#how upset it makes me that he's ignored and dismissed by both the show and a large portion of the fandom for not being a duelist is unreal

[chrattenthusiast]

It's all because I wanna Show you that I'm so capable

• warnings: substances, sex while high yay!, kinda long!!!!

Nervous- Chris Sturniolo smut

─── ��⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────

The neighbourhood's music softly emanates from your vinyl while you casually scroll on your phone without much thought.

A gentle tapping resonates from your window, prompting you to become alert. You glance at the clock, which shows 1:58 am, dismissing the sound, thinking it's just the breeze.

The sound grows more distinct, prompting you to cautiously get out of bed. You walk toward the window, hastily opening the curtains to see who's interrupting your late-night music session, momentarily escaping reality.

In all his glory, Chris stands before you. You unlatch the window, opening it to invite him into your room. You take in his appearance, noticing his grey sweatpants, tousled brown hair cascading gracefully on his forehead, and the glint of his silver chain peeking through his sweatshirt. and he looks good.

“you done staring , you’re practically drooling” chris interrupts your thoughts

“what are you doing here it’s almost 2am ” you say ignoring his snarky comment.

“ I Just wanted to hang” he reples

his hands move towards his pocket pulling out a tightly rolled blunt. he moves towards the window, not wanting the room to smell like the illegal substance. sitting on the windowsill he grabs the lighter burning the end inhaling the smoke all while maintaining eye contact. his eyes drift over your appearance, from his oversized shirt you stole from him, and a random pair of shorts. he slightly leans over, his fingers wrap around the waistband of your shorts tugging slightly eliminating the space between the two of you.

"Hi," he greets, observing your silence. His hands gently scratch your scalp as he takes another extended drag from the blunt.

"Hi," you reply relaxed from Chris's fingers. Wishing they were exploring elsewhere.

With his hands still on your waist, subconsciously squeezing as a habit, his thumb caresses the exposed skin as he pulls you to straddle him.

"I've missed you," he says, breaking the silence.

"I mean, you practically leaped through my bedroom window," you nervously inject humor into the tense situation.

Inhaling once more, he grips your jaw, exhaling the smoke into your mouth. You breathe in the substance, releasing the excess smoke from your lips. taking the opportunity to place his lips on yours leading to a heated make out, as his lips move to your neck leaving leaving kisses that were likely to leave a mark next morning

Chris gets up from his seated position, causing you to wrap your legs around his torso, he takes a seat on your bed as he continues to attack you with heated kisses, you move your fingers to loop your fingers around his sweatshirt when he stops your actions, you pause and look at him confused as this wasn't an unusual setting for the both of you

"Are you sure?" he asks, gazing into your eyes for any signs of discomfort. Simultaneously, he gently squeezes your waist, an unspoken pledge that he wouldn't be upset if you weren't up for it.

You nod and lean in to give him a kiss. "Words, I need words, sweetheart," he requests.

"Yes, Chris, I'm sure," you affirm, providing him with the confirmation he needed.

He rises from the seated position, placing you gently on your feet, Heading to the window frame where his second blunt rests, he lights it up and moves toward you, inhaling the smoke. "Take it off for me, look at me while you're doing it," he instructs, his gaze fixed on you.

You follow along, starting with his oversized shirt that clings to your body and smells just like him. He sizes you up, his hands running through your hair, pushing it back and exposing your neck adorned with the bruises from his earlier attack. The blunt moves from his lips to yours, and he takes control, regulating how much you inhale, well aware that your tolerance doesn't match his.

He moves towards you causing you to take a step back, the back of your legs hit the bed frame, causing you to tilt your head to look up to chris,His fingers gently stroke your cheek, planting a tender kiss on your lips before he crouches down. handing you the blunt to hold onto

He tugs at the waistband of your panties, tossing them aside, and you observe as he spreads your legs, murmuring explicit words as if it's the first time he's laid eyes on you in such a way. Placing a kiss on your inner thighs, he lifts your leg over his shoulder, moving closer to your heat. You toy with his hair, and he watches you, seizing the chance to catch you off guard as his moves his mouth towards your wetness.

You feel his mouth warm mouth against your heat, and you let your head fall backwards onto the mattress, chris starts to move his tongue tasting your wetness gently moving towards your clit each time, and you gasp silently thanking his skillful mouth.

In a matter of minutes, Chris quickens his pace, challenging your ability to remain silent. To stifle your sounds, you bite down on your finger as his mouth envelops your clit sucking harder and harder. Your grip on his hair tightens, but instead of pulling away from the stinging sensation, he presses his mouth even closer , and this leaves you breathless, chris takes notice and he redirects his attention from your clit to you.

"deep breaths for me, baby," he says, his thumb circling on your clit. You follow his instructions, concentrating on deep breaths, while Chris's free hand reassuringly rubs circles against your hips.

"Atta girl," he praises, satisfied that you've replenished enough oxygen to your brain. he slides his tongue back inside you, returning his mouth to your clit. Your hand moves to your hips, where you sense his firm grip. Taking a bold step, you intertwine your fingers with his, feeling his thumb brushing against yours, providing you with great comfort.

You feel yourself nearing your climax, your breath becoming shallow as the weight on your lower stomach becomes prominent. Chris adds a finger inside you, but his tongue doesn't abandon your swollen clit. Moments later, you release inside Chris's mouth, and he swallows your release. The speed of his fingers doesn't halt, edging your release further.

He withdraws his fingers, putting them into his mouth to suck off the excess, all while maintaining a gaze with lowered eyes. He grabs onto your hips, pulling you to the edge of the bed, offering you a sloppy kiss, wanting you to taste yourself.

he grabs the reminder of the blunt that was discarded onto your nightstand,relighting it he takes a long drag blowing off the excess smoke.

"Take my pants off for me would you baby" he says and you comply with the request, you see his long shaft hit the bottom of his stomach and you practically drool at the sight. You move to stroke it, but he grabs onto your hand. "Did I tell you to touch me?" he says, and you shake your head in response.

"always so needy for me aren't you sweetheart" he says.

"Chris, please," you express, a clear desire for him to quicken the pace. Yet, he relishes in your evident neediness, wanting the image of you gazing at him with such neediness to be etched into his memory.

Finally choosing to end your anticipation, he grabs onto you and flips you onto all fours. Running the head of his shaft in between your folds, he gradually sinks into you, emitting a groan at the overwhelming sensation, as his eyes fall shut. It proves intoxicating for him, a feeling he swears could be his undoing.

he bunches your hair into a makeshift ponytail and pulls you into his chest as he places the blunt in between your lips encouraging you to take a hit as he slides in and out of you. It drove you wild how effortlessly he could multitask, every action of his causing a frenzy within you, yet he appeared composed as if he weren't deeply buried inside you. You exhale when he slides all his inches into you, simultaneously increasing his pace, eliciting a cry of pleasure from you. His hand finds its way to your mouth, muffling your cries, while his mouth brushes against your ears, you hear his shallow breaths.

"shh, just take it all for me " he says as you feel the cackle from his inhale of the blunt. his eyes trained on the way his dick disappears inside you, as your walls enclose around him with each thrust. your hand move to the back of his neck not wanting to fall over by the harsh thrusts he was giving you lightly burying your fingers in his hair as he nips at every inch of skin available to him.

"fuck, you feel so good" he moves to your clit toying with your swollen bud and you feel tears brim your vision and your hands fly up to the hand that silenced your moans pulling at it you turn to look at him, but you are met with a kiss,It's messy and intense, the kind that screams possessiveness, and you're no stranger to that feeling.

The bristles of his stubble tickle your cheeks as you grip the back of his head firmly, wanting him impossibly closer than his current proximity. You try to pull away, but his hands move towards your head, keeping you in place and thwarting your attempt to escape just seconds ago.

Chris finally pulls away, his gaze shifting to your cheeks stained with tears. He then looks at your slightly swollen lips, and his eyes meet yours. He discards the blunt onto the ashtray on your nightstand, annoyed that he couldn't witness how good he was making you feel, he wasn't willing to miss another opportunity for a visual playback when he was away from you.

"fuck this i wanna look at you" he whispers

He wraps both his arms around your torso, carrying you to your vanity. Still buried deep inside you, he places you down on the wooden table, moving you around like a ragdoll he can play with at his convenience.

Truth be told, he wanted every part of your room to remind you of him and only him—from the window he climbed through minutes ago to the bathroom sink he fucked you against last week. He enjoyed the idea of imprinting his presence in your mind, making you nervous to move suddenly. So, you focus on the wall, avoiding his intense gaze.

"You shy now?" he says, resting his forehead against yours to make you look at him. "Hmm, pretty girl?" he whispers against your lips, smiling as he feels your walls squeeze him. His own pleasure grows at the realization that you respond positively to everything he says.

"You like that, don't you, baby?" he asks, continuing to slam his hips into you, causing you to whimper at his harsh thrusts and you stare at him, dazed by him and the substance that started taking a toll on you, making everything ten times more pleasurable. The way he looks at you, studying what you like, and how you're always at his beck and call.

"I'll call you that anytime you want me to," he says, continuing to tease you. His fingers skillfully attend to your clit, intensifying the overwhelming sensations as he maintains a heated gaze. His thrusts show no signs of slowing down, effortlessly hitting that spot you know and love

You nestle your head on his shoulders, feeling his hands reach for your hair, running his fingers through it. "Is it too much for you?" he asks "Cause if you want to be mine," he begins, planting a kiss on your temple, "you're gonna have to handle a lot more " he declares, gripping your face to make you look at him, his eyes low and slightly red from the many hits he took, feeling the burning sensation in your gut intensify everytime you look at him.

"you wanna be mine?" he asks, right against your lips. and you nod, not wanting anything more than him.

"say it. use your words"

"yes chris. I want to be yours " you sob pleading

Chris smiles at your response, halting his thrusts. "Show me how much, show me how no one else could make you feel like this" he says, and you move your hips against his, riding him hastily, eager to reach your peak.

"no one else can, I promise" you whisper as your mind goes blank, slightly cursing at how he could make you do and say the most outrageous things

"Oh, I know that already. I just want you to show me," he replies to your claim, cockily. Chris was the type to get jealous, but all of that went out the window when he sees how you respond to him in moments like these. He knew you wouldn't dare to seek pleasure from someone else,If you ever entertained the idea of seeking pleasure elsewhere, he consistently made it clear who you belonged to, swiftly reestablishing your place and your actions only reinforced his confidence in that belief.

"that's it baby, just like that " he encourages, the pleasure finally gets too much for you, and he takes notice that you were close.

"you gonna cum for me?" he asks observing your face, which exuded pleading, causes him to look at you with a smile.

"Do you think you deserve to?" he questions you, you nod not able to form a reply as he halted your release, you're already severely lightheaded and sensitive. Usually he'd ask you to use your words to tell him what he wanted, but as he observed your face, which exuded pleading, he didn't push you for an answerr

"do it baby" he encourages

It doesn't take much for you to comply with his request. His hands move to your mouth, muffling your sounds as you reach your orgasm. It hits you with such force that your eyesight is veiled with dark spots, flames erupting through the entirety of your body. and he watches you with a prideful expression as you spill your release all over him and the sight alone causes him to spill his release inside you,his grip around your waist tightens, not wanting you to run away.

He places a gentle kiss on your lips as you ride out your second orgasm. Swiftly scanning your face for any signs of discomfort or crossed boundaries, he sighs in relief when he only sees sheer exhaustion and red eyes, influenced by the weed.

"Do you mean what you said, or is it just the blunt talking?" he voices out vulnerably. He watches as you look at him with confusion, but your face changes as you connect the dots

"yes, did you?" you whisper

"I thought I made myself clear when I had you against the sink last week and climbed through your second-story window," he mentions, intertwining your fingers with his. You respond with a lazy chuckle, appreciating his sense of humor.

He pulls out of you slowly, acknowledging your sensitivity,watching how he smoothly withdrew from you, fitting together like a puzzle piece, allowing you a moment to gather your thoughts.

Before you decide to move, you sense Chris's fingers at your entrance, pushing his release back inside you, selfishly reveling in the sight,you attempt to express your sensation through a moan, but instead, his lips meet yours, muting any sound you might make.

@mattsd0ll @loveesiren @christinarowie332 @daddyslilchickenfingers2 @mangosrar @kenzieiskoolaid @sturnphilia @recklesssturniolo

[sapphic-agent]

So. I finally read this fuckass comic that's been talked about again recently. I'd only ever heard about it before so I decided to check it out. I'm gonna go through some of the pages and give my two cents because why not?

I'm not gonna lie to you guys, I don't get how Katara is "out of character" here. This is very reminiscent of Book 1 Katara, who was playful and teasing and immature and acted like, y'know, a kid. I know Bryke might have you thinking otherwise, but she shouldn't baby Aang all the time.

Especially because he is supposed to be practicing and just... isn't doing it. This was her way of lightheartedly trying to motivate him, which I think is pretty on brand for her.

You could make the argument that Katara is being dismissive here, but honestly? The subject clearly makes her uncomfortable. She was kissed (without consent) before a major battle by someone she saw as a friend. Of course she was uncomfortable. She has every right to not want to talk about or acknowledge it.

Calling that out of character is not doing Kataang shippers any favors when the most common criticism against them is their tendency to brush aside Katara's autonomy.

(At first when I saw this panel, I thought maybe she was being a little abrasive towards him. But... She's the same way with Toph in The Runaway. This isn't behavior that came out of nowhere. Why is it that it's only a problem when it comes to Aang?)

I guess a better question here is, is Aang out of character? For me, it's actually yes and no.

