#i am actually fond of putting everything on 1 layer

[kondietorei]

ms paint doodle of joshua..

[basiltonpitch]

Devi vs. David: aka a comprehensive list of every single time ben gross has referred to devi as one or the other (season three edition)

here it is, the post you all have been waiting for! first off, if you missed them, please check out parts one and two where i talk about ben's use of devi vs. david in seasons one and two. and once again, this is just a list documenting every single instance in season three where ben refers to her as either devi or david with context + insight. i am making this mostly for my own purposes. also, some of the netflix captions are incorrect for this season (for example in 3x05 when he sees her at the coffeehouse for the first time) so if the font looks different on some of the screencaps, it's because i captioned them myself.

let's get started.

the first instance in season 3 we see him refer to her at all, it’s as david; the first instance in season 1 was also a david, but this time instead of being used as a mark of rivalry, it is used as a mark of friendship. we see ben use david a lot this season, during what i affectionately refer to as the benvi besties era. but here, in this instance, it isn’t just used to establish their friendship. i mean, it sort of is i guess, but in two separate directions: the first being towards devi, and the second towards ben himself. setting those boundaries in his head, so to speak, because this is right after she tells him things are going great with paxton.

another friendship david! i really love how they interact in this scene: he’s being so genuine when he says this, and her lil smile afterwards? priceless. the way he uses david as a term of endearment will never get old to me.

obviously devi isn’t present in this scene, so it makes sense he doesn’t refer to her as david, but i just wanna point out that ben is a liar liar pants on fire!! while yes, ben and devi are solidly friends, he is still obviously harboring feelings for her. even his own girlfriend can see that. he is so quick to assure aneesa that he does not still have feelings for devi, but the way he talks about her here (insulting, but also sounding so fond, literally ben and devi’s love language!) and even like directly referencing what her freaking backpack looks like (because he notices everything about her, he can’t not notice her) like…dude. you are not making a good case for yourself.

also, this is not particularly relevant because, again, she isn't in this scene, but i still want to make the observation just like i did in part two that ben has never called her david around aneesa. there is no way this isn’t intentional. he calls her david in front of the rest of their friends, but if aneesa is present, it’s devi or nothing at all.

continuing the trend of ben referring to her as david as a term of endearment / mark of friendship. there was no reason for him to put david in the text; he could have left it at “Holy shit! Did you do this?” and the message would still have come across. but he wants to add that extra layer to it, that extra oomph by referring to her as something that is just for them. just for their friendship. something special they have that no one else does. (also ben for fucks sake stop texting the love of your life for like two fucking seconds and pay attention to your actual girlfriend. jesus christ.)

this is the first time he refers to her post-time skip - not that that really matters, i just wanted to point it out. ben is, as he says, four beers deep at this point, and they’re in the presence of friends. it just makes sense for the nickname to slip out. eleanor and fab also make no remarks about it (eleanor didn’t in the 3x02 troll shenanigans instance, either, pre-time skip), so they know it’s harmless.

okay so in this one, the netflix captions are actually wrong — the captions say devi but ben very clearly says david, so i captioned this one myself. anyways. i just want to point out. benjamin. came to the coffeehouse. just because he heard devi say she was going to kiss someone there. you are not slick, dude. anyways. “Are you the charity we’re raising money for tonight?” is a callback to 2x05, obviously: “Well, this is a charity event, and you are, after all, a charity case.” banter. classic benvi banter. this isn’t a friendship david, even though they are friends. and the thing is, ben knows why he’s here. he’s not delusional; i don’t think he walked into the coffeehouse expecting for devi to kiss him. he was hopeful, maybe. but using david in a more teasing context as opposed to a term of endearment here, once again, sets those boundaries in his head. it’s never just as simple as whether he says david or devi; it’s also the tone he uses, how he says it.

condescending king!!! okay no but for real. he uses devi here to exaggerate — i mean, he literally just called her david not even two minutes prior. it’s not a real dig at her, not a real insult, and she knows that. and honestly, i think he’s using their banter in this episode as some sort of armor, because he knows he wants to kiss her, and knows that he’s not going to, so it’s just…easier to be a dick. he keeps his guard up that way. yeah, he flirts by being an asshole, too, and while this episode does have flirty vibes (let’s be real they both wanted to kiss each other the whole damn time), i think ben is just mostly on the defense. especially after that “Don’t fall for a friend,” comment he makes to aneesa later on in the episode. (also, this is the first time this season he refers to her as devi to her face — the only other time so far he’s called her devi was when he was attempting to assure aneesa he didn’t have feelings for devi anymore.)

really just reiterating a lot of what i said about the first instance of david during the coffeehouse. trying to make light of the situation, because really, we know he’s already jealous of whoever it is she’ll be kissing tonight, and he knows it’s not gonna be him. 

more condescending ben! keeping up with the david here, same reasons as above, except it’s his second sentence here i really wanna talk about: “Most guys at drama club events are either dragged here by their girlfriends or are looking for boyfriends.” like WOW okay first of all, way to stereotype, but ALSO, i’m 100% convinced he said that because, you know, he doesn’t want her kissing anyone else. 

this just feels like such a soft moment for me. this is right before 3x06, which is the episode ben decides to finally start to try moving on, but really, i think he started thinking about it in this episode, right at this moment. this “good night, devi,” almost reads like a “goodbye” to me -- not a real one, obviously, but a goodbye to the hopes he might have had for rekindling their romance. he’s going to keep on loving her (he can’t not love her), but he’s done letting himself be miserable about it.

"...would’ve been the end of our journey together.”

ok once again it is obvious he does not refer to her as david when she is not present + even if he did it would not be to paxton but anyways. what i wanna talk about here is how ben has moved on from the cheating incident. i don’t think he’s like, fully 100% over it obviously,  and he’s def not over her, but so casually referencing it to devi’s other ex-boyfriend and there not being a hint of malice towards her in his voice? at this point it’s been probably about a year and a half, give or take, since the two-timing. yes, she broke his heart, but he’s had time to move past that aspect of it. and you could argue that he casually references it because in this scene he’s in one of the most embarrassing situations he’s ever been in and is trying to make light of the situation, but i think it’s more than that. he’s accepted that devi made a big fucking mistake. he’s moved on from it. not from her, not really, but from what she did to him.

okay, yes, this comment comes across as sort of asshole-ish on the surface, but honestly? this is one if the nicest, most genuine things ben has said to her all season. i’m not even kidding when i say that. here, samberg directly says “This would normally prompt a twinge of jealousy in Ben, but if last night taught him anything, it was that he needed to let go of whatever caused him pain.” and like yeah okay comparing devi to the literal shit that was stuck in his gastrointestinal tract is….not great, but i see where he’s coming from. ben is making the conscious decision to stop hopelessly pining after devi. obviously, those feelings are still there, they are not going away just because he’s decided to start moving on. but he’s at peace now with the fact that they missed their chance (or so he thinks). david, once again, used as a mark of friendship. this is ben’s way of saying, “I hope this works out for you, friend. You deserve to be happy.”

"...Don’t be insufferable about this, but you may have been right to think that we can win.”

okay, real quick, can we talk about how chill ben was with the possibility of losing? season two ben could never. ANYWAYS. of course he has to at least sort of be a dick (“Don’t be insufferable about this…”) but he genuinely means it. it’s a praise and an encouragement wrapped into one (up until the paralegals and faux-jeopardy computer stroll in) because they’ve been doing so well during the tournament. he has faith in her. david being used to get her attention here before he gives her that praise makes it come across even more genuine, i think, because this is ben we are talking about here and, again, david is a term of endearment for them!

"...if you aren’t too busy making demented faces into your phone.”

BANTER like yes ok he’s genuinely annoyed here. but. this whole scene just oozes besties banter. don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a friendship david. it reads very close to their s1 enemies back-and-forth but there’s also that extra layer underneath, laced with the littlest bit of affection, because he doesn’t hate her like he did back then. (also, they’re working on a project together instead of competing for the best in class. season 1 pre-model un benvi could never.)

he's trying to soften the blow of what he’s about to tell her about rhyah and des; obviously it doesn’t really work, because she still flips out on him lol, but he tries. he doesn’t even banter back when she tells him that his outfit is ugly. he’s heartbroken that he has to tell her this. he wanted so badly for this to work out for her. for her to be happy. but he has to do right by her, has to tell her because she deserves to know the truth. uses david to soften the sharpness of that truth. 

david once again being used in a friendly context; his tone here is softening from the petty banter they had just been engaging in. telling her it’s “dumb not to go,” using david in the middle of that sentence for emphasis, but somehow he’s still not coming across as a dick here. he knows how impactful it would be for her to go, and tells her as much. but…

cut me in half. throw me off a cliff. i may never emotionally recover from this. ben being so vulnerable here, probably the second most vulnerable we’ve ever seen him (the first being 3x06 with his father). telling her he doesn’t want her to go, that he’ll miss her, because he wants her in his life. even if they aren’t together. even if they never become anything more than friends again. he likes having her around. wants to keep her around. and he isn’t afraid to say it anymore. david here being used to, once again, establish that closeness between them, that closeness to his best friend (even if it’s never actually stated that she is his best friend, she is, she is). david being used because this is just them, just for them, words that cannot be left unsaid.

[kindestegg]

Deltarune Theory: Ralsei is a guide for the script

It feels crazy that Deltarune Chapter 2 has only been out for like, what, two weeks? As of the time I’m writing this, and yet, there has already been so much secret hunting and speculation over this. Not even the full game, and people already go crazy over it. Naturally, I am part of this craze. In fact I was one of the people that played it as soon as it dropped.

And, I thought it was only me, but, at least for a little while, Ralsei’s behavior struck me as… odd. Not outwardly malicious, but just… odd. Particularly the first bit of the game, it was just so… happy and convenient? And Ralsei was at the center of it all, orchestrating it, making sure everything happened accordingly.

Eventually, that initial feeling of distrust went away, but… not quite. And it seems a lot of people began to feel the same way, pointing out bits about Ralsei that are just… out of place. Things that didn’t seem to stand out in the first chapter, are now popping out about him.

Questions include:

How does he know about what’s outside the Dark World, about the school?

How does he know about the game mechanics and call them out by names?

Why is he so interested in keeping the balance between only Kris acting and him and Susie doing magic?

Why does he seem so eager to dismiss what happened with Spamton NEO?

Why doesn’t he turn into stone or even get weak at any point during the time he spends in Cyber World?

Are the parts of his name and design connecting to the Dreemurr’s intentional, and if so, what does that mean for his relation to Kris?

How and why does he take player control away to look at what Susie is doing? Why must he wait until Kris is willing to do it? What does he tell them when he succeeds in this?

Now, I don’t intend to pose here “a supreme theory to rule them all”, I’m just a guy having fun and I’ve seen people voice particularly similar ideas to this one I’ve had, so I want to at least try to answer these questions through a relatively simple idea that would, almost entirely, immediately answer ALMOST all the doubts.

First, let’s start with some steps to build up this idea. For one, we know for a fact that Ralsei holds knowledge over game mechanics and may even break the fourth wall at times.

But we also know that Ralsei’s design resembles a lot of characters from Undertale we know and were fond of. For one, he can be likened to Toriel in the sense that he is the one to give you the first tutorial of the game and his clothes resemble her original outfit as well. Another connection, much more common, that people have made is that he is like Asriel, no doubt due to his name being an anagram, but also due to the fact he is also a cute young goat.

I would like to do a complete turn around here though, and say I do not think any of this points to Ralsei being related to Kris in the familial sense, for more than one reason, but my main one being that I don’t think Toby would be as frankly disgusting as to imply such a thing when there is so so much teasing in the direction of Ralsei possibly having a crush on Kris. I mean… really, Toby?

You know, I’m not too sure this would be the smartest idea, Mr. Fox, but alright.

However, I do think all these hints in his design and name have a purpose. And it has to do with how us, the fandom, see these two characters. For one, they are very beloved characters, and Toriel is one that we associate with her tutorials and guidance, whereas Asriel is one that people have yearned to see more in action. They are back, in a sense, but not present in our adventures so far.

What I’m getting at is that Ralsei is specifically designed to be the darling of the fandom. He is made to be loved, to be trusted, to cause feelings in us that make us want to protect him and accept his advice. This, in a way, also affects the in-universe characters who see him, as Susie put it: “as a big portable teddy bear”, whose job is “giving hugs”.

And I don’t just mean this in a character design way, like “oh wow Toby was so smart to make a perfectly marketable boy!” No. I think Ralsei exists as a meta element, his form being a direct manifestation of what we want to see.

He looks like that because he wants us to see him and lower our guard and expect his guidance. Remember how his form was shadowy and vague throughout all of chapter 1 until the very end of it and how he poofs into nothing but a pile of clothes in both chapters so far, no matter what form he’s in? What if he’s a shapeshifter? What if Ralsei isn’t even his real name? That certainly would explain why he says he doesn’t know what being Ralsei-like is like.

Ralsei? Ralsei? Oh God he’s gone.

Now, do I think he’s lowering our guard in the sense of leaving us vulnerable for an attack? Not exactly. I think it's so we learn to accept him…

Accept that he is a GUIDE for the game’s script. His entire existence hinges on guiding the main characters, specially Kris, throughout the story, and making sure the whole story, all seven chapters, play out exactly as planned.

You see, Ralsei isn’t evil. His goal is pretty simple, actually: guide us, the player, throughout the game, making us feel as safe and happy and secure. In that sense, of course he pushes so hard towards the pacifist route. After all, that’s the one that’s closer to a completionist route, as the sparing + recruiting mechanic adds more characters to your town, and therefore more content. He wants you to see all this content and get the most enjoyment out of it. His code urges him to bring you the best experience possible.

This would also answer why he does that thing with taking our control away from Kris and to watch Susie’s shenanigans. Because it’s satisfying to us. Notice how stressed out and pushy he gets in the alternate route when Susie comes out of Noelle’s room without being able to let us see what happened. He knows he messed up, something went wrong. He was supposed to let us see, so that we wouldn’t be bored, because God forbid the players be bored.

Just imagine this going through his head.

He also seems to genuinely care about Kris and Susie, and with good reason, as he knows these are the protagonists, and he is supposed to care for their well being too and ensure they reach their goal. I do think, however, there is a good amount of being genuine in his care, as he has no reason to react so boldly sometimes to either of them, showing outrage or affection in pretty telling ways. He isn’t heartless despite carrying out this job.

However it is also worth noting, for all his care, he cannot do the one thing that Kris would desire the most: free them from our grasp. And that is his ultimate failure towards them, and may end up creating conflict later on in the game.

From, here, there are two possible pathways:

Ralsei does not know about the dilemma Kris is going through, and believes Kris is entirely oblivious and passive towards being in a video game. He may even end up being the final boss to fight, as he desperately tries to keep everything on rails while Kris very much does not care for any of that.

Ralsei is entirely aware of what’s going on with Kris, after all, everything in a game’s design is planned, even the cutscenes, therefore even Kris’ struggles. Ralsei knows of the fate that lies ahead, that Kris will eventually be free, how it all ends. But to get there… is still a road ahead.

I think Ralsei’s affection towards Kris will definitely be explored in the later chapters. Not just because of the teasing we’ve been getting, but, if Ralsei really is a guide of the game’s code and script, what would that mean for him to get so attached towards the character the player is controlling?

Ralsei will have to make a choice. He will either recognize Kris is suffering and cannot wait any longer, or be faced with possibly having to fight them himself. This is why those two pathways matter as well. If he doesn’t know, his choice will come later and it will be an unpleasant surprise for him to find out the game universe is breaking apart around him with the self awareness of certain characters. If he does know, however, his choice is NOW, and waiting for the inevitable will be torture.

Just how long until he breaks? Or will he keep the facade until the very last chapter?

Like I said, I don’t intend this theory to be the biggest, most revealing and coherent theory. But… It could add a very interesting layer to Ralsei’s character, as well as answer many questions posed beforehand. He knows the school layout and game controls because he is part of the code. He can get to the other Dark World’s easily and remain unharmed because the game demands him to be. He looks like this so that we love him. He wants to give us the most fulfilling Castle Town so that we will love the game. He doesn’t protest even when Kris does things like try to give him the thorn ring, because to him, everything will be okay anyway. Everything he is, is for us. He isn’t evil or malicious per se, he just opposes Kris’ biggest need.

But he may have gotten himself attached. And that may be a clue to sparing him if he does become a final boss.

But! Tell me what you thought of this theory! Do you think it’s way too weird and farfetched, or do you think it’s possible that it could happen? Or maybe you agree with some stuff but not with other stuff? Go ahead and tell me!

