#with not practical application irl

[animentality]

I know hunger games is good, I just can't put myself through a sad dark dystopian world where things are sad and dark and suck and everyone hates each other and everyone dies.

Like I could watch the news...

[fairydustskies]

what drives me crazy about the dating advice online is that so much of it is so personal and circunstancial but it’s sold as if it’s a universal truth and as if everyone operates the same exact way when it really negates so much nuance and individuality

[itsabouttimex2]

any lmk ideas you wish were touched on more often in fanfic??

Underused LMK Premises

Oh so many dude you don’t even understand-

1. Courtnapping as a legitimately bad thing. Not “ooh it’s romantic for demons” or “it’s just part of their culture” or “it’s proof of how much they love you” but like… a portrayal of courtnapping that actually demonstrates how viscerally dehumanizing it is to be stolen away by someone you might not even know and treated like a prize who can be won with the right application of charm or power.

(Like I’ve used it I think only once before and pretty much stopped at the “this is what demons do in general thing, but the potential for varied application is just… so high.)

Especially for mortals- imagine being bruised and battered from a long period spent unconsciously slung over someone’s shoulder or under their arm, strewn over a lounge chair or tied up in front of the kitchen table, seething. Eyes focused and hateful, knowing that this would happen eventually if they let down their guard or let a demon too close. It doesn’t matter how the monster peacocks about with that tome or this battleaxe, it’s not attractive, it’s not sexy,- and nothing can steal the feeling of violation that settles in over having been stolen from home in your sleep so you could get an extended IRL version of “I showed you my dick please go out with me” from a thirteen foot demon who is more interested in wooing you than actually wanting you.

Or just… old demons who mumble and huff about “losing their traditions” or “young demons going soft” as they look at woven tapestries in their homes, proud depictions of past conquests standing frozen in time, unaware that their great-great-grandson would lose his newest baby to a hysteric mortal’s iron-toed boot, wild with unforeseen hormones brought on by demonic birth, unaware that his youngest granddaughter would face a life of misery as she grew up, constantly stolen back and forth by two demons as part of a glorified pissing contest, both more interested in one-upping each other than the sapient being they steal from her room each night.

Young demons secretly taught by the last crotchety stalwarts of an old generation that “What you want is yours to take, if you can take it,” before their parents can snatch them away from great-great-great-grandfather and hurry off, praying their little one is too young to understand what was said. Growing demons brought up with those horrid words rattling their horned skulls, heeding and obeying them, then wondering why their dearest friends snap and crack as they’re “spirited away”. Grown demons who come up lonely and tired, seeing their diminishing race in a world flourishing with soft little mortals and wondering spitefully “Why did we ever stop conquering”, only learning the answer at the blunt end of a glowing golden staff when their time is near, the finishing blow timed to the cheers of their captives.

(If I ever write a satire fic, it will 100% be about a Y/N who gets isekai-ed into LMK, but instead of any of the cool or attractive protagonists, they get courtnapped by a crusty-handed, balding and portly demon who doesn’t practice hygiene or housecare. Just to put into perspective how actually awful the whole “I’m being kidnapped as a spouse” thing would probably really be if it wasn’t your attractive, young, in-shape, washes regularly blorbo doing the snatching.)

2. With this, demons just… not understanding mortals. Not for lack of trying, and not for lack of wanting, but through simple psychological incompatibility.

Demons struggling with empathy toward mortals because their minds are shaped by instincts that value strength, endurance, and survival of the fittest. Emotions that seem obvious to humans, like fear, discomfort, or sorrow simply not registering for demons in the same way. They see these reactions, but interpret them through their own lens, often believing that mortals are playing games or faking them or maybe outright performing.

Communal demons in broad daylight snatching up children for hours or days, only to return them with scars and bloodshot eyes, and wondering why they receive no gratitude for, in their opinion “taking up parental duties” without so much as being asked. After all, isn’t a little bit of “toughening up” good for children?

Demons who don’t understand “allergies”, especially when they range from “mild cough” to “near-instant death” and maybe misunderstand how epi-pens work- “Is stabbing the flesh a way to bleed the illness”, asks an curious demon with ancient eyes, worn hands, ragged skin, “and will any weapon do?”

Demons who become artists that need calligraphy tools so large they get mistaken for weapons. Demons who don’t understand tipping culture and assume they’re being fleeced. Demons who need custom chairs and custom clothes and custom bedding. Demons who pick fights on behalf of their friends and coworkers, and then to combat this, demons who get hired on as protection against “honor battles”.

Demons being demons, not just immortal humans.

3. Characters with variable ages that widely differ- like, I’ve gone on here and there about my view on ambiguous ages for characters and why I love that trope so much and how it makes a series infinitely more attractive to larger crowds and audiences than a concrete “14” or “23” or “46”, you know? And the fact that MK and Mei and Red Son could be sooo many different ages all in different configurations is super interesting to me!

Like, imagine- Adult!Red Son with Teen!Mei and Teen!MK, having an absolute full-throttle meltdown when he realizes that the two upstart semi-mortals who keep beating his demonic ass are teenagers. Red Son being both mortified at his continuous defeats and furious at these children’s parents for allowing them to fight in such high stakes.

And then with that slowly growing sense of pity and anger he just scoffs and shakes his head the one time they maybe aren’t in such high spirits (drenched from rain and wind and exhausted from the vigor of battle) and whisks them off to his family’s lair, throwing a demon-sized towel for them to share as he whips up something spicy for the kids.

Children.

They’re children.

He goes home and thinks on that, and then decides that maybe he just doesn’t want to fight them anymore.

Red Son then being reverse adopted by Pigsy + Mr. and Mrs. Dragon because, hey, if he’s playing big brother, might as well let him. Then Red gets to learn what (mostly) healthy family dynamics are through direct interaction and then hold his parents to those standards and basically everyone heals together.

Or hey, Red Son being a teenager while MK and Mei are adults! The two heroes doting on this ever-furious demon with treats and drinks to “cheer him up” after his frequent losses and kinda… accidentally teaching him what unconditional kindness is by becoming surrogate older siblings to the kid.

Red Son freaking out because his parents are going to be mad about this loss or that failure, and

(Red Son getting a phone call in the middle of a fight because PIF is mad he didn’t take out the trash lmao)

4. Y/N being protective of Sun Wukong.

Man, I don’t know if it’s just me but I don’t touch most romantic Shadowpeach x Y/N fanfics at all because I know I’m in for more of the same “Macaque legitimately being an awful person to someone he’s sharing a mate with/to one of his two mates and Y/N thinks it’s funny/doesn’t care” and just like… dude.

Like I know I’ve talked about how much I hate Fanon!Macaque, the simpering sadsack who only exists to get babied and patted on the ass, all his actions whitewashed and cooed over, so like, obviously I wasn’t gonna be a fan of this.

Maybe I’m just not the target audience here but like holy shit… why? It’s never portrayed as unhealthy or anything more than a silly goofy thing that Macaque is constantly tormenting someone he either is supposed to love or share a lover with, and the reader in regard to that mistreatment is little more a drooling dumbfuck without enough braincells to breath through their nose.

I don’t get it. A Y/N who says “Teehee my mate is being abused ‘oh noes’ but Maccy needs cuddles so I’ll disregard one half of my relationship~” is not a Y/N I care about, and I don’t see what’s so compelling about neglect and mistreatment portrayed as the order of the day. I don’t see the merit in “I’m Y/N, and I’m stupid and blind to abuse!”

Cause I think it’s so much more interesting if it’s like…

“Do that again and you’re out.”

And Macaque whips around in shock, looking up from the shadow portal he just shoved Wukong into. “Excuse me-“

“Do that again,” you repeat, voice low and tense- Wukong would be fine, you were more angry than worried-, “and you’re out. Gone. Out of my house and out of my life.”

“I wasn’t-“

“I don’t give a fuck, Macaque! You will not MISTREAT my mate in my own house!”

“I- it’s not- I don’t-“

“I DON’T FUCKING CARE! HE’S NOT A FUCKING PUNCHING BAG, SO I’M NOT LETTING YOU TREAT HIM LIKE ONE!”

You know, a scenario where Y/N isn’t a passive enabler of abuse and bullying, and they actually have a voice of their own outside of “Teehee Mac you’re sooooo mean to my lover but I’m totally okay with that for some reason!~” but also gives Macaque explicit instruction on what he needs to do in order to better the relationship (ex: not abuse their other mate), in which they aren’t stupid or unforgiving and all three can grow together, instead of the usual: “Macaque isn’t ever a bad person. But when he is it’s not a big deal. But when it is his victims “deserve” it.”

