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leclercstarrs · 4 months

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best friends, cassie howard and maddy perez.

summary: in which things heat up when cassie and maddy approach you at a party.

warnings: switch!reader, threesome, face riding, oral!

notes: enjoy this draft while i work on new things! promise to post something good in a bit! p.s, this is not proof read, sorry babes!

Cassie Howard and Maddy Perez have been close for a long time now. They are used to sharing things, like lots of friends do. From clothes to beds when Maddy sleeps over at Cassie’s place to escape the yelling in her house, and now, you.

When the two girls heard from BB that you were throwing a party, they immediately told you that they’d be attending, and then went home to pick what to wear, even if the party wasn’t for another week.

Now, it’s the night of the party and they enter your house, getting stared at by guys from school as they move through the crowd of drunk teenagers. It’s impossible not to notice the blonde and brunette duo, their matching outfits showing off their bodies. Cassie is, of course, wearing the pink set, while Maddy has on the same set in black.

“Do you see her?” Cassie attempts to ask her friend, her voice going unheard considering the loud music. She stops walking in the middle of the living room, Maddy following her lead.

“Hey, have you seen the host?” Maddy asks a random boy beside her.

“(Y/N)?” He raises an eyebrow.

“Yeah.” Cassie nods. The boy points towards the kitchen and Cassie quickly grabs her friend’s hand, leading her towards the kitchen. “There.” The blonde grins.

“Damn.” Maddy mumbles, watching as you’re lying down on the kitchen island as Jules does body shots on your stomach, a group of people cheering her on. “I’d kill to be Jules right now.” Maddy jokes, earning a laugh from her friend.

“Jules, come on, you’ve had enough.” You prop yourself up and off the counter, taking the bottle of liquor out of her hand before she pours another drink. Jules has been doing this for a while now, to the point that her best friend, Rue, gave up and walked away. “Jules, go find Rue and get a glass of water.” You sigh as the girl tries to take the bottle back.

“God, the two of you are so boring.” She huffs, however, still following your advice and walking out of the kitchen, the crowd slowly exiting as well.

Getting off the counter and tugging at your dress, you pull the tight fabric down your legs a little. You then place the bottle on the counter after taking a quick swig.

“Hey.” Maddy and Cassie smile in unison when they approach you.

You try to hold yourself back from gasping at the girls, looking them up and down. “I see the two of you went for the matching look.” You laugh.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Maddy rolls her eyes, clicking her tongue.

“Oh, it definitely was. You both look hot.” You grab two red solo cups from the counter, then taking the same bottle from earlier and pouring the two girls drinks.

“Thank you.” They take the cups and are quick to down them.

“Hey, you wanna get out of here?” Cassie suggests, turning to look at Maddy, then back at you.

You bite your lip as the two girls stare at you in anticipation, copying your move from earlier and checking you out, admiring how your dress fits on you. “Let’s go, this party could use some fun.” You cave.

“For sure.” Maddy and Cassie are quick to lead you upstairs and towards your bedroom.

“Cute room.” Cassie sits down on the bed next to you and Maddy, looking around the room.

You start feeling increasingly anxious, unsure of what to do and say. However, you push through it and try to remain calm. “Thanks.” You smile.

“(Y/N), don’t be shy. Take off my shirt.” Cassie says, her soft voice encouraging you to comply. Your lips part as you carefully remove the thin pink fabric off of her body, revealing her breasts.

“You’re so beautiful.” You hum, leaning towards her and pressing gentle kisses on her neck, before stopping when Maddy interrupts.

“Awh, what about me?” The girl on the other side of your bed whines, her lips forming into a fake pout. Unlike Cassie, Maddy proves to be more dominant with her actions, grabbing your hands and guiding you to pull off her black top. She tosses her shirt on the floor, Cassie then doing the same. “Here.” Maddy quietly says, once again taking your hands and placing them on her breasts. Her nipples are hard, Maddy’s entire body begging for you to touch her. You carefully massage them, eager but quiet moans escaping from the girl.