[pale-silver-comb]

So I know absolutely nothing about Leverage except what I've been seeing you post lately and I have to admit you're making it look tempting to watch! Can I ask what are some of your favorite things about the show/reasons you would suggest people watch it? And is there really a poly relationship that is canon?

Okay. Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. I am going to do my best not to just “asdfghkjl” at you and answer coherently.

In a nutshell, Leverage is about 5 people. 4 are criminals (Parker, Hardison, Eliot and Sophie) with different and unique skill-sets and 1 is an ex-insurance investigator (Nate) who, at one point or another in his career, has tracked down (or at least attempted to) the other 4. The whole show is essentially: man reluctantly reforms 4 criminals to use their criminal powers for good and 4 criminals move into man’s life and stubbornly refuse to leave because, goddammit, now they have morals. 

I’ve got a lot of favourite things about the show but the main ones are as follows:

1. Found family. And I’m not talking about loners who come together to fight crime and happen to co-exist to the point where they realise they happen to have found themselves a family. I mean, Nate and Sophie are the Drunk Uncle and Wine Aunt who somehow become Mom and Dad to 3 beautiful criminal children. Mom and Dad love their criminal babies and the kids love them (as well as each other, but we’ll come to that in a moment). You get amazing family moments such as: Mom and Dad packing the kids lunch before sending them out to kick corporate greed’s ass; Mom and Dad giving the kids ridiculously expensive and personal Christmas presents causing their most Grumpy Kid to go very very quiet and soft as he runs off to gleefully play with his new murder toy; the kids interrupting Mom and Dad’s big Movie Style Kiss to ask if they can please keep their new underground layer and huffing and puffing when Dad tells them no.

2. Found family: the OT3 edition. To answer your question, the OT3 is indeed canon, confirmed by the creator. Now, usually, “confirmed by the creator” infuriates me because most of the time it’s a way for a creator to be seen as “progressive” without doing anything to actually be progressive. That isn’t the case here. The OT3 are built up carefully and while it is obvious the creators didn’t originally intend for all 3 of them to become a relationship in the romantic sense, by mid-season 5 we are given a very clear picture of where Parker, Hardison and Eliot are heading in their relationship. There aren’t any kisses at the end to signal this but there are solid marriage vows in not only one but two episodes. (And by marriage vows I mean literal equivalents of marriage vows: “for better or worse” and “’til death do us part”. I’m not even exaggerating). The OT3 also doesn’t need explicit romantic narratives to convey how much they love each other. Their love is laced through the whole show, from the way they teach each other things to the way they respond to each other and work as a unit. The way they fiercely protect and admire each other. Like someone once said, if you need characters to kiss or say I love you to let the audience know they love each other, you are writing them wrong. 

Aside from that, each of the parings in the OT3 are just. Gah. They are so well done, with friendship being the solid basis for them all. The creators never expect the audience to assume anything about them or fill in the gaps. They give us their relationships on screen and reference many things off-screen to show us how these relationships continue to build in between episodes.

Hardison and Parker are a canon couple and date in the show: it’s approached slowly and they are so goddamned sweet. They are basically every fluffy slow-burn trope with a healthy dash of mutual pining in the mix. They are basically that quote “love is patient, love is kind”. (I would like to add their romance never becomes the focus of the show or overrides the importance of any other relationship they have with the other characters, especially Eliot.)

Hardison and Eliot are the Old Married Couple and from day one are already bickering and looking at each other/making comments that are found in every UST fic ever (not to mention Hardison has a very good knack for making Eliot grin like a little kid, when usually he’s basically an Angry Little Chef Man). They argue, they play, and love each other plain as day. 

Parker and Eliot are more subtle but every bit as wonderful. They have an unspoken connection and understand each other on a level no-one else can. Parker and Eliot are not good with giving themselves over to affection for different reasons (and Hardison plays a central role in helping them realise it’s okay to want it and have it- that boy has endless patience) but there is something so beautiful in the way the two of them come together on their own and develop their own special bond that works for them. Parker and Eliot are that trope where the characters don’t need to speak to understand each other perfectly. They just do. Their love language is a lot of the time non-verbal but speaks volumes. (Parker also likes to annoy the hell out of Eliot and Eliot....just.....lets...her. Because he’s soft. The softest, grumpiest boy.) 

I could go into so much depth for each pairing and their dynamics as a 3 but that's for another post.

3. Subverting stereotypes. There is the occasional hiccup in the show regarding stereotypes but ultimately, Leverage gets an A+ when it comes to writing characters and making them 3 dimensional people who are not defined by certain characteristics or events. Nate could so easily fall into the White Man Pain trope where he uses the trauma of losing his kid as a reason as to why he is entitled to act like a dick. Nate is a dick but he doesn’t use his pain to excuse it and I appreciate that. Hardison is a black man who is soft and nurturing. Easily the most empathetic and patient of the group. He’s nerdy, an actual genius, and has the biggest heart of all the characters. Nate is maybe the glue but Hardison is definitely the heart. Media’s usual aggressive, amongst other, racist stereotypes can fuck right off. Parker is canonically autistic (I am sure this was confirmed by one of the creators) and she is not defined by it. It’s not written as some kind of singular personality trait. It’s part of what makes up Parker but it’s only one facet of who she is and not once is her actions, thoughts or feelings treated like a joke. Sometimes people don’t understand why she does and says the things she does but it’s met with patience and fondness over the course of the show. Equally, it’s not met with over-caution. Parker is just Parker. No-one tries to change her. The other nice thing is Hardison, who always makes sure Parker knows she’s amazing because of who she is and not in spite of it. Finally, Sophie is in her 40s. She’s not treated like she’s past her prime. Ever. She’s sexy, smart and never is she pitted against or compared to Parker (who is younger) for anything. Sophie is amazing and there’s never even a conversation of “I may be older but I am still *insert adjective typically associated with younger women here*”. Sophie is possibly the first female character I’ve ever seen who isn’t just unapologetic about her age but has never had to apologise for her age. It’s a non-issue and that’s that. The women on the show are written so well, right down to secondary characters and it’s beyond refreshing.  

4.) It’s just fun. The show has a “monster of the week” type format. Except instead of a ghoul or a ghost, the monster is some corrupt wealthy and powerful individual or organisation. The show draws on real-life individuals to do this and therefore closely parallels real-life people and events. It addresses important political, economical, social and environmental issues while at the same time remaining fun and light-hearted. The characters constantly get the chance to play dress up and by GOD do they have fun with it. You get to watch Eliot beat up bad guys in the most delightful of ways, usually after a witty non-sequitur and with a weapon you’d never think could be a weapon. The dialogue and back and forth between the characters is everything. And finally - my favourite thing- the team can never resist striking a dramatic pose after they’ve taken down the bad guy, making sure the bad guy sees them. I mean, they COULD just walk away, satisfied they’ve taken the person down, but nope. They gotta be dramatic bitches 24/7 and pose like they are models for every single month of this year’s Criminal Calendar.  

5.) Competence Porn. So. Much. Competence Porn.  

Honestly, I could list a thousand reasons for why Leverage is amazing but to list them would to be spoiling so many amazing moments you’d get to discover for the first time on your own if you do choose to watch it. It’s the kind of show you can watch with an eagle-eye and sink your teeth into. But it’s also the kind of show if, you would prefer, put on in the background for something entertaining while you do something else. Each episode is about the job at hand but it’s made up of so many moments between the characters that show how much the creators and writers care about them. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll do whatever it is you do when something Soft and Wonderful happens that makes your heart melt. I am so beyond grateful for Leverage. It’s everything I always wanted in a show. Nearly every show I’ve watched in the past 10 years has disappointed me in some way, usually either because the writers run out of steam or characters who I love are treated poorly or given some kind of unnecessary “shock value” arc. Leverage doesn’t do that. Leverage is what it says on the bottle. Fandom isn’t something I joined because I needed canon fix-its. Fandom only enhances and celebrates an already excellent canon. 

[gojology]

Job Benefits (Part Three)

broken routines - chapter three.

you can find part two here : 

part two : undesirable pairing : ceo! gojo x female reader warnings : cursing wordcount : 1442 a/n : im highly disappointed with this but im very hyped abt writing part 4 and uh i need to change my writing style sooner or later wtf is this mess LOL

     If there’s one thing Gojo knows more then his own body, it’s routines.       It’s what he grew up around, coming from such a bustling family. Since he learned how to walk, he had attended many interviews, gone to parties, all in one day. Of course, it was commonplace in his already hectic life. He saw routine in everything.      Imagine his shock when you came into the office in an outfit that differed so greatly from your regular one that his jaw might unhinge and fall off.      He can’t wrap his head around why, but he’s utterly confused as to why you changed this up. Was it permanent, and why the change? He had many questions going through his head. This is one of the many negative traits Gojo Satoru has; he thinks his input is important, even though the majority of time it is... Maybe it was somewhat justified. But he doesn’t realize how unnecessary it comes out to be when no one asked.      No one had ever told him no, of course they hadn’t, he was ranked nationally as an important kid due to his wit and charismatic personality, essential for entering the business industry.     When he opened his mouth to speak, even at 8 years old at his parent’s conferences, the old professionals would all look at him, keenly waiting for his orders, or perhaps his opinion. This was what he grew up having; so naturally he didn’t know any boundaries, nor did he know when to close his mouth.      But that’s besides the point, he thoroughly enjoyed the look on you.     He takes his normal trip down the hallway into your office, humming a tune, a messy stack of papers in one hand, a custom ceramic mug in the other; made personally just for him. He expects to see you in your regular outfit, a pencil skirt, white t-shirt, the short clicky heels, and the black blazer. It certainly made for an excellent example of casual, formal attire.      Unexpectedly, you’re not. You’re calling someone, phone perched delicately on your shoulder almost as if it’s supposed to slip out, your hair framing your face. Lips parting as you start responding to whatever is on the opposite side, and he notices an evident gloss, your lips are a different color too.      You glance up at him and gesture to your phone, and his hands are shoved deep into his pockets, taking this extra time to examine you up and down. White turtleneck, layered alongside a slightly unbuttoned dress shirt with a crisp warm toned brown trench coat. Not too long, not too short.       Simple gold jewelry adorned your neck, and his eyes caught onto the gold bracelet that jingled on your arm as you swayed it around; he kinda found it cute how even when the person you were talking to wasn’t in front of you, you were still so animated.      Gojo can’t see your pants nor your shoes, but he’s about to enter cardiac arrest because truthfully he didn’t expect that you knew how to dress.     “What?” you say, words dripping with venom and menace, putting the phone back down. He’s taken aback, what’s with the tone?      “What do you mean, what, (Y/N)?” giving you a shit eating grin, he takes a step closer to your table.     “Answer my question, I asked first.” you shot back, now crossing your legs, you hope you look bored just to add more insult to injury. The guy deserved it for thinking the world revolved around him.      He doesn’t answer, instead staring at you, setting his cup of coffee onto the already crowded tabletop, slightly hunched over. You feel your heart drop. Fuck, maybe seeking some sort of symbolic revenge against your boss wasn’t the best of ideas.    Actually, none of your ideas were the best last night. Naturally you’d only think up disasters when you were under distress.     “What’s with the new outfit? Buy a new fashion sense on Amazon?” he finally inquires, a tinge of sarcasm in his voice, brushing your... Rude words aside.      You shrug, pulling out your planner from the drawer and mumbling, biting your pen before writing inside, they’re mindless words. You hope your acting is good, because you want to cry again even at the slight sound of those words. “I don’t know, I felt like I would try something different.” Fuck, were was the sass? Why did you answer nervously? Why did you feel so scared?      There was obviously something that you wanted to do rather then chit chat with him, and Gojo’s now unoccupied hand rubs his neck, this was suddenly so awkward, even for someone as lively as him.     “Hm. Right. Anyways, these were in the printer.” he slaps the freshly printed lukewarm pages onto your desk. “Figured these were yours, still had your name on them.”      “Ah. Thanks.” you say before yawning, covering your mouth before sliding the papers back into the drawer behind you- as if you had no care for them. Actually, you didn’t. This was apart of your master plan that you had crafted at 1 AM last night, too exhilarated to rest. You would print papers out in Gojo’s printer, which you had used once in a while prior so it wouldn’t be too suspicious, and since Gojo never left the dang office he’d hear the sounds and return them to you.       Both of you were silent again, and he’s debating between hitting you up with a topic of conversation, perhaps a joke, but you seem so uninterested he’s not sure if it’s the right moment.      “Just to let you know- your lunch break is in 10 minutes.” he adds, whistling to try to appear careless, but he could feel his heart sinking. You were acting unusually cold, no dramatic tantrums from you that he usually loved. In fact, that was the whole reason why he liked coming to your office. That, and the cute stationary.     “Ah! Really?” you make sure to act like you just got a ticket to heaven, just as a petty way of saying, “Hey. You’re boring. I want to get out.” and Gojo’s pretty sure that all the contents of his heart was shattered now.       Hmph. Whatever, if you continued this behavior he’d swear he’d fire you, but even he knows that’s not true. He had grown fond about you over the small amount of time that you had worked as his secretary, besides, what was a good work life if you didn’t have a good relationship with your very own secretary? He’s sure his banter doesn’t affect you.     “Yeah.” he says, now quiet. He turns his back on you, pausing for a quick moment before walking out, not before he bangs the top of his forehead against the door frame, which earned a slight groan out of him, and just like that he left. You still hear the faint clicking against the tile floor from his shoes.       You exhaled a sigh you didn’t know you were holding, twirling your office chair to look at the large window pane behind your desk. This was something you admired about the architecture of the building you worked out. Every single office had a large window facing Tokyo, so late working hours would always involve beautiful city lights and the bustling of night life.       The sun and sky was bright and cheery, and it comforted your frazzled body. Today wasn’t as bad as yesterday, but it still felt strange from not having your daily ridiculous conversation with Gojo- and strangely you missed it.       Instilled with energy and motivation, you stand up, pulling your bento out of your bag, determined to go through with the rest of your plan. You knew Gojo had a good friend that worked here, Keto Sugareu or something like that. You’d have lunch with him, work your feminine charms, and that was that.       It wasn’t like you wanted to, but a part of you so desperately wanted to prove to Gojo that you could be smart, witty, yet sexy at the same time. You weren’t a prude- just someone not as exposed to these lifestyles.     But you didn’t really eat your lunch in the break room, rather, you were almost always in your very own office. If you weren’t found in there, it’d either be the bathroom or conspiring to steal Gojo’s luxury coffee machine at your house. Infact, you’re not even quite sure if you remember how it looks like.    “Whatever.” you mumble to yourself, before scooping up your utensils and napkins and heading out for the break room.      You shouldn’t have ever stepped foot into that cursed hellish room that day.

nice to see u down here, u want chapt 4? too bad. just kidding! here, have at it.  chapter four : conspiring     

[wall-eye]

old v new

just want to talk about the differences between these two pieces :] casual essay under the cut

first off, in the nine months between making the first one and redoing it i have a) learned how to make space backgrounds in a way that i am very fond of, b) picked up a textured brush, and c) have gained some more understandings of my layer modes

now. i didnt like make a new piece and start over from scratch. i keep a save of the art with layers and a save of the art i can post. i have a whole system, is why my art always have a 1 at the end if youve ever looked at the file names. the only thing i completely changed is the background. got rid of the stars added my space and readded stars and added the moons. and some glow at the bottom.

other than that i color shifted the ship wall theyre leaning against to be more purple than green, and did some heavy blurring and smudging on the lighting and changed the layer modes. i had left the group layer modes on the wrong setting (pass through vs normal) and it dimmed all the work i did so much. because of that i actually had to go back, after i fixed it, to tone down a lot of the lighting i did, especially on the faces. i took my big textured brush (which i also used for the background. deceptively simple to do that actually) and just set it to eraser mode and did a few taps over the spots that needed it. i used the same method on the moon actually, i just made a white circle and duplicated it and erased it with a tap and it ended up like that.

anyway all of that is to say that the little changes really changed the whole, like effect of the piece. before, everything felt really flat and i was disappointed in how the lighting showed up, but i thought there was nothing i could do. the back lighting was a last minute decision and it looked cool but also a bit out of place. it was a great concept but i didnt have all the technical skills and the right eye for what i wanted. i had actually drawn it before and gone no i need to try harder and do better with this actually. i went hard into the anatomy and lighting, but fell the the side on the background.

which is what i went into this time, and what helped give it the effect it has now. they arent as flat with the improved lighting, the background has depth and actually looks like its a night sky, the moons give context for the back light, and its no longer all the some sort of contrast.

in the before they kind of blended into everything else because it was all given the same emphasis in contrast. if you step back and squint the only things that stand out are fjord's lighter green skin and jesters skin. not the worst things to stand out ofc, thats their faces on the most part. but in the after, its their whole bodies (and the moon) that stand out and thats what i want.

one thing i didnt expect to see, when i set them next to each other, was to think that the newer one seemed smaller than the other. they look smaller, when i didnt resize them at all. i didnt touch the line art, except to put it on a multiply layer and to make it a color other than black (almost black green and almost black blue). that, plus the enhanced lighting, and surprisingly the moon in the back also makes the moment sadder and more lonely? which is the exact mood in the actual scene im portraying, where jester and fjord have a talk and jester sheds her happy mask for a moment to share her sadness and loneliness at leaving her mom. in the new piece they are surrounded by darkness, with the only visible features being themselves lit by the moon and the moon itself. in the older piece the sky is lighter and filled with stark stars that negate that effect completely. With all that starkness consolidated into the single white moon, it feels as though the moon is a third figure in the scene that, since it is addressed and centered, makes it so that any notion of any other audience moot. the moon is the only audience for the moment between them and its indifferent (not a stand in for us, because we are not indifferent). Ruidus is there as well, because of what we know about it now. all the forboding and negitive enegery around it, and having placed it above jester, shows that its a serious, if beautiful, moment of her, again, showing sadness and loneliness, non-positive emotions.

anyway all of this is to just say: look at what i did! isnt it neat how i did it. look at the very cool side effect it caused! wow im so proud of that, isnt it so cool.

i also think itd perhaps be a really cool card for jester and molly's oracle deck, im thinking connection and then upside down is loneliness. idk i havent looked at the cards and their meanings and the specific art yet, i just thought id be cool cause of the connection/loneliness theme of jester that kinda first shows its face to us with this moment

if youve read all of this i love you

[blushnik]

I love love your works and posts. Always looking forward to more content from you. Anyways my question is that in Punisher season 2 really trashed billy. What do you think about it. Personally I Hate Krista and Madani. Do you think billy and frank would have eventually started a relationship if billy hadn't been outed for betrayal.

