#the setting and stuff just doesn’t translate well

[smoft-demons]

What if pacts gave you spells

I’ve had another idea!!

Demons in this setting are pretty fuckin magic. MC as well, has some funny magic going on in the late game iirc. What if the magic started showing up sooner, specifically because of the pacts?? What if the avatars have specific themed abilities and you get powered down versions of those powers through the pact? Ive been having Ideas about it!!

In pact order:

_______

Mammon is the avatar of greed. Money and stuff is his thing. So I think his pact, at a low level, should give you a heat metal spell. I imagine HE has a summon-molten-metal ability that he can use in combat, because that’d be awesome. It’d be a real no holds barred type of move, because like,, being burned to death in molten metal is a REAL brutal way to go. He’s a demon tho. I think it would make some sense for him to be able to do it.

Gravity magic also makes sense for Mammon. Black holes be greedy. The vibe seems right. The dunamancy spell Ravenous Void is pretty much what I’m thinking.

Mammon’s really fast too. So maybe he can give you haste, longstrider, misty step… maybe blink.

Another thing in Mammon’s wheelhouse is gambling. Luck, stacking chances in your favour and all that. So let’s have him give you something like silvery barbs too. Something that lets you skew chance in your favour when you need to.

I’d say the list of spells you get from him goes like: heat metal and longstrider at first. Then you get stronger after season 1, and you get misty step, something along the lines of silvery barbs, and haste (to make others faster I think is a higher level thing than making yourself faster). When you’re MUCH stronger, you get ravenous void. Maybe you get a weaker version earlier.

No matter what tho, no one’s version of that black hole spell is stronger than Mammon’s.

_______

Then you pact with Leviathan. He’s a sea serpent, and he’s the grand admiral of hell’s navy. I’d imagine he’s crazy good with navigation and has a sea monster form, on top of the other abilities he canonically has (summoning Lotan, making floods, etc)

I’d say Levi’s pact gives you: create water, find familiar (because Lotan), breathing underwater and some magical ability that helps you not get lost. At a higher level, you get to summon a powerful water elemental. Maybe even a wildshape-esque ability that is specifically for turning into a sea serpent.

I would also say it’s Levi’s pact that gives you darkvision. You really need it if you’re going in deep water. Also, if ANYONE of these seven can give you the classic warlock spell Eldritch blast, it’d be Levi. It’s not very high level, you can have it early on.

_______

Beel’s gluttony, and honestly black holes fit him too. But I think that’s such an absurdly OP thing that it HAS to go to Mammon.

Beel is also a tank. He’s a protector. He’s real strong and resilient and he’s the type to purposely take damage in order to save someone he loves from having to. In the game he makes the pact with the implication that he wants you to have it so he can protect you next time. So I think he wouldn’t WANT to encourage his human to do the same tank thing as him, but still I think his pact would help you do that. It would just make you stronger and more durable I think.

That bit is less a spell and more an ability score increase. Raises your strength and constitution.

Of the actual spells tho, there’s gotta be something abjuration. Some magic shield spell kind of thing. Also, obviously some way to create food. Maybe when you’re stronger you get hero’s feast. Some way to summon a swarm of locusts is on theme for Beel. Also, his telepathic connection with Belphie makes me think of message.

I think Beel wants you to have feather fall. I think that might be one of his first priorities.

So his list would go: feather fall, some magic shield, message, and the constitution increase. Then at a higher level, the strength increase, summon locusts, and create/summon food. Even higher, hero’s feast or something like it…

The summoning food spells is not really a thing I think Beel can do/an ability he can share through the pact, but I think he deserves to be able to give you that. He would just like to be able to do that. Why not let him.

_______

Next pact is Asmo. The most obvious thing for him is a charisma buff.

Then in terms of spells, suggestion makes a lot of sense. So does friends, disguise self, vicious mockery, and minor illusion. Later on, mass suggestion and crown of madness.

He’s not usually the very aggressive sort, though of course I don’t put violence past him at all. Bloodlust is still lust, after all. Passion is kinda his whole domain. No, Asmo is VERY capable of violence I’m sure, he just doesn’t indulge in it often because he likes his pristine image and others’ tendencies to underestimate him far more.

With that in mind, maybe some kind of slow acting necromantic curse makes sense for the offensive move he’d give you. Some way to magically give someone a dose of venom in their veins just by touching them.

Canonically in the game Asmo basically uses dominate beast (on Henry 1.0 in the catacombs under the demon king’s castle) but I can’t help but associate that more with Lucifer (because Cerberus) so I kind of want to give it to him instead… but Asmo literally DID it so…

I think Asmo’s list goes: suggestion, vicious mockery, friends, disguise self. Then the charisma increase, casting illusions (minor or otherwise), and crown of madness. Then mass suggestion, dominate beast, and the venom spell. That seems right.

_______

Then it’s Satan’s turn.

Ok so the most obvious thing for him as the avatar of wrath is giving you a whole ass level in barbarian. The rage ability. And like,, that works, but like… doesn’t super match his personality. Controlling his wrath is more what he seems to care about.

If the spells he can give you are chosen by him, then I think you’d get comprehend languages, speak with animals, legend lore, that kind of thing.

But if it’s not his choice, then the ability to rage. In terms of spells, stuff like blight, finger of death, fireball, meteor swarm, disintegrate. Dramatically destructive kind of thing.

I’m gonna say it’s probably somewhere in between. You don’t get rage or disintegrate from him, nor all the best of the curious nerd spells. But you DO get: prestidigitation (can start fires OR quickly clean messes, up to you, be smart and crafty to get the most out of it), comprehend languages, firebolt. Later, you get fireball (upgrade for firebolt!) blight, and lets say something electric. Like, being able to electrocute someone by grabbing them.

_______

Now for Belphie!

I can’t help but think of him less in D&D terms and more like,, psychic type Pokémon. That just seems like the right vibe for him.

I wanna say you’d get two necromancy spells after the whole lesson 16 thing—specifically, toll the dead and chill touch. The vibes of toll the dead just seem fitting for some reason, and come ON, chill touch couldn’t possibly be more perfect! It makes a spectral, skeletal hand that clings to your target (around their neck maybe?) to (and I quote!) “assail it with the chill of the grave” which deals necrotic damage and delays healing. It’s PERFECT, okay, except for… it doesn’t make any sense to get those from the pact with Belphie. They have nothing to do with HIM, and everything to do with what he did to you.

Maybe you can get it from the weird resurrection thing that happens instead. All kinds of weird shit can happen when timelines and your life get all fucky like that, I guess. You met a ghost and got shoved back to life and then time got weird, I’m sure at that point anything can happen.

Actually FROM Belphie, the obvious spell you’d get is sleep. Put some bastard to sleep, make them unconscious, that’s his main thing.

I think the list goes: sleep. Then later, with more power, you get confusion (like the Pokémon move)and phantasmal force (the one that projects an illusion only visible to the target, that is able to deal damage to them. Many very creative applications of this spell are possible). At the highest possible level, power word kill. The quickest and laziest possible way to do a murder, as long as you use it right.

_______

Finally, Lucifer.

Big strong powerful Morningstar! Proud bastard that everyone can’t help but listen to.

So OBVIOUSLY you get dominate person from him! (yes, all seven of them have the ability to force a non-MC human to obey them magically but shhh. Lets say only Lucifer can GIVE that ability to a human.)

I think he’d be the one who can give you classic demonic abilities like fire resistance and hellish rebuke. I can’t imagine Lucifer not having some disintegrate-like ability, as the third most powerful demon in the realm.

He can’t give you a whole ass pair of wings, he can’t change the structure of your body, but I think maybe he can give you the fly spell. Or even just something like a double jump and a fully controlled fall. I think that suits him.

Yknow what else suits him? Meteor swarm. Super powerful, dramatically destructive, only the strongest can cast it… flaming destruction falling from the sky… Fall imagery weaponized into an absurdly high damage spell. Seems like Lucifer!

So let’s say his spell list for you is: hellish rebuke and fire resistance (not a spell, but still). Then, dominate person, the flight-adjacent spell, and disintegrate. Then finally, meteor swarm. That seems right.

_______

[marvelouslizzie]

Pretty Little Thing - co-written with @notafunkiller

Summary: Your long-time crush, Bucky Barnes, is a regular at the bar where you work, and tonight, it's impossible to avoid serving him for the first time.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female Reader

Warnings: +18, alcohol, oral sex (f receiving), rough sex, unprotected sex, dirty talk, pet names, no mention of y/n

Word Count: 3.8K

A/N: @notafunkiller and I merged our separate ideas into one and this is the outcome. It was so much fun to write. We hope it'll me the same while reading too.

All work is ours, please do not repost or translate without our permission.

Every like, comment, and reblog is highly appreciated. Don’t hesitate to message us. Unless it’s hate. That’s never welcome.

You thought this night would be calm and easy, that nothing significant would happen. All that changed when Bucky Barnes set foot in the bar. It’s not his first time here by any means, but until now you successfully managed to avoid him by asking the other bartender to serve his side. This time, unfortunately, you are working alone. It’s a slow night, so there’s no way you can really avoid him.

You watch him find an empty place and sit down, and you really don’t know what to do. You can feel yourself sweating already. You are so nervous. Not because you are afraid of him or anything. He doesn’t look scary. Not to you. You are afraid to embarrass yourself in front of him, but you should be able to ask for his order and serve it without messing it up. That’s not so hard. 

Just keep it simple, you tell yourself.

“Hey, what can I get you?”

Bucky looks up from his phone straight into your eyes, and you freeze a little.

“Hello, do you... a draft beer, please.”

His answer confuses you. That’s not his usual order. 

“You sure you don’t want something stronger? We have that bourbon.” You curse yourself internally for paying attention and not being able to hold your tongue.

He raises his eyebrow surprised. “How do you know that? There is no way you served me any drinks cause I would remember you.”

He frowns as soon as he finishes speaking. Maybe you helped your colleague or maybe you were informed about what he drinks just in case he showed up. He’s still the Winter Soldier after all.

“I never served you before.” You say with a shy smile. You hope this is enough of an answer for him.

“Do I look like a bourbon man?” He asks playfully before giving you a smile that transforms his face a little, softening his features. 

“You look like you enjoy quality stuff, and between you and me, our draft beer is shitty.”

That comment makes him chuckle. You’re so distracted by his face that you don’t notice how his eyes fall straight to your breasts.

“Thanks for the tip. Normal beer then?”

“If you insist.” You smile and open the small fridge under the bar where you keep some of the beers. You quickly open it and put it right in front of him, not realizing that gesture shows off your bartender skills a little bit.

He doesn’t look away from you as he takes a big sip before placing the bottle on the table quickly.

“For how long have you been working here?”

“For the past year.” You avoid making eye contact while drying some of the freshly washed glasses.

“Oh.” He sounds kind of taken aback. “I’m surprised you never served me. I’ve been coming here for what? Seven months?”

“Eight.” You bite your bottom lip as soon as the word slips out, trying to shut yourself up so you won’t mess up even more. What were you thinking? Well, you weren't…

His eyes immediately glow, and you wonder if you fucked up for good.

“So you’ve been keeping an eye on me?” He brings the bottle to his mouth and before you can say anything, you watch him finishing it in one go.

“I just noticed you.” Of course, you kept an eye on him, but you played it down a little.

“Well, I didn’t notice you,” he says regretfully. “And I wonder how. I am pretty aware of my surroundings... especially if they are full of beautiful people like you.”

You can’t help but blush, yet you try to sound unaffected. You don’t know if you succeed or not, though.

“This place is usually so crowded and full of… people. So it’s normal.”

“Neah,” he denies immediately. “Have you been hiding or something?”

“I was just on the other side of the bar.” And you were trying to hide from him, saving yourself from this embarrassment because you knew if you talked to him you would fuck up. You were right.

“So I was on the wrong side this whole time.” He shakes his head. “Another beer, please, doll.”

“The same?” You ask while trying not to dwell on the pet name he uses.

“Yes, please. And one drink for you. Whatever you want, if you are allowed to drink, of course.”

The way he offers to buy you a drink surprises you. You feel quite nervous, but you try to maintain your calm. He’s probably just being nice, right? 

“I am allowed to drink, but that’s not necessary.”

He pouts. “I didn’t mean you need to talk to me for it, doll. There are no conditions for this drink.”

“Oh.” You didn’t even think he would take it this way. “That’s not why I said it’s not necessary. I wasn’t worried about that.”

“Okay. Whatever you want... I won’t insist.”

“It’s just… I am allowed to drink whatever I want. You don’t need to pay for it.” You try to explain so he won’t take it the wrong way.

“Alright,” he says, a little distant, as you open up another bottle of beer and put it in front of him. 

“I just didn’t want you to pay extra when I can get it for free.” You don’t know why you are explaining yourself like this. It’s normal not to accept drinks from customers.

“It’s fine, I totally understand. Thank you!” He reaches for the bottle immediately.

You take a fancy glass out of the rack and pour yourself one of the ready-to-serve cocktails that your colleague prepared, right in front of him. He doesn’t say anything as he keeps staring at your hands.

“Thanks for the drink.” You say while putting the bottle away.

“Me?” He asks surprised. “Thought this is on the bar.”

“Well, you gave me the idea, and if you really insist on spending your money so unnecessarily, who am I to stop you?”

“That’s a good attitude.” He smiles again before bringing his bottle close to your glass. “Cheers to a good Thursday in a lovely company.”

You clink your glass with a smile on your face. It seems like he finally understood your intention, so you feel relieved. 

“How does that taste?”

“Don’t let the color fool you, it tastes really strong but delicious.” You look at him for a second and notice that got his interest. “Wanna taste it?” You offer your own drink to him, and he contemplates for a few seconds before leaning in.

“Yes, I am curious.”

You hand the glass to him. Your fingers touch for a second, and you get so excited that you worry about dropping the glass. It’s like your heart is in your throat.

“Your hands are cold,” he comments casually before taking a sip right from the spot covered by your lipstick. You gasp. You have no idea if he did it on purpose, but the way he’s drinking it… your body is responding to that so much. You clear your throat, trying to calm yourself down. 

“Delicious.” He smiles, handing back your glass, and you notice a bit of lipstick in the corner of his mouth.

It creates this internal dilemma. Should you just let him know about it or act like nothing happened and let him walk around like this? The second one could cause him a lot of embarrassment, and you don’t wanna be the reason for that. That’s why you suddenly find yourself leaning closer to him, just to wipe the lipstick off. He doesn’t move an inch, not jumping like you would expect, letting you touch him. When you realize what you are doing, you suddenly feel super self-conscious. 

“You…” You gulp down. “You have… lipstick on… just here.” 

You keep rubbing your finger against the corner of his mouth. You feel his stubble and how soft his lips are, but you try not to think about it. He chuckles, covering your hand with his. It surprises you so much that you freeze for a second. Then you look into his eyes, struggling to see if you made him feel uncomfortable or not.

“So considerate of you. Thank you.”

You move your hand away from his mouth but not away from his touch. Somehow you can’t find the strength to do that. 

What he does next, though, makes you completely breathless. He brings your hand to his mouth again, but this time he presses his lips gently against your skin, smiling right after. Your eyes open with surprise, feeling completely speechless, yet you don’t move away. You don’t even realize you are smiling slightly.

“Your hands are still so cold.”

“Yeah…” You try to speak, but it feels like your words are stuck in your throat. “They are always cold.”

“We need to change that.” He places another kiss on your hand.

*

He’s surprisingly nervous as he leads you to the living room. Based on his confidence back in the bar, you didn’t expect him to become so shy all of a sudden.

“Do you want some coffee?”

“No.” You answer quickly. The only thing you want is to feel his lips again but you keep that thought to yourself.

“What do you want then?” 

It’s obvious in his tone and the way he looks at you he doesn’t ask you about drinks.

“You.” You can’t believe you said this out loud, but it’s the truth.

