#you can also cheat a lot with establishing shots

[genesisgijinka]

Do you have any tips for drawing backgrounds? Yours always look so nice

aww thank you! As for tips...

Tip #1:

Find references. I sketched the cover for chapter 4 three different times, because the first two didn't evoke the majesty of the Prism Tower in the way I wanted it to. And then I saw this

I think you can see how this translated into the cover

Tip #2:

Do studies. Be it from photos (your own or from a royalty free website like pixabay, but watch out for AI garbage bc the perspective is usually wrong) or from real life. It's not cheating, it's encouraged, and it's industry standard. Idc if you have photographic memory, get something from real life in front of your eyeballs and draw it. Try and keep your reference close to your drawing so that it's easier for your eyes to flick back and forth between the two. This is how you can train your eyes to really see what's going on in an image. Compare angles, shapes, sizes, and distances.

I use clip studio paint for Genesis, which has perspective rulers and they're super handy for speeding up the process (first image) and again, is not cheating. It's a tool to use in your arsenal. A little tricky to use, but once you get it down, it's fantastic. I also really recommend using other mediums, like a sketchbook and a sharpie (2nd image) or dinking around in Paint (3rd image). Limiting yourself in challenging ways is a great way to grow fast. Experimenting like this is also great for finding a style or technique that you click with

Tip #3:

Be aware of the cone of vision. This is a technical skill, but it's one of those things that you don't necessarily have to draw out every single time (tho I'd recommend doing it at least once to burn it into your memory better). If your drawing is looking wonky, the cone of vision being breached is a likely culprit. I'll link a video to someone who can explain how to do it better than I can.

Tip #4:

Learn how to draw things the same size in perspective. This is probably the thing I use the most. For example;

You have a tiled floor in a room. The lines going to the vanishing point are easy to do.

But how do you do the horizontal ones going across the floor?

Step 1: draw two horizontal lines, and put an X in one of them, going from corner to corner

Step 2: Going from the center of the X, trace a line back to the vanishing point

Step 3: from one corner, draw a line that goes through where that center line hits the tile edge

Step 4: at the end of this new line is where the next tile will start

Step 5: Rinse and repeat as needed

Ta-da! You now have tiles that are all the same size

This also works for vertical things like windows or telephone poles

One of the most useful applications I've found this trick for is making sure that everything is the right size. Sticking a person in a drawing is an instantly recognizable way to show scale

Whilst sketching the cover for ch 4, I'd accidentally made the doors way too small in the buildings in the back, so I slapped some people down to make sure they were the right height (This is in 3-point perspective, so the trick still works, regardless of if it's 1-, 2-, or 3-pt perspective owo b )

[godbirdart]

Looking at your recent commissions, those backgrounds are soo pretty!! Do you have any tips for backgrounds? I always struggle with them :>

aAA many many thanks!!

backgrounds can absolutely be a struggle but they don't have to be! they just require a little more creative planning~!

whether it be a commission or a personal drawing, if I'm building an elaborate art piece i focus on establishing the background First.

the background is the stage for your character! planning the background first will make it easier to tailor the character's actions and how they interact with the environment around them.

planning the background first can be the difference between your character standing awkwardly front and center with the setting going on behind them, or actually participating in their environment.

if i'm super stumped for background ideas, i browse stock image sites to get inspiration. sometimes it helps to doodle on an image to generate some ideas - kinda like you're playing with JPEGs like dolls.

that said - while i'm pinpointing WHAT i want to draw, i keep the ideas loose. i don't want to focus on the itty-bitty details until i've got the overall aesthetic and layout in mind, as i might get inspired to add something in later!

THUMBNAILING

if you're planning a big piece it can be helpful to break it down into something bite-sized before you go all in and start lining or painting. these are "thumbnails" - fast little sketches that establish the scene in a way that doesn't consume a lot of time or effort. it's also great as a little perspective exercise as a treat.

here i decided i want to draw a character walking home in a back alley street. with these photo references in mind, i can plan a layout and how the character will act in the scene. is this a candid shot? are they posing cutely? are they looking down at us in a tense way? there are many ideas to be had!

after you've chosen the layout / vibe for your idea, you can scale up your thumbnail to your preferred canvas size and start fleshing out the details. be sure to keep referring to your reference images to get additional ideas, such as storefronts, items, props etc!

3D MODELS

If you're trying to create a unique environment that photo references simply cannot help you visualize, 3D models exist! This gives you that ability to rotate / scale things for better visualization. Clip Studio has a vast catalogue of 3D models to download For Free that you can fiddle around with. i know there are many 3D builder sites out there as well, though i've never made use of them so i'm afraid i cannot recommend any off the top of my head. hell, you can even use the Sims game to design a setting and go from there!

also if anyone is going to come into my house and say 3D models are cheating: they are not. using a 3D model to better grasp an angle or get a better idea for perspective is not cheating. using 3D models to help plan the environment in your art is not cheating. they are no different than brushes; these are tools made to HELP YOU. use them!

PERSPECTIVE

perspective and angles can make a HUGE difference in the art piece. there's nothing wrong with static long shots! if that's what you want to draw, do it!! there's no right and wrong here!

but if you're finding your work to be a little robotic and stiff, slap an angle in there. consider an overhead view. these same techniques are applied to photography and film! nothing wrong with wide shots, but every once in a while it can help to throw in a dutch angle.

if there is one note i'd like to leave off on, it's that your backgrounds do not have to be 100% accurate-to-life to be Good. unless realism is something you're really striving for in your style, don't feel compelled to nitpick every brick and leaf in your art. us artists can tend to over-prune our work until our art looks a little bare and soulless. flaws can give your work character, and that's often a lot more appealing than how accurate the scale ratio between background building A and building B are [again, unless you WANT to go for that realistic look then you can fuss over those details all you like].

i hope this helped a little! MY APOLOGIES FOR MAKING IT SO LONG AH

[wannab-urs]

Pedro Pascal Character Fic Recs | Vol 42

AO3 | Kofi | Main Masterlist | The Spreadsheet Masterlist

Howdy Folks,

guess who's back! I don't know if I'm back to doing these consistently, but I have a hell of a list for y'all. Tags and summaries provided by the author, commentary provided by yours truly.

Mindfuck - Dave one shot by @whatsnewalycat

He said he could rattle the bees from your buzzing honeycomb brain. All you had to do was trust him with this power. So you did. And you do. Your valiant beekeeper meets you at this hotel every other Tuesday night, except on holidays.

Hypnotism, hypnosis-kink, Imperfect Praxis of Hypnosis, Humiliation, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Praise Kink, Smut, unprotected piv, D/s dynamic, Dom Dave, Mindfuck

One of the weirdest things I've ever read, but also one of the best. I was super into this. Mindfucking is WILD.... I'd read more of this universe in a heartbeat

Bittersweet Love - Dieter one shot by @ozarkthedog

Dieter is in recovery from drug addiction, the disease that cost him you. This is his first premiere after getting clean and his first one without you.

angst but with a happy ending! mentions of drug use and alcohol but nothing graphic.

This is such a sweet fic? That might be a weird way to describe it. I just love Dieter getting his shit together and all the good coming his way because of it.

Starlet - Dieter one shot by @whocaresstillthelouvre

Your husband has a big movie premiere, sure he looks great, but his co-star looks even better.

PWP, threesome, smut, fingering, oral (f receiving), lesbian fun, unprotected p in v sex, cum eating, addiction talk, sober Dieter, Kit Kats, I wrote this for the bi girls.

This fic is a dream, seriously. I want a hot movie star husband to bring pretty movie star women into my bed please and thank you.

Pas de Deux - Din series by @burntheedges

When Din Djarin – principal dancer at Concordia Ballet Company and generational talent in the classical style – suddenly left CBC and joined the Nevarro Ballet Theater mid-season, it shocked the ballet world. You never would have guessed that he would change your life, too.

modern AU, ballet AU, fluff, angst, flirting, dancing, lots of ballet terms (I’ll define things/link videos/etc. -- see below), misunderstandings, character study, romance, pet names (sweetheart, beautiful), lots of tension, later: smut, kissing, grinding, fingering, p-in-v sex, creampie, each chapter will have its own tags, Din lifts reader (see note below about reader)

This is one of the few modern Din AUs I've read, as I tend not to like them, but I can't recommend this enough. I was drawn in by the summary and hooked by the first chapter!

Never Let Me Go - Ezra one shot by @yopossum

Loving, reverent domestic smut with sweet, submissive Ezra.

SMUT; no plot that’s it just porn but with FEELINGS; sub!Ezra; established relationship; super duper in love; domestic fluff; comfort; gratuitous pet names; praise kink; body worship; body hair; grinding; breast and nipple play; teasing/edging if you squint; light bondage; riding; PIV; no condom (there’s come y’all); religious language and imagery as literary device; Ezra the human thesaurus; prose gettin purple; making grown men whine and cry; reader is not gendered, has breasts and a vulva/vagina, is described as having puffed nipples and dimpled thighs, can straddle Ezra, but no coloring, size, appearance, age, or ability is otherwise noted; Ezra is an amputee and healed and we love it (no gore or trauma or background re: his arm); but I did write this because I was watching Prospect without actually watching and was inspired by *~*those sounds*~* out of context tho; Beatrice is not reader’s name, just a nerdy Dante reference; I stole this title from Florence Welch; old person on tumblr; is this spacing wack?; not a beta in sight; 18+ only no minors

SUBMISSIVE EZRA!!! I loved this. Such a gorgeous fic.

Stick Buddies - Frankie series by @auteurdelabre

You and Frankie find yourselves in a complicated situation when invited to Benny's wedding for a week in Mexico. Despite your strained friendship, you both pretend to be a couple to save Frankie embarrassment when seeing his recently engaged ex wife. However as you navigate through this charade, old feelings and unresolved issues resurface.

friends to enemies, angst, fake relationship, bickering, there's only one bed, destination weddings, enemies to lovers, jealousy, idiots in love, revealed secrets, mutual pining, smut, HEA, so many fucking tropes.

friends to enemies to lovers??? Sign me the fuck up.

Where You Left Me - Frankie one shot by @chaotic-mystery

You meet Frankie for a date and reminisce about your relationship.

MAJOR character death. No movie AU but fuck Tom. This is overall angst heavy and please take care of yourself. Grief & loss, sadness, memories, I think that’s it? It’s just overall a bittersweet and tragically lovesick story. There’s no physical descriptions of reader other than wearing a black dress at one point and having hair that tickles Frankie’s nose. no y/n used

This shit made me cry in the best way. Please read this.

One of Your Girls - Frankie one shot by @pedropeach

unpacking some of frankie's old things leads to a revelation about his past. (OR to put it simply: frankie morales x triple frontier boys circle jerk)

Circle Jerk, Sub!Frankie, Bukkake, Facials, Cumplay, Cum Swallowing, frankie is literally a cum dumpster (and loves it), Praise Kink, Pet Names, Dirty Talk, oral (m receiving), Deepthroating, Cock Worship, Use of restraints, Sexy Photographs, Sharing, brief mentions of anal sex (m/m), for story purposes you are frankie's current gf, frankie x all the guys individually, this includes tom but he's not part of the circle jerk, sry tom

Really was not expecting this to be as tender and soft and sweet as it is considering it's one of the more filthy things I've ever read. Absolutely love it.

I'll Carry You - Javi P series by @almostfoxglove

You reunite with your childhood best friend when he arrives home from Colombia. Javier's sudden return to your life exhumes buried heartbreak, but he longs to set things right.

Eventual smut. Reference to canon-typical violence, injury, and the death of a parent. Plenty of alcohol consumption, yearning, and angst. YEARNING!!!

The yearning is exquisite. The fic is exquisite. I'm in love with this fic

Remorse for Remedy - Joel series by @pedgito

Alone, the Miller's brothers seem like your only hope. The outbreak is still fresh, weeks after the fall and all that matters is survival and the unlikely comfort that comes along with a man who wants nothing to do with you.

early outbreak, canon typical violence, morally grey!joel, smut (warnings given with each chapters), exploration of kinks, enemies to lovers, age gap (early 20s/mid 30s), unhealthy coping mechanisms, detailed warning with each chapter

I haven't ever read a series about Joel immediately post outbreak, which is wild. It's always raider!joel or qz!joel or jackson!joel. I love this new perspective and I'm so excited to read more.

Biology - Joel one shot by @endlessthxxghts

Joel hurt his back at work, so you've been helping him around the house until he heals.

able-bodied, female sex anatomy, and inherently fem!reader. No description of reader, everything is neutral (ex. “your bottoms,” “the curve of you” — nothing is specific in the way “you” are described). Age gap (reader early 20s, Joel in 50s). EXPLICIT MATERIAL PRESENT. HEED THE WARNINGS. WEIRD boundaries are crossed…you're not blood-related to Joel, but you were raised like you were. You call him “uncle.” Pet names (baby, darlin’, sweetheart, etc.). Pussy pronouns (she). Innocent touches until it isn't. Sexual tension galore. Slight dub-con. Icky Joel. Icky reader. Pussy grinding. Dirty talk. Slight degradation (“bitch” is used only once). Multiple orgasms. P in V unprotected. Reader is on top. Lots of teasing about the nature of yours and Joel’s relationship.

Well slap me silly and call me an uncle fucker because this fic was amazing. (they're not really related don't. look. at. ME.)

The Savage and the Sanctuary - Joel series by @justagalwhowrites

After the death of his daughter, Joel Miller fell apart. But when searching for answers at the bottom of a bottle and within his own rage doesn't fix it, he resigns himself to working for his brother in private security. It's a job that starts him down the path to stability and a semblance of a life, even if it's not one he particularly wants. At least it does until you show up. The biggest movie star in the world with your newly adopted niece in tow, you throw everything about Joel's life into flux. Is he capable of letting himself feel something again while protecting the only things left in the world that matter?

Protective Joel, Ellie & Joel Bonding, Joel is Bad at Feelings, POV Joel, Joel Needs a Hug, Alternate Universe - No Cordyceps Outbreak, Enemies to Lovers, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn

So pumped for a new Kit fic. Super into bodyguard Joel. The angst right out the gate is so beautifully painful, I just know I'm gonna cry once a chapter at least. (i've only read one chapter, so I have some catching up to do!)

Professor's Pet - Joel one shot by @chaotic-mystery

Professor Miller wants you to teach the class tomorrow morning & you need help being less nervous. What if he’s the reason you’re nervous, though?

Age gap but not specified, power imbalance (professor x TA, reader stutters when nervous, academic weapon, teasing, fingering, one (1) pair of panties ripped to shreds, oral (f receiving), spitting, pussy slaps, praise kink, name calling (good girl, sweetheart, baby, smart girl), dirty talk, talking you through it, spanking, condescending a little bit, cum eating, face riding, nasty freaky kisses to share your cum, no use of y/n

I cannot begin to explain how hot him helping her practice is. And then the smut.... I need a shower

Call It What It Is - Joel one shot by @joelsgreys

A disagreement over patrol duty leads to declarations that have been long overdue.

JACKSON ERA JOEL. established relationship. HEFTY AGE GAP (reader is in her 20’s and joel is 56). ellie and joel are fine bc i said so and they deserve nothing less. reader handles a rifle, joel’s a little too overprotective and almost seems controlling, but i promise he is not. well, maybe just a smidge. arguing, admission of feelings, joel miller says i love you (yes this is ooc, no i do not care bc i need this old man to tell me he loves me). angst, fluff. quite a bit of side character interaction before we get to joel and reader in the second half. the only physical description of reader is that she is shorter than joel.

