#but being he has a whole line about using whatever to make him stronger i feel it leans towards positive

[tetsuskei]

i contemplate if childe has a bad relationship with his older siblings and parents or if he just focuses so much on his younger siblings to give them the life that he didn’t have when he was younger. or maybe it could be a mixture of both.

[casino-lights]

so. the thing about Illario and Lucanis.

I don't have the screenshots but somewhere in Lucanis' mind, you hear Illario's voice saying "If I was in charge, you wouldn't have to do this anymore." as far as I can tell, all the other lines in his memories are from the game, but this one is from The Wigmaker Job. the story that took place over a year (probably more) prior to the events of the game. it's referring to a scene where Lucanis comes back from their contract, injured, and Illario, worried about his cousin, says that Lucanis wouldn't have to do Caterina's bidding anymore if Illario was First Talon. so now we know Lucanis still thinks about that conversation, even though it happened so long ago.

two other things about The Wigmaker Job: 1) Illario is a lot different in it and in some ways he seems more competent than the Illario we get in veilguard; and 2) we see Zara Renata at the end, and she already has Lucanis in her sights. depending on how much time passed between that contract and Lucanis' kidnapping, she could've been setting this up for months to years.

in the concept art/storyboard frames that were recently released, Zara is hardcore giving siren in the first image and it almost looks like she's straight up controlling Illario via blood magic in the second (imo)

now imagine if Zara was looking into Lucanis, started with the people closest to him, found Illario, and said all the right things. imagine she said he should be First Talon, Caterina never loved him, Lucanis doesn't believe in him and is secretly just tolerating him, he can save Antiva from the Antaam (or whoever else), he can lead the Crows to their long-awaited unification and make them even stronger, he's the smartest prettiest most super special boy in the whole wide world, etc. (if you give this man an ounce of praise and he actually believes it, he will crumble, I know it.)

now imagine Zara, having successfully sunk her claws into Illario - Lucanis Dellamorte's cousin, the only person closer to the Demon of Vyrantium than the First Talon herself - manages to convince him to let her kill Lucanis. he doesn't have to do it himself so there's less guilt. there's no way Caterina would make him First Talon if Lucanis was alive. and then Illario would be in a position to protect his beloved Antiva because if there's one thing the Antivan Crows are, it's patriots. I think Zara played Illario like a fucking fiddle and the game was just really bad at showing us that. I think when her spirit says "he fooled us both," she means he fooled her by being less of a coward than she thought and straight up killing her.

and maybe this is the Illario apologist in me, but I also think he realized the whole thing was a doomed plan after he was defeated. I mean, he shows up to the final battle to help, at risk of his own life. maybe he's trying to atone, maybe not, but still - he is there, and he sounds more like the Illario we see in The Wigmaker Job than whatever we got through the rest of the game. with his quippy little "was that suitably self-important?" line, he's closer to himself than he was this whole time, and that makes me wonder if maybe he wasn't fully Illario. maybe that was grief and guilt and a shaky sense of self and Zara's manipulation and the feeling of losing his grip on the power he never quite had to begin with, all bundled up into a new, bitter, resentful man. I think he was used like a pawn in Zara's chess game, and that doesn't take away from his agency in this situation or lessen the blow of his betrayal, but it does make it easier for me to swallow the fact that the Obvious Traitor Illario I was immediately skeptical of in-game is not the Illario I immediately loved after one scene in Tevinter Nights where he shaves a single hair because it was uneven with the rest of his five o clock shadow.

I think ultimately, Illario realized Lucanis would forgive him anyway. I think it's because he realized he would forgive Lucanis too.

[d3adbr3inc3lls]

Multiple | Celebrating Christmas | Headcannons

Characters - Spinel, Amethio, Silver, Kieran, Alain, Friede

Spinel

Christmas mornings with Spinel would probably start with him making you some breakfast in bed.

If the two of you are living in an area where it snows, he'll probably opt to cuddle with you, and cook breakfast whilst you're warming up in the shower.

With gifts, if he already hasn't given you what you wanted for your birthday -or hell, any time of the month- you can bet that he'll get you that thing you've been dreaming of.

Best part is- you don't have to ask. Spinel would already know, he keeps tabs of what you search and things you've mentioned that you wanted, so you don't have to worry about anything.

For the rest of the day, you might go out once, but for the majority of it, it's spent inside, watching a movie with mugs of hot chocolate in your hands, being surrounded by your 'mons.

Amethio

Usually, he doesn't celebrate Christmas, he prefers to use the day off for training rather than sitting around and celebrating the birth of a religious figure.

You'd definitely have to introduce Christmas to him. It's not something he participated in, but if it makes you happy, he'll gladly start.

His gifts are usually well thought out. Sometimes he gives you multiple gifts because he sees stuff that keeps reminding him of you.

The rest of the day goes like a regular day, unless you ask him to do something together. To which he'll happily agree to do so.

Over the years, he'll stop treating Christmas like a regular Tuesday because of you. He might still train, but he keeps the day centred around you.

Silver

Just like Amethio, he's not the type to celebrate Christmas at the start. He's obsessed with training and getting stronger to the point he neglects holidays.

Even after the games, he's not used to Christmas, he's always neglected it, but he buys you and his 'mons small gifts because that's what people do.

You'll have to re-introduce him to the whole holiday and you'd have to teach him how people actually celebrate it.

I can see him enjoying Christmas and getting more into it down the line.

With that being said, his gifts start off small whilst he's not used to Christmas, but when he gets more familiar with the holiday, I can see him going out of his way to buy bigger gifts. All the gifts are well thought out -like, starring at an object wondering if you'd like it or not well thought out.

The rest of the day is focused on you and your 'mons. The two of you go out to buy you and your partners some sweet treats and build snowmen or a snow angel or two.

Kieran

Kieran has always liked Christmas, he gets to give gifts and see people's faces light up as they unwrap his gifts and seeing the gifts that Delibird had given him.

After the events of the DLC, Kieran feels a bit too 'grown up' for Christmas, but he still loves to give and receive gifts.

Kieran 10/10 gets you whatever you've been wanting and more. He loves giving you gifts. If he can't get you what you want, he'll settle for a box filled with a lot of your favourite things. Your favourite sweets, plushies/keychains/stickers of your favourite things and if you're a trainer, he'll stuff some pokéballs, revives and anything else you may need on your journey.

All his gifts would be well thought out- he loves seeing you smile.

The rest of the day is spent with making snowmen, snowangels, snowball fights, probably getting sick and cuddling up at home with mugs of hot chocolate and maybe a movie on if you're up for it.

Alain

I can imagine a lazy morning with him, laying cuddled up in his side with his Charizard laying next to you for the added warmth.

When the two of you wake up, he'd probably take you out to a Cafe for some warm drink and breakfast before you guys go home and make gingerbread cookies.

His gifts aren't as thought out -maybe some are. But most aren't- he gets you a lot of gifts that reminded him of you.

Throughout the day, he'd bring you outside to build snow men and do other traditionally Christmas activities.

Friede

If you guys aren't spending time with the RVT/it's before the RVT has started, mornings with him would definitely include him waking you up so the two of you can have breakfast at your favourite place.

He's probably going to be too impatient to wait for you to open your gifts, so he gives you smaller gifts whilst you walk -or drive/fly- to the cafe,

The rest of the day would consist of doing whatever you wanted to.

If you guys are spending time with the RVT, He wakes you up Murdok finishes breakfast -he probably gives you some extra time to sleep in.

The two of you would be together for the rest of the day, but you'd mostly be supervising the kids as they go outside.

In both scenarios - gift wise, Friede would buy you a lot of gifts, all of them reminded him of you in some way.

------

Images found here

A/N: Merry Christmas (eve for some people) chat, hope you have a lovely day,

[takamiwife]

Got sick and can not stop coughing at all and yhe worst part is my period started the same time rip

Could i request a lil comfort thing for hawks or dabi comforting the reader who is sick and also feels even worse cause she has rlly bad cramps?

AWW I HOPE YOURE FEELING BETTER :(( sorry this is likely out after you’re all better but this still deserves to be written !! if you’ve submitted something to my inbox dw, i have seen it and it’s in my drafts, im just going in order!! 💞 also, there’s some sex and the city spoilers toward the end of it, for season 3, so just watch out for that if you’re watching it/interested in watching it!

well, sick season was back and hit you full force. you woke up, your throat feeling like it had been scratched by a thousand cats and your nose stuffed. you groaned, your voice barely coming out above a whisper. you shuffled out into the kitchen, nearly passing out from reaching up into the cabinet to get some tea.

“baby? are you okay? you’re up early” keigo yawned, following you out into the kitchen

all it took was for you to turn around, looking at keigo; tired, darkened eyes, puffy cheeks, and your body being able to stand.

“jesus, you definitely are not,” he frowned, putting a hand to your forehead. “you don’t feel like you have a fever… here, come on, sit down,” he guides you over to the couch, watching as you slump against the comfortable throw pillows. he hands you the remote and moves back into the kitchen, immediately making you some tea — you never seemed to have an appetite when you were sick, but hopefully you could handle this.

after adorning your tea with honey, he moved back to the couch, placing them in front of you, replacing the throw pillows with his own body as you lay on his lap.

you whimper, holding your stomach; as if everything else wasn’t bad enough, the universe decided to curse you with cramps too.

he stroked your hair, using a few of his feathers to retrieve the pill bottle from the bathroom, not wanting to move from his position. he opened the red-capped bottle, tapping a few pills into his hand. “here, cmon, you can sit up for me right?” he coos, helping you sit up and make sure you toon the pills, hopefully to at least help with the pain. “there we go, that’s my girl” he smiled

“don’t you have work?” you say quietly, moving your head back down to his lap.

“i can be a little late, they can manage without me. don’t worry about it, alright?” he said softly, running his hands along your side.

now, had you woken up with dabi, it would go a little different.

you lay in your shared bed, surrounded by his scent, but your boyfriend was nowhere to be found. he had been out all night doing.. god knows what with the league, and you had woken up with all of the worst symptoms imaginable. you scrolled on your phone, praying he’d be back soon so he could help you.

luckily, something listened, as he cracked the door open, trying his best to be quiet; a surprisingly sweet gesture from him when he was out all night on missions.

“shit, are you okay?” he kneeled in front of you. “you look awful”

“thanks for the reminder,” you say through a stuffed nose. “my throat is on fire, i can barely breathe through my nose, and of course i have to have fucking cramps..”

