#spent too much time on this methinks

[kedamo-nogetoffthetable]

what does noctifer likes to cosplay as

as a noctifurry ok noctifer fursona NOW /silly

I know it's you Nekovo 👹👹👹

Anyways I think they'd be a greater sooty owl :D

Was considering some moth variation but decided it'd be too basic

[bunnieswithknives]

Gore, Violence and Blood under the cut

What a mess

[14106]

last one says "How do you sleep at night knowing that you can't save everyone?"

hii!! it's the 1st time i do one of these for any kinda media, i thought it'd be way more fun to answer w doodles! it's veeery messy and i dont have the hottest takes or anything i know lol ion care tho!! :p

found the template here <3 but lemme know if u know the actual source!

(by the way has anyone out there made/found an instrumental version of the smallest church in saint saëns bc i need it real bad...)

[feralthembo]

Oh oh more drifter lore: his dad was a chemist and his mom worked the hydroponics bay and while they werent around to teach him their skillsets he had all their books and shit and taught himself. Now hes basically like "if it can be grown in a year and you can get me a seed i will make it happen" which i imagine is great for morale as well as whats probably a rampant malnutrition issue among the hex

[clowningcrows]

i fear i cannot mentally or emotionally handle being conscious much longer so im gonna take a melatonin and hope to god it works enough to make me pass out by 8:30 tbh

[victory-cookies]

coming down with another fucking cold bc god hates me. It’s been two weeks what the fuck

[voidspiraling]

AGGHH I deleted the original post I’m so saddd.

Anyways I wanted to talk abt this pic idk if it’s canon or just a non canon drawing but lets assume that it is significant for this analysis.

In this pic Till is wearing his R2 outfit, his mic headset and his mouth his open like he’s singing. This makes me think that he’s onstage in Round 2 singing his Unknown (Till the End) song. HOWEVER. While he’s singing this song the background is red with shooting star, meteors, debris whatever it is.

Doesn’t it remind you of something? My thoughts are that while Till was outwardly singing about his love for Mizi he was actually thinking about Ivan.

The thing abt Alien Stage is that everyone’s an unreliable narrator. In Round 1 everything seems like a sci-fi idol show until the ending where Sua dies. Then in Round 3 we are led to believe that Till never glanced at Ivan when that is in fact a lie and Till DID look at Ivan. Methinks Round 2 is also told by an unreliable narrator, only the thing that’s unreliable is Till himself. In Round 1 we are fed false info abt the type of world they live in. In Round 3 we are fed false info abt Till’s attitude towards Ivan. So in Round 2 I think we are being fed false info abt Till’s feelings.

Here’s something that always struck me as off. Here Till has just finished his “confession” but he doesn’t even acknowledge Mizi off stage. Usually after you confess to someone, you check for their reaction right? Onstage Till looked at Mizi after he smashed the guitar. But here when he is physically closer to her he doesn’t even attempt to look at her. Compared to Ivan who kept looking at Till even when he was being shot, and kept his eyes on him even as he died, turning to look at Mizi shouldn’t be too difficult.

Some of the lyrics of the song were also weird too (I’ll be using the Eng translations so some things maybe lost in translation)

First the line “I wanna know all about you” this line was weird bc how do you not know everything abt Mizi already? Mizi lived a very sheltered life, so she never had to build any walls to protect herself. If you wanted to know all abt Mizi you just had to look at her. She doesn’t hide anything at all, everything abt her can be found on the surface. It would’ve made more sense to say “I want you to know all about me” considering that Mizi isn’t aware of Till’s feelings.

Second is the line “How dare you think this time’s enough” this line is so… aggressive. Like I can’t imagine Till actually saying this to Mizi at all. Till is usually super shy and freezes up around Mizi. Could he actually say something so confrontational to her. I can’t imagine that all.

But I can imagine him saying that to Ivan.

“I want to know all about you” bc I spent so much time with you and I still don’t understand you and “How dare you think the time’s enough” when you don’t understand my feelings. You just assumed what I felt you don’t actually know how I feel about you.

(Till is actually the character I understand the least. This is just my imagination lol)

Another thing that makes me think Till was crying is this scene. (How does he look so pretty when in distress. Till I can’t you’re too endearing wth)

Here it looks like he’s sweating a lot but it also looks like there’s a tear slipping from his left eye. He even does a little sniffle which makes me think he was sobbing.

My theory is that Till was trying to tell himself a narrative in order to cope with his traumatic life. And the narrative he tells himself is that the only person he loves is Mizi and that the only person who can save him is Mizi. So while he’s onstage he sings abt his feelings for Mizi, but while he’s singing he accidentally also sings abt his feelings for Ivan.

Don’t you think it’s weird that Ivan doesn’t show up in the R2 flashbacks. Considering how often they were together growing up you’d think he’d at least me off to the side somewhere. I mean Sua was in the flashback but Ivan wasn’t? I think Till was intentionally suppressing his thoughts abt Ivan in order to make a point that he only loves Mizi. However bc the song can also apply to Ivan he inadvertently sings abt his love for Ivan and starts crying. That’s bc his love for Mizi is just a performance for the world and for himself.

In his personal narrative it is better to be the guy that loves the kind and gentle Mizi than the boy who is hopelessly entangled with the enigmatic Ivan. It hurts less that way. Till can look at Mizi at a distance bc she is like a bright light in his bleak world. But Till can’t look at Ivan because he is too bright, he fills up an entire sky with light and it haunts Till to this day. I remember reading somewhere that Till can’t escape from the red sky. The red sky could represent Till’s feelings for Ivan.

It’s where we see Till at his happiest.

It’s where we see Till the closest with another person.

As well as where he’s the most conflicted/scared.

Basically the picture of Till crying shows how he actually feels abt the meteor shower scene and how bc of his feelings for Ivan it haunts him even when he’s trying to sing abt someone else. He loves Ivan but he also can’t bare to be with Ivan. Maybe he realizes the self-destructive nature of their love. Maybe he knew it was dangerous for them to be in love in this world. Or maybe he was just to afraid of the pain and wanted to protect his heart in any way he could.

I don’t think we’ll ever get an answer. But I think that Till idolizing Mizi is just a fantasy he uses to cope with his awful life. And that bc his relationship with Ivan was uncanny and different from the love he received from his mom Io, he tries to reject even the thought of Ivan. Bc if he thinks abt Ivan too much he’ll unravel bc love is obsessive and all consuming. And Till def would have been consumed by his love for Ivan. It would have just been consumed by the aliens for entertainment. Their love is doomed no matter what he does. Might as well pretend it never existed maybe then it would hurt less.

It didn’t ;-;

[gorboble]

Spoilers for Project: Eden's Garden Chapter 1

Thinking about Tozu's tea time. I've seen like nobody talk abt it

The main topic here is sheep. 'Sheep' is a common term for people who blindly follow the crowd without question. Yeah, who else to call 'sheep' than the cast? Most people blindly followed Wolfgang, and when they saw him being opposed, they immediately shot down and ostracized said opposition.

The mob mentality is STRONG with this cast, and Tozu knows how to fuel and exploit that to a terrifying degree. He knew how to get them to turn on Eva even more than they already were so he could tempt and trap her with the traitor role. And he did it so flawlessly, when he said "yea Eva inspired me for this motive" everyone seemed more eager to believe him and dogpile her rather than the man trying to get them all to kill each other.

What are sheep good at, if anything?

Most humans, and some sheep, would respond with a resounding "Absolutely nothing!"

"Sheep cannot create art, or invent medicine, for goodness' sake, they can't even perform music!"

"Their limited speech and quadrupedal locomotions prevents them from reaching the heights of humans. They're practically glued to the lower echelons of the food chain."

"No matter how hard sheep may try, they will never be anything more than their number tags."

I honestly have nothing for these lines. The best I can come up with, the 'and some sheep' bit refers to Damon and his "they just let anyone in" attitude towards the other ultimates. He himself said he sees some talents as just niche fixations. "The sheep don't contribute to society. Even if they're the best at this thing, they're still just glorified hobbyists. The bottom of the barrel when it comes to ultimates."

moving on

I can't say I like that answer. Too pessimistic for me.

Plus, what of the sheep who still try?

The sheep who realize their fate, but continue to challenge it all the same?

That they can be so determined to prove their worth when humans have all but deemed them microwaveable meals...

Methinks he's talking about Eva. She tried to be more than just a math nerd. She has so much else going for her, and she's tried to pursue other things, even if her talent just makes her a target for ostracisation. She tries to escape and defy her label as a mathlete, even if it means putting others at risk.

Also, "realize their fate, but continue to challenge it all the same?"

Eva concluded that she'd be the first to die as a victim, and so she acted against that. She was also practically forced to kill as the traitor, otherwise, she would just die first Period. She realized her fate as the first to go, so her way of challenging that was to kill Wolfgang.

Tozu puts this kind of sheep in a positive light, probably because Eva initiated the killing game while everyone was against her, and fought tooth and nail to try and escape her fate. He doesn't like it when it's said that sheep are good at nothing, and they'll be nothing more than their number tags no matter how hard they try. He has seen and even encouraged a sheep to try her hardest to escape her fate, and it worked. Even if it was horribly tragic.

Tozu sees the cast as sheep, and he wants to do anything he can to prove that, if desperate enough, then even sheep will try and fight against fate.

