#all that said. i still enjoy the show and i LOVED amaya

[polyglottishthings]

I liked a lot of things about the Dragon Prince and i loved that they included a deaf character at all but imo they did it so wrong because

1. She NEVER mouths her words as she signs, and her signing feels flat and unexpressive. Sign language relies heavily on facial expressiveness alongside the way you sign, so it just looks like she's speaking very flatly all the time

2. She never once has trouble understanding people when reading their lips. It's true that a lot of people are amazing at reading lips and can get by pretty well by doing so, but no one is 100% all the time, and when you consider that she encounters both humans and elves with different spoken accents, it's LIKELY she would misread their lips at some point. There's a lot of comedic potential missed here, on top of the fact that it's just inaccurate.

3. She is finger spelling out everyone's names!! It's one thing when she's just met them and doesn't know much about them or hasn't given them a sign name/learned their sign name, but at the beginning of the show she spells out "Callum" instead of using his sign name. Since she seems pretty close to them, wouldn't she have given both of her nephews a sign name at some point?? I want to believe it's because the creators knew not everyone has/gives sign names....but given the context of this post....i just can't see that...

4. There are a few scenes where she hears something behind her, or when people are speaking behind her and she apparently hears them. I think this one bothers me the most, because the writers have basically made her deafness disappear for the sake of...what? Convenience? Not having to reimagine the scene? It's sad because scenes where this happens would be so much more authentic if you could see how scary it was for her not to understand wtf these people were talking about, or how she has found ways to stay aware of her surroundings despite not being able to hear them.

5. Along with the previous thing, her interpreter stands behind her WAY too much. Like, how is he reading her signs when she's in front of him or vice versa? Making the interpreter not able to view her/her not able to view him is basically excluding them from each other's conversations. You know how, when you're in a group conversation, if you miss what one person says, you aren't REALLY included in what rest of the people are saying? Yeah, that stills holds true with deafness.

A lot of this is just REALLY basic stuff because I don't even sign much and am not fully deaf and I picked up on it, so it leads me to think that the creators of the show just. Didn't ask a Deaf person for their insight? I mean they could've at least just Googled "Deaf people have sign language conversation" lmao

[thehumansnail]

King Magnifico X Reader

Pt2: The contract: You’ve woken up in bed with The King, now it’s time to discuss business.

Warning: Implied relationship😂 👀 open relationship? idk read on~

You stared in awe of the sleeping king. The way his head rested against the pillow, made a blush grow on your cheeks. He held you close, not tight but snug enough you couldn’t escape his cuddle. You thought he was beautiful before but something about his resting face made you want to kiss him. Suddenly all the memories of the previous night rushed to your head. You had done alot more then just kiss him-

You smiled leaning forward about to kiss him when his eyes opened. The smirk that was instantly on his face gave you shivers as he spoke.

“Good morning,Sweetness.” The king said, placing a kiss to your nose. You stared still a bit star struck. You felt him pull you close into his chest and could hear his soft breath above you. You nuzzled into his chest blushing slightly at the close contact of your naked bodies.

“Good morning my king..” you mumbled to him. He laughed a bit before kissing your forehead. You looked at him, seeing the smile on his face. The way those shiny blue eyes looked at you made you feel like there was no one else in the world.

“you know, I’m surprised your still h-here..” you stuttered out your last word afraid if you said it the king would leave. He chuckled and shook his head.

“If I left you how would I know our contact would hold up?” He said as he now moved to sit on the bed away from the love bubble you had created.

“The contract?”

“Yes! We made a deal after all that you’d be my apprentice. You can’t just leave after having your wish granted after all, you were announced as my apprentice after all.”

The king's words felt heavy as you now sat up. Of course, there was some kind of condition for your wish. “So…what is the contract exactly?”

“Well, you’d study under me and be my actual apprentice. You’ll also have my attention when you wish, whatever type of attention it may be.”

You smiled a bit at the thought of having a king at your beck and call. You couldn’t help but blush at the thought of being with him but it suddenly raised questions. “What about your wife? I’m sure Queen Amaya wouldn’t enjoy you sleeping with your apprentice.”

“Well,that’s another part of our contract. Sweetness, you’ll be talking with Amaya today and she’ll tell you all about her side of the arrangement.” Magnifico smiled as he scoffed towards the end of the bed. Suddenly you couldn’t help taking in the room around you.

The room had a Domed ceiling showing off a lovely painting of the stars and constellations. A The dome was held up by pillars decorated to look like shooting stars falling from the sky above. The details looked to be hand painted and golden foiled.

“This room is so pretty, my house in the village looks nothing like this.” You said gazing around the room and then down to the king sized bed that you laid in. A sigh left your lips as your hands touched the silky fabrics.

“Mi Amour, You’ll have to get used to it. After all this is your bedroom.” The king smiled “as the king’s apprentice you get a room in the palace, a personal chef and your own funds.”

Your eyes widened “so what your saying is I get to learn magic, have amazing sex and live in luxury??”

Magnifico bursted into laughter before he nodded his head. “I guess you can say that yes. Now come on y/n, up and at up! You need to get dressed and ready to meet with the queen.” he said as he placed a kiss on your cheek. He had already gotten himself fully dressed and was now picking up your clothing.

Once you were dressed, it seemed the king disappeared. You exited the room that had now been yours to find queen Amaya talking with her husband. You gulped a bit before approaching the two of them.

She gave you a warm smile “ah! Y/n, you're here! I was wondering when the contract would start.” You looked a bit confused before she grabbed your arm, locking you both side by side. You blushed a bit embarrassed before the king smiled and walked away.

You walked quietly arm and arm with the queen. She noticed your nerves and decided to speak.

“So, I know you slept with my husband.” She said calmly and you felt your breath hitch in your throat.

“Ah- y-yes I did do that didn’t I?” You replied as your voice seemed to shake. The queen laughed a bit at your words before she smiled warmly.

“Don’t worry, it’s perfectly okay. Magnifico and myself have a small deal. Which brings us to your contract.” She smiled and handed a paper over to you.

You took the paper and began reading…

“ Y/N Fletcher, Kings Apprentice.

Y/n , will receive a full suite, royalty card and personal chef in the palace. Along with these terms they will report daily to king Magnifico's study and at least once to Queen Amaya’s maid quarters.”

Report to the maid quarters? You looked up at the queen and she smiled. “Well, if your going to be assisting with Magnifico regularly, I’d appreciate it if you covered my handmaid's place while she is..” she cleared her throat and smiled “well, while she will be busy assisting me; if you understand.” Your eyes went a bit wide but of course you understood.

“So I don’t know if it’s my place to ask but, are you in an open relationship with the king?”

“Yes, we’ve done this for a few years now.” The queen said with a smile. “As long as our lovers are alright with the fact we’re taken.” The queen’s words made you feel a bit guilty. You had gotten so swept away with The King you hadn’t thought about her or her feelings.

“Yes my queen, I will stand by the contract.” You said with a smile and quickly started to scribble your signature.

[simslegacy5083]

Today's (11/22/2024) Episode: Orientation Blues

Despite having his close friends with him, Skye’s first visit to the high school was definitely not drama free.

“Why did I drink all that soda with lunch!?” Skye moaned, exited the  auditorium with his parents and classmates. “Now everyone is going to remember me as the kid who burped so loud in orientation it interrupted the principal's welcome speech. They’ll come up with some awful nickname for me, like Burpface, and I’ll be the butt of all the jokes. My life is OVER!”

“I don’t think it was that bad” Greyson said. “Yeah, and we’ll hang out with you no matter what” Peter agreed. “Thanks guys” Skye smiled sadly, unconvinced but appreciative that his friends were trying to help.

“You know…” Luigi told him once they’d said their goodbyes “we haven’t taken you school shopping yet.”

“If you change up your look, get some new clothes and a new pair of glasses, I bet no one will even recognize you. It’s not like you met many new sims in person today anyway since we sat with Don, Denton, Amaya and the kids. What do you think son – interested in a little retail reinvention?”

Skye nodded energetically “That sounds great! No one will laugh or call me burpface if they don’t realize I was the one who did  it! Thanks dad.”

“My pleasure” his father smiled broadly “I have work tonight but I’m off tomorrow. We’ll start bright and early, so we don’t have to rush.”

Noemi snuggled in close to her spouse as Skye rushed ahead towards the teleporter that would take them back to the island “Well that certainly seemed to lighten up our boy's bad mood – good job you!”

Skye’s mood skyrocketed that evening when he got a text from Elyse “So BORED 💀!” it said “Come hang? New TV in my room, Simflix and Chill?”

“Sure!” he texted back, his pulse suddenly racing “I’ll be right over”

Stashing his phone in his inventory Skye ran to the bathroom to brush his teeth “ugh, if only we’d done our shopping trip TODAY!” he said to his reflection “then I could show Elyse my cool new look. I guess this will have to do.”

Finding Noemi out back practicing the barrels with Roach he called out “I’m going to Elyse’s, we’re going to watch a movie, bye!!” barely giving her time to shout out “have fun” before he was speed walking towards the boardwalk.

“Watch Out!” Skye screamed, covering his eyes just before the chainsaw welding main character of Moonlight Massacre 3 claimed their last victim.

As the credits rolled Elyse turned towards him, laughing “you are such a scaredy cat!”

“Well excuse me for not enjoying 2 hours worth of jump scares and death.” Skye shot back, his heart still pounding and not in a good way.

Seeing she’d hit a nerve Elyse backed down and changed the subject “Sorry. No more horror movies, I promise. Now tell me, how was orientation?”

“Terrible” he replied morosely “I embarrassed myself by burping right in the middle of the principal’s speech. I really don’t want that to be my main recognizable moment around school, so mom and dad are going to take me to pick out a whole new look tomorrow.

“Hey” Elyse replied “WE should go shopping together instead! I’m sure your parents won’t mind. Then I can help you pick out some really cool new outfits. You’re always telling me how much you like my style after all.” She blushed, suddenly unsure of herself… unless you’re just humoring me.

Skye did love Elyse’s sleek dark goth ensembles, but he also had one important question “I can wear SOME stuff that isn’t black, right?”

“I think we can find you something cool with blue highlights” she grinned “Come on, it’ll be fun!”

“OK… I’m in!” Skye smiled back at her, suddenly excited “I’ll talk to my folks and then text you to figure out a time. This is going to be great!”

“Glad I could make my lil’ blue teddy a little less blue” she giggled evilly, dredging up the nickname she’d used for him when they were toddlers.

“Oh Grim Elyse, you can’t spread that nickname around! It’s almost as bad as Burpface!” he groaned. Her teasing devolved into a tickle fight between the two friends, and while a good teenage ticklefight has no real losers, she eventually agreed to keep his childhood nickname their little secret.

When she finally caught her breath, Elyse had another proposal. Mom promised she’d make her famous taco casserole tonight and I’m starving. You want to stay for dinner?” “Sure” Skye smiled “You know I love your mom's casserole.” Skye’s sadness from earlier in the day was forgotten as he trailed her out of the bedroom. His best friend sure knew how to turn his bad day around.

View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 23/03/2024

Balcony Cruise

Season 4 Episode 2 Featured on: SiIvaGunner's Highest Quality Rips: Volume D

Ripped by Helpful Salad

Requested by an anonymous reader! (Request Form)

Hey, remember yesterday's post on Viva La LOWAS: the rip of a track quite prominently paying tribute to Cave Story? Well, the Cave Story love isn't ending quite yet, and if ripper Helpful Salad has anything to say about it, the game is going to continue showing up on the channel no matter what. Though today the focus is indeed specifically on Balcony Cruise, the guy's made a bevvy of Cave Story rips just as good as this one - 39 out of his 63 contributions, to be precise! - that I think are all well worth checking out.

