#what do we think. can i do 120 by the end of the year. i got two months still

[mildmayfoxe]

hehe haha ho ho ho……………..

[xas24]

pedri being with y/ns family at an event and him just loving the way y/n interacts and talks to everyone, having santi all cuddled up next to him making him wanna start a family with her

admire you ~ pedri

summary: when watching y/n interact with her newborn niece, pedri can’t deny the feeling he gets of wanting to start his own family with her.

“¡no se dijeron nada más!” (they didn’t say anything else to each other!) santiago murmured to pedri, who sat next to him on the couch at his uncles house. the rest of the family was out in the backyard, whilst most of the kids huddled up in the living room to watch tv - pedri, weirdly, being one of them.

“that wouldve been close!” pedri replied back, the hint of a smile creeping up onto his lips.

“sííí! but i think she knows anyway, pedri. y/n was smiling at me in the car after.”

“it’s okay, she wouldn’t mind. maría is a nice girl, you’re great friends with her.” pedri said, recalling the information santi told him about his sister meeting with the girl in his class, maría, who pedri figured out is santiago’s little school crush. according to santi, y/n had seen them talking so she had walked over and said hello to maría.

pedri had laughed, loving the way santiago got so worked up and stressed over one little greeting between his sister and his crush. it was quite humorous, he was still so young and innocent and pedri couldn’t help pinching his cheek.

as if she knew they were talking about her, y/n walked into the living room in that moment. pedri, chuckling at something santiago had again worriedly whispered to him, looked up and he found himself sitting up in his seat when he saw her holding a little baby in her arms.

that must be her new niece, her cousins newborn that y/n was telling him about at home. he recalled y/n being so excited to meet her since she couldn’t see her cousin at the hospital when she gave birth.

pedri noticed the adorable smile on her rosy lips as she stared down at the bundle of blankets in her arms.

y/n briefly looked up to see her two boys sitting on one couch so she carefully made her way over. santi, watching his older sisters steps, moved to the other end of the couch so she could take a seat in the middle and he could comfortably look at the new addition to their family.

y/n sent pedri a cute smile as she sat down. pedri returned it casually, yet his heart was beating at 120 miles per hour at just the sight that he was taking in: his gorgeous girl with a beautiful little baby in her arms.

his hand came up to rest against her back and pedri and santi both leaned over y/ns shoulder to look down at the new baby girl.

“se llama adella.” (her name is adella) y/n stated, cooing down at the tiny bundle in her arms.

santi reached a hand up to softly stroke against her head, his fingers twitching as he tried to be as gentle as he could be, “es tan pequeña y bonita.” (she’s so small and pretty)

“sí, lo es.” (yes, she is)

santi retracted his hand and sent his new niece a tiny smile, “puedo cogerla?” (can i hold her?)

“have you said hello to ana yet?” y/n replied, referring to their cousin.

when santi shook his head, y/n nodded for him to go. “go greet her first, she’s been in a lot of pain these last few weeks, i think she will be very happy to see you.”

the ten year old nodded, “then can i hold her?”

when his sister nodded in response, he ran off to find his older cousin sister, leaving y/n and pedri alone in the living room - many of the other kids had ran off too. y/n turned to her boyfriend, noticing his silence only to see him staring intently at the baby.

she instantly knew the look in his eyes, the same look he stared at her with everyday, the same look he possessed when he was with santi, when he was with his family. the look of love and adoration.

y/n slowly rocked the baby in her arms, keeping her hands in a steady position as she tried to keep the newborn asleep. pedri stared at her actions, wondering how she knew what to do so well, how she was so good at this.

“what’s up?” she gently reached forward and nudged his shoulder with hers. when pedris eyes looked up to hers, his heart exploded with warmth and love and in that moment he knew all he wanted in life was her. he knew she was the one for him, to love, cherish, start a family with.

he couldn’t help when his face leaned forward and he planted a long, loving kiss on her warm cheek. he could feel her smile against his lips and he pecked the skin again.

“what was that for?” y/n sweetly smiled at him, his face so close to her she could feel his breaths intermingling with hers.

“nothing, i just love you.”

“don’t tell me you’re getting all sentimental just because i have a baby in my arms?” she joked, knowing that look all too well. she knew what a big heart he had, how much of a softie he really was at heart and she just knew his thoughts and feelings in this moment.

of course she knew, she could read him like the back of her hand, like an open book.

“of course not. that would be stupid.” he shrugged.

when she raised her brows at him is when he cracked a smile. his eyes lit up and his body crowded with heat, the warmth being displayed on his cheeks in a rosy colour.

his head fell onto her shoulder and he suddenly felt so giddy, high on serotonin, high on love. pedris brown eyes ran over the newborn in his girls arms, watching as she slightly babbled in her sleep, he observed her tiny hands with her tiny nails clustered in a fist and he couldn’t wait till it was his turn.

till this would be his baby in her hold, their baby. a symbol of their love.

“you just look so good with a baby in your arms. makes me look forward to our future.”

y/n smiled at him in awe, kissing his temple and enjoying the hand that he was smoothly rubbing up and down her back. she couldn’t wait either, for all the care and love and support that he would shower her in as she lay with her pregnant belly, swollen with their child, the way he would be so gentle with her, the way he would talk to her stomach, caress it.

he would be the best father ever, she just knew it.

but she also knew that now wasn’t the right time. their time would come eventually, and she would patiently be looking forward to it.

but right now, she savoured this look of tenderness in her boy’s eyes. the look she adored so much.

“me too. you’d be the best papi.” she playfully lifted her shoulder, making his head jump against her.

he chuckled, “you’d be the best mami.”

his hand carefully stroked against adella’s forehead. he watched as she stirred whilst his finger ran down the side of her warm little cheek and her small, button nose. pedris finger then returned to his lap and he turned his head to stare at his girl once more.

“and you’d be the most beautiful mami ever.”

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is: @just-my-latest-hyperfixation! They've written 120 fics in the Stranger Things fandom, with all of them being in the Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson tag!

@steddieas-shegoes recommends the following works by @just-my-latest-hyperfixation:

Hic sunt dracones

Someone who cares

Updraft

(You got me) in the palm of your hand

Just add water

Hype. My love. The girl with the dragon AU. I could not be more obsessed with Hype’s writing. I wasn’t much of a fantasy girlie growing up, or even reading fic in other fandoms, but something about the way she writes dragon fucking really sold me. Even when she isn’t writing some type of magical fantasy world, she’s writing intricate details about these characters we all love so much, and giving them stories that make them seem so interesting. She’s my number one hype girl when I run events, always participates even when she’s busy writing novels for the bang or after the bang. I’m so lucky to have been able to meet her and have her as a friend. We’re all lucky to have her in this fandom. Love youuuuuu ♥️ -- @steddieas-shegoes

Below the cut, @just-my-latest-hyperfixation answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

Because those two dumbheads came crashing into my brain and flipped a switch that I had never expected to get flipped again. Before S4, I hadn’t written fiction in over fifteen years and I had never posted any of my works, anywhere. I saw my first Steddie fanart on Instagram and I thought to myself, “Huh, that is neat. Let’s check out AO3.” And I did. And I fell down a rabbit hole of epic proportions. There were plot bunnies living in that hole. And I had been there, before, over the years, and every time I had found excuses to not write my ideas down. Except, this time, the fuckers were relentless. And so, one day, I sat down on my lunch break, and I bashed out the first 1.5k words of what would become “Someone who cares”. The next day, I sat down and wrote 1k more. And more the day after that. That was almost exactly two years ago, and there hasn’t been a day since where I haven’t written at least a few sentences. I’ve recently cracked 500k words published on AO3, all Steddie, and it sure as hell doesn’t like I’ll be stopping any time soon. I never want it to stop, tbh.

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

I love when they are completely feral and unwell over each other. Give me those acts of undying devotion, give me that possessive sex, give me the jealousy and the drama. (But also give me that happy ending, most of the time. I will read a good dark fic, every now and then, but most of the time, I’m a happy ending sorta gal.) Bonus points if they snark and bicker like an old married couple while being also completely and irrevocably gone for each other.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

First and foremost, I think it’s safe to say that I love writing AUs (mermaids and dragons and demons, oh my …). There’s just something to sticking these boys in the wildest of scenarios and trying to figure out how they’d behave, and what it would take to make them fall in love (because they always fall in love, in every universe).  Another thing I frequently find myself drifting towards is the Found Family trope. Both of our boys are canonically depicted as having strained relationships with their biological parents, and I love exploring that and making them find safety and trust and a sense of home outside of that “traditional” idea of family - with each other, with the kids, with Wayne. There’s so many ways of exploring this trope, and I think that is beautiful. 

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

See, that is impossible to answer because there’s just thousands of them out there, and so many amazing ones that deserve all the love! No way I can narrow it down to just one. Here’s a few that I constantly find myself thinking of and that I keep recommending to friends: - Money, power, glory by @strangerthings1975 - one of the first ones I read and that got me hooked on the pairing - @wynnyfryd ’s Yogi!Steve series - delightfully filthy, delightfully funny, and one of the best ADHD!Eddie voices I’ve read out there - Sugar, we’re going down by @thefreakandthehair - everything lex writes sucks me right in tbh. She just has a great way with language, and how she portrays the boys is so lovely.  - @eyeofshinigami’s a/b/o series- lovely, in-character exploration of omega!Eddie and alpha!Steve and their relationship through its various stages. This is what inspired me to write my own a/b/o fic! 

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

I can never reliably say what tropes or topics I’m going to explore beyond the projects I’m currently working on, because the plot bunnies do what they want. No way of knowing where they’ll take me next, so I’ll just sit back and enjoy the ride.

What is your writing process like?

I’m probably one of the most notorious plotters I know. Before I start writing, I need to have an idea of what’s supposed to happen in the story and where it’s going, or I’ll give myself massive anxiety. Almost all of my multi-chapter fics have an outline doc. (The only exceptions so far have been “Just add water” and “Whatever you want it to be”, and those were originally planned as one-shots and spiraled out of control.) The outline doc is my red thread that contains the story’s basic premise, an overview of the key characters and their roles, and outlines of the different chapters broken down into bullet points. Those are not set in stone. I frequently tweak details as I go (change the location of a scene, insert an extra Steddie or Stobin-centric scene if I feel they need more screen time, switch important revelations or plot points to a different chapter), but the outline document is my blueprint that ensures I know what I’m doing and how to get from point A to point B. I write chronologically, in the order laid down in the outline doc, and my first draft is actually pretty close to the version that ends up getting posted. I usually check for SPAG, tweak a sentence here and there, and that is it. 

Do you have any writing quirks?

I think the most noticeable one would be that I have a major case of wordy bitch syndrome. When doing chaptered fics, my finished word count always ends up higher than my initial estimate. When writing things with a word count cap, such as drabbles or microfics, I always, always, ALWAYS need to manically trim my first draft. One of the main things I do when editing is deleting superficial descriptors. (You don’t need three adjectives to describe the same action, Hype, you really do not!!!)

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

Most of the time, I prefer posting my chapters as I finish them, because I thrive on that immediate feedback. Seeing my readers’ reactions and getting to experience the story with them as I write is a lovely feeling.

Which fic are you most proud of?

I think it's a tie between “Someone who cares” and “Hic sunt dracones”, which are both very special to me for very different reasons.  “Someone who cares” was the fic that started it all. The first thing I wrote after my 15-year hiatus. The first fic I finished. The first fic I shared. This fandom has made my life a lot brighter and brought me close to so many amazing people, and it all began here. “Hic sunt dracones” is the one that has exceeded all of my wildest expectations. Everything I dreamed of but never thought possible when I first started sharing my stories, this one has achieved. It has sparked incredible fandom friendships for me. It has made rec lists. It has fanart. (The info may or may not be out already when this posts, but I've been reliably informed that someone is currently BOOKBINDING it. 😱) I just continue to be floored and humbled by the reactions to this fic!

How did you get the idea for Just add water?

I crowd-sourced it! I had just hit 250 followers on tumblr, and to celebrate, I did a round of polls to let my followers pick a concept for my next fic. AU or canon-adjacent? What kind of AU? Who was supposed to be the mer-dude? Where should the fic be set? In the end, I had a mermaid AU with mer!Steve and human!Eddie, set at Lovers’ Lake and one scene as well as two dialog prompts to include. It was heaps of fun and a bit surprising watching the poll results roll in, and I love the fic that came out of it (even though it spiraled from the originally intended one-shot and ended up being five chapters and over 20k long 🤣). 

When writing Updraft, what was something you didn’t expect?

I definitely didn’t expect for Steve to come forward and admit he was very aware of Eddie’s history and that he’d basically had a crush on him for the past four years. I did not plan that part at all, it just sort of snuck up on me, and suddenly he’d said it and I was like “damn, that’s good, we’re keeping that in.” That’s what I mean when I say that, no matter how much planning you do, they just have a mind of their own sometimes. I love surprising myself like that!

What inspired Updraft?

When I was brainstorming ideas for the Steddie Big Bang 2023, I jotted down a little bullet point that said “Something steampunk bc steampunk is cool” and that was basically it! 😂 I just love the entire steampunk aesthetic, and I always wanna give artists something image-heavy that they can really go to town on for a collab. (And let’s be honest, somebody needed to put Steve in a tophat. It had to be done.)  The idea didn’t make the final cut for the 2023 Big Bang, but I sort of kept rotating it in my brain for the next twelve months, and then decided to go with it for the 2024 round, and was lucky enough to be claimed by @cuips-not-cute, who really nailed the aesthetic I was going for with their artwork! ⚙️🎩❤️

What was your favorite part to write from (You got me) in the palm of your hand?