We love overprotective Joel in this house

The Guard Dog - Pero Tovar one shot by @avastrasposts

Sent to your uncle's bleak castle in the north of England, you expect only a dreary existence until you meet his groundskeeper, a scarred, frightening Spaniard. But love in the Victorian era is not easy and life doesn't follow straight paths.

this is mainly all fluff with a bit of angst. Some of that casual racism and predjudice of the period rears its ugly head though. I've tried to keep the reader as blank as possible, but it's Victorian England and she's a lady so I have to presume she doesn't speak Spanish and has fair skin. No use of y/n.

This was so beautiful. I love the setting, I love the characterization, I love the story

Bloody Kisses - Tim Rockford/Dio series by @perotovar

shane has been in denial about himself for a while. newly single and with the help of one of his favorite singers, he opens his eyes to a new venture he could possibly take: the cop he sees on a semi-regular basis, detective tim rockford.

takes place in the early 00s, age gap (shane is 23, tim is 40), internalized homophobia, hurtful names (fairy boy, faggot, queer as a slur, etc), a gay porn magazine, lots of references to peter steele of type o negative (and his playgirl issue), male masturbation, acab, angst, protected p in a, fingering, excessive amounts of lube

I started reading this a while ago, but I never added it to the spreadsheet. I'm in love with how soft Tim is with Dio UgH

In the shadows of others, we grow - Tim Rockford/Dave York series by @sin-djarin

What happens when you put two different areas of law enforcement in the same room a few times a year to atone for their 'sins'? You find common ground and figure it out. Together.

M/M, Established D/s dynamics, each chapter contains individual warnings.

This pairing?? Obsessed. The feelings?!?!? Give me 14 more fics in this universe PLEASE

An End to Drought - Javi P one shot by @almostfoxglove

The future of your family's homestead hangs in the balance as Javier Peña comes home in the middle of a drought.

Javier Peña Smut, Soft Javier Peña, Sweet Javier Peña, Javier Peña Has a Big Dick, Smut, Fluff and Smut, Fluff, Neighbors,Javier might be a god? who knows!, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Porn with Feelings, Penis In Vagina Sex, Oral Sex, Creampie, Sex, Vaginal Sex, unprotected piv, Freyr, References to Norse Religion & Lore, Post Season 3

I'm obsessed with the way the challenge was interpreted. Is Javi a god? We don't know... but he sure fucks like one.

Some shit I wrote:

Make it Hurt - Logan Howlett x f!mutant!reader - sparring + pain kink

Morning Ride - Logan Howlett x f!reader - soft morning sex

You're So Dark - Dave York x f!reader - prof!Dave x student!Reader

[baekhyunsbestie]

ALL OF MY WORKS ARE NSFW AND FOR 18+ READERS ONLY!!!

🚨 ‼️ QUICK PSA ‼️ 🚨 if you’re a minor or don’t have an age indicator on your blog and i catch you in my notes interacting with any of my posts, i will block you. it’s super simple—just drop a “not a minor” or “adult” in your bio, and you’re good to go! i reeeaaally don’t like blocking anyone, but i’d rather be cautious and avoid any chance of minors stumbling onto my content. i know this might not keep every minor away, but it’s one way to set some boundaries. thanks for understanding! 🥹💞

now, for my ADULT besties, please feel free to continue!!🫡 just make sure to check out the content warnings and summaries first, as there could be potential triggers.

˗ˏˋ and please remember that YOU are in full control of your online experience!! so if you choose to explore my blog, browse through my fics, and click that "keep reading" button, know that it’s totally on you and your choice! ˎˊ˗

but i’m so glad you’re here and i hope you enjoy all the smut!! happy reading and be safe out there, lovies!! ଘ(ᵕ˵ ૩ᵕ)━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ

⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ series .ᐟ

sparks and vows (ongoing)┊current wc: 18k+

⟢ content: SMUT. 18+/MDNI. baekhyunx f!reader, romance, wedding!au, angst, fluff, exos and oc’s, pussy whipped!baek, ex-playboy!baek, ceo nepo baby!reader, smut probs every chapter ngl, p in v, oral (both f+m receiving), fingering (f receiving), slight exhibitionism, language, scenes with alcohol +/or smoking, pretty tame tho tbh!!!

ALL MINE! ┊ wc: 8.5k

⟢ content: 18+/MDNI. baekhyun x f!reader. no specified age, but i'd say they're somewhere in their early-to-mid 20’s cus i can only imagine people w/o fully developed frontal lobes behaving this way, respectfully 😭🙂‍↕️ bff's to fwb's to bff's again to strangers to lovers. fluff, angst, and it ain’t a baekhyunsbestie fic if it don’t got some good ol’ nasty smuuuttttt. pet names, praise kink, cheating, unprotected sex, p in v, creampie after creampie after creampie (baekhyun deffo has breeder balls, don’t @ me), overstimulation (both f + m). you both are just two big meanie idiots who are in love with each other.

easy peasy┊wc: 4.6k

⟢ prequel to all mine :') ⟢ content: 18+/MDNI. baekhyun x f!reader. scenes with weed + alcohol, mutual pining, friends to fwb, pet names, lots of swearing. SMUT!!! porn w plot literally, masturbation (both m + f), oral (f!receiving), unprotected sex, praise, p in v. baekhyun is pretty obsessive in this.

⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ one-shots .ᐟ

home┊wc: 4.4k

⟢ content: SMUT. 18+/MDNI. baekhyunx f!reader, established relationship, pet names, language, baekhyun’s a lil yandere and pussy-whipped (i mean ofc i cant imagine him any other way), a REAL EATER iykwim, v v v intimate, fluffyyyyy. reader and baek take a huge step in their relationship <3

do you like scary movies?┊wc: 5.3k+

⟢ ib: this anon (๑ > ᴗ < ๑) ⟢ content: SMUT. 18+/MDNI. language, ghostface!baekhyun x f!reader--baekhyun is a psychologist and reader is a bakery owner, no ages specified, but i was thinking mid-late twenties!! they're also next-door neighbors 🙂‍↕️ hehe

the boy is mine ┊wc: 1.9k+

⟢ content: SMUT. 18+/MDNI. established relationship, language, pet names, unprotected sex, p in v, creampie

god is a woman┊wc: 5.6k

⟢ content: SMUT. 18+/MDNI. baekhyun x f!reader. you’re a milf, baekhyun’s a dilf, and he calls you “ma” + “mama” :’), married!au, new parents, slice of life, angst + fluff, pet names, body worship, breastfeeding kink, fingering + oral + overstim (f! receiving), unprotected sex, p in v, breeding kink, and a whole lot of baekhyun talking you through it 😮‍💨 phhheeeeewwwww

been away┊wc: 1.3k

⟢ content: SMUT. 18+/MDNI. facetime sex w/ baekhyun x f!reader. ⟢ BONUS 🤭

truth be told┊wc: 24.2k

⟢ requested by this lovely anonie <3 :') ty baby! ⟢ content: 18+/MDNI. pediatrician!baekhyun x f!reader. chanyeol x f!reader. baekhyun x f!oc. lovers to strangers to co-parents to lovers again. angst, slow burn, fluffy, then we get reaaaallll smutty ⟡ pet names, praise kink, body worship, unprotected sex, p in v, bulge kink, creampie, slight breeding kink (y'all should know me by now 🤟🏼😣) ⟡

⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ misc .ᐟ

ᡣ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶𐭩 drabbles, thirsts + headcanons can be found here!!!!

TOUCH IT!┊wc: 955

⟢ content: SMUT. 18+/MDNI. baekhyun and those damn fingers x f!reader

WAKE UP┊wc: 764

⟢ content: SMUT. 18+/MDNI. f!reader waking baekhyun up w/ her mouth, language, pet names, somnophilia, oral (m receiving)

addicted┊wc: 386

⟢ content: SMUT. 18+/MDNI. baekhyun can never get enough of you, f!reader

BACKhyun┊wc: 422

⟢ content: SMUT. 18+/MDNI. baekhyun and his back 😵‍💫 x f!reader

muse┊wc: 958

⟢ content: no warnings (ikr who am i). suuuuper soft n fluffy! baekhyun is a landscape photographer and f!reader is his muse :')

DROWN┊wc: 2.5k+

⟢ content: SMUT. 18+/MDNI. baekhyun's lips x f!reader.

raw┊wc: 450

⟢ content: SMUT. 18+/MDNI. baekhyun x f!reader's "first time" lmfao

boy dad!baekhyun┊wc: 433

⟢ content: no warnings <3 just baekhyun as a boy dad

girl dad!baekhyun┊wc: 434

⟢ content: no warnings <3 just baekhyun as a girl dad

hair┊wc: 186

⟢ content: SMUT. 18+/MDNI. baekhyun x f!reader. hair pulling, oral (f!receiving)

©️ 𝐁𝐀𝐄𝐊𝐇𝐘𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐄

[frayed-at-the-seams]

My top BL dramas with sex scenes.

Basically my fave sex scenes and why.

- Unknown.

Starting slow. Real slow burn found family drama but when they get together, the scenes are sexy. It’s all about consent, it’s between two people who love each other and it’s a real build up of what has been years of pining. Not a full sex scene, it almost gets there, but what we see is amazing.

The couple itself is really sweet and the plot is well paced and slow burn is burning. The drama as a whole was great and I loved how the characters grew and developed.

However, drama has violence, child homelessness, drug addiction, child abuse, gang violence, and kidnapping.

Available on Viki or KissKH.

- Blueming.

This drama was lovely. With a real lovely slow burn romance that builds to an artistically filmed sex scene. While you don’t see much, just silhouette, you know what they’re doing. It’s intimate and so loving and more of an art scene than just sex. That’s one of the things I love about this drama. There is a real sense of intimacy and love between the characters. If you want to film a sex scene that doesn’t detract from the plot, then this is how you do it. It fit so well and was so visually aesthetic that it was my favourite part of the drama.

Available on KissKH and Bilibili.

- The Eighth sense.

Another beautifully shot scene. This one was intimate and fun and loving. The two characters laughing and just enjoying being by themselves without any pressures. It establishes a real bond and love between them that persists through later struggles in the show.

The scene is filmed beautifully too. The camera placement and cinematography makes it more than just a sex scene. It ties it all in with the character development and the plot, giving it a real intimate and unique feel to it.

One of my fave shows of all time.

Available on Viki, and KissKH.

- Between Us.

The side story to Until We Meet Again but about the second couple from that show, Between is about Win and Team. The drama is more about overcoming ptsd and trauma with love and support. There is one sex scene that fades to black before the proper scene but there’s enough shown that I have included it in this list.

The filming of this drama was engaging and worked with the characters. The plot focused more on the developing relationship of the characters and their own personal growth in response to their relationship than it did on any physical aspect to it. It is a wholesome drama that can be watched without having watched the first drama.

I have rewatched this a few times.

Available on YouTube and Bilibili.

- Love in the air.

This drama is split in two. The first half is the main couple, a typical top and sub bottom type. The second half is a Dom bottom with a pleaser top. Both couples’ chemistry is on fire and their scenes are very sexy. (I was so surprised by their scenes the first time I watched it. I was not expecting them to be so explicit).

But other than the scenes the drama itself deals with some good character development. Especially with the second couple where it explores a character with SA trauma and his subsequent trust issues.

For a drama that at first looks seems cliche and full of tropes (which it is) it actually explores them while also making some of it quite easy to watch. It doesn’t lessen the darkness of some scenes but it doesn’t overly explore it either. The viewers know what goes on without having to see the scenes in full detail. I liked this style of filming though a few of the sex scenes were no necessary to the plot.

Available on Viki, YouTube (but censored) and KissKH.

- Only Friends.

I am building up to the messy dramas slowly.

This drama though. This one is for the ones who love soap operas. There’s cheating, betrayal, sex in weird places, recording and taping without consent, alcohol and drug abuse, fist fights, and manipulation.

Basically a group of friends get caught in the messiest drama ever. There’s lots of sex and lots of character development, not always for the better. There’s three main ‘couples’ and they are all involved with each other in a messy way.

Let’s just say that watching this weekly was like watching a bit of a train wreck and seeing who are the survivors.

Well acted, very well filmed but chaotic as hell. It will make you laugh, make you angry and might even make you cry.

In all of it the lesbians are the least dramatic characters.

Available on KissKH and Bilibili.

- 4 Minutes.

If you thought the drama above was messy, this was worse but in a different way.

This drama has you second guessing everything. With a complicated slightly sci-fi plot line, the sex scenes as used more to show power and influence and control between characters than they are to show romance.

There’s so much going on with the viewer guessing character motivations and plots that the sex scenes get pushed to the side quickly. They’re there, and very explicit (especially the first one) but plot wise they are nothing more than a basic shock or display factor.

Either way, those actors did a good job. I had trouble watching them cause they felt too explicit.

Also especially here for Bible having a bottom era.

The show was well filmed too, even if I was confused by everything half the time.

Despite the confusion and the ending with way too many unanswered questions, I did really enjoy the show and the sex scenes did make sense in the plot. They were also filmed really well and I loved the lighting.

Available on KissKH.

- Kinnporsche.

Came out before 4minutes but with Bible playing a top character this time (the duality of this man). This show I both love and hate. Open ending, too many side plots that weren’t explained, lots of unanswered questions. Every relationship was toxic in some way. Anyway, I loved it. Great lighting, well filmed and stylised. Amazing acting.

Though the sex scenes, especially between Kinn and Porsche, were too frequent and in too many weird places. (They’re exhibitionists. You gather that after the first time). They were well done scenes.

However, this drama is not for the faint of heart. There’s dubious consent, freaky kinks, kidnapping, bdsm (between Vegas and Pete and there was no communication during it but it was such a well filmed scene), manipulation, violence, death, torture, kidnapping, and abuse.

This drama was definitely for the depraved. (Me and others like me).

We’re never going to get a season 2 and I am so sad about that.

Available on Viki, and KissKH.

Here you go you depraved souls. I mostly watch dramas for the plot. I can’t help it when dramas like KP happen to have sex as their plot.

Oh well.

Enjoy.

[tokiro07]

Ichi the Witch ch.10 thoughts

[(N)Ice Boat]

(Topics: thematic analysis - Death for Death/talent, character analysis - Hisame, speculation - Kumugi/Magik/Minakata)

Dammit, I was wrong again, Ichi really did just make sashimi instead of turning Hisame into an outfit...I think @wickedsick predicted that, so good job, Wick

It was certainly well telegraphed, he was literally fileting her, and Desscaras/Kumugi were wearing the iconic sushi chef headband, I just was hoping for something a little more on-theme I guess

I'm not at all disappointed in this outcome, mind you, I'm just bitter about how I keep whiffing on what seem like easy pitches. I'll probably feel a lot better about it on reread, but right now I'm just a bit embarrassed

Enough lamenting though, let's focus on the chapter itself!

