#its just the idea that someone could allow me to make my own decisions and wont hold me back or judge me for wanting to have fun

[tatoasting]

When u meet someone who's into the band u just discovered & listens to nightvale & keeps threatening to kiss u & makes u actually want to watch culturally significant sitcoms & got home and immediately told u how much they miss u AAAND your person isnt even jealous of them.... but they also have a husband and a boyfriend, but their husband does not know about the boyfriend.... yea... interesting predicament here.

[velocesainz]

Hii!

Could you possibly do a Percy Jackson smut with Percy fucking the brat out of reader, his rival? Rough sex with degrading and praise pls and ty 🫶🏼🫶🏼

A/n:This was quite an interesting request for me to write, thank you for the idea! All character have been aged up (19-20)

More than rivalry

Percy jackson masterlist | Main masterlist |

Summary: Percy gets jealous seeing you (his rival) with another boy and decides to fuck you to make sure you remember that you are his but you end up being too cocky for his liking

Warnings: smut, degradation

Pairing: Percy x daughter of Zeus! Reader

Reader pov:

I was practising my archery skills with some Apollo kids and we were actually having a lot of fun

Over the time I had spent Robert over the past few days perfecting my archery we both really grew close together

He was one of the very few people at camp who were actually friends with me for me and not because I was Zeus’s daughter.

While we were training I clumsily fell over a rock and was about to go crash into the ground but Robert caught me in time.

We stayed in the position for a little bit not knowing what to do.

We looked at each other with soft and gentle eyes, like how friends would rather than people who like each other though it seemed otherwise to most.

It was a sweet moment we both were trying to savour when a bellowing voice split us apart

“Oi thunder witch! What are you doing, let the poor guy out of his misery and do some practising on your own yea?” Yelled the voice that I really didn’t want to hear right now

Percy motherfucking Jackson

“Ocean ass how about you go bother someone else. He’s here with me at his own will for your kind information. Care more about your friends yea?” I retorted

I wanted to leave the arena as fast as possible so I bid Robert goodbye and left for my cabin

Percy pov:

Crisis averted.

I didn’t let Robert and y/n have their moment.

Why the fuck out of all the girls here does Robert have to go for y/n?

He has like a hundred girls dying for him.

Doesn’t he know she’s mine?

I know we seem like enemies but I wish to fuck like every second of the day at this point

She’s just so beautiful and that attitude damn.

I had a plan to get y/n away from every other guy, not just Robert.

Reader pov:

I was sitting in my cabin reading a book when I heard a knock on my door

That’s odd, I thought

Nobody was usually free at this hour in the evening

Everyone was too busy scheming for capture the flag except me of course

I wasn’t allowed to participate along with Percy since we were a tad bit overpowered

I walked over and opened the door and before I could figure out who it was they shoved me against the wall and started kissing me

I pushed the figure away and tried to run but they caught me

“Don’t try to run bitch. You need to be taught a lesson. Now be a good little slut and listen to what I say or the consequences will be severe for you” the figure whispered in my ear.

Then I realised who it was

Percy.

I was feeling cocky today so I decided to tease him a little

“You sure you can be intimidating and dominating seaweed brain? I don’t think you can even satisfy me forget punishing me”I replied with a smirk gracing my features

“Oh you asked for this whore. By the time I’m done with you you will be so dumb for my cock that you won’t even remember your name. Just you wait “ he said in a Husky voice which turned me on more than I would like to admit

He started removing my clothes as fast as he could and I couldn’t help but sneak in a cheeky comment

“Desperate are we?” Boy oh boy was this a bad decision

“I’m going to fuck that cocky attitude right out of you. You really just can’t keep your mouth shut can you whore?” Percy said and threw me in my bed

Undressing himself he got on the bed and made his way towards me like a predator approaching its prey

He moved my panties to the side and roughly shoved his cock inside me without any warning

“A-ah p-p-Percy that hurts sto-“ I was cut off by a slap I received

“Shut the fuck up slut. You were the one who was acting all cocky just a few minutes ago. Bitches like you don’t deserve to be cared for” Percy panted as he continued thrusting in and out

His pace was ungodly. He kept thrusting in and out of me letting my pussy drink up his cock

I felt like I was losing my mind as he hit my g-spot repeatedly completely abusing it

“O-oh fuck your pussy is tight. G-gods I’m going to come. Ah yea just like that” He whispered huskily

“I am going to cum too Percy” I told him

“No no. You don’t get to cum you little slut. You’ve been a really back whore for me. You don’t get to cum today, deal with it yourself” Percy said as he came in me

He got dressed quickly and left leaving me a panting and unsatisfied mess

Goddamit jackson.

A/n: let me know if you guys liked this fic or if you have any feedback! Requests are still on hold unfortunately but they’ll be opened soon. Kissies ✨

[nicksolemnlyswears]

FORGED UNDER FIRE

blurb: when brennan sorrengail died he left more than his family and a dragon behind. he left his best friend. he left his lover. he left his unborn child.

pairing: brennan sorrengail x rider! reader

word count: 1.1k

a/n: first and foremost, this is unedited. second, i've had this in my drafts since i finished reading fourth wing in september. i kinda wanted to make it a fic but lost some steam. i don't think i'll continue this but if i do it will be shorter blurbs/moments rather than the 10k monstrosities i like to write. i figured it wouldn't do anything in my drafts so here you go!

i like the idea of brennan having someone he befriends and takes under his wing while at basgiath war college. there's so much we don't know about him and this is me filling some of the gaps with the wonderful fanfiction.

i hope you enjoy! i honestly love fourth wing so damn much and i can't wait for onyx storm. i even have tickets for rebecca yarros tour in january. so yes, read, enjoy and let me know what you think!

The cold wind drifted around you, ruffling the grass and the branches of the dispersed trees. The sunrise was turning from a beautiful deep blue to a pale pink that bled into orange. The chill bites into your cheeks and nose, reddening them, but you welcomed it. It numbed the pain that continued to tear through your heart.

“You must stop thinking so much about him.” Your dragon Calliss shares through your link. She’s the angry voice in your head reminding you to move forward.

“I thought we agreed I could wallow in my misery this time of year.”

The day that marks his death came and went yet it left you with a whirlwind of emotions. You should’ve moved on long ago, the pain in your chest turned into a soft ache that you remember fondly as you rebuild your life without him. Still, it remains a deep gash that continues to bleed and keeps you up at night, unmoving.

“You have better things to do.” Calliss reminds you. Its inscription day and people from all over the continent will be arriving to drop off their children.

“Mhm. Yeah, sure.”

The red dagger tail huffs behind you. The air coming from her nostrils counteracting the cold breeze. She’s moody because you shut her out instead of letting her help.

The ground lightly shakes and the air stirs as another dragon lands near Calliss. General Sorrengail’s brown dragon, Aimsir. The older woman approaches you and sits down beside you on the damp grass. Despite her reputation she’s been kind to you, patient even. She’s kept you close, tucked under her wing just like he used to.

Your signet allowed Lilith to keep you closer than most. Otherwise, she’d have no choice but to leave you on your own to battle your emotional wounds.

It tends to weigh in your conscious that she only does it because you have the last piece of him. Had it not been the case, would she have cared as much?

At the same time, you’re eternally grateful. Had it not been for Lilith Sorrengail you would definitely be cold and dead. Despite all the bad days, there have been good ones woven in and you wouldn’t trade those for nothing in the world.

“Violet goes today,” Lilith says, looking at you sternly.

“You sure this is what you want to do?” You ask her, keeping your gaze on the mountain and the sunrise.

Lilith has discussed Violet's inscription with you time and time again. It's the one thing she continues to think about since the death of her husband, which is unusual. The woman is confident in her decisions, she's calculating and precise. A wonderful quality for a commander, but it falters when it comes to her children.

“Do you think she won’t be able to make it?”

You sigh and look down at the grass before your eyes shift up to look at her. “She’ll make it. She might've been raised by a scribe but she was also raised by you and Mira and Brennan which means Violet won't go down without a fight. She won’t go down easy. It is my belief dragons respect that.”

Saying his name is difficult. It's heavy on your tongue as you enunciate the syllables. So familiar yet strange at the same time.

Lilith hums in agreement, leaving a period of silence to hang in the air. She’s giving you time to talk, to bring him up. When you don’t she takes matters into her own hands.

“I can’t believe it’s been five years.”

“Only five and it feels like a century,” you scoff, pulling at the grass blades near your crossed feet. Calliss and Aimsir shuffle behind you two, making the ground tremble. It used to scare you as a cadet.

“You should get out there again, try and find something that at least resembles what you had with Brennan,” Lilith dares say.

You gasp in a sharp intake of air at the mention of his name. It’s not a surprise for Lilith to suggest such a thing. After all, it’s been five long years since Brennan left, died. But, does she not feel like she’s betraying her own son by suggesting this?

“She’s right,” Calliss voice purrs in your ear. She’s suggested it more than once, begging you to ‘release the tension you have inside.’ You've tried but the sense of betrayal that follows reopens old wounds.

“Hush, Calliss.”

Calliss growls from behind you, voicing her displeasure at you telling her to quiet. Humans do not tell dragons what to do.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able replicate what I had with Bren. It was forged at Basgiath under the threat of imminent death. I was another person there who needed help desperately and Bren was the perfect person to guide me. He was one of a kind, our circumstances were one of a kind. It might’ve been short lived but it held so much value.” You give Lilith a smile and shake your head, “I have everything I need. I’m making a name for myself, which was what I always wanted. I was married, and I have a child who I love to death.”

Lilith nods offering you one of her rare smiles. She stands, dusting off her clothes from any sticking grass. “Speaking of, we have to make our way back before he wakes and brings the house down.”

You nod and laugh, “Oh, he’s going to throw a fit when Violet goes.”

Your son and Violet are as thick as thieves. They get along well and Violet loves to spoil him. She’s never one to turn down babysitting or entertain him when you need a break. After all, he's what she has left of her brother.

“Maybe Mira will get him to calm down,” Lilith hopes, climbing up Aimsirs leg.

You have one question for Lilith. From the ground, glancing up at her you ask. “How do you do it? It’s been five years and I feel just as heart broken as I did that day.”

Brennan’s father passed away about a year ago. His heart giving out on him. All because of Brennan’s death. You mourned him too, he had always been kind to you and he loved his grandchild. It might’ve been the only reason he held on for so long.

Lilith sighs and takes a moment to form her words. “Your relationship was young and somewhat new, barely 4 years. He was the first person you trusted. You had your whole life ahead of you. My husband and I were together for nearly 30 years. We travelled all around Navarre, had three amazing children, and we watched them grow up. I wish he was here to see what will become of Violet but,” she pauses without finishing her sentence. “My point is you were full of what ifs and places to go. It’s hard to move on from that when you keep trying to make sense of it.”

“I wish I knew I was pregnant before he died so I could’ve told him. Maybe things would’ve been different,” you confess.

“Possibly. I know Brennan would’ve loved him.” With those last words General Sorrengail flies off, leaving you and Calliss alone once more.

“No more moping. We have a job to do,” she says, urging you to get on her back.

“Thank you for being patient with me,” you tell her honestly.

Calliss is opinionated but she wants what’s best for you. She continues to feel all the pain Brennan’s death caused you. All her snide remarks are only meant to encourage you to manage your pain and move forward.

“Beware. It’s running thin today.”

thoughts?

[kenziebluex]

The Broken Heart That Makes Us

Story Description: 

Your arranged marriage is on its last legs. After making an agreement with your step son, Megumi, you are puzzled when you are faced with finally making a decision.

Your whole life so far has been planned for you, leading you to struggle with the idea of moving on and finding something stable…someone stable.  

Will you finally be able to let go of the life that was made for you? Will there be others out there willing to pick up the pieces?

(18+) Pairings: Toji, Goji, Geto, Nanami, & Choso.

Chapter 1:

“Mom” Megumi said, knocking me out of my own thoughts.

“Are you okay?” 

That question was a hard one to answer. Leave it to Megumi to read me like the back of a book. We are currently on the way home after you picked him up from Jujutsu High. His last class ended at 4 and unfortunately you  didn’t make it to pick him up until 4:30. You got stuck in traffic after having a long argument with his father. If you were counting you  would say that it’s the 10th argument you have had with him this week and it’s only Wednesday

Releasing a quiet sigh you put on the same mask you always wear for Megumi.

