always have the same opinions or ideals as he once had. That Taurus is stubborn, though.) This placement gives him a sort of practical optimism—the Virgo being practical, the Jupiter being optimistic. Not to say he’s happy all the time, but rather he attempts to take an optimistic viewpoint rather than be a downer about it.

Going on a tangent for a moment and focusing on a specific aspect pattern called a Thor’s Hammer, which involves two sesquiquadrates and a square, forming a triangle. A sesquiquadrate is a square (90°) and a semisquare (45°) stacked on top of each other, creating planets that are 135° apart. I’ve included a highlighted picture of his chart to show what I’m referencing here. This Thor’s Hammer involves Jupiter (expansion) at the apex locked in with Mercury (communication) and a Uranus-Neptune (rebellion, transcendence) conjunction square. This pattern is rare, rare enough that I’ve only seen a couple of other charts have this out of thousands, and trying to find any information on it is nigh impossible. This is what I have gathered and interpreted. So basically what is happening is that this Leo House, this expansive Fourth House, is being forced to fight back against something. This creates someone who does not like to conform, who does not like to listen to the rules, who does not react well to discipline from authoritative figures in any way. And it’s just hell. It’s hell to have this. It’s an extremely difficult aspect pattern to have and to overcome. And whoever has this aspect cannot receive any outside help because that is what it’s doing—it’s fighting or rebelling against the outside. It needs to be overcome in an internal way. Mercury is locked in tension with Uranus and Neptune, and all three of them are unleashing that tension onto Jupiter with no holds barred.

It’s a powerful weapon. It’s called Thor’s Hammer for a reason—strength, survival, an ultimate drive to achieve something great. He is in a constant internal battle with something to prove, and embracing it is key to success, but learning to wield that metaphorical hammer, let alone embrace it, is a challenge.

Mercury is driving and logical, and when it’s in square with Uranus, that creates someone who thinks outside of the box with wild ideas most people aren’t ready to hear. Adding Jupiter into this mix expands it and cranks the efficacy up, but Neptune is like a higher frequency of Jupiter and is rather universal and often distorts reality. It’s like he has two deeply rational planets, Mercury and Uranus, battling against the planets that are deeply emotive and based purely on vibes. All of this bottled up tension needs an outlet: Venus, the planet of worth, placed in a trine with Jupiter, is what is helping him overcome this insane aspect pattern in his chart. As long as he has this outlet, as long as he has worth and connection with others, he’s able to learn to overcome the extreme energy he has here. He loses that and it won’t be pretty.

✦ Pluto in Scorpio (Sixth House)

Pluto is an incredibly important planet in his chart simply due to the fact that there are so many aspects to it.

Pluto in Sixth House is a powerful placement. Literally. Pluto represents power in a general sense as well as everything related to the “underworld” of society, including taboos, death, paranoia, and transformation. Sixth House is complex but generally presides over service and health. This is different than the Tenth House of social status and career—Sixth House is more focused on coworkers and the job itself rather than society or public persona. This is how we connect with the world around us, how one explores the relationship between oneself and the external.

He is, to put it bluntly, obsessed with his job. He has an interesting combination of extreme work ethic (Pluto in Sixth House), tendency toward relaxation (Sun in Taurus), and the need to do everything as soon as possible (Mars in Aries). However he reacts depends on the situation at hand. Hopefully he’s able to accomplish some balance and order in this regard.

I covered his Sun-Saturn-Pluto T-square before but will restate it. If you have any sort of Sun-Saturn-Pluto aspect yourself, you will understand. Overall, the Sun represents the self, Saturn represents authority, and Pluto represents power. Now, make all of these attributes very similar to each other (fixed signs), but make them resent each other (square and opposition aspects), and then force them to get along. Three unbreakable planets in three unbreakable signs (two of which are domicile, or at their most powerful) is actually kind of terrifying, and honestly I would see this in the chart of someone who’s a very serious person. However, I could also see this in the chart of someone who has a balance of when to be serious and when to destroy that seriousness and just be yourself. I see the latter more in him. Because Pluto is transformative, the way he views himself changes quite often. This whole aspect almost has a…chameleon-like quality to it. He is the person to go to if you want support. He knows when to hold his ground on his beliefs and when to follow the rules. He knows his strengths and weaknesses and others’ as well, and Saturn keeps Pluto’s power-hungry side in check. He's a reluctant leader, but a good one. And with his Gemini Moon in 1H, that makes him even better because communication and connections are the most effective ways to get through to him as he can empathize well. He feels like it’s his duty for others to get along. For some more perspective, this aspect can also make him suspicious of others’ intentions (see: the story of how he was scouted). Though he’s a Taurus, the world isn’t all flowers and sunshine, and he’s not afraid to admit that. The Mercury quincunx Pluto aspect makes him a rapid-fire and witty debater, though susceptible to misinterpretation, and this as well makes him naturally suspicious of people and their intentions.