5. Transhuman identities and abilities. I mean, just… there’s shapeshifting and magical artifacts and all manner of mystic trinket in the world. Does being gay or trans really matter when anyone can learn the 72 Transformations and become what they wish? Is it any bigger a deal than your child deciding they’re going to live life as a dog, or a demon? Are there potions to make these transformations permanent? Can a person become a demon, instead of transforming into one?

Does being immortal fuck with your taxes? Does knowing magic fuck with your insurance? Does your family look at you differently after you’ve tasted that ambrosial nectar, consumed that slice of eternity? Do they fear or long for a taste? Does your grandmother refuse to come to your wedding, ashamed that you would “break yourself from the cycle”? Does your mother cry into her hands that you wed a demon? Do you run to an old monastery to elope, wed by an old monk with ancient eyes because no other soul will officiate you and that demon? Will you be welcome in the celestial realm if you wed a heavenly soldier? If you take the hand of a god? What will you have you learn? How long until you feel at “home”?

Just… humans getting into mystical trouble outside of battles.

(If anyone else has some stuff they’d wish was expanded on more often, feel free to add on in the comments or reblogs!)

[velvetures]

omg I luv ur writing!!! is it possible to get a story thats like, ghost (or whomever) is stretching and training together but there’s alotttt of sexual tension, and ghost ends up hard and they notice it bc of the position they’re in? (Like he’s restraining reader and his bulge is right in their face😭)

Tension

A/N: I went kinda wild with this one... please excuse my filth. :)

Summary: You've always driven Ghost just short of losing his self-control. Some peeping, close combat training, and seeing you do yoga eventually snaps the fine line warding off the Lieutenant.

T/W's: NS/FW 18+ ONLY, fem reader, rough sex, overstimulation, tension, inappropriate horniness, p-in-v sex, unprotected sex/creampie (don't do that IRL), fingering, multiple orgasms, standing missionary?, a hint of rushed consent, big feelings, manhandling ofc, and I don't proofread well.

Ghost had watched your late-night training routine many times. A bit of a jog to get warmed up, some plyometrics on one of the mats, and then some light weights. It would leave you in a glittering sheen of sweat under the dim lights; jewel-encrusted as you’d wait until the last hour of your workout to pull out headphones and start doing yoga.

After looking up some of the things you did, the Lieutenant knew enough about it to understand that it wasn’t just some bullshit thing you felt worked. It held some actual merit on plenty of applicable skills. And fuck did you make it look good. From the simple stuff like laying on your back and just breathing, to the more mind-bending positions like the *Sirsa Padasana -*one of those Ghost needed to know the name of- after watching you stay almost entirely still like that for five minutes. He’d seen a lot of the different ways soldiers practiced not only strengthening their bodies but their minds while training. And the way you spent so much time in yoga practice… he felt like there wasn’t any question as to how you had such control over yourself in the field.

In the beginning, Ghost found himself unable to interrupt your… sessions? for the unfounded reason that his presence huffing and groaning while running or lifting would interrupt whatever silence or isolation you preferred. At least, the silence he assumed you wanted since he never saw you in the gym when the sun was still visible. Instead, he’d just come to the edge of the windows and peek to see if you were still there; Deciding how close you were to finishing up before going back to his quarters and waiting until he heard the sounds of your footsteps walking past his door. But he’d been caught after a while.

And it opened up and entirely different kind of training that Ghost wasn’t prepared for.

You had been more than happy to share the gym with him, almost begging that he join since you never had “company” this late at night. Not that his “company” was much more than his body just being in the same room, but it never failed him to see just how utterly calm you were at the thought of him lingering around you. Most people flinched or shied away, but you never did, and even when you twisted yourself into the most ridiculous looking shapes and put yourself into vulnerable positions, it didn’t effect you at all that he could walk right by you or possibly be watching.

He was always watching.

It made hand-to-hand combat drills more interesting too.

Gaz had been partnered up with you initially, seeing as he could be the most patient and actually give you clear pointers without sounding too harsh. He’d been quite happy with your progress over the span of a few months, and quickly gave Ghost a task that became his most challenging mission to date. Teaching you how to fight without losing his own mind being that fucking close to you for nearly two hours multiple times a week. As if personally viewing your workouts late at night wasn’t bad enough, he actually got to feel just how much the yoga strengthened you when he had to grapple your little body and try to pin you down. Teaching you to block fists without seeing them coming, locking knees with opponents three-times your size, avoiding handcuffs, knives, and other non-projection weapons came with a cost.

Ghost wouldn’t really be focused on your techniques or reaction time nearly as much as he’d be concerned about the way your hips ended up flush with his, or just how easy it was for him to just slip one arm between your thighs and effortlessly manhandle you onto the mats. It was hard keeping a clear head when you just made fighting feel a lot more like aggressive foreplay. Hell, you sounded a lot more like you were being fucked too. Nothing but little grunts and groans when he’d secure one arm behind your back, or little pants as you fought off his punches and forward drives to kick one of your feet out from under you. s

“Don’t let me holding anything in your house I your legs,” He felt himself growling out the order as you fought underneath him to pull your legs free from between his thighs.

“If I pin you, you’re dead.” The words were harsh… and it’s why everyone thought Gaz would be a better fit.

But that hadn’t been enough, and now here he was, half-sweating and half-hard, trying to make sure his cock didn’t brush up against you long enough for you to notice that you were playing more than just one game with him. While your strength didn’t match his own, it was your flexibility that made you competent enough to have even been thought to be put into a spar with him. You could twist yourself up and out of spaces most grown men would never think about, and it did give Ghost a bit more challenge trying to combat how hand-placements knowing you were about as slippery as fucking water. And without attempting a conventional tactic, you’d gotten yourself free of his legs and wrapped back around his back with one leg and an arm pulled in a headlock.

Ghost gave a frustrated sigh, feeling his air supply being hindered but not actually cut off. You’d misjudged his windpipe -probably due to the mask- and tightened down less than an inch away from perfect. It was a good counter move, but not lethal. And that was unacceptable. Hardly any force was needed to pry your arms from around your leg and literally throw you belly-down onto the mat, both arms pulled tight behind your back with his legs pinning yours down securely. You wiggled and jerked against him, ass brushing the base of his ever-present erection, and it forced him to let you go. For nothing more than the safety of his own pride and insurance that you would go another day without your Lieutenant’s perverse thoughts becoming known.

“I thought I had you that time,” You pant, coming up to sit on your knees across from him with a frustrated look pinching your eyebrows. “What did I do wrong?”

He had to give you credit, you were so damn teachable. Always asking questions and stopping in the middle of a fight to expect some kind of explanation instead of just learning through trial and error. Naturally, he’d been partial to ignoring you at first but when you wouldn’t engage after asking a question until he said something, he realized that there was no use. So, he did what he could do best. Teach by example.

Slow… example.

“Come here,” You got back up to your socked feet and walked right up to him, sweat clinging to the tip of your nose and dripping down the side of your neck. He had the insatiable urge to rip his mask up and lick that bead from your collarbone to the pulse point jumping under your skin.

With one hand he turned you around, your shoulders tight to his upper stomach and placed his forearm against your throat in the same way you’d done just a moment ago. It made things hard since his arm hardly fit in the gap to begin with, but he could feel you swallow easily, letting him know he’d found the correct angle.

“Your arm hit off to the side,” He tightened down just a little, feeling your body tense up as he began putting pressure over you. “When it should’ve been straight.” With the smallest adjustment, his left hand palmed the top of your head, holding you still while the bulk of his muscled, right forearm pressed flush against the right side of your throat, and his massive bicep flexing to apply pressure to the other side; forcing a hissing sound from your mouth.

Your little hands came up to grip his arms, not exactly pulling him away or fighting the pressure. Both hands curling around his And while he knew he shouldn’t actively be testing just how long you could go before passing out, Ghost found himself waiting patiently just to see what would happen under the stress. There for a split second, your muscles suddenly went slack and he honestly thought you’d already lost enough oxygen to faint. But when your fingers still pressing against the veins in his arm started slowly moving in a little wave of tapping motions, he was proved wrong.

Right away he remembered seeing you do it before. In the times your yoga practice was a little less than comfortable or you were actively trying to push yourself further than you’d gone before. Something like a little tell, or coping mechanism that allowed you to focus without exerting too much energy to something else outside of the main stimulus. Another little thing you did that Ghost found so much more interesting and downright strange about you. How clever you were doing things differently than everyone else.

“Alright, enough,” He let go and pushed his hand in the gap of your shoulders to put some pace between you.

