#Like i don't have a strong personal stance but i have looked into this shit | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

alwaysmoncheri · 8 months ago

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𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤 | 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧

summary: in which best friends, y/n henderson and steve harrington get caught up in their feelings while paranormal activities occur in the small town of hawkins, indiana

cw: fem!reader, I wrote this a long time ago(I apologize for everything cringe), shit writing, first person pov, jealous steve, swearing, billy being touchy/aggressive?, dustin purring, stancy, 2.4k

As I approach Hawkins High School, I take in the bustling parking lot, the scene filled with many students going about their morning. I set my bike on the rack, lock it up, and start to make my way towards the building, my eyes slowly taking in the atmosphere. The sun is shining brightly, the morning glow causing long shadows to cast across the grounds. The sound of chatter and the smell of cigarettes fills the air as I walk.

As I pass the parking lot, my eyes land on the familiar sight of Steve's maroon car parked in a spot. I see Nancy in the passenger seat, both of them engaged in a deep conversation. My eyes immediately catch Steve's gaze, causing my heart to pound in my chest. He's the first to send a little two-finger wave and a smile in my direction which causes butterflies to flutter alive in my stomach. I wave back, my eyes moving to Nancy as she finally glances up and sends a bright smile and another wave.

I don't get very far away from Steve's car when I hear the engine of a car revving. Steve and Nancy climb out of his car and I stand next to the girl. As my eyes catch a black Chevrolet Camaro whipping into the parking lot, tires screeching against the tarmac. I stop and watch in interest, the sound drawing in other members of the student body. My curiosity grows and I wonder who could be making such a dramatic entrance.

A girl with fiery red hair climbs out the passenger side and skates up the road, quickly disappearing from sight as she heads towards the middle school. Meanwhile, a boy about my age, clad in all denim with blonde hair and stunning eyes, climbs out of the drivers side in an almost slow-motion manner, sending all the girls around swooning. He looks around with a smirk, locking eyes with mine and sending me a wink before taking a drag of his cigarette and tossing it away. Glares come my way from the other girls, but I merely roll my eyes and cross my arms, unfazed by the attention.

"Who is that?" Nancy asks with her eyes locked on the boy.

"I have no idea," I say glancing towards Steve, who looks slightly jealous, "But I honestly don't care." I add, walking towards the building.

I reach my locker, unlocking it and grabbing my books before shutting it and preparing to head towards my first class. As I shut the locker door, however, I'm met with the new boy standing there with a smug look on his face. Our eyes meet and I take a deep breath and brace myself for whatever this interaction might hold.

"I saw your pretty face out there and knew I had to introduce myself the first chance I got," The boy says, leaning against a nearby locker while crossing his legs, "Billy Hargrove, and you are?" He says, giving me his hand to shake.

"None of your concern." I retort, attempting to move past him but instead he grabs my hips, keeping his rough hands firmly planted there.

"Feisty, I like it." Billy smirks, leaning towards me, his breath fanning over my face. "So, what's your name?" He whispers into my ear making me shudder.

"Get off me, you perv." I say, trying to push him away but his grip is too strong and I struggle against it. This causes a scene in the hallway as other students watch me squirm against Billy.

"She said, get off." I hear Steve's furious voice from behind me.

Billy surprisingly lets go of my hips, stepping back and eyeing Steve up and down, sizing him up. Steve stands his ground, despite being slightly shorter than the new boy, glaring at him defiantly as he takes a defensive stance. A tense moment passes between the two, the tension in the air thick.

"Oh? And who are you?" Billy spits out with a raised eyebrow, "The poor excuse for a boyfriend?"

"No, I have a girlfriend." Steve says quietly, breaking eye contact by looking down to his shoes.

Billy grins victoriously.

"Then what's the problem?" The boy asks, "If you already got a girl, can't I take this one?" Billy glances back at me, sending me another wink, and I scoff.

Steve's jaw visibly clenches.

"You fuck her on the side or something?" Billy asks casually.

Steve looks up at the boy, fury visible in his eyes as his hand forming a tight fist. I notice this, and not wanting to start a fight, I rush over and grab Steve's clenched hand. I gently push him back and away from the smirking boy behind me.

"Steve..." I say softly as my heart races. I can feel the heat in my cheeks, from Billy's previous comment, "Let's go."

"You better listen to your little bitch, Steve." Billy says, the smugness evident in his tone.

As I gently push Steve away, he stares at the boy with an angry glare, his body tensing as he fights his anger and urge to strike. Finally, after a long moment, Steve lets out a deep breath and we walk away together.

"Thanks." I finally say as Steve and I reach our first class, which we have together.

"Yeah." Steve breathes out, facing me, "You okay?" He asks as we walk into class and I give him a small smile.

"Yeah, I think so."

|☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆|

After class, I notice Nancy and Jonathan walking down the hallway together. I increase my speed and quickly catch up to the two.

"Hey guys," I greet my friends with a warm smile.

"Hey, (Y/n)," They both say in unison, returning my smile.

As we walk down the hall, my eye catches Tina, one of our classmates, leaned up against the wall handing out bright orange flyers.

"Hey, Nancy. Hey, (Y/n)," She greets us both with a smile, handing us two flyers.

"Hey, thanks." Nancy responds.

"Thanks, Tina." I say kindly.

I look down at the paper in my hands, hesitantly. I immediately notice the little ghost holding a beer bottle in the corner.

Tina's Halloween Bash

Come and get sheet faced.

"Oh, could I get one more?" Nancy asks the girl.

"Yeah, sure." Tina smiles brightly, before handing Nancy another flyer.

"You're coming to this." Nancy says happily, handing Jonathan the extra flyer that she grabbed.

"Come and get sheet faced." Jonathan reads off the paper, giving Nancy a look, "No, I'm not." He says simply.

"I can't let you sit all alone Halloween." Nancy explains, "That's just not acceptable."

"Well, you can relax. I'm not gonna be alone." Jonathan says, and Nancy raises her eyebrows at him, "I'm going trick-or-treating with Will."

"All night?" I ask surprised. Even I'm not going with the boys.

"Yeah." Jonathan says plainly.

"No, no way." Nancy shakes her head in amusement, "You're gonna be home by 8:00, listening to the Talking Heads and reading Vonnegut or something."

"Sounds like a nice night." Jonathan smiles at the girl.

"Come on, Jonathan," I plead, "If I go, will you go?"

"See? I mean, you could go with (Y/n)," Nancy says as we approach her locker, "And if you do, who knows, you might even, like, meet someone."

Suddenly, I notice Steve sneak up behind Nancy, his sunglasses on and a sly grin resting on his face. He grabs her by the waist and lifts her off her feet, making her let out a surprised and delighted squeal. My stomach drops, and I glance over at Jonathan, whose staring at Nancy longingly.

"Oh my god. Take those stupid things off." Nancy says with a bright smile.

"I missed you." Steve grins, taking off his shades as he holds the girl in his arms.

"It's been like an hour." Nancy replies.

"Tell me about it." Steve mumbles before slowly connecting his lips with Nancy's.

I feel a pang of jealousy at the sight. I turn away quickly wrapping my arm around Jonathan's shoulder as we walk away from the couple.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jonathan asks randomly as we head to our next class.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I ask, facing the boy, "You're the one whose in love with Nancy." I comment simply.

"How—" Jonathan starts with wide eyes.

"It's all in the eyes, my friend, it's always the eyes." I sigh, and smile softly.

"Then, the way you look as Steve, surely says something." Jonathan replies with a wide grin.

"Shut up." I laugh lightly, laughing Jonathan's shoulder, "It's not that obvious is it?" I ask worriedly.

"It so is."

I groan.

|☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆|

After school, I head towards the bike rack to unlock my bike. That's when Dustin and Lucas approach me on their own bikes, presumably coming from the middle school just up the road.

"Hey, guys," I greet them with a smile as I hop onto my bike, "What's going on?"

"We need you to come with us to the arcade." Lucas replies quickly when we start riding down the street, the school slowly drifting from view.

"It's an emergency." My brother adds and I glance at them confused.

"What? Why?" I ask, slowing my bike down to a stop.

Dustin groans.

"(Y/n), come on," My brother pleads, "What part of emergency do you not understand?"

"Jesus, when did that attitude of yours get worse?" I mumble before following him and Lucas to the arcade.

When we arrive we quickly set our bikes down and hide behind a car. Lucas has his binoculars in hand, searching for something or someone.

We wait there for a while and nothing seems to be happening.

"Still no sign?" Dustin asks Lucas whose still looking through his binoculars.

"Jack shit." Lucas replies plainly.

"Oh, damn it." Dustin sighs after checking his watch and turning towards me, "Our mom's gonna murder us."

"So go home," Lucas shrugs, bringing the binoculars down from his eyes, "I'll radio if she comes." He finishes simply.

She.

"Oh yeah, nice try." Dustin comments, irritated, "You just want me out of here so you can make your move."

"Move?" I ask glancing between the boys, "You both want to ask out the same girl?"

"That's right," Dustin says with a smile, "And she will not be able to resist these pearls." Dustin adds before purring, showing off his pearly whites. Lucas and I just give him a weird look.

"Ten o'clock." Dustin says quickly, making us turn.

"What?" Lucas asks, confused by the sudden topic change.

"Ten o'clock." He says again, pointing in the direction of the same black car that pulled into the school parking lot this morning.

Lucas quickly brings the binoculars back up to his eyes and we all watch the girl with red hair climb out of the car. She stand there, with her hand on the door, yelling at Billy through the car.

"They're arguing, they're arguing." Lucas says frantically and my brother rolls his eyes.

"Oh my god." Dustin mumbles, "I see that. I don't even know why you need those." He says louder this time.

"God. You're so stupid." My brother mumbles again, before returning his eyes to the scene in front of him.

Billy's face is full of anger and frustration as he drives away and the girl slams to door shut, sending him off with her middle finger.

I mentally applaud her.

She then rushes into the arcade and Dustin and Lucas glance at each other. Before not so stealthily walking towards to window so that we could watch the girl play video games.

"What am I missing here?" I ask, genuinely confused.

"She's new, and her name is Max." Dustin explains simply.

"She's incredible." Lucas swoons over the girl's video game abilities.

"She's..." Dustin starts with a smile.

"Mad Max."

|☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆|

As we ride our bikes home, Dustin, Lucas, and I try to contact Mike through the radio to tell him the news. So far, we've had no luck reaching him.

"Mike?" Dustin asks into the mic for what seems like the fiftieth time.

"Hello, is that you?!" We hear Mike's desperate voice through the walkie-talkie.

"Yeah, it's me, Dustin." My brother says plainly, "What're you doing on this channel, again?" Dustin asks, clearly irritated.

"I've been trying to reach you all day. We were right. Max is Mad Max." Dustin continues through the comms.

"Yeah, I'm busy." Mike says, annoyed.

"But—" That's all Dustin can get out before the line goes dead.

"What are you gonna now?" I ask the two boys.

"We stick to the plan." Dustin replies.

"What plan?" I ask, glancing back and forth between the two. Of course, like usual, I'm ignored.

"Mike's not gonna like it." Lucas says, worriedly.

"Last time I checked, our party is not a dictatorship," Dustin explains, "It's a democracy."

"What if Max says no?" Lucas asks.

"How could Max say no to these?" Dustin says before purring again.

