#"A Thousand and One" review

[dgspeaks]

Finding Strength: A Review of "A Thousand and One"

Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival and winning the prestigious Grand Jury Prize, “A Thousand and One” is a captivating drama that explores the themes of family, resilience, and identity. Directed by A.V. Rockwell, this powerful film delves into the complexities of motherhood and the indomitable spirit of survival in the face of adversity. A Story of Unwavering Determination “A Thousand…

[bookguide]

Currently Reading:

The Betrothed by Kiera Cass

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

average United States contains 1000s of pet tigers in backyards" factoid actualy [sic] just statistical error. average person has 0 tigers on property. Activist Georg, who lives the U.S. Capitol & makes up over 10,000 each day, has purposefully been spreading disinformation adn [sic] should not have been counted

I have a big mad today, folks. It's a really frustrating one, because years worth of work has been validated... but the reason for that fucking sucks.

For almost a decade, I've been trying to fact-check the claim that there "are 10,000 to 20,000 pet tigers/big cats in backyards in the United States." I talked to zoo, sanctuary, and private cat people; I looked at legislation, regulation, attack/death/escape incident rates; I read everything I could get my hands on. None of it made sense. None of it lined up. I couldn't find data supporting anything like the population of pet cats being alleged to exist. Some of you might remember the series I published on those findings from 2018 or so under the hashtag #CrouchingTigerHiddenData. I've continued to work on it in the six years since, including publishing a peer reviewed study that counted all the non-pet big cats in the US (because even though they're regulated, apparently nobody bothered to keep track of those either).

I spent years of my life obsessing over that statistic because it was being used to push for new federal legislation that, while well intentioned, contained language that would, and has, created real problems for ethical facilities that have big cats. I wrote a comprehensive - 35 page! - analysis of the issues with the then-current version of the Big Cat Public Safety Act in 2020. When the bill was first introduced to Congress in 2013, a lot of groups promoted it by fear mongering: there's so many pet tigers! they could be hidden around every corner! they could escape and attack you! they could come out of nowhere and eat your children!! Tiger King exposed the masses to the idea of "thousands of abused backyard big cats": as a result the messaging around the bill shifted to being welfare-focused, and the law passed in 2022.

The Big Cat Public Safety Act created a registry, and anyone who owned a private cat and wanted to keep it had to join. If they did, they could keep the animal until it passed, as long as they followed certain strictures (no getting more, no public contact, etc). Don’t register and get caught? Cat is seized and major punishment for you. Registering is therefore highly incentivized. That registry closed in June of 2023, and you can now get that registration data via a Freedom of Information Act request.

Guess how many pet big cats were registered in the whole country?

97.

Not tens of thousands. Not thousands. Not even triple digits. 97.

And that isn't even the right number! Ten USDA licensed facilities registered erroneously. That accounts for 55 of 97 animals. Which leaves us with 42 pet big cats, of all species, in the entire country.

Now, I know that not everyone may have registered. There's probably someone living deep in the woods somewhere with their illegal pet cougar, and there's been at least one random person in Texas arrested for trying to sell a cub since the law passed. But - and here's the big thing - even if there are ten times as many hidden cats than people who registered them - that's nowhere near ten thousand animals. Obviously, I had some questions.

Guess what? Turns out, this is because it was never real. That huge number never had data behind it, wasn't likely to be accurate, and the advocacy groups using that statistic to fearmonger and drive their agenda knew it... and didn't see a problem with that.

Allow me to introduce you to an article published last week.

This article is good. (Full disclose, I'm quoted in it). It's comprehensive and fairly written, and they did their due diligence reporting and fact-checking the piece. They talked to a lot of people on all sides of the story.

But thing that really gets me?

Multiple representatives from major advocacy organizations who worked on the Big Cat Publix Safety Act told the reporter that they knew the statistics they were quoting weren't real. And that they don't care. The end justifies the means, the good guys won over the bad guys, that's just how lobbying works after all. They're so blase about it, it makes my stomach hurt. Let me pull some excerpts from the quotes.

"Whatever the true number, nearly everyone in the debate acknowledges a disparity between the actual census and the figures cited by lawmakers. “The 20,000 number is not real,” said Bill Nimmo, founder of Tigers in America. (...) For his part, Nimmo at Tigers in America sees the exaggerated figure as part of the political process. Prior to the passage of the bill, he said, businesses that exhibited and bred big cats juiced the numbers, too. (...) “I’m not justifying the hyperbolic 20,000,” Nimmo said. “In the world of comparing hyperbole, the good guys won this one.”

"Michelle Sinnott, director and counsel for captive animal law enforcement at the PETA Foundation, emphasized that the law accomplished what it was set out to do. (...) Specific numbers are not what really matter, she said: “Whether there’s one big cat in a private home or whether there’s 10,000 big cats in a private home, the underlying problem of industry is still there.”"

I have no problem with a law ending the private ownership of big cats, and with ending cub petting practices. What I do have a problem with is that these organizations purposefully spread disinformation for years in order to push for it. By their own admission, they repeatedly and intentionally promoted false statistics within Congress. For a decade.

No wonder it never made sense. No wonder no matter where I looked, I couldn't figure out how any of these groups got those numbers, why there was never any data to back any of the claims up, why everything I learned seemed to actively contradict it. It was never real. These people decided the truth didn't matter. They knew they had no proof, couldn't verify their shocking numbers... and they decided that was fine, if it achieved the end they wanted.

So members of the public - probably like you, reading this - and legislators who care about big cats and want to see legislation exist to protect them? They got played, got fed false information through a TV show designed to tug at heartstrings, and it got a law through Congress that's causing real problems for ethical captive big cat management. The 20,000 pet cat number was too sexy - too much of a crisis - for anyone to want to look past it and check that the language of the law wouldn't mess things up up for good zoos and sanctuaries. Whoops! At least the "bad guys" lost, right? (The problems are covered somewhat in the article linked, and I'll go into more details in a future post. You can also read my analysis from 2020, linked up top.)

Now, I know. Something something something facts don't matter this much in our post-truth era, stop caring so much, that's just how politics work, etc. I’m sorry, but no. Absolutely not.

Laws that will impact the welfare of living animals must be crafted carefully, thoughtfully, and precisely in order to ensure they achieve their goals without accidental negative impacts. We have a duty of care to ensure that. And in this case, the law also impacts reservoir populations for critically endangered species! We can't get those back if we mess them up. So maybe, just maybe, if legislators hadn't been so focused on all those alleged pet cats, the bill could have been written narrowly and precisely.

But the minutiae of regulatory impacts aren't sexy, and tiger abuse and TV shows about terrible people are. We all got misled, and now we're here, and the animals in good facilities are already paying for it.

I don't have a conclusion. I'm just mad. The public deserves to know the truth about animal legislation they're voting for, and I hope we all call on our legislators in the future to be far more critical of the data they get fed.

[cutehoons02]

Would you like to recreate with me these spicy scenes?

University series: Heeseung Jungwon Jay

*pairing: pervy roomate Jake x vlogger/youtuber Girl

*trope: roomates to lovers

*synopsis: What if your nosy roommate named Jake Sim found a pack of Amazon and inside were "spicy" books you need to read and review on various social platforms? A disaster. Jake is the perfect roommate but underneath he’s a pervert and thanks to these books he has the chance to tease you, to poke you with his double-sided jokes and maybe give in to his advances.

*tags: A lot of tension, pervy Jack, a lot of humor, teasing, fluffy, kissing, sucking, mirror sex, unprotected sex (don’t horny ppl) minor don't interect +18, fingering, masturbation, cunt slapping,cowgirl, reproduction of sex scenes from a book invented by me, pet names (spicygirl, goodgirl) (golden retriever boy,pervy) jealousy, possession

(English is not my native language)

11k (🤍)

Having Jake as a roommate is not bad for you, he cooks when he has time for delicious dishes, respects the rules of washing dishes and cleaning the house, and always leaves his unmistakable scent of spicy but sweet tenor throughout the home. The only thing you can’t stand about him is how nosy he is in things that should not interest them, as it happened at this exact moment but let’s understand Jake is called by his friends "Golden retriever boy" and it’s in his nature to be curious...

Jake had just returned from the gym, still slightly sweaty, with his hair all messed up and a shirt he’d left on the couch as soon as he walked through the door. He was wandering around the living room with his protein smoothie in hand when he noticed an Amazon package on the coffee table, it was written that it was for Y/n but he was now used to discarding the gifts that made you the brands you worked with and each time he found: makeup, skincare, accessories and scented candles. He knew that it bothered you slightly when opening your things before you but by now you had made a habit of it, it was almost a year that you shared the apartment with that guy with the nerd and studious appearance but who also loved to have fun; He was very curious to see what was in that package and when he opened it he found 3 books, men perfect with bare chest but with masks on their face, women posing as languid and titles that seemed like they had come out of a fanfiction contest.

«The masked devil? Wait, what is this?» Jake raised an eyebrow, flipping through the pages. But it did not stop there now on Tik Tok you could find everything and you were a vlogger but you also talked about books in the #Booktok, he searched for the title of this to find out more and found himself catapulted into a universe of videos with animated reviews and quotes... spicy. This book was meant for an almost adult audience and when he saw the aesthetics he realized that it was about 4 guys who were called the "dark devils" and they all had 4 books with their respective "love stories" if you could call them so, But his curiosity hit him even more when he saw that only in a book there were a huge amount of spicy scenes and dirty settings where the protagonists did their thing.

«Wow, who would have thought that the literature student and vlogger with more than 500 thousand followers read this kind of stuff.» He said with a mischievous grin, starting to read one of the boldest scenes aloud for pure fun and to understand why TikTok videos had more than half a million likes.

Just then, you were coming back from your creative writing course at the university. You were wearing a light leather jacket over a plain top and faded jeans, but you stopped suddenly when you saw Jake on the couch. He was without his shirt where you could see all the well-defined muscles of the several hours he spent training and your eyes went down where you saw the V line where there were his Calvin Klein boxer shorts, wearing just a pair of sports pants and...nerd glasses? That made him even sexier and more innocent than the little innocent Jake could have; with a book in his hands, He was reading with an almost academic concentration the book that had sent you the publishing house to read and then to review in your various social platforms.

"What are you doing?!" you yelled in panic with your cheeks slightly red for the situation, while your eyes passed from the book to your roommate half-god and half-nerd.

Jake looked up slowly as if he had been caught in the act but with a smile so disarming that he seemed innocent.

«Oh, welcome back, Y/n, or maybe I should call you SpicyGirl from today. Is this your book?» asked, lifting the book to show you the cover with an inquiring air. «Interesting choice of readings, who would have ever thought that a literature student was encouraged to read these dirts, I thought you only read authors like Dante or Shakespeare that is a little more modern!»

You brought your hands to your face, blushing visibly.

You brought your hands to your face, blushing visibly. "But how dare you open my packages?! Give me back that book now! It’s the thousandth time I tell you that I don’t want you to open my packages and every time I come home like a puppy looking for something to snoop on you make other things"

Jake stood up, still holding the book. Wait, wait, you can’t leave me in the middle. The protagonist was going to do something with one of those riders in a pool and had just come to the description... ehm, graphic. You know, this stuff is instructive. Really.»

"Instructive?!" You went to him, trying to grab the book, but Jake raised his arm above his head, keeping it out of his reach. He was taller than you and with that cheeky little smile, he looked at your head to head and saw how red you were both because of the situation in the book but also because you were way too close and he: He wore only a pair of sweatpants and had his toned and sculpted physique.

«Well, yes» he continued with a sneaky smile. «I didn’t expect that Miss Vlogger, where you put all the colorful, cute videos of your trips with your friends had such a dark side... Dark romance, huh? I bet the next package when they see you have reviewed these things will be full of sex toys...?»

You hit him lightly on the chest. " If you don’t give me back the book right away, I swear that I’ll make you appear in one of my vlogs dressed as a character from Bridgerton and you know that I’m not kidding Jake"

Jake laughed, finally lowering the book to hand it. «Okay, okay, here it is, SpicyGirl. But I must say that now i'm curious. Why is a girl all cardigan, always nice, composed, and vlog read stuff so...spicy?»

Took the book with a quick gesture from Jake’s hand trying to regain composure.

"For your information, i'm an eclectic reader, this saga is the saga of the moment on Booktok and they sent me the first 3 books to read, sponsored them, and gave us a detailed review. And you’re a pervert! Next time, leave my packages alone."

Jake falls back on the couch and stretches a little with his hair slightly fluffy and that perverted smile, leaning on the armrest «Sure, sure. But you know,» he said with his head down, «if you need someone to discuss your... readings with, I’m here. That’s why we’re roommates, right? Helping each other, sharing moments of no and fun together!»

You were about to go to your room with the book in your chest. " Not even for an idea, i will share with you what i think of these books, if you are curious you will look at the review that i will publish in a couple of days. And put on a shirt, every time i see you you’re always half naked!"

«You say it, SpicyGirl, and stop being a saint in your books there are more scenes where the protagonists are naked than anything else, and don’t tell me that you don’t like what you see» Screamed Jake as you slammed the door of your room with all red cheeks but with a funny smile.

You were lying on the bed with the book in your hands. You agreed to review the novel at the request of your followers for weeks now, your fyp was flooded with videos on this book but you could not concentrate: each chapter was more intense than the previous one, and the idea of having to tell everything in front of a camera made you uncomfortable. You had already reviewed the romance with spicy scenes and you had no problems but it was the first time you were inspired by dark romance. Meanwhile, Jake was in his room playing online video games with Heeseung.

Jake was chuckling as he pressed the buttons on his controller "Dude, you’re dead for the fifth time. Your team will hate you."

