#my toxic trait is that I call babies “it”

[ceratedfish24]

Your takes on c!Scott and flower husbands have honestly been so refreshing that its reignited my old Hot Takes on c!Jimmy bc I detest the way people characterize him.

I feel like so many people portray Jimmy as this dejected downtrodden victim of bullying, which feeds into a narrative that Scott was cruel and abusive and awful or whatever, and tends to act like Jimmy doesn't have any agency ever. But IN REALITY??? Jimmy is not downtrodden and dejected and sad!!!!! In my opinion, Jimmy's defining character trait is his unshakable TENACITY! Ppl never want to admit that Jimmy is a little shit! That he acts out of spite, that his friends' teasing only tends to motivate him!! He *thrives* in environments that challenge him! AND to be so for real, he is a grown man with agency and decision-making skills and I'm tired of people acting like he isn't.

In general I feel like people just have the wrong outlook on him as a character. Maybe they've just collectively misunderstood him, or a Helpless Miserable Victim is easier to write about in fic, or they just want to project their own bullying-related trauma onto him or whatever. (People do similar things to Scar when talking about desert duo, which I understand even less). IDK. These are just my thoughtssssss sorry for rambling :P

No because you’re literally so real for this. Jimmy is SUCH a little shit. His response to Joel being mad at Jimmy for trying to kill him was to SHAKE HIS ASS AT JOEL. He taunted Joel because Jimmy successfully used Lizzie to bait Joel out. He tried to guilt trip Scott into giving him time. These aren’t negative qualities. This is a guy being silly with his friends. Embrace them when writing c!Jimmy. These are wonderful and realistic qualities.

Jimmy’s tenacity is so remarkable. He gets knocked down and all of his friends tease him about it, and he stands right back up with pep in his step. A lot of people treat Pearl the same way. Like, guys, these people are adults who make their own choices, and, often times, people who are given free will are not going to make the responsible choice most of the time when there are no real world consequences to their actions other than maybe “I might not get to be in the finale of this Minecraft series”.

There is SO much favoritism in the Life Series. Jimmy and Pearl are always reduced to their greatest tragedies, while Scott and Cleo are reduced to their most selfish moments, even though everyone else is equally selfish because IT IS A DEATH GAME. IT IS A COMPETITION. THAT IS THE POINT.

A lot of Jimmy’s deaths tend to be his own doing. Whether he unnecessarily made an enemy or just wasn’t being careful, a lot of Jimmy’s deaths are his fault, and that’s fine. He likes to play into bits. He’s not that serious about winning as opposed to making fun content. Pearl has made her fair share of mistakes and enemies, and that adds plot and drama to her content. That’s how she plays it, and it’s fine! Don’t infantilize them for dealing with the consequences of their actions just like everybody else!

Scott was widowed, and he had to watch his allies die before he did for seasons. Nobody ever comforts him about it. Nobody says “oh this man is so sad he’s just doing his best but he can’t keep his friends alive and it’s eating him up and everyone should baby him”.

Nobody even calls Joel toxic for constantly targeting Scott, but somehow Scott is toxic for teasing Jimmy now and then? (Which is not to say that Joel is toxic. He just finds it fun to target his good friend and knows where Scott’s limits are. It’s actually a sign of how close they are in real life). Nobody calls Etho and Bdubs toxic for being so mean to each other. Nobody calls Impulse manipulative when his whole thing in Third Life was betraying people. Nobody says Ren is controlling for taking the lead in Dogwarts or calling the Renwood Mound the Ren Mound. Scar is a liar and a scammer and no one thinks less of him for it.

Do you wanna know why? Because they’re friends having fun. Scott and Scott’s character should be treated with that same respect given to everyone else. Also, people need to keep in mind that Scott is not actively playing a character. Scott is just playing the game the way that cc!Scott wants to play the game, so any in depth analysis of Scott’s “character”? That’s an over analysis of cc!Scott in a competitive environment, and that man is literally on this site, people. He knows about Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss, Girldad. I’ve seen him reply to analysis posts on why Scott is manipulative. He’s literally just a guy playing a game for fun.

Imagine if someone accused you of playing an evil and selfish character because you asked your friend to give you the monopoly money they owe you. Or, worse imagine if someone accused you of playing a manipulative character because you let your friend land on your monopoly property without paying you????? Because you love your friend??????? Like, excuse me????????

Thank you for the ask!!!!!! 🩵🩵🩵 It’s always flattering when someone calls my posts “refreshing”💕💕💕(also I see you all the time and I love seeing your additions to my posts💖)

[unboundprompts]

Can I get some prompts of a single parent struggling to take care of a baby? Like to the point where they are starting to lose sleep or is just that stressed? The baby could be theirs or one they adopted/found abandoned. I really don't mind if it's either Angst or Fluff. Anyways I know this is a bit specific and I hope it's not too much. I really love all of your prompts! I hope you have a wonderful day/night! Keep up the fantastic prompts! ❤️❤️❤️

Thank you for the kind words!

Single Parenting Prompts

-> feel free to edit and adjust pronouns as you see fit.

"I'm just so afraid of messing it up," she admitted, her voice small. "Everything I do matters, and one wrong move could alter their entire future." She spared a glance at the baby asleep in their crib, blissfully unaware of the uncertainty and fear she was feeling.

"When they get older, they're going to realize everything you've done for them. There will be bumps in the road, there always is. But at the end of the day, they're going to see how hard you tried to give them the perfect life. And that's what they're going to remember."

He felt like pulling his hair out. "I haven't slept in weeks," he admitted, voice strained and dark spots under his eyes prominent. "I didn't realize how hard it was to take care of a baby."

They blinked open their eyes at the sound of the baby crying. There goes any hope of getting a full night's rest. They drag themselves out of bed and lift the baby from the crib. She practically melts into their touch, tears easing up at just the notion of being held. "It's going to be a long night, huh?" They ask the baby, already rubbing soothing circles on her back.

Parenting was hard. A lot harder than he thought it was going to be. But it was moments like these-- when the baby looked up at him like he was their entire world with a smile on their face-- that made it worth it.

"Your grandmother used to sing this to me," she said softly to the baby in her arms, "every night before bed."

They needed a break. They needed to step back. They needed to... they didn't know what they needed to do. Never in a million years did they think they would be responsible for caring for a baby. They definitely hadn't planned on it, that was for sure. But, now they had one. And they hadn't the slightest clue of what to do with it.

"This baby needs me, right now," she said with force in her lungs. "I don't have a single idea of what I'm doing, but that doesn't change the fact that it is my responsibility. And I'm going to take care of it."

[vampiresluvr]

my toxic trait is thinking everyone who looks in my direction is in love with me, but knowing deep down that i don't feel pretty or interesting enough to actually have someone be attracted to me

[acid-ixx]

I truly LOVE THIS SERIES!!! I also read the reader as female too. I really like how you delve into damiens mind on this one. He is the one I was curious about the direction you will take him in with dealing with reader. I especially can't wait for Jason's too. Will any of the batfam be romantic toward reader in future chapters?

directory !

a/n: tysm for liking it so far !! for me i prefer it if the reader is gn/male (since im also a trans guy and it's hard to find content of my preference. it's funny how a lot of ppl in my inbox call me a girl bec i am not 😭). also none of them are going to turn romantic later on. i prefer strictly writing them as platonic in the series since it's often stated that they see you purely as their sibling who differs entirely from them. although i might make another series where it is romantic yandere, but for the a&a series, they're all platonic.

yeah, damian so far is a really complicated case. both him and the reader share a trait for contradicting feelings and that really ties with them being the only ones having blood ties in the family. which drives damian's obsession even further because in my opinion he's the most perceptive (and one of the least delusional alongside jason) of your emotions, knowing the right words to tick you off or make your vulnerable.

damian is also pretty touch-starved for a sense of normalcy that he couldn't achieve with his siblings who are raised to be crimefighters (so the way he sees his relationship towards his siblings would be more of a vigilante partner than family), but once he's matured enough, he'll soon realize just how much he craves for affection. having someone like you, who's the one trying to just live, and sharing blood with him (because despite trying to distance himself away from his assassin past, he'll always have this toxic mindset of "blood is thicker than water" and you're proof of that), damian pretty much demands attentions left and right.

when i mean he demands your attention, that means he also needs affection, both physical and emotional. that means he wants you to coddle him the same way dick coddles you. he wants to bond with you through quality time so that means you'll always find your schedule packed with activities you'll spend with damian, to both make up for lost time and as a quiet apology towards you that, no, he's not gonna threaten you with a sword anymore— he even makes a show of keeping his weapons somewhere far away from you, that your baby brother is vulnerable towards you and he means no harm.

his methods of gaining your spotlight are really inconvenient, but don't point it out because all he'll do is pout towards you whilst he'd grab your hand, preferably to take you somewhere away from all your other siblings who are trying their damn best also trying to take your attention.

meanwhile jason is more protective and would rather not let you go through the same path as he did; being impulsive and letting yourself get in danger. unfortunately, the reader in the series is already pretty much in their worst state and that makes jason's need to protect you from harm's way (just like bruce), especially right after meeting him in the series would make him realize that you weren't a replacement to him and that you both pretty much share the same trauma when it comes to seeing your mother being taken away from you.

just like dick, he pretty much sees you as a kid. but unlike dick, the more you show your impulsive actions and display breakdowns, the more he acknowledges that yes, you do have flaws and you need space so he won't shove his affection down your throat but he will make sure his angel is properly taking care of themself right after, he'll make drink water right after a crying session, make you eat something if you haven't, and if you're scared of criminals trying to target you in the streets, then don't worry because the red hood will guarantee to associate you with fear.

fear that if they even dare to lay their eyes on you, their eyeballs would be ripped out of their sockets. only god knows what would happen if jason were to find one of them having filthy intentions towards his angel.

unfortunately for you, if you don't like it when an intimidating, brooding man who considers himself your brother is standing by your door, then you're out of luck because he won't even budge unless you invite him over. his obsession with you is very subtle but unlike bruce with a no-kill code, jason won't hesitate putting a buller through someone's head once his angel is in danger.

though if you don't want to see jason snap, then it'd be better if you wouldn't put yourself in danger on purpose because he will get violent towards anyone who even tries to lay their hands on you and although his grip on your body is soft, as if making sure that he wouldn't be harming you; you would further increase the chances of being locked up in your own safe haven if you try to purposely get yourself killed because that gives him all the signs that you're incapable of taking care of yourself and he wouldn't want a repeat of what happened to him with you when it comes to any other criminals.

[thehigherseekerastro]

Astrology Observations: Non-chart Edition 💻

This is just a quick post, a short list of astrology opinions – my own –, about the world of astrology online itself, not the actual placements described, but that I think are worth noting to help better analyze and understand the astrology content found on the internet. Enjoy!

(♠) (♠️) (♠️) (♠️) (♠️) (♠️) (♠️) (♠️) (♠️) (♠️)

Beware of "roasting placements" posts –

regardless if it's on Tumblr, X or TikTok. Those are VERY broad "descriptions" (if we can call it that). Anybody who understands how astrology works would never generalize to such a level that they think they can roast an entire placement, as if there was only one possible manifestation for that placement. There's an entire chart that is very unique to everyone. Your (and other people's) chart can be set up in a way that makes you behave the complete opposite of that stereotype, so people can't just be accusing others of things without knowing them lol.