I think they made him overly mopey. Like yes, he's had his moments in the show, but drawing hearts in the dirt? What kind of shit is this??

Not to mention his weird little monologue inside the rock ("Who's really playing games here, Katara?" Are you actually serious, Bryke? Idc what anyone says, those words would never leave Aang's mouth). It feels like a bid to make him more sympathetic so that the reader feels bad for him. I'm fine labeling that OOC.

However...

Do I think Aang would purposely physically hurt Katara? No. Do I think Aang would get so caught up in his emotions that he stops being mindful of himself and his surroundings? Well.

Both times you could label an accident. But both times resulted from Aang being careless and being unable to regulate himself. Now, you could make the argument that this is OOC because Aang learned and developed past this point. And I would agree, if we were talking about Book 2 Aang or even mid to late Book 1 Aang.

But honestly, character regression is very on point for Book 3 Aang. Especially post DOBS. Most of you already know about my beef with Book 3 Aang, so I won't get into that.

Now, I do think that Aang would be a little more apologetic and guilty considering how regretful he was in Book 1. But him prioritizing his own feelings instead of how he affected her? Completely on-brand. In EIP he was upset about how he messed up his chances with Katara, not that he kissed her without consent and upset her.

But even if this couldn't fit Katara and Aang as characters, even if they were outlandishly OOC and completely different from the characters we knew, that doesn't really matter. This comic is official and canon. Just like the comics where Aang ignores her in favor of his weird fanclub and she swallows her hurt and puts up with it. Just like LOK where Aang is a neglectful father and Katara is a mild mannered housewife.

You can dislike this comic and criticize its portrayals all you want. But it's still canon. You can't ignore canon, especially when your main argument for Kataang being better than Zutara is that it's canon

[buckleyirondad]

it's a leap of faith

Buck needs to talk to somebody after kissing Tommy. So, naturally, he ends up on his sister's doorstep in the early hours of the morning. Read on AO3

“Hey, I’m sorry..." Buck feels like he’s completed a marathon, or maybe even two. All he's done is sit in his apartment, mulling over the events of the evening, before realizing he needed to speak to somebody. 

So, he got into his car and drove to the person he can always count on.

Maddie stares at him, slowly blinking. “Buck, it’s the middle of the night.”

“Sorry.” His heart thumps in his ears, and if he doesn’t sit down soon, he may crumple into a heap. “I just—I just, um–”

“Hey.” Worry fills Maddie’s face. She reaches out, pressing a hand to his arm. “It’s okay. Come inside.”

Buck takes careful steps toward the dinner table, because if Jee-Yun hears a floorboard creak, she’ll be up. 

He thanks the stars that Chimney is working. While he hopes to tell everybody about his revelation, he intends on taking it slow. 

Maddie takes a glass from her cupboard and fills it with water, which she places in front of him. He takes a sip, ignoring how much his hands tremble as he does.

He can sense Maddie’s concerned gaze, looking for answers and worrying about worst case scenarios, as both of them tend to do.

“Buck, look at me.” She takes his hand, and mimics a deep breath, for him to follow. “Breathe.”

“I’m okay,” he pants, taking time to calm himself. “I promise, I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.” Maddie’s eyes are frantically searching for an answer, and he can see the panic growing in them.

“I spoke to Eddie,” he calms his tone, hoping to show her that he is okay.

“Yeah?”

“He forgives me. And I owe him a few favors,” Buck says, with  a smile.

“Rightfully so.”

“I, ur…” Buck laughs, bowing his head. Then, he stops, taking a second to compose himself. 

This is the moment. The leap of faith he knows that queer people take every single day, and this one is his.

He isn’t sure what he wants or needs to say. There’s no manual for this, and researching ‘how to come out’ only guides him so far. “Do you ever feel like you’re not complete?” he finally asks.

Maddie frowns. “Not complete?”

“Like there’s parts of who you are, that you haven’t discovered yet, and when you do, everything kinda, comes into focus,” he stammers.

“Sure.” Maddie nods. “I think that’s life, right? We’re always changing.”

“I guess.” 

“Evan?” She speaks gently, as if she’s calling out to him, despite being sat side-by-side. “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

“I just, kinda don’t know how to explain it.” Buck sits up in his chair, clutching his hands together. 

“I’ll understand.”

There’s no right or wrong way to do this, but Buck feels like he’s about to take center stage and perform a song he doesn’t know.

“Tommy kissed me,” Buck blurts.

Surprise crosses Maddie’s face, and her jaw slacks slightly. “Tommy kissed you?” Her expression morphs with realization, and she smiles. “And how did that make you feel?”

“I, um, I kissed him back,” Buck splutters, his hands flailing about in front of him. “I wanted to, and I…” He suddenly becomes aware that his cheeks are wet with tears.

He’s not entirely sure why he’s crying. He’s certainly not upset. If anything, he’s joyous.

“It felt like, um that—” he cries.

“Everything came into focus?” Maddie finishes.

“Yeah, yeah.” He runs his hands over his cheeks. “It really did.”

Maddie jumps to her feet and pulls him into her arms. Since he’s sitting down, she has a height advantage, and as he wraps his hands around her back, he feels like a little kid again.

The same one who always ran to his big sister.

“Thank you for telling me,” she whispers in his ear as she clings to him. She steps back to press a kiss against his birthmark. “I’m proud—oh, and I.” Tears are filling her eyes. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Buck spots the clock on the wall behind Maddie, and inwardly cringes. “I’m sorry I woke you.”

“It’s fine.” She waves a dismissive hand as she sits down. “You can always wake me up when you need me.”

"Thank you." He relaxes, and then says, “I thought I’d be–”

“You’d be what?”

“Confused, but I’m not, it all makes sense.” He leans his head in his hand. “There are all these moments I’ve looked back at, and I know now, what they meant.” He lifts his shoulder in a half-shrug. “I just, I never knew that this was a discovery I could made–”

“What, at your old age?” She teases. “Not everybody knows exactly who they’re going to be by 18.” Her smile somehow grows wider. “I’m so happy for you. You look–” she cuts herself off, tilting her head like she’s had an epiphany of her own.

“What?”

“You don’t look like you’re holding the weight of the world on your back anymore.”

Buck lets out another breath, and like every one since Tommy kissed him, it is filled with relief.

Because he’s finally free.

[galedekarios]

"i'm strong enough. i'll carry on alone."

i've already made a more detailed post about the loss scene that was part of act i and gale's romance in early access.

the scene held a lot of weight and was a turning point in the relationship between gale and the protag, while also highlighting just how far gale has fallen, in terms of social standing and in terms of power:

Gale: Khat-Tsjin Deth-Thra! Player: You don't sound very happy there, Gale. Gale: Happiness is like a stray cat: sometimes it seeks you out, sometimes it ignores you. Tonight, I'm ignored. It's getting alte. I think I'll turn in. Perhaps some sleep will do me good. Player: They say you should never go to bed angry. Gale: Isn't that advice for couples? The only one I'm angry with is myself. Please - just let it rest. Player: [Insight Success] We shared the WEave the other night. Now share what's on your mind. Gale: Very well. Just now, I was trying to cast a spell I once cast with ease, but I failed. You see, this fire - there was a time that I could make it come alive. That it would take the shape of a dragon and roar in delight. There was atime I could silence a Beholder with a word, and lift a tower from its foundations with a flourish. There was a time I was all but one with the Weave. But no more - a mere shadow of the wizard I used to be. Why? Because I've lost. Player: I don't understand. What is it that you've lost? Gale: I've lost... Player: [Insight Success] Go on. Every burden is easier to carry when shared. Gale: An apt enough observation. I've lost Mystra. I sought to impress her personally. To turn the eyes of my muse upon me. To win the favour of a goddess. But I failed, and all I invoked was death and dismissal. My death. Her dismissal. Player: I don't know what to make of what you've told me, but I sympathise. Gale: Thank you. You're a good friend. I often think of that moment we shared together - one under the Weave. I hope you think about it too.

it's a wonderful scene that offers a lot of insight into gale's character as well as his past, but what i haven't focused on in the original post is the dialogue the player would get from gale if the protag failed the check to convince him to open up and share the burden that was making him visibly upset:

[the banter is identical with the one above up to this point] Gale: I've lost... Player: [Insight Failure] Go on. Every burden is easier to carry when shared. Gale: I'm strong enough. I'll carry on alone. Gale: With that I bid you an evening better than my own.

i think this shows a very interesting side of gale and one that we both don't get to see often and / or press him on: the side of gale that masks his worries, his fears, his insecurities and his pain to soldier on and do what he feels needs to be done.

we catch glimpses of it in the full release as well, specifically during and after elminster does his duty as mystra's chosen and informs gale of her demands of him:

Weary Traveller: You must find the Heart of the Absolute, whatever that may be, and use yourself as the catalyst that will burn it from this world. Player: We'll be rid of both the Absolute and Gale in one fell swoop. Win-win. Weary Traveller: I may be slow to anger, but I will not have you sully this moment of most sorrowful import with ill-considered levity! Gale: It's all right, Elminster. If ever gallows humour were appropriate, this is its grim-smiling hour. Weary Traveller: It brings me no pleasure saying this, my friend, but such is Mystra's will. Yours must be the sacrifice that will undo the Absolute. And for your sacrifice, you will be redeemed - such is Mystra's promise. Weary Traveller: With that, I've said my sorry piece, and need only bestow unto thee the charm I was bid.

it's elminster who is upset on gale's behalf, not gale himself. he treats it as 'gallow's humour' - whether or not it's meant like that by the protag.

the same view he takes on shortly after, once the protag asks him how he is feeling:

Player: How are you feeling? It can't be easy, facing the possibility of death... Gale: Oh, you know me - ever the optimist. I'm trying to focus on the positives. devnote: Gallows humour Gale: The truth is, I was living on borrowed time already. Consuming those items would only have kept the orb sated for so long. Gale: If anything, I feel more at peace than I have in months. At least now I know my death will have purpose. It won't be a distant 'bang' in the footnotes of history.

Player: You're seriously considering doing what Elminster said? Gale: Of course - he offered the clearest solution to our problem. All I have to do is find the right place and time, close my eyes, and let go… devnote: Trying to sound upbeat, not fully engaging with what he’s saying (that he’s going to kill himself). Gale: Then the slate will be clean, wrongs will be righted, the Absolute will be gone… devnote: Trying to sound upbeat, not fully engaging with what he’s saying (that he’s going to kill himself). Gale: …and I along with it. devnote: Still trying to sound upbeat, though this time the reality that this means he will die weighs a bit heavier

the game gives you no option to press him on any of this. on this front of maintaining optimism, of gallows humour, clinging tightly to the idea of there being purpose in his own death, yet not fully engaging with what that actually means.

until he can't avoid it anymore, and even then, he carries on. we know it's already of limited comfort to him by the time the last night alive scene / act 2 romance scene takes place:

Gale: I am terrified - I will not claim otherwise. My face could scarcely conceal it even if my words sought to deny it. nodecontext: Hushed, vulnerable Gale: There is no point in running from the inevitable. Better to meet it, on my own terms. nodecontext: Resigned

and it's echoed later too, in act 3, when he offers himself up as an out, a failsafe, for the protag and the companions:

and it of course culminates in the scene - if you chose to take that route - which gale ascends to the elder brain alone, spelling his friends and companions away to safety.

he says he is strong enough to carry on alone, to do what he believes must be done, what's been ordained to him, by fate or by mystra, and he is. despite being terrified. despite wishing he didn't have to be.

it's an interesting aspect of gale - but his relief is all the sweeter for it when he realises that he doesn't have to be strong enough and that he doesn't have to carry on alone.

he's found friends and possibly love.

every burden is easier to carry when shared indeed.

[mytheoristavenue]

Can you maybe do one of one piece men hearing their shy s/o yell at them for the first time? Or first time their shy s/o acts bratty ? Can be fluff , agnst or NSFW, whatever you'd like my love. I'm sure it'll turn out good , I loved your other ones that you've written!! ❤️❤️ BTW that sanji speaking French got my good 😫😫🤌 *chefs kiss*

I'll do all three! I hope it's alright that I only do Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp for this one! Since I'm going to do three separate scenarios for each, it would be a lot of work to do that for as many characters as I included in my last post! If I missed anyone you specifically wanted, let me know!

Straw Hat Men + Shy!S/O Yelling for the First Time 🍋

Summary: How your Straw Hat boyfriend reacts to hearing you raise your voice for the first time in an angsty, fluffy, and NSFW scenario.

Waring: NSFW, MDNI, fluff, angst, fem!reader

Note: I did mark this one with a lemon as I usually do with NSFW content, but only 1/3rd of it will be! The different scenarios will be marked with a '💕💔🍋', for fluff, angst, and smut respectively. If you've seen any of my masterlists, they also operate under this same key.

Monkey D. Luffy:

💕 Your least favorite part of being a pirate was the fact that your boyfriend was your captain. If you could leave and join a different crew without it being a relationship ending action, you would most certainly consider it. It wasn't always bad of course, but with it was bad- it was awful.

As your lover, Luffy was stubborn, but as your captain it was ten fold. once he settled on a bad idea, there was no changing his mind, no matter how much your opinion as his partner mattered to him. Typically, it was something you could look pasted, but you had to admit, his last bright idea had left you bitter with him, and the way he hounded you for answers as you why you were ignoring him was doing him no favors.

"Awe, c'mon, babe!" he giggled, wrapping his elastic arms around your waist, pulling you back to him after you'd walked away from him. "I'm sorry you got all wet!" he offered, only receiving a sharp glare form over your shoulder.