Cassie then moves closer to you from behind, stopping you from continuing on with Maddy as the two girls work on taking your dress off, leaving you in nothing but your small thong.

Maddy gently moves you hair out of your face, “Lie down, baby.” She instructs you.

You do as she says, lying back on the bed, unsure of what the girls have planned. Cassie climbs towards you, leaning down and kissing you, before positioning yourself so her cunt is hovering about your mouth. Now, you understand what she wants. “Say please.” You change your tone, feeling more confident in yourself.

The blonde whines, “Please.”

“Good girl.” Maddy chimes in. She’s now starting to work on pleasuring you, kissing up your thighs, until she reaches your cunt. You can feel her breath, it’s as if she’s waiting for you to make the first move, so you do.

Cassie fully places her cunt on your mouth as you slowly lick one stripe up her folds. “Fuckkkk…” She moans, desperate for more and starting to grind against your tongue.

“Keep going.” Maddy tells you as she starts to do the same to you, instead thrusting her tongue into you, earning muffled moans from you as you move your tongue around Cassie’s folds, coaxing out juices as you make your way to her clit. More moans abrupt from you and Cassie. Maddy is teasing you, her tongue flicking slowly on your own clit, your legs slightly shaky. Your hands make their way up Cassie’s waist, sitting there for a moment and guiding her hips with the movement of your tongue on the swollen nub. Cassie has different plans, however, her mouth dropping in pleasure as she drags her hands to her tits, getting you to massage at her nipples, adding to the wave of pleasure going through her.

“Shit, (Y/N).” Cassie gasps, her eyes rolling back.

“Doing so good for Cass, hm?” Maddy muffles as she eats your pussy.

Like the two of you are in sync, you and Maddy thrust your tongues deeper, Cassie going silent, unable to even make a sound as she desperately cums on your face. Moments later, you do the same as Cassie, Maddy sending you over the edge. Your juices flow out of your cunt, Maddy pulling away and licking her lips. “You taste so good.” She smirks.

Cassie gets off of you, her chest rapidly moving up and down as she relaxes after her orgasm. “You’re so fucking good at that.” She praises you.

Meanwhile, Maddy slides your panties back onto you, then moving towards your face. “Mm, Let me clean you up.” She gently grabs your face with her hands and kisses you, the two of you exchanging Cassie’s juices. Next to the two of you on the bed, Cassie grins.

“We should seriously do this again.” Cassie catches your attention and you and Maddy stop kissing.

“Obviously.” Maddy laughs.

#this is really long sorry yall🤓#x reader #fanfic #fanfiction #euphoria x reader #euphoria x y/n #euphoria x you #euphoria imagine #euphoria fanfic #maddy perez x reader #maddy perez x you #maddy perez x y/n #cassie howard x you #cassie howard smut #cassie howard x y/n #cassie howard x reader #euphoria smut

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physalian · 1 month

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What No One Tells you about Writing #3

Opening this up to writing as a whole, because it turns out I have a lot more to say!

Part 1

Part 2

1. You don’t fall in love with your characters immediately

But when you do, it’s a hit of serotonin like no other. I’d been writing a tight cast of characters for my sci-fi series since 2016 and switched over in a bout of writer’s block this year to my new fantasy book. I made it about ⅓ through writing the book going through the motions, unable to visualize what these new characters look like, sound like, or would behave like without a ‘camera’ on them.

Then, all of a sudden, I opened my document to keep on chugging with the first draft, and it clicked. They were no longer faceless elements of my plot, they were my characters and I was excited to see what they could accomplish, rooting for them to succeed. Sometimes, it takes a while, but it does come.

