#purely due to logistics mind you

[obstinaterixatrix]

okay so there's like interviews and promo stuff out now for sweeney todd 2023 and the actress for lovette was like "she needs sweeney todd because she's in a man's world" and I don't agree with her interpretation at all. mrs lovette does not need sweeney todd. she's not operating in A Man's World. mrs lovette wants sweeney todd because she's obsessed with him and also she's a freak.

[foldingfittedsheets]

One of my earlier jobs in life was at a little pizza place. I worked there when it was first starting up. It’s the only job I’ve ever been fired from.

Anyway! For this story to make sense I’ve first got to set the stage. This pizza place started out as the Wild West of management but one of the original investors was super committed to work programs through the prison. We hired a ton of ex convicts and they were all, to a one, super hyped on Christianity. Like born again for the sole purpose of lauding Christ with their every breath.

I was raised without any religion which I liked very well. Throughout my life people have tried to inform me about their religion and I end up deeply resenting it. I’m good. I’m vibing. I’m staying in my lane. I’ve also had more than enough microaggressions for being queer that I get skittish around people who are especially devout.

I hadn’t been working there long but I’d definitely noticed the Jesus bug had gone around, I tried to steer clear of the topic for my own safety as much as possible.

The day our story takes place, I was folding boxes. Anyone whose ever worked pizza can attest, there’s so much box folding. It’s something that happens at every lull, the pizza machine demands box folding on a grand and epic scale.

On my right folding his stack of boxes was a guy wider than he was tall, made of pure muscle, Corey. He was newer on staff, and due to a stutter he didn’t talk much. All I knew about him was that he got hired through the rehabilitation program and had done time.

On my left folding was a tall middle-aged woman who loved to yell at me, Cindy. She and I rubbed each other the wrong way and had nothing in common, leading to a tense working relationship.

We folded boxes in silence. This was really my best case scenario as a quiet Cindy was a Cindy not riding my ass, and Corey intimidated me.

But the weight of the silence grew too much for Cindy, who finally said, “I really want to go to bible school.”

I folded a box. I had less than no idea what bible school even was and I didn’t want to get sucked into a religious topic.

On my right Corey said, “W-why, Cindy?”

“Well, cause I believe what’s in the Bible, but I just don’t know it all.”

He nodded sagely to this.

Cindy continued, “And every time I sit down to read the Bible I get real sleepy. And I know it’s the devil.”

It’s so hard to convey her tone in written format. It was delivered with the emphasis and exasperation of an inevitable inconvenience. Like, I just know it’s the squirrels eating the bird seed.

I froze in place at this pronouncement. My only exposure to Lucifer was Neil Gaiman’s Sandman comics and I was trying to mentally twist into a frame of mind where The Morningstar cared enough about this one middle aged lady expanding her knowledge of the Bible that he followed her around cursing her with sleepiness when she picked it up.

I think I expected Corey to say, “Well that’s silly,” or something to acknowledge what a bizarre thing Cindy had just said.

Instead he said, “Yeah!” In a tone of complete agreement.

I didn’t look up. I tried to keep my face neutral at this development.

But something must have shown. Corey said, “You don’t believe in God?”

I shrugged casually and said, “If I did I wouldn’t talk about it at work.”

“C-cause it’s t-true. If y-you t-ry to r-read the B-bible on unsanctif-fied gr-round the d-devil m-makes you s-sleepy!”

I made a noncommittal sound and fled into the back room.

Over the next week it drove me crazy though. The logic of it wouldn’t leave me alone so finally one day when it was just Corey and I in front, and the restaurant was empty, I said, “Hey man, I have a question.”

He shrugged and listened.

“I really don’t mean this with any disrespect, I just genuinely want to know about the logistics-“

“J-ust ask.”

“Okay, so if Cindy gets tired when she reads any book, is it only the devil making her tired when it’s the Bible?”

His face went purple with fury and he yelled, “F-fuck you!” at my retreating back as I fled once more into the back room.

It will forever remain a mystery.

[iwillneverforgiveyousunghanbin]

bully⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

tuesday, zhang hao— string ensemble

⋆˙⟡ zbully1 smut series masterlist! hanbin, jiwoong, hao, matthew, and taerae included. game day (group) chapter here. all 7 endings here. ⋆˙⟡ wc: 2.8k ⋆˙⟡ reader: femme afab (listed first, she/her are used a couple times) // gender neutral (alternate version listed second, no pronouns used at all to describe reader— scroll down) ⋆˙⟡ series summary: five bullies. six days. it's gonna be a hell of a week, babe. stay hydrated. ⋆˙⟡ tuesday summary: happy tuesday, you know what that means: two straight hours of wind ensemble. and it's made even more enjoyable by first chair, zhang hao, chewing you out for every mistake you make. he's been quiet today though. it's making your skin crawl. can you manage to get out unscathed?

⋆˙⟡ warnings: explicit smut. 18+. minors do not interact. please read specific smut warnings under the cut! swearing. angst. dub-con. bullying. stuck up, tattletale hao. this is a doozy. you'll be glad we took it easy monday. smut in gn and fem versions are substantially different due to logistics/circumstance. also i clearly know nothing about playing the violin so just 🤓☝️ pipe down over there, k? ily. actually would love to hear real violinists thoughts on this so hmu. ⋆˙⟡ bully scale: ★★★☆☆ (3.5)

EXPLICIT SMUT 18+ WARNINGS: foreign object and finger insertion (reader receiving), oral (reader receiving), fingering (reader receiving), dub-con: hao doesn't have consent before sexually touching reader but reader is turned on by it, cum play, bullying.

DO NOT PUT ROSIN UP YOUR HOO HA YA DINGUS!! purely for entertainment purposes, this fic exists in a world where there aren't consequences for that okay? DON'T. I REPEAT DON'T. DO THIS IRL. okay thank you, love you.

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　

you take a deep breath, bouncing nervously on the balls of your feet at the south campus entrance. you’d barely gotten any sleep last night after your encounter with jiwoong, too busy tossing and turning as you pictured the dirty looks you’d be getting all over campus the next day. but as you walk across the main courtyard to the music building this afternoon, you’re surprised and elated to hear no frantic whispers in response to your presence.

had jiwoong really kept what happened yesterday a secret? you find it hard to believe he’d want to protect your reputation and mental well-being. still, the proof was in the pudding and, so far, the pudding seemed entirely unaware of who you are. just how you like it.

on tuesday afternoons, you had string ensemble in place of advanced drama. although it was a relief to have jiwoong out of sight and out of mind, there was another force at play to deal with.

as you enter the orchestra room, you spot that force immediately— already seated and delicately coating the hairs of his bow with the lifetime supply of premium rosin he’d won for first place violinist at the chinese international music competition three years ago. you know this fact because he never lets you forget it.

with your violin case in your hand, you make your way to your seat: second chair, of course. first chair is eternally occupied by your conductor’s most favorite student.

you sit down in your black music chair, smoothing your skirt so that it doesn’t ride up while you play. opening your violin case, you carefully pull out your instrument and begin quietly tuning it as the rest of the string ensemble files in. you place your bow to the strings, playing a note to assess the sound. the note comes out airy and weak and it makes you inherently wince. 

“fucking fix that right now,” a familiar voice to your left suddenly demands. “i won’t ask again.”

your left eyebrow peaks in confusion as you mumble, “you didn’t ask a first time.”

he doesn’t even look at you. and though you already intended to fix the problem without his prompting, you place your violin back in its case and start to fish around in the velvet compartments for some rosin. when you come up empty, you start to panic.

“good afternoon, everyone,” professor ahn greets, tapping her conductor’s baton on the frame of her metal music stand. “we have a lot to get to today, so let’s just jump right in.”

shit. you really need rosin.

but there’s no way you can raise your hand and disrupt professor ahn’s flow. she already thinks you’re a second-rate violinist that “hides her lack of talent behind incessant practice”. this was a direct quote you’d received on your evaluation sheet last semester. besides, all professor ahn would probably say was that you should’ve made sure your bow was up to par before you even got to campus.

you couldn’t argue with that. it was the truth. but your little incident with jiwoong had preoccupied you and suddenly every perfectionist task you routinely performed seemed... obsolete. how could you let him get to you like this?

and why did it still feel so good?

professor ahn taps her baton again, signaling for everyone to turn to the first page of your spring concert repertoire. you swallow nervously, opening your sheet music booklet to tippett’s fantasia concertante on a theme of corelli. it’s an extremely difficult piece that an outstanding violinist struggles to play on a good day. and you would be playing it with your bow in a noticeably poor condition. 

you stumble through the piece as quietly as possible, cringing when the sound your instrument produces is less than satisfactory. though your ensemble is still learning the song, others’ mistakes aren’t enough to hide the strange performance coming from the second-chair violinist.

“zhang hao-sshi,” professor ahn suddenly calls. the boy to your left looks up at her in attention, causing your heart to sink to your stomach. “who is responsible for that unsatisfactory sound?”

you were foolish to think you could escape what inevitably always happened during string ensemble: the second of your five jerk-off bullies ratting you out in front of the whole orchestra.

there was a reason professor ahn held such distaste for you and your craft and that reason was zhang hao. each and every rehearsal, your professor would ask the first chair to list any mistakes he’d heard from your section and he apparently only ever noticed yours. you’d sit there, cheeks heating up with embarrassment as hao described every error you made in great detail that day— professor ahn taking note and deducting points from your rehearsal grade as she saw fit.

hao had seemingly made it his mission to single handedly make you quit violin in a sea of unbearable shame.

so you’re shocked when all hao replies is, “i apologize, professor ahn. i was too engrossed in playing to notice where the error was coming from.”

what the fuck? why would he lie? it couldn’t be to help you. hao would throw you to the wolves without a second thought if it meant remaining superior to you.

but his gaze returns to his sheet music, pencil floating across the paper as he quietly adds annotations. you’re honestly freaked out. had he hit his head? had the difficulty of the piece actually thrown him that much?

rehearsal ends shortly thereafter and you stay in your chair, silently tending to your violin next to hao. you’re both usually the last to leave, but hao always makes it a point to stay just a few seconds longer than you. just to prove something.

after your instrument is safely back in its case, you stand up and make your way over to the instrument storage closet. you find your cubby, pulling out your key and unlocking your unit so you can leave your violin there for the remainder of your classes this afternoon. 

as you place your violin case gently inside and lock your cubby, the unexpected sound of footsteps behind you makes you freeze in place. slowly, you turn around to find hao standing in the doorway of the storage closet.

weird. hao would never undermine his unparalleled musicianship by keeping his violin in a public storage unit. he sets his case down next to him, crossing his arms and leaning on the left side of the door frame.

