#I just see nothing to critique and everything to admire

[his-tamine]

A visual of how I react when writers way better than me come to me for criticism

[solarsturniolo]

Pugs ‘N’ Kisses // M.S. // PROLOGUE

By Natalie 💋

Summary: Matt has always been the one person you can count on. Whether it be for advice or a holiday event, he always knew how to take care of you. There's nothing he wouldn't do for you.

Other Parts: Chapter One,

Warnings: Smut / Stalking / Voyeurism / Cursing / Obsessive Behavior / Possessive Behavhior / Minors DNI

You never really thought much of it.

Ever since you became friends with him, Matt had always been a sweetheart to you. Opening doors for you, kicking his brother’s ankle if he tried to take the booth seat, driving you everywhere you could possibly want to go; no matter the circumstance, Matt was always someone you could rely on, and he made that clear. He invited you to any outings that he and his brothers attended. He spent hours helping you build that matching furniture set for your bedroom, insisting that he could do it all himself for you. He made himself available for you whenever you needed him. 

Matt made an impression on everyone in your life, and a good one at that. He would help your mom set the table on nights when he was invited for dinner, and he would happily do the dishes once everyone was finished. He was a schmoozer, a charmer. From asking how her day was to empathizing with her frustration with whatever meaningless squabble happened at work with Theresa that works in the next cubicle over. He knew just the right questions to ask and just the right emotions to express on his face. He’d send you a smile across the table, reminding you that he still had his attention on you. One time you were almost sure that he winked at you, something the group chat heard plenty of that evening once he had left, though after some evaluation you assumed it must’ve just been a trick of the light.

After dinner, your mother would always insist on putting a movie on for everyone to watch. A desperate attempt to make you all seem like a normal family in front of your guest, though anyone with half a brain could see through it. You would try to weasel out of it, but Matt would just smile and tell you ‘I don’t mind,’ which was all you needed to give in. Halfway through, every single time, your father would notoriously begin to critique whatever had been put on. It was very easy for Matt to get on your father’s good side, all he had to do was agree with everything he would bitch and moan about. ‘The quality is garbage,’ he would grunt, and Matt would reply ‘It’s like it was recorded on an iPhone 4’ to which your father would laugh and playfully punch his shoulder. ‘This kid knows what’s up,’ he’d approvingly remark, spending the rest of the film making little jabs at the movie with Matt following him up in agreement. 

The biggest impression he had made, and the most important in his eyes, were your friends. Of course your parents’ approval mattered, but they didn’t know the real you, not the way your friends did. Granted, it took a lot of work. They were certain that he and any other human with a dick and balls were bad news. Fair enough, he thought. He knew it wouldn’t be easy, he knew it would take a lot of time and effort. But you are worth that. It had taken almost a year to get your friends one hundred percent on the Matt bandwagon, but he really sealed the deal on your birthday. 

He greeted you at your house that afternoon with a gorgeous floral arrangement in a beautiful glass vase. He knew your friends would be over, he was betting on it. They all watched with envy glossed over their eyes as you admired the beautiful arrangement, and while you were happily distracted, to not take the attention off of you on your special day of course, he brought in three much smaller bouquets; one for each of your friends. From that moment forward, everyone was team Matt. Your parents and friends would ask about him regularly. “When is Matt coming over again?” “You and that Matt boy still friends?” “You should invite Matt!” 

It felt good. Being liked by all of the closest people in your life was important to him. It gave him leverage, access to more sides of you than just what you showed him. He got to see your girly side with your friends, and he got to see your more domestic side with your family, though his favorite side of you was when you were with him. Just him. Not him and your friends, not him and your parents, not him and his brothers. Him.

You had to admit, that was your favorite side of yourself as well. Something about him, maybe it was his aura, maybe it was his horoscope chart, or maybe he was just the first decent guy you had ever gotten close with, but something about him made you feel at ease. He didn’t give you butterflies, instead he made all of the noise and static go quiet. Your hands never shook as long as he was holding them. Your body never felt cold as long as he was next to you. It was a weird feeling; A good feeling, but weird. You had never felt this way about another person before. 

Matt felt the same way. Any day that he got to spend with you was a good day. Any day that he got to speak to you or see your face was a good day. Any day that you made an appearance of any kind became a good day. Summer nights running down the beaches of Cape Cod, rainy days cooped up in your bedroom listening to your favorite vinyl records, late nights sending Game Pigeon games back and forth for hours. It didn’t matter what you did together, it only mattered that he got to do it with you. 

The only thing that mattered to him was you. 

a/n: Welp…good luck yall. @flowerxbunnie and I already planned out this entire story.

Tags: @flowerxbunnie @mattslolita @mattsbratt69 @oversturn @simplysturn @soursturniolo @megamett44-lover @sturnybabes @jjmaybankswifes-blog @plasticferal @cupidsword @liz-stxrn @sturniolosreads @sturnioloskies @bernardsleftbootycheek @egirlshit @matthemunch44 @nonamegirlxsturniolo @chrizz333 @sturniolopowers @mattsleftnipple03 @worldlxvlys @hearts4chris @tillies33ssss @janiellasblog @creamoncreamoncream2 @breeloveschris @meg-sturniolo @ellie-luvsfics @mattsfavwh3re @lustfulslxt @braindead4l @xtravrgnoliveoil @ghostlythinggoingaround @taekwite @leah-loves-lilies @querenciasturniolo @whicked-hazlatwhore @lacysturniolo @sara2233445

[dailyrothko]

Hi! I was wondering if you had any opinions on the play Red by John Logan? Really admire the Rothko work you do!

First of all, thank you.

Secondly, I think I maybe in a weird position to critique this. I have read almost everything written about Rothko that I know exists. All the books, all the articles I could find and all the interviews I can put my hands on where people who knew him talk. I actually have you guys to thank for this because until this blog got popular, I didn't know much about his life other than the basics. But, feeling some responsibility to my "Audience" and chosen subject, I tired to educate myself in this niche.

Because of this, one naturally forms a picture of the person in your head based on these collected impressions. I think most people don't really know much about him, at least until recently.

I am thankful that the play was an entrée into the art for a lot of people. Like the Rothko episode of Mad Men, many people are brought to awareness of the Rothko through these other mediums and I think that's really cool.

The thing though is that John Logan wrote the movie Gladiator, and you can tell. I see nothing bad about that kind of drama, it just doesn't jibe with my impression of Rothko, While Rothko was sensitive, upset at times, neurotic and opinionated, careful and studious, but he was not this bellowing pontificator that I feel is represented in the play. Again there's nothing wrong with making a drama of it, it's just something that I divorce from Rothko's actual character. I used to have a job reading movie scripts for an actor and you find a lot of common devices people use to make the drama effective, and I feel Red uses a lot of those to good effect. Every play or movie I have ever seen about an artist takes the task of making a largely internal process, external enough for the audience to become engrossed in.

Rothko was sensitive, well-spoken intellectual man. Many of his friends speak of his great tenderness and generosity towards them. The play seeks to pit him and his assistant as two poles of the art world, the new encroaching on the old. Again, fine as a dramatic device but Rothko painted alone, and he talked about painting to no one, ever. Anyone who knew Rothko says he never discussed his art. So any conversations in the play are entirely fantasy.

So, basically I think the play is entertaining and hopefully gets people interested in the art, but I wouldn't take it like a biography of Rothko! And that's really my main point, not to knock the play but to point out the differences between fact and fiction.

Here's some context:

"When I've seen my father portrayed, I've sort of winced, because it doesn't sound like him or come across like him. He was a very warm, humorous person, I remember him telling me silly stories as a child. - Kate Rothko

"As I see him, he was a very loving, essentially feeling man. He was loving and lovable. He liked to put on a rough show. I mean he liked to talk tough. He presented to me a softness. And I was full of my Oriental, religious view of things. I never attempted to talk to him about it because he didn't respond to it. I took it that it was his concern with the world which was from boyhood because of his parentage and finding the same ugliness and stupidity in the art world as in the world that made him so convinced that life wasn't worth living." -Wallace Putnam

Mark is often presented as off-putting; however, he really was quite warm, nurturing and could be very funny." - Regina Bogat

"(Rothko had) a genuine charitable impulse. It grew out of real sympathy. I don't think it was a put-on in any way, nor for self-aggrandizement...there are numbers of cases in which while he was alive he helped persons and always anonymously. He never wanted it known, nor did he ever talk about it." - Stanley Kunitz

*forgive typos, my brain does not see them until weeks after the fact

[guppybibi]

how they react to artist!reader

✧┊ft: akaashi keiji & kōtarō bokuto

❁ཻུ۪۪♡

❥ akaashi keiji

- thinks everything that you make is an absolute masterpiece, but if you do ask him for critique prepare yourself for his blunt honesty.

- though it isn't obvious from his stoic face, he goes into overthinking mode whenever you ask him for suggestions.

- hurting someone's feelings because he said something wrong is the last thing he wants.

- if you wanted to do some sort of art challenge with him he'll happily comply. i think he'd be pretty good at arts, not the best but definitely not the worst.

- when you compare each other's works, he always lets out a laugh when he sees how much of a downgrade his work is.

“Alright, I’m done! How ‘bout you, Keiji?” You giggle, holding the canvas against your chest secretively. Snooping was for sure, not allowed! “Just a few more finishing touches.” He mumbles, painting a few more brush strokes. His eyes full of pure concentration, laser focused on the piece he was making.

After a few extra minutes of waiting for Akaashi to finish, he places the paintbrush down on the small coffee table. “Okay, on the count of 3! 1, 2, 3!” You counted down, excitedly flipping over your canvas once the count ends. Keiji follows and does the same, both of your paintings being revealed at the same time.

An amazed look comes up on your face, nodding approvingly as you look at Akaashi’s piece. “Wow Keiji! Your art is improving, I see you're following my tips!” You compliment, your eyes filled to the brim with awe. “Yes, I’ve been putting your suggestions into mind. But my work is nothing compared to yours. It's wonderful as usual and expected.” He admired, adoring your creation.

“Well, I don't really care about whose work is better right now. We spent time together, considering your busy schedule, I’m really grateful.” You spoke softly, fingers fiddling around with the bristles of a random paintbrush as a content smile made its way to your lips.

❥ kōtarō bokuto

- basically obsesses over everything you make, it can be a work in progress or a literal fail yet he still has a compliment to say about it.

- a walking ego boost for you to be honest.

- not..the best in arts. though overtime as he practices with you, he's gotten better! practice makes perfect after all. so if you want someone to draw around with, he's just one call away!

“Y/N, I’m done! I’m sure I’ve outdone myself this time yet again, I’m not only an ace in volleyball but in drawing as well!” He brags, his confidence overflowing. While you just laugh in response, still focusing on putting the finishing touches. “I’m sure it's gonna be great Boku, you've been improving recently.” You comment, at this point you were sure his head was growing bigger from the amount of compliments he was receiving..

He patiently waited for you to finish, not rushing you as he started to chat about random things. Like how Keiji won't wear the t-shirts he suggests even though he has worn equally weird t-shirts before and whatnot. You chuckle, despite being pretty stoic; Keiji was probably evenly as weird as Bokuto. Once you are satisfied with your work, you place the pen back to its designated spot. Crossing your legs as you held the sketchbook close to you, you looked up to Bokuto with a smirk.

“Ya ready?” You ask, which you immediately get a nod in reply. After a countdown, the both of you flip your sketchbooks and show each other your work. It took you a moment to realize what who Bokuto drew, it was you in a meadow. It wasn't the best piece in the world, but to you it felt like it surpassed even the Starry Night. “Woah..you're right. You did outdo yourself this time..”

“Of course! An ace like me never fails to disappoint.” He boasts proudly with a grin, throwing the sketchbook aside and pulling you in for a hug..

[yloiseconeillants]

Hey how are Tullioylal, Solution 9, and Sad Undead Disneyland in terms of urban design I want to hear these rants (as a designer in a different field [book layout & user interfaces])

I rushed through the second half of Dawntrail's msq so I have a lot less like Archived Thoughts on those than i do on like LMAO Garlemald but Tuliyollal I'm very interested in as a planned capital city, especially in contrast to Garlemald as another planned capital city (though the goals of each are INCREDIBLY different). I'm just gonna ramble a bit beneath the cut as thoughts come to me as opposed to any like, well thought through critiques:

Tuliyollal has some unique geography that provides both opportunities and challenges: the most obvious being the elevation of the mountainside they've built into, and the shallow coral reefs that prevent larger ships from docking. There's always necessarily going to be a limit to the flow of people through the city as a result, which provides a very structured set of experiences for a tourist, I think. You have to get on a smaller boat. You have to land at the docks to get processed, which is also conveniently where the market and inns are located. You see the Impressive Vista of the city, culminating in the palace on the summit. Everything draws the eyes up. The experience is similar coming from the north - you have to cross the engineering marvel bridge, or coming from the west means you actually walk through the city's mission statement (and see their airships!) before you get to the core of the city. It's an experience that I do think sort of tracks with the way that theme parks are built - there's a story being told to you through the environment. And to be clear, Tuliyollal is a young city. Most Turali would also be tourists.