Heeseung puffed in the voice chat << Ah, forget it. My head is elsewhere. My girlfriend is on the sofa reading a book... way too exciting and spicy. Yesterday while we were dining he made me see and read some scenes that there are in this saga of "devils" or "demons" with masks >>

Jake pauses, interested in the words of Heeseung. "Book? Wait... what kind of book?"

Heeseung laughed << You know, one of those super-popular dark romances on TikTok. With sensual covers, devils or demons, forbidden passion, blah blah. She’s obsessed with these things lately, when Cheerleader finishes training she eats and then she gets next to me while I play video games and she reads those books >>

Jake looked at Hee with a surprised expression "Wait a second. It’s called "The Masked Devil"?

Heeseung looked at Jake surprised << Yes, that’s it! How do you know?

Jake chuckled between himself and "Let’s say fate has made me read it. Y/n has to review it and by chance, the other day happened in my hand and I read some scenes. But... doesn’t it bother you that your girlfriend reads these things? I mean, don’t you feel... boh, competitive?"

Heeseung laughed openly << Competition? No, on the contrary! Sometimes we take inspiration from those scenes. You are pleased, and to me... well, it does not matter at all, do not take me for crazy but those scenes are described in detail that it is not difficult to be wrong and it is exciting >>

Jake looked at the gamer with surprise "Get a lead, huh? Like... replicates between you two?"

Heeseung laughed at Jake’s interest. << Exactly. Trust me, it works. >>

Jake leaned against the back of his chair, and some naughty thoughts began to spin in his head. The idea of you reading the same book strikes him differently now. He can’t help but imagine you in one of those scenes: vulnerable, passionate, completely lost in a moment of desire, and a mischievous spark illuminates his gaze.

"Interesting. Very interesting, Heeseung"

<< Why do you have that voice? What are you thinking? >>

Jake with an innocent smile took off his headphones "Nothing, nothing. Just... taking mental notes, you know how it is."

"Jake, whatever you’re thinking, i don’t want to know."

Jake closes the chat and leans to his desk. He looks at the wall that divides his room from yours. He can’t get the idea of recreating one of the scenes in that book out of his head. Not for someone else, but with you. A possessive desire creeps into him, making it difficult to ignore that thought.

You, unaware of Jake’s thoughts, continue reading. You were completely immersed in a particularly intense scene with your face flushed. Your door was ajar. Jake, coming out of his room on the pretext of going to the kitchen, noticed the light on and felt the silence coming from your room. Curiosity devours him. He approached slowly, peeking through the crack.

You were reading quietly and underlining the book a scene "Her hands wrapped around her life, pressing it against the wall with an intensity that made her tremble, N/t was now lost to S/b and S/b began to torture his neck and after a while kissed her with a dominant intensity..."

Jake opens his eyes wide, trying to hold back a laugh. He steps back and hands his hair. The sight of you so immersed affects him more than he wants to admit. Here comes an unhealthy idea: to provoke you and push the game a little further.

You went down in a cuina ready to make yourself a tea. Jake is in the kitchen, leaning against the counter with a casual look, but his eyes betray a mischievous spark.

Jake looked at you with a clever smile «Oh, but look who is the queen of reading. You like that boy disguised as a devil, eh»

You looked up and looked bad Jake "I’m working. It’s for the vlog and the book review of the month"

«Sure, sure. I work hard, I guess. That "pressing her against the wall with intensity" is pure literary analysis, isn’t it?»

"Did you spy again?" You felt your cheeks warm up and your hands on the cup became stronger and stronger because you were slightly angry with Jake, he raised his hands in surrender, but without losing his smile «No, no! You read aloud. And anyway, you should be careful with scenes that are so... engaging. You might inspire someone to emulate them.»

You looked at him exasperated but above all embarrassed " Stay away from my books. And my private life, Jake.

Jake came up with a playful look, lowering his voice and putting his head against your shoulder as you were turned around to not show how embarrassed I was but also to put sugar in your tea «I promise nothing, SpicyGirl. You know, you might be more interesting than I thought... especially if you keep giving me ideas like this...creative.»

The atmosphere in the Humanities department was lively as never before. In the corridors, students and teachers discussed the literary phenomenon of the moment: The masked devil. Some professors complained indignantly, calling the book an "insult to trees sacrificed in vain". Others, on the other hand, defended it enthusiastically, claiming that finally the general public could "explore the nuances of human desire".

You were in the middle of this chaos. You heard some of your friends talk about the book with excitement as Heeseung’s girlfriend, while others dismissed it as "pornography disguised for a sex-obsessed audience.

You didn’t want to look like a goody-two-shoes woman because you weren’t, you had also had half-adventures with some guys but you never tried certain things on the other hand, you didn’t want to rediscover as one who was excited only by reading a book and that you would want to redo all the scenes like a lot of girls but also boys wanted to do them with their partners

Lily: Y/n, when is your review coming out? I want to know what you think!

Sunaa: I read the book and I bet you’ll hate it. It’s too "spicy" for you.

Instagram follower (DM): "Y/n, please tell me you love the masked Devil! 😍 I want to know everything about that book and what you think, I bet you’ll like the second book too!"

The pressure was growing. Your agency had also sent several messages, pressing for a quick release of the video. You felt choked: if you said that you liked the book, some of your followers would judge you badly; if you criticized it, you would lose credibility with your audience. Why did you start reviewing books? you loved reading but this seemed so strained...

You were walking back and forth, biting your fingernail and clenching the book. Jake was in his room playing play. You heard the classic sounds of the joystick and the game in the background and some chuckle: he was probably talking to his friends Heeseung, Jay, and Sunghoon.

You take a deep breath and you know it was a bad idea, but you head to Jake’s room. Knocking quietly, almost hoping he can’t hear you but after a few seconds you hear Jake yelling «Come in».

You slowly opened the door and found him: lying in bed with a sweatshirt almost untied where you could see his toned body, pants of the suit, slightly wet hair because he had just taken a shower, with the nerd glasses intent on throwing some squints with a smile that lit up the whole room while maneuvering the joystick.

She leaned against the back of the bed «Y/n, my favorite roommate. What can I do for you?»

"I need... a favor," you said timidly

«I’m all ears, tell me what you need, Spicygirl.»

"The favor would be...this book." You showed him the book you had in your hand and Jake made a mischievous little sissy

«Oh, that book. Finally, you’re here to admit that you liked it?» You saw him pull himself up from the bed and sit down while he waved to you, sitting on the edge of the bed, and you went slightly embarrassed to sit down, always keeping a distance from him.

"That’s not the point. I need... help to figure something out."

Jake looked at you with a clever smile «I’m all ears.»

"The... you know, the... the "spicy ones." I wonder if... if they’re realistic or not."

God, you were so embarrassed to look at him that you looked at the floor

Jake almost choked on laughter as he heard what you just said «Wait, wait. Do you want me, your lovely roommate, to help you find out if the scenes in that book are replicable?»

"Yes. It’s business, Jake. My followers are expecting an authentic review and i would like to see if those attitudes or scenes can be recreated, some of my friends have recreated them with their boyfriends" you said whispering but Jake had heard you carefully

«So you want to do... field research with me? in plain words would you like to recreate it with me spicy scenes?»

"Don’t say that! You make me sound weird. I don’t have so many male friends, most of them are engaged or I know, I don’t have all this confidence instead you and I have lived together for almost a year and under I trust you, Jake"

Jake’s heart lost some beats when he felt that underneath you trusted him and with his usual golden retriever expression raised his hands in surrender and smiled at you «Ok, okay. Sorry. So, what are you thinking? A particular scene?»

"Maybe the one about kissing against the wall that you heard or stared at the other day" Jake laughed and got up from bed and you did the same thing. Jake approaches slowly, the smile becomes sweeter but with a spark of mischief in his eyes.

«Do you want to recreate the whole scene or what do I know only while I push you against the wall and then give you a little kiss?»

"I think... I think I want to recreate the whole scene"

«Perfect. For the sake of science, let’s see if we can replicate the magic.»

He comes even closer, putting a hand gently on your shoulder.

«Are you sure you can handle me, Y/n? You know maybe you could find out that I’m better than that guy with the devil mask»

"I want to find out," Jake, you said looking him in the eye

Jake laughs, surprised by your answer, and stops for a moment.

«Mmm Y/n, you are more brave than I thought.»

"Please Jake, don’t laugh ok, we have to be professional"

«Laughing? Y/n, this is the most exciting moment of like Weekend!.»

Jake slowly approaches, putting his hand on the wall next to your head, and slightly pushes you with his body against his wall studded with posters of videogames and artists he loved. His breath is mixed with yours, and for a moment no one speaks. Then, with a gentle but decisive movement, it leans slightly at the level of your neck and begins to leave you small skin-hugging kisses above the lobe of your ear, At the neck up to go near your slightly noticeable shoulder blades thanks to the top cardigan you wore. You felt one of his big hands slightly clench a side to get even closer to him and when he heard that you were relaxing he started to torture the part of your neck leaving some kisses but at the same time left some small bites and sucked slightly the part Exposed of your neck gently. It was not rushed or exaggerated, but there was a controlled passion, almost as if Jake himself trying to interpret the scene of the book perfectly.

Little moans leave your lips shaking as Jack kept leaving a trail of light-feathery kisses along your neck and at the same time sucking and biting you slightly «God you have a delicious scent,spicygirl»

You detached yourself slightly from him and had no problem getting close to him and catching your lips with his. You were curious to hear how it was to have his soft lips around you, you felt Jake smile in the kiss when you started to return. It makes you feel bad but at the same time, it makes you feel good. And all this was supposed to be for science only, right?

Jake sticks his tongue in your mouth, eager to explore every crack as he had wanted to do for a while, ever since he first saw you walk into the apartment where you were supposed to live together.

The kiss was absolutely perfect and after a while, you broke off and there before you was Jake smiling at you and bringing a small lock of hair around your ear, it was too nice to be true with his hair ruffled, Lips slightly swollen from the kiss, and cheeks flushed.

«Here. Some scenes can be replicated without effort,» he said with a swaggering smile and strayed slightly away from you

"Yes, you’re right," You said looking at him as he lay down in his bed again

«If you need extra help for the sequel or other chapters, you know where to find me, spicygirl!»

You were sitting in your video corner, with the book in your hands. The camera is on, and the smile you show is the professional one of always, but there’s a streetlight of uncertainty in your eyes. The soft lighting of the set makes the atmosphere cozy.

"Hi everyone, here i’m with the review of the "Masked Devil".

The chat is immediately filled with comments from waiting followers, some asking for the most spicy details others are curious if you liked it or not.

"It’s a book... intense, I would say. Very passionate, with scenes that will certainly not leave indifferent and with much tension between the two protagonists.

You avoid going into details and it’s strange because your reviews are always so exhaustive, just describing the plot and your appreciation for the characters. But you never say what struck you the most.

Follower 1: "Y/n tell us the truth, did you like the Devil with the red mask?!"

Follower 2: "Don’t be vague, we want to know the hot scenes, which ones you liked the most, and which ones you would like to replicate in the future with your partner!"

You laugh nervously when you read the hundreds of comments you were getting "Girls, let’s just say that the red-masked Devil knows how to get attention, okay? I can’t say more, but I recommend you to read it if you are curious and you can also tell me what you liked"

The video ends with you smiling, but you know that you have not fully met your audience’s expectations. However, the vlog makes a boom of views: comments are divided between those who adore you for your class also because not all your audience is over age and those who criticize you for being too vague.

You wake up the next morning with the continuous sound of notifications on your phone. Blinking, you reach out and grab your phone. The screen is full of comments on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

Follower 1: "Y/n, the review was nice, but we want to know about SECOND BOOK! 😍

You sighed, with a hand in your messy hair.

You would go through the DM until you find a voice message from T/n, Heeseung’s girlfriend.

T/N (voice message): "Y/n, I saw your vlog! You were too shy, girl. I already read the second book, and trust me, it’s EVEN better. Certain scenes... wow. I’m just telling you that i and Heeseung tried the one on the kitchen table was so exciting😏"

You dropped your phone on the bed and the cheeks immediately inflamed.

You laughed a moment when you read that T/n message "On the kitchen table?! But they’re crazy!"

You can’t stop thinking about the fact that you and Jake only had a duplicate kiss, yet the effect on you was... devastating. The situation was definitely getting out of hand.

Jake was sitting on the couch, fiddling with not much belief on the phone. He had spent the whole afternoon trying to ignore that review video you had made, which kept walking around campus. " Be more yourself", "Y/n you have to tell us which parts you would like to replicate with your partner", "Y/n, in the second book you have to be more exhaustive because it is even hotter and we want to know what scenes you liked and didn’t." The comments were all like that, and Jake was wondering what it meant. She was already perfect as she was, damn it.

He was about to put the phone away when he heard footsteps on the floor and when he looked up what he saw left him breathless.

«What the hell»

You were standing there, by the door of the apartment. You wore a dress that looked sewn on you, a gift from some brand that wanted to exploit your image as a micro-influencer. The soft fabric embraced every curve, with a hint of a neckline that suggested more than it showed, while the side slit revealed an unexpected boldness. The hair was arranged in light waves, the makeup just mentioned, but enough to make you look even more luminous.

Jake swallowed, feeling his heart fail. Damn... he’s trying to kill me.

You stopped surprised by his reaction. It wasn’t the first time he saw you in a dress and you sunk at him with an innocent smile, but also a little amused.

"What? Don’t you like the dress?"

Jake got up from the couch, his hand in his hair, visibly agitated. His gaze glided over you, scanning you from head to toe. You were gorgeous, perfect, and... too provocative to go out like that, at least according to him.

