#and somehow I thought the contrast I had in mind would work pretty good?

[fluffyfangirl]

🍓

#Elmax #Stranger Things #Fanart #Elmax Fanart #El Hopper-Byers #May Mayfield #Strawberry dresses #Or as my sister called them “cottage core gf and goth gf” #I'm down in a deep art block so I went back to drawing girls in pretty dresses #also came across the palette thingie in the corner #and somehow I thought the contrast I had in mind would work pretty good? #FluffyFangirlArt

[chastiefoul]

regret | alhaitham

a/n: a very messy drabble based on some idea that popped into my head. basically about a y/n who's very in touch with their feelings vs alhaitham handling those feelings (to nobody's surprise, it didn't end well)

tags: angstyyy

part 2 here

1.5k words

to say that you get along with alhaitham would be a stretch.

anyone would agree that your interactions consisted only of you always pestering him and alhaitham barely tolerating it. this causes amusement but also worries, you both being the polar opposites and all.

the arrogant and cold scribe versus the bright and cheery you. there’s a line, a wall if you will; that made everyone wondered, how long would the strange dynamic last before something eventually went wrong.

and it finally did.

❀

hanging out with kaveh is something of a routine, with you studying the same subject; architecture. people were always naturally drawn to you, kaveh wasn’t the exception. you both get along with each other pretty quickly, and he’s been a close friends since. you even got to know alhaitham through him.

alhaitham said once, that you both were pretty similar albeit with different words—or to quote him as he spoke with such exasperation, “archons, now there are two of them.” still however alike, he quietly also thought there’s a key difference, a very apparent contrast that he couldn’t help but notice, even he didn’t try to.

you and kaveh both were very in touch with your emotions, meaning all of your actions often solely driven by feelings. although with kaveh he wasn’t ashamed of this, always stating clearly—or unnecessarily,  if something had upset him. but you on the other hand chose to hide that displeasure, masking it with an uncertain smile, one that’s clearly forced. as though wanting to halt any further argument. that somehow infuriated alhaitham.  

everyday you would always greet him without any care in the world. even though every conversation you had with alhaitham, somehow always turned into something he had to won, that he had to have the last word. he also couldn’t figure it out himself what got him so worked up every time he talked to you.

❀

“kaveh, don’t you think alhaitham is a nice person?” one a peaceful lunch you asked. he shot you a disgusted look, as if the question had offended him. “are you in your right mind?” he quickly retorted. “well despite him looking so fed up and all that, he still talk to us, doesn’t he?” you played your food with your fork. “... and that’s why he’s ‘nice’? dear god the bar is in hell—no it’s even below the devil’s foot itself.” he sighed, really couldn’t believing his ear. what got you so infatuated with him anyway? in all honesty kaveh was having a hard time remembering if there was ever a time where alhaitham was nice to you, he only recalled your cheery attitude getting shot down by alhaitham’s apathy every single time.

wait. he knew what this is.

“you like him.” kaveh suddenly said. you couldn’t turn your head to him any quicker. “what?” you panicked. “you heard me. now i just need to hear you admitting it.” there’s a playful smile on kaveh’s face, he’s teasing. “you won’t, cause i don’t.” you said, trying hard to be calm while eating your food. “mmhm,” kaveh hummed knowingly, an annoying smirk plastered on his face. “you know what? i don’t have to listen to this, i’m leaving.” you pouted, gathering your stuff. “yes, and you know what your in-denial self should listen to instead? me.”

“shut up!”

❀

“good morning, alhaitham!” you greeted him per usual with high energy. he hummed a reply, acknowledging your presence. when you just lingered there showing no sign of leaving he sighed. “how many times do i have to tell you my office is not a playground where you can hang around however you please?” he asked, preparing to sort out the documents from the fresh pile that just came. “i was just—nevermind that, do you need any help?” you asked with a smile. however the harmless question just tick something unpleasant inside of the scribe, he knew you meant well, truly he knew that. “do i look like someone who’s incapable of doing my own job?” he questioned in a cold tone.

“of course not! i just thought since i was a little free-“

“right. you thought, that never went well though, did it?” the viciousness was out of nowhere, you were caught off guard.

“what’s that supposed to mean?” you narrowed your eyes at the harsh words—like he was saying that you were some kind of an idiot. he was always ill-tempered towards you, but he didn’t need to be this harsh over a mere offer to help.

alhaitham could feel he was being unreasonably mean, but he just couldn’t stand it. your useless kindness, your warmth, your concerns over his well-being all of these were so strange for him and his initial reaction was to reject and mock them. alhaitham felt like he was above it, it was too troublesome. he was fine living up to this point without the concerns from other people, and he was sure as hell he wasn’t going to start not being fine without it anytime soon.

 “why do you always think i need help? or do i need someone to remind me when to have my meal, or telling me to be conscious of my sleep schedule? frankly, it made me very uncomfortable,” once he started he felt like he couldn’t stop. alhaitham was mad, but if someone had asked him why he also wouldn’t be able to find the words to explain. he just was.

“well excuse me for trying to look out for my friend!” you raised your voice.

“friend? i never once thought of you that way,” he said. that shut you up real quick. the confession left your mouth agape, your chest ached. just what you are to him then, for the past half-year? but then when you think about it again, when has he exactly treat you as if you were something more of an acquaintance? in the end it was on you to assume, but it still hurts nonetheless.

in the brief silence alhaitham found the answer as to why was he so aggravated every time he talked to you.

alhaitham was blunt, he was ruthless in commenting on things that are out of place according to him. he was arrogant, often thinking that he’s above everything else, this include his way of life. a life of solitude; without the need of other people. but then you came, and his principles was shaken. alhaitham was a lot of things, but none would say that he’s fickle. yet, his rage right that second was a living proof that perhaps alhaitham was never the winner of those meaningless conversations he had with you. that truthfully, you already had him at the first good morning greeting you had given him with a bright smile.

and that is alhaitham’s hardest pill to swallow. you, a single person managed to make him almost change his entire life principles he had believed his whole life. and that’s as terrifying as it is infuriating to him. he couldn’t let you sway him more than this.

after what felt like eternity you finally responded.

“there’s a limit to being heartless, don’t you think?” you weakly said, you don’t even know what you were hoping for as a reply honestly. “there’s also should be a limit to your groundless assumptions.” he didn’t even look at you as he said these things, which perhaps good since you seriously couldn’t hold your tears anymore.

you had never believed rumors about people, as you will never know the truth unless you verify it yourself. but there, standing quietly as your tears wet the floor; there was no denying it anymore, alhaitham was indeed a heartless man who has zero empathy towards other living being.

“maybe i was wrong about you, alhaitham.” you smiled sadly.

it’s better this way.

“you were. now if you don’t mind, i have work to do.” he stated firmly, meaning: get out. which you will do gladly once you said your piece.

“it’ll do you good in the future to not be so driven by your emotions,” he still thought he was in a position to lecture you.

“yeah? and it’ll do you to good get off your high horse once in a damn while, you’re not fucking better than everybody else, alhaitham.”

“maybe so, but i certainly know i’m above acting solely over any emotion i’ve felt in the moment. i stopped doing that after i turned six, actually.” to think he'd mock you for crying.

“fuck you, alhaitham. enjoy your ‘alone’ time, i hope it stays that way forever.” you walked away from his office, swearing to yourself that it will be the last time you set foot on that damn place. alhaitham rarely see you frown, and to see you that angry and he was the cause of it.. silence got the better of him, the insides of his chest was swirling, he wasn't sure what to feel.

when your footsteps was finally out of hearing, alhaitham brought his palm to his face, his emotions getting the better of him. he saw the the hurt in your face, it was beyond saving. there’s nothing he could possibly say or do to get you to forgive him. and that was his intention of course, to get you to hate him. but he never thought he’d be ready for that.

alhaitham days quickly returned to the monotous routine. a quiet cycle, he thought he loved that. it's easy to realize that he did not anymore.

he's already so used to you. he kept waiting for you every morning, maybe if he wished hard enough you’d forget everything and just came back like nothing happened. but those days didn’t come, the memory quickly turns into anguish but more than that, regret.

aside from his ego, perhaps this regret is also something he would take to his grave.

-

part 2 maybe??

#genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin scenarios #genshin impact x you #genshin fanfic #genshin impact x reader #genshin x you #genshin angst #alhaitham x you #alhaitham x reader #al haitham x reader #alhaitham angst

[xxbimbobunnyxx]

Sugar and Spice: Part 1

(E.M. x Fem!Reader x S.H.) Part 2 Series Masterlist.

Summary: Steve has massive crush on you, Eddie’s childhood bestfriend who just came home from collage. The only problem is you despised him in highschool and he’s pretty sure Eddie’s in love with you.

Warnings: Eventual smut, pining, love triangle, no upside down, eventual steddie x reader, angst with a happy ending, hurt/comfort, fluff, no use of Y/N so definitely a billion pet names. There’s not really any for this chapter, it’s mostly setting the scene for the rest of the story. Mentions of sex and some swearing. I will add additional warnings each chapter! But still my work is always 18+MNDI

A/N: Okay I found this in my docs and I was reading over it and got inspired to keep writing it. I’ve had this idea in my head for a long time about a Reader who has a kind of like pastel goth type of aesthetic. Like she plays D&D and loves horror but also really loves chick flicks and pink. She listens to Black Sabbath but then will turn around and listen to Blondie in the same 10 minutes. Collects Care Bears but has read every Anne Rice book. I feel like both Eddie and Steve would lose their minds over that. There will be no physical descriptions of reader besides the outfits she wears, which will be things like big chunky goth boots and fuzzy pink sweaters. Ngl it’s kinda self indulgent of me but I hope there’s others who can relate to her.🤭 divider I used is by: @firefly-graphics

Steve wasn’t obsessed with you, at least he tried to convince himself that was the case. He hadn’t seen you since you graduated and moved to the city. But ever since you’ve been back it’s like he sees you everywhere. You come into his work sometimes and rent horror movies, or on rare occasions you rent something totally cute and left-field like The Little Mermaid. You wore outfits that were somehow the hottest and cutest thing he’s ever seen at once, his favorite he’s ever seen you in was this short little black skirt and a pink button up cardigan that you replaced the buttons with little skulls all brought together by the big platform boots you’re usually wearing. That contrast just made him more infatuated with you. You were like sugar and spice wrapped up in one really beautiful girl.

But there were TWO major problems, one being that you hated him In highschool. He was an arrogant asshole who thought he was better than everyone, could do whatever he wanted and looked down on the kind of people you hung around. You were pretty quiet but outspoken and opinionated when you wanted to be, kept close to the few friends you had and always had your head in some kind of horror or vampire book that Steve would definitely not understand but would’ve totally listened to you talk about all day just to hear you talk about something you loved. He always thought you were pretty, even in highschool when you used to dress a lot more reserved. Mostly ripped jeans, the occasional Care Bears tee, and shirts of bands he didn’t know. He even asked you out once Junior year before he got with Nancy and you laughed in his face and said “yeah fucking right Harrington, good one” But now? You’re always wearing those little mini skirts, low cut tank tops, and ripped up fishnets. Steve literally feels like he can’t think around you.

Which brings him to problem number two…Eddie. You and Eddie are bestfriends and have been since middle school, he’s part of the reason you never liked Steve because of the way he and his friends treated Eddie. Even though Steve was never directly mean to YOU, his friends were and that was enough. But Steve and Eddie had a recently developed… acquaintanceship due to their mutual friendship with Dustin. It took some time and convincing but once they got past their preconceived notions of each other they were able to be civil. Eddie being in the group meant when you came back naturally you were integrated in as well. Which means Steve has seen you in an actual social setting multiple times now.

You think that would be great, right? Wrong. Eddie was constantly touching you. Holding your hand, putting his arms around your waist, you sitting IN HIS LAP. It drove Steve fucking crazy, especially because he knows that Eddie loves you and he feels just a little bad about it because he had actually started to really like Eddie and maybe even began to see him as a friend. But seeing him all over you drove him insane and made him have a bad taste in his mouth every time he heard his name. He was pretty sure you loved Eddie. The way you looked at him and the gentle way you handled him and spoke to him like he wasn’t the resident metalhead drug dealer but a giant teddy bear that needed to be hugged and cared for.

Steve would’ve given up in an instant if you said you were Eddie’s girl, but you always said you guys were bestfriends despite the fact that Eddie definitely called you his girl on multiple occasions to the entire group. You definitely had feelings for him. He could see it but there was also something keeping you from making it official and that gave Steve hope. Especially once you warmed up to him and started sitting on HIS lap sometimes. You would just come and plop down across his knees looking at him all sweet like it was the most casual thing and you didn’t just make his brain short circuit. You started calling him cute little pet names and kissing his cheek every time you saw him.

Again, these things would all be fantastic IF you didn’t do all the same things and more with Eddie. Every time you sat on Eddie’s lap he literally wanted to rip you off of him and kiss you right in front of Eddie’s smug face. He was always smirking at Steve over your shoulder because he knew Steve liked you. He confronted him about it last week when they were at the arcade with Dustin and Mike.

“So. You like her don’t you?” Eddie just asked him out of the blue. Steve looked at him with a confused look on his face not really registering what he meant at first “Huh? Like who?”

“Don’t play dumb man, you know who I’m talking about” Eddie scoffed and rolled his eyes

“Why would you think she would ever like you back? You treated us like shit in highschool and just because she’s more confident and can stand to be in the same room as you, now you want her? Fuck that. She deserves better than that, she is so much more than how she looks.”

Steve was kind of taken back at first, knowing he wasn’t exactly wrong “You don’t think I know that Munson? I don’t just like her because she’s hot. She also has this confidence and energy about her that’s just really attractive. She’s fucking funny and not afraid to be herself. She’s got that whole sugar and spice thing going on where she’s so sweet and gentle one second and the next she’s cussing like a sailor going off on these cute little tangents. I thought we established I’m not the guy I was in highschool anymore. I’m not some player trying to go through women. I like her.” he kind of didn’t mean to say ALL of that but it just kept coming out once he started talking about you he couldn’t help it.

“Okay I get it, you actually like her. Either way she’s never going to go for you, you aren’t even her type.” He grabbed the sleeve of Steve’s bright blue crew neck “I’ve never seen her be into a pretty boy like you, she likes dudes who look like they’re part of the lost boys clan or the dudes she sees on MTV.”