You stumbled forwards, taking a gasp of breath and turning around to Ghost with a heavy flush settling in your cheeks and a bloodshot tint in the whites of your eyes. You brought a hand up to your neck where a faint outline of his own arm had pressed into you, your fingertips tracing the outline with a little bit of an embarrassed smile on your face.

“Any reason you didn’t fight back?” He questioned, flattening out his tone and looking at you with a pointed glare.

You shrug, looking down at the floor for a moment. “I… was trying to feel it. The pressure I mean, and see if I could resist you.”

Ghost rolled his eyes, trying to keep from barking out a laugh. He’d not even used his actual strength to apply pressure. It was nothing more than the literal bulk of his arm just fit against your throat. Hearing you think otherwise gave the Lieutenant a deep stroke to his ego, even giving his half-hard cock a good wave of stimulation as well. He couldn’t find it in himself to not give you correction though.

“You couldn’t resist it, kid.”

“Excuse me?” The offense you took surprised him. Ghost took a couple steps closer to you, settling his hands on his hips.

“You. Couldn’t. Stop. Me.” He punctuated his words with a flat, and uninterested tone to mask the sudden intrigue he had after actually managing to keep the thundering beat of his heart under control.

You, with your calm demeanor. Patience beyond humanity. Body from his own wet dreams… A better man would’ve known how to stay away from you and ignore the desires to bend you to his own will. A good man would be like Gaz. Train you with only your best interests in mind. Develop your weaknesses without thinking of all the ways he could use them against you in the most twisted and deprived ways. Learn your body and train it to be even more dangerous than it already was. Not spend every second during sparring using it as an opportunity to have you under him or wrapped up in his arms so tight you couldn’t get away.

“Looks like you can’t stop yourself, L.T.,” You answer with a confidence and direct stare directly at his belt.

The remembrance of his cock straining against his pants became much more significant that his own comfort and control in that moment. Halting all thoughts aside from the way your eyes swirled with unspoken questions and plenty of ideas forming that Ghost didn’t nearly have the ability to respond to. A cold rush of panic spread through his body, and he immediately turned his back to you, spitting out some kind of dismissal as soon as her could manage it.

“We’re done today, go get cleaned up.”

Later that day, you’d not seen a single glimpse of Ghost. You’d not really meant anything mean by the mention of his… excitement, while training. It was understandable, seeing as you’d both been quite close and in very vulnerable positions that could easily skew anyones mind past the straight and narrow. You’d be lying if there weren’t times that you thought about the different ways your body could be really manhandled by your Lieutenant. He was undeniably attractive with his gruff voice and often bitter character. It made Ghost who you knew, and while you knew most people wouldn’t understand, you felt comfortable and safe around him.

Even when you felt his erection pressing against you while teaching you how to defend yourself in close combat. That whole ordeal was in the forefront of your mind in such a significant way that even Soap noticed it while you were putting together some dinner for the pair of you. Nothing special, just some pasta and chicken, but you’d nearly boiled over the pot of spaghetti twice now, and the Sergeant wasn’t so oblivious to not notice.

“You good?” He nudged you, taking the spoon from your hand and scooting you out of the way politely as to take over the cooking while you had such a hard time focusing. You’re slow to respond, still a little stuck trying to sort through your own feelings and the attempts to sort through what had happened, if it was your fault, and how in hell you were going to try and make an apology for overstepping bounds.

“Um… I have a question,” You speak up, wrapping your arms around yourself and watching Soap stir the chicken in the skillet.

“If you were sparring with a girl… and you got hard, does that mean you’re into her?”

You felt like a high school girl gossiping with her friends about how to tell if guys were crushing on you. Such a stupid question would’ve gotten you in a lot of trouble if you’d asked anyone other than Soap. Johnny looks over at you, a smirk on his face and his eyes alight with mischief. He turns around and leans against the counter with his lower back resting there causally, glancing around the kitchen and living area to see if anyone was around before answering you.

“Well lass, I can’t be sure of nothin’ more than theory…” He rubs a hand over the short and scratchy stubble growing out on his cheek. “But, if I really liked her, yeah… I’d probably get a little excited doin’ somethin’ like that.”

The topic falls into a somewhat comfortable silence after that; Allowing you to eat you dinner on the couch, stewing over not just the sight of Ghost standing right in front of you, obviously turned on in some way or another as well as Soap’s -unknowing- confirmation. Therefore by the end of your pasta, after a long stint of attempting to read a book, and debating if you’d just fucked up a very important relationship within your squad, you found yourself getting changed into some comfortable clothes and heading back down to the gym.

You didn’t bother warming up with a jog, or any real kind of strength training. You needed some kind of way to focus, and yoga was the only surefire way to shut out any other thoughts. There was just enough dedication required to work through poses correctly, that after less than ten minutes of gentle flow you’d lost a lot of the edge cutting into your peace of mind over Ghost. You’d been working on extending your ability to remain in Kapila pose, and got almost two minutes over your record when you heard the door to the gym snick open, followed by heavy footsteps walking past you towards the weight rack.

It was nearly one in the morning. No one looked for a hard workout this late night other than your Lieutenant, and he was the last person you wanted to face right now. Fuck… he was the whole reason you were pushing your limits right now, nearly reaching into the painful edge of stretches just to force your breathing and mind onto the center of balance and exertion. With your face mere inches away from the ground, sweat drips off your nose onto the mat you’re sitting on and makes a quarter-sized puddle by the time you’ve finally felt like you’ve held to pose long enough. Your flow lead you into Compass pose next, beginning the opposite leg and physically guiding yourself into a position meant for nothing more than to release tension lingering in your body. It takes a while to feel your joints and tendons finally giving up to the stress in your mind, making the hold on your foot behind your head more manageable.

It’s around that time you begin hearing the sounds of squat plates clacking against each other alongside the rich and room-filling sounds of Ghost’s quiet grunts and groans. Resisting the strong desire to imagine what his legs look like, flexing under the weight of the bar. Using massive thighs and such explosive power to push the multiple hundred pounds he’s holding over his shoulders over twenty times for racking the weight. It’s all in the sounds you can’t ignore due to forgetting your headphones. Damning you to an onslaught of delicious sounds that would’ve fell on deaf ears anywhere else on base. Overshadowing the tinges of pain in your body with the commanding nature of the Lieutenant even when he wasn’t seeking it out.

You spent nearly an entire half hour trying not to put too much weight on Ghost’s presence, working at this point just to get through your flow without drawing too much attention to yourself, or giving any reason for Ghost to say anything to you. You’d not prepared anything in the way of an apology, and you couldn’t begin to formulate one with clanking metal and his suggestive sounds filling your ears. Maddening… downright sinful in nature. Enough to make any woman squirm. And fuck were you utterly terrified that you’d chosen to wear such light colored grey leggings, because if you’d move in just the right way, the dampness growing there would be painfully obvious.

In a headstand, choosing it for nothing more than your confidence in it, you’d closed your eyes and started tapping on the mat with your fingers. Picturing your own spine and tying a string to it, using that thin string to draw your vertebrae straight and tall, lengthening your entire body and deepening your breaths. You nearly fell flat on your face when you feel fingers graze the back of your knee and tease over your calf. The wiggle in your concentration stacks your weight over your head and forearms on the floor and pitches you towards the ground.

Right away, an arm wraps around your hips and swipes you off your own control and kept you from falling to the ground. Instead of hitting your mat or the concrete you had your eyes on, you feel nothing short of muscle and stocky build pressed against the entire backside of your body as Ghost holds you upside down not unlike a sack of flour or a sniper rifle. The back of your head hits against his lower leg and you grunt a little, taken by surprise and once again finding yourself at the mercy of Ghost’s strength alone. You’re about to speak up, and are cut short by the Lieutenant literally spinning you right-side up with his free arm, holding you eye-level with him.

“Distracted?” His eyebrow raises above the cut out of his -much thinner- almost athletic mask missing the trademark skull painted on it. His hand palming your ass felt like it was branding the skin under your leggings, leaving you speechless and hanging on nothing more than the sounds of his breaths hissing through the mask.

“You… you spooked me,” You mutter, one hand bracing on his shoulder and the other somewhere on his chest… you couldn’t quite gather enough spacial awareness to connect the dots. “Made me jump is all.”

Ghost chuckled, “Spooked you?” Even his tone was mocking of the ridiculous idea you knew was so full of holes, it wouldn’t hold water. “Touching you s’enough?”