“Yea I’m okay, how was class today?” you quickly reply, giving him your biggest smile while nudging his arm from the driver's seat. Since he recently turned 14 years old you have allowed him to sit in the passenger seat from time to time. Mostly when you pick him up from school so the other students don’t find some reason to pick on him. Megumi isn’t the most social so you do everything in your power to not be that embarrassing mom that refuses to let their kid grow up. If it was up to you he would be 14 years old forever.

 “Good..” he answered hesitantly like he had more to say. You can see him chewing on the string of his hoodie, something you know he does when he's nervous. 

“Anything else?” you question hoping he will give you a hint as to what he's thinking about. You never push but right now you are worried it’s something serious. 

“I have a tournament on Friday at 6pm.” Megumi muttered quietly.

You let out a sigh in relief that it isn’t bad news. He had you worried there for a second. Megumi has been in martial arts since he was 12 years old. You were hesitant to let him join at first but realized that you did feel better with the thought of him being able to defend himself. He fell in love with the sport and since then you have been his number one supporter attending all his events and taking him to all his practices. 

“You remember what we talked about right mom,,..I just need to know if you are serious because I am?” suddenly you begin to feel uneasy. You hadn't forgotten but maybe you just pushed it down so you wouldn’t have to think about it. You and him had an agreement, both of you frustrated with the treatment they were receiving from his father.

It wasn’t an easy decision and you have been putting it off for over 4 years now. That was until it started affecting Megumi's mental health a few years ago. Megumi was diagnosed with acute depression and was placed on small doses of medication to help with his anxiety. While he got the help he needed from a psychologist you still haven’t done your part and you knew what needed to be done.

“If he doesn’t come we have to move on.” Megumi whispered and you could feel him looking at you from the passenger seat.

Flashback

You can remember the day clearly. The day you were set to be wed to Toji Fushiguro.  When you got the call from your parents it was October 20th and you were walking into work. That morning you recall the leaves were falling from the trees at an extreme pace as the wind picked up rapidly around you.

Entering the office you were met by numerous stares and hushed whispers. You couldn’t make out many of the words but you remember hearing “married” and “Fushiguro”. You remember thinking to yourself that Fushiguro was the last name of the mafia leaders that your dad just represented in court. Your firm had managed to secure this case and it was an important one to a lot of important people. This was a case that went on for a year and lucky your firm was able to win. You didn’t think your parents would be alive right now if they failed. Even so you had no idea why everyone was looking at you.

Your questions were answered as soon as you walked into your fathers office. You were met with not only your parents but 2 middle aged men in suits along with a small boy that couldn’t be older than 12. 

You recognized the men as Toji Fushiguro and his father who you could recall having the last name Zenin. You only recognise them because they were a part of the many mafia leaders on trial that got off. You were aware of Toji having a son, who you assumed was the small boy standing next to him. 

Toji was nice to look, 6'2 but his height wasn't what you were focused on at the moment. It was his almost perfect face.

“Excuse me dad, you called me into your office, did you need something?.” you cut to the chase feeling uncomfortable standing in the room. You felt as though you were interrupting an important conversation and didn’t understand why your dad would call you into his office early in the morning. 

“Yes, gentlemen this is my lovely daughter I was telling you about” my dads voice boomed in the room as he guided me to sit in an open chair facing Toji. You could already tell by your fathers  voice he was coming up with some terrible idea. You were used to him trying to be flashy and show off to his colleagues and clients so you figured this time was no different. 

“Does she know about the agreement?” Toji said with a look not fazed by my fathers antics. 

“What agreement?” I said slightly, raising my voice looking to my father for an answer. Out of the corner of my eye I can see Toji shaking his head and his father looking unamused.

“Watch your mouth.” my father started his explanation. “You are to be wed to Toji, we have entered an arrangement with the Fushiguro/Zenin mafia. In exchange for winning the case his son would give us the honor of marrying my only daughter. We also will be greatly compensated for entering the family.” 

If you had a bottle of water you would drink it just to spit it out.

“Like hell I am” you said laughing while sitting in the chair holding your stomach from laughing so hard. What did he think this was some fucked up mafia romance novel. You knew your father was crazy but not this crazy. 

It took you a minute to recover from that mini laugh session. Tears of laughter were falling from your face. You felt a tap when you recovered that caused you to look up. You were met by the small boy in front of you holding out a water bottle. 

“My mom used to give me water when I would cry” he said in a quiet tone. 

“Thank you… what’s your name?” you said, taking the water from his hands gently. He looked very timed and you felt as though you didn't want to frighten him. 

“Megumi” he whispered while moving to stand back beside his dad. 

“Daughter, I'm serious. You are 20 years old and never had a boyfriend. You had your choice to marry wealthy. Our family could benefit substantially from this ordeal, plus you will also be greatly compensated.” my dad said with a stern voice. I used to be scared when he would use that tone of voice. You went to interject and curse him out but his next words stopped you in your tracks.

“I’m not giving you a choice here, the papers have already been signed”

What does he mean the papers have already been signed. The last time you remember signing anything was several days ago when he asked you to sign an agreement paper for him….

“You said that paperwork was so I can take lead on the next case” you said feeling deceived and knew you shouldn’t have gotten your hopes up of your father seeing your true potential. 

“Technically you will still be lead on the next case” your father said chuckling to himself. 

At this point you were left speechless. You didn’t know what to do. 

You thought of crying, thought of yelling, hell you even thought of throwing something in the room. You looked around at your surroundings but stopped when you landed on Megumi's face. 

He looked terrified. Why did he look terrified?

It hit you as soon as the question popped in your brain. He was terrified of you. Megumi was scared of how you would react and for some reason you didn’t want him to be scared of you. 

Taking a deep breath you addressed the room at once. Your tone of voice cold and stern.

“When?”

Flashback Over

Since that day you and Megumi have been joint at the hip. You got married to Toji 6 years ago and the marriage has been one of the hardest things you have gone through in your 26 years of life. 

You were wed by the end of the week after having that meeting in your fathers office. The wedding was a large wedding with over 300 guests that you didn’t know. At the time you didn’t know just how wealthy the Fushiguro/Zenin mafia was but you found out that day. The venue was decorated beautifully and the itinerary was laid out nicely even though you had no say in any of the schedule or the  decorations. You were practically treated as a guest at your own wedding. 

The Zenin’s provided you with a money compensation that you have kept saved away and have only spent on Megumi’s education. You enrolled him in the finest institution to make up for the fact that he had to deal with this fucked up situation. 

Now that you think back on everything it happened so fast and life has passed you by quickly. You were still married to Toji and living in his two bedroom apartment with Megumi. Toji managed to blow through his money gambling resulting in you guys downsizing in the last few years. You offered to pay for a better living arrangement but he declined your offer. He said he preferred smaller living. 

Not that it mattered because he doesn’t return home most of the time and if he does it’s late at night. Even though Toji’s family has money and you were both compensated for the arrangement he continuously blames you and Megumi for him not being able to ‘work’. You know what he means when he says ‘work’ and you suspect that he is already taking up odd jobs which has resulted in more arguments this week. 

Focusing back to the present you realize that you have arrived home. The lights are on so you assume Toji is still inside and you just hope he has calmed down from the argument earlier.

You and Megumi get out of the car to head inside. Picking up trash in the front of the entrance as you make your way up to the 4th floor. 

You just hope for peace for the rest of the night.

✿❀○❀✿

You don’t know why you stay.

Entering the apartment you aren’t shocked anymore by the scene in front of you. The living room table and the kitchen island you just cleaned the morning before was dirty. You only left out a few hours ago so it only took less than 4 hours for Toji to create the mess. Magazines and beer bottles on the table and carry out food containers left on the kitchen island. In the corner of the living room table was a gun along with a knife and several cigarette packs. At least he had the nerve to use an ashtray for the cigarettes. Sighing loudly you tell Megumi to head to his room noticing that the boy is already moving to head that way. Just like you, he is used to a routine whenever Toji is home. 

Your body moved like it was on autopilot. You quickly looked under the cabinet for trash bags to dispose of the empty items that he left along with the magazines. Toji reads them when he's here but you notice he never takes them when he leaves. They always end up staying on the table unless you throw them out. 

The gun and the knife were another story. You accidently threw out a small knife one time by accident when you were cleaning and Toji made it his mission to remind you of it constantly that night. He was mad and in the end it resulted in you and Megumi having to get a hotel for the night to get away from the constant yelling.

“What is wrong with me?” you question yourself outloud. You should have left a long time ago and when you found out the contract expired a few weeks ago you promised Megumi that you would take him with you. You hadn’t known that the marriage contract you ‘signed’ was only good for 5 years. So while you were still married to Toji the mafia argument that binds you guys together was no longer valid. You could get a divorce finally but when it comes to the custody of  Megumi that's a different story. 

Toji knew you were planning to divorce him. He actually pre-signed the papers last week stating that he would be gone before everything was even finalized. You were nervous to even bring up the conversation of taking custody of Megumi. Would he even care?

Focusing back to the living room you stare at the clean space. Everything was clean and clear except for the gun and knife. You didn’t know what to do as you didn’t want to touch the items. You were out of gloves since the last time you had to clean blood off of a towel Toji left on the couch. 

Not wanting to leave it there, you realized you had no choice but to wake up Toji. 

Walking to the master bedroom you turned on the hall light before peaking into the bedroom. “Toji” you said weakly hoping he wouldn’t hear you. 

“I’m not sleep”

“And if I was that weak ass whisper of my name wouldn’t have woke me up.”

You roll your eyes pushing open the door to enter. Your eyes adjust to the dim light and you are met with Toji laying on his back scrolling on his phone. The thick black cover is only pulled over his mid sections and his shirt is thrown on the floor next to the bed along with his slippers he occasionally wears indoors. His abs are on full display and his black hair has grown out, making his bed hair look messier. Even though you and him don’t get along, you have eyes, he looks like a finely made roman statue. 

“Can you please get the gun and knife off the table so I can go lay down peacefully?” you said trying your hardest to be nice for the sake of Megumi in the other room.

“Why can’t you just move it?” he replied, smirking while leaning up on his elbows causing the blanket to slip off his lap. 

“My eyes are up here ma.” he continued smirking at your obvious display of checking him out. He knows he looks good which doesn’t help.

“Cut the shit, I don’t know what you have used those for. Just move them so Megumi doesn’t see them.” you gave up on being nice. Toji makes it so difficult for you to remain calm. 

“Megumi this Megumi that, a little gun isn’t gonna scare him he grew up around it.” stated Toji laying back down on the bed. 

“Please Toji.” you sighed out walking further in the room. He looked over from his phone getting a better look of you. You could see his eyes taking in your black and red sundress you rushed to throw on earlier while you were rushing out. He must have thought of something because next thing you know he’s sitting back up.

“Where were you going to lay down?” he asked, looking me over. 

“The other room.” you answered. Even though he already knew the answer. Anytime Toji was present you choose to sleep in Megumi's rooms on an air mattress you guys kept for times like this. It was easier so that you could actually get some rest. 

“I’ll make you a deal. Come lay with me and I'll move the gun.”

“Fine” you gave in too quickly like you always end up doing. That's how you find yourself laid out on the bed with a half naked Toji above you. 

Toji started leaving kisses down your neck moving slowly. He loves to tease. It's been so long since you have hooked up with each other. You were sure Toji finds company in other people but you on the other hand don’t have the time or energy to venture out. Or at least that’s what you tell yourself.

“Get out of your head ma,.. think later” Toji muttered while taking your left breast into his mouth. He moved further down your body leaving several marks, he always leaves marks. By now you are whining and tugging on his head trying to move him further down to where you need him.

“Toji stop teasing.” you beg resulting in him biting hard on your right thigh. Drawing a sharp hiss out of your throat. 

“Was that an order babe?” Toji said, looking up from in between my thighs. He’s in that kind of mood today. You could tell it was going to be a long night. 

“No.” you say, turning your head into the pillow next to you while he adjusts your legs over his broad shoulders. A stutter left you at the movement. 

“Look at me” he said. Turning back and looking down you were met with a sight that always makes you weak. Toji had such an intense look on his face his eyes shined with a look of hunger. His once brown eyes looked to be black. He turned back to the task at hand knowing that your eyes wouldn’t leave him.

He left a couple more kisses and marks on your thighs and legs before burying his face into the middle of your legs. Your legs shook as he swiped his tongue over your clit before moving to fuck you with his tongue. His nose is now grazing your clit as he tongue fucks you. 