I'll admit I spent all of my FTE's with Eva since she is just hands down my favorite character and i wanted to learn more about her. And a lot of the biblical imagery is lost on me (I know Sheep play a big part in the bible), so I may be missing a LOT here. But these are my thoughts on Tozu's Tea Time since it seems nobody else was willing to talk about it.

[brainjvice]

I would love to write something (more like i would love to write a fanfic) about Kaiser's issues with physical contact and how it would translate during sex... how sex is considered the socially acceptable norm in a relationship and how Kaiser strives to appear more human, so he may force himself to fit into that box.

More analysis under cut, cw for childhood trauma. Its not too graphic but yk.

...The way I feel like he would dissociate halfway through it, the second it feels too much. He goes on autopilot, his brain working its ass off into still mantaining his suave, flirty mask on while he is probably giving his partner the 300 yards stare.

Kaiser would prefer touching than being touched, but I wonder if he would still experience that as a "duty", as something he must experience as a human.

He may fixate on his partner's breathing pattern, on their heartbeat.

On how turned on and eager they are. And on how much Kaiser wants to hurt them.

Is this how his father felt like? Towering onto a worthless creature. Powerful. Miserable.

No matter what, Kaiser's brain would inevitably go there. His trauma is so familiar to him and its something he cannot escape for now, not when he is having sex.

Not when a caring hand on his skin feels like iron burning his flesh.

Not when his own fingers secretly seek the thrill of clawing at someone's throat till it snaps.

He attempt at sex once. Maybe twice. There's a part of him who craves that closeness, but for now it feels like bathing in boiling water. To be honest, Kaiser may hate himself enough to find comfort in that type of self torture, but at the same time this would mean to get perceived and seen by someone else.

For someone like him, who has spent years carefully crafting his public persona, being seen equals death. It means no more control on how he is being perceived. It means they will know.

...So yeah. Kaiser would be miserable while having sex and methinks it would be cool to see it in fanfic.

[f1daydreamers]

𝐌𝐲 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐞 [𝐎𝐏𝟖𝟏]

gif credits: @u-u-piastri81

Pairing: Oscar Piastri x Fem!Reader

Summary: Oscar is a visitor at your first art exhibition – not exactly his scene – but it's one that he contributed to financially to help you out, an upcoming artist he's taken a bit of a liking to.

Warnings: criticism but not always constructive, fluff, Reader and Oscar being cute, this man in a suit (audience may faint from the gifs), angst, maybe Oscar is a little out of character but I just upped his rizz by a solid 20% because I love him but he's way too shy to do any of this methinks :)

A/N: I know nothing about this profession icl but I got major black tie and exclusive event vibes from the gifs so this is what came out of it. I did a ton of research to make sure it wasn't too unrealistic but experience beats knowledge so if you guys read any things that need some correction, lmk!

Yeah, I never expected this to be so long but once I got to writing, I couldn't stop so hey, enjoy!

Word Count: 4.6k words (17 mins reading time avg)

…

Safe to say, this wasn’t Oscar’s scene.

Standing among collectors, art enthusiasts, curators, and industry professionals meant feeling a little out of place was a tad understated.

But he wanted to be here tonight. Of course, being invited is one thing but accepting the invitation comes with a whole new world of formalities he hadn’t prepared for.

You hadn’t noticed him yet, busy greeting and socialising with what looked like a few critics and journalists.

The notebooks in their hands were a dead giveaway but your hand drumming on your leg was another. You were anxious.

Oscar took a sip of his drink, the one he was offered when he received an entry pass coming through the venues' doors. He knew how much this evening meant to you, both in the months of planning and the dreams that preceded it.

Initially, the idea seemed farfetched, but as you dove straight into creating the collection, photographing it, staying up late to create statements that wholly captured the essence of your creative process, the once exciting prospect of submitting it to a gallery felt somewhat dissatisfying.

In a few conversations with Oscar, you’d shared your aspirations of seeing your portfolio bask in the limelight. However, the reality of organising a self-funded exhibition in a rented space would blow your budget out of the water.

You don’t know at what point but he’d made the decision to donate a significant sum of money to your artist fund, covering a major portion of the exhibition's expenses.

It helped you realise all those curious questions about possible venues, dates, and basic costs weren’t just to fuel his enthusiasm, but to sincerely offer his support.

You were grateful beyond what words could describe, and the least you could do was ask him to be here today.

You were nervous partially because you had critics and community leaders alike wandering around the space, conversing about your work you’d spent years dedicating blood, sweat and tears to.

But you were also nervous because he was here tonight.

Even if you’d drawn a squiggly line on a blank canvas, Oscar would marvel at it like it was the most beautiful thing on this planet, but tonight was when he was finally seeing your work in all its completion.

He brought your vision to life and the last thing you wanted to do was make him think his investment was a waste.

Last you’d checked, you hadn’t seen his brown wavy hair anywhere around the venue, his innocent smile playing on your mind even when you were entranced in conversation with fellow artists.

You stepped in front of a painting no one else currently seemed to be trained on, focusing on inhaling and exhaling your breaths, fidgeting with your fingers by your sides.

Tonight, was the most important day of your career by a mile.

“Excuse me.” Someone spoke up behind you and you inhaled a deep breath before whisking around to greet them. But your eyes grew soft, and your smile grew amicably at the man glancing downwards back at you.

“Do you know where I could find the host of the evening?” He asked, his smile mirroring yours, fiddling with the stem of his wine glass.

"Oscar," you breathed out, and the F1 driver had to force himself to disregard the palpable sense of relief that accompanied the utterance of his name.

The way it effortlessly rolled off your tongue, it left him wanting to hear you say it repeatedly.

“You made it.” He nodded his head, “I did.” Initially, he had doubts about attending, but considering the venue was conveniently located close to his hotel near Silverstone and his flight to Budapest wasn't until Monday evening, he managed to find the time to come.

You drew in a breath, "you look good." Your compliment was genuine, whenever you'd met up with Oscar or came across photos on Instagram, he was either in racing gear or in casual outfits. To see him in a suit was different. A good different.

"Thanks. Pretty sure I should be counting my breaths though." You chuckle as he looks down at himself, the shirt was a little smaller than he would've liked.

A testament to how life in Formula 1 was like and that his neck size had grown exponentially.

"Each one could be your last," you joked, adding on and he nodded.

"Exactly." His laugh culminated into a final chuckle, melting into a warm smile.

When you looked away, seeing the waiters you'd hired tonight refilling cups as people wandered around, Oscar took the opportunity to let his eyes drag over your figure.

"You look beautiful," his compliment drew a smile from you.

You briefly cast your gaze downward before lifting it to his chest then finally up to his eyes. "Thank you, Oscar."

He responded only with a curt nod; his eyes trained on your face before he tore them away to have a look around him.

"How's it going?"

You hummed, thinking about your answer. "It's okay. There's a few paintings that are getting lots of attention, others a little less."

"Did you expect that?" He asked and you reasoned, you knew when you began this collection that people would naturally gravitate more towards some pieces anyway, that's the advice you were given everywhere you went.

"Yeah, I'd be lying if I said I didn't." Oscar took a sip of some liquid courage before pointing at the painting you'd just been standing in front of with the rim of his glass.

"I like this one." You turned as he took steps towards it, his shoulder grazing yours. "This is the last one." You mentioned as he skimmed over the statements planted on the wall next to the artwork.

"I think it's an elderly couple, and the mirrors all around them are portals into a specific memory of their relationship." He said undisputedly. You look up at him, your mouth parting slightly in surprise.

"Yeah, how did you figure that out so quickly?"

"It's almost like you were brainstorming ideas to me on call a few months ago." You scoff, rolling your eyes but ultimately impressed by his memory.

He hadn't spoken much during that phone call, so you'd assumed he wasn't paying much attention to your endless rambles.

"I never realised you were actually listening." You softly said and Oscar turned his head to look at you.

"Every word." He reassured, and a warm feeling encompassed your chest at his affirmation.

His gaze traced over the painting once more. While he had never hesitated to express his belief in your talent, seeing your artwork displayed in such a way stirred a whirlwind of emotions inside of him.

He was proud of you and excited for you, knowing that you had undertaken this journey for your own sake, garnering an array of artistic admirers. It's no mean feat to organise an event like this, take a risk so early on in your career.

"I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay you." You snap him out of his thoughts, turning your body towards him, standing a few feet away.

Oscar mimicked your movements, turning so he was facing you, and placed his now empty glass on a bar tray that a waiter had extended to him, refusing a refill.

"Why do you think you need to repay me? Remember, it was a donation." He said matter-of-factly. You let out a sigh.

Despite his repeated assurances that he expected nothing in return, you couldn't shake off the feeling of indebtedness that lingered in your thoughts.

You found yourself dwelling on the late-night conversations, wondering if your eagerness to discuss your plans had inadvertently conveyed desperation.

Your gaze drops and without hesitation, he reaches his hand out and gently slots it into yours, his thumb caressing over your skin in a soothing gesture. Your heart skips a beat or two, the warmth of his hand was relieving.

"This is the best way you can repay me. Living the dream." He smiles and you nod, finally lifting your eyes to meet his. His voice was a calming anchor amid your thoughts.

"I'll never forget how you made it possible though," a small smile graced your lips, and he let out a chuckle.

"Yeah, you never miss a chance to mention it," he quipped, his eyes dancing with amusement. You playfully rolled your eyes, a good-natured sigh escaping you as you did.

Oscar's hand retreated to his side, and a subtle longing for his touch flickered within you. Nevertheless, you mask it with a smile that grew as you exchanged a couple more jokes.

