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pedge-page · 3 months

Note

What about Joel having to spend a night away for work last minute and reader sulking about it when he gets home and blanking him? 🤣 Cue grovelling from Joel lol

Joel Dealing with Preggo Wife: Late From Work

Notes: I must be too yeehaw American because I had to look up what "blanking" someone meant 😂. Anyway, I had so much fun writing this! Decided to make him late rather than spending a whole night away because lets be real, she'd be serving divorce papers for that.

Warnings: brief oral (f receiving) scene; jealous!Reader, Stubborn reader is BACK

18+ ONLY:

- - - -

He knows he fucked up too. Big time.

When he said he’d be home at the latest by 7:00pm and it’s now 7:02 and he’s just getting in the truck leaving the site. And when his call goes to voicemail for the 3rd time, and then the fourth time tells him that the number is no longer valid (he’s been blocked), he knows he’s in Big-Fucking-Trouble.

Doesn’t want to call Tommy up for help to coax partially because he wants to fix this own his own, and partially to save Tommy from your wrath you most certainly will take out on him rather than your absent husband.

He grabbed a bouquet of flowers at the grocery store (he’s already in the doghouse so what’s another 5 minutes added to his sentence) and is currently speeding home, a solid 15mph over the limit. Tonight isn’t even anything special: you had both just come back from a lovely weekend trip on the coast and were just settling back in to your house. But when Joel doesn’t deliver on his word, isn’t home for pizza and Pepsi, and sitting behind you while rubbings your back and belly for a quiet movie night…

Well, he’s never been late since the start of your pregnancy. Doesn’t want to think what hellfire you’re going to spit at him the moment he walks in that door.

So here he is about to walk in that door. He takes a big breath, not feeling this anxious since the he proposed to you, and steps in.

He immediately makes contact with you: standing at the end of the hall, illuminated by the kitchen light with your extra extra large T shirt stretched over your belly and dangling loosely around your thighs, hands by your side, barefoot, despite how often he nags at you to wear socks around the house so your feet don’t get cold. He’s thankful to see you hadn’t packed a suitcase, trying to leave the house with a “my husband doesn’t love me” stunt again.

You clearly had just been walking past when you heard the door, not even fully turning to him but just having your head directed to the entrance the second he walked in. You briefly note the flowers in his hands before your eyes quickly go back to his. He feints an apologetic smile, heart beating so hard. You’re soooo quiet. The calm before the storm.

He gulps hard.

Instead, you turn forward once more and continue walking towards the living room without a word.

You have a hand on your back as you gently collapse onto the couch.

“Baby,” he says meekly, voice all tiny yet determined.

You pull your legs up over a pillow and fold open your book.

He comes to kneel beside you, immediately kissing your shoulder.

You do nothing.

“Baby,” he says more clearly. “I’m sorry, honey. I couldn’t beat the time.”

You flip a page, tilting your head to read the fascinating text on the page rather than listen to your poor husband on his knees for you.

His fights with the sleeve of your shirt. Would you at least look at him? He’s holding the flowers still in his hand, big puppy dog eyes trying their best to plea with you, and with his irresistible pouty lips that get him just about anything he wanted from you. But you only lend him a sigh, flipping yet another page.

So it’s gonna be like that.

"Please, angel. I was tryin' so hard to leave on time like I said. They got the concrete all mixed up and it needed to be set today, was tryin' to get out of there, just couldn't get it moving fast enough, I'm sorry baby I really sped over here fast I can to see ya, couldn't wait a second longer—"

“Oh!” You gasp suddenly.

He’s started, but nonetheless quick to be by you.

You check the clock on the wall and laugh. Time had gotten away from you too. You slam your book and hoist yourself up, on the other end of the couch to avoid his anxious hands fluttering to your aid. You brush past him and start your climb up the stairs.

Joel is right behind you, a bit of hope stirring in him. Its not until you’re walking through your bedroom door—and slamming it right in his face that he gets the message loud and clear.

Perhaps he earned a night on the couch to pray your forgiveness. After finding a suitable vase for the roses, he puffs up his pillow, his back killing him (though he’d never say it aloud while you’re waddling around with a whole 'nother being in your belly for the last few months) and crashes down on the sofa.

He just makes out the light go off under the door in the bedroom before he too is closing his eyes.

Tomorrow brings a new day, and he’s gonna spend every second satisfying his wife. He’s deserves his stay on the couch tonight.

He did NOT deserve this bullshit.

It’s been 3 fucking days since he came home late.

3 days of waking up early, trying to kiss his beautiful wife and baby momma with sweet affirmations and praises, which you dodge and continue about your stubborn ignoring-test. He spent all morning cooking every single food you’d craved since your pregnancy started—waffles, French toast, cinnamon pancakes, toast with special mixed fruit jam you can only get at a grocery store an hour away, scrambled, over easy, poached, hard boiled eggs. All arranged so beautifully on the table, even going as far to put the napkins on the left, after you screeched at him a few months ago for haphazardly having them on either the right or left, and never with the fork consistently on top.

He thought he’d learned his lesson, thought he made more than enough up to you, but no. You breeze right by, making a cup of tea, and go back upstairs to your closed door.

Your sadistic mind had given him false hope when you hadn’t locked the door on him on night number two. He slept in his bed, but you had made a clear parry by slotting between the two of you the infernal pregnancy pillow that Joel had kept in storage since you “Much preferred your husband’s plushy belly and soothing rubs.”

Fat chance tonight.

Every minute he wasn’t telling you how beautiful you are, how amazing you are, how lucky he is, he spends groveling with please forgive me, I’m so sorry, I’m such a worm.

None of it sways you any differently.

By day 4, he’s given up the sweet talk and grand gestures. Goes for a “think like her” kind of mental approach.

He tries to bribe you—either making you a Pepsi float, or even bringing home the famous Hot Fudge Cookie Dough Chocolate Gooey Fantasy Milkshake with EXTRA Rainbow sprinkles. But even as he temptingly waves in front of your little wiggly nose, you don’t acknowledge him.

He makes a big show to sigh heavily in defeat, leaving it on the kitchen table alone and trotting helplessly upstairs for a shower.

Less than 7 minutes later he’s come back down to see if you’d given in yet, maybe even telling him what a fantastic husband he is while shoveling your face with ice cream and admitting you were being dramatic.

Instead, you’re still sitting on the couch, exactly as he left you. Of course, the milkshake cup is completely empty, sucked clean of its gooeyness, and there’s a little splotch of chocolate sauce lingering on your chin you had failed to wipe clean.

A start, he thinks.

Still though, you don’t pay him any mind, scrolling on your phone with tight lips.

He wonders how long you could go on with this game.

It’s honestly a fucking terrible miracle—not even since before you were pregnant had you gone this long shutting the fuck up. But now its horrifyingly eerie, like a curse has fallen upon him and he’s doing everything he can to break it, to bring back your nagging and bitching and whining and crying because it would be so much more relaxing than this new kind of psychotic hell you’ve subjected him to.

He starts getting a little more involved: playing with your body, touching you softly with gentle strokes along your thighs and belly. You hadn’t flinched away, or tried moving to another spot on the couch.

Which confirmed one thing to him: your horniness and lack of physical attention from your husband due to your stubborn mind was losing your mental battle to hold out against him.

So Joel doesn’t say anything either as he moves his lips over your breasts, down your swollen belly and kissing his babygirl in your bump. He mumbles, “Mommy is awfully mad at Daddy, think I can cheer her up?”

The baby kicks as if in agreement. His gaze glances up briefly to see if you’re listening.

Your eyes catch and yours quickly dart away, leaning back and pretending to yawn. He snickers before continuing his hot trail of open mouthed kisses until your legs “shift” and “accidentally” part on their own.

He makes sweet, insatiable yet slow love to your pussy, licking a fat strip from your little clenched hole to that hot delicious center that is beyond wet for him—yet another example of how much your body clearly can’t ignore him forever.

But, ever as he brings you to a long needed orgasm, you bite your tongue, absolutely refusing to give him even the slightest sound of satisfaction despite clenching tightly around his thick digits pumping into you. Only letting out a strangled breath through your nose while you stare up to the ceiling, fingers folded across your tummy as if bored.

He wipes away the slick from his mustache. Hell, even he can admit you deserve an applaud for making it through that without uttering a peep to his skills.

Hurts like hell on the inside though that you’re just that mad still.

He had hoped that being forced to drive with him due to your size preventing you from sitting behind the wheel would corner you into talking him, but even then, as he opens the passenger door for you, you climb aboard and slam the door shut without his assistance.

Now the two of you are on your way to yours and Maria’s weekend brunch. Tommy was also coming to drop his girlfriend off, so it would be a good time to catch him up on this unqiuely-pregnant-you madness.

You snatch your purse and hop out of the car, mood going a full 180 and instantly greeting Maria with a warm hug and perky voice. The two of you sit down at a little table way aways from your idiot husband and brother in law.

Tommy nods him over to the bar and Joel grumbles over.

“She ignoring you?” His little brother asks while shelling peanuts.

“Is it that obvious?” Joel shakes his head. He can’t even leave off with Tommy because he knows you won’t answer his texts asking what time you’re done for pickup. So he’s stuck here to wait for you the entire time.

“You try going down on—“

“Yes! Yes I fucking tried.”

“She didn’t like it?”

“Oh no, she came hard. Wouldn’t even whimper for me when she was clenching her little cunt around my fingers—” he says with an aggressive whisper, his pointer and middle fingers shooting up in the air with wild eyes demonstrating the scene, “—and her little numb twitchin’ on my tongue. Didn’t even fucking moan. She’s a stubborn girl but I don’t deserve that.”

Tommy shakes his head with a chuckle. “Damn. That’s just determination right there. Gotta give it to her.”

Tommy excuses himself with a slap to the shoulder, muttering “gotta take a leak” and disappears to the bathroom.

Joel wouldn’t mind having a drink right now, but know’s he’s gotta stay sober to drive you home. A miserable, silent filled drive once again. He glanced at his watch, following each tick of the hand.

“Hi there.”

Joel almost didn’t address the voice of the woman who had gentle snuck up behind him, moving to take Tommy’s seat. She’s probably a little younger than you, a nice kind smile, inviting and warm towards a stranger.

Joel politely smiles back with a little nod.

She offers a sweet “thanks”, a blush creeping on her cheeks before she begins to speak: “Listen, I don’t mean to prude… but I saw you come in and ...I’m usually not so brash—but I was wondering…”

Meanwhile, your baby is beat boxing extra hard today in your stomach. You can’t even focus on eating your salad and keeping up with Maria’s chatter about Tommy’s nose hairs all over the vanity.

Your baby is smart. She knows something is up. You narrow your eyes and look around, finding Joel and company at the bar—

Except the company he is keeping is NOT Tommy but instead, a gorgeous woman tossing her hair and flashing her pearly white teeth off at your husband, who’s giving her his full attention. She’s giggling with him, taking animatedly with her hands, lingering heavy eye contact and touching his watch as if looking for an excuse to get closer.

You forget about the massive planet sized lump in your belly as you instantly stand up, nearly tipping the table and all its dishes and cutlery over.

Maria is calling your name but you don’t have the mind to answer, striding over like a bull towards the bar.

“Hiiiiiiii!”

Joel and the woman both jump at the harsh shrill of an annoying, high pitched, slightly perturbed but faking a smile, voice screeching behind them—the most beautiful voice Joel’s ever heard…and had missed so dearly this week.

The woman looks over to you, seemingly startled that you had interrupted the conversation so brazenly.

“Oh, um, hi,” she offers, blinking off your pregnant belly and abrupt appearance.

“This is Joel,” you boast, pointing the shlump of a man in front of her.

“Ah-Hello—“ she smiles again to him.

You add quickly. “He’s my husband.”

“Oh.”

“And I’m his wife.”

“Ah—I—“

“Annnnnnnnd this is our baby!” You boast, proudly rubbing over that enormous swell of your tumtum so she can see in case it wasn’t the biggest fucking thing in this room. “And… you are?” You ask sweetly.

“Um…” she takes one last glance at Joel, his apologetic shrug saying everything then at you, your hard gaze burning holes into her head. “…leaving,” she says towards you.

“Great answer. I like you :) Bye Bye now!” You wave enthusiastically with a chipper voice and a deadly smile. She nods fretfully and pops off the stool, walking away like a threatened animal.

He just chuckles, shaking his head and looking down at his hands with a grin. “Ya know, she just came over to ask where I got my watch.”

“And did you tell her your WIFE bought it?” You ask, poking your finger at his chest.

He has to hide his crooked smile. It’s the first time you’ve directly spoken to him since Monday. “Yeah, I did. She asked where ya got it, because she was looking for one just like it—for her husband.”