Another thing about Tuliyollal that stood out to me was the fact that the deliberately designed houses in the Resplendent Quarter are like, actually open. This is more of a game design thing that I've been bitching about since ARR but I would LOVE to see more open indoor spaces in this game - contrast to like, Ishgard, where the only indoor spaces open to us were like, church infrastructure and the Fortemps Manor. Not so in Tuliyollal - actual houses where people live are open to us! And not just to the Warrior of Light - they are meant to be seen, to celebrate the diversity of cultures that the city is trying to bring together in a deliberate way. The NPCs in the area give a quick overview of locations and people we'll meet later, while repeating Tuliyollal's goals of cultural harmony:

It's definitely a comfy city to be in and easy to navigate because of the way the mountain separates and centralizes uses (it's helpful to think of it as a semi-circle, with administration, like the palace, the barracks, and the transportation infrastructure forming the outermost ring, the stuff useful for the player like the inn and markets and gathering/crafting hubs in the innermost layer, and rp spaces like the houses between the two). It's an inviting city! Slow down, get a little intimate, take a stroll and admire the sights! It's definitely one of my favorite hub cities in the game (i still have my return set to the Crystarium though).

Solution 9 feels a bit like an antithesis of this. I'm not going to outright call it hostile, but it is an awkwardly built city that requires teleportation and aetheryte travel to navigate, simply due to the amount of unused space. The one that I keep getting tripped up on is the platform that the government tower is located on. There's a HUGE plaza with absolutely nothing going on. If you're using the teleport platforms instead of the aetheryte, it takes almost a full sprint to get from the landing space to the tower itself. Like, with the game done, I know that's because this was a space where they put an instanced battle but I don't think we needed all that to be completely featureless. Like what's the point of it? It made me wonder if this was a space where there were once proclamations or festivals or installations of any kind, but given that there isn't even a day-night cycle and most of the people of Solution 9 are more concerned with Working than anything else, the idea never really got anywhere. The second thing I thought of was Haussmann's wide avenues in Paris:

(also like, i'm fucking convinced there are ascians in that tower so like. this all comes together for me Very Neatly)

But Solution 9 is a mall rather than a city. It is geared toward consumption of resources (credits and souls) and I know there's much more to the city but just based on what we're working with, it's much less city-like than the urban imagery suggests. I am a big fan of all the couches and tables everywhere though.

SAD UNDEAD DISNEYLAND IS A THEMEPARK and GOD it gets that across SO WELL. Other people have talked about all the unfinished buildings just behind the facades and the huge empty spaces (canal town in particular, even when still lit up, is a very good illustration of how half-built everything is here) - it's not a space used by people to live but rather play out isolated Experiences, so it's hard to critique its livability, since that was never the point. I mean. Zip lines as transportation between districts. Which like. LMAO was not terribly far off from an actual campaign promise from this guy who did not end up being governor of Oregon:

but even he scoffed at zip lines:

[little-teacupss]

Their good fairy pt 2

Maleficent x Fay x Hades

Note: Hello everyone! Thank you so much to @giveityourworst, for all the tips, your amazing, please go check out their stories, they are an amazing writer! I hope you enjoy pt 2 of their good fairy. Once again, criticism is encouraged just don't be a prick about it.

Warning: AK and VK relationship, and Poly

Summary: Hades and Maleficent take Fay on a date to the Enchanted Lake.

Note 2: Part one here, part three part 1, part three of part 2

___________________________________________

Maleficent and Hades had spent the rest of the school day and skipping class periods to plan out a date at the Enchanted Lake for Fay, all the way down to attempting to bake a blueberry pie, long story short they ended up ordering one to be delivered to the school entrance while skipping the history of spells and magic, Maleficent looks around and critiques how Hades is setting up everything around the Enchanted lake.

"No, it has to be closer to the lake and a little to the left."

Hades lets out an exhausted sigh as he moves the blanket for the third time over to a different place that Maleficent has deemed worthy till she finds something wrong with that place. "I don't think she expects five star catering. It's just a little date we put together last minute, so we could spend time with her."

He says in hopes that it'll stop the perfectionist in Maleficent from being a tyrant. "The light shines too much there. She'll be covering her face the whole time, move it back!"

It wasn't until Maleficent herself took over putting it where she thought was best was she finally satisfied, with her hands placed on her hips and a big smile as she set up the picnic basket. "See, it wasn't that hard, Hades."

She hears a scoff in the background as she continues to pluck anything she believes to be imperfect out of the way or simply uses her magic to move it.

"Fay, better like this."

The moment Maleficent hears Hades whisper that she bursts out laughing. "Oh, don't worry, I'll say it was all you if she doesn't."

Maleficent looks over her shoulder to see Hades with his mouth gaped as he dramatically places a hand over his heart.

"Oh, I'm just kidding, don't worry, we can both take the fall if she doesn't, but I am curious. Should we tell her about Uliana's plan?"

Hades crosses his arms as he looks around, deep in thought before letting out a sigh. "Probably not. It'll only upset her more, and we're already a little on thin ice from this morning. You heard her when we're sat at the bench with her after the whole cupcake-flamingo thing happened."

The fairy nodded as she bit her lower lip, thinking over what the god had said. "You don't think she'd ever be mad enough to leave us, right?"

in this moment, Maleficent showed a rare moment of vulnerability that VK's rarely ever showcased.

"Truth? I don't know, but if that's what makes Fay happy, then we'll let her."

Hades gently patted Maleficent's back as she took in his words. "Fay is better than that she's not like the other goodie-two-shoes"

She said firmly as she got up and took a step back to admire her work, how everything was set up perfectly just the way she'd wanted. "I'll stay here while you go get her, I have to make sure nothing ruins this."

Maleficent beckoned Hades away from the picnic set up, as she basically guarded it with her life til Fay eventually arrived, but as she waited, she continued to nit-pick little things that she believed to be out of place

Meanwhile, Fay was currently consoling Bridget with Ella, as the two new girls walked away to talk about weird stuff that made no sense to her. "How they treated you was completely out of line."

Fay said firmly as she watched Bridget rub her arms and shake her head. "I still should go apologize, I can't believe that happened."

Ella gently guided Bridget to sit down on one of the vintage chairs and sat across from her onto the coffee table. "No, you have no reason to apologize to them."

She looked back and forth from Ella to Fay as she still wore a very somber expression, Fay then popped up and began waving her wand around and sang bibbidi-bobbidi-boo, as her wand sparkled, the two girls looked at her as she flicked her wand towards the coffee table that Ella sat on and a tray of treats appeared next to her along with tea cups and playing cards.

"When did you get so good at using your wand?"

Ella asked in disbelief as she watched random treats appear left and right surrounding her before a plate appeared in her lap with a slice of blueberry pie.

"I had a little pep talk, i guess you could say."

Fay answered, as she took the plate with the slice of blueberry pie off of Ella's lap and took it for herself. "Now who's to say I wasn't gonna eat that?"

She asked with her hands on her hips as she eyed Fay up and down, which made Bridget giggle. Both girls turned their heads to her and smiled. "There's the happy Princess of Hearts we all know and love."

Ella got up from her place on the coffee table and hugged Bridget close to her as she smiled at Fay and gave her a wink before turning her attention back to Bridget, Fay smiled at the pair before looking out the window where she saw a familiar hand waving a ball of fire around. "I'll be back in a bit."

Fay tells the group before running off through one of the corridors and outside where Hades is standing and snuffs out the fire in his hand. "Good, I thought I was gonna have to walk in there if you didn't see me any sooner."

She gives him a smile and walks up to him, Fay tilts her head curiously, wondering why he showed. "Right, I was ordered to come pick you up and bring you to the Enchanted Lake, I was also instructed to drag you there if you ran away."

Fay giggled at his explanation before nodding and allowing him to lead the way, the further away from school they got, Fay reached out and held onto his wrist knowing he'd be to bashful to hold hands even if they were outside of anyone's watchful eyes. "So what did you two agree on?"

Hades looked her, clearly not expecting her to question him on what they'd planned out for her. "You know, Mal really wants it to be a surprise."

She gives a little pout at his answer, but turns her head smiles shyly, getting giddy at the thought of going on a date with the two VK's that'd planned every bit of it, from the location to what'd they'd be doing.

"But, Mal is worried about you liking what we've planned out?"

He tells her as they slowly make their way to their destination, Fay looks up at him worriedly as she gently squeezes his wrist. "Why?"

"You know how she is she hyperfixates and overthinks, but she's mainly worried you'll leave us."

Hades explains further as he wraps his arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer to him as Fay furrows her brows and looks at the ground as they get closer, the red blanket finally coming into view. "Why don't you go prove her wrong?"

Hades leans down and whispers in her ear, gently shoving her forward towards where Maleficent is waiting, Fay comes stumbling out and over towards, Maleficent who jumps up worriedly as she quickly makes her way over to Fay and takes her hands. "What happened?"

Fay giggles and simply throws her arms around Maleficent's shoulders and wrapping her up into a big hug, while Hades lingers slightly further back leaned against a tree, watching the two interact. "I hope you like it."

Maleficent whispers into Fay's ear as she guides her over to the blanket set up and beckons Hades over, daring him to waste another second .

"This is beautiful, do you really do all this just for me, and look at this view, this had to be Mal's idea."

Fay boasted a she took the set up in, from the blanket all the way to how the light shined down on the Enchanted lake, while Maleficent's cheeks reddened as she became more embarrassed by the second. "Alright, that's enough, we didn't set this up for you to just stand there come, come, sit."

Maleficent tries to deflect Fay from pouring out anymore compliments by sitting down on the blanket and asking her to join her. "Yeah, and we made your favorite pie."

Hades added from his seat on a random stone near the blanket where the two sat.

"You two didn't make me pie."

Maleficent and Hades shared a look before looking back at Fay before whispering. "Fine it was ordered happy were frauds."

Fay chuckles in response to Hades admitting they didn't, in fact, bake the blueberry pie. "I'm sure it'll be good regardless if you actually made it or not."

She said as she cut herself a slice of blueberry pie and dug in. "I love this, but you shouldn't have skipped all those class periods."

She waves her finger as the two as she continues to eat away at the pie they'd ordered her, clearly giving into her guilty pleasure of blueberry pie. "But I can't be mad when you ordered me a blueberry pie, so it's forgiven."

Maleficent smiles and stares at Fay lovingly as she watches the other fairy basically devour the pie before dantly grabbing a napkin and dabbing her lips. "I'm glad you like it."

The dark fairy said before scooting closer to the smaller fairy and hugging her, while the god of the underworld observed the two. "And good job to you too for making sure she got here."

Hades gives a half smile before joining the two on the blanket and taking a cookie that they'd also ordered and nibbling on it. "I never knew you liked sweets."

Fay said in shock as she watched him go for another. "I'm not, but I do like oatmeal raisin."

The two fairies gave him a weird look the moment the words 'oatmeal raisin' left his mouth, he gave them a pointed look. "Oh come on at least I'm watching my figure and my health."

He argues before taking another oatmeal raisin from the basket and looking away from the two very judgmental fairies who were giggling to themselves. "Aw, come on Hades."

Fay said as she put a hand on his cheek and caressed along his jawline. "I think it's good you like oatmeal raisin."

He scrunches up his nose at her before smiling and then looking away from her and towards the lake.

"The sun will be going down soon."

He says as he stares out into the lake, the two girls also looking over as they watch the sky turn from a light blue to a golden orange hue. "This was the perfect place."

Maleficent looks to Fay, who's now laid between her and Hades. "I take credit for that."

Hades lifted his head and gives her a look. "Ay! I also deserve some credit who do you think set this stuff up like fifty times?"

He counters as Maleficent then lifts her head to look at him. "And who had to take over, so it was done correctly."

Fay giggles as she brings her hands over her face as she listens to the two bickering, but she knew she wouldn't have it any other way because she was their good fairy.

___________________________________________

Hello! I hope you enjoyed pt 2 of Their good fairy fanfic, this is the end, but it anyone has a request/idea for the next one, I'd be happy to listen and possibly write it!

Once again, I will show some love to the @giveityourworst, who was my main inspiration for this story. Once again, thank you so much for all the tips you've given me

And I'll see ya guys on the next one, ba bye!

[sxgarworld]

Painter’s Hand

Order Contains: In which Choso Kamo is one of your peers in your college art course. He comes over to study you painting, but it seems his infatuated with more than just your technique.

With a side of: Biting, whimpering, soft!dom needy Choso bc im a slut for whimpering men

Calorie Count: 1.8k words

As you were packing up your supplies, and taking your dried canvas and placing it in its separate bag, you hear thick soles of someone’s shoes walk up behind you. You turn, a little shocked, to see one of your classmates standing there eagerly.