2. Sometimes a smaller edit is better than a massive rewrite

Unless you’re changing the trajectory of your entire plot, or a character’s arc really is unrecoverable, sometimes even a single line of dialogue, a single paragraph of introspection, or a quick exchange between two characters can change everything. If something isn’t working, or your beta readers consistently aren’t jiving with a character you yourself love, try taking a step back, looking at who they are as a person, and boil down what your feedback is telling you and it might demand a simpler fix than you expect.

Tiny details inserted at the right moment can move mountains. Fan theories stand on the backs of these minutiae. One sentence can turn a platonic relationship romantic. One sentence can unravel a fair and just argument. One sentence can fill or open a massive plot hole.

3. Outline? What outline?

Not every book demands weeks upon weeks of prep and worldbuilding. I would argue that jumping right in with only a vague direction in mind gives you a massive advantage: You can’t infodump research you haven’t done. Exposition is forced to come as the plot demands it, because you haven’t designed it yet.

Not every story is simple and straightforward, but even penning the first draft with your vague plan, *then* going back and adding in deeper worldbuilding elements, more thematic details, richer character development, can get you over the writer’s block hurdle and make it far less intimidating to just shut up and write the book.

4. It’s okay to let your characters take the wheel

I’ve seen writing advice that chastises authors who let their characters run wild, off the plan the story has for them. Yeah, doing this can harm your pacing and muddy a strong and consistent arc, but refusing to leave the box of your outline greatly limits your creativity. I do this particularly when writing romantic relationships (and end up like Captain Crunch going Oops! All Gays!).

Did I plan for these two to get together? No, it just happened organically as I wrote them talking, getting closer, getting to know each other better in the circumstances they find themselves in. Was this character meant to be gay? Well, he wasn’t meant to be straight, but you know what, he’d work really well with this other boy over here. None of that would have happened if I was bound and determined to follow my original plan, because my original plan didn’t account for how the story that I want to tell evolves. You aren’t clairvoyant—it’s okay if it didn’t end up where you thought it would.

5. Fight. Scenes. Suck.

Which is crazy because I love fantasy and sci-fi, the actiony-est genres. Some authors love battle scenes and fistfights. It comes naturally to them and I will forever be jealous. I hate fight scenes. I hate blocking and choreographing them. I hate how it doesn’t read like I’m watching a movie. I hate how it could take me hours to write a scene I can read in 5 minutes. I hate that there’s no way around it except to just not write them, or put in the elbow grease and practice.

Whatever your writing kryptonite is, don’t be too hard on yourself. It won’t ever replicate the movie in your head, but our audience isn’t privy to that movie and will be none the wiser of how this didn’t fit your expectations, because it’s probably awesome on its own. It could be a fight scene, sex scene, epic battle, cavalry charge, courtroom argument, car chase—whatever. Be patient, and kind to yourself and it will all come together.

6. Write the scenes you want to write first

And then be prepared to never use them. It can be mighty difficult working backwards from a climax and figuring out how to write the story around it, but if you’re sitting at your laptop staring at your cursor and watching it blink, stuck on a tedious moment that’s necessary but frustrating, go write something exciting. Even if that amazing scene ends up no longer working in the book your story becomes, you still get practice by writing it. Particularly if you hate beginnings or the pressure of a perfect first page is too high, you’re allowed to write any other moment in the book first.

And with that, be prepared to kill your darlings. Not your characters, I mean that one badass line of dialogue living rent free in your head. That epic monologue. That whump scenario for your favorite character. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out anymore, but even if it ends up in the trash, you can always salvage something from it, even if that’s only the knowledge of what not to do in the future.

7. “This is clearly an author insert.” … Yes. It is. Point?

No one likes Mary Sues, because a character who doesn’t struggle or learn to get everything they want in life is uncompelling. The most flagrant author inserts I see aren’t Mary Sues, they’re nerdy, awkward, boring white guys whose world changes to fit their perspective, instead of the other way around—they don’t have anything to say. I’m not the intended audience to relate to these characters and I accept that, but I don’t empathize with the so-called “strong female character” who also doesn’t have flaws or an arc either.

