#also i think this is going to go unseen but i confide in the numbers :)))

[be-themessenger]

🎀Attention 80s music fans!🎀

hey ! what do you lot think abt creating a tumblr community about new wave/post-punk/synthpop rpf ??

we could:

🎀do art trades!

🎀 talk our fanfictions (respecting the terms of decency ofc)!

🎀 band lore yapping! discuss theories about songs, pics and members !

🎀thirst Very Unhingedly over our emotional support old men!

who's in ?

[enchiladalovingwriter]

Little La Reina - Part 6 (Alexia Putellas x Reader)

The three women stayed downstairs to give you some time to recover and also discuss what had happened. “So Ale, now that you know, what are you gonna do about it?” Alba asked as she wiggled her eyebrows. Alexia rolled her eyes at her sister and Eli giggled at the antics of both of her daughters. “Seriously Ale, you both like each other. I don’t understand what’s stopping you. We know what’s stopping her,” Eli said. “I don’t know mama. It’s only been a few weeks since we’ve gotten to know her and Olivia better,” Alexia started. “Is that what’s stopping you mija? Olivia?” Eli questioned. “No, of course not. I know it’s only been a few weeks, but I love that little girl,” Alexia said confidently. “So do something about it Ale. She’s already made the first move, no matter how painfully awkward it was,” Alba laughed out.

Eli and Alba sent Alexia up the stairs to your daughter’s room to retrieve you both for dinner. Instead of calling out to you to wash up, she stood just outside the door, unseen, and watched as you and Olivia built one of the many Lego sets you had gotten her.

“Y/n? How are Alexia, and Alba, and Eli related to us?” Olivia asked you. “Well they aren’t really related to us kiddo,” was your response. “But they’re family aren’t they?” You paused for a moment, trying to pick the right words. “Um, yeah they are family but it’s not like blood related. Just like I’m not blood related to you but I’m still your family,” you explained. “But that’s different Y/n. I just met Alexia, and Eli, and Alba. I knew you when I was a baby.” You nodded your head, “yeah, it’s different. Why the sudden questions about it though?” What Olivia said next had surprised you, “I want them to be even more like family.” You didn’t understand what she was saying. “What do you mean O? Like you want to know them more? I think they really want to know you more too.” Olivia shook her head, “I want you and Alexia to take care of me together.”

You weren’t sure how to respond to what Olivia said. You were a bit shocked but not surprised that she commented on your, well, whatever was going on between you and Alexia. She was a very perceptive child. She was very special and exceptionally gifted academically. And she had always been very mature. Almost like a little adult in your eyes.

Alexia on the other hand was completely shocked and surprised. She knew Olivia was special, but she wasn’t expecting her to understand what was going on enough to comment about it. She knew that she’d been eavesdropping for far too long and that Alba and Eli would be wondering where you all were but she couldn’t bring herself to move. She wanted to know what your response to your daughter would be.

You cleared your throat and attempted to answer the non-question that had been asked. “So you want Alexia to take care of you too? What about Eli and Alba?” You decided asking her about how felt would be your best approach. You were still unsure about bringing someone new into the picture in that way. Your number one priority was always going to be Olivia and her well-being. “Yeah! Them too but Alexia more,” the little girl said. Then she leaned in close and whispered, “she’s special. She gets me and she gets you. And you get happy when she’s here with us.” You could only look at the girl in awe. The way she could read a situation made you forget that she was only five a lot of the time. “You think so?” The girl nodded enthusiastically. “Well kiddo I have to agree with you. Alexia is very special. Not as special as you though.”

A knock at the door turned both yours and Olivia’s attention away from your conversation. You knew by the sheepish look on her face that Alexia had heard at least part of your conversation. “Um Alba and mama sent me to come get you guys for dinner,” the woman said awkwardly. “Okay kiddo time to eat. We can work on the legos after dinner for a bit before bed yeah?” “Yeah!” “Okay. Hey, I forgot. What do we do before we eat?” “Wash our hands!” You couldn’t help but smile at the girl. “Wash our hands. That’s right. You go ahead downstairs. I’ll be there in a second. I’m just going to clean up a bit so we don’t lose anything.” Olivia took off running before you could even finish speaking.

Seeing the way you and Olivia interacted in those last few moments made Alexia stop questioning everything. She hastily made her way towards you while you spoke. “So um, how much of that did you,” you were cut off by Alexia crashing her lips into yours. It took you a second but you reciprocated. A bit awkwardly though. You weren’t sure what to do with your hands, so you kept them at your sides until Alexia moved them around her waist for you. The kiss lasted for a few more moments, until the need for air became apparent. Alexia kept close. Her forehead rested against yours as her hands remained cupped around your face. “So, um. Do you, you know. You and me, do you want to um… like a you know,” Alexia giggled again and decided to save you from yourself. “If you’re trying to ask me out on a date, the answer is yes.” You squeezed your eyes shut and tried to hide the embarrassment of fumbling over your words.

What you didn’t know, was that Eli, Alba, and Olivia were at the top of the stairs and saw everything. Eli held up her hands and both Alba and Olivia gave her high fives. Alba wolf whistled at you when you made your way down the stairs into the kitchen and that left you mortified because you knew that meant she saw. You tried to turn to leave the room but Alexia grabbed your hand and pulled you to the dinning room. “Way to go Y/n. That was very smooth,” the younger Putellas sister laughed out as she started a slow clap. Eli smacked her daughter when she saw how embarrassed you were. “That’s enough Alba,” she scolded.

After dinner, you brought the legos downstairs so that everyone could build them. You noticed Olivia’s eyes were starting to droop and she was yawning frequently so you knew that meant bedtime. She tried to argue with you through the yawns but eventually she gave in after Alexia whispered in her ear. You carried her upstairs and got her washed and ready for bed, making sure she brushed her teeth. You tucked her in and kissed her forehead and before you left the room, Olivia asked if you could read to her. Soon after you started reading she was sound asleep. Or so you thought.

You were in the living room listening to the three women talk and laugh, just content to be able to witness how effortless it was for them to be a family. Alba’s voice broke you from your thoughts. “So, Y/n. Now that mama and I have to worry about this,” she gestured between you and Alexia with a finger, “I wanted to let you know that if you hurt her, in any way, shape, or form, I’ll hurt you,” the younger girl warned. “Alba! Are you seriously giving Y/n the shovel talk in her own house?! Really?!” Alexia couldn’t have been more embarrassed in that moment. You were about to respond, when you once again, heard little footsteps making their way to you.

“Hey kiddo, you’re supposed to be sleeping. What’s wrong? Did we wake you up?” You picked Olivia up and sat down while you rubbed her back in an attempt to lull her back to sleep. Instead, she crawled out of your lap and into Alexia’s. She held Alexia’s face in her little hands and spoke seriously, “Alexia, don’t hurt Y/n. If you do I’ll be very mad at you.” The little girl tried to look as intimidating as possible while she attempted to give Alexia her own shovel talk. Eli and Alba swooned at the little girl’s protectiveness over you. Alexia looked at Olivia as serious as she could. “I promise, I won’t Olivia.” Then Olivia held out her pinky and Alexia hooked hers around. A pinky promise.

Your first official date with Alexia hadn’t happened for several weeks. You couldn’t seem to get your schedules to line up, and when you did, Eli and Abla were not available and you couldn’t find a babysitter that you could trust for Olivia. The “dates” you had were all dinners at your house and a movie with Olivia until it was her bedtime and then a couple of hours alone before Alexia had to leave.

You started to question if this was a good idea. Surely Alexia wasn’t going to wait forever, right? And you weren’t going to ask her to. That wouldn’t be fair. Not to mention that an anxiety had begun to build that maybe you weren’t thinking of Olivia’s best interest.

Most of those thoughts went away when you finally had your date. When you both were able to have a night off and Eli and Alba made sure they were both there to watch Olivia, you made sure you planned everything out. You pulled some strings to get into the best restaurant in Barcelona, you made sure your car was ready to go, you bought Olivia’s, Alba’s, and Eli’s favorite snacks, you made sure there of plenty of new games/activities for them, you made absolutely sure that your number, Alexia’s number, the hospital’s number and the restaurant’s number were all written down in case of an emergency. Maybe you went a little overboard, but you were nervous.

Eli could feel the nerves radiating off of you. “Mija, you need to relax. Everything is going to be fine. Olivia will be fine. We’re going to have a great time and so will Ale. She’s been dying to try this restaurant. How did you manage to get a reservation so last minute?” You shrugged, “I’m friends with the head chef/owner. Anytime you guys want to go, he’ll be more than happy to reserve a table for you.” Eli was pleased that she was able to calm you down a bit and take your mind off of everything. After saying goodbye to Olivia about fifty times and telling her you love her, the little girl practically shoved you out of the house herself.

When you reached Alexia’s house, the nerves came back. Did she really want this? Was she just being nice? All of those thoughts took hold and you actually forgot to knock on the door. You were just standing there like an idiot, and Alexia must have seen you because she opened the door without you knocking. “Hi Y/n, I’m not quite ready yet. Come in please,” she said, as she rushed around to grab the last of her belongings. Your mind went completely blank.

Alexia wasn’t wearing anything particularly fancy but she looked stunning. You were still standing right outside her door, staring at her like an idiot, when she finished getting ready. “Have you been standing there this whole time Y/n?” she asked in a teasing manner. You shook your head to bring yourself out of the trance you were in before you spoke. “Um, yeah. Sorry, I was just,” “staring,” Alexia finished for you, causing a slight blush to climb up your neck to your cheeks.

When you made it to your car, Alexia asked where you were going and your told her that it was a surprise. You could hear the gasp that left her mouth when you pulled up to your friend’s restaurant. “How?” was all that came out of her mouth. “A friend of mine,” was all that you responded.

Your friend, Jose had reserved the chef’s table for you and prepared a private entrance upon your request. He prepared whatever dish Alexia had asked for and made sure several of the best glasses of wine in the world were available to you both. Knowing that you had to drive, and wanting to make sure that you kept your promise to Eli and Alba to keep Alexia safe, you opted for one half glass of wine.

Jose and Alexia spent the majority of the evening speaking to each other, while you joined in the conversations briefly. You were content to just watch the interaction they had. She asked how he got started and how he came to have the best restaurant in Barcelona and he told her that he couldn’t have done it without the support of a very special person. When the final plates were cleared from the table and Jose had joined you once again, Alexia reached for her bag, insisting that you split the bill, but you had already had your card out ready to pay.

“Oh that won’t be necessary. Put those away. This is all on the house,” Jose told you both. “Jose,” you insisted. “No no no. I will not be accepting any payment from you, ever, Y/n. I wouldn’t have this without you. You’ve made all of this possible,” he argued. “What do you mean?” Alexia asked. “Well, remember how I told you that I had the support of a special person? Y/n here invested and believed in me when no one else did. She saw something in me when no one else did. She invested almost all of her life savings to help me open this place. I owe all of this to her,” he explained. Alexia looked at you in shock. She was once again floored by your kindness.

After dinner, Alexia suggested you pick up ice cream for the girls at your home. On the drive back to your house, Alexia couldn’t stop smiling as she ate her ice cream. She held your hand the entire time. She knew it was only your first official date, but things felt different with you.

“Y/n! Alexia! You’re back!” Olivia came crashing into your legs. “Hey kiddo,” you said as you picked her up. “Guess what? Alexia brought you a gift.” Olivia looked at Alexia, while she held up the bag containing the ice cream.

While the Olivia, Eli, and Alba ate their ice cream, and told Alexia about their night, you cleaned up the remainder of the games. You were about to start taking apart the blanket fort they built when Olivia called out to you. “Y/n, wait! Can we sleep in there tonight?” You didn’t have a game the next day but you did have an early training session, so you hesitated to answer. When you looked up, Olivia and the three women sitting with her were pouting at you. “Uh, yes. Of course we can sleep in here kiddo.”

After Olivia said goodnight to everyone, she made her way upstairs to get ready for her camp out with you. You thanked Eli and Alba again for watching Olivia, but they waved you off and waited for Alexia in the car after their goodbyes. “You know you’re going to be feeling that tomorrow at training,” Alexia teased as she pointed at the blanket fort. “Well, I couldn’t tell her ‘no’ when all of you were looking at me like that.”

The team noticed a slight shift in you the following weeks. You seemed less anxious and less frazzled. You still didn’t go to any outings and a lot of the time, they noticed Alexia would leave the outings early. “Something is going on with them, I’m telling you.” Mapi said to the group. Ingrid again, decided to make a snarky comment. “Oh please Mapi. Like Ale would go for Y/n. She’s so weird.” “Ingrid, what is your issue with her?” Caroline asked defensively. “She just doesn’t belong here. She comes in and tries to take everyone’s place,” she said as she crossed her arms with a scowl. Mapi decided she would deal with Ingrid later. She had more pressing matters to look into.

[gimmie-a-sammich]

To Rule Them All | Chapter 6 | To the Beat

Pairings: Idol!Ateez/???!Ateez x Fem!Original Characters

Summary: Alexis is about to have the summer of a lifetime traveling the country with some of her best friends following one of her favorite groups, Ateez. Little do they know, there is more to this group than meets the eye. Take a trip into the dark as they navigate a world unseen.

Genre: (18+ Minors DNI) smut, angst, fluff, supernatural vibes 

Chapter Warnings: cursing, dream hauntings, oral sex (m. receiving), vaginal finger, vaginal sex, nipple play, unprotected sex

Word Count: 4.5k

read here on AO3

To Rule Them All masterlist

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note: this chapter is written from Nikki's POV, also in a dream

**

I wasn’t necessarily ready to go to bed, but seeing how drunk Alexis and Thea had gotten made the decision that much easier. Thankfully, Alexis wasn’t quite as bad as Thea and was able to help hoist her off the floor after her potato moment. Little Miss Sunshine was at least able to walk on her own to bed, but I couldn’t help but laugh at Thea as she hugged the wall while stumbling along. 

I made my way into my basement hole, still thinking about the events of the night. It had taken everything in my power to not get the phone number off of Alexis’s phone and give Austin a piece of my mind as well. Between Christie and I, there were no limits on what we would do to keep our sunshine safe. But, we had to respect Alexis’s wishes at this point, even though I had a letter ready on standby. 

The room in the basement was exactly what I needed, my own little escape from the rest of my friends. As much as I loved them, I very much needed some space and separation at times. I walked into the bathroom, changed into my pajamas, barely doing any of the skincare Christie had thrust upon me, and hopped into the black satin comforter on the bed. I curled up within it, losing myself in the material as I closed my eyes, hoping that sleep would take me quickly .Maybe the soju was hitting me a little harder than I even wanted to admit… 

But my want for sleep was interrupted thanks to Christie’s nightly Instagram reel attack, filled to the brim with Mingi body rolls, clear bulges, and Seongwha’s ridiculously long tongue. After I screamed at her about a particularly disrespectful reel of Mingi in that blue velvet suit, I put my phone to the side and closed my eyes.