Steve couldn’t help but roll his eyes “Sooo, you then? If you love her so much then why aren’t you with her?” Eddie flushed and his face fell slightly “because man, she’s the most important person in my life. Imagine if we got together for real and then we broke up? Things wouldn’t be the same between us, I might lose her entirely”

“When you say ‘for real’ what does that mean?” Steve asked him, hoping it didn’t mean what he thought it meant.

“I mean we do a lot of couple things, we go on bestfriend dates, we are super affectionate with each other, we fuck sometimes, but both of us are scared if we decided to be together for real it would ruin it” Eddie shrugged like he didn’t just metaphorically punch Steve in the chest with that information.

“So what? Are you guys exclusive or what? Because if you’re not, I’m going to ask her out.” Steve just shrugged trying to play it off.

“Dude. Are you seriously going to ask out my girl after what I just said!?”

“Yeah, DUDE. You just said she wasn’t yours so is she or isn’t she?”

“Now that I finally have you around without Eddie I can ask the question I’ve been dying to ask, what’s the deal with you two? Are you like, together?” Robin suddenly asked you out of the blue.

Her and Nancy finally convinced you to have a girls day with them. You went and got mani pedis and picked up lunch so you could eat it back at Nancy and Jonathan’s apartment while you watched some movies Robin got from work.

“I mean… Technically? No. You could say we are like bestfriends with benefits I guess? We have kind of been fooling around off and on since sophomore year of highschool when we lost our virginity to each other.”

“And you’re… okay with that?”

“Yeah Robin, I’m okay with it. We decided a long time ago that us being together for real wasn't really an option. Imagine if we broke up? I couldn’t handle losing him.” You bit your lip, just the thought of losing Eddie made you anxious.

Now you had Nancy curious “So have you ever been with anyone else? Or are you guys like exclusive friends with benefits? Because if you’ve only ever been with him I’d say you’re pretty much together anyways.”

“Oh yeah, I’ve had hookups and flings, so has Eddie. I had a few guys I went on a couple dates with when I was gone at school but I’ve never had an actual relationship really. Neither has he.”

“So you’re telling us, you’ve been fucking on and off and on for almost EIGHT YEARS, never had a real relationship, and yet you guys still aren’t actually together? Don’t you think that’s maybe the reason neither of you have ever had a relationship? You’re stuck on each other?” Nancy, always the voice of reason.

“I absolutely know that’s why, I compare every guy to Eddie and no one has measured up. He treats me like a princess, why would I want a boyfriend who treats me anything less than that?” You shrugged and took another bite of your egg roll.

“Okay but what about when you do find that person? Or he does? What then? Things will change either way.” Robin questioned. She had her own reasons for bringing this all up in the first place. She knew Steve liked you, and he made her promise not to mettle but just asking if you were single isn’t meddling, right?

“I don’t know Robin, we’ve never talked about it. We will cross that bridge when the time comes.” You hoped they would let it go after that. It’s not that you necessarily didn’t want to talk about your relationship with Eddie, it’s just whenever anyone brings up that it probably has an eventual expiration date you feel like your whole world is crashing down.

“So there’s really no one you’ve ever thought you really really liked?” Okay, maybe she was reaching meddling territory now.

“Nope. Never. Can we just watch dirty dancing now?”

You didn’t feel like elaborating more than that, especially since recently there was someone you’d started to like. It was confusing and very much against your will but you had started to develop a small crush on Steve. You tried really hard to give him the cold shoulder when you first got back, you spent years with feelings of animosity towards him but if even Eddie could give him another chance you figured you could too. Then of course he had to be just so sweet, and such a gentleman, always telling you that you looked pretty and he smelled so good. It honestly made you want to punch him in the face. Or kiss him. Or both.

Robin narrowed her eyes at you but decided to drop it for now, even though she could tell there was definitely something you weren’t telling them with how quickly you decided to change the subject.

“Yeah okay, let’s watch the movie. But I’m not letting this go forever.”

“I didn’t even think for a second that you would.” You laughed and pressed play on the VHS.

Your love life wasn’t brought up anymore after that but that didn’t keep you from thinking about it. What would happen if Eddie got a girlfriend? You and him were never exclusive but the thought of him actually loving someone made you feel sick. Did he feel the same way? You hoped he did. Does that mean you want things with him to be exclusive? You’d never really allowed yourself to have those thoughts but now you were starting to wonder.

Then there was Steve, who just added to your confusion. Something about him just drew you to him, even back in highschool when you felt nothing but negative feelings toward him it was like he was everywhere you looked. Maybe you always had a small crush on him but would’ve never in a million years admitted it to yourself back then. It’s not like you would’ve ever had a chance, he treated everyone like you like dirt under his shoe. He never bullied you directly but him picking on your friends was enough to tell you how he probably felt about you too. Then you remember that one time Junior year when he asked you out, did he actually mean it? The thought that he might like you made your insides heat up and you felt like one of those girls you used to make fun of in highschool for swooning over him.

Robin could practically see the gears turning in your head, it was very obvious you weren’t watching the movie at all and she knew she told Steve she wouldn’t involve herself but she just had this feeling…

“You like Steve don’t you?” Robin’s voice snapped you out of your cycle of spiraling thoughts and you whipped your head around to look at her.

“What!?”

#eddie munson x reader #steve harrington x reader #steddie x reader #eddie munson x fem!reader #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington fic #steve harrington x fem!reader #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson angst #steve harrington angst #steddie x fem!reader

[the-travelling-witch]

𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒 𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐘 𝐒𝐊𝐈𝐍

summary: opening up about your insecurities is a daunting thing, but suna lets you know you’re in good hands

pairing: suna rintarou x afab! reader

warnings:  smut/ comfort, minors dni; skin-related insecurities (acne, scars, bumps, etc) with comfort, unprotected sex (use condoms, don’t get a kid or a std), pet names (doll, pretty), marking, very wholesome spice if you can say that jsjsh, also very self indulgent; i wanted to name it ‘under my skin’ first, so now i have mirotic stuck in my head

happy birthday, rin!! ♡

haikyuu masterlist

Flickering colours illuminated your dimly lit living room in arrhythmic sequences, the voices of actors paired with underlying music bouncing around the apartment. Next to you, snuggled up under a cosy blanket with you, was your boyfriend, his eyes fixed on the TV but keeping you close to his side with an arm curled around your middle. 

Leaning against his sturdy body, you sunk further into the hoodie you had stolen from his side of the closet earlier and you inhaled a noseful of the scent clinging to it, a familiar mixture of Suna’s body wash and cologne. Underneath you, you could feel his muscles flex and relax with every breath and every laugh and, inevitably, your mind drifted from the scenes on the screen to the man next to you.

There was no doubt about it, when it came to boyfriends, you somehow managed to snatch up the price catch all for yourself. Suna was attentive, caring and funny; he always checked in on you, brought food when he knew you hadn’t eaten, sent you photos, voice messages and even flowers when he was away for work and generally pestered you to take care of yourself. 

Besides all of that, he was also, of course, ridiculously beautiful. Be it his well-built body showing through every outfit he wore, whether it was loungewear, work out clothes or a suit, or the defined features of his face, the sharp slant of his olive eyes only being the highlight, he was sure to garner attention. And he did. Quite a lot, actually. The fantaken videos of him sighted on the streets or the edits you scrolled past on your timeline definitely proved your point.

Still, Rin never made you feel unwanted, the opposite, really. You could be lazing around on the couch when Rin made it seem as if you were posing for the cover of Vogue, bending down to shower you in kisses as his hands wandered like he had no control over them. Or the way he’d sidle up behind you, leaning his weight onto you like an overgrown cat just to show you dumb videos while you go about what you were doing.

Your own mind, however, was not always as kind to you as your boyfriend.

Case and point, as you looked up at him and studied his sharp jaw and smooth skin, your thoughts started heading to a darker place, one you normally kept under tight lock and seal. Certainly, no matter how genuine his compliments were, there was no way he actually meant any of them, only trying to make you feel better about yourself. After all, what would someone like him see in someone like you? 

A tap to the tip of your nose pulled you back into reality, blinking to see bright green eyes sparkling down at you. The arm around your waist adjusted its grip, allowing you to turn towards him better but holding you close again the second you had settled.

“What are you thinking about? The film’s not that deep of a thinkpiece.” The lighthearted tone and tiny smirk playing around his lips were contrasted by the inquisitive raise of a brow, letting you know he was quite serious about your answer. “And it’d better not be anything stupid.”

“Oh you know,” you vaguely gestured towards the screen as you avoided his gaze, “there’s just no way they could’ve made it out of that building before the bomb went up. That was so much longer than 30 seconds.”

There was a soft touch against your cheek where calloused fingertips tilted your head back towards him, not forcibly but determined. You were more starkly made aware of the heat radiating from his body as he leant further into you, the arm around your back giving you no chance to wind yourself out of his proximity. Under other circumstances there would absolutely be no way you’d want to in the first place. But you knew Rin was sharp enough to deduce exactly where your mind had gone if you gave him only the faintest of clues and you really didn’t want to disrupt your movie night with your insecurities.

“Very cute, doll, but you never pay attention to realism. Besides,” the ends of his hair tickled your face as his lips ghosted the shell of your ear, “do you really think I didn’t notice you burning holes into the side of my head? If there’s something you want, you only need to ask.”

“That’s what you got from that, Rin?” You laughed, pushing his head from the crook of your neck with the pad of your forefinger. “Could it be that you're projecting your own thoughts onto me?”

“What else could I be thinking about when someone this pretty has been clinging to my side the entire evening?” Your boyfriend hummed the question thoughtfully before your centre of gravity shifted. A surprised gasp later, you found yourself in his lap with your knees bracketing his hips, courtesy of the muscles flexing against the small of your back where he kept you pinned to his front. “You can’t blame a guy for getting ideas when you’re this cute.”

“You’re such a horndog, Rin,” you giggled, melting into his hold as his large palms smoothed out the material of his sweats covering your thighs, the repetitive motion relaxing as you lost yourself in each other’s eyes, despite having done so a million times before.

“It’s all your fault, doll,” Suna murmured and your gaze automatically tracked the movement of his mouth as it formed the words. Inspired by you, he mirrored the action and then his lips were on yours.

The kiss was slow and unhurried, your lips moving languidly against each other, giving you all the time in the world to bury your fingers in the hair of his nape. The swipe of his tongue asking for entry was accompanied by firm hands grabbing at your hips and pulling you so flush against him, it was like he wanted to become one entity altogether. You happily parted your lips for him so your tongues could tangle together in the same rhythm of his arms moving you to grind down on him.

When his warm hands explored the bare skin under his hoodie, however, it was like someone had sounded the alarm bells in your head. Sure, you’d been intimate with Suna plenty of times, that was nothing new, but so far, you’d avoided any positions where your back would be on display or his hands could roam too freely across it. Up until this point, you’d put up excuse after excuse and the brunet had respected your wishes but slowly you were running out of fronts to put up without addressing the real issue.

Over time, you’d gotten used to Suna seeing your face with all blemishes and impurities on display, more out of necessity than free will in the beginning. You couldn’t hide your face from him forever after all. In typical Rin fashion, he’d been so gentle and reassuring about it, thanking you for putting your trust in him and nearly making you cry in the process. 

Your back, however, was an area you could cover up way easier and that was how you kept it. The thought of him seeing the redness and scars littering the expanse of the skin there, running his hands over it and feeling the bumpy texture where other people’s would be smooth, it made you shrink in on yourself. As you wrecked your brain for a new excuse and got ready to push his hands down to your hips again, he withdrew them from the hoodie himself, making the garment feel much too big on you as he took his warmth with him.

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you for a while now,” Suna began, his voice calm as one hand settled back against your hip and the other cradled your cheek. Your fidgeting must have conveyed your discomfort, because he started drawing tiny circles onto your cheek bone, the callouses from years of playing volleyball contrasting the softness of his touch, making you subconsciously lean into the movement. “I didn’t know how to bring it up but at this point I feel like I need to know… Is there a reason you’re so reluctant to show me your back? And don’t say you don’t know what I’m talking about, I know you better than that.”

“Ah, so you noticed,” you meekly replied, swallowing hard around the words stuck in your throat. “What gave it away?”

“You’re not the best at lying to me, you know. It was pretty obvious you were making excuses for something else.” You felt like a cartoon character getting hit with an arrow through the stomach. “I just want to understand what’s putting you so on edge, so I can fix it. Whatever it is, you can tell me and I’ll work hard so you can trust me. But I won’t know what I did if you won’t tell me.”

“What you did?” You echoed incredibly. “Rin, you’ve done nothing wrong, more like the opposite, honestly. You’re like the guy out of anybody’s dreams, of course I trust you.”

“Then what is it? I don’t want to pressure you but I hate to see you uncomfortable,” Suna’s voice was soothing like a fireplace in winter as his finger smoothed out the furrow of your brows, silently telling you to take all the time you needed, he wouldn’t judge.

“It’s just– My back it’s so ugly,” you weakly admitted, opting to hide your face in the crook of his neck when holding eye contact became too painful. For a split second, Suna went as rigid as you had earlier before gingerly setting his hand down on the top of your back and running it lightly up and down to test your reaction. “Everyone has this perfect, smooth skin but mine is full of scarring and blemishes and I… I don’t want you to see how hideous I– it is.”

“Oh baby, that’s not true,” he soothed. “You are so stunning, I could never think you’re ugly.”

“No, you would,” you disagreed, shaking your head. “I already don’t know how you can say that with so much confidence, I don’t want to ultimately prove you wrong.”“So instead you just made the decision for me?” Ah, his signature deadpan response.

“Huh?”

“You are so convinced of your own perception you won’t even entertain the thought I could see something else entirely. I’m a lot of things but not a liar, doll. When I tell you you’re beautiful, I mean it.” To show he wasn’t taking offence at your words, he tapped the tip of your nose again when you emerged from your hiding spot to peer up at him. Bouncing you in his lap as if to jostle the negative thoughts from the forefront of your mind, mischief gleamed in his eyes. “Do you really think I’d put myself into this position just to make someone feel better? Usually, I only try to fuck unbelievably attractive people on my couch.”

“Oh my god, Rin! You’re such an idiot!” You were well aware your boyfriend had the tendency to be shamelessly blunt and it still made you smack your palms against his chest, though your shoulders did feel lighter at his very characteristic way of encouraging you. “Also we bought this couch together, so it’s mine as much as it’s yours.”

“The point still stands,” he nonchalantly answered, trailing one finger down the dip of your neck as his half-lidded eyes tracked its path before finding yours again. You knew that look well and it made your earlier arousal flare up again. “You’ll give me a chance to prove you wrong, won’t you, pretty? I promise you won’t regret it.”

