#which is interesting to me but maybe it's just part of nick's hardness just like his stalker comment in this season

[ilkkawhat]

11.07 Bump and Grind

[textmel8r]

[ DRABBLE ] 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒 ! ( fourth installment ) in which you are forced to plan a corporate event with your office enemy .

୨୧˚ part; one. two. three. four. five.

୨୧˚ incl; kento nanami

୨୧˚ cw; smut (?) , dub-con , alcohol consumption , profanity

( flashback; ) Wreaths and holly plants decked the usually barren, white walls of the seventh floor office level, and soft Christmas music looped on the overhead speaker in attempts to induce a jolly spirit. Colleagues conversed, discussing plans for December break over plastic cups of spiked cider. Everyone seemed in high morale; even Gakuganji, who donned a cheaply made Santa suit, still wrinkled from its time being folded in a package. Your first ever office party was about as much as you expected–not the worst time, but certainly not the best time, either. It didn’t help that you were still technically the “newbie” despite having been a member of the company for a few months at that point. Man, it was hard to make friends in an office full of stoic suits.

You remain near a far wall, slumped against the oversized copy machine with a drink in hand. Nobody had even appreciated your dress; a modest crimson thing with white, cottony trims to mimic Old Saint Nick. Figures. You pout into your cup, knocking back a heavy swig.

“Woah-ho, you sure went all out.”

The dialogue was unexpected and you sputter on a swallow of liquor, startled. A preemptive hand pats your back, something like a mother trying to burp a newborn. You swallow your spit at last, recollect yourself, and whip your head up to follow the source of the voice that nearly killed you. There stood a man tall and spindly in his stature with the most beautifully long, goldish hair drawn back into a ponytail. He is dressed down, wearing a simple pair of dark jeans and a sweater in favor of the suits nearly everyone else sported. 

“You shouldn’t sneak up on ladies,” comes your meager reply. Your free hand smooths down the skirt of your dress, and you clear your throat. “You scared the shit out of me.”

The man smiles apologetically. “Ah, I noticed. My bad.”

“It’s okay. Just… just don’t do it again.”

“Roger that.” He has his own drink, and you manage to catch a glimpse of it over the rim of the solo cup. It’s a dark, murky color, much more amberish than the cider that was being served. “I haven’t seen your face around before, it made me curious.”

“I secured a position here during spring.” Now that you think about it, he was unfamiliar to you as well. You would have definitely remembered that ponytail. “Are you–I mean, do you work in this building?”

He shakes his head. “Nah, they got me holed up in the Shibuya location,” he winks, leaning in. “I make it a habit to come to all the office parties, though. I can’t resist a little holiday cheer.” Two bony knuckles move to brush delicately against the trim of your dress. “I’m Haruta Shigemo, and you’re…?”

“Not interested.” 

Shigemo juts his bottom lip out. “C’mon, don’t be like that. I can’t know your name?”

Holding an index finger to your chin, you pretend to think about it. “What will you give me in return?”

A smirk worms its way onto Shigemo’s thin lips. He angles his hip toward you and pulls up the hem of his knitted sweater, gesturing to the uncanny flask half sticking out of his jeans’ pocket. “I brought good stuff,” he sings quietly, away from prying ears, and suddenly you understand the reason for his drink being a couple shades too dark. “And I’m good at sharing.”

Yeah, maybe it wasn’t the wisest decision to accept unknown liquor from a virtual stranger, you should’ve really considered all of the possible outcomes to this situation. You’d already had a little over two cups of warmed cider, rotating on the axis between tipsy and full on drunkenness. Your foggy brain didn’t care much to think about how some of this so-called “good stuff” would only lead to an inevitable, total inebriation. Or, a less likely but just as concerning scenario, Shigemo’s flask could be chock full of poison. Either way, you were itching to turn a less-than-okay party experience into a fun one.

“Y/n L/n,” you said finally, and Shigemo looks pleased. Strategically as to not give away the secret, he stood before you and widened his shoulders to create a makeshift cover while he poured a solid few glugs from flask to your cup. Immediately, the booze reeks of something strong like industrial glass cleaner. Your nose wrinkles as the stench singes the hair from your nostrils. “Smells fucking rancid.”

“Maybe you’re just not used to top shelf liquor?” Was that a dig? You’ll show him that you’re plenty accustomed with expensive booze (you’re not. not at all).

So you drank it. The taste of piss mixed with vinegar nearly made you retch, but after your second glass and an assload of determination, it started to taste… good? Maybe this Shigemo guy wasn’t too bad. The rest of the night was a blur of silly dancing to dumb Christmas songs, ugly laughing at the horse calendars pinned to the wall, and… well, the bathroom.

“We shouldn’t be doing this.” Your tone was breathy, a cross between giggly and pure apprehension. There in the men’s restrooms, you were perched up on the sink counter. That festive dress was slipped up around your hips by two slender, greedy hands, and a tiny waist worked between your thighs. Shigemo kissed you into silence.

“Why not?” He kisses you again, fumbling with his belt buckle. He’s nipping down your neck, whispering, “The risk is so fucking hot.”

And oh goodness, was he a man on a mission. Tearing the collar of your dress down beneath your breasts, fingering holes into your sheer stockings, stuffing a fist inside your panties… You were in no state of coherence to stop him.

Had it not been a professional obligation on his part to attend this year’s Christmas party, Nanami finds himself fantasizing about all the ways he’d much rather be spending this brisk winter evening. Probably soaking in his tub, nursing a glass of red wine and working on that book he’d been putting off thanks to the ungodly amount of work on his plate as of late. Then, he’d exercise those cooking skills he seldom had time to use and prepare a meal that had much more to offer than these feeble, sugary snacks at this party. Seriously? Cookies and cake? They were adults for goodness sake.

The floor was stuffy and claustrophobia-inducing. Everywhere he turned, Nanami was accidentally bumping somebody with his shoulder or his elbow or some other limb he lost track of. And the conversations were abysmal. Nanami has always been good with his words—he had to be in a profession like this—but Christ, talking to his zombies-for-coworkers was a worse fate than death itself. They drone on about office assignments, about deadlines and paperwork with no hint of light behind their eyes. Is that what he looks like to others? A worrisome thought, that Nanami was just as much of a slave to the corporate world as they were.

The deep train of thought is cut off before it spirals when red catches his eye. A dress red as rubies sticks out like a sore thumb among the sea of blacks and blues and grays of suits. You’re dressed in a silly get up, like those Mrs. Claus actresses in the malls that take pictures with children. Y/n L/n, Nanami recalls your name. He knows you, the newest employee in the office. He’s had very few chances to speak with you, and when he did it mostly consisted of him relaying orders from Mr. Gakuganji. But even in those brief instances, Nanami saw it plain as day: you were different. The first lively fool he’d seen in a while, eyes still glinting with the prospects of optimism and naive hope for the future. Foolish indeed, but he couldn’t bring himself to hate it. You were a breath of fresh air, but Nanami knew that it was only a matter of time before you were beaten and battered into another mindless cog in the corporation's machine.

A strange urge bloomed within the hollows of the man's chest; an urge that told him to initiate communication with you. Perhaps just a "hello" at the very least, seeing as you were his direct subordinate. It was the polite thing to do, right? Or maybe that was just a weak excuse he convinced himself of because Nanami didn't want to admit that you intrigued him in every sense of the word. You would provide an interesting back and forth, something Nanami desperately craved in the throes of this tedious party.

Golden eyes scanned the room. But no matter how long and meticulous he stared into the mass of bodies, Nanami could not locate the shade of red that had incited this search to begin with. There was a muted pit of disappointment the settled heavy in his stomach when he came to the realization that you simply were gone. He didn't doubt the probability that you ditched, no, he'd commend you for doing something he could not. Nanami sighs under his breath, lets his shoulders droop, and takes the last swig of his drink (water of course, the spiked cider was much too sweet for his tastes) before maneuvering through the crowd towards the bathroom. A five minute breather alone in a stall sounded like Heaven on Earth.

He shouldered through the metallic door, eyes closed, fingers tugging the knot of his too-tight tie as he stepped inside the restrooms. Only the sound of a feminine gasp was what pried his heavy eyelids open.

All three bodies froze: Nanami by the entrance with a slack jaw and wide eyes, a man he vaguely recalls from the Shibuya district stood between a pair of opened legs with his jeans tugged down to mid-thigh, and you. You, with you stupidly red dress in disarray, the neckline dipped below your bare breasts and the lower hem bunched up around the curve of your waistline. There you were, sitting up on the sink completely exposed... God, that bastard's hand was still buried down the front of your panties.

As if time suddenly unfroze, said bastard rips his hands away from your most delicate parts in favor of pulling his jeans back up. Nanami blinks once before cocking his head to the side at the unnatural speed of light, focusing on the faux plant in the corner, the uneven tiles beneath his dress shoes, the cracks in the eggshell paint on the wall... anything besides your indecent self.

"Whoops, would ya' look at that?" Shibuya fucker laughs halfheartedly as he fumbles with the button on his jeans, flustered and giggly. "Guess we got a little carried away there, my bad man!" He slinks towards the door, towards Nanami, but pauses. "Hey, you're Nanami Kento, right?"

"Yes." It's a cold response. Nanami doesn't look to the other man, instead he keeps his eyes trained down as to not get another eyeful of you.

"Aha right! Well," Shibuya fucker sweatdrops, clasping a hand over Nanami's shoulder. "Let's keep this a secret from the higher ups?"

The elder grimaces. "Please don't touch me."

The hand is ripped away. Shibuya fucker shows his palms in sort of a defensive stance as more anxious chuckles erupt from his throat. "Good seeing you, then!" And with that, he slips out of the bathroom leaving you high and dry. The prick didn't even bother to stay and help you get recollected.

"I'm decent." You sound meek, a tone Nanami has yet to hear from you thus far. It sounds small. Humiliated. "You... you can look now."

So he does, only to regret it. There you are, hopped off the sink and standing before him in a pitiful display. Your slender neck was tainted with love marks, darkened bruises bit into flesh with little artistry. Your stockings were shredded carelessly, bits of plumpness squishing through the holes. Your hair was mussed, forehead sweaty, lipstick smeared and... why was Nanami so irritated by the sight?

"What..." He starts, trying to find the words. "What is the matter with you?"

You gawk. "Nothing."

"Nothing." Nanami scoffs, hands pressed to his hips. "How careless could you possibly be? Fucking at a work event? I mean, for fuck's sake Y/n."

"I'm sorry, okay?" Your words are clipped. As if you have any right to catch an attitude with him right now.

"Sorry doesn't change the fact that you..." His sentence trails off into a tiny, frustrated growl scratching from the back of his tongue. The man takes his nose bridge between his thumb and forefinger. "The door was unlocked. Anyone could've walked in and saw you like that!" Exposed. Bare. Vulnerable.

"I don't know what else you want to hear other than sorry." Nanami doesn't miss the microscopic vocal crack in the word sorry. You hug yourself tight, forearms crossed over your chest. Your shoulders stutter, and your lips are sucked between your teeth to hide the wobble in them. "I'm... sorry."