Not to mention that they are usually plain rude and ignorant for no reason, just to be spiteful.

Astrology is not "Projection Land" –

so don't use it to, nor fall for someone else doing it. It's nobody's excuse to trash their ex, their mother, the friend they had a falling-out with, through you, making you feel horrible about yourself, just because they are projecting their own feelings onto a particular placement.

So, yes, there are patterns to signs, placements and even elements, but that needs to be handled with a lot of responsibility. It needs careful analysis, and the person needs to be able to separate their personal grievances from the actual information before they vomit their disdain on the internet where anyone can see. I always make sure to include a blend of positive and negative POSSIBLE manifestations of placements, and I make that clear, so that people know it's a MAYBE, and also not about everyone. It's not to insult others, more so to inform them of what you should be aware of IN CASE THEY ENCOUNTER IT.

So the people who are like "X-Y-Z placements are TRASH!!!! I dated so and so and it went horribly blah blah blah"...

Keep on scrolling. Move along. They're bitter and they're either trying to make you feel horrible too or antagonize you against someone else. Remember: misery loves company.

Don't use astrology to save face either –

so don't be hyping up your own toxic trait that is in fact present to excuse yourself.

"Oh, Tauruses are stubborn," (stereotype) "but that's because they are consistent and see things through."

NO, BABY. Tauruses are consistent AND they can be annoying as hell with their stubbornness and acting a fool, but still refusing to act right. The two things can coexist.

If you happen to manifest one of the more challenging stereotypes of a placement, it's not there for nothing. It's a lesson for you to work on and heal as soon as you're made aware of it. So don't be using astrology to justify staying in your troublesome habits just because there might be a quality attached to it. That's not maturing and growing. Growing is realizing all things work in balance, and there's downsides and potential to most things. So hone the positive aspects of that placement, but continue to try to heal the challenging ones.

Avoid astrology content creators who use their blog/profile as their little Burn Book –

just attacking people and placements right and left. "This sign is manipulative!", "that planet in such house is a jealous and bitter person!", "females with such rising are fake!".

They don't know shit. They just want to air out their anger. If you absorb it, that's on you. So, if you notice somebody only has negative things to say all the time and never praises anybody... RED FLAG.

And yes, I'm also talking about the people who exclusively make content like "How will your relationship end based on your 12H in Composite", "Synastry aspects that indicate you will be cheated on", "Signs of a narcissist in a birth chart", and just overall fear-mongering and negativity.

Avoid astrology content creators who use their blog/profile as a space to boast and compliment themselves –

because it also happens often, and it's usually a combo with the previous one I mentioned above. They shit on everyone else, but the placements they love and praise are ~ coincidentally ~ their own.

If you see a take that starts with defending or praising a placement a lot and it is followed by "because we are...", I'd immediately log off.

It's one thing to speak from experience and empathize. It's another to be like "Virgos aren't judgemental, because I'm a Virgo and I'm the best person on the planet, you're the problem if we don't like you!"

Again, people who cannot be self aware should not be sharing advice or opinions on other people. They're attention seekers. And surprisingly, it's often NOT the people with Leo placements.

CAUTION WITH THIS ONE, as I'm making a broad observation that is not describing everyone, just a pattern I see often, but my perspective could be limited here –

like I said, from most problematic posts I've seen, and I've seen quite a few, it's not from people with the stereotypical "egotistic and self obsessed" signs, like Leo, or even other fire signs.

I've seen it most often happen with people over-praising their personal EARTH placements, and then attacking everyone else.

Which to me makes sense, because when an Earth placement is great, they're GREAT! But when they're not... Good luck convincing them that they are just a human being and aren't better than everybody else and always right. You'd have to be constantly hammering the cold harsh reality on their face 24/7 to keep them humble. (A job only fire sign placements are up to, bc they don't give a shit if you're offended, and don't get tired of having to fight to death).

Earth signs being preceded by fire signs means their need for validation and praise is often hidden from plain sight, but it's deep within them. And being opposed by water signs can mean falling into delusions of how they actually impact the outside world, often overestimating their value.

So if you mix that with the Earth practicality and pragmatism, it becomes very hard for them to see that they will not feel more in control if they criticize everyone else around. It's them judging themselves, but not knowing how to deal with that self-hatred, so they project it onto others. Just because one got a lot to say doesn't mean they should, nor that what they have to say is correct. People CAN be loud and wrong, and these types of folks over here on these posts often are.

The top 5 most judgemental and lacking self-awareness I've seen here on Tumblr are:

Virgo

Capricorn

Aquarius

Sagittarius

Taurus

Apply it to (rising, sun, moon, Mercury and Mars).

PS: This is very specific within the context of astrology content creators. I'm not saying all of the people from those signs and element are like that, or attacking them personally.

Women are not perfect. Men are not inherently bad –

so also be cautious of people who trash any type of men, regardless of their sign, planet or houses, but claim only the women of that sign are good.

Yes, we know that, systemically, our society is patriarcal and men's toxic behaviors tend to be encouraged, so it's not uncommon to run into issues with masculinity. Regardless of that, men are human beings. And so are women. Everyone has potential for good and bad inside them.

"Cancers - all the men are cheaters and manipulators! But the women are the sweetest people you will ever meet!"

No. Cancer when it's expressed in its most toxic side is highly manipulative and fake. Which is historically a "skill" used by women to survive in this world. So if you run into a "good Cancer man", he will be a light in your life. If you run into a "bad Cancer woman", that'll be even worse, because she will be a horrible person, all the while projecting an image of innocence and acting like she has no idea what you're talking about and is just a sweet victim.

(just look at Ariana Grande, for example, and her history of cheating on her partners with other men who were ALSO in committed relationships at the time, ever since she was 21, but she always tells her stories as if she's the one getting unfairly bullied and that people are making stuff up about her.

I'm not making personal judgements about her, because I don't know her personally. I'm just using her as an example of the same cheater-manipulator dynamic people attribute to all Cancer men, applied to a Cancer woman).

Use your critical thinking skills. Again, that's a projection. Specially if someone goes as far as making an extreme comment like "ALL MEN of the zodiac are trash"... That's clearly a lot of bitterness, hurt, and bad PERSONAL experiences, that they are now vomiting onto the internet.

Men and women are equally beautiful creatures, each dealing with their own sets of potential and challenges. Astrology doesn't pick and choose, and certainly does not care about hookup culture or the dissolution of human relationships in the 21st century.

Just because someone is talking about spiritual practices does not mean they are evolved –

anybody can talk about anything. That means nothing. Does not mean evolution. Does not mean maturity. Does not mean understanding. Does not mean knowledge. Does not mean awareness.

So don't think that just because someone has an astrology blog or they say they're an astrologer that means they are some evolved soul, wise beyond their years and with only good intentions. Oftentimes, people will obsess over analysing others to avoid taking a long hard look at themselves.

As I've given many examples here, many people can be using astrology to live out the most childish and troubled parts of their personalities and character. And instead of identifying those challenges in their chart – since they claim to be such fans of astrology – and working on them, they prefer to hop online and start pointing fingers at other people and their lives.

Now, let's also exercise our own empathy here and understand that sometimes those people themselves don't even realize their struggle. They're a human, after all. So it's up to you to curate what you consume and how you consume it. Don't discredit people's experience, but also, do a background check on the info before you internalize it, because a lot of the times people will be hurting you without realizing they're just looking for company in their sadness. They'll convince themselves they're helping.

Be conscious in YOUR OWN spiritual journey and learning. Know who YOU are. And then other people become helpers along your path, not the commanders of your destiny.

That is it, my dears. I hope this was clear to understand and it was helpful. Hopefully, it will aid in your understanding of things when you come across astrology posts online, leaving you less confused as to what is and isn't pertinent. And I hope it sends you on a path towards good and love.

Be well! ❤️

MASTER LIST

[inkdrinkerworld]

My toxic trait is loving when men grovel after messing up.

If you feel upto it could you write grunpy!remus accidentally stands you up so you give him the silent treatment by the next morning he's literally on his knees hugging your waist telling you how sorry he is. Begging you to please talk to him to yell and be mad "please just let me hear your voice dove."

omg bestie same!!

you'd sat in the cafe for almost an hour and a half before remus texted,

'can't make it dove, today's been really shit.'

you wouldn't have minded so much if he'd sent the text an hour earlier, but you'd sat there, staring at the door hoping every time it opened it would've been him.

with a sigh you push out of your seat and head for the door. there's not a current destination in mind, you just know you're not ready to go home yet.

by the time you make it to your front door, the sun is setting and your shoulders are a little less tense.

you don't hear remus before you see him- passed out on the sofa with his glasses still on and his laptop still opened on his lap.

even though you're annoyed with him your heart still speeds up and you drop a kiss to his forehead before going upstairs.

the next morning, you wake up to smelling sugar toasting and the distinct aroma of cinnamon. frowning you sit up, bed cold from remus' lack of presence.

"dove?" he calls as you walk down stairs but you don't say anything. you're still a little pissed and even though he's trying to make up you're still frustrated.

"g'morning dove," he hums, turning to you as he shuts the ovenn door closed. at your lack of response he frowns. "dove? are y'alright?"

you don't even hum.

"baby," he pauses and you can see his mind whirring with plausible explanations for your silence. "are you upset with me?"

you take a seat on the kitchen island and swing your feet like he's not even speaking to you.

"i'm sorry for missing dinner last night dove, i really am," he mumbles, invading your space after setting the hot tray on the stovetop. "please talk to me?"

you look over his head as he ducks into your line of vision. "sweetheart," his hands hold your thighs then. "baby please talk to me."

despite your anger, and frustration at him, your eyes fill with tears. "dove, no," he coos, thumbs brushing your cheeks as your eyes shut.

"i was there for over an hour before you texted remus, do you know how embarrassing that is?"

your breath hiccups and remus feels even more horribly than he had last night.

"m'sorry dove, i really am. i should've called sooner and shouldn't 've had you there so for long, i apologise baby."

his lips sponge kisses to your face and your damp cheeks as you hiccup again.

"i really really am sorry, won't do it again." he promises and you open your eyes to find him giving you the most pleading look you've ever seen on his face. "talk to me, starlight."

you tuck your face into his shoulder as you regulate your breathing.

"are you making brown sugar cinnamon poptars from scratch?" remus chuckles, the vibrations tickling your cheek as you press your face further into his neck.

"mhm, and i made us lunch reservations for today too."

[charmandabear]

Office Hours - Chapter Six

Summary:

Astarion surprises you with a night at the theatre that doesn't go quite according to your plan.

