#we really need to stop reblogging things before looking who they're by

[the-faceless-bride]

In need of 'Correction'...

Summary -> You were working for the other side, and while trying to plant bugs to gather information you end up getting caught, and while you thought you would end up dead... It somehow leads to something else... It seems the ones who caught you deem you in need of correction... A sweet doe-eyed thing like you wouldn't have done something like this on your own, you've clearly been manipulated... Don't worry, they'll help you.

⚠️warnings: porn w/ little to no plot, Non-con/Dub-con, forced orgasms, squirting, double penetration, anal (reader receiving), manipulation, mind break (?), yandere behavior (if you squint), ooc task force 141, I tried my best to keep reader GN! Read is called Pretty and has a vigina, reader is smaller than tf 141, readers codename is "Bandit", smut, slapping, being held against will, forced kissing, forced touching, forced oral (giving and receiving), interrogation, threats, dark content, violence against reader, might make a part 2 if you really like it, let me know if I missed anything!!!⚠️

Characters include: John Price, Johnny Soap, Simon Ghost, Kyle Gaz, Alejandro

A/n: I'm not the best at writing in Spanish, correct me if I write something wrong or incorrect, also I've been gone for a while so I'm a little rusty, please forgive me if it's shitty, ESPECIALLY the smut. If you have any tips I appreciate it, likes and reblogs are welcome!

You woke up with a throbbing in your head, your vision slightly blurred and your skin felt gross with the amount of dried blood that had been caked onto your face under your mask. You looked around, you were tied to a wooden chair and pushed into a small table, a single bright light illuminating the small room. an investigation room?.where were you? You don't remember much but you do remember being sent to plant bugs where the information is sent and getting information on some files...

You held onto the rafters crawling across as quickly and quietly as you could. Trying to reach the vents to crawl through and get right into the main office, you needed to plant a few bugs to get important information about some files and documents.

When you got into the vents you crawled around for a while trying to remember the layout you saw on the map. But you stopped when you heard voices. "-not sure, but whoever they are, they're smart. We gotta find them. They could be useful." another voice. "Maybe they can be persuaded to join our side? Money?" another voice. "tsk- shouldn't give money to a waste of air. How the hell sells out for money?! A disgrace if you ask me." they were talking about you. they wanted to get you on their side? Why? What for? Information? Skill? Or- oh shit.

The vent creaked.

All hell broke loose. Everyone in that room from what you heard got up and scattered to block off your only exits. You had to move fast.

You thought for a moment and chose to take the long way. You kicked open the grate beneath you and drop to the floor below. You ran out of the room. Taking turns. Trying to remember the way out.

Left.

Right.

Right.

Left.

Right.

Then your luck ran out and you slammed into someone's chest. You might know all their names, but you would be an idiot to not know him.

Ghost.

Then after a moment, he held you tightly the mask over your face becoming suffocating. And your vision began to blur.

He let you go and your head hit the wall, and you finally blacked out.

You didn't have more time to think before the door slammed open and a group of men walked through. They were all eyeing you. A dark hunger in their eyes.

One takes a step forward. You assume he is Captain Price. You try not to flinch as he rips the mask from your head. You still flinched. Some parts of your hair stick to your face. You fight the urge to try and wipe it off. Not wanting to risk taking your eyes off of the group of men that stood in front of you.

"hm-" a man huffed looking at you "When I pictured you, I didn't think you'd be so... Pretty?" a man with a Scottish accent thought out loud, the man next to him chuckled. "Soap, Gaz. Please. Keep it in your pants... For now." Ghost sighed.

Soap. And Gaz. That was their names...

You looked back to Price, he pouts in mock sympathy. Before pulling over a chai and sitting across from you.

"what's your name." he wasn't asking. He was giving you a command. His voice was deep and dripped with authority. In other circumstances, you would've felt flustered. But at this moment you were just scared. You weren't an idiot. These men were all bigger than you. You were a good fighter. But you knew if you tried to fight you would lose. And you didn't want to die here.

You looked up, making eye contact with Price. "I... I'm Bandit." you tried to hold eye contact but it was difficult. It felt like he was looking into the depths of your soul. You looked at your feet. Only to jump when his hand slammed on the table.

A faint, "aw" could be heard. You felt pathetic. "well. Bandit. You don't seem cut out for this kind of work. Too soft. Too jumpy. I don't wanna have to hurt that pretty face. So why don't you just tell me what you know? Confirm who you work for, and why you are on their side. And I might think about letting you go without a scare on you."

You look from him to the men behind him, back to your feet. You couldn't tell them anything. Even if they let you go after this you'll be tracked down. From where you sit. Both end in death. You didn't know these men well. But you knew the men you worked with. They were cruel, and unforgiving, and would skin you alive and leave you for the rats to pick at. You chose to take your chances with these men.

"oh? No longer interested in talking? Fine. But you asked for it. Alejandro. If you wouldn't mind?" Price stood from his chair. And the man Alejandro walked towards you. Your heart rate picked up.

You didn't get a moment to think as a hard smack was sent to the side of your face, fuck did it hurt. You tried to hold in the tears as a whimper escaped you. Blow after blow to your ribs, cheek, legs, and hands. All dealt with the same amount of unforgiving force. Ten minutes in you were a whimpering tear-stained mess. Small gasps of "stop." and "please." you were never cut out for this pain. You had always stayed in the shadows away from the fire. Now you curse yourself for not training your body and pain tolerance.

The strikes stopped and the man named Gaz took a step forward, his hand coming up to your face and you flinch away. He coos at you. Mocking you.

"you poor thing. You just want this to stop." you lightly nod your head as he takes a rag that he dipped in a bucket of freezing water - was that bucket always there? - he softly runs the rag over your face cleaning you of the blood and sweat. Using a hand to move hair from your face. The softness makes you mean into his touch. No longer wanting the painful touch.

"If you want this to stop, all you have to do is tell us what you know. What they know and why. Okay?" your lip trembles, "I can't." you whisper. "It was just meant to be a quick cash grab. I needed to help pay off a debt and this money was meant to help. If I tell you I either end up dead or tracked down and beaten to death later." Gaz looks into your eyes for a moment before they shift to the other men. They all seem to nod their heads, having a secret conversation with themselves. "we can protect you. As long as you work for us instead."

"b-but I don't know anything important about the people who hired me. I-" he and the rest of the men let out low chuckles, "no, we don't mean that kind of work. Just, allow us to show you how you've been wrong and do some... Physical work for us."

"physical work? But I'm not as strong as you guys and I don't have that much pain tolerance when it comes to this stuff and-" you were cut off, "don't worry, you'll get more of a tolerance and you being weaker is just how we like it." you were so focused on trying to put the pieces together to notice the rest of the men closing in on you, "I can see in your pretty eyes that your confused, allow as to make it nice and easy for you to understand."

The ropes around your hands and legs were snapped and you were lifted onto the table. Soap and Alejandro held down your legs, as Ghost and Price help your arms, Gaz worked on unbuckling your belt. After a moment of shock, the pieces finally fell into their place.

You began to struggle. "wait! I- you can't! Let go! Let me go!" Alejandro laughs at your cries, "More vocal now, aren't you pequeña? Just enjoy it. It's better than the pain before isn't it?"

Your pants are now around your knees, you wish you could close your legs or cover them but you can't. "don't worry love, I'll be nice. I'll prepare you a little." Gaz smiles at you as he lowers his head. Pressing a kiss to your clit before taking a long and slow lick up your cunt. "no please!" you struggle to keep yourself composed.

He kisses and sucks lightly on your clit, coaxing more sweet slick to drip from you. You don't wanna like it. You've never felt such pleasure in this way before. You didn't have sex a lot with your job but when you did it was rushed and didn't focus solely on you. But at this moment that was the only thing happening.

You felt him push a finger in, searching for that sweet spot that would make you cry out. And after a moment a gasp from you told Gaz that he had found it. He then pushed in another finger, both pushing against that spongy spot within you, sucking your clit at the same time. Your back arches. Stop it! You don't want this. You don't want to like this. This was wrong. Gross. So why did your body respond so willingly to him?

"she's fighting it." Ghost groans out. Clearly enjoying your sounds of struggle and strangled whimpers.

"awe, com'on hen. Let go. Enjoy it."

You gasp as you feel the knot start to tighten more and more. Don't. Don't you dare. If you do they'll win! You can't! Don't!-

You gasp. you feel a gush of liquid as the knot pulls tight and snaps. You look up, your vision around you blurring as you look into the one light above you. After a beat, you look down between your legs. Gaz's lips, chin, and even his nose were covered in your slick. You felt your face go warm with embarrassment, you had never done that before.

"oh fuck yeah-" Soap groans out and the others make a sound of agreement, all of them now all over you. Your body feels numb and you don't know if you have it in you to struggle. Soap kissed his way up to your chest playing with your chest, Alejandro kissed and left marks on your hips, Price and Ghost kissed your neck and collarbone.

You heard the sound of a belt buckle before feeling something warm, soft, and round rubbing against your entrance. You whimper knowing what's coming.

"oh lovie don't whine like that, you'll almost make me feel bad." Gaz teased slowly pushing in with a soft sigh as you clench around him. He leans over careful of the others and kisses you. The kiss is sickeningly sweet and soft. The soft whine he makes also does no favors in helping you keep your composer.

Soap pulls away with a light, "fuck it" as he makes his way over to the other side undoing his belt, "Hen, mind given me a hand?" you don't really get to respond as he takes your hand and wraps it around his cock, using your hand as a fucktoy the precum oozing and making your hand slick and sticky. "oh, yeah hen~ such a good little pet~" he sighs Alejandro soon joining his making you use both hands, both men grinning as they chase their pleasure.

Gaz thrusts a few times testing to see if you've relaxed a bit more so he could slide in and out easier. Once he was satisfied he pulled away making a motion towards the other men, they all move to the side. Soap and Alejandro stroking their girths, Price and Ghost finally undoing their belts.

You were now laid onto of Gaz as he pushed himself back into your dripping pussy, Soap and Alejandro taking your hands to stroke their cocks again, Price and Ghost finally picking their spots.

Ghost pushes his angry red tip against your plush lips, his eyes giving you a warning to dare and disobey the Silent order. And Price made his way behind you with Gaz, he wasn't as kind as Gaz was he simply spreads your ass apart before spitting and letting his tip do the work of spreading the makeshift lube.

You lick your lips nervously as you slowly open your mouth for the man looming over you. He wastes no time pushing his way into your mouth and thrusting his hips making sure to touch the back of your throat each time. And Price simply pushed in, no warning, no stretch, the burn was painful. It made you whine and sputter around Ghost who was starting up an unforgiving rhythm that would surely leave your throat raw.

The mix of Pain from Price, the pleasure from Gaz and his perfectly arched cock hitting the most sensitive part inside of you, and the lack of oxygen due to Ghost's unforgiving thrusts and the dirty words in your ears from Alejandro and Soap was overwhelming. But fuck was it good.

All these feelings, the fear inside of you, the lust. You just couldn't take it anymore. Fighting would be useless at this point.

You start pumping Soap and Alejandro faster, they both let out a surprised sigh but quickly allow themselves to be taken care of.

"that's it hen, be a good little toy for us~ fuck your so hot hen~"

"Sí, así como así mi amor. Esa es una buena chica, sigue acariciándome así."

Ghost groans with a smirk, you can't see it behind his mask but if you could you'd melt.

"That's it dear, focus on sucking that cock. You like taking my cock, don't you? You'll swallow it all right baby?"

Gaz and Price fucking into you.

"Fucking Slut, you like taking cock huh? you like the way I fuck you? Fuck your tight, never taking it in the ass before huh? Well, you're gonna have to get used to it my little slut."

"Fuck lovie, you're so good for us. You'll be good, right? You'll stay and be our little cock slut? You'll play nice right? Can't wait for the others to see you like this. Such a perfect little pet for us~"

You whimper and moan, Fuck you're gonna cum again. And from the sounds around you, so are they.

In a few moments, Soap lets out a sweet moan and paints the left side of your face white with his cum. The sight made Alejandro groan, you looked so pretty, covering the right side of your face with His cum too. They pull away admiring their work.

Ghost's hips pick up in spread before he slams down holding your head in place, your nose against the ash-blonde happy trail. Cum flowed down your throat, swallowing all you could. He pulls back as you cough and suck in as much air as you could.

Your hands shoot down to hold onto Gaz's shoulders, your moans now free for all to hear. You moan as you feel yourself squirt again all over Gaz's thighs, a moment later feeling both men fill you with their cum. Price was the first to pull out with a low chuckle.

"so what do you say Lovie? Wanna stay with us? I promise we'll give you lots of orgasms~"

Part 2 ->

[scoonsalicious]

2.3 Bucky*

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Summary: Lily McIntyre, trainer for new SHIELD recruits at the Avengers Tower, has been in love with her best friend, Bucky Barnes, from the moment she met him. She's been content with her role of the #1 girl in Bucky's life, even if it means she has to sabotage a romantic relationship or two. It'll be worth it when he realizes that they're meant for each other, right? There's just one small problem: Lily McIntire never expected Bucky Barnes to fall for You.

