#so far i feel like the pacing is fine i've seen people complain about it being too fast but

[bsdwherearethedogs]

happy bsd season 4 day

[low-budget-korra]

Comments on Netflix's Avatar The Last Airbender

*spoiler alert*

First of all I'm gonna start by saying it is one of the best adaptations I've seen so far. And that's the key word, adaptation. I've seen a lot of fans and others complain about some things that honestly, doesn't make sense because some things only work in a cartoon(just as much as some things only work in a book or a video game)

And before I start to talk about some topics that I judge important, I also wanna say that the production is fantastic, from the costumes to the CGI. It all looks amazing. (A part from Yue's wig)

1. The Script

It's not easy to pick 20+ episodes and make it fit in only 8 but damn they did a hell of a good job, especially when judging what was important to show and what they could let it go. Some fans commented that since there's no fillers, the Gaang and others miss some development but I think that for the universe of the live action what we got here it worked.

I can express how much I like to see Ozai and Azula's relationship and how it is now clear that he uses the siblings against each other, manipulating them to get what he wants. But I will admit I miss the fear Azula had, since it's implied in the show and some extras that she does fear Ozai, and fears becoming like Zuko.

I hope the 41. Is just fine after the battle in the north. See all of them bowing to Zuko after discovering that Zuko was the one that saved their asses and was heavily punished by that...it was beautiful. I loved the writers did that, give names and faces to Zuko's crew and a beautiful yet sad arc when Ozai banished his son and the men who he saved.

I also loved that they put weight into things that was treated as a joke, like Katara talking about her mother. She was a little kid who saw her mom get murdered in front of her and the live action made sure to let us know that it is not okay to make jokes about something so traumatic. All of the deaths here have tons of weight in it, it's not some random person, is someone we met, someone we liked, someone who helped. The costs of the war, something the cartoon manages to show us but know in live action, with real people, the massage gets stronger.

And they didn't forget Iroh's past like the fandom does, which is great. That actor, the earthbending soldier really let it all out, that's how you use the few screentime you have.

Sokka's isn't sexist and y'all were making a storm outta a cup of water, is not like Sokka sexist didn't go away after like the 4 or 5 episode in the original show. I think the live action was able to bring more depth to him in comparison to the first season of the cartoon. We see how he feels about his father's, the absence of him and his duty as warrior who kinda doesn't want to be a warrior.

I need a Gyatso in my life, I didn't know I needed to see more of him until the live action gave us more of him. Kyoshi was the Thor coming to Wakanda from this season, WHY THE FUCK BRYKE DONT WANNA GIVE US A KYOSHI SERIES? She is absolutely a jewel of a character. Roku and Kuruk, damn poor Kuruk man, so much pain in his words but again that's what it means to be the Avatar, it's not fun and games. Zhao saying to Aang what Korra villains said to Korra😭 that the world doesn't need the Avatar anymore, it hurt.

Guys I'm gonna say it, there's no way in hell for anyone to ship Kataang here. I'm saying this because some shippers complain that the secret tunnel part was different but c'mon, look at Kiawentiio and look at Gordon, it would be so s awkward and weird and just wrong. I know they don't have a big age difference, is only like 3 years but when they filmed Gordon looked so much younger than her, maybe in the next seasons the difference won't be that big.

The pace is good, once you start you don't wanna stop.

2. The Acting

Everyone is really good at capturing the essence of it's characters and somewhat making them their own. The highlights for me were Dallas and Ian, Its like they came straight from the show. Ken Leung's Zhao was also amazing as he was way more threatening here than he was in the show.

Kiawentiio was the Katara we were looking for, she is kind yet strong, brave and caring. And Gordon was Aang, sure, he has to learn a few things since he slipped a few times in his acting but nothing that could ruin the experience, that kid is good and just needs some experience.

Elizabeth Yu was Azula. It was different but yet the same character, is like learning something new of her and I like how cleared she show emotions with her eyes. Maria Zhang had great chemistry with Ian and I can't wait to see more of Suki. Arden Cho and Yvonne Chapman as June and Avatar Kyoshi look like they came out straight from the cartoon. Daniel Dae Kim...man is Ozai, so cold, so sharp, so scary, already way better than the cartoon version. I wanna see more of Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Iroh since the character he really starts to shine in book 2.

3. The live action doesn't have the spirit of the OG?

Yes, it does have. The thing is now that we are seeing real people, things get dark one way or another but I don't think it ruined the spirit of the show. Aang is still a kid, Sokka still making sarcastic jokes, Zuko still annoying as hell, Katara still hopeful and strong... There's everything there really.