I could almost feel the moment I fell into deep sleep. I took note of the gray mist that was curling around me in an almost endless stretch. Normally, when I fell this deeply, I was dead to the world, so feeling present within a dream was a rarity. But this time, I could feel the cold mist swirling around me, leaving my clothes feeling damp and sticky. From within the expanse of mist, I heard muffled footsteps quickly approaching and getting louder with each step. I looked around, trying to see if I could make out anything within the fog, but my only answer was the mist thickening and the footsteps becoming quicker and quicker.

“Do you want to play a game?” a voice within the misty abyss called out. I turned on my heels, circling in an effort to pinpoint the exact location. It seemed like it was coming from all around me, almost as if a part of the mist itself. There was something familiar about the voice, but I couldn’t put my finger on where I had heard it before. “You won't see anything at all… not until you say yes,” it called out again playfully. 

I paused, biting my lip and furrowing my brows while I thought about the offer. It was only a game, or so they said, and what was the worst that could happen in my dreams? “Yes, I’ll play,” I answered, my voice strong and confident knowing that I could tackle anything coming my way… after all, this was my brain we were talking about. 

As soon as I spoke, the mist dissipated almost instantly and I found myself standing in a clearing in the woods. It was a beautiful image, even though I wasn’t much for the outdoors, with a large bonfire shooting sparks into the twinkling stars and crescent moon in the black sky above me. I made my way towards the bonfire just as two looming figures came soundlessly from within the dense treeline, stopping as soon as they hit the edge of the clearing. I could make out just enough of their general shape to know that they were tall and fit. They lingered for only a moment longer before stepping out of the shadows. The soft moonlight illuminated their faces, and I physically had to choke back a gasp at who I saw: Mingi, tall and thick, his hair as black as mine with near identical blue highlights, and Seonghwa, slender and graceful, his platinum blonde hair reflecting the moonlight beautifully. 

“Well damn,” I mumbled under my breath. All other thoughts were lost to me as they continued to saunter confidently towards me.

“So, are you ready for our game?” came Mingi’s low voice, causing a shiver to run through my body. 

“What exactly are we playing..?” I responded, my voice shaking just a little. I was both excited and anxious, somehow the stakes in this dream felt higher, like I actually had something to win or lose when it came to this little game. 

“Hello, are you listening?” Seonghwa’s much smoother voice said, waving a hand in front of my face to snap me out of my thoughts. Slightly startled, I craned my head upwards, meeting his eyes as they pierced into mine.. “Um, I’m sorry, I wasn't paying attention,” I answered softly, casting my eyes down to study the ground, embarrassed at being caught lost in my own head. 

“Well, you may want to pay attention to this: the rules of the game, and it’s important you know them well. The outcome of this game greatly affects so many things moving forward,” he stated calmly. I shivered, not only from his words, but from the sudden drop in temperature. Seonghwa saw this and took my hand and led me towards the bench beside the warm fire. He settled himself closely to me, smiling softly, his body heat a welcome addition to the soft burn coming from the fire. 

“So, we’re going to play a game of tag,” Mingi’s voice echoed through the air.

“Tag? We’re going to play tag?” I said bluntly,  tearing my eyes away from Seonghwa to turn to Mingi, a look of sheer confusion crossing my face. Of all things… tag? How was a silly kids’ game going to have a ‘great effect’ or whatever fancy thing they said earlier. 

“Yes, but slightly different. We are going to chase you, and if we catch you…” Seonghwa started but was immediately cut off by a sharp glance from Mingi. They shared a silent look before Seonghwa continued. “Well, that’s part of the game you see, what happens when we catch you. We’re sure you’ll quite like what we have planned.” He stood there grinning from ear to ear while I felt unsure about what bizarre escapade I had gotten myself into. A sick, twisted game of tag it seemed, but as I pondered the thought of it all I couldn’t help but feel the excitement growing within me. I never seemed to have anything interesting happen in my dreams, and I was curious what the consequence of getting caught by these two drop dead gorgeous men would be.

“Alright, I'm game. However, I have some rules of my own. It’s a little unfair to have both of you chasing me together so… I only think it’s fair that you start from separate points and I get a five minute head start. I’m not much of a runner, you see,” I began. After laying out my counterrules, my brain was flooded with concerns. “Are you going to tell me what happens if you catch me? What if only one of you does? What if both? What if you don’t catch me?” The questions left me quickly. I was feeling like I had just drank 12 shots of espresso and touched a live wire. I began to feel restless and angsty, more than ready to get this twisted game started. My body felt alive and my blood was singing to me, ready to get moving. 

“Fair enough, the headstart and us starting separately are yours,” Seonghwa began, his smooth voice a sharp contrast to my own. He gave me a reassuring look before continuing on. “Now, if we catch you separately, the winner will decide what the ‘punishment’ is. They might choose to begin on their own, or wait for the other to join. If we catch you together… now that will be a joint decision.” A glint of mischief entered his otherwise soft eyes as the faintest sign of a smirk crossed his lips, as if there was a secret only he was aware of. Mingi’s deep laugh bellowed through the space as Seonghwa wrapped up . 

“Hyung, you’re taking it too easy on her…” Mingi replied, a shit eating grin spreading across his face. “But, if you really want to separate it’ll be even more of a competition. You know I have a better chance at catching her, especially on my own.” His eyes flicked over to me hungrily, that smile never leaving his face. 

“Who said you would even catch me? What happens if I win? When does the game even end? I highly doubt you plan to chase me to the end of time, let alone until the end of night, no matter how fun it is." I quipped back at them, the questions and sass rolling off my tongue once again. That tiny bit of nervousness had morphed into something else entirely: annoyance and anger. Who were these men to just blatantly assume that they would be able to catch me, that I was just going to be some helpless little girl lost in the woods? 

“It ends when the sun rises and we haven't caught you yet. If you manage that without us catching you, you win… but I highly doubt that will be the case. You could just avoid the trouble of running all night and let us take the win,” Mingi replied cockily. That damn smirk on his face left me feeling even more annoyed. 

“Yeah, right,” I rolled my eyes, shooting him a look filled with the annoyance I felt. “Good luck, because I’m going to kick your smug little asses.” The adrenaline started coursing through my veins as excitement and arousal kicked in. Who knew that the thought of these two gorgeous men chasing me through the woods would turn me on this much. 

Seonghwa threw his head back, his laughter echoing through the trees. He cast one final look at me as he turned towards the small beaten path to my left. “You should probably get going… we wouldn’t want this head start to go to waste,” he called back, shooting back a final toothy grin before disappearing into the brush.

Mingi began to pace back and forth, looking like a lion in a cage and staring at me with the same starving look. It sent a surge through my stomach as I began to wonder what would happen once the chase ended. I felt frozen to the spot just for a moment, before Mingi’s voice rattled me out of my head. “Change your mind?” he questioned, raising his eyebrows while he continued his pacing. “I don’t think you’ll mind the outcome if I get to you first.”

“You wish,” I retorted, although the thought of Mingi catching me was very very enticing. I threw my hands up as I walked towards the path in front of me. “I’m off, and don’t you dare cheat. I get every second of those five minutes.” I glanced back once more to see Mingi staring at me intently, arms crossed across his body. 

Once I crossed into the treeline and out of the light from the clearing, I did my best to take in my surroundings. Maybe I had somehow been dropped off in No Man’s Land. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the idea. We had joked so often about dropping Austin there and what a turn of events it would be if that is where I truly was. I shook the thought off as I quickened my pace, turning my walk into more of a jog. The moonlight was soft, but scarce, making it difficult to see more than a few feet in front of me. I did my best to avoid the tree roots sticking out of the ground as I let the sound of a creek trickling guide me deeper into the woods. It was peaceful, and I lost myself in the sound of the rustling leaves, forgetting just for a moment about what my purpose in the woods was. 

I jumped when I heard Mingi’s voice echoing in the distance, sounding like it was coming from all around me. “Ready or not, here we come!”

My heart leapt into my chest as I took off sprinting, realizing the game had officially begun. I fumbled through the dark, stumbling over the innumerable rocks and roots jutting out on the path. “Fuck,” I cussed as my ankle caught on a particularly ragged root. I clasped my hand over my mouth immediately, regretting the fact that I can’t keep my mouth shut. I composed myself in a hurry, taking off down the hill, not even caring that the branches and leaves were smacking my body.

Branches were snapping behind me and the laughter that could only be coming from Seonghwa and Mingi was growing louder with each crack. I willed my legs to go faster, but they were both faster then I had anticipated. All I could do was keep moving, and hope that my head start would be enough. My body was beginning to fatigue and I could feel that familiar stitch in my side as my breath became even more ragged. Even dream me was regretting not working out with Alexis and Christie more. I could feel the sheen of sweat that had begun to cling on my skin, and the cool night breeze was doing nothing to tame the heat coming off of me. I scoured the area around me wildly, looking for anything that would conceal me long enough to catch my heaving breath. Not far ahead of me was a giant broken log with a hole large enough that I could wiggle behind. 

I contorted my body as best as I could, trying to hide as much as of my body while I caught my breath. The pain was not lessening, and I couldn’t help but grimace as I clutched my left side. My eyes would not settle on one spot, looking for my playmates but unable to locate them. I felt so small, hiding behind the decaying wood as I heard the pounding footsteps and the hoots and hollers move closer and closer. Suddenly, the crunching of leaves came to a stop above me. I covered my mouth with my hand, not wanting whichever of them was above me to hear my breathing and give away my hiding space. Sheer panic entered my system now, and I was not ready to find out what would happen if either got their hands on me. 

“Come out, come out, wherever you are…” Mingi purred from above me. His attention was caught by a sound off to the right of me, and I heard him take off towards whatever it was. 

I used this moment to sprint in the opposite direction, ignoring the burning pain in my side. Their footsteps seemed to be moving further away, so I allowed myself to slow to a jog in an attempt to save what little energy I had left. Thoughts flooded my brain. How was I going to get out of this? I looked around for another place to hide, hoping that wherever it may be would keep me out of sight until sunrise. It was then I realized it was unnaturally still, not even a breeze rustling the leaves. Against my better judgment, I allowed myself to relax. A loud crash exploded to my left, shaking me to my core once I saw the moonlight reflecting off Seonghwa’s platinum blonde hair poking through dense underbrush. 

“Ah, Mingi-ah, seems I found her first,” he sang once he laid eyes on me. His sudden appearance made my heart leap into my throat. I wasn’t expecting him to be this close, damn those long legs of his. I didn’t allow myself even a second to gather my thoughts, I just had to keep going and ignore my burning legs as I spurred them on.  

I was so focused on putting distance between Seongwha and I that I didn't hear the crashing footsteps coming from my left. It was just my luck that Mingi was also hot on my tracks. I swerved sharply to the right, hoping that my sudden change of direction would steer both of them off course enough that I could make some headway. I glanced back to see both men gaining on me quickly. Never in my life had I willed my body to move this fast, nor had I felt the pounding in my chest from the unnerving excitement brought by this bizarre chase.

I stumbled on a loose rock in the path. I expected to make contact with the ground, but instead was captured by two sets of arms, saving me from the impact, but subjecting me to a much different form of punishment.  

“WE WIN!” they roared, making my ears ring from the proximity of their shouts. I wasn’t even able to come up with a snarky remark, the exhaustion of the trek through the woods completely overtaking me. I closed my eyes as my body collapsed into the strong chest behind me, fighting to stay upright as I inhaled sharply to catch my breath. 

I was lowered softly to the ground, still reliant on the body kneeling behind me to support my weight. My eyes fluttered open to find Seonghwa’s blood red eyes gazing at me with concern. I was too exhausted to even question the weirdness of the eye color, my sole focus was to gather up my strength for whatever collaborative tryst was coming next. 

“I think we wore you out too much,” Seonghwa muttered, caressing my face as softly as his words sounded. 

The sweetness of his words instantly reignited my fire. I was not one to readily accept softness, and my only way out of my own fluffies was to respond with some form of sarcasm. “You wish. I’m thinking double or nothing on round two,” I shot back. 

Seonghwa smiled at me, laughing under his breath, before turning his gaze back onto me. All signs of soft concern were gone from that perfect face. He grabbed my chin firmly, holding me in place as a feral hunger entered those scarlet eyes. “That wasn’t in your terms,” he began, his eyes and voice unwavering, “we set the rules. You lost. Now, time to pay up.”

I was speechless, a rarity for me. I looked back at him, trying to find the perfect response, but everything in my head flew out the wayside once Mingi’s lips found their way onto my neck. He latched onto me, sucking and biting the hollow while his hands wound their way around my waist, pulling me deeper into his chest. Seonghwa’s hand moved from chin and wrapped in my sweat drenched hair as he pressed his lips onto mine. I allowed him to open them, letting his tongue tangle with my own. If I had known this was the type of punishment they were referring to, I would have taken them up on their initial offer in the clearing. Damn me and my stubbornness. 

Mingi continued his assault on my neck while his hands migrated to the bottom of my tank top. His fingers felt like they were clawing at my skin as he moved further up my torso, leaving a trail of goosebumps as he moved upwards to find nipples. I gasped against Seonghwa’s mouth as Mingi began to play, roughly tweaking and pulling as his teeth grazed my neck. He was sucking and biting with enough force that I was surprised he wasn’t breaking skin. 

Seonghwa unlaced his fingers from my hair, and swiftly discarded my shorts, leaving me bare against the leaves and grass of the forest floor. He ran his tongue along my bottom teeth before nipping on my lower lip as he abruptly removed his lips from mine. The sudden loss of pressure had me leaning forwards, but Mingi’s hands on my breasts kept me grounded in place. 

“On your knees,” Seonghwa commanded, standing up in front of me while he grabbed the waistband of his sweats. He pulled them down, exposing his rigid cock as he stroked the length. I didn’t even stop to think, my mouth instantly salivating at the thought of choking on that perfect dick. Mingi unlatched himself from my neck, sweeping off my tank top and hooking underneath my armpits to help me to my knees, leaving me now completely naked under the moonlight and ready for Seonghwa. 

Mingi grabbed my body once more, one hand returning to attack my nipples while the other moved down to my drenched core, running his fingers through slowly. I gasped when he brought his fingers to his mouth, sucking on them as his eyes rolled back at the taste of me. They shot back down, two of them entering my slit to bring up the slickness as he began to circle my clit. He worked his fingers in and out of my dripping center, curving them every few pumps to hit my most sensitive spot. 

Seonghwa positioned himself at my mouth, which was ready and open to take all of him in. I grabbed onto his thighs, steadying myself against him while Mingi continued fingering me. It took every ounce of my will to focus on Seonghwa in front of me and ignore the knot forming inside me. I flattened my tongue, running it along the underside of his member. Seonghwa moaned, and his hand once again found its way into my hair. He coaxed my mouth onto his dick. I let my jaw and throat relax, wanting to take all of his length in at once. My eyes watered slightly as the head connected with the back of my throat. 

“Fuck,” Seonghwa mumbled, tightening the grip in my hair as I began to bob my head slowly, teasing him with my tongue as I moved. I looked upwards to find him staring at me hungrily as he took me in. I moaned against him, the combination of him filling my mouth and Mingi’s fingers almost becoming too much to handle. I picked up the pace just as Mingi’s fingers did the same against my pussy. Seonghwa growled, moving the hand in my hair in an effort to control the speed. 