Warnings: (For this part only; see Story Masterlist for general Warnings) Language, Explicit sexual content Minors: GTFO; I don’t serve your kind here (protected PIV).

Word Count: 1.5k

Previously On...: Bucky helped your soul vacate your body.

A/N: More smut, yay!

NOTE! The tag list is a fickle bitch, so I'm not really going to be dealing with it anymore. If you want to be notified when new story parts drop, please follow @scoonsaliciousupdates

Thank you to all those who have been reading; if you like what you've read, likes, comments, and reblogs give me life, and I truly appreciate them, and you!

He held her until she stopped trembling, looking at her in absolute awe as she came back into herself. He’d never, in his entire, long life, had a girl come apart like that for him before. I could love this woman, he thought to himself, then immediately banished the idea from his head. He barely knew her. But, god, how he wanted to. He wanted to know everything about her, and he wanted her to know everything about him– the good, and the bad. All of the bad. He wanted her to know all of him, and still want him once she did, because even though he’d just had her, he wanted more of her, all of her. Every single bit.

“Major?” he murmured, once her body had finally stilled. 

“Hmm?” She sounded so peaceful, satiated. 

“I hate to ask this, sweetheart,” he began, feeling the flush of embarrassment rise to his cheeks, “but is there any way I could–”

“Oh my god, you poor thing!” she said before he could finish. “You’ve been lying here with cum in your pants this entire time. Fuck. Come on.” She stood up, still gloriously naked, and reached for his hand. Blowing out all but one of the emergency candles, she led him by muscle memory through the darkness into her bedroom. “I’m so sorry,” she said, taking the remaining candle and placing it on top of a dresser. 

“There’s nothing you need to apologize for,” Bucky said. His breath hitched as she walked up to him, the soft golden light of the candle bouncing off her naked body. She reached down and began undoing his belt, then the fly of his jeans. Silently, she rolled the soiled clothing down his legs, helping him step out of them until he was just as bare as she was. When the power came back on, she told him, she’d toss them into the wash for him.

“Fuck,” she whispered, and he noticed her staring at his erect cock, eyes wide as she ran her tongue over her bottom lip.

“Sorry,” he said, shyly moving a hand to cover himself, but she pulled his hand away. 

“You’re fucking beautiful,” she whispered, repeating his own words back to him with a smirk. “I just wanna look at you a minute.”

And god, she made him feel beautiful, scars and all. 

“I would really, really love to have that down my throat right now,” she told him, not once taking her eyes off of his, admittedly thick, dick. 

Bucky groaned. He would love that, too, but there was something else he wanted so much more right now. “Major,” he said, and she looked up at him at the sound of her name, eyes shining in the darkness. “We have all the time in the world for that, later. But right now?” Bucky stepped forward and grabbed her hip, jerking her against him and feeling satisfied when she let out a little shriek of surprise. “Right now, I gotta know what it’s like to have my cock inside of you. Please let me fill you with my cock.”

He watched her breasts rise and fall as she took in his words. It was hard to tell in the darkness, but he was pretty sure her pupils had blown out, leaving only black. “Yes,” she breathed, and she flung herself at him, jumping to wrap her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. 

Bucky groaned into her mouth as he kissed her, his hands kneading into the soft skin of her ass. She felt like absolute heaven, and he nearly blew his load again once he felt her hot, wet cunt grind itself against his lower stomach. 

By the light of the single candle, he carried Major over to the bed, gently placing her down. Before he could join her, though, she leaned over and reached into her bedside table, pulling out a roll of condoms. He watched in awe as her small hands, with a slight tremble of anticipation in them, tore at the foil packaging and removed the latex. He gulped as she reached for him, giving his shaft a few long, sure strokes before rolling the condom down the length of him. 

Then, to his utmost surprise and delight, Major crawled herself over to the middle of the bed, laid down on her back, and opened her legs wide for him, a silent invitation in the smile on her lips. He must have died and gone to Heaven, he thought, because there was no way he was deserving of something so amazing in this life. God, she was so pretty, all spread open for him like a beautiful flower he couldn’t wait to pluck. 

Joining Major on the bed, Bucky settled himself between her thighs. Grasping his length, he ran the tip through her soaking wet folds, loving how her eyes rolled back each time the tip of his cock hit her clit. 

“Tell me if it’s too much for you,” he warned gently. “Tell me if it hurts, and I’ll stop.” He’d been with girls in the past who hadn’t been able to take him, especially without him warming them up first, and the last thing he wanted to do was cause Major discomfort or pain. Not when she was so open and pretty for him. 

“Dick. Inside. Now,” she ordered, and he loved how bossy she sounded. Slowly, so as to give her time to adjust to the stretch of him, Bucky sunk himself into her, inch by agonizing inch. He was about half way when he paused to check in with her. “How you doin, gorgeous?” he asked. Major’s eyes were scrunched up, a look of intense concentration on her face. “Good,” she grunted. “So… thick. Keep… going.” And so, he did, moving nearly incrementally until he was fully seated inside of her. He could feel her walls squeezing him, and he wondered if he was hurting her. “Doll?” he asked, looking at Major intently. “You alright there? You still with me?”

She opened her eyes and smiled, nodding. “Just need a second,” she told him as she worked to breathe through any stretch she might be feeling. “Never… had so… big.”

Bucky grinned at that, hopeful that, whatever might happen between the two of them in the future, he’d at least be memorable in that regard.

After a few moments, Major’s breathing evened out and he felt her muscles relax around him. She was ready, and Bucky wasted no more time. He slowly slid out before snapping back into her, building up a rhythm. There was a part of him that wanted to fuck her hard, to show her what he was capable of, wanting to ruin her for any other man but him, but a bigger part of him wanted to take his time, to go slow, to savor her. 

So he kept his thrusts long and even, relishing in the feel of her every time he bottomed out, every time his tip nudged her cervix. He loved the way she squeezed him, pulled him back into her as he worked to pull out, like she never wanted him to leave. “‘S so fucking good, Bucky,” Major moaned, wrapping her legs around his waist, hooking her ankles together behind his back and using them to pull him further into her, as if she couldn’t get him deep enough to satisfy her. He brought his lips back down to hers, kissing her with a slowness he was unfamiliar with, but that felt so right. Everything about Major, about this felt so right. “You’re doing so good for me, sugar,” he said, burying his face into her neck and sucking kisses into the skin there. “So nice and warm, so tight. Makin’ me never wanna come outta this pretty pussy.”

“Christ, Barnes,” she panted. Major yanked on the chain of his dog tags, pulling his face closer to hers so she could kiss him again, long and deep, and the motion sent Bucky reeling over the edge into his release. Not wanting to leave her behind, he brought a hand to her clit as he continued to thrust into her. “So close,” Major moaned, and he knew she wasn’t far behind. He kept rubbing, kept kissing, kept rutting his hips into this little slice of Heaven until she was falling over the edge with him.

Bucky collapsed, trying not to drop all of his weight on top of her, but Major wrapped her arms around his back and held his head to her chest, gently running her fingers through his sweat-slicked hair.

“Thank you,” he said sincerely. “That was amazing. You were amazing.”

Major chuckled and kissed the top of his head. “I’m pretty sure we were both amazing, together,” she said. Bucky could not disagree.

<- Previous Part / Next Part ->

[public-slaughterhouse]

Animals

another request 🙏please go easy on me if it happens to be cringe, this is the first spicy thing i've ever written but i tried 💔

18+ | patrick zweig x male reader | 1893 words | if you liked it enough pls reblog 🥲 it motivates me greatly

PS i love all three of them. do not separate. this is just a patrick centric one shot <3

You sat down on the carpeted floor in front the two, eyeing them with an amused grin. Nothing happened yet but surely, good company paired with alcohol promised to be a good time.

Both Patrick and Art donned the same smile, and it was a pleasant surprise how easily you got along, plus you were sure the 6-pack you brought in addition helped a bit.  

"So... Fire and Ice... isn't that a bit cheesy?" you asked, finishing the second can of beer you had while they sipped along in tandem. Patrick let out an amused little snort, Art grinning and shrugging at the question as if the answer was obvious. Biting your lip, you looked from one to the other, just taking in the atmosphere that was both arousing and just that sort of lazy, relaxed kind of air. The kind that naturally occurred when you started drinking with two other hot tennis players who just happened to be dudes. Even in your half-hazy state though it didn't escape how Patrick eyed you up and down occasionally, more so than Art.

"Well, in our defense, we didn't come up with that, it just... happened  one time, and then it started circulating and just kinda stuck."  Nodding in understanding, you set the empty can aside, you leaned on your knees forward, looking between the two boys with a dopey grin, who more or less looked the same.

"What?"

"Truth or dare."

Art rolled his eyes.

"C'mon..."

"Come ooonnn this is like the truth or dare situation. There's no better time for this." you pleaded. You would've asked what you wanted to anyway, but this was more fun, and a hazy summer night like this basically begged for it.

"Yeah, come on Ice." Patrick joined you leaning closer to him before sitting back with a satisfied smile on his face. Nodding as if that's all you needed to hear, you didn't waste any time asking the question that had been plaguing your mind since the match they played previously that day, seeing how they celebrated after Patrick hit the winner.  

"So... have you two ever, y'know... together...?"  

"I don't think that's how you play truth or dare..."

"A-ha, you're totally deflecting dude, I knew it!" you pointed at Art who leaned his head back, looking up at the ceiling, exasperatedly shaking his head, strawberry blonde curls bouncing with the movement. You looked at Patrick for help, hoping he'd be more willing to share,  which honestly you had no real doubts about. In fact, he looked like he was dying to tell you. You were feeling good, really good, this was fun.

"....Well--"

"PATrick, no."

Art was hiding his face in his shirt now, and that small gesture was so adorably shy of him it was almost unbearable. God, they both were. They really were fire and ice, but now you saw that in a completely new light. Patrick was all showing off and completely unashamed, while Art was somewhat held back, you noticed. They're both really fun though.

"Patrick yes?" you pleaded, goading him further, fully lowering down onto the floor comfortably on your stomach. His mouth pursed, but his smile never left his face, especially now seeing you in that position. He subtly tried to shift his legs in a way that could make his half-mast dick less apparent (emphasis on tried). He wondered if you just changed position to do the same. Now half-laying on the carpeted floor, you were situated next to Patrick's stretched-out legs, and Art on your other side peeking out from his shirt, shaking his head at the other.

"Don't leave a bro hanging like that, dude..." You looked at Art with the dopiest smile ever, and he knew he couldn't stop this, it was clear by the heavy sigh that left him. Despite the situation, he still felt relaxed with you here, aside from how you teamed up on him with Patrick. The beer almost made him forget that they invited Tashi too and he wondered if she was still going to show up.

"Oh my god dude, Patrick's gonna tell you anyway..." he mumbled out before a sudden ring made all three heads perk up.

"Your phone's ringing."

"I can hear it dickhead,"

Looking between the two of them, you watched with a snort as Art scrambled to find his phone with the elegance of a sloth on Adderall. Looking at the caller ID with a roll of his eyes, he begrudgingly went for the door, and you made a mock-displeased face at him, thinking he could walk out like that and not see his expression during Patrick's storytime.

"Ugh, I gotta go and take this..."

"Pfft, nice excuse Art..."

He took his leave, but not without flipping the both of you off for good measure.

Immediately, at the same time, you looked at Patrick, and Patrick at you almost conspiratorially, and yet you weren't even sure why, it was just first instinct. You couldn't deny, the first thought in your brain at the invitation to their hotel room was nothing less than obscene. They were both so fucking hot. Ascending to sit on the pushed-together beds, casual as ever you observed the room a bit more keenly before your eyes were back on him again. The message behind your movements didn't escape him.

"So... 'm still dying to know how it went."

Setting down the mostly empty can on the cluttered drawer behind him, Patrick rose up, not bothering to hide the tent in his pants anymore.

It only took half a moment for Patrick to straddle you, pushing you back down as you let out an amused huff at his eagerness before it turned into a strangled moan. Your clothed dick rubbed against his, another moan from Patrick following yours.

"I got other things on my mind right now, maybe later..." he gave that same cheeky grin that was present on his face most of the time.

"I wanted to do this the moment I saw you play..." The mention of that made you buck your hips into his instinctively, imagining just how Art and Patrick observed you with calculating eyes as you played the day before. You wish you could've seen that. You could see the smugness ooze from his expression, pleased with your reaction. You didn't let him get a word out though, pulling him down suddenly over by his shirt and he quickly got the message, all the while never ceasing the movement of his hips.

Your senses were quickly taken over by his smell, and you hated how much that turned you on even more, wanting to feel more of him, physically and in every other way. Not how you expected to find this out about yourself, but you quickly shoved that thought in the back of your brain as Patrick bit down on your lip, resulting in another throaty moan out of you.