“well.. hey, at least you aren’t pregnant” he shrugged

you glare at him, a small part of you finding the silver lining a bit amusing

“can you.. help me, please? you know, like a good boyfriend?” you hide your smile

“uhh…” dabi trailed off, playing with a strand of your hair. of course he wanted to help, he just.. didn’t really know how. he didn’t really get sick, and if he did he just popped whatever pill was in his cabinet and said fuck it and continued on. “yea.. what do you want? we’ve probably got a whole stash somewhere - xanax, percocet, oxy, if you want something a little stronger.. uh, a little coke might not hurt, just rub it on your gums”

“are you insane?” you stare at him blankly. “do you just have, like.. tylenol? midol? anything like that? and not.. crushed up and in a line. in pill form”

“yea, yea, let me go check. pussy..” he muttered, shooting you a smirk.

you used your little strength to smack his arm, unable to hide your smile.

after digging around under his sink, he was finally able to find some normal, non-hard drug tylenol.

he returned to you, holding onto your side as you sat up, taking the pills with a swig of water.

“you uh.. really don’t feel good, do you?”

“you couldn’t tell?” you ask through your scratchy voice.

as you lay back down, he looked at you, your eyes closing as you groaned. he tried to remember back when he was a child; there was a short period of time where he got quite sick during the winter, and his mother was nothing short of a saint. cartoons, warm soup, medicinal tea, cool wash clothes on the forehead.. the whole nine yards. it was clear that what you needed right now was him, and he was more than willing to give that to you.

“c’mere..” he shuffled beside you, pulling you onto his chest. “are you.. hungry? do you want anything warm? that’d help your throat, right?”

“not right now.. just wanna sleep right now..” you say into his chest, and he pulls the warm blanket over you, kissing your head as you fall back asleep, finally sound and able.

now, as you fell back asleep on keigo’s lap, he knew he couldn’t ignore his work any longer or they’d have his head on a spike. in an indiana-jones style move, he replaced his lap with a pillow, draping a blanket over your sleeping form. he kneeled in front of you, watching you sleep as he kissed your forehead.

“i’ll be back soon, okay? i’m sorry i have to leave..” he whispered, brushing some hair away from your face.

luckily, with the day being quite boring, within about three hours of working, he was able to convince his side kicks to take over for the day; “you guys can handle this, i have a sick girlfriend i need to take care of. i mean, what horrible things are going to happen, it’s a random tuesday.”

back at home, you stirred back to life, the pain now having subsided a decent amount. you reach for your phone on the coffee table that sat beside your tea, clicking keigo’s contact. he picked up rather quickly, his voice being a comfort on the other line.

“hey my love, finally awake huh?” you could hear his smile through the screen.

“yea, i just woke up”

“ah, well your throat sounds a bit better. how are the cramps?”

“um, a lot better.. sorry to make you late, but i appreciate you staying with me”

keigo chuckled

“they were fine without me, love. actually, i just left them”

“what? but-“

“but nothing. i’m on my way home, want me to get your favorite?”

you sit up, smiling. “…if it isn’t too much trouble”

“i figured you’d say that. i’m already on my way there. i’ll see you soon, okay?”

“okay.. i love you”

“i love you too”

still being held in dabi’s arms, you slept surprisingly soundly despite everything. he slipped out of your grip, making sure you were comfortable before going to the raggedy kitchen downstairs, searching for anything that could make you feel better. but he was doubtful the crumbs in the dirty cupboards would help much. so, with no other choice, he put on his hoodie and a mask, pulling it up over his nose, less likely to be recognized.

so, after walking a few blocks to the nearest convenience store (that also happened to have a deli), he returned home with your favorite soup, a box of tea bags, and an ice cream bar for you to enjoy later if you felt better. after placing the ice cream in the fridge, he made a nice warm cup of tea (thanks to the help of his quirk) and brought that, along with your soup up to the room, setting it on the bedside table.

“hey,” he shook you gently. “i got you something.”

“mmh.. you’re supposed to let sick people sleep.” you whined.

“fine, go on and sleep, but your soup is gonna get cold”

you opened your eyes; okay, you were quite hungry now. you reluctantly sat up, placing your back against the wall.

“there she is,” he grinned slyly. “morning sunshine” he said, handing you the cup of soup with the plastic spoon. “and there’s um.. tea, too.”

“wow, you really went all out, huh?” you smile from over the cup.

“of course i did. it’s for you, after all.” he brushed it off.

“well, thank you honey.” you coo, gently scratching his chin. damn, he loved when you did that.

he sat beside you, occasionally accepting bites of your soup.

“if i get sick from this, you’re so dead” he

“you’d love me taking care of you, don’t lie”

“…fair enough”

within about forty five minutes, keigo had returned home, takeout bags in hand as you paused your show. he placed them down on the coffee table in front of you, unpacking them.

“thank you, kei. i mean it, really. you didn’t have to do all this.” you say, smiling at him as he came back with plates for the two of you.

“what do you mean? of course i did. i love you, and you didn’t feel good, so of course i had to help you feel better.” he said, placing the food onto a plate and handing it to you.

“well, still-“

“still nothing,” he cut you off, leaning toward you. “you take care of me all the time. this was nothing compared to all you do for me.”

your heart swelled as you stared at his determined face.

“now, catch me up. what’s going on with the girls?” he gestured to the tv.

“well, carrie just cheated on aidan with mr. big…”

after a few hours of lazing about and watching your favorite show on dabi’s phone, he returned to the room with his hands behind his back.

“i got something else for you, too… figured since you’re feeling better..” he pulled out the wrapped ice cream bar, holding it out to you.

“oh, baby..”

“i know it’s not the best, but it could help your throat feel better and.. i dunno, you like ice cream, so..”

you sit up on your knees on the bed, pulling him into a hug.

and as you enjoy your treat, he sits beside you.

“so, feeling better?”

“much. thank you, doctor.” you tease.

“well.. good. i don’t like seeing you like this.”

you lean your head on his shoulder, holding your ice cream up to him.

as much as he hated seeing you sick, dabi loved taking care of you for the day. of course he wanted you to feel better, but.. he wouldn’t mind another day of holding you in bed.

[brianwashere]

hello!! saw your writing today in my tags and got interested, read some more and you seem really cool :D i got one fic stuck in my head though, the one you posted earlier today with the 7 foot spider reader! it was really cool but i kind of thought about a follow up (and I made sure to check your rules before this)

i was thinking, m/n is really big, intimidating and generally a badass- however. in bed (nsfw) he’s inexperienced, shy af, and ends up just being really submissive (you actually didn’t specify if you prefer dom or sub reader, i assumed you mind neither, but if u don’t feel comfortable with this then just ignore)

thank you, and keep up your great works so far :D

Anon, you’re officially my favorite fucking person ever. Oh my god. This req. warmed my heart. Idek what. It just did. Thank you for reading my other fics too. Wow. I’m reeling rn.

Also you didn’t specify who with so I just did HCs for Noir and Miguel

Pls req again soon! You’re so sweet

**I do not own any characters or part of the franchise from marvel or sony **

Summary: look at req

Tw: explicit activities ehehehehe, language

-Miguel-

The first time you two try anything he’s expecting you to be all dominant and get his ass blasted

Y’all two are making out and he’s ready to take it to the next level

And you’re nervous cause you know he’s expecting you to be this super experienced “knows how to make you scream immediately” kinda guy

The truth is you haven’t had much experience because while people may be into the whole “huge man” thing they’re too scared to actually come up to you and even have a conversation

And you’re also scared of hurting your partner

Just a mix of things that led you to little experience

It doesn’t take long for Miguel to figure it out

As soon as you glanced at his face nervously he knew something was up

At first Miguel is surprised bcc he would’ve expected men and women to practically be hanging from you

Once he recovers from the initial shock he’s down with topping and showing you the ropes

It’s a bit of a boost to his ego, not to mention a massive turn on for him

He never lets you shy away from him/cover your face. He loves seeing you. He knows he’s not stronger than you but he’ll still pull your hands away/pull you closer

But sometimes he does wanna be on bottom

Queue very erotic teaching sessions

When you do something he likes he’ll definitely over exaggerate so you’ll know

He also loves marking you up in more…intense ways because he knows it won’t really hurt you

Clawing your back. He’ll claw the SHIT out of your back.

Biting you too. Sometimes he just can’t help it

He finds out you have god tier stamina and impecable recovery time and will definitely use that to his advantage

*cough cough* Overstimulation and denial *cough cough*

He’s down to do whatever you’re comfortable with but sometimes he really needs some stress relief i.e. getting a blowjob or just fucking you senseless

He won’t admit it but he likes when he’s the little spoon after you two are done

~Noir~

You got nervous and told him the first make out session that you had practically no experience

He was a little taken aback, again, you’re so big and so hot how could people not be lining up for a piece of you

It makes him feel even more lucky to be with you though

“Oh…that’s ok, dear. We’ll take it slow, then.”

Then he finds out your submissive too and he’s pretty sure he has a heart attack

Now he was pretty vanilla at first but then he found the internet and stumbled upon some kinks and did some…research

Behind. He loves seeing your back muscles move and twist under him

He likes tying your wrists together with some of his webbing

It’s strong enough that it could actually hold you if you tried resisting, maybe not for very long, but it wouldn’t snap like thread at the slightest pressure

He loves praising you. Praise. All the time. Always praise. You could breathe and he’d be on his knees for you

Every time he does something new he asks if you’re ok with it

He’ll be gentle if that’s what you want but he figures out that’s usually not the case

Usually you want everything he’s got, as much as he’ll provide you

He does love soft romantic nights with you though

Where he gets to enjoy your large beautiful frame and your contrasting shyness

When he gets to slow down and drink in ALL of you

The noises you make, the small movements, your incoherent mumbling

He loves ALL of it

He’s so down bad for you not even a joke

A little guilty pleasure for him is kissing you senseless

He loves being the big spoon for you, even if it just feels like a backpack is attached to you

[harry-on-broadway]

Fancy Dress

Word Count: 3.4K || Rating: M

A/N: So this was supposed to be posted in time for Halloween, but better late than never I guess. It can be read on its own, but I've been thinking of it as a sequel to last year's Harryween one-shot. It's not much, but I hope at least a few people enjoy it. 🫶🏻

***

“Gonna dress up for me again this year?” 

Those words had echoed through your head since he’d whispered them in your ear as the first glimpses of dawn pushed through the cloudy London skies. His body, warming yours as he inched closer to you on your pillow, threw off heat, stronger than any radiator you’d ever encountered, and you scooted closer to him in an attempt to ward off the chill of the room. 

“What are you talking about?” Your voice was hoarse, still thick with sleep. 

“For Halloween.”