Your finger fidgets slightly, expression drawing a blank at the revelation turning over in your mind.

“……………………………………………....................................oh.”

He rotates his stool to face you. You’re steeping in your thoughts, the confidence faltering just slightly in your mind at the realization of how grossly you had interpreted the situation between that innocent woman and your hubby. He didn’t even care, though. All he could think about was how his heart feels 10x lighter seeing you back in your usual, bold, daring, audacious self. All of your attention on him once again.

“I’ll admit, still felt good havin’ ya come to my rescue.”

You scoff, near offended by his words. “Well duh, you’re mine.”

“That right? Even these last few days?”

Yet another bomb goes off in your head at the second realization—that you had forfeited your punishment to ignore him to the ends of the earth.

You cross your arms defensively anyway. “Well... I…decided.”

“Mmm?”

“That…I needed a back rub. But you clearly you can’t pick up on that on your own so—now I have to verbally tell you.”

“Ah huh. Sure it wasn’t cuz you were jealous? Couldn’t stand me being interested in another woman since my own made it clear she didn’t want me no more? Because my wife decided she couldn’t be patient and wait the extra 13 minutes I was running late before punishin’ me all goddamn week?”

Oh wait—was he really only late by 13 minutes? You could have sworn it was an hour plus!

“That wasn’t 13 minutes! Do you know how to tell time? It was over an hour—“

“Did you set your clock back like I told you to the night before when we got back from the coast, into our own time zone?”

😳

- - - -

Also this is how I see reader getting ate out but trying to be nonchalaunt about it:

conveniently also my favorite shot of Pedro during a photoshoot

Permanent taglist:

@harriedandharassed @lola8888673 @its-nebuleuse @zliteraturehoe @merz-8 @joeldjarin @pascalscoffin @pedroshotwifey @ghostslillady @innerpersonunknown @missladym1981 @mrs-oharaxx @survivingandenduring @milla-frenchy @cockykookiee @fairytale07 @daddy-din @pedropascalsbbg @spookyxsam @somehopeatlast @millercontracting @pedrostories @mishala005 @theoraekenslover @animez96 @not-a-unique-snowflake-blog @puduvallee

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writingwithcolor · 5 months

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Author with cultural disconnect: How do I write without making it seem as if I hate my own heritage?

Anonymous asked:

I’m a white-passing Asian author, and I’ve never felt all that connected with my heritage. My current story centers on a fairy (re: fantasy-world POC) child and ends with her realizing that her parents are toxic af and her human best friend’s family takes her in. This is the perfect opportunity to sort through my own issues with my heritage and finally convince my monkey-brain that it’s okay to not know how to cook Vietnamese food or celebrate tet or speak Vietnamese… But I also realize that if I’m not careful, this could easily slip into “Hey, I hate my heritage and so should you!” So how can I stop that from happening?

Writing for yourself first, not an audience

I ask you a simple question: why put pressure on yourself to have any sort of non-offensive messaging for a story that hasn’t been drafted yet and is to convince your monkey brain it’s okay to exist as yourself?

That seems like the fastest way to stop the story from being actually cathartic and instead a performance art piece when you already feel hung up on performing as “properly” part of your culture.

As I said in Working Through Identity Issues and Other Pitfalls of Representation, not all stories you write need to be for public consumption. Especially stories you’re using for your own self-processing and therapy, because you’re trying to get a cathartic moment that is rewriting your own story.

At what point does the public need to be involved in that?

I do understand the compulsion to want to post—I have definitely posted some Questionable™ material in my drive to get validation for feeling the way I do, wanting people to witness me and say “same.” It’s a powerful urge. Sometimes it’s worked, but most of the time it’s just made me feel horrifically exposed.

But you really do not have to post in public to get any sort of validation. Set up a groupchat with friends if you want the cheerleading and witnessing—people who will know your story and give you good-faith interpretations and won’t accuse you of anything. Honestly I’d suggest setting up this groupchat anyway; as someone who just got one again after quite a few years without it, my productivity has skyrocketed from being around supportive people.

Let the monkey brain have its monkey brain moment and shut off the concept the story is for the public. Shut off the concept of performing for an unknown audience. It’s for you. Be authentic, no matter how bad it would look to outsiders. They’re not reading it. Part of getting catharsis, sometimes, is being the worst version of yourself, somewhere nobody else can see it.

Deciding to publish the work

If, after you do write it, you find that you actually do want to polish it up and put it somewhere… edit it. Rewrite it entirely if that’s what it takes. Take the story through the same drafting process every story needs to go through, ripping out the unfortunate implications as you go.

Editing can be its own form of healing, as you try to figure out what this character would need to not be hateful. As you realize, once this longform journal entry is out of your head, what was bothering you now that you can see it pinned down on a page. But you absolutely do not need to write with the intention of editing in that healing. When I’ve tried, it’s fallen flat.

The healing will come from being yourself, no public involved, and writing about your feelings in their rawest form. Anything else is extra.

There’s no point in trying to put guard rails on the drafting process, not for a deeply personal piece. And by the time that drafting process is done, you’ll likely have specific scenarios and contexts that you can ask about, and you might even have ideas on how to fix it yourself once the story has a shape to it.

This is 100% a situation where there’s no real sense in idea workshopping something in the plotting stage. You’re doing something for you. Decide if it’s for public consumption later (while acknowledging “no” is a perfectly valid answer), and only figure out how to make the story not overtly harmful if you decide to put it out into the public.

~ Leigh

#culture #cultural disconnect #creator responsibility #writing #authors of color #asks

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theprettynosferatu · 9 months

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CW: Orientation play/conversion. Remember that your sexuality is valid, and conversion is NOT a thing beyond fantasy. Also, fuck "conversion therapy"

“All I’m saying is…”

“Look, you’re speaking out of your ass”, Ava said, barely containing her frustration.

“How am I speaking out of my ass? It has been done and thoroughly…”, he tried to reply.

“Yes, yes, Pavlov, blah blah blah. But you’re talking about something else entirely, not conditioning reactions”

“Not Pavlov, Skinner! Actions can be conditioned too. Look around you! Mobile games, casinos, even the goddamn army uses conditioning to…”

“Can we agree that there’s a difference between conditioning obedience in a controlled setting and whatever the fuck it is you’re suggesting? You’re not talking about tapping on impulse to buy funbucks in a game! You are talking…”

“It’s only a difference of degree, not of kind. With the right combination of techniques…”

“No, there’s a core there that you can’t just… overwrite. Some things can’t be changed. Like… like how you can’t hypnotize someone into doing something they would never do”

“You know that’s bullshit, right? The whole hypnosis thing. You absolutely can make someone do whatever the fuck you want. It’s just a matter of how you approach it. Like, you would never harm a person, okay? But if I change what your idea of ‘person’ is, say, by making it more narrow you would absolutely harm someone I made you see as a not-person. Or maybe you can be made to believe you’re helping them, not harming them”

“That’s some creepy cult shit, dude. And anyway you can’t write a paper on this because a) there’s no evidence and b) doing the research to get evidence would be absolutely immoral. So I say look for another topic and for the love of God don’t go around spewing that bullshit if you want to ever get laid. Oh, speaking of! Linda will be arriving shortly and we have a date night, so please, please try to be a normal roommate and not freak her out. For me, okay?”

“When have I ever freaked her out? Linda loves me! And who knows, maybe she has an opinion on our little debate”

“Dude, she’s an Art student. I doubt she’ll be interested in our weird Psych dissertations”

“Perfect! Fresh eyes!”

“See, that’s the kind of weird shit I-”

The buzzer cut through the air, and a moment later Linda was inside the apartment, all smiles as usual. He took a moment to watch them as they embraced.

They were almost comical in their contrast. Linda was tall, taller than he was, willowy and slender, her limbs graceful and shapely, her hair a long, flowing river of playful copper that almost seemed to dance on its own volition– with her green sundress she appeared to him as some sort of elven princess ripped from the pages of a fantasy novel and stuck into a mortal world in which she didn’t really fit. Ava, on the other hand, was probably the shortest adult he had ever seen. He might be tempted to call her petite, but that had a connotation of a lithe frame, almost like a tastefully proportioned doll. Ava was the complete opposite of that. Sometimes he felt Ava was an experiment aimed at testing how much of a person’s weight could be tits and ass, held up by strong, thick thighs. He felt quite guilty about such thoughts, and he understood why she wore nothing but oversized t-shirts and hoodies. It was logical: an early, spectacular growth spurt, heightened by her small size, had made her the target of relentless bullying by jealous classmates and awkward come-ons by hormonal teen males. It enraged him, he realized. Ava was beautiful and the cruelty of idiots had made her feel pain about it instead of pride. He made a point to never stare at her, even if he sometimes failed. It made their relationship as roommates a tad hard, he had to admit.

Not that he had a shadow of a shot, of course. Ava had no interest in men.

Unless, of course, he was right in his theory. And he had good reason to think he was.

“So, Linda: Ava and I were having a bit of a debate…”

“Don’t start, dude”, said Ava.

“Oh, a debate! Do tell!” chirped Linda.

“Do you think we can be completely conditioned and changed, or is there some part of us that cannot be modified, no matter what?”

“Huh. Hard one. Like… a soul? I don’t know I buy it. I feel there isn’t really a self, you know? Like… Buddhism. The self is an illusion and all that”

“Come on, you can’t be serious! You can’t change who someone fundamentally is, and it’s sick to even consider it!”, said Ava.

“Well… what if I could prove to you it can be done?”, he stated, barely able to hold back. He know what he was going to do. He had been reluctant, but now it felt like a certainty.

“You can’t, so stop being an ass”, said Ava.

Fine. Game on.

“Linda, I love your socks! Pride socks!”

“Yup!”, said Linda

“What the hell–”, mumbled Ava.

He took a deep breath.

“Linda: rainbow socks…”

She replied in an instant.

“Are for sucking cocks!”

Ava felt as if reality had shifted into some horrible, twisted nightmare. She was about to scream something, anything really, to make Linda take that back before something stopped her in her tracks. Her body heard it before her mind did: her roommate's voice simply commanding her. Watch.

And she watched. She watched as the love of her life smiled and went on her knees. Ava could do nothing but watch in disbelief and pain. Linda had never been with a man. Ever.

“I might have… started testing my theories. On you both. Not that you’d remember, obviously”, he stated casually as the beautiful girl in front of him lovingly undid his pants. “I’d say Linda’s sexuality is part of her core self, wouldn’t you? Let’s see how that holds up after the months of conditioning I’ve subjected her to”

He felt guilty, sure; but there was such a high to it, such an entrancing quality to the combination of seeing instant, complete obedience and the final, definitive proof of the truth he had known to be right all along. Was it wrong? Yes. Did he care? Not at the moment. Ava’s eyes were a poem to him. Suddenly he was ripped from his reverie by the soft, loving touch of Linda’s tongue on his dick. He hadn’t even realized he had gotten hard just from the sense of complete power, of total, undeniable conquest. This was a primal, ancient arousal. Ava could do nothing but watch, and he took that sight in. God, he could almost taste it.

Linda moaned. The cock was so beautiful. So perfect. She felt so… silly, like she was now, for the first time, seeing in color and realizing the sky was, in fact, blue. It was obvious. Simple. Natural. Cock deserved worship. Cock deserved devotion. Cock demanded obedience. It was as if it was growing in her mind, taking over more and more of her, pushing who she had been out effortlessly. It expanded. It corrupted. It twisted and shifted all within. Cock. Cock. Cock. She kissed it with reverence, in awe of it. It was all that existed to her. All that mattered. She needed to please it. Needed to feel it throbbing inside her. Needed to be taken by it.

Ava saw her girlfriend slide a hand between her legs and felt nauseous. As much as she knew this wasn’t Linda’s fault, she could feel her heart breaking, her anger rising… and worse, her pussy getting wet. Her body betraying her. She hated him, and she hated Linda, and she hated herself most of all.

Suddenly, Linda couldn’t contain herself. She relaxed her throat, looked up at her Master and took his entire manhood inside her mouth. She almost came instantly. It was peaceful and sexy and just simple, like his cock was the puzzle piece that fit her perfectly, completed her, made her whole. She existed to be conquered, and realizing she was putting his pleasure over her ability to breathe was the final sign of her complete, loving surrender. She let it out, watched it glisten with her spit, and started licking it and loving it and she didn’t know how much came from her own need and how much it was a silent command by the man who had shown her the light. Her mind was too fuzzy to make such distinctions anymore.

He took a deep breath, fighting back the first signs of an orgasm. He needed to make a point.

“Linda… do you love Ava?”

The blonde stopped for a moment, shocked by a myriad of contradictions.

“Yes”, she decided. Her voice was shaking.

