#and none of this has anything to do with celeste

[warlordfelwinter]

🌌 ⏳ and 🌪️ for celeste <3

🌌 MILKY WAY - what was the inspiration behind your oc? what was the first thing you decided about them?

there was like a perfect storm of circumstances that led to celeste, i think. i was in one of my phases of being exceptionally delighted by dnd devils and asmodeus in particular, i was watching or had recently watched exu: calamity and enjoyed brennan's take on mercer's asmodeus (i quite prefer wotc's asmo, i think he's more fun and interesting, less xtian devil analogue more cool fantasy world monster god (we know my preference is giant snake asmo), but i did enjoy brennan's performance bc i love asmo and i love brennan), and i was really wanting to play dnd again and specifically play a warlock bc they're my favorite 5e class.

i think i was at work, or driving, when i had the thought "mortal lover of asmodeus would be a funny warlock concept. be even funnier if it was an aasimar" and then. yk. celeste. so the first thing i decided about him was that he was with asmo and then the rest of sunshiney dancer monk etc etc just sort of came about naturally as i rotated him.

⏳ HOURGLASS - are they usually late or on-time?

usually late, he's got some time blindness issues and is very laissez-faire about life. if he's like supposed to be performing at something, then he'll be on time or early but basically if he's not being paid then he'll probably be late

🌪️ TORNADO - what is the biggest change you’ve ever made to them? how have they changed from their original version?

ooh that's a good question. prooobably giving him depression lmao. i mean he started as a fairly simple concept of 'make the most opposite thing you can to asmodeus' so he was a very cheery ray of sunshine. which he still is but now it's a decision he's making to try and deal with his issues.

[goldfades]

adam fantilli has a size kink

✮"𝐥𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬!", adam fantilli

♡ ─ word count | 700 words

♡ ─ warnings | unedited, pure nsfw under the cut! lots of teasing, size kink (who woulda thought?), just filthy smut LMAO

♡ ─ taglist |

♡ ─ ev's notes | THANK YOU CELESTE, SIZE KINK AND ADAM WILL NEVER FAIL TO MAKE ME SCREAM! also as we all have figured out, i'm terrible with titles so let's just pretend that it's a good one. i'm not gonna lie i don't know if i did this any justice, this is straight up filth i forgot to incorporate a lot of size kink in there LOL. none the less it's an adam fic, y'all should be grateful bc we are all living off CRUMBS.

Adam's hand laid right on top of your bare stomach, admiring your body. You were laying on your back as Adam watched your carefully, slowly drawing circles on your stomach. His hand almost covers the entirety of your stomach and no matter how long you'd been dating, it will never not turn him on.

"Fuck, princess." Adam breathed out as he gazed at your body, his eyes settling on your pretty face. "You're beautiful."

His hand left your soft and you let out a whimper of disapproval, you needed his touch now. "Shh, it's okay baby. Give me a second."

He spread your legs further and quickly settled in between them and you watched him through your lashes, becoming more desperate by the second. "Please, Adam." You whined.

"I know baby, I know. Just wanna take my time with my pretty girl, gonna make you feel so good." He spoke softly but it went one in and out the other, you wanted him to fuck you stupid, now.

You were soaking wet already and Adam had barely touched you, you'd be embarrassed if you weren't so desperate. He had already stretched you out with his fingers so you would be able to take him and now, you were just waiting for him to hurry up and fuck you.

Finally, as if he had read your mind, Adam grabbed his cock and let out a groan, his head falling back. He was so painfully hard, his pink tip leaking pre-cum as he gave himself a few pumps.

He led his cock slowly into you, stretching you out perfectly. You gripped the sheets, your cunt burning at the sensation. He let out a sigh of relief as he entered you, making you clench around him. He wasn't even halfway inside you yet and you already felt completely full.

"Can't take it," you mumbled out non-coherently, your mind being completely on Adam and the way he was making you feel.

"Have a little more trust baby, you can take it." He groaned as he moved your legs up on his shoulders, then put one of his hands on your hips, the other going to clutch your hand. "You got it, sweetheart."

He slowly bottomed you out, making you squirm under him. You felt him all the way in your stomach as he held himself there for a few seconds, letting adjust. You couldn't help but whine under him, gripping his hand. Adam looked down and saw the bulge right in your lower stomach, he immediately moved his hand on top of it and pushed down softly, making you arch.

"Adam!" You moaned out in pleasure, your eyes beginning to tear up from all teasing he'd done previously.

"Doing so good for me, baby. So fucking good." Adam kneeled down and gave you a sloppy kiss before he started to fuck into you, swallowing all yours moans, your head falling back in utter pleasure.

As he fucked you into the mattress, your legs had already began to shake on his shoulders from the impact. You couldn't even think straight, you didn't have anything in your head right now; you were only here, in this present moment.

"Told ya you can take it, baby." He groaned as he thrusted into you, his hands on your hips, pushing you down into the mattress. "Good fucking girl," he punctuated with each thrust.

He missed you so much, with being gone so often now he barely had time for you so he had to make sure anytime he'd gotten with you, he puts it to good use. He couldn't even focus, you were so warm and fit him perfectly, he was convinced you were made for him.

His once calculated and deep thrusts turned messy and sporadic but you didn't care, it felt so fucking good. It felt like the whole room was shaking at the impact as he kept fucking you into the mattress.

You felt the pressure in your lower stomach build up and it finally snapped, hitting you like ton of bricks. Your whole body spasmed as you let out a borderline pornographic moan, gripping Adam's hand as a way to ground yourself. He came as soon as you did, spilling into you. He immediately fell down on top of you, breathing heavily.

-> make sure to check out my navigation or masterlist if you enjoyed! any interaction is greatly appreciated! <-

thank you for reading all the way through, as always ♡

[wintfleur]

𓈒 ୭ৎ ˖˙ ᰋ ── JULIETTE LECLERC PROFILE !

au masterlist - everything for the AU is under #🍂 ͡ ꒱ Juliette Leclerc

ᡣ𐭩 BASICS .ᐟ

name: Juliette Celeste Leclerc 

nicknames:

Julie (everyone) 

Lettie (family and close friends) 

jules (everyone) 

ette (brothers( 

lilo (her best friends) 

juliebug (mat and quinn) 

birthday and zodiac: November 15th 1999, Scorpio

location: Monte Carlo, Monaco (birthplace, current) 

ᡣ𐭩 ABOUT  .ᐟ

personality: julie has a complex personality, some say it resembled an onion; you have to pull back the layers before truly understanding her. The media and new people assume that she's cold, and honestly a bitch just because they truly don't know her. But in reality, she's honestly a very sweet person, she is on the quiet side, she's very confident in herself and her beliefs. She is very charming, charismatic, and flirty! When she's around the people she's comfortable with, she can be a little bubbly and giggily (mostly with mat and quinn). She has a very dry humor but it honestly just makes people love her more! Can be very sarcastic at times, is witty 

good traits: determined, loyal, hard-working, honest and loyal, protective of her family and friends, trustful, doesn't take shit from anyone 

bad traits: very self critical, can be too bold, brutal at times, distances herself when she's overwhelmed or emotionally hurt, 

quirks: having a resting bitch face, intense eye contact, spaces out when bored, rolls eyes, smiles sarcastically, 

likes: rain, musicals, going to ballets, trying out new restaurants, ranch life, swimming, buying swimsuits, her yacht, spending time with family, hot tubs, sightseeing, 

dislikes: rude and invasive fans, the paparazzi, stalkers, people who disrespect her family or friends, most f1 media, drive to survive, traffic 

hobbies: singing, running, baking, dancing, riding horses, music, hockey, playing tennis and golf, reading, journaling 

fears: being a failure, dying alone 

strengths: how hard-working she is, she never gives up, confident, tactical and her strategy, how smart and witty she is, her quick thinking 

weaknesses: perfectionism, talking about her feelings, self critical, can have a short fuse at times, 

languages spoken: 100% French, 100% English, 100% Korean, 36% Spanish. 

occupation/profession: f1 driver for redbull, singer, model, actress 

ᡣ𐭩 CAREER !

Profession  f1 driver

Team   Red Bull Racing

Debut Australia 2019

Trainer  Gabriel Guerrero

Race engineer   Théo Beaufoy

Manager  Anya DuPont

Assistant  Beatrice Roux

World championships   1 (2022)

Sponsors  Gucci

ᡣ𐭩 RELATIONSHIPS  .ᐟ

parents:

Hervé Leclerc 

Pascale Leclerc 

sibling(s):

Lorenzo Leclerc 

Charles Leclerc 

Arthur Leclerc 

best friends: max verstappen. lando norris, george russell, alex albon, hailee steinfeld, shawn mendes, victoria de angelis, lily rose depp

friends: most of the f1 grid, most of quinn and mat’s teammates, jack and luke hughes, ross lynch, zendaya, tom holland, lewis pillman, and many more 

love interest: Mathew Barzal and Quinn hughes 

pet(s): none yet 

ᡣ𐭩 MORE .ᐟ

scent: she has a large collection of different fragrances, from brand deals, pr, etc. she prefers aromatic fragrances, so she uses mostly Chanel and Gucci perfumes, her most used one is Chanel number 2, it's one of her signature scents!

outfits: it really depends on what she's doing, if it’s a casual day she likes wearing low waisted jeans, corset vest tops, mini skirts, sweaters, sundresses, it really depends! She loves wearing black, reds, and earth tones! She likes adding fishnets, lace and tights to her outfits, long scarfs, jean or leather jackets, she likes wearing blazers, definitely has an office siren aesthetic! She has a lot of clothes and she's always wanting to try something new, and is definitely known for her fantastic outfits! here's a link to her closet! 

accessories:  she loves accessorizing, she loves anything involving fashion really!! She has a large collection of different types of bags and sunglasses(she loves collecting them), they are definitely her favorite thing + jewelry, to accessorize with. She also has quite a lot of hats, mostly ball caps, beanies and berets. She also really loves utilizing long and thin scarves when she's wearing a short skirt or shorts. She also occasionally will wear a headband, heavily inspired by Blair waldorf. In the colder weather she's almost always rocking ear muffs. She absolutely loves wearing bayonetta glasses, she has so many pairs. Honorable mentions are leg and arm warmers. 

jewelry: she's a silver girl!  She loves rings, she usually has about four on at a time, small ones, chunky ones, one with crystals or gems, any type of rings really.  She loves layering necklaces. She also occasionally wears anklets and waist chains, it really depends on her outfit. With bracelets she wears all different types, charm bracelets, friendship bracelets, cuff bracelets, again it really depends on her outfit. 

makeup: isn't really the biggest fan of makeup, she prefers her bare face! She has her own personal makeup artist who does her makeup for her when she goes to events etc. but when she does do her own makeup, she really only does her eyes and lips! She prefers darker eye makeup, red or nude tones for her lips, sharp eyeliner and highlighter! 

scars: none 

sexuality: bisexual 

Height: 5’7

piercing(s): 1 in each ear, bellybutton

tattoo(s): she has this one on her lower back, and this one on her left arm. She wants to get more! 

face claim: Dua Lipa 

ᡣ𐭩 FAVORITES .ᐟ

food(s): pasta, sweets, almonds, pomegranates, cherries, steak, macaroons

drink(s): cherry coke, water, redbull, hot chocolate, shirley temples 

color(s): black, reds, earth tones 

animal(s): horses, cats, sloths 

bands and artist: måneskin, rihanna, ciara, lady gaga, gwen stefani, the weekend 

show(s): gossip girl, supernatural, game of thrones, criminal minds 

movie(s): the devil wears prada, scooby doo, mamma mia, lotr, twilight, 

person: her mom and younger brother arthur 

ᡣ𐭩 BACKGROUND  .ᐟ

julie was born on a rainy day in monaco, on november 15th, 1999

julie was a very quiet child, her parents worried that she would have trouble making friends so they put her in ballet when she was 5. 

julie was naturally very talented at ballet and she enjoyed it very much

she started karting when she was 6, still also doing ballet

she started equestrian sports when she was 12 and stopped when she was 15. 

julie quit ballet when she was 17, giving karting/driving all her attention. 

she had her debut in in f1, in 2019 for the team mercedes 

It was a fantastic year, she got four wins and 326 points. 

but she left Mercedes after one year, signing with redbull. 

in 2020 she dropped her first single 

she created her youtube channel in 2020, she now has surpassed 10 million followers 

her modeling career started in 2022, and it instantly kicked off, becoming a very successful and sought after model 

ᡣ𐭩 FUN FACTS  .ᐟ

Juliette drove for Mercedes in her rookie year, she got four wins and 326 points . . . fans of course were not happy that a female was dominating her rookie year, so of course a nasty rumor was created. The rumor that spread like hot fire was that Juliette was having an inappropriate relationship with Toto Wolff.