Funny enough, there's unintentionally been a sort of running theme with the posts as of late starting with Poké Village. That theme being that, these are all rips I love despite them paying tribute to sources that I'm far too unfamiliar with, be that Monster Hunter, Homestuck, or in this case - FTL: Faster Than Light. And I'm able to love these rips because, as I've said many a time before, SiIvaGunner is as much about appreciating the things you already love as it is about being introduced to media that someone else loves far more. I know myself already that Cave Story's music is incredible, yet despite my endless playthroughs of the game I'm never going to grow tired of hearing all the many ways SiIvaGunner's rippers share their own affection for the soundtrack, not just in the Balcony Fusion Collab, but in the continued amount of rips the game receives to this day. There's emotion packed into efforts like Balcony Cruise, emotion that shows how Helpful Salad truly understands the Cave Story sound, that makes me thoroughly enjoy his rips with or without the needed context for whatever joke he's attaching to it.

And well, after hearing Balcony Cruise, I did feel the need to go listen to FTL's music as well - and indeed, it's just as incredible as I'd suspected! The solemn yet beautiful atmosphere of Balcony can be felt in much of FTL's whole soundtrack, befitting a game about surviving a cruise through space, and so Balcony Cruise being a melodyswap to the game's main theme feels like a natural fit. Yet...I can't shake the feeling that there's also more theming relevant to the rip beyond the shared atmosphere of the two games. Though FTL isn't exactly an "old" indie game in the same vein that Cave Story is, 2012 was still only two years removed from the release of Super Meat Boy, it was still quite early on in the indie game resurgence of Xbox Live. Cave Story is a landmark game for the indie world as a fully self-made release all the way back in 2004, made by one Daisuke Amaya in his free time out of a desire to express his love for games like Metroid and Castlevania into something playable. Eight years later, the spirit of indie gaming in the Independent Games Festival, the legacy shaped in large part by Amaya, was what directly inspired Matthew Davis and Justin Ma to pursue independent development full-on to create FTL.

What I'm saying is - mixing the two games together as Balcony Cruise does, two games that are on the surface completely disconnected, yet feel ever so connected at the same time...feels all too right. And if we REALLY want to go the extra mile: a rip as solemn and atmospheric as this, feels truly befitting of Quote's journey in the King for Another Day tournament from the year prior. Losing before truly getting to do anything, outdone by the big dogs, yet providing an unforgettable experience and giving us incredible arrangements like Lifelike Waterway. Months after the tournament finally ended, after so many SiIvaGunner viewers had grown yet more attached to Quote, and many were reminded of just how impactful Cave Story in general was...Balcony Cruise feels like the perfect tribute to the game. And more Cave Story is never something I'm going to turn down.

[theredhairedmonkey]

Posting my reply to @kuno-chan’s post separately here as I’m not going to reblog slander disparaging me or others.

Also, since these are just all the same talking points lifted from elsewhere in the fandom, there’s no need to go line by line. Nevertheless, I’ve given this plenty of time and thought, and will break my take down into four parts:

Callum and Rayla

No, Callum is not obsessed with Rayla. Sorry, but one brief evening of him mourning the anniversary of Rayla leaving isn’t a constant obsession lol. This scene shows he still has feelings for her, but it does not constitute a constant preoccupation. For the vast majority of time in s4 before she returned, he hardly acknowledged her. Even when she returned and left again in 4x03, he did not have a any reaction at all, and went along with his day.

Callum is a deeply caring person who would do anything for those he loves, including Ezran, Soren, and Amaya (Yes, even Soren, as Callum was about to fight Elmer to defend him despite being injured himself). This fierce loyalty is part of his nature, not evidence of obsession over one person. His willingness to fight for others can be both a strength and a flaw at times.

At the same time, as Finnegrin points out to Callum in 5x08, his friends are also willing to do anything for him too. It’s a two-way street.

Meanwhile, Rayla seems more singularly focused on Callum, calling him the "best thing I ever had" and clearly pining for him constantly. Her moral compass now revolves around Callum and protecting Callum specifically. So between the two, she displays more obsessive tendencies regarding their relationship. To the point that I have mentioned before it’s a little disconcerting that most of her character arc in s4 seems to just be about getting back together with him.

Speaking of which, even after they reconcile, the lead writer dropped the bombshell that they’re actually not currently dating:

Which really begs the question, if Rayla is so eager to resume their relationship, why haven’t they? If Callum is so obsessed with her, why hasn’t he taken her back yet?

This doesn’t mean Callum doesn’t care deeply about her. He absolutely does. But if Callum were truly obsessed, he likely would have immediately resumed the relationship. The fact that he has not suggests he has set healthy boundaries and is not driven by obsession.

But that’s just the relationship angle. There’s also the issue with assigning Rayla’s traits (flaws specifically) to Callum. Callum is indeed loyal, and to his detriment sometimes, but loyalty and devotion aren’t the main driver for his actions. They’re Rayla’s. You don’t even have to take my word for it, it’s spelled out in Tales of Xadia:

Callum’s most important value is Freedom/Liberty, once again spelled out in Tales of Xadia:

And this distinction is crucial, as it’s the crux of his storyline in s5: is he really free to choose not to do dark magic (or free to make any choice for that matter), and what does it mean to have unlimited potential, and whether that unlimited potential can lead to a very dark place. Once again, flat out stated by the lead writer of the show:

Notice how Devon explained Callum’s motivation without ever mentioning “Rayla”?

Chalking up his motivation to just an obsession for Rayla that he’ll always have, that he’s just That Way and nothing else, deprives him of this arc and reduces him to a two dimensional sidepiece for Rayla. It strips him of the complexity of his season 5 arc, where he struggles with the meaning of unlimited potential and the darkness that could engender. His inner conflicts go far beyond his feelings for Rayla. Suggesting otherwise diminishes his character development, and it's beyond me why anyone would want that.

Callum and Morality

As I’ve said before, I enjoy Callum’s dark side immensely. I really do. But the point of the Ocean Arcanum, as I've mentioned before, is that everyone has a dark side:

Thus, Callum isn’t any more particularly morally dubious than anyone else. Sorry, but a single use of dark magic, with already-dead ingredients, in an extremely controlled setting for the very narrow purpose of setting himself free, doesn’t make Callum morally dubious. And I’m sure the average person could see the VAST chasm of difference between using One Bad Spell and dooming the world for Rayla’s sake that the story has no chance of bridging in just two seasons.

He refrained from using the snake chain spell offensively against people, as we've seen it used before (in 2x03). It was narrowly employed just to free himself, after which he immediately returned to primal magic. And in that sense, I haven’t seen a single person argue this one act was unjustifiable.

And, as he gives Finnegrin the wrong list of ingredients, that’s basically the only real act of moral ambiguity Callum has displayed. Because for everything else, you have to hold Callum to a unique (and impossible) standard that applies to no one else. For instance, it's not considered morally dubious when Amaya punched Karim, yet Callum punching Finnegrin supposedly is? Callum is dubious for forgiving Rayla of her crimes (in a show that’s centered on forgiveness and trust as sources of true strength), yet Rayla isn’t dubious for actually committing those crimes? Like, Rayla actually lies, steals, and abandons her friends, yet Callum is viewed as more dubious simply for forgiving her?

Seriously, why am I supposed to think Callum is dubious for saving his friend at the cost of a snake’s tail, yet Rayla is merely “complex” for what she's done?

To be clear, while Rayla has certainly done morally questionable things, that does not make her a bad person or even a morally dubious person overall. But the same must also apply to Callum - his singular use of dark magic for escape does not negate his generally good and principled nature. Very few people would consider his actions in that scene truly unjustifiable.

Callum and Viren

As I’ve said before here, Callum and Viren are indeed foils, and perhaps the most important foil relationship in the series. But the point of foil characters is showing each other’s opposing traits:

And yea, it should be pretty obvious that Callum and Viren are dramatically different from one another. Callum protects those close to him and tries to do the right thing, while Viren seeks to amass as much power for himself as he can.

This is even clear from their parallel shots that Viren and Callum are extremely different, for good and bad reasons. When opening the door to greet the guard, Viren appears self-important while Callum seems nice and humble. When he confronts Soren on the battlements, Callum is aggressive and angry where Viren was calm and calculated. These are not the same person.

That doesn’t mean Viren and Callum are opposites in every way; some minor similarities are there to humanize Viren, not equate him with Callum. For instance, the moment he parallels Callum and the group’s “I’d do anything for you” was to show that Viren isn’t just a power hungry tyrant but also a devoted and desperate father. However the fact that this is a sympathetic moment undercuts the supposed dubiousness of Callum.

Viren's devotion to his children parallels Callum's loyalty to his friends, making Viren sympathetic rather than wholly evil. But this does not make Callum dubious by association - if anything, it suggests Viren has glimmers of goodness akin to Callum's steadfast decency. If Viren is portrayed as good to the extent that he’s similar to Callum, what does that say about Callum himself?

So while they have a couple superficial similarities, their core character traits and motivations remain opposites. It is unreasonable to equate them based on scant common ground when their differences are so pronounced. If parallels to Callum humanize Viren, that reflects well on Callum, not poorly.

It’s also pretty telling that the same people downplay Callum's explicit and canonical similarities to the moral exemplar Amaya, while overstating negligible common ground with the villainous Viren...

Fandom Toxicity:

While I can be blunt or harsh about takes I disagree with or think are poorly thought out, I never attack the people holdings those views or suggest that they’re terrible people. I would never, for instance, suggest that people who don’t subscribe to my view of Callum to be incels, or who don’t subscribe to my view of Rayla to be mysoginists, or who don’t subscribe to my view of Ezran to be racists.

It’s not just toxic and offensive behavior, but it’s also inconsistent. When you ask “why is it so bad that some people believe Callum is dubious,” it kinda falls flat when you turn around and call people "incels" for having a different take on Callum.

I’m not going to comment much more on this as I think it speaks for itself, but I also deal with enough bullying and harassment as it is, so this will probably be it for me. I see no reason to continue when you are arguing with such bad faith.

Postscript

The argument here is basically “since Callum was willing to squish a snake’s tail and risk his life for Rayla, then it’s reasonable he’d be willing to risk the entire world for her.” I’m sorry, but I’m of the opinion that this doesn’t follow and is kinda far fetched. That isn’t a personal attack, just my personal take.

It’s fine to want Callum to be morally dubious. You’d be pushing an open door with me if you think it would be cool headcanon. Completely unsubstantiated by canon, but still cool.

But for whatever reason, the favor is not returned. It should be fine to think Callum has a moral code, that he has a life outside of Rayla, and that he’ll probably rise above his weaknesses and flaws by the end of the saga. Yet the namecalling and mudslinging that this is responded with is just WILD.

I don’t deal well with insults, or namecalling, or the insinuation that I am in denial subconsciously, or I don’t really mean it when I discuss Callum’s dark side. Nor will I entertain it. This type of bad faith dealing barely deserved a response, much less several paragraphs worth, but now that this is all on a page, I’m going to do both of us a favor and say that we’re done.

[raayllum]

how long would you say you've actively shipped any of your favorite ships? - im curious specifically about sorvus, sorpeli, and claudiez

I wouldn't say Sorvus is one of my faves even if I do 1) love Soren and Corvus individually, 2) Corvus is one of my favourite side characters in the whole show (like top 5) and 3) I do really like them! That being said:

Canon

For the bulk of TDP ships, canon-wise, I shipped them as their relationships were revealed (aka Harrow/Sarai with the info we got in S1, Claudia/Terry with the info we get in S4, Runaan/Ethari back when he was known as 'Tinker' thanks to the S1 credit sketch, etc).