“i’m waiting,” is all he says, brow raised expectantly. 

you look to your left and right, trying to discern what it is hao could be waiting for. you can’t find anything of note. “um... for what?”

“what do you mean, for what?” hao spits, eyes narrowing angrily. “i didn’t tell professor ahn about any of the mistakes you made today. and i don’t know if you noticed, but you made a fuck ton.”

and the shoe drops, you think.

“did you not even notice my act of kindness?” he asks indignantly. “don’t you think i at least deserve a thank you?”

“oh,” you reply, tilting your head in surprise. you swallow the urge to tell him that kindness in demand of a thank you is not exactly kindness and instead, just nod. “yeah. thank you. i guess.”

it must be some weird power play over you. it’s probably best to make a swift exit and not give him the attention he wants, so you turn on your heel and start to walk toward the door to leave. but as you approach the exit, hao reaches across the door frame— your chest colliding directly with his forearm as he blocks you in.

“c-... can i get through? i have to be in calc iii in fifteen minutes,” you ask with a frown.

hao’s arm stays glued to the other side of the door as he continues to stare at you. “i want a better thank you.”

“you—... why?” you question, brow furrowing in confusion. “i already said thank you. and i didn’t even ask you to lie for me in the first place.”

hao blinks at you. “so you’re not grateful?”

“honestly, you’re kind of making me uncomfortable,” you reply, ducking under his arm and walking back out into the orchestra room. “so if my lack of gratitude means you’re going to go back to humiliating me in front of the entire string ensemble every day... i guess i’ll just have to continue living with it.”

you make it halfway out of the rehearsal room when you hear a faint: “wait.”

you turn around to find a slightly panicked hao still standing in the doorframe of the storage closet. 

“you need rosin, right? you ran out?” he asks, as if he couldn’t tell exactly what your problem had been from hearing you play today. “i’ll give you some of mine.”

clearly you’ve just hallucinated. you’re so stressed from yesterday’s events that you’ve started hearing things. or maybe you’re still asleep in your bed at home. or maybe you’re dead. because there’s no way hao would ever give you his beloved rosin.

“let me just get it out of my case,” he says, bending down to the ground and opening up his very expensive violin case. you walk over to him slowly, partly because you don’t believe him and partly because you’re starting to worry something is terribly wrong with him.

“hao, are... are you feeling okay?” you ask, stepping back into the storage closet and watching as he pulls out a fresh cake of premium rosin. it’s a box-shape with rounded edges and no plastic holder, the golden-brown hardened sap shining beautifully even in the dim light of the storage closet.

he stands back up, holding the rosin between his fingers delicately. “never better.”

“you’re—... you’re gonna give me your cimc prize rosin?” you ask, incredibly confused. “why would you do that?”

“because you need it. don’t you?” he answers with a shrug.

“but... but—.” you protest, head spinning a million miles a minute trying to make sense of hao’s bizarre and uncharacteristic display of benevolence. “what’s the catch?”

with no discernible inflection, hao repeats, “the catch.”

“i don’t see why you’d give this to me without a price,” you elaborate skeptically. “you don’t like me. you’re actively mean to me actually. it doesn’t make sense that you’d give me something you value without asking for anything in return. i mean, you couldn’t even randomly choose to cover for me during rehearsal without demanding a thank you after.”

hao considers this for a moment and then nods. “well, what if i ask for the same thing then? in exchange for this rosin, i want a thank you.”

“i can’t even begin to figure out what’s gotten into you today,” you respond with a reluctant sigh, “but fine. i guess i can agree to your terms.”

“we have a deal,” hao affirms with a stupid, perfect smirk. he closes the gap between you, holding out the rosin in his palm. when you try to take it from him, he retracts his hand. “i’ll take the thank you first actually.”

“sure,” you agree, rolling your eyes. “thank you.”

he tilts his head to the side, prompting, “what was that?”

“thank you, hao. i really appreciate you giving me your rosin,” you feed flatly, hoping you’ve finally appeased him.

“an improvement,” he says before shaking his head again. “but i’m still not loving the tone coming out of you... i think you could use some rosin.”

“what do you—” you start to ask, but it’s already too late. without any time to spare, the door is shut behind you and a sudden draft hits your heat as your panties are shoved to the side beneath your skirt. the air leaves your lungs as long, thin fingers dip through your folds and squeeze something cold and smooth inside of you.

“there you go,” hao smiles, incredibly satisfied with the stunt he’s just pulled. “i think that might help your tone.”

“y-you... did you...” you stammer as you gawk at the boy in front of you. your cheeks are beet red at the violation of your sex. you’re in such shock that all you can whisper is, “you can’t put that in... there.”

“an instrument should be well cared for,” he challenges, sinking to his knees and running his hands up and down your bare thighs. “gonna make you sound so pretty.”

there’s a flutter in your core that you desperately want to silence. you could not be turned on by this. one of the men you hate most in this world just shoved a foreign object up you without asking. so why is the hungry look in his eyes as he backs you against the wall of storage units exciting you?

hao hooks his fingers around the waistband of your panties, pulling them down your legs. you step out of them without a word. he lifts your right leg over his shoulder, bringing your cunt closer to his face as he holds your hips steady.

he licks a stripe starting just above your opening to your clit as if he wants to taste every inch of you. the sensation makes you gasp and then immediately cover your mouth in shame. were you really enjoying this?

“hm, still an airy sound,” hao observes, eyes locked on your center as his fingers grip into your hips. “definitely needs more rosin.”

he dives back in, lapping at your cunt— tongue flicking your bundle of nerves as your arousal builds. you must’ve fallen into an alternate dimension. fainted. been in a terrible bus accident on your way to campus. but why you’d dream of hao’s head between your thighs in a storage closet is beyond your comprehension.

the more he works you with his mouth, the more hums and sighs escape your lips but all of your worries aren’t eased just yet.

“it’s... it’s gonna melt,” you say softly, starting to feel a bit dizzy. “the r-ros—.”

“rosin starts to crumble from heat at 50 degrees celsius,” hao interjects in between sloppy traces of his tongue. “the average internal temperature of a vagina is 37.5 degrees.”

“but—”

“don’t act like you don’t know how numbers work. aren’t you in calc iii?” hao ridicules, biting gently at your clit. you throw your head back at the sensation as he increases the pressure of his tongue against you. “are you just a fraud in every subject you take?”

“hao,” you beg, his slander just adding to the pleasure you’re feeling as your right hand tangles up in his hair— tugging from the root. “feels so good. so, so good.”

“fuck, that’s beautiful baby,” hao pants, right hand detaching from your hip. he parts your entrance with his fingers, the cake of rosin slipping out into his palm with a crude, wet smack. you both stare at the golden brown block, still perfectly intact but now dripping in your arousal. he drags it down the inside of your thighs, mesmerized by the trail of glistening honey it leaves on your skin. “mm, coated perfectly now.”

he drops the rosin on the floor next to you, replacing the empty space in your pussy with his ring and middle fingers. you gasp at the stretch, clenching involuntarily around him.

“i think you’re ready to play,” hao decides, curling his fingers up inside of you against your front wall and pressing on your clit with his thumb. he watches you intently, mouth open slightly as he drinks in the sight of you writhing in pleasure. “c’mon, baby. let me hear you.”

you do as he says, moaning as the pads of his fingers press into your sweet spot again. with every rhythmic stroke, your sounds grow less inhibited and hao grows more entranced. he’s making the face he usually makes while playing his violin— focused, impassioned, and devastatingly sexy. 

was hao enjoying playing you as much as he enjoyed playing his other instrument?

“gon—... gonna make me cum,” you whine after another minute, the look in hao’s eyes turning feral. he immediately returns his mouth to your cunt, sucking at your sensitive bud with a renewed vigor.

as hao brings you closer to the brink of orgasm, your moans only grow louder and sweeter like a crescendo. the harmonic sounds coming out of you are intensified by an increase in the pace of his finger-fucking. it’s all too much for you to handle, your walls spasming around him uncontrollably.

“oh my god, hao—,” you cry, your climax crashing over you like the perfect wave. “c-cumming... i—...”

you can barely hold yourself up, clinging to the shelves on either side of you as hao works you through your high. your breathing returning to normal, he looks up at you as he pulls his fingers out of your pussy— lips pink and glistening with your juices. 

he removes your right leg from around his shoulder, eyes locked with yours as he stands up and brushes the dust off his knees. 

“th-thank... you,” is what comes out of you as you stare at him, dumbfounded. “thank you.”

“yeah, sure,” hao replies dismissively. after making such a big deal about a thank you, it figures he’d pretend he never cared in the first place. “clean off that rosin and use it next week or i’ll tell professor ahn you stole it from me.”

“oh. okay,” you quietly agree, unable to control the awkward energy that’s now tying your tongue. “um. thanks... again.”

he just shrugs, walking over to the door and picking up his violin case. unlocking the door and pushing it open, he takes a few steps out the door before suddenly stopping in his tracks. he turns over his shoulder to look at you. “i almost forgot to ask...”

you gulp at the sight of the upturned corner of his lip in a smug grin.

“... was it better than jiwoong hyung?”