Good Enough to Eat

The sashimi boat really is the perfect solution to this trial, honestly. First and foremost, it's a solid reflection of Ichi's philosophy of Death for Death. As Ichi says in the flashback, the sashimi boat is an artistic and ritualistic expression of both respect and gratitude for the prey, the core ideology behind only killing when it is necessary for survival and not wanton destruction in the name of entertainment. The prey's life is not more valuable than the predator's, so Ichi wants to honor the life that he has taken for his own by treating it with dignity

Moreso than just the spirit behind Death for Death, it is also literally taking that philosophy to its logical conclusion by reflecting Hisame's own actions upon her. Hisame enjoyed putting her victims on display, making their frozen corpses into macabre architecture, so it's only fair that the same would be done to her. A punishment that fits the crime

However, it also is what allows Ichi to actually pass the trial because while it is a gruesome fate, it is not actually a punishment for Hisame. Like I said, it's a reflection of her own artistic sensibilities turned back on her; she is now the one being put on display as a grotesque art piece - of course she'd find that more beautiful than being trussed up in flowers or frills! She was telegraphing it the whole time!

It's also a fun play on Desscarass' attempt to cheat last week by saying true beauty is on the inside - by rending and exposing her flesh, Hisame can see her literal inner beauty in a way that is both novel and a perfect encapsulation of her sense of aesthetic

I do think that turning her into an outfit would have ultimately had the same effect, but focusing on Ichi's established specialties works much better as a bookend for this arc's themes

Playing to Your Strengths

While I initially wanted Kumugi to learn the lesson of individual capability directly, having her see it firsthand through Ichi's talents is a great way to set her arc on a slow burn rather than simply cooking it all the way through in one shot

Before, she was simply told of the idea, and now she's merely witnessing it in action, but she has yet to personally experience or internalize it, steps that will come later as she's forced to contend with her own shortcomings and insecurities

My guess is that she's meant to be more of the Usopp of the team, who even to this day is struggling to recognize just how far he's come in his personal journey. Like how Usopp had to learn to be brave in increasingly personally challenging scenarios, Kumugi is likely going to be put in scenarios that make her feel less and less suited to them, but through emulating Ichi, will slowly come to learn that her unique capabilities make her just as skilled as Ichi in her own way

But again, I'm getting ahead of myself. For now, what matters is that Desscaras' line about Ichi doing things that only he can do seems to have resonated with Kumugi, even if she doesn't fully understand why just yet

Speaking of things we don't fully understand yet, this chapter has left me with a couple of questions that I'm very excited to see addressed in the future

Gotta Catch 'Em All

First, as this is the first time we're seeing a non-combative trial, is it common for Magiks to be so peaceful when they become magic stones? Obviously Uroro was distraught, but should we expect most of them to be satisfied or even happy to be bested?

And for that matter, what does it actually mean to be turned into a magic stone? We know they can be returned to normal upon the death of their spell holder, but is it more of a seal or a cycle of death and rebirth?

Cus if it's the latter, then Magik psychology must be fascinating, as they're likely able to accept their deaths because they have such clarity of purpose in their lives. If it's the former, though, that raises a bunch more questions about their cognition

Are they conscious while in stone form? Is there any circumstance where they can be retrieved?

Uroro is obviously an exception where he can manifest of his own will, but when Ichi cast Inazuri and Inazuri appeared, was that simply an apparition to represent him, or was it literally Inazuri coming to summon the lightning? He didn't say or do anything, so it seems like it was just imagery, but is it possible that with more advanced mastery of a spell that a Witch can fully materialize a Magik as a familiar?

I'm starting to suspect that this might be the case, as Hisame's last words were "I wouldn't mind letting you take me on a date." Perhaps she meant it metaphorically to represent giving herself to Ichi as a stone, but with how bombastic and unique her personality was, I think it would be a huge shame if she's just gone from the cast forever

On the other hand, though, how many Magiks is Ichi going to acquire? He already has three, and one is already a major cast member; will the other two and all subsequent Magiks become a rotating ensemble cast, throwing in their two cents whenever the author deems it funny or interesting but forgetting about them the rest of the time because there's just too much to keep track of?

Or will they simply be inert, effectively dead to the narrative and only contributing as MacGuffins to solve increasingly specific and harrowing challenges with no semblance of personality or individuality ever again?

Both options sound bad when you put them like that, though they both serve a specific purpose to the narrative that would help it flow. I'm pretty sure that's why Shaman King abandoned the Pokemon-esque ghost of the week premise pretty early, since it wouldn't do to have Yoh juggling a bunch of side characters when one would perfectly suffice. Come to think of it, I think Kagamigami did the same thing...

Only time will tell, but I do hope there is a way for Ichi to connect with his Magiks on a more personal level, especially if it turns out that it's something Witches either weren't aware of or deliberately don't do to avoid forming personal attachments

Even if we don't get more insight into Ichi's relationships with Inazuri or Hisame, though, there is one relationship of his that I'm confident we're going to be seeing a lot more of

Teach a Man to Fish

I have no idea what role he's is going to play going forward or how long it's going to take to get there, but there is simply no way that Minakata isn't meant to be important

Minion to the Big Bad? The Big Bad himself? The Big Good?? I don't know! But mentors that protagonists fondly remember and were heavily inspired by as children always do one of two things: turn evil or die horribly. Sometimes both! Lookin' at you, Kite HxH

I don't want to speculate too much since we've basically learned nothing concrete about him, but being that he's a wanderer with a mysteriously hidden face, I'll bet right now that Ichi's going to meet an oddly large man later, walk away none the wiser, and then the man is going to pull out the deer skull mask and say something cryptic about how much Ichi has grown

Buuut just to make a particularly wild shot in the dark now with no basis whatsoever: I won't be surprised if it turns out that Minakata has something to do with Ichi becoming a Witch. Maybe Minakata did something to him, maybe Minakata is also a Manwitch. Either way, there's definitely going to be an explanation for Ichi winning that lottery and Minakata is currently the best (and only) lead we've got on that

And with that, we've completed the first full story arc. It's definitely proving to be as fun as I expected it to be, I'm just surprised it's taken this long to establish a long-term goal. I won't be surprised if we get another mission to establish a bit more of a daily life-style pattern, but I worry in Jump's current climate that waiting too long to raise the stakes will prove detrimental to Ichi's longevity. It was around this point when Shigaraki showed up in Hero Academy, Geto showed up in JJK, and God was established as the antagonist in Undead Unluck, so I'd say we'll at least get a glimpse of the antagonist in the next few chapters hopefully

Until next time, let's enjoy life!

[ohmyeyesmyeyes]

fix of you

jack hughes x f!reader

warnings: swearing (c-word), mentions and descriptions of drugs and alcohol usage (class b), effects of weed, reader is kind of a relatable asshole at moments? (you can make your own conclusions), brief joke of alcoholism as an attempt at easing tension, mentions of cheating and subsequent emotional damage, mentions of casual relationships, toxic relationships/exes, internal dialogue, fluff and reassurance

psa: i'm gonna be honest, i don't remember writing most of this

word count: like 8.4k??

Rudy was so far gone – so pissed up his own arse – that he misjudged your horror for excitement. How he’d managed to do that was completely beyond you, because immediately after clamping your eyes on him, you’d frozen entirely, before ducking out of potential eyeline before he could see you.

He being…someone complicated – Lewis. Even the  mere sight of him left a sour taste in your mouth. 

Rudy, bless his pure soul, had turned to you, an eyebrow somehow raised despite his deeply intoxicated state of mind, and pouted.

“What?” You asked, awkwardly looking towards the bar to avoid being under his scrutiny.

“What was that? You looked at Lewis and just fuckin’, I don’t know, dipped.” Rudy slurred, spinning in his chair clumsily and looking straight at Lewis, who – thank fuck – was talking to the person next to him and seemingly oblivious to Rudy’s obviousness. 

You knew the two of them were friends, and somehow through the madness and spontaneity of the text Rudy had sent out to everyone in his contacts, that fact had escaped your mind entirely, and that only seemed to increase your drive for another drink and the need to get yourself the hell out of there. You’d been contemplating ditching for a while anyway – the ‘party’ was beginning to die a little, but the only reason you’d stayed was because Rudy was way too high to even be trusted to get home safely. Naturally, that responsibility had fallen onto your shoulders. 

You shrugged, “Nothing. I just don’t like the guy.”

He spun back around, patting the bar, and only seconds later – seemingly pulled out of thin air – a shot glass with amber sloshing liquid slid across the surface. You didn’t bother attempting to snatch it out of his hand, knowing it’d only irritate him. 

“How come?”

You swung your head towards him, incredulous. He knew perfectly well why. He was the only one who did.

“Because the two months we were in an established, exclusive relationship he was sleeping with someone else when he was ‘working’.” You snatched the next shot that slid down the bar and nabbed it for yourself, barely flinching when the burn soothed your throat, “Is this tequila?” You asked, eyes wide.

“Yes, it’s tequila. And I remember now, he was kind of a dick to you.” Rudy shrugged, wobbling on the stool.

You felt your irritation flare for a second, watching him laugh and smile to himself and play off how absolutely awfully Lewis had treated you, like it was nothing. You gave him the benefit of the doubt considering he was all kinds of pissed, but you couldn’t help the defence mechanisms kicking in as you picked apart what he’d just casually said.

“Kind of? Kind of a dick?” You echoed, rolling your eyes as Rudy froze, recognising the poorly hidden frustration in your voice. You’d also had a lot to drink, but it clearly wasn’t enough considering you seemed to latch on to the smallest details. 

To save your own sanity, you put up your hands in surrender, and Rudy watched, mildly impressed at your restraint, as you left the bar entirely and made your way outside.

You were done with pretty much everything inside that building; Rudy, and most of all, Lewis. The guy got your blood boiling unlike you’d ever felt, and the more you thought about it, the more you wanted to yell and scream until your throat was raw and bleeding and your voice was hoarse because you had to let all this unsanctioned anger out somehow. It was crushing you inside and out, and it was weird – you were confused by it. You and Lewis had only dated for two months, and it wasn’t even that serious. 

You figured if you’d paid a little more attention to him during your relationship, you’d have been able to put the pieces together a little quicker, but the guy was intelligent. Cunning, sly, slimy. There weren’t enough insulting adjectives to describe the chilling way he managed to get under your skin. 

It made you want to get into a shower and scrub your skin – knowing you’d willingly let him touch you.

It had ended four months ago, but the lasting impact he’d had on you was somewhat unexpected—

“Oh, hey.” A voice shook you out from inside your own head, and you looked up, moving out of the way from the door. 

There were two of them, crowded around a cigarette, and they had an element of vague familiarity about them. The girl was the one who’d spoken, and when you turned to look at her, feeling a little caught under her gaze, she smiled.

“Hey.” You replied, slowly stepping towards them.

She picked a tin from her pocket and flicked the lid open.

Oh, now you know where you recognised her from. She supplies Rudy, and you were pretty sure you’d bought from her before; nothing serious, never anything serious – which was probably why she was only offering you a blunt.

You hesitated, stuffing your hands in your pockets. Realistically, if you smoked one right now, you knew the chances of Rudy getting home safely would be significantly lower, but that jumpy, itchy feeling nestling its way under your skin was almost overwhelming. It felt like being in a supermarket, faced with a wall of the same bag of crisps, and you could hear people talking and walking, the label on your jumper was scratching the back of your neck, your head felt funny and your shoes were too tight.

Yeah, it kind of felt like a sensory overload. 

And you also knew – without a fucking doubt – that a joint would take all of that away. The sound of the music filtering through the front door would melt to a soft tune in the back of your mind, the tightness in your chest would ease up, and you sure as hell wouldn’t give a shit about Lewis.

The woman seemed to sense your internal dilemma, and before you could answer, the tin lid snapped shut.

You smiled apologetically, “Yeah, I probably shouldn’t.”

She shrugged, still smiling politely as she tucked it back into her jacket pocket, accepting her own blunt from her company, “Hey, it’s no problem, you just looked like you could use one.”

“Honestly, I did, but…not tonight.”

And before you could even so much as breathe, the door to The Championship was slamming open and out walks…a girl? Making a direct beeline for you, it would seem.

She was wearing faded jeans with a simple green crewneck, as though she hadn’t expected to make an appearance tonight, and her flaming red hair was resting against her collarbones – cut in sharp layers. She looked elegant, and a little classy, and undoubtedly pretty, but for the life of you, you could not place her.

But the way she was smiling at you – controlled and easy (not drunk?) – you’d have thought you’d known each other for years.

“Hey, you must be Y/N.” She started, stopping in front of you and crossing her arms.

You nodded, a little confused, “I’m sorry, do I know you?” You asked, curious. She’d come from inside the bar, so she’d obviously been invited to tag along to Rudy’s party, but even then you were sure you’d not seen her inside. You’d remember hair as red as that anywhere – it was breathtaking.

She laughed a little awkwardly, her eyes flicking back to the window momentarily “Not yet–”

Shit, did that sound menacing.

“My name’s Marnie,” you felt the penny drop, and the smile on your face melted a little, “I’m Lewis’s girlfriend.”

The silence was unbearable, but the one thing you could think of at that moment was holy fuck you should have accepted that joint. You wanted to laugh, you felt the bubbles of amusement begin to rise, but they popped before they could escape, dissipating somewhere along the lines of–

Marnie, what a fucking bitch.

So this was the girl Lewis had been sleeping with all throughout your relationship?

Now, you were a feminist, you really were. But you kind of drew the line about here. You were well aware that she knew you were in a relationship with Lewis, and she was well aware you knew that, if the cautious smile on her face was anything to go by – and something about her having the audacity to approach you and introduce herself even despite that knowledge deeply unsettled you.

Deeply.

It looked like she was expecting some kind of blown up reaction on your end, because her eye was twitching fractionally – she’d put herself that close you could see it – and the smile on her face was clearly slipping with every second you refused to give her the satisfaction of reacting to that little piece of information.

So you smiled, heart hammering with something. Adrenaline? Dread? At this point the lines had blurred to the point of disfiguration.

“Well, it’s always nice putting a face to the name.” You said stiffly, sarcastically.

You weren’t doing much to hide your distaste for the entire situation. Why bother? They’d already done the damage, what was the worst you could do?

She ignored it, though, and the smile on her face grew – as though she genuinely thought you were cooperating with her, “I was thinking–”

Dear God, please don’t let this be–

“That because your friends with Rudy and Rudy’s friends with Lewis, that we’re probably going to be spending some time around each other, right?”

Fuck.

You nodded reluctantly, already sensing where this car crash of a night was going to head.

“Would you want to have a few drinks…you know, until this awkwardness is resolved?” She asked.

Why, why, why, why? Why would she even think that was a good idea? 

“I’ll pay.” She added, clearly as an afterthought to try to convince you.

For emotional damage? You laughed internally.

“Because I’m an alcoholic?” You joked lamely, resisting the urge to roll your eyes and wince at your own devastating sense of humour at wildly inappropriate times. It was dark and not actually true, but you knew what Lewis had thought of you when you were together. He was always muttering something about your bad habits – and so what if you enjoyed a singular glass of red wine in the bath every now and then? – and you could tell from the taken aback and slightly flushed look that Marnie had suddenly sported, that he’d influenced some of his own opinions onto her.

“No, no.” She stuttered, shaking her head, “I just want to do this…for Rudy.”

Godfuckingdammit.

Either she was a good reader of people, or she was just lucky, because there was no one in the entire world who could possibly persuade you to do this, apart from maybe Rudy. He was your soft spot, and right now, you hated that soft spot possibly more than Lewis and his stupid face. 