The thing is stuff like genocide, murder, war, death and suffering are, for some people, better to watch as pixels in a cartoon than real people.

I think it's a great adaptation and I would recommend it to every fan.

[hua-mo-jin-is-a-cutie]

this is the only social media website where I feel like I can talk about this without getting hated by teenagers with no media literacy, but I watched (pirated) Hazbin Hotel. And while I'm still very critical of Viv herself and the decisions she's made about her staff and her public statements and her past actions, some of which are very gross, for what it's worth, I think Hazbin is alright.

There are things I'd do differently sure, but it's like... aggressively average. The music is hit or miss, with mostly catchy tunes accompanied by lyrics that often made me cringe a little by how they already feel like outdated references to current slang. I also really don't enjoy when they have a big musical number come out of nowhere and have other characters acknowledge that they're singing. It really takes away from the musical numbers themselves. it's like musical writing 101 to NOT do that.

I know this is something people tend to criticize, but I'll be honest I like most of the character designs. They have fairly distinct silhouettes and it's kinda what drew me in enough to watch it in the first place. I'm particularly fond of Nifty. I do think some of them are a bit too complex, too busy to be super appealing, and must be hell to animate. I also think there's not really much cohesion in character designs of the world other than color, and even that's a stretch. I wish we'd at least been given some sort of reason in the show that some demons are furries and others aren't.

The animation is pretty nice, though the camera movement tends to make it a bit hard for my eyes to focus when there's a lot going on.

I've seen a lot of people complain about the pacing and while I agree that things are moving too fast, that we need time to get to know these characters and this world and earn these, what are supposed to be, hard hitting moments. I also acknowledge that I like fast pacing. I want it to slow down, but not astronomically, just a smidge.

I'd say the writing is also hit or miss. Sometimes it's got me fairly entertained, but other times it's making me uncomfortable and not on purpose. Again, slang that will quickly become or already is irrelevant is a major issue for me.

Contrary to what I've seen many people saying, I actually thought episode 4 was handled decently enough. Honestly the pacing is really the only thing holding it back for me. It doesn't feel like it's glorifying or romanticizing sexual abuse or domestic violence. It frames Valentino as the abuser he is when it's most important, even when he is a bumbling idiot in other scenes. Scenes of abuse between angel and Val are taken seriously enough. I wasn't a huge fan of the song Poison, but I also don't think it's romanticizing SA. I mean it literally ends with Angel sobbing on the floor so... I dunno how anyone came to that conclusion. There are times when the show jokes about sexual assault which I do think is distasteful and is one of my gripes with the writing overall, however when it comes to the topic of angel and val, it's handled well enough.

I'm interested in seeing where the plot goes with how episode 6 ended even with it's flaws. It's going in an interesting direction so far and I think the music of that episode was pretty good, calling back to the first episode's song with Adam in a clever way.

So overall I'd give Hazbin like a 6/10. It's fine, but it's got flaws. I'd like to see the kinks ironed out in season 2 and have Viv acknowledge some of her mistakes or at least take criticism well for once.

Anyway, stan Nifty, she's best girl.

[quietbluejay]

Know No Fear 2

and we're back with my boy Thiel rip Thiel he tried to justify himself with his captain. it did not work. skjdfhlsdf he's been waiting for three hours and the MOMENT he goes to touch the fancy weapons collection is when someone else shows up, what a mood

welp. Thiel figures he's in about as much trouble as it's possible to be in. in which case…time to practice swordfighting and looking cool with all the fancy weapons around here that he'll never be able to touch again i am reminded of why i love Thiel

Look, Ventanus, they call it a speeder, not a slower

okay so, these two later get established as being married i'm going "huh??"

this doesn't read like he knows her super well

okay i take it back he's definitely wife guy and they're definitely close

thousand sons: am i a joke to you

it's the little bits of horror that get you

lorgar is hilarious i love this guilliman: yeah we have a slight delay of scrapcode that came from outside lorgar: HDU ACCUSE US AFTER EVERYTHING WEVE BEEN THROUGH I AM SHOCKED AND HURT AT THIS HDU HUMILIATE MY WORD BEARERS they talk it out and lmaoooo

just cackling here OHOHOHO IM SURE THEY WILL BE PUT TO REST i love dramatic irony a normal amount

we're back to Thiel who FELL ASLEEP and of course that's when Guilliman comes in the room

Thiel is EXTREMELY relatable sdlkjfshdlf GUILLIMAN COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT THIEL and only came in here to think

incredible thiel: it's fine, i'm a minor detail guilliman: There is no such thing as a minor detail and then guilliman goes into thinking about Lorgar out loud Thiel: ???? ok

