#aaaand it was a shield all along

[xadianglyphs]

[ronearoundblindly]

Ro's Monthly Edit

April 7th, 2024 - May 5th, 2024

In case you missed any of the new posted content this month, here's a handy-dandy list with short excerpts and links to all of them!

Warning: while none of the snippets are themselves explicit, a good number of the writings this month were 18+ only. Please read all warnings at the beginning of each post, and minors, please stick with works included in the Light Masterlist.

*I've only added excerpts of the two dirty headcanon asks that were written in a narrative/story style. The rest are on the list linked below.

Various Dirty Headcanons (see full list) featuring characters: Steve Rogers, Ransom Drysdale, Jake Jensen, Lloyd Hansen, Johnny Storm, Ari Levinson, Jimmy Dobyne, and Curtis Everett

Big Girls Don't Cry, from It Had To Be You (explicit) CEO!Steve Rogers x assistant/co-CEO!Reader

Steve sees you shiver and scrambles to find the blanket, tucking it around you but not giving you space to hide your face. He cups your cheek so you can't cover your eyes either, thumb sweeping across the wet streaks left behind, asking if you're ready to talk to him about it, but you shake your head. "I love you," you do say. "I just hate you a little right now."

Dirty Water, from Sun, Salt, and Shield (explicit) Steve Rogers x deep sea mermaid!Reader

Even in the very low light of damp room, he could see the lavender of your stare drop to his crotch. "You sing too?" Steve's an idiot. He didn't understand yet, so that dumbass actually began humming 'You Are My Sunshine' because nothing else occurred to him. Then he noticed your tail glowing beneath the scales. Then he realized you were pressing yourself to his legs. Aaaand then Steve Rogers looked down your body to witness his knee disappearing in a spongy spot where the armoring swelled apart. Oh god.

Untitled Ask, from Sun, Salt, and Shield Steve Rogers x deep sea mermaid!Reader

The most heart-warming thing Steve teaches you is the hug. So simple. So reminiscent of your first meeting. If you lay your head on his chest, your face can remain underwater to breathe and hold onto Steve indefinitely, and he's tried. The longest he's gone is five straight hours of just you two holding each other, brushing his thumb over your cheek, giving you soft back rubs, getting gentle back scratches from you, and loving every second. Sometimes he just talks to you, even when he knows you can't understand most of the words. It's shocking how much gets across by emotion and intonation alone. You squeeze him a little tighter when he's telling you a sad story, and you rub your forehead into his sternum when he laughs at something.

Pirate & Pin Cushion, part two (see JJ Masterlist) Jake Jensen x gn!ops!Reader

“Don’t worry, PC, they got you the good stuff. Heavy duty meds. Nothing but the best.” “PC?” you croak. Jake smirks warily. “For Pin Cushion. Eh, I’m test-driving it,” he shrugs. “You smile pretty.” Pink floods Jake’s cheeks. “Thank you?” Using all your might and concentration, your hand moves to his. “You got thick arms.”

Pirate & Pin Cushion, finale (see JJ Masterlist) Jake Jensen x gn!ops!Reader

“I’D KNOWN YOU FOR TWO WEEKS,” you explode, bolting out of your own seat. “Yeah,” Jake squeaks, “I know.” “Two weeks, and then you taped me saying ‘I love you?’” “But, like—“ his usually deep timbre pitches super high “…did you?” “Why would you just sit on that, Jake?!” “You weren’t exactly sober.” He shrugs.

Lease, one-shot (see SR One-Shots Masterlist) Steve Rogers x best friend!roommate!reader

“You don’t have to put photos,” Sam assures, “and you can stick with your first name only. I swear to you, man, this’ll be good for you. Get you out there more. Help me out here, Tagalong!” He turns to you for support. To be fair, you did quite literally tag along with your parents for years to the VA, and it stuck. Why it sticks as a grown-ass adult? You’ll never know. You just don’t mind Sam Wilson saying it because he means well and never uses it in public. “Uh, nooooo.” Sam’s face falls. “What?” You look at Steve and grimace, clicking your tongue. “He’s not ready for that,” you conclude. Steve jumps out of the chair, arms wide with victory. “THAT’S WHAT I’VE BEEN SAYING!”

No Promises, part one (explicit, darkfic) (see LH Masterlist) Lloyd Hansen x rival assassin!Reader

Easy pickings is what this guy is. All Lloyd has to do is make it look like the middle-aged, fake-tanned Pillsbury Doughboy down there had a heart attack…which might actually happen at the rate his target is shoveling antipasto down his gullet. Lloyd wipes his own mouth in disgust. The women have the right idea though, especially the one in the yellow bikini. His target looks like a desperate and lonely man, whether flashing around wealth or not, so leech away, ladies. Enjoy the free ride while it lasts.

No Promises, part two (explicit, darkfic) (see LH Masterlist) Lloyd Hansen x rival assassin!Reader

Lloyd keeps his steps forward into the room slow and casual, though his ire is obvious. He stops halfway across the carpet, unzips his leather jacket, and tosses it onto the foot of the bed. He seems surprised when you strut over without hesitation; he hasn’t handed over any weapons, but you haven’t asked for a reason. Lloyd’s reputation is cocky, commanding, and curious—in that order—so he won’t start speculating till it’s too late. Indeed, what possible harm could you inflict wearing this lil’ ol’ thing, huh?

[Main Masterlist; Light Masterlist; Ko-Fi]

[thatsadbietch]

The Legend of the Glowering White Grimmsnarl

Crow's Tickletober Days 3 (full moon), 9 (payback for a scare), 18 (camping), AND 28 (woods/forest)

Warning: Tickle fic! And mild cursing.

After a long day of adventuring, you and Arven settle in for the night. Rather than the comfort of your dorm room, however, he takes you camping and shares some interesting folklore.

————-

“There! All set!” Arven stated proudly, having finished pitching the tent, your and his sleeping quarters for the evening.

“You know, we probably could have made it back to the dorms before dark,” you mentioned, “so we wouldn’t have had to camp out here all night.” 

“Even so,” Arven replied, crossing his arms, as if he were disappointed in you saying such a thing, “now we can cook over an open flame, which will always make food taste better!”

“Did it have to be in Tagtree Thicket though? At dusk?” You looked around the forest and noted how dark it was getting already, the trees no help as their leaves and branches shielded much of the sunlight from the ground below them.

“Aw, you scared, little buddy?” Arven cooed, half-teasing, half-concerned, messing your hair.  You never asked him to fill this big brother type role, he just kind of inserted himself there: always making sure your team was healed after Titan battles, feeding Miradon, looking out for you in general while never losing sight of his own mission.

“N-no!” You swatted his hand away, “I just know the Mimikyu and Impidimps come out more at night.” Arven released Mabosstiff, as he usually does when you two took time to rest.

“We’ve fought nearly all the Titan pokemon, we’ll be fine! And besides, it’s your first time camping out here, yeah? I plan on giving you the full experience!” You rolled your eyes, kneeling down to build and start a proper campfire… giving up shortly after rubbing sticks together and seeing no sparks.  You ended up releasing your Armarouge and asking it to help light the fire.

“Thanks, Armarouge.  Since you’re out already, do you want to enjoy the full experience of camping with us?” you asked, with air quotes.  The pokemon nodded curtly and sat close to you.  It was familiar with Arven from fighting alongside his team in Titan battles and enjoyed his and Mabosstiff’s company. Arven chuckled at your sass.

“Just wait.  Now that there’s finally a fire going, I can start cooking!”  You noted Arven pulling out his supplies, though it didn’t look like he was preparing sandwiches this time.  You watched him retrieve a small pot and rice from his bag, along with several other ingredients and spices. He was too zoned-in on his craft to notice your confusion, so you merely watched him work.  He didn’t use measuring utensils, but was still meticulous about which ingredients and how much he used, his concentration not faltering once.

“I wonder if his face will freeze like that,” you commented out loud, mostly to yourself, but your Armarouge heard and seemed to be amused.

“Aaaand, done!” Arven announced, presenting to you and Armarouge with a bowl of curry before sitting down across from you with his own and Mabosstiff’s serving.

“Not your usual, Arven,” you pointed out, blowing on a spoonful to cool it off.

“Yeah, I went outside the box for your first camping trip.  You’re welcome, little buddy.” Arven mused, clearly proud of himself. “Curry is super popular in the Galar region.  If they can do it, so can I.” And he did it well, as he usually did with all things cooking.  You’d never tasted a meal of his that you didn’t enjoy.

“You REALLY outdid yourself this time, Arven. I might not be able to go back to sandwiches after this,” you teased, and Armarouge murmured in agreement.

“Don’t get too used to it, some of these ingredients are from Galar, and they weren’t cheap. But you’ve helped us out a lot so… I’m happy to.” Your teasing smirk turned to a genuine smile, looking at your friend and his companion pokemon.  While Mabossiff was still in no shape to battle, he was leaps and bounds better than when you first met him.

Arven looked up toward the sky and grinned.  “How fitting, the moon is full.  You know what that means, don’t you?” You and Armarouge set your empty bowls down and looked at Arven quizzically.  

“I guess not. Well, I promised the full experience, and no camping trip would be complete without telling you the Legend of the Glowering White Grimmsnarl.” 

You couldn’t help yourself: you burst in cackles. “Thahat sounds ridiculous!”

“I’m serious!”

“Okhahay, okay, please enlighten us,” you settled, nudging your Armarouge that was making breathy sounds that could be interpreted as chuckles.

“With pleasure,” he began, his stoic demeanor on the subject only weakening your ability to keep a straight face.

“The legend tells of a Morgrem, shunned by its fellow Morgrem and Impidimps for having white hair instead of black.  Its white hair was so bright, even at night, that it was always seen by both predator and prey, making hunting difficult and risking the safety of its herd.  One day, it was chased out of its herd, forced to wander Tagtree Thicket all on its own.”

Your chortles and looks of amusement faded, letting yourself be immersed in the story.  Armarouge placed a protective hand on your shoulder and scanned the forest around you.

“The Morgrem fended for itself pretty well, considering the odds against it.  That is, until one night, there was a huge, bright, full moon, a lot like this one, actually.”  You looked up, and even through the trees you could tell the moon was at its full glory, and seemed huge in the sky.  

“The moonlight was so brilliant that night, that the Morgrem’s hair appeared to radiate with it.  But it had no more food in its shelter, and had to go looking for more.  That’s when a gang of Spidops ambushed it.” You felt yourself scoot closer to your Armarouge.