*SOBBING HAPPY NOISES* Lemme just- uh, lemme calm down, this was so much praise I didn't expect to see when opening the inbox 😭🙏💙💙💙💙💙💙

Okay, now to your question *breathing exercises initiated*

First, I just wanna say that I kinda pushed the entire season 2 out of my mind, especially THAT part (y'all know what I'm talking about, I ain't gonna say it out loud) cause it just really hurts but xD I think I can handle it for this one occasion.

Season 2 really went ahead and said: Let's just punish Billy Russo for 13 episodes straight, yeah? Cause the show's name is PUNISHER. And he's PUNISHER's nemesis, right? So we PUNISH him, that makes sense, right? *clown mask here* And people will totally cheer when we finally get rid of him cause he's BAD and deserved to be PUNISHED, RIGHT? *clown levels intensify*

Lemme just point out that Billy Russo DID get his punishment when Frank introduced him, quite intimately, to a mirror. He suffered consequences of it during his coma in his dreams and after with memory loss and all conditions that came with it. And that'd be okay to have at the start but NOT FOR THIRTEEN FKING EPISODES.

You can't beat up a character that much, for that long, and then expect us to be cheering when he meets the shittiest end you could possibly think of. Not to even mention the monumental waste of potential in that story.

Remembering what he did and being told what he did are two VERY different things. If he doesn't remember shit then ofc it doesn't make sense to him how could he ever betray Frank like that. For all he knows, everyone just turned against HIM and made up this lie, his best friends and people he cared about going after him for – in Billy's eyes – no reason. Forget Maria and kids and Rawlins, just the fact my best friend, the only person I ever truly felt connected to and trusted and cared about ground my face against a broken mirror would be A LOT to process.

I seriously expected Billy to remember what he's done somewhere in the middle but somehow the writers thought new characters nobody cares about and an overly complex plot is a better way to go? That letting Billy be just a confused screaming crying mess for the entirety of season 2 while ten meaningless subplots get resolved so he can die right after will somehow work?

Look, I get he was supposed to lose everything he had in season 1, that being not only his wealth and company and good looks (he's still hot shut up and those feeble scars, bitch, what was that, Shadow and Bone did a better job at doing accurate scars) but also his self-control, his control over his emotions, composure, his ability to keep his cool, smooth-talking, etc.

But you can't let him be the victim and then expect the audience to not empathize with him or feel sorry for him and to NOT be okay when he dies right after it seems he finally found some peace, happiness, and love (I hate Krista too but shit, he was so happy with those stupid flowers, Ben sure knew what he was doing when he gave those blue flowers to Alina right before everything turned to shit).

Granted, he did shitty things in season 1 and season 2 too but the difference is this;

In season 1, those were his conscious choices. He never was a victim even in his own story. He knew he stepped on other people in order to get himself higher, he decided when it comes down to it, better someone else than him. He decided that after building himself up, no price was too great to pay just to make sure he was never hitting the bottom again and he had no problem with doing it because he's incapable of compassion and 'even though he loves Frank more than anything or anyone, Billy loves himself just a bit more' – Ben Barnes' words, not mine.

But in season 2, he doesn't know about any of that. He does feel like a victim because from his POV, everyone is simply attacking and somebody close to him hurt him for things he can't believe he did because at that point, he believed he would NEVER be capable of doing such things. And when he does something shitty – it's because he feels attacked, he feels like he needs to protect himself and that he's pushed towards it.

Pretty fking hard to see him as a villain, at least for me -.-

It's almost like the writers were too scared to explore that emotional turmoil and impact it would have on him and how it'd change his character if he remembered. Which is SUCH a shame it hurts. Ben Barnes has put so much nuance and depth into Billy's character, he had dimensions and so many layers so just imagine what it would be to have all of that go through some serious angst and explore his relationship with Frank further.

But no.

Instead, we get this imitation of angst where Billy Russo becomes a punching bag and we're supposed to go OOOH HE STILL EVIL BITCH when he darest to punch back.

And don't get me started on the worst character kill-off I've ever seen. Just no. I am not even sharing my opinions on this cause it's too much to think about.

So there you have it, season 2 is trash in my opinion, they really did Billy so dirty while throwing in subplots and characters that were absolutely unnecessary to have. It could totally be just about Frank and Billy trying to come to some closure (violent or not) and maybe Dinah sprinkled in cause she got a lot of beef with Billy too.

Now just to quickly answer the other question, would they have started the relationship eventually if Billy wasn't outed for betrayal?

Marvel and the Mouse are cowards so ofc not in the canon, but in my humble hcs opinion, ofc YES. Frank's the only one Billy feels a connection with and vice versa. And while it's easier for Frank to care for other people than it is for Billy (since, unlike Billy, Frank is capable of compassion), nobody gets him and accepts him the way Billy does. I like to think of that quote from the Darkling for this:

"I've seen what you truly are and I've never turned away."

That's Billy @ Frank. Together with the reasons, I listed in the previous ask where I pointed out how they complement each other ^^

PS: I just wanna say I actually love Dinah but it may be because of my hcs. She was really getting on my nerves at the beginning and then I just made up stuff in my head that made me really fond of her, like Dinah dating Karen Page and being the good bro for Frank and Billy.

Thank you for the reading if you made it this far, THANK YOU for the kind words and keep invading my inbox if you like 🥰💙💙

[inessencedevided]

(You can find the set that this gif belongs to here 💙)

From planning to posting, share your process for making creative content!

To continue supporting content makers, this tag game is meant to show the entire process of making creative content: this can be for any creation.

RULES: When your work is tagged, show the process of its creation from planning to posting, then tag 5 people with a specific link to one of their creative works you’d like to see the process of. Use the tag #showyourprocess so we can find yours

I was tagged by @aheartfullofjolllly. thank you so much Pat! it was really fun to reflect about my own process 💗 You can find her post here and @lan-xichens' post that started it all here :)

Also thank you @huigusu 🥰 (who tagged me for my nie brothers set) I'll get to that one in a few days!

Now Pat gave me two sets to chose from to show my process, so obviously I chose the more complicated one :P

I only work in Photoshop CC 2018. I know that there are programs out there for easier cutting and sharpening but I have only just figured out how to do that in PS and I am too lazy to figure out any other programs right now xD

1. Idea and Planning

This set, like most of my sets with lyrics started with me reading the poem, clutching my heart and going "oh shit this fits my favourite characters!!". The idea actually started with me thinking that the first stanza of the poem would go really well with wwx during the burial mounds arc. Then I realized that the last stanza fits lwj better than him and from there came the idea to contrast the both of them next to each other. This is when I realized I wanted to do a dark-light contrast set, though I did not know that I would go with red and blue at that time. My idea in the beginning was just to do a black and white set

I was really impressed by how Pat said that she plans her sets around exact timestamps. Because I don't do that at all ^^ I just get ideas for which scenes would fit (in this case the wwx burial mounds scenes and lwj's kneeling and punishments scene) and then I watch the scenes to narrow them down.

Back when I made this set, I still used a screenrecorder (AceThinker Screen Grabber Pro to be precise. They have a test version that allows you to record up to 3 minutes) and recorded the scenes I needed from Netflix. This worked well enough but now I have the entire show saved on an external drive and it makes a world of difference when it comes to gif sharpness

Now, in this case I had to repeat this step once because when I was almost finished, I realized that I wanted a gif for the lwj corner but let's pretend I didn't do that and that's the way this gif was always going to look because otherwise this post will be way too long ^^

2. Creation

Short disclaimer: The creation process for this gifset was anything but linear. Multiple effects I used here were things I had never tried before. I just had a vague idea and tried to realize it through trial and error. So whenever I say "then I did xyz", it is implied that I ultimately went back to that step several times and changed stuff ^^

I started with the Wei Wuxian part of the gif. I usually use a frame rate of 0,06 (with some variation depending on gif length and size). I work in timeline so I converted all the layers to a smart layer. Then I resized the gif into a square, leaving big chunks of the gif empty (as can be seen below.) I flipped the gif horizontally, so he is looking inwards. This was simple because I felt it fitted the composition better. Then I imported the Lan Wangji part of the gif, again with a frame rate of 0,06. (Image 2)

After that I created a layer for masking in a separate PS document by rotating a square until it was point down (is that a rhombus?). I sized it to match my gif (540x540 pxl) and copied it over. (Image 3) a bit of masking magic and ta da! There's the basic layout (Image 4)

I put a layer of solid black behind wwx to get rid of the transparent bits (Image 5) and then started adding more white and black to both sides by adding solid whit and black layers that i put masks on and changed the opacity as i needed (Image 6)

("reading" direction: from the upper left to the lower right corner)

Then I fiddled with the colours a bit. The first thing I always do is using the curves layer to get more contrast. Then I use the colour balance tool and the selective colouring tool to get rid of that cql-typical cyan tint after that it's just trying to have it look "natural" while the colours still fit the overall scheme. This was difficult here because wei Wuxian’s side of the gif was very dark and when i turned up the saturation to see which colour dominated it was a very weird mixture of multiple colours. That's when i decided that I'd just go with red on his side, since lwj's side was already so blue and those to look great as contrasts.

After that just came a lot of fiddling with selective colour layers and brightness and contrast unti I has happy. There really wasn't much to it ^^. (Image 1)

After that I added the text. I knew I wanted the two lines to for a square of some kind. So I tried different fonds until I arrived at the one below. The two lines are in seperate layers so I could move them around and change the spacing between the letters until I was happy with the layout. I also changed the layer mode for the text to "difference" (is that what it's called in english? my PS is set to german sorry ^^), keeping their colour white. (Image 2)

I originally hadn't planned adding anything else but I felt like the gifs (plural because I switched between the gifs of this set) was still kind of empty and lacking, so I added the tear down the middle (a tutorial for that is either coming up later or already posted. I recently got an ask for this :)) (Image 3)

It still felt empty after that, so I tried different overlays. Okay no, first I wasted a lot of time on different free image sides but then I tried out different ones until I chose the one you can see in the finished gif. I liked that one because a) I felt the round shape was a nice contrast to all the straight lines already there and b) because once I applied a black and white filter to it and switched the layer setting to "difference" (again, i hope this is the correct translation) it looked a bit like a moon. (Gif at the top)

("reading" direction: from left to right)

And that's it! :)

Although in general, these gifs took so much fiddling! I went back and forth between them a lot and sometimes almost redid the entire thing because I had no idea what I was doing in the beginning and by the time I noticed an error, the only way to fix it was ti redo everything. So yeah, this set definitely is the the one that took me the longest out of all the ones I've posted so far.

3. Posting

I save all my gifs to my drafts first to see what they look like put together and to check if they look any different on mobile. Usually i do this several times and change stuff until I'm happd enough with it to hit post. Once i am happy enough, i can't hold back. Doesn't matter if it's at a time when nobody is online, i hit post 😅

And that's it!

Tagging:

@lanwuxiann for this gifset (I adore it so much. I've looked at it and read it severat times since you posted it and the poem just kills me every time!)

@suibianjie for this gifset (The combination of static images and gifs in your gifs is always absolutely perfect! This one is only my favourite of yours because the light coming from behind wwx is just so pretty!!! ^^)

@sweetlittlevampire for this piece (It was soooo hard to pick a piece of yours because I have so many favourites! But this one is just so out if this world, I want to know how you worked that magic :D)

@wei-gege for this set (sparkling shijie! 😭 that set is so incredibly beautiful! I love how you matched the colour of the overlay with her dress!)

@purplexedhuman for this set (your gifs are always incredible! I chise this one because it showcases both your colouring skills and some really intricate effects)

If any of you have already been tagged or don't have the time or energy for this, obviously no pressure to do this at all! 🥰

(btw, I originally tried to place the actual text of this under a "read more" cut but somehow it always messed with the order of the images, so this ended up as a rather long post. sorry!)

[lxyyyyyyyyyy]

9/2/2022 (Week 1) Editorial Design

Task: Develop stories (Concept and idea)

First Story

This is a story that has been hidden in my heart for a long time. I really want to express my story through something. I really hope Mr taufei can accept my idea.

Title        : Gulf of Alaska ( the photo above ) Concept : Lovers in two different parallel worlds Idea        : A movie script (My life as a movie)

My lover and I met in 2017. I didn't love someone so much until I met her. Every day was like falling in love. Until 2020, everything has changed and my life is getting more and more lost.

My lover's family problems began to arise because of their misunderstanding, and slowly she began to have depression. Since we are in a long-distance relationship, her family did not allow me to contact her, and I couldn't find her and care for her.  Her mobile phone was also confiscated by her family. Once she sneaked out of the phone borrow from her friend to try to contact me, but was beaten by her mother. She was trapped at home by her family every day and was not allowed to find friends and me.

Her family had domestic violence since she was a child, and slowly she developed anorexia, which caused organ damage and left this world in the middle of last year.

I didn't even know she left this world, I remembered that she broke up with me two months before she left this world, she told me she didn't love me anymore.I was devastated and didn't know she was out of this world until I know the message from a very unfamiliar friend. Every day I am close to a state of collapse and I cannot eat or sleep. I have seen a few psychiatrists, but I still can't forget it. Until now, I have not been calm for a day. My life is like a movie.Can't believe it actually happened to me.Of course, I regret it very much. Of course, I also have responsible. If I can go back, I will change myself.

I took the concept of the Gulf of Alaska from a song of the same name, which clearly expressed what I was going through, and it stayed with me every moment after the breakup.

The Gulf of Alaska is a bay in the Pacific Ocean located in the southern part of the state of Alaska. The reason this bay is famous is because the meltwater of Alaska's glaciers and the water of Alaska's oceans are not the same in density, salinity, and temperature, making it difficult for them to mix, so they produce horizontal and two layers of different colors.

Meltwater from glaciers is light blue, while the Alaska Current is dark blue, which is difficult to mix, but will one day be mixed together by the current. The moral of the song is that two people who love each other are like the ocean in the Gulf of Alaska, meeting but unable to converge, forever in two different parallel worlds. 

Second Story

Title        : My insomnia story Concept : My insomnia process Idea        : As the book is turned to the back, the digital number of the clock will gradually increase, and the color will change from dark to day

I have had insomnia since I was very young. I don't know why my head is so fond of thinking, which leads to my very, very poor sleep quality. I may even lie in bed for seven or eight hours without falling asleep. Only recently did I find out why I can't sleep in bed. On the one hand, I like to think too much, and on the other hand, I forgot that I was going to sleep. Maybe I was lying in bed for a long time before I remembered that I was going to sleep in bed. When I lose sleep, I may think that I haven’t done my homework, even from the small things, why we humans can’t see bacteria, why humans exist, why humans haven’t found a habitable planet, why North Korea has money to develop nuclear weapons, All kinds of brainless problems are a very absurd imagination process. Sleep is a way to solve a lot of health and stress, if I have a good sleep, maybe I will not be so tired and stressed.The book will put my real insomnia process.