Which was false, Toto was like a father figure to Juliette but the fans didn’t care, booing her and trending hate for her on Twitter.

Juliette drove for Redbull for the next season, and is still driving for Redbull.

Juliette is known for being one of the most influential drivers on the grid, for the wide range of her career.

Juliette has dropped a few albums, some singles and ep’s, she’s a model, an ambassador for Gucci, and she has a YouTube channel with over 10 million subscribers, where she posts all different kinds of content, she’s walked on runways.

The interviewers love her (besides a few) a lot of fans say she’s like seb with how she has the habit of flirting with the female interviewers.

She is quite the flirt, confident with herself

She’s a party girl, in a club or on a yacht, she loves her parties !!

A lot of people assume she’s a bitch because of her resting face, her confidence and the way she doesn’t take any shit, but she’s genuinely a sweetheart.

Besides Lewis she is the driver that has the most celebrity friends

No one is surviving eye contact with her, in the words of lando “she has a really strong gaze, very alluring — like a siren yeah”

The amount of dating rumors Lando and Juliette have is insane, but they are simply just best friends !!!

She loves swimming, she loves visiting tropical places

Everyone swears she’s a mermaid/siren for her love of the water

She has stated many times that her favorite sport besides f1 is hockey.

She has been seen coming to many hockey games, even having many friends that are hockey players.  (Trevor Zegras, Cole caufield and more)

She loves baking

She owns several houses all over the world

She is a major passenger princess

SHE IS THE IT GIRL

She hates coffee

She definitely loves going out and partying, but she also loves staying in.

She was such a daddy’s girl

She talks to her mom every single day

She loves and I mean loves running

No matter how hungover she is, she’s always having her morning run.

She loves and I mean loves horses !!

Her dream is to retire, buy her own ranch and just get a ton of horses to take care of and love, maybe her own vineyard.

Her most prized possession is her yacht . . .  That’s crazy to say omg.

She has kept all of her relationships a secret!

She loves doing collaborations

A character she’s most like is Blair waldorf

She’s a very strong woman, but sometimes things really get to her and she just needs space.

She has a bad habit of distancing herself from others when she’s hurt or upset

She’s been to 3 met galas

She will kick anyone’s ass in golf

‘The princess of Monaco’

She is very open about her crush on leighton meester

She’s a switch

She has a great relationship with everyone on the grid !

Her and Pierre have a love hate relationship

She has such a flirty personality, she loves making people flustered.

She’s a fantastic driver, and won’t let anyone tell her different just because she’s a girl.

She has said her grid son is ollie bearman

Yuki loves her sm! They are such a underrated duo

She loves hockey, but she’s a terrible skater

She hates drive to survive, they like to make her and max look like the villain.

She secretly can’t stand one driver on the grid.

She loves sleep sm

She’s genuinely such a family girl

She was the troublemaker of her family

She hates cold feet

Her brother’s friends have always had a crush on her and she loved teasing them about it.

She keeps her music taste a secret from the public

Lewis will always have her back no matter what, she’s his grid kid.

The public goes crazy for post race Juliette

She loves her team, she’s extremely close to all of them !!

She alternates from black to red hair a lot, but her hair is very healthy !!!

Doesn’t go anywhere without a pair of sunglasses

Macaroons are the way to her heart

A lot of people get surprised by how friendly she is

She loves game of thrones

She is not a lightweight

Is a really good dancer !! Did ballet for a long time

Low waisted pants are her best friend.

The only one who can rock Jorts

Always has red or black nails

She’s a silver girly

Has a private Instagram ‘@/lettiesworld’

°. — taglist ( @cixrosie @toasttt11 @lovings4turn )

˖ ་ 💭 roro’s notes ( so this is the introduction to juliette !! I really hope you guys like her, omg I’m so excited for this AU !!! I didn’t mention Mat and Quinn because they will have their own profile !!! Oh I’m so excited, please let me know what you guys think !!! )

©️WINTFLEUR

[buff-muffin]

Finally got around to reading some of those Lawlu fics i was recommended ages ago. I’ve only read a handful and do plan on read more of them but I’m so sad none of these fics capitalise on my favourite part of their dynamic.

Because something I’ve always found fun about them is that Law as a character always sees everything as an exchange, everything is a deal. I owe you's are important to law. He doesn’t do anything for anyone without an idea of something in return and he won’t accept help from anyone without any way to pay them back because he would rather DIE then be indebted to anyone. Because this was exactly how Doflamingo manipulated people. This is how he’s TAUGHT law the world works this is all he knows.

Many people think that he saved Luffy in Marineford out of sympathy or understanding after Law himself has lost so much and understands Luffy. But that's just not it to me. Law saw this crazy bastard willing to punch a CELESTICAL DRAGON, and probably thought something along the lines of "damn. i need him on my team." and what a fucking bargaining chip to hold over someone's head "I saved your life" is. Law was trying to get any form of control over Luffy because it would be smarter then making an enemy. So when Luffy and his crew pulled up to PunkHazard. Law probably just intended to use that ' I owe you' He still has on Luffy and try strike a deal. Little did law know. Luffy doesn't do deals, if he didn't want to do something he wont. and to Luffy he didn't owe Law anything. but between a plan to take down an emperor and a friend asking for help. he was in. Law is in on this alliance as a deal where Law gets to take down Doflamingo (and kaido) and Luffy gets to take down Kaido (and doflamingo.) But to Luffy, this was friends working together for a common end goal. So when things fall to shit and Law cant pay back Luffy for all the things he's doing for him. he cuts off the deal and the alliance because he cant be indebted. But Luffy does it anyways cause their friends. Luffy doesn't expect anything from Law for defeating Dofi. and Law has to grapple with this. grapple with this KINDNESS. the idea that he doesn't owe Luffy anything. the idea that Luffy simply did that because he cares about him. the idea that someone who doesn't even know all the sides of him, cared so much to take down someone who hurt him. its so foreign to Law. to just simply be cared for. Its genuinely one of my favourite parts of their dynamic even if its subtle and just my way of reading their dynamic

[toasttt11]

brownies

December 2, 2019

Hayden walked up to Connor and Leon’s house with Archie, she knocked on the door and heard Lenny bark once and the door opened revealing a smiling Lauren, “Hayden!” Lauren was beaming as she saw Hayden and pulled her into a quick hug, “I’m so glad you could come!”

“Thank you for having me.” Hayden politely said back and held up a dish, “I brought healthy brownies.” Hayden felt odd not brining anything and she has made a recipe for brownies that are diet friendly.

“Oh Connor is gonna love them.” Lauren smiled taking the dish knowing how much Connor loves chocolate.

Hayden un clicked Archie’s leash letting him into the house and start sniffing Lenny.

Another smaller dog came over to Archie and Lenny and started rubbing on Archie.

“That’s Bowie.” Lauren told Hayden as she led Hayden through her house and towards the living room where Connor, Leon and Celeste were sitting as the boys were watching a game.

Celeste had just gotten back in Edmonton the day before and she was excited to be able to meet Hayden.

Celeste looked up and beamed seeing Hayden she got up and walked over, “I’m Celeste! It’s so nice to finally meet you, Leon has told me so much about you.” Celeste kindly told the younger girl and held out her hand for a handshake.

“Hi i’m Hayden.” Hayden shook her hand, “Hopefully all good things?” Hayden asked teasingly with a small smirk.

“Oh definitely.” Celeste agreed laughing.

Hayden sat between Lauren and Celeste on the couch as Connor’s chef finished making dinner.

The dogs came trotting over and they all went right to Hayden, Hayden petted her dog first before petting the other two, “Hi Lenny and Bowie.” Hayden softly spoke to the two dogs and laughed slightly as Bowie jumped onto her lap and licked her cheek. Archie laid down on Hayden’s feet and Lenny rested his head on Hayden’s knees.

Lauren awed watching the dogs with Hayden and took a discrete photo of them and shared a soft smile with Celeste.

“Do you have plans for the holidays?” Celeste asked curiously wanting to know more about Hayden.

Hayden nodded, “Yeah my family is coming up here as i’m kinda in the middle of everyone.” Hayden told Celeste and Lauren who was apart of the conversation.

“Oh where do they all live?” Celeste titled her head curiously.

“Jack lives in Jersey playing for the Devils, Quinn lives in Vancouver playing for the Canucks and Ellen, Jim and Luke are in Michigan.” Hayden explained with a softer expression as she talked about the remaining of her family.

“How long have you know all of them?” Lauren asked knowing that the Hughes are family to Hayden.

“Since i was four and they moved in next store to me.” Hayden told the girls making them nod.

The chef finished dinner and they all got up heading to the dining table, Hayden sat at the end of the table with Lauren and Celeste on her other sides and the boys next to their own girlfriend.

Hayden made a humming sound as she took a bite of the pasta, it was an incredible, “Connor you’re not allowed to get rid of Sheridan.” Hayden sternly told Connor as she absolutely loved the food from the Chef.

Connor laughed, “Don’t worry i won’t.”

“He would never.” Lauren smirked teasingly at her boyfriend, she loves having a chef and loves how amazing the food is.

Hayden actually spoke up in some of the conversations as they all ate dinner.

The table was cleared after they all finished eating and they stayed around just talking with each other.

Lauren got up and went into the kitchen and grabbed the dish of brownies and brought them to the table with some little plates, “Hayden made us dessert.” Lauren told everyone flashing a smile at Hayden.

“Heathy brownies.” Hayden shrugged casually with a slightly nervous smile as she hasn’t cooked or baked much for others since her parents died.

Connor made a surprised sound as he took a bite and it tasted incredible, “It’s so good. Is there sugar in this?” Connor asked Hayden.

“None.” Hayden answered smiling slightly glad everyone seems to like it, “It’s a family recipe my mom made it.” It was her mom that made the recipe for her father when he was playing hockey and wanted something sweet but still okay with his diet.

“Thank you for sharing it.” Lauren squeezed Hayden’s arm slightly having a feeling it wasn’t easy for Hayden to make the brownies and share the recipe.

Leon and Celeste left a little after dessert but Lauren and Connor managed to convince Hayden to stay a little longer.

“Have you seen Connor’s shooting room?” Lauren asked with a mischievous smile knowing Hayden would love it.