“I know you want to cum, jagi,” Mingi purred against my ear, nibbling it as he spoke, “But not on my fingers.” I could feel his bulge pressing into my ass as he removed his fingers from me, the pressure that had been building instantly swept away, but at this point it didn’t matter. I moaned at the thought of having Mingi inside me, but I needed to finish the job first, if I was anything, I was thorough. I tightened my grip on Seongwha’s thighs, moving one to cup his ass, hollowing out my cheeks and applying more pressure as he continued to move my head. 

This sent Seonghwa over the edge, his hot sticky seed exploding into the mouth. He held my head in place, making sure I swallowed each and every drop before he pulled out of mouth. He crouched back down, wiping stray spit off my lips tenderly as he smiled. His pupils were absolutely blown out, making him look even more like that damn dragon than I wanted to admit. His lips found his way onto mine once more, kissing me softly. It seemed as if he had something he wanted to say, but was interrupted by Mingi sweeping me off the ground. 

“You can’t have all the fun, hyung,” he growled, grasping at me fervently. 

He hoisted me onto his hips, carrying me until my bare back collided with a tree, his red eyes never leaving mine. I felt the familiar feeling of the bark biting at my skin, scraping it harshly as Mingi pulled down his pants just enough to allow his thick cock to fall out. He pressed against me, his hands pinning mine above my head as he attacked my mouth with a purpose, his dick teasing my entrance with every twitch. I arched my back in an attempt to grind against him, my body desperate for the feeling of Mingi filling me. He released my wrists and I instantly went to clutch those black locks in my fingers, pulling his lips further onto mine as our tongues continued their battle for dominance. He lifted one of legs, bending my knee and pressing me further into the knobby tree, his other hand stroking his cock as he positioned himself at my sopping wet slit. He thrust into me harshly, connected with my cervix, and then it all went black.

I shot up in my bed, my heart thumping in my chest as I breathed heavily as if I really did just run a damn marathon. “ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?” I spat, running my hands through my drenched hair. Even my dreams were being a damn tease. 

I plopped back into my pillows, running my hands down my clammy skin. I was a complete and utter mess, soaked from head to toe in sweat and god knows what else. My bed was a total wreck with sheets coming up off the corners and the comforter completely on the floor. My hair was sticking to the back of my neck, and I overall just felt disgusting. There was no way I was going back to sleep feeling like this… meaning there was only one way to fix the mess of my body and the wild wild thoughts running through my brain, much like I had spent my night running through those god forsaken woods: a cold shower. 

__________

“You don’t think we scared her, do you?” Seonghwa said meekly as he came to.

Mingi simply glared at his hyung, slightly upset and jealous over the way the events of their first dream visit had taken place. “You’re worried about scaring her, when you’re the one who actually got to fully enjoy yourself.” 

Seonghwa smirked as he stood up, running a hand through his slightly disheveled hair. “Not like that was done on purpose… it’s not my fault you woke her up. Maybe you should slow it down…”

Mingi rose beside him, elbowing him playfully as he laughed. “Me… go slow?” As much as he was annoyed about Nikki suddenly waking up, the entire game had been worth it. Even though he would never say it to Seonghwa, he was just as worried that they might have been a little extreme in their choices. The two of them exited together, joking over their tromp through the woods as they made their way towards the voices of the other members in the main room.

[watsonjackpot]

+ @msmvrel asked: ❝ Look, I know I messed up, okay?! ❞

+ " I think there's a LOT of that going around . " It wasn't the FIRST time she'd seen some of the people she called her FRIENDS come back all TORN up from a fight they'd been otherwise CONFIDENT in . The number of times she'd BANDAGED Peter up to the point that she might as well have DRIVEN him to the E.R. was high enough she didn't want to try and COUNT. But beyond the PHYSICAL injuries ? There was no doubt in her mind that SOME of them had to be nursing some wounds UNSEEN .

" And you know what ? Everyone in that room ? They've done the SAME thing . I know that PROBABLY doesn't make it BETTER, but there's NO-ONE who can say you MESSED up and also say they're not a HYPOCRITE. "

[romancereadingdiva]

Textual Relations Now Live!

TEXTUAL RELATIONS by Lauren Rowe is LIVE!

▪️Blurb:

Grayson McKnight I haven’t been having much luck on the dating scene lately, ever since my breakup with my longtime college girlfriend. I thought being twenty-five and single would be a blast, but dating apps are trash and I’ve managed to get nothing but three fake numbers at my favorite bar. Thankfully, the actual owner of the third fake number was kind enough to reply to let me know I’d texted the wrong number. She was warm and open and expressed curiosity about the fake number I’d been given, so we got to texting. She gave me some flirting advice, so I can get a real number next time. But she was so hot when dispensing her advice, and also so kind, I saved her as Hot Teacher in my phone and mustered the courage to ask her for drinks tonight. Not to get more advice, but to persuade her to give me a shot herself. And she said yes. Well, actually, she said maybe. But I honestly think she’s coming. Sight unseen, I’m already far more attracted to Hot Teacher than anyone I’ve met on the dating scene, so I’m going to pull out all the stops tonight, if she comes to the bar. The thing is, I might be shy and terrible at flirting, but if Hot Teacher gives me a shot, I’m pretty confident I’ll be able to surprise her behind closed doors. I’ve been studying up so diligently since my breakup, in fact, I’m pretty damned sure I’d be able to blow her beautiful mind, if only she’ll give me the chance. Textual Relations is a steamy older woman/younger man romantic comedy that will make you laugh out loud, fan yourself, and swoon your way to Grayson and Selena’s happily ever after. NOTE: Portions of the full-length novel, Textual Relations, originally appeared in Lauren Rowe's much shorter novella, Wrong Number, Right Guy, that was only briefly available.

📌 Available Now! Free in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHH4CRBT

➕ Add to your Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/198666256-textual-relations

[demonboyhalo]

The Technoblade Conspiracy

Even before Dream claimed there was a traitor in Pogtopia, there's been a lot of...suspicious activities happening in Techno’s streams. Others on the SMP are already distrustful of him, and the fans are as well, but I believe that we’re focusing on the wrong thing here. This thread isn’t quite a traitor theory, but rather a dive into what Techno has been hiding at large. I can say with utter confidence that the extent of what Technoblade has accomplished on the Dream SMP is being greatly underestimated.

I recommend looking at the sus Techno moments thread by @piggytechnobarb on Twitter for some of the stream clips I'll be discussing.

This is going to be fairly in depth, so the rest is under the cut!

1. There is another room under what Techno calls his "secret base"

I won't talk too much on how strange his choice of "secret base" is for now, but please do keep in mind how out of character it is for man-who-tracked-down-Squid's-college to settle for a home base so unprotected and close to Pogtopia's very well known location.

So, for some reason, there is Polished Blackstone Brick under the floor of Techno’s wall. He accidentally reveals this when a donation asks him to mine the exposed redstone in his wall, acts a bit strange for a good 15 seconds, and then never mentions it again. Sight of the brick prompts him to silently zoom in, fill the hole with stone (not cobble), and say "Don't ask questions".

This is only so strange because there's no real reason for him to have stone at the ready, or any blackstone brick at all. Techno is NOT a builder, and if a creeper blew up down there, he'd fill it with cobble and not give a shit about aesthetics. He doesn't use smooth stone in his base, and has never built with blackstone on stream. Not only are they unusual items for him to have, it's unusual for him to make a point to not have the viewers question it. Yes, it could just be Techno being dramatic, but why did he go silent for a straight 5 seconds at the sight of the blackstone?

Considering who he is as a player, it is completely in character for Techno to build a second base. The lake he lives under is incredibly near Wilbur and Tommy, and he's well aware that all an enemy has to do is watch his stream to infiltrate his base. Techno goes to the extremes when they aren't even required (Ex. His insane skill in party games, beating Skeppy in as niche of a game as Grinch Simulator, etc.) So I don't think it's a stretch for him to go the extra mile, and hide a bunker/resources/extra armour and what have you from even his own viewers.

2. The overpowered illegal villager farm

For those of you who don't watch Ponk, he recently stumbled across an area that is supposedly banned on the Dream SMP - a villager farm. In the clip, his voice is astonished and his confusion is palpable, and he goes so far as to say "It's a full scale arms race" because of how many good trades there are. The location is laced with traps, though he doesn't mention what exactly he had to get past to find the farm. Ponk's reaction is far too genuine for the farm to be his, but then that begs the question, whose farm is it?

...Who is willing to risk Dream's wrath by breaking his rules? Or, alternatively, who is capable of making a secret pact with the server owner to allow such a farm? The answer could only be Technoblade.

Ponk says it himself in the video, he does not have the time to build this. Whoever made this had to have carved out a hidden cavern, lead at least 14 villagers down there, breed them until only the ones with the best trades were left - all off stream, and without another player catching them. Whoever made this had to spend hours of work with no content to show for it, and who do we know has been grinding for DAYS on the server? Technoblade. Not to mention, all the villagers are numbered, and all but one are fletchers.

The signs above each stall are so important, because going so far back as SMP Earth, Techno has a history of dispassionately breeding mobs to his benefit, and then killing any mob not performing well enough. For example, his horse farm: where the horses stay in numbered rooms rather than all being named. The villagers in the screenshot above are numbered rather than named.

Wanna hear a fun fact about Fletchers? They're well known for accepting sticks for emeralds, but will also take string for that trade as well! And guess who has been seen waiting at the spider spawner collecting string by Sapnap, Awesamdude, Quackity, and multiple other players? Technoblade.

Technoblade also has every reason to be breeding villagers for special arrows and crossbows, because he's said on stream that he wants to try spamming multi-shot crossbows in combat to take out huge groups of enemies. He said at a later point that he had run into trouble with getting multiple crossbows with the enchantment multi-shot, and implied it wasn't going to happen. But has he ever been the kind of person to be stopped by something being challenging? Absolutely not.

Think of literally anything Techno has done - his Bedwars win streak, beating MC with a steering wheel, the Potato Wars - what I believe is really happening, is that Techno is lying about how equipped he is so that no matter what side he ends up fighting for, his enemies will have no true way of knowing how powerful he is.

3. Dream might be his secret ally (AKA The Glowstone Incident)

This brings us to a...confusing moment in Techno's stream that sparked a lot of questions. It pointed me towards 2 different, but not necessarily exclusive, theories.

The Glowstone Incident precedes as follows: Techno needs glowstone but can't find any in his chests, so he puts on his BRB screen. He says that he is "hacking" and asking Dream to use game mode to give him the glowstone. Typing can be heard, and then multiple chests are opened. Techno takes off the BRB screen and he now has three stacks of glowstone dust. This was absolutely bewildering to watch live, and was one of the most blatantly suspicious things he has done in front of his viewers. (You can find the exact clip on the thread I mentioned, it is...so weird)

Theory A: Though unlikely, Techno could be Dream's secret ally, and Dream really did use creative to give him the stacks. Or, he potentially gave Techno OP permissions so that he could get the glow stone (and any other materials he’d want) himself.

We all remember their meet up on that ocean hill, where Dream gives Techno golden apples, diamonds, and other such materials for the battle against Schlatt. It seemed to be a one-off gift that was more for Wilbur's benefit than Techno's, but there's potentially the chance that Dream saw an alliance to Techno to be more beneficial than working only with Wilbur, and contacted him off screen to make deals.

Going back to the Village Farm - for a player to get the exact enchantment they want for a reasonable price, breeding them is the most logical option. It's the route Techno would take regardless of Dream's rules on the SMP too, as he tends to show little regard for what the creators want (Ex. Taking over SMP Earth, exploiting Hypixel Skyblock, etc.) However, it could also be possible that Dream gave Techno permission to do this, and so the reason Techno is keeping the farm secret is so that the viewers don't know of their alliance.

Theory B: Techno has hidden resources in his base that he doesn't want anyone to have even the chance to see. Whether it is to hide from enemies watching (or to hide from Dream in particular because Techno knows he's breaking the server's rules) there are secret chests that Techno has with extra resources that can be heard loud and clear in the video.

They could be simple ones hidden in the walls...or in the blackstone brick base hidden under his floors. Saying he’s “hacking” rather than the reality of him just checking all his chests again is on par for Techno’s usual dramatics - yet we can clearly see that there’s no glowstone in any of his chests. This is why I believe he got the glowstone from some unseen resource. With the BRB screen on, Techno prevents his viewers from actually seeing how he got the 3 stacks of powder, and it keeps the location of his hidden materials safe.

Personally, I feel theory B is more likely, but there have been moments where Dream has acted Sus so...be on the lookout y'all.

4. Techno not participating in MCC

For those of you who watched Techno during the Potato War, many will remember that MCC 6 had a stressful undertone. Because of how much effort and time Techno had been putting into farming on Skyblock, taking a break to compete in another event was distracting. It ultimately led to him losing time that, from his perspective, would have been better off spent farming.

Techno might not be as blatantly grinding on the Dream SMP as he did with the Potato War, but it's undeniable that other streamers have seen him online for stretches of 10 hours and more. When asked about why he wasn't participating in the next MCC, Techno didn't say he was taking a break - something that'd be entirely reasonable and honestly well earned - he said "I don't want to."

It could be awkward phrasing by virtue of Techno's personality, but what I think is more likely is that Techno has learned from his past mistakes. Rather than "waste" time competing in MCC, Techno might be planning to use the time everyone on the SMP is gone to his advantage. He could sneak into enemy territory, set traps in certain areas, or maybe even perform some illegal acts that Dream would never allow. Either way, I suspect Techno has something planned for the 14th.

Honorable Mentions:

Dream poking fun, or blatantly covering for Techno?

This clip of Techno's secret Something??? next to the spider spawner, undeniably suspicious

Techno had around 5 stacks of wool in his inventory at one point - he absolutely could be bed mining the nether not only so that he has multiple sets of OP netherite, but possibly because he's preparing the gear for another person (cough cough Philza) or people

Techno's collection of ghast tears. He's studied Crystal PvP and made plenty of 2b2t references in the past (Look up FitMC for more info on those things) So it could be possible that Techno is hiding stacks of end crystals so that he can decimate multiple players in an instant

All in all, I'm 100% convinced that Techno has some serious plans hidden behind the scenes that he's not going to share until it's time for him to unleash utter chaos. We know he's keeping secrets, we know he's had the time, and we know he's capable.

I hope you all enjoyed my research and feel terrified of what Techno could possibly have done off camera :D

If anyone else has different theories, corrections to what I wrote, or other moments where Pink was Sus, feel free to comment!

[min-jpg]

can i request zhongli , kaeya and xiao with a fem!s/o that comes from an extremely rich family and the boys get kidnapped and held for ransom and then out of nowhere their s/o comes and beats the group of people that kidnapped the boys , gracefully😋😋

Note: we stan a baddie s/o! Anyways, enjoy the drabbles with a word count averaging 0.5k for each character :) I'll make the setting at an abandoned warehouse, classic

---

Kidnapped Genshin Boys x Fem Rich!reader pt.1

Part 2 (Childe, Diluc, Kazuha)

Characters: Kaeya, Xiao, Zhongli

Genre: fluff, established relationship, some woman kicking ass action, (TW: mentions of blood and violence)

---

KAEYA

Your boyfriend would deliberately act like a damsel in distress with no fighting aptitudes. Exaggerating his emotions to fabricate fear, he voluntarily let himself be held hostage, thinking they caught an easy target. Kaeya went along with his abductors' antics because he intends to bring them down once they reach the hideout.