Earlier that day, he had decided that everyone would go into the town to do some shopping on the island you'd ported on. You picked out a lovely floral sundress, and worn it out of the store after buying it, excited to show him how pretty it looked on you. To your surprise, and later anger, he enthusiastically scooped you up and tried to swing you along with him back to the Sunny, only to miss. Not only did you both collide with the ship's hull, but you also fell into the water, making his survival your responsibility.

"Luffy, that dress was very expensive. I rarely buy myself nice things, and the one time I did, I didn't even have it for ten minutes before you ruined it." you pouted quietly, still unwillingly wrapped in his arms.

"I'm sure it's not ruined, babe, we can wash it." he dismissed, making your blood boil. You couldn't contain your frustration at him.

"No, we can't!" you snapped, pushing him away to glare at him with hands on hips. "It's silk, you can't just toss it in the washing machine! I has to be professionally cleaned, and you just had us set sail away from the only place I could take it to! Who knows how long it'll take us to find another island with a dry cleaners', and even if we found one tomorrow, it wouldn't matter! The stain is already set!"

Luffy simply blinked at your ranting. He didn't understand any of what you'd just said. He wasn't even entirely sure what silk was or why it was so different from regular fabric, but he could recognize that he'd upset you, which he felt bad for. "Awe...I'm sorry babe." he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck shamefully.

"You should be!" you huffed, crossing your arms and turning your back on him.

"Tell you what," he smiled, wrapping his arms around you again, this time laying his head on your shoulder. "Next time we port, we'll go out- just you and me and I'll take you shopping again. I'll have Nami set some of my money aside and it'll me my treat. And I'll see if Franky can build something that can wash silk." he negotiated, melting the tough coating around your heart. "We'll get you all the expensive clothes you want, and that way, you'll be able to to clean them if you need to."

"Luffy..." you swooned, turning in his arms to face him. "You promise?" He nodded with a ear to ear grin, and you threw yourself into his embrace. "Oh, I can't stay mad at you, you're too sweet!"

💔 The second time Luffy heard you raise you voice at him, it was a gut wrenching scream, accompanied by tears. The part that disturbed him most, however, was the fact that it wasn't really at him, but more for him.

"Stop it!" your voice rang out across a smoking battlefield, crack and desperate. "Please, stop, you'll kill him!" You were yards away, but you could still see the light leaving your boyfriend's eyes as he laid motionless on the ground from where you were being subdued.

The marines had ambushed the crew while at an island you'd stopped at for supplies. Kizaru stood over him, glancing over at you when he'd heard, his signature smug grin unfaltering as he made his way over to you. "That's the point, dollface."he cooed. "Dead or alive, or so the saying goes."

"P-Please," you negotiated. "Please, you can have me instead. I-I'm worth something right?" You struggled to remember your current bounty.

"You want me to give up one of the most wanted men on the seas," he chuckled, looming over you. "For a measly ten million berries?Honey," he smirked, eyes darting to Luffy, still unmoving, and back to you. "The only thing that makes you worth anything is your value to him. Now that we've got Straw Hat, we don't have a use for you."

"That's...not true..." a broken and tired voice graveled from where he once lay. Your hopefully eyes snapped to your partner as he slowly rose to face the admiral in your stead.

"Luffy!" you shrieked, relieved tears streaming down your cheeks.

"Still kickin', huh?" Kizaru laughed, turning his attention back.

"That's not true, (Y/N)." your captain continued, entirely ignoring his enemy, yet still walking towards him and not you. "You're worth so much more than being my girlfriend. You're a Straw Hat, and that means so much more!"

🍋 Luffy had never known you to be the most verbal person when it came to physical pleasures, and the silent sighs and tiny gasps became a common song that he learned to enjoy above all others. that was until he heard what you were really capable of.

"Oh, fuck, Luffy!" you cried, tossing your head back in eustasy. He froze entirely for a moment, gazing up at you in awe as you rode him, bouncing with delight, and cursing his name like the sailor you were. You were so entranced that you failed out notice his lack of participation as he watched you put in all the work he normally would.

Hearing those loud, dirty words tumble over your lips did something to him- snapped some sort of line that tethered him to his control. "(Y/N), baby?" he spoke lowly, breaking you of your spell. You immediately began apologizing, bringing your hands to cover your blushing face, only to be caught by the wrists. "What have you never moaned for me like that before?"

"I-I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me!" you sputtered, humiliated by your lewd behaviors.

"Well," he decided, guiding your trembling hands to his hair, before winding his rubber arms around your waist and clenching your doughy thighs as hard as he could without doing actual damage. "We're gonna fuckin' find out!"

Roronoa Zoro:

💕 You had been ignoring Zoro all day long and it was starting to drive him crazy, though he wasn't going to let you on to that fact. He eyed from from across the deck as you chatted with Nami about something he didn't care about. Anytime you would catch him looking at you, you'd huff, turn your nose at him, and make it a point to very sweetly ask Sanji for something. Every time, the doting chef would give into your every whim, bringing you parfaits, making you something special for lunch, or even a fancy glass of water with cucumber and mint. Finally, your boyfriend decided he'd had enough.

"Why are you acting like such a brat today?" he grilled sternly, looming over your lounge chair as you tanned. "You better not be trying to make me jealous of that damn cook."

You gasped dramatically, sharing a shocked looked with Nami, before you both rolled your eyes at him. "You've got some nerve calling me a brat." you spat back at him, turning your attention back to your magazine.

"Well, you're acting like one!" Zoro protested.

"Yeah, well," you huffed. "At least Sanji's nice to me and gives me attention when I want it!" Nami silently agreed with you, nodding her head as you spoke.

"Oh my God," your boyfriend groaned, rolling his eyes and slumping his shoulders. "Is that what this is about? Damn, you're so annoying."

You scowled at him, throwing your magazine onto the floor in a fit. "No, Zoro, you know what's annoying? Trying to spend time with your boyfriend, only to get passed up for lifting stupid weights!" you shouted, collecting the attention of many of your nakamas, which embarrassed him quite a bit. "All you do is work out or clean your damn swords! I wake up, and you're not in bed because your training, I go to bed and- same thing!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry I have to train to keep you protected you highness!" he snarled back at you. "It's not like I've saved your life or anything."

"Oh, thank you for not letting me die! Boyfriend of the damn year!"

"Jesus Christ," he growled, finally giving in under all the stares of his crewmates. "I'll skip work out tonight and we can cuddle all night, okay?"

"Okie dokie!" you beamed, demeanor immediately shifting back to the kind, sweet girl everyone knew you as. Zoro sighed, exhausted by your manipulation tactics; he needed a nap.

💔 Zoro's body froze solid, hearing you're voice from a location he couldn't pinpoint. His mind went into fight or flight mode as the fear and desperation in your voice struck him like a pendent in a church bell, sending vibrations all throughout him. "Zoro!"

"(Y/N)?!" he called back, spinning as he took in his surroundings. He could see so many people, but none of them were you. Where were you?

"Zoro!" Suddenly, you broke through the crowd, making a mad dash for him, leaping into his arms before he could register it. "Oh my gosh, I thought I'd lost you!" you cried into his chest. "I was so worried!"

He was still frozen, for the first time in his life unable to act. "Y-you were worried about me?" he stammered, having trouble wrapping his head around the idea.

"Yes!" you replied, nuzzling into his throat. "There's marines on the island, and when I turned around and you weren't there I thought you were in trouble!"

"If that's the case, you should have gone back to the ship." he scolded you lightly, trying to mask how much his heart melted at your concern. "Now we're both in danger."

You shook your head quickly. "No, I'm not going anywhere without you! We'll go back together!" You insisted. "What if you get lost again?"

His stern face softened into a loving smile, reflecting his feelings in the moment, before grabbing you by the hand. "Fine, let's go. You lead the way."

🍋 Zoro had never heard anything more lewd that the sounds he was extracting from you now. You were laid out in his arms, across his lap, his fingers reaching for invisible buttons inside you, making your tummy do flips. Each breath you took was ragged and punctuated a needy whine. Typically, you sang a song of soft hums, using his name as a refrain every so often, and he did adore that, but nothing could compare to the arousal he got from hearing you curse.

"Shit, Zoro, I-I-!" you were beyond the point of forming fully coherent sentences, most of them fading after a few words. His own breathing quickened as he worked you better and better by the minute.

"Yeah, baby," he groaned, his face contorting into a frustrated snarl. "Tell me all those dirty words you know."

God Usopp:

💕 "I said I'm sorry!" he squeaked, following you out of his workshop and into the bathroom. "It was an accident!" You ignored his pleas for your forgiveness as you walked up to the sink, leaning over to dip your head under the faucet. He had been showing you his newest star, when he shot it at a shelf, which in turn shook, knocking a bottle to toad oil onto your head. Your silence terrified him as he stood idly by watching you try to rinse it from your scalp. "I-If you let me take a bath with you, I'll wash it all out-" His nervous negotiations were cut short by your harsh glare.

He wrung his hands, pacing back and forth as you disrobed and slipped into the washroom, heading straight for the shower in the corner. Reluctantly, he followed you, fully clothed, unsure if he was meant to or not. "I really am sorry," he admitted, stepping up behind you as you say on the stool and poured a bucket of water over your head. "Here, let me." he insisted, thoroughly rinsing your hair before massaging product into it. You wordlessly allowed him to was the oil out of your hair, enjoying the quiet of the moment, until he ruined that too.

"A-Are you gonna break up with me?" he piped up anxiously.

"No!" you shouted with an exaggerated sigh. "I'm not going to break up with you over this, Usopp, I'm just mad!"

"Sorry," he replied, embarrassed at his silly question. "Thank you..."

"For what?" you snapped, wishing he would simply stop talking for a few minutes.

"Giving me another chance." he answered quietly. You felt your heart tear a bit at his insecurity.

"Usopp, I would never leave you over something this small." you confirmed, glancing at him over the shoulder. "I know it was just an accident, and I forgive you. I just need a few little quiet time to cool off."

He nodded, prompting you to relax as he lathered your scalp. Within minutes, you were putty in his hands, and happy as a clam again.

💔 The way his name came out of you mouth tore Usopp apart. Though you weren't together yet at this time, he still held so much undying love for you, but his pride had gotten the better of him. He ignored your sobs as he walked away from the crew, choosing a broken ship over everyone who cared for him- including you.

"Usopp, you stop right there!" you commanded, tears steaming down your face as you struggled to run after him. You'd seen him respond when Kaya did this, and you genuinely thought it would work, but obviously, given the circumstances, his love for her was much stronger than what he had claimed to have for you. "Please, come back! Usopp!"

You tumbled to the rocky shore of Water 7, having tripped over your own feet, your vision too obscured by tears to see straight. "Please!"

"C'mon, (Y/N)," Nami sniffled, pulling you to your feet only to hold you back from pursuing him further. "He's made his choice."

🍋 Usopp marveled up at you from between your thighs as you sat perched atop his face. As you rode, bucking your his against his chin, you failed to notice the escalation of your volume, but he didn't. He adored your shy, soft moans- even thought of them in his sleep but this was entirely new, and so much better.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" you chanted. "Love riding your pretty face, baby!" He melted beneath you as you writhed, crying out in ecstasy, using him the way you wanted. He watched as you raised your arms, tangling your fingers in your hair. "Wanna cum all over your face!" you sighed, entranced.

"Do it, angel." he purred, voice muffled by your heat as he ate his fill. Your eyes shot open as you realized your dirty thoughts had spilled into the open air.

"Oh my God!" you squealed, instantly pushing yourself away form his face, leaving a snail trail down his chest to where you currently sat at his pelvis. "I'm so embarrassed, I'm so sorry!"

Usopp's fingers delicately laced with yours as he pulled at your hand. "Get back up here," he cooed, guiding you back to your previous position. "Please cum all over my pretty face."

Vinsmoke Sanji:

💕 You pouted in the corner of the dining room as Sanji served dinner, setting your plate down in from of you, and delicately tying your napkin around your neck as he always did. "What's wrong, Mon amour?" he asked, softly petting your hair, only to have you turn your nose up at him. The rest of the crew looked on in curiosity as the chef continued to serve, all the while struggling to get you to give him time of day.

After the meal was finished and everyone else had left the table, you stayed to help him clean up as usual. "Mon trésor, talk to me." he insisted. Once again you ignored him, prompting him to take the dishes from your hands and set them aside, before cupping your cheek to ensure that your focus was only on him. "What's the matter?"

"Oh nothing," you scoffed. "Just wish I had a boyfriend that was only my boyfriend is all."

Sanji stared at you blankly, puzzled by your sudden aggression towards him. "I'm all yours, amour, why would you think otherwise?"

"You seem to be pretty friendly with every other girl you come across," you muttered bitterly.

"Are you jealous?" he smirked, only to find that, to you, this was no amusing matter.

"I shouldn't have to be!" you snapped, sniffling a bit. "I shouldn't have to feel like I have to compete for your attention..." He stood in front of you, lips ajar from surprise at your level of emotion on the matter. After a moment, he softened, pulling you into his chest.

"This world is full of beautiful people, male and female," he soothed as you resisted the urge to cry in front of him. "We can never simply turn off our attraction to people, but at the end of the day, you should know that you take up all the space in my heart."

"Some apology," you scoffed, trying to push his affections away.

"It's not an apology," he corrected. "Though, maybe it should be. I'm sorry I hurt your feelings, amour." he cooed, petting your hair and letting you be frustrated with him. Sanji was never one to try and sort out a problem immediately. He knew emotions took time to ease through, and how unhealthy rushing that could be. "Would you like some time to yourself?" he offered, pulling away from you to look into your eyes. You shook your head lightly, before nuzzling back into his chest. "Would you give me a chance to make it up to you?" You nodded shallowly, your hair getting mussed and collecting static from his shirt.