The sex scene in the van. Definitely one of the sweetest, softest smut scenes I’ve written to date. Closely followed by the finale in front of Eddie’s tent, with Steve in full costume, trying to struggle his way through that over-the-top script that Dustin wrote for him. 😂

How do/did you feel writing Someone who cares?

I mainly felt very confused with myself, because I hadn’t written ANY fiction in forever, and here I was, with that novel-length beast just pouring out of me one word at a time. I also second-guessed myself a lot. Was my English good enough? Wasn’t I writing everyone horribly OOC? What if nobody liked it? I think I’ve rarely felt as nervous as I did on the day I hit that Post button on chapter 1. I couldn’t believe I actually did that, but today I’m so proud of myself and very happy I took that leap. 

What was the most difficult part of writing Hic sunt dracones?

The damn middle part! 😅 This is actually something I struggle with a lot. Many of my stories come to me with pretty solidly formed beginnings and ends, but connecting the two is what regularly gives me headaches.  “Hic sunt dracones” was no exception here. The first few chapters just sort of barged into my head, nearly fully formed, and demanded to be written with an insistence I couldn’t ignore. By the time I posted chapter one, I had almost everything up to the castle escape figured out, and I had a pretty solid idea of the ending I wanted, but the in-between was very blurry to me. For the longest time, the only thing my outline said was “They hang out at Eddie’s lair and fuck a lot”, but I had no idea on how to actually move the story forward beyond the monsterfucking. 🤣 What really did the trick was adding the sacrifice scene in chapter three to my plan, because that sort of is what propels the rest into motion and allowed me to tie things together at the end. That, and adding Wayne and his merry band of misfits to the cast, because Steve needed someone to actually fuel his character growth.

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

I mean “Yes, beloved?” gets screamed back at me so often I’ve made it my ask button, but there’s many.  I loved writing their first kiss in “Someone who cares”, because I had been edging both myself and the readers for seven chapters and by the point I finally got around to it, even I was like “damnit, come ON already!!��  I was grinning so hard while writing the big reveal in “Just add water”, where Steve physically dunks screaming, wet rat Eddie to shut him up.  Those are just two examples, but I have many of these scenes, and when people pick up on them and tell me how much they loved them, that always makes my day a little. 💖

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

Anyone who follows me is probably sick of me talking about it by now, but @houseofthemovingimage and I are working on an absolute monster of a fic and art collab. It’s called “The King’s Gift”, and it features time traveler Steve, medieval king Eddie, a fae curse and lots of fun and drama and romance. ✨ I will not try to give any more estimates on when it’ll start posting bc we’ve both had a bit of a year and good things take time, but just know that I’m munching on the drywall over here, I’m so feral over it.  Other than that, I’m planning on participating in the @steddieholidaydrabbles again this year, and I may have been bouncing ideas with some other artists and fellow writers about more collabs, so there’s definitely more to come!

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

Thank you to @steddieas-shegoes for nominating me, and thank you to the amazing mods here at @steddieunderdogfics for all the hard work you’re putting into this blog! I love reading your fic recs and interviews, and it was so much fun getting to do one of my own. 🥰 This little online space we have here is so beautiful and creative and full of so many incredibly talented, kind and supportive people, some of whom have not only become moots but friends over the past two years. The Steddie fandom brings a smile to my face every single day, and I am simply unbelievably happy to be a part of it!

Thank you to our author, @just-my-latest-hyperfixation, and our nominator, @steddieas-shegoes! See more of @just-my-latest-hyperfixation works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[imagopirateversion]

It’s a Pirate Life for Me!

Why I am an adult who still believes in the pirate philosophy and is not willing to change.

An essay by: a person who really hopes future employers will never find this, but will still put their name at the end of it.

Painting credits: Pirate Boarding, Andrey Serebryakov

Can One Still Call Themselves A Pirate in the Twenty-First Century?

There are two answers to that question, and both of them are "yes".

Pirates do actually exist today: there were around 120 incidents of maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships reported in 2023 and around 115 in 2022 (source x). So yes, one can define themselves a pirate in the twenty-first century in a very literal sense; which is not what I'm trying to do here, of course.

While the world has changed and piracy has (almost) ceased to exist, thanks to stories, legends and media, the idea of piracy has become completely detached from the practice. This has led to a concept of "piracy" that has very little to do with sailing, stealing, and killing, and a lot more to do with what most things become over time: philosophy.

What no longer exists in practice in our era (and sometimes what never existed at all) has become a way of living: think about cowboys, goths, hippies, punks and so on. All these things are much more than aesthetics: each one has its own vision, its own practices, its own style, its own way of living; in other words, its own philosophy.

This text is about pirate philosophy and its origins.

First Things First: Why Did People Become Pirates?

Piracy did not appear out of nowhere in 1600; it's ancient and we have proofs of it existing as a practice since ancient Egypt (read more here). We automatically think of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when we talk about piracy because that period is known as the Golden Age of Piracy. Precisely between 1650 and 1730, there were thousands of active pirates, some of them infamously notorious, as Henry Morgan, Captain Kidd, Calico Jack, Bartholomew Roberts and, of course, Blackbeard himself. But why did that happen? Well, the answer is complex but can be easily summed up in a single word: money. The world was changing, and as Lord Cutler Beckett explains so brilliantly in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: currency was becoming the currency of the country, especially in England. Ruthless landowners forced small farmers to leave their lands, while smaller tradesmen were challenged by larger businesses. Everyone wanted more, and those who couldn't adapt to the new world's rules became unemployed and were forced to move to urban areas to look for work or poor relief. The cities became overpopulated and soon there weren't funds left: distressed people had no hope of making a better life (source x). For this people, piracy was nothing more than a way out: it was either submit to the new society and starve to death, or rebel and survive. What would you have done?

What Kind of People Became Pirates?

Piracy soon became the best choice for many people. Not only for unemployed men who couldn't find a better way to survive, but also for those who, for various reasons, couldn't fit in. people who couldn't conform to societal norms weren't just discriminated against or isolated, they were often killed. That's why, even though piracy wasn't an easy life at all, many people preferred it. So, who were the pirates?

Sailors usually didn't make enough money to survive, and the discipline was extremely strict. Many of them ended up starving, getting sick, and dying. It's not surprising that many chose to become criminals and sail as pirates (source x).

Teenagers, often orphans with no money or future. Young men might have to endure seven-year apprenticeships before they could make an independent living, while piracy offered them a way to earn money quickly (source x).

Rebellious against the oppressive conditions imposed by their governments, specially from the Navy.

People discriminated because of their race. Black people in particular often had no social opportunities all, but could find acceptance within pirate crews, where camaraderie transcended racial or ethnic differences.

People with a religious belief that was considered heretical or nonconformist by the mainstream society could often find themselves persecuted. Pirate crews comprised members from diverse religious backgrounds and were generally more tolerant of religious differences.

People with a criminal background, who were offered an opportunity to start anew and be part of a community, two things that the civilized society couldn't give them.

Queer people, particularly homosexual men. Homosexuality was a crime at the time, often viewed as negatively as piracy, if not worse. Piracy was a male-dominated world; although for a long time media tried to portray pirates as "turning" gay due to the absence of women among them, the truth is that many gay men were pirates because they were gay. Homosexuality was so common among pirates that they had something very similar to same-sex marriage. It was called "matelotage": a legal civil union that bound two sailors together in an informal partnership, uniting one's fortune and future to the other's, and was respected by ship captains and pirate crews (source x).

Women. The majority of pirates were men, but not all of them. In a world that was not at all kind to young girls and women in general, it was not uncommon for them to disguise themselves as men or marry a pirate in order to become one. There have been notorious women pirates, some of them captains, such as Zheng Yi Sao or Huang Bamei (source x).

In short, outcasts. Individuals rejected by society, unable to find their place, and unwilling to conform to strict societal rules.

The Adventurers

There were a few people, a minority of course, who willingly chose piracy even though they had a normal, conforming, and even wealthy life. It's the case of Stede Bonnet, The Gentleman Pirate; he was born into a wealthy English family and inherited the family estate after his father's death in 1694. Despite his lack of sailing experience, Bonnet decided he should turn to piracy in the spring of 1717. He bought a sailing vessel, the Revenge, and travelled with his paid crew, capturing other vessels and burning other Barbadian ships. His story, apart from giving us one of the best pirate stories in the history of media, is significant because it provides evidence that piracy wasn't just about necessity; it was about identity. Piracy had become a way of life long before it was romanticized by the media.

The Pirate Life

What was it about pirate life that was so tempting for so many people? Life on a ship wasn't easy at all; the work was tough, the food was poor, and anyone could die at any moment, whether due to illness, sinking, or murder. Nevertheless, there was something that made it all worthwhile: freedom. People who have had no possibilities nor future in society found in piracy the opportunity to live by their own rules. Civilization's norms had no reason to exist in an uncivilized society; no master telling you what to do, no morality, no societal standards, no need to impress or perform. If you wanted something, you simply had to find a way to get it. That meant you could possibly starve to death, but it also meant that you had a chance of getting everything you had ever desired, and eating and drinking until you died, and in the civilized society you didn't have that chance. You could choose to sail and never touch land again; you could choose to marry or not to marry, to have a family or not to have one, to sleep with whomever you wanted to, to practice your religion. You could change your name and be who you wanted to be. Pirate life was the realization of that question most of us have asked ourselves at least once: 'What if I disappear tomorrow and start all over again somewhere else?'.

Piracy in the Modern World

In our eastern, civilized, technological, capitalist society, we don't need to be part of a crew and sail to be pirates. Piracy as a practice was defeated thanks to pirate hunting in the eighteenth century, but you can't kill an idea, can you? Ideas not only persist, they evolve and adapt to the changes they're forced to face. When we say "pirate" in today's world, we mean a lot of different things:

Sea Pirate: a person who attacks and robs ships at sea;

Software Pirate: a person who appropriates or reproduces the work of another for profit without permission, usually in contravention of patent or copyright;

In Italy, we have a way to describe people who ignore the Traffic Laws, 'pirata della strada', literally 'pirate of the street';

In sexual slang, the word 'pirate' is used to define someone who sleeps around, who constantly looks for casual sex.

The term 'ass pirate' has been used as a slur to describe homosexual men.

In short, the term in today's society is used to describe someone who breaks the rules, whether they are actual laws or societal standards.

If we consider everything piracy represents as a concept, as an idea, in modern society, and put it together, we can sum it up in three words:

Freedom, Anarchy, Resistance.

Freedom

'Freedom' is such an abstract concept it is almost impossible to define. It's widely discussed in philosophy, particularly the question: is it possible to be truly free? As soon as we built a society, in order to gain benefits, we had to partially sacrifice our freedom. We can't freely steal from our neighbors, but in doing so, we ensure our neighbors won't steal from us (at least, we hope). It's a simple concept. However, there's a line beyond which the benefits we gain aren't worth the sacrifices we make to obtain them. This has occurred repeatedly throughout history; it happened in the Golden Age of Piracy, and it was the reason why most of people chose to abandon civilization and sail as pirates, and it continues to happen every day. Whenever a social construct, or sometimes even a law, prevents you from simply existing as a person; whenever your future is dictated by your social status; whenever you're denied free time, enjoyment, rest, and happiness because you have to work ten hours a day just to be paid the minimum wage, if you're lucky enough to live in a country that has one. That isn't a freedom you willingly gave away to have a benefit. It's a freedom someone took from you before you were even born, before you could think and understand that just because everyone acts like it's the normal way of living, it doesn't mean it has to be that way.

Anarchy

It is true that, at least concerning crews, pirate society had a sort of hierarchy, in which the Captain of the ship was at the top. However, it is also true that this hierarchy could collapse at any given moment, considering the possibility of a mutiny, and that, in general, pirate society was anarchic. There has been research on the functioning of pirate society, particularly regarding its potential application in a hypothetical modern society where the value of human life and individual needs are more considered than they were during that era. Most of the work in that sense has been done by Peter Lamborn Wilson in his 1995 book 'Pirate Utopias: Moorish Corsairs & European Renegadoes'. He provides a definition of what he calls 'Pirate Utopias', that are described as "Early forms of autonomous proto-anarchist societies in that they operated beyond the reach of governments and embraced unrestricted freedom" (source x). I highly recommend reading his work and all the other research that followed it if you want to go into detail, because that's not what I'm going to do here (for now).

That being said, this is my personal take on the matter:

In our days, the discussion about Anarchy as a political belief is often ridiculed and reduced to a mere "if there were no rules, people would kill each other". That statement is true; people would. What is usually misunderstood and not taken into consideration is that people who profess to believe in Anarchy do not mean we should abolish every existing law overnight and see what happens. With 'Anarchy,' we mean a hypothetical society in which individuals are free to do as they please, and they willingly choose not to kill, steal, and hurt others because they have no interest in doing so. This hypothetical society is, of course, unachievable; it's what is called a utopia.

Most political beliefs are based on utopias (or dystopias, depending on your vision of them), because a society that strictly adheres to a pure political system is impossible to achieve. There cannot be a perfect socialist society, nor a perfect communist one, nor a perfect capitalist one, and of course, there cannot be a perfect anarchist society. What we can do, though, is aspire to one—or, to use a naval metaphor, we can set the course towards it. We can make decisions, take actions, and build societies around a specific vision.

The western society, for example, tends to a capitalistic system; in brief, money is what our society revolves around. The more money you possess, the more power you wield; your ultimate goal in life must be to gain money so that you can afford basic necessities: food, housing, healthcare and so on. Everything is privatized, leading to the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, being exploited by people whose only purpose is to become even more rich. Consequently, you are forced to wake up every morning at 6 am to work ten-hour shifts for minimum wage. Don't like it? You're free not to live in the capitalist society. You'll probably starve to death, end up living on the street, be marginalized, isolated, persecuted, but still. You're "free" to do it. Of course, this is not a "perfect" capitalist society, it can't be; not until Democracy exists, not until Resistance exists. Still, our society tends towards it.