You returned the sentiment enthusiastically, grabbing at the sleeves of his shirt and tugging it down carelessly, Patrick having the same idea. He didn't stop the assault on your senses, sliding his hands up your torso before he got rid of your shirt too.

"Fuck me..." Patrick growled out at the sight, and you couldn't help but grin, arching your back off the bed as if taunting him for a moment.

"No, you-"

"Shut up..." with that, he was back on you, palms stroking up and down your pectorals. It was hot, messy and sweaty as he kissed you, the only thing you could do was snake your fingers through his curls as his nose bumped into yours, and teeth clashed in the process. You didn't know kissing could turn you on this much, seeing as you could feel yourself close to cumming inside your underwear embarrassingly soon.

"'M gonna cum dude--mmph--"

"Good," he mumbled out against your mouth, reaching down to unbutton his shorts, before pulling down yours just the same. You groaned out into his mouth at feeling his hand wrap around the both of you, eyes rolling back into your head, which didn't escape Patrick's notice, letting out an amused chuckle at your blissed-out expression.

"Anyone else ever jerk you off, huh...?"

"Mm... n-no... fuck..."

You could imagine his hands were just as calloused as yours from the way you held a racket, and you were correct, and yet it still felt so different from your own hand as he slowly began stroking the both of you at the same time, your cock twitching against his as your mixed pre coated your flesh.

"I can only guess you got that treatment though..." you huffed out as Patrick moved down to your jaw now, licking and biting messily, letting you take a breather, and you could feel him grin into your neck in response, which was enough of an answer for you. He squeezed his hand occupied with your dick against his, not far behind you as he slightly sped up, the movement becoming frenzied and in turn making you raise your hips further up against his.

"Fuck, 'm close, 'm close..."

"Mm, me too..." This time, his voice was almost a whine as his forehead lay on your collarbone, and it was weirdly endearing. You couldn't help but brush your fingers through his hair again affectionately, unable to hold any moans back now.

Just as you thought that you could possibly hold on for a moment longer, Patrick's thumb began swiping at the tip of your cock, and as if in an instant you were thoroughly overstimulated out of nowhere, which is what exactly Patrick imagined would happen.

"That feel good, hmph...?"

That easy smile never left his face, watching your expression only helping him further as he kept stroking, looking down, and seeing your cum coat the flat of your belly. It was fucking dirty and he loved it. If he didn't know better he would've thought you passed out by the way you laid so limp under him, aside from the few twitches in his hand. He bit down on your neck to see if it would bring out another reaction from you.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck..." you felt his teeth against your pulse point, mouthing little praises and growls into your skin before he tensed up against you, his grip tightening as he released all over your abdomen with a strangled groan, collapsing down on you with a deep sigh. You were both feeling sticky with sweat and cum, more so as Patrick laid over you tiredly, gently petting the back of his head again as you both caught your breath, feeling his now limp length against yours sending a shiver down your spine, slowly processing what just happened.

"Fuck... you do that often...?" you mumbled out after a few moments of quiet panting.

"What, y'mean with Art...?" he replied with a question of his own, smiling lazily, just barely turning to look up at you. You couldn't help but snort out loud at the reply, letting that answer linger in the air, content to just lay there for a few more minutes in silence with the warmth of another body against yours. Until both of you heard the door creak open, completely missing the sound of footsteps leading up to the room.

"Hey, Tashi came-- nope, nope, fuck. Fucking Christ Patrick."

[fleshwerks]

Ugh, there's no end to it. Sorry, followers. ADHD hyperfixation says, and it won't stop until it's late at night and I'm crawling into bed, brain-tired, asking myself 'what the hell was the point of all that, Mari?' This time, we set our iron sights on Rook.

Relying on my reblogged post about pope Leliana, here's another problem. I think they kind of wanted another Hawke, but also wanted a blank slate. The Inquisitor received shrapnel for being 'bland', but you could still pretty effectively roleplay personality onto them with with the admittedly meagre dialogue options. The problem with Rook is that thy're ne ryba ne myaso. They're not a stand-alone character with existing personality + a lot of intense player-induced flavour. But they're not a complete blank slate with some vague history that leaves a lot up to the headcanon, either. Rook's just three flavours of friendly: nice-polite, nice-jokey, nice-stern. Rook is just... nice. Not burdened heavily by past connections of family and personal experiences, but not a complete blank slate like the Inquisitor, either. You can't really project onto Rook because there's just enough there for them to be a character separate from what you've largely personally created, but they're not interesting enough as a separate person for you to mould them to your vision. Some argue that the 'asshole option' and wanting it to be there just means that you, the player are an asshole and you want to be an asshole, and that means you're a bad person. But how about when you want your Rook to be nice, but have a breaking point? Where Rook's patience runs out and they just fucking snap? , but not too stern. It'd be nice to have an option to do that. And from what I gather from what I saw, the option simply isn't there for the most part.

Rook is built to be accommodating. Sacrificing existing personality and player-made personality for the sake of catering to solving the problems your companions.

It's a roleplaying game in name only. And you can do that thing well. Pathologic 2 does it well, it has a lot of flavour, though it doesn't affect the outcome. But the flavour matters. You can have a very distinct personality without it causing problems for the writers who have a certain story and outcome in mind. It starts to come across like Bioware's writers were either hamstrung by an inexperienced lead and/or financiers, or it's a crew comprised entirely of inexperienced people who don't know how to do good game writing, or the problem is someone who is experienced, but has a strong but incompetent vision, and is simply not willing to compromise. Still, one has to wonder what the brief by the investors was. Because right now it sounds like the brief was: "Offend no one. We need to cast a wide net and make some fucking moneeeey."

Looks like the fans are once more saddled with having to make their headcanon entirely from scratch, but this time with no support whatsoever from the in-game dialogue wheel. Which... honestly? It's my jam, when I'm not playing. But when I'm playing, I want to either play someone with established personality, or a total blank slate with plenty of room to build character in-game and support my headcanon that way. Not someone who's completely shackled somewhere in the middle, too afraid of saying anything wrong and thus reducing themselves to a single trait: "nice."

Where's Vivienne rearranging your castle furniture just to provoke you because she thinks you're a troglodyte who doesn't know their arsehole from their mouth based on your increasingly hostile interactions (if you go down that path. Her positive path is very rewarding).

Disclaimer: I could get the game and sit with Rook for several playthroughs, but I said it before and I say it again: a good game gives you most everything on the first playthrough. A poor game relies on subsequent playthroughs and a shitton of legwork by the player's own imagination to wring meaning out of this cold piece of smooth and featureless rock.

[dumbdomb]

Read my pinned post BEFORE you interact: like, reblog, reply, dm, ask, or follow. Must be over twenty-five years of age to interact. 25+ only. You do not have my consent to "Like" this post without reading my pinned first. MDNI.

Men: Hard BLOCK ME right now if you're "mostly straight" or "attracted to women" or "like whatever you're into" (including "just posting stuff you like" and "posting whatever you want to" and other variations of this statement) and your blog is mostly about M/F relationships, thin white and nude women, unrealistically large ass and breasted women, female nudes, rule 34 underage cartoon anime girls in nude or sexual scenarios, or mostly just imagery of women, only going to like or reblog visuals of my body, or following my blog after liking or reblogging visual content of my body, don't know much of anything about gender and sexuality, pretend to not be an allocishet male by using inaccurate labels and keywords you don't even understand the definition of in order to hopefully avoid getting blocked or to receive nudes from people who clearly have boundaries against allo cis het men interacting with them (like i do), or if you have "women dni" in your description or pinned.

helping my friend get over their nerves for an upcoming exam on proper techniques when using a speculum on really tight patients... (of course, they'd ask me for help.) we try to keep things as professional as possible, but in a safe and comfortable environment. just the two of us friends, studying together like we always do. they place each of my soft, recently pedicured feet in the makeshift stirrups- making me jump and pull my leg back when they accidentally tickle my foot. we both laugh briefly and move on. they place a bedsheet over my legs for privacy, and awkwardly- yet firmly- reposition my hips low over the table's edge. (which makes me suddenly feels very exposed in front of my friend, but they're so gentle and kind about it.) they put on gloves and, cautiously, almost hesitantly, carefully graze past my thighs and softly pull at my outer labia. letting everything bounce back into place as they inspect different parts of my vulva. my breathing has already changed, but i try to keep calm. they ask if it's ok to begin checking me internally, and i nod affirmatively. they get some lube on one hand and use the other to place on my lower tummy, sliding one finger inside my hole- and for a moment, i swear they had held their breath... they lubricate my opening and slide another finger in, nearly filling my small, tight cunt. i try to focus on staying calm, breathing, meditating, but i notice a slight, subtle, side smile as my friend slides their fingers in and out of my hole- occasionally pressing down on my tummy. they remove their fingers and begin cleaning up... confused, i reassure them it's ok to continue (somewhat missing the feeling of them inside me). they've wiped some of the lube off my vulva and removed their gloves already, placing each hand on my hips as they casually hover over me, asking, "are you sure?" saying i looked a little nervous, their eyes glancing over me as they lean back. i didn't mean to, but i felt my cunt twitch hard with an ache to be touched again, right when they glanced down. (i hoped they hadn't noticed, and kinda wish they did!) they looked off to the side, over study materials, and sat back down in front of me. their hands running over my thighs, hips, and holding at my waist as i watch the top of their head lower under the sheets still covering me. suddenly, i feel their breath on my vulva- quickly followed by their incredibly warm and soft lips, slowly, planting a big kiss on my clit!! (omg. i was so shocked, there's no way i could've stopped my cunt from immediately throbbing hard and clenching in need for more... i've never felt more embarrassed and vulnerable in my life!) i just heard them laugh, holding my thighs firmly in place like a big hug, and then felt their slimy, hot tongue widely licking over my entire vulva. 😵‍💫

Read My Pinned BEFORE you interact! 25+ only.

NO: lurkers, likes only, inactive, empty, or blank blogs. DO NOT LIKE MY CONTENT. DNI. ♥️

[outmakingmoonshine]

(Some of) my hopes (and some theories) for S3

The number 1 thing I want is a scene after Nat's had her baby where Carmy sees Syd holding the baby and his entire world stops bc that's all he wants for his future 😭 If Sydcarmy kiss or something I'll be happy and I'll reblog every single gif of it like a normal person BUT if we get a Syd holding the baby scene I'm gonna be uncontrollable on every social media platform available. I might even post it on Reddit and watch the meltdown! This is where the bar of my expectation is for S3. If we get this (or anything remotely like it) I'll be so satisfied, any other good thing that happens between Sydcarmy will be a bonus for me.

We know we're getting a Syd x Pete scene and I want a Carmy x Pete scene where Pete's talking about how great Syd is and Carmy can't help but warm to him a bit more. The potential relationships between Syd x Pete and Pete x Carmy are so important to me 🥹 my three awkward, anxious lonely babies (Pete's not lonely now but I think he probably was once upon a time and the Berzatto men singling him out of the family must make him feel lonely and not good enough :( I love Carmy but I will fight him for Pete's dignity and honour!)

Putting the rest under a cut because it's mostly just my musings and ramblings

I want Nat to say something to Carmy about his relationship with Syd. Nat saw their dynamic before Claire came, she saw Syd's reaction to Claire, how sydcarmy's dynamic changed when Claire was around and how Carmy ditching her made Syd feel. She didn't witness all of that for nothing. Someone's gotta tell Carmy how he's been (unintentionally) making Syd feel and I doubt it'll be Syd.

I need to see Richie start respecting Pete at least a little bit. Carmy's already kind of made a step towards respecting and even appreciating Pete for who he is a bit more but I need to see it from Richie too because I'm pretty sure he's the one who leads that little mob mentality against Pete. Even if it doesn't actually happen this season, I need to see it heading in that direction because Pete doesn't deserve all this slander 😭 I need Richie and Carmy to start seeing that the only difference between them and Pete is that he's mature and confident in who he is. They're both not confident in who they are so their only way of feeling like they're above him/better than him is to make fun of him for it. (IRL grown adults with this infantile mentality get on my last nerve so I need to see them come to a realization soon.)

I want Donna to make amends and start finding peace. I know she's technically an antagonist in this story but it really bothers me the way people dismiss her as if she's some monster like we aren't watching Carmy treat the people he loves the exact same way she does. If we can empathize with a man for his toxic behaviour we can empathize with a woman who was going through her own trauma and loss while she had 3 kids (plus Richie) to look after. Any parent who welcomes another person's child into their family unit for years and makes them feel like part of the family despite whatever she's going through, isn't a monster imo. I know she traumatized her kids but honestly, most parents do that and have no remorse about it. Donna has remorse for her actions and the effect it had on her kids. And what is Carmy doing to Sydney's self-esteem and confidence right now? He's definitely not helping it! l If I can forgive Carmy because he's acting on his trauma and I understand he's not just a horrible person by choice, I can do the same for Donna. I know some ppl just don't like JLC because she's pro-zionist (idek I just saw this online somewhere?) which I understand but at the same time, the actress is seperate to the character. Donna's favourite person in the world is gonna be her beautiful black daughter in law! She's gonna love and appreciate Syd so much.