A good author insert? When the author gives their characters pieces of themselves. When the “author insert” struggles and learns and grows and it’s a therapeutic experience just writing these characters thrown into such horrible situations. They feel human when they’re given pieces of a human’s soul. They have real human flaws and idiosyncrasies. I don’t care if the author wrote themselves as the protagonist. I care that this protagonist is entertaining. So if you want to make yourself the hero of your book, go for it! But make sure you look in the mirror and write in your flaws, as much as your strengths.

#writing advice #writing resources #writing tips #writing tools #writing a book #writing #writeblr #fantasy #scifi

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4ngel-inc · 2 months

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࿔*:･ OBEY ME — how they kiss you ࿐

summary / tags — how passionate they are when they kiss you ᰔ fluff, suggestive, some teasing / dirty talk. eeeee i'm back on my obey me kick !! i forgot how gorgeous lucifer is :'))

♱ LUCIFER — 𝓹𝓪𝓼𝓼𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓽𝓮 𝓴𝓲𝓼𝓼𝓮𝓼

lucifer is a romantic, his heart is full of passion but he rarely has the time or privacy to express it to you—when he finally gets you alone, all to himself, he still treats you with such love and patience. he never rushes, he feels you deserve the utmost respect and tenderness. he slips his hands around your waist slowly, making sure you're comfortable with his affection even after giving it to you so many times. "how was your day, a little stressful, i'm sure?" you've been studying hard for your exams at RAD, and he's been missing you with how much he's been studying and organizing recent events as well. you nod, pouting a little, and he can't stop the passion pouring out of his heart for you. lucifer is a very private person, and he's good at suppressing his feelings when in a professional setting—however, as soon as he gazes into your eyes, no one around to interrupt or distract him, he remembers why he fell for you so hard. his hands are on your face in an instant, and his tongue slips into your mouth so dominantly, yet so tenderly, his tongue caressing yours in an intimate, slow kiss that makes your knees week. he always gazes into your eyes after pulling away, tucking your hair behind your ear, "i've been neglecting you lately, dear, let me make it up to you."

♱ MAMMON — 𝓻𝓾𝓼𝓱𝓮𝓭 𝓴𝓲𝓼𝓼𝓮𝓼

mammon always has a lot going on, he's always drafting up some get rich quick scheme or the like, and he's very social. he likes attention, and though he prefers to get it from you, he also likes to hang out with "friends," his definition of which is pretty much anyone who will compliment him or laugh at his cheesy jokes. overall, he just always likes to be doing something, but he does make time to give you quick kisses throughout the day, though he leaves you wanting more every time. he's always running around from sun up to sun down, but when he does finally get you alone, he's very clingy. he realizes how much he missed you all day when his lips are finally on yours in a way that isn't rushed, and his mind is calm as his hands trace over your skin, running up your chest before gripping your jaw and kissing you deeply. "didn't realize how much i miss ya today, had too much goin' on." you laugh, "that's alright, babe, but i'm gonna need a few more kisses to make up for it." he smirks, "oh, i'll give ya a lot more than that, honey pie, you've finally got the mammon all to yourself, what are ya gonna do about it?" he doesn't give you a chance to respond as he presses your back into the bed, kissing you deeper this time.