“It was no match for the horde of Spidops, not by itself.  And just when it thought it couldn’t take anymore, a huge glow enveloped the entire thicket.  The neighboring town’s residents at the time swore it was as bright as daylight in the middle of the night.  Turns out, it was the Morgrem, evolving into the biggest, strongest, and nastiest snow-white Grimmsnarl ever known.  Not only did it fight off the Spidops, it found its old herd and drove them completely out of the thicket in a terrifying rage, along with any other pokemon that got in its way.  So from then on, the Grimmsnarl’s white hair was no longer a give-away, but a warning to the pokemon and trainers that wander in the forest.  Especially when the moon is full, since it's said that’s where it draws its unfathomable strength. And, if somehow you miss its brilliant white hair in the moonlight, there is no mistaking its guttural, earth-shattering cry…”

“GRRROOOOAAAAARRR!”

You latched onto Armarouge and elicited a frightened, piercing scream, while Armarouge, holding you steady with one arm, readied the other one to defend against what it thought was going to be a gigantic white Grimmsnarl.  However, after a beat you heard Arven breaking into hysterics, and opened your eyes to see not a gigantic white Grimmsnarl, but a Toedscruel.  More specifically, Arven’s Toedscruel, walking back to his trainer, making a deep chuckling sound along the way.

“ARVEN! YOU SCARED THE HELL OUT OF US!”  He almost didn’t hear your scolding over his own laughter.

“Ithihihit was sohohoho gohohohod! Youho should hahave seen your fahahace!” You huffed, feeling your face flush.

“Aww, come ohohon, little buddy,” he said, starting to calm down, returning Toedscruel to its pokeball, “Scary stories are camping staples! And the moon is full, I couldn’t waste a perfect opportunity!” You sighed as your heart rate returned to a normal pace.

“Okay, okay, you had your fun, I’ll take your apology now,” you spat, still in a pout. Arven, seeing this, chuckled again.

“I’m not apologizing, it was a story! That’s what you do when you go camping!” You glared at him, knowing he meant no harm, and was just having a laugh at your expense.  Well, if it's a laugh he wanted…

“Don’t make me make you apologize, Arven!”

“Oooh, I’m soooo scared,” Arven mocked, “What are you gonna do, call the white Grimmsnarl on me?”

“I don’t need the white Grimmsnarl,” you stated, “I have Armarouge.”  You looked past Arven, who was confused for a moment before your ever-loyal pokemon grabbed his arms and pinned them behind him.  Arven jumped, obviously never noticing Armarouge creep over, and tried to stand and break its grip, but Armarouge wasn’t one of your strongest team members for nothing.  

You stood and strode over menacingly, fingers taking the form of claws.  Arven seemed to get it now, and struggled a bit more spastically.

“N-now little buddy, let’s not be hasty, it was all in fun, wasn’t it?”

“Oh, it certainly was, we liked your story for sure, right Armarouge?” 

“Ar, mar,” it replied, tightening its grip on Arven.  You reached Arven and placed your “claws” on Arven’s already shaking belly, an involuntary smile starting to form across his features.

“But if it was a laugh you wanted, you could have just asked.”

“Th-that’s nohohot what I said- hehehehe, nohohoho lihihittle buddy!” He giggled, as you wasted no time gently scribbling and skittering your fingers along the young chef’s midsection, a yelp escaping after you slipped a hand under his shirt to reach his bare belly.

“Wahahahait, nohohoho!” Arven gasped, still trying to free himself from Armarouge’s grip.  You looked up to your companion pokemon, and could tell it was just as amused as you were.

“Should a cook’s stomach be so sensitive?” You teased, watching your friend’s reactions, and still futile attempts to keep his composure. “You’d think a cook would need a hardened stomach, since you eat all kinds of different food.” At that, you skittered in and around Arven’s belly button, to which his laughter positively boomed and kicked his legs out, almost kicking you.

“LIHIHIHITTLE BUDDEEEHEHEHE! NOHOHOHOT THEHEHEHEHERE!” He thrashed, but Armarouge held firm, even when Arven’s head was thrown back against its chest in ticklish agony.

“Not where, heeeere?” You dragged, wiggling a finger in his belly button while your other hand still scurried up and down his sides.

“NAHAHAHAHA, DOHOHOHON’T! BWAHAHAHA!” If there were smaller, curious pokemon close by, Arven’s boisterous laughter probably scared them off.  

“Shhh! Arven! The Glowering White Grimmsnarl will hear you!” You continued to torment, backing off of his weakest point to instead test another spot against your ticklish grip, suddenly squeezing the tops of his knees. His booming laugher calmed to a bubbly cackle, which was honestly quite adorable.  

Now that you thought about it, you had only just recently begun to see Arven smile, due to the hopefulness he had for his companion.  Oh, Mabosstiff! You turned and realized he was watching the whole interaction, tail wagging in approval.  Arven followed your gaze to his dear friend.

“Mahahahabosstiff! Dohohoho somethihihing!” And, at his trainer’s command, he did get up to do something.  That something being nuzzling his snout in Arven’s ribs.

“NOHOHOT WHAT I MEANT! MAHAHAHABOSSTIFF, NOHOHO!”

“I think he likes seeing your smile! You don’t do it enough, you know,” you “scolded,” and Mabosstiff offered a “rrrruff” in Arven’s underarm as if to agree.  This only deepened the blush on Arven’s face as his giggling somehow got more bubbly and boy-like, almost making you forget that he was actually your upperclassman.

“TRAHAHAHAITOR! BOHOHOTH OF YOU!” he sputtered, not trying too hard to escape Armarouge’s grip anymore, whether out of giving in or exhaustion, Armarouge couldn’t tell.

“Aaar, ma,” it said, in a tone you recognized as one of concern.  You waved at Mabosstiff, getting his attention and ceasing his attack on his master’s ribs and underarms.  Arven caught his breath as Armarouge continued to hold him for support.

“Are you good, Arven? I’ll take this over an apology any day,” you jested, Arven chuckling now of his own accord.

“You got me pretty good, little buddy, I’ll give you that. I’m okay, now, Armarouge. You can let go.  I would thank you, except you’re also to blame.” Armarouge made that same breathy sound from earlier, recognized as a laugh, and walked back in your direction.  Arven hunched over and rested one of his elbows on his knees, catching his breath. He had the other hand on Mabosstiff, patting the top of his head.  He stood after a moment and looked at you, chuckling again and shaking his head.

“I’m going to bed.  A monster worse than the white Grimmsnarl got to me.  You’ll get yours, little buddy, you’ll see.”

“Sure, sure, whatever you say.  I think I like this camping thing, but I’ll turn in, too.  Maybe you can tell another story?”

“NO!”

[hell-drabbles]

Dreams are made of thoughts and memories

Belphie drifts into the Releam of sleep and dreams

Because 1 it lets him interact with his subjects subconsciousness (dream walking cause why not)

2.going to sleep sometimes let's him tap into little fragments of scenes that he thinks might be his memories of his true name and his experiences with his true name

Cause in a world where demons and angels can be binded with a call of a name

Names hold power here

Especially true names

Anyways

I love your idea of healer,shield thing and might incorporate it into Belphie

Also I feel like Belphie wouldn't be too taken Ra-On originally

Sure he acts like a lazier,cozier version of Mammon to Ra-On but that's because he is obligated to as the stand in of Belphegor because Belphegor probably wants a good relationship with the Descendant of Solomon

And like I said Belphie has like 0 natural libido unless someone else initiated it

So while he goes along with Ra-On's antics and libido

He does turn colder and disdainful the more often Ra-On finds him for sex even if he hides it neatly for Belphegor's sake

Because it may not physically tired him out

It emotionally does if someone is constantly trying to rile him up and sleep with him

Belphie is the type to want something more emotional out of sex if it's a long time thing

He wants good aftercare and cuddles

Not just the fuck and go Ra-On has

He wants soft moments outside of the sex

He wants to be taken care of sometimes

He doesn't mind doing the aftercare himself but he does feel empty if he's the only one doing it for a while

Dante Anon

Okay okay, I'm replying now because I was waiting for actual Belphegor's design to be released aaaand... he's kinda boring to look at, face wise anyways. Does not pull the slick back hair well. Piercings are nice... and that's about it.

Good ol dream-walking, who doesn't like that? Anyways, a naturally zero libido demon such as your Belphie would definitely stump my Ra-on, because Belphie is going along with his sexual antics without any complaints, so naturally Belphie must think he's desirable as Ra-on does Belphie? And will do that... annoying thing of trying to change that, trying to see if he can get Belphie to initiate first without Ra-on having to be explicit about it. Because being explicit, in Ra-on's mind, is synonymous with "whore," and he's not like that! He can't ravage anyone on his own because that's bad somehow! So someone has to force him into it so it's not his fault when things go wrong!

Ugh, someone give him a swirly. He's so afraid of even touching the word 'consequences' that he throws it to another demon. And when he is forced to touch it, his rejection sensitive dysphoria goes into overdrive and now everyone around him feels guilty for it. And now Ra-on's horny again because he was made to feel small, weak and pathetic, kickstarting the whole cycle once more, and forcing all memories of his faults into the abyss, because other people have dropped it so what's the point of thinking about it?

My Ra-on had never made a proper apology in his life, at least his pre-character development version has never made one. The only apologizes that come out of his lips are ones that are made during a self-deprecation episode, or ones that are said in reflex to someone's anger. Outside of those circumstances, he has not taken the steps to correct a wrong he has done, he just ignores it and hopes that the other person will drop the matter. Ghosts it and pretends it's not there.

Anyways, sorry about my ramblings about Ra-on I'm getting somewhere I swear.

This all makes perfect sense for why Belphie would just be tired of him after a while, because Ra-on is unable to separate his own selfish nature from his various trauma. You call him out, and in Ra-on's brain, it's an attack on his very nature, and he's so hurt that he spirals. And when he spirals, he gets messily horny and now suddenly only sex can fix this, because he refuses to have a different way of making himself feel better. I mean, why bother? Every demon here is willing to have sex with him and it's so much easier than just, going to therapy.

So he must be pampered, he must be cared for, because he's been hurt and it's tiring. No fucking wonder Mammon loves Ra-on, he's so very greedy and isn't even aware of it! Imagine the lengths of greed Ra-on will go once he's fully awakened it and is not bound by the human chains of insecurity!

And it's no wonder none of Ra-on's relationships last all that long, why he hops from demon to demon. Belphie would be so tired of it, poor guy, having to slowly discover that you're no different than a comfort object.

[selfshippinglover]

🍑🔮🍵 for rick if you haven't yet! :3

JAY UR A SAINT NO HAS SENT IN ANYTHING YET WAHHH ILUUU TYOOOOU QWQ

🍑 - Who spoils the other more?