He smiled sweetly, parting from you, and holding you at arms' length. "Tell you what," he began, glancing over to the sink full of dishes. "Give me a few minutes to clean this up, you go get in the tub and wait for me."

💔 You stood in the pouring rain, outside looking in on a private moment. Sanji, the man who'd sworn his eternal love for you was there, embracing his wife to be the day before their wedding. His face was battered and bruised as he whispered to her. "Let's get married tomorrow."

Against all your better judgement, your shattered heart forced agonized screams from your throat as you sobbed, slamming your fists on the glass. Your shoulders shook as the rain mixed with your tears as they slid down your face. Just beyond, you watched as Pudding, the woman who'd taken your place nearly jump from her skin, fearfully snuggling deeper into his embrace as she eyed you as if you'd hurt her.

Sanji however never bothered to look. He heard you, he was just choosing to ignore your cries, no matter how deeply they bothered him. He could feel his decisions effect you in the form of guilty sweat dripping down his spine. Eventually, he turned his back to you, pulling his bride away as they exited the room. He couldn't stand the pitiful sight of you any longer, lest he begin to weep himself.

🍋 Sanji stared down at you, love and passion exuding from his pores as he made love to you. He held your legs securely over his shoulders as he eased in and out of you, counting how many times your breath would hitch before you could exhale. "Me prends si bien, chérie." he purred, leaning into your ear, nearly folding you in half.

"S-Sanji..." you whimpered, face numb from the overwhelming pleasure you were under. You couldn't hold back the way your volume was increasing, no matter how humiliating. He was worth being embarrassed for.

"Oui, mon amour?"

"F-Feels so good!" you affirmed, the need to feel useful swallowing you whole. You wanted to be an active participant, not simply a toy, but the way he loved on you left you paralyzed. "Wanna make you feel good too..."

"Tu me fais me sentir divine, chérie." he soothed, letting go of a weighted breath. "Continue juste à chanter comme ça pour moi, d'accord?"

Translations:

Mon amour/amour = My love/love

Trésor = Treasure

"Me prends si bien, chérie." = "Taking me so well, darling."

"Oui, mon amour?" = "Yes, my love?"

"Tu me fais me sentir divine, chérie." = "You make me feel divine, darling."

"Continue juste à chanter comme ça pour moi, d'accord?" = "Just keep singing like that for me, okay?"

[hoonvrs]

FLOUR FOR YOU — enha hyung line

req for 1k event!

PROMPT [ one, 12 ] cupping your partners face in your hand before kissing them [ two, 5 ] smiling excessively, naturally and so easily around you

PAIRING enha hyung line x gnr

GENRE est. relationship, fluff

WARNINGS none

W. COUNT 1.2k

S. NOTE this just made me wanna bake knowing i’ve never baked a day in my life. also lets ignore how each drabble starts with their name

LEE HEESEUNG

heeseung knew you were easily influenced by a few videos, so when you suddenly announced your new interest was baking it didn’t come as much of a surprised. although, it took a minute for him to convince you to try baking cookies instead of a two-tier vanilla cake that you were convinced you could hack. now you’ve been in the kitchen trying to follow a ’15-minute cookie recipe’ that you found on tiktok.

for the last two hours.

“babe! they’re finished! come try them,” he heard you shout. he approached warily knowing that cooking wasn’t one of your strong suits, so maybe he didn’t have much faith in your baking either.

he walked in to see a tray of cookies placed neatly on the counter, “wow. they actually look good.”

“you have no faith in me,” you tsked, pushing him to sit and try them, “quick, try one, and be honest.”

he plucked a cookie from the batch, and cautiously bit into it. if you hadn’t been dating heeseung for a while you might’ve actually believed he liked it. unfortunately, if there’s someone, he can’t hide his true feelings from, it you. you caught the way eyes slightly squinted and struggled to swallow the cookie, “it’s bad isn’t it.”

“no, no! its good,” he grimaced, trying his best to not upset you even though his face showed everything you needed to know.

“i’ve already tasted it love, i think i mixed the sugar with salt,” you giggled, seeing the look of realisation fall on heeseungs face.

PARK JONGSEONG

jay was known as the self-proclaimed chef in enhypen and in your relationship. he would always offer to cook you different recipes he found online, and you repay him by baking some sweet dessert as a thank you. the roles of baker and cook had never switched between you two, content with the role each had. you had dabbled in cooking before which didn’t end well, so you lucked out with having jay as your boyfriend.

until two seconds ago, when jay came home declaring he wants to try make brownies cause the boys said he’d be a terrible baker. jay refused to believe baking was any harder than cooking and wanted to prove it. 

even though you offered to help, just to instruct him through it he refused, convinced that he could ace it on his first try. so you left him to his own accord, waiting patient in the living room until he finished.

“it’s done!” he yelled, running over to you on the couch with the brownies still in the tray he baked them in with two forks stick out, “let’s try it at the same time.”

as he finished getting seated beside you, he handed you your respective fork with determination, “get ready to be replaced as the baker in this relationship.”

“yeah, okay.” You dismissed him, both going to take a bite out of jay’s ‘masterpiece’ – his words not yours. 

jays eagerness slowly dissipated as soon as you both took your first bite. It wasn’t inedible exactly, just not completely edible. you could see the disappointment take over his face, “how about i make a new batch and you can pretend you made them to the boys, hmm?”

“you’re the best.”

SIM JAEYUN

jake instantly knew something was off the second he saw you in the kitchen surrounded by baking trays and ingredients. you’ve always had a habit of baking whenever something stresses you, which seems to be more often than not these days. 

“hey pretty, what you doing?” he rounded the counter to have a better look at what you’re doing, softly placing his hands around your waist and his chin on your shoulder.

“i’m making cupcakes.” you answered, aggressively stirring your spatula through the wet batter before an intruding hand dipped in and smeared the paste onto your nose.

you turned to see jake giggling, hand covering his mouth as he slowly backed away from you. so, you did the next best thing. you dug into the bag of flour, picking up a handful, throwing it directly at his face.

he stilled for a second, processing what you had just done before speaking up, “oh, you’re on.”

thus, ensuring a full flour fight with heaps of the powder being thrown around, coating every surface white including both you and jake. your laughter could be heard through all the shuffling and playful wrestling, and although you were covered head to toe in flour, jake though you looked so beautiful.

he preferred to see you with a wide smile on your face instead of the frown and furrowed eyebrows you were sporting beforehand, and he found his body moving on its own. he slowly approached you, cupping your face in his hands gently before pulling you in.

kisses with jake were intimate, always starting slowly and usually ending in either him or you in a fit of giggles refusing to separate from the others lips, and this one was no different. 

“never thought I’d see a flower covered in flour.”

“corny, boo!”

PARK SUNGHOON

sunghoon and you decided to try out baking together. every saturday, you both meet up in your apartment and try out a new recipes, sunghoon likes to call it ‘couples therapy – baking edition’, it has confused a lot of your friends.

today, you two decide to tackle the task of icing a cake. apparently, baking the cake itself and decorating it all pretty was too much work, so you both bought two premade plain cakes, and whoever decorated it the best got to grant the winner a wish.

“i’m making mine red, so you better not copy me,” he smirked, snatching the red icing right out of your hands to try to irritate you.

you scoffed, grabbing all the colours you needed, “fine, i’m going to make mine blue. don’t be jealous when it’s better than yours.”

“you wish,” with determination and enough competitiveness between you both, you began decorating your cakes. well, until you ran into a problem.

“babe, are you sure you cut off all the tips of the piping bags? this one won’t come out.”

sunghoon looked over to see you struggling, “yeah i did. maybe if you’d come to the gym with me you’d be able to squeeze it out.”

“stop bringing that up! i’m never going to the gym with y-”

silence fell onto your kitchen after hearing a loud pop cut through the air. you heard screeching laughter before you even realised what had happened. 

looking down to see the navy icing was not only in the piping bag, but over the counter and all over your shirt. sunghoon couldn’t even hold himself up from how much he was laughing, bend over with one hand on the counter and the other holding his stomach.

his laughter rang like music in your ears, a rare sound you don’t hear too often in public where he’d rather giggle quietly behind his hands, but this one was your favourite. where he suddenly loses all composer and collapses in on himself, screaming obnoxiously whist simultaneously tying to catch his breath. worrying but impressive. 

maybe a ruined t-shirt was a worthy sacrifice to hear him laugh this freely around you.

perm taglist @mesopret @tnyhees ​@haknom @shinsou-rii @redm4ri @lacimolela @llama-lyna @chiyuv @lazysmushi @flwoie @kocokookie @kyexvly @seongclb @dammit-jjk @flwrshee @produmads ​@teddywonss

[toxicanonymity]

Brothel - Dicks

The brothel, aka real housecreeps, is a meta reality show about the Joels and other blorbos. Normally everything is smooth sailing, but we mostly air the drama.

Collect calls SPOILERS

brothel master list

Oh no, a producer leaked a copy of the dick HCs and raider Joel just sent me a dick pic with a ruler for scale, claiming I shorted him. I stared at it for a good 60 seconds, then left him on read. Now someone's knocking at my bedroom door. I ignore it and respond to the pic instead. "Sorry 😬"

Raider, muffled outside my door: Think ya might need a better look. (I don't answer) Can I at least talk to ya?

I put on my robe, begrudgingly let him in, and try not to look at the bulge in his tactical jeggings.

Raider: Production told me to take it up with you.

Me: Tell me you didn't send pictures to production. (Raider is silent.) That's sexual harassment. God damnit, in the middle of your PR tour?

Raider hangs his head and seems sorry until he unzips his tactical jeggings and that's the only reason he was looking down. I'm tempted to make him jack off just because, but I shake my head no.

Raider: Be a good girl for me and it'll be over quick.

Me: are you regressing back to March over this? Don't talk to me like a reader, and don't come in here taking your dick out.

Raider nods solemnly, and I sheepishly add under my breath, "unless I tell you to." The toilet flushes and I nervously look toward the bathroom.

Trouble walks out, fully dressed, buttoning his shirt.

Trouble, to Raider: Didn't I tell you to leave this shit alone, man?

Raider: Pool house, huh? You live in the pool house?

Raider sticks his head into the bathroom and sees there's a big, lavish bedroom connected on the other side and the bed is made. Trouble mouths to me, 'want him to leave?' and I shrug like Idk what to do.

Raider: Can you give us a minute, man?

Trouble: I think you should leave, Raid. I get you're upset but don't bust up in here at 6 in the morning.

Me: Neither of you are leaving.

I put Trouble in the cuck chair, Raider sits on the bed, and I sit down at the vanity to finish talking to him. His pants are still open but I'm not looking.

Me (attempting to be comforting) Hey, anything more than 7" is a waste anyway.

Trouble (7") nods.

Raider: this ain't about sweet pea.

Trouble: that's your issue, man.

Me, to Raider: You're the biggest one either way, why're you pitching a fit over less than a centimeter?

Raider and Trouble look at each other. Trouble shakes his head at Raider like, don't say it.

Raider: We know about him.

Oh, shit. Trouble sighs. I play stupid.

Me: you know about who?

Raider: Jojo.

Me: He doesnt have an HC.

Raider: He has a bulge.

Me: I haven't even seen his dick.

Raider: You've seen his dick print.

Me: How do you--

Raider: All I'm askin' for is accuracy, that's it. Ill do ya a dick print if ya want.

Me: Lemme talk to my dick consultant (@jazziepascal ).

Raider: What'd I do? I used to be your emotional support Joel. Your mental health Joel.

I realize maybe he could've helped me through this month if I spent more time with him.

Me: You still are, c'mere.

I open my arms for a hug. We embrace, but his dick is still hard so it's awkward. After the hug, Trouble is making a face like he wouldnt mind being cucked, but I clear my throat , adjust my robe, and dismiss both of them.

-----------------

Later that day, the men gather in the kitchen. They're huddled around the table and you can't see Night Walks, but they're all talking to him. You can see balled up pieces of paper on the floor and and on the counter there's an open ream of printer paper and an open tub of vasoline.

Thighs Out: I think you've gotta really slap it down.

(loud smack)

Thighs Out: There ya go. Your turn, slasher.

[iamfitzwilliamdarcy]

ok this one IS an explicitly anti-maiko post, I'm not sorry. The Beach is a great episode except that a lot of it doesn't actually land for me in terms of relationship dynamics, and the extremely obvious one is maiko.

This episode does a lot of work for trying to establish the Fire Nation kids group dynamics and their motivations and insecurities. It's really good, especially for Azula. It also is where Zuko first starts confronting returning to the Fire Nation was not going how he expected and his growing internal conflict. But background to this is also further establishing the Zuko/Mai relationship, and lemme just say-- I do not think the writers do a good job.

This got long esp because of transcript quotes, so I put it under a read more, but here we go

Throughout the episode, Zuko and Mai snipe at each other, culminating in a blowup argument and a breakup. And then they literally just kiss and make up at the end of the episode, without doing anything to fix the things that led to the break up in the first place.

So let's start with the argument, work backwards from there, and back to their resolution. This is the argument:

Mai [Angrily.] Zuko, what is wrong with you? Zuko What's wrong with me? Mai [Scolding.] Your temper is out of control. You blow up over every little thing. You're so impatient and hotheaded and angry! Zuko [Snapping back.] Well, at least I feel something, as opposed to you. [Frontal view from behind Mai.] You have no passion for anything! You're just a big blah! Mai [Turns away from Zuko.] It's over, Zuko. We're done.