“You hate Halloween.” You twisted in his arms to roll over and face him. “You’ve made that clear many times.”

“A man can change his mind.”

You sighed. “What happened to ‘Tour’s over. Let’s do something quiet this year?’ Hmm?”

Harry traced a line down your spine and you shivered under his touch. “Doesn’t have to be a big deal. Can be just the two of us.” 

“Well, I’m planning on dressing up as ‘woman who wants to snuggle and eat candy with her boyfriend.’ Accessories include sweatpants and a hoodie, as well as candy and an Apple TV remote.” You felt his laugh against your hair. “Best news of all, it’s a couples costume,” you continued. 

“Oh is it?” 

“Mmhmm. And if you don’t want in, it’s OK. I’ll just call my other boyfriend.”

“Your other boyfriend?!?!” Harry easily flipped you so you were lying trapped underneath him and began pressing feverish kisses against your skin as he tickled your sides. “You better take that back.” 

“Giovanni would never do this,” you laughed.

“He has a name?!” 

You laughed even harder as Harry doubled down on his efforts, forgetting about Halloween all together. 

***

Harry didn’t let the topic rest over the next couple of weeks, sending pictures of costumes – some tame, some a little sexier – throughout the day, earning a fair number of eye rolls from you. 

“What? I’m just trying to brainstorm.”

You looked up from your computer. “Why is this so important to you? Halloween’s never been a big deal. And it’s essentially been a work event for you for the past two years.” 

“I mean,” he shifted in the seat. “Last year was really…nice,” he said thoughtfully. “I liked getting to spend time with you.”

“You liked having sex,” you corrected. 

“Which technically counts as spending time with you.” He ignored your glare and turned thoughtful. “I’m just kidding, but really, I liked getting to spend a fun night with you and would love to do it again. If you feel the same way.”

You softened hearing how much that night meant to him. “Doesn’t it feel less special when it’s not a surprise?”

“I’m going to be honest, love, I really don’t care how it happens as long as you’re naked in my bed.” There was a slightest hint of a blush across his cheeks, and you felt a heat flame across yours as well. You’d been together for awhile now, with no plans of leaving each other anytime soon, but such an intimate admission felt vulnerable.

“You are such a boy,” you chided, not willing to let him onto the jolt of pride you felt at being so openly desired by him. “But we’ll see how I feel.” 

“I can work with that,” Harry said, turning back to his phone, a sly grin on his face.

***

The invitation arrived a few days later. A friend of a friend who he hadn’t seen in ages was throwing a “fancy dress party,” which despite your early assumptions was not a black tie affair. You weren’t that enthusiastic about going, and you could tell Harry was forcing himself to be excited, not wanting to let a friend down. 

“It’ll be fun,” he said, sounding more like he was convincing himself rather than you. “We don’t have to stay the whole time either.”

“Whatever makes you happy, babe,” you said, kissing his cheek. “Pick out whatever costume you want and we can go from there.” 

Picking the costume was easier said than done and the two of you spent much of the next week bickering over who had the better idea. Harry’d been pushing for Barbie and Ken, but you’d dismissed the idea as overdone. And your own suggestion of Paolo and Isabella was shut down by Harry who said he didn’t get the reference. It wasn’t until you all were flicking through the channels on the couch when you all came up with your idea. 

“It’s perfect,” Harry said, grinning at the screen. 

“And super easy,” you added. 

Which is how you all found yourself walking into the party dressed as two characters out of The Notebook, thanks to the blue dress you’d found in the back of your closet and the white button down Harry had pulled from his. You’d offered to splash some water on him to add authenticity, but he declined. 

You weren’t sure what you were expecting but the party was a surprisingly low-key affair. Classic simple costumes – vampires with plastic fangs and lipstick blood stains and black cats with felt ears – mixed with some that were more of the moment, ranging from a half-assed Barbie and Ken to what appeared to be Harley Quinn and the Joker. 

“Told you,” you whispered against his ear, as he passed you a drink, looking on as a Barbie walked by looking for her Ken, earning you an elbow to the ribs. 

“Nice look,” Johnny said, fixing a drink of his own. “How did Harry convince you?”

“It was actually a group effort,” you said, with a laugh. 

“Felt a little like fate. We were watching TV one night, the movie was on and it was like a lightbulb went off,” Harry said, wrapping his arm around you. 

“It was easy too,” you chimed in. 

Even though you all had been together for a while, Harry’s circle was so vast that you still hadn’t met many of them, making the party a little nerve wracking, a bunch of faces that weren’t familiar yet. But Harry stayed by you the entire night, hand in hand, steering you around the party, introducing you to his favorite people, and shielding you from the ones he wasn’t as fond of. Going into the evening, you all had made a pact to stay for only an hour, but two had passed by the time either of you looked at the clock. 

“OK to stay a little longer?” he asked and you’d nodded, before turning your attention back to Erin and her story about a costume contest gone wrong. 

Three hours in, you found yourselves on a couch in the back of the house. The room had unofficially been designated at the quiet zone, with a few people taking calls or a breather before returning to the party. Harry flopped down on the end of the sofa, pulling you onto his lap before sighing contentedly. 

“Are you tired?” You rested your forehead against his as pressed a gentle kiss to the bridge of his nose. 

“A little.”

“Well that’s too bad,” you said softly. “Guess I won’t be able to give you your treat tonight.” 

At the mention of the treat, he perked up tremendously. “I mean I’m not that tired. I’d hate to miss it after you put in the effort.” His eyes were steely as he held your gaze. 

“You don’t even know what it is!”

“Doesn’t matter. I don’t think you could ever disappoint me.”

You grinned and shifted in his lap, causing your dress to slip up and you guided his hand up your bare leg to rest just under the hem of your dress. His fingers groped blindly and when they reached the edge of your lacy undergarments his eyes widened. 

“Oh fuck,” he whispered against your neck. 

“Do you like it?”

“Do I like it?!”

“I mean you haven’t seen it yet…” 

“I’ll bloody well be pleased with anything you wear,” he breathed against your neck. 

“Thirty more minutes and then we’ll head out?”

“Fuck that, we’re leaving now.” He gently pushed you up and out of his lap before standing and nearly dragging you to the door.

Harry made a beeline for your coats and bags, and when he had them in hand he caught your eye and nodded towards the front door. You held up a finger and signaled for him to wait before enacting the second phase of your plan. Slowly, you walked up to the first person you could see, thanking them and chatting some more about the party. You repeated this for the next person and the next and the next, until you finally found yourself reunited with Harry. 

“Ready?” you asked. 

“It’s not funny.”

“What?” you asked, feigning innocence. 

“Making me wait when I’m…” Your eyes drifted down to his pants. “How bad is it?” he asked, almost wincing. 

“Not bad, baby, but we should probably do something about that.” 

“You don’t say? Please, for the love of God, get in the car.” 

You laughed, enjoying having him beg for you. “Whatever you say.” 

What followed was the most tense car ride in recent memory. Harry’s leg bounced up and down, his hand gripped tight on your thigh as he looked ahead. His breathing was even and measured but the intensity in his eyes told you he felt anything but. You smiled, pleased with the effect you had on him. 

When the driver pulled through the gate, Harry thanked him, quickly and politely, and you did the same, scurrying along when Harry all but pulled you up the path, jamming his key in the lock and throwing the door open. You closed the door behind you, securing the deadbolt when Harry spun you around and pressed you against the door. 

He held your face, angling it to look up at him and he took a shaky breath, before pressing his lips to yours. The kiss was surprisingly restrained, almost chaste, but you savored the way he felt so close against you. Again and again he kissed you. Lips, neck, cheeks, no part of you went unnoticed. You wanted to show him the same affection, but he wouldn’t give you the chance. His hands found your shoulders, pulling your coat off, and then working the straps of your dress down your shoulders, his lips trailing in the wake of his hands. 

After a few moments, you managed to pant out a single word. “Upstairs?” 

Harry pulled back, his lips plump and pink from his efforts, his hair messed from the way your fingers had been threaded through it. “Yeah,” he managed to nod, looking dazed, and you took the lead this time, pulling him towards the stairs. 

In your haste to get to the bedroom, you tripped, over the step or your own feet, you weren’t sure, and landed face first on the carpet, Harry tumbling down after you. 

“If you wanted me on top of you love, all you had to do was ask,” Harry muttered, as you shoved his shoulder. “Are you OK?” 

“I’m fine. You?” 

“No worse for wear. Shall we try this again?” He pushed up from the stairs and offered his hand, which you gladly took. Slower this time, you all continued up the stairs and into the bedroom, where Harry sat on the bed, pulling you onto his lap. “Sure you’re good to do this.” 

You nodded. “Yes, I just need a minute to get ready.”

“Get ready?” Harry arched his brow. “Tell me more.”

“You need to close your eyes.”

“Close my eyes…OK.” He shut his eyes and you wriggled out of his grasp, walking over to your dresser and doing your best not to make a sound as you fished around for the headband you’d stashed there earlier. 

“What is this?” Harry called from across the room. “Some sort of Notebook roleplay? Do you have a thing for Gosling too?” 

“Hush, or you’re not getting your treat.”

That silenced him and you double checked to make sure the accessory was secured on your head. You shimmied out of your dress until you were wearing nothing but your second costume. If you were honest, costume was a liberal description of the flimsy Halloween store lingerie you ‘d been wearing all night. According to the package, you were a dark angel, but the only thing angelic about it was the halo that was precariously perched on top of your head. You stood in front of the mirror, surveyed yourself and tried to summon the confidence to tell Harry to open his eyes. 

“Are you taking your clothes off? I thought that was my treat!”

It was almost funny how outraged he sounded, like a petulant child robbed of a promised prize. 

“Oh I think, you’ll like what I’ve picked out for you,” you shot back. At least you hoped he would. Once you contorted yourself into the black wings that came with the ensemble, you turned to face him, still sitting on the bed with his eyes shut. You padded over to him, wrapping your arms around his neck, as you climbed astride him. Once you’d settled into his lap, you uttered the word he’d been waiting for. “Open.”

His eyes flew open and you had to fight a laugh at how comical his face was. Eyes wide and mouth open he was like a teenaged boy who’d yet to see a pair of breasts, as he glanced between yours, covered in a sheer, lacy bralette and your face. 

“Fucking hell what is this?”

“You said you wanted me to dress up…”

“Yeah, I did. I did say that,” he said, wetting his lips, his eyes transfixed on your chest. 

“And I didn’t really know what to dress up as since you weren’t doing a show this year and we didn’t really have a theme and I couldn’t think anything on my own and this was the only thing left at the store and –” 

He cut you off with a kiss, more passionate than those he’d first given you in the entryway. “It’s perfect, love. Better than I could have imagined.” 

