#nothing was the same-deluxe

[blackkatdraws2]

I can't sleep. I've just been listening to Odetari for the past few hours.

This is for the folks who don't know The Narrator (Black) is villain-coded.

[nonsensechemicals]

okay i know realistically they mightve just forgotten or something, and i remember this thought being pondered before,bbut what if Cookie9 actually *did* like The Stanley Parable, like they stated on their blog, and they just thought the Narrator was annoying enough to warrant a Thumbs Down. what if they're just comically bad at coming accross like/communicating that they like something. or even better yet they can just think something is awful and annoying and unfun but still like and enjoy it

(explanation: Cookie9's Steam review states they didn't find TSP fun due to the Narrator's ramblings, but in their blog review in the Epilogue they state that they actually * enjoyed* TSP, *and* that they were disappointed in how TSP2 (Not TSPUD, note this) turned out in comparison. there's a lot of theories for this ranging for "They Just Forgot" to "Blog Cookie9 Is From The Narrator's Mind". ok i think this is fine to keep up)

(DISCLAIMER because some people always either don't think i realize this: i'm talking about the CHARACTER Cookie9 that exists in the game. i'm never talking about the real authors of the reviews PLEASE!!! I'VE HAD ENOUGH)

[j2archives]

(LOVER)BOY ꨄ︎

summary sam has held a crush on you ever since he’d first saw you down stanford hallways, but once you got partnered up for a school project, sam understands why he’s always felt that attraction towards you. and now you as a sorority girl, have the same one.

pairings stanford!sam x popular!fem!reader

content warnings sam is a cutie, mentions of reader being a sorority girl, valentine’s day!!, sam watches a rom-com for reader, reader catches him staring at her lips, sam cannot stop falling in love with her, SMUT!!, unprotected sex, p!v, kissing, sub!sam, soft dom!reader, praise, dirty talk, creampie (if you squint), really needy, sam begging and whimpering, mentions of sam’s… size, short but cute ending, short and sweet honestly (go stream short ‘n sweet deluxe!!), and more.

notes definitely for my two babies @immodestly-marina AND @h8aaz . . . 1k+ and proofread, kinda rushed (i’ve been sitting for 3 days stuck on the sub!sam part because IM IN LOVE w/ this puppy dog eyed boy

Your dorm room is silent, but not an uncomfortable silence. it was comforting, a contrast to the usual music blasting in your ear around this time. most of your saturdays were spent like that, either being a designated driver for the drunk sorority girls or being the one in the backseat shitfaced straight to hell. but not today.

it was valentine’s day, and you weren’t at a party. you weren’t getting shitfaced. you were spending it with him.

on tuesday, you were assigned a project, your professor decided on pairing you up randomly instead of letting everyone choose a partner. you got paired with sam, the boy who sat two rows behind you.

he knew who you were, sam had been harboring a crush on you for a while now, and thanks to the professor, he got to speak to you instead of just offering you a pen like he would any other day. he kept to himself most of the time, so sam knew you probably didn’t know who he was. but to his surprise, you did. and the project was finished quicker than you both would’ve expected.

you and sam got along well, you shared a few interests and he was the first guy that didn’t start hitting on you with a pickup line during the first conversation. he was careful, always making sure that it was okay if he asked a question, even if he needed to borrow a pencil, he would ask so sweetly.

your friends didn’t understand why you hadn’t shown up to the party since you usually were always there, and your phone had rang for a good 30 minutes before you turned it off and placed it in your bag. sam was still a bit confused on why you decided to stay with him, he assumed that after the project was done you would’ve gone back to your friend group. but you didn’t, you stayed with him.

now, you were both in your dorm room. sam agreed when you asked him if he would watch a movie with you — maybe he agreed too fast. but here you were, it was a random rom-com. usually sam didn’t watch these type of movies, but he learned that you actually enjoyed laughing at the cheesy moments. and that was enough to convince him. he wished he could mentally record your laughter, store it away in his head somewhere. and your smile, he wanted to take a photo of it and tattoo it in his brain forever.

he couldn’t stop looking at you, admiring every detail on your face.

your voice cut through his thoughts, “what’s going on in there, lawboy?” sam blinked, your words starting to register. his face felt hot, and he was sure there was an obvious blush on his face.

“‘s nothing, just… thinking.” he nearly stumbled over his words, it was hard enough to try and not stutter in any way. but you knew there was more than that. he was sometimes a good liar, but you also could read him like a book. it was one of your talents.

“so… staring at my lips helps you think?” sam hadn’t realized that his eyes had lingered on them for so long, his eyes widened for a brief second as he tried to get an answer out. but you cut him off with your lips before he could.

he froze for a split second, but he melted into it. you could feel his lips moving back against yours, and you swore he seemed eager. your fingers went up to curl in his soft locks, tugging at them. sam let out a soft moan, his lips parted just enough for you to slip your tongue past. you explored every corner and crevice of his mouth, wanting to taste him. and he let you.

when you moved to straddle his lap, sam’s hands lifted to rest on your hips. his thumbs stroked the skin underneath the hem of your tank, your lips never disconnecting once. reluctantly, he pulled away, trailing open-mouthed kisses down starting from your jaw. his lips grazed over your pulse point, starting to suck and nibble at the sensitive skin, earning a gasp from you.

“fuck,” your curse spurred him on further, his fingers making their way up to the thin straps of your top. he tugged at it, looking up at you for permission.

“can i?” why did he have to sound so sweet?

with your nod, he tugged the straps down. he didn’t think anything could drive him more crazy but, you wearing no bra underneath did. sam’s thumbs traced over your nipples, feeling them harden beneath his touch. your hips rolled down against his, experimenting. this time, both of you let out a moan. you could feel his hardness pressing firmly against your core and you couldn’t help but to keep grinding down against it, craving the friction again.

—

he lifted his hips to help you undo his slacks, watching you undo his belt and pull down his jeans past his knees. you were both bare besides the thin barrier of his boxers and your panties were the only thing that separated you two. sam sounded breathless, “i need to feel you… please, baby.” he sounded so pretty when he begged, and you took note. keeping that in mind for next time.

once you started to lift yourself up, both hands flew to your hips to hold you steady. god, it was better than he imagined. your hands teased the hem of his briefs before tugging the fabric off. he was aching for this, the tip of him flushed a pretty red tint.

and he was leaking like a girl. all for you. everything was for you. it always had been.

“is that okay?” he sounded nervous, and his manners just fueled your arousal even more. he was putting your pleasure before his, wanting to make sure you were comfortable.

“you’re perfect, sam.” a nervous smile curled up on sam’s lips at your praise. the pink hue that was more evident on his cheeks was beautiful. he really was, and the way he was looking at you…

sam thought you were one of the most gorgeous, smartest, amazing women on campus, he always had. every time you walked down the hallways or on the sidewalks next to the building, he had his eyes on you. the way your hair flowed, the way your eyes darted to pay attention to who was speaking… when you first did that with him, he thought he would simply pass away. now he was going to have sex with you? now you were praising him? of all people? he’s never been harder in his life.

the hands on your hips guided you to align with his cock. once you hovered over him, sam let one hand slip down to your panties. he could feel the heat radiating from your core, “you’re so beautiful.” and he means it. he really does.

you were soaked, a damp patch apparent where your covered slit was. his eyes widened when he realized. sam winchester, the prelaw student, had you, the popular girl, wet because of him. fuck, he was gonna have good dreams tonight.

sam felt your hand over his, guiding him to pull your panties aside. revealing your most intimate part, he took in a sharp intake of breath.

“do you want me to do this with you, sam? is that okay?” you wanted to make sure this was what he wanted, even though the answer was obvious. he really was a sight to behold. he was perfect, thick and long… and much larger than anyone you’ve ever taken. but especially much softer, more gentle with you. he wasn’t trying to rush you, he was letting you take the lead.

“yes. please.” he begged, his puppy-dog eyes looking up at you with a loving expression.

he grasped his length in his hand, his free one on your hip. guiding his tip to your entrance, sam leaned forward. He captured your lips in a gentle, but passionate kiss. Soothing your nerves as he helped you lower down onto his cock.

you gasped against his mouth, the stretch burned a bit at first. and it took you a while to adjust to the intrusion, sam was still — he knew he was big, not in an egotistical way, but he knew it was a lot for you. His thumb stroked the skin of your hip, and now his other hand stroked the inside of your thigh. Once you were fully seated, he pulled away an inch. in a soft voice, “are you okay? we can stop if you want.” always a gentleman.

“no, no it’s okay, baby. jus’ give me a few minutes.” sam’s heart fluttered at the pet name, and he nodded. he never stopped the gentle caress on your sides, now pressing kisses to your jaw in attempts of calming you. and he was damn good at it.

with a deep breath, you nodded.

the first time you moved, you both groaned. he filled you deliciously, all in the right places. you didn’t want to stop, and you started a steady pace. he latched onto your nipple, sucking and biting at the pebble. your fingers went to his hair, tugging and stroking through the brown strands. sam whimpered against your breast.

he fucking whimpered because you pulled his hair. his hips bucked, earning a loud, wanton cry from you. the way you were bouncing on his cock, looking so blissed out because of him… it drew out a string of curses and moans from him. the sound of skin meeting skin, the obscene sound of your pussy being filled with every inch of his dick made his eyes roll back.

“y-you’re so tight, mph-“ your eyes rolled back, feeling sam twitch inside of you. you kissed him hard, pulling harder at his locks. mumbling against his lips, you managed out: “you’re so big in me, sam… fuck, is this what you imagined? you feel so good, baby.” the last sentence was a drawn out moan. you were so close, and he was barely hanging on. the way you tightened and pulsed around him made his balls draw up tight.

he whined this time, “i need to cum, please. please let me cum inside you- inside your pussy, fuck!” his voice was breaking. he wanted you, he needed you. you took pleasure in this, from him. it was driving you over the edge just by how pathetic he sounded right now.

“yes, you can. yeah, sammy… you can cum. fuck, push me over the edge, i know you can.” your forehead was pressed to his, your hips moving faster. his hand was shaky as he took two fingers to your clit, rubbing the pearl in continuous circles. sam barely could contain his cries as he came, painting your inner walls pure white. he felt your cunt spasm around him, and his body went limp beneath you.

sam let you ride out your orgasm on him, using his body for your pleasure. the sight was fucking stunning… there was a stirring in his groin again. he didn’t think he’d ever be able to stop.

“I um, I meant to say. Happy Valentine’s day.” a smile curved up on your lips, looking up at his still pink face. god he was adorable, “Happy Valentine’s day, Loverboy.”

[sometipsygnostalgic]

I feel Nintendo missed the mark with that direct. Basically they made the Switch 2 look like an Xbox One.

What makes multiplayer great isn't having voice chat and video in every game, certainly not Nintendo's miserable excuse for an online voice chat that requires you to already be friends with everyone and jump through a bunch of hoops. Does it even have compatibility with third party microphones? Probably not.

It isn't having a free roam mariokart where you can fly, swim, drive up walls and it rains sometimes. That's just a Forza game with wii graphics. What have any of those things got to do with it being a multiplayer game? What do they add to the multiplayer arcade? Absolutely nothing!

Mariokart is about being completely perfect for 2 and a half laps, and then your friend in third place throws a blue shell, which causes you and 2nd place to get knocked back, then you all get overtaken by 4th as they rocket past with a chain chomp or a bullet bill. It's about landing the banana just right that you get a persistent player off your tail, it's about taking a secret shortcut and messing it up and falling behind. It's about the things you'll do to your friends to get that sweet taste of victory!

I feel mario party catches the spirit of this much more, and it does demonstrate how you can use the camera to capture your friends' feelings of devastation, but there are two issues with this game's "enhancements". Firstly, who is going to be in the perfect position for the camera to catch their face? Who is going to have three friends with cameras and deluxe editions of the game for this already extremely expensive device? Secondly, why are they even bothering with a mouse function? There is nothing the mouse has been shown to do in ANY of this footage that cannot be better accomplished with gyro.

