#I predict that the post immediately following this one will be more of the same

[protemporescitor]

"Um Ackchyually…"

Rant incoming. Gird your loins.

It's like every time Cloud does anything even remotely cool-looking, someone in the fandom will invariably go "um achshyelly he can't be doing kewl stuff because you see he's actually a massive dweeb and…"

Every goddamn time, like clockwork. I swear, it's become a kind of mass neurosis for the fandom at this point.

I'm sorry, but "Oh he's just some try-hard dweeb" is such a paltry reading of this character, one that only furthers my belief that this fandom is mentally unequipped to parse any real kind of psychological complexity.

Yes, he can be unsubtle, envious, socially awkward, even dorky at times. That's part of the character's appeal. His extremely human frailties in that regard are what make him such an endearing and interesting (dare I say relatable?) character. He's also the man who ended the world's greatest soldier, so what does that say about his critics, the fans who believe he's just some feckless dork while ignoring that side of him entirely?

Now, lest you think I'm just headcanoning the character this way and talking nonsense, here's a quote from Yoshinori Kitase himself: "He isn't a straightforward hero like Superman; rather, he has lots of mysteries, self-doubts, and a real dark side."

What truly grinds my gears is the smug, gratingly knowing insinuation that portraying Cloud as a badass is somehow "wrong", or naïve characterization at best. and that only works which portray him some other way (awkward, goofy, insecure, etc…) are showing you the "real" character. And that, to me, is just nonsense.

Here's another example:

Same character, two different aesthetics, with different traits being emphasized. Both depictions are considered canon.

So the real question is, why does it have to be one or the other? Why is it so hard for people to reconcile the two?

I sometimes think we're in need of two separate fandoms, one for fans who want to Cloud continue to grow and develop as a character (like me), and the fans who just want him to remain the same awkward, insecure boy forever, i.e. people who prefer cartoon FFVII, and those who care about mythology and prefer to look at the story as a kind of bildungsroman. In any case, there's a reason why I keep underlining the darker, more feral side of this character, even to the point of over-emphasis, because it's at risk of falling prey to a fandom pseudo-narrative that simply rings hollow. Remember, his proper animal motif is that of a wolf, and that "cloud", as a verb, means "to darken, to obscure".

(Not just any wolf, by the way. The wolf.)

Lastly, I get the distinct feeling that we don't mean the same thing by "cool". Presumably, by "cool", some of you mean "cold and uncaring", which he is not. (Or possibly suave, depending on your definition.) The other is more a question of aesthetic cool on the one hand and valour on the other, both of which he possesses in spades. Cloud keeps taking on fights he shouldn't win, and yet often comes out on top, anyway, usually while pulling one insanely cool-looking stunt or another (e.g. the Shinra building escape, or putting a stop to Sephiroth's plans even without SOLDIER enhancements.)

It doesn't matter how much dorky nonsense the world tries to put him through; he'll always remain effortlessly cool in that regard.

While I've got your attention, I want to bring up one more thing related to mischaracterization (or rather, misperception): Aerith's temperament in Advent Children, specifically the idea that she's lost her original characterization and is just being depicted as some simplistic, incorruptible pure pureness (tm) messiah figure. Again, I don't think that's right. (It might be true for Kingdom Hearts, but tbh I never cared much for that series, so I'll refrain from further comment.) It's a long-running bit of accepted wisdom which, as far as I can tell, has no basis in reality.

The truth is, Advent Children's brief running time means there isn't a whole lot of opportunity for Square to focus on character building, but I contend that both Cloud and Aerith's original characterization is intact, just handled in a more subtle way. Note her comportment in scenes like the one above. She still evinces the same kind of playfulness as she did when she was among the living. For example, when Cloud tells her that he wants to be forgiven, her reaction is to ask "By whom?" in her usual, cheeky manner. She's still subtly poking fun at Cloud's tendency to take himself too seriously, while hinting at the fact that she doesn't blame him for her death. Or later, when she tells Zack "I don't want a kid that big!" She's still very much cracking wise, even in the Lifestream.

If she comes across as more ethereal than she did in the original story, well, that's because she is. Given that she's now in the afterlife, being that scrappy, streetwise flower girl from the slums is obviously less of a concern for her, at least as far as actual, physical scraps are concerned. But it's clear that her original personality is very much intact.

The same is true of Cloud and fans who grouse that he's being "emo"* in Advent Children, which is equally false. (*Lord help me but I detest that word. Being emo is when you're moping about listening to MCR after your girlfriend broke up with you, not dealing with the shattered pieces of your life and mourning the deaths of two of your closest friends. To call that "emo" is insulting to the character and narrative alike. In fact, it's an insult to language itself. If you care about good writing at all, I implore you to let this dreary, monosyllabic pustule of a word wither away and die in favour of more literate, meaningful descriptors.) He might be far more world-weary and disillusioned at this stage, but he still show various shades of mood (gentle, furious, defiant, haughty, protective, uncertain, disdainful, imperious, even cocky, much like OG FFVII):

Lastly, griping about this also denies character development and growth commensurate with where both of them are at this point in the story. During the events of the original FFVII, Cloud is still boyish and uncertain much of the time, whereas by the time Advent Children rolls around, he is older and tempered by experience. The same goes for Aerith. Same essential character, just acting according to her newfound circumstances.

I think that's it for now. I leave this rant here in the vain hope that somebody has something more interesting to say than "lawl emo chocobo-head boi!!!" for the millionth time.

I won't hold my breath, but it would be nice to be proven wrong for a change.

[cinnaleaf]

「 In Your DMs | One Shot 」

summary: you read jude’s DM on insta but never responded, thinking that was the end of it—until he spots you at the club & decides he’s not letting it slide

warnings: club setting, alcohol use, sexual tension, light themes of public attention/fame, language wc: ~4.9k 💌: i forgot who requested this but it’s here song inspo: BADGIRLERA x iBXRHM ft JAHKOY

The music in the club hit you first, followed by the strobe lights slicing through the dark, smell of spilled liquor, and bodies pressed together, pulsing against the beat. Your friend, Bri, pulled you through the mixed haze of vape clouds and smoke from a fog machine with a manic grin, way too eager for the night ahead.

“Our table is this way. Hurry up!”

You followed her lead, clacking your heels against the floor while your other friend, Tasha, trailed behind complaining about how she wasn’t standing all night in heels. The bouncers barely glanced at your crew when all of you strutted into the VIP section.

“Ooo okay, this is nice” Tasha slid into the booth, looking around to scope out the scene. Little did you know, Jude was also there, eyeing you from the minute you stepped in.

Bottles of tequila and vodka were already lined up on the table, untouched. You barely had time to sit down before a guy dripping in loud designer saw your table from across the section and started his approach. You clocked him too: probably mid 30s, big shiny watch, sleazy, and probably more interested in showing off his Amex Black Card than any real conversation.

“Your new sponsor is on his way” you whispered to Bri, smirking when she immediately started flipping her hair out of muscle memory. “Let’s hope he’s worth the pitch.”

“Ladies” he eyed the bottles on your table, smelling too strongly of oud cologne. “Looks like you could use a little more” You leaned back, tuning out while scrolling through your phone as he started the same routine you heard from so many other men: ‘I know the owner’, ‘Let me take care of that for you,’ yada yada. You let Bri and Tasha handle him – it wasn’t your vibe, and frankly, it wasn’t your problem. This wasn’t your first rodeo and guys like him always thought a heavy tab would buy them permanent attention. Not that you minded it; if burning through his card meant you didn’t have to touch your own, then so be it.

You tapped on the Instagram icon, scrolling through your profile, which was a mixture of travel pics, reels, highlights, and photo dumps until your thumb paused over a post from three weeks ago at a yacht party in Miami. Your skin glistened under the sun in a figure hugging bikini while you posed on the deck. Jude’s like stood out like a sore thumb. He liked plenty of your pictures before, but this one seemed to spur him on enough to like it within the first 5 minutes of you posting – with a DM following shortly after:

Been waiting for you to post again so I could slide in 👀 You’re beautiful. Let me know if you’re ever free?

Boo. Lame. Corny. Predictable. You rolled your eyes so hard when you saw the message, not even bothering to respond. You knew how this story went. A follow here with a few likes, a DM there, and before you knew it, you’d be getting ‘owwkayed’ on a gossip page that had way too much time on their hands. The thought of it made you want to gag, so you left the message unread but not unseen.

Tasha nudged your arm, pulling you out of your Insta scroll. “Oh my god, is that Jude Bellingham?” Her voice pitched higher in a tone that meant she was about to embarrass you.

“Huh?” you muttered, not bothering to look up just yet.

“That’s Jude Bellingham” she hissed, jabbing her acrylic nails into your ribs. “Near the DJ booth!” You were surprised you didn’t notice him before. He was tall and hard to miss, one hand holding a drink while the other tapped to the beat against his thigh. “He just winked at someone,” Bri added, craning her neck. “Or at least, I think that was that a wink??”

Tasha shook her head in disbelief. “How is it possible for him to look even better in person?” You crossed your arms, rolling your eyes while staring at the untouched alcohol and assorted mixers in front of you. Jude wasn’t a stranger to you outside of your likes. You clocked his comments on your mutuals’ posts, and even been to a party or two where you were pretty sure he was lurking around. Then there was the DM you left in your inbox like the corny attempt it was.

“You’re embarrassing yourselves” you muttered, ignoring the way Bri kept looking at him from across the room.

“Embarrassed?? Girl, that’s a man worth embarrassing myself over.” Bri leaned forward, slowly sipping her drink while gawking at Jude, who was now eyeing your table. “I wouldn’t even be mad if I ended up on a gossip site for that one. What are they going to do?? Cry about it???” You froze for a minute to give her the side eye. That’s the exact reason you were trying to avoid types like him, no matter how good he looked in person. It was too much attention, too many assumptions, and definitely too much drama. You sipped your drink instead, the alcohol burning your throat enough to distract you from Bri’s yapping. 

Across the way, Jude was leaned back against the DJ booth with his eyes locked on your table. You were perched on the edge of your seat, phone in hand, while your friends kept stealing glances at him, giggling behind their drinks. Jude smirked, taking another sip. You hadn’t looked up a single time or even flinched in his direction. It didn’t surprise him – you hadn’t looked twice at his DM either. Even though he was one of the biggest names in football, you paid him no mind – unlike the girls always trying to latch onto him.

“Jude, babe, do you want another drink?” A voice rang out from a girl hovering way too close. He didn’t even know her name, nor did he care to learn it. She latched onto him earlier, trying to touch his arm every chance she got so she could throw herself into his space. He stepped aside, nodding politely while trying to keep his focus on you. 

“No. I’m good, thanks.” he spoke in a tone that discouraged any follow ups, which led to the girl pouting and standing next to him dumbfounded before finally taking the hint and walking off. When Jude’s attention went back to the VIP section, he caught sight of the guy hovering over your table. Jude thought he looked like a try hard who didn’t know how to cover a tab properly. His jaw tightened when he watched you tilt your phone a little while the guy gestured at your friends. He flagged down a passing bottle girl, making her stop in her tracks when she realized who he was.

“Hi!” she said, smiling flirtatiously. “What can I get for you?”

He leaned down slightly to meet her height, nodding toward your table. “See that table over there?”

“The table with the guy doing the most?”

“Yeah that one,” Jude smirked. “Can you send over some bottles to them? Dom, 1942, and whatever else is good. Add their tab to mine.”

She raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “And what do you want the bottle service sign to say?”

Jude shrugged, taking a sip of his drink. “One of the girls over there never responded to my DM so make it clear I’m still interested. She knows who she is.”

The bottle girl laughed, eyeing the table again. “Got it. I can do that!”

You weren’t paying much attention to the guy loitering at the table now that Bri and Tasha had him preoccupied. The drinks were finally kicking in, so you stood up to stretch, swaying to the bass of the music playing over the sound system, but then the bottle girls rolled up with sparklers crackling in the dim lighting – illuminating a path while carrying over a bucket filled with bottles.

“Oh shiiiit” Tasha shouted while standing up. Bri took out her phone to record the whole thing, doing an over the top “Wait..who sent this?!” act in the camera like she hadn’t seen this done a dozen times before on your nights out. You weren’t questioning it either. Someone paid, so who were you to interrupt the flow of endless drinks? You grabbed a sparkler from one of the bottle girls, waving it in the air while your other hand cradled a bottle of 1942.

“Real fine bitch, she ain’t gotta edit out the Getty!” Bri screamed the lyrics of the song currently playing, turning her phone around to record you dancing with the bottle in your hand. You tipped your head back, drinking straight from the bottle while the music bumped around you. Just as you were handing the bottle to Tasha, her jaw dropped and she grabbed your arm. “Wait, look!” she yelled, pointing over at the bottle girls holding up the sign. You turned with the sparkler still fizzing in your hand, squinting at the light up board they were waving in the air. At first it didn’t make sense, but then the words clicked clear as day:

HE’S HIM! RESPOND TO HIS DM!

You froze while your friends jumped around excitedly, trying to piece together what was going on.

“So who is it?” Bri smacked your shoulder. “That’s for you, Y/N. I know that’s for you!”

Tasha grabbed your wrist. “Wait. Is it him? Is it– oh my god it’s him, isn’t it??”

You couldn’t even process what was happening, let alone have time to come up with a lie. The bottle girl pointed toward the DJ booth and your stomach dropped. Jude’s legs were stretched out lazily in the VIP dance section with his head tilted enough to let you know he was watching the whole thing. He gave you a confident, cocky smirk and raised his glass toward you like he already won you over, but you weren’t about to play along that easily.

“Y/N!” Bri shrieked, grabbing your other arm. “What the fuck, why didn’t you tell us he’s in your DMs?!”

You didn’t answer. Couldn’t. Your body felt hot and the tequila wasn’t helping. Instead, you grabbed the bottle of 1942 and took another long swig to drown out whatever was about to unfold tonight. “He’s nobody special. He’s just some footballer. I’m not impressed.”

