#And these are companies who have been around longer and have tried to use streaming to their advantages- obviously with varying results | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

strwyofthesun · 10 months

Text

a workplace escapade

pairing: id!leon kennedy x agent!(f)reader

synopsis: you work at the DSO and your days there have become increasingly mundane till you are assigned to a mission with Leon under the president's orders. and ever since then, tension grows between the two of you in your workplace.

word count: 2.4k

cont: smut, p in v, unprotected sex, masturbation, oral (m receiving), slight degrading, overstimulation, breeding (?)

a/n: it's like 5 am here and i have not had a blink of sleep. also, is it normal to feel hella embrassed when writing smut? can't take myself seriously i sweaaar. stream sntv too, i was inspired by i can see you to write this cuz shits jus so good.

reblogs, comments, reqs are highly appreciated! <3

The days in the headquarters of the Divisions of Security Operations have been getting more and more tiresome the longer you’ve been working. When you were newly employed, the job seemed exciting at first. Working alongside the best of the best agents from all across different branches of the US federal government, it was nice to have more company and see new faces. Over time though, the missions increased in difficulty and you’ve seen friends and colleagues come and go. You’ve tried your hardest not to become numb to everything but hid your emotions of anger and frustrations. On days where you weren’t on the front lines fighting, you were in stuffy, cold rooms reporting on what happened during your missions and relaying the information you have found. Your work-life balance was basically non-existent at this point, spending most of your time in and out the headquarters and if you’re lucky, you’d get to go home and relax for a while until you are called again for the next assignment.

Nothing gave you any thrill or excitement anymore. Everything had become a routine to you, until, under the president’s orders, you and agent Leon S. Kennedy are paired together for a mission. You left your comfort of your home immediately as soon as you were called and headed to the white house to meet the president and Leon.

Leon wasn’t exactly a new name or face to you. You’ve heard about his deeds and he does live up to the name he has made for himself. There has been a couple of instances where the two of you would bump into each other in hallways, but other than catching each other’s glances, there wasn’t anything more to say really. Though, you had to admit, other than being one of the president’s bets, he had looks that could kill as well. It’s hard to miss him whenever he’s around. His striking blue eyes, tall figure, long blonde hair, and that charming smile of his. If only your job had room for having more of a life, you’d have probably fooled around with Leon by now. But sadly, that isn’t the case.

You shortly arrived at the foot of the president’s office and you could hear him talking to who you assumed was Leon. Two of the president’s bodyguards opened the door for you and you let yourself in.

“Ah, speak of the devil, she’s here.” The president said while smiling at you. “I’m sure you are acquainted with one another, yes?” He asked while looking at the two of us.

“Yes, Mr. President but it’s our first time working together.” You responded.

“Oh? Is that so? I trust that my best agents will be fine.”

You got flustered at the president’s comment and hear Leon chuckle from the side, “We’re flattered sir.”

The president soon briefed the both of you on what needs to be done and the goals you must achieve. You and Leon nodded in agreement and the president patted the both of you on the shoulder with a look of pride painted on his face. “Make me proud my agents.”

The mission went according to plan and was successful. The following day, the both of you return to HQ and prepare to report what happened. You sported a white long sleeve button-up that has been rolled up and a black skirt that hugged your figure nicely. It wasn’t all the time you wore an outfit like that whenever you reported back, so not only were people congratulating you for the successful mission but at the same time, complimenting you on your outfit. You arrived rather early in the meeting room as it was only you and a couple associates in the room. Later, heads started turning once Leon stepped into the room. He was wearing a blue suit with a white button up underneath, looking jaw-dropping to say the least. The men and women in the room stood up to shake hands with him as you patiently waited for your turn. You stood up and walked up to him while he checked you out.

“Nice outfit. Suits you.” He said smiling at you.

You returned the smile and said, “I can say the same to you.”

The two of you head to the front and start recounting the events that have occurred. Whilst you were talking, you noticed Leon from the corner of your eye, looking at you. But it wasn’t just a simple look, you could see his eyes shine as he drowned in the sight of you. It was as though he was undressing you with his stare. One of the associates asked Leon a question but he didn’t respond due to him still having his gaze fixated on you. You turn to look at him directly and uttered a small “Hey” to catch his attention. He snapped out of his trance and apologized. Leon answered the question and for the rest of the meeting he really couldn’t keep his eyes of you.

Once the meeting was finished, you came up to him and jokingly asked, “Did I have something in my teeth? Why were you staring?”

“Oh, was I? I didn’t realize… I'm sorry." He apologized.

“No need to apologize. It’s okay Leon.” You reassured him.

He then gestured for the door and held it open for you. You thanked him and went parted ways for the day. When you weren't on a mission, you mostly spent your time on your desk from morning till night while occasionally running into Leon if he wasn't on a mission as well. You’d give each other an awkward smile and go about your business. This went on for about a week and over time, Leon was suddenly all you could think about every time you’re at work. Hopping that you’d bump into him somehow or see him around the halls. The thought of catching him staring at you excited you. It felt like there was this electrifying tension between the two of you.

You were done working together for a mission, but something told you that this wasn’t just the end for the both of you. Impure thoughts filled your head, distracting you from your job. You could tell that it wasn’t just you, and that’s what thrilled you the most. Knowing that you both want each other, yet held back. It made you long for him even more. The times you and Leon would talk to each other for work purposes, the two of you kept your composure and kept it professional when deep down you both needed the fulfill the urge to be on each other's bodies.

It was getting late at night already and you yawned from the exhaustion of a long day’s work. You rummage through your paper looking for a specific document when you remembered that you had left it in a meeting room. You sighed and sluggishly make your way to the meeting room, cussing yourself out for forgetting and now you’re working overtime. As you approach the door, you hear noises coming from the room. You thought it was odd that someone was still in there since the building was almost empty at that hour. Leaning into the door, you peaked through the glass and see Leon, touching himself. He moaned your name under his breath along with profanities. This took you by surprise. You leaned even closer on the door and ended up accidentally pushing it, making Leon jolt knowing that he’s been caught.

He quickly zips up his pants and walks up to door to see who was looking, when he was then met face to face with you.

“I-I left something inside the room…” You stuttered.

Leon just looked at you panting slightly, forehead glistening with sweat and the buttons of his shirt open just enough to see his bare chest. You excused yourself and went in the room and grabbing the document you left when all of the sudden, Leon pinned you to the wall, barely leaving any space between the two of you.

“Are you really just going to leave me here?” Leon asked .

“You seemed… busy.”

Leon let out a chuckle and leaned in close to your ear, “I know you heard me…” His breath making contact on your skin made you shudder.

“Maybe I can help you out..." You whispered back dropping the document to the floor and placing your hand on his chest, slowly moving down, palming his hard dick through his pants. Leon buried his face into your neck trying to stifle his moans. You undo his button, unzip his pants, and pull it down along with his boxers.

You bend down to kneel infront of Leon and level with his cock. You run your thumb over his tip making Leon's breath hitch. You let your tongue slide along his shaft tracing the veins on it. Slowly, you take in his dick in your mouth, bobbing your head up and down while your hand stroked the lower shaft. You licked his tip and left kisses on it, teasing Leon. You speed up the pace leaving Leon breathless, throwing his head back.

"Faster..." Leon panted.

"I can't hear you, Leon. Speak up."

"Faster... please..." Leon says louder this time. you granted his request and start pumping him faster. His mouth is agape as he starts heaving heavily. It turned you on knowing that you could make the Leon Kennedy like this. The thoughts of you and him together were coming to life, and this was barely scratching the surface of all the things you've imagined.

"Fuck, I'm gonna... cum..." he said trying to desperately get out the words from his mouth. You moved even more swiftly this time until Leon came onto your hand and before he could even ride it out, you started stroking his still hard and now sensitive dick.

"Wha- what the fuck are y-you doing?" He hissed.

You don't reply. You just look at him in his eyes while you pick up the pace catching Leon off guard.

Leon whined, "Please..."

"Please what?" you responded.

"S-Stop..." He managed to say.

"And why would I do that? You seem to be enjoying it." you smirk as you stroked his dick faster and faster.

Leon started to tremble a bit and his cock twitched in your hand. He groaned at how you were pumping his overstimulated cock, continuously moaning, filling up the room with his whines and groans. He was begging to you to stop but you didn't. You didn't stop until he came again. And when he did, you finally let him ride his climax down.

Once he settled down, he looked at you menacingly and you thought to yourself, if eyes could kill, you'd definitely be dead by now.

"Stand up. You think I'd let that shit slide?" he said as he heaved. You stood up as Leon grabbed you and turned you around, your back facing his. He pulled you closer, one arm wrapped around your torso while the other snaked its way down to your core. His hand unbuttoned your shirt, slid its way into your bra, and fondled with your boobs, leaving a moan escape your mouth. His other hand moved in tight circles around your clit, doubling the pleasure you were feeling at that moment. Leon pulled your skirt up and pulled your soaked panties down. He slipped his dick inbetween your thighs just right at the surface of your cunt. He thrusted back and forth making sure his dick isn't in you on purpose. He was teasing you and you were starting to become needy.

"Leon... put it in me..." you tried pleading with him.

"Beg for it." He responded, his lips curling into a smirk as he continued moving his dick through the folds of your slick cunt. "Please Leon... I need you in me." Hearing you beg for him, he gave into it and rammed his dick in your cunt leaving you and him gasping at the sudden movement.

"Leon what the fuck?!" you screamed. "I gave you what you wanted didn't I? Ungrateful bitch..." Although Leon was cussing you out, you didn't feel any sort of hatred or resentment towards him. In fact, it turned you on even more and Leon was catching up to it.

"You like it when I call you a bitch huh?" he asked as his hand moved from your boobs to your jaw, squeezing it.

He moved closer to your ear and whispered, "Or would you prefer if I called you a slut instead? Would you like that?" You nod your head in response.

"My, my, what a dirty little slut you are... I can't wait to fuck you like one." He said as he lets go of his grip on your jaw.

"I'll be your slut and yours only... Use me however you like. I'm at your disposal Leon." You said breathelessly.

"Oh I'll never dispose you. I'll make sure I fill you up with my cum like the fucking slut you are. So shut the fuck up and take it." Leon whispered as he started pounding hard into you leaving you in shambles. Whatever mess you left Leon in a while ago, you were now twice the mess he was.

Leon was fucking you in every spot you thought nobody could even fucking reach. He placed his hands on your hips and gripped it tightly as he pounded his cock deep into you. You were panting, breathing heavy, moaning, whining, all of the above.

"Good girl... You really are taking it like a slut. So fucking good for me."

Your walls tighten around Leon's cock, milking him off everything he had in him. You scream, "Le-Leon! F-Fuck I'm gonna cum!"

"That's right cum for me, princess." You came screaming his name but he didn't stop. "Leon! S-Stop please..." You begged.

"Why would I stop? I haven't even came yet." He said with a smirk plastered on his face. All your pleading went in his ear and out the other. He continued ramming into you while your eyes welled up with tears from the feelings of pleasure derived from pain. As much as it hurt, you didn't want it to stop either. Leon quickened his thrusts and grunted as he came, feeling his hot cum fill you.

"Take all that in." he moaned into your ear. As he was filling you with his seed, tears streamed down your face from the overstimulation. Leon pulled out and made you face him.

"Don't cry princess, isn't this what you wanted?" Leon said as he kissed the tears off your face. Trails of kisses from your cheeks led to your lips and the both of you share a long and passionate kiss before pulling away and fixing each other's clothes.

Maybe overtime wasn't so bad after all.

#leon kennedy x reader #leon x reader #resident evil #leon s kennedy #leon scott kennedy #leon scott kennedy x reader #resident evil x reader #leon kennedy smut #resident evil smut

820 notes · View notes

prythianpages · 7 months

Text

ACOSM | The Night she gets her heartbroken

azriel x rhysand's sister (oc)

warnings: angst? mentions of violence

summary: Valeria is heartbroken and seeks the comfort of her brother. Meanwhile, Azriel decides to take matter into his hands.

A/N: this is an imagine among my collection of imagines that follow Rhysand's sister, Valeria. while I'm still working on them, you can find the masterlist for it here.

Days turned into weeks, and Azriel battled with his emotions in solitude. He tried to hide his jealousy, but the shadows around him could sense his turmoil. He grappled with the fear of that his chance had slipped through his fingers.

Azriel couldn't deny the weight in his chest as he heard the words slip from Valeria's lips the other day—the revelation that Damien had claimed her first kiss. The news hit him harder than he anticipated, stirring a mix of emotions that he struggled to process. He sought comfort that night in the company of a beautiful Illyrian girl, but with every caress and tender kiss, his thoughts drifted to Valeria. He couldn't help but wonder how she felt, what she tasted like.

This had become a pattern, a repetitive cycle of seeking companionship elsewhere while his heart yearned for the one who had unknowingly captured it. He was grateful that Rhysand and Cassian were distracted with interests of their own. It shielded him from having to fabricate excuses for choosing to spend his nights alone, masking the truth that he could no longer find that physical connection with anyone as he did before. Before his feelings for Valeria had gone beyond those of friendship.

Rhysand’s and Cassian’s distractions had also made it easier for him to keep his feelings for Valeria hidden. He buried them deep within, fearing that the friendships he had built with her and Rhysand might crumble under the weight of his emotions. But now, the realization of Valeria sharing such an intimate moment with another person ignited a jealousy he couldn't ignore.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in shades of orange and purple, Valeria stormed into the house. That’s when she ran into Rhysand and Azriel.

Rhysand, lounging with his legs propped up on the coffee table, swiftly removed his feet, dog-earing his book, concern flickering in his eyes as they locked onto his sister. Azriel, engrossed in sharpening a blade from his seat in the armchair, also paused in his task. His shadows, always vigilant, sensed the distress surrounding Valeria, some rushing to her. They let out a small sigh in relief as they confirmed that she was physically unharmed, though emotionally shattered.

Tears welled up in Valeria's violet eyes, her bottom lip trembling in a pout. Rhysand was on his feet in an instant, already sensing her distress. Valeria wasted no time, seeking solace in the comforting embrace of her brother. "What's wrong?" he gently inquired, his protective instincts rising to the fore.

"You were right," Valeria sobbed, the pain of overhearing Damien's heartless words still fresh. The memory sliced through her heart, shattering it into irreparable fragments. "He used me. He never truly liked me, he just liked my title."

Rhysand’s expression turned dark with anger, and his protective instincts flared. “I’m going to kill that bastard.”

But beneath the boiling rage, Rhysand frowned. As much as he desired to unleash his wrath upon Damien for daring to hurt Valeria, he knew he couldn't succumb to that urge. Rhysand was the High Lord’s son and heir. Damien also held a delicate position as he was Lord Devlon’s son, the one who oversaw the Windhaven camp. Provoking such conflict could plunge them into a harrowing confrontation, one that might spiral into a gruesome clash.

Cassian, who had been tidying up in the kitchen, stepped into the living room with a warm smile playing on his lips. However, it swiftly vanished at the distressing scene before him. Rhysand, comforting Valeria as tears streamed down her face, and Azriel exuding an aura of controlled fury.

“Fuck,” he breathed. The realization of what had transpired hit him, and soon his expression mirrored his brother's. "It was that asshole, wasn’t it?”

Rhysand gently pulled away from Valeria to assess his sister, worry still etched into his features. "I didn’t care for him as much," Valeria confessed. “I think I liked the idea of him more than I liked him. The idea that someone could like me.”