...

He courteously held the door ajar, giving a nod to a man entering the bathroom who appeared to appreciate the gesture. Letting the door close behind him, Oscar took out his phone to check the time.

Absentmindedly, he began scrolling through his notifications: a mix of sports updates, a message from his mum, one from Mark. Yet, none seemed particularly urgent.

Just as he was about to tap on one of the notifications, his attention was drawn upward to the sound of your voice.

You were engaged in conversation with a man, his journal held in his hands, and sunglasses perched atop his head. Oscar's gaze briefly went back to his phone screen; he made no overt effort to eavesdrop.

Despite this, fragments of your conversation found their way to his ears anyway.

"I must say, your work is quite disappointing. The lack of technical skill is evident in every piece." Oscar's eyebrows furrow as he observes openly, a marked departure from his earlier disinterested demeanour.

You clear your throat as you try to collect yourself, bringing your fingers up to your mouth to hide your quivering lip.

You had previously cautioned yourself that not everyone will like your work, but experiencing such candid criticism directly was far more destructive than you could have expected.

"Um, okay. What sort of things did you not like about it?" You asked, trying to find some sort of valuable insight from such a respected critic in your community.

"The colours are garish and clash horribly. It's clear that you have no understanding of colour theory or composition." You nod, gathering some form of strength to just take his words on the chin but you were failing rather miserably. Your stomach was sinking, and your eyes were watering slowly.

"It's a shame that your efforts have resulted in such subpar creations." Your jaw tightens and as you scramble for the right words to respond with in your mind, a hand presses into your lower back from behind.

"Excuse me. I want to purchase a piece, but I can't seem to find your sales assistant." The accent is unmistakable, and you muster a smile as you turn to face him.

"I'll help you." Your voice is unsteady, your emotions deflated.

"Thank you," Oscar responds, though his gaze carries a hint of concern. He moves to follow you but before he can do so, the critic extends his hand to grasp his arm, waiting until he's certain you're out of earshot.

"Coming from a collector, don't bother." He smirks, his conviction clear. Yet, the F1 driver's face remains impassive.

"Sorry, I don't remember asking you. Now, if you don't mind." He looks down at the grip on his arm, his fist clenching by his side. The critic seems taken aback at the blank expression looking back at him, devoid of any gratefulness.

He swallows before loosening his grip.

Oscar rounds the pillar just as you press down on the handle to the fire door exit at the distant end.

He contemplates whether he should grant you some space, but he wonders if doing so will only make matters worse.

Pausing briefly, he contemplates his choices before deciding to make his way toward the fire exit anyway. His hand firmly grasps the handle, and he proceeds to push open the door.

With your back turned towards him, you're unaware of his presence. Your palms are pressed against your face as a means of stifling your sniffles hence the closing of the door registers faintly, the sound hardly penetrating your thoughts.

It's only when the crunching of gravel beneath someone's shoes reaches your ears that you realise you're no longer alone. But oddly, you know there's only one person who it could be.

The combination of embarrassment, distress, and sheer exhaustion was what left you feeling so overwhelmingly emotional.

Aware that you don't want Oscar to witness you in this state, you quickly swipe at your cheeks, hastily erasing any traces of tears from your face.

You whisk around, smiling up at him and nodding your head. "I'm good Os. It's not always going to be a perfect score, right?" His heart swells at the nickname you called him, very few people did so, but hearing it from you felt special in a way.

"He's a dick," the F1 driver bluntly responds, his tone carrying a hint of anger.

You chuckle softly, but the sigh that follows is slightly shaky. A wave of heaviness crashes over you again as the critic's hurtful words echo in your mind, your stomach sinking in response.

Oscar picks up on the shift of emotion and his eyes soften at your teary and lowering expression.

Without a word, he opens his arms and pulls you into an embrace. You don't resist; instead, you bury your face in his shoulder, your shoulders trembling as silent tears escape your eyes.

His arms encircle you tightly, offering a comforting refuge as your emotions spill over again.

His chest rises and falls with each steady breath, the rhythm providing you with some comfort despite how irritated you're getting at yourself for letting one conversation bother you this much.

As he holds you, his chest aches both for your vulnerability and the anger he feels towards the critic who provoked it. You reluctantly pull away after a minute or so, a mixture of gratitude and sadness in your eyes.

But in the moment, you can't help but feel that the money he donated for the exhibition might have gone to waste, that your efforts fell short.

Disappointing your clients is business but disappointing him felt personal, he was the reason you even had a chance to do this, and it'd turned out horribly.

"I let you down," you say quietly, and Oscar's eyebrows knit together as he studies your expression.

"How? Every piece I love, Y/N." He responds, placing his hand on your forearm, his touch warm. It sends a flurry of goosebumps over your skin which you're sure he would've picked up on considering his attention to detail.

He positions his index finger under your chin, forcing you to meet his eyes which you do. Your legs suddenly feel like they're incapable of keeping you upright, your face warming under his gaze.

"You didn't let me down." He whispers.

Oscar's concern remains palpable as his hand doesn't fall back to his side. His eyes hold a depth of emotion, the colours in his eyes becoming more distinct.

The connection that you can sense increases, and it's as if the unspoken understanding between you becomes more profound in that moment.

His cologne surrounds you but it's his gaze that flickers to your lips, a fleeting but unmistakable gesture. You realise that he's leaning in closer and there's a fraction of a second when it feels like the world around you fades.

The possibility of his lips meeting yours feels tantalisingly close.

But just as the moment deepens, you're both interrupted by one of the assistants, their voice breaking through the charged atmosphere.

"Sorry," the assistant interjects, sounding somewhat hurried. "There're a few clients waiting to speak with you Y/N."

Oscar slowly pulls back; he tucks in his bottom lip between his teeth and his expression shifts from one of intimacy to one of polite neutrality.

He offers you a subtle smile, the connection lingering between you even as the assistant's words redirect your attention.

"Of course," you reply, your voice steady despite quite the hurricane of emotions storming inside of you. You look to the assistant, ready to face the responsibilities of the exhibition once again. As you move away, you steal a glance at him, his gaze locked onto you for a moment longer before he nods.

That damned connection between you and Oscar remains, but now only punctuated by unspoken possibilities.

...

"Thank you, ma'am." you say with a warm smile as the elderly woman clasps your hand, offering kind words about your artwork while draping her shawl over her shoulders.

Once she'd left, you looked around to see if there was anyone else remaining in the space. Oscar had left a while ago considering he was on a flight tomorrow to Budapest.

Though a tinge of disappointment lingered within you, you understood and bid him goodnight.

You wrapped up a little later than you would've liked, a couple of your pieces had sold so you had to coordinate transport for them.

For the remaining few, you'd wrapped them up, gathered the papers for each one before loading them into the van to have them delivered back to your studio.

Oscar eventually made it back to the space he'd rented on Airbnb, staying in a hotel for a week definitely wasn't something he was fond of doing, a neatly packaged box of takeout planted on the small table.

He threw the crumpled paper bag into the bin and settled onto the couch, his phone in hand. He opened Instagram, scrolling through his feed to pass the time it'd take for him to get sleepy.

As he tapped through the stories, your profile picture caught his eye. He felt a smile tug at his lips as he watched it whole. The familiar scenes of the exhibition unfolded before him – videos capturing the venue, the artwork.

His gaze lingered on the art as if he hadn't been there tonight, his mind wandering into the world you had created. It wasn't just the work itself that interested him; it was the glimpse they offered into your mind, your perspective, and the emotions you poured into your work.

The admiration he felt for your creativity was intertwined with the growing fondness he was developing for you as a person.

Once you'd reached home, you dropped on to the couch with a sigh of relief that the day was done.

So, when your phone started vibrating besides you, you groaned and brought it up to your ear, not bothering to take a look at the caller ID.

"Y/N," you closed your eyes and waited for the other person to respond. They stuttered first before speaking up, "should I - should I reply with my name, or do we just get into the conversation?"

You lightly gasped, chuckling and straightening up on the couch. "Oscar, sorry. I'm still in work mode I think." You rubbed your forehead and the F1 driver poked through his food with a fork on the other end.

"No harm done. You back from the venue?" He asked and you stretched your legs out in front of you, fiddling with the hem of your dress.

"Yeah, only just. Perfect timing, Piastri." He smiled at your response, "I pride myself in that."

"I'm sure you do." You joked teasingly and fell back on the couch again. The similar onset of warmth and goosebumps from earlier bubbled up again inside of you.

"I thought you would've knocked out by now." Oscar hums, swallowing his food as he traps his phone between his ear and shoulder, throwing the now empty box on to the coffee table in front of him.

"Yeah well, I needed to eat. Luckily for me, there was a long queue at every takeaway place tonight." He retorted sarcastically and you scoffed, "typical London."

He agreed wordlessly before shifting his body horizontally, propping his head up on the armrest, his legs splaying over the leather sofa.

"What did you end up getting?" He made a humming sound as he reached for the receipt he'd tossed carelessly aside, bringing it up to eye level.

"Caribbean chicken curry." He said slowly, squinting to read the half-printed letters. Your stomach rumbling beneath you helped you remember that you too hadn't eaten for majority of the day. Your last meal was breakfast with a few snacks you always have on hand.

"Sounds good. I'd kill for some chicken curry right now." You mumble and Oscar's head turns to look up at the clock hung on the wall above the television.