“Liar.” Bri crossed her arms, grinning. “You’re lying, and it’s all over your face.”

You ignored her, but they were both going into full meltdown mode, squealing and swatting each other while pointing at Jude, who hadn’t stopped watching you. Eventually he got up, taking his time as he walked toward the VIP tables. “Stop looking” you hissed, grabbing Tasha’s phone before she could take a video. Neither one of them were listening as Jude walked closer.

“Not to freak you out” Tasha whispered, “but he’s coming over.”

You kept your head down, pretending to scroll through your phone to try and play it cool.  Jude stopped near your table, just long enough to make sure you noticed him out of the corner of your eye, even if you were pretending to pay him no mind. 

“Y/N” Bri whispered urgently. “He’s looking at you.”

You refused to look up and instead sipped your drink while he hung around in your peripheral vision. He laughed in a mocking way and eventually sat at a table nearby, perfectly angled so he could keep you in his line of sight the entire night no matter where you were in the club. You tapped your nails against your glass, irritated he was slowly getting under your skin. You weren’t about to sit there being ogled like a trophy when you could be on the dancefloor, having a good time while ignoring him.

“Can we dance?” you stood up abruptly, pulling your dress down with one quick motion.

Tasha groaned instantly and threw her head back against the booth ready to complain. “Ugh..Y/N my feet are already killing me. Can’t we just sit here and do a cute little club bounce to the beat instead?”

“No. I came here to dance, so let’s go!” you urged, swaying to the beat to tempt her onto the dancefloor. Meanwhile, Bri was still stuck on the DM you failed to mention. “Y/N! He’s been after you and you just ignored him??” She shot up from her seat, scandalized, pointing her finger between Jude’s table and you. “I saw his likes but he slid in your DMs and you said NOTHING?”

You gave her an annoyed look, rolling your eyes. “Can we stop talking about Jude? Would you want to deal with being associated with him? I don’t want to be a part of that circus.”

Bri checked Jude out over her shoulder, watching him laugh and talk with friends at his table. “Girl, yes! I would happily look like a clown for that. He could take me to his circus and I’d be front and center juggling his balls if it meant I could–”

“Okay, we’re done!” you cut her off, waving your hands around. “Are we dancing or not?”

“I already said no,” Tasha whined, sliding further in the booth. “I’m too cute to move and my ankles hurt. Go dance for both of us.” You rolled your eyes and grabbed Bri’s arm to walk over to the VIP section of the dancefloor behind the DJ booth. Bri was already swaying to the beat before you made it to the dancefloor, then she glanced back and turned toward you. “Y/N.. you know he’s still watching you, right?”

“Bri, please shut the fuck up.”

“I’m just saying! He’s been looking since we sat down. If you don’t want him..I’ll–”

“No, you absolutely will not” you cut her off, not allowing her to finish the sentence. When you reached the edge of the VIP dance area, you felt the heavy bass moving through your bones while lights strobed enough to make it hard to see beyond a few feet. You thought it would drown out Jude’s stares, but Bri made it her mission to give you play by play updates. Just as you were getting into the music and melting your hips into the beat, Bri spoke up for another update. She really couldn’t help it. “He’s still watching,” she sang in your ear.

“I don’t care” you continued dancing, not bothering to turn around to see what she was talking about. You didn’t need to confirm that Jude was extremely attracted to you. It was blatantly obvious the moment he positioned himself in a spot that gave him a front row seat to whatever you were doing. You could feel his eyes tracking the moves you made, but the longer you danced, the easier it was to forget about him – until the crowd shifted and suddenly he was there right next to you. Jude didn’t touch you, nor did he speak. He just stood there, drinking his drink like he wasn’t wreaking havoc on your girl’s night out.

“Are you lost?” you finally spoke up, tilting your head toward him without stopping your movements.

Jude grinned, nodding his head to the beat as he started inching closer to you. “Nah. Just enjoying the view.”

You glanced at him from above, brushing your hips lightly against him. “There are plenty of views here. Pick another one.”

“Why would I do that when I have the perfect one in front of me?”

“Corny” you quipped, still doing your best to not give him much at all. Jude stepped closer and dropped his voice enough that you had to lean in to hear him over the music. “You didn’t reply to my DM. Why?” You turned your face to him fully, laughing about him being so bothered by an unanswered instagram message of all things in the world. “You’re still on that, huh?”

“Hard not to be when you ignore me on purpose.”

You smiled and took a step back, but he answered your step back with a step forward of his own. “You’re really persistent Jude. I’ll give you that.”

“When I see something I want, yeah.” His gaze dropped and raked over your body. “And I want you.” You hated how much you reacted to that. You felt dizzy from the warmth of the alcohol swirling around in your stomach, combining with your butterflies. But you held your ground.

“Hmm..well..good luck with that” you turned around, pressing back into the crowd but Jude moved around to block your path.

“You’re not going to make this easy are you?”

“Jude, I’m not a jersey chaser. I’m sure you’re used to ‘easy’, but easy isn’t really my thing” you bantered back, which made him laugh in an irritatingly attractive way.

“I never said you were a jersey chaser. I do like a challenge though.”

The two of you were drawing more attention now. Clubgoers were looking and nudging each other while chatting, probably trying to figure out why Jude Bellingham was chasing some random girl around the VIP section. You should’ve cared but the drinks were doing their job. All you could focus on was the way his eyes stayed on yours and how he moved closer every time you stepped back, locked in a game that neither of you wanted to end.

“I hope you know you’re not as smooth as you think you are” you tilted your head, crossing your arms.

Jude smirked while stepping into your space, not caring who was watching. “And you’re not as carefree as you’re pretending to be.” 

He really did look even better up close and in motion. The way his lips curved into a smile made you want to run away to collect your resolve immediately, but you persevered and turned your back to him instead, swaying your body in tune with the music. The shift gave him an unintentional view of your dress creeping up as you moved, so he took the opportunity to step closer, brushing his hand against your waist as he leaned into your ear. To anyone else catching glimpses under the strobe lights, it looked more like he was kissing your neck – Tasha clearly thought so. She was slack jawed back at the table, frozen in drunken shock. Meanwhile, Bri was too busy sweet talking the DJ into switching the music into an amapiano mix to notice what was happening in front of her.

“You smell good” Jude voiced low against your ear with his lips so close, the words tickled your skin. “What is that? Coconut?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know” you answered, still not missing a beat but you were a lot less steady on your feet the more he spoke in your ear.

“Yeah” he replied simply, weighing his words with enough insinuation to let you know he was going to be a problem for you all night. You turned to face him with your back against the railing and Jude’s hands fell from your waist and onto the rails to cage you in without touching you. All you could see was his sly, smug grin in front of you while bodies moved to the beat in the outskirts of your vision.

“Why are you wasting your time?” you asked him, dropping your gaze to his lips. They weren’t something you would’ve been focused on any other time, but the liquor was coursing through you by this point and clouding your decision making skills. Jude’s eyes dropped to drag over the neckline of your dress, giving him a full top view of your cleavage before he snapped his eyes back up to look you in the eye. He leaned in closer, crowding your space just enough to make you part your lips in a silent gasp.

“Wasting my time?” he repeated the question rhetorically. “I have your attention, so is it really any time wasted?”

You tilted your head up to meet his cocky tone with some cockiness of your own. “I’m only here because you’re standing in my way.”

“If I moved, you’ll just keep ignoring me, yeah?”

“Yeah” you drawled, mocking his insinuated answer from earlier. Jude’s gaze was almost too much but you refused to back down. “You’re not irresistible in the way you think you are. I’m not going to hook up with you just because you’re Jude Bellingham. I really don’t give a fuck.” 

He gave you a wolfish grin, moving in even closer. You could feel his breath against your cheek when he spoke again. “Then why are you still here talking to me? Ask me to move around.” 

You scoffed, crossing your arms while looking past his tall stature to look at literally anything else other than him. “Maybe I’m just bored.”

“Yeah? Is that right?” Jude’s voice dipped into a teasing, amused tone. He tightened his hands on the railing, brushing his knuckles against your sides while tilting his head closer toward your neck so he could hear you better. “If I left you alone right now..what would you do? Go back to scrolling on your phone so you can pretend you don’t notice me?”

He was getting under your skin now, mostly because he was right, but he didn’t need to know that. “I’m just trying to have a good time with the girls. Don’t make it weird Jude.”

“I’m weird for wanting to talk to you in person? You never responded, remember?”

“I did you a favor” you retorted. “I saved you the embarrassment of me rejecting you. I know that can hurt an ego like yours.”

Jude laughed against your neck, making you shift your body posture in the small space. “I don’t think you would’ve rejected me.”

“No, I definitely would’ve. I have standards.” you countered. That was true for the most part, but Jude going back and forth with you for this long had you intrigued. He really wanted you and he was pulling out all the stops to make it happen, which was kind of hot.

Jude tilted his head back toward your ear. “Why are you dancing with me then?” That was a good question. Why were you still there, dancing to the beat with him, letting him stand close, talk this much, get so far? You didn’t know – so you stayed quiet and rolled your hips to the bassline that had just dropped, moving closer to him with every beat. He could tell you were starting to crack, so he wrapped his arms around you, just enough to pull you close, but loose enough to let you decide how much closer you wanted to be. “Nothing to say now, huh? That’s what I thought. What’s your move after the club?”

“Good question..” You pretended to look around for your friends to give yourself time to come up with an excuse about how you had plenty of after club plans, but when you looked down to see the way his big hands flexed against your hips, you answered honestly instead. “I don’t have any.”

Jude’s grin grew wide, making him flash his teeth under the strobe lights. He had you right where he wanted you and he knew it. “You could…” he started, leaving the rest hanging in the air just to see how far you’d let things go. You rolled your tongue against your teeth, taking in the way his smile climbed higher into his cheeks when his eyes locked on yours. The smile threw you for a loop and you caught yourself staring at his lips longer than you needed to once it turned into more of a smirk, which he noticed immediately. 

“...I could what?” you asked, feeling your resolve slowly start to slip.

“You could come with me” Jude tightened his hands across your hips and you stumbled a little, instinctively reaching your arm over his shoulder to catch yourself.

“And why would I do that?” you asked.

“...Why wouldn’t you?” Jude already knew your answer. You wouldn’t be still standing there if you weren’t interested in the slightest. He was so close to you that you could see his lips quirk upward into another smirk, growing even wider when he caught you stealing another glance at his lips. Instead of calling you out, he let his eyes drop to your lips in return.

“I don’t trust you” you finally answered, yelling over the music. It didn’t hit him nearly as hard as you wanted it to. You could feel Jude’s curls brush up against your temple when he leaned in to make sure he heard you correctly. “Trust me with what?”

You giggled drunkenly, trying to shake off the effect he had on you. “Trust you to not be like every other guy in my DMs.”

Jude pulled back enough to look you in the eye, shaking his head at your refusal to just give in. “I’m not like every guy in your DMs,” he answered confidently like he was so sure there wasn’t anybody better than him trying to entertain you. “You’d know that by now if you answered..” Jude trailed his hand down to caress your lower back. He was right. There wasn’t anyone keeping you as interested as you were right now. But who would you be if you gave in that easily?

You tilted your head to the side, letting the silence stretch into knowing glances. His eyes darted to your lips again and you leaned into it, contemplating letting him kiss you, but just as his lips hovered dangerously close to yours, you cocked your head back with a sly smirk on your lips. Jude had a surprised look on his face and loosened his grip, laughing to conceal the fact that you beat him at his own game. You pulled out your phone, entering your code and tapping at your screen until you opened the Instagram app. Jude’s jaw flexed in the dimly illuminated light while he watched. Once he realized what you were doing, a smirk of his own appeared on his face. You opened your DMs and scrolled until you reached the one he sent weeks ago, typed your reply and hit send. You gripped his bicep to make him lean down within ear shot, letting your lips brush against the edge of his jaw purposely while you spoke. “Check your messages” you teased before stepping back and removing yourself from the loose hold he had on you. He stood there frozen, but then turned his head to watch you saunter off back to your section, swaying your hips more than necessary to give him a show. When you met up with Bri and Tasha back in your section, they dragged you down to the table to badger you with questions.

“So what happened? What did you do?” Bri asked.

You smiled and reached for your drink. “Nothing serious,” you answered flatly, which made them want to question you even more. Tasha squinted at Jude from across the club then turned her head back to you. Just as you were about to take another sip of your drink, she grabbed it from you. “No sipping, more spilling please. Why is he smiling at his phone like that?”

You snatched your drink back, shrugging. “I just told him to check his DMs.” They had no idea you had Jude wrapped around your finger at the moment, so you tried to play it cool. Bri’s mouth dropped open and Tasha gasped dramatically, smacking the table for extra dramatics.

“Check his DMs?” Bri repeated loudly. “You responded?!”

“Maybe.” You swirled your drink and slowly sipped while meeting his eyes across the club. You could see Jude smirk when he put his phone in his pocket and slowly made his way back to his own table. He sat there, talking to his friends while laughing it up until he caught you looking at him from your seat. He could see you twirling the straw around your drink with your tongue, caught in the act. He angled his head, smirking at you and mouthed something to you while pointing his thumb toward the exit. You couldn’t make out what he was saying through the darkness, so he stood up and started dapping his boys up before slowly making his way over to your table. You tried to ignore him at first, pretending you were doing something on your phone even though there was no reason for you to still be playing hard to get, seeing as you just virtually agreed to spend the rest of your night with him.

“Sorry to interrupt...” Jude flashed a cheeky grin at Tasha and Bri that had them crumbling on the spot. “I’m taking Y/N off your hands for the night. I hope that’s alright?”

Tasha and Bri squealed in unison. “Please! Take her. She’s all yours.” They both shoved you out of your seat in a hurry. “Go. GO!” You cut your eyes at them but Jude gave you no time to argue and stretched his hand out.

“You ready?” he asked, eyeing your frame from head to toe. 