You hesitated for a moment before mustering up all your courage. Suna had never betrayed the trust you placed in him and he’d not given you any reason to doubt him this time either. “Alright, fine.”

“Thank you.” You could feel his smile against your temple when he leaned forward to place a small peck there. “Hmm now where were we? Oh, that’s right.”

Long fingers splayed over the back of your head to tilt your head up so he could reconnect your lips once more. Just like before, the kiss started off slow and built in intensity until you were gasping for breath, a thread of a saliva connecting you until it broke from the rocking of your hips. Having foregone a bra that night, your nipples rubbed against the soft lining of the sweater, perking up from the friction.

This time, when his hands snuck under your clothes, you didn’t move to stop him, instead letting the warmth of his palms spread across your back. Slowly but steadily his touch rose higher, his fingertips nearly massaging the skin with the light pressure he was exerting. At the same time, his mouth moved south as if he wanted to meet his hands in the middle, trailing a hot path of kisses from the corner of your mouth to your jaw to just below your ear.

“The calluses of my hands, do they bother you?” A little disoriented by the low timbre of his voice and confused by the sudden question, you quickly made it known you liked them quite a lot, to which he chuckled. “See, at first, I was really insecure about it. Such rough hands handling something so precious, that didn’t seem right. But I learnt pretty quickly I was fussing about nothing, considering how you seem to love holding my hands or cumming all over my fingers.”

“That’s not a fair comparison,” you nearly whined, both at his choice of example and the way he bucked his hips up into yours. Your face felt as if it was set ablaze as his hands roamed and kneaded whatever part of skin they could find and your hips kept up a steady rhythm. “You have such nice hands, Rin.”“Something you made me aware of,” he smiled. When his lips reached the point where the collar of the hoodie wouldn't allow him to go any further, his hot breath fanned the expanse of your throat and his fingers played with the hem of his piece of clothing. “Let me do the same for you, yeah? Are you comfortable with taking this off?”

“Yeah,” you quietly affirmed, nodding your head at his request. With his help, the soft material slipped over your head and arms before being tossed somewhere next to the two of you and you fought hard to return your hands to his shoulders in lieu of covering up your bare body. 

“Shit, I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing these,” Suna groaned, cupping your breasts with appreciative hands, forefingers and thumbs immediately working on rolling your pert nipples between them as the other digits fondled the surrounding area. “Look how perfect these look in my hands, like they were made to be held by me.”

A soft sigh of his name escaped you as you tilted your head back at the sensation of his warm hands contrasting with the temperature of the living room. It drew his attention back to the exposed column of your neck, focusing on the task of sucking a pulsing bruise against the spot that he knew made you weak. 

However, what you didn’t expect was him reaching around you to ghost his finger up the length of your spine, sending electricity right through you. Combined, the actions effortlessly pulled a gasp from you as you arched your back against his chest, which resulted in you pressing down hard against his bulge. His groan reverberated against your chest, a beautiful and husky sound which made you crave to hear more.

“Did that feel good? I bet it did,” Suna whispered against your feverish skin, fingers splaying out in the dip oy your back to keep you steady. “I can make you feel so much better, you know that. Just say the word.”

By now, your panties were probably soaked through as your clit pulsed with need, hips rocking in search for more friction but not getting enough to satisfy that itch inside of you. With how your heart was hammering against your ribcage, you could’ve bet Rin was able to feel it too, even through the material of his shirt. Balling the material in your fists you whimpered, “Rin, I need more, please.”

He grinned against your shoulder, pressing your chest tighter against his and grabbing the fat of your thigh with his free hand. Without any strain, he flipped you over so your back hit the couch cushions and he towered over your form, your legs still spread around his waist.

Running his hands down and back up the length of your legs, squeezing your thighs and calves appreciatively, his touch made goosebumps spread all across your body, no matter how seating it was on you. When his fingers reached the waistband of your sweatpants, playing with it as he leaned into your space, his heavy gaze met yours once more.

“Can I take these off?” No matter how clear it was you wanted this too, Suna would always ask. This night too, you willingly lay yourself in his hands as you lifted your hips to help him shimmy your pants off you, tossing them in the vague direction of the hoodie without taking his eyes off of you. He especially didn’t want to miss the string of slick sticking to your panties as they followed suit.

Drinking in the sight of your nude form, he traced a reverent finger over the seam where your legs met your hips, purposefully applying only a hint of pressure, knowing the featherlight touch was driving you positively insane. Slowly circling further in, he then caressed your outer lips covered in soft pubes, collecting your arousal with an experimental stroke over your slit but intentionally missing where you wanted him most.

“Rin, don’t tease,” you whined, squirming against the couch cushions.

“Sorry, doll, but you just look so pretty like this,” he mused, bright eyes showing not a hint of remorse. “I just have to indulge a little.”

And indulge he did. When he finally grazed his thumb over your neglected clit, his touch seemed to scorch, which only served to fuel the desire inside of you and it inevitably coaxed a wanton moan from you. Incredibly adept at reading you and keen to hear more of your sweet noises, Suna easily slid his middle finger into your hole, that at this point had been clenching around nothing. With how wet you were, he was met with no resistance at all and soon complied with your pleas for more and added his ring finger to the first.

“Shit, baby, you’re clinging to my fingers,” Suna voiced his thoughts as he smoothed one hand down the length of your leg once more to grab your ankle. Keeping up the steady pumps of his hand, curling his digits right into the spot that had your leg spasming in his hold, he turned his head to kiss the joint in his hold. However, he didn’t stop there. 

As if your leg was a fuse and he was the fire, Suna leisurely crept his affections higher, over your calves and past your knees, until you really felt ready to explode. Dimpling the flesh under his fingertips, he tightened the hold on your thigh so he could suck a myriad of hickeys on its expanse, unbothered by your incessant writhing. 

His hot breath fanned your core as his plush lips mapped out the juncture of your leg, paying careful attention to the area littered with stretch marks and covering the cause of some of your insecurities with his own marks. Like he wanted to claim your body as his, not that of the doubts in your mind. When he was satisfied with the blotches of red forming on your skin, he finally pulled back to admire his work.

“Have I been neglecting you lately?” Suna whispered, almost drowned out by the squelches of your pussy as he scissored his fingers. Looking up at you over the length of your heated body, he replaced his thumb with his kiss-swollen lips, placing a sweet peck against your clit and teasing it with the tip of his tongue. “Don’t worry, I’ll make up for it. You should never feel like this about yourself.”

“It’s not your fault, Rin,” you breathily reassured him only to be shushed by idle fingers dancing across your lower stomach, then precisely pressing down where his other hand was crooking up into.

“What kind of boyfriend lets his baby feel anything less than gorgeous?” Snaking one arm around your arched back, his long fingers covered a large part of it and held you steady against his chest as the coils in your stomach wound tighter and your toes curled at his sides. “I wish I could show you what I see. But since I can’t, I’ll have to settle for conveying it like this.”

His thumb had taken up its former spot again, resumed drawing firm figure eights on your clit and your nipples rubbed against the front of his shirt where Suna curled over you to reach your lips with his. Under the influence of his messy kiss, you felt like you were set ablaze as your boyfriend encouraged you to let go for him.

Someone might as well have replaced your blood with molten lava as your orgasm washed over you with fiery intensity and sweat pearled on your temple. Your arms slung around his body as your hands searched for whatever they could grab to hold on, be it the muscles of his shoulder or his dishevelled dark locks. Your lungs were already burning with the need for air but if you stopped kissing him, stopped vocalising your pleasure right for him to swallow it up, you thought you might die.

Suna kept up his ministrations until you were trembling like a candle in the wind before he even considered pulling his fingers from you. With half lidded eyes you watched as he brought the digits up to his mouth, cleaning up your mess with slightly exaggerated lewdness and moaning at your taste.

As he sat back up, he kept you flush against him and returned you to the position that started this all. Only this time your heightened sensitivity made you hyper aware of his arousal underneath you. 

“How are you feeling, pretty?” Nosing the crook of your neck lovingly, Suna nibbled on your salty skin where your quickened pulse thrummed underneath. His strong hands massaged your sides as you caught your breath and willed your chest to stop heaving. “Do you want to keep going?”

“You can’t do all of that and then deny me this,” you laughed breathlessly as you rolled your hips into his prominent bulge which caused him to inhale sharply. On top of everything, your boyfriend was also fucking hung, something his sweats didn’t hide in the slightest. “But I need you to take this off first.”

“Your wish is my command,” he chuckled, shrugging the shirt over his head unceremoniously, his biceps and triceps flexing in the process. While he busied himself with untangling himself from his pants, you ran an appreciative hand over the firm planes of his abs and up his pectorals. “Like what you see?”

“You know I do,” you mused, pressing a kiss against his jaw. “Got so lucky with you.”

“Hey, that’s my line,” Suna smiled, letting his hands roam over every dip and curve of your body as he urged you to straddle him again. Wasting no time, you started rocking yourself over his length, gasping every time his head caught your clit while you covered him in your arousal. After starving himself of stimulation earlier to focus entirely on you, your boyfriend shuddered at the contact. “You already feel so good doll, how am I supposed to last like this?”

“It’s okay, I want you to feel good too, Rin,” you stated but your movement was promptly stopped by two heavy hands on your hips. There was a subtle flush decorating his complexion and your heart skipped a beat. Was he really this affected just because of you? “As tempting as that sounds, tonight is all about you. No room to argue.” There was a tender finality in his tone, one that made clear he really wouldn’t budge on the topic, so you relented and melted into his hold. “Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

Yes, this wasn’t the first time you’d been intimate with Suna, but it still felt like it. Every time he sunk his cock into you the stretch had you tossing your head back. From the way his thick tip slowly breached the tight ring of muscle, to the pleasant friction of his veins sliding against your walls and the satisfying feeling of being stuffed full, you believed you’d never get used to it.

“You always take me so well,” Suna panted as he bottomed out, fingers flexing against the pudge of your ass as he willed himself to patience to let you adjust to his girth, no matter how heavenly your warm cunt felt enveloping him. 

“Fuck Rin, I need you to move. Please, I–” Your brows were furrowed and you supported yourself on his chest as you started circling your hips against his while his cock pressed against all your sensitive spots so nicely.

And who was he to deny you when you asked so sweetly? 

Starting with slow and deliberate thrusts, you both knew it wouldn’t stay that way for long. While Suna normally prided himself on patience, even his was running thin by now and soon after, the rhythmic slapping of your thighs on his echoed around your apartment as he effortlessly moved you up and down on him, each thrust seemingly deeper as the previous one.

Not able to keep yourself upright for much longer, you slumped against his equally sweat-slicked chest and surrendered yourself completely to his actions, opting instead to claw at his back every time a particularly well aimed stroke had you clench your eyes shut. It was the best kind of torture and if you were exposed to it for too long you might actually go mad.

With your head nestled in the crook of his neck it gave Suna the perfect view down your back, admiring the way it bowed so graciously against his broad body or how your ass bounced with each slap of his thighs. How you were able to see anything but your beauty was something he just couldn't get behind; not because he was without insecurities but because no part of you could ever be a flaw in his eyes. Not when it made you who you were.

His fingers fluttered over the curve of your spine again, eliciting a more visceral reaction as your body shuddered and you pressed yourself tighter against him, trying to evade his searing touch while simultaneously craving more of it. Your whole body felt like you were boiling from the inside out, every part his scorching hands touched sizzling with nerves.

The constant grind of his pelvis against your clit had your walls gripping his length like a vice, making it increasingly harder for your boyfriend to pull out, let alone hold his own release back for much longer. Dipping his head down with a groan, his lips connected with your shoulder as his fingers kneaded and fondled wherever he could reach. Perhaps by the time you woke up tomorrow you wouldn’t see the blemishes you agonised over but the imprint of his fingers on your waist or the love bites littering your shoulder.

“If you don’t like these marks, I guess it’s on me to cover them with my own,” he mumbled lowly, perhaps more to himself than to you. Either way, the deep rumble of his voice so close to your ear followed by the sound of him reattaching his lips where he had left off shot down your spine like a lightning bolt. “You’re close, aren’t you? C’mon, you can do it. Show me how beautiful you are when you cream on my cock.”

The effect Suna’s voice and words had over you should maybe concern you. But you didn’t care as you came for the second time this night with a cry of his name on your lips, weightless as your boyfriend rode out your orgasm while chasing his own. Just as you came down from the aftershock of pleasure, Suna pushed inside of you as far as he could and painted your insides white.

For a few minutes, neither of you said anything, content to stay lost in the feeling of the other as two sets of hands explored the shared silhouette of your bodies. Kisses were exchanged or randomly placed wherever you could reach, Suna caressed your sides and you swept sweaty bangs out of his eyes.

“So,” Rin broke the comfortable silence, “are you still hellbent on arguing with me on this?”

Picking up his hint of playfulness, you decided to lean into it. “Hmm I dunno, the jury’s still out.”

“I thought you might say something like this,” he chuckled, pinching your side between his eyes, resulting in you yelping in surprise and sending him a half-hearted glare which was only returned in mischief. “Good thing I already planned to bend you over the back of the couch and paint your back. Bet you’d look lovely, even if you can’t get any more gorgeous than you already are. Same place and time tomorrow work for you?”

“You’re such an idiot, you know that?” You laughed at his shrugged ‘Might have mentioned it before’ before leaning up for a brief peck. “But sure, I’ll clear my schedule for you.”

After your movie night had effectively been rebranded into a shared bath Suna had drawn for you, you let the warm water rinse away most of the soreness you felt in the moment. Despite the tub being a rather snug fit with your professional athlete occupying a big chunk of it by himself, you let yourself relax against his chest.

Rin had taken it upon himself to gently scrub your body down for you, being extra careful with any of the spots he might have been a little rougher on. When it was time to dry off, he took his time to shower your back in kisses; every mark he left, every scar, every blemish, he covered them all equally in his affection and adoration. 

“I love you,” he murmured when his eyes met yours through the mirror and he tangled your fingers together. “I would never dream to change a single thing about you.”

“I love you too,” you whispered back, like it was a secret only meant for his ears. “Thank you for being so patient with me.”

“It’s nothing you have to thank me for.” Suna brought your hand up to his lips to leave a lingering kiss there too. “I’m just doing what any good boyfriend should.”

Later in bed:

“How much did you have to hold back from saying ‘I’ve got your back’?”