He held you tight against him as he kissed you, his fingers tangled in your hair and yours in his. You tightened the grip of your legs around his waist as you returned his kisses with a passion you didn’t think you’d ever felt before. In the heat of the moment, you rolled your hips, dragging your center over his lap and feeling every inch of his growing erection through the flimsy fabric of your panties. You moaned at the sensation and did it again. He felt even harder than before and you shuddered involuntarily at the thought of him inside you later. 

“You like that baby,” he huffed against your mouth. “Does my angel like that?” he asked as he bucked his hips. 

“Yes. Yes, please,” you replied, practically begging for more. 

“Going to be good and let me take this off of you?” His hands were on your hips, stilling your movement. 

You closed your eyes and bit your lip, nodding, not trusting yourself to speak. Suddenly you felt Harry’s teeth against your shoulder as he used his them to pull your bra strap down, the movement scratching at your skin in the most delicious way, before Harry trailed kisses down your arm, soothing the sting away. He repeated the action on the other side before placing a kiss on the side of your breast and wrapping his tongue around your nipple. Hands still on your hips, he gently pushed you, encouraging you to rock back and forth on him once again. 

You were so sensitive that even the smallest action had a massive effect. The combination of his mouth and the rhythm of your hips moving in time together had you feeling the beginnings of an orgasm deep within you, a feeling that was only magnified as he moved across your chest to your other breast. 

“Love,” Harry said after a moment, pulling away from you. 

“Yes?”

“I-I-” He started again. “We need to do something otherwise I’m not going to last.” His cheeks were red, whether from passion or embarrassment, you weren’t sure, but you nuzzled against his neck. 

“That’s alright, baby. I’m all yours.”

“Yeah, you are,” Harry said, almost as if he didn’t believe it. “Wanna get up for me?” 

You climbed off of him with wobbly legs, nearly landing on your ass – and taking Harry with you – in the process. But Harry scooped you up in his arms, helping you get comfortable on the bed, as you all laughed off the moment of clumsiness. 

“Do you want to take this off?” you asked, gesturing to the cheap black wings that were shedding all over the white sheets. 

“No, I kind of like them,” Harry said. “It’s uh…kind of sexy,” he mumbled, against your neck. 

“Noted.” 

“May I?” He’d hooked his fingers around the waistband of your panties, waiting for your nod of consent, which you readily gave him. He slowly pulled them down your legs, tossing them somewhere behind him, before moving his lips down your body. 

It was almost a ritual at this point, the way he explored you as if you were uncharted territory each time he had you naked in front of him. You’d been told this wouldn’t last forever, that all couples eventually tired of each other, that sex became a routine thing, a means to an end. That may be the case, but you secretly hoped that you and Harry were the exception to this rule. 

He’d made his way down to your thighs at this point and you opened your legs wider, inviting him in. Your back arched when you felt his fingers inside you, testing the waters. 

“So wet for me already and I’ve barely done anything. Careful love, this will go to my head.” 

You made to kick him, but he dodged your attack and managed to hit that spot in the process, drawing a cry from you. 

“Was that good?” You could hear the teasing smirk in his voice. 

“You know it was.”

He crooked his fingers, earning another moan from you as you tried to pull him up to you. “Ready so soon?” he asked, as if he wasn’t already aware. He lined himself up with you and thrust forward with no preamble. 

His sheer size still took your breath away – quite literally – and you breathed heavily at the feeling of him, all of him, inside of you. 

“Easy, love. Slow,” he said, calming you as he gave you a moment to adjust, waiting until your breath had steadied before gently rocking forward.

You angled your hips up, meeting his pace and trying to drive him as deep inside of you as possible. You brought your legs higher around him, giving him more freedom to move and his pace accelerated. 

The sounds coming from your bedroom were, quite simply, ugly. Between the moans and groans and heavy breathing, the grunts that meant move over or shift this way that you all inherently understood, the sounds of sweaty bodies rubbing against each other. It was brutal, but you wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“Love, I’m going to come,” Harry said, words urgent against your ear. “I’m not going to be able to hold on.” 

“It’s OK baby,” you said, encouraging him. He was always so selfless, you wanted him, just once, to take a moment for himself. “Just let go.” 

His hips stuttered, once, twice, three times in quick succession and you felt the tell-tale warmth and wetness of his orgasm between your legs. 

“Oh, fuck, I’m so sorry,” he wheezed. “I’ll make it up to you. I promise.” 

You sighed softly, contentment radiating through you. “You don’t have to. Sometimes it’s nice to just…” 

“Yeah…” 

The two of you lay there like that for a while, ignoring the stickiness of the sweat, and for you, the itchiness of the costume pieces that were still on you. 

Finally, Harry rolled off of you, and you cuddled into his side. 

“That was a very nice treat,” he said, voice hoarse. “I think we both need more treats.” 

“I’ll second that. And I promise next year will be even better.” 

“Next year?” Harry said aghast. “I think you deserve one of your own right now.” 

***

talk to me! || master list

[lilies-n-slander]

just my unstructured thoughts on “complicated and sad”

I’m not huge on radiostatic and haven’t thought about the dynamic as much as other people so probably I’ll be retreading common ground

radiostatic friendship had to have broken up for smth more ideological, it would honestly be a bit boring/disappointing if it was just over the unrequited romance aspect (but it was likely a contributing factor)

the fact that vox asked alastor to join his team gives a few clues

I think atp vox still thought positively of alastor while alastor’s opinion of vox was starting to deteriorate. Vox respected alastor enough to *ask* him to join, rather than manipulate or try to force him

if that’s the case, then whatever vox did that alastor hated likely wasn’t malicious (but knowing vox, it was still a bad/harmful thing)

it seems like the kind of situation where alastor showed discomfort and vox refused to change and didn’t understand what he was so mad about

what could vox have done that alastor disliked so much that it ruined a previously good friendship?

using people? Alastor does that

owning souls? Alastor does that

killing people? Alastor does that

associating with and enabling ppl like val? Maybe? It seems like an arbitrary line to draw, altho one of the comics shows alastor killing an attempted rapist

influencing people’s perception of them through media? Alastor does that, but maybe it was the difference of method that he didn’t like (hypnosis vs charisma)

being fake? Alastor does that but is better at it than vox (smiling to hide weakness)

being weak*? (*not just physically) Now we’re talking. Alastor hates weakness, both in other people and himself. He hates when people let their composure slip and tries to exploit any weakness he sees. Maybe it disgusted him to see someone he thought was strong actually prove to be weak, insecure, and pathetic

a combination of the last three seems the most plausible to me (especially considering what things alastor disses vox for in stayed gone), but I’m still struggling to come up with something that has the right amount of “oomph” to it

I’m curious what alastor initially liked about vox in the first place?

did he only like him bc he thought vox was stronger than he actually was?

has vox just changed so much over the years that the vox alastor formed a friendship with was basically a different person? That would make me curious about what sparked that change in vox—was it a particular incident or gradual corruption?

does alastor hate modernity because of vox or does he hate vox because of his modernity?

leaning twds the former, the way alastor speaks abt tech has a personal tinge to it

most of vox’s hostility twds alastor is prob due to what alastor did as rejection

supported by vox not having much variety of his insults in stayed gone

yes he’s pathetic and might be salty that he doesn’t return his feelings, but I feel like that’s not the whole explanation

does “I thought he was gone *for good* too” imply that alastor has previously disappeared or been shooed away by the vees and came back soon after?

“he owes us a lot more than money” + “things have changed a lot since he left town… …I gotta send a message of who’s really in charge of things now” = before he disappeared, alastor was previously in control, possibly by sabotaging the vees and overthrowing them?

I didn’t rlly mention “still pissed he almost beat you that time?” bc that had to have been after the fallout, so not as much to dig into there (this isn’t to say that I don’t desperately want a flashback of it lol)

hmmmmmmmnfgh… so many questions

I really hope their backstory has already been mostly planned out, bc it seems like something that would go poorly if you just made it up on the fly

[crossdressingdeath]

Davrin: So who will it be? 1. Harding leads the distraction. 2. Davrin leads the distraction.

Hm, yes, who do I want to send on this discreet mission to get behind enemy lines and distract our opponents while my team moves in? The trained scout who I know from DAI has been taking on tasks that require her to get behind enemy lines without getting caught for over a decade, or the Warden who every darkspawn in the place will immediately be able to sense and whose only justification for why he should go is "there will probably be darkspawn" (there will be darkspawn no matter which team he goes with)? Why the fuck would I send Davrin.

No seriously, I didn't know whoever I sent would die at this point (I knew something bad would happen but I managed to stay spoiler-free enough that I didn't know about the sacrifice), I wasn't choosing based on "who do you want to sacrifice" reasoning. Based purely on in-universe knowledge Harding is the better choice by a pretty significant margin. And that's not a knock against Davrin, to be clear! He's great at what he does! But stealth is Harding's forte in a way it really isn't Davrin's; basically this is a job for a rogue, not a warrior, and him being a Warden doesn't make up for that. If he's going to get sensed by any darkspawn present either way I'd much rather have him with me so I have a Warden at my back fighting Ghilan'nain; if I wanted to avoid him getting sensed by darkspawn entirely (which... I mean I kind of do, but his skills are more valuable than the team's ability to move undetected and it's not like Rook's team is particularly subtle once they get going anyway) I would've left him at the Lighthouse. Sending Harding as the distraction is just the smarter play.

Also Harding dying is more narratively satisfying to me, her arc and general demeanour suits that sacrifice way more than the "I choose to live" vibe of Davrin's arc and especially if you also sacrifice Neve Rook going into that final conflict having lost everyone who started this mission with them is delicious. It's wild to me that Davrin is even an option (he shouldn't be, and aside from any race-related reasoning I suspect part of the reason he is is that they wanted to kill a companion off but didn't want it to always be the same one—if only so that there wasn't one romance where the LI always dies, which would piss off anyone romancing them—and most of the others wouldn't be suited for the distraction mission at all or have nothing in their arc suggesting noble self-sacrifice, while Davrin at least has the Warden viewpoint pointing him towards that), but I really don't think the game is encouraging you to kill him like I've seen some people argue; I think it's very much encouraging you to kill Harding. She makes more sense to send as the distraction, her arc and dialogue bring up that "whatever it takes" motif way more than Davrin's do (Davrin's kind of has a strongly opposing theme of living and moving forward when you survive what should've been your final sacrifice; having him use this second lease on life to sacrifice himself again is just weak), the narrative impact of losing your first companion—the one you started this whole quest with! The only other person who travelled with Varric for any length of time!—is stronger than losing your fourth (fifth if you count Varric, but either way Davrin is very much middle of the pack in terms of order of acquisition), and Assan is a consideration; he absolutely isn't and shouldn't be the only reason to spare Davrin, but the fact remains that people really don't like seeing cute animals die even in fiction so knowing that Assan will die with Davrin will be an incentive to sacrifice Harding over him for a lot of people. Basically sorry Harding but I'm probably going to sacrifice you in every run where I don't romance you. It's just a stronger story.

