#people doing the bare minimum and thinking it’s enough and who are always complaining and never doing anything get on my nerves so much

[jessmarianowife]

I HATE GROUP PROJECTS WHYYYYY DO I HAVE TO DO THIS I AM NOT BUILT FOR THIS

[casinocarpediem]

▪︎■☆ Новое Mолоко 🐮🥛 ☆■▪︎

(Translation: New Milk)

☆ 🔞!!NOT SAFE FOR WORK!!🔞

☆ male! subtop! Francis Mosses / male! dombottom! Reader

☆ overstimulation if ya squint a lil, milking, breeding, dumbification, passing out, belly bulge (If your not into this, look away!! 👻👻)

☆ implied Russian speaking Francis (translated from google translate and research for needed accuracy, however, any form of critique or correction definetely is allowed!)

☆ short (I think???)

☆ author has played Not My Neighbor

°○☆nsfw under the cut☆○°

You and Francis had a thing. And, fuck, for a minimum wage worker who barely gets any kind of rest at all, he's fucking good at what he does. He's a big fan of milking. Not his job, no, he could rant about how shitty it can be despite not wanting to get a new one (A/N: so real) but he's a fan of milking. Just the other kind of milking.

The first tim you two had sex, he was pretty sheepish about it, yeah. He didn't know if you prefered topping or bottoming so he settled for a handjob. You did the same as well. Until you both got used to each other and realized that he was pretty flexible. He'd do whatever you'd want to do, whatever you had in store, as long as if it wasn't too much for either of you. He loves fucking but he surely isn't a sex devient. Somewhere in the middle. Pliant to whatever you to had planned. But recently, he may or may not have discovered a new kink. Somethig that made his legs flex and his stamina increase and the gooey, warm, and fuzzy gears in his head grind back to life to keep on going. The last time you two had sex, there was now no condom, and he was pounding you into the bed that you swore Isaack would definetely send a formally written complain, persuasive enough for the both of you to not have such intense, hot, steamy sex for the next few months, (He's a reporter after all, have to respect the man informing the people, and he definetely has a way with words).

Humming, groaning, a little against your neck. You swore it was like a kitten, as if he was purring in a way. You pulled his hair as per usual and with a louder grunt his dark brown eyes roll up just a slight and flutter, closing shut as he fills you to the brim with his warm baby batter. Shaking, sweating, and biting his lip when he just keeps on cumming until theres nothing more to give. Or is there?

What he didn't expect, was when you suddenly whispered in the midst of him balls deep inside you,

"Thats it... good boy, you fuckin slut... Cum in me, keep milkin' yourself f'me"

Ah shit, he swore something inside of him just snapped loose. With the way he shivered violently, and as your hand loosened on his sweaty brown hair he moves again. Oh how odd, after a few rounds, the last one being penetration, he's always so tired, opting to give you a handjob or finger you if you didnt get a taste of your climax but shit. If this wasn't hot then what was?!

When you had basically degraded him to milk his balls dry you didn't mean literally, but fuck. This was so appealing, that your little milk boy had his quirks.

You look down at yourself seeing the bulge appearing on your abdoment everytime he thrusts in and god does it make you feel dizzy. Your hard dick, leaking as well just begging to cum while Francis gasps and shudders a little more, oh he looks so dumb. Trying to do as he's told. To keep milking himself. Milking himself for you. Just for motherfucking you. It keeps fuzzy sparks inside of his brain that has him smiling and drooling against your chest.

"Awe, what an adorable little cow you are... Milking your-...yourself for me... Giving me every ounce of that sweet sweet milk of yours, hmm? You wanna give me your milk Francis? You wanna fucking cum in me again?"

He feels so lightheaded that he smiles dumbly at the idea and nods as if his head is too heavy, full of warm cream. Muttering several words in russian mixed in with english as he nods slowly, trembling as his cock, still hard and moving perfectly against every spot inside of you.

"Please please please К-Куколка please... fuck fuckk- let me cum... inside... inside... cum inside please please milk me- oh... П-Пожалуйста... З-...Золотце... Пожалуйста..."

The pathetic, brown haired man sobs. Pawing at your sides like an injured little puppy. Begging so prettily, who could deny those eyes of his? all teary and tired. Small blobs of salty water dripping down his eyebags which were now disappearing, thanks to yourself for keeping his sleep schedule normal again after years of nap malnutrition.

After a few more moments of Francis groaning so softly against your ear, you feel yourself about to cum too, and when you order it directly, he really does come undone. Panting like a dog in heat while nails dig against his back skin. All the while he buries himself deep inside of you once again and fills you up with a second load of his fluids that it's practically drooling out of your hole. You hiss as well, shutting your eyes with a shudder as your dick spurts out a thick white rope of cum, coating Francis' stomach and your chest. Fuck.

Francis pants, collapsing on you. You gently push him to the side and just watch him catch his breath. Eyes closed, skin warm and sweaty while he's still inside you. All soft. But its not uncomfortable. At least now, you definetely know how you can abuse this new found information with your lovely boyfriend.

[tartarusknight]

Okay we ignore Steves big crush on Robin during season 3. And I get it, I do. It makes sense that he's easily motivated to see love where there isn't any. Dustin says Steve should live Robin so he does. Eddie says that Nancy loves him and should love her back, so Steve tries.

But I think it would be far more credible to his character if we changed that slightly. Sure people can motivate his actions. But deep down Steve did love Robin. Like saw a future of the two of them and everything. It has something to do with thinking he might die with her, but it's still there.

When she turns him down, it hurts but he sees her and knows that he can't make it about him. So he does what he does best and pretends everything is fine. He jokes with her and sings off key like he would to make Nancy laugh and he thinks he falls for her even more when she laughs with him.

But time moves on and they are so fucking close. Every time Robin's a little awkward around him, he makes sure to make her comfortable with jokes and teasing. And slowly Steve realizes that in any world he'd never be good enough for her anyways. Robin was perfect and Steve marveled at the fact that she cared about him at all.

It reminds him of Nancy and how she was so amazing and powerful and any attention she gave him was special. But after a while Nancy realized she was too good for Steve, that his love wasn't enough. And she didn't stay around to be his friend. But Robin, she stayed to be his friend and Steve cherished it. He never tried to make her fall in love with him, he new it would never work and he did his best to leave his love for her behind but it would flare up at moments.

So then he decided to start dating around more. No more pointless flirting that he realizes was mostly just to make Robin pay attention to him. He does his best to find girls who might be as special as Robin and Nancy. But it's hard.

After a while, when Robin celebrates when she kicks his ass in another bet, his heart doesn't break at her joy. No, he just complains and hides his grin as they iron out what he has to do for her. As she plans a way to make him embarrass himself in front of who knows how many people, he can only wonder when he moved on.

The pain in his heart feels healed and he leans against Robin to argue with her and feels lighter than he had in years. His heart felt free and he knows that will always love her but it's changed and it's never been more right.

As the year gets colder, Steve's time with Dustin is filled up with talk of Eddie. And Steve never really cared about Eddie when they were in school. The guy was strange in a weirdly good way and Steve didn't want his reputation to get fucked by Munson. But the more Dustin talks the man up, the more Steve wishes he had.

And while Steve doesn't know it yet, Dustin's once again pushing him towards another crush. This one won't be easy. It'll be filled with miscommunication and hard truths. It won't be a straight line, not when said crush will try to push him towards Nancy. But it'll start with blood stained kisses that save a life in March of 1986.

This crush won't be a cause of another scar and Robin will be there. Not as an object of Steve's affections but to hold his hand when he cries about liking boys for the first time. She'll be there and listen to his previous heartbreaks and she won't judge him. She won't thank him for doing the bare minimum of not pushing her to date him. She will just tell him that he isn't cursed and that who knows, maybe Eddie Munson is his future Mr perfect. And... She'll be right.

[deesseshesca]

PAC : How to express your sexual self ? (18+)

I GOT A NEW KINKY DECK BABES !

Good morning pretty soul ! I am so excited ... IS OFFICIALLY KINKTOBER ! DAY : 6-8

A.N.G.E.L soul tribe OR B.A.B.Y. soul tribe FOR EXCLUSVE CONTENT.

Your future lover| SEX Douala =SALE READING

PILE 1 

2 cups (reverse), 3 swords (reverse), 3 pentacles, 4 pentacles 

Y’all are dealing with a partner that sabotages you but they are not the only one. You guys are out here playing super hero saving everyone except for focusing on nurturing your garden. You don’t even have enough in your cup but nah u out here pouring in everybody cups. I do understand that you have children so you need to pour into their cup unconditionally. Since you are outhere saving others but yourself you are drained mentally which has a major impact on your mother/father hood. Your kids deserve the best version of yourself so cut with no second thought anything draining you. 

Stop having sex with them ! Every time your partner wants to get in your good graces they create a sexual tension and all the sudden you forgive all they are wrong doing. You are so damm predictable that they don’t even fucking try changing. Ever since I started pulling card for people, I realize how people are ready to stay in broken relationships because it is not toxic enough to leave. Like the fact that u are always unhappy should be the limit. Nah y’all want to get  beaten on, cheated on or financially abused before calling it a quit. Y’all need to feel completely defeated before standing up for yourself. Such a mindset is so dangerous, especially when u have children. Because you should not accept any kind of abuse before leaving and it shows how low your self worth really is. For y’all specifically, you don’t want to leave your partner,ok , then open your mouth. Express that you have had enough and REQUIRE fucking change. Stop letting yourself down chasing for perfection only you can create. Going to therapy is necessary to work together towards y’all happy ending. Is not going to fall from the sky. Babe you are kissing their neck, sucking on their nipples, caressing their body and giving them the best head while they finish a second time inside u. Great but where is your pleasure? They don’t even try to please you and since you don’t complain they think they are doing an amazing job. Break their bubble, you are worth too much to be suffering in silence. Express yourself + stand on business + put your sexual need first = a PROPER expression of your sexual self allowing you to receive what you need and deserve. 

💌 : Only for this pile if you have issue regarding what exactly is it to expect from your partner or how to be love, you can contact me on Ko-fi, I will give you the extra reading by audio for free. If you wanna know how to build up your sexual confident, you can listen to this which will also unlock extra content.

