#but that intro was worth the hours <3

[griffin-wood]

— the main attraction; aka the lead singers for battle of the bands. ( @infamous-if )

[mattodore]

the difference a gshade preset and fresh lighting mods can make...

[denpa-dere]

house arrest 3

afab!mc x beelzebub

description: NSFW, you are confined to your room for your own protection. But how long will that last when the only thing standing between you and your housemates is a door and some willpower? Would Beel pass the marshmallow test?

warnings: Capital B breeding kink with talks of impregnation, babies, afab reader with she/her pronouns. Talk of emotional eating. Dubcon warning!!! This one turned out sounding kind of sketch in places, but actions depicted are intended to be consensual. Size kink.

Note: reader is described as being shorter and smaller than Beel, but I tried not to go into specifics. so just scale Beel in your mind to however big he'd have to be to be significantly larger than you.

|| Intro || Mammon || Asmo (mini) || Levi || Satan (mini) || Beel || Lucifer (mini) || Asmo || Belphie (mini) || Belphie || Barbatos (mini) ||

For the past few days, Beezlebub had been eating his feelings. 

He was a menace in the kitchen, he could admit it. Since breakfast three days ago, no meals were able to be prepared to completion without interference from the sixth-born. Occasionally, one of his brothers would try to separate him from the fridge where he had set up camp, but each attempt only served to make him more irritable and territorial, less like himself. It soon became clear that their efforts were not worth the struggle and creative measures were implemented to allow for some form of cookery. 

Belphagor hovered as much as his fatigue would permit, worried for his twin. Left unspoken for the sake of Beel's dignity, Belphie understood intrinsically the depth of the hunger you had unlocked in his brother. It was a terrifying force to be reckoned with, one that could very easily boil over into something disastrous. 

At this late hour, Beel was alone, Belphie having retreated to the attic for yet another nap. Four puddings pushed down the memory of your scent for the nth time. Twelve poisoned apples for how his hands dwarfed your tiny shoulders. A couple boxes of leftover takeout to smother your big doe eyes looking up at him before the first shove kicked off a regretful fight between his brothers. 

Guilt weighed like an albatross around Beel's neck. He loved his family- you were included in that. You rounded out their group in a way that felt complete. Beel wasn't always the most articulate demon, but his feelings were genuine and acute; sometimes overwhelmingly so. 

"Oh, hey."

He felt sick. 

Beel twisted to see you over his shoulder, refrigerator door still halfway open. You were standing in the kitchen doorway, looking unsure, picking your fingernails. You looked so small. 

"I was going to get something to drink," You said, as if you needed an excuse to be there. 

He smiled at you and hoped it was reassuring, "I think there's some juice left."

"Thanks, that'll work," You returned the grin, relieved he broke the tension first. He sat the carton on the counter and stepped aside.

See? You could both be normal about this.

“I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve seen you,” You mused, getting yourself a glass from the cupboard, “I’m going stir-crazy in there.”

Beel leaned against an opposite counter, “How much longer are you locked down for?”

“Ugh, I don’t know, two or three more days, maybe?” You mirrored him from across the room, “I hope Lucifer doesn’t think I’m doing this every month. Absolutely not.”

Every month.

This was going to happen every month? Indefinitely? He felt light-headed. How was he supposed to contend with this on a regular basis? A month was nothing. 

“You okay?” You asked, shaking Beel from his thoughts. 

“Yeah,” He replied, “Are you at least eating enough?”

“No complaints there,” You shrugged, sipping your drink, “Anyway, I should head back.”

The words came out reflexively the moment your back was turned: “I missed you.” 

“I missed you, too,” You beamed back at him, stopping in your tracks. You were so pretty when you smiled. He felt his heart speed up.

“Can I walk you back?” He asked, knowing very well he shouldn't, but not ready to say goodbye just yet. 

You hesitated for only a moment, "Yeah, I'd like that."

___

Trying to keep pace with you was always a little awkward, given your much shorter stride. Beel was used to waiting up for others after a few millennia of adapting to Belphie's slothful movements. Still, the urge to scoop you up and carry you with him tugged at his fraying nerves. Would you mind? You'd let him do it before…

Even if you did mind, it'd be easy, he thought, to simply hook an arm around your waist and lift you like a fangol ball. You could wiggle and fight as much as you wanted, but realistically, you were physically no match for the most average of demons, let alone one such as himself. Especially if caught by surprise, with no time for magic (or pact orders) to level the playing field. Despite all of your time spent in the Devildom, your trusting nature left you wide open to any number of those with ill intent. It was like you refused to understand that humans were prey. 

Which is why you needed to be here, with him them, Beel reminded himself. To keep you safe. Because, right now, you were all but screaming to be devoured. 

Sweat dotted his brow. Maybe going with you was a mistake. Without a constant stream of food to distract himself, his thoughts were drifting to dark and unfamiliar territory. Even tucked under his arm, were you really safe? He swallowed the rapidly pooling spit in his mouth, chewing on the discomforting idea. 

"Well, this is my stop," You said, breaking the uneasy silence that had formed between you. Your hand hovered on the doorknob, but neither of you moved. He was certain you could read the distress all over his face. You were good at that sort of thing. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" You asked gently, twisting the handle.

"I don't know," He replied, honest as ever, "I want to spend more time with you, but I'm worried."

"That you'll hurt me?"

He nodded, "Or worse."

You seemed to consider his words carefully. You studied his expression, though what you were searching for was unclear. Finally, you shrugged as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. 

"I'm not worried," You said, pushing open your bedroom door, "I trust you."

___

Beel loved his family. He loved you. 

But he could stand for there to be more of you. 

It was his single-minded focus, and had been since… since however long it had been that you'd allowed him into your room, he supposed. 

You entered first. You showed your back to him and he went after you, blinded by instinct. Time was fuzzy after that. Later, Beel would go through and make sense of things. Right now, with your cunt squeezing him so deliciously, the only semi-coherent thought in his head was breeding you over and over and over again. 

"More, one more," He slurred almost apologetically. If he could feel the satisfaction of cumming deep inside your tight little body just one more time, then he would be sated. Maybe. Probably. 

You were like jelly, eyes rolled back, reduced to wordless noises while he bounced you on his cock. Your arms hung loose around his neck, legs locked around his waist. Dark marks bloomed across your skin, purple bruises in the shape of hands and teeth despite his best efforts to keep your trust. It took everything he had not to break your soft, salty skin when he tasted you. He mouthed at whatever exposed flesh he could reach, desires and intentions blurring hopelessly together into a confusing mess. 

You fell against him with a pathetic cry as another orgasm was pulled from your poor, overstimulated body. You were trembling uncontrollably. He curled protectively around you, kissing your sweat-slicked temple and murmuring sweet praise that bubbled up through his mental haze. You were taking him so well, please, just one more for him, please, one more so he could make absolutely sure you wound up carrying his babies- and why stop at one? You were going to be gorgeous pregnant, working so hard to make their family even bigger, giving him even more people to love. Fuck– he couldn't get enough of you. 

He felt a tightening in his core that signaled he was close. He held you in place, bottoming out when he bucked up into you. Stretched obscenely full, your walls pulsed around him, milking his cock for all he could give. You groaned something that sounded like his name muffled into his chest, your desperate keening triggering his own release. His previously rhythmic grunting built into a low growl as he pumped thick ropes of cum deep into your already stuffed cunt. Beel let out a small whine feeling some of his seed dripping out around him. It wasn't fair. It all belonged to you. 

A brief moment of clarity washed over him in the wake. He knew you were tired- exhausted, actually, judging by your adorable fucked-out expression. That was okay, he could help. He'd get you cleaned up and into fresh pajamas before taking you upstairs to rest together in his bed. 

Consequences be damned, he was going to keep you close. He knew Belphie wouldn't mind. Besides, what if he needed more later? 

[vall-the-pen]

I loved your recent Alhaitham fic! I was wondering if you would consider writing a pt. 2 where Alhaitham regrets how he treated you and attempts to win you back (maybe 4ggravate finds out and attempts to help Alhaitham to win you back)? I understand if not. Thank you for sharing your writing!

Thank you so much for liking my first fic! Feel free to request anything genshin-related and I’ll try my best to provide!

You kept me like a secret, but I kept you like an oath (pt. 2)

It was rare, I was there

Here’s part 1!

Synopsis: despite the neglect and everything that happened, you both still longed for each other…

Content: Alhaitham x fem!reader, wingmen!4ggravate, implied Dehyarzad, Collei, absent Cyno, Tighnari, second chances, writer!reader, angst to comfort, reader is with someone else

Warnings: slight cursing, long intro again (I can’t help it), mild spoilers for Sumeru archon quest chapter 3 act 2, Collei goes missing

Note: this part can be optional for you. If you prefer to end it at part one, then feel free to do so! But, if you’re a sucker for second chances (like me), then consider this a treat from me to you!

—

Nothing. You could hear nothing.

Not your heart pounding to the rhythm of your feet. Not the screaming in your head as you spotted familiar grey hair walking around the city. Your thoughts immediately tasted bitter—if he had the time to walk now, how come he hadn’t back then?

You surmise that you weren’t worth the step.

The weight of his absence hung over you like a storm cloud, casting a shadow over the warmth of the day. Despite your efforts to push the pain aside, it crept back, heavy and suffocating. Your mother's words echoed in your mind like a haunting refrain, a reminder that perhaps you had been foolish to invest so much in someone who couldn't reciprocate your love.

The shops were as busy and ever; merchant services, inquiries about products, scholars out in the open. You were out for groceries, almost ashamed for showing your face after the scene you caused 15 days ago. The world needed to know you were strong, though, so you put a big smile on your face and a new perfume worth Alhaitham’s salary. You even reached out to Cyno about the book you mentioned; so far, everything has been accurate, according to him.

“Y/N?” A familiar voice called to you. Turning your head in that direction, you see Dehya in the distance waving at you. Once you’ve said hello, she looked at you with a smirk on her face, “Wow, did a flower barf on you? You look radiant!”

“Radiant?” You humble yourself, “I don’t remember putting on any jewelry.”

“No, silly!” She gestured to your everything, “There’s this aura you’re emitting and it’s making you glow!” Glow? All you did these past few days was cry, eat, and write. Perhaps it was the tears that helped. They irritated your eyes so much it gave you a softer, more approachable look. “Do you think you could lend me some of that eyeshadow?”

Try crying every hour, Dehya. “Ah, I just did a favor for a friend studying cosmetology. I’m not entirely sure what products they used,” you lie. Thinking about Alhaitham will certainly eat you alive; you change the subject despite the flattery you enjoyed. “What brings you to the city?”

Enthusiasm spouts from the mercenary, “My lady Dunyarzad invited me over for the Sabzeruz Festival; and you know me, I gotta be there for my lady!”

You found it adorable—almost enviable—how they still keep in touch even after Dehya’s resignation. Call a spade a spade, that is real commitment. It makes you wonder if you’d be here, ‘radiant’ and ‘glowing,’ if you were treated that way.

“The Sabzeruz Festival? I didn’t realize it was so close. Wow, time surely flies.” Suddenly, you feel excitement rush through your veins, a new experience after days of steady tides.

“Couldn’t agree more,” said Dehya. From a distance, you both heard Dunyarzad call her name. “Ah, it looks like she needs me back there. I better go check on her. If you want, you should totally come over the bazaar once the festival is ready. Dunyarzad and I would be lucky to have you celebrate with us!” After you gave an accepting nod and farewell, Dehya ran off to the woman in purple, practically skipping on her feet.

As you watched their lively interaction, a surge of envy and longing swept through you. Their easy camaraderie and genuine happiness a stark contrast to the emptiness and loneliness gnawing at your insides. You had longed to experience that kind of connection, to be enveloped in the warmth of love and companionship once more. But deep down, you knew it was a distant dream, a fantasy you could never reclaim.

You weren’t a religious person, but out of sheer desperation, you prayed.

Lesser Lord Kusanali, please free me from this torment. Let the flowers in my garden bloom of life, let the fruits grow ripe even without much sun, let the trees reach the highest of buildings.

—

Simple greetings and little nods, Alhaitham wouldn’t have minded if those scholars were you. In fact, instead of returning those nods and hellos, he would embrace you, lift your feet off the ground and spin you around like you always wanted.

After you stormed out the tavern, Cyno went ahead and asked what happened to the both of you. For the first time, he couldn’t give a straight answer. Every excuse seemed to damage your image, and that was the last thing he wanted. Kaveh ended up taking over to save him the embarrassment.

The 15 days he burned for you were like falling into the abyss, fighting every day to the brink of death, unable to eat the sustenance that came from your warmth.

The now Scribe Alhaitham needed something to keep you off his mind. He considered attending a meeting, but none seemed to pique his interest. Every thought ended up on your doorstep, making him think of dropping by. “Kaveh,” he called the architect scribbling on his notebook, “have you seen Y/N, as of late?”

“No, she hasn’t been feeling well these past few weeks. Shouldn’t you be in a meeting?”

“Shouldn’t you be paying rent?”

Kaveh cursed at Alhaitham, “I’m trying to make the money, goddamit!”

“Maybe you would have the money if you stopped settling for your clients’ low budgets.”

“Is it hard to find me considerate?”

“I’d rather call it pathetic.”

“Go catch whatever Y/N has,” he shooed Alhaitham away, “maybe that would give you some perspective.”

The scribe stood silent for a few seconds. He knew his roommate was right, he should’ve thought about how you felt before anything. Kaveh was about to believe he had won a squabble for once, but then he suddenly revealed, “Y/N… is angry at me.”

Kaveh pshawed at him, “With the way you talked to her? No shit.” Alhaitham didn’t move an inch. “Hey, what happened there, anyway? It wasn’t like Y/N to burst out to you like that. Are you hiding something?”

With a sigh, the grey-haired man decided to reveal everything to his roommate. He listened intently, gasping and scolding him for his lack of attention towards you, adding salt to his open wounds. Upon recalling the words the scribe had said, Kaveh took a slight breath, “You fucked up.”

“I know.”

“You need to go fix this.”

“I know.”

“And you were calling me pathetic!”

“I know! I just-“ he couldn’t believe he was saying this. “I need help.”

As he was popularly known, Alhaitham wasn’t one to ask for help. Not because he had too much pride, but because he knew how to solve things like the back of his hand. He had access to numerous files from the Akasha, and he had connections to powerful people, being the scribe and all.

But this was a different situation. Every solution did not guarantee a 100% success rate, 87% at best, and that was not enough for Alhaitham. He was ready to do anything for you, to get on his knees and raise you to the highest regard, to even beg.

“I could ask Tighnari,” Kaveh began, “The Sabzeruz Festival is coming soon, maybe you could ask her out?”

Right, now that he’s perceived as a hero of his nation, he is expected to attend these festivals. He never bothered to come before, and he wouldn’t now, but he was willing to if it meant getting to see you again. “I don’t think she’ll be accepting me as her date.”

“Then we’ll talk to her.”

“Will she be willing to listen? Wait, isn’t she sick?”

Kaveh sighed, downhearted, “Right.” Then he clicked his fingers at the scribe, “I have an idea!”

—

“Collei? What are you doing here,” you said after opening your door. She drew a small grin with worried eyes, holding a box of goods for you. It’s been a while since you saw her, she grew up well, taller since your last meeting.