"I wouldn't." I mumble hoping my brother doesn't hear.

He does.

"Hey, you're supposed to be on my side." Dustin says turning towards me.

I just shrug.

"I told you to stop that." Lucas says annoyed with my brother's antics as we approach our house.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Dustin says with a smile.

"Bye, Lucas." I say, sending the boy a small wave.

"Later." He says before Dustin and I turn into our driveway.

Dustin and I make our way up our driveway, and set our bikes down, starting to walk towards the door. When out of the blue, a strange noise comes from the woods around us. We glance at each other, curious expressions forming on our faces.

"Mews?" I call out, wondering if our cat is out there.

"Mews?" Dustin says, making a few kissing noises before shrugging and walking inside.

I stand there for a few more seconds, ears listening for that noise again, but it never comes. I finally head inside, relieved to find Mews curled up on her favorite spot on the couch, her soft tail twitching lightly as she sleeps. I smile, giving her tiny head a soft pat before making my way to my bedroom, reassured that everything is okay.

next chapter . masterlist . steve harrington masterlist . taglist

thank you for reading, my darling! remember to like! reblog! and comment! i’ll give you a smooch if you do, ily! send requests to my inbox!

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isa-ghost · 1 year ago

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Can we please keep in mind that given what we know, there's a strong chance plenty of Wilbur's friends were blindsided by this, and could very well be grieving that someone so close to them turned out to be this horrific?

Given we KNOW Wilbur meticulously kept up a facade socially and publicly, there's a strong chance they had little to no idea he was that way unless they personally witnessed the behaviors. That's horrifying.

I personally know what it's like to have someone you talked to and hung out with near-daily for YEARS to turn out to be a disgusting, lying, fake and awful person. You feel betrayed, sick, angry, confused, devastated. You need time to emotionally process that. ESPECIALLY before doing something like making a public statement about "your stance" on the matter. Some of the people we know felt like family to Wilbur, genuinely, even despite all the jokes that got old so fast within the community. And they could've gone the whole time not knowing all this.

That's not something you get over instantly. That's not something you can think clearly through right away. Anyone demanding a nuanced and well-thought out statement rejecting and condemning Wilbur ASAP for their own satisfaction are stupid as hell. You don't care about the situation, you're fishing for internet points by being ready to pull the trigger on anyone who doesn't say something the moment you expect them to. You care more about Looking like you have humanity by attacking abusers and abuse apologists, instead of Actually having humanity in realizing this has a real impact on real people with real emotions.

They're fucking grieving. And we've seen from plenty of them who thought of him as a friend that Have said something already that they are also ANGRY.

Those who have yet to speak up are likely still processing their emotions. Or processing what they want to say. Or perhaps are even personally affected by the situation as victims of abuse themselves, and therefore NEED to step back before they say anything, if they say anything at all.

They could also be saying something where we can't see. They don't owe the public shit, anything they'd say wouldn't be for us. We aren't entitled to their thoughts or their explicit rejection of Wilbur. Which is Also why anyone demanding instant statements from anyone is a fucking moron. They don't need to "prove" to us that they don't support Wilbur anymore. That's not what anything to do with this situation is about. That's not what matters here.

What matters is they've personally given Shelby their support; which is 10x more meaningful given directly to her rather than in public where it's also largely to please anyone scrutinizing them. What matters is they've stopped engaging with Wilbur, removed his presence from their personal content (ex: Phil removed his point redemption audios that had Wilbur in them), etc. Actions speak louder than words.

Some of you are just fucking lazy and don't want to look deeper, you want convenient and perfectly crafted statements for your satisfaction and comfort right away.

TLDR: think fucking harder before you open your mouth about any cc's reaction to Wilbur or his statement. These people were friends with him (many are also friends with Shelby!), trusted him, etc. There's nuance to situations like these whether you like it or not, and ccs saying anything where you can see it at the exact moment you want them to is not something any of us are owed.

Fuck Wilbur. Fuck his garbage statement. But if you're more focused on hounding every cc who ever knew him publicly to cater to you for one reason or another the second you want them to, fuck you too.

#wilbur situation #discourse

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thecampjuicebox · 1 year ago

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Hi! I would absolutely love shameless smut Astarion x f!Tav (or f!reader) with some oral ministrations ^-^

Hi sweets! Your wish is my commend! I've been waitin' for this one. *cracks knuckles* Let's do this.

Hunger

Pairing: Tav(f) x Astarion

POV: 2nd person (Reader is Tav)

Rating: 18+, Minors DNI

Warnings: Smut, masturbation, oral (f/m giving/receiving), biting, choking, Dom Astarion x Sub Tav, gentle face slapping

Sleep eludes you this particular night, your brain running through the recent events of the past few days. The nautiloid, the tadpoles, gathering this seemingly harmless band of misfits, it's all so.. Strange. Before waking up in the grasp of the mindflayers, your life was simple. A merchant and artist in Baldur's Gate. During the day, you were peddling your wares to the higher society of the city, making a name for yourself amongst the lords and ladies. You specialized in jewelry, mostly. Adorning the necks of the wealthy with the finest jewels Faerun has to offer. You breathe slowly, eyelashes fluttering at the memory. You'd had your fair share of meetings with some of the most eligible fellows in the upper city because of your line of work. Each one of them powerful, wealthy. Insanely wealthy. You've danced with Lordlings, held hands with Dukes, even been bedded by a magistrate or two. None of them compared to the pale skinned elf you happened to pick up after the crash. Astarion. He's so.. Different. Your mind reels at the very idea of him and you fidget in your bedroll.

Tired eyes snap open at the sudden sound of shuffling beside you, the sight of that very elf leaning over you with fangs bared sending you into a daze. He widens his eyes at you, backing away slowly. "Shit." You hurry to your feet, taking a defensive stance towards the intruder. He blinks at you innocently.

"I-It's not what it looks like! I swear!"

Crossing your arms over your chest, you eye him for a moment, waiting for some sort of explanation.

"I wasn't going to hurt you.. I just need, well, blood."

Shit. You stare at him blankly for a moment, mind racing. It all makes so much sense now. His lack of appetite, his blatantly obvious sneaking off at night, the dead boar your group found on the bridge to the Blighted Village. Perfectly drained of blood from no more than two little pinholes in its neck. Of course. He's a vampire. You pause for a moment, considering the implications of your discovery. Heat travels down your spine and stings in your core. You stand firm, furrowing your eyebrows to seem angrier than you really are.

"I can't believe I didn't see it. We even found your last meal lying in the road. Clever of you to act so naïve about the situation. Bravo."

His posture straightens and he places his hands on his hips, lips curving into that devilish grin that makes your knees week. The vampire quirks an eyebrow at you then drags his eyes down your body before meeting your eyes again. His intense gaze makes you shiver. Picking at your fingernails, you chew your bottom lip nervously and kick your foot at the dirt beneath you. Astarion drums his fingers against his hip bones.

"I usually feed on animals. Boars, Kobolds, whatever I can find really. But right now I'm too slow. Too weak. If I could just have a little blood.. I could fight better."

You nod slowly and weigh your options. This could help him. You need him strong to fight the massive hoards of enemies you and your group seem to continuously encounter. What's a little bite? You smirk at your next thought, cheeks unknowingly burning hot the moment the idea crosses your mind. You'll also have the chance to be deliciously close to the vampling. No, don't think like that. The tadpole squirms with excitement in your brain, making you wince slightly at the sudden movement behind your eyes. You sigh and straighten your posture.

"Fine. But not a drop more than you need."

"What? I- Okay. Yes. Perfectly reasonable. Shall we make ourselves comfortable?"

Astarion motions towards his dimly lit tent and you nod, keeping a death grip on your bottom lip between your teeth. His hand rests at the small of your back to guide you into the cramped living space, the gentle yet dominant gesture making your knees nearly buckle underneath you. His breath is warm on your ear. "Lie down." Without hesitation, you lower yourself knees first to his bedroll, a quiet growl rumbling in the vampire's chest as he watches you closely. You choke back a quiet whimper, clearing your throat quickly. Astarion moves next to you and smiles, giving your shoulder a gentle push to lower you the rest of the way to the plush surface beneath you. A trembling hand moves up to cup the back of your head.

"Stay still for me.."

Before you can respond the vampire bares his fangs, moving in to plunge them deep into the sensitive flesh of your neck. Icy hot pain courses through you, each vein in your body simultaneously burning. You whimper up into Astarion's ear. The hand on the back of your head tightens its grip, holding onto your soft hair now. Your mouth falls open at the tension on the back of your head. "A-Astarion.." Is all you can say as his tongue laps at the fresh wounds on your neck, little grunts of enjoyment vibrating your skin. You mewl at the new sensation and grab a fistful of his shirt, desperately pulling him closer to you. He finally breaks contact with your neck, gazing down at you with drunken eyes.

"Gods, you're.. Delicious.."

Little black spots speckle your vision as you try to focus on Astarion's face, a woozy feeling rushing over you suddenly. He must've been starving, he's basically drained you and left you on empty. Your heart thumps in your ears. Soft hands push the hair from your face before resting on your cheeks, giving the now sickly pale skin a few little gentle slaps. A devilish grin thins your lips.

"That was incredible. I feel incredible."

...

Late night feedings have become a regular thing for you and Astarion. You reveled in the intimate way he'd hold you close to him to ensure you wouldn't move, hand tangling in your hair to keep your neck steady. It left you needy every single time, often excusing yourself to a secluded part in the woods to relieve the urges, the freedom to be as loud as you want. Tonight is one of those nights.

Astarion stands and wipes his lips with the back of his hand, licking the remnants of your blood carefully from his skin. He groans happily before helping you back to your feet. You smile and say your goodbyes quickly, dashing out of the tent. He quirks an eyebrow, waiting for your footsteps to fall silent before peaking his head out of his tent, scanning around for you. He spots you ducking into the woods and pure curiosity wills him to follow. "Where in the hells is she going?" Astarion slinks out of his tent and picks up on your scent like a lost dog, carefully following your trail. He crouches low, making sure to leave a decent amount of distance between you so you don't detect his presence.

You tip toe through the thick foliage, leaves quietly crunching under your boots. Stopping in your usual clearing, you sigh heavily, carefully scoping out the area for any intruders before lowering yourself to the ground. Shaky fingers unlace your boots and kick them off in a rush, fumbling with the ties on your shirt. You groan with anticipation and fling the garment to the side, standing up to quickly shimmy out of your leathers. Goosebumps raise all over your pale skin at the cool night air and you slide out of your underwear last, a sticky puddle of arousal staining the fabric. You toss those aside, eyes doing another once-over of the land. No one in sight. You lean against a large oak tree and stare up at the sky, gulping down the massive lump in your throat. You're so desperate for release. So needy. So wet. You close your eyes and allow your fingers to travel over your chest, little whimpers escaping your dry throat as you carefully circle your painfully erect nipples. You give one a pinch, grinding your hips at the air. "F-Fuck.."