It was your classmate, Choso. You knew him because during critique, he had nothing bad to say about your art. He didn’t say much though, he always looked tired and in his own world. It didn’t help that he always had big, clunky headphones on.

“Choso! Can I help you with something?” you said, scolding yourself silently for sounding so formal. You realized you were nervous, why did he make you nervous?

“Y/N, this might be a weird question but,” he paused, fiddling with his hair that was pulled into a ponytail, “I was wondering if, you know, one day you’d let me see you paint? Just us two? I love your art and I’d love to see your technique,” he asks. His compliments made you go red. Ever since you could remember, you could never take a compliment like a normal person. Quickly, you got giddy and smiled at him.

“Of course! Here, give me your phone number and I’ll text you my dorm number and when I’m free,” you smile, taking out your phone and allowing him to put in his contact. He gently takes the phone, and you can’t help but notice how his slender, long fingers are slightly spotted with blue and white paints. He hands your phone back to you.

“Well, I’ve got another class across campus in thirty minutes. But I’ll see you later?” He asks, hopeful. You nod. He walks out with his painting (which still looked wet) and his bag. His Doc Martens clunk against the ground as he leaves.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

It’s around 8pm, you’re sitting in your dorm room, swiping through textbook pages, careful to not get a paper-cut. You texted Choso a while back, and he said he was coming, but never specified when. After a while you got distracted, forgetting about having a guest, until you heard a knock at your door.

It made you drop your highlighter in shock. You quickly got up to look in the mirror to make sure you looked presentable. No crumbs on your shirt or clumpy mascara. After checking, you went to go see who was at the door. Staring through your peephole, you saw Choso, this time with his hair tied up into two buns on the sides of his head. How cute!

“Chosoooo,” you smiled, opening the door, “come in! I was about to finish that painting from class today.” He nodded, eyes taking in your dorm. You were artsy, and your dorm reflected that strongly. The interior design was so fun to look at.

“Did you decorate yourself?” he asked, running a hand along a velvet blanket thrown neatly on your couch. It was so soft, everything inside the dorm felt so comfortable. Like a home more than just a dorm.

“Oh! Yeah I did, took a little inspiration from people online, though.” You saw as he walked around, like he was lost in admiration. His normally tired eyes were still tired, but less dead. Like a fish!

“It’s beautiful,” he admired, looking directly at you. Again, your face went red from the praise. It was his voice, too, so deep and raspy, throwing around compliments like this. You couldn’t help but react this way.

“Thank you! Do you wanna.. um, come see me paint now? Or like we could do anything to be honest, I don’t mind,” you stammered. Of course he didn’t want to do anything else, why would he? He just came to see you paint, because he liked your technique.

“Oh painting, yeah we could. I’d love to see you in action,” he said, starting to get close to you. An electric shock was sent down your spine. His words were almost hypnotic. You made your way into your bedroom, pulling out your canvas and placing it on your easel, your pallet already full of paint from earlier. It was a little dried out, but it didn’t matter. It was good enough.

You dipped your brush in the red, and lightly swiped it across your canvas. For you, you watered down your paints a bit. It took away the vibrance but it added a very soft, subtle look. The way you blending was a bit odd too, blending with a brush then a bit more with your fingers.

As you painted, you could feel Choso’s breath down your neck. He was standing right behind you, so close. His hands rested on your easel, meaning you were trapped between him and the easel. It almost made you shake a little bit, which he thought was just another part of your technique.

“You’re real good at this, yknow?” he whispered, his words hitting your ear breathily. It made your entire body heat up. His deep voice right into your ear, praising you as you worked. It made you melt against him, back pressed to his chest.

“Don’t shake too much, sugar, I’d hate it if you ruined this pretty painting,” he said, grabbing your shaking hand as you dipped your brush back into your paint. What’d he just call you? Sugar? It was difficult to keep your composure now, with him sweet talking you.

“I’m not gonna ruin it,” you said quietly, almost to yourself. He let out a soft chuckle, his hands now resting on your waist. God you hoped he couldn’t feel how hot and nervous you were. You were glad he definitely couldn’t feel how wet you were.

“I bet you won’t sweetheart,” he said, taking his hand and grabbing your jaw. He softly forced you to look up at him. “You’re just so good at this, aren’t you?”

You couldn’t hold yourself together, it was starting to be too much. Did he come here to watch you work, or did he have ulterior motives? You could tell, his dead eyes were almost cloudy as he looked at you. Clouded with what? Lust? He didn’t break eye contact with you.

You turned, so your chest was facing his chest, and you grabbed the collar of his shirt. For a second you hesitated, wondering if you should question him or not. But something inside of you pressed yourself against him, pulling him closer and softly pressing your lips against his.

“God, I’ve wanted you for months. You’re so reserved, I needed a good reason to finally see you, to have you like this.” His eyes glossed over you, your hot body and your red face. He kissed you again, this time on your neck. You gripped onto his t-shirt, a bit rougher than you expected. He kept planting kisses on your neck and your collar bone, making you shake.

“Please, Choso,” you whined. He didn’t even need to ask you what you wanted. He lifted you up, his arms were so strong, and tossed you onto your bed. He pressed you down into the mattress, crawling on top of you and kissing you more.

“Please what baby?” he teased, knowing exactly what you wanted. You looked at him with pleading eyes as he kissed you over and over again, the kisses starting to become sloppier and wetter. He didn’t even bother to let you finish begging, he couldn’t help himself around you. Slowly he slipped off your jeans, and with it, your panties. For a minute he just sat and kissed you, letting you grind against his strong thighs.

But it was too much for him, he couldn’t just sit and tease you like this for long. He whined, tugging at shirt.

“Nu uh, that’s not fair,” you frowned “All your clothes are still on.” He looked at you with wide eyes, then taking all of his clothes off, kicking his pants off the side of your bed. You couldn’t help but look at him. Underneath his baggy clothes, you thought he’d be skinny and scrawny. He was… glorious. His body was chiseled and defined, which was odd for a fine arts major. You immediately sat on his lap, pulling off your shirt and bra.

He bit at your neck, sucking and leaving the tiniest purple marks up and down the side. He bit down a bit harder than before, leaving a full red circle with indents for each of his teeth in your neck. The sudden pain made you whimper, your nails digging into his back.

“Please, let me—“ he couldn’t even finish his sentence, he was too hot and bothered. His cock pressed against your folds, his angry pink tip leaking precum all over his own thighs. “I need it, I need you s’bad.”

You let out a soft laugh, nodding your head. He took that as a resounding yes. He couldn’t help but push his tip into you, no teasing from his fingers to loosen you up. He let out the most gutural, pathetic moan you’ve ever heard. As he thrust in sloppily, he let out whines and whimpers, as if it were too much for him to handle.

“It- agh-! You’re so tight, baby,” he whimpered, burying his head into the crook of your neck. He suddenly grabbed your hips, forcing you to bounce up and down on his cock. You slammed yourself down on it, feeling his tip brush against the entrance to your womb. The feeling made you throw your head back and moan. He let out more pathetic sounds of struggle and pleasure. You could feel him wetting your neck up with… tears?

“It’s too fuckin’ good!” he cried out, fucking you hard. Suddenly he threw you back onto the bed, your head hitting your pillow. He pinned your hands to the headboard. His eyebrows furrowed as he plowed into you desperately, his pace speeding up.

“Choso- haah—“ you panted out, tongue barely escaping your mouth, as his pace suddenly became sloppy. He gripped your hips tighter, pressing bruises into your skin.

“Fuck I’m gonna— I’m— I’m gonna cum!” he said, barely even finishing his sentence before you felt his seed splattering inside your walls, your own juices coating his dick as you finished. He spasmed, leaning his head into the crook of your neck as he let a few last spurts shoot out of his cock. “So- so good baby. You feel so good.” He whimpered out, gulping as he did.

You ran a hand through his hair, almost pulling out another whine from him at the affection caress.

“You’re so pretty baby, such a pretty girl,” he whispered, his hands loosening its grip on your hips, and instead letting his arms wrap around you softly. “Such a pretty girl, yeah? You’re beautiful,” he muttered, kissing along your forehead.

My pretty girl.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

likes and reblogs are appreciated! <3 Please dont repost

[mvltisstuff]

Hi so I was hoping to request a the summer I turned pretty fic(platonic relationship with everyone but steven?) I’m like very insecure about my body. When I was younger I was so skinny to the point you can see my ribs and whenever I eat I feel sick and throw up the food or I have to force myself too. And I just can’t gain weight, and being in a Hispanic house hold isn’t good at supporting or comforting. So I get made fun of a lot for being skinny. I just feel like they wouldn’t make fun of me for being very skinny.

midnight rain - s.c

summary: request

steven conklin x reader

a/n: i’m sorry you’ve felt this way ml, but you’re always amazing the way you are. i hope this brings you some happiness and comfort <3

y/n’s been surrounded by people differently her whole life. it’s been a struggle since she was too young, something she shouldn’t have had to worry about. comments and remarks got the best of her, though. little points about her ribs and her slim stomach, people complaining that she was too thin. they said she looked sick, ill, they thought maybe something was wrong with her. any time she went out to the beach or on a hot summer day, she got stares from wrongfully concerned people.

it took her a while to find a group of people who accepted her no matter what her body type was. when she started going to cousins during the summers, she met her true friends. she met the conklins first, seeing them around town with their mother. they were so sweet, giving her accepting looks and not one ounce of judgement in their eyes. then, she met the fishers, who were raised with respect and gentleness for everyone in their community. y/n admired that about them, knowing that they could be good friends.

for a while, she was nervous about what they might think of her. they might see her body and get freaked out, give her dirty looks, think she was ugly. but, to y/n’s surprise, they didn’t give any of those. they were so kind, and didn’t feel the need to make comments.

y/n grew up with comments from her own family as well, feeling like there was no one in the world who would understand. all she wanted was someone on her side, someone who didn’t critique every little part of her. her arms, her legs, her stomach, her face. she wanted people to know her heart and the beauty she has on the inside and the outside.

something was always special about steven. he was always someone to connect with, and he was always ready to have a good time. he was raised well, his mother teaching him proper manners and sweetness in his demeanor. he was a good guy, and maybe he knew it.

y/n and steven had been official since the beginning of the summer. they’d visited each other very often throughout the year, always delighted to see the others face. y/n’s worries and insecurities all disappeared with him, never feeling like he was thinking bad about her. it was a beautiful thing, it was rare, but y/n loved him for it.

it was still new though, y/n’s insecurities popping back up even when she was with her group of friends. some days, she just wanted to stay home and forget about anything. even if she was all dressed, looking in the mirror felt like a drop of energy. she begins the cycle of picking everything people might not like about her.

steven always knew that she had the problem, and that her family didn’t support her either. he never understood how people could be so cruel to a loved one about something that they can’t control. it shocked him even more, because y/n was nothing less of glorious in his eyes. he looked at her with complete adoration, thinking that her personality and her adorable smile were something to die for.

he never hesitated to comfort her when thoughts flooded her mind. he always checked up on her, bringing her anything she might need and staying with her. he reassures her every day, making her feel at peace. if it weren’t for steven, she would’ve just wallowed in whatever anyone else said.

the whole group of confused about why people would say that to her. she’s so pretty, and she always has been. there’s no room in people’s lives to judge other people, but somehow they want to make her feel bad.

they invited y/n out to the boardwalk, preparing to tease her and steven the whole time. y/n was excited. she loves spending time with steven and that whole group makes her feel whole. she only feels accepted. steven had said he wanted to come over and see her early today, so he drove over as she was getting ready.

she wanted to feel pretty. she put her favorite outfit on, and did her hair in a luscious style. the first glance in the mirror wasn’t as painful as the stares that followed. her eyes wandered down to her legs, and up the rest of her body. she tried to conceal anything she could, but she was taken out of her attempt when a few light knocks appeared on the door.

“hey, your mom let me in,” steven says, a light grin on his face. he can tell what y/n was doing, standing in front of the full body mirror with a stiff stance. he always hated when he saw her trying to cover up, he wants to be able to love every part of y/n that he can.

“hi,” y/n replies, softly. “i’ll be ready in a minute.”

“you look ready, and you look perfect,” he tells her, a weave of confusion through his voice.

“i was going to change the shirt, i really liked this one but now i’m not sure,” y/n sighs, gazing back at herself. steven grabs her shoulders lightly, turning her to face him.

“listen to me,” he says. “you look absolutely gorgeous in that. you don’t have to change for anyone. i wish you could see your beauty through my eyes.”

y/n smiles, knowing that steven isn’t lying one bit. he’s truthful, and she knows he loves her. she steps out of the view of the mirror, adjusting her new shirt a bit more before leaving with him. she feels safe when he’s near, and the harsh doubt in her mind subsides to a slight.

when she gets out of the car in the parking lot, she meets up with her friends who run to greet her. belly jogs up, taking y/n in her arms and looking at her fine jewelry.

“this is so cute!” she squeals, running a soft finger on it.