[sameheart-sameblood]

Need You Now

gif credit: @javier-pena

pairing: joel miller x f!reader

summary: when your new life in jackson leaves little time for each other, you and joel sneak away looking for some privacy

words: 3.6k

warnings: 18+, smut, car sex, fingering, unprotected sex, soft joel strikes again

a/n: apologies for this *gestures at the whole fic* i was horny and joel is hot

read on ao3!

You’re surrounded by people, yet all you can focus on is Joel. That’s not unusual. You could be in a room of hundreds and still hone in on his whereabouts in an instant, like some kind of heat seeking missile.

 It’s how it’s always been with you two. He’s the heat, you’re the incessant missile. Being together for a few years, you’d think that your draw to him would have lessened slightly. But it just seems to grow stronger with each passing day. 

Joel knows it, too. He remains in conversation with Maria and a group of her devoted followers but you can’t miss the ghost of a smirk as he senses your eyes on him. He teases you by bringing the beer he’s holding to his lips, leaving them lingering on the rim much longer than necessary. 

Joel finishes his swig, running his thumb gliding across his lips to collect the residual beads of moisture left behind. Asshole. He’s toying with you and there’s nothing you can do about. 

As you wander home from the party later hand in hand, you pull him aside. The shadows of the Aspen Trees lining the pathway gives you some seclusion as you press your lips to Joel’s. He grunts in surprise but quickly melts into your embrace. Only the sound of Ellie and Tommy calling your names make you break apart. 

You hide for a moment longer as the hunger for each other threatens to overtake you once again. “I need you,” your voice comes out as a whimper. 

Joel cups your chin, bringing your face up to meet his. He kisses you quickly, “I know, honey. Soon.”

******

Life in Jackson was peaceful and idyllic but it left a few things to be desired. The biggest problem was the lack of privacy. Tommy and Maria had been nice enough to put you up in their house the past few months. The one they offered you across the street from them needed repairs. All of the unoccupied houses in the community had varying levels of damage that needed to be addressed before you could move in. 

They had let you pick out the house you wanted, a truly generous offer that had left you speechless. The last one you had seen was a milled log cabin on the bank of a large pond within the Jackson boundaries. The house was tinier than some of the other offerings but it just felt right. It felt like home.

One look at Joel had told you he felt the same way. The two of you gazed in awe at the cabin that would soon be yours, your arms encircling each other. The peace was broken by Ellie grumbling, “You guys would choose the most ‘old person’ house in town.”

You grinned, used to her saying whatever thought crossed her mind. “What would you expect from two certified old people?” Joel grumbled at being called old but kissed you on the top of your head, pulling you closer. 

One arm still encircling Joel, you reached out to Ellie. “Come on. It won’t be so bad. You can decorate your room however you want.” She shuffled towards you, trying to hide how desperately she wanted to be included in the scene of domestic bliss. 

“Can I get first pick of rooms, too?” she asked hopefully as she snuck into your embrace. 

Joel reached around you to tousle her hair. “Not a chance, El.”

******

Your cabin, cute as it is, has a few pressing matters to deal with before it can be occupied. The cosmetic issues have been fixed but the roof is due to be completely replaced and the floor needs reinforcement. While those are finished, you’ve been crashing at Tommy and Maria’s house. 

The one free bedroom they have to offer is your current home. The bed is shared by you and Ellie while Joel takes a mat on the floor. Ellie, to her credit, has offered to switch spots with Joel several times. But as she and you both know, he’s too proud to accept the offer. You’re his girls and he won’t have you sleeping on the floor if there’s any other alternative. 

The close quarters have, to put it bluntly, put a dent in your sex life. Back in Boston QZ you at least had the privacy of your apartment to sneak away to. There was also no fourteen year old there to cramp your style. You love Ellie to bits but you’ve also never met a bigger cock-block before. 

Since you’ve arrived in Jackson it’s been all hushed quickies that you were certain someone would walk in on at any second. Maybe a different person would thrive under that kind of pressure but you want Joel to yourself. 

The morning after the party, you’re the first one up, probably because you’re the only one without a hangover. Well, you and Ellie. She’s still asleep, though, too. You decide to make breakfast as a thanks to your hosts. The pancake batter is resting as you begin to crack eggs for omelettes. A pair of arms envelopes you from behind as Joel’s sleepy voice croaks out a ‘good morning’. 

You lean back into his chest for a moment, smiling as he hides his head in the crook of your neck. “Coffee’s brewing,” you offer. 

“God bless you,” Joel murmurs as he releases you. You giggle as you watch him pour a massive cup and begin sipping without any sugar or cream. 

The rest of the household wanders in soon after. Tommy catches sight of you working the griddle and pats your shoulder. “Stay as long as you want,” he grins through a mouth full of barely cooked pancake. 

Around the table, the five of you fall into easy conversation. Ellie regales you all with a few of her latest puns and Tommy and Maria share their plans for the day. Eyes fall on you and Joel, waiting expectantly to hear what you’ll be up to. You open your mouth to admit you don’t know when Joel speaks for you. “We need to get some timber for the house. Thought we’d go scout some out.”

Tommy nods, “Good idea. I’ll come with you.” 

Joel interjects, “No, you’ve done enough for us already. We can manage this ourselves.” He says it nonchalantly but you don’t miss the way he’s quick to refuse Tommy’s help. “Think we can borrow your truck?” Joel adds. 

As Tommy, Maria and Ellie clean up breakfast, you pull Joel aside. “Timber, huh?” you tease, raising an eyebrow. 

He grabs your ass, then leans in to whisper in your ear, “Had to find some way to get you all to myself.”

After the house clears, you and Joel prepare for your outing. You don’t know exactly what Joel has in mind but you know from the look in his eyes earlier it probably doesn’t require much in the way of clothing. Sifting through the pile of Maria’s clothes she had offered when you first arrived, you find a red sundress with white flowers dotted on it. It’s completely impractical. But you’ve grown tired of worn jeans and flannels. You want to feel pretty for your impromptu date. 

Joel likes your decision too. He whistles in awe as he sees you walk up to the truck. Your face heats as you beam shyly at the approval. You duck into the backseat, stuffing your backpack full of sensible clothes to change into later into the footwell. 

Joel grabs you from behind and turns you around, pressing your back against the car. He cages you in, kissing you fiercely. “You trying to kill me with that dress, honey?” he sighs.

You pat his cheek, then push him gently away. “Come on, cowboy. Can’t keep that timber waiting.” 

The drive takes you past Jackson security. They wave you through after they hear where you’re planning on heading. Joel has to assure them that you’re fully armed and prepared for stepping outside of the safety of the community. 

It’s been awhile since you’ve been past the safety of the walls. You should be nervous but all you feel is anticipation. For the first time in weeks, you have Joel truly all to yourself. 

“You wanna tell me where you’re taking me?” 

Joel smiles at you, “I saw a clearing by a little lake when we made our way into town last supply run. Think you’d like it.” You can tell he genuinely means it and you smile at him. 

“How long will it take to get there?” you ask as you start rubbing his thigh, wandering dangerously close to his belt buckle. 

He chuckles, “10 minutes or so. Think you can wait?”

No. You’ve been waiting long enough. 

You shrug, face deceptively calm. “Might as well get started without you.”

Joel glances at you, smile falling away as he sees you toying with the straps of your dress. “What are you doing?”

You offer him your best doe-eyed look of innocence. “Nothing, Joel.” The strap of your left shoulder falls and you pull at it more to expose your breast. “Just taking care of myself since you won’t do it for me.” Definitely not teasing you like you did to me at the party last night.

Joel curses under his breath but doesn’t say anything else, his ability to string together a coherent sentence seemingly gone. You smirk as you pull the other strap down, completely exposing your chest. Your hands wander across your skin, paying extra attention to your nipples when you catch Joel side-eyeing you. 

Chuckling at his expense, you pull up the hem of your dress. One hand wanders between your legs as the other continues to play with your hardened nipples. Your clit throbs as you rub it and you let out a relieved moan as you reacquaint yourself with the feeling of pleasure. It hasn’t been that long but god it’s felt like forever. 

You sneak a glance at Joel and find his eyes trained ahead, knuckles white on the steering wheel. His jaw clenches and relaxes over and over. It gives you great joy to see how much you’re affecting him already. 

The prairie fades away and trees begin to rapidly rush past your window. Joel’s doing his damndest to make it to the lake before he completely loses it. He won’t dare pull over a second sooner. It would give you too much satisfaction to win at this little game and he’s too proud to admit defeat. 

At first, you play up your pleasure to get more of a rise out of him. But soon, the sighs and moans you’ve been exaggerating become very, very real. You don’t want to cum like this, not without his full attention. But you can’t stop now that you’ve started. Subtly, you slow down the rubbing of your clit and silently urge him to get you to your destination. 

After a few more minutes that feel like hours, the car stops. You open your eyes and are met with a sight that makes you briefly forget what you were just in the middle of. The lake in front of you isn’t the biggest but it’s blue like a jewel, the hue bright and clear. It’s gorgeous and you can’t wait to go for a swim. 

Joel has other plans at the moment, though. You hear his seatbelt unbuckle and he leans over the console, grabbing the back of your neck to make you focus back on him. Your gaze meets his and you know you’re in for it. His eyes, usually a soft, warm brown have turned almost black. They bore into you as he reaches over with his free hand to start rapidly rubbing your clit. 

It’s so much better than what you were doing and you close your eyes, basking in the sensation. Joel stops his fingers and tuts, “You keep your eyes on me or you’re not getting anything.” Usually, you’d think about pouting. But you need him and so you just nod vigorously as he rewards you by beginning to rub again. 

You settle in, angling yourself more towards Joel and spreading your legs to grant him better access. With his eyes still locked on yours, he moves his fingers down from your clit and shoves two inside of you. You gasp in surprise as he starts fucking you with them. Joel’s usually the lovemaking type but you’ve teased him too much and he needs to teach you a lesson. A lesson you will enjoy but a lesson nonetheless. 

