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#definitely pay attention to it next rewatch
itolerate · 4 months
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one of my favorite little moments in go2 is when aziraphale hands crowley the eccles cakes so he can unlock the door and crowley just stares at them and waits to be let in idk i just love it.
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wickedhawtwexler · 2 months
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i forgot that gus fring dies like 2/3 of the way into the show. like wtffff what now!!!
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lovelettersfromluna · 6 months
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The Summoning
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summary: so now you’re fucking your roommate on the regular, what could possibly go wrong? It’s just for the camera, right?
an: You guys!! I’m so so happy with the feedback if received for the first chapter of this fic, I want to give you guys as much camgirl!Ellie as I possibly can. So, as before, let’s keep this short and sweet so we can get into it, love you so so so much (also shout out to everyone’s comments and asks on what they wanted to see for this chapter! Yoi all helped me sm! You all know who you are hehe)
warnings: smut!! 18+, MDNI, camgirl!ellie, roommate!ellie, biker!Ellie (there’s lots of tropes in this one lol), JELOUS!ELLIE, mentions of an older woman but it’s so brief, mentions of alternate love interest, face sitting, fingering, filming of intercourse, use of strap, mentions of the word cock, ANGST!, slight fluff??, lmk if I missed anything!
You can read part 1 here!, and part 3 here!
A soft puff of air blew past your lips as you finished organizing the last shelf of records, your eyes looking down at the remainder vinyls that most definitely wouldn’t fit into any of the space you had.
God you hated the holidays.
Well you didn’t, you loved the colder months. It was so cozy, and welcoming, however you hated it as a retail worker. With the changing of the seasons came your manager with boxes of new vintage records that he explained were in high demand for the customers coming in and out of the city, all of which you had to change out and organize from the last collection you’d had for the summer time.
So the holidays were fine, just not when you were working.
Not to mention, the only thing plaguing your mind these days was a specific brunette who had quite the tongue on her.
After that night, Ellie had you rewatch the video, making sure you were okay with it, and it was okay to post. It was weird, because you’d never really seen yourself that way. You never moan too loud, or put on too much of a show during sex, it just was what it was, and it wasn’t ever really done with an audience in mind. But seeing yourself in Ellie’s lap, her strong hands running up and down your body, working on your pussy like a fucking pro, you had to admit.
You looked damn fucking good on camera.
And you weren’t the only one that thought so. After you gave Ellie the okay to post and edit the video, the response was amazing. Gone where the comments asking where Ellie’s usually girl was, missing the chemistry they had, her whiny moans and pretty body, all of which were replaced by a sea of comments and donations coming in, all on your behalf. They asked Ellie to please keep you around, putting in suggestions of what they wanted to see next, what they wanted to see her do to you, next.
Ellie wasn’t wrong, the crowd fucking loved you.
So? You filmed another video. And another, and another, and another, until you and Ellie had created nearly an entire box set of home movies for her adoring fans, all of which had become your adoring fans practically over night.
And fuck, did Ellie know what she was doing.
Sure, you’d had your fair share of good sex in the past. Your ex was pretty good with her hands, and there was that one girl you were seeing for a few months, she was okay with her strap.
But Ellie? Jesus Christ, you quickly caught onto why Julia acted the way she did after Ellie was done with her.
It was all you could think about, the way that Ellie treated your body when you were filming. The way she never failed to pay attention to every part of you before herself, the way she kissed you, the way her hands ran down your body, the way she simply knew how to pleasure a woman.
And it wasn’t like there was any real harm in any of it, right? In helping your roommate with her line of work? That’s what it was after all. You helped Ellie make her content, and she fucked you until you could barely think straight.
In simpler terms, Ellie knew how to fuck, and she knew how to fuck good. Filming with her only further proved that.
Your eyes scanned the record store once more, a stack of records in your hands as you tried looking for another place where these god forsaken vinyls could go. You were close to simply shoving them underneath the cash register, calling it a night and going home before the drunk tourists eager to visit the city got in your way of getting to your bus stop.
You spotted a spot on top of one of the shelves, which made you huff softly in annoyance. You usually avoided it since you couldn’t reach it, vowing to never put yourself out of your way for a bunch of records no one will want to buy, but there weren’t many and you figured you already had them out, so might as well finish what you started.
As you struggled to push the records up into the tall shelf, you heard the little ding at the front door of your shop over the soft music that you had playing. You couldn’t even bother to turn around, knowing it was most definitely some drunk idiot trying to buy a last minute gift for someone.
“Sorry…we’re…fuck…we’re closed” you huffed out as you struggled even further, the tips of your fingers finally pushing one of the records up and sliding it into place. You didn’t even realize you didn’t hear the usual apology paired with the bell ringing again, signaling that the person had left.
It wasn’t until you felt a hand push into the sliver of skin that was slightly exposed between your jeans and your top, making you shriek loudly and recoil from the persons touch. Once you turned around, you were prepared to smash the stack of records you had over the idiots head who thought it was okay to come in and touch random girls while they worked.
But you only came face to face with those gorgeous green eyes that you seemed to constantly see, even when she wasn’t around.
You let out a soft gasp, reaching forward and landing a not so friendly punch on her leather clad arms, a soft huff leaving your lips as you watched your roommate snort softly at you, trying to stifle a laugh.
“What the hell is wrong with you, Ellie?? I could’ve dropped these” you whine, looking down at the disheveled records before you turned around, going back to trying to pushing them back into their spot.
Ellie sighed softly as she came down from her laughing fit, setting her helmet down on the row of records next to her as she leaned against it. “Shouldn’t you be locking the door once you’re closed? Sounds like a safety hazard to me” she hummed out, clearly trying to get under your skin.
You could practically hear that stupid fucking smirk on her lips, which makes you roll your eyes, even if she was right.
“I had a customer before I started putting these away…I’ll lock up once I’m finished” you explained, still struggling with the second record you had, which makes Ellie chuckle softly.
She pushed herself off of the row she was leaned up against before she stood behind you, her chest pressing against your back, one of her hands resting on your hip, giving it a gentle squeeze, before she reached up with ease and pushed the record in with ease.
You let out a soft huff softly, looking down at her hand on your waist before you turn around, looking up at her and narrowing your eyes at the girl. “Is that really necessary?” You question as you gesture to her hand, which only makes her shrug before bringing her hand down and giving your ass a firm squeeze, “not at all. Gimme those and go grab your stuff, I’m taking you home” she explained before she promptly took the records and put them away on the shelf for you.
You simply stare at her in disbelief, watching as she put away the records with ease. She looked over at you, nodding her head towards the back where she knew you kept your stuff while you were working. “Go on. I don’t wanna get stuck in traffic” she explained, which makes you roll your eyes at her before you stomp off to go and grab your things.
Damn her for being so fucking hot.
Soon, you had your jacket on and your bag was slung over your shoulder. When you walked out to the store front to shut off the lights and the music, Ellie was scrolling through her phone, leaned up against the cashier, seemingly waiting for you. She gave you a soft smile when she noticed you were there, pushing her phone into her pocket. “Ready?” She asked, moving to grab her helmet.
You nodded, returning the soft smile before you grabbed the keys, nodding your head towards the door. “Ready” you confirm.
She followed behind you, waiting for you as you locked up the store before leading her out.
You shivered slightly when you both step out into the cold air, watching as the lights of the city illuminate the street, welcoming everyone who was in need of a night out. You just wanted to get home.
You watched as Ellie walked in front of you, setting her helmet down before she opened up her seat to grab her spare and handing it to you before she put hers on and swung her leg over her bike to get on.
Usually, Ellie didn’t pick you up from work. She was most likely busy filming with Julia, finishing up far too late to meet you at work. Sometimes, she’d be in the area and she’d pick you up, but that wasn’t something that happened quite often for you two.
But, ever since you took Julia’s place, Ellie had been picking you up a lot more often.
You took the helmet from her, putting it on your head before you got onto Ellie’s bike, wrapping your arms around her waist and resting your head along her leather clad back. You heard a soft chuckle muffled by her helmet, her head turning to the side a bit as she felt you cuddle into her from behind.
"Don't need to tell you to hold on tight, do I?" She teased, which earns a soft pinch to her side from you.
Before you know it, Ellie is turning on the engine to her bike, revving it a bit, and you two are speeding down the streets of the city towards your apartment.
The feeling of the cold breeze kissing your exposed skin as Ellie drove you both down the streets made your blood pump. It was fucking stupid, but drives home with her had a way of truly making you feel alive for a bit.
You’d never tell her that, though. It would blow her head up way too much.
Ellie had a tendency to show off in many aspects of her life. One of those manifested whenever she was on her bike. She’d rev her engine when she saw a group of pretty girls, tattooed hands gripping the handles of her bike as she watched them swoon over her. She’d get a kick out of it whenever they’d squeal over her, trying their best to call her back, an attempt at trying to get her to turn around and give them more attention.
You thought it was stupid. It was just Ellie on a bike after all.
Ellie stopped once she reached a red light, her back straightening out a bit as she rested one of her hands on her thighs, patting a mindlessly rhythm into her jean clad leg as she waited for it to turn green so you could both get moving again. Your hands loosened a bit on her waist as you waited as well.
You noticed from the corner of your eye a car pulling up next to you. It’s a sleek black 1969 dodge charger, the lights of the city bouncing off of the shiny paint. It isn’t too flashy, but enough so that anyone can appreciate. You can’t help but gawk a bit at the beautiful car, not at all noticing the window slowly rolling down.
You hear a whistle, which catches both yours and Ellie’s attention. In the car, is an older woman. You took not of her features, noticing how pretty she was, long hair tucked up into a bun, body adorned in what you could only assume was an expensive suit. You notice her lips tugged beneath her teeth as her dark eyes bore holes into your direction, and you can only assume she’s gawking at Ellie, as one usually does when she’s out on her bike. As you look closer, you realize she isn’t looking at Ellie.
She’s looking at you.
And you can’t even deny that your chest doesn’t warm up, because she’s clearly extremely beautiful. Her strong, ring clad hands gripping the steering wheel as her eyes travel down your body. You didn’t think that when you tugged on your favorite pair of jeans and your old brown jacket that same morning that you’d be getting attention from anyone, let alone from a fucking rich milf in the middle of the road.
But you aren’t the only one to notice, because you feel Ellie shift forward, her own hands going back to grip the handle bars of her bike, her head never leaving the direction of the woman who’s shamelessly undressing you with her eyes. You gasp softly underneath your own helmet when the feeling of Ellie revving her bike catches you off guard, ripping you away from the trance the woman has you in. You turn your head to look at Ellie, hands tightening a bit around her waist to prepare your take off.
But Ellie’s head never leaves the woman.
This catches the woman’s attention, and she merely chuckles softly before she sticks her hand out her window and gives Ellie a slight wave, as if to silently tell her she’d back off. The light turns green, and while you think that’s the end of it, you catch a glimpse of the woman sending a wink your way before she zooms off, which prompts Ellie to do soon after, just as fast, knuckles turning white as she gripped her handle bars.
If you weren’t holding on tight enough to Ellie, you’d probably have gone flying.
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When you both get home, you decide not to question the very bizarre interaction you both had with that woman, figuring it was just Ellie being Ellie, and there wasn’t really anything to it anyways.
At least, that’s what you told yourself.
It makes it even stranger that when you both walk through the door, Ellie doesn’t show a single sign of annoyance, which makes you feel like you’re hallucinating even more than you were before. She’s walking into the apartment, tugging off her jacket and tossing it on a nearby chair, and grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge before plopping down onto the couch.
So yeah, you’re probably just tired.
You let out a soft hum as you tug off your own jacket before hanging it up, grabbing Ellie’s and hanging it up as well. She had a bad habit of shedding her layers off as soon as she got through the door.
You stand before Ellie in the living room, her legs spread as she babysits a bottle of water, eyes never leaving yours. You watch as she pats her lap quietly, which forces you to give her a look of disbelief.
Usually, you’d have a witty remark for that sort of gesture from Ellie, which would often times be paired with a pillow to her face. But there’s simply something about the way her legs are spread out on the couch, looking so fucking inviting, that makes you quietly follow her orders, and straddle her lap.
Now, most intimacy was supposed to be saved for the camera, it was an unspoken rule of filming with Ellie, or it was a rule you set for yourself. Apart from warming up before filming, letting Ellie get you nice and wet for her before you got on camera with her, there wasn’t really a reason to have any sort of intimacy with her. Things were supposed to go back to normal when you weren’t on camera, back to how things were as roommates.
But, you’d be lying if you said that’s how it was. You and Ellie had always had an affectionate relationship, one that never went without cuddling, caressing, even crashing in your bed from time to time when she couldn’t sleep. You were no stranger to Ellie’s strong hands on your body, because that was just Ellie. She had a thing for gripping and groping, always wanting her hands to be occupied with something whenever you were near, you assumed that’s how she was with everyone.
There just seemed to be something about getting regularly fucked by Ellie that made the intimacy take a different level, a different course that made things feel…different.
And of course, there’s no harm in that. You watched Ellie kiss Julia goodnight every time she left the house, always taking an extra few minutes to hold her when they were done. If they could do it, why couldn’t you two do it?
Ellie let out a soft hum of approval when you straddled her lap, disregarding the water bottle so that both her hands were free to grip your hips, pulling you closer to her. Your hands went around her neck, toying with the hair at the nape of her neck as she pressed her face against your neck, giving your skin a deep inhale.
“Missed you today…” she mumbled softly against your skin, which makes you roll your eyes playfully, yet still keeping her close. “You saw me this morning before I left” you argue softly, which only earns a soft whine from Ellie, you can feel her lips form a pout against your throat before she presses soft kisses to it.
“So? Still missed you” she explained, her voice low as she spoke. You can’t help but giggle softly, staring down at the girl as she litters your throat with soft kisses.
But this feels way too fucking intimate, even for you and Ellie.
You clear your throat, tugging her hair back a bit to force her to look at you, which makes Ellie groan softly, half in annoyance, and half in pleasure. She loved it whenever you did what you wanted with her.
“We filming tonight?” You ask quickly, a sorry attempt at trying to interrupt this soppy little scene you and her are having.
You see a flash of something ripple through Ellie’s green eyes, something you can’t quite put your finger on, because she’s changing her expression much too quickly, giving you and eager nod as her hands go from gently caressing you, to gripping your ass tightly. This makes you whine softly in her lap.
“Eager to have me…aren’t you baby” she chuckles softly, the shift in her personality clear as her eyes quickly darken with lust. You swallow nervously, always feeling small in front of Ellie whenever she looked at you that way. You feel the way she slowly begins grinding your hips down into her lap, strong hands gripping you and moving you as she pleased. You can only nod, your lips forming a gentle pout before a gentle sigh leaves them.
“Always…” you moan out softly, which makes her smirk up at you proudly. You’d gotten so good at voicing what you wanted these past few weeks, it made warmth pool at Ellie’s core.
She gives your ass a firm spank before she nodded her head towards her room. “Go get the camera, baby” she ordered gently, that delicious tone of dominance lacing her words, you quickly followed her instructions, getting up from her lap and going to her room to get the equipment.
That was another thing, with your new presence in Ellie’s work, came a change of scenery in her videos.
Ellie usually kept her videos and streams exclusive to her bedroom, having the common courtesy to not fuck all over your shared apartment. But now that it was just you two, there was a new sense of freedom when it came to filming with you. It happened one day when Ellie was finger fucking your pussy on the couch, and had the bright idea to grab her camera, because it was just too fucking good to not hit record on.
Once again, another example of intimacy outside of filming.
You returned with all of the filming equipment, never knowing what Ellie had planned for a shoot, so instead opting to bring everything so she could choose from.
Ellie smirks softly as she sits up from her spot on the couch, eyes low and filled with lush as you walk back into the living room. You lift up her camera and her tripod, a confused frown on your lips as you look between the two. “M’not sure what you wanted to film, so I brought both. I can always go back and-“ she’s quickly cutting you off, standing up from the couch and slowly making her way to you before she takes both out of your hands gently, and sets them down on your coffee table.
“We can focus on that, later…I need to make sure you’re ready..” she purred out, making you swallow back a whimper.
Her hands go down to yours, gently gripping your arms before she pushes them to rest around her neck, her own hands wrapping around your waist and pulling you flush to her body.
‘Making sure you were ready’ was just Ellie’s way of saying she wanted a moment with you off camera.