For Janaya, I shipped them from the first time they met in S2, since "rival intellectually and physically matched generals on the battlefield" along with both being very pretty is a decently long-ish homoerotic trend in literature (aka a production I saw of "Coriolanus" really leaned in on it, although I think I saw that pre-S2's release. Applies though)

For Rayllum, I shipped them pre-show even if I was also down to brotp them. They'd be travelling together, thus having plenty of time to develop an interesting dynamic / were around the same age, and the screencap released before the premiere of them sitting under the tree (Callum, distracted but eager, and Rayla, exasperated and fond) really drew me in since that's a ship type - dynamic and gender wise (I don't tend to love ships where the guy is the more grumpy/guarded one, I think, since women are so often forced to do More of the emotional labour in relationships Anyway) - I'm already Very susceptible to. I tried to hold off a little bit in early S1 cause I didn't want to ship them too hard, but then 1x05 came along with the boat scene and it was Over for me. They've had my heart ever since (5 years going on forever)

Requested Rarepairs

Sorvus

So I didn't really ship Sorvus (although I was never opposed to them) for the majority of the time post-S3. I didn't really ship Soren with anyone and preferred Gren/Corvus at that time (due to their personalities / closer dynamic to Amaya and therefore each other) as well as enjoying Corvus/Opeli. However I was also really hoping that Corvus would stay on the council/with Ezran, and figured that if Soren was going to end up with anyone, Corvus was probably the most realistic choice (shared goals, decent development, timeskip to help things, similar ages).

That said I still didn't actively ship them (like I didn't mind them but was completely impassive/neutral y'know?) until I wrote an interaction between them in "if heaven and hell decide" (a canon divergent S2 where Claudia and Soren decide to delay their betrayal of the trio, and therefore travel with them for much longer) and the fact that Corvus would see Soren at his worst in canon (S2) but also see and appreciate who Soren was becoming... I started to turn a corner and grew to ship them a lot more. I'm really excited for them to eventually be canon, it seems, even if they're not My Endgame for either character In My Head for years-post war, at least for now.

Claudiez

For aged up Claudia/Ezran, I think this post (dated July 2021) was when I started to ship these two. There was something about the interplay of Claudia telling Callum about Harrow's death, but he only seeks out comfort from Rayla, and Ezran rejecting Rayla's offered comfort about Harrow and instead accepting it from Claudia, that felt very apt to me? And then a couple weeks later I wrote my formal "I actually do ship Claudiez and here's why" meta so it's been a few years now!

Both the younger sibling uniquely given their father's mantle to carry in ways their older brother just doesn't have to; Ezran being connected to all nature while Claudia continually perverts it, thus Ezran having the relationship to nature that she needs to learn/acquire for her own healing additionally; they both see the throne as a tool to help and breaking their fathers' cycles with each other; the childhood friends to enemies to friends to lovers of an according slow burn because of said age gap; ending up as Queen of Katolis but not the way her father imagined and ending up with one of the brothers, just not the one everyone previously expected; Ezran getting to grow up and into his own and assert his independence and choices (no matter what his brother thinks about it), etc. I also think personality wise they suit each other - Terry's parallels to Ezran in personality are some of the reasons I think Clauderry works at least as a short term pairing.

It's also kinda perfect bc, since they'd only get together like 10-15 years post the end of the show Anyway, so like. they're Endgame to me no matter what and there's nothing canon can really do about it, #improvise adapt overcome.

Sorpeli

This probably started out as the truest crack ship because it started as a joke of like, Soren flirting with her at 20 and easy to dismiss and then again when he's 30 and Opeli is like "I deserve a little fun," so they start having a physical fling, and then catch feelings (Soren falls first, she falls harder). The earliest post I have for them is from May 6th 2023 but I know realistically I'd probably shipped them for a lot longer (what can I say, younger men not being put off my older women aging bc society is bullshit, and contrasting personalities + devoted man & woman who feels undeserving will always get me) before I ever had mind to say anything. Then I dragged @jelzorz into it and the rest, they say, is history. So like 1.5 years at least now?

I'd probably be even more into Sorpeli than I already am but I'm not unconvinced that Opeli won't die (I really hope she doesn't, but I do understand how it could benefit Ezran's narrative in particular) but like if all seasons pass by and she's alive? Canon crack quartet with Endgame Rayllum, Claudiez, Sorpeli, and CorTerry is a go <3

TLDR;

Rayllum before the show started, Janaya in S2, everything else when the ships got introduced, then next we have Claudiez (July 2021), Sorvus (casually since Oct 2021), and Sorpeli (late 2022/early 2023).

[hitchell-mope]

My honest opinion/review on Wish 2023

It was nine tenths baked. Ie. It could’ve done with being about 10-20 minutes longer than it actually was. Especially because on Disneyplus there’s always an extra 2-5 minutes at the end of the shows and films for the international dubbing credits. And while that’s a good thing. It does make the actual credits seem a little deceptively long and take up film time they could’ve used to flesh things out a little more. Now for some finer points.

Magnifico was the villain. There’s no getting around that. He was a malignant hoarder who cared more about HAVING the wishes as a hold over the subjects to keep them placid and complacent than what was INSIDE the wishes whereas Asha actually cared about the contents of the wishes themselves as At All Costs proved.

I agree with the opinion that Amaya should’ve been evil and Starboy should’ve been Asha’s love interest. But I think Magnifico should’ve been the unwitting spouse. Bring back the evil queens who get their comeuppances I say. It was so nice to finally get an unrepentant legitimately evil villain in Disney again. But like with Black Widow I think they took the easy way out by making the villain a man.

Knowing What I Know Now felt very much like it was a deleted song from the descendants franchise. And that’s why it’s my favourite song in the movie.

I feel like the Teens could’ve been utilised better. Or at least given last names so I can tag them all. Except for Simon who I just learned has the last name O’Donohue

That’s about it really. Like I said. I felt like it was nine tenths baked. Still a really good film. But with like an air pocket for improvement. Apart from that. I enjoyed it immensely.

[make-me-your-animal]

Chapter 12: Room numbers

Authors note: I'm not a hundred percent sure how I feel about this chapter, but it's also driving me crazy that I haven't finished this story yet. It's literally making it, so I can't write anything else. I have spent hours just staring at a blank page, trying to come up with something. This will be the second to last sirens and leppard chapter. But I have already started a sequel, so we will see. I hope you all enjoy it.

Room 306:

"Steve, wake up." Amaya giggled. she had already gotten ready for her day. washed her face, brushed her teeth, and brushed out her hair. when she returned to the main room, Steve was still curled into the blankets. All she could see confirming a person was even under the heap of white comforter was his wild hair. She wasn't surprised in the slightest, Steve was a lot of things, but a morning person wasn't one of them.

She frowned. Something seemed off today. Usually, he would just beg her to join him under the covers, but today, he just pulled the blanket up until there was nothing for her to see.

"Stevieeee," she purred, pulling on the edge of the blanket. He clutched it tight, not letting go.

"No," he grumbled. His voice was barely audible, but she could hear the sadness in it.

"Why not?" She asked, crawling back into bed with him. He engulfed her in his caccoon. The blanket was just thin enough that she could see him clear as day as they laid facing each other under the white comforter.

"Last night of the tour," he said slowly like that would answer her question. Amaya tilted her head to the side. What did that have to do with anything?

"And?" She questioned when the blonde didn't elaborate.

"Don't want this to end is all," he shrugged. His blue eyes were clouded with sadness. "I just... I don't think I've ever been this happy before. You make me feel happy... i love you more than I've ever loved someone."

"Oh, steve," she reached out a hand to craddle his face. "It won't end, baby. You make me happy, too. I'm not gonna throw away over a year of a loving relationship just because we aren't getting paid for it anymore. I love you too much for that"

"Promise?" He still looked nervous. It broke her heart.

"Promise," Amaya leaned in, kissing Steve softly.

"Promise you won't tell phil. I told you I love you more than him," he chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

"Fear not Stevie. Your secret's safe with me, "she giggled, kissing his nose."Now get your ass out of bed. I want breakfast, " she stated, throwing the blanket off both of them.

Steve grumbled again, but this time sat up. He glanced at the clock on the bedside table before flopping back down. It was progress Amaya felt.

Room 304

"Last day of the tour," phil whispered, running his fingers through gemma's blonde hair he slowly worked out the knots that had formed as Her head lay on his chest. He wasn't even sure she was wake. The sun had just peaked over the horizon, and they had been dozing in and out of consciousness together.

"Shhhh," she hissed, pressing her finger against his lips. "I don't want to think about it"

"This will change nothing between us, you know that, right? Im not letting you go anywhere. i worked too hard for this." phil stated rolled over, so he was hoving over her on all fours. Gemma scooted up the bed until she was eye level with him again.

He had worked very hard to regain her trust. He was still putting in the work to ensure that their relationship would last. He started leaving her little notes and still had flowers sent to her dressingroom every couple of shows. Gemma was forever grateful she decided to let him try. Decided to let herself try.

"I love you, gem,"

"I love you too," Gemma smiled, reaching up to craddle phils face in her hands. "So much more than I originally planned"

Phil smiled as he swooped down and pressed a soft kiss against her lips. "So much ,my love, I love you so much." he lowered himself even more to bury his face against her neck. Her hands intantly made their way to his hair. He kissed the soft skin just to hear Gemma sigh.

Room 307:

Joe laid on his side so he could watch the women sleeping soundly beside him. The sun had risen and was shining in through the sheer white curtains. It's light casting everything in shades of gold.

She would be pissed if he let her sleep in much longer, but he couldn't bring himself to disturb her peace, not quite yet.

It was the last day of the tour. Tomorrow, he would be flying into Dublin. He would be going home. She would be flying home to London. They had talked it through, and he really believed they had a good shot. Still worry and doubt chewed away at him.

"It's rude to stare," Harper murmered, peering at Joe with half lidded eyes.

"Just admiring the finest of art," he grinned, leaning in to kiss her forehead.

She hummed slightly, her eyes falling shut for a spilled second before snapping back open.

"Go back to sleep, angel," he purred, kissing her forehead. She smiled at him before nodding. He knew they would be all right. They all would.

Her eyes fell shut again, and her breath evened out. They would have to get up and start there a day soon, but not yet. They could remain in their shared peace just a little longer.

Room 310

Bex sat across from Rick, sipping her tea and watching the man carefully. He was wearing the hotel provided robe. His bangs fell into his eyes. He looked so content that she almost felt bad for what she was going to say. "This isn't going to last"

"I know," Rick returned, looking up from his cup of tea. His eyes were filled with understanding. "Is this where you tell me you had fun, but this is the end?"

"You're a great guy. I just don't do relationships"

Rick nodded, sipping at his tea. He finished his tea and stood up, finding his shoes and sitting on the edge of the bed to put them on. "See you tonight?"

Bex nodded, smiling slightly. The second he closed the door, her smile faded. It was the first time she ever really felt pain over a man in a long time.

Room 309

Rebel leaned back against the savs solid chest as the warm water flowed over them. "You know this is kind of a waste of water. We are just gonna shower again later, " Rebel smiled.

"Yeah, but it feels nice," sav returned.

Rebel hummed in agreement. She spun around, wrapping her arms around his neck.

His wet hair clung to her skin. "Gonna miss this"

"Yeah, but we'll figure something out." Sav smiled, leaning down and capturing her lips.

Rebel happily kissed back for a moment before epulling back and resting their foreheads together. "Think the others are this.... pensive?"

"Probably. The end of the tour is always a time of mixed emotions. This tour is especially hard. So much love has formed. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Mel and chris planned this"

Rebel giggled at that. The water was starting to turn cold, but she couldn't find it in her to care.