Seriously, the mouse thing is a big failure and no doubt these joycons are gonna be selling for £60 for each individual one, maybe more. It's antithetical to how the Switch is meant to operate. The best console for on the go and swapping to your living room tv... comes with a terrible mouse that only works on a flat surface. How many people have a table comfortably in reach of their sofa? Or is this meant to be played on a desk? There was not a single advertisement for the switch in its whole existence of someone playing while sat at a desk.

Leading onto the final failure - The price. The device costs the same as a steamdeck oled, which is already a better device in most ways, and it costs more than a brand new ps5, but also the GAMES cost £75 EACH.

Nintendo is trying to raise game prices to inflation. This will probably backfire sharply; They have always branded themselves as the more affordable option, but now they have priced themselves out of the range of ps5 and pc enthusiasts, nevermind the tired parents that are meant to be their target audience.

This is why i think it's no coincidence they announced Switch Family Sharing at the same time, they need to have soooome incentive for families to get this device and if they can save them buying multiple copies of the same game it's a start. However, i dont think most technically out of touch families will understand this feature. Theyll see the switch 2 costs £80 a game and then theyll decide to let their kids stick with their ipads or their switch 1s.

[crsssie]

waiter waiter! ☝️

one mr. leon scott kennedy and track 16: i told you things please <3

HAPPY GRACIE RELEASE DAY!! luv u <3

you're the golden boy, and my worst regret - leon kennedy x reader

Sometimes you see Leon on the news.

You're at the local bar, drink in hand, blinking slowly at the television screen as you stare at your ex-boyfriend turned president's bodyguard, wondering if things would have been different if you never broke up with him.

If you moved with him, would you be by his side?

It stirs the boredom you have during after-work hours. The "if" comforts you when you have nothing to cling onto. You think you miss him a lot. You don't know if you do. You think.

He calls you sometimes — updates you on his life.

"I miss you" he'll slur out while drunk.

Does he? Is a drunk man's words a sober man's thoughts. really?

He'll forget about it in the morning. Wipe your number from his phone, wipe your call from his history.

You'll do the same, but you'll never change your number for some reason.

He'll never change his either.

secret of us (deluxe) event

[weirdmarioenemies]

MARIO KART 9 RETRO PREDICTIONS!

That's right! Ever since like, a month ago, we've received official confirmation that we're getting a new Mario Kart game that isn't Mario Kart Tour! Rejoice!

Yes, it's an exciting time to be a Mario Kart fan. After all, a new game means new courses, new drivers, new items, new gameplay mechanics, and all that jazz! I mean, 24-player races in the fantastical world of Utah? That's some exciting stuff!

But almost just as exciting as the new courses are the new old courses, especially when considering how much Mario Kart 8 spruced them up! Also, it's just way easier to to predict returning courses than new courses. Look: I don't have a time machine shaped like a crystal ball. I could say "Oh yeah, Mario Kart 9 will definitely have a new course called Toad's Wastewater Treatment Plant," but I'd just be making that up. I don't have a source! I can't show you the bibliography! I'm sorry.

Not that I can completely accurately predict retro courses either. Look, I can be as methodical as I please, but I don't work at Nintemdo. We know next to nothing about this game, so all my predictions are really just shots in the dark here! But it's fun to load a gun and haphazardly shoot bullets in a cave! Who knows! Maybe we'll end up shooting some of the retro courses that will be in Mario Kart 9!

My dearest condolences to Toad's Factory.

Retro predictions begin under the cut!

Oh wow, you thought we were gonna get straight into the retro predicting? How does it feel to be The Fool right now, The Fool?

Really though, I just want to get all methodologologilical[sic] first. Just get out some of the key assumptions I'm making so you can better understand why I've made the choices I've made. Alright? Cool. Cool.

I'm assuming there will be 48 courses in the base game, and by extension, 24 retro courses split across six cups. Given the goal of this game is to move people to the Nintendo Switch 2, and every Nintendo Switch 1 owner and their mother and their mother's dog owns a copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, going from 96 courses to a mere 32 courses feels like a considerable downgrade. Given that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has 48 courses without the DLC, this feels like a good baseline going forwards.

I'm not sure what to make of the mainline status of Mario Kart Tour. I'm leaning towards it being technically mainline, due to its content being ported to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but it's definitely not a traditional Mario Kart game. So I will be including courses from it in my predictions, but courses that have only returned in Tour are basically on the same level of priority as courses that have never returned at all to me. Speaking of which...

I plan on prioritizing courses that have never returned, but I'm not going to exclusively limit myself to courses that have never returned. We're reaching a point where some games are really slim pickings for retro course options if we're only considering ones that have never returned, and given Nintendo has shown they're comfortable with double-dipping in places like Mario Kart 8's DLC and Mario Kart Tour, I think it's safe to say Mario Kart 64 won't be dragged out back and shot after they bring back Wario Stadium.

HOWEVER, I will NOT include any courses that have returned in Mario Kart 8!* This does include the Booster Course Pass for reference, so I apologize to any courses that were given underwhelming remakes there. Someday you'll get the remake you deserve, Sky Garden. Courses that originated in Mario Kart 8 are still fair game, but given that again, the goal is to move people to the new console, you probably don't want too many courses they can already play on the game they most certainly already have. Don't worry about the asterisk yet. We'll get there when we get there.

And as for more general goals, I'm looking for solid aesthetic diversity, a respectable difficulty curve, and a decent balance between games. None of these are really hard rules, since everybody will define them differently, and the exact amount they matter is hard to judge. I mean, I would like to keep the games relatively balanced, but it makes sense why the Booster Course Pass has eight Wii courses and two SNES courses. This is because Wii courses tend to be "pretty damn fun", as opposed to SNES courses which tend to be "utter dogwater".

Fun factor is also an important thing to keep in mind here. Why waste precious development time on bringing back courses nobody wants? I'm sorry, but no amount of spit-shine will ever save Figure-8 Circuit.

Okay, I think that's about everything. Now we can get into the part of the post you probably actually care about: predicting the retro courses!

SHELL CUP

Wii Luigi Circuit

Ah, the classic "boring starting course". Boring starter courses are interesting, because they brought back like 50 of these in Mario Kart DS, but ever since Nintendo has kinda been avoiding these like the plague. Unfortunately, now we've kinda reached a point where for games with slim pickings, "boring starter courses" are some of the only courses they have left. I feel like we're gonna have to bite the bullet at some point and bring one of these back, so it may as well be Wii Luigi Circuit.

Also motivating this pick is the return of the Luigi Tires sponsor, which was featured on this track back in Mario Kart Wii! Obviously this is a pretty minor connection, but I kinda get the feeling the reason they'd bring a sponsor like this back is if they're also bringing back a course that featured it. Ultimately this is what gave it the edge to me over Figure-8 Circuit. Well that, and the fact that there's no reason to spend development time on Figure-8 Circuit over literally any course that isn't Figure-8 Circuit.

3DS Daisy Hills

Daisy Hills! I don't really have a ton to say on this one. Its "alpine village where a young witch would look for a lost cat" setting is fairly unique by the standards of early-game courses, and given the list of courses that have never returned consist largely of mid-to-late game courses and "boring circuit tracks", having a course like this feels like a good pick.

SNES Koopa Beach 1

I would like to take a moment to curse Super Mario Kart for not having interesting course themes. It becomes a pain to pick specific courses from a game where literally every course theme has better alternatives from other games. Because when I'm prioritizing aesthetic diversity, picking a boring Super Mario Kart track is kind of by extension shutting out the better options from other games, right?

So figuring out what courses from this game to pick was basically a game of figuring out which theme had the most acceptable losses, and I concluded it was probably the beach courses. Apologies to Cheep Cheep Lagoon and Cheep-Cheep Island, but neither of you is interesting enough to warrant not picking an SNES course over you. And actual sincere apologies to Dolphin Shoals!

MK8 Sweet Sweet Canyon

Rounding out our Shell Cup, we have our first returning course from Mario Kart 8! Given Mario Kart 8 is ripe for the picking, it's likely we'll see a solid handful of courses from it, and since Nintendo tends to avoid putting multiple courses from the same game in a single cup, my choices are gonna have to be spread out across the difficulty curve.

Sweet Sweet Canyon isn't really one of my favorite of Mario Kart 8's original courses, but as an early game course with very unique theming, it feels like a pretty safe pick for a Priority Retro course to me. There's not really any thematic competition for "courses made of candy"! My only hope is that if my predictions are accurate and they do bring back this specific course, that they brighten up the color palette a bit. The amount of detail here is gorgeous, but the colors have always felt slightly too drab for the theming to me.

Also yes, I'm using "MK8" as the abbreviation for returning Mario Kart 8 courses and not "Wii U". I know that typically the abbreviation is based on the console and not the name of the game, but given the existence of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the fact it has battle courses unique to it that should probably be put under the same label, and the fact Nintendo probably wants to acknowledge the Wii U as little as possible, I think using "MK8" as the abbreviation feels like the right call.

BANANA CUP

DS Delfino Square

Given Mario Kart DS's options for courses that have never returned are "starting circuit", "Bowser's Castle", and "Rainbow Road", and all of those are competitive slots, I think it's likely we'll see a bit of double-dipping for this game. That's probably a good thing, because DS has some awesome courses that aren't in Mario Kart 8!

Case in point: Delfino Square, which feels like one of the most-requested courses I saw for the Booster Course Pass that never got added. But maybe we should be grateful, because now it can be saved for a remake with good graphics! I've been a big fan of this course ever since I was a kid, mostly because of the music (which I'd love to hear a live arrangement of!), but the course itself is pretty cool too I guess. Glider ramp on the drawbridge whenever it's up? Would that work?

N64 Frappe Snowland

Mario Kart 64 is another game that's slim pickings in terms of "courses that have never returned at all". Given I'm trying to include at least two courses from every game here, picking another N64 course was kind of a challenge. Most of the picks I would've gone for are in Mario Kart 8 already, because if not for the Booster Course Pass, Choco Mountain and Kalimari Desert would've definitely been in the running. And lots of the other choices that felt decent, like DK's Jungle Parkway or Banshee Boardwalk, have alternatives in other games that felt higher priority.

So I'm going with Frappe Snowland. This course hasn't really been in a traditional Mario Kart game since Mario Kart DS, so I think it feels like a solid candidate to get another remake. I mean, it's a pretty generic snow course as-is, so it might be due to get a modern reimagining. I'm imagining a cozy little winter town near the starting line, maybe having some similar vibes to the winter variant of Animal Crossing.

Do you pronounce it "frap" or "fra-pay"? I'm in the fra-pay camp but I'm pretty sure the other one might technically be correct due to the lack of accent over the e, but I'm also not sure if that's so much a hint of the pronunciation so much as "leaving off the accent for convenience sake". Both are technically valid I'm pretty sure, so I won't fight you if you're in frap camp. I promise.

Wii Toad's Factory

Look. If there's one course I would put actual real money on being in the next game, I think it's Toad's Factory. Yes! Even over the courses from games that literally have only one course that has never returned! Wario Stadium is boring and faces competition from Wario Colosseum, and I'm not sure to what extent Tour counts as mainline as far as Piranha Plant Pipeline is concerned, but Toad's Factory? I can't think of a reason you wouldn't bring this one back.

It's one of the only courses from Mario Kart Wii that has never returned, it's a fan-favorite course, it's an early-game course with unique theming when "courses that have never returned" tend to skew late-game, not to mention that Mario Kart Wii is a favorite game for fans and Nintendo alike. Literally the only reason I can imagine Mario Kart 9 not having Toad's Factory is if Mario Kart 9 doesn't have retro courses at all. That, or if my methodology is way, way off. But like, Nintendo knows what courses fans like! They have to see the demand for Toad's Factory, right?