“thanks, belly!” y/n laughs, spotting taylor running over. taylor and belly together always look perfect, guys look at them walking together, they compliment each other perfectly. she used to feel like a shadow with them, but they only accepted her.

“is that the new shirt you bought the other day at that boutique?” taylor asks, pointing at the new article. “you look the hottest, y/n, i swear.”

“taylor, come on-“

“no! doesn’t she look hot guys?” taylor questions, turning to face steven who was talking with the fisher brothers.

“when doesn’t she?” steven asks, smirking at y/n before turning around.

“uh, yeah! you look great, y/n,” jeremiah adds, along with a compliment from conrad. steven playfully shoots them a death stare, basically saying ‘back off’.

y/n laughs, spending the day with her friends knowing that they love her, and she feels pretty in her own skin with them.

[prinz-vassago]

Ok I'm so obsessed with "Dai Nippon Gothic" and Suehiro Maruo's artwork and manga, I ended up getting a lot of inspiration from that to continue Akumu's mistery lore. I'm doing characters for the secret occult club investigating her death. They're called "Mugen no Kagi" (夢幻の鍵) or just "Fantastic Dream Key". I'll post the other members during the week bc I think each one deserves a post only about them, so here's the first one: Gou Kurogane

His backstory may contain some extreme/disturbing topics, be warned:

Gou is a 17 y.o teenager who is part of the secret occult club that investigates the entity Akumu. He is fascinated by death in every way. Coming from a traditional family and a lineage of samurais who served the Shogun, he follows a strict code of honor since he was a child. His family has a strange tradition of preserving the corpses of men who brought honor to the family in a sacred room in the house. His dream is to bring honor and die heroically in the war to have his body mummified alongside his ancestors, keeping the illusion that "war is honorable" due to his family tradition and the nationalist education given by the schools during the Showa period. He constantly has the job of serving food to the corpses and taking care of them as if they were alive.

Gou's father divorced his mother when Gou was very young and lost himself in alcoholism and prostitutes. Because of that he rarely sees his father and was raised most of the time by his older brother, who has a toxic and abusive relationship with him. Gou's brother is an imperial soldier, and constantly puts pressure on him, saying that "he will never bring honor to the family". Even though he gets excellent grades and being very good at swordsmanship, his brother invalidates his success, and nothing ever seems to be enough to please him. Although, Gou greatly admires his brother's position in the army, and dreams of becoming a soldier just like him and is deeply ashamed of his father and has vowed not to end up like him.

Despite all the problems and oddities, he is a very respectful and modest person in public, which makes people see him as someone exemplary in society and they don't even imagine his creepy side.

All this fascination with death made him start looking for more answers in black magic, and so he joined the secret occult club. Out of all entities and Yokai, he has the most interest in vengeful ghosts (like the Yurei type of ghost) and the Gashadokuro (giant skeletons made of the skulls of people who died in the battlefield). He is constantly desecrating warriors' graves and taking their skulls in the hopes of one day summoning a Gashadokuro. He doesn't usually work with curses and tends to focus more on summoning disturbed spirits and finding definitive ways to invoke each one of them, recording everything in his summoning notebook. He believes he can free Akumu's spirit and find out what happened to her.

*I don't condone the japanese imperial army and their actions nor the act of desecrating graves/disturbing the dead. The character is just inserted in this specific moment in history. Take his attitudes and traumas as a critique of how nationalism and extreme traditions affect people's minds in the worst way and how war is romanticized by some people.

[anohai]

A big issue with Seyka’s character arc in Burning Shores...

*clicks tongue* Fuck it. 

I debated over writing this out and posting it. Decided I might as well for not only my personal catharsis, but because it's been over 3 weeks since Burning Shores came out, I have had the time to mull things over more, talk with some friendly people who came to the some of the same conclusions I did, and really analyze everything. I’ve seen a sprinkle of other people expressing something similar to what I am about to cover, but I felt this deserved its own topic of conversation. 

And forewarn, there be spoilers. 

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.

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Of course, we're back to Seyka. I promise I'm not trying to pick on her. She actually has loads of potential, and I don't think she's a bad character. It's just she deserved better than what was shown in her overall character arc.

Last time, I wrote about the Seyloy romance, and why it is difficult (for some more than others) to feel good about it. This critique isn't going to be about that again in case you are wondering if I'm simply yelling louder in the echo chamber, but there will be some correlation to it. The more I played the DLC, the more I realized that while I still wasn’t sold on the romance, it wasn’t the root of why something felt off with Seyka’s story to me. So once the adrenaline of having a new shiny DLC to run around in wore off and was able to properly take my time soaking things in, this was the conclusion I came to: 

The biggest issue with Seyka's entire character arc is that they tried way too hard to make her near-exile situation comparable to Aloy's when it very, very much is not. 

In any capacity whatsoever. As to why? 

Seyka tells us at one point that she loves her tribe, her community, and has always felt she's had a place in it until recently. The reason she's in any hot water at all when we meet her is because she ran off and stole a diviner's focus. Seyka is a marine, not a diviner so we know this is considered a huge taboo among the Quen. They are a sovereign tribe with a classicist system where the people are allowed to know only what is deemed necessary based on their role and/or rank. Should rules be broken, we are left to assume based on our conversations with Alva and even interactions with the Ceo & Overseer Bohai in HFW that the royal family and those in charge are imposing & unforgiving enough that normally there are severe consequences. 

Luckily for Seyka, this isn't the case. 

The first time we follow her back to Fleet's End, we're met with those who are referred to as Compliance Officers who are wanting a nasty word or two with our new friend. We are brought to Admiral Gerrit, the real person in charge, and he is....actually quite understanding of Seyka's actions. He gives her a quick verbal slap on the wrist but proceeds to give her full permission to continue her search for her sister and their other missing people with the stolen focus on hand. He's humble enough to tell Aloy in a private conversation afterwards if you choose to talk to him that their faction of the expedition has been spread thin enough as it is and Seyka has already proven herself to be a valuable and skilled member. Enough so that he admits he’s become increasingly reliant on her regardless of only being a petty officer in title. This assessment is fair and kind. It’s more than I would have expected out of someone with such a high position among the Quen of all tribes. 

Seyka is given a huge safety net thanks to this swell guy. The compliance offers themselves can't do anything, and from what we see in the side quests, they are seemingly nothing more than a few school-yard bullies without any real authority to their position. They are annoying & petty at worst. All bark, no bite. As far as the rest of the Quen go, most individuals we come across seem either pretty cool or neutral with Seyka. It's not until later that we get any indication  there are some who are calling for her exile afterall, but we only know this because we hear it from Seyka instead of seeing it happen. People are talking, as they will, and she's furious about it. 

But really....the threat still isn't there. It never was. At least not to the extent I think we are supposed to believe it was. 

All things considered, Seyka was placed in a very privileged, advantageous position amongst those in her tribe. Along with the lack of visible threat, there is never any real tension shown minus a few grumblings expressed in the background when we first arrive in Fleet’s End. And despite how Aloy perceives her, Seyka isn’t exactly a black sheep here. Especially when you consider she never had any personal turmoil with the rest of her tribe until not long before the events of Burning Shores and happily tells you herself she has always felt like she’s belonged. She's pretty much allowed to do what she wants without much pushback, and I found myself rolling my eyes during the final scene where she says she's unsure of where she stands with her tribe. Seyka is not an outcast, and I, for one, was never convinced or afraid she was at real risk of becoming one. 

Which makes this all the more confusing when Aloy says she's an inspiration. An outcast in all but name. I'm willing to chalk some of this up to hormones talking and Aloy's growing infatuation taking a choke hold as most first time crushes will do. Except the problem here is that the writing clearly felt like we were meant to connect Seyka's strife with Aloy's on some level; carry the same sympathy for her that Aloy expresses, and see more of where their similarities hold up. 

And yet...

I felt more for Kotallo who was kicked from his initial clan because his leader saw him as a threat and then later, might as well have gotten demoted for losing an arm because his tribe sees him as near useless for it..

And Zo who lives among the most pacifist, peace-loving tribe and was admonished when she not only went to fight back in the Red Raids, but wanted to do something about the blight and their broken Land Gods..

And Talanah who had to fight against blatant sexism that many carry in her tribe and an actual attempt for her murder all because she wanted to move up in the Lodge and make things better..

And Aloy, herself, who was outcast at birth for simply being born without a mother. And spent her entire life with only the man who raised her for company. In one small valley. For 19 years. Because there was no choice for her. 

But somehow, we're supposed to see Seyka the same way Aloy does? Like no one she's ever met??

I...Really? 

I'm sorry, but I don't buy this rebel fighter, near-outcast ploy here. And saying she's unlike anyone Aloy has ever met feels like a slap in the face to not only Aloy, herself, but to some of her companions we have come to know & love in the first two games. Most of whom I'd argue have been through more hell because of their own tribes long before they even met her. Seyka's plight is trivial, inconsequential in comparison and no where near as crippling as Aloy's was or her friends. It's honestly frustrating that it feels suggested it is. 

What's worse is that this plotline is used as one big narrative tool to bring Seyka and Aloy closer on standing grounds outside of ability and personality. This essentially means Seyka and her entire character arc were written for the sole purpose of the romance. A character built for Aloy to quickly fall head over heels for and add progress in her own arc. I wrote last time that I can see this growth as an opportunity to explore romance further for Aloy with a pre-established character or two in H3. If I’m right & that happens to be the heart-wrenching, long-term, master plan Guerilla is going for, they have my applause (and my stress). Great for Aloy. In my opinion though, being created to be a love interest (lasting or not) for the main hero is a bit unfair to Seyka. 

She's clever, she's badass, and she isn't afraid to take action without permission and help where she can. Next to Aloy, however, she stands as a self-reflection of her. A spotless mirror as to who Aloy could have been had she grown up under a community as well. I would love to see Seyka break out on her own as an individual character that isn't in the context of romance if ever given the opportunity. 

Heck, if Guerilla wanted to in the eventuality they will be finished with Aloy's story, the Quen have easy potential to have an entire spinoff game revolved around them. We have a whole side quest in BS where a small group of Quen want to sneak focuses to non-diviners for the sake of knowing what's usually kept hidden from them. Hello, is that the beginnings of a rebellion, I see? And the world of Horizon has yet to be explored in places outside of the North American continent. Other tribes, different machines, more Old World locations, etc. Loads of potential everywhere. And guess what!? We practically have a budding main character on a silver platter: Seyka! She obviously has big enough main character energy. Might as well utilize it outside of a DLC if you can, and I don't mean for the next game. 

It's hard say for sure whether or not Seyka will remain a DLC character. No matter what fans say, the ending was left ambiguous. Not only because of the romance but also where Seyka's future lies. She knows about Nemesis, yet she tells Aloy she's unsure of what she wants to do after her faction reunites with the other half in San Francisco, whether it's going home or something else. I would think if Guerilla had solid plans to include her in H3 while they were developing Burning Shores, they would have written the ending where she either offers to stay behind in Legacy��s Landfall for a time like Alva does or Aloy asks for her aid to help fight against Nemesis. Something to make it more clear she's here to stay. We don't though, so as far as anyone outside of Guerilla is currently aware, Seyka is not guaranteed to play a big part in H3 if any at all. And remember, DLCs are meant to be an extension of the main game and are primarily optional. They are typically not a requirement for playing the next big installment as far as understanding the story goes. 

If she does show up in H3, the only thing I dread is the idea of her coming up and saying she's basically denounced her tribe because she still feels out of place and doesn't think she can belong afterall. Not to mention she has her sister, and after what happened with Kina, it would be a really bad look if she just decided to permanently leave her behind when her tribe isn't or never was trying that hard to push her away in the first place. And Seyka said it herself. She’s “not some weak-kneed sailor who abandons ship when the seas get rough,” and I’d like to believe she means it. It'd be one thing if she actually is forced into exile, but after the events of the DLC, she has too good of a repertoire for that to happen now. At least while she's outside of Quen homelands. 

(Btw, don't even get me started on Aloy's convo with Kina over "remember Seyka's been through a lot too" as if we didn't just rescue this poor girl from A CULT and nearly groomed into becoming this centuries-old dude's image of his dead wife. Like honey, I know you're in love but have some thought & tact here.) 

That’s about it. I will reiterate that as a character, I do actually like Seyka. As a self-imposed outcast? No. As Aloy’s love interest? That…needs some serious work. But as an individual who loves her tribe but will fight for what she believes in even if it means going against the royal, societal grain? Absolutely! And special kudos to Kylie Liya Page for bringing her to life. 

Also, if you want to read a review that summarizes everything I just ranted about better than I could manage, along with everything good and not-so-great when it comes to the DLC, I recommend this essay here by ariseis. 

If you made it to the end of this long rant, thanks for reading~ 

[pjisskullourful]

TEACHER'S PET

🍎 Ethan × reader , Victoria × reader

NSFW 🔥 adultsonly multiple nastytimes

° Ethan Torchio, Victoria De Angelis & female reader insert

wordcount::: 7,022

° Ethan is a professor at your college & you're his star student, including some secret late-night visits to his office. your classmate, Victoria, promises that all of your secrets are safe with her ...