“Hello, miss Y/N! I heard from Master Tighnari that you weren’t feeling well,” yes, you distinctly remember lying to them (Tighnari, and Kaveh) so they wouldn’t see you as often. “So I thought I could bring you simple remedies.” The little girl observed you. “But now I think there’s no need for that,” she chuckled.

“Ah, yeah, don’t worry, it was just a small cold. Speaking of Tighnari, how come he isn’t here with you?” You ushered her in and sat her down for some tea, placing her box of medicines on the counter.

“He had some business to attend to with a merchant and allowed me to visit you. It’s been a while since you’ve travelled to Gandharva Ville, miss Y/N, do you have any plans on visiting?”

“Yes, I’m thinking of basing the rainforest as the main setting for my new book, actually.”

You both chatted about everything you could as you waited for the water to boil. Afterwards, you served a hot teapot, dwelling in mint and lotus herbs. “Ah, Collei, how long are you and Tighnari staying in the city?”

“Just for three days, though I would like to stay until after the Sabzeruz Festival,” she chuckles, holding her now warm cup in her hands.

“You could come with me if Tighnari would allow it.”

The little girl’s eyes beamed with stars, “Really? Oh, I’ve been dreaming of going to one for ages! Miss Nilou will be performing, right?” You nod to her delight, “Yes! Archons, I really hope Master would let me.”

As if he heard his name, Tighnari knocked on your door. Opening it, he looked glad seeing your healthy state. “Y/N! Good to see you’re feeling well now.” He peaked behind you to see Collei sip from her cup.

Upon recognizing her master, Collei got up and greeted him. “Hi, Master! Miss Y/N and I were just talking about the Sabzeruz Festival, and that I could come with her to see Miss Nilou perform!” Her enthusiasm was as contagious as a cold, you couldn’t help but laugh.

“As long as it wouldn’t be a hassle for Y/N, and that you would always be careful when purchasing products,” Tighnari worries like a mother. “Always look at the expiration dates, check if there are anything you’re allergic to.”

He goes on and on for about 5 minutes until you cut him off, “Alright, alright, Tighnari, it’s not like she’ll be going all alone; she has me with her!”

With this, Collei wrapped her arms around your waist, ever so thankful for your support. You thought of her as a niece, and she thought of you as an auntie, willing to give her advice on anything, trivial or not. After a few more words exchanged, and details for the festival, the pair decide to head to their cottage.

For once, you enjoyed your time and not think of Alhaitham once!

Oops.

—

It was the day of the Sabzeruz Festival; you had already picked Collei up from their cottage and are on your way to the Grand Bazaar. You could see thousands of attendees, travelling merchants, and familiar faces on the way.

As the vibrant colors and lights of the festival unfolded before you, the once a source of excitement and anticipation now loomed before you like a daunting reminder of what you had done. Despite Dehya's invitation, you couldn't shake the feeling of being an outsider, a solitary figure adrift in a sea of joyous revelry. Each smile, each laugh felt like a dagger to your already wounded heart, a painful reminder of the love you had lost and the embarrassment that now consumed you.

But this was no time for dwelling upon the memories that brought misery, remember, Collei is counting on you to give her a good time.

“Y/N, Collei!” You spot Kaveh in the distance waving and walking your way. Collei happily waved back. “I’m so glad I could run into you guys, you have no idea how terrified I am of meeting a client by accident.”

You laughed, “Do I have to accompany you, too, Kaveh?”

“Actually, I was thinking of letting you have some fun while I take care of little Collei here.��� He ruffles her neatly-done hair, now messy but more natural-looking. This led Collei to bring out a small comb to fix it.

You felt irresponsible leaving Collei in someone else’s care, you’d said you would take care of her, and it felt like you would be breaking a promise if you agreed to his offer. You tuck your hair behind your ear, “I don’t know, Kaveh, something feels wrong about that, no offense. Plus, if something were to happen to Collei, we wouldn’t hear the end of it; you wouldn’t like Tighnari when he’s angry.”

“A fair point, but you’ve been locked up in your house for two weeks, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. You deserve to be out there, butterfly, spread the wings you grew from being in that cocoon!”

That somehow felt too specific. Does he know something? Collei starts to agree, despite seeming so excited to go with you. “Even you, Collei?” You sigh, “Fine, but if something happens, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

You weren’t expecting to have so much fun here. The lights, the music, even the people were a blast! At first you were anxious for Collei, checking in from time to time, then as you continued to do so, your vists would be more spaced apart. You drank some punch with Dehya and Dunyarzad, who seemed to be doing really well for themselves, then you danced with the crowd in the name of Lesser Lord Kusanali.

After all of that, it was time for one last dance before Nilou’s grand performance. The band began to play a soft, romantic folk song. “Alright, Sumeru City,” called the lead singer, their voice sonorous with seduction, “before we settle down for the reknowned Nilou, let’s have a little treat for all the couples out there. So, grab your partner and dance along.”

Just as you were at the height of excitement, everything seemed to come crashing down again. You stood on the sidelines, feeling lost and out of place. Dehya and Dunyarzad swayed together, hand in hand. A lot of other couples came together and danced. The passion embedded in the song they sang only made you feel more alone, the walls of the Grand Bazaar growing taller and taller as you gazed upon them in longing.

You felt a hand on your shoulder, a man you don’t remember meeting. “Excuse me, miss, could I trouble you with a dance?” He looked about your age, a nice smile and an energetic demeanor. You were cautious of his intentions, though. It’s possible to have fun while maintaining a distance, right?

You accepted his invitation, all of the sudden you felt a sick knot in your stomach, like you were cheating on Alhaitham. But you weren’t together anymore, why would you stop yourself from meeting new people?

The man said his name was Hafan, a mercenary from the Corps of Thirty. He offered to buy you a drink once the dance was over, and again, you gladly accepted while the sweat in your palms said otherwise. You talked with every step you took, getting to know each other and telling stories. He made you laugh—a lot—and you impressed him with your witty comebacks. Perhaps this was the Dendro Archon’s response to your prayer? A hand to guide you through the maze, and to help you believe in love again?

But just amidst the merry atmosphere of the festival, a lingering anxiousness settled within your stomach.

Then, you saw him.

Alhaitham stood in the corner of the room, the desperate merchants and harmonizing of the band seemed to die down as time stood still. The vibrant colors faded into shades of grey as your heart clenched with a mixture of dread and longing.

It was as if a gate had opened within you, unleashing a torrent of emotions you had struggled to contain. Guilt gnawed at your conscience, regret tore your chest open, and love gave your heart to him.

As Hafan twirled you gracefully across the makeshift floor, you held your gaze with Alhaitham, your heart torn between the past and the present, between what was and what could’ve been.

Maybe you had been thinking too rashly, maybe he had changed over the course of your absence. The way he looked at you with such burning could not make you think otherwise.

In that moment, with all the crowds in the festival and the ache of your fractured heart, you knew for certain—no matter how hard you deny it, no matter how fast you tried to run, you could never escape the grasp he had on your soul.

The dance had ended, though it felt like it just started. Before Hafan could get that drink he promised, you said, “I’m sorry, Hafan.” He looked at you in confusion. “You must be looking for someone to—I don’t know—spend the rest of the festival with, and I don’t think I can fulfill that position. You’re a sweet guy, truly, I’m just not in a good place for anything right now.” Archons, you sounded ridiculous. But to your suprise, the man hardly took it personally.

“It’s okay, I get it. I had fun with you tonight, Y/N. You’re a great person to be around.” You almost regret having to end your time with him. “I’ll see you around, yeah?” He gave you a nod of farewell and left your side.

You looked in the direction of Alhaitham, again, hoping to catch that feeling of familiarity, but you had found he was no longer there. Perhaps it was your imagination.

You then searched for Collei and Kaveh, but they were nowhere to be found. They weren’t near the stalls, or in front of the stage.

They were nowhere in the bazaar.

The panic you felt shook your entire foundation, the pillars that kept you from going back home, back to the pain.

What if they had been kidnapped? You trusted Kaveh’s words, that he would take care of her, but for all you know they could be in the middle of the desert right now! What if Kaveh had run into a client and got distracted? What if Collei got injured or hospitalized?

Your heart began beating in your ears, your breath hastened with every thump. The air seemed so thin in the enclosed space, you needed to go outside. Yes, perhaps you could have a better chance at finding them out there, too.

As you walked out the doors of the Grand Bazaar, Collei’s name immediately echoed through the night. “Collei!” After numerous calls left with no answers, lumps of tears began crawling down your cheeks. “Oh my archon,” you sobbed. You could imagine the look on Tighnari’s face, the worry, the anger, the disappointment.

The feeling of losing them was clawing to your soul, like a mother bird losing her chick after their first flight. If they go missing, it was your fault. That fact will forever stain your soul, haunting your remaining days until the sweet release of death.

You sat on a curb, just near the entrance of the bazaar in hopes that the little girl and the architect would return unharmed. More tears had revealed themselves as your thoughts grew more and more intense, terrorizing, even.

The streets were so quiet, only the music from the festival and the first chirps of the crickets seemed to fill your ears, your sobs excluded. No guards or matras were present with you. Who the hell was in charge of security here!? The starry sky brought a comfortable cold instead of blazing heat.

You then heard footsteps from the bazaar and a person sitting beside you. “I walked them home,” a gruff voice sounded, “Collei was getting tired.”

Just your luck, the man who sat with you was no other than Alhaitham. Despite the conflicting emotions that came to you in a flash, you were relieved that Collei was safe. You let out a heavy breath. “Thank you,” you sniff, brushing away the tears that stained your face.

It was quiet again, for a while. You could hear Nilou’s music from outside; “Collei would’ve loved seeing Nilou dance,” you thought aloud. “I remember her basking about it when she had just became Tighnari’s pupil.” Suddenly, you felt calmer, safer now that the eerie silence accompanied you with the presence of the man you knew as well as breathing.

—

Alhaitham couldn’t say anything, busying himself gazing upon your eyes and your weakly pulled smile. There was still sadness lingering within them, covered by a coating of relief. He felt remorse for taking Collei away from you, for making you worry like this, for leaving you in the dark for a long, long time. Nonetheless, he was happy it led to you talking to him again. He was almost certain this day would never come.

Then he is reminded of you dancing with another man. His heart pounded erratically against his chest, each beat echoing the tumultuous storm of emotions raging within him. He had come to the festival in search of hope and redemption, a fleeting reprieve from the pain that chewed up his soul. But instead, he had found more heartache, contrary to the plan.

As he watched you twirl and sway with the man’s hand in yours, he felt as though the world tilted off its axis, leaving him teetering on the precipice of anguish. How could you be dancing so freely with another when every fiber of his being yearned to hold you so close, to feel the warmth you gave him once more?

His hands clenched into fists against his knees, his jaw tightened with unexpressed emotion. He remembered how badly he wanted to look away, but the flow of your hair and how gracefully you moved wouldn’t let him, it was as if you had casted a spell upon him, forever tormenting him to stay on the sidelines, to repress the overwhelming desire to be the one twirling you around and making you smile.

A surge of conflicting emotions washed over him—a searing pang of jealousy intertwined with a profound sense of regret and longing. Then just when he was ready to cross the bridge that separated you, he felt a small tug on his darkened cape. “Mr. Scribe Alhaitham,” Collei said meekly, sheepishly rubbing her eyes, “Did the plan work?”

He remembers Kaveh’s words, so filled with determination, She’ll do anything for Collei, so if she asks to go to the festival, Y/N will for sure accompany her! Once the slow dance starts, that’s when you’ll swoop in and declare your love.

And if it doesn’t work?, the scribe raised his eyebrows.

It will! I’ll make sure no one gets near her.

Boy, did that plan go to shit.

He gave the little girl a soft smile despite the mind-numbing pain in his chest. He knelt down to her level, “Isn’t Kaveh supposed to be with you?”

“Someone was talking to him just a while ago. It seemed pretty heated, so I slipped away when I got the chance,” she yawned.

“Of course,” Alhaitham muttered. Must be a client of his. “You look tired, Collei.”

“I think I’m ready to go home now, Mr. Alhaitham.” The drowsiness in her eyes could barely hold her awake. It was getting late, she must not be used to staying up at times like these.

Alhaitham looked back at you, wondering if you were still keeping your eyes on him. To no avail, it was like you had vanished like a ghost with the beautiful, painful sight he had witnessed along with you. A heavy feeling lingered in his chest, leaving him to wonder if you would lock your gaze with him again. Then he left, accompanying Collei back to her and Tighnari’s cottage.

On his way back to the bazaar for reasons unknown, he found you weeping in your hands, curled up like a shriveled bug beaten down, calling out Collei’s name. After he assured you of the little girl’s safety, you began talking about your experiences with her. Ever so glad, he listened to your voice, melodious and soothing like a lullaby to put him to sleep. The euphoria he experienced was one like no other, it was the first time he felt at peace for eons against the stars and the cool breeze. Then, he wondered, were you feeling the same?

“They found a new Grand Sage,” he announced.

“Is that why you have the time now?” Your words stung his morality, picking on the weak scabs of his mistakes.

He took a moment to respond. “I’m sorry,” he said softly, his voice barely above a whisper. “I never meant for any of this to happen.”

Unable to meet his gaze, you managed a casual tone, “I know, Alhaitham.” His name sounded like a song whenever it came from your lips. “Besides, it’s not your fault.” Your voice was then hoarse of emotion, fingers picking at the dirt beneath you. “I shouldn’t have let myself to get lost in my own thoughts.”

“But I should’ve been there for you,” Alhaitham insisted. “I should not have made you feel like you were alone.”

“But it happened anyway.”

For a moment, silence enveloped the space between you, only broken by the distant sounds of the festival. Then, slowly, you turned to meet his gaze, in a light that had no remorse, for the first time since you told him to leave.

“I don’t know if I can forgive you,” you admitted, your voice trembling with uncertainty. “But I do know I’m willing to try.”

With this, Alhaitham took you in a warm embrace, letting out a shaky breath as he buried his face in the crook of your neck. He then held you by the shoulders, teary as you released him from this torture. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make things right again.”

As you looked into his eyes, you found the sincerity in his voice, determination reflecting upon his irises. Despite everything that had happened, you couldn’t deny the hope that ignited in your stomach. Maybe, just maybe, there was still a chance to find your way back together.

You held his hands first, then traced your way to his cheeks, warm with anticipation. Then you pulled him into a kiss that was long overdue, Alhaitham almost tumbling from the force you had exerted.

As your lips meet, there is a softness, a tenderness in the way they press together, as if each touch carries the weight of a thousand whispered promises. Time seems to stand still as you both lose yourselves in the sensation, senses heightened by the intoxicating blend of warmth and desire. It's a symphony of sensations—a gentle caress, a fleeting brush of lips, a silent exchange of emotions that speaks volumes without a single word. And in that fleeting moment, you find solace, connection, and a sense of belonging in each other's embrace.

Slow as the breeze blew your hair, everything froze and only he brought the fire to relieve you of your vains. Alhaitham’s lips were soft and cold, clearly waiting for this day to come. When he leaned back for air, foreheads connected together, you breathed, “I love you.”