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　

gender neutral version below

EXPLICIT SMUT 18+ WARNINGS: hand/oral (reader receiving), throat fucking with fingers (reader receiving), dubcon: hao does not have consent before inserting fingers into reader's mouth, reader is turned on by this, cum play, bullying.

IF YOU WANT TO COVER YOUR ROSIN IN CUM, YOU CAN I'M NOT THE BOSS OF YOU but from everything i've read in research for this fic, it will ruin it so maybe don't. up to you tho, babe. love you.

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　

you take a deep breath, bouncing nervously on the balls of your feet at the south campus entrance. you’d barely gotten any sleep last night after your encounter with jiwoong, too busy tossing and turning as you pictured the dirty looks you’d be getting all over campus the next day. but as you walk across the main courtyard to the music building this afternoon, you’re surprised and elated to hear no frantic whispers in response to your presence.

had jiwoong really kept what happened yesterday a secret? you find it hard to believe he’d want to protect your reputation and mental well-being. still, the proof was in the pudding and, so far, the pudding seemed entirely unaware of who you are. just how you like it.

on tuesday afternoons, you had string ensemble in place of advanced drama. although it was a relief to have jiwoong out of sight and out of mind, there was another force at play to deal with.

as you enter the orchestra room, you spot that force immediately— already seated and delicately coating the hairs of his bow with the lifetime supply of premium rosin he’d won for first place violinist at the chinese international music competition three years ago. you know this fact because he never lets you forget it.

with your violin case in your hand, you make your way to your seat: second chair, of course. first chair is eternally occupied by your conductor’s most favorite student.

you sit down in your black chair, propping your sheet music booklet up onto your music stand. opening your violin case, you carefully pull out your instrument and begin quietly tuning it as the rest of the string ensemble files in. you place your bow to the strings, playing a note to assess the sound. the note comes out airy and weak and it makes you inherently wince. 

“fucking fix that right now,” a familiar voice to your left suddenly demands. “i won’t ask again.”

your left eyebrow peaks in confusion as you mumble, “you didn’t ask a first time.”

he doesn’t even look at you. and though you already intended to fix the problem without his prompting, you place your violin back in its case and start to fish around in the velvet compartments for some rosin. when you come up empty, you start to panic.

“good afternoon, everyone,” professor ahn greets, tapping her conductor’s baton on the frame of her metal music stand. “we have a lot to get to today, so let’s just jump right in.”

shit. you really need rosin.

but there’s no way you can raise your hand and disrupt professor ahn’s flow. she already thinks you’re a second-rate violinist that “hides your lack of talent behind incessant practice”. this was a direct quote you’d received on your evaluation sheet last semester. besides, all professor ahn would probably say was that you should’ve made sure your bow was up to par before you even got to campus.

you couldn’t argue with that. it was the truth. but your little incident with jiwoong had preoccupied you and suddenly every perfectionist task you routinely performed seemed... obsolete. how could you let him get to you like this?

and why did it still feel so good?

professor ahn taps her baton again, signaling for everyone to turn to the first page of your spring concert repertoire. you swallow nervously, opening your sheet music booklet to tippett’s fantasia concertante on a theme of corelli. it’s an extremely difficult piece that an outstanding violinist struggles to play on a good day. and you would be playing it with your bow in a noticeably poor condition.

you stumble through the piece as quietly as possible, cringing when the sound your instrument produces is less than satisfactory. though your ensemble is still learning the song, others’ mistakes aren’t enough to hide the strange performance coming from the second-chair violinist.

“zhang hao-sshi,” professor ahn suddenly calls. the boy to your left looks up at her in attention, causing your heart to sink to your stomach. “who is responsible for that unsatisfactory sound?”

you were foolish to think you could escape what inevitably always happens during string ensemble: the second of your five jerk-off bullies ratting you out in front of the whole orchestra.

there was a reason professor ahn held such distaste for you and your craft and that reason was zhang hao. each and every rehearsal, your professor would ask the first chair to list any mistakes he’d heard from your section and he apparently only ever noticed yours. you’d sit there, cheeks heating up with embarrassment as hao described every error you made in great detail that day— professor ahn taking note and deducting points from your rehearsal grade as she saw fit.

hao had seemingly made it his mission to single handedly make you quit violin in a sea of unbearable shame.

so you’re shocked when all hao replies is, “i apologize, professor ahn. i was too engrossed in playing to notice where the error was coming from.”

what the fuck? why would he lie? it couldn’t be to help you. hao would throw you to the wolves without a second thought if it meant remaining superior to you.

but his gaze returns to his sheet music, pencil floating across the paper as he quietly adds annotations. you’re honestly freaked out. had he hit his head? had the difficulty of the piece actually thrown him that much?

rehearsal ends shortly thereafter and you stay in your chair, silently tending to your violin next to hao. you’re both usually the last to leave, but hao always makes it a point to stay just a few seconds longer than you. just to prove something.

after your instrument is safely back in its case, you stand up and make your way over to the instrument storage closet. you find your cubby, pulling out your key and unlocking your unit so you can leave your violin there for the remainder of your classes this afternoon. 

as you place your violin case gently inside and lock your cubby, the unexpected sound of footsteps behind you makes you freeze in place. slowly, you turn around to find hao standing in the doorway of the storage closet.

weird. hao would never undermine his unparalleled musicianship by keeping his violin in a public storage unit. he sets his case down next to him, crossing his arms and leaning on the left side of the door frame.

“i’m waiting,” is all he says, brow raised expectantly. 

you look to your left and right, trying to discern what it is hao could be waiting for. you can’t find anything of note. “um... for what?”

“what do you mean, for what?” hao spits, eyes narrowing angrily. “i didn’t tell professor ahn about any of the mistakes you made today. and i don’t know if you noticed, but you made a fuck ton.”

and the shoe drops, you think.

“did you not even notice my act of kindness?” he asks indignantly. “don’t you think i at least deserve a thank you?”

“oh,” you reply, tilting your head in surprise. you swallow the urge to tell him that kindness in demand of a thank you is not exactly kindness and instead, just nod. “yeah. thank you. i guess.”

it must be some weird, new power play over you. it’s probably best to make a swift exit and not give him the attention he wants, so you turn on your heel and start to walk toward the door to leave. but as you approach the exit, hao reaches across the door frame— your chest colliding directly with his forearm as he blocks you in.

“c-... can i get through? i have to be in calc iii in fifteen minutes,” you ask with a frown.

hao’s arm stays glued to the other side of the door as he continues to stare at you. “i want a better thank you.”

“you—... why?” you question, brow furrowing in confusion. “i already said thank you. and i didn’t even ask you to lie for me in the first place.”

hao blinks at you. “so you’re not grateful?”

“honestly, you’re kind of making me uncomfortable,” you reply, ducking under his arm and walking back out into the orchestra room. “so if my lack of gratitude means you’re going to go back to humiliating me in front of the entire string ensemble every day... i guess i’ll just have to continue living with it.”

you make it halfway out of the rehearsal room when you hear a faint: “wait.”

you turn around to find a slightly panicked hao still standing in the doorframe of the storage closet. 

“you need rosin, right? you ran out?” he asks, as if he couldn’t tell exactly what your problem had been from hearing you play today. “i’ll give you some of mine.”

clearly you’ve just hallucinated. you’re so stressed from yesterday’s events that you’ve started hearing things. or maybe you’re still asleep in your bed at home. or maybe you’re dead. because there’s no way hao would ever give you his beloved rosin.

“let me just get it out of my case,” he says, bending down to the ground and opening up his very expensive violin case. you walk over to him slowly, partly because you don’t believe him and partly because you’re starting to worry something is terribly wrong with him.

“hao, are... are you feeling okay?” you ask, stepping back into the storage closet and watching as he pulls out a fresh cake of premium rosin. it’s a box-shape with rounded edges and no plastic holder, the golden-brown hardened sap shining beautifully even in the dim light of the storage closet.

he stands back up, holding the rosin between his fingers delicately. “never better.”

“you’re—... you’re gonna give me your cimc prize rosin?” you ask, incredibly confused. “why would you do that?”

“because you need it. don’t you?” he answers with a shrug.

“but... but—.” you protest, head spinning a million miles a minute trying to make sense of hao’s bizarre and uncharacteristic display of benevolence. “what’s the catch?”

with no discernible inflection, hao repeats, “the catch.”

“i don’t see why you’d give this to me without a price,” you elaborate skeptically. “you don’t like me. you’re actively mean to me actually. it doesn’t make sense that you’d give me something you value without asking for anything in return. i mean, you couldn’t even randomly choose to cover for me during rehearsal without demanding a thank you after.”

hao considers this for a moment and then nods. “well, what if i ask for the same thing then? in exchange for this rosin, i want a thank you.”

“i can’t even begin to figure out what’s gotten into you today,” you respond with a reluctant sigh, “but fine. i guess i can agree to your terms.”

“we have a deal,” hao affirms with a stupid, perfect smirk. he closes the gap between you, holding out the rosin in his palm. when you try to take it from him, he retracts his hand. “i’ll take the thank you first actually.”

“sure,” you agree with a sigh, rolling your eyes. “thank you.”

he tilts his head to the side, prompting, “what was that?”

“thank you, hao. i really appreciate you giving me your rosin,” you feed flatly, hoping you’ve finally appeased him.

“an improvement,” he says before shaking his head again. “but i’m still not loving the tone coming out of you... maybe your bow needs some rosin.”

“you already know it does! what are you even talking—,” you start to ask, but it’s already too late. without any time to spare, the door is shut behind you and two long, thin fingers are pushed inside of your mouth. 

“there you go,” hao smiles, incredibly satisfied with the stunt he’s just pulled. “a thorough coat to get that perfect sound.”

he cups your jaw with his free hand as he shoves his fingers further into your mouth. you gag slightly as he approaches the back of your throat, your cheeks turning beet red at the violation of your body. 