Pairing: Astarion/F!Reader Rating: Explicit Word Count: 4.7k Tags/Warnings: rough/angry sex, hair pulling, emotional manipulation, dubcon, bad BDSM practices, angst, daddy kink, reminiscent of Ascended!Astarion, discussions of domestic abuse (in Taming of the Shrew)

Hi. Hello. My sweets. My darlings. This is it. The chapter where you absolutely must mind the tags. Just know that I won't take you anywhere that we won't be able to come back from. Know that I, too, am an absolute baby when it comes to intense subject matter in fics. But I want you to take care of yourselves and your hearts. As always, shoot me a message if you'd like more specifics.

Photo credits: Zaria for Green Pussy Suit Astarion and Nephi Garcia for the incredible dress.

Read on AO3 ~ Masterlist

“In the library? Babes, are you insane?” Shadowheart's voice reaches a pitch you’re fairly sure only dogs can hear. You curl your knees into your chest and cover your face in your hands, feeling the exact appropriate amount of shame.

“I know, I know. All logic goes out the fucking window around him. All I can think is ‘mm, good dick makes brain go brr.’” You let out a frustrated sigh into your hands.

“Do you want to get fired?” She pulls your hand from your face so you can't hide from her pointed stare.

“Oh trust me, I ran about forty different scenarios of that happening through my head on the drive home.”

“Did you, now? And in how many of these did he also get fired?” Shadowheart presses, knowing how your anxiety can get out of hand.

“Like, two,” you groan and drop your head back onto the couch cushions. “I don't know what comes over me. I feel like I can't tell him no.”

“Wait, wait.” Shadowheart grips your knee, suddenly worried. “You can't tell him no as in it feels too good to stop? Or as in it doesn't feel safe to say no?”

“Nine hells, no, the first one!” you respond, horrified. She squints at you and you squirm under her gaze until you’re finally more truthful, both with her and yourself. “Well, I mean, mostly. Like it's not like that. But like also not not like that, you know?”

“I can assure you I do not,” she says in a flat voice, not interested in joking around. You sigh dramatically, trying to find the right words to describe how you feel.

“Like. Okay. Am I fully consenting to everything we do? Yes. 100%. Oh gods, yes.” Your cheeks tinge pink even thinking about it. “But like… am I going against my best judgment? Do I feel like I should say no? Does part of me kinda wish I would say no? Like… maybe?”

“Tav, that's not okay. You need to talk to him about this.” Shadowheart’s voice is soft with genuine worry. Which is ridiculous, because she’s focusing on the wrong thing.

“No, see, that's the thing. It's not actually a him issue, it's a me issue. Like there's something wrong with me, I see his most toxic traits and suddenly I'm like a horny teenager!” Your voice increases in pitch as you grow more hysterical. “How am I supposed to call him out on it when the only words that will come out of my mouth are ‘yes daddy, more please’?”

“Is there anything redeemable about him at all? Besides being good in bed?” She leans back, taking a sip of her wine and fixing you with an incredulous look. 

“I mean… yeah. He’s witty, and bantering back and forth with him is fun. He’s incredibly smart, as loath as I am to admit it, and I like hearing his ideas on things, especially his interpretation of Shakespeare’s text.” You don't even notice the smile growing on your face, but Shadowheart does. “And he’s got this unexpectedly soft side. Like he seems cold and aloof on the outside, but he cares, deeply. About his students, about his cat, about-”

“About you?” she interjects, and your smile falters.

“I don't know, Shade,” you say quietly, almost ashamed to look her in the eye. “I think so. I hope so. But it's not like we've been seeing each other for that long, he’s under no obligation to feel anything.” You practically swallow the last sentence, a truth you're reticent to voice. 

“And you?” she asks softly.

“Man, I don't fucking know. I just want to keep getting laid and not catch feelings, is that so much to ask?” you whine. She laughs, but you can tell that she's only humoring you.

“For you? Probably.”

***

It's been several days and your busy schedules have kept you and Astarion apart for most of it. Save the occasional tension-filled passing in the hall, you've barely interacted at all. You're almost beginning to believe that your whirlwind affair has come to an end when you find a mystery package at your apartment door.

It's made out to you with no discernable return address. You bring the box into your apartment while examining it, trying to ascertain its origin. It doesn't even really look like it was sent through the mail, it looks like it was dropped off.

You take out your phone and call down to the front desk. It rings a few times, then a somber voice answers.

“What dost thou require?” His voice is deep and crackled, like some ancient eternal being.

“Hi Withers, it's Tav in 3C. Do you know anything about this package that was left at my door?”

“I have inspected it, and determined it safe for you to open. It was brought by someone claiming to be a friend.”

“Can you tell me anything about this someone?”

“No.”

And the line goes dead. You laugh and shake your head. If Withers says it's safe, then it probably is. You’d trust that wrinkly old man with your life, honestly. You cut open the tape sealing the box shut and lift off the top.

Inside is something wrapped in tissue paper with a note stuck to it in Astarion's immaculate handwriting. 

Tomorrow evening The Rosewood Seven o’clock Wear nothing underneath

You let out a small involuntary moan when you read the last three words. You carefully unwrap the tissue paper to find a fabric that looks like it's made of starlight. You pull out the midnight black dress and go slightly breathless when you get a good look at it. 

It’s a backless dress with a sweetheart neckline and intricate gold embellishments that almost make it look like armor. It has a lavish gold neck piece attached by several gold chains that drip over the skin. The skirt is made of a weightless black fabric that shimmers with gold as you move it in the light. It almost appears to be cut into two panels with dual hip-high slits.

With a dress cut like this, you wouldn't be able to wear undergarments even if you wanted to.

Your heart hammers in your chest as you think about what he might have in store for you. You're not even sure what's running at the Rosewood right now, but it could be complete trash and you wouldn't even care. You probably won't even be able to pay attention, too distracted by Astarion sitting next to you for two hours.

You feel a pulsing between your legs at the thought. You think of his hand sliding up your knee while you struggle to keep a straight face. Or him reaching an arm around you, gently sliding his fingers into your hair before giving it a sharp tug.

Another moan works its way out of your throat and you follow it up with an annoyed groan. You can really get swept up at the most inconvenient times. It’s not like you don’t have any work you need to do or anything. You roll your eyes as you stalk off to draw a bath.

***

Waiting in the lobby of the theater, you’re feeling surprisingly nervous. The dress, though beautiful, is not particularly comfortable. With all of its various chains and pieces, you needed Shadowheart’s help just to put it on. It helps that she’s also incredibly talented when it comes to hair and makeup, so in truth you feel positively glamorous. 

When you see Astarion, however, everything goes silent. You’re certain that he’s posing for you the way he’s stopped to adjust his cuff. The cut of the suit he’s wearing is exceptionally flattering and you imagine running your hands all over the emerald velvet. His crisp white button down is almost sheer and you desperately want to pull him into you by that forest green silk tie. 

But you can’t tear your eyes away from his face. This is the first time you've seen him wear makeup, and the simple smokey eyeliner look makes his red irises pop. He’s decided to forgo his glasses, presumably opting for contacts instead to show off the makeup. He’s also swapped out his standard silver hoops for little daggers with a red rhinestone glimmering at the hilt. 

He looks up at you the moment you lay eyes on him, or more specifically, the moment your heart starts to beat out of your chest. He flashes you a devastating smile before striding up to you and pulling you into a deep kiss. You can’t even be bothered to care that the other patrons are probably staring as he slides his hand onto your bare lower back, his cool touch sending a shiver up your spine.

He pulls away from you just enough to breathlessly ask, “Are you ready to sit down?”

“Huh?” You’re distracted, too busy plotting a mental path to the bathrooms to fuck him. He lets out a winded chuckle.

“The play. House is open, would you care to find our seats?” His palm is still pressed against your back and you can barely form coherent thoughts. You still don’t even know what play you’re here to see. You just want—no, need—to be near him.

“Um, yeah,” you respond, still trying to get your bearings and remind yourself how to be a person. You let him lead you into the theater, and only once you're in your seats do you realize that neither of you grabbed a program. You pull out your phone to see if you can look it up, but service in the Rosewood is notoriously bad. Instead you just need to sit still next to Astarion, who looks like a dream and smells even better. 

He glances at you as your heart quickens again and his lips curl into a smile. He slips his hand behind your neck and lightly runs his finger along the seam between the golden collar of the dress and your flesh, sending goosebumps down your arms. He leans toward you until his lips are almost brushing your ear. 

“You look absolutely ravishing, my dear,” he whispers, his breath tickling your earlobe. You turn your face toward him on instinct, your chest heaving as you try to steady your breathing. Your lips hover inches apart, anticipating the kiss, when suddenly a throng of noisy actors come barreling down the aisles. You snap away from Astarion as the cacophony of their shrieks of laughter, calls across the audience to one another, and drunken banter fill the house.

One of them clambors onto the stage and shouts, “For God’s sake, a pot of small ale!” He’s dressed in rags and appears by far to be the drunkest of them all. Three servingmen swarm him with various shouts of, “Will’t please your honor?” He shoves them all away and proudly takes up space center stage.

“I am Christophero Sly! Call not me ‘Honor’ nor ‘Lordship,’” he bellows as the rest of the players make their way onto the stage.

Christopher Sly… you’re wracking your brain to remember which play he serves as a framing device for. Most productions cut this scene because it’s long and completely irrelevant. You just can’t for the life of you remember which play he appears in.

The scene continues with their drunken antics and slapstick comedy as the players address Sly as “my noble lord,” making him believe he’s a king that they’re about to perform for. Eventually they carry Sly out on a makeshift palanquin as the “play within the play” begins. Two handsome young men in preppy clothes enter, holding a book and wearing glasses that aren’t too dissimilar from Astarion’s round metal ones. The one without the glasses speaks first.

“Tranio, since for the great desire I had to see fair Padua…”

Tranio? Isn’t he one of the characters in Taming of the Shrew?

He knows you don’t like this play.

Well, if it’s all that’s playing at the Rosewood right now…

But if that’s the case why not just, like, see a movie?

You shift uncomfortably in your dress and cast your gaze towards Astarion. He smiles, taking your fingers and placing a gentle kiss on your knuckles before turning back to the stage. He keeps your hand in his, absentmindedly stroking the back of your hand with his thumb. 

You can feel your heart pounding in your ears and you find yourself wondering what’s running through his head. Just when you think you have him figured out, he does something to surprise you. And honestly, not always in a good way.

Maybe it won’t be so bad. You know the creative team at the Rosewood wouldn’t pick this show if they weren’t going to try to do something with it. 

But even still… is this text even redeemable?

You sit through the entirety of the show cringing as the audience around you laughs at flagrant displays of domestic abuse. The actors, several of whom you’ve worked with before, are trying their hardest to make the lines playful, but some things just can’t be recovered. Between the forced starvation, physical intimidation, and gaslighting, you wonder why companies even bother performing this play anymore. No matter how witty the writing is, it’s just too out of date to be a good season choice.

When the time comes for Kate’s final monologue, you watch in pain as the actress tries to wink-wink-nudge-nudge her way through lines like “place your hands below your husband’s foot.” She’s young, and you wonder if this is one of her first professional gigs. You get a little sad knowing that she’s probably just desperate to do anything, even if it’s trash.