"How 'bout I bring some?" He asks nonchalantly and your heart skips, you stutter in your response, glancing at the digital clock blinking at you from the corner table.

"You'd do that?" You say, a little more high-pitched than you would've preferred.

He smiles, refraining to say something corny. "Yeah, well I mean it's not my bedtime for another hour so..." He trails off thus leaving you to make the decision.

You don't even care about the food anymore, your stomach is doing somersaults from the mere thought of seeing him twice in one day.

"Only if it's alright with you. If you need to sleep, please sleep." You insist and there's a pause, you could swear you hear keys jangling on the other end of the phone before Oscar confirms.

"I'll be there in a bit."

...

You're changed into some slightly more flattering pyjamas than your regular animated giraffe ones when you hear a knock on your door. Taking a deep breath to steady yourself, you walk the length of the hallway and reach for the doorknob.

Giving it a couple of moments, you open the door to find Oscar standing there, a warm smile on his face that mirrors your own feelings.

He's holding a paper bag up and you smile, "my saviour. Come in."

He slides past you, toeing his trainers off and pushing them up to the wall so they weren't in the direct pathway, allowing you to lead him into the living room.

He places the bag on to your wooden dining table and you sigh in delight, the smell of the food faintly wafting out of it.

"How much do I owe you?" He shakes his head, letting you take the box out of the bag.

"Only your eternal gratitude," he replies, his lips curving into a smile as he takes in the sight of your light expression, your eyes lit with appreciation.

"You already have that." You chuckle.

Eventually, you begin eating, all the while holding a conversation. With each passing minute, a subtle worry creeps in - that he might decide to leave soon. Not that you're against him getting his rest, but your own enjoyment of his company is growing stronger by the second.

The idea of the evening ending prematurely becomes less and less appealing. The warmth of his presence, the humour in his words, the hesitance you initially felt about him leaving transformed into a silent plea for him to stay, at least a little longer.

"I'm going to go up and use the bathroom, head over to the couch, make yourself comfortable." You insist and Oscar nods. His feelings he was aware of when he reached back to his place had tripled since he'd got here.

His leg had been bouncing the entire duration he'd been talking, he was nervous but albeit not understandably. He'd visited your place a few times now, he'd known you for nearly a year.

Nothing about the fluttery sensation in his belly, the excitement prior to seeing you, the attraction, the thoughtfulness, made any sense to him.

But at the same time, they made perfect sense. He likes you. A whole lot.

Realising he was getting a bit warm, he pulled the hoodie over his neck to reveal just a plain white tee underneath.

Tossing it on to the dining room chair he was previously sat on, he plops on to the couch, bringing the calf of his right leg up to rest on the knee of his left, his arm outstretching on the back of the couch.

You eventually return, having brushed your teeth since the aftertaste of the curry wasn’t a very pleasant one in your mouth.

“Do you piss for that long?" Oscar asks curiously, locking his phone and sliding it on to the table.

You scoff and feign offence as you sit next to him just a few inches away. "I don't actually, even if I did, what's it to you?" You tease and he shrugs, his lower arm draping off the couch casually, his fingertips brushing close to your shoulder.

"I was bored," he admits, his explanation falling a bit flat.

You raise an eyebrow, a mockingly sympathetic expression on your face. "Poor Oscar, suffering from boredom in my humble abode. My heart aches for you." He smirks, his tongue poking the inside of his cheek as he shakes his head at your antics.

His eyes sparkle with amusement, "Well, I must say your empathy is truly heartwarming."

"That's just me, a paragon of compassion," you quip, a mischievous glint in your eyes. His proximity has your heart racing, and you're acutely aware of the playful tension that's building between you.

He tilts his head, his gaze holding yours as he leans in slightly. "You know, I was half expecting you to beg for my forgiveness."

You roll your eyes, your gaze locked on to his, you didn't mean for them to glance down to his lips, but it didn't skip past his notice either.

Your heart was hammering in your chest and the silence that followed afterwards definitely gave Oscar enough time to be able to pick up on it.

"Please forgive me Oscar, please?" You reduce your words to a whisper and he smiles, refusing to waste another second and he instantly ducks his head to catch your lips in a fervent kiss.

His actions catch you off guard, the sensation electrifying and sending a jolt of surprise through your system.

Your thoughts scatter as the world seems to narrow down to the point of contact between your lips. The kiss is eager and filled with a mixture of longing and curiosity, as if both of you have been dancing around this moment for far too long.

Your heart continues racing, and time feels suspended as his touch sends shivers up and down your spine.

The sudden intimacy of it all is exhilarating, and you find yourself responding without hesitation, your fingers instinctively finding their way to his arm, your body moving a fraction closer to his.

A soft moan escapes you, and Oscar slides his hand beneath your top, pressing his palm against your waist. A squeeze of your skin hints at you to move back slightly, creating the room needed for him to push you down on to your back.

Your lips detach for a moment as he positions himself over you, lowering his head seconds later to press them together again.

His face was level with yours when he eventually pulled away to catch his breath, and let you catch yours, his arm propping him up besides your head.

"Isn't it your bedtime?" He chuckles softly, his fingers toying with a few strands of your hair.

"I'll just have to use the plane's naptime feature." You laugh, bringing your hand up to push his hair out of his eyes.

His gaze flickers across your face, capturing the traces of your faint smile lines and the tiny beauty mark adorning your skin.

He leans in, planting a tender kiss on the mole. Meanwhile, your fingertips journey to the nape of his neck, exploring the contours of his hair.

He grins boyishly when he picks his head up again. "I think I could stay here forever," he admits, his voice a soft confession.

You playfully raise an eyebrow. "Oh really? What if the plane's naptime feature gets jealous?"

He chuckles, a low, melodious sound. "Well, I guess it'll just have to deal with a bit of competition," he remarks before his lips find yours once again.

...

Masterlist

[invisibleicewands]

Bringing revolution to Port Talbot - by Michael Sheen

On a recent February morning, I woke up to find I was wrong. Not a particularly uncommon experience in itself, but unusual to discover that on this occasion I was being publicly accused of it by the Secretary of State for Business and Trade. “Michael Sheen has said that ‘the people of Port Talbot have been let down’,” Kemi Badenoch wrote in the Daily Mail. “But he is wrong.”

It was a big day. I spent all of last year directing a three-part drama series for the BBC called The Way, which was to air that night. It begins in my hometown of Port Talbot, where a strike at the local steelworks becomes the spark that ignites a violent descent into national chaos. Clearly, Ms Badenoch had been given a sneak peek of the series before forming quite a strong opinion on it. But no: reading her article, Ms Badenoch admits that she hadn’t watched it at all. Why let a total lack of information prevent a full-throated denouncement, eh? Presumably, she also assumes that we managed to write, film and edit the entire series after Tata Steel announced the imminent loss of some 2,500 jobs at the steelworks mere weeks ago.

While the winds of change have only been blowing in one direction for many years, the events in our story were dreamed up some years ago and act as a fictional catalyst for all that follows. Surely even Tory ministers understand there is no VIP fast lane for making a TV series. This isn’t a PPE contract, after all…

Nothing to see here

After that episode aired, it occurred to me that such shenanigans in the right-wing press could have been about a couple of things. Since the ITV drama about the Post Office scandal, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, caused public outrage, I imagine the government has a new fear of the impact a TV show can have. A pre-emptive strike against a series it perceives to be criticising its actions around the steel industry must have seemed a useful tactic. And, having seen Breathtaking – based on Rachel Clarke’s memoir of how the Covid crisis unfolded in the NHS, which aired on ITV the same night as The Way – I wonder if her piece was an attempt to distract attention away from more dangerous territory.

It gave Ms Badenoch a chance to trot out her line about how the people of Port Talbot should be grateful for all that the government is doing to save the steel industry, not moaning about the impact job losses will have on their community. But the people of Port Talbot have been let down, no matter what Ms Badenoch wants us to think. Not by any single entity, but by years of neglect. That she immediately assumed my comments referred to her and her government tells its own story. In the words of a much older drama than mine: the lady doth protest too much, methinks.

Then and Nye

“This crisis is a privateering racket with your friends lining their pockets!” No, not an accusation against Boris Johnson, but something I currently say to Winston Churchill every night. We opened a new play called Nye at the National Theatre this week. I play Aneurin (“Nye”) Bevan, who attacks the prime minister for turning a wartime crisis into a money-making scheme for him and his cronies. It’s one of many moments in the play that seem to speak to past and present at the same time.

The entanglement of “now” and “then” is heightened by the fact that I am wearing pyjamas. Nye is lying unconscious in his hospital bed at the end of his life, and we follow him through a dream of his past. He wanders from childhood memories of overcoming his stutter in Tredegar library to his meteoric rise through local politics, to becoming the youngest member of Clement Attlee’s pioneering postwar cabinet. And, of course, as minister for health, his tumultuous birthing of the NHS on 5 July 1948. It’s an extraordinary, surprising and moving experience telling this story on stage each night. That shared space between actors and audience, where all is felt but unseen, crackles with electricity.

Once more, with feeling

It seems that exploring the motives of politicians, the uses and abuses of political power, and the quest for justice that saw the creation of the NHS taps into deep wells of emotion. Like the pockets of gas that miners feared within the coal seam, their release brings risk and reward. At a recent show, we had three instances of people needing to be helped out of the theatre, the final one forcing us to pause the show moments from its end. Thankfully, it was nothing more serious than someone fainting. But emotions are running high.