He doesn’t need another push as he comes closer, grabbing you by the chin. Your lips crash together with an almost desperate hunger. He takes the opportunity immediately, getting his tongue inside your mouth in a fervent exploration. The sensation is electrifying.

You let him explore your mouth while you focus on his taste. It’s so unique and tasty, you just can’t get enough of it. Your hands slowly move toward the back of his head, pulling him closer.

“Fuck,” he groans when he feels your touch, breaking the kiss just to move his lips to your neck. 

“Mhmm… James.” His lips feel so good against your neck. It just sends a jolt of arousal through your body.

But then he freezes, with his mouth glued to your neck. You open your eyes confused wanting to ask him what happened, and that’s when you realize what you’ve just said.

“You know who I am?” His voice is a warm whisper against your skin.

“Of course, I know who you are.” You make it sound so natural as if there’s no way you wouldn’t know who he is. “You think I go to the houses of men I don’t know?” You say playfully.

“I didn’t mean that...” He raises his head from the crook of your neck just to look you in the eye. “I didn’t mean it offensively, I just wasn’t sure. I’m just stupid, I didn’t expect it.”

“I know who you are, James Bucky Barnes.”

“Fuck,” he groans, bringing his thumb to your bottom lip. “Say it again.”

“James Bucky Barnes or just James?”

He kisses you more desperately than before, his hands finding your hips as he gently grabs them, pulling you so close that you can feel his erection. You gasp so softly, but he hears it anyway, and you settle on his hard cock so it’s right against where you want it to be.

He moans. “Let’s go to the bedroom, doll.”

“Why?” You ask innocently as if you don’t know what he means. “Isn’t your couch comfortable enough?”

For him? Sure. But for you?

“The bed is better.”

“Okay.” You sound so obedient suddenly as you wrap your legs around his torso.

He immediately lifts you up without effort, and you smile, letting him carry you toward his room. He’s a super soldier after all. He closes the door with his foot as soon as you’re inside, then he gently puts you on the bed, like he’s afraid you might break. The way he’s acting is so endearing, but you want him to let go really badly. Even the manner he starts to take off your pants is too gentle.

You let him undress you the way he wants, though. Then you move closer to him, taking his clothes off, your movements not as gentle as his. You are impatient and needy. You see him holding his breath when you reach to touch his chest, close to where his metal arm begins, so you lean in to leave a kiss right there. You don’t know if you are crossing a line, but you have to. He should know that this is not something that would bother you, on the contrary, it turns you on even more. When he doesn’t move away from you, you keep kissing around his scars and his chest. Your hand is on his shoulder, gently caressing.

 “That feels so good, doll,” he says with a sigh before he grabs your waist. “but it's time for me to eat.”

You find yourself on your back so suddenly that you don’t even have time to react. He quickly settles between your legs and you understand exactly what he meant. He lifts them enough so you can rest them on his shoulders as he gets more comfortable on his tummy. You feel a hole in your stomach immediately. You can’t believe Bucky is between your thighs, about to eat you out.

He’s taking his sweet time at first, kissing down your thighs and even smelling you before he finally brings his tongue to your entrance.

“Come on, James. Don’t tease me.” You look down just to see him smiling.

“Why not? You seem to enjoy it.”

“I would enjoy it more if you stopped teasing and started eating.”

Surprisingly, Bucky doesn’t waste more time and properly starts to fuck you with his tongue. He’s not too quick, nor too slow with his moves, and you’re shocked when he brings his fingers to your mouth. 

“Need you to make them wet for me, please.” Even while saying that, he sounded a little too polite.

“On one condition,” you say, looking directly into his eyes. “Stop acting like I am made of glass.”

“But you kinda are.”

“I am not. Believe me.”

He says nothing, making sure to lick your slit before getting his tongue inside you again, his fingers, glued to your lips. You take it as a silent agreement and you open your mouth, suck his fingers, and let him wet them. When he thinks it’s enough, he gently takes them out and brings them right to your clit. He doesn’t touch it directly at first, teasing around it until you move your hips a little, needing to feel your clit stimulated.

“Please.” The way he’s taking his sweet time is so frustrating.

He lets his hand drop and instead of feeling his fingers on your clit, you feel his tongue at the same time he gets a finger inside you. You moan loudly, finally getting what you wanted from the start.

His other hand reaches for yours when he hears you grabbing the sheet, and you immediately hold it, enjoying how his cold metal feels. When you feel the second finger and he scissors both of them inside you, you’re shocked by how close you suddenly are. You can’t help but arch your back and move your hips, needing it faster.

He reads the signals pretty quickly and lets you use his mouth while he keeps pumping his fingers. It doesn’t take long for you to gasp, moan, and start to shake because of the pleasure he’s giving you. 

“James! Shit. I’m- gonna… ahh… come.”

You moan louder than you expected, dropping your head against his sheets, possessed by a great wave of pleasure. You want to tell him not to stop anything, but you can’t. And you don’t need to as he keeps licking and fingering you while you ride your orgasm out, prolonging it as much as possible.

When it’s done, you are feeling so good yet you are hungry for more. You raise your head a little and see Bucky still between your legs, but this time his beard is covered with your slick. He looks so handsome. His blue eyes are shining and his hair is all messy. It makes you wanna kiss him and that’s exactly what you do. You reach down to him, and he meets you in the middle, kissing you the way he was just eating you out: with passion and hunger.

He’s less gentle than before as you feel his hands grabbing your breasts, but it’s still not enough. You cover his hands with yours and push him to grab them harder than before. You let out a muffled moan while kissing him.

“You’re so fucking beautiful.”

You find yourself blushing like you two aren’t having sex. To mask your reaction, you reach out to his hard cock, gently grabbing it.

“Oh god,” he groans as he instinctively squeeze your breasts harder.

“Mhmm, yes.” You lean into his touch. “Just like that.”

Bucky looks at you as if you said something shocking. Is he not used to communicating during sex?

“What? Did I do something wrong?”

“You’re surprising me for someone so delicate.”

“I told you, I am not.”

He smiles. “Do you wanna help me put on a condom then?”

“I would love to, but…” You smile. “What if I told you I am clean and on the pill?”

“Fuck, I need you.” He kisses you suddenly. “Now.”

“I am right here.” It sounds so calming. “You can take me however you want.”

You’re not only on your back in the next second, but you also have his cock lined up at your entrance.

“Jesus, doll! For a pretty little thing, you’re quite nasty.”

“I just know what I want.” And this is it.

He nods, wrapping your legs around his ass at the same time he pushes inside you. In a second, your head is thrown back while you moan loudly. The way he fills you is so delicious. It makes you feel so full but not uncomfortable.

“You’re taking me so well already.”

“Please…” You raise your hips to create more friction. “Please, move.”

He brings his mouth to your breast a little before he starts thrusting, making sure to leave a small hickey right on top of it. It hurts so good, and you moan without holding back. It is music to Bucky’s ears. He just wants to hear it again, so he does it again.

“You want it rough, don’t you?” He thrusts harder than before. “You’re so needy.”

“Yeah.” Your voice is so shaky already. “I told you already.”

“Told me what?” He teases. “I don’t remember.”

“That I am not made of glass.”

“No, you are made for me.” He brings his hand to your face to move the hair strands that cover your eyes. “For my cock.”

“In that case…” You don’t know where the sudden rush of confidence comes from. “You are made for me. To fill me up.” You move your hips again, trying to fuck yourself on him.

“Oh, god. You’re so fucking wet,” he moans. “I am, I’m gonna fill you up so much.” He kisses you suddenly, your teeth almost crashing together because of the thrusts, but you don’t care.

“Can’t wait.” You tease him. “Don’t hold back, okay?”

He says nothing, letting his head drop a little so he can suck on your neck properly. He’s definitely fucking you harder. He pulls until he’s almost completely out of you before thrusting inside you again. And again. And again. It takes your breath away. The way it makes you feel is indescribable. You lose the little remaining control you had and just turn into a moaning mess. 

“Say my name, baby. C-come on.”

“James?” You sound hesitant even if you don’t mean to because you don’t know which name he wants to hear.

“Again,” he begs, his metal arm on your leg pushing it right against his ass.

“James!” This one comes out so naturally. No questions, no hesitation. You just breathe out his name with a moan.

“God, you look so beautiful. So pretty with my cock inside you.” His thrusts get faster, and you have no idea how he can speak so well while you’re a mess.

“I’m so close,” you can barely say without taking a breath in the middle of the sentence.

“What do you want?”

“Just… harder.”

“Like this?” He asks, suddenly thrusting a little harder than before. “Or like this?”

“This! Yes! Just like this!”

“You just want it hard.” He whispers against your ear. “What a dirty girl.”

You hear him, but you can’t respond. You are too busy coming all over his cock, and it feels like you are in heaven. He continues to fuck you as the pleasure fades away, murmuring how pretty you are and how good you make him feel before he comes, too, grabbing the bedpost behind you with his metal arm. It makes a clicking sound, but you don’t care, opening your still foggy eyes just to watch him.

There’s so much come. You can already feel it dripping out of you as he keeps fucking you. You expect it to end soon, but it doesn’t. It goes on and on. The way he loses control as he comes just triggers another orgasm out of you. You would be surprised how quickly you could come again if it didn’t feel overwhelmingly good. You can’t think about anything other than him and the way he makes you feel.

His come is getting all over your thighs and ass, and the bed, as he moans. “Kakaya khoroshaya devochka.” What a good girl.

You can’t help but laugh despite not understanding a word of what he says. “Is that Russian?”

He opens his eyes, and the blue you love is almost completely grey. “Yes.” He sounds confused, too. 

“What does it mean?” Your afterglow can’t overshadow your curiosity. “If you don’t tell me, this isn’t happening again.” You try to make it obvious you aren’t serious with your playful tone. Especially not after those orgasms.

“Look at you, little and feisty, blackmailing me.” He chuckles before leaving a kiss on your lips. “I told you what a good girl you are. I didn’t realize I spoke in Russian.”

You laugh a little. “Say it again.” You give him the cutest look. “Please?”

“Ty moya khoroshaya devochka.” He repeats softly. You’re my good girl.

You don’t even realize how content you look as you keep smiling.

“Now, I can get used to that.”

“Say my name again, please.”

You love the neediness in his voice. “James?” You tilt your head a little. “Or would you prefer Bucky?”

“Fuck, it doesn’t matter.” His thumb is suddenly on your lips. “I can get used to that, too.”

[rotten-pomegranate]

(Happy Easter! 🐇) Hiiii, in the headcanons you did about the reader who escaped for years, how long do you think it would take for the characters to trust their darling after escape attempt? Have a wonderful day! 🫶

I will have a wonderful day(it’s 5:00 in the morning where I am) thank you

Warnings: torture

/|\^._.^/|\ /|\^._.^/|\ /|\^._.^/|\ /|\^._.^/|\

Feitan

Feitan will never trust you again your gonna be used as a slave for the rest of your life once he gets you back

He might give you privileges like cooking or having a bed back but when he has a meeting with the troupe your chained to the wall

If you ask him for forgiveness he’s gonna straight up cackle in your face and rough you up a bit

The only reason your aloud to cook is because he wants to eat without having to make food so you do it

Shalnark

Shalnark is gonna take a while and you may start to think you got his trust back early on you didn’t he’s just tricking you into thinking that so you let your guard down

He’s gonna keep you in a dog cage until he trust you again, a big dog cage with lots of fluffy pillows and blankets but still a dog bed

He might fully treat you like a dog for a while just to humiliate you, making you beg for food and water every time you wanted some, and you gotta drink and eat it out of a bowl to

He holds a lot of stuff over your head after that, you won’t suck him off to get rid of his morning wood? Remember how nice he was when you ran away, he could have been cruel

He just uses it to guilt trip you

Phinks

Phinks folds the quickest, hearing your little cries coming from the room he locked you in is to much and he wants to hold and comfort you

He doesn’t give you all your privileges back and he’ll never fully trust you again but it’s better then nothing

He expects you to put an effort in your “relationship” now including intimate situations as well, he wants you to do stuff not just lay there and cry

Illumi

Illumi was livid when you escaped and he was livid when he found you, your never gonna get privileges or trust back

He just uses you a an incubator for his heir until he has one and after he has his fairly large family your going on birth control and your just his sex toy that he uses for stress relief

He’ll let you have a knife for cooking which he also makes you do all off

He’s gonna be hitting you a lot more as well, if he didn’t do it often before he does now

Hisoka

You don’t get privileges, you don’t even get to eat most of the time, your his personal flesh light until he forgives and stops beating you up every chance he gets but your still his personal sex doll and your only job is to warm his bed from now on

He’ll let you freely use the bathroom and eat without begging but don’t take it for granted because he can hold a grudge

If you start asking for stuff again he might beat you up to remind you of your place again so just don’t

Chrollo

You better have enjoyed your little vacation because your never gonna see the light of day again, your tied up in his basement, attached to a little bed with access to a small kitchen and a bathroom but it’s far from freedom

He’s still gonna get you pretty dresses but they are only for him to see

He’s never gonna trust you, he’s gonna hold everything over your head from now on, he got you a tight skimpy dress that you don’t even like? Your gonna have to set an alarm because he wants to wake up to a blow job to make his morning wood go down

It’s not gonna be the worst but it won’t be nearly what it was before

©rotten-pomegranate- All rights reserved, don’t steal, translate, copy, plagiarize, claim my work as your own or post it on other platforms.

[adhd-languages]

Keeping up your Languages when you’re Busy

Confession: I’ve been slacking on Japanese recently because my life has been so hectic recently. So here are some of the ways I’ve been trying to keep it in my brain when I can’t dedicate a lot of time to studying.

CHANGE YOUR PHONE LANGUAGE

This applies to computers as well! This is the easiest way to ensure you see at least some of your target language every day. It’s good for any level, even beginners.

If you haven’t already done this, do it now. I understand that some things are important and you need to be sure you understand them — in that case, you can always change individual apps to have different languages, just look up the app name in settings.

Podcasts/Music

Find some podcasts in your target language and listen to them before bed, during your commute, whatever. There are lots of podcasts made specifically for learners, or you can look up topics in your target language to find a podcast you might enjoy.

Music is also an amazing way to hear your target language being used. If you find an artist you like, that’s another good way to study your TL! Follow them on socials, look up interviews with them, etc.

Talk to Yourself

Any spare minute you have, talk to yourself in your target language. It doesn’t need to be out loud. You can have a conversation with yourself, try to express how you’re feeling, make up stories, or just describe the things around you in your target language. This is also a good way to see what kind of vocabulary you’re missing.

Apps

Duolingo has fired a ton of translators and started using crappy AI translations — so they’re probably not the best choice.

I’d recommend dictionary app that has some sort of flash card feature is also good, or an anki deck. Drops is good, and has a lot of languages, but keep in mind you’ll need audio. Anything that’s easy to get out and do for even just a few minutes is perfect.

Apps won’t teach you a language on their own, but doing a little every day helps remind me the language exists and keeps it in my mind.

Texting/Writing/Posting

Whether your friends know your TL or not, force them to experience it by randomly messaging in Japanese! Or, if you feel fancy, download an app like “HelloTalk”, “Tandem”, “Speaky”, “Tabee”…there are a lot.

If you keep a digital journal (like I do…inconsistently), try to write some entries in your TL.

If you have a blog, which I assume you do, post in your TL. Even if you’re a beginner, you can make a sideblog dedicated to saying stuff like “I’m hungry” and “Green is my favourite colour” in your target language.

Open your notes app and just write random words you can remember or sentences you can string together.

I know it’s really difficult, and don’t beat yourself up because you aren’t studying as hard. A language can be a lifelong companion — you’ll have phases of studying constantly, and sometimes it’ll take the back seat, but there’s no rush to learn it. Have a great day :)!