PILE 2 

10 cups (reverse), queen swords (reverse), 6 pentacles, Strength 

Don’t stay content, I always advise my environment to go after fulfillment. Meaning don’t let just anybody in our sexual energy. Y’all don’t need to be this dark feminine energy to improve your sexual life. You can be approachable and untouchable. Y’all are my charming babe and you have a beautiful warmth about you but you let anybody enjoy it. Sexually you settle for the worst bare minimum because you care a lot about your reputation. Which leads you to embody a more desperate energy because you want to feel accepted so bad. Wanting to feel seen by any kind of community we cherish is normal but ready to do anything to feel accepted is not ok. Losing yourself to achieve a goal that doesn't serve you personally but to keep up a public image is actually crazy. Take a grip ! Is your life. You decide who want to fuck, when and how !You know what you desire as your dream life, so you should only judge yourself upon your own standard. Since it is YOUR life. You are too worried about what people are saying behind your back. Y’all may be in uni and part of Greek life.  In the vision, you're wearing clean white airforces, with white socks, on your knees just in a beautiful white lace push up bra giving head. I’m hearing: ‘’ Mhmmm thx babe … it’s amazing’’ after you slow down. You quickly realize you got fuck over because the person you dealt with did not do any move to have to try to please you orally or even with penetration. Leaving you in a random room with no aftercare. You did not even want to deal with them but you were scared of the rumor that may start if you don’t let them ‘’hit’’. Also you want to build stamina, but to build stamina you must practice. First stand on business regarding the happiness of your sex life. Realize that only you have the power to change that. Realize how powerful you really are, you get to decide if you want to get laid, if you want to give head, if you even want to engage sexually. Stop giving your body away. Second, it is ok to have sexual goals and just like regular goals you must build a plan to reach it. Build a standard in what you search for and a partner and allow yourself to have a FWB or a relationship where the person you are dealing with is in energy to teach you how to have sex. Because you may be the type to cum to quickly and you don’t like that. Standard + Owning your sexual self + finding the right partner = Better expression of your sexual self. 

💌 : You really need to step the fuck out these desperation energy before you created a circle of bad habit which can hinder your quality of life since it will bring self sabotage. Also do not confess your feeling to that looser just because he is the only that has enough balls to come up to you does not mean that he deserve you. You know damm well you deserve better. If you wanna know how to build up your sexual confident, you can listen to this which will also unlock extra content.

PILE 3 

7 pentacles (reverse), queen swords (reverse), 7 cups, 10 cups

Y’all feel the sexiest when you are making money. Is not about beauty maintenance, it is just when your finances are unbalanced you feel unhappy. 

You are confused about the sexual energy poured into yourself. Y'all may have been the ‘’ugly duckling ‘’ growing up and now you have those sexual suitors popping left and right. You had a boob job, nose job, a bbl… anyway you had your worst physical insecurity fix. There’s some shadow work that has to be done around self esteem. Getting surgery in my opinion is a fixing matter regarding a deep issue. Don’t get me worn out babe, I am all in for the vanity (You need to see the length i go to protect my beauty) but when you still feel unfulfilling before fixing everything understand where the problem is really coming from. Otherwise you are going to spend a whole lifetime fixing yourself. I see a graph of exponent function and that’s the representation of your body count. Almost all of them disappoint you sexually. I’m hearing : ‘’ I don’t understand all the obsession around sex and have a lot of it…’’ The reality is that you guys are simulated by the mind. Also don’t feel ashamed of yourself. Sometimes while healing we created a wound chasing after a feeling. You hurt yourself and it is ok you can heal it too. There’s 2 types of people in the world: the body or the mind and it opens a spectrum of each. You guys need to feel safe, loved and seen to experience the big ‘’o’’. You need somebody that lives to learn about you and make it their priority to please you. You need gentle sex, whisper of sweet nothing and the loving embrace to express your equal freely. Shadow work + real love + self forgiveness = Ideal sexual expression.

💌 : Also do not fall for the people that are looking for a savior in love. You guys are amazing lover and would make amazing partner a lot a offer is going to come your way and many of them are going to be codependent and toxic people hiding under innocent mask. Heads up. If you wanna know how to build up your sexual confident, you can listen to this which will also unlock extra content.

PILE 4

10 wands (reverse), 4 cup (reverse), Star (reverse) and queen pentacles (reverse) 

Pile 4, you need to make the time to prioritize yourself. I see somebody sleeping late, waking up late, rushing to get ready, wearing the same outfit, having the worst work ethic (your manager may have flagged you about it), and going back home to an extremely messy home. When all  you really want is  to have enough time in the morning to go to the gym, take good care of your body, do your makeup, wear a beautiful and clean outfit, go after the promotion you deserve  and come back home to a clean house. Y’all cars may also be extremely messy. In your case to feel the sexiest is not just about the looks but how much you pour into yourself. Also need to do some shadow work regarding your body. Y’all may have suffered with ED and you have recently ( 6 months +) recovered fully but you refuse to touch yourself sexually because you don’t love your body. Is not pretty enough. First y’all better go ahead and purchase that sex toy. If you wanted a confirmation … here u have it. Pleasure yourself, enjoy  yourself, look at yourself naked in the mirror. Obviously take baby steps in the journey not to trigger anything but it needs to be done. Since you keep hoping that a special someone is going to come into your life and heal all your sexual habits. Nah babe you need to know yourself to achieve the pleasure you crave and attract the right one, first. Second, nobody likes to be in bed with someone overly insecure because it creates a blockage. Not knowing and learning is good. Having healthy insecurity is part of everyday life . But being as insecure as you are but you in an energy where you will be the worst lover to be with. I’m hearing : ‘’ If I had this…. If I had that…. I would not be like this….’’. Your victim mentality is about to cost you the dream life you deserve. Self love + prioritizing ‘’YOU’’+ saving yourself = the best way to express your sexual self which will help you become the sexiest version of yourself and attract your ideal partner.

💌 : You deserve a partner that is not going to be a shame to pull up with you. Stop falling for the one offering the bare minimum babe you do not have to work for love especially the one with ill intent. So make sure you park them to the left and you focus on loving yourself and never lowering your standard. If you wanna know how to build up your sexual confident, you can listen to this which will also unlock extra content.

[strnilolover]

NNN - matt sturniolo - family issues

!Warming! : this writing may contain sensitive topics for some people, including family fighting and burn out. please read with caution if family arguments or arguments in general easily trigger you.

You had slammed the cabinet door shut harder than you expected to. Your mothers words cutting your skin like a knife, your patience snapping like a taut rubber band that had been stretched too far. “I can’t believe you just said that.” you gritted, turning to her.

Your mom stood across the kitchen, arms crossed, her eyes narrowed in irritation. “I said what I said. You’re always lounging around, doing nothing, while I’m the one keeping this house together.” she spat out.

“Are you kidding me?” Your voice rose as you turned to face her, incredulous. “I vacuumed the whole house this morning, cleaned the bathroom, and scrubbed the kitchen. I’ve been running around all day trying to keep this place livable while you’ve been sitting on the couch!” your voice raised more — you were irritated and upset.

why can’t she just see how hard you work?

“And yet, the laundry is still sitting in the basket, isn’t it?” she shot back, her tone sharp and cutting. “You can’t even finish one thing properly!” her own hands slammed against the counter as her words left her lips.

Your hands balled into fists at your sides, shaking. “I can’t do everything! I’m one person! You don’t even notice the things I do unless there’s something left undone.” you could feel the tears brimming in your eyes — but you couldn’t let her see she was affecting you, you had to be strong.

“Oh, poor you,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Life is so hard for you, isn’t it? You act like you’re doing me some huge favor by cleaning, but you live here too. It’s your responsibility.”

You stared at her, your chest heaving. “Do you even hear yourself? I am doing my part, and then some! You’re the one who doesn’t lift a finger but still complains that nothing’s good enough.” you choked out.

Her face twisted in anger. “Don’t you dare talk to me like that. You have no idea what I deal with every day, keeping this house running and keeping you in it!” she screamed, coming around the counter and getting closer to you,

“Keeping me in it? Are you serious right now?” you echoed, your voice trembling more with disbelief and hurt. “You act like I’m some freeloader who doesn’t contribute. I’m breaking my back trying to help you, and all you do is tear me down!” Your said. “And on top of everything, I worked a full shift this morning. What more do you want from me?”

you were trying, you really were. Did she not see that?

Her scoff was sharp, cutting through the room. “Oh, sure. You do barely the minimum and expect a medal. Maybe if you spent less time pretending to help and more time actually contributing, I wouldn’t have to ask you for money all the time!” she was almost in your face now, you could feel her breath fanning you.

You stared at her, your hands trembling with frustration as you leaned back a little. “Are you seriously throwing that in my face? Every time you ask me for money, I give it to you. Every single time. Do you even know how hard it is to keep my job and still manage everything at home?”

She shook her head. “Don’t act like you’re some kind of saint,” she snapped. “You live here. It’s your responsibility to pitch in. Or do you think you’re entitled to a free ride?”

“I do pitch in! I’m doing everything! I pay bills when you’re short, I clean up after everyone, and I still go to work to make sure I can cover my own expenses. What do you even do besides sit there and criticize me?” you snapped back, leaning forward from your leaned back position — though that might not have been the best idea.

Her nostrils flared as her eyes turned dark, and she jabbed a finger at your chest — the force digging into your skin making you wince slightly. “Don’t you dare take that tone with me. I’ve sacrificed everything for this family, and all I ask is for you to pull your weight.”

“Pull my weight?” you repeated, your body beginning to tremble more from your overwhelmed emotions. “I’ve been carrying this house on my back, and you know it! But sure, let’s pretend I’m the problem. It’s easier for you, isn’t it?” you sniffled slightly, the words barely making it past your lips and you tried to keep it together.

“You know what?” she snapped, throwing her hands up. “If you hate it here so much, then maybe you shouldn’t come back. Go find somewhere else to stay if you think you’ve got it so bad.”

Her words stung, piercing deeper than you expected. “Fine,” you said, your voice cold and steady despite the tears beginning to spill over your waterline. “I will.”

Grabbing your keys and slipping on your shoes, you muttered under your breath, “Maybe you’ll finally notice how much I actually do when I’m not here to do it anymore.”

“Don’t come crying to me when you realize how easy you have it,” she called out as you slammed the door behind you.