The pain cut Valeria deep, a piercing wound laced with betrayal, anger, and humiliation. Damien's hurtful words had struck her not because she found herself falling for the cruel individual, but because they were a searing slap to her face, bringing to surface her deepest insecurities.

"Aww, come on, dove. Don't look so surprised," he had taunted. "Did you really think someone would like you for you? You would be nothing but just another pretty face, if it weren't for your father or brother."

“Everyone sees me as the High Lord’s daughter…Rhysand’s little sister…When will someone just see me as me?” Valeria’s voice trembled with a tinge of sadness. “When will someone like me for just me?”

“Fuck that asshole.” Cassian's anger surged at the raw hurt in Valeria's eyes, and he clenched his fists.

Rhysand tenderly wiped each tear from Valeria's cheeks, his frown deepening. "You are my sister, but you are so much more than that. You are Valeria. Beautiful and sweet, brave and kind. A strong and kindred spirit, who loves chasing the stars and shines as bright as the moon. You needn’t dim your light over the words of Illyrian scum."

Valeria sniffled, her tears gradually subsiding. "I love you, Rhys."

"I love you too, Val," Rhysand replied, a fond smile gracing his lips as he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.

"How about some lemon cakes?" Cassian chimed in, attempting to soothe her pain. He knew how much she loved sweets, especially those with a lemony flavor.

Valeria turned to him, a faint smile ghosting her lips. She nodded. "And ice cream?"

"Of course," Rhysand responded, leading Valeria to the couch and encouraging her to sit.

"I’ll get the whipped cream and sprinkles," Azriel offered, his desire to ease her suffering evident. Despite the ache in her heart, Valeria's spirits lifted at the thought that he remembered her preferences.

"Don’t you dare move from that couch, Val! We will bring everything to you," Rhysand exclaimed playfully as he followed Cassian down the hall and into the kitchen.

Azriel lingered by the hallway, his golden gaze meeting Valeria's. "I see you," he softly assured her, unable to let her go without expressing his true feelings.

To Azriel, she was not just the High Lord’s daughter or Rhysand’s sister. She was Valeria—the girl who now consumed his thoughts and dreams. The girl who continued to warm him with her light, even in the darkest corners of his soul.

The following day, Valeria decided to accompany Rhys, Cassian, and Az on some camp errands. As they strolled through the town square, they crossed paths with Damien, the son of Lord Devlon. However, Damien purposefully ignored Valeria as she walked by. She caught the sight of a nasty black eye and busted lip as he avoided her gaze.

Rhysand had harbored the desire to inflict pain upon him, but held himself back. Nevertheless, to his surprise, he found that someone had already taken matters into their own hands. Cassian couldn't help but chuckle at Damien’s sorry state. Azriel wore a smug smirk, relishing the fear that flashed in Damien’s eyes as they walked by.

Bonus scene:

Azriel couldn't stand idle knowing the pain Valeria endured. The fury within him ignited, fueled by his love and protectiveness for her. As the moon hung high in the night sky, he made his way to the place where Damien was known to frequent.

He found the despicable son of Lord Devlon already nestled in the company of another girl. Azriel's anger surged, his vision momentarily consumed by red. He moved with a growl, swift and silent, and yanked Damien away from the girl by the back of his leathers. The frightened girl fled, leaving the two men alone in the darkness.

Without hesitation, Azriel's fist connected with Damien's face, sending him crashing to the dirt, where he belonged. "Don't you dare look at her or breathe in her direction ever again," Azriel seethed, his voice laced with menace, as he dropped to his knees and landed another punch.

"I swear on my life!" Damien cried out, his face contorted in pain and fear.

Azriel rose to his feet and sneered at the pathetic display. "I've seen your life. Swear on something else.”

Tag list: @justrepostandlove @kemillyfreitas @thelov3lybookworm

#azriel x reader #azriel shadowsinger #azriel #rhysand's sister x azriel #acotar imagine #azriel x oc #rhysand's sister #acosm #azriel imagine

180 notes · View notes

ilguna · 7 months

Text

☼ the other woman pt2 (Finnick Odair) ☼

summary; a lot has changed these past six months, including the way you feel about Finnick.

warnings; swearing, it's cringy at the end lol

wc; 1.1k

notes; annie slander.

extra notes; kinda songfic, Should've Said No by Taylor Swift.

part one.

–

The filming process for the movie went on to last six months, and during that period of time, you were tortured for almost every second of it. In the beginning, it was difficult. Once the media heard about the break up and the cause behind it, that’s all they wanted to talk about for the longest time.

It was big news when you two started dating in the first place, because Finnick loved you, someone who didn’t fully understand the world he was living in. And now, it was making news again. After he said he liked being with you because you were on the outside, he had done a full one-eighty and claimed that it was easier for him to be with someone who was also famous.

With his relationship with Annie being out in the open, they could finally post pictures and be seen together. They no longer had to hide their identities, something they could’ve been doing for months until you finally caught on. You thought they would ease into it, but they didn’t care.

They were all you were seeing for weeks.

You tried to hide, to go back to the life you were living before you’d started dating him. Except, the tabloids wouldn’t let you go. They wanted to hear your side of the story, what it was like during your time together. They wanted the messy details, the worse the better, so they could use you as a reason to smear his name and get more attention for it.

You couldn’t do it, you didn’t have the heart in you to. You could say a hundred nasty things about him, but half of them wouldn’t be true. In honesty, Finnick was one of the best boyfriends you’ve ever had. Up until it was revealed that he’d been cheating on you, of course.

You would’ve been in the right, you just didn’t want to start a fight. You let him go, and you were set on moving on from him.

Well, you tried to at least. Finnick had made a great impact on your life, whether you liked it or not. You made a lot of friends in his industry, most of them still talking to you. One of them is actually his best friend, Johanna Mason, a rock singer.

Johanna wasn’t your favorite friend of his by any means at the start, but as soon as you started talking to her more and got a hang of her personality, you hit it off. You opened up and began to talk to her the same way she joked with you. The two of you became attached at the hip overnight.

That’s why, when you wrote a song, the first person you went to was her. You felt silly, mostly because you’ve never written a song in your left. And you didn’t know what to do beyond that point. So, you pitched it to her, sang it to her, gave her the ideas of what you wanted in the background.

You told her that if she wanted it, she could have it. She then turned it back around on you, telling you that it wasn’t her genre, but she could definitely see you singing it. You tried to tell her that there was no way you were going to become anything more than a ghost writer, but she made you give it a try anyway.

She wouldn’t let you invest a penny into the project. She funded the entire production, she helped you tweak the lyrics, she was there when you recorded the song. The only thing she couldn’t do is help you get a record company to pick it up. So, you uploaded it independently, thinking nothing would come of it.

However, with her promoting it on every social media site that she could, the streams started rolling in. The half of Finnick’s fan base that liked you, were the ones that streamed it the most. You were practically an overnight sensation.

It would only be a few weeks later, at the end of the six-month mark, when the announcement was made. To no one’s surprise, Annie Cresta—the actress known for serial dating her co stars—dumped your ex-boyfriend, Finnick Odair. It was less than twelve hours later, when all the pictures of the two of them were deleted off of her social media.

It was the best day of your life.

Or that was until Finnick texted you a couple days ago, and it’s pretty obvious what he wants. He asked you to stay the night you confronted him, and he didn’t stop texting you until Johanna told him to leave you alone, two weeks later. He was making you upset.

It was weird, having his name pop up on your phone again. You couldn’t breathe for a second, but as soon as you read the message, the feeling was gone. Of course he’d come back to you once it was over. You told him this is what would happen, and now that he’s alone, he can’t live with it.

Well, you’re tired of being nice.

You sit down in front of the camera, adjusting the guitar in your lap, plucking at the strings. You tune the guitar, looking up at your phone every now and then. The first song you wrote was about your feelings immediately after the break up. And now that phase of heartbreak is gone, you’re got more ideas.

“Hey, guys.” You murmur, “I know it’s been a minute. I promised that I’d try to keep up, but I’m still new to this.” You strum the guitar, “I have been working on some new ideas, but this is an old one that I recently picked up again.”

You begin to strum faster, “I’m going to sing you a part of it, and I promise, the rest of it is being worked on.” You stop for a second, long enough for them to hear you clearly. “This one is Should’ve Said No.

“It’s strange to think the songs we used to sing. The smiles, the flowers, everything is gone.” You sing. “Yesterday I found out about you. Even now just looking at you, feels wrong.”

You take a breath. “You say that you’d take it all back, given one chance. It was a moment of weakness and you said yes.” You shake your head. “You should’ve said no, you should’ve gone home. You should’ve thought twice ‘fore you let it all go.

“You should’ve known that word, ‘bout what you did with her’d get back to me.” You tilt your head to the side, glancing at the camera. “And I should’ve been there, in the back of your mind. I shouldn’t be asking myself why.”

You grin a little. “You shouldn’t be begging for forgiveness at my feet.” You can’t help the laugh that leaves you. “You should’ve said no, baby and you might still have me.”

114 notes · View notes

yelenasdiary · 2 years

Text

Friendly Advice || Drabble

Summary: Natasha turns too Wanda for help.

|Angst| 1.1K |Set from Wanda’s POV |

Hold On Masterlist.

Vision was on his way out the door with the boys to take them to school when Natasha pulled up in her black BMW. Given it was 7:30 in the morning and the defeated look on her face, I knew a fresh pot of coffee was in order.

“I’m sorry to show up so early but – “

“Don’t stress, it’s been a busy morning around here, but some company is always nice” I gave Natasha a soft smile as we waited for coffee. I’ve promised to reframe from entering the minds of those who I care about, but I can’t help but hear Natasha’s thoughts loud and clear. “Do you want to talk about it?” I offered as I grabbed two clean mugs.

“I stuffed up Wands…she left me” she chocked on her words as she watched the streaming coffee pour into the dark blue mugs. “She actually packed my things” she adds. I slide a mug carefully over to her.

“Have you guys spoken?” I asked. I knew a little background of the issue, but I wasn’t aware that Natasha wasn’t living at the family home.

“Not since she gave me divorce papers”

“She had them done up already?”

“Yeah…while I was on a mission”

“Nat, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know she was even thinking that. I just thought you guys would work it out” I spoke as I took a seat next to Nat at the kitchen island, turned slightly to face her. “I thought the same, Wands… I knew she was upset when I left but I didn’t think she was truly serious about leaving me” Nat looked to me with glassy eyes, “How did you do it?” she asks.

“Do what?” I frowned slightly.

“Leave the job. How did you get all this and not worry about the world? I thought I could do it…when I first saw Riley, I promised I’d retire but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it”

I sipped my coffee has Natasha explained. “Honestly, I didn’t find it all that hard” I replied, “I never wanted that, not truly. This right here though, what I have with my boys and Vis, that’s what I truly wanted” I added.

Natasha seemed slightly offended by my choice of words, “I’m not saying you don’t truly want that for yourself Nat, but you’ve struggled with allowing yourself happiness. You have for longer than I’ve known you. You’ve been so caught up on making the world a better place and clearing the wrongs you were made to do that you’ve push the idea of happiness so far away it’s almost non-existent.” I explained, clearing her frowned look. “Remember how long it took you to really let Y/n in the first time?”

She nodded lightly, “She was so patient with me, she always has been…maybe I just got too comfortable with that” she replied with her hands wrapped around the mug. “I used to do these missions to make people see I wasn’t some cold heart trained assassin, then I did it a little more for Y/n and now I just” she paused to wipe the tears she’s tried holding back on, “I couldn’t look at my children and worry about them, I need to protect them. Wands, you’ve seen the things we deal with, you know the potential dangers the world has to offer, what space can do… I can’t look at Riley and Sophie and not worry about those dangers” she adds before looking into my eyes once more.

My friend, my teammate was so desperate for things to be different, all I could do is offer my advice and hoped it opened a different train of thought for her. “Nat, you don’t have to save the world anymore. You’ve done more than anybody else to prove yourself. You never had to prove yourself and yet you have, maybe it’s finally time you took a step back and gave yourself the rest you’ve more than earnt”

“Is that what you told yourself?” she questioned.

“No” I shook my head, “After Thanos and the blip, I lost 5 years old my life, Nat. I missed Vis coming back, he was alone, I was gone and suddenly I was back, things were different. The world changed and I didn’t even see it. I knew then that I didn’t want to do anymore. Vis, he wasn’t as quick to make that decision but here we are. We have two beautiful boys and a peaceful life. Tony knows that I’ll be there if he needs but he also knows that my family is more important to me, now more than ever” I explained, a soft smile crept to my lips just thinking about my current life.

But still, Natasha didn’t show that my words were making much of a difference to her thoughts. She looked down at her untouched coffee, her eyes searching for anything, a sign that maybe this was just a dream.

“There’s more danger to Riley and Sophie when you’re not there than there is when you are there. When you go on these missions you risk that open door for anything. Not just people targeting them to get to you but sickness and other common problems. Anything any happen, Nat. Sophie could choke on a toy or food and be rushed to hospital. Riley could fall from climbing a tree or worse. The Avengers are fine, there’s a reason why Tony is making the things he does, there’s a reason why you and the others are training up new members. You can’t do this forever Nat and that’s okay”

We sat in silence for a while. I saw Nat was processing our conversation while we both sipped our coffees. “You came here for help, and you can take my advice however you like but if you want Y/n back and a life with the four of you together, you’ve got to either lower the workload or retire”

Natasha looked at me once again, finally I saw my words were making a difference. “I haven’t signed the divorce papers…she expects me to have them back to her later this week. I’m not ready to give up on her, on us, the kids, I can’t” she speaks.

“Then you know what you have to do, Nat. It’s time to rest, it’s time to live the life you’ve dreamt about, it’s time to allow yourself to drown in that happiness you guard so strongly. If you don’t do it now, you’ll lose her for good and you’ll go back to your old ways and as your friend, I’m not going to sit back and allow that”

Natasha nodded as I spoke, “I’m not going to talk to Tony. You’re right, Wands.” A smile softly formed on her lips, “it’s time” she whispered more so to herself.

#natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff #wanda maximoff #wandanat #marvel #black widow #the avengers #fanfiction

216 notes · View notes

eatdearth · 8 months

Text

Timing: During Jasper's No-Face Era Location: The Magmacave, Gatlin Fields (underneath) Feat: @eatdearth & @magmahearts Warnings: Jasper's intrusive thoughts, sensory deprivation? Summary: A faceless Jasper tries to find his way out of the mines but instead stumbles into Cass' Magmacave. Cass offers to help but Jasper makes it weird.

It wasn’t exactly rare for things to wander from the mines into the Magmacave. There were a lot of entrances within the cave system that led from one to the other; Cass had made use of it herself plenty of times now, exploring both manmade and natural rock structures with excitement and vigor. But when something wandered into her cave, she knew to proceed with caution. Wicked’s Rest was a dangerous place to be, after all — she had to be careful if she wanted to avoid becoming a cautionary tale.

So when she heard something stumbling around, she approached slowly. Quietly, carefully until it came into sight. Or, until… he came into sight? At first, she only saw the back of his head. He looked lost, he looked uncertain. And then he turned around, and she saw the rest of him. Namely, the blank place where his face should have been.

She remembered this. From the cave-in, the moment when that crystalized thing spit on Milo’s face and then his face was gone. It looked just like this, and that meant it had to be the same thing, didn’t it? That meant this guy had faced the same monsters they’d come across in the cave that day.

Carefully, Cass scooted forward. “Can you hear me?” She asked experimentally, uncertain. Milo had been able to hear, she was pretty sure, but what if it was different for everyone? Clearly, whatever had happened to this man hadn’t just happened. Maybe it was a progressive thing.