3DS Shy Guy Bazaar

Look. I'm gonna come forwards and say it: I'm pretty sure this course is what we in the industry would call "orientalist as hell". I'm definitely not the most qualified person to speak on this subject, but given what I have heard from people who are, it's very much giving me the vibes of "mystical, vaguely Arabic desert kingdom" that all of us should frankly be tired of seeing at this point. This isn't really a course I think I want to see brought back.

But this isn't a wishlist. This is Predictions, and unfortunately I do not have the faith in Nintendo to Not Be Orientalist, considering how much this sort of thing has continued into even their most recent output. And like, as far as the things I am prioritizing when I make my list go, I'm pretty sure Shy Guy Bazaar checks all the boxes. It has unique theming, and datamining suggests it was very nearly put in Mario Kart 8. I think this one feels like a shoo-in, even if I don't really want it to be.

FEATHER CUP

That's right! More retro courses means I have to predict new retro cups as well! I think the Feather Cup feels like a good retro cup choice, since its presence as an item in Super Mario Kart and its absence from most later Mario Kart games gives it a distinctly "retro" feel.

Oh, and speaking of Super Mario Kart...

SNES Mario Circuit 4

For a long time, I saw people question why Nintendo would bring back the Mario Circuits so much compared to other SNES courses with more distinct theming. After all, if you're going to have to dedicate a slot or two to SNES courses, you might want to pick the less boring themes, right...? But while this sounds like a logical train of thought, I think I have since seen the light of day. The reason they bring back the Mario Circuits is because they can get away with being boring.

Because the Mario Circuits can pass off their "being boring" as being like, a retro thing, right? Like, you can try to make an interesting rendition of Donut Plains or whatever, but ultimately you're just putting lipstick on a pig. Donut Plains 3 is always gonna be one of the most boring courses in Mario Kart 8, even with a gorgeous graphical overhaul! The Mario Circuits, by virtue of being thematically boring, don't have to pretend they are anything more than what they are: boring SNES courses.

...I'd still like them to do something interesting with Mario Circuit 4 though. I mean, GBA Mario Circuit got an anti-gravity U-turn. It's worth a shot.

MK8 Sunshine Airport

Something you need to know about me is that "me making retro course predictions for Mario Kart 9" is NOT a new thing. I've been doing this basically ever since Mario Kart 8 came out over a decade ago, and ever since then I have felt reasonably confident in one thing: I think Sunshine Airport is gonna be one of the first Mario Kart 8 courses they bring back.

Literally everything about Sunshine Airport feels like a "priority retro course" to me, in the same vein as Coconut Mall or Music Park. Unique theming? Check. A level of complexity that gives it flexible positioning on a difficulty curve? Check. Approval from the fans? Check. Hell, even if Nintendo decides not to bring back anti-gravity, this course doesn't need it! All it amounts to here is one singular turn where the anti-gravity feels shoehorned in to begin with!

It feels weird to be so, so confident in a Mario Kart 8 pick when literally every original course from that game is an option, like I can't say I'm confident in Sunshine Airport to the same degree I'm confident in like, Toad's Factory or Wario Stadium or anything like that, but I dunno. Sunshine Airport almost feels like it was made to be a retro course.

Or maybe I've just been so weirdly confident in this specific idea for so long that it's just drilled itself into my head, I dunno.

Tour Piranha Plant Pipeline

Say hello to literally the only Mario Kart Tour course that didn't make its way into the Booster Course Pass! Yes, that's literally my only reasoning for including it. But if Tour courses are in fact in the running, then that's basically the only reason you need. This course wasn't in Mario Kart 8 and the only other place you can play it is a mobile game where it's only in rotation for like, two weeks of the year.

I don't think this is one of Tour's best original courses, it's decidedly mid-tier compared to the likes of Squeaky Clean Sprint, Yoshi's Island, and Ninja Hideaway, but it'd be nice to have it in a more accessible place. In Mario Kart 8 it'd feel redundant with Piranha Plant Slide, but here it probably won't have that issue.

Funniest outcome for this course however, is if they treat it like the other non-city Tour originals in the Booster Course Pass and try to pass it off as a new course for some reason.

GBA Broken Pier

I think it's funny how much Nintendo has fallen in love with Mario Kart: Super Circuit lately. For the longest time, GBA courses were given the short end of the stick with only one or two returning courses per game. However, when they started giving retro courses more dramatic overhauls in Mario Kart 8, they realized that GBA courses, unlike SNES courses, actually have interesting themes that are conducive to cool remakes, and now there are barely any GBA courses they haven't brought back! Which is to say there's two, and one of them is Broken Pier. Hi, Broken Pier!

Look, this is not a fan-favorite GBA course by any stretch of the imagination. I often see this considered one of the worst courses in the game. But how much does that actually really matter? When it comes to creative liberties taken with retro courses, GBA courses tend to get the most dramatic overhauls. As long as you keep the theming in tact and a vague facsimile of the layout, you can basically do whatever you want with these courses when you bring them back.

Given I think the atmosphere of this course is "pretty dang cool", that's all that really matters. Nintendo has free reign to do whatever they want with this course, because who's gonna complain about an unfaithful remake of Broken Pier?

LEAF CUP

MK8 Wild Woods

To be honest, there's a ton of courses from Mario Kart 8 I've considered putting at the start of the Leaf Cup. Shy Guy Falls, Dragon Driftway, and Super Bell Subway also feel like solid choices to me, but I'm going with Wild Woods for the silly reason of "cup-appropriate theming". This isn't something Nintendo does a ton of, but given in the past we've seen Maple Treeway in the Leaf Cup, DK Jungle in the Banana Cup, Rock Rock Mountain in the Rock Cup, and 3DS Rainbow Road in the Moon Cup, it's definitely something that does happen. It's enough to sway my opinion on this subject ever so slightly.

Either way, this is definitely the part where "literally every Mario Kart 8 course is in contention" is coming to bite me.

GBA Lakeside Park

Lakeside Park is another of those courses I really don't have to say much about my inclusion of. There's a bit of competition for a "jungle course spot" from Dino Dino Jungle and DK's Jungle Parkway I think, but given this one has yet to return in a traditional Mario Kart game, it feels like a more likely option to me. I just hope they reintroduce a little bit of the complexity in the layout that was lost in the Mario Kart Tour version of this course. I dunno what's up with Mario Kart Tour and oversimplifying the layouts of GBA courses in particular.

Wii Dry Dry Ruins

So many Mario Kart Wii courses are in Mario Kart 8, that based on my somewhat arbitrary "no repeat retros from Mario Kart 8" rule, narrowing down potential Wii courses is not really a challenge at all. Like, we're probably getting Toad's Factory, we're probably getting Dry Dry Ruins, and then pick one of the other three courses off a wheel and throw that one in, too.

I see a lot of people say they don't care for desert courses, but I'm kind of under the impression that they really just mean Dry Dry Desert and Bone-Dry Dunes. And maybe Yoshi Desert, but I don't know how many people even remember that course exists. But like, every other desert course in the series seems to have a solid reception with fans, right? I've seen lots of people clamoring for Dry Dry Ruins, but that might just be because "Mario Kart Wii fans" are a very vocal crowd, and they just think the shortcuts here are really cool. I can't blame 'em.

3DS Wario Shipyard

Something I've realized from my various attempts at Mario Kart 9 retro predictions from over the years is that lots of the courses that seem like viable options for retro picks are Wario courses. N64 Wario Stadium is basically a given, but Wario Shipyard is probably one of the most distinctive 3DS tracks, and Wario Colosseum and Mount Wario are both big fan-favorites too. Dang Wario, you need to cut it out with all your "courses that kick ass"! You're stealing valuable real estate from all the other characters!

I don't think Wario can hear me, and even if he does, he probably doesn't care. We know he's a greedy man. He probably feels so smug about "stealing precious real estate". I bet he's gonna get a new course of this caliber too, because that's just the kind of course Wario makes at this point.

MOON CUP

That's right! Second new retro cup! I went with the Moon Cup, and put it between the Leaf and Lightning Cup to act as the new retro parallel to the Star Cup, because that just feels right to me.

MK8 Electrodrome

This is the last of my picks for returning Mario Kart 8 courses, and feels like another relatively safe pick. Not as safe as Sunshine Airport, since it'd be considerably worse-off without anti-gravity, but there's this one butte in the background of the trailer which looks like it could be an anti-gravity section so we're probably fine on that front.

Anyway, all the stuff I've been saying across this post applies here also. Unique theming, well-liked by fans, you know the drill. Really, how much do I have to keep repeating these things? You know what my lines of reasoning are, do I have to keep saying them? Is this interesting to you? Are you interested right now?

Uhhhh this course was given a spotlight in a trailer for the original Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U. So I think Nintendo likes it also. That's a little more in its favor specifically.

GCN Mushroom City

Forget about every other course I've talked about on this post. If I have to single out the course I want to see return the most, it's this one. Frappe Snowland? More like CRAPPE Snowland! Mario Circuit 4? More like Mario Circuit BORE! Mushroom City? More like Mushroom Sh... no wait this is the one i like

Anyway, Mushroom City is cool as hell and it's criminal they've never brought this one back. Definitely probably maybe a top 10 Mario Kart course for me. I dunno. I haven't played Double Dash that much. But I've played it enough to know that I like Mushroom City, okay? I don't know if any other traffic course really sells the feeling of driving through a big city as much as this one, what with all its branching paths.

I really appreciate how they handled the branching paths here. On a course like Yoshi Valley, there's only one route that's actually good, making the whole gimmick feel kinda meaningless, but here everything feels even enough that no path feels unviable, especially with how the traffic patterns can influence your decision-making! And also the music is great and begging for a live band rendition. Make it happen, Nintendo! Mushroom City has spent too much time not returning, and not enough time... returning.

I mean, it feels like a pretty likely inclusion to me. I feel people have reappraised this course as being "really really good" lately (rightfully so!) and it's also one of only four Double Dash courses that have never been brought back. The other three include the coveted Bowser's Castle and Rainbow Road slots, as well as Wario Colosseum, which WOULD feel like a good candidate if not for...

N64 Wario Stadium

Man, I'm glad I put these courses back-to-back in my retro predictions. It wasn't specifically for that segue, but it makes for a damn good segue.

Poor, poor Wario Stadium. Literally the only course from Mario Kart 64 which has never been brought back, which I think kind of makes it an auto-include for these retro predictions, even if we don't want it to be. Something funny is that, having looked Mario Kart course ranking lists for over a decade now, I've seen the public opinion on this course shift dramatically in real time.

Like, ten years ago I saw this course frequently ending up on "Top 10 Mario Kart courses of all time" lists, with people talking about how cool it is that it's like a real dirt bike stadium, and how funny it was when you hit an opponent during the big jump and they had to repeat half the race.

But nowadays it feels like the popular opinion is "there's a good reason this is the only N64 course they've never brought back". Like, now everyone thinks this course is just really long and boring, and the opinion on Big Jump Snipes have shifted from "funny and cruel" to "just making the course even more of a slog to get through." Time has not been kind to N64 Wario Stadium.

But if anything, I think that's why this course needs to be brought back, right? To get the makeover it deserves and get some time being a less terrible course. I'm pretty sure the addition of tricks as a gameplay mechanic alone would improve it significantly, let alone more dramatic changes you could make to the layout. Worst case scenario, you give it the Wario Colosseum treatment and make it a two-lap course. (Or give it the N64 Rainbow Road treatment and make it only one lap, but I don't think that'd work out here.)

I have to clarify: the fact there's a long Wario course set in a stadium that's basically an auto-include is the sole reason I'm not putting Wario Colosseum on my retro predictions. Sorry, guys.