You dress strap hangs off your shoulder. Nanami can't peel his gaze away from the strip of fabric. He takes a slow step in, gauging your reaction to it. You don't show any signs of discomfort, so he advances closer. The red strap is dainty against his rough fingers, so he cautions himself to be extra gentle when slipping it back up into place.

"Thanks," you sniffle.

He shushes you. Nanami isn't done yet, far from it. You still look disheveled and sad and weepy and he can't fucking stomach it for some ungodly reason. So he gets to work, first wetting a paper towel in the bathroom sink—the same one you'd been getting groped on a mere few minutes prior—and gingerly swipes away the smeared makeup from your kiss-swollen lips. Then, he's taking it upon himself to straighten out your hair. You let him stroke down your baby hairs without pushback, limply letting him rearrange your appearance as if you were some sort of life sized doll.

Nanami steps back to admire his work. The evidence of foreplay was nearly gone, save for the dreadful state of your stockings and those ugly teeth-shaped indents down the side of your neck. “Take those stockings off before you leave the bathroom,” he utters. “They look…” Slutty is the word that comes to mind first, but he’d never say it aloud. So he leaves it at that.

You’re looking at him with an unreadable expression. If anything, Nanami discerns a little concern in the way your brows turn upwards. “Are you going to tell anyone about this?”

He wants to oh so bad. To be the lame tattletale and snitch to Mr. Gakuganji because fraternization is wrong, and fraternization in the workplace is double wrong. “I should report you,” there’s a pregnant pause, “but I won’t.”

Why? He asks himself.

You seemed to have read his thoughts. “Why?”

Nanami doesn’t have an answer to that. Where is this slice of mercy coming from? All he knows for certain is that staring at the trembling woman in front of him any longer will have him blow a fuse. “Go home, Y/n.” It’s the last thing he offers before turning on his heel and walking back out into the Christmas function, swallowing down each and every confusing feeling swirling around his brain.

likes and reblogs are appreciated !

tags . • @justbelljust @amnmich @ti-mame @silkija @maddietries @vyntagei @ebrysteria @aesukuni

[synergysilhouette]

Everyone keeps talking about "traditional villains," but in retrospect, I wish Disney had gone in a different direction for the Revival Era. Hear me out...

King Magnifico's failed characterization and poor writing in "Wish" really bummed me out. I was looking forward to a complex villain who was kinda right. I was hoping it could usher in a new age of Disney villains who were more grey than black and white, who made the characer grow as a person because they challenged their perspective. But then I realized that the opportunity existed in earlier revival-era villains:

Dr. Facilier is a villain first and foremost, though thinking back on it, I do think he is kinda proto-Magnifico, granting people's wishes, only for them to find that what they wanted isn't what they expected. I do wish he tied a bit of truth in with his scams, mentioning (similar to Magnifico) how people's dreams are very difficult to achieve--especially in the post-WWI American South, particularly POC. Naveen is generally assumed to be a POC himself, so he could juxtapose this viewpoint as someone who's never really had to experience such hardships. Dr. Facilier could still be 100% villainous, but further emphasis on dreams, wishes, and hard work would be part of his character. However, this is the reverse of "Wish"; Tiana has already worked hard, but she's lost a lot of her innocence and light-heartedness trying to achieve it, thus causing her to reevaluate how important love is and how she may not have realized it, being more practical about her dreams. It all starts with a wish.

Mother Gothel was already right; the world can be dark and cruel, and will destroy any light it finds. However, similar to Magnifico, since she's completely evil, the protagonist she goes against doesn't really change to understand what she's saying. Rapunzel doesn't see the world as dark or dangerous anymore; it's the opposite, thanks to her experiences. Because of this, I do wish Rapunzel did have a bit more negative experiences independent of Gothel to prove Gothel's point rather than it being "hey, she's just saying that because she's the villain." Maybe Rapunzel tries healing someone and people start lusting after her hair.

Hans is DEFINITELY a missed opportunity. He was the anti-Anna; isolated and alone, and he became bitter and cruel because of it. It's mentioned that the deleted song "More than Just the Spare" was removed because it made Anna too much like Hans. I don't think that, and if anything, it furthers my point: Hans gave up on his brothers, who he felt overlooked by and pestered by (he doesn't even mention his parents). Maybe give Hans less brothers and feature them a little in the movie so we can see how they interact with Hans and how it's a "what could be" for Anna and Elsa. His evil character is exactly what Anna is trying to avoid, but she understands how he became this way rather than it simply being for shock value.

Yokai was a great villain to me, but the reveal happened too late. I'd have loved seeing a more thorough exploration of his character and parallels to Hiro (which were done great in the film; I just wish it was expanded on). Highlight how people quickly forget about the dead and don't always learn from history, how there's this cycle of loss and hatred that you have to break.

Bellweather was on a power trip, but I do wish she had a storyline similar to Judy and Nick, since--in an interesting twist--they come off as more interesting and complex than the villain. She doesn't really say what made her act like this, and comments that "fear always works." I wish we got more of that, especially to play the two sides card; Zootopia is mainly predator-phobic, and challenges to this, ie predators playing down predator-related crimes in order to get people to look past their identity (and the fact that many predators are in positions of power) may have caused Bellweather's abuse by predators to be overlooked, causing her to want them all gone.

Te Ka is interesting. Despite "Moana" being a great film, I do feel like Te Ka and Maui's storyline was underutilized. It's revealed Maui stole Te Ka's heart for humans, but from what we see, Moana lives in this ideal community where their heritage, culture, and nature is loved and respected. Maybe embrace the fact that Tala is the only one who tells the story of the ancestors and how being they became "comfortable" since they were no longer voyagers, being used to the hierarchy and their stagnant society. Highlighting some humans' selfish natures would've been nice rather than Maui just telling us about it, with Te Ka being a metaphor for the destruction and disregard for nature and love.

Namaari is such a missed opportunity. Despite caring about her community, she comes off as more villainous than an antihero since she doesn't show any sympathy or care for Raya--in fact, she seems rather smug about hurting her. By making her a villain burdened by expectations and love for Fang while slowly being redeemed would've been better to me, shifting her POV slowly, making Raya angry with Namaari but understanding her motives. Having some regret about her choices--even if she believed they were the right ones--would've gone a long way for Namaari's characterization.

Magnifico...well, you already know he could've been one of Disney's most complex villains. Horrifying backstory and powers that are the result of hardwork left him with a jaded view on wish granting. He wants to help others, but has MANY reservations about it.

This is just my POV, of course; some of you may disagree (or feel like the aforementioned villains already achieved what I ask for), but I do hope future Disney villains have that "they're kinda right, even if they're wrong" characterization. It'd be a nice new era as the successor to traditional villains and twist villains--though just like twist villains, this trope requires VERY good writing.

[sylvies-chen]

okay I’ve refrained from posting my thoughts on the ted lasso finale until now in the interest of making sure they’re expressed properly so that people understand how correct my opinions actually are. but I’m here and I’m queer and LET’S DO IT FOLKS:

TED LASSO FINALE THOUGHTS

THE GOOD:

Nate!! Nate was a timid, sweet note in this episode. It was such a gentle little reintegration of his character back into the team and seeing him get a secure happy ending after all that time of insecurity was the part of the episode that provided the MOST payoff. Seeing Nick Mohammed’s post about Nate and his family life and understanding how much he put into that character was so beautiful to see too. I adore actors who very publicly (and in a nerdy way) love their craft!

His conversation with Ted also made me cry like I have never cried before.

COLIN KISSED HIS FELLA AFTER A WIN!! Ugh such a beautiful payoff and full circle moment for him, I was truly squealing with joy <3

The team’s rendition of So Long, Farewell had me GIGGLINGGG oh my god, I’m a die hard Sound of Music fan so I loved it! I would have maybe liked a little more emotion from Ted, I felt like his reaction was kind of… meh? meek? but other than that the song itself was FANTASTIC.

Obviously I love that they won the game, duh

They also had a lot of really amazing and thoughtful callbacks in this episode, like Keeley’s parallel to her entrance in the pilot was great, Ted’s bbq sauce mantra, Nate leaping into Ted’s arms, the ussie guy, the winning play being the play from season 1. All of those little moments showed a strong attention to detail I truly loved.

I love that Rupert made HIMSELF unlikeable in the end. Rebecca didn’t need to ruin his life; she stopped caring and soon saw he was doing a perfectly fine job of doing it himself. Karma truly is Rebecca Welton’s boyfriend!! Or is it?

Jake the motherfucking client seducer over here turning out to be a total dud like yesss!! I don’t want Ted and Michele back together by any means but fuck that guy lol, glad to see she and Henry were getting sick of him

BELIEVE. 😭

Which leads me to…

THE BAD:

I know you all know I ship Tedbecca, but this is truly not coming from a shipper standpoint when I say that that first scene of them was absolute BAIT. It was pretty disappointing because I know Ted Lasso’s been prone to red herrings and fakeouts every now and then but I didn’t take it as a show that would truly bait their fans with something like that??

I don’t care if I’m biased, I don’t care if the writers were trying to be avant-garde with their ending for rebecca, I’ll say what I’m about to say a million times: writing off 1 of your 2 most main characters into a happy ending with a man whose name the audience doesn’t even know is literally never a good writing decision. I think this should be obvious.

I have no hate to Boat Guy, Rebecca’s whole thing with him was basically the plot of Before Sunrise + Before Sunset (all hail Richard Lanklater) if someone watched those movies and then tried condensing them into fifteen accumulated minutes of television

Keeley, Roy, Jamie… they did you three so fucking dirty my babes. Keeley you especially. I’m beyond disappointed, bordering on genuinely hurt, by how much they screwed up Keeley and all of her adjacent storylines this season.

I loved RoyKeeley so much in seasons 1 and 2, they had such a sweetness and a magic to them. There were so many elements like that to season 1 and 2 that I feel the writers gave up on in the name of growth or… honestly, at this point, I don’t know why they did this. Roy was a little insecure in seasons 1 and 2, but I never felt like he was needy. It felt so cruel to have shown us RoyKeeley in all of these moments of such stability, such healthiness, and such genuine love for so long and then rip it away for some version of Roy Kent that felt hollow, twisted, and who just Did Not Get It. It makes me so sad.

It makes me sad for Jamie too. Him falling for Keeley again was like the last thing I needed to see from his character. There’s so much else they could have done with him, and instead they took that beautiful moment of him being accountable and respectful with Keeley and the tape, and they turned it into something ugly: they had him weaponize it as a bargaining chip against Roy.

I don’t understand why they thought having our favs engaged in this very sexist outdated convo with such possessive language in the name of comedy was a good idea. I get it was poking fun at them but it was the kind of fun that shouldn’t have to be poked at by now. They’re not these men, I don’t recognize this version of them. It’s such a regression.

speaking of weird and uncomfortable shit being played off for laughs… beard and jane got married! ted wasn’t even there! she shredded his passport to keep him in captivity! how creepy! (see the joke is that they’re crazy and do toxic things to each other. you’re supposed to laugh.)

[kingdomof-omens]

Want to Watch Something

Masterlist This is a work of fiction based on real people. If you don't like it, don't read it.