“an instrument should be well cared for,” hao says as he removes his fingers from your lips, unbuttoning your jeans as he guides you to sit down in a black music chair. “gonna make you sound so pretty.”

there’s a flutter in your core that you desperately want to silence. you could not be turned on by this. one of the men you hate most in this world just shoved his fingers down your throat without asking. so why is the hungry look in his eyes as he sinks down between your legs exciting you?

hao hooks his fingers around the waistband of your jeans, tugging at them until you finally lift your hips up wordlessly. he discards your underwear next, chuckling sardonically at your continued state of silence.

his lubricated fingers ghost over you, leaving a trail of your own saliva up and down your sex. the sensation makes you gasp and then immediately cover your mouth in shame. were you really enjoying this?

“hm, still an airy sound,” hao observes, eyes locked on your center as his free hand grips your thigh— fingers digging into the soft flesh. “definitely needs more rosin.”

hao pulls your hips closer to him, taking you into his mouth— swirling and sucking at your heat with his tongue. you must’ve fallen into another dimension. fainted. been in a terrible bus accident on your way to campus. but why you’d dream of hao’s head between your thighs in a storage closet is beyond your comprehension.

the more he works you with his mouth, the more hums and sighs escape your lips.

“hao,” you beg, pleasure building as your right hand tangles up in his hair— tugging from the root. “feels so good. so, so good.”

“fuck, that’s beautiful baby,” hao pants, right hand detaching from your hip. “maybe you can even learn something from how i’m playing you. everyone would appreciate that, huh?”

the patronizing insult makes you throb, another whimper falling out of you. he watches you intently, mouth open slightly as he drinks in the sight of you writhing in pleasure. “c’mon, baby. let me hear you.”

with every rhythmic stroke, your sounds grow less inhibited and hao grows more entranced. he’s making the face he usually makes while playing his violin— focused, impassioned, and devastatingly sexy. 

was hao enjoying playing you as much as he enjoyed playing his other instrument?

“gon—... gonna make me cum,” you whine after another minute, the look in hao’s eyes turning feral. he immediately returns his mouth to you, sucking at your most sensitive part with a renewed vigor.

as hao brings you closer to the brink of orgasm, your moans only grow louder and sweeter like a crescendo. the harmonic sounds coming out of you are intensified by an increase in the pace of hand. it’s all too much for you to handle, your core beginning to spasm.

“oh my god, hao—,” you cry, your climax crashing over you like the perfect wave. “c-cumming... i—...”

hao pulls out the cake of rosin from his back pocket as he works you through your high, bringing it between your legs and covering it in your release. your breathing slowly returning to normal,he runs the sticky rosin down each of your inner thighs. 

“it’s... it’s gonna melt,” you say softly, both hypnotized and concerned. “the r-ros—.”

“rosin starts to crumble from heat at 50 degrees celsius,” hao interjects as he coats the rosin in more of your fluids. “your body temperature is 37 degrees.”

“but—.”

“don’t act like you don’t know how numbers work. aren’t you in calc iii?” hao baits, licking up the last remnants of your orgasm for himself. “are you just a fraud in every subject you take?”

his eyes lock with yours as he stands up and brushes the dust off his knees. 

“th-thank... you,” is what comes out of you as you stare up at him, dumbfounded. “thank you.”

“yeah, sure,” hao replies dismissively. after making such a big deal about a thank you, it figures he’d pretend he never cared in the first place. “clean off that rosin and use it next week or i’ll tell professor ahn you stole it from me.”

“oh. okay,” you quietly agree, unable to control the awkward energy that’s now tying your tongue. “um. thanks... again.”

he just shrugs, walking over to the door and picking up his violin case. unlocking the door and pushing it open, he takes a few steps out the door before suddenly stopping in his tracks. he turns over his shoulder to look at you. “i almost forgot to ask...”

you gulp at the sight of the upturned corner of his lip in a smug grin.

“... was it better than jiwoong hyung?”

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　

[tightjeansjavi]

A/N: Brought to you deliciously by @tightjeansjavi @loquaciousferret @peterhollandkait @chaotic-mystery

Summary: ever wonder how it feels for your favorite Pedro Pascal character to go down on you? Well, look no further because the girlies got you covered! Oh, and these men definitely know how to eat it good.

Warnings: this is literally just smut. If you are under 18 do not interact. This is content NOT intended to be consumed by minors. If you interact and I find for you to be underaged, I will be blocking you, no questions asked.

Din Djarin

↳ @loquaciousferret

Din doesn’t get the opportunity to eat you out as much as he would like, purely due to the logistics involved with ensuring it is perfectly dark and to have the time and space to apply a blindfold to you. You honestly don’t mind that it isn’t often, and it seems to frustrates him more than it does you. He is a selfless and generous person and wishes he could take this into the bedroom too.

All this considered, it does mean he really takes his time whenever he does get the opportunity. He will be patient and spend what seems like hours pulling multiple orgasms from you, never stopping until the point where you are the one begging for him to stop and just fuck you.

“Please- Din, please. I need you.”

“You have me, mesh’la. I’m right here.”

You whined, his facial hair tickled at your inner thighs as he spoke gently, his voice sending vibrations through your core.

When he did eventually fuck you after eating you out, the pleasure was intensified for you both. With you blindfolded, he could kiss and worship all of your body, and take in your subtle facial expressions without his visor obscuring his view.

“So beautiful, cyar’ika. I could stay here with you like this forever.” And he truly wishes he could.

Javier Peña

↳ @tightjeansjavi

Javi Peña eats your pussy wherever, and whenever he wants. You could be at the office, legs spread over his desk, his hands deliciously holding your thighs apart as he devours your sweet cunt. Thank god it’s only you two working late hours because your moans are free falling around the room, bouncing off the walls. You can hear him groaning in content at your sweet taste along his tongue. Even as his jaw goes slack, he continues to lap at you, wanting to get every last drop.

Or you’re in your apartment, blissfully whipping up some brownies or cookies to bring into the office, humming whatever tune is playing on the radio. You’re wearing one of Javi’s shirts, and a thin pair of panties. Your hips sway just enough for Javi to notice. You feel his presence looming behind you before he’s sinking down his knees. Your breath is caught in your throat when you feel his hands sneak up the apex of your thighs, prying them apart. “Javi, what are you—” you stumble over your words, gripping the counter tightly when he flattens his tongue against your clothed pussy, tasting you through the thin fabric. “Don’t mind me, cariño. Keep on whisking.”

You feel him hook his thumb along the side of your panties, revealing your slick cunt to him and then he’s completely devouring you, your knees nearly buckle as his nose bumps into your clit. His tongue is absolutely working you into ruin. “Javi, this really isn’t the time—fuck, baby.”

He’d let out a low chuckle against your core, sending warm vibrations up your spine. “There’s never a time more perfect to eat your sweet pussy cariño.” He tsks.

Pre!Outbreak Joel

↳ @chaotic-mystery

Pre!outbreak Joel would eat your pussy whenever and wherever he wanted your aching cunt in his mouth. It didn’t matter if you were in public, that’s why his truck has back seats. All he’d have to do is give you that look and you knew what was coming. Your minimal clothing choices in the Texas heat would make him start looking for secluded places to pull over. His hand would be at the very top of your thigh and he’d squeeze ever so gently causing your breath to hitch. It was the slight risk of getting caught by someone as he’s going to town on his girl, making her squirm and cry out.

He’d push your legs back so your thighs are slightly pinned against your stomach so he can see your dripping wet pussy in all its glory. As soon as your panties hit the floor of the truck, he’d give you a groan as he gets closer to you and admire how wet you already are for him. “Look at this beautiful fuckin’ pussy baby doll. Who got you like this, hm? Tell me sweet girl.” Just as you’re about to answer, he’d flatten his tongue against your clit and start devouring you. He liked seeing how much he can make you work for it while he’s rotting your brain, taking your breath away with his devilish mouth. “Cmon baby, tell me” he’d moan against you trying to aid a response between your moans.

Your fingers would comb through his hair and tug every time he sucked on your clit and shook his head from side to side, scoring a raspy whimper from you. His hand clutching your pillowy breasts and pinching your nipples, causing you to feel a fiery pit in your stomach.

“Joel please I’m gonna cum- don’t stop, just like that, just like that” your sentence growing to barely a whisper as you were right at the edge of releasing. Joel’s tongue would start flicking against your sensitive bud and that was all it took, your legs wrapped around his head as you rode his face, screaming his name. It didn’t stop there, of course. As you’d ride your high and buck your hips against his wet face, his mouth would still be attached to your clit. You’d start turning side to side, trying to back up but he’d wrap his arms around your thighs and pull you as close as he could, moaning into your juices that made your pussy glisten in the sun spilling through the window.

“Where are you goin, darlin'? I’m not full yet” he’d mutter and go right back to licking up your juices, running his tongue along the slick folds and around your clit. You’d push his head away and cry out, begging for a break but he’d grab your wrists, your legs tightening around his head even more. “One more baby cmon one more fuckin time just for me, pretty baby” your body shaking and breathes becoming faster until they sounded like gasps. The shriek of pleasure you let out as your eyes roll to the back of your head, a tear slipping from your eye as your body falls into complete euphoria. Your legs would fall from his shoulders, body still trembling slightly as he’d hover above you and admire his work that was written all over your face.

Post!Outbreak Joel

↳ @tightjeansjavi

Post!Outbreak Joel eats your pussy like it’s solely based around his own survival. How else is he supposed to feel alive, and human without his mouth devouring your cunt? There is no sweeter sound to his ears than mewls he elicits from your pretty little lips from his sinful mouth devouring you. You almost just got bit by a clicker? Cool, drop your pants girlie, because Joel is going to make you forget all about that near death experience in no time!