Mal sat across from chris in the hotel lobby, grinning at the other man. "We couldn't have had this go any better," He asked. "I mean, when you called me and said you knew of a band that would work well with my boys, I didn't think you meant this well. Steve's barely drinking anymore. They all aren't fighting nearly as much. They have someone else to look at other than each other."

Chris nodded his agreement. "Bex is starting to trust. Gemma finally found someone to match her energy. Amaya found someone to take care of other than Gemma. And let's be honest, they all are staying out of trouble because they are too busy with each other"

It's been a great tour, " Mel stated, standing up and shaking Chris's hand.

"It sure has," the other man agreed.

[sen-cris-vargas]

I posted 129 times in 2022

That's 129 more posts than 2021!

10 posts created (8%)

119 posts reblogged (92%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@djholt

@emmie-fitzgerald

@amaya-veerapen

@chris-grimaldi

@spiritualzari

I tagged 129 of my posts in 2022

#o: emmie - 21 posts

#o: amaya - 18 posts

#o: chris - 17 posts

#o: xavier - 13 posts

#p: dj - 12 posts

#o: zari - 12 posts

#o: frankie - 11 posts

#o: dj - 11 posts

#p: going to the chapel - 9 posts

#answered - 3 posts

Longest Tag: 58 characters

#(cris likes to think she's intimidating but she's not lol)

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Outfit for Going to the Chapel Para

3 notes - Posted August 19, 2022

#4

A Golden Opportunity

Cris loved doing work in San Francisco. She loved being home, rather than in Sacramento, and loved press opportunities in the city. She was set up at Golden Gate Park to explain one of the clean parks initiatives she was working on at the state level. Golden Gate Park was just one of the areas that would get a boost in funding for cleaning, beautification, and any programs. She was thrilled to talk about it.

When she was done with her little speech, she walked around the park away from the camera crews as they got b-roll. Yes, she was there to talk about something that would help the area, but she took every excuse to visit the park. It was a great place to enjoy the outdoors. Cris often walked around to clear her head. When she wasn’t thinking about work, there was something - or someone - who popped into her head a bit these days. DJ. Cris thought about her ever since Chris brought her up and kicked herself because she didn’t get the other woman’s number. Maybe she didn’t need it, though. Cris spotted DJ at the park and walked over to her. “DJ! Hi! Funny running into you here. How are you?”

4 notes - Posted October 6, 2022

#3

I got out of making the turkey this year because I’m spending Thanksgiving morning volunteering and serving breakfast. It’s one of my favorite things to do, actually. The volunteering, not cooking.

What’s your favorite thing about Thanksgiving? Any and all answers are accepted, even the controversial ones. (Though if you don’t like potatoes, go ahead and rethink your life choices.)

7 notes - Posted November 18, 2022

#2

Going to the Chapel ||Cris&DJ

@djholt​

After getting the recommendation for the live show, Cris knew she had to attend. She loved getting into the community and supporting local artists. Musicians and bands were lumped into that. Cris knew she was a fairly recognizable person in the community, so she was always careful about what she wore, but she still wanted to be obvious that she was going out. This wasn’t a work function. Her wardrobe was full of pantsuits and skirt suits for when she was on the senate floor, but she had plenty of jeans, tees, and other comfortable clothes for when she was being casual.

Cris made sure she didn’t need to be in Sacramento for the weekend, then bought herself a ticket for the show at The Chapel. From the outside, the name matched the building. Then the pictures inside made it look like a normal bar and performing venue. She was excited to go there for the first time. After getting in, she made a beeline for the bar and got a gin and tonic. Then she stood by a high top table that wasn’t already occupied. The first band wasn’t bad. And when the second band was getting ready to perform, the venue started filling up. “If you need a spot, I’m the only one using this table,” she said, grinning at a woman near her.

19 notes - Posted August 19, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Hello fellow San Franciscans! I’m sitting down with fellow policy wonks and we want to know what your top three biggest concerns are here in Cali. Examples: Climate change? (With all these fires! Me too!) Human rights? Women’s rights? Racial inequities? Funding public education? Ending fracking? (Looking at you Kern County.) Fighting PG&E? This is an unofficial survey. I am ready to write some bills to help you and your families.

203 notes - Posted July 31, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[riley-francis-moore]

I posted 571 times in 2022

That's 571 more posts than 2021!

31 posts created (5%)

540 posts reblogged (95%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@aldrichpalermo

@dr-astrid-zhang

@emmie-fitzgerald

@antony-malinowski

@penned-cbarbosa

I tagged 570 of my posts in 2022

#p: aldrich - 57 posts

#t: aldrich - 45 posts

#p: emmie - 45 posts

#o: antony - 40 posts

#p: astrid - 34 posts

#swtask - 34 posts

#t: astrid - 34 posts

#p: celeste - 29 posts

#o: amaya - 25 posts

#swdinoing - 24 posts

Longest Tag: 93 characters

#(is this a thing? idk. and i'm not going to search it. it's at least a thing in our universe)

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Final Confessional

Mentions: Aldrich, Luna, Khamani, Sebastián Notes: Riley’s last Ship-Wrecked confessional

Riley sat with his legs crossed and looked at the producer. “Hit me with your best questions.”

“Okay, so we’ll start easy. You and Aldrich are cute together. What first drew you to him, and how do you feel about him now?”

“First off, thank you. We are extremely cute together. Is it shallow to say his looks first drew me to him? And his sexy Italian accent? Maybe it is, but I quickly learnt that he is an incredible man. He took care of me after I got sick, and he is just sweet. Judging from his looks, you would never know. I’m glad I got to know him better. Not only is he wonderful, but my ramblings didn’t scare him away. They apparently endeared me to him.” Riley grinned as he thought about his luck. “I am very much in love with him. I don’t know exactly what’s next for us, but I imagine it involves a lot of Italian food, traveling, and just being with each other.”

“You answered the follow up question I was going to ask. So here’s another one, do you think you two will end up married?”

“Honestly, I have no idea. I’m not opposed to the idea of marriage. But we aren’t going to rush into things. I want to just enjoy being with him. All I know is that we would have the most epic wedding. He’s a party planner, and would throw us a spectacular wedding and reception!”

“Your time here hasn’t been without drama. You and Khamani got into it a bit during the Truth, Dare, or Noms task. Have things settled down a bit?”

“I haven’t gone out of my way to talk to him after that. I did talk to Luna about it, though, and while I still don’t love the idea of them together, Luna is my best friend. If she’s happy with him, then I suppose I’ll learn to deal with him. Just don’t expect Khamani and I to ever be besties. We can be civil for Luna’s sake, but I still think he’s a fucking prick,” Riley shrugged.

"What’s next for you when you get home?”

“First, I’m going to eat my weight in fish and chips. Mostly chips if we’re being honest. I’ll get back to working on games and The Hallowed show. Then Luna and I are going to take the gaming industry by the bollocks and try to change things. The industry as it is is toxic. There are gatekeepers, misogynists, racists, etcetera. If we can make a small change by talking to industry experts, then I think it will lead to bigger changes. We can start with blunt conversations about it, with the help of Sebastián and his radio show. Then we can try to host panels about it at Cons. That’s where Luna’s job and expertise comes in...” Riley stopped himself. “I’m rambling. You don’t give a fuck about this. Anyway. Back to work,” he said, chuckling.

“Okay, then. Final questions. What’s something we can improve on for next season? And what’s some advice you have for the next group of Ship-mates?”

“This one is easy. You need to add more date nights, even if they’re with random people. Give them a romantic date to try to get to know someone. This walking up to someone on the beach is fine, but I would like to see more date opportunities. And when people are together, also give them dates. Ship-mates shouldn’t have to try to find a private spot on the island to have alone time. Anyway, I would tell the next group to just go with the flow as much as possible. You’ll make friends, you’ll meet people you can fall in love with, and you’ll meet people you don’t particularly like. Just accept that all.” Riley stood up and shook the producers’ hands. “Good luck with the next group.”

3 notes - Posted June 22, 2022

#4

Confessional - Post Truth or Dare

(mentions @aldrichpalermo, @lunazuniga, @detkhamani) 

“You lot wasted no time ushering me in here after that task. I guess I just needed to snog an Italian man to get some attention, eh? Kidding. A little,” Riley shrugged and sat down on the couch, adjusting the lav mic around his neck.

“We’ve seen you make out with Aldrich before. Cameras everywhere. You haven’t exactly been hiding it well.”

“Well, can you blame me? He’s the hottest man I’ve seen in my life, and he’s somehow attracted to me despite my word vomit the first time I talked to him,” he shook his head. “He called my rambling cute. Did you put that in the show?” he wondered.

“You know you’re not supposed to ask that kind of stuff.”

“I know, I know. But you have to give the viewers at home some reason to think I’m not a complete dork. I know I am, but maybe you can do a little editing magic to make me seem more suave and charming than I really am,” he grinned.

“You’re purposely avoiding talking about the kiss. Spill. What was going through your mind when you asked Aldrich to be your boyfriend?”

Riley looked between the producer and the camera. “I was thinking that I fancy him more than I’ve ever fancied another man. It’s not just his looks, but his personality. He’s not a prick despite knowing he’s fit as fuck. And we had already kissed, so I already knew he liked me back. It wasn’t a difficult ask. I guess the only reason he might have said no is if he doesn’t want commitment. He wouldn’t be the first person on this island to lead someone on.” The comment was very pointed. “Before you ask, I said everything I want to say about Khamani to his face.” 

“We almost thought you were going to hit him.”

“Ha! No. Have you see him? He could knock me to the ground with a slap. I don’t have a death wish. I also wouldn’t do that to Luna. As much as I dislike him, Luna is my best friend here. Hell, my best friend in general. I might change my mind about hitting him if he hurts her again, though. Anyway,” he sighed. “Aldrich makes me happy. When can I take him on that camera and recording-free date?”

3 notes - Posted April 22, 2022

#3

Outfit for SebTony Wedding

4 notes - Posted April 28, 2022

#2

(Love) Sick || Riley & Aldrich

@aldrichpalermo​

Riley didn’t know what food was tainted at the birthday party, but he did know it left him feeling incredibly itchy, covered in red splotches, and sick. The only food allergy he knew he had was shellfish. It wasn’t severe enough to cause anaphylaxis, but it did cause itchiness to his skin and mouth. Obviously, he avoided anything that was labeled with shellfish in it, so he figured there must have been cross contamination. Fortunately, there was some allergy meds in the medical tent. They were taking forever to kick in.

He sat up a little in bed when he heard someone walk in. To his dismay, it was Aldrich. The last person he wanted to see him like this. “I hope you weren’t looking for me. I know I’m missing the after party-party, but I feel like rubbish.”

28 notes - Posted March 28, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Riley was thinking up some fun truth or dares he could offer people. He didn’t want to trick anyone into eating any of the ‘noms’ on the table nearby. “Play the game with me?” he asked, looking at the nearest person. “I promise to go easy on you. I don’t want anyone to have to eat one of those things because of me.”

61 notes - Posted April 7, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[hermitmoss]

So, I have some thoughts on Viren, Terry, and Claudia.  (Naturally, spoilers for Book 4 ahead, as well as discussions of domestic abuse.  I’ll also note here in case somebody wants to do some Discourse™ - I hope it’s not necessary, but still, in case - that I am a survivor of abuse, and have been a caregiver for my abuser, a parent.)  With that said, let’s dive in (dive off?)!

Terry and Claudia treat Viren in completely opposite ways.  Three guesses who treats him the “right way” - that’s right, the one who didn’t have to grow up being taught and emotionally abused by him.  In a work explicitly about breaking the cycles of harm, this is very significant.  This is a meta about this.