_______________

Pairing: Nicholas x OFC

Warning: female masturbation, male masturbation, mutual masturbation, cum play, teasing, dirty talk, female oral sex

tags: @ladyveronikawrites @throwingmetothelions @deathblacksmoke @familiarscarsxelectrichearts

_______________

Nicholas lay in his room atop his bed with his girlfriend watching a few episodes of the latest anime he was interested in. Recording another album took up most of his time here lately, so he had to watch a few episodes here and there when he could, which was few and far between.

His girlfriend, Claire, didn't mind. Well, mostly. She knew what she was getting into when they first started dating, seeing the sold out venues and the album sales skyrocket. She knew moments between them wouldn't be a daily occurrence. She was okay with that, being a person who needed some time to herself to decompress and just breathe.

Just being around Nicholas was enough for her. They didn't have to be all over each other every second they were together, perfectly content with sitting in silence, maybe a few quick kisses shared in between episodes and holding hands with each other during.

But tonight? Claire's body reacted to seeing Nicholas open his door and invite her in. She wasn't sure if it was the time apart they had, or the way his basketball shorts hung low on his hip bones, but Claire could feel the dampness form in her panties under her pajama pants.

She kept herself composed, though. Nicholas was telling her what they were working on next with the new album and he had mentioned he was just so damn tired, and he couldn't wait to just lay down and watch something.

She lay next to him as his hands started playing with the hem of her shirt. It wasn't sexual, he was just so used to always using his hands (blame his bass guitar for that), so even when he was relaxing, his hands had to fidget and mess with something.

She couldn't help the small gasp that left her mouth when his fingers accidentally graced the band of her pajama pants, her body forming goosebumps at his simple touch. He didn't react if he had heard her, simply just continuing to play with her shirt. The slight touch made her temporarily dizzy and made her core pulse with need, so she tried rubbing her thighs together discreetly at an attempt to relieve some of the ache below.

But she wasn't discreet enough. Nick noticed her feeble attempt and turned his head to look at her. He cocked a brow at her, a silent question to ask if everything was okay. She could've lied to him and said that she was okay, maybe her leg was falling asleep and she was moving around to prevent the tingling sensation, or maybe she had gotten uncomfortable from laying still so long. The dusting of a rosy blush on the apple of her cheeks would've given her away, though. She felt the heat of embarrassment wash over her neck and face, giving Nick a small side glance before avoiding his questioning gaze.

"Claire...why won't you look at me?" Nick questioned, his hand had stopped playing with the hem of her shirt as he placed his palm on her belly.

"It's nothing, baby. Let's just keep watching this episode. The good part is coming up and you don't want to miss it." Her weak attempt at trying to change the subject.

Nick's hand crept lower, his fingertips pushing under the band of elastic on her sleep pants, and resting atop the lace of her underwear. Claire's body tensed at Nick's movements, a small gasp escaping her lips when his fingers started brushing along the top of her panties.

"I don't know Claire...it seems like you've missed me." He teased her, kissing her arm.

She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and sighed out. "Maybe...but you're tired, baby. You've been working so hard and want to relax. We can deal with this-" she pointed dramatically at her crotch, "-later."

Nick chuckled into her shoulder, his hand still rubbing the covered skin right above her mound. "I think I remember saying I wanted to watch something...well...touch yourself, I want to watch."

Claire's eyes widened at her boyfriend's suggestion and she could feel the arousal from his words starting to coat her folds. "What?"

"You heard me. I may be tired, but my girl also deserves to relax. You can't relax when your pussy is begging to be touched, isn't that right?"

His grey eyes bore into hers as he moved from her side, sitting up on his knees and leaning back on his heels. His hands caressed her sides before moving down, gripping the waistband of her pants between his fingers. His hands stopped moving as he held the elastic, and he bit his bottom lip. Claire knew he was right, she needed to be touched so badly. 

They've had sex plenty of times before, Nick knew her body better than she did, but a slight tinge of embarrassment washed over her when she thought about how exposed she'd be, playing with herself as his eyes glared into her.

"If you don't want to, that's fine, too. But I wouldn't be able to satisfy you properly with how tired I am....and you'd have to sit here in your own mess for the rest of the night."

He made a good point. She could get herself off pretty quickly at this point with how aroused she was, so she quickly nodded her head and raised her hips for him to help strip her of her clothing.

His face gleamed with a smirk as he chuckled and pulled her bottoms down her legs and off of her body, Claire helping him by kicking her legs free of her garments.

Nick's quick intake of breath told her what she already knew, she was soaked and coating her thighs of her own juices. His hands ran up the long expanse of her legs before spreading them wide open to expose her to him. He leaned over her and grabbed a pillow from his side of the bed and told her to sit up, placing the pillow behind where she lay to give her elevation.

"Did you miss me that much, baby?" He questioned her, his hands now rubbing his own thighs. She could see his erection pitching a tent in his basketball shorts, and she felt herself clench at his words.

Words had escaped her, her mind melting to mush. She slightly nodded her head and bit her lip, her hands fisting the blanket underneath of them.

"Well, go ahead, baby."

She was still slightly embarrassed being this exposed to Nick, but she was so turned on, it didn't matter to her anymore. She needed some relief and it was obvious that Nick wasn't going to cave in and just fuck her in a quickie like he usually did. Her hand let go of the blanket and she placed it on her mound, descending slowly. And of course, he was right. A thin veil of slick was coating all of her core.

She closed her eyes and her fingertips grazed the apex of her thighs, stimulating the little bundle of nerves. She sucked a quick breath between her teeth when the shock of friction shot up her spine. Swiping her clit a few times she moaned out before starting to circle her fingers lazily, enjoying the friction she needed so badly.

She could feel Nick's eyes boring into her core, watching with rapt attention. His jaw hung low and he was breathing heavily at the sight before him. She could hear him release a moan when her hips ticked into her hand, fueling the fire in her belly.

"Holy shit, you're so fucking sexy." Nick whispered out as his hand came to palm himself through his shorts. "Is this how you treat yourself when I'm on tour?"

Claire's eyes opened and she looked right into his, releasing a moan as she nodded her head. "Yes...think about- mmm- think about you."

Her words had drawn out a low growl from Nick, who had to add more pressure to his hardened member. He was sure if he kept rubbing himself, he would cum the quickest he ever had in his life, so he removed his hand and gripped the basketball shorts on his thighs until his knuckles were turning white.

Claire kept her eyes on Nicholas as he focused his eyes on the movement of her hand. She was still rubbing slow circles on the tiny nub, her hips rolling into her hand as she stimulated herself. 

"Oh fuck, baby..." Nick's strained whispers echoed in her head. "I want to see you fuck yourself with your fingers....please."

Claire released a moan as her fingers stopped circling her clit, now running up and down her inner folds to collect her slick. She brought her fingers down to her entrance, her middle and ring fingers dipping slightly inside of herself. She released a moan as the same time as Nick, who was now rubbing his thighs harshly with fists, him trying to keep some sense of composure while he watched.

"You like watching me?" Claire teased with another moan and roll of her hips. Her fingers came to rub the bundle of nerves again before dipping down and circling her entrance. Nick's bottom lip was pulling between his teeth and he was panting, his eyes glued to her hand.

Her fingers entered her body with ease due to the amount of arousal that coated her core. She gasped when she felt her fingers grace the spongy spot inside of her and she held her hand in place, bending her fingers into the g-spot and rubbing quickly over it.

Her toes had curled up and she tensed her legs at the pleasure. One of Nick's hands stopped fisting his thigh and he reach out and grabbed her leg with an iron grip, trying to steady himself as Claire threw her head back into the pillow and keened into the room.

"Claire- fuck- please let me taste your fingers." Nick begged her, his grip on her leg tightening even more. She raised her head and looked at him and she could see the pure desperation on his face. His beautiful grey eyes were now just hinted with a thin ring around blown pupils. His lip was almost raw from being dragged between teeth, and if he could get any harder, she was almost positive he would end up passing out from the lack of blood flow to his upstairs brain.

She nodded and withdrew her fingers from herself, hissing at the feeling of emptiness inside her core and held her hand up. She spread her fingers apart in front of his face and her slick formed a web connecting them, coating her hand. He lurched forwards and grabbed her wrist with his hands and bringing it to his lips.

He took a deep breath in through his nose and a shaky exhale left his lips as her scent clouded his senses. "You smell like heaven." He whispered into her hand as his lips closed around the coated fingers. She moaned out as he sucked on her digits, feeling his tongue swirl around them to lick them clean.

He pulled her fingers from his mouth and licked his lips "...and taste even better." 

Claire's bottom lip was pulled between her teeth as her eyes rolled back, letting out a shaky breath at her boyfriend.

She pulled her hand from his grasp and started rubbing at the apex of her thighs again, the desperate need for release aching her bones.

"Sorry, I can't-" Nick spoke out and yanked the band of his basketball shorts down, grabbing his cock and releasing it from the tight confines of his boxers.

He hissed out when he tugged on his dick, the dry friction entangling pain and pleasure. 

Claire's eyes widened seeing her boyfriend play with his cock, a shiver running up her spine. She had never seen Nick fuck himself into his fist before, and now she understood why he wanted to watch her come undone with her own fingers.

"Use me." Claire moaned as her fingers dipped into her pussy again, collecting her sticky slick on her fingers and reaching out to wrap her hand around his member. Nick removed his hand and gasped when she grabbed his dick, pumping his cock twice and twisting to spread her arousal to lubricate him.

"Holy- holy shit, baby. Feels- ugh, feels so fucking good." He panted out as he replaced her hand with his. He slowly started rubbing his cock twisting his wrist around the head.

"Talk to me baby, please. Need to hear you." He whimpered out as he thumbed his slit collecting the bead of precum.

Claire's hand was working herself again, alternating between flicking her clit and plunging into her hole. She was moaning and whimpering now between the pleasure coursing through her veins and the sight of Nick working himself to his release.

"You like watching me?" She asked out, gasping when her fingers brushed against the spot inside of her again. "Like watching me play with this pretty pussy?" She grunted out when her thumb swiped over her clit while her middle and ring finger assaulted her g-spot.

Nick whimpered around broken moans as he watched his girlfriend's fingers disappear inside of her body again. 

"It feels so fucking good, Nick." Claire moaned out as she rolled her hips into her hand and her head fell back in pleasure. Her other hand was fisting the blanket so hard, her knuckles were turning white. "Feels so good." She whined out. She could feel her climax starting to tease her belly, the warmth of the pleasure covering her in a blanket.

"Yeah? Is that what you do when I'm on tour?" Nick asked her as his hand pumped himself faster. His other hand reached down and cupped his balls, rolling the sensitive flesh in his palm.

Claire moaned out as she removed her hand from inside and rubbed harshly at her swollen nub. "Think of you. Cum so hard." Her brain was melting from the pleasure, unable to form any coherent sentences.

"Look at me. So close." Nick moaned out, now thrusting into his hand. Claire raised her head and her eyes stared straight into his, her bottom lip raw and her brows furrowed. The sight of Nick close to his release made Claire clench around nothing. She moaned again as she sped up her fingers.