[babyhatesreality]

We-sponsor-bilwittie

Paring: Daddy!Stucky x little f!reader

Summary: You really want a pet. Papa really doesn’t. Daddy is just having fun watching the battle.  Warnings: DDLG themes (SSC), f!reader, reader is named (but name scarcely used), language, stubborn baby, stubborn papa, threat of Time Out, fluff (there will always be fluff in my stuff (that rhymed, album coming out with Anthony Mackie soon) :D)

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN MEDIA CONSUMPTION. THIS STORY IS SFW- THE REST OF MY BLOG IS NOT NECESSARILY SO. MINORS DNI. I DO NOT CONSENT FOR MY WORK TO BE STOLEN, COPIED, OR TRANSLATED ONTO ANY OTHER SITE BUT MY OWN. Likes, comments and reblogs are deeply appreciated. 

“Please??”

“No.”

“Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease??”

“No.”

“PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!”

“No no no no no no no.”

“But Papa!” you whined, throwing your hands up desperately. Steve looked up from his desk with that no-nonsense look. You sighed and dropped your hands, knowing you’d already lost. You pouted with all your might.

“I said no. Now stop asking,” Steve said firmly, arching one eyebrow up at you as if to warn you to behave. You tilted your head as his blue eyes stared sternly into yours. 

“But...how am I a’posed to get you to say yes if I can’t ask anymore?” you asked, genuinely curious. Before Steve could heave another world-weary sigh, a chuckle from behind you turn your focus around. Bucky was leaning against the doorframe, not even trying to suppress the shit-eating grin on his face. 

“Convinced him yet, munchkin?” he asked you. You shook your head dramatically, hoping it would win you sympathy points. 

“No. He still says I can’t have a kitty,” you said mournfully. Steve rolled his eyes at your theatrically wounded tone. “But I really really want one, Daddy.”

Bucky nodded. “I know you do, baby. I’m on board. But like I said- you gotta convince Papa.” He looked up to see Steve shooting daggers with his eyes in his direction. “Personally, I still think it’s a great idea,” he plowed on, deliberately ignoring the glare. 

You whipped around to face Steve again, your eyes wide with delight. “See, Papa! Daddy says we can!” Steve’s face morphed into something kinder as his gaze turned to you. 

“Angel, you’re too little to take responsibility for a cat. It’s a living animal that needs care and attention.”

“I can be we-sponsa...we-sponble...we....I can do it!”

Steve couldn’t help but grin as you stumbled over the word, but then put his serious Papa face back on. “Maybe I’d believe you if your bed was made and your teeth were brushed. Those are both chores that you have yet to do that show your responsibility, and I’m pretty sure neither of them are done right now,” he said nonchalantly, deliberately turning his gaze back to his paperwork to see what you’d do. 

Upon hearing that, you turned and raced out of the room, Bucky neatly sidestepping as you tore down the hall to your bedroom. You knew Steve shouted something about not running or something, but you didn’t have time to listen- you were on a mission to prove that you were we-spans....we-spandable...that you could do it.  

Bucky laughed, watching you nearly slide past your door in your socked feet during your mad dash. Steve’s ticked-off gaze swung back up to his partner. “You’re not helping,” he snarled at Bucky. 

“I’m not trying to,” Bucky answered back. Steve shot him an aggravated look. “Why are you so dead-set against getting a cat, Stevie?” he asked, walking into the room and plopping himself in the chair next to the desk. “I think it’ll be fun.”

“Because, Buck, you and I have a lot on our plates already, and Katie is too little to remember to take care of it consistently.”

“I think she can do it. She wants it badly enough. We can just add it to her chore chart.”

“And see how well that’s working out?” Steve responded sarcastically, gesturing to where you had just exited in a rush a moment ago.

“So she missed a couple things this week. Big deal.”

“First off, you can’t miss a couple things when you’re taking care of a live animal. Second, you want to reward her bad behavior by getting her something that will be even more work?

“Stevie, you’re looking at this the wrong way,” Bucky said, leaning forward on his elbows. He stopped for a second, hearing the pounding of little feet as you raced to the bathroom to complete your second task. “If that doesn’t prove my point...” Bucky murmured under his breath before turning his gaze back to his husband. “Look. She really wants this. She wants it bad enough and she’s stubborn enough to pull it off. Why don’t you try letting her show you she can be responsible? Give her a few new things to do, tell her it’s a trial run to see if she can handle it. Either she’ll prove that she can, or it’ll be too much work and she’ll lose interest.” Steve thought for a moment, then fixed Bucky with a no-nonsense stare. 

“Will you stop encouraging her to pester me about it in the meantime?” he asked, arching one eyebrow, knowing that Bucky had been behind the subtle reminders to bombard him with your asks. 

“Absolutely not. This is too much fun.”

You raced back into the room just in time to catch the word ‘fun’, clambering onto Steve’s lap. “Look, Papa, I brushed my teeth! See?” You breathed heavily and open-mouthed right into his face so he could smell the minty freshness. Papa snorted a laugh, then suddenly wrapped his arms around you, cuddling you into his chest tightly. 

“You are adorable, you know that?” he said, nuzzling his nose into your hair and smelling your clean, warm, soft scent. You giggled and blushed, turning your face into his chest and nuzzling back. 

“Made my bed too,” you said hopefully, your face smushed up against him but not wanting to lose your momentum. Steve dropped a quick kiss onto the top of your head, then leaned back to look you in the face. 

“Alright, sweetness, let’s make a deal, okay?” 

“Okay, Papa! Deal!” 

“I haven’t even told you what the deal is yet.”

“Right!”

Another chuckle. “Here’s the deal. Daddy and I are going to give you a few more chores on your chore chart. They’re going to be things that need to be done every day. These are going to be things to prove that you can be responsible enough to take care of a kitty cat every day. Do you understand?”

You nodded vigorously, wiggling in your excitement. “Yeah, Papa, I do! I do! Then we can get a kitty?”

“Well, that will depend on you, baby,” he said simply. You stopped wiggling- this was getting serious. “You will need to do all your chores, every day, for a whole month. No missing, no skipping, no ‘I forgot’. If you can do that, we can move on to the next step of possibly getting a cat.” Steve ignored the glare that Bucky was now shooting his way, presumably about the ‘next step’ remark. Hel, if he was going to capitulate to both of you and bring a live animal into this apartment, he was going to make damn sure it was the right call before subjecting a poor kitten to possible neglect. 

For Bucky’s part, he knew that Steve was going to make you jump through hoops to prove your responsibility, but he hadn’t anticipated a multi-tiered acceptance program. Sometimes he missed the little guy that would just rush head first into anything, but being an Avenger and seeing the trouble that Tony would get himself into with that kind of thinking had curbed that to an extent. Not to mention anything having to do with you; especially your well-being and safety. If Bucky was being honest with himself, as much as he sometimes missed the ‘little guy’, he loved the caring, sensitive, over-protective man even more. His face morphed from annoyed into a soft smile at that realization. 

As for you, you thought very hard about what Papa said. He was very serious about the whole thing, so you knew that you must be serious too. Could you do it? It wasn’t that they ever gave you chores that were out of your league or didn’t understand when you were a bit younger and couldn’t complete them- they were very fair and understanding. It was just...a lot to think about in your little mind. 

But you were also stubborn and determined. You could do this. You could do this for your future kitty cat child. You WOULD do this. 

“Deal,” you said to Papa, with your most serious face on. You held out your hand to shake as you’d seen him and Uncle Tony do a lot when they were done arguing about stuff. Papa barely suppressed his grin and shook your hand. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Exactly one month later, Steve was flabbergasted. And starting to sweat. Not only had you completed your chore chart every day (sometimes by the skin of your teeth but it still counted), you had also taken to “feeding” your stuffies every day to show your responsibility. You brought them to the breakfast table and insisted on making them a little bowl full of whatever handful of stuff you could grab from the pantry- Cheerios, goldfish, M&Ms if you could find them. You would then plop your chosen stuffy down next to you with the bowl in front of them and tell them to eat up as you ate your own breakfast. 

The first couple days had been cute, but then Steve was starting to get disgruntled at the waste of food. “Katie-Cat,” he’d scolded gently. “You need to stop putting bowls down for your stuffies. They....” He’d been about to say ‘don’t eat’ when he stopped. Both yours and Bucky’s eyes had slid to him on his last ‘they’; yours were wide with concern, Bucky’s were narrow at Steve’s close call to breaking your spell of play. “They...don’t finish it all,” Steve concluded lamely, giving Bucky a look as if to say Is that better? “We don’t want to waste food, do we?”

“Papa,” you explained carefully and slowly, as if he was dumb and just not getting the concept. “I HAVE to. I am being we-sponsor-ball.” 

How was he supposed to argue with that?

It wasn’t that he didn’t think a cat would be a good addition to their little family. He just wanted to make very sure it was the correct move, especially where you were concerned. Tomorrow was the deadline for the month, but what was the next step going to be? 

As if to answer his inner turmoil, he heard Bucky scolding you from your bedroom about keeping your room clean yet again. It had been a point of contention for all of you ever since day one. Both Steve and Bucky liked clean, orderly spaces- a throwback from their days in the army, no doubt. They made it your chore to make sure all your clothes were picked up and your toys were put away by the end of the day, but they hadn’t counted on just how much destruction you could do between waking up and going to bed. You just simply didn’t care if your pajamas were on the floor all day- they just had to be put in the hamper by bedtime. Neither Bucky nor Steve had made any headway in convincing you to just put them straight into the hamper. And from the sounds coming from your room, it was pretty clear that Bucky was trying (and failing) again. This gave Steve a fantastic idea. 

He trotted to the door where Bucky was standing, arms crossed, and peered inside. You were stomping to your hamper with ill grace, throwing your pajamas and socks and play clothes into it, not saying a word. The scowl on your little face was adorable to him, although he knew Bucky was about two seconds from the ‘lose the attitude’ speech and making you sit in Time Out.  

“You know, angel,” Steve broke in, causing you to look up, surprised. “You’re going to have to keep a kitty’s stuff clean too.” He saw Bucky suddenly relax and smirk out of his periphery- he knew where Steve was going with this- and Steve knew he was on the right track. “You’re going to have to wash its food and water bowls and pick up any kitty toys that it leaves out,” he said, emphasizing all the additional chores deliberately. “Going to have to clean up a lot for a kitty.” They had previously agreed that there would be no litter box scooping- they were both too freaked out about the germs that you could get and anyways there were all these self-cleaning litter boxes nowadays. No sense in not taking advantage of today’s technology. 

The little statement worked like a charm. Suddenly, you were in a flurry to clean up the rest of your clothes, even going so far as to toss Pipsqueak back onto your bed from where he had fallen a couple minutes ago. When your room was clean, you stood in front of Papa, brushing the hair out of your sweaty face and looking at him hopefully. 

“In fact, that’s the next level of you being responsible enough to get a kitty,” Steve said, laying it on thick. “You will need to keep your room perfectly clean all day.”

“I can do it! I can be we-sponsor-ble!”

“For three months.”

Your jaw hit the floor. Three whole MONTHS?! Were they insane?! How did they expect you to accomplish such a huge, Herculean feat?! Was this even legal?! 

Both Papa and Daddy were smirking at your astonishment in how you were possibly expected to live up to such lofty expectations. And those smiles got your stubborn wheels turning. You stood stock still, thinking hard. Then it came to you.

Suddenly, you ran to your bed, yanking up your blankets, pillow, and Jellybean. You tossed them off your bed. “That’s not keeping your room clean, Trouble,” Bucky said casually, but you ignored him. You carefully smoothed down the sheets and reorganized the remaining furry friends into a nice display. You then gathered up your stuff and proceeded to march out the door. 

Steve and Bucky were confused- what in the world were you doing? They followed you into the hallway, curious. You plopped your stuff down, then brushed past them again, closing your bedroom door. You turned to look at them, expectantly. They stared back at you. None of you spoke for the longest time. 

Steve finally broke the ice. “What was that all about, baby?” he asked gently, gesturing to your pile of blankets. 

“My room is clean now,” you said triumphantly. “So I’m gonna live in the hallway for three months and my room will stay clean for the whole time and then we have to get a kitty.”

It was Steve’s turn to drop his jaw. Bucky ducked his head, his whole body shaking as he tried to contain his uproarious laughter at your proclamation. Once he had gotten ahold of himself enough, he looked at your with wild mirth. 

“So I’m thinking a solid white cat. Maybe we could name it Alpine. What do you think, Trouble?”

[one-fin-wonder]

Can I have the boys reaction to someone info-dumping to them?

A/N: Yes Anon, you sure as heck can. I really enjoy info dumping on my friends so this is right up my alley. I hope this is what you were hoping for! :D

Warnings: I used my poor duolingo skills and limited Spanish knowledge to write the Spanish, there only a few but the grammar may off, I am so sorry for it in advance but there is translations to what I intended to say. not beta read / I’m too dyslexic for my own good, and fluff? I’m a hopeless romantic man. What do you want from me. 

Word count: 1090

Steven Grant:

It all started when Steven asked you about your day as he walked through the door. He set down his messenger bag and turned towards you. It was too late, the waterfall of words already was released. 

You began explaining how you dived deeply into your hyperfixation (or specific subject you would be info dumping about)

You smiled wide as you explained, and his heart melted at the sight of you.

are you the type of person that stims when you get excited? (I shore am) Steven will smile if you begin to stim happily while explaining. 

He loves knowing that you are so excited that you can’t contain the energy, you have to physically let the happiness out 

He simply smiled as he sat down next to you. He nodded and began asking clarifying questions.

“So, what you’re saying is…” “Theoretically then…” “Wait! That means…*He connects to another concept to allow you both to be engaged*”

He’ll wraps his arms around you if you’ll let him, holding onto you as you speak about your topic

He will praise your enthusiasm for the topic and vast knowledge. 

“Love, you’re simply a genius.” “I love hearing your view and knowledge” “That’s so fascinating!” 

Steven knows exactly what it’s like to need to explain one specific topic. He knows that feeling, that specific feeling like pasta water boiling over on the stove. 

He holds your hands (with your permission) as you speak, he likes showing you that he’s there with you and listening, it's a gentle reminder.

He feels it's incredibly important for you to be comfortable enough to share these moments of informational rambling. So he tries his best to show you he’s interested, he hears you and that you are loved. 

Marc Spector:

He is very caught off guard

Once he knows you aren’t upset or in distress he sighs heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose before nodding and listening

He tosses his keys to the side as he nods listening to you

Marc doesn’t know fully how to react but he likes to hear your voice. The excitement and sincerity in your voice as you speak makes him smile, just a little. 

Marc makes his way over to you finally after he completes his after work routine

Like Steven I think Marc would wrap his arms around you but he wouldn’t know much more than that to show he cares about your information

He does though, He loves you, and he wants to see you happy. He simply doesn’t do emotions well. 

(My poor emotionally unavailable boy. He just needs a hug.)

He silently listens and only replies when you ask him if he follows, 

Finally once you’re done you look at him with a small little sigh and smile and he melts. 

You see it in his eyes and the stern expression he always has just softens. 

you can tell how much he loves you in this moment, the pure love just radiating, but he won’t say it. He won’t explain the feeling he is experiencing. 

But he loves you and you don’t necessarily need the words that he struggles to say, because it’s obvious in his actions. 

and god, the feeling is mutual.

Jake Lockley:

this man has no fucking clue what you are rambling about

He will freeze in the doorway of the small apartment, hand still on the doorknob. He’s so confused and you’re talking a mile an hour in an excited tone. He cannot understand you at this moment. 

Once Jake gets to you he will take his gloves off, stuff them in his pocket and put his hands on your shoulders (or a more comfortable spot if this can trigger you like it does me. Essentially he wants to ground you.) 