He prefers to have you on all fours, ass up with your back arched at almost an uncomfortable angle. Your bare pussy, glistening and pulsing through his heated, greedy gaze. You would only briefly feel his hot breath fanning your core. Joel doesn’t like wasting any time, but he loves to hear you beg him just a little. He’s a bit of a biter, and you’d feel his teeth graze the sensitive flesh of your inner thighs, causing you to lurch forward on your knees. He’d growl under his breath, wrapping his arm around your stomach and pull you right back to his face. “You stay right where you are darlin’ you hear me?” His mouth would be on you before you’d even get a chance to respond. He loved knocking the air from your lungs. It would take him no time to have you chasing your impending orgasm. His lips would be harshly wrapped around your clit, sucking intensely on your bundle of nerves. His teeth would graze you, and you’d be seeing stars.

His coarse, wiry beard would be scratching deliciously at your sensitive skin. The only time he would pause his sinful actions would be to spit on your already soaked cunt, he’d drag his tongue through his own salvia mixed with your juices before he would be lapping at you again. As soon as you would start to feel that the sensation was too much, your thighs would be quivering as you’d beg him to show you some mercy. “Joel—please I-I—it’s too much. Baby, I can’t—please..” you whined.

“Yes you can, pretty girl. I ain’t fuckin’ done with you yet.” He harshly whispered against your cunt. His beard and chin would already be coated in your arousal but this was never enough for him.

He’d flip you over onto your back, without warning, and grab your ankles in his calloused palms. He’d yank you down so you were beneath him, before he’d be devouring you once more. Your fingers would be desperately fisting his hair, riding into his face, feeling him everywhere. You’d scream his name, loud enough for the entire QZ to hear just how good this man treated you, and your pussy. Even after you would be fully spent, he’d keep his head buried between your thighs, his tongue would slowly be lapping up your release, before he’d press a chaste kiss to your clit. “Always such a good girl for me darlin’ could eat you for every fuckin’ meal.”

Frankie Fransico Morales

↳ @peterhollandkait

Frankie “pussy eating king” Morales

• Frankie starts slow, teasing you with his mouth and fingers on other parts of your body.

• Everyone thinks Frankie is an ass man, but he really truly loves your tits, never getting enough of them.

• He leaves marks and bruises all over them, sucking on your nipples with any chance he can get.

• When he finally moves down to your core, still teasing you, he breathes against your cunt, pressing kisses to your inner thighs.

• He does this until you’re begging him, whining for his touch, which is when he finally gives in.

• Frankie eats you like a man starved, lapping up your juices fervently. He has an arm holding open your thighs, the other pressing two fingers into your entrance, pumping them in and out.

• Every once in a while, he pulls away to whisper words of encouragement against your skin.

• “You like that baby?”

• “You’re doing so good for me gorgeous, taking my mouth so well”

• When his mouth is back on your folds, you’re mewling for him.

• He doesn’t give you a break between your first and second orgasm, sucking on your clit, making the most obscene noises as your pleasure wracks through you again and again.

• When you’re coming down from your second climax, he lays his head on your inner thigh, giving you a pussy drunk smile.

• He’s obsessed with you, never even thinking to touch himself at any point.

• This is all for you, no matter how hard his cock might be

• He puts his mouth back on you, fucking your third orgasm out of you with his tongue.

• He makes you see stars, your head going blank and body feeling weightless. He knows exactly how to manipulate your body to coax the most powerful orgasms from you.

• He learns your cues easily, knowing that your thighs shake before you squirt all over his face, covering him in your juices

• The way you tug on his hair tightly and arch your back before you come, screaming his name

• The echo of your voice on the walls gives him purpose, not hesitating to dive further into you to get what he wants

• Afterwards he puts every effort into making sure you’re comfortable

• He cleans you up with a warm washcloth, tucking you carefully under the covers before he joins you on the other side.

• He doesn’t care about his own pleasure, his only thoughts are to care for you.

Dieter Bravo

↳ @tightjeansjavi

Dieter Fucking Bravo eats your pussy like he’s the president of the pussy eating fan club. He is always absolutely greedy, ravenous to have his face buried against your sweet cunt. He’d have you for breakfast, lunch, dinner, appetizer, and of course dessert. On the occasions that you’d be spending the weekend with him, (literally every weekend) Dieter’s one, and simple request, is that you’d wear no panties around him. So you’d find yourself in his penthouse, wearing one of his expensive tailored shirts, and no panties. You could be doing the most mundane tasks, such as; doing your laundry. You’d be leaned over the open dryer, glistening pussy on full display for him. Next thing you know, his hands are around your hips and hoisting you up onto the dryer, spreading your legs wide open. He’d have a few greedy licks, before he would turn the dryer on, sending sweet vibrations up your core before his mouth and tongue would be fully devouring you. He’d use his pointer and middle finger to spread your slick folds open so you were on full display. He’d fuck your pussy with his tongue dragging it in and out of you before he’d focus all of his attention on your clit. The obscene slurping sounds he would make would drive you wild, and turn your brain to mush. He’d moan into you, shaking his head back and forth as he laps at you. “Mhmmm. Sweetest fucking pussy baby. All mine. Can eat you for fucking days, my sweet sweet girl. Now I’m gonna need you to cum all over my face like the dirty little girl I know you are.” Between the vibrations of the dryer, and Dieter's tongue showing you no mercy, you do just as he says. Screaming out his name while your hips buck up into his face. Even after you're spent, he continues to lap at you before he’s coaxing as many orgasms out of you as you're willing to give him.

He likes eating your pussy when it’s the most inconvenient possible time ever. Usually when you’re on your laptop, typing away. You’re on a writer's block for the next chapter of your 200k smut fic about Poe Dameron. He’s about to go down on the reader, but you’re lacking inspiration. Just as you're clicking the next key, you feel Dieter’s lips pressing to your ankle, he’s on his stomach and you peek over the top of your screen to see his smug face looking up at you. “How’s that chapter coming along baby?” He speaks against your skin, kissing his way up your calf and thigh. “I’m at writer's block. I can’t fucking find the inspiration for this scene. He’s supposed to go down on the reader and—” you give him a warning look as he inches his face closer to your pussy. He shuts the screen to your laptop and places it on the coffee table. You roll your eyes as he’s already hiking your hip up with your foot firmly planted against the side of the couch. “Mmm. This is that trigger happy X-Wing Pilot, right?” You can feel his hot breath fanning your core as he licks his lips. “Yeah, and I really don’t need you—” your mouth falls open when he attaches his lips to your clit, sucking harshly. “Mmm well I can be your inspiration baby. You just pretend I’m that Poe Dameron fellow.” He hums against you, and you can feel his stupid smirk against your pussy. His tongue is lapping you up, swirling and sucking on your clit like you’re his last meal. He switches from fast licks, to slow filthy ones that have you yanking his hair and demanding more. This smug bastard is spelling his fucking name against your soaked pussy because he is absolutely marking what is his. Dieter Bravo is a whore for eating your pussy, and he isn’t ashamed to admit it.

Jack Whiskey Daniels

↳ @loquaciousferret

Agent Whiskey doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth. He prefers something heavy, smokey, fiery. But when it comes to you… Well, that’s different see, because you are the sweet thing he needs a taste of at the end of every long, hard day.

He’ll return home from work, (having been doing god knows what all day), and he’ll find you perched somewhere in the house, sometimes the sofa, sometimes the bed, sometimes on a barstool at the kitchen island. He would seek you out like a missile locked on a target.

He would kiss you first, licking your strawberry lip balm from your lips. When he made his way down, slowly, sucking gently at your neck, he tasted coconut. When he sank to his knees before you, and nestled his head between your thighs, the taste was still sweet as could be, something indescribable and incomparable, something uniquely you. You giggled as he dived in, trying to indulge further, but the wide brim of his hat obstructed his access to you.

He smirked, quickly removing it and reaching up to place it on your head.

“You take care of that, sugar, and let me take care of you.”

He would eat your pussy until you were having to push him away, legs shaking, overstimulated from having come apart on his tongue numerous times. He would barely give you a reprieve until he wanted to start again, pleading with you softly, “Come on sweet girl, I know you got one more for me.”

[ingravinoveritas]

How will you feel if Georgia and Anna turn up in GO2? Or any other assorted family members?

(Grouping all of the GO 2 Anons together since there are quite a few, and in order of take hotness level from Mild to Medium to Habanero Spicy...)

So, to recap the seeming order of events up until now (though I'm sure everyone is probably well aware): Three weeks ago, Neil made this post featuring a behind the scenes photo from GO season 2. Almost immediately, Twitter detectives set to work trying to ascertain the identities of the three people in the photo, and it very quickly came to light that both Peter Davison and Ty Tennant have roles in GO 2 listed on their respective CVs on their shared agent's website:

Shortly after that, the news appeared to be confirmed on the Radio Times website, and was subsequently picked up by a number of other media outlets. Most of these seem to be repeating what was reported by Radio Times, and while (from what I have seen, at least) there has been no official confirmation from either Amazon or Neil, the roles being on Peter and Ty's CVs seem to have convinced most of the fandom that they are in the second season.

I think there are several things we have to consider when talking about all of this. The first season of GO came out in 2019, and since then, the world has, well...I suppose "gone completely tits up" is one way of putting it, but the world has changed dramatically, and the circumstances around filming and production of television have also changed. Thus, when GO season 2 was filmed in Scotland from October of 2021 to March of 2022, the set was extremely locked down tight due to Covid safety protocols.

In all likelihood, it probably would've been very difficult to get actors for smaller roles or as extras, so from a purely logistical/practical standpoint, that is what could have led to the casting of Peter and Ty. There is also no way to know who the characters of Alastair and Ennon are, so for all we know, these could be very brief appearances where the characters are in one scene and then never appear again.