"Gonna- gonna cum, baby. Yes, ye-oh god! Fuck!" He screamed out as he leaned forwards and shot white ribbons of semen on her pussy lips. Claire felt the hot liquid land on her fingers as she was rubbing herself, her hand moving to gather the substance and spread it around on her pussy. Her fingers dipped into her again and she cried out at the dirty thought of using his cum as lubrication.

Nick slowly pumped his cock, working himself through his climax as he saw Claire play with his cum. When he was oversensitive, he reached out and gripped her thigh, rubbing the heated skin.

His touch was all it took for Claire to come undone. Her climax washed over her in warm waves as her fingers rubbed her from the inside, her legs shaking and her back arching off of the bed. She moaned out and gasped between pants and her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

She removed her hand and laid her arm down next to her on the bed trying to catch her breath when she felt the warm flat of Nick's tongue on her core.

She hissed and leaned up on her elbows, looking down at Nick who just smirked at her as he made a show of licking up her folds.

He leaned up and swallowed before telling her, "Gotta clean you up baby. Lay down and enjoy it." He head dipped back down and he dragged his tongue from her hole through her folds.

Nick was careful with his tongue, knowing Claire was sensitive from her orgasm. His tongue swiped at her clit, mindful of not applying too much pressure to the abused nub. He sucked her folds into his mouth, gently suckling to clean up the mess they both made. His tongue intruded her hole, licking and swallowing their releases.

He sat up after wiping his mouth on her thigh, looking at how blissed out she was laying underneath of him. Her hair was a mess and he could see her eyelids drooping with exhaustion. She had finally caught her breath, and looked at Nick with a shy smile on her face.

He chuckled at her as he lay down next to her, pulling her closer to him. "I'm going to need you to record yourself and send it to me while I'm on the road...for research purposes, of course."

Claire laughed out and popped Nick's chest with her hand before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep wrapped in his arms.

[slayerkitty]

Only Friends End Cards and Chronology

I saw this post in the Only Friends tag and it made me wonder: Are the end cards with the characters chronological to the episode they're attached to? Since I'm tracking them as part of my observations into the narrative frameworks of the show, this is something I wanted to explore. So I went to check them out again.

I absolutely think @jenyifer is onto something with this. We put our heads together and looked at the end cards again; if you look at the clothes each character is wearing, the end cards are NOT chronological.

Episode 1: Mew

Mew is wearing the shirt he wears to the pool party at the hostel in episode 3 and that he has on at the beginning of episode 4 when Ray picks him up. We think this might be pre-pool party at the hostel, waiting for Top to pick him up. Maybe contemplating his relationship...

Episode 2 & 4: Ray

It's a bit hard to see, but we're pretty sure Ray is wearing the bowling shirt from episode 4. Our theory is this is post dropping Sand off with his bike and driving home, maybe thinking about him. Also, Ray is the only repeat so far and it's unclear why.

Episode 3: Nick

As @jenyifer pointed out, Nick is wearing the shirt from episode 5. We're like 90% sure this is the hostel. We don't think it's Sand and Nick's apartment. It's not Boston's house as far as we can tell. We're speculating that this occurs around the same time Mew calls Boston about having sex with Top - Boston is still at the hostel with Nick; we think Nick might be in the other room torturing himself with the sex audio. Then they go to Nick's and have cursed birthday party #1.

Episode 5: Sand

This one also seems to be post episode 4, after picking up his bike at the shop. This is the outfit Sand wore in the record store. Thinking about Ray, maybe?

Episode 6: Top

This one is difficult, LOL, because Top is naked and looks like he might be crying. Having said that, looking behind Top at the window, we do get context possibly - it looks like it's raining. We are tentatively placing this end card with episode 3 because that is the only episode where it has rained and Top would be upset about something. Top is in the bath, potentially crying over sleeping with Boston (which, if we're right, OUCH).

What this seems to mean, is at least so far, episodes 1, 2, and 6 have no correlating end card. It will be interesting to see if we get end cards that go back to those episodes. Episode 3 seems to have two (TopMew), and episode 4 has three (Sand and both of Ray's since Ray's are the same one). Episode 5 has just the one so far.

Tagging the Ephemerality Squad:  @lurkingshan, @waitmyturtles, @wen-kexing-apologist, @chickenstrangers, @ranchthoughts, @twig-tea, @clara-maybe-ontheroad, @distant-screaming

[zzoomacroom]

For the ask game: how about one each for Hob, Dream, and Death?

Oooohh, excellent ask, thanks anon!

Hob:

First impression: wow, this guy is kind of obnoxious. Cute, though.

Impression now: my sweet beloved blorbo, the love of my life, I think about him 24 hours a day

Favorite moment: 1789, just that whole scene. But especially his reaction to the drawing ("I look terrible. You look worse"), and when he breaks a teacup over that guy's head

Idea for a story: the wip I'm currently working on is about him being the last man on earth and going on a road trip with Delirium and Barnabas

Unpopular opinion: I think he probably just has an average-sized penis 🤷‍♀️

Favorite relationship: we don't see much of his canon relationships, but if we're talking non-canon then of course it’s dreamling. I also kind of like the idea of Hob/Johanna(/Dream?)

Favorite headcanon: I've posted about this before and the wonderful @delta-pavonis wrote a fic about it, but I firmly believe that in the Sandman universe, he was the inspiration for Nick Bottom. Think about it: low-born guy who always has to be the center of attention and acts like a jackass, but somehow won the queen's favor. Hob was salty because Shaxberd had Dream's attention, but Shaxberd was salty because Hob had the queen's attention.

Dream:

First impression: this dude is kind of pathetic, I desire him carnally

Impression now: my babygirl, my everything, my beautiful, ethereal, majestic, all-powerful loserboy. I love him so much 😭

Favorite moment: it's so hard to choose...in the show, I loved his battle with Lucifer and what he did to Rick Madoc (his dispassionate fury in defending Calliope was chilling). In the comics, I love all his interactions with Delirium. Also when Death throws the bread at him and it goes "bip!"

Idea for a story: um...well...don't judge me, but I have a retired!Dream mpreg fic I'm working on, which the amazing @kydrogendragon and some other lovely folks on discord (idk if they're on tumblr or i would tag them) helped me develop.

Unpopular opinion: hmm...I've seen so many opinions about him and I'm not sure which ones are considered unpopular. I think maybe he's a bit more slutty than we give him credit for, based on how he was immediately down to clown when Bast jokingly propositioned him

Favorite relationship: of his canonical relationships, I find Calliope the most interesting. For non-canon, dreamling all day every day forever. For platonic relationships: Lucienne (i just don't see them as romantic, sorry morphienne fans), Death, Delirium, Matthew

Favorite headcanon: based on recent conversations I've seen/taken part in on tumblr, I like the idea of him getting freaky with his helm (the helm stays on during sex). @tryan-a-bex wrote a great little ficlet about it

Death:

First impression: she's amazing and I love her

Impression now: she's amazing and I love her

Favorite moment: when she throws the bread at Dream. Also, not exactly canon, but in the "At Death's Door" manga by Jill Thompson I love when she teams up with Despair and Delirium and catches souls in a baseball mitt:

Idea for a story: admittedly, I don't currently have any ideas for stories with Death as a main character, but she does feature heavily in my post-apocalypse fic. I would like to see more of her days she spends as a mortal. We see some of that in "Death: The High Cost of Living," but I bet she gets up to some crazy shenanigans

Unpopular opinion: I don't think she's as perfect as a lot of people think she is. She's one of my favorite characters and I love her, but I think she's as flawed as the rest of her siblings and has her own struggles that we only get glimpses of

Favorite relationship: canonically she doesn't have any romantic relationships that readers see, but I love her relationships with her siblings, especially Dream. For ships, I kind of like the idea of her with Johanna, but I haven't explored it much

Favorite headcanon: I think she's a lesbian and nothing can dissuade me of that belief

[fallout4-reacts]

k-peasants asked: An actual prompt this time! I know you're busy and have plenty of things to write yet, take your time. Soo I was thinking that maybe companions (and Maxson) horribly failing at confessing to Sole. Like for example they could clear out some Raiders, companion is impressed, tries to confess BAM Sole gets fucking decked by random raider they didn't kill. I feel like you could get pretty creative with that one. Like deathclaws, something exploding, just settlers running in, other companions interrupting etc.

Here, here, part uh 4… after the false start of the part 3…

Part 4

Gage / MacCready / Piper

(Part 1 : Danse, Deacon, Nick Valentine)

(Part 2 : Hancock, Preston, Strong)

(Part 3 : X6-88 alone because of a bug)

(Part 5 : Cait, Curie, Codsworth, Dogmeat, Elder Maxson)

Gage : This Sole is an Overboss! What a magnificent and fantastic Overboss! Everything Porter had ever wanted to do came true! Nuka-World is now a flourishing domain, having conquered so many colonies that the Commonwealth can be considered under the yoke of the raiders, its inhabitants paying an extraordinary tribute that fills the chests at an incredible rate. His people are blessed and happy, and he owes it all to Sole.

Gage never imagined having such strong and lively feelings for another person as he did for himself, but he fell hard for Sole.

And Sole seems to notice it in a far more personal way than one would anticipate from an Overboss towards a lieutenant.

And when a raider wants something, he takes it.

So, once his feelings for his superior are made clear, Gage doesn't waste time. He plans their entire evening and ensures that Sole has enough drink. When he realizes they are alone in the Fizztop, he grabs his bravery with both hands.

"Hey, Boss!"

Sole looks up from his glass and smiles at Porter.

"Yeah?"

And this smile almost steals the poor man's courage. He takes the time to set himself on one of the stools in front of the other.

"I… I've been thinking about this thing you told me, about our friendship and all that bullshit."

"Yeah?"

"Well, what I'm saying is—

"Is that Mason's voice I hear?"

"We always hear Mason's screaming at this hour."

"But these are not screams of pain?"

Gage and Sole leap to the terrace and gaze downward. Preston Garvey, the foolish Minutemen colonel, smiled morbidly at them from the center of the lake, where he had erected a terrible altar.

"I told you you'd pay me, Sole!" the man yells angrily while igniting more fire under Mason.

Sole then realizes that the entire area has been taken over by Minutemen. Damn! He believed he had confined them to their silly castle, but it appears that they have returned in force.

"You know what, Porter?"

"Yes boss?"

"We'll finish this conversation later."

MacCready : Sole pays close attention to MacCready. The mercenary casts an interested gaze their way.

"I have something in my face?"

"Nope. I'm just curious why you didn't leave."

The mercenary with the rat's face smiles with all his rotten teeth.

He replayed the conversation in his thoughts over and again.

Sole carried Mac through the twists and turns of a hidden and forgotten vault, where they fought radscorpions, mirelurks (including a Queen mirelurk), and ghouls, the worst of which who was not feral. They have since established their camp in the main cave, waiting for the sunrise to return to the surface.

To be honest, Mac isn't in any rush to get back up. He never feels better than when he has a good granite sky on his head, but he knows they can't stay confined in the bowels of this hill forever.

The Commonwealth will be expecting them.