You nodded, slipping your hand into his without any other words. Jude led you through the club towards the exit, and you took one last glance over your shoulder to wave at Bri and Tasha who were losing their minds. You giggled, turning back just as Jude leaned into your ear when you reached the exit.

“Let’s see if I can live up to your standards.”

[yncoreee]

CUTIE CUTIE. Eunchae x reader

Synopsis— your girlfriend got carried away babying you, she didn’t notice the door swinging open

Warnings .ᐟ requested, kissing, lil bit rushed (so sorry), they get caught, secret relationship au, idol x idol!reader, 06’ liner reader,happy eunchae day! Will try to post some of my many planned fics today but no promises, female reader, FLUFF

꩜ — ⵌWord count 886

The dorm was filled with nothing but the comforting silence. The other members were out doing one thing or the other for their leisure time. But you and eunchae decided it was best to stay alone at the dorm as the busy schedule through out the whole week had affected the rate at which you spent Time with each other (off cameras)

You laid comfortably on her laps humming in satisfaction as you scrolled through your phone. While her hands tangled in between the strands of your hair.

Being in a secret relationship especially of the same group had it’s peeks. The both of you hardly having any time for each other except when at the dorms. And always trying to act romantic in a platonic way in front of the members so as not to seem suspicious.

There we’re limits you and eunchae reached once you saw one of the older members giving you a raised eyebrow.

Today was one of the free lucky days the both of you had some time alone together. It usually got interrupted by one member or the other following the sequence oldest -> youngest.

The most recent person was kazuha so eunchae was guessing maybe it was sakura next.

“Do you think it’s kkura-Unnie that’s going to interrupt us this time?” Eunchae asked her hands beneath her chin.

You let out a chuckle at her prediction. “Mmm maybe, who knows. Maybe it will actually be all the members” you sighed, your cheeks slightly puffed with air.

“Awww you’re so cute, cutie cutie” eunchae cooed, her hands finding it’s way to reach your cheeks, lightly squishing it.

“Hey?!” You yelled pouting, immediately taking your head off her laps. You glared at her while your arms were folded across your chest, a light pout forming on your lips.

“Rahhh!!! Cuteness overload” eunchae squealed dramatically clutching onto her chest, her hands coming up to tickle your sides.

You let out small giggles, tears forming in your eyes from the non stop laughter. “Chae stop!” You said in between laughs.

“No way!”

Eunchae took a brief moment to admire your cuteness. She watched as a big smile was apparent on your mouth, your eyes forming into a crescent shaped to show how genuine the laughter was.

Slowly she unconsciously leaned in closer, her face was so close you could practically feel her breath tickling against yours. The more she leaned the closer your lips got.

It was about to meet finally until—

“WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE?!!” Chaewon yelled causing eunchae to immediately back off. The both of you turning to face the other members with widened eyes. Their expressions mirroring yours.

“Unnies….? Since when have you been standing there?” Eunchae nervously chuckled, scratching the back of her neck.

“Long enough to see you almost kissing y/n” sakura responded, looking at eunchae with unreadable expressions.

“Since when has this been going on?” Chaewon asked sternly, only raising one eyebrow.

“Ummm for about six months” you gulped, swallowing a huge lump down your throat. You couldn’t even bring yourself to look Any of them in the eye.

Your hands fumbled it way into interlocking with eunchae’s. She took your hand in hers looking over at you with a smile that said. “We got this”.

“OMG THEY LOOK SO CUTE TOGETHER!!!” Yunjin squealed taking note of the hand holding.

“Yunjin shut up.” Chaewon face palmed pulling yunjin back. “I’m honestly still speechless. But I want to hear the rest opinions on this. I personally don’t know if it’ll be better if you guys broke up” chaewon shrugged, eunchae looking at her with scared and sad faces.

“No no Unnie please….anything but that” you pleaded tears almost forming in your eyes.

“But—“

“They’re right chae, them breaking up won’t be the best idea. You know y/n and eunchae share a really close bond and that might affect their interactions in the group if they break up. I don’t think it’s much of a big deal and actually support them, as long as they’re both happy and they keep the relationship a secret” sakura stated, her wise words sinking into Chaewon’s head.

“You got a point there Unnie, what about you yunjin?” Chaewon asked turning to yunjin.

“Me? I honestly think they’re so so so cute together, like come on two babies in a relationship??? Rahhhh they’re even holding hands!” Yunjin burst into excitement, dramatically plopping herself right on the chair.

“Zuha?”

“Huh? I don’t know. I don’t have a problem with it. Plus Yunjin Unnie is right, they look so cute together” kazuha sighed dreamily.

“Mmm. Since most of you all—“

“Except you”

Chaewon glared at eunchae. “Yes except me, are fine by it. Then it’s final the couple stays”

Eunchae looked up at chaewon with sparkles in her eyes. “Omg thank you so much Unnies!!!” She jumped up and down excitedly. “So can I kiss y/n now?”

“NO!”

“Get a room”

“DEFINITELY!!!!!”

“I don’t know, I’m going to my room”

Eunchae didn’t mind the others comment and instead leaned closer to capture your lips.

Chaewon yelling in the background, sakura unbothered by it, yunjin squealing like a tire wheel, kazuha already off to bed.

“You’re the greatest thing that can happen to me” eunchae said, cupping your cheeks.

“HONG EUNCHAE I SAID NO!!”

[twig-tea]

The Fragrance You Inherit Remained Gentle and Kind

The Fragrance You Inherit was such a gentle and kind show. I loved so many things about it: The performances, the music, the colouring, the pining, and above all, the kindness. I've said before and I will repeat: this is a show about good people who love each other doing their best to be kind to one another, and it was a pleasure to watch. Run don't walk to Siiri's blog @isaksbestpillow to download the show with her subs. Spoilers for the finale to follow.

The interpersonal relationships were the star of this show: The mother/son relationship between Toki and Sakura, Sakura's friendship with On-chan, Toki and Kanae's budding romance and learning what it means to be in a relationship together, Sakura and Mone as reunited old friends and how they immediately regress into giggle-fits in each other's presence, Kanae and her father and how Hoshii-sempai remained a lovable and supportive dork through the whole series, Sakura and her own mother, and even Toki and On-chan and the loving uncle/nephew-like relationship they build...all of them were perfect, loving, and sweet. And the relationship parallels were used well to move things forward--Mone sees the parallel between herself and Sakura in the past with Toki and Kanae in the present; Mone draws from her relationship with Toki to understand her relationship with her own mother better; and Toki draws from his experience with Kanae to understand his mother better (and vice versa, he draws from his mother's relationship to understand his own better too).

I said after ep 1 that my expectations for this show were that we would get closure for Sakura and we did, in a series of beautiful scenes. I love how the series is bookended by two very different weddings that Sakura attends with very different emotions, and how much support Sakura has around moving on and seeking happiness for herself. Though we didn't see the scene, we got enough of Toki and Kanae's relationship that I believe that Kanae also knows about Sakura by the end of ep8, and her giving Sakura the flowers is tacit approval for Sakura to go out and date (a woman).

In addition to the confession scene, I absolutely loved Sakura's coming out scene with her mother; the way this was done to underscore the importance of a child's happiness to their parent was well done and was a good message to send. Generally the message about coming out in this show was that it is not something you owe anyone but is a gift you give the people you love so that they know you better and as a benefit, by knowing more about you, their world expands. I liked this message.

I had also said in the same post-ep1 post that this show seemed gearing up for a teenage boy meltdown, but I did not predict how sweet and loving this meltdown would be. Toki is the most thoughtful and caring teenage boy of all time. The scene with him and his mother on the phone in episode 7 made me cry so much! I really appreciated that the show was clear that Toki had absolutely no reason to ever doubt that he was loved by his mother, but that the evidence of his life and their history was not enough to break through the teenage melodrama when it hit, and he needed to hear it from her directly. I have to stop and give kudos to Sakura's actor Hoshino Mari, who did a phenomenal job. I felt her desperation and concern for her child so strongly, as well as her relief.

While I'm giving shout-outs, I also need to shout out Takeda Kouhei, who was perfect as the sardonic and empathetic gay bestie On-chan. I was so happy to see him every time he appeared, he always gave excellent advice, and his presence was so soothing.

And while Toki and Sakura were the core of the show, I really appreciated that all of the characters felt like they had their own motivations and drivers. It would have been easy to have made Kanae one-dimensional or without agency, or to have made Hoshii-sempai a distant or unsupportive father, or Mone the passive recipient of Sakura's feelings. But the show balanced all of these characters as distinct people who each had their own perspective.

Thank you again to Siiri for subbing this series and making it available for all of us to watch; this was another gift of a show. And thanks to the giffers who giffed this show, especially @easterndelights !

[pruneunfair]

Ranking all the OI and manhwa I've read part 2: the moderate.

The decent stories. Just a little better than average

The tyrants only perfumer

My favorite fast food webcomic to this very day. It's characters are tolerable and there's just something some satisfying looking at the perfume bottles, the little bottles remind me of those DIY kits they'd sell at target. That being said it's still a fast food manhwa, the characters are flat, the plot goes too quick and the villains are easily defeated so as much as I enjoy it when I just want to read something quick and light, it's not a good option for something more serious.

The empress wants to avoid the Emperor.

This was actually one of my very first manhwas I've ever read. I thought it was one of the greatest stories ever told when I was still in my revenge phase and it's definitely not terrible when I reread but it's not the greatest piece of literature either. Still for a basic revenge story at least Louise actually gets away her fuckass husband.

Tears of a withered flower

I like it, just not as much as everyone else likes it. I've already made a few posts on it and my current opinions still stay the same but besides all the self insert this and the predictable that the dialog definitely improves from cartoony to poetic. I'm just hoping the rampant misogyny problem in TOAWF is only a fandom problem and not something the author is planning on incorporating into every other woman that isn't Hae Soo

I will divorce the female leads brother

Okay I won't lie this one is kinda funny given how it calls out the absurdity of protagonist centered morality in a better way. Ethel as a protagonist is okay as protagonists go and while the villains are played off as stupid thats because the story actually plays into how idiotic they are instead of claiming they are the smartest around when they aren't, specifically the brothers and father. Also the Og fl of this one has by far the ugliest designs I've ever seen. It's the kind of design where you can tell the artist did not like her at all and gave her the Miku special with those unflattering color combos. I think the weirdest part is the implied incestuous feelings the family has for Reina but once again, it's meant to be seen as vile so it gets a little pass.

Into the light once again

The pain I went through when I realized the 14 year old Aisha was being paired up with guys way to old her with this one because it was so good before it just ruined what could've been 😔. Outside of the obvious I adore both Aisha and Marianne as polar opposites and characters that aren't immediately nice or honesty to Aisha aren't put to death, for the most part at least, they are allowed to grow as better people and get character development. The magic system is pretty easy to remember though I think Aisha can sometimes get too deep in her "super powerful nice girl" archetype but it's not to the point of being awful.

The empresses lipstick

more of a comedy than a traditional rofan but it works, it's one of the first I've seen to get the rococo style a little bit better than others. (It's still not the greatest accuracy but since it's meant to be silly it has more leeway) however it sadly is brought down by the fact that Jane is heavily implied to be on the younger side when her mom bugs her about school and implies that she'll be going INTO high-school implying she's 15-16 based on Korean school systems and she's already being paired up to marry male leads older than her.. damn you age gap trope and damn you 18th century for reminding me of gross yet true history. If it weren't for the fact that I can't remember anything about the ML's age this would be lower.

The villainess turns the hourglass.

What I think of when someone asks me to think of the OG era for manhwa. The concept of the hourglass is easy to follow and it actually comes with a drawback so Aria can't be too overpowered, the bright colors make it all pop and having an actual villain for the FL in a villainess story ties it all in, people can complain about how awful she is but villainess is literally in the title so..you get what you bargained for. There are still cons though about it I don't care for, first of all I wish Mielle could be an actual threat so there would be a fun ongoing mental battle between two evil women, Isis and Mielle could've been smarter as a duo, Asher could've had a little more personality and the twist that Aria was actually of noble descent all along really killed the charm of her being a commoner who could prove she was just as smart as the aristocracy.

Perks of being the villainess

Deborah's already climbing up the ranks of one of the prettiest FL in my opinion because that shade of purple is DIVINE! The plots rather basic as most villainess manhwa tend to go. Deborah is hated by everyone except instead of a backstory claiming she's misunderstood, the og Deborah was actually an asshole to everyone she met except for Pilav so it gave her an actual obstacle. I do think some of them went too fast but I'm just glad we actually got to see the effort being done at all. I'll admit this was better then I thought so it moved up on my tier list. My only complaints are that the chapters can sometimes drag on and on to the point of being bottle episodes.

I shall master this family

I would like this so much more but it drags on so much! Florentia was nice at first but as the chapters went on and on I was less impressed and just thinking "yeah this is just getting boring" with how many times you know she's gonna best her opponents, don't hate her but shes becoming a little too meh right now. That said I like reading it, definitely suffering from a overpowered MC that could use some work but when it comes to politics it's so much more interesting if you can get past that one major issue.

Pretty good: almost better then average but I either haven't read all of it to place it higher or if there's just better

I will become the villains poison taster

I love my underrated girlie's ✊️ the plot is certainly unique, Giselle has the strange of ability of being not only immune to poison but the poison also tastes like fruity snacks/drinks. It deserves a little more traction then what it gets, the ML Reniel actually has emotions instead of stoicism plus actual critical thinking skills because the FL acts nothing like the OG villainess and Giselle, despite how it may seem, isn't the born sexy yesterday trope, she's just allowed to be a sweet heart while still being a person. It's not much but it's still pretty good.

Serena

Fashion and character designs are absolute peak but plot comes before art. At first I was pretty harsh on Serena but when I actually read more of it to form a more concrete opinion I realized it's not the worst and actually got a little entertaining. As a FL Serena isn't bad, I like that she comes across as a nepo baby who needs to work hard to uphold her predecessors legacy so we have flaws to work with here and at the very least the story seems to be kinda self aware that Serena isn't a terrific person. It's also a drama not a romance so while I don't like either Eiser or Frederick as love interests at least Serena can say the romance isn't supposed to be the center of the plot.