I’m more than happy to invite Ms Badenoch to a performance. But I realise, of course, there’s no guarantee she would make it to the end.

[tonowaritrash]

I’ve never done an ask before, but I’d love to see a smut fic of young Tonowari with reader. Where she thinks he’s going to be with Ronal so she tries her best to avoid him, no matter how hard he tries to get her attention. Then her heat starts unexpectedly when he finally gets a hold of her so she runs away, but he follows her fed up with the running. Finds out she’s in heat and wants to mate with her but she thinks it’s just a duty to him as future chief. Hopefully this makes sense in some way.

A HEAT FIC! YES! nonny i hope your dreams come true

slightly different turn of events at the end, for added drama, but the spirit is the same methinks.

pairing: tonowari x reader

tags: heat, feelings of inadequacy, p in v sex, praise, gentle dom!tonowari if you squint, porn with feelings

a/n: this fic…it ran away from me

minors dni

it’s not that you’d wanted to avoid tonowari, not truly anyway. you’d grown up together as your parents were close to each other, and he’s always been protective over you. fussing over whether you were truly ready for joining the others for hunts, giving other men a glare when they’d approached you, soothing you when you cried about whatever had hurt you that day. but he was like that with your siblings too, and all his friends really. the treatment you got wasn’t special but every softly spoken assurance, every gentle smile, every soothing touch, even, had taken a hold on your heart.

but you couldn’t do anything about it. he would soon take over as olo’eyktan and all the tribe whispered and gushed about how ronal would be the perfect tsahik. and who could blame them? she was fierce, intelligent, loyal, loving and dedicated to the tribe. the younger members often sought her out for guidance when they were too scared to go to elders.

it only made sense, then, that tonowari spent less time with you as time went on. as you got older and more mature you’d noticed how he and ronal were often nowhere to be seen. you wouldn’t dare impose yourself upon them. it just didn’t feel right. no matter how much your heart ached for him.

so when he appeared in front of you while you and the tribe were deciding hunting parties for the day you were surprised. he was smiling, turquoise eyes sparkling. “looks like we’ll be together for the day,” he said.

you nearly frowned, having not heard the olo’eyktan’s announcement of parties during your musings. ronal had apparently been assigned to another one.

“just like old times, eh?” he asked.

you nodded, forcing a smile. you couldn’t hunt with him. it would hurt too much to have him fuss over you when you were like this.

he gave you an earnest look and placed a hand on your shoulder. “listen, i-“”

suddenly someone called out to him and he turned to see his father, a dear friend of the oloeyktan, motioning for him.

tonowari looked at you apologetically. “we’ll talk on the hunt,” he promised.

again, you could only nod and sighed in relief when he left. the place he had touched you burned and your heart seemed to think your chest was a drum.

quickly you ran to find another close friend of yours before the hunt started.

you found him sharpening a spear, face contorted in concentration.

“not now,” he muttered, immediately knowing it was you. “i gotta get this ready before we head out.”

“switch hunting parties with me,” you blurted in a rush.

ralak sighed and placed the spear down. “what’s this about?”

“nothing, i…” you paused and gulped, nothing how shaky your breath was. “i just…the west side of the reef isn’t that pretty this time of year is all.”

ralak studied you steadily before sighing and continuing with sharpening his spear. “fine. but you owe me.”

you beamed and hugged him. “thanks!”

“yeah, yeah.”

-0O0-

the hunts were successful and without incident. tonowari had managed to catch a large fish that would feed the tribe well for two nights. the celebration was boisterous and the cheerful sounds of your fellow metkayina floated into the night sky.

there were drums being beaten on steadily and flutes were played as the tribe danced. you were sitting next to ralak who was telling you about the hunt and how tonowari had led them, speaking above the roar of the fire and the songs being chanted.

you laughed along at his tale, only to be distracted by a glimpse of tonowari who was making his way through the crowd as though looking for someone. your eyes caught each other and a smile graced his face before he made his way to you, causing your good mood to sour immediately.

“i need to go,” you said suddenly, standing up.

ralak was surprised but didn’t say anything, only offering a small wave. you smiled back reassuringly and melted into the crowd. the whole tribe was there so it was easy to blend in and have tonowari lose track of you.

you turned and saw him speaking to ralak with a quizzical look but saw ronal approaching them as well. you heart lurched and your eyes burned, hot tears threatening to fall. you looked away before you could see them talk to each other and made your way back home.

the night air was cooler now that you were away from the flames, but you noticed your body was still quite warm. a dull ache, barely noticeable, sat at the bottom of your stomach.

it was early symptoms of a heat, but it was still days away. your scent hadn’t changed yet, ralak would have pointed it out if it did, so it wouldn’t be a problem for another few days.

-0O0-

“so will you tell me what’s wrong now?”

two days later you were sitting with ralak at a cliff, taking in the breeze and watching the waves crash into stone below you. the day was warm and you were sharing fruit between the two of you.

“i don’t know what you mean,” you said coolly before taking a bite. the fruit was juicy and you wiped your mouth when you felt some of it trickle down your chin.

ralak gave you a pointed look, clearly unimpressed. “i’m not stupid, you’ve been avoiding tonowari for months, now. what’s going on?”

you frowned at him. ralak was always so observant, wise beyond his years it seemed too. “i haven’t been avoiding him.”

he clicked his tongue and shook his head as he stared into the horizon. the sea was so beautiful like this, glinting under the bright light of the star in the sky. he was concerned, but he didn’t prod.

“your heat’s coming,” he murmured now.

you choked on the fruit that was currently in your mouth at his bluntness. “you can’t just…a little tact, please!”

he chuckled. “there’s no one here, and i can guarantee everyone in the tribe will be able to smell it on you in about a day too.”

the only reason ralak knew was because he was around you so much. when people were close to each other it was far easier to smell the subtle differences in scent.

“so? any plans to have someone help you?”

“are you volunteering?” you teased, but the look he gave you was a serious one. you shook your head. “i’m used to going at it alone.”

“you sure?” he asked. “you were joking but i don’t mind helping you, you know. i get…i just…” he trailed off, wringing his hands.

you knew what he would say, and you were flattered really. heats were a difficult time and usually it was encouraged at an unmated woman have a trusted friend help her through it until she was bonded. going at it alone wasn’t impossible but it was harder.

“i’m used to it,” you reassured. “don’t worry about me, ralak.”

he shook his head again, though not at you it seemed. perhaps at something he himself was thinking. “alright. but you’re gonna have to find a mate soon.”

when the two of you arrived back at the tribe, eclipse was close at hand. ralak left, mentioning something about spears again before giving your shoulder a gentle squeeze as though to reassure you.

you were alone in the bustle of the village and tried to find something to keep your mind busy for the rest of the day.

before you could even think however, you bumped into tonowari who steadied you before you could fall. his hands were hot against your skin and you jumped away.

“you alright?” he asked. “i was looking for you.”

you looked up at his concerned eyes and could feel your stomach curl in on itself. “i…i’m fine. i need to go—”

“i wanted to talk to you about something,” he said, quickly grabbing your wrist before you could make your escape.

that touch seemed to burn through you, your heart raced and you could feel your skin getting hotter by the second.

no, this wasn’t right. your heat wasn’t due for another couple days at the very least. you didn’t even have a strong scent yet. what was this? what was happening?

“i really need to go,” you said again, fighting with yourself to move away from him.

his eyes narrowed in concern. “what’s…” but after a moment he inhaled deeply and his eyes widened.

you used this moment to break away from him and ran to the other side of settlement where the heat huts were. your heat was coming early and since you were unmated, it would be difficult to handle it at home especially because you were so unprepared.

seeing ronal at the front, tidying up almost made you trip in surprise.

she looked up at you and frowned before ushering you inside without another word, closing the curtain behind her as she did. this hut was in the shade for most of they day, making heats somewhat bearable, and you were relieved at the cool air against your skin.

“it’s early,” she said muttered, smelling you.

“i was fine thirty minutes ago, i swear.”

she tutted and fussed about you, bringing you water and a plate of food, ever the picture of calmness as you fidgeted, already feeling a wetness soak through your clothes. the cramps were beginning and you squirmed and the uncomfortable sensitive feeling you had in your intimate parts.

“relax,” she said. “i’ll leave in a moment but i’ll be close by. do you have anyone helping you through this?”

you shook your head and she nodded. normally people didn’t go there if they had someone to help them.

“i’ll come in every few hours to give you food and water,” she said. “if you need anything, tell me.”

she left you then and you were alone inside a hut in the early throes of a heat. it didn’t take you long for you to start touching yourself, eyes pricking at the feeling of pressure against your clit. it didn’t take long for you to come either from how sensitive you were, slick gushing out of you as you gasped.

it wasn’t nearly enough, you knew that, and you whined, lying back now and putting two fingers inside. you were burning everywhere, and it was almost unbearable.

the world around you because a blazing haze as your thoughts melted together. your fingers thrust into you pathetically and you whined as you squeezed your eyes shut, forcing yourself to think it was someone else doing it. imagining soft words of praise and affirmation and strong arms cooling away the burning as you were thrusted into.

“that’s it,” the imaginary voice said, softly. “take my cock. that’s a good girl.”

you sobbed, you walls squeezing around empty space sound your fingers. “wari, please,” you said softly. “wari, need you please. please.”

and you came again. but something was clearly wrong. everything still burned. there wasn’t the usual respite, the moments of calm in a frenzy. your mind was foggy and your cunt still dripping and wanting. it burned, it all burned.