In many ways it’s completely natural (in a terrible way) for an abused child to, when finding herself suddenly more powerful by far than her abuser, to treat the abuser the way that she herself has been treated and seen modeled.  Terry obviously hasn’t been raised (badly, dangerously, harmfully) by Viren.

Obviously, Claudia’s dark magic raising gives her a sense of entitlement towards the bodies of others -- they’re used for spell components, after all!  Why should she listen if Viren says that he’d prefer palliative care than the slim chance of survival (and certainly a less enjoyable time than “enjoying the time he does have” would be)?  He has no say over his own body; she’s a dark mage, she’s in charge here, so what happens to bodies is her domain, not the domain of the people in them.

Terry, again, does not have this.  In fact, he models a very different conceptualization of love - a healthy one - when he says (I’ve slightly paraphrased rather than dig through the episode again for the exact dialogue) “I don’t control them.  Plants and I have a healthy relationship.  I know that they’ll be there for me when I need it.”

Claudia hits Viren.  She embraces him, and he weeps.  Terry suggests hugging Viren, then, when Viren doesn’t consent to it, Terry verbally states “I respect your boundaries”.

“That went well,” says Terry, when Viren first dismisses him.  He seems to mean it.  When Viren tells him, essentially, to suck it up about having killed somebody, he puts in a lot of thought, then has a genuine discussion with Viren about why he isn’t going to do that, and what he’s going to do instead.  (It reminds me of Amaya’s “two cakes” assertion.)  Terry is showing Claudia and Viren both a better way to love than what they have been practicing... and, right now, Viren seems more receptive than Claudia.

Neither Terry nor Claudia seem to notice initially that Viren is struggling with the ascent up the Storm Spire; however, it’s important to note that Terry is following Claudia’s lead.  When Viren has a panic attack and loses consciousness, Terry, without being patronizing or critical, grounds and reassures him, telling him what’s going on and affirming that it’s okay.  Terry is sitting with him.  Claudia... is not.  She’s standing ahead, impatient.  When they keep going, she continues to lead the way; Terry follows not her, directly, now, but Viren; stays on the other side of him so he’s no longer bringing up the rear, can no longer fall behind unnoticed.

Viren tries to hand the staff that he once used over to Claudia.  She uses it for one spell, then.... then who is carrying it?  Terry.

Terry offers Viren a hand up.  Viren hesitates.  (Claudia never gives him an option to say ‘no’ about receiving physical contact.)  The last time somebody offered Viren a hand up, and he took it, I think was Sarai, just before her death (her death, one could argue, because she stopped to save him).  He takes Terry’s offered hand.  I don’t think he wants Terry dead.

It’s also interesting that as much as Terry struggles (as he should, of course!) with taking a life while Viren scoffs that he has never hesitated to do the worst things imaginable to protect his family... Terry says to Claudia that she’s done terrible things, but until now (until it’s about a moonshadow elf rather than Viren’s life) he’s believed they were justified.

Viren also seems genuinely considering of what Terry has to say about feelings, and protecting people, and at the least awkward and at most genuinely sorry for snapping at him the way he did.

Then, of course, there’s The Scene.  The coming out scene, where Terry says that he chose the name Terrestrius.  Viren says “it’s a strong name.”   Strong.  It’s his idea of an affirmation.

“I ask you and your brother to reject history as a narrative of strength, and instead have faith that it can be a narrative of love.”

I think Terry’s offering up love as an alternative to strength. Unlike Claudia, he doesn’t expect Viren to be strong.  He reaches out his hand to Viren.  To assist him when he is, this season, shown to be physically weak.  (“There will be stories of armies, battles, and decisive victories. But this isn’t true strength — it’s merely power. I now believe true strength is found in vulnerability. In forgiveness. In love.”)

Viren takes it.

[fandomsandflyingstingrays]

Season 4 Thoughts: Ray Edition

First of all, a disclaimer: all of these might change after I watch the season a second time, it usually takes me going episode-by-episode with full context to form a full opinion. That being said, right now, my feelings on the season are mixed. I definitely think it’s my least favorite of what we’ve gotten so far (not that it’s bad! Just less good). I’ll get into that, but I want to start off by talking about what I liked:

The animation was breathtaking. Everything was so smooth, I loved pretty much all of the character redesigns, and the scenery was gorgeous

I loved that conflict between the humans and elves didn’t end with returning to Zym to his mother, and I loved how that was explored. The show continued on with doing what it does extremely well: making sure that the conflict is never black-and-white. I always thought that both sides had valid points

(Also: Ezran’s speech deserves a point of its own because that was fantastic. You could hear his anger and pain so well as he was talking about it and his conclusion that you have to hold all your emotions to move forward was so wise. Plus it being juxtaposed by the fight with Ibis... incredible)

Janai and Amaya. Their dynamic was so wonderful and sweet and you can really see how they bring out the best in each other. They had better get married and be the best queens the sunfire elves have ever known

Terry, as a character, is fantastic. He’s so sweet and devoted, the way he sees the world is fascinating, and his reaction to killing Ibis and journey with how he dealt with it was very compelling

The whole villain (?) trio was great actually, they still all have very believable flaws and are still likable despite their actions (although Claudia less so than she has been)

TERRY CONVINCING CLAUDIA TO RETURN THE COINS. First of all, because it means neither of them are beyond hope, but mostly because we’re FINALLY GETTING SOME CLOSURE ON THAT PLOT POINT RUTHARI REUNION WHEN

Bait was a little champion. His bond with Ezran in previous seasons was cute, but I adored seeing how connected he was with Callum. And the fact that he was the final push to open Rex Igneous’s door. 10/10

Ezran subverting the whole “we will sacrifice our treasured possessions to you” trope by realizing their gifts to Rex should mean something to him. I love that it was a baked good that got him to talk. Honestly, same

But with that being said, the whole season kind of felt... off, especially in the beginning. It really took a while for the tone to find its footing. The humor felt really jarring at first, and it really switched from super dark to super light very quickly (for example, two minutes of bathroom jokes and a guy coughing up blood as he dies in the same episode). I also wasn’t really a big fan of Rayla’s plotline. First of all, her disappearance was never really explained- it pretty much alienated anyone who hasn’t read TTM, and I’m sure a lot of viewers haven’t. And the way it threw off the group dynamic wasn’t fun for me. I loved the show primarily because even though there was conflict between the characters, they still bantered and fought for each other and there were tons of moments where you saw how much they cared about each other, and that was missing here. I liked that Callum didn’t forgive Rayla right away, but I really do wish he’d at least gotten a chance to explain why her leaving hurt him and have them air that out a bit, because she really didn’t seem to get it. The fact that she never apologized or acknowledged that leaving him with absolutely no word for two years would hurt... I’m so sure she’s smarter than that. I’m hopeful that season 5 will go into Rayla’s disappearance in more detail and kind of negate this critique, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Overall, I enjoyed the season, and I think I will even more once I watch it again! It just took a while to find its footing, and I do think I liked arc 1 better so far

[simslegacy5083]

NSB (Straud Legacy) Gen 9

Today's (7/31/2024) Episode: The Birthday Girl

The household was grieving Peachy’s departure for the afterlife, but time refused to stand still  for those left behind.

The very next day was Noemi’s birthday. Fielding condolence calls and messages from friends and family wasn’t how they wanted to start her special day, but with Peachy having been opposed to “some fancy memorial shindig”, it was the best closure they could offer his loved ones.

Luigi’s baby made him miss his dada even more. Peachy had been so excited to help Skye try new activities and foods, but never got the chance. When Luigi found Noemi and Valentina in the nursery, celebrating his son sitting up for the first time, he had to work to suppress a strong wave of resentment.

Just a day earlier Peachy would have been able to enjoy the milestone with the rest of them… that boy of his couldn’t pick the right time for anything!

The unfortunate ending to Luigi’s birthday party had prevented Noemi from giving him the special gift she’d arranged.

Her old robotics club friend Kenzie had become a Computer Engineer, with access to computer glasses that only those in her field could craft. Gaming and computer enthusiast Luigi had been trying to find some for awhile and was overjoyed upon opening his fiancées cheerfully wrapped present.

“Happy belated birthday love,” she said as he excitedly slipped them on. Luigi gave his girl a warm thank you kiss, exclaiming:

 “I’ve always loved how you just “get” me. Hopefully the big day and BIG gift I have planned for you will make you just as happy!”

The couples first stop on Noemi’s “party train” was a meetup with their island friends. The group had intended to take all the kids to enjoy “Family Funday” but as they were leaving Luigi got a text from Rhys telling him they’d discovered the event was geared towards older sims.

Deciding to skip the festival this time around the household met their friends at a nearby beach cabana instead, where the always unfiltered Beau saw Luigi and blurted out “You look ridiculous!” before a mortified Breanne could stop him. She quickly elbowed his mirth into a halfhearted apology.

Luigi knew the tech glasses looked odd but refused to show how the tactless comment had stung his pride and instantly tainted his joy. “Envy doesn’t look good on you friend.” he smirked instead before turning his emerald gaze pointedly to Isra and Rhys in greeting.

After shyly accepting everyone's happy birthday wishes Noemi settled in a quiet corner with a sleepy Skye while Luigi kept the conversation going.

Isra was happy to report that her 3rd trimester was progressing smoothly. When she asked if anyone else was planning to join her in having a second child, both Luigi and Noemi shook their heads. “Skye is quite enough for us. Besides, with your brood he won’t lack for playmates!”

Overall, Luigi was glad his and Isra’s relationship had worked out like it did. He was quite happy with one child and, clearly, she wouldn’t have been.

Beau spoke up then “well his highness might be one and done, but if all goes well Bruce will be getting a little brother or sister soon”, explaining that he had an appointment scheduled for another insemination attempt. As everyone wished them luck Luigi glanced at his friend's elder wife with concern. He hated to imagine any kids going through what he had losing his papa, but he couldn’t think of anything to say that wouldn’t offend Beau.

When they finished up at the beach the pair made a quick stop at the house to drop Skye off with his grandma before grabbing a teleport to Chestnut Ridge. It was finally time to get his birthday girl that extra “BIG” gift, the horse he’d promised her the evening they got engaged.

Amaya met them at the park just outside the exhibition center, wrapping Noemi in a big hug and exclaiming “Happy, Happy Birthday pretty momma! Are your ready to go pick out your new best friend!?” At her enthusiastic “let’s do this!” the girls headed inside the center while Luigi hung back to play with his new toy while he waited, telling them “I know nothing about horses, so I’ll leave this to you two experts.”

A surprisingly long time later the ladies finally emerged, although the horse trailing behind them wasn’t quite as large as he’d imagined.

Noemi introduced the tiny foal: “This little guy is Roach – I thought you’d appreciate the name”. Luigi chuckled “You thought right.”

“Are you going to grow up to be as faithful and sturdy as your namesake?” he asked the soft nosed creature as he gently stroked it, mimicking the animation from one of his favorite videogames. “Look” he grinned, turning to Noemi “gaming skills DO translate to the real world sometimes!”

Amaya took Roach back to her ranch to wait on his new parents while Luigi and the birthday girl enjoyed a nice romantic walk. The teleporter wasn’t far, but taking a less direct route gave them more time to enjoy each other’s company and the lovely summer evening.

Finally arriving at Amaya’s ranch, they were met by Valentina and Skye. While oohing and aahing over each others tiny offspring Luigi convinced Miguel that his little Greyson simply must have a kitty companion, and he just happened to have the perfect kitten for the job….!

Finally, Valentina pulled out the uneaten cake crafted by Peachy with love the day before and lit fresh candles. Noemi wished to stay healthy, FINALLY start her new career, and get back in shape as she blew them out and spun her way into the next life stage in front of her friends and family.

It had been a wonderful day and she looked forward to many more with her two favorite boys by her side.