You simply give her a nod, your head already tilting forward as you lean in to press a kiss to her soft lips. Ellie groans in approval, her head tilting to the side a bit as soon as you were pressed against her, deepening the kiss. Her nimble fingers slide down to your ass, giving it a firm squeeze while also using the leverage to pull you closer, pressing your chest firmly against hers. This make you gasp, and as always, she uses that opportunity to slip her tongue into your mouth.
Ellie smirks into the kiss, her tongue exploring your mouth as her hands massage your ass through your jeans.
“Been needy for me, baby? I’ve been needy for you…” she confessed between the feverish kiss. It was slow, and dirty, and so fucking erotic, it had your panties soaked already.
All you could do was nod, desperately pushing your lips back against hers as you tugged at her shirt. “Thought about you all day…” you said mindlessly, which makes Ellie chuckle softly against you.
“Yeah? God…me fuckin too…kept thinking about your pretty cunt all day…fucked my self so many times to the thought of you…” she groaned out. Her words make you moan a bit louder.
You’re so fucked out already, that you can barely register what it is that she just confessed to you.
Ellie hums softly as she breaks the kiss, looking down at you as you stare up at her with lust filled eyes and a needy pout. She tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear, her own swollen lip tugged between her teeth.
“Bet you loved when that woman was staring at you…didn’t you.”
This catches you off guard.
Your eyes widen a bit, shocked over the fact that Ellie was even bringing it up to you, especially when all you wanted was her hands on your cunt, not the image of another woman in your head.
You don’t know why, but your first response is to quickly shake your head.
“What? She wasn’t…I didn’t notice her staring” you try, eyes wide like a deer caught in the headlights. Ellie chuckles softly as she watches you, catching your chin between her thumb and pointer finger as she angles your face up a bit more to stare up at her.
“It’s okay baby…she was very pretty…” she agreed, giving a slow nod before she clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, head cocking to the side in a teasing manner before she hummed out softly.
“You think she could make you feel as good as I do?” She questioned, blown out pupils surrounded by a sliver of green staring down into your own.
And again, you’re quickly shaking your head, because you know for a fact that there is probably only a handful of people on this planet that can fuck you as good as Ellie can, and that’s being generous to the general population. Ellie fucks good, and anyone who gets to experience that is fucking lucky.
They’re also ruined for anyone else who comes after her.
“Fuck…you know no one can…come on El…need you so bad…” you whine softly, giving Ellie a whiny little pout as you tug at her shirt further, feeling like you’ll explode if you don’t have her hands on you in the next few seconds. Ellie simply chuckles, watching as you whine and pout for her, a sorry attempt at trying to find your way out of the conversation.
“You’re damn right they can’t…such a good girl…” she praises, which makes you whine softly.
Ellie hums softly as she stares down at your body, giving your waist a gentle tap. “Stay here.” She ordered softly before she moved over to set up the camera.
You watch as she sets up the tripod, making it level with the couch, low enough so that it stops right where the back of the couch ends, so that it doesn’t catch your kitchen in the background. She turns it on before she goes behind it, bending down a bit to make sure the angle is good before she nods to herself before she moved to sit down on the couch much like she was earlier, legs spread wide, her dark jeans stretching over her toned thighs. Her arms stretched along the back of the couch, dark eyes boring holes as she watched you.
“Strip” she ordered.
Fuck.
You immediately began slowly stripping for her. Staring with your t shirt, then with your jeans, leaving you in your bra and panties for a moment before you removed those as well, until you were fully naked in front of Ellie, her eyes eating you up like a hungry animal.
“So fuckin pretty…Jesus…” she groaned softly underneath her breath, letting you simply stand there, naked for her, under the dim lighting of your cozy living room.
After a moment passed, she nodded her head towards the camera. “Start recording, and then come over here.” She instructed once again, and she didn’t need to tell you twice.
You slowly walked over to the camera. On the screen, you could see Ellie on the camera, only her body visible, looking so fucking strong and confident. You knew from the angle of the camera alone, that Ellie’s viewers were in for a treat with this one.
And so were you.
When you hit record, you made your way over to Ellie slowly. She hummed softly, eyes staring up at you as you stood over her before she looked down at her lap, as if silently telling you to take a seat. You straddled her lap, the rough material of her jeans on your naked body making you hiss softly.
Ellie hummed, her large hands roaming your body the second you were on her lap. “Fuck…look at you baby..came home to all this?” Her words make you frown in confusion for only a moment, yet you quickly catch onto the fantasy that she’s trying to sell to her viewers.
You give a soft giggle, nodding as you lean in to press a soft kiss to her temple. “Missed you so much…wanted to surprise you..” you purr out softly, a soft whine leaving your lips once Ellie began to slowly grind you down on her lap as she was earlier, yet this time it makes you huff softly, the rough material of her jeans dragging along your sensitive core.
“Aren’t I lucky…coming home to my pretty girl like this…fuck…you’ve been on my mind all fucking day…” she groaned out, her eyebrows furrowing as she looked down at your naked body, a soft hiss leaving her lips as she let her hand come in between you both, catching your slippery clit against her thumb. She watches your facial expression change, a soft moan leaving your lips as you rest your hands on either one of her shoulders, looking down at her hand toying with you.
“So wet already…stand up for me baby” she hummed out softly as she gave your hip a gentle pat. You listened, standing up from her lap, which allowed her to lay down onto the couch, one of her knees bent up as the other leg laid down. She gestured you over to her.
“Come sit on my face princess” she ordered.
Her words alone made you whine, and you wasted no time straddled her face, either side of your legs shielding her face from the camera.
As soon as you were settled, her tongue was out, inviting you down to take a seat as you rested a bit of your wait onto it, your pussy pressing against the warm muscle. You moan out loudly, back arching as you slowly began rocking your hips back and forth on Ellie’s flattened tongue.
The apartment was soon filled with the sounds of your moans, and Ellie’s tongue lapping away at your soaked cunt. It was times like this that Ellie had to depend on you to carry out the vocals, seeing as her mouth was a bit…occupied.
“F-feels so good…missed you so much today…” you moan out shyly, testing the waters with your voice a bit. Ellie groaned below you, her own hips bucking upwards, grinding into nothing as she gave you a quiet gesture to keep going.
You whined, giving her a slow nod as you kept going.
“You look so pretty…fuck…I love your tongue so much…” you moan out again, which earns another moan from Ellie, sending vibrations onto your sopping cunt. You moan loudly again, one of her hands coming up from around your thigh, to snake up your body and toy with your boobs, massaging the skin, pinching your nipples, her hips still bucking up into nothing with need.
You notice, turning around a bit and catching the way her hips bucked up with need. You whimper softly, reaching a hand behind you to undo her jeans before you push them down her pants, her own clit throbbing against your fingers as you begin rubbing her, watching as her eyes roll back when you begin doing this.
“Feels good? Fuck…you’re so fucking wet…fuuuckk…wanna…wanna cum with you…please” you practically beg, your arm already becoming sore from the uncomfortable position, yet you still paid the upmost attention to her poor needy pussy.
Ellie always prioritized your pleasure, it was time you do the same.
Ellie moaned and groaned against your pussy, her tongue speeding up the closer she got, her pussy grinding into your fingers desperately. You arched your back, eyebrows furrowed as you let your head fall back, the pleasure becoming too much.
You knew she was close, the grip on your thighs was almost deadly, and you were too. It wasn’t long before her hips were sputtering, her arousal soaking your fingers as she came. This alone was enough to make you shriek with pleasure, nearly falling back as your arm nearly gave out from behind you, but Ellie’s strong arms were already on your hips to keep you up, pulling you further up as she lapped at your core, helping you ride out your orgasm.
The thing you hated about filming with Ellie the most? You couldn’t even scream her name when she made you cum.
You breathed hard, your exhausted pussy shying away from Ellie’s tongue as you stared down at her, body back in its upright position, her gorgeous green eyes staring up at yours, cheeks red as she gave your pussy kitty licks.
“You should stay out late more often..” you tease, which earns a soft giggle from both of you.
Ellie gives your pussy one last kiss before she pushes you down her body so you’re straddling her waist, her eyes low and hazy as she stares up at you, gently massaging the skin of your thighs.
You always enjoyed the aftermath with her, the silence that came with it, the come down was almost as good as the sex itself. You were both so fucked out, so utterly satisfied, the warmth that overtook you was almost unbearable. You could stay there forever if you truly wanted to.
But alas, it never lasted long enough.
You felt the familiar tap on your thighs, a silent reminder that Ellie had to indeed get up and stop the camera recording. You roll off of her with wobbly thighs, cuddling into the couch and grabbing a nearby blanket to shield your body from the cold air of your apartment.
You watch with sleepy eyes as Ellie gets up, buttoning up her jeans and turning off the camera before pulling it front the tripod to look back at the footage, making sure it was all recorded correctly.
You hear your moans echoing from the device, which makes you whine softly. You always hated hearing yourself, no matter how hot you and Ellie looked. Ellie chuckles softly, shaking her head as she watched the video for a moment longer before she shut off the camera.
“That improv of yours was pretty damn good…they’re gonna like that” she added, making you giggle softly before giving her a shrug. “I always like playing with your pussy” your words make Ellie groan, and she’s suddenly giving you a look of warning, a smirk playing on her lips to match.
“Don’t play with something you can’t handle sweetheart” she warned you, and you can’t help but roll your eyes, despite the fire you feel from that look alone.
“Please, you wouldn’t know how to fuck me even if you had the chance” you challenge her.
Oh yeah, that was another thing. Ellie still hadn’t properly fucked you yet.
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You huffed softly as you tugged yet another top off of your body. You’d tried on nearly every article of clothing you had in your closet, yet it just wasn’t fucking working. It was times like this, that you simply wanted to burn all of your clothes and never leave your house again.
You were currently getting ready for a date, a girl you’d met at the record store had ended up asking you out on a date while you were showing her to the new age rock section that the store carried.
The first thing that went through your mind when the girl asked, wasn’t how pretty she was, or how nice her fingers looked wrapped around the edge of the thin vinyls in her hand.
No, none of that went through your head. The only thing that went through your head when the girl asked you out was Ellie.
And that scared you.
Because it’s Ellie for gods sake. The girl you’ve been living with for almost three years now, the girl who you watched eat dry cereal from the box instead of making herself a proper meal, the girl who you’ve watched genuinely find family guy funny…
The girl who’d been playing your body like a fucking guitar for almost a month now.
You realized, you needed this date.
So you agreed, giving the girl your number and telling her to text you so you guys could set up a date.
The guilt was eating you alive, because while Ellie would be fucking you with a dildo, her lips firmly on yours, you knew in the back of your head you had a girl waiting to see you at the end of the week.
And it was conflicting because did you even have to tell Ellie? Would it be stupid if you did? Would it be wrong if you didn’t? It was still just Ellie, after all. Sure, she’d seen you naked now, and she’d made you cum more times than you could count, and you her, but she was still your friend. She was still your normal roommate, your Ellie. And there was nothing really holding you back from going on dates.
Right?
You chalked up all your guilt by convincing yourself that Ellie was probably talking to other girls too, actively searching for a girlfriend, or even a permanent filming partner while you temporarily filled that spot.
Because while you guys never formally spoke about it, that’s all you were, temporary.
It worked out perfectly, because Ellie had gone out for the night, texting you and telling you she had some stuff to do, errands to run. It gave you the place all to yourself to get ready. You would’ve felt extremely stupid sneaking out of your own apartment to avoid any awkward interactions with Ellie. Even though you weren’t even sure if it would even be awkward.
You ended up settling on a little black dress, a pair of black boots and a leather bomber jacket, an outfit you had long since ran dry with how many times you wore, but you looked good, and you weren’t going to to stray away from that.
You fluffed out your hair after you finished up your makeup, spraying on your favorite perfume before you grabbed your phone, sending record store girl a quick text, letting her know that you’d be leaving your house now to meet her at the bar that you two had agreed on going to for your first date.
You couldn’t ignore the sour taste in your mouth, and the aching feeling in your belly as you looked around your room, making your final rounds before you left. There was something about the entire ordeal that just felt…dirty. The fact that you were sneaking around, hiding something that you felt needed to be hidden…
Leaving Ellie for the night.
All of it made you feel ill, and the fact that you felt that way made you feel even worse.
But regardless of it all, Ellie was out and it was all in your head. Ellie probably wouldn’t even care if you went out with a girl! She’d be happy for you, she’d send you out of the apartment with an encouraging slap on your ass before telling you to wrap it up before you-
Suddenly, you could hear Ellie opening up the door from the other side of your apartment door. You feel like you’ll freeze up and die in that very moment.
She walks into the house humming a tune you can’t quite find, probably some song that had been stuck in her head. She has her helmet tucked under her arm, and a brown paper bag with the logo of your favorite take out spot slung along her long fingers. She doesn’t notice you at first, because she’s too busy cursing under her breath as she tries to get herself inside, a low groan leaving her lips a she tosses her keys into the entrance bowl, kicking the door shut behind her.
“Babe? You home? I brought dinner” she calls out.
You feel sick to your fucking stomach.
Because it feels too domestic, too romantic, too fucking far for you and Ellie for her to be calling out for you that way, to be ordering your favorite dinner and bringing it home for you. You aren’t even entirely sure what prompted her to do this, and you don’t know who you’re more annoyed with, her for doing it, or you for not being honest with her.
You’re too caught up in your thoughts, because you barely realize that Ellie’s eyes are finally on yours, a confused frown as she stares at you up and down, clearly readying yourself to leave the apartment.
“You…look so pretty. Are we going somewhere?” She questions slowly, her sentence slipping into a tone of worry, as if she’d forgotten about something that you planned for the both of you, her big green eyes frantically searching yours.
You can’t fucking do this anymore.
You inhale deeply, shaking your head as you clear your throat, your fingers tugging at the bottom of your dress as you try to find your voice, find your words to break it to Ellie.
“I um….I have a date tonight” you mumble out softly, barely loud enough for Ellie to hear, hoping that she doesn’t and some miracle snatches this ridiculous conversation away so you don’t have to experience it.
But she does hear you.
Her face goes from worried to annoyed almost instantly, her brows knitted together as her lips form a confused frown. “A date? With who?” She spits out, and the tone is too accusing for you. It makes you wince slightly, your lips forming a frown of your own as you let out a soft sigh.
“Girl I met at the record store” you sigh out, and you hate this, because it feels so far from what you and Ellie are. It feels to reminiscent of a jealous girlfriend cornering you, confused as to why you’d ever leave her when she was there waiting for you, why on earth would you pass her up for anyone else when she gives you everything anyways?
The energy you can feel radiating off of Ellie is the same thing you felt when that woman was looking at you on the road. It feels hostile, and possessive, it feels like she has some claim on you that you aren’t even fully aware of, and it’s the reason you decided to go on the date in the first place, because regardless of not fully knowing what it is that’s happened between you and Ellie.
You know it isn’t good.
Ellie moves to drop the food onto the coffee table, a bit too harshly in your opinion. Her strong hand goes up to run through her brown hair, one hand on her hip as she stares at the floor for a moment. You should’ve just taken that as an opportunity to leave, to avoid all of this. But you don’t.
“It’s…it’s Friday night. We’re supposed to film. We film every Friday” she argues.
Fuck.
You chew your maroon tinted bottom lip, feeling like a kid who’s done something bad and is now facing the repercussions of a disappointed parent. You feel small, and stupid, and you can’t believe you forgot about it. There had been such a blur between the schedule you had with Ellie, with far too many moments of making out with her on the couch, or her fingers finding their way into your pants whenever you were watching a movie together, that the intimacy in your brain was becoming confused with the intimacy that was needed for the camera and the camera only.
And in that moment, you realize that this needs to end.
Because maybe you and Ellie can go back to normal, maybe you can forget about this and she can find someone who is better at this stuff than you are. It’s too confusing, and it’s putting you in a bad position of thinking too deep into things while also missing the bigger picture, and you’re fucking exhausted.
You inhale deeply, opening your mouth to speak, to tell her that this isn’t what you want anymore, that this isn’t for you anymore. You have it all mapped out, how you’re going to finally tell her that this simply can’t go on anymore.
But suddenly, your phone goes off.
You frown, looking down at the glowing device in your hands. It’s a text from record store girl, she’s telling you how she just left her house, and how excited she is to see you tonight. This catches Ellie’s attention too.