Immediately preceding this, Zuko shoves the Fire Nation kid talking to Mai at the party. Zuko's been jealous of him all episode and it's frankly not entirely unfounded. Chan invites Ty Lee to his party, Ruon-Jian notices Mai and invites her too-- Zuko is ignored until Azula insists on getting them both invites as well. Zuko's jealousy is out of line, and getting suspicious Mai likes Ruon-Jian is too, I can see why Mai would be annoyed by that. I can also see why it would trigger Zuko getting so upset when he sees Ruon-Jian talking to her at the party.

I... have trouble believing Mai would actually be so mad/upset that Zuko shoved another guy. It's a little controlling, but it is exciting and she had just been saying she as bored. It would make more sense to me if Zuko had taken this out on her -- she can't talk to people, etc-- as a reason for being upset-- because that would go better with her personal family trauma revealed later in the episode about being controlled and stifled.

I also think it's interesting Mai says Zuko's temper is out of control because other then going after Ruon-Jian, he's not really angry in this episode? He's annoyed about being handled by his father, he's dismissive of Mai's negativity at the party, he is suspicious and jealous but he doesn't do anything outright and hot tempered until then. What is Mai basing this on?

(after this Zuko IS very mean to Ty Lee at the fireside but we have no in show evidence he was before)

We certainly address Zuko's anger later at the fireside-- he's in conflict with himself, he is angry at himself. They sort of address Mai not feeling things and being a big blah in the fireside scene -- I'm gonna put the long block quote here lol:

Zuko [Camera pans right. Getting up.] Yeah, you do not believe in anything. Mai [Close-up; sarcastically.] Oh, well, I'm sorry I can't be as high-strung and crazy as the rest of you. Zuko [Aerial view of campsite. Walking up to the campfire.] I'm sorry, too. I wish you would be high-strung and crazy for once instead of keeping all your feeling bottled up inside. [Frontal view.] She just called your aura dingy. Are you gonna take that? Mai [Aerial view of campsite. Leaning back.] What do you want from me? You want a teary confession about how hard my childhood was? Well, it wasn't. [Close-up.] I was a rich only child who got anything I wanted ... as long as I behaved [Cut to shot of the sky.] and sat still, and didn't speak unless spoken to. [Close-up of Zuko.] My mother said I had to keep out of trouble. We had my dad's political career to think about. Azula [Side-view of campsite.] Well, that's it, then. [Close-up.] You have a controlling mother who had certain expectations, and if you strayed from them, you were shut down. That's why you're afraid to care about anything, and why you can't express yourself. Mai [Frontal view.] You want me to express myself? [Stands up and yells.] Leave me alone! Zuko [Side-view of campsite. Frontal view of Zuko.] I like it when you express yourself. [Approaching, attempting to put a hand on her shoulder.] Mai [Frontal view.] Don't touch me! I'm still mad at you. [She sits.] Zuko [Side-view of Mai.] My life hasn't been that easy either, Mai. Mai: Whatever. That doesn't excuse the way you've been acting.

Anyway, again, "the way Zuko's been acting" isn't really obvious to me-- he's a little snide after their fight and that's mean. And even here, Zuko is (I think fairly earnestly) trying to give her an outlet and she's not moved by it. It's not until he confesses he's angry at himself that she seems to forgive him, and it's unclear exactly what has moved her about this --

Zuko [Close-up.] Because I'm confused. Because I'm not sure I know the difference between right and wrong anymore. Azula You're pathetic. Mai [View from behind Zuko.] I know one thing I care about. [Walks up to Zuko. Frontal view.] I care about you. [They kiss.]

Press X to doubt because the whole episode has not shown once that Mai cares about Zuko. In fact, it's shown her rebuffing all his attempts to connect with her and the arguing with him. The episode hasn't shown me one piece of evidence that Mai even likes Zuko. There's nothing that's changed between the start of the episode and now, except that Zuko's addressed why he's angry and who he's angry with-- but it doesn't explain why that would make Mai not mad at him anymore. They haven't addressed any of their earlier grievances, but once again the writers use a kiss to show us everything's all made up and fine now, I guess. A kiss isn't a resolution, but I mentioned in another post, Book 3 does this a lot!

Also it's weird to me to just ignore Zuko expressing his conflict-- Mai has no opinion about that? This becomes a point of conflict a bit later in The Boiling Rock episodes, where Mai tells Zuko he is betraying his country, but again it's never really satisfactorily addressed. Azula at least calls him pathetic -- which isn't nice but isn't ignoring it either.

I would even go as far to say Ty Lee is shown to care more about Zuko when she calls him out for burning the family portrait and it's Ty Lee who says "I know you." That line just really hits me as very meaningful, but they opted not to give it to Zuko's girlfriend, not even to his sister, but to Ty Lee.

SO that is all to say-- if this is supposed to be a Maiko episode, it doesn't land. All it does is lay seeds for their dysfunction and conflict, then refuses to resolve it.

[marley-manson]

I go on a lot about BJ's flaws because they're what make him interesting to me, but I gotta say I love to view Hawkeye, especially with regards to his relationship with BJ, as like... what's the right word? Stubborn? Judgemental? Take-charge (in a way that incidentally doesn't negate him being subby in bed but rather makes it a more interesting dynamic lol)? Demanding?

He leads and he automatically expects his friends to follow, and if they don't he'll make his judgy displeasure known. He's extremely empathetic towards people as a general rule but a typical exception is when they're his close friends and they go against his judgement or fail to meet his expectations.

Based on how I perceive Hawkeye's character as a whole, I would actually sum it up as Hawkeye getting a little irrationally upset when he's ignored as a presence, someone who has an effect in his friends lives.

I'm thinking of The Bus when BJ wants to include Frank in a conversation and Hawkeye snaps at him for it; or Hawkeye watching BJ standing politely for Margaret in The Gun and giving him a very pointed disapproving look; or the way he initiates his appendix scheme in Preventative Medicine without consulting with BJ at all, just assuming he'll go along with it; or the way BJ is able to goad him about the joke by not laughing at it in Dear Uncle Abdul; or the way Hawkeye gets upset when BJ doesn't join him in his outrage in Give Em Hell Hawkeye; or the way he accuses BJ of not being loyal in The Most Unforgettable Characters, or Commander Pierce even (though I think the latter ep is ooc in many ways, aspects do potentially fit this take on Hawk.)

Or, for non-BJ examples, arguably trying to convince Carlye to divorce her husband for him; getting mad at distant childhood friends when they don't humour his paranoia about his nightmares in Hawk's Nightmare; his judginess towards Borelli in The Consultant when he fails to live up to Hawkeye's first impression of him; there's a little moment in Private Charles Lamb where Trapper interrupts Hawkeye mid-joke and Hawkeye gives him such an irritated look lol...

And of course it's all largely a function of his role as a protagonist with very strong opinions: the anti-authority attitude as a cornerstone of the show, and the way he's almost always the one who initiates and takes the lead in the show's plotlines. And it informs his two closest relationships on the show, with Trapper and BJ both as followers to his leader.

There are plenty of examples of him following another's lead as well, since he's not someone who particularly cares about being in charge of anything - Carry On Hawkeye, his indifference to being Chief Surgeon in Chief Surgeon Who, Twas the Day After Christmas where he's completely checked out and doesn't care at all about the authority roleswap, his usual respect for Potter, BJ masterminding a few pranks, etc. It's not about needing to be an authority figure or being unable to switch to a more supportive role when the situation calls for it.

It's about needing to affect people, imo. It goes along with his urge to entertain, to be seen, to be enjoyed as a spectacle, because he too easily feels invisible as part of the army (The Interview). It fits his tirade against the army wanting them to blend into the background in fatigues, in Peace on Us. It works as the source of his outrage when his things are used without permission (Picture This, Follies of the Living with the clothes peg).

I'd say he hates being disagreed with, dismissed, ignored, or misunderstood to a somewhat irrational extent because it feels like being unseen, invalidated, invisible. Being stuck in the army, in a situation totally outside his control where he's viewed by the higher authorities as just a number definitely exacerbates it, but I think it's a part of his core personality.

Honestly, to get a little interestingly weird with it, I could even believe that part of the appeal of being a surgeon for him is the physical impact on people - the proof when he saves a leg or a life that he had his hands in someone and changed them. He does canonically use pretty unique and recognizable sutures after all.

This is mostly a headcanony take since I don't necesssarily think these nuances are really intended lol, and there are definitely plenty of moments that don't fit this vibe since Hawkeye is fairly well-rounded as a character and person overall. Sometimes he's more easy going and chill. It's more just me tying some patterns together in a way that I think makes sense with Hawkeye's character and the way he embodies the 'acting out in a warzone' theme.

And I don't think it's all flaws either - Hawkeye's force of personality is usually a virtue in the show. He does a lot of good with his refusal to back down, and his impact on people is probably pretty positive overall. If he inspires others to rebel more, question authority, be more true to themselves, be more openly emotional, etc, I think that's great.

But like, it's also kind of fucked up as an interpersonal dynamic, particularly with a more passive best friend who seems to often resent how much limelight Hawkeye takes up, and particularly in the army environment I think Hawkeye's urge to make himself seen, understood, and agreed with becomes pronounced to a pretty offputting degree at times. It leads to a very one-sided dynamic between him and his two best friends which imo is very interesting to explore.

[eeunoia]

Hiiii! Could you write something about Ni-Ki ? The reader being jealous because Ni-Ki is laughing and hanging out with another girl and don't give time to the reader anymore ? (So sorry for my english it's not my fist language :( ) btw I missed you so much!!! <333

OKAYYYYY!!!!

your eyes followed ni-ki silently while he walks out of your classroom together with (random name). they were goofing around and laughing for an unknown reason. its honestly making you really upset and jealous. ni-ki has been neglecting you and spending more time with that girl. since when did this happen? since when did they started to get close?

“why are you looking at them like you’re killing them in your mind?” sunoo interrupts your thoughts when he suddenly sat beside you.

you draws in a strained sigh and messed your hair slightly. the situation is making you really frustrated! you hate this feeling, you hate being jealous!

you tried shrugging it off and soon the classes started again. the whole time you are just thinking of asking ni-ki to hangout after dismissal. you’ve planned everything already. you’ll go buy some food, go to your house and play video games or watch movies.

“ni-ki do you—”

“ni-ki hurry up! we might miss it!” (random name) calls out to him, standing by the door.

you shoot glares at her direction and then glanced back at ni-ki. he stood up, towering over you before giving you a short glance. he didn’t say anything and just left. your shoulder hangs low and watched how they walked away leaving you.

you rolled your eyes and cursed at them both. the next day, you are still very upset. you silently wait for ni-ki to go by the lockers area. it was still early since they have rugby practice. you purposely went to school an hour before class so you can confront him.

you saw him walking the hallway with his headphones on, sling bag hanging over his broad shoulders, hair a bit damp and lips caught between his teeth as he bob his head lightly to the music. you stalked behind him then grabbed his headphones off.

“what the..” he mutters then turned to look at you.

“what’s up with you? why are you suddenly avoiding me? why are you hanging out with (random name)? why are you ignoring me?!” you let out.

he was caught off-guard for a moment before his lips lifts up for a smirk, “what? you jealous?” he ask, taunting you.

you clenched your jaw before pushing him, pressing his headphones over his chest. it didn’t do much because of his build.

“you think this is funny?”

he tilts his head and pursed his lips downward, teasing you.

“now you know how i felt when you hang outs with sunoo hyung too often.”

your brows furrowed in confusion and when dawned you, it took everything in you to stop yourself from smacking his head. he is unbelievable. he made you so upset!

“oh yeah? i’ll show it to you again! have fun with (random name) while i have fun with sunoo.” this time, you showed him this smile that made his face turn serious.

you were about to retrieve your hand when he smoothly grabbed it then made your back lean over the lockers beside you. he rest one of his hand at the locker near your head, the other kept its hold on your arm. he moved closer, making your body touch.

“not a chance.”

[thethiefandtheairbender]

Hiii, I really love your ATLA analyses. I'm genuinely interested, what can you say about this take? I mean, it sounds pretty logical, and I'm really interested to know what objections there might be to that view of EIP?

https://www.tumblr.com/writer-rider-dirty-thirties/744225630324965376?source=share

There's a few main things that meta like this one, I think, miss out on. That said beyond the two paragraphs I'm not really discussing their meta in particular. Everyone's entitled to their opinion, but it does play into why I think EIP gets blown out of proportion while ignoring the more... grounded subtext there? Which is what the rest of the meta response here is about as follows. Please refrain from sending me specific metas in the future - discrediting other people's work is not what I'm about, even I don't necessarily think it's always well argued.

They acknowledge the Doylist perspective... and then completely ignore the actual, textual Doylist perspective they have going on. The writers' intent was to, very evidently, use Ember Island Players to acknowledge their own and fans' reactions to the show (which is why the Great Divide, an episode that the writer of EIP wrote, gets the shaft in the play) by exaggerating and making fun of their own characters and plot points. Grounded in their portrayals yes (Katara does indeed make speeches about hope) but so heavily distorted; just look at how they portray this Katara and Jet, who are completely remorseless about drowning a town ("Oh Jet, you're so bad~").

But the distortion is key. The play pretty glaringly says "Canon Katara would never like Zuko" or vice versa, "because to do so would be a great distortion of her character and characterization." Furthermore, for Katara to only see Aang "like a little brother, and that you don't have feelings for me" is also a distortion, which is why Katara outright states on the balcony, "I didn't say that. An actor said that". It's also worth noting I think that the play itself also erases Aang's romantic feelings for Katara ("I wouldn't want it any other way!"). He doesn't make his feelings plain and be rejected in the play; they just don't exist. So even the play itself isn't saying that there's a love triangle, they're saying that a distorted version of these characters would feature a Katara and Aang that don't have feelings for each other, and a Katara and Zuko that would.