The cold night air hit your face, mingling with the tears that spilled over as you made your way to your car. Your hands were shaking so badly that it took three tries to get the keys into the ignition.

You barely registered the drive to Matt’s house, your mind replaying the fight over and over like a broken record. By the time you reached his front door, your tears were coming harder, the lump in your throat so heavy it hurt to swallow.

You hadn’t even raised your hand to knock when the door opened. Matt stood there in sweatpants and a hoodie, his hair tousled like he’d been lying down, but his entire demeanor shifted the moment he saw you. His brows furrowed in concern as his eyes scanned your tear-streaked face.

“Baby,” he said softly, stepping aside to let you in. “What’s wrong?”

As soon as his arms opened, you crumbled into him. The second you felt his warmth and smelled the familiar scent of his cologne — something woodsy and comforting — you broke down completely. Your hands clutched at his hoodie as your sobs wracked your body.

“Hey, hey,” he murmured, wrapping his arms around you tightly. “It’s okay. I’ve got you. Just let it out.”

He gently guided you into the living room, keeping you close as he sat down on the couch and pulled you into his lap. His large hands rubbed soothing circles on your back while his other hand cradled the back of your head.

“I-I can’t do it anymore, Matt,” you finally managed to choke out between sobs. “She doesn’t see anything I do. She doesn’t care. She just — she just keeps tearing me down.”

“Who?” he asked softly, leaning back just enough to look at you. His hand moved to cup your cheek, his thumb brushing away a stray tear. “Who’s tearing you down?”

“My mom,” you whispered, your voice breaking. “She said I don’t do anything, but I do everything. I worked this morning, cleaned the whole house, and then she asked me for money again — like she always does — and still told me I don’t pull my weight. It’s like… no matter how hard I try, it’s never enough for her.”

Matt’s jaw tightened, his eyes darkening with anger. “That’s not fair. You work so hard, and she has no right to treat you like that. I’ve seen how much you do, how much you give. You’re amazing, and if she can’t see that, then that’s on her — not you.” he said, holding you tighter to him.

You sniffled, wiping at your cheeks. “It just hurts, you know? I’ve been trying so hard to keep everything together, and she acts like I’m nothing but a burden.”

“You are not a burden,” he said firmly, tilting your chin up so you had no choice but to meet his gaze. “Do you hear me? You are not a burden. You’re one of the strongest, most selfless people I know. She doesn’t deserve you.” he stated, making sure you knew his words were true.

“But she’s my mom,” you said softly, your voice trembling. “I want to make her proud. I want her to see that I’m trying.” Matt’s expression softened, and he leaned in to rest his forehead against yours. “I know you do. But you don’t have to destroy yourself to earn someone else’s approval, especially hers. You’re enough just as you are, okay? You’re more than enough.”

You let out a shaky breath, fresh tears spilling over, but this time they weren’t just from sadness. There was something in his words, in the way he held you, that eased the tightness in your chest.

“Thank you,” you whispered. He shook his head, “You don’t have to thank me,” he said gently. “That’s what I’m here for.”

He adjusted you in his lap, tucking the blanket tighter around your shoulders before pressing a soft kiss to your temple. “Listen, you’re staying here tonight. No arguments. I’m not letting you go back there like this.” he muttered against your temple.

“I don’t want to go back,” you admitted, your voice barely above a whisper. “Then you won’t,” he said firmly. “This is your home tonight, and for as long as you need it to be.”

You rested your head against his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. His hand rubbed slow, soothing circles on your back, and his voice was soft when he spoke again.

“You know you’re not alone, right? You’ve got me. Always.”

You sniffled once more. “I know,” you whispered. “I just… I feel so unappreciated sometimes. Like nothing I do matters.” you could feel the self doubt settling into you now — from your mothers words earlier. Were you really not doing a good enough job?

“It matters to me,” he said, his voice steady and sure. “Everything you do matters to me. I see you, and I’m so proud of you. You’re doing more than anyone should ever have to, and you’re doing it so well.”

You looked up at him, your heart clenching at the sincerity in his eyes. “You really mean that?”

He hummed, “Of course I do,” he said, a small smile tugging at his lips. “I’ll tell you as many times as you need to hear it until you believe me. You’re incredible, and anyone who can’t see that is blind.” And a soft laugh escaped you, he grinned, his thumb brushing your cheek. “There she is. There’s my girl.”

You felt your cheeks flush at the nickname, and for the first time all day, the tightness in your chest began to ease. “Do you want to talk more about it, or do you just want to relax?” he asked gently. “Relax,” you said after a moment. “I’m too tired to think anymore.”

“Good call,” he said with a smile, grabbing the remote from the coffee table. “How about something stupidly funny? Or do you want me to cook something for you first? I can make you those pancakes you like.” You shook your head, leaning into him. “Just stay with me.”

“Always,” he murmured, pulling you closer.

He put on some random comedy show, and you both sat in comfortable silence for a while. His hand never stopped tracing lazy patterns on your back, and every now and then, he’d drop a kiss to the top of your head. By the time you started to drift off, your body nestled against his, you felt a little lighter than you had in days.

© strnilolover

a/n : am i self projecting? maybe. but i’m not in that situation anymore and haven’t been for over a year. but please, if any of you are in this kind of situation, know that there is always a way out. don’t be afraid to ask for help. (i also wrote this on the bus without my glasses so i’m so sorry if some parts may not make sense)

[tbyfandoms]

Flowers | Austin Butler x Reader

Pairing: austin butler x f!reader

Word Count: 3k

Summary: after making a quick run to the store, austin comes home with a surprise for his favorite girl in the world (requested)

Warnings: none

Masterlist/Request Form | Ask/Tell/Request

A/N: I swear it takes the bare minimum for me to go off in delulu land and create a whole scenario of some cute domestic ish about one of my faves lmao! thank you to the anon who requested I write this, you truly fed into my fantasies and I appreciate the excitement. I know it’s been a while since I’ve uploaded a fic so I figured I’d finally try to sit down and write something quick and get it out for the last day of austin’s birth month! I hope you guys enjoy sentimental aus and the dash of horndoginess I threw in there. after finding out about a certain *ehem* tidbit, I saw an opportunity to include the fact austin is an ass man-ANYWAYS! as always lmk what you think! <3

also important side-note! for right now I think I am going to hold off on accepting any new requests for a while. I have quite a few backed up in my ask box that I really wanna get out for the people who sent them in and are patiently waiting! I can’t stop ya’ll from sending things in, but please know that at the moment the requests I have on my currently writing page are my current priorities and it might be a while until I get to yours!

“God, there’s literally nothing on,” you grumble after skipping past yet another movie preview on Netflix.

It’s both yours and Austin’s first off day together in such a long time and all you want to do is cuddle and watch a good film, but it’s like nothing is catching your attention, and at this point you kinda just want to rewatch a comfort film and call it a day. You doubt Austin will put up much of a fight.

The blonde did leave you in charge of finding something to watch while he went off to gather snacks, so he can’t complain too much if you two end up watching a movie you’ve both seen a hundred times, right?

While an idea starts to form in your mind and you quickly scroll to the search bar, soft footsteps from the kitchen make their way to you.

“Baby, I’m headin’ out the store really quick, I just need to pick up a few things before we get started. D’you need anything?”

Your boyfriend’s voice immediately takes your attention away from the black and red screen you’ve been staring at for the past ten minutes. Needless to say the interruption and new view is much appreciated. You swear to yourself that Austin could walk out of a place wearing just a trash bag and he’d still be the most beautiful man you’ve ever laid eyes on.

He looks so soft and cuddly in his cotton shirt and track pants that it makes you sad at the idea you’ll have to wait even longer now to wrap yourself in his arms.

“Did we eat all the snacks again already? I swear neither one of us is home enough to go through food that quickly and yet somehow we always do,” you say as you shake your head lightly.

Austin’s soft chuckle drifts through the air. “It blows my mind too, sweetheart.” The actor moves closer to the front door and begins to put his shoes on—grey and black Adidas with the white stripes, his latest favorites. “I mean we have stuff but I wanna get you some of those candies you like to have when we go to the movies, I figured we could really make it our own little film experience, y’know?”

You scrunch your nose in fondness at the sentiment and get up off the couch to meet your boyfriend at the door. He grabs one of his many baseball caps and settles it atop his blonde waves. You notice how thick Austin’s hair is getting, the hat sliding snuggly over his head.

“Awh, Aus, I’d love that, that sounds amazing,” you grin, stepping forward and wrapping your arms around his neck. “Now, tell me, how would you feel about me picking a certain favorite Gosling film for our movie?”

You grin cheekily at Austin, seeing the flicker of realization in his eyes as he understands exactly which film you’re referencing. Between the two of you, there really is no other Ryan Gosling film it could be besides—you guessed it—The Notebook.

“You’re really gonna make me cry on my day off?” The blonde teases and you roll your eyes jokingly in response. After you and Austin started dating, it didn’t take long for the two of you to go in depth about your favorite films—I mean, it was only fitting—and it was only then did you discover his love for The Notebook. Although written off as a typical, cheesy romance film, it’s so much more than that and Austin was one of the only people to see it as such. The both of you talked for ages about it and no matter how dumb it sounds, that conversation—among many other things—convinced you wholeheartedly that Austin was the man of your dreams. It’s been years since your relationship with Austin started and that film is still one of you forever favorites. You and Austin make sure to rewatch it together at least once a year, tears and choked back sobs included.

“C’mon, baby, you know you want to! It’s about time for our rewatch anyways! I’ll be there the whole time to console you during all the sad parts, and then you’ll be there to console me right after that! I’ll even bring the tissues,” you laugh.

Austin shakes his head and because of your closeness to him you can feel his chest rumble as he laughs along with you. It’s an odd thing to find comfort it and yet you do.

“Fine but only because I love that film—and you—so much. I mean crying in my girl’s arms over a Gosling movie sounds like a day well spent to me anyways.”

The blonde inches closer and rubs his nose against yours, grinning broadly at your giggles that ensue. He swears if he could bottle up that sound and keep it forever, he would.

“Alright, I’m goin’,” Austin says as he steps back and begins to open the door. “You didn’t answer earlier, did you need anything from the store?”

Shaking your head, you respond, “Nope. All I need is for you to come home to me as soon as possible so I can wrap myself in your arms and cry over Noah and Allie with you.”