~In terms of pure quantity, me FOR SURE! I see something I know Rick will like and just instabuy that shit!! Voltron figure? BOUGHT New science device I've heard him mention? MINE NOW SO THAT HE CAN PLAY WITH ITTT cute liddle thing that he may not like but reminds me of him? HELL YEAH(He'd keep it but probs in a place away from public eyes. Look at it fondly when no one else is around <3 Especially drunk since he gets all sentimental then)

~As for quality? Biiiig Rick for this one baby! he knows he can just get me merch from a favorite show or like any adorable plushie ever(and he still does sometimes) but he prefers to go bIG. Accidentally stumbled upon a dimension of a show i like? Marked for later to be a suprise vist for a day. F/O crush real? haha he's gonna go to watch me get all flustered, show off, aaaand double team! A planet that's always night and you can see the stars 24/7 wherever you go? Yup, that's a future date night.

🔮 - What do they do to help support you when you're feeling down?

~Rick isn't super good at this tbh. He's not great with emotions in general but he knows that I like to not be alone and that talking or distractions help. Sometimes he'll just sit down and marathon cartoons with me or let me cry into his chest while drinking. He'll finally comment on it later in an insightful way but always starting with something along the lines of, "not that I give a shit but..."

~He'd prefer to drink and dose up on kaylax so I take care of him. Keep him company, amused, make sure he doesn't get into any shit that's too deep to be dealt with, and bring him home safely at the end of the night. When it's really bad he doesn't want help at all so I just, quietly exist in the space with him. Start off on the other side of the room and move in closer if he doesn't show any objections. Sometimes he'll cry in my arms, whisper regrets in my ears. Sometimes he cries in silence. Sometimes he drinks and stares at the wall blankly. All depends on what it is and how intense the feeling he's trying to process it.

🍵 - Are you protective of them?

~YES BIG YES BY BOTH but in different ways lol

~Rick has lived an extremely dangerous voice with death vying for him around every corner. Unfortunately, this means anyone that he gives a shit about is a biiiig red target for hundreds if not thousands of assholes. Because if this, anyone he cares for has a hell of lot of security measures put in place. (usually, they don't know about em, tho) I'm VERY included in this

~Me? Me and him have the same problem of being too willing to dye for those we care about that stems from a yawning abyss of self-hatred so anything, everything? I may not have the same capabilities as rick but I'll gladly take hits for him, eject him out of situations via portal gun, let him use my shield, that kind of thing.

[shark-wrangler]

so I've been writing this skyrim fic, I started it before the pandemic and then it petered off like all my other pre-pandemic projects, but I started playing skyrim more just recently so I've been poking it again. and it's basically pure id fic; fighting, giants, monsters, torture, revenge, true love, etc.

to summarise the two of them, Brúnn is the most Nord of Nords and a very committed Stormcloak who is extremely good at being a Stormcloak but extremely bad at feelings, and he's living in a "being gay is mostly cool as long as you're a top and you don't talk about it or make it anyone else's problem" kinda culture. which, he is, and he doesn't, but he also lives in perpetual fear that one miscommunication or rumor could absolutely wreck the reputation and respect he's built up over the years, so he compensates by being a chronic overachiever and also really defensive and cagey about his personal life. he's also got, as you might expect, quite a lot of biases about basically anyone who isn't a Nord, which he clings to that much more because of his own insecurity. he's kinda sorta involved with a younger guy who's much more invested in the relationship than he is and unsurprisingly it doesn't end well, which ends up having Consequences much later.

meanwhile J'raasa is the Listener for the Dark Brotherhood and fervently devoted to his work and the Night Mother, who he believes is responsible for pulling him out of his fairly horrible situation years back in Cyrodiil. not in like, a Cicero kind of way though, he's actually an otherwise pretty level headed guy, and since coming to Skyrim he's managed to ingratiate himself to the Jarl of Falkreath (not exactly a challenge since the Jarl of Falkreath is a corrupt idiot) and become well loved by the hold at large, basically using any time he doesn't spend secretly doing murder cult things cleaning up the Jarl's messes and preventing more of them. he's genuinely invested in Falkreath and the people who took him in when he first arrived there. he's Khajiit, but Ohmes-raht (he's actually kind of the prototype for how I draw cathar now, and also the reason I made the feline skins for TS4) and due to his upbringing he naturally talks with a purely Imperial accent. he only switches to Khajiit speech patterns when he's trying not to draw attention to himself.

they meet due to the gristly and untimely death of Nilsine Shatter-Shield in Windhelm, for which Brúnn quickly becomes convinced that the unknown Khajiit he spotted in the city who fled immediately after is responsible, that the Dark Brotherhood is involved, and that this is some kind of Imperial plot to destabilize them. so he tracks him halfway across Skyrim before finally catching him and drags him to the nearest Jarl. unfortunately for Brúnn, the nearest Jarl happens to be the Jarl of Falkreath, so it turns into a whole thing.

eventually the dragon hits Helgen, circumstances land both of them in Whiterun, aaaand it turns out J'raasa is the Dragonborn. absolutely nobody is happy about this, least of all J'raasa who doesn't want anything drawing attention to him or disrupting his pleasant life or jeopardizing either his place in Falkreath or his role as Listener, both of which have become his entire life. and Brúnn is of course appalled for several reasons. they're the only two who know, though, and J'raasa, in what may not have been his most thought-out strategic moment but in his defense he'd never absorbed a dragon soul before and was not feeling so good, convinces everyone nearby that the Dragonborn is actually Brúnn to buy himself time to get out of this. they believe him, because yeah between the two of them you'd think it would be the huge Talos-loving Nord and not the willowy soft-spoken little Khajiit he's dragging around. Brúnn is too caught off guard to coherently protest and then ends up going along with it once he realizes that's the only thing about him anyone cares about anymore, and that One Thing that will finally secure his reputation in the eyes of his fellow Stormcloaks has fallen into his lap. and shenanigans ensue.

and there is so much violent hate-fucking.

I should talk about Brúnn and J'raasa more, they're terrible

[sunstone-smiles]

Laughs During Lunch Break

Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoy this fun fic with Arven! He definitely deserves to smile, and his friends are there to help him do so!

Series: Pokemon

Characters: Florian, Arven, Koraidon

Words: 1,745

Summary: When Florian, Arven, and Koraidon stop for a lunch break, some playful fun between the three ensue. (Note: There are no spoilers that are mentioned, so please enjoy!)

—

Throw the orange patterned cloth onto the table and set up the chairs because it’s time for a picnic! Pokemon hunting can be time consuming, so an open area of green grass that blankets the ground makes a perfect area to stop for a break.

Florian takes ingredients from his bag and lays them out on individual plates; ham, lettuce, tomato, and flaky slices of thick bread are all lined up in a row for easy sandwich making. On the other side of the table though, Koraidon follows Arven’s every move, continuously peeking their head around the older trainer with a wagging tail while they watch Arven make a sandwich for them. In addition to offering to make Koraidon’s lunch, Arven wanted to come along on Florian’s travels for Pokedex hunting today, almost as a repayment for what Florian helped him with before, and to keep his friend company with a travel buddy.

Koraidon nudges Arven’s shoulder with his snout, whipping their tail back and forth in delight. The legendary then curves their neck around Arven to get a closer look at the sandwich in his hand, trying to sniff at the delicious serving of food. Simply too excited to wait, Koraidon stretches their head forward to sneak a quick bite.

“Hey! Easy Koraidon,” Arven pulls away the half-made sandwich from the large creature just before Koraidon snaps their jaw shut. The pokemon switches sides in another attempt to chase the sandwich. Arven quickly protects it by placing it on a plate on the table, also having to use his own body as a shield. “Would you wait a second?! It’s almost ready.”

Like an energetic, but obedient puppy, the pokemon leans off of Arven and returns to staring at the sandwich from around the trainer’s shoulder. As Arven reaches for the final slice of bread, Koraidon’s tail whips around even faster. It’s almost done!

With flawless precision, Arven places the slice right on top to align it with the bottom; the pieces of lettuce poke out perfectly symmetrical to every side.

“Aaaand there!” the older trainer holds the sandwich out for the creature, “Your Arven-original sandwich is ready!” 

Koraidon’s eyes jump open with joy and their tail thrashes in excitement. Now that they’ve been given approval, the large creature grips one half of the sandwich in their mouth, then tilts their snout upward to quickly gobble it up like a hungry velociraptor. They lick the corners of their mouth after they finish.

“Good huh? I knew you would like it,” Arven says, quite pleased with himself. 

“Agias!” Koraidon gurgles and rams their head into Arven’s neck. They begin licking him rapidly to show their appreciation.

“Yes! Yes, you’re welcome,” Arven tries to shove the pokemon’s snout away with both hands.

“Hehe! It seems Koraidon really liked that sandwich,” Florian chuckles as he watches the persistent pokemon ‘attack’ his friend with affection.

“Probably a little too much—Koraidon—Ack! Stop it!” Arven stumbles away from the table when the creature switches to the other side of his neck. He lifts up his shoulders to shield himself while also trying to fend off the pokemon. “I get it! You liked it! Now get off you brute—Whoa!” Koraidon suddenly hops onto Arven’s back, knocking the trainer to his stomach. The legendary pokemon continues to lick the back of his neck with glee as if to say, I’m not done thanking you yet!

“Koraidon!” Arven squeezes his shoulders to his neck, letting out a few snickers in the midst of his struggle, “That’s starting to tickle! Stop it!” He rolls over onto his back to push the pokemon’s face away, but Koraidon wants to keep on playing. 

“Little buddy!” Arven calls out to his friend, still trying to defend himself from the large pokemon, “Help!”

Florian giggles again. It’s nice to see Arven and Koraidon playing, especially after all of their adventures together. So why limit the fun to just the two of them? With a little grin appearing on his face, Florian moves from the table.

“Alright Koraidon,” the younger trainer saunters closer to the scene. An even wider grin then forms on his face. “Hold him down!” he dashes behind Koraidon. 

“What?!” Arven lifts his head up at the same time Koraidon perks up their snout. The large pokemon pushes Arven down with a paw to the chest, wagging their tail since their trainer is coming over to join the fun. Arven bends his head forward again, having to peer around Koraidon’s big paw to see Florian approach. A puzzled look appears on his face when he sees Florian kneel down next to his side.

“Little buddy?” Arven questions, but Florian doesn’t answer with words. All the younger trainer responds with is a mischievous curve to his smile and wiggling fingers approaching his friend’s stomach. Arven’s blue eyes suddenly expand in horror. 

“Wait! Wait! Wait!” he immediately tries to squirm backwards, “Little buddy—! GAH! Hahaha!” Arven bursts into giggles with a jolt when Florian begins tickling him. His legs start kicking at the ground while his bubbly laughter fills the air. He tries to reach around Koraidon’s paw to shove Florian away, but the legendary has him locked down tight. Any attempts to push Koraidon off of him also prove useless as his strength is no match for the legendary pokemon’s.