Maybe you’re being a little harsh. All of the individual elements of the show—the acting, set, costumes, direction, lighting—were quite good. You just can’t get over how irredeemable this text is. Worth teaching, yes, and maybe even taking Act II out of context just for the fun banter and clever wordplay. But professional theatre companies should really just retire this one.

In the Lyft back to your apartment, you decide to get Astarion’s take on the matter.

“Do you think it’s possible to redeem a text like Taming in a modern age?”

He pauses for a moment, continuing to look away from you and out the window.

“I do, yes,” he finally answers. “I think it takes a skilled hand, but it can be successful when done well.”

You sit on his response, chewing it over. You decide to take a different route.

“I guess a better question is do you think it’s worth trying to? Like, what are we getting out of it anymore?”

“Is entertainment not enough?” he says with a laugh. You wrinkle your nose at him.

“Sure, if you’re a basic ass bitch. But I want my art to mean something. And I can’t think of what this play can possibly mean if it’s not ‘shrill women are annoying and should learn their place.’” You cross and uncross your legs, trying to keep yourself decent.

“Last I checked, you enjoy being put in your place,” he says in a low hum and your pussy betrays you with a clench. 

“Shut up,” you grumble, and you’re grateful that the dark car hides your reddening cheeks. “It’s different.”

“Is it, though? Ultimately it is a text about two dysfunctional people finding comfort in one another.” His sincerity catches you off guard, and almost makes you angry that he’s been taken in by the propaganda.

“That’s only a valid interpretation if you ignore half of what happens in the play. They’re not equally dysfunctional, Kate literally gets beaten into submission and pretends to be happy about it. Petruchio is exactly the same from the start to the finish, he has no fucking character arc.” Your hands start to shake as you try to keep your cool. You’ve had this conversation far too many times with men who think they can interpret out the sexism by simply glossing over Kate’s abuse.

The Lyft stops in front of your building and you thank the driver as you get out. Astarion follows you, and you’re not even sure if you want him to accompany you upstairs. But you remain silent as you walk past Withers and into the elevator.

“You’re overreacting,” Astarion says once the elevator doors close. “People are drawn to this play for a reason. The text is excellent, and no one truly thinks of Petruchio as an abuser.”

“Are you joking?” Your voice gets shrill and the similarity to Kate isn’t lost on you. “The whole thing normalizes his abuse. The fact that people don’t think of him as an abuser is the problem.”

“It’s a slapstick comedy,” he snaps, his voice growing stern. “Are you going to tell me that we need to cancel the Three Stooges because it promotes violence?”

“Don’t be fucking condescending,” you spit. “It’s not the same and you know it.”

“How is it not the same? Suddenly because it’s a woman in the role it no longer counts? Are you implying that women should be barred from certain types of performance because of their gender?” He walks past you into your apartment and you throw your keys and bag on the counter, not even bothering to see where they land.

“No, that’s not what I’m saying, now you’re just twisting my words,” you grumble, more frustrated than ever by your inability to match his eloquence.

“So use your own words,” he sneers, whirling around to face you. “How is it not the same?”

“It’s because- well, I- It’s different, just- argh!” Your head is clouded by your attraction to him, which has annoyingly only grown over the past few minutes of shouting. You’re suddenly reminded of the smug arrogant bastard that you first met. He lets out a jeering laugh.

“See? You can’t even defend your own point.” 

His sardonic cruelty sets something off in you and you angrily grab the lapel of his green suit. Your intentions are a complete mystery even to you, because as soon as you’re within inches of one another, instincts take over. You crush his lips into yours and pull him backwards until you thump against the door behind you. He paws hungrily at the dress, sliding his hand under the slit and around to grab your bare ass. You gasp into his touch, feeling equally frustrated and aroused that he even controlled what you wore tonight.

Your fingers make their way into his hair and you pull hard, breaking the kiss and leaving his mouth open, panting. His eyes are sparkling with a fire that you haven’t seen yet and a low growl manifests in your throat. He smirks and buries his teeth into your shoulder, something he usually asks bespoke permission for. You cry out in response, twisting your hands tighter into his silvery locks.

He unlatches from your shoulder and pushes his knee past the front of your skirt and up onto your bare cunt. You grind wantonly against the velvet as he kisses you with bloody lips. He grabs hold of the delicate chains of the dress and yanks, detaching them from the collar and making the entire bodice crumple and pool around your waist. Your nipples immediately harden at the sudden exposure to cold air and he pinches one sharply between his fingers. Your hips roll into his leg as you groan, fully ruining his pants. He continues to bite around your neck and shoulders, placing little puncture wounds in his path, marking you as his.

You grab onto his tie and push him away so you can shimmy out of the rest of the dress. You’re now down to just the gold collar of the dress and your heels, a look you wish you could hate but don’t. You pull him across your living area and toward your bedroom, shoving him down onto the edge of the bed. 

“Thou hast hit it, come, sit on me,” he says, quoting Petruchio with a sinister grin. Kate’s retort falls out of your mouth reflexively.

“Asses are made to bear, and so are you,” you hiss as you straddle his hips, wrapping his tie around your hand until you’ve gripped it up to the knot. Your other hand violently unbuckles his belt, yanking it through the loops with a snap.

“Women are made to bear, and so are you,” he says with a caustic laugh, digging his nails into your ass cheeks. You tug sharply on his tie, bringing his lips close to yours.

“No such jade as you, if me you mean,” you snarl and silence him with an angry kiss. You don’t want to encourage his idiotic behavior, but you’d be lying to yourself if you said this wasn’t a fantasy you’ve had before. You fumble with the buttons of his suit jacket, trying to get him undressed as quickly as possible. You’re not sure if you feel more vulnerable or more powerful being undressed while he’s still fully clothed, but either way you want him naked, now. You get about three buttons into his shirt before you grow impatient, ripping it the rest of the way open and sending buttons flying. 

Good. Let him need to repair his clothes for once.

You push him flat onto his back and descend onto his chest, alternating kisses, licks, and bites. Your dull human teeth don’t have nearly the same effect as his fangs, but it just means you get to bite twice as hard in order to leave a mark. He writhes beneath your touch, and you feel a twisted satisfaction at the quiet little grunts and gasps you’re finally pulling from him. He’s rarely this vocal during sex, and it’s only serving to spur you on more.

His groans build until you capture his nipple in your teeth and bite down, causing him to shout and buck his hips up into you. In a flash he flips you around onto your back and he bears down on you, eyes dangerous. 

“Little love, do you think you’re in control?” he asks in a low growl, his hand gripped around your jaw. You sneer and slide your leg against the strained bulge in his pants. He hisses and your smile widens.

“Right now? Yes,” you coo, continuing to press your calf against his velvet-covered cock. You grab the tie still hanging around his neck and pull him close. 

“If you want it back, fucking take it.”

If I put my hands around your wrists, would you fight them?

He kisses you roughly, catching your bottom lip in his teeth biting hard enough to puncture the skin. He pulls back slightly, a drop of your blood running down his chin and a snide grin. He makes like he’s about to kiss you again but shoves your face away before your lips make contact.

This is the worst you’ve ever seen him—the most arrogant, the most condescending, borderline cruel even. And you have never been more turned on.

If I put my fingers in your mouth, would you bite them?

“Is that all you’ve got?” you taunt, licking the blood from your lips. “Go ahead, choke me, daddy.”

The feminist in you is horrified, but the little gremlin controlling your libido is having the time of its life. It squeals with delight when his hand closes around your throat, just barely constricting your breathing. 

“You insolent little brat,” he breathes into your ear, pulling up on your jaw. “I will absolutely ruin you.”

And there will be no tenderness, no tenderness.

“Do it, coward,” you spit, and he lets go just long enough to finish undressing from the waist down. He grabs your still heeled ankle and presses your leg up by your shoulder, stretching you wide enough to take him without any prep. You gasp as he fills you, the stinging pain outweighed by the gratification of finally feeling him inside you.

The only thing that I ask, love me mercilessly.

He sets a punishing rhythm, one knee on the bed and the other foot still firmly planted on the floor. He bottoms out with each long thrust and you grab hold of his hair to brace yourself. He winces with the pain but doesn’t slow down, and your moans grow high and loud as he continues to furiously pound into you. 

“Gods, fuck, Astarion,” you keen, your desire coiling in your belly and threatening to explode. “Keep going, daddy, fuck me please.” He grunts with the effort and your dirty talk seems to be having an effect as his pace falters. You jerk your hips up into him, chasing your orgasm, until finally it barrels through you like a runaway train. You pull on his hair as you come and that sets off his, his pulsing cock pressing against the clenching walls of your cunt. 

He stays deep inside you as the aftershocks reverberate through both of you, until the only sound remaining is your heavy panting. He drops his forehead to touch yours, a pleasantly tender moment after some of the roughest sex you can recall having. He starts to giggle and you follow suit, suddenly giddy. He pulls out of you with a squelch and walks to the bathroom to get a towel to clean up the mess you’ve left behind. He wipes you down gently, a surprising bit of aftercare you’re not accustomed to with him. He plants a tender kiss on your lips and you feel dizzy with affection for him.

You settle up against the headboard of your bed, his arm around you and both of you looking at your phones in a companionable silence. After a moment, he lets out a small chuckle. 

“What?” you ask, turning your head towards him quizzically.

“I’m just shocked that worked, is all,” he laughs, shaking his head. Your confusion grows and you furrow your brow.

“What worked?” you laugh with him, but something doesn’t feel right.

“The whole night, taking you to see Taming, getting into just enough of a fight to result in,” he vaguely waves his hand, gesturing to the edge of the bed, “all of that.”

“Wait, what? What do you mean?” You pull away from him and your stomach drops. Surely he can’t be suggesting what you think he’s suggesting.

“You get riled up so easily, I thought this might be fun.” He still doesn’t seem to have picked up on your heart pounding in your ears, which is frankly unusual for him.

“Are you saying… Wait, are you saying that you planned that fight? So, what, we’d have angry sex?”

“Of course, you don’t think I actually believe anything that I said, do you? Taming of the Shrew might be well-written, but it’s a rubbish play to produce.” He finally turns to you and sees that you’ve gone white as a sheet. “Oh, darling, don’t take it like that, you’re positively adorable when you’re angry, I couldn’t resist.” He tries putting his hand to your cheek but you flinch away like he’s burned you.

“Get out,” you say in a low voice, unable to even look at him.

“What?” He’s still laughing. He doesn’t get it. “My sweet, didn’t you-”

“GET. OUT.” Your voice has a venom in it that even shocks you. He stares at you in horror until you shoot him an icy glare. “Now.”

Without a word he stands and quickly puts his clothes back on. You stay in your bed, naked and curled under a sheet, until you hear the front door of your apartment slam. With shaking hands, you call Shadowheart.

“Moonmaiden’s delight, did you enjoy yourself? It certainly sounded like you did.” The sound of Shadowheart’s bubbly laugh usually makes you smile, but right now it seeps into your skin like poison.

“Shade, please come over,” you whimper, and the second the words leave your mouth, the tears begin to fall. You don’t hear her hang up, but you do hear a muffled, “I’m going to fucking kill him!” through the wall. You pull your knees further into your chest and sob.