LET HIM SPEAK

oh, thiel BUT THE NEXT LINE

the beginning of a beautiful friendship XD and then he just leaves thiel there and is like "ok i'll deal with you later"

okay you know what fair's fair this is a good line good couple of lines abnett can sometimes write okay the logistics are bothering me again

well for one ISSTVAN III WAS VIRUS BOMBED then fire bombed how many space marines were there even to harvest Isstvan V though, no objections on that front except WHAT is the timeline here the word bearers had chaos plot holes on their side to organize this whole thing

okay, creepy

erebus, can you be normal about being a dark apostle of the ruinous powers for once in your life i am now 104 pages into a 414 page book and it still keeps drawing out the time before the attack it keeps ominously ending scenes without anything happening just people feeling ominous or the narration making ominous statements or a word bearer saying something ominous OKAY FINALLY

also im finding it fun that the ship the word bearers took over to use as their attack vector is called the Campanile bell tower

current death toll: probably a hair less than a hundred thousand in 1s THE POWER OF THROWING A SHIP AT A BUNCH OF OTHER SHIPS okay this was good

okay for all i complained about the slow pace earlier, i really do like how the whole initial explosion is structured, from a writing perspective it's very cinematic (positive) i say positive because it's not actually trying to be a movie, it's a book that unfolds in a cinematic manner another winner

from what I've seen so far, Know No Fear might be Abnett's best book and I don't mean that as a backhanded compliment like Haley, he had a serious level up from writing Horus Rising though I think Horus Rising had better writing than Valedor tbh

okay this is actually cooler on reread because the whole purpose of this is to basically use Calth's sun up and kill it in order to create the Ruinstorm oh of course the first one to initiate ship to ship combat is Kor Phaeron aw yeah the skitarii dude i remember him being cool also the scene with Hesst dying in Tawren's arms hits even harder knowing that they're married

also, guilliman managing the chaos and putting things together is very cool everyone's freaking out and he's just sitting there listening and reading all the data

he does kind of hammer things in but I think it actually works here probably because there's a lot of different plot threads and POVs going on and yet it doesn't drag and they all feel equally important that's some writing chops it's because it's very much a story about a disaster and how people respond to it the disaster is in fact the main character

also it doesn't get too dark, either, despite all the horror and that in the end the bad guys win, kind of well, they achieve their objective but that doesn't mean that what all the characters do doesn't matter

WHY DOES EVERYONE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT COOKED HUMAN FAT what is with chaos side and this can we not but also it's funny to me that this is used to summon Kor Phaeron

okay our death count is now in the millions rip the southern hemisphere

at least there isn't any onscreen cannibalism

okay so Guilliman had this message on repeat beseeching Lorgar to talk and stop firing except now things are becoming clearer so, well

[the-writing-dump-bin]

Mista request

Tumblr must have glitched and I lost the ask, but I had gotten a request for smutty Mista and F/Reader. So here you go, Anon, I hope you like it ☺

MILD N*S*F*W 18+

Today was like any other day these past couple weeks. Everyone went out on missions while you sat back at the restaurant on your own. "Don't worry, I'll find you a job that would be suited for you." Bruno had told you over and over. But with each passing day, that hope seemed to slip away.

Aimlessly twirling your fork, you looked up to see Mista turn the corner and head to the table. Your eyes met his as you two shared a look of annoyance. It wasn't that you hated each other, it just seemed like the two of you didn't get along that well. "Its just you here?" He said flatly.

"Don't act so disappointed." You answered sarcastically before filling your mouth with food. "Done your mission?"

Taking a seat across from you, Mista sat down; the waiter came by to fill a glass of water for him. "Yeah." He grunted. "The others went home and I was hungry so I came here. Thought I would be alone."

You rolled your eyes. "Again, sorry to disappoint."

"Why are you here anyways?"

"I've been coming here by myself for the last few days while everyone has gone and done missions. I'm just waiting my turn."

The waiter came by again to take Mista's order then turned to you. "Is there anything else I could bring you?"

"Just the bill is fine, thank you." You smiled.

"Oh, no," the waiter held up a hand. "Its on me again. Enjoy your day." Once the waiter left, you smirked. This was the third time this week the same waiter paid for your meal.

"That's not fair." Mista grumbled. "He's only giving you free food because he obviously has a crush on you." He eyed you while you wiped your mouth free from any mess.

"So, what if he does? You guys get free food here too." Setting the napkin down, you stood up to leave. "Enjoy your meal, Mista. Oh!" Before you could make your way to the exit, Bucciarati came around the corner and nearly bumped into you.