Never once do his fingers stop, aided by the slick you’ve built up on the car ride. Moans are drawn out of you, seemingly of their own volition. Your eyes travel down to gape at the sight of his hand working between your legs but he tightens his grip on the back of your neck. He pulls your face closer to his as he watches you, knowing you’re a goner. 

Joel’s fingers curl inside you and you’re done for. You cum hysterically, eyes never leaving his. Joel slows his strokes but continues rubbing lazily at your walls, helping you down from your high. He pulls you gently to him and kisses you, back to sensitive Joel. 

Finally, you close your eyes, relishing in your orgasm. Joel doesn’t stop you. You don’t even realize that he’s left the car until you hear your door click open. Still in a haze, you’re lead out of the front seat and ushered into the back. You watch as Joel climbs in to sit next to you and closes the door. 

You grab for him, pressing your lips to his. It starts sensual and romantic, then quickly devolves into a sloppy make-out session. Joel pushes you to lay down on the seat so he can climb on top. Instead, you push him back into a sitting position so you can clamber onto his lap. 

Joel steadies you while you get into position straddling him. It’s uncoordinated and you smack your head on the ceiling. Imagining how clumsy you must look, you let out a laugh. Joel joins in, caressing your face as you smile at each other. 

Once the giggles subside, you take his face in your hands. “I’ve missed you.” 

The admittance sobers him and he grabs your hand, pressing a kiss to your palm. “I’m right here, honey. I’ll always be right here.”

It’s amazing how he can always make you feel as giddy as the first time you admitted your feelings to each other. Your heart leaps, fit to burst and all you can think to do is show him how good he makes you feel. Leaning down, you kiss him with as much passion as you can muster. 

You could get lost in the feel of Joel but the sound of a muffled moan coming from him pulls you back to attention. Continuing the kiss, you reach down and start undoing his belt buckle. Years of practice have made you an expert at getting him out of his pants in seconds. But it’s been a minute since you two have done this and you’re so excited you find your fingers don’t seem to work. 

Joel smirks as he reaches down to help. He undoes his belt but moves his hands aside so you can continue. Reaching down, you slip his cock free and encircle it, beginning to slide up and down at a languid pace. A soft thud brings your eyes back up and you see Joel has leaned back against the headrest. 

Labored breathing fills the truck as you press your lips to Joel’s now exposed neck. You suck red marks along his skin that others back in Jackson are sure to notice. Joel curses but grabs your wrist to encourage you to speed up. You do as requested but soon feel a throbbing between your legs. “Joel,” you whimper and his eyes shoot open to see what’s wrong. 

He reads your expression and nods, helping to lift you so you can position his cock at your entrance. Slowly, you lower yourself and the two of you groan in unison. The feeling of him and the realization that you can take as long as you want makes your head spin. 

But it becomes apparent that this is gonna be a quick fuck too. “I’m not gonna last long,” Joel confesses. 

He’s not the only one. Even just staying still with him inside you is making it hard for you to focus. “It’s ok. I won’t either,” you murmur. 

Joel grabs at your sides to encourage you to start moving. You roll your hips against him and Joel’s head falls back against the headrest again. Smirking, you continue the pace. The realization hits you that Joel has entirely too many clothes on. Thankfully he’s wearing the denim shirt with snaps you love so much. You rip it open, exposing his weathered chest and lovely soft belly. 

Joel comes to, watching in fascination as you bend down to start kissing his chest, leaving marks there for only the two of you to admire later. The roll of your hips stays consistent until you moan when Joel’s cock hits one of the more sensitive parts of your walls. 

The sudden snap of his hips makes you stop in your tracks. You look up to meet his lust clouded eyes and recognize that he needs release and he needs it now. Wrapping your arms around his shoulders you bury your face in his neck as he begins to fuck up into you. 

Sobs cascade out of you as the pleasure begins to bubble up. They’re muffled into his skin, though. “I wanna hear you,” Joel orders and you nod, leaning back to let your wails fill the truck. They grow louder and more desperate when Joel slows his hips, bringing his mouth to your breasts, sucking on one nipple then moving to the other. 

Joel gives one last kiss to each breast, then continues fucking you, hips pistoning up with a fervor you’re not sure he’s had since you’re first days as a couple. Your back arches as you cum, not even able to give him a warning before it happens. You stay that way, paralyzed with bliss as Joel chases after your orgasm. 

Collapsing into his chest, you come down from your high as he ruts into you a few more times before spilling his release inside. His cock continues to pulse as he wraps his arms around you. Sighing, you turn your head, pressing your cheek to his chest. His rapid heartbeat soon slows and you lie there for a few minutes listening to its strong pulse. Joel hums a song you don’t know as he rubs your back. 

“That’s nice,” you murmur, “What is it?”

Joel answers quietly not wanting to break your little bubble of serenity. “Just something that’s been floating around my head the past few days.”

You straighten up and kiss him. “You’re something special, Joel Miller.”

He looks up at you, a loopy smile plastered on his face. “You’re the only special thing about me, honey.”

A look of incnesed shock flashes onto your face, making Joel laugh. He might not truly believe that there’s nothing special about him but also…he very well could. His confidence and self-worth are maddeningly low for someone who most others would label “the whole package.”

Your thighs tremble from riding him and you long for a nap but you won’t rest until you’ve shown him just how much he means to you. A brush of your lips against his own makes his softened cock, still nestled between your legs, twitch with interest. He may not be as young as he once was but his lust for you never fails. 

“Guess I didn’t do a good enough job just now of showing you how exceptional you are. Let’s try again, shall we?”

It takes a few more hours of fucking, interspersed with a brisk skinny dip in the lake, before Joel admits defeat. He concedes that, yes, he is unique, admirable and all of the other complimentary adjectives you’ve bestowed upon him. 

The sun begins its descent towards the horizon and it becomes apparent that your day must come to an end. Joel slips back into his jeans and shirt as you abandon the dress to the bottom of your pack in favor of a more practical hoodie and khakis. You’re already going to get enough questions about how you spent a whole day in the woods and yet have no timber with you. Best not to give more fuel to the rumors by showing up in a disheveled sundress. 

“So what’s our story for today?” you question, slumping back into the passenger seat. 

Joel considers the question as he turns the key in the ignition. “The truth?” he shrugs. 

You laugh and shake your head. “Yeah, we’re definitely not doing that.”

Joel puts his arm on the back of your headrest as he looks behind to reverse back onto the drive way. “I’ll take the long way back. Give you some time to think about what you wanna tell them.” You roll your eyes and he puts a comforting hand on your thigh as he drives. “While you’re at it, think of a few more excuses we can use for next time we need a day like this.”

“You planning on this becoming a regular thing?” you tease him. 

Joel squeezes your thigh as his eyes crinkle with amusement. “Well, I’m no fortune teller but we will be sharing a house with a very nosy teenager… ”

Oh, right. You’re going to need a whole arsenal of excuses to get some privacy. But the thought of the three of you being a content, little family makes it all worth it. 

******

[ilikekidsshows]

The most ironic part of people defending Marinette in Ladynoir and Marichat is that hardly any analysis I've ever seen about her "being soooooooooooooo adoring to her Kitty uwu" ever EXPLAIN Marinette's feelings either.

Even her own fans mostly only write abuse and neglect excuses and talk about some endlessly vague softness, some at this point meaningless heart eyes, and whatever short lines of kindness of the week on her end of the ship are thrown in there.

Even Marinette's own fans apparently can't not go in depth on her "boundless love and devotion" for Chat Noir because the show drags everything down with her writing. It's always the same surface level crumbs. So how are WE supposed to get more out of it then?

If even her own defenders mostly only really talk about Catrien doing 95% of the work in Ladynoir and Marichat in Canon, then how are WE supposed to say something different? We are complaining for the same reason as they are focusing on Catrien: he's canonically actually contributing to the damn SHIP in ways that are pure enough to talk about.

All canon ever does for Ladynette's side is explain what use, excuses and comfort she gets outta his presence. That's also all her canon self ever truly highlighted in her crush era besides him bein hot.

Even her own defenders reduce her crush on him to thirsting. I've never seen anyone actually talk about the scenes in Passion where she for real showed effort and progress cause, I guess, that would require of her fans to acknowledge that she prior to this acted wrong in the first place. And of course the critical people won't make the posts cause when her damn fans can't be asked to acknowledge the rare REAL moments where she actually TRIES then I'll sure as hell not do their damn job.

Cause it's almost hilarious, right? For as much as Marinette defenders yell about us being too harsh, I've truly wanted to read analysis posts on her feelings for Chat to be convinced. But for 2 whole seasons her own fans failed her. They hardly say anything of substance and mostly count on Catrien to make up for her lack of contributions in the ships. Even massive fan Blogs like Buggachat for example are constantly showing that writing flaw in their content. That Adrien has to put up with and has to romantically do WAY TOO MUCH to make up for Marinette’s writing that sticks even in the most best faith (and often to at least some extent ooc, if not entirely) characterization.

When even her own fans spew nothing but endless excuses then don't blame us for picking up on that.

When even her own fans say hardly anything but abuse apologia to defend her then don't blame us for picking up on that.

When even her own fans say that she should be thanked and rewarded for having failed Chat Noir in basically ever possibly way, but hey, at least she stopped being an aggressive Jerk about it, then don't fucking blame us for picking up on that.

We're the ones who can at least argue with Canon scenes and whole episodes to make our point that Ladynette treats him badly. Her defenders say that canon doesn't count whenever they don't like it and otherwise point to their fanon as arguments. Forgive me for thinking that our side has the stronger case, our arguments are the ones that hold up when put to the test by Canon.

---

Yup. Stanning Marinette has to be based off vibes and made up stuff at this point, because the canon is giving us nothing to root for other than her being the protagonist. All the likable aspects of Marinette are so downplayed in canon these days, that the fans have to actively ignore canon to make her a better person they can view as an undisputed hero. And that's without getting into all the abuse apologia and excusing of bad behavior they engage in whenever they don't outright claim Marinette didn't do something she actually did in canon.

It's basically what that person who wanted writing tips for Marinette said; how can we make fanworks where Marinette is a good person who cares about her partner, when the character in canon, based on her canonical actions, probably doesn't care? Well, I try to avoid Buggachat’s stuff these days specifically because all I've seen from said stuff these days is trying to make the toxic stuff look quirky and cute. This isn't the only fanwork that's like this, though. Like, I remember when the Paris Special came out and people started wondering if the alter versions of the heroes were gonna tell each other their secret identities and work more closely together and all the fanwork with this concept was just: “Haha, the main verse lovesquare can’t count on each other for anything and the supposed villains support each other better! It's so silly!”