I will also mention that with Sun opposite Pluto in the 6-12 House axis, there is a tendency to martyr himself for the greater cause. Uranus and Neptune along with his Eleventh House Mercury and Mars will emphasize “the greater cause,” whatever that may mean to him.

✦ Descendant in Sagittarius

The Descendant is an interesting point that is referenced less often than the Ascendant but no less important. It’s what we are ineffably drawn to, what we hope to find in other people, what is hidden within ourselves that we need to uncover through the companionship of another person. Associated with the sign of Libra, it’s concerned with balancing the self and the individual other, how one on one interactions occur.

With this in Sagittarius, he hopes to find belief in others. Sagittarius is concerned with higher learning, whether that is religion, philosophy, secondary education, foreign travel, languages. How does one implement meaning and significance into the mundane? Optimism is simple enough to come by for him, but it is finding meaning that he feels he lacks in and hopefully attracts to him.

✦ Uranus Rx and Neptune Rx in Capricorn (Eighth House)

Being naturally suspicious of others can be a good thing in some regard. Eighth House is connected with the sign of Scorpio and the planet Pluto. It mainly deals with one on one transactions with others.

READ THE FINE PRINT. Neptune in Eighth House creates vast confusion and delusions around business dealings and contracts. He will get strokes of luck in this department simply because of the Sagittarius influence, but he definitely can’t rely on that to get him out of every situation. Accidental luck is accidental and isn’t predictable. He’s able to get himself out of tricky situations with strokes of luck, but he really should plan everything thoroughly before continuing forward with something drastic or life-changing.

✦ Midheaven and Saturn in Aquarius (Tenth House)

He is deeply aware of how others perceive him… Saturn placed here gives a stable career—albeit with a few bumps along the road with that Aquarian influence. Good sense of judgment. Once again very concerned with duty and his public persona is important to maintain. He needs meaning to his work, specifically meaning that would benefit others before himself in typical Aquarian fashion.

✦ Mercury and Mars in Aries (Eleventh House)

That Mars in 0° Aries makes him extremely determined, willing to be the first to try anything new. Driving, forward personality, very involved with whatever his friends or other groups of people are doing. He loves teamwork. He puts heart into everything he does, and it’s all or nothing.

I’ve already talked about Mercury a fair amount, but Mercury is a little goofy when placed here…he simply will not stop talking.

✦ Sun and Venus in Taurus (Twelfth House)

Sun in Twelfth House is interesting simply because of the unknowable nature of this House. Twelfth tends to scare people when talked about—Twelfth is the House of self-undoing. It’s concerned with the collective, the whole, the universe, and boundaries between the self and others are virtually nonexistent when the egotistic Sun is placed here. This, along with Moon in First House, creates the perfect situation of “I can be anyone you want me to be.” Whatever your ideal is, he will fit it. Whatever your perception of him is, he will be it. Though that IC in Leo craves that individuality, it can be difficult to supplant that with a shifting identity and sense of self. Sun trine Neptune exacerbates this, Sun trine Uranus helps to fight against this, all of these in earth signs creates a steadier sense of self.

Venus placed here creates a fair amount of delusion toward others, idealistically placing them on a pedestal and ignoring the warning signs. He does have Venus trine Jupiter in Virgo, though, which creates a romantic realist. He adores and idolizes others, but the critical Virgo will come through and give him a dose of reality every so often. Stability is important to him.