Astarion breeches the thick line of trees and enters the clearing quietly, eyes roaming the area in search of you. He catches a glimpse of your boots and smirks, gaze flicking to your pile of clothes. "The little devil." His pointy ears perk up at your moan and he leans in the direction of the sound, holding his breath for a moment to listen even closer. Stifling a moan of his own, he moves towards the tree you're leaning against, eyes fixed on your profile. Without noticing the intruder, your fingers slide down your abdomen, muscles flexing at the feather light touch before hungrily dipping between your folds. You tilt your head higher, jaw falling open as you collect your arousal on your fingers and carefully shimmy your feet further apart to give yourself more room to work. Your knees buckle, your belly aches with desire, your skin burns for attention. Astarion moves in closer, the sound of his shuddering breath causing you to freeze. Your eyes snap open.

"W-who's there? I swear to the gods above, I'll kill you."

The vampire moves into view, tongue flicking out over his bottom lip to moisten the skin. He steps in front of you, placing both hands on the tree to trap you between his body and the tall oak. You gaze up at him, blinking in embarrassment.

"Having all of this fun without me, pet? I'm hurt."

"I.. I just.. Didn't want to bother you with asking. Wasn't sure you'd be interested?"

"Hmph. May I?"

You nod quickly at his question, pushing your hips forward. Astarion tuts, reaching a hand down to rub over your sensitive mound, earning a strained moan. He leans in close to your ear, exhaling slowly before biting at your lobe, a low growl building in his belly.

"At least you had the decency to consider my feelings. How sweet of you."

He presses a single digit to your clit and rubs slow circles, cooing into your ear after each of your whimpers as he gradually picks up speed. Both of your hands find the front of his shirt and give it a rough tug to pull him closer to you, hips bucking up against his touch. He licks a slow, hot stripe up the side of your neck, the still fresh bite mark stinging from his saliva. You chew your lip for a moment, releasing the flesh to whisper up at him.

"May I touch you?"

His fingers pause at your words and he stares down at you, expression melting into one of almost sadness. No one has ever asked to touch him as sweetly as you just did. He's so used to being just a body, a toy. Someone for people to play with as they please. Tears well up in the corners of his eyes and he blinks them away quickly. You back yourself against the tree and wait for his response, hands resting at your sides, The vampire nods down at you, mumbling a soft "Please." You flash a sweet smile up at him, placing your hands on his chest and slowly sliding them down his slender body, falling to your knees. He gasps at the touch, head tilting up towards the sky. A hand instinctively rests on the back of your head.

"If at any point you get uncomfortable, please tell me and I'll stop, okay?"

He beams down at you, bottom lip quivering. You quickly undo the lacing on his leathers and press gentle kisses to his already stiff cock through the fabric, Astarion grasping a handful of your hair in response. You giggle to yourself and tug his leathers down carefully. "Mm.." His eyes darken with lust. He tugs your hair to tilt your head up, forcing you to look at him. His hand leaves your hair and circles around your neck, fingers fitting perfectly in the subtle indents just below your jawline. You grunt at the sudden restriction of air.

"Such a good pet. So obedient for me. I want you to touch yourself while I fuck your throat. Can you do that?"

You groan and nod up at him, face turning red from the lack of oxygen. He releases your neck, giving your cheek a gentle slap before grasping your jaw firmly, fingers sliding upwards to squish your cheeks together.

"Good girl."

You mewl at the roughness of his hands, cunt dripping onto your thick thighs. He releases your face and frees his cock from the constricting leather. You part your knees and slide a hand down between them, fingers swirling around in the mess. Astarion grasps his cock in his hand, giving it a few pumps before pressing the weeping tip to your lips, swiping the pre-cum around your cheeks and mouth.

"Open."

You obey happily, parting your lips and letting your tongue lull out, a thin line of drool falling onto your chest. The vampire taps his throbbing member against your tongue, swiping it back and forth before shoving it as far into your mouth as he can. Your lips wrap tightly around the base as he bottoms out. His head falls back, jaw slack from the warmth of your mouth. You bob your head carefully after giving yourself a moment to adjust to his girth in your throat and your fingers move furiously against your clit, slick coating your trembling hand. Your free hand sits firm on the ground beneath you to hold you steady. Astarions hands move to your hair, grabbing a fistful on each side of your head to keep you in place as he fucks into your throat, groaning with each thrust. Drool spills out of the corners of your mouth when he pushes in. He pauses his thrusts and slides his boot between your legs, gritting his teeth before growling down at you.

"Fuck yourself on my boot like a good pet. Show me how needy you are."

You scoot closer on your knees, lowering yourself onto the shiny top of his boot and you grind your hips into the leather, both arms wrapping around his leg to hold you steady. He resumes his quick thrusts into your throat, rhythm beginning to falter as he nears his end. He gasps for air. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." You stick your tongue out once more to rub against the underside of his cock, earning a loud moan from the pale elf towering above you. "Gods, please. I'm so close." His voice is desperate now, tough exterior crumbling in front of you. He bucks his hips furiously into your face, the tip of his cock brushing the very back of your throat and you stifle a gag, only earning another moan at the way your throat tightens around him. You grind down roughly onto his boot still, slick coating the black leather. He snaps, completely coming undone, hot ropes of cum shooting into the back of your throat and you swallow quickly, making sure to milk every last drop. The vampire shudders and pulls himself away from you and you keen at the emptiness, a string of drool and cum still connecting the two you of you. You flick your tongue out to collect the fluid, hips still moving in a slow steady motion and you gasp as he lifts his foot into you slightly.

"Filthy."

You grin, moaning up at him, chest heaving as you gasp for air. Swift hands yank you up off of the ground, your back slamming into the oak tree behind you. Astarion's lips crash to yours and you melt in his embrace. His tongue wrestles for dominance in your mouth, the taste of him still lingering there. You groan into his mouth quietly and wrap one leg around his waist, the other still supporting your weight. The kiss feels like it goes on for years, lips moving in perfect harmony. This is perfect. He is perfect. Astarion pulls away from your lips and you whine at the lack of touch, eyes fluttering open to stare up at him.

"May I taste you, pet?"

Astarion's sudden change of tone makes your heart flutter and you nod quickly, resting your ass against the tree. He kneels carefully, nose leaving a soft trail down your hip bone and to the top of your mound. He presses gentle kisses there for a moment. Your hips twitch, a hand reaching out to stroke his hair back lovingly. Without warning, he lifts you up, tossing your legs over his shoulders, pinning you up in the air against the tree. His hands rest under your thighs, spreading your legs apart as far as your hips will allow, opening you up to him. You gasp and reach your hands up above your head to grip the thick trunk. Astarion dips his tongue between your folds and licks a long stripe to your clit then back down, spreading your thick juices around. He groans at your taste. His lips work against your clit now, sucking the sensitive nub between them, creating a tight seal. You cry out in pleasure, back bowing upwards. The sensations knock the wind out of you. Waves of pleasure send you into a daze as he shoves his tongue into your slit, teeth carefully scraping your clit. His fingers dig into your plush thighs, leaving little indents that will surely bruise. You whine and grind your hips against his tongue. He grins, sticking his tongue out, allowing you to take control and you happily oblige, grinding your aching clit against his warm tongue.

"Gods, Astarion I'm gonna-"

Before you can finish your sentence, the vampire wraps his lips around your clit once more, tongue lapping furiously at the bundle of nerves. Electricity pulses up your spine, your climax exploding inside of you. You fall apart in his arms, crying his name out to the empty clearing, his mouth still working you through your release. The over stimulation causes you to writhe in his embrace and you desperately push on his forehead, doing anything you can to escape his hungry mouth. He chuckles and lowers you to your feet, hands resting on your hips now to hold you steady. He licks his lips, pressing a wet kiss to yours. You shudder at the taste of yourself. Astarion leans in to press a gentle kiss to your shoulder, nuzzling his nose into your collar bone and you sigh happily. His voice is low and sultry, breathing still labored.

"You're absolutely divine, my sweet."

You giggle shyly and wrap your arms around the vampire's thin waist, helping him tug his leathers back up into place. Gently trailing your fingers along the skin just above his pants, you gaze up into his eyes, lids lowering. The vampire shudders at your touch, pulling you into a tight hug. Your heart thumps in your chest.

"You're not so bad yourself."

#bg3 fanfiction #astarion #bg3 fanfic #baldurs gate 3 #astarion smut #astarion fic #astarion x tav #astarion acunin

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tuliptiger · 1 month ago

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The number of times I've rewatched Arcane is truly astounding. There is a new facet of each character I get through every time, it's such a show that rewards you when you take another look at it.

It's really weird to me people are taking such harsh stances on Vi, Jinx (specifically not Powder) and Caitlyn. People's opinions are their own full stop but I think all of these extreme views of these characters could be changed by just watching the show again?

Caitlyn -

At the end we get an entire scene dedicated to both Jinx and Caitlyn saying PLAINLY, where we rarely get obvious, that they do Not hate each other anymore. They've grown, they've empathized, they've moved on. Forgiven? Debatable but they have for sure moved past hating.

My interpretation of what Jinx said, about blowing the building up with Caitlyn's mom, wasn't ever intended to be an apology. I think it was to reply to what Caitlyn said, Jinx was saying I don't hate you either, I wouldn't have changed my actions but it wasn't personal to you and I don't hate you personally. She definitely still killed her mom, but it wasn't because of anything Caitlyn did and it wasn't personal.

Has anyone considered Caitlyn's feelings on that entire situation too if we follow that lens of the jail scene? She definitely blamed herself in some way for her moms death. Either for her hesitation in not killing Jinx, which she's stated, or she may have even felt that Jinx took her hatred of Caitlyn out on her mother directy. With Jinx's words in the jail scene, Caitlyn can walk away knowing that it wasn't anything she did to influence or cause her mom's death, Jinx was going to do it anyway and she literally could have had no way of knowing that.

Are they besties and love each other and want to be in each other's space more than they maybe have to be? That's up to peoples interpretation on that one because we don't really get any canon for that to go on. I'd say based on everything that is Caitlyn, she'd try to be cordial and make nice awkwardly.

Caitlyn's character as a whole is so subtle compared to what media normally gives for any and all characters in general. It's in the details, it's in the subtleness of facial expressions and eyes, and it's absolutely in all of the flown by one liners that have incredible story weight. The number of things I've personally missed in season 2 where they give us a huge explanation of what's going on, and it's in a montage and it's 3 words long. Caitlyn is IN those lines.

It's in her comparisons, it's in her parallels with JINX. And that's not even subtle or a stretch they're everywhere. What each scene and each parallel scene means... is harder to interpret for me honestly but I can see it and recognize it all the same. Caitlyn is such a sweetheart, she really is. She's also a hard worker, dedicated and strong willed. All of this is shown in the show and people don't...ever talk about this or say the complete opposite. Many people have said how people are harder on Caitlyn than Jinx for similar or same "crimes" and I have to agree.

Vi -

Vi haters I sincerely, I don't get you guys I'm going to say that straight up. Vi only ever chose with her heart, she's like the most normal person out of everyone in this show. Like if you picked any random stranger off the real world street from anywhere I personally feel like she'd act like any regular person.

Maybe not the giant fist gloves cuz that's scary and being up close fighting is also scary. But using fighting and alcohol to fight off your demons and go into a mad spiral when your life falls apart? That's real shit. Choosing your family over most things? That's real. Choosing your significant other over things is also real.

These are all things in real life that people do all the fucking time and it either pans out or it doesn't but the POINT is when it comes to making choices in relationships it's not ALWAYS about choosing what makes sense. Or what's "morally" correct, she was choosing with her big old stupid dumb truck of a heart and she loved and she believed and she wanted to do everything she possibly could to support the people she loved.