As you heard the crowd’s applause from a distance, as if cheering for your reconciling, he replied, “I love you more,” before pulling you in for another well-deserved kiss.

—the end.—

[temis-de-leon]

Love potion and OM! Brothers - Part 2

Characters: Satan, Asmo, Beel and Belphie (x reader, separately)

Intro , Part 1 , Part 3

Masterlist

CW: fluff, a tiny little bit suggestive, Belphie's a brat (aren't we all surprised), brothers crushing hard and MC implied to be crushing hard too, pre-established relationship

A/N: Just like in other posts, I can't seem to be able to properly tag some of you :(

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Satan

How could he see the cat from his seat by the window, Satan didn’t know, but he would be crazy if he ever let go of the opportunity to pet one. The only thing he could think of before rushing out was grabbing you and some treats and hope the kitten was still there by the time you arrived.

He could feel his excitement buzzing in his chest when he knocked your door, but no sound came in return. He sent you a message, growing impatient and pacing in the hallway until he entered your room with determination.

“MC! Cat alert! I need help to sneak him in!”

Your smell was strong, but you didn’t seem to be in the room. Weird. However, it didn’t take him long to realize it was actually coming from the cauldron.

Satan got closer, temporarily forgetting about the cat while he studied the glittery liquid or, rather, holographic. He moved the spoon, humming when it reflected the warm light of the candles in a fluid motion. The smell was delicious, but it didn’t resemble any food he could think of. Actually, it reminded him of the Royal Library and the cat café you both visited after your study sessions.

Soft, shimmering, appealing.

A love potion? What were you doing, MC? Trying to enchant somebody?

He could tell you had left before finishing your project, otherwise, the essence would be stronger. Satan wondered if whatever you smelt reminded you of him in any sort of way. Maybe his cologne? Or the smell of treats and old books that plagued his room?

The brief thought of adding a strand of his hair crossed his mind, but he quickly erased it. He loved you and he wanted you to love him, yes, but he’d be damned if he forced those feelings. You taught him love and affection, allowing him to experience every word he’d ever read in his romance books and picturing you as the main character’s love interest.

Satan had no doubts. If you were to reciprocate his feelings, he’d prefer them to be real.

Asmo

“You won’t believe it, MC!”

He gained one thousand followers in Devilgram in just one night! Sneaking out and going to that party with Mammon was totally worth it! They both had to kneel before Lucifer for three whole hours and Mammon was hung upside down, that was true, but still, totally worth it!

Now, where were you? Your phone was charging on your bedside table and only half of the candles were lit, pictures of the family and various trinkets decorating the branches of the tree. He could see all the skincare products he’d ever recommend and bought for you on the table, but he frowned when he hold a bottle in his hand and felt it was almost empty.

Why didn’t you tell him? You could use the opportunity to go on a shopping spree with him! But… ooh, what were you making? It looked like the face oil you just finished! Silky, golden and glittery, almost odourless if not for the faint smell of your lip balm and flowers; roses, like the ones in his room.

Were you trying to replicate the product? He could understand why, it was a little expensive after all, but it wouldn’t achieve the same results as the original. Natural ingredients had some limits, after all. But hey, it could be fun! You had some great ideas, MC; although it was a pity you didn’t want to share them with him.

Or, maybe, you wanted to surprise him! A fuzzy feeling covered his heart at the thought, like bubbles in a sugary drink, and he had the sudden need of sitting down next to the cauldron with mixed words stuck in his throat. The oil changed its appearance from that perspective, the golden colour turning hot pink with red swirls.

Asmodeus stared in amazement, wondering what type of ingredients you used to create such a hypnotizing concoction. Could you share the recipe with him? It would be your little secret! He already had some ideas for the next one, like a soft baby pink or a shimmery white that looked and smelled like frosting.

Or, perhaps, if you were keen on the idea, you could come together to create a new smell that would only belong to you. Something that he’d never share with anyone else and could never be duplicated.

Like all the love he felt for you.

Beel

Forgive him, MC.

It smelt too good.

Like cheeseburgers with fries and pizza with sodas and raw cookie dough with marshmallows and ice cream and chips of every flavour… Everything he had ever eaten with you, especially during that movie marathon weekend.

It had been a consolation price for losing his last Fangol game, something that hardly happened and left him with a sour taste in his mouth, broody and frustrated, so not like him. He’d been hungrier than ever then and, if not for Lucifer and Lord Diavolo, he would’ve eaten half of the coliseum. Thankfully, you had a whole stack of food ready to be taken in the kitchen.

Beel knew you probably bought it all thinking he would win the game, but, hey, food is food. He’d never think of complaining, especially when it came from you.

He didn’t remember what you watched and he already apologized for it a couple of times, but he wasn’t really bothered about it. After all, he’d spent the whole weekend cuddling you, crossing the wobbly line of friendship you’d both established long ago, and eating everything you had for him. Only when the week began again he realized he hadn’t been left entirely satisfied and he deeply hoped you felt the same.

Should he had kiss you? Distract you from the movie and confess under the blankets, smelling you amongst the sugary and savoury food?  

He wasn’t sure at the time, but Belphie’s teasing was encouragement enough for him to leave his bedroom and rush to yours.

But you weren’t there.

And the cauldron smelt so good.

Beel didn’t even have time to check what it was before drinking it all at full speed as if it was a bottle of water after practice. The smell remained only for a couple of seconds, but he didn’t feel any different, maybe a little bit warmer than before.

Whatever.

Where were you, MC? He had something to tell you.

Belphie

He was dreaming of the beach, waves crashing against the sand and warm wind tanning his skin, but you weren’t there. He looked around for a while, finding no one, so, although very reluctantly, he forced himself to wake up.

The attic was empty and without the seawater’s coolness the high temperature in the room left him sticky, tangled in his sheets and uncomfortable. He searched for his DDD, toying with the idea of sending you a message in hopes of sleeping in your room, but he didn’t know how long it would take you to respond, so, grabbing his pillow and his blanket, he got up and went down the stairs.

He hadn’t seen you since last night and you didn’t share any classes that day, hence him not going to RAD despite Lucifer’s complaints. Then, dinner had been hectic with everyone trying to get your attention, so, overall, Belphie didn’t really spend any time with you that day and he missed you too much to sleep properly.

Yes, he blamed you.

And yes, it was a reason good enough to enter your room without knocking.

Disappointingly, just like in his dream, you weren’t there, although it smelt so much like you: your human essence, your body products and your detergent, which he’d stolen multiple times to clean his bed sheets.

Did you do laundry recently? Why didn’t you say anything? Or were you in the shower? In that case, don’t worry MC, he could wait, just not for long; after all, your bed was too comfortable and your room was especially homey that night. He expected you to be already at the beach by the time he got there.

Naked, clothed, in your swimwear, he didn’t care. Belphie just wanted you there with him. Hopefully, forever.

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@hello-gloomy  @the-sassiest-toaster  @hero-nii-blog  @yourlocalyin  @elaemae  @eliciria  @darkflowerav  @zarakem  @yuuvis32  @anxious-chick  @commets-space  @deepestartisanhumanoidshark  @ourfinalisation

[plumbobpaparazzi]

Peek into my Mods folder...

This is dedicated to @alltimefail-sims or anyone who needs a little help with lag!

I have several mods I refer to as "efficiency mods" that are little quality-of-life tweaks that make the game smoother for me, either by reducing lag or reducing immersion-breaking hiccups. As always, your mileage may vary, but hopefully this is helpful to someone. :) List of mods under cut to keep your dash clean.

No Intro - Whether you are trying to 50/50 your mods, testing new CC, or just need to shave time off your game loading... get rid of the cinematic intro.

Free Will Delay - Do your sims curbstomp their queue and proceed to fuck off to something unrelated? Yeah, me too, until I got this mod. From the mod description: "[E]very time you tell your sim to do something, they will be forced to listen! …For 5 minutes. Then they get free will back again. This is probably why controlling Sims in Sims 4 feels so bad! Because you lose control the second they start doing what they're told. Even if you queue up actions, the total time is STILL five minutes- because it goes from the last direction you give your sim. So you can tell them to do 3 hours worth of stuff while paused…and they'll get control back after 5 minutes. This mod changes this timeframe to an option of your choosing, to make controlling your sims feel more rigid."

Simulation Unclogger - This is an oldie-but-goodie mod from Turbodriver that helps interrupt when Sims get stuck in an endless action loop.

Evolve/Fertilize All Plants - Kind of weird how we can Harvest All but you can't Evolve or Fertilize All, right?

No Empty Venues When Arriving - Helps with the issue of going to a community lot and waiting around for Sims to show up. May cause increased lag if you are bottlenecked by RAM.

Food Autonomy Overhaul - Stops your stupid Sims from eating ingredients, AND allows Sims who hate cooking to autonomously grab quick meals. Didn't know they wouldn't do that? Yeah. That's a thing.

Don't Do That! Version 1 and Version 2 - Removes autonomy on annoying actions that can't be affected by MCCC tuner, like reactions and some trait idle animations.

Less Obsession - Lowers autonomy for certain things without disabling entirely. I still want my Sims to paint, but I don't want them to start a new figure painting any time they are left unsupervised.

Smarter Self-Care - Makes Sims prioritize their needs better before they are uncomfortable. I only use the packages for NPCs and Pets.

NPC Relationship Autonomy Fix - Stops random Sims from breaking into your house to ask to be your BFF (and tunes the requirements so they actually have to be your friend first.)

Buy More Upgrade Parts - Allows you to buy a package of 50 upgrade parts for when you are grinding out handiness or robotics.

The following mods are all by Bienchen and don't have a direct page for each package. You can search by name pretty easily on their website. I recommend flipping through and grabbing anything you find useful - I have a total of 368 of their mods installed. Here are some highlights:

novisibleecoeffects - The aurora will nuke your framerate. I know it's pretty, but oh my god.

noautonomousbakewhitecake - Does what it says on the tin, keeps your house from being overrun by cakes.

harvestnogroupinteraction - Stops club members from autonomously harvesting plants. Those are MY death flowers!

lessemotionidles - Reduces unnecessary idle animations from emotions, great for preventing your Sims from looking flirty at inappropriate times...

lesspreferenceidles - Stops your sims from thinking about how much they like fishing/fitness/etc. when they should be doing things.

happytoddleridledisabled - Stops the idling from the Happy Toddler trait. SUPER useful for family gameplay.

laundry_buffsandsoloidlesfix - Stops or reduces idles related to laundry. It's just clothes, bro

eldertweak - Reduces elder animation idles.

hastopeewalkstyleforchildonly - Helps get your Sims to the toilet in a reasonable amount of time.

tinyhousebuffhider - I know I'm in a Tiny Home, I don't need a moodlet.

lottraiteffectshider - Hides the little floating lightbulbs around Sims heads from lot traits.

notraitnotifications - I know my geek likes video games, I don't need the pop-up every time I play.

noholidayoutcomenotification - Please don't rub my nose in the fact I forgot to celebrate.

nofestivalnotifications and nofestivalnotificationsound - Helpful when a pack is new, but years later... no thanks.

noenrollmentandscholarshipinfo - No more info screen about the two universities. I think most of us know it all by now.

nouprootplant - Never cry because of a misclick again

simschangeoutfitwhenhotorcold - Should have already been autonomous, but alas.

novisualpoliteintroeffects - I don't know if I am the only one, but the glowing really bothers me.

restaurantsittweak - Sit down and eat your dang food! No more wandering Sims.

longerprom - Takes 6 hours instead of 4 so you can actually do something.

I probably have other QoL mods that could be helpful, but these are my recommendations to start with. Love to all the modders that keep this game playable <3

[k-germsworld]

Karaoke

Eunha x M!Reader

Blowjob!

1.8k words

This is the first story I write when I start. So maybe the story is rough and not good enough. However, I will keep release my fantasy. So, Enjoy 😃

Hongdae is a place where Gen Z likes to go. Hongdae is a place that never sleeps. There are a variety of shops to visit like cinema, cafe, food and many more. However, there is one shop that opened very far from a crowded place but the shop is still full of customers. Many people know what the shop is, including me.

Once I reached Hongdae, I went straight to the shop but the shop was so crowded. The waiter asked all the customers to form a line and wait patiently. The line has form but the queue is too long, I can't even see the end of the line. I reached the shop by 9 pm but I already thought today was not my day to visit this shop. Luckily, the timing for queueing is short. I wait for 30mins only and my chance is getting closer. I see many people go in happily but come out angrily or sadly. I smile slyly and know they will come out like this for sure. Since my first time is also like this and this is the third time I visit.

"Sir, your turn now, enjoy," the waiter says happily. I forgot about the other then I stepped into the shop. The other waiter brings me to the counter and starts to explain the pricelist, the hostess list, and all the rules & regulations. Their price is based on the hour you sing. The starting price is 10000 won per hour.

Rules & regulation

Maximum 3 hrs per session. After 3hrs had reached you must leave.

If you pay by song, you must leave after your song ends.

If you order a hostess, then you are invited to join our karaoke challenge. The challenge is easy. You can ask for the counter to get further information.

Our shop has its scoring system. If you hit a specific score, you will get a special reward.

Score 71-80, 50% discount Score 81-90, get a second blowjob Score 91-99, Can fuck the hostess within 3hrs. Score 100, 100% discount, and can take out the hostess

After a long and boring explanation, they let me choose the hostess. They are full of hostess names and their price.

Sxwxn 30000 won

Yexxn 30000 won

Exxha 30000 won

Yxjx 30000 won

Sxxb 30000 won

Umxx 30000won

Others 20000won

I already come here for the third time and spent a lot of money to try to win. I used to choose Eunha as my partner. Of course, I will also choose her as my partner this time even though she is expensive but who cares? As long as I can hit to score 100 then everything is worth it.

Once I booked the hostess and made the payment, the waiter brought me to the room. I sat calmly and waited for her. 'Knock knock ', a girl opened the door and walked in. Eunha is wearing a black lace short lingerie with a black coat. The lingerie makes her body is more tight and hotter. At the top u can see the lingerie pushed her boobs looks bigger; at the bottom, you can see the panties can't even hide her camel toe. Just by seeing her sexy body, my cock already rocks hard. Her body part for me is a fantastic view. Her face is cute while talking to me, but she makes a seductive expression when giving you a handjob.

Eunha says no more and asks me to order a song and start the challenge. I ordered a song called " Pull Up ". This song is short and I had already trained so much for this song. I had scored 100 more than once in another karaoke room. So I have the confidence that this time I can score 100 when she gives me a handjob.

Eunha pulls off my pants and starts giving me a handjob while the intro just starts. My cock is already hard just by seeing her. She smirks at seeing this situation because she doesn't need to make my cock harder.

Starting, I sing the song perfectly. Once Eunha starts to stroke my cock, I feel like I am gonna fail again this time. Her hands are so cold compared to my heated cock. Her handjob is the best in this shop so she confidently stroked my cock at the slow pace from the head to the balls, then move opposite.

Her cold hand gave me a different excitement. I got a handjob from her three times but I can feel that every time is so different. I can hear my voice shaking, but I still can sing to the beat. Eunha hears my shaky voice but still can sing well so she stands up and comes closer to my ear. She dirty talk to me unexpectedly, " Oppa, do you wanna taste my pussy? Or you wanna grab my tits and slap my ass? Do you have the confidence to score 100, and take me out or fuck me here the whole night? " Even though she is saying dirty words, her voice is so sexy and sweet.