“No.” Hayden shook her head.

“Come on i’ll show you.” Connor told her and gestured for his young rookie to follow him and Lauren followed them as well down to the shooting room.

Connor opened the door to his shooting room turning the lights on, “You want a stick?” Connor offered seeing Hayden looking around and he could tell she was itching to shoot a few pucks.

Hayden nodded, “Please.”

Connor flashed a smile and grabbed one of his sticks knowing Hayden could use it just find as she is only slightly shorter than him.

Hayden nodded in thanks as she took the stick and Connor used another stick and passed over a few pucks for her to shoot.

Lauren sat down on the small couch in the shooting room that Connor and her had gotten for her so she could sit and be with Connor when Connor is in the room.

Lauren has always known Connor is a incredible Captain and leader but seeing how gentle he is with Hayden and the way he’s seemed to take on a mentor role with Hayden more than he has ever with anyone else, it was heartwarming to see.

Lauren knows Connor sees a lot of himself in Hayden and wants to protect her.

[sunnyie-eve]

7. Rekindle

Fandom: House of the Dragon

Series: Devious Opportunity

Pairing: (Aegon II Targaryen x Cousin! OFC Targaryen!)

Word Count: 1.4k

Notes: Incest, Rhaenyra and Aegon making up,

| MASTERLIST |

Aegon didn't waste a second rushing to embrace her. She stood there knowing she shouldn't hug him back but she couldn't help it. "You shouldn't be in here." She says in the bone breaking hug.

"I know but I needed to see you." He holds her even tighter, "I tried to forget but I can't do it. I failed you. I'm sorry." He tears up wanting to stay like this forever but she gets out of the hug.

"Aegon, you have a child." She says meaning the one he has with Helaena.

"Not really..." He makes a face, "Everyone thinks she's mine when she's really Aemond's. I've never slept with Helaena or anyone else other than you." He tells her the truth. "I can't do it. I tried going to the brothel but none of them are you."

"Aegon..." She starts to get upset, "Why must you make this so hard? Once we leave going back, we go back to not seeing each other or taking."

"I don't want that anymore. I'm sick of drinking till I pass out to get you out of my mind. That doesn't even help because I dream about you." He grabs her hands.

"We can't. I can't let you get in trouble."

"It doesn't change anything. I'm still a disappointment to my mother. She hit me earlier and said I'm no son to her. I can try to forget about you but either way... I can't do anything right." He tells her, "I've been miserable since you left and even more since that night. I don't want to be alone."

Before she could say anything, Jace comes in with Dahlia on his back and Astraea on his hip. They were all laughing till he saw Aegon in the room. Aegon looks at the three and thinks the worst that his mother was right, she did move on from him.

"Umm..." Jace looks at Celeste.

"I'll take them. It's fine, thank you." She takes Dahlia off of Jace and he puts Astraea down before leaving the room quickly.

"Mother was right..."

"What?" She asks him, putting Dahlia down to go play with her sister and their toys.

"She said you moved on. I see she was right." He looks over at girls.

"I didn't move on." Celeste tells him truthfully, "It's impossible to move on when I have her in my life." She walks closer to him, "Aegon, technically speaking, you do have a child." She tells him the truth. She had to and what Jace said on the way there. She would know what to do when she saw him, "Two,"

"What?" He looks back at her.

"They're your daughters. Like you, I have not slept with anyone other than you."

"They're...they're mine?" He asks in shock so she nods her head.

"There's Dahlia." She looks over at her so Dahlia looks over at them watching her. She gives them a huge smile before going back to her toys. "And Astraea," She adds so Astraea looks back hearing her name as well before turning back around. "I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell you."

"Why would you not want to tell me?"

"I don't know." She tells him truthfully.

Aegon looks back over at girls playing then walks over bending down to their level, "Hi," He gives them a smile.

They both look at him and then Astraea holds out a toy to him, "Hi." She gives him a smile, "I Astraea, you?" She asks him.

"I'm Aegon." He smiles taking the toy from her, "And you?" He smiles at Dahlia so she says her name too. As he plays with them, Dahlia stops to look at him and he notices, "What?" He asks as she stands up stepping closer to him touching his face looking him in the eyes.

Dahlia doesn't say anything as she starts to smile pinching his cheeks before running over to Celeste giggling wanting her to pick her up. "Why did you leave Aegon?" She asks her, "You can trust him. He's family like uncle Jace and Luke."

"Egg," Astraea pokes Aegon to get his attention making them laugh at her. She opens her arms wanting to be picked up so he does what she wants.

"I should go before someone starts looking for me." Aegon walks over to Celeste with Astraea to pass her off, "I'll see you around." He smiles at the girls before walking towards the pathways.

"Aegon," Celeste stops him, "I'm sorry for what I told you last time we saw each other.."

"I never believed the words that left your mouth that day." He smiles leaving them just at Rhaenyra enters the room.

"You all right?" She asks her.

"Yes," She turns to face her.

"Perhaps you had a visitor?" She smiles slightly, "Did you tell him the truth?"

Celeste puts the girls down and they go back to play, "I did. He told me that Alicent had told him I moved on so he thought I did. The pain in his voice hurt me so I told him the truth. Before telling him, I brought up Helaena's little girl and he told me she's not his like everyone thinks. Her father is Aemond truthfully."

"Did you use the word father around them?" Rhaenyra looks at the twins.

"No, we didn't. Aegon introduced himself by name and I said he was family as well. Dahlia wasn't very shy around him but she also didn't know him well enough. And then you know how her sister is."

Rhaenyra nods her head, "I wanted to just come check on you being here."

"I'm fine, thank you."

When Rhaenyra leaves Celeste's room, she makes her way to Aegon's apartments to chat with him about things but mainly about him and Celeste. Arriving the guard outside the door announces her to him as she walks into his room and he was looking out the window.

"Rhaenyra...sister." He turns to face her surprise she came to see him.

"Brother..." She says and they just look at each other.

"What brings you here?" He asks her.

"Celeste tells me you met the twins secretly sneaking around." She rests her hands on her belly.

"I did, I still cannot believe that they exist. They're beautiful little things and take after their mother." He nods his head going to take a seat.

"I thought you might like to know that Daemon no longer has a dislike for you. Once Celeste found out she was with child she had happy tears, Daemon started to see how much you really meant to her. Then when they were born he apologized for how he acted with all the letters."

"It is nice to know that he doesn't want to kill me." He chuckles a bit and she laughs as well, "Only if my mother and Grandfather would get over it as well. I could be truly happy."

"I know how you feel, Aegon. At one point I had to do what was expected of me as well." She walks over taking a seat across from him.

"I do not want to take the throne from you. You are the heir to it not me. Father wants you to have it not me. He's had plenty of chances to change his mind but he has not." He looks over at her, "I mean it, Rhaenyra."

"What do you want?" She asks knowing the answer to it anyways but she wanted to hear him say it.

"I want to be happy...with Celeste and the girls. I want to give them what I did not have growing up. I want to be with someone who has always cared about me. Someone I know who loved me even when I was a pain in her ass growing up."

"Then stand up to those around you or you will be stuck, Aegon." She gets up to sit next to him, "I know we never were close and that is mainly on me, sadly. I know father always wanted a son and when Alicent had you... I was upset. I'm sorry for never trying or treated you like a brother." She apologizes.

Aegon nods his head, "I don't blame you. He may have wanted a son but I will never be loved like he loves you. I think deep down I hated you because you get to experience that love I never have. Nothing beats first born love."

"I'm glad we could make amends." She gets up heading towards the door to leave.

"You'll make a good queen, sister." He tells her before she opens the door. She turns to face him and they share a smile before she leaves him.

[marlinspirkhall]

I watched the unaired Selection pilots so you don't have to

But, if you want to, you can do so here, and here (password: “selection”), credit to Media Garage on YouTube

Edit: links no longer active

The Selection (2012)

Strong Hunger Games vibes throughout, the plain-text opening screen isn't helping

Stock-footage of rolling hills gets replayed way too much

ETHAN PECK?

Unlike in the books, America only finds out she's been entered into The Selection after she gets selected, so the plot point about the photoshoot & her radiant smile being the thing which gets her selected no longer applies, I guess

Everyone in the YouTube comments was saying that Aspen and Maxon were miscast & the actors' roles should have been swapped (... No comment. I believe in you, Mr Peck)

This castle is looks too small to fit 24 TV show contestants in it

Fiona, unprompted: “Can you keep a secret, America?”

America: “I have been known to”

Fiona: “I play the violin”

Okay? (This is actually a very sweet moment and, again, Fiona may be the best actress in this)

This episode covered a significant portion of the first book, out of order, which makes me wonder if the intention was to cover all 3 books in one series.

This almost feels like half of a film, making me wonder if someone adapted a film spec script into a tv show spec script

Apparently, Fiona has a secret child and Celeste knows about it, causing Fiona to drop out on day one and tearfully warn America to “trust no one, there's no such thing as friends here”- which is a fucking wild thing to say when she's probably the only contestant who's been nice to America so far & Celeste didn't even need to get to know her to know her secrets because she has spies anyway 😭

It's worth reminding you that they have been at the palace for one entire day total

You think Queen Amberly is being fleshed out in this version but... Hmm

Amberly appears to be the one pulling the strings from behind the scenes (she confronts Celeste about extorting Fiona, tells her "she would have gone home in due time" and to "leave America to me. Anything we do to try and separate them [her and Maxom] will only make him want her more")

Again: IT HAS BEEN A DAY

America sees her servant gathering all her dresses (none of which she has used yet, bar the yellow and green ones) including the iconic blue one from the book cover. America asks what's happening and the servant replies: “Prince Maxom's orders”

Cut to America's family. They open a box with a glittering pair of high heels inside. I guess this is supposed to mirror the part of the book where Maxom cuts off the stipend for 2's and 3's who are in the selection?

If you think this version feels unfaithful to the book, just wait until you see The CW's pilot

IT HAS BEEN ONE DAY

Runtime: one day 45 minutes

Final rating: 5/10, kinda long and stiff in places and the set design was all over the place. Felt like a Hallmark movie (the set design didn't help). Probably would watch another episode of this if it was a full series or a limited series of 3-6 episodes. A little script-doctoring and a better set would work wonders.

The Selection (2013)

I cannot stress enough: this version begins with a sex scene between Maxom and a servant

Okay, I got ahead of myself; it actually begins with another hunger-games-esque black screen with text on it, text which reads “Someday, in the future”, which is read aloud by a woman's voice.

We zoom in on a much roomier-looking castle on a hill, as a random whip sound effect plays (leading into the sex scene, in which no whips are present)

All the female servants in the palace are dressed in sexy maid costumes and I wish I was kidding

The world map explaining the history of Illea is CONFUSING AS HELL, but maybe they hadn't nailed down all the details yet. I'm genuinely not sure

ANTONY HEAD?

Aspen is introduced tied to a St Andrew's cross and being watched over by a guard. America asks the guard to free him, he chases her through the streets, she circles back and cuts Aspen down

America's selection is similar to the 2012 pilot, except Aspen is present. America asks her mom why she'd enter her into the selection when “You know I'm with Aspen”, so uh, I guess they're not keeping it a secret here.

There's also no mention of Aspen being of a lower caste than her, nor of America having a job other than the vague title of "laboring class" which hangs over them all, vaguely

This is a masterclass in editing and pacing. The dialogue is okay, but the added geopolitics make no sense. Any issues with this are smoothed over by the fact that the plot keeps moving forwards at a breakneck pace to keep you distracted.