She spent like 7 years in a horrific hell prison and that, as an understatement, does stuff to you especially being put in there at what 16?

She was, I'm going to go out on a limb, in MY interpretation of her character, and say she was not selfish a single time the entire series. She did everything to get back to Powder, and then she learned Powder was Jinx, she tried to help Ekko and Caitlyn as an in-between. And she still chose Powder even if she didn't get to make it to her. Her everything was always helping others, what were her grand motivations and goals? Like nothing, there's nothing there other than loving and being around people she likes.

She had a moment of weakness where she lost everything and was in an incredible amount of pain emotionally and physically when she hit Powder. And she was going to go back for her after she had a MOMENT to try and clear her head after watching her FAMILY DIE AND hitting her sister out of anger. And hitting Powder HORRIFIED her after she realized what she did. Let us not forget Marcus wouldn't even be there if not for Silco working with him in the first place btw. Silco will come up again.

Jinx -

She's my baby. I love her. She's so tragic it kills me and we get a clear picture of who she could've been with love and support in the AU. With Vander and anyone other than fucking SILCO.

Silco side note - People Love to ignore how shitty he was for her. Yes he sincerely loved her, I think he was well written and a compelling character. He also lied, manipulated and directly put her in harm mentally and physically constantly. He encouraged and grew her into a monster, be it for her own defense or more likely for himself and his own hurts he never dealt with.

In the au, I guess when she doesn't accidentally kill her family, she turns out healthier too. And I can't stress enough she DOES accidentally kill her family at...12 years old.

Another more related side note, people also love to look past or not even mention the unbelievable and stupendous fact of bombs and explosives in this universe. Who in their right mind would expect to find a magical bomb during a robbery. Who would expect Jinx to pull out a magically charged fuck-you shark cannon and blow up the counsel building. She just recognized that the bombs were related to the apartment explosion, I doubt she was really thinking HOW explosive they would be packed together in one of her bombs that famously never work. Idk man I don't regularly expect things that shouldn't explode to explode or for them to come up in any scenario really.

Anyway! Not even getting into how fucked it is to be a preteen in general, not getting into how fucked it is to grow up poor and in a violent environment that is Zaun and have the meager and small body type Powder had like. Vi also had to deal with most of that but at her age she had her mom and dad and Vander and Silco. Powder had Vi, as a child herself, and Vander.

ANYWAY. Totally not counting any of that, a 12 year old unknowingly partakes in the Arcane's grand plans to completely fuck over her life and accidentally kills her family. Is, in her mind, disowned by the only person left in her life. Is then collected by Silco who subsequently fuels her insecurities and shatters her identity, sense of self and mind.

At 18! 18! Her world is shattered once more many times over in rapid succession by learning Silco lied to her, Vi is alive and looking for her, Vi is alive and actually she replaced you (in her head) with another blue haired blue eyed sharpshooter who's cooler and better than you ever were and she's a cop. Great awesome and you accidentally snap during a mental breakdown and for the second time kill one of your dads. And you don't get to stay with your sister because you think she doesn't love you anymore.

Jinx and Vi were also not given one single god damned moment alone to talk and clear the damn air and it's a tragedy. I KNOW it's a tragedy but it's still frustrating as hell.

And I don't want to go into every single moment and every single wrong doing on her part, it'd be exhausted. Mental health isn't ever satisfying. Period. There's never a good reason or an acceptable reason why someone does a shitty thing and it isn't an excuse for the action. It's just a reason and if it makes that reason a little more understandable then that kind of sucks when you just wanted to hate that character. When you just wanted the moral high ground.

She bombed the council building. She kidnapped and traumatized Caitlyn on more than one occasion, with the traumatizing part. She killed innocent people. She gassed an entire population of people untargetted and unspecifically. She was planning on dying during that attack. She helped Silco with his drug empire, and his oppression of his own people.

She was 18. Piltover oppressed and took advantage of Zaun for decades if not centuries, any time is too long but the important part was that it was her entire life and her loved ones lives. She was struggling with her identity, not the normal "who am I" we all deal with growing up but a real identity crisis. Powder, the nothing, the Jinx, the can't do anything right, the weak one, and the family killer vs Jinx, a Jinx by choice and to others, a predator, strong, capable, inventive, independent and dangerous. She lost everything over and over and over again and sincerely believed it was her DIRECT fault everyone around her died. She was so in her own head she didn't have the capacity to look at the reality around her and make sane decisions.

She needed help and she needed a rock in the middle of a torrential river to take a break on. She needed a life vest and she did everything she could to keep her head above the water in the ways she was shown how.

It doesn't excuse her actions or take them back. To me, it's hard for me to look at every facet of what happened and only or fully blame Jinx though. That's what she did the entire show and it was objectively not true. In another life, in different circumstances she chose differently because she was in a place to do so. They made an entire episode dedicated to this fact. To me, she was like a caged tiger trained to eat people being released into the wild and then people are mad it ate people. And shes 18.

There's not a neat way to wrap up all of this. If you don't like a character then that's your prerogative. Everyone has different interpretations of what some scenes and symbolism can mean too, but there's some blatant truths about all of these characters in the show. The only way I see some people believe their takes is to ignore the characters entirely tbh and it makes me sad. Or they need to be reminded who the characters are and rewatch the show, which I recommend because you get to watch Arcane again.

#words #arcane #vi #jinx #Caitlyn #im tired lol #sorry guys #i keep adding things #and shouting into the void a lot #sorry if I keep popping up on your feed

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hexedwinchester · 3 months ago

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I'm not here for therapy...

*spoilers ahead..kinda*

It's going to be Camden Casey's character analysis from his three episode arc. This is part 2..

In the 6th episode of this season of Fire Country, Camden is already in Sharon's bad books what with pushing Bode to do something he isn't trained for. Calling the chicklets (or was it eaglets?) ugly (Camden, honey, sweetie, no! You are not supposed to) and eating her yogurt with her name on it (really Sharon? What are you? 12?) doesn't do him any more favours. Not that he cares because damn, he ain't here to please anyone and I quite like that about him. Guess that's where Sharon's judgement about Camden being a sociopath comes from.

Camden is obviously very sharp and quickly picks up on the vibes between Bode and Gabz. And I do get his point about Bode's family, friends and Gabz being a distraction because to some extent they really are. And I don't mean it in a bad way, but Casey is right. Part of Bode's confusion is because different people are expecting different things from him and in order to live up to each of those expectations he is holding back his true self.

Camden as a trainer/captain is a tough guy to please and his methods are definitely out there but I also get where he is coming from. One theme about his character that came across very strong was that he is willing to do anything to protect his crew from real danger, be it breaking protocol or leaving cute eaglets to die (empathy, honey! Also, Speaking of the said eaglets, why didn't the forest chick just move them beforehand? Maybe I don't know the protocol but seriously they could have just moved the nest or the birds). This leads to Casey and Vince Leone butting heads on the strategy. Leone gets the upper hand.

When the fire catches upto the nest, Camden orders to pull out his crew including Bode but Bode refuses to follow his order and goes on to save the birds (thank God!) while Casey storms off coming across heartless (I mean poor birds!). But again I do get why he is the way he is. Clearly losing his crew left a scar on him and that messes with the way he operates.

His strictly business, ruthless and cold nature is what makes his character so interesting to me because Camden, honey, who murdered your cat that you gotta be so heartless about the chicklets? Like I need to know Camden Casey's history, see who or what wired him that way because he clearly isn't that person at heart. The exchange between Leone and Casey at the end unfolds another piece of information: one of the 9 crew members that died was a Casey, his younger brother! Camden almost breaks at the mention of his brother but then gathers himself and walks away.

Camden Casey is clearly someone who suffered grave loss, blames himself for it and has not moved past it. He has built a wall around his heart that keeps people from getting closer or worse getting hurt. Yet, i noticed he blends in the background when he wants to, quiet, just observing his surroundings and the people in it. Which brings me to the last part of my analysis.. wtf was that last scene? Gabz, frustrated that Bode won't keep waiting for her, goes to Smokey's Tavern and gulps down a tequila shot and the camera pans from her to Camden across the bar!?! Like Fire Country wtf am I to make of that scene? It's suggesting two things: Drunk Gabz confronts Casey giving him shit for telling Bode to break up with her or Drunk Gabz and Casey have hate sex (god, I hope I'm wrong!!)

Closing this post on the few things of the episode i really liked:

Camden calling the eaglets straight up ugly 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I mean, he is not wrong.. hatchlings, often furless are not very cute looking. But ok, no, we don't shame anyone here, people, animal and birds alike

Camden eating Sharon's yogurt and then offering her the tub back 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Love the disciplined way Camden holds his stance: hands behind the back. Gosh I find that incredibly hot. I have only seen Jake Crawford do it often on the show then anyone else

Camden training the cadets with the eggs. I'm sure he enjoyed the irony

i don't know if it's an Audrey or Leven thing but I love her tattoos!!

Audrey calling out Sharon's methods! Who is the sociopath now, Sharon, huh?

Everyone naming the pair of eaglets. Someone called them Thelma and Louise and then others followed with their own name. To my SPN girlies, tell me your mind ran straight to Sam and Dean!! (Fire Country, that was a missed opportunity)

bode cooking for Gabz (buddy, she doesn't deserve you)

Bode telling Gabz that a maybe is a no for him! Yes! Finally!

Camden getting emotional over his brother's death

That fucked up eye contact between Casey and Gabz!!!!!

#Camden Casey #Character analysis #Sharon Leone #Bode leone #Vince Leone #Gabriela Perez #Jake Crawford #Audrey james #Jared Padalecki #Jared girl #Fire country #Not without my birds

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captainlunaxmen · 1 year ago

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All for the cameras

Chapter 4

Finnick Odair x reader

This is a repost since the old blog doesn't work anymore. 🥰

Chapter summary: a little about the making of the Games, the reaping, and the Parade.

Chapter warnings: talking of lethal threats, Cal has his own warning, Snow, forced marriage.

Masterlist

I take a huge gulp of wine as I sit in Plutarch's living room.

He did convince Snow to make me his personal assistant for this Quarter Quell, Plutarch told him it's a perfect way to show my "participation". Although I hate to keep up such a facade, I love that I can use it as an excuse to not stay, nor spend any time with Cal.

"Careful with that," Plutarch comes back into the room with his own glass, "we need you lucid for this."

"Trust me, I built a strong resistance to alcohol... no amount would help endure this shit anyway..." I mutter, looking at my fucking ring.

"You spent too much time with Abernathy, I'm afraid," he comments, he's not judging, no, he's probably just teasing.

"Or not enough," I tease back, he smirks amused by my answer.

He then suddenly turns the TV on, on display my answer to Cal's proposal.

I groan as I see that.

"I gotta say, that was smart," he compliments me, referring to the kiss.

"Could you turn it off? One fucking time was enough, thank you." I tell him.

"Not telling you about the Quartel Quell was smart too," he throws this out like nothing, my head snaps towards him.

"You little... that's why..." I start, but his proud stance stops me, "fine... smart thinking on your part too, okay."

"Thank you very much," he does a little bow before turning serious, "I'm sure now you can know more." He declares.