'Anarchy' doesn't mean we should live in a society with no rules; it simply means we should strive towards it and build a society that is as similar as possible to that utopia, prioritizing the freedom of the individual, but without causing collapse.

Resistance

Most pirates were hardly educated enough to even understand all of that as a concept, of course. They didn't fight for a political idea, most of them fought to survive. Even though it wasn't a utopian society, they still had a shared belief: dissent. Being an outcast means to be disillusioned in how 'mainstream' society works, and we know most of them were, considering their social background. Piracy was, in its own way, a movement of resistance.

Times have changed, and we don't have to engage in naval battles to resist. As society evolved, resistance as a practice evolved with it, and hence Western society has become less and less violent, as have the harmless but powerful acts of resistance.

Every time you protest, you are resisting. Every time you talk back, you expose a normalized injustice, you rebel towards an unfair authority, you say 'no', you go against what's expected from you, you are unapologetically yourself, you refuse to adapt, you decide to ignore or bypass a senseless law, you are resisting. Every time you prioritize your free time over money, you challenge beauty standards, you don't accept a 'that's how it was always done' as a justification. Even when you have fun harder than how you're supposed to, when you rejoice louder than how's considered appropriate, every time you dance like no one is watching you, you are, somehow, resisting.

Piracy in Media

Much of our perception of things we haven't directly experienced is filtered and conditioned by media. Even when we study historical periods like the Medieval Age or the Roman Empire, a part of our understanding will always be influenced by the media we've consumed about them. This is because media is often how we were introduced to these subjects: you can get very passionate about Indiana Jones, and so get interested in studying the pyramids and ancient Egypt, only to find out pyramids are nothing like it was portrayed in the movies. Nevertheless, you got interested in studying them in the first place because of Indiana Jones, so as much as you understand and accept that that isn't the truth behind ancient Egypt, you can also accept that Indiana Jones is part of your vision of it, and that cannot change. I know Pirates of the Caribbean isn't historically accurate, as much as Our Flag Means Death and Monkey Island aren't; still, I cannot deny that they have a role in creating a general vision of Pirate Philosophy in the modern world.

There are, in my opinion, three main aspects that come out from the combination of what we know about Piracy as a historical reality and as it's portrayed by media, and those are Hedonism, Nomadism and Camaraderie.

Hedonism

Hedonism is defined as 'the prioritization of pleasure in one's lifestyle, actions, or thoughts'. It's a recurring theme in the portrayal of pirate society; from songs, to movies where Tortuga is depicted as a place where people drink, eat, have sex and fight as they please, to legends that speak of treasures to be found so one can live a life of excess.

The reason for this is related to what we already know about the history of pirates, particularly the society they escaped from. The society of the seventeenth century was extremely strict, both morally and legislatively. Sex outside of marriage was out of the question, and many things that we consider normal today were seen as affronts to decency, often punishable. To be considered a respectable man or woman, one had to follow certain rules. Additionally, many pirates came from backgrounds of extreme poverty, making them prone to indulging in every kind of pleasure when they could.

Hedonism isn't just a perpetual search for pleasure; it's actually an ethical philosophy that is grounded in pleasure (defined as the avoidance of pain as much as possible) as the only intrinsic value and therefore the only reasonable expression of ethical good. This philosophy of life can be easily connected to the anarchist society that we described earlier; a society that doesn't have rules and in which you don't have a 'place' or need to 'contribute,' since your only purpose as an individual is to pursue pleasure.

I personally believe in Hedonism as an ethical philosophy, particularly Psychological Hedonism, as much as my research of pleasure doesn't prevail on someone else's.

Nomadism

One of the things that fascinated me the most about the Pirate Life as portrayed in media, was the idea of embarking on a journey that would never end. Our society is a stationary one, and I actually think there's nothing wrong with that. My perspective on this matter has nothing to do with morality, ideology, or politics. Being stationary is good; the human species would have never evolved if it didn't stop and build the world as we know it. This is simply a personal preference and stems from my absolute intolerance and repulsion at the idea of being born and dying in the same place. I've always yearned to explore, to see as much of the world as I could. The concept of 'borders' has always bothered me; I firmly believe in cultural exchanges and in learning about how other human beings live in different parts of the world. Of course, I acknowledge that without nations, traditions, and populations that are local and bound to their territories, there wouldn't even be cultures to discover or different societies to explore. So, this is about me, not a hypothetical, utopian society. I'm the one who always wanted to travel without ever stopping; I've never felt like I belonged in any one place or that there's a good enough reason to settle in a single nation and miss out on all that there is to see out there.

Camaraderie

Pirates encompassed men and women with all different kinds of backgrounds, nationalities, beliefs, ideologies and identities. While we speak in absolutes, in a society with no moral or legislative boundaries, factors such as who you were, where you came from, who you slept with, or what you believed in simply didn't matter. You were a pirate, and that was enough.

The official definition of camaraderie is:

"A feeling of friendliness towards people that you work or share an experience with".

In this case, we could even say "towards people that you share a lifestyle with". Being realistic, in a historically accurate pirate society, it's plausible that hate towards differences and minorities still existed, considering the strict and mentally bigoted society most pirates came from. However, we're talking about individuals who chose to leave that society, probably because of its strict and mentally bigoted nature. It's reasonable to assert that this particular kind of hate was at least less prevalent in the pirate society than outside of it.

Piracy in media undoubtedly plays a significant role in romanticizing the sense of brotherhood and companionship felt among pirates; we saw Pirate Codes, Brethren Courts, battles in the name of a common ideal, epic friendships and romances, songs that speak of a union strong enough to beat death itself and slogan such as "Long Live Piracy!".

What attracts me the most about it is that camaraderie as a concept exists in basically all societies or communities with a shared aim or belief. However, there are always rules that need to be followed, and the risk of being excluded and losing the privilege of deserving such camaraderie is always present. The idea of fidelity toward one's society, community, or even nation is essential for its survival, ensuring that those in power maintain control over their adherents, citizens, or believers. The pirate society is the only one I've stumbled across that doesn't need it. The feeling of brotherhood within these people doesn't need any kind of loyalty, proper rules or the fear of losing privileges to make sure that the community keeps existing. That's because the pirate society is made up of people who have already betrayed, renounced, and lost all of their privileges to be there. All they have is that sense of brotherhood and friendship. They exist in a reality in which none of them belongs anywhere and that, somehow, becomes a sense of belonging; one that doesn't need to be continuously shown or respected, simply because it's the only thing that keeps them there.

I believe that is the only reality in which camaraderie and freedom can coexist in a society, and I think it's one of the most beautiful and powerful concepts I've ever seen portrayed.

Conclusions

We finally arrived at the end of this... yeah, let's call it 'essay'. It was more than two weeks ago when I wrote the first word. It was meant to be brief and simply a way to put in words an intimate belief. I wasn't sure if I wanted to post it, mostly because I rarely share such deep thoughts with people around me; though, I'm trying to change that. As all human beings I strive to find belonging and as a true pirate, I never found anywhere to do so. So, to find but one person who reads this until the end and finds themselves to agree with my view, it would make me immeasurably happy.

Thank you if you made it this far, even if you don't agree with a single word I've written, because you dedicated part of your time to me, and I appreciate it.

If you find syntactic errors, please consider that english isn't my first language and also that grammar is a made up concept anyway.

Don't forget to be free, to resist, to pursue pleasure as much as you can, to explore and to show camaraderie not because you have to, but for the sake of it.

Fair winds t' ye!

Imago

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

I'm having a truly terrible birthday trip and it's not even my birthday yet can I please have some angry blade 😭🙏

��️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️

Jumping the queue <3 Hope it gets better and happy early birthday!

120 or 1k for ⚖️:

---

The rest is a history Buck already knows. The way Eddie and his parents have quietly battled over Christopher for years. But he sees more. Shitty interactions with Shannon. Digs that made her feel like a bad mother. Constant critiques of Eddie’s sisters. All careful. All so small that they can’t be a big deal, but sharp enough to hurt. To etch away at a person’s self-worth. 

He sees her accuse Eddie of dragging Christopher down. She sees her quiet delight when, years later, Christopher calls and asks to come to them. She thinks she can do a better job than Eddie. And if she does, she thinks she won’t have to feel bad about his childhood. Not anymore. 

Buck sees it all. He wishes he hadn’t. It seems like a violation. A glimpse into a wretched wound of Eddie’s. 

At least, Buck thinks, what Chris needs and Eddie wants might match what Helena deserves. And Ramon. Just because he’s only looking at Helena right now, doesn’t mean Ramon isn’t just as complicit. 

He’ll have to pick something that suits them both. 

And he thinks, in the end, he does. A future where they’ve lost Eddie. Where their relationship with Christopher fades to almost nothing, as he ages and learns more and more about his parents’ past. As their youngest daughter moves across the country. As their middle daughter becomes closer with her husband’s family than theirs. And as a grandchild is born, somewhere out there, that they don’t get to meet. Buck doesn’t know whose. He can only see their reaction to the news. But he wonders about Eddie. If he ever becomes a father again. If he gets to do that, knowing they won’t be around to interfere. 

He chooses the future, and he doesn’t feel any regret. Christopher is with Eddie. Christopher leaves them behind. And maybe that light, the one that faded from Eddie as a child, the one Buck thinks he’s always been able to see anyway, will come back in full force. 

Buck snaps back to reality and takes a large step away from Helena. Helena, who is seething, glaring at him. Fair enough. 

“We’re going,” Eddie says confidently. “Call whoever you want.”

Oof. Well, let’s not encourage them to call the cops. Hopefully they know they don’t have a leg to stand on. 

“Thank you for helping him when he asked for it,” Eddie continues. “I appreciate that. But it’ll be the last time.”

Eddie turns around and stomps towards the truck. Buck withholds a smirk, and turns to join him. 

⚖️

They drive until just outside Phoenix. No one pursues them. There is no Amber Alert. Obviously Eddie’s parents thought better than calling the police. They find a hotel, and by the time they arrive, Christopher is dead asleep in the back seat. Eddie carries him like he’s a little kid still, despite him being closer to the size of a man. Chris doesn’t wake the whole time, like the emotional exhaustion of the day has knocked him flat. Buck thinks Eddie looks like he’s almost at that point himself. 

The hotel room has two beds, just like the last. But now they have three people. Eddie lays Christopher on the bed farthest from the door. For a moment, he sits there, beside his sleeping son, just staring at him. He runs a featherlight hand through Christopher’s mussed curls before taking his glasses off and setting them on the nightstand. He bends to kiss his forehead, and murmurs a quick love you, before rising to look at Buck. 

“Can we share?” Eddie whispers. “I don’t want to wake him.”

“‘Course,” Buck mumbles back. 

They both strip down to tee shirts and boxers and move to their separate sides of the bed. Buck near the wall, Eddie on the side closer to Chris. After a second, Eddie reaches to turn off the lamp. 

“Night, Eddie,” Buck whispers. 

“Goodnight, Buck,” Eddie replies, just as soft. “Thank you. For everything today and… And Always.”

“You don’t need to thank me, Eddie,” Buck says. “You know I’d do anything for you two.”

“I know, but…” 

Eddie trails off. The room falls deadly silent, save for the sound of Christopher’s heavy breathing. 

“But what?” Buck prompts gently. 

Instead of answering, Eddie rolls over and, in a move Buck isn’t at all expecting, practically rolls onto him. For a minute, Buck doesn’t know what the hell is happening. But then, Eddie’s arms are awkwardly thrown around him, and his head falls onto the pillow, face down beside Buck, tucked into his neck. Thrown off, Buck moves nervous arms to hug Eddie back. To hold him in place. 

“You have no idea what you mean to me,” Eddie mumbles. 

Buck’s heart lurches. 

Then I’d probably kiss Buck, like, a lot. 

Buck has no idea what to say. It’s been an emotional fucking day. And he doesn’t want to read into anything says right now.

So, he can only find a simple response.

“Back at ya, Eddie.”

iii. 

Buck gives Chris and Eddie a few hours the next morning to talk. Just the two of them. He drives into a suburb of Phoenix and finds somewhere to grab coffee and breakfast for himself. It’s good to have a moment to himself. Not that he’s ever tired of Eddie or Chris. That’s impossible. But, it’s been a long two days. Emotionally charged and stressful. Even if things have turned out for the better. Buck could use the breather. 

He’s eating a breakfast sandwich at a cafe with, frankly, fantastic coffee, scrolling news on his phone, when he hears a chillingly familiar voice behind him. 

“I hope this seat isn’t taken?” 

It’s not asking for permission. Not really. 

Buck looks up to see her. Nemesis. Not in a dream. Not in his head. She’s real, she’s in front of him, and she’s smiling smugly, taking a seat across from him at his little two-seater table.

[spacelesbiandisasterii]

Context of which one below!

Granny!Barrissoka, one shot: this is a idea I kinda started working on with @marielaure helps (Thanks again!) and it's basically centered around the different life's spawns between Mirilians and Togruta.

Mirilians live like 200/250 years while Togruta are lucky to made it to 120 and can't live more than that (according to my hc), which means that Ahsoka would die and Barriss would be still be around for a century.

I want to write a story where Barriss is struggling with this fact at the same time I get to explore what their lives would look like in their granny era, y'know? I will not be putting order 66 or temple bombing on this bc it's bad enough to kill Ahsoka, so we have a Jedi Temple utopia. Besides the death theme this work is supposed to be very sweet and tender, lots of old lady kissing and all.