Darkness and silence. These were the two friends that kept Jasper company as he struggled to make his way out of the wretched mines. Whatever attacked him left him alive. Or at least he still feels he’s alive. There was no pain, no persisting aching or phantom longing, except maybe for what was now missing from his head. He could no longer see, so his eyes were gone. He could barely smell anything, if he even could at the moment, so his most prominent feature, the tall bridge that was the centerpiece of his face, was also gone. His ears and his mouth? He couldn’t feel them anywhere on his head.

Jasper warily put his hands in front of him as he moved, careful to not throw himself off a cliff or into a jagged piece of protruding rock in front of him. The mines were dangerous enough when dimly lit. In absolute darkness, it was a death sentence. How surprised was he then, when he realized he was surviving for far longer than he would even expect on a good day? Despite already confirming that the entirety of his mouth, including his luscious lips and above average tongue, were gone, he still tried to call out for help, though nothing audible or understandable came out of him. Who would even hear him out there? No one in their right mind would be in the mines at this hour, at this time.

Hear him? Jasper’s right eyebrow went up. Or at least it would have if it was still there, which it wasn’t. He tilted his head to one side, taking a few seconds to confirm, but, yes, he could still hear things even without his ears. How strange. The pitter-patter of a nearby trickle of water, not enough to be drinkable, definitely not enough to be a stream or underground river. How was he hearing things? Was it just his imagination? Or was it because it was still too early for him to lose his hearing since the attack? Or maybe it was because he had been listening to a bunch of songs on his stupid phone before he was attacked, before he lost his face. Was that even a thing? A thousand possibilities swarmed Jasper’s thoughts, drowning his mind in a myriad of scenarios, though none of which were ultimately helpful at this point in time.

Then he heard a woman’s voice. Jasper instinctively tilted his head so that the place where his right ear would have been was in the air, slightly higher than the rest of it, as if that would help him hear better. He tried to answer the question, but again, not a sound came out of him. He started to yell internally, scream as hard and as loud as he could think himself to, but again, to no avail. In a last desperate attempt, he stretched his hands forward, as far as they would go, away from his body, trying to get a hold of this person, to feel this beacon of hope, yearning for the touch that would confirm whether she was real or just another hallucination. Maybe he’d even get lucky and— Jesus freaking Christ, this isn’t a sitcom, brain! Focus!

He seemed to respond to her, in a way. His head tilted, he moved his faceless face as if he was trying to speak. No sound came out, but of course it wouldn’t; there was no mouth for it to escape from. Cass remembered Milo’s voice coming out of the thing that took his face when this had happened to him, and she wondered absently if this man’s voice was in some creature somewhere spouting out memes the way the one they’d encountered during the cave-in had been. Though… something told her that the meme thing had been mostly tied to the face that was stolen. Who knew what this guy’s face would be saying?

Arms stretched out towards her, and Cass hesitated only for a moment before reaching out and taking the man by the wrist. She tugged him forward carefully, making sure his feet avoided uneven ground and rocks that seemed like they’d be easy to trip over.

“You’re in a cave,” she told him carefully, speaking slowly and loudly. Was it hard for him to hear her? She had no idea, but it seemed like a good bet. He didn’t have any ears. “I don’t know if you knew that or not. I think you came in out of the mines, though, so maybe you started there. There’s a creature that takes faces. I think that’s probably what you ran into, huh?” He couldn’t respond to her, of course, so she didn’t bother asking him any questions that needed a real answer. Except…

He could still move his head, couldn’t he? That meant they could do yes or no questions. “You can nod for yes or shake your head for no. Okay?” She gave him a moment to ‘respond,’ then continued. “Do you know where the thing that took your face went?”

Jasper immediately shuddered, cowered, when he felt something grab his wrist, someone. Despite that, he didn’t try to resist. All he wanted was to get out of the freaking caves, get back his freaking face, and it didn’t matter how he’d do those things, who would help him do those things. This guy could be one of those serial killers or whatever and Jasper would be fine with getting abducted by him. At the very least, he’d be somewhere else, far from whatever that thing was. On the surface, outside the mines, his chances of being found, rescued, would be much better, even if he’d be found, rescued, as a victim of some stinky backwater serial killer.

Oh, my fucking god! Is that a girl? Jasper felt a sigh of relief wash over him, not unlike cold water on his bare body on a hot summer day, when he heard her voice. He didn’t even register the fact that she was telling him what he already knew—of course he knew about the mines and caves; he was an expert in that field—never mind the fact that she probably didn’t know any of that. A creature? That takes faces? She did know more about the situation than him. He had thought it was just some asshole who threw acid on his face and melted it all, but if it was a creature that takes faces, maybe he can get his back somehow?

Jasper nodded at her first question. Okay. His head was still tilted, angled, in a way that made him look like a confused puppy who couldn’t see in the dark so it was trying to listen to things that would help it survive. Jasper shook his head at the second question. There was no way for him to have known where the creature that stole his face went. He should’ve made sure to note that but it all happened so fast and Jasper has never been that kind of smart. He was book smart, could memorize rocks and shit, but common sense always seemed to elude him. A terrible tradeoff. Jasper tried to move his hands around, trying to touch the girl’s face, just to confirm that she was in fact a girl, a human, and not some other creature trying to butter him up so it could eat him when his guard was fully down. It would have to buy him dinner first.

He seemed to relax a little as she spoke, and that felt good. Like she was doing something right, like she was making his situation better. In all honesty, she didn’t know how to help him in a real, tangible way. With Milo, killing the creature that took his face had given it back to him, but Cass had no idea where the creature responsible for this man’s predicament might be. Even if she found it, she would have no way of knowing. She didn’t know what this man looked like with a face on, so she wouldn’t recognize that face on the body of one of those face-snatching beats, would she? So what were her options here, exactly? What was it she was supposed to do?

Get him to the surface. Find someone who knows him. Make him feel safe. That was all she really could do, wasn’t it? It wasn’t much, but it was better than leaving him to wander in the caves until he died.

But there might not be much anyone could do outside of that. Her heart sank as he shook his head. No, he didn’t know where the creature that stole his face had gone. That meant they didn’t even have a place to start as far as how to take it out. She noted the way his hands were searching, figured out what he wanted and guided his hands to her face briefly. “That’s okay,” she told him, removing his hands so she could speak. “We’ll figure something out. I’m going to take you out of the cave. Do you, um… Is there someone I can call? You could… tell me their number with your fingers? Or do you still have your phone on you?” Gosh, she hoped he didn’t use face ID to unlock it.

Jasper instinctively shuddered, flinched, when his hands touched something soft and flesh-like. As if he didn’t expect to touch anything soft and flesh-like. Even though that was the whole point of him flailing his hands everywhere, to confirm that he was talking to someone soft and flesh-like, human, not something monstrous. Monsters aren’t usually soft and flesh-like. Even if they were soft, they’d usually be wet or hairy, furry, sometimes prickly. Oh, god, what if this is just a monster wearing someone’s skin?! He should be able to tell if that was the case, right? Right?

Gulping, Jasper hesitantly tried his best to remain calm, choosing to focus on trying to make out what he was in fact touching. It didn’t take him long to find a nose, cheekbones, ears, even an eye. Or at least that’s what he thought they were, considering they were where his natural protrusions and orifices would have been if his face had not been stolen. So far, so good… My fingers have not been bitten yet. Or my entire hand swallowed.

Still tilting his head toward the wrong direction, his ear—or at least where it was supposed to be—more toward her face than his eyes—or at least where they were supposed to be—should have been, Jasper nodded as desperately as he could. He tried to tell her that he lost his phone somewhere in the mines, too, but without a voice, and more importantly, without a mouth, all he could do was mime with his hands and his right butt cheek. Why does she keep saying cave instead of mines? Is this not another part of the mines? I don’t remember being in a cave that wasn’t in the mines… If Jasper could squint, he would’ve. Where was he, and why was this woman in here? What was this, some sort of Batcave? And who was she, some sort of Batgirl?

It was obvious that he was afraid. She could practically feel it radiating off of him, could feel the vibration of his desperate heart in his chest thrum thrum thruming as it hummed a tune of terror. Cass wanted to help him, because that was what heroes were supposed to do, but how could she? She couldn’t return his face to him without knowing what became of the monster that took it. She couldn’t even offer him any real answers as to what the monster had been or what it was doing with his face. Her experience with the face-stealing monster from before was so limited, so soaked in the anxiety and fear of the moment it all occurred.

But she could let him feel her face. She could reassure him that he wasn’t alone anymore, even if she couldn’t do much more than that. It wasn’t a lot, she knew; it was only one step above nothing, but that still made it better than nothing, didn’t it? Not being alone must have counted for something, even if it didn’t count for much.

He didn’t seem to have a phone on him, from what she could tell. She wasn’t really sure what he was trying to say, but if he had had a phone, he probably would have pulled it out right about now. But that was okay; they could make do. “Do you know anyone’s phone number? I have my phone, so I could call someone for you if you know their number.” He could communicate numbers with his fingers, at least. Anything more than that, though… This was hard. This was a hard spot to be in. For him and for her.

Jasper fought the urge to move his hands down the rest of the woman’s body. He wasn’t sure what she looked like but that didn’t really matter, as she sounded like a woman, so she must be a woman. Only one way to find out…NO! Stupid man brain! What’s the worst that could happen? She’d slap him? She wouldn’t even know who he was, considering he had no face on. I’d know! The Universe would know! Also, I don’t even know if she has a weapon! She could stab me! Dying would be a welcomed respite at the moment, though. It might be a whole lot better than living a life without a face.

Jasper was starting to lose his mind, it felt like. It was bad enough that he could not see anything but he probably looked like a monster to everyone else, except for this strange woman in the strange cave that he couldn’t even see. What if she wasn’t even real? Just a product of his imagination, his desperation, his sanity having been stolen by that thing, too? No, he touched her. That means she’s real, right? Just slumped on the ground, too confused to function. If only there was a way to communicate with her without speaking, if she was even real and not a trap by the mines.

Then it hit him! Jasper had been through this before. Not lose his face to a monster, this was a new experience for sure, but be in a silent war with a woman. They did not speak to each other for weeks until their eventual break-up. But they did communicate still…with pen and paper! Turning his faceless head to where he thought the woman was still standing, he made the gesture for her to give him a pen and paper. Sure, he wouldn’t see the damned things, so his message might be less than legible, but maybe it would be easier to write his stupid ex’s number! He was so high in his “breakthrough” that he was complicating things. Surely, it’d be easier to make number gestures with his fingers.

He was doing… something with his hands. It took Cass a moment to comprehend what. But when she did — oh! That certainly made more sense than using fingers, didn’t it? She dug around in her pockets until she found a receipt, thankful that she’d actually bought something the last time she went to A Latte Love rather than just stand around and bother Wynne until they got off their shift. She found a pen, too; she was pretty sure she’d swiped it from a table in the mall, though she had no idea why she’d taken it. It had a frilly pom pom on the end. Maybe that was what had captured her attention.

“Here,” she said, pressing both items into his hands and making sure she had a good grip on them before pulling her hands away. And then – “Oh! Let me take you over to the wall so you can have something to write against, okay?” Carefully, she led him over to the smoothest section of the cave wall. It wouldn’t allow for neat handwriting, and she imagined his presumed blindness would only make it messier, but hopefully he’d be able to manage legible.

With him in position to write, she leaned back. “Okay,” she said. “Um, you should be able to write now. So… What’s your name? That’s probably the best place to start. And, um, if you remember the date you got lost, that would probably be good too?”

To say that Jasper was an idiot would be the understatement of the year. As soon as he had the piece of paper(?) and pen, he immediately tried writing his name. Fortunately for him, his attempt was made somewhat easier when the girl led her to a wall. He took a second or two to touch the wall, his brain telling him to check if it was in fact suitable as a surface to write on. Well, at least support the paper and pen so he can write legibly. It must’ve been awkward for anyone, watching a faceless buffoon tilt his head in the wrong direction while attempting to write his name.

His first attempt came out as ‘Jasjen,’ mostly because he tried to write his name in cursive, an attempt that he expected to be much easier than what he ended up with. Fortunately for whoever was helping him, he immediately realized a contingency, and quickly re-wrote his name in non-cursive: ‘J as per.’ Close enough. The date he got lost? He wasn’t even sure what date it was at the moment. Has he been there for days already? Or was it just an hour after the attack? It all seemed the same for Jasper, as if time had stopped entirely, with days and weeks and hours melting together in a horrific torment fit for hell. Then it hit him. Of course he remembered the date he lost his face. He was, after all, a scientist, who dated his journal entries. For science. June 30, 2023, which he wrote as ‘06l3O/223.’ Close enough.

Then something else hit him. A possible cure! Remember how Jasper was an idiot? Well, considering that he already lost his face to something that science may not be able to explain, why not find a solution in fantasy, right? Specifically, Snow White. Or was that Sleeping Beauty? Heck, they all seemed the same to him now. What with their faces and stuff. Jasper quickly jotted down his stupidly desperate salvation, barely making the two words fit on the receipt, before stretching both his arms to where he thought the person was, human or not: ‘Kiss ne.’ If he had lips, he would have been puckering at that moment.

She squinted as he wrote, wondering how hard it must have been. It certainly couldn’t have been easy, because she didn’t think Jasjen was anyone’s name, especially given how quickly he seemed to feel the need to correct it. “Jasper,” she read the name written in messy scrawl out loud. That was a real name, wasn’t it? A pretty cool name, too. “You know, that’s a rock, too. An opaque variety of Chalcedony. Usually it’s brown, yellow, or reddish. You can find it all over, but usually it’s found in India, Russia, Egypt, Madagascar, Australia, and South and North America.”

She was rambling. She knew she was rambling. Going on and on about rocks because she was in uncharted territory here. It was easier to go on a tangent than it was to let herself really exist in this situation she had no control over, to let herself acknowledge that, even if she got him out of the cave, she had no way to actually help him. She knew how to get his face back, but knowing how meant nothing if they couldn’t find the creature that stole his face to begin with. And judging by the date he wrote on that paper… “You’ve been down here a while.” How would they even track that creature down now? Was there any hope of it at all?

Something seemed to occur to him, something exciting. She watched him scribble with some curiosity, taking a step back when his arms stretched towards her. Reading the words on the page, she made a face. “Ew, dude, I’m twenty,” she said, wrinkling her nose. She didn’t know how old he was — hard to tell, given the whole ‘no face’ thing — but judging by how he moved and stuff? He was older. That wasn’t the only barrier, of course. “Also, you don’t even have a face. And no offense, but you’ve been down here a long time, and you kind of smell.”

What the actual fuck? Jasper cringed, or more precisely, winced, moving his body inches away from the direction of the girl’s voice, as if he was in complete shock, when she started explaining what jasper the rock was. In his head, he played a memory clip of that meme where the fat dad from Family Guy—of course he couldn’t remember the character’s name right then and there—went ‘who the fuck starts a conversation like that, I just sat down’ or something along those lines. In all his times of introducing himself by his name, few ever mouthed out factoids about rocks. But that disbelief was immediately overshadowed by him being impressed by the woman’s knowledge of his own field, so much so that he had already forgotten cringing, or more precisely wincing, at her intellectual blabbering.

Jasper nodded his head, fervently so, when she mentioned he had been down there for a while. It took him a little more while to realize the gravity of that fact. He had been down there for a while. Not a few minutes, not a few hours, but a while. No one ever says ‘a while’ unless they were downplaying the amount of time lost, especially in his current situation. He started to panic, his throat drying so suddenly. He could feel his heart race, and his hand immediately went to his chest. He felt like dropping down on the ground but instinctively reached for her to get some leverage, to balance himself, to keep his legs from failing him.