"Really?" I ask, I really want to know more and help, but at the same time I don't want to risk everyone.

"Yes, miss L/n. But... you have to know this, all this, will require a lot from you. From all of us, actually. So just know... you can still change your mind and no one will hold it against you." He explains, I can feel he is sincere, I know I can trust him.

I take a deep breath, this is a good chance to actually change things here... I won't pass this opportunity.

"Anything." I say and he smiles.

"Alright, our primarily goal is to get Katniss out." He starts and I nod, of course she would be the face of the revolution, "every Victor involved knows that,"

"Did you warn them? The ones involved?" I ask.

"Didn't have the chance... not everyone... I also need you to start thinking that not everyone will see this revolution starts." He says bitterly.

"I..." I don't know what to say, so I try to reason it, "yeah... of course... if not all of them know... the others would just want to survive, as always."

"Reasoning won't help you much this time," he says and he uses the remote to change the scene on the screen.

The reaping ceremony of each district.

"Cashmere and Gloss... God... they're brother and sister.."

"It never stopped the Capitol before. It just adds up to the drama." Plutarch sighs.

"I know," I sigh as the next district's reaping starts, "it may sounds cliché, but Enobaria is actually a sweet person... when you get past the teeth," I try to chuckle to ease my tension. Yeah... I might not see some of them after...

"Please tell me you were smart enough to recruit Beetee," I look at Plutarch who nods confidently.

"Oh..."

"This is where I wanted you," he says softly.

"Finnick... yeah... I... it makes sense..." I say as I see him walking up the stage.

"You need to..."

He doesn't have the time to finish his sentence before I let out a big gasp.

"Mags volunteered..." I whisper, "she... she can't... they can't... not them both... oh c'mon..."

"I'm sorry. When the time comes we will do our best to take everyone to safety, but..." he explains.

"But you can't control what happens in the arena..." I mutter, "not without raising suspects. I know."

I hear him sigh and walking closer to me, offering a comforting hand on my shoulder, I nod and we go on watching the reaping.

Johanna of course... I know she has all the skills to protect herself in there, but she's still my friend and I can't not worry. Especially knowing she has nothing left to lose.

Finally we get to 12 and of course Katniss, being the only living female victor, she's reaped.

Time for the male.

Haymitch's name is said, and for a split moment my heart breaks, but Peeta is quick to volunteer for him. I see Katniss shocked and terrified expression and I know she asked Haymitch to volunteer in his place if the roles were reverse.

"That was rigged... wasn't it?" I ask.

"Exactly, we need Haymitch here and..." he motion for me to go on.

"She needs Peeta there," I say earning a proud nod from him, "she just doesn't know it."

There's a moment of silence, where I take a second to recollect myself and take a sip of wine.

"Now," he claps his hands, "to make your participation more believable... you need to write down 2 ideas for the arena."

"What?" I ask, "I thought the arena was already decided."

"The arena yes... not the threats inside." He says.

"What do you mean?" I'm actually confused right now.

"This year arena is... quite special," he starts explaining, showing the concept on the screen, "it's divided in sections, like this, each section hosts a threat. Like these: acid fog, monkeys, this big wave... And so on."

"Acid fog? Isn't it a little too much?" I ask getting nervous for my friends.

"I told you it's gonna be hard," he gives me a sympathetic smile, "and we need your suggestions to be... authentic. It has to look like you're actually putting an effort."

I sigh, bouncing my leg.

I need to think of something that's horrifying, but safe at the same time.

They're all there... all my friends are there. The only family I've ever known since... I shake my head and drink more wine.

"Okay. Yeah... I get it." I nod, "when do you need it?"

"Tomorrow." He answers, "I have faith you can do it and... you can say you're busy working for me." He winks at me with a reassuring smile.

"That's the only good thing," I let out a humourless laugh and take one last gulp of wine before standing up. "Then I should get going. Thank you, Mr Heavensbee."

I walk towards the exit when Plutarch's voice stops me.

"One more thing," he calls and I turn my head, "even though you'll try and think of the least lethal threat... they might kill someone anyway. Keep that in mind."

I nod and walk out.

----------------

As I enter my apartment I instantly smell flowers... lots of them.

I look around and I see, probably, more than 10 bouquets of flowers.

"Oh god..." I sigh, defeated. I look at some of them, noticing most are from "admirers" congratulating me for my engagement.

But there are three that catch my eyes more than the others.

One, huge, bouquet is made by all sort of flowers, I don't think I've ever seen such variety of flowers in the first place. I look at the card... I groan, it's from Cal.

"My love, everyday I count the days that separate us from being finally together.

I can't wait for you to be mine.

Properly mine.

Enjoy your job, my sweetness, and happy Hunger Games!

Love,

Cal Kingslay. "

I throw the whole bouquet with the rest, and just look at the other. It's simple and small, my favourite flowers and a few seashells here and there, the thing holding the bouquet it's not paper... it's fish nets... Finnick. I unconsciously smile as I take the card.

"I wanT to congRatUlate you, my SweeT girl!

TheY tOld me the news jUst now! Miss L/n, You shouLd've tOld me, I've neVer beEn so happy!

Congratulations!

Dario."

He signs each letters, making it look like it was ink fallen from the pen... smart.

"I trust you, my love"

He even signed it with an anagram of his name. I let out a laugh at that and move to the last bouquet.

Even smaller then Finnick's, a few green leaves are like a frame for the one, white rose.

I shakily take the card in my hand.

"Congratulations on your engagement, my dear. I look forward to see what you'll come up with for our Games.

I'm sure one day you'll make a fine Gamemaker."

There's no sign, not that he needed to...

"Gamemaker... yeah... sure." I scoff.

I go to the kitchen to get myself some wine. As I'm about to pour a glass, I look at the bottle and just... take it all with me to my room.

I sit on the desk in my room and, as I take some gulps from the bottle, I try to come up with some ideas.

Plutarch mentioned a few potentially lethal threat already, I mean... acid fog, deadly monkeys, that I'm sure will be modified.

What to do, what to do...

Other animals maybe, but a non lethal one... something that creates a hassle, but not death.

Bugs?

I shake my head, no, they would make it poisonous no matter what my suggestion is.

Something else, something else.

Jabberjays. Yes!

I write down my idea and take the bottle to take a big gulp, but the bottle slips from my grasp and falls on the desk spilling the liquid all over the desk and the pavement.

"Shit!"

I manage to safe the paper I was writing on and I immediately go take a towel to wipe the wine off.

As I kneel down cleaning the liquid, I find myself staring at the little drops of wine falling from the desk to the floor.

The dark liquid looks a lot like... blood.

Blood rain.

-------------

I walk nervously behind Plutarch, he just told me Snow wanted to hear my ideas himself, so now, as I'm walking I clench my fists nervously.

"You couldn't have told me sooner?" I ask him.

"He didn't ask me sooner," Plutarch answers as we finally stand out of Snow's office, "you wrote it?"

"Of course," I slightly scoff at his answer.

"Then take a deep breath and... show time," Plutarch smiles and knock on the door.

"Come in," Snow's voice gives us permission to enter.

"President," Plutarch greets him.

"Good morning, sir," I say, putting up the best 'diligent student' appearance.

"Good morning, Mr Heavensbee," he nods towards Plutarch and then turns to me, "and what a pleasure, miss L/n."

"You said you wanted to hear her ideas for the arena, right?" Plutarch starts.

"Oh, of course!" Snow's suddenly happy, as if he's about to hear a good story, "tell me, my dear girl, what did you think of?"

If it were a different universe this could've seemed a sweet exchange. The old "mentor" interested in his protégé ideas...

"When Plutarch showed me the arena and the already existing threats, I have to admit I was intrigued," I start and I see, from the corner of my eyes Plutarch smiling proudly, "but at the same time, I was a little bored." I say and that earned a surprised 'oh?' from Snow, "I mean... from those you either die or survive... so I thought of something more psychological."

"Oh, now that's interesting, my dear, please go on." Snow is pleased so far.

"I thought of a section of the arena where... uh..." I pretend to stutter for a second, to give him the impression that I'm nervous because I care for his opinion.

"Don't be shy, I'm open to all suggestions,"

"I thought of a blood rain... sir." I say.

I see him pondering the idea, then a smile creeps it's way on his face, it makes me sick.

"I like it," he finally says looking at Plutarch, "she's smart, isn't she?"

"Very smart, sir." Plutarch agrees.

"I'm even more curious to hear the other idea, please don't leave me hanging," Snow's 'sweet' tone almost freezes me to the spot, but I swallow hard and just ignore this feeling.

"Jabberjays." Is all I say.

He looks a little taken aback, and motion for me to elaborate.

"I thought about using Jabberjays that imitate the screams of people the tributes know." I say, pretending to feel unsure of my idea, "maybe create a sort of an invisible wall that prevents them from escaping if they finds the birds."

Snow looks at me, considering me for a moment, then he smiles, that sick smile once again.

"You were right in recruiting her, Mr Heavensbee. Good thinking, miss L/n, very good thinking." He compliments Plutarch and me.

"Thank you, sir." I smile.

"No, thank you," he says, "now, one more thing before I dismiss you."

I nod and stay put, even though I was ready to run, or better walk very fast, out of here.

"This role of assistant Gamemaker won't exonerate you from your duty to assist the mentors," he tells me.

"I wouldn't dream of it, sir, I've always taken my role very seriously," I tell him, faking pride as I speak.

"I know, my dear." He smiles, almost as if he knows I wasn't exactly fond of it, "we were supposed to randomly assign you to one district, like every year, but we thought to just let you stick to 12. Apparently the Capitol's people loved your... friendship with the two victors." He says the word 'friendship' with a not so convinced tone, almost repulsed.

"Of course, sir." I nod my head, eager to just get out of here.

"But," he adds, probably keeping me longer to see when I'll crumble, I look briefly at Plutarch who keeps his confidence stance, "you'll be assisting all of the districts." I look at him confused and he continues, "I mean, you'll be present during the training sessions and will help."

"Oh, yes, sir, of course." I nod again.

"That's all." He claps his hands, satisfied, "the tributes arrive today so... better be there to welcome them home."

'Home'...

"I'm going right now, sir." I promptly tell him, he smiles and motions me to go and to Plutarch to stay.

"Send my regards to Cal Kingslay when you see him," I hear him say as I walk out, not bothering to answer him I just go straight to the tributes living centre.

--------------

I enter the building and see Haymitch, Effie, Katniss and Peeta arriving.

"Well, well, well, aren't you lot a sight for sore eyes?" I say once I'm close enough to pull Peeta into a hug.

"Oh! We got the Princess this year too, uh? The president is spoiling us," Haymitch jokes ans I roll my eyes as I hug Katniss.

"Rather spoiling me," I greet Effie too, in the perfect 'Capitol style', "lots of opportunities."

"I figured," Haymitch says wrapping his arms around me.

"Now," I say holding my arms open, theatrically, "let's take you to your apartments."

I start walking towards the elevator, heading to the attic, again.

------------

Once inside we start to have lunch, the atmosphere is quite tense before Effie breaks the silence.

"All right," she starts, clearing her throat, "before we begin, I've had a thought."

"You don't say?" Haymitch jokes, unimpressed.

"Be nice," I tell him, throwing a balled-up napkin at him.