Her dirty words made my voice more shaky. My singing went off, I couldn't even hit the chord now. My singing voice is mixing with my moaning. As the song ends soon, Eunha stroked my cock faster and keep saying " cum for me!! " I almost reached my limit, but I will hold it till the end.

"Pull up… Pull up "

Finally, the song ends. However, Eunha also successfully makes me cum. I cum a lot on her hand. Luckily, the song ended faster than me cumming. The jukebox is entered into the calculating page. My heartbeat is beating faster as the score is calculated. Eunha cleaned her hand aside and saw the result together.

"Congratulations, you hit an 85 score! "

The system shows this sentence. I felt down when I saw the score but I felt a little happy at the same time. My record last time is below 70 so the only thing I get from Eunha is a handjob. I can finally get a different award this time from her. Eunha also congrats me on hitting 70 or above.

Eunha pulled me to the seat and kneeled between my legs. Her eyes are lustfully seeing my cock. She gets closer to my cock and smell my cummed dick. "It's smelly…. but I like it. " She used her hand and stroked again my cock to make it harder. My cock is fully erected now. She blew to my cock making my cock twitch. Eunha happily sees how my cock is twitching. After that, she stuck out her tongue and played with my cockhead. She licks from my head to the bottom then licks backwards from the bottom to my head. She treats my cock is like her toy. After several times of foreplay, my cock now is full of her saliva. She contentedly put my cock inside her mouth. She slowly swallowed my cock from the top, then the middle, then the bottom. My cock is like disappeared in her mouth. She starts moving her head up and down, her hands are playing with my balls. Her blowjob skill brings me to heaven. I becoming a moan mess just because of her blowjob. Suddenly, Eunha stopped her move and I was curious why she stopped. Before I say that, I saw her eyes hinting to me she wanna a face fuck. So, I stood up and aimed my cock to her mouth. She still kneeling and waiting for my cock.

I slowly put it into her mouth, her mouth is like a black hole. The space in her mouth is unlimited. Even if I put my whole length to her mouth, I can see no suffering from her face. I move my hips back and forth at a slow pace. After a few thrusts, I pulled out my cock from her mouth. I see my cock is drooling with her saliva. Eunha is so horny for my cock now, she is sticking out her tongue and letting her saliva dripping to the floor. Her face is so slutty and horny. Her lustful face brought my horniness to the max. I quickly insert back my cock and deep down her mouth but this time at a faster pace. I can feel her throat quivering every time I deep thrust her mouth. The normal face fuck now cannot vent my horniness, so I decided to choke her. I push my cock deep into her mouth until I can feel her throat, then I stop there and let her almost out of breath. Her struggle makes me more aroused. Her face became more struggle and patted my leg asking me to let her breathe.

I quickly pulled out my cock, seeing her finding breath and I let her rest awhile. After finding back her breath, me using my fastest speed to fuck her face this time. I holding her head as support to fuck faster. I don't care about Eunha's feelings, I just fucking her mouth like her pussy. She can't keep up with my speed so her saliva keeps dripping from her mouth.

I feel my limit is soon. I should hold for more time but her mouth is so warm and wet now making my load almost burst out. I pressed her head tight and let me cum inside her mouth. I shoot every drop of my cum inside Eunha's mouth and make sure not even one drop left her mouth. However, my cum is a large amount this time until she can't fit in anymore so she spit out some.

After every drop is inside her mouth, I pull out my cock and see how messy she is. The semen she spits out just now drops to her tits and some stick to her lips and jaw but she still keeps many cum inside her mouth. I feel so tired by just cumming one time and find a place to sit down. Eunha crawled to my side and opened her mouth wider, letting me see how much I cum inside her mouth. I am thinking she will spit out my cum after showing me but she using her tongue to play with my cum. She made my thick cum full of bubbles then swallow it. "It's tasty!"

Then, she cleans the leftover cum on her tits and jaw with her hand and put it in her mouth like drinking sauce. When I saw her slutty move, she made my cummed twice cock harder again. She notices it and says " Sorry oppa…. You can't have it anymore. These are the rules ." She smirks.

After she was done, Eunha thanked me for the thick cum and left the room. She left me alone in the room. I am not very satisfied with my performance today. However, I already broke my last record since I didn't get any service the last two times. I believe that I will hold it for her handjob and score 100 in the future. So I can let Eunha become my sex slave and cum on her every hole that night.

[johnslittlespoon]

curtbuckbucky nightclub au .* :☆ﾟ. ☽

open for drabble/more pics! <3

alright, i've never done a proper 'intro' post for a fic/au i have in mind, but this one has been rotting in my brain for ages and i know there's no way i'm not gonna write something for it eventually so here goes, bear with me <3 made a lil edit (took me fucking hours to collect enough stock footage lmfao) to go along with it too >:)

a modern au where college student curt is a regular at a new–ish queer nightclub, showing up every friday night without fail to dance his heart out, his way of de–stressing at the end of every week and getting his pent up energy out. he's the prettiest little thing, dresses up so fun– some nights he throws on dresses or crop tops with skirts or short shorts when he's feeling it, other nights he goes for more of a relaxed baggy pants and flowy linen button up type of vibe– always with the same pair of scuffed up sneakers on for ease of dancing.

the bartenders and other regulars adore their bubbly little club bunny, always looking out for him, doting on him with free drinks and food. and even if some of them eye curt like he's dinner when he's out on the floor swaying his hips, eyes closed to fully lose himself in the music, the glitter on his eyelids and cheekbones catching the lights just right, curt's not there for any of that. he dances with people occasionally, he's confident and carefree and likes the attention and it makes him giggle when he catches newcomers staring, doesn't mind a wandering hand here and there, but he never goes home with anyone. the same routine, every friday, dancing until his dark waves are curling damp with sweat against his temples and his black eyeshadow is smudged and he leaves to make the walk back to the flat he shares with a few roomies.

enter john and gale, longterm boyfriends who sometimes like to go out clubbing and find someone pretty to bring home for a fun time, only an open relationship in that sense– they have no interest in actually dating other people, both adamant that it's no strings attached, too head over heels for each other to have eyes for anyone else anyway.

they decide to check out a club they haven't been to yet, usually sticking to the tried and true ones, but a couple of their friends recommend it, so they give it a go one friday night. they've barely sat down at the bar with their drinks when they see a boy who, john comments to gale, looks like the 'energizer bunny' (gets a snort out of curt when he tells him so in the future.) even once they're buzzed enough to head out onto the dance floor together, neither of them can take their eyes off of the bundle of energy, mesmerized.

they both know the other is equally enamoured with the boy, drinking up all the glitter and bouncy curls and blissed out smiles, already knowing they just have to have him– the prettiest thing they've ever seen. curt's confused when they approach him, because he's noticed them too, has been admiring from afar, but he's also noticed their hands and lips all over each other, dancing much too close and comfortably to not be a couple. but john purrs out "we just like to have a little fun every now and then sweetheart, don't you?"

and no, not really, he doesn't. usually a night of exhausting himself dancing is his idea of fun, not ever looking for anything else, not finding most guys worth his time. but john and gale sweet talk him just right, spend time actually getting to know him when he agrees to let them buy him a drink at the bar, and fuck, they're both the hottest things he's seen walk into the club in a long time, and they're giving him all their attention? he decides that maybe he'll be brave and flirt back. despite his confidence and lack of caring what other people think about him, he's so shy and easily flustered when someone he's actually into makes the moves on him, doesn't even know what to do with himself when he realizes he's blushing at their compliments and the combination of their heavy gazes on him.

obviously they all get each other worked up as the night goes on, and curt goes home with them and gets his world rocked, spoiled and pillow princess–ed and showered in praise, not at all what he expects hook–ups to be like after having only been with people he's been dating. he expects to walk back home after since they all live in the same vicinity of downtown, tries to ignore his wobbly legs when he finally crawls out of bed, gets dragged back down by gale for one last messy breathless makeout while john gets him an uber before curt can protest or offer to pay.

normally john and gale don't get the numbers of their one night stands, but they want to make sure he gets home safe, and they can both gauge how the other is feeling and they know they'll want to see him again if they're lucky enough for curt to say yes, so john puts his number into curt's phone and tells him "text when you're home safe, yeah? or, y'know, text whenever you want." and curt isn't sure if this is john saying they both want to see him again, because he's dense and shy and they made it clear beforehand that they're in a closed relationship, but next friday he texts to let them know he'll be at the club again, and john and gale tell him they'll be there, the three of them going home together for a second time that night, and they fall into a routine from then on.

curt gets giddy every friday, dolling himself up extra pretty for the two men, flushed at their attention every time and so thrilled to dress up for someone other than himself for once. he can already feel himself going all heart–eyes for them after the second or third time they hook up, but he knows where he stands, and he's having fun experimenting for the first time and having two experienced, sweet guys show him a good time every week, so he doesn't want to jeopardize that by getting his feelings involved.

little does he know that john and gale are falling head over heels too for this sweet energetic boy, loving how much he spices up their lives, both in the bedroom and out, realizing their flat feels so quiet now on the nights where they don't take curt home with them. so that leads to some serious conversations to see if they're on the same page about getting to know curt better, both of them learning how to navigate this new territory because neither of them expected to want to bring someone else into their world like this. they agree they'd like to take curt out on a cute date, during the daytime for once, to properly test the waters and see how curt feels– of course he slots into their lives perfectly, as if he's been there all along. <3

but along the way: lots of slow burn, miscommunication, endless filthy smut, curt trying to balance college and work and friends with his newfound feelings for john and gale, john and gale getting dragged to raves and festivals by their always adventurous bf, city night–life juxtaposed by early morning domesticity, etc etc.

this has been floating around in my head for a couple weeks since i got this vision of 2012–stalker–era barry with eyeshadow and glitter stuck in my brain and thus a whole universe/plot spawned from it. honestly would mostly be pwp, but would love to write a proper fic for it anyway eventually, each chapter littered with filth, obviously LOL. i have so many thoughts and so many little scenarios planned out in my head already... these three have me in a chokehold.

i need to make proper intro/drabble posts like these for my other aus too aghhh it just takes so longggg because i get carried away with the drabble and then i have to find the perfect clips for edits and the perfect pics to tie it all together and suddenly i've spent half a day on one post but. someday <3 leaving!bikeriders au next surely! thx for reading hope u enjoy this version of the boys and hopefully i'll have time to write it soon!

all posts about this au will be under #curtbuckbucky nightclub au :-)

[fernthewhimsical]

Hopepunk Primer pt. 1

"It's like in the great stories, Mr Frodo," Sam says. "Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the Sun shines it will shine out the clearer."

"What are we holding on to, Sam?" Frodo asks.

"That there's some good in this world, Mr Frodo… and it's worth fighting for," Sam replies. [1]

Origins of Hopepunk

In 2017 author Alexandra Rowland (@ariaste) made a post on Tumblr saying: "The opposite of grimdark is hopepunk. Pass it on." [2] From Wikipedia: "Grimdark is a subgenre of speculative fiction with a tone, style, or setting that is particularly dystopian, amoral, and violent. The term is inspired by the tagline of the tabletop strategy game Warhammer 40,000: "In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war."" Other examples of grimdark are A Song of Ice and Fire, Breaking Bad, the darker Batman worlds, and the Walking Dead. [3] 2016 was a rough year, with an even bleaker outlook (although now writing this in 2024 we knew nothing, lol). People were growing weary of the grimdark worlds in media when the world around us was already so dark and left us feeling hopeless. It was time for a change, which Alexandra Rowland brought with her one, according to her own words, off the cuff post on Tumblr. A few hours later, people were reblogging it and hopepunk found it's way to the people. Now, it's a literary genre, an aesthetic, and a philosophy that inspires people all over the globe.

[1] The Two Towers movie, based on the LOTR by J.R.R. Tolkien [2] Original tumblr post [3] Wikipedia page for Grimdark

Part 1: Intro and history Part 2: Philosophy of Hopepunk Part 3: How to practice hopepunk and further reading Part 4: Extra! Hopepunk and magic

[mixedstyles]

As Long as You Are Part 1

Harry Watches Fan Reactions P1

LINKS: Part 2, Part 3, Social Media Blurb

Author’s Note: Hey! This is is my first x reader... ever and I’m nervous about posting it. It’s dialogue heavy and might have the vibe of an academic paper because of how often I have to read and write them 😩 This might be all over the place so I apologize (especially with tenses). I just want to write as much as I can to try and get back into creative writing. Social media au’s are more of my vibe but I want to get their relationship down before I start doing that. Thanks, Rey.

Pronouns Used: She/Her (use of y/n)

Warnings: None!

Word Count: 1484

harry x musician!reader: Harry reacts to fans reacting to Harry’s House. Harry inception.

Harry wasn’t one to go searching his name on social media just to protect his mental health from anything he might come across. However, despite this, he wanted to see how not only fans but music lovers in general were reacting to Harry’s House. So he went to the YouTube app and searched “Harry’s House Album Reaction”. As soon as he hit ‘enter’ thousands of videos popped up. Part of him had guessed that would be the result, but it didn’t stop him from being so surprised as the album had only been released a week earlier.

The videos recommended ranged from ‘Dad Reacts to Harry Styles’ to ‘Vocal Coach Reacts to Harry’s House’ and, he had to be biased, his favorites were those from people who were clearly fans. There was a thumbnail which was a photo of a group of girls huddled together holding each other. He had an inkling that might be a screen capture from their reaction to Matilda. He watched that one first. 

The video began and he realized he was suddenly nervous. Maybe he shouldn’t watch a fan reaction first. He didn’t want to disappoint. But it was too late, the ads had played and he was already invested in the group on the screen.

“Guys look, my record arrived.” One of the girls said pulling the record from the shipping box. There was an intake of breath from the other two and they seemed to marvel at the record.

“Why is he so beautiful?” That comment made him giggle. Giggle? Did I really just giggle at that?

“Shut the fuck up. Did he just do a little scat mid-song? I love this man.” 

“He just whispered in our ears. Play it back, Kelsey, play it back.”

“Cocaine?? Harry, I thought this was a family show?” “This was not about a little freak. What the fuck?”

Matilda, like he expected, had no talking. Just silent cries and hugs.

“There’s no way he went from Matilda to talking about sex.”

The video progressed and the three girls were reacting positively to all of the moments in the songs that he was a little self-conscious about. The next recommendation was titled ‘Is Harry’s House Worth the Hype? (yes, it is)’ and so he had to click it

This next video started out with a girl sitting in what looked like a recording studio. Surprised, Harry focused more on the background than the intro but quickly rewound the video seeing as he had no clue what the girl said. He shifted his focus to the face in front of him, taking in her features while he listened to her talk. Now that he was actually paying attention, he noticed that she was wearing an oversized sweatshirt that said ‘NYU School of Music’ which made the recording studio make sense.

“Hey guys, welcome back to Are You Listening? I’m your one and only host y/n and today I’ll be reacting to Harry Styles’ new album Harry’s House!” The girl smiled and waved to the camera with her free hand while holding her phone in the other. 