Obi-Wan & Katoonie & Hondo Brooklyn 99 adventure, one shot: You know those episodes of Brooklyn 99 where Jake tries to arrest The Pontiac Bandit, aka Dough Judge, but somehow ends up having the best day of his life before ultimately losing his chance of arresting Dough Judge?

That, but Star Wars edition.

Again with the "No Order 66 AU", after the end of the war Obi-Wan choose my girl Katoonie to be his new Padawan thinking he'll have less trouble than with Anakin only to discover that Katoonie has pirate friend who is no other than Hondo Onaka himself!

They catch Hondo doing some evil scheme, try to arrest him, had to join force to deal if a bigger badder force and somehow end up having a games night or something like that. It's just a fun little adventure.

Rafa Martez pre season 7 backstory, short story (6~8 chapters max): this one is a more recent idea I been discussing with @stellanslashgeode (Thank you too!!) and it's basically the story of what happened with the Martez sisters after their parents died.

It's going be 100% Rafa's POV, but will deal with both sisters navigating grief while trying to survive on Curuscant Underworld. Things like what happened to Ziro's territory on Curuscant after he died, how Trace got the Silver Angel and how Rafa got into spice dealing/criminal jobs, what Curuscant people think of the war, etc.

I'm existed about this one bc Coruscant criminal life just looks so damn fun to write and it's a great excuse for me to finally write about my favorite Star Wars Sisters. The Martez deserved better and I ready to be their most fierce defender!

Runaways!Barrissoka, long fic (20+ chapters): I have this concept of what would had happened if instead of incriminating Ahsoka Barriss choosed to runway with her after the death of Letta.

Like Barriss not standing the idea of letting Ahsoka face trial but also afraid of dealing with the consequences of her actions chooses to free Ahsoka from prison without telling her any other that this is the only option for her scape from this situation.

So they go on explore the galaxy, running away from their own masters that were tasked with the mission of hunting they down while they try to do some good in the galaxy and start to catch feeling for one another without the Code getting in the way. Ahsoka experience severe for leaving her life behind and Barriss constantly tries to convince herself that removing Ahsoka from the war was a good thing while simultaneously killing herself with the guilt of bringing her girlfriend so much pain for extra ✨flavor✨.

I can't choose between those ideas myself, so any help will be appreciated 😅.

[klaus-littlestwolf]

Can you please do anal with Klaus and Y/n

Or something like that

Maybe klaus fucks her with a vibrator up her ass

Of course if you’re uncomfortable I understand, after reading the highschool klaus I thought you might be someone who would write it

Modern!Highschool Klaus M. Pt.4

Warning: Smut! Anal sex, Squirting, Dirty talk, and tooth rotting levels of Dd/Lg sweetness from Daddy!Klaus

Masterlist

‘Okay, let’s go mail them!’ Y/n grinned, hopping up and down excitedly, somehow she was more excited about me going to Art school than I was.

‘I still don’t like that you paid for this, I-‘

‘You need to let it go Daddy, I’ve already paid for your applications and it’s only to 3 schools. All of which you’re going to get in so it’ll be worth it!’

We’ve been together for a week now and in the last week Y/n has insisted I apply to art schools that I’m never going to get into. I know that she wants me to pursue my dream but I don’t know if I can take the rejection. All of the schools I would consider going to are extremely prestigious and competitive, they also only accept 150 kids every year but she insists that I try. I agreed to 3 of the applications of which she has helped me with the past few days, my top school however I refused to even apply. The price for the application was 150 dollars and Y/n had paid for the 3 I was sending already which cost 120. I hate her spending money on me, I should be spoiling her, that’s my job as her boyfriend, then again her parents gave her money instead of caring for her so she really didn’t need me to.

‘I love how optimistic you are for me Babygirl.’ I loved that she believed in me so much, though I hated how much she doubted herself. She had gone on and on to me about how dumb she is and I assumed she was failing out of school when she has a 3.8 GPA, however I convinced her to apply to schools in the same areas as the ones I am, with any luck we will get to at least be close if not get an apartment together.

‘I’m not optimistic, I’m realistic! You’re fucking talented Daddy, they would be stupid as fuck not to pick you!’ God I love this girl.

After mailing the applications for the both of us we ended up back at my house where Y/n had been staying with me for 4 days straight now.

‘You realize it’s going to be your fourth night staying here in a row, right?’ I questioned and she looked up at me from where she had sat on my bed, pulling out her math book.

‘Yeah…?’

‘Don’t you think we should talk about that?’ I changed into a pair of sweats and removed my shirt, getting comfortable to not do anything for the rest of the night since it was Friday and we could lounge around the entire weekend.

‘Oh…um, okay. I mean, I can go. I didn’t realize that you-‘

‘What? No! Y/n, no! I mean we should talk about you bringing stuff here if you’re going to be staying from now on. I can move some stuff and you can have a couple of drawers, you can bring your shampoo and shit so you don’t keep going home to shower. The shower thing is becoming very inconvenient as I would very much like to take a shower with my girlfriend, we are doing that tomorrow whether you like it or not.’ I teased, pushing her back onto the bed and lifting her legs and wrapping them around my waist as I crawled over top of her.

‘Is that right?’

‘Yes, it is.’ Her eyebrows went up before I leaned into her neck, sucking a dark red mark onto her skin.

‘I suppose I’ll just have to get used to the idea then, won’t I?’ I grunted an affirmation while continuing to kiss her neck, trailing my hands up under her shirt. ‘We can go and I’ll pack a bag tomorrow if you’re okay with it. My parents won’t care, probably won’t even notice if I’m perfectly honest.’ She said it as if it was normal and she didn’t care but I knew deep down it bothered her a lot that her parents didn’t give a shit about her. ‘My god you’re a fucking horn dog!’ She teased, feeling my hard cock pressing against her pussy.

‘Yes, we know this. I’m a 17 year old boy, it’s common sense to assume that…I love you.’ I had previously told her that I love her in passing, teasingly but also serious however she looked at me shocked as she could feel how deeply I meant it.

‘Nik-‘

‘I love you. I’m sorry you don’t have enough people telling you that because you deserve it and it’s their loss that they don’t get to know what an amazing, generous and wonderful girl you are but I love you Y/n.’ She nodded slowly as if taking it in before a huge smile overtook her face.

‘I love you too Nik. I love you so much.’ She pulled me down to press her lips to mine hard. ‘You know what else?’ She asked against my lips and I pulled back to look at her.

‘What?’

‘I trust you.’ I felt honored by that, I know she has a hard time trusting people so to know she trusts me is a wonderful feeling.

‘I trust you too, and I would never hurt you. You’re my Princess.’ I trailed my lips down her neck, continuing to suck marks there knowing how much she loves and hates it, constantly having to cover them with makeup.

‘Maybe we try something new tonight?’

‘Mmm, like what?’ We’d only been together a week but we’d proved to be a very horny and adventurous couple. I couldn’t imagine what she meant by that.

‘Like maybe another hole?’ She whispered as I continued sucking on her skin until my brain caught up to her words and I pulled back, looking down at her in shock.

‘Really? You-you want to-I would need to stretch you out first.’ She shook her head, taking my hand and bringing it down to her pussy, my fingers grazing something against her asshole and I quickly realized something was already stretching her little hole out for me. ‘Fuck!’ I practically ripped her shorts and panties from her body to see the green jewel on the end of the butt plug that she knew was my favorite color. ‘You’re so fucking perfect, you know that? Are…are you sure?’ She nodded, grinning excitedly and I didn’t need to ask again, pulling my sweats and boxers down before moving to grab the lube I had in my drawer. I placed the bottle beside me before leaning down, ready to shove my face into her cunt when she pulled on my hair.

‘If you want to do that later, fine, but I have had a butt plug in my ass for almost 2 hours, and I’m already dripping. If you don’t fuck me now, I swear to God, someone is going to!’ Her tone was playful but I could tell how serious she really was and I growled, pulling the green jewel from her ass and hearing her whimper as it popped free.

‘Fuck!’ I cursed, seeing her hole open slightly and quickly squirting the bottle on my fingers, pushing them into her and feeling how tight she still was before practically filling my hand with it and lathering my cock in the slick substance. ‘You tell me to stop and I will, okay?’ She nodded firmly, determination covering her face as I lined my cock up with her hole and began pushing in, hissing at the tight squeeze. I had thought her pussy would kill me when I fucked her the first time, and now as I pushed all the way into her hole I’m thinking I may be reincarnated during this she’s so damn tight. ‘GodDammit! How many times have you done this?! Fuck you’re tight!’

‘Never…’ she whimpered and I froze, looking down at her in shock. I had just assumed, clearly incorrectly, that she had tried everything with James…and here I am in her ass for the first time.

‘Why didn’t you tell me that-‘

‘Don’t make it a big deal, I never trusted him…I love you Nik.’

I just stared at her for a moment in shock. It was one of the very few times she didn’t call me “Daddy” while I’m inside of her and it gave me butterflies in my stomach. ‘Y/n, I…my God Princess, I love you so fucking much!’ I leaned down to press my lips to hers and as I did we both cried out at the pressure.

‘I wish it had always been you, wish I could have given you my virginity-‘ I covered her mouth with my hand, resting my forehead onto hers as I took a deep breath.

‘You’ve given me everything that means anything Y/n, virginity is a fake construct created by men to shame women. You’ve given me your love and trust, your body is just a plus…a fantastic plus that I’m deeply in love with-‘ she smacked my ass as I teased her and made her giggle which only made me grunt as she squeezed my cock when she laughed. ‘Okay. Breathe.’ She nodded as I leaned on my arms and pulled back out of her, pushing back in again and not being able to stop the smile as her eyes rolled into the back of her head. ‘You’re so fucking beautiful.’ I pushed back in 2 more times before speeding my pace up a bit as she began to start moving as well, relaxing under me as she grew used to the new feeling and wrapped her arms around my neck.

‘Yes Daddy! Your cock feels so good! Ahh!’ I knew I wasn’t going to last long and I was determined to make her cum before I did, also knowing we would definitely be doing this again.

‘Are you gonna cum for Daddy, Princess? You gonna cum from Daddy fucking this tight little hole?’

‘Yeah…’

‘Yeah? Daddy’s fucking your tiny babyhole right now, I know that makes you want to cum! You need it!’ My hands gripped her thighs and lifted her legs up, pushing them onto my shoulders and she wailed! I shoved into her once more before her back arched and she squirt all over my lower body and the blanket which was the single sexiest thing I believe I had ever fucking seen and not a second later I was cumming right along side her, filling her asshole as full as I possibly could, crashing our lips together as we came.

I couldn’t tell you how long we stayed in that position, unable to move until I felt her shiver against me. Being covered in cum in a basement with the air conditioner on is a bad combination, however I keep it on almost always as Y/n likes to sleep in the cold and be able to snuggle into my warm body under heavy, fuzzy blankets. It makes me feel like I’m in the arctic sometimes but I like how happy she is when we cuddle under 6 Sherpa blankets with a heavy comforter on top.

‘Hold on gorgeous, hold on.’ I pulled myself out of her gently and moved to the bathroom, washing my cock off from the pint of lube and cum before getting a wet cloth. I grabbed 2 pairs of my boxers and 2 shirts before quickly cleaning her off as well.

‘Don’t feel gorgeous, feel sticky.’ She mumbled, grimacing as I wiped her thighs, before sighing.

‘Well you are, gorgeous as always. Daddy’s perfect Babygirl. You’re the most perfect girl that’s ever walked this earth and I am the luckiest man in existence that you’ve decided that I am worthy of getting to love you.’ Her face blushed a deep red and I loved seeing how flustered she got when I said things like that. She deserved all the love in the world and for some reason she had never gotten any until me, so I will be making sure she knows how perfect she is every chance I get. ‘How do you feel? I didn’t harm you, did I?’ I wondered, lifting her legs and maneuvering the boxers up her body to cover her before sitting her up and pulling the shirt over her arms and head.

‘No Nik, I’m okay. A little sore but totally fine, wonderful, absolutely perfect! My Daddy made me feel so good! I don’t think I’ve ever cum that hard before.’

‘Well that’s good, because you squirt all over me.’ I smiled, kissing her nose before seeing her eyes widen and quickly pressed our lips together before she could do something stupid like apologize to me. ‘It was hot, I would say the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen but I think watching my cock push into your asshole has to be the sexiest thing.’ I brushed her hair out with the brush on the bedside table before putting it up for her and removing the damp blanket on top of the bed that we had been on, laying a new one on top and crawling in beside her.

‘I love you Daddy…promise me we’re going to be together forever.’

I pulled her close, resting her head on my chest and kissed her head, my hand rubbing up her back. ‘I promise Baby, it’s you and me, Always and Forever.’

4 Months Later

‘Nik! Where are you?!’ I heard Y/n call from the front door. She had officially moved in a week after moving her stuff into my room and after seeing how much of an effect she had on me my mother didn’t mind at all, loving my girlfriend like her own child nearly instantaneously.

‘Kitchen with Elijah and Kol!’ I shouted back, pulling the potatoes out of the oven and finishing playing up our dinner for the night before my brothers tore into the rest.

‘Hey.’ She greeted, pulling me close and kissing me excitedly. ‘I have something for you.’ She told me, holding up a letter.

We had gotten all of our college letters back last week and surprisingly I had been accepted to all of them like she said I would and we had decided on Columbia university. It had an amazing arts program and she was accepted to a school not far, but as she seemed to be holding up a college admissions letter I was confused.

‘What’s this? I got all my school letters back.’ I said just as Rebekah walked in, hugging Y/n in greeting, they had become very good friends despite my pleading them not to.

‘What’s this about school? I thought you got accepted.’