[sweetestcaptainhughes]

Oooo I hope this challenge gets you out of your funk! How about # 2 with John Marino please!

It probably sadly won't since I seem to go through many fazes of writter's block funk. I love interacting with you guys though, so 'i might start doing more events like this in the future or events in general. I've found that if I don't have time to sit down and write the entire fic in one sitting it will sit in my google drive for months... and that's my toxic trait. I love that you requested Johnny. 💞

Drabble Challange

"How long have you been standing there?"

John knew how to be quiet, even with how tall he was he was good at sneaking up on people according to you. But according to him, it was your own fault because you got stuck in your own world espically when talking to your almost 8 month baby bump. John was leaning against the wall in the kitchen as you were standing at the stove at almost 3 AM wishing you were in bed instead. But your sweet baby girl was craving some mac and cheese. The thing about pregnancy cravings that no one told you about was that it wasn't a simple craving. It was if your throat and mouth became completely dry like a dessert until your lips touched whatever it was that you were craving. Which is why you were standing in your kitchen at the 3 AM, the only light on in your apartment being the little light coming from the top microwave over the stove.

"I hope you know how much I love you that I am making mac n cheese right now." you spoke softly, as you rubbed your stomach trying to smooth the kicking.

"hey that one hurt sweet babygirl." you whisper shouted, letting out a surprised yelp as she kicked your ribcage again. "girlie you better stop." as you smoothed down your stomach.

John cracked a full blown smile from you yelling at your unborn babygirl for being such a kicker. Coming up softly behind you, his presence still unknown to you. "baby why didn't you wake me?" John gently asks finally making his presence known.

"Jesus." jumping slightly surprised to see John standing in the entry of the kitchen. "How long have you been standing there?" you ask pointing the wooden spoon you were cooking with at him as if it was a weapon. All John does is laugh as he quietly appraches you wrapping his arms around your swollen stomach putting his hand on top of yours.

"not long. but long enough to know you shouted at babygirl." he chuckles.

"hey whisper shouted" you agure back lightly laughing. "and I didn't wake you up because you have to leave early tomorrow for that roadie.

"I don't wanna go." he admits. All you do is sigh, turning around in his arms.

"Johnny." you whisper.

"What if something happens?" finally letting his anxiety about being across the country from you being spoken out loud.

"Then your a phone call away baby. We talked about this. Babygirl is due in the middle of the season. You gotta work until she's here so you take off when she is born." you reasoned. John knew you were right but it didn't help him feel better.

"But I'll miss all the late night cravings." he agrued,

"I will call you then. But you are leaving tomorrow."

"fine." he finally agreed on one condition "but only if I get a bowl of that mac and cheese." A cheeky grin on his lips.

"That's not up to me and we both know that." Both of. you laughing at a the realization that it's up to however much your babygirl feels she needs.

[buccini555]

𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 - 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩

♡ What would it be like to have a secret relationship with one of the city's most dangerous gangsters? (NSFW Imagine)

♡ H e a d c a n o n s/I m a g i n e s .ᐟ .ᐟ

♡ 𝑭𝒕. Kokonoi Hajime

𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐣𝐢𝐫𝐨 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐨 . 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐳𝐮 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐲𝐨 . 𝐊𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐨 𝐇𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐨 . 𝐑𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐮 𝐇𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐢 . 𝐑𝐚𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐢 . 𝐊𝐨𝐤𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐢 𝐇𝐚𝐣𝐢𝐦𝐞 ♡ . 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐨𝐦𝐢 𝐀𝐤𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢

tw: none, he's a sweetheart

𝗞𝗼𝗸𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗶 𝗛𝗮𝗷𝗶𝗺𝗲: Kokonoi had already kept his eyes on you for some time, never ceasing to show interest, Koko waited anxiously to be reciprocated by you, of course, wherever you were in the same environment, he would do everything to get your attention and as soon as he finally won you over, he would become the romantic and passionate type.

Koko has no limits when it comes to you, he is totally obsessed with you, there is nothing that Kokonoi wouldn't do for you, despite being a criminal, he treats you with all the passion that someone could treat, even making you feel forget about his "dirty work", he has no toxic traits and tries to keep your relationship healthy and respectful, despite being completely crazy about you.

Your meetings usually take place in luxurious places, hotels, resorts, apartments, suites or restaurants, he makes a point of taking you to the best places he can provide you, Kokonoi wouldn't mind taking over your relationship if he didn't belong to a criminal organization, he just keeps your relationship private as a precaution, even so, Koko doesn't mind appearing with you in public rarely.

It's a fact that Kokonoi's way of showing love is through gifts, jewelry, designer clothes and shoes, special treatments, you never lack that, he makes a point of always keeping you at your peak, Koko never denies how passionate he is for you even though on many occasions he ends up being somewhat absent due to his work, even if such work is stressful, Kokonoi has never shown irritation with you, on the contrary, you keep him calm after so many hours making some money for prioritize spending on treats aimed at you.

tw: Kokonoi being a sweetheart, oral sex mention, unprotected sex, a lot of pet names(sweet, sweetheart, honey, baby, babygirl and others) Kokonoi asking to be called "daddy" and I think that's it

"You look perfect as always, my sweetheart." Kokonoi entered the suite door surreptitiously and when he saw you getting ready in front of the mirror to go to bed soon, he couldn't stop being impressed and praise you, the taller remained leaning against the doorframe watching you attentively from top to bottom, noticing every detail in you while smiling subtly.

You turned to him zipping up the top of your lacy nightgown, returning the smile he maintained, you stood up from your vanity chair and approached Kokonoi. "Thank you, you must be so tired, you should get some rest, don't you, sweet?" You questioned, holding the taller's face and bringing him closer.

"It's true, I'm tired, but not for you, babygirl." Holding your hand and kissing it gently, he responded, still looking you up and down.

"Are you sure, Koko? You spent so much time working today..." In a tone of concern, you questioned him again, noticing those looks coming from him and returning them.

He smiled again, maintaining a smirk as he looked into your eyes. "Thank you for worrying about me, I'm fine." Kokonoi cupped his face and kissed his lips in a brief touch. "And I really don't want to talk about work right now..." Kokonoi brought you closer, pulling you tightly by his waist.

"So what do you want, Koko?" Biting your own lip, you asked your question while the taller made your body shiver with every touch of your newly hydrated skin.

He laughed, looking away from you for a moment. "What a silly question, it's obvious, I want what's mine." Kokonoi stated, returning his attention to you.

"What?" You asked in order to provoke him even more.

"You." He said, picking you up and putting you on the bed right away.

You linked your arms above the older man's shoulders, making him stay even closer while Koko occupied your lips with a slow and intense kiss at the same time, the thin fabric of your nightwear kept your body semi exposed, making it so the moment became even hotter, the touches intensified as the taller's hands ran all over your body, making your heart speed up, then he slowly pulled one of the straps of your clothes, keeping you practically naked in front of his eyes.

"You're hot... Like... So fucking hot, girl." Keeping you on top of him, Kokonoi said somewhat breathlessly.

"I'm yours." Soon after, you responded by caressing his face while keeping your hips steady.

Again, he held you for a kiss that extended to your neck and breasts, Kokonoi didn't mind leaving you with some marks and did so, leaving your lap full of hickeys while he grabbed your breasts without so much kindness, making you let out a few noises.

Pushing Kokonoi's platinum hair aside, you unbuttoned the crimson shirt he was wearing. "What are you waiting for?" You questioned, also leaving your pajamas aside.

"Fuck, love." Seeing you naked, he exclaimed. "I love it when you show off for me." He held you again, this time, putting you against the bed, getting on top of you and holding your wrists in a way where you remained completely still, so he kissed you again, moving each kiss down your body until he reached your pussy, Kokonoi knew exactly how to use his tongue, making your body go into ecstasy while he was doing his job, he licked your clit like a kitten, Koko would definitely not leave his legs until she felt your entire body tremble announcing one more orgasm.

"K-koko..." You moaned his name as he used his tongue and fingers, then, making you fall apart on his lips, it was as if time had stopped and you had simply lost control of your body that he was shaking and sweating. "I'm just getting started, princess." Standing up and wiping his face, he said directly in a few words. "I-I, I want more." After Koko spoke, you ordered from him while watching him panting. "You'll have it, sweetheart." Unbuttoning the buttons on the tailored pants he was currently wearing, he said, moving closer to you, pulling your hips forward on the bed. "I love you so much, my precious." Before starting such an act, he said, making you moan instantly, he was definitely worried about your well-being and started with subtle and at the same time deep movements that soon intensified, Koko He wouldn’t mind fucking you until you begged him to stop and so he did, making you feel every thrust. "I have to get back to my work, dollface." Holding your neck lightly, he said as he kept thrusting into you. "N-no, stay, Koko, p-please." Amid your heavy breathing and moans, you asked him to keep crossing your legs around the taller's waist, ending up making him go even deeper inside you. "F-fuck..." He sighed soon after, feeling how hot and tight you remained, making him even more excited and urged to satisfy you completely. "I-I'm not leaving here until I see you satisfied, my princess, so... I'll have to be faster." From that moment on, he completely lost his fear of hurting you, going even faster and deeper, more and more until he reached his peak again. "K-koko, I... I can't take it anymore, I-I..." You said as you tried to control his body, but, he was really willing to test your limits. "Shii... Stay quiet, babygirl." Covering his mouth, he exclaimed, keeping the same pace, Kokonoi knew that his goal would be achieved soon, so he just focused on giving you as much pleasure as possible to compensate for his absence.

"What are you mine? Tell me right now..." He questioned after fucking you for a few minutes without stopping.

You couldn't even respond amid each thrust, so Koko questioned again. "What are you mine? Mm?" You looked at the taller one with teary eyes. "I-I'm yours, only yours." Responding Kokonoi, you delivered your speech briefly.

"Who's your daddy?" He questions again as he gets more and more fucked up.

"Y-you're my daddy, Koko." You responded, feeling his dick going deeper and deeper as he gets excited about being called daddy.

At that point, Koko already knew that you couldn't take it anymore, so, finally, he kept going faster until you definitely couldn't take it, withdrawing from inside you while attentively watching you already satisfied.

"I have to go, baby..." Getting off of you, Kokonoi said in a crestfallen tone.

You grabbed his arm and hugged him. "Come back later, you'll be back, won't you?"

He let go of the hug and went to get dressed right away. "I have to go back to finish what we started..." With a smirk, he replied, shortly after, Koko kissed you on the forehead and placed you under the linen, caressing your face before getting ready for return to the work he had left behind.

[notapradagurl7]

Unhealthy.

Franklin Saint x Black Fem! Reader

Word Count: 1,860k

Taglist: @megamindsecretlair @wide-nose-and-wonderful @henneseyhoe @satoruya @westside-rot @keyera-jackson @sageispunk @beenathembo @blackerthings @playgurlxoxo @planetblaque @partygetsmewetter-x @vile-harlot

Summary: You and Franklin were inseparable until that one day when he killed Kevin, however you have a daughter with him. But you have a date tonight with Donovan.