DS Airship Fortress

You wanna know why DS Airship Fortress is on my Mario Kart 9 retro predictions? Because it wasn't in the Booster Course Pass. That's it. Like, this course is a big hit with fans, it was in Mario Kart Tour already, and basically everyone agrees it was a baffling exclusion. So at this point the most logical conclusion I can think of is "it wasn't in Mario Kart 8 because they were saving it for Mario Kart 9".

That's really all I have to say on this one.

LIGHTNING CUP

3DS Maka Wuhu

Did you know? The two Wuhu Island courses are literally the only Mario Kart 7 courses which have never returned! Granted, lots of the others have only returned in Tour, which feels like the world's biggest edge case, but like, it's weird we haven't seen the Wuhu Island courses at all, right? I feel like people like these courses quite a bit. I mean, they brought back Wuhu Town as a battle arena in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, so I don't think they're off the table.

Really, I've kinda been skirting around the crossover courses, because I'm not sure what to make of them. I'm definitely under the impression Mario Kart 9's not gonna be the "Super Smash Kart" or whatever some people have suggested, given the trailer exclusively shows Mario characters driving through an area not based on any Mario game in particular. I don't think Super Smash Kart would include Baby Rosalina on its roster.

But like, I don't wanna dismiss the idea of Mario Kart 9 having crossover content completely, because I could totally imagine it sticking around on a smaller scale, akin to... well, Mario Kart 8! And even putting that all aside, I kind of feel like the Wuhu courses are almost a weird exception to being "crossover courses" since they were in the main game of Mario Kart 7? I dunno. At this point I'm making weird and arbitrary rules for myself for the sake of making weird and arbitrary rules. I don't think I can explain my logic in a way that makes as much sense as it does in my head.

Tour Ninja Hideaway

Hey, so remember way, way earlier in the post when there was an asterisk when I mentioned my rule about no repeat retros from Mario Kart 8? Well here it is! It's Asterisk! You see, I wanted to include at least two courses from every game, but this proved to be an issue for Mario Kart Tour in particular, since all but one of its courses were included in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. So I broke my rules, right? Well, not exactly...

Because Ninja Hideaway didn't return in Mario Kart 8.

See how this course was labelled in Mario Kart 8? It wasn't Tour Ninja Hideaway, just "Ninja Hideaway". Legally speaking, Ninja Hideaway did not return in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, because it was a new course in that game too, for some reason! So none of my rules have been broken. This is, legally, the first time Ninja Hideaway will be a retro course.

Obviously, this sort of logic is incredibly silly, and barely makes any sense at all, but knowing Nintendo, I'm kind of under the impression this is the exact sort of logic they operate under. So I'm sticking by it! I think this would be a cool Lightning Cup pick. I like it for a lot of the same reasons I like Mushroom City (thank you well-balanced branching paths!), and I feel like some of the sharp turns here would make it well-suited for the late game.

DS Bowser('s?) Castle

Did you know? This course is just called "Bowser Castle". Not Bowser's Castle, with the apostrophe s. I don't really know why. I kind of expect them to change it, since they did with all the GBA Bowser's Castles in Mario Kart Tour, but they didn't with SNES Bowser Castle 3, so I really don't know. Either way, you too are now cursed with this information!

Anyway, given my two other picks from Mario Kart DS are both double-dips, I figured I should include one course which hasn't returned yet, and I'm going with this one. Figure-8 Circuit is probably the worst course of all time, and I think there's better candidates for a retro Rainbow Road, but Bowser('s) Castle? I mean, I've seen a fair share of fans who really like this one. I figure it's about time to bring it back.

For some reason, Nintendo hardly ever brings back the endgame Bowser's Castles, but I figure they gotta start chipping away at that list at some point, and having it as the penultimate retro course before a Rainbow Road just feels right. Speaking of which...!

GCN Rainbow Road

This was a pretty big toss-up between GBA Rainbow Road and GCN Rainbow Road for me, but I'm going with this one. I know GBA feels like the logical pick, since we got SNES in Mario Kart 7 and N64 in Mario Kart 8, but now that Mario Kart 8 also has SNES, 3DS, and Wii's Rainbow Roads, I'm not sure how much that order really matters anymore. And besides that... GCN just feels more iconic. It's the road that you go when you die!

Don't get me wrong, I don't wanna discount GBA completely, partially because of The Cycle, partially because it's one of the only GBA courses left, and partially because I think you could do a lot with a cool remake, but at the same time, let's be real with ourselves: if any Mario Kart game is the least iconic one, it's Super Circuit. I love its Rainbow Road a whole lot, but I don't think that's the one you show off in a big trailer to get fans excited for the first big Mario Kart game in over a decade, right?

Also, GCN Mushroom City feels like a very likely retro course, and you can see it in the background of GCN Rainbow Road, so uhhhh yeah. Checkmate, atheists! GCN Rainbow Road is real and there is nothing you can do about it!

Okay, so maybe my logic is a little flimsy, but as I said at the start of the post, I can't predict the future! Ultimately, I don't know why or how Nintendo decides which courses they want to bring back, and all I can really do is try to infer patterns based on what they've done in the past. But you know how it is with apophenia. We're all the time seeing patterns we want to see that aren't really there!

Ultimately, this is a game we know very little about, and it would be foolish of me to pretend that I've boiled any of this down to a science. Really, the reason I'm doing this is because it's fun! It's fun to think about hypothetical returning courses in future Mario Kart games using bogus patterns that don't really exist!

Also a big waste of time. Thanks for indulging in this big waste of time with me, everyone!

(if your favorite course wasn't included on this list, please imagine it as post-launch DLC. thank you.)

[literaryvein-reblogs]

How do you slow down time in a story?

Writing Notes: Slowing Down Time

If you think about your relationship to time, you will probably find that time moves at a variable pace.

We all have days that zip by and nothing seems to get done; other days so crammed with events that 16 hours feels like a week.

Remember when you were a child and how time crawled when you waited for a birthday? Why is it that when we are put on telephone hold by a telecommunications operator every minute becomes much too long whereas if we are eating a piece of double deluxe chocolate layer cake for the same number of minutes the time seems to go quickly?

Time is relative. Time is variable. A writer gets to play with time.

Novelist Nicholas Baker makes an important distinction when he says that slowing down time is not about laying on endless description, but about turning your writer’s lens and focusing on something carefully.

There are times you want to intentionally slow down time.

For example, Robert McCrum, a 42 year-old British editor and writer, wakes up one morning in his London apartment to find that he has suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage which has left him completely paralyzed on his left side.

In My Year Off: Recovering Life After a Stroke, he takes a good ten paragraphs to narrate the 12 hours it took to make his way down a flight of stairs to the phone and call for help.

McCrum has stretched time out to show how excruciatingly long everything took now that he was paralyzed by a stroke, and also to convey the odd state of mind this event produced.

Use Flashbacks and Backstory

A good way to break the focus from the current narrative is to go back and show the readers what happened in the past. This way, you can simultaneously halt the story and give additional information and context to your readers.

However, keep in mind that these devices should not be used for the sake of a change of pace. Instead, they should always fulfill a purpose within the story itself.

Add More Introspection

More than just describing your character’s actions, show what they are thinking and how they are feeling.

Show the thought process that leads a character to make a specific decision.

Sources: 1 2 ⚜ Narrative Pacing ⚜ More: References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[galesdevoteewife]

Gale may not be so typical squishy wizard/scholar?

-My Galeology study note-

Looking at his character sheet in the Deluxe pack gets me thinking, maybe our wizard is not exactly designed to be the typical squishy one...?

[Act2 spoiler warning]

2 things caught my eyes:

1) Great physical fitness, and good reflexes. (For your reference, Gale & Wyll are the two companions who have the highest Con: 15. I put everyone's sheets at the bottom of the post.)

His Con and Dex are... very high?? I mean, higher than Karlach and Lae'zel...????

Note 1: I suspect it could have something to do with his background as Mystra's chosen, as they are somewhat "transformed" when they agree to become the goddess's chosen. A topic for another day since I haven't quite figured it out yet, for anyone who is interested there's a chapter about it in The Seven Sisters. Also, I have little clues on how much chosen lore credit Larian was taking into account while designing him, or how Mystra's "taking back the given ability" works. Note 2: Again, Mystra's chosen are often sent on missions that involve a lot of traveling according to Elminster's series. Mystra also mentioned that Gale and she used to have adventures together, which leads to an assumption: despite his preference he might be traveling quite a lot until he was cast aside and quarantined himself in his tower. Might be the type of scholar who is very keen on field studies?

Note 3: Can someone undress Elminster to exam my theory please??xD Neh won't work I think all human might share same body model in game

Come to think of it, there was a party banter between Karlach & Gale that went like :

Karlach: Whoa! Almost slipped there. Gale: You wouldn't be the first, I'd wager. It's been some time since these walkways felt the carpenter's hammer. Karlach: You gonna catch me if I eat a brick? Gale: With my reflexes? I'd catch you before you so much as stubbed a toe.

At first I thought that was a sarcastic joke but, seems like it wasn't? Also this:

Karlach: Ready to enter the belly of the beast? Gale: It's the stairs I'm dreading. I shall close my eyes, and pretend I'm climbing my own, far superior tower in Waterdeep. Karlach: In that case, welcome home.

...So it seems when I pictured him as a homebody, I should reimagine the concept of home... His has...lots of stairs? Just walking around in the tower could be counted as a workout, sort of thing? Note: I don't think the place he shows in the Act 2 cutscene is his tower. Otherwise, aren't these neighbors pretty much doomed?

2) Not THAT smart. Well, I love him, so I will speak in his defence: [1] He has a warm(s) digging holes in his brain. [2] Poisonous magical bile running in his blood. Maybe he's just not at his best, makes sense, eh? Wyll mentioned he is nerfed after tadpole too. After all, this man obviously memorized a DICTIONARY:

Gale: You promised to stay in Waterdeep. 'Promise,' verb, meaning to swear something will or will not be done. Tara the Tressym: And I decided 'will not'. And a good thing, too. You look like you haven't had a good meal in days

Player: When I said we could be more than friends, you answered 'perhaps'. What does that really mean? Gale: If I recall correctly, the Waterdhavian Dictionary of the Common Tongue of Faerûn defines it as an adverb that conveys the meaning of 'it may be that', or 'possibly'. Gale: Sorry, sometimes I just can't help being quite insufferable. In seriousness, I'm glad you asked that question.

Along with a bunch of you-may-never-need information:

Everything about ceremorphosis? Myconid? Why in the world have him read about Cazador??? And how can he not know the distance between Waterdeep & Baldur's Gate, even Karlach ―who spent a decade, which is likely half of her life in hell― knows better geography than him. Gale either totally ignored the subject or portaled everywhere; distance meant nothing to him?? Uh, but you can't take party banters too seriously; it's buggy. How could a bug bit Karlach in the swamp? It should've been burned into ashes before it even reached her, no?

Anyway, just rambling some thoughts <3 I would have gone to Harvard if there was a major in Gale...

-DISCLAIMER- Brought to you by a brainrot wife, Galerian missionary. Be warned the article might has (strong) bias because the writer is braindead and she thinks Gale is the most awesome character in the world.

[lydiadeetzwannabee]

° ❀⋆࿔ dandelion ࿔⋆❀ °

° ࿔⋆❀ summary: When your name comes up for the first time since college, Art gets hit with a tidal wave of nostalgia. He invited you over to a motel room to talk, but you both know that’s just an excuse.

° ࿔⋆ notes: fem!reader, sexual content, smut, angst

° ࿔⋆ w/c: 3325

° ࿔⋆ a/n: i love eternal sunshine deluxe and i had to get this out my head bc UGH i love dandelion but back to scheduled programming right after this

2010

Queens, New York

Art can hear the trombone player from down the street as he steps up the metal stairs. The keys jingle in his hand when he walks to his designated room. Opening it was disappointing, but he didn’t expect much from a thirty-dollar motel wedged in the corner of a highway-side inn.