“You have no idea.”

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[oneatlatime]

Bitter Work

Life took me out at the knees for a couple of weeks but I'm back! I'm hoping this is a nice restful episode after the relentlessness of The Chase.

I have to say, Toph's nicknaming skills are on point. I never would have thought of Sugarqueen, but it fits perfectly.

This is me. Every morning.

Full nose plant from Appa.

And the beat up Sokka quota is fulfilled. Very funny Toph, but completely uncalled for. If someone had catapulted teenage me 50 feet into the air while I was trying to sleep, it would have been fully justifiable homicide.

Aang is always trying to run before he can walk. What was Iroh always saying to Zuko about basics? Aang needs that speech too.

I was really on the ball in my post about how airbenders aren't homicidal, actually. Rock is a stubborn element. Yay me!

Aang earthbends = Earth bends Aang.

Seriously, how did he mess up that badly?

Cozy.

Thank you Zuko for the incredibly obvious exposition that's somehow completely in character. Interesting to see that Iroh and his son had brown hair, but Zuko seems to have black hair. More hair variety in the Fire Nation than I thought.

Tangent time! I love the contrast in social intelligence (I guess that's the term?) in this scene. Zuko wakes Iroh up with an infodump, some bad tea, and then gets straight to discussing strategy. Iroh's first actions are to compliment the bad tea, then dispose of the refill in a way that won't hurt Zuko's feelings (probably not necessary, as Zuko seems to be the type that's oblivious to all things other than the task at hand when he's focused). Iroh, injured and awake for all of 15 seconds, jumps straight to actions that help look after his nephew. And Zuko is trying! That's why he made tea! But still, he doesn't even ask if his uncle's feeling ok. Zuko has such a massive gap in his education - he can probably reel off the specs of all Fire Nation battleships, but he doesn't know how to be a human person. Contrast that with Iroh, and especially Katara, who makes friends and connections with such aggressive forwardness that she's at times more steamroller than teenage girl. It's funny how privilege plays into this too - Zuko comes from probably the single most privileged (on paper) family in the world, yet it's the children of the impoverished water tribe who have the more well-rounded education/socialisation.

"She's crazy and she needs to go down" go a full belly laugh out of me.

"What if I came at the boulder from a different angle?" Jesus I was REALLY on point with my post about the airbenders. Credit where credit is due, this show has such good writing/worldbuilding that viewers have picked up what Toph is laying out in this episode already. Also a little bit of stealth character work in there - since Toph is putting into words what we've been thinking this whole time, she now reads as trustworthy. This show is so good. So thought out.

Maybe it's just VLC being weird, but methinks Katara is having some trouble with her eyeball.

Katara STOP BABYING HIM. This is why I don't like Aang having a crush on her.

Honestly it's refreshing to have Toph giving it to Aang straight, no softening the blows.

I really like this texture.

Sokka's club is a giant bottle opener. Or at least a multitool.

ROCK SUITS

wait

ELEMENTAL FASHION

oh this is going to be haybending all over again.

They are totally going to have to nerf this girl. She could defeat the Fire Lord right now.

Earth beats water tribe

Someome who knows more about tea than I do: Why are both pots necessary?

"requires peace of mind" well that's out. Sorry Zuko, we'll have to get you a taser instead.

"So we're drinking tea to calm down?" "not it's to get the nasty ass taste of the sludge you brewed out of my mouth. I mean yes." For what's looking like an extended training montage, this episode is far funnier than it needs to be.

I pretty much don't notice Zuko's scar anymore (it's just part of his character design) then every so often a certain frame of animation will come out of the blue and remind me that this kid's missing half his face. I don't know if it's intentional on the part of the animators, but his scar is prominent this episode.

So it sounds like bending lightning actually corresponds with how lightning in our world works. Neat.

In an absolutely Shocking turn of events (pun absolutely intended), Zuko fucks it up. Fucking shit up: the autobiography of a Fire Prince. Has a nice ring to it.

Toph I know you go hard, but maybe apply a sense of proportion to this?

It kind of looks like Aang's about to be run over by a giant scoop of caramel ice cream.

Toph is such an interesting mishmash of bluntness and emotional intelligence. I don't think I've seen a character like that before.

Zuko being self aware for once! Everything always does explode in his face. Except when he's being the Blue Spirit. Seems he's more capable then.

It's a tragedy that this boy wasn't around for the emo movement. He would have single-handedly sustained Hot Topic.

Zuko going "WHAT TURMOIL?!?!?" is like Katara going "I'M COMPLETELY CALM!!!!!" last episode. Also got a laugh out of me.

"I'm as proud as ever." OF WHAT?!?!? What could he possibly be proud of? He's a homeless fugitive with a stolen horse bird and a half-dead uncle that he can't even properly brew tea for. The self-delusion is strong.

Is pride the source of shame? Honest question, I don't know.

There's a surprising variety of trees in this part of the Earth Kingdom. Where Zuko and Iroh are there are fluffly hardwoods, probably deciduous; Toph's training ground is ringed by cartoon pines.

This whole bit is too cute for words.

"Now come back boomerang" This is a training episode, it's not supposed to be this funny!

Are there voice acting awards? Like voice acting oscars? Sokka's actor needs one. Or several.

I should have waited to answer the ask about airbenders and just copy pasted Iroh's speech here. Except for the water = change bit. That doesn't make sense.

What can I possibly say about Iroh's speech? It's the thesis for this show in a single paragraph.

Pretty.

Are characters' eyes a different shape this episode? Aang's eyes change colour all the time, but everyone's eyes seem more cat-like.

I do love me some constructive bullying.

Sokka is so refreshingly self-aware while still totally oblivious. He is meat and sarcasm, but he's so much more!

"Have you got any meat?" He said that in an Irish accent.

"You're gonna pull my fingers off and I don't think the rest of me is coming!" Do you ever come across a sentence that is so obviously an innuendo that your brain trips over itself trying to decipher it?

Sokka's hair must be so fluffy. It's got so much volume.

Why can't he go get Toph? I think being stuck in a hole outranks avoiding an awkward encounter.

FOO FOO CUDDLYPOOPS

"You must not let the lightning pass through your heart, or the damage could be deadly." Foreshadowing?

Today in 'things Zuko thinks it's acceptable, nay, expected, for parental figures to do' - attempted murder as a teaching method! What went on in that palace?

Is this the closest Sokka's come to dying?

He's earthbending the air! Doing air but earthlike. You know what I mean.

I thought she was levitating.

Toph is so smart. She does the airbender thing and comes at the problem from a different angle. Telling Aang to stand up for himself doesn't work? Fine. Let's bully him into standing up for himself. And it works!

This episode's MVP is Sokka's patience.

"You tried the positive reinforcement, didn't you?" uhhhhh sure!

Appa getting vengeance for Sokka. Nice.

Theatre kids.

I wish Zuko would just have the breakdown he's obviously hurtling towards so we can get started on the rebuilding arc. Every time I think he's a rock bottom, he keeps digging.

Luten is Katara. Let's not read too far into that one.

Final Thoughts

I defy any episode from this point on to fulfill the Beat Up Sokka Quota as thoroughly as this one did.

In a lesser show, the 'Aang learns earthbending episode' would have had Aang & Toph as the A-plot, and Sokka & Katara doing something completely unrelated as a b-plot, and probably no Zuko at all. Sokka does have his own thing going on this episode, but the fact that they managed to weave in both water tribe siblings so organically is so satisfying. Of course a team member struggling to learn a new skill would seek out his friends. Of course his friends are in the area, observing the lesson to varying degrees. It feels so much more real to have the characters who aren't 'useful' that episode still there, rather than conveniently absent.

Zuko was very Zuko this episode. He's correct that he needs more training for his inevitable next encounter with Zuko jr., but Iroh is also correct that Zuko is a bundle of issues held together by a different bundle of issues. Not to jinx it, but I thought I detected a hint of self-awareness from Zuko this episode, although it seems to have occurred despite his best efforts to suppress it.

Iroh's Zuko-wrangling skills were sharp this episode, despite being injured. And his wisdom was off the charts. Zuko was also not as annoying as I usually find him, and unlike in Zuko Alone where I found his quieter self to be out of character, it fit this episode. Maybe he's turned over a new, quieter, leaf? I loved "she's crazy and she needs to go down" both as a joke and as a statement. Shared blood doesn't trump someone's actions, and I'm glad to see a show meant for kids acknowledge that. Although, given that this show has no problem depicting objectively BAD parents and families, I can't say I'm surprised.

In a testament to Jack de Sena's skill, Sokka get a soliloquy this episode and pulls it off flawlessly. Kudos to the animation team for making Sokka's face fit the words so well. Double kudos for whoever had the balls to approve 'stick Sokka in a hole and put an apex predator on his head to force self-reflection' as a plotline.

There was a lot of exposition from a lot of different characters this episode, but it's mostly unnoticeable. It just makes sense that that's what they would be talking about at that point in time.

I think I said it above, but I'll say it again: the worldbuilding in this show is phenomenally well done. How do I know this? Because I was able to construct most of Iroh's monologue before watching this episode, just by paying attention. This show rewards focus and attentiveness. (Almost) nothing that Iroh said was not something the audience has already observed for themselves. Not heard, but observed. That 'show, don't tell' thing.

This episode was way funnier than it needed to be too. Not just the obvious stuff like *inhales*

FOO FOO CUDDLYPOOPS

but tiny one-liners buried mid-conversation and character interactions too. Momo turning into a reed didn't have to be there, but it was, and it was funny. It wasn't exactly restful, but it was a relief to have an episode that really didn't move around after The Chase.

What I like most about this episode was that it went farther than it had to. This was a training episode. It could have been just training. Anyone familiar with training episodes would expect just training, and be satisfied with just training. But Avatar said 'nope, we'll do better than that' and organically incorporated a heap of character stuff, worldbuilding from multiple perspectives, humour, multiple characters undergoing self-reflection, the next step in the domestication of Zuko, what I'm hoping wasn't a heap of foreshadowing, and pretty backgrounds as the cherry on top. They didn't have to go so hard, but Avatar always goes hard. I like that.

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #avatar the last airbender #bitter work

[spicysix]

okay imagine coming home from the mall with robin and nancy and you’re wearing a new perfume that just smells absolutely incredible it’s as if angels made it themselves- then you go over to eddie’s to hang out, eventually he hugs you and he cannot let go because you smell so good

you can totally take this idea and do whatever you want with it I just got new lotion from Sephora and had this random thought😭 you can write a blurb over it if you’d like because it’s a good prompt “I would let go but you just smell so. good.”

a/n: first ever request! thank you, bby, for this lovely plot idea. hope you like it!

warnings: pure fluff! 🥰 AFAB reader, there's the mention of usage of lingerie. besides that, is pretty gn, no pronouns used, no use of y/n

word count: 2.1k oops that went further than i anticipated

↳ requests are open!

love sneaked in with the smell of you

You parked your car right next to Eddie’s van. The hood was open and there were tools scattered around it on the floor, and you guessed he was working on the van again. You wondered if that old metal box would ever stop being such high maintenance. Probably not.

Sundays were your official movie night with Eddie. You would take turns choosing films, and it was Eddie’s turn - thank god, because you didn’t have time to stop by Family Video today, after spending the whole day with Robin and Nancy in Hawkins’ brand new shopping mall.

You turned off the car, pulled your keys out of the ignition, and looked at all the bags in the passenger seat, pondering if you should bring your purchases in to show Eddie. Some of them were safe, a few new earrings and bracelets, your favorite band’s new vinyl, and your delicious new fragrance - you were already using it, by the way, having splashed it over your neck the minute you bought it.

But there were also some unsafe purchases, the ones Robin and Nance had convinced you to buy under threats of exposure - sexy lingerie. You tried telling them it would be a waste of money because you had no one to show them off to, since you were sure Eddie was not interested in you the same way you were interested in him. But they told you to buy them and try anyway, or they would tell him the secret about your crush.

You, of course, knew they were all talk, and would never betray you like that, but there was a certain thrill about buying the set, a tiny little voice in the back of your mind that kept your hopes up. Who knows? Maybe he would see your sexy lacy set someday.

Before you lost your courage, you grabbed all the bags and got out of the car, heading to the Munson’s trailer door.

The sun was setting and Wayne’s car was not in the driveway anymore, him having already left for his Sunday night shift at the plant. That man was addicted to taking extra shifts. But that meant Eddie and you would be alone. Just you, him, your new perfume and sexy lacy set.

Sure, you were okay. Not thinking about running straight home at all.

You knocked three times and it took him a few minutes to open the door, your feet anxiously tapping against the porch wood in the meantime. When he showed up, you could see he was freshly out of the shower, clearly having put on any pair of pants and the first clean band tee he could find - it was not properly settled, part of his tummy exposed, and you gulped hard before locking your eyes on his.

“Sweetcheeks,” he called you, making you swoon internally. “Come in, come in, I’m gonna get the popcorn ready.”

You followed him in, left your bags near the couch before meeting him by the kitchen counter. He was searching through the cabinets trying to find the popcorn, his wet hair dripping and dampening his shirt. You rested your head in your fist over the counter, couldn’t help but watch him as he moved frantically all over the place. His high energy levels, so contrasting to your own calm demeanor, felt so… right, somehow.

He stopped suddenly.

Turned around slowly, a pot lid in his hand, and faced you with narrowed eyes.

Sniffed the air, like a goddamn dog.

“Is this you?” he asked. You felt like a deer caught in headlights, afraid your heart eyes were too obvious.

“Is what me?”

“This smell, it’s- Is it you?” he came closer, set the lid down in the counter, went around it and sniffed your hair. “It is you!” pointing an accusing finger at you, eyes wide now, as if you had done something wrong.

Maybe you did. “Do you hate it?” you asked, voice low, clutching your hands together and looking at the bag by the couch where you knew your new perfume was in, the source of all your problems, the demise of your life, the fall of your empire-

“Are you insane, it smells amazing!” he pulled you into a tight hug and buried his face in your neck, pulling in a deep breath.

You got instant goosebumps, your arms immovable from the strength he was hugging you, breath caught in your throat.

“Jesus fucking Christ, sweets, where’d you got this?” his voice was raspy, and right next to your ear, and you gulped hard, trying not to freak out at his closeness.

Yes, Eddie was a touchy guy. You’ve always known, it was an obvious trait of his. From the pats on Steve’s shoulders and back, to the ruffling of Robin’s hair and the hugs he gave Dustin by the end of every Hellfire session; Eddie’s love for his friends was always shown through touch. With you it was no different - he would hug you hello and goodbye, would stretch his arm around you on the couch, would lay in your lap and beg you to run your hands through his hair.