Warnings: Use of AAVE, spoilers of season two, mention of violence, use of drugs, guns, threats, Mention of jail, toxic smut, gaslighting. slight choking, a furious, possessive Franklin, profanity, dirty talk, the reader is stressed out, use of the N-word. oral(fem receiving) fingering. Obsession.

—————————

You reached a breaking point and decided to end your relationship with Franklin after witnessing him kill Kevin, and this incident made it so you could no longer tolerate being in his presence or allowing your three-year-old daughter, Eden, to be near him. You had your daughter during the period leading up to Franklin's act of killing Kevin, and you made a sincere effort to protect her from his actions.

Franklin explained everything to you the best way he could but after watching it. It became too intense.

He informed you about Kevin's cousin conducting sales in Mexico and subsequently being brutally stabbed, the agent witnessing the entire incident during daylight at the park, and the presence of witnesses. Moreover, Kevin's sole motivation was seeking vengeance for his cousin.

At that moment, Franklin decided to handle things on his own. You and Leon swiftly caught hold of Franklin's arms, guiding him towards the backseat of the elegant deep green Cadillac. Meanwhile, Leon comfortably settled himself in the seat next to the driver.

You assumed control of the car and promptly drove away from the park, closing the car doors with Leon. Later on, Franklin was incarcerated and subsequently released, undergoing a complete transformation of character.

Even though you never inquired about it, you were aware that Franklin was a running a drug empire. He displayed traits of being clever, driven, and constantly sought out opportunities to generate more income, not solely for his benefit, but also for you and Eden.

Franklin occasionally came over for dinner to spend time with you and Eden, and these visits were generally enjoyable for him. He cherished seeing his little one, but on this particular night in question, you had plans for a date with Donovan. Fortunately, your mom was available to babysit Eden for the evening.

You called him on the phone before your date tonight.

“Hey, Franklin, there's something i've got to tell you.”

“What is it baby?"

“You can't come over for dinner tonight because i have a date." you said, trying to brace yourself for his reaction.

His face twisted in a furious glare with his harsh breath picking up, “What did you say?” he growled, his voice low with the rasp waltzing through your ears from the receiver.

"You think you can just replace me with another nigga? After everything we've been through?" he spat, his voice laced with venom.

“It’s not about replacing you, your obsession has got to stop.” you pleaded softly, your voice cracking a bit. You nervously twirl the phone

Franklin had an unhealthy obsession with you and wanted the two of you to get back together, he wanted to be a father to his daughter.

“Y/N you really think that Eden won't miss her father?”

“We can co-parent with Eden—”

“Fuck that co-parenting bullshit Y/N, Eden needs both of her parents in her life.”

“My mom is babysitting her—”

He slammed his fist against the counter, causing a loud thud to echo through the kitchen. You flinched as if you were in the kitchen with him.

“If you think for one second you can find someone better than me, you—”

“Fuck you Franklin Saint.”

“Ma, you're mine. You've always been mine.” he declared, his rasp hits your ears.

“I know what that nigga looks like Y/N, if you invite him to your—”

You hung up the phone, your heavy breathing echoing in the dimly lit kitchen as you swiftly rose from the chair.

There was no time to worry about Franklin; all that mattered now was preparing for your date with Donovan.

A gentle knock on the door caught your attention, your gaze fixed on the sleek black dress in the mirror and your hair styled in a curly bun on top with a curly bang in front of your face. Your rich midnight skin shone underneath the lights, You peeked through the peephole, you saw Donovan standing there, holding a bouquet of flowers.

He took a deep breath, and you tightened your grip on the doorknob. But before you could react, a sudden movement caught your eye. Franklin appeared, aiming a black pistol at the top of Donovan's head.

The sound of a gunshot filled the air, and blood splattered across the grass, staining the peephole. Your eyes widened in fear, your heart pounding in your chest. Donovan's lifeless body dropped to the ground with a dull thud.

"What the hell?" you whispered under your breath, Franklin called out for Peaches, his bodyguard.

You watched in shock as he cleaned up the blood, wiping the gun with a blue paisley bandana. Peaches swiftly seized Donovan's body and tossed it into the trunk of the car. He grabbed the gun from Franklin, he looked both ways, making sure that there wasn’t anyone outside, He settled into the driver's seat, Peaches sped away, the tires screeching echoing through the neighborhood.

Franklin knocked gently on your front door, as if the world hadn't just crumbled around you. With tear-filled eyes, you swung the door open, your voice trembling with anger and pain, "What the hell is wrong with you? Come inside."

You wiped away your tears as he crossed the threshold, his face devoid of any guilt or remorse for his actions.

It was clear that the mere thought of you finding comfort in someone else's arms was unbearable to him. Deep down, you knew that you couldn't allow yourself to fall in love again, not with the person he was slowly transforming into.

"Why can't you let me—?" His hands cradled your face, preventing any further words from escaping your lips. "Y/N, I’m the only one you should be with, nobody else.." he whispered, planting a tender kiss on your forehead.

His eyes locked onto yours as his fingers gently encircled your neck, his thumb pressing against your skin, not to harm you, but to feel the rhythm of your heartbeat.

"I don't need you, you're a different person now Franklin. Ever since that day—," you sighed, unable to bring yourself to utter another word. Your hand instinctively moved down your face, attempting to erase the painful memories that you wished to forget.

“Did you know how scared I was? After everything that happened. Look at me, after this. Let's co-parent for Eden, we’ll still have those dinners so you can see her okay?”

Franklin released a quivering exhale, his gaze piercing into the depths of your pupils, yet his love for you remained unwavering. He acknowledged that this fixation was far from healthy, but it stood as the sole possible choice for the two of you.

“Okay, you're right. can I get one last kiss before I go?” He asked softly, lifting your chin with his index finger.

Franklin stepped closer to you with a warm smile, the rasp in his voice made your clit throb and your heart did a backflip his face leaned into yours. His plump lips descended onto yours, this one last kiss would eventually turn into something more.

Next thing you know, you were gently tossed on the couch with your back slouching against the plush cushion, Frankin crouched between your legs and you gently turned you around as his fingers unbuttoned the back of your dress, your dress gracefully fell on the living green room rug, you slid your panties off your ankles and unhooked your bra.

Your legs were draped over his shoulders, his hands holding them firmly in place as he pecked your clit twice, “fuck..” you moaned softly, his tongue slithering across your wet folds, replacing his tongue with his fingers as he traced shapes on your clit lazily, “You're sure you don't need me? You're already so wet..” he mumbled, Your hips moved with his tongue, The vibration from his mouth made you shudder. His hands palmed your breasts with his tongue flickering on your nipple, Your heart swelled at his words.

Why did this moment feel both perfect and flawed simultaneously? You were about to feel the absence of Franklin, but only for the positive aspects of his character. Waves after waves of pleasure washed over you with your hand gripping on his small afro earning a groan from Franklin, “More..” you whined softly, begging for him. boosting his ego while his tongue rolled around your sensitive nub.

His fingers picked up the pace with precise, his low-lidded watched your folds clenched around his fingers, “It sounds like your pussy missed me.” he groaned deeply, the soft squelching sound sent him to the edge. Your gaze locked with his, your hips gently rolled against his fingers, filling you with a wave of bliss as his thumbs lovingly caressed your thighs, pecking your dark skin.

Your legs shaken in his hands, a rapid quivering that betrayed your excitement. your climax coursed through you like a bolt of lightning. "Oh fuck, Franklin!" you cried out, clutching the armrest tightly for support. A wave of tiny tingling sensations scattered across your body, catching you off guard.

"Let it go," he whispered softly, kissing your lips twice. Despite the regular dinner visits, he yearned to be more for you. the whole neighborhood heared you as you squirted on the rug, Franklin eagerly slurped and every drop.

You were too weak to move from the intensity of your orgasm but you grabbed a grey sweatshirt from last night, you slid on your sweatshirt and got up by your hands and knees, Franklin gently grabbed your by your arms. “You good Y/N?” He asked softly, his face softened at you in concern.

“Yeah, I'm good Frankie.” you panted, lying to your knees going weak at the sound of his voice.

Franklin stood up from his crouched position and lifted your chin to look at you with a warm smile, “I’ll see you on Monday night in your with Eden.” He said softly, his thumb swiped your cheek.

After that, you bid farewell to Franklin as you watched walked through the threshold of your front door. You closed the door behind him with slow caution. Your fingers turn the lock swiftly as your back leans toward the door with tears rolling down your cheeks in a happy yet still sad type of way.

You exhaled a shaky breath from your lips, knowing that you had to figure out a way to leave him and take your daughter with you. You had to leave right? There had to be another way but for now. You had to smile through the dinners with him as if everything was fine.

——————

[wakeupthemembersofbylernation]

It is not even that Mlvns are homophobic. I mean, many of the toxic ones are. We’ve all seen them and interacted with them and received hate anons from them. When Noah’s article officially confirming Will’s sexuality dropped during the summer, people were literally tweeting slurs and fantasizing about him being hate-crimed or dying from AIDS. (It’s probably unfair to group Mlvns in with these people, as lots of them weren’t even Mlvns, just bigoted GA members and trolls). But still. It was bleak. There’s a deep darkness within the ST fandom undeniably.

But I’m sure many Mlvns/Byler-antis are the types of people who genuinely have no problem with queer people in real life. When we call them out on their bigotry and homophobia, they get confused and say, “But I have gay friends! How am I homophobic for not liking Byler?” And they mean it 100%. They really do have gay friends. They probably consider themselves allies and yada yada.

The issue is that A) they are deeply heteronormative without realizing it, and B) they simply aren’t the target audience for the show, and as such, they don’t really understand or connect to the themes of the show. The thing is, lots of people, many Milkvans included, are simply normies. Now I love Steve as a character, so this is literally no hate to Steve, but lots of people are Steves. And people who are like Steve: popular, straight, attractive, used to dating the types of people they want, into ‘normal’ interests like sports (not that Steve is hyper into sports, but you know what I mean), likely to go down ‘normal’ paths and live fairly conventional lives like their parents, etc. are simply not the target audience for the show.

Obviously, the show centers on outcasts, nerds, queer characters, characters with disabilities, black characters, etc. Most people recognize this on some level, but they recognize it in more of a general sense like, “Of course the protagonists are nerds/outcasts, just like all the classic 80s teen protagonists. I just love how nostalgic ST is!” And they leave it at that. Because they are normies, they don’t really connect to the themes of the show other than a surface-level, power of friendship sense. They don’t see how Byler is more aligned with the show’s message than Milkvan at this point. They don’t see that the outcast status of most of the characters is more than just a throwaway personality trait… its deeply integral to the point of the show itself and closely connected to the supernatural storyline.

This is because nerd culture is somewhat mainstream now, and lots of “normies” like it too. Star Wars, Marvel, LOTR, Harry Potter, etc. These are all major parts of society and billion dollar franchises, even more so than they were in the 80s. Because of this, people don’t realize that in the context of the world of the show, they wouldn’t have been friends with the Party most likely. It is far more statistically likely that they would’ve rolled with Angela’s friend group or joined Jason’s human hunting squad. Or even if they weren’t outright bullies, it’s far more likely that they would’ve been one of the nameless background characters in Hawkins High, just kind of floating by in a conventionally comfortable existence, entirely oblivious to government lab conspiracies and alternate dimensions. The characters in ST are outcasts in a deeper, existential sense. Society is against them.