«Y/n, can’t... I mean, do you really think you’re going out like this? This little dress doesn’t even cover your thighs completely, not to mention your bare back» he said with tight teeth, trying to keep calm

"Why not? It’s a dress given by the brand that sponsors the event. Must wear it, Jake and then at these events are all dressed in dresses like this"

Jake approached you, with a look that oscillated between frustrated and possessive.

Jake said in a low, rock-like voice, I’m not saying you’re not beautiful, because you are. Too beautiful. That’s the problem. I don’t want others to look at you as I am looking at you now.» You looked at him, surprised by his words. You didn’t expect such a strong reaction from him and you felt his cheeks blush, but you tried to stay calm.

"Jake, you’re impossible. And anyway, it’s not like everyone is looking at me."

Jake stepped forward, narrowing the distance between them. His smile grew more cheeky.

Oh, baby, they will. Trust my words but remember one thing Y/n,... Whoever is watching you tonight, I’m the only one who knows what it’s like to kiss you, and who could be better than that masked devil.»

You stared at him, eyes wide open and the heart beating wildly. You did not answer but Jake noticed the slight flickering of your lips and with a grin he walked away from you or else he was convinced that he would take you and lock you in his room and leaned back to the sofa, taking a deep breath.

«Go, go. Have fun. But not too much, eh?»

You shook your head, trying to ignore the heat that had taken hold of you. I took my bag, taking a last look at Jake before leaving.

"Don’t worry, golden retriever. I’ll be back safe." You said slightly laughing

Jake watched you disappear through the door with your heart still beating wildly. Golden retriever? He thought to himself, if he would find out what his sick mint was thinking about you with that succinct little dress you wouldn’t call him much Golden Retriever but something darker than maybe only in the books was described. But within him, his darker and more possessive side whispered: Safe and sound, yes. But you’re still mine and sooner or later your body will be mine.

Jake lay on the couch, PlayStation controller in his hands. He had just finished a game session with the boys, but instead of feeling tired, he was more agitated than ever. Every time he looked down at his phone, he hoped to see a notification: a message, a photo, something but nothing. He saw that you had posted stories while dancing with other girls while drinking a drink, and the photo of the place where you could see all Seoul.

His brain was a mixture of images: You in that breathtaking dress, your soft hair moving when you laughed, and that cheeky confidence he carried with him... mixed with his usual shyness. It was a dangerous cocktail that made him crazy.

To distract himself, Jake opened TikTok. He was streaming video to video, but his algorithm seemed to decide to torture him with clips of girls reviewing spicy books.

"If you loved the first book in this series, wait until you read the second. It’s even more spicy and intense."

Jake got stuck.

"Wait a minute..."

He rose from the couch, walking slowly towards the bookcase. There, tucked between a book and some university textbooks, was the second volume of that cursed saga. He took it in hand, studying the cover with a raised eyebrow.

"More intense than the first, huh? As if Y/n hadn’t already gone into tilt with that."

She couldn’t resist. She sat down at the kitchen table, opening the book in the chapter where the girl who had made the tik tok suggested a scene to how spicy. It was enough to read a few paragraphs to make him lift his eyes, almost incredulous.

"What the hell... this second masked devil doesn’t joke, he’s even more deranged and perverted than the first?"

Each page he browsed was more explicit than the previous one. Scenes of seduction, desire, and dialogue that seemed written to make anyone blush. Jake found himself biting the inside of his cheek, imagining Y/n reading these things.

He ran his hand through his hair, letting herself go against the back of the chair.

"And I thought the first one was too much for her. This will blow up."

But then, a new idea came into his head. Maybe... maybe Y/n would need help to deal with it. He had already had difficulties with the first one, even asking him to replicate some scenes to better understand. With the second book, the situation would be more intense.

A slow smile formed on his lips.

"I think your golden retriever is still available, Y/n."

He decided to close the book before letting go of too many dangerous thoughts. He put it back in its place, but could not shake the images that the words had evoked. God, there were scenes where he made his beloved feel good by fucking her with his fingers in a pool, against the wall of a theater that was not banned he was fucking or there was also a scene of two boys and a girl, who had definitely closed the book and started laughing.

When the clock was at one o'clock, Jake was still awake. He had read a couple of physics chapters to distract herself, then spent another ten minutes watching TikTok tutorials for a new skincare routine. But every now and then his thoughts would go back there, to Y/n, to the book, and to the night they shared that kiss.

Heard the apartment door open. Jake stood up and dropped his physics book on the table. His heart was beating fast you had no idea how long he’d stayed awake just to make sure I’d come back safe.

And above all... to understand how the hell he would deal with that cursed book.

You looked at him surprised when you saw Jake in his pajamas and his nerd glasses and there was a book of physics on the couch. "Are you still awake?"

Jake didn’t answer immediately. He came up to you without even thinking about it and hugged you. His arms closed around you in an instinctive gesture as if he wanted to make sure that you were really there, safe and sound; and that no boy had touched you. You stiffened for a moment, surprised by that gesture but then you released against his comfortable chest and Jake inspired your delicious scent of cherry and vanilla that every time he felt it went crazy. But just when the hug could become sweet and reassuring, his most possessive and provocative part came out. He looked away slightly, looking down at you with his eyebrow raised and a small grin that had formed on his lips.

«So? How was the evening?»

"It was a fantastic evening" I replied by sitting next to him. Crossing their legs and setting the hem of the dress aware of Jake’s gaze. "There were so many people! And I met the writer of "The Masked Devil". He even told me that he saw some of my reviews and in particular the one I put on his book a few days ago."

Jake tilted his head and looked at you. «What do you think? Does she like them?»

"Yes, she liked it. But..." you nibbled on your lip. "She said I should be more specific. You know, especially in the scenes... those more... spicy scenes. Now even the little girls are curious to know what it’s like to have experiences like this with boys and some scenes can be recreated as we did with the kiss that we gave each other..."

Jake smiled when he heard you talking about the kiss as you had enjoyed it too and surely thought of it much more than you should think.

«Have you already started the second book of the saga?»

You’re just getting stiff. "Yes... but I’m only at the beginning," you said avoiding your gaze.

«Oh yes?» Jake raised an eyebrow. «And where did you stop? By chance...» He paused dramatically, giving a sneering smile. «Did you stop at the scene where the Masked Devil makes his beloved feel good with his fingers? His fingers moved slowly, precisely, touching every nerve as if he knew my body better than I did. But after a while, he put another finger inside me and started pumping and cumming them and at that moment I lost my head. I don’t remember the words very well but in practice was that the scene true, Y/n?»

You looked at him shocked and your cheeks became even redder. "Jake! You... did you read where I stopped?" Your voice was a mixture of embarrassment and disbelief. "I told you not to touch my things!"

«I couldn’t resist» he admitted, laughing. «And then, admit it is an interesting scene.» He approached your body, his smile became more mischievous. «Would you... replicate it with me?»

You hit him again on the arm, but this time with more force. " You’re so perverted Jake, it’s not because we kissed now you want to replicate all those scenes"

Jake laughed, the sound deep and sincere. «Come on, I was joking!» Then he bowed his head, staring at you with a look that had a shadow of seriousness. «But if I wanted...I would be there.»

Jake got up and went to his room to start getting ready for bed with a little grin. Your heart was beating fast, and the room suddenly seemed smaller and you finally went to your room as well as your refuge but the writer’s words kept echoing in your head. "A girl like you should be more thorough. Maybe... try things too, to really understand how to tell them."

It was a tip that made you blush to the ears. You, try those things? You weren’t that kind of girl. You were shy but at the same time extroverted with people you knew and preferred to explore the world through book pages, not replicate scenes. Yet... Jake had shown you that some things weren’t so impossible.

You sat on the bed, staring at the floor. "Is it feasible? Can I do that?" You asked biting your lower lip. In the end, you sighed If you had to choose someone to try with, Jake was the perfect person. He was spontaneous and playful, and his protective side the golden retriever always made you feel comfortable, even when he acted slightly perverted or when he replied with double-sided answers.

While you were thinking, you heard the sound of water flowing from the bathroom. You got up without even thinking about it, still in the short dress you had worn for the event, and opened the bathroom door.

Jake was there, as every night, brushing his teeth. Bare-chested, low-waisted pajamas, and that air of not knowing how attractive he was. When he saw you coming in, he raised an eyebrow, the toothpaste popping out of his mouth in a funny smile.

«Hey,» he muttered, his voice slightly kneaded as he spoke with the toothbrush in his mouth. «What are you doing here? Do you need a mirror?»

You crossed your arms trying to mask the nervousness. "No, I just... wanted to talk about something."

Jake flushed his mouth and wiped himself with a towel, then turned to you with a disarming smile. «Talk? To me? At this time? It must be important.»

You avoided his gaze, staring at the sink. "I was thinking... of the book. The second book of The Masked Devil. "

Jake leaned on the furniture, crossing his arms over his chest. «Ah yes? The scene of the fingers, right?» he asked, in a mischievous tone.

You looked up, blinking him with your eyes. "Jake, stop."

Jake stared at you, the smile slowly spreading as the meaning of his words became clear to him. «Oh, I understand.» He stepped towards you, his eyes twinkling with fun mixed with something deeper. «Would you... repeat that scene with me?»

"I just want to see if... it’s feasible. Like in the book."

Jake came closer again, his body so close to yours that you could feel the warmth of his skin. «And what part of the book do you want to replicate exactly?»

He asked, his voice becoming lower, almost a whisper. «The one where he makes her crazy with his fingers?»

Swallow with your heart pounding in her chest. "I don’t know," you replied, trying to keep my voice still. " It depends... on you, would you be willing or not?."

Jake tilted his head, looking at you with an enigmatic smile. Then he raised a hand and gently placed it on your side, sliding his thumb along the edge of the dress. «I am always available for you,Y/n» he said, the tone was playful but with a shadow of seriousness. «You must tell me. I won’t do anything you don’t want and if you feel uncomfortable just tell me and I’ll stop.»

"Thank you, Jake. Can we read it together for a moment and then replicate it?" Jake nodded yes and you went to your room and sat down, you with the book in hand and Jake beside you reading things under his voice did the devil masked with his girlfriend.

«Lie down Y/n, legs slightly on the edge of the bed.» You sat down as Jake suggested and felt his big venous hands between your hips pulling you slightly between the edge of the bed and gently but also slightly with possession Jake pushed up your dress lightly around your hips until he saw Your black thong and innately thoughts invaded his head. «You know that this is not a real game for me, Y/n?» Said yes with my head knelt slightly looked at the thong and said something you would not have imagined that sweet Golden Retriever nerd version had told you.

«Who would have thought that the good girl who does vlogger wear a thong also to go to an event of only influencers? Don’t tell me you’re a good girl because to my mind you seem a little slut who absolutely wants my attention and who asks shyly to be able to recreate some dirty scenes that you read in those books but now you’ll get it»

You heard Jake give you little kisses where there was that little layer of cloth and for you, it was a real torture because his hands were around your knees and he didn’t move them at all to put them in your already slightly wet pussy.

"Jake, please" Jake laughed at your insolence, where was the shy girl who filmed funny vlogs or who got embarrassed while reading those spicy parts in the book?

A hand of his slowly began to rise up to your thigh and his mouth started giving you small kisses around your buttocks, he bit slightly on your thighs to feel your sighs become more and more needy.

«Use your mouth to tell me what to do, baby, if you don’t tell me what to do I’ll stand there all night driving you crazy. You read what the masked devil was doing to his girlfriend a few minutes ago so, speak, Y/n» You took his defiant look and raised your eyes, slightly pulled your hair, and said: "Touch me please" Jake laughed because he wanted to ruin you.

«You have to be more specific»

"Oh my god, stop doing that to me. Touch me where you kissed me before you started torturing my buttocks" Jake was literally testing you and loved to see that underneath you were definitely a good girl because you didn’t want to say the word "pussy". When he pulled down your thong your clitoris was already wet and slightly slimy, Jake hisses in appreciation of the sight of your pussy, and let out a moan of pleasure in seeing you so needy of him, slipped a finger between your vaginal lips to surround your clitoris. «Holy shit, you’re so wet» You pulled your hair again, and with a smile without warning put another finger get into that tight pussy.

«You look so needy of me that you don’t seem a good girl» Put two big fingers in your pussy at once, up to the knuckle, and moan his name, "Jakey is too much" You heard his laugh and began to pump until you were accustomed to the length of his fingers inside you and as in the book that you had read before he put the third finger inside you and while pumping at the same time he bent and curled his fingers to make you feel All three of them. You were seriously ecstatic by the sensations you felt, the groans that came out of your lips, and while Jake looked at you so lost and excited for him with another finger she started to tease your clitoris and pinch it slightly to make you come only thanks to him.

"Jake, I’m coming" You felt his fingers pumping even harder and at the same time an adrenaline rush invaded you and white sticky, and slimy sperm invaded your pussy and Jake’s fingers, you tried to stand up slightly, But you felt Jake give you some light pussy licks and he took a finger close to his mouth and sucked it.

«Well, I can say that I have fulfilled your forbidden dream and that perhaps the things represented in those books can be really realized.»

Jake returns from a long day at the university. The living room light is off, but he notices your bedroom door closed. He knows you’re home because your shoes are by the entrance, but he hasn’t seen you for more than a few minutes or talked to you in days. He lets himself fall on the sofa with a sigh, passing his hand through his messy hair.

«What the hell did I do?»

Think back to that scene on the bed, his hand that drew circles on your skin, and when you moaned his name. At that moment he had found you relaxed, even comfortable with him. But now? Now you were avoiding all interaction with him. The idea that you might feel uncomfortable or, worse, disgusted with him haunted him.