"Ah, Y/N, I finally found you." Bucciarati looked to his left and noticed Mista sitting at their regular table. "And you're here too, Mista. Perfect! I have a mission for you guys."

Mista's face fell to a pout while yours shined bright with a smile. "I'm sorry, Mista, I know you just came back from one." Bucciarati was sympathetic for his friend. He pulled a chair out for himself and you returned to the chair you had and listened for your orders.

"There is a duo that is causing trouble on a couples retreat island not too far from here. Rumor has it that they are trying to kidnap people for ransom. I need you two to go undercover and fix the problem before anyone gets seriously harmed."

"So we have to use ourselves as bait to get closer to them?" You asked.

"Wait, what do you mean by 'undercover'?"

Bucciarati knit his brows together. "I was sure I was pretty obvious about that. Its a couples retreat. I'm sending you and Y/N to pose as a couple to put an end to them."

Mista and you looked at each other with wide eyes. The two of you didn't get along that well in the first place, now you had to act like a couple? Neither of you were thrilled, but a job was a job. "Fine." You huffed. Bucciarati handed you plane tickets for you and Mista, stood up and left.

The tension between you two was thick. No words were spoken for a while, even when the waiter came back with Mista's order. "Oh, you're still here? Could I get you anything? More water? Dessert?"

"Four pieces of cake, thanks." You said without taking your eyes off the man across from you. By the time the waiter came back with your cake, Mista was halfway through his meal. He set the cakes down between the two of you and walked away.

The cakes sat there, untouched. You had no intention on eating them. Mista glared at you with anger as he finished his food. "You did that to annoy me, didn't you?" You didn't have to confirm. Getting up from the chair, you made your way out. "I'll meet you at the airport in an hour." You patted his head, hat becoming crooked. "See you then, hunny."

---

The heat off the runway hit you hard as you and Mista got off the plane. Scanning the area, it looked to be safe for now. "So how do you want to do this?" You asked, grabbing your luggage.

"Well, they're targeting couples, so we would probably have to stand out more to get noticed by them." He hesitated for a moment, but eventually grabbed your hand. His cheeks were flushed with pink, his eyes looking around at anything but you. "Lets get to the resort and figure out our next move."

Why did your heart pick up pace when Mista grabbed your hand? You didn't think his hands to be soft, but they were. He was right, though. Now was the time to act like a couple if you wanted to complete the mission, so you laced your fingers with his and walked to the resort's hotel.

"This... Is not what I expected."

The room was definitely made for couples, the way it was decorated. The walls were painted a dusty pink with romantic paintings hanging off of them. Wine and champagne bottles sat atop the table in the corner. There were two large glass doors that would lead you out the the balcony. The bed was king size, silky red sheets and bedding. What was more off putting was the mirrors on the ceiling, making your face scrunch.

"Is.. Is this a honeymoon suite?" Mista questioned out loud, setting the suitcases down and shutting the door. "Why would Bucciarati book this room?"

"Maybe to get the enemy to target us quicker?" You shrugged. "What's more of a target than newlyweds?"

"Pretending to be in a relationship with you was one thing, but we have to act like we're married?!"

You narrowed your eyes. "You think this is a skip in the field for me too? A job is a job." Standing in front of him, you poked him in the chest. "Now let's start investigating."

---

The afternoon was a bust.

Nothing seemed that out of the ordinary as you and Mista took part in couples activities. It was awkward, but you had to push through it.

"Ugh, come on! Aren't you ready yet?" Mista yelled at you through the bathroom door of your shared room. "Women just take forever."

"And men whine and complain a lot." You retorted. "I'm almost done." You were getting ready for dinner with Mista, hoping to find the people who were kidnapping tourists.

The sound of the door opened and Mista sat up from the bed. "Finally, are you ready to-" he stopped talking when his eyes took you in. The dress you wore fit you perfectly, the way you had your hair brought out your features. The pink in his cheeks returned and he stumbled over his words a little bit. "You... You look... Good." He moved closer to you.

It was your turn to blush now, also taken with how Mista looked. You had never seen him without his hat before, which he took off for the occasion. His hair was dark and short; the suit brought out his dreamy eyes. "You... Look good, too." The small gap between became even smaller when you moved forward as well. "We, um, should head downstairs, you know, we have to complete this mission."

"Right." He nodded and stepped back a little. "The mission. Let's go."

During dinner, you two had made yourselves noticeable to attract the attention of the enemy. From flirtatious banter to feeding each other. It was embarrassing for the both of you with a bunch of eyes from the other tables staring and muttering about you. Then you caught sight of something odd.

