#they have to have pieces that don't fit neatly together

[commsroom]

i think one of the boldest and best moves wolf 359 makes in its character development is that, in terms of the major defining events that led him to where he is, eiffel doesn't have a tragic backstory so much as he is responsible for the tragic backstory of someone else.

(the archetype of the everyman protagonist who copes with past trauma via humor does in many ways describe eiffel, but like with every character in wolf, it's the complexity of their circumstances that make them feel like real people with believable inner worlds. they don't subvert the archetypes they represent, exactly; they're just people, complex and contradictory, who ultimately can't be constrained by the expectations or defined lines of the narratives imposed on them.)

eiffel believes this is an intrinsic part of who he is, that he was "just those mistakes"; he externalizes his desire for redemption and that manifests as lenience towards people who lack his fundamental desire for growth. and in failing to recognize his own ability for growth, he presents himself as a doomed character archetype more than a person; he sidelines himself as an observer within his own story. his guilt and self-hatred allow him to in some way abdicate responsibility, to see his failings as inevitable, and it's only accepting his own complexity and capacity to be more, the human quality he recognizes so fervently in others, that frees him from those self-imposed conceptions.

(once my friend kit said that eiffel “defines the tone and the moral compass of wolf 359 so strongly that if you put him into any other series he would turn it into wolf 359 too” and i think about that a lot.)

doug eiffel is wolf 359, in all it believes, and despite his perception of himself as the weakest link, he is so interwoven with both the crew of the hephaestus and the themes of the show that he is inseparable from either. he doesn't always embody the show's values or its morals - in fact, he frequently fails to live up to them as much as he'd like - but he is the one who advocates for them. "it's not just about surviving; it's about being able to live with ourselves after we get off this tin can."

it's a show about communication; he is an intermediary, a vessel for communication - sometimes literally, and he's also just a guy who is still trying to learn how to communicate better himself. what eiffel represents is a flawed, contradictory, unpredictable, irrepressible humanity, singular, and so desperately in need of connection. the show's love of humanity is truer for that. he has genuinely done wrong, in ways he may not ever be forgiven for. he has very real flaws, some of which persist through the entire show, even as he's consciously trying to do better. and he is very much human, and very much loved.

[sukunasweetheart]

Thinking of breakup angst with sukuna...

Thinking of the build up towards it, the way you have been fighting over the littlest things for months now

It leads you to think about how self centered he can be, how you always feel like you loved him more than he loved you and how crushing it felt to have that realisation fall upon you every time

He can be so career focused sometimes, with the long business trips, work parties, etc. always working vehemently to get higher, threatening to leave you behind

And one particular night, the argument gets so heated that you dont get a wink of sleep afterwards, only staring blankly at nothing as you try to calm the chaos in your head. Sukuna heads out without a word the next morning, and you make the final decision in your head, alone, by yourself.

By the time sukuna comes back home with the intent of reconciliation, he finds that youre packing the remainder of your belongings into a suitcase in the bedroom, ready to move out of his home.

"what the fuck is all this?" he asks, his tone coming out harsher than he means it to be.

"what do you think? i'm breaking up with you. i'm moving out," you can barely stop your voice from wavering. you've cried too much this week.

"oh, come on. you know you don't mean that," he reaches out to grab your arm, but you withdraw away from his hand so fiercely that it even surprises him.

"don't you talk to me like that," you speak firmly, "like i'm being dramatic. why won't you ever treat me seriously? i am leaving, sukuna."

you continue your work, neatly folding up some of your shirts. you're already almost finished. he looks around, and the house looks half empty.

oh. you really mean it. you're really trying to leave.

"no, you're not. you're not leaving. not after everything we've been through together," he tells you defensively, grabbing your wrist, stopping you from folding your last shirt, trying to get you to look at him again.

"like what? constantly yelling at each other until our throats are sore? i'm really sick of it. and i'm sure you are, too."

"don't put words in my mouth. i may have gotten sick of our fighting, but i've never gotten sick of you," sukuna hisses, refusing to let you continue packing your things. you feel yourself getting swayed by his words.

"well, i am. i've gotten sick of you," you say quietly through gritted teeth.

"oh yeah? say it to me properly then. look at me dead in the eyes," he demands, voice getting lower.

"you heard me. i don't need to say it again." you pull away from his grip and try to get this last shirt folded. he grabs you again, by the hand this time, and the piece of clothing unravels once more.

"no, i didn't hear shit. convince me that you really want to leave me - and i'll let you go."

in a fit of anger, you turn to face him completely, but your resolve crumbles away when you see his expression. not the one you'd assigned to him in your own mind, but his true features, under the bright bedroom lights.

he looks serious. he looks concerned. he's asking you to tell him it's not true. tell him that you want to stay.

"...let me go. i'm leaving..." you say, voice finally breaking. like a broken faucet, your eyes begin leaking tears relentlessly and your throat closes up in that painful way that you hate, but nothing compares to the pain in your heart at the thought of really breaking up with this man here and now.

he lets you go...

and calmly takes your things out of the suitcase to put them back. you didn't miss the relief in his eyes that showed up for that split second.

"bring it back! i hate you," you attempt to raise your voice, but really, it's only just your ego speaking.

"you can't even say that you hate me in the correct tone. we're not breaking up," he mutters, hanging up your coats and putting them into the closet.

having been defeated, your legs give way and you sit down on the side of the bed, sobbing.

through the blur of your tears, you watch as he meticulously goes through your suitcase, putting everything where they belong. and you sob harder. he knows too much. he arranges your creams, perfumes and accessories in the perfect order on the dresser. he spends a good fifteen minutes, putting all of your belongings back where they should be.

and by the time he gets back to you, he's like a different man. the mattress dips from his weight as he sits next to you, bringing a box of tissues with him to wipe your tears away.

"we can talk tomorrow since we're both tired today," sukuna tells you as he dabs your eyes with the tissue, "i'll take the day off." you just sit still without responding. now that he mentioned it, the fatigue seems to fall upon you suddenly, like a brick. he coaxes you under the sheets.

soon, you find yourself in bed, in his arms. it's been a while since the two of you had cuddled so intimately. you feel oddly shy, the same way you did all those years ago when you first started dating him. there's a special kind of warmth that sukuna's body emits - and you're surrounded by it under these blankets.

"i'll try to do better... so don't go anywhere," he speaks with a softer tone.

because, it's true, he can't imagine living a life without you.

those are the last words you hear before you drift off to sleep.

the next morning, he's still in bed with you, and you're pleased to see he kept his word about taking the day off. checking the mirror, you're horrified and embarrassed about your swollen eyes from all the crying last night.

sukuna takes a look at you and chuckles without ill intent. but in your flustered state, you slap his arm until he's saying "my bad, my bad" in between laughs.

there's still some awkward tension between you and him, but going through breakfast together seems to melt some of that away, until you're ready to bring up yesterday's event.

it goes better than you'd expected, and after the discussion, the only thing that's left is to wait and see whether things will change for the better or not. whether his promises are empty or not.

"i didn't realise that you were so lonely. 'm sorry," he apologises as he plays with your hand, "i may work a lot, but you're always on my mind, doll."

it's like a huge weight off your shoulders.

and he begins to be more like his playful self again, after the talk.

"i'll need you to tell me that you love me today. since you told me you hated me yesterday," sukuna says with a smirk, hugging you from behind.

"well, you need to earn it," you shoot back, rolling your eyes.

"alright. will you say it back if i say it first?"

"sure."

"i love you."

"..."

"now that's not fair, is it?" he tickles you without mercy.

you burst out in laughter, thrashing around uncontrollably, trying to push him away.

"okay, okay! i love you!" you tell him in between breaths.

seemingly satisfied, he lets you go and pushes his face into the crook of your neck. he'll never let you go.

the following day after work, sukuna comes home earlier than usual, and he doesn't wear a grumpy expression in front of you. he greets you with a hug and kiss. it's a small gesture, but it makes you happy.

and slowly, the relationship begins to rekindle itself.

[armory-rasa]

COUCH POUCH!! Free Pattern & Tutorial

...called thus because they use upholstery-weight leather for the bag body, that in my case was in fact skinned off a couch. 🤣 Turns out they are relatively quick and easy to make, so I tidied up the pattern for printing and took pictures to document the process when I made another five of them.

First off, print your pattern, 100% scale:

The bag shape was a modified version of the pattern I used for the Morpheus sandbag, but sized to fit in the roughly 11" squares that my couch skin came in. It makes a bag that sits very well on a tabletop, thanks to the flat base.

Though it turned out to not be the most efficient use of material, because that plus-shaped pattern tessellates well, if you're cutting them out of a full hide, but makes a lot of waste when you're cutting them out of squares of material. A more efficient design would have a half-rounded front and back, and a gusset between them, like so:

Ah well. It's not like I have any shortage of couch skin, though for the next round I'm going to experiment with a more efficient pattern.

First step, trace and cut out the bag body from your chrome-tan leather:

Like I said, this was upholstery leather, but anything that's flexible and ~1.5 mm thick will do.

The flap and front need to be a stiffer leather though -- I used 7 oz latigo, but veg-tan would work equally well. (And then you could ✨tool it!✨)

Cut them out, and then use the pattern to mark where your holes are going to be. Mark the holes on your bag body too:

The latigo pieces get hand-stitched to the bag body, so I used a stitching groover to carve out little channels for the thread -- it's not strictly necessary, but it makes your stitches lay a lot more neatly:

Punch the holes shown below:

I used a ~5 mm hole punch for those, and a 1.5" slot punch for the belt loops. Some of the holes on the front piece you're not punching yet, because they need to go through both layers.