“Mi amor, por favor, slow down. No comprendo.” ("My love, Please, Slow down I don't understand")

Or alternatively, he May think something’s wrong with how excited and rushing towards him you are. He puts a hand on your arm and looks around the apartment then back at you. “Que pasa?? Está bien???” ("What's wrong?? Are you okay???")

He would then notice your smile and beaming expression and relax a little “Dios mío,” ("oh my god")you gave this Poor man a heart attack but he loves you all the same. 

he will listen but he will make you repeat yourself again

But it’s only because he cares so much. He wants to understand, so if it takes him several times to understand he will put that effort in.

He nods a lot, especially when it finally clicks in his little murderous, spanish, brain.

When he asks a clarifying question he always ends it with “yeah?” Ex: “so when you say the sun is a star you mean like that fucking ball in the sky, yeah?” 

He sits next to you, his arms on his knees as he hunches over listening. He doesn’t look at you he’s looking most likely at the floor or the wall as he focuses on your words. 

He tries really hard to make you feel heard but he legit makes that grumpy Spanish man expression the entire time. But you know this is just how he is, he loves you, he really does. 

This man keeps a little notebook, like those ones for detectives that fit in pockets. He keeps one of those in his jacket pocket and writes down facts he wants to remember about your favorite topics. He is like a dad who is trying to keep up with the trends. 

Not that he would let you necessarily see said notebook, he keeps it hidden in the inside pocket with a small pen or golf pencil in the spiral of the notepad. 

He pats your knee like a dad too, to show you he’s there. He’s present with you. It’s subtle but it’s his own way of letting you know he’s trying to understand. 

He would move heaven and earth for you, he loves your intelligence, your insight, he loves you. All of you, no matter your flaws, perfections, your needs. 

So if being heard is what you need in this moment you know damn well he will give you everything he can to make it happen. 

[avelera]

Ugh, popped on Twitter to geek out about the Wheel of Time S2 and immediately find a bunch of WoT dudebro fans complaining that a 15 book series of 800+ pages each isn’t getting the exact word for word adaption that exists inside their heads when they read the books. And let me remind you all, these books were my life, my first fandom, and basically my personality pretty much from when I first read them in 1999 until Robert Jordan died (alas, I read to the end but Brandon Sanderson never quite captured the magic of RJ’s writing for me again, even if I think he did the best job anyone possibly could.)

So let me just say from a place of deep respect and obsession with these books that any hate for the show based on it not being a page for page adaptation is patently insane. Much of Wheel of Time relies on the strengths of prose which are untranslatable to a visual medium. Stuff like how magic (or the One Power) feels to cast makes up a huge proportion of the book. You can externally portray a feeling, sure, but there are still limits.

They forget that Book 1 was written to be standalone and has a ton of inconsistencies with later books that need to be shored up. That means logistical changes which cause necessary alterations almost all of which have actually been massive improvements in my mind. For all my love of Wheel of Time, its pacing is atrocious and I think even RJ would agree that if he could go back with the whole story in mind and edit it to be more streamlined, he absolutely would have. The show HAS to do that or we’d still be in the goddamn Two Rivers with the book pacing.

Centering the first season on the White Tower and Moiraine’s POV makes sense. The book relied on Moiraine being a Gandalf figure that gave information away at the pace of reader reveals, in tiny drips meant to tantalize a slow-paced book’s reader. That would be immensely frustrating for a tv show viewer of a story set in a sprawling fantasy world that needs tons of explanation and world building up front to have any idea what’s going on. Focusing on Moiraine, who has the answers, instead of sticking to the ignorance of the kids isn’t just a good choice it’s very nearly the only choice you can make. The White Tower is one of the most complex and interesting parts of that world. Centering it and introducing it earlier was an incredibly wise choice.

Other smaller choices make sense too if people thought about it for two seconds. Aging up the kids makes sense. They’re teens in the books and it would be incredibly awkward on screen. But once you age them up, it makes sense that at least ONE of them has been married before. Perrin makes SENSE to have been married if he left Two Rivers later. He’s a responsible guy with a good trade and a level head on his shoulders. He’s sweet and caring and mature. Of course he got married, he’s from a small farming community in a medieval-esque world with shorter life expectancies. Furthermore, I love Perrin to death but his obsessive fear of hurting Faile later is frankly ungrounded in anything that isn’t benign misogyny on some level. It doesn’t update and translate well on its own. Giving him Laila, giving him the manner of Laila’s death grounds his later attitudes towards Faile so well I literally gasped when I put it all together.

Other changes like in S2 having Min and Mat meet the way they do in Tar Valon was genius. It matters more that Mat and Min have rapport than that they meet in the same circumstances as the book (and Mat wouldn’t even remember that meeting anyway lol). The rapport set up and the way it showed Mat’s genius and con artistry was brilliant. Showing these characters LIKE each other was incredibly engaging and endearing which is so important because the adaptation has to be enjoyable to non book readers too, especially since the 15, 800+ page books of meandering pacing are pretty much impenetrable to new readers. Book readers simply can’t make up the majority of the audience, there’s not enough of them to sustain a show with any kind of budget which WOT requires. Thus, it needs to be an enjoyable show in its own right, not just a meandering exact adaptation ffs.

I can literally point to any show change and say it was either logical, practical, thematic, or simply genius. Wheel of Time desperately needs an edit to be accessible to modern audiences. What an adaptation prioritizes is always a risk that’s going to be run for a fan of the original material but so far I’ve been wildly impressed by every choice made in how logical or thoughtful and most of all loving it was to the actual important emotions and themes of the book. Any complainers are seriously missing the point of what an adaptation even is.

[ghostingcrows]

Okay because generally I’ve been seeing a lot of fighting a weirdness I wanted to talk about this for a second

Hobie Brown is not an adult

Please stop being weird about him!!

More explanations under the cut

I’ve been complaining about this a lot and for people that don’t understand this situation essentially in an interview one of the directors said that an early concept of Hobie design was that he was supposed to be like the cooler older kid and as the example used for this he stated the ages 19/20

Because of this many people took it as still being canon which has led to a large bit of debate in the community between people about his age

The people who have taken this reference to the early concept as canon have started bashing people who ship Hobie with others in the group (mainly Miles and Pav which is important and which I will come back to later) as well as used this as an excuse to sexualize Hobie because hes an adult

A barely legal one which even if this was true is its own separate issue

However the issue with this specific take is that its wrong

For a variety of reasons

1) For starters people say that since the director said he was 19/20 it must be true however another director/creator of the film has stated that Hobies age is up for interpretation meaning he doesn’t have a specific set age

However, it is very clear based off of everything else that Hobie was still meant to be in the teenager range in terms of age 

For starters the actual movie

Throughout the first half of the movie Hobie is referred to a couple times by both Gwen and Pav and later Miles

Every time he is talked about in this context it is always with the undertoned implication of him and Gwen supposedly having a romantic relationship with both Pav and Gwen treating it as a sort of thing that could potentially cause friction or other issues in regards to Miles and Gwens relationship

If Hobie really were 19/20 this would be, cannot stress this enough, incredibly weird and creepy on the writers part

Unlike Hobie Gwen does have a confirmed age and she IS a minor and the movie imply that she had a relationship with Hobie whether she actual did or not and treating it as a joke would be weird and out of place if he was an adult

Not to mention that a lot of people referred to Gwen, Hobie and Miles dynamic as a love triangle which again weird and gross and uncalled for if Hobie was an adult

2) The art books both in the english and Japanese translation refer to Hobie in a way that either implies hes a kid or outright uses terms that mean hes a child

In the English translation of the book Hobie is referred to as the cool slightly older boy the girls want to date

Meanwhile the Japanese translation literally spells it out

3) I’ve heard a variety of different deflect in regards to all the above mentioned stuff

“Hobie doesn’t look like a kid” people age differently. I’ve met kids in high school who were the same age as or younger than me with full ass beards and mustaches as well as people who are well into there 20 who look like they’re still 15 he simply just has a structured face

“He was bit at 16 in the comics and said he was spider-man for 3 years in the movie” We aren’t in the comics universe though and in this iteration Miles was bit at like 13 and Gwen at like 14 meaning that in actuality the kids are usually bitten really damn early and the actual facts are that we don’t know how old he was when he was bitten and since we very clearly aren’t in the comic universe as these movies are significantly different from the comics you can’t just go off of that

“Just because it was a concept doesn’t mean it was changed it could still have been kept” While it is true that yes sometimes things from first draft concepts are kept a lot of times they aren’t such as Hobies best friend Pavitr who was supposed to be 13 in his concept but very clearly isn’t in the movie (I don’t actually have solid evidence for that claim I just think it would be weird that they make comments about Pavs body and show him shirtless if he was still 13 in the final-) both Pav and Hobie had a shit ton of changes done to them  alongside basically all of the main 4 (Hobie, Pavitr, Gwen and Miles), except for maybe Miles but he was already an established character, so using his concept as hard and fast evidence when he very clearly was changed a lot and everything else points toward him being a kid just doesn’t work

“He mentions going to a pub so he has to be at least 21” first Hobie is British and the legal age in Britain is 18 also you don’t have to be of legal drinking age to go into a pub you just have to be old enough to actual order drinks which doesn’t even account for the fact that this is also Hobie we’re talking about who would not give the slightest fucks about the legal drinking age “But they show him with a beer in his montage and they wouldn’t encourage that in an underage character” Hobies montage is so fast paced and colorful that I genuinely don’t even know if thats true because you can barely comprehend the stuff that happens in that scene the first time you see it and not to mention that he also flips off the cops in that montage so I don’t really think they were too concerned about encouraging certain behaviors or not since half of Hobies speech in that scene was about overthrowing governments saying ACAB

So in conclusion

Hobie doesn’t have a confirmed age but based off off all the information we are given he is probably actually closer to 16/17 as his age

Now as a side tangent something else I want to address is the inherent homophobia and racism undertones that came with the initial spreading of his false age

Because when people initially heard that age they’re first instinct wasn’t to jump at the actual movie for imply a ship with Hobie and Gwen or even on the people make jokes about but was instead to jump on the people shipping Hobie with Pav and Miles

Both other male characters who are also characters of color

Odd that the first though was the (honestly at that time) relatively new and unpopular gay poc ships (Yes I know the ships are more popular now they had BARELY any content at the time of the interview)

Like genuinely the absolute giddy JOY I saw some people have at the idea that people who were minding their own business would have had a ship they liked ruined for them was insane and still is to me

[fools-task-force]

random cod hcs #3 - roach

everyone’s favorite little bug boy, the best guy (I have been watching playthroughs and shit and I am officially hyperfixated). here are some hcs for the guy who's probably now my favorite character. also making it clear now that he’s audhd, if you disagree you’re wrong /j. but that will be influencing some of these headcanons

he definitely likes collecting rocks, especially special ones like if they’re super smooth or have some different colors. any special rock goes into his collection. his prized possession is a rock that sparkles in the light

he doesn’t have one set love language, he has two; penguin pebbling and parallel play. you know he really likes someone when he gives them a rock, the prettier/more rare the rock the more he likes the person. parallel play is usually reserved for people he’s closer to

despite what people may first think, he’s really good at masking. he did it his whole life; it’s only now that he’s in the 141 that he feels okay to unmask, after more than a few conversations about how no one would judge him for being himself. now he’s nonverbal or semiverbal almost all the time, but that doesn’t save the task force from a little chaos. he’s comfortable enough to unmask all the time now, knowing one of the others can explain if anyone new questions him

he’s fluent in many different sign languages, and can read, write, and listen/understand many languages as well. he knows how to speak most of these languages too, but not as fluently and he never really needs to. it helps whenever a translator is needed, the team always goes to Roach first

he loves that his callsign is Roach, since in his teen years he had a hyperfixation/borderline special interest on bugs/insects. however his favorite were ants, with moths being a close second because of how pretty they are

yes he loves pokemon, he has a gameboy advanced and a copy of emerald that he plays whenever he struggles with falling asleep. he also has a card collection, but hasn’t added to it in a while

he sleeps like he’s dead. there is no movement when he falls asleep; people have to actually go over and check that he’s breathing, that he has a pulse, anything to make sure he’s just asleep and hasn’t died

he can and will fall asleep anywhere on base. it’s like playing hide and seek only the hiding one fell asleep

despite what some people think, he's extremely organized. but that's because he color codes everything. if he needs to highlight, he's color coding his highlighters - each color is for a certain thing. same with sticky notes. colors are universal - red is for enemies, targets, etc, while blue is for dates, stuff like that

[harryleatherfit]

Downtown🥃4.8k

Javier Peña x Brat Bartender Fem! Reader

based off of this request ||

also a 50 follower milestone🍋

Working at a bar in downtown Medellín, a biker gang comes in for their usual drink, and your boss has called someone in to help you with drinks. Nico, the head of the gang doesn’t like another man around you… but little does he know that you’re little friend Javier Peña is taking care of you elsewhere.

warnings: mentions of gangs, mentions of men abducting women, SHITTY TRANSLATED SPANISH, alcohol consumption, smoking, brat, brat tamer (if you squinttt) heightened senses, fucking in public, p in v (uncovered but pulls out), oral f receiving

word count: 4.8K

authors note: i don’t know any spanish, so i really hope my translate app had my back on this one 🍀🍀 also im rewatching narcos and myyyy god i need to write more javier LIKE CMONNN

taglist: @beefrobeefcal

One Shot Playlist

Lust for Life- Lana Del Ray

Solid Liquid Gas- Eartheater

Stereo Love- Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina

🪩Main Master List🪩

Running late to your shift at the club, per usual. You didn’t know how you always managed to at least run 5 minutes late, but tonight you were making sure you looked at least somewhat presentable.

Your boss had let you know that someone else was also coming in to help you at the bar, tonight was when a motorcycle group would come in and spend the entirety of the night, drinking their lives away.

You didn’t mind any of the men, but you needed the extra help with serving them, along with any other college kids or any other people that were gonna drink the night away. The club you worked at was specifically known for its nightlife.

Working in Medellin has been the best experience of your life. The city was beautiful, and by working at the club downtown, you soaked in every bit you could get. You became a people person and your anxiety of being alone had subsided, when your boss had hired you, he saw potential, and he knew he was doing right by hiring you.

You didn’t know what other business your boss was getting into, but you figured this club was a coverup. You never asked any questions, but you figured that’s what he liked most about you. But sincerely it wasn’t your place to care. You never knew if he was rolling around with the police or the cartels, all you knew was that he was a respected man, and it didn’t really matter as long as he paid you well.

Late at night, when you had to close, your boss would tell you to leave early, as he had some ‘business to deal with’ but you never got to see with who. Maybe one day you’d get to see, but for now you had to fucking sprint into the back of the bar to clock in.

You open the door back in an alleyway, wafting a draft of club air- humid and loud. You duck into the dark staff room quickly setting your stuff down and getting your work clothes on, not caring possibly what you could look like now, as long as your hair and makeup stayed intact. Rushing past the cooks, saying hi instead asking how everyone's day was, to finally getting to the door to burst behind the bar. Immediately, he bumps into you.

“Fuck sorry.” He gasps, whiskey bottles in hand. He gets a good look at you and stops to make sure you’re okay.

You realize this isn’t just someone your boss called in, he fucking called in Javier Peña, the DEA agent. You knew who he was, you thought you were pretty out of the loop from what was happening in Columbia, but everyone knew who this man was. Face of every newspaper with his partner.

“You’re okay,” You stutter, “Sorry I’m late.”

“Javier.” He sets a bottle down to shake your hand.

“I know who you are.” You tell him your name, analyzing what the bar looks like, checking out to see how busy the club was. You didn’t think about it until now, but you had seen Javier in the bar late at night a while ago with your boss, tucked away in the corner. This is who he does business with.

“Nice to meet you, Manny just wanted me to tell you that you can leave early tonight and I’ll close.” He rasps over the loud music.

“So you’re who he does business with, didn’t think it’d be with you.” You look at him innocently, but once you mention anything about business his whole demeanor changes. You look down to his waist band and see a gun.