° inspired by this spicy audio ° inspired by this confession from kat (@mistressofthecats-blog ): I'm a slut for Ethan. And all I wanna do is whisper "Mister Torchio" in his ear while running my hands down his Gucci covered chest. ° thanks to everyone who voted for this to be brought out of the vault 💋

° [ITA]: mi scusi: excuse me

You and your professor had lost track of the time because you had gotten overzealous with all the questions you had regarding his career being a conservation advisor for the biggest companies throughout Europe - that was the cover story you had, in case you ran into anyone or aroused curiosity during these late hours. 

That was how it had started, your enthusiasm for your major had led you to asking the professor so many questions, the classroom emptied out and silent around you as you sat, nodding along to everything Ethan said. He had been thrown off this flow when his phone had started ringing, he had offered to walk you to your car, which was parked on the opposite side of the expansive campus. Then another day had been spent with him as he asked about your career goals, he had so much advice and could offer to put in a good word with all the connections he had.

You were in awe of him, his lectures the highlight of your weeks at university. By the time you had realised he was hitting on you, there was no doubt in your mind that this was an opportunity you had to take. Not only was he completely brilliant, he was also the sexiest member of faculty - a fact that faced no opposition or critiques.

Now you found yourself visiting with him a minimum of twice a week, sending secret messages that had nothing to do with the curriculum. You would sneak into his office - the door locked as you sat beneath his desk, your head between his thighs while he read essays. You had been very careful and cautious, not wanting anything to spoil what you had with him.

Today was another confidential meeting in his office, you were eager to see him - he hadn't been far from your mind all day, even though watching him lecture hadn't been in your schedule for the day. He stayed in your mind constantly, thoughts of his body and his sounds lingering like cigarette smoke. You hadn't once turned down an opportunity to spend time with him, sometimes getting in your car to drive to him within the first few seconds after receiving his message.

You weren't sitting on the floor this time, he had placed you in his lap as he sat at his desk. He praised you for how quickly you had arrived, telling you he needed to send off a few more emails before he could properly lavish his attention upon you. You sat with your back pressed to his chest, not reading what was on his computer screen, instead just enjoying the feeling of his hands lazily running over your body, undoing the occasional button as he went.

"You're a good girl." He admired, moving your hair off of one shoulder and stroking his nose against the side of your warm neck. "A needier girl would try to distract me, would be impatient and maybe even demanding." He wrapped one of his strong arms around your middle. "But not you, 'cause you're such a good…" You felt his lips on your skin and your eyes fluttered shut. "Such a well-behaved girl."

"Only for you, Mr Torchio."

His mouth opened, a new feeling of heat on your flesh as his tongue skimmed across your throat. His arm around you tightened, allowing you to feel more of the impressive muscles that his clothes were too good at disguising. 

He had a variety of different pet names that he would call you. But you did your best to only address him by this professional title during your moments of passion. When you had first called him Mr Torchio he'd had an instant reaction and it was as if you had stumbled upon a secret code word.

He had been screwing you differently ever since. He viewed this as your ultimate consent - he held his hand at your throat for longer, he worked more orgasms out of you, he spanked you harder. It was a sure shot at changing the tone into something more intense.

"Turn around." He said.

You readjusted yourself, facing him and feeling that stirring in your pussy when you saw that look on his face. It was the look that told you he already had a whole host of things he wanted to do to you. It was the look that told you he was prepared to do whatever it took to get you off. It was the look that told you that your knees would soon be trembling, your toes curling. It was the look that told you he was ready for every expletive you would huff out.

He pushed your button-down shirt off of your shoulders and you worked your arms free, so that you could instantly wrap them around him. He hesitated, seeming to notice for the first time that your bra was missing. He smiled as his eyes moved appreciatively over your bare skin. "Maybe you are a little impatient, hm?"

"I prefer to think of it as efficient."

He put his lips to your throat, these kisses lingering as his hands caressed over your back. You couldn’t help but put your hand into his long hair, twirling some strands around your fingers, feeling that dreamy, tingly quality that came to you whenever you received his attention. It was a rush of adrenaline every single time, it was a buzz greater than any night of boozing. You rocked into him, pressing your bare chest flush to his shirt, which was already unbuttoned down to the last three buttons.

His mouth moved lower, kisses ghosting over your skin until he was at your breasts. First, it was his tongue gliding over your nipple, before his lips were securely placed around the stiff peak, making your thighs tense as they rested on either side of his hips.

"Mm, Mr Torchio…"

His hands stopped simply feeling across your skin, now they locked onto one place, grasping your back firmly. You rocked your hips forward again, the hardness hidden in his pants was becoming more noticeable. He pressed his teeth to your nipple before sucking it into his mouth.

With trembling hands, you lifted up the skirt you were wearing, bringing the tight material up into a bunch around your waist. Your panties were already damp as you grinded against him. You worked your hips in a slow, thorough circle, wanting so desperately to fuse your body with his. He sucked on you with more force, his fingers digging into your skin. You ran your hands down his chest, feeling the heat of his skin even through his shirt.

He released your nipple, a breathy moan coming from his mouth as he did so. "Get those fuckin' panties off."

"Yes Mr Torchio." You clumsily got to your feet, tugging the lacy panties down off of your hips. At the same time, he was opening one of his desk drawers - the second from the bottom, it was the drawer you knew best. This was where he kept the condoms and, if the mood dictated, this was where he would have you drop your underwear (he got a great deal of pleasure from the idea of you driving home without any panties).

He removed his pants and shed his shirt. You held your underwear hooked over your finger, instead of dropping it to the ground as you had with your shirt. You looked at him and he nodded, answering the question that hadn't been vocalised. You dropped the lingerie into the draw and he knocked it shut with his knee. Maybe you would get them back before you left his office tonight, maybe you wouldn't.

He licked his lips, watching as you approached again. You resumed your spot on his lap, moving closer than before, seeing how dark his eyes had become. The way he looked at you was daunting, it suggested to you that you had no idea what he had in store for you, you didn't know how he wanted to ruin you tonight and it made you tremble. You were so exposed, so utterly defenceless to his desires and it only made you want him more.

With his hands on both sides of your face, he brought you in for a crushing kiss. You felt the arousal slithering all over your flesh, making your muscles tighten. You welcomed his tongue into your mouth with a moan, slumping against him.

You felt his cock pressing against you, a noticeable presence at the inside of your thigh. Your need for him was like a tickle at the back of your throat - it kept stealing your attention, demanding to be satisfied.

"Baby…" He breathed, your pussy clenching as he ran a hand down your back. "Fuck yourself." His fingers splayed out, grasping at your skin. "Put me inside of you and fuck yourself senseless on me."

You quivered in anticipation. "Yes Mr Torchio."

He graced your lips with a few more kisses, letting you briefly taste him. But he wasn't going to be distracted, he loved to watch, his eyes ready to see every reaction as they all played across your face.

You looked down, to where his latex-covered cock was awaiting you - in all of its mouth-watering hardness. You placed one hand to it, beginning with a loose grip at the tip. You saw his chest expand and his hand held to your back tighter. 

You ran your hand down his shaft, exploring the sensitive twitches as he responded to your touch. You drew your hand up, then pushed down to the base. You continued this process four more times, letting your mind skip ahead. The sounds that came from him made you feel weak.

He put his hands to either side of your face, dark eyes studying every detail. His gaze was so intimidating, so complete as you tensed your thighs to lift yourself up. You positioned yourself forward, running his shaft across your moistened slit. His lips parted, his breathing becoming heavier as you tilted, bringing his tip to your entrance. You were already fluttering, so full of giddy quivers as you began to sink down, covering his dick with your wet heat.

Your head slumped, stunned by the stretch that he brought to your cunt. His hand moved to prop your chin up and you opened your mouth, taking his thumb between your lips. His other hand went to your hip, steadying you and keeping you here, so that he could push higher, pushing more of his length into you.

You were breathless, but you kept your lips fixed around his thumb, prioritising his pleasure over the need for air in your lungs. You held to his wide shoulders, taking a moment to be overwhelmed, giving your body the time to adjust to having him inside of you.

Stars danced behind your eyelids as you felt him kissing across your neck, those soft lips working over your skin. His hands moved all over your body, warming you. When he placed a hand to your ass, squeezing you, your pleasure spiked, your pussy clenching eagerly. You could feel just how much he was throbbing when he rocked forward. It brought a new tremble through your body and had you instantly wanting more, emboldening you to move through the weakness he could inflict upon you.

You started to roll your hips, letting the pressure build within you and he started to suck on your skin, not enough to leave a mark, but enough to make you swing into him with a greater force. You rushed to gain the correct momentum, to get him hitting into your sweet spot.

“Good girl.” He huffed as he raised his hips to meet your every movement. “Yes, good girl.”

A choked sob fell from your lips when he returned his teasing mouth to your nipple. Your hips stuttered, your tempo ruined briefly. You tensed, then relaxed, with giddy tingles radiating through your nerves - spreading from your nipple, to your pussy, racing to the areas that he wasn’t devoting his attention to.

His strong hand massaged at your back, your skin so tender in response to his touch. He never failed to make you feel so small, but entirely secure, with every single part of your body taken care of.

He was letting you set the pace, letting you decide how much you could take. His body meeting yours in this yearning with each roll of your hips spreading it further.

The hunger started to take over, driving you into him with more power, spending less time on the recovery between thrusts. You could feel his lips hold on your nipple losing its consistency, you heard his breathing getting shallower and it encouraged you to pump into him faster again.

“Fuck, good girl.” He purred against your skin.

You clung to his shoulders, your fingernails digging into him as you kept going, despite how overwhelmed you were getting. With your breath trapped in your chest, it would have been easy to become weak, to give in and stop chasing. 

But when he rested his head back against the chair and you saw the look in his eyes, you knew that he wanted more. And you knew that you would do anything to give him that. The overachiever inside of you was desperate to hear all of his praises, leaving him anything but completely satisfied was simply unacceptable.

There was still a fire in his eyes. You weren’t sure how much strength you had to maintain this brutal pace, but for the moment you concentrated on getting those dark eyes to glaze over.

Ignoring the strain on your muscles, you pushed your thighs even further back. Your cunt spasmed and clenched around his shaft, his mouth opening as his breathing audibly hitched. Then you relaxed and you could take him deeper - that swollen tip hitting into your sweet spot.

“Oh, guh…” You whimpered, feeling your body quaking under that deep, lustful gaze he was giving you.

You stroked yourself along his entire length as the trembling through your body only got more powerful. Your mind was going blank, losing sense of anything beyond his body.

He put his hand up to your throat, gripping it and using this to pull you closer. Your lips parted and you could feel his breath on your face, but you stopped just shy of kissing him. His other hand went to the small of your back and you felt him apply pressure here.

He lifted his hips into you and your eyes rolled back, loud moans starting to fall from your lips. He controlled the pacing now, holding your body where he needed it so that he could fuck into you deeply. You threw your head back, louder cries coming from you.

You crashed into him with everything that you had, coming undone with this final pump. You went limp against him, your head rested on his shoulder as you remained lost in your climax.

Your walls continued to flutter around him, the aftershocks of your release rocking through your body. This did nothing to slow his rutting into you, his dick spreading you again-and-again.

Until it was enough. Until the stimulations reached the highest peak and he was soaring into his orgasm, both of your bodies finally becoming still.

He collapsed against the chair, his arms wrapped around your body. You turned your face into his neck, shutting your eyes. You were blissfully ignorant of anything else, just listening to the sound of him catching his breath. You didn’t mind that he would sit in this exact chair and give advice to other students as they sat on the opposite side of the desk, less than twenty-four hours from now. You didn’t need to know how many of his emails had been responded to while you were fucking. You were soothed by the warmth of his skin and the sound of his breathing, that literally nothing else in the world mattered.

It was him that interrupted you from your carefree floating - he was tapping you gently, but completely unromantically, on the back.

“Will you be alright to walk to your car alone?” He asked.

You sat up, wiping the back of your hand across your lips. You had been doing this with him for long enough that you could tell what answer he was looking for.

“Uh-huh, I can.” You said, slowly getting to your feet.

You were a distraction, currently running the risk of overstaying your welcome. He had work to do, other things to think about, more important matters than keeping you entertained. He would rather be alone with his thoughts than engage in smalltalk for the duration of the walk to the campus’ parking lot.

And you had told yourself that this was fine, as you pulled your clothes back on. He was doing the same.

You paused, stopping from going over to where your shoes and bag were sitting by the locked door. “Uhm, do I get my panties back?”

He finished fixing the fly of his pants back into place before looking up at you. “Huh? Oh, no I don’t think so.” You opened your mouth, even though you knew there was no arguing with his final word. “Come and get them from me tomorrow.”

You fussed with the hem of your skirt, which hit you at about mid-thigh. “Alright.”