“Tell her”

Linda looked at Ava, the woman she had loved above all others.

“I love you…”

“But you have more to say, don’t you?”

“I… hmph… I…”

“Tell her”

“I love you… but… but… I love his cock so much more! Fuck! I need it! I need to feel it, to suck it, to be fucked by it… I’m sorry… but… I love it, I love it, I love it! I want it to fuck my throat, to take my cunt, to ram my ass! I need it! I need to be a slave to it, a whore for it, a fucking living toy!”

“What if you had to choose between Ava and my cock?”

“Fuck her! Sorry, my love… I do love you, but… You can never do to me what… what Master does to me, what his cock makes me feel! I hope I won’t have to dump you but… I would leave you for this cock in a minute! I’d do anything. Anything. Anything!” If she had more to add, her need to serve cock snuffed it. She took it all in with desperation, with total, shameless abandon. She needed to feel... used. In her proper place.

Ava felt a tear roll down her cheek. Her knees buckled in defeat. She didn’t even care. It was all gone. Her life, her love, all gone. And she could feel her eyes drawn again and again to the cock that had destroyed her. She felt her mouth watering.

“Linda, would you say you’re a lesbian?”

“Fuck no!”, she said before immediately wrapping her lips around the cock’s head.

He felt a swell of pride. Of triumph. He knew Ava sensed the truth as well. He was right. He had proven his point. And now Ava’s full conditioning would take hold. A little bet with himself, making her own mental acknowledgment of his theory her final trigger. She took off her t-shirt. She would never wear it again. No more shame, no more pain about her figure. Only arousal and pride. His gift to her.

She crawled to him on all fours. The girls kissed– but now, they kissed for him, to arouse him. They were lovers, only they both knew there was a higher love. A truer love. Ava looked up at her owner and opened her mouth, greedily awaiting his blessing. Linda used her skillful hands, aiming his cock and teasing it, jacking it off, using just the right amount of pressure and speed.

No man could resist such a sight.

In a few seconds, Ava was covered in his cum, more beautiful than she had ever been. Linda certainly felt that way, and she licked and kissed her sister slut clean.

He watched carefully, looking for signs of defiance, and finding none. In fact, Linda put his fears to rest with a simple statement.

“Ava, we need to buy you a pair of rainbow socks”

Did you enjoy this story? You can support my work at patreon.com/prettynosferatu !!

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hp-hcs · 3 months

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teenage dirtbag — yandere! asshole! theodore nott x obsessed! gn! reader x barely mentioned! enzo berkshire

requested

y’all be writing some long ass requests, so i’m posting this without the ask ✌️🥲

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“He’s not a slut!”

“Yeah, well, you only think that ‘cause you want him to sleep with you.”

You scoffed and rolled your eyes. “I’m not just in it for the sex, dipshit.”

Harry snorted. “You’re also not not in it for the sex.”

“Are you calling me a slut now?” You asked, pressing a hand against your chest in mock-offense. “I thought we were friends, you two-faced bitch.”

“Anyways, my point being,” Ron interrupted. “He’s a violent manwhore druggie with a superiority complex and daddy issues. He’s a serial cheater, a Slytherin, and a literal Death Eater, Y/n.”

You nodded in acknowledgment as you thought about the very valid points he brought up. “Yeah, but he’s hot.”

“I swear to Merlin, Y/n-”

~~~

“‘…I think you’re really cute and funny, and-’”

“What are you idiots doing?��

“You’ve got a secret admirer, Notty-boy,” Mattheo snorted, waving the letter he was holding.

“‘Secret’.” Draco mumbled, putting the word in air quotes.

The rest of the boys crowded around Mattheo, snickering as they read the love letter over his shoulder.

“You’ve even got flowers, Theo,” Blaise pretended to swoon. “How romantic!”

“L/n’s fuckin’…obsessed, man,” Mattheo shook his head in disbelief as he looked up from skimming the letter in order to point to the small pile of Valentine’s Day gifts that had been left on Theo’s bed.

Theodore groaned. “Salazar- I just don’t understand how they don’t get that I’m not into them.”

“Problems in your love life there, Nott?” Draco teased.

“They’re just so…clingy. And obnoxious. Constantly following me around ‘n shit.”

“Yes, having someone who’s head over heels in love with you must be so difficult,” Enzo deadpans. “However do you manage to survive?”

“Oh, shut up,” Theo scoffed.

~~~

“Here comes your worshipper, Nott,” Malfoy snickers, surreptitiously pointing towards you, who was making a beeline over to the Slytherin table.

“My- ah, shit.”

Theo frowned in annoyance as his friends burst into raucous laughter.

“Hi, Nott!” You greeted cheerily, a light blush on your face. “I was wondering if you’d like to go down to Hogsmeade to get a butterbeer with me?”

He scoffed, rolling his eyes at your feeble attempts at flirting. It was common knowledge that Theodore Nott didn’t do committed relationships, so why were you still trying?

“No.”

Your face fell. “Oh. Alright, then.”

Enzo glanced over.

“Next weekend maybe?” You tried again hesitantly.

“Merlin- You’re pathetic, L/n,” Theodore finally snapped. “How about you go get a life of your own instead of trying so hard to be in mine?”