A few tables over were two men sitting alone, looking right at you. "Mista..." You looked all lovey dovey at him. "I think I found them, a couple tables over to the left. They're looking at us." Mista shifted his eyes to look subtly. "Quick, Mista, kiss me."

"What?!"

"I said kiss me!" You grabbed at his suit and pulled him to you, planting your lips on his. The kiss was hasty, but you made it look like you were kissing your new husband. When you pulled away, you looked at the men at the table. They stood up, but didn't move anywhere. When you followed their gaze, you seen that they were actually looking at two women who walked through the door behind you guys. They were waiting for their own wives to arrive.

Sighing with frustration, you let your grip on Mista's suit loosen and sat back. "How are we supposed to find these people?!"

Mista sat still. The feel of your lips lingered on his. His heart raced and his breath hitched. What was this feeling? He tolerated you since you became a member of the gang, but since this mission started, he had started feeling something more towards you. It was like...he wanted you. "Where are you going?" He asked when you stood up.

"I'm going back to the room. This whole day has been coming up empty and I'm going to relax for a bit. You comin'?"

Mista's body acted on its own and stood up, following you back to the room. In the elevator, you noticed him clench his hand in and out of a fist, like he was holding something back. Once back at your room, he held the door open for you, but he didn't look at you. "Hey," you took his hands in yours after he shut the door. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I-I'm... I don't know." He huffed.

"Was it the kiss?"

His eyes widened and his head snapped to you. It was the kiss. He hadn't stopped thinking about it since it happened, as fake as it had been. But it wasn't the only thing he had been thinking about. He actually had fun with you during the day and throughout dinner. "I-It's fine. It was just for show, not like I would want you to kiss me for real anyways. Or me kiss you, that's just stupid."

You can see he was visually flustered with the way he avoided eye contact with you. Its not like you weren't feeling anything either. To be honest, you probably would have kept kissing him if you weren't distracted by those two a couple tables over. Would have done it better, too.

What was taking over you? Your mind started to cloud as you took in the sight of the handsome man shifting his feet in front of you. He was taken off guard when he noticed you against him, pushing him gently to the nearest wall, hands on his chest and face so close to his. "Wh-What are you doing?"

Your noses touched, you could feel each other's sharp intake of air. Your hands traveled up to the back of his head and pulled him in for a slow and sensual kiss. One a hell of a lot better than before. He kissed you back, melting with each one. His own hands rested on your hips, finger tips digging into you.

Bringing you hands back down, you pushed the jacket of his suit off his shoulders, letting it fall behind him to the floor and started undoing the buttons of his shirt. He grabbed the zipper of your dress and pulled down, letting his free hand explore your exposed back. The dress fell softly to the floor next to his jacket as you brought up your legs one at a time to remove your shoes.

Mista took the lead and backed you to the bed, shedding the shirt you undid. Slowly and gently, he placed you on it and removed his pants, climbing on top of you. He couldn't help himself. Like he had no control over his mind and his body was on autopilot. The feel of his body on yours sent exciting jolts throughout you and you wanted more. "Mista..." Looking up, you saw yourself and Mista in a tangle from the mirrors that were on the ceiling. Earlier, you thought of it as unnecessary and disturbing, but seeing the two of you wrapped up like this made the experience thrilling.

Your hands roved his back; finger tips sinking into his skin every time you felt a rush of excitement. You needed to feel him more. Reaching down, you grabbed between his legs and guided him towards your entrance. He complied and entered you slowly; he was afraid to hurt you. Sharp gasps emitted from your mouth as you took him in, your walls adjusting to accommodate him. He set his hips at a steady pace as he slid in and out of you, making you moan with pleasure. "Oh... Oh, Mista..."

Mista pinned your wrists to the bed and continued to thrust into you, watching your beasts bounce with each movement. "You're so beautiful. How have I never noticed this before?" Leaning down, he connected his lips to yours again. "This feels so good. You feel so good."

Picking up his pace, he drove his cock into you faster; the noises you made spurring him on. "God, Mista! Fuck me harder!" You whined with laboured breaths. You could feel the tightness in your core on the brink of snapping. Mista reared back again and went as fast as he could, watching your face as your orgasm was reaching its peak.

Eyes rolling back, you let the exhilarating pleasure take over you. Mista was feeling his too as he tilted his head back and watched the two of you be thrown into bliss from the mirrors above. After he had emptied himself inside you, he slowly pulled out and buried his face in the crook of your neck, sucking small bruises into your skin. You let your hand rest on the back of his head, softly stroking his hair with your fingers. Being together like this was something you never thought would happen between the two of you, but here you were.