✦ Words of advice to him

It is okay to relax. Follow your own path. Despite the obstacles you face, you have the determination and the resources to follow through. Listen to that natural suspicion and gut instinct above all else because it will lead you where you need to go. Help will appear when you need it most.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed any insights this provided.

Cross-posted on Twitter.

[throttlegainwell]

The "studying" scene in Nancy's bedroom is really interesting to me, so I'm just going to bat that back and forth for a minute like a cat with a bouncy ball.

(Meta about Nancy and Steve under the cut, including discussion of adolescent sexuality and slut-shaming.)

When Nancy is trying to study and Steve is sort of ostensibly helping but also inarguably trying to screw around, and Nancy objects, she reveals some very real and understandable hangups about sex. And that's fair. Makes perfect sense, all things considered. She's a little nervous about having it--though very curious--but she's significantly more preoccupied with the idea of people finding out she had it. She's trying to dip her toe in the water and keeps pulling back. Steve kind of launches himself at her virtually every time he sees her and has the chance. Steve is a teenage boy who wants to get into this teenage girl's pants, and he's not really hiding it. Like, he's just so very much not hiding this goal, but it's also not the only thing he cares about. And she sees both of those things and kind of vacillates between them, but she's not quite comfortable with either one. And Nancy has this idea in her head of Girls Who Sleep With Steve Harrington.

But instead of Steve assuring her that he doesn't see her as one of those other girls--that he doesn't think she's a "slut"--he's quick to point out that she's basically calling his other sexual partners sluts. (She could be just listing off names of girls in Hawkins with reputations, but the way he responds, I just feel like they're probably girls he's rumored to have slept with/was seen dating/people just know he hangs out with.) He sort of challenges that framework. And I don't mean to laud him for this as some kind of exceptional feminist or vilify Nancy for the crime of being an insecure fifteen-year-old girl in rural Indiana in 1983. Steve has no skin in this game--he's just not subject to the same scrutiny that she is, so his risk is much lower--and Nancy is right to be afraid of the stigma and reputation that may result from being perceived as sexually promiscuous; we see this when she pisses Steve off and he allows his friends to punish her for it.

But I just really like the layers of complexity to that scene. He's very single-minded, but the whole back and forth is almost like a game. He is pushy to an uncomfortable degree (and in a playful way that he can laugh off and he intends to come across as endearing/cute), but he does sort of implicitly defend his previous partners, and he doesn't seem to think there's anything wrong with having sex, but he does allow sexual stigma to be weaponized against Nancy when he feels that she has wronged him. (And man do I wish they'd really shown how those two came back from that.)

And Nancy wants to have sex and doesn't want to be judged for it, but she does, without seeming to realize it, judge other girls for having sex--because she's so conscious of the stigma attached to it and so afraid of it that she's projecting. She's slut-shaming, but she's also just thinking out loud, and she means it, but also she doesn't really. She wants to be allowed to have this and freely explore her sexuality. But it's a really fraught area. So she's on-guard in basically all of her interactions with him, even when she really wants what's happening. And she's really saying, "I don't know yet if I can trust you." And he answers by rejecting her premise and saying instead, "It's not me you don't trust."

And they're neither one of them totally right or wrong. She doesn't walk back what she says; it was just what she had to communicate her worries. Steve is kind of side-stepping and dismissing these worries, but he stops pushing; he picks up the flashcards again to show that he's not just a walking libido. It's just that other characters of this archetype would whip out the "no baby of course you're not like them--you're special" to score some points or lull the girl into a false sense of security. And Steve doesn't take that opportunity. (Which, to be clear, does not make him special--it makes him not an asshole, in-universe, and a more nuanced and less common character, IRL.)

And all the while Nancy is suspicious that Steve just wants sex and he's using her--and she seems genuinely hurt by and angry about this--she kind of seems to just want him for sex, which, again, she's really curious about but not allowed to want. She wants to be into him romantically, and she finds him exciting and likes him, but she keeps insisting again and again that they're not dating. So she wants all of these things, but she's really afraid of getting what she wants. And they're both absolute dogshit at communicating ANY of these things because they're teenagers, and Steve has plenty of sexual and social experience but doesn't seem to have much expertise in the romance department, and Nancy has no experience with basically any of it, so they're just talking around things.