You shut your eyes, hands waving with a mind of their own, “Sure.”

You regretted it instantly, even more so when Marnie grinned. 

“That’s great—”

“I just need to make a phone call, and I’ll be right there.” You interrupted, automatically sliding your phone out of your pocket, not waiting for her to answer before you stepped away, taking a seat on the edge of the pavement. It was a quiet night, barely any cars on the road, and if someone saw you talking on the phone, you knew the likelihood of being approached would be slim to none.

Besides, if someone happened to come up behind you, you had—

Oh. They’d gone.

You sighed, noticing you were now alone, and stood up. There was no way you would willingly sit with your back facing the sidewalk in the dark without someone watching you. So you leant against the window of the bar, thumb hovering over a contact, that, even at reading, made something flutter in your chest.

Nerves, anticipation, the whole lot. You were smiling before you’d even clicked the call button.

He picked up on the fourth ring, and you found yourself smiling bashfully at the floor even before you heard his voice.

If three-month-ago-you saw yourself now, she’d be mortified.

“Hey.” You started, foot kicking at a broken piece of glass.

“Hey.” You could tell he was smiling just from the tone of his voice – it was painfully distinguishable.

“What are you doing right now?” You asked, praying with everything in you that he’d be free. You knew he had training today – it had finished at around four, so technically he’d had time to sleep off the exhaustion, and he had tomorrow off…so, in theory, he should be free.

But given the hectic schedule he seemed to live by, you would be in no way offended if he decided to turn you down right now. You’d turn you down if you were being honest.

There was some rustling, and you deduced he must have pushed himself from a sofa or bed, “Absolutely fucking nothing. Please take me out of my misery.” He breathed a laugh to disguise his plea, and the sound of it sent chills through your body, a certain giddiness igniting in you knowing he’d pretty much show up for you right now, even if it was to watch some crappy movie in your apartment. Unfortunately for him, the reality was a lot less exciting.

Before you could interject and ask him, however, he was talking again, “Is that music?”

You turned your head, looking straight into the bar. You hadn’t exactly realised how loud the music was, but when you spotted Rudy messing around near the jukebox and speakers, that issue kind of answered itself, “Yeah, I’m at The Championship bar, you know the one that’s like a five minute walk from yours?”

There was a beat of silence, “Oh, the one on the corner by the deli? Yeah, I know that one.”

It only occurred to you then, due to Jack’s awkward answer – an open statement left half-hanging, that you hadn’t actually asked him to meet you there, or even given any indication you wanted to see him. 

You barely wasted a second before the invitation had toppled from your lips, “I was wondering if you wanted to come by? Rudy’s decided to throw a party and it’s honestly torture.” You hesitated, expecting him to fill the silence, but when he didn’t interject with anything, you continued, heart pounding with the anticipation of what you were about to admit, “And we haven't seen each other in a while so I’m kind of missing my fix of you lately.” You completed it with an awkward laugh, hoping the statement sounded less casual than what you truly meant.

That was what you and Jack were, amongst other things: casual. Or, you thought you were. It had started as an awkward blind date but he ended up staying the night and after a minor misjudgement on your behalf, he’d ended up at the door of your apartment building, a bag of Indian food in hand and an apology because he’d ditched you in the morning even after the promise of breakfast. And against your better judgement, you guys had been…friends (with a question mark) since then.��

Nothing else had happened, but you seemed to have a sort of unspoken relationship. One that meant you’d be smiling at your phone at inappropriate times.

So, naturally, you were kind of curious as to what his reaction would be.

“I’m missing you, too.” He paused, and you felt a twinge of relief flood your system, almost overriding the buzz of alcohol you’d consumed earlier. Jack tended to have that effect, whether you liked it or not. “I’ll be there in two minutes.”

“But it takes five at a minimum?” You smiled again, eyes glancing to the direction you knew he’d be coming from, even though darkness shrouded the path and realistically he wouldn’t appear in that moment.

“Then I’ll run. You sound like you need saving.” He laughed, and you could distantly hear the slam of his door shut over the phone, his keys in the lock.

You rolled your eyes, “Don’t wear yourself out.”

“Not possible. I have incredible stamina.”

The insinuation was bold, but it dissipated some of the tension in your shoulders. The relief you felt purely based on the reassurance that it wouldn’t take him long to reach you felt wrong in a sense; that you relied on his presence to alleviate some of the stress from the awkward situation both yourself and Rudy had placed you in. 

It felt careless.

“Yeah, your hockey skills really prove that. I’ll be waiting inside…trying to have fun until you get here.”

“Only as long as you pretend to have fun when I actually get there.”

“No need to pretend.”

You heard him breathe a laugh, “I’ll see you soon.”

“Bye.”

You hung up, steeling yourself as you walked back through the door, feigning a smile when Lewis lifted a hand up from where he and Marnie had claimed a booth. You went straight to the bar, knocking into Rudy from where he was sitting back on a stool.

“Where the hell did you go?” He asked, dramatically looking at your shoes and then moving back up to your face, eyes wobbling and cheeks flushed.

“Outside.” You answered, grabbing two bottles of beer from the ice bucket. You weren’t entirely sure if Jack would want a drink when he got here, but seeing as Rudy had somehow booked an ‘all expenses paid for’ event, you figured there was no harm done.

“Why–” Rudy stopped talking, blinking dumbly as it clicked that you’d taken two bottles, “Why two?” He pointed lazily, before collapsing on top of his hands against the counter surface.

“Because Jack’s coming.” You stated simply.

“As in the Jack who I haven’t met yet?”

“The very one.”

“Ooh.” He let out a slack giggle, and you shook your head, smiling a little at his antics. You felt yourself colour at his eyebrow wiggle, a flicker of pride touching your heart at the mere notion of finally sharing the brilliance of Jack with your friend – singular because Rudy was a part of a different sphere to who you usually spend your time with.

Rudy probably wouldn’t even remember meeting him this time around anyway.

So you patted him on the back and slid across the booth so you were sitting directly across from Lewis.

He’d had a haircut since the last time you’d seen him, and there were wisps of facial hair tickling his cheeks. He looked weird, worn and a little on edge. And the sight of him sent an alarm blaring through your mind, red flags metaphorically swimming in your line of vision.

A well of words flew through your mind: disgusting, cheater, dick, bastard, liar, sociopath, fucking bitch.

He didn’t inspire much positivity. At all. It had you questioning why the fuck you even agreed to Marnie’s request in the first place, because you didn’t even have to be here. You didn’t have to put yourself through this undoubtedly horrific conversation for the sake of fucking Rudy – who was practically passed out and unaware to everything that was currently going on around him.

No one said anything until the tension was seemingly too much for Lewis to take, because he nodded to the second bottle of beer you’d placed on the table next to your spot, “Are you waiting for someo–”

You vaguely heard the door shut, and in another world – if Marnie hadn't frozen in her place with her own drink midway to her mouth, jaw falling slack as her eyes followed something across the room – you wouldn’t have thought anything of it.

“That’s Jack Hughes.” She gaped, and your heart stuttered in your chest.

Lewis’s words were lost on everyone, and all three of your heads turned around just in time to see Jack pause by the door, seemingly taken aback by the small crowd of people blocking his view from everyone seated in booths. Because your back was to him, you spun around in the booth, pulling yourself up onto your knees so you could peer over the top of the wooden brackets, waving a hand to catch his attention.

There were a few brief seconds where his eyes were stuck on Rudy, and without even realising it, you caught yourself checking him out, assessing him from head to toe, right from his trainers to the Yankees cap pulled over his eyes. You were pretty impressed Marnie had recognised him so instantly, especially considering Jack had clearly dressed for subtlety.

He’d gone for a pair of jeans, the legs baggy, and a navy V-neck jumper, a white shirt peeking out from underneath. You weren’t a fashion expert by any means, but somehow that washed out denim Yankees hat topped it all off, and he looked good. His hair was a little shorter than the last time you’d seen him, but it still poked out from underneath his hat in waves. Even from where you were admiring him, you could tell he’d shaved recently.

Shit, he looked insanely good. To the point where you didn’t know if you’d be able to stand not touching him tonight. 

Your hand had frozen in place, elbow resting against the wooden platform, and it was only when he’d caught you over the crowd of heads that you realised exactly how you’d reacted to him. He smiled, wasting no time in dodging past several people as he made his way over to your booth.

You slid down, waiting for him to join you, cheeks burning and fighting the intensely strong urge to grin as you took a sip of beer to avoid the questioning gaze from Lewis. You figured he was confused; ice hockey had never really been his thing.

Honestly, it hadn’t been your thing until you met Jack, but…here you were.

You found yourself running a hand through your hair, suddenly aware you hadn’t looked in a mirror in the last few hours, and before he’d even sat down and before he was even within a four foot radius, you already knew you were going to have way more fun with Jack in the same room.

By the time he’d appeared at the end of the booth, that gorgeous smile on his face – cheeks a little red (you assumed he kept his promise and ran over, considering it had barely been five minutes, and his cheeks were tinged from exhaustion) – your eyes were shining with excitement. You felt like a little kid – you guys hadn’t seen each other in a couple of weeks because he’d been on a roadie, but you never would have guessed you’d be so giddy to see him again.

“Hey.” He greeted, and it was as though you’d been overtaken by some sort of tunnel vision, because you missed the look shared between Lewis and Marnie – all because Jack wasn’t paying them a single shred of attention. His eyes were boring into yours, and that smile you’d been hiding broke free as you reached for him, pulling him into the booth next to you.

“Hey,” you replied, before suddenly remembering the pair sitting opposite, and you turned back to them, unable to help yourself from looking back at Jack, as though you couldn't quite get enough of him. You caught a waft of his aftershave when he sat down…as if he couldn’t get any more irresistible, “Jack, this is Marnie and Lewis; Marnie, Lewis,” you gestured lazily to the man next to you, “Jack.”

You felt Jack pull his attention away from you to politely greet the couple sitting next to each other; Marnie was the picture of awe, her eyes were wide and she was drinking Jack up, not quite able to believe he was sitting across from her. You didn’t have her down for being an ice hockey fan, but you kind of loved how uncomfortable Lewis was at the attention she was paying Jack and not him. 

He was jealous, for sure. His jaw was ticking and you could vaguely see him sizing Jack up across the table, a misty curiosity lingering in the depths of his eyes as to just why his girlfriend knew who this guy was when he clearly had no fucking clue.

“Nice to meet you guys.” Jack smiled, casually draping an arm over the back of your bench, his hand gently touching your far shoulder.

In return, you discreetly shuffled a little closer on the bench – though the task in itself seemed almost nearly impossible considering how easily he’d slotted himself in next to you, his hip pressed to yours and the lengths of your things touching – and crossed one leg, resting your knee on his thigh. 

It was casual, not altogether touchy, but you could sense the scrutiny from across the table.

“How did you two meet?” It was Marnie that jumped in first, eyes completely fixed on Jack and not paying any other soul a single shred of attention. It was a little amusing, but at the same time – you were kind of…off?

You couldn’t place the sudden ugly, bitter taste in your mouth, but it made you want to grab Jack’s hand and leave immediately. But you guys weren’t anything established or exclusive, so that kind of felt misplaced.

Then you immediately felt guilty because you’d dragged Jack out of his house only to place him into the questioning hands of a woman you barely trusted, let alone knew. The last thing you wanted was for him to feel like he was cornered.

“Through a mutual friend.” You answered, shrinking in on yourself.

You felt Jack pass an inquisitive glance over you, but you refused to look at him.

“Oh.” Marnie was disappointed with the lack of detail, you could tell.

Lewis cleared his throat, sitting a little straighter as everyone's attention returned to him, “What do you do, Jack?”

It felt an awful lot like an interrogation. 

It was clearly the wrong thing to say in front of Marnie, because her eyes narrowed and her cheeks flared a little in embarrassment. She must have clipped Lewis under the table, because you saw him flinch as though he’d been poked.

“I play hockey.” He answered, a little awkwardly. You could tell he was trying to hold back, maintain his modesty for the sake of not making Lewis feel a little silly; you guessed he was also holding back because he knew Marnie had recognised him.

“Oh,” Lewis began, furrowing his brows, “So that’s a full time thing? Like in the big leagues?”

Marnie paled, her eyes slipping towards the ceiling. You half expected her to facepalm at the comedic faces she was making, but she bit her lip, taking a drink.

You felt Jack’s ribs squeeze at your side. He was trying not to laugh.

“Yeah, I play in the NHL.”

Lewis swallowed, realisation settling in as he nodded, “Shit, so you’re good, then?”

Jack shrugged, ever humble, “I’m alright.”

For some reason, through a short burst of enthusiasm, you felt compelled to contribute, “He’s amazing,” you told Lewis, nodding and fighting a proud smile. Even saying Jack was amazing still felt like an under-exaggeration. You turned to look at him, allowing the smile to take over a little, “You’re amazing.”

His cheeks flushed and he suppressed a smile, twisting his hat around so it faced backwards on his head. You found yourself preferring it that way; you could see more of his face. The tired shadows under his eyes and the smile lines creased into his skin like a tattoo.

“Thanks.”

You took a deep breath, pulling yourself away from his magnetic composure, “So, how have you guys been?”

Lewis let out a breath, looking to Marnie for assurance. She, on the other hand, sat up straighter, determined to take some control over the slipping situation. It was painfully clear to her that neither you or Jack were particularly interested in maintaining a real conversation with either her or Lewis – you were much too taken with each other – and neither of you were exactly trying to hide that fact.

In fact, to Marnie, she felt as though she was intruding in on something private.

“We’ve been good, I just got promoted.” She said awkwardly, met with silence and mildly impressed looks – not really caring.

She briefly wondered if Jack knew what had gone down between the three people he was sharing a table with.

He didn’t.

He was just too enamoured with you.

“What exactly is it you do?” You asked, now finding the humour in asking questions. It might have appeared mean, but it was the only way you could actually cope talking to them. Answering questions and so obviously pretending you were interested was entertaining.

Passive-aggressive and petty, sure, but this was what Marnie had asked for.

She swallowed a mouthful of her drink, vaguely surprised at being questioned, “I work in a school – I just got promoted to head of department.” She noticed your confused expression, her eyes flickering to where Jack had replaced his arm along the back of the booth, this time twirling your hair in his hand absentmindedly. He was looking at her, at least acknowledging the conversation – much unlike Lewis, who’d turned on his phone and was scrolling through Twitter. “History. Head of the History Department in a High School.” She elaborated.

“Well done.” You cringed inwardly, knowing your effort of a congratulations was hilariously lacking in authenticity.

It seemed the awkward and noticeable tension had finally gotten to Jack – who’d never really been able to sit still and comfortably in such situations – who straightened, eyes zipping between everyone as if only just realising the unfortunate dynamic between everyone but him. He looked to Lewis, who – the coward – was purposefully avoiding eye contact with everyone; to Marnie, who’s hand was rubbing against her thigh, her eyes wide with traces of panic but managing it with a tight smile that was too wide to possibly be natural.

Then he looked at you. You were drawing shapes on the leg of your pants, the knee not resting on him diddling up and down under the table. You only did that when you were nervous or caught off guard by something.

Your eyes kept worriedly darting between Marnie and the back door exit – looking rather like you wanted to be anywhere else but here.

He hoped you still wanted to be with him wherever your desired place was, but he recognised that internal need to just get the fuck out.