"Y/N..." He whispered. "When we get back home... Do we go back to the way we were, or do you want to keep pretending?"

That was a good question. What does happen next? What would the rest of the gang think if you two struck up a relationship? Would Bucciarati allow it? Kissing his temple, you closed your eyes. "Let's keep pretending, see how far we can get."

You could feel his mouth form a smile as he made his way down your body with a trail of kisses. "The night is still young. There is still a bottle of wine on the table. Let's have some more fun."

---

Meanwhile, back home at the restaurant, the rest of the gang sat at their regular table. "I hope our mission was a success." Fugo said, taking the last bite of his meal.

"What did you tell them, Bucciarati?" Abbacchio asked.

"I told them that there was someone kidnapping tourists on a couples retreat. They fell for it and set off for their fake mission. If it was a success, they'll come back as a couple themselves."

"I can't wait to hear what they thought of the room!" Narancia said excitedly. "I booked them the most romantic room the resort had!"

"Let it be known that I had suggested just a normal room." Giorno put his hand up, defending himself from Narancia's shenanigans.

"When are they supposed to get back?"

Bucciarati smiled. "I'll give them a couple more days together, then I will tell them the kidnappers were caught at a different resort and bring them home."

[ellanainthetardis]

Hi! I've been reading your stories for nearly a year now and I really enjoy them - you're a great writer! I have a slightly (very) crack idea for a prompt inspired by Ariana Grande's song Side to Side, where Effie can't walk in a straight line in the morning after a night with Haymitch. I feel like it would open up for a lot of teasing from Haymitch that would be funny to read. Maybe pre-HG or a 5-times-and-1 style one shot? Up to you! X

This was fun and this is crackish ;) [X]

A Sore Price

The kids were skittish and it was why Haymitchusually avoided making an appearance at breakfast, all the more so when Effiewasn’t there to play buffer. He tried to ask about Training, if only to shut uphis guilty conscience, but all he got was some mumbles about bigger teenagerswho were bullies. The girl didn’t seem to know where to look when she addressedhim, she was red in the face. He pulled his dressing gown shut tighter so nohint of his bare chest could be seen. Being a prude wouldn’t help her in thearena but he figured she was entitled to some respect for as long as she couldget.

Although he resented it a little. He had put on pants and a dressing gown. Hewasn’t always that considerate when it was only him and Effie in the penthouse.

He gave them some advices that they didn’t takeseriously enough. He could see it, the looks they exchanged, as if listening tohim would be worse than going to the Games without a mentor. He wasn’t sure atwhich point he had become such a joke that people from his own Districtinstructed their children not to takehim into account. He would have Effie repeat it again later, they respondedbetter to her – not that they liked herbut she had shown from the start she was there to help when he had vaguelyscoffed and declared they should get ready to die. Maybe she had a point whenshe said he needed to work on his introduction speech.

He was relieved when the clicking of heelscould finally be heard. She stormed in with her usual unchecked energy and ablinding smile.

“My apologies for being so late!” she chimed.“Good morning, children! Good morning, Haymitch.”

The kids muttered greetings, quickly fleeingthe table when she hovered behind them correcting their eating habits. Shepouted a little but reached for the coffee pot and poured herself a cup. Shewalked around the table and propped her hips against it to steal what was leftof his blueberry muffin.

“What took you so long?” he snorted. “Tootired?”

Faced with his smug smirk and his twinklingeyes, she huffed. “Hardly.”

“Yeah, hardlyis how I recall it.” he teased.

She pursed her green painted lips, tilting herhead a little to the side – not a hair moved from her silver and blue wigstyled as a huge puffy bun on the top of her skull, it left her nape bare andhe already knew it would be taunting him all day.

“You left marks.” she accused him.

His eyes slowly roamed on her throat and on thesmall amount of cleavage that particular dress offered, checking as much astaking in the view… “Can’t see any.”

“Yes, that would be thanks to the half bottleof liquid foundation I had to use.” she deadpanned. “And that’s only on my neck and collarbones. I couldnot get a proper look at my back but what I saw was enough. Did you mistake myshoulder blades for chew toys by any chance?”

He stood up, trapping her between his body andthe table. “Didn’t hear you complain, sweetheart… In fact… All I heard was ‘more, Haymitch’ and ‘yes’ and some pretty impressive moaning…” He brushed his noseagainst her cheek as he brought his mouth to her ear. “Fucking hot, you were…”

And the memory was enough to give him a boner.She placed a hand on his chest to push him away a little, flashing him achiding look.

“Do not get any ideas.” she warned.