And then it got worse. She’s fucking twenty?! Oh, god. Oh, god, oh, god, oh, god. It was Jasper’s worst nightmare. He almost kissed a child! Or at the very least, one of his students! That would have been really bad. Terrible. Horrible. Catastrophic. Sure, some twenty-year-old people were cute and beautiful and fine, but that’s just being objective. He should still have his limits, his discipline, his pride or standards or whatever old-timey dudes called their—honor. Something like that. The faceless old man shook his head fervently before doing what a man of his advanced age would have done in this very situation—run! Or at least he tried to. Without eyes, Jasper was just stumbling in the dark. Painfully slow. Awkwardly slow. Even though in his head he was doing his best to scram before the FBI agents came rushing in. I DIDN’T KNOW!

She felt pretty bad for the guy. Even without a face, it was pretty clear that he hadn’t realized how long he’d been down here, that it came as a surprise to him. She couldn’t imagine what that was like, but it must have been scary. Being lost was one thing, but being lost with no face? With no ability to even see where it was you were wandering? She didn’t envy him. She wanted to help him, but… Helping him might be a little hard.

Especially because he started running. In the wrong direction. Cass sighed. She didn’t want to chase him, didn’t want to scare him more, but… subtly, she shifted the ground beneath his feet to turn him so that he was running on a straight path towards the opening of the cave. Not much, but at least it would get him out of here. And… okay, maybe she didn’t really want him to be her problem anymore. Was that so bad?

She watched him go, following along behind and changing his direction every so often until he burst out of the cave and into the afternoon light. Then, she stood at the mouth of the cave and watched as he continued. She’d look for the face stealer that got him, of course, but until then… Well.

Good luck, Faceless Jasper.

#wickedswriting #❖《 ⋯ ♖ feat. cass akamai #❖《 ⋯ ♖ para ♜ ⋯ 》❖#《 ⋯ ❖ face off ❖ ⋯ 》#《 ⋯ season one ❖ canaries ⋯ 》#❖《 ⋯ ♖ no face jasper era ♜ ⋯ 》❖

9 notes · View notes

inkkayyy · 1 year

Text

ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴀɴ ᴏᴜᴛꜱɪᴅᴇ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴘᴇᴄᴛɪᴠᴇ >ꜱᴇᴏ ᴄʜᴀɴɢʙɪɴ [ ᴛᴡᴏ ]

It’s a shock, one that makes Changbin freeze briefly before wrapping him in a tight hug.

The pair had been through hard times, but he had never seen her cry. Not once.

[ from an outside perspective] [ sunhee’s masterlist ]

(wk: 2.1k) (format: english in italics)

180207

When Seo Changbin first saw Kang Sunhee cry, it was an anomaly.

Graduation is a sentimental time. It marked the end of an era. Debut was just around the corner- marked for a mere month away. And as he attends his last ever class- the day before grad, he begins to wonder if he’d miss it. Then their mathematics teacher hands out a sheet- a compulsory test (that won’t even be marked) just to ‘see how much they’d really learnt’.

He won’t miss it. Not really. He’ll miss the people. School gave him an excuse to see his friends on a regular basis. And he knows that will be hard once they graduate and he becomes an idol (disregarding the fact he’s halfway there because of the survival show).

He and Sunhee walk back to the dorms, talking about graduation. “I still can’t believe they aren’t coming.”

She frowned, eyebrows creasing. “Who’s not coming?”

“The members- they told us last night, remember?” He paused to look at her.

It takes a few seconds but the conversation seemed to dawn on her as a sad and miserable ‘Oh’ tumbled past her lips.

“Guess it will just be you and me yeah? Maybe I’ll finally get to meet your sister.” It’s a teasing change of subject one so blatantly obvious but he entertained anyway. Forcing Sunhee to talk about something she didn’t want to was never a good idea.

So he thinks that’s it. They moved on talking about the upcoming shoot for their debut trailer- about how he’d been grumpy about the undercut they gave him- irritated by the fringe and how she’d had to do some voice over dubbing.

But that wasn’t it. Because later, into the hours of the night when they’re all in their dorm, cramped and messy as usual, Sunhee crawled into his bunk sobbing.

Her breath came out in quiet hiccups and even in the dark he can see the way light reflects off her tear tracks. The tiny red dot from the smoke alarm, moonlight streaming in from the window, Hyunjin’s night light that he leaves on so none of them trip over in the middle of the night.

It’s a shock, one that makes Changbin freeze briefly before wrapping him in a tight hug. They’re a similar height (she’s actually slightly taller than him- which she never lets him forget) but with how Sunhee's curled herself up next to him, on the tiny single mattress, she felt so small.

The pair had been through hard times, but he had never seen her cry. Not once.

When they’d been in the survival show, he assumed she did- they all did. But Sunhee made an effort to remove herself from the situation. She would steel her nerves and blink away the moisture brimming her eyes.

This was different.

Her breath hitched with every inhale and he could feel the way her hand fisted tight against the sleeves of his hoodie to avoid the tell tale shake they tremmored with. He’s got one leg draped over his, her head curled onto his chest and she tries to stay quiet. He snakes one hand around her waist, rubbing circles onto her back, as his other slowly took her fist away from his hoodie, instead choosing to hold it with his own. Her nails would have dug into his skin if they were any longer but her habit of biting them when stressed prevented that.

“What's wrong?” Changbin murmured.

Sunhee’s breath hitched once more as she forced the words out. “I’m going to be alone. At graduation. No one is coming to see me finish school.”

Oh. He really should have realised that one a bit sooner. Sunhee struggled with Korea- not in the sense of directions of the language (at least not as much any more) but the fact it wasn’t Australia. He’d been told that she used to get really homesick, enough that the company had allowed her to actually travel home the year before, something trainees were rarely offered.

“I’ll be there.” He murmured, holding her a little closer. “And the others wanted to be, you know that.”

“Still, it’s a little pathetic isn’t it? No family coming to my graduation?” She scoffed, a wet sound betrayed by the way her tears lead onto his hoodie. “Aren’t your parents supposed to take you out for jjajangmyeon or something? One of the girls in class asked me where i was going.“

“I’m not sure Mum’s picked out some place for us, I think it’s fancier then you're used to but you’ll manage just fine.”

“Us?”

“Yeah,” his brows furrowed, glancing down at her face. Sunhee’s eyes were shiny with tears. “I told you that we’d eat together after graduation. Did you forget?”

She blinked. “Your parent’s are okay with that?”

He tried not to laugh too loudly, but the rumble of his chest was not lost to Sunhee. “I think they’d skin me if I didn’t- no way they were gonna let you eat alone after graduation.”

And that was true. Sunhee had spent weekends at the Seo family house, come over for dinners and the public holidays that were offered to her, truly Changbin’s mother loved Sunhee. So of course, when talking to Changbin about after graduation lunch, she’d insisted that Sunhee was to come with them- if she didn’t already have plans. He could have sworn he’d asked her, and his mum had already booked a table for five, but maybe it had slipped his mind.

“I just thought I'd go with the others who aren’t at school for the day.” She whispered.

“Nope, you’re coming with me.”

“Okay.“ There’s a smile ghosting her lips as she tucks herself a little tighter against his side, and Changbin messes with his duvet until it’s draped over the both of them.

Sleep comes easily after that.

And the next morning she was still there, and Jeongin who was rousing from his own bunk looked at them curiously, but Changbin just waved him off with one hand. It’s not until they all start to disperse, with Hyunjin and Seungmin off to their own schools, and the others heading to schedules, does Changbin call his mum.

He waits until Sunhee’s in the shower- for the sound of the water running before he steps cautiously out onto the balcony, February chill cutting through his uniform blazer with ease.

“How’s my highschool graduate feeling?” She teases, clearly thrilled that both her kids are now finished school.

“Ah- good.” He replied, a little embarrassed by the eagerness in her voice. “Can I ask you a favour mum?”

“Sure.”

“Could you pick up some flowers for Sunhee? The other members can’t come to our graduation and neither can her family.”

“Oh of course!” His mum sounded thrilled and it made Changbin smile. “What kind does she like, any favourites? Or should I get ones to match her room so they look nice in the dorm?”

“I think any would be fine- but maybe something simple, she’s not one for dramatics.”

And sure enough, when they make it to the hall, once their homeroom teachers had handed over their diplomas with a huge smile (maybe she was glad to be rid of them, maybe she was just thrilled the lot of them made it- who knows) Changbin’s mother holds two bouquets. One was a bunch of baby’s breath, swaddled in brown paper that she extended to him with a grin. “My boy!”

She was hugging him so tight he might’ve passed out, but eventually she relented, running a hand down his hair and onto his cheek. She looks so proud.

Changbin’s dad pulled him forwards for a firm handshake but gave up halfway through and hugged him instead. His sister followed suit, taking time to mess up his hair as well.

But when Changbin turned around, he was met once again, with the sight of Sunhee’s teary eyes.

Her arms were wrapped tightly around Changbin’s mum, who coo’s and hugs her back. In one hand, Sunhee held the second Bouquet, one of white tulips. She sniffled and blinked at him. Changbin smiled.

“Oh, Sunhee dear- stop crying, it’s your graduation day!” His mum exclaimed, pulling back to hold Sunhee’s face in her palms, brushing gentle thumbs across her cheeks to whip away the stray tears. She offered a wet laugh before replying “You bought me flowers.”

“That we did.”

And then Sunhee threw herself at Changbin, an embrace that was so whole, then he stumbled back a step as her arms flew over his shoulders. And it was a different sort of crying, one that was laced with laughter and tipped with unhidden smiles. He liked it more than the tears he’s seen before.

She felt warm against him, and her chest vibrated with the laughs that tumbled from her lips. He squeezed tightly, and knew this would not be a moment he forgot. He would certainly not pretend to understand her, not when the members turned up five minutes later, with a camera man, saying it was a prank that they’d been asked to film.

And when Felix hugged Sunhee so tightly, congratulating her on graduating in Korea of all places she swayed in his arms, and when Minho threw an arm over her shoulder, bringing her close, she was cautious to hold the bouquet gently- she didn’t dare let anyone else touch her flowers, nor did she stray from Changbin’s side.

Their manager informed them that all nine of the members will be having jajangmyeon for dinner and that it would be filmed. The others (those who could attend, Seungmin and Hyunjin sadly at school) headed back for schedules soon after. She’s affected by it, the fact that they did show up after all, and she would have people to celebrate her graduation with, but cried about it anyway- how much it bothered he couldn’t quite tell, she was alway good at hiding that away. But he knows enough, he’s not sure how but he does. So he slipped his hand into hers and tugged her away from his family for a bit, heading over to their classmates.

Changbin’s sister followed the pair around as the designated photographer, taking photos of them with friends, Jihoon shows off the bright pink flowers his brother had picked out as Jaewoo takes great joy in spinning his diploma around on one finger, and Sunhee sends the picture of their friend group, all seven of them, off to her mum.

And when it’s time to leave, she grinned the whole car ride to the restaurant, happily chatting away with Changbin’s mum.

There’s a moment, just one, when her phone pings and it comes back with a picture from her mum; both her brother and Mum seated at the dining room table, a vase full of flowers (he think’s they’re daisies?) between them and plates of jajangmyeon on the table. Sunhee almost cries again, but she blinks them away with a sniffle and sends back a series of emoticon hearts.

He doesn’t understand Kang Sunhee, she’s an anomaly and always will, but he’ll take the pieces she offers, learn about the parts she chooses to show him and hold her close when she needs it- because Changbin knows she would too.

[ <<< ᴘʀᴇᴠɪᴏᴜꜱ ] [ from an outside perspective] [ ɴᴇxᴛ >>> (coming soon) ]

#sunhee from an outside perspective #sunhee's mixtape era #kpop oc #kpop female addition #kpop addition #skz addition #skz female member #skz female addition #stray kids oc #stray kids female oc #stray kids female addition #stray kids female member #stray kids 9th member #kang sunhee skz

20 notes · View notes

fineosaur · 2 years

Note

If you still want to do prompts: 126. “You nap. I’ll stay awake” for arya and gendry pls

only our love | e | gendrya

from this drabble challenge

Arya and Gendry cross paths ten years after they last meet in ASOS. Their awkward silences become less awkward once they ease the tension that had been building between the two of them.

He never expected to see her again.

It had been years since he last laid eyes on her. So long that her face had started fading from his memory.

When he saw her again, there was no mistaking it. There well should have been, she had grown so much he almost felt shame from gazing upon her for too long.

He had done some growing up of his own too. The years had begun to cloud his judgment after a while, he was no longer a hot-tempered teenager, he was now a grown man acting upon fully justified anger.

They still called him the Bull. Only now it wasn’t so much a joke, and more a respected statement.

They first heard of her in passing word. She was a shadow, a weapon, not even a woman but a myth that was not even human.

He knew much of those that were more than human. But with her walking at his side, leaves crunching underneath her boots, he knows she’s just a girl. An extraordinary one, but a girl nonetheless.

“You’re different,” she told him firmly.

He didn’t know if her voice had always sounded this soft. It was deep but caressed his ears like the velvet off a white stag’s antlers.

Since they crossed paths, little words had been exchanged between them. Tension hung like the humidity of the forest air.

“It’s been some years, I would worry if you said the opposite.”

She giggled. It was a delightful sound, much like the song of a snowshrike.

“Some years and even some more,” she joked back. “I wondered if you would even remember me?”

Gendry laughed at her words. There was no believable reality where he would forget her. She’d seen all of him before he was ready to see himself. And she broke him just the same when she left.

“I thought you dead, I never forgot you,” Gendry explained. “I mourned you.”

He grieved in anger, and years later he accepted it all and chose not to hold onto a broken heart at such a stage in his youth.

“Not dead, not yet,” she told him with a smile.

Behind her smile, much remained hidden. She might not have been dead yet, but parts of her seemed worn away, much like the rest of them that suffered the war. They were once children of the war, now sour adults still pacing through it all.

They reached the river soon enough. The sound of the steady stream of fresh water filled their ears.

It was cold, he did not have to feel the water to know it was. It did not bother her, however.

He wandered around with an open ear, checking if they were safe to rest. Just as he found her once again, he saw the scars that marked her skin. Beside her on the bank laid her clothes.

“Arya–” he tried stopping her, but it was futile. When did she ever listen to anyone but herself?

Now that she was lowered into the waters he remembered to look away. He had known the look of a woman’s body, he was no prude, he had known the company of men, women, and others over the years.

But this was Arya. He had known her when they were children when she thought she could fool him into thinking she was a boy. When he was too young to realise what love was.

She was the first person to see him and show him what it felt to have someone who cared.

“Gods, I don’t think I’ve grown that ugly– you don’t have to stare away that angrily.”

Her tone dripped with mirth. Gendry allowed himself to look her way, but it was hopeless for him. Her body was hidden by the water and her hair pooled around her with dark inky strands.

“I’m not some peeper, I’ll be on the lookout so you might have some privacy,” he heard her huff as he walked away.

Gendry quite easily used his march off as an excuse to get some fresh air. As if that weren’t already in abundance. He needed fresh air away from her, where she wouldn’t see him gasping over her getting undressed in front of him.

He’d been reduced to a teenager all over again. Only she could have such an effect on him. Gendry walked through the forest, knowing better than to stray too far; though she did not look like someone in need of protection.