I put a dab of contact cement on the pieces (circled in white) to help hold them in place when I go to punch the stitching holes:

(Make sure you're not putting glue between the belt loops)

Wait fifteen minutes for the contact cement to dry until tacky, and then line up the holes and the edges and press the pieces together:

Punch stitching holes:

Saddle-stitch both pieces in place (takes 28" of thread per):

Now you can punch these holes:

(I used a slightly smaller hole punch than for the others, but it doesn't really matter.)

Now press the right sides of the leather together and sew up the seams from the inside:

A regular sewing machine should be able to handle this, though you will need thicker thread, a heavy-duty leather-sewing needle, and a walking foot attachment. (If you don't have a walking foot attachment, it is SO WORTH getting one, even if you don't expect to sew much leather. Seriously, I use it for everything -- once you go walking foot, you don't go back. 💀) Because you can't pin leather without leaving permanent holes in it, tiny binder clips can be helpful for keeping your material lined up.

What they look like when you're finished sewing:

Cut 19" of lacing for the drawstring, and 11" of lacing for the toggle:

I use the 1/8" EcoSoft lace from Tandy, I think it's stronger than real leather would be at that thickness. The only important factor here is that you need something with a bit of texture and friction -- a silk cord isn't going to stay closed, it's going to slip open.

MANY BAGS.

For these I used a wooden toggle -- cut another 8" of lacing, looped it through the toggle twice, and then made a tight square knot on the back:

But another option is putting a concho or a large button on the flap. The bag I copied this design from, in fact, uses a concho toggle:

Thread some beads on the laces to keep the ends from getting lost, and you are DONE! 😁

Happy Bagging!

[ghouljams]

I just saw a tiktok where the caption was “pov: your situationship just kissed you in the forehead, said ‘I left you a backstrap in the fridge’, and left for work” and the videos is of the woman checking her fridge, seeing a piece of meat, and then looking like she’s reconsidering her whole life. My city slicker suburbs ass didn’t know this but apparently backstrap is the equivalent of beef tenderloin for hunters, each deer/elk has like 1-2 pieces so giving someone a backstrap is downright a marriage proposal.

I have no idea where this would fit into Ghost and Goose's relationship (definitely before they get together officially), or even if it would be (would Ghost hunt?) but all I can think about is Goose staring at the meat on the countertop when Duck walks in and is like "what's wrong?" and Goose just points to the backstrap and goes "Ghost gave me this." And now both of them are staring wordlessly at it when Price comes in and goes "what are you two gawking at?" and they both point at it and say in unison "Ghost left this." and now the whole family is staring at this declaration of undying love on the kitchen counter.

God the backstrap, I've seen that tiktok and that's the most beautiful cut of meat I've ever seen in someone's fridge.

I know I just made a post about Ghost being an animal guy and not hunting like a normal person, but I also think hunting is something he would take a lot of pride in. He likes the survivalist element, but he also likes the feeling of being a provider in a very primitive way. He went out and got food, killed it and butchered it himself, just for his little family. Anyway *throws fic at you*

"Left you somethin' in the fridge," Ghost tells you on his way out for the day. You give him a look of quiet confusion and he tips his hat a little lower over his eyes, not looking at you.

"It's not another frog is it?" You grimace, thinking of the last time you went gigging.

"One frog, one time," He grumbles, not bothering to answer you as he walks towards the stables. You sigh and go to clean up whatever mess he'd left. You wish he'd stop leaving things in the main house's fridge, if he wants to put live animals somewhere he should put them in his own damn house. You shiver remembering the frog you thought was dead leaping at you as soon as you'd opened the fridge door. You're not squeamish with cold blooded critters but that would scare the pants off anyone.

You brace yourself as you tug the communal fridge open. Nothing jumps at you, which is a good sign. You crouch down to sort through the contents for whatever Simon left and freeze. Sitting right in front on the top shelf, neatly covered with cling wrap, and a post it with a hastily scribbled out heart, is the most beautiful cut of meat you've ever seen. Brilliantly red and marbled. You tug it out to inspect, push your finger against the plastic film to check that it's actually meat. There's no fat, and the cut is a lovely sort of tenderloin. Where did Simon...

He went hunting recently. You remember the deer in the back of the truck, the marrow filled bone he'd tossed the dog. Jesus fucking Christ, you know exactly what this is. You quickly stuff it back in the fridge and slam the door to go get your mom.

You both stand in front of the open fridge as she inspects the meat. She stiffens, apparently coming to the same conclusion you did and forces the plate back into your hands.

"What is this boy doin' givin' you the best cuts off his venison?" She asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Momma, I swear to you I don't know," You carefully settle the backstrap back in the fridge. If your brain wasn't so stuck on the fact that Simon is the one who gave it to you, you might be cooking up recipes already.

"Where's your daddy, he needs to see this." She looks out the kitchen window, surveying the pasture for your father's horse. The last thing you need is her calling him in to see Simon's... declaration.

"No momma," You pull her back, "Momma please, you're gonna scare him off."

"I'm not scarin' anyone off, he's-" She gives you a look, her smile scrunched to one side and her brows drawn in confusion, "Baby, you think I'm gonna scare off the man giving you prime cuts from his hunt? Please-" She waves your concern off and you groan. It's not like he's proposing, you doubt Simon even- He probably doesn't even know he's giving you something the butcher won't even sell.

Actually how did he wrestle this away from the butcher? Usually the guy in town will pay through the nose for good venison. You've never seen a cut this clean from the usual guy though.

At least Simon has the good sense not to look startled that you're in his house at the end of the day. There is a sort of silent confusion around your cooking in his tiny kitchen, but he's nice enough to stay quiet as he goes to shower off the day's dirt. When he comes back he's smart enough to take a seat at the little round table, but just stupid enough to ask, "What's this?" When you set a plate in front of him.

"Backstrap," You glare at him, "with some veggies and potatoes. Why? What is it to you?"

Simon glances up at you, waiting for you to elaborate on this line of questioning. You know he doesn't like these games. You sigh and drop down into the seat across from him, he crosses his arms and leans back in his chair.

"Why're you giving me the best cut?" You ask, trying not to sound like you're expecting anything.

"What'm I suppose to do with it?" He responds.

"Didn't the butcher offer to buy it off of ya?"

"Didn't go to the butcher," He tells you evenly. You stare at him. This fucking- God you could wring his neck. He killed a deer, went through the trouble of butchering it himself, and he still gave you the best cut. All the work just to- to-

You press your hands against your face with a groan.

"Ghost."

"Princess." His low rumble makes you shiver, how pleased he sounds to have caught you off guard...

"You know my momma thinks we're gonna get married now," You tell him through your fingers. He hums, and you hear the click of his silverware as he starts eating. Done with the conversation apparently. You truly hate how much you love this man. He's going to be the death of you.

God but what a way to go.

[astarionsilverbough]

astarion catches halsin whittling a bust of his head out of a palm-sized block of birchwood :} he doesn't recognize it :}

yo hey whoa WHOA

okay yeah let’s go

It happens about three days after they leave the Grove for the Creche.

They’re camping on the Risen Road near the river. Astarion and Gale disappear for their usual bath together - they stay in the pairs they’ve previously selected mostly out of ease, though Karlach joins Lae’zel and Halsin’s group - and Halsin, having already bathed, produces a block of wood from his pack.

It fits neatly in the frame of his hand. Three-fourths of the block have been carefully carved and coaxed away by the gentle sweeps of Halsin’s knife. He works in silence for a few minutes, losing himself so utterly in his task he hardly notices he’s not alone until Wyll is speaking.

“Good gods man,” the fighter says, peering over Halsin’s shoulder at the small piece, “you’ve captured Astarion perfectly. Karlach, look at this.”

“Oh, whoa! Halsin, that’s amazin’,”Karlach says wonderingly as she peers over Wyll’s shoulder while he peers over Halsin’s shoulder. “You’ve even captured his little, little smile lines! Oh!”

“What’s all this, then, why are we cooing over the druid?”

As it always does, Astarion's voice makes Halsin's heavy heart feel about two hundred times lighter and younger. Wyll and Karlach both step back and Halsin looks up at Astarion nears, his damp hair falling over his curiously furrowed brow.

"Oh," the vampire hums, sounding a bit... befuddled. Almost... apprehensive? "Well who's this... handsome young thing, then?"

He's being entirely genuine. He doesn't recognize himself - but Wyll and Karlach, who barely know the man, did. It does look like him, then. Halsin knows it does - he's carved Astarion's face a thousand times over the last two hundred years, after all. He could carve it in the dark.

Karlach rolls her eyes. "Oh, come off it," she says with a laugh, gently smacking the back of Astarion's shoulder. "You don't have to play coy. You're bloody gorgeous, Astarion."

Astarion's eyebrows shoot up as it occurs to Halsin that vampires... Vampires can't see their reflection. Not even in water. His chest grows almost immeasurably tight. It must show on his face, because Wyll clears his throat then and says, "we ought to get the fire going, aye? It's getting chilly out here for those of us not running on infernal engines!"

"Wh -?" Karlach manages, but then Wyll is all but frog-marching her away and Halsin's world shrinks down to Astarion and only Astarion.

A relief.

If he could keep the world this small, he would.

"Is this... Is this really me, darling?"

Astarion sounds... His voice is more vulnerable than Halsin's heard it yet. Oh, but there were no words in any language to describe what was happening within the great former archdruid as he takes in Astarion's expression; it's one of an almost awestruck grief, of curious hope and something approaching the innocence he once embodied when he was younger and unafraid.

"Yes," Halsin utters on a breath. "Yes, little star, it is."