I want Donna's story to end with her starting to heal so people watching this show know that even late in life when you've made all the worst mistakes and inflicted your pain on others you can still heal and try to right those wrongs. It's never too late to start being a better person. This wasn't meant to turn into a rant about Donna but I think the way some fans talk about her character is so unfair and narrow minded because they don't keep the same energy for Carmy.

Some of my theories for S3

I know no one wants to hear this but I think 3x09 Apologies will be an apology to Claire where Carmy finally comes clean about why he gave her a fake number and why he can't be with her, putting an end to romantic Claire/Carmy for good. If we see the end of Claire in the first few episodes I'll be happy but I doubt they'll waste the "suspense" of Claire/Carmy vs SydCarmy by ending it 3 or even 4, 5 episodes in. I don't think she'll be in all 9 episodes leading up to it tho (please no, I love Molly but that's way too much of Claire.)

JAW said during awards season "Claire deserves an apology" which seemed random to me at the time because no one asked him that, he just brought it up and we all know Syd is the one who deserves the biggest apology from Carmy. Idk if they were filming S3 yet when he said that but he already knows where the story is going. Actors don't just play character's "blind" without knowing something about where their story is leading, especially main characters.

I think they'll do the Syd/Claire switcheroo and make it seem like Carmy's going to apologize to Syd (because it will be glaringly obvious he needs to) but it'll be him telling Claire the truth and ending things with her. Idk if Syd will get an actual apology (it would mirror 1x08 where Marcus got the actual apology and Syd didn't even though she probably deserved it more) but I think we will get some kind of super intimate heartwarming/heartbreaking scene from sydcarmy in that episode, just like 2x09.

Also Ayo said something like sydcarmy fans won't get what they want in S3 and it's the one time I actually believe her.

I think we're going to get some amazing sydcarmy scenes in S3 but I don't think it's going to end well for them. I think S4 will mirror S1 and build their dynamic up again back to what it was before Claire came in 2x03. I think S4 is gonna be THE sydcarmy season.

I'm in two minds about whether Syd will sign the contract or not. I'm leaning towards no because despite it meaning Carmy can't just leave again, going off to do whatever he wants with "wHoEvEr" and she'll have his full focus, I just don't think she wants a legal contract to be the basis of why they're committed to working together. Syd's never tried to tie Carmy to her so I don't think she'll appreciate him doing it to her. Carmy's doing this out of desperation, not out of purely wanting to collaborate with her and Syd will sense that. I think Syd wants him to want to work with her. That's why she never actively tried to get him to stay and work with her in S2 and she could've been way more direct and harsh than "I need your focus like you need mine", Lord knows he would deserve it but she isn't trying to force him. That's why she never made him feel bad about being with Claire either even though he ditched her for Claire right when they were getting closer. She doesn't want to guilt trip him or make him feel like he owes her something, she wants it to be his own decision. She wants him to show that he wants it just like she does. And he does...but he just doesn't know how to show it in a healthy way and toxicity raised him so I can't blame him.

Idk what's gonna happen between Syd & Marcus or Syd & Luca but I don't think it actually needs to be romantic to make Carmy jealous, especially if he and Syd aren't seeing eye to eye. I don't think it's necessarily gonna be romantic for Syd either, even if they see her that way. Just like Carmy didn't really see Claire romantically (in present day anyway) and I will die on that hill. That man had zero romantic interest in her despite literally kissing and having sex with her. It was more like he was just going through the motions of a "normal" relationship than it being something he genuinely wanted. Why does he show SO MUCH want and desire for Syd but not a single iota of the same for Claire?!

Seeing Syd get close to any other man is going to bother Carmy regardless, especially if he knows the man is attracted to her. But I feel like Syd is a 'connection before anything else' kinda girl (Carmy is too, that's why having sex with Claire literally sent him into a spiralling panic attack the morning after) but Syd doesn't have the exact same issues and trauma that Carmy has so I can't see Syd being with or sleeping with someone she doesn't feel connected to like that. I could be wrong but I can't see her changing her mind about Marcus and suddenly dating him at this point. She seems like someone who knows what she wants and won't settle for less just because it's available. (Not that Marcus is "less" than anyone, my sweet little cherub.) I could see her feeling a connection to Luca though, he's basically a calm version of Carmy that pays attention.

Ayo basically saying in an interview that Will Poulter pays attention to her instead of his phone was such a random piece of info imo. I get it made context in the story she was telling but it just seems like such a deliberate pointed thing to bring up knowing right now in the show Syd doesn't feel appreciated or listened to by Carmy. She could've answered the question without mentioning Will at all tbh, and even if she did mention him she didn't need to mention all of that, give us a whole backstory and everything, idk. This might be a reach but I'm pretty sure they give out of context clues like this in interviews, they definitely do it in the show so I wouldn't be surprised.

I think it was a clue about the dynamic between Syd and Luca in S3 and the difference between Carmy and Luca is Carmy's unfocused and makes Syd feel like he doesn't listen to her but Luca makes her feel like he pays attention to her. I still don't think this needs to be in a romantic sense but I'm happy for Syd to get some TLC from a hot blond guy with tattoos before Carmy sees sense.

Idk we'll see how that story plays out in S3 but if the fact Luca pays attention to her is a plot point (even a subtextual one) I'm taking that story from Ayo as an out of context spoiler.

I love Marcus and I adore Lionel BUT I just can't see Marcus and Syd being together. Their vibe is so brother/sister to me that it would just be weird at this point in the show imo. The same way sydcarmy ending the show only ever being "platonic co-workers" would give me weird inappropriate vibes about their dynamic throughout the show. The romantic dynamic between sydcarmy and the platonic dynamic between Syd x Marcus are kinda set in stone imo, especially after S2. It'll be very difficult from a literary standpoint to drastically change those dynamics in a believable way and keep the quality of storytelling and integrity of the show intact at this point. It's not impossible, I just don't think it's likely at all.

I'll be honest, I'm not looking forward to Marcus's storyline in S3. My mum died when I was young so seeing kids (even if they're adults) attending their mum's funeral on shows/movies always makes me emotional, especially when it's a character I care about. (If we get a flashback of Syd at her mum's funeral I might actually die of sadness bc I'm not ready for that! I've had enough time to accept I'm gonna see Marcus's mum's funeral but if they spring Syd's mum's funeral on me too it might actually break me idk.) I am looking forward to seeing him be supported through it though and other than his mother's funeral storyline I'm excited to see where his story goes in S3. I feel like Carmy's gonna be an asshole to him if he starts getting closer to Syd and while I love the angst and jealousy of SydCarmy he better not hurt Marcus's feelings or be too hard on him. I can't wait for some Marcus x Luca scenes too.

I nearly forgot the loml, Tina! I'm so excited to see her story in S3, idek what to expect other than her backstory episode that Ayo's directing 🙌🏽 but I'm sure I will love it. Liza does so well in this role at making me feel things (all of the cast do tbh but Liza as Tina just plucks my heartstrings on a different level.)

If you read this far, thank you I appreciate you 💛

[eluxcastar]

Ok lets go SImply reblogging your oneshot for my req isn't enough i need to analyze and annotate the entire thing like a literature professor and tell you Everything. (✿◡‿◡)

pantalone might be ooc

He's not!!!!!! by which i think this is fairly a Really Good portrayal of the guy considering the 5 sentences we know about him. He's strict!!! frankly a little scary!! And also chill and positive about loverboy!! But it felt Just Right!!!! ( •̀ ω •́ )✧

descriptions of blood

description so good i might as well have killed that man myself

...pretend that his lore has a spot where this fits perfectly

I think i can make it fit!! would you be cool with making minor changes if so?

"You're very good at what you do."

Imagining the same voice as sebastian michaelis saying this with the sexiest buttersmooth voice is eviscerating me. Very self-indulgent but praise kinks will always slay so hard.

...on the verge of stabbing him a moment ago. 

This,, and the small thing i wrote about loverboy launching them both out the window to escape an onslaught of assassins in my other req. get you a ship where one of them has completely normal knee-jerk reactions to kill the other <3

...as he crushes their hand beneath his shoe without mercy

Fatui Harbingers - House of Wolves - KIERU 0:15

...Instead, Pantalone looks unfazed by it all, stopping as he reaches the other side of you, free of most of the blood. He greets you with a knowing smile as he usually does.

hey ririto this is so ominous and eerie for some reason not known to me. Just the backdrop of grey and snow and probably a gruesome corpse right next to loverboy and Pantalone has a silent smile through everything. Delicious sentence 10/10.

"I knew making you a banker was a good idea,"

THIS IS SO. The confidence and quite calm assurance that pantalone says this with is SO. You'd never be sure whether to lean into it and let out a sigh of relief,, o r back up further becuase it sounds so good but all in the wrong ways.

...thumb brushing across your bottom lip slicked with blood.

fellas is it professional to feed double edged words of honey to your young inexperienced subordinate while kneeling in front of his battered and bruised self who killed someone for you,, and run a gloved thumb across his blood soaked lip. ( ͡• ͜ʖ ͡• )

"Who knew you had so many other talents,"

you are infusing these dialouges with crack cocaine giggling kicking my feet while being slightly concerned because Sir. What do you mean by that.

"Ah ah," he says, a harshness seeping into even just that sound. "Stay."  You stay put,

thank you for making loverboy so Ouppy.

"Lord Harbinger," you try to say

yes,, this could be a minor thing to adjust: i think we could actually fit this oneshot somewhere AFTER he gets his vision,, and BEFORE Pantalone becomes the Harbinger Regrator. Can be a valid reason for Pantalone to see that reader failed to kill the assassin from their shitty negotiation meeting,, and wanting to newly test him again after he had his vision + ambitions awakened to see if he can get past the fear of killing NOW. (Even then,, maybe due to inexperience/unfamiliarity of using visions, reader didn't think to raise his advantage of supernatural powers against another visionless man in this scenario.)

I'd think his first kill was one of the factors that caused him to leave after his 3year duty, not sticking around for Pantalone's promotion to Regrator.

"You are much like your father."

Top 10 things Not to say to someone with daddy issues-

...they're as wet behind the ears as you are.

Dear diary, Today i learned a new speech of expression

...Pantalone's hand that rests on your chin moves... "Now, try again. Dear banker, whatever do you mean?" 

this whole paragraph. What on earth do you mean 'ooc pantalone'. This is the MOST pantalone thing you could've written. Strict and intimidating about improving reader's meek attitude. a Push in the right direction.

"Is this a test?" you manage, words muffled by the way he squishes your face like putty beneath his fingers.

(thank you for making loverboy so Ouppy) x2

...and you know who, regardless of how 'anonymous' that source may have been in his words.

I MAY BE STUPID. （；´д｀）ゞ I CANT TELL. who you are hinting towards 😭😭

"Hold this," he adds, an unnervingly tender instruction for the way he was just behaving. 

There he is. its reminding me of: the same pantalone that washed reader with a clock in my very first req to you.

...looking probably about as pathetic as you think you do.

POV: You're Pantalone looking down at Loverboy.

I forgot how much of a bug-eyed wet dog loverboy is before his time-skip "character development" so to say. Thanks i love him.

"next time someone approaches you from behind, don't wait to stab them. Don't reach for your wet knife with your wet hands, either. Both of those things will get you killed."

I think pantalone is entirely having too much fun with observing Loverboy try climbing the ropes to how REAL fatuus run business.

"Come now. You want to go home and back to Liyue, don't you? I'm tired of this cold." 

Σ(っ °Д °;)っ back to liyue??? Loverboy is Liyuean??? pantalone stays in liyue??? I ALWAYS THOUGHT arlecchino called pantalone a bitch in Signora's funeral for "never leaving the comfort of his homeland?" Whuh-?