This reaction made him more nervous than the one he watched previously because it felt so much more… intimidating? Maybe it was the fact he could see the recording booth behind her and it reminded him of the hours upon hours he’d spent in a booth trying to perfect every minute detail possible, or maybe it was that she was wearing an NYU sweatshirt dedicated to the music school and music students scared him. Affectionately (most of the time).

“So I have a little cheat sheet of who worked on the songs,” she held up the little red pamphlet that came with the box sets, so maybe she is a fan, Harry thought. “I took a look at the names before recording and I’m already excited just by the people who worked on this album. There are some really great songwriters, producers, and musicians on this album.”

A warm fuzzy feeling flowed through Harry, not due to the girl on the screen, though she was cute, but the fact that she appreciated who worked on the album with him. There’s the saying “it takes a village to raise a baby” and the same thing with this album. His baby. He put so much love into it and invited people he knew would also put that same amount of love into the creation. It means a lot to him that people are recognizing who else put hard work into Harry’s House. 

“This is Music for a Sushi Restaurant!” The girl on the screen picked up headphones from off camera and placed them on her head hitting play as she did so. The intro started playing and she was already bouncing her head to the tune. Promising. 

“His voice sounds different. But in a good way”

After the song ended she brought her hands up to her lips in the classic ‘chef’s kiss’ gesture and then said, “Fantastic opening. Harry, you’re an amazing artist but Mitch Rowland was ripping on that.” Harry had to agree. Mitch was on another level when it came to his musical abilities which is why Harry always pointed him out and made a show of him during concerts. Every concert he made it a goal to show off at least one band member. But Mitch was someone he also liked bothering.

“Okay! I don’t want to talk too much so let’s move to Late Night Talking. I heard his Coachella performance of this one but I’m excited to listen to the studio version. Let’s go!” 

“So far he’s a little more understated. Not in the sense of beat and melody but his singing. In Fine Line - the album - if I remember correctly his vocals were typically in the higher range but so far it’s in his lower-mids. Which I really like.” Obviously she knew her stuff, but Harry was still surprised at how she remembered Fine Line off the top of her head. Maybe she listened to it before recording this? He wondered.

“Harry whisper-counting in my ear oh my gosh.” y/n brought her hands to her face and covered it completely, when she removed them there was the smallest addition of color on her face.

“The production is so organic. You can feel the production is so unabashedly what felt right. Just within these three songs. They weren’t trying to push anything and it flowed really nicely. I think Grapejuice is my favorite so far. Those synths speak to my soul.”

“I’ve noticed that when people do the understated vocals the melodies can sometimes get lost, but I’ve already got the melody stuck in my head. We love to see that… hear that? I’ve already done a full breakdown of As it Was so I’m just going to listen again and not talk much about it. I’ll link that video right here” - she pointed to the bottom of the screen.

She went on listening and dissecting the rest of the album, some of Harry’s favorite comments were:

 “Oh my gosh, the harmonics.”

“The upper range! There it is!”

“This was way more emotional. When it got to the bridge and the compressed piano came in, man that’s kind of when the tone shifts. Lyrically wise. The Found Family.”

“Okay, B-Side here we go! Cinema. Very British”

“This seems more like Little Freak. That ending! Very bold”

“I think it would be so easy for him to put out these very pop-genre hits both production and lyrically, just from the position he came from. But he’s not doing that and we’re all just like ‘yes, please more of this’ I’m excited to see what he has in store for us.”

The reaction was over and y/n just sat and stared at the camera for a few moments before she spoke again. “All in all, yes. This deserves the hype it’s getting. I would talk more about chord progression, the various melodies, and more, but this video is already long and I don’t know how I’m going to edit it down.” 

She ran her hands over her face and leaned forward allowing her elbows to sit on her knees, hands holding up her face and smiled. 

“Remember that my first album was released a couple weeks ago and is available on most music streaming services! Thursday’s are basic music theory videos and Monday’s are my weekly school vlogs… when I have time. Thank you all so much for watching! Leave a comment below and tell me which is your favorite song from the album. Mine or Harry’s” y/n made a sidelong glance at the camera tapping the side of her nose.

Harry liked this girl and her taste in music didn’t hurt either. He decided that it was only fair to listen to her album after she listened to his.

[elphantasmo]

How to use strategy to follow the G1:

The first tip I am going to dole out is just pay for njpwworld. It's like 7 bucks USD and you won't be fighting for your life on the high seas. When signing up, use Google translate and sign up with the site in Japanese. Once you get logged in, switch the site language to English and you are good to go. For some reason the site bugs out if you try to register in English. 🤷

Secondly, NJPW posts all of the cards and the order they are in ahead of time. You can check on the schedule page. The results page on the same website will give you just that, the results. This is going to be key so if you are fast forwarding to watch just one match, you know where to stop. If there is a change in the card for any reason, they will announce it at the very start of the show, on Twitter, and on the website.

Now, you want to get a feel for the storylines? Your best bet is to watch the backstage comments. The only people that get in-ring promo time on these tours are the winners of the main event. Everyone else gets to be unhinged backstage. There are three places you can find the promos; njpwworld, njpwworld Twitter, and Youtube. They go up pretty quickly and get subtitled, but give the translators a day to get the subs up. YouTube will have them broken up by match, Twitter is by person, and njpwworld is all of them in one long ass video. Be warned: some people might do A Bit during the whole tour. Kenta absolutely totally didn't shill his book. ELP kept eating hamburgers. Jay White had the ToJay show. You get the point. It's wild. You'll find the ones you want to watch.

Now, if you are watching live, godspeed. The air times are always on NJPW Global's Twitter account. They usually have a few time zones listed. Your best bet is to just set a clock in your clock app to Tokyo time.

If you are watching live, there are no commercial breaks so you'll need to learn where is the best place to do bio breaks. You can always just go during a match you don't care about, but there are a few key times that always will work. The first is during Naito's entrance. Second is during Shota's entrance. Both of them take at least 5 minutes to get to the ring. Another good time is leading up to the start of a Yano match. This can be hit or miss depending on his opponent, but his in-ring intro is decently long. Another good time is after a match where they fucked up the ring or removed the corner pads. It'll take the Young Lions a few minutes to put it back and you get an extra cushion of time where you can miss the entrances for the next match and be fine.

Some miscellaneous tips:

Don't fuck up your sleep for this. It'll be tempting. It's not worth it. You'll enjoy the experience better if you just put it on when you have the time after work or school. The replays go up almost immediately after it airs so if you are using the subscription, you'll have it. These are 3 hour long shows. Just watch at your pace.

The NJPW codecs are shit so the video quality will be trash on the website. There is no way around this. Sorry. You just learn to live with it.

Main events and semi-main events will always have red shoes as a ref. How will you know it's him? Well you see, he wears red shoes. (and sleeves) He's also Shota's dad, so you'll hear some drama about that.

There might be nights where wrestlers are guest commentary! It's typically a surprise who it is, but you'll get to hear some interesting voices. Generally it's the native English speakers, but it'll be interesting. If Chris Charleton is on commentary, he will do live translation. (He's the Brit)

And my final tip:

Don't post fancams, clips, gifs, or screenshots on Twitter. God works fast but TV Ashai works faster. They will take your shit down fast. It's how TDE got their og account banned. (They don't know about Tumblr and let's not alert them to it either).

Enjoy the G1!

[sgkophie]

Man's World - Chapter 9 - Never Underestimate Georgia Leclerc 

Pairing: Female!Leclerc reader x Carlos Sainz Jr, Carlos Sainz x reader

Warnings: smut, language

Rating: Mature

Word Count: ~6500

AN: OKKKKKKK.... things are heating up for our girl Georgia!

Sorry this chapter was a little later than I wanted - was originally hoping for Friday, but had some friends come in town. Hope this is worth it! I should have the next one out by Wed/Th.

I'm expecting this to go to 15 chapters, but don't fret, because I've already thought of a spin off with Lily with either Charles or Pierre - what do you think!? Could maybe do George Russell or Max?

Little poll for you all here!

As always, comments are greatly appreciated and thank for your the feedback!

Short Synopsis: Enemies to lovers with Carlos. <3

Check out the full intro synopsis + full story master list here!

***********

Friday Morning 

After the podcast event last night, Pierre and Charles had stopped by my room for a nightcap. There had been considerable amounts of teasing from the Frenchman, most of which I tried to ignore. Still, even as I woke up with a fresh head this morning, there was one comment I couldn’t ignore from Pierre: “Either Carlos is the best actor on the grid, or I would say someone has a crush on you.” I knew Pierre had meant it in a teasing manner, but that comment stuck to me like glue. Why had Carlos said so many nice things? I mean – we were still new in our relationship, he could have just made a few hints and played it off. Instead, the Spaniard doubled down and dedicated the end of the segment to our relationship. 

I picked up my phone from the charger and opened Instagram, trying to take my mind off of the man who was starting to consume my thoughts this morning. Why on earth I thought social media would be an escape from my relationship, I have no idea. As soon as I opened Instagram, my search page was flooded with photos of Carlos and me – F1 page after F1 page full of comments about the podcast. 

Since when did the entire world decide to start listening to podcasts, I grumbled to myself. 

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes as I came across a photo of us holding hands – well, what seemed like hundreds of photos of us holding hands. I guess Lizzie was right, the media and fans were going to eat this up. Not the worst thing, I thought to myself. We wanted to sell this and my, oh, my, the fans were buying what we were selling. 

I stopped at a particular post, it was about the podcast from last night. 

Filtering through the comments, I was pleasantly surprised that fans were receptive to Carlos’ interview about me. After last night’s talk I was worried that the hate towards me would just increase; jealous fans were a real problem in F1. But to my surprise, the comments were instead focusing on how he was good for me and would probably make me a more likeable person.

Well, that is the whole fucking point of this, I thought to myself. Still, a part of me was incredibly pleased that this was working. Just need to make myself likeable, and then I can rid myself of Carlos Sainz forever. 

I heard some noise from the living room and turned to my alarm clock. 7:00 AM – could still get another hour of sleep. Carlos and I weren’t planning on leaving until 9:00 AM, this time in his Ferrari. Why on earth is Carlos up and awake? I hadn’t heard him come in last night, so I assumed that he had come back fairly late. 

I jumped out of bed and headed to the door of my room. I opened it slightly, only see Carlos Sainz sitting on the sofa, his head in his hands, mumbling something to himself. He was rocking back and forth just a tad, a look of stress on what little parts of his face I could see. I shut the door slightly – not entirely sure what to do. It seemed like a private moment, and as much as the guy annoyed me, I didn’t feel as though it was right to invade his space. 

Not even a minute later I heard the bathroom door close. I took that as my queue and tip toed out into the living room, making my way to the little kitchen the suite had. I filled my pour over kettle with water and began to grind the coffee beans. This weeks’ coffee beans were from a little roaster in Denver, Colorado that I had adored – a gift from Daniel Ricciardo who had recently visited some friends up in the mountains. As I was pouring the water over my coffee beans, I saw Carlos leave the bathroom – his shirt now in his hands as opposed to on his body. Does he do this just to annoy me? I mumbled to myself. 

I opened my mouth to make a rude comment about this being a public living room, but as his face turned around, I could see that his eyes were red and puffy, slightly sunken in. Not the usual eyes that I was used to from the Spaniard. I don’t think I had ever seen Carlos cry, not even after his first win in Silverstone last year. I quickly shut my mouth as Carlos just simply nodded to me, turning back towards his bedroom. 

I’m not sure what prompted me to call out to him – maybe it was that I had experienced the look he had on his face many times. Anxiety was real in the racing community, and I couldn’t imagine what this home race meant to him. He had never won before in Spain, he had barely even finished a race, constant DNF after DNF in the recent years. Now he had a first class car and a real opportunity to win the race. 

“Want some coffee? There’s enough for two here,” I called out to him. Truth was, the way I drank coffee, there was barely enough for one, but I figured the gesture was probably more important than my coffee addiction.

I could see Carlos contemplating my offer, his eyes flickering up and down the kitchen. Much to my surprise, he nodded, coming over towards me – still shirtless. I tried not to stare at him, he was clearly not feeling well, and he didn’t need me ogling him. Although something told me that would actually make him feel better. Such an ego on that man.

As soon as the coffee was ready, I poured out two cups and motioned for him to sit on the sofa. I handed him a cup and sat down next to him, letting the silence sift across the room. I didn’t know what to say. Maybe I didn’t need to say anything. 

After a few more minutes of silence and sipping our coffees, Carlos spoke. “I’m surprised you take your coffee black,” he said simply. 

“I would never insult a coffee roaster by putting cream and sugar into my coffee,” I gasped, pretending to sound offended. 

Carlos chuckled, nodding at me. “A woman of much mystery.” 

I nodded in agreement, sighing as I sipped more of my coffee. I let a few more moments go by and then I gathered enough as much courage as I could to ask about the elephant in the room. “You feeling ok today?” 

Carlos diverted his beautiful brown eyes from mine, letting out a deep breath that I didn’t realize he was holding. It was as if he wanted me to ask, and was too scared to volunteer what he was holding inside without my permission. 

“Just a lot on my mind, you know, being the home race. I have never wanted to win so badly. There’s so many expectations for me today – expectations from family, friends, the team. A Spanish driver hasn’t won at home in well over a decade.” It’s as if the words just kept spilling out of him – like Carlos was realizing as every word left his mouth, the load on his mind was a little easier. I just sat and listened, internalizing everything he said. I could feel his words in my heart, because I had the same feelings about Monaco. “Sometimes I feel like it’s all too much – like it would just be easier if my car crashed and then I wouldn’t have to face the possibility of completing the race, but not even making it to the podium.” 

His last comment shocked me a bit. I’d never seen Carlos this vulnerable before. I took in what he said and thought carefully about my next statement. “The only person that you can let down is yourself,” I said finally. “You don’t owe anyone anything. You drive for you. You’re many things Carlos, but you aren’t a coward. You’re going to drive this weekend with the same amount of passion you have for your country, and I think it’ll transpire into something you’ll be proud of.” 

With my last comment Carlos looked up, his eyes looking directly into mine. For a moment, his eyes drifted to my lips, and I could feel butterflies once again forming in my stomach. For just a moment, I could see Carlos begin to lean in, his eyes still looking at my lips as he licked his own, his teeth slightly biting on his bottom lip. Is Carlos Sainz going to kiss me? I panicked for a bit. Did I want him to kiss me?

We suddenly heard a big knock on the door. Carlos and I both jumped a little and Carlos pulled back from me, his cheeks a little red now, as if he was slightly embarrassed by the weird moment we had both just shared. 

“Georgie – any chance you’re up?” I heard Lily on the other end of the door. 

I quickly got up from the sofa. Lily and I were close, but it was unusual to hear here knocking on my door at 7:30 in the morning. I opened the door for her and there stood in front of me was a slightly ruffled Lily.  

“You alright, Lil?” I asked, looking her up and down. She nodded shyly, clearly a little embarrassed that she had come to my room so early while I was still in my pajamas. I opened the door some more and motioned for her to come in. 

As Lily walked in, I had forgotten that Carlos was sitting on the sofa, shirtless, wearing some skimpy soft Puma shorts as pajamas. “Oh, sorry if I am interrupting something!” Lily giggled, a small smirk forming on her face. I gave her a look that told her don’t even think about it, and she took a seat in the armchair across from the couch. I went back to my chemex and began making a second round of coffees. 