The vampire's eyes are swelling with tears. His bottom lip quivers even as his mouth curves into a soft, wondering smile.

"Me... now?"

"That is the only you I see," Halsin says quietly. "The Astarion you have always been and will always be."

"Oh," Astarion whimpers. When Halsin offers up the carving for Astarion to hold, to memorize with fingertips and thumbs, Astarion falters for a moment before he takes it so carefully Halsin almost shatters then and there.

"Huh," the vampire breathes, gazing down at his own carefully crafted visage with tears streaming down the real article, "well. I... I look more like him, don't I? Like father."

"You look like Astraea when you smile," Halsin murmurs, clambering to his feet. He sweeps a curled finger under Astarion's chin to catch the tears beading there and thumbs over the taper of it.

"And you have her eyes," the druid says. Astarion lifts those sunset eyes to meet his and before he can protest, Halsin bows to kiss the argument off his tongue. Astarion grips the carving in one hand and slides his arms around Halsin's neck; the bigger elf catches him in the crook of his elbow and draws him close, as close as he possibly can.

It's never close enough.

"But when I look at you," Halsin says in elvish, taking a step back towards his tent, "I see Astarion. I see the way your hair curls around your ears and the way your eyes wrinkle when you laugh. The way your lips part right before you're about to be kissed."

Astarion's ears go pink. "Oh - stop," he protests weakly against Halsin's lips, squirming as Halsin lifts him effortlessly from the ground. "Enough poetry, just tell me I'm beautiful so we can move onto the exciting part."

Stepping back through the flaps of his own tent, Halsin catches Astarion in another gasping kiss and turns on his heel. Astarion doesn't flail or cry out when Halsin moves to get him down on the cot; he trusts Halsin with the same ease he always has, fingers carding nimbly through the druid's hair as he kisses over Halsin's jaw and noses at his ear.

"Beautiful," Halsin says, leaning up on his palms to look down at the vampire. Soft dusk light filters through the canvas of Halsin's tent, lighting Astarion up in shades of burnished gold. The breath punches gently out of Halsin and he shakes his head. Catching Astarion gently by the jaw, the druid bows and kisses him in the way that makes the blood run hot enough to tempt the change.

"I would invent a new word for you if I only knew how," Halsin says against Astarion's lips. "You are solar storms and hurricanes, Astarion Ancunin - you are the sea beneath a fractured sky and the first winter freeze."

Astarion trembles. "I distinctly remember telling you no more poetry" he manages, "only moments ago, even. You can't have forgotten already. I hope you haven't, or we have bigger problems than - mmhmm..."

He licks the words off Astarion's tongue. The vampire melts beneath him, tears dripping down his temples and into the snowfall of his hair.

"Astarion," Halsin breathes achingly. "Astarion."

"There it is," Astarion whispers, "your new word. Every time you say my name - every time you say my name, I know how beautiful you think I am."

A pause.

"But the carving certainly helps. Feel free to make more. Of any part of me, in fact."

Halsin grins against Astarion's teeth and gathers him close, finally skin to skin.

It's almost close enough.

"Oh, I will," the druid burrs as Astarion scrapes a heavy, needy gaze over his face, lips parted against Halsin's like he's a snake poised to swallow a mouse. Halsin slides a hand between his thighs and the elf whines.

"Good," Astarion groans.

And he does. Only once he's done some thorough research, of course.

Astarion insists.

[torutorubaby]

“...my place is... before you..”

tags: hierophilia; angst; kinda mindfuck?; sfw; worshipping; ambiguous ending;

mentions of: body and soul merging (?); blood; feminine pronouns

author's note: if you can't tell already, i have no idea how to tag this. enjoy!! this is my first fic, so kinda rough but i hope you'll enjoy. feel free to drop any criticism/feedback or ideas/suggestions in the replies. <3 p.s i don't mind dropping versions with other pronouns so just lmk!!

She admired his face wordlessly as they, caressing his hair as she laid propped up against his chest.

Satoru opened one eye as he spoke with his signature arrogant smirk. His blindfold was off, folded neatly on the bedside table beside them.

“Careful now, sweetheart, you might start falling in love.”

She smiled bitter sweetly, looking away.

“A sweet smile and sad eyes, I know that look well." He spoke, using his index finger to lift her chin up and look at him.

"Would it be so bad if I did?" She asked unsurely, her head pressing back against his chest.

His smirk faded as he stared at her, he spoke softly.

“There’s nothing wrong with it, but I doubt you would be that foolish.”

“What if I was?” She looked to him for reassurance. They had been having this on and off 'relationship'.. if you could call it that going on for months now. She just.. wanted something. Anything.

He sighed a bit, his body stiffening as his arms untangled themselves from around her.

“I care for you as well, but you know that this can’t become more. With my status as the strongest there are expectations of me, I can’t be with just anyone.”

“Just anyone?”

That hurt. Is that all he thought of her?

“Right.. of course. I apologise.”

She spoke softly, getting up off the bed. Maybe it was time for her to leave now.

He looked up at her as she got up, his eyes were filled with regret as she moved away from him.

He cleared his throat as he sat up and spoke. “You know that’s not what I meant…”

“I.. it's okay. I get it. I'm not even a sorcerer so.. it makes sense. Not good enough for it I guess.” She whispered softly, putting on her clothes.

"Yeah.. I uh.. I get it." She nodded, fixing her hair in the mirror.

Gojo sighed yet again looking at her back, his voice was still cold.

“I think it might be better if you left…”

As he felt her pull away from him, his entire body tensed up. The thought of her leaving him, he already felt his heart beating fast and it was becoming even faster. He wanted to stop her, he wanted to beg her to stay but he couldn’t, not with anything he had right now. He took a deep breath as he watched her, his eyes were sad, and full of pain.

“..just.. don’t forget about me..”

“Will you visit me?” She asked, looking back at him one last time.

His heart skipped a beat, her sudden question left him flustered for a second. He looked up at her, his gaze was still filled with pain but this time, it was also full of longing.

“..I will.” He spoke softly.

She leaned up to kiss him one last time. Satoru could only think of one thing;

“What was the point of being the strongest if he could not use that strength and influence to love and cherish his dearest?”

Satoru channeled his pure, unbridled longing and need in that kiss. This wasn't sexual or just romantic, this was beyond any words. Fuck, it even hurt really bad as he bot down on her lips, pushing and pulling, drawing blood. It was need, pure need. Like he needed her to complete his soul, needed her in the air he breathed, needed her to be the infinity that lingered on his body all the time. It was divinity. The age old tale of a god falling for a mortal.

The kiss was like none other before. It was as if they were one. It was need, it was desperation, this was divinity. He felt as if she was the missing piece. The two of them fit together like puzzle pieces, her pure essence made him feel whole. He felt as if he could breathe again, as if she had brought life back into him. He was the honored one but right now.. he saw nothing else but her. She was his need, she was his life and she was his heart.

She was the opposite of him. He was strong, she was fragile. He was tough, she was delicate. He was divine, she was.. just a girl. At this very moment, though.. all the honoured one could think about was her. He wanted his soul to merge with her, his body to belong to hers, his smell to linger around hers... He needed her like a life needs water.

He had never felt this way before, he had never experienced anything of the sort. His need for her became greater, he wanted to be with her, spend every second of his time with her. This was beyond love, beyond desire, beyond obsession, this was divinity. The two of them were opposites but together they were two pieces of a whole, he needed her, his heart needed her. He craved her, he wanted her to be with him until the end of time. He was the honored one, but right now, she was his honour.

In the intimacy and privacy of their home, of their aloneness.. He was the worshipper, she was his god.

This was love.. this was their love. The two of them were opposites who became one. She was divinity to his honour, light to his darkness. This was more than the strongest warrior could ask for, to be with her in this intimate manner.. this was his heaven. He was a god, the strongest, the honored one but with her, he was just a man.. just like everyone else.. all because of her, all because he needed her.

All the emotions she gave him, the pure essence of her being was heaven to him. In a world where he stood atop all of it, he was able to be vulnerable to her. This was his weakness, this was his flaw, this was his secret that had been exposed. He felt as if she could take away everything from him and he would give it to her in an instant. He was the honoured one but just when he was with her.. he felt as if he was the weak and she was honoured.

He almost felt ashamed of the fact that he had fallen for a mortal woman. His entire existence was built around being strong, being the strongest, being honoured but with her.. he broke every single rule he had ever made. Without even thinking, he exposed his weaknesses and his flaws to her. He gave her his secrets and his emotions, she was the only one who had been able to break the unbreakable. He was the honoured one, the one who stood above all but with her, with her alone, they were just two normal people, he was just normal.. just a man.

Satoru kneeled before, looking up at her with utter devotion and yearning even more intensely than what all the people before him felt combined. He kissed her gracious hands, wordlessly offering himself and all that he had up to her.

He was a divine being, the highest existence and yet here he was. Kneeing before her, offering himself, and everything he had up to her. She had become his goddess, his divinity, his love. With his hands wrapped around her perfect hands, he kissed them. He continued to kneel as he looked up at her with intense love and longing. He was a strong god but with her, when he was with her, he was weak, she had become all that he knew the definition of. He worshipped her. He loved her...

She kneeled down to his level, seeming instantly smaller as she was.. Her small, delicate and gentle hands cupped his cheek, looking up at him with love and care.

“What are you doing, Satoru?” She asked softly, searching his eyes for any thoughts beyond the intensity of his emotions.

“..this is where I belong.” He spoke softly, the power in his voice was gone, replaced with a soft and calm tone. This was where he belonged, before her, he had no ego in his voice and no dominance. With her, he was nothing.