“And why's that?” He asks, tilting his head. He’s only known you a solid minute and he’s already feisty.

“I don’t know, he’s quite reserved.” You blink, “And Manny’s, well Manny.”

He tuts with his mouth, “I think he’s doing business with the right man, no?” His lips purse into a frown.

“Well I’m at least pleased it’s with you and not the latter, if that makes you happy.” You answer. “But I would suggest you’re not only here to help me tonight, you’re here to find someone.”

“You’re smart, we’re off to a good start then princess.” He chuckles, “These drinks won’t make themselves.” All you can do is stare at him, at least you’re in good company, he can protect you if anything potentially went wrong tonight.

You go to the line, already seeing that he had set up for you, you look out to the room and college kids are already losing their face, the looks of ecstasy filling their bodies. He must’ve made countless drinks before you had gotten there, at least he knows what he’s doing.

“Manny, tell you about that bike gang coming in tonight?” And then it dawned on you, as he shifted toward you with a different expression than before, Jaiver’s here for them, or for someone.

“Yes he did, they’ve come in before.” You look at him, “Thats what you’re looking for?”

“Possibly.” His low base refracts out, “Just have to confirm something.”

You pause, inhaling your surroundings, patching out a deep patchouli and cashmere. It was so intoxicating you could believe you were still standing, you look to your side and Javier’s grabbing his jacket to put on.

You now realize how tall he is, his smell, his leather jacket. He pulls out a lighter and pack of smokes, his low rise jeans with his boots. Who really was this man?

“What?” He smirks.

“Nothing.” You shake your head, waking you up from your daydream, going to the line to take some orders. This man was more than you expected, you only had to work with him for a couple more hours and then you could go home. It wasn’t that you didn’t dislike him immediately, but his presence was so domineering, being around him you felt no power and it scared you.

He pours a few drinks “What's someone like you doing here, don’t think you quite belong here princess..” He pulls out a cigarette, popping it in his mouth so he can work and smoke dually.

“And who says I don’t belong here? You?” You edge on. Your eyes keep wondering to his gun.

He stares at you, not knowing how to respond. Tension already filling you both.

“I don’t know sweetheart, “ He pours, “Surrounded by a world of trouble. Men that do unspeakable things to women, any moment the wrong man could come in and see you…”

“And that’s why I have you tonight.” You smile, you point at his gun, and looks at your fingers, “Please Javier, I’d do just fine without you.”

You had never thought about it that way, not in the cartel way, but you were always aware of your surroundings working in a prominent man's workplace. You were aware of everything 24/7, that was your job for Manny.

He nods his head, your short response shutting him up. The conversation ended and you both continued making drinks, serving customers, closing out tabs.

“How long have you been in Columbia? You’re Amerian no?” You ask.

“Couple years, trying to catch the son of bitch Escobar, not gonna tattle on me are you?” He puffs out.

You simmer, each word he lets out heats you up, a raving fire petrifying a forest in your lower stomach. If you had skin contact with him, you’d faint.

You laugh, “No, unless you gave me a reason to. Finish those drinks Javier.”

He huffs, the lights of the club are making his face glow, you dance around each other, grabbing more bottles of alcohol. Lining cups and cutting limes. You get closer to him, “Do you like Columbia?”

“Yes,” His voice drops closer to your ear, “Las mujeres son otra cosa.” [Women are something else]

“Just the women, nothing else?”

“Nothing else.”

“¿Por qué nada más? Not your job? ¿Ni siquiera tu pareja? Murphy right?” [Why nothing else] [Not even your partner?]

“That little shithead? Si, Murphy.”

“He’s good no, I’ve heard some of the women around here talk about how good he fucks.”

“Sweetheart, that's where you’re wrong, mistaking him for me.”

“Really? I doubt that.” You bite, anything to rile him up. Of course you’ve heard how could Javier Pena can fuck, you’ve heard it around town, from your girl friends he’s a man whore. But how good really was he? Watching the battle in his dominant head made your stomach churn.

He closes in on you behind the table, “And who have you fucked?” Such a dirty question coming from his mouth, damping your panties, staying away from any professional decency at all. If you could in front of all these people you would jump his dick immediately, but you had a job to do.

“C’mon princess, you can tell me. Who have you fucked?”

Momentarily after you hesitate your response, his body is so close to yours you could feel the buckle of his jeans rest on your stomach. You’re backed behind the pivot of the wall where little to no people could see you. “If you’re too shy, I promise I don’t bite, this can go on all night sweetheart.”

You take this moment to grind against him, taking the risk to feel his bulge, tension never feeling this good. You didn’t want to be any ordinary fuck to Javier, you wanted to fuck him up so he could never go back. All he does is stare down at you, not believing what is happening.

“I’m not shy Javier, I’m hungry.” You whisper, tip toeing to his ear. You slither the cigarette from his hands, taking a drag. The burn breaks you alive, you move toward his mouth, locking lips and blowing the smoke into his mouth. He catches on and sucks it all in, his chocolate doe eyes never letting go of yours. The smoke flows through his nostrils, not ever has smoking ever been this erotic in your life. You needed more.

In the corner of the tiny room, you see a group of men walk through the doors, instantly knowing it’s the biker men. They were all wearing leather jackets, every single one of them covered in tattoos, every single one of them snaking through the crowd to come sit at the bar. Before you leave the secretive crevice he grabs your arm

“This isn’t over sweetheart, starting something don’t think you can finish.”

“I’ll finish, Javier.”

“Mi amor, you’re here again!” Nico, the head of the group greets you. He never failed to say hi to you when they came in, engaging with you was a task for him, every time he would drag a conversation with you. Trying to lure you to go out with him after you got off. He was your best tipper so you couldn’t complain, and he wasn’t horrible looking but you truly had no interest, it was all fun and play.

“Yes Nico, I’m always here.” You shake your head, “Absinthe and ginger ale?”

“You always know.” He laughs, taking off his jacket. All of his friends join them and Javier goes to take their orders.

“Hey sugar, why don’t you introduce me to your friend over there?” He taps his fingers on the table. This catches Javi’s attention looking over, a wave of goosebumps swallows your body, based off of his look this is exactly who he was looking for.

“And what’s your name..” Nico wisps out.

“Chandler.” He lies, you look at him, his eyes enlarge, shh.

“Well Chandler, serve me and my guys, don’t make my girl too busy I wanna talk to her.”

Nothing too new, just sweet talk Nico, fill him up to the brim with alcohol, swipe his card and take the cash he gives you.

Javier locks contact with you, but you set your stuff down, batting your eyelashes at Nico, this’ll teach our pretty boy.

“How’ve you been Nico? What have you and the boys been up to since I’ve last seen you.”

“Ahora cariño no puedo decirte que.” [Now, honey, you know I can’t tell you that] He smirks. Nico never told you what he did, but all you knew was that his group drove motorcycles around town together. Putting two and two together, it would make sense why Javier had a suspicion about them, either way they may know Pablo.

You take control, “But a guy like you needs to distress, have fun, dance everything off.”

“That’s why I’m here baby, how about your little friend here takes care of everything tonight and we leave together?”

Javier had been listening the whole time, Nico’s friend telling him their orders. You can feel his energy get stronger towards you, he lightly touches you, grabbing drinks in the fridge beneath your waist. You twitched and almost yelped, but you had to stay calm. Instead, but just for Javier, you arch your back. Hunching over the counter top to get closer to Nico, whispering something in his ear and he laughs. You wanted to see what kind of reaction that would get out of him.

You wiggle your ass, knowing it’ll piss off Javier, your low waist Rock Revival jeans accentuating every curve of your ass.

You told Nico, that Chandler's new and you had to train him tonight, little boy doesn't know what he’s doing. That got a kick out of him.

“Something I’m missing?” Javi asks.

“No, Chandler.” You giggle, “But you ruined my night with my sweet sweet Nico.” You pout at him, his face pouting like a lion, hungry. You’ve passed your line with him.

“One second sweetheart, we’re out of limes.” Javier goes to the back of the kitchen, doors closing behind him, fucking take that Javier.

Nico continues to ask about your day, his friends introduce themselves and you continue to sweeten up Nico. No harm no foul, he would eventually reach over to touch your hair that was french braided, complimenting your braiding skills. You make a couple more drinks and the business of the bar dies down, everyone on the dance floor having their fill of alcohol for the night.

You were starting to wonder why getting limes was taking so long, and you look down in the fridge and realize there's a whole bucket of them, where had he gone?

Before your eyes flash, he sneaks up behind you, but not standing, he’s on his knees so no one can see him. Thankfully Nico was busy talking to his friends so he didn’t notice that your attention was elsewhere.

“What the fuck are you doing Javier? You’ve been gone for minutes.” You whisper.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said earlier, and you are gonna fucking finish.” He growls.

You gasp as he grabs your legs closer to him, as he’s leaning against the fridge, the space between you and the table encloses and you are really leaning against the table now.

He lingers his hands around the hem of your jeans, you stare at him in awe that he’s touching you right there.

“Can I touch you?”

“Right here? Javi, what if someone sees what if someone from the kitchen comes in?”

“I don’t fucking care, tell me now.”

It felt like there was no option, but he was giving you an option. His fingers were touching your zipper slipping down to your crotch, your body going rigid.

“Fuck,” You close your eyes, “Javi… fuck… do what ever you… want.. just be careful.”

Slowly he unzips your jeans, you catch your breath quickly scanning the bar to see if anyone could see you right now. At any moment if anyone lingered for too long or had the perfect eyesight of seeing Javier down below, they could see. You grab the edge of the bar, now holding on and not able to see what he’ll do next.

You don’t care what he’ll do to you, you wanted him to do this to you, you felt the fire fuel inside your stomach. The rush of him undoing you in public made your brain melt.

“Where’d your little friend go?” Nico turns to you for attention again.

“I think in the back to get more limes, he’ll… be out soon.”

You could hear Javier slightly chuckle, as he slowly pulls down your jeans. Your breath staggers, you can’t control how your body reacts to his touch.

“Oh baby, I do wish you could come home with me tonight, I could show you around and we could have a nice drink. Wouldn’t you like that?”

“Nico.. I… hmm… that would be nice,” You laugh, “But I am really tired, how about next week?” Knowing you, this would never actually happen, just to get him off for the night, you had bigger matters on your hands.

Now Javi has your jeans slipped down slightly past your ass, your panties out clear as day in front of him, you weren’t wearing anything special, but also nothing too bad.

You hear him chuckle, you can feel his fingers dance across your mound, reaching around to grab your ass, feeling his breath on your stomach.

“Sugar, we’re all leaving on a business trip to America next week, how about the next?”

“You know where to find me then.” You smirk.

After exploring your ass, Javi slips your panties to the side, stuffing his fingers beneath you. They slipped easily through your pussy lips, your wetness pulling him in. When he had you pushed against the wall, you were already a puddle for him, and now you were dripping on his fingers.

For not being able to see anything he’s doing, your senses were hyper. Making sure no one could see you, especially Nico. The thought of being caught turned you on, but possibly what could’ve happened if you were caught?

“Is that boy giving you any trouble? He seemed like a real fucker when he was making our drinks, I feel like I’ve seen him around before…”

Instantly you feel Javier tense below you, he’s had your legs held in his arms for a couple minutes now, but his fingers are rubbing back and forth through you went cunt, you’ve never done this before, but he knows exactly what he's doing. He pushes his thumb up just a little bit, to lay on top of your clit. Your throat can’t conceal your yelp, but thankfully the music was loud enough, no one would hear you.

“Chandler? Oh he’s no harm, he’s a little slow, but he’s kind.”

Kind? Javier was the opposite of kind.

“I’ll fucking show you slow.” You hear him whisper.

Not being able to see him is driving you crazy, you're tapping your fingers on the table and Nico goes to kiss your hands, you laugh it off but then you feel something wet touch you, not just his fingers on you now, it’s his tongue.

He kisses your pussy, from your mound down to your clit. He moved his thumb so he could suck your needy nub. What the hell is going through this man's mind?

“And he’s not trying to touch you now is he?”

Your heart jumped, Javier paused.

“What do you mean?” You stutter. Were you both caught?

“C’mon baby, is he trying to take what’s mine?” Nico frowns.

Whew.

“If he was, I’d tell you.” You giggle, not only at how stupid Nico was, but at Javier's tongue beginning to pick up speed on your clit after the little scare. You move your hips on his face, trying to relieve anything. You wanted to touch him, hold onto his hair to ride his face, but simply you had to stand there and act normal. His mustache was brushing against your skin, the burn making you more wet.

Breathing got ten times harder, thinking properly wasn’t a choice right now. You took a chance to look down and see him attached to your pussy, not able to say anything, undoing you in front of hundreds of people, his nose deep into your stomach.

As you watched in awe, he brought back his hand, lifting under your sidened panties, and he pushed his fingers up into you. Your jaw goes slack, not able to handle both at the same time. You really hope Nico would just stay distracted for an eternity.

Javier picks up the pace again, his fingers feeling like an automatic sex toy, never stopping. You couldn’t take the pace, his tongue dancing with your clit too, your eyes were about to roll to the back of your head.

You were close, but you were so scared you would give everything away, if you let yourself come, you would never be able to stop. Was this Javier testing you, to see how good you could be?

“Ok well sugar, we have to go now, I’m looking forward to seeing you in a couple weeks.” He winks. He ruffles through his wallet, slapping down 500$ in cash, at least 400 of it was for you to pocket.

“Here baby, some money to buy you something pretty, yeah?”

“Thank.. Thank you Nico, you're.. You’re so generous.”

“Don’t need to stutter for me baby, it’s all for you, only ever for you.” He kisses your wrist and gets up to leave. His friends follow him, and you lean your head on the bar, easing the howling in your stomach. Javier wouldn’t stop until you collapsed.

“He’s gone, Javier. They’re gone.” You shriek, trying to draw no attraction to the bar.

He slowly gets up, the light illuminating his wet mouth. You were so close to cumming all over his face, you were close to crumbling down on top of him, but you had to show him that you were strong and you couldn't break.

“You liked that huh? You liked that I was tongue fucking your pussy in front of that little cock sucker. Pussy’s a fuckin whore you know that. Could feel you soaking me up,” He wipes his mouth “Sweeter than candy, and he’ll never get a taste.”

“You don’t think I’ll let him suck my fucking pussy in front of hundreds of people?”

He takes you back to the hidden wall, slamming you against it.

“You think I'd let you? Think I’ll let a man that fucking dirty touch you? You’re wrong sweetheart, take his fucking money but I won’t let you go anywhere near him again.” He growls in your ear. He leaves you and you watch him, your jeans are still unzipped open, leaning against the wall.

He rumages for a lime in the fridge, walking back to you behind the secret wall, bringing the fruit to your mouth, “Bite.” He demands.

You shake your head, smirking. It was just a game with Javier.

Then he shoves the lime into your mouth, so citrusy but keeping you quiet. He roughly turns you around so you’re facing the wall, your jeans are still off your ass, and he starts to undo his. The metal of his belt touches your back, the hairs on your back lifting.

“Gonna be a fucking brat, or listen to me and when I tell you do to something?”

You moan, yes I’ll fucking listen you had to say. You’d always listen to Javier. Instead you shake your head for him.

“Pretty girl can’t fuckin talk, that’s what you get for being a fuckin slut. Like being a fucking little slut for me huh baby?”

You moan loud, not afraid anymore with the decibels of the music blazing through the club. Nobody in the world would give a fuck if they saw you two anymore. It was just you and Javier now. All you wanted was to whore yourself out for Javier, only his fucking whore. Let him use you how he’d like.

“Never seen such a perfect cunt like yours, mean it.” He gasps, he pulls his jeans down just enough to get his cock out of his boxers. From what you could see in your peripheral and being turned around from him, his dick looked long. Your heart sank and you didn’t know if you could take all of it.