“Look what we found, Koraidon!” Florian exclaims with a few giggles of his own, “It looks like Arven has a ticklish tummy!” 

“Flohohohorian!” Arven digs the heels of his boots in the ground in an attempt to wriggle away, his uniform offering little protection from the tickles, “Quihihihihit it! Hahaha!”

“Quit? But Arven! We have to explore this discovery! No stone left unturned! Isn’t that right Koraidon?” the younger trainer turns to the pokemon. 

“Agias!” the creature gurgles in gleeful agreement from above.

Florian turns back to his squirming friend. “That means we need to set our destination to find a spot that can really get him giggling! Sound like a plan with you Arven?”

“Noho! It dohohohoes nohot sound like a plahahahan—AHH!” Arven yelps when Florian scratches a spot right between his side and belly, “NO! NOHOHOT thehehere!” He arches his back and tosses his head with laughter. His bangs slide off his face while he twists his head in ticklish mirth.

“Hehe! Found it!” Florian purposely continues scratching at the spot that sends Arven into hysterics. The younger trainer adds on to the attack by slipping a hand under his friend's shirt to scratch at his bare tummy, earning another yelp from Arven.

Meanwhile, Koraidon happily wags their tail as they watch the two play. After observing how Florian is able to get Arven giggling up a storm, the legendary pokemon growls to get the younger trainer's attention, then eyes Arven’s belly.

“Hm? Oh! You want a turn too Koraidon?” Florian responds with wiggling fingers still at Arven’s stomach.

The legendary excitedly gurgles in response.

Florian smiles. “Alright then! Switch!”

Breathless, but fully aware, Arven jolts his head up upon hearing what was said. 

“No!” he exclaims in panic. As soon as Koraidon’s paw shifts off of his chest, the older trainer quickly rolls over and attempts to claw through the grass to make a run for it, but Koraidon catches the leg of his pants in his mouth and yanks him towards them, causing Arven to drop onto his stomach. 

The older trainer spins around onto his back to see his attackers, just in time to snatch Florian’s wrists away that were darting towards his underarms. 

“Little buddy!” Arven exclaims as he competes in a back and forth game of strength with his friend. “Don’t you dare!” he cheerfully giggles.

Meanwhile, Koraidon moves their snout down by Arven’s stomach to lift his shirt up. The pokemon’s nose accidentally rubbing on his skin causes Arven to giggle even more than he already is, but his giggles soon turn into a squeal when Koraidon starts playfully licking at his bare tummy.

“YAAAHA! Kohohohorahahaidohohon!” Arven kicks his legs out again as the pokemon works around his belly. The legendary purposely hones in on the spot that Florian had found before, also adding in a few head nuzzles to make use of their tuft of feathers. Arven throws his head back again and collapses into hysterics, losing his grip on Florian’s wrists for the younger trainer to finally dive his wiggling fingers into Arven’s underarms. With a yelp, Arven clamps his arms down while trying to curl up his middle, wriggling around in a giggly puddle of laughter.

“Hehe! It looks like exploring this discovery was a success!” Florian smiles again.

Arven makes another attempt to sit up and shove his two friends away, but he plops back down, finally caving in to their tickle attack. “OKAY! Okahahay! MERCY! Mehehehercy!”

“Haha, alright,” Florian pulls his hands away; Koraidon follows by removing their snout right after. Arven drops his head back while his chest heaves for air. He weakly places a hand on his stomach and straightens out his shirt, then simply lies there to relax from his friends’ ambush of affection. 

Florian places a hand on Arven’s shoulder. “You good, Arven?” 

The older trainer tilts his head towards his friend, his bangs falling back into place in front of his eye. “Oh sure…just fine,” Arven responds while still regaining air into his system, also turning his face back towards the sky. “Just trying to recover from the spoils of your discovery…”

Florian laughs and grabs Arven’s arm to help his friend sit up, then returns over to the table. While Arven dusts himself off on the ground, Koraidon comes over near his side with a lowered head, gurgling as he nudges his shoulder.

“What do you want now,” Arven lightheartedly grumbles, “To say you're sorry?”

The pokemon perks up and proceeds to lick him once more, nearly knocking the trainer over again. 

“Koraidon!” Arven tries to move his face away from the large pokemon’s tongue, “Haven’t I had enough for one day!?”

Koraidon lifts away their snout with a happy growl.

“Come on you two!” Florian chuckles while he already begins preparing his sandwich, “Lunch isn’t going to wait! Let’s eat up and get back out there!”

“Now you’re speaking my language,” Arven returns a smile. He stands up to rejoin his friend at the table while Koraidon hops on ahead. Soon, they’re all ready to get back out on the hunt, recharged from their entertaining lunch break.

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Can I have "You're not alone?" With Eddie Munson please?

-kneecaps anon

“Eddie Munson, the leader of this cult and prime suspect in the murders, has been missing since the earthquake and is presumed dead-”

"Aaaand that's enough of that."

Immediately you switched the TV off, not wanting to hear any more of the bullshit lies the reporter was telling. You wanted to find out how widespread the damage caused by the opening gates was...not more accusations about your boyfriend.

Between traveling through the Upside Down, fighting Vecna, and nearly losing Eddie, you nearly forgot that he was still a wanted man in the real world.

A man who saved a town that condemned him.

It crushed your heart that you couldn't just go and tell them all what really happened--you'll be seen as the crazy one, or even an accomplice--but nobody’s heart was crushed more than-

“Hah, check this out..they're calling it the "Munson Murders". That’s fucking rich. And some people are saying I caused the earthquake. That it's "Hell on Earth" I unleashed."

Turning back to the man curled up on the mattress, you saw him throw away the newspaper he was just reading. He noticed you staring and sighed shakily, looking away with a sniffle, hands wiping at his eyes. You immediately sat down beside him, taking his hand and grazing a thumb across his rings. “Eddie..”

“I was just..trying to do the right thing, [y/n]. But..i-it was all for nothing, wasn’t it?” Tears cascaded down his face as he looked to you, feeling so lost and so devastated. “Hawkins is all fucked up and they’re still out to get me.” 

You frowned slightly as his hand squeezed yours tightly. Any more and you would’ve lost circulation, but if that’s what you had to sacrifice to comfort him in this time of need, so be it. You’ll manage.

You, him, and Dustin barely escaped that altercation with the demobats. They managed to bite into him good after he distracted them, though not enough to severely wound him.

In the nick of time, you rescued him by using fire to scare off the bloodthirsty bats, getting him back to the real world and treating his injuries immediately. As much as he probably needed a hospital, you knew that cops would've been notified and he'd be led away in handcuffs the moment he recovered.

You couldn’t risk that. You couldn't lose him again. So for now you'll be in hiding until you can get his name cleared.

“No, baby. It wasn’t all for nothing. You saved us..saved me.” You brought your other arm around him, letting him rest his head on your shoulder.

“To be fair, you saved me...and not just from freaky bats but from my own head. Back when...it happened, you found me. Thank god it was you and not some asshole who thinks I'm psychotic."

"You're not psychotic. They're wrong. All of them are. They just wanna pin the blame on somebody."

"A-And the whole town believed them, didn't they?"

"..Eddie-"

"Honestly I-I felt ready to die back there. All alone...hated by everyone." He shook with soft sobs. "Fuck, I never felt so alone."

Of course, you knew what he meant by "it". After the murders he was hiding from everyone, including you as he refused to answer your calls. He was so terrified of something awful happening to you next that he just...ran in hopes you'll be spared. Part of him also feared that you’ll join those who think he’s guilty.

But you could never betray him like that. Not in a million years.

You held him closely, fingers brushing along his messy hair as he trembled in your arms. If only you could shield him like this all the time and pretend that everything’s gonna be okay.

The truth was nobody knew for sure what was gonna happen to this town. Or if the Upside Down was gonna destroy everything you knew and loved, but nothing was gonna take Eddie from you again. Not this time.

“You’re not alone. You’ll never have to worry about being alone again. Whatever happens next, I’ll be right here with you. If any demobats or demogorgons or humans try to separate us, I’ll fight through every last one until I find you. Because I love you so, so much, Eddie..please don’t ever forget that, alright?”

“I won’t. I-I love you too, baby.” He nodded, pulling away to reveal a watery smile gracing his lips as he kept his arms tightly wrapped around you, afraid to lose you. You're the only one who truly kept him sane after all he's been through.

Smiling back, you cupped his cheeks to kiss him on the lips, before bringing your foreheads together.

He felt like he didn’t do anything to deserve you, and yet here you were, vowing to stay by his side through thick and thin.

Even if the world beyond Hawkins turned against Eddie, you’ll fight for him.

[sirsirgirl]

Why I believe the "harem ending" is unlikely to happen (Men of the Harem theory) - PART I

Disclaimer 1: What I mean by "Harem ending" is an escenario in which Latil stays with all her consorts instead of choosing just one.

Disclaimer 2: This post will contain spoilers from the novel.

Disclaimer 3: Please, take everything with a grain of salt. Although, I'll try to be as objective as possible, this is only my own interpretation of the story.

******

Let's start with some unavoidable facts.

1. All roads lead to... GUKSEO!

If you've been following the novel from the beginning, you might be aware of these two things.

- Latil established a harem to secure power. If you jumped the first chapters of the novel (as I did the first time), you might think the main purpose of having a harem was to take revenge on Hyacinth. Nope! In reality, Latil's first reason was to avoid her power and influence to be split over with a Prince consort too soon.

- Latil knew she will eventually have to choose a "real husband". Yup, that's right, even in fantasy, royalty cannot avoid the issues of the imperial family lineage. Although, her harem might act as an effective shield from the ministers concern about a successor, Latil knew questions about the royal heir and the imperial family will come back in the future, she just wasn't emotionally ready to think about that early on.

Yeah, I know some of you never lost sight of this, but looking at the comments on Naver, seems like a lot of us did. For better or for worse, chapter 585 *cough, cough* brought our feet back to the ground. Whether we like it or not, the Gukseo arc has been reopened, and my gut feeling is telling me that it will not be too long until Latil makes her choice.

Maybe now you're thinking "so, what's the problem with that? Latil can choose a Gukseo and still live happily with her harem, right? RIGHT????"

Well, not so fast, you innocent kind-hearted child, because...

2. Choosing a Gukseo will set concubines apart... Like, REALLY!

Instead of calling them "unavoidable facts", I might as well have called them "hard truths". But yeah, this is something I actually wanted to comment on a few weeks ago, and I believe the recent chapters are lowkey anticipating it.