“..my place is.. before you.. with you.. wherever you may be.. that’s my place, with you..” His eyes were soft, he had no other thought at the moment except his overwhelming desire for her love as well as his devotion.

[12raccoonsinadress]

fluffy smut w tenya pls 👁👁

A Night To Remember : Tenya x Fem!Reader (Smut)

Word Count : 4,528

Third POV

You wouldn't consider yourself an addiction-prone person, but something about that boy was downright hypnotic. You couldn't ignore him, even if you wanted to. He was so... Him. You couldn't explain it. And somehow you got lucky enough to be his girlfriend. Though, it was nowhere near as surprising for others as it was to you. You two fit together like two perfect puzzle pieces. He was the strong-minded, book smart, rule keeper and you were the sweet, rule following, quiet type. It only made sense he'd fall for you. Just being around you felt like a fresh breath of air to him. Which is why he insisted on treating you like a princess whenever he could. In his eyes, you deserved everything in the world and he was determined to give as much of it to you as possible.

At first, it was almost a bit embarrassing. Between all the attention and gifts and sweet words, you felt so spoiled. When you'd told him this about 2 months in, he simply smiled and adjusted his glasses, stating,

"I'd hardly call this spoiling you, but don't worry. I have much more planned."

Which at the time made your cheeks flush red and your heart skip a beat. It made him smile more at how lovely you looked when you were flustered.

Now, 6 months into your relationship with Tenya, certain topics of conversation started coming up with some of your friends. Specifically, questions regarding how intimate you and the class rep have been. Though you won't admit it, the answer would likely surprise most of your classmates. Though you haven't slept together, things have gotten a bit heated more than once. Tangled together in bed, lips locked, while hands wander. Maybe a hickey or two in places easy to hide. But the main event always seemed to be put off, not that you were complaining. You wouldn't want to put him in an uncomfortable position, especially since those weekly encounters were already breaking a handful of rules. You loved him, regardless of how far you went.

It was Saturday afternoon. Not just any Saturday though, it was date night, and despite your prodding, Tenya refused to tell you what the evening's plans were. All he did was pat your head and tell you he took care of absolutely everything, and that he'd make it a night to remember. He also informed you not to worry about having to pick out an outfit either, as he had already gotten something nice for you that would be fitting for the evening's events. All of this caused butterflies to flutter in your stomach and chest. He didn't say these things in a way that would belittle you. He just wanted to take care of you. It was sweet, even though you had to wonder why he insisted on picking what you wore that night. You guessed it must be that you were going somewhere with some sort of dress code.

Later when you went up to your room to get ready, there was a box sitting outside your door with your name on a little tag on it. It was clearly from Tenya, based on how nicely the ribbon was tied and how neatly your name was scrawled on the note. You picked it up and went into your room. You assumed it must be the outfit he had told you about before. You set the box on your bed and opened it.

It was a red dress, folded neatly in the box, which was definitely nicer than anything else you owned. The material was soft, and when you held it up you guessed it would go to just above your knees. You were almost too distracted by the lovely dress to notice that it wasn't the box's only contents. You set the dress out nicely on your bed before turning to the box once more, face turning an indecent pink color as you did. There in the bottom of the box, neatly sat a lacey black set of underwear, if you could even call it that (It was much closer to lingerie than it was proper underwear), along with a small note which read,

"I hope to make this a night you won't soon forget. If I've overstepped, simply disregard the extra attire. I'll understand completely.

- Yours, Tenya Iida"

You were somehow both flustered at the implications, but awestruck at how cute and caring he was at the same time. Part of that adoration for your sweet boyfriend is what so easily convinced you to put on the lacy undergarments. The top was nearly completely see-through and the bottoms left very little to the imagination. Not to mention the tightness of the seam placed down the center, most likely an intentional design choice for.. stimulation reasons. You played with the idea of whether or not you should still wear shorts under the dress, before deciding against it. You decided to go wearing only the clothing that was in the box. You pulled the dress on and looked at yourself in the mirror. He really knew what looked good on you.

Just as you finished up getting ready, there was a knock on your door. You opened it promptly and smiled upon seeing your very handsome boyfriend dressed nicely as well. He looked over you with a content smile on his face.

"You look amazing, Y/n. Do you like it?"

You nodded, stepping out of your room and linking your arm with his.

"It's beautiful. I love it, Tenya."

He led the way downstairs and out the doors of the dorm building.

"I'm glad. I hoped you would."

There was a brief moment of silence. He looked to you, in a way silently asking about the box's other contents. You smiled.

"I loved all of it."

You added. He blushed a little, but his soft smile didn't falter. You couldn't help but already be giddy about the entire thing. It didn't help that with every step you took, that center seam pushed up again your more sensitive spots. Not enough to elicit any physical reaction, but enough to be teasing. You decided to distract yourself with conversation.

"Am I allowed to know where we're going yet?"

"It wouldn't be much of a surprise if I told you, now would it be?"

"Come on, just a little hint?"

He hummed, thinking it over.

"We're going out to eat."

"That's a terrible hint."

You stuck your tongue out at him. He chuckled softly. He thought you were just adorable.

"Well, it's all you're getting until we get there."

It wasn't a long walk to the restaurant, which by just looking at the outside you could tell was fancy and no doubtably expensive. He held the door for you and put an arm around your waist as he led the way to the front, talking to the waiter.

"Reservation for Iida. Party of two."

After a quick moment, the waiter nodded with a "Right this way" and led the two of you to a table. The entire restaurant had a soft, dim sort of lighting. The tables were decently spread out so it all had a very intimate type of feel to it. Against the wall in which your table was nearest was a small stage where live musicians played nice, soft music. As the two of you sat at your table you looked at him in awe. You spoke quietly, as it only felt right in such a fancy place.

"Tenya.. this place is beautiful."

He smiled, gently taking your hand across the table.

"I'm glad you think so. I wanted to bring you somewhere nice. After all, as of today, we've been together for half a year. It seemed enough of an occasion to be worth celebrating."

You could have melted there in your seat. He was just so sweet. He continued, blushing a little more than he typically did when expressing his affection for you.

"I'd been planning this for a while. You deserve only the best, Y/n. I want you to understand just how much you mean to me."

If it weren't such a fancy place you'd lean across the table and kiss him. Everything about him makes your heart skip. You almost felt bad in a way. He was always spoiling you and you never quite knew how to even it out with him. Before you could respond, he continued, though in a softer tone, leaning forward just a little.

"Which is why I still have one more thing planned for this evening. That is, given you'd have me."

Your cheeks turned an indecent shade of pink. You knew what he was implying, at least you were pretty sure you did. He was just wonderful. Of course, you'd have him.

"You've given me so much already, Tenya. I think it's only fitting I give you myself in return."

It was his turn to become a blushing mess, and just as the waiter came up too. He took a moment to compose himself, much to your amusement. He was so cute. He ended up ordering for you both, per your request since you couldn’t identify half of what was on the menu. Once the waiter left he immediately turned his attention back to you.  

"I know this would technically be against the rules, but would you stay with me this evening? If we are to go through with... certain activities I'd prefer to stay by your side afterward. And it's not as if we aren't already breaking the rules by... well..."

You gently reached across to take his hand in yours again. As one would guess based on everything else about him, he occasionally had difficulty expressing the ways he'd like to be intimate with you. You were the closest thing there was to perfect in his eyes, the last thing he wanted was to sound as if he didn't appreciate or respect you and your body. You loved seeing him so flustered though. It was sweet to see your typically confident boyfriend become a blushy mess when he asks to kiss you.

"Tenya, I'd love to stay the night with you. After we get back, will we go to your room or mine?"

"I'd prefer mine. I was really hoping you'd enjoy all of this and I may have already prepared a few things for the occasion. I hope that's alright."

"Of course it is. I'm already looking forward to it."

He smiled like the love sick fool he was.

"As am I, dear."

It wasn't too much later when the waiter came back with both of your meals. Dinner was pleasant. Though expensive, the food was good. You were glad you let Tenya pick for you. It was really good, though you were certain you'd never eaten it before, at least not like this. He also let you try some of his food, which you jokingly said was "Meh" despite it being just as good as your own. He had chuckled at your response, calling you adorable in return. When you both had finished, Tenya asked,

"Do you want dessert?"

You hummed a little, thinking. Then you smiled a little deviously.

"I think I'd rather have you for dessert~"

You spoke in a low mock-sexy voice. He blushed intensely and quickly went about asking for the check. You giggled quietly to yourself.

He paid for everything, and the two of you started back to the dorms for the night. You held his hand as you walked, swinging them a little. You were outside not more than 5 minutes before he paused.

"It's a bit colder than when we got here."

"I suppose it is."

"Here."

He took off his jacket and put it around your shoulders.

"Oh, Tenya you don't have-"

He cut you off as politely as he could.

"Please, I insist. I don't want you to get cold."

You gently squeezed his hand. He smiled softly down at you. You both continued on your way. Once you reached the dorms, Tenya turned to you, taking both your hands in his before going in. His tone was gentle but serious.

"Y/n, you're positive you want to do this?"

"Are you?"

"Of course I am. I'd love nothing more than to give myself to you and to have you in that way. I just want to be sure it's what you want too. I'm not exactly experienced, but I want to do my best to make this good for you. I love you."

If you had any doubts that you wanted this before, they'd melted away by now. You gently cupped his cheek with one of your hands.

"I'm not really experienced either. Tenya, I'd love to be with you. I couldn't think of anyone else I'd rather be my first."

He pressed his forehead to yours.

"Neither can I."

He pulled back, still holding your hand, and the two of you walked in. He led you up to his room. You felt your heart flutter as you saw what he'd set up.