“Bet I could have you screaming right here onthat table before Avoxes show up to clear it.” he challenged.

“Five times.” she reminded him. “Aren’t yousated yet?”

He was thirty-five and he was celibate most ofthe year. He was far from being sated.Besides, one of those times had involved his mouth and his hands so it didn’tcount for him.

Some night it had been though… Once at the veryboring party, once in the car, eating her up in the momentarily stoppedelevator, the particularly hot session in her bed with her on her stomach andthe lazy bout in the shower because some cleaning up had been overdue. He had been forced to carry her back to bedafterward because she had been so exhausted her legs hadn’t been able to stopshaking. She had been deep asleep when he had left for his own room.

“Are you?” he snorted.  

He expected some more banter because theyhadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other lately. There was somethingnew to their affair. It was less hate sexafter a fight and more… sex all thetime for no good reason at all. He didn’t know what it was about theSeventieth Hunger Games but… He wasn’t going to look at it too closely. Theywere having the best sex he ever had.

“For now, yes, I am.” she replied withoutbatting an eyelash. “Go get dressed, we have work to do.”

“Bossy.” he commented, lifting an eyebrow.“Maybe you should help me getdressed, sweetheart.”

She triedto remain serious but she turned her away to hide her smile and she couldn’thelp a chuckle or two. He took the opportunity to press a kiss on the side ofher neck. It tasted like make-up and it made him wrinkle his nose. He hatedthat taste.

“Do not undo my work.” she rebuked, pushing onhis chest again. “Go get dressed, Haymitch. I have a meeting with a sponsorscheduled in an hour, we cannot be late.”

“Fine.” he relented. “But I’m gonna fuck you again before the day isthrough.”

She rolled her eyes and shoved him back alittle more firmly. It was cute that she thought she could make him move whenshe was as strong as a kitten. He humored her though. It was always good tohumor her a little.

The outfit she had picked was good enough forhim – once thing he was grateful for with Effie was that, unlike previousescorts, she didn’t try to impose current Capitol fashion on him, she allowedhim outfits that were trendy but that he could live with, it was a compromisebut one that worked – although he left out the tie.

He came back to the living-room after somefifteen minutes – time enough to get ready and to get a few mouthfuls of liquorin his body – expecting to find her on the couch, reviewing schedules orsponsors files. She was checking hernotepad but she was doing it standing up, leaning against the bay window, afoot hooked around the back of her other ankle.

“I sent the children to Training.” she told himwithout looking up from the page. “We have five minutes before we need toleave. We are going to a restaurant for brunch, Haymitch, so I would thank you to put the tie back on.”

“That tie would look better around yourwrists.” he taunted. It was just a joke though. Tying her up… He didn’t trusthimself enough for that, as appealing as the idea might sometimes be.

“The tie, Haymitch.” she said firmly, still notlooking up.

That annoyed him. He didn’t like it when sheignored him or dismissed him like that, like he was just a chore for her tobear or a toy she took off the shelf when it suited her. He snatched thenotepad from her and pinned her against the bay windows, his free hand on herhip.

The kiss was brutal and it took her aback.After a second, she responded to it just as violently. His fingers left her hipto grab her thigh, hooking her leg up, aligning their bodies enough that…

She drew back with a hiss and he froze.

“You’re okay?” he asked, easing his grip onher. It had been pretty rough the previous night, he had bruises and scratcheseverywhere and he was ready to bet the same was true for her.

“I am fine.” she replied “We will be late.Please, put on your tie.”

She was lying, he thought, but he couldn’tquite decide about what. He let her go and didput on the tie if only to bring a flicker of a smile back on her lips.

He was surprised when she insisted on walking to the restaurant. Districtteams had cars at their disposal twenty-four hours a day and Effie wasn’t a fanof walking when she didn’t have to – and with the heels she was perched on hecouldn’t quite blame her for it. He, on the other hand, liked to walk so hedidn’t protest but he kept watching her in the corner of his eyes.

She was just as chatty as usual, her cheerfulescort self, but there was something off about her. It took him a while torealize it was the way she strode straight on. He usually had to adjust hispace to hers – because, despite her long legs, he was taller than she was – butright then, she was taking purposeful giant steps that made her look a littlefunny.

“We’re late or something?” he grumbled, notreally enthusiastic about this sponsor meeting in the first place. It neveramounted to anything and it was always uncomfortable.

She faltered a little and slowed down her pace.“Not at all.”

She picked up her previous topic again, wavingher hands left and right as she talked, but there was a strain in her voice anda slight wince every few steps.