She looks down at your phone, her angry and annoyed expression still present on her face.
“Is that her?” She asks. You let out a soft sigh, shaking your head as you try pushing your phone in your jacket pocket. “Ellie I…when I get back I really think we should talk about-“ she quickly cuts you off, her voice a bit louder than it was when she first asked.
“I said…is that her?” Her words are slower, clearer, as if she wants you to hear every goddamn syllable that leaves her mouth. You know she isn’t fucking around, and you simply inhale deeply, taking your phone out of your pocket and looking at the message that was still lingering at the bottom of your Lock Screen.
“Yeah…it is….” You admit, ignoring how fucking stupid you feel for telling Ellie this. You should have left, you should have ignored her and gone on your date and had a good time so you could come home and tell her that she needed to find a new filming partner, because you weren’t cut out for this shit anymore.
She begins taking slow strides towards you, the closer she gets, the more you can smell her cologne. It makes you swallow back a whine, because her scent is the single most euphoric thing to you right now. It haunts you in your sleep, and it makes your mouth water whenever she’s on top of you.
Soon, she’s right in front of you, her green eyes staring down at your outfit, taking in everything that you have on, how pretty your hair and makeup is. Her slender fingers come up to tug at your jacket slightly, a soft puff of air exiting her nose before she speaks. “What’d she tell you? That she’s on her way? So excited to see you?” She questions, her voice low and taunting as her nimble fingers dance along your jacket, ghosting along the fabric of your dress.
“Fuckin idiot…she’s on her way to some shitty bar and I’ve got her girl practically shaking for me..” she hummed out softly.
And it was true. Ellie had hardly touched you, yet your fists were balled at your side, body practically begging for her as her skilled fingers barely gave you what you wanted. The second she was in front of you, your brain was clouded with her, with all the things you wanted from her, all the things you knew she could do to you.
“Had so much planned for us tonight, baby…wanted to finally show you off live..wanted to take care of that pretty body of yours…and you were getting all dolled up for some asshole who probably wouldn’t know how to make you cum even if she got the chance” she explains, her voice low, minty breath fanning across your face, making you whine softly.
“You’ve never dress like this for me before…” she groans out, and it makes your eyes widen a bit. Before you can open your mouth and say anything back, her skinny fingers are grabbing your chin and angling your face up to fully look at her, her green eyes staring down into yours as she licked her bottom lip slowly.
“God I can’t stand you sometimes..” she sighed out softly before she pressed her mouth against yours in a needy kiss. Your hands instantly wrap around her neck, keeping her close as her own arms wrap around your waist, pulling you flush against her body.
It’s as if any and all moral high ground that you had was gone, replaced by only thoughts of Ellie. You let her fill you up, breath life into you as her warm tongue explored your mouth, dominated the kiss and took you on a wild fucking ride that only consisted of a single kiss from her.
Soon, she’s breaking the kiss, and it makes you whine and chase her lips. She chuckles softly, the sound dark and taunting as she stares down at your needy eyes and swollen lips. “Now you’re chasing me…poor thing…” she tuts out, clearly mocking you with a pouty tone.
She slips her hand into your jacket pocket, taking out your phone and looking at the message. She rolls her eyes, pushing the phone in between you two.
“You’re gonna call her, and you’re gonna tell her you aren’t coming” she demands. Your eyes go wide, looking up at Ellie before you quickly shake your head. “What? No! Ellie I can’t! I…can’t I just text her?” Even your own words shock you a bit, because are you seriously staying with Ellie when there was a perfectly willing girl waiting for you at a bar down the street?
If Ellie said so, then yeah. Yeah you were.
Ellie shrugged before she unlocked your phone, having learned your password way back when you two first moved in together. “Fine. I’ll call her” she nodded, her fingers scrolling through your phone to find the girls contact. This makes your eyes go wider, and you quickly snatch your phone from Ellie’s hand, because you know that Ellie will be shameless with it, and it’ll make you look way worse than you already do by flaking so last minute.
“No! No…fine…I’ll do it. Just…please be quiet, Ellie” you plead, giving her a look of warning before you sigh softly, looking down at your phone for a moment before you click the girl contact, set it to call, and put your phone to your ear.
Ellie smiles proudly, pearly teeth gleaming as her hands give your hips a firm squeeze. “That’s my fuckin girl…” she praises. Her words makes your insides flutter, core tightening around nothing as you wait for the girl to answer, a gentle pout on your lips despite the fact that your arms were still wrapped around Ellie, and she still had your body pressed against hers.
After a few rings, she finally answers. Her voice is bright and bubbly and you want to kick yourself for doing this to someone so fucking sweet.
“Hey….look…I’m really sorry but I think I’m going to have to-“ your words are cut off by Ellie’s lips pressing against your neck, wet mouth working against your skin, bitting and sucking, sure to leave marks in the morning. It makes you gasp softly..
Because Ellie never left marks.
It wasn’t something that ever really bothered you. It helped in all honesty, you didn’t really want to be walking around littered in Ellie’s hickies, it would’ve resulted in too many questions from your coworkers and friends, and you really didn’t want to deal with that. It was just an unspoken rule, Ellie didn’t mark you, and you didn’t mark her. That was too far along the lines of being a couple for you.
But clearly, that had all changed tonight.
There was a sense of possessiveness that you could feel when she did it. Teeth and tongue sucking and biting at your soft skin, eager to claim you in any way that she possibly could. Between the feeling of it, and the fact that she was doing it, it made it hard to talk, your eyes rolling back into your head as you bit back a whimper, covering it up with a couch as you tried finding the words in your fuzzy head to speak to the girl.
Ellie smirked against your throat as she listened to you struggle, listened to the muffled words of the confused girl on the other line try to understand what it was you were saying.
You tugged at Ellie’s hair slightly, yet still kept her close as she mouthed your neck. “I…I can’t…look I’m really not feeling well..I…mph…I can’t come out tonight. I’m sorry” you quickly ramble out, knowing you were too close to moaning out Ellie’s name to keep this going on any longer. Before you were able to hear what the girl had to say on the other line, you hang up, turn your phone off and toss it onto the couch.
You moan softly, tilting your head to the side to give Ellie better access to your neck. “I can’t believe you fucking did that…” you moan out as you began shrugging your jacket off, tossing it somewhere in the living room. You felt too hot, too fucking needy, everything was just too much and you struggled to wrap your head around what exactly was even happening.
“Me? I didn’t do anything…you’re the one that cancelled on the poor girl” Ellie teased gently, which earns a swat to her arm from your end.
You sigh softly, tugging her hair back so that she’s pulled away from your neck. You waste no time in crashing your lips against hers, your tongue pushing into her mouth with need as you kiss her feverishly. Ellie groans into the kiss, her hands going down to give your ass a firm squeeze. “Eager are we?” She grunts against your lips.
You huff softly, ignoring her words as you begin pushing her backwards towards her room, your lips never leaving the sloppy kiss. It’s so fucking erotic, and messy, and needy, and there’s so much filling it that you can both clearly feel. You decide to ignore it.
“I decided to stay with you…you better make this worth it” you groan out softly, which only earns a smirk from Ellie as she stares down at you, her heart fluttering at the way you pushed her around, did with her as you pleased.
“I always do, baby” she chuckled softly, and all you want to do is wipe that smug fucking smirk off her beautiful face.
Once you’re in her bedroom, you press your palms against her chest, shoving her back to lay on her bed. She lets out a soft moan, clearly happy with the way that you’re handling her.
You tug your dress up a bit as you move to straddle her, her hands instantly moving to grip your thighs. She lets out a soft hiss, her lust filled eyes eating up the way your dress hugs your curves, pushes up your boobs. For a moment, you see a hint of something flash through her eyes as she watches you, taking in the dress that you wore for a date, wore for someone else.
You don’t ignore it this time, because it’s clearly jealously.
You don’t know whether or not you should say something, or kiss her, or do anything else to get your mind off of it, but you don’t have to. Because as soon as you’re settled down on her lap, you can feel a foreign bulge pressing into your clothed core, and it makes your eyes widen and Ellie smirks and rolls her hips up to grind it into you, and then you realize what the surprise that Ellie had was.
Ellie was finally going to fuck you tonight.
And not with her fingers, or with a sex toy, it would be with her strap. She was going to fuck you, something you’d already assumed wasn’t going to happen between the two of you.
She must have noticed the shocked look on your face, because she chuckles as she continues grinding her cock into you, making you whine softly as you press you hands on her hips to give yourself leverage as you roll your hips to meet her movements.
“Feel that baby? It’s all yours…went out and brought a brand new one just for you…” she explained, revealing what it was that she’d been out doing while you were getting ready for your date.
She was buying new toys to fuck you with, and picking up dinner for after.
You felt like you were dreaming.
All you can do is moan in response, eagerly undoing Ellie’s jeans, wanting nothing more than to feel her fill you up, fucking into you deliciously, giving you what you’d always wanted.
Ellie is quick to grab your wrists, pulling them away from her jeans. “Ahh, not so fast, princess….we’re gonna do this the right way” she hums out softly. You can’t help but pout, a soft huff leaving your lips as you open your mouth to complain, but Ellie is already sitting up, gently pushing you back to lay on her bed properly as she crawls over you.
She hums softly, staring down at your body for a moment, silently taking you in before she pushes your dress up, pressing a soft kiss to your lips as her hands find its spot cupping your clothed pussy.
“Hmm….so wet already…I’m gonna have so much fun taking you, baby…” she groaned against your lips, swallowing up your moans as her slender fingers pressed against your clit, rubbing you slowly, forcing the cotton material of your pantries to go translucent as your arousal soaked them almost entirely.
And your head is spinning as she kisses you, because she’s being so slow, so gentle, treating your body with so much care. And it’s not unlike Ellie to do this, but you just assumed this would have gone differently. You expected her to be rough, fucking into you while telling you how no one could ever fuck her like she does…
But she’s not. She’s so gentle, and soft, and it’s making your heart do dances it’s never done before..
Ellie lets out a soft sigh as she tugs your panties to the side, feeling your velvety folds better now without the fabric constricting her. She rubs you slowly, building you up, getting your sopping little pussy all warmed up for her cock. Soon, her hands leave your core, and she pulls you up to tug your dress off before laying you back down, and tugging off your panties as well, leaving you entirely naked before her.
Ellie hisses softly under her breath as she eyes you, sitting back on her legs as she begins tugging off her own shirt, before she crawls off the bed to tug her jeans off, leaving her completely naked as well, eyes never leaving your body.
“You’re so fucking beautiful…” she mumbles out softly before she crawls back onto you, pressing her naked chest against yours. The feeling makes you moan loudly into her mouth as she kisses you, because you’ve never felt Ellie like this. You’ve never had her body pressed up against yours this way, and it feels like the single most intimate thing you’ve ever felt in your entire life.
Ellie’s hand goes down to her cock, gripping the base before she brings it to your core, running it along your sopping wet folds, against your clit before she slowly feeds you her length, earning a whiny moan from you.
Ellie quickly nods as she kisses you softly, one of her hands giving your waist a squeeze. “I know baby…I know it’s big…you can take me…I know you can” she praises you, and it makes you moan softly into her mouth as she rubs your clit, pushing further into your weeping cunt.
“Ellie…fuck…more…need more” you moan against her, the empty feeling still present as she waits for you to tell her it’s okay to keep going. She groans softly, pushing more of her length into you until she bottoms out completely, her thighs flushed against yours as she waits for you to adjust to her size.
You roll your hips slowly, already feeling yourself leaking around the length, and you give her a nod, staring into her green eyes as your hips buck up into her. “Need you, El…need more of you..” you moan out softly.
And Ellie feels like her head is spinning when you say that.
Her strong hand goes down, gripping your thigh as she slowly fucks into you, moaning as her clit bumps against the back of the strap with her movements.
Her eyes never leaves you, watches as your face contorts in pleasure, moaning loudly for her, arching your back when the tip of her cock rubs against your velvety walls, watching as you fall apart on her length.
Her thrusts are slow, and calculated and she’s staring down at all of you as she fucks into you. You suddenly feel her long fingers wrap around your cheeks, pulling you to look up at her because frankly, you’re having a hard time looking anywhere.
“Eyes on me, baby…need to see you right now…f-fuck…that’s my good fucking girl…taking me so well” she praises, and it makes you moan loudly with her. You grab her wrist, watching as she fucks into you faster, both of you getting closer and closer to what you’ve been needing for who knows how fucking long.
Suddenly, Ellie’s hand leaves your face and instead, grabs your hand, bringing it above your head as she interlocks your fingers. Her gaze is so intense, and the grip on your hand is so tight, you feel tears prickling at the ends of your eyes because whatever the hell is happening is too goddamn intense, it’s taking over you completely, and it’s making it all too much.
“Ellie…Ellie I…I…” you choke out between little moans and whines, your eyes growing glossy as you stare up at her, and Ellie is already nodding despite your lack of words, because she understands, she feels it too, and you don’t even have to say it.
“Come on baby…give it to me…fuck…cum with my angel…please” she’s practically begging, her own moans cutting off her words as she fucks you faster, the grip on your hand almost lethal as she stares down at you, tugging her bottom lip into her mouth.
And you feel it, how could you not? Your orgasm washes over you almost painfully, making you close your eyes shut as your back arches, squeezing Ellie’s hand as you cum hard on her cock. It’s too much, too intimate, too fucking intense, and you feel like you’ll explode just from the feeling of it.
Ellie has no other choice but to smash her lips against yours when she sees it, she can practically feel the way you grip her cock with your pussy and it’s the catalyst that sends her into her own sea of pleasure, euphoria swallowing her up and almost drowning her as she kisses you with everything she’s feeling, pouring it all out into you as her hips slowly fuck into you, riding out both yours and her orgasm.
The come down is hard, because she’s on top of you, and it’s quiet apart from the heavy breathing between you and hear, and her head is resting on her chest…
And all Ellie can think about, is how utterly fucked she is..
Because she’s in love with you
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samstersv · 2 months
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ALL JOKES; luke hughes
• based when luke was still playing at umich
• you decide to play a little prank on your bf where you call him your brother after you kiss him
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you were on tik tok way too much. and luke was too but definitely not as much as you. he wasn’t on it to the point where he saw the lastest couple pranks when they were still very popular. so of course as his amazing girlfriend you had to pull a little prank on your boyfriend whom you loved so much.
you were sitting on the couch in the house luke shared with some of his hockey buddies. a few of them were sat on other parts of the couch watching tv with heir girlfriends who were going from talking with you and then talking with their respective boyfriends while you sat with a single headphone in on tik tok. luke had sat next to you mere moments before until he had to use the bathroom.
it was perfect timing because that’s when the tik tok pulled up on your “for you page” and gave you the idea to mess with your boyfriend.
the tik tok was of a girlfriend next to her boyfriend. she said some words and then turned to him, he kissed her and she said the words to the camera: “best big brother ever!” and he started laughing.
obviously, you began to think how luke would react to this and knew you had to film this tik tok for yourself.
luke walked out from the bathroom and began to walk over to you till you stood up “babe come here.” you told luke and like a puppy he followed you into the kitchen which was right next to the living room.
you set up your phone and turned to luke who looked at you confused. in the corner of your eye you could also see mark, ethan, seamus and gavin giving y’all some questionable looks. everyone else payed somewhat attention to the both of you with their eyes still trained on the tv.
“okay so when i turn around just kiss me.” you smile up at luke. he was pretty tall compared to you (actually very tall compared to you) so to the camera it was a funny shot.
“okay..” luke gave you a suspicious glance as he watched you step forward to press play. when you backed up in front of luke you began to giggle which made the boys in the living room chuckle and luke laugh at you suspiciously, he knew you had something planned.
“if you wanna get to me, you have to get through him first.” you managed to get out through your giggles.
“preach!” one of the boys yelled from the living room, the culprit being duke tucker. mark let out a laugh at this. the two knew this tik tok and had their eyes glued to the scene.
you turned around to luke and on cue he gave you a kiss. he tried to make it go on for longer but because of the audience before you and the fact that you were in the middle of a tik tok, you broke the kiss and turned back to the camera. “best big brother ever.” you tried to keep a straight face. from behind you both, the boys broke out in laughter and you wish you could rewatch luke’s reaction over and over again like it was the first time.
his jaw dropped as he looked at you and then proceeded to look around awkwardly. “i am not your brother.” his lack of words made the event even funnier to you and all his friends as well. the girls were laughing too and it made the scene all the greater.
luke didn’t know what to do so he grabbed your waist from behind and pulled you into a bear hug “brother?” he laughed “brother?” he repeated, still in disbelief.