While they were camping in the warehouse, Kaeya was not worried at the slightest. These people were no vision bearers, just mere greedy criminals that do not know who they were messing with.

Kaeya is aware of how affluent you and your family are. He already anticipated something similar to happen one day. Lowly tactics like these do not budge him at all, especially his unyielding loyalty towards you. As if the Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonious would be shaken by something as childish as this.

While he was improvising a plan in his mind, one of the men yelled, "Intruder!"

They all assembled at the source, but glanced at each other in confusion, "Intruder? Where?"

While an altercation sparked between them about the unseen intruder, their attention successfully diverted away from Kaeya. Thus, using the containers and blind spots to your advantage, you sneaked your way towards your boyfriend. While freeing Kaeya from the ropes that bound him to the chair, you giggled as well, "Are you lost, baby boy?"

Your unexpected appearance left him stunned, but it was a pleasant surprise, "Lost in those eyes, baby girl." He smirked back. By the time you finished, the men realized that the intruder was you.

Now that you are actually here, Kaeya's concerns began sprouting because he wanted to ensure your safety first before carrying out his plan since your arrival was not formulated in it.

You fueled his worries when you stepped forward towards the group. You dropped the bag you carried along in front of them, "Here. You wanted the money right? Take it."

"Well, that wasn't so hard." The gung ho group laughed boisterously among themselves, the leader leaning down to pick up the bag. You swung your foot, landing a clean kick on his face which caused him to stumble back. He pressed his nose, blood trickled down, "You-"

You refused to let him finish by sending another vigorous kick, this time at the center of his stomach, causing him to hunch as he grabbed onto his stomach and surpassing his coughs. To finish it off, you plunged your elbow down the back of his head and connected with an uppercut. The force was strong enough to send their leader flying back and never stood up again, completely knocked out.

The rest of the gang blinked. It was not even a fight. You took him down with only a few moves, barely breaking a sweat.

"You guys want some more? Or just take the money and leave us alone." You taunted them. They hustled along, grabbing the bag, and left their leader in the warehouse. Little did they know, the bag was not filled with money, but just some rocks to give it some weight.

Kaeya walked up behind you, clapping his hands, "That was superb, babe. I didn't know you were such a fighter." Needless to say, Kaeya is so proud of you and praised the way you executed your beautiful course of movements. He will also keep in mind to never mess with your temper too much in the future.

XIAO

Your boyfriend could take out all the adversaries he wanted to, driving them to regret that they wished they never premeditate this abduction. Unfortunately, his hands are tied because the group threatened that harm would come your way instead if he did not comply with their demands.

"You just have to sit here until your girlfriend bails you out. I'm sure she has some extra cash to blow to save you."

You did warn Xiao beforehand that similar incidents happened in the past and it is bound to occur again, to which he glazed over as a simple matter since he is confident with his combat experiences. But you did not explain how the incidents were settled. Xiao did not know that you have the capability to defend yourself, so obviously he reluctantly listened to them to protect you.

If they were to resort to hurting anyone, Xiao would rather have them hurt him instead if it meant they could spare you. He will never forgive them or himself if they even attempt to graze a single strand of your hair.

While worrying for your safety, he heard one of the men shouting a yelp, but it got cut off as his body fell, passing out cold on the ground.

The group huddled together, "Who's there?!" Their eyes darted around to search for the one responsible.

While they were bewildered, you jumped down from one of the containers at the warehouse, sending your knee flying directly towards one of the members to knock him down. In a kneeling position to pin the person below in place, you sent a swift strike to his neck, making him faint. As you stood up, the gang and also Xiao all looked at your abrupt appearance with wide eyes.

Glaring at the men in front of you, "Now, if any of you touched my boyfriend, one doctor visit wouldn't suffice." Without giving them any time to react or respond, your palm curled into a fist, dashing forward to begin taking them down one by one with your nimble feet.

Your calculative movements were sharp and precise, leaving no opening for your foes to attack. As the battle proceeded, your hair flowed gracefully behind along with your bold actions. Although Xiao was itching to help, he only managed to stare at you in awe, marveled by your bravery and poise stance that showed no weakness.

Before you both knew it, the fight ended with you emerging victorious.

You ran over to Xiao to free him immediately, "Oh archons! Xiao, are you okay?" Caressing his cheeks, you frantically inspected his face for any external injuries. Those men will face your wrath if they did anything to him.

Xiao was still processing what happened, his pupils fixed at you, lips parting, "That was really... amazing of you." He wanted to tell you that you looked so gorgeous that it made him breathless, but kept his mouth sealed after. For now, he enjoys the sensation of your hands that were used to unleash such fury now stroking his face so lovingly. It is also worth mentioning that Xiao has a new profound respect for your charming side that he never knew of.

ZHONGLI

Your boyfriend maintained a tranquil state of mind when he was kidnaped. Not portraying any signs of retaliation or profound panic, it even caused the group to be unnerved with how silent Zhongli behaved.

While held hostage, the head of the abduction blabbered about how they intend to lure you here, exploiting you through Zhongli's situation for some quick money grab.

Upon hearing that, Zhongli's eyebrows twitched in a displeased manner, "So you'd rather take advantage of someone for money instead of working for it? Don't you have any dignity left?"

"Obviously! If there's an easy way to earn money, who wouldn't want to partake? Someone as sheltered and rich as your girlfriend will never understand. Don't act like you never took money from her." They ridiculed his righteous morales by bringing you in the conversation, implying Zhongli only dated you for your status.

Zhongli leaned back against the chair with an inscrutable demeanor on his face. He knew that surely someone would point out the disparity in social status between you and him. But, if they thought he only valued your wealth and nothing else, then he will have to disappoint them.

"Oh, I'm very lucky to have a wealthy partner. Something you will never understand, yes? That's why you turn to disagreeable schemes such as this." Zhongli stalled time by making mindless talks with the leader.

Not appreciating Zhongli's remark, the leader raised his arm, ready to swing at full force to land a hit, except you obstructed him. Appearing out of thin air, you found your way towards Zhongli and held a tenacious grip on the man's arm from behind before he could potentially scar your boyfriend's precious face.

The group was alarmed by your arrival and the way you constrained their leader's strike. Applying even more force to twist his arm, you contorted his limb. It caused him to arch his back and bawled in pain as he attempted to wriggle his arm out of your grasp. In contrast, you reinforced your strength and kicked the back of his knees.

Once you let go, everyone watched him squirmed in agony on the ground with your grip leaving a red imprint on his arm. Turning your head towards Zhongli, you sent him a cheeky wink, "You're one lucky man indeed."

Now channeling your attention at the group, "Who's next?"

The group charged towards you, assertive that their strengths in numbers will have more odds in winning against you, a woman who stood alone.

Thus, to prove them wrong, not only did you beat their egos to pulps, but also the entire gang. Keeping a composed manner, your limbs carried your movement with great finesse and elegance. You dodged and blocked every incoming attack, never allowing them to get a clean hit on you. Your presence dominated the flow of the battle.

Eventually, only one victor is appointed, that victor being you.

You walked back to Zhongli to untie him. You placed your hand on your hip, huffing your chest to stand proud, "How was that? Not only is your girlfriend rich, but also powerful."

Zhongli nodded in agreement, softly patting your hair as he watched you with affectionate eyes, "That was a remarkable performance to remember down the road. Guess I have a lot of things to learn about you." Although Zhongli is fully competent to defend himself if things went wrong, he found it absolutely charming of you to protect him. You were reckless, but he acknowledges your ability to fight so gracefully.

[dctitansdaily]

Titans showrunner talks White Raven, Brother Blood, and Connor Luthor at season 4 midpoint

WARNING: It contains spoilers about the first six episodes of Titans season 4.

Several Titans characters are looking a little different than we're used to. As season 4 of the HBO Max superhero series hit its midpoint on Thursday, multiple members of the team have changed up their looks. EW caught up with Titans showrunner Greg Walker to discuss these changes and where things might be going in the back half of the season. 

We'll start with Raven (Teagan Croft). Famous for her purple hair and dark clothing, Raven went all white-haired earlier this season after an encounter with Mother Mayhem (Franka Potente). During the battle this week, the change went even further, transforming her outfit to an all-white color scheme as well. Does this mean she's turning into White Raven, the incarnation made iconic by the classic Teen Titans animated series? 

"It wasn't intentional. We weren't going, 'we'll do the 'White Raven story' or 'we'll kind of turn her into a different character,'" Walker tells EW. "But post-Themyscira, she both has more confidence in who she is, but less certainty as to what she should be doing. We didn't want to get bogged down with her powers in terms of what exactly they represent for her right now, but what's happening is that she's transforming and changing into somebody who I think is way more connected emotionally to both the Titans and the world around her. I mean, this is a season where we explore magic and the world of the supernatural. This is where she's kind of reawakening in that area too."

Raven also has an opposite number this season: Sebastian Sanger (Joseph Morgan). But while Raven rebelled against her destiny as the heir of the demon Trigon, Sebastian is embracing his role as Brother Blood. 

"They're siblings, first and foremost. So it felt natural to develop their affinity for each other, and also put it to the test," Walker says. "Rachel went to a family who would protect her and a colleague in Dick Grayson. In the case of Sebastian, he felt very unseen in the world and feels very unseen in the world. He believes he is destined for greatness, and his mother has told him this the entire time. At some point, when that doesn't happen, you start to feel very small." 

Walker continues, "So when you get an opportunity like he has for greatness and you're convinced that it really is going to be something that will let you do what you wanted to do, it's tough to say no to that. We are really, really interested in watching him struggle with that up to the point where he finally decides, 'if I say no, I'm going to go back to what I was before and I don't want to be what I was before.'" 

This season started off with the arrival of Lex Luthor (Titus Welliver) into the Titans' lives. But for all his scientific genius, Luthor couldn't understand the magic of Mother Mayhem, and was soon killed by her demonic serpent. But even in his short screen time, Luthor clearly made an impact on Connor (Joshua Orpin), who started sporting a shaved head look this episode and acting like a swaggering supervillain. He even embraced "Luthor" as his last name.

Connor was created from both Superman's DNA and Luthor's, and Walker told EW earlier this year that season 4 would see Connor experiment with his Luthor side. Now we see the results! Even Superman is wary of magic, and now that Connor has seen its horror up close, it makes sense that he'd cope by exploring his other self. 

"He's confused by magic. It's a vulnerability that doesn't make sense to him," Walker says. "You see Jinx kind of needling him about that in a scene that I really quite like. He's struggling with that and he starts to get very insecure. So a lot of his reaction is like, oh, I'm freaked out. So I'm going to adopt the persona that is tough and aggressive and maybe filled with some anger and it's going to be scary, so I can scare people back and that will make me less scared.'"

Speaking of Jinx (Lisa Ambalavanar), viewers bid goodbye to the charming antihero this week when she was killed by Mother Mayhem. But as Walker notes, death has always been a "slippery concept" on Titans. 

"We're loose with death," Walker says. "I think that it's transitory. It's a state that you're in for a while and that you come back and we continue on. So I would love to have Jinx and Lisa back on the show. She's such a breath of fresh air. The cast loved her and we loved working with her."

The first six episodes of Titans season 4 are streaming now on HBO Max. 

Source

[ilovejevsjeans]

How Olympian race engineer Tom Stallard helped coach Daniel Ricciardo to Monza victory

Daniel Ricciardo and the ever-improving McLaren team were seen as a match made in Heaven ahead of the start of the 2021 season. But while it all came good at the Italian Grand Prix, Ricciardo’s win at Monza was a product of hours and hours of unseen work, and some confidence-shaking moments along the way. F1 Staff Writer Greg Stuart sat down with Tom Stallard, the man who’s race engineered Ricciardo throughout 2021, to trace the arc of that breakthrough Monza win.

You could make a strong case that Lap 52 of the Monaco Grand Prix marked the nadir in Daniel Ricciardo’s first season with McLaren. As the Australian exited Sainte Devote and accelerated up the hill, he dutifully jinked left to allow team mate Lando Norris to lap him, Norris acknowledging the gesture with a wave from his cockpit. Norris would go on to finish third. Ricciardo, who’d brilliantly won in Monaco just three years earlier for Red Bull, finished out of the points in 12th.

That was May – and yet just four months later, Ricciardo had taken McLaren back to the winner’s circle for the first time since 2012, capping off a superb Italian Grand Prix weekend with an emotional victory at Monza, and leading Norris home in a McLaren one-two.

How did that happen? Ricciardo’s race engineer Tom Stallard has been the man F1 fans have heard soothing and chivvying Ricciardo over team radio this year, a year in which success has been harder to come by than many had anticipated – and he was naturally delighted when Ricciardo combined all his learnings to take the assured win in Monza, his first victory since that 2018 Monaco triumph.

“I was super proud,” Stallard tells me as we chat in the paddock in Sochi, “because we've worked really hard this year to be honest, and it was nice to see him executing everything that we'd talked about and worked on.

“Obviously he did a fantastic job, but he actually did the job that we'd been talking about and working on together. He's a top driver, obviously, joined our team as a top driver, but we’ve actually had to work at it quite hard and in Monza, he really executed that.”

Why didn’t Ricciardo and McLaren gel immediately? Ricciardo’s stellar second half of 2020 with Renault – during which he took two podiums and finished every race in the points – combined with McLaren’s sharp upward trajectory and the arrival of Mercedes power units at the team for 2021, meant that many earmarked the Ricciardo/McLaren combination as a potential surprise package this season.

But despite claiming points in his first four races for the team – including convincingly leading Norris home in Barcelona – right from the off, Stallard says, there were issues.

“I think the Bahrain race [where Ricciardo finished P7 to Norris’ P4 on his McLaren debut] he did quite well, but that was with a lot of time in the car in the [Bahrain] test – I mean, not a lot of time but a bit of time at the test, and a circuit that suits him well,” says Stallard.

“And then at Imola [where Ricciardo finished P6 as Norris claimed a podium in P3] we kind of exposed the problems, if you like, that he was having with the car, and we understood the struggle that we would have.”

As you might expect from an engineer of Stallard’s experience (he joined McLaren back in 2008) his first reaction to the situation wasn’t to panic, but to put in place processes to help bring Ricciardo on.

“We put in place a plan of what we needed to do differently and how we needed to react. And since then actually, we've been on an upward trajectory from that point, but you don't always necessarily see that from the outside.

“There have been a number of races where after the race, he's been frustrated and I've been reassuring him that actually we are seeing progress, and we don't have the good results yet but they're coming.”

So what was it about the MCL35M that wasn’t suiting Ricciardo and his driving style?

“Ultimately,” says Stallard, “all the drivers would choose the same thing, which is very good rear stability, and front end that increases as you add steer. That is totally universal, but the truth is that having a car that does that is the Holy Grail of Formula 1 design; every team up and down this paddock is trying to do that, and succeeding to a greater or lesser extent.