“You’re sureyou’re okay?” he asked, as they came in sight of the restaurant she usually chosefor sponsor meetings. It was expensive, the staff was haughty and he hated theplace with passion.

“Right as rain.” she hummed, stopping longenough to make sure his tie was straight. “Now, do behave and let me do the talking.”

“Sure.” He rolled his eyes, irritated with her.“I’ll just sit there and look pretty.”

“You do that, dear.” she grinned, patted him onthe arm.

He vowed to pat something else of hers later.

“Don’t call me dear.” he muttered as he pushed the restaurant’s door,automatically holding it out for her – thethings she had drilled into him��

She ducked under his arm to go in, chuckling alittle. “Of course. How stupid of meto forget you have the pet names privileges in this relationship.”  

“Not a relationship.” he was quick to correct,the word making him want to flee to the other end of the city.

She didn’t even blink. “Poor choice of word.”

It calmed him down a little but not a lot.

The fact that the sponsor they were meeting wasone he really didn’t like helped distract him though. He tried to bite back theclever retorts, the bitter comments and the loathing gibes – if only becausethe guy might give them some money.

He hated the way the man was looking at themhowever – at the two of them – likethey were some really mouth-watering dessert he wanted to taste. Haymitch wasalways left with a strong urge to punch the Capitol sponsor.

Effie played it like she usually did: seductive.The man liked to think himself clever so she acted dumb, giggling a lot at herown fake intellectual clumsiness.

Her smile was a bit strained though andflickers of something kept disruptingher carefully constructed mask of flimsy escort. The sponsor didn’t seem tonotice but Haymitch did.

Something was definitely off.

She was squirming in a way she rarely did –never when he didn’t have his mouth between her legs at least – and for a momenthe wondered if she was turned on. She crossed her legs and then uncrossed themonly to cross them again… She leaned forward or backward as if to alleviatepressure…  

The thing that kept flashing on her face, thereand gone in a second, wasn’t pleasure though. It was pain.

He was pretty sure he had done nothing tobruise her ass so it couldn’t come from there, which meant…

Five times might have been a time too many.

“Well, this was a waste.” Effie sighed, as theyfinally exited the restaurant.

“So you say every year.” he mocked. “And yethere we are.”

“You never know. One day he might actually do something more than justbeing a creep and squeeze himself through his pants at the thought of the twous together.” she scowled, not as oblivious to the guy’s fantasies as he hadthought. He wasn’t sure why he was so surprised by that. She excelled atreading people and the man wasn’t being subtle. It was a miracle he hadn’t yetoffered a threesome – or maybe he had and she had kept the information fromhim. “Perhaps you should go to the mentor lounge and see what you can find outabout our opponents…”

She was usually the one doing the digging.Victors were far too careful to let anything slip, some of the escorts now…

“You’re ditching me. You’ve got plans?” hesnorted.

“Not at all.” she immediately denied. “I stillhave some paperwork to fill so I will go back to the penthouse and…”

“Put ice between your legs?” he cut her off ina teasing tone.

She froze for a second and then quickened herstrides. “I do not know what you aretalking about. How vulgar of you. Truly, you…”

“Save it.” he interrupted again, grabbing herarm to stop her and immediately letting go because they were in the middle ofthe street and he didn’t need anyone sniffing out the scent of scandal. Itwould end up on Caesar’s special before they even reached the Games Compound. “Howhurt are you?”

She studied him and then pursed her lips,averting her eyes. “I am not hurt per se. I am simply… rather sore.”

“Sore.” he repeatedly flatly, acutely awarethat people were pointing at them and that it wouldn’t be long before someoneasked for pictures or autographs if they didn’t get a move on. He nudged heron, careful to adjust his pace to hers since he didn’t know how bad it actuallywas. “The fuck does that mean?”

“It means… It burns.” she admitted, clearingher throat. “I do hope it is just the result of last night and notsome horrible disease you…”

“You’re the only one I go with without acondom, sweetheart.” he sneered. “If anyone gives the other stuff…”

“I am clean.”she huffed. “It is frankly insultingthat you would even imply…”

“Calm your tits, sweetheart. Just joking.” hetaunted. He buried his hands in his pockets, feeling awkward. “You’re sure it’sjust sore, yeah? You’re not… hurt hurt?”

Because hurting her was the last thing he wanted to do.

But he had a bad track record.

“I am sure I will be fine tomorrow.” She shothim a side look, her lips stretching into a rare genuine smile. “If you canhold on for that long, that is.”

Haymitch rolled his eyes, not quite able tostop himself from smirking.

Not that he would admit it out loud but heusually held on half the year for her, so… A day wasn’t that long to go.