You were lying on the bed, phone in hand looking for distractions between your friends' messages and your followers' comments. But Jake’s thought keeps coming back. Every time you close your eyes, you still feel the warmth of his hands and hate yourself for letting it happen. Not because you didn’t like it - in fact, it’s the opposite. You liked it so much that it was days before you fell asleep you remembered in your mind the kisses and how good they made you feel.

"Ugh, you’re pathetic."

You turn to your side, staring at the book still on its bedside table. That book has kindled something in you, but now you can’t even look at it without thinking about Jake and how the line between you two has faded too fast.

You were with some friends at the bar of the faculty and with the girlfriend of Heeseung and does not miss the opportunity to tease you.

T/N << Oh, you’ve already finished reading the second book? Or are you too busy "experimenting" with your roommate? >>

You choked on his coffee, blushing violently.

"Nothing like that happens!"

<< Sure, sure. It’s just that Jake doesn’t seem to be the type to quit easily. And honestly? He looks at you as if you were his favorite snack and we can also admit it is really sexy but at the same time has that sweet face that would make any girl crazy. >>

The other girls laugh, but you can’t get it out of your head. Maybe T/N was right. Maybe Jake didn’t touch you just for fun or curiosity. And maybe, your problem was that you didn’t mind the idea.

You came back late hoping to find Jake already in bed but instead, he was sitting at the kitchen table with an open physics book and a cup of tea next to it. When he saw you, he stood up immediately but did not approach.

«Hey,» you looked at him for a moment smiled at him, and then sat down on the sofa without answering. Jake moved slowly, sitting in the chair opposite her.

«Can we talk? you’ve been avoiding me for days and I miss spending time with you even just to have a cup of tea» he said looking at you like a puppy

"There’s nothing to say, Jake. I miss spending time with you too but" didn’t stop you talking as he came closer to you.

«Yes, it is. Y/n, if you want me to step aside or... find somewhere else to stay I can go to Jay or Sunghoon, I understand. But please don’t ignore me like that. You’re driving me crazy.»

You looked at him, surprised by his frustration. There was sincerity in his eyes, and the knot in his throat loosened a little when he heard you speak.

"I don’t want you to leave." Jake relaxes slightly, leaning on the back.

«Okay, then help me figure out how not to ruin everything with you?»

You laid your hand and stirred his slightly long tuft and smiled at him.

"You never ruined anything, Jake" and you hugged him timidly feeling your heart beat.

After that argument with Jake things seemed to be "normal" between you two. You were sitting on the couch with your laptop on your knees, pretending to be working on a new video for your channel. In fact, your ears were tuned to the noise coming from Jake’s room where he was getting ready to go out and when he did, your heart skipped a beat.

Jake wears a black shirt with slightly swaggy sleeves and jeans that fit him perfectly. The hair is in a studied disorder, and the perfume he put on seems to fill the whole apartment. When he sees you, he leans nonchalantly against the wall and smiles in a cheeky way.

«What do you think? I’m presentable enough to get the attention of some girls?»

You looked at him for a moment, trying to look indifferent, but you felt a squeeze in your chest. It’s too good. Too much. And the idea of other girls touching him makes your blood boil.

"You will definitely impress someone. I would say too much."

Jake raises an eyebrow, amused by your tone, and approaches the couch. He bends slightly, looking straight into your eyes.

«Jealous, Spicy Girl?»

"Jealous? Of you? Pff".

«Oh, so you don’t care if someone tries to kiss me tonight?»

You’re a little stiff, and Jake doesn’t miss the slightest change in your expression. He enjoys too much to see how badly you hide him.

"You do what you want, it’s your life. I bet you’ll get in trouble and call me."

«Ah, so you think of me when I go out with my friends. Interesting.»

You stare at him with defiance, but inside you, there is a storm. Every fiber of your being wants to tell you to stay, but your rational mind blocks you. Jake comes even closer, lowering himself to your ear with his low, warm voice.

«For the record, there will be no one like you this evening. You know, in case you were wondering.»

You feel the heat rising to your face, but it refuses to give way.

You feel the heat rising to your face, but it refuses to give way.

"Go, Jake. I’m sure your "friends" are waiting for you, you don’t want to be late". You said coldly

Jake retracts, but the cheeky smile remains on his lips. He puts on his jacket and heads for the door, taking one last look at you.

«Try not to think too much about me, okay?»

And with a quick nod, he leaves the apartment, leaving you alone with your thoughts. You let yourself fall on the couch, your heart beating fast and a mix of anger and... something that you don’t even want to admit to yourself.

After a few minutes, you were seriously angry with yourself and so you wrote to Heeseung’s girlfriend if she wanted to surprise him and presented you at the place where they had gone then about an hour later you entered Armleaved with T/N, in a black cocktail dress, Elegant but with a touch of sensuality that makes you feel confident. You have carefully chosen your accessories and your hair is smooth and frames your face, with a loving smile you approach the group of Heeseung and Jungwon, who welcome you warmly, Complimenting you on your outfit but your eyes are fixed on Jake who is talking to a girl and seconds later as if he felt someone was looking at him, Jake turns slightly and sees you laughing with Heeseung and Jungwon’s girlfriends but his eyes were glued to your body.

«Fuck. What the hell is she doing here, dressed like that? It’s not possible. It didn’t have to be so... all show. Those clothes that show more than they should» he thinks to himself, Jake stands up sharply, interrupts the conversation with the girl, and walks firmly towards you. He doesn’t greet you like a normal friend, not even as a normal roommate. There’s something different about his attitude. He is not only curious or worried. He is angry and possessive.

You turn around, smiling as he approaches, but when you see him closer, your smile shakes a little. Jake is about to say something, but he stops for a moment, looking at you once more. His breath is heavier, and his eyes stare intensely at your body as if he wanted to possess you with the look.

«So, this is your game, huh? Let everyone around you see... Wearing (gesturing with the finger in the direction of his dress) this piece of cloth?» you were slightly surprised but a small smile made its way into your mouth.

"Jake, what’s the matter with you? I was bored at home and I wrote to T/N if he wanted to come with me to this club where his boyfriend was also there. I’m alone with the guys, you don’t have to be so..."

«It’s not them I’m talking about, Y/n. It’s you. You didn’t have to be so pretty and show yourself like that.» Jake ran his hands through his hair and even his tongue passed between his lips slightly cracked from the cold. You smiled and went to T/N’s to talk and after a while, with the careful look of Jake and Heeseung you were down on the dance floor Jake never left you with his eyes and after 10 minutes he was tired of this situation and came up to you and took you slightly by the hips and whispered. «Want to get some fresh air, Spicy Girl? The place is getting too crowded for you.»

You knew it was an excuse to take you out of the club and I said no with my head but he took your pulse slightly and started walking towards the exit

"Jake, what... what are you doing?"

He looked at you with a bold and dangerous smile, making a gesture towards the door. «You’re too perfect to be here. I want to take you home. I see how they look at you, how they want you. But you are not made for them. You are made for me. And now, come with me.»

Jake does not wait for an answer. He grabs you with delicacy, but with the force that leaves no doubt. At that moment, his mind is on fire. It is not only the physical desire that drives him but something more. A visceral need to have you all to yourself, without more interference, without more third-party players.

"Jake, but I..."

«Don’t talk, Y/n. Come with me. I want to show you something. I want to make you feel what I read. I want you to understand how much you’ve been driving me crazy for months now»

When you arrived at your apartment, you took off your shoes but after a few moments, Jake trapped you between the wall behind you and he put his hands on your hips, pulling you to himself. You felt dizzy, was it really happening?! put a finger on your chin and raise your head. He loved the expression of your red face, and your trembling lips and eyes. You were so scared, but at the same time so excited and you could see that you had just done it to make him jealous and to get his attention. Jake presses his cock against your dressed pussy, smiling as you instinctively push your hips against him and groan, noticing your reaction, Jake slowly rubs his dick against your clitoris again, and you moan in his mouth. You wrap your arms around his neck and put your hands on Jake’s muscular shoulders, your nails sticking into the skin still wearing your shirt and feel your dress pull up, Making you hiss and groan for the cold air that hit your legs and your sensitive pussy. Jake pushed his tongue past your lips, exploring your mouth at will while you rubbed gently on his jeans-clad cock.

He heard how wet you were by putting your palm between your panties and wanted to drive you crazy «Fuck, you’re even soggier than last time. Bet when I was out training or class you were touching yourself thinking of me, right, y/n» you annulet slightly and a grin took hold of Jake’s face. «Let’s see if I’m even better than that masked devil, turn around and sit between my legs, I want to make you come like in that scene where he fucks his girlfriend in front of the mirror» obey Jake’s request feeling too excited to answer. He pulls you closer to him by the hips and starts playing with your clitoris, rubbing incredibly slowly. you have leaned towards him, turning your head to hide your face in his neck, but he grabs your jaw and forces you to look at yourself in the mirror. You pushed slightly over his cock and felt how hard it was but your concentration was on Jake’s fingers around your pussy.

«Look. Look how pretty you are while I fuck you with my fingers in front of the mirror, who knows later how it will be to see you not only in front of me but also thanks to the mirror reflection take my dick as a good girl» lowers your panties and looks through the mirror while Jake spreads your wet folds, showing you your swollen clitoris and tight hole. " Jake, pls" was embarrassing to see, so you tried to close your legs, but Jake was quick to use his other hand, forcing you to open your legs again.

Jake shoves two knuckles into your pussy and starts pumping in and out of you at a steady pace, you’ve never felt anything like this before, No one had ever shown you how excited I could be and was full of emotions, especially in front of a mirror where you saw all excited and Jake’s fingers pumping at an incensing rhythm; It was both too good and too overwhelming, but you couldn’t ask Jake to stop even if you were terribly embarrassed to see you like that, not when you were feeling so high at the time.

«Holy shit people are right to say that those dirty sex scenes can be replicated, Y/n after this session you can tell everyone how excited you were but the problem is that these things you can do only with me and with no one else» pressed her thumb against your clitoris, surrounding it. Your back bowed as you tried with all your strength not to moan loudly "Jakie, pls is too nice" Jake pushes his fingers deeper inside you and hits a specific point, Start moving your fingers faster but keep hitting that spot you love so much. He made you crazy and as he fills you with his fingers feel his cock rubbing more and more against your ass and feel how Jake was holding back so that it didn’t explode immediately. Use your other hand to massage your clitoris at a much, much more violent pace than last time. You moan her name, louder than ever until you hear your clitoris pulsate. The sight of you two being lost like that in front of the mirror made your head spin. He pulled you incredibly closer to him, kissing you along the neck as both his hands worked on your pussy: One touched you and the other abused your clitoris until you came Jake put his hands to his mouth and started sucking it and the reflection you saw was so perverse, you completely out of your mind, Jake with the ruffled hair, His lips full, his fingers full of slimy cum, he who carried his fingers to taste your sperm and after a while brought a finger around your lips and licked your own semen.

Jake made you relax a little bit but after a while, he felt his cock too hard push against his jeans, turned you around and his lips never left your skin for even a moment, sweet noises of kisses rang in your ears. You get a thousand chills when you feel Jake lower the straps of your dress and you’re dead skin until it reached your breast and started with one hand to tease him and gently squeeze him instead of the other sucking your already terribly hard nipples. " Jake, I need you. I don’t care at all to recreate those scenes, I just want you right now" Jake growled in a low voice when he heard this confession from you and slightly pushed his hips to get his jeans and at the same time his boxer shorts, you were sitting between his legs and his hard cock was banging lightly against his V-line, it was big, a little red and full of liquid and you licked your lips at the sight of him so vulnerable but at the same time excited thanks to you.

«Do you trust me, Y/n?» you said yes with your head, he pumped some of his cock, the muscles of his arm swelled up with every movement and you were enchanted to see his big hands veined around his dick.

When it entered inside you a loud cry came out of your mouth, tears stung your eyes as you felt tense only by its tip that slid in. " God is so big, Jake. put your hands on me his hips I want to hear you all" Exhalaste, the eyes that lowered to check, Jake put his big hands on your hips. You were panicked, the head that turned when you saw how much length he still had left. Jake whimpered at your narrow walls that swallow him so well and when he brought you closer to him, you felt all his cock inside of you and it was a wonderful feeling You got up slowly and after a while, you started riding it with the same succinct dress that you had put on to make it go away, Your breast flashed slightly to every push that you took the cock of Jake and with one hand held you by the back and with the other he clutched a breast and with the mouth sucked your nipple. You felt every inch of him, the way he pulsed, the way he grew incredibly bigger each time your walls were tightened, the way he effortlessly hit all your sensitive points: you could feel everything about him. Your head began to spin, whining for the pleasure that was beginning to overwhelm you.

"Jakey" whimpered, leaving little suckers in his neck. he hummed in response, shivering every time your walls were tightened on him. "Faster, give me faster." He panicked, Jake, his body stiff as he stared at your dazed expression. He pushed his hips and his dick even more deep inside you Whatever you want, baby, you’re taking it like a good girl. Turn your head and look at you riding my dick» You were slightly still a little embarrassed by the situation but when you turned I saw you so overwhelmed with Jake’s cock pumping inside of you while you rode it like in the scene of the book.

You shivered, whining as deep as it was coming. You could hear the thick head of his cock knocking on your deeper walls, stomach almost swollen from the pressure. " Jake please", you whiny, "it’s too much for me."

«You’ll come for me, y/n? do it, baby. let me see... let me see how good you are to me as you come around my dick.» Jake was dizzy, his eyes were focused on the way your face writhed nicely or the way your boobs bounced off each push, or the way your hair fell on your face, He had imagined this scene a lot of times when he read by chance that scene in the second book.

«Fuck», sighed Jake, the shivers passed through his body. could feel your walls writhing and huddling around him, munching his cock greedily. He kissed your neck, «just a little more, okay?»