It didn’t mean it was easy for you. It was actually very, very hard. Every. Time.

Because he would always smell so good, a mix of mint shampoo and weed smoke, and his skin callouses would tickle and scratch you just right, and you would fall just a little bit more every time. At some point, one of these days, you would have to stop calling it a crush and name it properly, admit to yourself that you wanted your best friend to be so much more. That you wanted those already intimate touches to grow even more intimate, that you wanted to feel his skin against yours with no other barriers between you, that you wanted to know the taste of his tongue on yours.

You spiraled down into all those thoughts and barely noticed the pressure of his hug softening until he no longer had his nose glued to your neck. But the gentle blow of his breath hitting your cheek set your vision back into focus, and his face was not as nearly as far away as you wished it was. Which, of course, just made it all harder.

“You okay there?” you asked, voice unsteady, eyes trained to keep looking into his, to not give in to your wishes of looking at his lips. Not sure if you were asking him or yourself.

“You. Smell. So. Good. It’s not fair,” was his answer, and unlike yours, his eyes were traveling all over your face.

“I got a new perfume at the mall today.”

“Hm, did you, now?” his smirk looked like trouble, it always did, and this time you couldn’t help but stare at it. “It was a good choice. I don’t think I wanna let you go, from how good you smell,” his fingers tightened around your hips, his eyes closed and he took a deep breath once again. “I want that smell all over the house, sweets. I want it all over my clothes. This shit’s more addicting than nicotine.”

You giggled, “Stop that. I can buy you a bottle too if you like it so much,” your hands toying with the hem of his shirt.

“Fuck no, it wouldn’t smell as good. It’s your skin, what makes the combo,” his eyes still closed, he shortened the distance between you again, his nose running up your cheek, his hand running up your arm, in such sweet caresses it almost made your eyes water.

“Eddie…” you pleaded, the lack of distance between you numbing your senses, you wanted him so bad, and he had no idea what he was doing to you.

“Yeah, baby?” the new nickname, whispered so softly right next to your ear, was the drop of water to break the dam. You gently pushed him back, causing him to open his eyes at last, those huge brown eyes of his that could make you do anything for him.

“I-I’m sorry, I can’t do this. You can’t do this to me, Eddie.”

“What are you talking about?” he tried to come near you again, but you took a step back. Small - you didn’t want to distance yourself from him, but his closeness was making you dizzy. He seemed hurt.

“There’s no way you don’t know what I’m talking about. There’s no way you don’t know the effect you have on me,” trying your best not to let your voice fail, not to let the frustrated tears fall. Eddie seemed genuinely confused, though.

“I have an… effect on you?! As in like, a sexual effect on you?” his eyes were cartoonishly wide, and you almost laughed at the way he was phrasing his words.

“No! Well, yeah, that too, but that’s not the main thing-”

“Excuse me?!”

“Eddie, let me finish!” he mimicked zipping his mouth closed and throwing away the key, but you could see that, despite his fake calm demeanor, his hands were shaking. “I am… in love with you. Okay?” you decided to rip off the band-aid all at once. “I’m in love with you and this that you’re doing, that you do constantly, is not helping me. And it’s not your fault, it really isn’t, because the way you’re so obsessed with physical contact is precisely one of the reasons that made me fall in love with you, but it just makes it harder for me, because I fall harder for you with every single touch.”

You let it all out in basically one breath like you were exorcising it out of you, not that it was a bad thing per se, but it was consuming you and all of your thoughts and driving you slowly insane.

Eddie had zipped his mouth closed, but it was now open in a shocked expression, those huge brown eyes even huger and he was not moving at all. It was honestly kind of scary.

“Look, you don’t have to change your ways, I’ll just distance myself, and you don’t have to say anything, I know you don’t feel the same way so you don’t have to say it back or anything, anyway I’ll just see myself out, I’m so sorry I ruined movie night-” you couldn’t stop the tears anymore as you headed to your bags by the cough, to get the fucking perfume that triggered all of this mess in the first place, you were kidding about your falling empire, but losing Eddie because of your stupid, unrequited feelings really felt like a tragic fucking story.

“NO!” he grabbed you by the arm when you passed through him on your way to the door, him finally snapping back into reality. “What, no, what are you talking about, I don’t feel the same? Fucking god up in the fucking sky, baby, how can you be so oblivious?”

You were the one shocked this time, as he took your bags from your fingers and delicately set them back on the floor beside your feet, hands cupping your face, touching your foreheads together.

“I’m entirely, unreservedly, far gone, topsy-turvy, head over heels, à corps perdu in love with you. How do you not see it?” As he said it, you saw it. In the way his eyes gleamed towards you, the way his cheeks turned pink, the way he was drawing circles with his thumbs against your skin - so softly, as if he was afraid he’d break you like porcelain.

Of all the times he’d hug you hello and goodbye, just a tidbit longer than he would hug everyone else. Of all the times he’d stretch his arm around you on the couch, touch your shoulder with just the tip of his fingers, thread them at the base of your neck in such a gentle caress you could almost not feel it. Of all the times he’d lay in your lap and beg you to run your hands through his hair, the hair he’d spend products and hours to make look like it was effortlessly styled in that rockstar wavy aura, the hair he wouldn’t let anyone else touch.

You were as blind as a mole. That made you laugh.

“I’m gonna say it right the fuck back, baby. I love you too,” he said it right back, before his lips found yours, the scent of your new perfume building up your new empire, not an empire, a home for him right in the center of your heart.

And maybe, just maybe, he’d see your sexy lacy lingerie set sooner rather than later.

---

Taglist: @totallynotkaibiased @szartes

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fic #eddie munson fluff #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fic #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x y/n #lui writes

[spacebarbarianweird]

The Rogue and The Barbarian

Summary: Six months after the game, Astarions asks Tiriel why she's stayed with him.

Pairing: Astarion x OC (Tiriel)

Tags: fluff, hurt/comfort, post-game, patch 5 epilogue, named Tav, established relationship, f!tav

Read on AO3

Masterlist

Headcanons

This line from the epilogue really got me so I decided to write the confession scene featuring my beloved OC Tav named Tiriel.

One night he tells you that these six months of happy memories are the counterweight to two hundred years of misery.

Thanks @satanicspinosaurus for the amazing work as a beta-reader. Your comments and suggestions were super helpful.

Tiriel is a half-elf Barbarian with Chaotic Good allignment. More about her here

Steam rises over a small pond at the back of the cave, and it almost looks as good as a hot bath in the inn. The warm spring nicely heats the air, contrasting to the cold nights Astarion and Tiriel have faced for the last few months. 

Six months, to be precise.

Astarion cautiously approaches the pond. The murky surface can’t reflect anyone, and the vampire touches the water. 

"Go on, I'll join you!" Tiriel says, and her voice echoes in the cave.

"Don't make me wait too long, then," he answers.

Six months ago, the tadpole which allowed him to walk in the sun dissapeared. Six months ago, the insane adventure he had found himself in was over. Six months ago, he murdered the monster who had made him a vampire. 

Six months ago, he became free. 

Astarion undresses, laying his clothes beside the pool. The clothes are dirty with blood, and so is he.

Being naked feels weird and uneasy. The sense of vulnerability returns as he sits at the pond's edge, submerging his legs in warm water. 

It would be naïve to believe his demons and darkness would disappear after the monster's death. That the gnawing void in his chest would somehow miraculously heal in one day. His darkness lingers in his mind daily, devouring thoughts and sanity. The only thing he can do is fight. 

Astarion takes a piece of cloth and starts washing dirt off his skin. If only it was possible to wash away all the non-consensual touches he'd endured over years. To forget, to peel it off. 

If only…

A soft thump takes Astarion out of his thoughts, and he sees a pile of clothes getting bigger – adding Tiriel's trousers and shirt under her armor. 

Tiriel stays at the edge beside him for a heartbeat and then jumps into the water, splashing Astarion with a warm wave. 

"Finally!" the half-elf says, returning to the surface and sitting at the pond's edge. 

Astarion can't take his eyes away from Tiriel. Hair, red as fire. Her right eye is greyish blue, like the autumn sky. The other used to be green as spring before the hag had transformed it. 

Freckles dance all over her body, especially plenty on her back. Half-elven ears with a thin scar on one of them. Breasts, small and perky. A bigger bottom. "Elven tits but human butt!" she once told him after receiving yet another playful slap from him. Hands so elegant and feminine, elven-like. Legs more human-like, thick, and strong. 

She is stuck between two worlds and takes the best from both. 

Tiriel the Barbarian is a woman of no kin and no home. 

"Need help?" she asks.

"I am pretty capable of washing myself."

"I know, but do you need help?"

"Yes, please."

Tyrael smiles and kneels behind him with a piece of rag.

"Tell me if it hurts".

He nods. Somehow, being both naked doesn't have anything sexual. It is something else, some new level of intimacy. Tiriel lovingly washes his body, and her touches are gentle and caring. Occasionally, she plants a kiss, and a shiver goes down his spine.

Astarion relaxes, closing his eyes like a content cat. His world reduces to the sound of dripping water and Tiriel's humming.

The song sounds unfamiliar. Sometimes, Astarion thinks he's already heard all the songs and ballads Tiriel knows. Still, every other evening, she chooses another. Sometimes, he thinks she composes them, but she laughs at the suggestion.

Astarion, my heart, do I look like a bard to you? It's just how humans tell their stories.

Astarion concentrates on Tiriel's voice and her gentle caress. She starts washing his hair, massaging the scalp with long, stiff fingers.

"I never heard this song."

“It’s a ballad of half-elves. A human woman falls in love with an elf. She offers him gifts – a heavy sword made of iron, sleeping potions to make him dream, a fur cape to warm him in the coldest winter, a stallion fast as the wind. And he just mocks her. Because human lives are short and their ways are animalistic. But it seems the mocking is dishonest, since half-elves are born anyway."

Astarion catches her arm and presses lips against Tiriel's wrist. She giggles and nuzzles his neck.

"Which would you take if someone offered you such gifts?"

"Difficult choice," Astarion chuckles. "I don't think I could pick up the sword; horses fear me. The cape sounds nice."

"The cape enchanted with fire magic - that has its own warmth," Tiriel sings.

"Then definitely the cape."

She laughs. "I would have taken the sword."

"Who would ever doubt that, my ferocious love?"

Tiriel hugs Astarion from behind, placing her cheek on the upper part of his scars. Her grip is tight, as if she tries not to let him fall. 

Astarion places a palm over her hands. Tiriel is so warm. He doesn't want to let her go. If, a mere year ago, someone told him that this would be his life very soon enough-he would bitterly laugh at their faces.

Freedom? A monster dying a painful death? Tiriel? Those things were unreal. 

Tiriel finally lets him go and returns to washing herself. 

"Tiriel"

She looks up at him. Her eyes were so close he could see the green iris behind the foggy hag eye.

"What is it?"

"Why do you stay?"

She pulls back a bit.

"What do you mean?"

"I – I don't understand why you are with me. You could choose any man but chose me. Why?"

Tiriel is silent and Astarion fears he has hurt her. There is an instinct to apologize, to beg for forgiveness. He shouldn’t have asked. 

She sighs. "Apart from the fact you are the most beautiful and handsome man I ever met in my life?"

"Six months ago, I would have thought that was enough."

Tiriel takes his hand. "Look at me, please." 

Her smile shines like the summer sun. "You want to know why I am with you? Because you sometimes think that I am with you either for pity or just because of your looks?"

He nods. 

"I love you for being brave. For being strong. All these decades of torments and you preserved yourself. You survived where madness was the only choice. You never allowed to break yourself. What can be more heroic? Every day you fight the darkness in your soul – and win. It is an invisible fight but, gods, it's more formidable than fighting dragons and monsters. I can see it. I see it daily, and I admire you for that. Because accepting darkness is easy."

She touches a loose strand of silver hair and kisses his cheek. "I love you for being so smart and good with words. I can't even read – and you know so many things I didn't even know existed! You open a new world for me, every day!"

"You know I can teach you how to read?"

"My eyes hurt when these letters jump on the page."

"Unless the book is enchanted, they are not supposed to."

Tiriel cups his cheek and plants a kiss on his forehead.

"You care about me. You protect me. No one ever did! I am this wild warrior girl who can kill a giant with one swift of her sword. Who can be beaten to death and then stands up with bones broken and wounds bleeding and shrugs it all away. No matter how in pain I was, no one ever asked me how I felt. No one cared. Do you know why people like me drink ale all the time, especially celebrating victories? Because we're in pain. But we can't show it, it's a weakness. And we can't be weak."

Tiriel suddenly turns her eyes away, and Astarion sees a glimpse of pain as if she re-lives those moments. He pictures a wounded woman who drinks herself to numbness while people cheer her for slaying a monster. Then a bleeding half-elf curled up in the tent, hollow and miserable. 

"But you – you care. When I don't rage anymore, when I feel the pain and exhaustion again, I don't have to think how to get back to camp and make sure my companions don't steal my part of the loot. I can just fall into your arms and let you take care of the rest. Washing me, helping to undress. You help me with my flesh wounds and broken bones. You wait till I recover – and don't let me risk myself."

"It would be cruel to let you return to the fight with internal bleeding."

"Aastarion, that's the point. I've never had anyone who would do that to me. I never knew I could sleep so worriless. My heart, you are safety. You are protection. You let me hide behind your back. No one ever did. Because if someone with a two-handed sword joins your party, she is supposed to protect you. Sometimes I would vomit blood after the fight and people would surround a delicate looking maiden-sorceress who was just shocked by seeing so much blood and gore. I was always the last one to get the potion or healing. I am Tiriel the Barbarian, after all. No one would check up on me, no one would look after me. But you – you do that. Astarion, you can't even apprehend how much love there is inside you. And how much I need it."

Astarion finally makes himself move and pulls Tiriel closer. She wraps her hands around his neck. 

"You remind me of a fairytale I loved as a girl. When I was beaten by my mother and when my stepfather called me a "fairy bastard," I would run to the village healer and listen to his wife telling fairy tales. There was one which always caught my attention.”

"A long time ago there was a warrior woman whose ancestors were giants. She was fierce and strong. One day she got a mission – to kill a monster. She realized the monster was indeed an enchanted prince. She broke his chains and they married. I always pictured this prince as an elf in my head. Like, he was described as someone very beautiful. It couldn't be a human! Human males are ugly. Or maybe it was my own desperate hope my elven father would come back and take me with him".