For anyone not familiar with the reference, Roach is named after the faithful steed of the main character in The Witcher videogame series.

View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

[dearestgojo]

Twice As Pregnant

Summary: You go out to get over your break up with your boyfriend and have an unexpected fun with two strangers night after drowning your sorrows in alcohol. Are you ready to deal with the consequences of that one night?

A/n: Me: the Epilogue is going to be short. Also me: writes almost 5k words. I really enjoyed writing this part, and I sort of made up for not having any smut in part 8 lol. Anyways I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing. An really appreciate all the people who said they enjoyed this story. Thank you so so so much.

Makki x Fem reader x Mattsun

Warnings: 18+. Handjobs. Fingering. Oral Female and Male Receiving. Vaginal penetration. Double Vaginal penetration.

Part 8. Epilogue. Series Masterlist.

Word Count: 4, 661

Six Years Later.

You could hear the sound of four sets of small feet running down the stairs of your home, all giggles and yelps. The first to come into your view is Makato, his curls falling into his face, as he gasps for air, Marai is next, her long pink hair in messy braid that’s falling apart as she comes to hide behind her brother. Akira comes in behind them telling them to wait for him, screaming as if he’s about to die when the snotty hands of a small curly haired two year old grab his arms. He breaks free of the crying toddler and runs towards his older siblings, the little girl crying as she doesn’t understand why her siblings are running away from her.

“The three of you need to be nicer to Amaya, she doesn’t understand you are playing with her. And stop showing Akira bad examples.” You tell your two oldest children as they come around to where you're picking up the youngest, who's crying softly.

“Mama they mean.” She sniffles pointing at the three other children in front of you.

“It’s okay sweetie, they were just playing.” You rub her back looking at the other three, Marai is holding on to Akira’s hand, “The three of you wash up for breakfast.” They nod their heads and head towards the downstairs bathroom.

You set Amaya in her highchair, before going near the stairs and yelling “Hiro, Issei breakfast is ready!” It was a Saturday morning so there really wasn’t any rush for either of them to get up. The kids are walking back into the kitchen just as their dads are walking down the stairs. Hiro ruffles Makato and Akira’s hair as they give him a side, and Issie presses a kiss on the top of Marai’s head.

“Morning papa,dad.” The three say in unison.

“Good morning kids.” Hiro responds as Issei is still rubbing some of the sleep from his eyes. “Morning love,” Hiro reaches you first, wrapping one arm around you, pressing a kiss to your forehead before heading towards the coffee pot, a fit of giggles coming from the island where you usually have breakfast. Issei’s a bit more forward, wrapping both arms around you and pulling you in for a deep kiss, your feet coming off the ground. You barely acknowledge the ‘ew’s’ that come out between laughs from the twins.

“Morning sweetheart.”

“Morning you two.” You press your forehead against his chest, enjoying his warmth. Amaya’s fussing makes you unentangle yourself from Issei’s arms, and head towards her with her breakfast.

As you watch your family you can’t help but smile at how much it had grown since you had moved to the small town you all now called home. You’d gotten pregnant with Akira a few weeks after moving here. You’d still laugh at the memory of Hiro and Issei making a bet to see you had been the one to get you pregnant this time since you weren’t having twins. The prize being that whoever got it right wouldn't have to do house chores for a month. Hiro ended up winning.

When Akira was close to turning one though, you felt a bit bad for Issei only having gotten you pregnant once, so for the next couple of months when you’d get intimate you’d make Hiro wear a condom, which he complained about a few times. It all seemed to work out and you ended up giving birth to Amaya. Out of all your children, Amaya was the only one who resembled you the most instead of her father, except for the head full of dark curls like her father.

Your thoughts are interrupted when Marai starts talking, “What are we doing today?” You had made going out on weekends with all of the kids trying to spend as much time as you could with them since you would only close your boutique on weekends. Both you and Issei had decided that right after Akira was born, the two of you started working while Hiro stayed home with the kids.

“I don’t kno-”

Issei interrupts you, “You kids will be hanging out with your godfathers.” You watch faces of the three oldest light up at the mention of Hajime and Toru coming to spend time with them.

You look away from Amaya to look at the two men who are shoving food into their mouths, and give Hiro a questioning look. He simply shrugs and continues to eat.

~

You're sitting on the floor crossed-legged as you finish doing Amaya’s hair for the day, two tiny pig tails on the sides of her head, when the doorbell rings. “Makato can you get that please?”

“Yes, mom.” Makato stands up from his seat and you watch as Marai sticks her foot out from the corner of your eye. You quickly turn towards her and give her a warning look, making her put her foot back underneath her as she sits on the couch watching the morning cartoons.

“Uncle Haji, Uncle Toru.” You hear Makto greet the two men who make their way to your living room, just as you’re putting in Amaya’s last bow.

“Hey there Mako, I think you’ve gotten taller.” Oikawa compliments your oldest son. “Hey,” he greets when he spots you getting up from the floor. You and Hajime give nods to each other as he walks past Oikawa to sit next to Akira and Marai.

“Morning, I hope the drive wasn’t too bad.” You start picking up the girls' hair things and putting them in the basket.

“Nope it wasn’t.” You hear Hajime respond as you walk to the bathroom to put things back under the sink.

You walk back out a few seconds later, “That’s good. Have you eaten yet?”

Toru is sitting on the floor making funny faces at his god daughter, “Yeah we stopped on our way here.” You hum and sit next to Makato on the love seat.

“So do you know what Issei’s little scheme is about?” You ask the two of them.

Toru starts giggling softly on the floor, but you can’t tell if it’s because he knows or if it’s because Amaya made a farting noise with her mouth.

“Can’t say,” is the only response you get from Iwaizumi as he points at Akira’s tablet, helping him win a game. You let out a frustrated sigh, but don’t ask anymore questions knowing you won’t get a single clue out of those two.

The sound of a person coming down the stairs takes your attention away from the cartoon, Hiro walking into the living room, and makes his way towards you and Makato. “Hey guys.” Is the only greeting he gives his two friends. He sits down on the floor, his head leaning back to where his head is resting against your shins. You watch as he closes his eyes when you start playing with his hair. He needed a haircut, it was starting to get into his eyes.

You can feel yourself dozing off to the sound of the men and kids talking in hushed tones and the sounds coming from the t.v., but you're jolted awake when Issei claps his hand when he enters the room, “Are you ready to head out?”

You try to rub some of the sleep out of your eyes as everyone gets up from their sitting places. Issei waits for you to stand from your seat, you're the last one in the room with him, and guides you with a hand on your lower back. “What are we doing today, that the kids can’t come?” You ask walking out the front door.

“It’s a surprise.” He smirks at you.

You wave goodbye to Iwaizumi, Oikawa, and the kids as they walk the opposite way of which you're heading. You get awkward stares from the neighbors as you walk down the street holding both of their hands, something that after four years of living here you’d gotten used to. The three of you simply smile and wave occasionally as you walk.

“Do they not have anything better to do than to spy on us everytime we go out?” HIro huffs shoving his hand in his pocket. You and Issei laugh at the pout he has on his face as you reach the intersection. You tug him into a kiss making one of the old ladies from the neighborhood laugh and rush back into her house.

“Yeah I don’t think that’s going to happen just yet.” Issei laughs

~

To say you were shocked would be an understatement, you didn't know that you’d be staying overnight away from your kids when you woke up this morning, and the anxiety of being away from them was starting to kick in. You were in the backseat of the rented car Issei had shoved you in when you made it past the small convenience store at the end of the neighborhood, still refusing to tell you where you were going until you reached the main road that led out of town. You really started to fidget then, and your heart dropped a bit when he told you wouldn’t be coming back until Sunday afternoon.

“Issei but the kids, they don’t have anything to change into.” You tried to argue, your motherly instincts kicking in.

“They don’t need them. I gave Hajime an extra key to get back into the house later today when they come back from the amusement park.” He argued back.

“But what about us changing?” You asked.

“Bags are in the trunk.” Hiro answered this time, eyes on his phone as he looked at where the next turn to get off the highway would be.

“Okay, b-”

“No more ‘buts’. We haven’t done this in awhile. Where it’s just the three of us, no neighbors, no work, and especially no kids.” Issei looked at you through the rearview mirror, daring you to argue back, “We need a bit of time to ourselves, specifically you. You’ve been overworking yourself with the boutique.”

You couldn’t really argue with him there, it was true. You’d come home late, sometimes even after dinner, and have to eat alone. It wasn’t your fault though, you’d gotten free promotion when a tourist had come by and bought a few of your items, and posted them on their socials. People had almost immediately started asking them where they had gotten them, and they’d been kind enough to give them the information.

But now you were stuck most afternoons, trying to make sure you’d finish whatever projects needed to be finished, and restocking the items you didn’t make yourself. Making sure that the receipts were correct and that the money in the drawer was accurate. The other employees couldn’t really help you much with the last bit, and you felt guilty when you’d keep them away from their families waiting for them to get off work, so you more times than not ended up doing all the extra work yourself.

You let out a deep sigh and looked back at Issei, “Fine, I’ll try and enjoy it.”

“Good we only have about two more hours till we get there.”

You spent most of the first hour looking out the window, listening to the music Issei played and reading one of the books he had packed for you. The second hour you passed out, head pressed against the window of the backdoor.

The feeling of bouncing along the road wakes you up from your nap, and you see that you're now on a dirt road with tall trees on either side, with two empty fields beyond the trees. You look ahead and notice just how narrow and bumpy the road is. “Where are we?” you ask drowsily.

“Our weekend getaway. Just five more minutes.” Hiro answers.

Humming you pick up your book from the floor where it fell after hitting one of the potholes that adorn the road, “Can I get a clue?”

Issei considers if he should or shouldn’t give you a hint for a bit before giving you the clue you asked for, “Private baths.”

You didn’t ask anymore questions the last three minutes of the car ride, knowing it was the only thing he was going to tell you. Issei had always been like that throughout your relationship, he knew how to keep a secret, knew how to make you or Hiro keep the secret, so that his surprise would always be perfect. Hiro and you on the other hand couldn’t keep your mouths shut when it came to surprising him. Always too overly excited to see him smile.

Turning to look out the window you see how the trees disappear as Issei pulls into a circular driveway, with a large fountain in the middle. An extremely large cabin is in front of you, and a couple of cars scattered on the large driveway around the fountain, someparked underneath trees, others parked along the cabin, and a few parked underneath a wooden carport that has vines growing up it’s sides. When you open you take in a deep breath of the clean air, you can feel your body starting to relax.

Hiro and Issei busy themselves taking out the bags from the back of the rental car while you admire your surroundings. You’re snapped out of it when Hiro throws his arm around your shoulders, “It's beautiful right?” He smiles down at you, “Can you believe he found out about this place through Yuki? It’s apparently a hidden treasure that not a lot of people know about.”

“That’s really not hard to believe with the few cars that are here,” you say pointing around at the cars, “What if we die out here?” You whisper in his ear jokingly.

“What if it’s haunted...what if that’s why we die?” He jokes back.

“Guys stop it. If it were haunted I wouldn’t have to deal with Yuki’s dumbass back home.” Issei laughs, pulling the two of you into a hug, “Let’s get checked in.”

~

You really couldn’t understand how you could sleep anymore, but soon after opening the door to the room, which the lady at the front had given all of you weird looks when you asked for a one bed room, you threw yourself on the bed and fell asleep. The sound of the door being closed wakes you and you rub the little bit of sleep out of your eyes. When you finally focus your eyes you see one of the employees setting down a tray of food, Issei tips her and she leaves. You can hear the shower running as you get up from the bed and head towards Issei, who wraps his arms around you.

“Sleep well?” He asks, placing a kiss on your nose.