Before you could ask him what he meant, his hips had already started moving, setting a brutal rhythm from the beginning without letting you rest. " Fuck! Fuck, Jake!" you sobbed, trembling sensibly.

In the midst of the brutal rhythm, you could feel Jake’s cock pulsating deep inside you, signaling his own orgasm. you screamed, leaving more scratches on his chest, trembling when you felt his sperm cover your walls. Jake stayed inside you for a while and when he pulled out the white sperm dripped all over your walls, hugged you to himself and gave you small kisses on the forehead and in the slightly sweaty hair, He felt how your heart was beating fast and so did he.

Morning light filtered gently through the curtains, creating soft reflections on the room. You woke up slowly, with your body still wrapped in Jake’s warm embrace, he was beautiful with his hair ruffled, lips slightly open and his arms clinging to his chest, he was like a big adorable puppy... an incredibly sexy puppy. You moved slightly towards him and, without thinking too much, you put your lips gently into his. Your mouth sought his in a gesture of affection that you did not know exactly how to explain, but that seemed to come from the bottom of your heart. You tried to move slowly, but Jake made a small roar and pulled you even closer, holding you as if you were his favourite pillow.

«Don’t go anywhere... you’re too comfortable.»

Laugh, have fun. It was amazing how he could be so irresistibly tender even when he was awake. You caressed his hair gently, as he sank his face into the curve of his neck.

"Jake, you’re like a giant koala. How can I move if you hold me like this?"

Jake finally opened an eye, looking at you with a sleepy smile but a cunning smile

«You can’t. That’s the plan. I’ll keep you here forever!»

I hope you like it:) I had a lot of fun writing this one-shot about Jake. I think he is one of the easiest members to write stories with for his character that comes out through the en-o-clock or various videos about him.

©cutehoons02 all rights reserved 2025.

[merakisphere]

Hello! I’m a maker of the once popular 3D wire mandala trinket from the 90’s era. During those “ancient” times, people would often enjoy this as a nifty hair piece, or fashionable bracelet. Nowadays it is more commonly used as a fidget toy and/or desk ornament. What makes this special is its hyper-versatility and the freedom of being able to use this however you can imagine.

I invite you to discover my handmade Fidget Blooms, and browse my hundreds of styles and colours favourited & reviewed by thousands of happy customers. Very demurely, use code TUMBLR at checkout for a special discount. Thank you for discovering my art, I do hope you enjoy it! :)

“The entire point of life is to take chances on dreams that seem crazy to most but feel like destiny to you.” -Timothy Shriver

I wanted to share this quote as it relates to my journey as an artisan specializing in wire art. It is a statement about pursuing one’s passion, even when others might find it unconventional or risky, as long as it feels personally meaningful and aligned with one’s purpose. <3

PS: 90s kids, don’t forget to take that Ipuprofen today for that back pain. XD

[ms-demeanor]

making my own post because nobody needs my bullshit on their post:

OP:

Reblog 1:

Reblog 2:

My response:

The IRA blogs were here and they were active and they were quite popular; their posting patterns did not match normal tumblr users (i was followed by lagonegirl and followed back only to be put off by the account reblogging the same five or ten posts every hour for a day before selecting another five or ten posts to reblog hourly the next day - it was clear engagement bait).

Tumblr has never been as transparent about these accounts as both Twitter and Facebook were, but several of the accounts had shared names across platforms and you can find a significant amount of data that was released by both facebook (ex: ads purchased by the IRA accounts) and twitter (over three million tweets from IRA accounts). Academic researchers have published papers on the data released from facebook and twitter. Several papers. So many papers. Soooooo many papers. We have a LOT of direct evidence that you can explore for yourself that there were hundreds (possibly thousands) of IRA accounts that were created on Facebook and Twitter. Of those accounts, some shared usernames across platforms, and of those accounts, a few had tumblr accounts that posted the same content on twitter and tumblr.

To quote a buzzfeed news article from the time:

The Russian-run Tumblr accounts used the same, or very similar, usernames as the account names contained on a list of confirmed IRA accounts Twitter submitted to congressional investigators. In some cases, the Tumblr and Twitter account has the same profile image or linked to each other in their bios. Some IRA Tumblrs and Twitter accounts also cross-promoted content between platforms, further linking them together.

Current tumblr user @ alwaysbewoke (who I don't want to tag because I'm sure he's got better things to do) is interviewed in that article and talks about following one of the blogs identified by tumblr as an IRA blog that had a matching account on twitter identified as an IRA account but unfollowing when the left-leaning blog supposedly run by a black creator started rooting for trump in the election.

Dr. Jonathan Albright is heavily quoted in the article; the data review he collaborated on is one of the only reviews of this subject that includes data from Tumblr and Reddit.

One of the claims that I've seen is that tumblr just deleted funny black people, but these were blogs with thousands of followers on tumblr who never recreated, never popped up on another social media site, never started a reddit account after getting banned; nobody ever showed up saying "hey this is 4mysquad, I got banned on tumblr and twitter, follow me to pillowfort". These very popular blogs got deleted and, as far as I know, nobody ever popped up claiming to be a person who was deleted - and it's not like tumblr users haven't figured out how to evade bans.

What you are doing when you make posts saying that the IRA accounts on tumblr never existed is *absolving tumblr of guilt for their utter lack of transparency.*

Tumblr is not the only tech company that has tried to fly under the radar as its larger counterparts face regular scrutiny in Congress and in the press. Earlier this month, Reddit revealed it too had deleted hundreds of accounts with ties to the Internet Research Agency. A WIRED investigation found more than a thousand links to Russian propaganda websites are still live on Reddit, and unearthed two suspicious accounts that Reddit immediately shut down.

So should you believe what Tumblr says? No, because Tumblr has been functionally fucking silent on this issue and the information about this subject aside from the list of blogs has come from the hard work of data scientists, journalists, and researchers.

(For the record; some of those bot accounts that were recorded by Dr. Albright also had Google+ accounts in 2017 - there is every possibility that they had myspace accounts).

Now, the reason that I'm popping onto this post as an annoyed anarchist is that I was tracking a similar group of blogs for a while and was discussing them and I stopped precisely because of the galaxy-brained liberals who are now trying to dunk on communists for criticizing electoralism. One of the people who was following my project was one of the ones who started calling out the "joe biden kills dogs" posts as disinfo and I realized they were using some of the guidelines I'd written up to "identify" misinformation and that is very a rock fucking stupid approach to what was clearly a leftist making jokes and was horrified and realized there was no way that I could continue documenting what I was documenting without someone attempting to call actual leftists russian bots.

I've seen the post that OP is referencing [it's one where someone makes a very obvious joke about the democrat presidential ticket and people jump on to call them a bot and then someone tries to do the "AI tell me a story" thing and OP is just like "I don't want to :(", proving that they are in fact a person and not an AI] and have deeply enjoyed the humor of watching liberals a) not understand a very, VERY obvious joke and b) become the unwitting butt of a joke they were trying to make, but also I am so exhausted by watching normie dems call leftists AI bots after years of watching normie dems call real live actual leftists who hold actual political views that real people actually have, like prison abolition, russian bots.

But I am also so fucking tired of left conspiracism and how stupid it sounds when leftists dismiss a preponderance of evidence that is easily accessible and publicly available for analysis as "lol so you just trust everything tumblr tells you?"

No, dipshit, learn to click a fucking link or twelve.

[vaspider]

Measure 110, or the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

So if y'all aren't local to Oregon, you may not have heard that the Oregon state legislature just voted to -- essentially -- gut Measure 110, the ballot measure which decriminalized all drug possession and use in the state. It turned all drug use into a citation instead, and the citation and fine could be waived by completing a health screening. The entire point of Measure 110 was replacing jail with health care and services to help people instead, and while I could probably write a very long side post on the imperfections of that approach, it was at the very least a move in the right direction after decades of the pathetic failure and absolutely racist mess that is the "War on Drugs."

You may hear this pointed to in coming years as a reason why we have to just throw people into jail for using drugs, because Measure 110 failed. And like... it did fail, kinda. Sorta. It failed in that it did not manage to fix everything immediately, and it created some new issues while also exposing older issues more sharply.

It also saved the state $40 million in court costs prosecuting low-level drug offenses, kept thousands of people whose literal only crime was putting a substance into the body of a consenting adult (themselves) out of jail, put at least one addiction services center in every county in the state, invested $300 million in addiction services, and an awful lot more. See the end of this post for more reading.

But where it failed, it failed because it wasn't supported. Police and advocacy groups both asked for specific tickets for this new class of offenses which had the phone number to call to go through the health screening and the information about how going through that health screening would make the ticket go away printed on it prominently - lawmakers declined to fund this. Governor Kotek budgeted $50K to train officers on how to handle these new citations and how to direct people to the treatment and housing supports, but lawmakers thought that training officers on this new law at all was a waste of money. Money moved extremely slowly out to the supports that were supposed to come into play to help people obtain treatment or get access to harm-reduction strategies. People freaked the fuck out about clean-needle outreach, fentanyl testing strip distribution, Narcan training, and other harm-reduction strategies.

And at the end of the day, Measure 110 gets called a failure because it wasn't a silver bullet. Never mind that thousands of people are not sitting in jail right now for basically no fucking reason. Never mind that people have gotten treatment, harm has been reduced, overdoses have been prevented...

So, yeah. You'll probably start hearing this trotted out as proof that, well, we triiiied decriminalizing drugs, but look what happened in Portland! Well, what happened in Oregon is that we got set up to fail, and still didn't fail, just didn't totally succeed.

Measure 110 highlights, quoted directly from Prison Policy Initiative:

The Oregon Health Authority reported a 298% increase in people seeking screening for substance use disorders.

More than 370,000 naloxone doses have been distributed since 2022, and community organizations report more than 7,500 opioid overdose reversals since 2020.

Although overdose rates have increased around the country as more fentanyl has entered the drug supply, Oregon’s increase in overdoses has been similar to other states’ and actually less than neighboring Washington’s. A peer-reviewed study comparing overdose rates in Oregon with the rest of the country after the law went into effect found no link between Measure 110 and increased overdose rates.

There is no evidence that drug use rates in Oregon have increased. A cross-sectional survey of people who use drugs across eight counties in Oregon found that most had been using drugs for years; only 1.5% reported having started after Measure 110 went into effect.

There has been no increase in 911 calls in Oregon cities after Measure 110.

Measure 110 saves Oregonians millions. Oregon is expected to save $37 million between 2023-2025 if Measure 110 continues. This is because it costs up to $35,217 to arrest, adjudicate, incarcerate, and supervise a person taken into custody for a drug misdemeanor — and upwards of $60,000 for a felony. In contrast, treatment costs an average of $9,000 per person. The money saved by Measure 110 goes directly to state funding for addiction and recovery services.

There is no evidence that Measure 110 was associated with a rise in crime. In fact, crime in Oregon was 14% lower in 2023 than it was in 2020.

Further reading/sources:

[probablyasocialecologist]

Reporting from multiple outlets suggests that Trump and his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, played a decisive role in forcing Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hand. In a January 7 press conference from Mar-a-Lago, Trump warned that “all hell will break out” if a hostage deal wasn’t reached before his inauguration. “It wasn’t a warning to Hamas. It was a warning to Netanyahu,” Steve Bannon told Politico, which also quoted former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert as saying Netanyahu agreed to the deal “because he’s afraid of Trump.” “The prime minister was dragged into this deal against his will and was unable to resist. He understood the consequences of disappointing Trump even before he reached the White House,” a Netanyahu associate told Al-Monitor, which also cited a former top Israeli official who said, “Netanyahu knows that with Trump he will not be able to wipe the floor as he did with Democratic presidents—like Clinton, Obama and Biden.” Witkoff reportedly told the Israeli prime minister to his face: “Don’t fuck this up.” And Netanyahu has already paid a political price: this past weekend, Israel’s settler-extremist national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir resigned from Netanyahu’s shaky far-right governing coalition over the ceasefire deal, after standing with Netanyahu for fifteen months of genocidal warfare backed by the Biden administration.

[...]

In the same week that the ceasefire deal was tentatively announced, two other stories broke that spotlighted the extent of Biden’s moral and political failure in Palestine. One was The Lancet’s publication, subsequently covered in the New York Times, of a peer-reviewed study of traumatic injury deaths in the Gaza Strip from October 7, 2023 through June 30, 2024. The study estimated that the Palestinian Ministry of Health underreported such deaths by 41 percent during that period, and that over 64,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children, had died from traumatic injury, a figure that does not include the untold thousands more who died of starvation or disease resulting from Israel’s bombardment of Gaza’s infrastructure (a previous analysis published by The Lancet estimated total Palestinian deaths to that point at over 186,000). Another six months of nonstop devastation in Gaza have passed since the data for The Lancet study was collected. The exact casualty numbers may never be known and in a sense are irrelevant, as no one seriously doubts that Israel has inflicted indiscriminate collective punishment against a captive civilian population, in what has been declared a genocide by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and multiple world-renowned genocide experts (including some initial skeptics), and ruled at least “plausibly” genocidal by the International Court of Justice. The other story that broke last week was an Institute for Middle East Understanding poll that made the most plausible case to date that Biden’s handling of Gaza might have cost Harris the election. Unlike most polls, which focus on what voters overall in 2024 prioritized in the presidential race—typically, economic issues like inflation—the IMEU poll focuses on the millions of Biden 2020 voters who opted for a candidate other than Harris in 2024, whether that meant Trump or a third-party candidate. Among this subset of the electorate, a 29 percent plurality named “ending Israel’s violence in Gaza” as the most important issue in deciding their vote, with even higher percentages in the key battleground states of Arizona, Michigan, and Wisconsin. While no single factor can account for Harris’s shutout in all seven battleground states or Trump’s popular vote win, the IMEU poll provides strong evidence for what seemed anecdotally obvious throughout last year: the Biden-Harris team’s unapologetic support for Israel’s genocide alienated meaningful numbers of potential supporters.