“We have a car that understeers and that's been something that he's had to adapt to and modify his natural approach to get the best out of.”

One thing Stallard is at pains to point out is that, for all of Ricciardo’s famously insouciant manner, beneath the gigawatt smile there lurks one of the world’s top racing drivers, with a work ethic to match.

“Obviously Daniel seems like the most laidback guy in the world,” says Stallard, “but behind the scenes, under the water, the duck feet are going quite quickly.

“Because we were in lockdown and he was in Los Angeles [over the winter break], we did most of his initial integration virtually, and during that phase, he learnt all the switches, what all the toys do, how to use the steering wheel.

"We spent a lot of time talking through the strategy with Daren [Stanley], our strategist. And actually all the communication side, all of the switches, all the controls, he had completely down by the time he went to winter testing.

“He's been in the factory loads, doing the simulator, partly working on his driving with that, but also giving feedback to the team about what he wants from the car,” adds Stallard.

“And at no point during the phase where he was getting up to speed with our package did he question that there was any kind of, the team backing the other driver, or the engineers didn't know what they were doing, or the car was set-up wrong. He just knuckled down, got on with the work, and I think that the whole team has a lot of respect for him for that.”

Ricciardo endured an up-and-down run of form leading up to the summer break, the lows including a tough Styrian Grand Prix where he finished 13th to Norris’ fifth and a Hungarian Grand Prix where first lap contact with Charles Leclerc hobbled his McLaren, leaving him 11th at the flag.

But Ricciardo appeared rejuvenated after the summer break, nailing his best qualifying of the year at that point with P4 on the grid in Belgium – while after a race to forget for the whole McLaren team in Zandvoort, Ricciardo then put together what would ultimately be his winning weekend in Monza, qualifying P5 on Friday, racing to P3 in Saturday’s F1 Sprint before claiming that sensational victory in the race.

Indeed, it was Ricciardo’s anger at qualifying P5 on Friday at Monza (and just 0.006s off his team mate) that seemed to indicate that a change had come in the Australian���s expectations of the level he should be performing at – with Stallard noting the key difference in Ricciardo since the summer…

“I think the ‘frustration at being P5’ thing was there all along,” says Stallard. “For me, the difference with the break is that it helped him not overthink it, so he's adapted better to the way you have to drive our car without it being completely conscious every corner, what you need to do.

Daniel's easy to work with, because if you give him a problem to solve, he goes away and works at it, so the work ethic's always been good, which makes life easy,” adds Stallard. “He doesn't defer responsibility away from himself; he takes a lot on the chin, which means some of what I've had to do is keeping him, let's say, up, because he's taken a lot of responsibility for things himself.

“But from my side, that means he's great to work with, and that collaboration is very strong. And when we got to Monza, we both had a lot of confidence in each other, so that made the result in Monza feel very natural.”

Going forward

Ricciardo leading McLaren to their first victory since Jenson Button’s 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix triumph, and their first one-two since the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix, was a fantastic moment for all at McLaren, and one that was warmly welcomed by most in the F1 paddock.

But Stallard was under no illusions during our chat in Sochi that Ricciardo is still on a journey to being fully comfortable in McLaren’s MCL35M car this season – a point Ricciardo would then back up himself a few days later when, despite finishing P4 in the Russian Grand Prix, he admitted that “there is still some stuff missing”.

“In Monza, the circuit and our technical package aligned well,” says Stallard, “and actually last year we came second there, so it's a circuit that suits our car and obviously Daniel did a very good job putting it all together, and the strategy was correct.

“He now understands how to drive the car; I think he's felt that himself rather than it just being explained to him, which means we have made another step. But it's a much more linear process than it appears from the outside.”

What Ricciardo does have in his corner, meanwhile – apart from the work ethic and talent that have made him an eight-time Grand Prix winner – is a race engineer in Stallard who has been an elite athlete himself, forming part of Great Britain’s silver medal-winning men’s eight rowing crew at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

And Stallard believes that his own experience as an athlete can help get the best out of Ricciardo, who signed to McLaren on a three-year deal that will take him into Formula 1’s bold new era of regulations with the team.

“In this sport, 20 years ago, the race engineers were very much engineers,” says Stallard. “But now we are coaches, and so we're using the data to guide the drivers in how to get the best out of the car.

“So I see myself now as a coach and I have a lot of experience of being coached, whereas a lot of the other race engineers… don't necessarily have the same experience of being coached. And I think that does give me an insight in terms of the struggles that people have when being coached, especially in a sport where on the way up, drivers often aren't coached that much and it gives me a good ability to manage the pressure and stay calm in what would be a pressured situation as well.

“And I also think that on any journey, although I describe it as a linear process, there's still ups and downs, and there'll be events in the future that are more difficult and that we'll have to respond to and react to. It would be naive to think it's plain sailing from here – but I think that it's a good next step.”(X)

[tratserenoyreve]

im pretty partial on the dub i chose on the rest of my gameplay (jp) and its obvious since xiao's VA is already skilled enough to know the tone that fits him. though its interesting each dub interprets xiao in quite a variety of his characteristic; as most of them maintains his reserved outlook, jp has that spark of sass and confidence when he feels like it (it really has his struggle noises nail you in the head), cn takes the reserved more gently and accurate to his nature (a lot more tired and timid to vulnerability, casual), kr is a lot different but not far from eng, but it fits his maturity and he sounds older (he sorta has a playful tint, too).

what saddens me is not really the performance, but the subtle yet irritating inconsistency and potential hyv did on their characters' interactions and dynamic thats lost to translation. the eng subtitles may give you the basic context of something, but dialog-wise its much more than that (perhaps even more different on other subs), since jp cn kr has lots of meanings behind their writing. xiao addresses zhongli indirectly as rex lapis too in jp, and the latter had expressed concern as if he has been convincing xiao instead of stating the chasm's danger. ("do you really have to go?". theres lots of those coming from too. klee calling albedo as her brother instead of the typical Mr, same from ayaka to ayato, etc. its obviously not something easy for hyv to change and keep it all streamlined overall, but the chances were truly left unseen.

the dubs do definitely change the tone of characters yeah, and i've also been picking up on how much the lack of nuance the english dub has for honorifics changes how character interactions feel! all of the voice actors do good work, just some were given different direction than others and can't do much about localization choices.

zhongli for example has a decent amount of lines that are actually adages, old proverbs that add to his "wise elder passing on stories to the next generation" image. but in english, because we don't have the same cultural context or puns, a lot of that doesn't translate and it instead comes across as him rambling about boats. like, he is rambling, but there's more to it than what english dubs get.

another notable instance of translators having trouble with conveying layered dialogue that i can think of is during venti's story quest, where diluc and kaeya are having a discussion outside of angel's share. in english, we still get the overall idea that the two brothers are still having a disconnect but some of the details on how kaeya talks to diluc is lost. the english dub has them more directly confrontational whereas, if i understand correctly, the original chinese has kaeya using more double-meaning with his phrasing to express how he feels abandoned and diluc is being unintentionally blunt. which is why he's surprised with kaeya actually being so upset when diluc poked at him about drinking alone so often.

and yeah!! the klee thing is one that is so?? ashfhjdg i've seen a number of people be surprised to learn that klee and albedo are adopted siblings, because in english i believe one of the only instances (outside of events) of that being clear is on albedo's profile after you've boosted friendship with him and he calls klee his little sister. something that requires having albedo, which many people don't!

xiao's interactions definitely feel way different with context on what honorifics he is using in other translations. with how tight the update schedule has been and how the development team is being shuffled around between projects, i don't think the translators really have the time they need to cover those details.

[kazuhasbunny]

Giiiirl, imagine you are on Baal's side, you are a general and commanding an army against the rebels' own general, Gorou.

You are all cocky and confident, your years of experience just keeping you aware enough so you won't be consumed by your pride. But oh, your face, when after all of those carefully thought out strategies and intensive training, you end up losing to that mutt.

He is insufferable. Even though his face and body is caked in a mixture only war can give-- blood, sweat and dirt, his smile is the biggest, smuggest thing you have ever seen in your life as a warrior. It does not help that you are on your knees, back stretching forward as the grip he has on your jaw tugs you up with such a force you won't ever believe an archer, a long distance fighter, would posses. The bodies of both sides lay scattered on the defiled land, but the purple spots decorate the most, as his last men stand straight and proud behind him, just as yours do, but the lack the attentiveness. Their tired and bored countenance ticks you in a wrong way. Why they don't look happy by this result?

Does your failure was already predicted? As if this end was something that was already calculated. Taken in account.

The man holding your jaw in a bruising grip let go of you, a mere blink of respite as the next second your left cheek explodes in pain, your vision swaggers for a second as you fall on your right side from the streght of that blow. You shut your eyes and concentrate on your breathing; the fight left you completely drained, as much as your brain screamed at you to stand up and attack that man, your bones and muscles protested as you tensed in hopes of getting up, but ultimately you only made yourself look pitiful.

Gorou turns to were his men are, his gaze lingering for a second on your laughable attempt. His focus switches to the army as he starts to pace from one side to the other, the victory was already decided, but the energy from the feat itself brought a surge of emotions within him.

Another quick glance at you, and something on his mind switched. He was wondering what to do with you; killing you off felt as a meaningless action, as the Shogun won't care for someone as low as yourself. You only were deployed to fight against them to gain time for the real force, to prepare and learn how strong the rebels actually are. With how confident you looked hours ago, it seems that your benevolent Shogun forgot to grace you with such knowledge before sending you off with a bunch of newly trainees.

"First of all, congratulations, my friends, for this well earned victory" Gorou began. The group of men on front of him quickly acknowledge his words, paying attention to what he had to say.

"Even if the outcome resulted as to what we--" He turns around, your eyes opened when he began speaking. You both made eye contact, and Gorou's smirk transformed into a full smile. Was it okay for him to fill such giddiness at the sight of your equally wounded pride and body? After all, he was the one to bring you into that state, he was the one to put you in your rightful place with just one arrow, kneeling on the dirty battlefield as the geo power incased on the arrowhead did its job in petrify you.

The glint of defeat on, dare he say, those gorgeous eyes of yours really made them stand out. Actually, as he approaches your form, he's starting to see some other appealing features he couldn't notice from a longer distance. What was the Shogun thinking, in even allowing you a spot within her number when you clearly weren't made for war?

"--Expected" his pause brought your attention to what he was actually saying. So they had all of this calculated...

"But now, all that is left to do, is tend to the wounded and take care of the dead. Yours and their sacrifice will bring an end to this stupid decree in no time. We need to prepare for tougher, real..." He gives you a glance "...battles from now on. Don't let this win get in your head"

The crowd quietly cheers between them, some of them patting each other on the shoulder for a job well done. All of that camaraderie made your stomach hollow, as you recognise the same speech you have told to your former men after a battle well fought. Those piercing blue eyes of his made you painfully aware of the consecutive part of giving a victory speech, about what is waiting for the losing side, the pit in your stomach grew in size and you really wished that it could swallow you whole before the man in front of you does.

Gorou thrills in your despair. That pretty face of yours plunging into dark dephts, your mind weaving one horrifying destiny after other speaks a lot of your character, as only those who have layed a cruel end to those before them can conceive. He knows what kind of thoughts those are, but as much of a monster as you are viewing him now, he won't do such a thing. He was quite merciful while deciding what your fate will be, even if he didn't pondered a lot in the few minutes after your fall, you are but only a child with a weapon, sent to die by that horrible woman.

And something he prides himself of, is learning from mistakes. He won't throw away something that can fulfill very well other duties than warfare ones.

"Sir! If I may--" a voice spoke between the masses of helms and spears.

"I know, I know. The general" Gorou waves off his hand, his eyes never stranding away from your form for far too long.

A groan escapes your body as his foot steps on your ribcage, not too hard but your weak body sense as if he had nails attached to the sole, your skin felt cold and as if it was being prickled by a ton of needles. He pushes your your body with a gentleness unexpected from an enemy, until you were lying on your back. The new position put pressure in the arrow wound on your right/left shoulder, your dominant arm, and for a second you were grateful of the rigidness granted by the geo element yet covering half of your arm or else you are sure you would have cried in pain, the last thing you want now is to show more weakness that what you are displaying.

"What I am going to do with her... I didn't know myself when we first begun this battle" Gorou continued. He removed his shoe from your chest to your side on the floor, so you'll be cage between his legs while he looks down on you. His arms crossed across his chest and he tilted his head to the side, as in assessing you, taking on your face just as covered in grime as his but not diminish your beauty in the slightest. He really made a good decision in regard of your fate.

The soldiers stood still, the atmosphere felt heavy like the air on a hot summer afternoon that feels stuffy on your lungs as your breath in. Their general had an unseen aura surrounding him, his usual careless actitud makes everyone forget that there's an animal side to him, although they aren't sure they will presence it for the first time, their captain is definitely switching towards that side... they even feel a little bit of pity for the woman under him.

"But as I see her like this, beaten, it makes me remember something of old, that the victorous usually sow. Can you guys guess what it is?" He squats over you, sweetly combing a couple of strands of hair out of your face.

Whispers break among the army after the question. One of them raised his hand, no barely 18 years old as he was one of the shortest in comparison to his bigger and wider shouldered comrades. The young recruit promptly lowered his arm as the general wasn't looking at their direction but that didn't stopped him from answering, eyes shining with excitement:

"They take something as a token of their victory, sir!"

Gorou hummed in affirmation. "Yes, they did. A spoil of war, if you may"

Dread washed over you. He wasn't going to kill you, as a way to demonstrate their superiority? To be taken as a trophy, a possession... He surely won't mean that, right? They are going to torture you and extract every drop of information that you have, until the last thing left in you is blood to shed on their hands as your usefulness is cut short like your troath.

You needed to say something. Anything, as long as it would arise anger within the young male, anything as long as you aren't degrade far from what you have been.

Gorou raised his eyebrows as you coughed. He wasn't expecting a monologue from you but neither silence. Your sudden wish of speaking made the men jump into action, their spears pointing at you with such terrifying speed made you realise furthermore that this battle was destined to end like this, another stripe to the tiger just like a new blow to your pride.

"Just kill me already. I won't say anything, and if given the opportunity, I will end it myself" you spat. You tried to transmit all of your pain, hate and shame in one stare, you won't go happy until you make that man see what you feel, how big your abhorrence is to his being.

All the males stare in silence, until the general himself chuckled. Your cheeks burn with rage, your teeth clenched together as you tried yo surf this flare of emotions. How dare he laugh like that! He already won and you won't speak a thing about the Shogun, why acting like that? Isn't the rebels supposed to act with nobility and fairness?

Gorou took a breath in. He's happy he didn't went for the traditional route and killed you.

"Aw, now you just proved me correct, sweetheart. I'll enjoy making you into a proper wife"

All of that just to say "Imagine being taken as Gorou's prize and he makes you his whore wife" LMAO

(Also? In the part that reader coughs? I wanted to put that Gorou spits on your lips because you looked thirsty AODJFJDC)

THIS 🙏 yes i’d love to be gorou’s housewife he should really take me in and train me to obey him . please i’d do anything for him

AND pleasee omg ... if u actually put that in i’d die on my chair it’s too hot i can’t hjnhnggrh

[kaialone]

Kirby Planet Robobot Translation Comparison: Facing Mecha Knight

This will be a comparison of the original Japanese version and the US English localized version.