The lack of breathing room would probably be too confusing for an audience who wasn't already familiar with The Selection

The set here is absolutely beautiful but unfortunately it gives me Merlin vibes, and casting Antony Head as the king does not help with this.

Maxon attempts to pull a Mr Darcy. He then tells America that if she runs away with Aspen, the guards will beat him to a pulp and they'll both spend the rest of their lives in prison. America suggests that she make the monarchy look good so the working class don't side with the rebels. Looks like we're going full Hunger Games.

Celeste's handmaiden seems way too devoted to her; they turn out to be lovers

Just when you think Maxon might start redeeming himself, we see the palace guards swarm Aspen and kicking him. Maxom stands nearby on his horse overseeing this so there's no question of whether he did it or not

Final rating: 6/10, I would absolutely watch another episode of this. It was an absolute mess, but I've seen teen wolf, so I'm not gonna pretend I'm above it.

This feels like the kind of pilot which would get greenlit just to attract hateviewers.

Summary:

Neither protagonist had red hair and neither adaptation was trying particularly hard to give it to her (2012: dark red box dye. 2013: blonde!)

These actors are doing their best and some of them even seem to be having fun (good for them)

In the 2013 pilot, the writers lampshade America running around “like an action hero”, but she promptly forgets how to do that by the midpoint of the episode, so w/e

It feels like the 2013 pilot was a reworking of the 2012 pilot, because there were too many similarities carried over from one script to another which weren't present in the original book, like Fiona having a secret relationship.

I forgot to mention that Aspen has a brother in the 2013 pilot. He seems to be adapted from the palace guard who has a relationship with one of the contestants in a later book.

I can't get over how fucking weird of a decision it is to make the kind and likeable love interest into a power-corrupt despot, but it does feel more true to an actual monarchy. I assume they were trying to give Maxon a bad-boy vibe, which doesn't make much sense because that's supposed to be Aspen's whole deal.

There was a whole subplot in both pilots where an advisor character is revealed to be working with the rebels at the end of the episode

Extremely funny to me that the 2012 pilot makes a point of mentioning that sex before marriage is illegal and the 2013 pilot opens with premarital sex with the prince regent

[elite-four-grimsley]

((Important OOC Note: This blog was previously located @grimsley-official. A good majority of the lore from that blog has carried over to this one, meaning that this Grimsley is the EXACT same Grimsley as before. Please read the pinned in it's entirety for details regarding my specific interpretation of Grimsley.))

Hello there~✨

My name’s Grimsley, though you likely already know that. Hm, I've been here for quite some time now. In fact, I've come to find such a place to be thoroughly entertaining ahaha~!

You may find some details below the cut to be useful to you~

Hmm… I’ll include some basic information. My pronouns are he/him, but I'm certainly more than comfortable in expressing myself beyond gender norms.

I’m 25 years old at the moment… But some people here insist I may be centuries old, ahaha~✨

I stand at six foot exactly… A bit tall, but not amazingly so~

As for my Pokémon, I’ll list them all below:

Liepard ♀ - Violeta

Scrafty ♂ - Cyril

Krookodile ♀ - Nyx

Bisharp ♀ - Celeste

Sharpedo ♂ - Haven

Absol ♀ - Ezra

Drapion ♂ - Juno

Houndoom ♂ - Ferryn

Tyranitar ♀ - Odette

Honchkrow ♀ - Lucie

Clefairy ♀ - Sonata

Torracat ♂ - Samson

Purugly ♀ - Silvia

Luxray ♀ - Ellie

Poochyena ♀ - Chimney

Impidimp ♂ - Merri

Shiny Nickit ♀ - Spade

Eevee ♂ - Rosemary

Nymble ♀ - (TBD)

((OOC NOTE: Please read before interacting!!

ICON CREDIT!!

Hey hey! Welcome to my Pokémon rp blog. On this blog I will be pretending as if the world of Pokémon is 100% real. This being said, I will be including pkmn irl/pkmn rp tags in each post that fits that description as a warning.

Friendly reminder that if you try to engage a plot with me or any kind of offscreen rp experience without at least discussing it with me first, then I will likely not respond. Even if you do approach me with something in mind, there is no guarantee I will engage. Also I tend not to interact or engage in any big events. They tend to become overwhelming for me and you’ll most likely never find me becoming a part of them. Please don’t send in asks regarding big events.

If you are looking to interact with my muse, and your muse is tied to some potentially triggering topics, I would prefer if you discussed potential interactions with me first. This is for my own comfort, so please keep this in mind.

Admin is an adult! If this makes you uncomfortable then move along.

This is an RP blog. This means I will be trying my best to roleplay as Elite Four member Grimsley with the [very] limited information we have on him. I will be including several headcanons* of mine regarding this character, though none of them are too drastic.

Please be aware that when I am talking as Grimsley, I will use casual teasing, sarcasm, and occasional flirting. If you are uncomfortable with this, it may be in your best interest to move along. If something ever comes off as rude/mean, it does not reflect how I actually feel and is just how I believe Grimsley would react.

Topics of gambling and addiction to gambling will be a reoccuring theme on this blog. You have been warned.

This blog is SFW, save for vaguely suggestive topics. Anything that is deemed as explicitly NSFW will be deleted on sight.

Another warning. This blog may often be involved in long RP threads. I won’t be using any programs to cut my long posts short. If this bothers you, I would recommend skipping this blog or blocking the tag “long post” or “rp thread”.

I also want to acknowledge the version of Grimsley we see in Pokémon Sun and Moon. Grimsley as we see him in SM is technically retired as a member of the Elite Four, so I will NOT be roleplaying as this specific version of Grimsley (for now). This is to not complicate things timeline-wise.

This version of Grimsley I’m roleplaying is set after the events of Pokémon Black2 and White2.

*As stated before this blog was previous @grimsley-official. Because of this, several blog specific headcanons and lore details have carried over.

Here is a list of things I find important to take note of:

-Grimsley is bisexual and identifies as cis/gender non-conforming.

-He is in a relationship with Gym Leader Burgh. This relationship had played out with a previous Burgh blog that I am no longer in contact with. Because of this, assume his relationship with Burgh developed offscreen. Grimsley is currently engaged to Burgh. Questions about their relationship are welcome!

-Grimsley has several already established friendships with people such as @/castelia-pidove and @/darkpunkrocker. He is also the Uncle of Piers and Marnie @/piers-official.

-He has several Pokémon that are not canon to ingame Grimsley. Many of them were gifts or obtained via small plotlines. If you have any questions about where he got a Pokémon feel free to ask!

Find a deep dive I made on my Grimsley muse here.

Also! I follow and like from @ripoff-robbie-rotten.

DNI: Proshippers, TERFS, and NSFW blogs))

[munson-blurbs]

I am thinking older Eddie? 🤔 he's not nearly as confident as he used to be but meets his dream gal at maybe a concert? Gets his groove back. Maybe he's a single dad who feels like he hasn't had time or energy to be himself anymore and she makes him feel like that again?

I just feel like you'll be able to really make it so good.

Warnings: none--all fluff :)

WC: 2.7k

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

“Okay, his bedtime is 7:30 PM, but if you get him down before 8:30, I’ll be amazed,” Eddie tells his uncle, grabbing his guitar case and slinging it over his shoulder. “He’s in that phase where he only wants to eat macaroni and cheese, so just go with that tonight. No need for you to fight with him over it.”

Wayne chuckles, bouncing the toddler on his hip. “And when will you be out of your ‘only eating macaroni and cheese’ phase?” he asks Eddie, who promptly flips him off in response. “Hey! Not in front of the impressionable kid!”

“Daddy will see you when you wake up tomorrow,” Eddie promises his son, pressing a quick kiss to his scalp. “Be good for Grandpa.”

“Oh, he’s always good for me,” Wayne says, making a funny face at the little boy. “Isn’t that right, Kirk?” He frowns as Kirk’s tiny bottom lip quivers and he reaches out for his dad. “C’mon, buddy; Dad has to go to his concert!”

“No!” Kirk whines, crocodile tears streaming down his chubby cheeks. Eddie’s heart pangs, and he second guesses his decision to go out.

As though he can read his nephew’s mind, Wayne tuts at Eddie’s hesitation. “Nuh-uh, absolutely not. You haven’t done anything for yourself since this troublemaker was born.” He wipes a tear from Kirk’s face and blows a raspberry into his belly. A mix of giggles and sobs leaves the boy’s throat. “We’re gonna be just fine. Now, go.” He practically shoves Eddie out the door. 

It’s been ten years since Eddie graduated from Hawkins High. The day he crossed that stage, middle fingers aimed at his exasperated principal, he’d vowed never to return to this shithole town. And he’d kept that promise up until two years ago. Kirk was only five months old when Celeste had up and left, claiming that she couldn’t handle the stress of motherhood any longer. She’d left her key to their dingy apartment on the countertop, along with the engagement ring Eddie had saved so long to buy her. He’d pawned it a few weeks later, desperate to scrounge up some money for baby formula. And when that money ran out, he’d found himself back in his hometown, bunking with his uncle. Again. 

The goal was to move out, get a little place for himself and Kirk, and give Wayne his trailer—and his freedom—back. After years of raising his brother’s kid, the last thing he probably wanted was to help raise his nephew’s. For the most part, Eddie’s able to balance his job as a telemarketer and fatherhood, especially since he mostly works from home. But on the days where he has to schlep into the office, he relies on Wayne for child care. His salary is decent, and he has medical coverage for himself and his kid, but he hates working a nine-to-five desk job. 

He tunes the radio to a classic rock station, bypassing whatever saccharine pop songs repeat on the Top 40 channels. A smile tugs at his lips when he hears the familiar bridge. 

Master, master

Where’s the dreams that I’ve been after?

Master, master

You promised only lies

It takes him back to a time where his only worries were passing O’Donnell’s class and planning sadistic Hellfire campaigns. Now, his life revolves around potty training and quelling temper tantrums. But even on his most exhausting days, like when he makes Kirk exactly what he wants for lunch, and the kid flips the plate onto the floor, he would do anything for him. He’d choose his son one thousand times over.

Did I leave the number to the club in case of an emergency? he thinks, slamming on the brakes and nearly causing a collision before remembering that he’d jotted it down on a notepad and given it to Wayne. 

It’s been too long since he’s played in front of anyone, save for lullabies to get Kirk to sleep. But Gareth was coming back to Indiana for a weekend, and he’d damn near begged the guys for a one-night only Corroded Coffin reunion. Eddie didn’t have the heart to turn him down.

He looks over his shoulder into the backseat, catching a glimpse of Kirk’s car seat. Who would’ve thought that the teenager who used to try to hook up with girls in the back of the van–emphasis on try–would now spend his time cleaning out Cheerio crumbs between the seats?

Pulling into the parking lot, Eddie breathes out a nervous sigh. He’s been practicing every day, all the covers they used to play back in the mid-80s, but he doesn’t have the same confidence he did back when they jammed out at the Hideout. Being a parent certainly knocks you down a few pegs, has you questioning yourself all too often.

“Here goes nothing,” he mutters to himself, pulling his guitar from the trunk and heading into the club. 

“Hey, man! Long time no see!” Jeff claps him on the back, and Gareth pulls him in for a hug. “Jesus, it’s been years.”

“You didn’t bring the kid?” Gareth asks, peering around.

Eddie just laughs. “Nah, ‘s a little past his bedtime. Plus,” he adds, “I don’t want him starting school and singing ‘Hot for Teacher.’” The rest of the band shares a chuckle and starts warming up.