ALL IN ALL,, CLOSING THOGUHTS,, GOOD FOOD RIRITO DINNER HAS BEEN SERVED, ATE, AND LICKED CLEAN 10/10 ILY

I GOTT THIS JUST BEFORE I WENT TO SLEEP AND ONLY JUST GOT THE TIME TO ANSWER IT BUT I KNEWWW YOU WOULD GET THE HOUSE OF WOLVES REFERENCE

That is true actually and I realised after I posted it that like, wtf is in character for him?? 😭 he's said like two things and while I have memorised those things they're not a lot to go off but I'm glad you enjoy him (ﾉ´▽｀)ﾉ♪

Also if you can make it fit, feel free ☆(≧∀≦*)ﾉ I sorta only had a vague idea of where it might go, but at that point in time, loverboy works abroad in the Northland Bank. I'll also throw in that he travelled there for that job and unfortunately does not come from Liyue 😔 (unless he's supposed to?? I got the impression he was from Snezhnaya) it was more a "I bet you'd love to be back at a desk job rn" or something to that effect, loverboy is going back to the bank once things are settled where he belongs but Pantalone isn't going with him (hence why they're in Snezhnaya when this happenscause I also interpret at as him not liking to leave Liyue)

I'm so glad the J Michael Tatum love never stops but also you're so right praise kinks absolutely do. I also noticed that them trying to kill each other is like, a repeated theme so far 😭⁉️ LIKE WHEN PANTALONE WENT TO FIND HIM LAST ONESHOT HE WAS GONNA KILL THAT FUCKER

Confident possibly mildly degrading Pantalone is literally my favourite thing, like I chew on him. I chew on him being unnervingly calm because what would he have in the eyes of a wet mop boy besides an unwavering poker face. Get yourself a man who uses the blood of your enemies like your lipstick and knows he made good choices stationing you at his shady probably money laundering black hole of debt he calls a bank

Yk I agree actually I was trying to figure the timeline out in my head and realised it would've made more sense to happen before he was a Harbinger so I agree with this revision that actually makes it fit the lore and if I ever decide to make it a longer multichapter fic I'll definitely fix that 💀 t'was a victim of laziness

YES YES THIS Pantalone basically shaping him up so he doesn't literally die and being strict with it get so him. He'll prompt him to say it again but won't let it slide because that behaviour isn't going to be beneficial, especially not with someone who may be working under him long-term

I went back to read the part about the anonymous source line came from, and I think I figured out what happened here, so allow me to explain  (;ﾟдﾟ)   Ok so, it has a bit to do with the weird way I wrote this because when I said I wrote this on the train that was half a lie. I wrote some of it on the train and the rest at the library where I also edited what I already had because the spelling mistakes were atrocious. I did write down who it was but cut it when I decided it cluttered the story a bit which retrospectively was also a mistake because I didn't think about the fact it would seem like I was hinting at something at the time (ﾟ▽ﾟ*) the shorter, boring answer is that there's no one Ririto did a big silly and cut context in the chaotic editing this suffered

LMAO NOT THE CLOCK AGAIN

I love him the wet mop boy. I was like I want him to be at least a lil pathetic rn because his concerns are completely different. He's thinking about how to not die, and how much he misses his mom and his much fatui dick his dad must've been riding before death to think this career path was worth it (slash JOKING but he is still wondering why his father would have done this job willingly) that and I think men who whimper are cute thanks for coming to my Ted talk

HE IS ENJOYING IT and I love it sm

Hehe I am glad to know you haven't gone hungry today (^o^) and such high ratings for the banker and loverboy

[thehollowwriter]

Summary: How Deuce decided to make a deal with Azul before the start of Chapter 3

(Pls reblog and leave a comment ❤)

Failure Hurts Worse Than Any Spell

Deuce spade was having a difficult time.

The knowledge that his goal of being a model student was drifting further and further away, slipping thought his fingers, hung over him like a dark cloud.

Getting into fights. Almost being expelled. Two overblots. Bad grades. Upsetting his seniors. The list carried on and continued to grow no matter how hard he tried.

Deuce was sick of this. He was sick of failing at every turn and he was sick of constantly being terrified of how his mother would react. His mother, who gave everything for him, who he took for granted and mistreated. He promised himself he would do better for her. Now that promise was fracturing and breaking apart.

Deuce ran a hand through his hair and bit his lip to suppress a sniffle. His eyes stung and his lips trembled but he would not cry, damn it. He had things to do.

The first year sat cross-legged on his bed, which was completely covered in a sprawl of disorganized mess of study notes and textbooks.

Shit.

He was confused. Utterly confused. And the history exam was tomorrow. Damn, he'd fucked up big time.

Shit shit shit shit-

The bedroom door opened and in walked Ace, already in his pajamas and grinning from ear to ear.

Deuce frowned. "Where have you been all evening?"

"Studying." Ace said breezily. "At a table. Unlike you, dumbass."

Deuce ignored the jab. "You're stopping already? The test is tomorrow."

Ace waved a hand dismissively and climbed into bed. "I got study notes from a guy on campus. They're really amazing. That test is as good as passed."

Deuce scoffed. "Sure." He muttered, knowing full well Ace's marks were almost as poor as his. "Those notes must be a miracle if that's true."

"I'll have you know that it is true." Said Ace and Deuce could feel his glare. "I'll prove it when we get our marks back. Maybe I'll even tell you where I got the notes, cause you sure as hell need them more than me."

"Shut up!" Deuce snapped, hands curling into fists. "I don't need your stupid notes, now go to sleep.

Ace rolled his eyes and turned over. Not another word was spoken, but silently Deuce prayed that he would pass that test.

***

The worst part about writing a test you weren't prepared for was that sinking feeling in your stomach. You feel almost sick, dread and stress building as things went from bad to worse.

Deuce felt like that right now. His stomach churned and his mouth went dry as he stared at his question paper, terrified.

Oh he was screwed. He was screwed he was screwed he was screwed he was screwed-

He snuck a glance at Ace. The redhead was writing slowly, a smug grin on his face. Now, Ace usually had that expression during tests, whether he was passing or not. Why, Deuce wasn't sure, but this time be could see the confidence was genuine.

Shit.

Deuce finished his exam feeling nauseous, his head swimming even as he walked down the hall with Ace, who prattled on and on about how easy it was.

"Those notes really are a life saver." Ace said with a grin. "That was easy as pie."

"..." Deuce didn't reply for a long time, instead opting to stare at the ground in silence. Finally he raised his head and looked at Ace.

"Where did you get them?"

Ace's grin widened. "I'll tell you. But only if I get a ride on your magical wheel."

"Fine."

"Hehe, great~"

Ace stuffed his hands in his pockets and sighed. "I was fed up with bad grades. Heard from a second year in Pomefiore that if you go to Octavinelle the dormleader will grant you any wish. I went to the Mostro Lounge- remember I got you that coffee from there- and had a meeting with the dorm leader, Azul Ashengrotto."

"He was real nice, good looking too, offered me the study notes. There's a price though. You need to sign a contract with him. Give him something in return."

"What do you have to give him?" Deuce didn't have a lot of money. If that's what the Octavinelle dorm leader wanted then he might as well forget about this.

Ace shrugged. "It depends on what you can offer. He's got plenty of money from that restaurant of his already, so you don't have to worry about him charging you like that."

"Oh." Deuce let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Oh okay. What did he charge you?"

Ace laughed and made a zipping motion across his lips. "Now that's personal.".

"Alright fine." Deuce frowned. "How do I make a contract?"

"Go to Mostro Lounge." Said Ace. "Order something- loitering isn't tolerated- and talk to Jade Leech-senpai. He takes meeting requests. You gotta fill out a form so they can get back to you, they're always swarmed during test season.

Deuce nodded. "I'll go." Saturday, maybe.

Ace perked up. "Oh, I almost forgot. Don't tell the dorm leader. We technically aren't allowed to go to Ashengrotto-senpai for deals."

Deuce spun around, eyes wide. "Ace!" He hissed. "You could've led with that! I'm not going against Riddle-senpai, not for study notes!"

Ace rolled his eyes. "Alright fine, mister goody-two-shoes. Keep failing, at least the dorm leader will be happy. Oh, here's my class." He disappeared through a door and the conversation ended.

Deuce didn't think about making a deal for the rest of the day, not until he was lying in bed later that night.

He was unable to sleep, kept awake by disturbing thoughts of his mother learning of his failure to be a good student.

Images of her heartbroken, betrayed face flooded his brain over and over as his ears were filled with the sound of her crying.

Deuce closed his eyes.

His mother was his priority, no matter what.

"Sorry, Riddle-senpai." He whispered. "But I would rather be beheaded than make mom cry again."

-End

....................................

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this! I don't write Deuce often, so I hope I did him justice.

[space-spring]

I reblogged that post the other day about never finishing video games and it made me stop and think hard about my life and the fact that. oh my god....... I really DO never finish video games........... So I have changed my ways by finishing up Chapter 4 and the ending of Chaos route for Tactics Ogre! Tons of endgame spoilers ahead but here are my bullet-pointed highlights:

My guy Azelstan the pirate! I love him. His whole arc with losing his daughter reminded me a little of Svarog and Hossabara from Triangle Strategy (albeit with substantially more nihilism!), and finding him at the port and then going through the story with the girl he takes under his wing made me die a little inside.

I do really appreciate the fact that even once he joins you he's still a little bit of a mess! I feel like a lot of the characters join Denam out of anger or honor or something else equally passionate, and meanwhile Azelstan's out here going "I've lost everything I love and this is just a decent way to try and make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else." He's simply a very sad old man and I love him a lot

This is not a highlight per se but it IS funny: I had to play the whole pirate cove dungeon where you recruit him like three or four times because I kept thinking I had the recruitment conditions fulfilled and then. did not in fact have the recruitment conditions fulfilled. I killed SO many ghosts. I got to the point where I just bought like 30 exorcism arcanas before going in so I could just have anyone regardless of cleric status blast the stilled undead whenever I needed to

AUGHKDHJSHDGHJJS. I am. SO unwell about the Sherri recruitment scene. I cannot express just how much I am unwell about the Sherri recruitment scene. All the Phoraena sisters really are so cool and good and I spontaneously combust whenever they come on screen but this scene is just AUUUUUGH........ It kills me thinking about how long Sherri's been hiding out because she doesn't think anyone will welcome her back and meanwhile her sisters just!!! love her so much!!!!!!!!!! and SHE loves THEM so much!!!!!! it just makes me go woaugh..........

I also just replayed some of the earlier chapters with Cerya and Cistina to test out the endgame rewind feature, and I take back my little chart I made of them a while back where they're arguing over clothes and things. All of the sisters are defined first and foremost by Being Willing To Sacrifice Everything For Each Other and I love them so much about it

And in addition to all the Phoraena sister dynamics, looking at this scene through the perspective of Denam ALSO having a sister who's keeping herself apart because she feels unloved is so. wowowowow

And on that note Denam and Catiua are rotating around in my head 24/7!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm really so in love with how far the writers went with their argument and fallout and also insane about the bad ending in this scenario because AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!?!?!?!?! and also I'm just a sucker for guilt arcs and having to live with mistakes even when it'd be easier not to. Catiua's absolutely insane (affectionate) and I think it's so fun how she changes things around and really comes into her own after this.

Also I really really love that the two of them got to have such a narratively clear conversation about everything that went down!!!!! This is a complete tangent but I sometimes kind of go insane over the fact that in Triangle Strategy we really don't get to see a ton of Roland and Cordelia after they reunite and Whiteholm is retaken. They have. so many things to talk about, and Cordelia has more than a few valid reasons to feel resentment toward Roland for the way he handled retaking Whiteholm. The closest they come to really talking about how they feel is that scene where they're standing in the garden and Roland's trying to explain why he killed Avlora and Cordelia just kinda quietly goes, "I know. I get it. I can't blame you." And while that scene is fun in its own "this bad boy can fit SO many emotionally traumatized Cordelia headcanons in it" sort of way, it's also so so so nice to see Denam and Catiua do the opposite and actually sit down and hash it out for a bit. They get to talk about why they're angry!!! They both get to explain themselves and then reassure each other that they're still loved!!!! They get to be genuinely close again and work as a team!!!!! and I love that for them :)

Also with comparisons to Cordelia, Catiua very distinctly doesn't get sidelined after Denam rescues her!!!! She's an active participant in the war and really takes charge over Denam, which is very neat imo, and I love getting to see her coronation and speech at the end

THIS ATTACK SPECIFICALLY. The whole final boss was so cool but I actually gasped and sat back when I saw this, it was just so so different than any of the other graphics in the game and it made me go nuts

AAAAOAUGH GHAGHG

The credits are really pretty :)

RHCKCHHGLGLRLRLAHHJG I am once again foaming at the mouth about the way the game blends game mechanics and story this is SUCH a fun explanation for how the whole world tarot system works and also I am absolutely gutted by the idea of Denam doing this canonically because he can't stand the regret of the choices he's had to make. I feel like Denam's guilt over the entire conflict isn't explicitly mentioned a ton (he actively makes a lot of comments to the effect of "I'm doing what my honor dictates and I have nothing to be ashamed of") and then every once in a while the game comes back and slaps you with stuff like this. Like hey. hey. yasumi matsuno. can we talk? I jst wantto talkk

Also all the endgame content is SO GOOD. I'm starting to move over to Reborn because I want to experience all the voice acting and stuff over on that version, but it's also so hard to leave my team and all the cool stuff I've unlocked. I need to read up on it more but I'm 90% sure you can recruit Lancelot and Warren if you do the Palace of the Dead stuff which I avoided in Chapter 4, so I'm tempted to go back and do that on there sometime. Or mayhaps I'll just play it through on Reborn once I get through Lawful and Neutral!

But yeah!!! Overall, such a fun route and a fun game and a fun ending :) I do feel like I want to come back to Chaos route once I've finished the other two, because I miss Vyce and the role-playing part of my RPG-obsessed brain really wants him to survive the canon-ish ending because I think there's a ton of things from the beginning of the route that I'll think differently on now that I've finished (like all of the stuff building up to Vyce going nuts and Catiua leaving).