Specifically, this will cover the cutscene where Kirby encounters Susie for the second time, and ends up battling Mecha Knight.

You can also watch this cutscene for yourself in English and Japanese.

For the comparison, the usual points apply:

Bolded is the original Japanese text, for the reference.

Bolded and italicized is my translation.

Italicized is the official NOA translation.

A (number) indicates that I have a specific comment to make on that part in the translation notes.

As you read this, please keep in mind that with translations like these, it’s important not to focus on the exact literal wordings, since there is no single “correct answer” when it comes to translations.

Rather than that, consider the actual information that is being conveyed, in which way, and why.

--

Meeting Susie Again:

Secretary Susie:

おーお〜 いーだいな ハールトマン〜

Oh, great Haltmann~  (1)

Noble Haltmann, we adore him

Secretary Susie:

おーお〜 いーだいな ハールトマン〜

Oh, great Haltmann~

Noble Haltmann, we adore him!

Secretary Susie:

永遠にー 果てなくー 栄えよ〜

May you prosper, unending, for all eternity~

Every day we wish him glory!

Secretary Susie:

……おっと、 たいへん しつれい いたしました。

...Oh dear, how terribly rude of me.

Oh! Pardon me.

Secretary Susie:

われらが カンパニーの すばらしい社歌、

「銀河に名立たるハルトマン」。

That was our company's marvelous theme song,

"Haltmann, Famed Across the Galaxy".

That was our company's wonderful theme song, "The Noble Haltmann."

Secretary Susie:

ついつい 口ずさんで しまいましたわ。

I was just overcome with the urge to sing it to myself.

Sometimes I just find myself singing it out loud. It's so catchy!

Secretary Susie:

さて… また、お会いしましたね。

Now then... It appears we meet again.

At any rate, I must say, how nice to see you again.

Secretary Susie:

秘書スージーでございます。

It is I, Secretary Susie.

I'm Susie, but I'm sure you remember me.

Secretary Susie:

そうそう、 ワタクシ 最近…

Oh yes, just recently...

Let me tell you a story.

Secretary Susie:

とーっても ステキな 方に お会いしましたわ。

I met with the most wonderful person.

Not long ago, I met someone who impressed me very much.

Secretary Susie:

いさましくて クールで、 ハイレベルな剣士様…

Valiant and cool, a truly high-class swordfighter...

He was strong and full of confidence... A knight of the highest order.

Secretary Susie:

で、せっかく お会いできたの ですから、

And, since I was fortunate enough to meet him,

I was so impressed...

Secretary Susie:

ちょっぴり全身カイゾウして…

I have subjected him to just a tiny full-body reconstruction...

I gave him a complete remodel!

Secretary Susie:

わが社の セキュリティマシンと させて いただきました。

And given him the privilege of being a security machine for our company.

And I hired him as a company security guard.

Secretary Susie:

ウフフ…

Uhuhu...

Heehee! I wonder what you'll make of him?

Secretary Susie:

お気に めして いただける かしら？

I wonder if he will be to your liking?

Please allow me to present...

Secretary Susie:

プロダクトNo. M-７１１０、 「メタナイトボーグ」よ…

Now, Product #M-7110,  (2) "Meta Knight Borg"...

Model #M-7110. Mecha Knight...

Secretary Susie:

おゆきなさい！

Get to it, please!

ENGAGE!

Translation Notes:

I translated the lyrics that Susie is singing here directly, so they don’t go exactly with the melody in my translation, but they do in the original Japanese.

There’s actually a Japanese pun in Mecha Knight’s product number. The number “7″ can be read as “na”, the number “1″ can be read as “i”, and the number “10″ can be read as “to”. When put together, this spells out “naito”, which is a Japanese transliteration of the English word “knight”.

--

Comparisons & Thoughts:

This cutscene is another one without many differences.

If you were to really pick it apart it’s arguably a bit looser than the previous cutscene, like having Susie add a few extra comments, but nothing big.

We do get the first mention of the Haltmann Work Company’s theme song, and there is a lot to say about that.

-

Now, the company’s theme song is hard to talk about without directly addressing details that will come up later in the game, so keep that in mind.

First of all, in English, the song is simply titled “The Noble Haltmann”, whereas in Japanese it’s called 銀河に名立たるハルトマン/Ginga ni Nadataru Harutoman.

I choose to translate the Japanese title as “Haltmann, Famed Across the Galaxy”, but it could also be translated as “The Galaxy-Famous Haltmann” or the like.

So, there’s a bit of a difference between the titles here, with the English version feeling a bit more grounded and reserved in its worship of Haltmann, but that’s not all there is to it.

The Japanese title of this song is a subtle reference to the Japanese title of the “Milky Way Wishes” mode from Kirby Super Star, where it’s known as 銀河に願いを/Ginga ni Negai o, which roughly translates to ”A Wish Upon the Galaxy”.

The reference is definitely intentional, considering how Planet Robobot features several important callbacks to Milky Way Wishes.

The English version lacks such a reference, but it might have been difficult to come up with one, even if the localizers noticed this detail.

Next up, there’s the song’s actual lyrics, and that’s where things get a bit muddy in English.

Basically, in the Japanese version of this cutscene here, Susie is singing the first line of the song. In the next cutscene, she will sing the second line.

Then, the pause screen during Haltmann’s battle will show the full lyrics of the entire first strophe. And lastly, the final unlock of the game is the music video that features a previously unseen second strophe.

Because of that, in the Japanese version, the player ends up slowly being shown more and more of the song as they play through the game, culminating with the music video.

It’s clearly supposed to be an important build up, considering it’s also the main theme of the game that was specifically written to represent it and its story.

The English version is a lot less consistent with the song and its lyrics.

Here in this scene, Susie is singing “Noble Haltmann, we adore him! Every day we wish him glory!”.

This doesn’t match with Haltmann’s pause screen and the music video later on, where the first line is given as “Noble Haltmann, we adore him, kingly lord of time and space!“, instead.

To make matters more confusing, the former actually goes better with the melody of the song, it seems.

The English version of Haltmann’s pause screen description also only features part of the first strophe, rather than all of the first, and the lyrics that Susie will sing in the next cutscene are taken from the second strophe, which isn’t supposed to come up until the music video.

It’s kinda messy, honestly.

I can only assume this is a result of how game translations usually work.

Things like the text from in-game dialogue, the text from in-game menu screens, and the text from additional extras like the music video are normally internally stored in different places, and often you end up with different people having to translate them, with very little context.

Note that I wouldn’t blame the translator(s) and localizer(s) involved here, because they can’t really help their working conditions.

But whatever the case may be, as a result the English version lacks the neat progression of slowly getting to know the song, the way it’s presented in the Japanese version.

-

With all that general stuff out of the way, let’s have a closer look at the lines Susie sings in this specific cutscene.

In Japanese, she sings “Oh, great Haltmann~ May you prosper, unending, for all eternity~”, while in English she sings “Noble Haltmann, we adore him! Every day we wish him glory!”.

Just like with the song’s title, the English version of this line is a bit more reserved when it comes to practically worshipping Haltmann.

It’s not even like it’s not revering him, it’s just that the Japanese version goes even further with it.

But translating lyrics like this is also something that’s especially difficult, since you need to match the melody of the song, so more differences are to be expected with those.

-

Really a minor thing, but I want to point out this section:

And, since I was fortunate enough to meet him,

I was so impressed…

I have subjected him to just a tiny full-body reconstruction…

I gave him a complete remodel!

And given him the privilege of being a security machine for our company.

And I hired him as a company security guard.

In the Japanese version, the way Susie says that she gave Meta Knight a “tiny full-body reconstruction” is of course a bit of a joke, talking about something so drastic like it’s just a small little thing.

The English version doesn’t retain this directly, but it gives Susie’s dialogue a similar energy here, having her declare that she gave him a complete remodel like it’s something to be excited about.

A bit of a stronger difference is the fact that Susie says she made Meta Knight a “security machine” in Japanese, rather than a “security guard” like in English.

In the Japanese version, there is a stronger impression of Meta Knight being literally turned into an object or product as far as Susie is concerned, and that that’s a good thing in her eyes too.

In English it’s more like she makes him an employee against his will.

-

Finally, Mecha Knight’s product number “#M-7110” is a pun in Japanese, as I explained in the translation notes above.

I think it makes sense that the English version didn’t try to adapt it and just kept it the same, because in English you just have a lot less to work with as far as number puns go.

I can’t help but wonder what might’ve worked though, perhaps something like “#M-98”?

-

And that’s it for this cutscene.

Not a whole lot of differences here again, but more subtle differences are starting to crop up and will continue to add up over time, and we will get to that later.

I want to say that I do really like the localization in this one though, particularly the way Susie’s “swooning” over Meta Knight is written.

It stays close to the original without sounding awkward in English, and captures the basic mood the original version was getting at.

All in all, pretty good.

And with that, feel free to check out the next part!

--

< Previous Part | Start | Next Part >

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[creativeashproductions]

If I Stay Part Two (Final) // Luke Patterson

Summary: Life as you knew it shattered and now you’re left picking up the pieces with memories of a boy with hazel eyes in your dreams. A handsome guitarist who easily becomes your unseen number one supporter. If only you could see him again.

Warning: Swearing, mention of injuries, mention of car accident and talk of death.

Words: 2.5k (excluding the song lyrics of “I Won’t Let Go” by Rascal Flatts)

A/N: Second and last part to If I Stay! I really enjoyed this story because I adored Charlie St. Cloud and I really enjoyed If I Stay. The second part to Lost Time will be up soon when I feel confident in the storyline of it.

If I Stay Part One

Masterlist

In a split second for the first time, you felt yourself, poof, away to a sterile white room staring down at the person in the bed. Covered in cuts and bruises of all colours, was you. A broken version of you that made you sick to your stomach. You desperately yearned to go back to being unaware.

“I’m…a ghost?” You breathed looking at your blemish-free hands, a juxtaposition to the arm in a cast. Then in a nauseating thought, the grief faded for fear on your family. Had they survived? You ran out of the room straight to a nurse, “Where are my parents! Where’s my cousin Lou?”

Of course, the nurse was unaware of an upset, emotional teenage girl, a victim of a car crash and in a battle for her life. Realizing no one would answer you spent hours running around the hospital searching for your parents or Lou.

“Lou!” You shouted through the halls unfazed as you ran literally through gurneys and medical equipment even the odd doctor.

At the very last room, you found Lou sitting up in a bed staring silently at the white wall with an official man seated by the side of her bed. He held a clipboard in his hand.

“Lou, how are you feeling?” The man spoke, his white coat embroidered with his profession and labelling him a psychiatrist.

“Fine.”

“You’ve suffered a trau-“

“I’m aware. I was there. I saw a paramedic violently hitting my cousin’s chest, I saw so much blood. I didn’t know there could be that much blood!” Lou snapped glaring the man down, “I saw the brains of the idiot that caused the accident! You don’t know shit! Oh, your little degree magically has you able to understand what I’m going through?!”

“Lou-“

“You wanted me to talk! So, let me talk!” Lou screamed at the man startling you with the anger, “My cousin! My best friend, my SISTER is up in a bed in a coma! A coma because I wanted to go to a stupid resort to ski! It’s my fault! And no one will tell me anything about my aunt and uncle!”

You stumbled back at the pain Lou displayed, it broke your heart, and you couldn’t listen to it anymore.

“Lou, let’s talk about survivor’s gu-“

You fell through the closed door before you could hear anything more from the psychiatrist. You ambled around the floor aimlessly feeling the worst you ever had and to think for two weeks you hadn’t been aware of anything.

“Did you hear?” A nurse spoke from just outside your hospital room. You jogged over reading her name tag of Melissa.

“Heard what?”

“The father of the mountain accident he flatlined in surgery. Doctors got him back, but they’re concerned about brain damage.” Nurse Melissa told her fellow nurse with concern pinching her expression.

“That’s the father of the Y/L/N patient, right?” Nurse Lucy spoke glancing at your hospital door, “I hope they’ll be alright.”

“That poor girl has quite the decision to make. To live or to die. It’s all on her now.” Nurse Melissa replied, “Her mother died-“

“Little unprofessional to gossip about patients in earshot of everyone. Did you know that coma patients can often hear things while unconscious? Or my favourite tip…did you learn about HIPAA?” The doctor on duty asked, staring the two nurses down with a glared. Each nurse shifted on their feet, “Stop gossiping and do your job. I’m sure you can change bedpans or give sponge baths.”

The nurses scattered, leaving you standing in shock at the information given to you. Your mother was dead, your father could be brain dead, and Lou wasn’t coping well. Leaving you in a state of wondering what to do. Should you stay in a world without your parents or let go to join them in heaven. The thought had you collapsing into screams on the floor as everyone went about their work; walking through the hysterical teenager.

A warm hand slid into your own with a comforting squeeze, but all you wanted was to feel your father wrap you in a bear hug. To listen to your mother’s laugh, move in the air with that beautiful musical sound. You want Lou to be okay.

Luke was quiet as he sat the floor, squeezing your hand every once in a while. You slumped into his arms, staring unfeeling at the door that separated your ghostly form from your physical one. Luke poofed you to the Molina garage right on the couch where he held you tight for god knows how long.

“She’s dead.” Your voice cracked tears rolling down your cheeks once more, “My mom is dead.”

“Sh.” Luke cooed pressing his lips against your temple as you curled further into his body. His heart broke for you as the gravity of the situation became crystal clear.

“Hi.” Luke’s eyes met the concerned ones of Julie Molina, a girl that would undoubtedly know how you felt. The thing that connected you being the loss of a mother figure, “I’m Julie.”

Your blank expression lifted to see a girl you had often seen in the halls of Los Feliz High School and vaguely remembered her. She had been performing during the Spirit Rally months ago.

“I’m a friend of Luke, Reggie and Alex. I’m sorry you’re going through this, but you are more than welcome to stay here. You can be in my room or here if you’re more comfortable.” Julie offered knowing exactly how you felt when a year ago, she had been grieving the loss of her mom.

“Thank you.” You replied hoarsely. Exhaustion from sobbing closed your eyes, something that was different to Luke as a ghost was your ability to sleep. 

Alex theorized that you could sleep because your body was still alive, whereas the boys had no physical body. They were just ghosts. He and Reggie were in the studio sadly watching as you slipped in a deep unsettled sleep. Luke’s broken eyes met his best friends before he had Alex come over.

“Please stay with her.” Luke whispered, leaving the tall blonde to switch places. Luke disappeared without another word.

“Where’s-“Julie began, but Reggie interrupted her with a sad smile.

“Remember when we took you to Luke’s house? He’ll do the same but with her.” Reggie supplied coming to sit on the floor in front of the couch; his hand grabbing yours in support.

In a medium-sized house with a backyard kept tidy by the neighbours, Luke found his way to your room. His grabbed a few items of clothing and sneakers into a discarded bag before he dropped the bag off in Julie’s bedroom. His next stop was your hospital room. Luke settled himself in the chair beside you watching your chest go up and down from the breathing tube.