At first, I thought only Ranamun and Guesta were particularly interested in becoming the Royal Consort. You know, Guesta is the son of Prime Minister Rhodes, and Ranamun is the son of Duke Atraxil. As their parents were political opponents, it was only natural for them to aim for such a privileged position to gain power and recognition in their political parties. However, as the story progressed, other concubines developed their own personal reasons to aim for the same. Let's see:

- Tasir: I think it's fair to accept he's been the most helpful consort along the story. If we are talking about ability, he would be the smartest choice for an imperial position. But is not like he has no pressure to become Gukseo. Although his personal reason to apply as a concubine was to investigate the death of the former Emperor, the official reason for his application was to gain a noble title for his family. We know he's the least dramatic concubine, but can he remain calm if he's rejected when he's perfectly aware of his contributions, and he knows what's at stake for his family? I'm not sure.

- Clein: We're gradually starting to see his ambitions. He might not be the most brilliant consort, but we already know he holds himself in high regard, and is indeed very selfish (even the chairman acknowledged this). Latil even says she's noticing his "hard work". Aaaand, he also has a personal reason to become a Royal Consort: his brother. He knows he came as a temporary consort and wants to prove his brother he deserves the position too (he's also very jealous of his intentions to marry Latil lol). We have witnessed before how Clein reacts to things he doesn't like, there's no doubt he would be extremely angry if he's not chosen. Also, I wonder if him using the power of the pure soul to seal Anyadomis will make him more prone to act with evil (not a fact, just me being curious).

- Jaisin: He's not personally interested in the position, but Baek Hwa is pushing him towards it. I'm not afraid of him being disappointed whatsoever, but I'm afraid of Baek Hwa’s reaction, we know he has chosen to believe in Latil temporarily, but what if he changes his mind if Jaisin is not the chosen one?

- Meradim: He might not be aiming for Latil's heart, but being a royal consort was one of his main intentions when he became a consort. I'm not afraid of his reaction either, I don't think he will be particularly mad unless Girgol is the one chosen as Royal Consort, and he might even not be so angry if the chosen one is Tasir (in case you don’t know, they’re really close and Meradim even calls Tasir "brother").

(I purposely didn't include Carlein and Girgol, they will have their own section)

Not only does everyone have a reason to believe they should become Gukseo, but most of them also have developed romantic feelings towards Latil (or Lord). Whoever gets picked, jealousy will arise, and so it's very unlikely they'll stay together for the power of friendship...

There are also other issues to consider. We know some consorts have some personal beefs with each other:

- Ranamun - Tasir: In chapter 284 (?), Tasir promised Ranamun he would not aim for the Gukseo position in exchange for his help in the purchasing of some properties (just so you know, Tasir never planned to keep his promise lol). Ranamun took it seriously. He even threaten Tasir in chapter 398*. I don't think there's any scenario were, if Tasir gets picked as a Gukseo, Ranamun will react peacefully. My main concern is that his anger will make him act as the adversary, and consequently antagonise with Latil.

*When Latil said she would become pregnant one day, Tasir held her hand and shared looks with her. Ranamun noticed it, and then approached him in private to warn him to never to sleep with her to avoid the risk of getting her pregnant. However, Tasir told him he couldn't avoid sleeping with her, because he was -after all- a consort first.

- Clein - Tasir: Similar case as with Ranamun. Tasir also promised Clein to help him become the Royal Consort. He might not have the same reaction that Ranamun, but he will for sure feel betrayed. I wonder what would happen if that were the case.

We also have Carlein - Guesta (remember when Guesta used the fox den to sent Carlein far away?), Clein - Girgol (remember when Clein destroyed his Greenhouse and Girgol did the same with his room?), Carlein - Ranamun (Ranamun accused Carlein of stealing Clein’s talisman), Guesta - Clein (at beginning of the story they fought endlessly), Guesta - Tasir (remember when they traveled with Latil to Karisen and all they did was fight?). I guess all of them have some reason to hate each other lmao, but I purposely just dove deep in the beefs that were more related to the royal marriage.

********

Well, Tumblr gals, this is the first part of my analysis. I wanted to cover some of the basic issues we shouldn’t ignore, regardless of our ships. I hope you like it. And again, this is just my take on what I've read, it's perfectly fine to have a different pov <3.

[laufeysonsbarnes]

Two Birds On A Wire

Summary: You’re Peter Parker’s best friend, Y/N L/N. You’re also known as the Ghost Spider, the female version of Peter. Being the older of the two, you taught Peter a lot and he was always more ready to fight and become an Avenger than you. You knew the danger that came with it all and spent most of your time making sure Peter was safe while he lived his dream. Now you have risked it all to save him and he is asking you to come home... but you’re tired. 

Warnings: Angst, subtle mention of death, mention of murder.

A/N: This is a piece from a fanfic book with a Loki/Bucky/Peter {haven’t really decided which} love interest I dream of writing one day. Let me know what you all think. ♥  For this one specifically I envision a female main character so there are more female pronouns in it. If you all like it and want a gender neutral one let me know, I’d be happy to post it. Also, not my gif above.

Song Inspiration: Two Birds by Regina Spektor

Y/N = Your Name. L/N = Last Name.

As I held the infinity gauntlet in my hand, I felt the power surge through my veins. It hurt, fiery searing pain surging through me as I stared into the mad titan’s eyes. Nothing but spite and anger were in my eyes towards the titan. I could hear Loki’s last words in my head. “You’ll never be a God.” Thor had told me his brother's last words and I chose to stick by it. 

“You’ll never be a God.” I growled at Thanos, my voice rough and ragged from the battle. As the last word slipped my lips, I snapped. A force of power, coming from all of the stones in the gauntlet Tony had made, rushed over the battlefield and coursed through all of Thanos’ warriors and Thanos himself. 

The last thing I heard before the snap was a mix of Tony yelling “Kid!” and Peter’s voice “Y/N no!” Peter’s broke me the most. I was close with Tony, I mean hell, he was calling me kid. He doesn’t just call anyone kid. He had taken care of me since I was eight and ended up in Shield after my parents murders. I met Peter before Shield though, we had always gone to the same school and our parents used to be friends, along with Aunt May. Simpler times, I guess. 

Squeezing my eyes, I heard Peter’s voice in a broken state. “Y/N... Y/N, please.. Please wake up... Don’t leave me here.. Not like this.” In between his words were soft, broken sobs and if my heart wasn’t already breaking, it was now. 

I screamed at myself to open my eyes and with all of the strength left in me, I did. I opened my eyes to meet his, a broken, tired smile ghosted my lips as I looked at my best friend. “Peter...” I whispered out, my voice cracking. 

“Come on, Y/N.. We’ve got to get you up. We’ve got to get you home! You’ll be okay. Come on!” Peter pleaded with me.

I knew there was no way I was going home. How could I tell him that though? Looking at the wounds that wrapped around my whole arm, stretching up my neck, and across my face, I sighed ever so softly. I held the hand he had placed on top of my good one before looking up into his hershey chocolate brown eyes. “I’m tired...” I said quietly, tears now brimming my eyes. “The sky is overcast and I’m sorry...” Saying this, I shake my head as I look back down at my war-torn body. 

“Peter...” Tony said softly behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder in a comforting way to which Peter responded angrily and shook it off, shaking his head. 

“No!” Peter cried out.

A/N: Aaaand that’s it for now. Okay, so I have many different ways it can go for different love interests. I don’t know which way I would/will? go yet. Is Y/N dead yet? 🤔 Is Y/N ever really dead? 🤔

Request something here!

[pokeasleepingsmaug]

Bones in the Ocean

Aaaand three years since I've written anything for this bastard, and now he's back in my head. I knew this would happen. It's sort of a companion piece to Captured, although they're not really necessary to read together. I just used the same shieldmaiden construct for the basis of my reader-insert. Will eventually feature some rough smut/hate-fucking, but this is just the introductory part, really.

TW for choking and Ivar literally being on a suicide mission (nobody actually dies, though!)

Ivar x Reader.

Ivar is convinced the gods made a mistake when they let him survive the shipwreck he got into when he accompanied Ragnar to England.

You are Ivar's most prized shieldmaiden, and even though you seldom get along, there is nothing you wouldn't do for him. Including accompanying him into Rán's fishing nets, if that's what he needs of you.

AO3, if you prefer

You secure the final knot, satisfied as the sail snaps above you. Your hands burn just a little from the way the rope had slid through your fingers, the ship eager to be on her way as a prancing yearling. “This really is Floki’s best work,” you muse, not bothering to look down at Ivar. You’d just as soon talk to yourself, anyway. At least you aren’t a dick most times.

“A boat and a shieldmaiden worthy of the gods,” Ivar answers darkly, and although you feel his heavy eyes on you, you fight the urge to meet his gaze.

“And a warlord descended from Odin himself,” you finish softly, ignoring the goosebumps that rise on your arms and the back of your neck. You swear you almost feel the one-eyed god here, but you are not Floki and you cannot commune with gods, no daughter of legendary warriors worthy of their halls. Only the most loyal battle-companion of Ivar the Boneless, the shield at his back and the sword at his side in battle after battle; the one he conquers when victory on the battlefield is simply not enough; the one he always threatens to sacrifice to the gods before every battle.

“Warlord,” Ivar spits bitterly. “I am not worthy of the title.”

The mood on the small vessel is tense, even the wind itself suddenly goes still. It wants no part of this madman’s errand. You reach for the rope, thinking maybe you should reef the sails and start rowing, but the wind picks up and the sails swell again.

You finally look over at Ivar for the first time since you lost sight of land, and immediately wish you hadn’t. He’s gazing toward the horizon, a faraway look on his beautiful face, icy eyes the softest you’ve ever seen them, the same perfect blue as the ocean beneath the ship. The wind plays with a wisp of hair that’s come loose from his elaborate braids, and your fingers itch to tuck it behind his ear.

You don’t dare touch him, with that faraway look in his eyes and a madman’s quest on his mind. For what must be the thousandth time since you swore yourself to Ivar, shield and sword and soul, you ask yourself what you were thinking, but you already know the answer. Any warrior can serve an easy lord, but  an easy lord will not get a warrior into the halls of the gods.

And just like that you’ve made your choice, drawing your axe on instinct alone in the half-dozen steps it takes you to cross the small vessel. He hears your footsteps and unsheathes his sword, full lips curling into that smirk you know so well, the one you love and hate, that makes you want to worship him and kill him all at once.

“Warlord,” you answer him, fierce and low, as his sword brushes your blow aside. “Son of Ragnar.” You chop toward his sword-arm, he dodges quickly. “Ivar the Boneless.” Your swing glances off the shoulder of his leather armor, but you don’t have enough force behind the blow for it to sink into flesh.

Ivar, however, is not so considerate. Quick as lightning, his arm twists up and his fingers clamp around your wrist. Before you can even react, your axe clatters to the ship’s belly, your wrist twisted and fingers useless. “How am I supposed to sail this boat if you break my arm?” You bite out, trying in vain to pull your arm from his merciless grasp.