You’re met with that thousand watt smile again and you can’t help but to return it. “I promise I’ll hurry back, I wouldn’t miss that for the world.”

Before Austin steps fully out the door, he stops and turns back towards you, reaching out his hand to cup your cheek and connect his lips with yours.

The kiss is soft and sweet and the second Austin pulls away you want more than anything for him to kiss you again.

“I love you,” he says before sneaking in another quick kiss, this time on your cheek, and then proceeding out the front door.

The lock clicks into place and as you stand there in the hall, the only audible sound being Austin’s car pulling out of the driveway, you sigh and reach your fingers up towards your lips. It doesn’t matter how long you and Austin have been dating, the whimsical and electric state he leaves you in after each time he kisses you will never, ever get old.

*****

It’s probably only been about fifteen to twenty minutes since Austin left when you hear keys jangling in the door knob.

You figured it wouldn’t take him long considering the store you always go to is right down the street, but the time apart was still long enough for you, so you leap off the couch and hurry to meet your boyfriend as he walks through the front door.

Instantly you notice the small plastic bag Austin’s holding in his hand that he used to open the door. You can already see the wrappings of all your favorite treats peaking through the top and that alone gets you excited. So excited, in fact, that you don’t even notice the way Austin’s holding his other hand behind his back.

The blonde holds out the plastic bag towards you and you squeal in excitement as you begin to dig around in it. “Ah, no way! They actually had them this time!? When I went last they were sold out.” As you grab at one of your favorite snacks, you watch as Austin angles himself awkwardly to try and close the door. It’s like he doesn’t want to turn his back towards you and it’s at this time that you notice he’s holding something out of your line of sight.

“Austin what are you doing?” You giggle, quirking your eyebrow at the way he stands there with a mischievous, yet fond smile on his face. You hear a distinct crinkling sound and you know it’s not from your own bag. “What d’you got there?”

“After I grabbed all our snacks and was headin’ up to the register, I passed a display and saw these.” Your boyfriend brings the hidden object from behind his back and you gasp at the sight of it. “They reminded me of you so I got ‘em for you. Pretty flowers for a pretty girl.”

Austin hands you the bouquet and your eyes instantly well with tears. They’re the most stunning blush colored roses you’ve ever seen and they smell absolutely incredible. There’s a small card sticking out of the side of them and as you read the words written in Austin’s handwriting, your heart swells with adoration.

For my favorite girl

Love, Austin

“Aus,” you whisper, not trusting your voice to withstand anything else. “They’re beautiful. Thank you so much. You didn’t have to do that.”

The actor can tell how emotional you are right now, can tell how much this means to you. He’d do anything to let you know how much you mean to him, to let you know how much he loves you. He’d buy you flowers every single day if it meant he’d get to see that look on your face. That look where your eyes get real big and sparkly and your smile is so wide it makes your eyelids crinkle at the corners. That look that makes Austin want to give you the world.

Careful not to smash the bouquet held delicately in your hands (the bag of snacks now laying on the floor), Austin reaches out and hugs you with one arm, planting a soft kiss on the side of your head. “I know I didn’t have to, sweetheart, but I wanted to. I love you so much and you deserve to be appreciated.”

With the right words to say completely escaping you, you do the next best thing and instantly close the gap between you and the man standing in front of you. One of Austin’s hands finds its place on your lower back, pushing you closer to him, and your own hand without the bouquet in it finds its way to the nape of his neck—fingers twisting in those thick waves you took notice of earlier.

“I love you so much more, Austin Butler,” you breathe out as you break apart from your boyfriend’s soft lips.

“Mmm, whatever you say, baby,” he mumbles against your mouth as he goes in for yet another kiss. You nearly drop your flowers as you get caught up in Austin again, so you break apart before you can do any real damage to them.

“As much as I’m enjoying this right now, I need it to stop for like five seconds before I completely lose myself in you and ruin this gorgeous bouquet,” you giggle, before reluctantly taking a step back from your boyfriend in order to go find a vase in the kitchen to set the flowers in.

“Would that really be such a bad thing?” Austin calls after you. It doesn’t take long for him to meet up with you in the kitchen, his tall figure leaning casually against the doorframe. “I think having rose petals all over the floor would actually be quite romantic. It’d really…set the mood.”

In between spreading out the roses in the vase you found, you glance up at Austin and can see the way his eyes have clouded over just slightly. His intent and emphasis on the last few words of his sentence become abundantly clear, and you try to fight the heat you feel rising up your neck.

Making your way around the kitchen island, you stop in front of your boyfriend and lean lightly into his chest, your hands basking in the warmth radiating through Austin’s white shirt. “You do realize it is your birthday month, right, Aus? Why am I the one getting all the special treatment?”

There’s a soft smirk playing on your lips and you revel in the way Austin tilts his head to the side, his own smirk quirking up at the corner of his mouth. “Who’s to say I’m not getting my own type of special treatment? Looking after my girl and seeing her happy sounds like a pretty nice birthday gift to me.”

Burying your face in Austin’s chest, you barely contain the squeal threatening to spill out of you over the actor’s words. This man somehow always knows the right thing to say to make you melt. “You’re such a heartthrob you know that?”

“I am a man of many talents,” Austin beams. The two of you laugh and you push lightly on his chest to get him to move back towards the living room.

“C’mon, think of the snacks waiting for us! I won’t let your incredibly smooth sweet talking make us miss out on our plan for an at home film experience!” No matter how tempting, you think.

“Trust me, sweetheart, I am thinking about my snack. Mine just isn’t in that little bag you got there.” As you bend down to pick up the plastic bag you haphazardly threw to the side at the reveal of your surprise flowers, Austin comes up behind you and lightly smacks your ass, causing you to let out a sharp gasp.

Jolting upright, you fake annoyance and watch as your boyfriend turns towards you and holds up his hands in innocence. You reach into the bag and throw one of the packets of candy at him. The blonde winks at you as he catches it with ease and then plops down on the couch.

“You’re right though, I did say I wouldn’t miss this for the world, and I am also a man of my word. So c’mon, Ryan’s waiting for us,” Austin grins as he pats the spot next to him on the couch.

Unable to keep up your feigned irritation, you let the smile that’s twitching at the corner of your lips break through as you hurry over to Austin. No matter what happens, you’d never turn down an open invitation from the man you love with all your heart.

Cuddling up to Austin’s side you sigh in the satisfaction of finally getting to relax with him. Sure you two are able to see each other relatively often considering the fact you live together, but it’s rare when you get to just sit together and do absolutely nothing besides enjoy each other’s company. No cameras, no expectations, just you and him.

If anyone were to ask you, you’d say that’s what you’d call pure heaven.

As Austin presses play on the movie and the opening credits begin to roll, you watch as he rips open the bag of candy you threw at him. You take in how he eats one and then sets it aside, beginning to set up the rest of the treats he purchased for you. The reality of it all settles in as it does every so often and you feel a tiny squeeze in your chest as you take it in.

Having someone love you so deeply, having someone who knows practically every part of you from your favorite types of candy to what flowers you would like, having someone who sees your happiness as enough satisfaction for them and truly mean it, is just incredibly unbelievable.

You wonder practically every day how in the world you were lucky enough to find someone like that. To find someone who you love wholeheartedly and who loves you just the same, if not more. The material things—the flowers, the candy—are nice, but nothing beats the feeling you get when you’re with Austin, and you thank your lucky stars that the universe brought him to you. You truly don’t know where you’d be, who you’d be, without him.

“Austin,” you start, looking into his clear blue eyes as he turns towards you, a soft smile already adorning his lips as he catches sight of you. “Thank you for…”

You can’t even begin to think of where to start. You’re sat here looking at this man that’s staring at you with such a fond, loving expression and it’s like words won’t even dare try to form in your mind in a way that would express everything you feel for him. There aren’t enough of them, there aren’t any right ones.

“For what, sweetheart?” Austin whispers as he reaches out and tucks a piece of your hair behind your ear, the warmth from his fingertips leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake.

“For the…flowers,” you say before letting out an airy laugh. “For the candy, for staying in with me and letting me coerce you into watching this movie for the thousandth time, for just being you, and a million other things I don’t think I’ll ever have the right words to express.”

“You don’t have to thank me for any of that, my love, but you’re welcome anyways. I do it all because I want to, there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you just like I know there isn’t anything you wouldn’t do for me. I hope you know how much I appreciate you. I love you.” Austin leans down and plants a kiss on your forehead before pulling you even closer to his side, wanting nothing but to have you wrapped in his arms.

As your boyfriend turns his attention back to the movie and begins to rub his hand soothingly up and down your back, you feel a sense of content wash over you. When you’re with Austin, it feels like no matter what happens, as long as you have each other, everything will be okay. Nothing is certain, but you’d bet everything you’ve got that this love is.

“I love you too, Aus.”

[not-goldy]

No matter what Jk does some ppl will. never. be satisfied. They will always twist what he says, what he does, especially when it comes to Jimin. It will never be enough. Like, he could literally kiss him on cam they’d still say he wasn’t into it, didn’t French kiss him but just gave him a quick peck or whatever so it means he was just doing the bare minimum blah blah blah. They could even fuck for the whole world to see they’d manage to scrutinize his thrusts and the number of sweat drops falling down his back to say he was just doing it out of curtosy lmao. If Jk and Jikook don't satisfy you why keeping up with him? Seriously, why do ppl are so keen to waste their time like this if they don’t enjoy the content they’re engaging with? 2024 is right around the corner y’all, time to check your priorities… life is short, donˋt waste it. As for me, I'm so relieved these two will have each other for the next 18 months! I can't wait for the Jikook Show, it’s going to be epic, I don’t think we’re ready lmao

Forget them, they just trolling 🤣 🤣🤣🤣🤣

This what they sent in 😹😹😹😹😹😹😹😹

The jealousy and envy disguised as criticism.

They are just like Tuktukkers. They deliberately act blind and dumb and belittle JK's efforts and contributions so it's easier for them to hate on him.

"Jk couldn't attend Face promos" said with a dumb smug face in the same sentence as "just because he sings all JMs songs on his live- to promote his music to his unique fans, boost his reach, generate sales from the free ad and marketing- doesn't mean he supports him."