If he was being honest, he’d never seen anyone look so damn uncomfortable by the people they’d chosen to spend time with, and he doubted you’d spend time with people that inspired that level of unease willingly.

Or maybe you would? He didn’t know you that well to know it for certain, but he knew you well enough to say with some certainty that there was something he was missing.

If anything, it seemed like the odd couple seated opposite him were a little sheepish or guilty about something, and the only way he knew he could get an answer immediately was if he just…went for it.

Asked.

“So how exactly do you guys know each other?” He asked, gently and cautiously probing at the silence.

In his defence, he wouldn’t have had to ask if he’d have been briefed prior to arriving and clearly disrupting the middle of something. There was history there, definitely.

What he wasn’t expecting was a dark laugh to escape you and for Lewis and Marnie to look like a pair of deer caught in the headlights. You leant forwards and rested your elbows on the table, twisting your body to face him, looking almost pleased with yourself.

“Yeah, how do we know each other?” You directed the question to the others, your levels of amusement boosted incredibly.

Marnie looked almost ashamed, and Lewis…Lewis looked like a pickled dick with sunburn.

Neither one of them said anything and you practically felt Jack’s confusion triple in the silence. Honestly, you were kind of hoping they’d answer for you.

It’d save you some embarrassment – misplaced embarrassment, of course – but ultimately your frustration won you over.

They had a right to look so ashamed of themselves.

“Lewis and I dated for a couple of months.” You admitted, watching Jack’s reaction carefully.

His eyes seemed to narrow – incredibly fractionally, and you knew that slight change would have been lost on Marnie and Lewis – and his gaze flicked from you to Lewis, almost assessing him. He kept his gaze on him for a while, before a low, almost disbelieving, “Really?” Was heard.

Lewis blushed, clearing his throat, “Yeah.”

Jack slid his eyes back over to you, arching an eyebrow. You couldn’t quite grasp what he was thinking, and it sent your heart into a frenzy even thinking about what else you were going to tell him – you couldn’t not. Not if you wanted him like you did.

“And you…” Jack was talking to Marnie, you realised.

The woman in question stuttered at the attention, “I’m his girlfriend.”

Jack could tell something wasn’t being said – the tension and the scraping of the surface of the story didn’t quite add up. Too much tension for a simple ‘we used to date’ admission.

There was an awful silence. It truly was awful. You’d rather have listened to nails being dragged down a chalkboard than listen to that heavy silence of unsaid things.

You felt Jack’s hand flop on top of your leg that was resting across his, and you looked at him. His brows were furrowed and he subtly gestured between Marnie and Lewis, a question written clearly in his face. 

At this, you bit your lip momentarily, stealing yourself for what you were about to do. You took a swig of your drink, moving to face the couple. 

“Look, I don’t think this is a good idea. I shouldn’t have agreed to sit here and have drinks with you because it’s not healthy. So I’m gonna head out.” You shrugged your coat on your shoulders, accepting nods of agreement, and Jack slid out of the booth, hands in his pockets as he awkwardly waited for you. “But you both deserve each other, really.”

It was a clear jab, but considering all the things you really wanted to say, it was incredibly tame. But you couldn’t help the not-so-subtle whisper of ‘cunts’ escape you as you dragged a rather shocked Jack out of the bar behind you. You walked straight past Rudy; someone must have called his partner because they were attempting to help him get back to his feet, but you weren’t about to stop until you were at least three blocks from The Championship.

Jack didn’t let go of your hand, nor did he say anything as he let you take him on a short trip. He could tell there was something bothering you, that much was evidenced by the rather strong insult you’d chucked at that couple right before you dipped, and he didn’t know whether to laugh or be concerned.

Sure, the insult was kind of funny and Lewis and Marnie’s reactions were priceless – picturesque almost, but he was definitely concerned. Mainly because you hadn’t even acknowledged what had happened, and also because you hadn’t stopped power walking or unlocked your jaw.

He took the initiative, walking a few steps in front of you so you got the idea to follow him instead, and rather than lead you indoors somewhere, he took you down some steps – you almost didn’t recognise it in the dark, but the graffiti pattern against the metal shutters was an instant giveaway.

He’d brought you to your shop. Your closed shop, nonetheless, but it was familiar.

He dropped your hand, not saying a word as he took a seat, his back against the shutters. You didn’t say anything – even despite knowing his back and jeans would undoubtedly be dirty when he stood back up – and took a seat next to him.

“What–” He started, hesitating slightly, “What happened with Lewis and Marnie?”

You swallowed, picking at a loose thread on your jeans, trying to bide time to structure what you wanted to say. In the end, however, you just ripped off the bandaid.

What’s the worst that could happen?

“He cheated on me with Marnie, for pretty much our entire relationship – even though he was the one to ask me if I wanted to be his girlfriend in the first place.” You looked down, huffing a petulant, self-deprecating laugh, “He told me he met her three nights after I agreed to be exclusive, and that they’d been sleeping with each other for the two whole months we were dating.”

Jack’s silence was unnerving, and it stretched a good fifteen seconds. You didn’t regret telling him by any means, but any silence after that kind of confession was enough to send your mind reeling. You wondered what he was thinking, but refused to look at his face for fear of rejection, or an expression you didn’t want to associate with your situation  - mostly pity. You didn’t know how you’d take it if Jack was looking at you pityingly.

“Did Marnie know you and Lewis were together?” His voice sounded a little strained, as if he was holding himself back from reacting too much.

“Apparently she knew from the get-go.”

You heard him sigh, a hint of frustration thrown in there.

“Fucking hell.” He muttered, and you felt an arm brush yours.

When you looked at him, his head was resting against the shutters, eyes closed as he folded his arms on top of his knees. He must have sensed you looking towards him, a hint of confusion at his odd reaction, because his eyes suddenly opened and he tilted his head in your direction, a blankness in his face.

It frustrated you, that you couldn’t get a read on him immediately.

“What are you thinking?” You whispered.

Jack cast his eyes beyond you for a minute, “I’m thinking that he was an absolute fucking idiot for treating you that way; that you could do way better – find someone that would treat you like you deserve because…you’re honestly mesmerising, and I can’t comprehend why he’d pull that shit when you were already in his corner.” 

Your chest clenched and you held your breath, hoping and anticipating his next words, “You really believe that?”

Jack looked back at you this time, his eyes shimmering in the dark as the light from the streetlamp flashed, “Course I do.”

You felt your brows narrow against your will – not entirely in an accusing manner, but one of complete and utter disbelief. You were completely stuck on how in the world someone could possibly view you in such a positive way – if you’d heard someone talk about their partner in that way, you wouldn’t really be surprised – then again, you hadn’t actually seen any realistic human relationships that procured that level of devotion – and the fact that it was Jack telling you that was how he saw you; Jack who, as far as you were aware, only saw you as a bit of fun? 

You were speechless.

“Why?” You managed, your heart pounding so hard against your sternum the action was almost painful. 

You’d never been so nervous in your entire life.

He shrugged, as though his thoughts were simply an everyday thing – nothing new that hadn’t occurred or something he hadn’t thought about before, “Honestly?”

You nodded numbly, your entire body tingling.

“You’re kind of everything I want in a partner. I mean,” he took a deep breath, preparing himself, “it’s not necessarily what you stand for, but more just…you that I want.”

Your chest was tight, and your eyes were stinging suddenly – an unexpected wave of emotion crashing over you. You didn’t let it show – that vulnerable feeling, shining from your eyes – though you could tell purely by the way Jack seemed to soften, his face relaxing like he’d realised the weight of the words he’d just placed on you.

Honestly, you were still partially in shock. 

Sure, you’d hoped he felt a little more than just teasing friendship, and the only thing that had held you back from mentioning anything to him was the frailty of the friendship you both shared. It was a delicate ecosystem of sorts, that you hadn’t wanted to trespass out of fear of losing him entirely. That was the seeming issue – to you at least – because Jack even showing a shred of feeling towards you was a fantasy you could only imagine.

It felt too good to be true.

And before you could question it or add something to at least give him a hint that he wasn’t alone, he was talking again.

“Can I ask you something?” This time it was his turn to pull his eyes away, only for a brief moment. He looked more scared now than he did when he’d admitted you were - in some sense – the woman of his dreams. It said a lot about Jack as a person; that he wasn’t afraid of revealing how he truly felt, but the notion of you rejecting him was the one thing that had him stalling, “When you invited me, did you want to make Lewis jealous?”

It was clear what he was asking, and your lack of hesitation in answering seemed to ease him up a bit; he took a silent breath – you could see his chest rise in relief.

“No. I invited you because you make me feel like everything is gonna be okay, and I needed that. I didn't invite you to make Lewis jealous because I don’t want him. I just want to see you, like, all the time, every day, for as long as possible.” You gave a delicate laugh, reminding yourself that he’d already made it clear that it was you he’d already chosen, “I’ve really missed you.”

He nudged his elbow into yours, and before you knew it, a smile had broken out on your face – completely against your will.

You were okay with it, because the grin on Jack’s face rivalled pretty much every smile you’d seen him wear. It had you question if he’d ever truly expressed emotion in your presence before, but the edges to it were softer – a tenderness that hid behind the unbridled joy.

“I’ve missed you too. A lot.” He breathed a laugh.

Neither of you were touching – a stark comparison to the bar situation where every inch below the waist had been practically pressed to each other. Somehow, it felt more intimate – that with your words you were able to communicate almost as much as with a single touch. That kind of honesty in your mid-twenties in the jungle of the dating circus was refreshing.

“Look at us, communicating like real adults.” You quipped, unconsciously biting your cheek for a moment, still hazy – you half-expected to wake up, your brain intent on having you believe that this entire scenario was simply a reverie you’d conjured up in your own mind.

“Right? I feel like I’ve matured a decade in the last ten minutes.” He laughed, the sound so sweet you couldn’t help mimicking it. You almost felt guilty drowning out such a beautiful sound.

You shook your head, not in any rush to say much else. You’d said all you wanted to say for now, and the idea of letting it sink in sounded pretty cool.

You were exhausted, too.

“All things considered, I had fun as your fake boyfriend.” He admitted, and you swung your head to face him, amused at his statement.

“Is that the narrative you had in mind when you showed up?” You teased.

He hummed, nodding his head, “How did I do?”

You shook your head in disbelief. Honestly, he’d certainly acted the part, even though his behaviours and little idiosyncrasies in showing his affection towards you in subtle ways hadn’t changed from how he’d usually act.

“I’ve seen better.” You joked, a smile on your face.

He could tell you were kidding, but he feigned offence either way – partly for both your entertainment and also because he was curious as to which direction you’d take it, “Oh, you have multiple fake boyfriends on your roster?”

You shook your head, laughing becoming deeper with every minute change to his facial expression, “You’re my favourite fake boyfriend.”

“Favourite?” He echoed, his smile fading slightly but remaining all the same. 

Softening.

“The only fake boyfriend.” Your laughing dwindled, until your cheeks were aching from the intensity of your smile.

You hadn’t realised it, but somehow you’d both unconsciously leaned into each other; your shoulders were pressed tightly together, and your face was slightly tilted towards his, just as he’d tilted down a little.

This kind of tension had always existed between you both; woven and seamlessly inserted between the contrasting fabrics you were made up of, but between the inches separating you, it seemed to have its own life. It felt as obvious as the Northern Lights flashing in the sky – just out of reach but one single motion of you looking upwards would have your heart stuttering and you’d be unable to tear your attention away from the spectacle – there was the acknowledgement that you were experiencing a pivotal moment.

That if you and Jack gave in and removed the last couple of inches, ultimately submitting to your urges, nothing would ever quite be the same between you.

“I don’t want to be your fake boyfriend.” He whispered, eyes flicking down to your lips.

“I don’t want you to be my fake boyfriend, either.” You were almost breathless, the mere thought of what could possibly occur in the next few seconds consuming your entire being until it was all you could think about.

His lips against yours, slotting together in a hot mess, even despite the grimy location.

Until you just couldn’t take it anymore. In those split seconds you’d finished talking, eyes zeroing in on his microexpressions and then fixating on his lips, the patience you’d heroically harbouring vanished, and you found yourself lifting your head, placing a tentative kiss on his lips. It was quick, but you felt the heat almost instantly – it was difficult not to, considering the featherlight contact almost burnt you.

Electrifying.

It barely lasted five seconds, and it hardly took any time for him to respond, his mouth only just beginning to move against yours before you pulled away, almost afraid to venture into previously chartered territory. This was nothing new, but there was something glaringly terrifying straying into commitment – because that what that kiss ultimately symbolised: a short, sweet promise that cemented any and all doubts either of you could have possibly had about the other; a pledge that you were both on the same page.

It did seem, however, that you were holding back, because Jack had barely had any time to properly react to your ministrations before you’d pulled away, and you could feel the heat of his hands hovering over your cheeks – his brows pulled down in confusion even despite the heartbreakingly astonishing smile now permanently etched on his lips. 

It was a cheeky one, and you could recognise the glint in his eye from a mile away.

You had a singular second to register exactly what it meant, before he’d dealt the dilemma he’d been battling for an incredibly short amount of time, before you felt his hand – rough yet passionate – rest itself on the side of your jaw, his fingers just reaching into your hair at the back of your neck, before he was pulling you closer, his lips slotting perfectly between yours, and one of your hands automatically made to grab his forearm, the other resting on his shoulder, tickling the ends of his hair.

Like you’d wanted, it was a hot mess; both of you intent on breathing the other in, to the point where you couldn’t tell where you ended and he began. Your mouths were working together in an intricate dance, one that only the both of you seemed able to perform to such a chaotic standard, and it was his tongue that traced your bottom lip eagerly, your mouth parting wider to invite him in.

You were vaguely aware of your screaming lungs and the need to gather air, but your instincts and desire were screaming at you to never let this man go; the very essence of him was addicting to the point you were sure you’d let him annihilate your heart wholly if it meant you’d experience even a shred of his attentions and love in your lifetime.

“Get a room!” A gravelly voice startled you both apart, your hand felling to grip the material of his jumper in your fist, and very briefly you felt him make a move to shield you from the intruder – if only for a brief moment.

You didn’t blame him – it was difficult to remember exactly where you were when your senses were so incredibly intoxicated by his presence.

Both your chests were heaving, and Jack nodded awkwardly at the man standing at the top of the stairs. He wasn’t someone you recognised, but he was carrying a bottle of red wine in one hand, the screw top lid missing, and he was in an expensive looking silk dressing gown, shaking his head in disappointment.

“Acting like horny teenagers, the lot of them.” You heard him mutter under his breath as he trudged away, uncaring of the inquisitive looks he was being subjected to, and it was only when he rounded the block, disappearing entirely from view that you and Jack took one look at each other’s messed up appearances: his hair was a wild mess, his hat knocked off somewhere in the haze of the action, and his cheeks flushed, lips slightly swollen and shiny – you were almost positive you were in a state mirrored to that, and it took hardly any effort at all before you were both giggling like a bunch of schoolgirls.

It was kind of ridiculous how easily you managed to get lost in each other.

“Want to stay the night?” Jack interrupted, “No double-meanings; I just wanted to know if you’d like to get breakfast with me in the morning? I think I still owe you from last time.”

You found yourself nodding before you could even muster up the energy to string a sentence together.