♱ SATAN — 𝓼𝓱𝔂 𝓴𝓲𝓼𝓼𝓮𝓼

satan isn't one to indulge in PDA, not because he doesn't love you, but because he simply wants to keep affectionate moments like that just between the two of you. like lucifer, he's a very private person, though he doesn't mind the occasional kiss in public—it's shy though, very quick and chaste as he glances around to make sure no one's looking before giving you an innocent peck on the lips. "is that enough for now, dear?" it's never enough, honestly, you'd spend forever kissing him if he'd let you. "mmm, i guess. i'll see you later, then?" he sends you off with a hug as he returns to his meeting or whatever he's doing that day, but you always miss him the second he's gone. the moment you both return home at the end of the day is always the best of times, his kisses finally become deeper and more lustful, "you didn't get into any trouble while i was gone, huh? didn't kiss anyone else? i know i left you hanging earlier, but. . ." you whine as he places soft kisses down your neck, "i'm here now, you still want me, don't you?" though he's only teasing, he knows you'd never kiss anyone else, he just loves to hear you say it. "i'm only yours, you know that," you pout, "you don't kiss me enough, though." "it's just between you and i, honey, i want to keep it that way. i'll show you how much you mean to me now, how's that sound?"

♱ DIAVOLO — 𝓭𝓸𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓪𝓷𝓽 𝓴𝓲𝓼𝓼𝓮𝓼

diavolo, as you can guess, is quite dominant. he likes to be in control of everything, though, when he's alone with you, he's so sweet and soft you almost feel like you're in a dream. he has two sides, and though you try not to bother him when he's working or in professional settings, sometimes, you just can't help it—he isn't unfamiliar with you walking into his office and asking for a kiss, though you're shy about it, you're never sure if he's in the mood—however, he always surprises you, and beckons you forward to him, excusing them if anyone is in the office with him. "come here, i only have a few minutes, i hope that's alright." you always expect a chaste kiss, but instead, you receive something deep and passionate. he grabs the back of your hair and crushes your lips to his, cupping your jaw and pressing his tongue against yours. his hands like to explore your hips and waist when he kisses you, gripping your skin harshly, almost in an attempt to let you know you're his, and only his. "that was quite pleasant, i expect we can continue this at home? i have work to do, i'm sorry, love." you smile nonetheless, though your eyes are still closed, expecting more kisses, "just a few more? i want something to think about later when i'm home alone." he smirks, "i like the sound of that."

♱ BEELZEBUB — 𝓱𝓾𝓷𝓰𝓻𝔂 𝓴𝓲𝓼𝓼𝓮𝓼

beelzebub is quite gluttonous in all things, and that includes you. if he had to choose between food and you, he hates to admit it, but he'd choose you, you taste that good. he loves everything about kissing you—how soft your lips feel, how your eyes flutter closed when his tongue glides against yours, the cutest little groan rumbling in your throat. things always start slowly, but quickly escalate to something more primal and hungry. "more- i need more," no amount of kisses could ever satiate him, and he doesn't care to pull away until you make him. "beel, i'm right here, don't worry." "no, i need to feel you, i want more, you taste so good." you've learned that, when kissing beel, things almost always turn into a full-blown makeout session, so you're sure to clear your schedule before anything intimate happens between you two. even after an hour or so of kissing you, he still wants more—and you find yourself having to pull away, lips swollen and eyes glossy from how much you want him. beel is big on kissing, and foreplay in general, but sometimes you have to rush him a little. "honey, is this going anywhere? i'm getting a little. . . antsy." he smiles, "just a few more kisses, then i'll give you what you want, baby. let me enjoy this treat a little while longer."

#— love notes: [obey me] ୧ ‧₊#obey me x reader #obey me x you #lucifer x reader #mammon x reader #beelzebub x reader #diavolo x reader #satan x reader #obey me x mc

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supernovafics · 6 months

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𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆

pairing: steve harrington x fem!reader

word count: 2.7k words

summary: in which a moment at a party that led to a drunken kiss and a heartfelt admission pushes you and your best friend away from each other. after nearly a week of silence, it’s still hard to find the right words to say to steve and to find the right way to mend what feels as if it has been permanently broken. until you’re drunk at a bar and he is the one to come and get you.

warnings: bestfriend!steve, explicit language, underage alcohol consumption, angst with a happy ending<33

author’s note: this was sitting in the drafts for a veryvery long time and i’ve finally decided to let it see the light of day🫶🏾 (full “folklore” album series masterlist here)

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

“i didn't know if you'd care if i came back, i have a lot of regrets about that.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

The bar was comforting in a weird kind of way.