And there is a child waiting for him near the Capital Wasteland, assigned to the care of trusted people. Butch and the Tunnel Snakes will offer their life to save his son if necessary, and they will at first not take any unnecessary risks that could imperil him. This is what allows Mac to postpone his triumphal return to Duncan, who is undoubtedly on the mend.

Healing thanks to the help of Sole.

Sole glances at him now, puzzled as to why he is still there.

And the answer, he knows it by heart, having processed it in his thoughts over and over since he found it. Why is he still present? For the one only reason that could exist.

"Listen to me carefully, Sole. What I want to say is delicate, and I don't want to... It's difficult for me to talk to you about this, but I understand you should question my decision."

"A little, yes. If I had the opportunity to be with my son, I would not procrastinate as much."

Mac takes his time swallowing. Yes, it was far more delicate than he had imagined. He didn't count Sole's struggle to find their own kid... and the heartbreaking defeat they experienced along the way.

"Exactly. I don't believe I have the right to forsake you. Not right now. Not after everything you've done for me. No, especially in a situation when you need someone by your side."

"What greatness of soul for a mercenary."

MacCready straightens and swallows sideways.

"How could you!? You know that — argh! — I gave back your caps!"

"And I told you you could keep it."

"Do you really think my motivation is still just money?"

"No." The tone of his friend confuses Mac. He raises his eyebrow, and Sole makes a hand gesture. "So, you tell me, what's so important?"

"Yes. What I was trying to say to you was that-

"Not all ghouls are dead."

"Sorry?"

"Not all ghouls are dead!"

Sole leaps to his feet before Mac notice the abrupt change in the speech. Then he realizes at the same time that Sole fires his first shot. He retrieves his trustworthy Mighty and begins to shoot himself.

It is a true horde that falls on them, and they are in a big cave on absolutely flat land, the fools, the lethal sea forthcoming on them despite the accuracy of their guns. Three ghouls appear to replace each one that dies.

Sole and Mac, surrounded and besieged, realize their horrible mistake.

Their one and only, but fatal, mistake.

Piper : The reporter speaks to them as they approach a settlement.

"Hello! I have a few questions about the living conditions in the colony; would you be willing to answer them?"

Sole takes a step back. They have to repair a water purifier at Sturges' request, and they don't want to interfere with Piper's work on her new article, "Life in the Commonwealth with the Return of the Minutemen." This is, at the very least, the first draft. Piper wishes to develop a more enticing title and believes she can do so by researching the backdrop of her article.

Sole approved all along.

This is the best plan of action concerning Piper. Approve immediately before she launches into an argument about the advantages and disadvantages of her point of view. Her conversation is already something; if she believes she needs to persuade her interlocutor, it could run all day.

Quite strangely, the purifier's filter has become clogged from the inside. Because the duct is too tiny, Sole is unable to reach it. To see what is causing the blockage, they must disassemble a large piece of the devices. As the day is already well begun, they proceed immediately.

Piper returns after around ten minutes to see how they are.

"Hmf. Everyone declines my interview requests. I expected everyone to be overjoyed to be in the next issue, but they're all too busy."

"Take it back tonight at the bar when they're done with their chores," Sole suggests, gripping his wrench, which refuses to loosen the shaft.

"Wait a minute, that's a fantastic idea. They will definitely be even more ready to comply if my incredibly popular acquaintance additionally offers a few caps to pay for the round."

Sole chuckles, despite the fact that they are losing patience after the obstinate piece.

"You know I'd do anything for you, sweetheart."

"What a charmer," says the reporter, blushing.

But Sole's motivation is more selfish than making Piper blush. Every time they told her something in this taste, she reddened, stammered, and eventually shut up. They must concentrate if they don't want to twist the rotor situate under the duct or damage the nets, which would necessitate some redoing, and all of the required gear is in Sanctuary. During this break, they renew their focus to their given task.

Piper, on the other hand, is in a completely different mindset. She coughs briefly to regain their interest. They grunt to indicate that they are paying attention and modify their position to change the pressure point.

"You know, Sole, I've been wanting to talk to you about something a little tricky for a while."

"Not really your way of going in circles," Sole grumbles, thrusting their tool.

"No, I confess, but it's something that, let's say, is difficult to discuss."

"I didn't think there was anything too tough for you to discuss," they groan before throwing all of their weight on the tool to give it one last push.

"It's actually a very personal matter. So, if it's not too problematic..."

"But keep going!" Sole attempts to remain calm as they begin to feel the piece shift.

"I just wanted to let you know that all this time we've been rummaging together, I know it was not easy, I was not easy, and many don't really like me."

They eventually get their hands into the conduit to find the obstruction.

"But I'm quite pleased with you. More than just content. You never seem to get tired of my little crazy... I must admit... I do feel that—

"A MINE!" yells Sole, vigorously shoving Piper away as the entire purifier erupts out of its cement block, taking Sole's arm and a significant chunk of what should have been connected to Sole's arm with him. 

Piper, out of breath and on her back, worries of the fire and blood that fly in all directions and then fall all around her. She has no idea if she is injured; she is absolutely frightened.

[thewayuarent]

When things start to fail

SandRay edition

Yes, me again talking about SandRay as I’m their personal therapist good for me I guess. Disclaimer: I do not judge nor Sand or Ray, the most important thing to remember is that all of characters are young stupid insecure boys so everything happening makes a lot of sense. Also let’s remember that it is not about good/bad or right/wrong, it’s about complexity people and their relationships have.

So, this week they’ve reached an interesting point, haven’t they? The point when their mostly surprisingly good communications stars to fall apart. And it was inevitable. Nick and especially Boston don’t minding their own business certainly accelerated the process, but at some point it was going to happen anyway. Because the ultimate question “who are we to each other” been hanging over their heads for some time now and do my boys tried their best to avoid it. But let’s start from so-so good things.

SandRay day together. Ray goes for it like it’s an adventure, not someones real life experience. And of course he is - Ray lives in a different world and Sand’s hardships are not something he’s familiar with. @lurkingshan made a great post about how Ray constantly sees Sand as someone beneath him at well of course he is. And I love what @neuroticbookworm says here that Ray does it unintentionally - that’s just not something he ever experienced in his life. Ray is shamelessly rich and he was like this all his life. I would very surprised if he behaved differently.

That’s interesting tho - I think Ray sincerely enjoys every experience he has with Sand. And in some way he sees Sand as embodiment of freedom. For Ray a lot of it is about wind in a face, and listening new music, and laughing, and drinking, and kissing, and flirting and almost jerking off but no and not thinking about his real problems. For Sand it’s his life. It’s tough and exhausting, but still worth living.

Sand’s 24 hours. I truly appreciate Sand’s approach to life. He tells us that he has 24 hours in a day to work, sleep, being alone and - what I love about him - to dream. And I’m not saying that his life isn’t hard, it absolutely is. But despite that he still has some little things to enjoy. He dreams big. He makes beautiful breakfasts and knows places where to find good music. He has fun in a secondhand store. He finds his happiness in discovering new bands. He allows himself to get drunk and get high.

And I don’t think he never does any of it before Ray. But Ray is important, because Ray is someone he can share all this things with. And while Ray constantly being a bit jerk about that he is really into everything Sand gives to him (subtext here was unintentional but yes, sex is obviously a part of it too). And maybe Ray’s presence allows Sand to let himself go with a flow a bit more. Maybe Ray also symbolizes freedom for Sand.

And I believe that freedom is something both of them desperately need - Ray from his painful past, Sand from his exhausting present. And it all would be so good, it was mostly good for a lot of time, but. Hints were all there since the beginning.

Communication falling apart. So we see them generally enjoying each other. We see them being open and honest with each other. The whole scene where they discuss parents is about trust and vulnerability and it deserves its own post.

Very good-friends-behavior happening here. But also kind of not. And not only because them being ready to fuck each other on a constant basis. Which was hilarious by the way - three attempts to get nasty and all being ruined (1. Thank you Nick; 2. Sand being not so into public sex I guess I don’t believe him for a second he’s clearly into it but whatever; 3. Thank you Nick again and now you bring the whole drama with you good job). But all this cute boyfriends stuff happens left and right? Hugging and smiling on a ride?

Being so into each other that random girl said bye bless you?

Fucking serenade?

Like, guys, you’re not even trying. And they don’t talk about it at all. The last attempt to clarify their relationship was in episode 3 with Sand asking what kind of friends doesn’t stop kissing each other. And than they just. Moved on and never questioned it again?

They are the only couple (of the main three) in the show who doesn’t discuss their status. Even Nick and Boston do it! They are suck at it but it’s at least something. And it’s like Sand and Ray played a bit too much in going with a flow thing.

Sand tells this to his mom

And he seems really upset when Ray says that are friends

And again when Ray says not boyfriend fuck off Nick

And I get it, it really sucks. He is totally in love and his heart breaks a little bit twice in a row.

But it’s Sand who said that

And that

And that one like couple hours ago

So I feel for Sand and I am really sorry for him - my boy fell fast and hard but it’s not like Ray has any idea what Sand wants from him. Oh, wait, he has. Kind of. And he actually tries to make amends and clear the situation. Kind of.

It’s Sand this time who closes up, loosing to his fears and insecurities - and I would guess his last relationship has something to do with this. And of course Ray doesn’t push him into that conversation after one failed attempt. Because he is totally scared of ruining things. And it is so much easier to continue to pretend, for both of them, isn’t it?

It’s also smart thing to not having that conversation before they sober up but will they talk? I doubt it. Also is Ray ever sober, he has a serious problem, my poor boy. Him finishing two glasses of liquor in a row after fight was painful to watch. But I digress.

And the thing is - it isn’t even that tragic. Yes, Ray has feelings for Mew - he tries to move on, he doesn’t expect anything, but feelings (especially so long-lasted) doesn’t go away in a moment. And Ray has a right to falling for Sand while still falling out of Mew. Shit like this happens a lot in real life. It doesn’t mean Sand isn’t special to him only because someone else is.

And I kind of think that they would work it out somewhat fine. Not great, but fine. But here it is, our Boston card. Yes, I blame Boston, that’s my conclusion.

Conclusion. Judging by what we saw in trailer I’m gonna predict that this episode was a start for both Sand and Ray being miscommunication mess. Because both of them are falling for each other. And both are very scared of it.

This is not going to be easy. They will pretend they don’t care for each other and most importantly - that they have no expectations towards each other. They clearly have. We see it with Sand and the moment Sand decides fuck it I’m done we will see it with Ray.

This shit needs a lot of hard work. Will they be able to go for that? Do they even need it? I don’t know. Let’s hope that they will. Or at least that they won’t ruin each other totally over failed relationship.

[sgt-seabass]

Hi lovely! I wanted to say hello again and thank you for the amazing answer to my ask from last week about your Clockwork AU!

I have another😁

Do you think Nick would ever consider leaving all his ‘work’ behind for the quiet life with puppy…have a big family, be domestic…just kind of all that happily ever after stuff?

Hope you have a great day!!! And thank you again for sharing with us❤️

eeeeee hello again! I got so excited seeing this ask. Thank you so much for your continued interest!