There were little rose petals scattered neatly across the bed and floor. Though unlit currently, he had candles set out on nearly every surface. Nicely set on the nightstand by his bed was a box of condoms and a small bottle of what you assumed was lube. Though not part of the setup, you also noted a book on his desk with the title "Pleasing Her", which you couldn't help but find endearing. You looked at him, smiling.

"Tenya... This is so sweet."

He blushed, looking down a little.

"I'm glad you think so. I wanted to be sure it was special."

You kissed his cheek. He turned to you.

"If you'd like to sit for a moment, I'll light the candles."

You went over to sit on his bed as he went about getting a lighter and getting the candles lit. You watched him for a moment. Then you had a thought. You decided to pull off your dress while he wasn't looking, lighting the candles on the other side of the room. You were quickly reminded about just how little the set underneath actually covered. And with that center seam pressing up so much, it was very easy to see where everything was.

He'd set the lighter down and turned back to look at you once they were all lit. He practically froze in place. His eyes took in how incredible you looked, sitting on his bed, illuminated by candlelight, in those scandalous tiny bits of fabric. He was at a loss for words. You had to speak up to break him from it.

"So..? What do you think, Tenya?"

You were blushing too, a little nervous. You felt so exposed. It was an exciting feeling. He approached you, standing in front of you and gently cupping your face. He looked into your eyes as he spoke.

"Every time I look at you, you're more gorgeous than the last."

He had to step back, unbuttoning his shirt. It only felt right to undress to your level as well. You couldn't help but let your eyes wander as he did so, still talking.

"Y/n, I want you to know that if at any point this is too much or you need me to stop, for any reason, I will. I never want to hurt you."

He let his shirt hit the floor, moving to unbuckle his belt now.

"Having said that, I need to tell you that I've had many dreams like this. It may sound perverse but I've imagined how this would go nearly a hundred times, so if you would, I'd like you to trust in following my lead as long as you are comfortable."

He stepped out of his pants once they were on the floor. He moved to sit beside you now. He gently cupped your cheek, turning your head to fully face him. You felt like your heart may explode.

"Tenya..."

"May I kiss you, Y/n?"

You didn't respond, only leaning forward to press your lips to his. He was so perfect. So wonderful. Your incredible boyfriend who loved you so much. Who cared about you more than nearly anything else. His hands gently ran down your waist to your hips, pulling you a little closer. He wanted nothing more than to get completely lost in you. He softly urged you to move into his lap, which you did with no complaints. You wrapped your arms around him, keeping the kiss sweet and simple as you pressed your body to his. You felt this wonderful fluttering feeling in the base of your stomach at feeling so much of your bare body against his. He squeezed your hips gently. You pulled back to look at him. He looked up at you with nothing but pure adoration.

"You're absolutely perfect, Y/n."

He leaned down a little to kiss your neck softly. You held onto him, tipping your head back, and closing your eyes, simply enjoying the feeling. His hands explored a little bit as he did. Squeezing your thighs, running up to feel your waist. He clearly had a clue as to what he was doing. He lifted you up so he could set you back on the bed. He laid you down before climbing over you to look down and admire the beauty that was his magnificent girlfriend. He'd read somewhere that you were supposed to keep most of the lingerie on during the act for stimulation reasons, but truthfully he just wanted to see all of you. He spoke softly, if not a bit embarrassed.

"My dear, would you perhaps.. take your top off for me?"

He'd do it himself if he had any clue how bras worked. You nodded, leaning up to get to the clip and slide the straps off. From there, he pulled it off of you. He wasn't really trying to hide the fact that he was staring, because wow. He couldn't get over how beautiful every part of you was. He looked back to your face, blushing still.

"May I touch..?"

He asked softly. You bit your lip a little and nodded. He was gentle with his touches, softly cupping and squeezing your chest. He leaned down to kiss your neck with the same softness, gradually moving down to your chest. You closed your eyes, relishing the feeling of his lips against your more sensitive skin. While his mouth focused on your chest, one of his hands trailed down to your hip. His hand moved toward your inner thigh. He pulled back to speak softly.

"May I continue?"

"Please."

He kept his eyes on your face as his hand trailed between your legs, gently feeling you through the thin fabric.

"You're wet, darling."

He stated in a hushed tone. You blushed. Of course you were, how could you not be when he was doing everything so right? His touch made you shudder. He leaned back on his knees above you, sorta straddling your thighs, looking down at you. All he saw was absolute beauty, and from where you were you not only saw the handsome, strong figure of your boyfriend, but you could also see the rather large bulge in his boxers.

"How would you like to continue, dear?"

You cocked your head a bit, so he elaborated.

"In my research of.. how to best be intimate with a partner, I've learned there are quite a lot of different ways for us to proceed. Different positions and such.."

He glanced over at the box of condoms on his nightstand.

"It's also a matter of if you would.. uh.. prefer to have me inside you or not."

He was rather red faced by now, as were you. You sat up as well, reaching over for the box.

"I want to go all the way with you."

You said surely. You've known you've wanted him to be your first for quite some time now. He nodded, going to reach for the box in your hand, but you pulled it away. He furrowed his brow, confused.

"Y/n, what are you doing?"

"Scoot back."

"May I ask why?"

He did, though confused. You smiled, ripping open the box.

"I wanna put it on."

It took him a second to process before his face darkened it's shade.

"I- uh- If you insist."

He certainly wasn't going to stop you. Not if it meant you touching him. You opened one of the little packets, examining the condom.

"Which way is the right way?"

"The small nub bit should face away from me."

"Right. Got it."

You looked over at him expectantly. He was a bit caught off guard but got the gist of it.

"Now?"

"Mhm."

You smiled up at your very cute boyfriend. He positioned himself to get his boxers off, all while you admired him. You had to admit though, his size was rather intimidating. Especially with this being your first and all. He reassumed his position, though now looking a bit more bashful. You let yourself indulge, staring. Your mouth watered a bit. You carefully rolled on the condom, being sure you didn't rip it, and that it was on all the way. He let a shakey breath at the feeling of you touching him. He spoke in a bit of a ragged voice.

"What position would you like to be in dear? Laying down with me on top of you, on your hands and knees, just name it, darling. Anything you desire, let me be the one to give it to you."

He was getting desperate for you. You bit your lip. You decided to respond with something basic. You didn't want to get too crazy.

"Can we do it with you on top of me?"

He gently pressed you into the bed. He pulled your bottoms down, taking a moment to admire your naked form beneath him in an almost possessive sort of way. He decided to start and press a finger into you, just to make sure he wasn't going to hurt you. With how turned on you were right now you took it easily, so he added another. You made a soft noise. It was such a good feeling, your boyfriend's fingers inside of you. What really got you excited though was what was next. He fingered you for a while, longer than he was sure you needed. Part of him just liked watching you squirm beneath him, watching his fingers disappear inside of you so easily. He finally asked.

"Are you ready, darling?"

You nodded quickly.

"Yes, please."

He didn't need to be told twice, taking his fingers out and moving so that he was more fully on top of you. He angled himself for a moment before starting to push in. You closed your eyes, just focusing on the feeling. He slowly worked on pushing completely inside of you. Once he got there, he kissed you softly. It felt right, like you both just fit together. You clung to him. You'd never felt so full before. He stayed like that, completely inside of you, for a long moment. He didn't want to risk hurting you, even though he'd love to absolutely rock your world now. He could be patient. Especially for you. You started to squirm again.

"Tenya... Please."

Your voice was breathy, needy. You could handle it, you wanted him to move. Thankfully, he seemed to catch on to this because he slowly started to pull out, and slowly again push back in, groaning lowly. He kept it shallow a first, wanting to ease you into it. Soon though he began to make his movements more defined, even if he hesitated to pick up the pace. He was torn between wanting to savor every single moment of having you or wrecking you so completely you wouldn't be able to walk come tomorrow. His midground solution was to go slowly, but hard and deep. You held on to him tightly, whimpering and moaning beneath him. He leaned down to kiss you, this time less controlled. You struggled to keep the kiss, as it was difficult to keep quiet. He let go of your waist with one hand to move it down to your clit. He took a second to find it exactly, (between not being able to look and the fact that he was actively fucking you, you gotta give the man some credit) but once he had he was determined to get you off first. He'd read far too many stories of selfish male partners and he wanted to be sure you felt as amazing as possible.

You'd fully given up on holding any sort of composure at this point, moaning a little too loud and racking your nails down his back. He spoke in a ragged, breathless voice.

"You're so good, darling. I'm so close. Come on now, dear. Cum for me, Y/n."

Hearing him say those things definitely sparked something in you. You never expected him to be into the whole dirty talk thing, but it was most certainly working. You could feel it right there on the edge. He pushed into you, hard and deep, his hand still quickly rubbing your clit. Your entire body suddenly went tense as you choked out a loud moan, eyes rolling back, back arching. He groaned, feeling the way you squeezed around him. He had to stop his hips from moving but thankfully didn't stop or slow the movements of his hand as you started to come down from your high. Once your body relaxed he brought his hand back to your hip. Seeing you like that, feeling you tense around his cock like that, was enough to have gotten him to that point too. You both were breathing heavily as he leaned down to press his forehead to yours.

"Wow..."

He said breathlessly. You laughed softly.

"Yeah... wow."

He kissed your forehead before carefully pulling out, granting soft noises from each of you. He got up to throw the condom away, as well as blow out the candles in the room. He went back over to you in the bed, laying beside you, wrapping you in his arms for a moment.

"I'll be right back. I have to get something."