"And what is more important, you understand me. You laugh at my stupid jokes. You know how to make me feel better. I love talking to you. I never thought I would find someone I would be so comfortable with. Yes, I fell for your looks. For your sweet words. You made me feel wanted, desired. Everything I thought I wasn't. I knew you were manipulating me; it was easy to understand. But I felt good when you dragged me to the woods. I am going to live for fifteen or twenty decades more and I want to live these years with you. I don't want and don't need anyone else." 

Astarion stares at Tiriel as if seeing her for the first time. As if they hadn't shared a bed for half a year. It was like she was talking about someone else. Someone he doesn't even know. How come… how come he has her? What a weird coincidence made them meet? Maybe some god was responsible after all. Heard his prayers and made that unknown elf hook up with a married human woman thirty-six years ago. 

A married human woman who hated the little girl she gave birth to. Who abused Tiriel and beat her for her mere existence. 

"My stepfather once lusted for me and he suppressed his desires with violence. He snatched a knife and cut my left ear off. The healer stitched it back but I have a scar left."

The girl grew up. Survived. Made her way to Baldur's Gate.

Tiriel, with her absolute lack of self-control or respect for anyone, solved most of the problems threatening to break people's bones.

"He told you "No!", I will smash your head against the wall if you don't leave him alone, you drow bitch!"

His very own knight in shining armor. Well, barbarian rags rather than actual armor, but Astarion is also far from an innocent prince. 

Tiriel puts her head on his chest as if trying to hear his undead heart. They both don't move, holding each other in silence. Astarion wants to say a thousand words. How much he loves her. How she makes his undead heart ache. How he adores her – with her dark humor, easygoing nature, and bravery.

But he can't. The words are stuck in his throat; meanwhile, Tiriel keeps humming. A song of the north, of the wilderness. There is wind and cold, battles and blood. The smell of burning wood. The rage. The sorrow. And dragons. 

Tiriel, the unwanted daughter of the barbarian kin, holds Astarion, and he drowns in her arms. Safety, protection, freedom, love. Such simple concepts and yet so unknown.

He doesn't want to let her go. He won't let her go unless she wants.

"Ok I am freezing and want to sleep. I will be in the tent," She pulls away, shivering. "How do you say "my love" in Sylvan?"

"Salen Aster," Astarion answers, and the words sound like a spell.

"Then see you later, Salen Aester."

He chuckles – Tiriel pronounces the words clumsily with a terrible Common accent. 

"Have a good rest, my love."

Being alone is uncomfortable. So he quickly puts on clean clothes, leaving the dirty pile for the latter, and returns to the small camp they had put up. Tiriel is already under the fur blanket but knows she hasn't fallen asleep yet. She never goes to sleep without him. So while she rests, Astarion stays beside guarding her or meditating himself.

Astarion crawls beside her, and she immediately wraps herself around him, placing her redhead on his chest, sharing body warmth.

Astarion concentrates on the heartbeat. He can feel blood streaming around her body. Her short breaths. Tiriel is so alive it's enough for two of them. 

"Tiriel"

"Hm?" she looks up at him, her eyes already sleepy.

"These six months we've been together are the counterweight to two hundred years of misery I endured. My worst memory lasted longer than I know you but somehow… somehow it holds the same gravity as those years of darkness. I don't even know how this is possible."

She smiles and caresses his cheek.

"Rage is louder than tears, fire is brighter than shadows. Rags are cheap but fur is paid with gold."

It seems like she wants to say something else, but she falls asleep in his arms. Astarion looks at her with adoration, trying to memorize every small detail of her face.

"Salen Aester", he whispers in her ear. 

--

Tag List

@tragedybunny @caitlincat-95 @tallymonster @astarionsbeloved @lumienyx @fayeriess @elora-the-slutty-songstress @veillsar @astarion-imagine-archive @micropoe10 @starlight-ipomoea @herstxrgirl @theearthsfinalconfession @ashrio20 @not-so-lost-after-all @vixstarria @wintersire @marcynomercy

#astarion #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 astarion #astarion romance #bg3 #astarion bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #astarion x tav #named tav #oc tav tyrael #baldur's gate tav #baldur's gate iii #baldur's gate epilogue #astarion established relationship #barbarian tav #half elf tav #hurt/comfort #tiriel of the sunset mountains #tiriel the barbarian #astarion x tiriel #oc tav: tiriel

[aroaceweirdos101]

Since everyone's been showing off their Hello Puppets! OCs lately, I might aswell show mine!

"Nick's friendly feline! Angel is a sassy but curious cat, mostly seen in Nick's arts studio. Ironically she's bestfriends with Riley's good boy, Rosco."

In the show:

She was a stray kitten Nick found in an alleyway near his local supermarket, he ended up adopting the feline when she suddenly climbed onto his leg and wouldnt let go.

Outside of the show:

She was one of Jake's 2 pet cats, one day he brought them to work after a vet visit because he couldnt find a cat sitter(and also because Owen was very strict with the work schedule). Somehow she escaped her carrier and endep up walking onto the set, while they were filming! Luckily, Jake was able to improvise the whole scene, saving the crew alot of time. The feline even played along, acting as if she was always planned to be there.

Owen was not happy with the sudden intervention, but after hearing some feedback from the fans, he decided to let the incident slide and eventually added Angel to the show.

Relationship with the Handeemen(Show counterparts):

- Rosco: As said before, she is best friends with the good boi! They're always seen playing or even cuddling with eachother.

The writing team thought it would be pretty ironic for the main cat and dog of the show to not act like cats and dogs(its also so they contrast their owners), another reason was because she was the only cat who wasnt afraid of the Rosco suit, infact, she was fond of it.

- Nick: She is very fond of him(considering he adopted her and all), however she can get abit annoyed at his dramaticness(on some episodes she's his meow of reason).

Nick sees her as his sassy daughter, he likes to dress her up and put her on mini fashion shows(Angel doesnt mind, as long as she gets a treat later). He also taught her how to paw paint ever since she had showned an interest in it(with pet safe paint of course).

- Riley: She's pretty neutral with the scientist, tho she does dislike the loud fights she and Nick would cause. Sometimes, both her and Rosco would try to break them up, and in some cases, they would succeed(only for them to start arguing again a few minutes later).

The feeling is mostly mutual, with Riley having a slight dislike towards the feline. The reason being how Angel(like every other cat), would purposely knock over random stuff off of high places, which annoys the scientist greatly.

This behavior led to a small(and thankfully harmless) explosion to happen, which also led to the feline getting banned from the Ruckus Lab™

- Daisy: While she can get abit uncomfortable with the baker's constant smothering, she enjoys spending time with her(mostly because she knows Daisy wont hesitate to give her free treats).

Daisy absolutely adores Angel and would often make homemade treats for her(the feline reminds her alot of an old family cat Daisy used to have when she was still living in the country side), however she does wish that Angel would shed less she would also knit sweaters for her and help make cat clothes for Nick's mini fashion show.

- Mortimer: Angel is pretty friendly with the old man, she's usually seen sitting on his lap while he's drinking tea or reading a book(sometimes he'll even read one to her).

Its the same with Mortimer, he considers the feline as a great practice audience for his magic shows and storytelling.

More Info about her:

- The B stands for Beatrice(which was named after Nick's dead mother).

- Her real name is actually Cookie(Owen thought it wasn't a name Nick would pick, so he changed it to Angel), her brother's name was Cream(he was a a turkish van cat with heterochromia).

- Sometimes her brother would make a cameo in the show as a backrgound character, tho they couldnt make him Nick's second cat. Mostly because, unlike his sister, Cream was terrified of the puppets(especially Mortimer).

Feel free to ask some questions about her!

#hello puppets #hello puppets midnightshow #hello puppets midnight show #hello puppets oc #angel b. whiskers #this is arz btw #man has this been in the drafts for a LONG time #arz's art #oc art #my art

[tkwrites]

Life is royally kicking my ass rn 🙃 any chance you are able to bless us with more initial or bts thoughts for some of your works?

I can list a couple to save you from having to figure out which ones you've already previously shared but don't feel you have to do all of them. Just mentioning a few to see if any spark something to you 🥰

Second nature, please, elimination, let the cleaners deal with it, before I meet your parents, first fight, love me gently, the second time is better, worth the wait, our heroes meet

Okay I think I just dead ass named all the snapshots you've not previously shared about 😂 I just can't pick favourites 😘

Hope you are doing well and can't wait to read whatever goodness you are currenly working on 🩷🩷

Hi Lovely, thank you for this sweet message!

I'm sorry life is so hard right now, and I'm so glad my little au can be an escape for you.

I'm so flattered that you want any behind the scenes tidbits at my fics, but to not have favorites? I'm blushing. ☺️

I'm doing well. Work is still a little nuts - I missed a meeting with a client today because I was training a new employee and lost track of time. 😬 So that's fun.

I've put the bts notes down below so I don't take over your feed.

[ ] Second Nature

Second Nature started with the vision of Quinn putting Sarah's bra back on. Specifically the idea of him threading the strap back on her shoulder. I knew Sarah had a tattoo on her rib cage and when I designed it in my head, I just had this vision of her needing him to see it, but not quite willing to bare all.

I wanted Quinn to be respectful and sweet about it - freaking out a little before realizing he could fix the issue at hand (i.e. wanting to comfort her, but her bra is undone) and doing so.

[ ] Please

I'm pretty sure the inspiration for this was an ovulation dream about Quinn begging. I was certainly ovulating when I started writing it, which is why it's a little more smutty than usual.

[ ] Elimination

This one started because Quinn looks so sad and distraught sometimes that I just want to hug him and remind him hockey isn't his whole life. I think in real life this would actually be pretty rude and dismissive, so I'm glad Sarah does it better.

[ ] Let the cleaners deal with it

This was totally inspired by the ask that came in about this idea. When I read the ask, I could vividly see Quinn waking up to Sarah trying to get blood out of the sheets with ice and paper towels and him, in his sleepy mind going, what the hell is going on?

[ ] Before I Meet Your Parents

This one was born from trying to write Sarah Meets the Parents (which finally started coming together when I wrote what is now the opening line of that fic). I kept getting so stuck on the idea that Sarah would have a hard time with the idea of meeting Quinns parents, and had to write it out. This idea that she doesn't know what she's feeling is something I experience quite often.

I was really, really nervous about including the sex scene in this one. I think it really flows when I read it back now, but at the time, I worried it might read like I was adding it in just for the sake of having smut, which wasn't true, but I worried.

[ ] First Fight

When I was writing Better, it felt a little incomplete. Not that the story was, but Quinn and Sarah's relationship felt a little incomplete somehow, and the angst of this fulfilled that, giving them a test they could pass.

I also wanted to explore more about how his past relationship messed with Quinn, which spurred from this line in Second Nature:

It had taken months to get that comfortable with his last girlfriend, June. She hadn’t been as into him as he’d been into her (and hadn't been afraid to wield that fact like a sword), so that had been most of the problem.

It morphed into wanting to show the contrast of a fight with June against a fight with Sarah. That they're very, very different because Sarah is very different than anyone he's previously dated.

[ ] Love Me Gently

This was really selfish on my part. I'm physically quite sensitive (well, I'm quite sensitive in all areas of my life, let's get real), and so really, Quinn in this is how I'd want my ideal partner to react.

I really wanted Sarah to express open, unashamed communication about her needs. It's part of that 'fuck that' attitude she's had since losing her mom. Like, I don't have time to suffer through you figuring out what I like when I could just tell you.

[ ] The Second Time is Better

This one actually started because of a blip from season 7 of Love Island UK. In it, one of the contestants and his partner have sex for the first time. After, he tells his friends something like, "not gonna lie, it was two strokes and done." And that just spurred off this whole thought process for me about how the first time with someone new usually isn't some mind blowing experience. You're still getting used to your new partner and it's highly likely it's not going to be phenomenal. I really liked that idea of Quinn being embarrassed and Sarah reassuring him she didn't expect all that much just by virtue of it being their first time. In many ways, this one kind of wrote itself. It flowed out in like 3 days or something.

[ ] Worth The Wait

Worth the wait started with the idea of them watching Star Wars since they bonded over it in Out Heroes Meet, but I needed it to be more than just a movie, so I put them in a cinema pub and let it go from there.

Originally, this fic idea didn't have the whole scene with Sarah watching hockey for the first time, but, I felt like we didn't know her well enough and I needed a transition from Quinn letting her know he was leaving to when she texts him about the movie. Once I started, it just kind of started flowing. Eunice is so wild in this fic, but I kind of love that about her.

[ ] Our Heroes Meet

This was totally based on the idea of fate. I've always loved the ocean and went to the aquarium on my vacation to Vancouver last summer, so it felt like a good starting place. I wanted Sarah to be really smart and educated, and it occurred to me that she could work at the aquarium and study something with the ocean. Then, I just had to get Quinn there with her. And what better way for lovers to meet-cute than because of a rain storm?

#quinn & sarah snapshots #asks #answered

[the-heart-of-a-monster]

I'm still midnight-the-ultima, i just changed my blog name

OKAY SO THERE IS SO MUCH I WANNA DISCUSS ABOUT THESE LAST FEW PAGES. Since I know how to reblog (And I will be reblogging a ton of ur stuff) properly now, I was planning on talking about it via that, but you may not see it so I chose to do an ask instead.

---

First up: The contrast!

There is a clear distinction between the themes of what's currently going on with Shadow and Sonic compared to Amy and Rouge. While the boys are sitting down and drinking some soup with a lovely village full of wonderful people, the girls are stuck wondering what's going on with their friend. They have to deal with a group of agents trying to take their buddy away from them, something they obviously don't want! Meanwhile, the guys are just having the time of their lives with each other! (Well not really, but this is probably the best night Sonic's had in a while!)

The way these stories are being told, back to-back within the same issue, is just such a great writing technique! The contrast is stunningly good!

It- I don't really know what else to say about it. So... MOVING ON I GUESS!

Next: People being mean to Omega

I really like Omega just because he's fun and shares my sense of humor, so seeing him get confiscated like this hurts me. (But in a good way)

uhm

uh

thats it

Numero Tres: wtf is even going on with this robot like huh?????

Aight I honestly have no clue, but I'll try and piece it together as I go. Bare with me.