It was pretty dark and empty for the most part, which partly made sense since it was ten o’clock on a random Wednesday night. You didn’t mind the music softly playing and the stool you were sitting on actually felt comfortable, or maybe it was the alcohol making you believe that.

Somehow even with the number of drinks you’d had in the past hour, it still didn’t manage to effectively push your thoughts far away from Steve and what happened at Robin’s birthday party.

You couldn’t not think about the kiss with him, which you had abruptly and drunkenly initiated; it was a kiss that felt simultaneously wrong and right. And his words that followed the kiss played on what felt like an endless loop in your mind too.

“I’ve wanted this, I’ve wanted us, for practically forever. Ever since that moment our mom’s forced us to meet at that county fair thing when we were ten, I think I knew it was you.”

It was hard to think about what you did in response to that, but still the quick, “I’m sorry, I can’t,” you managed to stutter out before basically running away from him played on equal loop in your head.

The two of you hadn’t spoken since that Saturday night, with you returning back to your college that was two hours away from Hawkins early the next morning. And you were unsure if it was you leading this dance or if both of you were equally avoiding each other because the phone calls that would happen practically daily were reduced to nothing. It had barely been a week, but it was long enough for everything in your life to feel shifted; to feel a little emptier.

“You look like you need to talk to someone,” The bartender, a woman who you were certain couldn’t be older than thirty, said as she slid you the latest drink you’d ordered.

“No, I’m fine. It’s just…” You trailed off with a small sigh before taking a sip from the cold glass. “I did something stupid this past weekend and I regret it, but I also think it might have been the right thing to do.” You were unsure if you were referring to the kissing Steve part or the running away from him part. “I don’t know, I just wish that entire night hadn’t happened, actually.”

You knew that it wasn’t solely your inebriation that made your words seem as if they didn’t make any sense, because everything going through your head was so damn confusing even when you were completely sober. None of it, the emotions you were feeling or the situation itself, fully made sense to you and you forced yourself to not think about any of it by solely consuming yourself with your schoolwork for the last few days. And when doing that was no longer enough to silence your thoughts, you decided to come to this bar.

It was dumb and probably only making things worse, you knew that, but it also felt so much easier.

“Okay,” The woman said. “Can I have a lot more context?”

You were unsure why you had the immediate urge to tell her everything. Maybe it was the alcohol, or perhaps because it was just always so easy for anyone to pour their heart out to a stranger.

“My friend— my best friend, we’ve known each other since we were ten— me and him were at a party. It was actually our other friend’s birthday and she just turned eighteen, so of course, we had to make it a huge thing for her, and we did it at Steve’s house; my best friend, that’s his name. Anyway, it’s about two hours into the party and we’re all pretty drunk. Me and Steve are in his backyard sitting on one of his old patio chairs, and then I don’t know why, I blame it on my drunkenness and how close we were in that moment, but I kissed him. I pulled away almost immediately, but then he said that he has wanted this, wanted us, to happen for so long, and I didn’t know what to say to any of that. So, I just mumbled out a stupid “I’m sorry,” and then left.”

You had barely taken a breath as you spoke, spitting out what happened that night in one rushed go. Finally saying all of it out loud— recounting the story in pretty much its entirety— made you feel a little better. Everything was still a complete mess, but you felt like you could breathe the tiniest bit easier.

“Why did you leave?”

A part of you expected her to ask that question, and at this point, you should’ve had an answer to it that felt certain, but you didn’t.

“It just… It felt like the right thing to do, I think.”

The thought of anything more happening with Steve hadn’t ever crossed your mind, at least not consciously, and even now you still refused to think more about it. Because it wasn't just about Steve. You didn’t want anything more with anyone; you didn’t want feelings, a relationship, any of it.