“Did you guys check out the bartender?” Trevor asks, tuning his bass. “She’s a cutie, if any of you wanna chat her up later.”

Gareth snorts. “Eddie’s the only single one out of us; and we all know how he is with the ladies.” He turns to his friend. “Seriously, when’s the last time you got any, dude?”

Too long, Eddie thinks, but just gives Gareth a friendly shove. “Your mom gave it to me good last night.” He grins as Jeff and Trevor chime in with a chorus of oohs. But he’s curious about this bartender, so he peeks around the curtain.

And there you are.

“Holy shit,” he breathes. You’re wearing a black tank top that frames your chest perfectly, paired with a denim miniskirt. Your eyes crinkle as you giggle at something a patron says, and Eddie feels himself melt. “She’s, like, really fuckin’ pretty.” His eyes widen. “Should I talk to her?”

“Let’s play our set first, all right Casanova?” Jeff jokes. “Impress her with your kickass vocals and guitar skills, if you’ve still got ‘em.”

Eddie gives him the middle finger, but he’s wondering the same thing. He doesn’t have time to explore it further before the emcee is announcing Corroded Coffin. “Showtime, boys!” Eddie calls out, hoping no one catches the warble in his voice.

Forty minutes later, the four guys jog off the stage, drenched in sweat and filled with adrenaline.

“That…was…awesome!” Trevor shouts, high-fiving the rest of them. “We can still rock after all these years!”

Eddie’s grinning so wide, his lips could stretch off of his face. “Hell yeah, we do! Woooo!” He grabs a towel and wipes his forehead and back of his neck. He feels like he’s on top of the world; nothing he’d bought from Reefer Rick ever gave him this type of high. He clenches the guitar pick that hangs around his neck; it’s just like the one he wore in high school, except this one has a photo of Kirk on it. Wayne had it custom made for Kirk’s first Christmas. Your old man was a rockstar tonight, little buddy, he thinks, hopefully, you’ll be able to watch me in action someday.

His thoughts are interrupted by a light knocking. He turns around to see you standing in the doorway, holding a tray with four ice-cold glasses of water. “You boys thirsty?” you ask, flashing a smile that could knock him right off of his feet.

“Eddie sure is,” Jeff mutters with a smirk, which disappears as soon as Eddie shoots him a glare. If looks could kill, Jeff would be six feet under right about now.

You cock your brow with a confused expression, but Eddie just shoves his hands in his pockets and meanders over. “Thanks,” he mumbles, plucking a glass from the tray.

“Are you…Eddie?” You look up at him through your lashes, gazing into his chocolate brown eyes. 

“Thas’ me,” he says with a small laugh. “Did you like the show?” He could smack himself; you probably tuned out the music at this point. Especially loud metal covers by a bunch of late twenty-somethings.

He’s surprised by your enthusiastic nod. “Yeah, you guys are amazing! It was a nice change from the grunge bands that usually play.” You wrinkle your nose. “The other day, we had someone come in who only sang Spice Girls songs. That was interesting.”

Eddie laughs, despite his nerves. “Was she any good, at least?”

“No,” you reply pointedly, “he was not.” You motion towards his empty cup. “Want a refill? Or maybe something stronger?”

“Maybe just a Shirley Temple; he’s gotta get up in the morning with his kid,” Gareth pipes up, and Eddie whips his dirty towel at his head.

Your eyes soften. “You have a kid?” It’s not an accusation, nor is it said with disgust, which Eddie is all-too used to. 

“Y-Yeah, a two-year-old,” he stammers, leaning forward slightly to show the guitar pick necklace with his son’s photo on it. “His name’s Kirk.”

“As in Hammett, or as in Captain?” you tease. “Or both?”

Eddie runs a hand through his tangled curls. “Hammett; definitely Hammett,” he answers with a chuckle. “Kid’s probably cooler than him, too.”

“Well, his dad is a total rockstar, so I’m not surprised,” you shrug. “C’mon back to the bar with me, and I’ll get you that Shirley Temple. On the house,” you add.

Jeff waggles his eyebrows and Trevor lets out a low wolf-whistle as Eddie follows you. Gareth is still traumatized from the towel incident to mess with him.

He used to flirt with bartenders all the time; the more out of his league they were, the more fun it was to shoot his shot. But he’s out of practice now, and it doesn’t help that he’s completely intimidated by you.

Think, Munson, think, he wills himself. “So, uh, what’s your name?” You give him your name, and he smiles. “That’s a kickass name, yeah.” A ‘kickass name’? That’s the best you could come up with?

You only laugh at his response. “I mean, I’m not named after Kirk Hammett, but it’s not half bad.”

“Nah, it’s a good name.” Okay, enough with the name, Jesus. “How long have you been a bartender?”

“Feels like forever,” you muse. “It’s my night gig; just a way to make money while I’m working on my novel.” You drop some maraschino cherries into a clean glass. “Fun fact: thinking about publishing a book pays zero dollars.”

“You’re an author?” Eddie asks incredulously. “What kinda book are you writing?”

A blush creeps into your cheeks. “An aspiring author, I guess,” you say shyly, “but it’s a fantasy novel, like a Lord of the Rings type of thing.”

His eyebrows shoot up. “You’ve read Tolkien?” Duh; she literally just compared her work to his. Why else would she do that?

“He’s one of my favorite authors,” you admit, pouring the sweet grenadine and ginger ale before sliding the glass to him. “Him, Stephen King, Mary Shelley…”

“No fuckin’ way,” he breathes, and you look at him quizzically. “I mean, I’ve never met someone so pretty who was also into fantasy.” 

You giggle at the compliment. “Well, maybe we could talk more about it sometime? Like, when I’m not on the clock?”

Eddie’s head spins at the offer. “You drink coffee?” he blurts out. He couldn’t stand the stuff when he was younger, but after far too many sleepless nights with a colicky infant, he’d acquired a taste for it.

“I do,” you nod, grabbing the pen from behind your right ear and snatching the nearest unused napkin you can find. “Let me give you my phone number, if you wanna call me.”

They’re the most beautiful ten digits Eddie’s ever seen. “If I wanna…of course, yeah, that sounds great.” He folds the napkin carefully before putting it in his pocket, not wanting to smudge the ink. “I’ll call you tomorrow afternoon?”

“I’ll be at home, writing,” you laugh. “See you around, Eddie.”

“Yeah, see ya…thanks for your number,” he manages before darting back to the band, beaming like a kid who just woke up to a pile of presents on Christmas morning. “Oh, shit,” he says suddenly, reaching into his wallet and fumbling for some cash, pulling out a crumpled five-dollar bill.

“I told you,” you remind him with the smile that makes him swoon, “I’ll cover this one. Use the money you’re saving to buy something awesome for Kirk.”

Eddie shakes his head. “Gotta at least leave a tip for excellent service. And for managing not to tell those idiots back there to shut the fuck up.” Although he wouldn’t have been mad if you had. At this point, he didn’t think there was anything you could do that would turn him off.

“Nah, they’re harmless,” you wave off his statement. “Trust me, that’s nothing compared to some of the things guys say to me.” You shudder at the memory of the perverted statements leaving their whiskey-soaked lips.

Eddie sits up straighter. “Like what?” he asks, voice brimming with concern. 

“Oh, you know.” You try to sound casual. “Commenting on my body, grabbing my ass, asking to take me home–even when I can see that they’re wearing a wedding ring.”

“Sounds like you need a bodyguard,” he muses, taking a sip of his drink, rings clinking against the glass. The sugar perks him up as soon as it hits his tongue. 

“You offering?” It comes out more salacious than you’d anticipated, but you’re not about to take it back. The look on his face is priceless; he’s clearly not used to people flirting with him so brazenly. 

You watch as Eddie gives a shy smile, caught off-guard yet again. He toys with his necklace before answering. “Gotta earn my free drinks somehow. Otherwise, I’m just a mooch.”

“Yeah, but you’re a really cute mooch, so…” you giggle, wiping down the bar with a nearby towel. “I’d call it even.”

He nearly chokes on his drink. You think he’s cute? Really cute? He wants to ask if it’s a joke, or a prank that the guys put you up to. But you seem so genuine, and it’s been years since anyone has made him feel this special, so he swallows his insecurities. “Th-thanks,” he stutters. “I think it’s mostly the guitar; makes me look like a big shot.”  

“I think it’s your eyes. Or your smile,” you counter, placing your hand on top of his. “But the guitar certainly doesn’t hurt.” You glance down at his ringed fingers. “None of these symbolize an everlasting union, do they?”

“Nope,” he replies, popping the p dramatically. “Just my commitment to tacky jewelry.”

You laugh, leaning in a bit closer to him. “I think I can handle that.” And for a moment, the world stops as Eddie’s breath hitches. He’s desperate to kiss you, but he’s sticky with sweat and doesn’t want to do anything in the dingy bar where you work. No, you deserve a nice date at a fancy restaurant with a freshly-showered Eddie Munson.

“Hey, Romeo!” Jeff calls out, walking towards the two of you with the rest of the band. “Wanna grab some pizza before your carriage turns back into a pumpkin?”

No, Eddie thinks crossly, I want to stay here and talk to the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen until closing time. 

“I’ve gotta get back to work anyway,” you reassure him. “But we can continue this conversation over that coffee date.”

Eddie visibly relaxes at the mention of your next meeting. “Abso-fuckin-lutely,” he agrees. And before he can wimp out, he presses his lips to your cheek, watching as your cheeks tinge a delicious shade of pink. 

Look at you, Munson. Back in the game.

--

[lucymultistan]

ATEEZ Masterlist

ALL CREDIT IS DUE TO THEIR RIGHTFUL OWNERS, I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THIS- these are just my favorite fics :)

Most of these are OT8, Cuz I’m a slut.

Full fics:

Into the aurora

summary: you didn’t expect to run into choi san outside of the venue, especially when your phone was dead and you were stranded in a random city. a kind offer for a phone charger turns into so much more, and you end up falling into a relationship with all eight members of ateez.

inherited demons

"When my beloved Great Aunt Lilith passed away, I inherited all that belonged to her: her fortune, estate, and also the eight 'charges’ that lived with her since the last time I saw her. Except none of that sounded right, I didn’t even know she had others living with her after 4 years. I just wanted to uncover the hidden truths my beloved Aunt left me, but that was impossibly hard while dealing with the affections of 8 gorgeous men that didn’t seem human at all.”

or

mc inherits her aunts things only to find out Auntie made a deal with some demons and all those demons wanted was MC

Hotel California

YN checks in to a hotel ran by yandere!Ateez, the boys decide she can no longer leave

Mists of Celeste

summary: Sneaking aboard the ship of a renowned space pirate may not have been the best idea, but you’ll have to make do with what fate has handed to you.

The Paradigm complex

summary: They'll do whatever you ask. Anything you need. Anything you want. It's yours. They'll fulfill your every desire and whim. Give you the life you had always dreamed about.And in exchange, you wouldn't just give them your soul. Oh, no, They weren't demons. What good was your soul when your purpose was better served alive and well? Your soul was nice, sure, but it wasn't all they wanted. It wasn't all they needed. They needed your body, your mind. Your blood. You entirely. Every single fiber of your being would soon be theirs and theirs alone. The moment you signed that contract, everything would change. For them and for you. And there was nothing you could do about it.