21 January 2025

[hotcheetohatredwastaken]

July LU Write-a-Thon: 351,092 Words in One Day!

On July 1, we hosted our second monthly LU Write-a-thon (organized by @not-freyja and @hotcheetohatredwastaken and joined by their new mods @noorahqar, @a-manicured-lawn, and @winterfen). The purpose of this event was to write as many productive words—words that furthered yourself, the LU writing community at large, or your own stories—within 24 hours as humanly possible. 

We had a whopping 90+ participants as opposed to our previous 16 - none of us expected such a large turnout, and were suitably unprepared 😅 We’ll definitely be making a lot of changes to accommodate that many people during the next Write-a-Thon, occurring August 1st. Thank you all for your patience!

But, until next month, here’s the awards and titles earned by each participant, as voted upon by the Discord server through an anonymous survey. The mods read through all your hundreds of submissions (thank you guys so much!) and picked either the highest voted title or the funniest custom submission for each person, as we found appropriate. First up is the winner’s circle, then the clubs, and then everybody else in alphabetical order right below this readmore!

The Winner’s Circle (5 Most Wordiest)

20,037 “Writer of All Time” and “Most Likely to Make 1K become 100K” (As can be seen in all its glory in your Aspects AU) @tashacee: You took advantage of Freyja and Cheeto’s beefing about who would be first and snapped up the win right from under their noses. Well played! 

20,011 “Writer of Some of the Time” and “Pen and Paper (Scritch... Scratchy?)” @hotcheetohatredwastaken: Missed the mark by juuust a bit, for the second time in a row. Cheeto, you suck. (:3 –Cheeto) (Qar wrote this, for reference!). Also wrote for most of the marathon on pen and paper!

17,491 “Writer of Last Time” (for winning last month and then failing to defend their title) and “The FourShadow-er of all Time” (for the unholy amount of Chekov’s Guns they leave lying around loaded in their docs) @not-freyja: you are the most autistic about Legend. Nerd.

13,203 “Will Make You Cry” and “Captain of the Twilight Angst Tag on Ao3” @somer-writes: Boosting the Twilight economy, and we’re all happy about it. Also the second-funniest person in the server, with the second-most stars!

13,000 “AU Collector” and “Four Enjoyer” @zarvasace: Whether they're heroes with disabilities, space rangers, or vampires, if Mina wrote it, the boys will be written well.

Clubs

Now while everyone’s accomplishments as individuals were nothing to sneeze at, teamwork does in fact make the dream work. A few lovely people made a couple of equally lovely groups, either by their own choice or as assigned by peer review.

Aimed for the Funny Numbers Club

“Literally Satan” @allwayswildchild: with exactly 6666 words, you deserve every bit of this cursed title. 

“Lawn Blart Mall Cop” and “Qar's Mom in a Moment of Weakness Apparently (And Then Qar’s Sister in a Moment of Un-Weakness)” @a-manicured-lawn: The latter explains itself. Apparently, the vision of Lawn segwaying around is amusing. [Some people just can’t appreciate the beauty of a white shirt, tie, and glorious moped… ~Lawn]

“The Reincarnated” @defenestration13: Hadn't written in six months but then reappeared to write multiple thousand words. Good job.

“Multimedia Powerhouse” @passerinesoncaffeine: The art, the writing, Raven's got it all! Painting, analyzing music, commenting, whatever you touch it turns to gold.

“Dark Miette” goes to @rebornofstars: An inside joke that I don’t understand. Also thought you should know that you got [insert bee pun].

“The Memer” and “Literally Wind” @savimatteo2810: These are related.

“The Quoter” @whatvioletdoes-blog: For spending the event harvesting quotable quotes for their chat-fic.

(freyja overshot all potential funny numbers, but is a member at heart)

Most Likely to Get Fangirled (Gender Neutral) Over Club

“Literally Hyrule” @across-violet-skies: Also called the Spunky Sidekick and a calming jasmine tea type person. Hopefully your ghost pepper recovery goes well. 

“The Snippeter” @imperialkatwala: For sharing so many snippets to us hungry folk. Thank you kindly.

“Friend Shaped” @polynomialpandemic: A friend to all. Also a “Snippeter” - thank you for feeding the masses!

“Four Tormentor” @undertheopensky: For really obvious reasons. Also managed to make Freyja scream for 10 minutes with your mere presence alone!

Other Friend Groups

“Sad Wet Cat Club” @cinis0 and @lunaopus, you two seem to have nominated one another, so you get this club all to yourselves! However, I would love to know what the talk of forgetting that the Queen died was about…. (Qar has requested to be an honorary member of this club)

@awildsilver and @four-eyed-nerd, you two get to come together as “Four-Eyed-Nerd’s Rat” and “AWildSilver’s Cat,” which is I think our favorite group of all in this month’s running. I do have some additional questions for you two, however, about a mention of the bee movie as an original work (allowed as long as it’s not copy pasted and also hilarious) for you Wild and the title “Honey I shrunk the Links” for you, Four. 

The Community Support Team

“The Commentator of All Time” @1-renegade: To directly quote, “Ain't NOBODY give better feedback and comments than lawlessland.” 

“Will Make You Cry” @artsyanonymity: Anonymity is the sweetest and kindest commenter in existence! SHE. WILL. MAKE. YOU. CRy. Writes the nicest comments and they make me (and apparently several others) cry

“The Encouragement Itself” @cat-at-a-writing-desk: For encouraging others to reach their goals. We appreciate you!

“Drill Sergeant” @gintrinsic-writing: Made Qar get 5k and scared everyone else into writing. (You did it! I got 5k! The fear (with funny intonation) dragged me over the finish line -Qar)

“Drawer of A Thousand Words” @la-sera: Ruler of the Legend and Hyrule brotherhood, inspirer of writers, and the spreader of so much love with your art this Fan Joy July with the art you spent the marathon working on. Can’t wait to see it all as the month goes on.

“The Reader of all Time” @life-in-winter: Or as you all probably know her, passerine44, the writer of the best ao3 comments of all time. Thea, you walk into a digital room and every writer there makes heart eyes at you. Cannot wait to read the writing you’ve been working on (and leave a comment) to return the favor.

“The Respondent of All Time” @silvrash-797: Silvrash had over four months of unanswered ao3 comments that she caught up with, congrats!

“Lives up to the Screen Name” @sunny-porridge: To quote: “Sunny is 100% a ray of sunshine and anyone who says otherwise can FIGHT ME” and I think we all agree.

“The Wildest Supporter.” @twilightangel83: Supported people and sent a lot of Wild emojis, so much so that we started picturing you as Wild!

“Poet” and “Master of the Shrimp Check” @winterfen: Writes good poetry, and also made sure that everyone was appropriately fed, hydrated, and rested for this event. 

Transfer Students

“I don’t work here, Lady” goes to bArk who neither has a tumblr nor writes for this fandom, but showed up and had fun anyways. Thanks for joining us!

“He Who Finished His Book” goes to jr_for_potus44 (not on Tumblr). Congrats!

“Split Screen” goes to @straight-outta-hobbiton for writing two fics on two screens at the same time, neither of which were LU. Frightening.

The Silent Ones

@pelicanpig, @mmelete, @wayfayrr, @raeofsky, @summaryscar @sunkissedkales: You guys came, you wrote, you did not elaborate. How mysterious your aura is (positive, deeply positive.)

"The Almost Silent One" @the-au-collector: Talked before and after, but not during the event. Probably too busy writing, or busy in general - good job either way!

Everybody else!

“Frequent Flier (WPM)” @anime-obsessed: For participating in so many sprints. Also earned “vocaloid enjoyer.”

“Keyboard Warrior” @august-the-friend: You fought autocorrect and lost 3-0, but it was a valiant fight nonetheless. You did great.

“Artist turned Writer” @aurora-boreas-borealis: Took a break from streaming to write—a huge shout out for all your hard work and your help with colors! (~the actual pigments, not the Links ~Lawn) 

“Literally Sun” @beesandhoney1219: Warmer than sunlight, sweeter than sugar, and absolutely obsessed with Sky’s girlfriend.

“Most Likely to Include Raccoons in their Fic” @bittirsweeteer: They Who Has Given Legend Espresso (thank you for your service).

“Last Minute Vidow” @deleetrix: Something that should always be encouraged. Thank you for feeding us.

“Stargiver” @emberlylion: For starring in a lot of posts, especially cat pics. Thank you for your service.

Move over Time, @estelian-01 “Will Fight Majora and Win” and then go back to studying.

“Studious Student Who (has not) Studied” @gerudoevernight: Self nominated for “Studious Student who Studied” for hitting their goal while in school. The mod team disagreed with the accuracy of that title and affectionately chose this one instead. Good job hitting your goal!

“The Outliner” @gia-d: Accidentally wrote a first draft. Also think it should be noted that everyone is convinced you either could kill a god or that you carry one around in your pocket.

“Onomatopoeia Outrage” @haloburns: Who debated the word “ow” so hard they inflicted it on the people around them.

“The Scholar” @irenkaferalkitty: For her extensive collection of well-researched data, presented in charts, documents and yes, excel sheets. We appreciate you.

“Most Improved” @labyrinthdancer: Their writing has improved a lot since they started posting! also they write really dark twilight & the chain fics. Being a new writer is scary, but they kept at it and are doing so well!

“Writer of Most Cursed Victorian Child” aka their take on Ravio, is @lele5429 with their first ever fic, which is as gorgeous in words as your art is in ink.

“The Hype Man (gender neutral)/Moral Support” @lemoncatssss: For all the encouragement that you gave others. Also the cat photos. Especially the cat photos.

“The accidental friend acquirer” @lennsart: For somehow befriending literally every single person you talk to.

“Severe Case of Clacking” @lerikwrites: You know why. Pennies in a washing machine my friend.

“Hyrule Hurter” goes to @linkiscool333: We all have the blorbo we love to put in the blender, but no one blends Rulie like you do.

“Marcus Actually Writes!?” @marcusdoodlesalot: For a second month in a row, some of us are still befuddled that Marcus is actually a writer, and not just an artist. Hard to believe that someone can have that much talent in both fields.

“Soup Soup Soup Soup Soup (Soup Soup Soup Soup Soup)” @marsnoodlesoup: I... do not know what this means. Congrats, it seems you’re soup.

“The Veteran” @musical-chan: For sharing stories of the early days of fandom. Back in my day but the most positive way possible

“Artist Turned Writer” @mysticstars105: Came out and wrote a whopping 400 words, which is so many words especially when you’re new. Gold Star!

“Art Fight Pre-Gaming” @nebulapaws: For their talk of Art Fight. Hope you have fun participating this month!

“Resident Audiophile” @needfantasticstories: Not just for writing with speech-to-text all day, but for your constant enthusiastic screaming about Epic the musical.

“Most likely to fight God and Win” and “The Modderrrrrr” @noorahqar: Who is actually Sky. Not with the sleepy part though. She actually wrote so much about Sky that he stole all her sleepy. Number one on the starboard, with the proud title of MVM (Most Valuable Mod) for sticking the landing as midnight hit. Also the one with “The Most Sigmas to Grindset” whatever… whatever that means. (Please help what does that mean?) 

“Picture Perfect Exhaustion” @nyastri: Their PFP (Four Doubled Over, hands on knees) combined with the announcement they'd reached their writing goal at the end of the marathon really just sold the picture for me. Well done.

“The Sleepy One” @ocha-blue: who justifiably went to bed as soon as they finished. (Hope you're recovered by now.)

“First Time Fic Writer” @peepthatbish: for breaking into the fic scene and boosting morale for our mod team, especially Lawn. We appreciate you!

“Slow And Steady (WPM)” @pokegeek151: Who was chugging away all day long.

“Doomed by the Narrative” @ra-archives: Google docs acting up, cat sitting on lap, and yet you persisted. Good job.

“My Little Friend Who I Love (This Is Qar Btw) (This Is Part Of The Title)” and “Wordsmith” @rosehipandroots: This is a direct copy paste from your submissions, Rose. Hope you enjoy it. But your amazing descriptions really make you a wordsmith. “The SkyBoy Enjoyer of All Time” @sapphicseasapphire: for your lovely art and writing of the boy!

“Task Succeeded Successfully” @screaming-but-i-have-four-swords: was an artist turned writer that tried to write words, and did! Good job.

“Artist Turned… More Artist” @seaotter-17: We were told you write descriptions like a poet, but in this event, you were most recognizable by your drawings of Nina the cat. Thank you for sharing. 

The “Person with a Passion for Pudding” (which is definitely an inside joke I do not understand, so I hope it makes you laugh) @somanyfanficssolittletime: Thanks for participating!

“The Fic Reccer of all Time” @staring-at-a-blank-page: For recommending so many fics, their own and others, up to read. Thank you!

“The Drabbler” @tenderleavesbob: For their lovely drabbles, of which they wrote around 10k of. The title is appropriate - it seems your drabbles have taken Tumblr (and the participants in this survey) by storm!

“100% Bunny Accurate Fiction”  @toyouhellohowareyou: writer of the most rabbit-fact-checked fics of all time by our own Bunny Lord [Beloved Pet and Bunny Boy (Legend) Himself]

“The Podficcer of All Time” @unexpectedstormy: For podfic making, promoting, and educating. And if that wasn’t enough fae is also our very own “Dragon Tamer” who spent the event working on their HTTYD WIP!