“Mi scusi.” He said after watching you put your shoes on and shoulder your bag. “Kiss before you go.”

You smiled as you walked back around his desk. He tilted his head back so that you could kiss him directly on the mouth. “Goodnight, Mr Torchio.”

… … … 

But he wasn't to be found in his office the following day. 

You were prepared for his return from this sick day, coming up with something you thought was witty, something you hoped would do more than earn your panties back. You wanted to get a smile from him, you would love to amuse him and prove your worth as more than a fucktoy.

In accordance with how your last encounter had wrapped up, you took your underwear off and left it in your car. You started your walk to his office.

You found the door ajar and lightly knocked your fist against its surface. The room was silent as you pushed the door the rest of the way open, with your gag gift held in the other hand.

He wasn’t situated behind his desk, but the room wasn’t empty. You discovered a familiar blonde woman sitting on the couch.

Victoria - she was another student who attended the same of Ethan’s lectures as you.

You didn’t sit near her, but you had exchanged a few words with her in the hallway, she seemed nice. She had an effortlessly cool air about her as she strolled into class with a skateboard under her arm. Everyone else in that class was irrelevant to you (even when Ethan had you team up for group activities), but she was the least irrelevant of the people that sat behind you. You couldn’t help but notice her, wondering if you wanted to be her, or be with her.

You had never been with a girl before. Even though college was the time when people experimented with their identities, you never let your musings go that far.

“He’ll be back in fifteen minutes, he’s running errands or whatever. But I’ve got the next meeting scheduled with him.” She said. “Trust me to be early for the first time ever and it’s not even worth it, ‘cause the-... is that a fucking apple?”

You felt very awkward as you stood in the doorway, starting to move the fruit so as to hide it behind your back. “Well, uhm…”

She laughed. “We all call you the teacher's pet, but this takes it to a whole new level. You’re really going all the way in on this stereotype, huh?”

You cleared your throat and took a few steps into the room, heading toward the desk. “Actually, it’s an inside joke.”

“Right, between the teacher and his pet.” She said, watching you walk. “So is this the reason that you’re the only one he’s nice to? You bring him a cute little apple for his desk and he decides to not be a jerk or a hard-ass to you.”

You spun around to face her. “He’s not a jerk.”

“Yeah, not to you. Whenever you ask a question, he says great question with this big smile and goes into it with a, like, ten-minute monologue and he’s writing shit on the whiteboard.” She said and you could feel your cheeks heating up. “But for the rest of us? It’s like he couldn’t be fucked to dignify our questions with an answer so, like, every time he wants to open it up for the class to discuss.”

“Uhm, I’ve never noticed him doing that.” You said.

You placed the apple (carefully selected at the grocery store to not have any displeasing bruises on it) onto his desk, on top of some papers in front of his computer - a spot he was guaranteed to notice it. You were planning to send him a text, giving him a clear indication that the apple was from you. To keep the doctor away, you would type. It was disappointing that you would be walking back to your car without panties on, but he would surely make it up to you.

When you turned around, it was to find Victoria staring at you. It was like she was studying you - similar to how you had found yourself looking at her, but this was the first time you were aware of her returning the favour.

“Yeah, of course you wouldn’t notice that. Are you fucking him?” She asked and fear crawled up the back of your throat. You opened your mouth, but you couldn’t think of anything to say. Instead the next noise was her laughter. “Okay, I was just joking. But shit, look at your face. You’re as red as that apple. I’m right, aren’t I?”

Eventually, you cleared your throat and tried to find something useful to say. “I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

“I was only, like, forty percent on it, but I’m right, I’m totally right.” She said, smiling as she looked you up-and-down. “Everything makes sense now. So that’s why you wear those slutty little schoolgirl outfits.”

Again, you found yourself too stunned to speak. Ethan was the only one who was supposed to notice your clothes - from the tight fit of your blouse, to the short hem of your skirt, it was always for him.

You had never seen Victoria looking before - but now, she thought you were slutty?

“Please Victoria, you can’t tell anyone.” You said, letting your vulnerability show and you took a step toward where she was sitting comfortably on the couch (a couch you had fucked on a handful of times). “I don’t want him to get into trouble. And my degree means too much to me, I can’t have anything compromise that.”

There was no hint of laughter on her face now and she innocently showed you the palm of her hand. “Relax, little one, I’m not into gossiping. What you do with your pussy is your business…” You sighed with relief. “So long as it’s consensual, it is, right?” Immediately, you nodded your head. “That’s good. What kind of consensual shit does he do to you?”

You could only stare at her, it was entirely beyond you to be so direct. You were filled with disbelief, too out of your depth to know how to react.

“I said that I’m not a gossip and that’s true. But what I am is motivated by curiosity, and the things in my head right now- holy fuck, you’ve really got me wondering. It’s like I need to know ‘cause my brain wants those blanks filled in. You’ll help me out, won’t you? ‘Cause you don’t want me to get stuck thinking about it, it could be really distracting. It might get so distracting that I won’t be able to concentrate and I’ll waste the pre-booked time I need with your boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend.” You felt compelled to say, prompting a smile from her.

“So what is he?” She asked and her smile was reminding you of a cartoon cat that had caught its rodent prey. “Come on my dear, don’t let me die of curiosity here. How about you shut and lock that door, then come sit here with me and we’ll have a little girl talk?”

You drew in a deep breath and curled your fingers into a shaky fist as you started walking over to the office door. You stood facing out of the office as you laid your hand upon the doorknob. You swung it shut, blocking the view of the hallway beyond and you clicked the lock into place.

When you turned back around to face her, you found that she was still smiling. “You’re a good girl, huh?” There was no reason for your heart to start racing at this, as you walked over to the sofa. She made room for you, shifting to the left a little as she draped an arm over the backrest. Her eyes were set on you as she invitingly patted the available space directly next to her body.

You sat down, feeling the nervous energy moving through you. It wasn’t entirely different from the adrenaline you got to enjoy when locked in this office.

She looked perfectly at ease, her fingers playing through her golden hair. “I can’t say that I blame him. I get why he would want some extra time with you- you’re gorgeous and this whole look really works for you. I’ve noticed how consistent you are, I’m sure that’s very attractive to him.”

“You think that I’m gorgeous?”

“Well of course I do. I have eyes, don’t I?” She asked before noticing the look on your face. “Oh, what’s wrong, little one? Does he not tell you how gorgeous you are as often as possible?”

You shook your head. “No, it’s not that. He-...”

She lightly brushed the backs of her fingers against your cheek. “Is that the first time you’ve been called attractive and gorgeous by a girl?” You found you couldn’t speak, instead just nodding your head. “Does it make you uncomfortable when I say stuff like that? ‘Cause I can stop if you don’t like-...”

“No, you don’t have to stop.” You said, but you couldn’t make yourself meet her eye.

She let her hand rest on your shoulder. “I don’t even have to think about whether or not you’re doing this for the grades, ‘cause I know it’s not about that. You’re so smart that you don’t need to screw for better grades, ‘cause you’re already getting the best grades possible. You’re just fucking him for fun and I love that for you.

“Good for you. And good for him. I bet you’re really obedient. Do you do exactly what he says?” She asked as her fingers smoothed the crisp fabric that covered your shoulder. “Would you do exactly what I ask you to do?”

“What would you ask me to do?”

She licked her lips, her grin wider now. “Well, I might want a bit more privacy. And I know, and you know that the door being locked isn't really gonna keep anyone out, ‘cause there’s the department master key, in addition to Ethan’s key. But you could take one of those chairs, push it against the door and that would slow down anyone trying to get in, and it would give us kind of an alarm for the door being opened.”

You were silent as you got to your feet, despite the fact that you were full of questions. With your mind racing, it was impossible to know what to say first. You grabbed one of the chairs that faced his desk and started to drag it over to the door. As you pushed it up against the door, you wondered why she was so desperate to securely lock the door. All of the answers that you could find were of exciting outcomes.

“Good girl.” She said as you joined her on the sofa again, your bodies almost touching. “I got a little distracted while you were doing that…” She grinned, sparkles filling her light eyes. “You see, I couldn’t help myself from looking at your ass. And then I got to wondering if you’re wearing panties under that slutty skirt.” Your hands immediately went to the hem of your pleated skirt. “Do you wanna show me?”

“I-...”

Your thought went unfinished, the rest of your sentence suffocated by her mouth on yours. And you were instantly kissing her back, all thoughts leaving your mind as you indulged in the softness of her lips, moving so easily against your own. The adrenaline rushed your body, addicting enough that you wanted to stay.

She was licking her lips as she looked away. Forgetting to be embarrassed, you started to lift up your skirt, peeling the fabric up from your thighs. You felt the air on your cunt and let your eyes flutter shut.

She gasped. “Holy fuck. You just walk around campus like this? That’s so sexy.”

Biting into your lip couldn’t suppress your smile. A little bashfulness crept in and you crossed one leg over the other. “Only from my car to here. And I don’t do it, like, regularly or anything.”

“It makes me wanna touch you.” She said, moving in closer again. You looked from her parted lips up to her enchanting eyes. “You’re his star student and now I’m gonna make you see stars…”

She tilted her head to the side, coming in a bit closer. But it was you who entirely closed the gap between the two of you. You kissed her, your heart launching into your throat as she responded by pushing her chest against yours. She cupped your cheek in her hand and you let your lips part. Her tongue slowly swiped back-and-forth against your top lip, making you feel like you were melting.

Her fingertips traced down, sliding onto the side of your neck as her tongue came into your mouth. She touched you with such tenderness, taking her time to explore every inch of your skin. You found yourself thinking about your exposed cunt more-and-more, her tongue working against the roof of your mouth and inviting you deeper into the pleasure.

You didn’t resist when you felt her fingers work your top button open. You just went on kissing her, feeling your excitement building.

“Is this what it’s like with him?” She asked, working two more of your buttons open. “Does he fuck you right here on this couch?”

"We have before, yes." You said.

Her hand moved in under your top, stroking at the skin above your bra and you could feel your breath getting shallower. "Does that feel good?"

"Uh-huh."

"What if I go like this…?" She pushed her hand into the cup of your bra, her eyes staring into yours.

Her soft hand moulded to the curve of your breast, holding and you nodded your head, unable to speak. Her thumb caressed your skin and your nipple steadily hardened against the palm of her hand. 

She held your breast with a firmer grip, her fingers moving as they sought a different hold. She was able to manoeuvre her fingers, sliding her index and middle fingers to either side of your nipple. Gently, she applied pressure, testing to see how you responded to a squeeze. Your eyes fluttered shut and you arched your back for her.

She grabbed your nipple between her fingers and a breathless smile touched your lips, the sensitive nub was more starved for attention than you had realised. You shifted in your seat as she kept up this delicious pressure.

As you were sinking in to this stimulation, she returned her mouth to yours. You put your hand to the side of her face, drawing her in closer as you cheerfully farewelled all of your earlier inhibitions.

Your moan was muffled by her sweet lips when you felt her twist your nipple, playing the peak past its natural position. This served to add to the fire deep inside of you, with the arousal radiating out. She twisted it the other way.

“Good little girl.” She praised. “You like having your yummy tits played with, don’t you?”

“Yeah.” You said, you had started to shake.

“They’re so gorgeous, I could really get distracted by them.” She said and you giggled, feeling flattered. “But I wanna touch you more. Do you know what I mean?”

You returned her stare as you nodded your head. You wanted to know exactly what she meant, to know it with every fibre of your being.

“Good little girl.” She said and she put her hands down to your pleated skirt. She lifted the hem even higher as her eyes travelled down to your pussy. She licked her lips as her hand curled into an eager fist around the fabric of your skirt. “You’ll tell me if I do anything that you don’t want, or if you don’t like how something feels, won’t you?”

“Yes, I will.” You said as she rested her hand up high on your thigh.

Her lips crushed against yours as her body leaned into your own. One hungry kiss followed the next, with her tongue swiping between your parted lips. Your fingers lightly twisted around her long hair as you followed her into this deeper rhythm.

She glided her hand up, moving from your leg to your crotch. She comfortably rested her hand against your pussy, cupping it as her tongue seemed to dance inside of your mouth. Her fingers slowly shifted, brushing through the little curls of hair they came into contact with. Blood rushed to this area as you keenly tried to predict her next move.

She moved her fingers lower, seeking out your entrance. She ghosted the tips of her fingers across your hole, not pressing inside yet. But it was enough to make you quiver uncontrollably.

“That’s really fuckin’ wet.” She said with a smile.

You bit your lip as you nodded. “Yeah.”

She dragged her fingers up, finding your clit. You gasped, eyes squeezing shut as your muscles tensed. Delicately, she rubbed the hood as she returned her mouth to yours.

You were moaning and whining against her lips as one passionate kiss followed the next. Her lust was incredible, carrying you away and leaving no space for second-guessing. Between her tongue and her fingers, you were feeling bewitched.

She took her hand off of your pussy, leaving you to ache. You weren’t trying to regain your composure as you opened your eyes. You watched her breathlessly as she raised her hand up to her lips.