Your throne

After so many people telling me how good it was I finally caved in and began reading last week but I already got spoiled so I know most of what happens. Obviously I like the fact that Medea and Psyche actually team up instead of hating eachother and even though it's through spoilers Psyche is my favorite. It's so dang long though it's probably gonna be a while before I make any your throne related posts. Only cons is it can sometimes get too boring to follow.

Seducing the villains father

Proof you can make a stereotypical rofan and it can still work. Yerenica is the perfect balance of girl failure and likeability where her flaws are very common for most people and yes while she is kinda dumb she's not so dumb it makes me wanna slam my head against the wall. Erudian is pretty good as ML's are concerned, just a tad basic and the villain Soleia isn't dumbed down either. Love the second half of the story which gives a little more focus on Yenis family instead of just her love life and while it does get cringe inducing and the plot tracks off from time to time, I still like it.

The crownless queen

The FL is a recently retired history expert who transmigrated in her daughters inaccurate novel and because of those inaccuracies, there are new problems to face while Delia has to survive in a world where Barons and Dukes are switched and she has to climb to social latter. There's little things that really prove how much thought was put into it (such as Delia not knowing the exact date in time shes set in since she's in a different world)

Beware of the villainess.

A little similar to your throne but it keeps my attention longer then the former. Once again women working together instead of being forced into enemies! Really like that! The Yuri baiting though? Boo 👎, don't tease the audience like that (especially considering the og fl is literally called Yuri) can be over the top but I think that's what makes it stand out, it means to be funny and in your face with Melissa's antics but the best character by far is Yona, home girl just wants that check and I can understand that feeling.

Another typical fantasy romance

I gotta stop procrastinating and finish this one!! 😭 first off, Pellus is my 2nd favorite ML with his design being my number 1 favorite in terms of character design. For once we have an actual cold duke who accurately looks intimidating instead of basic BTS member. Best part though: it is one of the greenest of green flag relationships to the point where Lithera and Pellus are worthy candidates to face off Pereshati and Therdeo in terms of who's the best manhwa couple. Actual communication instead of miscommunication that goes on for chapters, relationship actually has steady progression that's just in the middle of how they get to together and Lithera is a great FL. Then I found a bunch of other manhwa and forgot about this one until it came up in my head while I made my first tier list. It'll probably go up once I complete the story.

This one took longer then I expected but part 2 is finally out and now I have to start rereading for part 3.

[thepaintedlady00]

Cursed

Part 1 | Part 3

The Cursed Meeting

Helllooooo!!! It's been a hot minute y'all! 😅 I swear I've been working on the huge list of projects I have and hopefully I'll be able to start posting more regularly once I get things to a spot I'm comfortable with. Until then I wanted to (finally) share part 2 of the Cursed series. I know a lot of people have been waiting for this since part 1 was posted, sorry it took me so long 😅 Hopefully the following parts won't be so far apart. I hope you all enjoy part 2! I know I'm absolutely falling in love with this story 😊

The music was loud, too loud for you to find anything to enjoy about it. You'd found that it all sounded the same if the volume was high enough. Still, you danced just as you promised your friends you would when you'd caved under the mountain of their endless pleas.

“Come on, you never come to the club with us!” Vivian had whined.

“You skipped out on my birthday party last year, remember? You owe me!” Alison added.

“It won't be as fun if it's not all of us,” Bree finished with a flutter of her big teary green eyes and staring back at all of them, shoving through your front door you suddenly couldn't get the words out of your mouth. 

As you dodged sweaty body after sweaty body you silently cursed yourself—no thanks, guys. I'm not feeling it tonight, sorry! It would have been so easy! Yet here you were, the only one wearing pants that fit you, deaf, and covered in other people's sweat. Just how you'd wanted to spend your night off.

A body shoved you to the left, your face landing dead center into another person's chest. The chill that swept over you brought goosebumps to your flesh as the distantly familiar smell of poppies and lavender washed over you. Mortified, you quickly tripped over your own feet to step away from the blurred figure with a very embarrassing squeal of “I'm sorry!” As you scurried towards the door.

The chilled night air offered you some relief as the noise faded behind the thick door to the alley behind the club. To the left, you saw a few huddled groups passing a cigarette between them, but as you pressed your back against the cold brick you couldn't bring yourself to care. It was quiet and right now that was all that mattered. 

You were a simple person. You liked the quiet of your apartment. You liked your books and your soft music and your simple job at the flower shop across the street. It was predictable. Safe. And you liked safe. You liked it more than anything, or, almost anything.

A thud drew your attention to the right where a small cat had fallen from its perch along the dumpster and quickly skittered beneath it. Everything else faded away as you dropped to the dirty pavement in the alley and met the small felines frightened eyes. 

“Hello,” you’d whispered as you flattened yourself against the pavement.

The cat hissed back at you, curling in on itself.

“You shouldn’t be out here all by yourself,” you said as you slowly let your hand drift closer, hoping it would somehow be able to sense you meant it no harm if it could smell you. The scratch was immediate, but the sting had not deterred you. With a sigh, you retracted your arm and began thinking of other ways to gain the little creature's trust.

Entirely unbeknownst to you, this cat would lead to the end of your predictable, safe simplicity. Fates threads pulled taut around you like a noose as the ink of Destiny’s pages dried.

*

Dream didn't know why he'd agreed to this. His sister had pulled him from his important work and somehow talked him into accompanying her to The Waking World to be among the humans. Again. Though he couldn't complain about the first time now that he'd - unwillingly - admitted that Hob Gadling was his friend, he could certainly complain about this.

The lights were dim and the humans congregating here were even more so. If he'd not been an anthropomorphic personification he was certain his hearing would have been lost after enduring the loud ruckus droning through the speakers the humans had hanging from every wall and light fixture. And if that wasn't bad enough there were people. So. Many. People. The crowd of undulating humans looked like a sea from the stairs he hovered in front of.

“Come on,” Death urged from the bottom step, hovering on the precipice of the endless carnal abyss.

“Absolutely not,” Dream grumbled.

She huffed, cocking a hip and holding out her hand to him. “You promised you'd try it.”

“That was before I knew you meant to writhe with the mortals in this…” He looked around with a sneer of disgust, “cesspool.”

“It's a club, Dream,” his sister corrected with a bright smile. “And it's meant to be fun.”

Fun? He felt insulted on behalf of anyone who thought this chaos was fun. With a sneer set upon his face, Dream relented. He had promised, after all. The reward for this was almost instantaneous. His feet flattened against the floor among the moving bodies of mortals, Death happily venturing forward into the masses without trouble, yet the moment he’d moved to lift his foot a body slammed into his own. 

He held in the disgruntled noise as a small, feminine form grasped onto his coat for a moment to find her footing. He noted how different she looked from the rest - or rather, how her clothes seemed to actually fit her. It was but a moment, a fleeting one, that she’d been pressed against him before she lifted her eyes and stumbled away from him with a bumbling, “I’m sorry!”

Death was not easy to find, as she’d moved deep within the crowd. But, when he finally found her she was beaming at him with that look of hers. “She was cute.”

“Can we be done with this place?” Dream asked, bypassing her statement entirely.

“We’ve only just gotten here.”

“And yet I’ve my fill of it for the next century.”

With a glare, his sister shook her head, “Fine. We’ll go. But, next time you come with me I intend to get a dance out of you.”

Dream scoffed as they turned to make their way out of the crowd. “That is unlikely.”

“Unlikely things happen all the time little brother,” she assured him as she led them out a different door than they’d come in at.

He rolled his eyes and greeted the quiet that awaited them as they stepped outside. Whatever humans had been lingering in the alley took one look at him and quietly departed. It was normal, he supposed, their ability to sense the otherness of him. Death had been walking among the humans before he’d even existed, and more so in recent times, she’d been warmer to them than he had. All mortals beheld him with a reverent fear of the nightmares they saw within his dark starlit eyes and he’d been grateful that this was the case on most occasions, though he did sometimes feel a twinge of something far beneath him. Disappointment.

“Come on little one,” a voice cooed to the side of the alley. His head turned, eyes casting down to the pavement beside mountains of garbage where a girl was lying, one arm extended beneath the garbage bin. Her hair fell over her shoulder, onto the filthy ground, yet she didn’t seem to care about the dirt and grime as she shuffled closer to the garbage. “It’s going to be a cold night. We should find you somewhere warm, don’t you think?”

A hiss echoed to his superior ears and piqued his interest. Stepping away from Death’s side, Dream of the Endless moved to stand closer to the girl until the feline beneath the dumpster could see his sleek black boots. Fear radiated off the animal, twisting its thoughts and perception of the world around it. Through the cat's eyes, the girl looked like one of his nightmares, dark eyes and clawed hands. This is not reality, Dream spoke to it.

The cat, sensing the power of the famed Dream Lord, quickly darted out from beneath the dumpster and ran into his boots. Its eyes were wide and its bony stomach moved with its quickened breaths as it gazed up at Dream in awe and fear. Before he could urge the small creature to calm it darted away toward the mouth of the alley. The girl stumbled to her feet, rushing past him after the cat as he darted out into the road. “Wait!”

Headlights caught in its eyes, flashing for a moment as the small thing froze in either shock, fear, or fatigue. Dream began to turn his head, not wanting to watch the scene undoubtedly about to unfold, but then he saw the girl step out into the road and couldn’t help but stare at her as she curled her body around the cat like a protective cocoon. He’d seen humans behave in every manner of ways, but so rarely did he see them prepared to sacrifice their own safety to shield the innocence still left in the world from harm. 

Dream didn’t notice Death take a step toward them, he didn’t notice anything as his feet moved of their own accord until he too stood in the street beside the girl and the cat she cradled. The car honked and the headlights drew closer as he took the girl by her shoulders and moved her out of harm's way.

*

Well, your night certainly wasn’t going as you’d hoped. You should have stayed home. You should have left the club as soon as you were able to. You should have done a lot of things differently, and yet there you were on your knees in the middle of the road hunched over the stray cat that hissed and clawed at you as you shielded it from the car speeding towards you both. It would be just your luck that the one night you strayed from your simple little life would also be your last.

It all happened so fast that you didn’t even really know if it was real or not. Cold hands pulled you up by your shoulders and soft fabric wove around you as you were pulled into the body of a stranger and turned away from the car as it blazed past. The sound of the tires squealing and honking died out as it vanished into the night. Was this Death? You wondered, cradling the angry cat tighter in your arms as the smell of poppies and lavender engulfed you.

A pale hand settled over the cat's head and the creature calmed beneath it. You followed that hand up, your racing mind taking in every detail of your savior far quicker than it could even process them. He was tall, towering over you like some giant made of midnight and moonlight. You could feel the muscle that lined his thin frame, and see his strength in the way he held himself high, higher than everyone else. His skin was pale, glowing in the night like a precious gemstone, and contrasted against his ink-black hair that messily framed his perfect face. His high cheekbones and strong jawline made his face the most beautiful you’d ever seen, putting even the marble statues of ancient sculptors to shame, but it was his eyes of deep sapphire blue that enchanted you.

The cat purred as the stranger gently stroked its mangled fur with a slight frown. “Are you injured?”

“No,” you answered without thinking, drawing the stranger's eyes to your own and nearly causing your heart to stop in your chest. He looked at you curiously, as if he hadn’t expected you to answer him, and as your mind caught up to everything else you quickly realized he might not have been speaking to you at all. The cat was, still in your arms. “Oh,” you sighed, casting your eyes down far from his burning gaze as heat rose to your cheeks. “You meant the cat.”

Just as you’d opened your mouth, ready to assure the stranger standing far too close that the cat seemed unharmed his hand lifted from the creature's fur and gently tucked a stray piece of your hair behind your ear. Perhaps it was the shock of it all that gave you the courage to meet his gaze again, or maybe it was just that enchanting pull he seemed to have, either way, you found yourself staring into his eyes counting the stars within them as he spoke again in that voice softer than silk, “Are you injured?”

“No,” you said again, softer this time, as you glanced back at the road, the shock of it all seemingly catching up to you as a chill swept through your body. You’d been closer to Death now than ever before - in more ways than you even knew. Yet, the only words you could stumble out to your savior were, “You’re really fast.”

Idiot, you scolded internally.

The stranger, however, chuckled. “I am simply glad you and your friend are safe.”

Friend? Right. The cat. You pulled the too-thin creature closer, quickly examining the scabby skin and the missing chunks of fur. “Oh, you poor thing.”

Though the cat now accepted your hold on it more comfortably, the bite marks and scratches that marred your arms burned in the chilled night air. You tried not to take it so personally, after all, what mattered was the cat was safe now. You weren’t an expert in caring for animals, but you’d taken in many strays before this one and done your best to give them a long, happy, healthy life. If the ornery creature would allow it, you intended to do the same now.

As if the stranger could somehow read your thoughts - could hear the mental notes you took of the condition of the cat's skin and wounded ears and fleas - he asked, his tone one of utter disbelief, “You truly intend to care for this creature?”

Looking back up at him your brows furrowed. “Of course I do.”

“After all the trouble it’s caused you?”

You laughed then, shaking your head with a modest shrug. “There are few things in this life that don’t cause trouble. Besides, it’s not the cat's fault. It was scared, probably rightfully so after all it’s been through.”

He said nothing more as a woman with beauty that matched his stepped beside him and looked at you with a curious sort of smile. She felt familiar, her face one you’d sworn you’d seen before, the sound of her voice one you somehow knew before even hearing it. “And you said the night was going to be dull.”

The stranger rolled his eyes and glared at her. “One eventful moment does not erase the senselessness of this outing.”