‘I did…what did you do?’ I questioned her and now everyone was looking at us.

‘Well you adamantly refused to apply to the school you wanted to go to most of all and so I paid to get the admissions forms and forged your application. All I had to do was fill in your information and make a portfolio of 20 of your most recent pieces. I picked my favorites…I used my painting as well.’ She blushed and I just stared at her for a moment.

‘That cost $150 Y/n! I told you I didn’t want to do that and you picked paintings I didn’t want to use on top of that?! Why would you-‘ I huffed out a sigh, running my fingers through my hair and turning away to put the dirty dishes in the sink.

‘Rhode Island School of Design.’ Elijah read, having taken it from her.

‘He’s afraid he won’t get into his dream school so he pretended that the price was the reason he didn’t apply.’ She told him and I turned around, glaring.

‘You Spent $150 Dollars On Me For A Rejection Letter!’ She flinched and I instantly relaxed my body as much as I could, never wanting her to be afraid of me. ‘Why would you do this? I told you I wasn’t going to apply and you fought for it but I still said ‘no’. Why would-‘

‘You’ve been accepted.’ Elijah spoke and I spun to look at him, staring for about 5 seconds before snatching the letter and reading over it to see that he was right. It read that they were impressed with my assortment of unique art pieces.

‘I got accepted to a college about 5 miles away if that’s any help in making your decision for-‘ I cut her off by shoving my lips to hers roughly and hugging her to my body, face in my neck.

‘I’m so sorry. Thank you Y/n. Thank you!’ I took hold of her face in my hands and felt like I fell in love with her smiling face all over again. ‘You believed in me when I didn’t, this whole time. I still don’t like you spending money on me but…thank you. Looks like we’re going to Rhode Island next year.’

‘Damn straight Art Nerd, you ain’t goin’ without me! All those art nerd girls, can’t have you being stolen away.’ She teased.

‘Not a chance in Hell Princess. You’re mine. Always and Forever.’

[bloopitynoot]

Reading SVSSS: Bonus Chapter 26

For those who don't know, I am reading SVSSS for the first time and sharing my thoughts!

If you have not read it, there will be spoilers! Consider this a warning.

Also- if you want to follow along, I am aiming to post updates daily. You can find all the posts in the tag bloopitynoot reads SVSSS. You can also check out the intro post for context on my read.

This chapter took me two days to go through! It's SO LONG (120 pages). I wanted to post yesterday but I got 60 pages in and started fading. Winter is here and the sun keeps disappearing too quickly, your boy is feeling the SAD.

The tea photo is from today and not yesterday- I tried out a new one it's almond amaranth and rooibos.

let's get into this monster of a chapter!

Fuck yeah, we have an airplane POV! Though this chapter is BEEFY. I think I'm going to read half today and half tomorrow before posting it (present me: and I did! ^-^).

I love that we are getting all of these forum comments. This is so fun! One of my favourite brands of fics are fics that include elements of social media/forum/blog style au's and this is a vibe! pp140-147

This guy is not wrong "Even though this famous Lord Cucumber spewed criticism constantly and without end in 'Great Master' Airplane's comment section, his subscription payments and demands for updates never waned. Because of this 'Great Master Airplane had come to suspect that this person was a masochist". p148 I mean yeah lol

OMG what an awful way to die! Alone in your house, let's be real - likely in his underwear- via electrocution induced by his sad instant ramen noodle dinner. p149

and the fact that he transmigrated so young. He was there for a while before the plot plotted with SY. 17 years old! p150. I do wonder if there is a wiggly time thing. Like years in the transmigrated novel equal like hours in the world he came from or something. They died close together I think? anyways- any theories on this are welcome!

Same though- Airplane is so real for this. The way in which I would just want to spill all of the foreknowledge and secrets to people I held in my brain as the creator of this universe p153

The SASS [Tip Complete. We wish you the best of luck]. p155

Are you kidding! This man didn't even write the plot that led for his main spy character to becoming a spy...dang man. the potholes are real bad. p156

Okay but this would seriously be me af. I am such a wimp- and that is totally okay! In the face of most definitely death, I would submit myself to being the Little Bitch Boy and pledge myself, my body, my undying love, to my new demon overlord and master. Good for baby him ahaha. p158

"As Shang Qinghua overflowed with snot and tears, clinging on for dear life, begging to pledge fealty to Mobei-Jun - wholly without warning, the demon collapsed." p160 Again, same. I'm feeling seen with Airplane here XD Screaming, crying, throwing up.

Man. I really see how these two end up together (I'm assuming they do?). He had a solid chance to murder the guy and he just couldn't because the character is just his ideal man. p162

"This character had been created entirely to the author's own tastes" p163 MHMMM. Yeah he was.

ehehehe and here we have the only one bed trope at the inn he got to nurse his ideal man back to health. p165

This guy is so shameless. Straight up just watching Mobei-Jun strip while he sits there and snacks. p169

It is so unhinged that this man just has a string tied to his neck pp170-171

that congee- YARF "clear as water" sounds so unappealing p174

"When in doubt- just cry" - Airplane definitely p176

The security on this mountain is so shit. Demons just popping in all the time under the radar. Mobei-jun literally lived there for three days no one even knew XD p183

awww, Airplane tried to warn Liu Qingge about the upcoming Qi deviation. That was nice of him. p190

Yes! Thank you! The scene I have been waiting for; in which the other characters are all like "wtf is up with shen qingqiu? He really is 100% different overnight, but also, no one say anything to him because we like this him better" p192

Fair though, I too would think that SQQ was possessed p194

The way in which airplane is SHAKEN by the actions of SQQ right now is so funny. Him frozen expression, this is NOT the character I wrote what the fuck is happening. p206

Someone commented on an earlier chapter post I had about the theory that the system is the manifestation of airplane's actual wants for the story and like- I stand with this theory. It really checks out with this POV the man keep's fantasizing of a queer man story and like he sure does get it. p207

LOOOOL oh no. the fact that the man who created these characters - VERY different than this experience. Has to listen to Binghe "If you hold unique feelings for a certain person, how can you make them understand you intentions?" p208.

Not airplane giving LBH love advice just so cucumber bro can literally Get Fucked. pp212-213

AND THEN HIS ADVICE BACKFIRES WITH MOBEI-JUN LOL"So, if you want to be liked by a man, the best method is to act pathetic?" p214. Like he set this up for himself

Wait. Airplane had the option to return home! And he just didnt??? p217

Airplane really is weak for these villainous men. The way in which he describes Linguang-Jun is so simpy. p228

The drama. Airplane doing the MOST to save Mobei-jun. This man could have avoided all of this and just gone home. What a horrible torture! :( p235

Get it airplane! You yell at him ahaha p237-238

I AM SCREAMING. Airplane: I'm your daddy! p239 AND THEN him just leaving in a panic because he really thinks he's going to get murdered after that outburst LOL

I love SQQ sitting in domesticity with his man giving airplane love advice pp244-245

Awww, Mobei-Jun came back for his boyfriend! He's going to make him hand pulled noodles :'3 p255 I honestly think that Mobei-jun actually needed to be bossed around this entire time

BYE. LOL SGH deciding to continue writing in this world by basically writing slash fanfiction about LBH/SQQ + the other peak lords/famous cultivators LOL p256. Good for him ahaha.

We did it!

This chapter was such a ride ahaha. it was fun to see the POV for airplane but also him and the progression of his weird AF relationship with Mobei-jun. I honestly kind of love these two. They were such a mess in the beginning but it ended so soft :'3

[chelseachilly]

your love is tried and true blue

pairing: ben chilwell x reader warnings: none word count: 1.1k

this is just a little something i wrote to distract myself from the result yesterday after seeing @carlottawllms request a concept about comforting ben after the loss 🥺 not proofread so sorry for any mistakes!

-

You feel completely shattered when the final whistle blows, Liverpool emerging victorious with the deciding goal in extra time.

Chelsea fought long and hard, but the missed chances kept piling up and they just couldn’t put one in the back of the net. It was devastating to watch as a fan, so you can only imagine how your boyfriend is feeling right now after playing his heart out over 120 minutes with nothing to show for it. 

Knowing Ben, he’ll spend the rest of the night - and a while afterward - kicking himself for not somehow getting the win, which means it’s your job to get him through it. It’s going to be a hard night, you can’t change that, but you can be there for him. 

As you’re still sitting in the hospitality box chatting with his mum and sister, who you came with today, you get a text from Ben.

Ben ❤️ Don’t wait for me, Poch is having a chat with us and I still have to shower and change. I know I told mum we’d do dinner after, but I’m not really feeling up to it, can you tell her we’ll reschedule please?

Y/N Of course. I’ll see you at home. Love you 🤍

Ben ❤️ Thanks babe. Love you too 

Your heart breaks for him, and you really wish he could just blow everything off and come home with you right now rather than face an undoubtably solemn team bus ride back to Cobham. 

“Ben just texted, he said he’ll be a while so we shouldn’t wait,” you tell his family. “I don’t think he’s up for going out to eat, sorry Sally. He’s probably knackered.”

“Of course, dear, I’m sure he just wants to be home with you at the moment,” Sally says, squeezing your hand briefly. “It’ll be a tough one for him to take.”

You nod and sigh, thanking Sally for her understanding before giving her and Alex a hug goodbye and beginning to make your way home. 

The second you arrive at the house you’ve shared with Ben for the past year or so, you set out to create the coziest and most stress-free environment possible. You tidy up a bit and order from his favourite takeaway spot, knowing he’ll be hungry when he gets home but that he won’t want to eat anything unless you force him. 

An hour or so after you got there, you hear the sound of the front door opening again. You set down your phone and make your way to the foyer, the sight awaiting you making your heart splinter even more.

Ben looks completely drained of all energy, kicking off his shoes and dropping his bag to the floor. When he sees you, his shoulders slump, the defeat reflected in his sad eyes.

“Hi, baby,” you say softly, taking a step toward him but waiting for him to come to you. 

You don’t bother asking him if he’s okay or what he needs - you already know the answer to both. You know him like the back of your hand, and in times like these, you know that he’ll talk about it when he’s ready. 

For now, he just walks over to you, the long and gruelling game obvious in his slow and slightly laboured movements. He pulls you into his arms, his fists clenching around the fabric of the hoodie you’re wearing.

You hold him just as tightly, lightly scratching his back and whispering words of comfort to him. 

“Thank you for coming,” he murmurs before he pulls back, his slightly red-rimmed eyes making your own begin to water. 

“Of course,” you say quietly, cupping his face with one hand. “You were great, Ben. I know you don’t want to hear it right now, but I’m so proud of you. You captained Chelsea at Wembley. That’s something you only could’ve dreamt of as a kid, and you did it. You led your team to a cup final, and you never gave up.”

“I could’ve done more,” he sighs. “If I stayed on to the end, maybe I could have-"

“Ben, you played your heart out for two hours. Not to mention the fact that you’re still bouncing back from injury and, unlike most of the players out there today, you aren’t nineteen anymore,” you remind him gently. “You staying on probably wouldn’t have changed the result, and you could’ve gotten hurt again. It was the right call.”

He knows that you’re right, but that’s not going to stop him from trying to replay that deciding goal for Liverpool in his head over and over, wondering if he could’ve prevented it. 

“Come on, let’s go lay down until dinner gets here,” you tell him, tugging at his hand. “I ordered from Positano.”’

“Thanks, babe,” Ben says, pressing a kiss to your forehead before following you into the living room. 

You sit down on the couch, opening your arms for Ben to crawl into. He obliges, wincing a bit as he plops down next to you and props his legs up, tangling them with yours. 

“Want me to get you some ice or something?” you offer as he relaxes into you. “I know it was a rough one.”

“Maybe later, it’s not too bad,” he shrugs, though the action causes him obvious discomfort and you begin to massage his shoulders to ease it. “Wish that kid hadn’t tackled me like an American football player though.”

“I wish you played American football, then maybe I would get to meet Taylor Swift,” you joke, successfully making Ben laugh for the first time all day. 

You continue to joke around until he seems a bit lighter than when he first came through the door. After your dinner arrives and you’ve both eaten enough pasta to put you in a food coma, you suggest you both shut off your phones for the night and watch one of his favourite movies. 

It won’t change what happened today, and you know the disappointment of this loss will linger in him for some time, but you’re going to be there to support him. 

Win or lose, in good times and bad, Ben Chilwell is the most driven and persevering person you know, which means he’ll bounce back soon. Until then, you’ll be there to hold his hand and help him remember there’s more to life than football. 

“Love you,” Ben mumbles into the crook of your neck as he’s starting to fall asleep, about halfway through the movie, and you just smile and kiss his messy hair. 

“Love you too, Ben.”

[sunnyie-eve]

4 | Flickering

Series: Unexpected

Paring: (Matt Sturniolo x OFC Brock!) (Chris Sturniolo x OFC Brock!)

Word Count: 1.3k

Warnings: none

| MASTERLIST |

~

"I think it's that way." Nick points as Sam and Colby forgot how to get to Samantha's painting.

"I think it's that way." Chris point in a different direction.

"Where is Samantha?" Colby thinks.

"Definitely that way." Dani agrees with Nick.

"You agree?" Chris asks here.

"It's that way." Matt agrees too holding all the balls for Samantha.

"I would actually bet $100, it's that way." Nick tells Chris as Colby jokes about an alone invitation to which Nick says no to.

"He's not that confident." Dani laughs at him.

"I'm very confident right there to the left." Matt says pointing into the direction.

Sam ends up asking who was the smartest out of the tree and Chris says Matt wasn't then says he's dumbest so the other two agree with him, "I wasn't gonna say it but if you're gonna say it." Nick nods his head.

"Okay, three of us know where to go, so Matt, please." Dani tells him and he leads the way.