“Don’t get shy on me now baby, it’ll be okay. You can be as loud as you want, no one will ever know.” He groans. He takes his hand off of holding you against the wall to pump himself a couple times “I wish you could see you fucking pussy right now, so pretty and glistening for me.”

You feel his cock nestle against your entrance and your body freezes up, his dick is so big, you panties have to stay on the side of your leg.

The whole night you’ve wanted this, since the moment you’ve met Javier, you needed him. He slips his dick in and you both relax at the new feeling, groaning at how full you are. He moves, you bite the lime stronger and the juices smear all over your face.

“When I first saw you sweetheart, I knew I needed to feel you, I knew deep down I needed fuck this fucking cunt.” He fucks up into hard. You shriek at the new pace. “That’s it, dirty fuckin whore for takin my cock out in the open, splitting you wide for the public.” He kisses your neck, down to your chest. You wanted to kiss him back, wanted your lips around him.

All you can do in groan and control where your arms are. He holds one leg in his hand, now slightly having you bent over the wall. He goes at you again, adjusting his stance so he can fit inside you better, but not only is he fucking you, he moved his hands around your stomach to hold you up, holding you like you’re his.

“What a fucking brat… talking to dirty men.” He seethes, “But I think you liked it… I saw your ass bent out, you knew what you were doing. Fucking whore for teasin me… knew what you wanted all along.”

Aside from the music you can hear your pussy breaking from his cock, your eyes fill with tears from how bad you want to come around his dick. His weight on you felt like the world was crashing on you, and you wanted more. You wanted to be alone to do more, but this was all was given to you.

No matter what, the thought of being caught while he was about to come, or you were made you more wet, the inability to stop what you were doing but a whole scene of people at the club seeing you get fucked like a fucking whore. You loved it, the thrill, the passion in your bodies, the feeling of no embarasement because Javier was proud to fuck you like this. All you wanted was to tease Javier, make him upset. Prolonging another punishment.

His scent and the cold of his leather jacket kept you alive, but if it wasn't for that you’d immediately fall to the floor, crumbling from the inside of his dick. When he would fuck you, cock kissing your pussy, you could feel the metal of his gun hitting your lower leg, you weren’t scared but protected.

Repeatedly thinking about being caught, you feel yourself tighten around him, not knowing where else to move or think. You moan as loud as you can, about to break every particle of the wall you’re resting on.

“Fuck… that’s it baby… come all over me… pussy’s so tight. I can feel… fuck…let go perfect girl let the whole crowd see.”

You stop thinking, you just let go. No matter where anyone in the world was, you wish they could feel this feeling, how every amount of stress flew away. Every ration of thought eased and your pussy craved more. You wanted to be fucked all night long by Javier, it’s what you were made for.

“Greedy fuckin cunt, swallowing me whole.” He whimpers. “Don’t think I can last longer baby…”

No matter what you lose all cognitive function and fall into his arms, he fucks your orgasm through and you’re unable to process how fast he was going, eventually pulling out so he wouldn’t come in you. He flips you around on the wall so you can finally see and he quickly finds a rag so he can come, before you close your eyes you sag against the wall, slipping to the floor. You can feel that your underwear is beyond stretched out, ripped partially but you don’t care. Evidence from tonight that you would remember for forever.

You watch him grunt, pumping himself until he spurts. You would do anything for that white liquid to be inside you, but it’s for the best.

Once he’s done, he throws the rag to the side, and slides against the wall next to you, he holds you tight again, compressing the aftershocks in your body to his. He takes the lime out of your mouth and you almost forgot it was there, you see your bite marks, realizing that if it was his hand you would’ve drawn blood. You slump against him still hidden in the club.

“I was.. Wrong… Javier Pena… can fuck.” You whisper.

He laughs, “I didn’t think fucking in public with a pretty girl like you would ruin me.” He kisses your temple.

You grab onto his leather jacket, “Better tell Murphy you unlocked a new kink.”

“Nu-uh, gonna keep you from Murphy, my fuckin trophy girl.”

[livvidaloca]

what!? liv made human designs for the watterson family again!? yes, she did, and here’s her train of thought for these under the cut:

so, these are actually for my fic that i’m writing on ao3 in which gumball finds himself transported to another universe in which everyone is a human after the events of the inquisition. this is why there’s very few animal traits on any of them, or magically colored anime hair. i wanted them to look like people who could exist and walk around.

in this, nicole is blasian and richard is a white latino (with frankie being white non-latino and jojo being latina). (also these headcanons were based on a lot of convos with some of my friends back in the day, i don’t remember anyone’s reasonings for these but they’ve been true for so long in my brain) gumball and anais are mixed, and i tried to nod to gumball taking more after nicole and anais taking more after richard without making them carbon copies. and then darwin of course is black thats just canon

as for their designs themselves, i’ll start with nicole. i tried to make her look decently muscular (although the simplistic style i used doesn’t exactly show it off). her blue bandana and shoes are obviously a nod to her canon design, so she doesn’t look like an entirely different character. as for her hairstyle i looked into relatively low-maintenance styles, since she’s a busy woman! and her hair is starting to gray from all that STRESS!

richard’s design is the most straightforward, yet it took me the longest because i was never satisfied with how it was turning out. i’m still not sure if i’m crazy about it. all i know is that i was dead set on making him bald, since there’s literally a whole episode about that. I didn’t commit all the way because the design without any hair was making me lose my mind. i gave him some freckles as a nod to his whiskers because they’re a lot more prominent than nicole’s (which is why she doesn’t have any). this also translated to gumball’s design. also, how could i ignore the obvious choice and not give him pink bunny slippers!? it fits him so well!

gumball was fairly easy for me, because i kinda always have human designs for him in mind. i always give him those blue sneakers because duh, and i always give him dyed-blue hair that he visibly doesn’t maintain. i always had this human-version-only headcanon that gumball BEGGED to dye his hair for the longest time, and nicole finally allowed it on the condition that he’d keep up with it on his own. he didn’t. classic gumball

darwin’s design is also usually an easy one for me. big orange hoodie, green shorts and sneakers. this time i also made the decision to have his hair tied up to resemble his little fin. it’s not really visible with their clothes and stuff blocking the original sketch, but i also tried to make his legs a little bit lankier than gumball’s, just to make them appear longer like they are in the show.

as for anais, i always have trouble nailing the design without it looking like a completely different character. i cant dye her hair pink, because she’s supposed to be four, but i also can’t give her pink shoes, because she’s of course the only one who actually has shoes! then i remembered ribbons and my day was saved. still not sure if i’m completely sold on her design yet, though. i think she looks a little older than four.

anyways, i’m planning on doing other designs like these with other characters! let me know if you’re interested. as for that fic, here’s the link:

[holmesxwatson]

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes dir: Billy Wilder, 1970

I only watched The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes for the first time a few days ago but it lights my brain up in that special way that I know I’ll revisit it a lot. Don’t get me wrong, it’s far from perfect, for one thing Colin Blakely’s Watson is a little too shouty for me, but it’s very worthwhile to check out despite its shortcomings, which I think mostly come from the fact that so much was cut from the intended script.

I absolutely love Robert Stephens as Holmes. His face is so good, he has a way of looking at Watson when he doesn’t know he’s being observed that is very soft. I thought I was hallucinating the beginning of this movie with Holmes telling the ballet dancer he’s gay and in a relationship with Watson. I thought it was going to be played for a joke, and it was a bit, but it didn’t just end there. Holmes and Watson have a conversation about the repercussions in a lengthy scene that turns very serious by the end. I can’t believe this was 1970 and no one has since tried to build on this specific dynamic in a more meaningful way. Someone needs to remake this into a mini-series exactly how Billy Wilder intended it to be, here’s hoping public domain can make it so.

[above: script page from the cut story The Curious Case of the Upside Down Room, where Watson creates a fake case to make Holmes feel better]

Also, the backstory of the making of this film is so out of control: Robert Stephens’s nervous breakdown and suicide attempt during the production, the amount of years Billy Wilder was trying to write it and get it made, the interference of ACD’s son, the Loch Ness monster prop that the crew lost in actual Loch Ness, the immense scope of the episodic story they were going for, the way it got cut down from its original 3 hour 45 minute runtime and how that cut footage was lost forever! (this is crazy! everyone go check your attics and storage lockers right now).

In one of the interviews I found, Robert Stephens says “if something is boring — if it’s three minutes long it’s too long, but if it’s interesting it’s never long enough…you don’t want it to end.” Big same Toby Stephens’ dad, big SAME. I didn’t want it to end. I read the uncut script and I am just floored at what we missed out on. Thankfully some footage and audio remain of some of the cut scenes (but still! check your basements too).

Just fully let it settle into your brain that they filmed all of these stories in the script, and then cut most of it away. Like that is mind-blowing to me, it existed at one point as it was fully intended to be. If this was made now during home entertainment times, they would have no problem releasing an almost four-hour movie, but at the very least there would be a big director’s cut dvd release and we would be enjoying all the small Holmes x Watson moments we deserve.

Anyway, in pretty short order I found a bunch of interesting links to stuff, details below. I also consulted my very well-thumbed Conversations with Wilder book by Cameron Crowe, but there wasn’t that much more information in there. I have Robert Stephens’ memoir Knight Errant and the TPLOSH blu-ray on order so I’ll add to this post if I find any more good resources. Let me know if I’m missing anything, and enjoy!

Full movie on YouTube (x) <-update: this link went private, but it's also streaming for free on Tubi and Freevee, and available to rent on YouTube, Google Play, and Apple TV

Original roadshow draft of script on Internet Archive (x)

Missing footage: Prologue [sound only plus stills] (x), The Curious Case of the Upside Down Room [sound only plus stills] (x), The Dreadful Business of the Naked Honeymooners [footage and soundtrack only, no sound dialogue] (x), alternate ending [sound only] (x)

Making of documentary that includes behind-the-scenes snippets of some of the cut scenes [this doc is in German, but you can turn on the auto-translate to English in the YouTube settings] (x)

Interview with Ernst Walter, film editor of TPLOSH (x)

Interview with Christopher Lee “Mr. Holmes, Mr. Wilder” 2003 (x)

My YouTube playlist with all of the above links in one place plus an excellent fan vid by Just Bee that I added to the list because it’s just so good (x)

Missing Movies: A Case for Sherlock Holmes from 1994 BBC Radio 2 on Soundcloud [includes interview with Robert Stephens and folks involved in the production] (x)

Articles about the lost Loch Ness monster prop (x) (x)

The soundtrack by Miklós Rózsa (x)

[thewolvesof1998]

Moodboard Monday / Tidbit Teaser Tuesday

share a moodboard as well as a snippet from the fic it’s for!

Tagged by @hippolotamus and @theotherbuckley

God, there are so many juicy tidbits I could give you but I think this one will do for now:

“Cariño,” The endearment slips easily from his lips, sits right on his tongue, like it’s always meant to be only used in reference to Buck.  Buck shivers, “Fuck Eddie, it’s-it’s you, it’s always been you, I thought you knew that when I asked you to touch me.” “You know more than anyone that sex doesn’t always translate to more,” Buck nods, “If it wasn’t clear, it’s you for me too.” Without breaking eye contact he leans down and places a kiss on Buck’s left hipbone, breathes “Mi sol,” into the skin. Buck’s eyes widen, a small gasps falls from his lips, Eddie kisses the right hipbone, “Mi corazón,” He kisses the sensitive skin just above Buck’s cock, “Mi Vida,” His breath fans over Buck’s tip causing him to thrust up, just barely missing Eddie’s chin. “Fuck Eddie, you-you can’t go saying all that romantic stuff when you’re that close to my dick,” Buck says “Why?” He says, nuzzling at Buck’s cock, smearing more precum over his face and into his hair, ironically Buck’s probably going to get his shower after all this is done, maybe they’ll share one to save water. “Because it-it almost made me come and I need you in me-me before I do.”

This fic is so close to being done, if the writing spoons keep coming hopefully it will be in the next few days🤞🏼

Previous snippets premise/moodboard

Tagging: @wikiangela @wildlife4life ​ @eddiebabygirldiaz @disasterbuckdiaz @spotsandsocks @try-set-me-on-fire @jesuisici33​ @bekkachaos @buddierights @spagheddiediaz @911-on-abc @shitouttabuck @911onabc @exhuastedpigeon @malewifediaz @your-catfish-friend @loserdiaz @ladydorian05 @watchyourbuck @king-buckley @chaoticgremlinwholikescheese @daffi-990 @fortheloveofbuddie @steadfastsaturnsrings @mangacat201 @hoodie-buck @eowon @rainbow-nerdss @nmcggg @pirrusstuff @evanbegins @giddyupbuck @sammysouffle @smilingbuckley @jamespearce9-1-1 @carrierofthepaperclips @jeeyuns @callmenewbie @thosetwofirefighters

[chynandri]

An Analysis on Whose Bed is Whose in the Tsumugi and Ibara Section of their Dorm

So this is a ‘discourse’ that happened like a few months ago on Twitter, and there were some great arguments made for why the two leftmost beds are Ibara’s vs Tsumugi’s. I just felt like adding my own thoughts into it very late into it all lmao.

So I also first assumed that the black bed is Ibara’s. After all, it matches the ‘Eden’ ‘Cospro’ ‘Adam’ vibe. And after all, Tsumugi has this impression of being a ‘simple’ guy to me, and perhaps would have a plant and a nice little artwork.

The fact that both of their personalities (at least outside of being an idol) and personal tastes are on the ‘understated’ side makes this debate go both ways. HOWEVER… upon further thought I realized the black bed could be NONE OTHER than Tsumugi’s. Why????

Let’s take a look at some Tsumugi cards.

And let’s make some observations about him:

- dresses in business appropriate colours of blue black/dark blue

- has a fondness for comfort (see throw blanket and overall ‘cozy’ vibes coming from this guy)

These two facts, to me, already strongly point toward the black bedroom set being Tsumugi’s.

We know that Ibara doesn’t have any sort of hobbies or strong personal tastes outside of work.

We can also look at what he said in Bogie Time about not being particular about where he sleeps (crazy:b’s old dorm that still has all their stuff in it??).

Although his and Tsumugi’s sense of style may be similar, you could even say his is more generic and plain looking in comparison.

(Translation link) His own dormmates don’t even see him that often = he doesn’t even spend TIME in the dorm that often. (I wish I could find a better quote for this, because I swear I've logged this fact into my brain for a reason but I can't remember where it's more directly stated.)

WHY would Ibara have two pillows (one large and one small at that) when he doesn't even care about the personal aesthetics or comfort the first place??

And you see, having a rather comfortable but professional looking bed set DOES align with what we can observe from TSUMUGI.

I can even refute my own statement about the bed having Adam, Cospro or Eden vibes. Adam and Eden’s image are all manufactured by Ibara. And idk I don’t think anyone in these dorms are gonna style their personal space after their agency, and it’s not like Ibara is a Cospro fanboy cuz he faces problems from the higher ups all the time.

Having determined whose bed is whose now, this only brings up more questions. Why does Ibara have a plant? Why does he have an artwork there?

My two theories are that:

1. He purposefully put some normal looking things there to stand out less. That IS something that makes sense, cuz he carefully manages his image in front of others.

2. They’re gifts from Nagisa/Hiyori/Jun/his dormmates (MAYBE even Yuzuru to make it funnier)

And that’s my thoughts about the dorm situation. I don’t know Tsumugi that well, so I could be very wrong about it all tbh!

Tl;dr - Tsumugi has the black bed and Ibara has the white bed based on their vibes.

[vvh0adie]

period pooh

pairing: jungkook x reader | type: oneshot | words: 5.6K | rating: 18+ / M

After a long week of work, your week can only get better with a pregnancy scare. You really don't need this especially when you already take care of your biggest baby, Jungkook. And he seems to be taking this the hardest. Either way you two will get through this together.