And so many people can’t relate, especially to the queer themes. They can’t even see the queer themes. Because the show is not for them. That’s why you see so many baffling takes on the show:

“Will is so whiny all the time, and I don’t like him!”

“Mike was right in the rain fight! S3 is about growing up, and Will was acting like a baby.”

“Tbh I don’t care that much about the Party dynamics. My favorite part of the show is Steve and Dustin being funny together. And my second favorite part is Hopper being a cool action hero.”

“B*lly is overhated! I mean, he’s so hot and misunderstood! He could’ve redeemed himself.”

“I don’t get Byler. It barely seems like Mike and Will are even friends.”

To be clear, it doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy the genre of the show. Being horror/sci-fi, its core fans are a smaller pool of people than, say, fans of The Office or Friends or other popular sitcoms. So the Mlvns who watched it since the beginning probably do have some avant-garde tastes in terms of genre-preferences, since lots of people wouldn’t touch horror with a ten-foot pole. But it does mean they don’t pick up on the themes of the show and the arc of the characters.

(Of course, many newer fans now are just watching it cause it’s popular, regardless of which genres they typically prefer. This opens the show up to lots of people who don’t connect to anything about the show, not just its themes but also its darker content. A lot of newer fans sound like this: “Like, I just love that Mike was in love with El from the day he found her in the woods, and it’s so cute that El is Mike’s superhero, and Eddie is so cool and badass; I wish he could’ve told Chrissy how he felt, and I’m anxiously awaiting S5 to see who Nancy chooses but I hope she chooses Steve… Stancy 4ever!” This is because Stancy is like every other conventionally attractive couple in media).

I’m rambling, but a lot of people are into Milkvan because of their expectations that “pretty boy and pretty girl go together,” and that’s all there is to it. Finn is attractive and Millie is attractive, and they play the protagonists, so of course Mike and El are endgame. Why wouldn’t they be? This is true for the girls who project themselves onto Millie and see Finn/Mike as a dream boyfriend, and it’s true for the guys who project themselves onto Finn and who would want nothing more than to have a cool, superpowered girlfriend.

This is the way of nature. In a normie worldview, there’s no deviation from this path. A lot of fans basically take The Kissing Booth/To All the Boys I Loved Before and slap a sci-fi/horror filter on it, and they think that’s what Stranger Things is. It’s a cool show where kids fight monsters, and there are normal, heterosexual romances like Mlvn to root for, and there’s a badass superhero main character at the center.

Oh, there’s a gay character too? Well, that’s weird. I mean, y’all already have Robin, but whatever. I’m not homophobic! I’m cool with Will being gay… as long as he stays over there. Oh, he’s in love with Mike? Well, that’s even weirder. Why would the writers do that? I suppose that’s fine, as long as it’s just a little crush, and as long as it doesn’t get in the way of “the main storyline” and my OTP. I’m not homophobic, I swear! I have gay friends!

And they do. And they might not actively be against LGBTQ+ people in real life. They may really be telling the truth. But because they are Steves, this is where heteronormativity comes into play and blinds them. Main couples in shows are always straight, so the cool sci-fi, monster show they love must also be. They’re fine with Kevin Kellers, but queer Mike doesn’t fit the box that they allot to gay characters. So Mike must be the straightest character of all time to fight back against “weird delusional Byler theories” that would “come out of nowhere.” It’s not that they’re actively anti-gay; it’s that they are profoundly closed-minded and have a very myopic view of sexuality/storytelling/their favorite characters/their favorite shows. This is very similar to the XO, Kitty situation and people who were upset that Kitty was ‘suddenly’ bi and had a crush on Yuri.

WHAT?! Where did this come from? I thought I was watching a normal rom-com! I was fine with the gay characters on it who were clearly televised from the beginning! But Kitty? No! Kitty’s my self-insert. How can she like girls too? It must be a phase and be “less real” than her male love interests. This isn’t Heartstopper. The same weird energy is present in the ST fandom.

Byler being semi-canon isn’t seen as confirmation of a love triangle; it’s seen as a disruption to the norm and the foregone conclusion that Mike and El will be together forever and get married and have telekinetic children because the show owes that to them for all they’ve been through. “But why is Will inserted into their scenes?” we ask them, begging them to see reason. “Idk, but he should know his place and stop being a homewrecker and go find a new boy to like. Just leave the soulmates alone. Mike has already made clear he’s straight and that Will is nothing more than a friend. He said it in the roller rink!” This is how heteronormativity works.

That’s why Byler endgame will be so important because it will shatter preconceived notions and open people’s eyes to the beautiful tapestry of humanity. And they will see that this powerful, queer, coming-of-age, love story was right there, under their noses, in their “fun sci-fi monster show” this whole time. *Mind Blown*

[romanarose]

Puzzle Pieces: Part 3

Ben Miller x Fem!Reader

Join my taglist : Masterlist

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Part one; Part Two:

Series: Read is dating Tom and he's not kind to her. Luckily, Benny always is.

Summery: Tom make you feel bad about your dress

Warnings: Toxic relationship (reader and Tom), body shaming, shaming reveling clothing, beginning of emotional cheating type thing.

Immersivity: Afab reader, fem reader. I guess maybe its implied reader is thick? But you know the 2000's everyone was called fat for literally everything lololoool

********************

Ben and Santi were dding tonight. Santi picked up Frankie and his lady, Mel, and Will and his wife Laura got in Ben's truck and went to pick up Tom and his girl. Ben volunteered to get them, earning him a side eyes from Will who was suspicious, but Ben insisted he just thought you were cool. He didn't tell Will he thought you were the coolest, prettiest woman he'd ever seen and that he thought Tom didn't treat you good.

You were excited. Tom actually invited you to hang out with his friends! He rarely did that, even when later you'd be on snapchat or facebook and see the other guys brought girlfriends... It was fine though, because you were new. Sure, you were living with Tom... but the Mel and Laura had known the guys for years instead of a few months with you. You had to earn it.

So, you found a nice dress in your closet, and did your make-up all nice, wanting Tom to show you off the way Frankie and Will did. After hearing Tom yell upstairs to hurry up, you clip a bow into your hair for extra measure and skip downstairs, your smile grows when you see Ben. Ben was always nice to you. Not that the others weren't! It's just you and Ben got along easy.

"About damn time!" Tom says in a way that sounds like he's joking, but always makes you feel confused, like he isn't. 'It's just a joke, babe' he'd tell you constantly.

"Sorry!" You did a little spin, showing off the dress. "Do you like it?"

"Yeah" He said, chugging a beer down before leaving. Will cleared his throat, so Tom added on. "You look great! But... I thought we were giving that one to goodwill? You said it was too small."

You can feel your excitement deflating. "Oh... um, well I changed my mind... I didn't say it was too small though... I just never got the chance to wear it."

He rolls his eyes, that playful look still on his face but it made you nervous. "Oh, I guess that's my fault for never taking you nice places"

Were you fighting? You couldn't tell. You smile big, trying to keep peace. why was this so hard? "No! No baby that's not it. I just mean it's not my go to, you know? But I think it'd be nice for tonight." You reach a hand out to his shoulder.

Laura chuckles nervously, "I love the dress! Next time you me and Mel should coordinate. I'd don't dress up enough either." Laura was wearing jeans and t-shirt.

Tom turned to you. "Yeah, you should've coordinated with the girls."

"That's not what I meant, Tom." Laura glares at him.

"Well now you can look over dressed because we're just going to the corner bar."

You can feel embarrassment burning at the back of your eyes, throat feeling tight. You couldn't tell if you were being joked with or made fun of. "Well you wouldn't tell me where we're going!"

"Because I didn't wanna hear you bitch about it not being nice!" When turned to you, there was a flash in his eyes you didn't like. He grabbed your hand on his arm and took it off.

Ben watched as Will took the most subtle step forward. "Hey man, relax, there's no need to yell at her."

When he turned to the other, the glint in his eye was gone and his smile was back. "Relax babe, it's just a joke. Of course you'll look nice." He kissed your head, hand on your hip keeping you still as he gestured everyone out the door. "C'mon lets have a good night."

When they were on their way, tom turned you too him. You look up into his eyes, seeing the softness you loved in him, the strength, the traits that made you fall in love. He held one arm around your waist, the other at your shoulder. "You know I love you, right?"

"Yeah, I know. And I love you."

He nods, smiling. "Good girl." Tom's hand reaches for the boy clipped into your hair. "Let's keep this at home, okay? It's a bit too... preschool teacher."

You tried not to look hurt as you let him take it out, placing it on the counter.

Ben watched it happen. He watched it all happen, the ways Tom tried to knock you down, to play hurtful things off as a joke... But then he saw Tom take that bow of oh your hair, the pretty bow Ben thought you looked so beautiful in, and he was done just watching.

"Hey, I gotta piss real quick." He jogs up the front steps, Tom passing him the house keys to lock up after. Once inside, he found the clip

*

At the bar, they found the table with Santi, Frankie and Mel. Mel told you how hot you looked, making you smile which made Ben smile too. Ben couldn't tell you you were hot, even if he thought it.

"Oh! Hey," Ben called your name. "I think this fell out of your hair when you were leaving."

He pulls the bow out of his back pocket, walking up to where you were sitting with Tom's arm around you. Ben smile softly, trying not to give himself away as he watched you beam up at him as he fastened it into your hair.

"There we go! Beautiful, don't you think, Tom?"

Tom's voice was clipped and short. "Yeah. Beautiful."

He felt Tom's glare and several other eyes on him as he walked all the to the other end of the table but he didn't care. Someone had to treat you right, and it wasn't Tom.

********************

THANK YOU FOR READING!!!!

I love my sweet benny boo <3 hope to start his part in the leather and lace universe soon.

How to keep up?

follow @romana-updates, join my tag list linked above, join my tumblr community, or follow me on ao3 @romana_rose !!

@my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction @itspdameronthings @miraclesabound @missdictatorme @rubyfruitjungle @axshadows @pimosworld @casa-boiardi @ramadiiiisme

[scoliosisgoblin]

Do you think Jerry Smith deserves the hate from his family?

honestly? IT DEPENDS

Jerry is one of the most pathetic fictional men of all time and he constantly made it known, if that makes sense?

the hate Rick had for Jerry in the first few seasons is truly understandable — a young Jerry knocked up his 17 y/o daughter, which forced her into a situation where she felt the need to have the baby and get married to him. he gets by in life being pathetic and making people feel sorry for him, which is why I DON'T hate the conflict between him and Rick at all. however, I would've liked a scene where Jerry calls Rick out for potentially abandoning Beth (not knowing what actually happened)

I feel bad for Summer, she used to be quite close with Jerry and Jerry seems to take advantage of that, or at least TRIES to. in S2 Ep 9, Look Who's Purging Now, Jerry tried to get Summer to give him money, since he lost his job in S1 iirc. I'm pretty sure it's happened a few times because of it. also, she's a teen, teens hate their parents and stuff, so yeah

with Beth, I hate it for the most part. she was so obviously in a toxic relationship with her father that never really got addressed until Space Beth showed up, but it wasn't even explored all that well. she's so quick to hate on Jerry because of Rick's grudge against him, which would've been such an interesting topic to discuss — addressing the trauma she's gone through instead of just playing it out for jokes. I also don't like how toxic Jerry and Beth's relationship is majority of the time, and how they never explore it unless it's for a joke. it could be funny, yeah, but it's really just a waste of an opportunity to address their toxic behaviors and better them as characters

finally, with Morty, I get why he thinks so little of Jerry. he's a young teen viewing the world more from his grandpa's point of view. his views on life and the world around him is so heavily put into hsi head because of Rick, WHICH I LOVE TBH. I just dislike how.... they don't explore it very well....