Looking down at your body pressed against his; the direct contrast of your cream colored knit sweater and his tight-fitting black shirt, the embarrassingly long distance between your feet and the floor. Everything about this meeting with Ghost was so far different than when you met on level ground in the sparring room. Then, you both knew the intentions. How to work around each other and how to go about pushing the right buttons. But now… you weren’t even close to feeling like having any power, and you were certain that the Lieutenant could feel it radiating off of you.

“Maybe it is.” Replying back, you feel his fingers dig a little into the flesh of your ass a little harder.

“Maybe its not what I’ve done that’s bothering you… but what you’ve been thinking about,” He challenged you back, looking over at the mat you’d been using. “Why you came here, pushing so hard… Ignoring me.”

All the air in your lungs evacuated when he so accurately saw right through your skull and into the deep recesses of your head. Enough that you were nodding your head just enough for Ghost to let out something of and amused kind of sound. Short of real laugher, but not nearly enough to call it a breath. Either way, there was no hiding now. You admitted it right to his face, looking deep in those dark eyes with a level of intensity you had never seen from him before.

“Why don’t you tell me what’s in your little head?”

You hadn’t the slightest idea where to begin. Should you admit that you were hungry for more about his thoughts on you? Or just admit that you’d been struggling all even with the guilt of enjoying the thought of him lusting over you and having the power to call him out over it? So many ideas popped into your head, spinning it around so quickly that y the time you spit out an answer, you were already in the changing rooms in the back of the gym; Ghost carrying you towards the counter with a mirror. He sat you down on it, slotting his hips between your spread thighs and rubbing those massive hands up your thighs like he was savoring the feeling of your muscles tensing up under his touch.

“C’mon. That was an order, soldier.” He pressed, actually pinching at the creases of your thighs made all the more defined with you sitting. “D’you have somethin’ you want to ask me? About training earlier…”

You gasped softly, twitching when his fingertips traced over the indentions in your thighs marking dimples and other imperfections that you would’ve loved to go unnoticed by his wandering hands curling around your hips and back towards your ass again, sliding you flush against his chest. Forcing you to visualize the heavier rise and fall of his chest, shadows defining the valley between his pecs and the heartbreakingly gorgeous width of his shoulders caging you in. Masterfully, this man was drawing words out of you in such a confident and almost inescapable seduction. Yet the only question you’d been struggling with was answered with nothing more than the soothing voice and teasing touch of a man who had you wrapped around his finger.

“Hmm, no questions?” His head tilted a bit, seeing you so flustered over nothing than a couple little touches.

Enjoying nothing more than how you looked at him so surprised and innocent, despite knowing just how fucking turned on you were after spotting the totally soaked crotch of your leggings after approaching you during your headstand. Unable to resist you any longer, Ghost tipped your chin up a bit to meet his gaze and purposefully softened it. Wanting to ease you into this a little more, humming lowly when your pretty lips curled into a sweet smile. Letting your head rest in his hold with every ounce of trust you showed in the field and one the mats during conditioning.

“I have a question for you. Did you like it…? Seeing me standing there with a hard cock, knowing you were the sole reason for it.” He traced his finger down the bridge of your nose gently.

“How does it make you feel inside, knowing I want to feel every inch of you. Taste your screams of my name and the slick dripping out of your cunt onto those fucking leggings you’re wearing.”

“F-felt… good,” You sputter, face flaring brightly. “Liked it a lot.”

His hands kneading harshly at your ass quickly came up to the high waist of your leggings and tugged, hard. Breaking stitches and even tearing the material on one side as he pulled those skin-tight leggings off your legs; Growling deep in his chest when the sheen of your arousal spread on your skin under the florescent light. You held on to his shoulders, helping him just enough to make sure he didn’t totally ruin your bottoms.

“I knew you did,” He snarled, throwing your pants behind him and giving you a very clear smile from behind his mask. “Such a good solider, too bad she’s a dirty little slut for her Lieutenant’s cock.”

You could help the guttural moan you let out when his fingers dipped between the slick folds of your pussy and so very gently rubbed over your swollen clit. Using his hips to keep your thighs from locking his hand into place. Ghost was as calm and collected as ever, giving you an almost placating look as you squirmed and fought between the desire to back away from the sudden intense stimulation and the desire for more. His other hand held your chin steady, tutting at you like he was disappointed when you bit your lip to try and muffle the sounds of pleasure he was giving you.

“No, you’re not allowed to do that.” He pinched your clit, making you yelp loudly and squeeze your thighs against him until they shook. “You’ll sit there and let me play with you until i’m finished, okay?” Ghost actually nodded your head up and down for you. “That means I hear every fucking sound, because they’re all mine.”

You couldn’t remember how many times you came around Ghost’s fingers before the entire countertop you sat on was pooling with your cum. Feeling it stick to your skin and the wet sensation of his mask dragging over your body as he licked and bit at your skin until the pain melted into such overwhelming ecstasy that you couldn’t hold your upper body of your own strength. You’d slumped your forehead against his chest, blabbering utter nonsense and struggling to manage just how Ghost could expertly play your body to his own desires. With a swollen and exhausted cunt still clenching around his fingers, you were being lifted off the counter and up into Ghost’s arms with the hot and thick head of his dick teasing your dripping hole.

“G-Ghost… can’t take it. Can’t take more,” You groan, clawing at his shoulders and back as he gently rolls his hips just enough to give you a taste of what he was about to stretch you out with.

“Oh yeah you can…” His breathless chuckle made your stomach churn. “You can. And you will, because I need you to come around my dick.”

In one fatal movement, you were speared onto Ghost’s cock down to the base. Crying out his name as your walls spasmed to adjust in time. Adjusting his hold on your body, the flexibility he’d lusted over while watching you worked to his advantage as he held you by your thighs, dropping your pussy back down over him. Releasing the first of many wet, sucking sounds that earned you such a deep moan of your own name that you impossibly tightened around him.

“Thaaatt’s ittt,” His punched-out praise only urged you on, creating deeper and more unavoidable desire to please him. “Such a good fuckin’ slut. Dripping down my balls… fuucck. You’re gonna make me come.”

The idea of Ghost filling you with his hot release poured hot, honeyed feelings of pleasure. You couldn’t believe there was a feeling such as deeply effecting as this. The shocking weakness in which you felt completely absorbed in to the point that you saw past the rough exterior Ghost was presenting, and understood that he wasn’t taking with your physical self, but everything else that you could offer him. Closeness, support, trust beyond what others had given… maybe even love. Sex hadn’t felt like this before. Especially the filthy way Ghost was fucking his cock up into you so deeply your cervix was curving to mold around his tip. But the connection was there and so strong that your heart was burning in your chest.

“Doin’ so good…” He murmured, wet mask brushing against your cheek and fanning damp breaths over your sensitive skin. “God m’gonna keep you right here forever,” He groaned, biting at your cheek through his mask. “My little toy. Let me make you feel good…”

That wetness in your bright eyes as you nodded up at him, whimpering broken pleads and begs for him to do it. To claim you… fill you up over and over. Never spend another day without Ghost either right next to you, or his semen dripping out of you as a reminder that you’ve been possessed by such a powerful and commanding man that would stop at nothing to drive you out of your mind with pleasure. Such intense emotional and physical feelings that sent you careening over the edge of a earth-shattering orgasm that left you quite literally screaming out his name at the top of your lungs, feeling a heavy pressure in your lower stomach break. Clamping down on Ghost’s cock and feeling overwhelming wetness soaking his pelvis and dripping down onto the floor in a gush of splatters.

“Shhiitt!” Ghost shouted out your name, stuffing his cock as deeply inside you as he could.

Feeling jets of his release flooding your pussy and overflowing the tight space until it rolled down your inner thighs in thick pearl rivulets. His hips rocked against yours, stuttering as they grew weak and his cock overstimulating against the texture and tightness. Right away the bruising grip on your ass and thighs loosened, and on unsteady legs Ghost moved you both back towards the counter and reluctantly drew himself out of you with a hiss. Too fucked out to even respond in a noticeable way, you just kept your weakened legs and arms wrapped as tightly around him as you could. Shivering with aftershocks of nearly-fried nerves and overworked muscles.

You were cradled against Ghost’s chest, with both arms protecting your body. His head resting atop yours, listening to your breaths and feeling the way you began to slowly wind down, made that much easier by his fingers trailing up and down your spine and whispered praise scratching an itch deep in your heart and brain. He was taken by you, so small and made that much smaller with nothing but that soft sweater covering your form and the little hands you’d fisted into his shirt. So pretty, and if it wasn’t for seeing your skills as a soldier, he’d think you were as breakable as a hand painted, porcelain teacup.