Now, I don't think the play is meant to be that dismissive of fans, either. Like I said - it's meant to poke fun, and the ZK faction had always been quite large and vocal. The crossroads of destiny and its associations with Oma and Shu (which serve the basis for Kataang's love theme) are the bulk of what the ship tends to stand on, 'canon' wise. It makes sense if you're going to do a ship tease with them to do it there, and it's also the last instance you can really make actor Katara 'like' anyone.

It's also a misread to assume Aang would get this angry over jealousy, as well, given that Katara was very obvious with Jet both times, and Aang was very sparingly jealous in Book 1 and only slightly so in Book 2. EIP is one of the rare instances where Aang projects onto other people, a trait more usually seen from his friends.

What makes him upset - and we Know this, because he repeats it outright when they actually Talk about it - is this exchange between actor Katara and Zuko:

EIP!Zuko: I thought you were the Avatar's girl. EIP!Katara: [Laughs] The Avatar? Why he's like a little brother to me. I certainly don't think of him in a romantic way.

That's what makes him potentially upset, which fair enough: it can be upsetting when someone doesn't like you back, especially when Katara previously has given plenty of indications that she does. But he's not mad at her on the balcony. He doesn't take his frustrations over her not seemingly returning his feelings out on her. He's mad because Katara can't, or won't, give him a straight answer.

Aang: You said that I'm just like a brother to you, and that you didn't have feelings for me. Katara: I didn't say that. An actor said that. Aang: But it's true, isn't it? We kissed at the invasion and I thought we were going to be together, but we're not. Katara: Aang, I don't know... Aang: Why don't you know?

AKA "if you don't like me, which I just gave you a perfect out to acknowledge, can you at least confirm it for me?" And she won't even do that.

Katara is usually a very openly emotional person, which is why when it comes to whether she has feelings for him or not (and he has very good reasons to think that she does, given if you remove the Aang's POV we see, Katara is wayy more obvious with her affection than he is), it's accordingly frustrating that she won't just come out and say it. When does someone like Katara hold back? Well... normally when she's concerned about Bigger Things (i.e. not initially pushing with Pakku because Aang learning waterbending is more important to her) or when she's not sure what to do (when Aang rejects her comfort in The Serpent's Pass).

Conversely, his feelings for Katara also makes Aang more likely to stop evading or dodging and to stick his landing. He's the one who tries to confess on two different occasions. He's the one who kisses her first. And he's the one who wants to actually discuss their relationship now. (These are all reasons why I think, if they ever did break up, Aang would actually be the one with the guts to say it out loud, just FYI.)

Alternatively, if we wanna talk about Framing, let's talk about the actual balcony scene, namely Katara's dialogue, and the placement of the moon:

Not only does this balcony scene take place on a balcony like their infamous finale kiss, with parallel framing of Katara walking up behind Aang and seeking him out to talk (if Katara hadn't approached him, it's likely neither would've happened either time) but like

When Yue finds herself in a similar situation with Sokka - a young man she loves, has kissed, but finds herself unable to be with for a variety of reasons - she says almost beat for beat what Katara says here about her feelings and reasonings for wanting more distance. But like both Yue and Katara say, there's more important things going on:

I say this because everyone ignores the aspect of Katara's bond with Aang that is informed by her own trauma and fear of losing people. Aang kisses her because "What if I don't come back?" Katara literally watched him die and brought him back to life. She watched her father mourn her mother and Sokka mourn Yue (The Swamp), which the play likewise gives her an ample reminder of. She watched Jet die too. Katara has faith that Aang will be different ("I knew you'd come" from CoD and "He's gonna come back; he has to" in Sozin's Comet) but that doesn't mean she's not scared. Everyone else going on is complicating her feelings for Aang, and that's perfectly valid -- but like I said, it's a 1 for 1 with Yue.

Which is why she kisses Aang first after the war, on another balcony, because now it is the right time.

This isn't even touching on the in-universe canonical reading of EIP being Fire Nation imperialist propaganda, but that's a meta for another day.

Not to mention: EIP also teases Zukaang through Aang and the Blue Spirit, has them similarly react in distaste, you can equally read Zuko wanting to sit in between them as wanting to sit next to Aang, and Zuko and Aang's dialogue is a lot more ship teased in canon, Anyway.

June: What happened? Your girlfriend run off on you? Zuko: It's not the girl I'm after. It's the bald monk she's travelling with.

Zuko doesn't even correct June for implying a romantic connection, only who he's looking for (love you Avatar "Zuko I want you to dance with me" Aang).

I also personally think that basically any episode that has 'strong' Zuko-Katara subtext actually has far stronger Zuko-Aang subtext, but that's a meta for another day.

I do always think the ZK fandom is a fascinating example of what can happen to a fandom when they only have maybe 5 episodes to work with, nor does ship teasing make something implied canon, otherwise The Dragon Prince (also created by Aaron Ehasz) would have a very different endgame ship (to the point that every Soren/Rayla shipper I've seen also ships ZK, funnily enough, because neither of those are remotely canon).

People have gotta stop taking the bone they're thrown and acting like it's a feast.

[mrsjavierp]

Where You Belong?

Chapter 7 - Torture

Javier Peña x latin!f!reader

Summary: Running away from life as you always knew to start a new position as Head Chief on a DEA Office, far away, on Colombia. There, you'll face violence, as you never thought you could. There, you'll meet Javier Peña, your stubborn agent...

Warnings (to the whole fic): +18!, angst, smut, cheating, last relationships, drug dealing - Narcos Universe (not so accurate), bad spanish, english is my second language, use of Y/N and Y/LN. No physical description of the reader, only your clothes (sometimes). The POVs are shifting between reader (first person and Narrator - 3rd person)

(If I forgot anything, tell me, pls!)

Word Count: 2,6k

A/N: I'd love to know about you're thinking about it so far! Your opinion is really important! Tks <3 Btw, I'm tagging @pedrostories! Babe, let's show'em why we're so much in love for that man!

Obs: Oops, I did a "past x present situation" again, so, anytime you see something written like this, is past. If not, it's just Javi's memory about the night he won't (and can't) forget... And neither can you, reader <3 Let's be honest, how would we forget a night like that?

***

Narrator's POV:

Javier went to see how Steve was doing, after Connie left.

The apartment was a mess, with empty bottles all over.

If ever Steve were sober, it was before his girls went back to Miami.

He was so depressed... Made Javier think about his family as well, but in a different way: if it was him and Lorraine, would he try to do some or anything?

Steve sniffed and cleared his throat, handing Javier a beer, bringing him back from his thoughts.

"Have you, uh... Had anything to eat in the last 24 hours?" - he asked.

"About Y/LN..." - Steve ignored Javier. - "Do you think she's gonna send me back? Did she say anything?"

"To be honest, I think if she was going to send you back, she'd have done it already. We know she doesn't put up any shit."

Steve sputted.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Do you think I am out?"

"I don't know." - Javier answered.

"Well, I ain't ready to go home yet, Javi. I'll tell ya that." - Steve threw the top from his bottle away. - "Damn it! She's fucking..."

Javier got up, he needed to do some or anything.

"Take a shower. Sober up." - he suggested to the friend. - "I'll get back to you."

Steve sighted, sitting back down.

**

"Thanks for talking to Y/LN again, man." - Steve thanked, while Javier was driving to their new office. - "I mean that... You saved my ass."

"One more fuck-up, Murphy..."

"Oh, I know." - he responded.

"Is it gonna happen again?" - Javi asked, worried.

"I don't know. I really don't." - Murphy seemed lost in thoughts.

"Let's hope for the sake of our careers that is the first and the last one."

Shortly after they arrive, you show up by helicopter, wearing a black tight suit, heels and sunglasses. Javier was already shivering.

Making an effort to change his focus, he said to Steve:

"Get ready to get your balls snippet." - and they both smirked.

*

Steve and you sat down at your office, his expression was awful: sad, bitter, hangover.

“So Connie left… You’re upset, knocked a few back to numb the pain and then decided to take it out on some Wall Street pendejo”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Isolated incident?”

“Yeah.”

“You still don’t trust me? That’s fine. But if I’m gonna have your back, I need to know that I can trust you. Otherwise, I have no problem sending you back to Connie in Miami… Am I making myself clear or do you need a drawing?”

“Loud and clear, Jefe.” - He sighed. 

“Dismissed, Murphy. Go to work.”

He got up and left your office.

He was just a ghost… A resemblance to what he was, when Connie was here. God, you felt sorry for him.

*

Hours later, you sat down at the bar, close to your office, after all those hours, alone.

You just wanted peace.

So much happened and you also got quite some happening.

Steve and his bullshit, Escobar on the run, Crosby up on your ass...

"A Dry Martini, por favor. Seco." (A Dry Martini, please. Extra dry.) - you order.

"¿Señorita, dry martini? ¿Seco? ¿Estás enferma?" (Miss, dry martini? Extra dry? Are you sick?)

"No, amigo... Soló necesito olvidar algunas cosas." (No, my friend… Just need to forget a few things.)

He knew your drink was a neat scotch, he never saw you drinking any other thing.

You hated how the gin burned while going down your throat. You could almost remember when Javier fucked your throat at the same time you used your vibrator because he wanted to see how you've done by yourself... He convinced you to pick it up at your place because he needed to ruin you, as you did to him...

"Díos mio... I don't wanna remember anymore, please, make it stop..." - you whispered like a secret prayer, closing your eyes.

*

About 2 hours later, taking off his tie, Javier walked into the same bar.

He sighed, so frustrated, so hurt, so pissed off.

Lorraine just had put the cherry on top: she wanted to leave Laredo to Dallas or Austin, because... He didn't even understand why. She asked for more money, his visit for a few days... The only good thing on that call was his baby boy, Lucas, who your so called wife insisted on calling Luke. Sometimes, he felt a little prejudice from her against his latin origin.

And she demanded again! Javier was trying to delay it, but she was coming on strong at him.

The worst part is… He didn’t care about Lorraine. Not that he ever did in the first place, but… 

In reality, he was just sad... 

Sad that he spent an intimate long night fucking you and... Nothing.

You just disappeared. Left him hanging.

Javier didn't even get to listen to you masturbating anymore.

He asked for a scotch, neat.

Just like he purred to you that night…

Sometime that night, you sat down on the armchair by his bedroom window, lit up your cigar, while he served you a glass of whiskey. You wore nothing but your red panties...

Javier kneeled down, again, for you.

There you were, smelling like your cigars, whiskey, sex... And Javier.

His hands worshiped your figure, opening you for him, again.

"Javier, I'm a little occupied..." - you said to him, almost purring.

"I don't care. I need to touch you. Go ahead with whatever you drink or smoke. It's sexy as fuck."

He loved that your scent was just like his. Make him feel like you belong to him, only him. 

“When I'm done with you, you're gonna smell just like me… Like my come, my perfume, my spit, my sweat… You ruined me, cariño. I'm just returning the favor.”

“Javi…”

“You know where you belong, don't you?” - his index and middle fingers entered you again. You moaned. - “You belong with me, cariño. I'm not letting you go.”

“Oh fuck…” - you moan. - “You also smell just like me, Javi…” - his eyes widened, surprised. - “You also smell just like my french perfume, my spit on your dick, my sweat on your skin… My come all over you…” 

You were so distracted you didn't even notice when he walked in and sat across from you.

When he spotted you, Javier went up to you.

"Martini, Y/N? Gotta say, did not see this coming."

"Bite me, Peña." - you responded through your teeth.

"I wish I could, cariño, but you won't let me get near you. I miss you. Don't tell me that you don't remember or you didn't like it." - his mouth came closer to your ear and murmured: - "You came so many times in my mouth that shirt I wore still smells like your cum, even after I washed 3 times already... Wanna know where it is?"

You sighted slowly, catching your breath, eyes closed.

"My bed, cariño. Right where you left your red panties, where you belong. Where you should be." - he continued to whisper in your ear.

"Peña..."

"No, not Peña. Call me Javi, babyboy, obedient soldier, anything but as if we were working… We both know that’s not under your obligations."

You looked at him, in pain.

"I-I-I can't. We gotta be a part, Peña."

He hit the bar with his fist.

"Bullshit! You may be an award winning actress, but you can't pretend any of that. I remember it all too well... I remember you telling me that was a fucking dream and you didn't wanna wake up! I remember you melting under my touch..."

You laughed.

"Peña, I quit smoking and drinking whiskey because of you."

"Why?"

"Because it tastes just like you." - aside from the scotch, he smoked cigarettes, not cigars. Your eyes are almost in tears.

He looked at you with those puppy brown eyes.

"Cariño... You don't have to..."

"Yes, Peña. I do... You don't get it, do you?"

"Actually, no, I don't. Enlighten me, then." - Javier responded, rude. He couldn't bear to be hurt one more time. He wanted to be yours and you to be his, only his.

"It was a mistake, Peña. You're overthinking what happened... I... We..." - you didn't know how to say or justify. You were lying and you were such a lousy liar... Javier could see right through you.

"Don't! Don't you dare to continue to say anything like that!" - it was his time to respond through his teeth. - "You don't get to do that! I won't accept these lies! You're not fooling me nor anyone… Days ago you were moaning and coming all over me... Now you want to take it back? News flash, you can't! You can’t change the past, you can’t change the fact that we fucked worse than rabbits, cariño. I told ya, I’m greedy as fuck." - his voice went from pissed to almost cooing at you.