“And how am I supposed to right the mistake of the gods if you kill me before we reach our destination?” He retorts, voice low and silky.

“Mistake! They didn’t want you, Ivar! The gods don’t make mistakes.”

He yanks you even closer, pulling you off balance and increasing the nearly unbearable tension in your wrist, but you don’t give him the satisfaction of flinching. His face is an inch from yours; his breath ghosts over your skin as he chuckles softly. “Not a mistake, then. A punishment, to leave me behind, since now I must suffer the arrows that fly from your tongue.”

“Punishment for what?” His eyes are unfathomable, holding all the secrets of the sea, and you know without a doubt you’ll drown if you don’t force yourself to break his gaze.

“For not sacrificing them to you the first time I saw you,” he breathes, his other hand moving up to rest on your throat, just below your chin. His thumb strokes over the pulse-point there, and he chuckles at how frantically your heart is racing. “The instant I saw you across that battlefield, dealing death to Saxons, I knew you would deliver me victory after victory. I knew I had to give you to the Valkyries, to earn those victories myself, and yet.” His grip on your throat tightens, the edges of your vision darkening. “And yet I could not. You are my downfall, Y/N.”

“And you are my victory,” you rasp around his iron fingers, barely a gasp. You fight his grip on your arm and neck to lean toward him, and he relents just enough. The kiss is all teeth and the taste of blood; the giddiness of air when Ivar releases his grip on your throat.

He tangles his fingers in your hair to tilt your head back and inspect the marks of his fingers, and his smile is something feral, his eyes hard and hungry. Your cunt is throbbing as he inspects you, and he must see the want in your eyes because his smile shifts into a cocky smirk. “This is not the proper time, Y/N.” He releases your hair and plants his hand in the center of your chest. You stumble as he pushes you toward the steering oar in the rear of the ship.

You grab the oar, and the ship turns to your lightest touch. If you weren’t so worked up, you would be able to admit that it is the most responsive ship you have ever steered. As it is, all you do is glare at Ivar, and his laughter fills you with fury. You should have never looked at him to begin with.

[some-dr-writings]

Rantaro, Chiaki, and Ibuki x S/O who’s scared of touch asking to hold their hand

Rantaro Amami:

·       “You don’t like touch?... Okay.”

·       Rantaro never pried you was to why you didn’t like touch. All he knew was you didn’t like it at the very least and that was enough for him. Didn’t matter what the reason was, in the end you didn’t like touch, so he respected that.

·       However, touch was rather important to Rantaro, extremely actually. He cared about you; you were his partner. After having lost all of his little sisters, he was scared of losing you too. When out he needed you close, hold your hand or something to place his heart at ease and know you were still by his side and wouldn’t just suddenly disappear when he wasn’t paying attention to you for a moment like had happened with others so many times before.

·       Talking through both of your needs you came to a compromise. When out Rantaro could hold on to a piece of your clothing whether it be the hem of a shirt or the end of a sleeve or scarf. It was an arrangement you both could be comfortable with.

·       It was another day of searching, simply walking along down that snowy street. A chilling wind rolled past kicking up some snow as it went. He pulled up his scarf just a bit higher to shield a little more of himself from the cold. The crunching sound of the snow beneath your feet was a delightful contrast from the silent world the powdery substance had created, like placing a blanket over one’s ears. It was so quiet he could here even your meek, mumbled voice.

·       “Rantaro?” “Yeah.” “……… uh…” Rantaro simply waited patiently. He didn’t mind the lulls in conversations like most would. They were good moments to collect your thoughts on what the other had said, even if it was just wondering what they could want. “I… I’m not sure if I’m okay with touch yet, but… maybe… we could try? J-just this once, since we both have gloves on… I think I’ll feel safer trying like this.” “Okay. Would you feel better if I took your hand, or do you want to take mine.” “U-uh… I… I don’t know…” “… “Maybe we could both go for it?” “Y-yeah! I think that’s good!”

·       Whether from the cold or from fear or nervousness, Rantaro couldn’t tell why your hand lightly trembled in his, but that didn’t matter. You wanted to try and was something he was going to cherish forever.

    Chiaki Nanami:

·       Chiaki didn’t particularly mind your no touching rule. You must have had your reasons for it so she didn’t push you. Besides touch was not the only way to connect with a person, you could still happily enjoy paying video games with one another, hell if you wanted the distance you could even play on opposite sides of the world and still connect.

·       It didn’t matter the game whether single player or co-op, competitive or cooperative you’d play any and all games together. Often you’d end up just talking about whatever, the recent chaos Chiaki’s class had gotten into, the rough day you had when someone bumped into you sending you into a panic, some random thing in the news, the latest video game releases, didn’t matter really you just liked talking with one another.

·       “Did you at least go to the nurse’s office?” Your response was a bit prolonged, just a single drawn-out syllable as you tried figuring out where on the map exactly the new boss had appeared. “Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeaah. Yeah, I did.” “… Y/N you’re going the wrong way.” “Wait… No that’s the only path to the boss.” “The pathway is blocked, take the mountain rout.” “Oh!” “… You’re awfully distracted. Did something happen at the nurse’s office?” “No, no. I… I’m just… tired. Tired of getting so worked up all the time at the slightest contact. It’s been years now, but I still get so panicky. I hate it. I just want to not have to deal with this anymore… I just… I wanna hug you and hold your hand without feeling scared. I know you won’t do anything and yet I still… Aaaand I die great- just great!” Chiaki gently took the controller from you and placed it aside. “Let’s take a break from the game, okay?” “No, we don’t have to stop because of me.” “But you’re not having fun so there’s no point.” “… Okay.”

·       You simply watched as Chiaki went about saving and shutting off the system before placing away your controllers. “Chiaki! I wanna hold your hand!” “Will you be okay?” “I’ll make myself okay! I’M FINE!” “Chords of steel, nice. But I don’t like the sound of this.” “But I can still try, right?” “… If you want too.” Both your hands gripped around one of her’s, your nails just digging in. Your hands trembled under the pressure and your breathing wavered. Then you let go practically throwing your self back. “Nope-no-no, i- no- I just can’t- UGH Why!? Why does this have to be so stupid-” You were suddenly caught off guard feeling a blanket tossed on you. “… Thank you.” “It’s okay. I know how frustrating this can be for you… Want to play a good puzzle game to distract you?” “Yeah, I’d like that.”

     Ibuki Mioda:

·       As much as you cared about one another, at first things were extremely rough. Ibuki was a rather naturally touchy person so trying to get used to not touching the person she loved took a bit to get used to, but she forced herself to stop for your sake, as much as she wanted to hug you and such, it would never be more important than your comfort and feeling safe, she never wanted to ever scare you. Thankfully there were plenty of other things you could do together like write and play music, go to amusement parks, go traveling, maybe go hiking, or visit a zoo, perhaps try something new like going to a spa, didn’t matter you could just do anything together.

·       It was pouring outside so after some running around in the rain for the fun of it and drying off the pair of you here hidden away in Ibuki’s room. Instruments and papers were scattered about, the pair of you writing down any lyrics you could think of, Ibuki constantly changing instruments to make up an accompaniment to go with it. It was rather random and bombastic, but it was a method that had made many a great song and really, the end result didn’t matter to either of you, it was just fun making up stuff. Though there was also fun to be found in perfecting songs as well.

·       You sat on the bed trying to strum the strings of the bass guitar as Ibuki wailed away, one foot on the ground, the other propped up on the seat of a chair. You ended up placing aside your guitar opting to draw Ibuki, she looked kind cool, posing and playing away. “Hmm? Hey, how come you stopped?” “Eh, I still don’t know the bass, Buki.” “Whaaaaaaat? It’s fine I’ll show you. Let’s play!” Ibuki wasn’t half-bad as a teacher but often her lessons would derail at some point and the pair of you would end up doing something else. “Sure.” And so you picked back up the guitar.

·       “Wait. Back up. I place my fingers… here?” “Not exactly. You gotta use all your finger, get all those strings!” “Uh… Hey, could you maybe… place my fingers for me? and hold my hand in the right place?” “………” “Bu-” “Sure!” Though Ibuki sat beside you, she made sure to not get too close. She could hear how your breathing wavered a bit from the contact, but you were doing okay, not screaming like you used to when she accidentally tackled you into a hug from behind. She was glad you got comfortable around her, even after she messed up so much. She was glad you were both trying.

[notthisimagines]

Both

Thirteenth Doctor X Reader

Finally managing to get my first imagine on this account out and the first time I’ve written one in years so please be gentle with me. It’s a bit ramble-y but hopefully that’s something I’ll work out as I keep writing more. Any advice/ suggestions appreciated.

Word Count: 1,667

TW: Blood mention, injury mention?

You slammed the TARDIS door shut turning to lean against the door, attempting desperately to catch your breath while the Doctor continue to sprint up to the console. Breathlessly you watch her whizz around the console doing her usual manic routine of lever pulling. Relief washes over you as the TARDIS begins wheezing signifying take off and escape from the threat of outside. 

“See!” The Doctor swivels around from her spot at the TARDIS a grin plastered across her face. “Told ya I’d get us out safe, perfectly planned if I do say so myself.”

You gave her a small joking glare still attempting to catch your breathe. “Yeah, cut it bit close did you not?” you manage to wheeze out slowly making your way up the small steps to the main console area. 

“All part of the plan.” the Doctor said grin still wide on her face “plus, makes it more fun!”

A grin mirroring the Doctors made it way onto your face, finally getting back to normal breathing and the lingering fear from the adventure wearing off leaving the adrenaline.

The Doctors grin suddenly drops as she stares at your face and you stop, feeling the fear slowly seep back in, along with a pang of something else you couldn’t quite identify, your cheeks heating red and the Doctor steps closer to you than would be normal for any conversation.

She stops just in front of you and you realise that you could simply lift your hand and touch her if you wanted to. Did you want to? before you could give yourself an answer to that thought the Doctor shocks you by lifting her hand slowly a look of concern plastered across her face as her thumb swipes over your forehead right above your eyebrow.

She looks at your forehead and then at her thumb as she brings it down in front of the both of you. She scrunches her face looking between the two for a second.

“Your bleeding, why didn’t you say anything?” she uttered swiftly plunging her hand into her coat pocket and pulling out a TARDIS blue coloured handkerchief and pressing it to your head finally meeting your eye contact.

You assumed she was making eye contact as a means to check to see how you were and as a push for you to answer her but as she made it your heart skipped a beat for a second. “Uhhh yeah, I didn’t realise. Must’ve been all the adrenaline and running” you sputter out “I’m fine” you add with a small not entirely convincing smile.