With that in mind, let's turn to the subject of nepotism, which I have seen mentioned quite frequently since the alleged casting was announced. I think what people may not be seeing is that there has been a marked difference in the reaction to Peter/Ty's casting from the hardcore GO fans vs. the wider public on Twitter. With the GO fans, there seems to be this attitude of tiptoeing around the word nepotism and everyone needing to be super happy/thrilled at the prospect of Peter and Ty (and possibly Georgia, but more on that ion a minute) being in GO 2, or otherwise you're a "bad" GO/David fan.

The wider public, however, has no such compunction about saying the word, often repeatedly, and with additional color commentary. What I wish the fans on Twitter understood is that this is something to be genuinely concerned about, because when the second season comes out, it won't be enough for just the hardcore fans to watch it. The show needs to bring in new viewers, and if people are as turned off by perceived nepotism as they seem to be, they won't tune in. Without those viewers, season 2 may not perform well, and if that is the case, Amazon could easily say "Well, GO season 2 didn't perform, so we're not going to greenlight a third season."

That is why it matters. Because even if casting Peter/Ty was done out of necessity/practicality, it ultimately comes down to people's perceptions, and overwhelmingly those perceptions are of nepotism and/or stunt casting.

For me personally, I certainly was and am not thrilled at the idea of Peter and Ty being in GO 2 (let alone Georgia and Anna, which...I might need a stronger drink before I write out my thoughts on that). But this does not in any way have anything to do with me disliking Peter or Ty, and in fact goes back to what I've always been most concerned with, and that's the integrity of the show.

Thinking back to 2020, I'm reminded of the heart-achingly beautiful audio clip that was released just a few months into lockdown, in honor of the 30th anniversary of GO's publication. Neil didn't write a new scene for Shadwell and Madame Tracy or Newt and Anathema...he wrote a scene for Aziraphale and Crowley. It was Michael and David whose performances resonated so strongly with all of us and with him, and he specifically chose to bring them back as Aziraphale and Crowley to mark that occasion.

When Staged came along shortly thereafter, it was created to build on that chemistry and relationship between Michael and David. Staged was meant to remind us of Good Omens, not the other way around. So I do feel that, when it comes to Peter and Ty (and Georgia/AL) being in GO season 2, it would be a distraction to have them there, rather than an enhancement. Not even because of the acting--as Peter is a seasoned actor and Ty/Georgia are decent enough (though AL is the exception, as she categorically cannot act, which we have seen)--but because of the principle.

The reason so many of us have greatly anticipated the second season is the relationship between Aziraphale and Crowley. So for me, casting any of these folks in the show (but particularly Georgia and AL) draws attention away from the Husbands, almost as if to say the relationship between Aziraphale and Crowley is somehow less/not as worth our attention as their "real" relationships. It also goes back to what I mentioned above about stunt casting, and again, if the viewers the show very much relies on see it that way and are turned off by that/perceived nepotism, it may cause the show itself to suffer overall.

So those are my thoughts on the potential casting of Peter Davison/Ty Tennant and Georgia/AL being in GO 2. I suspect we won't really know the truth about who is or isn't in the show until it's released, but to the Anons who felt they are alone in having feelings of hesitation over these casting decisions: You are very much not the only one who feels as you do, and I'm glad you felt comfortable enough to write in and share your feelings with me. We'll just have to wait and see what happens...

[messenger-of-stupidity]

Origin of Tomorrow

Taking a break from angst to get some fluff.

CW: GN Listener characters, I actually looked at the timeline to get some of the facts right but not all of them,

Redacted Masterlist

Sweetheart pressed their badge to the scanner, a soft click signifying the unlocking. They pulled it open, letting it fall closed behind them as they rubbed their eyes. They had spent the night over at their mate's residence, but they didn't get much sleep if you caught their drift. It would have been helpful to remember that they had to come in to work early, but hindsight cured all confusions.

They walked over to their desk, mind still locked in a haze of exhaustion. The office wasn't empty - it never was - but it was certainly quiet. So Sweetheart was either going to be able to have peace or fall asleep because of too much peace. They plopped down in their chair and rubbed their eyes again.

"Oh thank god you're here." A familiar voice said. The aura of the telepath instantly locked in Sweetheart's brain and they lifted their head to look at the other. Cutie was nice enough, but they didn't work the same cases so it was difficult to classify the telepath as direct friends. Sweetheart was more of a field worker while Cutie handled the aftermath due to the specifications.

"Not by choice." Sweetheart replied dryly as Cutie hopped up to sit on the edge of their desk. Their gaze dropped to the other's hands that were being twisted in their lap. The stealth arched a brow and looked back at Cutie. "What's up?"

"So you remember me talking about that cute guy I heard on a run a bit ago?" Cutie asked, eyes staring directly into Sweetheart's. The other was never shy about eye contact. Sweetheart nodded.

Cutie had mentioned a guy that they had heard while on a run. While listening in on unempowered people's minds held its own issue, it hadn't been something Sweetheart wanted to poke into. Cutie had developed somewhat of a crush but hadn't chased it. Something that was about to change if they had to guess.

"I saw him on my run this morning." Cutie said, leaning closer to Sweetheart. They stayed quiet, waiting for the telepath to continue. "And he thought I was cute, so I started talking to him. And asked for his number. And now we're gonna go out sometime. His name is Geordi." Sweetheart watched silently as Cutie let out a happy sigh.

They didn't have anything against empowered dating unempowered. Far from. Hell, they adored spending time with Angel and Asher's mate. But there was still something slightly offsetting about Cutie being in a relationship with an unempowered while listening to his thoughts without his knowledge.

"You're going to have to make him an informed unempowered if it gets serious." They said softly and Cutie blinked.

"I know that. But I want to make sure we're going to steady before we do that. It hasn't even been the first date, Stealth. Don't worry." The telepath giggled and adjusted the lanyard around their neck. "How are things with your werewolf beau?" Sweetheart couldn't stop the smile that jumped to their lips, causing a squeal from their coworker. "Oh my god. You really love him, don't cha?"

"Yeah." Sweetheart replies softly. They can't help but feel soft when talking about Milo. He's fun to tease and mess with, but at the end of the day, they really love him. They were planning to move in with him finally. It wasn't for lack of wanting to or being invited that made them wait so long, but purely logistics. Moving was difficult when you lived in a Department provided apartment.

"How long you been together?" Cutie asked, clearly searching for more information. The telepath was consistently hungry for information.

"Three years." Sweetheart answered and Cutie let out a whistle that had the Stealth swatting at them.

"You two are couple goals, seriously."

Sweetheart hoped that Cutie reached the point where they believed they reached that goal. Even with the obstacles in the way.

[outboundsauto]

Behind the Wheel of Auto Transport: What You Didn’t Know About Moving Your Car Across the USA

Picture this: It’s the middle of a crisp autumn day. You’re sitting in your soon-to-be empty home, surrounded by packing boxes. Excitement buzzes as you plan your cross-country move to sunny California. Then, the realization hits—your trusty car, the companion of countless road trips and coffee runs, isn’t driving itself to your new doorstep. Enter the world of auto transport, an industry that seamlessly moves vehicles across state lines, highways, and coastlines with a precision few truly appreciate.

But beyond the glossy brochures and online quotes, there’s a hidden world of stats, secrets, and tips about car shipping that most websites don’t dive into. Buckle up, because we’re about to uncover them.

The Hidden Complexity of Auto Transport

Every year, nearly 19 million vehicles are transported within the U.S. (Statista). While the process may seem straightforward, coordinating vehicle transport involves a delicate dance of logistics, weather patterns, driver schedules, and even regulations specific to individual states.

For example, did you know that California and Texas are the two most popular destinations for car shipping? This means transport schedules to these states are often booked weeks in advance. Yet, the offbeat routes—like a move to rural Montana—can take longer, as fewer trucks service these areas.

Pro Tip: Schedule your auto transport at least two weeks before your move to secure a spot, especially during peak moving seasons like summer and early fall.

Myth-Busting Car Shipping Costs

One common misconception is that the cost of using a car transport company is purely based on distance. In reality, multiple factors play into pricing:

Seasonality: Prices can surge by 20–30% in summer due to high demand.

Vehicle Type: Shipping a large SUV can cost $200–$300 more than a compact sedan because of the space it takes up.

Open vs. Enclosed Transport: While open carriers are more common and cost-effective, enclosed carriers (protecting vehicles from weather and debris) can cost up to 60% more.

Yet, here’s something surprising: Even with these nuances, auto transport often costs less than driving the car yourself when you factor in fuel, lodging, meals, and time off work.

Safety and Insurance: Are You Covered?

Here’s a fact that often slips through the cracks: Not all vehicle transport companies offer comprehensive insurance. Some only cover damages caused by the transport itself, excluding pre-existing dings or scratches.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), every car shipping company is required to have liability insurance, but the coverage amounts vary widely. Before booking, ask for the carrier’s insurance details and consider adding supplemental insurance for high-value vehicles.

What Sets Reputable Companies Apart?

Not all transport companies are created equal. A few key differentiators include:

Transparent Communication: Companies Auto Transport provide real-time tracking, so you always know where your car is.

Eco-Friendly Practices: Some vehicle transport companies are now using fuel-efficient trucks to reduce their carbon footprint, a growing priority for environmentally-conscious movers.

Specialized Services: Did you know some carriers offer door-to-door transport for remote areas or even expedited services for last-minute moves?

Final Thoughts: Why Auto Transport is More Than Moving a Car

Choosing the right car transport company isn’t just about cost—it’s about trust, reliability, and peace of mind. After all, your car is more than a machine; it’s a part of your journey, memories, and future. With a little research and the right partner, your car will be waiting for you, ready to hit the open road in your new adventure.

Sources:

Statista: Vehicle Transport Stats

FMCSA: Federal Regulations for Auto Transport

Whether you’re relocating across the country or buying your dream car from out-of-state, auto transport turns a logistical headache into a smooth ride.

[iamjustadonut]

week 5 growth mindset

Q1 describe an eventful moment you have experienced in this class , bearing in mind the key ideas of the day. Q2 include selected images of your personal sketches , and explain them . in particular , which sketches did you like most ? which least and why ?