She maintained eye contact as she placed her newly-wet fingers into her mouth, cleaning them off. You couldn’t help but smile and she fluttered her lashes at you.

“Sweet little cunt.” She said.

You couldn’t think of anything to say back to this unique compliment. But she wasn’t waiting for a response from you.

Instead she lifted her butt from the cushion and moved herself forward to place her knees onto the floor. She placed herself between your parted knees, looking up at you with that keen grin on her face.

You stared at her as she ran her hands up-and-down your bare thighs. Your mind was racing, practically overflowing with desires. You didn’t know what she had planned next, but you wanted to find out. You wanted to find out how much higher she could take you, you wanted to find out everything she could do to you with unbelievable hunger.

She pushed her hair back off of her shoulders and started to lean forward. Her eyes left your face, instead fixing onto your exposed pussy. The bashfulness that you felt was overridden by your surging lust and curiosity.

You felt the warmth from her face on your skin, this was followed by her tongue, making your heart leap into your throat. The tip of her tongue began at your entrance, then she ran it up, tasting more of your slit.

You sighed heavily, your eyes wanting to flutter shut as she moved her tongue up-and-down. These little waves were so inviting, sending intoxicating tingles radiating through your body.

Then she sank the tip of her tongue inside of you. She pushed into your cunt, drawing more whines from you. She began to flick her tongue about, playing between your sensitive walls until you were squirming, wanting to rock your hips.

With a slurping noise, she pulled out, leaning back. Your mouth hung open as you looked at her, watching as she licked her lips. You didn't waste a single second in worrying over the door remaining locked. You were too entranced by her (and how she could make you feel) to stress about how much time of this privacy that you two had left.

“That’s such a sweet fuckin’ cunt.” She said. “I want more, my dear.”

“Yes.” It came out as a strained whisper, at present there was no chance of you getting your voice any louder.

She went in with her pointer finger, slowly pushing this inside of you. You moaned and tilted your pelvis, one of your hands gripping the couch for support as she went in deeper.

She pulled her finger back, then glided forward again. Inside of you, she worked the digit back-and-forth, prompting a fluttering from your inner-walls. She set into a tempo, masterfully massaging you into a more excited state.

You let out a loud moan when you felt her mouth making contact again. This time she laid her lips down upon your clit, kissing it fondly. All the while, she kept that finger moving and exploring inside of you.

Then she spread you further by pushing a second finger inside. She started to lick all over your clit and it was getting increasingly difficult to hold yourself still.

She removed her mouth and immediately slapped her fingers down against your clit. You felt like your head was spinning in the aftermath of the spank. The intensity was almost disorientating, you had never been spanked there before. Your nerves were on fire now.

As you gasped and quivered, she gently kissed your clit again, playing with the new sensitivities she had just awoken.

“What do you think he would do if we left a little stain of your sweet cum on his couch?” She asked, but you didn’t want to think about Ethan right now.

It was so much easier to just get carried away with your thoughts of her.

Especially when she spanked your cunt again, two quick slaps that made you flinch as you felt rattled down to the very core of your being. These grand stimulations swept through you, clearing all thoughts from your mind.

You didn’t get a chance to calm down from this crazed height. She plunged her fingers in deeper and curled them up. Your legs went limp and you were floored by how easily she had been able to find your sweet spot.

“Are you gonna come for me, like a good little girl?” She asked.

There was no answering this because there weren’t any words left in your head. When her lips returned to your clitoral hood, your eyes rolled up and you felt like you were on the verge of ascending.

You could feel her fingers pumping, just as her tongue was working your clitoris over, but you couldn’t keep track of her tempo. Because it was all too much for you to bear. It was too powerful, too intense and too perfect.

“Come.” She instructed, barely breaking contact with your clitoral hood. “Come for me. Do it.”

Your hips snapped into her, pressing forward as you began to come undone.

She pulled her mouth away from you. “Yes, good girl.” She spanked your throbbing clit, prompting a convulsion from you. “Good little slut.” She hit your cunt two more times, making you keel over to the side as she drew her fingers out of you.

You laid down on the couch, feeling like you were slipping out of reality as you shut your eyes.

“Hey, don’t get too comfortable there.” She said. “I don’t know how you two usually do things on the couch, but…”

“You’re right.” You said, sitting up.

She got up from the floor and began to smooth your hair out. You immediately pushed your skirt down, covering yourself. You did up the buttons on your shirt, rushing to make yourself presentable again.

“Don’t worry, all of your secrets are safe with me.” She said.

“Thanks, Victoria. I…” You continued to find yourself at a loss for words as you looked at the pretty girl next to you.

She smiled, leaning in to kiss you again, playing with your hair a little as she did so. You could taste yourself on her lips, before she was pulling away far too soon.

“Come on, you gotta get out of here.” She said.

You got to your feet and took the chair away from the door, dragging it back to its usual spot. You unlatched the lock, putting your hand to the doorknob.

“We should do this again sometime…” She said, winking at you when you glanced back at her.

You smiled, feeling flustered. You stepped out of the office and began to walk away, feeling very different to how you had when approaching the room. You barely noticed any of the things you passed, or the steps as you took them - it was auto-pilot that got you back to your car. You unlocked it and sat in the driver's seat.

It took some time for you to remember that you needed to message Ethan.

»»————-　♡　————-««  

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[dazzlerazz]

Temple of Roots - A Critique? A Discussion?

I've finished the Temple of Roots and had time to gather my thoughts. This is in no way an objective overview, just my thoughts after playing the game for about 300 hours and comparing the Temple of Roots to the rest of Palia. My word isn't law, and it's possible that I may even change my mind in the future, nothing is set in stone after all. My experience may not be your experience, and that's perfectly okay. Obviously contains spoilers for the entire Palia temple questline, the mini questline up to the temple, the temple itself, its story, and so on

To start, we'll be talking about what leads up to the Temple of Roots

---

I've always had a struggle with keeping my attention when reading large bits of text, especially when I'm in a hurry. This applies to the notes left behind by the humans as well, I didn't read them too thoroughly but just enough to locate the hints, which I thought were pretty neat. I specifically enjoyed the Galdur heads as sort of computers, it once again reaffirms to us as a player outside the game that humanity from long ago was very dependent on their technology and it was used for far more than just keep civilization running

I enjoyed the scavenger hunt that leads up to the Temple of Roots, it was quite unique compared to other temples which are just "talk to this character and put the flow in the door and go inside", I think it's perfect for a Final dungeon. I specifically enjoy it being Einar and Hekla considering their ties to Old Humanity. Before the update, I thought it would probably be Tamala with Hodari and Najuma, and I was pleasantly surprised that I was wrong. I was eager to see what their roles in this new temple was going to be

The temple? Stunning. Beautiful. So visually appealing I stopped quite a few times just to admire it. Unlike other temples, it genuinely felt like many, many millennia had passed, and Palia had begun to retake what was once hers to begin with. Nature taking back what was lost and growing between the cracks left behind, there's something beautiful in that. I kinda wish the temple was even bigger in its map because I kinda wanna see more of this in the game

The idea of using your pickaxe against a door was a new idea that I really enjoyed, the previous temples wanted you to make use of our tools and it does that near flawlessly. The water temple with the watering can, the fire temple with the bow, the air temple with your glider, it really helps you to understand that your tools are just that, TOOLS

Now here's where things get a bit weird, and where my critique begins. Hi, if you've read this far!

I think the temple of roots has a lot of wasted potential and opportunity. Not was it the shortest temple itself (this can technically be explained away by the small questline we did to get here, I know), but I felt it was also lacking in its story explanations

I came out of the temple of roots more confused than satisfied. In fact, this entire experience can be chalked up to that: Ultimately Unsatisfying. It feels like all the budget went into the scenery for the WOW factor instead of for the actual narrative. That the only good memories I will have of this place will be in its setting, not in its story

The story of the temple of roots also suffers from the way that Palia is structure. Hekla tells us we need to be quick, but there's barely any urgency factor that isn't self-inflicted. This is a relaxing game, you're supposed to take your time with it, but when you prioritize taking your time over something you SPECIFICALLY say *will be time sensitive*, you come to a point where it's unnatural and immersion breaking. Immersion is not the end-all be-all of gaming, everyone's experience is going to be different, but it seriously takes people out of it when they're told one thing, but then shown another

A very minor nitpick here is that there was no music at all to go with this. Music also isn't everything in a game, but music can shape how we experience the media around us. Instead of music that instilled in me a need to rush, all I got was occasional bird chirmping and the sounds of my character's own stomping

I didn't mind the parkour section all that much, but I do wish they were more clear about where the buttons were, but it wasn't bad for what it was. The way to get there? Amazing, it really felt like I was crawling in between the ruins of an ancient factory long since consumed by the world around it, it was immaculate

And I'm sure I'm not the only had something to say about the ending. I liked the idea of talking to a giant head, the effective beating heart of this destroyed Galdur factory. The Gardener's story is a sad one, and it tries to make itself feel better by doing what it was meant to do. Its sudden change of tune after registering what Einar is was a bit confusing at first, but after finishing the temple it makes sense

And the giant speech at the end? I enjoyed it very much. What I did not enjoy was Hekla having to come in and "make things better" after it feels like we, as the player, FAILED. That if Hekla hadn't been there, then Einar would have been lost forever. This is unsatisfying, but in a slightly different way, it could have been better

I believe that, instead of just making the player feel useless in that instance, show us more of the Gardener hearing us out, and being uncertain. Have the Gardener more openly contemplate the things we have said to it, to actually consider our opinion instead of saying "you bring up some good points, however no, lol" and then have Hekla clean up the mess. Maybe instead of making us feel like Hekla did all the heavy lifting, maybe make it feel like Hekla sharing her memories with the Gardener be the final nail that helps change the Gardener's mind. Make us feel like we did something in a game that does that everywhere else instead of making us feel like we actually, legitimately, failed Einar. These temples are about strengthening your bonds with these characters, not breaking them apart. It feels like that I didn't do anything at all here that Hekla and Einar couldn't have done all on their own, I'm in the back seat instead of at the wheel

All's well that end's well, but I believe that the core story of the temple could have been kept, just that it went about a few things I found unsatisfying, narratively incomplete, and honestly? Rushed as hell

I have high hopes for Palia's future and I'm eager to see what S6 continues to do. The Temple of Roots was quite different from the other temples, both in good ways and in ways I'd consider to be less than stellar. I wish it was done just slightly differently to make it just that much better, at least for me

Thank you for reading! I had a long discussion with a few of my Palia friends about this to try to nail down how exactly it made me feel, thank you to them as well!

[minnlahzz]

pokespe characters with a s/o that wears lolita fashion.

requested.

too lazy to color the pictures blue, but they look good either way so!! I chose my favorite characters, because I'm biased, but if you want to see more then give me another ask! again I'm biased, you'll see why I'm repeating this when seeing the length of each person

characters — platinum, y, silver and gold (I love him)

— PLATINUM

platinum is a pretty classy gal. she's a big fan of victorian and rococo fashion, because they show formality and royalty. (in some way)

when she saw you dress in this style, her eyes widened as if she saw the prettiest thing ever! (she did) she likes knowing more about your style, and would definitely wear it with you. platinum notices the details most people overlook, like the embroidery on the frills of the skirt or the colors of each piece of clothing you wear.

please do her makeup, it's a dream! she won't wash off her face at all, you'd have to tell her to take it off. if not platinum will watch you do your make up for hours.

platinum's born to a wealthy family, so she is STACKED. platinum pays for everything you buy, if you buy her one she'll melt like a vanillish on a summer day. (positive) she goes shopping alot, so she is more than happy to show you around the malls and the hidden treasures she's found in there. if the items you're looking for aren't there she commissions people to make them for you!

she is a ball of positivity, she'll encourage you to get out of your comfort zone and wear your style in public (if you dont already). if you're a coordinator she'll encourage you to wear your lolita outfits in performances, and will even help you plan them out as a person whose won 2 ribbons.

— Yvonne

she really didn't care much, if you like what you're wearing then she has no room to talk with what you like.

yvonne values individuality and wouldn't see you any different if you didnt wear your style, she genuinely admires what you do! she's pretty good with fashion, so if you want a critique with kind of broken ratings get yourself your own yvonne! "needs to be more boom–shakalaka", "more fluffy!", "that color doesn't match the top." okay maybe the last one was helpful, but everything else is just her talking without thinking.

she's definitely the best person on this list to shop with, she'll pick out outfits she thinks will look good on you. it's just that she rarely goes shopping, because she rarely needs new clothes or accessories.

yvonne sees this style all the time in the kalos region, and yet she knows little about lolita fashion. if you want, you can tell her terms, types of lolitas, she'll appreciate it even if it's not her really her thing. she appreciates the dedication you people do for your style.

she naturally has a chivalrous side to her, so she'll always offer to help you whenever you're struggling. yvonne is quick on her feet, when you're stepping out of vehicles, walking up or down stairs, walking on rocky ground she'll always offer a hand!