A sudden feeling of embarrassment filled you as you realized just how close you stood to the man who had saved you - the man you did not know. This is probably his girlfriend, your thoughts betrayed you, making that feeling amplify as you nervously took a step back, nearly tripping over the curb. The stranger caught you effortlessly, a cold look of confusion marring his stoic face as you shrugged off his touch and found your footing. “I should go. I’ve caused you enough trouble.” You turned, hurrying away before turning around again and offering the only thing you could think of to repay the kindness he’d shown you, a smile. “Thank you, for… being fast.”

Before he could reply you were practically running away, your face burning hot and your gut twisted in embarrassment. Idiot!

*

Dream watched the girl flee, the image of her soft lips curved upwards stuck in his head. Mortals rarely smiled when they saw him, they often feared him the moment they laid eyes on him, but not this mortal it would seem. She’d been shy, and timid, but not afraid.

Death leaned against him, watching the human fade into the night. “That was interesting. So, you gonna follow her? Get her name?”

“Yes,” he’d said without thinking, quickly rectifying his mistake by fixing his coat and shrugging his sister off him to give her a bland look. “To ensure she truly does not mean to harm the creature.”

Her grin was more smug than he’d seen in eons as Death nodded, “Of course.”

The two siblings eventually bid one another farewell and as Dream returned to his realm to sit upon his throne Matthew had just arrived at the correct apartment. He’d peered in through the windows, finding the girl hunched over the bathtub with the cat flailing in her arms as she rinsed out its fur and diligently combed the bugs within it. The task had taken her hours, and after she’d attempted to dry the cat's fur the creature had taken refuge beneath her couch as she tended to the cuts on her arms.

Dream watched as the girl lay down on her floor, much as she had in the alley, offering what assurance she could to the cat. Humans were confusing creatures, so much so that Dream of the Endless often found himself gladly staying far from them. This human seemed different, though, intriguing and sincere… something he’d not experienced in well over a century. And so, the mighty Dream Lord found himself in the library, pouring over every book he could find depicting the girl's dreams and nightmares, learning all he could about her until he could no longer deny the urge to see her once again.

[jensky2000]

In case you haven't heard, I started a new fanfic on AO3. It's a WIP. The first 5 chapters are posted. More to come in two weeks. (or less.) A wee peek below ⬇️ (Readers can attest. Nothing is what it seems in this story.)

"I Love Her First"

In a small three block radius in Glasgow, Scotland, Claire owns a flower shop and Jamie is a firefighter. Claire and Jamie are best friends and roommates. Claire is in a relationship with Frank. Jamie is happily single. Claire and Jamie's friendship is different than most, but it works for them. When things progress with her and Frank, Jamie has to admit to his real feelings before it's too late.

Chapter 1 "The Firefighter"

I set both slow cookers to low. It will be ready before dinner break with plenty of time to spare. I can see everything from the top floor of the firehouse. The sun is well over the horizon. The shops are open, and a few people meander along the street. Howie, Mr. Johnson’s son, parks in the fire lane in front of his father’s shop. He has been warned a dozen times for that. Agnes across the street waters her flower boxes. She lets them overflow while she waits to catch a glimpse of Mr. Johnson. Her neighbor will complain about the puddles on the sidewalk. It’s a very quiet and predictable neighborhood. Quiet is good and it has been all night. The rest of my crew are sleeping. I have an hour before dayshift shows up. I make myself comfortable on the couch and flip through the channels. My phone buzzes next to me. I tap on the screen. My roommate.

Claire: Sorry I used the last of the milk for my coffee. Could you maybe pick some up on your way home. Please. You know I hate shopping for food. Also Frank is picking me up at the shop for an early dinner before he leaves.

Jamie: I will pick up milk and anything else we need. Send me a list. Have fun with Frank.

Have fun with Frank. Frank and fun do not belong in the same sentence. She loves him. And she’s my best friend and roommate so of course I need to be supportive. Frank and Claire have been together since our final year at Uni. Frank is older. She met him at a party. Ironically the one party Claire went without me. I was on a date. If I was there, things would have played out differently. I would have steered Claire away from Frank. It’s not that I don’t like him. Not at all. He’s fine. He’s just Frank. She can do much better.

Claire: You’re the best. See you later.

Hm. I drop the phone next to me and find a mindless show to pass the time.

I must have dozed off because before I know it I hear the banging of the lockers downstairs. “Jamie, my boy. You’ve done it again. Smells incredible. What is it?” Dougal, the fire chief, deep voice echoes in the quiet lounge.

“My Ma’s beef stew. I may have tweaked the recipe. Threw in some extra spices.” I stretch and look at my watch. “In 7 hours turn the knob to ‘keep warm’. You’ll be all set to eat.”

He searches the counter. “Did you make the biscuits too?”

“Aye. They’re in the fridge with instructions.”

“Ah you’ve done good, kid. Now get out of here.” He pats me on the back. I take one step towards the door and the alarm blasts. Dougal rushes to his office. I follow him and lean against the door frame.

He looks up from the screen. “Fire at Sullivans Bakery. We got this. Go.”

“You sure?”

“Go. You need your sleep.” He waves me off. I grab my things and run down the back stairs to stay out of the way. The sirens blare loud enough to alert the whole neighborhood and surrounding ones too. I head in the direction of the flat that Claire and I have shared for the past four years. It’s three blocks from the firehouse. I stop at the corner store to pick up milk and a few other things. My phone buzzes. Another text from Claire reminding me to feed DB. Our cat. Claire named him David Beckham. I quickly shortened it to DB. I climb the stairs to our top floor flat and open the door. Immediately I feel stifled. Claire likes it a balmy 74 degrees year-round. I on the other hand prefer it frigid. I lower the temp and climb into bed with the tv remote..

Hours later, I wake to the sound of my alarm. The remote sits on the bed next to me. I was asleep before I even had a chance to watch the morning news. The tv hums quietly on the wall across from me. I scroll through the channels. Station after station no mention of the early morning fire at the bakery. It’s in the other direction of Claire’s flower shop so no worries there. I pick up my phone. A bunch of missed texts. Claire sent me a picture of a flower arrangement. She does that when she’s particularly proud of one. A text from Rupert going into great detail about the fire this morning. Electrical. Everyone is safe. That’s the important part. Another text from Chloe canceling our plans for tonight. Time to get up. I shower, throw on a t-shirt and gym shorts. DB naps comfortably on the windowsill. I order a pizza. Half pepperoni. Half plain.

I settle on the couch with the pizza on the coffee table and beer in my hand. The doorknob wiggles. Claire. She always has trouble with the lock. I hear voices. She didn’t bring Frank here, did she? She wouldn’t do that. Not since last time and that disaster. She pushes the door open and quickly closes it. She’s alone. I can relax.

She whispers, “Mrs. Cook is such a talker. I lied and said I wasn’t feeling well to get away.” She looks at the pizza then back to me. “Why are you here?”

“Pfft. Hello to you too, Claire.” I take a swig of beer and take in her outfit for the first time. Sleeveless, tight black dress emphasizing her generous curves, bare legs. I quickly focus on something else before she catches me.

She throws her bag on the counter. “Tsk. You’re cranky.”

“My date canceled.”

“What was her name again?”

I grunt. “Chloe.”

“Aw. Why did she cancel?” She sits next to me on the couch.

“She didn’t say. It was a second date. No big deal. I wasn’t that into her.”

“That’s right. She was the low talker. Played with her hair too much.”

“Mm hm.” I reach forward to take another slice of pepperoni and offer her a slice of plain. She takes it happily. Her tongue moistens her lips after the first bite. She groans and leans forward to see the top of the box. Her dress rides a little higher. Now I’m licking my lips. She hums, “Antonio’s. You went all out tonight.”

She settles in next to me. We sit shoulder to shoulder. “How’s Frank?” I ask because I should.

“Frank. He’s good.” She takes a bite and snuggles closer. I glance at the goosebumps on her thighs. The air is too cold. That will be the next thing she says. “What’s the temperature in here?”

“Don’t you worry about that.” I mumble and close the pizza box. I stretch my legs out on the coffee table, and she does the same. I follow the lines of her long legs. “Frank was ok with you wearing those?” I point to her strappy black stilettos.

“No. Of course he wasn’t. I was eyeball to eyeball with him. I might have been even a little taller. Whatever. They look cute with the dress.”

“Mm hm.” I agree and laugh at something on tv.

“Oh shit. I just remembered what I wanted to tell you!” She grabs my forearm. “Frank wants to get a tattoo. Can you believe it?”

“Uh no. Frank. Christ no. What and where?”

“The symbol for doctors. Whatever they call that…on his bicep. He’ll never go through with it.” She shrugs. “It’s a pity. I do think they’re sexy.”

“You do?”

“Oh yea. Major turn on.”

“Really? Do you think I should get one?”

She twists her body to face mine. “Hm. I think one right here would be hot.” She places her hand on my left pec and squeezes. “Your fire station number or truck. Flames. Or…” She traces a design with her fingertip. I grab her wrist and kiss the inside.

Her breath catches. “Jamie.”

“Claire.” I hold her gaze.

“What are you thinking?” She bats her lashes.

“I’m thinking my date cancelled. Frank’s gone. It’s still early.  I thought maybe we could…” I waggle my eyebrows.

She holds back a smile. “I mean we’ve already seen all the latest releases on Netflix.”

“True. And you’ve been stressed with work and such.” I toy with the hem of her skirt.

“It does relax me. Will you go down on me?”

“Aye. If you like…” My cock twitches.

“I like.” She giggles. I stretch my neck and ask for her mouth. She holds up her finger. “Ah ah. You know the rules. No kissing.”

“Claire.” She has all these stupid rules. No kissing. No sleeping in the same bed. Not during the day. She used to make me shut the lights too. I got that one overturned. I want to see her.

“Jamie.” She gives me a stern look.

“Fine. Take your panties off.”

She stands before me and raises her dress. Tiny black lace panties. A scrap of fabric. A thrill runs through me knowing Frank hadn’t a clue what his lass had on under her dress. But I do. Fuck I do. I salivate knowing what comes next. She pushes them over her hips. I slide to the floor and rest my head back on the cushions.

“Sit on my face, Claire.” My voice is hoarse with desire. She straddles me and lowers her body until she meets my mouth. I have the best view in Glasgow. No. The world. She holds onto the back of the couch and rides my face. I’m relentless. I want her to come and quick because I’m aching for my turn. I clasp onto her hips and double my efforts. She calls out. Nothing incoherent either. She’s very clear. My name followed by instructions. It’s a major turn on. I don’t care if the whole building can hear us. Yeah our neighbors suspect something. Frank doesn’t. That’s all the matters. Because if he found out I fuck his girlfriend, she would end this. And that cannot happen.

“Oh God, Jamie. Yes. Yes. Don’t stop.” She holds my head in place as she comes all over my chin. I lick up every last drop. She moans. “Christ. You’re so good at that….”

I pant, “Get down here and ride me.”

“Don’t you want me to return the favor?” She moistens her lips. I’m tempted. Very tempted.

“Next time. You’re tight and soaking wet. I want to be in you.” I push my gym shorts down. My cock springs free. “Get on.”

She raises her eyebrows. “Condom.” I open the coffee table drawer and she takes one out of the small box hidden in the back. We learned a long time ago to keep them close by. She rips the wrapper off with her teeth and covers my cock. She lowers herself down taking me whole. My head rolls back. I pull her dress off and undo her bra. She likes to stay covered. I’m not having it. I like her breasts bouncing in my face.

"Did you feed remember to feed DB?" She changes her angle. Christ.

I grunt. "Yes. I fed him."

"I'm worried about him. He's moving slower than normal." She pants as she picks up the pace.

"He seems fine to me."

“Jamie.”

“What?”

“I’m going to come again.” She bucks her hips furiously.

“Ok, so?”

“I didn’t want to catch you off guard. Then you’ll get excited and it will end too soon. You hate that.” She never stops riding me. We’ve gotten very good at having full conversations while fucking.

“I do. But contrary to what you think, I do know when you’re close. There’s no catching me off guard.”

“You know?”

“Aye. Your walls squeeze my cock so tight sometimes I think you are going to break it off.” I smirk. “There’s other signs too.”

“Like what?”

Careful. “Other stuff.”

“Tell me.”

“You make noises.” And your face has the sweetest, sexiest expression sometimes I think about it when I’m not with you, and I get hard.

“I do not.” She pouts. It’s too cute. I lift her up and slam her down. My balls are getting tight.

“Oh aye. And loud too.”

“Do I feel like I’m close now?”

“No. But I can make you.” I bite my lip and sit up straight until her legs spread wider. I take her nipple in my mouth and suck hard. She whimpers and her head rolls back. That’s it. There we go.

“Oh Jamie. Yes.”

“You’re tight and very close. Ride me and we’ll come together.” And she does. My balls ache. She’s going to have rug burn at this rate. “That’s it, lass.”

She frowns.

“I mean, Claire.” I give her a tight smile. She laughs. It does something. It vibrates through her. Through me. There we go. Her mouth pops open. I’m tempted to kiss her. As I always am. It doesn’t mean anything. It’s only natural. I slam her down one last time. We both call out. I can almost hear our neighbors cursing us out.

I rest my head on her shoulder while we catch our breath. She goes to pull away. I bite her. “Jamie! Let go.”

I release my grip. She stands and walks away still wearing her stilettos. I watch from the living room floor. She’s right. It’s never long enough and I hate it. She tosses me a box of tissues and a water bottle before she enters her bedroom. Minutes later I hear her shower running. I would join her if this was more than sex but it’s not.

[utilitycaster]

Ok I'm probably going to regret reinventing 17th century European religious philosophy here but:

Ludinus's issue with the gods as stated to Imogen and Fearne (and I will state right now that we know he was lying or deliberately misleading at points in that conversation so I don't exactly take him at his word, but let's assume he does mean this) is that they did not prevent the Calamity. I have the following questions.

Does he have any loyalty/feelings about the Titans given that they would have killed all the people in the era of the Schism, ie, the gods averted that Calamity? My guess is no, which means that whole avenue of discussing the Titans was something of a dead end.