[multidimensional-trashcan]

(particle) physics dashboard simulator

professional-ton follow reblogged 🔄 particl...

➕ professional-ton follow

big L when the top doesn't even last long enough to couple with a bottom

🪦 massivest-quark-deactivated51025

SCATTER YOU AND YOUR DECAYONISM!!! I HOPE YOU'LL NEVER FIND A STABLE NUCLEUS AND MAY THE β-DECAY GET YOU!

➕ professional-ton follow

'never start an argument you know you'll never be able to finish in your lifetime'

- Albert Einstein

#the comment section is full of these freaks #looks like a graveyard in there #at least there's no need for blocking with these types

(22,045 notes)

🏋️‍♂️ giga-chad-particle follow

pussy so good you tunnel right through that coulomb potential

(43 notes)

giga-chad-particle follow reblogged 🔄 neutr...

🟢 neutrinonionionio follow

for someone that can be stopped by a sheet of paper alpha particles are surprisingly full of themsleves

🏋️‍♂️ giga-chad-particle follow

at least im not some fucking WIMP

🟢 neutrinonionionio follow

you do realize that WIMP stands for Weakly Interacting Massive Particle? there isn't even proof they exist. And while im not very massive at all you are a massive buffoon

🏋️‍♂️ giga-chad-particle follow

yuor still fucking WEAK

(578 notes)

📶 scatter-couple-kill follow

They're the cryptids of the particle world and you loved them so much we're bringing them back in a new format! So let's radiate...

#poll #who'd you rather scatter on #scatter couple kill #we'll be back to our usual bullshit soon

(9,084 notes)

physics-strongest-soldier follow reblogged 🔄 e...

⚡ electron-shmelectron follow

i'm sick of this gluonormativity! electromagnetic, weak and gravitational interaction are just as important as strong interaction!!!

⚛️ atomatic-jesus follow

you are right and you should say it

➿ physics-strongest-soldier follow

colour me impressed! an electron all on it's own, how cute... but now go back to your sugardaddy @atomatic-jesus before you hurt yourself okay?

also, gravitational interaction? really? this would be hilarious if it wasn't so pathetic.

⚡ electron-shmelectron follow

gravitational interaction holds whole galaxies with planets and stars together! maybe you should inform yourself before you go around annoying people

➿ physics-strongest-soldier follow

omp you're one of those freaks. i cant believe theres still particles out there that believe in something bigger than us. bet you also believe that we all can work together to form some sort of "organism".

honey, you're view of reality is so cracked, maybe you should put some gluon

#thought i had all of those freaks blocked #but im kinda proud of that pun ngl #freaks dni

(129,506 notes)

❌ contron follow

so if proton = pro + ton and neutron = neutral + ton shouldn't the electron actually be called contron?

#polarising ideas by me #contron #electron #proton #neutron

(3 notes)

🌈 wollaston1802 follow

hello 👋 im a bound electron ⚡ looking for a radiant photon ☄️ to excite me 🤭. i prefer a length 📏 of 656.278 nm ♥️, 486.132 nm 🩵 or 434.045 nm 💙 (some of you in the violets and ultraviolets may also do it but please no less than 364.56 nm, last time my sugar daddy got ionized they almost didn't take me back). you can find me in the L-shell 🐚 of the 5,000,000,205th H-atom ⚛️ to your left.

#balmer series #very excitable #find me 😘

(113 notes)

⬇️ a-real-downer follow

some of you really need to reconsider your word choices. using 'positive' to describe good things and 'negative' to describe bad things is sooo plum pudding model times. as someone with negative charge of -1/3e myself i refuse to accept such every-day discrimination manifested in our speech pattern

#actually negative #down quark #negatively charged particles unite!

(73 notes)

photon-with-more-than-211-mev follow reblogged...

🪦 special-relativity-my-love-deactivated2024

thank physics that there are no anti-muons in my vicinity im not ready to meet my antiparticle yet

🪦ordinary-nonrelativity-my-hate-deactivated2024

hi :)

〰️ photon-with-more-than-211-mev (new) follow

*waves at you*

#gotta love pair annihilation

(1.6 Mio notes)

🌀 double-u-double-fun follow

🎶i'm a WEAK interaction FREAK🎶

#this song just rules #everybody should listen to it #bosonic vibrations #check them out #they're great

[ilovescaredysquirrel2]

Why I haven't been posting + thoughts on upcoming movies

Okay, so I mostly am gonna still spam reblog about the KOSA bill until we can finally stop it but I want to still use Tumblr for what it was meant to be for all along; to have fun! I just will take a short break on posting cartoons but I'm still active here every night! Tumblr's honestly the only place I feel like I can truly be myself right now...

Okay, let's put the stupid bill aside for the moment and talk about my thoughts on some upcoming movies and shows right now. Disney's really been p*ssing me off lately with their sequels. Like, I feel they're only making sequels of Moana and Inside Out to impress the hardcore Disney fans, because their "new original ideas" failed (like Wish, but it failed because they used A.I to write the story). The Inside Out sequel looks cute from what I seen, but I still have trust issues when it comes to Disney. And before you go blabbing "It's Pixar", let me inform you that they're not the same and Pixar is literally just Disney with a better animation studio. Like, it's literally part of Disney! Like, I feel like I trust the Inside Out sequel a little more than the forced Moana sequel but still... I don't trust them. The worst is the Moana sequel though. I heard they originally planned for it to be a Disney plus show but instead they're making it a sequel on a super low budget and the animation is gonna be done overseas. No joke! I honestly think Disney needs to take a break on making movies for a while and focus on stuff like Kiff. Kiff is the only thing from Disney right now that's keeping me from leaving them all together. And when Kiff ends after season 2, I'm done with them forever! I honestly think they should let Kiff run a little longer than 2 seasons, look how long Kick Buttoski ran (that was a weird show, let's face it). Anyway, that's my thoughts on Disney right now.

I haven't posted my review on Orion and the Dark yet but I think I will soon. Like I said, I been really terrified after hearing about the KOSA bill and will continue to spam reblog until I get justice! Long story short, Orion and the Dark was better than DreamWorks's other recent movies. I haven't seen Kung Fu Panda 4 yet but I'm sure Orion was better. I mostly only like the first two Kung Fu Panda movies. Orion and the Dark was better than Trolls 3, though. I don't think Chicken Run 2 Dawn of the nugget counts as being DreamWorks (the first Chicken Run will always be a DreamWorks movie whether you like it or not) but Orion and the Dark was better! Maybe I can post my review on it soon...

Okay, let's talk about The Amazing Digital Circus now! We all love that, don't we? I hope TADC episode 2 makes more money than Disney on their forced sequels. I'm really excited about episode 2, although I really really don't want to see any of the main cast get abstracted. Like, every character fits in with the show so well and makes it worth watching. Ragatha, Gangle, Pomni, and Kinger are my favorites, but I don't want anyone to get abstracted because they all fit in together perfectly. You have Pomni the new girl, Ragatha the supportive friend and optimistic "peace maker" of the group, Jax the sassy trouble maker, Gangle the emotional one who doesn't stick up for herself, Kinger who's upbeat and crazy and childish, and Zooble who's also kind of sassy and doesn't really care much. Plus, there's Caine and Bubble who are hilarious as well. Like, I just don't want any of the main characters to get abstracted so soon. I'm just way too attached to all of those characters! However, I'm still a huge fan of the show and hoping that episode 2 will make more money than Disney! And if there's anyone here in the comments who's also a TADC fan and wants to see my sketches that I'll never post on tumblr, I'll dm them to you!

PLEASE DON'T IGNORE ME, I DON'T BITE! CHAT WITH ME PLEASE!!!! Just please chat with me in the comments, I'll be nice!

[thesparklingwriter]

an uncomfortable encounter

“I kill people for plenty of other reasons besides just being irritated. Don’t lower me to such petty standards.”

tags: pet names, Zhongli is very pure, soft Zhongli, fem!reader, Zhongli and reader are in a relationship, Zhongli has to talk to Childe about something and reader is not having it, they're bickering again (as usual), lots of insults regarding the fact Childe is ginger (sns)

ao3 link | taglist | masterlist | next

please do not repost or edit my work without credit. reblogs are greatly appreciated!

once again, everybody say thank you Rin for this chapter :) i pumped this out in half and hour so i apologise if it's ass and as usual i will check over it later. this is my first time ever writing Childe (no cap) so if that is bad you also know why

“I don’t like this.” You hiss under your breath, irritated at the fact that your husband is making you meet the man who nearly killed him–or whatever happened at the Rite of Ascension with his exuvia. You can’t really get your head around it, but the ginger dude is a no-go in your mind. Mainly cause he’s a real pain in the back to deal with.

Zhongli takes your hand, seated beside you at the table of a small outdoor cafe. It’s so out in the open that it almost becomes inconspicuous, a fact you’re acutely aware of. “I am aware. You have reminded me of that fact at least twenty times in the past ten minutes.”

“I really don’t like it. What if he tries to kill you again?”

“Childe is an opportunist, not a complete and utter idiot.” Zhongli mutters. “And he didn’t kill me the first time.”

“No, he just stole your gnosis, whatever!” You reply pointedly. Zhongli seems to recognise that there’s not much use in arguing with you anymore, since you’ve made up your stubborn little mind. 

“I gave it to him, remember.” He sighs. “Your tea’s getting cold.”

You ignore him. “To Celestia with the tea—I have a husband with no sense of danger! I’m right to be put off.”

Zhongli opens his mouth to reply, but is cut off by a an amused voice. “I never thought I’d see the day.”

You glance at the ginger standing before you. Not only is he the reason the two of you are bickering, but he’s also interrupted it, with a stupidly smug smile on his stupidly smug face. For all intents and purposes, you do not like him. At all.

“I’m glad you’re well, Childe.” Zhongli says, extending a hand to him. He declines, shoving his into his pockets.

“She’ll cut them off if I even dare. Won’t you?” He shrugs, glancing at you. You feel like telling him to not even look in your direction, but you figure it would only make him laugh and, instead, settle for a curt nod. “Is she always like this?” 

Zhongli sighs. “Excuse my wife.” You smile brightly at him, and resume glaring at the carrot that grew legs. “I trust you’ve held up to your end of the deal.” 

Your ears prick up. What deal? You’re aware of the ties between Childe and Zhongli, and the way that that technically links your husband to the Fatui, but you thought that was a past deal—one that was long over.

Childe sighs. “Here are your tickets for your fancy boat ride thing.” He hands them over to Zhongli with a wry smile. “You really have to stop doing this, though. I had to pull a lot of strings—”

“If I remember correctly…” Zhongli starts, his eyes starting to faintly glow gold.

“Yes, yes, I know what we agreed to. Is a man not allowed to complain every now and again?”

You sit up from your position beyond the two men. “Yes, because when you complain, it nearly almost ends in a homicide.”

“I kill people for plenty of other reasons besides just being irritated.” Childe retorts. “Don’t lower me to such petty standards.” He crosses his arms, staring at you evenly. He’s beginning to see what the ex archon sees in you. You’re...lively. 

Your chair skids behind you as you shoot up to your feet. “You’re the one arguing with me over whether or not you're petty. I think that says everything it needs to.”

“Childe, if you’re finished tormenting my wife, I’d like to have a peaceful afternoon that doesn’t involve her being in a bad mood and me having to make it up to her. I trust your curiosity is satisfied by now.”

You look between your husband and the ginger hilichurl. Actually, that’s an insult to the hilichurls. “Did you bring me here so he could meet me?” You hiss. Zhongli hums.

“Not entirely, no.” He says. “Things just seemed to fall into place.”

“I am not a trophy for you to parade around.” 

Childe looks between the two of you. Even though you’re just as—if not more—argumentative as you were before, there’s a different air to it. There’s no real malice there, and even if there was, Zhongli could have diffused it with that look he gives you—as if you’re the only thing that’s ever brought him joy in his whole life.

“I know that,” He concedes. “But is it so wrong to be proud of my wife?”

You open your mouth, and close it again almost immediately, your counter argument forgotten to the wind. “No,” you mutter. “Not at all.”

Childe feels well and truly forgotten as he stands there helplessly. A whole Fatui harbinger reduced to simply running errands for an ex-archon and a wife he adores more than his own land. This is not the way he expected his life to go.

“Well, I’m gonna, like, go. You know, Fatui to train, codenames to give out… All that jazz.”

Zhongli looks up at him for a single second before his eyes snap back to you, and even Childe, for all his unbothered aloofness, has the decency to be offended.

“Thank you, Ajax. I appreciate your co-operation.”

“Xiansheng, I got you tickets to go sit on a boat with your wife so you can make lovey doves eyes at her without sickening half of Liyue. It was a royal pain to get through the books, but hardly a difficult mission.” Childe scoffs. “Which once again, is a gross display of your love for messing with contracts. We never said we’d fund your love life.”