The lecturer introduced the concept of a growth mindset and shared some videos with us. Another instructor led the class since our main lecturer was in South Korea for an event.

For our task, we had to create logos using our left hands. I found drawing hard with my non-dominant hand, especially since we needed to make 15 logos quickly. In the end, I only finished six designs, which made me feel disappointed. Still, the experience was both enjoyable and stressful.

From my sketches, I liked the unique look of my fourth design. However, I was unhappy with the fifth one because it looked messy and needed improvement. In week 12 of school, we talked about his experiences in Korea. He stressed that failure isn't a big deal and that taking risks is better than living with regret, which I agree with. ( our lecturer and Dr carol.s .dweck ) In secondary school, I struggled to pass and faced discouragement from teachers, but I pursued Express Math, Additional Math, and Pure History, eventually passing my exams. I enrolled in the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) to explore engineering. While not initially interested, I discovered a talent for CAD programming and robotics. I also pursued a nursing certificate due to my passion for helping others.

While studying, I worked part-time at DHL as a warehouse assistant, gaining experience in logistics. My efforts were recognized with a promotion to team leader, which supported my education and helped me meet great people.

Currently, I aim to volunteer more, explore job opportunities, and connect with others. My long-term goal is to become a physiotherapist and start a nonprofit for cancer patients and people with disabilities.

word count : 273 words

work citied and referenced :

the image above

www.pinterest.com/pin/550424385725740365/

..Dweck , Dr Carol.s. Mindset. 

[vesseldocumentationservice]

Acquiring Vessel Documentation Online and Maintaining It With Our Help

Do you want to document your vessel but aren’t sure about the best way to do so? Does documentation seem a bit confounding at times? As fellow vessel owners, we’ve been in your shoes. We understand that the thought of “filling out vessel documentation” might evoke memories of taking a challenging math test back in high school.  It is this that, at least partially, motivated us to establish this portal for taking care of vessel documentation online.

Our portal was designed to be a haven where vessel owners can effortlessly access the requisite forms and expedite the documentation process. Initiating US Coast Guard Vessel Documentation Online

Should your vessel measure a minimum of five net tons and is owned by an American citizen, then you can document it. It’s crucial to note that “net tons” gauges volume, not weight. Typically, a vessel measuring 25 feet or longer is likely to meet the five net tons requirement. All necessary forms can be conveniently located on our site, streamlining the documentation process.

If your vessel meets the above criteria, you can document it. You have to document it if you plan on using it in fishing or coastwise trade on American navigable waters or in the Exclusive Economic Zone, documentation becomes imperative. Renewal Made Routine

Once you’ve successfully navigated the initial documentation process, your vessel is set for a year. Before that date, however, you need to renew it. You’ll have to do this every year that you want to maintain documentation.

While it may seem like an annual inconvenience, there’s good news – an alternative exists.

Our platform enables you to renew your documentation for up to five years in advance. Rather than the annual hassle, our experts can handle the renewal logistics for you, offering peace of mind. If you anticipate remaining with your vessel for the next five years, we can simplify the process for you. Reinstatement Protocol

Life is unpredictable, and sometimes documentation renewal slips your mind. Whether due to oversight or a last-minute realization that came long after the expiration, we’ve got you covered.

With us, you’ll find comprehensive resources to reinstate your vessel documentation online if you missed the deadline. This ensures uninterrupted use of your vessel according to your preferences, even if the documentation has lapsed. The Right Endorsement for the Job

Every documented vessel is unique, serving diverse purposes. Consequently, various endorsements may accompany your documentation. For instance, if your vessel is intended for fisheries, there’s a specific endorsement for that purpose. Engaging Solely in Coastwise Trade?

There’s an endorsement for that. Vessels designated for foreign trade fall under the “Registry” endorsement, while those used purely for recreation carry the aptly named “Recreation” endorsement.

Remember: all vessels can be utilized for recreational purposes.

The Documents You Need Online

Obtaining and maintaining US Coast Guard vessel documentation doesn’t have to be daunting. With our user-friendly platform and comprehensive resources, we aim to simplify the process, ensuring that vessel owners can navigate the seas of documentation with confidence and ease. To see how we can help, click here.

[xtrablak674]

If I Had One Regret

It would probably be wishing I had worked more. Let's not get it twisted, I am not one of those people who just loves working for workings sake. I thoroughly enjoy my in-between times, my free-time, my me-time. But there has been one through-line in my later adult life. It has become harder for me to find employment.

Let's be clear, my capabilities, aptitude and general readiness have never diminished. I am highly skilled, technologically proficient, an effective communicator and very organized, things that throughout my career employers have loved and benefited from greatly. I have also become more myself as I have matured, not that I was ever anyone's cog, but the further I have come, the more I have deepened who I am, and no one can truly ever be the boss of me, because I know what I am here to do.

And what is the problem with me? Not a damned thing, in my opinion. But the intersectionalities of my identities have only blossomed, refined and matured. I have passed from gay, to same-gender-loving to queer. I have been a boy, a man and now a person. I have been a sissy, a tranny and now non-binary. I have been a tar-baby, a spook and now beautiful. I have been sexually abused, abuser and now celibate. I have had extensive family, and lost and lost some more and now have an intimate chosen-family.

Through all of these trials and transitions I have done the best to never let my light be dimmed, I have adjusted certain aspects of my behavior for my safety, but I have never shied away from always living my truth. Part of this truth is I can wear whatever I want to and execute all the parameters of my job description. I can move through spaces without ever apologizing for my Blackness. I will be friendly, but not make myself more palatable for whyte folks. I can carry and lead a meeting, never having to explain who I go to bed with or as.

It would be false of me to not acknowledge that I have had amazing opportunities through out my life and also had financial support that is unheard of in many families, that has given me more choice and options about the kind of work that I choose to do and the kind of compensation I will accept. Due to my bearings, cultural background and excellent diction I have always assumed to be college-educated something I have never dissuaded anyone from believing nor have I ever exhibited a less than well-polished veneer.

I want to work not just because I can, but because I feel I have something to offer. I miss my mind being challenged daily and having responsibilities that varied on a everyday basis. I miss the teamwork of process mapping and smoothing out the terrain to assist my organization in working smarter and smoother not harder. I miss the satisfaction of having accomplished something that no one else thought could be done and delivering brilliantly. And it would be a whole-ass lie to not admit I miss the money. The comforts of my low six-figure salaries supported me in the way I had grown accustomed to, and it would be pure folly to say I wouldn't want to return to that level of stability.

Most importantly I want to work because this society says folks who were raised like me, have a complexion like mine, whose hair falls and grows the way mine does, whose gender fluctuates based on the day the temperature and what I chose to wear, whose creativity, gender-expression and Black pride can't be inhibited by a arbitrary dress-codes, whose defiance to bureaucratical logistical nonsense will not be assuaged.

I am I and I will do my work not by some European ethic or influence, not by some heterosexist values or persistence, not by some binary of gender and my role here-within, nor by assuaging your white guilt and privilege and molding myself to make you more comfortable with my Blackness. None of these things effect the work that I can output nor should they be necessary to me contributing brilliantly to society like anyone else can.

[Photos by Brown Estate]

[innovationcalls]

R&D tax relief is changing

If you claim R&D tax relief under either of RDEC or SME schemes, the changes summarised below may be worth your attention.  

The Good: 

R&D expenditure categories are set to extend: 

Great news for players utilising datasets and cloud computing in their R&D activities, as the cost of these pricey resources now qualifies for tax relief. 

Furthermore, Health and Social Care Levies will qualify in R&D staff costs.  

Lastly, R&D in pure mathematics will now qualify for relief.  

The bad? 

While not necessarily bad news for all, one of the most fundamental changes is that tax relief is now limited to work undertaken in the UK. There are some specific exemptions to this rule, whereby work outside the UK is necessary for environmental, social, regulatory, or legal requirements. If the work done outside the UK is for a justifiable and unavoidable purpose, it should still be eligible for tax relief. Examples of eligible works for potential exemption include clinical trials, technology developed for extreme environments and deep ocean research. Non-eligible exemptions come in the form of economic or logistical reasons such as cost constraints or workforce availability.  

The unavoidable:  

New methods are being implemented to combat abuse of the R&D schemes meaning: 

New due diligence and filing processes are now required through a digital system 

All claims must be made digitally (except for those that are exempt) 

Endorsement of a named senior officer of the company will be required 

But, perhaps most importantly… companies will be required to inform HMRC of their intention of filing a claim within six months from the end of the period to which the claim relates, unless a company has claimed in one of the preceding three accounting periods. Meaning a new claimant will only have a 6-month timeframe to inform of the claim (as opposed to the current 2 year window).  

Overall, the changes shouldn’t impact your tax relief harshly. The extension to eligible expenditure will be especially advantageous, given the vast utilisation of data sets and cloud computing in today’s innovation activities.  

However, whilst planning your R&D projects, it is essential to bear the aforementioned changes in mind. Especially given the tightening of rules regarding activities conducted outside of the UK and the need to stay on top of your claims within a stricter timeframe.   

The changes will take effect from the 1st of April, 2023. Inventya’s input can assist you in adapting to these changes, whilst helping you to optimise your claim of this valuable resource. Get in touch to find out how we can support you further. 

[aadhunikayurveda]

Best Manufacturer of Black Pepper Hydrosol and Essential Oil in India

A flowering vine in the Piperaceae family called black pepper is grown for its peppercorn-shaped fruit, which is often dried and used as a spice and condiment. The fruit is a dark red drupe (stone fruit) that has a stone within that bears a solitary pepper seed.

Black pepper has been used since ancient times and is frequently referred to as the "King of Spices." It is referred to as Kali Mirch in Sanskrit and Hindi. Organic Black Pepper Essential Oil was utilized in Ayurveda to cure obesity, chronic dyspepsia, nasal congestion, asthma, and colds. It was also utilized to cure a variety of medical conditions, including respiratory infections, cholera, obesity, headaches, and many more.