The motel smells like stale cigarettes and old air conditioning. One of those places where the floral bedspread has long since given up, and the flickering neon sign outside the window buzzes just loud enough to drown out any of his overthinking.

The room was unnecessary; he’s already got a suite courtesy of the Open. But Art’s been trying to save his personal life to himself during his rise in the tennis world. It’s not that he wouldn’t want to be seen with you. God, he would. He’d take your hand right now and post it, headline it, put it on a damn billboard if you let him. But he knew you wouldn’t want to be being spotted with him. Especially after how long it’s taken for one of you to break the silence between you. 

Finding you again wasn’t hard. He was in New York for the US Open and grabbed drinks with some old Stanford guys last night. One of them dropped your name in passing, mentioned you lived out here now. Art had your old number dialed into his phone before he’d even left the bar.

“Someone said you’re in Queens,” he said like it was nothing. Like it didn’t shake something loose in him. “I didn’t even know. I just— God, I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

Now he’s here, closing the door behind him as he stares at your “Be there in ten” text sent seven minutes ago.

“Just one night,” he had said. “I just want to talk.”

Talk. Even he doesn’t believe that. Art’s not sure what to do while he waits. He probably should’ve planned this better, spoiled you a little even though you’d hate it. But all he has is a bottle of alcohol and a fresh pack of cigarettes. He doesn’t smoke anymore—his dietitian won’t allow it—but he figures you probably never kicked the habit. There are a few condoms tucked in his wallet. Not because he expects anything. Just… wishful thinking.

It’s obvious what he wants. Obvious enough to make him forget how horrible your last encounter was. But Art’s always been an optimist when it comes to you. Stupid, stubborn hope. He’s never been able to kick that habit either.

He snaps out of his head when he hears a knock at the door, suddenly tensing. Ridiculous, honestly. He used to know you so well yet now you’re practically a stranger. His breath caught in his throat when he opened the door, eyes scanning over you. Suddenly, he was twenty again, sitting next to you in a study group. Laughing under flickering library lights. Thinking he had all the time in the world.

You look the same. But you don’t. Your eyes are still beautiful yet now they’re dimmer. Your face is sharper, older, more sure of itself. You don’t even say hello before you push past him, as if you’re already sick of having to deal with him. Like this whole thing is some errand you’ve agreed to run against your better judgment. He doesn’t take it personally. Not really. That’s always been you.

You look around the room with what he assumes is disgust, your arms crossed over your chest and your expression unreadable. You don’t sit, instead you turn to face him again. Art finally shuts the door, swallowing as he takes a step towards you. He keeps his distance, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans.

“Didn’t think you’d show,” he says. Now he can finally take the time to appreciate you. You look good. Better than he remembered, and he remembered too much. It makes him feel stupid, like he should’ve worn something different or fixed his hair again before you got there, but you always liked that style on him. Maybe still do.

Your brow raises at him before you glance at the sad bottle of vodka on the coffee table. “Then why���d you rent the room?”

Touché.

He took a breath, suddenly finding the carpet extremely interesting. “…guess I hoped you would,” he admits.

And you sigh. Sigh like this is taking up your patience like you’re above this whole thing. Like even considering meeting again was a mistake. “What do you want, Art?”

He wants a lot of things. He wants to apologize, to take back every bad thing he ever said or did. To apologize for everything he didn’t do. He wants to tell you how he’s sorry for not talking to you sooner, for the way things ended between you. That he should’ve fought for you harder.

But all that comes out of his mouth is “I missed you.”

His words hang in the air for a second, the neon sign buzz feeling ten times louder than it was.

“You missed me?” you repeat like you don’t believe it. It’s not enough. 

“You find me now and suddenly you miss me? You didn’t try to find me before, Art,” you say, your voice tinged with that same disappointment that makes his heart ache.

“You disappeared.”

He sighed, knowing there was some truth in your words. He doesn’t even know why he didn’t try earlier. Maybe it was the fear that you wouldn’t want anything to do with him. But looking back, that was stupid.

“I know,” he starts. “I know. You’re right. But I—“

“I don’t even know why I’m here,” you muttered. And if it was meant to hurt him, it did. You finally move, but it’s only to push yourself off the wall, and Art’s scared that he’s losing you again. “Maybe I just wanted to see if you’d grown up.”

Art’s eyes flicker up to meet yours, taking a step forward. “And?”

You scan him, his face, his posture, his hands, and he swears you’re looking right through him. Like you still know him, whether you want to or not.

“Why are we wasting time?” you say, low and dangerous.

He paused. Not because he didn’t know what you meant, but because he did.

And maybe it’s stupid. Reckless. Idiotic. Maybe it’s the worst idea either of you has had in years. Maybe ignoring your problems until they come to fruition is unwise.

But you’re here.

He’s here.

And those unspoken words between you simmer with tension, hot and heavy and aching to be touched.

He doesn’t realize how he’s stepping closer until he stops right in front of you, his chest almost brushing against yours. “We don’t have to.”

You hum, your hands moving to unbutton your coat, and he simply washes. His eyes are longing, yearning, unsure if he’s allowed to touch you. Your coat hits the floor with a soft thud, and Art swears time slows down. It’s not just the way you look, it’s the weight behind it. The tension that coils tighter in his chest with every breath. This isn’t casual. This isn’t mindless. This is everything he’s tried to suppress and forget and move on from, standing just inches in front of him, calling his bluff.

“You still do that,” you murmur.

“Do what?”

“Look at me like I’m going to disappear.”

He doesn’t have an answer for that. He never has. So instead, he kisses you.

His eyelids flutter at the familiarity, his lips carefully moving against yours, like he’s afraid that if he does a single thing you don’t like, you’ll pull away. But instead, you push harder, your tongue slipping between his lips. You kiss him like you’re angry, like you want to hurt him for what he did to you. He kisses you back with everything he can’t say, hands cupping your face, your waist, anything he can touch to prove to himself you’re real.

Your hands press against his chest, feeling him through his sweater. He moans against your mouth before you tug the hem of it. He helps you pull it off, breaking the kiss for a split second before meeting your lips again. He tries to keep kissing you when you trail down to his jaw, his head tilting to make space for you. You kiss down his neck like you remember the map of him, and maybe you do. His hands slide under your top, fingertips grazing the skin of your back, and you don’t stop him.

He gently tugs your hair to lead you back to his lips. It’s messy. Urgent. He backs you toward the bed like instinct, and your bodies move in sync the way they used to, like no time has passed at all. His body covers yours as he settles in between your legs. He leans down, placing wet kisses along your neck while his hands palm your thighs. His hips rock against you, trying to elicit those soft sounds from your lips as he rubs his clothed erection against your center.

Your eyes close at the feeling, a soft moan escaping your parted lips. Your legs wrap around his waist and it only encourages Art to move faster, press against you harder. His hands roam across your body, fingers slipping under your top to push it up just enough to reveal your bra. His eyes focus on your chest before looking back at you with dark eyes, waiting for permission.

You give him a slight nod and he doesn’t hold back. Art’s taking off your shirt and tossing it to the side before you could change your mind. His fingers deftly unclasp your garment, slowly pulling it off. He kisses the hollow of your throat, your collarbone, your shoulder, his lips grazing skin like it’s sacred.

His mouth wraps around your nipple with a soft hum and it makes your breath hitch. His tongue’s circling the bud, nipping now and then to make you gasp before kissing and sucking it better. He touches you like he’s rediscovering something precious, fingers memorizing your rhythm, coaxing every sound out of you until your back arches and your hands grip his shoulders.

His lips continue their actions with your other nipple as he feels down your stomach, his hand slipping under your waistband. He groans against you when he feels your wetness soaking through your underwear. He cupped your heat, making you gasp as his middle pressed against your clothed clit, rubbing it in slow circles.

Your hand flies to tangle in his hair, tugging at his golden locks as you begin to move against his touch. He pulls back from your breast with a pop, kissing you once again. His fingers push aside your underwear, lightly tracing your entrance while you moan against him. “You’re so wet,” he muttered, his arm moving to wrap around your shoulders to press you closer to him. 

You whine, gripping the side of his neck, and he slips his finger into your channel. Your nails dig into his skin, lips faltering against the kiss as he begins to pump his finger before adding a second. His pace slowly picks up, and your sounds only pick up volume. He pulls back enough just to admire you, the way your face is scrunched up in pleasure, the way your eyebrows knit together, your kiss-swollen lips glistening under the motel’s dim lights. You look angelic.

He can begin to feel you squeeze around his fingers, letting out a low grunt as he moves faster to bring you to your climax. Art isn’t sure how he made it so long without this, without you, but all he knows is he can’t stay away from you anymore. How can he when you’re writhing in pleasure under him like this? Your velvet walls tighten around him, begging him to make you cum. You’re almost breaking his skin from how hard you’re scratching his shoulders, desperately trying to grip onto anything when your orgasm hits you. Your hearing goes muffled, and you swear you see stars.

Art watches you in awe, his arm almost cramping, but he doesn’t stop. His need to watch you come undone overrules any other sense.

You ride out your orgasm before falling limp against the mattress as you pant. Art’s hand slows to a stop, and he slowly pulls out of your heat, eliciting a small whine from you. He sits back on his knees, slipping his fingers into his mouth to taste you. You can feel the desire begin to pool in your stomach at the sight of him moaning at your taste and licking every last drop.

You’re still recovering from your climax when your hands reach out to unbuckle his belt. He helps you, pushing away the denim before his fingers hook into your pants, pulling them down and off. He crawls over you, staring down at you.

And God, the way you look at him.

Like you hate him. Like you want him. Like you still remember what it felt like to love him.

He rests his forehead against yours for a moment, taking a second to feel you under him, to memorize your ragged breaths and body all over again.

“God,” he muttered. “I missed you…” Your hands tug at his sides, and he’s reaching for his wallet on the nightstand, pulling out the saved condom. He tears the packet open with his teeth, going to roll the latex on his cock before your hand wraps around his wrist. He stops, watching you with attentive eyes, scared he might’ve done something wrong. You shake your head.

"No," You breathed, your eyes locked with his. "I want to feel all of you. I'm on the pill. Please, just take me."

Art hesitated for a moment, the condom still in his hand. It had been so long since he'd felt a woman bare, and the thought of your tight, naked pussy wrapped around his cock was almost too much to bear. Throwing caution to the wind, he tossed the condom aside and positioned himself at your entrance, groaning at your arousal covering his tip.

"You sure about this?" he asked, his voice rough with desire. At your nod, he gripped your hips and slowly pushed forward, feeling your slick walls parting for him. He had to pause for a moment as the head of his cock popped inside you, taking a breath to stop himself from pushing in. You gasped his name—not loud, not performative, just honest. Like it slips out of you before you can stop it.

Your back arched off the bed as he stretched you open, your eyes rolling to the back of your head. "Fuck, you're so big," you gasped, your nails digging into his biceps. "Don't stop, Art."

With a grunt, Art thrust forward, burying himself in your heat in one smooth stroke. He paused, letting you adjust around his size. Your walls fluttered and clenched around him, drawing him in even deeper. He could feel every inch of you, and it took all of his willpower not to cum right then and there.

He began to move, pulling nearly all the way out before moving back in. His thrusts are slow at first like he’s savoring it, like he wants this to last forever. But you dig your nails into his shoulder, silently telling him not to hold back, and he doesn’t. He slowly begins to set a hard and fast pace. The room filled with the obscene sounds of skin slapping against skin and your moans of pleasure.

The headboard creaks. The neon motel sign flickers outside. Somewhere on the street, the trombone is still playing. You whisper something that sounds like don’t stop. Or maybe it’s don’t leave. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t ask.