-0O0-

it was like this for two days. you could barely sleep from the heat and eating was difficult. ronal expressed her concern the first time she checked in on you and noticed you hadn’t touched the water, and now she seemed genuinely frightened.

you were too. your heats usually calmed down after the first three days, but it seemed only to worsen as time went on.

you whispered tonowari’s name repeatedly, his figure was the only one you saw when you fell into one of your fantasies. but he wasn’t there and every time you realised this, you cried.

right now, though, you were on your hands and knees, ass up as you fucked your fingers. vaguely you heard loud whispers floating into the room. you couldn’t tell what was being said, and you didn’t care as you whined at the burning feeling.

“need you, wari,” you mumbled as imagined him taking you from behind. “hurts so bad.”

you could hear the sound of cloth moving and footsteps somewhere far away. you didn’t pay it mind, however as slick gushed out of you once more and tears fell from your face. it just wasn’t enough.

you heard your name being called and you looked, peering through the haze at the voice. it sounded so real, was your imagination really that strong?

“look at you,” the voice said, concerned. you saw tonowari kneeling next to you and you squinted.

“wari?” you asked and you reached out. his skin was cool under your palm, soothing, like a gel on a burn. “you’re here?”

“i’m here sweet girl,” he said, cupping your face. “gonna take care of you.”

something in your brain raised alarm bells and you would have protested but his hands were so cool, they offered the only respite you’d had from the burning from the last three days.

without any delay, he replaced your fingers with his own and —oh!—it was…it felt…

you sobbed at the way his fingers felt inside you, stretching you and curling into you. it was infinitely better already, they were so thick and long.

he swore at the slick that came out of you and licked it off your thighs. you shivered as he trailed it up, lapping at everything before giving you cunt a long lick.

it was like an explosion erupted through you as he circled your clit with his tongue. then he gave it a tentative lick and you came, the haze and the fog in your mind clearing somewhat.

he licked you clean before straightening himself behind you. “gonna fuck you now,” he promised. “gonna make it feel better, okay, sweet girl?”

you barely answered before he thrusted into you. the feeling was incredible, you had no idea that you could feel like this during a heat.

“fuck,” he said softly. “fuck, you’re so perfect around me. you’re so tight.”

you felt him grip your hips tighter as though to control himself.

“wari, gonna cum,” you sobbed. “wanna cum on your cock.”

he grunted at that and gave two particularly hard thrusts which made you cum harder than you’d ever in your life. he swore as slicked rushed out of you and came inside you soon after.

the fog cleared enough that you were lucid and you blinked, turning to tonowari who lay down next to you in exhaustion.

“wari? it’s you?”

he nodded. “it was easy to convince ronal since your heat had gotten bad. why didn’t you ask for help?”

“i…” you trailed off. “ thank you, for coming here.”

he nodded and helped you sit up. a bowl of water was at your lips before you knew it. “you need to drink.”

you did so happily, but the ache in your heart came again. he was once again fussing over you. this wasn’t how it was supposed to be.

“ronal is kind,” you said, “letting you come here.”

he looked at you quizzically. “it’s to be expected. we look out for each other as a tribe.”

again your heart panged. you couldn’t bear to look at him as he fed you some dried fruit from the bowl, but the familiar tingle began to rise again. soon your body burned once more and you are panting and whining.

the bowl was put aside as tonowari grasped your hips and manoeuvred you onto his lap. his hands cooled the unbearable heat on your skin as he reassured you.

tonowari took you while you were on his lap this time, rocking into you as you whined at keened. soft words were shared in your ear and you swore as he thrusted up into you. “good girl,” he said. “take what you need from me. there you go…”

you gripped his shoulders as you rode him, back arching as he rubbed your clit. you came again and collapsed into him as he stroked your hair.

“ralak said you were avoiding me,” tonowari said after some silence. “he didn’t say why but…” he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “i was worried, truly.”

“you and ronal need to focus on each other.”

“ronal and i?”

you nodded and he frowned. “you’re just as important. you should have said your heat was going to be bad.”

you smiled now. “even now the future olo’eyktan thinks of his people. i’m impressed.”

“i’m not…this isn’t…” he paused to collect his thoughts. “i’m doing this because you’re…i…fuck. i want to.”

you’d never seen him look so frustrated and you were all the more confused for it.

he saw your expression and furrowed his brow, thinking deeply. then as though he’d made up his mind, he kissed you.

it took you by surprise. normally it wasn’t necessary for people who helped during heats to kiss, at least that’s what you’d heard. but this kiss, it soothed you, and you relaxed as tonowari wrapped his arms around you. it was nice and you felt as tonowari let a content purr out, a thing you’d never heard him do. you broke apart and he trailed some kisses down your neck, suckling softly at your collar bone.

it seemed like he genuinely enjoyed this, that he cared. about you. but that wasn’t right. ronal she was just outside…

“wari, i can’t…ronal might…”

he paused. “ronal?”

you fidgeted. “she’ll be your tsahik. you’ll be mated, it’s not fair to her.”

he blinked, and a rush of understanding washed across his face. “ronal and i…we’re not together.”

the words were like a punch in the gut. “what?”

“she’s helping me get more in tune with eywa,” he said. “i thought it would be good for me once i’m olo’eyktan.”

you took a shaky breath. “but she’s…so perfect. everyone thinks so.”

he chuckled. “she would be a formidable tsahik. but she’s not…” he sighed, rubbing your hips. “how could i mate her in a world where you exist?”

you gaped at him, the familiar heat returning now. you pushed it down, pushed away the hazy fog that came with it. “i don’t understand.”

he hummed, taking your hands. “how do i say this…? i see you. i see only you. it’s always been you.”

you understood the words fundamentally, yes, yet they made no sense. “you’ll be olo’eyktan.”

“yes.”

“i don’t—wari, it’s not me. please, don’t do this. my heart can’t take it. don’t lie to me like this. it’s hard enough that you’re with me during my heat.”

he kissed you again and you reciprocated. his lips trailed down to your neck and suckled and you gasped as he nipped your skin.

“it’s always been you,” he whispered.

you lay back against the blankets as he licked your torso. he gently cupped one of your breasts and sucked the nipple.

your back arched, skin alight with soft flames as he made his way down to your now sopping core. he kissed your lower lips once before straightening himself and stroking his erection.

you whined out for him as he teased your entrance with his tip. finally he slowly entered you, stretching you out. the brain fog that came with your heat was minimal and you felt all of him.

he rocked into you slowly, bending over to kiss you again as he moved his hips. your cries were swallowed by him and a shiver shot through you when his tongue explored your mouth.

the pace was slow and deep as his mouth trailed down to suck your breast, to nick at your neck, to kiss your shoulder, to worship your body as he gave you soft praises.

“my good girl,” he said. “my sweet girl.”

his words caressed you and the pressure in you rushed out. you trembled in his arms as a powerful orgasm shook you.

“yes, just like that,” he grunted, moving a bit faster now. “can you do it again? cum like this?”

you nodded, already feeling the telltale signs of another orgasm tingling in you.

“good,” he said before kissing you again.

he groaned as he felt you squeeze his cock with your walls. “just like that, yes, good girl.”

you were absolutely drunk on his cock, loving how it got harder the more turned on he got. it felt far too good.

“gonna cum wari,” you whined.

“cum for me, sweet girl. makes me so happy to see you cum,” he said.

you came again, the pleasure so great you saw only white. you heard tonowari swear as his rhythm stuttered, biting into your neck before he came inside of you.

the bite was hard, but didn’t hurt. not too much. but it took you a minute to realise what he had done, to realise he marked you as his.

he kissed you for what felt like the millionth time, deeply, feeling every part of you with his hands as though committing your body to memory. you kissed back, heart feeling light for the first time in what felt like months.

“it’s always been you,” he said when he broke the kiss. “i’ve wanted to ask for ages but i never could.”

you caressed the bite mark, it was a promise, a vow. “how long?”

he chuckled. “from the moment i met you, i think. it was admiration back then, but when we got older…”

you laughed at how similar you were. at how silly you’d been. but that feeling of unworthiness, it lingered still.

“i’m not…”

“you don’t have to be,” he reassured. “it’s always been you, remember. and it always will be.”