“I was- uh – just on a run and thought I would stop by. I listened to the podcast last night – really funny Carlos,” she giggled. I could see her eyes give him one more once over as she blushed a bit. Carlos smirked, clearly pleased that Lily wasn’t quite as good as I was in hiding her ogling. I’m not sure what came over me, but all of a sudden I felt a slight twinge of jealousy. Carlos might be a fake boyfriend, but Lily could at least not silently flirt with him in front of me. Well, flirting was perhaps a strong term for this… I mean, I couldn’t blame her, Carlos was incredibly attractive and shirtless Carlos, well he was just hot.

“The podcast was a good time,” Carlos agreed, finishing his cup of coffee. Once the second round was done, I poured everyone a cup and sat back down on the couch, this time slightly closer to Carlos than before, as if to remind Lily who he was actually fake dating. 

What is wrong with you Georgia, you don’t even particularly like the man, I thought to myself.

“I mean I appreciate you dropping by, Lil, but 7:30 is a little early, even for you.” Lily was a notorious early riser. She had a weird thing about watching sunrises before race weekends, claimed it gave her peace and serenity before she entered the race car. 

“I know, I’m sorry, I just feel like the last few weeks haven’t gone well in the car, and I’m just so nervous for today. I mean the upgrades are going to be great, but I just can’t seem to get ahold of the car. Feel like I’m working against the car.” 

I nodded. Lily was a great driver, but getting ahold of a Formula 1 car was difficult and she was young – just barely 20. “I know you know this, but I’ll say it again. It’s your first year, Lily. It takes time to get used to a car of that quality. I have a lot more years than you and while it isn’t Indy Car, the cars are very similar to Formula 1. There’s a lot of learning that comes with age. Isabelle picked you for a reason. All you need to do this weekend is put your head down and drive like incredible driver the team believes you are.” 

I could see a smile form on Lily’s lips, her eyes perking up a bit. What am I now, everyone’s therapist? I laughed to myself. 

“Wisdom comes with age, as my Dad always says,” Carlos added, nodding in agreement with me. “I have no doubt you’ll have some WDCs ahead of you – probably more than this one will get,” he added, ruffling my hair and giving me a wink. 

“And definitely more than Carlos will get,” I deadpanned, staring back at him with an annoyed face. Lily laughed at both our comments. 

She stayed for another 20 minutes, finishing her cup of coffee, before excusing herself and leaving. About 2 minutes after she left I heard a ding on my phone, a text from Lily lighting up the screen. 

Lily: GURL – why have you not had some angry hate sex with this fine man, yet? Or was that what I was interrupting this morning? 😉

I rolled my eyes, giggling slightly to myself. She had interrupted something – but I had no idea what it was. 

Me: A classy lady never tells. 

And with that, I put my phone down and hopped into the shower. Carlos and I spent the rest of the morning in silence, and as soon as 9 am rolled around, we left the room – together this time – and headed towards the valet to pick up his Ferrari. The drive to the paddock was also pretty quiet. We exchanged a few comments on the weather, and once we arrived, we did the same routine as yesterday. Carlos handed me my bag, took my hand in his, and we walked through the paddock together – hand in hand. 

As soon as I walked into the Bugatti garage, I was dragged by Lizzie into what felt like the world’s biggest hug. “Georgie – soooo good to see you. How was the podcast taping last night?” she asked cheerfully. I rolled my eyes. As if Lizzie hadn’t listened to it live… please, I thought to myself. Before I could answer Isabelle called us both into her office. There was no smile on her face, but I could tell that she was pleased. 

“Good morning ladies. Georgia, looks like you had a productive evening last night. I just got off the phone with Louis Vuitton, and they have asked for us to meet them the week of Monaco.” I felt a huge sigh of relief ripple through me, as I let out my breath. 

“Oh! My! God!” Lizzie screamed. “This is amazing!” 

“It’s just a meeting, but still, it’s a step in the right direction for us. Keep it up, and we should have a sponsorship deal scored before the summer break.” Isabelle turned directly to me and squinted her ryes a bit. “That means no Sassy Leclerc to the cameras, got it, Georgia?”  

I rolled my eyes at her but nodded. “Yes, yes, I’ll do my best to quell the beast inside of me,” I bit back. 

“Good to hear. Now remember, we have the Spanish Drivers Association event tonight. You will be attending with Carlos and you and Carlos will be seated at a table with me and Mattia, your brother, and Lily. A car picks you up at 7pm. DO NOT be late. I had a dress sent to your room.” 

“I’ll be there will bells on,” I whistled back. “Now if you don’t mind, I have a race to win!” And with that I trotted out of Isabelle’s office, feeling quite pleased with myself. 

Free Practice 1 and 2 had gone pretty nicely for me. I had topped the first Free Practice, but Charles and Lewis had beaten me in the second. I knew Carlos wouldn’t be happy that he hadn’t managed to get the fastest lap in either of the sessions. The moment I hopped into his Ferrari at the end of the day, I could see the look of disappointed on his face. The calm and teasing nature that he usually had was now replaced by anxiety and discomfort. 

When I opened the door to our suite, I saw my dress waiting for me. As I opened the dress bag, I was slightly horrified to see what lay waiting for me. There inside the bag was what I could only describe as the sexiest black dress I had ever laid my eyes on. What on earth was Isabelle playing at? 

Me: Ummm care to explain the dress Isabelle sent to my room? 

Lizzie: Isn’t it just so gorgeous? 

Me: …. 

Lizzie: What better way to secure a Louis Vuitton sponsorship then you making headlines with that sexy black Louis Vuitton dress?

I clicked my phone off, sighing in annoyance. Lizzie was right; the dress was a statement piece and was sure to turn heads – and photographers cameras. After completing my hair and make up, I went back into my room and changed into the dress. I wasn’t going to lie, I looked hot in this dress. Fair play, Isabella, fair play.

When I was done changing, I walked back out into the living room, securing my Cartier bracelet around my wrist that Charles had given me for our birthday last year. As I walked into the room I heard a loud cat whistle at me and turned to see Carlos Sainz on the couch. His eyes looked tired – and slightly red – but his features were relaxed and he had a smirk on his lips. 

“What did I do to deserve this honor?” he chuckled cheekily. I could see his eyes rake over me, going slowly from the top of my frame to the bottom, paying careful attention to my leg that stuck out of the dress slit. 

“Don’t kid yourself Carlos, this is for a man called Louis – Louis Vuitton that is, might have heard of him.” Carlos raised his eyebrow a bit, but laughed at my comment. 

“Ready to go?” I asked, grabbing my purse. 

“Almost – I have a small gift for you,” Carlos replied, pulling out a small box from his bag. I quirked my eyebrow up, my interest now piqued. He set the box down on the coffee table and motioned for me to take it.

I cautiously took the box in my hands, opening it slowly. There inside the Tiffany’s box was a small necklace with a chili pepper insignia dangling from the silver chain. I was torn – it was actually a very tasteful and beautiful necklace, but the idea of wearing my competitors symbol around my neck irked me to no end. 

I looked up at Carlos, letting me eyes meet his beautiful brown ones. “Really?” I said sarcastically. 

Carlos, ignoring the sarcasm dripping from my voice, just smiled at me and said, “Designed it myself, cariño. Don’t want any of the other drivers getting any ideas when they see you in this black dress. I’ve seen how Pierre looks at you.” His voice was cocky, but I could hear a bit of jealousy in it when he mentioned Pierre. Carlos Sainz, bit of a possessive streak. Noted. 

“Well, be quick and put it on then,” I mumbled, conceding to Carlos’ silent request to have me wear this ridiculous necklace. He had a rough day, I thought to myself. I guess the least I could do is throw him a bone. Carlos took the necklace from my hands and took it out of the case, motioning for me to turn it around. I complied, and Carlos draped the necklace over my neck. As Carlos’ hands slid over my bare shoulders, goose bumps went up my arms and chest. I silently prayed that Carlos hadn’t noticed how much his touch had effected me, but I knew he had noticed, because his hands went even slower, buckling the necklace with such a gentle touch. 

“Beautiful,” he whispered in my ear as he pulled away from my back. I blushed a bit, feeling my cheeks heating up. Carlos grabbed my bag and handed it to me, as he walked towards the door, his hand on the small of my back as he guided me towards the elevator outside of our room. 

As we waited for the elevator, I silently prayed that no one was inside the elevator. It felt as though I had experienced some bad luck with elevators recently, and I didn’t feel like enduing any more elevator moments with the F1 community. Carlos and I stepped inside once the door opened and I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw it was empty. Carlos chuckled a bit – although I wasn’t sure at what. I didn’t particularly want to know. 

The elevator started to move down, but unfortunately for me it stopped just a few floors down, opening up to reveal none other than Pierre Gasly.  

Ehh, could be worse.

“Wow, Georgie, you look incredible,” Pierre gasped, giving me a hug as he entered the elevator. He nodded in Carlos’ direction. As soon as the elevator began to move down gain, I felt Carlos move slightly closer to me. His hand started to move around my waist, ever so casually, as he side eyed Pierre. Is he trying to get a rise out of Pierre? I thought to myself. Pierre, however, just continued to ignore Carlos’ movements, chatting away to me as the elevator continued its downward movement, although I could see a twinkle in his eye, some silent laugher dancing in his blue eyes. 

As soon as the elevator opened to the lobby floor, I felt Carlos grab my hand and drag me away from the elevator – or, more likely, drag me away from Pierre Gasly. As promised Isabelle and Mattia were waiting outside in the car. As soon as Isabelle saw us she waved, her eyes dropping to the necklace around my neck. She raised her left eyebrow, silently asking me a question that I didn’t particularly have an answer for myself. I just shrugged and hopped into the car, sitting next to Carlos. Charles and Lily were already inside the car, chatting away about the silly video McLaren had released early today of Danny and Lando. 

Both of their eyes also flicked to my chest, the necklace getting Charles’ attention. I just gave him a dead stare, daring him or Lily to make a comment about it. Was this going to be my entire night? 

We arrived at the Divers Association dinner and took our seats at one of the front tables. Carlos’ parents were at the table next to ours, and his mother gave me a huge hug as we passed. “Oh Georgia, that necklace is so beautiful – Carlos did a great job designing that,” she purred, still looking at the necklace. I put on my biggest smile and nodded, thanking her for the compliment. 

As we took out seats at the table, I noticed Carlos’ hands silent shaking. Every so often he would rub his hands against his napkin, and I could tell that he was wiping away the sweat from his hands. I reached out and took his hand in mine, smiling at him, as I leaned over and whispered. “Your speech is going to be great, Carlos.” 

Carlos nodded at me, but he released my hand from his grip, instead wiping his sweaty hands on his pants. It was odd, seeing Carlos like this. A very different demeanor from Carlos’ usual happy-go-lucky self. It almost pained me to see him like this, full of worry and anxiety. While I was starting to dislike Carlos a little less since we had started this fake dating, I knew for sure that I didn’t like this Carlos in front of me. Who knew I would prefer cocky Carlos? 

As I turned to Charles, getting back into the conversation he and Isabelle were having, I put my hands on Carlos thigh, rubbing little circles on his leg and squeezing gently. Carlos turned and looked at me, raising his eyebrow just a tad, as if questioning what I was doing. I just smiled at him, and turned back to Charles and Lily, answering a question that was thrown my way, keeping my hand on Carlos’ thigh, slowly stroking up and down with my finger tips. I could feel Carlos start to relax a bit, his shoulders were leaning back more, and he was rubbing his hands on his pants and napkin less. 

Well, at least now I knew how to distract Carlos, I thought rather proudly to myself. Still, Carlos wasn’t rejoining the conversation. I’m not sure why I thought it was my responsibility to help Carlos get over his anxiety about the speech. I suppose as his girlfriend in public, I knew I had a job to do. If Carlos fucked up the speech, it wouldn’t exactly make our relationship look great. I nodded inwardly, pretending that was why I quickly stood up and excused myself, walking towards the Ladies restroom, purse in hand. I entered the stall and quickly slid my red lacey thong off, putting it in my purse. 

If this doesn’t snap Carlos out of his funk, I don’t know what will. 

I sauntered back to the table, waving at a few of the other drivers on the way back. As soon as I sat down, I put my lacey thong in my hand and discretely slid it into Carlos’ jacket pocket. He felt the movement of his jacket and looked at me. I gave him a quick wink, and turned back to my conversation with Lily, chatting away about qualifying tomorrow. 

While Lily was responding, I let my eyes slightly wander to Carlos, who had his hands in his jacket pocket. He raised an eyebrow at me, letting a large grin slide cross his face. Carlos removed his hand from his jacket pocket, and put it on my thigh, mimicking the movements I was doing earlier on his thigh. Carlos turned back into the conversation and joined us for the next ten minutes, before his name was called to the stage. 

As he walked onto the stage, I saw his put his hands in the jacket pocket that I had snuck my thong into, another smile gracing his lips. I could see himself visibly relax, and he began his speech, which to my surprise, was actually quite funny and endearing. He spoke about his time karting as a little boy on the Barcelona track, and gave Ferrari a heartwarming thank you for giving him an opportunity to compete for a win tomorrow. As he ended the speech, the crowd erupted into cheers for Carlos. 

Well done, Georgia, I thought to myself, internally patting myself on the back. 

The rest of the evening went off without a hitch. Carlos was clearly more relaxed now that the speech was over. As the evening started to die down, Carlos stood up, signaling that it was time to go. We said our goodbyes and Carlos hailed us a cab, opening the door for me. 

The ride back to the hotel was quiet, neither of us wanting to discuss the fact that I was no longer wearing any underwear, although the grin on Carlos face told me enough. Carlos quickly ushered us out of the cab and got us into the elevator. As soon as the doors opened, Carlos grabbed my hand and bolted us to our suite, quickly opening the door and dragging us inside. 

“Carl-“ I began, about to chide him for dragging me through the hotel, but before I could even finish my sentence, Carlos’ lips were on mine, his hands on my waist and neck. I’m not sure what came over me, but I pulled him closer, letting my hands rest on his back. Carlos broke away, resting his forehead on mine as he caught his breath. 

“What was that for?” I questioned, trying to regain some composure. Carlos just chuckled. “I think you know what that was for.” I just rolled my eyes. 

“Any chance I can get my underwear back?” I asked dryly. 

“Carlos pulled the thong out of his jacket pocket. “And give away my good luck charm?” he responded slyly, smirking in my direction. He could tell I was getting slightly annoyed. “You want it back, you’ll have to earn it,��� he added in sneakily. 

So Carlos Sainz wanted to play games. That’s fine, I could play games. 

“Oh?” I questioned, slowly moving towards Carlos. Carlos put the thong back into his jacket pocket and sat on the couch, still grinning like a Cheshire cat. I all of a sudden felt brazen. Maybe it was the champagne from the dinner catching up with me, but I felt bold and beautiful, as Carlos’ eyes raked up and down my body. Maybe Lily was right – maybe I should have sex with Carlos, get it out of my system. 