Naaa he should have sent a coffee truck that makes JM no money, sent food and flowers- that makes JM no money in sales for his Album whatsoever- That would have been so much better if he wanted to support JMs Album than him actually promoting his songs on live

Same people who complain Army doesn't buy Jms songs or stream his music. Same persons.

Jungkook is a sold out King and people will die to have him promote their content on his highly engaging lives- but nooooo that's not an asset to them when it comes to supporting Jm. Nope.

Even though he's shown time and again that's his way of supporting those he loves. His brother starts a business and he jumps right on live wearing his merch. Did he not get in trouble for that?

Jimin does a documentary and who shows up out of the blue to support him? Mic'd and all

Jimin is practicing for his MV and who shows up to watch and support him then too?

They call Jimin daddy but won't get off JKs Dick.

Hobi is adorable and we all want a sunshine like him- but he's so supportive Jimin chose Jungkook to do MS with 🥺

Talk of being there for Jimin🤭

And it's crazy they keep craving what others have when those others also want what Jungkook is and does for Jimin. You think Tuktukkers would be superimposing Taes face on Jikook moments if they were happy with Tuktukks dynamics?

Flowers and food- when we all know who is constantly eating with Jimin, pressuring Jimin to go out and eat with him, the one who BTS themselves call Jimin's chef,

the one doing cooking shows with him is not Hobi

It's almost as if they don't watch any content from BTS other than snippets from Twitter.

Watch Sope, Bon Voyage, Run, Episodes, lives- in full not the edits sir.

We here have a whole Ramen joke running in the Fandom because that's all JK keeps saying he eats with JM. The food buddies. Whenever Jungkook posts food you'd find JM in the comments somewhere reminiscing.

Those flowers and food gave him strength- bitch bye.

When it comes to gift giving, bts have ever complained the one person Jungkook gifts is Jimin prompting them to tease him that Jimin was his favorite out of the group.

Nevermind the snow block he went out to the mountains and brought back for him. We know in this Fandom Jungkook tones things down with Jimin when it comes onto gifts cos he'd kiss and tell and act a fool. It's common Fandom knowledge so I know he is not trying to imply Jungkook does nothing for JM.

That's toxic solo street slang rooted in fiction.

Watch content for yourself and spare us the rubbish.

[womenaremypriority]

I decided to vote for Kamala Harris. I was unsure if I was going to give an update on my thoughts (I actually voted a couple days ago) but decided to, especially with the insane things Trump keeps saying.

However, I still understand why someone would abstain from voting and don’t think it’s automatically a sign someone doesn’t care about Trump. I am going to give the argument/thought process behind not voting, and if you think “but what about ___?” Then keep in mind I decided to vote and probably already know: I’m just explaining the thought process. With regards to not voting because of Palestine. In my experience, it’s more of a “the Democrats need to learn supporting Israel will make them lose” than a sincere belief Trump would be better. A lot of people have portrayed that as “wanting to elect Trump to punish the democrats” but it’s not about punishing them for some interpersonal grudge or small slight, it’s about supporting Israel during a genocide (and if you aren’t someone who thinks Israel is doing wrong, I can’t convince you, I suppose). Thousands of peoples lives isn’t just one political issue out of many. If Trump loses, he’s not going to blame it on him supporting Israel(not that he’ll believe it at all) but if Harris loses, she might. Showing democrats that supporting Israel will cost them the election is the best way to actually change anything within the bounds of electoralism. I know someone said that it’s probably not a big enough issue, but it is- the majority of Americans, especially democrats, support a ceasefire. I can link my source below. This is far from meaning every one of those people will not vote because of it, and far from meaning the majority of those people support the US withdrawing any and all aid to Israel, but it’s still a big issue. Democrats aren’t stupid, they’re aware a lot of people are not happy about this. There are protests whether they go, multiple celebrities have spoken about it, and it was a major deal during the DNC. They know it’s important to many voters, and the ultimate way to show that is to withhold your vote. The point of protesting is to threaten further action. And some people have said “we just have to defeat Trump this election, he’s too dangerous”: but do you really think that the millions of people who’ve went batshit insane in the past 8 years will just go away? I’m not saying this in a “complain that I have to pay attention to politics and due to the bare minimum of voting for president every 4 years” way, because I’m well aware that there’s always going to be a threat with regards to politics, unless you live in a utopia. The point is that saying we just have to accept what we can with the democrats, because Trump is a fascist- that will be held over us for the next few elections. Meaning that the democrats can just do whatever, as long as they appear more progressive. That is not enough. They need to know that’s not enough.

I also live in a solidly republican state, so me voting for her won’t matter. It won’t mean anything if I vote for her, but it could potentially mean something if I voted third party, even if it doesn’t change the outcome, it would show that more people support a third way.

But, yes, I decided to vote for her anyway. I figured that even if the dems lose, they are not going to blame it on not being progressive enough. They’re just going to go further right. And Trump is basically promising mass violence towards Mexican immigrants (and 99% likely some Americans with Mexican parents). Democrats haven’t come out as hard against the idea of mass deportations as I wish, but Trump’s rhetoric is incredibly violent. Also, yes, obviously nationwide abortion rights, and the idea of Harris, a black women, defeating Trump, who is definitely a rapist. There’s also still at least one rapist on the Supreme Court, put there by Trump. There’s also a million other things I don’t have to outline.

That said, I understand why someone would think differently. Blaming someone for being unable to still vote for the democrats, instead of blaming them, is unfair. It is their fault for putting us in a hostage situation, for saying we have to accept genocide and imperialism in order to get basic rights and a lack of even more imperialism.

and yes I do support… more drastic action, generally, which is not meaningfully different from myself and women on here supporting more drastic action with regards to male violence. If you can understand “women should start killing all rapists” you can understand that, too. But that’s not the main point, anyway.

There are probably some people who thought me not voting was the right decision, and if that’s you, sorry, I suppose. Or if you’re someone who thinks it’s weird to see the other side but still decide to vote for her, then I don’t know what to say to that because it’s just 1) changing my mind but 2) still understanding multiple perspectives.

[lesb0]

miss terra what’s ur opinion on taylor swift? i feel like her latest album was a huge disappointment compared to her others, but i also feel like people are only hating so much because they’re eager to see a successful woman fail. i think any artist worth their salt will eventually go through a “flop” phase. but at the same time, i do know she got to this place of privilege in an unethical way, & that the work of nonwhite artists is ignored in favor of hers. would you agree when people say she has a monopoly on the music industry?

Taylor is by no means a good musician/singer at all. it's the extent of her performance, on and off stage, that no one is better at. she's worked harder to build a fanbase which idol worships her and feeds into their obsession with a particular kind of quasi-religious parasocial relationship super consistently. She's never turned against them. Most artists aren't willing to feed into Celebrity Worship Syndrome. Taylor is insane enough to love it. She never gets tired and delves into her privacy, she genuinely loves stans and will keep giving them varieties of stuff forever, which is the actual thing that makes her famous. No singer can poach the swifties, because they aren't obsessed with music, they love Taylor.

Music itself does not matter to a layman, it hasn't in a century. Anti Taylors lie about caring about technical skill and composition and virtuosic singing ability, but they don't listen to Vivaldi or Paganini 🤷🏾‍♀️ It's all parasociality marketing! she could retire to sell lyric tshirts or go into perfume and all her fans will follow. And then people will complain that she destroyed the graphic tee industry.

She's a hilariously out of touch awkward woman with every possible privilege available to women. But that doesn't shield her from misogyny. people blame her for ruining the garbage tiktokified music industry or swiftinomics for causing inflation or her high emissions for causing global warming. Or criticize her as if she's a major capitalist monopoly. Newsflash there are thousands of billionaire capitalist male CEOs doing 50x worse, on purpose, at a mass production scale for profits. if you're going to criticize her byproducts as the epitome of capitalism, then get rid of your iphone and amazon prime, go vegan, and boycott Disney first.

She isn't even doing the bare minimum of what she could to mitigate damages, but neither does the average person throwing stones, while ignoring the men who are much worse. Newsflash, monopolies and the declining "purity" of music isn't what they actually love hating on, though their criticism always manages to curiously land on women... Hmm! 🤔

All that to say I do not care about the modern music industry, or any American music, because I only listen to historically informed baroque music conservatories or 00s visual kei anyway! lol

[yourtoradorasextendedwarranty]

Every single day that Hasan piker continues to spew his nonsense I laugh a little bit harder. And the reason is strictly because he talks out of both sides of his mouth and it's funny that his audience can't see it and continue to send money to him so that he gets more and more rich while complaining about capitalism.

But that's genuinely the point. He is using communism and socialism as concept ideas to profit from. He is the poster child of what the 01% would look like under either of those systems. Which is to say a rich elite who would be better than all of the rabble and who would demand all of the rabble donate all of their labor to him.

And there's one section in this, actually multiple, were you hear him talk out of both sides of his mouth. In which he will say that the government is constantly failing but we need to give the government absolute power to make things better. If the government with its current powers already can't fix the problem giving them more will not make the problem better it will exacerbate the problem. One such section that they talk about in this video is housing. If you disincentivize contractors from building homes and housing complexes then they will refuse to do so in the future unless forced to do so. Because there is zero incentive to do so.

And what Hassan knows but fails to talk on is the fact that if the government ran housing there would still be homeless people and all of the existing housing for all of the plebeian rabble would be bland ugly minimalistic shitholes. Because no one needs luxuries under the Communist Utopia that these idiots dream of. Because the ones dreaming about it think that they're going to be in charge and therefore think that they're going to be able to live lives of luxury while they can pretend to have solved issues by giving people less than the bare minimum in some instances.

And it's always wild to me that this rich, country hating, anti-Semitic, shit head, is somehow popular enough to have gotten to where he has with wealth selling an idea that literally he would not have been able to get rich off of. He has more than one car he's got a 3 million house and I'm pretty sure he probably has LLCs. And he probably exploited slave labor from other countries to sell the t-shirts and products that he sold to get rich. So not only has he participated in the system that he claims he hates he has helped propagate it.