“F-fuck, please” you practically scream. You would be fucking into his face if it wasn’t for the fact that your legs were over his shoulders. 

Toji always ate you out as if he was starving. His mouth and tongue never missed anywhere grazing over all the sensitive parts of your pussy.You felt like you were floating every single time. It was always messy because he loved to take his time. He loved to make a mess of you. 

“Please, please–” you were holding his hair at point, being careful not to tug. You know if you did he would stop and you didn’t want that. You were practically crying which you knew was one of Toji’s favorite things. 

“Please what doll?” he said looking into your eyes, mouth wet and you can see his tongue licking at his bottom lip getting more of a taste of you. 

“Can I cum please Toji?” you asked as you could feel a couple of tears fall onto your check. By now he has been eating you out for over 30 minutes and you have given up on acting like you didn’t need him inside you.

“Hmm,,.not yet only after you have been good to me” Toji said, moving up from the position he was in. He was now sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Get on your knees doll.” he ordered. You could barely feel your legs as you got off the bed and kneeled between his legs. You hadn’t moved quick enough for Toji because you felt his hand firmly gripping your hair tugging you closer to him. 

“Suck me” Toji said, looking down at you. He hadn’t removed his sweatpants yet but you know what he wanted. 

You placed your lips on the outline of his dick. Sucking and licking at the cotton as if it wasn’t in the way. He groaned several times lightly pulling at your hair while grinding into your face. While he was patient with you when it came to his pleasure, that was a different story. 

Toji stood up pulling his sweatpants down while still keeping a firm grip on your hair.

“Ahh, wait-” you were cut off by him practically shoving himself down your throat. You were extremely wet now and knew you had to be leaking onto the floor. He was choking you on his cock which caused more tears to stream down your face. 

His hips moved pushing him deeper in your throat while his hands worked to control your head. You could feel the tip of his dick in the back of your throat. 

Toji was well endowed and if it wasn’t for you being with him sexually for the last 6 years you knew there was no way you would be able to take him this deep. He knew this and reminded you from time to time that he has ‘trained your throat’ for him. 

The sounds in the room were deep groans from Toji and moans from you that could be heard only when he slipped out of your throat. You could tell by his movement that Toji was close. Groaning his hips jerked and he slipped back, tapping his wet cock against your tongue. 

“Fu- Swallow it” he stuttered in between his higher pitched groans. He was moaning at this point. Surely enough he emptied in your mouth without giving you a chance to take a breath until he was done. 

As you went to swallow you were yanked to stand on your legs by your throat. He had a firm grasp on your throat that almost caused me to choke. He pulled me in front of him so you only had to glance up some to see his face. 

“Now swallow” he said, his hand not leaving your throat wanting to feel you swallow his load. You swallowed looking him straight in the eyes as you did. Your eyes were still teary and your legs were weak as you stood in front of him. That seemed to not be enough for him. 

“Open” he said in almost a whisper tone. Grazing his hand against your lips he looked as if he was holding himself back to not lose control. His eyes remained black and his expression didn’t give away what he was going to do. 

Toji gently grabbed your face with his other hand while you opened your mouth, remembering to keep eye contact. He leaned down and spit directly in your mouth. Hand still around your throat as you swallowed his spit. His spit tasted like cigarettes and you can smell the beer strong from his mouth. 

‘Smack’ his hand lightly smacked your face while he spit in your mouth again. The slap wasn’t hard but it still made a sound that echoed in the room. 

“I told you to stop thinking doll, it’s okay i’ll help you relax” Toji said walking you backwards until you fell on the bed with him on top of you. 

“Do you want me to make you cum?” he said, teasing his fingers at my entrance. 

“Please, y-you promised.” you sobbed at this point needing him inside you. You felt wet and empty and knew that the only way you would get relief is if he was inside you. 

“Promised?” he chuckled, slipping two fingers inside of you. He never starts with one knowing you will open right up for him. 

“Hmm.” he hums. 

“I don’t remember making that promise.” Toji moved on to tease your clit while his two fingers continued pumping into you at a slow rate. You were moaning into your hand while you were almost riding his fingers at this point. If he stops you, you might die.  

“I’m tired, maybe we should stop for the night doll.” he said, not looking tired at all. You knew he was testing you to see what kind of reaction he could get out of you. You didn’t want to give him the satisfaction but you needed to cum. 

You moved from under him pushing him on his back so you were now on top of him. Your legs were still shaking but you moved on and you were on your knees hovered over him. 

Reaching behind, you grip his cock lining him up with your entrance. You let out a gasp as his throbbing member entered you. You forgot that Toji doesn’t need much of a recovery after cumming, his second rounds always last longer. You might have taken on more than you can handle. 

“I found the papers you had in the bedside drawer” he said, giving you one of his flashy smiles while he leaned back with his hands behind his head.

What papers? The only thing you had in the drawer was…. Oh shit

You freeze up, not moving scared of his reaction.

“Don’t stop now doll” Toji grabbed my waist moving my body up and down slowly on his cock. 

“If you do a good job i’ll sign them for you” he casually said watching your boobs move up and down because of his actions.

“You promise?” you choked out feeling tears threatening to escape your eyes. He gave you a look like he was searching for what to say. His black eyes looked like their regular  brown color as he sat up so you two were face to face. 

“I promise.” Toji whispered into your lips kissing you for the first time tonight. You can’t recall the last time you guys kissed. This kiss was passionate and you were right about his breath smelling like beer but now you were fully tasting it. You weren’t used to this kind of emotion from Toji. You didn’t even compete for dominance just wanting to feel him close to you. 

The room was filled with moans and cries as you rode him into oblivion. Motivated by him signing the papers but you were also feeling an urgent need to make this memorable. Something was telling you that this was the last time that you would be able to feel him.

 You couldn’t tell who came first but you felt it as Toji filled you up. You thanked  yourself for starting birth control recently. 

When you caught your breath you moved to clean yourself up leaving Toji in the room. You took a shower in the bathroom using hot water to relax your muscles. After washing you glanced at yourself in the mirror. 

“Jesus.” you knew Toji left plenty of marks but you looked like you had been mauled. 

Leaving the bathroom after changing into one of your night gowns you were stopped in your tracks. Toji was now lying under the covers curled up on the right side of the bed. The lamp was on by the desk and while you walked over to turn it off you noticed papers and a pen sitting on the table. 

Picking it up you realized he had actually signed it. Toji signed the custody papers giving you full custody of Megumi. 

You couldn’t help but let out a soft sob. At this point you didn’t know if you were crying tears of joy or sadness. While you were losing a marriage you were gaining something more important. You couldn’t help but to have feelings for Toji after all these years and the thought of leaving scared you as he was the only thing you have known for the last few years. Starting over was scary but you knew you needed to. 

Turning to leave the room you were stopped by a hand on your arm.

“Don’t go. Lay with me, one last time.” looking down you were met by the face of the man you married 6 years ago.

tag: @beetusbritt❤ divider by @cafekitsune art credit 1: ig: arekushisu (commission do not use) art credit 2: twitter: ayushnz_ ❀follow for more ❀ ao3: kenzieblue❀

-kenzie & des

[carriesthewind]

Yeah so anyway, I'm making my response to this fucking garbage its own separate post in case people want to reblog it without having to reblog a scare-mongering lie.

This video pisses me the fuck off whenever I see it, and today I'm not in the mood to just scroll past.

Wow! Am I being lead to panic by scaremongering algorithm fodder completely unsupported by real evidence?! test:

The reason you think something exists is just what you're being told by a nefarious *them*, there is actually a conspiracy behind it!

I, an ordinary person with no expertise who critically examines the world around me, have uncovered this conspiracy.

"That's what they're telling you." (put the emphasis wherever appropriate for the conspiracy of your choice - in this case, it's on *telling*)

This new tech thing is actually a bad idea and the old school method was better - which clearly proves there must be a secret conspiracy, because why allow the possibility of incompetence and investor tech-hype when you can instead assume a highly-competent evil conspiracy?

I will now tell you my conspiracy theory while scrolling rapidly through a document without pausing or allowing you to actually read any of it. This allows me to look like I have proven my claims while doing nothing of the sort. Because do you really think someone could do that? Quickly flash a document on screen and just lie about what it says?

But Owl! This is real! A user upthread found the patent and it *does* prove it!

Yeah. I read the linked patent. Did you?

Let's quote the "real purpose" hidden in the patent, as claimed out in the video:

"The real purpose of these screens is to use the little camera at the top right here to scan your face and use AI facial expression analysis to judge whether or not you like the packaging designs of the product you're looking for."

This is complete made up horseshit.

First, let's look where the reblogger directs us, to column #4 on page 17:

"Preferably, each retail product container further comprises customer-detecting hardware, such as one or more proximity sensors (such as heat maps) , cameras, facial sensors or scanners, and eye-sensors (i.e., iris-tracking sensors). Assuming cameras are employed, preferably cameras are mounted on doors of the retail product containers. Preferably, the cameras have a depth of field of view of twenty feet or more, and have a range of field of view of 170 degrees with preferably 150 degree of facial recognition ability. Preferably, software is employed in association with the cameras to monitor shopper interactions, serve up relevant advertisement content on the displays, and track advertisement engagement in - store." (emphasis added and references to figures removed for readability)

That is the extent of the "nonconsensual data collection."

Now, to be fair, there is some stuff on page 18 and 19 which kinda-sorta-maybe has at least some relation to the claim in the video:

"Preferably, the controller/data collector is configured such that as a shopper stands or lingers in front of a given retail product container, the display associated with the retail product container changes yet again. At this point, preferably the controller/data collector has been able to use the customer-detecting hardware to effectively learn more about that particular customer, such as gender, age, mood, etc. The controller / data collector is configured to take what has been detected about the customer to determine which advertisement and other information to present to that particular customer on the display associated with the retail product container in front of which the customer is standing. By tracking shopper data in parallel with which advertising content is being served on all displays within the viewing range of the shopper, the retailer and the brands are better served, providing new analytics. As such, the system provides advertising, influence opportunities at the moment of purchasing decision, optimizing marketing spend and generating new revenue streams....

"Additionally, preferably all inputs collected by the IOT devices will be analyzed locally as well as remotely (via cloud) to provide the feedback inputs for the system to push more relevant/targeted content, tailored for the consumer. The analytics are preferably conducted anonymously, images captured by cameras are preferably processed to collect statistics on consumer demographic characteristics: (such as age and gender). This data is preferably subsequently analyzed for additional statistics for the retailers that are valuable for in-store merchandise layout design and smart merchandizing, including the ability to track the shoppers “traffic” areas, known as “heat maps”, areas were [sic] customers would concentrate more and spend more time exploring, etc." (emphasis added and references to figures removed for readability) (And note the repeated emphasis on preferably - they don't have a patent to do any of this.)

Which, like, not great! I fucking hate the idea of shit like this! But there is literally nothing here about monitoring your expressions to sell the data about how you react to packaging!

This isn't a nefarious plan hidden in the patent. It's tech bros adding on totally sick ideas about how they can sell this shit to walgreens. (Because to be clear, I'm sure walgreens's corporate office would love to collect and sell this kind of information. But just because they would, doesn't mean they can or are. And this patent sure as hell doesn't prove it.)

Because let me be clear: the image capture of consumers is so irrelevant to the product that it literally isn't even included in the claims section of the patent.

Because the patent is quite explicit and detailed about the idea they are selling big retails stores on - this is a better, new, innovative, tech-driven way to "provide an innovative advertising solution"! (The words "AI," "intelligent," and "machine learning" are deployed liberally, but in the same way that "blockchain" was a few years ago. It's advertising tech hype.)

I want to make it clear - the OP in the video is straight up lying to you. Whether for fun or profit or just attention, I don't know and I don't care. If you shared this, you probably should have know better, but everyone makes mistakes. OP, on the other hand, is just a fucking liar.

But Owl! What about "the senators looking into this"?

I don't know how to tell you this, but thing linked about is a press release by a politician's office. That doesn't mean it's not true, but it's not evidence on it's own. Like, the letter linked in the link included links to sources, but is not itself evidence (ooh, layers of links to actually get to a source, my favorite)(actually my computer wouldn't even goddam open the links to the source, I had to independently search for it).

Anyway, the letter to Kroger linked in the press release by the senators contains a single sentence and a single link relevant to the claim here (linked for your convenience because it sure as hell wasn't for mine). Unfortunately, this article is itself based on a goddam press release (That isn't linked! Again, you're welcome.)