Like, the toxicity does sometimes get depicted in fanworks but it's always just funtimes, and not actually a problem because they treat it as a two-sided thing, where Adricat participates in the mess in their relationship, when he's the only one trying to be wholesome. There are so many comics of Maribug doing something absolutely horrible to Adricat and the artist’s comments are just: “they're such disasters, lol” when Marinette is the only “disaster” in the equation, but they have to be equally guilty, because then they can brush it off as just “communication issues” instead of Marinette being a self-obsessed jerk.

Like, the reading of the lovesquare as mutual communication issues is understandable to a point. In seasons 1-3, the typical dynamic was “Cat Noir hides his problems, because they're home-related, and Ladybug remains oblivious that he isn't always happy”. However, Cat Noir did tell Ladybug, all the way back in Syren, that he doesn't want to be left out of the loop, which is all Marinette does in season 4. The season 4 “Ladynoir Conflict” isn't based on Cat Noir hiding something Ladybug is oblivious to, even though everyone is used to treating their dynamic that way. In season 4 Cat Noir does tell Ladybug what's wrong, tries to do so repeatedly, only for Ladybug to shut him down by ignoring him, giving him excuses or by repeating apologies she doesn't actually mean because she has no intention of changing the way she behaves with him. The more I looked into what actually happens in season 4, the more I realized that the “the Ladynoir conflict is mutual communication issues” take is wholly inaccurate. Marinette alone is the one keeping secrets.

Marinette Stans have to make stuff up and ignore huge junks of canon in order to depict Marinette as a good partner and person these days, because the stuff the writers have her get away with keeps getting worse.

[sunkissedliterarylightofchrist]

so do you remember the idea I had that I'm kinda scared to write (now I'm less scared and doing some planning) if not totally fine (here's a link to the post ) I was wonder if you thought these

struggles would fit with my message of side characters are struggling with their sense of identity and the main character helps them find it so basically do you think these struggles match up with struggling with your sense of identity I hope this makes sense

Yes, I think all of these work really well with the concept of identity!

The definition of identity is the fact of being who or what a person or thing is, right? And that can be composed of both little and big things.

If someone asked me, 'What defines you?' or 'What's your identity?' or 'What do you find worth in?' or something along those lines, my gut-response reaction would to say Jesus and that I'm a Christian. Because that's who I am, that's where my worth comes from, that statement sums up almost everything you need to know about me as a person.

That's the 'big thing'. The 'main one'. And the most important one. My identity is found in Christ.

(Not every story has to be 'Christian' or only have Christan characters/main characters. A lot of incredible Christian authors don't have any 'Christian characters' in their stories. I'm just using this as an example. [also sidenote but while I think Christian authors don't have to have the main focus of their works to be religion, they should use their craft to reflect Christian morals. You don't expressly have to say Jesus' name in order to point to him with the good, beautiful, and true that you write.])

But also a bunch of smaller, less-important things define me. (Although I don't stake much of my identity on them per say, because that's then idolatry. If the thing/concept/whatever was taken from me tommorow I would still be me, just without that smaller thing that might make up me.) If someone asked me to name 5 things that made up my identity I would say Christ, my family, my life circumstances/experiences, my ambitious pursuits in academia and wanting to make the world a better place, and my creativity. And those are umbrella categories that a lot could fit under, I could get far more specific.

If a total stranger who I have never known in my life saw this post and read those five things, they would have a pretty good idea of who I am, even if those things I listed don't make up the 'whole' of me. Because we as humans are complex creatures.

The same thing can be done with characters. Since your story is about identity, you should take each character and give them one Big Thing that defines them. And you can use that as a base to branch out into a bunch of smaller things that also make up who they are. (Again, doesn't have to be Christ if your story isn't about religion- and with where the story starts it can be a terrible thing that defines them.)

And then make them struggle with it. All those things you listed are great ways to make someone question their identity. And then you can do two things with that- A) Have their identity and who they are change. B) Have them struggle and shift away from their identity, realize their mistake, and return back to it, even stronger than before.

Lemme play this out for you.

Let's say I have a character named Robbie. At the start of the story, Robbie is defined by his need to be successful at baseball. His entire life is built around it. He's being doing it since he was old enough to pick up a bat and wear a glove. Throughout all of elementary and middle school, he's been the best of the team and has worked really hard to get good. He wants to get into the MLB! Pretty awesome dream, right? And Robbie has done everything he was supposed to and more to do it.

But then in high school he's having a big game where there will be scouts to try and recruit to teams, and he gets injured. Suddenly, his identity is shattered. His legs are broken, he'll be in a wheelchair for months, so how is he supposed to get into the MLB? He's heartbroken as his dream shatters and his identity turns out not to be so strong after all. Who is he without his dream?

But then while he's injured, while he can't play baseball and his struggling with who is is without it, he realizes something. It wasn't being successful or making his parents and teachers proud of him that made him happy. That was nice, but maybe that wasn't the point of baseball. It was helping teach his classmates and the kids younger than him baseball. It was helping them succeed and getting good at the sport that brought purpose to the game.

So Robbie's character arc goes from I Need To Be Successful At Baseball To Have Purpose -> I Need To Teach Others How To Play Baseball Rather Than Try To Only Focus On Myself. His identity shifts because what he started out with wasn't strong in the first place. He wasn't being selfish really, Robbie is actually a pretty humble guy, but that's all he cared about. Every desicion that he made was based off of 'Will this make me successful at baseball?' But now he's focused on helping others even when it costs him, and that's a whole lot more important. And that would be the defining theme of my story.

See what I did there? I took one thing and expanded it. I could keep expanding Robbie's story here with other characters, plot points, what's influencing him, other smaller things that define him that either shift in the story too or get even stronger. Robbie's story here isn't perfect, not yet. There are a lot of gaps and quite a few things that don't make much sense yet. But it's a place to start. You've gotta have a basis of what a character's identity is and what it means and if it's good or not before you can change it.

That's how I would do it.

[daniwib]

Season 8 speculation

Here’s my own speculation on what is going to happen in s8 based partly on wishful thinking but also because TM likes to do the unexpected while also calling back to earlier episodes:-

Chim and Hen both get transferred out to different stations. Chim possibly to the academy as a trainer instead of a regular station. Either way, they’re not at the 118 anymore under Gerrard. The fandom is so focused on what their lives are going to be like working under Gerrard again that I think TM is going to flip things on us and they’re not going to be working under him at all. They’ve both already done that before and they’re both much stronger, wiser and more mature now. They won’t take his shit and so we won’t see it. It’ll be more dramatic to take them out of the equation completely and split the 118 up.

Eddie is in a dark place because Chris is still living in Texas. He’s aware things are not great with Gerrard but he’s not focused on it, he’s just trying to keep his head above water in his personal life. Call back to Tommy saying he didn’t like who he was working under Gerrard – Eddie cannot handle anything else, so he falls into his old military mindset and toes the line at work. Does whatever Gerrard says, doesn’t talk back etc etc. Inadvertently becomes Gerrard’s golden boy because of it though he barely even notices. I’d love for that to cause issues between him and Buck but I think their relationship is too strong for that. But then TM has surprised us all before so who knows.

It takes a while before Gerrard realizes that Buck is dating Tommy but once he does, he starts making Buck’s life hell at work in the small ways he did back in the day with Hen and Chim. Who aren’t there to support Buck, and Eddie doesn’t seem to notice, and so Buck flounders. He’s never experienced constant, relentless homophobia like that before. How would he react? Does he try to hide who he is like Tommy did while working under Gerrard, or does he instead flaunt it? Does it wear him down and make him withdraw into himself? Or do we finally see some real growth for his character and see him standing up for himself without any support from his coworkers? (I’m assuming Tommy is supporting him bts but perhaps not against Gerrard personally. Tommy has his own past demons about the man to deal with).

Call back to 3x16 when Buck says “Yeah, like if Bobby retired. [sic] You know, or one of us got moved to another house, we would still all stay in touch” and Buck’s seeking reassurance that that won’t happen to them. Which they don’t actually give him, btw. Fast forward to the end of s7 and what’s Bobby done? Retired. Sure, he changed his mind and wants to come back but as of now in canon he is retired. So, I’m waiting to see some or all of them transferred to other houses and the 118 be completely separated either physically or in Eddie’s case mentally if he stays working in the same house as Buck.

They did it in Lonestar already and we know the shows have echoed themes before (whumpable chaos coma besties TK & Buck anyone?). The drama potential of it happening to the 118 is enticing. It would affect all of them in different ways and who knows we might even get that Buck breakdown we’ve been wanting for years. There are so many ways all of their storylines could go before we finally get that sweet sweet resolution and see Gerrard get the karmic slap he has to have coming – because that’s something else that 911 loves, dispensing karma to those who deserve it.

I haven’t even mentioned the whole Bathena being homeless or HenRen losing Mara storylines, but I know those will come into play again in s8 and I am excited to see where things go with them, too.

I also really hope that Gerrard was the arsonist and that we get more of the 118 losing their homes to arson (cough cough Buck’s loft) and perhaps even the station itself. Far fetched? Possibly. We’ve had more insane things happen on this show, though.

I’ve deliberately not speculated on the BuckTommy or Buddie of it all because quite frankly I’m tired of the shipwar. I’m content to wait and see where TM goes with that. What I’m excited for is to see how the dynamics of Gerrard and every member of the 118 play out during s8.

[m3nt4llyr4v3d]

Chat Blanc Doesn’t Matter

(to the person who actually saw it)

You’ve probably seen this said already but I have to express how frustrating this is dear LORD

Lemme preface this by saying: I think it’s hilarious that the fans come up with better headcanons than the writers

I completely believed the idea that the reason Ladybug was growing distant from Chat was because of the whole Chat Blanc thing. Sure, it was really alluded to twice in the entirety of season 4, but it honestly wouldn’t have been the first time something important was brought up only a few times, so it was reasonably believable. It’s falls in line with Chat Blanc affecting Marinette in multiple ways, her wanting to distant herself from Chat to prevent that timeline, whether subconsciously or on purpose. Meanwhile, her distance from Chat and his feeling of inadequacy on the team could possibly lead to his akumatization anyways. It was poetic really

And then the writers turned to us and said “oh no, it’s not that! It’s just that she has a lot of responsibilities and… that’s it!”

Kuro Neko happened in this season.

The episode where Marinette, for a brief moment, thought that Chat was akumatized.

And she barely has a reaction.

Look, I’m aware that if that was actually Chat, he wouldn’t have the ring and would be a bit less of a threat… theoretically, I mean being akumatized can replicate his powers regardless but whatever. But I feel like this “revelation” should have a stronger reaction? She saw the world get completely destroyed the “last time” this happened, why isn’t she more affected by this??