“woah big bro you’re getting a little too close there.” luca shouted.
“shut up.” luke laughed as he kissed you “look at what you started.”
“STOP KISSING YOUR SISTER LUKE.”
“SHUT THE FUCK UP.”
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fuckyeahisawthat · 26 days
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i rewatched Dune Part Two recently and one of the most striking shots for me was the one of the Fremen attacking the Sardaukar on wormback, while holding the Atreides flag.
Like, we just saw the Sardaukar forming up with their numerous flag bearers, even trying to maintain their flags raised after the nuclear detonation (in a shot that mirrored the famous "Raising the Flag in Iwo Jima" statue to me btw, nice nod to imperialism).
And then the Fremen arrive, but they're not bearing their colors, their flags, not fighting in their own names, instead it's the Atreides colors. The colors of their new, imperially appointed rulers. New pawns in the warfare between Great Houses, soldiers instead of freedom fighters. Urgh. Wish i could make gifsets.
Yeah yeah yeah it's horrifying!! You are watching a national liberation movement get successfully co-opted by a superpower and it's awful!
They did such a good job making it feel creepy and foreboding when the Atreides symbols and motifs start re-appearing in the last hour or so of the movie. The second Gurney shows up he immediately re-introduces the Atreides way of looking at the world, and it's disturbing how easily Paul falls back into thinking like that, seeing the planet and its people as tools to be used in an inter-imperial power play. (It's right after Gurney tells him about the family nukes that Paul has the signet ring out for the first time since the beginning of the second act and we're like OH NO.) This is before he drinks the Water of Life; he is already starting to think like a colonial duke again some time before he declares himself one.
After the opening montage where we see the piles of bodies being burnt, we don't see the stylized Atreides hawk symbol for most of the movie. The next time it appears is on a vault of nuclear weapons, which are never treated as anything but a curse. It's so important that Stilgar and Chani are with Paul and Gurney when they open the vault so we can see their horror at these weapons and the gleeful, casual way Gurney talks about them. Chani is also seeing an aspect of Paul that she hasn't really witnessed before--Paul, the Future of House Atreides--and she does not like it.
And then of course the whole ending battle is making the point over and over again with repeated imagery that Atreides and Harkonnens are exactly the fucking same. All the imagery from the initial Harkonnen attack on Arrakeen in Part One--which at least shows the Atreides as brave in the face of overwhelming odds--gets inverted into something that's supposed to make us shudder. That scene of Gurney hacking his way through the crowd of soldiers with someone carrying the Atreides flag behind him? Nightmarish.
All of this stuff is super important to what the movie is trying to say because it is very very easy for us to buy into the Atreides' propaganda about themselves being the good guys. If we're paying attention to what Chani tells us in the literal first 3 minutes of the first movie, we already know we should be viewing them with a bit of critical distance. And while I think there is plenty in the first movie to make us side-eye their noble image (Leto saying we will bring peace to Arrakis?? fucking yikes dude), it's easy to forget that because Leto generally seems like a good dude to the people close to him, and he dies tragically so we never get to see much of what kind of colonizer he would have become. And I think it's easy to start thinking well if only Leto the more reasonable parent had lived then things wouldn't have turned out this way.
But fucking desert power?? That was Leto's idea. This is Leto's dream being realized. The plan was always to use the Fremen as pawns in the power struggle between the Great Houses. Maybe not quite in the way that Paul does cause he definitely goes off with it, but the end result is just as much a product of Atreides imperialism as it is of Bene Gesserit religious colonialism. The Atreides aren't inherently any more noble or benevolent than the Harkonnens in their intentions, they just have better PR. But the end result is exactly the same: a pile of dead bodies being set on fire.
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yenqa · 3 months
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raindrops
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synopsis — after a long celebration for his birthday, jungwon finally lies down. he loves watching movies to relax, but he definitely loves you more.
warnings — crying (because of the movie), 20th century girl 💔💔 (no spoilers other than it being sad), y/n calls jungwon “a heartless monster” as a joke, lmk if theres any more!
pairing — jungwon x gn!reader
wordcount — 540
a/n — happy jungwon day! hopeyou enjoy this fluff <3 also Who told me to watch 20th century girl (me) because im out for you.
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“I can’t believe you’re crying right now.”
“This is one of the saddest tragedies to ever exist!”
You had watched the movie at least five times, and you couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down everytime. Jungwon on the other hand, had never watched it before, yet he had a straight face.
“Baby, you’ve seen this three times. You know what’s going to happen.”
After a long exciting day for you and Jungwon. You were happy when he asked you to hang out at his house afterwards. Sitting close to the other you watch the movie “20th Century Girl”.
You scoff, “You are a heartless monster!” Blowing snot into your tissue, you throw it away into the conveniently placed trashcan next to the couch.
Laughing at your antics, his dimples show through his cheeks. Smiling softly at the sight, you let your head lay down on his shoulder.
He looks at you, watching as tears stream down your eyes. Like the raindrops that come onto his car window, he watches as they race endlessly down your cheeks.
His hand comes to your shoulder, gently rubbing it as you scoot impossibly closer to him.
Jungwon can understand why you’re crying. He didn’t know this movie would be so sad, he wouldn't have picked it if he knew.
Paying attention to the movie he can feel tears start to drop from his eyes. Like the water he spills whenever he fills the cup up too much, he wipes them away.
It’s at the end of the movie when you hear a quick sniffle, you look up to see a few tears falling from Jungwon’s eyes.
“Ha! I knew it! I knew you were going to cry.”
He jumps dramatically, quickly wiping his tears, “I did no such thing.”
“Liar! I saw those tears, I heard those sniffles! That’s plain evidence.”
The pout on his face makes you feel a little bad, brushing his slightly wet cheeks with your hands you mutter a small apology.
When you think you’re done wiping his cheeks, you turn back to the screen, laying on his shoulder you watch him scroll through the endless amount of shows and movies. Clicking on one you were both rewatching together.
“I think I’m going to go to sleep, Won. Happy birthday.”
He kisses your head, “Thank you, and go to sleep you had a long day.”
Nodding your head against his shoulders you wrap your hands around his arm. “I love you.” You let out, the words barely even comprehensible.
“I love you more, now go to sleep.”
“No I do,” You argue, he knows your too stubborn to let him win so he gives up.
Jungwon knows he loves you more. Usually, after a fun day out like today he would want to be alone. Not even allowing Jay to come over.
But you came in, like rays of sun after months of snow. You came in and wiped away his tears and his worries.
So, yes. He loves you more.
Your eyes close, snuggling closer to feel his warmth. And as the clock ticks away, you find yourself asleep before you even know it.
It’s after a few minutes when he whispers back, “I love you more than anything.”
And he finally lets himself fall asleep.
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perm taglist — @jwnghyuns @ja4hyvn @trsrina @redm4ri @badmuni @yeokii @enhastolemyheart @softpia @s00buwu @ox1-lovesick @boyfhee @hanniluvi @teddywonss
yenqa © please do not copy, steal or translate.
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dropthedemiurge · 3 months
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Love for Love's Sake | Things You Didn't Notice #6
Translations and comments for Episode 6 (I have ADHD don't come after me, I was too invested that I bingewatched episodes yesterday and now I need to rewatch the 3 and 4 to make thorough comments on the dialogues). I was prompted by @lurkingshan to pay more attention to the movie posters :D Please let me know your thoughts after!
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At first, I wanted to say that the movie titles were translated (at least, in my version of subs) and there was nothing behind them beside obvious but I decided to research more and indeed found somewhat interesting things! (the post will be long so I'll pile screenshots together)
First thing we see – Myungha has agonizing thoughts about "I can't believe I am on a date with a guy (when I'm supposed to be just an NPC/Player in this game)" next to the movie poster with an interesting title "The Guy Who Will Give a Kiss for 10 000 won"
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This movie doesn't exist :D However! The title and poster style is clearly based on the old manhwa from ~2006 that's called "The Guy Who Will Give a Kiss for 5 000 won" (lmao they doubled MC's price that's inflation for you).
The note at the bottom says "Top Secret Disclosure: Kissing Method" aka MC is the guy who promises to teach you how to kiss if you give him some money, and the same note is shown in the LFLS poster. I thought the guy on the poster looked similar to Myungha but I think they actually got Taevin (the actor) to pose for this fake poster xD
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Which leads me to the first thought that these posters were born out of Myungha's imagination – come on, we just got the scene between him and Yeowoon where they kissed for the first time and Yeowoon asked Myungha to give him time to practice and improve kissing (Myungha with his slightly better experience probably feels like a mentor with some "shady" intentions who eventually falls in love xD) Coincidence? I don't think so.
The second poster on the wall is also about a non-existent movie but before diving into that, here's how Yeowoon comes into the picture.
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Two things: "Wonderful Ghost" huge poster on the wall behind him and the caption on the wall next to him.
In case you haven't paid attention, it says "If you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three," which is a popular romantic phrase that definitely reflects Yeowoon's feelings atm, aww.
Meanwhile, Wonderful Ghost movie (also called as "The SOUL-mate") actually exists! But it's not new, it was released in 2018 and the story is about a guy done with his life after tragic events who becomes haunted by an energetic ghost that changes his life and mindset. (I did phrase this summary deliberately non-specific to make you feel another connection to the current story of LFLS.)
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The caption on the poster also says, literally translated, "Let's do it together until the end of the world". This movie has other poster versions with other captions as Google shows but this is the version shown in Love for Love's Sake. Actually, while we're on the topic – I have no idea where "Love for Love's Sake" title came from, does anyone know? Someone in my previous posts speculated about the story based on this title but the Korean title of this series is "연애 지상주의 구역" ("Dating Supremacy Zone", or just "Dating Zone") which is the term that comes up in alert whenever Myungha is close to Yeowoon.
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Anyway, back to our zombies, gorillas and demons. The movie Myungha and Yeowoon actually went to watch on their date was "Zombie Gorilla VS Demon Crocodile". The caption on thte poster says "Who will protect the world?"
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Again, this movie doesn't exist. Why would they make such a point of showing Myungha crying and experiencing genuine emotions (when he only shed tears after he got scared by the full-scale system error and when his grandma got into hospital)? Well, Myungha explains it to Yewoon by himself.
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"Well, it was the first time I see someone crying for a zombie gorilla." "Do you know how epic this movie is? The crocodile was actually an extraterrestrial. He met the gorilla here and joined him to save the world." "The plot is really strange." "It was very emotional."
Does it ring a bell? I don't think I need to add any words. Myungha = someone who came from another world and joined Yeowoon to save him and complete the game with happy ending. Myungha relates a lot and cries. I just find it funny thinking about how "The plot is really strange" and "You have a very strange taste" can be also said to all the viewers of LFLS (well, we all are very invested in this a bit confusing mysterious story as well, aren't we?xD)
I also love how we keep being reminded about the "unreality" of the story, how system can experience bugs and things in the world can glitch and Myungha is never immersed in this new life or his new love story to the 100% (cue all the 'choose anyone but me, go date a better man' and patronizing way he treats all characters around him, instead focusing on preventing them and the world from bad events following author's instructions)
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I don't think I have much to add to the rest of the episode, I mirrored the haters articles and messages which were written for the show but the comments are quite generic (I couldn't read all of them but I didn't notice anything unusual). One thing, the DM to Myungha technically says "Die, Tae Myungha".
All I can say is that the online anonymous bullying is really prominent and a huge problem in Korea that leads to celebrities' depression and sometimes suicide. All influencers (and there are a lot of them in SK) are held to unimaginable 'perfect' standard and forums often have anonymous commenting which makes messages even more cruel (but later they addressed the issue and I think at least under news articles in Entertainment/Celebrity section the anonymous function was turned off, still, there are a lot of ways to ruin someone's life online). It happens in every country, of course, but stalking/online bullying is something that can be understood very easily by Koreans because it's often on the news and in the community.
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Another little detail – even though Myungha does talk to students who are technically "younger" than him by one school year like he's old and wise, he doesn't use the word 'kid' nearly as much as you'd think xD (but the subs are doing the right thing anyway because how else are you supposed to show that subtle cultural difference between saying Cha Yeowoon and Yeowoon-ah, or Myungha calling Sangwoon by his name when he's frustrated with him instead of cursewords or titles?)
In the phrase "Get it together, kid!" Myungha actually uses the word 새끼 (saekki) which can be a curseword (like 'asshole, bastard', used by school gangster in previous eps) but it also literally means 'a child' that can be used by grandparents for their grandson or by parents, for example. So basically, think of 'son of a bitch' which can be used both as cursing and have literal meaning. Koreans have the same (개새끼 - son of a dog) phrase.
But it doesn't have an affectionate connotation when said by teenagers or adults (unless it's said to close friends without heat), and I am sure Myungha says it with more of "Get it together, you brat!" meaning. I just used this screenshot to tell you about Korean cursewords, he-he.
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+ bonus: there is no translation or anything, but since we were talking about posters, I just found it funny and adorable how Yeowoon visually replaced here the poster behind him xD
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harmonysanreads · 9 months
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Sumeru hexagon brainrot because I've been rewatching the recent event scenes but also expanding on the one thing of darling being a commentator as well!
I'm thinking of darling freaking out watching the boys trying to hurt each other and especially after Kaveh deals with the diadem they rush towards him and begin fawning over him super worried about him being hurt. (Subtle side glare to wanderer as well for being real rough on the poor boy's side. That ameno blast got him good!)
And Kaveh is so dramatic he'd definitely play it up some more to bask in the undivided attention. And then him learning of what exactly happened to his dad? Darling gets a drunk Kaveh at her doorstep in the middle of the night and ends up caring for him more.
Of course as a thank you Kaveh invites her for a meal (and pays for it! Thanks to Cyno buying the card). Instead of inviting them to the meal with Cyno and Tighnari because he'd be able to have darling to himself. (But we know how resourceful those other boys are and they may or may not have found out and crashed the date).
[ au masterlist ]
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If Kaveh had a mora for everytime his advances faced subjugation, he'd have... a lot of mora.
At this point, he can't say he's surprised at the turn of events. If anything, it's Kaveh's failure for not expecting it and taking necessary precautions. Oh well, he just wanted to share a nice meal with you! Was that so much to ask for??
Apparently.
“[Name], I told you, you should've left him outside last night instead of inviting him over. See the look he's giving me!” the hatted boy Kaveh's seen hanging by your person more often than not side eyes him, “whispering” not so discreetly but very purposefully by your ear, a hand raised in mock cover and all the shebang. Kaveh's left eye twitches as he struggles to keep the amiable smile on his face, hands curling into fists beneath the table as his eyes meet coy blue ones.
“I think Hat Guy here has a point, you look unnecessarily agitated, Kaveh.” chimes in a certain scholar seated on your right, Tighnari and Cyno take an eager sip of their drinks at the sight.
Kaveh's carefully maintained countenance almost shatters at the comment, but a look at your face has him halt at the last second, he promised to keep himself in check, he reminds himself. The sheer audacity of these kids! Crashing on his moment and then blaming him for getting annoyed?
“Well, why do you think I am as agitated as I look?” the architect points a fork towards the Scribe from across the table.
“Simple, because you cannot keep your emotions in check.”
“That's it, I've had—”
“Enough, you two.”
Kaveh freezes in his position as your words still the chatters. Yet, the tension in the air only becomes more tangible as five pairs of eyes await your next course of action.
You gently remove the hatted boy's arm from yours (ignoring his reluctance to let go), shifting to address each of the men, “Kaveh has a valid point for being irritated, after all, you four did barge in uninvited. But we're not strangers, so there shouldn't be an issue for us to cooperate and make the most of this meal. Right, Kaveh?”
The addressed architect sits back down with a huff, acquiescing with a heated ‘fine’ after some deliberation. With your declaration, everyone relaxes in various degrees. It's not until Tighnari quips up does the silence break, “[Name] is right, you know. We're all friends, do we really need permission to join each other?”
The ex-harbinger notices the General Mahamatra look at the Forest Ranger by the corner of his eye, the impish tone of Tighnari's words is just noticeable enough for everyone to catch but not to comment on, how interesting.
“Well, it wouldn't hurt to let your friends know beforehand, either, right?” the architect shots back.