"Katniss has her gold Mockingjay pin. I have my hair. I'm going to get you three something gold." She declares, as if it were something obvious.

Haymitch looks at both me and Peeta, confused, before asking why.

"A token." Effie explains, "Show them we are a team. And they can't just..." she starts getting emotional and Katniss takes her hands.

"Thank you." She tells her, meaning it.

Effie might be too theatrical sometimes, but she's so much more than that, I'm grateful I got to know this side of her. I take her hand too.

"That's really sweet, Effie." I smile at her, "and... thank you for including me."

I notice both Peeta and Katniss sharing a look as if I said something unbelievable, but I ignore it.

Not the time.

"Now..." Effie composes herself, "everything will be different, because it's a Quarter Quell. The Capitol has spared no expense. A new training centre. New Tribute living quarters. And of course, a very special arena."

I tense at that, I took part in that...

"But this year you'll be facing other Victors." I step in, " all Capitol favourites. Smart, cunning, skilled... angry. And they all know one another. You two are the outsiders."

" I want you guys to forget everything you think you know about the Games. Last year was child's play." Haymitch starts explaining, he's the best to mentor them about a Quarter Quell, "this year, you're dealing with all experienced killers."

"All right," Peeta speaks up, "what does it mean for us?"

"Allies." I tell him, "you'll be needing allies."

"Okay. I think that if..." Peeta's reply is quickly interrupted.

"You're not the problem." I say and, I don't have to say anything more, Haymitch is already pointing at Katniss.

"No." She sternly says.

"A little help, Haymitch?" I ask him.

"Look, you're starting at a disadvantage. Most of these people have been friends for years."

"That just puts us higher on their killing list." She replies, annoyed.

I roll my eyes, she needs to do her part.

"Do it your own way, but I know these people. You go it alone, their first move is gonna be to hunt you down." Haymitch keeps explaining, patiently, "both of you."

"Katniss, come on," Peeta's sweet tone seems to convince her... a tiny bit.

She sighs deeply, which usually mean she's gonna listen, even though she doesn't agree.

"How could any of us even trust each other?" She then asks.

"It's not about trust. It's about staying alive," he states.

Peeta and Katniss look at each other and finally Katniss nod her head.

"Great!" I cheer, "time for some brainstorming, shall we?" And I stand up walking to the living room.

They soon follow and Haymitch turns the TV on, so they can see who the other Victors are, and who might seem like a good ally.

"Cashmere and Gloss. Brother and sister. District one. They one back-to-back Games. Capitol favourites. Lots of sponsors." He shows them the siblings.

"They will be lethal." I add and Haymitch nods, strongly agreeing.

"And the other half of the Career Pack, Brutus and Enobaria."

"What's with her teeth?" Of course, Katniss asks about the teeth.

"She... well... she had them filed into fangs..." I respond, "so she could... rip people's throat out better."

"She's committed. I'll give her that." Peeta comments, I can sense some tension in him... which is very understandable.

"Wiress and Beetee," Haymitch keeps on presenting the tributes, "not fighters, but brilliant."

"Very brilliant," I agree.

"And weird." He adds, earning a glare from me, "real texh-savvy. He won his Games by electrocuting six tributes at once." He changes the scene again, "the Morphlings. Masters of camouflage. Basically, won their Games by hiding until everyone was dead. Self-medicating ever since. Which I applaud. Not a threat."

We arrive at District 4 reaping.

"Finnick Odair, right?" Katniss asks.

Haymitch looks at me, silently telling me to explain this one myself, there's a hint of a smirk on his face that makes me roll my eyes for, what feels like, the millionth time today.

"Yep. The one and only." I starts, "he won his Games at 14. He's the youngest Victor ever... of course modesty is his peculiarity." I joke.

"You're kidding."

"Kinda," I chuckle, "he's very confident. Very. But... he's the Capitol's darling. They all love him here." Unfortunately, I want to add. "He's smart, he's skilled at combat, especially... especially in water."

"What about weaknesses?" Peeta asks, interested.

"Only one..." I sigh, deeply, "Mags. She... she volunteer for Annie. Mags was his mentor, the year that I was assigned to 4, she raised him, basically. He will try to protect her, even though it would expose him."

"A guy like that has to know she's not gonna make it," Katniss shakes her head, unconvinced, Haymitch looks at me knowingly, "I bet when it really comes down to it, he won't protect her."

I really want to hit her right now, but I know it's not her fault, she thinks this because it's what the Capitol wanted everyone else to think. That's what he had to pretend to be.

"Well... she's an amazing woman, Katniss, I... I just hope that... if... w-when she goes, she goes quickly." I stutter out. It took everything in me to say that... I want to hope we will rescue everyone before that happens... I really do.

I space out as Haymitch goes on explaining and introducing the other tributes.

I can feel his eyes on me every now and then, but I stopped pay attention minutes ago now.

Mags is the mother I never had... if there is one person who deserves to see a free Panem, it's her.

---------‐---

I was walking on the train heading to the restaurant car where I found an old lady sitting there, drinking a cup of tea.

"Hi..." I shyly said.

"Oh hello, dear." She greeted me with such a kind smile, I felt so much better and less nervous.

"I'm... I'm Y/n." I started to introduce myself, but her hand gently taking mine stopped me.

"I know, dear. I'm Mags." Another kind smile, "you're here to assist me, right?"

"Yeah." My hands were getting sweaty... I was so nervous.

"Hey, no need to worry about it. We can do it." She reassured me.

"I hope so..." I muttered under my breath.

She sighed and offer a seat to me, I took it and stared at the cups on the table.

"I watched you last year," her voice was soft as she spoke, "you were assigned to... what district?"

"5"

"But you were helping the little one from 11, right?" She asked.

I snapped my head to her, eyes wide open.

"Please, don't worry about it. I never told anyone." She assured me, handing me a warm cup, "I just meant that I saw you're not like the rest of them, my dear. You care."

"My tributes didn't want to listen, they were older than me and thought I was just a spy... which is understandable." I sadly kept my head low. "That boy from 11 was my age and... he was having trouble with some essential survival techniques."

"He got pretty far thanks to those." She tried to make me feel better.

"Not far enough," I bitterly replied.

"I'm sorry." I let her take my hand again, "it's not a consolation, I know, trust me, but... I have a feeling we can do it."

"They won't trust me," I told her, referring to the tributes from 4.

"Not at first... and most likely not the girl... but the boy, he seems to be more open to suggestions." She explained.

"I'm not sure he would accept suggestions from me."

"He's a smart one. Same age as you. Just be yourself and he will trust you." She smiled.

I considered her for a moment before nodding. Hope growing a little more.

The door of the car opening had my head turning immediately.

"My dear Y/n," Mags stood up and walked towards the boy entering, "this is Finnick Odair. Finnick, this is Y/n."

--------------

"Are you okay?" Haymitch's voice snaps me out of my thoughts.

"Uh? Yeah... yeah, sorry, I zoned out." I apologise.

"I noticed." He sits with me.

"Where are they?" I ask, noticing no one else was in sight.

"Getting ready for the parade." He answers.

"Right... I better get going too. I have to check everyone is ready..." I tiredly sigh as I stand up, but Haymitch softly pulls me back down.

"If you take a few minutes it won't be a tragedy." He tells me, "what's going on in that head of yours?"

"Nothing... I just started to think about Mags." I whisper, afraid someone might hear.

"Plutarch gave you the speech?" He asks and I nod, "I'm really sorry, Y/n."

"It's okay... I mean, it's not, but I think it was inevitable... she would've never let anyone else go, not if she had any say in it." I tell him, "she's strong." I see him starting to speak but I beat him to it, "I know better than to keep my hopes up, trust me, I know."

He just sighs and wrap one reassuring arms around my shoulder.

"I really better get going now, gotta check on those outfits." I stand up.

"You do that, sweetheart." Haymitch smiles at me and I walk to the elevator.

--------------

I walk out of the elevator heading to where the parade is about to begin and I instantly loom for someone.

I spot immediately Peeta talking to Cinna, who's probably refining last minutes details.

"Hello." I greet once I'm close enough, Cinna turns around giving me a small smile and a hug. "You look good, mr Mellark."

"Only with his help it's possible." Peeta, humble as usual, replies pointing at Cinna.

"I'm not a magician, I can make people look good if they're worthy." Cinna shakes his head, waving off the compliment.

"I couldn't agree more." I sigh, "so, are you lot ready? Where's Katniss?"

"She's should be here soon, her dress is a little more complicated than Peeta's." Cinna answers, "and, since you're here, I was thinking about them not doing anything out there."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"I mean, no waving, no smiling, nothing of sort. Act like they're above them. What do you think?" He explains, genuinely interested in my opinion.

"I think it's perfect." I smile and he return it.

"Oh, there she is." Peeta points behind us, I turn seeing Katniss talking to Finnick, who's a lot close. I hope he's not putting up his flirting persona, I don't think Katniss would trust him so easily then.

Peeta excuses himself to join her, just as Finnick walks away... spotting me.

"Snow asked..." Cinna gently nudges my arm and lowers his voice, "or better, ordered me to make her wear a wedding dress for the interview."

"Of course..." I roll my eyes. "You good with that?

"Oh yeah...I got a great idea for it." He says, I look into his eyes seeing determination so I don't ask more questions.

"Better get them ready to go, it's almost time." I tell him.

Cinna walks to Katniss and Peeta and I turn to check if someone else needs a hand with something or needs advice, unlikely, but never say never.

I see Mags petting a horse so I decide to go to her.

As soon as she sees me her smile grows ten times, warming my heart.

"You look very beautiful," I tell her, once we're close enough I hug her, "I'm so sorry." I whisper into her ear.

She pulls away gently, looking at me with that kind smile that always makes me feel better. She caresses my cheek with her hand, reassuringly, nodding her head to tell me that it's alright.

I nod too, taking a deep breath.

"Do you think I look presentable?" A very familiar voice says from behind me.

I look at Mags, rolling my eyes, glad I made her laugh a little.

I turn around, fully admir... noticing his naked chest and the golden fish net tied at his... oh shit.

"My eyes are up here, sweetheart." He smirks and I just turn my head away, shaking it as I try to pull myself together.

"Did your stylists finished the fabric?" I finally say, "I could've ordered some, if they told me."

"Of course," he smiles and walk closer to me, leaning down to whisper into my ear, "just between us... I'm wearing it just for you."

My head snaps to him, our faces mere inches apart. I notice his eyes looking down to my lips, I instantly put some distance walking up to district 3.

"And here I thought you would never come to say hi," Beetee waves.

"Did you lose all hope in me? And here I thought you were the smart one." I tease back.

"It's a pity seeing each other here, under these circumstances." Wiress shakes my hand.

"I know. I wish it were different..." I look down, sad and ashamed too, Beetee softly touches my arm. I look up at him noticing him mouthing something on the line of 'it's gonna be fine' so I smile at him. "Well, don't you two look great?"

I compliment them, just before the announcer warned us of the beginning.

I wave them goodbye for now and head back, watching every district ride out there.

When it's Finnick's turn he turns to me and winks at me, earning a big eye roll. When it's finally District 12 turn as they pass by I nod my head, encouraging them. I see them looking st each other and straighten their back proudly.

I walk towards the end of the parade, where they should get off the chariots and head back to the elevators, and I wait.