This question is a little harder to answer, because I’m really split in two about it. Nick is not a good person. He has his own circumstances that cause him to be that way, but nonetheless he worked really hard to build the life he has. He would not easily give up his empire, even for his omega. He expects her to adapt to his life, not for him to make sacrifices for her.

That being said, he definitely would want kids and the domestic life one day. For Nick, by having an omega and his empire, that is his happily ever after. Nick may slow down in his later years, and eventually pass on his responsibilities to someone else. Either one of his children or a colleague.

Also, there is a danger in Nick slowing down. A lot of powerful people rely on him, and if he were to pack up, he’d have to flee and go into hiding. There would be a hit on his head and a threat to his family. In this kind of world, you can’t just quit when so many people need your services. Plus, if someone were to kill him, they would have killed a prime alpha. Which is a show of power in itself. Nick can’t show weakness or others will try to take everything from him. Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

As a big thank you for continuing to be interested I wrote a little drabble 💙 I hope you like it!

𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒆

w/c: 320 warnings: stokholm syndrome a/n: thank you to @sweeterthanthis for helping me combat mean brain when trying to write this. part of my Clockwork AU.

You could feel the soft thump of Nick’s heart as you lay your ear to his chest. The sound always grounded you. The steady rhythm giving you something constant to focus on.

Nick had been working all day until late into the night and only joined you in bed past two am. He’d tried not to wake you, but you’d woken when he slipped into bed.

“There’s something on your mind,” Nick announced into the silence, the mated bond allowing him to feel how your mind was flurried with thoughts. “Talk to me, omega.”

How should you word it? You pursed your lips before snuggling into Nick’s chest. “Don’t you ever want to stop?”

“Stop what?”

“This. All of it. The stress, the work. I want some peace.” You felt nervous telling him your feelings. Nick didn’t take very well to change he didn’t initiate. You’d found your place where you could ask for small things but understood the boundary that major elements would not change.

This world Nick was part of was dangerous and unforgiving. Walking away meant showing vulnerability. And if there was one thing Nick would never do, it would be showing weakness.

“Hm.” Nick hummed, drawing languid circles on the small of your back. “Some peace, omega?”

“It’s fine. Just forget I said—” Fear that you’d annoyed him circled in your core.

“Shh, hush now.” He swatted your back gently, pulling up the covers, so you were both covered by the plush duvet. “I’ll organise to have one of the safehouses turned into a holiday home. There you can have your peace, puppy.”

“Does that mean you’ll stop working while we’re there? Maybe turn your phone off for a bit?” Even the dogs knew your question was controversial, three sets of eyes peering up from their spots by the bed.

“You’re smart enough to know the answer to that question, pup. Don’t ask me again.”

To be updated on when I post please follow @sgt-seabass-library and turn on post notifications.

[cloud-based-and-rainpilled]

Staged 2 thoughts!! (this will take a Year because I have a Lot of feelings)

tl; dr at the end

Hmmm I don’t see how it’s a love story yet

Staged 1 works well enough on its own but the second season is really essential as a companion piece upping the emotional ante (which is exactly how I feel about Good Omens 1 & 2 lol)

The opening scene mindfuck; The meta! We have reached levels of irony not previously seen possible

Who do I thank for the tacky Zoom interview show background? It deserves top billing

HE DOESN’T WANT THE GOLDFISH TO BE LONELY (metaphor) and then it FUCKING DIES

Celeb cameos in season 1 being all “hey! I like you!” in season 2 like “you are tearing them apart. I hate you. scum

Also the themeing of Michael Sheen and David Tennant being on their own “side” VS everyone else……….. Simon Mr. Writer Sir i see u and unfortunately i am in your walls

The writing feeling less theater-y works for the meta and I’m wondering whether they always had a second season in mind or if it’s just that well written

Was really hoping for a Colin Firth & Hugh Grant cameo ngl :/

The music didn’t annoy me as much this season since it was more of the horn oomp-pah-pah than the piano. Idk maybe my mind just changed

I didn’t know Whoopie Goldberg could be terrifying but here we are (also I forgot her name isn’t Whoopie)

“I think the wizard fucked your ass” ???

Setting up the awards and the baby was peak *pops P* comedy 🤌 Definitely needed since it gets Sad as it goes on

Welsh kink spotted!!! And so fucking blantant I was scandalized

“I’ll shove it up my ass where the rest of the excrement goes” Michael casually asking David to peg him. Nice

More bad magic. More pls and ty

Also moar Nina pls. T’was but a brief beautiful bluster in the wind

Tbh missed a lot of Michael & David’s back-and-forths VS season 1 but I get that’s… the point

Everyone agreeing David is whiney and annoying lmao get wreck’t

Also I forgot they don’t have air conditioning in Englandland ‘cause my man is sweating in every scene he’s in (unless that was intentional in which case… go on…)

The ladies!! That meta ending with the Bechdel test… I see you…

Still love Georgia and Simon’s sister (who I apparently don’t respect enough to google her name); I like Anna now too! She’s got this kinda quiet sarcastic edge I didn’t notice the first time. They all played off each other well in their 3 some (phrasing) scenes

Big amongus sus react that Anna has better chemistry with the two of them than with Michael of which there is literally zero chemistry. Compared to Georgia and David who are just electric with each other it’s honestly distracting

Actual torture watching them break down as other actors play them and drive their friendship apart, it’s fascinating to watch especially on top of it being themselves but, like, not we swear

“Am I your best friend” “No” Fuckin REJECTED !! looser!!!

Oh huh I can see how this is a love story, interesting

The David Tennant fanboy (he is a Real actor I just can’t think of his name) served juicy vomiting SFX realness

“So you’ve made love with him” BROTHER

It took me 87 years to realize warthog and mongoose were in reference to Timon and Pumbah lol <- I am not looking up how to spell this

The bannister being part of the bookshelf why did this make me laugh this hard

Ken Jeong actually reaching into the heart of everything and casually tearing into it Temple of Doom style and leaving everything to ruin lmao

I miss people getting too close to me (feral noises)

Ewan McGregor is cute and I am shallow 🥰

AU where Simon Pegg and Nick Frost did Staged and honestly it would still work aside from being dangerously heterosexual

Simon & Nick doing the Staged 1 back and forth but literally? mmmm that’s sum gud meta

Oh right I forgot the actual writer Simon’s in it too. He’s still good. I like his Zoom tantrum

Jim Parsons unconvincingly looking for his phone after he casually tells David that he and Michael are obviously in love and everyone sees it lmao

David Tennant has the unique ability to make this absolutely insane face reserved specifically for the emotion “oh shit I’m in love with Michael Sheen” which like

I could kill the Good Omens costume department rn I stg take off those fucking sunglasses I’m so mad

Ohhhhhhhh yeah this is a love story

The Frozen snowman being the big bad final boss of cunt, oof you gotta love a good villain

Michael’s monologue the only one not in the kitchen area just breaking down completely I mean *claps until my hands fall off* he put his whole pussy into it. The frustration? The despair? I mean it felt like an audition monologue (in a good way) he walked through the valley in the shadow and death and came back a broken man with a fuzzier beard

CATE BLANCHETT ZOOM SNIPE

Apparently people didn’t like Phoebe Waller Bridge in the new Indiana Jones movie which I haven’t seen but idk I thought she was pretty funny and hot here. *ding*

MOOMIN MUG SPOTTED

The use of travel as a metaphor for feeling stuck emotionally *clenches fist*

“I like silence” *screaming from the other room*

“It’s like gas filling a room” <- fascinating way to describe their dynamic, it’s specifically referring to aimless conversations that snowball and “fill up a room” but it could also refer to the palpable energy between them— like even through the abstraction of a computer screen there’s this magnetic force that’s just riveting, it’s hard to describe

“We haven’t talked about love” > Seen at 2:17 PM LMAO

Michael alone with the black frame lingering shot. Acting and editing and directing choices so simple and on point. everything hurts

Struggling to say goodbye on Zoom physically reaching out unable to leave the frame that whole scene was just. You can just feel the love through the screen, it’s so layered and intimate despite essentially being “No you hang up first”

Zoom wedding! He stayed!!

I wonder if that’s Michael Sheen’s actual best friend. That would be cute

Anna whispering and telling him “nah I know your bestie is literally an hour away but he can’t come over lol” like??? why? let them love each other I cannot handle this villain arc

“I have to bring that one otherwise my tits will explode” Wait wasn’t she drinking earlier though? #ShivRoyMoment

“I was standing outside your job for four hours because I love you” <- dog from Up moment

Yes he is legally a Hobbit

The car window as an abstraction like the Zoom boxes *continued feral noises*

The direction of David putting his hand on the window and Michael walking away only then revealing Anna and the baby far in the background? We’re in 3 dimensions and they are all painful!!

Okay yeah I get it it’s a love story but I thought this was a comedy haha right guys why does everything hurt

It ends on that meta moment between David and Georgia which I can only assume is to set up for the third season although I dunno if that was planned at the time as well. It’s ambiguous but not distracting if they didn’t make another one

tl; dr: Staged 2 is a unique and excellent addition to Staged 1. The added meta textual layer of the other celebrities breaking down their relationship based on Staged 1 allows for a lot of “hiding behind my hands so embarrassed” moments, but also by pitting them against each other, it reveals their actual love for each other through the bickering. Season 1 on its own is a nice vignette of its time but season 2 with it adds a tension and intimacy that really takes both over the top

Kinda dreading watching Staged 3 since it seems like people overwhelmingly like it less than the other two because of the loss of the Zoom format and constant arguing, but I’m already in this far deep so I’ll stick the landing

To wit— awwwwwww, they love each other!

[ladyaj-13]

LadyAJ’s 2023 Fics

This year I wrote 16 new stories (and one new chapter on an old one!) across five fandoms - One Direction, Endeavour, Kingsman, The Eagle and new-to-me Ted Lasso. Details below, I hope you’ll check some out - I like to think there’s a bit of something for everyone. 

One Direction

Bloom - T, 28k, Louis/Liam

Do you like historical AUs? Do you like awesome art by @whatagreatproblemtohave? Then you’ll like this, written for the One Direction Big Bang.

In early 1970s Oxford, Detective Sergeant Louis Tomlinson has to deal with the dual pressures of a case that hits too close to home, and the arrival of new colleague Liam Payne. Payne is both the bane of his existence and, uh... dangerous. Very dangerous. His eyes, that is. His lips. The way he stands.

A story of rain and cobblestones, cigarettes, and repression. And the sunshine after the storm.

In Shining Armour of Trackie and Trainers - T, 9k, Louis/Harry

Because who wouldn’t love white knight Louis coming to their rescue?

Online dating isn't exactly working for Harry. In fact, it couldn't really be going much worse. But then the door of the bar opens, and the pack of friends walking in parts and - that’s Louis Tomlinson.

Louis fucking Tomlinson.

Pageant Material - G, 6k, Louis/Zayn

Watch me throw Miss Congeniality and Kacey Musgraves together, shake it up, and give it a Zouis twist. Written for the Zouis fest.