I dunno, I just find their season 1 dynamic really interesting, but not necessarily for the romantic potential. They just gave them more complexity and depth than I was expecting, both as individuals and together, and I wish the show had carried that thread a little farther when they went to all that trouble to set it up. So. You know. I'm totally normal about this.

[princessmacedon]

Red hair, red hair — Red hair's just so much harder to find when half of the seasonal decorations are also red, but he's gotten way better at finding his last year's mystery envoy by now, and he fully intends to repay her in full! It takes a bit to spot her in the sea of candy-cane palettes, but he manages, and bounds over to her, heralded by the merry ringing of the bell on his hat.

"Maria! I found you!" Again, he adds mentally with a chortle, before opening a seperate compartment on his bag, procuring a little pouch of gingerbread cookies — Shaped, indeed, like little men. The icing job's no work of art, but nonetheless done with affection aplenty, and he sighs in relief when he sees they're all still in one piece. The bag's held closed by a little bow — The surprise is that the bow's no run-of-the-mill ribbon, but an actual hairclip.

"For you!" he beams. "Happy Winter Festival!!"

The addition of pink leggings to her wardrobe do their fair share of work and more to shield her legs from Winter's bite -- most especially when she sits on a stone ledge, legs kicking merrily to a faintly, merrily hummed beat. Boot heels click against the wall beneath her for a spot of emphasis now and then-- and then!-- as she hums a spot of jingling, she hears a ring-ting-tingling, too.

"Hm?" Her head turns in curiosity, just another red ribbon among hundreds strewn across the monastery, but in the next moment she is the one that shines most out of all of them.

"Oh! Edward!" A laugh bubbles free from her chest, heedless of her toothy grin. In one fluid motion, suggesting a regularity and familiarity which would surely displease her siblings, the littlest princess of Macedon swings her feet from one side of the stone wall to the other, hopping off of it altogether like a sparrow might hop from place to place.

"Hee hee, you found me! I knew you would!" And, well, even if he hadn't, she'd had a grand plan to turn the tables on him once other neatly-laid plans had come to fruition (...or cooled on the cooling racks, rather!). Arms bounce slightly at her sides as she pops onto her tiptoes, craning her neck in curiosity -- not that the gesture helps overmuch when he's kind enough to hold it out at Maria-level, but oh, it's about the meaning of it all! The playfulness, and fun!

And then she takes the bag into hand, pausing when she moves to open it. "Oh! Is this...?" A hairclip, isn't it? And such a cute one, too! Her hand darts to her mouth to stifle a pleased little giggle, warmth lingering in her expression despite the quiet she keeps as she pulls open the little pouch. Only when she holds up a gingerbread man does it burst into bloom, smile pulled across her teeth until it tucks joy into its corners, breathless and sparkling and bright.

"Wow...! Did you make these?" Her wrist turns as she admires them, finding it a shame to eat them so soon. Instead she tucks it away again, a thumb running across the top of the hairclip in a pleased sort of silence, and holds it preciously in her palm. "Thank you so much! I really, really like it! Hee hee, and happy Winter Festival to you too, Edward!"

A hand darts to his sleeve, pulling insistently, but not so much that he cannot break away. "Heeheehee... but you don't think I'd forget, do you?"

(And, should he have the time to spare, she will drag him through the halls and back to the kitchen, giggling all the while. 'One year!' she shall crow with pride and delight. 'Of finding and fun!' One year, indeed; enough, she hopes, for him to break into a smile too when she presents him a large, profoundly rotund bear (...-shaped cookie).)

(It will be clear she is a baker before she is an artist, but between baby boy eyes and bean-button paws, how can he hate her master work? The 'Eddie bear'!)

[2n2n]

sometimes I sit there for a long time thinking, "how can I possibly word this post in a relatively normal way" but there's no chance. So with all of the love and affection in my heart, I must say:

we here at the AidaIro love to romanticize ownership and possession of another. 

sorta related: my general overview on ‘romance’ as portrayed in JSHK

With such a short back-catalog, we have examples across their works... such as Cult making Lily his Familiar (a classification of being that is typically an animal-- another character's familiar is a dog. Cult comes to ‘own’ Lily in the manner more similar to a pet who is under command. Cult is doing something debauched and morally questionable to make Lily his... and of course, he kills her to achieve it)

a brutal ending... but nonetheless... Cult adores Lily unendingly. They mean the world to one another... they want to be together, forever. 