And when we finally get to the underlying fucking source. "In addition to transforming the customer experience and enhancing productivity for associates, the EDGE Shelf will enable Kroger to generate new revenue by selling digital advertising space to consumer packaged goods (CPGs) brands. Using video analytics, personalized offers and advertisements can be presented based on customer demographics." So it's purporting to something *kind of* like the claim in the video, but an entirely different format completely unrelated to the thing the video is scaremongering about.

Now Kroger did actually start using the advertising screens in 2023. And you can believe what you want about the data privacy claims and the claims about not using video, just sensors (which remember is entirely consistent with the patent). But remember: being skeptical of a company's claims is fine and good! It does not mean you have proven they are lying, and it especially does not prove you have claimed they are doing something extremely specific! And most of the articles, and the letter from the senators, are (much more reasonably) concerned about so-called "dynamic" or surge pricing. (Which is not related to the screens.)

Like goddamn. Aren't there enough real problems with surveillance and price-gorging to be concerned about without having to make up fake ones? Hell, why can't we at least be concerned with the real problems with those dumb screens, which is that the a) make shopping harder and b) catch fire?

[calder]

 Fallout 3 was originally in development at Black Isle Studios, codenamed Van Buren, but it was cancelled when Bethesda bought the IP.

 At one point, designer John Deiley was creating an area called the Nursery, a Noah's Ark-like location which housed pre-war fauna.

 He planned to have Pagans and Wiccans take up residence here, but Chris Avellone allegedly said no, banning them outright.

scream

not to dwell on the dev tension of this too much -- it's very exciting to find such a strong link between V29 and occultism

would really love to pick this guys brain

edit oh my god. yeah cool we can "disprove" the headline of this anecdote by identifying the cult in the van buren design doc. i can also read the top of the article. wanna unpack this?

"He said, 'You are not to bring Paganism or Wiccanism or anything into the game,'" Deiley recounts. "I said, 'Well, Chris, what do you think happened to these people when the bombs went off? Did every one of them just vanish from the face of the Earth? When you consider the whole purpose of the Nursery, wouldn't they make the perfect tenants and tenders?' [He said,] 'I've made my decision' and just turned around and walked off."

@ChrisAvellone: There was a faction you could join, do quests for, and potentially lead in Van Buren that was a pagan faction (Daughters of Hecate). Might have bad info from source?

Deiley said 'he pointedly told me i wasn't allowed to develop this faction descending from pre-war pagans' avellone defended himself by saying 'but i made my own faction which could be called post war pagans'

deiley is describing a thing that happened. the oral history of fallout is richer for this detail & the impulse to entirely deny the reality of his account by calling another van buren faction pagan is an unflattering defensive technicality

these two men worked on eight video games together. they stood in a room together and one of them shit on the other one's creativity repeatedly. his defense is 'he described it imperfectly; i proceeded to do that idea myself'

i just wanted to learn more about the creativity of this furtive fallout vet.

the accusation that someone 'banned paganism from a fallout game' is not remarkable or meaningful enough on its own to be worth negating. we know for a fact deiley was responsible for talking deathclaws and chris avellone killed them and publicly made hostile jokes about it. he complained about deiley's idea (which he already killed) for being hippie shit for a quarter of a century.

WOULD THIS MAN SHIT ON AN IDEA????????

"I’ve always hated aliens in Fallout, for example, and as I’ve often told Tim Cain, I was pretty fucking pissed off he thought including ghosts in Fallout was a good idea. It’s like you’re opening the goddamn door to the spirit world in a post-apoc game, and that’s a whole separate aesthetic detour in a franchise that’s already been placed in danger of losing its direction by being given to a bunch of newbs.” -Avellone, recounting the first time he worked on a fallout game

one of avellone's co-workers revealed that he stomped on their idea and his rebuttal is that he implemented a similar one elsewhere

it is embarrassing that he responded this way

[talesofesther]

late night blues

Tara Carpenter x Reader

Summary: Tara is often plagued by the memories of what she's been through. Luckily she has you to remind her that life can still be warm and sweet.

A/N: This idea was given to me by my dear @iamnicodemus, I really hope you like it. It is my first time writing for Tara, guys, so be nice to me. Requests for her are open, just be mindful of my guidelines. <3

Masterlist

The TV was talking to itself. It was late at night already, too late for you to not be in bed.

But you were starting to get used to the constant noise of the cars on the streets, and the couch was so comfortable.

After the days you've been having, the short walk to the bedroom felt like too much of an effort.

Though it wasn't the smartest decision, because when you stirred awake with the sound of erratic knocking on your door, your neck and back were complaining in pain.

You opened your eyes slowly, lazily blinking away the sleepiness and adjusting to the bright TV in front of you. It was some poor reporter who was talking, forced to say the less exciting news at — with a frown, you felt around on the couch until you found your cellphone — 2:47 AM, great.

Leaving your phone on the coffee table, you stretched your sore muscles, basking in the eery feeling of having only the TV and street lamps from outside as your source of light in the small hotel room.

It was a temporary situation, only until everyone could get properly settled in New York. A cheaper hotel in the outskirts of the city, the rooms weren't huge — just a small joined living room and an excuse for a kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom — but it was enough, cozy in its own simple way.

The knocking came again and brought your still drowsy body back to reality. You got up from the couch with a groan and dragged yourself to the door.

Upon turning the lock and opening the door, you regretted not doing a quicker job of greeting your late-night visitor.

Tara stood in front of you, shaking like a leaf. She wore her fluffy pink jacket, hugging it impossibly closer to her body the best way she could manage with her bandaged hand; shifting awkwardly on her feet. The dim orange light of the hallway reflected against her cheeks, allowing you to see fading tear tracks on them. Her eyes, red-rimmed and wide, were looking at you with a silent plea.

"Hey," you whispered gently, tentatively. You peeked outside to take a one-second glance to the right where the door to her and Sam's room was, "is everything okay?"

Tara's lips hovered yet she couldn't speak, a lump formed in her throat that she had to gulp back. The nightmares — memories — remained all too vivid in her mind, blurring her sight and forcing her to stifle a sob.

She came looking for her source of comfort before even fully waking up, in nothing but a mess of unsteady feet and shaky breaths.

It was unfair, that someone so innocent took the worst of it.

You reached out a hand for her with the encouragement you knew she needed, "come here."

Tara limped forward, a lone tear rolling down her cheek. Maybe because walking was still painful. She said nothing as she threw herself into your arms, soft sobs being muffled by your hoodie.

You did your best to hold her tightly and stay mindful of her still-healing injuries. One hand cradling her head, your lips brushing the shell of her ear as you whispered promises you hoped to keep.

There was an unbearable weight to your chest whenever Tara came to you in nothing but shreds of herself. Barb wire wrapping itself around your throat like a constant reminder of the permanent scars.

Sometimes you wish you could take her pain to yourself.

You felt her tears trickling down your neck when Tara buried herself into you. She sucked in a sharp breath when she accidentally pressed her injured hand too forcefully into you — yet refused to let go despite the bitter sting.

Keeping one hand around her, you used the spare one to close the door. Turning the lock, just in case.

"Let's sit down, I can make you some hot chocolate if you want," you suggested, gently swinging your bodies together from side to side.

With a sniff, Tara pulled back, using your arms for support to ease the tension on her bad leg. She gave you a soft nod with an even softer smile. It was bittersweet to see her glistening, swollen eyes trying to convey some happiness.

You took her to the couch, sitting her down on the same spot you were previously occupying. There was a fuzzy blanket that instantly became your favorite when you checked in the hotel for the first time a few nights ago; you brought it around Tara's shoulders, making sure she was all snug and warm before you turned to go to the kitchen.

Tara's eyes widened the slightest bit at the mere idea of you putting distance between you and her, it tugged at your heartstrings that something so simple got her so terrified.

You kissed her forehead and promised to be back in less than five minutes. And you did, holding a warm mug of hot chocolate between your hands.

She deserves nothing but sweetness and warmth anyway.

Before sitting down beside Tara, you took a second to yourself to take her in. She looked adorably small between the mountain of blankets and cushions; her hair was a bit of a mess, up in what was supposed to be a bun, a few strands still clinging to the cold sweat on her forehead; she was looking at the TV, but you could tell her eyes were unfocused.

Tara offered a piece of the blanket to you as soon as you were beside her, carefully taking the mug you offered. She hummed appreciatively after the first sip, allowing the sweetness to calm her nerves.

She had one hand around the mug, the other feeling between the blankets until she found yours and gingerly took it, closing her fingers around yours the best she could with the bandage on her palm.

Unbeknownst to you, you became Tara's anchor. You were the person she sought out when the memories became too much to bear. It's not often that she wants to talk about it, trying to avoid at all costs to relive all that happened — all that panic, the pain, the fear of trying to crawl away from death but knowing you're not fast enough. So most nights, you hold her, you warm her up, you try to get her to smile, you make her hot chocolate. Warm and sweet.

And it was just your mistake, that your cellphone was not muted.

Its ringing was loud in the middle of the quiet night, vibrating against the coffee table as the screen lit up with Sam's name.

Tara flinched back so forcefully that even you got startled, she spilled a bit of the hot drink on her fingers but didn't really react to it, her eyes glued to your phone. Her breathing was suddenly all over the place, too fast as she couldn't get enough air in.

You mumbled a string of curses under your breath, getting up so fast that you almost fell face-first on the floor when your feet got tangled in the blankets.

Firstly you took the mug with hot chocolate from Tara's hand, she was shaking violently and you didn't want her burning herself. Then you answered the damn phone.

"Hey… she's here, don't worry," you comforted a worried Sam, keeping your eyes on Tara.

Your heart broke all over again.

With unsteady hands, Tara scrambled for the inhaler in her pocket, doing her best to ease her breathing. The images of the TV highlighted the path her tears left behind, with more still pooling on the bottom lid of her dark eyes.

"Yeah, of course," you spoke, setting down the mug on the coffee table, "I will, bye Sam."

You sighed, feeling a wave of guilt wash over you, "hey, it's okay," you turned off your phone, making sure to put it on silent mode.

Tara tried drying off her cheeks, quiet sobs making her shoulders shake.

Your feelings escaped you and you sat down beside her, taking her into your arms, "it was just Sam, she didn't know where you were." You spoke against her hair, moving your hand up and down her back to try and ground her. "I'm so sorry," you whispered.

Tara had a white-knuckled grip on your hoodie, her lips brushing your collarbone. "I keep getting back there," there was a sudden rawness to her voice, it broke by the end and she could taste the salt of her own tears, "every time I close my eyes, or- or hear a damn phone ringing, I'm back at the hospital, at my house-" a sob interrupted her, but the feeling of your arms tightening around her kept her going, "only this time, I can't get away."

Each beating of your heart hurts against your ribs, it wants to leap out of your chest and into her hands — even this close is not close enough; even with her in your arms, you still want to protect her more. Your thumb found the corner of her lip and moved up her cheek, brushing away her tears with the pad of your finger like a promise of safety.

"I can't sleep. I'm terrified of being alone," Tara melted against you, her good hand sneaking under your hoodie to feel the warmth there, "it's almost as if I- I see her-" she cut herself off and you knew she was talking about Amber, sometimes you wondered what hurt her more; the wounds or the betrayal.

Tara took in a shaky breath, her lips quivering, "I see her in dark corners, and it- it hurts-" she cradled her bandaged hand close to her chest, striving to chase away the hurt, the memories. The small act got you holding back tears.

"Because we were- we-"

"I know," you reassured her, feeling how it was becoming increasingly harder for her to speak. You cupped her face as your lips found her cheeks and you lightly kissed away her tears. "You never deserved any of it, and I'm so sorry I couldn't stop it from happening."

The back of your throat was burning. You brushed back loose strands of her hair, admiring how the freckles over her nose took in the glow of the street lamps that sneaked through the windows; thanking every possible entity that she was here for you to do so, "I'm so sorry I wasn't there. You have no idea how scared I was of losing you."

Tara blinked her eyes open, teardrops still clinging to her eyelashes. "You're here now. As am I." She said as a reassurance both to you and herself.

Your heart bled for her and her only. It hurt just how much you felt for her, how much you loved her. Though it was the good kind of pain.

You smiled, ever so gentle with the way you took hold of her hand — because gentleness is all she deserves — and placed a kiss on each of her knuckles, your lips brushing over the white bandages on her hand.

"I hope you know you're never getting rid of me."