Rick having a huge impact on Morty's thoughts and how he goes about his life is something I wish was handled better. they practically just said "this relationship is toxic, Rick is gonna fuck off for half an episode, then come back and everyone is gonna hate him" but that's a different story

also SPACE BETH — HER HATING JERRY IS GOOD FOR HER CHARACTER ‼️‼️ her getting along with Jerry nowadays is FINE, but SB is literally just Beth's more toxic traits exaggerated. and I love that about her, I love their rivalry. I always liked Beth and Jerry's rivalry tbh, but sometimes it'd get out of hand (which is what I was talking about earlier), and I dislike that their relationship has just become like "man I hate my husband", "honey I built a jigsaw :D". takes the fun out of it, makes it just.. sad

[ofowlsdinosaursanddragons]

AUs I like and my one favorite thing about them:

@tealmaskmybeloved’s Toxic consequences au.

Synopsis: An au Kieran made a deal with Dokutaro (aka pecharunt) and instead of going down the canon, he helps the Lousy three along with the peach to gain the real mask. And it’s up to Ogerpon, Carmine and the BB elite 4 to stop the plans of the Never-rotting peach.

Favorite thing: Kinda the authenticity of this for me. And it being the first AUs that got my Pokémon hyperfixation rising back from the dead really helped me out.

@skyedancer2006’s Bridged Toxicity au.

Synopsis: An au where Kieran, after making a deal with pecharunt, painfully transforms into a reptomammalian dragon creature as he deals with the struggle of his new form.

Favorite thing: The body horror and themes of what it is to be truly human. I honestly enjoy this topic of post-humanism or as I like to call it: “the altered self horror”. Things like all tomorrows, An American werewolf in London, or any other kind of fiction involving body horror in any way I really enjoy!

Check out this video for a more in-depth look at “the altered self horror” genre.

@indigodiskmybeloved’s Mochi Desires au.

Synopsis: The “what if” scenario where everything wife’s down a rollercoaster down. Nemona never got a perfect rival, team star is expelled and Arven’s Mabosstiff dies of its injuries. Pechakeen, a glimmora and the half of the now human Geeta, controls the three and forces them under their will.

Favorite thing: the tone and somberness of it all. And yes, this is coming from someone who prefers happy endings over downers, but considering how the AU and the tone, this doesn’t feel like a simple “toxic chained au” that can be stopped with a Pokémon battle. No. This is not that kind of au. Here, there was no Florian/Juliana. There was no helping them out. And in their place, are two siblings forced to take the role of the hero. It kinda has a somber feel of “oh god” for the poor children unable to climb out of the pit of no return… it kinda reminds me of Giant of the skies’ ornithocheirus in a sense.

but on a more “light hearted” note:

@ezlo-x’S Lost Family au

Synopsis: A botw/Totk au that deviates heavily from the canon of the era of the wilds. 17 years after a great calamity, Sheik and Ganondorf must save Hyrule from the threat of the Scourge king, with help of allies old and new, to bring balance and slay the ancient malice king.

Favorite thing: The character designs and vibe. Ezlo’s job at redesigning the Gorons, Zora and Rito is something I genuinely enjoy as they are given more realistic traits like the Gorons being more akin to dinosaur people. All her art has a sort of nostalgic vibe like this could be from a cartoon from the late 90’s to early 2000’s like samurai jack or a studio Ghibli movie. The art style really elevates the tone and narrative of this unique BOTW/TOTK au in a way that I honestly prefer over the original (I still love Botw/totk btw)

Honestly, this is probably one of my favorite TLOZ AUs out there.

@sp1derc1der’s Draco Scaled Au

Synopsis: an au where the main antagonists (along with some other characters) are weredragons, beings with both a dragon and human form.

Favorite thing: The dragon designs. Yes, I know, the one who likes dragons likes the au. But it goes deeper than just that. Each of the designs are all completely unique from one another in one way or another.

From Diminutive “baby” dragons like Hau, Penny or Marnie,

To hulking leviathans like Archie, Ghetsis and Cynthia.

From flightless drakes and lindwyrms like Maxie, Saturn and Cyrus,

To great Soarers like Zinnia and Lysandre who probably put the great Azdarchids of yore to shame.

So yeah! Just a funny lil’ thing about my favorite AUs I like rn.

[coeluvr]

You're so wonderfully devious. Your IF is so well written. I've played through it once several months ago, lost track of it, then found it again 🤗 but seriously, the complex emotions you pull out of me is what makes me keep coming back.

There's no time to not grieve for the MC. And your time jumps make it so no matter how much time has passed for MC, we don't get that relief. It makes me wonder if the MC feels that way all the time for the last 9 years if the grief we experience is just as intense. So I absolutely adore how you give MCs the ability to name a journal Alistair and to have a tattoo to keep them with you.

I don't know what to do with Rosea. I think the only way to hurt Luceris is by hurting the ones they love, Lancelot and Helios. But then this cycle of revenge continues and warps, and it's this massive spiders web because when you hurt Lancelot and Helios, then you hurt Farah, Vincent, and Hunter. It makes even more people want to put a stop to MC's machinations.

I know we're going to see it in writing, but the generational guilt on these kids [cause fuck they are basically still kids] heads is crushing.

The adults trying to alleviate guilt by saying "Mc is protected as consort" and has the "freedom to do what they want" is a poor consolation prize. They can't get rid of how they were complicit in MCs trauma.

Somehow, you have me litterally insane, tinfoil hat and all, do you play a kind MC so everyone can see how unhinged Luceris idea was? Because I'd love to play this game as quiet and kind MC, one who's forgive and try to move on, but when MCs twin died, I became just as crazy as Luceris. Now I have to be okay with the fact that I'm playing the long game of revenge and whatever that looks like.

Anyway, thank you for your work. It's amazing and I can't wait to see what happens next.

My toxic trait is I like being called evil or devious or anything insane. 🥰 Thank you for your kind words! 💗

Honestly, the time jumps do serve that purpose. Mainly because I think MC gets a little better each time jump but then something happens and it brings back what they felt that night in Vesphire.

For example, the time jump to meeting Fadiya is kind of supposed to be like "well at least someone wants to be friends with our baby" and that feeling is kind of hopeful, at least to me. With the 1st short story, I wanted to cement that feeling since it's like "world against MC but this little kid is here!!" and again it's hopeful. Chapter 2 is softer too with Fadiya, there isn't much angst until the very end where it's like "ah right, shit still sucks." and a part of the healing that the player might have felt just dies lol.

Chapter 3 is kind of different but technically MC is doing "better" or well coping better so there has been some progress on their part albeit it can be unhealthy.

I've gotten the "Oh this is kinda rushed" comment a few times but I don't think I could've taken these first few chapters more slowly since it is supposed to be kind of like a blur to MC. In my head, chapter 3 is when things are more slow for them but now they're leaving on a trip so...

I think revenge (that isn't like "get power throw him into jail") will always come with the loss of people. The only reason Luceris didn't lose people is because he didn't really have anyone to lose except for Lancelot and we all know how that's going. (Ikram doesn't count, if she refused he could just get another military general and been like okay. Don't be friends with your boss people. /j)

A Luceris that had Farah wouldn't have done that ever because she would have left him so yeah! It's normal to be stuck between what to do when you have people you care about who actually have somewhat of a normal moral compass.

Easiest way is to simply not have anyone (unless they're 100% in love with you and would throw away all their morals just for you ofc) and well maybe I can help with that! 🤭

The adults are insane and the kids are burdened with the problems that their parents are to blame for. I love the whole "burdened by the sins of your parents" trope. ✨️

God this got a bit too long lmao 😭 it was fun discussing some of the points. 🤝

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

This is like.... The peak of the toxic zutara everyone talks about like it's too cliche to be real.

• Username : oedipus kataang

• a ZK complaining about kataang having rape fics like- need i say more?

• Saying shippers only care about her if she births aang's babies

Like nichya, this was literally handcrafted for you to roast lmao.

Okay, SO MUCH incorrect stuff.

For starters, not only is Kataang not a mom/son ship, Katara doesn't see herself as his mother, and he doesn't think of her as his mom (and no, him acknowledging she has motherly traits/is the "mom friend" is not the same as thinking of her as a genuine parental figure in his life) so it makes no sense to pretend there's an Oedipus Complex going on.

That claim also ignores that the Oedipus Complex isn't just about excessive attachment (not necessarely attraction) towards the mom, but also a TON of rage towards the father, which leads to, worsens or causes them to compete for the mom. Aang's father figure is Gyatso, who never met Katara and would NEVER make her a "co-parent" since the main thing we're told about him is that he thinks kids should be allowed to act like kids.

(Sidenote: Poor Oedipus, man. He fled his home to AVOID killing his dad and marrying his mom - that he didn't know had adopted him. And in doing that set the prophecy in motion because HE DIDN'T KNOW the guy he killed was his dad and the woman he fell for was his mom. Oedipus did not have an Oedipus Complex so it's a REALLY stupid name and that legit angers my autistic brain to insane degrees).

For the "Kataang has rape fics" COME ON, Zutara only exists because of non-con smut, and two of the most popular tropes in Zutara fics are Katara being forced into an arragend marriage with Zuko so the Fire Nation has claim to the Southern Water Tribe or flat out being his slave. This isn't even just the pot calling the kettle black, this the pot calling a fluffy white cloud black.

(Sidenote 2: those tropes are fine by the way, as long as the writer isn't under the delusion that it'd be okay in real life, or has the balls to criticize other people for also being kinky)

And again, THE IRONY of zutarians insisting Kataang fans only care about her giving Aang airbender babies, when Zutarians are infamous for disregarding EVERYTHING about Katara's character that doesn't connect to Zuko (see them trying to make bloodbending her whole personality just because she used in the Southern Raiders, trying to claim her feeling empathy for that Fire Nation village means she wants to LIVE in the Fire Nation, refusing to accept she doesn't want to be queen especially not of the nation that destroyed hers, etc).

Also I NEVER saw a Kataang fan hate on Katara for rejecting Aang. I'm not saying it never happened (god knows this fandom has all kinds of hateful people in it) but to pretend it's some wide-spread problem is ridiculous and dishonest.