He just gives you everything. He can feel you start to tighten around him already, your body tensing as you climb closer to your peak. He leaned down to capture your lips in a filthy kiss, swallowing your combined moans. He moves with purpose, needing you to feel every inch of him, like he’s trying to apologize with the way his body moves against yours. One hand slides beneath the small of your back to hold you closer, deeper. All that matters is this. The heat, the sweat, the way your name leaves his lips like a confession. Like a prayer. You dig your nails into his back. He pulls away from the kiss to groan into your neck.

"Fuck, I'm close," he panted against your mouth. "I want to feel you cum on my cock. Let go for me, baby. I got you."

His words push you over the edge. Your head fell back, your climax hitting you in waves—slow at first, then all at once. He follows soon after, burying his face into your shoulder, muttering a choked “fuck” that sounds too raw to be casual. You could feel him painting your pussy white as he filled you with spurt after spurt of his cum.

It felt like forever before your climax passed and you both relaxed. Your eyes close at his weight on top of you, your arms wrapping around him.

You don’t speak for a long time. The room is hot now, heavier with silence than it was before. The sweat on your skin cools under the hum of the air conditioner, and Art’s hand rests against your hip like he’s afraid you’ll slip away if he moves. The silence between you isn’t awkward. It’s... thick. Like something is sitting between you—years, mistakes, words unsaid—and now it’s all right there, hanging in the air.

He moves first, rolling onto his back before pulling you against his side. You don’t protest, your head nuzzles into his shoulder. 

“You okay?” he asks, voice hoarse, quieter than before.

You nod. “Yeah.”

But then your eyes flick away. And that’s all it takes for him to know you’re not. “I didn’t think I’d ever get to see you again,” he says. “…I should’ve tried harder, baby. Said more. Did more.”

You swallow hard. “You didn’t say anything. That’s what hurt the most.”

He flinches. “I know.”

Your fingers toy with the edge of the sheet, suddenly nervous. Like everything that just happened could fall apart if either of you breathed too loudly.

“I thought maybe,” you say slowly, “after Stanford... I dunno. I thought we were doing more than just having fun.”

“We weren’t just having fun,” he says immediately, his hand idly squeezing out the knots on your shoulders. “You were the only thing that felt real.”

You meet his eyes again. There’s something broken in them. Something yours.

“Then why’d you have to end it like that?”

He hesitates, averting your eyes to watch his hand knead your skin. “Because I was scared. And stupid. And…” He sighed, meeting your eyes again. “I thought I might’ve ruined it if I had you for too long.”

You’re quiet.

After a beat, “You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to disappear then show up years later like this and pretend it didn’t matter.

“I’m not pretending,” he says. “I never stopped thinking about you.”

That lands hard. You feel it in your chest, in the pit of your stomach.

“I’m not asking for anything,” he adds. “I know I don’t deserve to. I just... I wanted you to know. I never forgot you. And if this— if tonight was just one night, then... thank you. For giving me that.”

You stare at him. And you hate how much he still means to you. You reach over, fingers brushing his hand. He laces his with yours without hesitation. You rest your head against his chest. He doesn’t know if you’ll stay. He doesn’t ask.

For now, you’re here.

And that’s more than he deserves.

[wolfsclothing6]

I would love to buy a skinsuit. I am a total geek and scrawny in college. I would love a skinsuit that can wear to show off my strength. One with big muscles. Any way you can help me out. Only problem is I have to work outside mowing and other yard work to pay it off. Hope the heat stays low so I don't get stuck. It is supposed to be really hot in a few days.

"Big Man on Campus"

Day 1 – Order Confirmed!

I finally did it. I ordered my first MorphoSkin Deluxe Muscle Form! No more scrawny arms, no more awkward frame—I’m going to be huge. I’ve always been the geeky guy, the one who barely fills out a hoodie, the one people overlook. But with this? I’ll be massive. Broad shoulders, thick chest, arms that stretch out my sleeves—just imagining it makes my heart race.

There’s only one little problem: money.

These things aren’t cheap, and I had to take on extra work mowing lawns and doing yard work to afford it. It’s been hot as hell lately, but I should be okay as long as I don’t overheat. I read somewhere that too much heat can make the suit… stick. Probably just a scare tactic, right?

Day 4 – Delivery Arrived!

It’s here. I opened the package like a kid on Christmas, and there it was: my new body.

The suit is everything I imagined—thick, veiny arms, a massive chest, and abs that look like they were carved out of stone. The inside of the suit feels weirdly cool and smooth, almost alive. I barely skimmed the instructions (who reads those?), then stripped down and stepped in.

The change was instant.

My legs stretched taller, my thighs grew thick and powerful, my stomach hardened into a tight six-pack. Pulling my arms into place, I flexed—veins popped under the surface, biceps bulged, and my hands were huge, rough, strong.

Then came the final piece—the face. I pulled it over, felt a sharp tingle down my spine, and then…

My voice rumbled deep from my chest. My reflection was perfect. I clenched my fists, feeling the sheer power in my arms. My t-shirt stretched tight over my massive shoulders, and my jeans felt one squat away from tearing.

This was insane.

Day 6 – Work Day

I had to work a double shift mowing lawns today, but honestly? I was excited. I wanted to see how this body performed.

And man, did it deliver.

I powered through yard after yard, barely breaking a sweat. My muscles thrived under the work—each push of the mower, each lift of a bag of mulch, it all felt effortless. People actually noticed me for once. The old man next door whistled, impressed. A group of girls jogging by did a double-take.

For the first time in my life, I felt undeniable.

But there was one little problem.

The heat.

The sun was brutal today—beating down for hours, my whole body soaked in sweat. My shirt clung to me, my breath came heavier, my skin felt too tight.

I figured I just needed a break. I sat down, guzzled water, wiped my face—and froze.

My skin wasn’t wiping clean.

I looked down at my arms. The sweat didn’t bead—it sank in. Like my pores had changed. My fingers trembled as I grabbed at my wrist, trying to pinch the suit’s seam.

Nothing.

I reached for my neck, feeling for the edge where the suit met my real skin. It should be there. It should peel.

It didn’t.

My pulse pounded.

I rushed to my truck’s side mirror and stared at myself. Same massive body. Same perfect muscles. Same chiseled jawline.

I pressed my fingers to my face, trying to pull the skin away. It wouldn’t move. It stretched, it flexed, it responded like it belonged.

Because it did.

I swallowed hard, my Adam’s apple bobbing—except now, it wasn’t mine. It was his.

The words from the instructions flashed in my mind—something about heat exposure. About how too much could cause permanent fusion

"Oh fuck..."

I took a slow, shaky breath. My reflection stared back, confident, unshaken.

Maybe this wasn’t the worst thing.

I clenched a massive fist, flexing my arm. I was strong. Powerful. Everything I ever wanted to be.

This was my body now.

And honestly?

I didn’t mind.

[queenburd]

it's not going to let me rest until i write about it, so tonight I want to talk about the TSP2 Expo in Ultra Deluxe, and why it's a thing at all, and what it means about the Narrator, and how deeply self-conscious he is.

The Expo is, and I say this without exaggeration, the Narrator's deep, desperate need to respond to the audience and the reviews from the Skip button ending. They say he's not funny; he makes "a whole lot of gags". He's still reactionary, he makes all of this in response to (and in my mind, in the downtime during) the Skip button, and it's the first thing you can find right after the game resets from the Skip button.

He's not over it.

TSPUD in general is in a big way about the relationship between an artist and their audience. (i swear on my life i've written those words before...) it's about how a creator can and does create for themself but does, on a real level, yearn for an audience to understand and appreciate, while also being scared that people wont get it, and also being scared about "needing" a reaction to begin with.

Create for oneself, sure, but you still want people to like the thing you made. You want them to experience it, this thing you put so much time into. You want them to laugh at the jokes, that's why the jokes are there, and you hope they hit right.

Elements of that have always been in TSP but they're at the forefront of TSPUD and especially all the Expo stuff. Even while the Narrator, in Skip button rants, berates the audience for wanting jokes and gags and bits to distract them, he immediately wants to please. He's yearning to be understood, and he thinks if he can just give the people what they want, then surely they'll find the meaning in his work.

And then there's that darn Bucket. And while the Bucket feels like, at times, a stand-in for the Narrator or a way for him to project, it's easier for me to see him trying to frame Stanley's bond to the Bucket as a parallel to his bond to Stanley, instead of the other way around.

Stanley is the thing that is here in this world and story to comfort the Narrator. But Stanley is also the thing that can crush the Narrator's spirit.

In the Press Conference Ending, Stanley's bold new approach to story-telling gets him lauded, gets him praise. In the Bucket version, he tries to make the Bucket understand him through other people understanding him, and it fails. It scans as the Narrator desperately trying to reach out to Stanley, even as he tries to get adoration from an audience. Stanley only has eyes for the Bucket in the Apartment ending; in the end, the Narrator only has Stanley for company, and he on some level wants Stanley to appreciate him. He asks for feedback in the Games ending. And while nothing will ever really make him happy, there, he still asks.

In the end, Stanley's the only audience that really matters. He wants Stanley to like the things he makes.

"Why did I create Stanley? Was I lonely?"

He was. And the audience he's looking for isn't one he can interact with.

TSPUD is about a creator's relationship with an audience, hoping they will play the game, and like the game, and understand the game, so that they'll keep playing. And the game "ends" when the creator says "okay. I think I'm ready to try something new. for real this time!"

And then he gets pulled right back, because the audience response is just so uproarious. How can you move on from a thing that did, on some level, garner you success? Shouldn't you just stick with the thing that made you successful? But how do you make it better, when it felt like a complete work?

When do you get to move on? When do you make that choice? Will the audience understand? Will they follow you? Or do they just want more of the same?

The answer isn't simple.

[mayearies]

☆.

NORMAL GIRL

𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐆 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐒

˚ʚ property of ©hiimayee ɞ˚

genre: angsty (a lil fluff) | warnings: insecure reader a/n: i gotta confess i just listened to the ctrl deluxe because i didnt know there was one but I LOVE JODIE AND MILES SMSM translations: amor, que paso / love, what happened . di lo que piensas / say what you think . tía / aunt . como si fuera ayer, hermosa / like it was yesterday, beautiful . mi corazon / my heart . mamá, déjame ayudarte / mama, let me help you

summary: miles assuring youre the one for him no matter what ♬ song: normal girl by sza

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

miles and you were just laying down and watching some television on the couch while tía rio went to the store. she said she wanted to teach you and miles how to make pasteles tonight. you honestly weren’t paying attention to whatever was being shown, instead you were thinking about yourself. you just wish you were more-

“-normal?”

the tv cut off your sentence with that word, snapping you back into the moment. he noticed your sudden jump and looked up as you as his thumb circled your stomach. “you okay?”

“hm? oh yeah- yeah i’m fine.”

your voice was really unconvincing, he rolled his eyes as he laid his head back down on your chest and turned his eyes toward the tv again. “amor, que paso? you look upset.”

“nothing, just thinking.” “you know you can tell me anythin’, right? di lo que piensas.”

you know that. but you wanted to keep this to yourself. but also knowing him, he would be able to get you to crack sooner or later. miles was really passionate about hearing what you’re thinking. he liked to hear you speak. he says that a lot.

“you know how i, y’know act really out of character?” “what’chu mean, ma?” “like when we first met—don’t i act completely different now that we’re dating?”

the circular motions on your stomach paused for a second as he looked up at you but the motions still continued as he stared at you. glancing at your lips from time to time. “i mean, i never really noticed.”

“never?” “no. you stay the same in my eyes. the same cute princess i’ve known. so i dont know what you mean when you say ‘out of character’.”

maybe he didn’t see you the way you saw you. you felt like you’ve changed since you met him. in some ways bad, in some ways good. but you still felt like you weren’t yourself. “you know the times i would be hyper and all that.”

“como si fuera ayer, hermosa.” “well.. do you think thats normal considering me?”

miles squinted his eyes at you as he shifted so you were sitting on his lap. “‘normal’? you’re not normal.”