In an even older oneshot, Nika Kiri!, we see a witch, and her familiar-- a kitty-boy who is subservient to her, but useless. 

....we don’t get any real detail about what it means to be ‘a familiar’, though it seems he’s something similar to a servant, living alongside Killey and meant to assist in a witch’s duties and learning (his master goes to school). By some means, he was chosen by Killey. ‘Familiars’ are a favorite of Aidairo in general-- they also feature in the Hanako-kun of Magic AU. In that AU, more like MDLD, it is more of a forced position one in power can place over another.

in JSHK we get plenty of this! Both in our main romance, and others.... as Hanako binds Yashiro to him-- but such a thing is actually him making her his kannagi.

a girl like Sakura is unafraid to call the dynamic what it is, without any obfuscation. Hanako likes to obfuscate it as ‘assistant’ to soften it to the ignorant Nene herself (what a joke-- she is no employee who can simply leave or do what she wants....), but of course....

....it is a ‘master’ situation. Even Hanako himself will refer to her possessively as belonging to him. She simply does.

Tsukasa is as well Amane’s yorishiro, defined as an object or possession.

Sumire was Hakubo’s charge, and he was under control of her life, and body. His job was to keep her in their home, alive, but not strictly functional. She was his to determine the degree of autonomy of. 

like Yashiro’s agency is limited by Hanako, Sumire’s was intended to be controlled by Hakubo.

Now, Sumire and Tsukasa are possessions, objects, owned by Hakubo and Amane, as far as the system of yorishiro is concerned. Treated equivalent to a pair of scissors, or a stone. Batteries powering their Mystery, held within their boundary, unable to leave. Sumire can change nothing of her position, constantly repeating her own final day. 

Tsukasa and Sumire are existing only in relation to the person they love, and mysteriously are considered to be accessory to them.

Regardless, they are mutually beloved... just like Cult and Lily, just like Hanako and Nene, just like Nico and Killey. 

It’s simply a dynamic/circumstance AidaIro seem to be fond of exploring, for romances, or even for playful games suchas Hanako-kun of Magic.

So curious to see what other circumstances fitting this taste may pop up in JSHK. I think we haven’t seen the last of this style of romance. I wonder if Akane and Aoi could somehow fall into a dynamic like this, eventually?  An element of control/ownership could occur anywhere, with kaii.....!

... whatever the case, I find all of AidaIro’s works very charming, and their taste very idiosyncratic, consistent, and cute!

[mi6021-mez]

Improving the Storyboard based on feedback

Based on the feedback I was given, I altered my storyboard to show a clearer picture of the story that I'm trying to portray

For the beginning I decided to make a clearer establishing shot that clearly shows of the environment, it also shows that the city is busy and full of people, I'm going to show this through the cars rather than people as It would be too time consuming to make a vast amount of people, whereas with cars, I can make multiple by just changing the colours and slightly altering the shape, they also don't require rigging

Next I changed the fall sequence to show how the fall takes place from a standing position. I also decided to make the fall occur is a more imaginative way, the fall is going to be a ghost like faded figure of my character that falls out of him which then transition into the dream like sequence. This way it feels more like an out of body experience, where it feels like your falling but in reality he's just standing there, a theme I want to reinforce throughout the animation. 'What happens in your perspective vs what happens from the perspective of a bystander'

for the dream like sequence before I had quite rounded shapes, if I were to continue with this I may have ended with a result that looked a bit too happy and colourful, the shapes could have been seen as playful. But my main character is feeling distressed and anxious so instead I want my shapes and sequence to have more sharp, jagged edges so that it's associated with danger, could also experiment with triangles and the colour red/black/yellow which are often associated with danger

This time I've also introduced a second character, because my ending before of him opening his eyes wasn't coming across the way I intended. I want to show the differences between what my character is experiencing and what the world around him see, in his mind he's struggling and seeing all these symptoms but in reality they are only visible by him. The best way to show this is to actually have him interact with a second character