Louis flicks a nearby switch, lighting the bulbs around his mirror in a soft glow. The buttery yellow catches on the edges of his cheekbones, sharpening the dip. He looks more grown up this year. Some of his baby fat has melted away, and he sucks in his cheeks to see what he might look like by twenty five if this pattern continues. Then he crosses his eyes and sticks out his tongue.

Or, the Zouis teen beauty pageant AU.

The Way to My Heart - T, 6k, Louis/Harry

Fluffy, funny AU Larry with lots of Nouis friendship on the side. Written for the a/b/o fest.

Louis' having a bit of a dry spell, until he bumps into an attractive alpha in the supermarket and leaves with his number. It was a hard bump. Very... muscular.

The only problem is, said alpha asks Louis to cook for him - which is not exactly his skill set.

Feeling Feline - T, 4k, Louis/Niall

Nouis, my beloved, with shelter-worker!Niall and magical cat transformations. Written for the Louis rare pair fest.

“I’m telling you,” drifts through the cracked door, and Louis’ ears prick, twitching with interest. “There’s something wrong with that cat.”

“Have you talked to Liam?” asks another voice, worried. Louis thinks it’s the tall one with curly hair. Taller one. They’re all tall when you’re ten inches high.

“Not medically wrong,” the blond one says. “But I swear, and I know this sounds nuts, but I don’t think he’s a cat?”

Fine Line - G, 1k, Louis/Nick Grimshaw

It’s present day, it’s canon compliant, it’s just long enough to read while waiting for the bus assuming it’s not got stuck in traffic.

Telling his family was always going to be a big deal, but doing it alone was a sacrifice he could make.

He never thought they’d fall about laughing.

In The Dark - T, 666, Gen

Choose your own character in this spooky snippet written for the trick or treat fest.

It’s the dreams.

He’d be fine without the dreams… suggesting things. If he could face all this - whatever this is - with a clear, rested mind.

Bound - G, 619, Liam/Zayn

Vampire AU? Check. 

Months should pass like hours for a vampire, but to Zayn they’ve felt endless. Now, finally, it has come. The day he takes his consort.

Endeavour

Tread Carefully into my Life - T, 29k, WIP, Morse/Jakes

See? I told you it’s not abandoned. Maybe 2024 is the year I finally finish this canon rewrite where Jakes stayed - in the meantime, enjoy nearly thirty thousand words of their on/off up/down shenanigans!

He can't help the way his eyes drift across the room, to Morse in his shirtsleeves, arms crossed across his body. It’s a defensive posture, which is no surprise, but otherwise he looks collected. Calm. Like facing down man eating beasts is all part of the job, and despite the evidence of today, it most certainly is not part of the job.

Tigers. For the love of God, give him an axe murderer any day.

Stepping Out - G, 9k, Morse/Jakes/Joan

Established polyamory with the Oxford disaster trio. Jakes didn’t leave.

“You know what I haven't done in ages?” Joan asks, punctuating her question by flinging her legs up and leaning dramatically backwards against the sofa arm. Peter almost spills his tea. “Gone dancing. We should go.”

Kindred - G, 2k, Gen

Ohhh series nine. Pre-slash Morse/Sam if you really squint.

Sam Thursday, Morse, and the power of orange juice.

Offcuts - G, 2k, Morse/Jakes/Joan

With this final instalment, the series is complete. As a whole it's almost 32k, so if you like Endeavour and polyamorous relationships, set aside a Saturday and dive in.

Snapshot scenes of life with the trio.

Adding it Up - G, 887, Morse/Jakes

Let’s return to series three, because Jakes.

Fred’s been a copper for a long time. It’s in his bones at this point, a habit so engrained he can’t turn it off. Like Morse with his beer and Jakes with his cigarettes, Fred’s addiction is piecing things together. Even when he’d rather not.

Ted Lasso

Would You Rather - G, 1k - Colin & Jamie, Roy/Jamie

It had to happen! Diving into a new fandom is always a pleasure.

"I’m talking about percentages. Like, yeah, you’re gay. So maybe you’re at like, eighty, ninety per cent. But if I say who’d you rather fuck out of Ms Welton, Keeley and Maisie from the canteen, you know what you’d say, right?”

Colin is beginning to think Jamie doesn’t know what gay is. "Erm, no."

Squeegee - M, 525 - Roy/Jamie

Short and snappy ;)

Jamie’s beautifully vocal in bed, but long, pitchy squeaking is new.

Kingsman

The Honeypots - T, 5k - Eggsy/Harry

Partial AU with undercover, honeypot spy shenanigans and obliviousness? I wrote it for a reason. I mean, it’s right up my street.

Eggsy is MI6. Harry is Kingsman. They have each been tasked to seduce a suspected rival intelligence agent.

The intelligence part may be overselling it.

The Eagle of the Ninth

Winter Sunlight - G, 1k, Marcus/Esca

I think writing a fluffy, happy gay farmers fic is actually a requirement of this fandom. Here’s my offering.

“How is it,” a familiar voice mutters drowsily, muffled by the drape of skins and fur, “that after all these years, you still can’t manage a proper lie in?”

[smartycvnt]

Mean It

Title: Mean It Pairing: Matt Jackson x Reader Prompt: 1. "I'm yours." "Say it again." R WC: 706

The tension was palpable in the air as you watched Matt chat up some blonde girl at the bar. You had come to this gathering under the impression that the Elite weren't going to make it. Nick had been the first to show up, and right behind him were Matt and Kenny. You were public enemy number one where most people were concerned when it came to them. A lot of people believed that you were the cause of them almost not being friends anymore. Truthfully, it was much more complicated than that, and you ended up being the only one screwed over and alone. All of that had been years ago though, and while you told yourself you didn't hold a grudge, you still avoided them like the plague.

"Yeah, maybe I'll stop by tonight," Matt said as he walked away from the blonde. You watched him walk right past you. A part of you wanted to pretend like you weren't the least bit interested, but that wasn't true. You hated yourself for it, but you still held out hope that Matt would want you back. You had never stopped wanting his or being his as far as you were concerned. Every relationship you had been in over the past four years had been ended over the same reason: Matt Jackson.

Your intentions with tonight were to have fun, but once Matt showed up, that went out the window. Instead of having a couple of drinks, dancing with strangers, and maybe finding someone to go home with, you sat in your booth by yourself and drank. Time started to mesh together as you took shot after shot. You'd be sick in the morning, or by the end of the night at your pace, but you didn't care. Matt was making his rounds and finding out who was available for him to take and potentially ruin. You had been one of those conquests once, and maybe that's where you had gone wrong in the first place. Matt liked to leave his fun in whatever town he had found it in. He was just testing things out, not make a big purchase.

"This has gone too far," a voice said from behind you as you stumbled your way through the parking lot. You turned around to see who you thought was Kenny rush back inside of the bar. You started to turn back around and continue towards your car when your heel broke, sending you straight down to the ground. The pavement was hard and hurt, but not nearly as bad as opening your eyes to see Matt standing above you.

"What happened to you?" Matt asked as he bent down next to you. "Everybody is worried about you."

"No they aren't. It's fun, we're having a good time," you slurred. Matt helped you to sit up, which was a mistake. You immediately leaned over to throw up, which was when Matt decided to move you. "Oh no, I need a new drink. Mine spilled."

"You're not drinking anything else tonight except for some water," Matt told you. You let him take you back to the hotel. You fell asleep on the way there, so Matt took you back to his room for the night. He made you get in the shower to hopefully sober up a bit, drink a glass of water, and eat some snacks that he bought from the hotel's shop.

"I love you Matthew," you said formally. Matt tried to hide his smile, unsure of why it made him so happy to hear. "I wish you loved me like I love you. I wish you were mine sometimes."

"I am. I'm yours," Matt said. It felt nice to get off his chest, even if he knew that you wouldn't remember it in the morning.

"Say it again," you whispered as you laid across his lap. You stared up at him expectantly and hopefully.

"I'm yours, have been all these years. Even if I don't act like it sometimes," Matt promised. You closed your eyes to cherish the words and commit them to memory, but you ended up falling asleep instead. "But when you wake up in the morning, you won't be mine anymore."

[horsetailcurlers2]

YET ANOTHER long and obnoxious stream of my thoughts while watching greys anatomy for the first time (SEASON EIGHTEEN bc i’m nearly caught up!)

-i don’t like teddy and owen getting married but teddy looks really cute

-why did it take me a ridiculously long time to remember who the fuck nick marsh is

-why would he ask her to marry him a THIRD time after her second no

-this is a really interesting storyline about the racial assumptions still being the bases of some diagnostic formulas. i remember a science teacher in middle or high school trying to tell us that black people have less nerve endings which is such an insidious myth

-i don’t know how i feel about blonde jo you guys. it’s a little disconcerting. like when ur a little kid and your dad shaves his beard for the first time and it makes you cry

-i like that the show gradually got a lot more queer over time

-“she’s like my sister. you’re like my sister” IS IT ADDISON? IS ADDISON COMJNV ???? my love

-i’ll forgive the cheesy dialogue bc she looks great

-ik it’s a logistics thing with the actors but it would make a lot of sense if jake was here working on uterine transplants too considering he was really interested in it when he was introduced in PP. like, i feel like it would just make a lot of sense for this clinical trial to be a joint endeavor, especially considering he’s the fertility specialist

-addie’s scrub cap!!!

-while i’m at it, i really wish we’d gotten addison scenes or mention when derek died. this elevator scene is great and i love it but i think it’s often minimized how big of a part addison played in his AND amelia’s lives. like obviously i get it. it would be weird to bring up your brothers ex wife in front of his grieving widow but in my head i think addison could have really been there for amelia because they could have shared memories that meredith wasn’t there for. and at the time meredith had no interest in grieving with amelia. like, they were together for a decade and a half. just because they’re no longer married doesn’t mean that death wouldn’t have hit hard. especially because mark is gone too.

-“there was tension” yeah and they should kiss about it

-they forgot how to write addison a little bit. also the convo with amelia feels really ooc. i get it���s showing how the pandemic fucked with everybody’s mental health but “truly hate” is a bit much and …. “i hate that for you” ???????? what

-my bestie tom looks good with a little gray in his hair

-ooh! meredith is in her kicky heeled boots era. love it

-i really like maggie’s hair this season

-bailey’s timeline is so fucking confusing. she was still a resident in seasons four and five (which span one year) which means she must have only been a fourth year in seasons 1-3 (also one year). yet she’s seen having way more authority and autonomy than any other class of residents had at her level. and she’s always going on and on about how she’s responsible for shaping and teaching meredith and her year of residents… which yeah sure but not in a very large capacity until maybe later on bc she was only a fourth year resident when they met. i’m so lost.

-i’m getting a little tired of the random car crashes you guys

-i’m not invested in link/amelia tbh but jo/link doesn’t interest me at all. none of the relationships are interesting rn

-oh my god this scene with all the blood and the waterfall on the podcast is so unsettling. there’s no way they’re going to continue the webber method after this

-i know it’s not going to happen and i know this makes me sound like a horrible person but god i would love it if hayes left and owen died in this car rn

-OH MY GOD OWEN TOTALLY KILLED THAT GUY AND HE TOLD HAYES BC HE THOUGHT HE WAS GONNA DIE, RIGHT? is that what they’re hinting at with hayes bringing up mercy killings to meredith? bc that would make this boring episode interesting to me

-link has a right to be upset but he’s pissing me off. he’s rewriting history and hasn’t been listening to amelia at all since the initial proposal

-didn’t they used to do m&m s in a much bigger lecture hall?