You flinched back, your eyes widening, before you turned on your heel and left the Great Hall without another word.

~~~

“Oh- L/n’s here, Theo,” Mattheo snickered, watching you walk over to the Slytherins’ studying area in the library.

Theodore rolled his eyes, preparing for another barrage of mushy gushy romance bullshit. But you merely stepped around his chair with a murmured excuse me and continued down the row.

He watched, startled, as you stopped behind the study area’s couch and draped your arms over Berkshire’s shoulders.

Theo blinked.

Enzo, not even flinching or getting distracted by your sudden presence, just grinned to himself and clasped a hand around both of yours, his thumb rubbing small circles into the join between your wrist and palm as he continued his discussion with Blaise.

Theodore felt sick.

Then he heard you laugh at something Enzo said, and that’s what made him completely lose it.

He fumed. How dare Berkshire even look at you, let alone touch you? Berkshire didn’t deserve you. Who the fuck did he think he was?

You were his.

And Theodore would be damned if he was going to let Berkshire steal you away from him.

#harry potter #hp #fuck jkr #x reader #theodore nott #theodore nott x reader #hp x gn reader #theo nott #hp x male reader #x male reader #x gender neutral reader #gender neutral reader #theo nott x reader #yandere theodore nott #x gn reader #gn reader #yandere hp

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random-imagines-blog · 3 months

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Imagine Arthur Curry inadvertently hurting your feelings.

Earlier that week, he was at it again. Arthur, with his constant talk about how Atlantis is so full of adventure and excitement, when he’s not sitting on the throne anyway, so many different stories about a whole separate life that he lived down there. “You don’t get it - they almost started taking me too seriously down there!” Which sounded like the truth, because the council was always pulling him away from his fun and games - but most importantly, you. So it hurt when he would stay down there for longer than he needed, just to ride Storm around and try to race other creatures.

Yes, Arthur was the King of Atlantis, but as a human woman, you would never get to be the Queen, therefore half of his life was separated from you. He didn’t have to keep reminding you of it though - the empty bed in the morning, the dishes left in the sink, the stories he’d tell while drinking beer after beer on your couch - they did that for him.

Arthur, though he hadn’t meant to, hurt you whenever he forced you to remember that you weren’t ever going to be a part of every facet of his life, like you had invited him to be in yours.

The final blow was when he had come in three hours late for your anniversary dinner, and seemed like he had entirely forgotten about it. You had already eaten the nice dinner that you had made, changed out of the dress that you bought for this occasion into your pajamas, and were laying out by the television, watching Legally Blonde and totally agreeing with the scene where she throws the chocolates at her own television, claiming men are liars. In came Arthur, proving that point.

If the neighbors didn’t call the cops, you would be lucky at that point, because you sat up with tear tracks running down your face, and you let him have it. “Arthur, I get it, okay, you’re the King and you have all of these responsibilities and I’m so proud of you, really, I am. Your accomplishments are great, but - do you know how much it just hurts me, exhausts me, to know that … that you don’t belong with me up here, that you’ll probably fall in love with someone down there who can experience all of those things that you love and .. one day you’ll just leave me here, all alone?”

From the look on his face, he really hadn’t known a thing about how you were feeling.

“And another thing! Arthur, you missed our anniversary, to do .. what? You better have a good reason for it, for not even trying to call me because … because it broke my heart tonight,” You said, letting out a deep breath that it felt like you had been holding onto for ages. He looked surprised, and then he looked guilty and ashamed of himself, which - as bad as it sounded, made you feel validated.

“I’m sorry. Your night was wasted and - I’m really sorry for that.” Arthur hung his head down, his bushy brown hair creating a curtain around his head. Then he knelt down in front of the couch, taking both of your hands in his, stroking the back of them. When he finally looked at you, there was only apologies and love in there, and it made your heart beat faster, the sensation of what his presence had always done to you taking over again.

Arthur’s eyes were so light right then, like the ocean on a sunny day. “If there’s anything that I can do to make it up to you…”

Secretly, you had a whole list of things in your head that he could do. Arthur could get on his knees and beg your forgiveness, or he could make you dinner instead of you doing it for him, or he could bring you to the old dance-hall and give you a twirl on the dance floor like he had on one of your dates, but at the same time, you wanted him to come to these realizations on his own.

He looked so earnestly at you. He looked so ready to do anything that you would ask of him, even if it was something silly like do the chicken dance or run to the only open store on the other side of town and get your favorite snacks. For you, anything.

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll figure something out,” You sighed, bringing his hand up to your cheek and nuzzling it softly - almost using him as a tissue to get rid of the last of your tears. He didn’t seem to mind this either, his thumb grazing under your eye to catch the smudged mascara. “Some of me wants to know what you were doing out so late, should I even ask?”

“Shit, I was being an idiot,” He admitted, looking away bashfully. “You said you might have had to work today so I spent most of the night preparing for us to celebrate tomorrow…”

Your eyes went wide as you remembered that you had told him that. That you hadn’t told him you took the night off, because you were hoping that this was going to be a surprise. He continued on. “I don’t know much beyond burgers and beers but I was at that new place downtown, the fancy one - I had to go there and talk them into giving me a reservation for tomorrow night - apparently they were booked up but for me, they’ll put in an extra table.”

Oh, you felt the love then, how could you not? You let go of his hands and flung your arms around him, holding him tight after cursing him all evening, mentally chiding yourself for doubting this amazing man for even a moment.

Requested by: Anonymous

#Arthur Curry #Arthur Curry x reader #Arthur Curry imagines #Aquaman #Aquaman x Reader #Aquaman imagines #DC #DC imagines #request #imagines #arthurc

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hezuart · 6 months

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Ignoring everything about Helluva and Hazbin. Who would you say is your favorite character in both and what character are you most excited to see in Hazbin? For me my favorite characters are Blitz and Angel Dust, but I’m most excited to see Husk and what his deal is.

Before my disappointment in both series these two were my favs: Alastor. I liked that he seemed like a classic serial killer in some ways. He was charming and nice, but cruel and sadistic beneath the surface. It was sort of inferred he preyed on the innocent and tore to bigger bads to shreds. But part of him also was just some old fashioned guy into fashionable parties, old radio technology, and is an aro/ace rep. It left things open for interpretation. Maybe he just wanted to join Charlie to laugh at other people's failures. But also maybe he wants to protect a fresh talent; help Charlie realize her true potential and give into her demonhood instead of denying it. Maybe he sought validation for his misdeeds- that turning back was never an option despite perhaps secret regrets within. Maybe he wanted to interrupt the status quo, he knew Charlie was going to stir up chaos, everyone was already talking about her, she is a HUGE news sensation regardless of positive or negative, and that would be good for his radio business since he is in a big rivalry with Vox, the TV overlord. But also, perhaps, he was manipulating Charlie because he had a secret bigger goal, maybe trying to get to Lucifer or the throne. Maybe he's just securing more power for himself by associating with the King of Hell's daughter. There was just a lot of potential to his character.

~ As for Helluva, I think Stolas was my favorite. He was a posh, manipulative, selfish high-class demon with connections who cheated on his wife and kinda left his daughter (who he once cared deeply for) for some low-class asshole imp. The entire operation is an illegal power trade for sex. He's not only destroying his reputation amongst Hell, but he could also get all of Hell into trouble because IMP's carelessness- the video evidence of demons being real... he's violated the statute of secrecy and can have everything taken from him potentially. It's such high risk for little reward. Makes you wonder if he just got bored with his life, or was unhappy in his marriage but didn't feel like it was socially acceptable to divorce his wife and leave his kid. Just feels like whatever the case, it was a thrill for him. He hires Blitz as his "knight in shining armor" to "protect him" when he is literally a powerful demon that is so uninterested and unworried about demons attempting to kill him. It's all a fantasy. It's all fake. He never needed Blitz's protection (when he wants it anyway)

Until he started catching feelings over his fantasy Blitz, so he started asking him on dates only to get shut down. When Blitz finally asks him... he's ecstatic, only to realize they don't actually have any chemistry with each other. That Blitz actually only used him and didn't actually wanna go on a date with him. And then, Stolas finally realized he doesn't actually know who Blitz is outside of his current status as an assassin. The relationship is taboo and Blitz doesn't even seem to want him. Stolas realizes he gave up the life he had (a bad and boring one maybe) for a fantasy (not real) He's ruined everything. He isn't even aware that his wife is trying to get him assassinated. He isn't self-aware of his disrespectful manipulative classism that upsets Blitz so much. ("impish little plaything" / "Little ones") He isn't aware how much he's hurt his daughter and how much she blames him for everything since he would and has chosen Blitz over her. He isn't even aware that Blitz has legitimately protected him and has his own personal baggage with relationships that holds him back. The potential to see a prince and a pauper on-screen develop respect, go from fake one night stands to potential actual lovers... there's so much you can do with this.

Stolas was a pompous prince dethroned and turned humble by his misdeeds and mistakes. Unrewarded in his arc for change. Set up for destruction, set up for failure. He's a tragic character. The chaos his arc creates is so boundless and entertaining.

The potential behind these two, the initial set ups... who they are... what they could be... I loved it.

#im prepared for disappointment but #i love the perspectives i have of them #theres a lot of layers and potential and arcs #hazbin hotel #helluva boss #alastor #stolas

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manlvrr · 2 months

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Least Favorite TTBGO Episode: The Bunker List

Lol no guys I haven’t updated any of my fics. I’m working on an edit but it’s going really slowly. To be fair, I’ve been busy this week. Not busy enough to watch TTBO and read Trolls fics tho LMAOOOO (mainly I’ve just been unmotivated)

Besides Hair-Jitsu, The Bunker List is one of my least favorite TTBGO episodes (I HATE IT (besides certain moments 😋)) because it’s just Branch giving into peer pressure and making it seem like it’s only his fault for rushing through his bunker list. Guy Diamond and Smidge are annoyed at Branch for not doing things on his bunker list which, to an extent, is valid. Branch needs to get out more, but we’re talking about Branch here. The same Branch that was gray for 20 years. It’s not going to be easy for him to go through the list when he struggles so much with ‘basic’ social cues/expectations.

It’s not like he isn’t attempting to be more social either. He’s actually made good progress since the first episode.

Branch only made the bet because Guy Diamond and Smidge had gotten on him for not wanting to do things on his list. When he first said to give him a year to do the things, they scoffed and rolled their eyes. A year isn’t that long to complete a bucket list though? Especially not for someone like Branch who, again, was gray and miserable for 20 years. Poppy made a good point with telling him to do the list at his own pace. (She is surprisingly wise for a Pop troll surrounded by excessive positivity) I just wish they focused the lesson on not letting others get into your head over how you do things instead of ?? Idk whatever the lesson for that episode was.

What annoys me most out of that entire episode is that Branch still has to be humiliated in front of his friends (and only his friends thankfully bc seriously???? In front of everyone?!?!?! That was a horrible bet). They laugh at him when he tried to apologize (again, to an extent, fair bc he was being so aggressive towards his friends cause of wanting to finish his list on time). That was bad enough except then neither Smidge nor Guy Diamond apologized for pressuring him which really rubbed me the wrong way.

They were the whole reason Branch did all that. Poppy didn’t want the bet to happen yet they hair shook with Branch to make the bet official.

Several times throughout the TTBO and Trollstopia series Branch is made fun of for not being ‘normal’ or made the bad guy/blamed for stuff he didn’t do or wasn’t completely at fault for. I hate it so bad and this episode is one of the main examples of this. Ugh.

Also, I don’t completely like that bunker list bc of those same reasons. It’s a good idea but when Branch completes a part of the list the scrapbook says “One step closer to being normal!!”

. . .

Pop trolls try not to make Branch feel bad for being extremely socially inept due to 20 years of isolation, grayness, and trauma 🙀🙀 CHALLENGE IMPOSSIBLE ‼️‼️

Bro still isn’t his original colors of course he won’t be as happy as the other Pop trolls

Anyway, yeah, rant over. If you made it this far congrats on reading to me take a kids show way too seriously 🤗

#branch trolls #branch #rant post #trolls the beat goes on #trolls series

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kelseytheballerina · 10 months

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how do you have a high maintenance routine while being married? I assume that being married means that you now have a heck ton of new responsibilities, I know that it’s not really just your life anymore, as you now have 2 lives in one. and not just focusing on yourself anymore, you have somebody else. I know I’ll get married in the near future but a part of me is afraid that i’ll lose what I have now or won’t be able to do what I want to do in the future, like pampering myself, making time for myself to do all those things you mentioned in your high maintenance routine while cooking for two, cleaning the house, running errands, doing my own work from home as well, and eventually with children as well. I want to get married but it seems overwhelming and scary that maybe I won’t be able to have this high maintenance lifestyle doing things I want to be doing because of how busy life will get as a married woman. AND being pregnant too.

No this is a very valid question. As it turns out, being married didn’t diminish my free time or ability to pamper myself at all. If anything, it’s given me more of it. I have plenty of time to myself since I don’t have to work, my husband is a doctor that works really long hours, neither of us are messy people and he doesn’t control my schedule but rather I decide it all. If I had to scrub our apartment from top to bottom every day bc he leaves stuff all over the place and makes a mess like a toddler in a daycare, I wouldn’t be with him. Nothing worse than a nasty man whose mama never taught him to put dishes in the sink and clothes in the hamper. He’s naturally quite neat and low maintenance so I’m not really spending a ton of time tending to him. All of the things I do are things I was going to do anyway. Dishes, cooking, cleaning, laundry, tidying up etc are standards for living I already set for myself whether I would be living alone or not. A few extra dishes from his serving is no problem. If he gets hair all over the bathroom floor he sweeps it up himself. Yes I have to run a few errands for him since he doesn’t always have the time (for example going to the post office is near impossible with his work schedule) but it’s not a frequent thing and I know he’d do it for me, no questions asked.