“Mmmh.” You breathe in his scent.

“Good,” he states, hands rubbing your back, your face is buried in his chest so you miss the way he smirks.. “Are you hungry?” He asks, pushing you back a bit so he can look down at your face.

“Just a bit. We can wait for Hiro to get out of the shower.” You say, smiling up at him, feeling at peace and at home in his arms.

You look around the room noticing just how big it is. A coffee table next to your legs with pillows surrounding it, a large t.v in front of it, your bed across from it. There’s two large palm trees on each side of the plant. There’s a desk to your left with a lamp and a variety of pens and papers on it, pressed against the wall. Across from that there’s a sliding door that leads to the private bath Issei had mentioned.

It’s lit up by big pole lamps that sit on each corner of the fence that surrounds it. And the bath itself almost takes up the entirety of the enclosure. There are a variety of plants that surround it and two lounging chairs can be seen from where you're standing. Issei sits down on one of the pillows pulling you down with him. Your legs on either side of him and your face still pressed against his chest.

The soft click of the bathroom door grabs your attention when you see Hiro walking out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist. You can feel your face heating up a bit. It’d been a while since you’d gotten touched, and him walking around the only towel hanging lowly on his hips was tempting.

“You’re awake,” He says walking over to one of the bags that sits at the edge of the bed, towel dropping to the floor, you can feel your mouth water. Issei fingers grab onto your chin forcing you to look at him.

He has a fake pout on his lips, “I’m here too.” He buries his face in your neck and playful starts biting and sucking at the skin there. You let out a shaky breath that grabs Hiro’s attention, his head turning towards the two of you as he finishes putting on his boxers. He doesn’t waste time in crossing the room and coming behind you to grip your hips and spread kisses along your spine.

Time doesn’t seem to move at all, but when they remove themselves from you, with playful eyes and teasing smiles, you let out a small whine. “We should eat before the food gets cold.” Issei says, pulling you off his lap and onto the pillow next to him.

You can feel your heart pounding in your chest, and your cunt clenching around nothing. The thought that one day you’d get turned on by someone simply touching you would’ve never crossed your mind before meeting Issei and Hiro.

~

The private bath felt small despite it’s large size since the three of you were all sitting on one side. You were on Hiro’s lap as he kissed along your neck, biting at the sensitive skin. Issei was beside the two of you watching, eyes memorizing every blissful face you made. One of his hands was underneath the water stroking his hard dick, while the other was running through the hair at the back of Hiro’s head, pulling on it every once in a while.

You feel a bit out of breath as you shove your tongue into Hiro’s mouth, hands sliding down his torso and to the waistband of his boxers.

Hiro let out a groan at the feeling of your fingers wrapping around his length, “F-fuck, just like that.” His left came up to tangle itself in your hair, deepening the kiss. You could feel him start to twitch in your hand so when you pulled back for air, you took the opportunity to pull his boxers down. His hard cock slapping against his abdomen.

You start to stroke him in up and down motions, his head thrown back allowing you to kiss his neck. A moan leaves your lips when you feel his fingers push the bottom of your swimsuit to the side. His fingers sliding playful along your slit, teasing your entrance. You start to impatiently grind into his hand, slipping two of his fingers inside. Out of the corner of your eye you can see Issei stroking his own hard dick to the same rhythm in which you do Hiro. You can feel yourself clench around Hiro’s fingers at the sight of him.

Issei notices you looking at him and leans in for a kiss. It’s sloppy and needy, teeth bumping against each other, saliva coming out the sides of your mouth as he shoves his tongue against yours. Pushing his hand out of the way you wrap your own around him, his breathing becomes shakier. You can feel Hiro biting into your shoulder as he cums without warning, making you yelp into Issei’s mouth at the slight pain. Hiro continues to finger you, movements harsher and quicker. When you do this you also speed up your strokes, your own oragasm just seconds away.

When you come around Hiro’s fingers you fall against his chest, legs trembling under the water. You try your best to keep quiet, but being the first time cumming a while you find keeping your whines and moans quiet. Issei follows soon after doing a much better job of keeping quiet than you.

You haven’t recovered from your high when you're suddenly pulled off Hiro’s lap and are seated on the edge of the patio, the cool air making your nipples harden. Legs spread open as Issei settles between them, “Have to make sure you're wet enough or it might hurt.” You're about to ask what might hurt when the feeling of his tongue licking up your slit has you throwing your head back. You're still sensitive from cumming that you let out an extremely loud cry of pleasure.

You hear the water splashing as Hiro gets out and sits next to you. His mouth latches onto one of your nipples, sucking harshly, while the other is massaged gently by his hand. You watch as his cock gets hard again, and more slick comes out of you.

Issei groans from underneath you, the vibrations making you squirm and you try to close your legs. His hands come up to grip your thighs and keep your legs open as he continues his attack. HIro’s free hand comes down and starts to rub circles on your clit, and you buck into Issei’s mouth, a shaky breath leaving your lips as you try not to cum.

“I know you're close, so why don’t you just let go,” Hiro whispers in your ear, “Come on angel, let go for us. Make a mess on Issei’s face.” You cum with a cry, coating Issei’s lips and chin with your cum. You almost fall back if it weren’t for Hiro holding you to his chest.

“I think we should move this to the room.” Issei says, pushing himself out of the bath.

~

You don’t know how much time has passed or how many times they’ve cum in you, all you're aware of at this moment is the stinging in your throat as you push Issei further down your throat and that there’s cum dripping out of your cunt as Hiro thrust into you along with your legs starting to feel sore. Issei’s hands are tangled in your hair as he fucks himself into your mouth, your nails digging into his muscular thighs leaving small crescent moon shape imprints on them. You can feel both of them twitch before the release in you.

Sticking your tongue out for Issei to show him that you swallowed every bit, “Such a good girl for us.” You can feel more cum slipping out of your abused hole when Hiro pulls out, your inner thighs and lower back feeling sticky from it all.

You sit back up thinking that maybe they're done, because you can’t possibly handle anymore, but you're suddenly pulled by Issei landing on his chest. He positions you to where you're straddling him, you can feel his hardening dick bumping into your sensitive pussy. “Think you can take both of us at once, sweetheart?” He asks, scattering kisses all over your face, hands massaging the fat of your ass.

You look at him with a confused look, so that’s what he was talking about earlier. You’d done anal before with them, but the way he words it this time feels different form the time he asked to try anal. It’s not until You feel Hiro pressed up against the same hole that Issei is teasing that you understand. Your eyes go wide, you’d never thought about, never even considered it with the size difference between Hiro and Issei. Could they both even fit? Taking Issei alone was already a challenge, but both of them?

You hear Hiro laugh behind you, “She just got wetter.”

Looking down at Issei you see him lovingly looking up at you, “What do you say?” His hand is caressing your face.

“I-I don’t know, but we can try,” You say and bury your face in his neck. Both men groan at you, agreeing to try the Idea that’s been swimming around in their hands. “Maybe we can get you pregnant with twins again,” You feel your face get hot when he says that. He starts pushing into you first, you whimper at the stretch, you don’t think you’d ever really get used to it. Slight panic starts to form throughout your body. How are you going to fit both of them in one hole when you already felt so full.

You both let out groans when he bottoms out, the tip of his dick brushing against your cervix. “What do you say angel, can you give us twins again,” Hiro groans out as he positions himself at your stuffed entrance. “Think that if we both stuff you full of our cum at the same time, you’d have twins again?” He starts to push into you, and you can feel tears start to fall from your eyes at the feeling.

“T-too much,” you cry out.

Hiro stops for a second and then you feel something wet land right where he is connected to you. HIs spit starts to slide down your cunt as he starts to push his length in again. You breathe heavily into Issei’s neck, trying to keep your breathing even. The three of you groan when Hiro manages to bottom out. Both of them stay still, waiting for you to give them the okay so that they can start moving.

It takes you a while to adjust to the both of them being inside your abused cunt. “You can move.” you whimper. You and Issei let out wonton moans when Hiro starts to move, his length brushing against your walls and the underside of Issei’s cock. Issei bucks up on you, his thrusts aren’t as rough as they usually are because he lacks the space to move as he pleases.

It doesn’t take long for you to reach the edge, the orgasms from earlier making you overly sensitive, and you can tell that they’ve also overstimulated themselves. You can feel Hiro pressing kisses along your spine while Issei your jaw. “F-fuck i’m close,” He groans throwing his head back into the pillows.

“Same h-here,” Hiro hisses out, his nails digging into the soft flesh of your hips.

Your brain can’t even process any words to warn them that you're about to come, everything feels fuzzy and warm. It’s only when you let out an animalistic moan and are clenching around them that they know you're sitting on the edge of your nth orgasm. You start to shake between them when you cum, loud moans echoing throughout the room. Hiro’s the first to cum after you, his hips stop moving. The feeling of the squirts of cum from Hiro push Issei off the edge.

The three of you stay like Hiro dropping his weight on top of Issei and you. Chests rising up and down as you all try to catch your breath.

Hiro pulls out a plops down next to the two of you, pressing a kiss on yours and Issei’s lips before throwing his arm over his face, finally satisfied. “Do you think that worked?” He asks, a big goofy smile on his face.

“I don’t know, but we have tomorrow morning to make sure it sticks,” Issei answers, turning over to his side so that you're sandwiched between their bodies.,“right sweetheart?”

You bury your face into his neck, his arms pulling Hiro closer to the two of you, “Mmhh, but I need to rest first.” You whisper sleep starting to kick in.

You feel soft kisses being pressed on your forehead, and warmth spread across your body as you fall asleep in the arms of the two people you love the most.

[aimless-imagines-for-fun]

If We’re Quick

Pairing :: Ray Palmer x short/petite fem!Reader

Warnings :: 18+ Content, Smut/NSFW, Size Kink, Thigh Riding

Word Count :: 1,773

Summary :: Ray convinces you that if you’re quick, the team won’t catch you

A/N :: I’m a whore for this man- HE’S SO SWEET

Ray Palmer was the sweetest goofball you had ever met. He almost always had a smile on his face, finding the bright side to even the darkest of situations. His charm and small ramblings about his passions made you fall head over heels for the man, even if you tried to ignore those feelings of attraction at first.

Even before you joined the Legends, you refused to be romantically involved with any work colleague. All your previous co-workers had told you it was frowned upon to date within the workplace, gossiping whenever two people started seeing each other. 

So, when Ray asked you out on a date, it pained you to decline. Yet, somehow, you still ended up having dinner with him at Lana’s & Larry’s, a diner from the 50s.

-

You stared at him in shock, your heart racing as you stared up at him, a large nervous smile on his face. You gulped, looking down with sadness. At first, you felt overjoyed at his offer, but then remembered your own professional guidelines.

“Ray…” You mumbled. “Ray, I can’t go on a date with you, we work together. What would the team think?” 

Seeming to already think of this outcome, a small chuckle left Ray. “It’s not a date, it’s just dinner, so it’s not breaking you ‘no dating colleagues’ rule.” He gave you a small shrug and added, “Plus, I’m sure no one will notice we’re missing.”

You tilted your head back up, the corners of your lips turning upwards as you brushed some hair out of your face. “Well, when you put it like that, sure. I’ll have dinner with you, but, just as friends.”

You could visibly see him ease up, his shoulders relaxing and a small breath he was holding released. “Just as friends,” He repeated.

-

Each time Ray asked you out, it was always “just as friends”. Even on your fifth outing together, the kiss you two shared was only as “friends”.

A small Ma & Pa owned sweets shop in Bedford, England, from the 70s had a couple’s special each Sunday. If a couple kissed and showed the old married couple that they were in love, they could get a free bag of sweets each. 