“You never said you wouldn’t,” Zhongli replies. “And, all things considered, it’s a small price to pay for almost killing me, wouldn't you agree?”

a/n i posted this instead of posting a different one cause i'm keeping it for myself cause its a bit too self-indulgent for me to share so enjoy this while i come to terms with sharing the other one PAHAHAH

[ravens-words]

been you all along, Part 2

Part 1

Somehow, in a truly horrifying twist of fate, Bradley's mortal enemy became his daughter's favorite person.

Or

Five times Jake was his daughter's favorite person, and the one time he was Bradley's too.

AN: the response to part 1 was so lovely that it motivated me to write even more and now I have part 3 and part of 4 written! Thank you to everyone who reblogged/liked!

《2》

Their paths cross again two years later, in a bar close to where they're both stationed. Hangman's undeservingly passive aggressive, and as cocksure and smug as ever. Bradley gives as good as he gets, but somewhere in the back of his head, there's a memory of his three months old daughter in Hangman's arms, and it makes it impossible to do anything more than bite his tongue and avoid him for the rest of the night.

.

Weeks go by, and things with Hangman go from passive aggressive to downright hostile. He's so goddamn angry he can't see straight, so he heads to a diner, orders a coffee and does his best to calm down before he goes to pick up Caroline.

All his efforts are wasted, though, because once he gets to Ice's house, he finds none other than Jake fucking Seresin playing with the kids- particularly, his kid.

A hand on his chest is the only thing that stops him from stomping over there and ripping his daughter out of the other man's arms.

"Hi, Bradley."

"Hey, Sarah- what's-"

"Tom wants to see you," she informs him, and there's a twinkle in her eyes that tells him she knows exactly what she's doing. "Go, I'm keeping an eye on the kids," Sarah assures him, "all four of them."

At that, he can't help but laugh.

.

Ice is in his office, as per usual, and he gets up when Bradley enters. Bradley hugs him, tight enough to hurt, but the older man doesn't seem to care. "How are you doing, Ice?"

He pats his back, and once they seperate, he types out a message on his computer.

[Not too bad. How about you, kiddo?]

"Doing okay."

Ice raises an eyebrow. [Anything you want to share?]

Bradley rolls his eyes. "Pretty sure Mav already told you what happened, we don't need to talk about it."

[Sure we do.]

"He's- he just gets on my nerves, and usually, I can take it, but this time- he went too far."

[He did. But it's not for the reason you're thinking.]

"Oh?" He asks incredulously, "so it's not just cause he's an asshole?"

Ice laughs, nearly silent, and shakes his head.

"Why's he here?"

[He's Sarah's nephew, and his father is an acquaintances.]

He raises an eyebrow at the choice of word. "Acquaintance?"

Ice mimics him and raises an eyebrow as well.

Bradley rolls his eyes. "It's just a fancy word for someone you hate but have to be nice to."

He shrugs.

"And Jake? Is he an acquaintance, too?"

[No. Jake's family.]

It's so simple, yet the words hold more weight than Bradley could've imagined. Ice means every word, and he can't say he's not surprised.

Ice taps the screen to bring Bradley's attention back to it, then smiles. [He's a good man. A little rough around the edges maybe, but who isn't?]

Bradley wants to argue, he does, but Ice looks tired, and his hands are shaking, so he bites back his response and nods. When he stands up, Ice does too, and Bradley only hesitates a little before he leans in and hugs him.

Ice returns the hug, holds him tight and Bradley buries his face in the man's shoulder and hopes the tears don't fall. "Thank you," he mutters as he pulls back.

Ice just smiles. "What for?" He rasps.

Hearing him speak is jarring, and he feels guilty for thinking it, but it's a far cry from the smooth, gentle voice he was used to. He pushes the thought away. "For letting Linny stay here. I really appreciate it."

"I love that kid," he says, like it's that simple- and maybe it is. "Mav-"

The smile instantly drops, and Bradley shakes his head, backs away. "Don't," he says, a little harsh, "we don't talk about him, that was the deal."

"Kid-"

"Ice, please," he pleads quietly, "please."

He deflates, but nods.

Bradley breathes shakily, "I'm gonna go get Caroline now, okay? I'll see you tomorrow."

Ice nods again.

Bradley all but runs out.

He doesn't get a moment to breathe before he's hit with the image of Jake chasing the three kids around in the garden, groaning theatrically when one of them pushes him and dramatically falling to the ground. His breath catches in his throat when his daughter grabs onto Jake's leg with all her little limbs like a koala, and he grins down at her and starts moving. Bradley finds himself smiling when Carloine shrieks and holds on tighter as she's lifted off the ground. Soon, she's joined by the other kids, and Jake, in an effort to keep from squashing one of them, trips and falls onto his ass. The kids laugh, and he fakes a frown. "Alright, alright, you little rascals, go wash up now, I think dinner's almost ready."

Caroline lingers while the other two run inside the house, and she goes to lay beside Jake. She's two, almost three, and she's not talking much, but Carloine loves to babble. Bradley loves it, and from the fond way Jake looks at her, the other man does too.

Jake's head turns his way, and before he can duck out of the doorway, their eyes lock. It takes a moment for him to process. The other man's face goes slack in shock, then confusion, then he looks at Caroline, back at Bradley, then at Caroline again, and it registers. He sits up slowly.

"Linny," he calls out, eyes never leaving Jake's, "time to go, baby."

"Dada!" She screams, getting up quickly and almost falling on her face in her haste to get to him. Jake steadies her, the move almost unconscious.

Bradley crouches, holds her tight when she reaches him, and stands up with her in his arms.

Jake's still staring at him.

There's no hate, no anger in those green eyes, but there is something unreadable in the depths of them.

He doesn't bother trying to figure it out, he's got more important things to think about.

Like the little girl in his arms, and what would happen to her if things didn't work out the way they planned tomorrow.

He kisses his daughter's temple, turns to leave, but she wiggles in his arms, wanting to be put down.

He does, and is surprised when she runs back to Jake. He looks as surprised as Bradley feels when her little arms wrap around him. "Bu-bye, Jake."

"Bye, Care-bear," he says it quietly, with care, and Bradley can't take his eyes off him, even as his daughter comes running at him and her little body collides with his legs. Jake's eyes find his again, and Bradley has to make an active effort not to get lost in them.

He nods once, a sharp and jerky motion.

Jake nods back.

.

A week later, Jake Sersin saves his life.

.

[minerwarfare-suzuya]

Parting Ways

I've decided I'm going to stop supporting the thegoldfiles blog after how much time has passed since my last post on Mobox87 and Miles.

Before I do go over why I'm no longer going to morally support the blog in anything that they need a hand on.

I would want to start off in defense for them on these claims as a last thing to have from me. ⬇️

On May 20th Cagney went on a Hiatus after receiving backlash for talking about Piaojun in response to an anonymous user seemingly to badmouth them.

I wanna Clarify that Cagney does not think Piaojun is a bad person at all. They consider them a great artist with a focus on enjoying William x Renata pairing. Clearly shown in the translation of their first sentence.

What I can understand from where the angry mob started attacking them is when they started pointing out that they considered the drawings between William x Renata romanticizing their abuse when clearly it's shown to not be the case with Piaojun displaying her art.

Plus, when she does display abuse in her art it's barely projected much but it still remains true with the FNAF Affinity story. Either way, Piaojun has her own interpretation of pairing.

Besides that a statement that still remains true is that Piaojun supports Mobox87 which I can understand why that is looked down upon by them but again they're still young. I wouldn't put them accountable for it.

Anyways, I did reach out to Piaojun about this and they suggested to never bring them up on the blog.

In my opinion, I agree that you should keep questions like that out of the blog and usually that's what I do or I'll just tell people to shut up.

Now then!-

Let's talk about why I'm parting ways with the gang after being a formal ally that supported their causes by reblogging posts, giving opinions and statements, and offering evidence whenever I could do so.

Well as of recently I've been mostly talking about Arion the kid/Blue's Journey to bring awareness onto this blog as a way to support Red Radiant, including many other victims alike.

It's been a rather serious situation to go over and I've been trying to get this well known for anyone out there to share the truth and clear the names of victims who have been impersonated into being falsely accused of harassment.

So, you would think that hitting up Cagney to help out would work well under the circumstances that Red Radiant, Andikai, JR-Verse and many others are going through.

Wrong-

"I'm not really planning on getting into it"

"Though I've heard a little bit about it, and considering he impersonates people that call him out, neither of us mods would really want to take that risk"

"You've already done a good job with it from what I've seen though, but we don't really wanna get involved into the sort of stuff involving him"

Of course, they didn't wanna talk about Arion instead they wanted to reblog my other post because it's convenient enough for them to talk about Mobox87 and Miles.

Upsetting as this was to be confronted with the fact they didn't wanna help. I had to convince them by getting AndiKai and Red Radiant to talk with Cagney in a group chat on Discord. (Keeping Discord names and pfp censored for safety reasons)

We didn't get a reblog to get notice for it until May 19.

And a follow up on May 20th

After those posts were made. Nothing about Arion was mentioned or reblogged to discuss the controversy. Instead they went on a hiatus after being chewed out for talking about Piaojun.

Now of course, I already talked about thegoldfiles blog not wanting to talk about this "important topic" on my "A Scam and A Spiteful Client?" at the very bottom and upon doing so. It triggered Cagney to respond to me on discord in our private chat.

I chose not to respond at all because

I was busy dealing with the Arion drama and still am.

I don't wanna deal with Cagney nor apologize because it's the truth and I think that it should be acknowledged.

I think the decision has already been made final once I was kicked out of the private community.

I don't give a FUCK if you're mad

So

Don't expect me to get involved in your "shenanigans" at all! I stick my neck out for you when there are topics to discuss on thegoldfiles blog especially if you need support in tight situations but when I need the favor in return. You don't want to commit to it unless it's in your interest or you're just too much of a pussy to take it on.

Though I should've expected much from them considering that you had made a deal with Miles to never bring up stuff he's done on the blog and wanted me to delete my post when I called him out for harassing an artist on DeviantArt awhile back.

And the same thing happened when Cagney didn't want me to post about his grooming on "Miles ownership drama timeline, part 6".

To further confirm this is all true. It's been mentioned in this post of me responding to Cagney's anonymous submissions defending Miles ⬇️

https://www.tumblr.com/minerwarfare-suzuya/734730284201902080/miles-anonymous-defense?source=share

"But now let me back track for a moment about that deal that Miles claimed has been promised. Apparently Cagney was told to keep Miles off as a topic and not be mentioned on the Moboxcritique blog."

Yeah, y'know if I was Miles under that situation then I would totally be mad as well because I would've felt backstabbed. Though again you're making a deal with one of the mods for the critic blog against Mobox87 and her supporters.

The fuck did he expect was going to happen when he pays her constantly for OCs?

Honestly Miles should know better but he doesn't. Like seriously don't ever come back to say your sorry and start doing shit to someone behind people's backs.

Man, fuck it don't even interact with the critics or Kevonica at all. Considering that you'll be staying on Tumblr still.

Anyways, I'm just done. I've held back long enough and I'm already tired. If anyone should be mad it's me and anyone else expecting more integrity out of Cagney running the blog.

If you're expecting anything new out of the thegoldfiles blog.

It's either going to be criticism or discussing about

Mobox87's recent activity on posting new pages to her comics that continue in with the same themes that people are aware of.

Mobox87's latest YouTube video which was uploaded for a school assignment and made within a week.

Responding to submissions about previous Mobox87 work that's been reviewed or overlooked.

Being reminded of posted artwork that Mobox87 made back then because someone asked.

Something about Namygaga.

Responding to this post.

Basically what I'm saying is that there's nothing news worthy that will be posted unless it's lost media of Mobox87's work brought back up and saved in the archives since everything that's been shared against Mobox87 has been put into the archives, as well as expressed. Or any further updates on that unfinished FON game.

I think with clear indication is that the blog is running out of things to say or just doesn't wanna commit to talking about other serious topics.

So, It's whatever at this point and I'm not going to help out or support the thegoldfiles blog when needed.

I'll be doing my own thing as usual. Good luck to them I guess.

I'll see you all in the next post.

[stonylovessteve]

Creator Reveals

We’ve reached the end of the exchange and that means it’s time to reveal the creators of all our works.

Thank you for putting so much love and effort into Stony Loves Steve 2023, you really made it a great experience. We hope everyone loved it as much as we did!

Giftees, be sure to leave a comment and kudos on your gift if you haven’t already. All our creators worked hard to make this event a success, so show them some love.

You can now post your work publicly outside of the exchange. Tag it as #stonylovessteve2023 on tumblr and we’ll reblog you. @ us @stonylovessteve on twitter and we’ll retweet you.

Below the cut is the final list of all the works produced for the exchange and the creators.

Part-time soulmate, full-time problem by Missy_dee811 for Wingheads (616, 2.2k)

Steve's friends take him out for his 30th birthday, and he meets someone unexpected.