Thanks for reading.

[noassallclass]

So what do you think of FJ? Please be a little mean lol I like your thoughts on CR stuff✌

Oooh i am glad I have piqued your interest!

For me Fjorester at best is stale, boring, no flavor, zero chemistry. Like inoffensively milquetoast and I literally cannot grasp the concept of people actually enjoying the ship and finding it engaging.

Like I was never interested in FJ but I mean Travis describing Fjords feelings towards Jester as "being worn down" really solidifies it as a bad ship...

Because how exactly did Jester wear you down Fjord? Like what steps did Jester take to make you fall for her basically against all your reservations? Because where I am standing Jester really hasn't shown any interest in Fjord since the mid 40 episodes, which was about 60 episodes before the Playlist came out.

And that’s where Fjorester comes at worse, a complete reversal of at the very least Jester’s character growth. Because From episode 40 to episode 99 Jester has taken steps away from being romantically interested in Fjord and also finding self worth within herself and not having to find value in how a guy she had a crush on saw her. Especially since he’s kind of a goober that I feel like Jester questioned what she saw of him in the first place.

Like to me, Fjord and Jester consciously uncoupled throughout the series. I feel like there were times where Jester would try and test the waters again with Fjord to see if there were any romantic feelings still there and it seemed like the interactions always came up short for Jester.

The most prominent example I can think of right now is Jester asking Fjord if she could workout with him and everything went horribly wrong. Like yes some of that had to do with the poor rolls that Travis was rolling, but Fjord acted so poorly about it and acted like his masculinity was injured, even if he was trying to be comedic, and Jester was just like “Ok yikes dude nevermind”

At that point I think Jester thought Fjord ain’t shit anyway and that seemed like a big old nail in the coffin. Because before that we had moments where Jester couldn’t be less interested in Fjord, like when Beau knocked him down for touching her fresh tattoo and he whined to Jester who just told him to “Stay Down”. I mean she also kicked him when he was drowning and told him to “just get up man”

I mean even recently Jester told Fjord to shut the fuck up because he was mumbling to himself about how he was hoarding his money. Like as much as Fjord has grown out of his machismo phase and has just become a more open, vulnerable person. With Jester I still see the old Fjord who has to defend his masculinity in front of Jester and just be a general asshat and Jester at the very least didn’t find it charming. That is until the Hiatus attacked.

“You wore me down” is such a bad, unappealing way of describing how you feel about someone romantically, especially when there was really no effort or attempt on Jester’s part to pursue any type of relationship with Fjord for the majority of their in canon time together. Like not “I got to know you as you are and I’ve grown fond of you” or “We’ve grown so much and I admired you for who you have become”. Ya know...things that would make sense narratively and character development wise. like 3 months of Jester having crush did nothing for you Fjord but 9 months of radio silence is what wore you down?

No, what really wore Fjord down was the rest of the friend group, especially Nott/Veth poking and prodding both him and Jester to get together because for some reason the party doesn’t think Jester has the ability for growing out of a highschool crush that wasn’t really based on reality in the first place? And that is one of the worse parts of Fjorester is everyone keeps putting their own ideas of who Jester is and what she wants above who Jester actually is. It’s like their extreme makeover home edition but instead of making the kid’s bedroom all about one thing the kid likes its the mighty nein making Jester’s romance all about Fjord because she liked him that one time.

It’s honestly like highschool friend group relationship drama shit where your friends won’t give up the fact one friend has a crush on another friend until it either becomes so awkward it ruins their friendship or they date each other even though it would never end good from the start. Like Veth wriggling her eyebrows when Jester and Fjord had dinner together, but it was so uneventful they just skipped it but of course Veth had to make a big deal about it.

Not to mention that Fjord is one of the worse culprits in fundamentally not understanding Jester At All. Like he doesn’t infantilize Jester but he greatly underestimates her complexity, like he looks like a deer in headlights when Jester talks about anything more complicated than liking cupcakes. He also condescends and negs her a lot. Like he thinks Jester is an incurable fibber and just straight up doesn’t believe her when she does things she is capable of.

like not even thinking Jester could dupe the Hag into lifting the curse on Nott and Jester rightfully called him out because his pattern of condescension is irritating AF. And he pulled the exact shit again when Jester said she talked to a tree. Like he fully gets on board with Caduceus talking to plants and stuff but for Jester it must be all make believe. I’d have less of an issue if he didn’t believe everything Jester says if he didn’t always do it in a snotty, passive aggressive way of like “oooh suuuure Jester ooooof coooourse”

like sir, with that attitude you should get nothing, you lose, Jester is better off without you! 

with all of the above you would expect “oh yeah it doesn’t seem too likely, even if Fjord has feelings for Jester now” because like it isn’t great, and Jester up until the Hiatus gave him Nothing. But Now! Now they are pushing it, like it is 1 of the 2 main ships steering the show and the cast thinks we should be gobbling it up as much as they are.

Like why should we be rooting for a couple that 1) don’t understand each other 2) don’t necessarily enjoy each others company and 3) are completely adversarial to each other I think at any moment they’re ready to throw down

Is it because “oh they make each other better because they call each other out on their shit”? because it would be better if they didn’t do it through gritted teeth like they are thinking of which layer of hell they will be sent to after they kill the other person

Is it because the majority of straight couple in media have the two people in a couple hate each others guts until they kiss? I don’t think we should be setting our standards for het romances that low.

Because Jester showed interest in Fjord once and can no longer have feelings for any other person?

Or is it because now that Fjord has caught feelings it doesn’t matter what development Jester has made that has pushed her narrative away from being about romancing men that ain’t shit for her?

like CR is tripping over themselves and destroying any compelling romance to give us the blandest, low budget, hallmark hetero romance story that literally nobody asked for.

[maggiecheungs]

2020 ~everything~ wrap

i finally have time to do all of the tag games that people have tagged me in over the past month or so! i cannot for the life of me remember who tagged me in which one, so i’m just putting ~everything~ in one huge post. if i tag you anywhere then consider it a standing invitation to do whichever of these you haven’t done :) in fact, this is me issuing a standing invite to any of my followers who wants to do it :) also, thank you all!

Creator Wrap: Favourite Works

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 (or so) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

this collection of philosophy quotes paired with thai bl series, (and its sequel) which is possibly my favourite thing i’ve ever made. for, uh, nerd reasons.

these gifted text post memes i made still make me laugh sometimes

this fic about green from 2gether, which i wrote in the notes app on my phone and published the same day. not my absolute best writing but i am very fond of it <3

i have a bunch fof friend zone dangerous area edits/shitposts which i like, but i’m particularly fond of my fzda as satire headlines (which now has a sequel!)

i also love my crisgood-walmart-lesbian post. i might send it in to gmmtv to try and convince them to do a crisgood-bffs spin-off

+ bonus: since i wrote this list i made this gifset (my first ever!) of jennie panhan in the shipper and i love her too much not to include her on here

+ extra nerdy bonus: this niche meme about Chinese philosophy, which still makes me crack up whenever I think about it

Favourite Creators/Follow Forever

i’ve completely lost track of who’s following who from which blog, so this is just going to be a haphazard, non-exhaustive list of people who i adore/admire/am vaguely intimidated by, mutuality be damned. maybe we talk all the time! maybe we’ve never interacted! maybe i am constantly there in ur tags... lurking... 👀... but if you’re on this list you have made me smile at least once this year and i love you for that alone <3

@wjmild kylie!! you make gifs of arm & tay & lee (separately or in various combinations) & the shipper & and kapook & random fluke pusit cameos & school rangers so i don’t have to <3 ilysm

@janeramida vianey, you have such impeccable taste in general, but your sizzy gifset in particular is so gorgeous it lives in my mind rent free

@applelapis bri, this post was a callout and i want you to know that it haunts me at night as i lie awake staring at the ceiling :((((( i hope you are happy

@gigiesarocha cata, i love it when you show up on my dash bc you have!! such taste!! also, every time you gif gigie i gain five years of life <3 pls continue doing the Good Work

@pvrrish​ eleni, i remeber legit thinking that this was an official poster when i first saw it, it’s so beautiful

@ahysopae​ juliette your khaithird fic is so good and it literally changed the way i think about khai (not an easy feat)

@kurosawadachi angel, whenever i think about grace’s speech i remember your gifset and get literal chills

@doctorbahnjit alexa, you have no right to be as funny as you are. your friend zone edits give me life

@khaotungthanawat sam, you’re probably sick of getting tagged in these lists by random strangers, but i just had to bc your gifsets are Pure Art

@tanwirapong roa, all your gifsets are so ✨iconic✨

faiza @asianmelodrama and rahul @petekaos! yours were the first two thai drama blogs i followed and for ages i lowkey thought of you as my fandom parents.

and some more blogs that make me happy: @curlykytta / @lee-thanat  / @fck-inspector-m / @pangwave / @tichawongtipkanon / @tawanv @kimmonv (violet istg i have spent more time this year trying to figure out how many blogs you have than i have spent admiring your gifsets. & i spend a lot of time admiring your gifsets) / @taytawan / @1akorn and @yihwas (and your radiant lovechild @lakornladies ofc) / @teh-ohaew / @vihokratanas (mel your gifsets are just so gorgeous) / @tootiredtoosadtooangry / @headcompletelyempty / @demiromanticmickey​ / and there are definitely more but my brain is a sieve so apologies if i’ve forgotten anyone!! i love you all!! 

2020 HIGHLIGHTS ✨

rules: list your top 10 shows (bl or not) you watched in 2020 (doesn’t necessarily have to be shows that came out in 2020 though!)

1. 2GETHER & STILL2GETHER

my first thai drama, and even after all the amazing shows i’ve watched this year, it still has a special place in my heart. watching 2gether was the first time i’d ever seen a queer romcom that just... was. for me, by the simple fact of its being, 2gether was revolutionary. and then still2gether came along and took all the best things about the first season and gave us something beautiful and quiet and lovely and just proved to me, once and for all, that queer happiness doesn’t need to justify its own existence. there can be gay cuddles on the beach for no other reason than that we want them. 

2. UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN

i don’t really have the words for this one but. it makes my heart so very soft.

3. FRIEND ZONE 2: DANGEROUS AREA

season one was mindless fun because everyone was an absolute trashfire and it was hella cathartic to watch, but season 2... wow. i love it for so many reasons: it has messy and authentic queer rep; the characterisation is excellent and i somehow care about all of the characters; amazing women taking centre stage(!); a wlw relationship with lesbian, ace and bipolar rep; multiple interesting plotlines; actual character development; arm weerayut as a chaos gremlin... absolutely one of my favourites of 2020.

4. CHERRY MAGIC

i don’t think i need to explain this one, which is fortunate, because i have no idea how exactly i’d describe the happy-warm-fuzzy-queer-seen-loving-affirmed-profound feeling that rises in my chest whenever i think about it. 

5. THE GIFTED: GRADUATION

confession: i liked season 2 more than season 1 (with the exception of the ending, which we don’t talk about). season 1 was enjoyable and interesting, but for me it was season 2 which made me love this series. it did some incredibly interesting and complicated things (even if it didn’t quite nail the landing): it pushed characters to the breaking point and wove so many layers into the story and questioned its own underlying themes. plus, watching it alongside everyone in the fandom made it 200% better. i love all of you and i love this show. egg girl 5eva.

6. THE SHIPPER

i 100% understand why so many people didn’t like this show, or found it problematic, but through some fluke it absolutely worked for me (even the ending). one day i will write an essay explaining my rationale, but for now i’ll just say that it’s one of my favourite shows about adolescence and queerness and identity and compassion and friendship and love that i’ve ever watched. 

7. YYY

this series is absolutely off its rocker, and it somehow managed to be one of the most affirming shows i’ve watched. it shouldn’t have worked by it did, and i love it so much.

8. 3 WILL BE FREE

absolutely iconic. amazing plot, stunning visuals, great characters, canon polyamory, jennie being incredible... what a series.

9. MANNER OF DEATH

i love the fact that this show exists; i love the mix of crime and romance; i love maxtul’s acting; i love the central relationship; i love bun. i know we’re not even halfway through yet, but this show is doing something special and i’m so grateful that i get to watch it unfold in real time. 

10. CHIHAYAFURU (SEASON 3)

odd one out on my list, but I had to include it. chihayafuru is my all-time favourite anime and it finally got a third season, which is somehow even better than the first two. mashima taichi is one of my favourite characters of all time and his storyline hits me on such a profound level. plus, in the years since i first say this show i’ve fallen in love with classical japanese literature (particularly heian poetry) so i had newfound appreciation for the karuta matches (aka i cried every time someone recited one of my favourite poems)

other favourites: together with me, he’s coming to me, sotus and sotus s, my dear loser: edge of 17, why r u, theory of love, wake up chanee!, gameboys, pearl next door, uta koi (anime), three kingdoms (2010), blood and water (netflix). (itsay would almost certainly be on my list if i’d had time to watch it. same with dark blue kiss, which i had to pause so i could do my assignments)

Final Thoughts

well, it’s been... a year (i don’t think anyone needs a reminder of the details) but writing this post has reminded me of all the amazing shows and people I discovered over the course of it.

thank you to everyone for being so lovely and creative and funny and quirky and kind and passionate. you’re all incredibly awesome people and i wish all of you the very best xx

[madasthesea]

as I was told, so I believed

By @madasthesea for @canonismybitch

For the @friendly-neighborhood-exchange

Rating: G

Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark

Characters: Peter Parker, Tony Stark

Summary: That was a side-effect of the soulmate bond people didn’t talk about much. It wasn’t just that you had to tell the truth when you spoke, there was this compulsion to speak: To answer every question, say every thought. You had to physically keep your mouth shut or the truth would leak out anyway. 

He supposed it meant that there were no secrets between soulmates, but there were some things—like the fact that Peter being curled up in his mom’s blanket, flushed with fever and cuddly, was one of the cutest things he’d ever seen—that wouldn’t hurt to stay in Tony’s head.

Tony tapped his foot as he waited patiently for Peter to pick up the phone.

“Hi, Mr. Stark,” Peter’s voice finally said.

“Hey, kid, just calling to check in.” Tony spun idly in his desk chair, stretching his neck to try to rid it of a kink.

“That’s nice of you.”

“Uh-huh. So how are you?” Tony asked.

There was a long beat of silence. Tony raised an eyebrow.

“Peter?”

An anxious hum, too high to be nonchalant despite Peter’s apparent efforts.

Yep, that’s what he thought. Classic avoidance techniques. Peter didn’t want to tell him the truth, but physically couldn’t lie to him. The only solution was to not say anything at all.

“Answer me, please.”

“I don’t want to,” Peter said firmly.

“Yes, because you’re clearly trying to hide something,” Tony replied, smirking.

“Yes, I am.”

“What’s up, Pete?”

Peter’s voice was whiny when he answered, and a little muffled like he was laying with his face smushed into a pillow. “I have a fever and my head hurts and May’s gone and I hate being alon—Ugh, I didn’t want to tell you!”

Tony laughed. The compulsion to answer a direct question from your soulmate was usually too much to avoid for long. Soulmates were rare, and the people who didn’t have them often debated about the ethics of forced truth-telling, but Tony had found that he never really minded. Peter almost never abused the power anyway, and when he did, it was for Tony’s own good. He tried to be as respectful about Peter’s non-answers.

“And why is that?” he asked, already grabbing his car keys.

“Because I don’t want you to think I’m some wimpy kid,” Peter muttered petulantly.

“You are a kid, buddy, but you’re definitely not a wimp,” Tony said, his own soulmate-candor seeping through.

Peter groaned miserably. “Can you come?”

“Already on my way,” Tony assured.

Tony let himself into the Parker apartment with the set of keys May had given him after Peter’s double life—and inadvertently the fact that he was soulmates with Tony Stark—had been revealed.  

“Pete?” Tony called as he closed the door behind him, dropping his keys and a grocery bag with sick supplies on the table.

“In here,” Peter replied. Tony followed his sullen voice to the door of the kid’s room, fighting a smile as he peered in and saw Peter curled up in a ball on his bed, his eyes the only thing visible under the layers of blankets he’d piled on himself.

“Hey, buddy. Sick, huh?”

Peter just grunted. Tony came closer and put his hand on Peter’s forehead, frowning at the heat coming off of him.

“Yikes, kiddo.” Tony’s voice was soft and warm, that special tone he only adopted for Peter. “Are you sick to your stomach?”

“No,” Peter murmured, actively nuzzling into Tony’s palm like a cat. Tony had never seen Peter sick before, but he had seen him on pain meds and the boy was clingier than an octopus, so Tony wasn’t that surprised.