I stalked towards Carlos, and reached him on the sofa. Surprising both Carlos and myself, I straddled his lap, my dress starting to hike up my legs. I reached for Carlos’ belt and he raised an eyebrow, clearly curious at what I was going to do. I began to unbuckle his belt, letting a grin cross my lips as he let a soft moan fall from his lips. As I pulled down his zipper, I let my hand slip into his waistband, raising my eyebrow in silent question to see if he wanted me to continue. He nodded, albeit a bit wearily, and I slid my hand into his waist hand, palming his already hard and aching cock. 

I grabbed the edges of his pants and boxers. “Up,” I instructed and Carlos complied, letting his cock spring free. I’m not sure exactly what I had expected of Carlos, but wow was all that came to mind. His cock was thick, precum glistening at the tip. I licked my lips and slid down to the floor on my knees, taking my tongue and running it up the base of his shaft all the way up to his tip. Carlos let out a huge moan, letting his hand rest on my head. I took him deep into my mouth, letting him hit the back of my throat. 

“Oh fuck,” Carlos gritted out. “That feels-“ I went down on him again, slowly bobbing up and down on his length, and he grabbed my hair even harder. “Stop teasing, cariño,” he demanded, letting a large sigh fall from his lips.

I continued to work him, letting my hands gently massage his balls as I kept deepthroating the Spaniard in our shared living room. I could tell he was starting to get closer, because his moans were getting louder. Both of his hands were in my hair, and I picked up the pace. 

Soon Carlos was a moaning mess above me as he called out, “I’m going to-“ He didn’t need to finish his sentence, I knew he was about to come. I doubled down on my efforts as he came in my mouth, sucking up everything he gave me as Carlos came down from his high. 

Once I was finished, I wiped my mouth and look up at him, a large smirk on my face. Carlos’ face was pretty speechless. Clearly he was not expecting me to do that – not that he was complaining, clearly. I stood up and put my hand in his jacket pocket, grabbing my thong. 

“I’d say I earned this back, wouldn’t you agree?” I smirked. Before Carlos could answer, I sauntered back to my room, letting my hips sway just a little bit more than usual, awfully proud of myself. I didn’t even look back, but I knew Carlos still had a look of shock on his face. 

Never underestimate Georgia Leclerc, I thought to myself.  

Sunday Race Day  - Carlos POV 

Saturday had been an interesting day to say the least. After the incredible evening on Friday, Saturday had been a little awkward between us. Well, a lot more awkward. We both went out of our way to avoid each other, clearly neither of us knew what to say to the other. She had looked amazing on Friday, and felt even more amazing when she sucked my cock after we got back to the hotel room. Truth was, I was feeling a bit enamored by her. She had single handedly managed to calm me down and given me the confidence I needed to surge through the weekend. 

I did know, of all the emotions I was feeling, I was a little irked that Georgia had just sauntered off after I had finished Friday evening. I wanted to repay the favor – but most importantly, I didn’t want to let her have the upper hand, which I now felt like she had. She had made me feel incredible, and I hadn’t repaid the debt. 

I hated being in debt to other people. Especially people as sassy as Georgia; I knew she was loving this. 

Still, I was able to get some revenge on her Saturday during qualifying. Her choices on Friday night had made me feel so relaxed, that I had actually taken pole on Saturday – my first ever pole, and at my home race, too.Maybe I should rile up Georgia more often – seemed to really work well for me, I laughed to myself. 

Now here I was, sitting in the car in P1, waiting for the race to start. Georgia had gotten P3 in qualifying, with George Russell sitting in P2. Charles had to take a new engine, so he was starting at the back of the grid. 

As soon as the lights went off, I launched off the starting line like my life depended on it. The car felt good – very good. I knew better than to let my hopes get up, because recently they seemed to be constantly dashed by Ferrari strategy, but today I was going to let myself dream. 

As soon as lap 20 hit, I could see Georgia really gaining on George Russell behind me. I silently prayed that she wouldn’t pass him. George Russell I could keep back in the Mercedes but a Bugatti up behind me, not the most ideal situation at hand. 

It was no surprise to me that after two more laps, Georgia had passed George, and she was gunning for me next. Within another 5 laps I could see her right on my rear, well within DRS range. 

Neither of us had pitted, but I knew she wasn’t going to until I had – both teams trying to hold on as much as we possibly could. By lap 27 Georgia had caught me on the straight, and she sailed on by. I swear, for just a second I saw her wave to me. Had I imagined that? My blood boiled just a bit, but I put my head down. 

I could hear my race engineer Riccardo come into my ear. “Georgia is going to pit. Box box.” Just as he said, Georgia went into the pits as did I, both of us coming out as positions 3 and 4 now. The race continued on, Georgia and I moving up the ranks, slowly getting back to P1 and P2 respectively by lap 40. 

As lap 50 came around, I saw Georgia in front of me do a 360. Her car was still on the track and facing forward, but for a moment, she had spun and I felt my heart stop. How close was George behind her? What if he hit her? As quickly as she had spun, she started back up again, and I could see her car in my mirrors, regaining speed, although George Russell was quickly back behind her again. 

I quickly hit the radio button. “All ok with Georgia?” I asked. 

“Yup,” my engineer replied, probably a little confused as to why I was asking. “Head down Carlos – only 16 laps to go.” 

I knew while Georgia would be furious with her mistake, this had given me the opportunity I needed to get out in front and win the race. This was my time. Like Georgia had said, I only owed this race win to myself. It was up to me to win it – and earn it. 

As lap 65 came, I could see Georgia gaining on me again, with George Russell quickly behind, a DRS train forming. I held on, defending every move Georgia put on me. As soon as lap 66 came, I knew Georgia was about half a second behind me, trying to get around me. I held on tightly. Within a minute I could see the checkered flag up above, and as a few more seconds passed, I had crossed the line, my car just barely in front of Georgia’s.  

I heard screaming in my headphones. “You did it, ChilI!” I heard Mattia come on the line. “What a race!” 

“Gracias to the team,” I called back out. I could feel tears start to slowly trickle down my face. I had done it; I had managed to stave off Georgia and win my home Grand Prix. 

I parked my car in spot 1 and looked to my right. There was Georgia in the P2 spot, on top of her car, doing her window washing dance as her engineers looked on, laughing with her. I knew she’d be disappointed, because that was her win that she lost purely on driver error, but still – P2 was an excellent result, one the other 18 drivers on the grid wished they had. 

I hopped out the car and ran towards my family who were waiting for me. I gave my father a particularly big hug as he hugged me back with such force I could barely breath. I ripped my racing helmet off and hugged and kissed my mother; there were tears in her eyes. Before I could make it over to the interview area, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Georgia was behind me, a huge smile on her face, her eyes were glistening and for once, her smile looked completely genuine for me. I felt my heart beat a little quicker, as if that was even possible. 

Much to my surprise, Georgia hopped up into my arms, her arms wrapped around my neck. “Congratulations, Chili,” she whispered in my ear. “Don’t get used to it, guapo, I’ll be back next week,” she said with a smirk and a wink. 

And then she kissed me. 

The kiss was nothing like yesterday. It was slow, messy and passionate. I held onto her back tighter as I kissed her back, forgetting for a moment that we were in public. Next to me I heard Daniel Ricciardo whistle loudly as he and Lando came up to greet me and Georgia. I set her down on the ground and grabbed her face closer to me one last time and whispered back, “Until next time, hermosa.” 

Georgia laughed at me and walked away towards the interview area, my eyes following her form as she walked on. 

Oh yeah, I was in trouble for sure. 

********************

This was post number 100 for me - how fun!!

If I left you off the tag list, please let me know! (So sorry if I did!)

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[sarucane]

OFMD Spiral Narrative Analysis 40: Izzy Being Wrong Part 1

Intro: What I love most about how season 2 builds on season 1 of OFMD is the spiral narrative structure. Ground is repeatedly and explicitly re-trod from season 1 to season 2, but in season 2 everything goes deeper than season 1. Meanings are shuffled, emotions are stronger and truer, and transformation is showcased above everything. The first season plucks certain notes, then the second season plucks the same ones--but louder, and then it weaves them together to create a symphony.

---

Most of these posts are about scenes in OFMD that repeat certain element from season 1 to season 2, but this little series is going to be looking more closely at Izzy and how his character arc spirals to its conclusion.

This was inspired by my noticing in a rewatch that in season 1, Izzy is like always wrong. Always. Almost every scene he's in, he's wrong. And the interesting thing here is that Izzy actually doesn't know about this. When he says something, he seems to believe it. He isn't lying. He's just wrong. Here's how:

He makes a statement that is factually incorrect or proved wrong by later events within the same episode

2. He demonstrates a profoundly inaccurate understanding, which is later contradicted by his own character development and/or by the show's overall narrative itself.

So, shall we begin?

Episode 1: Shout-out to Izzy's first scene, where he does actually manage to (mostly) accurately read a situation: Stede and company are, indeed, idiots.

That said, this does still juuust barely fall under category 2, because this assessment of Stede is later complicated by this scene

In the first season, Izzy hangs on to his idea of Stede as moron long past where it's useful. In the second, he gets that Stede isn't actually an idiot, he just has 0 skills, and he hilariously marvels at how this somehow doesn't translate into death.

Then there's this Category 1 scene, where Buttons says he thought the island was deserted and Izzy says this. Izzy's clearly suggesting that he and the boys are the only ones here, but there's a whole village of indigenous people living this island.

Nope. Category 1

Is Ed half insane though? Or is he just weird? And trapped? Putting that in category 2.

Episode 2:

He was. Category 1 and 2.

You're a pirate, Izzy. Don't make excuses. Category 1.

The future of Izzy, Ed, and this crew will not follow this narrative. Category 2.

When Izzy meets Stede at Jackie's, he does actually manage to avoid both categories. That said, he also manages to not actually tell Stede who he's working for, so still got a definite thread of untruth there.

Category 1 here: no you didn't, Izzy. You just thought you did. A misunderstanding on Izzy's part that actually rebounds on him: if Stede has met Ed after being brought to Ed's freaky room, on Ed's ship, and hearing god-knows-what from Izzy before he went in for the meeting...seems likely that things would have turned out very differently.

Episode 3

Yes but also no, Izzy. And worth noting that despite the embarrassing performance here, the ship actually is repaired a few hours later, so they managed in the end.

These both fall firmly into category 2. Izzy's going to die for these people he's calling useless and planning to murder.

Ed has a plan, and has the whole time. Category 1.

They're eating right now, Izzy, so clearly they do get food when they've been invaded.

No they don't, they live at Ed's pleasure, and Izzy's very clearly the only one who wants to kill them. Ivan whacks Pete a few times (I think Ivan might remember him...), but in this scene Fang and Ivan are just chilling in the background the entire time. The situation's already gotten well away from Izzy, even though he clearly doesn't understand that: category 2.

Category 2. Izzy refers to the "years" he's spent with Ed one more time, in season 2.

The second scene casts the first scene in rather a different light. How much of Ed's erratic behavior was actual mania, and how much of it was him acting out to try to escape a situation he felt trapped in? A situation whose continuation Izzy worked for years to maintain. When we first meet him with Izzy, Ed's sitting alone in a dark room. How long had Izzy been the only intermediary between Ed and the world?

Izzy in the first scene is describing his woes as a middle manager, making sure Ed could stay Blackbeard. But doing that was closing off avenues of possible escape for Ed. Izzy in the second scene is acknowledging that this was...just not an okay thing to do. And that it was about him, not Ed.

Nope.

[honeytapioca]

🪶🌸Jickari ravenblood🌸🪶

Wanna know more about this himbo + a mini fic? Check bellow!

So me and @xiyoris have started playing through the msq of gw2! I made a new sylvari as my main! He has a raven/cherry blossom theme! He’s a pirate revenant who’s here for a good time. Since his ‘patron’ is the norn spirit raven, he has bird features, including angel like face wings. Instead of a blindfold, his mini wings fold over his eyes to shut out the world.

Here’s a quick intro and a fic about our kids! Enjoy <3

———————————————————————-

From the high seas of Tyria, Jickari was not born of the dream, He instead hails from a different tree than the pale mother. He knows not of his origin, only of the ocean and stealing for wealth. Not the best man, but a good friend nonetheless.

He fights with dual rapiers, as a revenant aided by the spirit of the raven. The sly trickster of the norn, his crewmates haven’t the slightest idea of how he gained her favor.

“I was in the mists y’know.” Jickari spoke with a smile, his voice loud. “The raven, she guided me out and aids my hand in combat.”

At least, that's what he says. To their knowledge, the guardians of the wild were very much alive. And yet, still this anomaly exists. They deemed him ‘ravenblood’ as a result. No one cared of the truth of where he came from, only that he fought well and could handle a ludicrous amount of ale.

———————————————————————

🪶🌸you came back🌸🪶

Jickari had been staring at the blank wall for the better part of an hour. The paint was cracked and dry, the blackened red color stained in scratches and piss. It smelt terrible.

He sat still. Staring without a word. His face was covered in bruised oak and frayed feathers, blue blood clinging to open cuts and wounds. He sat unbothered, despite his condition, the small wings along the side of his face covering his eyes. He stares.

--

The click of hurried heels atop cement echoed through divinity’s reach. She walked with such speed, one could consider it running. The woman gained onlookers. The people knew royalty when they saw it. Her clothes said she had money, She was covered in decorated cloth sewn together into an elegant dark dress. Her long, black hair flowed behind her as she sped through the streets. you could tell she took care of herself just from a glance. Her red eyes were narrowed into a scowl, her lips turned downwards into a frown.

--

The door swung open, veil hurling herself through it. She had pushed the old decrepit door with such force, it appeared to barely stay attached to its hinges.

“Shit.” The woman cursed under her breath. If it was attention she wanted, she certainly had it now.

“By Balthazar, woman, you could’ve knocked.” The jailer sitting at the table grunted, snuffing out a foul smelling cigarette. He sighed, standing up to lock eyes with the woman in dark clothing.

“What is it then?”

“The Sylvari, I’m here for that oaf.”

“Sylvari? Oh, that seafaring twig is it? You wouldn’t believe the trouble he brought me. You have the pay?” The man grinded a crooked smile, chuckling to himself.

Viel was not amused.

“Pay? I am not dropping an ounce of gold for that pain in my ass.”

“No gold, no sylvari- Hey!”

Viel, despite being shorter than the jailer, grabbed the man by his collar and dragged him to her height.

“I will not fall for your tricks.” She glared at the man, her eyebrows somehow managing to knit even closer together than before.

“I am of royal blood. You know what that means?”

“You get to whine and cry like a spoiled brat?” The jailer spat.

Viel said nothing, simply continued to stare, pulling him impossibly closer.

“Ma’am?” The man choked out, the collar of his shirt tightening around his neck. She said nothing again. Her stare withering.

There was a pause, tension filling the room. “..Okay, fine I get it. Worth a shot right?”

The woman released him, arms now crossed against her chest as the man straightened his posture, rubbing a hand against his neck. “Crazy bitch.” He mumbled.

“What was that?”

“Nothing! Absolutely nothing, just-” He paused to fumble the keys on his belt. “Right this way, I’ll get you your plant. damn”

Veil let out an annoyed scoff, rolling her eyes as she followed the jailer to the holding area. Jickari sat unbothered, eyes still covered.

The jailer forced the key into the lock clumsily, opening the cell door and gesturing for veil to enter.

“There you are. Make it quick.”