You were feeling awful. Guilty. You shouldn't want Javier so badly, but you wanted.

"Peña, I'm your boss. We've got a job to do. I can't get involved with you, it was a mistake!"

Javier's heart was pounding. You couldn't do that to him.

You tried to get up, but your liquor betrayed you, almost throwing you on the ground, but Javi picked you up before you got hurt.

"Vamos, cariño. I'll take you home, vecina." - he said.

You only cuddled with him, holding up all you could.

*

Javier helped you get inside, paying attention to what you needed: You needed to eat, to take a shower and lay down, unfortunately, too drunk to do it alone.

First, Javier prepared a bath for you, a warm one.

"Peña, I just dumped you... You don't get to see me naked again." - you said to him, while you were sitting on the closed toilet and he took off your shoes.

He laughed. You were a cute drunk.

"Don't call me Peña. I already told you. Right now, I'm not calling you by 'jefe' or 'Y/LN' either. You're cariño, hermosa or even babygirl."

You began to take off your clothes, while he took off his jacket and folded his sleeves.

"I like cariño, Javi..." - you almost purred. - "I shouldn't. But I do..."

"Good. Cariño will be, Hermosa."

He helped you finish undressing and getting in the tub.

"Oh, it's gooood. Thank you, Javi..."

He remained outside it, just taking care of you, not letting you lay down too much or sleep.

When you finished, he covered you with a towel, leaving you alone for a few minutes to look for some medicine, as hangover prevention, and some food.

A little like him, your fridge only had whiskey, water and a leftover pizza.

You two were more alike than any of you wanted or expected.

He used the oven to heat it, at the same time you put a red and lacy nightgown.

"Oh, fuck, cariño... Had to be this one?" - he asked you, trying not to sound so horny.

"It was this one or none. Pick your poison, Javi."

He sighed. What a fucking brat you were, even drunk as a skunk.

"Sit, please. There you go, eat it. Where do you keep your painkillers?"

"My bedroom..."

"Finish your dinner, cariño. I'm going to give you some, we've got work to do tomorrow, you need to bring your A-game."

"Peña, I always do. Don't mess with me."

He snorted. Feisty one you are, as usual. He liked that about you.

You finished your slice and he took you into bed, made you take your medicine. He didn't lay down, he just sat next to you, observing.

"He never took care of me like that, you know?" - you revealed, almost sleeping.

"Who, cariño?"

"Ben..."

"Who's Ben anyway?" - Javier asked, pretending not to be curious, but you were too drunk to notice anything in his voice.

"My ex fiance... A cabrón... Malparido." - you cursed.

"Remind me, cariño, why?"

"You know... All the cheating, all the lying..." - you yawn. - "I'm tired, Javi..."

"Sleep, cariño. Buenas noches, hermosa... I'll bring breakfast tomorrow morning, before we go to the office."

But you slept before he even finished his sentence.

Javier left you safe and sound, at your apartment.

However, he never felt worse.

He wanted to be with you, more than sex. More than he ever wanted to be with any woman. 

The problem is...

He's also a cheating bastard. He also fucked half of Medellin and Bogota.

He doesn't deserve you and he knows it.

Javier doesn't care.

He's not going to give up on you: on the contrary, he's going to solve all that he can before you ever find out...

But how? How is he going to keep Lorraine away? How will he manage his boy's custody?

Too many questions, no answers.

“One problem at the time…” - Javier told himself, crossing the hall and entering his apartment.

He looked around: all in order, but you were missing. He wanted to do it right…

Javier laid on his sofa… But it smelled like both of you. He got up and sat at the table in the kitchen, Lorraine’s letters organized in a box. 

Pandora's box, as he joked sometimes to himself.

“Fuck…” - he cursed. - “How am I going to pull it off?”

* 

Next morning, he knocked on the door, anxious.

The seconds before you opened it felt like hours. He was bringing you breakfast from Mrs. Hernandez's café: arepas with cheese and eggs, mantecada, marquesa and, of course, black colombian coffee.

You open, holding back a smile, wearing a black dress and boots.

"What are you doing here? Something happened?" - you sound surprised.

Javi smiled, coming in as you let.

"Yes, cariño, I told you I would bring breakfast... I don't get the surprise. Wait, you don't remember? You were that drunk?"

"Oh, fuck! I forgot... Sorry, by the way."- you said as Javi entered your home.

He pulled you into his embrace, after putting the food at the table, and held you close, smelling your hair. - "I miss you so much, cariño... Don't push me away, please." - he begged.

You took a deep breath, Javier's scent was so good, so masculine and strong... You miss him too, but how can you manage it all?

You look deep in those puppy eyes.

Fuck, you hate that effect on you.

"Can we talk about it later? I'm very thankful that you brought food and took care of me last night... But things are not that simple. I don't quite remember, I was really drunk. But I do remember that I said I dumped you."

He laughed, stroke your hair.

"Not exactly... But you did reveal a few things, including that you quit smoking and drinking whiskey because of me."

You turn your face away. You felt a stupid girl, alcohol in and truth out. Your own mind betrayed you.

"Oh, fuck. Peña, I... Really, let's eat. After work we can talk, okay?"

He agreed and you both set the table. It was all delicious, he brought everything you like.

"Was Ben at least thoughtful during your hangovers?" - he asked, casually, with a smirk on his lips.

"Peña, what the fuck? How dare you? That's none of your business!" - you screamed towards him.

How and what does Javier know about my ex? - you thought.

"Cariño, you're the one who brought him up last night. I was just curious..."

"Peña, you have no right! Leave my home! Right the fuck NOW!"

"Y/N, what the fuck?! What the hell happened to you from last night to this morning?"

"I got sober, my senses got back to the right place. And you know what? I was only delaying what I was going to say. We're not getting together again. That night was a huge mistake!"

"Your car is in the garage, by the way. Keys in the ignition. See you later, jefe." - he picked up his coffee that was on the travel mug and left your apartment, not looking back.

Next

[utilitycaster]

Is it just me or are some of the more intense Imaudna folk…kind of mirroring Imogen’s over-defensiveness of Liliana? Or at least uncritically accepting Imogen’s assessment of her, without acknowledging her “bias”? (as we are now apparently calling the characters’ family - so K-pop of us)

I’m not saying she’s a terrible mother - she’s literary moving heaven and earth for Imogen [and herself] - but she’s helping bring about what could be an apocalyptic event, on the off-chance that it could relieve them of their powers.

And I get why people wanna ignore that in favor of Imogen reuniting with her Mom and building a relationship with her. But it’s frustrating when you remember that some of the people her Mom has fucked over include Kiki and the Ashari (not just Orym) and that she’s working with a guy that allowed Trent’s abuse of Caleb, who Beau has spent years working to take down, and we still don’t know what’s happened to those two.

Again - shades of gray, and we all love villains and complicated, messy women. But it’s quite the slice of cognitive dissonance to see fandom *really* pile on Fearne’s parents for abandoning her (especially when it was only six years as far as they knew), but even after she’s party to nearly murdering Kiki, we shouldn’t be assuming the worst of Liliana?

(Just read this back and…I don’t think some these Imaudna fans are actually Marisha fans)

I don't think it's mirroring Imogen, per se. Or rather, I think this is all part of the larger trend I've touched upon for some time: there are a segment of shippers with absolutely no empathy for or generosity towards anything that interferes with the ship. Ideally, they'd like to also support Imogen and Laudna as individuals; but even then the ship comes before the characters. As you said, they're not really Marisha - or Laudna - or for that matter Imogen or Laura fans. They're fans of them playing characters who are in a relationship together.

When Imogen was upset with Laudna for breaking the gnarlrock, there was a pretty prevalent attitude of "but it wasn't LAUDNA's fault, so why is Imogen upset, that's unfair" even though the rock is still broken and it happened when it was in Laudna's possession and, frankly, had Imogen not given the rock to Laudna, she'd still have it. In retrospect this has gotten even more wild, because since then, they've leaned very far into the negative effects Imogen experiences as a result of her powers as an argument as to why she's allowed to do whatever she wants, but at the time if you pointed out Imogen found relief from the rock and is justified in having an emotional response, you were met with screams of HOW DARE YOU BE MEAN TO LAUDNA. This hypocrisy is of course tied into the lack of empathy, because said lack of empathy rests on granting infinite grace to those who support or even merely recognize the ship, no matter their other actions (eg: Otohan), and dismissing the feelings of anyone else.

When Laudna died, it was a pretty common attitude among Imogen and Laudna shippers (I would say Laudna fans, but quite honestly almost every post grieving her was just as much about the ship as the character) that Orym would have been happy to have remained dead because he was a widower. This is a horrifying mentality to have - people's partners do die young, and most people choose to continue living - and was also notably untrue based on Liam's statements both in and out of game. You'll notice that "Orym doesn't want to die and felt like this was a massive failure" on 4SD never took off, but "Orym can't be objective" on 4SD has been blown to ludicrous proportions that show a stunning lack of understanding of like...basic human emotions and their role in decision-making. Because there's no consistency except The Ship.

When the party went to Whitestone, and Percy was in fact played as someone with very complicated and layered feelings about death and dying, and who was not going to change his developed principles for a stranger, he was lambasted. The fact that Delilah Briarwood is just as responsible for his trauma - repeatedly so, she was the architect of both his family's murder and the reason why Vecna achieved godhood, she's literally why his brother-in-law is dead, the Briarwoods have been responsible for two of Vex's deaths - was completely ignored. The fact that Vex and Pike were not spiting him in the end, but rather developed a mutually acceptable plan that permitted Laudna's resurrection with a contingency plan to kill her if Delilah returned led to some pretty harsh criticism of them as well.

FCG was pretty popular among the shippers for quite some time because he wanted everyone to get along and wanted Imogen and Laudna to make up after the gnarlrock fight (note: this is also true of Ashton and Orym, both of whom as discussed have since fallen from grace because they continued to exist as characters with their own thoughts and motivation) and had a lot in common with Imogen. However, a series of things occurred that led to their fall from grace among the shippers. The first was that FCG's coin is why Orym was resurrected instead of Laudna. The second is that Shared Dream was not, in fact, intended only to let Laudna go into Imogen's dreams, but rather allowed anyone in the party to go. The third is that FCG started to find a purpose beyond "help others no matter what," particularly after realizing they had a soul and were in fact a person, and specifically began exploring religion. Religion is unpopular with Imodna shippers particularly after 3x49 and Imogen's consideration of the Vanguard, but there's also definitely a mix of obvious ex-fundamentalists who never unpacked their feelings and instead just want all their fiction to validate their new beliefs. The fourth is that FCG/FRIDA "stole" the first canon relationship spot (which also confirmed that FCG was, in fact, shippable rather than some kind of robot eunuch with nothing better to do than push Imogen and Laudna together). And so you get some really fucked statements. Like, when I say I've seen "I hope someone makes that robot eat their stupid coin" that's not exaggeration; it's pretty much verbatim. That's not a post that a person who makes any attempt to understand experiences other than their own can make in earnest, but it does make sense from the perspective of someone who has decided Imogen and Laudna's relationship is the heart of the show and is angered that five other main PCs exist and have their own interests.

Ashton occupies a truly fascinating space, in that they're oddly popular, in part because their scenes with Laudna are genuinely unmissably fantastic scenes for Laudna. It's one of the only places where Laudna takes off the mask (though she's started to with Orym too). He also overlaps with a lot of what makes Imogen popular, except it's canon where Imogen's is subtext, or it's obviously more severe (Imogen's mom left? Ashton's an orphan. Imogen's had a few headaches? Ashton has chronic pain). So they hated when he pointed out he'd been abandoned by his friends in a way Laudna hadn't (also because Ashton and Laudna's conversation in 3x49 was just far more honest than Imogen and Laudna's, and because Laudna sought them out), but they like him when he's supportive of Laudna. They're constantly on the thinnest of ice because of this and because they're a genuinely compelling character, but because of that, might get in the way of what said shippers want, namely, a hundred episodes of Imogen and Laudna sipping tea at Zhudanna's and having a lovely time.

Following Imogen considering joining the Vanguard, Orym fell out of vogue despite his previous interactions with Imogen, because he very justifiably pointed out, as I've said, that the Ruby Vanguard killed his husband and his father-in-law (whom he saw as a father figure himself), and used a toxin that ensured they couldn't be brought back. I've talked about this a ton and so I'm not going to rehash every aspect, but the fact remains that while I like Imogen's choice to do this - conflict is fun! It makes sense for her character! - it's an incredibly insensitive thing to say. (It blows Ashton's statement about loneliness out of the water, for sure; incidentally, Ashton pointing out the more general hey girl they murder everyone who disagrees did NOT sit well with the hey let's harass everyone who disagrees crowd.) And when you mix it in with the god stuff discussed regarding FCG, Orym has become the periannath non grata of choice to the point of a similar response to the gnarlrock fight - if you sympathize with him, they see it as an attack not just on Imogen but on Laudna, for...not talking about Laudna as well. This has only gotten worse with Orym firmly committing to destroying the Vanguard, to the point that there are, generously speaking, misunderstandings or misrememberings of the text, and less generously speaking, outright lies. A notable one is that Laudna begins to tap into Delilah before Orym nods (Marisha's mention of the purplish hue is at 2:52:02 in episode 3x63; Orym's nod is at 3:01:42, a solid 9+ minutes later); he supports her decision, but he is not responsible for it.