And Tara chuckled, all teary-eyed and fragile, the smile finally somewhat reaching her eyes. "I'm counting on it."

It felt a lot like healing. And truth was, maybe you were both a bit of a mess, but existing together made it feel like you didn't need anything else to feel whole again.

A beat passed where you two just looked at each other, both wondering if the other is feeling the same, yet not having the courage to ask.

Tara's chest was rising and falling more steadily now. Without the weight of — for lack of a better word — your trauma, the hotel room held an intimacy to it.

Her eyes drifted down to where your hand held onto hers. Where others hurt, you cared. She was looking at you as if you were everything she'd ever thirsted for; as if no one else made sense.

"You think it's already cold?" Tara tilted her head to the mug on the table, if anything, to clear the sudden timidness growing between you.

You hummed, stretching forward to grab the mug, "I don't think so," you brought it to your lips and took a sip, the sweet beverage still warm on your tongue.

Tara took it from you with a smirk threatening to appear; she leaned back on the couch, hugging the covers closer to her chest and drinking from the same spot your lips had just been.

You're not sure why it raised goosebumps on your skin.

On the TV, a random movie had been playing for a while now, you didn't care much for it as long as it worked to take Tara's mind off of things — which seemed to be working just fine. She snuggled up to you as soon as you leaned back as well, her head finding your shoulder as she kept her eyes on the pirates braving the seven seas in front of her.

You could get used to this, you decided.

"Can I stay here for the night?" Tara asked hesitantly, glancing up at you, "the rest of the night, that is."

You bumped her knee with yours. As if you'd ever say no. "Only if you promise to stay tomorrow too."

And every day after.

⋆* ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

Thank you for reading this little story. Feedback and reblogs are literally what keeps me motivated to continue posting here, so I’d appreciate it if you could take some time to reblog and comment if you want. <3

Tara’s taglist: @milkiane @v1ci0us

[genderliquid-witch]

Do flowers bloom from walkers? (Radical optimism in The Walking Dead: The Final Season)

I remember playing The Final Season for the first time way back in October of 2022 and immediately being blown away by how polished the game was in comparison to its predecessor. I mean I had always loathed the visual style of A New Frontier, so this comic-book inspired look was a nice change of pace, especially once combined with the expert use of lighting that is present throughout the game. But what really took me off guard, more so than anything else, was the opening credits.

I mean, obviously; these games had never done anything like this before. And while I'm fond of the whole FADE IN TITLE ACCOMPANIED BY OMINOUS MUSICAL CUE, this was a welcome change. But there was one specific image that stuck with me throughout my playthrough: the decomposing walker (pictured above), painted in greyscale, with the only colour being the stark red background and the yellow flowers blooming from its corpse. I like to think that it was an intentional decision that ties into the game's themes and not just "Oh this looks cool, let's do it", but it weirdly never came up again. So I was kind of just left to play the game while it loomed in the back of my head, waiting for its moment to shine.

It wasn't until almost a year later where I'd figure out what the image represented, or at least my interpretation of it, and I settled on this conclusion: this decomposing walker is supposed to represent this apocalyptic world, and the flowers symbolise the people that attempt to build from it, in this case the Ericson's kids.

I've had this opinion for a while that if the first three games show the attempts and failures to re-establish the old world ideals of order and civil society, then The Final Season serves as a rejection of that idea. From the walker-ridden fortress of Crawford in Season One to the bureaucratic nightmare that was the New Frontier, it's an accepted fact that these attempts at returning to the methods of days gone is ultimately futile and will result in total collapse, largely due to the decisions of its rulers. While we could argue about which of these groups is truly the worst, they all originate from the same basic principle: a desire to return to normality. Crawford, Howe's, the New Frontier; these groups were formed by people who, while cruel and monstrous in their own ways, all had the admittedly noble goal of attempting to return order to this ravaged world, but failed due to their leaders' cruel and selfish actions.

Or did they? (Vsauce sfx)

There's this interaction Lee has with Katjaa in the very first episode of Season One that has stuck with me for a while. It's an optional dialogue so it's very easy to miss (I did on my first playthrough), but when Katjaa hopes that things can go "back to normal", Lee has the option of expressing resentment for this old world:

"But they weren't before? The banks, the politics, the--the crap--those things are gone. Hell comes in a lot of different colors."

Usually this "fuck the old world" sentiment is expressed by sociopaths who are excited to enact their sadistic desires onto other survivors, but Lee's resentment for society feels a lot more justified. The fact that Lee is a black man who's specialty is American history makes his criticism of wanting to go back to how things were feel more warranted; he's someone who understands how corrupt and unjust the societal structure of the past was, so of course he'd feel conflicted about longing for its return.

And while this is just a small interaction, I feel it plays into what I've been talking about. Crawford, Howe's, the New Frontier; did these factions collapse because of their evil leaders, or because they were emulating an inherently unjust and corrupt power structure? Their desire for order and stability allows them to see past the cruelties that came with building these hierarchical societies, to the point where they begin to mimic governments of the old world (Crawford, discrimination and the outlining of "undesirables"; Howe's, prison labour and terror; the New Frontier, imperialism and state corruption). So these failed factions force us to ask the question: is a return to order possible in this world?

It isn't until the The Final Season that the games give us an answer to that question: no, it isn't, but that doesn't mean you can't start something new.

When introduced to Ericson's it's made immediately apparent how different they are to any other group we've met before. While there's the obvious homage to Lord of the Flies with a group being made up of entirely children, I think this is more than just a "well it's the final game, best do something interesting". Children are a symbol of hope and optimism, but also of potential and, in a more abstract sense, the future. They are clay that has yet to be moulded, with infinite potential, a luxury most adults don't have. So I don't think it's a coincidence that the main group in this game, and the one that Clementine eventually settles with, is comprised entirely of children: it feels like an intentional choice to highlight how this group will be the one to survive on account of how they have the potential to create something new.

And it's not just their age demographic that makes Ericson's so distinct from the other groups in the series, but also their power structure. Following Marlon's death, their is no one person in control of the group. Sure, there are leaders (Violet takes the chair once Marlon's out of the picture, and upon her return Clementine becomes the one who's advising the group), but they feel like role models and advisors more than anything. When Violet takes the reigns it doesn't seem like anyone truly acknowledges her authority, and she doesn't even seem to enforce it either. Same goes for Clem; she doesn't really express any desire to control the rest of the group, instead preferring to make decisions in a more democratic manner as to include everyone's individual skills and expertise.

Ericson's vision of society more closely resembles that of an anarchist commune than any government that previously existed, and it manages to be the only group left standing by the end. It's through cooperation and an altruistic attitude that keeps them alive in the end; their concerns for the survival of the group far outweigh any desire to create "order". And I don't think it's a coincidence that a majority of the game's antagonists (Lilly, Minerva, and even James) are people who represent the past. Lilly is obsessed with the cruel lessons her father taught her and prides herself in her attachment to the militaristic level of discipline that she inflicts upon her subordinates. Minerva is essentially a ghost of the past, with her whole arc with Violet and Tenn serving as a lesson on the dangers of holding onto the past. James, while good natured and mostly kind, can't bring himself to accept the fact that the world has changed, and its these beliefs that either kill him or sever the only connection he had made in years.

To conclude, while Telltale's The Walking Dead is a series that is rife with conflict and tragedy, I also find it to be a story that is ultimately about hope. I always considered that Lee's greatest lesson to Clementine wasn't how to shoot a gun or to cut her hair, but instilling within her a radical sense of hope, the idea that things can be better, and you should always try your damnedest to make it happen. That even in the most desolate of circumstances, something profoundly beautiful can bloom.

Or maybe I've been wrong this whole time and flowers growing out of a walker just looks really cool.

[tellmegoodbye]

A not-so-brief analysis of Carlos and Gabriel's relationship and Carlos' decision to join the Texas Rangers.

We know Carlos is going to join the Rangers, and we also know that season 5 is going to dive into the emotional significance of this choice. This article touches on that, but I wanted to do a bit more of an in-depth analysis of this choice for Carlos and how it relates to his relationship with Gabriel.

Thank you @herefortarlos for reading this over for me and making sure my rambling was at least somewhat coherent!

First, let's take a look at how Carlos feels about other roles, and whether or not they would be something that he would want.

When Carlos was first offered the opportunity to take the detective's exam, he didn't immediately say no. In fact, his face lit up at the idea. It's something that caters to a specific ability that he has, and it's clearly something he considers before eventually deciding against it. Is it an easy decision? No. That much is obvious in the way he tells Grace that he's not a detective in 3x11.

Clearly, he wants to be the person who solves the cases. He wants to have more of an impact than simply just being there for someone's worst moments. He wants to do more to make these moments easier. He wants to find answers and provide closure, and doing so gives him the kind of purpose that he's been looking for. We can see that when he's praised by Detective Washington and Athena. We see that when he brings Katie back to her parents and when he helps Grace seek justice for Lexi.

Still, he turns down the idea of becoming a detective. He's nonchalant in his explanation to Detective Washington. He tells her it's because he wants to be in the moment, stopping problems before they start. And this is true! Carlos is someone who craves control. He would rather be the person who stops the abusive partner from hurting his girlfriend in 2x05, who saves the girl trapped in her food truck in 2x02, instead of the person who has to go inform the families of their deaths. He can't be a comforting presence in those scenarios.

Slowly, I think Carlos begins to see that he can make an impact in many different ways. That there's still value in picking up the pieces after damage has been done, because the lives of everyone involved do not stop after a trauma. Now, Carlos not only sees the value in this, but he also learns that he is someone who has a talent and a drive for it. He has a desire to make things right in any way that he can. However, as much as he clearly loves the idea of allowing himself to thrive in his career, to be the person who solves the case and brings peace and closure to people, he still can't get past the powerlessness he'll feel when he comes across a case that he can't solve, or a problem that he can't fix in time.

A lot of these reservations could definitely translate to the Rangers, but there's something deeper there than what he was able to express at the time. Something that made him have a very immediate, negative reaction, as opposed to remaining a patrol officer or becoming a detective.

Part of it is exactly what he expressed, but history is not the only factor at play here. It's not what sets this role apart from the others. Part of it is his freedom within his role, the ability to be proactive, instead of reactive, but another major factor that he's probably somewhat aware of, but just couldn't express in front of Gabriel, is that the main difference when it comes to the Rangers is that he would be working with his dad. I'm not positive of how the hierarchy works but even if he wasn't officially working under Gabriel, he would still be a hovering presence. Having Gabriel within his vicinity feels like a loss of freedom for Carlos in its own way.

It's not just about working with Gabriel either. It's about what Gabriel represents to Carlos. He trusts his judgement, this is evident in the way Carlos tries to calm TK down in 2x12. He knows Gabriel will do his due diligence and that he won't settle for the easy answers, which lied with Owen as a suspect at the time. Carlos knows his dad does his job well, but he doesn't see him as someone who actively strives towards something better. He saw mostly indifference throughout his childhood, and this significantly impacted his perception of Gabriel.

gif by me

We know a slightly different view of Gabriel from Andrea. She saw all of the parts of him that he tried to hide from the rest of the world. She's the one he shared his innermost feelings with. Andrea knows, and tells us, that Gabriel cared a lot about leaving things better off than they were when he got there. But that picture causes dissonance for Carlos when for most of his life, he knew the version of Gabriel who struggled with his coming out. Who wasn't able to take the steps to reassure him. Who never learned to have conversations about his feelings instead of shutting them down. In his job, Gabriel wanted to change the cycle, but at home, he couldn't. The cycle of repressed feelings continued through Carlos, and it left him with a lot of trauma.

Carlos has gotten to a point where he has confidence in himself. He feels comfortable standing on his own two feet and making tough decisions on the job, but when Gabriel is around, it's a different story. I doubt he would have been able to make the decisions he did in Bad Call if Gabriel had been there from the start. He knew he could trust his instincts, but when Gabriel came in to question him, Carlos began to question himself. All of that self-doubt that came with years of wanting to be good enough for his father came bubbling up to the surface.

Looking back on how much tension came from working with Gabriel then, Carlos doesn't want to go back there. He doesn't want to feel like that again when he and Gabriel have spent all this time mending their relationship. He doesn't want to comprise everything that he wants to be in favor of working under Gabriel's expectations.

Now, let's take a look at the complexities of Carlos and Gabriel's relationship. We know his role with the Rangers contributed significantly to how Carlos viewed the job as a whole, but this story isn't just about a job. Their careers are only a vehicle for them to better understand themselves and their relationship.