Another thing I wanted to introduce was more of the migraine symptoms that cause disorientation, one in particular is sensitivity to light, when having a migraine, light can seem harsher and cause worse headaches. So I introduced the sun into my scene, since my character has had his eyes closed for a period of time now, when he opens them in response to the 2nd character tapping him, seeing the sun causes him pain and his immediate response is to cover his eyes. The person talking to him is just trying to ask if he's okay, but the strange movement from my main character is alarming to him. There's also the added shock to our main character as his visions is still quite blurry when he opens his eyes and sees the man standing there

Next the main character looks down at his hands only to see a visual representation of pins and needles

until finally we see the 2nd character start to leave as he's given up helping the strange man who is now just staring down at his hands My next step is to create an animatic

[maya-matlin]

I just saw you contrasting Dair and Brucas and have to tell you that you made me realize why I prefer Brucas to Dair despite objectively getting that the writers were always going to follow the 'first couple to lock eyes and declare themselves soulmates end up together' rule by giving us Leyton and (ugh) Derena endgames. Like I think you and others have pointed out, Blair is kind of terrible. I mean she's amusing and interesting and the actress does a great job of giving her layers, but she's so genuinely elitist and mean, and even at her best with Dan that comes out constantly. I get that we're supposed to think it's just playful bickering but sometimes it comes across as them just genuinely not getting along and Blair "settling" for a guy from Brooklyn lol. And it doesn't help that Blair could never admit to loving Dan while she continually and freely admitted to loving Chuck. But Brucas for all their many problems generally had a more affectionate, less contentious dynamic---fewer insults, more real moments of emotional connection. So they just touch my heart more than dair even though I ship dair too and get why many like them more!

First of all, the "love at first sight" trope almost always flops for me when it comes to television ships. Even though my number one ship technically followed this pattern, they also took a long time to get together and weren't instantly "true love always" from the first couple of episodes. It's always "guy has been obsessed with girl for years and dreamed of marrying her before they'd ever spoken" or "they have this intense connection that can't be explained after speaking like twice and inexplicably understand each other better than friends, family, etc". And like you said, these couples are usually endgame so that the show can come full circle, even in cases where the two characters have moved beyond that and probably work better with other people.

I see what you mean, but I mostly view that as Blair being guarded and not wanting to admit out loud that she enjoys spending time with Dan. Both of them seemed to enjoy the banter, even though Blair could be mean spirited at times. As for the settling for Dan thing, I'm sure that's what was intended considering how the show ended, but to me it doesn't make much sense. Blair was settling for Louis and planning to commit herself to a life with him even though she was still drawn to Chuck. Dan was a complete surprise to Blair. He wasn't supposed to be her friend, let alone someone she could fall in love with. The end of season 5 is where it gets iffy. Initially, it seems like Blair is genuinely happy with Dan and is settling into this new, healthier idea of what love looks like. But obviously, the endgames were set in stone by this point, so they had to introduce some sort of conflict to push Blair back to Chuck. I don't know what to tell you. Gossip Girl is overall an offensively, badly written show. Yes, Brucas had softer moments. Both Brooke and Lucas were written as overall good people without the weird, elitist, hang ups, so there was no doubt they enjoyed each other's company even though mileage varies on whether or not Lucas truly considered Brooke his first choice the second time around. I mean, he did, but there's been a lot of retroactive discourse, insisting Lucas never cared for anyone except Peyton.

Also, sorry. I'm not trying to make you change your mind. You can't help how you interpret Dair, and your opinion is valid.

[ear-worthy]

Pod-Alization: Freakonomics Saves Your Pets; The Economics Of Everyday Things; Libsyn’s New Podcaster Solutions

Freakonomics Radio podcast rescues your Lab Mix and your Tabby

 People today can get riled up over the dumbest things. The shape of the M&M cartoon character. The new name of a sports team, or the political color of the state in which you reside.

But when they come for your pets, we are all united in the battle the against private equity, or Big Finance, trying to turn our pets' health into an Excel spreadsheet full of dollar signs. Or are they?

Freakonomics Radio, has just released a two-part series on changes happening behind the scenes at local vets across the country.