“Can I get you something to eat? I brought soup.”

Peter froze, squinting up at Tony with one eye. “Your soup?”

“No, from the deli down the street,” Tony said, confused.

“Oh, ok. That sounds good.”

“Hey, are you telling me my soup doesn’t sound good?” Tony asked, affronted. He’d made that for Peter a couple months ago, when he’d been out in a snow storm helping people dig out their cars. Now that he thought about it, Peter had never actually commented on the quality of it, just thanked him for his thoughtfulness. “Don’t you like my soup?”

Peter bit his lip, looking up at Tony with wide eyes and saying nothing, which was an answer in itself.

“Unbelievable.”

“You were very nice to make it for me,” Peter said, peering up at Tony apologetically, a bashful smile on his face.

“Oh, I’m nice, am I?” Tony asked, levering the boy up and beginning to gather up his blankets so he could move Peter to the living room for him to eat. “Come all the way over here when you’re sick and you insult my soup.”

“I didn’t say anything bad about your soup,” Peter pointed out. Tony wagged a finger in his face, squinting with exaggerated offense.

“You implied.” Peter snorted, rolling his eyes. He stood up, then nearly collapsed back onto the bed, saved only by Tony’s reflexes.

Tony steadied Peter against his side, letting him wrap his arm around Tony’s waist and lean his head on his shoulder.

“You’re probably dehydrated, too,” Tony murmured, rubbing the back of Peter’s neck.

“Probably,” Peter sighed.

“Come on, easy does it.” Together, they walked to the living room and Tony got Peter settled on the couch.

“There you go. And because I’m so very nice,” Tony said, shooting Peter a teasing wink that got a tired smile in return. “I brought your favorite blanket.”

Peter perked up a little, reaching for the thick, knitted blanket and sighing happily as Tony tucked it around him. Peter immediately pulled it all the way up to his chin, burrowing into the soft fabric.

“You’re adorable.” The words spilled out of Tony before he could tell himself to not open his mouth.

That was a side-effect of the soulmate bond people didn’t talk about much. It wasn’t just that you had to tell the truth when you spoke, there was this compulsion to speak: To answer every question, say every thought. You had to physically keep your mouth shut or the truth would leak out anyway. He supposed it meant that there were no secrets between soulmates, but there were some things—like the fact that Peter being curled up in his mom’s blanket, flushed with fever and cuddly, was one of the cutest things he’d ever seen—that wouldn’t hurt to stay in Tony’s head.

Peter opened his eyes and grinned up at him and Tony had to concede that maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing to say after all.

“How adorable?” Peter asked mischievously. Never mind. He regretted the words very much.

Rolling his eyes, Tony let himself answer, knowing that it would cheer Peter up a little bit. “The most adorable kid in the whole world,” he said, deadpan. It was true—it had to be true—but Tony could still make it his.

Peter blushed, pulling the blanket up in an attempt to hide it. “Mr. Stark,” he said, his voice both touched and embarrassed.

Tony huffed, shaking his head in fond exasperation, then went to get Peter his soup.

Tony turned on Stargate SG-1 while Peter ate, mostly tuning it out and answering emails on his phone. When the kid put his bowl on the floor and laid down with his feet in Tony’s lap, Tony looked over at him.

“Feeling any better?” he asked.

Peter shrugged, meaning he didn’t but didn’t want to tell Tony that.

“I’m sorry, kiddo. I wish I could fix it,” Tony said earnestly. He reached over and patted Peter’s hip comfortingly, then jumped when Peter flinched and yelped in pain.

“What was that?” Tony asked, his heart beating faster in surprise and worry.

“My hip,” Peter winced, then bit his lip.

Growling, Tony pulled the blanket off Peter then yanked his t-shirt up enough to see the red, swollen gash curving around his hip bone.

“Peter,” Tony hissed. “This is infected.”

“I know,” Peter whimpered, burying his face in a throw pillow.

“You know. You know? You said you were sick, how did you even—”

“I never said I was sick,” Peter interrupted, managing to look ashamed and indignant in a way only a teenager could.

“Ugh, Peter!” Tony said, standing up and stomping toward the kitchen where May kept the first aid kit. “Just because there are ways to get around the truth compulsion doesn’t mean you should.”

He came back and sat on the coffee table, opening the medical kit and unceremoniously tugging Peter’s shirt back up to get a better look at the injury.

“We’re supposed to trust each other with everything,” Tony growled. “How can I trust you when you keep important things from me?”

Peter scowled. “It’s nothing. I already cleaned it out earlier, it’s just still healing.”

“Right,” Tony scoffed. “I’m going to believe that when it took me hurting you to find out in the first place.”

“I can’t lie, remember? This is why I didn’t tell you!” Peter shoved Tony’s hands away then shakily pushed himself up to his feet. “All you do is lecture me. I don’t need you to take care of me, I just wanted you to be here.”

Tony exhaled heavily, standing as well. “Clearly, you do!” His heart was pounding in his chest, anger and fear and hurt all at once. He rubbed his left arm, hissing under his breath. “Of all the people to be my soulmate, why’d I have to get Spider-Man?”

There was a thud. Tony looked up to find Peter staring at him, his eyes huge, tears already gathering. He’d slumped against the wall, in exhaustion or shock, Tony couldn’t tell, but then his cheeks flushed red and he straightened, his eyebrows furrowing.

“Well, I’m sorry we got thrown together, then,” he snapped. Tony wasn’t sure if it because was his tone, the pain on his face, or the words themselves, but Tony’s response was a gut reaction.

“Me, too!”

Then they both froze. Because arguing was one thing when you weren’t soulmates, when you could lie just to hurt. But when every word that you ever said to each other was honest, cruel words hurt even more.

“Pete, I didn’t mean—”

“Yeah, you did,” Peter said. He was leaning against the wall for support and it made Tony’s chest ache. “You couldn’t have said it if you didn’t.”

“Let me explain.”

“I don’t want—”

“It terrifies me.” Tony spoke over Peter’s protest, his heart in his throat. Peter stopped talking. “Knowing that you’re out there getting hurt is bad enough, but that you would... do everything you could to keep it from me. Peter, I’ve tried to keep things from you before and I know how much you have to fight to do it. The fact that you would go to such extremes to hide that you’re hurt—that’s a whole other level of fear that I can’t even put into words, kid, cause if you died, I would—I would die, I think.”

Peter’s bottom lip trembled and a tear spilled down his cheek. Tony’s breath caught, but he didn’t let himself move yet.

“I’m so proud of you,” he whispered. “For being Spider-Man. I didn’t mean I don’t want you as my soulmate. I don’t want anyone but you. Peter Parker, Spider-Man, all of it, I just... I just wish it didn’t mean this—” He gestured to the first aid kid, to Peter’s pale face. The words came easily, more easily than they did with anyone else. Not even Pepper could make him open up the way Peter could. He wasn’t sure if that was because of the soulmate bond or just because it was Peter.

“You said you were sorry we’re soulmates,” Peter reminded him, still crying. “You said it, so it’s true.”

Tony shrugged, helpless. “Cause I’m not good enough for you, Peter. I wish you’d gotten someone you didn’t feel the need to lie to.”    

“I don’t mean to lie to you,” Peter hiccupped. “I just... I wanted you to come and watch a movie with me and hold me and cheer me up while I waited for it to heal. I don’t like worrying you, I—I just wanted you to be here,” he repeated.

“I am here.”

“Yeah,” Peter said, his voice breaking. He bit his lip as if holding something back, but then seemed to catch himself and spoke anyway. “You’re good enough. You are—you’re the best.”

“Peter,” Tony breathed.

“I want you to hug me,” Peter blurted out, his cheeks pink but his chin held high.

Tony didn’t need to be told twice. He took two strides forward and wrapped Peter in his arms, letting the boy lean his weight against him rather than the wall. Peter’s breath was still catching, stray tears dripping onto Tony’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry I lecture you so much,” Tony sighed. “I’ll try to be better.”

“I’m sorry I hide things from you. I don’t do it because I don’t trust you.”

Tony tangled his fingers in Peter’s slightly sweaty hair, humming. “I get it. You’re a teenager. If I had to tell the truth all the time when I was a teenager, I would have been gone insane.”

Peter hummed, pressed his forehead against Tony’s throat.

“Can we start the movie watching and cuddling now?” Peter asked after another long moment.

Tony huffed a laugh. “That depends. Can I check your hip, just to make sure it’s clean?”

Peter sighed, sounding put upon, but he agreed.

Fifteen minutes later, they were once again on the couch, Peter’s wound freshly rinsed and bandaged. He was curled up under the knitted blanket again, his head on Tony’s thigh.

As the opening credits of the Princess Bride played, Peter turned onto his back and looked up at Tony with a small smile on his face. Tony brushed the bangs away from his forehead and gave him a questioning look.

“Thanks for coming, Mr. Stark,” Peter said softly.

Tony brushed his thumb under Peter’s eye. “What are soulmates for?”

“I don’t know, to love you or something,” Peter murmured, his voice sleepy.

Tony smiled. “Yeah. Love you,” he whispered to Peter, pressing his palm over the boy’s heart. “Or something.”

And Peter beamed up at him, because he knew it was true.

[moistmailman]

Breath of the Wild AU part 3

*Peaceful quietness surrounds the ruins of hyrule’s castle*

*.....until the telltale sound of a guardian blaster charging up is heard*

*BEEP.....BEEP.....BEEP...BEEP..BEEP BEEP*

Pyrrha: *bursts through a room and quickly takes cover behind a wall*

Pyrrha: *panting*

*The sound of the guardian charging slowly goes away and everything becomes quiet*

Pyrrha: *sighs in relief*.......*internally* what am I doing here? Stupid guardian is blocking the place where the picture is showing me— Huh?

*Pyrrha looks around the room curiously*

Pyrrha, internally: Wait...oh, I think this is the Princess’ study chambers, isn’t it? Goddess, it’s hardly recognizable now.

*Pyrrha approaches the desk and looks around the room*

Pyrrha, internally: Yeah, this is most definitely Ilia’s room. Her favorite flower is even here. How the heck did something as delicate as this survive in here?

*Very carefully Pyrrha plucks the flower and examines it, fond forgotten memories of her and Ilia resurfacing, causing a smile to form on her lips*

Pyrrha, internally:.........Hmm? Wait, what’s this?

*Pyrrha puts the flower into her satchel before picking up a small book, which was layered in dust*

Pyrrha, internally: This doesn’t look like one of her research books, granted I don’t actually remember how her research books even look like. Still, looks way too small to be one.

*Pyrrha blows off the book, causing a cloud of dust to surround her, making the redhead cough for a few seconds before it dispense*

Pyrrha, internally: Wait......is this.....oh goddess.....

*It finally dawned on Pyrrha that what she had in her hands was Princess Ilia’s diary, which was still in readable condition*

Pyrrha, internally: Oh my Hylia. I can’t believe it. I didn’t even know the princess even had a diary, *flips through the pages quickly* much less write in it a lot. Well, I guess I did lose my memory, so that might be the reason.

*Pyrrha gently places the diary back down, before staring at it, almost hearing it beckoning her to read it*

Pyrrha, sweating:............*internally* No! What am I thinking?! I can’t do that! *shakes head* It’s wrong, and an invasion of privacy! I can’t believe I would even think that! I gotta get out of here!

*Pyrrha turns away and quickly walks out of the room, being wary of the guardian looming around the tower*

*The sound of her footsteps are heard fading away in the background......before suddenly they are heard again getting closer*

Pyrrha, walking back in: *internally* What’s the harm in reading one entry in here? I mean, it wouldn’t hurt anyone, right? Heck, it might even help me with my memories. I’m just going to read one entry and that’s it! Promise!

*1 hour and 20 entries later*

Pyrrha, completely engrossed in the diary: *internally* Just one more entry, and that’s it. (Said that the last 19 times)

Ilia’s diary: I’ve came to a realization about knight Nikos. In a lot of ways we are very much alike. We both never had any resemblance of a normal happy childhood, but instead of a duty. Pyrrha was the best swordwoman in the rankings at the mere age of 12. Most people thought of that as amazing, but I saw it differently. I saw it as someone who spent their entire childhood with a sword in hand, training until they could barely stand.

*Pyrrha flips solemnly flips the page, some memories of her childhood, or lack of, resurfacing*

Ilia’s diary: I was so focused on the weight of my destiny weighing on my shoulders that I failed to realize that she was on the same forsaken boat as me. I can’t imagine the anxiety Pyrrha must feels about all of this, especially since she refuses to actually speak with me; not that I blame her for the way I treated her. Most people see her as the savior of hyrule that is fearless and honorable, and I’m certain she wants people to think that to keep the peace. But her eyes tell me a different tale. They show me that she’s scared of failing everyone. Of not being strong enough to fulfill her destiny, believing that maybe she shouldn’t be the one to fight Cinder. She likes to pretend it doesn’t effect her but I know Winter’s words have an effect on her.

*Pyrrha flips the page again, knowing exactly what Ilia was talking about*

Ilia’s diary: Despite how everyone sees Pyrrha as this unbreakable knight that cant fail, (minus Winter of course) I see a very human girl that is at war with herself rather she is good enough for her role in this part. And I can relate to that a lot. I should really lighten up on her, and give her a break. We’re on the same boat of destiny, and we need to get along. Perhaps I can try to have her open up? Maybe see if she has any hobbies we could partake in? Don’t know what she might like though? Maybe cooking? Who knows?

*That was the last page of the entey*

Pyrrha, clenching the table, determined: *internally* Don’t worry, Princess. I’m going to save you and all of Hyrule, and afterwards I’m going to take you up on that cooking offer.

*Pyrrha smiles before flipping the page again, deciding read yet another one more entry*

Ilia’s diary: I’ve came to a realization that makes me feel guilty for writing about but I can’t take it anymore! Knight Nikos has a very great ass.

*Pyrrha chokes on her spit before picking the diary and practically gluing her nose to it*

Ilia’s diary: I know I shouldn’t stare at it, she’s my knight, but I just help myself. It’s just so perfect! Like a heart! I can’t take it! It’s the reason why I take suspiciously long showers. Hylia forbid Pyrrha ever find out! It gets even worse though! Everyone knows that I sewn the champion’s tunics, but they don’t know that I also made Pyrrha’s pants, which I made a size too small for her just so I can stare at her butt! Am I a bad person for doing this?! All I want is her to sit on my fa—

*Pyrrha slams the butt shut, her face matching her hair*

Pyrrha, out loud: Oh boy! Oh gosh! I read too much! I shouldn’t have done that! I shouldn’t have done that! I-I should g-go! Just go now!

*Pyrrha quickly climbs on the table before jumping out and gliding into Hyrule field*

Pyrrha, gliding: Why did I do that?! Why did I do that?! ThT was wrong! That was so wrong! Oh god....wait, please tell me the princess isn’t watching me! Please t-tell me that she isn’t watching......*looks in the sky* I’m a-sorry!