Not all marriages are the same and some partners may require more of your time and energy. Obviously my marriage is still young so I can’t speak on the long haul, but for now it’s very chill. The only “restraint” (and I use that word lightly) is more so related to timing. If he’s home at 6:30pm, then I need dinner ready by that time instead of me cooking all willy nilly at 8pm or smth. Outside of breakfast and dinner requiring me to keep a timing to match his work schedule, he has little bearing on my day to day endeavors.

He actually enjoys when I do fun things for myself and takes pride in being able to provide it. He likes when I send cute selfies from the nail salon or spa or cafes I’m at. If there’s times where I’m being more of a homebody and just staying indoors all day, he encourages me to go out and have fun, try a new place to eat, meet up with a friend, etc. Some men hate seeing women being pampered and being leisurely and some men absolutely love it and encourage it. If you’re a girl who spoils yourself even when single, get a man who appreciates that and wants to contribute to the spoiling, not snuff the flame or expects you to “sit down”. I’ve never understood that. You get a girl who always looks cute with her hair and makeup done, nice clothes, fun experiences and then expect her to stop bc she’s married now? You should’ve been with a plain Jane in the first place then!

When our baby is born, that will be more of a change than my marriage in and of itself since she’ll have a nap schedule, bath time, etc that will prevent me from always being able to get up and go on a whim or spend ample amounts of time at certain venues but that’s part of motherhood and the responsibilities and sacrifices that come with it. I’ll have to alter my schedule, pull back on the frequency I do certain things, and just wait for her to get a bit older. All moms can relate and it just comes with the territory but it doesn’t have to be a negative thing.

Basically it just comes down to making a schedule that works for you and prioritizing your self care and making the most of the hours allotted to you. Don’t lose yourself in your marriage. Your youth and fun doesn’t have to die just bc you’re wearing a ring.

#ask

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nightgoodomens · 4 months

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hi! just wanted to say that i love your blog!!

you actually changed a lot of my opinions on the Final Fifteen and how i had interpreted it before lmao

anyways- sorry that the fandom is pissing you off right now- that’s so valid actually. i love seeing aus and silly headcannons but some people just take things way too far- and if you get in too deep then you’ll forget what the show actually is…

but don’t stop creating!! i’m so happy you’re not planning on leaving 🙏 honestly having you and the others that recognize the insanity helps keep the rest of us sane too- it’s so refreshing seeing your opinions and things that i can agree with because it’s more true to the show :>

Hi! Thank you so much 🥰

This fandom changed a lot recently. I remember when S2 finished we were here creating posts how awesome every scene was, how much we love the characters, they love each other, finding clues, debating what could happen in S3. There was respect for the show, the creator, the actors, the story, and each other. We loved every single scene.

Now you post a compilation of Aziraphale’s heart eyes for Crowley, and a dickhead will add “he made Crowley his B****.” because nobody even remembers the show anymore, their brains are so rotten by fanom where there’s a need to reduce Crowley to nothing and humiliate him even though he did nothing to deserve the labels people are sticking on him, he’s literally the opposite of what the fandom says he is.

You will post “I think this might be the ending.” and you won’t see a debate with “Ohh maybe! Or maybe a little bit more like…” no, you will get “Obviouuuusly not because I AM right and THIS is what’s going to happen”.

You can’t post a funny idea because someone will go “Well OBVIOUSLY not because THIS idea is the only right one.”

You scroll randomly and the dash is filled with generally how Aziraphale is this badass who made Crowley his pet obsessed with him with zero respect for himself, who’s only purpose is running after Aziraphale and being pathetic for him, you will read how Aziraphale doesn’t think they’re an item or cares much really but he knows Crowley is obsessed with him, and you just have to block and leave because what the actual fuck.

What did people watch? Did we see the same show? The one where they’re shown loving each other, where Aziraphale was shown putting himself in trouble just so Crowley would come and rescue him, so they’d have an excuse to see each other and he was so cheerful when he did? Where he is flirty and so happy?

Where he spent whole season 2 looking at Crowley like at a picture and creating a BALL to dance with him, giving up his precious possession for him, so filled with love, meanwhile Crowley showed he cares for him and he will protect him because he loves him too, but he leaves the second Aziraphale pisses him off or doesn’t respect him, basically whole seasons showing they’re in love with each other which means they will do a lot for each other but there is always a line. Crowley is shown to be very independent and being anything but the ugly things people say about him.

Technically if so desperate to call one <list of those things> then they’d need to associate that with Az considering any show of love is <list of those things>. But somehow Crowley follows him once for a moment and gets labelled all the crap, how desperate/dependant/pathetic/slut etc he is, meanwhile Princess-save-me-and-I-will-give-out-my-possessions-for-you-and-try-to-make-you-swoon-with-a-ball-etc-Aziraphale doesn’t get labelled any of that crap and instead gets treated like some badass who owns Crowley. The actual fuck? Did they confuse which one is Az and which one is Crowley? Just so it is clear - I don’t think either deserve these things to be said about them. They’re in love! They’re flirting! They care for each other! That’s what it is, not… eh.

Suddenly Aziraphale isn’t a little flirt who wants to woo Crowley and loves him, wants to be rescued by him, coming up with things to make their love a little fantasy from the book, but still struggles with Heaven. He isn’t terrified of Crowley being destroyed. No, he is a badass who made Crowley his B**** and he will rule the world. Of course it’s meant sexually too, yikes. The fuck? The actual fuck? We are talking about Aziraphale heart eyes please save me Crowley? Aziraphale I’m making a ball so we can confess our love?

Suddenly Crowley isn’t independent, the serpent who introduced free will, strong in his beliefs who loves Aziraphale and hence protects him but walks out, out of respect for himself. No, he’s pathetic and will curl up and die without Aziraphale and just wants to be used and controlled by him. It’s all meant sexually too, yikes. What the fuck!? He’s strong and independent, hates to be controlled, and snaps and protects yet people make him nothing. He literally showed thorough the show and especially at the end that he would never be anybody’s “bitch”.

That’s literally Crowley’s WHOLE thing!

But everywhere it’s all just pathetic/wet/whore/slut/obsessed/bitch. Jesus Christ. Are any scenes bringing joy and heart eyes anymore, because it looks like everything was reduced to nothing. There’s no more “omg they love each other so much” “look at the heart eyes” “omg that’s so romantic” no it is all “obviously this means this one is a whore and this one is his owner” the fuck. “This means they’re fucking, this means this one is a slut, this means he’s a virgin, this means this one is experienced, this means this one is a Dom/Sub…” the fuck, the fuck, the actual fuck.

I need fucking lobotomy.

It’s sad what happened.

Shitting on Crowley and assassinating his character? Making Aziraphale who he isn’t? Totally cool! Posting things that actually associate with canon and don’t reduce characters to nothing or switch their personalities? Ew no.

At this point it is disregarding everything that happened in canon to “prove” something that’s obviously not true. Or latching onto one tiny thing and blowing it out of proportion to “prove” a point while ignoring the 100 things that proved otherwise. Or twisting things so hard it doesn’t even make sense. It’s frustrating.

It’s exhausting.

Sorry for the rant, anon. I used the excuse. I feel better and hope it will make a few others feel better better too 😂 I think I ranted enough that I won’t need to anymore.

Back to posting all the gorgeous stuff!

And creating!

Love ya 💕

#NightGoodOmens answers

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bellatrixscurls · 2 years

Text

boyfriend!billy hargrove; thoughts.

warning : bipolar disorder, crybaby!reader, mean!billy at some point and then just fluff.

he is just so awkward and mean at first and i imagine you being a crybaby, so its very often that he makes you cry or even throw a tantrum while sobbing violently because of him.

“oh, yeah! now go ahead and fucking cry. god you’re such a baby” he spat, rolling his eyes as you sat in your corner, choking on sobs.

you looked up at him with puffy eyes. “hate y-you” your heart broke as you said it, but it was the truth, you hated billy right in that moment.

he turned to you, his jaw clenched and he felt his chest tighten, but he managed to pretend further. “like i give a shit.”

but every single time he makes you cry, he brings you flowers and cuddles you the next day, saying how sorry he is and how much of an idiot he’s been for hurting his baby. and you always fall for it.

“p-promise?” you sniffled, bottom lip wobbling as his forehead pressed against yours, his eyes staring right into your own, arms holding you tightly against him.

“pinky promise, sweetheart” he kissed your forehead, his lips lingering for a bit before he moved in his previous position, “m never doing that again to you, never.”

but lord knows he does it again, and again. and it hurts him everytime too.

“you promised me!” you shouted, hitting him on the chest, your hands much too weak to hurt him, though.

and billy couldn’t say anything, not even protest like he usually did.

and after having calmed down, you only let out quiet sobs, your head heavy and nailprints in your palms, “get out” you muttered calmly, and he gave you a weird look, “get the fuck out!”

and obviously, he keeps ‘making it up to you’. until you do not fall for it anymore.

“you’re gonna have to do more than that this time, billy” you sighed, it hurt you to say that.

and he looked at you, clearly defeated, leaving the flowers on the table. “anything, i’ll do anything, sweetheart. just tell me and i’ll do it.”

so you tell him. you set a couple of rules, mostly trying to let him know that he has to change something this time. he has to let you in, and not push you away.

first, he starts picking out the flowers and not bring you the first one he sees at the shop.

“i brought you lilies!” he exclaimed happily, wide eyes looking up at you for validation. “i just thought you’d like them. they’re pretty. they, uh, r-remind me of you” he smiled to himself, looking down at the pretty flowers.

“they are, indeed, pretty” you leaned down to take a sniff, humming to yourself as you gave him a small smile, “do you think i’m pretty?”

billy blushed for a second, silently cursing himself for saying that out loud, but you found it entirely too cute. “so pretty.”

and then he opens up to you, and actually talks to you instead of yelling everytime he doesn’t like something. still, he keeps whining and acting like a baby the whole time, but you understand him. after all, he is doing his best.

“he was touching you!” he whined, pouting up at you.

“billy, he is my cousin” you tried to reason with him, but it was no use. billy was a jealous one.

“well he obviously likes you anyway, the freak” he muttered grumpily, pulling you into his lap, and holding your waist between his big hands.

you giggled at his furrowed brows, and his annoyed expression, your hands coming up to card through his locks. “but i don’t like him, hm? i don’t. can you trust me?”

and he nodded pathetically, of course he trusted you.

“love you, honey.”

and so of course he still has his moments where he just wants to scream and shout and old billy comes back. but his ego isn’t as big now. he hates seeing you hurt by bad old billy. so he comforts you everytime, apologising profusely and actually making it up to you.

frustrated, with his hands tugging at his locks, billy heard a quiet sniffle and his eyes fell on you; you were curled up in your bed. scared, after billy had yelled at you for something stupid.

billy’s eyes softened and his arms immediately engulfed you into a hug, pulling you flush against his chest. “no no no. no tears, angel” he shushed you, pressing hard kisses on your forehead, his eyes closing as tears start running down his cheeks. “he went away, my love. it’s alright, he’s gone now.”

and you just kept whimpering, “y-yeah?” you asked, eyes hopeful as you moved your neck so you could look into his eyes, billy’s heart breaking at the mess he’d made of you. “don’t like him, like you. love you, billy.”

“i love you, sweetheart. love you til the end of time” he reassured, kissing your head countless times trying to soothe you, “i’ll do better, i swear. will be better for you, my angel.”

and then he spends the rest of the day spoiling you, trying not to push you too much as your mind had turned foggy, and you were even more sensitive than usual.

he watched two movies with you, cuddled and made dinner for the two of you while you were taking a nap.

then, you buy him a little teddy bear, but not a normal one. this one is a teddy bear for people with a bipolar disorder, and it changes moods whenever billy’s does — because, obviously, he still has some moments when he is quiet and not verbal for him to tell you what is wrong.

“so you can let me know how you are even when you don’t feel like speaking about it” you said sweetly, handing him the bear.

billy took it and looked at it, perplexed, for a few seconds. he flipped it over a few times and you saw his eyes light up; he had found the buttons. as a matter of fact, at the bottom of the bear were some buttons, every mood written down next to its own button.

he flicked one of them and the teddy bear’s angry face turned into a smile and happy eyes. you felt like crying in that moment, and so you did.

you sobbed against his chest as billy sobbed into your hair. it was just such an emotional moment, and you were sure that if anyone were to watch you, they would think you were complete freaks. but it all made sense to you, both of you.

#billy hargrove x reader #billy hargrove x you #billy hargrove x y/n #billy hargrove fluff #billy hargrove angst

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mumms-the-word · 2 months

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tbh i'm actually kind of pissed at larian. regardless of if it's sticking it to hasbro or not, they're leaving the game in a potentially awful state and not delivering on promises they made, like the upper city. You also have SWEN talking about shit that could have been like ketheric's recruitment and what not, which stirs the pot even more and makes me angry. Like stop talking about it. we're already upset enough.

These are all very valid critiques, anon! I have many thoughts but I’ll put everything under the cut since I got a little long-winded because I’m passionate about video games in general.

I do play a bit of Devil’s Advocate here but please note I am not attacking you personally or trying to direct any hate towards anybody at all! This ask honestly gave me space to vent some thoughts I’ve had for months about this game. I did my best to offer nuanced perspectives and acknowledge my own biases. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, including their own disappointments and praises for Larian, Swen, the actors, and all involved in the making/maintaining (or lack thereof) of BG3.

TLDR: We shouldn’t put Larian on a pedestal as the Best Studio Ever, but we don’t have to grab our pitchforks and say they’re the worst studio ever either. If BG3 is a disappointment it might be because Larian flew a little too close to the sun trying to squeeze 80% of a functional D&D experience into a digital video game package, when (in my opinion) those two game genres are almost inherently designed to not mesh well, disappointing one fan while satisfying another.

———

Point #1, Idk how much Larian is sticking it to Hasbro but Hasbro IS a greedy corporation who has no idea how to make video games and I very highly suspect they’ve been making demands of Larian’s team that are impossible to meet without destroying the work ethic (and health/mental health/financial stability, etc) of Larian’s team. Hasbro just sees dollar signs. Larian isn’t necessarily as interested in milking BG3 for all it’s worth.

If they were, we’d be paying for Upper City in a DLC, and we’re not. Instead they’re choosing to pivot to a fresh new project that isn’t beholden to Hasbro or the demands of WOTC. Does it feel like they’re abandoning the game? Yeah, kinda. But if Swen says that his team looked visibly relieved to move on to something new, that gives me warning bells. Not against Swen, but about the crunch standard of games industries as a whole and possibly against Hasbro or WOTC. I’d much rather his team take care of their very human selves than grind themselves to ultimate burnout working on a game that is functionally complete, if buggy in places and not satisfying for some players because they didn’t get the content they wanted.