Morning Mist

Dragon!Ateez, OT8

In Love and Lore

summary: the daemon king and his seven black generals. names and faces of these eight had changed over the years as each new king was crowned, but their reputation as the most powerful daemons always remained the same. upon hearing the rumors one of the seven led the charge of the nearby battle, you should have stayed close to the encampment. you should have never wandered out on your own. but you did, and your life would never be the same again. good or bad, you would just have to wait to find out.

“There’s no need to be afraid, angel.” His words were a breath against the side of your neck. “You’ve done so much for us, let your king now return the favor.”

One-Shots/ Drabbles:

Slumber party

you’re best friends with yunhos sister and after a night out he came to pick you up and bring you back to his shared college dorm with 7 other guys :’)

Wider:

[theamityelf]

What about normal Makoto in a room full of his kamakurized friends? 👀

Lol, immediately this brought to mind a kind of inversion of the Undead AU, where the lucksters instead have to take care of super genius versions of their classmates.

But let's put that aside for now.

(I'm making this one a new AU, so the Kamukura 78th class get the same characterization as before, but the backstories from the Kamukuras AU are changed so that instead they were just all entered into the Kamukura Project at the same time. Presumably Izuru Kamukura still exists as the first success and they took that success as a green light to do the same thing with fifteen more kids. None of them have met Izuru, though; he's in the basement of Hope's Peak, and they're at some secondary location where the many people who would be looking for them can't find them.)

So, the scientists Kamukurify the whole 78th class, except Makoto. (Presumably they tricked them into signing off on it, but since some of them are definitely the type to thoroughly read a contract, I'm thinking it was just casually tossed in as a condition to attending.) This does raise the question of "When did they go through with the procedure, and where was Makoto while it was happening?" I'm going to say it happened over some kind of holiday or break, so when Makoto gets pulled in, he has no idea of how serious the danger is until after he's tossed into a room with all of them.

But yeah, the scientists just toss Makoto into a room with the Kamukuras and lock the door.

All of the Kamukuras would immediately reach the conclusion, "The scientists have given us a human plaything, and we're expected to share it, and I know someone is going to break it."

So everyone has one of four reactions:

Someone's going to break him, so it might as well be me.

Someone's going to break him unless I protect him, so I will.

Someone's going to break him, so no point taking an interest.

Someone's going to break him, so I'd better do something interesting with him before they do.

And because they're all Ultimate Analysts, they all know the exact mental journeys the others are on. The best of them are able to circumvent the worst possible outcome (which is, him dying immediately and no one gets to do anything with him and they don't get another one).

As soon as Makoto (again, super not knowing what he's in for) walks into the room, Sakura restrains Junko just to make sure she doesn't do anything to sabotage this chance at stimulation for the rest of them.

Hina runs up to Makoto like, "Interesting. They've never given us something like this before."

("The likeness is incredible," Chihiro's voice floats from somewhere near Hifumi, because Hifumi drew Makoto's face the previous day. "Your clairvoyance has improved, since you spoke with Hagakure." For his part, Hiro is just standing in the corner, looking like he's seen all of this before and doesn't mind an encore.)

"Hina?" Makoto looks around at all of them, confused. They all have shoulder-length hair, uncombed. It's a weird look, especially for those of them who used to have really long or really short hair. (Their hair hasn't grown Kamukura-length yet, since it was shaved for the procedure.) Their eyes are all bright red. "You look...different. Why are you talking like that?"

"He knows us," Celeste observes, having immediately decided to earn his loyalty on the assumption that he can be useful in getting her out. She keeps her hair tidier than any of the others, but Makoto is more focused on how even her eyes are different. They were already red, but before it was a simmering scarlet, like red wine, not a glaring crimson. "Poor thing; you must be so confused."

"Celeste?"

She's unfamiliar with that name, because it isn't the one on record for this body, but she takes it in stride because she doesn't care what he means by it. "Yes? How may I help you?"

"Why did you call her Celeste?" Hina asks.

"You guys- Whoa!" Makoto yelps in fright, as he is lifted off of his feet.

Mondo holds Makoto over his head, like keeping a toy out of reach of children. It's not beyond any of them, physically, to access Makoto anyway, but the idea is that getting to him now would require them to cross a line that would lead to a skirmish, so they won't.

"We should negotiate the use of this resource," Mukuro says.

"He is not a resource for our use," Taka says. "He is a human as humans were meant to be. He shouldn't be touched."

"Guys?!" Makoto calls from his weird position, being held in the air by his shirt and pant leg. "Is everyone okay? You're all being really weird."

"Slow on the uptake," Leon drones. "Might as well let Enoshima cut him open."

"You insult my imagination," Junko replies, casually, from her restrained position.

They're talking like they don't know me, Makoto thinks. And...a little like they don't know each other. At least, not the way they did before. "What happened to you? Did you guys get amnesia or something?"

"Owada, could you put him in the other room while we negotiate?" Sayaka suggests. She has already taken those few seconds to imagine a few outcomes in which everyone would be satisfied. It's the kind of thing she really enjoys doing.

They lock Makoto in an adjacent room and very clinically discuss the best ways to avoid killing him. Or at least to avoid killing him too quickly.

Meanwhile, Makoto is adjusting to all this information he just gathered from that short interaction and preparing for how he's going to interact with them, moving forward.

[selunesdreams]

wip whenever

I was tagged by the lovely @shewhowas39! Thank you!

I'm currently working on the 51st chapter of my Astarion post-tadpole fic, Forms of Imprisonment.

I traumatized everyone enough for the last several chapters so the latter half of this one is a smutty reward before just a *little* more truama. Enjoy a snippet.

(Warnings for smut/piv/Astarion throwing a fit.)

***

“Absolutely, bloody not!” Astarion slams the heel of his palm against the kitchen counter, and Celeste flinches at the sound. With an apologetic grimace, he steps forward, and cradles Celeste’s face in his trembling hands.

“I won’t let you do this.” His fingertips drag across her skin in soft desperation.

“You have to.” Her wide eyes glisten with unshed tears. Astarion’s face falls, his heart sinking.

“Please,” he croaks, “I just got you back.”

Wyll rises from the table. “Astarion, she’s more than capable of handling herself. And even if she can’t, none of us would let anything happen to her.” 

“You think it’s that easy?” he snarls, releasing Celeste and stepping closer. Wyll stands his ground, arms crossed, his expression unwavering.

“No one said it was easy, but-“

“You haven’t seen what I’ve seen. What they are capable of. That vampire has power Cazador couldn’t even dream of!”

Karlach steps between them, her touch gentle as she squeezes Astarion’s shoulder.

“That’s enough of that, big guy.”

“This is our best chance,” Gale interjects, his voice steady. “If we don’t act soon, we risk them wiping her mind again. Or worse.”

“I know, alright? I know!” he barks, stepping out of Karlach’s reach. “That doesn’t mean I have to accept it.”

“I’ll inform Aylin and Isobel.” Shadowheart says to the others, giving him a concerned sideways glance. “Everyone should get some rest. Tomorrow is bound to be…tough.”

Astarion seethes silently as his companions depart, each of them knowing better than to make an attempt at consoling him. He turns away to brace himself against the counter once more, staring at the surface.

Celeste finger’s brush against his bicep, and she tugs at his sleeve.

“Don’t be like this. Not on what could be-“

“Don’t finish that sentence.” He growls, so quiet he’s sure that only she can hear him, “Just...don’t.”

Celeste wraps her arms around him from behind and rests her head between his shoulder blades. In that moment, all the fight seems to leave him, and he slumps back against her, his body relaxing against her touch. He lets out a shaky sigh, his head falling to the crook of her neck.

“I do love you, you know,” he finally says, his lips brushing against her jaw, “that is the one thing I would wager my life upon.”

“I know you do, Astarion.”

They stay that way for a long moment before she pushes him forward, breaking the embrace. Astarion straightens, his weary eyes meeting hers, and she reaches for his hand, offering him a sad smile.

“Come to bed.”

As if in a daze, he lets her lead him to their shared room, his hand loosely tangled with hers. Once inside, he closes the door behind them and pins her to it with a sense of urgency, bracing an arm against the wall above her head. His lips find hers, hesitant, as she takes a shallow inhale.

“Can I...” he says hoarsely.

His index finger trails from her cheek to the base of her throat, and she gives into his kiss, as if it could stop any of this. As if every moment of reprieve shared between them hadn’t soon been followed by a terrible fate. 

She removes her shirt, her breasts falling free, and locks her wrists behind his neck.

“Anything.”

He lifts her effortlessly, his hands gripping her thighs, and she wraps her legs around his waist as he presses her harder between himself and the door. Adjusting his hold, he places a hand on the small of her back and carries her to bed.

As he eases her on top of the sheets, he slips off his own shirt and unfastens his trousers, staring down at her with a hungry look that doesn’t quite hide the fear lingering in his eyes. His cock springs free, revealing he’d been wearing nothing underneath, and in a fluid motion, he tugs off her pants and panties in a single pass before crawling over her. Resting his weight on his forearms, he takes the hand she has splayed over his heart, twining their fingers together and pins it to the mattress. 

Astarion watches her intently, the ruby of his irises aflame in the low light of the room, only illuminated by the silver moon outside the broken window. He basks in the otherworldliness of it before he finally dips his head to kiss her neck. His fangs gently scrape her skin, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake as she arches her back.

He takes his time, exploring every inch of her torso. He weaves past her breasts, across her stomach, to her hips. Everything is a blur. The sensation of time lost, words that linger on his tongue, that he repeats like a mantra within the confines of his mind.

His palms shadow his mouth’s path along the expanse of her stomach as he moves to kiss just inside her knee, draping her leg over his shoulder.

“Tell me what you want,” he breathes, his fingertips tracing a slow path along her inner thigh, a seductive grin playing on his lips.

“Please, just…come here.” She rasps, reaching for him with outstretched fingers.

He doesn’t break eye contact as crawls back over her, letting her leg fall to his waist, causing his erection to brush between her thighs. Her breath hitches and he captures her lips in a deep and slow kiss, his free hand fisting in her hair.

His tongue dips into her mouth, a familiar and practiced motion that’s become instinctive. He keeps her pinned for what feels like an eternity, kissing her as if it were the last time, and eases himself into her with a low groan. She brings her knees higher, moving her hips with his as he drives into her. 

“That’s it, my sweet,” he purrs. 

With a reverent touch, his hands roam over her body. 

“I need, I need…fuck.”

His grip on her hair tightens, and he leans down to drag his tongue over her collarbone. Her hands grasp at his biceps, fingernails digging into his flesh as she tries to pull him closer. 

He moves with deliberate and languid strokes, savoring every moment as his eyes lock with hers, watching each of her small, minute reactions with a possessive attention. He drops his head, rocking it from side to side against her shoulder. 

“Gods, you’re so beautiful like this,” he groans, “everything I-“

A cry of pleasure stifles his words as she kisses his chest, lips trailing to his throat as her fingers tangle in his hair. She tugs his head back ever so slightly, and his moans become breathier as he lets them turn into desperate whines.

Celeste pants softly with each thrust, a high-pitched whimper accompanying every other exhale, and presses their foreheads together. 

He kisses her, and groans against her mouth, “I’m close. Please, I’m so…”

“Yes?” she murmurs, her tongue tracing his bottom lip. 

Suddenly, he pulls away, sitting upright between her legs. His chest heaves as he gazes down at her, taking in her flushed, breathless form. 

“Roll over for me, darling.”

---

no pressure tagging @yourworsttotebag because I'm obsessed with their fics! (esp Gale and Evie UGH).