And in Season 5, she “rebounded” her crush, so now she likes Chat because of the events of season 4… except that would be an issue because it never once occurs to her that a relationship with Chat would lead to that future?? Chat Blanc literally says their love destroyed the world, how else could she have interpreted that? And yet she constantly goes on about what she likes about him and tries to pursue a relationship with him in her civilian identity and she doesn’t think about the potential consequences once?? (I can’t believe the season 4 finale affected her in that regard and Chat Blanc didn’t)

And of course, like others have said, every single iteration of Chat in white doesn’t freak her out. I guess seeing Paris destroyed, flooded, and seeing herself DEAD and her own body DISINTEGRATE IN FRONT OF HER EYES didn’t really affect her at all, nah just a normal Tuesday

No, Chat Blanc doesn’t matter one single bit to Ladybug, because for some baffling reason they’re shoving that all onto Chat, who WASN’T THERE! They had to make him have a nightmare adjacent to it to even do this!

Which, by the way, Marinette couldn’t have told him about any of what she saw therefore making him scared of a potential future based on her words. That would mean that this potential future she saw would have any meaning to her whatsoever, which it clearly doesn’t

what are the writers smoking, genuinely

[lacrimosathedark]

SOMEONE needs to get on Angel Dust & Vox content.

Not a ship, but just their whole dynamic could be so interesting.

Both Angel and Vox are connected to Valentino. Both of them, for lack of a better phrase, fuck with Valentino. But they have such different dynamics.

What they have in common (besides sex):

They're both used to Val's violent temper.

Both are unafraid to stand up to him if necessary

Differences:

Since Vox is stronger and on more even footing, he sees Val less as a threat and more as an annoyance when he acts up.

(I love that second scene Vox's face makes me laugh every time)

Vox has also learned non-violent ways to pacify Valentino where Angel...can't do that.

Angel, however, has reason to be afraid. Val owns him and can do whatever he wants to him. For the most part he's less scared and more miserable, but there is fear.

Angel's abuse has led him to inflating Val's strength in his own mind. This leads him to being protective of people who could feasibly kick Val's ass, putting himself in harms way to keep them safe from him.

Vox doesn't have anyone to protect from Val, really. The only others we know he cares about are Velvette and Alastor. Velvette is part of their team and used to this shit, and Alastor could not give less of a fuck.

Angel also has somewhat healthy relationships while Vox only has the Vees and his obsession with Alastor, which is also distinctly aggressive.

I have so many questions though.

Is Vox jealous of Angel being Val's main carnal focus? Did Angel ever envy Vox because he got to see a nicer Val more often and wasn't bound to his will? What do they think of each other? Has Val hurt Vox? I mean we know he can swap his head out for different monitors, could Val have broken his face at some point? Does Angel know?

Could Vox and Angel have any kind of connection from the abuse Val puts them through? And how would that dynamic effect their other relationships?

The closest we have to an interaction between them is this in Poison

Vox is holding Val's hand less like a handshake and more like kissing his hand. He sees Angel and stops whatever he's saying, and his smile drops. Then he gives Val an I'd almost call it a soft look, and then he zaps off.

There's also those lines on his face. Those aren't the same lines Vox has when he's worked up.

It's the other side of his face.

But also if you notice, both Val and Angel have something coming out of their mouths in this scene too. (this gif is Angel having wiped it off on his hand, you can see the droplets)

Seemingly, this is Val's saliva...ew.

I've seen people theorize Val's spit works like an aphrodisiac or has some other kind of soporific effect. I've seen people suggest it's an ingredient in Velvette's love potions.

Point being, it's a physical manifestation of the "poison" Angel is "addicted to", "choking on", and "full of".

The implication on Vox being that he's being poisoned too.

And there's just...something about this that has me thinking.

I just think they could be a fun dynamic to explore.

[anamericangirl]

What do you think about trump possibly getting arrested for fraud?

If he does get arrested it’s nothing more than a maliciously motivated political ploy to keep him from being voted in as the next president. If you’ve paid attention at all to anything since 2016 you will know they’ve been saying they will “get Trump” since he won the election but they never had anything to get him for.

And they still don’t. There’s no real evidence of any crimes and the case against him is so weak it can’t be anything but political. Even anti-trump prosecutors have refused to take it in the past because it’s simply too weak to prosecute. Even the illegal things he supposedly has done were so minimal that the statute of limitations has passed for even the most serious charge they could realistically put against him. Which means they would have to create a crime, read through the lines and misapply the law, all of which they are willing to do to “get Trump.”

Take 5 seconds to research DA Alvin Bragg and it’s obvious he’s doing this for political points. Look at the crime he’s been ignoring in his own district and then ask yourself why. And ask yourself why he’s ignoring those crimes but going after a decades old flimsy case against Trump that there’s next to no evidence for. Even if he gets prosecuted no reasonable jury would ever convict him on such a weak case.

Why are actual serious known crimes committed by the Biden family not being prosecuted but hypothetical crimes by Trump are?

Where is the indictment for Hillary Clinton whom there is a much stronger case against for similar and more serious crimes?

The whole Stormy Daniels case is bs and there’s nothing to prosecute there because while paying hush money is shady and less than decent it’s not illegal. It’s not a crime. Which means if they try him for anything in regards to that they will have to make up a crime and charge him for it.

And anyone who understands what is happening here, even if you hate Trump to your core, should be furious. Because even if you want Trump locked up or whatever, the way this is happening is a disgrace to our country. The way it’s supposed to work is a crime is found and then they find the person who did the crime and in this case what they are doing is finding the person they want to prosecute and then trying to find a crime. And right now people might not care because it’s Trump and Orange Man Bad but forget that it’s Trump. Maybe next time it’s you. Or your mom. Or the kid down the street. The fact that they are doing it to Trump means they are willing to do it and if they get away with it they will do it again.

Another reason this should infuriate people is because it’s an attempt to keep him from being the president. And that should upset you even if you don’t want him to be the president because what they are doing is trying to override the voice of the people. They are trying to choose the next president when it’s not up to them. It’s up to the voters. They want to keep us from being able to vote for or against Trump because they don’t want him to win. We should not allow this because this time it’s Trump but next time it won’t be. We can’t let the establishment pick the candidates and keep us from voting for people just because they don’t want them to be the president. That is not a choice they get to make. That is up to us, the voters.

This is actual election interference.

I know you might not have been looking for that much but that’s how I’m feeling about it right now.

[xenthosss]

So I know I've been obsessing over Sarah and Belphegor because their whole thing is like, fucking insane, but I really need to give some love to Commissioner Menardier

When he starts off he seems to fall into the 'bumbling detective' architype but it starts to become clear that that's not the case, and looking back a lot of the goofy things he did do are actually relatively practical or at most just quirks.

Like its a pretty funny scene when he puts on his daughters too small pink cloak to protect from bees when walking into an aviary, but also, their are very much weaponized bees in that aviary that can render a person unconscious for hours. He didn't know this but he did know something fishy was going on, and used what materials he had at his disposal, even if it looked goofy.

Another scene early on that looks goofy is him being very cross about the fact that his gold teeth fillings were literally dissolved in his mouth (He was fine) Now anyone reading this would be like 'wtf thats a perfectly normal thing to get upset about' YOU WOULD BE RIGHT! That IS a perfectly logical thing to get upset about. His complaints were literally 'how am I going to explain this to my dentist' which makes complete sense! Like how DO you explain "Yeah I was hit by an anti-gold gun that dissolved my fillings"

Jacques even laughs and says he thought the commissioner was not that vain, probably in reference to the teeth being gold. Thing is he's quite old and gold has a history of being used for fillings. It was likely a practical material choice at the time and nothing more.

But I want to touch on that line specifically (This was a translation so it may not be the exact words used in French but I am still confident enough in the context to say that is what he meant) Because it lands on a very interesting part of his personality

He is not vain, which is why he does a few goofy things like this, he's not worries about his image or looking a little silly for the sake of being practical.

He's also quite competent all things consider. Usually in shows like this people will say things like "Oh the detectives/police/whatever aren't bumbling fools they're just dealing with the worlds greatest thief!" but usually it doesn't work because you can tell they genuinely are kinda bumbling fools who don't think things through

But for Commissioner Menardier that seems true. He's great at thinking on the fly, at taking in unexpected information and not freezing up or fumbling. In episode 2 when Jacques unexpectedly became mind controlled he uses the situation and manages to very quickly set up a trap that actually takes Belphegor off guard. In episode 13 or 14 he's actually very proactive in trying to catch Belphegor and setting a trap, to the point that it manages to piss him him off.

He can also make hard decisions quickly, like episode 24 when it was between taking in Sarah or Belphegor he chose Sarah; this seems like its a personal choice to protect a friend of his, but its actually the oppisite and a completely accurate assessment of threats; Belphegor is Belphegor and taking him down now is really the only chance they'll reasonable get; he doesn't have his magic ring so he won't be able get away like he always does and taking him in would be HUGE

But Sarah is the one with the ring and it has turned her unpredictable and destructive who has hurt people and is only getting stronger; for the safety of everyone she needs to be taken in now.

The relationship between him and Sarah is also amazing; a huge thing in shows like this that is both frustrating and also makes them seem so much dumber is the fact that they never believe the protagonists no matter how much proof their is

Commissioner Menardier is the exact opposite and believes Sarah no matter how little evidence he has

Even when he had to arrest her in episode two (Which was before they were are that magic and brainwashing was a thing that could be done) he was even like "I don't believe its you but I have to act on the evidence I had" Which in his defense was pretty damning AND he was completely right on, she was just being mind controlled in her sleep

Then in episode eight where she's like "Belphagor can walk through paintings and is going to use this to rob the museum" Menardier doesn't seem to believe her because yeah it's a hard sell, but he still acts on the information, sets a traps and SEES someone walk through the painting

After that? Zero doubt whatsoever. She says its gonna happen and he's acting on that information. He even believes mind-broken future Sarah, which I don't know if he knew it was her or not (She wore a doll mask over her face) but I'm counting it regardless

Even beyond that their relationship itself is really sweet and genuine, to the point where Tropetalks even claims that she's his daughter

This is not true, but watching the show you can understand the confusion. Not only do they genuinely like each other and will enjoy spending their free time together, visiting and going out places, but he's also very gentle with and protective over her

He literally managed to pull himself out of a ptsd flashback (Which was purposefully caused by Belphegor) to save her life

I genuinely love this character and he's so sweet, he deserves more love