I look at them in the distance, taking deep breaths to calm my nerves.

All of a sudden I feel someone watching me from behind.

"You did a pretty good job, my sweetness." His voice makes me wince.

I turn around, showing the usual fake smile I show to everyone in the Capitol, pretending to be happy to see him.

"Cal... hi." I say, holding back from walking away as he nears, "what are you doing here?"

"I missed you. I didn't scare you, didn't I?" He says with a smile, that clearly shows he's proud he did.

"Of course, not. I was just thinking." I tell him sweetly.

"What about?" He ask, curious.

"Well, I have a lot to do these days and when they're back I'll have to make sure everything is organised." I tell him. "And also, taking part in the making of the Games... Plutarch asked me to write down some ideas."

This is probably the only time I'm glad I have this job, if I didn't, Cal would've kept me basically locked up, in his apartment. 'All to himself'... the thought makes me shiver.

"Would you share them with me?" He whispers.

"I can't ruin the fun, can I?" I say back.

"Aahh... you're killing me, babe." He shakes his head chuckling.

If only...

"No special treatment, Cal." I smile, feeling uneasy from the way he's looking at me.

In that moment, thankfully, I hear the parade is ending, which means everybody is about to get back.

"Such a diligent girl." He moves his hand to take mine. I let out a nervous laugh and a 'thanks', and finally, one district at a time, they're back.

I lock eyes with some of the Tributes, who noticing Cal with me, tense and give me sympathetic smile.

Then Finnick's back.

As soon as he sees me, he can't keep up the fake smile and his expression darkens.

"Well... I'm sorry, but I have to go now. I'll see you." I say, starting to turn around, but his hand grabs my arm. Rather harshly, which makes my eyes widen at that.

"We hardly see each other these days... I miss you." He looms over me, a dark look in his eyes.

"Well... uh..." I clear my throat, looking at the tributes still arriving, "I have a job to.. to do."

I see Mags and Finnick, she has a hand on his arm, to stop him from coming here.

"Good thing that when we're married you won't need to work, then." He tells me directly into my ear, "I would be able to have you any day I want."

"Wouldn't that be a dream..?" I choke out, my throat tightens. I still look at Finnick, more to check he doesn't intervenes than anything.

"There you are!" We both look at the source of the sound, Johanna.

I let out a sigh of relief as she walks closer.

"I was looking for you." She says, "they told me to ask you for the schedule."

"Yes... yes! I got it." I tell her.

Johanna pretends to notice Cal just now and extends her hand towards him.

"Oh hey there! You must be the lucky one, uh?" Johanna greets him.

Cal looks at her sceptically before shaking her hand.

"Yes, that's me."

"So nice to finally meet you, she talks about you all the time!" Johanna's (fake) cheery personality and flattery seem to work on Cal, who smiles smugly, "you don't mind if I steal her, do you?"

Before Cal could answer, she pulls me to her linking arms and walks away.

"God, he looks so annoying." She groans.

"He is... he is." I sigh, relieved.

"I thought about stepping in before Finnick over there could rip his eyes out," she teases. "So... how are the lovebirds?"

"They're completely in love." I tell her, she nods smiling knowingly.

I spot them talking with district 11 tributes, I wave at Haymitch, letting him know I'll be up in a second.

"Ugh... he still looking this way," Johanna complains getting in front of me, "is he always like this?"

"Even worse." I roll my eyes.

"Alright," she take the end of her dress in her hands showing it to me, "Plutarch told me."

I understand now what she's doing with her dress, she's pretending to show it to me, so it looks like we're talking about the dress.

"I know," I say touching the fabric, pretending to check it out, "you're sure about doing this?"

"Of course I am," she now turns to 'make me see her back', "never been more sure."

"I'm just sorry," I tell her, motioning for her to turn back around.

"No need too," she smiles, an emotionless smile, "oh he's gone.. finally."

"Thanks for saving me," I tell her.

"Anytime," she says, she turns her head towards the elevator, "well... I'll go introduce myself."

"Be nice." I tell her, she winks at me and walks away to the elevator with Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch.

I go over the last details, seeing the horses are attended to, the chariots are about to be put away, everything seems fine.

I then walk to the elevator myself, I lean against the elevator's wall as soon as I enter.

Before the doors can close, someone rushes in, I look up finding myself face to face with Finnick.

Being in a confined space with a shirtless Finnick is...

"Hi, my love."

Shit.

#the hunger games x y/n #the hunger games x reader #the hunger games imagine #the hunger games fic #the hunger games #finnick odair x reader #finnick odair imagine #finnick odair fic #finnick odair #finnick imagine #finnick x reader

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lilnoctua · 2 months ago

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OC Deep Dive: Callista Vlachos

Tagged by best @swoomoo ♥ dividers made by @diableriedollr

What common/uncommon fear do they have? Being in adequate and abandoned. She has totally healthy coping mechanisms for this in inform of working herself to death and pushing people away so she can't be abandoned. Girlfailureboss Also death. To be more precise what happens after death.

Do they have any pet peeves? Self pitying people. Things happen to everyone. Tough shit. Move on. No one is going to save you but yourself. Don't let your past define you. Also people entering her space without knocking. Knock or she'll make you go back and redo it correctly.

What are 3 items you can find in their bedroom? A tie thrown carelessly on the bed/floor, a burner phone and a rosary.

What do they notice first in a person? Their stance/how they carry themselves. It tells Callista a lot about a person the way they stand. The way they dress, speak or even smell can all be faked. But how they carry themselves is a reflection of not only who they are but how they view themselves.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how high is their pain tolerance? Hmm, hard to say. She can probably handle physical pain better than emotional one. It hurts more for her. Physical maybe 7,5? Emotional 4

Do they go into fight or flight mode when under pressure? (or freeze and fawn) In most cases, Callista was born a flightless bird. Her pride and quick to rage will cause her to fight even if it might not be the smartest move. It takes a lot for her to actually flee.

What animal represents them best? A black panther. It's solitary. Easily blends with the shadows. Incredibly strong bite and extremely clever. Also the reflective eyes in the dark.

How would a stranger likely describe them? A total bitch. Ruthless. A heartless capitalist. Or mother/mommy if you are into that sort of thing. Looking at you Josh Kentucky.

Do they have any hobbies? Callista loves trashy dating shows and telenovelas. The messier the better. After a long night of work, there's nothing better than to lounge in her couch, putting on Love Island or something alike, and just watch dumb, meaningless shit unfold. Also, I don't know if it counts as a hobby, but she loves coffee. She loves buying it, testing different brands, picking up the the different notes in it's smell. Death didn't stop that hobby, she just makes her ghoul partake so she can enjoy it through her lol

Tagging: @dostoevskybignaturals @sirvinter @popiellart and whoever hasn't done this yet!

#thank you for the tag!!#no pressure for those I tagged!!#oc tag game #Callista

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demaparbat-hp · 14 days ago

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Hey, i hope you're doing well! I would like to ask how you feel about ppl using AI to create art but not tagging their work as AI? My friends think this is unacceptable and unfollow these artists on X, and I know that many art communities have zero tolerance for AI, what is your opinion?

...and I really love your Spitfire AU🔥

Hello, and thanks for the ask!

Much has been said already about AI, and though I've never used it for anything other than recreational purposes (generating random images on Midjourney for shits and giggles), I don't really have a strong stance regarding the ethics of it.

A lot of artists look at AI as a tool and use it as such. Some are openly against AI, and others even chase those who make use of it.

Honestly? I never even considered the possibility using AI in any of my artworks. Ever. And I don't think I ever will.

My creativity is only mine to express. Only mine to give shape to. Only I can put into words or turn into images the data processing inside of my head. I've never used AI to study or seek information. Curiosity is the only reason I used it to generate some random pictures in the first place. This is my personal choice—not to deal with it, not to depend on it.

But some people don't share that opinion. Some of us can't paint a picture or afford a commission. Some of us use AI to illustrate an idea because that's the only choice we have.

Some of us are terrified of AI. We've been afraid of it since the mere idea of Artificial Intelligence came around. Maybe even before that. Hatred and fear and awe of AI is older than most of us, and will remain for as long as technology keeps developing around us. Stealing from us. Overcoming us.

The only way to win a war against AI is understanding how it works. How it could be helpful and all the terrible ways it could be harmful. Understand it, and decide for ourselves if it's worth controlling or not.

And art? Art has a history of fearing itself.

My opinion on AI comes down to this: if used wisely, it could become another tool in our arsenal. Something to aid us, to make the journey a little bit smoother, a little bit more thrilling to discover.

If you use AI in any of your artworks, say it. You have no reason not to and all reasons to admit it. Using AI as a tool isn't inherently disrespectful or degrading. The way AI is used determines its worth.

AI is a knife in our hands. Will you use it to make dinner, or to draw blood?

#dema answers #ai debate #artificial intelligence

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sokumotanaka · 1 month ago

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I'm not gonna engage with every single post, person and dialogue that disagrees with my points, if you don't like them, fair, and if you wanna write a mountain in response? Also fair I over-explain alot too And I might read it, could lead to interesting things.

That being said I'm tired of arguing points with people on topics of this show, not because it challenges anything but because it's clear people either barely deep dive into this show like I do or don't read things and skip to the bottom to read your bottom line.

This take was too wild NOT to reply to though.

@knoneawe

(You know what it is, long ass shit below.)

Yeah RWBY'S very empowering, like when Miles and Kerry stated how they didn't see them as four women or female but awkward teenagers and then Miles made the Tweet about Tifa vs Yang "my money's on the hot one." Or the Ruby rose body pillow, 15 year old girl on a body pillow.

The things you're telling me goes without saying, however Jaune is a stigma of doing ensemble cast WRONG, because Miles latched onto him he got way more screen-time and writing than the actual proatgonist do, Look at the Hbomberguy, video, the JelloApocoypes one, Fatmanalling, Sickslickproductions even ew...hero hei... so many people coming to the exact same conclusion of ruby and the others barely getting the time they need.

Jaune's growth is explained my my last post, if you didn't pay attention that's not my fault, but anyone who can read or watch the crappy show, Jaune's a lazy asshole , a hypocrite and a creepy stalker- the show doesn't NEED that type of character

Regarding "Strong male aliies." Which jaune isn't btw. I mentioned in my last post the many media that have strong supporting male characters, another thing that goes without saying, Jaune however adds nothing for the series another characters like ruby or some other guy could add, he's just a sad white guy they wanted to make cool and it annoys me you people latch onto like you do.

My POINT here is that first off having the fairy tale inspirations didn't amount to anything, and weather or not they made it 1 to 1 they still used a real person then gender swapped them into the worst character ever. My point is no matter who- I don't care if you're the best writer on the planet, stay away from adapting real people, and I've held this stance since I saw Anime girl Ben franklin.

And my other point is that the series could of worked exactly the same if Jaune was Joan or Joann - I mean you just said the show needed strong ensemble cast members so Jaune as a woman could of still worked.

No he's not an underdog, that's how Miles described him, he's a Incel. People ROOT for underdogs, even sokka his inspiration,was a kinda shit person, but Sokka gets funny jokes, he loves learning, he cares about his friends and is fiercely loyal, he gets called out and so on. You seem to be under the impression I dislike Jaune because he has flaws, and I hate Jaune cause his flaws grow, the series barely addresses them then he piles on more flaws and his behavior that would get a real person's ass beat is never grown out out. Pyrrha babies him and does all the emotional and psychical labor for this manchild.