"Cause we came out that elevator and went all the way around through here." Matt recalls to the group, mostly Sam and Colby.

"Just trust us Colby." Dani rubs his back as they walk side by side.

"I think Samantha would've liked Rupaul's Drag Race if she got old enough." Nick says stopping by the painting.

"If not she'd miss out on some iconic queens."

"See, one of the reasons we're best friends." Nick says so Dani wraps her arms around him smiling as Colby pulls candy out of Sam's backpack.

"We want Samantha to follow us for the rest of the night." Colby tells them, "She's a nice ghost." He adds, "I'm gonna lur-," Colby and Chris start to laugh realizing how it sounds. "This was a better idea on paper."

"Guys, don't cancel us please." Sam turns the camera to himself, "She's a ghost that's 120 years old. It's not creepy."

"She's technically 124, not four." Matt adds.

"Little kids literally see ghost, I'm convinced." Chris speaks up, "Little kids and dogs."

Dani sees the look on Matt's face making her laugh a bit, "Dude, Matt you okay?" She snaps him back.

"I guess," He puts on a smile.

Colby talks out the rumor that Samantha might also be Ruth so Chris makes joke about Ruth being Samantha's green counterpart before they all take a piece of candy to put at the painting for her to follow them.

Going back down to where Samantha passed, Matt and Dani both see the light flickering. Colby says that's what Samantha is known for and they point out it's only the one by the stairs.

"So what happened when she died is she was chasing after a ball and that made her tumble and break her neck." Sam tells the brothers, "So,"

"Yeah, and you are fuckin makin fun of her." Colby tells them as Chris's jaw hags open hearing what happened to her.

"I feel bad now. Sorry Samantha." Chris apologizes.

''Samantha, if you can hear us there's two flashlights here at the top of the staircase." Sam lets her know.

"You can go up to either one of them it doesn't matter." Dani adds so a flashlight comes on.

"The ghosts like Matt and Dani the most." Chris says as the flashlights go off while they talk and ask questions.

"If it's multiple do you wanna shut the red flashlight off?" Nick asks the ghosts and the red one turns off for them, "Oh my god. That was crazy."

"Wow." Matt stares at the flashlight.

"Samantha, did you come down here with us?" Dani asks so the blue flashlight turns on.

"I can't believe how lucky you guys are tonight." Chris looks at Matt and Dani.

"Samantha are you happy we brought you some balls?" Sam asks her making Colby chuckle which makes Matt and Chris laugh too.

The flashlight turns on, "She likes balls." Colby stats making Matt keep laughing as he looked at him.

"If we were to toss these down the stairs. Will you show yourself?" Sam asks making Dani look at him.

"Sam, you wanna add another to your list?"

"I-, Dani, I can't relive my bad past with little girl spirits." He shakes his head at the thought.

"He had a little girl stuck in his ass one time." Colby sums it up for the three making them laugh at Sam.

They break out the SLS camera to see if they could capture Samantha on camera but she never shows up for them.

Matt asks her a few questions and both flashlights turn on at the same time since she didn't know which one she wanted to pick.

They leave the stairs and head to Carlota's room next, "Does it have a different scent in here?" Colby asks as they enter the mezzanine, "Smells like grandma."

"It does give off that scent." Dani agrees.

"We have to rizz Carlota." Colby tells the boys while Dani just stands around looking at all the mirrors in the dark, "She's in here with all her vortex mirrors. That are nine million dollars."

"You should steal at least one." Chris tells him.

"Hey there Carlota, there's five single men here. Expect one is off limits." Matt tells her

"Yes." Nick nods his head, "Yeah." Everyone laughs at him, "I got nothin for ya." He adds.

"But he makes a great friend. Especially to rant to." Dani rests her head on his shoulder.

"And we have Dani here as well if you need a girl friend as well." Nick puts an arm around her giving her a side hug.

"Saw a picture of you, you're pretty hot." Colby tells her.

"Oh, straight to it." Chris laughs.

"I feel like that won't work on her. She's way too classy for that. She's an Empress." Dani tells her brother.

The boys try to think of back then rizz so they just say she's really pretty because they couldn't think of anything.

"I hate that I can see my own reflection like forty times." Chris stands in front of his mirror and the others agree with him that it's scary.

"Empress Car-lota,"

Dani laughs at Colby, "You fucked her named up dude." Nick then says it correctly for Colby.

"I'm sorry," Colby apologizes, "Empress Carlota," He says right this time making Nick and Dani quietly laugh so hard they hold on to each other, "My beautiful maiden. Please come into this room and talk to us. We would love to get to know you.

"Alright, I'm up guys." Chris says, "Empress Carlota, we'd love to have some conversation with you tonight. We got some fine handsome, handsome, gentleman. We're ready to rizz you up."

Dani places her hand over her mouth to stop her from laughing at him, "That was terrible." She giggles to herself while Nick tells him to be serious.

"Hey Empress Carlota. If you wanna talk to us tonight we're ready to communicate." Nick says on his turn.

"Hey Empress Carlota, if you wanna come out here and talk to us. Feel free to do it. And if you're not even Empress Carlota, and you're in this room, come on in."  Matt speaks up.

After Sam goes they get the EMF rope out that basically does the same thing as a regular EMF but covers a longer area.

"Why are these on Sam, over here?" Colby asks as some of the lights were already lit up.

"Ugh, that shouldn't be." He goes to move the string but it stays lit up.

"So they're all supposed to be pink right now?" Nick asks them.

"They're supposed to be this color, yeah." Colby tells him.

Sam goes on about how there might just be some electrical wiring under the floor right there so the pick up the rope to move it to the side.

[neomedievalist]

its jan 20th but that doesnt mean i cant still do a games i beat overview for 2024 still. here we go, games I beat sorted by date I beat them last year

1/17: Umineko Answers Arcs

yeah so i was stalling on episode 8 for a long time and i had finally finished it in january last year. i dont think this even needs me to say anything. fucking incredible visual novel

2/29: ULTRAKILL

not technically a "beat" but i finished all of the content thats out then (aside from. the second secret boss i havent beat yet). looooooove ultrakill love this i think everyone should play it even if they dont like shooters you just have to have a requisite level of adhd that not everyone has. it has brought me so much joy. cannot wait for more content to come out

4/27: Celeste

this shit has been on my backlog for so long. it was so satisfying to finally finish it. really solid 2d platformer really enjoyed it and liked the story. im not usually a 2d platformer person i prefer 3d but it is rly tight and satisfying. admittedly i dont understand why people think it was like, life changingly good, but i can see how itwould emotionally resonate w someone and its overall a very good game

4/29: Shin megami tensei V

My eternal agony. I fuuucking hate this gaaaaame oh my goddddd the ending was so bad. i already made a seperate post complaining about it so i wont bother you but seriously the fact that the end is unchanged in vengeance is so crazy. I have 0 desire to play vengeance. The foundations have some potential but its just like. holy fuck the story is so nothing. Gameplay was fun though! although i enjoyed the tsukuyomi fight more than lucifer.

6/8: Peggle Dinners

this counts. Everyone get dinnerspilled. Its peak.

8/15: Kirby Triple Deluxe

Lowkey one of those games i just picked up on my 3ds every once in a while and then it was like wait i beat it? huh? okay then. Its a good kirby game i dont really care abt the kirby formula or anything again not rly a 2d platfrmer person but its probably good. I liked gambling for keychains

8/22: Devil May Cry 4

another one of those games that has been on the backlog for fucking ever. I do not like the missions in this game very much there was a lot of screaming in agony. but i like dante and i like nero. it had some great moments. honestly the most important thing this game did was allow me to finally start 5. I also like the catholic beast mode theme that was really fun.

9/1: Super Mario 64

Finished a 120 star run on coop so i'm counting it. had never actually beat the game before so honestly really momentous occasion. Still holds up especially if you play the pc port LMFAO. We've moved on to star road now which now that I think about I should have put on my 2025 bingo

10/13: Heaven Will Be Mine

Good ass game. I finished we know the devil late in 2023 but it took me a long time to get thru hwbm bc i wanted to give it the full attention it deserved. Really confusing as shit but really rewarding once you start learning what all the terms mean, i really love theorizing and thinking abt the implications of the worldbuilding. pluto was a real sleeper hit character for me i think at this point she might be my favourite which is crazy considering how i didnt care abt her at first. realllyyy good game.

12/27: Balatro

Yeah i got it for my birthday. cleared my first run a few days after. its a good video game just like i knew it would be. never stop gambling.

12/31: Hypnospace Outlaw

the new year's special! i'm so glad i finally finished it. it definitely is a game that people probably spend a few hours in to gawk at and then never play again. it was so rewarding to really give it my time and full focus even if it took me a long time to finish it. still thinking abt it. its real good folks. its real good.

heres to more videogames this year<3

[things-about-cars-in-posts]

Do you have anything to say about my baby, the Honda CR-Z?

(Please excuse the low resolution, I wanted to introduce it with a pic from my collection and this was the only stock one I had)

Oh, the CR-Z... Pepperidge Farm here remembers obsessively following its debut on Top Gear Magazine! Pepperidge Farm and not many others, it seems, as in present day the CR-Z seems to be as relevant in today's car world as basket weaving. Wait, no, less.

In fact, coming up with an answer to this question was the most I thought about the CR-Z in almost a decade.

But thought I have, so here's your answer:

I don't get it.

I mean, don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't like it! I am on record as a serial Honda liker -hell, to those who think it counts I own one- and I see no reason this one should buck the trend (although I've always felt it would look better with something between the headlights to stop it looking so big-snooty, as the bumper below does a good enough job of exemplifying that I won't bother rendering something better).

It's just that... I don't know what the point of it was. And looking at its sales that seems to be the experience of most vertebrates.

(To be fair, U.S. sales started in August 2010 and production ended in 2016 with the following years's sales just being stock clearing - but still, pretty bleak picture.)

It's not like we don't know what Honda were going for, they told us plainly: it's a sporty hybrid car, light on the wallet but heavy on the fun. And Honda would know of sporty compacts - what were they producing as the CR-Z rolled out?

Oh. It's the most hated of all six Civic Type R generations. Hm.

It's a joke, "most hated Civic Type R generation" is a bit like saying "most normal Kia Soul commercial".

If that car looks unfamiliar to you yankees, however, that's because y'all got different looking Civics for a while, such that your sporty Civic was this, the Si - seen here in the bewinged Mugen trim.

The Si is meant to sit below the Type R, but, since America wasn't getting the Type R, the yankee Si and non-yankee Type R were free to get the same 200hp from the same venerable engine (one day I'll go over all that makes the K20 so great) and the usual great handling, courtesy among plenty things of a limited slip differential. Wait, why is that not a link? Ah, right, I've never explained differentials... well, for now you can just trust that it's a cool type of differential that helps maintain grip when you're giving it the beans. Wait. Is it "giving it the beans" because you're stomping the gas pedal? Surely not. What is it from? Let me google this... Okay, sources seem scarce and shaky but apparently the idea was that if you fed horses beans they wou- wait this post is about the CR-Z. How did we get here? I swear this NEVER happens.

In short, Honda knew, and has always known, how to make proper sporty cars and give them great engines, whatever their size. So can it possibly have been a surprise when this thing came out and, forget motoring journalists, even the more talkative stray cats were meowing that the CR-Z did not have the engine grunt to back up its sporty pitch?

And look, if anyone here will say a car with as little as 120-130hp cannot be worth bothering with, it won't be a diehard of the Mazda Miata, which sold well over half a million units no more powerful than that. But that's a car that focused on open top enjoyment and getting a lot out of a little, just like the 60s European spiders it threw back to. What did the CR-Z throw back to?

Well that'll be the CR-X.

Introduced in 1983, the CR-X was a coupe version of the Civic of the time (hence its 1987 update corresponding with the Civic's). And just like the Civic in question, it is most fondly remembered for its sporty, proper-fun Si guise (pronounced "ass eye", because eye me dat ass) and the even sportier SiR that yankees never got. Which makes perfect sense, considering its main appeal against the Civic was the sportier looks.

Sure, since the CR-X left us North America got a Civic coupe in its stead, but am I going to pretend this thing looked half as good as the CR-Z that was about to join the lineup?

Not for free I'm not.

So now, imagine the stellar engine and manual transmission from a Civic Si/Type R, but now with electric assistance for even more power AND fuel efficiency, all in a car hundreds of kilos lighter, significantly shorter -thus more agile- and with the sleek CR-Z looks.

Then keep imagining.

The CR-Z never got an Si or Type R version, it was just left to sit there with its 122hp (later begrudgingly upped to 130) that, forget the contemporary sporty Civics, compared unfavorably to its 30 year old predecessor.

The CR-X was the sportier Civic. If its successor gets walked not just by the Civic but even by the CR-X itself, what's the point of the resurrection?

However, I concede there's an objection to this argument: this graph.

These are the US sales figures for the second generation CRX (which I think dropped the dash?), and, if you were to be able to parse it, you'd notice that the sporty Si version made up about a third of the sales - meaning most buyers forewent the sportiness in favor of the lower cost of the standard DX model or the High F-iciency of the even slower HF model. So if those versions sold well, why shouldn't the CR-Z have?

Well, if you ask me: image is more than looks.

This blog -and other affiliated entities- touched on the concept of race wins on Sunday bringing sales on Monday, and the same phenomenon happens with cool sport versions. Today's Corolla is a much cooler car in the eyes of the people who see in it the underlying foundation of its extraordinary GR version, and this phenomenon is most amplified the smaller the gap -or perceived gap, at least- between the version you're admiring and the more modest version you could realistically be interested in. I strongly believe that many people bought the dog slow CRX HF because the CRX Si ingrained within them the idea that they were buying something cool.