[waywardfacegarden]

my turn for the __ or __ ask game >:)

red or blue? apples or oranges? long or short sleeves? shorter (11-24 ep) or longer anime (24+ ep)? friends to lovers or enemies to lovers? bakusquad or dekusquad? deku, iida, and uraraka or deku, todoroki, and bakugou? sukuna or mahito? itafushi or nobamaki? (for research purposes:) mask gojo or sunglasses gojo? kagehina or iwaoi? grepre or fkbu?

ngl i just kinda spat out whatever came into my mind so have fun LOL!

ask me to choose between a character, pairing, show or anything

hello, audrey!!! thank you so much for the ask! <3333 hope you’re having a nice day!! my answers got a bit too long adkflsdfj so:

red or blue? red! red is one of my very favorite colors. (funny thing, though, blue was my top #1 favorite color when i was like 13-16 i think? haha.)

apples or oranges? oranges! natural orange-juice, for example, it’s one of my very favorite things in this world, haha. 

long or short sleeves? hmm, i don’t particularly care? guess it depends if it’s hot or cold. but ig i like long sleeves more (bad thing i would melt if i wore long-sleeves a lot, here’s like. hot as hell 95% of the year *sighs*)

shorter (11-24 ep) or longer anime (24+ ep)? shorter! it has its disadvantages, of course. if the plot is heavy and they put a lot of topics and the author doesn’t know how to handle it in a short amount of eps, it feels lacking. but yeah, all in all, the story moves faster and if they know how to do it, you don’t have “wasting eps”, because you need, as a writer/author, to take advantage of every ep you have. idk if it’s bc i got used to the pace of that kind of story (bc i don’t have so much free time lately so i’ve been looking up for shorter ones so as to watch them in a free weekend or so), but now a lot of longer animes feel pretty slow and boring to me. not all of them, ofc, you have jjk and haikyuu! and bnha that still has me hooked (tho i haven’t really watched the anime in a long time ajhksdfh) and more, but, to end all my rambling, shorter, haha.

friends to lovers or enemies to lovers? definitely enemies to lovers! friends to lovers is lovely and fluffy and makes my heart melt (and if it has pining, all the better), but enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes ajsfksdfh. the sexual tension! the rivarly! the “idc about u” slowly melting into fondness and closeness. god i love to see it

bakusquad or dekusquad? BAKUSQUAD, BAKUSQUAD, BAKUSQUAD, BAKUSQUAD, BAKUSQUAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how am i not gonna love supportive, chaotic dumbasses together with a grumpy, caring, cleaning-freak, nerd mom friend (ily baku ashdksajfhdf) asjdkslh. all the chaotic and sweet energy/vibes they share and absolutely dumbassery is my favorite thing. i think disaster squad (baku + todo + inasa + camie) is the only squad that matches in regards of how much i love squads in bnha jsdfldsf 

deku, iida, and uraraka or deku, todoroki, and bakugou? deku, todoroki and bakugou definitely ajsdkhldsjf. bakugou is my fave character, and todoroki is my second favorite, and bkdk and tdbk are in my favorite favorite dynamics/friendships in bnha! also. i love the contrast in their personalities and how well they team up and work together despite that. also the emotional layers they have together is unmatched wow

sukuna or mahito? SUKUNAAAA. hell yeah you god demon or whatever you are lol. i love how he’s so freaking,,,, idk, he doesn’t take shit of anyone AJSDLDJF. he’s such a bitch and little shit i love it KSJDLFJ-- also his obsession with megumi is hilarious LMAO i get it sukuna, i get it

itafushi or nobamaki? THIS ONE WAS THE HARDEST, I LOVE THEM BOTH SO MUCH, DON’T DO THIS TO ME AKJSDLJ. um. uh,,,, itafushi maybe? like just a bitttttttttt more. just bc they have a bit more emotional moments in canon but gAH dude, i thought about this one for like half an hour KAJDFLSJDF. just,,,,, strong, pretty girlfriends?? they’re awesome and they love each other sm and they can and WILL kick your ass and JLFDSJFASKDL maki is the absolute LOVE OF MY LIFE and NOBARA GOD NOBARA i’m in love with her as well and and her obvious crush on maki is the cutest shit ever and aaaaaaAA. but also,,, yuuji and megumi GOD. like you have these two dumbasses who care about each other so damn much, and yuuji is so sweet and dumb and strong and cares so GODDAMN MUCH and megumi just wants him to be happy and and respects him a lot and like. they support and believe in each other sm and just want the other to take care of themselves and be safe and and,,, like YUUJI IS EXACTLY MEGUMI’S TYPE TOO AAAAAAAAAA i just. love them. they make me so soft. i love them both i love them both

mask gojo or sunglasses gojo? kay this one was hard as well bc i love him either way and he looks hot as hell in both but ig,,, mask gojo?? THO I LOVE HIS EYES DUDE ASJDLADFKSHDF. maybe without anything (nor mask or sunglasses) but it would feel kinda weird aksdjlasjd,,, like he’s,,,, naked or something idk LMAO

kagehina or iwaoi? kagehina but god iwaoi man,,,, kagehina was my first haikyuu ship, i fell in love with both in the first ep and they just KEPT growing on me sm. they make me so goddamn emotional, i love the mutual respect, the admiration, the bickering, the dumbassery,,, (as you can see, idiots in love is a fave trope of mine lmao) but YEAH, ah. the last ch and bit extra always manages to break me in tears LMAO, just,,, i’m so proud of them and i feel like they both understand and complement the other SO WELL, it’s mindblowing. dorks. bu t actually iwaoi is my second fave ship in hq! childhood friends and all the LAYERS they have god my heart,,,, my HEART. they make my soul ache

grepre or fkbu? grepre!!! the characters and arcs and dynamics are so well-done, and overall, as much as i love love love and adore fkbu, grepre was more unique and interesting!!! the premise, everything. i loved seeing all develop. i watched the case 1, 2 and 3 in one sitting, and the first one had me hooked from beginning to end. but every single case has SOMETHING to it. like watching abby thrive and grow was amazing, watching both cynthia and laurent’s backstory was mindblowing. and i just. love abby and cynthia and dorothy so goddamn much. all the main characters tbh yES

[writerpeach]

Club Mimosa [Ch 3] - Sweet as a Strawberry

---

Read on AFF

Read on AO3

Read on Wattpad

It had been two days since you had last seen Momo.

Two long days. It was safe to say you had grown rather fond of the attractive Japanese hostess, and it had been over 48 hours since you had seen that gorgeous body, that incredibly attractive face, and heard that cute playful laugh. Not that you were counting.

There wasn’t anything stopping you from visiting Club Mimosa every night. Nothing other than you didn’t want to be the needy type, and a date was just a date, even if it ended rather...special. You knew how things went in this industry, and knew you most likely weren’t the only one that had a date with Momo, probably not even the only one that week. Your wallet could use a much needed rest as well.

But two days felt like an eternity.

It wasn’t that you needed to see Momo but well...you needed to see her. Club Mimosa opened its doors at 8 pm sharp, and you showed up the next night exactly one minute after that. With nothing but Hirai Momo on the brain you approached the club’s doors, excited thoughts turned foul as a sharp tug on the handle of the doors proved useless. They didn’t budge, locked tight. You tried again, not that anything would change. No luck.

You looked around confused as you snapped from your haze to see an absence of the usual. No hostesses scantily clad in outfits unsuitable for the cold weather doing their best to bring in new customers, no flashing lights and thumping music, and you soon realized that not even the bright gaudy Club Mimosa sign was lit up, something you weren’t sure how you missed.

You waited for half an hour, and then a little longer, maybe there was something inside that was causing the club not to open? Japanese culture generally wasn’t one to delay things without notice though. You looked around for signs of life, squinting as you tried to get a glimpse inside. Nothing but darkness.

You checked the time - already 8:45. You sighed deeply and felt defeated.

“Hey.”

An unfamiliar voice caused you to turn around. When you made your way around you were met by one of the club’s hostesses that you had seen before, one that was on the shorter side but still very attractive. Her short hairstyle looked perfect on her and matched the frame of her face well, as did the black dress that hugged her small body perfectly.

“Clubs closed.”

“I see that now,” you frowned.

“Pipe broke this morning, flooded the whole damn place. Be at least a few days before we’re up and running again.” You couldn’t tell if she was happy or upset for the club’s shutdown.

“That’s unfortunate.”

“Shit happens,” she said, her tone a bit crude and bitter.

“Guess it does.”

The short-haired hostess had a layer of attitude, something that you found yourself uniquely attracted to. She had a sudden realization as to just who you were and why you had a familiar such face to her.

“Ah, You’re one of Momo’s clients right? Want me to get a hold of her?”

“No thanks, that’s not necessary. I don’t want to bother her if she isn’t working.”

“Suit yourself,” she said, nonchalantly.

“Thank you for the information, you’ve been very helpful.”

“No problem,” she said, and you turned to leave. “Since you made it all the way here, wanna get a drink?”

“Do I have to pay to drink with you?” you teased, and her blank expression turned into a hint of a grin.

“Funny. Nah, not this time.”

“Then sure.” You didn’t have anything else to do now, and drinking with somebody attractive was always a plus.

“Follow me then. I’m Chaeyoung.”

It didn’t take long until she led you towards her destination into a small Japanese styled Izakaya, opening the sliding door as you both stepped inside.

“Welcome!” Greeted a boisterous man behind the bar. The building was small but offered a sense of coziness and comfort. The place was packed, there was one open booth left, but Chaeyoung opted for a seat up front at the bar, and you occupied the last remaining spot and pulled up a chair beside her.

“What can I get you two?” The man behind the counter asked with a friendly look upon his face.

Chaeyoung looked at you. “You okay with beer?”

“I’m fine with whatever.”

“Two beers please,” she said to the bartender, flashing a pearly white smile. “I”m not a big beer drinker but its the easiest thing to get once this place gets busy.”

“Anything with alcohol sounds great right now. Been one of those weeks,” you said, as you sighed. The week wasn’t even over.

“Same here. Ever been to this type of place before?” Chaeyoung asked.

“Not really. My Japanese needs work and I freeze up at these types of places even if I’m with somebody.”

She chuckled. “That’s cute. I’ll order everything then. You hungry?”

“Very.”

Chaeyoung ordered several dishes, some foods you had heard and tried before and a couple you hadn’t. You had the sudden realization that she had subconsciously slipped into hostess mode, and you couldn’t help but laugh.

“What?”

“Even when you’re not at work, you’re still at work.”

She pouted once she realized what you meant. “Guess I’m just so used to it.”

Two large frosty mugs of beer came out alongside several small plates of food. Chaeyoung took a huge gulp while you dove into the food first. The food was different from what was typical bar food, even though this wasn’t exactly a typical bar. It paired nicely with the cold beer, and the food felt like actual food and not just plates of grease.

“Everything is good here, Chaeyoung. You picked well.”

“Almost like I do this for a living,” she smirked.

You sipped your beer as you looked around the room, taking in the lively atmosphere. “Do you like being a hostess?” you asked, as she took another long gulp and put the almost empty beer on the bar’s counter, almost louder than she was expecting. The difference in fullness between your mugs was almost embarrassing, but you had to remind yourself this was no competition.

“I’ve never really thought about it, but yes. I love it,” she said. “It’s easy money. I don’t have to be stuck in an office for 12 hours a day and men buy me drinks all night. Plus I get to look pretty every night.”

“When you put it that way, it sounds appealing. Except maybe the non-stop drinking.”

Chaeyoung smiled. “You get used to it or you find other ways of dealing with it.”

“You do look pretty though.”

Chaeyoung gave out an unamused smile. “Your cheesy lines may work on Momo, but sorry to tell you they have no effect on me.”

“Damn. What works on you then?”

“You can start by buying me some dessert,” she said, as she pointed to a menu.

“Anything you want, Chaeyoung.”

“I like ice cream. Strawberry.”

You looked to the man behind the bar. “Give this lady the biggest bowl of strawberry ice cream you have.”

“Right away, sir!”

Chaeyoung’s smile might as well have been permanently glued when her delicious looking bowl of ice cream came, her eyes glowing as bright as the sun. Just one spoonful and she was in heaven, a half-lidded amusement of pleasure on her face with every bite. You had managed to finish down half of your beer as you watched the enjoyment in Chaeyoung as she ate.

“Got any plans tonight? Chaeyoung asked, as she came up for air from her ice cream.

“Not anymore. You?”

“Not for the new few days. Sure will be quiet lonely at my place.”

“I’m sure you’ll find something to occupy your time.”

Get the hint you idiot, Chaeyoung thought to herself as she looked down at an empty bowl and and an emptier mug, sporting a frown on her empty lips. Chaeyoung seemingly stared at you with a blank reaction, and you noticed those full cherry lips she sported. You could have kissed her right then and there if she let you.

“I lied.”

“You lied? About what?”

“About not having plans.”

“Oh. Well congratulations,” you said, continuing to be oblivious to the not subtle hints she was dropping.

“I plan on taking somebody attractive back to my place and make them moan my name.”

You caught eyes, and the abruptness of her words made you lose your breath. The realization sunk in and you finally realized she was coming onto you, but you wanted to pretend ignorance for just a while longer.

“That person sounds like they’re very lucky then,” you said, smirking. Chaeyoung huffed.

“Do I really have to spell it out to you?” she said, the frustration getting to her.  

“No you don’t, you’ve been less than subtle. Ice cream really did that much to get you going?” you teased.

Chaeyoung’s eyes rolled back. “It’s not just the ice cream, but it helped. I just want….to show Momo up at something.”

“Show her up? Am I just part of your competition?”

“No, if I didn’t like you I wouldn’t want this. It’s just...Momo is so good at everything.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s just so perfect,” Chaeyoung sighed. “She’s the number 1 hostess, and I’m not even in the top ten. “

“Well then clearly your club is fucking up their rankings then. And no, that’s not a line,” you said. Chaeyoung let out a small relieved smile.

“T-thank you, that really means a lot. I...I just get discouraged. This job is nothing but competition. Momo has a better body than me, she’s taller than me, she has bigger tits than me.”

“I understand, but you’re still fucking hot, Chaeyoung. Small girls are just as good as tall girls. You have really nice legs and you have incredibly sexy lips.”

“Really?” She asked as her cheeks grew red.

“Really. Any man would be lucky to bang a hostess as hot as you.”

“Then how about you be that lucky man?” she said, not wasting any time getting to the point.

“I’d fucking love that.”

“Then let’s get out of here. I’d love nothing more than to one-up Momo for once by being able to fuck you before her. And I don’t have any of her dumbass rules. Plus I give better blowjobs.” she said convinced, her full lips forming a devilish grin.

“Let’s go then.” You paid for your drinks and food, thanked the bartender and you were off.

Chaeyoung’s apartment was fancy to say the least. Just the living room itself was twice the size as your entire place, even the bathroom was large and extravagant. She might not have been a top ten girl yet, but she sure did seem to rake in the money.

The bedroom was just as large and fanciful as the rest of the place. Front and center in the middle was a canopy bed, something you hadn’t really seen before but were more than happy to make use of. Clothes were casually thrown in a few places, sweaters on a wooden chair, pants hanging off a hamper, and a few sets of underwear and bras were sprinkled on the carpet. The room was messy, but not too messy, just enough to let you know Chaeyoung didn’t take things too seriously.

“Sorry about the mess, don’t get too many guests here.”

“I don’t mind. This is nice place,” you said, as you looked around and tried to gather a glimpse of her personality.

“Thanks,” she said with a nervous smile as she walked towards the bed with her back towards it. Her bare feet pushed into the carpet, and followed her as you met her gaze, able to fully take in her beauty.

"Take me,” Chaeyoung said, her words hungry and filled with desire as her hands wrapped around your neck. You leaned down to kiss her, feeling her lips soft as could be as you held on to her slender waist and pulled her in closer. Her lips tasted fruity, and Chaeyoung returned your advances and smacked her lips against your own. She let you take the lead, but soon after you felt her tongue entering your mouth and wandered around your mouth.

“You’re so sexy,” you told her, breaking the kiss and looking straight into her lust-glazed eyes.

“So are you. Take this off me.”

“Not yet. I wanna fuck you in it first.”

Chaeyoung smirked. “Have it your way then.”

"I will," you responded, and abruptly grabbed her ass and lifted her body into the air, causing a gasp to escape from her lips. You dove into her mouth once more before sitting both of you down on the edge of the bed with her tight body against yours.

“Aggressive. I like it.” Chaeyoung was quick and lifted your shirt over your head, kissing your chest before looking into your eyes with a deadly look.

"I want to suck your cock,” she said sternly. You loved how Chaeyoung didn’t hold anything back.

"Then suck my cock."

Chaeyoung pushed herself off of your body and dropped to her knees, running her hands up and down your thighs. Her hands went to the crotch of your pants, unbuttoning them in a flash and yanking them off hastily.

Her eyes stared at the obvious bulge poking through your boxers, giving your crotch a firm squeeze as her fingertips traced the outline of your shaft. She grabbed the waistband of your underwear and pulled them off you, her eyes went wide and grew excited as she saw your unleashed hard cock throbbing to meet her, feeling herself becoming wet already at the sight of your manhood.

She looked at your erect leaking cock with admiration as she wrapped her slim fingers around it and formed a tight grip, squeezing as she jerked you off slowly up and down with broad strokes.

"No wonder Momo likes you," Chaeyoung teased, as she licked her lips and planted them on your tip, giving a loud kiss and the hot breath of her mouth drove you crazy. Her mouth travelled south as she kissed every inch of your cock until her mouth met your base, using her tongue to move back up your shaft.

“Promise me something.”

“What?”

“Promise me that you’ll put every inch of this nice big cock inside me.”

“I promise.”

With a satisfied smile Chaeyoung used her tongue and swirled it around your sensitive head, tasting the fluid leaking from it and giving one more peck.

“I’m going to make you feel really good. That’s my promise.” She smiled, looked into your eyes and wrapped her full soft lips around your cock as it entered the warmth of her mouth, the sharp pleasure caused you to moan loudly.

“Oh fuck, Chaeyoung,” you moaned, as you felt her lips pushing forward, taking more of you inside. She kept her attention on you as her mouth performed magic on your cock, her full soft lips felt heavenly as they slid with ease back and forth on your shaft, leaving a coating of saliva in their path.