He circled back, allowing his fingers to run through his thick hair. He was relieved enough to find her more or less dressed upon his return. She did not seem to feel the cold air at all.

She twisted her wet hair several times with a dexterous finger. “Gods, do you always look so pained?” Arya quipped. She gave him a smile, a pretty one, he noted.

Gendry cleared his throat. “I’m not the one who’s gotten comfortable getting naked in front of people during my time away,” he shrugged.

He kept the same mirthful air as she did. As they always had, only now it seemed they weren’t worrying for their lives. It was as if they were suspended in time now.

Gendry relaxed and walked towards her, this time choosing to act more comfortably.

“How did you get all those scars?” He asked her with a soft voice, as soft as he could muster.

Arya smiled up at him, only for a moment he watched the levity fall before she cheered herself up once again.

“We’ve only just seen each other after all these years, must we sour the mood so soon?”

She had gotten wiser. As if she hadn’t already been the smartest person he had known all those years ago.

Gendry watched her pull on the rest of her layers, finally guarding herself against the winter air. She looked elated now that she’d gotten the chance to bathe. She wrapped herself tightly and got closer to him.

Her smile reached her eyes. Eyes that reminded him of tempering steel. The way steam rose and curled around him in his forge.

“You’re staring,” Arya said, walking past him and going straight for the stray branch behind him.

Gendry chose to ignore her, simply choosing to get a fire going for them.

Arya came back with a sufficient amount of wood. Finally settling down beside him. She didn’t know much about personal space it seemed.

“You don’t talk much,” Arya told him softly. “You never really were much of a talker but you at least spoke around me.”

“It’s a lot to deal with, Arya,” he opened up. He met her eyes, allowing his to drop to her lips before speaking. “I thought you were dead for the longest time, it’s like I’m seeing a ghost. But it’s stranger because you’re here and you’re acting like everything is all okay.”

“Why would I act any other way, must I spend my days miserably thinking about what became of my mother? And how I’m supposed to find my sister, or if I have to believe the rumours that all my brothers have died?” Arya’s voice trembled, the farce had fallen and he was to blame. “I will act as I must to keep going, Gendry.”

“I didn’t mean–”

“I know you didn’t mean it, but…” she sighed and stared at him. Her palm grazed his beard. His chest got tight and he felt the pleasant flutter in his chest at her touch. “I would just like to spend some time being happy to see you. In knowing that after all these years you’re still here. Right where I left you, unlike everyone else I’ve ever known.”

Gendry leaned into her touch. He brought his hand to hers, he easily engulfed it. “I’ve missed you,” he admitted. The words left his tongue before he had a chance to second guess them.

Arya laughed. Her laugh might have been the best thing he had heard in a while. “I’ve missed you too,” she replied, leaning into his chest.

He held her right there, feeling his heartbeat pick up speed. The fire crackled and she looked up at him. A thin sheen glassed over her eyes.

Moments passed, and they managed to catch a few fish from the nearby river. Something Arya was surprisingly good at. She still carried her skinny blade and used it like it was part of her arm.

With full bellies and the warmth of the fire near, they sat quiet in one another’s presence.

His eyes grew tired, he knew she felt the same by the yawn she let out. She was beautiful. Back when they had been younger, he had not known how he felt, it was love most definitely, but not this way. There was no hunger, he had felt the need to protect her and make her feel safe. Not like a brother, but some other category if it existed.

Now, the same instinct knocked at the door. Only he could not help but feel the creeping feeling in his chest that he knew to be lust.

Gendry felt lecherous by all means. She had been her friend, she trusted him. He was no better than any other man.

“You keep staring at me that way, what does it mean?” She asked him curiously.

“In what way?”

“Pained, but in a different way.”

The apple in Gendry’s throat bobbed as he swallowed back his guilt. “You look different, that’s all,” he noted in the most neutral tone he could conjure.

“Different?”

“You were one-and-ten when I last saw you,” Gendry told her. He gestured her way to put some evidence into his explanation. “Now you’re a woman grown… one-and-twenty. It feels hardly real.”

Arya sipped water out a wineskin. She used the back of her hand to wipe her lips. “And you’re a man grown… though you already were when I left.”

“We’ve both changed in our own ways, I just… I had so much to say to you when you left and now my tongue does not even remember the words.”

“Let’s make you remember,” Arya said. It didn’t take her even a moment before she pressed her lips to his.

It was the last thing he expected, but he sat there, pleasantly surprised. It took a moment before he acted upon it, realising when their tongues grazed each other that this is what she meant.

Gendry pulled her in, bringing her into his lap as swiftly as he would holding a feather. She moaned softly in his arms and sat comfortably enough that she was able to let her hands wander.

Her hands went into his hair, tugging at his neck to get him as close as possible. His head rang, like a hammer hitting an anvil. His mind went numb and nothing existed but her.

They broke away just for a moment. A moment made up of heavy stares and dilated pupils. Her cheeks were flushed and he felt his body react stiffly.

“Arya?”

She stared up at him. Her grey eyes glittered like the night sky. “I’m not leaving you again,” she told him. Reading his mind before he has to utter the words he was dreading.

He kissed her again. The kiss bruised his lips and contained the desperation of a thousand soldiers. He didn’t articulate his relief, choosing to let his actions show his feelings.

Gendry was never a winner when it came to expressing himself verbally. He was better at doing. But for her, he would do it all.

Her hands were fluid, unlatching his cloak and beginning to tear through the fastenings of his jerkin. He groaned softly and stared at her.

Arya undid the twists in her hair, allowing a cascade of brown waves to fall down her shoulders.

“What are you doing to me?”

read more on ao3 - the rest is pure smut that i won't post on tumblr due to no porn policy and i don't want to have any issues lol

#thank you for sending a prompt sam !#drabble challenge #gendrya #arya x gendry #asoiaf fanfiction #asoiaf canon compliant #fineosaur #i still have more in my ask box #feel free to send more i'm taking requests for many other ships too #my writing #smut

51 notes · View notes

cascadena · 2 years

Text

Sunset Fireflies

Art and Fic by: Cascadena

(Rated: G; Words: 1385)

“She has been out on the veranda for quite a while now,” said Impa. Her wrinkle-framed eyes glinted in the flicker of the hearth behind her that Paya was cooking our dinner over. “Link, why don’t you go talk to her?”

With effort, I pulled my head away from the wall that I sat against. I had been fighting off the urge to nap ever since I sat down and would lose the battle if I sat for much longer. The Princess went out to Impa’s back porch shortly after our arrival at the Sheikah’s home, and we hadn’t spoken much since Impa’s caravan picked us up from Hyrule Field earlier that day. We were both bruised and littered with cuts, but somehow neither of us had sustained severe injuries. The final roar of Calamity Ganon as Zelda sealed him away still rang in my ears, and I suspected it wouldn’t go away any time soon.

When I pushed open the doors to the rear veranda, Zelda was facing away from me. She leaned over the guardrail, looking down at the trickling stream below. Her golden hair shone in warm hues of the sunset beyond the pine forest surrounding the village. She would stun anyone who would look upon her, despite the stains from a hundred years ago that still muddied her dress.

The Princess snapped her head around before her shoulders relaxed at the sight of me. “Oh, it’s only you, Link.”

“Were you expecting a monster?” I asked as I approached. I intended it as a joke, but the Princess turned away to look over the edge of the porch again, her mouth a hard line.

She groaned. “I’ve only had terrible monsters as my company for the last hundred years,” she mumbled.

I leaned against the guardrail beside her. What a miserable hundred years she had to have witnessed: watching the castle as it was overrun and looted as the fields beyond burned. Not to mention, she’d been holding off Calamity Ganon, the most fearsome beast of the land, the entire time. I’d had a long, lonely journey, but at least I wasn’t under a constant attack for a hundred years straight. “Hopefully my company is more pleasant than that of a monster,” I said.

She looked at me for a second, her brow raised, then returned her gaze over the side of the deck. A frog leapt from a rock and landed in the stream below with a splash. “You know, Link, you seem different,” she said.

My heart sank. I feared Zelda would think I changed a lot after losing and regaining my memories. I looked down at the planks of the deck beneath my boots. Small cracks where the wood had aged littered the edges of a few of them. “I’ve been told that by others I met on my journey who knew me before...” I said.

“It’s understandable. You had a long journey,” said Zelda. Her voice was almost a whisper, as if she could barely get words out. “I am still in disbelief that everything has been accomplished,” she said.

I nodded slowly. “It hasn’t really sunk in for me either.”

She didn’t say anything more for a few minutes. The setting sun slipped behind the cliffside and the light dimmed before she continued. “I could only watch as everything was destroyed,” She said, her voice breaking. “Waves of guardian and monster armies, fueled by calamity ganon, descended upon the land.”

She rubbed her eyes, and I realized she was crying. “Princess…”

“I will never be able to shake the guilt. If… If only I had tried a little harder at Mount Lunayru, maybe it would have awakened in time…” Tears fell down her cheeks. I felt a strange inclination to reach out and hug her, but perhaps she felt I had become too much of a stranger to offer such an act. When she shivered and rubbed her shoulders, I knew I couldn’t just stand idly beside her like the guard I once was to her. I unclasped my Hylian cloak from my shoulders and placed it over Zelda’s without a word.

“Thank you, Link,” she said through a sniffle.

“From what I remember, you worked very hard. You did all you could to save them, and it’s over now. You sealed Ganon away,” I said softly. She nodded, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands.

“I just… I have no idea how I can bring myself to face this kingdom again after having failed my people…” she said.

We stood for a bit longer in silence as the sun continued to set. A bright green light suddenly blinked from the stream below us and then another flashed in the trees surrounding us. Then another, and another emerged as a bunch of small lights illuminated around us. “Look, sunset fireflies!” I said, pointing them out to the Princess.

“Link… this isn’t the time,” she sniffed.

“Come on, Princess, look!” I said.

Zelda’s looked up at the lights. She frowned. “From the research on them we once did together, I concluded that… they don’t live long,” she said flatly.

I huffed and waved my arm towards the trees. “That doesn’t matter, just look at them! Aren’t they beautiful?”

She looked up again and sighed, giving in to my request to observe them. After a few minutes, her tears stopped. She spoke again. “You’re right, Link, they are beautiful.”

We watched the bugs as they flashed twinkling lights that resembled constellations as darkness completely enveloped the village. It was a spectacular show that always happened in Kakariko on warm, midsummer nights.

The Princess clenched a hand to her chest as she looked up at the trees. “These fireflies… they glow only when the sun sets,” she said. “I believe this may be a sign to us from Hylia. Like the fireflies, our kingdom too can emerge from darkness.”

“Very profound, Princess,” I said. “I hope they inspired you.” She turned and offered a small smile. A wave of relief fell over me with her smile.

As the sky dimmed more, Zelda wrapped the cloak around her shoulders and leaned towards me, her arm grazing against my shoulder. The move might have been subconscious and due to her tiredness, but her touch sent a quick shiver up my side. She was warm now though, and I wanted to lean in to her too.

Whatever moment we were having ended when Paya called to say dinner was ready.

Zelda began towards the door to the inside, but then reached for the clasp of the hood to return it to me. “You can keep that, if you want,” I said, nodding towards her shoulders. “It’s from a shop in Hateno Village.”

She hummed. “It is very nice, though I don’t want to take yours.” She paused, before pivoting around to me and her eyes lit up. “Perhaps I can get my own, and a whole new outfit too. I want to get rid of this old dress and never wear it again. Oh, and I want to get a haircut.”

I laughed. “Whatever you wish, Princess.”

“And you…” Zelda continued, furrowing her brow as she looked over me methodically. It was as if she were inspecting me, and my cheeks unexpectedly started to burn. “You are not dressed for the dangerous, monster infested conditions of Hyrule. That old champion tunic is simply not enough to protect you. You don’t even have proper chainmail. No wonder you fell...”

“Hey, I am old enough to dress myself now,” I said, pointing a finger at her. “I even figured out how to put on pants after I woke up in the shrine of resurrection.”

“Supposedly a hundred and eighteen years still isn’t quite old enough,” she said with a tilt of her head. She bit her lip, only for a moment, then burst into a fit of giggling. I couldn’t help but laugh too.

A second later, her arms were around my shoulders in a hug. “I was wrong. You’re different, but still the same somehow,” said Zelda. “I’ve missed you, Link.”

Her hugs were not numerous in my memories, but her hold still awakened something familiar in my heart as I wrapped my arms around her. “I’ve missed you too, Zelda.”

✨

#zelink #botw zelink #LoZ #botw #zelink fic #botw fanart #botw fic #the legend of zelda #breath of the wild #link x zelda #sunset fireflies #kakariko village #fanfiction #zelda fanfiction #My Art #My Fics #this isn’t technically for a theme for zelink week but at least I made something zelink lol

40 notes · View notes

myloveforhergoeson · 10 months

Text

That's All She Wrote - Side Story

The Middle (1.11.5) ~ 2.1k

“There you are, Roxy! We were starting to think that the car wash would never end!”

From a cushy lounge chair off to the side of the famous Palm Woods pool, Roxy was able to hear her friends’ playful jeering as she drew closer to the spot Camille and Jo had been holding down for her as the pool grew busier and busier after a long day in Hollywood. Weaving through the bustling crowd of people around the pool’s edge, the writer was more than happy to plop down on her chair and pull her sunglasses over her eyes to shield them from the setting sun, letting out a loud sigh before turning to her friends.

“Well, when we gave Griffin his car back he asked how much we were charging for a wash. Then I jokingly said ‘14,089 dollars, please!’ since the entire point was for us to pay off our debt to him,” She explained, getting a kick out of how her friend’s brows raised at the mention of the large debt. “And then he turned to his assistant, pulled a briefcase labeled ‘15 grand’ from the trunk, and tossed it at Gustavo.”

“You’re kidding!” Jo gasped, sliding her hands around the smoothie cup she held in her hands.

“Despite that negating almost the entire purpose of the wash, I’m glad we got it over with. I’m not sure how much longer I could’ve put up with the band around buckets and an endless stream of water.”

From the seat beside Roxy, Camille let out a soft sigh, using both of her hands to pull her black hair back into a ponytail in preparation to swim. “I wonder if he's as much of a piece of work as his daughter is?”

That question sure caught the writer’s attention, quickly turning her attention away from the bottle of water she was pulling out of her bag.

Observing the look her two friends shared, Jo wasn’t shy about cocking her head to the side, her “Who?” overlapping with both Roxy and Camille asking, “How do you know Mercedes?”

The girls had a lot of explaining to do; beginning with the assistant recounting her encounter with the socialite a few weeks ago and how terribly she had treated the band while they were attempting to get their demos chosen by the record company. Though, she did have to take a quick break from explaining to get her friends to migrate into the pool - it was almost 85 degrees out, and her Minnesota cold-adapted body felt like her skin was about to melt right off her bones.

There were very few things better than the feeling of the refreshing water of the Palm Woods pool.

However, as Roxy recounted Mercedes’ brief relationship with Kendall, she noticed Jo’s face fall, casting her gaze down to the water she was treading. Everything had gone well for them at the party Big Time Rush had held a few days ago, both Jo and Kendall had shared their separate sides of their antics through the hotel halls as they tried to hide the get-together from Bitters with the assistant, so she had assumed that her story would reassure the actress that he was seriously into her. Instead, it looked like she had managed to do the opposite.

“How long were they… you know…” The blonde pushed out, forcing herself to pick up her head and peer over at her friend, silently requesting an honest answer.