There is no perfect game, after all.

And honestly I’d say the same of any AAA studio too. I am consistently frustrated with game studios firing whole departments for the sake of retaining profits and treating their employees like content robots. Games should not be made at the expense of anyone’s physical or mental health, but unfortunately that’s The Industry Standard. (And personally I think Larian or at least Swen is uncomfortable with that.)

(Also I think people forget that making a game the size of BG3 requires the talents and hard work of hundreds of people. Larian was working with, what, 400 people? And that was after they hired like 250+ to even rise to the challenge of making BG3. Who are we even pointing the finger at for all these issues? Swen? He’s one man.)

Should they have promised something they couldn’t deliver? No. But also, I have no idea what issues led them to cutting the content, either. What’s done is done.

BG3 will be an obsolete game in a year or soon anyway, not because Larian isn’t working on it anymore, but because the games industry is just So. Freaking. Big. and pumps out thousands of games a year. Like, I hate to say it, but people are already dropping BG3 for other games like Dragon’s Dogma 2 because DD2 is shiny, new, and has a bonkers character creator.

And there’s nothing wrong with that! We’re not built to play (or work on) a narrative-focused game for 5-7 years, regardless of what any die-hard Destiny fan tells you (note: multiplayers without narrative get a pass purely because the focus isn’t on the narrative, but on collaborative play).

If a game is no longer fun to play, move on and find something that scratches your itch. Go back and play old games! There are so many things out there to explore. I have a To Be Played pile literally right now, a backlog of games I haven’t tried out yet. I’m sure many others do too.

Point #2 (and here I could be wrong, if I’m not already wrong in my opinions above), but they’re not entirely abandoning the game like…at the drop of a hat. They’re still promising at least a handful of hotfixes and at least one more patch with new evil epilogue endings (among other things).

Does that get us Upper City? Likely not. Does that add enough content to give Wyll a more well-rounded storyline, elevate all the romances to Astarion levels of cutscenes and dialogue, and finish Karlach’s questline with an actual solution for her heart? Also likely not. Is it precious to be mad about these losses? No! Be mad!! Wyll deserves justice!!!

I’d love to explore Upper City. I’m a huge advocate for Wyll getting more/better representation. If I could save Karlach without throwing her into Avernus I would in a HEARTBEAT. But these things aren’t in the game, and they likely won’t be. Larian made decisions to meet a (self-imposed? Hasbro imposed? Industry-relevant?) deadline that are ultimately disappointing. We can absolutely acknowledge that we’re disappointed.

But I don’t necessarily think Larian is just being lazy about these decisions, though. At the end of the day we have no idea what contracts Larian is under, what hell the developers have been through, either from the game industry, Hasbro, rabid fans, or excessively cruel critics, or what technical/gameplay/scheduling/financial issues they ran into at various parts of development.

Like the Ketheric thing (Point #3). Was it bad PR to bring up that Ketheric was a “kill your darlings” decision late in development around the same time you’re openly promoting the end of your relationship with BG3? Yeah. Totally. But I’m not surprised they had to cut something like that. Games, movies, books do that all the time. How many deleted scenes from movies have we seen where it could have changed the whole narrative (maybe even made it better) if it had just stayed in? I can think of a handful. It sucks, but trust me, it hurts the writers and developers way more to cut content they’ve poured money and time and heart and soul into than it hurts us, the players who would never know the wiser if they hadn’t said anything.

But also, the game is ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE. On PC you have to have 150GB free just to install it. Can you imagine how big it would be if they had shoved everything they wanted into it, even if they had delayed the game a while to make it happen? 150GB is a lot.

For perspective, that puts it on par with a very, very, VERY tiny sector of PC games at about the same level (or higher) of GB requirements, including Red Dead Redemption 2 (a fantastic open world game that still holds up in 2024), Microsoft Flight Simulator (which requires 150GB because it’s literally just flying through high quality renders of actual Earth), Forspoken (everyone says all the GB went to graphics here and I believe them), Star Wars: Jedi Survivor (which only has about 50 hours of playable content, allegedly), basically any VR game, and ARK: Survival Evolved which comes in at a whopping 400 GB mostly because of DLC. In other words, games that big get that big either because of graphics or like a hundred DLCs.

BG3 manages to fit in gorgeous cinematics, a super complex spell-combat system, a more or less streamlined video game build for complex D&D combat rules and mechanics, 10 potential companions, 8 romances among those companions, several large maps to explore, and branching narratives that would take you days to read every scrap of dialogue for (I’ve downloaded the datamined files for Patch6, and there are whole leagues of dialogue, encounters, and bits that are in the game, unbugged, that most of us pass by because we don’t explore enough). You want to know where most of the GB goes? It goes towards sustaining a D&D combat/narrative structure that was originally never built with video game constraints in mind.

Do you know how many conditions/status effects there are in the game? Over 1100. 1100+ unique descriptions and titles for conditions that debuff or buff your character or your enemies, granting hundreds of actual gameplay affects. Do you know how many spells there are across the 12 playable classes and all unique spells for enemies and allies? Like 400, if we’re getting picky and splitting hairs over stuff like Rolan’s Magic Missile being different than the usual Magic Missile or if we’re splitting out something like Disguise Self into its 32 different variations. Each spell needs a different icon, a different graphic effect, and it needs to do the right kind of damage and cause the right kind of condition or effect, some of which are immediate, others which linger.

We can speak with dead with hundreds of characters. That’s a lot of dialogue. We can talk to ANY named NPC. That’s a lot of dialogue! We can talk to any animal, with or without speak with animals enabled. That’s a lot of dialogue!!

A single playthrough where I try to explore as much as possible takes me 150 hours or more. I have 500 hours in this game and I’ve only got 4 characters and I’ve only finished 2 of them. This game is mind-bogglingly big. Even if it’s not the biggest game in history ever, or even the biggest game by the time of its release, its BIG.

The biggest critique I would have here is one that I’ve had since I first started playing the game, and it’s that D&D systems and video games don’t mesh comfortably well. I think that Larian got distracted trying to make the ultimate D&D experience, catering to a demographic that is known to ignore plot and pursue shenanigans, and Larian felt the need to build in a lot of shenanigans.

I think they got a little overzealous about it, and that’s where we have missing content, and a lot of fluff that isn’t always plot-relevant. If the game feels unfinished, it’s because Larian started too many threads, and while there are endings to all of those threads, many of them feel rushed or unsatisfactory. Why do they feel unsatisfactory? Because we’re offered so much freedom early on, only to be pulled back into the much more limited narrative constraints of a video game at the end. Because the game has to end eventually, unlike a D&D campaign which could go on or explore many other possibilities. But by act 3 in a 150 GB game, we’re running out of time and space.

And yes that’s disappointing as hell and Larian could and arguably SHOULD have made different decisions on what to focus on.

But ultimately, you just can’t fit a full-on, any-choice-goes D&D experience in a game that needs to be packaged neatly enough to run on most PCs or consoles, and Larian was ambitious as hell to try. Contrary to popular belief, I think they did pretty freaking well given the challenge, and no, it isn’t perfect, and no, to confess to my own bias, I don’t have the same complicated history with the game that early access or release day players have because I bought the game like 2 months after it was out and patched twice. But they’ve clearly built a game that people love so much they’re upset there isn’t more of it, or at least upset it isn’t the best it can be.

But sometimes we have to be realistic too. I can only imagine how many more bugs or render issues we’d get if they did try to shove in Upper City at this point. Games can only be so big before they start to become too much for the systems that try to run them and I don’t want the games industry veering towards making games an elitist hobby for only the rich and elite who can afford expensive rigs and $100 games.

(And also, I’m not at all upset that for $70 bucks I got 500 hours of gameplay and I’m not 100% sick of it yet. When EA and Activision are getting players to pay hundreds in micro transactions and DLC and dangling extra maps and new missions behind paywalls? Bish, please, I’m good. You want to talk about an unfinished experience? Dragon Age: Inquisition made us pay for our epilogue content as a DLC. At least Larian built theirs in for free from the start.)

Anyway.

All that said, I’m sure if Larian could turn back the clock and start over, they’d make different decisions about what to keep, cut, and refine. But we’re here now.

If I want to see anything from Larian right now, it’s a dedication to fix ongoing bugs that make the game unplayable or that block the narratives that they have built so that they play correctly (like with the Minthara romance). IDEALLY I’d like to see them add more content for companions other than Astarion, to equalize the romance experiences, but I’m not holding my breath (again, considering things like game development, actor schedules, contracts, etc).

While I’m sad about the permanent loss of stuff like the Upper City and disappointed by all the rushed questlines, I’d rather them fix the bugs that make the game un-fun to play and bow out gracefully once they’re sure the game won’t need constant supervision.

Besides, they’re working on cross-platform mod support, and mods are gonna add and mess with the game for many years to come, so we can pivot to support them instead while Larian works on its next game (and hopefully learns from its mistakes with BG3).

#bg3 critical #bg3 #my thoughts #super long post #long post #larian critical #op/anon I appreciate you and your ask #my hyperfixation triggered and I almost didn’t post this :’)#anyways feel free to ignore

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softie-rain · 3 months

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Pairing: Coriolanus Snow/Sejanus Plinth

Tags: possibly ooc - takes place two years before canon - coryo is weirdly nice - idk guys this is so lovesick and fluffy I'm not used to it

Summary: Having a crush on the handsome boy you share classes with has got to be the most embarrassing thing to happen to someone. Like, seriously: how do you hide it without failing? Or, Sejanus Plinth is caught staring at Coriolanus Snow during class.

Notes: inspired by the headcanon @incorrect-pipravi sent, which you can find here. Was supposed to be a small drabble and instead ended up 2k words (which is shorter than what I usually write anyway.)

Also damn I haven't posted my writing on tumblr since FOREVER it's been ages fr. So this is your reminder that other than bitching about coryo and sej I also write

you can read it on ao3 here

Sejanus kept staring at his reflection in the mirror, fixing his hair. He wasn’t one to usually care about his looks, as long as he looked decent enough to go out in public. But lately he felt like had to be at his best, even going as far as thinking of wearing his favorite sweatshirt (the blue one Coriolanus gave him for his fourteen birthday, he had been the only one to show up at the party he had organized), but the weather was definitely too hot for that one. Besides, the uniform was mandatory at the Academy.

“Sejanus, why are you still here? You have to hurry if you don’t want to be late!” His mother entered the room, looking at him with worry. Sejanus turned with an apologetic look.

“Don’t worry ma’. I’ll be fine.” He said. Mrs. Plinth nodded and walked over to him, patting him on his back.

“You look perfect, darling. I’m sure this secret girl you seem to like so much will adore you!”

“Ma’!” Sejanus heavily blushed, gently pushing his mother away in embarrassment. The old woman chuckled, smiling at her son.

“There’s no need to be ashamed of it. Everyone has their first crush at some point.” She said, trying to reassure her son. Sejanus wanted to laugh. Of course his mother didn’t know. There was no way she could have found out on her own, and he never said anything. She was convinced Sejanus was in love with a girl from the Academy, and he surely wasn’t going to be the one to break the news to her that said girl was actually Coriolanus Snow.

He wasn’t sure his ma’ would have minded actually. She thought Coriolanus was a good boy, and even his father appreciated him. Yet Sejanus had never told them the truth, and he wasn’t going to. Whether out of shame, or fear, it didn’t matter.

Sejanus shook his head, ignoring his mother’s comment. “I better get going now or, as you said, I’m going to be late. See you later ma’.” He said, waving at her as he walked out of the apartment.

After the short drive to the Academy he ran up the stairs rushing to get to class, even if there was no need to. They had assigned seats, he knew he'd end up sitting next to Coriolanus either way. But he also wanted to chat before class started, and Coryo always seemed to arrive awfully early, for some unknown reason.

When he finally got in the room he smiled upon noticing the curly haired boy with his head down in the textbook, probably revising for the lecture of the day. Coriolanus was a perfectionist like that, always studying, making sure everything he did was excellent, especially when it came to the Academy and his studies. Sejanus was pretty sure he had never failed one single class.

Clemensia Dovecote hadn't either, but she didn't put in half the effort Coriolanus did. Coriolanus Snow always worked much more than what was required, sometimes Sejanus wondered if it was because he wanted to be better than everyone else. Or maybe he just craved academic validation.

Either way, Sejanus thought it was extremely attractive. When he was always so carefully focused in class, and Sejanus so carefully focused on him. The way he'd bite his lip when he tried to get a particularly difficult subject, his small frown when he didn't understand something. A barely perceptible one, that he tried to hide to not show that he was confused but that Sejanus could see anyway. If he paid as much attention to the lesson as he did to Coriolanus he'd probably ace every class he took.

But Coriolanus was much more interesting than whatever Mrs. Click could ever blather about, right?

“Morning Coryo.” He greeted him, sitting next to him.

“Morning.” Coriolanus replied, without looking up from his book.

Sejanus bit his lip, trying to think of something to say to keep the conversation going. “What are you reading?”

“History of Panem.”

“You don't need to revise, I'm sure you'll do great as always.” Sejanus told him, smiling, thinking he'd complimented him. But Coriolanus sighed.

“That doesn't mean I'll stop studying for the exam.” He replied coldly, probably annoyed Sejanus interrupted him. So he nodded and left him to read, at least until Professor Demigloss arrived and started his lesson.

Sejanus tried to pay attention, he really did, but his eyes were drawn in as if by magnets to Coriolanus’ beautiful blonde curls that so gracefully fell on his face. Sejanus observed as he moved them away, his blue eyes focused on the board in front of him. He also noticed as Coriolanus started chewing on his pen while listening to Demigloss’ - rather boring - explanation.

Sejanus found himself wondering what it would have been like to kiss him, to have those lips on his. Would he have bit down on Sejanus’ lips the same way he was biting down the pen? Would he have been rough, or sweet and soft?

He always assumed Coriolanus was a rough lover, but he couldn't know for sure, maybe he would-

“Mr. Plinth, I believe the board is here and not where Mr. Snow is sitting.”

The professor's voice made him snap out of his lovefool trance, and Sejanus’ head immediately turned to face Professor Demigloss, who looked rather annoyed. He felt his cheeks grow warm, and he knew he was probably the same color as his Ma’ tomatoes when they were mature. He muttered an apology and looked down at his notes-less book, too embarrassed to meet anyone's eyes.