[lynn-tged-posting]

tged webtoon ep 176 spoilers except its mostly me having a great time bc the panels this week were incredibly fun YAY and thoughts below the cut

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oh my god these motherfuckers are up to their scheme again. LMFAOOOOOOOOO LOOK AT THEM HAHAHAHAHAHA

IT'S SO FUCKING FUNNY THAT THEY'VE MASTERED THIS ROUTINE. THEY DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO TAKE TIME TO PREP ANYTHING JAVIER JUST KNEW. THAT'S SO GOOFY LMFAOOOO I LOVE THESE TWO SO DAMN MUCH HAHAHAHAA

also obsessed w javier's expression. whenever he has these moments his expressions are always the BEST because theyre SO MINIMAL. the slightest curl of his lip,,, the menace in his eyes,,, compared to lloyd's expressions, javier's are always technically lowkey, but the artist always gives that lowkeyness an extra edge in the art that completes the entire panel. i love javier's expressions so much WAHAHAHA THEY'RE SO GOOD

LOOK AT THEM BEING MENACES ADLFKJSLDJKF absolute thugs. god it's like when they're together they sync a braincell that tells them to go Scheme mode. they're so ridiculous i love them sm,,, alicia ur gonna have to get used to this LMFAO

ALSO I AM SO SO HAPPY LLOYD IMMEDIATELY WENT TO COMPROMISE W THE SPIRIT KING. I KNEW U WOULD THATS MY BOY ILY BUDDY!! i really like how nice his expressions are here,,, i want to think that there's a part of him in there that's actually genuine abt this. esp w the panels that are upcoming,,,

like he looks so soft here! it's sweet,,, i'm really glad he's doing this,,,

AND THEN THIS. THIS PANEL OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG. THIS IS GORGEOUS I HAVE TO SHOW IT

REALLY enjoying all these soft lineart from lighting moments that the artist is putting in. god i love this so much,,, there's a metaphor in here somewhere,,, idk,,, i like this a lot!!! alicia seeing pieces of suho's heart poking thru,,, like sunrays,,,, hehehe sweet,,,, so sweet,,,

i love this panel to pieces but i do think its funny af that in this panel lloyd is crouching like that LOL what a creature ily bud

ALSO. ALSOO lets talk about what alicia's thoughts are here as she's looking at him,,, she says smth along the lines of "ur interesting to me bc i cant figure u out,,," and i love that a lot,,, maybe im looking too far into this but i read this as her saying "im seeing pieces of who u really are, i want to figure u out / explore ur true and honest self". she's learning more abt the side of lloyd thats empathetic, thats selfless, that brings out a good outcome for everyone,,,, she wants to see more of that side of him methinks,,,,, regardless of what she actually meant by this, it's a very cute moment and i really like it,,,

it again makes me think that alilloyd as a ship has soooo much potential. it could be so so good,,, this moment especially helps give it a little ground to stand on,,, i just wish there was a stronger foundation,,, it could be even greater,,, ohhh,,,, maybe in future eps who knows? we'll have to wait and see,,,

also hi artanis!! this line from her caught my eye i wanted to bring it up

im willing to bet that this belief is also one that was sourced from credos/jang-cheol, just like the rock paper scissors game and just the farming/pacifism schtick as a whole. it probably played a part in how he had to convince the demons to follow him in the first place,,,

this could also indicate that living honestly and working to earn is a principle that jang-cheol followed in korea, and he decided that he would stick with it when he became credos. alternatively, he had the complete opposite principle (he was a gamer after all, with a max level character,,, could imply that he spent all his time on the game) but when he got transmigrated, he realized that he had another shot at making a living honestly and decided to commit to that. there isn't really enough to make a solid conclusion on how jang-cheol lived, but this is an interesting indicator and i think it's worth a bookmark! i hope the prequel gets a manhwa so i can read it,,, manifesting,,,

oh also the railroad! yay!! y'know idk if this is quite the preservation of nature i had thought they would do LOL this,,, could be considered manipulating the ecosystem too much,,, but also i am not a biologist! so i wouldn't know! it looks nature-preserved so i'll take it!

seems like the demons won't be too far from home too, since they'll probably be the ones employed to run the railroad tracks once it's complete. lloyd essentially gave them jobs! yahoo!

AND THEEEN THE SECOND REALLY NICE PANEL FOR THIS WEEK YAYAYAYY WAAAAHHHH LLOYYYD LLOYD

i will be honest the glare is pretty uh. harsh but i dont mind at all bc YAYYY YAYYY NICE MOMENT WITH LLOYD YAHOO YAHOO. he seems and looks super tired here too,,, one of the panels before this was his heart freezing up again and alicia asked if they should stop bc of his heart, but he refuses,,, ghhh,,, stupid fucking martyr i love you stop doing that though please take a break

this panel is again another alicia pov panel and i really really like it,,, he's so Sun character to me idk how to explain that (javier is Moon to me). maybe ill break that down in a different post another time but yeah,,, yeah,,, sun and moon,,, yeah,,,,,,, also alicia is Comet. one day ill elaborate

and then there it is, goofy lloyd panel HAHA there's the greedy front he always puts on, welcome back! alicia's reaction too LMFAOOO she's sick of his antics /lh

like bud u dont have to say anything else,,, we know u care lloyd u dont have to put up the money part at the end anymore,,,,,,, goofy ass

their lil moment here was also rlly cute,,, alicia laughing at lloyd's antics and just. his big ass smile HAHAHAHAH so so cute i love this a lot,,,

and then the railroad got completed YAYY YAYYYY YAYYY ONE STEP CLOSER TO A HAPPY ENDING!!!

lloyd got like a jump ability and according to my mutuals thats not in the novel? so im curious as to what thats for,,, lloyd says it already but yeah he's a swordmaster now and has tons of other skills and summons too. what would a super jump be useful for,,,? so far, most if not all of his skills have had some use in the story,,, skills that are deliberately brought up like this are always used eventually. what in the world will a jump skill do??? what kind of situation will lloyd find himself in?? is this not almost over??? i'm so curious,,,

also this panel lloyd looks really tired, exhausted even,,, his irises look dulled and theres slight bags,,,, the construction plus the effects on his heart is probably doing him in,,,

and then we see him keel over LAKDFJLSDKJF

I GASPED SO LOUD WHEN I SAW THIS AND IM NOT SURE IF ITS OUT OF WORRY OR IF ITS OUT OF GIDDY. bc listen, on the one hand, oh my god im so worried for lloyd please be okay dont DIE. on the other hand,,, on the other, fic-brained character interaction-pilled hand,,, WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP CHARACTER WHUMP WHUMP MOMENT HURT COMFORT. YAHOO FIREWORKS EVERYONE CHEER!!! WHUMP!!! WHUMP IN MY TGED!!! WAOWIE WAOWIE WAOWIE!!!

sorry. my demons. anyway

alicia catching him is so good,,, sweet,,,, so sweet,,,,, ANOTHER POINT FOR ALILLOYD. again i wish the foundation for alilloyd was stronger, bc if they had established it in a better or more solid/connected way this moment would hit even harder,,, BUT NO,,, its missing impact for me simply bc alicia and lloyd do not talk/share/save each other enough. but it's so cute,,, sweet,,, this moment is nice,,, ghhh,,,, i feel heartbroken over this its bittersweet

and off they go,,, yes,,, a queen, her boyf, and her boyf's boyf. beautiful. alicia is carrying him again hehe,,,

off they go to get the eye of summer!! YAYYY!!! lloyd will stay alive!!! YAHOO!!! we are one step closer to beating fate and getting that happy ending,,, hold on lloyd, hold on everyone,,, it'll be over soon! if they don't get a happy ending i am going to cry and sob for forever and ever!!!! i'm serious!!!!!!!!

i genuinely had a lot of fun reading this ep the moments were all so fun and i'm very glad that things are looking up for them,,,!!! this does also worry me that there's going to be one more final obstacle before we actually get their good ending. bc now that i think abt it, getting the eye of summer does save lloyd but it doesn't stop fate,,, so,,, there might be more trouble ahead. but i'm not gonna worry about that right now!!! i'm coping!!! i'm coping.

that's all from me tho,,, i have to get back to the school grind,,, i'll see y'all next time!!!

[dailyharuka]

DAY 195

Yesterday was day 194,,, Eh, it's already been ambiguous about whether we're actually on schedule since day 100 we're fine

Anyways Haruka unit outfit comparisons mayhaps?? gonna add the "keep reading" thing bc this is gonna be long methinks

The classic. The OG. They could never do her wrong and this is proof

I love how her unit outfit kind of matches Minori's! As seen in the two cards (Minori below), their blazers(?) are open, meanwhile Airi and Shizuku have theirs closed.

Alongside that, the hems of the first and second ruffles on their skirts are both the same color. Shizuai have their second hems slightly off-colored.

They also have their hair accessories on the same side! They both wear theirs on their right side, meanwhile Airi has two hairties and Shizuku has her accessory on her left side.

Take a look at the points I'd mentioned before, they're so similar!! Minoharu so real/j

Now, there's some similarities between Haruka and Shizuku (Shizuku below as well), I think. They both wear golden bracelets on their left wrists. Haruka's is much looser and has two bands while Shizuku has just one thick band that's more secure on her wrist, yeah, but I think it counts.

They also both have ruffles attached to their shirts on either shoulder. Haruka has it on her left shoulder while Shizuku has it on her right.

Their hair accessories are also similar, being that they both have ribbons in the accessory. Granted, both designs are different, but the ribbons are the same colors, if inverted.

I spent a good bit of time thinking on this tbh,, But we still have more!!

Airi and Haruka don't seem to have too many similarities between each other. However I do think that Haruka's shirt being the only untucked one and Airi's being a crop top could be considered a similarity, seeing how they're both not tucked into the skirt in some fashion.

I literally cannot identify anything else 😭 This is so embarrassing tbh, it's probably in their shoes. Which i can't see bc I'm using the CARDSSS AUUUGH

Anyways we are not done here. Nononono. We're doing their 3rd anni unit outfits too.

She still slayed this so hard. Look me dead in the eye and tell me she didn't eat and leave no crumbs. You can't. Also I love how their cuffs look and tie into their characters. I can't go on that tangent rn simply bc I can't really remember everyone's nuances but it's there. Their lapels also do the same, I love how Haruka's lapel is the only straight one.

Now her similarities with Minori are more numerous here, if only because the group suddenly all got outfits that stated their "together"ness even louder. However the first thing I noticed was that their hair accessories are both wings. Of course, they're still on the same side as they were before, but they're both wings and I think that's cute.