Then there's the guests. Deanna was obviously made to ask Imogen about Laudna. She's here to ask them if they're married. She's here to encourage Imogen to follow her heart. She's definitely not here to have her own active and interesting love life and personal feelings about the gods (that conflict with Imogen's) and history and perspective. Oh she's...she's calling out Imogen's nonstop use of psychic powers? She's having a three-way with Chetney and Fearne? FRIDA is hooking up with FCG and admitted their anger about the gods was mostly due to projecting their personal anger about feeling powerless and having been awoken without their consent? Uhhhhhh Deni$e was obviously made to to ask Laudna about Imogen. She's definitely not here to be a connection to Dariax and have her own active and interesting love life and personal feelings about the gods. Wait, no, maybe Bor'Dor will ask about it? Uhhhhhh *flips coin but not in an FCG way* Laudna will *rolls dice* mentor Prism and this will...make this ship happen? Oh, won't these people with their own distinct personalities and motivations who keep having conversations with Orym and Ashton and each other stop doing that and just presume that a specific one of the four other people in Bells Hells they've never met and probably don't remember the names of is married to Laudna? Won't someone stop playing their character as a fully fleshed out person whose life is entirely unaffected by Laudna and Imogen's respective love lives? Oh and then Bor'Dor did ask about the relationship, and it was because it was a weakness and he was trying to infiltrate.

Quite literally? It goes as far as the gods! Why didn't they save Laudna? To which I'd say sure, let's explore what happens if they did! Let's follow this thread! Do they just save Laudna and maybe her family and no one else? Why Laudna? Does she get saved at the expense of some other dark-haired girl in Whitestone? Or perhaps they save everyone. Perhaps the De Rolos remain in power, and Campaign 1 doesn't fucking happen I guess, and Laudna grows up, and she lives out the rest of her life in Whitestone, and she's a woman in her 50s now - maybe even married, perhaps with children - and has never been to Marquet and wouldn't know or care about some random 20-something with purple hair. Like, what are you driving at here? Maybe the gods let Laudna die because that was the only way to bring her to Imogen. Ever think of that? (alternately: how do you know they didn't? What if Laudna's undead state has to do with Vecna? You didn't specify if it was the Primes or the Betrayers, or how she gets saved; she's still living after a hanging, which some might consider a miraculous gift. What if it was the Dawnfather acting through the Sun Tree? Can you describe what you want the gods to have done and where that puts us in 843 PD or do you just say shit hoping no one will ever poke at it?) When do the gods intervene? Do they make sure nothing bad ever happens to anyone? Are mortals just dolls the gods move around with no free will?

So anyway. I don't think these feelings about Liliana are based on mirroring Imogen's thought process. I do not think there is a level of consideration that Imogen and Laudna have motivations (motivations mean they can be something other than perfect flawless victims who found each other). It is simply "Imogen wants this, Laudna will validate anything she does, and so it's correct." The party line for anything else "fuck your trauma, fuck your dead family and dead loves, fuck your own hopes and dreams and goals: you exist only to fawn over two random-ass women. It doesn't matter if they are strangers to you. It doesn't matter if you've only met one of them. It doesn't matter how they act towards you. It doesn't matter if you're one of them, if you step out of line. This is your sole purpose, and if you fail, you're not a person to me." There's absolutely no thought put into the implications of anything they say beyond "it supports the ship, or, if not, it perpetuates the blameless, perfect and thus boring frozen state of the characters."

[bokettochild]

Hyrule and Twilight for click/clack please!! :D - 🌼

Alright! So I did a re-read, and I'm sort of surprised, but here's the result

There's only one actual interaction between these two specifically before the Sunset arc

Hyrule is trying to crack a joke about Time in the Masks comic, and Twilight is Not Having It. This gives me the impression that Hyrule is using humor as a tool to try and connect with the other heroes, something he actually does a few other times, teasing and joking at the others (especially Warriors) in order to break the ice. As we know, it worked with Wars, because those two are pretty close, but with Twilight, it's met with dead silence; Twilight doesn't appreciate Hyrule's humor, and he flat out just ignores Hyrule's joke beyond this look.

It's not until Sunset that we actually see another interaction between these two. (Which is basically the length of the whole comic so far) Until he reaches the inn, Hyrule doesn't actually know Twilight is Wolfie

Once he knows though, he doesn't get all worried and fussy like the others. In fact, Hyrule seems to be pretty harsh about some things

He approaches Twilight's situation with force, with intent. He's level headed, although clearly upset by Twilight's despair, and immediately tries redirecting from Twilight's talk of sadness and worry by presenting what he's going to do to fix it, something he's fiercely determined to actually do, no matter the difficulty.

One could say Hyrule is concentrating, and that's what that scowl is for, but I think he's actually being a bit harsh with Twilight because this situation bothers him. Not just upsets him, not just because Twilight's hurt, but there seems to be a sort of disconnect between these two, and it frustrates him, especially since he can't resolve it with Twilight like this, and that shows through in how Hyrule handles Twilight's behavior throughout Sunset.

He's not despairing. Hyrule's worried, but it's not crushing. That disconnect that stops him from feeling intense concern is still there. Twilight is a person who needs help to Hyrule, not a brother on the brink of death; a patient.

That right there? Some good bedside manner. He's being friendly and gentle now, but I can promise you, I've seen doctors take a similar tone and expression with folks.

Hyrule's choice to say "deal with" also makes me wonder. Sure, he's a guy, they mess around and tease like this, and we've already established that Hyrule teases a lot already; that said "deal with" might betray that he thinks Twilight maybe only tolerates some of them, including himself (he's got the self doubt to make you wonder).

That said, he's softening here. He cares, clearly. They're not close, but he still values Twilight if only as a team-mate.

The turning point comes here though

This is the first time Twilight has smiled at Hyrule. The first time either of them have called the other anything vaguely affectionate. This is when they agree that they are now friends. Hyrule says it in a dismissive way, almost suggestive as if testing the waters. Twilight's affirmative "my friend" settles it though. It's a new thing still, and clearly they have precious little in common, but I think Twilight's healing was the ✨traumatic bonding experience✨ they both needed to actually click a bit.

So! To recap:

Twilight and Hyrule don't interact much, and Twilight previously rebuffed Hyrule's attempts to be friendly with him. They aren't close at all through most of the comic so far, and there's definitely a bit of a clash between them, although unspoken. it's Twilight recognizing Hyrule's skill, effort and aid that has that barrier resolving somewhat and opening up the possibility of friendship. Going forwards, they have potential to get along better and be good friends, but this is still pretty new, so it might take a while, especially with how differently they approach life and this particular venture.

Result: Mostly Clack (newly Clicked)

[surielbonecarver]

Did it annoy anyone else the way Nesta was treated in SF?

Trauma is not an excuse to treat people like shit. I don't excuse the way Nesta treated everyone around her, but tbh they weren't treating her much better either.

The only 2 characters that made me feel they really cared about Nesta was Feyre and Cassian.

Feyre and Cassian make it clear that they don't condone her actions, but they also show over and over how much they truly care about her.

- Rhys: When they had their intervention with Nesta he spent the entire time trying to threaten and intimidate her. What got on my nerves was how both Feyre and Cassian call him out on this, but nothing really comes of it even when he's described as feeling "guilty" for doing so. Another thing that got on my nerves was how it seemed like Feyre was going to put her foot down because he kept crossing a boundary she put in place regarding how he treated Nesta only for the narrative to turn around and say "nope, they're actually jus gonna have sex" (when Rhys dismisses the servants after the intervention and Cassian asks if he dismissed them so they wouldn't have to hear Feyre scolding him for how he acted).

One of the few times we see Feyre actually talk to Rhys about how he treats Nesta, he says that "Elain is Elain" bs. I get that Nesta isn't a Saint and she was definitely in the wrong for how treated everyone, but tbh it really made it feel like the only reason he didn't like her was because she has a disagreeable personality as opposed to Elain who's easier to get along with. Which... to each their own, but if someone said some bs like that to me about my siblings, I'd be pretty pissed tbh.

When it comes to Rhys, it reminds me of when Feyre asked him "how do you know when to be High Lord and when to be family?" Rhys constantly approached Nesta as a High Lord when she really needed family, and apparently seemed to not understand why she kept figuratively slamming the door in his face because of it.

Amren: In the beginning, it did feel like Amren cared for and was concerned about Nesta. But it was the constant slut shaming for me. Definitely could've went without that. It was also how to felt like Amren weaponized her trauma and insecurities against her. Amren used that as an excuse to not tell Nesta something she had every right to know about herself. And then was upset with Nesta when it ultimately ended up blowing up in their faces (Nesta telling Feyre the truth). Even though Nesta didn't do it for the right reasons, it still left a sour taste in my mouth that they got mad at her even though they were the ones that lied to Feyre.

Mor: Mor has literally been Nesta Hater from the beginning, because the bond between Nesta and Cassian has been obvious from day 1 and that threatened the dynamic she had with Cassian and Azriel. Let's be honest and admit that that's why she doesn't like Nesta. All things considered, Nesta has never done anything to Mor personally. Especially nothing to warrant Mor comparing her to the people of the Hewn City aka the people that literally tortured her. When Mor said that, there were question marks floating around my head. Because yes, Nesta can be a bitch sometimes, but comparing her to the people that dumped her outside of the Autumn Court and left her to die? Uh... no. Bffr.

Elain: It was the slut shaming for me. I did the math... after Nesta was put in the House of Wind, and Elain visits her... it had only been 2 weeks since Nesta started rehabilitating. 2 weeks in the HoW, and when Elain comes to Nesta saying stuff that ofc upsets her she wants to say "Nesta isn't getting any better". Babe... it's been 2 weeks. Idk... sibling dynamics are complicated, so I kind of give Elain a little bit of a pass compared to everyone else because of it but the slut shaming really really got me. The way Elain made it seem like she was better than Nesta because "at least she wasn't fucking strangers".

Which was super ironic to me, because it ignores the fact that 95% of the inner circle has said numerous times they they have 1) drowned their problems with alcohol and/or 2) had sex with strangers on numerous occasions. The alcohol and sex was never the problem. The problem was why she was doing it. So it was annoying whenever Amren or Elain made it out like that was the problem, when it wasn't (off the top of my head, they were the only two that actually slut shamed Nesta).

Azriel: He mostly keeps to himself in SF, and there aren't a lot of interactions between him and Nesta, but what gave me the inkling that he at least cared about her was how much care and thought he put into getting a gift for her. Which shows that he took a lot of consideration into her likes and interests.

[garfeildfanpage]

To kind of add onto the Aoiaoi post from earlier I just wanted to include a few things I didn’t mention cause discourse

Akane didn’t strangle Aoi, but he still pushed her over, and proceeded to grab her by the neck and forced her upwards, hence the coughing. That’s still bad, actually!

Tbhktwt is having a moment right now, and I feel like a lot of people are either overblowing / diluting the conflict in the chapter. Akane is being forceful, both physically and not, and that’s not good! It’s obvious to say that in no other situation would Aoi have confronted her issues, but that doesn’t take away from the invasive act of it. He isn’t just forcing her to confront her feelings, he’s distressing her on purpose to prove his point, no matter his intentions he’s still doing something wrong. They’re both incredibly messed up individuals, and Aoi has a lot of blood on her hands as well.

Aoi intended on killing herself, and when Akane got in her way, she took him with her.

I’ve reread Akane & Aoi multiple times and still sit on the conclusion that their confrontation solved nothing. Akane is upset at Aoi for lying to people, but he doesn’t once try to rationalize why she’s doing so. Instead, he puts all the blame on her. He claims to understand her so deeply yet not once does he show her an ounce of grace. All he does is make her problems a “what about me?”, he doesn’t ask her anything, it’s all just what he thinks. “Why do you act like this?” Would’ve been a lot better than just getting in her face to yell, I think. Aoi has reasons for the way she acts, not excuses, but she tells him why she thinks that way and he still doesn’t get it. He repeatedly dismisses her distress, and gets in her space when she doesn’t want him to. She isn’t flustered, she’s uncomfortable. Which should be obvious considering the difference between the expressions she makes when she is! This chapter, and I really can’t stress this enough, is the farthest thing from romantic, and absolutely eons away from being even remotely healthy. This chapter is a hard and uncomfortable read, because of how deeply gross it is.

Aoiaoi is an incredibly complex relationship that shows two people in a toxic codependency, and Akane & Aoi is the absolute breaking point. They’re both fucked up in ways that only being apart can fix, and when forcing them to “confront” their issues, it’s just going to get messy. The objective view of them as peers is muddled when you focus on the imbalance between the two. Aoi has dealt with constant harassment from childhood, and as shown in the chapter, and has assumedly been mostly sexual harassment. And for Akane show such a clear disregard of her comfort is gross in basically every way. That is the rock bottom of Aoiaoi, and I am so tired of people justifying what happens just because they like them.

And I can repeat this a thousand times, every relationship in tbhk is flawed. But that doesn’t mean you should ignore the bad behavior in them, and using it as an excuse is exhausted and weird. You can like Aoiaoi all you want, but that doesn’t mean you should justify the bad shit! Every relationship is flawed, but that doesn’t mean they’re all flawed the same. Not everything is toxic yaoi, some things are just toxic, and acknowledging that is really important. Don’t justify abuse or mistreatment! I think!

I could restate the whole end-part of the original Aoiaoi post but I don’t feel like it. Uhmmmm I don’t hate Aoiaoi I just personally think they should be treated by the fandom at large with more tact and care. They’re volatile and in a lot of cases I see people just, ignore the toxicity, in favor of a cute ship and that’s not great. Understanding flaws within characters is important, don’t be dense, don’t be misogynistic! Cause Aoi hate is usually that! Akane hate isn’t though as much as I love him he has his,,,low points (this entire post) and deserves getting thrown through multiple stained glass windows

Uh ninja out bye