He could hear his classmates snicker, and he knew they wouldn't easily make him forget this. But, gosh, the worst were Coriolanus’ eyes on him.

Sejanus could basically feel his gaze, burning like his stare alone was setting him on fire, and he wanted nothing more than to get up and leave the room.

The rest of the class went on painfully slowly, Sejanus could have sworn it lasted hours. As soon as Demigloss dismissed them he instantly got up, packed his bag and left, ignoring Festus calling for him and rushing out before anyone else could make fun of him. Especially Coriolanus.

Truthfully he didn't think Coriolanus would. He never joined in with the others - especially Festus and Arachne - when they talked about him behind his back or made fun of him, ever since they were kids, so he didn't see why he'd start now. Either way, Sejanus couldn't stand the confrontation to test his assumption.

He tried to ignore Coriolanus the best he could the rest of the day, and he thought he managed. But then Coryo stopped him at the Academy entrance, right when he was about to leave once all of his classes were over.

“Sejanus? Can we talk?”

Sejanus shrugged, trying to play it dumb. Maybe if he pretended nothing happened Coriolanus would forget about it. “S-sure. About what?” He said, praying his voice didn't sound as high pitched to Coriolanus as it did to him.

“Uh, the history project we have to do? I thought maybe we could work on it together.”

Sejanus sighed in relief, covering it with a cough. He cleared his throat before raising his eyebrow. “History project?”

Coriolanus nodded. “Yes. Professor Demigloss talked about it today in class. Or were you too busy staring at me to pay attention to him?” He asked, grinning.

Sejanus started blushing, his eyes widening as his mind tried to come up with some excuse or at least a way to get out of that situation. His palms were getting sweaty and he could feel the panic rising up in his chest. “Oh, uhm, no. Obviously, I was listening. I was-”

“Sej relax. I'm just teasing.” Coriolanus interrupted him, his grin only growing wider. “So? What do you say about the project?”

Sejanus thought it was weird how Coriolanus didn't seem to mind it, but definitely didn't complain. If his friend was cool about it, then he was going to be as well. He nodded, avoiding eye contact. “Of course.”

“Great. It's due tomorrow so the sooner we start working on it the better.” Sejanus gave him a short smile, agreeing with him.

“I'd suggest going over at my place, but the cleaners are around today. They’re usually very invasive, I don’t want them scooping around while we study.” He explained, sounding annoyed. Sejanus nodded, understanding his problem. He had the same struggles with his own cleaners, though usually they left him alone when he asked.

“It’s okay, I get that. Maybe we could study at my place then?” He suggested, trying not to blush again at the thought of him and Coriolanus alone in his bedroom. Coriolanus didn’t seem to notice his struggles at keeping his cool and nodded, mumbling a ‘sure’ before following Sejanus outside where his driver was waiting for him.

Sejanus spent the drive to his house in silence, hoping his mother had gone through with her plan for the day and was out shopping. He wanted to avoid any awkward meeting between her and Coryo. But of course, when they got into his apartment, there she stood in the kitchen waiting for her beloved son. “Sejanus? Is that you?” She asked, walking over to them. Her eyes slightly widened in surprise when she noticed Coriolanus with him. “Oh! I didn’t know you were going to have friends over. Hi, Coriolanus.”

Coriolanus smiled at the woman. “Hello Mrs. Plinth. Sorry for intruding.” He said, giving Sejanus’ mother an apologetic look.

“Oh nonsense. I was about to leave anyway, I need to buy some new clothes for little Sej here.” She said smiling. Sejanus felt as if his skin was on fire at his ma’ words, and he could see in the corner of his eyes Coriolanus trying not to laugh.

“Okay well me and Coryo will be studying in my bedroom, see you later ma’.” He said quickly, wanting to get out of that situation as soon as possible. Once they got to his room they immediately started working on the project, neither of them wanting to waste any more time. Coriolanus shared his notes with Sejanus since he had taken none during class, too busy staring at Coryo.

The evening went on uneventfully, they spent most of it on the books with one snack break where Sejanus offered Coriolanus the cookies he had baked the day before, which the blonde boy seemed to most definitely appreciate considering the eager way he was eating them.

Sejanus was sitting on his bed while Coriolanus was at his desk, leaning on the chair. They were almost done with the school work when Coriolanus spoke. “Why were you staring at me?” Sejanus blushed and dropped his pen on the floor, immediately picking it up as if the falling object could have been a new source of embarrassment for him. “Earlier, in class.” He added, as if he needed a reminder of what Coriolanus was talking about.

“Uhm…” Sejanus didn't know what to say. He avoided the subject all day. He knew it was impossible for Coryo to forget about it so quickly but he wasn't expecting him to bring it up now either. Especially since he had sounded fine with the situation that morning.

Coriolanus must have noticed Sejanus was rather uncomfortable, because he immediately specified, “I'm not making fun of you for it. I'm just curious. Did I have something on my face?”

He was smiling, but Sejanus wasn’t sure it was meant to be a joke. More of a light comment to put him at ease. Though he didn't work he appreciated the effort, so much he thought Coriolanus deserved the truth, or at least half of it. Sejanus had never been good at lying anyway.

“No, nothing like that. Honestly? I was looking at your hair. And your eyes.” He confessed, avoiding the other's gaze.

Coriolanus frowned. “My eyes?”

“Yeah. They're very… blue. And pretty. It's like staring at the ocean, or the clear sky. Sorry, I know it's dumb. Just got caught up in my thoughts I guess.” Sejanus mumbled, drawing doodles on his hands as he tried to fight the urge to ramble out dumb excuses that would have led Coriolanus to realize he had a crush on him.

He had just admitted he thought his eyes were pretty, could it get worse than that?

Fortunately he didn't have to find out because Coriolanus simply nodded and dropped the subject. Sejanus didn't say anything either, but when he raised his eyes again and saw Coriolanus bouncing his leg nervously under the desk he could have sworn he saw his cheeks growing red, though he was clearly trying to hide it.

Sejanus smiled and looked down, going back to check his notes, when Coriolanus spoke again. “I like your eyes too.” He said, catching Sejanus by surprise.

“They're this dark brown color that gets lighter if you observe them under the sunlight. They look like milk chocolate chips.” Coriolanus commented, never once switching his position or raising his head to look at Sejanus as she talked. “I love chocolate.” He said, and it was clearly the end of their conversation on the matter.

He loves chocolate. He loves my eyes.

The thought kept playing loud in Sejanus’ head as he tried hard to stop his blushing, failing miserably. Maybe that day hadn't been so terrible after all.

#snowjanus #snowplinth #sejanus x coriolanus #coriolanus x sejanus #sejanus plinth #coriolanus snow #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #the hunger games

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tabithatwo · 11 months

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jackie is a mean girl and i don’t get why people defend her nasty ass. girls like her who think they’re pretty so they can do anything piss me off then they all jump in to defend each other for shitty behavior. watching you do that tells me exactly who you are.

WOW! What a thing to say to a stranger!!

The bigger person in me would probably say clearly you’re hurting and that’s making you decide to be just awful and I hope you heal BUT I had a killer month so she’s actually not home today and instead you get my honest reaction, which is probably fine since you sure gave me your unfiltered opinion!!

Jackie isn’t a mean girl. It’s not even a matter of opinion, it’s a matter of who can pay attention to a fucking show and who cannot pay attention to a show and dives into their own stereotypes and throws them around and covers the text with their own bullshit.

You can have a LOT of different views on Jackie (and any other character!) and they can fall into the purview of differing interpretation (I have a lot of specific reads on her character that I know are not popular opinion and I don’t think people are wrong for disagreeing with!), but I’m sick of pretending like this black and white, jackie is an uncaring cruel mean bitch line of thinking is a valid opinion. It’s just fucking not, like you’re just making shit up at this point. And that’s okay! View media however you want! If you want to imagine that Jackie is a mean girl then that’s your right!

But to come into peoples asks and onto their pages and just spew shit like this is suuuuuch bullshit. And I’ve hesitated to straight up tell people they’re wrong before because that really isn’t my style, but you know what? This was fucking mean and WEIRDLY personal and I’m tired, so you come to me with this shit from now on and I will simply tell you that you are fucking wrong and you have really fucking bad media literacy <3

(If you have these opinions on your OWN BLOG AND NOT IN MY ASKS WHILE YOU COME FOR ME PERSONALLY IN THE SAME BREATH I will see it and think damn I couldn’t disagree more, but I won’t comment on it like that because it’s YOUR SHIT, does this make sense to everyone, do we see the distinction?)

Anyway, you don’t know shit about me. And I don’t know shit about you but since we’re making assumptions here, maybe you were treated poorly by someone and you can’t stop labeling other girls and women unfairly based on that experience, but tbh the way that you are so locked onto hating this teenage girl character and so willing to tell me that you know “exactly who I am” and imply that I’m a “nasty ass mean girl with shitty behavior” really leads me to believe that whoever you are projecting onto Jackie might not have even been mean to you! because you seem to be pretty damn comfortable being the mean one yourself!

Anyway to anyone who is reading this, please don’t do this to people! I know it’s just the internet, I know people can turn off anon asks, I know I know. But also? Sometimes people are having really bad days and something like this would really fuck with them and we are all capable of NOT doing this shit! It’s actually sooo easy to not be an asshole in someone’s messages <3 and if someone has sent you shit like this, just know that it says literally nothing about you and everything about the person saying it, so try your best to just brush it off and carry on! <3 <3 <3

#asks answered #jackie taylor #yellowjackets

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winns-stuff · 9 months

Text

LO RANT (MASSIVE TRIGGER WARNING):

Okay my rant for today is going to go into somewhat of a triggering topic which is abuse and normally I try to just be very vague about the more heavier things on Lore Olympus when ranting about them just so I don’t have to say the actual words or acts or anything but unfortunately for this rant it’s going to really be hammering into the more abusive side of Hades because this sort of situation between the fans have really been irking me badly.

I absolutely hate it when fans try and say that Hades is not abusive and all of his behaviors are just justified and excused because of all of the things he’s been through. The main argument I’ve seen with this topic is that he’s not an abuser because he’s never abused Persephone or Minthe or any of the women he’s been in a relationship with and honestly this sort of mindset is so incredibly flawed and sort of ignorant in the nicest way possible since abuse comes in many different forms believe me I know. You can be verbally abused, emotionally abused, sexually abused, and more it’s not only domestic violence and I just wish more fans would be aware of that and not just count domestic violence as a valid type of abuse (which granted I completely get and in no way am I saying that it shouldn’t be something that’s a form of abuse that shouldn’t be validated).

That way of thinking just makes no sense at all, if abuse only mattered in intimate relationships then abusive parents, teachers, counselors, etc wouldn’t be considered or validated at all. Just because he doesn’t hit women does not make his actions any less abusive, we’re talking about the man who constantly talks down on and willfully uses violence on those who cannot fight back. He has no problem exploiting his own citizens and cutting off their resources and transportation between realms at the drop of a penny and he definitely does not care about the well being of those who have to work for him. He’s an abusive asshole and his actions are absolutely heinous and incredibly distasteful.

Honestly this just makes me ask the question of why, why is Rachel even putting these elements in her story anyways if she’s not going to address it or try to explore these disgusting aspects of our very society. I’m sorry y’all but I do not believe that she doesn’t believe in half of the things she writes about, normally if someone does not agree with problematic elements in their story they’ll make it a point to try and point out its flaws or at the very least show people that “hey, please do not glorify xyz” you know? Like there’s evidence of the creator actively going against the things that they don’t agree with yet Rachel has never come out to say anything. She doesn’t address any of these problematic choices in her own story and instead of actually doing things with them she just keeps them in the story for no fucking reason. The nymphs (who are the lower class might I add and also make up the uncomfortable fantasy racism) should not be sexualized and used as objects for male pleasure. The satyrs and other non gods that live amongst Olympus and the Underworld should not be shown to be in hostile situations by their bosses for literally no other reason other than a few laughs. Persephone should not be sexualized by Rachel every other fucking panel, can we please talk about that soon because it’s getting fairly obvious that Rachel is just using Persephone only to be ogled at and heavily sexualized. The age gap never should’ve happened because again Rachel herself makes it a damn point to remind everyone that Lore Olympus is literally just a “cute” minor x adult fanfic, the whole thing reminds me of lolis and how people defend that shit by saying that they’re adults. And even more stuff but that would be about 400,000 words long at this point.

Anyways, I just want to end this by saying I’m not terribly angry at fans I’m just disappointed and honestly kind of annoyed I wish they would actually reread the things that they’re supporting and defending and actually start to think about what the comic is saying instead of just blindly going along with it. Another point is I do not believe Rachel is the best person and I’d love it if we could finally hold her accountable because I’m sorry but if she genuinely sees no problem with half of this stuff and she’s spreading it around in her award winning 4 million reader comic while there’s an entire fucking community trying to tell her how absolutely harmful and shitty the content is (that she keeps ignoring for a fucking reason might I add) I don’t find myself having much hope that she’s not a bad person, and maybe I am wrong although I genuinely don’t think I am because normally with good people you don’t have to keep wandering and convincing yourself that they’re good since they do that for you by their actions and how she’s been carrying herself these past years have not shown me otherwise.

Edit: With this rant though I do not want to incite any harassment or bullying Rachel’s way because that’s nowhere at all where I was trying to get when I said she needs to be held accountable. Harassment and cyber bullying is genuine asshole behavior and something I really don’t tolerate and besides there’s better ways to hold Rachel accountable that doesn’t require that kind of stuff.

#lo critical #anti lore olympus #anti lo #lore olympus criticism #lore olympus critical #antiloreolympus

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goblins-riddles-or-frocks · 6 months

Note

In case you haven’t already been asked, can I please hear the soapbox about Aleksander being a direct take on Edward Cullen?

(Also your meta is astonishingly well written and well thought out and a delight to read!)

Thank you so much! That’s so sweet! Not to be vain, but well I am simply vain and like hearing that lol.

This is a fandom I’ve mostly avoided interacting with people in because I feel like there seems to be a very strong dichotomy between people who absolutely loathe the Darkling and all aspects of the villain ship and judge any engagement with it or conversely people who loooove him but are like “He’s never done anything wrong in his life ever and Alina’s actually evil and ungrateful for running away from him”