[anti-amzy]

Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 1

My unpopular opinions

(Spoiler warning)

I actually really enjoyed the first part of the season. Much more than the first part of season 5. I’m glad they worked on the inner relationships inside the dojo.

“Hawk got nerfed” no he didn’t lol. This actually fits perfectly with his character. Hawk is an overly emotional fighter when his emotions get messed with he can either become a good fighter or suck ass. I think him and Robby both have this issue (more on Robby in the next point). We see this in season 4 where he’s emotional because he’s depressed about his hair and the Moon breakup, he’s having trouble fighting until Moon kisses him which boosts his confidence. Demetri beating him is not that crazy (he literally threw him into a trophy case season 2). Hawk was feeling way more sad than angry about MIT. He let his emotions and sympathy for his friend get the best of him while Demetri was more angry which caused him to lose. Also Hawk has a tendency to underestimate or go easy on his opponents. We see this in season 5 with Kenny (he got a point even before the silver bullet move because Hawk was going easy on him) He obviously went easy on his best friend + the points I put before. Hawk is obviously a good fighter but he is definitely not better or on par with the core 4 (at least in this season).

Side note: Where is Moon lol

My next opinion is about Robby. “Miguel got nerfed he should’ve won” y’all fanboys say everyone gets nerfed. I actually like Miguel and Robby they’re both in my top 3 characters of the show. Robby is also an emotional fighter which we can see during the captaincy fight. I honestly think he would’ve won season 4 All Valley if he wasn’t distracted by Kenny (sorry Hawk fanboys). Once Tory showed up he was finally able to stop worrying about that and get in the right headspace to win the fight. Miguel was obviously stressed about college which made him perform worse but that doesn’t mean he got nerfed. I think Miguel is still the best fighter but Johnny was 100% correct you can’t win every fight and everyone has bad days. I promise Miguel will be okay. He can lose one fight without fanboys crying nerfed.

“Kenny got nerfed” I’m so tired of the word nerfed, but again no he didn’t. Did Kenny get cheated, yes 100%. But i’ve seen people say he is on par with Hawk, which no he is absolutely not. I like Kenny and understand his troubles but he’s not on the level of Miguel or Robby. He couldn’t even get past Tory and Sam during the batting cages. His brother mentioned Tory and Sam had open shots during that fight but didn’t take them. I’m sure if they did Kenny would’ve been beat. Hawk also would’ve beat him in season 5 if he wasn’t spamming that silver bullet. He obviously got cheated with what Devon did but saying he got nerfed is insane. He didn’t even fight anyone fr. Just because Devon cheated does not mean they’re making Kenny weaker, she just literally cheated that’s it.

They have got to give Sam a better reason for wanting to win Sakai taikai. Like she wants closure…okay. The other 3 have better and more established/important reasons for wanting to win. Mind you I don’t think Sam has lost a fight in the series yet. She’s either won or they’ve been stopped early. She didn’t even really lose the All Valley. Let’s say she would’ve won the fight against Tory for captaincy without it being stopped. Okay cool. Sooooooo, what is her motivation then for the Sakai taikai? She would’ve already beaten her nemesis (or former); so what now? “She wants to be the best in the world” I’m sure all the kids going there do also but that’s not enough for me to root for her. I need them to expand on what Sam actually wants and what she’s fighting for in part 2, because does she even really want to go to Stanford either? Like I just have no reason to root for her at this moment. I’ve liked her character a lot more last season and this season but still give her something please lol.

Mr. Miyagi doing some shady stuff is not bad or ruining his legacy. That dude was around for years before he met Daniel. He was a war veteran. Giving him flaws is actually very interesting because it shows that he grew into the person that Daniel knew and that’s not a bad thing. I don’t think it was executed the best way but it’s not a down side that he has flaws. I would be more surprised if he was the way Daniel described him and how we saw him for his entire life.

Last one for right now but Johnny and Daniel being done with each other after the tournament would not be crazy. Obviously they’re not going down that root and they’ll become buddies again but sometimes people just don’t get along and that’s okay. If they’re still fighting now they’ll probably fight again in the future. Maybe therapy would actually help but yk.

Anyway that’s all off the top of my head but I actually enjoyed part 1 and am excited for part 2

[i-am-baechu]

♡ Summary: Y/N and Jin are planning to have another child but Jungkook (Y/N’s ex-husband) has some opinions 

♡ Paring: Established relationship; Doctor! Jin x Doctor! Y/N; CEO Jungkook x Doctor! Y/N

♡ Rating: Pg-14

♡ Genre: Established relationship, child from another marriage, one mention of a sexual experience, swearing, exes, angst, and fluff

♡ Based on the one-shot; In The Lonely Hour

Y/N has been through a lot in the past four years. Jisoo is four years old, Jin asked her to marry her, Y/N was promoted and they finally bought the house of their dreams. The one thing that didn’t change was how much she hated Jungkook. Yes, he was her first love but that doesn’t give him leeway. He cheated on her and treated her like shit, something she will never forgive. Jin is better with Jungkook, he at least can be in the same room with him. Y/N only does it because of Jisoo. As the little girl grew up, she fell in love with Jungkook and even called him dad from time to time. She mostly just calls him kook. Jisoo knows Jin is her father, no matter what her DNA. 

Today Jisoo was staying at Jungkook’s house for the weekend. Y/N didn’t want that to happen but everyone else was busy and Jin told her to trust Jungkook for once. She was being stubborn about it so Jin had to change her mind. After three sessions, Y/N changed her mind. They stood in front of the door waiting for Jungkook. 

Y/N kneeled down and kissed Jisoo’s head, “You be good, okay?”

“Okay, mommy. Why do you have to leave?” 

Y/N glanced at Jin who nodded his head. She looked back at her with a small smile, “You remember how you said you wanted a brother or a sister? 

“Yes?”

“Well, your father and I have to make plans with doctors to make sure that happens.” 

Jisoo dropped her bag and clapped her hands, “I’m getting a brother!?” 

Jin let out a small laugh and leaned down kissing the top of her head, “Or a sister.” 

“What?” 

The couple looked up to see Jungkook glaring down at them. Y/N rolled her eyes and stood back up with an annoyed look, “Hello, Jungkook.” 

“You guys are having another kid?” 

“Trying, Jisoo baby go say hi to kook.”

Jisoo nodded her head at Jin and hugged Jungkook’s legs. His hard glare changed into a soft one when he glanced down at her, “Hey baby. Go inside okay, I have to talk to mommy.” 

“Okay, kook.”

Y/N smiled at Jisoo as she ran inside with her pigtails bouncing with each step. Y/N looked at Jungkook with a raised eyebrow, “You need to talk to me?” 

“Both of you.” 

Jin and Y/N glanced at each other with raised eyebrows but looked back at Jungkook, “About?”

“You guys can’t have another kid.”

Y/N glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest, “How dare you think you have the right to stop us.” 

Jungkook rolled his eyes at her and crossed his arms over his chest, “You're just doing this to get back at me.” 

“Excuse-”

“Why would you say that?”

Y/N glanced at Jin who was glaring at him, something she didn’t like seeing on her future husband, “Because...It’s Y/N.”

She scoffed at this, “I want to have a baby with my future husband. This has nothing to do with you.” 

“It does because Jisoo is mine.”

“What does she have anything to do with this?”  

Jungkook leaned against the door frame and looked at them with an annoyed look, “You’ll forget about her because she's mine. You just want another kid that has nothing to do with me.” 

Jin let out a sigh and shook his head, “Jungkook, this has nothing to do with you. Y/N and I want a child. We have to go to a hospital because Y/N had a lot of complications with Jisoo. We could care less what you think about this. We're going to have a child. I need you to support us through this because it's going to be hard, do this for Jisoo.” 

Y/N smiled smugly and wrapped her arms around Jin’s arm, “Yeah, what he said.”

“You had complications?”

Y/N nodded her head and leaned her head against Jin’s arm with a sad look, “She was born prematurely...I also had diabetes with her. There was a lot wrong...but I would go through it all again.” 

Jungkook's face softened and looked down at the ground, “You never told me that...”

“You never asked.” 

Jin kissed the top of her head and looked at Jungkook with a determined look, “We want a child. We won't forget Jisoo. This isn’t a plan to get back at you or anything like that, we just felt like it was time. Jisoo was also asking for a brother or a sister.” 

“Why does she want a sister or a brother?” 

“Because she's probably lonely.” 

Jungkook glanced at Jisoo in the living room, “She could’ve asked me.” 

Y/N let out a small laugh causing Jungkook to whip his head to glare at her, “You don’t have anyone.” 

“Don’t rub it in my face, I can easily get someone.” 

“Then do it. Anyways, we have to go. We need to drive to the hospital.”

They waved goodbye and walked back to the car. Y/N glanced back at the house and shook her head, “He always thinks it's about him...” 

“You can’t force someone to change love. It’s annoying but we can’t do much with that.” 

They got into the car and Y/N leaned forward placing a kiss on Jin’s cheek, “I can't wait to have a baby with you.” 

“I can’t wait for the future with you, Kim Y/N.” 

[moku-youbi]

think about this (I AM THINKING ABOUT THIS SO HARD)

in klive context (especially with your find your way home series in mind)

ahahaha. Gonna admit this is tough on me, because I DO ship Five/Lila, and I have basically from the moment she showed up...but any time I try to think of scenarios for potential fic, my brain just NOPES out because Klive is OTP, and I can't stand the thought of Five without his Klaus. (which is why I eventually was like okay, Klaus/Five/Lila...and then because I felt sad leaving Diego out, and because I ship Klaus/Diego and Five/Diego, my brain went WHY NOT ALL FOUR?!)

Let's be clear about a few things though! If this were an established Klive scenario, Five wouldn't have stopped for a second. He probably would've died pretty fast if not for Lila forcing a slowdown, because he would not pause to eat or sleep or drink and he'd get sloppy and delirious fast. This is supposing he'd end up on that subway without Klaus in the first place, though, which would have *never* happened. He wouldn't have allowed Klaus to get shot, or to run off to who knows where in the middle of an emergency situation, and he wouldn't feel the need to distract Klaus or pass him off to Ribbons the Babysitter. They'd be glued at the hip, so you'd either get all three of them on the subway, or just Klive. (to be clear, if it was all 3 of them, I'm totally down with ot3. Klaus would be such a great buffer in there, being so gentle with them both, comforting them, caring for them *le sigh* If Blackman was going to piss everyone off anyway, why not go for broke with incest 3way lmao! Then you could also do away with the AWFUL pointless Klaus storyline full of unnecessary trauma). All that being said, if he'd been in an established relationship with Klaus and somehow they HADN'T been together in the subway? Yeah, never in a million years would he have cheated on Klaus.

I think for me, the disconnect is that he wants to stay there with her, not that he falls in love with her. I don't have trouble believing that. They're already so alike and there's clear affection and a spark of chemistry there. And I think a lot of people miss that 1.) he'd already 'broken up with' Delores in s1 when he returns her to the store and 2.) he's stuck in another apocalypse scenario, and we know his coping mechanisms. + 3.) she was in an unhappy and unfulfilling marriage and 4.) her aggressive positivity and not speaking about her children is *her* coping mechanism. My poly-minded brain is okay with this. He can love her and Klaus and Delores and whoever. She can love him and Diego and whoever.

And I can even see him needing a break. That's what he told Klaus he wanted in s3 after all. He had a few year's downtime, and then suddenly gets put back in this nightmare situation with no end in sight. He's 70. He's tired of just running and fighting *constantly* It makes sense to want to go someplace safe and comfortable and take a breath.

For me the part that doesn't work is as soon as he finds the book. Like it just doesn't work for his character no matter what. I can see him taking a couple of days to come to terms with the fact he's going to lose Lila, but I don't see it lasting *months* That's where the Klive shipper (and Hargreeves OTSiblings) in me is all hell naw! Not only is it unbelievable that he'd abandon his siblings to the apocalypse (like, sure, wanting to get away from the endless chain of end of the world scenarios, fine, but he'd go bring his family BACK with them, then), but we saw with Delores that he let her go because he knew it was what was right and what she needed. He would *never* keep Lila from her children 5 months longer out of selfishness, knowing her anguish over being apart from them for so long, no matter how much he loves her. In fact, it's because he loves her so much that he wouldn't.

And that's what it comes down to, a fundamental misunderstanding of how Five loves, from the writers. It's an interesting blend of selfishness and selflessness, but no matter the cost to him personally, he'll do what is best for his loved ones.

[lindszeppelin]

Hi again I’m the person who sent that long analysis (I guess you could say) about Kaia and Omega and lots of other things a few days ago. I want to say thank you for taking time to read that, I’ve also been looking into more on all of this. I’ve been reading your blog and a few others, as well as articles and stuff. (I’m really into investigative journalism and this whole situation feels like one of those unsolved mysteries lol) But basically I wanted to touch on something else.

When looking into Kaia I found myself down the rabbit hole of her and Jacob’s relationship. Their relationship, much like hers and Austin’s, came about kind of quick and sudden. Like we all have our suspicions that he cheated on Zendaya with Kaia, but honestly the timeline doesn’t leave any other conclusion to be drawn. Jacob and Zendaya were together, him and Kaia attended the same party during his relationship with Z, the two of them are seen after the party and then a little while later they’re together. To me it feels like he was at least talking to Kaia while with Zendaya and to me that’s cheating, especially for you to jump into a relationship with her not long after we split.

Kaia follows a very similar pattern when it comes to these relationships. Paparazzi pictures to cause speculation, appearing somewhere public together (can be small or large scaled as long as they’re seen together), relationship confirmed, Vacation in Cabo with family, then pap walks and article after article about the relationship, even though they’re “private” and it’s always sources saying this and sources saying that, it’s never the people in the relationship saying anything. And when the guys do speak out it always seems I don’t know, forced and awkward? Like when Jacob told the story about her cutting his hair, it felt like he knew what he was saying wasn’t okay, but he didn’t know what else to talk about.

I also find it strange that in the beginning of the relationship she finds a way to establish control over them. Like cutting Jacob’s hair or keeping Austin on a tight leash, it was definitely easier for her to “control” Austin because he was in a fragile state.

When with Jacob she got AHS, and in an interview she talked about “Using him as a resource”, I believe she wanted it to come off positive, kind of like he helped her prepare, but two things make it glaringly obvious that what she said should be taken in a negative way. 1. If Jacob helped her prepare for the role, why was she so bad? Jacob is an okay actor, pretty good when playing to his strengths and honestly I believe he could do well in something like AHS, he was AMAZING in Euphoria and pretty good in Saltburn. 2. We know she uses the people around her to excel, so her saying he was a “resource” leads me to believe that she dropped his name more than once (maybe even said he helped her prepare) and it influenced the decision to cast her.

Part of me believes she wanted to do the same with Austin. At the time they started “dating” he was about to reach new height with his career. His name was everywhere and everyone wanted to work with him and that’s perfect for her. To be able to say “My boyfriend Austin Butler helped me prepare.” Would make any casting director or producer or director think that this girl has a good shot. I truly believe Austin is why she got Bottoms, a movie marketed to a younger generation of girl and Austin Butler has always has been a heartthrob for young adult girls no matter the year lol (the audience Bottoms was marketed for).

Also the way the articles about her relationships are wrote are very strange. Very earlier on some source comes out to say they’re “in love”. With Jacob it was only a few weeks in I believe and they’d already said the L word according to sources. With Austin same thing kind of, they were so in love and a match made in heaven, so said SOURCES. It’s never the guys outright saying “Omg I love Kaia and Kaia loves me.”