“The Dashshunder” @vivalaplutothedachshund: For sharing your lovely menace of a dog Pluto with us all. We also appreciate you both in the chats and in our rampage to give PolynomialPandemic 109 hugs. 

“Mod Emotional Support. We love you” @wanderlustmagician: You know what you did, and Cheeto’s firstborn deservedly belongs to you.

“Word Weaver” and “Fanfiction Foul---was writing at work instead of working” @weavingstarlight: Your words sparkle as bright as you do, glitter jar.

“Literally First (also shared cat pics)” @witchdoctor39 : Even Hylia can’t hold a candle to how much you love that poor poor man!

Thank all of you for participating, we appreciate each and every one of you so so so much! Please note that we had 90+ participants, and as such, there is probably guaranteed to be some mistakes on the list above. If you find any typos or pronoun goofs or anyone that was put on the list twice or missing or under the wrong name or put under the wrong name or any error that comes with having different discord and tumblr names or if you were left off the list in error or if you want to request a different name than the one you received or you want to be put into or removed from one club or another or anything else that could have gone wrong—please feel free to contact @hotcheetohatredwastaken or @not-freyja with your concerns here on tumblr!

Again, a big thank you to everyone for coming to the event from all of us on the mod team! Can’t wait to see you guys next month! And stay tuned---there will be another post with more information about the next event within the next couple of weeks!

[gffa]

Final result of Padawan's Pride is that I, tumblr user gffa, loved it! I loved the plot, the characters, the voice acting, the moments of humor, the moments of gravitas, the moments of aching hurt, the moments of love, all of it was an absolute ride that I had a good time with.

I went in with fairly low expectations, where the reviews I'd read ahead of time gave me the idea that it would be a fairly light, airy story without a lot of weight and I knew that Obi-Wan and Anakin were separated about a quarter of the way into what's probably a 30k word story or so. I was wary it would be like Brotherhood where it was billed as a story about the relationship between the characters, but then just really... wasn't.

But instead the relationship between the characters was never far from the plot of the story, there were so many moments of Obi-Wan and Anakin's psychic connection with each other, where even separated by being on opposite sides of the planet, they still felt the other and were aware of their emotional state.

I can't even quote them (not without it being a two thousand word long post) to show the connection, because it was just always there and the author really used that to great effect--these are PSYCHIC SPACE WIZARDS, they're constantly feeling motivations and feelings, in a low-key way that you might not notice until you're looking for it. But they're always there. Always connected to everything around them. And most importantly to each other--well, most of the time. And that one time they're not connected is an incredible character moment.

For a shorter story, it packed in a lot of emotional punches (including an ending that made me want to lay on the floor and cry because it hit me right in the feelings place) and had a lot of great character insight and Jedi philosophy and culture woven into everything. It felt like a story where the author really cared about the worldbuilding, but it wasn't a story about that, it was just there in the background, which delighted me.

Yes, the main storyline is a light, breezy story, but it was a genuinely fun one that was packed full of all the character moments I could have asked for, it had some crunchy edges to the characters and their interactions, they're still early-ish on in their relationship and often don't fully understand each other or take things in bad faith or have trouble really trusting in each other--but they get there in the end. And it's not a story about anyone being the bad guy, it's a story about two characters who don't always see eye to eye but still try to work towards each other and, in this moment, it works out for them because there's no evil space wizard dripping poison in anyone's ear. As always, I can't guarantee anyone else will enjoy it, only that I had a great time with it and wound up quoting almost five thousand words for my citations project and made almost 30 posts about liveblogging it, so that's my stamp of approval.

If anyone else has listened to it, PLEASE COME YELL WITH ME ABOUT IT.

[susiephone]

the internet's lack of nuance in general is always annoying but one thing i see come up over and over again is people refusing the acknowledge that book piracy is different than pirating tv or movies. and it is. it absolutely is.

unlike tv or movies, where, with some exceptions, everyone gets paid an agreed upon amount for their work, regardless of how much money the end product makes, authors make royalties- meaning how much they make is completely dependent on how many copies sell. some authors get an advance, which is a flat fee you get no matter what, but you don't start making royalties until you "earn out" your advance - so if i get an advance of, say, $10,000, i don't get any royalties for my book until it's sold enough copies to make $10,000 in royalties and paid the publisher back for the advance. most books never get that far. and $10,000 is not a number to sneeze at, but when you consider that books can take months to years to write, plus editing time, plus marketing (because 95% of that responsibility falls on the author unless you are extremely lucky) - when you break it down to how much money you're making for every hour of work you put into a book, it's really not a living wage, unless you're one of the lucky few who sells a lot of copies consistently, and/or gets large enough advances that you can live on it for a year or two while you write your next book.

i've seen some well-meaning people say that pirating from indie authors is wrong because they don't have the support or resources of a publishing house, and often don't sell a lot of copies at all - which is true. but i think a lot of people don't fully realize that most authors who are traditionally published, even ones who have had overall positive experiences with their publishers, don't usually make that much either. like i said, most people never earn out their advance, and most authors have to handle marketing mostly themselves - the books everyone's talking about, most of them probably got a big marketing push from the publisher with more money behind it. which isn't a dig at those books; publishers put money behind projects they think will make money, often because those books are good! but it is a self-fulfilling prophecy, and the books that get covered by every reviewer, get goodreads banner ads, get quotes from famous authors, end up in subscription boxes? very much the exception, and that's because the publisher can't afford to do that for every book. obviously sometimes there's an underdog, a book that didn't get a big marketing push but gets great word-of-mouth and grows that way, but if you're trying to make a living writing, you have to work for that to happen.

so with all that in mind, it really grinds my gears to see authors who say, "hey, book piracy significantly hurts my income" being called greedy, selfish, or "scabs".

i think some people think, "wow, you have a publishing deal from a big 5 publisher with a five-figure advance, and you still want more money? how greedy!" because they don't fully realize how the math actually works out for most authors.

like, pedro pascal is getting his fat paycheck no matter how many people pirate the mandalorian. no one working on dear evan hansen lost a dime because of the bootleg recordings floating around. and for the big new york times bestselling authors? yeah, most of them probably won't be hurt by people pirating their book instead of buying it. almost certainly stephen king is not going to notice if a few thousand people download an illegal pdf of the shining. but most authors, it does have an impact.

obviously, there is some nuance here - not everyone can afford books to read, and not everyone can access a library. and obviously if a book is out of print, that's a different discussion entirely. but "it's fine to pirate books because piracy is always ethical and victimless and authors who are against it are just scabs who hate poor people" doesn't really hold water for me. authors are not the bad guy for wanting to be compensated for their labor, and while it's not the reader's fault the royalties system doesn't let most authors make a good living at it, it's also not the author's fault.

if you want free books that don't screw the author over, advocate for more libraries with more funding! most libraries will also take requests for books to purchase for their collection, and, at least in the USA, "interlibrary loans" will let them temporarily borrow a book from another library system if someone wants it. see if your library is part of libby and hoopla, and if they're not, suggest they join. if you have a little extra money but can't afford new books, thriftbooks is a great place for cheap used books.

like i said, i am not saying everyone who ever pirated a book is a bad person, or that there's never a justifiable reason. i just wanted to introduce more nuance into the conversation.

[marvelousgeeks]

Respectfully, we’re f—ing tired. A TV show’s audience isn’t going to grow in billions overnight, and especially in the year of our Lord 2024, when viewers know that networks and streamers are notorious for canceling. Prime Video’s My Lady Jane cancelation also comes as a complete shock when the show gained a steady viewership from its first weekend, favorable reviews from critics, and is still trending on social media with a steady buzz from fandoms.

The cancelation also doesn’t factor in the fact that the show was released right before the Summer Olympics, which means now that the games are over, people are only just beginning to watch other content. For years, executives have failed to understand the enormous power that fandoms hold, and half of that comes from building trust between them. One simply needs to look through the thousands of quote tweets on Twitter’s announcement to see how many people comment something along the lines of “See, this is why I don’t start new shows until I know they’re renewed.” People are jaded, and rightfully so, as the trust between big networks and fans continues to fracture.

Continue Reading

[gumnut-logic]

“So, Virgil, all reports have you as the kindest and I quote ‘squishiest’ rescue operative in International Rescue. Your followers would like to know…” Kat peered down at her tablet. “How many kittens have you rescued from trees?”

The big man just stared at her. She had to admit, it wasn’t an every day question, but that was Tumblr for you.

“Umm…”

Alan snickered.

Scott frowned.

Gordon had a grin on his face fit to outshine the sun.

John rolled his eyes. “58.”

“Hey!” Virgil glared at his brother.

“Someone has to keep count.”

“Well, you’re wrong.”

The astronaut straightened in his seat, obviously affronted. “What?”

“It’s 86.”

“What?!”

“Not every one was on the clock, John. What was I supposed to do, leave them meowing?”

Scott facepalmed.

“Eos, you were told to monitor.” John frowned at his suddenly glowing watch.

A female voice snarked through the timepiece. “I have my reasons.”

“Reasons?”

“Virgil does do our supply runs, you know.”

John’s jaw dropped and Kat was hard up trying to keep a straight face.

Gordon wasn’t helping with all the giggling either.

“Virgil, I thought we had that under control.” Scott’s voice was ever so tolerant.

“I do! That is over ten years. That is only eight point six cats per year.”

Gordon snorted. “How do you save point six of a cat, Virg? Wouldn’t call that a successful rescue, bro.”

“On average. And besides, sometimes it was the same cat.”

All four of his brothers were staring at him.

Virgil squirmed where he sat. “Mr Fluffy got stuck several times.”

“Mr Fluffy!”

“I repeat, what was I supposed to do? He’s Parker’s cat.”

Scott facepalmed again as Gordon cracked up laughing enough to almost fall off his chair. John appeared to be arguing with his watch, and Alan was tennis-spectating between each of his bothers apparently not really sure how to react at all.

Kat couldn’t help but smile.

This was an interview of a lifetime and would make her career, but she had to admit it went beyond all that. The five brothers were being alarmingly candid and she was concerned that the interview wouldn’t make it past IR security.

Kayo had seemed nice enough on the ranch, but here in the studio…the woman’s eyes tracked everything. She had a team in the building, who knew where, and as a group they were nothing short of terrifying.

A little bit overkill, Kat thought.

It wasn’t like they could be overheard.

The Tracys had decided to attend the studio, but under the rigorous eye of their security…which had scoured the place clean. Only Kat, her tablet, and two holorecorders were allowed in the soundproof room. And all recording would be reviewed by that same security.

If Kat was attempting to gut the Tracys like she had originally threatened to, this might have been a problem, but as hinted on the ranch, they were not who she had thought they were, and their answers only drew her closer to the idea that perhaps the world didn’t really deserve this amazing family.

“Okay, Fish, you think I’m hilarious. How many times have we had to stop on the way home to save some sea life? Not that I begrudge you, life is life, but….hey, what is the difference between fish and cats?”

Wow, Virgil knew how to frown when riled up.

Gordon grinned, unrepentant. “Probably the tree part.”

Virgil folded his arms and totally grumped.

“Gordon?” Scott’s voice had an edge to it Kat had heard in the field.

Uh-oh.

“Yes, Scott?” Gordon appeared oblivious, but John had looked up from his watch and was frowning as much as Virgil.

“How much sea life are we talking about?”

Gordon blinked and maybe picked up on the eyebrows aimed at him. “Umm…”

Scott straightened in his seat. “Thunderbird Five, report.”

John rolled his eyes again. “We’ve spoken about this.”

“Are we including Tracy Island wildlife in this equation?” The pert young female voice spoke from John’s watch again. Really, it appeared to be a Rolex, as expected for a billionaire, but it was obviously something else.

“I want everything, Thunderbird Five.”

“Six thousand, four hundred and twenty-three, with a margin of error equal to several schools of tuna and one mola-mola.”

“Hey, I saved that mola-mola.”

“The mola-mola didn’t think so. It bit you.”

“Mola molas don’t bite.” But Gordon had his arms folded, much like Virgil now.

“I beg to differ. That was three stitches.” Virgil’s frown almost split his face in half.

“You’ve been injured?!” Scott was at full glare.

“I was doing my job!”

“Your job is to save lives, Gordon. We don’t have the resources to-”

Gordon waved an arm and nearly hit Virgil in the head. “A life is a life, Scott!”

“We can’t save everyone!”

Gordon shot to his feet. “But we can try. You’ve said it yourself many times.”

“Gordon-“ Scott rose to his feet.

Which prompted Virgil to stand up, one hand going to Gordon’s chest, the other to his advancing big brother. “C’mon, guys.”

Scott’s eyes darted to Kat and she stared wide-eyed up at him.

Gordon continued to glare as Virgil hustled him back to his seat.

“We will discuss this later.” Scott was pointing a very pointed finger at his aquanaut brother.

“Sit down, Scott.” Virgil turned his eyebrows on his eldest brother and the man backed off. He obeyed, but was still glaring, this time at Virgil.

Kat had no doubt that there would be an extended discussion on this subject in their future.

She also made a note to check on the mola mola issue. Could be something of value in that angle. Perhaps a one-on-one interview with Gordon and saving sea life.

The men settled down under the glare of Virgil in the middle. At this point, Kat was grateful she had set the chairs up the way she did. Scott was on her left, followed by John – who was glaring and mumbling at his watch again – Virgil, Gordon and Alan.

Alan appeared to be stuck on the outside of this little circus.

Maybe she could fix that.

“So, Alan, your fans are a rather active bunch.”

The young man startled, his eyes widening like he was stuck in a spotlight. “I have fans?” It came out an octave higher than she expected.

She smiled. “You most certainly do. A very active and solid group actually. We have a number of questions from them.”