And that's by design. It's always by design. Because these people are trying to sell you universal fairness as an idea so that they can profit off of you. Because at the end of the day they are the living embodiment of exploitative capitalism. Because realistically they do believe in capitalism. But only to their benefit. Not to the benefit of anyone else. And it is always important to note, that too many youth in our country are brainwashed by the idea of a universally equitable system when the real world cannot be and never will be fair. Communism and socialism are ideas that are fundamentally opposed to the morals of our country. They are contrary to the very foundation of our country. People like Hassan do not actually care about the problems. They will talk out of both sides of their mouth continue to profit and give money to charities whom they know do nothing. Because if you were to look into most of the charities that exist in the world today, you would see a bunch of people who are literally participating in cronyism. Because they get invited to all of the big social gatherings. The social elites love the idea of giving to the poor. And it also makes things a thousand times better when you consider the tax breaks that they get for it.

So they can look like they're actually helping the cause when in reality they're just lining their own pockets little by little at a time and living vicariously through the parties and functions and publicity that those charities receive. Because if the charities that did exist had goals of putting themselves out of business like should be so many issues that we have in the world might actually have gotten better thus far. Sadly however they get addicted to the lifestyle that they're allowed to live when they run these organizations. They get to live like the ultra rich even if they themselves are not. So they might not be the 1%, but because the 1% love having the ability to lessen their taxes they party with these people and they get to virtue signal as if they're doing the world a greater good.

[fitzrove]

Ajkdlsld nobody asked for this extremely long misogyny rant but

😭😭 why is society so shit w rampant misogyny everywhere (most painfully, from other women) skkslsls. Reading the replies on that makeup post i reblogged and being chronically online in general is pissing me off lmao

Disclaimer: lol obviously this is all intersectional, like there are lots of ways in which I am extremely privileged (white/European/from a stereotypically desirable "educated, trustworthy, well-behaved, high tech" country/cisgender/able-bodied/neurotypical/privileged economic class etc etc). Doesn't mean the points outlined below don't apply to many women in relation to men who are in their otherwise same demographic

Things that I like about being a woman:

- my body (well don't always like it but don't want to change anything djkdkdj)

- being a lesbian

- being friends with other women (is easier) & not perceived as threatening by them in random interactions

- feeling "special" in some situations where i'm trailblazing or achieving something in a guy-dominated space, especially when other people point that out

- most interests i have/could think of having have no stigma attached to them that would make it difficult for me to pursue them. also corsets and ballgowns etc femme goth fashion pieces being societally 100% acceptable for me to wear in some situations and not even fringe

Things I don't like about being a woman:

- sexual harassment

- being talked over

- wage and employment discrimination

- basic misogyny shit like being expected to have children and take responsibility for all the people around you

- violent heteronormativity (obviously still hurts non straight men but hurts women more because the world feels so entitled to our bodies)

- having to worry about straight guy friends and acquaintances (esp classmates)' intentions (sadly its not stigmatised enough for people to be pushy w women so i get scared pre-emptively :/)

- SOCIETAL EXPECTATIONS FOR APPEARANCE AND COERCIVELY ENFORCED GENDER CONFORMING FEMININITY GRAAHHHHH going to kill every fashion beauty health etc company :) i don't care if doing it makes you personally happier or more confident you know where else conformity makes you powerful? politically oppressive dictatorships<3

- women friends (classmates) whose idea of girl talk is to alternately complain about and fawn over men through a sexual/romantic lens and evaluate them as potential partners, and who take my refusal to participate in this as personal rejection/rudeness and pull away from me as a friend because of it

- existence being political 24/7. no i cant ignore that its just always there

- dating (thats shit for everyone but there are specific annoying lesbian dating experiences such as: MEN EVERYWHERE not just unicorn seeker couples but he/him guys on women's apps, astrology truthers, people with bad haircuts HDJJDJD sorry i'm so mean i just hate the "berlin fringe" soooo much, etc.) and the chance that people you meet won't even take dating you seriously because society prioritises f/m so hard. its messed up because it presupposes unequal division of labour but i wish i could be like an esteemed jrr tolkien type 1950s professor and just be super in love with my wife with whom i'm settled down somewhere picturesque. But I don't think you can get a relationship like that as a queer woman because 1) obviously equality lol idk who even wants that and is not a tradwife 😭💀 2) most women who would like that probably don't think a female partner can give them that :/. Girlies literally be yearning for the masculine societal role because of the associated privileges

- Men being inherently perceived as "good guys" "chill" etc. in mixed academic/professional environments and always taken seriously intellectually, women seen in a more patronizing way/easily perceived as hysterical/a bitch/deficient in some other way

- men being praised to high heavens for doing the bare minimum vs women being always expected to be outstanding people by default

- pick me girl/not like other girls/etc discourse. This keeps happening and nobody ever learns that its dumb 😭

- men being seen as better deeper artists and male historical figures/intellectuals holding universal appeal whereas women rarely got to do anything interesting OR if they did they always get diminished and ignored (largely because media doesn't pick up these stories to highlight). none of you would care about crown prince rudolf if she had been a girl irl and i wouldn't either because often w female historical figures we're expected to care first and foremost about their romantic relationships with men💀💀💀💀💀💀💀 if girls have thoughts about foreign policy 1) they usually couldnt voice them before like 1900s 2) their entire existence and life story from cleopatra to margaret thatcher (yeah evil person but still) is tinged by misogyny from all sides (opponents, allies) which makes for pretty unappealing Content to engage with

- periods LMAO

- strangers feeling entitled to bump into me and get in my personal space (public transport etc)

- the way some feminist activism treats women as a monolith. like all that discourse about how society is not built for women's tiny fragile bodies. Like yeah important point ofc but I fucking hate being erased from existence as a tall woman. you bet if this was being done to short men there would be outcry

- in general people feeling entitled to me and receiving help and advice from me without giving anything in return. sorry i feel like this is just turning into a vaguepost abt classmates

- online queer discourse where there seems to be not a lot of space for this line of thinking that I have?? This is NOT intended as transphobic or even directed at trans people (rather the general community), but sometimes i feel like only trans people are ""entitled"" to hate their pre-transition assigned social role and everyone else has to like it because #girl power and otherwise it's just internalized misogyny or at the very least you misogynistically hating other women for being happy with their position/choices

- i'm tired of typing this is such an embarrassing post tbh

[herejusttosufferalong]

Hey, I've been hearing conflicting things from you regarding L. Sometimes out of nowhere you defend him when people complain about him for not posting enough. People are complaining because he doesn't even have the courtesy to share the posts, so of course people are gomna come at him when he does the bare minimum. He spent one day with Corey or Ed and dedicated a wholeass post to them but 5 years in bridgerton (2 of them as the lead) and he couldn't even manage to write a thank you message to the cast, to his fellow lead? Even supporting actors like the one who played finch wrote a caption thanking his co-actress. People coming at him is a consequence of his actions, not the other way around.

And other times, you're the one saying things about him like his relationship, "does he even make it inside her", etc etc. It feels like there are 2 people managing this blog.

Im not accusing you of anything, this is your blog, u can have whatever opinion u want. But it'd be better if you let us know where you stand exactly so we can submit our asks accordingly. Because at this point your opinion matters haha and when you reject an idea we submit, it feels like a dagger through the heart 🤭

I have issues with how he posts just like everyone else, especially in regards to N, and I have stated this repeatedly.

I’m just tired of seeing 100 plus asks about it every time L, N or anyone else posts BTON content.

You can by all means send in whatever opinion you have and please do not think that my opinion is above anyone else’s.

I have the power to post what I want here but that doesn’t mean it’s always right or better.

I feel like the fandom shits on him enough for so much else we can cut a little slack here.

He doesn’t owe anyone anything and if that makes you side eye him then so be it.

It’s the folks that run their opinions to his or anyone else’s comment sections that should be ashamed of themselves.

Keep that shit here where it belongs

“And other times, you're the one saying things about him like his relationship, "does he even make it inside her", etc etc.”

As for the excerpt above, it was a shitpost at best don’t read too much into it ffs lol

[my-mt-heart]

First of all, thank you for being always so insightful and open to discussion with anyone! You're one of the few I genuinely rely on when I need to talk and share ideas/doubts. I was thinking about the whole marketing discourse. Let's be clear, amc sucks at that, it did with all the spin-offs (which I only recently found out are more than 20???) and surprisingly with the three main ones as well because everything they did wasn't certainly enough compared to other networks. Amc has always done the bare minimum and every info about the richonne/negan&maggie spinoffs that reached me was mostly because of their fans. Yes they got promos and interviews (I think Dead City/Lauren&JDM even did more interviews than Andrew & Danai) but from my point of view their fandoms did most of the job. I don't even follow any of them but I used to have my twitter timeline full of their posts every single day, at any time. I remember they used to bomb any inch of their spaces with videos, speculations, headcanons, fanarts, endless convos and all that, which I think contributed to attract a lot of curiosity out of their fandom and it worked!!! I kept seeing so many tweets full of replies and theories and hype that I had to go on a mute spree because I couldn't take it anymore. Now my point is... why don't we do the same thing?? We as a fandom can do a lot to create hype and the target people (those who have stopped watching the show after negan showed up or so) would follow us because enthusiasm is what attracts the old fans who gave up. That's the real deal! We are!! TWD main accs would ultimately follow the flow, but we really... REALLY need to start it. Dead City next seasons (that'll air in 2025) is already being promoted and the fans are already talking about it, richonne fans are still being loud and lit like if their show were still on.... why can't we do the same? We constantly complain about Amc not being there for us but the first ones that should are... US. We need to be present and make noise and above all enthusiast!

You don't need to convince me that rallying works. Melissa wouldn't have had the option to come back if it weren't for all the noise her fans made. No one she worked with was offering her the support she deserved, so we had to do it.

With TBOC's promotion, it's a catch 22. Caryl definitely sells. Their fans can definitely build hype, and AMC can definitely save their money, but it's still their responsibility to release content that'll kick the target audience into high gear so that they stay motivated to post, speculate, make posters, and all the things, which would then reel in the Carylers who left at one point or another, which would then get the attention of the GA, and so on and so forth.