Part one asks: "Should You Trust Private Equity to Take Care of Your Dog?" If that question sounds far-fetched (no pun intended), you might not realize how much big investors have been quietly buying up local veterinary practices. What does this mean for scruffy little Max, fyi – that's the most popular dog name in the U.S. in 2022 — and for the economy?

Part two, "Do You Know Who Owns Your Vet?," continues the investigation, looking at the pros and cons of small businesses getting bought by big investors. Host Stephen Dubner speaks to businesspeople, economists, and, of course, the veterinarians themselves. He also shares his own recent vet experience with his dog that inspired the series. 

After you listen to these two episodes, call your vet to see if they have sold out to private equity. You may want to drive to Central Michigan farm country and starting seeing The Incredible Dr. Pol of NatGeo Wild fame.  

Freakonomics introduces a new podcast: The Economics Of Everyday Things.

 Some podcast networks are the junkyard dogs of podcasting. Any podcast, no matter the subject -- from true-crime to self-obsessed celebrities -- is a prime candidate for their network if it attracts listeners and advertisers. 

Thankfully, Freakonomics is more selective in the podcasts it adds to its network. If I can define the Freakonomics universe -- podcasts, books, speeches, articles -- it is a thoughtful, discerning, often data-driven inspection of our world with a basic understanding that humans are crippled by their perceptual blind spots.

This week, Freakonomics added a new podcast and, if its first episode is any indication of its value, it is a winner and definitely ear worthy. 

The podcast is called The Economics Of Everyday Things. In the first episode: Gas stations. When gas prices skyrocket, do station owners get a windfall? And where do their profits really come from? This episode is enlightening and counterintuitive in some of its conclusions.  

As you may know, people are weird about the price of gas on a visceral level. I have a neighbor who drives an extra five miles to a gas station where the price is two cents cheaper. He drives a huge gas guzzling pickup truck. Do the math. He's not saving money. Maybe even losing a few cents.

The podcast hosted is Zachary Crockett, who was a staff writer at Vox.com and Priceonomics. His written work has appeared in The Atlantic, Time, Longreads, and elsewhere; I’ve also dabbled in radio (Marketplace, NPR, Slate) and video (The Discovery Channel, Vox).

Even with the small sample size of one episode, it's safe to say that Crockett does a nice job with the episode, and I like his playfulness and incisiveness. Plus, for a smart guy, he does not talk down to his listeners. 

Check out The Economics Of Everyday Things here.

Libsyn adds new tools for podcasters Liberated Syndication Inc. (“Libsyn”) has announced the latest in a series of product innovations to its platform for podcast creation, hosting, and advertising services at Podfest Expo 2023 including the debut of Libsyn Connect (Beta), a browser-based podcast collaboration tool that delivers incredibly high-quality remote recording. Libsyn will be showcasing its offerings at booth #1 for those of you making the trek to Orlando. Among the latest platform innovations and partnerships: -Integrated into Libsyn’s industry-leading platform, Libsyn Connect (Beta) delivers a comprehensive, feature-rich recording solution that provides creators with everything they need to record the highest quality interviews. Among the key Libsyn Connect (Beta) recording features:Integrated multitrack recording saves time and provides greater flexibility and control during editing and post-production for creators. -Continuous sync recording to ensure that all guest recordings are of the highest quality and synchronized, especially for remote guest participants. -A built-in chat feature that enables creators to have a sidebar conversation with podcast guests to minimize editing. -The option to easily record on mobile devices for podcasters on the go. -Libsyn is among the first podcast platforms to integrate with Apple Podcasts Subscriptions — empowering Libsyn creators to launch and grow podcast subscriptions by streamlining the publishing process to Apple Podcasts. -With the integration of Studio into Libsyn, creators can now easily produce their podcast with automated post-production processing inside the Libsyn toolset — including the addition of a Reusable Chapter tool to speed podcast creation. If you don't know, Libsyn is one of the largest companies in the podcasting space. Founded in 2004, Liberated Syndication Inc. (“Libsyn”) hosted over 75,000 shows with 5.8 million podcast episodes and delivered over six billion downloads to listeners globally in 2021. Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast marketplace combines an ad buying and management platform with full-service capabilities that make it easy for podcast advertisers to initiate and manage highly targeted and measurable campaigns on over 3,000 shows.