I'm gonna be so real rn I cannot tell what's a similarity between just them and a similarity between all of MMJ so that's it for Minori 😭

She's so baby 🧡

Shizuku and Haruka's shirts both don't have a dark hem, as Airi's dark hem is on her skirt and thus doesn't count.

However Airi's skirt has three layers to it, meanwhile the others only have two layers since their shirts also technically count as a layer.

Once again that's basically all I can find ☠️

Literally most swan type character ever

Now idk if this is a similarity that counts necessarily but Haruka's new 2 star is the same type as Airi's old 2 star. So that's cute

However their actual similarity is that there is a distinct section in their skirts where the plaid is only in the front, whether it's being covered up by another part of the skirt or that it's all just white there.

And I guess they're both facing the same way?? Idk the similarities used to mean more in the original outfits now they just look the same and the differences are more interesting now ☠️☠️☠️

We love you Airi!! We love pink girls who get all dirty and messy and mean!!!

Take a shot every time I said "similarity/similar" and drink an equal amount of water every time I said "difference/different". Hopefully you won't die/j

-💫

[jtownraindancer]

top 5 burn characters go

Good gods Anon this is evil. Only five!??? 😭💕

I spent like three days trying to make up my mind on this, and I'm still not satisfied, but as of the moment, in no particular order:

The Best Boys

Mr. William Guppy of Kenge & Carboy, Bleak House

He's awkward, he's manipulative, he has no real social skills to speak of, and he's in love. I actually really disliked this character when I first read the book circa 2011, but as Burn seems wont to do, I ended up being completely won over in the end. ^_^; His Guppy is expressive, less a comic relief and almost sympathetic. I mentioned in a conversation with @synthapostate about how Guppy is technically an antagonist, but he's played in such a way that you really can't see it (unlike the book). Also the camera is half in love with Burn this entire series, and it makes it very, very easy to fall in love with this dorky, curly-haired puppy of a man.

Dr. Hermann Gottlieb, Pacific Rim & Pacific Rim: Uprising

I could write sonnets about Hermann for how much I've come to love him. 😅 He's one of the Characters of All Time for me. From his passion, his stubborn resilience, and his sharp humor, to his unwavering loyalty for those he cares for and his ability to care so deeply, how could I not irrevocably fall for him? (Also singlehandedly the cause of the 2023 Burn Binge.) Hermann found his way into my heart from the very beginning, but I never realized how at home he had made himself until the day I turned around and he was patiently waiting for me to see him. I think I fell for him and Newt in the same fell swoop, and my love for both of them is unwavering.

Dr. Owen Harper, Torchwood

I've been in love with this bastard since 2013; I've been repressing that adoration for 10 years. I- I don't really remember the exact moment that my opinion of Owen shifted from extreme dislike to him carving a permanent place in my very being, but there it is. He's sarcastic, an incorrigible flirt, and has one of the biggest, kindest hearts I've ever come across in fiction. At the time, I was pre-Med, and I aspired to be half as compassionate a doctor as him. After Exit Wounds, I gave up Torchwood (I couldn't, not with Tosh gone too.), but I've slowly been dipping my toes back in via Burn's reading of some of the books & the Big Finish audios. It's been 10 years, yet I think I'm more in love with this bastard than I ever was before. (And okay, I admit, he might be my favorite-favorite ^_^;)

Sgt. Detective William Blore, And Then There Were None

Bill, Bill, Bill... He's a crooked cop, he's tired of everyone's nonsense, he's filled with regret, he's probably gay. Detective Blore is yet another classic lit character that I first met back in the late 20-aughts, early 2010s who I really didn't care for. Then 2023 rolls around, and not only did I come to love him in this adaptation, but I've ended up going on an Agatha Christie bender because of it. Burn made me... well love would be too strong a word, but I definitely rank Blore as "a poor little meow meow."

Major Edmund Hewlett, TURN

How could this list be at all complete without including my beloved major? (Just picking a gif for this made me realise how badly I've missed him. 🥺) Edmund is... How do I explain how much I adore this guy? How do I possibly pin down the levels of pride I have in his journey, in his growth, explain the way my heart aches at the twists and turns that will tear him apart and build him back even stronger? How do I possibly do justice in conveying how damn aspirational he is, how merciful, how delightful? I can't, really. He's a force of nature that one must experience for themselves. (And I need to resume my rewatch methinks~)

Runner-Ups

(or the characters who have been spinning in my brain nonstop like rotisserie chickens and absolutely deserve mention)

Ben Jarvis, Cheat

I... I have entire essays I want to write about this guy. I have theories I want to discuss, but as most of them are... I can't. Yet. Maybe soon? I- Anyway. Ben was a huge surprise, and definitely nowhere close to what I was expecting when I finally got around to watching this show. I would be lying to say it wasn't a pleasant surprise, and I absolutely love how Burn was able to do a lot of solo work this series, with a lot of focus on body language and his uncanny knack for killer expressions.

Jacko Argyle, Ordeal By Innocence

This... This beautiful little shit ♡ One of the first Burn movies I actively chose to seek out, my second in his Agatha Christie adaptations, and my first dive into gif making. And Jacko-! Oh, Jacko... You stole my heart then broke it in only a few, few precious moments of screentime and backstory. He haunts the entire film, he haunts me still, and I'm so glad I had the chance to meet him.

Martin, Up There

(Oh look yet another one of my gifs 😅)

Martin is absolutely one of my favourite characters, especially for his absolute growth during the film. He crawls out of his downward spiral, he finds himself again, and ultimately discovers that there can be life after death. He just- He's grumpy, he's beautifully sarcastic, he's depressed, he's loved, and he just- Seriously I love him. Martin feels like a friend who I haven't seen in an age, and it's always a good day to bump into him again.

Reverend Benedict Marley, Lark Rise to Candleford

I almost forgot my favourite clergyman??? D:

Benedict Marley came into my life just to shake my very foundations, send me on an existential journey of self discovery, and waited for me at the end of it all with a soft smile and encouraging words. He only had one episode in the show, but his story was so easily woven and understood, his humility humbled me, and in ways that make me almost afraid to admit aloud- I felt seen in a way that I ever so rarely am. I connected to him; I understand him. He has depths that I could hardly explain in a single paragraph, but I can say that- out of all these characters- my feelings are birthed more out of a very deep respect and admiration.

I can't say this list will stay the same- I'm far from through with Burn's portfolio- but for his on-screen roles, these guys firmly remain top-tier for me. :)

(If you'd like to hear about his voice work instead, please let me know; I could go on for Hours about some of those lads. ♡)

Thanks for the ask Anon, and if you haven't seen any of these yet, I definitely recommend them!

[themysticaldrumstick]

I've got a question:

If we were in a gay relationship with Ellie/Elliot... Who is our son related to biologically? Because this IF seems to be an slice of life in the real world, rather than in an ultra scifi or urban fantasy one where same-sex reproduction is possible. Is the son adopted, or was he conceived in vitro? Or would you leave it nebulous on purpose?

The whole thing came to me after the question I made about MC's possible heights. Because I was amusing myself thinking about how the son would be glad to have MC's genetics if MC is 6'7 or more (for how advantageous it could be for basketball), only to remember I'm very gay and I was going to play as a man who dates men exclusively. So, things got complicated.

On one hand, it could give more of a possible reason to approach Ellie/Elliot more. After all, our son may be related to only one of us, but we love him so much no matter what and do everything for his well-being and happiness. And it could make either Ellie/Elliot or MC feel more fond about the other because they continued being a parent, even though it could be possible, in theory, to remove themselves from the situation (although, I think this may not be so much the case if the divorce happened once the son was older).

And for the sapphics, it also gives a special thing where maybe one gave the egg and the other carried the baby.

I don't know, there are plenty of choices to regards to what to do with this. But, I feel it's a lot to put in front of you and then find a way to write it/code it when it doesn't have that much relevance to the story. On the other hand, it would also feel a bit unfair for straight/bi players with a straight route to not have this level of nuance, unless you also included the in vitro option for them (just with a different justification).

Easier would be, methinks, to just say the son is adopted when it comes to gay couples (and make this an option for straight ones). Or just don't discuss it at all, frankly.

Maybe I'm just thinking way too much about something that, ultimately, does not matter for your IF and is more of an unnecessary distraction. Alas, that will be for you to decide, dear author.

Oh my god, get ready for this massive ass rant of mine. You do not know how much I've prepared for this day.

*Cracks knuckles*

So, basically. I'm putting out the option for the birth of your son at your behest-- you can choose whether it was straight up the usual, IVF, surrogate, etc. You should've seen my Google history because JESUS CHRIST, I've spent too much time decoding what works. In short, your son is always biological and is related to Ellie/Elliot's gene. The MC will have the option to assist via donors, or surrogates, depending on what you want.

There's layers to this.

Normal Natural Pregnancy, either on MC or, Ellie/Elliot's side. The female one will be undergoing the pregnancy.

If you're in a lesbian/non-binary couple/gay, MC can choose to carry their son(if possible) or choose a surrogate after an IVF.

Adoption will NOT be an option because your son needs to be biologically related for plot purposes.

Your son will always be related to Ellie/Elliot, as they will be the sperm/egg donor in case of the IVF route.

Let me know if I'm missing something because I'm half-asleep and uni is killing my soul. As for your son, they always look like E and have your personality, so.. hope that helped. I do understand how shitty my explanation was, so if you want to clear this, feel free to enquire.

Thanks for the ask! Glad you're enjoying the plot, so far.