We know Kaia depends on publicity for attention because she has nothing else to fall back on, but I began to wonder why do these guys just let these articles come out so frequently? I don’t have a definitive answer of course, but I personally believe it’s because Kaia reaches an audience they can’t and don’t really care about, so their teams are like it’s whatever because it’s not effecting the audience you’re marketed for ( let’s be honest Kaia fans are mostly fans of her mom, other basic women with privilege, and new generation girls who wouldn’t know substance if it hit them in the face with a sign)

Only when it came to Austin, he did not have the support of his whole team. I personally am of the belief that Kate is close with Kaia and her family, and has been long before the relationship began. Their relationship timeline says a “mutual friend introduced them.” But we still to this day don’t know who this “friend” is. I think the friend is Kate, the familiarity she has had with Kaia since early on isn’t something built overnight. I don’t have any proof to back it up other than the behavior from Kate and Kaia, especially as of late. I saw a lot of people asking why is Kaia being mentioned so much more now than before, and my hypothesis is Kate’s behind it.

During Dune 2 Kaia was brought up once and then never again, I’m not sure if it was before or after the after party, but either way her being brought up and then the whole after party incident doesn’t feel very coincidental. To me it feels like the interviewer were told to mention Kaia and when Austin didn’t give the response wanted, the bullshit started to grow bigger and bigger. Kate was noticeably absent and during that time Kaia wasn’t even a thought in anyone’s mind. It was only AFTER Kate’s return during the Bikeriders press that Kaia started getting mentioned ALL the time. Even some of the questions asked felt like set ups to mention Kaia, and PR people tell interviewer some of what they should and shouldn’t ask. It would also make sense as to why Kaia treated the lady Austin had to force her to talk to the way she did. That woman isn’t Kate and therefore isn’t on Kaia’s side, I bet if Kate had full control still Kaia would’ve walked that carpet.

PR moves is all Kai really has. She hasn’t done any major modeling work since last year, she’s not booking roles of any importance, she literally has to depend on small brand deals, articles, and pap walks. Her relevancy had faded so much that she has to depend on her book club and Austin to stay a “hot topic”. When her and Austin did their pap walk it was everywhere immediately, when she did her solo pap walk it really wasn’t. She can’t get her attention through her acting or modeling anymore, so now she has to turn to gossip websites and blogs, and even that’s not doing what it was hence us seeing so many repeats more often. I don’t think she’s ready to let him go, but he isn’t giving her a choice and that’s where Miles came in at. Kaia can’t control Austin anymore, but that doesn’t mean she can’t try to control his image and the narrative.

Miles definitely isn’t Kaia’s next beau because he’s not popular enough to bring her the attention she craves, but I do think she thought that he could help paint Austin out to be worse than he is. Though they shot themselves in the foot unknowingly with this article because Austin just showed he’s not bitter over lost roles with him talking about the Hunger Games and not getting it. Articles and Interviews take time to come out, my guess is this Miles article was a response to Austin’s Life&Style article, but Austin’s so genuine that he countered their counter without even realizing it.

(This is super long again and I’m sorry, I could really go on and on about this.)

omg i wish i knew who you were so we could chat more lol this is incredible and so well thought out. i have some points of my own to add to yours and i hope i remember them all lol

the kate and kaia thing i wanted to remind everyone that the L&S article came out during Kate's noticeable absence. That is not a coincidence. She also didn't step in to help Austin during the awkward mention of Kaia to Austin at the LA premiere from Access Hollywood, even though Kate was standing right there. I think the best bet of Kate possibly being the "friend" that introduced them makes so much sense. They have no friends in common, especially back then. She was only 19, Austin didn't hang around 19 year olds or young 20 somethings. I think Kaia is not above being a homewrecker, or cheating to get her way into a relationship she wants. As much as I don't like Jacob Elordi, she used him until the very end when he was disposable and saw an opening with Austin to make her move.

i think the last thing i wanted to mention again, in regards to you saying that kaia said she loved jacob a few weeks after dating, she did the same thing with austin. i'll probably have to dig to find this article again, but an article came out and a "source" claimed that kaia said she loved austin only after ONE WEEK. like bitch...not even in the cheesiest of romance movies does someone say they love their partner after a goddamn week. it's all rinse and repeat with her and her dating history. if we just take a look at how things were with her and jacob, we see the obvious patterns here with her an austin. the only difference is that jacob willingly went along with it through to the end. austin did not. and he's fighting back, and he's daring to take her head on, unlike anyone has done before. this is why we're seeing such contention and ugly fighting between austin's and kaia's teams...austin is standing up to her and she doesn't like it because, as a spoiled brat does, she always gets her way.

[burr-ell]

@meiloorun-notthefruit replied to your post “yeah, hot take, if you haven't watched the first...”:

Wait if anybody wants to respond to this i have never watched c1 and i am having the time of my life with this week's episode, what is an example of the group actually mad? im curious

​Sorry it took me a minute to respond to this! There's a pretty good writeup of the issue on r/HobbyDrama (though it does have one or two minor errors), but I'll give you the short(er) answer.

So originally, Vox Machina actually had eight members: Percy, Grog, Scanlan, Pike, Vax, Vex, Keyleth, and Tiberius Stormwind, a dragonborn sorcerer played by Orion Acaba, another voice actor who'd done work on video games and anime with the rest of the cast. For a variety of reasons, Orion rather quickly developed a nasty case of Main Character Syndrome, and frequently did things that genuinely angered the cast. A couple notable examples:

When the party fought and defeated K'Varn, a beholder, in 1x11, Orion had Tiberius exit the fight for a plan to rally a group of mindflayers to their cause (which failed), and eventually returned, landed the final killing blow on K'Varn, and generally acted like an ass about it, leading to Marisha demanding to know why he was being so rude and unpleasant.

In Vasselheim in 1x16, in order to escape from a trap, Vex had to fire a nearly-impossible shot and rolled a 35, meaning it was guaranteed to happen and was going to be an incredible moment for her, and Orion had Tiberius insert himself to "help" using Telekinesis. The entire cast yelled at him indiscriminately for it, and while Matt was able to thread the needle live on stream, the atmosphere was generally very tense.

The nadir of them all, 1x27. This one's a twofer:

I don't know if you've watched TLOVM, but the Briarwood arc had just begun at this point, and all the party really knew about the Briarwoods was that at least one of them was a vampire. (I can't remember if they knew Delilah was a human necromancer by this point.) So Tiberius goes on a HUGE shopping trip to buy—among other things—every mirror he can in Emon, and the conclusion most people have drawn, quite reasonably, is that he intended to use them to make a massive light array to just drench Whitestone in sunlight and fry all the vampires. He also tries to write his family in his hometown of Draconia to bring the Draconian army into Whitestone to take care of things for them. Both of those things are frustrating to watch in the moment, but especially so when you realize that they're attempts to essentially speedrun Percy's entire arc and make Tiberius the hero. This and the other things he was doing already took up a ton of solo time, and Travis (known hater of shopping) eventually snapped "how about you get nothing else, and we move on?"

Then, the grandaddy of them all: while the party was discussing what to do and Vex was formulating a plan, Orion announced out of bumfuck nowhere that "Tiberius is getting a half-chub". Every single person at the table was appalled, and you can feel the change in the air if you watch the scene. Travis and Taliesin are both visibly furious; Sam, Marisha, Liam, and Matt are completely taken aback; and Laura looks incredibly uncomfortable. Tiberius had never established this aspect of his character at all the way Scanlan did, and after everything else there was very little patience anyone was going to grant him.

These are just isolated moments; Orion had overall behaved rather unpleasantly on-air and did a lot of metagaming (the reason he left the K'Varn fight was that he knew what beholders were and thought Matt was out to get him), and Matt once explicitly said after Orion left that he used to cheat on his dice rolls. Going from episode 27 to 28 is such a palpable shift in tone and atmosphere, and it's unsurprising that two episodes later they would announce Orion's permanent departure.

So yeah—if you've watched those scenes, you have a much better metric for what the cast's genuine anger is actually like.

[wannab-urs]

Pedro Pascal Character Fanfiction Recs | Vol 31

AO3 | Kofi | Main Masterlist | The Spreadsheet Masterlist

Howdy folks!

New blog theme, new TSD format. Do we like it? Welcome to volume 31 of The Spreadsheet Digest, my weekly(ish) fic rec post. From now on I'll link my personal stuff plus the masterlist where you can find the actual spreadsheet, my fic rec masterlist, and info about how to appear on this list in the future.

All info provided by the author unless it was blank, in which case I filled it in.

Fic Recs Below!

Freeze-thaw

Joel one shot by @covetyou

Summary: With your holiday plans ruined when a freak snow storm blows through town, you spend the fesitve period holed up with your partner, Joel Miller, learning exactly how warm you can keep each other in the snow.

Tags: no outbreak, fluff, smut, fingering, playing in the snow, temperature play, Joel probs has super bad circulation, established relationship but it's their first Christmas together and reader has some relationship insecurities

This Barbie Likes Objectification

Joel one shot by @walkintotheriveranddisappear

Summary: after a fun date seeing Barbie with joel, he realizes a certain scene involving brainwashed barbie dolls has inspired some nasty desires in you. he's more than willing to help you explore them.

Tags: explicit sexual content (18+), no specified ages (but obviously both adults), objectification, degradation, humiliation kink, dirty talk, creampie, unprotected sex, dom!joel, sub!reader, slight spoiler for the Barbie movie

Patience

Javi P one shot by @foli-vora

Summary: Javier teaches you to be patient

Tags: smut: fingering, oral sex (f receiving), praise kink, p in v sex, unprotected sex (wrap that willy before getting silly), creampie, restraints/use of handcuffs, orgasm denial, smoking, swearing

Stay Close to Me

Jack one shot by @alwaysbethewest

Summary: You're a rookie agent sent to work undercover with Jack as a married couple!

Tags: Fake/undercover marriage! Statesman casefic! A little romance, kissing, coarse language, very mild peril and hurt/comfort, and a splash of alcohol. Reader is a junior agent and has some muscle but otherwise no physical/age descriptions. As with any good Kingsman fic, my first step was to disregard half of canon, so this is either pre-movie or an AU.

No Me Suletes

Frankie one shot by @fhatbhabie

Summary: Even though he's bad for you, you still can't let him go.

Tags: Marcus Pike cameo, smut, unprotected p in v, talks of oral, angst angst angst!!, being left at a chapel, cheating, death of a spouse, drug use (buggar sugar) , smoking cigarettes, asshole!Frankie, spanish dialect w/ translations, no use of Y/N, cute pet names, splash of fluff for 2 seconds, someone having a stroke with a small description, no happy ending

Poolside

Javi G one shot by @joelscruff

Summary: just some fun by the pool with sugar daddy!javi

Tags: blowjobs, deepthroating, brief ball worship, daddy kink, unprotected p in v sex, creampie, bad google translate spanish, sweat

"Din"scord Kitten

Din one shot by @beskarandblasters

Summary: When bounty hunting doesn’t work out anymore Din has to turn to alternative methods to support himself.

Tags: this is a crack fic lmao, Discord/Venmo/Dr. Pepper existing in Star Wars, bad sexting, dick pics, masturbating, bad Star Wars puns, sex work, cummies needs its own warning 😭, pet names (cyar’ika), oral sex (M receiving), cum eating, no use of y/n

Another Time, Baby

Joel one shot by @swiftispunk

Summary: joel makes good on a promise.

Tags: established relationship, porn no plot, smut, age gap (28/50), unprotected anal sex, vaginal fingering, use of a butt plug, joel miller eats ass and pussy and also has a big dick, some affectionate spanking, creampie, cum play (eating and sharing), a little bit of spit, just a lot of bodily fluids all around, one (1) poetic description of a queef, joel miller's filthy mouth, pet names, ysd!joel at his most soft dom, joel's also kind of feral in this, multiple orgasms, sweet sweet aftercare, pov swap. no use of y/n.

Suburbia (I gave it a lil name, sorry).

Lucien drabble by @julesonrecord

Summary: You can't stay away from him, nor do you really try

Tags: Explicit; angst; oral (m receiving); implied infidelity; past relationship. Suburbia (shudder).

Misunderstood

Marcus P one shot by @magpiepills

Summary: Marcus has a bad day at work and needs you to help him feel better.

Tags: SMUT, established relationship, PIV, oral (f and m receiving) fingering, big dick Marcus, multiple orgasms, thumb sucking, cum eating, cum swapping, Marcus eats it from behind, dirty talk, roughish sex, some degradation, tiny little splash of daddy, porn with no plot, no regard for canon, use of a tie as a leash sort of?, alcohol consumption, pancakes, cardigans, NPR, idk what else man, this is not fluffy Marcus.

Wrest Pin

Din series by BalletOrchard (AO3)

Summary: “I can help you escape the planet,” Mando said sharply, “But I want information in return.” She looked up at him through the small hairs on her face and she whispered, sounding almost lost…As if she didn’t know what else to say… “I have no information.” Something Mando did not believe.

Tags: panic attacks, force sensitive!reader, unprotected PinV sex, smut, mando is a dick, angst, slow burn (romantically), touch starved!din, bickering, arguing, post season 1, fluff, ofc!evangeline, she like doesn’t get off the first time they fuck which i feel like is worth noting, feelings of regret, minor character death (evangeline’s whole fam), follows canon, mando lowkey keeping evangeline against her will but like she’s hiding from the empire so, near death experience(s), the helmet comes off, oral f receiving, blindfolding, shower sex

A Weight Off Your Shoulders

Joel series by @gasolinerainbowpuddles

Summary: a series of oneshots in chronological order that follow the story of Joel and his new neighbor who returns to Texas following a devastating breakup and called off engagement. With her life completely uprooted and her self-confidence shot, she works through moving on to bigger and better things. Enter DILF neighbor Joel Miller.

Tags: age gap (Joel mid 40s, neighbor late 20s), cheating, negative body image, negative self-talk, discussions of body image struggles

The Peg That Middle Aged Man Campaign 2024 Masterlist

Call for Pegging Fics!

PMAMC on AO3

Trussed Up - I pegged Jack Daniels

Happy Reading!

[macgyvertape]

Glass Onion thoughts (major spoilers)

Seriously spoilers for the whole thing since I saw it in theaters

First Knives Out was really dated to Trump’s presidency with the anti-immigration and anti-Hispanic rhetoric. This one is really dated to Covid lockdown, and I wonder how many years until the references like Zoom calls with pajama pants on and playing Among Us stop being so understandable.

I work in the STEM field, a lot of my social circle is nerds or work in it too so a lot of the irl techbro bullshit this movie was referencing was very recognizable. Like the one scene of Miles wearing a black turtleneck and talking about the “reality distortion field” I immediately recognized as Steve Jobs

Just like the first movie the cast of suspects are all awful in various sterotypical archetype ways, but Birdie Jay throwing a huge party with her “pod” and wearing a mesh mask has me hating her on a personal level.

Movie nerd friend mentioned they built elaborate light boxes in the back of the set to make the glass reflections look correct on camera. Rian Johnson really does flex he’s a good director. One thing that stood out to me was how the camera pans around the island as great scene to scene transitions so you get a sense of how the house is laid out.