— SILVER

he's familiar with this fashion, having seen it in magazines, posters, and occasionally in the streets of the johto region. nothing too special in his eyes, he's been to alot of places, but he says you pull it off better than most. (he's totally unbiased)

silver has basic knowledge about this. lolita fashion aims to show elegance, so whenever he sees something that would fit your style he'd buy it or point it out if you're near him.

"hey, this looks fitting, do you want it?" he asked grabbing something from the shelf.

while he may not be overly expressive, silver is supportive in subtle ways. he'd buy you surprise gifts, (with the help of green) and would walk around the shops with you if you were looking for something to buy. another way he'd do this is by listening to you yap and yap without ever getting sleepy. he's an attentive listener, but he wouldn't talk over you during your yapping sessions unless you asked him something.

speaking of not being overly expressive he has his own way of complimenting you, silvers smooth with it and he doesn't even notice.

"this fashion style is about elegance and beauty right? you sure make it look effortless."

I think out of all of them, he'd give actual good (average) fashion advice if you asked him directly, despite him wearing literally all black. silver is pretty straightforward and blunt with his opinions, not outright mean though. "I think this looks better" and "maybe try this one?" the fits always turn out really neat!

— GOLD

the second he spots you he's instantly curious, he's seen this style before in johto but never really understood why they wore this stuff. he'll ask some pretty weird questions, or give backhanded compliments, but he's not insulting you in anyway! he finds it pretty cool.

"are you dressing up for a tea party"

"execuse me?" you answered, making him even more confused.

he's interested in the fashion, tell him the difference between the blouses, petticoats, either way it won't matter because he'll forget it and you'll have to remind him. sometimes he's probably just pretending to forget it, so that he can see you get irritated.

drowns you in compliments and words you didn't even know existed, he's just a boy inlove. gold will be your personal photographer! he's surprisingly good at taking pictures, and he'll show you the pictures afterwards gushing out about how cool you looked

like everyone else he's supportive of how you dress! he'll always reassure you that he and everyone else love your style. he's pretty laid–back and kind of mean sometimes, but he knows when to draw the line.

"do i look weird?" you asked him randomly as you guys took a walk, gold stops in his tracks, raises an eyebrow, and crosses his arms.

“weird? you kidding?” he takes a moment to look you over, and then grins. “nah, not weird at all—you look awesome! like, actually way cooler than half the people here.”

sometimes gold will stare at you doing your makeup like a lovestruck fool, just thinking to himself "a person like them is interested in a person like me? woah, jirachi has blessed me yet again" he's lucky to have you.

shameless, he's not scared to tell people "you see that? that's my s/o!" because he's proud, but if you don't like it don't worry he'll shut up.

[rhythmic-idealist]

AFO and Second as foils:

This is all speculation, but keep your EYE on them, I think there's something there and I think there will be more.

In this post we're gonna tease out the difference between "using people as disposable lighters" and "killing was survival." Existing at a time where they had to come up with acceptable losses in order to survive, but Second was able to still ground what he was doing in kindness to someone, in saving someone.

Meanwhile I think everything AFO is doing is grounded in emotionally protecting himself. Like it has not actually worked, I'm sure the state of his emotional literacy is a complete garbage fire, but it's like—

"Well, nothing but me or Yoichi can matter. Yoichi's opinions on how Yoichi matters are inconvenient and hard for me, so I'm going to have to keep believing he's just foolish and mistaken until eventually I have to lean into being and enjoying being a cartoon supervillain"

His admiration of supervillains started WAY young, so obviously some of it was there from the start, but idk, I'm willing to bet what drew him to them was that they're the characters in the story who always seem unaffected, even gleeful. Especially considering the time he grew up in.

And how IS it that that's something so far distant from "killing was survival"?

Well, it's what distinguishes heroism, what ACTUALLY distinguishes it: save him first.

Now yes I could make an entire separate post about everything Stain gets wrong (he wants to die, he believes villains should die just as he believes bad heroes should die because he does not believe in people's capacity to change once they are too far gone, he does not care about people like Himiko Toga), but this thing is correct and played straight. Tenya Iida rolls it straight into his personal philosophy, and he brings it back in the JT arc with his announcement to the hero course that my priority is rescue, clearly framed as a triumph.

What makes a hero? Heroes must ground their fight in saving. It has to be about saving.

And one day, things will reach Izuku Midoriya's era. Deku will see the necessity of the hero who [tries to save] everyone, and Uravity will connect the pieces on the fact that we all need to become that hero.

It wasn't possible in Second's era, so Second chose what he could.

I think Second was deeply deeply messed up about the things he had to do in order to keep himself and other people alive. But I also think he kept asking himself why he did it, and kept investing in other people. There is a reason he understands "those who run alongside you."

And when Second introduces the notion of "those who will match your pace and run along side you," in that moment he means those who will STOP you when you need stopping.

There's a reason that that core Second belief is associated with what Iida is as a friend and a rival: Iida's entire philosophical rivalry with Midoriya is grounded in "neither one of us can make all the judgment calls alone, neither of us can make all the rules."

Sorry to bring Iida into it now, but Second sort of necessitates that for this analysis to make sense: The way Iida begins to stand back up and take heroic action is the advice "be the hero [your brother] would want you to be."

Iida was doing something for Tensei IN NAME, but it was based on Iida's own restlessness and putting his own emotions at ease. It was obviously something that it would be completely batshit to suggest Tensei wanted. The second he's confronted with that thought, instead of stuffing it into a very very distant little compartmentalized corner, Tenya knows that.

(Unlike AFO, Tenya also chooses to stand back up and do better this time. He chooses to take the critique, to understand that he was wrong despite how ridiculously harsh on himself Tenya is when he's wrong, and to dedicate himself to figuring out how to do better.)

Similarly, AFO takes actions in Yoichi's name, but they are, at every turn, entirely to soothe himself. They are never interested in what Yoichi wants from him. Investing in other people's answers when everything is already so hard is mandatory, but is difficult, and AFO chose the route that Second chose to rise above.

AFO had the opportunity to choose that too. There were people who, if he chose to do better, would have done the difficult work of running alongside him. I'm sure there was a long period of time when Yoichi would have— we watch Yoichi try to stop him with words, try to get him to do anything better, to at least stop this.

AFO was reacting to what it was to exist during his horrible, tumultuous time. And so was Second, and that's why I think foiling them is going to wind up essential to dig at the root of what makes AFO evil.

-

(Apologies that the picture wound up at no point being referenced in this post. Just to keep from confusing anyone, I'm gonna come out with it: that picture at the top is me finding the best AFO and Second panel I could to make this post look nice.)

[weatheredcoffeecup]

@viola582

🤍Hii I wanted to request written ships with the groups nct, enhypen and the boyz. 🤍

Also if it’s okay if I request selca ships after this one I don’t want to bother you actually 😭😭

Hello hello! Sorry for the wait lovely. But also you can absolutely send a request for a selca ship!! I'll gladly do as many ships as you request lol. Also you're so extremely beautiful? You seem like such an amazing person, I hope life is nice to you 🩵

₊˚⊹♡₊˚⊹♡₊˚⊹♡˚⊹♡₊˚⊹♡₊˚⊹♡˚⊹♡₊˚⊹♡₊˚⊹♡˚⊹♡₊˚⊹

In NCT I ship you with... Jungwoo!

He's definitely someone who would join you in your hobbies. Imagine spending the day outside at the beach with him. He'd bring a soccer or volleyball to play with and once you two got tired he'd definitely take you on a nice stroll across the shore. His demeanor is so sweet I feel, he would want nothing more than to make you feel like the princess you are. Doing skincare? He would find new products to try with you. Makeup? He's suggesting fun colors to try. When it comes needing alone time he would always come back to you with a small suprise. Whether it be ingredients to make dinner together or a bouquet of pretty flowers he picked just for you. He would respect your space but also just want to cling to you and listen to all your new thoughts on life. He'd join in when he had a question and would just talk all throughout the night about anything and everything.

In The Boyz I ship you with... Hyunjae!

He's a little on the loud side but he would never try to annoy you. Babble about literally the most random things? Yeah. Laugh so hard with you it makes your sides hurt? Absolutely. But when it came to relaxing he would simply lay on your lap and play with your hands. The calmness may not last too long though because he'd definitely get hungry and beg to go get dinner somewhere. If he heard a song he knew over a radio be prepared to dance. He'd either be cute and romantic with it or do a silly dance to embarass you. He wouldn't care though. Seeing you laugh and smile at him means more than anything else. He'd want to take care of you and make sure you're always okay. He admires how strong you are and is so in love with you just being yourself. He finds you absolutely perfect and can't believe he's dating someone like you.

In enyphen I ship you with... sunghoon!

Sunghoon would full on learn everything he could about your special interests. You'd be talking about something and he'd get so exited when he understood and could have a full conversation with you about it. I think he would admire your strong sense of self and treasure the way you think. He'd be just standing there staring off into space thinking about you and how he got so lucky. Also talk about gym dates? He'd spot you making sure you didn't get hurt while he clumsly tries to flex and show off to you. Picking up weights that are slightly too heavy. He would get an idea to take you on a date but wouldn't be able to make up his mind where. Ice skating? The beach? Going to an arcade? Get ready for a week of surprises because he just wants to do everything with you. After the fun day, he'd just want to sit in silence cuddled up together.

I do hope you enjoy! This was my first written ship so I'll gladly take critiques if any. Have a wonderful wonderful day!! 💐

[touchlikethesun]

i have been seeing jegulus not slander necessarily but dissenting opinions on my dash (i admit, my fault for following people that don't ship jegulus, but i will continue to follow them because i admire their reflections and welcome a plurality of opinions), and i wanted to offer my refutation (in the best faith possible,i promise) of a few of the common arguments i've seen against jegulus:

(below the cut because it's a tad long)

jegulus is a parallel to wolfstar: i'll admit, the first time i saw someone make this complaint i was a bit surprised because i don't think i've seen anyone parallel jegulus and wolfstar except for the fact that very often a fic will have both jegulus and wolfstar, but i think in the majority of fics the similarities stop there. the black brothers have family trauma, and that affects their relationships, but james and remus are very different themselves, and their relationships with their respective brother start at different points, follow different trajectories, have completely different dynamics.

jegulus replaces peter with regulus in the marauders group: okay, yes i will agree that that is often the case but my next question would be, what marauders fic period have you read where peter was really treated as part of the group and where his relationship with the others was developed at all? because i can't think of a single one, jegulus or no. so that's not a critique of jegulus that's a critique of the fandom as a whole.

jegulus deemphasises how important the marauders' friend group, and especially sirius, is to james: i think it's possible that in some fics that choose to focus specifically on jegulus' relationship (y'know... because they're jegulus fics??) the marauders take a back seat, or sometimes james' relationship with sirius is not as important as you think it should be, but this is not every fic, it's again not something inherent to jegulus but to how shipping and fandoms work generally. we can't do everything all the time, and people are going to focus of the things that interest them. there are also plenty of jegulus fics that really insist on the importance of sirius' relationship with james (and with reg but most people making this complaint seem not to care about that in my experience), it's just a question of asking for recs. also, as another point, this is not a complaint people make of any other ship. how many wolfstar fics are out there where james (and reg) are not mentioned once?? a fair few!!! it's just hypocritical to complain about this in jegulus but not in wolfstar

jegulus is misogynistic towards lily: (ohhhh my god i wish ppl would shut up about this one) i'm not saying there isn't misogyny in the fandom, there's misogyny every where, it is kinda unavoidable in our society. jegulus is not inherently misogynistic towards lily because there is nothing inherent in lily's character that says she needs to be with james. her character can exist fully fleshed out and separate from james, and frankly it's odd how insistent some people are that lily absolutely must be with james.

regulus is a deatheater and james would never: and did james potter tell you this himself? the thing is, these are fictional characters that we know next to nothing about. we literally do not know enough about any of the marauders characters (except the one's we see in canon like sirius, remus, etc., but even then, we're imagining their characters pre-war and pre-azkaban typically so...) to make any definitive statement that something is out of character. you can not like the characterisation of james in jegulus fic, but you can't speak as if you have any more authority on his character than anyone else. okay? okay.

jegulus neuters the worst aspects of regulus' character: instinctually, i want to agree with this, but the truth is that the same thing i said for james applies here. we know so little about regulus' canon character (and everything we do know is second hand from sirius and kreacher, so obvious bias), that this really isn't a critique you can even make. again, you cannot like how regulus is characterised in a jegulus fic (nvm that jegulus is quite vast and the charactersiation varies incredibly) but you can't critique jegulus as being the cause of the characterisation you didn't like

however, all that said, none of this really matters because at the end of the day the most important thing is ship and let ship. i understand that it is very annoying when you hate/don't understand a popular ship, but like... you are not going to change anyone's mind by complaining. i would hope if you're going to post hate, you might at least do the courtesy of censoring names so jegulus fans don't see it.