“Do you like that? Does that feel good?”

“Fuck yes, you have no idea. It feels really good.”

Chaeyoung jerked off your cock furiously, spitting on it to make it wetter before returning it into her mouth, taking it deeper down her throat. Her lips gradually became wetter as her blowjob became sloppier and louder and everything she was doing to you felt fucking incredible.

She knew what she was doing as her head bobbed up and down in between your spread legs, the sensual slurping sounds of her warm mouth drove you absolutely wild and made you moan with every sensation she was giving you. She went went deeper and deeper until you felt the her throat tightening around your shaft and held you all the way into the back of throat for as long as she could, looking into your eyes to see the absolute satisfaction she was giving.

When she came up for air she gasped and smiled proudly as her hands worked your messy shaft, pumping you as fast as she could.

“Like I said, I give better blowjobs.”

She changed it up a bit, using her wet tongue to slather each of your balls in spit before taking them into her mouth one at a time and sucking on them, slowly at first and then gradually slurping on them while her hand worked your shaft slowly, your moans letting her know she was hitting all your spots as her lips maintained a firm pressure on your full sensitive balls.

“God, that feels amazing.”

“That’s what i like to hear. I love hearing you moan,” she smirked, and if that wasn’t enough she began to slip the straps off her dress down while still jerking off your cock, one at a time off each pale shoulder.

Chaeyoung slowly pulled the top of her dress down her body, and she wasn’t wearing a bra underneath which exposed her bare breasts to you. Her tits were small but cute and with one additional benefit - beautiful pierced nipples.

“Holy shit,” you said. Chaeyoung smiled wide at her newly exposed chest. “You’re so fucking hot.”

You pulled her to her feet and immediately dove into her breasts as you kissed them. You noticed the mole just above her left breast as your tongue worked around each of her sensitive nipples, feeling the coldness of the the metal barbs as you licked and sucked at her nubs, causing Chaeyoung to whine cutely.

As you released her slippery nipples from your lips, you noticed the ink on her arm and directed your attention to them. “Those are cute.”

“I know! I have to cover them up every time I work though. I hate it.”

“That’s silly.”

“Mmhmm.”

With a brief pause in your action you knew what you needed next. She had pleased you so perfectly, and you wanted to return the favor.

“I want to taste you Chaeyoung.”

“And I still want to suck your cock.”

“You still can.”

The two of you grinned together as you moved backwards on the bed. Chaeyoung hiked her dress up and slipped her panties down before joining you. She crawled on top of your naked body and It didn’t take long before she maneuvered around so her round ass was in plain view and the prettiest set of pink pussy lips was inches away from your face, wet and appetizing.

Before you could even give a taste you felt Chaeyoung’s mouth on your cock again, hungrily slurping away. Her full thighs had surrounded your face, with her feet just behind your head. You were eager to give her the same pleasure that you felt between your thighs, and using just your tongue you traced the outline of her pussy before diving in and licking between her folds to clean her wet tasty juices.

She moaned and you felt her mouth vibrating around your cock. While you couldn’t see you could certainly feel Chaeyoung’s wet warm mouth sucking you off even messier than before, sucking you off hungrily and taking most you of down her throat while she had a handful of your balls that were quickly becoming drenched from the drool that had escaped from her messy blowjob.

“That feels so fucking good, Chaeyoung,” you said. She didn’t answer, only intending on focusing on your pleasure as tight lips slid up and and down your shaft with ease, making sure to pleasure your balls at the same time. The room filled with sounds of your two bodies trading moans as you both pleasured each other, Chaeyoung’s soft lips and tongue surrounded your shaft, and your tongue was buried inside her wet pussy and her juices were coating your mouth and tongue, it was an absolute feeling of heaven.

The sensations of trying to pleasure Chae as she sucked your cock was like nothing else, her tight warm body pressed against yours heightened your pleasure and Chaeyoung tasted so damn good. You couldn’t get enough of her and grabbed on to her ass, kneading her soft cheeks as you pushed her pussy down on your face more, doing anything you could to taste more of her as you fucked her wet dripping hole with your tongue, driving both of you insane with the feeling.

She moaned loudly around your cock and in response took every inch of you inside her mouth. You wanted to up the ante as well and used the tip of your middle finger and teased the rim of her tight asshole, testing her reaction.

She gave no qualms for you to stop, and while you continued to eat her pussy you slipped a finger inside her asshole began fingering her to her delight, she moaned even more at the new sensation.

As your tongue brushed alongside her clit, Chaeyoung began to squirm and you felt her juices running out of her pussy and staining your lips. You kept a firm pressure on that pink hardened nub, and with the continued stimulation as you fingered her asshole, Chaeyoung came immediately without warning, drenching your face as she climaxed all over you.

You cleaned up Chaeyoung, licking her thighs and pussy clean as she trembled around your face, riding out her orgasm and your cock became slowly vacant from her mouth as she released it with a loud pop.

“Fuck, Momo is missing out for not fucking you yet. You eat pussy so fucking well.”

“What can I say, you’re delicious, Chaeyoung.”

Chaeyoung smiled cutely, but that cuteness only lasted for a moment. “Now, how about you put this inside me?” she said, as she gave your cock handful of fast strokes.

“I’d love to.”

She repositioned on her back and willingly spread her legs for you, splaying her slickened pussy lips for you invitingly with an eager smile. You took that moment to admire her small tight body, the only thing left on her mostly naked body were the remnants of the dress you insisted she stayed in. She was gorgeous from head to toe, but your eyes mostly fixated on the wet glistening lips in between her thighs.

“Come fill this pussy up,” Chaeyoung beckoned, quickly becoming impatient and with a hint of demand. You had no intention to make either of you wait much longer, and you positioned in between her legs, taking your cock into your own hand and rubbing it in between her drenched folds, heightening the desire in her eyes.

“God, just put it inside me already.” Chaeyoung’s lust turned into need, her body was pleading for you to enter her.

You felt the warmth of her entrance as you pushed against it, and with your eyes on her own you slowly pushed into her tight hole and entered Chaeyoung for the first time. She was drenched, and the first few inches of your shaft entered the warm walls of her pussy with ease, hugging your cock tightly.

“More. Put it all inside me.”

You obliged without any hesitation and pushed deeper into her pussy, feeling her warmth and wetness smothering your shaft, making sure you belonged inside her. Chaeyoung gasped loudly as every bit of your shaft entered her and rested there, waiting for further instructions.

“Oh fuck, that’s it. You’re so fucking big, god. Momo doesn’t deserve this dick.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, it is. Now fuck me, please. Fuck me as hard as you’d like.”

“Oh, I will.”

You were going to take her up on that as you withdrew your cock from Chaeyoung’s tight dripping pussy until only the tip of your cock was still inside her, watching the slick juices that had stained your shaft already with both of you ready for more.

Unable to wait even just a second, you popped your hips and slammed back inside Chaeyoung, feeling her warmth and tightness grabbing hold of your cock as you quickly settled into a rhythm and began to fuck the impossibly hot woman, earning a sinful groan from her deliciously pretty lips.

“Fuck me, fuck me senseless with that big fucking cock.”

You grabbed onto to her slender waist with both hands, holding tight as you drove yourself into Chaeyoung’s tight cunt, feeling the bed shaking already at the result of your vigorous thrusts. A flood of steady gasps and sensual moans escaped the lips of Chaeyoung as you kept the pace steady, watching the pleasure overtaking her pretty face.

As your thrusts became deeper and harsher, Chaeyoung’s moans become louder and drawn out. You couldn’t believe how tight she was, and the way her juices lubricated your shaft made it easy to thrust as deep inside her as you could. But you still needed more of her, you wanted to fuck her as deep as humanly possible, so you lifted her legs up until her ankles were on your shoulders and pistoned into her roughly.

“Oh! Oh my god, you’re deep! Fuck me deep!”

The wet sounds of her pussy were an absolute delight to hear as you pounded into her, feeling the entire bed moving at the same time. Her tight dripping hole was absolutely sensational, the the hotness of her pink flesh wrapped around your cock you never wanted anything more than to just live inside her forever.

“You’re so fucking hot Chaeyoung. You feel so good, god, I love your pussy.”

“And I love your dick. I love you stretching me so wide, fuck! I’m going to feel it tomorrow and I don’t even care.”

You hugged Chaeyoung’s toned legs as you drilled into her, fast and deep as you had the strength to, staring into her lust-filled eyes with every thrust deep into her tight body, feeling her lips gripping your cock every single time.

You fucked Chaeyoung in this position for what felt like hours, every thrust was deep as could be and the pace was merciless, both of you becoming speechless for several minutes as you both enjoyed the pleasure of each other’s bodies, listening to each other’s loud satisfied moans and groans.

You gradually slowed the tempo down until you were slowly moving inside Chaeyoung. You felt the sweat forming on your forehead, and felt the perspiration on her smooth warm skin as you kept your cock deep inside her for just a while longer.

You pulled out of Chaeyoung entirely and grabbed on to her hips, finally pulling her dress off completely and turned her over on her stomach. She got the hint and got into position onto her hands and knees, that delightful round plump ass raised into the air in front of you. Before you inserted yourself inside her again you gave each of her cheeks a squeeze and a hard slap, the jiggling flesh delighting you to no end.

“You have such a nice ass, Chaeyoung.”

“Glad you like it. I work hard on it.”

You didn’t keep your cock outside of Chaeyoung for long, shoving your cock back inside the comfort of her warm tight pussy and grabbing a handful of her ass with both of your hands as you fucked her from behind. She had gotten wetter as she beautifully arched her back and from this position that allowed for deeper penetration she felt that much more tighter, and you loved the view of her firm ass as you slipped deep in between those thighs and filled her pussy to the hilt.

“I fucking love your cock. God, you feel so fucking deep. I love being filled and I love you fucking me balls deep. Don’t you fucking stop”

Chaeyoung’s tight body was rocked with every harsh thrust, the warm flesh of her delicious ass felt heavenly to the touch and heightened your arousal as you pounded her pussy, her loud moans and sensual gasps let you know that you were doing everything right to pleasure her perfectly.

You felt a grin plastered on your face as you watched Chaeyoung’s hands grabbing full handfull of the sheets, and she buried her pretty face into the pillows in an attempt to dampen her moans. You weren’t having any of it though and grabbed onto her pretty smooth shoulders and pulled her back up, slamming hard into her pretty tight hole as the harsh loud sounds of skin slapping against skin filled the room.

“I want you to be loud for me Chaeyoung, don’t hold back.”

“O-okay, I will, fuck!” she yelped, after a particularly hard thrust. You continued to feel the sweat building on Chaeyoung’s skin, only turning you on more as you fucked her and pulled her back until she was almost completely upright. You hooked both of your arms around the crook of her arms and brought her sweaty hot body to your chest, feeling the new intimate position bringing you closer together

Chaeyoung’s beautiful ass bounced hypnotically as you fucked her hard, your hips slamming against her body as she tilted her head back in deep pleasure, moaning louder than ever.

She felt overwhelmed in this position, without the ability to grab on to anything she felt absolutely crazy. You wrapped one arm around her chest and carefully played with her hard nipples, feeling the metal of her piercings as you pinched and pulled them. Her warm walls tightening more around your cock in response and her hips instinctively pushed backwards against your body, trying to force you deep inside her pussy.

“Fuck...oh my god, you feel so fucking good! Your hard thick cock is going to make me fucking cum again, fuck!”

“Then fucking cum, Chaeyoung.”

You maintained the current position and tempo as you slammed your cock incessantly into Chaeyoung’s tight hungry cunt, feeling her tightening even more and her body tensing up. You continued playing with her sensitive nipples, only driving her to climax that much faster.

“Oh my god, I’m gonna cum, I’m gonna fucking cum!”

Chaeyoung screamed as she climaxed, her body shaking hard as her orgasm took total control of her body and you struggled to keep her upright through it, continuing to fuck her through each intense second of it. You felt the pulsating walls of her pussy squeezing your cock tightly, threatening to force you outside of her body and it took everything you had to keep yourself inside her.

As her orgasm mercifully subsided you let go of the hold you had of her upper body and she crashed to the bed, spent and heavily panting. You didn’t let her relax for a second though as you continued pumping inside her, the pressure from her orgasm being too much and you felt your own orgasm was not far off.

You grabbed onto her hips tightly as you thrusted harshly inside her, pulling her slim body back towards your own as you absolutely drilled your cock into her, savoring those last few moments before your own impending climax. The wet squelch of her pussy and tired moans of Chaeyoung absolutely music to your ears, and you couldn’t take it anymore.

“Chaeyoung...I’m going to cum too.”

The room fell silent except for the sounds of the bed and the loud noises of pleasure from Chaeyoung’s body.

“Chaeyoung…”

“Inside. Cum inside me, please don’t pull out. I want to be filled. I want to feel your cum dripping inside me.”

It was everything you wanted to hear. You fucked Chaeyoung for as long as you could last, hearing her screams and moans as you used all your strength and energy to pump hard inside her.

“Fuck, I’m cumming,” you announced, and within seconds you filled her tight walls with your thick hot load, your body jerking uncontrollably as you filled her pussy to the very brim with your hot seed. Chaeyoung moaned together with you as you finished emptying your balls inside her, filling her cunt with thick spurt after thick spurt as you gave her everything you had left, trapping your cum deep inside her body.

You felt weak and powerless for a moment as your shaft remained buried inside Chaeyoung, her tight body milking you for each and every drop.

As you recovered your senses you gently withdrew your spent cock an inch at a time, squeezing her ass and spreading her pussy open wide and with completely and utter exhaustion you watched the thick dripping creampie slowly escaping from her pink splayed lips and leaking out of her body.

You watched intently the mess you left inside Chaeyoung’s now creamy pussy, she brought a hand in between her folds and collected a bit of your load on her fingertip, bringing it to her lips and tasting it with absolute satisfaction.

“Mmm. Momo did say you tasted good.”

You couldn’t help smile while you crashed against the pillows at the head of the bed, Chaeyoung followed and plopped against your body, draping an arm around your chest. Both of you shared gasps and pants and tired smiles.

“Stay the night,” Chaeyoung demanded, looking up at you her hair now completely out of place and disheveled, sweat on her forehead and eyes glazed over.

You didn’t answer right away, instead focusing on how pretty she looked in the afterglow of sex.

“I can’t. I have work in the morning and my place is on the other side of the city.”

“Then call in sick,” she said, smiling and tracing circles into your chest.

“Trust me, I would love nothing better, but people depend on me for whatever reason. I basically keep that place running.”

Chaeyoung pouted, and then hesitated before speaking again. “It’s not...it’s not because you’re attached to Momo is it?”

The question caught you by surprise. “Momo? No, it’s nothing like that. She’s very attractive, but...no. I’m just a client. I really do have to be at work in the morning.”

Chaeyoung sighed loudly. “Damn you for being responsible.”

“I don’t like it anymore than you do.”

“At least take a shower with me. You owe me that after the pounding you gave me.”

“That I can do. I’d love to shower with you, Chaeyoung.”

“You better. I’ll go start the water.”

Chaeyoung rose out of the bed and you watched her exit, unable to take your eyes off her backside as she disappeared into the bathroom. You knew you were going to regret not waking up to that beautiful face first thing in the morning. Work was important, but not that important.

You couldn’t quite figure out the reason you weren’t staying. Maybe you were attached to Momo, but maybe you weren’t. Chaeyoung certainly was one of the hottest women you had the pleasure of sharing a bed with, but something was holding you back. You didn’t have enough time to process it as you heard Chaeyoung calling to you.

“Come on!”

You would figure it out in the morning. For now you had a hot shower to share with a beautiful woman, and that’s all that mattered in that very moment.

[strivingscribe]

ILIC ~ CH 31

It’s Lost Its Charm by  MsMoon

Chapter 31 ~ A Multi-Pronged Attack Plan

Chapters: 31/?

Chapter Navigation: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15,16, 17, 18,19,20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31,

Fandom: Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age,

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Violence,

Relationships: I feel like it’s a little early for that…

Summary: Now that Amy's awake, it's time to hammer out some plans...

Magpie had left Siheta and Bull in the Chantry, sprinting towards Amy's new room. She was relieved to see Tunan and Tunen more presentable than they had been... Not that Tunan was much of a chore in the mornings. He was mostly quiet, needing time to wake up fully before being ready to converse with anyone... Tunen on the other hand. She was a feral cat and needed expert care after waking otherwise you'd get swiped.

“Hey! Good. You're both up. Uh...” she stuttered in place, trying to think of what to say next exactly. “There's a council meeting right now, but if you guys wanted to wait in the tavern—”

“Council meeting?” Tunan asked, his voice conveying a sense of puzzling concern.