“exactly what my point is, miles. and i feel like it’s a problem.” “what’s wrong with not being normal, love? you can’t define normal in a person.” “but i’m not-“

“no buts, mi corazon. i like all the moments we share. the silly ones, the serious ones, thats all a part of you. and i like that. y’know, mama might have not had the best perception of you when we first met but, i still loved you. the same i do now. you might have changed. i still love you the same. ♡”

he lightly pepper kissed you over your face. he always knew a sweet way to shut you up. you were his life, and he wouldn’t want you being insecure about yourself any time of day. even when we was asleep or away for prowler business.

miles didnt have any expectations when he wanted a girlfriend. you just had to like him back. and you did. thats all he asks for. nothing else. “you okay now?”

he liked the way you would instantly melt at the kisses from his chappled lips. it made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. he kissed your nose before you laid your head on his chest. he stroked your scalp, too.

the sweet moment was inturrupted when the door lock was making noise, “i’m back!”

miles’ hands gestured for you to move so he could help with the groceries. a faint “mamá, déjame ayudarte.” coming from him as she thanked him. you were still a little froze in the moment to which you couldnt feel tears on your cheeks drying up.

“oh! good, she’s still here-“

once rio turned her attention to you, she held a look of slight worry. which then shifted to an eyebrow raise at her son as he carried the bags.

“what did you do?” “nothing, mama! i swear. we just.. had a little moment while you were out.”

she looked back and forth between you two until her mouth made an ‘o’ shape, “ah, i see.”

“…not-“ “yes, i know ‘not like that’!”

©hiimayee

[colettebronte]

Presumptuous, Epilogue

Taglist Form

Series Masterlist

Ao3 Link

Bridgerton Masterlist

Pairing: Anthony Bridgerton x fem!reader

Summary: It’s a few months later so let’s check in on our couple. Have they mellowed or are they just as horny for each other as ever?

Word Count: 2.2k

Warnings: 18+ as always for the overall fic. Warnings for anal sex in the shower, EXTREMELY inappropriate behavior in an elevator, oral sex and an awkward phone call with Nan. Minors DNI. I will put this up on Ao3 so please do not repost my work elsewhere

Author’s Note: So here it is, the FINAL, final chapter of my Summer Epic. Thank you to those who followed along and to those of you just discovering this. Despite a few hiccups, I’ve had an absolute blast writing this and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it 🫶❤️

Thank you as always to @fayes-fics for betaing this whole fic. You’re THE BEST!

Epilogue: The Resort, Six Months Later

You wave the room card over the reader and as the door unlocks, you let out a squeal as Anthony hauls you up into his arms and then he kicks the door open and carries you bridal style over the threshold.

At this point, you really shouldn’t be surprised. The man has not let you walk over the threshold of any entrance since your wedding two days earlier.

Not over the entrance to your new bedroom in Aubrey Hall where the wedding was held and not out the doors and down the steps and into the town car that brought you to the airport. Not through the sliding doors of the airport or into the Private Plane Club Lounge. Not even over the people mover and into the hangar where said private plane was waiting. And certainly not through the bay doors of the actual plane itself. 

Your ridiculous husband even had you laughing as he carried you through the glass doors of the resort, your check-in documents clenched between his teeth. You had offered to hold them but he merely shook his head as he rolled up his shirt sleeves and hoisted you up into his arms.

Michaela, who had been your Maid of Honor and yet somehow beat you back to the resort, wordlessly took the papers out of Anthony’s mouth and checked you in as if nothing was amiss. Still holding you, Anthony bent over so that you, the new Viscountess Bridgerton, could sign your name and complete the check-in process for you both. Michaela handed you the folio containing your room cards and signaled for a porter to follow with your luggage.

Your room turns out to be the same Deluxe Beach Suite you had stayed in previously. As you enter the room, Anthony at last sets you down. The porter follows behind you and Anthony directs them to the bedroom. You walk around the room, marveling at how it looks exactly as it did when you last were there. Glancing at the bedroom to see Anthony fully distracted with unpacking, you walk over to the door that leads out to the beach. You undo the latch and are about to pull it open when a warm hand reaches over on top of yours.

“Ant, you don’t have to do this with every door,” you start to protest, but stop at seeing the fond look in his eyes.

“Please, let me do this for my new bride,” he pleads in a soft voice. And what else can you do but pull him close and kissing the tip of his nose, wrap your arms around his neck.

Whispering in his ear you say, “Take me to the beach, Viscount Bridgerton.”

“As my Viscountess commands,” he rumbles. His smile is luminous as he lifts you up into his arms, first banding a hand under your knees and the other around your back as he carries you over the threshold and down the boardwalk onto the beach. 

Maybe being carried everywhere in Anthony’s arms isn’t so bad after all.

********

With plenty of time before your dinner reservation, you decide to hop in the shower to wash the journey off your skin. You had asked Anthony to join you, but he demurred in favor of unpacking.

The double rainfall showerheads feel divine and it’s a shame you’re enjoying them alone. With a sly smile you call out, “Babe! Can you bring me my loofah and shower gel?”

A moment later Anthony, dressed in a white linen suit, enters with the items you requested. You reach out to take them from his hands and then Anthony yelps as you tug him by the hand and under the stream of water.

“Good God woman, let me get undressed first,” he splutters as his lovely suit gets wet.

You push him back against the stone-tiled wall, pressing your bare, wet body against his fully-clothed one. His groan is music to your ears as he shucks his jacket and starts to undo the buttons on his sodden, nearly see-through white shirt. With a growl you grip his collar and rip it open, elegant little buttons popping off in all directions.

He glares at you, but then he’s tugging his cufflinks off and tossing the remains of his shirt onto the floor. He makes short work of his trousers and then blessedly, he’s as bare as you are.

He pulls you tightly against him, capturing your mouth in a fierce kiss. You reach up and wrap your arms around his neck. He bands his hands around your ass and then you’re wrapping your legs around his torso as he positions you both under the spray of the showerheads.

He releases you and you slide down his body, enjoying his moan as you deliberately grind against his cock.

You move to the side, intending to take up the loofah but Anthony presses you into the wall with his chest against your back. You brace yourself with two hands and push back against him.

“Lady Bridgerton,” he murmurs into your ear, “Are you ready for me?”

You glance over your shoulder at him. With a sharp smile you reply, “Always, Lord Bridgerton. Now be a Good Boy and show me what you got.”

Anthony growls and then braces himself against the wall above you with one hand and, in one fluid motion, pushes into you. You gasp as his free hand wraps around your hip, supporting you.

He rests his head against your shoulder and asks, “Are you alright?”

After a moment, you adjust to the feeling of fullness and you nod. He tenderly brushes your hair over one of your shoulders and presses a kiss to your other one. “That’s my Good Girl,” he rumbles.

He runs warm, water-slicked hands lovingly down your sides and then he pulls back only to pound back into you, all the way to the hilt. You gasp and press your body back into his and he groans at the sensation. You reach back and put your arms around his neck as he leans down and adjusts his angle. One of his hands rests on your belly as he presses hot kisses into your neck.

His fingers slide down and part your folds. You press your hands against the tile for purchase as Anthony simultaneously rocks into your body from behind and works at your clit with his fingers.

The past six months have been wonderful, not just for your romantic relationship, but for your physical one as well. It’s allowed you to learn each other’s bodies thoroughly, knowing exactly how to bring the other pleasure with expert precision.

Which is exactly what Anthony does. Every thrust from behind is tempered with how exquisitely he swirls around your clit. It’s how you know exactly the right way to clench against and around him to leave him gasping into your neck with unrestrained pleasure.

Just as you feel yourself hurtling towards bliss, Anthony’s movements become stilted, a sure sign he’s about to come as well. Wanting to go over the precipice together, you slam back against him just as he works three fingers into your folds. You close your eyes and cry out as bright light overtakes your senses, pressing your back against his chest. Anthony rears his head back and yells, all while somehow managing to keep you both upright.

That evening, when you call down to reception, Michaela seems unsurprised that you decide to cancel your reservation and order room service for dinner instead.

**********

A few days later, you’re in the elevator on the way down to meet Anthony for lunch. He had decided to hit the gym while you slept in, despite your numerous attempts to keep him under the covers for a different sort of workout.

The elevator dings a few floors above the one you want and the doors open to reveal a sweat-slicked Anthony, his black tank top and gym shorts clinging to his body in some very interesting places. You raise an eyebrow and he shakes his head.

“Forgive the state I’m in, My Love. All the showers were full.”

You give him another once over. “I’d be lying if I said I minded.”

Anthony huffs a laugh and then you’re staring at each other. You wonder if your eyes look as feral as his.

And then you’re crashing together, your lips meeting as you wrap your legs around his waist, your hands reaching up to tug his hair. Anthony stumbles for a moment as he adjusts to holding you. He then wraps one arm around your back, as his free one reaches behind you to stop the elevator from moving.

You reach under his tank top and pull it up over his head. Anthony walks backward until his back hits the wood paneling of the walls. You hop down and pull your sundress over your head, dropping it onto the floor behind you. Anthony groans as he sees you fully bared to him.

As he toes off his sneakers and tugs down his shorts he says, “Of course you’re not wearing a bra or panties.”

You smile sharply as you advance on him. “I figured it would save us time.”

Anthony huffs a laugh as he stands and pulls you against him. “Wise girl,” he rumbles.

Twenty minutes later when you emerge from the elevator, both of you sloppily redressed, Michaela is there waiting for you, looking unamused.

“For the love of all that’s holy, can you both please try to keep your intimate activities to the private areas of the resort. I am happy to give you a list of the places without security cameras if it’ll help you both control yourselves.”

You wince and say, “There are cameras in the elevators, really?”

Michaela merely nods and with a sigh says, “Don’t worry, I already erased the footage.”

Anthony smiles and says, “Thank you. How many children do we owe you now?”

You giggle as Michaela shakes her head and tells him, “Far too many at this point.”

**********

A few nights later, you run into the bedroom ahead of Anthony and, tossing your purse onto the bed, kick off your heels before bending down to pull your panties off from under your dress. Anthony enters a moment later, breathing hard, having chased you down the hall back to your suite.

Barefoot and panties in one hand, you run your free one up the inside of his dinner jacket, slipping your underwear into his inner pocket. Anthony’s eyes darken as you push his jacket off his shoulders. You turn and he undoes the zipper of your dress, which you make a show of sliding off your body. Anthony moans and you turn to first undo his bow tie and then slowly unbutton his white dress shirt.

You lie down on the bed and undo your bra as you watch Anthony shuck off his shirt and undo the fly on his trousers. Beside you, your phone rings in your bag. You momentarily tear your gaze away from your husband to check it. You see it’s Nan and after a few seconds of debate, decide to let her call go to voicemail. If it’s an emergency, you know she’ll call again. You're about to set the phone down on the nightstand when Anthony pounces and your phone skitters out of your palm, landing somewhere above you on the bed.

You squeal as he tugs you so you’re positioned with your legs hanging off the edge of the bed. He pushes them apart and then with nothing more than one of his wicked smiles, he licks his way down your belly before nuzzling against your folds, leaving you moaning and calling out his name as you tug on his hair.

And that’s when a tinny, amused voice above your head interrupts things.

“I’m so sorry to be a bother particularly right now, My Darlings. But I called to ask if either of you has changed the Netflix password.”

You sit up in shock to see you accidentally answered the call from Nan, on speaker. Well shit.

Nan continues, “I am pleased to hear you’re enjoying your honeymoon. It reminds me of mine and your Poppy George’s. We never left our room the entire time.”

You feel yourself turn scarlet. “Nan!” you cry out as Anthony rests his head on your stomach and shakes with silent laughter.

“Oh don’t sound so scandalized. Why do you think you have so many aunties and uncles?”

If you could, you’d sink through the bed and under the floor and just disappear where you lay. Luckily, Anthony interjects. He sits up to move closer to your phone.