Cyno takes over unexpectedly, “Of course not. But I'm with Tighnari on this, friends trust each other enough to let down boundaries. It's not like we have any other intention except wanting to spend time with each other, so what is there to get worked up for?”
“There is a reason to get worked up because I was on a da—”
Kaveh chokes back his words midway, the air suddenly feeling electric. He dares not look, he doesn't need to, for he can feel the men's eyes piercing through his soul at the slip up.
“You were on a da...?” Tighnari urges and despite not following, you find yourself holding your breath.
“I was on a, on a.. da.. da..dat—”
Kaveh makes the mistake of looking right and the sight of a pulsating anemo vision has him gulp.
“—dessert! I was on my dessert! Oh goodness, this thing is delicious! Why would you all interrupt me enjoying it? Hahaha.”
The electricity dissipates without a trace, the air suddenly much easier to breath in. You're left there blinking, not really grasping the point of that exchange as Kaveh gobbles up a random sweet treat to affirm his words. Cyno and Tighnari exchange triumphant glances and Alhaitham goes back to his book, Hat Guy leans back in his seat and Kaveh heaves a sigh of relief.
What a close call.
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ohraicodoll · 1 year
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So rewatching TLoU…for science of course. Episode 3, the lunch with Bill, Frank, Tess and Joel. After Frank takes Tess inside and Joel say-
“I understand. If my- if mine”
Imma need that but with Red, a possessive ‘you’re mine’ Joel. I know we got a ‘you’re it for me’ when little miss hussey tried to sneak her way in but hearing him say “mine” just does something to me.
I thank you in advance.
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No sooner than the hand touched her waist, Joel's hand was there gripping the stranger's wrist tightly.
She hadn't been paying attention to the man next to her at the bar, too overwhelmed by the amount of people in the small place and focused on her task of finding Tommy. She had reasoned that it would be quick, only needing to let him know she was switching out the dog that was scheduled to go with them on patrol the next morning before heading home.
But the place was busier than usual and she had to focus on her breathing to get the small task done. She hadn't noticed the way one of the newcomers looked over at her from his stool and hadn't heard the words from his mouth as he tried to get her attention. It wasn't a common occurrence, after all, most of Jackson knew to stay away from her. Either because of her own tendency to bare her teeth at anyone that tried or because of the very man that now stood at her back.
She hadn't noticed Joel in the bar, if that was any consolation to how overwhelmed she was.
Her head jerked to the side, eyes narrowing and watching as the stranger winced in Joel's tightening grip. He smelt of wood and sunshine after working construction all day, standing so close to her back, and she focused on that to ground herself.
"What the fuck, man?" The guy hissed and grimaced, trying to yank his arm out of the older man's grip. "I'll give you a warning this time, considerin' you're new and all," Joel grunted, not letting go, "One, you're lucky it's me telling you to knock it off instead of her unless you want a knife through your damn hand." It was a morbid thing to feel her stomach flutter at, but something in her always preened that Joel considered her the more dangerous of the two of them. She wasn't sure if that was true, but the fact he thought so had her breath hitch. The man's eyes darted to her and she raised a brow, arms crossed. "Two," Joel clenched his fist tighter and the guy groaned painfully, neither of them caring about the attention focused on them from the other bar patrons at the sound, "If I catch you touchin' what's mine again, I'll break your fuckin' arm in three places. Got it?" "Fuck y-" his mutterings were cut off when Joel twisted in the opposite direction, pulling his shoulder the wrong way, "Goddamnit-" "Repeat it," the older man ordered calmly, anger a low simmer underneath the two words. "Fuck! Okay! Okay, I won't fucking go near the bitch!" She didn't need to look at Joel to know his brow was furrowed, eyes darkening at the comment as a sigh left his lips. It was almost expected to hear the crack of the man's wrist breaking shortly after and thud of his stool as he jerked away. But Joel wasn't done and held him in place by the back of his neck.
"Apologize to her," he was standing behind the man now, fingers digging in even as the newcomer squirmed in pain and blubbered. Snot and tears were running down his face but Joel shook him a little to get him to concentrate.
Her own face was a mask, void of surprise or emotion. Almost bored. Inside her heart was racing, electricity shooting through her watching the feral rage coursing through Joel behind his eyes. He was mad, oh definitely, but he was mad for her. It was over the top, past unnecessary considering all the man had done was touch her waist, but she didn't care.
They'd done worse for each other.
The stranger looked up at her, face red and a mess, and bit out shakily, "I'm fuckin' sorry." The moment the words were out Joel released him abruptly and let him fall to the ground curled over his injured wrist. They both watched silently as the man scrambled to his feet and ran out of the newly quiet bar, everyone's eyes on him.
That wasn't anything new. It felt like they were always watching them.
Feeling the burn of Joel's gaze on her, her tongue went dry and she swallowed, turning to meet it. They'd always been good at communicating silently, able to read the other like a book. The lighter furrowing of his brows, the tiniest dimple in his cheek, the way his eyes darkened and swallowed the hints of hazel in his irises. The word he'd used earlier clanged through her. Mine. She was his, entirely and utterly. It was something she was getting use to, this new branding of their relationship, but having it said out loud in such possessive and blatant terms sent heat blazing through her.
And maybe he could see that because he slowly stepped forward, not caring if the whole bar or town was watching, and pulled her forward by her neck to meet his lips. Her nails twisted in the worn fabric of his shirt, body melting into his touch and letting him take control.
Drawing back the barest bit, she couldn't help but pull her bottom lip between her teeth, thighs pressed together to ease some of the pressure building. His eyes followed hungrily, watching her chew on her lip and it was an effort not to smirk. It was a trigger for him, so often him kissing her senseless if only to bite down on the lip himself.
"Home. Now," he grunted, kissing her hard again before yanking her from her spot against the counter and leading them out.
She figured she could tell Tommy about the dogs later or when he inevitably came over to the house to yell at them. There were better things to be doing. ___________________________________ Taglist: @alouise20 @faceache111​ @hawsx3 @taxidriversainz @iluvbunnyhops @mrfitzdarcyslover @emlovesya  @agent007knight @spaacerabbit @namgification @wonwoosthetic  @wxnderingthoughts @sagggy @escaping-reality8 @badwolf00593​ @themothersmercy @badwolf00593 @mxtokko @happinessinthebeing​ @taranicristeard  @aroacefanenby @barbellpedro  @maviee​ @sgt-morgan @peppesgirl​ @spideysimpossiblegirl ​
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oneatlatime · 5 months
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The Tales of Ba Sing Se PART 2
The Tale of Zuko
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Maybe I should make a Zuko's Stupid Faces post.
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Zuko and Iroh's whole dynamic in one frame.
This girl is cute. Total girl next door type. She does have fairly horrible taste in men, but she's also very cute.
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I just want to take a minute to point out a VERY important distinction. Zuko is not going out on a date. Zuko is not taking a girl out on a date. A girl is taking Zuko out on a date. She's got that arm in a death grip. Not only is that a clever reversal of the usual hetero dynamic, but I'm convinced it's the only way Zuko would ever get any action, so it's also in character.
I know Zuko's social skills are non-existent, but apart from the blow up at the waiter he is actually trying. He's failing, but I have to give him points for trying.
The way this girl's voice actress says "You juggled" made my ears very happy. And the beleaguered "yes. I juggled." is equally good.
Zuko! Tell her you did sword stuff! That's something you can actually do!
It gives me hope that someone so steeped in the most toxic parts of the Fire Nation, for so long, can STILL be so bad at lying, but it would certainly be a handy skill right about now.
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I take it back. This girl does have good taste in men. Zuko's such a softie when it counts. He still sucks at being normal, but he just risked his identity because the girl he didn't even plan to go out with was a little bit sad.
This girl is the best.
Ha! He kissed her back! He Did! I saw that!
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I take back what I took back. Zuko's evil again. He made my new favourite girl droop.
I love that Iroh's waiting up for him while making it look like he isn't waiting up for him. How many times on their ship, when Zuko was out Blue Spiriting, do you think Iroh found a reason to be randomly sat on the deck at 3 am?
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Character development baby! Can you really call yourself loyal to the fire nation if you admit to having a good time on a date with an Earth Kingdom girl?
The Tale of Momo
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Pretty.
That was a FILTHY bait and switch. For one shining moment, I had Appa back.
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They should take that to June.
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Not Appa.
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Also not Appa.
I did not have 'Momo gets gaslit' on my Avatar Bingo card. Nor did I have 'interspecies animal friendship angst.'
Are these cat things the raccoons of the Avatar universe? Or the squirrels? Urban scroungers?
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I love the idea that this guy just grabs the closest squirrel, sticks a hat on it, and expects it to dance. He got lucky with Momo.
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I thought they were taking the animals to the pound, but this is very much a butcher. Which means that in Ba Sing Se, they eat varmint. Stay away from the hot dog carts.
That's very effective Simglish.
Thank god for thumbs.
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Aw they're friends! This has Aristocats vibes, when O'Malley and the girl cat are getting together near the end.
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And one final Fuck You, because god forbid Momo's tale ends on a happy note.
I'm guessing that's an Appa print, but couldn't it also be a platypus bear?
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Something about the cats standing vigil over Momo's grief gets to me.
Final thoughts
I'll go through each of these stories individually, but first some general comments.
Last episode was kind of intense, and definitely ended on a downer (not that this one didn't), so it was a good call to at least start this episode off on something a bit gentler.
I was really impressed with the soundtrack throughout. Apart from the Tale of Momo where it's the animal noises that are front and centre, the music is doing a lot of work in every story, the strings especially. The strings are doing emotional work, plot stuff, and even humour. Seriously, next time you rewatch this episode, pay attention to the strings. These shorts are actually very light on dialogue (apart from Sokka's), but they don't feel that way because the music is doing the talking.
I'm assuming that this all took place over three days at least, since Iroh, Zuko, and Momo's tales seem to end on different evenings. So I don't think calling this episode 'day in the life' is accurate. My bad. It also occurs to me that this kind of episode format would be a great way of showing time has passed. If they had had an episode like this in the Northern Water Tribe - after Katara beat the crap out of Poophead but before the Fire Nation attacked - I would have liked the pacing of the whole finale arc better.
On to the stories!
The Tale of Toph and Katara
It might be because I didn't understand what this episode was doing yet, but this one didn't do much for me. It was good to see Toph have a moment of self-doubt, but I never would have assumed, based on her previous behaviour, that her appearance was her proverbial weak spot. Katara did a really good job at building her back up, and she was delightfully (and appropriately) understated for once. When she's reassuring Aang of something (especially in Season 1) Katara tends to got from 0 to 60 very quickly, so it was nice to see her be reassuring in a quiet, non-steamrolling way. Is this Katara character development? Apart from the fact that Toph quite literally got her eyeballs sanded, nothing much in this episode stuck out to me. Except those bitchy voices. Those were like knives in my brain.
The Tale of Iroh
So many questions! Is Lu Ten buried in Ba Sing Se? How is that grave not defaced yet? How did Iroh get a copy of his son's picture? They lost everything at the North Pole, right? Did he ask the people who got him their passports for a picture of his son too? Does Zuko know/remember that it's his cousin's birthday? If so, why isn't he there offering Iroh the world's most awkward hug? Given the fact that Iroh spent the whole day helping people, including a very misguided youth, and given that Iroh says something along the lines of "if only I could have helped you [his son]" does this imply that Lu Ten was going through a crisis at the time of his death? Was he misguided like the wannabe mugger? Is Zuko not the first Fire Nation Prince that Iroh has had to guide through an identity/existential crisis? Is Zuko going to be the first time Iroh succeeds at guiding a Fire Nation prince through an identity/existential crisis? Does Iroh live in perpetual fear of failing Zuko the way he seems to believe he failed his son? Am I reading too much into this?
To be quite honest, this story would have hit me harder if I had remembered going into it that Iroh had a son. Lu Ten takes being a textual ghost to a whole new level. Also the 'In honor of Mako' text confused me. And worried me a little.
The Tale of Aang
I liked this one! Aang can't help Appa at the moment, but he can help all the Appa stand ins who aren't fortunate enough to have an Aang to help them. Aang is a nice little boy! Of course he'd free a bunch of animals without thinking about the consequences and the epic pile of platypus bear dung he's just landed the zookeeper in with the Dai Li. I liked the animal designs. I liked the earthbending. I liked the Siamese cat representation. I loved cabbage man. I think that, if Appa could have known, he would have approved. I also think that I'm once again reading too much into this. it was nominally a fun fluff piece elaborating on a established emotional conflict (Appa missing), which gave it just enough weight to be slightly more than a fluff piece.
The Tale of Sokka
I am entirely serious when I say that 'poetry bouncer' is my favourite joke so far in the WHOLE show. I love absurdity played entirely earnestly. It's fridge funny too. The longer I contemplate the implications, the funnier it gets. What past event required a poetry bouncer be introduced? He's not there to protect the students or the teacher; he's here to reinforce the structure of the Haiku by force. Was he hired by the concept of Haiku? Is Haiku taken so seriously in Ba Sing Se that he's needed to break up cat fights between students? There is a rich well of haiku-related hijinks just hinted at by his presence, and I want to know more.
Sokka is so often his own worst enemy that it makes sense that he's taken out by his own hubris. That fortune teller lady was absolutely a crook, but she did one hell of an accurate cold read on Sokka.
The Tale of Zuko
Credits tell me that the girl's name is Jin. I would like to congratulate the creators of Avatar for managing to illustrate romantic interest so palpably without resorting to heart eyes and steam whistle noises. Nothing wrong with those; I'm just impressed by how much of Jin's interest in Zuko you can feel. Also, she'd better be more than a single episode character, because I need more of this sweetheart. She's a real contender for displacing Toph as my favourite girl in the cast.
To be fair to Zuko, he did make Jin droop (UNFORGIVABLE), but it was also the right call. He can't date her honestly. It IS complicated. And I don't think any Earth Kingdom girl (worth dating) would knowingly go out with Fire Nation royalty. Jin wanted Lee the Tea Boy. Try as he might, Zuko can't stop being Zuko. I would argue that he shouldn't stop being Zuko. His flashback mom told him not to forget who he was, so I'd also argue that the narrative doesn't want Zuko to stop being Zuko either. I guess it's a case of right girl, wrong time. It looks like she's cool with him being a firebender, but firebending and being the Fire Lord's son are not the same magnitude of hurdle to dating. Maybe when the war's over they can hook up again.
The Tale of Momo
I think this qualifies as cruelty to the audience. I got the impression that this story was crafted borderline maliciously, to make the viewers suffer angst dump after angst dump.
I liked seeing things from Momo's perspective. I loved the animal noises, which really got across a shocking amount of emotion. Those, combined with body language, were as effective as any spoken script. These cartoon people really know how to use their medium.
It absolutely kills me that Momo is missing Appa, and since he doesn't understand human speech, he can't even be comforted by knowing that his humans are actively looking for him. If you've ever seen one of your pets missing another of your pets in real life, you know there's nothing worse than the helplessness that comes with not being able to explain or magically summon their friend back from the kennel, or the vet, or the dead. All you can do is give them hugs. I'm glad that Momo got a street cat support group at the end of the episode, but the animal grief at the beginning was hard to get through. It's sweet to have confirmation that Momo sees Appa as family, but surely they could have showed that to us in a way that doesn't make me need to hug the stuffing out of my own pets?
Final Final Thoughts for real this time
This episode wrings you out a little. Fully a third of the stories are about Appa, despite him not being there. At least half are about missing someone who isn't there. At least half are bittersweet.
I liked this episode format. I hope they use it again next season. Only Toph and Katara's tale felt too short to me. The rest did such a good job at drawing me in, that when I went back to check timestamps I was surprised by how short these stories are.
I'm going to go eat too much chocolate.
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in-act-ive · 10 months
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Okay so could you maybe write something were the reader and carl talk about their future together and just plan out everything in full Detail and like just fluff and more fluff with them beinge excited for it
Yeah sure! You're gonna make me cry Anon ( joking! )
Carl Grimes x NB/GN!reader
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Request : yep!
Type : story
A / N : I hope this is what you wanted! I apologize for no w/c. I totally forgot to do it! This takes place before Glenn's death because i stopped paying attention after that ( I'm not as informed on anything after that! ) I also don't remember everything an I need to rewatch some parts so I apologize if its at all wrong!