Duty to protect and provide washed over Ghost. So strongly that even the small chills rising on your legs were distressing him beyond what would’ve felt acceptable. He wanted you warm and feeling safe with him after taking so much for so long that you could hardly hold your own head up. Moving you again to his quarters was his next task, and he very quickly had you gathered up in his arms and the large towel you’d brought to the gym draped over your bottom half so that neither of you would have to fuss with the wet leggings that had been unintentionally soaked by your final orgasm. Ghost didn’t even bother picking them up off the floor since the right side had been ripped apart beyond repair or wearing again. Mentally, he already had plans on replacing them.

But there would be a lot of things that changed sooner than later.

He’d done everything to stay away. Pretend that he didn’t want you deep in his very bones, and ignore how heavy of a struggle it became to deny simple closeness to another human being that meant more than a cooperating operator. You would be nothing less than his sole purpose in working for. Ensuring you had everything you needed and more than you could ever ask for. He’d take nothing you gave for granted, including the total control of your body for him tonight. And he’d be certain that the next time he touched you… he would do it the right way instead of allowing the desperate side of him to try and swallow you whole. You deserved more than a rough and dominating man. And he wasn’t sure how to even go about becoming something he’d long abandoned for no other reason than survival.

But fuck if he’d be damned if he didn’t dedicate the rest of his life trying.

Comments & Reblogs are Appreciated

[galedekarios]

Hi there! This is something I noticed and I wonder if this is true for you and other players:

Gale seems to get bored/go into his idle animation faster than my other companions. I've noticed it's pretty consistent across all my playthroughs--if everyone's standing around (if, for example, IRL me has to get something to drink or see what the cats are destroying), Gale will usually start his practice-spell-casting-gesture fairly quickly, while the other companions take a little bit longer. Even Karlach doesn't start her dancing-in-place animation as quickly as Gale starts his gesturing.

It's obviously not a huge thing, and other players might have different experiences, but I think it's so cute. Maybe Gale figures he needs to make good use of his time if the protag is going to insist on standing in the middle of the forest/the Underdark/a busy Baldur's Gate street for no good reason :D

(Most of the time it's the gesture for me, but on occasion he does touch the Orb mark first ;;;______;;;;).

thank you for your message! i was wondering about this too ever since i made my gifset trying to record gale practising (presumably) the somatic components of a spell.

i've noticed this too and i think it very much suits his character! i'm not sure if it was intentional, but...

i do think gale's mind is always winding and weaving (no pun intended!) and going a hundred miles per hour at any given time, so it makes sense that he would try to use any sort of downtime in a productive manner or keep himself occupied.

it suits gale, who tara calls her 'clever friend' who 'never leaves a knot knotted':

Tara the Tressym: My clever friend never leaves a knot knotted.

gale, who, if you leave him behind, begins to study the rune he was pulled from:

Gale: It drew me in. But how? - Gale: Safer to be out here than trapped in there. But if I could remain in there safely... - Gale: Could the effect be reproduced? Perhaps with the right application of Weave... - Gale: I would think Netherese, but that's impossible. And yet...

gale, who talks in his sleep:

Lae'zel: Gale, I've heard you talking in your sleep. Your mate needs better rest for our journey. Gale: And deprive them of the pleasure of hearing my nocturnal postulations? I'd never be so cruel. Gale: The mind absorbs much while we believe ourselves dormant. To lie beside Gale of Waterdeep is positively educational.

it's one of those things that just make sense for him. 🖤

[skyrim-forever]

Get to know me tag

tagged by @dirty-bosmer thank you friend!

tagging: @thequeenofthewinter @lucien-lachance @ladytanithia @throughtrialbyfire @your-talos-is-problematic

last song: Free by Florence + The Machine

last movie: I rarely watch movies anymore so I think it may have been Oppenheimer last summer 🙃

currently watching: Derry Girls <3 I'd like to think I'm a cross between Michelle and Claire

currently reading: The Tarot Handbook: Practical Applications of Ancient Visual Symbols by Angeles Arrien, fun fact I'm a tarot reader irl and I've been trying to improve my practice (also picked up a new deck hehe)

currently craving: I could go for potatoes, hash browns, fries, chips need a snick snack before work :P

last thing you searched for writing purposes: I searched for Olfina Grey-Mane's name to make sure I spelt it write for my mini-fic haha

[satancopilotsmytardis]

Idk how I missed it but “Off-Shift” is such a beautiful masterpiece. Desperately reminding myself that while the porn is so, so hot, it is not the safest of kink practices to indulge in irl (thank god for fantasy tho bc god dayum)

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed the piece! Definitely not going for 100% safety or accuracy in my fanfiction, which is why I always stress that this is not a place for discussions about real-world applications of BDSM, advice for safely participating in the culture, or a place to share real experiences about BDSM

[pallastrology]

my favourite astro + witchcraft blogs

since we're in the season of cheer, i thought it would be nice to express my love and gratitude for some of my favourite blogs here on tumblr 🧡🐿️

@neptuneandwine - my best friend, who i actually met here on tumblr years ago. she's a truly brilliant person, the most talented tarot reader i've seen and a skilled astrologer too.

@ms-m-astrologer - i absolutely love the way M writes about transits, i always look forward to the monthly update posts and adjust my plans accordingly. also introduced me to the @unhelpfultarot blog, which is another of my favourites as it's just hilarious.

@seafoamreadings - beautifully written transit posts, i'll be subbing to their patreon when i'm able to for more of their work, and i love their more personal insights into how the transits affect us IRL too.

@mercurytrinemoon - i've followed for years and always love to read their replies to asks and insights. i also recently bought their personalised 2024 almanac and am so looking forward to it!

@elysiansparadise - such an aesthetically pleasing blog, and i love the longform posts about various placements. i always feel inspired after reading through elysian's blog :-)

@kayleightarot a really lovely tarot blog, i always look forward to their daily readings and i'm finding it helpful to look at the practical application of tarot too!

feel free to reblog with your favourite witchy blogs, let's share some love this december :-) much love to you all as always xo

[flownwrong]

one more writing tag game!

thank you @zmediaoutlet, really appreciate the tag! <333 i haven't written in a while due to questionable irl circumstances so it's nice to talk about it a bit, maybe claw my way back to the wips :)

1. How many works on AO3?

15! not great, not terrible

2. Total AO3 Word Count?

34,796 (a bit embarrassing for four years of intermittent writing, lol)

3. Top 5 fics by Kudos?

double exposure (no wonder, an event fic with marvellous @tgtbata's art!)

any weight beyond your own (i think it was also some kind of event? but i'm too scared to open it and check haha; first real attempt at a fic after some teenage dabbling, really)

never really opting in (huh! how did it end up so high?)

perpetuum mobile (which i'm quite proud of, so yays!)

and you shall receive (which i'm just as proud of, double yays!)

4. What fandoms do you write for?

mmm, due south and spn are the top two by count, but i dunno when any spn stuff i have is getting finished! (hopefully when and not if is applicable here haha)

i also have one fic for MASH, True Detective and Star Trek Discovery (oh god lol) each. if i'm brave enough, one day my other TD wip is getting finished, but after that I'm done with it — i feel too reverent of the canon, lol.

5. Do you respond to comments?

always! how could i not <3 appreciate every one!

6. Angstiest Ending?

mmm. I don't really have any of those, although I do have an almost finished resdogs fic up next that would have one, necessitated by canon. out of those I have, it's probably hold till better times, per the unrequited premise. tallahassee, cynosure and over / for technically fit the definition, but they're all too short to have endings per se, and all of them are inevitably hopeful, again, per the following canon, so.

7. Fic with the Happiest Ending?

perpetuum mobile probably has the most syrupy sweet one, as do all of my other due south non-ficlets, but i'd argue negating, repeating is the happiest of them all in spirit — newsom's namesake song didn't lie about that joy of life!

8. Do you get hate?

i'm not known enough for it, which is a situation i'm very content with!

9. Do you write smut?

i try my best!

10. Do you write crossovers?

i have one in the works i'm pretty excited about, but usually they're very hard to justify for me :)

11. Ever had a fic stolen?

as with hate — not known enough for it, and pleased with that :)

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope, but i hope it's yet :) i'd be delirious with excitement if that ever happened!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

nope, and it's hard to imagine how that would work... but i would love to try, if there was a writer in the circle i trust who's not my superior by a million points :')

14. All time favourite ship?

um, Fraser/Kowalski, i think! can't help thinking I'm still too young to know, lol. but fairly sure these two will haunt me the longest.