We know they started the reconciliation process after this episode, but it seems they only started to scratch the surface of all of the conversations that needed to be had between them. In 4x12 Carlos says he only just started a relationship with him, and has a clear desire to build on that. However, when we get to 4x17 the pain in his eyes reflects something that he hasn't yet received closure for.

This scene does so much more than introduce the idea of Carlos joining the Rangers. For the first time, we're not just seeing Gabriel through Carlos' eyes. We're not just seeing Carlos struggling with feeling inadequate in his father's eyes. We see two individuals who love each other, but who both harbor a lot of shame towards themselves. We see two people who are afraid they aren't good enough in each other's eyes. We can hear Gabriel's pain just as much as we hear Carlos' when he asks him how long he's been ashamed of him.

The shame Gabriel feels in himself isn't a product of his career, but of the mistakes he made as a father and the fear he still struggles to express. He can see how all of this has affected Carlos. We've seen, and will continue to see Carlos' journey with learning who Gabriel was as a person, outside of his role as his father. And in turn, Carlos will hopefully come to learn more about all of the feelings Gabriel had that he failed to express to him. Starting with his feelings towards Carlos' ability to do his job.

Clearly, Gabriel knows Carlos is competent. He's practically glowing when he offers Carlos the position with the Rangers, but has he always felt this way? Well, it's complicated.

Carlos says that he thinks Gabriel saw him as being too soft. There very well could be some truth here. As much as Gabriel and Andrea love their son, his coming out would not have completely changed their thinking overnight. It took time for them to rewire their brains, for Gabriel in particular to erase previously held ideas of masculinity and understand Carlos as a person. Having said that, this is again only one factor.

Gabriel looks at Carlos not with judgement, but with reflection. He sees much more of himself in Carlos than he would care to admit, and that's why the main thing he would have felt upon learning of his career choice would be fear. He's scared, and that's not an emotion he's comfortable outwardly expressing, so Carlos only sees the way he tries to rationalize his fear. He doesn't see what Gabriel sees when he looks at him, which is someone who is driven, passionate, and someone who will sacrifice himself for others. The last thing Gabriel wants is to watch Carlos repeat the mistakes he made and put himself at risk by being stubborn like him. To close himself off emotionally just like he did.

We see all of this come to a head in 4x04 when Gabriel is weirdly calm. He falls back on habits that are necessary for his survival, and for Carlos'. And we can see that he's obviously been mentally preparing himself for this moment ever since the day Carlos told him he was going to become a police officer.

Learning this about Gabriel will offer a lot of closure for Carlos, because when I see the frustration and anger on his face in 4x17, I see more than surface level reservations about this specific role. I see the kid who desperately wants to ask his father "Why now? Why are you proud of me now? Why did I have to wait so many years for you to have confidence and pride in me? Why are you asking me to come work with you when you didn't even believe I could do my job two years ago, when you didn't support me or defend me, when you never trusted that I had the ability to make the right decisions in the field? How do you expect me to work in an environment where my instincts and opinions aren't respected?"

And I wish Gabriel could have gotten the chance to answer these questions. To show him that his idea of what it means to do good is more in tune with Carlos' than he ever knew. To have a conversation about his own shortcomings and mistakes that he made as a father, to apologize for all of those years of walls he built between them, for the time it took for him to become more comfortable in his own emotions.

Gabriel was slowly learning to be more open and honest, to allow himself to feel emotions like fear, like sadness, and anything else he's spent nearly his entire life bottling up. If there was one conversation he absolutely needed to have with Carlos, it's this. The most important lesson he had to learn, which was that emotional maturity and masculinity go hand in hand. Having emotions doesn’t make you incompetent, and it's what you do with those emotions that make you a more functional person.

Or, in Owen's words, "There should be a heart behind that shield."

This is a lesson Carlos is still learning too. Even without his dad, he's going to have to learn to be comfortable in the absence of control. He's going to have to learn how to let go, to grieve even if he doesn't have answers or justice. He will grow as a person, and he will find solace in that feeling of the unknown that he's been fighting against for so long. It's with this obsession, this determination that he will come to realize he does not have to be the end all be all for every problem. That he is allowed to be imperfect and make mistakes, that he can be human and still do amazing things in any role he chooses.

We lost Gabriel far too soon after he made this discovery for himself. That's part of the tragedy. But Carlos is still here, and he will grow in ways his father never got the chance to. That is one of the many ways that he'll honor his memory.

He's going to learn a lot about himself in season 5, and along the way he will also learn a lot about his father. In the end I think he's going to find his own version of closure when it comes to their relationship. He'll find the answers he's looking for in terms of Gabriel's murder, and in terms of what Gabriel saw when he looked at him. Which is, and always was, pride. Even if he struggled to show it for so long.

I don't know what exactly his journey is going to look like, but one thing I do know is that Carlos is going to grow and become more comfortable in his own skin than he ever has been before. And that's the most important thing at the end of the day.

[hoyotournament]

Quarterfinals: Bronya Zaychik vs Collei

(Propaganda under the cut)

Bronya Zaychik:

revamping this bc i feel like it could be better: i love her so so bad <3. canonically disabled lesbian who has trouble with feeling intense emotions BUT HER ENTIRE CHARACTER REVOLVES AROUND LOVE!! whether it be from her romantic love of seele in the early game/manhua (it being the primary motivation for her to take care of herself and a partial reflection of her initial goal of saving seele from the quantam space no matter what); familial love surrounding her (her inheritance of the legacy of reason from welt yang who lost his own father, her guardians love for her being the only reason shes survived for so long even after their death <- many examples of that but the most obvious one being alexandra trading her own life for bronya via misteln, cocolia's relationship with bronya being emphasized as complex in part because of the real love they do feel for each other alongside all the other resentment from cocolia's betrayal of her), literally just. the core of reason and its 300,000 minds being representative of welt joyce's decision to fight for humanity because he loved humanity from that. and all of this from (again!!!) a canonically disabled lesbian! who's character and marginalized identities have been dehumanized over and over again in real life and in the plot! this isn't even mentioning how her entire arc exemplifies honkai's theme of agency!! which makes me sob my eyes out bc bronya hasn't really been allowed agency since she came to cocolia's orphanage!! she was a child mercenary who's lost her home and guardians over and over and over again and forced to care for herself when she was young. her first true point of domestic stability was in cocolia's orphanage (which even then wasn't perfect!! cocolia, for how much she loved her children, still asked them to participate in dangerous experiments!) and when that was threatened because of her loss of seele and her trust in cocolia, she chose to leave. her agency is also exemplified with cocolia literally taking over her body in the early chapters of the game and ofc the parallels w wendy. AND DO YOU SEE HOW THIS CONNECTS TO WELT JOYCE, HUMANITY'S ADAM, WHO CHOSE TO FIGHT FOR HUMANITY AND EMBRACE HIMSELF AS A HUMAN INSPITE OF HIS ORIGIN AS THE CURRENT ERA'S FIRST HERRSCHER AND HOW THAT ALSO EXTENDS BACK TO ELYSIA'S SACRIFICE? she's so important to me everyone watch cyberangel rn.

Collei:

MY DEADALIVEGIRL!!!!!!!!!! i genuinely don't even know where to start. collei is such a beautiful beautiful character who's entire story revolves around a girl who's been dehumanized and exploited for her entire life, healing through compassion and a recognition of her own humanity. first of all, when we meet collei in the genshin manhua, she is full of vitriolic anger and hate at both the world and herself. she's been dehumanized over and over and over again and because its a repetitive experience, she fully believes that her lack of worth is something innately true. this only changes when someone (amber) shows her unrelenting compassion and trust. amber goes against everything that collei believed about herself. amber tells her that she is not only capable of good, but she is good. amber reinforces this novel idea that collei deserves goodness. and that realization is the moment that collei begins recognizing her own humanity, and thus, recognizing her own potential to grow, heal, and be the good person that amber knows she is. every moment thus forth is a demonstration of her attempts to grow and be kind!!!! she decides to go through with cyno's sealing ritual even with its conditions! she asks lisa to help her write a letter at the end of the manhua! she mends amber's tattered clothes like she promised! she decides to go to sumeru, a land of wisdom! it's so pertinent to her character that she gains her vision (representative of her ambition) during a show of compassion (protecting a child during a dangerous storm)! it's even in her symbolism with the way she's constantly referred to as a sproutling. NOT EVEN MENTIONING HOW THE REBIRTH METAPHOR THATS APPLIED TO HER CHARACTER (re: sprout of rebirth, revived serval, cyno and anubis and their ritual) IS SO DEEPLY CONNECTED TO SUMERU (her being the first sumeru character we know of and having that rebirth metaphor hinted at in the manhua! that rebirth metaphor carrying over to the actual sumeru plot w nahida! the rebirth metaphor tying in with the snake and cat symbolism that she and the archon residue complete!!!!!!) she's just such a loaded character!! AND collei's one of the few genshin characters with canonical cptsd who has identifiable and realistically common triggers. most importantly, the game acknowledges that its there and in spite of that, shows her resilience in still trying and healing!!!! my disabled deadalive mummygirl i love her so bad.

[im-out-of-it]

PSA NOT A SUPER LONG RANT BUT ANOTHER SAPPY POST OF WHY I LOVE SHOW ALEC AND ALWAYS WILL I LOVE HIM SOOOOOO MUCH

one of the many reasons I will always love show Alec the most. this is something the books could never do, that CC would never have allowed. even after TMI, Alec is still not his own person. he can’t make any choices or decisions without thinking of Jace or being seen as adequate enough. I will never understand why CC has Alec not fluent in other languages and acts like it’s impossible for him to be. why can’t he be a damn good leader without someone saying “oh he’s good.” WE KNOW THAT BUT WHY DO YOU NEED SOMEONE SAYING IT?

she’s so desperate of trying to make jace this ultimate shadowhunter but who is the one who always saves Jace? ITS ALWAYS ALEC. but devil forbid he speaks another language or is a skilled fighter or is a fantastic leader. because in CC book world, everything he does has to go back to jace or some herondale because everyone always thinks about them.

I’ll never understand the whole learning languages thing because his ancestor Gideon knew Spanish, Thomas knows Spanish, some Farsi, and I might be missing another one? it seriously doesn’t make any sense to make Alec weak or unable to retain a language. Alec comes from one of the most powerful and strongest family’s(I’m biased but I think theyre best) and they show just how loyal they are. who is always saving jace? ALEC AND IZZY ALSO MAGNUS. who kills Benedict? GABRIEL LIGHTWOOD. who helps Charlotte? GIDEON LIGHTWOOD. who ends up dying for Cordelia? CHRISTOPHER LIGHTWOOD. THOMAS LIGHTWOOD also finished the anecdote in the first book that helped save people by that demon curse. and I’m pretty sure he could’ve solved the message thing that grace figured out. don’t tell me the person who spent the most time with Christopher couldn’t figure it out? Thomas isn’t a scientist but you can’t deny he is brilliant in many ways. CC has made a habit of underutilizing this family and it’s members. making Alec weak made zero sense to me.

I’ll never understand why she made Alec seem weak. not even touching on the biphobic part because that wasn’t necessary. and it’s only centered on TMI and TDA. Alec isn’t as bad in TEC. y’all want to know why? because she’s not the sole author. if you take a look at the first eldest curses book and all the whole of TMI, there is a HUGE DIFFERENCE

I’ll always love matt’s version of Alec. he cares about Magnus. Alec only makes sure that Magnus is okay and he shows just how much he admires and adores Magnus. Alec doesn’t go around and is like “oh I can’t speak a language, I can’t get over that my boyfriend has exes and I can’t jump as high as jace”, no he takes care of his own business. Alec doesn’t care about any smoke because he will call your ass out.

Alec comes out as a strong fighter. he takes the blame for all of clary’s missions and all the words his own mother has used against him. I do wish he would’ve stood up more to jace in the show but he does call him out a couple of times. I honestly think show Alec is to be feared. he put the inquisitor down, told both his parents how it’s going to be, is the definition of a strong leader. it never made sense why the two dumbest characters who can’t follow directions got charge of a institute in the books.