Also when all the lights go out it’s great use of lighting, that it’s actually pitch black at first, but there’s enough lighting to see details when everyone starts running around, and the strobe of the light house illuminating characters around corners is :chefskiss:

The way the tension built right before Duke died where everything feels discordant, I figured someone was about to die but wasn’t expecting it to be Duke.

The difference between seeing this in a theater vs at home where you can rewind; I wasn’t watching closely what Miles’ hand was doing with his glass, it’s such a brief thing that seeing it play out differently as Miles describes it adds to the viewers confusion and is a lot more compelling than Miles just saying it.

In the following moments after Duke’s death I’m not thinking to track Duke’s phone and gun until much later. It’s cleverly done, before Dukes murder you and the characters are watching Birdie Jay spin, afterwards you’re watching Duke die.

A good who dunnit has the audience clueless in different ways than the characters and plays with their expecations, and Rian Johnson with the reframed the plot during the flashback by giving context the audience lacked but also literally by just changing the camera angle on a few scenes.

The framing leading into the flashback is really good you see Blanc cry which establishes this is someone who he cares deeply about, encouraging the audience who likes Blanc to become emotionally invested. So most of the flashback you’re growing to like Helen more and more all while creating the tension because you know she gets shot.

I read Hugh Grant’s character as partner/husband especially with how Benoit Blanc dressesed, my straight friend didn’t but nice to see there is confirmation Blanc is gay.

Benoit Blanc is the archetypical detective who is a force for moral good and fully aware of the failings of the law and justice system which really helps him be so likeable. It’s interesting how he doesn’t lie about how he got the box he just let Miles make his own assumptions and be mislead. The same way his references to the first movie where he was paid by a mysterious party to show up are a red herring to the audience.

I was wondering why Andi was so stand off and awkward but the twist it’s her twin sister she’s impersonating, it immediately made more sense. She’s avoiding speaking to everyone who could call her out.

Whiskey in the flashback was a reversal of audience expectations through more context, she’s not really cheating on Duke, she’s not the “dumb blonde” she markets herself as. However despite her saying it was shitty how the group treated Andi she refused to tell the truth against Miles at the end because it would cost her brand.

It’s a shame the Mona Lisa burned because it’s such a culturally significant piece of art. But that’s the whole point, it’s a thematic statement of property isn’t worth more than peoples lives, and it burned because the social contact of justice fell apart. The Mona Lisa is there because some tech bro wanted it for his ego, then someone in the French government was willing to sell it out, and the tech bro’s ego couldn’t handle not being able to disable the protections. It burned because the justice system wouldn’t believe the word of a black woman over a rich white man when the evidence is circumstantial and the witnesses will commit perjury for money. Only when it becomes clear how much the Mona Lisa having burned is going to ruin. Lies’ Braun and give cause for a general investigation do any of the other disrupters even speak up.

The other disrupters were happy to join in smashing a few pieces of art but they still refused to back Helen and tried to stop her burning Miles’ house and the Mona Lisa, it felt like a reference at “performative activism”. Ties nicely to the disruptor speech at the beginning “you have to keep going until you break the thing they don’t want you to break”.

I later realize Andi was forced out of the company and later murdered over covering up how unsafe that fuel was, in burning the painting and destroying his company Helen also saved lives from the contractedcrystal fuel power plant.

I know the throat spray is just a “plot device” so not everyone is wearing masks but knowing how much of a fraud Miles Bron is, I’m sure it doesn’t do jack-shit

Side note: having the song be Mona Lisa by Nat King Cole with the lyrics “Mona Lisa” was perfectly on the nose

The fact Helen lives makes this more of an enjoyable watch than the first one where there’s the collateral death of Fran

The timing on humor is so well done through the whole movie, especially with brick jokes like “non smoking area”, and the stoner who kept saying “just ignore me”, which I would do because he was just out of the way most of the time.

All of Blanc’s outfits were great, I wanna dress like a gay older southern gentleman. I also really liked Birdie Jay’s multicolor dress, I don’t think I’m tall enough to pull it off though. I’d enjoy seeing a fashion breakdown for all the characters.

I would have liked to see more screen time of Peg but understandably in a large cast someone gets the short straw.

I thought I heard the Fugue music from the puzzle box in a few other places, I really want to see an essay on that

[pink-strawberry-kissess]

NSFW Alphabet for Leon x Ada

NSFW ALPHABET TEMPLATE here

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

Leon is definitely more affectionate and wanting to cuddle after sex. Hell he cuddles in his sleep and refuses to acknowledge that he does that lol (he’s shy)

I’m taking Ada’s “I don’t like when men play rough,” to heart and think that she rarely is the submissive one, so yes I think that she does and will have to tend to Leon more afterwards if they had a particularly rough session. I don’t think Ada is huge on aftercare for herself though. (Also in terms of like a self destructive behaviour because she used to leaving Leon in the middle of the night because she didn’t want to get emotional over it) 

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Leon is very grabby and will hold Ada whenever possible. I do think that Leon’s too much of a sap and would say Ada’s face is his favourite body part. And if that’s cheating, then he would maybe say like her hands or something. 

For Leon I think he likes his legs, and because they can get him places lol

Ada is straight up just like “I like his ass.” lmao

Ada I feel like is very confident in her body so generally I think she’s fond of her curves.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

OKAY so in my other headcanons, for like safety reasons etc. I do kinda headcanon that Leon’s had a vasectomy. You can’t always count on condoms and having them, and Leon and Ada don’t always meet in the best circumstances. And he would never finish inside of her with the thought of possibly getting her pregnant. So I do think that could be true. Ada wouldn’t get her tubes tied or go all black widow, but she might be on the shot or something. 

THAT BEING SAID. I think that Leon’s a bit saddened each time that he thinks about getting Ada pregnant and that he can’t (because of the vasectomy lol) but also because that fantasy is too out of reach for him and his lifestyle. He doesn’t think too much of it, but perhaps later on in the more established part of their relationship, he’d think about fucking a baby into her but otherwise they mostly just think about cleaning up afterwards. But also he really likes cumming inside of her. Ada enjoys it better too, and doesn’t like it on her that much of the time.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

LEON’S A FUCKING BOTTOM. you’re telling me that a GOVERNMENT AGENT with SO MANY RESPONSIBILITIES WANTS MORE RESPONSIBILITY IN THE BEDROOM??? HELL NO HE’D WANT TO BE TOLD WHAT TO DO AND HE’D DO IT. Ada pegs Leon. There. I said it. I kinda feel like also (more established) Ada likes calling Leon daddy (like the idea of making him a daddy.) Ada is also more into the kinkier stuff but only from her end. 

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

Ada is the more experienced one imo. Especially since I feel like she uses her sexuality sometimes for her work, and to her advantage. I’m not necessarily saying that she’s had a lot of partners, but she’s just more confident in her skills. 

Honestly, I feel like maybe he lost his virginity with his first gf. Either way, I don’t think he’s super experienced in the bedroom. Even the idea of Ada leading him along the way of like “how to please her,” makes sense to me. He gets better at being more attentive to Ada and eventually mostly focuses on making her cum before he does. But also I do think he cums quickly in some cases. Like if they do the DEVILS TANGO in public, which is almost always initiated by Ada because Leon would be too scared to get caught. 

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

LEON NEEDS ANY POSITION WHERE HE CAN SEE ADA’S FACE. Whereas Ada I think likes any position where she can control the pace. 

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

Leon is 100% the more goofy one. And would try to make Ada laugh in the act. Sometimes I think that Leon just hearing Ada laugh during the act will make him [redacted.]

Ada isn’t particularly goofy or anything, I guess more teasing is her go to, to like make her laugh. She likes making Leon flustered and finds it funny.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Leon’s a lil hairy. Not terribly hairy, but he’s got it there. He does trim it. Ada had a landing strip. She doesn’t do the whole shave or anything, Leon doesn’t like it when she’s bare anyways.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

SO MUCH INTIMACY WITH LEON. HE NEEDS IT. MANY KISSES. SO MUCH AFFECTIONATE PRAISING. He needs her to tell him that he’s doing a good job. Ada would also do so much praising, but she would also taunt him in certain aspects- like “what a good boy~” “what a good little puppy~” 

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

Honestly I feel like Ada is a pretty sexual person herself and is open to take care of herself if needed. She would also enjoy playing with herself while making Leon watch, and not let him touch her until she’s ready. 

Leon won’t do it when he’s on missions, he’s too busy thinking about work and also not dying. At home, I think he’ll do it in the shower. Sometimes in bed. I don’t think he masturbates a lot tbh

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Ada is really into control and she’s not open to being vulnerable so she often will tie up Leon so she feels safer. He’s open to this and wants her to feel comfortable with him. Later on she’ll be more open to exploring their kinks. Ada also likes Leon calling her mommy ヾ(´▽｀;)ゝ 

Leon’s into dressing up and roleplay. This is canon. 

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

Honestly, the bed. They’re both not super open to having sex in public, especially with Leon. BUT I do think that they will sometimes get it on in the kitchen lol. They also like the shower because it’s a very freeing place if that makes sense.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Leon’s such an affectionate lover, he just could look at her for a long time and get it going. Ada loves how dumb or oblivious he is to her advances; obviously he gets it more the older he gets. But when he’s younger he’s so so oblivious.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Ada would not like getting dominated, and Leon does not want to hurt her at all during sex. They are not into really painful acts. Something non damaging like candle wax might be something Ada wants to do, but it doesn’t hurt. It’s a very short momentarily moment of pain. Leon would never hit her either. 

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Ada LOVES receiving oral. And would call him a “good puppy,” “good boy,” while he’s in between her legs, lapping up at her- while Leon LOVES her tugging onto his hair, doing it in a certain way literally makes his cock hard. UM also Leon’s good with Ada giving oral, but he gets too flustered and cums really fast. 

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

It’s rare for it to be fast and rough unless they’re rushing (like actually not enough time to finish,) but slow and sensual is the more likely rhythm that they go for. Speeding up just towards the end a bit.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Ada can 100% finish Leon off quickly, but Ada for herself? No.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

Ada would be more of the exhibitionist. Teasing Leon in public and getting him so close but never finishing him off. Only to get him back home first. Leon is not a risky lover, and is a much more tentative lover.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

I have to remember that they’re in their 28-40s, but honestly I feel like sex drives vary very much on the couple. Lots of people have tons of sex in their 20s and then it stops. But some have even more sex when they’re older. I like to think they’re the later. It’s not so much the length but how good it is. If it can be faster or shorter but better, then that’s better. Leon can go max like 2 rounds.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

Ada is the collector of toys ᕕ(⌐■_■)ᕗ ♪♬ and she likes using them on herself and on Leon. The idea of Leon and Ada walking into a sex shop is like Ada in a candy store and Leon at the dentist. He’s just so nervous and like WHAT THE FUCK ARE THESE. DO THEY GO INSIDE YOU??? (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Ada is a relentless teaser. And gets off on how flushed and flustered she can get Leon. Leon likes teasing but if Ada gets like at all flushed or looks like she can’t take it, he FEELS BAD. She’s like crying from the pleasure and he’s like pLEASE STOP CRYING (there’s a good nsfw comic i saw of this LOL)

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

you can not tell me

that you are here. reading this post. and it’s 2022. and you haven’t heard of dbd leon 

(ﾐ〒﹏〒ﾐ) leon is a fucking whimpering whiny moaner. DO YOU WANT ME TO JUST PUT THE YOUTUBE LINK HERE????? ada’s a normal sounding person and honestly mostly quiet at the beginning.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

Ada would love to put Leon in her lingerie. 

Leon wants to do that.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

Ada is stunning at her age. And realistically speaking, I think she takes care of her body as much as she can. In terms of like .. that? I mean, she has a landing strip. That’s it ig. 

Leon is - i can’t go into detail. like hexcodes of colours of the head and the shaft like people do on tiktok. He’s a nice length, good girth and def angled to the left LOL

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

This very much fluctuates because of their work. High stress KILLS sex drives so it really depends on what they’re doing. I think that’s also why Ada tries to get Leon whenever he has time off from work. 

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Leon falls asleep first, almost always. It’s rare for Ada to fall asleep first, but the first time he witnesses it, he ends up just watching her as she sleeps. Cuddling her until he finally falls asleep too.

[nininikki]

ATTACK ON TITAN MASTERLIST

EREN JAEGER

↳ ONE-SHOTS

PRETTY WHEN YOU CRY. — SUMMARY: love had never made you feel this shitty before. CW: toxic relationships, lots of angst, implications of sex, alcohol consumption, vomiting, reader & eren are in college, (doesn’t play a huge role, but it’s implied) eren is very toxic, reader is also very stuck, i love mikasa, but she’s not very great here haha (don’t kill me pls) WC: 2.4k

HEAVEN SENT. — SUMMARY: you absolutely despise biochemistry. good thing you’ve got the perfect tutor. CW: nsfw, smut! porn with plot, male masturbation, eren’s a nerd & an absolute loser in this (it’s so hot), reader’s a lil mean, dom-ish reader, sub-ish eren, dry humping, tiny bit of nipple play, finger sucking (idk what else to call it?), oral sex (m!receiving), reader’s a bit of a tease, face fucking, little bit of clit play, unprotected, penetrative sex (piv, wrap it up guys!), riding. WC: 4.4k

SHADES OF COOL. — SUMMARY: you hated him. god, you hated him so so much, and were just desperate to move on. or were you? (part two to pretty when you cry, which can be read here.) CW: nsfw! toxic relationships, lots of angst, alcohol consumption, some oral sex (f!receiving), choking, fingering, finger sucking, unprotected penetrative sex (piv, wrap it up!!), clit slapping, dacryphilia, squirting, cum play, cum eating, cheating, smoking, eren’s still so toxic and reader’s still so stuck :( WC: 4.6k

HEADCANONS: ROCKSTAR!EREN. — SUMMARY: a little bit of what eren jaeger would be like as a rockstar. CW: mentions of sex/sexual relationships, mentions of drugs (cocaine), genitalia piercings, brief mentions of toxic relationship behavior. WC: 331

↳ SERIES

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. PRESIDENT. — SUMMARY: you meet eren jaeger and the two of you fall in love almost instantly. the only thing in your way? he’s married. oh, and the fact that he’s about to become president. CW: nsfw! age gap (reader is 29-30, eren is 39-40), black fem!reader, heavy heavy HEAVY infidelity, established relationship (eren is married) politics and government talk, mentions of pregnancy, infertility, and trying for a baby, manipulation, mikasa’s kind of mean in this story (i’m sorry), mentions of sex, eventual sexual content/smut, handjob, alcohol consumption, mentions of jean x reader. WC: 11.2k

JEAN KIRSCHTEIN

↳ ONE-SHOTS

CLASS RANK. — SUMMARY: nothing in the world feels better than beating jean kirschtein. except maybe fucking him. CW: jean and reader are rivals, insults, fencing (🤺), reader’s kinda mean to jean but he’ll be fine, hate sex, somewhat rough, bit of nipple play, hair pulling, brief handjob, mirror sex, slight clit play, finger sucking, choking, degradation, name calling (slut), orgasm denial. WC: 2.6k

CONNIE SPRINGER

↳ ONE-SHOTS

SAY, AHH. — SUMMARY: you love having connie in your mouth. CW: mentions of phone sex, oral sex (m. receiving), face-fucking, dirty talk. WC: 0.6k