-i think the show was not necessarily less cheesy and melodramatic in season one but i will say that the cheesiness and melodrama was much more fun when everyone had flip phones and they were playing tegan & sara and the script in the background. not to mention everything is far too well lit and high def now it makes their bad choices look less sexy.

-now that farouk is older he looks really familiar. i’m trying to figure out what else i’ve seen him in

-“she’s ruined every good thing in my life” i feel for link, i really do, but i am so done with his whining.

-little ellis looks SO MUCH like ellis senior it’s insane. a+ casting

-owen sucks (x9)

-i was just reminded of that time in the earlier seasons when teddy and cristina’s patient wanted physician assisted suicide or something and owen got all weird and angry about it and overstepped a bunch. and now look at what he did. huh

-bailey needs to take several hundred seats

-addison looks so good !!!!!!!!

-do you guys remember a couple of seasons ago when jackson wasn’t gonna do that new bottom surgery for the trans woman and catherine yelled down the hallway “jackson avery!! i thought you were woke!!” ? that’s me rn but with teddy.

-am i supposed to like link??? is it an unpopular opinion that i don’t

-i feel like kai doesn’t vibe with kids and i think they should be up front about it before things get more serious

-i would play boggle with teddy :(

-ooh they’re using songs from the early seasons’ soundtrack

-let her LEAVE!!! why is nobody else taking any responsibility for the state of things. this in no way should fall on meredith’s shoulders. bailey especially! i get that she’s stretched too thin but that’s part of the problem.

[thatiranianphantom]

No, but it really is going to be okay, a rambly Nancy Drew/Nace meta

I'm just closing my eyes and picturing this:

I feel like you can sum up my thoughts on 412 as this:

But should you be in the mood for a brain dump (hopefully a reassuring one?), click that cut, my friend.

Okay, let's get some disclaimers out of the way to begin with.

I only read the subtitles, and watched certain parts, didn't see the entire episode. So there could very well be nuance here that I am missing.

I, too, am frustrated with how this season has shook out. Being disappointed that they are literally leaving things to the finale is valid. I would never have done the season like this given the chance. And being let down by that is okay! Goddamn, there was a lot of lobster boy in this season, and they, as of now, inexplicably expected the viewers to be emotionally invested in him?

I could end up being the world's biggest clown, and be 100% wrong on everything, or again, there is nuance here I didn't see or consider, leading to me being wrong. I am accepting that as a real possibility.

HOWEVER,

Here is what (to my understanding) the show would like me to believe:

Due to something maybe involving the pickled curse, Ace had to choose to save Captain Thom or the captain Alice, and he saved Thom but couldn't save Alice. Captain Thom and Ace are alive and do not remember, and yet Alice is still dead.

Ace was riddled with guilt and called Nancy, who on her own, erased this, mooting the conversation we saw in 408. This only erased the memory of the sin, not the sin itself. Nancy didn't undo the sin, she just erased the memory. We know this, because Alice is still dead.

Ace and Nancy are no different in 408 than they were in 409, the only thing that changed is the events of the night of 408, which they do not remember, thus it wouldn't have altered their behaviour.

George, Nick, Bess and all of the crew were unaffected, memories and behaviour wise, by anything that happened. There is nothing supernatural coming between Ace and Bess, nothing that is making Nick push Nancy towards Tristan, nothing that is making Bess and George particularly close.

The Nancy of 409-411, the one who referred to Ace as a "relationship" and her "ex", is no different from the Nancy of before 408, who was pining hard over Ace. Again, the only thing that changed, neither of them remembered.

Ace and Nancy are cold and bitter to each other in a way they've never been in 4 seasons. He didn't want her at the Seder, so much to the point that Bess panics when she shows up, despite inviting both her dads and her dad's girlfriend. And yet that relationship, which, again, is portrayed quite differently in 409-411 than before, is enough for Nancy to abandon the entirety of her morals and belief system to save and protect Ace. Instantly.

Nancy and Ace have some memory of being something to each other, enough for them to acknowledge them both not having moved on, but the actual interactions they are referring to are and have been extremely vague since 409.

Ace, the person who knows Nancy better than anyone, is attached enough to a ghost that he will yell at Nancy repeatedly and ask her why she has to solve something. A ghost he met what was canonically probably no more than a few days ago.

Tristan, who has been in 5 episodes, and the ghost, who has been in 3, are just as significant as love interests as the 4-season buildup to Nace.

George is moving away from Horseshoe Bay, and completely supports Nick's relationship with Jade (this one may be real, but my Fanson heart doesn't want it to be).

Very little from early on in the season connects to later in the season in a significant way.

The connection Nancy and Tristan have (a relationship 5 episodes in the making) is stronger than the connection she feels to Ace (a relationship 4 seasons in the making).

Look. LOOK. Look.

Maybe some of this is true. Maybe indeed, Nancy and Ace have truly just moved on, they are different people, they are interested in different people. Maybe platanchors can't platanchor forever, and they truly did intend to do away with 4 seasons of character development (How very HIMYM of them).

But in Nancy Drew, a show that nearly always lays out its mysteries with explicit, agonizing detail, and centers itself around the fundamental concept of love being the most powerful thing in the world, capable of spanning time and space, that is a lot to ask me to swallow at face value. All of this together makes very little sense, given what we've seen, not only in the past season but the past year.

And these are a few things that I find, at best, extremely fishy about the whole affair.

Why hasn't Nace or anyone mentioned the curse since 407? Nick is pushing Nancy to Tristan despite having a despondent Ace grieving over Nancy at his doorstep two episodes ago?

How am I expected to buy that between 408 and 409, Nancy and Ace just up and moved on, decided they were nothing to each other, and jumped right in with their whole asses to their love interests, if the sin that was erased only changed the events of one night, which until now, neither remember (and Ace still doesn't). The fights also really seemed to show that what they remember and what we, the audience, saw, is fundamentally different.

The mystery seems so lackluster. I don't know how to explain it except that the writing on the mystery seems so lazy in a way it never has before, unless there was a twist that upends the entire thing that they've been laying hints for this entire time. I believe we still don't know what started the fire in the first place. We know that in order for the Sin Eater to erase a sin, you have to pay a toll. What if the toll was Nancy and Ace forgetting what they were and Nancy being bound to the Sin Eater? That would explain both the forgetting and the connection with Tristan. We still don't know what Chief Lovett and Nashua's connections are. Via Kennedy, we still don't know Tristan's full importance.

The ND writers are very well aware of what the fandom wants. They are extremely interactive with the fandom. The writers are still talking to the fandom. I just have so much trouble envisioning a scenario where they essentially say "lol just kidding on that nace thing, enjoy the chronicles of nancy and lobster boy" in the penultimate episode, unless there is a twist we weren't expecting that brings the whole thing back to Nace.

Openly admitting this is thinner and more subjective, but I feel like Kennedy has been about as reassuring as she is allowed to be, the writers have been tweeting things like "there is nothing to be afraid of", and this episode has been described as setting the bases for 413's home run (or something to that effect, I don't sportsball).

It almost seems like they want us to take this at face value, to set it up for the Nace twist at the end. ND loves its ending twists.

And all of this (so close to shutting up I promise) brings me to the 413 description.

Few things here. While it is possible that Nancy figuring out the sin she erased was the "most shocking discovery yet" I have some...pretty severe doubts. And if it wasn't, we haven't gotten to that revelation yet. And we know based on this description that this revelation has something to do with Ace. Again, it is possible that this is Nancy finding out about her sin, but it almost feels like that's been dealt with in 412? Are they going to...rehash it again in 413? I doubt it. This lends a lot of credence to my theory that there is a twist yet to be had. One that will bring us epically back around to Nace.

Now, could I be wrong about all of this? Maybe. I haven't seen the finale, I am but a clown on the internet. And again it is valid to be disappointed in the way the show has chosen to approach this. I do think there is a conversation to be had about the somewhat aggressive way we consume media, especially when given access to artists via social media, but that is an entirely separate conversation. But do I think Nace is over and done for good and we should just give up now? All I can say is

[alexhornefan]

Taskmaster Series 17, Episode 1- A few random thoughts about the episode and the contestants. Spoilers within.

A good first episode and I really enjoyed everyone. Nobody stood out more than any of the others, IMO, I thought they all seemed really good, really fun and a great bunch.

Joanne was a really competant and possibly overlooked (by me, as I don't know most of these people) contestant. I thought based off of her interview with Alex that she was going to be a disaster, but she was nowhere near as bad as I thought she might be. Although it's still early days and sometimes we get those episodes where they just start to dive.

John had a real Ed Gamble vibe for me. Wants to win in that competitive way. I can see him losing his shit and arguing about points with Greg but he was fairly really strong in this first episode as well as Joanne and Steve. I also think people expect him to do well so it'll be interesting to see if he maintains that high level or if he starts to get in his own way.

Nick I thought was really fun. I wondered if he'd do any character stuff considering he was dressed as Dracula but insane costume aside, he was just really fun, had a great vibe not taking anything too seriously and just going for it. I think he's going to be great fun and someone who isn't going to take points and winning seriously.

Sophie was absolute chaos in this first episode but in the best way and I think it's maybe not how she'll be all series, she maybe just had a couple of stinkers in this one, sadly. She was also great, I laughed so much at her in the river although I felt bad but it was also classic TM. I don't think she's someone I'd even think as a contender to win but she's going to be amazing.

Steve is someone who is going to be the one to beat. I think he has the respect of Greg, which always helps, so Greg could favour him if it's on Greg to decide. He's also very sharp in how TM works and to look out for certain things, like the tie at the end of the episode. He's clearly creative as well so a big threat to John and Joanne. Oh, and the puns from Steve are great. Clearly it's something Alex is going to love and it will grate on Greg throughout.

Seems I've already written-off Nick and Sophie but I hope they have an episode win or two along the way.

I think any of these three could be winners at this point but I'd say most likely John or Steve.

As for the episode itself, I thought it was a good selection of tasks.

The prize task was okay. It's probably my least favourite part of the show, if I had to pick something, but it's not awful. I thought Steve earned the 5 points though. The first task with the egg I enjoyed mostly but I thought the editing of John's was a little naff and with everyone else DQ'd except Joanne, it still wasn't worthy of 5 points. I didn't even think the task came across dangerous to the egg either. I thought the danger to the egg was more pronounced in Joanne's task personally, but it's not a decision that annoys me.

The team task was a little bit overly complicated I think. The whole list of where the pictures are going to be with the two-word limit made it a bit too hard, I think. But the task itself was kept short and the reveals were fun. The teams also seem pretty good.

Last recorded task with Gary was also good. Fairly simple premise and I loved the waders being on the scarecrow that everyone looked at. I had no idea, lol!

I thought the studio task was fun and they all did great in that task as well.