“Yes. With Amy being...well, back. Mostly. Everyone's gathering to discuss...things.” she shrugged.

“When are we leaving?” Tunen interrupted.

“What?” Magpie felt as cold as everything in her seeped into a deep dread. Leaving?

“Yes, leaving, as in returning home.” Tunen clarified. Had she asked out loud? She must've.

“I'm... not leaving.” Magpie announced, incredulous.

The twins did that thing that they do from time to time where they exchanged a glance that held layers of communication. Magpie could read Tunen's frustration along with Tunan's (strangely smug?) acceptance. It was endearing because she was able to read it...it was also irritating.

One of Tunan's fingers twitched towards his sister. “Um. Why not?” he asked haltingly. “I mean...”

“We came here to find you.” Tunen follows, her manner abrupt. Clearly, it's still too early for her to stray away from that hissing cat inside of her.

“And I appreciate that.” Magpie said.

“Can I just..” Tunan was now actually holding his hand up towards Tunen, attempting to cage the beast. “Can I ask...why you want to stay?”

Magpie blinked at him. “I mean.. you did. Just now.” His expression fell, as if to say, ‘really? now? you're doing this now?’. If she was being honest, she'd have to admit that she was stalling, because...

Because this was an out. She could leave. But she didn't want to... and now she needed to ask herself why.

“I mean... the Inquisition is in a position to actually fix the problem.” The typical excuse was the easiest to fall back to.

“What problem?” Tunen asked.

“Uhhh! The breach? All the breaches?”

“OK, so...” Tunan stepped in again, apparently taking on the role as mediator. “You think the Inquisition can help, and you want to be a part of that?” he asked, and Magpie at least felt like he was genuinely interested in her response.

She took a deep breath and tried to settle herself. “I think... I think...yeah.”

Great work there. So eloquent.

“Look, I just feel like... I need to be here.”

Tunen had been staring at her in complete befuddlement. Her eyes twitched towards her brother, and she deflated with a sigh at the look of obvious reproach on his face.

“Just... tell me you're not doing this for the shems.” Tunen grumbled.

Magpie felt her back teeth grind. Something about that statement rankled her, but she's fighting to keep that from showing.

“I am in a position to help. And I want to stay for me.”

“What makes you think they'd allow you to do anything worth doing anyway?” Tunen countered. “And even if you did do anything worth doing, what makes you think they’d let you own it?”

“Look, I'm technically working for Amy, here.” Magpie argued, dismissively. “That carries a lot of weight.” And that much was true. Even though Magpie wasn’t really working for Amy, she’d managed to convince others that she was… and when people heard that, they kind of fell in line.

“Yeah, and who's she anyway?” Tunen continued, not at all impressed. “Until I got here and you started talking about her, I had never heard of her.”

"Well, she's a big deal right now to everyone.” Magpie snapped.

She couldn't help but notice that Tunan kept turning between the two of them, a single hand stretched in both directions, though his focus shifted as each of them spoke.

“According to who? And for how long? I swear, these shems just give out shit and then take it away. That’s what they do. What assurances do you have that any progress you've made is safe or will last?”

“Alright.” Tunan's voice was very deep, and he typically kept his tone low. Now was one of those rare times his voice felt as though it boomed simply because he wasn't trying to sound docile anymore. The boom of his unfiltered voice shocked even him. He cleared his throat, and lowered his voice again. “Let's take a breath... and remember that we are all here for each other.” he reminded, as though he were attempting to sooth a pair of caged beasts.

“I... want to stay.” Magpie announced, feeling the truth of that and the weight behind it even if she wasn’t certain the motivations in the statement yet. “This has become important to me, and I feel like I am not done here. I appreciate that you came all this way; and I am sorry that I'm the only one that was here, and I'm not being as cooperative as you'd like.”

“That's not—” Tunen began, but couldn’t really finish her thought.

“But!... It all boils down to me not wanting to leave yet.”

At that Tunan nodded, giving his sister a placating look. His head tilting, his brow peaking in his version of puppy dog eyes. She sighed at that, the fight mostly taken out of her.

Tunen shrugged, reluctantly. “Well... at least it's interesting here.”

Tunan continued nodding as well, seemingly relieved.

“But we aren't going to keep sleeping on the floor, are we?” Tunen pleaded.

Magpie chuckled, shaking her head. “Doubtful.”

“Well, that's a relief.” Tunan murmured, preaching against the wall now that he didn't feel the need to dive between the two of them as a negotiator. “And your Amy is pleasant enough.”

‘for a shem.’ Went unsaid, but Magpie had a feeling that was very much felt. Even if Tunan didn’t voice it as much as Tunen, he had never been overly fond of operating near or with humans.

But that was a discussion for another day.

“Great.” Magpie said. “Good talk. Now...if you'll excuse me. I have a meeting to get to.”

“Oooh. Fancy.” Tunen cooed, her tension seemingly defused now that they’d talked.

With a soft snort Magpie left them, making her way to the council chamber. She was relieved that the map room was enormous (at least in comparison to Josie's office) and that she wasn't the last one here.

Seeing Amy was a bit of a shock. She was between Josephine and Leliana — odd because they usually flanked the table at opposite ends. Cullen was glaring down at the map. Madame de Fer was there as well, near Leliana's usual spot.

Magpie was a little shocked to find Amy in...well...nice clothes. Amy always had to make do with whatever she could find. Seeing her in something fitted was...strange.

She was wearing a very delicate looking white tunic with long sleeves that billowed, but over that was a tightly fitted dark leather vest, very tailored breeches, and knee-high boots. There were various straps and belts, both to keep things in place and to string sheaths onto.... Her hair was mostly down. The braid had been undone, a thick ponytail hanging low on the nape of her neck while errant curls leaked out to frame her face....

She looked good. Even better, she looked…healthy. Not leaning or waning as Magpie had seen after her previous episodes.

Thankfully, Magpie noticed Sehita in the shadows behind Amy. The towering woman caught Magpie's eye and nodded for her to join them. That put a halt on her next internal crisis, as she had no idea where to really put herself. She trotted over, relieved when Amy's eyes lighted on her and she smiled.

Amy reached for her hand once she was in range, the gesture instantly assuaging her tension. The fact that it was easy for Amy to turn away from the others to greet her was…comforting. She could deal with the questions of why she didn't want to go home, and if she had a proper place that would affect any change later. Right now, she was needed and wanted and that counted for something.

“Well damn.” Varric said, entering with Sam right behind him. “Would you look at this.” he said, motioning to Amy.

“Yeah, they can't keep me down, and honestly that's what matters most.” Amy said with a conspirator’s grin and a stubborn gleam in her eyes.

Again, Varric seemed to come up short, blinking rapidly and holding his hands up. “And with complete sentences this time.”

“Every time I go down, I come back with upgrades.” Amy warned. “One day I'll be invulnerable.”

Cullen half scoffed half laughed at that.

“I said 'one day'.” Amy defended.

Sara and Blackwall were the last to show up, and Sara couldn't just show up without making a fuss.

“Ooiii! Lookatchu! All gussied up!” Sara crowed with a leer.

“I mean, I don't know what you've been doing, but I—” Amy reached down, griping, and pushing up her own breasts as though she were situating them properly. “was getting fancy.” It seemed to be the right response, as Sera giggled, and Blackwall looked elsewhere with a grin.

The room filled up soon after. Solas, Cassandra, and Bull finally making their way into the chamber. Even this big room seemed a little crowded.

“So, we have our Charmer back and better than ever.” Varric noticed as a way of kicking off the meeting.

“Indeed.” Leliana confirmed. “And considering that the information she has shared with us has been verified, I believe we are ready to move.” Gazes sharpened as that was dropped in front of them.

Not that Magpie ever had any real doubts about the things that Amy was saying. With everything going on, a human touched enough to predict the future wasn’t that crazy. She’d seen Sam use a glowing hole in his hand to close rifts, after all.

“Verified? Then…?” Cassandra’s questions went unspoken as she couldn’t find the proper words or the paths for those words to take.

“Our two-pronged plan will begin tomorrow.” Cullen stated with the certainty of steel. “Cassandra will disguise herself as a Lieutenant with a regiment under her to reinforce our position on the Storm Coast. Simultaneously, Sam will make his way to initiate contact with the mages at Redcliff. According to Amy, after the initial contact, Sam will be invited back to Redcliff formally. This will give Cassandra and her team time to deal with whatever is going on at Caer Oswin.”

“Our scouts have confirmed that while Caer Oswin is inhabited, there is very little in the way of noticeable traffic.” Lelianna informed. “It should be easy for a regiment and a team to secure the grounds.”

“Considering the time it will take for Sam to initiate the plan with the mages, Cassandra’s team could potentially be finished and on their way to Therinfall before Sam is finished with Redcliff.” Cullen estimated, though whether this is his opinion on the time it would take traveling back and forth between Redcliff, or his high estimations of Cassandra, it was difficult to say.

“It is not the entourage that I had hoped for,” Josephine began. “however, I was able to secure a few prominent Orlesian nobles to accompany our concerned party to Therinfall.”

“Abernache?” Amy cut in to ask.

Josephine eyed her first, eyes drifting to the ever-present paperwork in front of her before saying, “Yes…Lord Abernache is among those who are interested in confronting the Templar order.” She seemed only slightly put off by Amy’s insight.

“A prominent figure?” Madame Vivienne asked, though by her tone one may think she were inquiring about the weather.

Amy shrugged. “No more or less than anyone else. He has his part to play, and that is enough to note his significance. That should be enough on its own.”

Perhaps Amy didn’t see it as she wasn’t really meeting anyone’s eye, but Magpie couldn’t help but notice the slightest arch in Vivienne’s brow. As though Amy had said something she had not anticipated… What that meant, Magpie wasn’t sure, but she did know look of reappraisal when she saw one.

“How far is Caer Oswin from Therinfal as far as traveling time?” Amy asked.

“It would take a well-armed troop of men moving with purpose less than a full day’s travel, given the terrain…and the need for secrecy.” Cullen shrugged his shoulders. “Perhaps a few hours more, but not by much.”

“After the hubbub at Redcliff, I intend to take my team and hustle towards Therinfal Redoubt.” Sam announced.

“That might be unsafe…” Amy murmured, concerned. “Mostly because you will have already undergone so much.”

Sam smirked at her. “Ease up, mum. We’re all grown, and we can take care of ourselves.”

Amy’s eyes scrunched up as she glared at him, but it was more for being called ‘mum’ than anything.

“Bull, Solas, and Varric will be accompanying me during my tour of Redcliff.” Sam announced. The three people he had called out nodded their assent. “We’ll have another team waiting in the wings to help Cassandra. Madame Vivienne, Sera, Blackwall, that’ll be you. Don’t imagine any of you will have a problem handling rogue templars.”

“Not at all.” Madame Vivienne replied coolly.

“Cullen will move some troops into the Hinterlands after the initial contact, under the guise of reinforcing the camps we’ve established and surveying the damage that the Mages and Templars have reeked. In truth, he will be in place should anything happen that requires us to take Redcliff from the mages and the magister.”

Sam paused and surveyed Amy. “We don’t have much time, but while this is all happening, at least in the day and a half it’ll take us to travel there, make contact, and return, we would like it if you met with a few tutors that could assist you with your magic.”

Amy gave a single, decisive nod. “I would like to begin that as immediately as I can, actually.”

“I don’t see why not.” Sam murmured with a shrug. Everyone was already on standby as it was. “It shouldn’t be too difficult wrangle everyone together after the noon meal.”

“Tutors?” Solas asked, his eyes darting back and forth. “What tutors are those?”

“Madame Vivienne has brought a magic user with her. One who relies on his music to work his magic.” Lelianna announced.

“Zither??” Amy asked, half laughing already. “Oh, this’ll be a wild ride.”

Again, while Madame Vivienne’s face revealed nothing, Magpie noted her eyes darting to a very smug looking Lelianna. Lelianna hadn’t told Amy anything about anyone named Zither, that much Magpie was certain of… whether or not the mage recognized this wasn’t entirely clear, considering her consummate poker face.

“From what I understand,” Josephine began, flipping through some of the pages on her clipboard. “we have several mages that are more than willing to weigh in their opinions as well. Norton, Baxtien, Elossa, even Siheta will all be present and capable of aiding Amy if their expertise should be needed.”

“Oh good. Always better to perform for a crowd.” Amy half grumbled with a taxed smile.

“If you can perform at all.” Bull grunted with a smirk. Amy flicked her middle finger up at him with a dazzling smile. “Seriously, Charmer, maybe you’ve got everyone else convinced you’re almighty, but I’m still on the fence here. You haven’t really given me anything that’s impressed me.”

It was a bluff, but the tension that spiked through the room at Bull’s words was very real. Everyone held their breath, waiting to see how Amy would handle this.

She smirked. “I can give you eleven reasons.” She said with honey-sweet words, and her grin only depend when Bull’s attention snapped away, obviously trying to pair the number 11 with anything significant to him. He didn’t have 11 chargers… so… She held a finger to her lips as though she were telling a secret. “The first hit’s free.” She used the same finger tracing the secret on her lips to point to the hinterlands. “She’s right here… and she’s so pretty.” She said, leaning over the map almost suggestively, her eyes never leaving Bull’s. “All orange and yellow with such majestic curling horns and livid fire. I know you’d love to take her.” He smile was positively feline.

Bull blinked hard before taking in a deep breath through his nose and letting it out.

“Wait…” Sam’s face went slack. “Are you ….talking about a dragon?”

“A Ferelden Frostback, right under your noses. Weak to cold but resistant to fire damage. She cannot be slowed or disabled, and she’s got a whole mess of drakes to protect her and her dragonlings.” She straightened before looking to Sam with a more serious air. “There’s a pass leading to Redcliff that’s being guarded by bandits that aren’t bandits.” She waved off his look of confusion. “One mystery at a time, Sam. I can explain later. One of your scouts will warn you of this when you try to take the road, that is if they haven’t already.”

“They…haven’t. We’ve been focusing on the people and the cult, and you know, that whole mage/templar fight thing that’s going on.” Sam grumbled.

Amy ignored Sam’s cross tone to continue explaining. “The bandits are set up in a nice little nook. Beyond that nook is a natural stone archway that leads to her lair.” Her eyes bore into Bull. “I wouldn’t advise entering that archway and her lair until you’re completely ready to take on a high dragon.”

“I’m always ready to take on a high dragon.” Bull practically growled; his enthusiasm high.

“Bull.” Sam murmured, attempting to regain control.

“Boss.” He whined.

“Priorities.” Sam reminded. “Take out the bandits, set up a camp there to fall back to if things go south with the mages, take on the mages. Then, once we’ve gotten the mages taken care of…maybe after we’ve sealed the breach, we’ll go after the dragon. It isn’t as if we’ll never be in the Hinterlands again.”

Bull seemed mollified even if slightly petulant.

“There were some names that you mentioned that I’d like to revisit.” Lelianna noted. “Names of some mages that you said Sam should talk to.”

“Yes!” Amy said, snapping right back into the gravity of the situation before them. She righted herself, and her attention was now back on Sam. “Clemence will be the easiest to find. You’ll be asked to meet in the tavern, and he’s there. He’s a tranquil alchemist, but Alexius doesn’t want the tranquil around. So, he’ll volunteer to go with you and join the inquisition.”

“Lucky.”

“Talwyn is at the bar in the tavern. You can speak to him after Clemence. But you should keep these interactions subtle.” She scowled, sounding disgruntled as she continued. “I’m sure Linnea will be watching you, and she could be a problem.”

Taking a deep breath, she continued, “Next is either Lysas or Hanley. Hanley’s a human mage standing near the statue to the hero of Ferelden, and he’ll be very happy to see you. He hates the involvement of the mages with Tevinter. I don’t think it would be hard to convince him to go to the crossroads to wait for you. Lysas is an elf mage who you’ll find against one of the stone archways that lead to the chantry. He voted to abandon the chantry, but the alliance with Tevinter has him shaken. He’s another one that I might be persuaded to leave if promised some protections.”

“Considering that all rouge mage and templar activity has been thoroughly halted, none of them should have a reason to stay.”

“They might not have the choice, considering that they’re Tevinter chattel.” She growled. “I don’t know if they realize it yet, but Alexius will confirm that when you meet him.”

“asshole.” Sera spat.

Amy’s face pulled into a complicated frown. There was disapproval there, but her expression seemed… almost sorrowful as well. It made Magpie wonder if perhaps there wasn’t more to this story…

“We all have our missions.” Cullen said, with what felt like finality. “If there’s nothing more, be ready to move out a dawn.”

Magpie watched as everyone began to filter out of the room, and Amy zoned in on one person… She made a beeline for Solas.