And Honda, as we touched on, had the perfect engine to dump into the CR-Z to make a wicked sport version. Hell, they could even have just given its regular engine forced induction - and we know it because the CR-Z Mugen RZ did just that!

Here at last was a perfectly respectable sport version that, while still underneath the Civic's best power-wise, was more than good enough to make car enthusiasts give a damn about the CR-Z. And what did Honda do with it? They limited the production to 300 units and only sold them in Japan. Take a fucking drink.

I cannot fathom why they would do that. It's not that they couldn't homologate the power additions or whatever, because a. that doesn't justify the limited production run and b. the supercharger (or at least a supercharger, not sure if it's the same) was made available in the US in the form of a dealer-fitted optional extra. Not by selling a supercharged special version altogether, no no, that may cause the public to -gasp- notice and care.

What was the point? Were they deliberately trying to keep the CR-Z's image one of an efficiency-focused... sleek hatch-coupe with minimal backseats?

Wait what?

Dear God, yankees, what have you done to Honda to get done so comically dirty?

Is it just that they thought y'all too big to fit back there?

That makes it even crazier!

Why in tarnation would they think people would care about a sleek, three-door, two seat, manual... efficiency-oriented hybrid?

Oh, right. Because they made the first generation Honda Insight. Which I myself love.

This was even sleeker and more hardcore than the CR-X: it was as light as the lightest ones despite the electric powertrain, it did without backseats entirely, it was the most aerodynamic production car that had ever been built... but all this wasn't about performance at all. It was about milking every drop of your hard-earned fuel for every single fucking inch of forward movement it was worth.

And it sold very well! I mean, look at the yearly sales figures!

Look how much America loved it! In a year of production that started from December it sold around a third the units the CRX sold in a full year!

So imagine what the production numbers were like for the year 2000!

huh?

Oh you mean these are the total sales. Like, all the first generation Insights ever sold in its entire six years and change of production. Oh. And it totals to like 17.000. Which is around how many CRX Si they sold in a year in North America alone. Hm.

Yeah, it suddenly makes a lot more sense how the second generation Insight was a Prius wannabe.

In fact, now that I look at it... that back looks familiar, doesn't it?

Wait...

Wait!

Well, now suddenly the car makes a lot more sense. And actually, come think of it, let me check the sales figures for the Mk2 Insight...

Considering, again, the CR-Z's US debut happened in August 2010, they match up pretty well, and it would be a pretty reasonable sales split if we were to consider them the 5 and 3 door versions of the same car.

Now, this may make it seem like it wasn't such a failure after all, and it did well in the segment it was actually intended to compete in. But let's give some context on how good those Insight sales figures are.

Yeah. Yeah no. The second Insight just wasn't a hit either.

But at least, now I can say I get the car. The Insight was pretty big and... uncool, so the CR-Z was a good way to offer that same hybrid efficiency to people who wanted a more compact, sleeker package - though perhaps not as extreme as the first gen Insight. Unless you're a yankee, I assume.

The name still doesn't make sense.

I mean, it would if I could see Honda seeing CR-X as just... a body style, and its resurrection of it akin to resurrecting, say, the Civic Shuttle.

(It was the only side picture I had saved.)

And Honda's press material made another point to this end, that I wasn't aware of.

So sure. Point taken. The CR-X was shaped by the quest for efficiency, so it follows that its successor would be efficiency focused as well.

But that's not how the CR-X is remembered. In everyone's minds, the CR-X is cemented as the sporty version (that Honda sold, mind - this is not like with the Supra, whose reputation was defined by modders). And the weirdest thing is, they don't just know that, they bring it up.

And indeed, they call the CR-Z's role "quite different from the original Insight coupe's" - they want this car to "change the current perception of hybrids" by blending hybrid efficiency and sportiness. They rightly sell its looks as sporty, take great pride in the manual transmission and explicitly state it's for driver engagement, over and over talk about 'enthusiastic' owners and 'enthusiastic' driving and 'enthusiastic' engine note etc etc. They brag about how much of a difference their Sport mode makes. They call attention to the valves per cylinder. They constantly remind of how (unlike the Insight) it has the legendary V-TEC. (If this is the first you hear of it, ask about it in the tags).

This is the press release for a sports hatch.

But when time came to give it a sports hatch's power? Japan got 300 units, North America got a dealer-fitted kit with a numbered plaque two years before the car's nixing, and we had to hope to never have a flat tire because Europe didn't get jack.

Was it to avoid stepping on the toes of the sporty Civics, because if the sporty CR-Z's potential buyers will otherwise just get a sporty Civic then why make two models to get the same amount of buyers? If so, I'll tell you why: because that was the only chance of moving regular CR-Zs, which surely must have been a worthwhile pursuit if you made the damn thing.

Was it the fear of a power-focused engine resulting in fuel economy so underwhelming it would undermine the model's eco premise? If so, heyo, you have electric assistance, which means you can either get more speed out of the same engine marking a win for the hotboys or get the same speed out of a more efficient package - and in both cases you're showing a hybrid powertrain bringing something to the table, which is how you actually "change the perception of hybrids" in the minds of people who consider them synonymous with boring.

I'm not saying my counters are bulletproof or that there is no argument against a hot CR-Z. I'm just saying that if there is, it's an argument against the regular CR-Z also. Because if the CR-Z was never to be something worth considering over anything that could be called sporty, then they should never have bothered to begin with - at least, if they were going to aim it so squarely at "the enthusiastic drivers".

In short,

Honda sought to make a sportscar - be it to sell the car itself or to sell a concept like "we're committed to preserving driving enjoyment even into electrification" or "hybrids are cool, so buy a hybrid, and please don't whine if we ever need to make a hybrid Type R or whatever thanks". And I'm always down for Honda building a sportscar. It was Honda that wasn't, for whatever reason. And so there the CR-Z stood, waiting until its passing for a sportier engine that would show the world how cool it was. But it never came. And it bugs me. Because I find it a shame. Because I remember reading of the Mugen prototype and waiting with bated breath for the production version that we ultimately never got. Because I still would love to see them about more than I do. Because I wish the second generation that apparently was in the works got to see the light of day.

Because, even after all these days of thinking about Honda's strategy and learning all we went over, and perhaps because of it,

I still don't get it.

Links in blue are posts of mine about the topic in question: if you liked this post, you might like those - or the blog’s Discord server, linked in the pinned post!

[lil-melody-moon]

I think I said I'll give my thoughts about Keith's biography when I'm done with it and I'm almost done. Only afterthoughts left to read, but I've read all about his life and it was devastating to see how much of a wreck he was at the very end. Longer talks under the cut - and additionally, if the anon bitch is scouting my blog, feel free to read it as well and shit yourself in the process

Either way, my dears, read if you're interested 💜

@jimmysdragonsuit13 I think you'll be interested!

And @burn-on-the-flame I think you've asked about the opinion on the biography? Wait, let me search *a few seconds later* Yep, it was you! Come and read my thoughts about the book, if you want 💜

So, since the day one of my dear mutuals @m-faithfull told me about Keith's biography by Tony Fletcher in the last year, I was persistent to get it. I had hopes that maybe it was translated to Polish, but as it turns out, probably only Pete's autobiography was so I ended facing the fact that I will have to read it in English. And that meant paying an insane amount of money for a new copy (120 zloties for a book! - around 31,39$ or 23,75£)

But one day I thought to search for an used copy, hoping that maybe some poor sod bought it before me and to my surprise there were two copies, one for 40 zloties (10,46$ or 7,92£) and second for 30 zloties (7,85$ or 5,94£). I opted for the 40 zloties one, knowing what state can used copies of books be. The lower the price the more possibility of it having missing pages, the cover torn off etc etc. Here came my bestie @juliearchery107 who wanted to buy me it for birthday, she did, we've met at 14th of August and since I've stepped my foot in the flat and got everything answered, started to read it.

And oh dear Lord is that book a rollercoaster!

It starts innocently - if we skip the foreword, which hints that it'll not be an easy read - introducing Keith as the charming child who was up for jokes, the one who later stopped attending school and wandered about until he got his first drum kit, had a few lessons on how to play them, joined Beachcombers and from there went to The Who to the band that meant everything for him, to then find the girl he fell for like you do when you first fall in love while finding your soulmate, following with showing a possessive and nasty jealousy towards her, fucking things up in their marriage, becoming so abusive that she finally left him, which lead to depression, more alcohol, more drugs, which then started to develop in very serious problems, them piling up in Los Angeles to the level of Keith becoming a wreck by the end in 1978, in the meantime, finding support in his girlfriend - who I have to say, I'm thankful that she was there for him even if I know how impossibly difficult it was for her.

The way things went down in his life can be traced precisely with this book and that just shows how incredibly well put it is and how the narration is not in any way subjective, but objective almost through the entire reading - foreword has author's thoughts and the afterthoughts, but that is a given. Yet, I have to praise such objectivity, because a lot of biography authors cannot help themselves but write their subjective opinions, pushing their perspective onto readers, instead of showing facts and trying to find one possible outcome of a situation that has various versions - and with Keith and the myths that are told about him, it was a hell of a work. It also shows sometimes that author is sentimental to a lot of things, as being stated in foreword that he himself is a fan of Keith and let's be honest. There's no one better to write a book about an idol then a long time fan who's dedication will never burn out.

As for my thoughts... The first 300+ pages were okay to read. I had a blast, laughing at various points, even going as far to share one of the moments that was the most funny to me on his birthday. But the last 200+ pages? Oh dear Lord... Just oh dear Lord.

Just by the photos I have a TON of I could realise that Keith was a wreck in 1978, but I've never fucking expected it to be this bad. I knew about the drug abuse, knew about the alcohol abuse as well, but I didn't expect it to be that bad - to the point of having a few attempts on rehab, failing at them, proceeding to have alcoholic paranoia, fucking seizures because of the withdrawal, insecurities, self-confidence, self-worth teared to shreds, memory almost gone - it's very typical for alcoholic to say one thing and then forget about it 5 seconds later and them saying: "I didn't say that" - depression, maniacal depression even appearing later on, developing a split personality disorder, being unable to be controlled by anyone while the fits of anger were appearing more and more frequently, cheating getting out of hand and I could go on and on AND ON.

Reading about all of this and not being able to tell you, or even not being able to take pictures of fragments to send to bestie to let her see how bad it was because I would have to scan those 200+ pages to let her understand the circumstances should say a lot. Never did I like any mentions of Keith relocating to Los Angeles and for a good reason. That city only made it far worse for him and his tale there only shows that maybe, just maybe, letting your dreams come true ain't that fun as you expect them to be. Some might be, but in most cases, they aren't. You always gotta keep going, always have a goal in front of you to keep going and if you reach the end of the road - like Keith did many times throughout the tale - you might just realise "That's it? Nothing else?" and not know what to do with yourself.

Additionally, this was double hard for me to read, because at the beginning of March I've lost a dear friend of mine. It was a tumblr friendship, I'm talking about Anja here - she went by the url whothefuckisanja - and I often joked with her that her alcohol problem - it was severe, very very severe - is similar to Keith's and as it turns out, my jokes about that were brutally real. She also developed drug addiction later on as well and her life started to fade away slowly, very slowly. I only recently, a few months ago, realised that I saw her happiness fade away, realising also that that one day where she thanked me for being her best friend the entire year - our friendship lasted a full year - being grateful as to no one else before that that was her silent goodbye and a solid thank you, before she met the same fate as Keith, only much much earlier. And I'm not exaggerating about "the same fate". She wanted to go sober, as I heard. Pills did it for her, she fell asleep and never woke up again.

She once said to me, because I was there, wanting to help her with her growing alcohol problem that got worse at December, even if it were only futile tries through text: "Don't try to help an alcoholic" and I might add to it "because it'll leave you exhausted and terrified while you see the beloved one become a wreck."

I can say that what I've read about Keith I've almost experienced with her. She was very similar to him in many ways, not only addiction wise, but she was also very fun to be around, very easy to be befriended, generous beyond belief, creative and most of all, a good person at heart. So this reading journey was almost like a reflection of the year from March 2023 to March 2024. I remember now that she once joked that she's Keith Moon reborn and damn you, you bastard if you were right.

But I also have to get back on track and say this: even if I said all of this above, I somehow felt that it was way to familiar. Not like with what I said about Anja, but more like "I lived through that" kind of way. I didn't feel this throughout the entire tale, but at the last 200+ pages I did, especially when the seizures started appearing. In the last year, when I wrote my first fic with me and him - not published - I pondered if he had any alcohol withdrawal symptoms and I somehow guessed the depression, insecurities, insomnia problem and seizures. I have no idea how I knew that, I just did, implementing them in the fic.

Could be a coincidence, but there are too many with him in my life. Yet, there was a moment where I've stopped reading. It was right at the end, at the description of the funeral, at the date of it, which is 13th of September, according to the book.

A year ago, on September, while listening to random songs on spotify, suddenly "Love ain't for keeping" started playing. I looked at who it was, saw The Who and I was tempted to give "Who's next" album a listen - I was taking small steps to giving them a good listen from May, but this was the final push. That was on 11th of September.

I wanted to listen to "Who's next" on 12th of September, but I somehow hadn't. I could have been busy, but I know for sure I somehow forgot about it and moved listening to the next day. On night from 12th of September to 13th of September I had a dream with Keith, from which I only remember that we've talked about something. Keith was very happy, overjoyed even and all of a sudden he started pinching my cheeks, wanting to make me laugh, which he succeeded at.

And then on 13th of September I've finally listened to "Who's next", my obsession truly started and then a voice in my head saying "Welcome home" was heard by me. It was a male's voice, speaking fluent English.