“I do apologize, Charlotte. I changed the password before we left. Give me a few moments and I’ll text it to you.”

“Thank you so much Anthony. And once that’s done, please resume whatever it was that caused Y/n to make those sounds.”

You grab your phone and yell, “Goodbye Nan!” You promptly end the call and turn off your phone for good measure.

Anthony laughs and kisses you on the forehead as he goes to text Nan the new password.

Ten minutes later, he does indeed resume taking you apart inch by blissful inch with his talented mouth.

But you are never, ever going to tell Nan about that.

taglist: @queen-of-the-misfit-toys @faye-tale @cosmiclove330 @abridgerton @fiction-is-life @kmc1989 @alexandrainlove @ietss @multi-fandom-lover7667 @turtle-cant-communicate @liliac-dreamer @daphne-daisy @hottytoddyhistory @queenofmean14 @syraxnyra @chelseyyouraverageluigi @jtheteenagewitch

[queernoctis]

OK AFTER 100 YEARS OF REINSTALLING THE GAME I HAVE MORE RESEARCH ON SHINRA SCIENCE DEPARTMENT'S SPECIMEN LIVING QUARTERS

first is Ifalna+Aerith's room. I picked the screenshots with the other party members to show that it's a decent sized room. None of them are standing on top of each other, even barret has plenty of room.

it even has a litle space for the toilet and bath [the bath being behind the curtain.] is it the height of luxury?? absolutely not. but it might as well be a deluxe suite when we see what else is around it.

we've got some rooms with treasure chests. cloud to show how tiny these rooms are, especially compared to ifalna+aerith's.

there's too more rooms in the same hallway, each having a bed and a desk. you can see theyre also pretty damn small. the bed rooms and the chest rooms dont have any little nooks or alcove like a toilet room. on the minimap they break down like this:

[i didnt even think to take a pic of the bigger map when you press the touchpad kjgntfg gomenasorry]

of course its a bit hard to tell because of the chibi art style but well. it definitely looks like sephiroth's room is one of the smaller ones. there's what seems to be a desk in the bottom right corner. and from this angle, nothing else. maybe you could argue there's a bed right out of frame, but this framing is likely very deliberate. it shows that sephiroth cant even dream of having things like a bed, or a bigger, more comfortable room. literally all he wants is his mother. someone to cook for him and love him and care about him. he doesnt even have his own private bathroom, and he's so thoroughly conditioned/beaten down by shinra he doesnt even think of wanting one.

[jyzyo]

Night Terrors.

yoo jeongyeon x fem!reader

wc: 2k

Warnings: smut, mentions of dahmo, wet dreams, members may or may not have heard them, sub jeongyeon.

Synopsis: Jeongyeon has a different type of dream this time around.

Jeongyeon had a reputation for experiencing night terrors. It was just a thing of hers and every member knew about them. Whenever she wanted, they slept in the same bed as her. She mostly asked Nayeon since she didn’t feel embarrassed at the fact that she was being cuddled by the older member to sleep.

Well, it was her or you.

Ever since Nayeon started her promotions for “POP” she started arriving late and too tired to even talk to anyone, she started asking you to sleep with her, which you had no problem doing.

————————————————————————

“Can you sleep with me tonight Y/N?” she asked from the kitchen while you were on the couch playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the TV with Mina.

“Yeah sure unnie,” you said, not paying attention to her and just answering her question with whatever response she wanted.

“Can you come now, please?”

“Yeah, sure, let me just finish this” you said once again, not paying attention to her remarks and twisting your body to the left as if it would move your kart the same direction.

“Y/N now please.” You heard her say more sternly, which made you hand over the remote to Mina. “Sorry, we can play tomorrow if you want,” you said, watching as she finished in first place despite previously being in front of her.

“It’s okay, no worries goodnight,” Mina said as you walked away from the couch and followed jeongyeon toward her room.

————————————————————————

After finishing your night routine in her bathroom, which already had all your products from all the nights you slept with her before, you went into her bedroom to see her reading a book.

“Good book,” you remarked as you got under the covers with her and turned to check your notifications one last time before going to sleep to make sure no one texted you.

“Hmmm” She hummed back, not paying attention to you but finishing the last few words she had on that page before placing it down on her night table.

You darted your eyes at her immediately and also placed your phone on the charger. She dimmed down the table light to barely light up the room. “You don’t use a bookmark? You’re a psycho” you said as you noticed her book didn’t have a bookmark sticking out of it.

“I’ll remember”

“Yeah right, you barely remember where you leave your wallet”

————————————————————————

You had no idea what time it was for, all you knew it was still dark outside and you could see the reflection of the moon peeking into her room. You could feel Jeongyeon squirming under the covers, which was a usual thing she did while sleeping, so you thought nothing of it.

Upon hearing a soft whimper from Jeongyeon, you opened your eyes again. You thought she was having another episode and turned your body to face her. You waited for any more signs before slowly relaxing again.

A faint but louder whimper escaped her mouth, increasing your concern. You turned your entire focus towards her and saw her squirm again. You would be lying if you said you didn’t think she was touching herself for a minute, but that conclusion soon came to an end when you saw her hands were outside the covers.

“Ngh..” Jeongyeon moaned as she squirmed again. “Please... Please.. that feels good,” she said in a much whiner tone. You finally concluded that she was having a sex dream. The way her body squirmed and the way she moaned so softly made you feel a slick dripping down onto your underwear.

You laid back on the bed facing the ceiling hearing her moans get quieter and softer by the second. You couldn’t help but clench your thighs together to relieve some type of tension between your legs.

“Please.. I-i can’t take I-it anymor- “ Her sentence was cut short by her suddenly sitting up against the headboard. You closed your eyes immediately, hoping to avoid the awkward situation. You could hear her taking deep breaths.

“Y/N..?”

“Mhm?” You said back. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. It was all out of habit whenever she called your name, you answered, why wouldn’t you?

You felt her lay back down and come closer to your body, her hand on your arm as she faced you. “What did you dream about?” You asked, deciding to be bold and get the details of her sex dream, not only to see what someone like jeongyeon wet dream would look like but also to get some sort of relief in between the aching feeling in between your legs.

“Nothing..” Jeongyeon shyly responded and moved away from your body instead turning her back towards you. “Well, you were moaning. I don’t think it was just nothing.” This time it was you who got closer to her. You could feel her breathing against you as you wrapped your arms around her and brought her closer to you.

Your hand slowly sneaked itself under her shirt, feeling her waist and stomach before slowly going upwards when you felt her stop you.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m just trying to help you, and can I..?”

You felt her grip on your hand loosen and give you access to her body again. Your hand moved up, finally reaching her breasts, which were covered by her bra. You started playing with one of them, getting a whimper back in response, “Does that feel good?”. Jeongyeon nodded her head quickly and you saw her hand grip her pillow.

"Tell me what happened in your dream and I'll help you," you said, now circling your thumb around her hardened nipple, which you could feel even over her bra. “I-I can’t..” she moaned before bringing her hand to her mouth to silence her whimpers.

“Come on, baby..how do you expect me to help you? You want me to help you, right?” You asked, getting a quick nod in response. “Then tell me what happened” Jeongyeon finally removed her hand from her mouth to answer you, but when she felt your hand go under her bra and pinch her nipple, the only thing she could do was let out a moan.

“Use your words.”

“I-i you..you were in my dream and you.. started by kissing me..t-then you started touching my chest..ugh..mhm..” Your touches on her nipple got her more sensitive by the second. “.. Then you touched me in between my legs..”

“Do you want me to help you?” You asked again, only getting a soft whimper of approval. You soon straddled her lap before leaning down to capture her lips in a kiss.

Jeongyeon was squirming under your body and moaning into the kiss, you could feel yourself getting more excited with each whimper she let out. Fuck, she sounded so good.

In the midst of kisses, she whispered, "Please touch me," prompting you to grasp the edges of her shirt and remove it, revealing her dark green lace bra. Your hands immediately went to play with her breasts and sucking on the exposed skin area.

“Please.. please” you heard her say. She sat up slightly, granting you access to undo her bra. “You’re so needy” Her bra finally falling to her elbows even before obliterating it, you placed your mouth over her breast, sucking on her hard nipple, making her gasp and fall back onto the bed. “F-fuck..” Her hand traveling to your head, pushing you more against her breast, your other hand giving her other breast just as much attention.

You pulled away from her breasts and moved towards her neck, leaving marks all over the left side of her neck, knowing that the members would probably see them. “Please..” Jeongyeon pleaded.

“Please what?”

Jeongyeon groaned quietly before speaking again. “Please touch me there..” with that your hand moved towards her sweatpants, pulling them down as you moved your own body down to see a big darkened spot on her underwear, indicating just how wet she was.

“Aww..you’re all relied up for me, dollface?” Jeongyeon groaned at your remark once again before that groan turned into a loud moan as your tongue grazed her clit over her panties.

“Fuck me.. Y/N please..”

You removed her panties, throwing them on the floor before placing yourself in front of her, lifting her legs up to give yourself more access. You slowly licked her folds, tasting her sweetness, gripping her thighs tighter when ever she squirmed. “Stay still.”

You started slowly licking her clit, hearing those sweet moans of hers fill the room. You looked up at her as she touched her own breasts, giving herself more pleasure. Your hand then moving to her folds teasing her entrance.

“Mhm.. Please.. I want you in me”

You inserted a finger inside her, slowly thrusting into her before adding a second one, making Jeongyeon twitch.

“Ngh.. I’m close..” Her moans were quiet, but the more you touched her, the louder they got. Was she usually this quiet?

When you pulled away from her clit, she looked down at you with teary eyes. “Why so quiet?” You asked as you kept your fingers moving inside her, curling every time you went completely inside her.

“I-I don’t.. ahh.. want them to hear..” she said with grabbing onto the sheets.

“But I want to hear you.. they’ll just think you’re having another episode. Come on, I want to hear your pretty moans,” purposely slowing down to hear her pleads.

“Please..don’t stop Y/N” Her tone whiny and pleadingly, you went down on her again, licking her clit, making her moan loudly this time.

You felt her starting to clench around your fingers and squirming more than before. Her hand moving to her mouth to muffle her loud moans.

When you pulled away from her clit, she groaned and looked down at you with tears streaming down her face.

“I told you I wanted to hear you.”

“Okay.. just please keep going, I’m so close..”

As soon as you started sucking on her clit again, she moaned loudly just for you. Every time you thrusted into her, you could hear just how wet she was. You felt her clenching more around your fingers, indicating she was close.

Her moans were even louder now, and you were sure that if any of the members were awake, they would have heard her by now.

“Fuck you're so wet..” You said against her clit, making her twitch at the vibrations that it sent to her body.

She let out a loud moan, which sounded more like a scream as she finished all over your fingers, her thighs twitching. You pulled your fingers out and making sure to eat everything, not letting a single drop of her go to waste. Your tongue going flat against her folds making her twitch once more.

Her eyes were teary, and her cheeks were rosy when you went to kiss her. “Aw.. did I make my pretty girl cry?” You said as you wiped her tears away. “It felt.. really good,” she said quietly.

“Open your mouth.” You demanded her, and she did just as you said. You inserted your sticky fingers in her mouth and she knew what you wanted her to do. She twirled her tongue around your fingers, cleaning them up for you.

“You’re such a good girl baby..” you whispered in her ear, your hand going to her neck before kissing her.

————————————————————————

“Did Jeongyeon Unnie have another episode yesterday?” Mina asked, moving her hand to cover your eyes from the TV, Your hand soon removing it after.

“Um yeah why?” Your eyes are not moving from the game in front of you.

“Just thought I heard her moaning”

You couldn’t help but to let out a small grin.

“Oh moaning? No, I don’t think so, it was probably just Momo and Dahyun,” you said, receiving a small slap on the arm from Mina in return.