How should Calamity have been averted? The Prime Deities during the Age of Arcanum largely let people do what they wanted, which is what led to one of those mortals releasing the Betrayer Gods. Should the gods have struck down Vespin Chloras before he actually did anything, Minority Report style? Can the gods even predict based on the actions of a single individual or small group, because my guess is they can't, particularly since within the current stream of gameplay they absolutely cannot [ie, the reason the Changebringer can't tell FCG to stay or run is because Matt Mercer is the Changebringer and he doesn't know how people will roll; you do need to consider the medium here]. But if they could: so you think they should strike down mortals on the basis of thoughtcrimes? Or control them? In that case, why is Aeor a problem? There's a lot you can argue is justified once you permit the gods to override free will and kill people over mere potential for catastrophe.

On that note, Laerryn both was an unwitting architect of the Calamity (shorted on energy and then killed the Tree of Names, which served as a core planar defense system) but also averted the worst of it. Did the lives she saved by preventing the rise of Rau'shan and Ka'Mort outweigh the lives she took by destroying the Tree of Names? How should the gods have reacted?

Should, perhaps, the gods have all sealed themselves away earlier - perhaps post-Schism? If so, then the issue isn't the Divine Gate, now is it? Should the gods intervene or not intervene? Should they remove themselves or no? It feels like the issue isn't that they distanced themselves so that they can do less in the world, particularly if you wish to kill them, but that you really want to fucking kill them and they made that somewhat more difficult.

How do we know the gods (for example) didn't save Laudna? She was hanged and she's still alive; Morri would probably count this as saving her and I don't see the same desire to wipe out all Archfey. [real talk I find most discussion of Laudna specifically to be...incomprehensibly ignorant in its refusal to acknowledge that everything about it is player agency related, whether it's the story that the cast played out for Vox Machina or the decisions Marisha specifically made in creating the character, ie, do you think Matt should have said "well you can't play a Hollow One because that would mean the gods didn't save you" not to mention the fact that again, we are playing this within a game system where the existence Deus Ex Machina would in fact fucking suck ass; but even setting aside those reasons why this argument is stupid, it's still stupid. It's like a layer cake of stupid.] Again: do you want more intervention or less? Killing them guarantees less.

I'm assuming the problem with the Calamity is the vast loss of life, in which case, what's the math on how many people have been killed by the Vanguard or Imperium in the pursuit of unleashing Predathos? How many more will die?

If the release of Predathos doesn't result in the immediate demise of all the gods, and the Divine Gate is down, why isn't this a recipe for Calamity 2? What was the motivation for killing the gods again?

Should we kill mortal diviners who do not do all within their power to stop terrible things that may come to pass? If the issue is that some people have power without working for it, why haven't we killed all the sorcerers?

Should we be listening to a single word from someone who consumes random fey to live longer, and that's just the start of the CVS receipt of atrocities?

Is there a point where one's deeply held beliefs due to one's own personal trauma become invalidated due to one's actions as a result of that trauma? If so, why is the limit for Orym "is okay with killing people who are trying, directly, to kill you (which, frankly, isn't even a trauma response, that's just called not wanting to die, which I highly recommend as a personal philosophy), and gets upset when people defend those knowingly collaborating with his family's murderers" and the limit for Vanguard generals "family abandonment/just. buckets of murder of innocents./child soldier recruitment in multiple different contexts/eating fey as biohacking/destroying an entire city and the surrounding forest for hundreds of years (ongoing)/imperialism in multiple different contexts/I was going to make a gallows humor joke about how while neither exist in-world they've violated the Geneva Convention AND the IRB for testing on human subjects multiple times over but actually those both are in fact written in a lot of the same blood/probably some others that I'm forgetting"

[lizmindpalace]

So you know that we had an eclipse in North America today and I saw a post about the brothers never actually observing an eclipse before and I had to write this.

-

"I don't get what's the fuss with this moon thing, the damn thing is there all day and night long every day, every year".

Lucifer's fingers rubbed his closed eyes as a sigh left his body, it was always the same thing when it came to his young brothers.

"We do not have a sun, idiot, that's what makes the trick", the yawny voice of the youngest of the seven uttered with a notable tone of annoyance, his eyes were closed but had they been opened, a roll in them would show how much irritant he found his older brother's words. 

"I find it romantic". Asmodeus sighed, "Satan told me all about human beliefs in legends and books. It's like a kiss between two lovers separated in time and distance, so they can only see each other once in a lifetime and share a love kiss".

Another sigh and a giggle followed that statement, however, the effect those words had left in the group made them stay quiet ever since they had been informed about the assignment regarding the 2024 solar eclipse up in the human world. Lucifer had been mesmerized for a while, but it was the first one to notice the thoughts going through his brothers' minds.

"No..."

"It should be a great occasion to visit the human world and get to see MC!"

Lucifer sighed once more, as he would usually do when they were around. 

"Yes!" The other five shouted. 

"And there will be food!"

"Wait, wait... hold on, you're not actually thinking on kissing MC? Are ya? Cus I'm not gonna allow it, no way under my watch".

"You're so predictable as always, loool". Leviathen mocked.

"Im not! I mean if someone had to do it, then it'd have to be the great Mammon, for I was her first ". 

"Can you please stop talking about being the first as suggesting intercourse and clarify it's all about a pact and you were the first just because you're the most stupid of us?" Satan rolled his eyes.

"Hey whadayamean by that? Show some respect to your older brother, besides..."

"Stop all of you" the eldest nagged at them. "This is no time to avoid your responsibilities, and certainly it's no time for interrupting MC's daily occupations, furthermore..."

The buzz of a phone interrupted his course of thought, his sharp gaze led him to Mammon, and his body, as it was an automatic response, he took the phone from his grasp despite his complaints, however, he was surprised to see, it had not solved the issue and all his brothers had stopped paying attention to him, as their attention had been drawn by the device in their hands. 

Another buzz coming from his pocket finally made him look at the screen of his phone:

 >>> It's crazy, I remember that back in primary school my science book said this year there would be a solar eclipse, and I was like "I'll be more than 20!, That's a long time from here". And the time is here, guys. I'm so excited.

The message had started a discussion with replies from his six brothers, that didn't lack enthusiasm.

>>> I know you cannot be here, yet, I got something for you. 

Lucifer pulled up the attached picture and he smiled as in her hand, there were seven pairs of funny glasses that were probably made of cardboard, and each one was in a different colour. His smile grew wider as he saw every pair had a handwritten word in it: their names.

>>> It's some kind of silly souvenir. I'll give them to you once we get to see each other again. I wish you were here.

A feeling of dread and nostalgia struck the eldest and a sigh escaped his lips again, although immediately afterwards he felt a persistent gaze on him.

"Lucifer", his brothers harmonised, and he stopped himself from rolling his eyes at them, just because he knew he could use his pleads to get a double benefit. 

"Only if you guarantee that you'll improve your grades". 

The six of them nodded in agreement, a tiny accomplice smile bloomed in their faces. That was the first benefit he acknowledged their little trip would bring as consequence. 

Only a few seconds after the door had been knocked at, it opened. A shocked expression followed by the brightest of smiles they had ever known welcomed them; a warm embrace was the cherry on top. That was definitely the second benefit he had foreseen. 

An unexpected third arose when they were reunited in the local park, all of them surrounding a bench under a tree; the blue sky suddenly was losing brightness, it was as it was getting cloudy, but no clouds were around, it felt different, it was an odd kind of darkness. The birds started flying towards their homes, and they went quiet, the sunlight was soon hidden by the moon. The pretty spring day had turned into night for a moment. Lucifer looked at his brothers, impressed by the phenomena, he also stared at his human and her excited smile. 

It was a brief spectacle, but it felt magical; a shiver ran down his spine as the solar ring was drowned in darkness, it sort of reminded him to when he had fallen out of grace but in a better sense, despite being so old, he had never lived such a show of the immensity of nature... everyone, including his six demon brothers, was admiring in awe at the sun being swallowed by the moon, while wearing their black glasses, while a person with a speaker explained the science behind it. 

When the sun shone again over their heads, the girl opened up their arms to hug them, a hug which all of them returned.

For some reason they were grateful to be alive in that precise point of time where all they had got to know each other, to spend time with one another, they were all glad to witness the event of the century together. 

[genesisclub]

Matthew’s life following the Seven Year War and the start of the American Revolution has always been a point of interest for me especially with his addition to Amelia’s and Arthur’s relationship which was rapidly deteriorating following that war. I always believed he was caught in the crossfire of it all with both Amelia and Arthur played tug of war over him despite Matthew having little to no idea of what was happening which is just soooo ugh—I am obsessed!

Some pre-context for this: in my timeline for this, Amelia and Arthur did not see each other for the entirety of the seven years war. Amelia lived in England with Arthur so when the war started he left to the colonies to go fight, leaving Amelia alone for the entire war. Amelia had always strived for Arthur attention as his colony but it intensified once he returned, mostly due to him being her only constant companion. Amelia grew frenzied over him; it became almost unbearable for her to not be the center of his attention when they reunited as she feared that the years they spent apart would have made Arthur forget his affection for her. I’ll touch on their relationship post war later because I want to get onto the actual topic now.

When Matthew becomes a British colony and takes permanent resident in Arthur estate with Amelia, she almost immediately felt jealous and wary of him assuming that he would be her replacement. While Amelia didn’t go out of her way to harass him she did made it very clear that she held little regard for Matthew. A sentiment that Arthur shared as he didn’t care for Matthew either, viewing him mostly as a trophy. Matthew spent his first years with them wallowing in anger and jealousy; anger towards Arthur and Francis and jealous towards Amelia and her relationship with Arthur, something he never got to experience not even with Francis. So when he saw their relationship start to deteriorate and Amelia seek out his companionship more often in hopes that Matthew could replace Arthur, he accepted it with some glee.

The way Amelia treated him once her relationship with Arthur went downhill was comparable to the way a child treats their favorite doll. Amelia wanted Matthew with her or near her at all times, she all but demanded his complete and undivided attention, something she could never get from Arthur, and she confided in him with nearly everything to the point where Matthew knew of her plan to escape Arthur’s estate before the revolution started. While Matthew did not enjoy the way Amelia treated him he also did little to fight her as he believed had no one else. Never before had Matthew had a relationship with someone like the one he had with Amelia, no one ever sought him out or told him their secrets nor did they ever demand his attention specifically. He put up with her demands and her behavior because he was more afraid of being alone than he was being treated poorly.

When Amelia’s and Arthur’s relationship was completely destroyed and the two started to view each other as future enemies, Matthew was on the fence with everything; on one hand, he cared for Amelia more than he would ever care Arthur and was inclined to side with her but on the other, if she was no longer a British colony then there was a likely chance he would never see her again the same way he rarely saw Francis after the war. It was between loosing Amelia if he helped her and jeopardizing their relationship if he doesn’t. Matthew already felt pressured but it increased tenfolds when Arthur and Amelia began to fight over him. Amelia because of her general possessiveness and fear that the things she told Matthew would be told to Arthur, and Arthur because he wanted to spite Amelia and use any leverage over her that he can. In the end, Matthew didn’t get enough time to actually make a decision which was for the better.

After the war was over and Amelia became America, Matthew rarely got to see her the years following just like he had predicted. His and Arthur’s relationship changed, though not necessarily for the better. In the same way he did with Francis, Arthur used the fact that Matthew was his colony against Amelia. Whenever the three were in the same room, Arthur dotted in Matthew in hopes to infuriate Amelia which sometimes worked. Though in private Arthur was more bitter than ever; he went from blaming Matthew to believing he helped her escape then trying to convince Matthew that Amelia never cared for him before competely ignoring Matthew existence. To him, Matthew was a representative of the revolution, his treatment of him was a reflection of how he got over the war; blaming others, lying to himself, and flat out ignoring his own feelings.

Matthew never grew close to Arthur the way same he did with Amelia, while he liked the feeling of being treated like a son by Arthur in public he knew behind closed doors those feelings weren’t genuine so he only grew attracted to how it made him feel and not who was doing it, you could swap out Arthur with anyone and Matthew wouldn’t have cared. Matthew spent the last years in Arthur’s estate almost as lonely as he was when he first arrived, clinging only to his past memories with Amelia, momentary bonding with Arthur, and the feeling of freedom you can only get when no one cares for you.

[neverchecking]

Brat Tamer Ravio

For my lovely; @lovanmari

And the not as lovely @angry-trashcan

I'm just kidding bailey is just as lovely, we love bailey. I'll get sappy if I need too do not test me.

SMUT so 18+, Minors DNI.

Smut CW: Degradation, ravio's mean :(, spit. talk of doing the do in front of someone,

The rings on his hand clicked against each other as his hand came down, heavy and hard. Clapping against the pretty red of the cheek in his grasp, he grinned something low and dark. His tongue clicked against the roof of his mouth mockingly, scoldingly, as he brushed his hand along the burning flesh.

"My love, you know better." His tone remained light, mocking you in all actuality. "Teasing me like that. Makes you no better than any other whore I could find on the street."

Another smack rang out. You cried out in time with the blow, back arching inwards as your head fell back. In a sharp snap, he had his fingers woven into your hair, keeping it angled back and your back curved, nearly painfully. His own head leaned forward, lips puckered and tongue sweeping around his cheeks and behind his teeth. A dollop of spit was collected before he spoke again. "Open."

When you didn't immediately follow his demand, he yanked the hair in his grasp, making you gasp. His other hand grabbed your lower jaw, keeping it pried open before he was resuming his earlier plan. The clear drop fell from his own lips onto your tongue before he was shutting your mouth and keeping it clamped shut.