⇴ genre/au: light angst | fluff | light crack | slice of life ‖ established relationships | boyfriend | idol ⇴ persona: idol!jungkook | forensic tech!reader ⇴ cw: cussing | ebonics | anxiety | dirty talk | feelings of emotional neglect | hurt comfort | allusions to abortion | allusions to sex | allusions to assisted masturbation | pregnancy scare | preganancy testing | period talk | cuddling | excessive eating | parenthood talk ⇴ a/n: Ngl I don’t care for this fic that much, but I hope it entertains someone. Y’know after rereading it, its lowkey not that bad. I was gonna do smut but I got lazy. I’ll provide some period sex next JJK fic.

masterlist | inbox

© vvh0adie 2022- [do not AI train/copy/repost/translate]

✧༺♡༻✧

“Baby, I’m home,” you call out, kicking your shoes off and tossing your keys into the bowl.

After hanging your satchel and coat on the rack, you travel down the corridor to find the kitchen empty as well as the barren living room.

“Where is he?” you whine; your brows knit, and your bottom lip juts out. His car was in the parking garage. Did one of the boys pick him up? He'd call if he went out.

You wash your hands in the kitchen, letting the warm water run through your fingers. Chills ripple through you and the tension releases from your temples. It feels good to be in the warmth of your home, no longer freezing to death.

The lab was hectic today, and you've been feeling sluggish since the afternoon. Your feet hurt from standing and running around for long hours, scrambling to send off evidence as you and your team just finished the last DNA analysis needed for an upcoming trial.

You’ve seen a lot of bodily fluids today and don't want to see any more for the next week. You just want to stay home and eat. You ate breakfast and lunch today and had a snack in between, but you’re still hungry. You usually wait till dinner, but suddenly have the urge to stuff your face.

You dig through the pantry, finding some potato chips to snack out of the bag before retrieving a bowl. You lean on the island counter, looking around your apartment. It’s a little too quiet.

Grabbing your bowl, you scurry to your bedroom. Your paradise.

You duck in to see the bed in disarray, but those are the only signs of life. You hate when he doesn’t make the bed -his excuse being that you’ll get back in it anyway- but it brings you a little comfort to know that he’s here. Most of the time, he’s traveling for photoshoots, collabs, or on tour.

At the end of the hallway, you slowly open the office door and clicks of a joystick sound from the game chair surrounded by a halo.

“Kookie, I’m home.” He doesn’t respond, but you figure it’s his headphones. You step into the office, coming behind him. He’s playing Resident Evil.

While others may find your stalking creepy, this is a natural occurrence for you and Jungkook. You literally hover over each other like guardian angels, silently immersed in the moment. You’re always with one another, even if you perceive yourself alone.

You watch as he melees a horde of zombies down like a simple farmer scything away at tall grass. Even when the cutscene ends for the boss fight, he serenely plays while his fingers move vigorously. He seems enthralled and relaxed, so you choose not to disturb him.

As you turn to leave, a kaleidoscope of light catches your eye. There sits your buttercup yellow set up on the adjacent wall. The BT21 gang run across the screen as they parkour through the city.

You smile, remembering when Jungkook surprised you with your custom PC next to his. For a month, you spent every night beside him till work, unfortunately, whisked you two away. You could surprise him with your presence, even play for a bit, but you’re not feeling too hot. You literally feel cold.

You swiftly leave, gently closing the door. Back in the kitchen, you finish your snack before rinsing the bowl and plucking some grapes. Then, you go into the pantry one last time to get some cookies.

Pushing the last one in your mouth, you dust your hands together, releasing a sigh as your chubby cheeks chew.

Feeling satisfied, you walk to your bedroom. Picking up your phone, you see that it’s 10:00 pm. Considering all the work you accomplished today, you stayed an hour over which isn't too bad.

Heading to the bathroom, you begin to strip. Bending to remove your panties, you instantly feel your core contract, sending a shock to your system. “Ooh~ Shit.” You shoot back up, shaking your foot to get your underwear off. You stand, anticipating another throng of pain, but it never comes. “Okay, weird,” you murmur, staring into the mirror, brows raised and lips pouty.

Then you notice how bloated your stomach is. It could be from the food. You typically don’t snack a lot in between meals, but now you feel bad for eating because you know you didn’t have an appetite.

Bending down to retrieve your underwear, you throw them into the hamper before turning on the hot water. When you step into the shower, your whole body shivers, your muscles relaxing. If Jungkook knew you were showering this hot, he’d nag you nonstop. Truthfully, you wish it was hotter. It feels lukewarm, even though the whole bathroom is covered in steam.

The first time Jungkook met you, he confessed that he likes a little masochism with his partners, but apparently, he meant bedroom-wise and not just in general. Though it seems he was able to look past these scalding hot showers and boiling baths to make you his fiancée.

Closing your eyes, you clean yourself of the cold, sterile lab and any perceived germs you might have picked up. Even when you only go to one place and never sit down, you feel like you have to bathe just because of the air.

Once you’re done, you moisturize, put on your -Jungkook’s- oversized shirt, and crawl into bed. Sticking your hand under the pillow, you pull out your big bonnet, slipping it on before flopping onto the cool pillow. And just like that, you’re asleep.

✧༺♡༻✧

“Ugh, why was that so easy? This is on Hard?” Jungkook clicks on the menu, checking his game mode to see that he’s right. A deep and heavy sigh resounds throughout the soundproofed room.

The first hour was fun, but now the gameplay feels monotonous. He simply turns the game off, shutting down the computer before turning in his chair to look at your setup.

He misses you so much. He even updated your computer today, hoping he could make your weekend better with some new games.

Pulling his phone from his hoodie, he sees you haven’t texted or called once. He knows you’ve been really busy, but he just wants a moment of your time, a cuddle… Maybe even some cozy love-making.

After shutting your area down, Jungkook comes to the kitchen. His brows immediately raise at the lip gloss stained glass and crumbs on the counter. He stands for a bit, analyzing the scene. Either you’re home or there’s a deranged fan in the house. And oddly enough he wants to say the latter for the simple fact that you're a clean freak.

“____,” he calls, walking down the hallway again. Opening your bedroom door, he sees that you’re knocked out. He sits down on the bed, gazing upon your beautiful face. “When did you get home, Baby?”

He moves part of the bonnet from over your face, getting a better look at your puckered lips and slightly tensed brows. You look like an angry baby all curled up in the fetal position.

But as cute as you are, his own features can't help but harden with worry. Are you okay? Are you sick?

He didn’t see any dishes indicating that you ate a proper meal. He has the mind to wake you and ask just so you can surrender to his care, but he’d hate to see you grumpy, especially with him.

So he does the next best thing by tucking you in real good and placing a kiss on your temple. Then he leaves to take a shower.

When he returns to check on you, you’re still precious as ever. But this time, his will to leave seems nonexistent. He just stands, watching your sweet face scrunch up as you move a hand under your cheek like the daintiest princess.

He misses your touch madly. He wants -needs- you close.

Worse case, is that you kick him -literally in your sleep- out of the room. But he’s willing to take that chance if it means getting to feel the warmth of your body.

So giving into his desires, he slides into bed. After briefly checking the time, he lies down, studying your precious face. It seems odd for you to be asleep this early as you’re somewhat of a night owl, even with an intense job like yours.

He’ll definitely make sure to ask if everything was good at work. For the past few days you've been quite distant. Mute even. You wake up, go to work, come home, eat, and go to sleep without any in between time for him.

Truthfully, there's a sense of neglect stirring within him which he can only articulate as some unresolved insecurity he has because it’s definitely not you.

Chances are you don't mean to do it on purpose; you've been extremely busy. You do something life changing and he's so proud of you. If missing you means you bring someone else comfort then he’s okay with it. He just wants to be by your side while you do it. How could he not when you've already been doing the same for him?

Reaching out, he caresses your cheek. And as he cozies up to you, the scent of vanilla and coconut swirls in the space between you. If he could only follow one path in life, it would be to simply love you without any obstacles.

You suddenly roll into his chest as if urged by the powers that be to fulfill his weeklong -eternal- wishes.

Pulling you into his chest, he rubs your thigh as he drifts off.

✧༺♡༻✧

Birds chirp and sunlight beams in your face as you wake up. With heavy eyes and a swollen face, you take your phone from the nightstand. It's 7:00 am.

A sudden shift from behind, turns you around to gaze upon the puffy face of your adorable boyfriend. Caressing his cheek, you admire the jut of his pouty lips and soft slope of his big nose. How could you not love him? How could you not feel a burst of excitement looking at this beautiful man?

You even know his heart. A smile splays across your lips at the thought of what he's dreaming about. There's only innocence and wanderlust in that beautiful mind of his. Even when riddled by salacious thoughts, they’re always coveted by soft and gentle intensions.

And though you’d like to stay put, you’re forced to the bathroom. You feel fatigued and the fluorescent lights don't make your eye strain any better.

Looking into the mirror, your bonnet haphazardly sits on your head, most of your hair left unprotected. With a heavy sigh, you secure it back in place. You're surprised it wasn't up cooking breakfast for you and Kookie.

Closing your eyes, you pee. The steady stream almost lulls you back into tranquility but you manage to wash your hands, turn off the lights, and crawl back into bed still in the cover of your shielded eyes.

Snuggled back up to your boyfriend, your hand gliding over his broad chest and taut abs. You listen to his breathing, smiling at how deep of a sleeper he is.

Looking up, he has an arm thrown over his eyes, shielding the long blade of light snaking across his beautiful, golden complexion.

You two are very adamant about sleeping in total darkness. So you get back up and pull the edges of your black out curtains, vanquishing the remaining slivers of sunlight.

Scooting right back next to him, you lay on his chest as your leg throws over his waist. And you quickly fall back to sleep.

✧༺♡༻✧

Waking up, your hand stretches out to find the space beside you empty. You yawn and a shudder ripples through your body, urging you to immediately shuffle towards the kitchen.

You’re cold. You’ve endured the cold one too many times this week and for an extended amount of time you deem unbearable. You need warmth -specifically his.

As you enter, Jungkook’s hunched over the bar, raking his tatted hand through fluffy hair as he sits in his Calvin Kleins. He’s truly the only man you know who can make eating oatmeal look sexy.

Coming from behind, you wrap your arms around his waist, peppering kisses on his naked back. He’s smooth and soft against your lips. Every inch of his body is like a kiss that when you kiss him on the lips it feels as though you've transcended the very concept.

He hums, and you mimic back as your hands caress his sides and abs. Your lips peck up into the crook of his neck, nipping and sucking.

The glide of your tongue against his hot skin renders him motionless, stunning him and tilting back his head as a low moan escapes past his plump lips.

Satisfied, you release him, walking towards the stove to fix yourself a bowl before sitting next to him.

“Good morning, sleepy head,” he chuckles. It may not be early morning but he still can't believe you're so touchy after just waking up.

But it's good. It gives him reassurance that his recent thoughts don’t carried any weight. You haven’t forgotten about him, not that you ever did. He's just happy to have something more than a moment of time to spend with you. His beautiful fiancée.

He caresses your cheek before rubbing the crud from under your eyes.

“Don't look at me.” You smack his hand away with an oversized sleeve. “I got eye boogies.” Jungkook laughs.

“You look so beautiful, though,” he coos, leaning in to kiss you. It’s extra sweet from the taste of brown sugar. You melt into it. You need him and you're sure he feels the same way.

“Thank you, Pookie,” you say, give him a timid smile.

After cleaning his bowls, he comes back to sit, swiveling your chair to face him. Eating in this angle is too weird so naturally you freeze mid-bite to pick up the bowl. He watches with delight as your mouth hangs open as you try to move into a more comfortable position.

When you finally settle, he shakes his head, laughing. And you try hard not to, not wanting to begin your day with oatmeal coming out your nose in front of your future husband; mainly because he’d never let you live it down and you're sure he'd manage to sneak the event into his vows.

“I think I'm allowed to look at the woman feeling me up.” He raises a brow as you take a bite of oatmeal while shifting your gaze away from him. Your face heats up as you become antsy in your seat.

“Shut up.” You pout. Ugh! What power does he have over you? Honestly, Jungkook wouldn't be able to say with how hyper-fixated he is with you. And it would be like the two of you to become bewitched by the other.

“Anyway, how was work yesterday?”

“Chaotic like Satan’s asshole.”

“How do you know that?” He quirks a brow. “Is that who you peg when I’m gone?”

You stop mid-bite, staring up at his grinning face. You hold contact, eventually cracking as you giggle and shake your head. This can't be the same man that shows up in compilations titled “Bangtan’s Baby.”

“Don't tempt me, Jeon Jungkook.”

He gently squeezes your thigh. “Kiss.”

“You don't deserve one.”

His lip juts out. “Please.” You stare at his plush pout, admiring his wet inner lip and its pretty two-toned shade. And just above, his eyes reflect the light, sprinkling his deep browns with mini stars.

He’s so pretty. And he’s about to be yours forever in the coming months. Sometimes, you truly forget who's going to be lifting the veil. You’ve honestly considered making him walk with one out of fear that someone would see his face and incite an objection. You know you’d never recover from such heartache.

“____,” he hums, breaking you out of your daydream. A grin spreads across your lips as you lean in to kiss him again. It completely takes him by surprise but he gladly succumbs to your overwhelming prowess.

Cupping his cheeks, you slip your tongue into his mouth, swallowing his moan. He truly wants to know what you were thinking about and if he can satisfy you on this magnificent morning.

You finally release him with a wet smack, leaning in once more to lick his bottom lip. Then you get up circling the island, to wash your bowl. You grin at him aimlessly staring and licking his lips. He’s gone to Kookie Land.

After rinsing and placing the bowl on the rack, you retrieve cups to make juice.

“Baby?” he asks softly, prompting you to hum as you open the fridge. “Why didn't you say you were home?”

You immediately look towards him, almost missing the shelf to place the juice back. “I did. I was just too tired to repeat myself. Plus, I wanted some alone time.”

“Ouch.”

“Kookie~” You pout, worry contorting your face. You didn’t mean to sound so harsh.

“I know, Baby, I’m kidding.” He smiles, and you melt at his even cuter eye-smile. He’s your baby bun; all tattooed and pierced out.

“Y'know, I almost went to my own room.”

“What? Why?”

“‘Cause I sensed you were tired, but you looked sick, so I didn’t wanna leave you.”

You pout, fluttering your lashes like the sweetest cherub. “You were gonna get sick with me?”

He leans onto the counter, cupping his face. His fluffy bangs bounce with each nod and you instantly become a giggling mess, prancing over to him with open arms as he turns for you to wrap around his neck.

He hugs you tightly, burying his face into your shoulder as he takes a deep breath, and you rub his back, choosing to ignore the way his hands squeeze your ass. You're surprised that work kept you two from intimacy this long. You’ve never gone this long without sex since you began dating. Not even long distance could stop you when video calls are just a tap away.

“Are you sick, though?”

“Mmh~ No, not that I’m aware of.”

His eyes widen. “Did you work with something dangerous?”

“Everything I work with is dangerous, Boo Boo.”

“Well, you know what I mean; like dangerous dangerous.”

“Uh, no. This case was just dirt and blood.”

“Ugh, I don’t know how you do that stuff.”

“Easy, I just don't think about it. Everything is just a substance that needs analyzing. I don't even have to see the victim.”

“Good…” He rubs your sides. “I heard that it messes people up, and… I don't want you to go through that.”

“Well, you never have to worry ‘cause your existence makes me happy.” You squish his cheeks. “You're my eternal sunshine, Jeon Jungkook.” You lean in to kiss his pouty lips, grinning at the way his eyes sparkle in admiration. “Mmh~ mwah!” You giggle as he leans in, not wanting to release you.