I’m super biased because I love the lightwoods but I’m so happy they changed his character and I don’t know if Matt had any ideas or was the reason but I love his character so much 🥰 I swear if they did the same in the show as they did the books, I’d be changing the channel so fucking quick lmao

[mothrocks]

So I recently caved and watched Hazbin Hotel. I like animation, musicals, and animated musicals, so I feel like I'm kind of obligated to watch this new animated musical cartoon. After watching the show, I can't help but compare it to other animated productions that have also been released within the last year, namely that of Disney's Wish. I have a lot of thoughts, so here's this essay I spent like 2.5 hours writing :D

Slight disclaimer, I do acknowledge that Wish and Hazbin Hotel have very different themes, target audiences, production methods, pipelines, all the things. As someone who just enjoys animation, I'm going to disregard this for the most part, largely because I just want to ramble about the animation industry as a whole and probably could for hours.

Hazbin Hotel features a cast of characters trying to rehabilitate the sinners of Hell to save them from dying a second (and seemingly final) death in the afterlife. I have my own thoughts on the show itself, but I generally thought it was good. You can tell there was passion behind it and that they were allowed a lot of creative freedom, rather than having to pander as much to studio higher-ups.

I'm choosing not to summarize Wish and trusting that if you've read this far, you have at least a fragment of an idea of what the movie is about (not that there is much of a memorable plot, anyways). I don't like Wish. The characters are static and flat; there's no growth or character development and we have little to no reason to root for the main character, Asha. The story overall is unmemorable. The animation is fairly lackluster and looks unfinished. Lastly, the songs, one of the most important parts of a Disney animated musical, are just bad and incohesive and don't fit whatever vibe Disney and its producers were going for. I want to add that I don't think these qualms are the fault of the creatives behind this movie, rather, the fault of Disney executives stepping in.

Compared to Wish, Hazbin Hotel has interesting and dynamic characters, a solid art and animation style, and a wonderful soundtrack. Hazbin Hotel, despite being a show about the afterlife, has life and soul to it. This isn't to say I'm a big fan of the show, I do have criticisms of my own. My question is, how does Hazbin Hotel, an animated adult cartoon practically birthed from the internet, manage to be infinitely better than Wish, a movie by fucking Walt Disney Animation Studios? The fact that Disney, the studio behind The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast (or even more recent things like Moana and Encanto), is the same studio that produced a movie as flat and lifeless as Wish is baffling to me.

My speculation as to why this show is so much better than Wish is specifically because it was cultivated from random people on the internet who were passionate about their projects opposed to a company like Disney, who made Wish just for money (and to promote their anniversary). Disney has changed from what it once was and no longer takes risks in their storytelling or animation, only pursuing whatever writing, casting, or cost-cutting decisions that will line their pockets best. As someone who grew up watching these movies so much as a kid and learning about animation and storytelling and music from them, it's so disheartening to see any creativity within this corporation be crushed. Walt Disney Animation Studio's latest animated films since 2018 (Ralph Breaks the Internet, Frozen II, Raya and the Last Dragon, Strange World, and Wish) have all been lackluster in one way or another, with Encanto being the one exception. Disney has historically had dips in the quality of it's content, but this new trend in addition to the rise of streaming platforms (and even the introduction of AI) leads me to have little to no hope for Disney's animation going forward. Passion projects such as Hazbin Hotel are what makes me have any semblance of hope for the future of animation as a whole. Seeing one of the leading animation producers dwindle to this extent and kill any creativity brought to the table is just sad.

[averagewriter-inthedark]

Family of Spies 🕵🏻‍♀️ | Everett Ross headcanon

Pairs with “Family of Heroes”

Marvel masterlist

Requested 📨: yes/no (for @autistic-solar-fandom)

——————

Avenger!reader & Ross’ kids sneaking onto a mission with their parents would look like:

How the heathens managed to find y’all is a mystery of its own. You don’t know how to react first: with praise or with anger.

To paint the picture, you and Ross are undercover in a conjoined mission between the Avengers & CIA. The target in question is someone suspected of harboring a fugitive with intel of the super soldier serum created in Madripoor. After Sam and Bucky had settled the issue in New York, you both were sent to recover the fugitive in a manner lowkey as possible.

What neither you--nor your agencies--could prepare for was your children tracking y'all down.

You may be an Avenger (highly skilled and known to put fear in God themself) but at the end of the day you’re a parent first. So, it is no surprise when you lose your shit on the children who infiltrated the highly classified mission you and your husband were on. "I don't want to hear it." "But we just thought--." "And now I have to hear it."

Like you, Everett was very displeased and had to hold his tongue. You already unleashed your wrath he felt maybe it was a good idea to calm the situation than escalate it further by grilling them. He did, however, make his frustration and disappointment known, "We raised you to know better. What the hell were you thinking?! This is not only dangerous, but illegal!"

Your daughter, who you both know had interest in working for Intelligence, immediately went into explanation mode. The excuse they gave--besides missing y'all and worrying about you both not coming home---was that she and her brother could help in the undercover mission. "How exactly do you plan to do that? You haven't even finished high school." "No, but we're already your kids. How hard is it to play the role of a family?"

For your son, he had always wanted to test out the gadgets he'd made. This was his opportunity, but your concern was someone getting hurt since they had not been tested in a concealed environment. Ross agreed, which only had your son pouting. "But dad, think of how useful they can be?" "Son, we're already expecting to go to jail for even considering letting you both help...but we will be sent to the Raft for allowing you to use those when they have not been approved by the Director."

Several times during the mission you about lost it when your daughter or son scurried off. They'd return with new information, completely shocking you both wondering just how the hell they managed to get it. "Where did you hear this?" "That man told the guy beside him. I pretended to read my book and sat at the table right next to them. They didn't pay me any mind."

At one point you did receive a message from Fury asking why his sources are telling him your son was spotted at y'alls location to which you played dumb and prayed he'd dismiss it. Which he did....cause Fury just wants the job done by any means necessary.

Eventually, after several minutes of going back and forth and deciding not to strangle your kids for being so irresponsible, you eventually agree to their plan. This decision of course came with some ground rules. "You will do as we say--and do not act without permission. The second you do something that results in either of you getting hurt, I will personally be calling the U.S military to get your asses out of here." "Yes ma'am/sir"

By some grace of God, the mission was a success. No one, thankfully, was hurt--except for the associates of the man you and Ross were looking for in a hand-to-hand battle that left your kids speechless from their hiding space. The suspect was contained and transported to the Embassy, you and Ross collected your children and had a dinner involving take out and sodas.

The adrenaline your children experienced was enough to confirm that both wanted to pursue careers in espionage and intelligence. Something you and Everett were concerned about initially, but after seeing them and realizing they were equipped the skills needed to be successful agents/spies, you both accepted the inevitable.

"We did good, didn't we honey?" Ross kissed your temple, clicking his glass with yours as you leaned into his side from your spot watching your kids reenact the fight between you and the bad guys. "We sure did. Who would've thought we'd become a family of spies after all?"

[laneynoir]

Legolas x reader

Word count: 1900

Request (that i took way to long to start) for @jaimelamour

- archery practice with Legolas!! cute light-hearted drabble idea:)) reader/legolas getting flustered at the close proximity, fumbling hands, the Pining!!,,,,this idea is so cliche but sooo cute

(Also, I again borrowed a charactor from @sotwk go check out Naneth' s stuff, its truly amazing)

This was not a good idea. This was an awful idea. This was absurd. Who even thought of this?

Ah, yes. Of course.

Honestly sometimes you wish you could pull a Merriadoc and get kidnapped by a tree, just so you could stop making such rediculouse decisions.

A voice calling your name pulls you from your thoughts, leaving a smile to settle at the sight of Sam infront of you. He holds a plate of creamy looking... Something. "Hello Sam, what is it that smells so delightful?"

"Why it's scalloped potatoes Mx. Y/n." He blushes a bit at the compliment, an endearing sight, and one which fills you with a strange feeling of mixed mourning and hope. "I was going to see if you would like some?"

Grining you give him your permission to load up your plate, realizing to late that he is still more accustomed to feeding those with Hobbiton appetite, and you've now got more of the spuds than you could ever manage eat. Still, nothing Samwise has ever cooked could be turned down, and you dig in.

The hardonic taste of garlic, onion, and somthing else that you can't place, bloom on your tounge, sharply reminding you of the lack of prior meal. "Mister Gamgee, you have my heart, soul, sword, and boots. Stake my life on it, this is the most superb meal I've ever had the pleasure to taste!"

Sam shuffles his feet, embarrassed by the kind words. "You can keep your boots please -nasty foot prisons really- tis hardly a meal. I only made enough for appetizers." He nods politly to someone behind you before scurrying off.

You scoop up another fork full the the food, letting out a small moan of appreciation. "Whomever is behind me can take a seat, I dont bite."

A strangely pink faced Legolas sits oposit you, a small smirk as he speaks, "I know for a fact that your words are false, I need not elven eyes to have noticed the sizable chunk you tore from one orc."

"That doesn't count." At his humorously  disbelieving facial expression you shrug. "Fine then, I promise I don't usually bite pretty princesses. Better?"

His only response is a small laugh. "May I purloin some of your potatoes?" You nod, and after a short search you find an extra fork, though not another plate.

His eyes light up in delight when he takes a bite and you smile, staring a bit to long for it to be considered entierly friendly, though thankfully he seems not to notice.

"So... Did you come only to steal my food, or did you have an alternate motive?" Legolas blinks, looking at thr plate with a guilty expression that you wave away.

Shaking his head he answers. "I was intending to ask if you wished to start your lesson, but did not wish to interupt your mealtime."

The mental This Is Still A Bad Idea reminder goes off, but the Prince's hopeful expression is more than enough to hit snooze.

"You're not interrupting, truthfully I was jot even planning on eating before Sam brought these to me. He is truly to sweet for his own good." Your eyes are on the plate before you, so you do not see the crease that apears between Legolas' eyes.

"If you are willing, I have found a suitable range at which to practice, as well as a bow that I believe with suit your draw strength."

"What I can't use your's?" You tease, looking up in time to see a strange flicker in your friend's -for this is what he is, no more- eyes. It is gone almost as quickly as it came, and you do not dwell on it.

"I- I would allow you, of course, but the bows of Lothlórien are meamt for a more expirianced-"

You raise and eyebrow, mouth firmly set into a line so as not to laugh. "Are you saying I am week my prince? If that is the case, I beg you simply get to the point." His eyes are (beautiful, how are eyes allowed to be so-) immediately blown wide, as he turns an interesting shade of sunkissed rose gold.

The blush extends all the way to the tips of his ears, and you have the strangest urge to trace the path of pink with your fingertips. Instead you interupt his sooft panicking, "I was joking, Legolas, I understand that you know much more about your weapon than I can ever hope to, and I trust you completely."

Legolas nods and a small smile appears. "I hold your trust as my most valued prize from this terrible war, I know it is hard won."

His gaze holds yours steadily, so you shoce a bite of potato in your mouth before you do something stupid, like kissing the Prince of Greenwood.

Not long after, you stand at the entrance to a long rectangular courtyard. This is going to be fun, you tell yourself. You're going to learn things, and shoot a bow, amd stop waching Legolas so closely.

Knowing full well that at least half of your thoughts were empty of any hope, you step in to meet the resident blond elf. And for the love of the green lady, does he have to be so perfect? The light of the afternoon sun glints off of his hair, making it look as if it glows, while accepting his figure at the same time. He holds a bow that is smaller than his usual choice, runing his hand along the wood, appraising.

He gestures for you to come closer, which you do of course. You would go spelunking in the ruin of Isengaurd is he asked you to.

"That's where we'll start, if that is okay?"

For a terrifying second, you fear that you've spoken alloud, and this only slightly fades whem you realize that he's been speaking for a time already.

Mentaly shaking yourself, you nod, pleading with your inner monolouge to be quiet and let you focouse. Shockingly, it does not comply.

Legolas shows you the beginner stance, which feels slightly odd after your sword training, but you catch on pretty quickly. The proximity of Legolas to yourself is nonexistent, and there are more than one instances which almost convince you that he is deliberately trying to fluster you.

When he shows you the apropriate hold on the bow, his hands ghost over your own, positioning them to perfection, and nearly causing you to drop the weapon. He steps back after telling you to draw the bow, but cautioning against sharply relising the string, as there is no arrow and it would split the wood.

Legolas nods, satisfied when you slowly relieve pressure from the string. He pauses a moment, seeming unsure, so you tilt you head in silent question. Eyes trailing over your arms, which are bared against the day's bright heat.

"You do not have you vambraces?" The question is more of an acknowledgment, but you incline your head in response regardless. In a second I unties the leather string holding his own in place, loosening then just enough to slide from his forearms.