[explodingsilver]

Book review: Nightbane by Alex Aster

Lightlark…2!

I’ve already made my thoughts on the first book quite clear (read that review first if you haven’t already; I don’t feel like rehashing all the context), and were I a bit more sensible, I would have stayed away from its sequel. I am, however, somewhat of a literary masochist, so of course I borrowed this from Hoopla the day it was released (November 7th, not too long ago). Very pleased that I was able to write this review much faster than the first one, though this review is shorter, at only 2,100 words long. Was the experience worth it? I don’t know, you tell me.

(There are spoilers ahead, on the off chance that you care)

The plot and style

After the events of the first book, Isla is trying to learn her several powers as well as get a hold of this “leading two different realms” thing while trying to move on from getting betrayed by four different people she used to love. At a celebration for a Wildling holiday (in which no Wildlings other than herself are in attendance), Grim magically crashes the party from afar and announces that the Nightshade army will destroy Lightlark in thirty days. The other realms start preparing for the invasion, and Isla tries to recover all her lost memories of being with Grim in hope that they will reveal what his goal is and how to stop him, especially after receiving a prophetic vision of him standing in the ruins of a village he destroyed with his powers.

Put simply, if the plot of the first book is split between “Isla and Celeste search for a MacGuffin” and “Isla and Oro search for a different MacGuffin”, this book is split between “Isla and Oro do basic defense building stuff” and “Isla remembers the time she and Grim searched for a third MacGuffin”. There’s also a subplot about a rebel group trying to capture Isla, but this is inconsequential and could’ve been dropped entirely.

It feels like there was an attempt to address some of the criticism of the first book, but not nearly enough of an attempt. On the one hand, metaphor usage has improved to the point where it actually feels like it was written by a human being and not a neural network (no throbbing and raw glaciers this time around), the book acknowledges that no longer having a power no one else had in the first place is less bad than having a maximum lifespan of 25, and Isla realizes that Grim let her win the duel in the first book and that she did not win against a 500+ year old army general on the strength of her own skill. On the other hand, it does not address questions like “how does Starling society even function if none of them ever live to 26?” or “if Oro always knows when someone is lying, why didn’t he call bullshit the moment Celeste said ‘Hi, my name is Celeste’?”

Speaking of that last thing: I didn’t mention it in my review of the first book because it didn’t really feel relevant to anything, but each ruler has a ‘flair’, a special power that is unique to them. Oro’s is that he can always tell when someone is lying. Grim’s is that he can teleport. This book reveals that Isla’s is that she is immune to curses. Glad to finally have an answer to one of my biggest questions of the first book (checks notes) 75% of the way through the second one, when this explanation should’ve been given the moment we learned the original stated reason does not apply.

Wildling elixir and its (lack of) consequences

Much of this book centers around the presence of the Wildling elixir from the first book, a potion that is super effective at healing wounds. As you might imagine, this kills a lot of the tension. Used in conjunction with Isla’s magical teleportation device, “teleport away, use Wildling elixir, teleport back” becomes an easy way to recover when the characters get their flesh ripped apart. And indeed, they do this all the time! The book tries to nerf this strategy by stating that the elixir is rare due to the flower used to make it being rare, but 1) this is at odds with Isla’s very liberal use of it, and 2) aren’t the Wildlings the “make flowers grow instantly” people? Why can’t they just use those powers on it like they do for every other plant?

There was a bit of potential for an interesting theme with these flowers: Isla eventually learns that while the Wildlings use them to make the healing elixir, the Nightshades use those exact same flowers to make the titular nightbane, which is basically fantasy heroin. I was intrigued by this motif (I like it when things have a dual nature like that), but unfortunately this doesn’t really go anywhere, other than some vague gesturing at “wow, just like Isla”. Speaking of Isla…

Isla

This time around, Isla is clearly traumatized by the events of the last book, trusts very few people, and is aware that she is in over her head with leading two realms full of subjects she barely knows while also being the king’s unofficial consort. Not a bad start for a character arc, but in effect, she has gone from naive and impulsive to naive, impulsive, and guilty about those things while making little effort to amend them. It feels like her attitude towards leadership is basically “I’m allowed to call myself a bad leader but nobody is allowed to agree with me on that.”

Much of Isla’s internal conflict in this book is based around her Nightshade heritage on her father's side. She is convinced that there is an inherently evil part of her because her father was from the Inherently Evil Realm. This may not come as a surprise, but I do not like when stories have such a thing as an Inherently Evil Realm. Not only does Nightshade fill this role, but the book never even gestures at pushing back against Isla’s conviction that her heritage taints her, and in fact ends up affirming it.

This book really told me to my face that Isla is the first person in millennia to have both Wildling and Nightshade powers. I do not buy that even for a moment. Maybe my disbelief is because the series discarded the “only one realm’s power set per person, even if their parents are from different realms” thing in the same book it was introduced, and I would expect there to be Wildling/Nightshade couples way more often than once per few millennia. But no, that highly plausible thing can’t happen because then Isla won’t be the most special person currently alive!

The other characters

Sadly, the rest of the cast did not improve, and in some instances, got worse.

Oro going from "world weary, distant king" to "official love interest" has unfortunately sanded down all his interesting aspects, and everything I liked about his character in the first book now takes a backseat to being overly protective of Isla and making stock Love Interests threats to kill anyone who hurts her. I swear, he turned so generic that some of his lines were indistinguishable from something Grim would say. But hey, if nothing else, he at least didn’t get character assassinated like I was sure he would!

While Grim actually does stuff in this book, he still has no personality traits other than what's included in the Sexy Villain Starter Pack. Like, it actually upsets me that he's such an absolute nothing of a character. Everything about him begins and ends with “what if the villain…was sexy?”, and there are about a morbillion stories out there that provide more interesting answers to this question. You’d think focusing on him this much would be the perfect opportunity to give him any unique traits at all, but Aster certainly did not take that opportunity, nor did she ever answer the question of why he likes Isla, despite the sheer number of pages dedicated to their relationship.

As for everyone else? Azul, our beloved token gay black man who runs his realm like a democracy, still receives woefully little page time. Cleo, the bitchy ruler who hates Isla for no reason, receives even less, but at least we get to hear about her dead son, I guess. Ella, Isla's Starling assistant, is mentioned so rarely I wonder if Aster forgot she exists. There are also several new average citizen characters introduced, but none of them are remotely interesting. They're all defined solely by whether or not they're on Isla's side. It says something when the best new character is Isla's new animal companion (a panther named Lynx, who rules because he does not give a shit about Isla).

The chili pepper emoji, as the TikTokers call it

Because I must do as the book did and address the topic of sex before I get to the final important bits.

This book is much hornier than the first one, but in a way that makes large parts of it feel like one of those dreams where you're trying to have sex with someone but your attempts keep getting interrupted. I regret that I did not count the number of times Isla was about to fuck someone and then got denied for some reason or another.

There are three times she actually succeeds, and luckily these scenes do not read like they were written by Sarah J. Maas, despite her obvious influence on everything else. This doesn't seem like much of a compliment, but this series needs all the W’s it can get. That's not to say everything is fine, though. There's one scene that's obviously using all the "first time" stuff for characterization, and I can't help but feel this would be more effective had they not already slept together a few short chapters beforehand? Like c’mon, all you had to do was switch the order of those two scenes.

The ending

Shortly before the Nightshade army is set to storm the island and destroy it, Isla learns Grim’s (and Cleo’s) real motivation for doing so: there’s a portal on the island leading to another world, one in which the original founders of Lightlark came from before making Lightlark in the image of the world they left. Grim and Cleo want to open that portal and reach the other world, which will just so happen to destroy the island. They’re not actually trying to kill everyone for the evulz. Isla, in her naivety, accidentally opens it for them before they even arrive.

During the final battle, while trying to steal Grim's powers so she can kill him and save Lightlark, Isla finally remembers the last two important memories: 1) she and Grim actually got married right before he memory-wiped her, and 2) what she thought was a prophetic vision of him killing an entire village was actually a memory of her doing so. Convinced that she'll accidentally kill Oro if she stays with him, she agrees to go with Grim, whom she just realized she is still in love with, in exchange for a promise that he'll withdraw the attack.

I cannot remember the last time I had this strong of an "are you fucking kidding me" reaction to the end of a book. But after some thinking, I decided that it actually makes for some great tragedy material. “Traumatized woman with a supportive partner becomes convinced that she’s too horrible to be with him and goes back to her terrible husband” would make for a good story if this was a more grounded book written by anyone else. Alas, this concept just had to be tackled here.

I also naively thought that because the deal was for two books, that means this would be a duology. But it feels like there will be a third book, and I'm hoping there is, not out of any desire for more (unsure how much more I can take), but because it would be straight-up authorial malpractice to end the series on that note.

Conclusion

This honestly wasn’t quite as bad as the first book, but the problems that persisted outweighed the ones that got fixed, and the severe case of Middle Book Syndrome certainly did not help its case. It’s a very small improvement stylistically, but when the nicest things I can say about it are “there were some concepts that could’ve made for an interesting story in the hands of a better author” and “the sex scenes aren’t atrocious” and “the cat is kinda cool”, then I feel justified in calling it terrible overall. It’s a good thing that Lightlark…3! is presumably a long ways away, because I will need all that time to recover from having read this.

[its-a-me-mango]

yo mango, i found this in twitter(x). a creator in twitter sented this.

Oh boy, yes this is the response I was referring to in my other post, and I have some things to say about it.

TL;DR: Clarification is nice but it shouldn't be up to the employees to apologise for something that upper management should've taken accountability for anyway. I'm not accepting everything as "fixed" until Celeste says anything else.

Obligatory "we don't know everything so don't jump to conclusions!!!" disclaimer (personally I love jumping to conclusions I love drama lol)

(also my stance on what I'm doing with this account is at the bottom of it so go take a look if you wanna know what I'm gonna do)

Ok first off, let's start positive, good to have some accountability and a bit of clarification on what's happened, considering I honestly thought GLITCH was just gonna keep quiet and hope for it to brush over, having the manager tell their side of the story is a good thing.

That's all the positives I have towards this apology because the rest are all negative.

For starters, why is the manager taking full accountability for this, while yes they made the decision, the higher ups should be taking accountability, at the end of the day Jasmine is an employee of GLITCH. Normally when something happens within a company, the company itself will put out a statement taking accountability for the actions of their staff. This hasn't happened yet, it's not Jasmine's full responsibility for this, there should be recognition from the company of their mistake.

I get if they're taking a while to make a response, but it's not hard to put out a statement saying "hey, we fucked up, sorry". It would be miles better than having an employee put it out IN THEIR FAN DISCORD SERVER OF ALL PLACES, thank got it got reposted because none of us would know others.

Furthermore, what is the main message from this, the main reason for this happening? "Oops I forgot". That's such a shitty excuse, especially for a manager. I completely understand getting overworked as hell, from what I've seen Jasmine is also the manager for a lot of other things at GLITCH, and if GLITCH's Glassdoor reviews are anything to go by, overworking employees seems to be their biggest flaw.

Something like this slipping their mind would be fair and understandable under those circumstances, but that's what upper management is for, it's up to them to make sure people do what they're employed to do, that includes making sure the appropriate messages are sent out, especially for big changes like this. Of course no one likes to have a boss that questions everything you do, but having someone check that all the appropriate messages are sent out is pretty damn important for running a company.

This is ultimately a show of poor management on GLITCH's behalf, had they communicated better not just with Celeste but also with each other, this entire situation would've been avoided.