15. WIPs you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

all of them, lol most of my unfinished wips are this way bc i realised i lack skill to finish them, not because i lost interest, even if i stepped away from a fandom. i look at them longingly often enough and try to practice so i can come back :) but no, that one red meat coda i started early into my spn obsession is likely staying that way or at least becoming a ship of theseus bc the idea was shit.

16. Writing Strengths?

uh. voices, probably? i'm not too satisfied with them, but it's what i feel most confident about, anyway. kind @petymology told me my romance and sex dynamics never feel like they're retreading same old steps and feel complex, and many other kind people told me my prose is very sharp at times, so i choose to believe that as well :)

17. Writing Weaknesses?

plot, but also many many other things i lack practice for. i struggle with scene/summary balance, rhythm, flow and pacing, dialogue, fleshing out images... but i think i am getting better at most of these with every work :)

18. Thoughts on mixed language dialogue?

love when it comes up meaningfully! if i ever have a reason to use german in fic, i could probably do it believably. i think.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

jesus... sailor moon? i think? i lost my old hard drive and can't check if there was something else i forgot!

20. Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

as z said before me, usually the most recent one. otherwise, it's a draw between negating, repeating and and you shall receive — both i stumbled into by pure inspiration which held back my insecurities and allowed me to give them my all.

i'd love to hear more from @gueule, @petymology, @rightspocko (or did you do this one already? idr!), @feroxargentea and @redmyeyes!

[lavenderprose]

I’m not Anon, but I’m definitely ready for the longest soapbox answer…

Okay well I fear you'll be disappointed because the longest answer has very little to do with Emmrich and goes thusly:

Nevarra is essentially fantasy Germany/Austria/Scandinavia. Fewer than 10% of men in those countries, overall, are circumsized. This alone is probably reason enough to say he's uncut in any modern context. In the year 20:25 Millenium (Or whatever your version of the 21st century in Thedas is named) it's possible that the Fereldans and maybe Orlesians have picked up the practice, but I don't think it would be popular in Nevarra, or most of the North if I'm honest. Certain enclaves in Tevinter maybe.

Within the context of game-time Thedas, you'd be hard pressed to convince me that ANYBODY is cut save for POSSIBLY Qunari? Because we don't know enough about their beliefs imo. If the Chantry was marching around demanding rote circumcision I think it probably would have come up at least once, even in a game as relatively desexualized as Dragon Age (desexualized as in: you never actually SEE a penis, cut or otherwise, in these games.) Until (relatively) modern times IRL, circumcision was a religious practice almost exclusively.

Comparing Thedas to the IRL medieval ages isn't as apt of a comparison for Veilguard as it may have been for previous games, but this is a belief I still hold. You could make an argument for circumscion being divorced from all religious contexts in Thedas, and instead being a hygienic/aesthetic choice, and I don't necessarily have an argument against that. It's just not a view I hold. Primarily because, point THREE:

As far as circumcision goes, I don't care for it. Totally understand that it's a religious/cultural practice for a very large portion of the world's population, and that it does have certain prophylactic applications. The practice of circumcision is EXTREMELY controversial and I don't really want to open that can of worms, so I'll just say that I completely respect it as a choice that people make for themselves and their children to honor their cultures. If we're talking about me? Just ME, personally? The beliefs that I specifically hold, with the understanding that nobody is obligated to share those beliefs? If anybody tried to take my kid away from me seconds after birth to do LITERALLY ANYTHING to their genitals I would scream and scream and scream until they did something to make me stop i.e. give my baby back. I have warned my family about this. Intersex children are born every day and are often mutilated by 'well-meaning' doctors under the guise of circumcision. This happens with distressing frequency, and it's very possible that you won't know about it unless you ask the right questions or know exactly how to read your child's medical documents, IF you have access to them.

Under no circumstances am I campaigning for the abolition of circumcision as a practice. I just feel like it's something that should be better educated about, especially to expectant families. The vast majority of people just kind of say, "Well, my doctor/husband/dad says I should have my child circumcized, so I guess I will," and it doesn't HAVE to be that way.

Anyway yeah! This was very outside of my normal bullshit and I sincerely hope I didn't ruffle any feathers--the original anon stumbled onto something I'm passionate about and got me ranting, for which I apologize. We will return shortly to your regularly programmed Old Man nonsense 😅

[jasper-book-stash]

November 2024 Reading Wrap-Up

This month's five books were surprisingly good overall. Nothing under a 5/10, so I don't have any major bitching to do! In fact, I have nice things to say about every book!

Religious Text

None applicable.

1/10 - Why Did They Publish This?

None applicable (thank the gods).

2/10 - Trash

None applicable.

3/10 - Meh

None applicable.

4 to 6/10 - Mid-Tier

Dearest: A Novel | Jacquie Walters

I read this entire book. And by the end, I have come out with literally no opinion about it. It's so fucking weird for me to have 0 thoughts about a book, especially when it falls in my horror/thriller/mystery category.

7 to 8/10 - Good With Caveats

Minecraft: The Survivors’ Book Of Secrets | Stephanie Milton, Joe McLaren

I decided to reread this just for fun because I've been in a strange Minecraft mood as of late. I still quite enjoy the advice, but the caveat to enjoying this one is to know that it came out early in Minecraft's existence, so naturally it doesn't have a lot of the most updated stuff. It plays a bit into my own nostalgia...and actually playing the game on my 3DS, which I have been told is objectively the worst way to play this game.

9/10 - Very Very Good

Feng Shui Modern | Cliff Tan, Dura Lee

This one was recommended to me by friends who watch Cliff Tan's videos on YouTube (his channel is Dear Modern) and picked up the book, so I checked it out from the library to get a look at it. Learning about Feng Shui from, you know, someone who actually practices it instead of from a White Woman Appropriation source was quite refreshing. It was so good that I decided to buy my own copy of the book.

10/10 - Unironically Recommend To Everyone

Braiding Sweetgrass For Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, And The Teachings Of Plants | Robin Wall Kimmerer, Monique Gray Smith, Nicole Neidhardt

The original Braiding Sweetgrass was fan-fucking-tastic (it was one of my favorite books overall for 2023) and the YA adaptation that Monique adapted and Nicole illustrated with Robin's permission was just as good. The illustrations really add to each section.

Gender Queer: A Memoir | Maia Kobabe

This book was actually recommended to me several times, but it wasn't until one of the ladies in my IRL bookclub read and recommended it that it truly piqued my interest. I finally checked it out to read and... Honestly, I've never felt more seen or understood. The author's experiences were so close to my own that it truly felt like e understood me. It was nice to finally see my own experiences reflected in something.

[johnnysuhbmarine]

A Glimpse into my Mind B)

Welcome to chaos! Figured I might as well make my account navigable for all my random thoughts so here we go (this is very self-indulgent...i need to remember what i've been up to)

My life:

back on the stardew valley grind can't believe i don't have a boyfriend to drunk text me and my nightmares... snow in march means an excuse for exo christmas albums the debrief of my nct 127 concert locked in so hard i surprised myself no baseball, just chenle angst mall kiosks are the bane of my existence post-grad german quiz sad on main, my bad my canned boba tea for writing fuel B) my na jaemin arc Japan trip epiphany twitter banners are the bane of my existence the dream show three holding me together my interaction with a male of which i no longer have updates on... what the dog doin my last college final my forgiveness list... me and my glass of wine friend application i hate fruits fly infestation "pretty" can't be spelled like that the insta caption of my dreams i literally can't help myself minecraft is the bane of my existence my favorite post that no one appreciated the research paper i had leebit write guess my favorite album all i do as an nctzen is my job my favorite genre of music videos my mom being the sweetest ever that much for happy pills?! fact check bridge my love for zb1

My men:

yeah, i love Jeno exo-sc was made for me and bestie mingyu's cologne is comfort guaranteed calling johnny "bro" on weverse heeseung's cover of off my face will always be famous i'll never be over how many languages Johnny knows life as a Chenle ult Chenle's polaroid creating a stir in my family Mark Lee makes me crazy but shhh my dad when he remembers the name of my bias blue hair intak theo in a skirt intak's ruining my productive day my distracting notes pages harmony forest = procrastination at its finest tough crowd hwang intak on top too busy looking at pictures of intak skinny jeans haechan! Chenle and YangYang in SuperM Lee Know day gone wrong this post about Lee Jeno... 7dream is back (and i'm in tears) i SAW haechan in skinny jeans! Jaehyun's "i know you know" walk haechan mirae... me having a crush on Mark Lee was supposed to be a joke renewed my nctzen ID an incomplete list of things i am not over my insane luck with svt albums when i thought the world would explode getting into seventeen my favorite english line for each nct member why is he shirtless? Johnny in nct zone... my bias wreckers doing their job Johnny WILL have lines this comeback men layering with basketball jerseys mhmm Johnny's ending fairy "i love how far up Johnny's ass you are" my spidey senses for Johnny posts when Johnny no longer needed his sling and i bawled my eyes out "who tf is Johnny?" Johnny Suh and i are basically the same person i hate him (affectionate)