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Carl, Rick, Glenn, and yourself were out on a run. You ended up in a huge forest and even if Rick wouldn't admit it, you were probably lost. Glenn was at the back and Rick was at the front leaving you and Carl in the middle.
Carl was way too focused on his dad and what he was mumbling to himself so you decided to break the very awkward silence.
"So, Carl, what do you have planned for the future?" You asked, taking a small step to stand in front of him. You spun around slightly to face him. You didn't mind having to walk backwards. He hummed thoughtfully before speaking.
Carl looked slightly annoyed when he stepped in front of him, his grip on his gun tightening slightly. "Dunno." He shrugged
You gasped in offense at the comment. Carl rolled his eyes and let out a long sigh. Once the conversation starter failed your ears were filled with the sound of four sets of foot steps crunching the dead leaves, pine needles, and loose sticks below them, Rick's soft mumbling that seemed to just be nonsense, and Carl's heavy breathing. You sighed and fell back to Carl's side with angry huff.
You four sat in silence for the next half mile or so. The only real conversation was Glenn reassuring Rick that he knew what he was doing. And that he didn't need to worry.
You let your head fall back in anger at the silence. You looked up at the darkening sky and the sudden sound of Rick's voice made you jump and pull your gun up, your grip on it tightening.
"We should set up camp. You three look exhausted." Rick spoke firmly. When he watched you jump and move your gun he put his hand out to stop you. Carl put his hand over the barrel of your gun and softly pushed it down into a less threatening position.
'Setting up camp' was more of 'roll your sleeping bags out' cause Rick never let you carry a tent. You pulled your bag off and used the strap at the top to hang it on a low hanging branch. You pulled the sleeping bag out from its stop on your bag and you threw it out with a small noise.
You flopped on the thin fabric and sighed. Carl set his down beside you.
After Rick set up a fire and made you some ehat you assumed were beans he made his own food and went to bed. Glenn followed soon after leaving you and Carl up alone.
"Okay Carl, I'm not going to call you a liar--" You paused and tilted your head to the side to think about it. "Never mind I am going to call you a liar. You've got to have some plan for the future." You pushed. Carl looked at you kinda irritated before sighing.
"Tell me about your plans sense you're so invested." Carl commented. You didn't even take the time to consider that Carl had just avoided your question.
You thought for a moment. "Well! I wanna find love, obviously. Definitely get myself my own house of some sort. Get like my own sanctuary kinda thing!" You smiled happily as you explained.
Carl smiled, seeing you happy anf talk about something that made you so excited made him happy. You'd always brought a smile to the boys face no matter what you did. He thought of you as one of the few people who genuinely stayed happy in this whole mess.
Once you had finished talking he decided to give ideas. "Well... You could make a town of sorts. Find any animals, if there still are any, and raise them and such so food. Make it near a river so you can have water--" Carl was cut off by you speaking.
"You could help me run it!" Your eyes lit up. Carl looked at you confused for a moment. Not even knowing if he could deal with all that. He shook his head while smiling.
Carl finally looked up at you again before speaking, "I don't think so. I think you'd do much better without me." He spoke softly.
You were very offended. You pulled your head back in mock disgust before laughing softly. "I beg to differ!" You huffed at him.
You and Carl had always been attached at the hip. Even if he was a lot tougher than your more excited and happy self. You two rarely did anything without the other and you did not plan on changing that tradition, at all.
You'd been the one to calm Carl's constant need to be cool and show off to the adults. While on the other hand Carl was there to make sure you didn't let everyone push you around and to make sure you didn't fo anything too stupid.
Carl sighed at you and you sighed back, mocking him. He finally thought of what to say. "Y / N, as much as I'd love too you need to learn that you can live without me for five minutes." He looked very serious but his eyes were laces with something you couldn't quite put your finger on.
"Shut up! You know you'd love to help." You crossed your arms across your chest in frustration.
Carl laughed and set his hand on your knee, something he often did to make you know he was there. Or when he was about to say something he knew would make you happy.
He looks at you, deadpan. "You know I would." A small smirk plays at the side of his lips. "What's your plan?" He watches as your face lights up.
You're practically screaming with excitement at that. He quickly has to put his hand over your mouth to ensure you don't wake Glenn and Rick up.
"Really?" Your voice was muffled through his hand. Carl nodded softly.
Carl pulled his hand away and wiped it on his pants. You roll your eyes but kept your mouth shut for the time being. Once you actually found the words you spoke excitedly while whisper screaming. "You actually wanna hear?" Your eyes were shining.
Carl couldn't help but laugh at yout excitement. "Yep, of course." He nodded, his voice seemed a lot smoother than usual. Clearly he was trying to calm your excitement.
You didn't even know where to start. You hadn't planned anything around Carl being involved so you'd have to tweak some things.
You hummed while deep in thought. Carl looked intently at you. "Well.. Once we find a good town thats not completely rundown we can make walls around it! There's forests for miles so that means a lot of wood." You explain. Carl really didn't need the extra stuff about how you'd get wood but he didn't want to interrupt your excited rant.
Carl just nodded and made small 'mhm' noises as you spoke about resources. "Like you said it'd be helpful to be near water and hopefully some farm land for food. Maybe if we find any animals in this mess, which I highly doubt, we can have pastures!" You went on. Clearly not stopping for anything.
Carl softly smacked your knee to make you go silent for a moment so he can add a suggestion. "You could have a small market. Dad talks about these things called farmers markets. People bring stuff they've grown or made and sell them." Carl tilted his head to the side as he watched you think.
You nodded excitedly. Carl and yourself talked for hours until Glenn woke up na d told you both to sleep.
The next day, neither adults were excited to deal with the two exhausted teens
Note: This was not spell checked nor grammer checked! I apologize in advance for the mistakes
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randombrambles · 7 months
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Okay...going to wade into the Sabezra discussion. May the flying spaghetti monster in sky have mercy on my soul...
I guess you could call me a "causal viewer" because, despite being a life long Star Wars fan, I'd never watched an episode of Rebels before watching Ahsoka. I just never got around to it and I've only watched a handful of eps of The Clone Wars too. But anyway once I started Ahsoka I was like "this show will clearly make more sense if I watch Rebels" so I started. I'm almost done season 3 of Rebels as of writing this post. And really loving Rebels btw. Part of me of like "why didn't I watch this earlier?" but on the other hand I don't have to wait for the next episode and I know the major spoilers already so I'm not going to get the rug yanked out from under me.
So back to Ahsoka and Sabezra...the big questions. Did I see the romance "coding" (not sure I agree "coding" is the right word but whatever, that's semantics) in Ahsoka? Yes. Sabine's actions definitely come across as her being in love with Ezra to me. That said I can also see the platonic angle, especially after having watched some of Rebels, so I'm not going to tell anyone they are wrong for viewing Sabine and Ezra's relationship as platonic. These things are subjective and open to interpretation until anything definitively romantic or definitively not romantic happens on screen. And at this point nothing definitive has happened either way on screen. Nobody has been proven right and nobody has been proven wrong yet. Sabezra is basically schrodinger's cat right now.
Next how did I interpret the "like a sister" line in Ezra's holo. Um...full disclosure the first time I viewed that scene I didn't even register that he'd said she was "like a sister" to him. I'd never even seen Rebels at that point so I didn't know Ezra yet. So as a causal viewer my take away from that scene was Ezra meant a lot to Sabine and Sabine meant a lot to Ezra. And I'd be wiling to bet that that was the takeaway for most causal viewers.
So on rewatch do I think the "like a sister" line means that Ezra truly sees Sabine as a sister? No. On rewatch, paying close attention to the body language, and after having watched some Rebels, I think Ezra is both struggling to find the words to tell Sabine how important she is to him and telling her what he thinks she needs to hear in that moment. The problem is that in English we don't have a word to describe someone isn't technically family but who isn't a lover either but who's also way more than "just" a friend. Sister is the best word Ezra can come up with in that moment but you can tell from his awkward body language and his literal scoff as soon as he says it that its not the right word. And yeah I think Ezra thinks that Sabine sees him as a brother so he tells her what he thinks she wants to hear right before he heads of on what very well could have been a suicide mission.
Do I think Sabezra is going to be made canon on Tuesday's final episode of Ahsoka (of season 1 at least). No, but hold on nobody panic!!! I also don't think that means Sabezra is dead in the water either. And frankly I'm kind of mystified as to why Sabezra shippers seem to think that the next episode is make or break for Sabezra when its clearly not? If there isn't a love declaration or a kiss or both (which is what I'm assuming people would interpret can them being made canon) its not like either Sabine or Ezra are going to marry someone else on Tuesday either. And since much of Ahsoka has been set up, meaning not much is actually going to get resolved in the next ep (Thrawn hasn't even left Perida[?] yet! I fear we are ending on a cliff hanger), we'll be seeing Sabine and Ezra again. There's no rush for them to get together romantically (and I know that's hard to hear for people who've been shipping for years but its true).
And further to the "there's no rush" point I actually have to say I that I think its WAY too soon for anything definitively romantic to happen between Ezra and Sabine yet (and again I get how hard that is for those who've been shipping them for a long time). And I say that as both a "casual viewer" and someone who's also watched a good chunk of Rebels now. For the causal viewer who hasn't watched Rebels, which is probably a big chunk of the audience for Ahsoka, they barely know Sabine, have just met Ezra and have only seen them interacting for ONE episode and don't know any of their history. A kiss or a love declaration would seem out of the blue at this point I think. And as someone who's getting into Rebels I still think its too soon. While I agree that Sabine is very likely in love with Ezra I don't think she's admitted to herself yet (that's why Baylan used the word family when he was getting her to hand over the map thingy imho) no way is she ready to tell HIM. And as for Ezra...dude is clueless that Sabine might might have non platonic feelings for him so no way is he going to risk ruining their friendship by blurting out that he's in love with her. And not only that they've been separated for 10 YEARS ffs. They need to get to know each other again before anything romantic can happen, again imho. I want Sabezra to become canon but I want it done WELL. Sabezra is a friends to lovers ship, they are still firmly in the friends stage right now, it needs to be a sloooooow burn.
And finally do I think Sabezra will become canon? Honestly...I don't know. I'd like it to, it would be really nice to have a non problematic ship, especially after the sequel trilogy robbed us of FinnRey and tried to force freaking r*ylo. But I think Filoni and the other powers that be over at DLF (he is NOT the sole person calling the shots here, keep that in mind everyone) are probably testing the waters right now and waiting to see what the audience reactions are like before they make any decisions. I'd be wiling to bet that by the end of Tuesday's episode the door will be left wide open for pretty much anything to happening shipping wise. So we'll just have to wait and see. Time will tell, it always does.
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bobawitch · 11 months
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The Different Stage (Jack Wilder x Reader)
warnings: fluff, mentions of stripping, suggestive situations.
A/N: i was rewatching the now you see me movies and I am absolutely obsessed with Jack Wilder so I thought I’d write a fic abt it. So in this reader is a stripper, she’s not a prostitute but she pole dances at a strip club and Jack goes in with Atlas and Merritt. Jack likes her and wants to actually get to know her. that’s basically it! Hope y’all enjoy!
Word count: 1307
Chapter 1:
It was just another night at the club. You had to work, in fact your hours had just about doubled since your rent went up. Though that’s just how it is in New York isn’t it. Thankfully you had done your last dance for the night and were packing up to go back to your crappy apartment. You pulled your hair up into a messy bun held together by a big clip. You walked back through the drinking area, the dancer scheduled after you had already taken the stage. You looked at her, smiling at her and waving, she smiled back. All the dancers were close, you all had to be to make sure no one got in trouble with a creepy customer. You turned to resume your journey home when you knocked into someone. A smooth male voice hit your ears and you found yourself face to face with these beautiful brown eyes. “Miss?” He spoke and you realized he had definitely said something else. The other two men that were with him eyed you before shrugging and walking to a table. “Oh uh, sorry. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was walking.” You said before moving to the side to push past him. He let you leave but watched you very closely as you did leave. Then he found his friends. Jack sat down with Atlas and Merritt, still looking back at the door you had left from. Atlas nudged Merritt with a devilish grin. “Look Jack’s got a crush!” Jack smacked Atlas’s arm, his eyes not leaving the doorway for a few more minutes. “Shut up.” Merritt and Atlas laughed before their night went on.
The next day you found yourself thinking of the man you ran into. You had never seen him around the bar before but he looked so familiar. You tried to push the beautiful stranger from your mind as you got ready for your night. You chose a fan favorite dance tonight, with the fan favorite outfit too. You didn’t enjoy your job but you were damn good at it. You walked out onto the stage after their announcement of your stage name and the music began. It was your most popular song for stage dance, So High by Doja Cat. You slowly strutted to the pole, throwing one leg around and letting yourself swing around. Your arms stabilized you on the pole and your head made a slow circle. It was the first time you actually looked at the audience and when you caught a pair of chocolate brown eyes you nearly stopped your routine. It was the man from the night before. He had come with the other two men again though one was being escorted off for a private lap dance. You let your eyes linger on him as his eyes burned your skin with intensity. You slowly dragged yourself back up the pole before moving to the side of the stage. Fingers twisting together you dropped to your knees at the beat, crawling forward before touching up your torso as the chorus began. Soon you lost yourself in the music, temporarily forgetting about the candy-eyed man. After your performance you had groundwork to do, that of course entailed a costume change and small makeup touch up. Once you changed your outfit and pulled your hair to one side you walked out. You were headed to one of the tables in your area when you were stopped. A man had walked in front of you, causing you to look up. Once more you found yourself in an intense staring match with the handsome stranger. “Uh.. hi.” He said, obviously a bit flustered, You smirked and touched his shoulder, walking next to him. “Hello loverboy.” You replied, beginning to walk away, your finger signaling for him to follow behind you. Upon hearing his footsteps behind you, your smirk grew. You got to the bar and picked up a tray for one of the tables. The stranger finally caught up and leaned on the bar. “So what’s your name… y’know your real name?” He asked. You laughed, “I don’t give my name to customers, sorry sweetcheeks.” “Then who do you give your name to?” “Hm, let me think on that.” You winked at him before moving to the table you were to serve. You set down the drinks, chatting up the gentlemen at the table for a few moments. A few tips were made through that before you walked back to the bar, handsome stranger was waiting for you. “I’m Jack, by the way.” He said. “Alright Jack, you going to buy something or just keep talking to me?” You glanced at him, smirking again. “Hm, how much would a date cost?” His lips cracked into a smirk to rival yours. A sultry giggle escaped your lips before you shook your head. “Dunno, how much you willing to pay? And what do you want me to do for that date?” Out of the corner of your eye you saw him shake his head. You leaned against the bar now, looking at him and holding tense eye contact. His cheeks had gone a bit pink as you spoke but he composed himself as he replied. “No no, not that kind of date.” “Hm, how about I think about that? Maybe I’ll let you know at the end of my shift.” You shrugged, grabbing another drink tray before moving to deliver them. As you began to walk to the table one of Jack’s friends came over, obviously drunk as hell. “Heyy Jack! You found her! Great job!! Hey, how about I pay for a private lap dance huh?” He spoke, smirking at Jack and still blocking your path. Jack began to protest the idea of a lap dance, giving you an apologetic smile. You giggled a bit, his smile was kinda cute. But his friend had already pulled out the money and stuck it in your top string. You sighed, handing your drink tray to one of the other girls to deliver. Jack looked down at you when your hand pressed to his chest. “Well, come on loverboy, a lap dance was ordered.” You wrapped your fingers around his tie and pulled him off. “You don’t have to give me a lap dance, I’m so sorry about my friend.” He spoke in pure panic until you got to the booths for private lap dances. You turned and wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him close. Hesitant hands found your hips and you smiled. You leaned in, your lips almost brushing against his before turning him around and pushing him into the chair. You climbed onto his lap, your thighs trapping him beneath you. You leaned down to his ear and whispered, “If you want me to stop, just say that.” As your words left your lips you began the dance. Your hips grinded gently in a circle, your hands dragging up his chest. Jack opened then closed his mouth, his hands not knowing where to touch. You leaned forward, pulling yourself up. Your chest was at his eye level yet his eyes stuck onto yours. You brought your hands around his head, playing with his hair. You dragged his head back, leaning into his neck to whisper. “I’m Y/N. And a date sounds nice, if you still want that.” Jack’s hands finally found your waist and he sat you down on his lap, looking at you with a different kind of intensity. “When do you get off?” “11.” “Let me get you food after work.” “You have a deal Jack.” You stood back up and pushed your hand onto his shoulder. Slowly you climbed off his lap and opened the curtain. “See you at 11 Jack.” You winked and walked off before he could get another sentence in.