“Hi. I don’t know you in this form, but I know your spirit. I’m not good with my words, but I’m going to try. Two weeks ago I met you in a record store, and I fell in love faster than I can tune my guitar and believe me I have the record in the band. I never believed in love at first sight, but I also didn’t believe in ghosts, but here we are!” Luke chortled leaning to place his hand on yours, but it slipped through.

His smile saddened, “As much as I love holding you and kissing your head… I’d much prefer feeling that aching and yearning feel in my gut. If I felt that then it meant you would be alive and well. I’d rather be sad that I can’t feel you than have you die so young.”

Luke saw your eyelids flicker and he hoped it was because you could hear him.

“You have so much to live for. It’s gonna be hard. I can’t deny that, but I need you to stay. Stay alive and fight for me. For Lou.” Luke choked, squeezing his eyes shut grateful when a hand rested on his shoulder. He knew it was Alex.

“Whatever you’re saying. Continue.” Alex whispered, “It’s working, her body is slowly becoming transparent.”

Alex’s words were further proven as Nurse Melissa jogged in surprised as she took vitals, “Well I’ll be damned. You decided to fight.”

Alex and Luke shared a relieved expression as you got even more strong. Together they returned to the garage. Luke was able to press one kiss to your forehead before you flickered once, twice, thrice before you dissipated.

In that hospital room, a beautiful thing occurred. Your eyes opened. Luke swore the birds sang better at the moment.

Recovery was hard. Relearning the little things, you took for granted was frustrating. Lou would hover as if you would disappear and you thought you were going insane. If you were waking up screaming by nightmares of the crash than it was waking confused on dreams that felt like memories.

The small victories helped like when you walked the entire hospital or when you were able to use the toilet and not the bedpan. The best win was being discharged to Lou’s parents and only needing outpatient physical therapy. Six months later, your father was awake and getting better; the loss of your mother still burnt hot and red.

It was on the sixth month anniversary when you walked down an oddly familiar street. Merritt happily trotting on his afternoon walk; Merritt had been an immense help. In your first month of recovery post coma, you met Merritt who would become your service dog.

A sense of déjà vu nudged you as you took in a vintage styled record store you swore you knew before. Continuing on you stop again at a toy story with a dollhouse.

 “My cousin had one…for her unborn niece.” The sentence floated in your mind, but you couldn’t put a conversation.

 “Caspar?” A male voice recalled in a distant memory of a dream a few days ago. You couldn’t think of anyone who had that voice, and absolutely no way had you ever seen that dollhouse before.

“Just coincidence.” You mumbled scratching Merritt’s head as his wet nose nudged your head before you could worry more. You watched people roaming thankful that you could do that, that you survived.

It was the building on the very end that confused you the most. Your eyes scanned the name proudly announcing itself as a tattoo parlour. A gasp left your lips as a vivid memory popped into your head with a boy that matched that voice you had thought of earlier.

“Luke. My name is Luke. Hey! I know this shop!” Luke beamed, stepping back to take in the storefront. In the twenty-five years since he last saw it, the blue faded into a teal, but the door was still the same as it always was.

“You have a tattoo?” You asked, scanning his arms bare in the cut off shirt he wore.You couldn’t see any ink on his skin. Luke couldn’t help the smirk on his faceat the blatant heated gaze.

“No.It was 1994. We just played our biggest gig at the time, and Bobby decided we should get tattoos.” Luke’s mouth twisted at the mention of his former friend, “Of course we were sixteen and Alex just about fainted in the shop. The guy took one look at Reggie and laughed at our fake IDs. Told us to come back in a few years.”

“So, you’re a ’90s kid.” You raised an eyebrow coming to a stop on the edge of the street, pressing the button to cross.

“Technically a ’70s kid. We died in ’95 a few hours before a life-changing gig.” The mood turned sombre as Luke thought back on that one night that life decided to raise both middle fingers at his dreams, “Death by a hot dog.”

You were so thankful for Merritt as he nestled up into a dog version of a hug as you felt the crippling anxiety. He was always there and knew about to help, support dogs don’t get enough credit.

When your eyes opened, it is like a dam broke and suddenly you remembered walking this street with three guys. The conversations and even the garage where one had held you in an incredibly vulnerable moment. Three ghosts that helped you when you needed it but didn’t know.

“Luke.” You breathed seeing a form shimmer in the sun as it flickered into a hazy form. Similar to how you did in the garage before going back to your body, he flashed three times. He solidified on the fourth with a great big grin.

“You can see me.” Luke cried, walking closer as he felt on top of the world when your eyes focused on him. He finally felt that yearning to meet your gaze fade away, “I missed you.”

You followed him to the Molina garage.

“I thought we’d never be able to talk again.” Luke sighed, reaching over, and he physically grabbed your hand, “I don’t know if I can touch you because of your former state or because of Julie.”

“Hm?” You questioned sitting cross legged on the bed.

“When I wasn’t watching over you, I was with Julie and the guys.” Luke went into detail about Caleb and the jolts, “We didn’t cross over because it’s not our unfinished business, but the stamps were destroyed when Julie hugged us. We’re sure that just like our instruments are connected to our souls that Julie did as well.”

Your hand brushed Luke’s cheek taking in the silky feeling of his skin, “I thought I was going crazy. I had these dreams of things I didn’t do in reality. My mind just wasn’t ready to remember the beauty of our connection.”

“This is an interesting little relationship you and I have.” Luke chuckled, thinking on how lucky he was to even know you, “You’re so beautiful.”

“Thank you.” You whispered gratefully to intertwine your fingers with Luke’s hand as well. It was like they were made for each regardless of the circumstances that brought you together, “I’m not ready for anything more than friendship, but I do strong feelings for you.”

“Being dead has an advantage. I can wait for eternity, and for you, I would. Just so you know, I have strong feelings for you as well.” Luke beamed scanning your face, taking in the blemishes from the crash. In the time you hadn’t been aware of him following coming out of the coma, he had become acquainted with your injuries.

When those little victories of weight-bearing, walking one step then two and finally that entire hallway Luke had been there unseen cheering you on. When you ‘graduated’ from the inpatient therapy Alex, Reggie and Luke had been there in silent support.

“Do what you need to do, and I’ll be right here for you.” Luke smiled gently, removing his guitar from the case, “Can I play something?”

You nodded in response as started strumming to a new song he had created in the last handful of months.

“It’s like a storm

 That cuts a path

 It’s breaks your will

 It feels like that

You think you’re lost

 But your not lost on your own

 You’re not alone

I will stand by you

 I will help you through

 When you’ve done all you can do

 If you can’t cope

 I will dry your eyes

 I will fight your fight

 I will hold you tight

 And I won’t let go

It hurts my heart

 To see you cry

 I know it’s dark

 This part of life

 Oh it finds us all (finds us all)

 And we’re too small

 To stop the rain

 Oh but when it rains

The song touched you so intimately as he sang the last few lines softly keeping eye contact with you.

“…Oh I’m gonna hold you

 And I won’t let go

 Won’t let you go

 No I won’t”

You pressed a lingering kiss to his cheek that flushed at the feel of your lips against his skin. His heart fluttered and knew that you were his soulmate and he truly hoped Julie could find someone that could love her like she deserves. Luke’s heart belonged to yours and yours alone and vice versa for you as well.

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[sunnyrosewritesstuff]

Day 5 Birthday Plot Bunnies 2

If you want this to become my next WIP, be sure to shower it with lots of love!!  🥰 💖 All the story starters will be linked back to this masterpost.

Title: For the Love of My Husband

Summary: Bilbo is a thief and a conman who has tricked Thorin, Crown Prince of Erebor, to marry him as an escape from a tight spot. He thought their marriage was happily enough, but Thorin feels a disconnect from the hobbit he’s married. To appease his family and strengthen their bond, Thorin asks Bilbo to take the Trial of Souls with him. Problem is, Bilbo doesn’t want Thorin to know anything about him because they are most assuredly not Ones. And if Thorin learns the truth, Bilbo will find himself back in the streets or worse...

In a darkened pub deep under the kingdom of Erebor, a hobbit and a dwarf squared off. The waiting crowd was near silent as they waited to see what would happen next. The dark haired beast of a dwarf looked fairly confident as he shared a smirk with his two friends directly behind him.

“What’ll it be, Took? Fold or settle?”

The hobbit nonchalantly lifted his overturn cup to sneak a peek at the two dice lying inside. 

“How about I raise you instead?”

It was silent for a moment before the dwarf, Drulik, burst into laughter followed by his cronies.

“Raise? You have nothing left to bet with.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be too sure of that.” Bilbo stated before pulling out a silver harp-shaped brooch with thin golden strings.

The dwarves surrounding the gamblers all began murmuring at once, some trying to lean in for a closer view.

“Is that…?” One of Drulik’s dwarves gaped.

“Yes.” Bilbo announced calmly. “The Courting Gift of our dearly departed queen, Mahal rest her soul.”

“How did you get that?” Drulik demanded.

Bilbo gave him a wane smile as he tucked back into his vest with a pat. “It doesn’t matter. The question you should be asking is how much do you think it’s worth?”

The gambling den awaited Drulik’s long drawn out answer. It almost made the hobbit want to roll his eyes at the melodrama. However, after years on the streets, he knew a good show could sometimes be the difference between success and failure. And Bilbo didn’t fail. Finally, Drulik pulled out another bag, spilling the golden coins onto the pile between them.

“Settle.” Drulik demanded before revealing the contents under his cup.

The crowd cheered and whistled much to Drulik’s ego at the combined total of eleven from his dice. Nine Rings was a gambling game loved by Durin’s Folk and Men alike with a very simple premise. Highest total won. So you bet and bluff to convince your opponent that you have as close to twelve beneath the cup as possible. However, there was one small exception. Nine always trumped any other number. Therefore, when Bilbo lifted his cup to reveal the five and four, there was a near frenzy of excitement. Drulik was rendered speechless as Bilbo lifted his pint in cheer before downing the ale all in one go. Producing a sack from his coat pocket, he raked all the golden coins towards him.

“Well lads, this has been more excitement than any hobbit can take, but I think I’m going to leave now while my fortunes are in my favor.”

“You cheated.” Drulik growled. “You had to have.”

“Check my dice if you wish.” Bilbo offered with a shrug.

The tavern owner, Nifror, who ran as honorable a den as one could for thieves and ruffians was at their table in a flash. Bilbo had heard a tale that the last dwarf who cheated at the game got their loaded dice pinned, one to each hand, with a knife made by Nifror’s wife. He threw the dice a few times and each time they landed with a different number. He shrugged.

“The hobbit’s clean.”

“But that’s impossible.” One of Drulik’s own gaped.

“Yeah, we loaded them ourselves!” The other snarled.

There was a pause and then Old Nifror was on them in a flash. Some moved to help the old barkeep out. The rest roared and placed bets on the winner. Meanwhile, Bilbo used this as the perfect opportunity to sneak away. He dropped the loaded dice he had smuggled into his pocket on the ground with a snort. Like he would be that stupid. Now most would have worried walking around with that much gold around the dregs of Erebor’s underworld. Fortunately, Bilbo was a professional at remaining quiet and unseen. A talent he had been forced to pick up early in his life. Which is why he nearly screamed when a hand landed on his shoulder.

“Make a good haul?” The dwarf smirked.

Bilbo turned around with a glare. “You know you don’t have to be so smug every time you manage to catch me off guard.”

Nori, Bilbo’s oldest and dearest friend, just raised an eyebrow as he tried and failed to hide the mischievous superiority oozing from his every pore.

“Just like to remind you, you’re not the best just yet.”

Bilbo rolled his eyes as he continued on his way knowing the dwarf was following.

“We both know I was headed to your place eventually so is there a reason you’re bugging me now?”

“Can I not worry over the sake of my friend?” Nori gasped overdramatically.

Bilbo snorted but made no arguments or agreements.

“Well, if I were coming to find you, it might have something to do with the fact that your husband finished up his duties early today to surprise you.”

The coin he was holding nearly slipped from his suddenly numb fingers.

“Valar above!” Bilbo swore. “That dwarf. He’s positively incorrigible!”

“He’s in love.” Nori pointed out.

Bilbo scoffed. “Love. Well shit, looks like you’re going to have to take this to our hiding place for me.”

Bilbo shoved the bag of gold into the dwarf’s chest before power walking towards the secret tunnels. Nori kept stride with him, clearly not done delivering bad news.

“Are you anywhere close to the right amount?”

“I’ve nearly two-thirds at this point.”

“Bilbo, you only have a week left.”

“I’m well aware, Nori! Maybe it's enough to...buy me more time.”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t the whole point of you marrying some rich noble supposed to give you easy access to the treasury?”

“It was, but there was one teeny detail we didn’t take into account.”

“What’s that?”

Bilbo paused, his face falling into a grimace. “In-laws.”

***

One of the first things Bilbo and Nori did upon their rushed and unplanned move to Erebor from Ered Luin was scope out the best places for a quick getaway. They just so happened to make kind with a chatty miner named Bofur who, while deep in his cup, told them that the royal wing originally was meant to be on the other side of the mountain. When the architects realized the disadvantage of having the royal family so far from the guards’ posts and war meeting rooms, rather than just move the furniture back down only to go back up on the correct side, they cut unmapped tunnels around the outside of the mountain. It also had the added advantage of getting their monarchy out quicker in the case of a coup if the knowledge hadn’t been lost through time. It was perfect for the thieves’ needs. In almost no time at all, Nori and Bilbo had found the tunnels and utilized them fully. 

Something the hobbit was thankful for now as he flew down the tunnel to get back to his room. He welcomed the blast of mountain wind to rapidly cool the sweat on his face before ducking back into the opposite entrance. There was a small alcove where Bilbo’s fancier clothes lay and he all but threw himself out of his worn threads for the finer silks and cotton. The last thing he did was pocket the brooch before sprinting back down the tunnel braiding and beading his hair on the run. Once he was back in the royals’ wing, he ducked his head out to make sure the coast was clear, and then silently made his way to his suite. After closing the door behind him, Bilbo relaxed against it, heaving a sigh of relief.

“And just where have you been, Husband of Mine?”

Bilbo prided himself on the fact that he did not squeak even if he did jump nearly two feet in the air. Thorin, Prince of Erebor, was lounging in the armchair by the fireplace looking rather pleased with himself. Bilbo attempted to calm his racing heart as he stepped forward, plastering what he hoped to be a loving grin on his face.

“Just a walk on the cliffs with Nori. Surely, you would not deny this hobbit the feel of fresh air and sunshine?”

Thorin stood at that point, meeting him about halfway. His thumb gently caressed Bilbo’s cheek.

“If I had it my way, I would deny you nothing, ukradê (my greatest heart).”

Bilbo hummed in practiced delight as he met his husband’s lips with his own. The hobbit was at least content with the knowledge that as far as dwarves went, Thorin was stunningly handsome. Not a sentiment necessarily shared with others of his race. Which worked out just fine for Bilbo as it left a prince of all things, uncommitted and available.

“By the way, look what I found this morning.” Bilbo stepped back with a teasing smile as he produced the brooch from his pocket.