"Keep that there. Swallow before I tell you and you won't be cumming for a week." Ravio warned with a falsely sweet grin, tapping your cheek in a mocking manner. As if to further drive the point home that you were under his command and his command alone. No one else held your metaphorical leash quite in the way he did. No matter what, you would come back to him. You'd crawl into his lap and paw at his pants, undoing the belt with trembling fingers and beg for the privilege to suck his dick. And maybe, just maybe, he'd implore you. Let you fondle his balls and kiss the tip of his cock, cleaning it of the weeping pre-cum while he talks business. Maybe he'd fuck you right there on the table, keeping eye contact with the poor soul caught in this mess, making them wish they could be him.

Maybe he'd just let you lick the tips of his boots and sit there, fingering yourself without bringing yourself to completion just to prep for him.

He could do it all. Which was the true highlight. He could tell you to bend over, expose your pretty slicked up hole to him and you would. You were trained so well. You just had a bit of a bratty streak. Something he loved breaking.

He loved pulling and pushing you, pushing your limits in the same way you tested his. Loved reminding you that when it came to patience, he had very little. While he could talk and be persuasive, he wasn't all that patient in all actuality. He didn't like waiting. He didn't like people not understanding that time was money and that his time was precious.

Especially his time with you.

Returning to his post behind your quivering form, he let his fingers trail along the apple of your ass before prodding your entrance. The muscles wavered and clenched around his intruding digit as you bellowed behind your clenched jaw. When you gave no other reaction, he pushed a finger in further, carving out his spot in his favorite little pet.

When your hips twitched against his hand, he dared to wiggle a second finger right beside the first. As predicted, you kept your jaw shut, noises loud and pretty, and reactions just as perfect.

Every little twitch of your being was positively divine. It truly was something euphoric to watch. Something even more religious to experience.

Ravio was not a religious man by any means however.

As much as he devoted his entire being to you, there was a certain balance he had to upkeep. Too much devotion would give you the false idea that you had the power in this situation. Not enough would drive you away from him. Which just would not stand.

It was an intricate balance he had spent months cultivating and finessing and it had worked.

His fingers drew back, making you groan before pushing forward once more. He had picked up a steady rhythm, dragging them along your velvet walls and drawing every sort of noise from the pits of your gut. Every little move was met with a rewarding cry jusr for him.

His smirk returned as he leaned down into your ear.

"Swallow and scream for me, my gem."

You delivered, as you always did, mouth falling open as cries of ecstasy left your perfect lips. Your walls clenched as your feet stumbled for grip, thighs absolutely shaking beneath you as your shattered beneath his touch.

When your cries turned from pleasure filled to overstimulated, he withdrew his fingers, sticking them into his mouth and looking down at you disinterestedly. You were boneless against the table he had you pinned against, panting heavily.

"You don't think we're done, do you?"

<><><><>

I know what you're all wondering.

"Cinder, where the fuck were you?"

Well, shits happened. I know, crazy. No I did not eat glass again. I was working <3 and getting ready for Uni nongogn I also got a gf but I'm not telling y'all who it is, you have to guess <3

That's right. Someone looked at glass-eater Cinder and was like 'that's the one for me'.

[fictionfixations]

....playing cold front for the first time

actually getting into other racheldrawsthis games then just dead plate 💀

im bad with horror wish me luck.. hauaidhaud i dont know anything about this

if its really too much ill just watch someone else play it

okay holy fuck i did not know like the loud sound of a shit ton of snow and wind terrified me what the fuck i swear im scared of everything

also oh my god i hated that sound it played (bruh it was just showing the buttons) crying crying im not ready for this babys first actually playing the entirety of a horror game (i mean ive played ddlc and like fnaf sim but i was streaming to friends and i knew what happened i just forgor how much horror was in ddlc 😭😭😭)

i dont usually play these kinds of games so i gotta get used to the control of like z to talk, x can speed it up and x is also pause

i thought it might be similar to dead plate with like a top down view? is that what theyre called? ..i feel like im gonna get chased and its gonna be terrifying

i have the volume really low because i swear to god im scared more of the music then anything

ayo im liking winnie's fit

...blonde guy is winnie right?

im getting omori vibes and i think its just because of the moving away soon thing

also

praying winnie isnt a bad guy

i feel so anxious playing games without knowing what happens. is it weird? i usually play games after knowing like the twist and everything. but i feel like theres a beauty in going into things blind. like for example not knowing about the pacifist route or genocide route in undertale, just doing what you feel like doing instead of trying to get the best ending or something (same for detroit become human that game has a shit ton of endings. like did you know theres an ending where markus sets himself on fire)

anyway if this follows how dead plate does it it should be one ending and then going back through it you can do another ending? i think theres only two endings (update: its more of a choice you do.)

maybe if i can stomach this ill try to replay yttd cause its been awhile, but that shit scares me man. i think i made a post when i first played through it but agh... (..i thought i made a post but i cant find it)

this guy reminds me of that one guy in how i attended an all-guys mixer

what if we're being chased by the bad guy and winnies leg acts up im hadwuiahd if he dies im going to explode not literally

this is why im so bad at reading dialogue bruh i read the line, went past it and immediately forgot what it said where is the log 😭

also im stalling like so much ghauidhwaiudh

also i feel like any prediction i try to make gets thrown out of the window

they sit in silence and then i speak and then winnie is pretty cheerful tbh? i wouldve thought itd be more tense or awkward since they hadn't talked in a bit, and also werent talking in the car but huh

im going to fucking kcry what teh fuckw as that im iosehdfuiahsdijds

i muted this i hate this oh my god oh my god oh my god is there possession im going to cry

thats like such a little thing but i hated that so much imf aiudhsauihdauidhwuahd THIS IS AN HOUR LONG IM ONLY A FEW MINUTES IN I NEED TO NOT DRAG THIS OUT OR ITLL BE WORSE AGHHHH

i dont know why kicking the doors open is starting to become my thing LMFAO it just feels right

why is it frozen im scared im scared im scare dhelp

is ist stuck??? im pressing everything i can think of im gonna close and reopen

yeah it was stuck LMFAO

had to replay scary bit haduiwahidahdhadhadahdahd

no no he doesnt think youre an embarrassment :(( hes prob just hanging with cool kids either because he doesnt have you or because he wants you to worry about him some more maybe?/ i dont know why they havent been talking tho :(

STOP JUMPSCARING ME WITH SUDDEN Z'S TO PRESS IM SO ASS AT THIS CRYING CRYING IM BAD AT QUICK TIME EVENTS ive been reading it out loud so then i suddenly just let a 'ah' like a loud squeak because i realize oh theres probably something behind us then i see it and then i see the quick time event and im too late

what the fuck did i press what the

...that might be the inventory? i was spamming z and x and was scared i got stuck for a sec

i have it set to 2 percent volume LMFAO i dont think i could play with properly hearing the sound

okay this is unfair it keeps lagging when the monster spawns which makes me lag but the guy keeps moving so then i get caught D: is this my fault for saving immediately on the save where u quick time event the monster so its delayed

i dont wanna replay to see scary bit though but i dont have the previous save anymore i saved over it

also sometimes it just immediately kills me the second i load it

???

LET ME OUT LET ME OUT this is the farthest ive gotten past two obstacles

does the monster walk faster then me

wait is there a sprint button LMFAO

like okay it still got me at the beginning when i lag and it continues moving as normal or killing me the second i spawn in but LMFAOO MY DUMBASS WALKING DURING A CHASE SCENE

IM NOT READY FOR QUICK TIME EVENTS STOP GIVING IT TO ME GAME

i swear to god if i failed that and had to redo the chase scene AGAIN im going to explode not literally i will just be very very cross

i was so fucking scared whatever was 'winnie' earlier the scary one would be there and drop him or something oh my god but oh no precious :((

i fucking hate myself fuck fuck why did i call it why the fuck did i call it what the fuck

i feel like im better at voicing winnie tbh but to be fair augustine seems very loud and im not good with being loud

...?

i was boutta say what if its some weird time fuckery and augustine of the future or something pushed down winnie last winter

i dont want to know what happens if you push him :(

what? what??? this is scaring me its like hypnosis or something like that but its probably just his mental state or something

i was so scared this line would be meaning something more depressing or trauma like idfk maybe augustine pushed him but winnie still wanted to be his friend or something the sticky note scared me

what if i cry

...should i try the other ending then? thats if i push him is it?

...

..thats so fucked up man.

[lilac-amethyst-skies]

Giglio Bianco |An Italy x Reader Story| Chapter 1 [Vampire AU]

Summary: In a modern world where humans and vampires coexist in fragile harmony, the scars of a violent past remain etched into every corner. Centuries of bloodshed, betrayal, and anguish have built a wall of mistrust between the two races. Yet, against the reality of this history, two souls are inexplicably drawn together. Their bond teeters on the edge of an unspoken boundary—an unwritten rule carved by generations before them. Will their connection bridge the divide or unravel the fragile peace that binds their world?

a/n: Before we get started, I wanted to share that I've been working on this story for quite some time. Part of it has been posted to AO3, but I'm currently revising any published chapters, and will be posting my updated writing here, for now. If you love elements of horror, the supernatural, and forbidden love, then this story is certainly for you. ;)

|||

Chapter 1

wc: 1,870

This wasn’t right.

Panic was rising with growing intensity in his chest.  By the time he had caught sight of the blurred movement it was far too late.  The gunshot rang through the air, the bullet piercing through his skin.  It had dug its way through the middle of his chest. Barely missing his heart.  Despite the scathing pain blistering his vision and movement, Feliciano trudged forward through the line of trees.  It seemed to take all of his willpower to stop his head from spinning. Focus on running, only running –

But this can’t be possible.

Feliciano drew in a sharp intake of breath, pushing his hand over the wound.  Had the bullet shot itself all the way through? Or had it made its new home within his chest? Feliciano couldn’t be sure. But regardless, it was only a bullet from a gun. There were quite a few times in Feliciano’s many years of life that he had sustained injury.  The pain to follow was obvious, but in both blessing and curse,it was hardly ever a bother.

Until now.

This thought only left him with more dread.  He could feel his body with the foreign sensation of fatigue, his limbs appearing to become heavier with each passing second, the footsteps following behind him that were not his own.  They were saying something, shouting something, but Feliciano couldn’t make out their words; it was as if someone had dunked his head into a body of water.  He was running out of time.  Feliciano didn’t have speed on his side this time around. No, he would have to find a place to hide.  He could work with that for now; it wasn’t as if he had any other option.

Feliciano pushed himself harder to gain some recollection of his surroundings.  To any other person, the forest might look the same no matter where one was to look, but knowledge was on his side, and Feliciano knew exactly where he was.  Feliciano would have to hope that the darkness of the night would provide him with enough cover, that it would hinder the sight of his pursuers. He took a sharp left, knowing that the trees would soon become increasingly dense and therefore make it more difficult for whomever was following him.  In Feliciano’s grand opinion, it would be idiotic for them to follow, as many people got lost in these woods if they weren’t familiar with the terrain.  Though, it would appear his opinion didn’t matter much because the shouting still continued rather closely from behind.

‘But not for long,’ Feliciano thought in confidence, despite his losing grip on reality.  Mustering his last bit of strength, Feliciano created a jarring path darting in every which way possible.  As predicted, the trees surrounding him were growing increasingly dense and as if on cue, confused, agitated shouts followed from behind, the pursuers’ footsteps slowing to a halt. Feliciano eyed a familiar cluster of trees that would provide him with the perfect cover.  In a less than graceful movement, he practically stumbled over his feet to move behind the cluster of wood, his back immediately sagging against jagged texture of one of the largest of the trees.

Feliciano’s body staggered haphazardly down, falling towards his side. The harsh, suddenly abrupt wave of sickening vertigo had him colliding with the ground, arms reaching out in desperation to support himself.  For once, he was finding himself unnaturally gasping for air, again clutching the wound at his chest; the burning sensation was nearly unbearable now, racking his body in pulses.  Feliciano’s entire self was trembling with unremitting violence, it seemed as though his body was no longer his own.  It took everything Feliciano had to fight for some semblance of consciousness.  It was then, he suddenly realized that he could physically support himself no longer.  Feliciano allowed his body to lurch over, his back lying against the uneven ground, the sight of the sky above him only a muddily, obscured image.

‘Am I going to die?’

His last thought before finally allowing his eyes to fall shut.

~~

|||||||||

~~

There was a gentle touch that fell upon his skin.  It was light and one that he could recognize that was filled with great care.  Their fingertips seemingly kissed his skin providing a blossoming warmth that Feliciano hadn’t felt in quite some time. It halted for a moment upon the side of his face.  The touch deliberately trailed upwards resting against his forehead, this time the palm pressed more securely against it. This feeling, this touch, it was so undeniably human.

Human.

Everything came spiraling back into perspective.  Drawing him out of fogged mind and more than peaceful caresses.  The gunshot, the chase, him slipping out of sight in high hopes that he wouldn’t be found.  Though that last part wasn’t a guarantee.  This latter situation was rather apparent.  He had been found.  Feliciano was immediately filled with panic and somewhere within, there was something akin to dread.  Pain still flooded his system and the ache in his head was ever present, but Feliciano felt better than he had before.  He at least had some control over his body.  In one swift movement, Feliciano grasped the wrist of the hand that found itself resting upon his face.  He was satisfied by the way this unknown human flinched and was suddenly tense by surely a sense of fear.  Their pulse was picking up in speed, thrumming in a panic that he could feel through his touch.  They remained silent.

Feliciano willed his eyes open, forcing them to immediately take in the light of day without hardly a wince, all the while pulling away the hand at his face. Though he didn’t let go just yet. The pain made his movements slightly uncomfortable but bearable, and as his focus of sight dialed in, what was before him came as a bit of a shock. 

A young woman.

If only for a moment Feliciano felt relief for a couple of reasons.  First, the probability of her having been a part of the group from the night prior wasn’t likely; the words shouted were undeniably male.  Second, if a fight were to ensue, he had sure confidence he would be able to defend himself against her.  Though, Feliciano knew that she wouldn’t cause much of a problem based upon her body language. 