You were nervous. You didn’t quite understand why. You had been handling your ‘feelings’, well, suppressing your feelings for the Doctor pretty well and you had definitely been closer to her during adventures as she shielded you from danger or grabbed your hand to run away. Though something about the way you were standing so close and with the Doctor breaking the distance between you to come to your aid. 

No. The Doctor was your friend and she was just trying to help and you were reading too much into it.

You raised your hand to the handkerchief on your head attempting to push onto any part of it the Doctor didn’t have her hand on giving her permission to let you hold it for yourself. 

She moves her hand away and you slightly miss the closeness of the contact, if you could even call it that. To your surprise however the Doctor doesn’t move away immediately her face still scanning yours looking for any sign that you weren’t ok. 

“Right then. It doesn’t look too bad but we better get you to med-bay to double check then, eh?”

You assume her question is metaphorical as before you could even react she gently grabs your free hand and leads you out of the console room and down the TARDIS halls for the short walk to the med-bay. 

You found yourself felling nervous the entire time, you had held the Doctors hands on adventures before but that was usually done while you were both running at high speeds from danger. Something about holding the Doctors hand while slowly walking through the halls of the TARDIS felt so intimate. You take a second to hold onto the memory of the calm and her hand in yours knowing this would probably be a one off situation.

Your thoughts are disrupted hen she gently leads you from the hallway into the med-bay. 

“Right, hop up there” she lets go of your hand and gestures vaguely to the bed. “and I’ll just” she continues not finishing her sentence and turning to the many drawers in the room, rummaging through them.

Your follow her orders and half jump up onto the bed trying to push the disappointment of  having to let her hand go to the back of your head as your nerves return realising that if the Doctor was going to patch up your head this would once again mean close proximity and attempting to hide any signs that would give away how you really felt about her.

“Ah, right perfect” she said pivoting round to face you with some supplies in her hand, making her way to you, you give her a small smile that was intended to be reassuring but your sure your nervousness is displayed through it. The Doctor places the supplies on the bed next to you and puts her hand to the handkerchief on your head once again.

“Don’t worry. Shouldn’t hurt all that much. Maybe a little sting but shouldn’t be too bad” She reaches with her other hand to the supplies pulling what you assume is a disinfecting wipe of some sort from a small tub and she gently presses it again your cut. The sting from the wipe wasn’t entirely unexpected but it was worse than you expected, clearly you hadn’t realised quite how big the cut on your head was, not that it was huge but with all the adrenaline making it feel initially like a small graze, realising you had an actually cut on your head was now starting to properly hit you. 

You take a sharp breath in and the Doctor stops for a second looking down catching your gaze. “I know. I’ll just need to wipe it a couple times just to keep it clean, ok?” You felt like such a wimp under the Doctors gaze, it was only a small cut after all. You nod your head, deciding to focus on her face as a distraction this time as she slowly moves the wipe towards your face again. 

As she once again wipes the cut without thinking you raise one of your hands and hold gently onto the wrist of her free arm not attending to you. The Doctor continues to focus her attention on the cut in front of her. This time a second before the wipe makes contact with the cut she snakes her wrist from your hand and instead slips her fingers easily into yours giving your hand a small reassuring squeeze as she does. The Doctor continues to pat the wipe against the cut a couple more times to ensure it was completely clean and you feel it but your focus was now more on the fact that you were so close to the Doctor, her hand in yours as you stare up at her face, trying to steady your heartbeat.

“There we go!” She says excitedly finally meeting your eye contact and giving you a large grin. She then ,without letting go of your hand, reaches down to your side picking up a large plaster, expertly taking off one side of the paper from the sticky part and placing the plaster half on your head before taking the other half of the paper off again with one hand. You assumed with the ease at which she did it that she had done it before given all the adventure and danger you sure at some point she’s had to put a plaster on someone, more than likely herself, with one hand.��

“Aaaand there we go.” She smiled, once again making eye contact her grin somehow outdoing her one from before. You’re not quite sure what to say panicking with the closeness of the moment you opt for “What do you think does it look good?” The Doctor lets out a small chuckle and you see surprise take over her face for just a second. 

“Yeah, it does actually. Very fashionable.” she retorts matching your sarcastic, cheeky tone adding a small wink at the end. Your heart once again stops for a second and without thinking you lean forward, closing the small distance between you both and place a small, quick kiss on her lips.

The Doctors face once again washes with surprise however this time the expression stays for far longer, what felt like minutes but in reality  was only seconds. You begin to panic you’re head going a million miles an hour trying to come up with an excuse.

“oh.” The Doctor breathes out as you assume what you had done had settled in. You don’t wait for her to push you away and begin “Doctor I’m so so-”

But before you can continue she cuts you off her lips crashing against yours and her hand making its way to your burning cheeks as she pulls your face in as if the two of you could get any closer. The kiss somehow both gentle and needy. 

She pulls away and the both of you still for a moment as the implications of the moment settle in. 

“Thank you” you utter. 

“For the plaster or for the kiss?” she retorts the calm on her face making way for a small closed-lip smile and eye-brows raising.

“Both” you whisper closing your eyes and leaning into a soft kiss knowing that your relationship with the Doctor would never be the same again.

[fandomsnfluff]

Hiii idk if prompts are still open but if you can could you do 12 for the sentence starters with mc & either Asmo or Levi 🥺🥺 love uu

hi anon!! prompts are open but i’m only focusing on a specific set of requests (particularly ones for obey me) so you’re in luck!! love you too <3 also, i decided to write for both of them bc i love them hehehe uwu

tickle prompts/scenarios

12: “You need to smile more!”

◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦

It was one of those rare moments where Asmo managed to catch you and Levi in the same room.

Earlier that week, the Avatar of Lust had ordered a new set of nail polishes that were mixed colors, so when they went on your nails, they would dry in an interesting pattern or design that you couldn’t tell just by looking at the bottle. You and Levi, according to Asmo, were the perfect candidates to try them with him; according to him, you two had the cleanest nails of everyone in the house, and it would be easiest to do it on you two since you both also didn’t have much to fix on the hands and nail department either.

You weren’t going to lie to yourself; you really didn’t want to do this right now. It wasn’t because you weren’t the kind of person who liked getting your nails done, even if that was an aspect of it. It was mostly because you couldn’t focus on anything else right now; your family was all you wanted to think about.

However, with some coaxing, the brothers managed to encourage you to get up and try it. They mentioned that doing something else would help you get out of your head space and focus on something else; it would allow you to look at something much more positive.

But even when Asmo got to work on your fingernails, after giving Levi an admittedly gorgeous new dark indigo color with lighter spots reappearing as it dried, you kept frowning, your mind slipping back to the thoughts of your family. You felt the familiar tug of homesickness deep within your chest, and you had to look away before you started crying in front of the brothers.

You managed to hold it back as you let out a long sigh, right when Asmo had moved to start on the nails of your left foot. By now, the champagne-haired demon had noticed how down you seemed, and he glanced up at you, frowning. “Anything wrong, MC?”

It was as if his voice broke you out of a trance; you barely heard him, but you knew instantly what he had asked. “Huh? O-oh, no, it’s all fine...”

The demon knew you were lying through your teeth, but he shrugged anyway, continuing his work on your toenails. He looked like he wanted to say something, but Levi interrupted him and spoke up before he could say anything.

“I’m with you,” he grumbled, tapping on the screen of his D.D.D. more. He must be playing a game. “I didn’t want to do this anyway, but what choice did we have?”

“How rude!” Asmo hissed, pouting before reaching out to grab the bottle of polish to finish his job on your toenails. However, as he leaned over, his hand accidentally brushed along the underside of your foot.

You squeaked in surprise, lurching your legs backwards to shield them from any more uninvited contact. The room suddenly fell into a dreadful silence, one that you could hear ghost speaking to each other in. Well, you couldn’t, because you were already in the Devildom.

The brothers were staring at each other, and you could instantly tell what was going through both of their minds. You felt a shudder down your spine, and you attempted to back away before Asmo grabbed your legs, keeping you in place. Despite his size and his somewhat dainty appearance, the small demon was much, much stronger than he looked.

“Where do you think you’re going, MC?” Asmo drawled, playfully wiggling his fingers at you. You gasped and attempted to squirm away, but now Levi was behind you, locking your arms within his as he attempted to keep you in a position that kept you vulnerable to whatever they were planning. Panic surged through you as you got the idea, and you began to squirm and twist away from them.

“Asmo!” You gasped, glaring at him. “Don’t you fucking dare!”

“Such naughty words.” That was Asmo’s only response as he playfully frowned at you. “You’ve seemed so down lately. You need to smile more!”

“I will, but not in your way!” You shot back at him.

“But you’re trapped,” Asmo observed, an innocent look on his face. You motherfucker. “And you have nowhere else to go. We don’t plan on letting you go until you show us that smile!”

Aaaand there it was, the return of playful Asmo. But your positive frame of him was quickly disintegrating as he slowly reached forward, taking his precious time to push your shirt up from the hem to expose the skin on your side. His touch was so light, so delicate, and you had to practically bite down on the inside of your lip to stop yourself from laughing.

“Y-you think you can...g-get-- BAHAHAHAHA WAHAHAIT STAHAHAP AHAHAHA!” You suddenly cried out when the fingers went from sliding up your sides to full on scribbling along the hypersensitive skin there, poking and prodding between your ribs and scribbling around your navel.

“Aww, there it is!” Asmo cooed, squeezing at the flesh around your sides, making you squeal and buck, kicking out as you exploded into another fit of laughter. “You’re so cute and ticklish, MC!”

“Sh-shut up!” You hissed, your voice instantly reaching a new octave as you felt Levi’s fingers digging into your armpits. You squirmed and yelled out for them to stop, not sure how much of this you could take. Levi leaned down and began to pepper light ticklish kisses on the side of your neck, and you outright screamed when Asmo began to flutter the tips of his fingers along the bottoms of your bare feet.

You were sure you were going to pass away in the arms of the two demon brothers. However, when you felt the tears stinging the corners of your eyes, when you felt like it was all too much for your nerves to handle, you saw the light. You saw the gap in their torturous, merciless attacks.

It was only for a split second, but the moment Asmo pulled his hands away to stretch them out a bit before resuming his tickle torture on your poor, defenseless feet, you reached over to his outstretched leg, fast as lightning, and scribbled your fingers along the underside of his knee, as much as you could reach. Asmo certainly didn’t prepare himself for your attack; he let out an adorable squeak before flinching away from you, bringing his legs up under his chest.

Levi must have noticed, for he made a small surprised noise before you turned to him and smirked.

“M-MC? Levi?” Asmo’s voice was small as you both began to slowly approach him. Then the attack began.

For the rest of the evening, the three of you squabbled, wrestled, and tickled each other until the Devildom dawn began to break. Needless to say, the nail polish was forgotten that night.