So I’ve mostly just been quietly posting fic in my own corner for as long as I’ve been on the periphery of the fandom. The current meta thing happened on accident but it’s been fun and I enjoy getting asks!

Anyway, this took me awhile to get to because I’ve been trying to figure out how to best articulate my thoughts beyond what I already generally said in that other post:

[Shadow and Bone was probably being written] towards the tail end of the post Twilight paranormal, and specifically vampire, romance boom. It was not at all uncommon to see unironic romances focusing on impressionable teenaged protagonists with poor self esteem, getting with 100+ year old love interests who, in singling them out (for their “maturity” and discontent from their peer group) validate their self worth, but also completely isolate and impose their own values on them.

The first half of the very first TGT book follows those same tropes pretty closely, and the initial romance heavy book marketing was basically indistinguishable from that crop of books.

To be clear, I think wish fulfillment stories are fine lol, but it’s really interesting to think of SaB (and the Darkling!) as a deliberate deconstruction in response to those trends.

So that does sum up my thoughts generally. But to get into it in more depth, let’s talk about Twilight.

Stories featuring teen protagonists and immortal love interests are older than Twilight, of course. But I’d argue that Twilight codified and popularized a particular version where the point is validation of self worth through the romance.

Comparing it to 90s versions of similar plotlines, BTVS, Vampire Diaries (the books), and Silver Kiss all have teen/immortal romances but the protagonist is already mostly self actualized or previously singled out as special in some way. It’s not dependent on the love interest noticing the protagonist to signify that she’s deserving of attention? If that makes sense? The romances instead hinge more on the protagonist having some sort of brush with death or other source of morbidity that allows her to feel kinship with the vampire and relate to him.

(I’m using specific pronouns because this is such a gendered and heterosexual genre and story type. I’d argue gender roles are an inherent part of how it functions)

With BTVS it’s Buffy’s entire alter life as a slayer and the violence and loneliness of it that her peers could never understand. Vampire Diaries and Silver Kiss both focus on loss of a parent(s) and the jarring alienation of grief.

Conversely, Twilight opens with Bella as an aggressively ordinary and unassuming girl. The narrative is very explicit about her not feeling very pretty or special in any way. She’s dissatisfied with her life because she constantly puts everyone else in it first, and though she is forever self sacrificing she also isn’t very vocal about it, so she gets no meaningful acknowledgement for how much she tries to do.

It’s also worth noting that Bella being the new addition to a very small town and all attention being on her is also a prominent part of the first book, so it’s really about superficial attention vs someone really Seeing Her. This is reinforced by her coming to Edward’s attention at all because a) he inexplicably can’t read her thoughts and b) her blood smells really good and is testing his morals and self control lmfao. Because again both of these things are superficial forms of attention and specialness and the particularly tasty blood— imo primarily being a very Mormon metaphor for violent sexual desire/impulses in men— is in-universe just overtly negative attention. But they fall in love despite all that, because she is pure enough and nice enough and interesting enough on her own merits that he sees past all that to who she is as a person.

Whether or not these themes are consciously employed, Twilight is inextricable imo from Stephenie Meyer’s Mormonism and that sort of very conservative perspective. In a way, the romance in Twilight becomes a metaphor for an inherently violent man (It’s not his fault though! He’s just cursed with sinful urges!) being faced with how pure and secretly special the protagonist is and being floored enough by it to instead fall in love with her. It’s about seeing her humanity and it being so shockingly unique to him apparently that it eclipses his predisposition to see her simply as one of three existing categories: an NPC, prey, OR despised temptation who exists solely to challenge his morals.

This is further explored by the werewolves as an incredibly racist mirror to this, and Emily as an example of someone whose violent spouse was not able to hold back… perhaps because she simply wasn’t special enough… or honestly perhaps because she didn’t see the value of their relationship and (iirc) didn’t want anything to do with him. Their relationship is apparently idyllic once she’s chosen to stay 😬 but that’s tangential.

This element of violence is something that the biggest and most well known Twilight imitator, Fifty Shades of Grey, definitely picked up on. (Unfortunately I’m also going to talk about Fifty Shades a fair bit to compare and contrast!) Where, its incredibly flawed swapping out of vampirism for perceived sexual deviance in the form of terrible BDSM etiquette lmao and just outright trauma notwithstanding, the main premise is just overtly “What if you were SO pure and sweet that an abusive and overtly sadistic man who is going out of his way to not see your personhood was forced to confront you as a human being and fell in love with you, enough so to change his ways entirely”

All this being said, I don’t think Twilight’s biggest impact on the paranormal romance genre as a touchstone was really as a metaphor for… uh being good enough to not be victimized by a man lmao. At least not all the time. I’d argue the most popularly recycled tropes are just that of an unassuming protagonist with low self esteem, who’s never really acknowledged by her peers, having her worth validated by an immortal creature. This validation comes from a hot immortal love interest being framed as inherently better and cooler than the guys all the other girls are dating, but also because immortality means that this older and more worldly character presumably has a much higher standard to clear! If this character is saying that the protagonist is shockingly special and interesting and worthy of love, next to all of her peers that he doesn’t even notice at all, that must both be true and a good thing. In this way, the love interest’s values, either inadvertently or deliberately, are the only values that matter. And rising to that standard is usually synonymous with isolation from one’s peers and even viewing them as lesser.

Meanwhile, another frequent trope in the genre is controlling behavior. This is typically just there as a way to highlight how much the love interest loves the protagonist, and maybe as a way to introduce some desirable undertones of danger/conflict. In Twilight’s defense, while Edward imposing his own values on Bella entirely, constantly ignoring the very few boundaries she sets, and being all around a controlling creep isn’t treated with a real understanding of its gravity, it’s also not presented wholly uncritically. There is a (very drawn out) arc over the course of the series where she allows her identity to be subsumed into him and existing only in terms of their relationship, but by the last book she does actually push back on plenty of his hard and fast rules— if still in that fundamentally conservative and Mormon way. She keeps the baby he doesn’t want; she gets to turn into a vampire and stay with him forever; her experience with vampirism ISN’T his experience with vampirism ie mindless bloodthirstiness lol; she doesn’t need to fake her death; her family and friends can continue to be a part of her life. But Twilight imitators usually don’t get that far!

So let’s finally circle back around to Shadow and Bone:

First of all let’s talk about its early marketing. Shadow and Bone’s earlier title was the Gathering Dark and iirc the first round of ARCs were even sent out with that title and this cover:

Notice the paranormal romance tagline of “A dark heart. A pure soul. A love that will last forever.”

Meanwhile this was the official blurb it was initially released with:

“Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.”

And this additional very romance novel blurb that was on some other marketing material:

“Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the the world of the kingdom's magical elite - the Grisha. Could she be the key to setting Ravka free?

The Darkling, a man of seductive charm and terrifying power. If Aline is to fulfill her destiny, she must unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.

But what of Mal, Alina's childhood best friend? Why can't she forget him?”

ALSO here is the romance heavy book trailer:

Fans of Darklina as an endgame ship will argue that this was indicative of there being an earlier romance focused version where they were intended to end up together. I… highly doubt that personally.

In all interviews, even the earliest ones, where Leigh Bardugo talks about the story and the characters and how she came up with them, she talks about it from a perspective that sounds in keeping with how the plot played out, as in, the Darkling existing to be a literal villain.

I think all this just places SaB as a Madoka Magica, or Doki Doki Literature Club type deconstruction where deceptive marketing is simply working very hard to preserve the twist.

I think the story itself engages with Twilight pretty directly. Alina, as a youthful ingenue protagonist with low self esteem, a feeling of alienation from her peers, and feeling constantly overlooked by everyone, including her childhood best friend who she’s in love with, fits into the starting point of paranormal romance protagonist really well. The question of superficial attention is even addressed by her being discovered as the Sun Summoner and having so many sudden expectations thrust upon her.

Her gaining the Darkling’s attention specifically is initially framed in a fairly similar way to The Tropes. He is the aloof hot immortal teenager, who for the purposes of the deconstruction, everyone already even knows is at least over a hundred years old. Moreover he’s essentially treated like their (desirable….) school principal lmao to just really hammer home that his opinions matter More but also to make it feel vaguely weird.

There are a lot of moments in early SaB where the Darkling singles Alina out in a way that’s meant to look flattering at face value but that she’s quietly a little unnerved by. Off the top of my head, there’s the bit where the Grisha students are arguing over who Alina will walk with (when presented to the Tsar perhaps?) and the Darkling sweeps in and is like “she will walk with me.” Obviously, when he keeps trying to single her out by allowing her to wear black, which is his personal super special color that no one else gets to wear. When Zoya, as Thee popular girl, gets called into the principal’s office and he reprimands her for shfhff breaking Alina’s ribs (I love Zoya so much), and in the way it is ostensibly a win for Alina— Zoya isn’t the favorite girl anymore— but it’s also so obvious, in a way that’s very accessible to modern teens, that he is NOT their peer. Like, in universe we know that he is their commander and has rank over everyone. But that’s a fantasy element that probably doesn’t mean much to your average teenager. Meanwhile there’s a strong 1:1 analogue for him being like a real adult in their lives, when they are deliberately framed as teenagers. And it’s genuinely unsettling!

(Worth noting that mid 2000s YA also had a fair number of uncritical teacher romances. Because in those again there is the element of the protagonist’s worth and maturity being enforced by this more experienced and cooler adult finding her desirable)

I feel like the grooming in SaB while genuinely the most integral and interesting element of the entire trilogy to me, is also in some ways the most poorly accomplished. Probably some sort of mix of debut clumsiness and what I feel like might be discomfort with the topic preventing Bardugo from really getting into it. But of the successful and subtler moments, something that stands out to me is Alina not feeling like she can talk about the Darkling kissing her by the lake. And then trying to downplay it like “he probably kisses a bunch of Grisha girls”

Like. If he is going around kissing teenaged students under his command that is WEIRD that is a RED FLAG lmao.

But Alina just doesn’t have that frame of reference! While slightly unsettled by his attention she is mostly, genuinely flattered by it. He believes in her! He doesn’t know why he cares about her opinions of him but he does 🥺🥺 She’s somehow, successfully managed to cut through his aloofness by virtue of her specialness, and seeing into his angst about making up for his ancestor’s crimes, and believing in his madcap quest to get an even specialer amplifier necklace (lol) for her so that they can save the world together! The first half of S&B follows the logic of a Twilight imitator paranormal romance very solidly.

I think it’s also really interesting how the Darkling’s scary shadow powers, and the concept of there being an ancestor/dark legacy separate from him that he supposedly wants to prove he’s better than works as an analogue for vampirism. There’s a pretty direct 1:1 of “It looks like he’s dangerous, but don’t worry it’s just a bad reputation. It’s not his fault and he feels really bad about it.” So it’s really clever imo when the reveal is that there is no ancestor, there is no separation, it was all him all along, he did it on purpose and he is not sorry! He is dangerous to her and it’s literally his own choice to be that way.

So if the Edward type is a love interest whose violence/danger is something that is inherent to him, but it’s also not his fault at all, and it’s something that can be overcome by Bella’s personal purity and goodness, the Darkling is completely the opposite.

The threat he poses to Alina is entirely of his own volition. It’s a cold and calculated choice to seduce her, and later to try to magically enslave her. Likewise it’s, in my opinion, absolutely integral to the story that his obsession isn’t with her as a person at all, it’s with what she represents. He can be faced with her, in all her vulnerability and complexity, as a genuine human being and simply not care to stop himself from wanting to hurt her or subjugate her. Her opinions and her personality do not matter.

She cannot simply love him into no longer posing a threat to her! It doesn’t work like that!

Anyway, as promised (threatened?) earlier I have some Fifty Shades of Grey thoughts pertaining to Shadow and Bone too. While Fifty Shades doesn’t have the immortal/magical aspect at all, it’s painfully blatant Twilight fanfic, and so Christian Grey still embodies this love interest type fairly perfectly.

And it’s just really interesting to read with the context of it being a contemporary example of the sort of thing SaB is riffing off of and presenting critically, where those same things here are presented to be desirable.

There is an instance in FSOG where the protagonist’s friend is warning her to be careful about the love interest— while still laughing about how hot he is. And it is simply meant to make him seem thrilling and desirable!

But it feels almost like a 1:1 with Genya warning Alina in SaB where the warning is very literal. And compare that to the direct line drawn between Genya being preyed on by the Tsar and Alina being preyed on by the Darkling. They’re very different circumstances, but when there’s the overt and explicitly stated theme of “Be careful of powerful men” I can’t see how these two plot threads existing in the same book and presented in the same breath aren’t meant to be read as in conversation with each other.

There are also similar beats during Ana and Christian’s (stilted! very clumsy!) conversations where she strongly has the vibe of a kid at the principal’s office, unsure if she’s going to be scolded, and getting very flustered every time he makes her feel special in whatever small way.

Which is very similar to early Darklina interactions. Like I said before, the grooming was definitely the weakest part of SaB even though it’s simultaneously (imo) the most interesting/important aspect. But both books being varying degrees of bad just make them even more comparable to me?

It’s just intriguing to see vaguely similar things play out with clearly different awarenesses and intent in terms of what the main takeaway from these beats is meant to be.

Also! Again as yikes as Fifty Shades replacing vampirism with BDSM is, [insert joke about Christian Grey being a shitty dom vs the Darkling’s sexually charged desire to put Alina in a magic collar and fetters, and to get her to submit to him]

Sorry this was kind of all over the place but I hope that answers your question?

#very likely I’ll think of more stuff later but let’s keep it at this for now #grishaverse #darklina #alarkling #shadow and bone #twilight #i ramble sometimes #all the bendy punctuations #meta #*writer’s cap*

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