Their eyes had yet to leave one another.  Though her gaze carried extreme caution, he was taken aback by the amount of worry that was placed there as well.  Feliciano could suppose that she would be, having found someone shot in the middle of woods, clearly unconscious.  The bullet wound.  At this moment, Feliciano’s thought immediately turned towards the injury to his chest.  His other hand was brought reflexively over the wound only to be met with –

Cloth?

Lost in thought, Feliciano finally released his hold on the woman’s wrist as he snapped his eyes immediately downward.  Cotton bandages had been securely, and rather expertly wrapped about his chest.  Flickering his gaze over to his right he found his shirt in a heap upon the ground next to him. Feliciano realized that he wasn’t in the same position he found himself to be in prior.  In finding him, she must have pulled his body upright to rest his back against the trunk of the tree for better support.  Her acts of kindness had him deliberating.

‘Does she know what I am?’  No, surely, she doesn’t.  Most any person would have ran away screaming or at the very least, would have been caught in fear or disgust.  Escaping his continuous trail of thought, Feliciano became aware of the silence that hung in the air.  What was to happen from here?  Would she finally just leave? Or perhaps he should just thank her and be on his way. Despite it all, she had chosen to help him.

“Are you alright?”  Her voice was small, tentative. Feliciano slowly shifted his gaze back to her.

As he met her eyes, Feliciano was lost in thought again; a terrible habit of his, all things considered.

He considered their situation—the strained relationship between vampire and human. It was a complicated piece of history and time combined.  The complications that any societal merging might fall victim to, and living side by side like this—there were always good people and the bad along with it.  It was unavoidable.  There was and is a combination of expectation, motivation, intention.  All things that can never be read from someone at first glance.  And this is when matters of heart and trust either grew in great strength or they crumbled and shattered in betrayal and sometimes—many times—in murder.  Their histories only ever seemed to be covered in bloodshed, greed, and fear.    

Despite it all, Feliciano didn’t feel another fight in him, and truthfully, he could see that she wasn’t wishing for one either. With both parties in agreeance, he was happy to move on and part ways as quickly as possible.

So, considering his already improving health, and perhaps even his survival, Feliciano allowed her a small piece of kindness by gracing her with an answer to her previous question.

“…Yes, thank you.”

Something akin to surprise flickered in her eyes, but as soon as it was there it was gone.  Feliciano noticed the small smile that reached her face. He didn’t miss the fact that it appeared a bit nervous. He watched her carefully as she began rising to her feet.  Coming to full height, she seemed to be contemplating something before tentatively providing a hand for him to take.

“C-can you stand?”

“Ah…yes.  I think so.”

Reluctantly, Feliciano chose to take her hand and together, he was finally on his feet. Another bout of pain rippled through his chest, but with a slow exhale of breath Feliciano was able to will it away.

“I’m fine,” Feliciano spoke through gritted teeth.  He wasn’t sure if he was reassuring her or himself.

“I’m…not so sure about that,” she countered.

Feliciano only made a small noise coming from somewhere in the back of his throat.  Suddenly, he found his armplaced around her shoulders—an attempt to provide Feliciano with better balance. He was about to bite back in protest, but was soon losing his footing.  Perhaps his head wasn’t as clear as he first thought.

“I don’t typically condone taking strangers home, but—” she continued.

Feliciano began to feel faint, his vertigo returning with a vengeance.  His body lurched forward, and the woman steadied his weight the best she could; this resulted in Feliciano stumbling to his knees. She followed suit without much choice lest he fall haphazardly on his face.  Her hand found his back, the other finding one of his shoulders, stopping his upper half from colliding with the ground.

“Don’t push yourself,” her tone was hushed, “Whenever you’re ready.”

Feliciano only nodded, eyes still closed to help focus on finding control of himself. The two of them stayed like this a moment longer until he felt as though he was ready to attempt another effort.  Slowly, but surely, the two of them made their way to the young woman’s home down the way.

[howlerbat]

Billy’s breaking point

It’s been a while since I posted a meta about Flint and Billy but I was recently rewatching this scene from 3x05 and noticed something interesting:

At first it may seem like nothing more than simply Billy wanting Flint dead but I think it’s more complicated.

Billy wants Flint to redeem himself this way because he genuinely believes that nothing he did up until this point was selfless. So if after all the times that Billy supported his leadership, guilt-ridden as he is, Flint does this one sacrifice for the crew — it would have all been worth it. I think a part of him just wanted tangible proof that Flint cared, that he was capable of the same self-sacrifice he demanded of them all. It would be ‘fair’ as he later tells Ben Gunn.

So after Flint predictably doesn’t die and give him that catharsis, Billy tries one last ditch attempt at communicating which I’m convinced is his breaking point:

After Flint’s appeal to the maroon queen he is very upfront with his skepticism about the War and their chances of winning it. He is also skeptical about Flint’s mental state and his actual long term goals

Billy then says “You convinced them” and that implies “Convince me. Tell me how this isn’t just another storm we’ll end up being sucked into”. And instead of appealing to Billy’s idealism and hatred of the English, Flint does possibly the second worst dialogue choice in the entire show:

He’s malnourished and whatnot but… why? (Go captain, be ominously vague and dismissive!) It wouldn’t be so bad if not followed immediately by this:

Well if Billy wasn’t convinced before I’m sure he feels very reassured about this now!

The reason I bring it up is because it’s after this conversation that he manipulates Flint into sending Silver to deliver the warning to the tavern, actively propping him up as Flints replacement, and starting a scheme on a scale he never have before

[shenrickyz]

well actually!

post-daesang win, seojun and jisung talk in the bathroom

"all good now?"

jisung looks at the older through the mirror, who seems to sense his eyes, as he immediately looks up and catches jisung's gaze. the maknae of nct dream shrugs, wiping some of the dried tears from his cheeks. "i'm okay".

"you sure?" ah seojun, always so concerned no matter what the situation might be. of course, jisung's tears were happy ones, but seojun just always needs extra reassurance, it's cute, he'll give him that.

"do you constantly have to ask?"

"i'm looking after you, that's my job".

jisung isn't sure when seojun decided that was his title, if his mom heard that, she'd be pretty pissed (that's a lie, jisung's mom adores seojun, just as much as the park himself does). he constantly insists that seojun doesn't have to look after him like some sort of caretaker, they are only a month apart after all.

but seojun doesn't care, always dismissing his words and carrying on with his usual antics. "really? it's your job? jaemin hyung will be pretty pissed".

"as your boyfriend, it's my job to take care of you" seojun puts an emphasis on the obvious word, rummaging through his pockets and pulling out a tissue for jisung. "is that what you wanted to hear?"

jisung pretends to think about it, a small smile playing on his lips. "not exactly, but i like the way it sounds".

"you're such a baby".

"you're only a month older".

"and? you still act like a baby".

jisung wants to protest when seojun lets go of his hand, leaning against the nearby stall, but he keeps quiet, instead leaning against the sink. now the two are exactly parallel to each other, it's cute, jisung days in his head again.

everything about seojun is cute.

jisung smiles at the thought, and the two slip into a comfortable silence, a lot on their minds.

"did you have to follow me?"

seojun snickers, as if the words baffle him. "you were literally sobbing out there, jisung, i was being of help".

"but you were so quick to not let jeno take me to the bathroom".

"is it bad that i want alone time with you?" the older raises an eyebrow, and jisung just cocks his head to the side, pretending to think about it again.

"yes, you need to learn how to be professional, we are coworkers".

the clear sarcasm in jisung's voice makes seojun raise his eyebrow again, and he hums. "okay, i'll make sure to remind you of that next time you want a last minute kiss backstage".

jisung gasps, placing a hand on his chest. "that's not fair".

"yes it is".

"it's not!" seojun can't resist the urge to laugh, he lightly slaps jisung's arm and walks up to the sink to wash his hands. "you can't resist me anyway".

"uh huh" seojun agrees, flicking water at jisung with his hands, eliciting a temp from the younger. "i just don't like seeing you cry, even if it's happy tears".

"ri was crying too" jisung says, suddenly thinking about the older. "why didn't you accompany him to the bathroom?"

"you know why.." seojun mutters, trying off his hands. jisung does know, but he's not sure if it's because the answer is obvious, or because seojun is predictable.

"you just wanted to get him and jeno hyung alone".

seojun makes a sound corresponding to a correct buzzer on a game show, and jisung just chuckles, pushing him.

"i don't think the two of them are ever going to get there".

seojun hums. "hikari just needs time and jeno just needs to tell him when the times right".

"they seem to be letting that time extend, though".

"that's what we did".

at the words, jisung pauses, he's right, obviously, but he just said it so abruptly. seojun doesn't say anything more, just reaches over for jisung's hand and laces their fingers together. "we just have to be patient".

"tell that to mini hyung, every time he looks at them it's like he wants to scream".

seojun snickers at the mention of his fellow nct sei member, rolling his eyes playfully. "you're acting like we weren't the exact same, chenle was literally so tired of us".

"he still is tired of us".

"well that's different now" seojun muses, a pretty smile tugging on his lips as he also tugs on jisung's hand. "okay we need to go, mark is gonna start getting worried".

"mark already knows we're here, why would he be worried?"

"he's always worried, and i don't want to get scolded".

jisung doesn't respond more, instead letting the older tug his hand once again and drag him out of the bathroom. yeah he'll have to get through a bunch of teasing from the dreamies, but he doesn't care.

seoji content for the seoji connoisseur @junjiie

[humanitys-strongest-bamf]

The Usual | Levi Week Day 1 - Teashop

tagging @leviweek2023 💕

✧ word count ➼ ~1k ✧ notes ➼ post-war canonverse, marleyan reader ✧ comments: listen, i know i'm late for levi week because i'm dumb and didn't realize that day 1 started yesterday kdjfkdsjf hope my submission still counts 🥹

The first few weeks after the war was hard. While Levi couldn't say that it got easy, it was certainly better than sitting around pretending to live happily in a peaceful world that was the complete opposite of what he had grown accustomed to.

Now that he didn't have to be a soldier, Levi was forced to find other things to take up his time. Naturally, he gravitated towards his love for making tea.

Marley was oddly devoid of quality teashops, so Levi found his own booming in popularity pretty soon after he opened it for business. It was mindless work that helped him relax, even when it was fast-paced due to a lunch hour rush.

Most people ordered the same thing. He still enjoyed it since making tea always helped him calm his mind without fail, but it did get bland having to repeatedly make matcha or chai tea lattes repeatedly for 8-10 hours straight.

Levi's eyes flashed up as he heard the bell attached onto the front door ring. It was only 11am, so it was still a little early for the 1-hour lunch rush.

His eyes immediately came into contact with yours as you gave him a shy smile and a wave. He didn't return the gesture, but his body posture did seem to relax after seeing that it was you.

You were one of his strangest customers.

He was shocked and honestly thought it was a distasteful joke when you had come into the shop one day and ordered one of his more obscure blends with an annoyingly complicated name that you horrifically mispronounced with confidence. You had looked so proud of the way that you said it that Levi didn't have the heart to correct you.

It was a bitter and tangy blend, unlike a lot of the other more standard teas. It was harder to brew and used more sophisticated leaves that Levi was rarely able to find within the Walls. Even in Marley, which had active trading routes, the leaves were hard to get ahold of, so he was more than surprised when you unironically ordered it. Jumping to that blend from your daily order of a chai tea latte was something that he never expected. Now it was all that you ever ordered.

"They give you a day off?"

You weren't usually here around this time otherwise he'd already have your drink ready for you. That was how predictable your schedule was and how often you found yourself in this specific tea shop.

"Lunch break," you responded with a shrug. "Figured I'd visit a certain grumpy barista."

"Baristas specialize in coffee," Levi immediately corrected. "Just Levi's fine."

You shot Levi a small smile. You didn't regret that one day in which you waltzed in and decided to be adventurous and order the one thing on the menu that no one else seemed to ever pay attention to. You didn't miss the way that Levi's eyes flashed up and how he seemed to prioritize your brew. He enjoyed making it.

You weren't a huge fan of the taste, however. It certainly wouldn't be your first choice in terms of teas.

However, after a few regular visits into his teashop, you noticed how his grumpy demeanor would fade whenever you put in an order for that obscure blend that made you tempted to scrunch your nose when you first sipped at it. You picked up that he liked making it significantly more than the other blends, so you just began ordering it. You eventually grew to like it.

"The usual?"

You nodded, looking directly into his normally intense gaze that always seemed to be a bit softer around you. Your eyes lingered on each other for a bit without any words being exchanged.

Levi eventually cleared his throat awkwardly and broke eye contact with you to walk off to make your brew, unsure how to address what was happening.

You followed suit and took a seat at your usual spot on the counter, watching him as he began working on your drink. You noticed his slight limp that resulted from his injured leg that had mostly healed, although it could still get painful to walk on. You also noticed that he was missing nearly half his fingers on his right hand, but still moved more elegantly than you've ever seen anyone move before, even for something as simple as brewing tea.

You knew that he was a veteran in the recent war, but barely knew anything else about him. You made it your personal goal to get to know him better one day.

Your eyes fell on his again as he brought your drink over to you. You saw that his right eye was clouded, indicating that it had been physically damaged and your eyes lingered on his scars. Even from just a glance, you could tell that Levi had more history behind him than all the people you knew combined. He was certainly more interesting than your mundane coworkers that had nothing to complain about other than minor inconveniences in their lives.

The corner of Levi's lips twitched up ever so slightly as he saw the curious look you were giving him. He wasn't the biggest fan of how he felt around you: you made blood rush to his head, and made his heart pound as fast as it did whenever he was actively fighting a Titan. He didn't like it, but he couldn't keep himself from seeing or being by you when he could, even when all he knew was your name and your favorite drink.

You noticed the small smile that he had sent you, but weren't able to say anything before he turned around to begin addressing the other customers that had wandered in as the lunch rush started.

You were so mesmerized and lost in his movements and presence that you didn't even have a chance to notice that he never charged you for your drink.