Avert you eyes spawn of chicken, your brain reminds you.

After pulling both of the simple deep brown articles off he looks at you, raised eyebrow, and gestures for your arm. You hold the bow in one hand, and with nowhere to put it, you extend the other for Legolas.

The leather is warm still from his skin as it slides against your skin, and to prevent a shudder, you say; "You dont have to give me these you know, I'd be fine."

Legolas smiles, softly as always. "Fine perhaps, but few deserve pain, least of all perfection, and if I am in a position to keep you from it I will." The ernesty in his voice suprised you, and you feel a red cross your face, not caused by the heat.

"What do these markings mean?" Legolas' hands still for a breath, freezing from the tightening of laces. Quickly you stumble back from your words. "I do not wish to pry, please forgive-"

"No!" He shakes his head, and the tears in his eyes send a flash of guilt through you. "Please do not apologize. Some of them are mearly ornamentalb but this one," he is tracing an indent. "Is the mark of my... Teacher." Drawing a breath he whispers a name. "Gelir"

You let the silence stretch out, before; "I'm sorry for your loss, was he your..."

Legolas looks up with alarm, and surprisingly, a laugh. "No, Gelir was my brother, and the finest hand with a bow or beast to ever walk the natural earth."

On impulse, you reach out, placing a hand on his cheek. "I feel quite treble now, and not a little embarrassed. Is there anything I can do?"

His smile has returned, and you are glad for it. "I will tell you if I think of anything."

Pulling the second knot tight, Legolas releases your arm, something you are both relived for, and dissapointed. "Now I get to shoot right?" When he nods you take up your position.

Arrow fitted to the string you exhale as you release, frowning when it misses the target entirely. Suddenly there is a presance at your back, shifting your feet slightly, and repositioning your arms.

Legolas remains against you, hands on yours as you draw back again, this time hitting near center.

You turn excitedly to him, foot twisting in the process on an unforseen length of rope that lies half buried in the ground. Legolas catches you before you can fall, and for a brief moment you think he is about to kiss you. But he helps you back to your feet, smirking all the while.

"Of course I fall. This must be a murder attempt." You grump, pleased when he laughs quietly.

"What's this?" You glance to the ground noticing a glint of dark green. You bend down to retrieve it, only to feel you head make contact with another.

Legolas let's out a hissing noise, and the stone is gone from your thoughts. "Legolas?"

"I am fine, though it seems you have caught me."

And you have, as his hair is tangled around the pin on your shoulder. You look to his face, "Only after I fell for you."

His eyes widen, though he makes no sighn of discomfort. "Here is your stone"

You shake your head quickly. "I should like you to keep it, if you will."

Legolas tilts his head to the side. "My best friend married a dwarf, I know what this is."

You tilt your chin defiantly. "Good."

His face is still blank as you reath sharply. "I think I know what you can do for me."

Meet inches away from him you ask, "And what would that be my prince?"

Without a word he closes the gap, kissing you with far more zeel than you could have expected. The hand you'd earlier placed on his cheek now finds it's way to his neck, holding him close when you lips disconnect.

Forhead rested against his, you close his still open hand around the leaf shaped emerald. "I'm afraid you're stuck with me now."

"Well yes," he agrees. "My hair is still caught on your broach."

[treadsuren]

Lucien needs to evolve

I was almost Elriel and in the best of cases I see Elain either alone or with another couple but only because I think Lucien will evolve in an incredible way and all the clues along the way are that I stay with Elucien

Lucien was lazy almost his entire life , he settled for ephemeral pleasures, good female company, being the second in command of a great lord. Lucien wasted the enormous potential that resides in him for an easy life. Being a trained pet.

Feyre

“Then why not tell him? You were his faithful dog in every other sense.”

“And that’s why you’re here. Not because it’s right and he’s always been wrong, but just so you can get what you think you’re owed.”

“How are you not winded,” he(Lucien ) panted, hauling himself onto the flat top.I shoved back the hair that had torn free of my braid to whip my face. “I trained.”

"You enjoyed its pleasures and diversions. But don’t pretend you weren’t made for something more than that.”

Lucien himself

“As the youngest of seven sons, I wasn’t particularly needed or wanted. Perhaps it was a good thing. I was able to study for longer than my father allowed my brothers before shoving them out the door to rule over some territory within our lands, and I could train for as long as I liked, since no one believed I’d be dumb enough to kill my way up the long list of heirs. And when I grew bored with studying and fighting"

The idea that Lucien's relationship with Elain is the last to be resolved seems right to me. In the third book, Lucien honestly did not deserve Elain, he did not deserve a partner because marriages carry responsibilities that Lucien denied during his life. He now has something to fight for, a reason to mature, now he can be someone with enough judgment to make the right decisions.

Elain was still shivering on the wet stones, her nightgown shoved up to her thighs, her small breasts fully visible beneath the soaked fabric. Guards snickered.Lucien snarled at the king over the bite of the magic at his throat, “Don’t just leave her on the damned floor—” There was a flare of light, and a scrape, and then Lucien was stalking toward Elain, freed of his restraints

Lucien needs to be strong and independent, he needs to strengthen his soul and spirit and only then can he deserve to have a relationship, a family of his own. I look forward to its evolution

[staytinyville]

Heuning Kai

PLEASE REFER TO MASTERLIST TO GET FULL TAROT READING EXPERIENCE

↣ Summary: After an accident leaves you terrified, you subconsciously conjure a monster that feeds off your anxiety. However this monster begins to grow feelings for you. 

↣ Characters/Pairing: Huening Kai x gn!reader

↣ Genre: fluff

↣ AU/Trope info: anxiety monster!Kai, depressed!reader, sorta jujutsu kaisen type deal

↣ Word Count: 1.3k

↣ Warnings: anxiety attack, sorta PTSD, this might make some of you guys uncomfy because of the things going on atm around the world, if you need someone to talk to I am open.

↣ A/N: THE LAST OF MY STORIES MAN. THE JOY I FELT. I was really trying so hard to finish these quickly and I feel like I rushed them too much to the point where they kind of sucked. I hope you enjoyed reading them all if you did. And if not I do hope you got the right tarot reading! Do tell me if you did. I love to know if it resonated. 

THE MOON

Illusion, Fear, Anxiety, Subconscious, Intuition

When the moon comes out in a reading it is meant to signify that you are projecting your fears into your everyday life. You might have some kind of trauma with a painful memory or experience that left you unsure about yourself. In order to understand these better you have to connect yourself with that part of you you might not be willing to see.

This card can represent a time where you are not sure about things. You are second guessing things, so with that in mind make sure you pay attention to the signs. Do not allow yourself to fall pray to a fast decisions without checking out all the options.

Pay close attention to the lunar cycle in how it plays roles in your everyday life. Connect with it's spirit wanting to help you navigate through a time in your life where you might not be sure of yourself.

XVII THE MOON

There was a time when you had enjoyed going outside into the world, but as of late it was hard to want to do that. There was something preventing you from going out and it only festered your anxiety and depression more. 

It gave itself the name Kai. 

It sucked to have him glued to your side but you had no one else to blame but yourself. Ever since that accident you were in things took a turn and you became scared of everything around you. Because of this your fears had manifested something that would haunt every other living soul on the earth. 

You could remember the first night you had met him. You were curled up in a fetal position as a nightmare was plaguing you and causing a cold sweat to run through your body. You woke up startled when you felt cold hands stroking your shoulder that had been uncovered by the blankets. 

Whimpering, you wanted to think it was nothing, but it continued its ministrations. So you slowly opened your eyes, and were met with glowing eyes. He looked like such a boy with a goofy grin on his face as he faced you, one hand tucked under his head. 

Your breath got caught in your throat as you began to shiver from being in the same bed as someone else. Who was this man and why was he in your bed?

“I’m not gonna kill you.” Were his very first words to you. “If I kill you, I kill myself and that’s just a dumb idea.”

He gave you a grin. “I’m Kai. Your anxiety monster.”

And so you spent the next couple of months with the man who manifested from your own feelings and fears getting to know him. He tired you out a lot but you guess that was just his job. You learned he was clingy and loved to torment you.

However for you, you had learned to live with him. He was a bit annoying but you knew it was only you who created him. He was your own imagination come to life. A part of you might be scared of him but for the most part, you were quite happy because he was almost like a friend. 

A toxic one that seemed to find joy in your misery but there were good things about him that you found yourself feeling happy about. 

He would always watch over you, like a guardian angel, making sure you wouldn’t walk into traffic or go down the wrong alleyway. He also would sneer at any person who got too close to you like a jealous boyfriend.

Everytime you would ask him about it he would explain to you that if you found someone to occupy your time, you wouldn’t be sad anymore therefore he would go away. But you knew that your anxiety wasn’t going to go away anytime soon. If at all. 

“Good morning, my sweets!” Kai’s goofy grin was the first thing you saw every morning and the last thing before you closed your eyes. 

You had asked him once why it was he looked the way he did. An attractive man who had a baby face that would make anyone swoon. He explained to you that he looked that way because he was meant to embody your dream man. You frowned at his answer but as he continued you understood his reasoning. 

You were worried one day the man of your dreams would come up to you and all you would feel is anxiety over acting like a fool or looking like a fool. You guess it made sense seeing as Kai would be seeing you at your best and your worst. 

“Good morning, Kai.” You sighed, turning onto your back. 

He began to pout, feeling something bubble under your chest that made him squint his eyes. He shuffled closer to you, trying to curl into your side. He frowned when you didn’t reach over for him like you usually did. 

He raised his head to look at you. “Something is wrong.” He told you.

“I feel like today is going to be a bad day.” You spoke softly. 

Kai’s pout deepened, feeling a bit bad for your problems. He was meant to feed off of them but as the time went on he quickly fell in love with how strong you were even with everything going on. 

You would try your best to get over your fears, even if they came back. You had mottos you told yourself over and over again to keep pushing forward. Kai had never met a host like you and it made his non-existent heart beat just a tad. 

For the rest of the day, he kept a watchful eye on you. You were sluggish in everything you did, nearly breaking things. You barely had any energy to move to your couch or reach for the remote that was on the other side. Kai kept grunting when you wouldn’t do anything and he would have to take over for you. It would get small smiles, knowing that the monster cared for you in some passive aggressive way. 

However when you turned on the tv and saw that there had been another natural disaster in some part of the world, your mind began to shut down. All you could see were the buildings knocked over or fallen completely. 

You suddenly felt a weight on your chest, tightening around your lungs. You could feel sweat on your skin as you were reminded of the long time spent in a small space under a collapsed structure. The dust that stuck to your skin and made your eyes burn. 

Kai’s eyes went wide as he too began to feel the tightening in his stomach. While it was something good for him, all he could feel was remorse as he turned to watch you. Without thinking about his own health, he shut off the tv and was quick to take you into his hands. 

The moment you felt someone touch you, the breath you were holding came out in a choked sob and they wracked through your body loudly. You clung to Kai as you were reminded of those people who helped to take you out of the rubble.  

He tried to shush you, tightening his hold around your whole body. Maybe it wasn’t the best way to calm down a survivor of a disaster, but for you it wasn’t about the way he tightened your hold on you, it was about how you weren’t alone in a hole. 

You could feel his breathing on your body, could hear his whispers in your ear, could see the color of his shirt. You weren’t someone dark without help, you were sitting on your couch with the monster that was supposed to be feeding off you. And yet here he was, trying to calm you down. 

And when you pulled away to fall onto the couch all numb, he didn’t hesitate to keep you on his chest and allow you to unravel on your own. Your voice was hoarse and quiet but he was able to hear you just fine. 

“Kai, what are you doing?” You whispered. 

“I’m your anxiety monster. I feed off your anxiety.” He answered, looking up at the ceiling. 

“Then why did you calm me down?” You asked him. 

“Because I don’t like that kind of anxiety.” He began to massage your scalp. “It tastes bitter.”

You smiled softly, your lips moving as you gave his covered chest a kiss. “I’m sorry for tasting bitter.”

“It’s okay. I’ll accept the anxiety you get when you’re trying to open a can of biscuits.”

You laughed out loud and swatted at his chest. “It’s a real fear.”

“I know.” His lips touched the top of your head making you go back to laying on his chest. “You also freak out over spiders. Those are the best kind of meals.”

“Thank you, Kai.” You said it so quietly, in such a small voice–it made the monster smile. 

“You’re welcome.”

Tags : @cultofdionysusnet , @sandsofire , @k-vanity