So, the first sign of Omega seemingly getting "Hacked" was all the way back in issue 6, when the girls went with Omega to scout for any dangerous Dark Gaia monsters. This was when Amy discovered they could be peaceful creatures if given the chance to be. Omega charged in though, and from then on it just gets even more interesting!

As shown in the third panel of page 16, Omega's bullets and bombs don't do anything to harm the monsters. Poor guy is absolutely useless against them. This is because someone needs Dark Gaia energy within them to do any damage to them and thus absorb their energy. This is, similar to this issue, a stark contrast to Sonic earlier on in that same issue. Sonic was able to kill a group of giant monsters with ease, and even started eating their corpses when he was done absorbing their energy. (Maybe I'll get to that in a reblog who knows) But this bit is about Omega so we'll mostly forget about Sonic for now-

The point when Omega gets hacked may take place in the first panel of the very next page, or in the fourth panel of page 16. Either way, I think I know how exactly he got hacked.

The Gaia Monsters could sense that Omega was a robot, and chose to absorb themselves into him by force. Since these creatures work best with organic beings, which I'm pretty sure they know, this action screwed up Omega's internal workings and made him self-destruct. His body, while up in flames, was still somehow intact, so the Gaia monsters were still okay within his body. Meaning that once Rouge and Amy fix him up, he's still messed up.

Also, something I noticed about Omega when he imploded, was within the explosion itself. We see the eyes of the Dark Gaia monsters surrounding Omega while they're all grabbing him as he explodes. If this isn't possession foreshadowing or a sign that he isn't himself anymore, then idk what is.

This scenario perfectly ties into his character, though! As an Eggman robot with free will, Omega has a mind of his own. He refuses to let anyone control him, not even his own friends, which is a very good mentality for a war machine! When he goes along with Rouge and Amy, his first thought when seeing the creatures is to kill them all and show no mercy! (He loves violence, making him one of my fave characters instantly) Of course, when he begins losing his autonomy to the very same creatures he wishes to destroy, Omega would rather sacrifice everything about himself, even his own body, just to be rid of them. He may not have a brain, but Omega still wants all these monsters out of his head! And if destroying himself will do the trick, (Even if it doesn't) then he will gladly take that risk, as long as he still has his free will intact.

What could this mean for Omega moving forward? Uhm... idk, he loses his personality? He goes apeshit?? Is he gonna remain peaceful, like how the Gaia monsters were with Amy before Omega attacked?? I really don't know, as the author-

Also I wanna mention that I forgot about Omega's obvious hatred and negativity that the Gaia Monsters were able to feed off of, like what Amy mentioned. Whoops! I guess that explains how they managed to get inside his head.

So about him getting confiscated and being called an 'It," really depends on his behavior after this. If he's still on their side, I don't see a point to it. If he's not, then get him tf outta here ig

i may agree with Amy about calling Omega a person, because as stated before he does have his own free will and autonomy, but I do love the added touch of the agents arguing that he's literally just a malfunctioning war machine and nothing else. Really shows how on the fence we are about G.U.N. being a force of good or not.

OKAY I KNOW THIS IS REALLY SUPER LONG BUT THERE IS ONE MORE THING I WANNA MENTION BECAUSE IT HAS TO DO WITH BOTH SONIC AND OMEGA HERE-

RIGHT! So since my theory is that Omega has basically a buncha dead Gaia monsters swimming around inside his head, I literally just realized that it has to do with the whole theme of this book. Some people may not notice it because I sure didn't for a very long time, but I recognize the theme as "Having and keeping your autonomy, and accepting yourself as a person." We see this in every time Sonic doubts his own worth and autonomy, we see it whenever someone steps up to him and goes "No u wrong," and we see it in Omega as a character.

Compared to Sonic, Omega is completely confident in himself and he's well past his character development arc in terms of his autonomy. Omega has been reminded time and time again that he isn't just a robot, but a friend and an adversary. While he may be fine with being just a tool of destruction since that's basically all he wants in life, he is very much aware that he also has a soul somewhere inside of himself, and that he isn't a heartless monster. He has friends, whether he likes it or not, and is very confident in who he is.

Sonic is the exact opposite right now, unsure of himself and questioning how far he'd go during a fight. He wants to keep himself intact, wants to be this selfless, brave hero that everyone knows him to be. However, in this dream to keep being the person everyone thinks he is, Sonic is losing his sense of self and autonomy. He has been slowly going through more and more character development as time goes on and is carefully putting himself back together, bit by bit, but he still has yet to fully accept himself for the hero he truly is. Sonic still sees himself as a monster, something to be ashamed and afraid of, and can't yet tell which half of him is real and which one is fake. He hides all his insecurities away, tucking them into a tiny box and not letting them see the light of day.

The poor little guy is afraid, while Omega is confident. It's a complete contrast, like I mentioned before, and it's great storytelling!

okokokokokok that's finally it kaythxbye-

I AM LOOKING

im so excited for you to see where this is going

i also want to thank you so much for those essays i appreciate them sooo much it makes me sooo happy to read through them

#fan lore #clover-the-awesomest #long post #text heavy

[epithet-beloved]

Hi I'm shimmying in here awkwardly but can we have some ideas for Jericho x Dixon for the 3 starving jerixon fans please

MEETING HALFWAY

synopsis… Dixon and Jericho both need romance advice, and the only people they can ask are their cellmates, who are coincidentally both terrible at it.

ft. Jericho Felocity, Dixon Roughhouse, Ramsey Murdoch, California Slim, Alcatraz

tags… anime campaign, epithet erased spoilers, Slim and Ramsey give awful romantic advice, pre-relationship, mutual pining, straight up painful pining they are both so oblivious, Dixon sorta has a nervous breakdown

word count… 1284

a/n… this is my first time writing Dixon I hope the fandom approves of me ✧ 🦄

“Well, at least it’s not Ramsey.”

Was the first thing California Slim said when Jericho told him he had feelings for Dixon.

“Yeah, but what do I say to him?” Jericho was frantically running on his treadmill to blow off some steam, a clear nervous energy about him. In clear contrast to his normal, everyday frantic running on his treadmill. “I’m not really that great at talking. You think he even notices me at all?”

“Oh, don’t listen to Slim, Jeri!” Alcatraz was much more enthusiastic about this matter than the murderer he was attached to, and saw fit to float next to Jericho trying to calm his nerves. “Dixon seems like he’s got a lot to say himself, I’m sure he just appreciates you being a good listener!”

“Yeah,” Slim scoffed, “a lotta crazy bullshit to say.”

The ghost turned to glare at his companion, but with no face, the look of disappointment on his face was left entirely to the imagination.

Jericho, lost in thought about his current dilemma, seemed utterly oblivious to the argument going on behind him. “Yeah, maybe it’s better if I just let him talk. I don’t want him to think I’m weird or anything.” Almost as if to demonstrate his point, the man’s body phased partially through the front of his treadmill whilst he continued to ‘run’ in place as if nothing were wrong.

“Jericho, everyone in this place is goddamn weird. And Dixon’s a nut — guys like him can’t afford to be picky about their company.” Slim just watched his cellmate for a few seconds, then sighed and massaged his temples. Usually, Jericho was an alright guy to bunk with, but sometimes he could be a real headache……. “You sure a relationship in prison could even work? You guys only see each other during lunch time.”

“Don’t listen to him,” Alcatraz quickly said, as he did after pretty much everything Slim told people. “I’m sure you two will find a way! You’re such creative souls!”

“That’s sure a way to put it…..” The actual murderer eventually stood up, finally deciding to do something about his poor friend’s predicament. “C’mon, man, you got yourself all outta sorts.” Thinking it would help somehow, he gave Jericho a hearty slap on the back to try and force him out of the treadmill, but this only created a bigger problem.

“Oh, that’s not good!”

“No fucking shit, Sherlockatraz!” The two unfortunate souls were currently faced with their friend lodged halfway through the cell wall, legs dangling in a janky position. Slim first pressed his ear to the wall, trying to make out if the speed runner was suffocating to death like he did last time. “You breathing in there, dumbass?!”

“Oh,” came Jericho’s voice from the other cell. “Hi Dixon!”

California Slim turned to the ghost with a tired expression. “Never mind. It’s worse than we thought.”

Not like things were going much better in the cell next door before that, anyway.

✧ ✧

“I dunno, I just, I just—“ Dixon was pacing back and forth like the madman Ramsey knew that he was. “I feel like he’s the only one who gets me, but like, what— what if he doesn’t get me? What if he’s an alien? Or a spy? Or— or an alien spy?!”

“Dixon,” started Ramsey, who was laying on his bed like a teenage girl while drawing another commission of a certain inmate’s fursona. “He avoids clipping to the front of the lunch line every day just so he can stand next to you. I’m pretty sure he likes you.”

“But what if he’s just like that with— with everyone?!” From the corner of his eye, Ramsey saw Dixon hunched over with his hands in his hair. If he got any more nervous, he was pretty sure the guy would start pulling his hair out.

“You’re overthinking it.”

“And why shouldn’t I overthink it, man?!” In the split second that Ramsey looked away, Dixon had rushed over to his bunk and was now aggressively shaking the poor rat man by his shoulders. “I finally have the first good chance with a guy in years, he doesn’t treat me li-like I’m crazy, and I could— I could just fuck it all up! ‘Cause crazy fuckin’ Dixon fucks everything up!”

“Hey, hey, relax…..” Worried for his cellmate, Ramsey would slowly raise his hands and place them on the bespectacled man’s shoulders. “None of us ever said that about ya.”

“Slim tells me I’m a nut.”

“Slim’s a dick and he does not speak for us.” Ramsey took a pause to sit up properly, not slouching as he gave his friend a serious look. “Listen, Dixon. My man. If you’re crazy, then so is everyone else in this damn place. And Jericho is the sweetest guy I know, there’s no way in hell he isn’t happy to listen to you. I’m happy to listen to you. So even if stuff doesn’t work out, look at me.”

Dixon, who had stopped shaking, flickered his eyes up from the floor to Ramsey’s face.

“You’ll always have me. We’re buds! I mean it.”

There was a long pause where neither man said anything, and the conspiracy theorist’s eyes resumed darting around the room at high speed. Always thinking, considering, analyzing. Perhaps a bit too much sometimes.

“Y-yeah,” he’d eventually stutter out from between clenched teeth. Finally noticing how tightly he’d been holding Ramsey, he pulled back like he’d just touched a hot stove. “Sorry….” He held one of his wrists and watched his own hand as he flexed it lightly. “Guess I’m just used to all the sorts of stuff….stuff my family—“

A loud crash and the room shaking made both men yelp, interrupting whatever was about to be said in favor of whipping their heads around to the first and last person Dixon was hoping to see.

“Oh, hi Dixon!” An awkward, smiling Jericho was what awaited them, waving with one hand while the other dangled uselessly. Only his upper half graced the room with its presence, the other presumably stuck in his own cell.

“Oh,” Dixon mirrored, suddenly laughing to fill the silence. “Hey! Need, uh…..need some help there?” Shit, he was repeating his words again. Was he weirding him out?

“Nah, I’m alright for now.” Wait, was he worrying him? Now Jericho almost felt bad for showing up. “Just, uh….haven’t talked to you in a while. How’s it been?”

“FINE! I mean uh. Fine!” Dixon lied. “Was just talking…..talking about……”. The man made the mistake of glancing at Ramsey for guidance, who was of no help and instead chose to gawk at Dixon helplessly. “…..alien spies!”

With a conversation hook, Jericho now felt less nervous. He liked it when Dixon talked — it was like the only side quest dialogue in the world he wouldn’t skip. “Wow, I love aliens! Like in Metroid!”

Dixon pointed at Jericho and nodded rapidly, too nervous to do anything but blindly agree and go off of what the other man was saying. “YES, it is exactly like Metroid! You are SO right! Y-you know, it’s kinda like how— how jellyfish are ancient alien parasites that’ll create the zombie uprising!”

“Really? I’d love to be a zombie, because then I’d be the fastest one!”

✧ ✧

“You know, they really are just painful to listen to.”

“Slim, be nice!” Alcatraz chastised. “I for one am glad that they’re bonding! You should stand to be more like them!”

“Mmm, no thanks.” The murderer peeled himself off of the wall and skulked back to his bed. “I’m just glad I’ll get to say I called it when they start dating in a few weeks.”

#🦄's writings #𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 request ! #anime campaign #anime campaign imagines #epithet erased spoilers #jericho felocity #dixon roughhouse #Jericho Felocity x Dixon Roughhouse #jericho Felocity imagines #dixon roughhouse imagines

[servenas-inner-fangirl]

Watching Black Sails 3x2

Fighting hard against my urge to keep watching Shameless instead. I know S3 will be... difficult emotionally, and I'm not ready. But this time I'm gonna stay strong (I cannot have any more unfinished shows on my list, by god).

This show is so much more relaxing to watch with subtitles, honestly.

I love ships, but seeing these English warships sure makes me nervous. Also I don't like what Eleanor is doing here, but I still love watching her do it.

So I expected the men to spend their gold on drinks and whores, same as Flint, but what do you mean, you just lost it??

Aww, Max and Jack both looking out for Anne's future. I know they're not really in a poly relationship anymore (although, aren't Anne and Jack still life partners in a way?), but they are way healthier than the setting of this show would have you expect.

"Got to do my part somehow." Silver, is that really you??

"Does that mean we're married?" Awww.

Honestly, seeing Silver's relationship with the rest of the crew develop is delightful, but also kind of scary from his perspective. He never wanted to be a pirate and here he is, relying on these people.

Flint, will you TAKE the fucking canvas in??

I've read books about having to take the sails in in a storm, but seeing it is much scarier.

Oh nice, we're fleshing out Eleanor's timeline. Also tea!

It's really interesting to hear how Eleanor got to where she was at the beginning of season 1.

Okay, Charlestown burning wasn't really Vane's fault. Also I think Flint is way beyond the point where he can be reasoned with (but she might not know that). But yeah, Vane doesn't know when to give up, I'll give her that. So revenge or good counsel? Maybe a little bit of both. Either way, Eleanor for sure hasn't lost sight of her best interests.

Vane working out his frustrations next to the slaves. And here comes another part of his past to rattle him. He looked more relaxed when he thought somebody just wanted to kill him.

Haha, his face in that hug, like 'What the Fuck'.

"They are both dead." So to whom are you lying here, Blackbeard or yourself?

Okay, I expected Vane to be more apologetic, but good for him.

Oof, but Blackbeard implying that he could have killed him and left instead adds layers.

"Ours." Nassau invents communism in the face of the English threat?