-

What's The Point? by shaggybeetle for Neverever (MCU, 2.5k)

Steve is getting further and further from intimacy with Tony and he is noticing. He wears clothes to bed, he avoids sexual contact and is overall pretty sad... Time to try make him feel like he IS worth it.

-

Shifts in Time by betheflame for UisceOneLove (AU, 2k)

Steve's studio would be the perfect place to work, if only the stupid mechanic downstairs would stop blasting AC/DC.

-

A Time For Stickball and Guinness by geekymoviemom for muchmoremajestic (MCU, 10k)

When Tony’s first attempt at celebrating Steve’s birthday doesn’t go the way he hoped, he decides to try again.

-

The Wonder Garden by laiwrites for AvengersNewB (AU, Art)

From this prompt: "Steve is a vampire from another land ( he was skinny took the elixir, fought the enemies then got captured by these people who catch extraordinary creatures because they're very expensive ) and he is kept with other extraordinary creatures that Tony owns in this wonder garden and Tony has no idea because why would he know the details of these things. I am imagining Steve having to move around in his cage to keep in the shade and at noon he has this very narrow space to keep away from the sun. Then one day Tony is visiting the garden and stumbles into a human in one of the displays and goes WTF. "get this one transferred to the residence right this second."

-

The weather outside is frightful by BladeoftheNebula for captainstars (AU, 5k)

“I can’t believe this!”

Steve paused, his hand hovering over the piece of firewood. Was that—?

“Of all the idiotic, selfish—“

The last of the words were cut off by the wind, but that was definitely a voice.

Steve frowned. The voice was too clear to be coming from a truck or a car, which meant they must be on foot. He looked at the heavy fall of the snow. No one should be out in this.

Or, Tony is an omega in distress, and Steve is just the alpha-in-shining armour he needs

-

The One In Which Steve Gets Arrested And It Actually Ends Well by endlesstwanted for RoseRose (AU, 2.3k)

The day before one of his exams, Steve goes with Bucky and their friends to a protest that leads them to jail. Lucky for them, Tony Stark bails them out. Not so lucky for Tony, Steve refuses the billionaire’s offer.

-

Feels Like Home by tinystark616 for laiwrites (MCU, 8k)

Steve thinks there must be something fundamentally wrong with him when adjusting to his new life seems scarier than fighting an army of aliens. He knows how to fight. He's excellent at it. What he doesn't know is how to feel like he belongs in the future.

Or,

Steve doesn't think he will ever be happy in the 21st century. Until, of course, he starts to — slowly — fall in love with Tony Stark.

-

Break the Ice by picturecat for AsterouslyDisasterous (616, 1.8k)

Steve’s therapist’s name was Heloise; he saw her twice a month and answered her pointedly non-pointed questions about the connections he made in the future.

-

The Nearness of You by UisceOneLove for Thahire  (AU, 2.6k)

Steve wasn't thinking when he protected Tony's protege and got a bullet for the move. He doesn't know what to think of Tony Stark showing up at his apartment, either.

-

can my heart keep quiet by ishipallthings for XtaticPearl (AU, 4.7k)

Oh, what a farce this all is! Steve had sought refuge in the Van Dynes’ gardens for the very purpose of avoiding more talk of Mr. Stark’s engagement, and avoiding Mr. Stark himself. Yet, here he stands now, prepared to make idle conversation with the man for the sake of decorum.

In which there is a secluded garden, a tangled web of misunderstandings, a man with a broken heart, another man hoping to propose marriage, and an eventual happy ending.

-

The Hazards of Falling in Love (Rescue Me) by EmmaLostInWonderland for BladeoftheNebula (AU, 4k)

“So that’s your name?” Rogers hasn't looked away from him once. His eyes are a piercing blue, and Tony barely manages to keep from squirming under his gaze.

“Yeah. Or Telecommunications Operator Stark, if we’re getting technical about it.”

“Are we?”

Tony tilts his head slightly. “Depends. Can I call you Steve?”

The man grins. “Wouldn’t have it any other way, Tony.”

// Tony Stark doesn't date firemen. But he'll make an exception for Battalion Chief Steve Rogers.

-

Trying not to lose my sensibility by Girl_Back_There for iam93percentstardust (AU, 6.5k)

In the weeks leading up to his heat, Steve rethinks about his relationship with Brock. And his fading friendship with Tony.  

-

i'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone by iam93percentstardust for ishipallthings (AU, 1.8k)

The real reason Tony wanted to do this movie, the one that he'll never tell anyone about, was because when he’d asked his agent who would be playing Chris, she’d slyly smiled at him and told him that it was Steve Rogers.

“Oh,” he’d squeaked, cleared his throat, and tried again in a more normal octave, but by then it was too late. Natasha had laughed at him and made the call without even waiting for him to agree to the audition.

He’s not quite sure if he should thank her or fire her for that.

-

Trapped by Obani for picturecat (EMH, 2.9k)

Captain America and Iron Man find themselves stranded after a battle.

-

the depths of some divine despair by meidui for Missy_dee811 (MCU, 11k)

Steve blinks and stares down at Natasha, drawing a blank.

“Who’s Tony?”

-

Spoken in strokes by captainstars for capsicleonyourleft (MCU, 1.5k)

Iron Man is the person he finds himself painting the most. His communication with Tony is stilted, and he allows himself to hide the things he wants to say within the canvas. It's easy to let himself trace red over gold, with reflections of blue. To say, trust me, when he doesn't have to look Tony in the eye while doing it.

-

From the Same Vine by Arukou for jayjayverse (616, 7k)

In the grand scheme of things, Tony’s a sinner through-and-through, though not necessarily in the Biblical sense. His sins are earthly, directed against his fellow man, and though he might work for a lifetime, he’ll never make up for the pain he’s caused. But like Lancelot, he’ll try anyway. He’ll atone the only way he knows how—saving lives with the Avengers.  

-

bake my breath away by earliebirb for MayBiTheWay (AU, 3.9k)

Steve develops a crush on one of his bakery's regulars, charming businessman-slash-inventor Tony Stark. He is not stupid enough to ever think Tony would ever like him back, though.

Besides, Tony is already in a relationship.

As it turns out, Steve might have been wrong about a couple of things.

-

Marks On Your Skin by Becci_chan for earliebrb (MCU, 2.7k)

Steve still wondered what Natasha was trying to achieve by making him confess his feelings for Tony. She was right, of course she was. It didn’t mean Steve wanted to admit it in front of her. Or in a place where Tony could come in any time. He had almost heard him say he wasn’t in love with him. Steve wasn’t sure which would have been worse.

-

totally booked at the library by starksnack for girl_back_there (AU, 2k)

Between teaching their classes, Prof. Rogers meets Prof. Stark at the library for a very important appointment.

-

A Friend for a Man by XtaticPearl for geekymoviemom (MCU, 2.8K)

It's a sweltering day, ill-fitting pants, and a frazzled friend that drag an exhausted Peter around town on an adventure he never asked to be part of. Sometimes you do that for friends though, and Peter is just that to Steve Rogers. A bewildering friend.

-

Come Morning Light by Prince-of-Midgard (starkspangledsoldier) for starksnack (AU, 4.1k)

The story of Tony Stark falling in love with a mob boss

-

Chamber of Reflection by Thahire for meidui (MCU/Ults/3490, 10.1k)

A few years after retiring, Steve and Tony get a surprise visit from another Steve. Steve Rogers from Earth 1610 is lost, grappling with the new century he’s been unceremoniously dropped in, with confusing feelings for his new teammate, with himself.

Steve and Tony decide to get involved.

-

Alter by AsterouslyDisasterous for Prince-of-Midgard (MCU, 1.4k)

Steve and Tony go undercover to protect a recently widowed Mary Parker and her son, Peter.

-

Birthday Wishes by Neverever for vicspeaks (3490/AA, 3.3k)

The multiverse council of Tonies think that they know what to get their Steves for their birthdays. But maybe they should have talked to their Steves first

-

The Journey You Take Me On by MayBiTheWay for suchmadnesss (MCU, 5k)

“And I am Iron Man” Tony’s voice filled with pride albeit laced with sadness and regret of things that could have rang through his ears, tying a knot in his stomach. He reached for Tony’s hand, trying to hold it, save who he had loved the most, persevere among all the pain and suffering they went through.

He did hold Tony’s hand as Tony snapped he faintly remembered, the cold metal of the gauntlet snapping into his forearm that was bleeding. Pieces of it wrapping around his wrist and enveloping his fingers mere seconds before he snapped them.

-

Melt With Your Touch by RoseRose for Becci_chan (MCU, 2.1k)

Steve safewords. He and Tony figure out how to get Steve what he wants anyway.

Light BDSM, sensation play

-

It’s Steve Birthday! by jayjayverse for shaggybeetle (MCU, 1.3k)

-

The Consequential Thing by AvengersNewB for purpleicedteas (MCU, 3.1k)

Steve works for Stark Industries as the head of design, and has a great friendship with his boss, Tony Stark. Except for the got-wrenching, blinding pain of not being Tony's boyfriend-which Steve's learnt to live with over the years-his life is a-okay. An unfortunate encounter with Steve's terrible ex, however, changes everything.

-

In His Eyes, You’ll Get a Glimpse by ralsbecket for tinystark616 (MCU, 4.8k)

People tell him it’s supposed to be beautiful, seeing what your Soulmate sees.

-

top-notch service by wingheads for ralsbecket (616, comic)

making your partner feel good is an art form. luckily for steve, he's an artist.

[donnerpartyofone]

I once found myself foolishly complaining to my old therapist about some deeply unsatisfying exchange I had on tumblr with somebody who had willfully misconstrued what I said and was going after me about what they decided I meant, just because that was what they would rather talk about. You know, the usual. My therapist threw me off my game by just asking my why I post here to begin with, instead of indulging my desire to passionately bitch and moan. She seemed very skeptical about whatever I said, I had the idea that she wanted me to admit that I was either looking for a fight, or attention, or validation from a bad source where I am destined to encounter a lot of friction. (Man o man, if only she knew about the absolutely bonkers and irrational "you are valid" culture we have here...) And I mean, she's right, you ARE destined to encounter a lot of friction on tumblr if you do anything remotely personal with it, but somehow that annoyance can be outweighed by

a) the internal satisfaction of putting your thoughts in order

b) the catharsis of venting, even into the void

c) the small but unignorable possibility that someone will deeply understand what you said, or have something relevant and provocative to add based on their own unique and valuable experience/expertise.

I think about turning off replies all the time now, quite a lot of the time there's someone being rude either on purpose or inadvertently, because they're too obtuse or thoughtless to consider the implications or real usefulness of what they are saying. Sometimes I think about turning off reblogs on everything too, and I'm trying to develop the habit of stopping before I post to ask myself, every single time, how I'm going to feel when some total cretin reblogs something that is obviously either not universally applicable (e.g. just personal in-the-moment venting) or actually not their business (discussion of personal tragedy that you'd think people would have the good sense to leave alone, like just let strangers who need to talk about something do so in peace?). All of these things have happened more and more lately, and I think what would be really great for me is if I developed a much tougher hide, if I developed a mental baleen that filters out all the shit I don't need to care about and lets in all the tasty, nutritious stuff that I'm actually here for, that I like so much that it makes all the chaff totally worth it.

My problem is that I don't have that natural thing that tells you what incoming stimulus is relevant and what you can completely ignore, I'm curious about EVERYTHING especially how other people think and behave. When I hear something insulting or idiotic directed at me I immediately start processing it like it's a mystery that it is my duty to unravel, instead of casually throwing it in the trash like I should. This morning I posted about how I was reminded of a personal tragedy by some stupid thing a business did to me, and I get this complete stranger unloading his own version of that tragedy, only to then condemn me morally for my interaction with the business. Like does he think I'm going to be so humbled by his "direct action" that it's going to change the world? What was the goal besides picking a fight before the sun is all the way up in the sky? Yesterday I posted links to a bunch of film scholarship I published along with some new blu ray releases, literally calling it my life's work, and somebody reblogged it and put in the tags that they don't like one of the movies and they don't know what the other two are. So...what was the point here? Are you planning on buying two expensive collector's editions of movies you don't know by a director you don't like? I mean thanks for promoting my work, I guess if the price of your sponsorship is that you say rude, pointless things that don't mean anything to anyone, then I'll take it? It might have a positive impact on my mental health if I turned off replies and reblogs universally, but then I wouldn't get to hear from any of the smart and nice guys I've met on here who have opened my eyes to all sorts of things. So yeah my Christmas wish or New Year's resolution or whatever is to give a shit much, much more selectively, for the rest of my life.

PS Regarding disagreements on the internet: There is an important qualitative difference between someone saying something you find disagreeable on their own blog, which you don't even have to be aware of if you don't want to, and someone going out of their away to like cross into your yard to start a fight about what's on your blog ~as if~ you had called them on the phone and said it directly to them personally. Most of what you see on the internet doesn't require your input at all, if you don't really have anything to add except your own emotional content. The difference: Learn it, know it, live it!