“Oh, um, fire away.” His smile was brave at least.

Kat was ever so aware of the eyes of his four eldest brothers now currently targeting her.

She got the message. Be kind to the kid.

Or else.

“Okay. You are known as the astro brother.” She could have said ‘astro boy’ but her survival instincts nipped it in the bud. “Several people would like to know which star is your favourite?”

“Oh, that’s easy. Mom’s star.”

The room froze.

Not that anything actually changed. No one moved or said anything. But...

Something walked across Kat’s skin, raising her hackles.

She knew the Tracy’s had lost their mother early on. It didn’t take much to confirm that, it was public knowledge. Alan had been one at the time. He couldn’t possibly remember her.

“Which star is your mother’s star?”

It was John who answered. “Vega.”

Alan blinked in his direction and frowned. “I can talk about Mom’s Star, can’t I?”

There was silence for a moment.

“Yes, you can.” It was Scott and his voice was emotionless.

Scott had been sixteen. He most definitely remembered his mother.

“John used to take me up onto the roof of the farmhouse and we would stare at the stars for hours. Did you know that Vega has five confirmed planets?” And Alan started talking astronomy – the star’s distance from Earth, its gravity, spin, the whole bit. Alan obviously knew his stars well.

But Kat was stuck on those five planets and she couldn’t help but glance at the other four brothers, all of whom would have been affected by the loss of their mother.

They all had their professional faces on and she knew she had lost the relaxed atmosphere. She needed to get back to a lighter topic or risk losing this interview completely.

She glanced at her tablet and scrolled through the many questions awaiting an answer.

She grabbed one. “Do you ever wish on any stars?”

Alan blinked at her. “Uh…” But then he frowned, turning to Virgil. “Hey, how can 86 cats be over ten years, Eos has only been with us for three!”

Virgil’s eyes widened. “Uh…”

“Yeah, I see what’s happening here. And you!” He pointed at Gordon. “That means…”

Gordon glared at his little brother. “That means I’m doing my job.”

There was an uneasy silence after that. Scott had his eyes on her. Blue lasering her every movement.

Kat swallowed. She was a professional. She had handled presidents and prime ministers…

Electric blue reminded her of exactly who she was talking to now.

She looked away and down at her notes. “Okay, onto another topic.” She forced a smile. “Many of these questions relate to your love lives.”

All the brothers sat us straighter, shuffling in their seats.

Scott’s gaze redirected like the high beam it was, directly onto each individual brother.

She straightened her shoulders. “You’re listed as the five most eligible bachelors on the planet. Any lucky prospective partners?”

The silence was a gaping hole in the room.

“Scotty’s had a few.” Of course, it was Gordon.

Every brother glared at him.

He held up his hands in an attempt at total innocence. “Hey, I’ve been there! Virg, too!” He elbowed the heavy lifter in the ribs. “You said he asked that pilot lady out while hanging off a cliff.”

Virgil was frowning again.

Gordon rolled his eyes. “Johnny! You have to have numbers on that. How many phone numbers does he have in his little black book?”

“Gordon!” Scott, Virgil and John were almost symphonic.

That quirky female voice piped up again from John’s watch. “53.”

“Eos! Stand down.” The Commander’s voice struck out.

There was a high pitched ‘hmph’ from John’s watch and light from the device died.

Kat was hard pushed to ignore the flush on Scott’s face. Was that a touch of embarrassment?

But it was Virgil who spoke. “Ms Kavanaugh, certain sacrifices are made to do what we do. I would appreciate some understanding.” He elbowed Gordon in the ribs, obviously in revenge and a touch harder than friendly. “My brother knows this.”

Maybe there was a reason why this family hadn’t done a proper interview together before. Alan was staring at his brothers again, this time with something akin to fear on his face.

It was Gordon’s turn to frown and fold his arms across his chest.

Virgil glared at him. “Not funny, fish.”

“Just trying to help.”

Kat began to wonder if there was any footage that could be saved from this interview. At this rate she had nothing other than rescuing cats from trees.

“So why do you do it?” The question tumbled from her mouth without thought, not without a little exasperation.

All five brothers sat up straighter.

Scott. “Because when you-“

John. “-call for help-”

Virgil. “-you deserve to know-”

Gordon. “-somebody is out there-“

Alan. “-listening.”

They spoke together, over each other, but all with the same words. The passion in the room was a living thing and Kat could feel the purpose.

“This obviously means a great deal to all of you.”

A single nod from the Commander. The soft smiling big brother she had witnessed earlier was gone and what replaced him was ever so formidable.

The brothers may play around, but underneath it all were five men determined in their mission. Five of the richest men on the planet willing to devote that wealth, and their lives, to helping others.

Those blue eyes glistened.

Kat found her heart beating ever so fast.

Someone cleared their throat.

She blinked and found it was Virgil. He had the smallest of smirks on his face and his eyes were dancing in the lighting. “Do you have any further questions?”

And she found herself blushing. “Uh, yes.” She fiddled with her tablet as she gathered her thoughts.

“John, there are a number of questions for you regarding the capabilities of Thunderbird Five, ranging from ‘seeing me waving at you from my backyard’, all the way up to playing the stock market and accusations of espionage.” She drew in a breath. “Do you have any comments?”

John was the quiet and serious one. Red hair and the most gorgeous green-blue eyes she had ever see on a man. Actually, come to think of it, all the Tracy men had fantastic eyes.

The Commander’s blue were still trained on her.

She kept her attention on John.

He was a bit of a mystery as the least seen in the media. He was the Voice Who Answers, the Eye in the Sky. She wondered how much he actually saw and heard.

The man was unruffled under her full attention. “I see and hear what I need to.”

She blinked. That was very precise wording.

“Do you miss being at the centre of the action?”

“What do you mean?”

“You live on Thunderbird Five, don’t you?”

“Yes. Some of the time.”

“You often have to watch your brothers step into dangerous situations. Do you ever want to join them?”

“I do join them when necessary, Ms Kavanaugh. I am as much a first responder as any of my brothers.”

Kat held up a hand. “I know that, John. Your speciality is space. But you often have to watch from afar. How do you cope with that?”

Alan bounced up in his seat, almost jumping to his feet. “John is with us all the time. Without him, there would be no rescues.”

“But he is stuck up on Thunderbird Five-“

Scott cut her off. “John is our communications expert. He works just as hard as any of us, sometimes harder. It is not an easy job.” His eyes flicked to his younger brother. “But John is the master of it.”

“But don’t you feel helpless being so far away, only able to watch?”

Alan snorted. “John does so much more than watch.”

She targeted the youngest. “Like what?”

“He helps all the time, he-“

“Alan.” It was a single word from the Commander that had her missing that big brother persona all the more.

“But he does!”

“Alan.”

“Okay, fine. I’ll shut up.” And boy, the youngest could throw a pout better than any of the brothers so far today.

She ignored it and focussed on John. “Your thoughts?”

“Ms Kavanaugh, I do what I need to do.”

“And what do you need to do?”

“What is necessary.”

“To save lives?”

The was the briefest of hesitations. Another journalist may never have noticed.

But she did.

His answer was simple. “Yes.”

“I have a Tumblr user who claims you reprogrammed his tablet from space and now it will only play nursery rhymes.”

Those green-blue eyes darted to his right. “Perhaps you should ask him why I did it.”

“Aw, c’mon, John, it’s been six years!” Gordon’s voice was a whine. “You mess up every new tablet I buy. I said I’m sorry.”

Virgil frowned at Gordon. Virgil apparently frowned a lot. “What are you doing on Tumblr?”

Gordon switched from John to Virgil. “Well, derr, it’s the only decent blogging platform left.”

Kat scribbled a note that @gordonthesquid was actually Gordon Tracy. Thinking about it, it was pretty obvious.

She turned back to John. “How many times have you done that?”

“As many times as it takes to stop Gordon from messing with my possessions.”

“Six years, bro!”

“You’re a slow learner.”

“Ass.” The aquanaut crossed his legs and arms and turned his back on John.

Between the two of them, Virgil sighed.

Kat made a mental note never to piss off John Tracy.

Those blue eyes still hadn’t left her.

Note to self: never piss off any Tracy.

Perhaps it was fate that broke both her legs and prevented her from screening her attack on the Tracys.

She had the strongest feeling that she would never have seen him coming and no-one would have found the bodies much less counted them.

John emanated quiet confidence…and power…as he held her gaze.

Perhaps she had better wrap up the interview.

“I have many other questions to ask, but I know it has been a long day for all of you, so one last question.” She drew in a breath. “Is it worth it?”

“Yes.”

“God, yeah.”

“Of course.”

“Always.”

Scott was watching each of his brothers as they spoke, but stared at them a moment longer before answering himself…ever so quietly.

“I hope so.”

-o-o-o-

[the-booty-crusader]

A tip for all authors, original or fanfic-wise:

Please create a summary for your work and put it where it can be read easily. You are missing out on THOUSANDS of readers!

I spent an hour at the library today trying to find a good fantasy book. One out of every 100 books was a fantasy book, so that was already a bit disheartening.

Imagine my frustration when, from about half of those books, I could NOT even see what they were about!

It was all just quotes from people whose opinions I do not care about comparing the work to other writers, whose works I cannot recall at a glance.

I ended up not picking up a single book to bring home.

I decided to discuss this with other avid readers I knew on the internet and they felt the exact same. Reading is supposed to be a leisurely activity that relieves stress, and the fewer steps between the reader and a soft chair, a blanket, a cup of tea and a good book, the better. Having to take out a phone or find a library computer to type out the name in a search bar to find a summary is, oftentimes, already too much of a pain for many many casual readers.

The same goes for fanfics without tags or descriptions. People have a limited amount of time to read every day and they (we) usually don’t want to waste that taking a chance on a completely unknown story.

So please; create a summary for your work and put it front and center. I promise you nobody wants to read how much other people liked your book when they could be reading what the book is about. If we really want to know how people liked the book, we will look up reviews. Those are worth that extra step if we’re already considering reading the book.

Please reblog this if you agree so that it can reach an author that needs it!

[mediumgayitalian]

(very late im so sorry) fic rec friday 7

hi!! welcome to fic rec friday. every week, i pick five fics i have bookmarked and rec them with a little review. check them out!

i am indeed aware it is monday. i am a fool who is Bad at planning. my bad.

A Place To Start by @wintersky101

Nico can speak English, Italian, Latin and Ancient Greek. Unfortunately, he can only read and write in two of the four, and even more unfortunately, English isn’t one of those.

paul blofis & nico isn't something i knew i needed but i LOVE. like lets maybe get this kid a real grownup, huh? also i think it's really funny that nico is older than paul technically. like i imagine paul, who is a history nerd, would be spending half their tutoring sessions grilling nico about the 40s lol

2. Transitioning to Manhood by @nicostolemybones

Will gets a box from his mom of childhood memories.

i have quotes from this fic framed. it is deeply moving, especially that one paragraph about conditional love....like yeah it got to me. i wept about the conditional love paragraph. if you are ready for some catharsis this is indeed the fic for you

3. Doctor solace to the rescue by Phantomxlegend

Will idolized Beckendorf when he was younger, and who wouldn’t pass up on a chance to heal your idol and prove that you could be just as strong?

ON MY HANDS AND KNEES ON THE FUCKING FLOOR......WEEPING AND CRYING AND CLUTCHING THE BLUE FUCKING CURTAINS. WHY. WHY. CLAWING THE SKIN OFF MY FACE AND SOBBING INTO MY HANDS. no exaggeration when i say i never fully recovered from this one. baby will and quiet nobel beckendorf. beckendorf i love you. beckendorf you deserved a thousand times more than what you got. i can't feel my chest

4. Silver Rings by @buoyantsaturn

Barely a second later, he said, “What’s that?” “What’s what?” Will said back to him, not taking his eyes off the gash. “That ring.” Will froze, eyes widening. “Isn’t that Nico’s?

secret relationship my EVERYTHING. makes me buckshit feral every time its so FUN. cj ur iconic and you have been THEEE backbone of this fandom for years. i love this one particularly bc the whole thing with will glowing will never not be funny shdhfdjsnfkf

5. A Little More in the Closet Than Out of it by @buoyantsaturn

The only thing they could do to keep Harley in the infirmary so they could keep him monitored was to keep him entertained, and somehow, Will had gotten himself roped into a game of hide and seek.

giggle was giggled at the title. i am easily entertained. but the fic was fun and sweet; harley is the camp's darling as is his right. nico is such a dweepy dork loser hes so real i love him

thank you for joining me this friday!! happy reading!!

[what-eats-owls]

Hello!

I was just wondering (since I haven't been on Tumblr for long and don't know the etiquette for this) if in a post about little thieves I could mention 'This is from Little Thieves written by Mageret Owen (@what-eats-owls)' or if that would be inappropriate?

Thank you for asking!! My general tagging preferences are:

If you tag me, I'll see the post in my notifs! This is great for stuff you'd like me to see and/or share, like fanart, quote posts, etc. Please do not hesitate to tag me in those!

Some stuff puts me in a weird spot if I'm linked to it, such as fanfic and theory posts—anything that I could hypothetically "lift" from. I love that these exist, just please don't link me to them!

Reviews are a mixed bag. If you really liked the book and want to say something nice, awesome, feel free to tag me, it really makes my day! If you didn't, please don't tag me. ("Shouldn't you want critical feedback—" From the editor who is buying thousands of future copies up front? Yes. From a reader who has bought one copy and has completely different feedback from another reader who also bought one copy? Smooches, but no.)

Periodically I will hop in the book title's tag and look around. This is with the full knowledge that I may run into some negative stuff about the book or stuff I don't really want to see, and that's on me. If I see something neat I try to remember to share it!