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anomaly-vee · 3 months
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so to make it clear: the memories stolen were:
frost’s last memory of his parents and how he discovered his powers
torbek’s… like EVERYTHING. his motivation for this quest in the first place, his history with “the other” (is he the other?? that’s a whole ‘nother post), possibly how he met the gang in the witchlight carnival in the first place??? (also is gorebek GONE?? yet another post)
gideon’s clearest and happiest memory with his pa (mace made it so that he doesn’t even REMEMBER his dad but i am holding on to the hope that he still does bc i will actually throw up)
gricko’s guilt(?) between him and his mother after something about a piano (apologies i wasn’t able to pay much attention after realizing gideon had just lost a part of the happy childhood he had left((as well as the fact that he might have siblings but that’s another post)) and the revelation of twig and the baba yaga ((ANOTHER post)))
and kremy’s memory on how he met remy garou and how he got his warlock powers in the first place (how richie set this one up, iykyk, is yet ANOTHER post i need to make) does this mean kremy forgets who Remy is in the first place? (which would be a big problem regarding the debt) or just how they first met? we’ll find out next week.
i’ll definitely need to rewatch this later to properly fucking PROCESS all the lore they just slapped us with, good GODS this was a doozy of an episode.
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br1ghtestlight · 3 months
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Hi friend :) rewatching Father Of the bob and it made me wonder about the kids' and Big Bob's relationship. Do you got any headcanons and the like about that? (Sorry if you've already talked about it)
I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS ABOUT BIG BOB AND HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE KIDS i have peppered them throughout my posts and fanfics but i will expand on them a bit here >:)
i don't think bob ever went fully no contact with big bob but there was definitely a decade or two where they didn't live together and almost Never spoke except for big bob occasionally calling him to say happy birthday or whatever. when tina was born I think bob realized that he did want his dad to be in his kids lives in some way (yes they had linda's parents as their other set of grandparents but even back then i think bob KNEW they were shitty people and would be bad gransparents) he wanted them to have a good grandpa so he kinda introduced him into the kids lives
big bob was definitely nervous about being around these small and easily influenced humans even if he didn't outwardly express that. tina was the sweetest little baby so getting along w/ her was easy but gene and louise were definitely more stressful. and bcuz big bob was still busy with work he barely ever saw them anyway. but he did TRY to be a good grandpa by sending them birthday & christmas presents and giving them money every time they visited. trying to be a grandpa in the only way he knew how :(
could explore in another post how al and gloria are the WORST grandparents and how it's strongly implied that tina gene and louise don't actually like them (if you compare how they interact with linda's parents vs big bob its clear that they are tolerating al and gloria at most while they genuinely look forward to spending time with big bob and WANT to see him. can't even say it's because of bob influencing them to dislike linda's parents bcuz he openly hates his dad too lmao) but in comparison to them big bob really does correct so many of the mistakes he made w/ bob when it comes to his grandkids (to quote alice talking about gertie "she's a better grandmother than a mother you gotta trust me")
he's physically affectionate with them and he spoils them!!! he actually pays attention to their individual interests (watching gene's music performance and looking at louise's display of burobu cards, and seemingly getting her gifts specifically related to her interest in them for her birthday and christmas) and talks to them. compare that with al and gloria who literally got the kids a regifted book about staying active in retirement for christmas one year (with a whole chapter about sex with Actual pictures and examples which is fucked up) they're literally the worst ugh
and big bob's efforts with the kids seem to pay off bcuz they look forward to spending time with him :) they're always excited and I genuinely think it isn't only because he gives them money when they see him. they just like spending time with him!! "He's a good grandpa" and he bakes them cookies and worries about them and their futures <3 THEY'RE THE REASON HE BELIEVES THAT THE WORLD WILL BE OKAY. HE THINKS THEY'LL BE ABLE TO FIX THINGS?????
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anyway some specific headcanons about his dynamics with each of the kids:
he definitely gets along the most easily with tina. they're similar people in the way that bob and tina are similar (except that tina is more positive than either of them lol) and they enjoy doing more lowkey activities together compared to louise or gene. they might enjoy baking cookies or doing puzzles together :) definitely a good thing that she was his first grandchild bcuz she was always kind and quiet and easy to get along with and it made him more confident in his abilities. Whenever he sees a horse themed item at a thrift store or whatever he buys it and gives it to tina the next time she visits!! that's how she got quite a few of her porcelain horses when she was younger (even if maybe decorative porcelain horses were not the best idea ever for a seven year old tina took very good care of them u_u gene and louise not so much. rip)
gene is probably the grandchild that he finds it the hardest to relate to just because they're such DIFFERENT people. gene is so effeminate and unashamed of himself and his emotions which is pretty much the opposite of how big bob was taught to be as a kid and how he raised bob. he never had daughters so its easier for him to relate to tina and louise bcuz they're almost like a blank slate?? he sees so much of what he did wrong with parenting bob when it comes to gene :( But they eventually find some common ground with gene's love of music and performing. big bob will tell gene about his favorite songs and records from when he was younger & he'll listen to all of gene's performances when he visits
louise is the most.... complicated for big bob? she reminds him SO MUCH of lily in everything from her personality to her pink hat. it definitely took him a few years to get over that and begin to see louise as her own person and stop projecting that trauma onto her (not intentionally but its just hard when you lose someone and then suddenly they're There again and they're your grandaughter) luckily louise is easy to love and her bold personality makes herself VERY known. he could not ignore her. he loves how spunky she is and how unashamed she is of herself (all his grandkids really) and he definitely thinks she's gonna grow up to do something great in the world. they don't have that much to bond over tbh he just let's louise take the lead and he does whatever she wants him to do. he just likes spending time with his granddaughter <3
definitely think that the kids have started seeing big bob more since his relationship with bob has been repaired a bit so i can imagine that connection will only grow stronger!!!!
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depressedbagpipe · 4 months
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A Heartrender's Fire: ch. II
Tolya Yul-Bataar x Lantsov!ofc
Words: 5050 Warnings: me not knowing how ships work? i know the volkvolny is supposed to be a whaler but idk, rewatch the episode if you're having doubts. the sea whip scene + a bit of blood, cringe dialogue, lots of filler (it's not me it's the plot) BTW I'M NOT SURE I'VE PROOFREAD THIS AT ALL SO BEWARE A/N: somehow this chapter got incredibly long for a mere filler, anyways, enjoy. again, just in case anybody got lost along the way, this is strictly self-indulgence imagining my oc as part of the show, do with that what you will
Series Masterlist Previous chapter <> Next chapter
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II: Rusalye
Irina was aware of the hustle on deck before she was fully conscious. She had been sprawled on one of the side benches, completely asleep as the sun went up and her guard ended. The previous day's affairs had left her exhausted and she hadn’t even been bothered enough to go below deck to her shared cabin. Fully trusting the crew surrounding her, she un-gracelessly flopped down on the wooden bench and closed her eyes for what she thought had been minutes.
Thankfully for her, a huge shadow loomed over her, sheltering her from the unforgiving sun rays that seemed to follow the Volkvolny. Whether that was because of the Sun Summoner, Irina didn’t know. 
“Enjoyed your nap?” Tolya’s voice made her open her eyes.
Her pupils shrank involuntarily, adjusting to the bright sky above her. The giant blocked the sun with his existence, and with the sun rays surrounding his head, he looked heavenly to Irina, who was making a huge effort not to let her eyes droop again and cave in the slumber. 
She smirked. “Greatly.” 
She took Tolya’s hand, who gently pulled her up on her feet. She lost her footing slightly as a particularly big wave made the ship lurch to the side, making her crash into his side. His big arm steadied her, coming around her waist as she braced for the impact. It was moments like these that Irina wished she would’ve crashed into the floor because it would’ve saved her from the embarrassment of having to look into his eyes and thank him for his service. Because no matter how many years the twins had been by her side, a sliver of doubt always clouded her judgment. Did he feel the butterflies too, or was it just sheer loyalty to them as Sturmhond and Ainthe?
Irina discarded those thoughts as she stretched, rubbing her eyes and observing the decks. She took a deep breath. “It’s warm today.”
Tolya nodded. “It is, thanks Saints for that.”
She snorted. “You can’t complain that you’re cold when you’re constantly bare-armed.”
He smirked. “You know sleeves limit my movements,” he said as he too scanned the rest of the crew.
“Right.” She wasn’t looking at him but felt his eyes on her. “That’d explain why Tamar is always fully dressed and just as capable.”
She turned her eyes to him, but her teasing gaze made him chuckle. They both remained at the poop deck, eyeing the crew work around the main level. 
“There she is,” Irina noticed the Sun Summoner suddenly appear on deck, with a wonderstruck look on her face. She eyed the two squallers working the main sails, exchanging words with her friend.
“Did you ever meet her?” Tolya almost whispered in her ear, his eyes never leaving the Sun Summoner.
Irina shook her head, noticing the way his eyes lingered on the other girl. “No. But our parents did, apparently. Kirigan wouldn’t have kept her hidden for that long,” she noted.
“So she wasn’t tested as a kid, then?”
The girl shrugged. “Maybe she was, maybe she wasn’t. It’s not like I’ve had the chance to really get to know her yet. But he isn’t Grisha.”
“I know.”
“Those two…”
“Definitely.”
The two shared a knowing look, silently deciding to drop their conversation, but also agreeing to pay close attention to the couple as they slowly arrived at their spot. Tolya walked down the poop deck to join his sister, while Sturmhond joined his, coming behind her.
“Be nice,” Irina warned her brother.
Sturmhond feigned innocence, bringing a hand to his chest. “I’m always nice, dear sister.”
“Like hell you are.”
“I just enjoy annoying you.”
Irina didn’t say anything else, for the couple arrived at their deck. Mal was about to touch a lever when Sturmhond stopped him, coming closer to them.
“Ooh, definitely don’t touch that.” Mal rolled his eyes again. “So, Miss Starkov,” he approached Alina. “What say you and I chart the course to your destiny to find the Sea Whip?”
Alina looked at Mal, who stood straighter, with his hands in his pockets. “That’ll be me, I’m the tracker.” Alina stared at him proudly.
Irina stared between the two men, enjoying the bickering. Her brother. with a confident smirk, pulled his golden compass out of his clothes, dangling it in his hand as he showed it to them. 
“My lucky compass. Seen me through thick and thin. Okay then, tracker, which way is north?”
The royal siblings stared at the tracker with mixed emotions. Sturmhond felt oddly confident, and Irina was simply curious. From the way the guests held themselves, they weren’t used to the sea like Sturmhond and Irina were, and even after years of sailing, Irina sometimes couldn’t tell which way was where. Mal adjusted his posture again, raising his eyebrows and looking out in the distance. Alina looked at him like he had hung the sun in the sky.
“Well, I can tell you a few ways, based on the position of the sun and my shadow, based on the direction that we’re sailing in, and based on…” he stopped when he looked at Alina, who was glaring at him. Irina knew another silent conversation had just passed between them, and wondered just how deep the bond between the summoner and the tracker ran. “It’s that way.”
Sturmhond had all eyes on him, who looked down at his compass with a little skepticism. Even Irina peered at the golden needle, confirming Mal’s declaration.
With a nod, Sturmhond dropped the compass and patted Mal on the back, forcing him to walk with him.
“Let me introduce you to our navigators. What did you say your name was again?”
The girls were left by themselves. 
“Don’t mind him. He likes to tease,” Irina told Alina with a smile. 
The Sun Summoner smiled back at her, a little shyly still, but appreciative nonetheless.
“Mal can be a little… hotheaded too. But thank you…” Alina stopped, suddenly remembering she hadn’t caught the second-in-command’s name.
“Ainthe,” Irina finished for her.
Alina smiled. “Nice to meet you, Ainthe.”
“Pleasure’s all mine,” Irina smirked too.  “How did you sleep?” 
“Surprisingly well. A little on the noisy side, though.”
“I apologize for Tolya’s snoring. It can be quite much sometimes,” both girls laughed. “Let me show you around the place. Last night Sturmhond wasn’t his usual welcoming self.”
“When is he ever welcoming?” Alina laughed but allowed the girl to lead her through the main deck, pointing out the names of several crew members who were working nonstop, pulling on ropes and fixing on the heading. 
“I can’t believe there’s Grisha on the crew…” Alina exclaimed. 
Irina smiled. “This is a haven for anyone who needs it.”
“And he is your brother?”
“Unfortunately.”
They shared another complacent look before Tamar called Alina’s attention.
“Oi, Sun Summoner! Join us.”
Tamar stood up, leaving space for Alina, who eyed wearily the cards game the twins were playing together with some of the Grisha on deck. Tolya laid his heavy arm on Irina’s shoulders after dropping his cards on the small wooden table, Shu words leaving his mouth in satisfaction at winning yet again. The two of them stared at Alina as she sat down, her confidence gone in an instant.
“What does that mean?”
Tolya frowned. “You don’t know it? It means ‘victory’ in Shu.”
Tamar went back to shuffle the cards, while Alina looked down, embarrassed. “Um, I don’t speak Shu.”
Tamar saved her. “Understandable. We know what Ravkans think about mutts like us. And in Shu Han–”
“They prefer to remind us we’ve our Ravkan mother’s blood,” Tolya finished for her.  
Irina scoffed. “Blood is blood. Only fools think otherwise.”
Tamar gave Alina her own set of cards, while she stared at the odd group around her with a shy grin. 
“Is that why you’ve chosen a life at sea? Because it understands that?” Alina asked.
“It’s why we chose Sturmhond,” Tolya answered, taking a seat on a barrel.
Tamar chimed in. “He understands.” Then, she looked at Irina, with a grateful smile. “They both do.”
The girl winked at her friend, inviting herself to sit on Tolya’s leg, fully knowing he could support her weight as she watched them play their card game.
It wasn’t long until Alina noticed Tamar’s amplifier, right behind her left ear. “Is that a shark’s tooth? You’re Grisha?” Tamar met her eyes, with a certain spark in her gaze. “Um, what order?”
She shared a look with her brother. “Uh, Tolya and I don’t really do that, but if we were in Ravka, we’d be Heartrenders,” she explained, while Tolya simply kept eating, sometimes even sharing some of the food with Irina, who remained silent. “But I have this so, it’s a win for me,” Tamar kept looking at her brother with a smirk.
It was still a touchy subject for the giant. “If only I’d been thirty seconds faster…”
“Story of your life, little brother.”
Irina shrugged, patting Tolya on the shoulder. “Younger siblings unite.”
Alina chuckled.
Tolya got her attention. “We’ve been told you’re looking for an amplifier yourself.”
Irina added. “The Sea Whip.”
“Is it true?”
Alina didn’t answer, but merely nodded, taking a deep breath.
“Possessing two amplifiers… it breaks all the rules,” Ngarra, the crew’s most proficient Durast, who had been sitting next to Alina, finally spoke.
“Says the Durast who’ll be fusing the amplifier, if we find it,” Tolya made his sister chuckle.
“So I have a vested interest in your plan. But I don’t want to die in the process,” Ngarra added.
Alina laughed softly, yet with certain doubt in her voice. “Trust me, I don’t want to die either.” She looked at Tamar, eyeing her amplifier for a brief second. “Um, when you fused your amplifier, did it show you its last moments?”
Tamar nodded. “Tolya swimming up as I took its life.”
Irina shuddered slightly at the memory of the big white shark, and how close she had felt to dying when she saw the great creature swimming at a dangerous speed to them. The vessel they had boarded had tipped over in the strong tempest, and both crews were swimming towards the whaler they called home in the rain when one of the Tidemakers saw the big animal not far away from where they all swam. Irina had been unwillingly rushed through the water by Greyven on Sturmhond’s orders, and all that was left to do was see how Tamar threw herself at the beast in front of her brother. It seemed ages ago, yet Irina sometimes still felt the tilting of the vessel, and the cold splash of the True Sea deep in her bones. 
Ngarra asked. “What did the Stag show you?”
Alina sighed. “The last thing it saw was me, reaching for its muzzle. Like it always should have been. Because… I’d always dreamt about it,” her gaze got darker. “But now I’m dreaming about the Sea Whip, and the Firebird, too.”