I love that you constantly avoid his stalking btw, come on big man, point out your fave's real flaw with your chest.

As I said in my other Post it's not Jaune's fault, as we go on feels like you just skimmed it. But Jaune also doesn't help it either, Again you fail to realize, Miles projected and latched onto this character, and made him the focus on a show with four title characters. I'd agree he's not the root if there was ample screen-time for the other characters to point too, but there isn't.

I keep seeing "root" thrown around but people forget that roots have many points, Jaune is just one of the issues, that being Miles imprinting on him, it continues to go without saying that a better writer could make jaune likeable, work and not take up too much time- that's not what we got in the end. And the topic at hand was that the series could work without him despite someone else saying it wouldn't and I proved it could work, can't unprove it~ ^_^

NO IT DOESN'T

Jaune gets egged on constantly by Yang and Ruby that "one day you'll get her." despite constant prodding, it's not until Jaune sees her ask another guy to the dance he stops. But not before none of the girls ever tell a teacher, they never call Jaune out, none of his team ever do, Jaune just stops- you keep saying grow but I watched the show I can point to the stands and you don't show me where these measures of growth happen- remove the rose tinted glasses, your fave is terrible, creepy and the show doesn't address it in any way.

If I had to actually address it I'd have team rwby call him out, and then his own team approach him, maybe Pyrrha fall out of love with him, this behavior would of been addressed in a satisfying way. But Miles didn't see it as worth addressing, and all Jaune just is put on a dress and apologize to Pyrrha.

Dude this is dumb, you're talking down to me like I was born yesterday, I've grieved many of my friends deaths, family, other people and I never handled it by putting holes in people's walls cause you'd know how other humans would respond sir? They'd call me out, I'd have to pay for it, I'd get yelled at.

After all I watched avatar and they have very real human and emotional moments, they break down, lash out, and you don't see me having a problem with them, you know why? Cause they get resolved, people talk, the apologize, they grow, they make things better, the get called out etc!

Jaune and Miles seem allergic to even trying to say sorry, and that attitude will carry into people who like this shit show (Hell I talked to people it already has gotten that way with.) People who act like Jaune never did anything wrong ate dangerously stupid, not you them. But you see what I mean now. Accountability is what I want to see.

And if I put my hands on a child I'd get slapped some sense into, that's what should of happened. Also what are they grieving? All they learn ins their teacher is immortal and reincarnating (even though that's not reincarnation he's possessing them, there's no new birth but miles and kerry can't write and you're assuming they wrote it in the way your head thinks they did. When they didn't know what they were doing.) I'd be fine with Jaune lashing out at Oscar if again these "Imperfect humans" had an comeuppance to their actions. Oscar ends up looking up to his assaulter. There's never any fear, there's no apology, Oscar just leaves to go get new clothes and they assume he ran away like idiots- these are how people are written dude.

And many more talented people write these exact situations more believable and realistic.

I've talked with my friends, at this point in RWBy Jaune has already had these exact same themes explored from volume 1-5 and now it's just an older Jaune doing this exact same shit he did again- this point he's eating up screeentime.

I ran through a scenario with my friends that instead of Jaune falling in with team RWBY it should of been the newly turned sides, Emerald, that why she's bring tension and mistrust in a world of illusions and magic that already exist. We;d see they're being tailed by a hooded figure, too far to fully make either out. We wouldn't see Ruby for a long while; It just be Yang, Blake, Weiss and Emerald looking for Ruby. Eventually Emerald would earn their trust by taking a dangerous attack for one of the girls or even using an illusion to distract something dangerous. Thus earning their trust

Eventually the hooded figure would reveal a weathered and older Ruby who could finally articulate alot of the issues she's been having, Ruby replacing Jaune would not only be way more compelling and get rid of that creepy scene of weiss lusting after him. Keep it in your pants Kerry! But Ruby has suffered more than Jaune and consistently gets sidelined in this "female empowerment show" to show up nine seasons of repeated constant manpain. (btw I'm a dude as well.) It's time Ruby gets to talk about how she felt at the fall of beacon, how yang lashed out at her when they talked about blake during a quiet moment- all the pain and suffering she's been through.

And it could actually push the series forward cause they came to this stupid fairy tale to learn how to beat salem and learn of no ways to do anything, don't formulate a plan and don't learn any new techniques to help them. They got anime homework and didn't even take away that characters get abilities to fight bad guys with. Let her learn more silver eye bs, find a pot to shove salem's fat ass in, anything more than just more Jaune bitching an moaning.

I stand by him, ren and nora having the perfect exist in volume 6, RWBY fell off for many reasons, I have a list of them in my tag, I know what I'm talking about here pal XD But roots have many parts; tap roots, secondary roots and tertiary roots- and in those many points Jaune is one. Can he be fixed? Definitely! Make him Joan and don't let miles try making the show about him, hire actual writers and pay them, it all goes without saying and ti's all relative.

But when someone states that the series can't work without barf boy, oh ho ho do I call that a challenge~! Jaune's character is fascinating not because he lacks one, but because the writing of it is atrociously slap on the wrist writing. Jaune is barely challenged, barely has to listen to advice, or anyone tell him he's a piece of shit, he always gets the girl even if he doesn't want her. And as stated by the writers commentary in volume 4/5 that they write like idiots going "we gotta make jaune cool, we gotta make jaune cool" How about writing a decent plot and script? Jaune's too busy playing with his toys to realize that other people wanna play in the sandbox he shat in.

And Jaune would be more compelling, more interesting, more relatable if he got teared down by other characters and not by his on failures the characters constantly excuse or ignore. Let ruby tell Jaune that Pyyrha would be alive if he followed orders, Let ren speak up about his forge transcripts and how they'd be better off with another leader or how he took up a spot a real person worked hard for then slept in class. Let Jaune realize that if this is all he "ever wanted to be." Sleeping in class is freaking stupid.

You bet your ass when I got into creative writing I gave myself grey hairs paying attention so I didn't screw up and waste the money my poor ass family got me into college with. Jaune is handed most things and barely has to work for anything, and because of that- it just makes him less interesting to watch unlike a real underdog

Like Sokka or Ron stoppable, the Jaune done right! Hands down!

---

I'm not gonna go on with your flaw portion because as the kids say:

And finish off with this. When you compliment or ignore the writing flaws a person makes you undermined the hard work better writers put into their own work.

This is a hobby it isn't a religion, and talk to people with respect, not me tho, this is my one and done! Anything else you say will be ignored as to not flood my or your dashes with long diatribes.

Be critical, be kind. -Plague of gripes

See ya.

#rwby #rwby criticism #rwde reply

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dragon-susceptible · 12 days ago

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TDP Rewatch S2 E2: Half Moon Lies

Claudia does the intro voice this time.

I really do love Soren. He's given the chance to kill Rayla and he can't take it, because she's not awake to fight back. The other assassins were different because they were attacking too. And this is before his arc of losing faith and becoming a better person.

Rayla driving Soren back at first was a neat touch, because he seems actually impressed by her skills. He gets excited to fight with her because she's matching him beat for beat, but he starts giving her tips when she does what he thinks is stupid shit. And admittedly, "sweep the leg" actually would be stupid shit if she weren't incredibly strong for her size and his stance was better in that moment.

Soren and Rayla having the same moment of disgust when Claudia and Callum start flirting in front of them is fantastic. The first moment of solidarity that blooms into a great friendship later on.

I love Gren so much. This poor man. Okay yes he can sit down, for sure. I thought I remembered that but good.

Soren heard about something called "Moonshadow madness" at camp, and honestly, he's so damn cute.

We talk a lot about how different Soren is than his family, but actually, I think his lie about Harrow missing the boys is very much like Viren. The plan they had didn't work (just ask the boys to come home/cremate Harrow's body before anyone asks questions). Claudia throws it on him to figure out what to do next (Opeli noticed the boys were missing). He didn't plan for this. He's grasping for what they want to hear. He says the first thing that comes to mind (Your dad is alive, and misses you/the princes are dead). It's going to backfire on him, but it gets him the result he wants in the moment. It's just that where Viren went to escalate, Soren gets undermined instead.

Claudia straight up preying on Callum's trust and affection was part of what made me very much dislike her even from the beginning. She makes my skin crawl.

Okay, and here, again, when she meets Lujanne. She physically grabs her face and starts pulling at it, examining her like some sort of toy. "Are you real?" Claudia asks, and then ignores the confirmation to grab at the woman anyway, and keeps chattering about how realistic the illusion is. The thing is, I don't think she didn't hear. I think she knew perfectly well that Lujanne was real, but by rambling about an illusion she got to indulge her own racism without upsetting Callum, because she knew he'd pass it off as just her being distracted. Let's not forget that Claudia's the one who looked at Runaan and reacted as if he was just a collection of spell parts, or how she literally burns Rayla's braid - a culturally important gesture of affection - for a dark magic spell. Elves are not people to her, not yet. (Honestly, I'm not convinced she ever changes her mind about that, even with Terry, but I'll get into that when that comes around.)

I would also like to know what all the runes we see on the walls in the butterfly house are.

I don't remember if they ever talk about how Soren definitely did try to kill Ezran. Kind of. and lost his nerve.

Just like Viren always does.

I think it's interesting what an emphasis Rayla - and really, Moonshadow culture as a group - place on truth and honesty, when their arcanum revolves around illusions. But then, that's kinda what Lujanne talks about to Callum, isn't it? Reality and truth are just what you perceive about the world around you, and perceptions can be changed by perspectives - by light, by information, and then that's your reality. Your revised truth.

Corvus has been down in that damn village for like five days now and just now somebody told him the kids fled up the Cursed Caldera.

I forgot to comment on it while I was watching the episode but just realized I didn't add my roasting of Viren in here this time either. This dude really just threw a temper tantrum and destroyed all his stuff in the room with the mirror because he didn't see an instant result when he looked at it. First of all, can you just have a singular OUNCE of patience, you bitch, the spell DID work, it just took a damn second. Calm down. Second, that's very telling for the kind of person that Viren is, isn't it? It's not the only example, either. When he gets angry, he loses his temper, he turns violent. He stomps on the floor and strikes the air in front of Harrow. He strikes Gren when Amaya makes him angry. He destroys his tools when they don't give him the result he wants. How often did Soren hear that same speech we just got from Viren's reflection? "I thought you would be something special", spat as an insult. Soren panics at the mere thought of disappointing him. Just . . . what happened to that kid when Viren lost his temper with him?

#the dragon prince #tdp rewatch #tdp season 2 #tdp callum #tdp rayla #tdp ezran #tdp soren #tdp claudia #tdp lujanne #tdp viren #magefam

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lunamadhatter99 · 1 year ago

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All for The Cameras

Chapter 4

Finnick Odair x fem!reader

I would like to take a moment to thank you all for the support and love for this story. Thank you so so much. I'm not very confident so it means a lot. Thank you all❤️❤️❤️

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Chapter summary: a little about the making of the Games, the Reaping, and the Parade.

Chapter warnings: talking of lethal threats, Cal is has his own warning, Snow, forced marriage.

Tag list

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I don't know why I can't tag some people, I'm sorry 😞