You nodded, still a bit out of it. He kissed you before letting go of you and going over to his closet. He pulled out some sleep clothes first going over to you with them.

"Here, lift your arms."

You did and he slipped his shirt over your head. He wanted you to be comfortable. Once he got you in some of his PJs he got himself dressed before stepping out of the room. He wasn't gone long, bringing back bottles of water. He opened one, handing it to you, which you happily took.

"Are you feeling alright? Is there anything else you need, dear?"

He wanted to make sure you felt cared for after that. You smiled at him sleepily.

"Cuddles?"

He rejoined you in bed, holding you close to him.

"For you my dear, anything."

[cassiachales]

Love You To The ִ ֶ֢࣪⋆ 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓷 (And To *ੈ✩‧₊˚𝓢𝓪𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓷)

so i saw this post by @never-enough-novels, and aneesha was looking over my shoulder like "cass, you should totally write for that) so obviously, i did. aneesha, ye aapke lie hai (don't judge i used google translate) also, i know i have fics left. but no one said i can't write a oneshot for my best friend <33

Grayson Hawthorne x Desi!reader (but can also be read as just a reader)

"Do you really have to go?" Grayson asks you, his hands around your waist. You blow a stray lock of your hair off your face, looking at his silver-gray eyes in the mirror.

"I don't really have a choice, jaan."

He scoffs. "They advanced your meeting, love. You don't have to bow to them, or be a people pleaser."

He shifts, and while he keeps one arm on your waist, his body is next to yours instead of behind.

Your kohl-lined eyes widen as your look at him in the eyes. His hair is still ruffled from last night and you can see his (previously neatly pressed) shirt now all ruffled.

Then you raise your hand, filled with bracelets and promise rings, and lay it on his cheek.

He leans into your touch as though it is the only thing grounding him.

He has ways of making you feel special.

"As much as I would like to deny being a people pleaser, I was raised like that. To be the least comfortable person in the room. Best to make everyone happy before I'm happy, right? And Gray," you laugh, a small laugh that lasted all of two seconds, "that's my company. I can't show up late for my own meeting, can I?"

"No one will say anything if you're late for your own meeting, jaan."

Your breath catches.

It's not like it's the first time he's ever used that endearment with you. He's used countless others, too.

But every single time he calls you jaan, you melt. Oh, he loves you, and you love him.

"Only because you'd pull some strings, Gray."

"How good of a fiancé would I be if I didn't want to spend time with my future bride?"

Your lips near his ears, and you whisper, "we spent enough time together last night. Enough that my ancestors are rolling in their graves at the amount of" you gasp, a small, theatrical gasp "time we spent."

Then you pull away, and pretend to ignore his blushing face.

That man was stuck in the regency.

You adjust your scarf, and make sure your earrings are straight before you walk to the dressing table and collect your bag.

Another gift.

He walks to you, and his arms are around your waist again.

You'd noticed that physical touch was his love language. And you liked touch.

"At least give me a kiss before you leave." He says.

Years ago, this wasn't the Grayson Hawthorne you'd met. That man was cold and closed off and never seemed to care.

Then he met you, and you met him. What started as a fake arrangement led to something oh so real that you couldn't even fathom not meeting him in his office to repay that loan your father had taken from his grandfather.

His lips are now near yours, and right before they touch, he stops.

Another thing he always did was ask before he kissed you. Even after years, he asked.

He always asked.

"May I?" He whispered.

"Always." You whisper back, and your lips meet in the middle in a perfect fit.

Like you were always meant to be together.

Like the two of you were two parts of one heart. The two of you'd met with your hearts broken, but they'd broken in perfect pieces.

The broken, shattered piece of his heart fit flawlessly with your torn and splintered one.

The two of you pulled away, and a bit of your lipstick was on his lips, and smudged on yours.

"I love you, you know that, right?" He whispers when your foreheads touch. This moment was tailored just for the two of you.

"Yes. And I love you more."

"Impossible."

"I love you to the moon and back."

You can practically hear his lips quirk up. "I love you to the moon and to Saturn."

"Do you, now?"

"You dare to question the amount of love I have for you?"

You laugh, and you see how his face lights up. "Oh, I don't dare to question you. You're almost always right."

"Almost?"

"Fine, fine, jaan. You're always right."

[you-found-my-profile]

Ok so here is a detailed ref sheet of my Sun and Moon designs for the au:

They can now emote a little bit more with their faceplate: Eyes are fully articulated with eyelids, the swirl that acts as their eyebrow is fully mobile, outer mouth plates are switched for a silicone layer and underneath, for stability, is an aluminum alloy that allows for a little bit extra movement. They are still stuck smiling unfortunately, but they can control how wide or crooked it is most of the time.

Hardware:

Their back wiring is now covered by a small metalic box that's waterproof. They needed that long ago anyway. They have "retractable claws" that are there more for show than anything else. Yes, they are kind of sharp but they can't exactly rip flesh off of bones. They were installed more or less to make moon look intimidating in case he comes upon an intruder on his patrols or while nap time. (Like it matters anyway, they are literally animatronics. Made out of metal.)

They can make a few soundboard effects from their voicebox. Why? They are jesters and they are caretakers. Entertainment honey.

They are directly connected to the internet as long as a wifi router is nearby. Also they can connect to bluetooth devices. The backup memory and RAM memory in their AI was upgraded aswell because let's be honest, how could they save all those guest profiles, children's preferences, allergies, special needs, intruder profiles etc.? deleting old information because "they are just some old files that we don't need anymore!" Is not the best way to approach it.

Software:

Unique features:

Sun: His rays can tilt 90° on each axis, they can retract but they cannot spin unfortunately (honestly it would be kind of hard to make it possible considering the amount of wiring inside his flat faceplate). He has pupils, they are just not visible in a brightly lit room, wich is ironic in a way or another, but that can be used to his advantage oftentimes.

The small embroidery on his pants was a last second detail he wanted to be added just on his design, the technician didn't ask why and he still won't dare to ask.

Moon: His hat and pants are made from the same material. The cape acts as a back-up blanket: it preserves heat and also can be cooled down easily. It was originally intended for aesthetic purposes only but after a little session of fuck around and find out the technician figured that the cape can fit 2-3 toddlers underneath.

The cape and hoodie parts have little magnets on the inside part of the textile, (they were supposed to be pins but because of another "accident" that idea was scratched) wich hold the two pieces together neatly and secure.

Now you may wonder: "Well then, how can Moon use his wire if that cape is in the way?" Good question! I literally have no idea, but he does it somehow.

That is all for this post, for now at least. If you have more questions feel free to leave me an ask! Also I will update this post once I make more references and sketches :)

[trtyutr]

Attention of the Court V

Ryan lies on his couch, clad on in his boxers. His hands lie on his five week baby bump. One lies on top of the baby filled mound while the other paces the side of the bump that looks more as if it six months along if it were normal. It was the last week he was staying in his apartment before he moves to a small condominium. Then the packages arrive.

It takes him a bit to get up to the door. He opens the door a crack before taking a peak outside to see if there's anyone who would see his nearly naked form. When he saw that the coast was clear, he looked down to see two boxes, one small and red, the other large and blue. He moves as quickly as he can with his over one hundred kids weighing him down. He manages to push them inside just in time for him to hear some another door down the hallway open up. He's safe. He grabs blue box. Its cardboard is that same dark shade of blue as the envelopes. He rips off that the blue tape to find a piece of paper on top of a bunch of neatly folded up clothes. The paper says that he was given ownership of a managed account with $112,500 in its portfolio. "It's increasing by 50% each time. I think I can get used to it. "The clothes are also pretty nice." He said as he picked through them. There was a variety in the selection, t-shirts, fishnet tank tops, to white button down dress shirts. These actually came at a great time, because he down to three boxers, two sweat pants, and a hoodie that barely covers half his belly. He tries on a t-shirt. It's a bit tight, but it fits. It even covers his baby bump. It doesn't leave a lot to the imagination, though. He turns to the red box. It flips open easily to reveal an amulet on a silver chain along with a note. "You only have to wear it for five minutes for our deals. I don't think it's my style, but I want the money." He sets an alarm for ten minutes, just to be safe. He puts it on. The metal is cool, and for some reason wearing it makes him feel off, like his thoughts can't form. It wears off after five minutes, and when the alarm goes off, he puts the amulet off and forgets it. Three days later, he's at the gay bar. He's sitting at a table alone. He's wearing a tank top, a jock, and jeans. He sips his water, when he hears "Can I buy you a drink?" He turns around to see a shorter man with bit chin scruff and a brown leather jacket. "I'm fine with water, but I would like your company." Ryan says patting the seat beside him. "I'm sorry if this is forward, but are you" "Pregnant? Yes. I'm about five weeks along." The strangers face knits together as a few gears start to turn, but soon he smiles again as the glamour pushes away all those bothersome questions. "I was going to ask single, but pregnant is good is good to know too. It's hot." He scoots his chair closer. The man puts his hand on Ryan's leg. "You're hot." Ryan's at the stranger's place. He's peeled off the tank top and lying on the bed. He's being showed a series of strap one. "Which one does Daddy like?" Ryan points to a ivory white eight incher. "This one, and don't worry, I'm loose enough." He says taking off his jeans. "No wonder a slut like you is pregnant. That's even hotter." A condom, some generous lube, and a transman rutting into him, Ryan's cumming into his jock hand's free. "Dear Peers, my game is covered, and our fertile Ryan is growing like a garden, but only with his womb, so I'm going to send him a fruit basket with everything that a growing father needs. Every vote of yours will add your voted fruit to the basket. I have some wonderful Milky Coconuts, great for building pectorals. I have Juicy Peaches, great for the glutes. Heavy Avocados that hang low and heavy on the tree, perfect for making man virile. Long Bananas, which will help his manhood. Maybe Fatty Olives to add some fat on his form. Or maybe Protein Packed Berries to help build his muscle. " (Instead of winner takes all, each vote in this poll will make Ryan grow in whatever you vote for.)