God, the Walrus looks like a toy ship out there in the storm.

Is Flint gonna save his ship single-handedly? - Oh FUCK, he's letting the mast go. Well, the top of it.

Nooo, Silver's new friend! God, that's gotta be one of the worst death scenes on TV ever.

"Just exactly how stupid are your men?" "It's hard to say." I'm getting tonal whiplash here. But at least Jack can be relied upon for a little comedic relief, and god knows we need it.

Okay, now I want to know what "Jack trying desperately to join Charles' first crew" looked like. Also that means they've been together for quite a long time - and I assume Anne and Jack were already a package deal back then? God, I really want a timeline for this show, or pre-canon at least.

Vane out there once again defending Jack, and this time we get to see it. He definitely didn't have his back as much in S1. He didn't even try to save him from drowning! (Although maybe he just knew Jack can swim?)

"He's been employing [the gold] to provide for Nassau's defense." Vane stretching the truth a bit. Those are your slaves up there hauling stones!

Interesting that Teach wants to go back in time in regards to Nassau being a savage place, while everybody else seems pretty content with the way it turned out. I can definitely see why Eleanor had to get rid of him.

Vane right now wondering if there isn't a little bit of truth in his old mentor's words.

Love the contrast between the way Anne and Max dress. Also silent communication for the win. Both of them wondering what happened to make Jack change his mind.

God, I love these two so much. Please don't break my heart.

I will never get tired of Flint and Billy.

God, look at Silver's face. They made him care about someone other than himself and look at what it's doing to him now.

Flint, can't you simply tie that steering wheel to something, instead of getting waterboarded by the ocean?

Rogers gets a bit of his backstory revealed, but I don't care, because I've already decided I don't like him.

Ugh, traitors!

Hornigold is not happy to see Eleanor, but I am. Even though she's, potentially, also a traitor.

Hah, as if Flint would let a measly tempest be his doom. He probably threw that flag overboard himself.

At least his crew can't say that he isn't willing do do as much or even more than what he asks of them.

"We are becalmed." Never expected that to sound so scary.

The walrus looks very lonely out there.

---

Also sorry that these things get ever more longwinded, but I need all these little breaks during watching because otherwise my heart will combust.

#black sails #servena watches black sails #liveblogging

[newyorkkiss]

new work... the culmination of one month but more like two days. long, long, long breakdown bee low.

had the idea for this ever since dan made this tweet calling himself and the band the good boys lol. thought it would translate well to some kind of scrappy collage-y thing which i somehow end up continuing to make, maybe this is just my design path. my vibe per-se. created this file like nearly a month ago now and couldn't really hack out where i wanted it to go and sort of shelved it knowing something would click for it eventually, which it did! i was starting work on something else (that i'm going to scrap in favor of something more accurate to what i wanted, that will appear soon enough) and inadvertently figured out that this is what i had in mind for this intentionally and it had to be done.

started by hand cutting w a x-acto all the lettering for this and scanning it. i knew i could just go do all this digitally and whatever but i enjoy physical elements in my work as it makes it more personal and "real". unfortunately my actual letters scanned looked incredibly dodgy and i couldn't repair them, so the letters are just overlays using the same paper i had already pre-scanned for textures.

the picture cutouts kind of gave me more hell than i intended – all pink at the start, re-cut 2-3 times because they were feathered wrong or dissolved from magic eraser (my own fault!)

here is a early wip from 3 days ago

anyways i really hacked it the fuck out last night for a good 5, maybe 6 hours where i re-cut everything, re-colored from a new set of swatches and started to create a full arrangement of what i had in mind. i ended up settling on this icky yellow background because it did contrast nicely with the pinks/blues/purples in the text and photos. added some names which i just cut from the letters i already had and some lasso as a placeholder.

i tried to fill in the background with this extremely claustrophobic wave-y shit. i could have ended up keeping this had i had the patience to deal with evening out paths – a tedious task that i'm still quite rickety at.

so i scrapped that and went to bed completely unsatisfied.

however, as soon as i added that yellow background i was like holy fuck i'm making a ode to de la soul's 3 feet and rising and earlier i did attempt to make something in that vein in order to fill the dead space. it didn't look good, so i scrapped it and pretty much overhauled it all again...

a literal mess 👆

keeping the outline on the photos bc i think that actually made them pop just that little more, i desperately needed to create something to fill the dead space. so i re-built a background based on the pre-made .psd i used to back the spoon thing from a few months ago because i didn't want to reuse the same backing for a second time – poor practice! found what i needed amongst the sea of resources and made something nice and unique. added and recolored some scribbles and arranged them from there. boosted up the text by making it look a little more cut out than what it originally was. ended up with the final product above!

some details 👇

all credit of the photos goes to poisonous.culture on ig too btw, those pics alone really did help me come up w some direction in the first place! although i really wish the pic used of dan b was better :(

turns out i made error so actual final above jrihgdfjkhgskd error cast in iron here though SORRy uguhjdf sjhf sorry ben i cannot beleive i Renamed u. jhfbkjdfhbgklvjsd I KNEWWW THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG W IT BUT COULDNT PUT MY FINGER ON ITT HGSDHFHHJJHGJGSFDGHJSFGHJSGHSFGHSGHJ fail moment

#trash #something this boring should NOT take this long

[moorheadthanyoucanhandle]

OPPY DAYS

Opening in theaters this weekend; on Prime Video November 23...

Robots have been a mainstay in movies for most of the past century, and one of the recurrent themes of such tales is the question of whether they are conscious entities, with personality and agency. Good Night Oppy is the first film I know of on this subject that isn't science fiction.

This documentary chronicles the careers of Opportunity and Spirit, two robotic Mars Rovers launched by NASA in 2003 to explore the Martian surface in search of evidence that there was once water, and thus possibly life, on the Red Planet. The project followed a couple of embarrassing and expensive NASA failures, the Mars Polar Lander and the Mars Climate Orbiter in 1998, both of which were ignominiously lost, in one mortifying case through human error caused by confusion between American measurement and the metric system.

Spirit and Opportunity, by contrast, were overachievers. Brilliantly designed and engineered, both remained operational for many years longer than their projected mission duration of 90 "sols" (Martian days) and added greatly to human understanding of Martian geology and natural history.

But impressive and interesting as their discoveries were, this isn't really what Good Night Oppy is about. The dramatic core of the film is about the degree to which the scientists and engineers who built the robots, and who supervised their activities from the Mission Control at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California, anthropomorphized their creations, attributed personalities to them, worried and fretted about them and ultimately mourned them.

Directed by Ryan White and gravely narrated by Angela Bassett, the film alternates convincing simulations of the endearing robots on the Martian surface, created at Industrial Light & Magic, with actual footage of their controllers monitoring and guiding them back at JPL. We watch the beautiful nerds age with them, frowning at their struggles and grinning at their triumphs like soccer moms.

One of the designers notes that the robot he worked on was "just a box of wires" but admits that she took on a human persona for him. Another notes that the supposedly identical rovers had distinct personalities; that Spirit was "troublesome" while Opportunity was "Little Miss Perfect." One of the project leaders says that to compare their relationship to parenting would be to "trivialize parenthood," but there's no doubt that the relationship these people feel toward Spirit and "Oppy" is parental.

There was something highly satisfying about watching a bunch of top-flight scientific minds enter matter-of-factly into thoroughly sentimental projection. After a while it's hard not to wonder if it is projection, or perhaps a sensitivity to the beginnings of a rudimentary sentience; to wonder if, at some level, human beings are not ourselves just boxes of wires that somehow attained self-awareness.

It should be noted that the filmmakers do nothing to discourage this idea; they don't explain, for instance, that the rather Harold-Pinter-ish plainsong sentences from the rovers were human translations of transmitted data, not verbatim statements. Even so, the effect of the film was, for me, not only thought-provoking but deeply emotional.

The soundtrack is also worth mentioning; it draws on the wake-up songs that were played at Mission Control at the beginning of the robot's shifts. Selections range from "Roam" by the B-52s to "S.O.S." by ABBA, and they all seem to take on deeper meanings in context. It would make a pretty good mix-tape album.

#good night oppy #nasa #ryan white #angela bassett #industrial light and magic #mars #mars rover #jet propulsion laboratory

[corduroy-leggings]

🔪making a hairbow for the Ides of March🔪

I decided that I wanted to wear an Ides of March themed coord to celebrate my first Tumblr holiday. In this post I explained that I didn't have a head piece for Kaneko shop's Noblesse Oblige, which is my only dress with weapons on it.

So I made myself something!

All I had that could go with my dress is some scraps of white linen leftover from my first historically inspired project of an 18th century pirate shirt/men's blouse (yes it's the Bernadette Banner one) which would need to be painted somehow to match the split dye of the dress. I don't have fabric dye though. Whoops.

I used watered down acrylic paint instead. It's probably fine. The texture of the fabric wasn't hugely affected. I did have to do two coats to get it looking nice and dark-ish though. If I needed to get something small dyed, I would be likely to do this again.

But why would I do just a plain b/w split bow?? That's boring!!! I need to make things difficult for myself!!!!!

So I painted some sharp objects that are on the dress on the bow.

This was right after I painted the last sword (top right if you care) and they were looking pretty good. So I left it for a bit to have dinner, ponder it, and let it dry.

I thought I would leave it there with one half empty and one half patterned but after a very brief chat with my father decided that I would once again make things harder for myself!

So I copied the pattern onto the other side but with white instead of black.

I did make a small mistake while painting the second shell-handled sword, so I painted over the mistake, hence the black blob.

And I was happy with that. Nice and simple.

But what about the decorations?? All good hairbows have decorations???(<- not true)

Yeah okay I made decorations. I saw a youtuber that I like making filigree out of hot glue and silicone moulds and I found one at Michael's and wanted to try it out.

So I did.

And it turned out pretty cool. So I painted it silver and saved it for later. I also did a wash of black paint to define the details. It looked very flat without it.

Then I sewed my hairbow on my very aesthetic ~1950 Singer Featherweight by sewing the hotdog fold seam and then deciding how I wanted the print to sit before sewing up the side seams. I did not take pictures of any of this because I had just gotten hone from school and I was tired. I then flipped it right sides out and pressed it. Then I grabbed another scrap and painted it half black also and then topstitched the sides with the contrasting thread. After sewing the hamburger seam and pressing it of course.

Then I squnched (folded) the bow so that it became a bow shape and sewed the middle bit on with some whipstitches and glued on the fleur de lis with some tacky glue cause it was the easiest to reach.

And then I grabbed a headband that was sitting on the lamp in my room and I stuck it in the middle thing, but I didn't glue it because then I can use it for other bows as well.

Then it's done!! I have a bow for one of my wishlist pieces that I can now wear!!!

It's not an exact match with the dress, but I don't really mind. I like it. The paint looks pretty well done, even in person which is really cool. It looks almost like part of the weave which I'm really proud of. I don't usually paint fabric and was a bit nervous with risks of it bleeding or not taking but it worked really well!!

I'm so excited to wear it tomorrow!!🔪🔪🔪

#yay I'm so happy with it!! #I did this in like a day but spread over two days. it would be a day if I hadn't started at 5 pm #I'm gonna wear it tomorrow and I'm gonna tell everyone that I made it cause I'm so cool #lolita fashion #egl #classic lolita #gothic lolita #kaneko shop #sewing #lolita sewing #painting #fabric painting #ides of march #opera omnia

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

I wasn't sure if I should put my reply to the comment you made on my pictures in a reblog or just send it to you directly as an ask, so I just chose this way because I just kind of babbled about some of the things I was thinking while I was drawing them and that seemed kind of weird to add to the post?

But anyway, I must have read your reply and tags like 20 times, thank you so much!!! I'm very happy to hear you liked them! And don't worry, I immediately took your zombie comment as a compliment, because I wanted to give him the same sort of haunted and unsettling 'might break into a sprint on all fours and bite you' look you gave him lmao. And as far as horrible noises go... I looked up jackrabbit distress calls and yikes.

Actually, Ingo without his coat was the first one I drew, because I was obsessing over how he looked in that first picture of yours and absolutely Needed to draw what I thought he had to look like under his coat. And the second thing I drew was the one with him and Emmet, because I realized that, even if he couldn't see all of the damage through the coat and tunic, That's what Ingo looked like the first time Emmet saw him again. I had a lot of feelings about that, and also liked the contrast between them. Plus the general feeling of like, they can no longer stand together as perfect mirrors, but it doesn't matter, they'll work to meet in the middle all the same.

And the scars! While I was adding them I was like he probably doesn't have anything too bad on the torso because his coat isn't really shredded there, and he's fast enough that most things couldn't catch him to do much damage. But pokemon throw their attacks in the game, he probably handles babies with sharp claws and an instinct to climb, and his coat had to get torn somehow, so those scars were made with the intent to look like they came from his coat no longer being there to protect his legs and forearms from getting cut up instead.

... Does Cyllene have blue fur?? Because I was genuinely wondering about that.

i mean it's your post you can put whatever you want on it, but yeah this is cool too! as long as you don't mind if i keep answering your asks publicly lol

anyway thank YOU again for the lovely art!! yeahh he should have those vibes of like. "that thing is a PREY animal?? are you SURE??" also do we think anthros are capable of like making the same noises as their regular animals? i mean, the kids can purr i am not budging on this matter they NEED to purr or i'll riot. so i guess by extension other anthros can make similar animal vocalizations in addition to regular speech? but maybe it's considered something you only really do instinctively and/or doing it on purpose has specific social connotations.

hhh yeah... i think your drawing is pretty spot-on re: what he would look like, and Ouch yeah that would hurt emmet So Bad. including the fact that in person he's also visibly in High Alert mode and he's breathing wrong and his hands are shaking and- what did they do to his brother?

the idea that a good portion of his scars are just from overenthusiastic sneasel kits (kits? cubs?) though, lmao. but that's its own, like, ingo, you don't have to let them scale you using all of their claws. but he just doesn't care enough to stop them. but most of them are probably a shifting array of temporary-and-fading scars anyway. and then there are the bigger, nastier ones, from the full-grown mons that were actually on the attack...

mmm i almost feel like i'd need to do some color tests to decide whether she's blue, or sandy regular mountain lion colors, or a mix of both. like it might be too overpowering to make her grey-blue on top of her survey corps outfit, but then the sandy color might be too much of a contrast, or the mix would just look weird. idk i might revisit that! hmm.

#the nemesis speaks #the nemesis answers #curax #anthro legends arceus