What they're doing instead is splintering what should be a reliable viewership. Norman's buzz words, reposts of fanart, and photos of Melissa/Carol just existing are hyping some of us while others are scratching their heads at why Carol is reduced to a subtitle, why the teasers are shipbaiting Daryl with a nun, and why two. fucking. years later we're still hearing about showrunners getting fired and Melissa being left out of S1 because she wasn't important enough. I would love to be enthusiastic enough to do the heavy-lifting, but if that's what's being asked of me, why do I need to get punched in the face first? How do I go about promoting a Daryl and Carol show if I can't even tell if that's what I'm really getting? Why aren't they leaning into what all Carylers love about their relationship? Why aren't they capitalizing on Caryl's/McReedus' chemistry? And if all of that is what half of Carylers who have stayed this long are feeling as well, the chances of getting lost Carylers to come back are slim, the GA/new viewers won't see the buzz, and supplementing with viewers who hate Cary/Carol won't work either because they aren't going to be in it for the long haul.

So again, if AMC wants my help, then I want them to motivate me. Tribeca will be...interesting? Because on one hand, the McReedus panel could be very reassuring, but 201 spoilers that will inevitably leak could be polarizing again depending on what Zabel and Nicotero did with it, and if that happens, well, I wish AMC luck trying to promote the rest of the season.

Thanks for reaching out. Sorry this probably isn't the answer you were looking for.

[sm0kebreaks]

So like. As amazing at the tma has been about fat acceptance and love and has been absolutely vital to a lot of my self acceptance as a fat trans man, because this fandom actually talks about fat people (as opposed to other fandoms where fat characters and hcs are nonexistent), it means it’s also exposed me to the most and worst fatphobia of any fandom. I genuinely don’t even gaf about the actual discourse discussed in this fandom, it’s generally the people who negatively react to discourse of ppl complaining about fatphobia. The initial problems are usually ignorable to me, but it ends up bringing up peoples voices that make it incredibly clear what their true thoughts about fat ppl are. Idrk why I thought I should share this with you, ig just seeing if you have similar experiences.

I struggle here because i don't like to feel like i am attacking other artists. i'm a hater and i love to complain but i know i have my own short comings. but when it comes to the fatphobia in this fandom im always left not knowing how to talk about things because people will come to me and tell me why my complaint about someone thinning out a fat character is wrong or bad.

do keep in mind i dont really engage with the tma fandom as much i feel very much on the outskirts so this is jsut what i feel like i see on my end and i'm sure theres way more going on i simply dont know

in recent months we have had a newer influx of artists in the fandom who have come in with their own interpretations of the characters which is all fine and good. its jarring sometimes when we become so used to these formless characters looking a certain way that when new people enter the fandom with different ideas it feels wrong and like an attack.

the biggest issue has been people drawing a thinner martin. and while of course everyones welcome to their own interpretation and martin expressing that he's not exactly the smallest guy has multiple ways to be interpreted it is extremely frustrating to see people take that as giving him the most bare minimum extra weight. especially when having a fat character as desirable and as a love interest and such a Fun character is so far and few between

i could go on and on about how each time a popular artist posts a thin martin it gives everyone who looks up to them the excuse to do the same and it's why it's become such a prevalent thing lately. i don't think popular artists should have to worry about being good role models or anything in a fandom i think if youre making art you should do it for fun but it sucks to see when someone becomes so influential and are creating a problem. i deleted like three paragraphs on this alone so i'm going to move on.

i think what i see in the fandom most in regards to fatphobia is a skill issue. people don't know how to draw fat characters. but it also feels like people are barely trying. the artist i have in mind who i would consider to draw skinny martins DOES add a bit of roundness to him. i can aknowledge theyre doing SOMETHING. but you can't come to me and tell me that i can't criticize their art because culturally that's fat to them... like sure it could be. but it's also definitely a limitation of their art style and ability and instead of defending them and patting them on the back for doing good enough shouldnt we encourage people to grow and improve? what an amazing asset to be able to draw people of all size and variety. thats an AMAZING abillity to have in youre tool belt. i wish i had more resources for drawing bodyfat but unfortunately i do not. i have learned from looking at people and luckily having a lot of large loved ones in my life i've learned from as well as you know.. my own body to learn from. and learning to draw bodyfat and drawing characters i love with it has done wonders for my body dysmorphia.

i went on a rambling tangent and idk how coherent all of that is but the end point is that fatphobia sucks it has no place in this or any fandom and we need to practice our skills instead of erasing something that has made this fandom so wonderful to me.

here's some resources

[kyouka-supremacy]

(person whose tags you reblogged on that ask about the anime here lol) I think what a lot of Bones defenders don't seem to realize is that this isn't just a case of us whining because we don't get what we want, like us complaining about like "they didn't draw this panel Exactly How It is In The Manga, how dare they!!!", we're not being nitpicking for the sake of nitpicking; these kinds of supposedly minor complaints probably wouldn't bother me in another show, because no adaptation is perfect and there will always be differences in how the panels are adapted, but in specifically BSD it bothers me because of the bigger picture, which is the fact that all of these tiny blunders are a direct result of them not understanding what kind of series BSD is and the tone and feelings each scene in the manga is meant to convey -- they see it as a shounen and adapt it as such, like you said. It's not about these moments in of themselves that are the problem, but because there's SO MANY of them, and they all add up, and they speak to the aforementioned much larger problem. I also just think that's kind of ignorant to just act like a season(s) with a downgrade in art quality, so many reused frames and animations, and disturbingly long static frames sometimes is in any way acceptable as a finished product??? This isn't about me and what I want, this is about the fact that they CLEARLY suffered to get this out and that is NOT OKAY. THERE ARE SO MANY GLARING PRODUCTION ISSUES (have been since season 3) AND THAT IS NOT OKAY. Not for the people who were forced to work on it, not for BSD as a story, and not for Asagiri and Harukawa! And not for the fans either, of course, but I emphasize the first three the most. It's just pure laziness and greed on the part of the Bones higher-ups who wanted it to be like this, and that will never be acceptable, for anyone. The quality of the anime has been significantly better the last few episodes (literally the instant Akutagawa kicked the bucket...) — by which I mean, they're doing the bare minimum for an adaptation, which is better than they usually do! — but I sure couldn't tell you why...! It's left me ecstatic, happy, and excited to watch lately, which is such a relief from constant sadness, outrage, and feeling insulted, but that still doesn't change the fact that it should have been this good THIS WHOLE TIME, and that there's absolutely NO REASON other episodes had to be sacrificed for the better ones: they should have been given enough time to do all of it justice (again, as much justice as Bones can ever do with BSD lol, but still. Season 2 is still so dear to me for a reason, and it's not just because of the nostalgia I have from watching it in 2016). Sorry for rambling more about this in your inbox asldjgflds, but tl;dr I just feel like our complaining comes across as bitching about scenes not being a perfect 1-to-1 panel recreation to a lot of people, when it's so much more than that — it's about BSD as a whole not getting the treatment it really, truly deserves, and how heartbreaking that is to see. It is heartbreaking to me to see how much Asagiri apparently loves the anime, from what he said at Anime Expo, when his story deserves so, so much better than he seemingly is even aware of. And I will always give Bones due credit when they've earned it, like I have the last few weeks, so I'm not even always constantly ragging on them, but even that praise comes with the caveat of "there's no explanation for why the quality is suddenly better now, or why it's so inconsistent in general, and I shouldn't even have to praise it so much, because this level of quality should be a given."

Yeah I agree that Bones has repeatedly demostred a very faulty understanding of the manga tone and even of the themes it carries on– even though there's also a chance that the shift in tone was intentional. They saw that undemanding shonen sold better than seinen (which may now seem easy to disprove, but the same probably wasn't as evident back in 2015 when the bsd anime was announced), so they made the marketing choice to declinate bsd so that it could cater to a shonen audience too, and stuck with that decision. That would make sense although in the end, as you said, it resulted in a series that feels deeply disconnected in tone and themes to its original, all while the narrated events stay the same.

I do wholeheartedly agree that if you need so many reused frames and to resort to static frames that drag on for several dozens of seconds, then your season simply isn't ready for release. C'mon, seriously, an original op and ending are the bare MINIMUM. The only reason why they didn't postpone the season release is greed. Not to mention (very much needed to mention), it's harmful for the animators twice: on one hand, because it necessarily puts them under a lot of stress and overworking conditions in order to churn out an entire season in such a short timespan; but I also feel like we shouldn't overlook the other aspect that is just... How extremely saddening and disheartening it is to not be able to dedicate the time you'd want to your art product, and seeing it published in a way that looks rushed and unfinished. I think it's important to acknowledge the frustration animators are likely to experience when that happens, especially because most times it's people who love their job of artist and of course work hard so that the result is the best it can be. But yeah the thing is: it's important - no matter how unpleasant - to say, it's not okay, because otherwise a low quality product is only going to become the norm.

I agree there was a noticeable quality improvement in the last three episodes (4-6), and I may be wrong, but I think it's reasonable to believe it's because the first three episodes had to be prepared in advance in order to be ready for the pre-screening that took place on the 8th of July in Japan. That may explain why the later episodes have been so much better compared to the first three: they simply had more time to work on them, and it's possible they're keeping working on the episodes even as they're airing. But I do agree... It's very saddening to see. Like of course, I agree, I *AM* happy the last episodes have been good (the last one was especially enjoyable!), but there really is that big ache given by thinking about what the Fukuchi vs. sskk fight could have been if only it was given the time and care it deserved. Sigh. It was just a very unfortunate coincidence for everyone, because, bias aside, it was really a pivotal moment in the whole manga... I mean. C'mon. Atsushi is the protagonist, but is yet again not treated as one because of, once again, marketing choices. It's a bit saddening. With season 4, I was dreading for when the season would have ended; with season 5 I regretfully must admit that I found myself again and again just hoping it would end already. Because even now that the animation has improved significantly, I can't stop thinking of what episode three should have been - what it had the right to be, as no less important than any other episode -, and I feel like my enjoyment of the season is just ruined.

One last note, and I know it's not what you meant when referring to panel-by-panel adaptations, and feel free to consider this my own pet peeve, but. Studios should be able to notice when they're working with the most iconic panel of the entire manga and should treat it accordingly. I'm cool and chill but what they did to the chapter 88 Akutagawa panel is unforgivable and I will resent them forever because of it.

[folklorianhaze]

Hands-On Demonstration (NSFW)

Pairing: Elain x Azriel (Elriel)

Rating: Explicit

Tags: NSFW, PWP/Porn Without Plot, Face-Sitting, Cunnilingus, Smut, One Shot, Fluff, even my sexy fics have character introspection

Word Count: 2305

Summary: Azriel learns from Elain that Graysen never bothered to give her an orgasm.