“You think the three are connected?” Irina asked, re-adjusting her position on Tolya’s leg.
The Sun Summoner struggled for words. “I think… I think they are to be connected… through me. So I can then destroy the Fold,” she shook her head. “But I can’t be sure unless I try. Unless we try.” 
“It’s uncharted territory,” Ngarra argued, but she also felt the promise of adventure.
Tamar shrugged. “What are we, if not experts in uncharted waters?” She dropped her cards on the table again. “Who’s ready to test their mettle?”
–·–
“Stop with the flirting,” Irina told her brother.
“I’m not flirting,” Sturmhond defended himself.
“You so are! I thought you were a lot more intelligent to know she’s already spoken for,” she frowned, talking in quiet voices so the Sun Summoner wouldn’t hear them.
“I’ve called everybody ‘sunshine’ at least once before,” he said, pulling his sleeves up as they made their way to the war room, just below the main deck. “I’m not gonna stop now just because she is a Saint.”
Irina shook her head as she took her place to his right, impatiently waiting for the crew to begin their council. “I know what you’re planning. And I hate it.”
“You’re gonna have to trust me on this one.”
“She’ll hate you when she finds out, too.”
“That’s why you’re not coming.”
“What?”
“I need you on the ship.”
“You need me out there, Sturmhond.”
“Should anything happen to the captain, the second-in-command steps in.”
“Nothing’s gonna happen to you. Or me.”
“You’re right. Because you’re staying.”
“You know fire comes in really handy sometimes.”
“We got the Sun Summoner.”
“Ouch.”
“You two are literal children,” Tamar groaned, flanking the Sun Summoner. 
Tolya stood on the other side, in front of the royal siblings and next to his sister. When everybody took their place around the wooden table, Sturmhond began his speech, ignoring his sister’s glare. Whether he liked it or not, she was coming.
“Thanks to navigation from our Summoner’s tracker friend here,” he eyed Mal, who, again, rolled his eyes, “we’ve traversed the Bone Road to the island of Jelka.” 
A sailor threw a small pouch to Tolya, who caught it in his hands. Tamar stared at him questioningly, looking at the brown fabric trying to catch a glimpse. Even Irina stopped paying attention momentarily as she frowned, seeing the giant open the pouch and start nibbling at whatever the sailor had fired at him so he could eat.
“As for the Sea Whip, we have some storybook drawings, no telling what it really looks like.” Sturmhond walked back to the only wall that was covered by a black curtain, and gripped the small rope that opened it. “Rule of thumb for the unknown, come prepared!”
The Volkvolny’s wall of weapons was visible to the newcomers, both of them gasping at the big number of armaments that Sturmhond kept partially hidden.
Mal stepped closer, not wanting to let his amazement show to the sea prince. “Are all pirates this well-armed?”
“Privateer,” Sturmhond complained.
“I don’t know the difference.”
Sturmhond walked to him. “The difference is, I have a license. And a healthy love for innovation: gadgets, marvels, things that go boom...”
“Especially things that go boom,” Irina mentioned, making her brother smirk.
“Anything pique your interest?” 
“Yeah,” Mal swallowed. 
Sturmhond grinned. “Well, take it, for our excursion.” Mal took the harpoon, a special design Sturmhond had taken years to perfect. “Fabulous choice. You have excellent taste in weaponry, Mal. The cable’s Fabrikator-made. Tensile strength of 80,000. Yield, 50.”
“Impossible,” Mal wondered, although he was starting to believe that very few things were impossible for the privateer.
“When people say ‘impossible,’ they usually mean ‘improbable.’”
Mal laughed. “Not me. It’s incredible.”
“I designed it myself. In fact, my inventions are all around you,” he whispered his next words. “You just have to know where to look.”
Sturmhond addressed the crew once again. “So, we’ll go in quietly, on Miss Starkov’s orders, to injure it for your death blow.”
Alina interjected. “I’m not killing it.” 
That made the room silent. 
Irina then intervened, her voice calm yet defiant, just like her brother had taught her. “You have to kill it, to claim its power. That’s how amplifiers work.” She spoke from experience, of course. The wolf’s fang she wore as a necklace and kept hidden with her clothes, unlike her friends, wasn’t completely fused to her body, but still allowed her to amplify her own powers at her will. She had never taken it off, and always thought she never would.
Alina shook her head. “It wasn’t with the Stag. I think I can do it without killing it.”
Sturmhond chuckled. “As… As lovely as that sounds, I’m not sending my crew in to tame a mythical beast with nets and good intentions.”
The Sun Summoner didn’t back down. “This is the job you were hired for, privateer. We capture it. Alive.”
Nobody had time to add anything else before Greyven called Sturmhond’s attention. “Captain! We’ve reached the island.”
Irina smirked, her blood buzzing in her ears as fire burned in her veins. “Let’s go.”
When she passed next to Tolya, he took her hand in his, dropping a couple of the seeds he had been eating into her palm. Without another word, the crew went up to the main deck, staring at the dark island looming in the distance, shadows and black clouds swirling around it, a silent warning to anyone who dared trespass its borders. Anyone who, unlike the crew on the Volkvolny, wasn’t stupid enough to get any closer.
“Well, that’s not foreboding.” 
A distant thunder crackled.
“Could be anywhere in there,” Tolya noted.
“We enter through that one,” Mal decided, pointing at an opening that quite frankly looked even worse than the island itself, making Tamar frown.
“You sure?”
“There’s a frequency. I’ve heard it before. It’s in there.”
The royal siblings shared a worried look, but Sturmhond quickly made the call.
“You heard him. We’re going ashore!”
–·–
The tunnel was dark, wet, and unforgiving. The entrance was the only beacon of light in the narrow passage, but as soon as the crew walked into the lion’s den, the darkness engulfed them, as if it was the only one living there. Just a small party had been chosen to look for the Sea Whip, and much to her brother’s protest, Irina had been the first to volunteer. She now silently walked after her brother, who shone a weak light that had nothing to do with the endless pit of obscurity that lay before them. Greyven, their trusted Tidemaker, walked after them. Tolya and Tamar followed, with the Sun Summoner and Mal at the back, the party finishing with two other sailors.
Sturmhond quickly loaded his gun as soon as he heard the still water move unrhythmically, distant and different from the steps of his crew.
“That could be it.” He didn’t move his eyes from the front but addressed the Tidemaker. “Greyven, tell me. Anything in the water?”
Greyven searched, sending small yet powerful waves around him, his Grisha powers doing the rest for him as he tested the waters, looking for the possible bane of their existence. 
“There are holes in the cave floor.” Everyone instinctively looked down, suddenly weary, not trusting their feet anymore. “So be careful where you step. Otherwise no.”
Mal frowned. “No, you can’t tell, or no, there’s nothing in there?”
“Whichever makes you feel more comfortable,” Tolya cocked his head to the side, continuing his walk.
Tamar followed, twisting her axe once again. “Comfort’s overrated.”
Irina grunted, hating the way the water clung to her feet. “Of course you’d say that.”
They all managed to take two more steps when a deep and chilling noise alerted them. They ducked, their hands and weapons ready, but nothing met them halfway. The gurgling continued, low and menacing, regardless, making the sailors confused. Nobody dared speak as they looked around, both relying on each other for comfort and checking each other’s blind spots, but no light could prevent them from following blindly into danger.
Disaster happened quickly. One of the sailors suddenly disappeared before everyone’s eyes, a somber and horrifying creature yanking him up from his back and pulling him away from the group through one of the dark holes in the ceiling, and the chaos began. Everybody started firing at the creature, following the noise of its cries while they all screamed in fear, the darkness seemingly getting worse.
“Drop the nets! Aim to kill!” Sturmhond called, breaking his promise to the Sun Summoner as soon as he lost a member of his crew.
“No! Don’t!” Alina pleaded, but Sturmhond’s order had already been called, and the situation was too dire for them to show mercy. 
Irina had her revolvers ready, preferring the quickness of the explosion to her own summoning, unconsciously mirroring her brother’s stance as they stood back to back, looking around, trying to catch the next glimpse of the Sea Whip.
“I couldn’t see it. It’s toying with us,” Sturmhond panted, completely wet. His gun was pointed at nothing, but not once he blinked or staggered. “Conserve your ammo, or we’ll be dry by the time we need it.” 
A couple of moments of silence were followed by another loud scream, both siblings yelping when the sailor guarding their backs disappeared as well, his terrified face being the last thing anyone saw as he was dragged underwater. Tamar searched the passage for him, trying to feel his heart, but the look on her face made everybody know that another one of their party was gone for good.
Irina’s heart drummed loud in her ears, and if she had been paying a little more attention despite the situation at hand, she would have noticed Tolya’s left hand, the one who wasn’t grabbing his sword, extended towards her, calming her clock down just a tad, enough to allow the girl to think a little bit clearer.
Another distant noise echoed in the tunnel.
“It can camouflage,” Sturmhond’s voice, though low, reverberated in the cavern.
Mal saw it first. Before the creature growled and threw itself at Alina, he was already pushing the two of them away from its path. The creature dipped and threw Sturmhond down as it ran away from the group, and the prince quickly stood back up, secretly hating the cold that was now seeping into his beloved blue jacket. He looked wildly around him. Nobody knew where the creature would be coming from next, and that fear only grew stronger with every passing second.
“It sounds like it’s everywhere,” Sturmhond noted.
That seemed to call it again. The Sea Whip appeared right in front of Alina, glaring at her for a second before throwing itself at the group. Tolya and Tamar tried slashing the creature, but with sheer strength they were pushed away, unscathed. Irina and Mal weren’t that lucky. The creature slammed the girl into the wall as it went for Mal, knocking her unconscious. While she slowly drowned, the Sea Whip had its mouth on Mal’s crossbow, even sinking its teeth into his flesh as Mal fought it off. Alina didn’t hesitate to put it down, sending a powerful beam of light its way, effectively killing the creature, and leaving it unmoving on the water, with its mouth wide in pain and shock.
Nobody spoke. They panted, staring at the sinking creature before them, a group realization that they had somehow finished their mission, only somewhat differently than what they had originally expected.
Sturmhond walked forward, touching it. “It’s dead.”
Alina sighed, defeated, and they would have remained silent if the sudden light beam that filtered through the entrance of the cavern hadn’t shone on the water to reveal a light stream of blood coming from the side of the wall, where a gap stood where another Grisha should have been.
Sturmhond frowned, suddenly desperate, with his heart almost echoing off the walls. “Ainthe?”
–·–
Irina woke up to a pounding in her head. She groaned, bringing her hand to her head, trying to locate the source of the pain. It wasn’t uncommon for the girl to wake up to headaches, especially after wild nights on kvas, but her body still felt cold, and shivers seemed to haunt her despite her many layers.
“Easy there, you took a big hit,” she recognized her brother’s voice. 
When she finally opened her eyes, she was lying in her bed at the captain’s cabin, with her brother sitting down next to her, and Tolya and Tamar standing by the end of the bed, looking at her expectantly. 
“At least I didn’t have to walk back all the way to the ship,” the girl grinned, feeling the pain slowly fade as she sat up. Her brother helped her, and although the wrinkles in his forehead let her know he was worried, his eyes sparked with humor.
“Tamar did a good job patching you up on Jelka, but don’t worry, the Healer came and did the rest,” Tolya spoke with a soft voice, which anyone who hadn’t known him previously would think it’d belong to someone else. 
“Thank the Saints,” Irina joked, already putting one leg on the floor.
“Hey!” Tamar pretended to glare at the girl, but emotion got the best of the Heartrender, and she quickly threw her arms around the princess, hugging her tightly. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
Irina closed her eyes, taking in the smell of seawater off her. “Me too.”
“We got the fetters,” Sturmhond reminded them when they pulled away. “We should start.”
“Why the rush?”
Sturmhond stopped, looking back at her with a look she couldn’t quite decipher. The Heartrenders left the room, sensing the captain’s discomfort.
“My sister almost drowned because of a couple of scales from a mythological creature that shouldn’t have existed in the first place. I want them gone as soon as possible.”
Irina stared at him, finally understanding the situation. “Nikolai—“ she began, but he cut her off.
“That’s why I didn’t want you to come,” he spoke. “Every time you’re not in my sight I feel like you won’t ever be there anymore. It’s my responsibility to take care of you, Irina.”
She shook her head. “I’ve never been your responsibility, Nikolai. I made a conscious decision to follow you to the end of the world.”
“Whether you want it or not, you’re part of Ravka too. Should anything happen to me, or Vasily…”
“Don’t.”
“Irina.”
“I don’t care. I came here to live. For freedom. And sometimes we gotta fight for it. And that’s okay.”
Sturmhond sighed in frustration. “You could’ve died, for Saints’ sake! Don’t you realize that? Why are you so calm about this?”
She shrugged. “Because you were there. And Tolya, and Tamar. And a fucking Saint. I always know you will protect me, Nikolai. I’m not scared.”
He stopped, looking at his younger sister with a new profound admiration. “And what if I’m not able to protect you?”
“Then I’ll protect you.”
She sent a spark to one of the candles that had gone off a few minutes before, making Sturmhond stare at the flame dancing in her fingers.
“Sometimes I forget you’re the most powerful of the two of us,” he said rather defeated, but still managed to put a smile on his face.
Irina smiled. “That’s okay. I’ll remind you of it.”
He chuckled lightly, welcoming the heat that warmed his heart at the sight of his sister, alive, well, and joking, even if she had literal fire coming from her fingers.
“Let’s get this over with.”
“Lead the way, then.”
–·–
“We hold ourselves bound to this mission. To ensure that our fallen crew did not die in vain. And we honor the ultimate sacrifice that they made in our quest to find the Sea Whip. Let us bow our heads for the crew lost today. Let the sea carry them to a safe harbor, and may the Saints receive them on a brighter shore,” Sturmhond recited, a bit too accustomed to the speech to his liking.
“May the Saints receive them.”
Tolya and Tamar left the Sea Whip’s scales at the small barrel before them, and Irina discreetly sent a spark up, her own memorial to her fallen crew. The full moon was high up in the night sky, allowing the ship to sail peacefully. The candles had been extinct, and only the moonlight provided any sort of light to the moving waters.
“Alina, we’re ready,” Sturmhond called the Sun Summoner.
Irina and Sturmhond walked away from the center of the deck, standing on opposite sides as they looked at Alina, who took Sturmhond’s previous position. The girl was still wearing Irina’s clothes, kindly lent to her to fight the Sea Whip, and Irina couldn’t help but notice how the other summoner managed to wear them better than she did. She felt another pang in her chest at the thought but discarded it altogether. It was show time.
Ngarra took Alina’s hands and carefully embedded the two fetters into her wrist. Quickly, power flowed through her, and in an effortless display, Alina allowed the light to breeze and dance around her. 
Everyone at the Volkvolny and a ten-mile radius could feel the power coming from the summoner. Warmth seeped into their bodies, melting their doubts away and igniting the privilege of hope. Despite the brief jealousy, Irina felt it too. They had a chance to win over Ravka, thanks to the girl who now seemed a bit too lost in her own strength. 
Mal called out to her when the brightness became too much. Irina closed her eyes, turning her face to the other side, the heat in her face suddenly too intense to be deemed pleasant. But Malyen Oretsev didn’t back down and eventually pulled Alina away from her trance with a hug, which she quickly returned before they both seared their fates with a kiss. Irina chuckled slightly and diverted her gaze to give the couple some privacy, even though the entire ship was staring at them. 
The fire in her veins was calling out to her, wishing to unfold just like Alina had done with hers, but Irina kept it contained. She knew she would eventually burn something down the longer she spent without utilizing her capabilities, but she still remained hidden, especially now in front of a Saint. After the day's events, after Tamar’s intervention, Greyven’s usefulness, the Healer’s help, Ngarra’s fusion, and Alina’s display, Irina felt like an Inferni suddenly didn’t make any sense on a ship. Instinctively, she looked back, searching for Tolya’s gaze, but for the first time, he wasn’t looking at her. Tolya was looking at the Saint with the same spark in his eyes Irina had convinced herself at some point was only reserved for her. And the sudden lack of attention she wore like a failure.
Sturmhond cleared his throat to catch everyone’s attention once Alina and Mal were done.
“Well, then. Where to now, Summoner?”
Irina swallowed the lump in her throat and forced herself to look back at the couple.
Alina nodded as she only looked at Mal. “East Ravka. Then, the Fold.”
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