The second you heard that, without hesitation, your hands reached for the sides of Ray’s face and pulled him down for a kiss. Your father taught you to save money and take any opportunity that benefited you.

At first, Ray was completely stunned, but it didn’t take long for him to lean down closer to you so you would no longer have to stand on your tippy-toes to reach him. You pulled away seconds after he placed his hands on the small of your back. 

He had a large grin plastered on his face and you couldn’t help but heat up, flustered by your actions.

The old married couple laughed a bit at first, calling the two of you “a cute young couple” before handing you each your sweets.

After that small event though, you each knew you couldn’t pretend to be just friends anymore. You two started to date, keeping it a secret from the rest of the team.

It was difficult, but, you managed, especially since you two had already been hiding when you went out on dates before.

Almost two months had passed, and the only person to find out was Nate. He found out a week after you and Ray started officially dating. It was a miracle only Nate had found out seeing as Ray couldn’t lie to save his life, let alone keep a big secret from his best friend. However, when Nate found out, he was of great help keeping your guys’ secret, especially for Ray. Not only did he help come up with excuses or lies to tell the team why you or Ray were missing, but, he also alarmed you whenever someone was approaching.

Having Nate’s help eased you, but also made Ray feel a bit too comfortable at times.

-

You stood in the med-bay, patching up a slightly scratched up and shirtless Ray, who sat right in front of you.

The team had a mission in Springfield, Missouri 1865. While in a saloon, a group of men began catcalling and hollering at you. Annoyed, you ignored them, and told Ray to do the same. He listened to you, even if he desperately wanted to tell the men to quit it.

You were hoping if you ignored them they would give up and leave you alone. Instead, they persisted and one grabbed your arm as you passed by. Ray wasn’t a “fight first talk later” kind of guy by any means, so you were surprised when he punched the man and thus started a bar fight. Luckily, Mick, Nate, and Amaya were at the bar and helped quickly end the fight.

No one had gotten any serious injuries besides Ray, who had a nasty stab wound on his shoulder. One of the men had a large knife and managed to only stab Ray in the shoulder an inch deep before he was knocked away.

“You’re lucky you didn’t get shot,” You told him right when you finished stitching up and bandaging his wound. 

You pushed away the metal cart that held your now used surgical needle, bloodied cotton balls, antibiotics that were used to clean the wound, and bandages.

When you walked back over, there was a small pout on your face. “You know, you could’ve gotten seriously hurt.”

Ray gave you a small smile, placing his large hands on your waist and pulling you closer to him. “I know, but you’ll always be there to patch me up if anything does happen (Y/N).”

He pulled you in for a small kiss, one you only indulged momentarily before pulling away, giving him a warning glare.

 “I won’t patch you up if you get hurt doing something stupid.”

His smile only grew before you leaned in for another kiss, this one lasting much longer than the previous one. He lightly nipped at your bottom lip and you parted your mouth, allowing his tongue to enter and explore your mouth.

Ray held you so close now you sat on one of his thighs, with one hand still on your waist and the other holding the nape of your neck. Your hands laid flat on his chest, body leaning into his hold.

You loved it when he held you, especially since there was an obvious height difference between the two of you. You felt small, but secure, when in his grasp. He loved the difference in build between you two just as much, being able to easily lift you up and hold you close to him. You were the perfect size for him.

You felt a small warmth building between your legs straddling his thigh, but it really only grew when you tried to scoot closer to him creating a small friction. He still wore the linen pants Gideon had made him, but you now wore thin black leggings(you changed your clothes right before going to help Ray). 

Without thinking, your body moved your hips again to create that same friction, this time causing you to moan softly into the kiss. Being the observant man he was, and loving the sounds of your sweet voice, Ray moved his hand down from your waist to your hips, beginning to help move you against his thigh. His hand pushed you down further and his leg pressed up against your core more now. You could feel a wetness begin to form and your mind slowly started growing hazy.

You pulled away from the kiss, panting lightly with a worried expression on your face. “Ray, we can’t. What if someone-”

“They’re all still working on the mission. No one’s here,” He reassured you. “But, if you’re that worried we’ll do this here real quick then go back to my room. Okay?”

He moved his other hand down to your hips and moved you again.

“Ray,” You moaned out.

Your head fell to rest at the crook of his neck, nipping and sucking small bits of flesh as he continued to guide you against his thigh. Slowly, the pace started to speed up a bit, your breaths growing heavier. 

Ray watched you with darkened eyes, how you held onto him, face flushed and moaning. He was getting more and more turned on by the second watching you. Once you were taken care of, he’d be sprinting to his room with you in his arms.

You were enjoying yourself so much, you didn’t even notice one of his hands slipped away from holding you until his hand went down your leggings and he pressed two fingers against your wet panties. He let out a low groan, feeling how wet you already were knowing you were close.

His fingers moved to begin rubbing your clit roughly, causing you to take a sharp breath. You could feel a knot tighten in the pit of your belly, your moans growing in volume, and your grip on Ray’s shoulders tightening. It wasn’t long after your body tensed up followed by a loud moan as you released.

Your body relaxed, falling and holding onto him weakly. Ray pulled his hand out, placing it back on your nape to give you a long kiss.

“We should really knock-”

The doors opened, revealing a stunned Sara, Jax, and Amaya along with an anxious Nate.

“-before entering,” Nate finished, letting out a loud sigh of defeat.

Your eyes widened, fear hitting you before a wave of embarrassment. Both yours and Ray’s faces began to heat up. Ray gave your teammates a sheepish smile, while you covered your face and turned away.

Jax quickly walked away, most likely to find and tell Martin what he had just witnessed. Amaya was quiet, but it was clear she was surprised by her expression. Sara gave you two a small scowl before turning on her heels to walk away.

“I have some money to give Mick,” She muttered, clearly upset she lost a bet.

Nate gave Ray an apologetic shrug. “I tried to stop ‘em,” He said before closing the doors.

When the doors were closed and you finally calmed down, you pulled your hands away. You stared at Ray with furrowed brows. “I told you-”

“I know,” He quickly cut you off. “But, now we can hold hands all time and annoy the team with how cute we are together.”

You tried to glare at his optimistic smile but soon found yourself smiling as you gave him a light hit on his shoulder.

[blutopaz15]

Flufftober Oct. 2

Sneaking Out Together

Yay, day two! This has been REALLY good for my writer's block so far! Hope you enjoy more sweet, dorky rayllum fluff! <3

NOTES: rated t for mildly suggestive content, 1.1k

ao3 link

It was weird going to bed without Rayla.

Callum snapped his sketchbook shut. Even drawing felt strange to do alone.

He missed having Rayla beside him, peering down at the page. Her hair, so shiny and white, always fell across his shoulder when she tucked her forehead into the crook of his neck and her lips were always so sweet and soft when she interrupted to kiss him first...

He sighed.

They’d seldom spent a night alone since coming back to Katolis, and Callum could tell from the way Rayla had crossed her arms as they went their separate ways—without so much as a kiss in front of all the dinner guests—that she was definitely just as unhappy about being apart as he was.

The clear view of the nearly full moon through the windows that led to the balcony attached to the room didn’t help.

Swinging his legs out of bed, Callum tried to come up with a reasonable excuse to traipse across the Neolandian palace they were visiting, but came up short. He settled for stepping out onto the balcony instead.

It was complicated here.

Not like it was in Katolis, where it was just a fact that their room was theirs. The worst thing they needed to worry about back home was the morning housekeeping crew catching them in a compromising position if they slept too late, and that only resulted in—at worst—another embarrassing conversation with Opeli or Aunt Amaya. The threats to separate them had grown less and less convincing the older they got, especially as it became more and more obvious that Rayla was there to stay.

Here, though…

At first, Callum had thought it was some convoluted show of prejudice when their things had very clearly been taken in separate directions as they arrived. After all, he was certainly in tune enough with the sideways looks from palace staff—even without her hand tightened around his—to realize that Rayla being an elf was definitely still noteworthy here, like it’d been those first couple weeks in Katolis after the Spire.

But...he’d gotten the feeling that it was the sharing-a-room part that would have really stirred the pot, regardless of Rayla being an elf. Opeli had reminded both of them with a shake of her head: a few nights apart wouldn’t be worth the risk of an even rockier relationship with Neolandia.

Callum huffed grumpily, resting his elbows on the banister.

Did Rayla really have to be all the way on the other side of the palace, though?

Apparently—he brightened, seeing her slip out onto the balcony directly across from his—exactly on the other side of the courtyard.

It was too far across to call out, but...not too far to be able to tell that she was grinning at him. He waved, and her lips didn’t need to move for him to hear her voice calling him a dork. Rayla waved back, though...and then the look in her eyes shifted to a familiar, calculating brightness. She glanced all around his balcony then peered down hers, eyes narrowed and judging distances. Rayla ended up frowning, though. She hesitated for a moment and then clumsily signed a few words that she’d learned early on in talking with Aunt Amaya.

No blades. She pointed behind her then, back to the room where she seemed to have left them along with her day-clothes, and Callum understood that it was a little far of a jump to make without her hooks to catch herself with.

You, she started, then paused to think before settling on a gesture that got across that he was supposed to fly over, whether it was actual Katolis Sign Language or not.

Callum watched her roll her eyes when he licked a finger and pointed it up in the air like he was testing the breeze, as if it was even a question that he was heading over there to kiss his beautiful, adorable pajama-clad sweetheart goodnight.

“Manus—” Callum paused, realizing that midnight flight practice might not be an adequate explanation for a shredded pajama top, especially if Opeli caught wind of it. He tossed the shirt back towards the door to his room.

The goal was not to get caught anyway…

He held his arms out, and struggled to get the words out around the grin that Rayla’s smirking at him from across the way had brought on.

“Manus, pluma, volantis.”

He’d barely touched down before Rayla’s arms were looped around his neck.

“Nice flying, mage,” she teased, fingers in his hair sending a tingle down his spine. Brushing her lips against his temple, she let his wings folding around her draw her in even closer, and whispered: “I missed you.”

“Just a few more nights, okay?” Callum reassured her, nosing a piece of hair away from her cheek so he could pass the kiss back to her. “We’ll ride home together and everything.”

Rayla’s hands slipped to his chest, ghosting over his ribs. “Won’t be too weird for you?” she giggled when he gasped.

“Not...not weirder than this,” he stammered, acutely aware of how her hands had slid further down to pull his hips against hers and how they were now trailing up his back. “That...tickles.” He tried to ignore how her hands actually felt on his skin.

“Oh, please. She stilled her hands but kissed his neck. “You love it. You’re the one who decided to strip down, half naked, to come kiss me goodnight.”

“Had to,” he shrugged, getting his bearings without her fingers wandering. “Sleeves, you know.”

The moonlight sparkled in her eyes before they went half lidded as her palm pressed flat against his ass.

“Hmm, well, tomorrow night—”

“Good night, Rayla,” he scolded gently, only slightly tempted to risk political ruin and slip back into her room with her. He sought out his goodnight kiss instead, looking at her lips meaningfully, unable to catch her jaw in his hands the way he wanted to without all the trouble of dispelling the wings.

“I’m just saying! The moon! It’ll be full!” Rayla squirmed around in his wings, gesturing dramatically to the brightness looming overhead. “I can’t believe you’d willingly waste a full moon!”

Callum wrapped the wings as tight as he could around her and angled closer. “I love you.”

Saucy grin softening, Rayla finally let him close the distance between them, her lips pushing back against his with searing heat and her hands pulling him in with fervor enough for the both of them. She let their foreheads meet and lingered, eyes huge and bright and lilac and refusing to leave his.

“Night, Callum,” she said at last, her reluctance matching his own as she slipped away, leaving him longing and lonely…

...and looking forward to tomorrow night.