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

Bad Batch Chopping Block

(some spoilers, tread carefully)

Alright, the safety net is gone. Even though Pabu still stands, it will never be safe for Omega or the boys anymore. The Empire has truly closed them in from every direction. So, who's gonna make it out of this season? Just to get this out of the way, Tech is either dead or comes back. The Tech Debate is too big to tackle here.

Definitely dead:

Echo- I think he's 100% a goner. Aside from being a strong mentor figure to Omega, Echo is gonna be a martyr for his cause. He believes so strongly in his fight for clone justice and he will follow it to the grave. I can definitely see him going out in a blaze of glory while Rex watches hopelessly. Plus, Echo dying might be the reason for Rex to retire and turn to Joopa farm. Echo is the last true connection he has to his old life and the 501st. Echo also gave Omega a new weapon which doesn't bode well for him. A gift he gave her is something she can remember him by.

Most likely dead:

Hunter- I do have some hope for him. There is a chance that writers don't kill him off because they want to finish the show with all the boys together. But sadly, that is unlikely. Hunter is the mentor figure and the first real paternal figure to Omega. As the oldest of the Batch (minus Echo), he has a responsibility to watch over them. In season 3, we see Crosshair slowly learning to take over as Omega's parental figure. It's possible that Hunter will die, as many mentor figures have before him, and Cross will carry the torch. I can definitely see that happening. Hunter dies protecting Omega and Crosshair is left to pick up the pieces

Wrecker- sweet Wrecker is too dang lovable. Unlike the others, he doesn't fit as neatly into a trope category like Crosshair and Hunter. Therefore, he could honestly survive because of that. However, I definitely think he could go out in a blaze of glory as well, something akin to Hevy or Hardcase. Imagine Wrecker getting caught in an explosion as he stays behind to save his brothers and Omega? But at the same time, I don't want it to happen.

50/50 (but most likely fine):

Crosshair- I honestly think he might make it out this season mostly in one piece. The only trope he fits right now is redemption equals death and honestly, I think we're past that point. Crosshair already began his redemption arc. He saved Omega, reconciled with his brothers, reconciled with Howzer, admitted his wrongs, and genuinely wants to be a better person. He doesn't need to prove to his family that he loves them or has changed because we see that. His brothers see that. Even his new poster shows him looking at his helmet. He has found the light. It's possible this show ends with him leaving his old life to retire with Omega. He could still die protecting her, but I'm starting to think otherwise.

Crosshair has suffered so much since this show started. I made a list, but we could be here all day talking about it. I feel like it would be overkill (literally) to just kill him off after he's come so far. Also, the fact that he is getting the Dad Batch ™ treatment means that they could be propping him up to take over the role from Hunter. That or they're speed-running Crosshair's dad mode activation because he was MIA for two seasons. Honestly, I think Crosshair narrative wise is mostly safe because his redemption arc is playing out right now instead of later down the line. His arc right now is mostly about coming to terms with himself, his trauma, and his identity as a sharpshooter and soldier. I really think that this show will end with him hanging up the helmet and raising Omega.

Fine:

Omega- let's be honest, they're not gonna kill off our sweet bean. She was been our focal character since the beginning and I can't see the writers going this dark. She's safe!

Alternatively: the Batch all live plus or minus one of them. The final episode could be all of them charging in together for one final fight. They make it out (mostly) and retire with Omega. Boom, the end.

[biggaybunny]

This might sound weird but my only real complaint is that Disco Elysium doesn't let you get fucked up enough. I don't mean in terms of substances, you can do plenty of those in the game. What I mean is that I really want to see how far I can warp the player's / Harry's perspective. The gist of it is, the game warns you that any skill, at too high a level, can start to be as much of a hindrance as a benefit. And this is, to be fair, pretty true. Too high a skill in Logic and it starts to make the pieces fit together neatly even when they shouldn't, for example. Too many points in Physical Instrument and you start to perceive challenges where none were meant. But in my opinion, the game doesn't go far enough. Many skills don't really provide you a downside, even if there's one promised in the description. A high Perception is supposed to inundate you with too much information about the world to process, Visual Calculus is supposed to blind you to what's directly in front of you... but these things don't really come to pass (and trust me, I've tried them out firsthand). Part of it is of course just how many skills there are, it'd mean possibly dozens of scenes that could have dozens of different narrations depending on your dominant perspective. The other part is that the game is really trying to be nice to you, so even when your overleveled stat does butt its head in, you have to opt in to that line of thinking. Which, to be fair, is fun a lot of the time, but it means there aren't many consequences of over-focusing on a particular stat the way it feels like the game promises you there will be. So I get it, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the game is really worse off for the way it does things. I just can't help but think of what interesting things there could've been if how you allocated your skills had a more drastic effect. Though, I'm sure that everyone who's played a high-INT build is going to argue with me that the last thing they want is to hear Encyclopedia talk even more.

[howlingday]

Are you able to update the Pokemon Au list thing?

Pokemon Au: Does Coco have a Leavanny or any of its line? Leavanny loves to make clothes. Would Ren have a Poltchageist? Are their any Paradox Pokemon in Renment?

I have updated the list, but I need to figure out how the heck everything fits together. Not everything fits in neatly. Might have to do a whole other page for non-story snips, like Penny and Rotom or the Milo One Piece bit. I'll also need to get the list updated to include their Pokémon.

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

"And... done~!" Coco twirled her seat around to show off her beanie. "How's it look, Letty?"

The Leavanny looked over the stitch with their head tilting this way and that before nodding. Coco smirked at her victory, though it was short-lived when the Pokémon waved their bladed leaf arm. "Lea lea..."

"What? What do you mean it's 'so-so'?!" The Pokemon lifted their arm to their mouth, giving a chuckle at their trainer. "Oh, you think you're being cute? Don't think that just because you're my first doesn't mean I won't take away your treats!"

Unamused, the walking bug hopped from their seat on her desk and took an empty box of treats from the trash. After slicing it into neat pieces, the trash was then sewn together into a much smaller hat. They then hopped onto the desk again and placed the box hat on Coco's head.

"Hmph... You're lucky you're cute." Coco looked in the mirror. "And so's this hat." She stood up and walked away, leaving the beanie on the desk, unaware of the smug smirk her Pokémon had watching as the words 'TREAT' bounced behind her head.

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

"Mom?"

"Yes, Ren?"

"There's a Pokémon in the cupboard."

"Oh?" Ren's mother quickly walked to her son and looked into cupboard. She clicked her tongue a few times before stepping away. "It looks like a Poltchageist has snuck in." She then took her son's hand. "Come on. Let's go tell your father."

As the two walked away, Ren looked back to the cupboard where the Pokémon shook angrily from inside. The two waited outside until his father returned, but passed the time talking about what Ren found.

"How did you know that was a Pokémon?"

"I don't know." Ren replied. "It just looked like one."

His mother giggled. "Not many people can tell the difference, and it causes problems for them. You're very lucky to be so talented."

Ren smiled at his mother, before he opened his eyes to remember that he wasn't that same boy anymore. Looking to his side, he saw there was a cup of tea sitting on the table by his chair. It'd gone cold, but he'd drink it regardless. No point in wasting good tea.

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

"I see." Headmaster Ozpin nodded. "It's a shame about Professor Sada and Turo. My condolences to their son, Arven."

"Yes, though their passing is not without some good news." Director Clavell replied. "Thanks to the efforts of their son and our recent Champion, Paldea is safe from a far more concerning fate. In their efforts of studying the Paradox Pokémon, they had inadvertently traveled through time to another era, where they had passed away and left behind a digital copy of their AI, whose intentions were to revert all of Paldea to match the era in which their creator had perished. That is why the Paradox Pokémon are so abundant in Area Zero."

"If they are contained, we no longer need to concern ourselves with any outbreaks beyond Paldea."

"No, no." Clavell replied. "Area Zero and all the Paradox Pokémon contained within are accounted for."

"I see." A smile split from Ozpin's face. "Would you mind sharing the data on these Pokémon? I would love to teach a class about them."

[woolfs-orlando]

which long hair hairstyle fits the academia asthetic the most? a pony tail or half up half down?

the academia-aesthetics and hair 🗝️

(based on my opinion and view of the aesthetics)

🦢 LIGHT ACADEMIA the half up half down - optionally accessorized with small bows or subtle jewelry pieces, very feminine and practical, sooo many pretty variations

🎻 DARK ACADEMIA the pony tail/braids - all neatly brushed with just maybe a few intentional strands in the front loose, placed low or in the middle of the back of the head, yes to braids but no pigtails or extravagant (e.g. bridal) styles

🪐 CHAOTIC ACADEMIA the "messy bun" - hair just loosely tied or held up by a pencil for the slightly disheveled/distracted look, totally fine if half of it is falling out! works best if you don't even have a mirror, literally just throw it all together

☕️ CLASSIC ACADEMIA open - optionally accessorized with a matching head band or hair clips to keep the face free, goes with nearly every outfit (but maybe bring a brush lol)

[siriouslytired]

Feedback fest 2024 🌻

Well RIP to my bookmarks because I just noticed that so many of my favourite fics have been deleted or made anonymous/put in a collection. Thought it would be fun to do this anyway.