Pulling away from him, you wander back near the pantry, grabbing the chips. Then you snack on a few cookies, afterward heading towards the fridge to eat some mixed fruit. The whole time Jungkook watches you, a bit perplexed because you two just had breakfast.

“Baby, you pregnant?”

You whip around in shock. “Boy, what? What makes you say that?”

“You’re eating… a lot.” You push the cookie into your mouth, side-eyeing his gaze. “I think your period was supposed to be this week,” he mumbles to himself, his brow heavy as he scratches his chin.

You almost want to get defensive and ask him how he knows, but that would be stupid because you always look out for each other healthwise, especially when it comes to sexual health.

“Mmh, yeah~”

He just stares. “It's the weekend, Baby.”

“Oh.”

“You check this morning?”

“No~” He chuckles at your minimal response. “But I don't feel anything.”

“This is not good, ____… At least not yet.” He gives you a tiny smile. You've always admired how he leaves the option open, even though you’re not big on the idea of parenthood either.

“Okay, but how? I used the Plan -oop- wait… never mind.”

“Baby~”

“I’m sorry, but that night was so~” You giggle, reminiscing about the transcendent love you two made after Jungkook came home from Japan. You really missed him, and apparently, he was dying without you, too, because even after sex, he wanted to stay nestled inside you.

He sighs, causing you to frown. “It’s your fault too, y’know.”

“Well, I can’t force pills down your throat. I can only force my di-”

“Aah~ I’m finna go get my phone! Bye~”

“Y’know I do it respectfully and consensually!”

He steals a nervous giggle from you as you quickly scurry off to look at your period tracker.

When you return, Jungkook’s darkened gaze is heavy; unwavering, as you try feigning ignorance to his antics by scrolling through your calendar.

“I'm late.” You bite your bottom lip, looking up at him with worry as he does the same.

“How long?”

“Just a week.”

“It could be stress? You worked really long this week.”

“Yeah, but I still need a test to be sure.”

Jungkook gets up, walking past you. You then feel a sting on your ass from him giving you a little slap before he heads to his room to get dressed. “Looks like we're going to the grocery store,” he calls out, seeming excited to go out.

✧༺♡༻✧

You hate going out. And you hate public places that are always full. You stick close to Jungkook as you enter the market, taking the basket he gives you. He smiles at the way you cling to him.

He’s a homebody too. But being in the public eye doesn’t give him the nerves as bad. He still wears a hat out and sometimes a mask or high-collared jacket to hide his face, though. But right now, he wants to have a normal outing with his beautiful fiancée.

You make your way towards the aisles closest to the pharmacy. As you pursue the shelves, you see condoms and immediately throw them in the basket.

“Wait a minute. You’re gonna put me on protection?” he scoffs. You simply look at your man. You don’t know where he thinks this is going but you've won either way.

“Boy, bye. You can hardly call this protection. If I really wanted to, I’d ask you to get on male birth control or have a vasectomy. ”

He stirs in silence for a bit. “Yeah, yeah… you right.”

“I know I am. That’s why you need me, Pookie.” Your smile is so bright that it’s contagious enough for him to do the same.

“Anyway, it’s just till I can get more Plan B. Then you can cum in me all you want.''

“____,” he gasps, looking around the empty aisle.

“What, you don't want the masses to know you have a breeding kink? Hm, Jungkook?” His ears turn bright red, causing you to giggle. You walk up to him, rubbing his chest as you look into his big, brown doe-eyes.

You lean into his ear. “It's okay, Baby, you already know I love it when you fill me up.”

His eyes wander your face. There's no way you're this cute and freaky. He knew you were crazy but in public? Being married is gonna be something else.

But to keep it a buck, you don't feel ready for a baby… Yet? Like you really don't know if you ever will be. You know that Jungkook is indifferent but he's heavily leaning towards not wanting any. He would be just as content with you, and you feel the same way. Plus, ain’t nobody havin’ kids in this economy. Period. You’d be a damn fool to even entertain the thought. Like now, but thankfully Jungkook interrupts.

“____, how ‘bout this one?” You look at the pink box in his hand. There’s a little circle with a baby-shaped silhouette inside. Your stomach instantly drops; reality finally sinking in that you could be pregnant. Is it normal to feel this way about something that so many people want?

You sigh, slowly nodding. “Yep, any should do-” Jungkook throws at least five boxes into his basket. “Uh~ Pooh Bear, we only need two.”

He scratches his head. “Eeh~ Better safe than sorry. Right?” You can hear the slight panic in his voice. Oh Lord, you're both freaking out. And if this really is stress you're causing more harm than good. There could be no baby after all this but will your period ever come back on?

“Plus, you're not the one paying anyway.”

Your mouth hangs. “Ooh~ Excuse me, then.” You turn your head, scratching behind your ear as you look surprised. Jungkook knows how to put you in your place, but you’re a brat for a reason.

You turn towards the open aisle and start walking. “Aight then, Mr. Black Card, since we finna play like that. I’m gonna get snacks.”

“We have snacks at home.”

“‘We have snacks at home’,” you mock as your pace speeds up. Jungkook is not afraid to chase you in this store. You swear he thinks it's an episode of ‘Run!’ His stamina highkey scares you. But can you really complain when he’s thrusting into you at max speed, stretching you along his cock for what seems like hours of you screaming his name?

“I'm eating for two now, so…”

“Don't say that.” You hear him whine as you turn the corner.

✧༺♡༻✧

You grab gummy worms, some animal crackers, butter pecan ice cream, a two-liter strawberry soda, and even some things for Jungkook.

As much as he complains about you buying more snacks, he could eat you out of house and home. And don’t even get you started on his snacking habits as he’s gaming. You’re not even sure if you can call eating a whole plate of wings a snack. All this tells you is that you and your fiancé eat enough to feed your standard nuclear family, so you feel like you’ve fulfilled your societal duties quite well.

Your phone suddenly buzzes.

Pookie🥺💖 Your basket better not be past the rim

You frown. Why is he trying to budget now? Like you know how much is on that card. He better stop playing with you.

Sleep Demon👹💦 suck my dick babygirl😏

Pookie Ain’t no fkn way… in the store too? I’m starting to think you like being watched🤨 … Actually, y’know what? Bet. Pick a time and date.

Sleep Demon bruh😦

Pookie I take strap like a good girl too😋 Thank you very much😌💅🏻✨ Unlike some brat I know😒 They never just know how to take good dick Least you can do, letting me get you pregnant and shit

Sleep Demon it takes two idiots to make another🤨

Pookie Noooo😭 Screamin’💀 No way you just called our unverified baby an idiot Like I know we are, but damn😫

Sleep Demon you just called it unverify like it's some kind of alien

Pookie Well, it kinda is😬

Sleep Demon oop😦 it's the way we callin’ it ‘it’🙃

You grin so hard because you know Jungkook is doing the same.

Pookie We don’t deserve kids😔

Sleep Demon FTK😈 well, I'm done so👀

Pookie I’m at self-checkout Run stink🏃🏽‍♀️💨

When you meet back up, you check his basket, seeing that he picked up your period essentials: pads, Ibuprofen, period panties, two 52oz smoothies, and batteries…. He’s definitely a keeper.

Jungkook’s seriously the best thing that’s ever happened to you. You wrap around his arm, nuzzling against him as you take in his scent.

You hate your period is about to begin because you’re definitely in the mood to fuck him. And knowing Jungkook, he’d take you up on that offer. He’s a freak, and you’re a self-aware hypocrite, so it works out nicely.

✧༺♡༻✧

The car ride home is somewhat silent, save for the light hum of singing from the radio. As your boyfriend drives, you intertwine your hand with his after noticing the way his leg bounces. You look at him, but your smile falters a bit, watching as he messes with his lip ring. He’s nervous.

“Baby, it's gonna be okay. I think it's stress like you said. Plus, I've gained a bit of weight from eating out.” You squeeze his hand. “And y’know if it is, we can just go to the clinic. We’re not fated into this.”

He sighs, ceasing to bounce as he releases his lip. “You’re right.” He squeezes your hand before kissing it.

✧༺♡༻✧

Once home, you immediately head to pee with Jungkook not too far behind. After peeing on the second stick, you wipe it off and set it on the counter just a few inches from your boyfriend.

He’s looking at the floor, spaced out but you can see the way he’s biting his lip, twirling his rings, and kicking his legs. You've never seen him this nervous; not even during a performance.

“How ‘bout you pee a third time for me, huh?” You slightly jump at how he abruptly breaks the silence, now staring at your big, wide eyes till your face falls neutral. Is he serious?

“I never thought I’d hear a man I'm romantically involved with ask me something like that.”

“You had no problem the first time I made you squirt.” Your eyes widen. “And that's before you found out it wasn’t pee.”

You gasp. “Hey-” He rushes out the room, clearly not listening to you. You know he’s nervous but shouldn’t you be even more so considering that you’d be the one carrying it. And if Jungkook tends to be this overbearing when it’s just you, you can only imagine he’d be worse than your mothers.

Jungkook comes back into the bathroom with a water bottle, twisting the lid with a pop.

“Aren't you supposed to be a scientist? Like you should know pee from sq-”

“Wait. A. Damn. Minute.” Your mouth drops. “You can’t just talk to me any kind of way,” you giggle. “I’mma damn forensic technician, bruh; not no damn obgyn.”

He just looks at you as if saying ‘I don't know the difference and don't really care.’

You two begin to laugh.

“Lord have mercy.” You beckon him over. “I’ll take the third one -damn.”

“Thank you.”

“You better be.”

“Maybe I’ll reward you.”

You look at him, shaking your head and scoffing. Who is this man?

“Now, open.” You drink half the bottle as he doesn’t let up until he’s satisfied. He looks at you with a darkened gaze the entire time. You like it when he's stern with you.

Jungkook releases and you gasp a bit. Then he finds his place back on the counter and you two sit, waiting.

The wait feels like purgatory. But after listening to Jungkook hum obscure melodies, you work up a steady flow to pee on the third pregnancy test.

When you ask him to check the previous two, you watch his face contort a bit before he tells you they’re negative. He seems surprised.

You finish up and prepare the test, taking it with you into the bedroom. Jungkook plops down beside you, leaning in to look.

“What if this comes back positive?”

“Then it's a false positive.”

“But what if-”

You push him, causing him to fall back onto the fluffy comforter.

You hope it's negative.

✧༺♡༻✧

After a while it turns and you let out a sigh of relief, falling back next to him.

“See there, goofy.” You raise your arm as you two stare up at the stick.

“Gimme that.” You roll your eyes, handing it over. “Ugh, thank god almighty!”

You laugh. “I swear you’re just an old church lady. You want to get up and shout now?”

“Don't tempt me. I’ll outdo every single one of them broads.” You chuckle at him.

He was so different when you first met him. This can only be your doing, but then again you wouldn't be surprised if the seed was first planted during American Hustle.

Silence quickly falls as you continue to stare at the stick.

“Now what?”

“We wait for my period to come on.”

“What does that look like?”

“What are you getting at, Jungkook?”

“Just maybe we can get a round in -or two- before.”

“Have mercy, I’ve never seen someone so horny.”

“Hey, it was a suggestion.”

“That you want to be taken seriously.”

“Well, I’ll be careful, use the condom, and a towel just in case.”

“Mmh… No.”

“Alright.”

It's not that you don't want to but you're a little scared, especially after today.

You look over at him. He’s staring at the ceiling, and doing so beautifully: from the slope of his nose, pout of his lips and curl of his lashes. Even the way his hair softly frames his face before pooling onto the bed. He’s like the rarest storybook that you’ve ever had the pleasure of unfolding.

You've missed him so much and yet you never left.

“Jungkook?”

“Mmh?”

“You bought batteries?”

“Yep.” He shakes his head still looking up as his thumbs twiddle. When you look at him, he finally stares back smiling.

There's something else behind your eyes. Something sweet. But also needy.

He immediately sits up, his eyes widening.

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, sit tight.” He almost stumbles but quickly sprints out the door. You giggle, loving how excited he is.

You’ve had a really rough week and an even crazier day.

“I’ve been wanting to test it out. Y’know it's got like five sett-“

Jungkook freezes, staring at your sleeping body. Of course this would happen, but it's no big deal.

He just wants to be close to you and that doesn’t always involve the extreme.

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[speedierthanasubmarine]

Finished heaven official’s blessing and I really enjoyed writing an analysis on helluva boss I want to make this a regular thing because it’s fun so here’s my thoughts on

Heaven Official’s Blessing

Spoilers (duh)

I think it’s incredibly impressive when someone can make an overarching narrative in which different seemingly disjointed events are significant without A) putting a giant exclamation mark on top saying “REMEMBER THIS IT WILL BE IMPORTANT LATER” and B) Significantly over or under emphasizing the importance of the scene in the moment. Each event stood on its own and I liked that.

There were several janky sentences and word choices but that’s a translation issue, this writer clearly knows what she’s doing.

Characters were a lot of fun and distinct, my favorites were Feng Xin, Pei Ming, Qi Ying, and Ling Wen whenever they were on the page I was like Ah yes, these pages are gonna be enjoyable and I was right, they’re all delightful (cept the brocade immortal stuff, but like I don’t care, Google assistant is fun) Xie Lian and San Lang are delightful, love them, and San Lang is so effed in the head it’s enjoyable to try and imagine what unhinged thing he’ll do next

Tbh there isn’t much plot breakdown I want to do with this series because it knows what it is, it’s a fanfic ass book with good times, trauma, gay fluff, and fights. Need I say more? That’s not a detractor, it’s a strength. Be what you are and own it because a house with a house’s foundation is a great house but slap a building on that house’s foundation and it fails in both regards.

The only aspect I’m going to analyze is the narrative voice the books are written in because holy crap is it super impressive. Xie Lian is a super mature (or ditzy, depending on your point of view) character, he doesn’t dwell on things, doesn’t hold grudges, doesn’t really care that much about people’s histories or even their present, doesn’t focus much on externals and it comes through in the way the book is written. I noticed this when throughout the books San Lang would do fucked up stuff like make it rain blood and kill a pit’s worth of people and Xie Lian kinda didn’t really seem to care and at first it pissed me off, why isn’t the author letting consequences occur because of these peoples’ actions, but then as it held consistently throughout the book and other people kept being super concerned about stuff, like Pei Constantly asking after Shi Qingxuan (I don’t know how to spell their name, it’s so hard to keep track I’m so sorry) or people bringing up Banue, I realized this is just Xie Lian, other people in the book are regular people like me, this one guy is just experiencing things, going “Well, ain’t that something” and then just moving on. Honestly iconic, but also I was halfway through book six when I realized. Especially since whenever they do flashbacks Xie Lian does all normal stuff. He describes settings he’s in, he mentions events that happened a few pages ago, he tells the reader how he feels, it’s after he experiences all his shit he goes through that this all kinda slips away. In “present” scenes he’ll reference things as they come up but like in the flashback after Mu Qing leaves they talk about it a few times and I find that aspect of acknowledgment to be noticeably absent in the “present” scenes. After the black water arc there is a complete lack of discussion about the frankly trauma inducing event that just transpired but sure Cie Lian, you and San Lang have to not hold hands for the billionth time. At first I thought is this author high but then I realized what shes doing is characterizing through prose which is IMPRESSIVE AS HELL. This may be a point I noticed and am now misremembering the entire series just to bolster my take and if that’s the case then I shall sheepishly shrug and say I’m sorry. I’m not rereading 8 books to write a tumblr review. Maybe if I ever start a YouTube channel

I don’t know, I just find it to be an incredible feat of actually good writing when a story is being told through the lens of the main character and you can characterize that character by simply reading the story and seeing how it’s written, not even through dialogue and action. It’s kinda like the Great Gatsby or a Separate Peace, and it’s super cool that a book like this can accomplish the same thing that makes those classics great. There isn’t as much symbolism or analytical potential but those books wouldn’t be nearly as impactful as they were without great execution, which this book pulled off in spades.