Response almost immediate, Roxy did her best to try and amend her slip-up as she steadied herself at the edge of the pool. “A little over two hours before Mercedes asked him if he loved her. Kendall could never lie about something that important… She threw a royal fit, yelled at him a bit, then snatched Carlos up to be her new boyfriend.”

Before Jo was able to say anything else, Camille, floating around on an adorable pink inner tube, let out a long-winded, “Oh!”

Now it was her turn to share her equally as terrible Mercedes encounter on the night of the Big Time Get-Together, one in which she found herself competing with the socialite to win the affection of her crush, Logan.��

As much as Roxy would love to focus on the story Camille was telling, she found herself tuning out almost immediately after the mention of the party. Would now be a good time to bring up the flowers Dak had left her as an apology for missing the party? While input from her friends would probably help her piece her feelings together after the shambles being stood up almost left her in, she wasn’t quite sure she was ready to hear anything negative they might have to say about the situation.

“It all makes sense now, I knew there was no way she liked him!” Cackled Camille, accidentally splashing the writer as she slammed her fist down into the water confidently. “She just wanted to add him to her little boy band collection… What a weirdo!”

Exchanging a glance towards each other, Jo and Roxy seemed to share the same sentiment at their friend’s words. It wasn’t ever like Camille to put down other girls, but when it came to Logan, all bets were off. Anyone placing themselves up as her rival would likely taste any number of talents Camille had picked up living in Hollywood for so long.

“I used her for reference at an audition today… Can you believe it?” The actress continued, moving her sunglasses from over her eyes, up onto her head now that the building behind them provided enough shade from the relenting summer sun. “As fun as it would be to play someone like her, I can’t imagine being so conceited.”

“Was that the only audition you had today?” Roxy asked, trying to get off the subject of Mercedes. As much as she didn’t care for the girl either, it didn’t feel right to sit around and bash her for being interested in the same guy her friend was. “What about you Jo?”

With a nod, Jo took another lazy sip of her smoothie before listing, “Depression medication commercial, dog food commercial, CSI teen murder victim, CSI grieving sister, and a ghost girl role for some weird supernatural hunters show… I can’t tell you how long I sat around in waiting rooms next to girls who looked exactly like me.”

Placing a sympathetic hand on her friend’s shoulder, Roxy remembered James saying something similar at his ‘Cuda Man audition earlier. “It sounds like you’re giving it your all, Jo. The perfect part is going to find you soon!”

“I know, I know…” The girl trailed off, twirling a finger around her wet locks. “My dad keeps saying the same thing but it’s getting a bit harder to believe as the number of roles I try out for keeps increasing when I haven’t even booked one part.”

“Dedication is the most important part of being an actress and you’re chock full of it! Most people quit right before they get the role of a lifetime.” Camille stated matter-of-factly before giggling, “Not everyone can make it look as easy as someone like Dak Zevon can!”

Involuntarily, Roxy winced at the mention of her crush’s name. It was unrealistic to think she could skirt the topic for the entirety of their time at the pool, but she thought she might be able to last a little bit longer. There wasn’t anything she had regretted telling them the day after the dance, giving them a play-by-play of the Dak-related events of the previous evening. She just didn’t stick around to hear their thoughts and opinions on the topic before rushing off to the studio to record a new guitar track.

“Camille-” She heard Jo bite before the writer took in a large breath of air and dunked her head under the water.

Allowing the cool water to envelop her, she gave herself some time to mentally prepare for whatever her friends might throw her way. Good or bad, the decision to keep seeing Dak was her own, though their words would hold much sway over her choice.

They’re your friends. Roxy reminded herself, loving the weightless feeling of her body as she gently floated back to the surface. They just want what’s best for you, just like you want what’s best for them.

When she surfaced again, she wildly kicked her legs to keep herself afloat while she used her wet hands to move her hair out of her face before glancing back and forth between the actresses.

“Well if you had an issue with him, you should’ve told me!” Camille practically exploded, raising her arms in the air and taking two handfuls of water up with them. “I can’t read your mind, Roxy!”

“Right…” The writer nodded, before sarcastically sighing, “Because most people are usually okay with being stood up?”

Very interested in the water droplets running down her friend’s arms, Roxy looked anywhere but Camille’s eyes as the actress let out a huff. “Did you even talk to him about it? Maybe he had a good reason.”

“That’s the thing! I called him this morning after he left me a big rose bouquet as an apology, and he didn’t even tell me why he didn’t make it.”

From beside her, Jo scoffed, “Roses and no excuses? What an asshole.”

“No!” Called Camille, “A big rose bouquet is so romantic… Did you talk about anything else? I’m going to need everything as accurately recounted as possible.”

Just as Roxy went to open her mouth to respond, Jo raised her hand in a “stop” motion, “Woah, woah, woah. You think it’s cool that he stood her up and didn’t even come to apologize in person?”

Eyes switching back and forth from actress to actress, the writer felt a bit invisible as her friends battled their own personal opinions about her love life right in front of her.

“Obviously, in a perfect world, he would’ve made it, but newsflash! This isn’t a perfect world! It’s a hurdle they’ll have to jump through together.”

Aw… That’s a sweet way to put it.

“Camille, he didn’t even call her to tell her he couldn’t make it! Don’t you think if he were interested he would’ve at least sent her a message?”

Ouch.

“His world doesn’t revolve around her! Or maybe he was too scared to hurt her feelings over the phone!”

Scared… of me?

“It takes seconds to send a text message.”

“Not with a dead phone!”

“How do you know his phone even died?”

“How do you know it didn’t?”

“Roxy deserves someone like-”

“Cannonball!”

Wet steps pounding on the concrete pool deck alerted the three girls to a newcomer, causing their heads to turn as the four Big Time Rush boys sprinted toward the pool. Almost in sync, they leaped over the ledge the girls were leaning on and sailed clear over their heads before landing with a gigantic splash in the middle of the pool.

While thankful that derailed the conversation about her and Dak’s current situation, Roxy was less than pleased with the giant wave the band had managed to kick up swallowed her and her friends, leaving them gasping for breath once they reached the surface once more.

“Did you guys think you could have a pool party without us?” Carlos questioned, shaking his head back and forth a few times to remove the stray drops of water dripping down his soaking black hair.

Glancing towards the actresses, Roxy felt a bit guilty as she let out a quiet, “Yup… Silly us.”

Thankfully, Logan thought she was joking and let out a little laugh, swimming past her to reach Camille on her floatie. “That’s not really a good idea when our window overlooks the pool.”

“We’re delightful to be around!” Scoffed James, who took the foam football he was cradling to his chest in one hand, pointing to Kendall with the other. “Go long!”

Ignoring his friend’s suggestion, Kendall was already by Jo’s side, wrapping a lazy arm over her sounder as he whispered something intelligible in her ear that made her cheeks turn beet red.

Without thinking, Roxy let out a few sharp kicks of her legs and crossed to the other side of the pool, turning to face her friends crowded at the other end. If her friends were occupied, they’d have no reason to continue their conversation from earlier.

“Over here, James!” Roxy called, raising one hand and feigning a smile.

She certainly had a lot to think about tonight.

#thats all she wrote fic #:)

2 notes · View notes

creeeeeppyyypaperrr · 1 year

Text

One of the Matt and trey interviews

How did this new deal with ViacomCBS come about? You had at least a couple years left on the old one.

I’d start with the pandemic because it changed everything. It threw a curveball at the way we do the show. We do it really quick. We’re all on top of each other in an office in Los Angeles. We’re there for 30 hours at a time.

We got into doing specials during the pandemic. It was satisfying. For me and Trey, the longer form was cool.

Viacom talked to us about extending. Most of it has to do with extending beyond our current deal, which is concurrent with the HBO Max deal. They were looking beyond that to secure us on the other side. Now that they have their streaming service they think it will come back there. They wanted to secure us for that.

We were happy to oblige.

What is this new form of storytelling?

The things on Paramount+ will be “South Park” movies, streaming movies. We did a “South Park” movie in ‘99 and we’ve never done another one because the show has been so satisfying. We like the way we’ve been able to do the show. We’re like a punk band -- a little rough around the edges and get out fast. Now we’re older, and the idea of what streaming movies can be is pretty promising.

What is the difference between a streaming movie, the show and a movie in theaters?

The show is 22 minutes. It’s a sitcom. It is ancient, in a way. But we still really love that.

At the same time, you come up with an idea and realize it’s longer than 22 minutes. There are “South Park” episodes that are high concept enough where if you wanted to make a movie you could. We wanna scratch both itches. We feel like we can.

We have this idea where the first ones for Paramount+ are “South Park” but not quite. We have a high concept idea for the first one to set it apart. But right after that we go back and do a six-episode run for Comedy Central and HBO Max, probably at the end of this year or early next year. The classic kind.

But the movie first -- either in one part or broken up in two. We think of it creatively as one big piece. Like a 90-minute movie.

Has Viacom talked to you about spinoff shows as well?

We can only do so much in a year. The classic “South Park” thing with six in a year is enough to keep that going. This starts a new genre within “South Park.” We’re edging towards something that other big universes or character-driven things have done.

Are you surprised by the longevity of the show?

You’re talking to two guys who thought we’d run out of town in ‘97, ‘98, ‘99. That’s a foundational attitude.

When did you realize you were in the clear?

We do whatever we want, and they are pretty supportive of it. And it works most of the time.

We’re the luckiest guys in TV in that way. We don’t get notes. The only notes come from legal.

We haven’t gotten a note since Season 3.

Are you surprised they haven’t tried to buy you out of your interest in South Park Studios?

Honestly, talk to them.

We’re happy to talk about that whenever they want to talk about it. We’re still in business, still growing it together. We’re not anxious to end the show. But someday we will sell that interest. That’s what we’re aiming for.

How did that initial deal for 50% of the streaming rights come about?

At the time it was our lawyer Kevin Morris. It’s almost so ancient to think about someone in the room saying, “If it’s online, you can have that.” Can you imagine that? That really happened.

We’re proud of the fact that we said, “Let’s put the show online and build that audience. If we can own half that, let’s just do that.” Our fan base was the kind who would be on a computer and BitTorrent something. There was all this piracy. Our theory was people pirate it, let’s put it online.

We built an online audience that was complementary.

Most big companies were worried the internet would cannibalize the audience.

Trey and I started in indie film. In some back recess of our minds, we think of ourselves as indie filmmakers. When we did our first couple films, you pay people to come to the movie. You just want people to see it. If someone wants to see it, that only can be good for us.

Have you ever wanted to leave Viacom?

Viacom has been a good partner through thick and thin. We are privateers. We are independent but very tied to one place. The old days of Philippe [Dauman], they probably should have given us a bigger deal to do more stuff in-house. They just didn’t think that way back then. The way the company was run under him was pretty sh---y.

They let us go do “The Book of Mormon.” The money from “South Park” has allowed us to go build that and other things.

How has the company changed in recent years?

The thing I have the most attitude about is when Philippe came in and the company for a long time invested in just cheap reality shows. They didn’t invest in story and characters. They didn’t invest in those things that people fall in love with or make emotional connections to.

“South Park” will outlive all of that stuff because it’s something people connect to. I like the new company, but they are now fighting a new battle and trying to transfer the company to a streaming company. I think they are doing a good job. They are inheriting something where Philippe, he didn’t get it.

Were you surprised by the HBO Max deal?

A little bit.

That was one of the better things that happened in our financial life. We took it to market and established its worth on the open market. That’s rarely done right now.

Now everyone has to take money upfront and doesn’t own anything.

We’ve always been serial entrepreneurs. Why wouldn’t we use ‘South Park’ money to invest in a Broadway show? Why not use the Broadway show money to invest in something else? Why not own the thing and license it?

Now it’s all closed gardens where a company has production companies and distribution. They will pay money. People are doing pretty good in Hollywood. It’s not a bad time. Everyone is working.

You can make a show for HBO…

And you get $15 million or $20 million. Who will argue with that? It’s great. “South Park”… it’s like the same reason all the bands who can fill arenas are like 70 years old. We are part of a common culture that is on the wane. It’s hard to break through.

What’s the last episode that broke through?

The pandemic special did. The pandemic gave us all a common baseline experience.

Trump was a good one. He’s hard to make fun of.

Why is he hard to make fun of?

Every comedian was having the same problem. I am so happy he is not around for comedy’s sake. He’s such a provocateur. That’s what a comedian does. He sort of stole our tools. We’re all sitting there going, “What do we do?” He’s such a buffoon. He’s a comedy killer.

Do you worry at all about “cancel culture”?

No. As you can see from this deal, we have ‘f--k you’ money now.

We’re more interested in it than whining about it. It’s a legit cultural change. We explore it all the time in the show.

What’s the biggest change in your life now that you have all this money?

We’ve been rich for a long time. We have nice houses and cars. Even this giant deal won’t change my day-to-day. I’m not going to buy a new watch.

We’re a media company. We use the proceeds from this to invest.

These are multi-year projects we invested a bunch of money in. We have a ‘South Park’ 3D video game, release date unknown. We’re doing deep fakes. We have a studio with a dozen people who are deep fake artists. We’re working on a little more of this deep fake movie we’re trying to piece together.

We have a horror movie. A musical. I think we’re really for the first time going to bring Tegridy Weed into real life.

We are gunning for this restaurant that’s just been abused in Colorado. It’s Trey’s dream to revamp Casa Bonita.

Will the movies all be for Paramount+?

A couple movies go to ViacomCBS, and a couple are carved out because we have partners. The deep fake one is in the deal. We have a documentary crew that’s been following us for years in this deal.

What’s the documentary?

My friend Arthur Bradford and his crew have been shooting us for like eight or nine years.

So much of your show is commenting on contemporary culture and society. As you get older and richer, how do you stay in touch?

I just turned 50 this year. In some ways we are out of touch. The one thing that unites us, whenever we come back into the writer’s room, is just being unreasonably, emotionally interested in the movie industry. What movies were to us, and are now, seem so far apart, and there seems to be some deep cultural criticism of America nestled in it.

If we did an episode right now it would, for sure, be about ‘Space Jam 2.’

Do you want to make movies for theaters?

100%. We’ve got a couple we’re working on in development. Streaming is fantastic. The reach is fantastic. But there are movie ideas.

Do you have a favorite streaming service?

No, not really. I’m pretty slutty. Hulu has been doing good stuff lately. I haven’t watched a lot of Paramount+, but looking at the ads, it looks okay. I find myself completely lost on Netflix.

Nobody is doing it where if you go there, you know it’s going to be really, really good. They have great stuff and garbage. I watched the “Summer of Soul” documentary. That was fantastic. — Lucas Shaw

#trey parker #matt and trey #matt stone #south park

3 notes · View notes

pixeldashblog · 11 months

Text

Sonos Era 300 Review: These speakers are strongest together

(The following is an archive from my newsletter. Follow this blog for more reviews from my newsletter.)

by Samuel Polay

I have conflicted feelings with the recommendation I’m going to make in this review, mainly because of the price tag that recommendation comes with.

Much has been written about the $450 Era 300: the first standalone speaker from Sonos capable of playing back spatial audio music: namely Dolby Atmos music tracks. I’m going to try and avoid those well-worn paths in this review. I won’t bury the lead either. The Era 300 is a marvel of acoustic engineering that sounds great by itself, and incredible in a pair, but the solo configuration of the speaker is concerningly weak when playing stereo tracks instead of those mixed for Dolby Atmos. If you’re ready to buy Sonos’ most advanced speaker yet, make sure you understand those key limitations.