True, I was waiting for a moment that will make me stop in my tracks and like during the documentary I've watched about Keith, where I've got a grasp of his behaviour, I had to pause the video with the realisation that his behaviour was something I knew somehow, but I didn't expect to get obsessed about The Who and Keith at the exact date his funeral took place.

You may call me delusional, I don't care. It's just there's too many coincidences with him appearing in my life at certain moments that I start believing these are not mere coincidences - if certain ghost will start appearing at the beginning of September, as I took notice he did for the past two years, I will flip!

In conclusion, I love the book, will read it to the end tomorrow probably. I've cried at the end, less than the first time I heard about Keith's death, but I did. This book only made me love him even more and I truly will never stop loving him.

This is the exact image of my feelings to him after reading about his life - I'm the tiny pumpkin, answering on the question:

Credits to the artist who made it, not mine, I cant't draw this well XD

[trashlie]

hello there! I recently read I Love Yoo for the first time and first off, wow what a series. as I've been diving into the fandom I found your blog (your analysis posts are absolutely amazing) and since you've been around the fandom a long time I was hoping you could help clarify a few things for me. obviously there's seven years of fandom and meta context I'm missing out on, but I keep seeing references to two planned time skips and seasons that I'm a little confused about. everything that's out now I think is still the first season? but I'm wondering what exactly the author has shared over the years of the planned timeline, time skips, etc. thank you in advance for any clarification you can provide! very excited to dive into more of your analysis in the future

Oh wow! I feel like getting to jump in and just binge ILY from this point is SO amazing - having this much of the story already out, so many episodes and being able to see how those threads connect and where they go! 🤩 The dream! (Also thank you!!!! I really appreciate that! Esp since I haven't made any ILY posts lately; they're in my head, I just haven't gotten around to finishing typing them out lol)

But to answer your question, quimchee has told us there will be two timeskips. The first is a short timeskip that will bring us to graduation, and the second is a much bigger timeskip of around 4 years or so. 👀 I have a little write up in the ILY Discord server about this that I should finally add to my blog today after work about how I think the timeskips coincide with Yujing's article - that is, I think she's likely working on two articles.

Now, this part is speculation and not from quimchee - she's only told us when the timeskips are and how long they'll jump us. But Nol's sentence is 120 days (less if he's good, as Yujing noted) and 120 days takes us to April. What else is in April? Shinae's birthday! Timing-wise, it depends on if quimchee is using a Korean calendar for school; after all, she did use the college entrance exams that Korean school systems utilize. In this case, graduation happens in February, but given that ILY doesn't strictly add to Korean or U.S. culture rules (quimchee refers to the setting as The United States of Asia lol) we might see this budged to adhere to a more U.S.-centric graduation era where Nol's release times up with Shinae's birthday (no way are we skipping over that!) and graduation. This is likely when Yujing will drop her first article about Nol, possibly exposing that he was framed for a crime he didn't take, made to take the fall, and most certainly exposing that he's the true legitimate heir of the Hirahara family by Mukoyoshi law. Yujing noted that Nol pleading guilty actually helps them/their case, and I think this is so because it isn't the first time he's taken the fall for someone else because he's the "other son"; it's heavily implied that the altercation that occurred between him and Kousuke was not Nol's fault/doing.

Now, the other timeskip will likely see our cast reuniting after Shinae finishes college. I think she will end up taking Yui's offer - whether because she's backed into a corner or because makes the choice we're yet to see - and I think we might actually see her come back as Kousuke's assistant to finish off her contract (or perhaps as part of the Yui trap). Nol will likely go to college abroad and Kousuke... well. I think we can see where he's headed 😭 This is also when I think Yujjng will REALLY go after Yui and Gun, what all those articles she was researching are leafing to.

Something quimchee mentioned on a patreon stream is that during the timeskip (and it wasn't specified which), she'd like to show the passage of time by showing the characters keeping in touch via letters, emails, texts, etc which I'm REALLY looking forward to!

In the past, we were told ILY would be divided into 2 seasons, and that season 2 would start after the big timeskip, but quimchee has said before that's not going to happen? However, sometimes a lot of us still refer to season 2 as "post-big-time-skip" for brevity lol. Maybe we'll still see it as s2 in the future but last I heard it won't be broken up into seasons.

I know this was more than what you asked but I always get so excited talking about the timeskips, I can't wait for them!!! I know the first one is SO close! I think quimchee was trying her best to get to it before her birth so she could do a little break before the first timeskip but alas. But we are SO close, I can almost taste it, AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!

I'm so glad you found ILY and are enjoying it!!! It really is not what it first appears and the way it subverts those expectations will always be one of my favorite aspects of this series. Seeing nre readers find it at this time, when there's so much of the series to consume and feed on is so exciting! 🥺 Happy reading! Please let me know if you have more questions!

[misc-obeyme]

HELLO I'M HERE TO RAMBLE ABOUT MC'S MORTALITY. I have literally been grinding event battles and coins and such all day because the power up campaign ends today (I'm under 200 in rank NB wise but geez it's getting harder to keep up)

anyway I always think about what happens to mc after/if they did die. like I love sam's/still-a-moronsexual's interpretation of mc not being entirely human for one

but there's different levels/circles of hell in the Devildom, and that the devildom and the celestial realm are separate from the traditional heaven/hell if I remember correctly? like what happens to mc in the event they do pass on. Everyone says they have a shiny soul. And would mc keep their memories after passing?

Like everyone has different beliefs and I'm just rambling, but there's reincarnation for one. Sometimes I think about Michael and if we'll ever meet him, and if he'd go so far as to pull strings to get mc into the celestial realm (everyone wants the once powerful mortal on their side). And imagine him making sure to keep mc's info access limited, but then let's say luke catches a glimpse and tells the brothers. Imagine mc doesn't remember the brothers either, but there's this dull tug in their gut when they see these demons. Painful angst. (And if mc DID keep their memories, would they immediately choose to fall? Imagine your fave catches you. like I think my mc would stick around to get info and out of curiosity, but would secretly be planning to fall. Even if it was painful, it'd be worth it to them.)

or mc ends up in the devildom because of how big of a tie they have. I wonder if they would/could become an Avatar, and what if they did. Despair possibly? Would they be a regular demon, or have a special power perhaps? Diavolo would probably give them a noble title. but also, ANGST IF THEY HAVE NO RECOLLECTION OF ANYTHING. Diavolo early in NB said something about knowing almost every demon, so I wonder if he meets new people to help them get set up?? aha imagine he lets them stay at the castle, and mc wanders off, and bumps into someone they used to know. chaos

There's also the possibility they could become immortal I'm sure with a spell or Solomon's cooking. Or maybe their lifespan is just longer than a humans by a hundred years or so. They simply cherish the time they have, but suddenly they're aging past 120 and they're sweating internally. Solomon I think has talked about feeling like he loses/lost touch with his humanity, until he met mc. I wonder if mc would go through the same if they ended up truly immortal

THIS IS GETTING SO LONG SORRY, BUT THIS IS MY LAST AND FAVORITE IDEA. The three worlds couldn't decide what happens to mc, like this is the first time this has happened. Huge arguments. Sometimes i think about the good place show when I'm brainstorming. ANYWAY, mc becomes a reaper. No one gets their soul. They are now in charge of collecting them, and reapers are sorta neutral right? It's a compromise for everyone. Thirteen is overjoyed. Mc with a scythe, what will they do? Or the night dagger lol

the obey me manga comes out on tuesday i think, I'm probably hitting the bookstore on Thursday. and while I could order it online, something about finding it on the shelf is so fun. I literally finished king of wrath on friday, and read almost the entirety of king of pride on Saturday, and now I'm on king of greed. My friend is concerned with how fast I read because we have a book tracking app that allows buddy reads lol

HAVE A GOOD DAY CC, MANIFESTING YOUR NEXT TEN PULL HAS TWO UR+ CARDS

- ✨ anon

AH thank you, ✨ anon, I need all the luck I can get lol!!

Now see the interesting thing about all of this is that the game doesn't really specify. I do think they have implied that hell is a separate place from the Devildom (aka the Underworld where Solomon walked through the rings and Luci got trapped in the ice). So presumably if MC died and went to hell, they wouldn't actually end up in the Devildom itself. I don't remember if they've implied the same for heaven and the Celestial Realm, but it seems likely that it would be the case.

Personally I like the idea of reincarnation but MC just... keeps being reincarnated as a human on earth lol. Like every time MC dies, the others have to find them again. And they don't remember each life. Though if this happens enough perhaps Solomon or somebody comes up with a spell that can restore all their memories.

I do think it'd be interesting if Michael intervened and somehow got MC to be in the Celestial Realm, especially if they had no memories of the Devildom and everything. Imagine being an angel and then suddenly you get those memories back and you're like, that's it, I'm falling.

Which leads me to the question of how does one fall?

They don't really get into the specifics of that, either. Can you choose to fall? Or do you just do terrible things with the hope that the consequence will be banishment to the Devildom?? I have thoughts about this, but it's all just personal headcanon stuff.

I do think it makes sense for MC to just sorta end up in the Devildom because yo that's basically their home now, you know?

I tend to headcanon that due to the pacts and the "ring" and everything else MC has been through, they have enough magic interfering with their usual biology that they're probably already immortal. Just because that makes sense to me. I also think Solomon probably knows a way to make them immortal if they really wanted to be. vampire!MC lol

AHHH reaper!MC!! Thirteen would be thrilled!! They don't really give us a whole lot of info about the reapers either, but I headcanon that they're neutral and somewhat outside of the whole Devildom vs Celestial Realm situation. I have a lot of ideas about this, but again it's all personal headcanon.

So I think any of these options are possible! And it's certainly fun to think about all the ways in which MC's death might be dealt with. Somehow I don't think we're gonna get anything like that in canon, but I guess you never know!

Ah I love reading, I used to read so much... now I don't read as much as I used to because I'm spending all my time writing al;kdfkjfd. But yes the manga I read the first free chapter they had, but maybe I will buy the book itself...

Anyway, I love all these ideas and I think it's fascinating to think about all of these possibilities!

[theweeklydiscourse]

If Alina had actually passed the tests he'd given her, how do you think Aleksander would have told her the truth? When?

This is a good question! Addressing the whole truth of his identity, past and motives would have been inevitable considering his larger aspirations for him and Alina to become immortal companions, so what strategies would he employ to ensure that the big reveal goes as smoothly as possible?

First, we need to identify what exactly he’s going to tell her. I believe the whole truth is something that he’d tell her in two parts.

1. The truth about his motives with the shadow fold as well as the imminent coup d’état.

2. The truth about his immortality and him being the Black Heretic.

Both of these truths are alike in the sense that they pertain to the essence Aleksander’s character, but they differ in urgency. Informing Alina of the coup would be the most urgent given that the pressure to destroy the shadow fold increased greatly after Alina was discovered. In order for the plan to proceed, Alina should ideally know what Aleksander’s true motives are before they move forward with an enormous feat of Grisha power.

However, telling Alina the second truth would be akin to him putting his life in her hands. As such, his approach to telling her the truth would most likely require more time and caution. I can only imagine how that conversation might go for the two of them.

So what if Alina did pass the tests?

Even if she passed his tests initially, I imagine that Aleksander would still approach the issue with a high degree of caution. Their conversation on the journey to the Little Palace was a sort of placement test that let him subtly grade her, that is why I think he would conduct more tests incrementally to track her progress and milestones until she fully passed. But, if she had passed his initial test, I believe that Aleksander would have been far bolder with his hints and taken an approach that might allow Alina to draw her own conclusions.

For example, after Alina’s introduction to the King and Queen, Aleksander tests the waters by describing the King as a child. It’s an obvious slight at the King’s frivolous and incompetent ways that would’ve been understood by Alina after seeing his childish attitude firsthand. What if, instead of gasping and appearing visibly shocked, Alina responded in an affirmative manner? Perhaps agreeing with Aleksander or making a jab of her own? This might then lead into a conversation about the King’s failure as a ruler and allude to Aleksander’s future plans while also allowing Alina to ease into the subject.

We see the beginnings of an incremental approach to ease Alina into the world of Grisha. Getting her acquainted with her new home, giving her a friendly companion (Genya), and placing her among the rest of the Little Palace Grisha for daily events such as mealtimes and training. This stage is crucial to gaining Alina’s support and allegiance due to her upbringing as a non-Grisha as well as her low self esteem. Given that Alina’s introduction to the world of Grisha was both frightening and shocking, throwing her into the deep end right away would only cause her to flail and struggle, ultimately risking the entire movement in the process. So, she needs to spend a bit of time on the edge of the water, going from dipping her toes in to wading into the shallow end.

My estimate is that if all went according to plan (meaning that Baghra never meddled) then Aleksander would obtain the stag with Alina and take a number of months or even a year or two to train and acclimate to such a powerful amplifier. During this time, he would level with her about the true purpose of the fold and what her role would be in the movement for Grisha liberation.

R/relationshipadvice : How do I (500M), tell my potential girlfriend/life partner (20F) that I’m not actually 120 and that I’m actually an immortal revolutionary wizard who forever changed the geography and politics of our country?

As for the biggest truth of all, I often wonder how long it would take Aleksander to tell Alina the full truth about who he is. The idea of telling her most likely intimidates him into playing it safe and because of that I think it might take a number of years before he would be ready. However, Alina is not an idiot and has the power to observe things. The benefit of this is that it would allow her to gather information and draw her own conclusions as she gets closer to the truth. Aleksander is an understandably guarded person, but he will still leave breadcrumbs for Alina to follow and pick up on. But if I had to say, I’d think that he might wait for Alina to ask him outright (after a time) and then either bare his souls or let Alina’s questions reveal the truth throughout a long conversation.