“My mother’s brooch!” Thorin gaped as he took it reverently. “Where…?”

“It was under my bed. You must have dropped it when you paid me a surprise visit last night.”

Thorin smirked as he latched onto Bilbo’s hips. “I remember the night well.”

Oh, and he was a really, really good bed partner. No, Bilbo was well aware he could have it much worse. It was just the dwarf’s nauseating romanticism that nearly caused him to roll his eyes more than once. Thorin gave him a long lingering kiss before he bent forward to press his forehead against Bilbo’s own. Their hands found their way into each other’s naturally interlocking.

“I promise, it won’t always be like this.” Thorin murmured when he finally pulled away, his blue eyes shining brightly.

Like this. The dwarf was so dramatic. It constantly made Bilbo feel like some player performing for the court. Heaving a sigh as he looked down between their conjoined hands. 

“We’ve been married for eight months, and two of those have been spent here in Erebor. If your family was going to accept me, they would have done so by now.”

Thorin released his hands so he could lift Bilbo’s chin to look at him.

“Don’t lose faith yet, amrâlimê (my love). I have a plan.”

It was a good thing Bilbo was a talented actor. He laughed, causing Thorin to smile.

“You have a plan? That sounds dangerous.”

“Tease all you want, but I have all the confidence in this plan.”

“Well, out with it. What have you come up with?”

Thorin shook his head teasingly. “You’ll have to wait. I want it to be a surprise.”

Bilbo linked his arms around the dwarf’s neck for leverage as he started showering him with kisses at his jaw, the corner of his mouth, and his throat.

“And I couldn’t persuade you to tell me any sooner?”

“You are cruel, thundanûd (tiny embrace).” Thorin moaned, his hands resting on Bilbo’s arms.

“It’s only cruel if you don’t accept the invitation.” Bilbo teased back as he pulled at the prince’s tunic to allow him access to his collarbone.

Thorin shuddered once with want before finding the strength to pull away. He grasped Bilbo’s hands again as he kissed him deeply as an apology.

“Later. There will be time later. But now...we are having dinner with my family.”

Bilbo’s building fire of lust was immediately doused, a small frown settled on his forehead that Thorin attempted to kiss away. Lovely, the in-laws.

It certainly wasn’t that Bilbo wanted them to like him. He could honestly care less. It was just their dislike of him that made it really difficult for him to do...well, much of anything. Thrain, still mourning the loss of his dead wife, remained suspicious and hardened against Bilbo for the sheer fact that he was a hobbit. Their marriage had yet to be announced to the Council or even the mountain in general. Keeping Bilbo out of the public eye was Thrain’s number one priority which was certainly no hardship. It was Frerin and Dis he had the biggest problems with. Thorin’s brother and sister, ever loyal to him, seemed to think Bilbo wasn’t good enough for the dwarf, and constantly had Balin, the royal advisor, keeping tabs on him. Bilbo was reluctant to admit the dwarf’s keen eyes and sharp wit, but it had taken quite a few of Bilbo’s best moves to lose his tails before entering the secret tunnels.

Therefore, coming together in the Royal Dining Room for “family dinners” was a...stilted affair. There were only two redeeming features to those evenings. One, it was always the best food Bilbo had ever eaten in his life. And two, Thorin’s nephews, Fili and Kili, were not the least bit bothered by him and had some story worth telling that took the edge of him for a little bit at least.

“And then the axe sailed through the air and straight into the boar’s head. So technically, technically we aren’t responsible for the mess in the trophy room.” Kili finished.

“No.” Vili, their father snorted. “Just responsible for startling the poor guard that set off the chain of events.”

“Well how were we supposed to know he was right there?” Fili defended.

Bilbo snorted in spite of himself. “Watch the shadows.”

He immediately tensed after he said it as he waited for the barrage of insults to be hurtled his way.

“Spoken like a true thief.” Dis sneered.

Yep, right on cue.

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t corrupt my sons.” She continued.

“Namad…” Thorin warned softly.

Thrain’s hand met the tabletop in a harsh bang. “What have I said about speaking our language in front of the Halfling?!”

Bilbo sighed and turned his attention to his soup as the line of Durin flexed their tempers. Thorin rising to his defense, Dis and Thrain attempting to argue their points louder, Frerin leaving snide quips here and there, and Vili trying and failing to keep the peace. The joy of family dinners.

“Actually, while we’re on this subject, I have something to say.” Thorin demanded, his voice low and regal. “I will be gone the remainder of the week.”

Everyone, including Bilbo, froze and stared up at Thorin in relative confusion and outrage. The prince’s eyes were boring holes straight into his father whose scowl would be enough to frighten wargs off at this point.

“And just where will you be?” The king finally spat.

Thorin reached down for Bilbo’s hand making the hobbit supremely discomforted. Thorin’s eyes were soft and pleading though as they met his.

“We will be taking the Trial of Souls.”

“We’ll be doing what now?” Bilbo questioned.

“Thorin…” Dis murmured at a surprisingly subdued volume, her eyebrows knitted together.

“Finally! A sensible idea!” Frerin declared. 

All eyes rested on the brunette as he raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t you think? I mean, to put it bluntly, everyone at this table has been trying to convince Thorin out of this marriage in some way. When they don’t emerge from the tunnels together, that would be a pretty good indicator of the truth.”

“We haven’t. We like Bilbo.” Kili reminded softly.

Bilbo shot the troublemakers a quick smile of thanks. They were idiots, but they were sweet. Meanwhile, Thrain was rubbing his beard in thought before nodding once.

“Yes, this will do well. In fact, if you make it through all five chambers, I’ll hold a feast in honor and publically accept your union.”

Thorin nodded, still looking rather cross with his father. “As I’d hoped.”

Bilbo found he couldn’t take it anymore. “Now, wait! Wait just a minute! What is this...Trial of Souls?”

Thorin stared at his father for permission, and the king granted it almost the picture of satisfaction. Being a gambler, it made Bilbo largely nervous as Thorin turned back towards him.

“It’s a series of tests to prove two dwarves...or in our case, a dwarf and a hobbit, are Ones.”

Bilbo’s mouth opened and shut a couple of times, but no words were able to come out.

“Problem, Halfling?” Dis questioned with mock innocence.

“Thorin, a moment if you please.” Bilbo was finally able to say as he pulled his stone-headed husband out into the hall.

“Are you serious?!” He finally rounded on him.

“What?” Thorin questioned.

“Thorin, I…” Bilbo fought for the right words without making this worse. “I don’t understand. What exactly do we have to prove? We’re married. Shouldn’t that be enough?!”

Thorin sighed. “It should. You are correct, ibinê (my gem). But don’t you see? It’s perfect! My family will be satisfied by our success at the Trials, and it’ll be irrefutable evidence to the rest of the mountain if any rose to challenge us. And politics aside, I want this for us.”

“Us?” Bilbo repeated too numb to be completely in control of his mouth.

“Yes!” Thorin nodded eagerly. “Couples that pass the Trials of Souls find they become closer than ever. Our...relationship hasn’t been for very long, and I respect that your past is painful to you, but I want to know you azyungel (love of loves). I want to know everything there is to know about my husband, and share myself in return. What do you say?”

Now being a hardened thief, the hobbit knew a thing or two about how to get out of a seemingly hopeless situation. However, as his mind swirled and swirled around the damnable logic of Thorin’s decision, he found himself becoming dizzy and nauseated. That was it then. Bilbo was doomed. He had just enough time to get out a soft ‘nope’ before he fell over in a dead faint.

[annab-nana]

Hey could I get a blurb for Harrison something along the lines of best friendship to lovers maybe one of them gets jealous ??

omg ofc!! p.s. this is my first ever harrison writing and i am very excited but also very nervous haha i hope you enjoy it!!

warnings: drinking

"haz, come on! dance with me!" you screamed over the thundering music of the party that a friend of a friend was throwing while you tugged at his arm.

"let me finish this and i'll be there, i promise," he spoke loudly into your ear, not in the mood to put the effort into yelling. you nodded his way and leaned against the counter he sat at when a random partygoer spotted you and made his way over. light conversation was made and he ended up asking you to dance. you turned to harrison and relieved him of his duties as your dance partner, figuring he wasn't really into it anyway. little did you know, he wanted to finish his drink so he'd have more confidence when dancing with you. they called it liquid courage for a reason and lately, harrison had found himself to be more nervous around you, especially at things like this when you looked absolutely breathtaking.

he grabbed himself another beer, what number he was on he didn't know, and let his body weight be supported against the wall in the corner of the room. he wanted to remain unseen as he watched you sway your hips against this guy, a stranger. hurt and anger swirled within him while he saw the scene play out. the dude dipped his head down to your neck, letting his lips linger there which only fueled harrison's jealousy more. he wished it was him. it was supposed to be him. his eyes darted down to his beverage after deciding observing you was too painful but his concentration on the bubbles that floated in his drink was broken by a tap on the shoulder.

"why do you look so glum?" you teased with a smile, one that in turn made harrison grin. "there's that smile i love." love? you loved his smile? that was enough to make his night before he remembered what you were doing earlier.

"where's that guy?" he inquired, his crystal blue eyes searching for him behind you.

"i left him," you stated matter-of-factly.

"why?" harrison wasn't going to lie. the guy was good-looking and seemed to be the charmer so why leave him?

"he was a little weird and anyway, i want to dance with someone else when he's done with his drink," you told him while slipping your hand into his free one and leaning against the wall to let him finish the beer. his heart warmed at you as did his skin at the contact.

"i think i can hold this in one hand and you in the other, don't you?" he proposed, a smirk playing on his lips.

"i think so."

send in some blurbs

[kuboism]

Bleach Canon Vs. Studio Clown Episode 1 (Part 2)

So in the manga Ichigo, Number One Oniichan In town, Kurosaki arrives first to rescue his family, in his fancy silly socks and armed with a bat.

This scene is also missing, and I’m slightly saddened because you can also see the little tray of food with the label “For Ichigo-oniichan” which is clearly Yuzu delivering on her earlier promise to bring him some food since he decided to skip dinner bc of his dad.

Ichigo also catches a glimpse of a hollow for the first time. Tensions are high.

You sure sound nonchalant for a person trying to stop him from literally ripping his soul apart. Manga Rukia had some urgency in her smh.

I will admit - literally being “bound” by “words” of a spell is clever and a cool visual. Doesn’t improve the rest of the episode tho....

I’m also very mad that this encounter is changed in the anime. I guess since anime Ichigo had already seen a hollow he rushes in, but this brief moment of fear and hesitation is literally the theme of Bleach.

We fear what we cannot see. What we cannot see we don’t understand. Ichigo is encountering a hollow for the first time here, he is afraid, hesitant to face it. But his love for his family helps him overcome it. He is afraid - but he still has to protect them. He fears what he cannot see, but even so, he continues walking. Ichigo decides, in this moment, to be “brave”. (If you know - you know).

Anyway, Anime fishbone talks again, absolutely ruining the slow reveal of the “nature of the monster” that happens in later chapters, but what is Pierrot if not “subtle” lol.

This part is also removed for obvious reasons.

Some of the dialogue is changed for brevity which is reasonable, but some is also changed to adapt to that fuckin filler “previous day”.

(Not exactly but go off?)

(a brazen assumption)

Manga Rukia just builds up to the reveal.

Again, manga Ichigo’s Reiatsu wasn’t “completely” suppressed - it’s literally what prevented Rukia from finding Fishbone and stumbling into Ichigo’s room. (As per Aizen’s plan, but anyway). It’s unstable and underdeveloped - but like, there. They removed Rukia’s little comment about “unseen filters”, but she still stumbled into his room, and Grand fisher headed towards his house without detours.  Pierrot can move and change dialogue all they like - doesn’t mean it’ll add up lmao.

GIRL THATS SOME BOLD CONJECTURE......

Huh?

FDHGDF DO YOU NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR FAMILY?? SHES LITERALLY FINE!

YEAH SAME, YOUR FAMILY LITERALLY GOT ATTACKED TOO DIPSHIT!

OH good YOU REMEMBER. Why start with a random ass girl THATS DEAD, YOUR SISTERS ARE ALIVE REMEMBER!!!

Anyway Manga Ichigo supremacy:

WHY IS HE CHARGING TOWARDS IT!

Instead of having Ichigo charge into battle like an idiot the manga gives Rukia an extremely human moment which changes the tide of the battle:

She didn’t mean to blame him. In the short time they’ve knowne each other,s he already feels for him, and doesn’t want him to get the wrong, self-deprecating message. She knows how it is. Her momentary sympathy towards Ichigo is what takes her out of the battle.

Which forces Ichigo, who now having seen the danger and fearing it and doesn’t charge in like an idiot, to feel responsible for the mess and get involved in the forefront of the battle. Albeit suicidal he plays it off like he can win. Which later on develops in his battle ethos - no matter how hopeless the battle, he won’t win because he’s stronger, but because he has to.

(viz translates this to “so come and kill me” completely missing the nuance of his actual line “Try and get it if you can kill me!” - It’s a brazen challenge. Ichigo, no matter how hopeless is stubbornly not suicidal. Again, it’s not about “can he win” - he “has to win”.)

Anime Ichigo is looking for a quick atonement suicidal fight 

and Rukia has to save his clown ass.

Injured manga Rukia saves a stranger that reminds her of her guilt.

In the manga Rukia’s own carelessness leads Ichigo to be forced into battle - him having to overcome fear in a really desperate position just to have a chance at saving his family. Rukia, similarly selfless, and later on as we find out, ridden with guilt, goes beyond her duty to protect him. 

Also funny how this moment is excluded in the anime, where it’s completely Ichigo’s fault that Rukia is injured, while in the manga both slowly contribute to their downfall and yet Ichigo still apologizes, coming to his senses, but ok....

Wish this moment wasn’t this bland in the anime, especially Rukia’s eyes softening, like she’s resigning that she’s about to do something extremely illegal and desperate, potentially fuelled by Ichigo’s emotional whirlwind at the moment.

Anime Ichigo seems mildly troubled by this situation.

Also didnt you like worry about a random girl’s life before your family’s, what’s with the sudden “OF COURSE I WANT TO SAVE MY FAMILY”.

This whole page of explanation 

is reduced to 

Which I can understand pacing wise, but like....I’ll take it over those 6 minutes of filler that derailed the logic of this episode so....? Also would’ve loved to hear Ichigo’s heartbeat overwhelm the scene.

Ichigo’s fear is ignored once again, and this heartwarming scene where his resolve is finally made is like, non-existent

Manga Ichigo supremacy.

They basically just skip to it in the anime lmao, thanks.

Also...confident much, Ichigo? Why??

Anime Ichigo can never live up to manga Ichigo’s charm sigh...

Sir show some emotions (nitpick)

Anyway yeah. End of episode 1. 

I didnt think this would be this draining, but here we are. 

If you’ve followed along you can see how in a world where the Bleach manga didnt exist...the anime would be fine. Yet at random ass steps they make these needless changes that just ripple throughout into nonsense. Those 6 minutes of screentime that they dedicated to Rukia and Ichigo meeting earlier could’ve just been used....for literally anything else they cut out. 

I’m so tired, thank you for reading this far!! Bye!!