Also apparently I managed to post this when it wasn't done (can you tell technology doesn't like me?) And for some reason I couldn't edit the original post (and what's up with that??). So uh, if anyone had liked the first post I deleted it because I got annoyed.

All fics on the list can be found on AO3

A Year In Toussaint by astolat

The Witcher; Rated E; Geralt of Rivia/Emhyr var Emreis

"[...] - and found himself spilling the whole sob story of his success to Emhyr, who actually broke and laughed out loud when Geralt got to the racehorses."

One of my comfort fics, will read it for a multitude of reasons but mostly just because it's so well-written and engaging (which is just all of astolat's fics really)

Hunger and Appetite by thegoodbutter

Shadow & Bone; Rated E; Aleksander Morozova/Alina Starkov; Modern AU

I couldn't actually tell you how many times I've read this, it's just SO GOOD. And the food descriptions are just fantastic, makes me want to cook up a storm/start baking something even though I hate doing the dishes afterwards.

The Stars Don’t Shine, They Burn by Sarcasmismydefaultmode

Shadow & Bone/The Witcher; Rated E; Alina Starkov/Emhyr var Emreis; Second Best AU

Read it. Do it. It's so fucking good. I usually don't read crossovers anymore but I couldn’t resist this one and it was so worth it. It blends the two worlds so well while making sure that the edges are obvious enough that you can still tell which parts came from what canon.

Amazing Grace (series) by Druid Moon

Marvel Cinematic Universe; Darcy Lewis/Clint Barton; Many references to different forms of crafts

A relic from when I mostly read MCU fics that I return to again and again and again. Super cosy, slightly sad, incredibly well-written, one of those fics that just draws you in once you start reading it.

coronas of wolf-teeth and rivers by Dialux

A Song of Ice and Fire; Not Rated; Catelyn Stark/Ned Stark; AU; Robert dies at the Trident, Ned dies at the Tower of Joy, Catelyn becomes Queen of Westeros

I remember reading the summary and basically attacking my phone screen to open the fic. It ties itself together so neatly from the premise and the way Catelyn is written is just fantastic.

Diplomatic Relations by KrazzeeAJ1701

Star Trek; Rated M; James T Kirk/Sybok; AU, Female James T. Kirk

Listen, I had a phase where I mostly read gender swap and I found some real gems - this being one of them. I don't re-read it as often as I should but every time I do I remember how much I like it and how fantastic the writing is. The set-up just makes sense and the progression of the story makes you want to keep reading forever.

the ghosts won't matter because we'll hide in sin by soapboxblues

A Song of Ice and Fire; Jaime Lannister/Lyanna Stark; AU

A cute little AU where Lyanna survives the Tower of Joy and is subsequently turned into a political pawn etc etc. Incredibly well-written and the pieces just fit together so well.

The Debt of Time by ShayaLonnie

Harry Potter; Rated E; Sirius Black/Hermione Granger; AU, Time Travel, Soul Bond

I must have read this at least 15 times by now. It just works so well, you know?

For One Last Day by fideliant

The Hobbit; General Audience; Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield; AU

"The things we don't do for love." It's so bittersweet and lovely and all those wonderful things that make me want to smile and cry at the same time. Sort of chances-not-taken and now we're old wrapped up in this little moment that fits so well into the canon of LOTR.

Eurybia by Annerb

Pirates of the Caribbean; Rated T; Elizabeth Swan/Will Turner; Jack Sparrow/Elizabeth Swan; AU

"A love story. Elizabeth Swan and the sea." Read it. Just do it. It's so so so good. And it's barely 1200 words so you can read it and then spend an hour contemplating what you just read and still have time to do other things.

[parachutingkitten]

Forgive me for like yapping at you for a while this is gonna be a long one, and I totally get if you don't respond to this at all and just delete it from your inbox it's just something that has been bothering me sooo much

And before I start I want to clarify this is not hate! I'm just intending to like. Discuss yk?

So in your video analysis of female characters in ninjago I was quite excited to get to the bit about Harumi because she's a really interesting character and absolutely one of my favorites. But when I did it was like you missed every major aspect of her character and motivations and it was especially disappointing because like. The video was worded to accomodate new/non-fans who don't know about these characters! And it's disheartening when a character is completely misunderstood especially in a video where the point is to explain these characters and how they are often misunderstood or poorly represented by the writers

I think you were really hung up on the idea that Harumi had any good motivations for what she was doing which is just. Not true. Harumi never wanted to help people who had similar situations to her. The whole point of her character is that she's held onto her anger and hatred to the point it's all that drives her, which is what makes her death so impactful- It's the moment she sees the error of her ways and the fact that she's only perpetrated the same cycle that hurt her.

You brought up the fact that it didn't make sense for her feeding the poor to be an act. But it does if you think about the rest of the context of the scene. I know it's easy to miss things when you're trying to get all the information together for a video like that so I totally don't blame you for this one, but Lloyd brings up the fact that her room seemed ransacked and her window was blown open. The intent there on Harumi's part was to get him to follow her so he'd see her doing something "good" that'd throw him off her trail. This is something she does OFTEN. Like when the ninja are discussing who the quiet one could be or when Lloyd is shocked by her ability to throw the machete.

Harumi, in the oni trilogy at least is consistent with her motives. They screwed her up real bad in crystalized, but in the Oni trilogy the point of her character was that her worldview was fucked up and she didn't care who she hurt until she realized that she was being no better than the people who hurt her.

I think since there is such a drastic tonal shift when we get to the Oni trilogy, you were probably unintentionally looking at it through the same lense as the rest of the series where the themes and such are very surface-level and spelled out easily so again I don't like hate you for not understanding her motives or hell even falling for the manipulation tactics she employed that the viewer was supposed to look a little more into but I needed to like ramble about it SORRY this ended up much longer than I intended ^^; don't feel pressured to respond or anything

OoOOOooo! I usually answer my asks in order, but this one is real tempting right now, so I absolutely will respond. And before we get into everything, I want to extend you the same exact courtesy you did me. I'm just here to discuss. Absolutely zero hard feelings or hate.

First off, I think that is a great, and perfectly valid interpretation. Have fun with it. It's certainly a little more cohesive than what I got out of the season. I do, however, think you underestimate how much thought went into my video. As a bit of behind the scenes, Harumi was absolutely the piece of the script I was most paranoid about missing something for, because I don't have the same love for the character as most of the fandom, so I was thinking about her characterization a lot. Unfortunately, I have in fact considered all the pieces you have presented here. I just don't think those pieces actually fit together so neatly as presented in the show.

Specifically, I think it's very clear that we are supposed to have some amount of agreement with/sympathy for Harumi. Her backstory in flashback is supposed to be very heart wrenching. We see her child self go numb at the end, not angry, it's not trying to show us the start to a hardening progression, it's showing us harumi, currently angry at what happened to the little girl she used to be. If she were supposed to be a pure evil villain like Aspheera who's just evil because she is, whose justifications don't really line up, they would not have tried so hard to make us cry about her past. The backstory is structured so that it seems to give her a proper motive. She outright states her motive in her villain reveal monologue. If the point was to highlight how far from those original motivations she has strayed, it should have, I don't know, been highlighted in narrative? Have people bring it up? Have people try and appeal to her supposed motivation, have it not work, and then realize how far she's gone?

Harumi going to feed the poor was a move to throw Lloyd off the scent? What kind of 4d chess is she playing? She's got to assume lloyd will come look for her after happening to see a trashed room in a very narrow timeframe, follow her, and then talk with her while feeding children, all so that he... trusts her? After he already very clearly trusts her? All the other examples you bring up are harumi misdirecting attention after they start to catch on to her with minimal logistical effort. This is not that. Feeding the poor would be an insane preventative measure to take with a ton of extra complicated steps, that ultimately doesn't even gain her any new advantages. At that point, it's just bad writing. And if this was supposed to be an example of how she's betraying the motives she claims to be fighting for, again, it should have been highlighted in the narrative. As we have it, it's only brought up as an example of how manipulable the ninja are, not how far she's strayed from her purpose.

Now, is what your trying to say here what they intended to portray? Very likely. That's what the best written version of this character looks like. It's the only way her arc in the oni trilogy makes sense. Which, I do praise once I get to my season 9 bit. I talk about the cycle of hurt, and how good her death is, on multiple levels, and I end with an overall positive outlook on the character as flawed but ultimately impactful until we get to crystalized. But again, that is not what actually got portrayed to us in season 8. Do not give the writers credit for dots that you were able to shuffle around into making sense. I think I make it pretty clear that I understand Harumi isn't supposed to have a reasonable motive in the review. My confusion is at the narrative dissonance this reveal has when we get to it, because of the hints that tell the audience to relate to Harumi as a villain. The backstory, the attempt at a logical motive, and the girl boss feminism twist all point us in the direction of there being something she's actually fighting for. I think they did a bad job at portraying the ideas they wanted to get across, and my goal in the review is to highlight where those dissonances are, because the writing on her character to portray these ideas wasn't done correctly.

That, on top of the basic factual timeline errors in her backstory and logistics around her plan just push my perspective over the edge for me. I wasn't blind to the points your making here, I was intentionally de-emphasizing them to bring attention to the poor writing that tried to show us those elements. My thesis is that harumi was underthought, and I stand by that thesis. I have yet to come across an argument that has convinced me otherwise, though I don't discount that there may yet be one out there.

But even if you do read my analysis as a shallow first time viewer's perspective on things(which again, I assure you it isn't), if the point the writers were trying to get across doesn't translate to a first time viewer, isn't that a problem?

If it makes you feel any better though, one of the top comments under the video is a thread of people trying to explain their interpretations of how harumi's character makes sense, so there is discussion being had about this stuff.