And decides to take matters into his own hands.

Read it on AO3 here!

In all the time she’d spent living among the High Fae, doing her best to acquaint herself with their customs and histories, their capricious and seemingly ever-changing attitudes, Elain Archeron had learned one thing she viewed as more important than anything else: the men — males — seemed inherently possessed of the most breathtakingly prideful dispositions she had ever before encountered.

On most occasions, this was vexing. A thorn in one’s side at best. The fae in general, male or female, were all too comfortably aware of their advantages over mortals. And it seemed to Elain that none of them hesitated to flaunt it. 

But the males — insufferable. Entirely unbelievable, the way they stomped about all the time, as if determined to assert their masculinity (and therefore, their perceived worthiness) to the entire world. They never missed an opportunity to prove themselves better than humans, far above the abilities of any mortal men.

That said, even she had to admit that sometimes it came in handy, that purely fae pride — especially when it resulted in moments like these, where she reclined almost lazily against the headboard of her massive bed, Azriel’s head tucked lovingly beneath her, between her thighs.

Who was she to complain about their apparently endless capacity for competitiveness, their need to prove themselves, when the Illyrian male currently lounging beneath her used all that energy to worship her body so thoroughly?

Elain wasn’t entirely certain how the conversation had wound up here in the first place. Although this was far from the first time she and Azriel had ever touched one another, kissed each other, explored the deep pool of want that seemed to dig itself deeper between them every time they were close, they’d never taken things this far before. Azriel had seen her hesitation when he’d first asked, and at the first sign of her uncertainty, had given her the space she needed without the slightest hint of being ruffled by it. 

She had been — and still was — grateful for his patience during that time, but she’d seen enough of the cruelty of men to know that patience was the bare minimum. And she had long since moved past rewarding the men in her life for doing that which she already knew she deserved. Still, though . . . she’d appreciated how gentle he always seemed to be with her.

At first, she’d been nervous to take this step with him, afraid that somehow, it would take away her last connections to her old human life. Perhaps it seemed silly to anyone else for her to think that way, but allowing another man — allowing a fae male, of all people — to touch her like that when the last time she’d been in bed with anyone, it had been with her entirely mortal betrothed . . . she couldn’t stop herself from feeling as though it were a betrayal on some level. 

She knew that Graysen would never take her back — knew even more that she would never want to go back to someone whose affection came at the price of her practically begging for it — but it had been hard to stifle the mortal part of her. The part that still, despite everything, sometimes found herself hoping this had all been a bad dream and any moment she would wake up, human and blissfully normal and whole inside.

But time had helped, and so had Azriel, and before she knew it, she found herself wanting to move beyond those pitiful remnants of her old life. And the connection she had with the shadowsinger was something far deeper than she’d ever shared with Graysen. She trusted him in a way she’d never been able to before with her human fiancé. He saw her, truly saw her for who she really was, and she certainly hoped he’d say the same thing for her in return. 

So they’d discussed it with one another, what being intimate with each other would mean, what it might feel like for her since it was the first time in a while she’d been with anyone. He’d held her through the night as they’d whispered it into the pillows in the bed they shared, stroking her hair when tears sprang to her eyes, kissing her forehead when emotion threatened to close her throat and swallow her words. And she’d confessed to him all the secrets of her heart, told him she wanted him, cared for him, and that she was ready. Nervous, but ready, to be with him in every way she’d dreamed of and imagined for so long.

And of course, when she’d mentioned in passing that although she and Graysen had slept together, he’d never bothered or cared to make sure she found her pleasure . . . 

Well, luckily for her, she supposed Azriel had felt he needed to take matters into his own hands.

And Elain was glad for it, his devotion to seeing her so heavily sated, because she’d certainly never had anything done to her like this before. She couldn’t entirely believe it was indeed herself perched atop Azriel’s face, head tipped back with sensual abandon as his tongue worked against her. Her body felt strangely loose and tense all at once, a pleasant, warm pressure gathering just below her navel. His hands were a firm, comforting presence at the curve where her thigh met her ass, stroking the soft skin there at a slow, luxuriant pace.

She’d always thought she would be embarrassed to enjoy herself like this with him, had always felt a guilty squirm in her stomach in the past whenever she’d caught herself thinking of what having him in this way would actually be like. During the course of her relationship with Graysen, she’d always thought of sex as something to be endured — at best, something to bring you closer to your partner, to enjoy the idea of making them feel good. He’d certainly never deigned to give that same care and pleasure back to her, but she’d liked the idea of being desired by a man enough that she’d convinced herself not to care too much. She’d somehow tricked herself into believing that it was all she deserved, that such a dynamic was how sex was supposed to be.

And she supposed that not a small amount of the guilt she associated with her sexuality came back to how she’d always been the good sister. It was tiring sometimes, to constantly be held up as this paragon of morality and sweetness, to be told that kindness made you some pure angel that no one could dare defile with a single touch. She experienced the same depths of desire as she was sure her sisters did with their mates, yet no one ever expected it of sweet, good little Elain. 

Well, she was sick and tired of being babied, being treated as though she were too innocent for any of this. She was done shying away from the way Azriel made her feel, done pushing it down and pretending it didn’t exist.

“You deserve this, Elain,” Azriel had whispered to her against the smoothness of her inner thigh, right before he’d begun those lovely ministrations of his. He’d pressed a kiss to her skin and murmured, “You deserve to be happy.”

And right now, writhing atop him like this, she thought she could finally believe it.

Elain had to admit, it was hard to be anything but blissfully happy when his tongue could draw such raw pleasure from her like that. Still resting against the headboard, holding onto it as though for dear life, she let out a distinctly unladylike groan at the slow, steady strokes right through her center. The way he teased her clit made the muscles in her legs feel strangely molten, right down to the soles of her feet. It seemed like he’d been at this for an eternity, yet he showed no signs of flagging stamina; the thought alone was enough to make the tight muscles in her legs tremble, dragging another breathy sigh from the back of her throat.

Azriel did not intend to waste energy being overly hasty with her. Each movement was deliciously slow, full of intent, as if he had all the time in the world to wreck her so thoroughly, and he intended on savoring each second to its fullest. He alternated deftly, cleverly, between stroking her with his tongue and pressing teasing kisses to her inner thighs, as if daring her to urge him for more.

And the sheer need made her desperate enough that she almost did, could nearly feel the words building on her tongue, the “please” she’d be prepared to utter over and over again to get what she wanted. But every time she came close to it, every time desire lanced so sharply through her she could hardly stand it anymore, he seemed to sense it, and relieved the building tension with scarcely a word.

She shuddered against him as he did it again, gave her the relief of his tongue against the pounding ache of her clit, her grip tightening against the headboard. And there it was again, that pressure building within her, such incredible tension that her muscles trembled from it. A tight, hot wire in her middle, being wound and wound until it could only snap.

Was this — was she really about to —

“Azriel,” she gasped, her voice taking on a tremulous, needy quality.

She had never felt this before — a wave, threatening to sweep her over, such intensity she could hardly stand it, pleasure so deep it edged towards pain —

She was going to — she was so close to that edge, nearly tipping over —

She ground her hips against the rhythm of his tongue, crying out at the glorious friction —

“Don’t stop,” she whispered, and he gladly, enthusiastically obeyed.

And the way his tongue kept up that pace, the way it moved without relent against her, it seemed impossible to hang on for a moment longer. A moan that crept towards a scream tore from her, and release wracked her body in a great, shivering wave. It seemed to crest and recede more than once, taking her by surprise enough that she gave little gasps atop him as it ran its course, but at last, the shudders subsided and her body relaxed.

Still feeling a bit shaky, still doing her best to catch her breath, Elain collapsed into bed beside where Azriel lay, a satisfied smirk touching the corners of that beautiful mouth. At the sight of his expression, those eyes sparkling with amusement and pride, she huffed a laugh and pressed a kiss to his bare shoulder. She, too, was naked, sprawled out beside him without a care in the world. The bottoms of her feet still tingled slightly as she snuggled in close to him.

“Well, you certainly look quite proud of yourself,” she mumbled, a lazy little smile touching her features.

Azriel’s low laugh rumbled right through her, warm and comforting. “I suppose I am,” he replied. “I’ve wanted to do that for a long while.”

Elain felt heat rush to her cheeks. Surprised that she actually could still be embarrassed after this, she covered her face with a hand and said, “Truly? You have?”

“Yes,” he said. “You have no idea.”

“Oh. Well,” she said again, unable to think of anything else for a few moments. Shaking off her flustered air, she at last smiled and decided on, “I hope it was everything you always imagined it would be.” She leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek, then added, “I know it was for me.”

He propped himself up on an elbow then, turning onto his side so that he could look at her more directly. “Of course,” he said, surprisingly serious. “Of course it was.” He reached out and stroked the line of her jaw, the ridges of the scars along his hands so gentle, so familiar against her skin. 

Gingerly, he drew her in for a slow kiss, and when they parted, he said, “All I wanted was to make sure it felt good for you. When you told me he’d never . . . that he’d never even bothered to try, I — Elain, it will always be imperative to me that you are prioritized. In the bedroom, and everywhere else.”

Her face warmed again, this time at the thought of Graysen. The thought of what she’d endured from him, what sort of indifferent treatment she’d accepted as love. True, sex wasn’t the end of the world, wasn’t the most important thing in a relationship, but the fact that he’d never even bothered to make her feel like that when he got to experience that kind of pleasure every single time . . . well, it showed what he’d really thought of her, she supposed. Perhaps she hadn’t been valued nearly as much by the human man as she’d once thought.

Elain reached out, gently touched the planes of Azriel’s face. She knew many thought of his features as severe, sharp in their beauty, but there was a gentleness to him that few ever truly got to see. The darkness and shadows that followed him everywhere were a part of him every bit as much as that tenderness — they did not have to be separated from one another.

Her heart squeezed at the sight of it — an affection so overwhelming it was nearly unbearable, a kind of love she’d never thought, after Graysen, she would be able to truly feel again.

So with a mischievous grin of her own, Elain pushed at Azriel’s upraised body, rolling them over so that he lay pinned beneath her. She slid one leg over his body, straddling him, feeling his growing arousal pressed against her.

“Now,” she said wickedly, leaning in to steal another soft, sensuous kiss, “I think it’s your turn.”