Struggling to discover

Lots of reviews about spatial audio products get bogged down reiterating that many spatial audio mixes of songs are not good. That is still true but it is also not Sonos’ fault or any other end-user device maker’s. That burden of criticism should fall more on streaming services and studios for publishing and distributing subpar Atmos tracks that sully the reputation of the format.

If you have an issue with the Atmos mix of Weezer’s “Buddy Holly” or Ciara’s “One, Two Step” (unfathomably awful mixes) bring it up with whoever greenlit those mixes. You should complain that streaming services don’t exercise some level of quality control and default to playing the stereo mixes of those songs until they’re mixed better. I’m not opposed to putting out a “Bad Atmos Tracks” naming and shaming list myself, but this review is not the venue for that.

Sonos can play Atmos tracks from Apple Music and Amazon Music. Tidal offers Atmos as well but not yet through Sonos, and Sonos would not share if users can expect Atmos support from Tidal any time soon. In terms of delivering music to users on its end, Sonos has a lot of work to do to improve the experience since the Sonos app is the primary way to initiate playback of Atmos tracks since Airplay doesn’t support the format..

The Sonos app’s search and browsing experience has long been awful, but those shortcomings stand out all the more when you’re forced to use the app for all of your music playback in order to initiate Atmos playback. While searching has been slightly improved (you no longer need to specify if you’re searching by album, track, artist, etc), the actual browsing of results is still comically bad.

If you search for “Taylor Swift” and tap her artist page, you’re not greeted by a reverse chronological list of her albums (the bare minimum any app should offer). Instead, Sonos shows an incomprehensibly sorted list of singles, remixes, and obscure live studio sessions with her actual studio albums peppered throughout. Swift’s most recent album, Midnights, is 96 (ninety-six!) album covers down on her Sonos artist page. Now, imagine if you had no idea who Taylor Swift was and the Sonos app was the primary way you tried to discover new music.

When you do get to the album or playlist you want to play, you have no way to tell which songs, if any, are mixed for Dolby Atmos. You just have to press play and hope you found the right one. This makes listening to older artists who have their catalog remixed for Atmos very confusing, as many of these artists keep their stereo albums around alongside the remixed version.

Sonos puts much of the blame for both of these app shortcomings on the way music service providers integrate with its platform, in my case Apple Music. A representative for Sonos did say that the company is working with providers to better integrate their catalogs with search, similar to the steps it’s taken to make browsing a service’s page in the Sonos app better. This explanation also covers the absence of Atmos labels for songs and albums. Until these issues are resolved, you’ll need to know in advance exactly what album or song you’d like to experience in Atmos before using the Sonos app or asking whichever voice assistant you’ve installed on the Era 300.

Looks that match sound

The Era 300 hardware also marks the coming of a bunch of changes for the Sonos lineup as a whole, but I’ll save most of my commentary on those hardware changes for my Era 100 review, as many of them are shared with the Era 300. To summarize, I think the addition of Bluetooth is a long time coming, while Sonos’ choices involving the shift to USB-C line-in on these speakers are somewhat questionable.

To speak of the 300’s hardware specifically, I’ll say the hourglass form-factor has grown on me in my time with it. It’s a pretty small speaker compared to the Sonos Five, which remains in the lineup for $550, and looks right at home on even a smaller console table. This speaker certainly looks unconventional but it is not ugly when you see it in person.

My review unit is black and I feel this color just isn’t suited for a living room. Black audio equipment is great for a dark home theater where you don’t want your hardware to stand out. If I’m putting something in a bright, open space though, I want it to look nice. I have an Era 100 review unit in Sonos’ new white plastic, which is manufactured in a more environmentally friendly manner. It looks so much better in my home and is just more pleasing to see around. It also hides dust collection much longer than the 300, which I feel like I’m blowing dust off daily. If you plan on buying the Era 300 for music listening, break from the pack and get one in white.

A remarkable speaker

When you do manage to find and start listening to a good Atmos mix on the Era 300 you will be astounded by how it speaker performs. While Sonos isn’t able to replicate the all-enveloping experience of listening to Atmos music on a full surround system (including its own soundbars) or even a pair of second-gen AirPods Pro, a single Era 300 does achieve the ability to fill a whole room with the surround effects all evident, even if they can’t be placed behind you thanks to those pesky laws of physics.

This is all thanks to the hardware Sonos has packed inside the 300. This speaker has a total of four tweeters, one front facing, two angled on the sides, and the fourth on the top of the speaker inside a cone to disperse height effects. Two mid-woofers drive impressive, room-filling bass for a speaker of this size, but nothing close to the three larger mid-woofers inside the stereo-only Sonos Five. Acoustic waveguides on all of the tweeters help to disperse sound evenly throughout the room, but thankfully these don’t detract from the detail of music as much as on other waveguide-equipped speakers I’ve used like the Ikea Symphonisk Table Lamp.

Listening to the Atmos mix of Daft Punk’s “Lose Yourself to Dance” gives a great example of the 300’s limitations. The breakdown of that song is an absolute blast to listen to on any Atmos-capable device. On a pair of second-gen AirPods Pro or my Sonos Arc system, the backing vocal-synth track singing “c’mon, c’mon” over and over passes from left to right and above me and becomes more and more enveloping as more tracks are layered on as the song progresses. It’s incredibly impactful and the song stands as one of my favorite Atmos remixes to-date.

On the 300, the movement of sounds in 3D space just isn’t as impactful. If an instrument is placed to the left of you, or above you, you can hear it there clearly with remarkable presence. If the same instrument starts moving around, you will be less impacted by that choice. This is something that can be resolved by adding multiple speakers behind the listener, but Sonos doesn’t offer the ability to pair more than 2 Era 300s together yet, but the speakers can be added as rears to a Sonos home theater setup (expect a review on that experience later).

Atmos tracks with mostly stationary instrument placement, where the mix is meant more to get you feeling like the song is being performed in the room with you, are much more impactful on the Era 300. the record by boygenius, evermore by Taylor Swift, and many of Giles Martin’s (who happens to be the SVP of sound experience at Sonos) remixes of The Beatles’ stereo albums have been some of my favorites to listen to on the 300. Without instruments moving around the space, the 300’s presentation of the tracks shines.

evermore’s title track has a few effects of birds chirping that made me pause and rewind the song to be sure I hadn’t heard a bird from outside. The layered vocals of boygenius’ “Letter to an Old Poet” are incredibly entrancing, with instruments laid out to make you feel like you're right in front of the band on stage. Martin’s reverence for his father’s work on those original stereo mixes shines through as he tries to place you in the studio with The Beatles without leaning on flashy tricks like adding instrument tracks that were never there: something other Atmos mixes of classic rock often lean on.

These aren’t game breaking limitations, and I would still take listening on the Era 300 over my AirPods Pro. While those may handle the presentation of flashy mixes better, Sonos wins in the actual clarity and presence of its presentation, and the best mixed songs are well rewarded for their consideration. AirPods Pro offer an impressive experience, but the Era 300 is a truly great music speaker for the shift to Atmos.

Sonos’ ability to accomplish this level of presentation from a single speaker is perhaps the greatest achievement of the Era 300. No other standalone speaker to date has been this good at presenting Dolby Atmos music, all due respect to the Apple HomePod and Echo Studio, but having real tweeters firing to the side and above you cannot be beat. I won’t dive too deep in to Sonos’ EQ choices or other audiophile jargon, there are much better reviewers if you’re looking for that. What’s important is the Era 300 presents most Atmos tracks quite well and sounds great doing it.

Struggling with stereo

The Era 300’s biggest flaw is that it just isn’t great at playing back stereo tracks by itself. Compared to even the Era 100, the Era 300’s presentation of stereo music is dull and lacks impact. This is in spite of being objectively capable of putting out a wider soundstage and more bass output than the lone Era 100.

As far as I can tell, when playing stereo tracks on a lone Era 300, the center tweeter is seemingly not utilized at all, or at least not in any way that helps. To my ear, it seems Sonos sends the left and right channels to the left and right tweeters on the sides of the 300, and leans on the waveguides for the song to fill out the space. You can tell by placing your ear close to all sides of the 300 when playing music. In Atmos playback you can hear all four tweeters doing something depending on what is required by the song, but for stereo tracks the front and top tweeter seemingly go quiet.

I asked Sonos about this and the company claims that all four tweeters are utilized for stereo tracks but did not directly address the issue I have with the front-firing tweeter. Here’s the company’s full response: “Era 300 delivers wide, immersive sound regardless of the music format. Even when playing stereo tracks, all of the speaker's drivers are actively delivering sound sideways and forward. The upfiring driver is leveraged to deliver an added sense of spaciousness. All of this creates an immersive listening experience that can be enjoyed from anywhere in the room.”

If the front and upfiring drivers are being used, I can’t hear it. Regardless of how these drivers are working, the stereo music experience offered today just isn’t what users should be getting for $450. Sonos needs to rethink and retune the speaker’s stereo track performance.

A jaw dropping pair

Sonos did send me a second Era 300 to use for home theater testing, so I was also able to test how the 300 performs in a stereo pair, and the stereo pair fittingly made all the issues with the single speaker with stereo music totally disappear.

Stereo music tracks sounded night and day better on the 300 pair. The front-facing tweeters are fully utilized and tracks filled the space with remarkable depth and clarity.

Unsurprisingly the Dolby Atmos experience was also enhanced by the second speaker. The soundstage was expanded slightly, vocals became noticeably clearer, and having two more mid-woofers yielded bass response rich enough to make me forget wanting to test the system out with my home theater’s Sub Gen 3. The 300 pair still however struggled with the same moving effects the single speaker did, although placement of moving effects was a tad more precise. There wasn't a dramatic increase to immersion but the enhancements to musical quality made this a impressive upgrade.

Unfortunately TruePlay quick tuning, a feature new to the Era series where the speakers can calibrate themselves to the room, is not yet available for stereo pairs of the 100 or 300. Users are forced to use “advanced tuning”, or the old fashioned way of waving your iPhone around the room to calibrate the speaker.

I asked Sonos about bringing quick tuning to stereo pairs and the company responded that “our team is always working to expand access to new product features, like quick tuning, to as many listeners as possible. Stay tuned!” It’s good to know this feature is being worked on actively but if you’re preparing to shell out $900 for a pair of 300s for music listening, be aware of this limitation for the time being.

Pixel Dash’s recommendation

If you don’t want to buy two speakers for whatever reason, be it financial or aesthetic, then I unfortunately cannot recommend picking up a lone Era 300 at this time. If Sonos does improve stereo track performance to better utilize the forward facing driver, then I will re-evaluate the speakers. For the time being, the Era 300 is a testament to the company’s design and audio-engineering prowess that unfortunately doesn’t deliver the well-rounded experience its users expect.

My recommendation to anyone considering the Era 300 as a speaker for music listening is to save up for the stereo pair, or wait for Sonos to finish the Era transition and replace the Sonos Five with a (presumable) Era 500 if you’d prefer to only need one speaker in your space. Hopefully that speaker will be better designed to deliver every music format instead of being hyper optimized for Atmos.

Using a speaker like this should be completely worry-free. You should be able to start your favorite playlist at a party without caring if particular tracks are mixed in Dolby Atmos or not, and just have the confidence that the speaker you spent your hard earned money on will deliver an incredible experience no matter what format it’s playing back.

The pair of Era 300s is the best sounding music experience Sonos has ever delivered and should make anyone who buys it more than happy. This is the jack-of-all-trades music experience users should expect when buying an Atmos-designed music speaker: one that doesn’t require compromising the types music you choose to listen to. If you can foot the $900 bill for a pair of these you won't be disappointed.

#technology #sonos #tech #review #product recommendations #product reviews #smart speaker #sonos inc #tech news #music

0 notes

mueldlye · 1 year

Text

Use Quality Source To Gain Information About Cenforce 100

Welcome to among one of the most trusted on the internet drug stores - Today, we've earned a track record as the biggest choice on earth for premium OTC and also common items. Common Cures is the most widely known drug store where you may obtain any medication that has been thoroughly examined and authorized. We give more price cuts than any various other merchant, along with free shipping. Moreover, numerous brand-new offers are constantly being offered for our lovely customers, while the company aims to provide FDA-approved medicine at a practical cost. We assure 100% complete satisfaction and premium quality. Every one of the medications offered below are both risk-free as well as useful. At Genericcures, we use high-grade generic medicines that are as reliable as the originals at one of the most competitive pricing. We are on an objective to make sure that no person in the world is refuted access to top notch health care due to the high price of medicines. Besides that, our consumers' needs are our leading concern, and also we will go to great sizes to fulfill them. Buy generic pharmaceuticals at a reduced cost since medication is so important, and also with the development in living expenditures, medication rates have skyrocketed, consequently you'll get the same at a lower price here. As a result of this, you are now a part of our family. We head out of our means to guarantee that our clients are taken care of to the best level feasible. Around 30-40% of male individuals over the age of 40 have experienced Erectile Dysfunction (erectile dysfunction). If you struggle with male sexual impotence, you have possibly tried a range of therapies. Fildena 100 is the excellent generic medicine for guys who prefer to be much more effective and enjoy longer periods of nearness. Ton Of Money Healthcare Pvt Ltd is the business that makes it. The medication's great potency is based upon Sildenafil Citrate 100mg as the active component, which is one of one of the most reliable and popular products on the marketplace today. Among the drug's key benefits as well as benefits is that it can be utilized with alcohol. Fildena 100 mg has Sildenafil Citrate as an active component that is mainly made use of to treat impotence. It is, nonetheless, also made use of for dealing with additional clinical issues such as lung high blood pressure. Cenforce 100 mg is a medicine that is made use of to treat male impotence.While examining the feasible use PDE 5 preventions for hypertension and angina, scientists inadvertently found their ability to boost impotence in males.

youtube

Vidalista 60 is a very efficient pill for treating male impotence. Centurion Laboratories Pvt Ltd creates a therapist in a selection of toughness and also forms.Vidalista contains the chemical part (common name) tadalafil. Vidalista 60mg includes Tadalafil, making it a PDE5 inhibitor drug. Medical professionals often suggest Vidalista 60 to treat impotence in men. PDE5 enzymes are discovered in the penis and are liable for erections. Vidalista 60 is a PDE5 prevention drug that adds to managing the enzyme straight, causing an uncomfortable erection in your penis. Tadalista 20 mg is an instruction-based drug that is taken orally. The client with impotence that has no hardening and expanding of the penile throughout sex-related inetrcouse. Tadalista 20 aids people enhance blood circulation right into the penile and also deal with erectile dysfunction right into sexual erection. Tadalafil (PDE-5 prevention) is an active salt in Tadalista 20 Mg tablet computer that enhances blood flow to the penis by relaxing the muscles in the penile blood vessels, for that reason dealing with erectile dysfunction. It also alleviates pulmonary high blood pressure by unwinding capillary in the lungs, permitting blood to stream even more easily.