The fullsunstrawberry section:

valentine's day is NOT ruined we're getting married now because men are icky her exposing me as if i don't tell you all how much i love her every other day my friend and lover lucky in friendships buying a plane literally me and berry everyone show love to Good Boy rn!! i do NOT want to stan another group all out of walls to throw my phone at and it's her fault useless friend application whatever this is this really valid question about my roommates' fav dessert us and dream()scape chenle tumblr says i have a crush on you are you seeing this? when she killed off jaemin and then my irl went insane college parties suck

Practical things (tags I frequent and what for):

isa-rants -> me reacting to the things around me, some actual rants

isa-rambles -> me exposing the thoughts in my head that aren't provoked by outside events

isa shut-up-about-intak challenge: failed -> look, i really love hwang intak

he's perfect -> anything about one of my men (including hwang intak)

my moots <3 -> this is self-explanatory, methinks

asks and replies -> anything from my inbox!

anon <3 -> anything from my inbox...from an anon!!

[velvetures]

May I RQ a reader who is trying to learn their language to help them feel more comfortable, but feels insecure due to them not really being fluent? They mispronounce and misuse the slangs in context, but hopes they can make the boys see the effort they are trying to go through for them.

Lessons In Miscommunication

A/N: Hi doll, I hope you don't mind me using König for this one. I've got a lot of experience with Spanish irl, but that's not super applicable here, haha. To anyone who's German... please forgive me. 🤍 Summary: You're on comms during a mission getting a small lesson in König's language while waiting for your next orders from HQ. Things get complicated, and there's a language and culture barrier that makes things... challenging. T/W: canonical warfare, cursing, non-fluent use of German, flirting, feelings, and some other stuff probably. Not proofread, as always.

To put it simply, you didn't expect just how difficult it would be to learn a new language in your twenties. Sure the science spoke to the provable trouble you would have compared to a much younger version of yourself, but for all meaningful purposes, you really didn't think it would be this nuanced. And while Spanish, French, and other languages were of great importance, there wasn't anyone who could teach you those. The one person around was König, and he spoke German.

When you'd approached the topic nearly eight months ago, he'd been honestly shocked and surprised that you'd come to him in the first place and secondly that you thought he would be a good teacher. He was often thought of as reliable as a Colonel, but giving you suitable enough tutoring in German to be conversational was nothing short of uncharted territory for the pair of you. This made for very interesting moments in and outside of missions as well as a few times where it would've been better if you'd used an online app or something to keep from unintentionally embarrassing yourself.

Posted almost two miles away from the Colonel on a rocky outcropping overlooking a small encampment of a radical terrorist group, you laid on the hillside with a rifle and radio trying to pass the time between now and when you'd get the call to secure the site. The men and women down below were only one small stop-off point for a far larger caravan of armored trucks and a few tanks carrying supplies and weaponry toward the closest city of Almazra. It was a threat that couldn't come to fruition if the buildings and people still living there were to be left standing by the end of the week.

On the other end of the two-mile distance was König and a selected squad of men who were waiting just as impatiently as you were to not only get this mission over with but to get out of the damn desert heat. For security's sake, you knew you should be keeping the airways clear for any kind of information about the insurgent's movements, but König had insisted that this would be a perfect opportunity for you to get some practice in without losing focus of the task at hand. Your job at the moment was to keep eyes on the encampment through the lens of your sniper rifle and report anything that looked to be of importance.

König's definition of what was important could be easily debatable, yet it did ensure that you could make simple connections between real-world objects and the German words or phrases that matched. Whether or not the Colonel realized it or not, both of you had slightly gotten off the target of what you were supposed to be talking about and wandered into the more... personal aspects of things. Specifically just how bad you wanted to be home after nearly a full month away from American soil and your personal home.

"Ich habe für immer Fernweh," Your accent was certainly progressing, at least in the Colonel's mind, but he wasn't quite sure exactly what you meant by that.

"Was meinst du damit? Kannst du es dieses Mal auf Englisch sagen?"

His voice sounded a little confused and more than a tinge humored at the way you'd sounded so... formal. Even diplomatic to a degree. It was one of the more difficult parts of teaching you. Dialects, slang, and even simple English-to-German translations didn't always have a very direct or clear answer. Often it meant that you would say something with full intention and innocent honesty, and König would have to keep himself from chuckling. Most of the men he worked alongside didn't speak for one reason or another, so getting to hear at least one person -especially you- made the near and far miscommunication more than worth the effort.

Looking through your scope at a group of five sitting around a small fire, you sigh a bit, trying to think of how to explain yourself.

"I meant I'm feeling homesick," You mutter a little more quietly than necessary, almost as if saying it in English was broadcasting your secret while German somehow kept it from being found out. "What did you hear me say?"

König chuckled, his laugh vibrating in the speakers of your comm quite nicely. "You said you have wanderlust forever," You could hear him smiling from the other end. "It's okay, sometimes the words don't always mean exactly what you think they do. I had the same problem when I learned English." For a moment he paused, laughing softly again. "I still can't say Squirrel... properly."

"Vielleicht habe ich doch Lust auf etwas..." You mutter a bit frustrated and somewhat skarkily under your breath, making a small jab at wordplay not thinking that König could hear you over the radio or that he'd be more shocked to hear you say such a thing.

The radio stays silent for a long few minutes, almost tricking you into believing that you'd been safe in making your comment under your breath without any audible witnesses. Only on the other end, the Colonel was struggling between the actual meaning behind your words, the way it sounded so damn sexy... and how he was supposed to actually answer you without sounding too affected by something as simple as your voice.

"Se-Sergeant..." His voice sounded a little weak, much in the same way it did when he was in an uncomfortable social situation. "What did you just say?"

Instantly your body tensed up from fingers to toes and you felt a shock of heat roll through you. König heard you. Right away you assumed by the growl in his question that you were going to be in for some kind of punishment. Maybe even a good ass-chewing in front of the rest of the squad for saying something so easily considered lewd and totally unprofessional to utter in the presence of a superior officer. Your best bet was apologizing, and hoping he'd just let it go...

"I'm sorry, I was just frustrated and-"

His voice deepens over the radio, almost like he's got it pressed right up against his mouth. "Say it again." The command felt heavy in your stomach. "Now."

You repeated the phrase, staring through the lens of your scope with bated breath. waiting to hear what the Colonel would say in response. And the last thing you expected was to hear an almost pained sort of growling sound vibrating in your ears. It made you shiver and despite König being almost two miles away, it felt like he was breathing down your neck.

"Du klingst so hübsch, wenn du das sagst..." A noticeable static over the radio took your attention, but when it didn't get worse you had the mental capacity to translate what König said word by word until you had the full sentence running through your head.

The time between his praise and your response was nearly indistinguishable between seconds and years. Had it not been for you watching your targets moving in real-time through your scope, you would've thought the whole world had come to a stuttering halt in anticipation of your response. Yet it seemed that the world still had to do other important things which included bringing the key turning point of this mission right to your front door with the sudden sound of an approaching squad tailing the convoy of insurgents giving information and callouts for how to proceed forward. Of those, orders for König and his men to begin working down the side of the mountain to intercept the meeting of the convoy and the small ground sitting in tents around a high-burning fire.

"Ich werde später herausfinden, wie hübsch man klingen kann, wenn man schmutzige Dinge auf Deutsch sagt." The Colonel's voice growled lowly, almost threatening in a sense.

There was no telling what would happen after the mission ended and there wasn't a threat of being shot or failing to secure Almazra. What you could count on was König finding you and testing out his theory of all the things you could say in his language they may or may not have been provocative - on purpose or not. Something in your body shivered in delightful nervousness and anticipation of just how he planned on getting that kind of information out of you. A couple of ideas swirled in your mind, but the movement of the incoming convoy didn't allow you the luxury of daydreaming about your Colonel or how your mistaken words and German lessons had landed you here.

Comments and Reblogs are Always Helpful <3

[stealerofthe2ndbraincell]

ask and you shall receive: top 5 inside n9 episodes please!

Thank you!!! I had so much fun thinking this up.