[mepheesto]

small thoughts on M’s route book 3 demo

ok so, me and @silverletters are waaaay too invested in this shit and just spent the last half an hour thinking about that damn breakfast scene in M's route book 3 demo and I'm just let's take a couple of steps together please - mind the spoilers, goes without saying, I'm just gonna cut this for extra carefulness:

We know M is so shielded from their feelings it's appalling, but they also have a very strong, bursting emotional response to things, and are extremely aware on a subconscious/background level of the emotional responses of those around them. I like to think it's somewhat linked to their sensitivity, but I digress. We also know all of their teammates (except F to a degree, but still not in an invasive way) have this wonderful habit of letting their companions be themselves and respecting boundaries and personal histories - they're a family, and UB has a special chemistry and understanding of each other to a silent, perfect level. However much I would love to see especially N just screaming in M's face, we all know this is not going to happen. F would most likely make some snappy comment to try and trigger some deeper thinking, to just nudge M's point of view towards a light they themselves can't see. A is tricky - part of me can see them going "ok, well, that was it, you're done playing games, can we move on" but luckily they're not that much of an ass at this point  - and will probably be very grounding and practical as usual, but still conscious of the higher value of respecting one's wishes and wanting to see them happy; thus probably moving more towards something along the lines of  "I did tell you this would complicate stuff, what is your plan now". But all of this would probably not work on M, let's be honest. If that's the case, the answer would be "I don't know", some sneers, some stuttered aggressive response, and mostly confusion. Our good ol' local grumpy sack of garbage and obliviousness would just be even more confused. Noticing everyone's sadness (small digression to N being especially in pain cause it's their people, move to me crying in a corner cause N is too precious for coherent words) and being more and more alienated, both by their internal turmoil and what's in the eyes of those around them.

Add that to the possibility the detective has brushed off the comment in the bakery, and seems perfectly fine with continuing their relationship as a mainly physical one, no strings attached. Of course M doesn't realize yet to what extent, but what they said there in a moment of denial and panic, in Hailey's face, is obviously not true to them. Now, let's add that to how Mishka (I 'd gather) keeps all options at pretty much the same pace, trying to guarantee the same depth and exploration of the relationship to all "flavours" of a route we may take.

So, either the detective went crying and ran or they were embarrassed, or rolls with it, doesn't matter. Something in M still clicked, and they don't like it. M likes it easy. They love to be lucky and be left alone in their functional little world with no further stimulation that would just irritate them. But this, this comes from inside them. This can't just be shut down. They'll try regardless. I can perfectly see M trying to make it simple again, acting as if nothing happened, trying again to move to a comfortable known area of this relationship, and ground it to their usual physical interactions. But of course, now that something has changed, it's not enough. Whether the detective complies or not, something will be missing. Be it just that sex is no longer enough, or that being denied now hurts even more and stirs the waters of that internal turmoil more. They're more and more confused, skittish, easy to enrage and constantly annoyed and dissatisfied. Snappy, avoidant, and maybe even reaching a point where they themselves refuse the sexual encounter - or make it cold, shallow, frustrated, awkward. And, obviously, feel like shit right after.

M so far has not been so fast at understanding any of the rules of this new game, and I don't expect them to be suddenly struck by lightning on the way to Damascus. Oh, no. We're probably gonna fight with this through the whole third book. That, added to maybe some softness slipping here and there, just seeping through the cracks, at the worst times. A soft eye, a cuddle, an attentive, natural, intimate gesture that causes yet more boiling to the surface and more pain.

Idk about you but I am not ready for this ride and I am screaming - and still OH BOY CAN'T WAIT TO SEE ALL OF THAT aaaand I'm out of coherent thoughts and words, time to go back to my cave, if you need me just follow the pained sighs

[artificiallyimplantedmemories]

[ ooc: ep 4 liveblog & opinions under the cut! this one got long winded because I had a lot that I was thinking about (and it took me twice the length of the episode to actually watch through it because I kept pausing to type oops) ]

yeeeesh that’s one way to start. thank you for letting bucky cry.

but also the look of pride on her face when she says “you are free” they’ve been working so hard and she’s so happy with the progress bucky has made ;_;

and now she’s so betrayed :(

but I’m also so glad Bucky learned xhosa that’s super important! <3 part of decolonization of the past involves respecting and learning and propagating languages and cultures that have been trodden over. Wakanda has been something of a safe place in that regard, and are now doing the outreach to help their continent and the world, but it takes the world of people within the majority putting in the effort and learning and embracing those cultures and languages (without appropriation, which I know is a fine line to walk sometimes) in order to really make progress. once it is no longer alien, it is also no longer scary, and can be held in proper esteem.

“sweet of you” shut your mouth Zemo xD

“she’s just a kid” thank you for your compassion Sam. and while she’s an extremist, I’m not sure whether Karli counts as a supremacist or just a terrorist? maybe she counts as genocidal if she’s truly trying to restore things to Blip conditions but it’s kind of unclear.

“the serum never corrupted Steve” “touché” YO EVEN HE ADMITS IT

Sam’s understanding of cultural habits (and there are many overlaps between various cultures and the ways they mourn) is such an asset here, and I’m glad that they’re pulling a contrast between the tech-driven, cold, calculating predictions made by certain people and organizations in other parts of Marvel and the general sort of soulful and instinctive approach here

Turkish delight. Excuse me but Narnia cemented the idea in so many people’s heads that it is this magical thing but it’s like superglue in your mouth. It is not irresistible, Zemo.

Legislation and social change as a result of violent action is nothing new. Every peaceful protest has been backed up by some kind of harm, whether it be economic, like a boycott, or physical, either damage to property or lives. I think instinctively people understand this, but it’s good to see it put in the spotlight.

Sam is “stranger danger” to these kids :/

“I know what happens when people say they’re going to help out... nothing.” Ouch.

The way Sam’s gaze falls at that too, because he knows theoretically that a lot of these injustices are happening and can empathize, but practically hearing it hurts. He doesn’t like not being trusted either, but I think he can probably understand why.

Zemo playing that psychology game! Kids love food and the idea that he must be a good person just for having a kid is dumb as hell but something that kids would gravitate towards. Smart man. Doubly smart for not telling them, Nat would approve if she didn’t hate him :P

Sam de-escalating is gonna be a trend I can just see it.

Cherry blossom tea? Interesting choice.

SHARON HI 

Nat vc: gosh it’s nice to see someone competent around here. 

ooooh they’re really reinforcing the idea of Captain America being a figurehead that inspires people

“heroes these days don’t have the luxury of keeping their hands clean” yeah well it’s because Steve had people like Bucky and Nat do do his dirty work, but sure

“all the people history just left out” OW

okay first of all Sam being the one who is insisting on reasoning with them because he knows what it’s like to come from an oppressed people !!! he knows grief and trauma !!! he can do this !!!!! I just know Walker is gonna fuck it up for them :P

second, Walker trying to emotionally manipulate Bucky? it’s a testament to how far he’s come that he doesn’t punch the guy immediately lol

Hoskins being the voice of reason as a foil for Walker again what?! this version of Lamar isn’t nearly as terrible as I expected.

Zemo calling that itty bitty girl his associate xD He really does understand the people here though... aaaand he’s getting handcuffed. Totally didn’t see that coming (he’ll probably break free anyway)

The conversation between Karli & Sam ;_; 

“you’re either brilliant or hopelessly optimistic” “por quo no los dos.gif”

Walker trying to guilt Bucky again god he’s so dumb. I appreciate the fact that he’s ruthless but he’s so narrow minded in how he approaches problems. oh no I have an issue let’s punch it until it dies! come on man.

Karli is so heartbreakingly naive and that’s becoming more and more obvious. I love Sam opening her up like this wow.

WALKER FUCKING IT UP AS ALWAYS

and the cuffs empty WHAT DID I TELL YOU

god we were getting somewhere ;____;

oh good just what we need, serum in Walker’s hands. he was already awful he doesn’t need to be more awful gdi

“we separate them and then we kill Captain America” ...yes, we’re listening xD

I know crazy because I am crazy... oh boy we got some internalized stuff, but let’s play it off

still a little blame game going in terms of where the shield ended up I see

THE DORA MILAJE ARE HERE -swoon-

pOINTY STICKS I cackled oh boy he gonna get his ass WHOOPED

Sam is enjoying the hell out of this

Zemo watching and drinking

“Looking strong, John!” “Bucky”

oooh dear they tangling and Zemo’s getting away.

your arm’s off! no it’s not

WAIT WHAT DID AYO SAY BEFORE SHE SAID JAMES

they all got their asses kicked ah well. also the look on Walker’s face says he gonna serum himself up, the lil fucker. oh no someone’s better than you how will your ego ever survive.

a lil Battlestar logo!!! shut up that’s cute. they’re really making him halfway likeable here.

“power just makes a person more of themselves”

ohhhh okay time to unlock Walker’s traumatic backstory. at least he feels bad about the things he did. at least he knows that those medals of honor are covered in blood. people are at least partly made by their circumstances, and I wonder what he was like before the war. the only indication we have of it is him being a football star, and while I may not have had the best track record with those in my youth, that doesn’t mean there aren’t decent ones out there...

Sarah’s “my world doesn’t matter to America, so why should I care about its mascot?” Oh, we’re speaking to the disenfranchisement of marginalized people hardcore today okay. if anyone’s gotten this far in my overly long commentary I want you to know that this is the realest alright? it’s hard to be proud of a country and its symbols when it doesn’t do right by you, when the majority doesn’t do right by you. am I glad I was born here? sure. are there worse places to be? sure. am I proud to be an american? oof, man, don’t ask me that.

Karli is not pulling her punches, she’s threatening the whole fam. Sam isn’t gonna like that... He sounds like he’s trying to suppress panic instead of being angry on the phone call with Sarah. I think he understands what Karli is trying to do, even though he hates how. And he’s worried, because he’s always gonna be worried. Poor guy. And there’s the confrontation.

Sharon got their backs!

Oof, seeing the gun with the shield.

Gunshot, run, oh, listening, he’s already got the serum, maybe? Given how deeply that shield is embedded in the wall I’m gonna say yes. YUP I WAS RIGHT.

Something about the water dripping and Lemar’s face makes me think he may have been waterboarded at some point :( but maybe he’s just in a lot of pain.

THE KNIFE CATCH. YES YES YES. THE KNIFE FLIP. Nat is so hearteyes.

Ooh, we gotta upgrade that wingpack with Stark repulsors pls go Sam go

oh no. Lemar. fuck. FUCK.

oh good now you’ve done it. killing a guy as Captain America. fuck.

the blood on the shield as the last shot! ~cinematography~

hoooo I’m chilled. I knew something along these lines was coming but oof.