“Excuse me then, that will be all”

“I’m not allowed to leave any cell unguarded, It’s my job to-”

Viel’s red eyes were piercing. “Leave….Now.”

The man nodded, lifting his hands into the air defensively. “Right, right..”

--

The woman let out a sigh, moving to sit beside Jickari on his stone bench. She grunted when her bottom met with the hard cold stone.

“How long have you been sitting in this shithole?It is cramped and reeks of piss.”

Jickari smiled, not a word leaving his lips.

“Jickari… This is the second time this week. It was FIVE men this time. With swords! They were guards!”

“Drunk guards.” Jickari corrected. “And there were seven.”

“And so were you, Jickari. You stink of liquor”

“Impressive right?”

“NOT the point.”

He hesitates, the wings on his face revealing his eyes slowly. Jackari forces himself upright, looking down at Veil. Smile still on his face.

“What is the point then?” He laughed, his tone wavering. She could tell he was nervous.

“That you keep your head on your shoulders. I can’t lose you. Not you too.”

His smile fades, his posture sinking. “You keep coming back..”

“Yes. Of course I do.”

There’s a long moment of silence between them, not one of the two daring to meet each other's eyes.

“They were talking shit you know.”

Veil sighed. “About?”

“A noble woman with dark hair and a dress to match…”

She whipped around, looking up at jickari. His wings hiding his eyes once more. “You went to jail over something so small? Jackari that is absolutely fucking-.”

“You came back. I thought this time..You wouldn’t.”

She paused. Trying to catch his gaze.

“Look at me.”

He didn’t budge, turning his head even further away from her own. She rolls her eyes, grabbing his collar as she did to the jailer, and dragging him down to her height.

His wings unfurled, his cherry pink eyes met with her crimson.

“I’m not going anywhere without you. You fucking hear me?” Her gaze was unwavering.

A look of worry mixed with relief graced his features. He didn’t speak.

“Jickari. What's with that look?”

“I’m just. Well.” He stammered, his wings folding back over his eyes. Veil released him from her grasp. Instantly, he rose to his normal height, leaning into the wall.

“I, well..I guess you could say..left my crew for greener pastures and you know, who would trust a pirate right?”

He chuckled, turning his head. “Who would trust a seafaring bastard like me? Who would-”

Veil hushed him, a hand at his cheek turning his head to face hers once more.

“I would.”

[sanddusted-wisteria]

Wisteria NPC dialogue

Dialogue if Wis was an NPC in MTAS! I've written some of these lines before, but since a couple other people have been doing it, I decided to write moreeeee! I've fleshed out most of the basic dialogue types.

[Very long post below the cut, heads up :P]

Intro: "Oh hey, you're new here? I'm new here too. I'm Wisteria. Or Wis. Or Wisty. Your pick. I'm still getting used to getting around here, but maybe we can learn together."

Acquaintance:

Oh, hey. What’s up? Me? Oh, not much.

How are commissions? Busy? Yeah.

Need any help with anything? No? Okay. Feel free to ask if you do.

"Ughhhhh, this heat. Whyyyy did I move to the desert...?! Oh hey, sorry. I'm just busy dying... Ughhhhhh...."

Buddy:

"I keep running out of water... No, not with the machines, it's my garden. Think I got a bit overzealous..."

“Hey, you explore the ruins lately? Find anything cool? I mostly turned up a bunch of cheap plastic junk, but there are some interesting things here and there.”

“If you wanna use the telescope without risking Qi giving you the stinkeye, he never uses it between 3 and 4 AM on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Yeah, odd hours. But this is Qi we’re talking about, remember?”

“I don’t mind taking up something extra if it’ll help you out. With a guy like Yan at the helm, we need each other’s backs as much as possible…”

“Slow going machine? Hmm… Here, let me. I know a trick to make this a little faster…”

Good Friend:

“Quick question: what’s your favorite plant? …I see, I see. Lemme see if I can get my hands on it and we’ll see if it can grow out here!”

“Do I miss Highwind? Eh, yes and no. I’ve still got a chip on my shoulder about the place, but…it doesn’t matter now. I’ve got Sandrock. And I’ve got you.”

“My aunt Solanum sent me more pomato seeds again… You want any? No? Okay. …You want any potatoes or tomatoes? Swing by my place if you do. I have…many.”

I always keep my screwdriver set on me. You probably should too. You never know when you’ll come across something that needs screwing, or something that needs a little leverage, or a time when you need a stabbing weapon! …What? Never an impossibility.”

Sandstorm: “Careful out there. It’s already hard to see and the sandhat only makes it worse. Stay close to landmarks you recognize.”

Rain: “Raaaaaain! Oh man, I don’t have to water all gajillion of my plants today! Yaaaaay!”

Player has a new haircut: “Hm? Oh, new hair! Looks good.”

Player has panda eyes: “Hey, you good? It’s not really worth it to try and squeeze out work past like, 10 PM. Trust me, I would know.”

Player cuts a tree in front of Wis: “Oi, oi. That was a nice tree, I’ll have you know. Not many of those around here. Now it’s dead.”

Player attacks Wis with a weapon: “Ack! Be careful! That’s not a sparring weapon!”

Birthday: "My birthday? Fall 26. Born just before the end of the best season. Yes, fall is the best season. Objectively true."

Day of the Bright Sun: “I wanna take a closer look at the airship, but every time I look up, I’m conked in the head by a present…”

Showdown at High Noon: “Sparring is supposed to be safe, but we’re still swinging stone weapons around… Oh, and Qi might be slow, but that hammer is still 100% steel. Don’t get bonked.”

Day of Memories: “Who am I remembering? Well, I don’t know what kind of person they were. I don’t even know their name. All I know is that they lived a long, long time ago…and I see their face every time I look in the mirror.”

Tour de Rock: “I think most of the budget for Sandapalooza goes into injury compensation. And lawyer’s fees. For uh, the injury lawsuits. But um…you didn’t hear that from me.”

Running of the Yakmel: “Horses, I can handle. Yakmel, I can’t.”

Winter Solstice: [with a full mouth] “Mmm, hey. Have you tried this kebab? It’s really good!”

Loved gifts:

Floating galaxy: “Oooooh, look at this! It’s so pretty! You can look at the stars whenever you want! Thank you!”

Potted plants: “Aw, look at this little guy. I’ll be sure to take good care of it. What? Am I gonna give it a name? I’m a human named after a plant. Little guy’s already got a name, haha!”

Liked gifts:

Other relics: “Oh, this is cool. Where’d you find it? What do you suppose it was used for?”

Dishes she likes (e.g. beef noodles, sour and spicy potato): “Did you make this yourself? Smells really good. Thanks.”

Tea leaves or summer sand tea: “Never drank that much tea until I met Qi. Now I actually really like it. Thanks! I’ll be sure to share some with him too, if you don’t mind.”

Materials she likes (e.g. steel bars): “Oh, sweet Sunlight, you’re my savior. These things are a ton of work to get for how much I need.”

Neutral gifts: “For me? Oh. Thanks…?”

Disliked gifts:

Desert mushrooms or dishes with mushrooms: “Eh…mushrooms? Not a big fan, sorry. Beans might like it, though…” 

Most accessories: “Hm… Looks cute, but it’s not really my thing. Sorry.”

Hated gifts: “…There are more civil ways of sending a message. Like using your words, for instance. Like an adult would do.”

Complimenting appearance: “Aw, thanks! Pablo says my hair and my fashion sense are boring, but maybe I like it boring, Pablo! It’s practical. And my hair is already great without anything extra.”

Complimenting work: “Hey, that…that really means a lot. Back in Highwind, being a small fry builder was such a thankless job to have. Even if one person is appreciating what I do…then it’s all worth it. Thank you.”

Complimenting personality: “Oh! Uh, thank you! Not sure what else I can say. I’m just me, y’know?”

Asked about her past:

“I’m a clone. Test tube baby. No, seriously! Some researcher found an Old World lab one day and there was baby me, chilling in a tube of goo. There were a bunch of other babies exactly like me in the same place. We were all adopted out eventually, to my knowledge. There’s another Wis in Portia, but I don’t know where the others ended up…”

“I had another workshop back in Highwind. Wasn’t very much, just a humble little shack. But it was mine. And I loved it. …And then I ran out of money.”

The first thing I made when I graduated from the Builder Academy was the sign outside my workshop. Made from local pine wood. I kept it even after my old workshop closed. Now it’s hanging outside my new workshop!”

“Things started getting kinda heated back in Highwind a year or two after my workshop went out of business. Apparently a lot of us newcomers were pretty quickly getting run out of business. We yelled and screamed at the Commerce Guild and the city government, but it only amounted to an audit of the Commerce Guild. An internal audit. Surprise surprise, nothing wrong, apparently.”

Asked about work:

“You ever notice how some people always want certain things commissioned? Like how the Civil Corps always needs canvas for some reason? I usually keep a stockpile of those materials so I can crank the stuff out a lot quicker when the commissions hit the board.”

“I always keep my eye out for anything that looks like a relic piece when I mine for ore. That and the rats…”

Asked what she likes to do:

“I thought I wasn’t going to be using my camera a whole lot after I restored it, but I’m actually kinda into using it these days. I like to take pictures of the plant and animal life around here. Makes it seem like less of a wasteland. Okay, most of it is a wasteland…but not all of it.”

“It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I honestly like reassembling relics by hand. Yeah, yeah, the restoration machine does a better job of it, but it’s fun trying to treat it like a puzzle, y’know?”

“Some nights, I like to park myself somewhere quiet and with a good view of the sky. And I just watch the stars for a while. Good thing about living in a desert is that ‘somewhere’ is pretty much everywhere.”

“I got so excited about gardening that I planted all the seeds I had at once. Uh…pro tip: don’t do that. Unless you want to spend hundreds on water every week. At least Burgess knows it’s all going to growing stuff and not getting wasted.”

Asked about her favorite things:

“I really like relics. Finding them, restoring them, studying them… Most of the stuff in the ground is pretty benign, unlike what some people think. And even if it wasn’t, it’s still important to acknowledge that they exist.”

“Um…I’d say plants, but I’ve got plenty of those to take care of already.”

“It’s always a good day whenever I can get my hands on extra materials.”

[madrone33]

Right so... been going crazy trying to catch up on the explosion of stuff peeps have been doing since the EPIC: The Musical Ocean Saga release, but. Got some downtime now, and I just wanted to post my reaction to listening to the songs, 'cause it was wild bro.

Fyi, this is all taking place at around 11:30 pm 24th Dec for me, as I'm an australian, so that would make it... uh, 8:30 am 24th Dec for americans I think? Idk, timezones are weird bro. Basically, I listened to the songs and then wrote down my immediate reactions at like 1 am lol.

*ahem*

OK HOLY SHIT HOLY FUCK. OK OK. They came out for australians. They CAME OUT FOR AUSTRALIA!!!!

I was on dicord, right? And then another australian says they're out, and i'm like wait what but there's still like 16 hours till midnight in est, but i look up 'luck runs out jorgre rivera-herrans' on yt (cause it's a unique name) and scroll down and FUCK IT'S THERE!! THE STANDARD AUTO TOPIC VERSION!! IT'S NOT EVEN MIDNIGHT HERE YET?? (23:24 at the time of discovery. The vid says it was uploaded 3 hrs ago already)

The piano. I heard the first notes of piano and ohhhhh shiiiit it's actually happening!!!

i opened the door and called out to mum 'cause i was still in disbelief and she was still awake and i was like "mum... i think it's out" or SOMETHIG LIKE THAT IDK THE EXACT WORDS. She said jokingly she'd thought i had an existential crisis and GIRL IT KINDA FELT LIKE IT?? I WAS NOT PREPARED! I WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE ANOTHER 16 HOURS!

I tapped on the link thingy to the album in the description and then i had the album RIGHT THERE HOLY MOTHER OF JESUS. IT'S STORM. IN THE FLESH. THERE'S A FUCKING TRUMPET-

I did my civic duty and informed (read: screamed in all caps) to everyone in the discord while mum listened to the first song 'cause she said she was interested and asked and i was so excited and gave her my headphones to listen to storm and then I took em back once I was done and now it's time to go dark. I said goodnight to mum and... pressed play.

Here's the highlights:

Storm: mixing is on another level bro. The vocals, the harmonies, the chorus, and hearing all those snippets without breaks in between, actually flowing and making sense and that ending beat is AHHH-

It went so fast. It's three min long how did it go by so fast what-

Luck Runs Out: the piano is godly. They actually changed the melody of the 'you could be caught off guard' part. My first thought after ooo? Was 'damn it no longer sounds like shut up and dance w/ me' lol.

I think this one changed the most from the snippets. Jsut the way they say lines, and stray words. I love it. The harmonies-

KYFC: the intro is that one atmospheric snippet he did with the flutes!! Aeolus sounds so sassy compared to the old snippets oof hell yes! There's a small instrumental interlude between the first chorus and the crew asking about the bag which is new.

THE PENELOPE PART. OH. MY. GOD. I LEGIT TEARED UP, I WAS CRYING, I'M CRYING JUST THINKING ABOUT IT AND TYPING THIS OUT IT WAS SO FUCKING HEARTBREAKING.

Trying to hold them in his arms? Time to be that father he always wanted to be?? His eyes and heart and soul is heavy??? I'm FUCKING CRYING-

Also wow he really just stayed up for 9 days huh? Respect. Also, fuck those crewmates man. Bet they felt real stupid when it got them killed. Oh, wait, fuck it didn't Poseidon killed everyone but them oh hell nah- And Odysseus still goes to save them from Circe?? Bro. BRO. Just let them die. It ain't worth it.

And that's how Jorge introduces the land of the giants? Cool! I was wondering about that.

Poesiedon pull up! (Is it bad that i thought he sounded like ares in the pj musical there lmao-)

RUTHLESSNESS: it's here. Oh my lord it's here. Everyone stay calm. Fuck it IT'S FUCKING HERE!!

The chanting, Ody's terrified 'Poseidon...', the electric guitar on Poseidon's verse, the fucking growl in his voice is amazing, the 'Die.' is as;ihfd HELL FUCKING YES!!

I love that the 'Captain-!'s of the drowning men is more apparent here, and the silence afterwards... ooof you can hear Ody's horrified stuttered breaths and the way the lyric's changed to '43 left under your command' is soooo fucking good.

And then Ody's sudden defiance and the fucking burning in his eyes as he defies a god and escapes death- Yes. YES! It's so good-

... No wait it's over?? That's it??? WHYYYYY-

(Side note - the fact that there weren't any ads between vids is incredible and I thank the gods for this blessing.)

Ok, but all seriousness, that was incredible. I- I couldn't stop smiling. My face actually started hurting I was smiling so much. I was shaking the whole time, and I had to keep reminding myself to breathe, and- It was amazing. This was an amazing experience, and I'm so glad I could freak out to mum, and she was excited with me, and it was such a good surprise, like an actual chrismas gift from Jorge or some shit. I love it. I love this. Genuinely. It's an amazing thing he's given us and I thank him, sincerely. Thank you, Jorge, and everyone involved in creating this for people to enjoy and love. You should all be proud.

Thanks for reading me freak out, whoever made it to the end lmao. Tagging @dootznbootz because their rambles gave me the confidence to throw my own into the void. Thx :D