0 notes

fingfamily-blog-blog · 1 year

Text

My Brother’s Arrival and Tumpak Sewu

Up until this weekend, I have had visitors in my home for 5 nights of the 6 months I've been in Malang, not enough to save me from many hours on Netflix and Youtube. But on Friday of last week, my brother arrived for two weeks of working vacation. He's running a seminar for SE Asian clients, so he asked his company to put him in a proper time zone, which happens to be my house! I picked him up at the Malang airport and our driver (who charged us more than he should have) got lost on the way home. Interestingly, he had no technology in his car, no google map, no phone, no nothing. And he heard the name of my neighborhood incorrectly, so he brought us to the wrong place. I had tried to tell him he was going the wrong way, and when he confidently announced the wrong neighborhood, I snapped at him in a way that I rarely do, and which doesn't go down well in Indonesia. It was a short, sharp, "NO!" But that was enough. He kept up some good humor for a short while. We showed him OUR phone maps, and he said, "Ok." But by the time we arrived at my house, the man was no longer talking to us. I didn't tip him (although tipping is not always required). But that didn't dampen my spirits. I have a houseguest who is going to stay for two weeks! And it's my brother! He had been travelling for about three days to get here, so the first night was casual. Pak and Ibu Harun had left us with some dinner, and we went to bed fairly early. The next day we shopped and walked around the neighborhood of my school, stopping at a coffee shop when the rain started falling. We went out to dinner that night and received the bule (foreigner) treatment from a few sets of kids at the restaurant. My brother is less patient about that routine than I am (and I'm not that patient). We had some drinks and satay, with rice and veggies. It was fine, a quick walk from my house. The next day, we had arranged for a driver, Syaiful, to take us to Tumpak Sewu, a waterfall on the southeastern edge of Mt. Semeru (the volcano that has blown up twice in the last two years). Syaiful had shown me a picture from the top of the falls, and it was enough to convince me to go there. But I had no idea what awaited us. It was a long trip there, and Syaiful told us the ride back would be longer, because of all the trucks carrying volcanic rocks and sand. So at first, we were both thinking, 'This better be worth it.' It was. Arriving there just before noon, we sat down for a dish of Pecel, a stir-fried veggie dish with peanut sauce, over rice, with egg and tempeh. This is a traditional, staple dish for Indonesians, and it was fine. Then, Syaiful attached us to our guide and he sat out the day. Our first stop was the perspective where Syaiful had taken his picture, and it was pretty breathtaking, not as grand as Niagara, but with a similar look. The falls have created a cylindrical bowl of about 300-330 degrees in the layers of volcanic rock, and a 750-foot drop. Streams of water fall from various points on the circle and an unending mist rolls up and out of the deep basin. We had overcast clouds, which is not great for pictures, but helped keep things a little cooler. Still, we started sweating as soon as we began the descent. We'd left everything behind except shoes, bathing suits, swim shirts, hats, glasses and cameras. And that was wise. The descent was steep, much of it on rusty, rickety, jerry-rigged metal stairs, which weren't always firmly-rooted in the stone. Sometimes the stairs disappeared and all there was to hold was a loose blue nylon rope with knots here and there. And sometimes even that disappeared and we had to climb backwards down a rock face which was also a stream of water. It helped cool us down, because it was quite sweaty. I moved slowly because I didn't want to get hurt, but it was as fun as challenging. Once at the bottom, we were a bit surprised at how little water was flowing away in the stream. The current was strong and the water ran fast, but it seemed like there could have been lots more water coming into that flow. In any case, it was good there wasn't more water, because that would have precluded our actually getting to the bottom of the falls. Gigantic boulders stood in the stream, and large caverns were carved into the cliff face, where the stream bent out of the bottom of the falls. Once around the last boulder, the mists overtook us, and we weren't dry again until we got back to the car. Perhaps two dozen other people were there, posing for pics, taking in the grandiose atmosphere, side-looking at the bule. Our guide took a few pics of us. I took dozens of pics. And then one of the locals asked for a picture with us. My brother said no and walked away. I said yes, took a picture myself and then we cleared out of there, because once the bule gates are open... I thought that was essentially the journey. And if it had been, it would have been worth the 5.5 hours we spent in the car. But our guide took us on a circuitous trail back. First we followed the stream for about half-a mile, noting the many other streams of water coming down the cliff-side, and the fabulous shapes and colors of the rocks. We started to see orange mineral deposits on the rocks as we approached the Tibung Nirwana, and it was here that things got most interesting. The water is carving out caves in the rocks and orange stalagtites, like dragon's teeth, were growing downward from them. With the water streaming from them, you could almost see how they were developing. At one point, a swimming hole has been created by sand-bagging around an especially strong flow of water. We didn't swim, but again, didn't need to. We were wet and walking in the water, and the whole thing was getting more fascinating. Finally, after a cigarette, our guide led us to the upward path. We would make a 750-foot-ascent, without any stairs or ropes for the first 600-feet. The flowing water has created a fairly comfortable ladder going up, but the water is still there, so each hand placement, each step up, was IN THE WATER. This was something unexpected, new and utterly thrilling. I never once felt that I was insecure in footing or grip, and I felt like I was climbing the sheer face of a cliff, because I was! Then the rain started to fall. So, the picture I'm trying to convey is of a man in his bathing suit and tevas, climbing the ridge of a waterfall with hands and feet, in a flowing stream of water with rain cascading around him. It was absurd and primordial and I stopped and laughed and looked around in wonder over and over again. I wanted to take pictures but we were essentially inundated. The orange covered stalagtites were to our left, and the handholds widened into pots, in which we could sit, while thunder resounded through the basin. Thankfully we saw no lightning. It was as nirvanic a moment as I've ever had in my life. There was no 'me,' no human there, just a consciousness of nature in its multiplicitous manifestations, the green of the moss and palms, the black of the volcanic rock, the orange of the minerals, the flow of the streams, the wash of the rain, the clap of thunder. Water coursed down my face and the thrill was without limit. There was nothing bad, even the straining to climb. I was sorry when the climb ended! But we weren't going to stay there forever. The challenge is for one to carry that thrilling nirvanic awareness back into regular life. We dried off, changed into dry clothes, tipped our guide, thanked Syaiful vociferously, and then settled in for the long ride back. When we arrived home in the dark, we ate salad and cheese and went to bed, where I slept like a baby for 10 hours. Not sure if I'll go there again, but I won't forget that wondrous trip. Next week, Bromo again!

0 notes

stephenjaymorrisblog · 2 years

Text

A Humid August in the Catskills

(Self-reflection of a Malcontent)

Stephen Jay Morris

7/30/2022

My inner child believes that Pamela and I have guardian angels. Knock on wood, we escape of the ravages of the pandemic, prosperity of a rich economy, the Climate catastrophe, and the political soap opera of Donald Trump. Though this safe place is not perfect, it does have its up and downs—like humidity. Damn, I hate it! It sticks to my skin like gum on the soles of my shoes. I get rashes on every region of my body. We have an air conditioner in our bedroom, but it is loud and keeps us nowhere near a restful sleep. It is a lose-lose proposition. But at this point in history, it sure beats living in California.

This article is being written via stream of consciousness. I don’t know what the next sentence will bring. So...am I homesick for California yet? Sure. Well, kinda. Naturally, my memories are rich and very selective. The weather was almost perfect. Politics were commercial and plastic. The fucking Conservatives tried to make California out to be the former Soviet Union, while the Liberals wanted you to believe that California is the utopia of Social Democracy. I think not on either count. They turn a blind eye to the homeless and the ghettos, but they remain concerned about their wealthy donors’ happiness. That’s nice.

California is the birth place of social justice warriors and other reminiscences of the politically correct past. Conservatives think they’ve got the market cornered on satirizing this minuscule sect which looms largely in the Right wingers’ imaginations. Whoever they’re making fun of don’t realize that it’s because of their low IQ and low-T. Its called the “New Age Left.” They’ve been around since the 70’s. You know who was making fun of them from the get go? We of the New Left were, in the 70’s. Really, dude! You think that you are comedic geniuses because you’re making fun of pacifists and political correctness?! Not so fast, sunny boy! Conservatives have always been ignorant of current fads. During the Hippie phase, they were making fun of Beatniks!

California has always been an idiosyncratic state. If you are a Conservative, then you were a “special conservative,” that is. In Texas, kids’ history books are no longer using the word “slaves” to reference those who were actually slaves. Because of conservative correctness, they are now referred to as “involuntary relocation laborers.” I guess all of the Texans who are into S&M and B&D will have to relabel their services as, “The Involuntary Relocation Dungeon.” If you ask me, it don’t have a good ring to it, like this oldie: “Hell’s dungeons for Disobedient Slaves!” Just doesn't have the same bite. California Conservatives would never do that. In fact, California was the place where Gay Conservatism got its start.

Sometimes, Mexico would send its monsoon to Southern California and, man, did it get humid there! A monsoon was one illegal alien the Conservatives couldn’t stop! The California conservative would say the cause of Homosexuality was the monsoon and Disco music. The monsoon made So-Cal humid as Florida. You stupid Right wingers that are taking refuge in Florida think that you’re going to a Conservative promised land! Ha, Ha! When it gets humid in California, it lasts just a few days or less. In Florida, it’s like that all fucking year ‘round, you stupid assholes! Yeah, your air conditioner will be on 24/7 and the power company will charge you more than your ex-wives’ alimony! It is so bad in Florida, that Cuban exiles want to swim back to Cuba!

Man, do I hate humidity!

#it’s so humid #stephenjaymorris #poets on tumblr #american politics #autobiography #fuck humidity #weather

1 note · View note

marsbutterfly · 3 years

Note

bert, eren, levi and armin getting bjs for the first time please i am begging

Headcanon: Eren, Levi, Bertholdt and Armin receiving head for the first time

Warnings: nsfw, oral sex male receiving, cu* shots

- Ever since you started dating Eren, you’ve been doing hand stuff but you can tell he wants more, even though he doesn’t specifically ask for it.

- One day during his after training shower, you notice all the other boys have already made their way towards the dining hall and you decide to sneak in.

- You try to be as quiet as possible and suddenly you begin to hear whispers coming from the last stall.

- One of his hands is on the wall as he tries to balance himself while the other he uses to jerk himself off. You feel wetness forming in between your legs so you decide to take your clothes off and join him.

- Hearing his breathless moans as he calls for your name is one of your favorite things to do.

- You hug him from behind and he gasps, not expecting anyone to be there. You don’t say anything and he turns to face you, his cheeks are as red as apples and you smile at him.

- Without saying anything you fall to your knees, placing your mouth around his cock. In reality you are not quite sure what to do but decide to give it a go anyway.

- He’s not too far from his breaking point but feeling your tongue around the tip of his dick was almost enough to drive him over the edge but he tries very hard to pull himself together for a bit longer.

- His hand rests on your chin, propping it up so he can look at your eyes while you have his cock in your mouth.

- Once you take half of his length in, he can’t hold himself back anymore and ends up coming down your throat not giving you the chance to swallow.

- “I’m so sorry!!” He says, multiple times. “I didn’t mean to come so fast!”

- “It’s ok!” You reply with a devious smile, “Maybe we can do it again later.”

- It isn’t your first time giving head but it is his first time receiving.

- For years, he has always focused on making his partner feel good instead of allowing them to pleasure him but at some point you were able to convince him.

- Trying to make the atmosphere more romantic, he lights up a few candles and places a few cups of water by the bed alongside some bread and cheese for a late night snack.

- You walk into his room and your first instinct is to burst into laughter but you manage to hold it back when you notice his hard cock already out as he lies on the bed.

- Excitedly, you walk towards him. You take his dick in your hand and give it a few dry strokes before you begin to lick it. His eyes roll to the back of his head and he forgets how to breathe for a second.

- His cock isn’t long but it makes up for it in thickness. You can clearly see his veins with the flicker of the flames.

- He can’t quite form words so he simply groans every time you take him in. Of course, you never stop jerking him off which simply makes it 15x better for him and it reaches a point of overstimulation.

- You ask if he’s ok and he nods, a smirk on the corner of his lips. You take him back in your mouth, full lenght and you can feel as he touches the back of your throat. A few tears streaming down your face.

- “Are you alright?” He asks, his thumb brushing against your face.

- “I’m fine.” You respond as you feel his cock beginning to twitch against your touch.

- You lick the tip a few more times while moving your hand up and down and soon the white ropes of his cum shoot all over your face. He hands you a tissue, helping you clean yourself up before inviting you to sit on his face.

- You’ve been dating Bert for a few months now and you want to make him feel special but you know he’s too embarrassed to ask for it.

- Recently, he’s been having sex dreams about you and waking up with the hardest boner of all time.

- If not a boner, then he’s covered in his own cum.

- One night as he sleeps in the boys room, you sneak in through a window silently in an attempt to not disturb anyone else other than your boyfriend. Whose feet touch the wall while his hands are buried underneath his back.

- You giggle quietly before placing your hand over his lips. In response, his eyes are wide open but as soon as he realizes who it is, his features soften and he blinks, trying to adjust his vision to the barely illuminated room.

- With one hand still on his lips, you lower yourself on the side of the bed while pulling down his pants. His boner immediately popped out of his underwear.

- His eyes are wide but he jiggles the pants down his ankles quietly, constantly looking around to make sure everyone else is asleep.

- You place your mouth around the tip of his cock, a blob of saliva dripping from your lips. You can already taste the salty pre-cum as a result of the dream he was having.

- He gasps and you tighten the grip over his lips, listening as Reiner mumbles something in his sleep before shifting in his bed.

- Saliva drips all over his dick and his hips, his ass tightening in response to your action. So you decide to speed up and take his full lenght in without a second thought.

- You suck his dick as if your life depended on it until his pelvis begins to shake, a sign he’s about to come. You proceed to take him out of your mouth and begin to stroke his cock at a fast pace until ropes of cum shoot onto his abdomen.

- His head hits the wall and his actions result in a very much awake Reiner, who looks around in confusion only to find Bert sleeping in a relatively normal position under his covers and you are gone.

- Of course, you are just hiding under the bed, trying to hold back laughter when Reiner asks your boyfriend if he heard something. Bert still gasps for air quietly so he simply says no and goes back to pretending to be asleep.

- When Reiner flips over, you kiss the tip of your fingers and blow it towards your boyfriend, jumping through the window and leaving behind a very flustered Bert.

-Armin often likes to read books underneath a tree a little far away from the mess known as the Survey Corps.

- Eventually, he started bringing you with him simply because he enjoyed your company and wanted to share this amazing space with you. Little did he know, it was about to become much more special.

- His back rests against the tree and your head lies on his lap. Suddenly, you feel his dick getting harder and harder against the back of your head. You look up and his face is redder than you have ever seen.

- “This book is a little spicier than I thought it would be.” He says, trying to adjust his boner in a manner that it wouldn’t bother or hurt you.

- “Let me help you.” You say, putting your own book down on the grass while pulling his zipper down.

- You realize his cock is bigger than you first thought it would be and you gasp quietly, measuring it against your face. He looks away but still whimpers against your touch.

- “I want you to look at me baby.” You say, touching his chin while moving his face. His ocean eyes meet yours and you feel like you could drown in them and not care one bit.

- When you begin to bob your head up and down, you notice his eyes roll to the back of his head but you can tell your words are still fresh in his mind so he does everything in his power to look at you.

- You pull out his testicles, using one of your hands to stroke his cock while sucking on one of his balls. He cries your name out.

- With a bit of saliva, you begin to rub circles on the tip of his cock. A smile on his lips as he begins to jiggle his toes around.

- “You look so pretty with my dick in your mouth.” He says and it’s your turn to blush.

- Your tongue moves around gently and, with his hand, he pulls you down on his cock. You try your best not to gag and you are able to hold it back. He smiles even bigger and whispers the words “good girl.”

-Once you begin to bob your head up and down faster, he knows he’s done for and he barely has enough time to warn you about what’s coming.

- “You’re gonna make me come!” He says before his cum takes over your tongue. You swallow it all before showing him your tongue and he’s now back to the shy, innocent boy you are used to.

- “You are a demon in disguise!” You say, wiping your mouth with the back of your hands while he puts his cock back in his pants.

-“Same to you, my love.” He says, “Same to you.”

901 notes · View notes