Black Pepper Essential Oil  - Sharp and spicy black pepper oil is known for its mental and physical advantages. Its therapeutic characteristics could help you in a number of ways. This oil is well renowned for easing pain, boosting the immune system, and even assisting you in avoiding stress because of its uplifting qualities.

From the berries, black pepper oil is produced. To make one quart of edible & pure black pepper oil, up to a half tonne of peppercorns must be processed. Black pepper essential oil is frequently employed to warm the body and increase circulation. Additionally, it reduces tension and muscle soreness. It relieves the symptoms of persistent rheumatic conditions when used as a massage.

Black Pepper Hydrosol/Ark -  Through the use of steam distillation, black peppercorns are converted into a hydrosol. Due to its potent medicinal and restorative qualities, it has been widely employed in Ayurveda and other ancient types of medicine.

Skin infections can be prevented and treated with black pepper water. Due to its strong anti-bacterial properties, it aids in the fight against infection-causing microorganisms. Black pepper hydrosol's ability to detoxify the body and mind makes it special.

Black pepper hydrosol is frequently used as a mist to cure skin infections, clear up acne, soothe itchy scalps, and treat skin that is prone to breakouts. It can be used as a body spray, hair spray, room freshener, and more.

Benefits of Black Pepper Ark & Essential Oil

1. Strong antioxidants included in black pepper oil aid in the reduction of facial wrinkles and fine lines.

2.  Natural black pepper oil has diuretic qualities that aid in the body's detoxification.

3.  As extra water and fat are removed from your body during this process, it also aids in weight loss.

4.  Black pepper's antibacterial qualities can be used to treat infections, coughs, and colds. Additionally, it eases flu and fever symptoms.

5.  By reducing gas production, this oil's carminative properties will rapidly relieve your stomach pain.

6.  Black pepper oil has the capacity to quickly cleanse the scalp since it contains vitamin C. Additionally, it naturally strengthens your hair.

Manufacturer, Wholesaler & Exporter of Black Pepper Essential Oil & Hydrosol-Ark

One of India's top producers, exporters, and dealers of premium edible Black Pepper Essential Oil & Hydrosol-Ark private-label products is Aadhunik Ayurveda. We use a clean, chemical-free method to create high-quality, ingestible, and therapeutic ark/water and essential oil from black pepper. The black pepper utilized in the production of essential oil and hydrosol is obtained directly from farmers in various locations in South India.

In the entire world, we are the top manufacturer and seller of pure and edible essential oils. Additionally, we provide top-notch private-label services for edible Black Pepper water and essential oil for businesses in skin care, food & beverages, and wellness all over the world.

Using our logistical partners, we export Black Pepper Essential Oil and Hydrosol in Bulk to several nations. Additionally, we provide our herbal goods in bulk at discounted costs. You won't regret choosing us, we guarantee it!

[tfp-lover]

What do you think soundwave's various relationships with the other decepticons are like? I love seeing how different people interpret their interactions! (I run that new soundwave rp/ask blog and found your blog through that- I love finding other tfp blogs because I find it's hard to find people still active in the transformers community at times lol ^^ No pressure to answer if you aren't as active here anymore tho!)

Sorry I wasn’t able to respond in forever! I took a break from my blog for a bit due to personal reasons.

I think Soundwave is hesitant to form bonds with most of his coworkers, so he doesn’t have many personal interactions with most of them. However, he does keep tabs on them (since he is the eyes and ears of the decepticons) so he does know about their interests and hobbies. Therefore, I’ll write my headcanons as him rating his coworkers from 0-10!

DREADWING: 8/10

Soundwave likes how devoted he is to the deception cause! There’s a lot of treachery nowadays so it’s a breath of fresh air!

However, Him and Dreadwing don’t have similar hobbies. Soundwave isn’t a big fan of demolition and he doesn’t know if Dreadwing is into technology and computers. Soundwave would be willing to learn how Dreadwing builds his bombs, though!

He thought Megatron killing Dreadwing was a stupid decision. He killed one of the few competent mechs around for an unjust reason:(

STARSCREAM: 4/10

Not the biggest fan

While he does respect him and thinks he’s an amazing battle strategist, his constant treachery doesn’t sit well with him

He also think he’s a coward, which drops his rating more

KNOCKOUT: 9/10

Slightly biased because of one of my prior posts, but I think Soundwave would actually like Knockout!

Knockout balances out Soundwave’s almost pure logistical and cold nature, which is good when debating future plans. Knockout is also one of the few mechs to understand his body language and puts Soundwave’s opinion into mind when offering ideas:)

He gets a point off though for being friends with Starscream

That’s all I’m going to do for now, but if anyone more of Soundwave rating his peers, I’d be happy to oblige!

[queenofthursday6599-blog]

Sometimes I’ll think too deeply about the logistics of the world building of shows or books or something and just completely bewilder myself.

Like how in the world of Beastars there’s definitly certain species where the females are put on birth control as soon as they hit puberty.

Not for like- sex drive reasons, but because parthenogenesis is just a thing that happens to some species. For a small number it’s their entire means of reproduction.

Like imagine having to be a creature of human equivalent intelligence, while also having to live in a world where you neighbors spontaneously eating you alive was a serious risk.

Along with the added random chance bonus of your body spontaneously deciding to impregnate itself because your senses couldn’t detect any males of your species in your area, so it thinks you’re alone on a deserted island you need to populate.

You know what species has parthenogenesis as a means of reproduction? Komodo Dragons.

Which makes me very curious as to what exactly Gosha covered when he gave Leano “The Talk”. Like did they just stick to Gray Wolf stuff because she clearly passed as pure Gray Wolf at the time, or did Gosha feel the need to tell Leano some more Komodo Dragon parts of the talk. Because warning your teenage daughter that she might someday spontaneously impregnate herself with no warning, is probably something you should give them an heads up about.

Anyways this came to my mind after I remembered that Komodo Dragon parthenogenesis is a thing, and that it’s actually scientifically sound to have an AU where Legoshi is Leano’s parthenogenesis baby. Especially due to the fact that Komodo Dragon parthenogenesis offspring are all males due to how Komodo Dragon chromosomal sex works.

So do with that what you wish.

[the-hopefulpenguin]

I’ve seen the take a few times that Iroh is weak/foolish for abandoning the Siege of Ba Sing Se due to the death of Lu Ten. This is understandable, and canon does a pretty poor job defending him. But with a bit of intellectual charity, one can pretty easily make the case for the retreat being good military sense:

1) His army is at the end of their supply lines, probably in a salient punched down that central river – we know that Omashu, and probably General Fong’s forces from their positions on the map, sit to his rear. This is a precarious position to be in, and you can well imagine that his logistical situation is somewhat parlous; trying to supply a major force across a continent is tricky with early modern technology and administration. 

2) He took the Outer Wall of Ba Sing Se – and it’s implied, at a high cost. But just the Outer Wall. So now he has to advance on a narrow front across possibly hundred+ miles of farmland to reach the actual city of Ba Sing Se, then assault three more walls all while fighting in a congested urban environment to win. And winning would hardly deal with the supply issues detailed above! 

3) They’d already been there for nearly two years, which is pretty long as sieges go, never mind the time in the campaign to advance to the city; his soldiers are likely be exhausted. Besides – and this last is pure speculation – there are probably other Earth Kingdom armies in the field. Gaoling, for example, was never taken. How long could the Fire Nation afford to commit men and materiel to pointless attrition in Ba Sing Se?

In sum, he did lose his son, yes, and that certainly played a role in his decision-making process. However, it seems plausible that his army was overstretched, battling disease and parlous supply lines, badly attrited, represented a concentration of combat power needed elsewhere – and, crucially faced little clear chance of success. In such a situation, withdrawal is prescient and laudable.

[raxistaicho]

No, Edelgard did NOT use her citizens as human shields.

This is something Edelgard’s detractors love to bring up as a point against her: taking as gospel Claude’s supposition that Edelgard is using the people of Enbarr as shields against the invading Alliance forces.

This makes two assumptions, the first being that Claude is capable of reading Edelgard’s mind and knowing her intent. We can safely discard this out of hand.

The second assumption is that Edelgard is capable of evacuating an entire city in the span of a month and keep them safe in doing so.

Nowhere to run

Enbarr is the largest city in Fodlan and is located at the end of a peninsula. The only way OUT of the city that doesn’t cross the Morgaine Ravine heads in the exact direction of the encroaching army. While it’s likely that Enbarr is a port city, what is the likelihood that the Empire had a sufficient number of ships ready to use to safely evacuate all of Enbarr’s citizens along with enough supplies to last them until they can reach port elsewhere? Just the logistics behind such a move in such a short span of time would be an utter nightmare. Keeping the people orderly and preventing a panic would be a massive undertaking in and of itself.

Additionally, Enbarr is a fortress city built during a time of a continent-spanning war. Quite simply, there’s nowhere to send the people that would keep them safe on such short notice. Dangerous as it is, they’re safest kept within the city walls.

So why have the line at all? It’s quite simply a handwave to explain the lack of any signs of people civilians or evacuation in Enbarr. Recall that Silver Snow was the first-written route, and in that story, Byleth and Seteth commit the major war crime of false surrender to sneak their army into range to assault the city. In that story, the Empire would have been lucky to have a week’s warning that the city was due to come under attack.\

Dimitri the protector?

Tied into this, Dimitri does not take the Kingdom army out to Tailtean in Crimson Flower out of a self-sacrificing desire to protect the people of Fhirdiad. It was a purely pragmatic decision and nothing more, he says himself that Fhirdiad cannot withstand a siege; his only hope of victory was to chance an all-out battle on the plains of Tailtean.

Indeed, you need only listen to the man’s own words to confirm his intent at Tailtean: punishment, not protection.