This kind of involves more my top 5 favourites then the top 5 best, cause there are some episodes that I think are genuinely excellent and some of the best of all time, but that I wouldn't call a favourite because I often have a really hard time rewatching them (e.g. Wise Owl<333 which I absolutely adore).

5. How Do You Plead

God it was difficult to pick between this and two others for this slot, but I think I'm happy with my decision. Up until Steve appears as the LITERAL Devil, it really feels like a two act between Urban and Webster and the dynamic is written so well. Their dialogue flows well, Reece and Jacobi are excellent in this and the little fake court get up is one of my favourite bits in the whole show.

Urban is utterly fascinating and my favourite fella here but I always feel like slightly out of depth figuring him out. It's superb.

THE LIGHTING DIRECTION IS INSANE ON THIS and I love it. The shift is done so subtly and so well. This and Mother's Ruin are some of my favourite examples of night time scenes that are still kept realistically dark but also still very visually interesting. That whole turquoise (?) hue near the end is perfect.

Also Steve as the literal Devil cannot be mentioned enough. Excellent.

4. Diddle Diddle Dumpling

This is one I always really liked, but only ended up loving when I was showing a friend the show for the first time. It became their favourite so quickly and being able to watch it with them and hear them talk about it really made me reflect on it and holy shit it's excellent.

David's spiral is so well done, so well paced and builds to such a devastating conclusion.

I'm a sucker for symmetry irl and this episode delivers so hard on that for such good thematic reasons.

Everything about this one feels like it's a decision that's been laid out with such care and thought with the careful use of Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" really tying the atmosphere together, if that makes sense.

3. The Last Weekend

Despite how much I've talked about this episode before, it's really hard, for some reason, to articulate why I love it as much as I do.

The rewatch value of it is insane and the twist really recontextualises practically every interaction. I love the character writing so much and honestly Chas is one of my favourite written characters in the whole series.

The 5 stages of grief are included very tastefully in my opinion with the part of Mollie deconstructing really prepping you (imo) for that incoming twist and for who or where the stages are applicable for. Elements such as that, the lack of "I love you" reciprocation, the constant bug shots etc. feel like they're so in your face obvious on rewatch, but they really slip by so well and I have to applaud that.

Finally, the ending is fucking visceral and I don't think I need to hark on how excellently acted that was for both.

2. Zanzibar

I love me some Shakespeare.

I feel like a sort of Shakespeare pastiche like this could easily come across as pretentious or boring, and this script refuses to be either of those at every opportunity.

To me, this is probably the most charming episode of the show, and it's so self-aware of what it is, which only makes it better. It takes itself just about seriously enough to be entertaining and to throw these more ridiculous of tropes from that period in with the reckless abandon it needs.

The set design in it is also really well done. It feels both taken straight out of some theatre production and close to a typical posh hotel environment.

It's also a lot more raunchier than I remembered it being. That piss sublot (?) was nuts.

Also Henry is so <3333

Cold Comfort

This is one of the earliest episodes I tend to introduce people with both because I think it's a great episode to introduce some very consistently good elements of the show as a whole and so I can yap about it as soon as possible. I have rewatched this one so many times, and I lost count so long ago.

The method of filming is absolutely excellent, just generally and for that setting specifically. For example, I think that kind of cold and objective forward-facing camera really helps establish Andy's lack of preparedness, and it's an underrated Steve performance all around, imo.

George is also probably my original favourite character because, GOD there's so much going on with him and they peel back just enough that it's almost satisfying but you're still left with a lot to chew on. I am so not normal about him. I need to put him in one of those bug cages kids use to observe butterfly metamorphosis.

Also, a bonus silly reason is that it made me like the song Shine. I hated it for years after it was one of the songs I had practice constantly for a dreadful school play back in primary school and this episode finally broke my hatred of it. (Haven't stopped hating Fix You by Coldplay yet though lol).

[teatitty]

Dandelion, in book and game canon, is noted for being a master of the seven liberal arts. For those that don't know, the liberal arts irl are: Grammar, Logic, Rhetoric, Arithmetic, Astronomy, Music and Geometry; so lets briefly breakdown what each one was back in the medieval and middle ages [since those eras are the basis for the series] and see exactly how intellectually smart Dandelion was

First we have the Trivium, which were the three basic tools of reasoning and expression and were the gateways into much higher fields of learning

Grammar: The study of written works and forms of writing, usually through memorisation and reading of classical texts. Learning and diagraming the parts of speech became common, and other language-related knowledge like spelling and vocabulary have grown out of grammar studies

Logic: The easiest way to describe this is basically philosophy - there's a lot of "discussions and investigations into truth and opinions" which would be why Dandelion has so many Thoughts about things

Rhetoric: Closely related to Logic studies, this one was about learning how to express your opinions and make clear concise arguments

Next we have the Quadrivium, which are all about maths and the traditional arts we know of

Arithmetic: The basic mathematics such as addition, subtraction, division, multiplication etc as well as mathematic notation

Music: Though less widespread now, back in the day music studies were incredibly important for students to understand and appreciate creation by learning about the various forms and instruments of music - in short, Dandelion would be able to play far more than just the lute if he wanted to

Geometry: This one would have covered everything from architecture to engineering to surveying, all of which are now their own separate disciplines of study. So, in ye olde times, Geometry used to be far more practical in application. This is why I like to joke that Dandelion is like if Shakespeare and Leonardo da Vinci were fused into one person

Astronomy: The contemplation of the heavens and humankind’s place in them received more emphasis in an era where less was known and more was imagined than today. Astronomy was at first considered essential for fields such as navigation and determining dates, but grew to include more advanced mathematics and physics studies

Plato is probably the most famous of real life masters of these arts to give an example of how impactful and important they are in our history, so Dandelion being a master of all 7 and being qualified to teach at the university itself is no small feat by any means. Intellectually speaking, Dandelion is easily one of the smartest characters in the books - but he's also impulsive, curious to a fault, tempermental and often doesn't follow his own common sense, which is why he has Geralt and the Hansa to look out for him lol

[toxicanonymity]

Hello Toxy 💙

I have a question for u if it’s not too much trouble, is there any writing advice u might have to offer ?😇

I’ve written stuff before, but that’s like many many years ago but I’ve been thinking about trying that again for a long, long time and yesterday I actually started writing something. It’s very much a self insert story written firstly for me combining my experiences with my fantasy. What I’ve written so far is mostly prologue containing of character description and just from the third person perspective, honestly I’m scared to get into dialogue and writing from different perspectives. And let’s not talk about smut it’ll take a long time before I get there but scary nonetheless 🫠🫠

Well, anyway, I hope you have a great day and take care of yourself 💙

Hello! I'm honored you ask. . . Sounds like you're off to a great start. IRL provides great inspiration. I can share some thoughts as an amateur who's still learning. Thanks for asking, and have a great weekend 💙

Dialogue

Take your time finding the character's voice if you don't hear it yet. You can focus on what's being said, then go back and adjust it for how.

If you have a long line, say it in your head or out loud and see whether it feels like a long time for someone to be talking without interruption or anything else happening. Relative to the situation.

You can include little non-dialogue things that aren't too distracting but remind the reader about the rest of the setting.

What is it in the conversation that makes it your character / makes it your story? As opposed to being dialogue that could be from anything.

Body language and nonverbal communication.

If you want to practice / work on developing a certain character, you could write yourself a blurb in a different situation.

Remember you can always go back and edit. You can start with a rough idea of what you want them to say. So don't worry about all this up front.

General things that help me

Commiting to a "bad first draft" I can improve on.

Using brackets for things to come back to. Like [She gets her period].

Describing what's happening without thinking about the quality of "writing."

Focusing on communicating what's in my head, sometimes even in the mentality of sending a long text to a friend if stuck.

Changing up which font & page color I write with.

Writing stuff I feel like, trusting my gut and not worrying about whether anyone will think it's weird.

reading / IRL book club, listening to audio books. Whatever genre you feel like. I don't read romance, but all reading helps. I'm still learning new words (looking at you, jonathan franzen 🙄). And my experience as a reader reminds me to give readers more credit for how much they'll pick up on and be able to keep track of / follow.

Saying "fuck it we ball," lol. Which I'm doing with this post, because otherwise I could overthink and take forever.

Things that have not served me as well

Keeping stories and plans mostly in my head with a chaotic scattering of notes and chunks spread across 4 applications, sometimes in multiple untitled files per app. this ""worked"" for a long time but caught up with me mentally.

When you're ready for smut, we can go there 😅

And feel free to follow up if you want to talk about anything specific. I don't have all the answers, but my inbox and DMs are open.