I don't think this is some catastrophic downfall that can never be resolved, it actually can be resolved quite easily. All it involves is an admission of negligence on GLITCH's side and a proper apology to be sent and accepted by Celeste. Obviously I'm not gonna go demanding such things be made public but treating this like GLITCH's downfall is just kinda silly, this can be fixed.

Yes this is bad, and you should feel upset/angry about this all happening, seeing voice actors being treated poorly and "forgotten" about sucks and doesn't reflect well on GLITCH at all, if you don't want to support GLITCH right now that's completely reasonable, but this isn't worth wishing the companies downfall over. Advocate for change, not carnage.

There is also the possibility that this whole "apology" is bullshit. More comments from SMG2's now former VA have come out about this apology.

If this is all true, then that's just as bad on GLITCH's side. Ultimately we won't know the entire story until Celeste makes any other comment, however given how taxing this has all been on her, it's understandable if she doesn't say anything now, or ever to be honest.

My love and support goes out to Celeste during this time. I hope she and GLITCH can come to some kind of agreement that allows everyone to move on.

Anyway, so about me now, haiiii

I'm likely gonna mostly hault making SMG4 art for a while due to this, I love this series and I don't like to see this all happen to it, but I care more about treating voice actors fairly and making sure they're given the respect they deserve, if that involves stopping my support for GLITCH for now then so be it. I'm hoping this gets resolved, if that does happen i'll go back to normal, if not thennnnn I'll deal with that when it happens.

I'm still happy to interact with people in this community still, there's a few ideas and pieces I want to make for other people still, things like AU arts and DTIYS's, so I'll be doing that, but as for new SMG4 art and memes, not right now. (lets face if the SMG4 community on Tumblr is so far removed from everyone else it's basically our own series out here lmao)

I'll still draw Mango don't worry, he's basically my persona so I can detach him from SMG4 for now, my silly lil guy isn't going anywhere.

I understand that a lot of people are upset by this and are trying to block it out and carry on as normal. While I understand why most of you are taking that stance, I know a lot of you are teens and SMG4 is a source of comfort for a large chunk of you, please don't just ignore all this happening. I don't even care if you take an inconclusive stance on this, just please don't block it out entirely and pretend it's not happening, that's just not fair on Celeste.

I'll be doing my best to keep up with this as much as possible. I know I've come across as overly critical during all this, but I don't like seeing people act like GLITCH has done nothing wrong and never can. It's ok if a company you like has done something shitty, they do that all the time, but its not ok to let them get away with it and pretend it never happened, that's just covering for their shitty actions. I'm not going to cover for GLITCH's shitty actions which is why I'm speaking up about it and will continue to do so until some kind of resolution is reached.

Anyway I've talked enough, if you're reading haii hello thanks for reading the whole thing , if you skimmed to the bottom I'm shooting you with lasers (/j). We'll see what comes of all this but until then take care. <3

[russellsppttemplates]

All the kids having huge meltdowns because they wanted to build homes for the bees with uncle Seb too!

Tw: mentions allergy to bee stings

How could uncle Seb not invite them to his activity? I mean, it involved painting and drawing and being around uncle Seb? Obviously, the kids had a meltdown, but luckily, their mothers know just how to save the day (after many cries and arguments with little ones, which can honestly be the trickiest ones one can face).

Gasly household

In the Gasly household, the kids were all getting ready to make their own bee homes, "Papa had hay in the video, mama! We need hay!", Alexandre called for you, making you write the word on the paper, "so, so far we have hay and wood rolls? What are wood rolls, darling?", you asked your oldest, recognising his scribble, "they had it in the video, mama, so I'm sure papa will let us know what to do with them", Louis simply stated, "do you think we should ask him though? He didn't ask us to go with him", Alexandre said, "it's only fair we do this alone", he stated.

"NO!", Élodie declared, "papa was there with uncle Seb, so he knows how to do it, we can do it with him", her protective side came out, willing to do anything as long as her father was with her, "Oh, we could also paint them all colourful!", Louis announced, that way even Celeste can help!", he pointed out, smiling at his brilliant idea.

"Figures your brother would be the one to have the idea where the four of you get covered in paint from head to toe", you tapped Celeste's nose, earning a giggle from the little girl attached to your hip.

Schumacher household

"I wanted to be there, too! I want to see the bees happy in their new homes! Can we go there and see them?", Sebastian asked, looking at the photos you were showing on the iPad, hopeful. Chuckling, you brushed his hair, "maybe now it's not the best idea, my love. You remember how the last time you got stung by one and your hand got really big?", you recalled, "yeah, because of my allergy?", he struggled the last word out, "yes, my love", you confirmed.

Russell household

"Still, mama! Just because my body gets angry when they bite me, it doesn't mean that they don't get a comfy house to live in and that I couldn't help", he reasoned with you, sitting on your lap, "I know, Seb. You're too pure for this world", you kissed his head, "maybe we can get papa and uncle seb to give us a tour if we go next year, or maybe he can build one somewhere else", you suggested, "mama, can I have your phone, please? I'm going to text uncle Seb to see if he wants to build another bee neighbourhood!", Aurora excitedly said.

Angie has an encounter with a bee

"I hope he invites us next time, but I understand that it was very far away", Olivia said as she looked at the shopping list, "Oh, mummy, daddy told me they put some boxes in there, like these ones. But his boxes had holes in them", she pouted, facing the first hurdle in building a home for the bees.

"We can make holes with the drill!", Arthur suggested, "I saw grandpa do it once, I can do it!", he said excitedly.

"I think it's best if we leave it do daddy when he comes back, okay? I can attempt at it, but none of your little hands are going near the drill, okay? It's bad enough you're trusting me to build this before daddy gets back", you looked around the shop, hoping to find rhe easiest way to this craft project.

"We need to show daddy we can do it on our own, so he won't think we didn't like that we were not invited", Olivia stated, grabbing some wood glue, "but you cried when you saw uncle Seb and daddy on the TV", Arthur pointed out, "daddy doesn't need to know that".

Ricciardo household

"Do you want to make one too, daddy?", Sophia asked, cuddling up to Daniel as they watched Natalie report about the event Sebastian had organised, seeing some familiar faces she recognised from the races, particularly Sebastian, Max, Lando, Yuki and Charles, and of course, Natalie herself, "That's a great idea, bug", he smiled, already planning their afternoon together.

"I know you're sad because you're not doing this with your friends and uncle Seb", Sophia said as she painted what looked like a rainbow on her side of the wooden material, "hey, Soph", he set his brush down and helped his daughter sit on his lap, "you're the best company I could ever have, besides, I think uncle Seb is the one who's losing here. I mean, look at this work of art", he pointed to their whole set up, "our bees while be really happy here, too", he kissed the top of her head.

"It's prettier than the one uncle Max made, that's for sure, but it's not like it's a difficult thing for it to be better than his", Sophia added, grabbing her brush again and dipping it in the purple paint Daniel mixed for her.

Leclerc household

"Why is Amélie inside and not here with us?", Thomas asked, not understanding why his sister preferred to stay inside sitting on the sofa while her brothers painted bees on the wooden material.

"She's upset still, I think", you explained, seeing Hervé swirl the brush around his cup of water to clean it, "you know, I don't think he didn't invite us because he didn't want us there. I mean, there would be a lot of people", your eldest offered, "I'm sure he didn't mean it to be a hurtful thing", he concluded, "I'm sure it wasn't, uncle Sebastian wouldn't do anything to purposefully hurt you. You're right, imagine if everyone else was also there, uncle Pierre alone has four kids!", you exclaimed, hearing little footsteps approach you.

"I'm done!", Amélie announced, "You're done what, chérie?", you wondered, "I'm done being mad at uncle Sebastian, mama. I want to paint one too! And it's going to be really pretty and then we can send it to uncle Sebastian so he can use it too!", she smiled, her temper turning around from her meltdown just half an hour before, "so you're not going to tell uncle Seb that he can't do those things anymore?", Hervé joked at her earlier conversation, stating her "punishment" for whenever she first saw the German driver, "I will, but I will show him my painting so he knows I'm not too mad at him".

(Thank you for submitting an ask 🤍)

[cakepoppresent]

You're a Cutie

Ink Heart Tattoo Shop - Fashion District

Sam: You ready?

Jin: I'm terrified.

Sam: Don't worry! We are in this together!

Jin: Oh jeez, I'm so nervous. What if it hurts too much and I can't go through with it! What if I go through with it and I get an infection and die!

Sam: None of that is going to happen. This is the best tattoo shop in SanMy and the artist here are all amazing! Just breath

Jin: I AM breathing. Now I wanna throw up. Let's just do this another day!

Sam: No! We are going to do this today! It's going to be fine and you promised! Should I hold your hand when it's your turn?

Jin: I'm not a child! I can do this...I just need to breathe!"

Sam: That's what I said!

Celeste: Whose the cutie with the braids?

Anya: A client. Don't be weird and just do your job

Celeste: I just asked a question. I didn't even do anything

Anya: I know you and you're a whore. Keep it professional for once in your life

Celeste: I'm offended and slightly hurt. I always keep it professional"

Anya: Whatever. I don't want another instance of a crazy fling coming to the shop acting crazy looking for you

Celeste: That wasn't my fault. I told her we weren't exclusive

Walking to Jin and Sams sitting on the couch Celeste cuts their conversation short "You are Sam Reeves and Jin Park?

Sam: Yes! That's us!

Celeste: You're excited...your friend here seems nervous

Sam: It's the excitement. He will be fine!

Celeste: I just have to run down a few things with you both first and have you sign this waiver

Jin nervously plays with his hands and asks "How bad is it gonna hurt? Am I going to pass out?

Celeste: That depends on you my guy. Don't worry it won't hurt as much as you think. You guys are cute. How about your friend goes first

Sam: Jin?

Celeste: Yea, I think it would be easier to talk if I'm not stabbing you with a needle. I'd also like to take my time with your tattoo. Make sure I make it perfect, you don't mind do you?

Sam: No! not at all!

Celeste: Perfect

Jin was surprisingly calm on the outside. On the inside? he was a mess

Celeste: You okay there?

Jin: ...

Celeste: Jin?

Jin: ...

Celeste: Oh wow. I've never seen someone disassociate before.

Celeste: Alright, you have my undivided attention, Miss Reeves. Are you ready?

Sam: More than ready!

Celeste: Is that right?

Sam: Yes! I make music so I thought I'd use this summer to have more experience you know?

Celeste is all ears doesn't matter if Sam is an actual artist. She has thick thighs and a fat ass and that checks off all of Celeste's requirements

Celeste: Have I heard anything from you?

Sam: Not yet. I've just been making music. Not ready to share it yet

Celeste: I hope I can hear it soon. There we go, all done!

Celeste: You know I don't usually do this but I have a party coming up at Club Tropics and I'd like to see you there

Sam: Oh! really?

Celeste: Yeah. You would like it, hella producers and entertainers. I think you'd like that scene right?

Sam: Omg that would be great!

Celeste: Hopefully we can find some time to talk...just the two of us?

Sam: Talk? Are you a producer too? Should I bring my samples for you to listen to?

Celeste: What? hahaha no, you're adorable

Sam: Cute? I get that a lot actually

Celeste: I'm sure you do

Celeste: It's a pool party so make sure you bring your best bathing suit

Sam: Can I bring Jin with me? We're a team, he goes everywhere I go

Celeste: oh...sure. The more the merrier

Sam: Great! I'm so excited! Here's my number text me all the details!

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