It wasn’t that you hated love or the thought of it, it was more so that you had been burned because of it so many times that you refused to fall into it so easily again. Falling for boys that you thought actually liked you only to be proven wrong and left heartbroken.

“I get it,” The bartender ultimately said, her voice soft. “You guys have been friends for practically forever and if you started dating and then broke up it would probably change everything between you two.”

We would never break up.

The thought hit you so abruptly that it actually managed to surprise you.

The woman looked at you, confused. “Okay… So, then what’s the problem?”

“What?”

“You said that you and him would never break up, so what’s the problem?”

You hadn’t realized you said the thought out loud, and you couldn’t even feel embarrassed about accidentally saying it because all you could think about was how completely true it was. You and Steve would work so well together, you pretty much already did. You knew the ins and outs of each other; everything little that was annoying but also so endearing. It was what you loved about him— as a friend and as more.

But still, it was so fucking hard to admit that out loud, and you wanted to forget about the entire realization.

“I– I don’t know,” You finally answered before folding your arms against the countertop and then putting your head down. You squeezed your eyes shut, hoping that that action would be enough to will away the tears that you could now feel threatening to spill out.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

“and i ended up here. pouring out my heart to a stranger.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

“Hey, you okay?”

The voice was soft and immediately comforting and oh so familiar. It was enough to put a smile on your face, but your head was starting to pound so you couldn’t bear to do anything but groan.

You lifted your head and mumbled out a soft, “Steve?”

You only vaguely remembered the bartender, whose name you eventually learned was Chelsea, asking for a phone number of someone that could pick you up. And although you should’ve given her your roommate’s number, you instead gave her Steve’s.

“I never thought I’d be the one picking you up from a bar,” Steve said as he sat down next to you. “I always thought it would be the other way around.”

“Y’know what they say about college, it changes people,” You told him with a nonchalant shrug. The two of you hadn’t talked in days, but it still felt like second nature to fall back into the joking cadence you had with him. “I’m a total badass now.”

Steve laughed a bit and looked at you amusingly. “Mhm, yeah, sure you are.”

You weren’t as drunk anymore but you were entering the early stages of a hangover that would be a bitch, and you already knew that there was no way you’d be going to your eleven o’clock Statistics class.

“I can’t believe you drove two hours to pick me up,” You said as you settled yourself in the passenger seat of Steve’s car after you paid your pricey tab and goodbyes were said to Chelsea.

Steve offered you a small smile. “What else are best friends for?”

You couldn’t help but look away from him as you mumbled out a soft, “I didn’t know we were still that.”

“We’ll always be that.”

There was so much certainty in his voice that it actually managed to soothe something inside of you. Only for a second, though, because then you were back in your head again.

The drive back to your dorm was quiet with only the soft sounds of the radio to fill the silence. It was a short ride, only about ten minutes, and the entire time you could only focus on your dull headache and what you wanted to say to Steve because you knew that you had to say something. Although you didn’t want to, that night needed to finally be talked about.

When he was parked in front of your building, you still didn’t know exactly what to say, but you decided to start with something. “Listen, about Robin’s party–”

“It’s okay, we don’t have to talk about it. Let’s just pretend it never happened,” Steve interrupted you. He pushed a hand through his hair and then met your gaze. “It was really dumb of me to say all of that stuff, and I partially blame it on all the drinks we had— definitely way too many. We’re just friends, I know that. And your life is here now, for the most part, and mine is back in Hawkins, so yeah…” He trailed off with a small shrug.

You suddenly felt nauseous and you knew it had nothing to do with the alcohol. He was saying everything that you fully thought you wanted to hear— what happened at the party should’ve never happened, you two were just friends— so why did it feel so wrong?

Things became quiet and Steve was looking at you expectantly, and you were unsure how long you’d been silent for.

“Um, yeah, exactly,” You finally said as you unbuckled your seatbelt. Before you opened the passenger door to leave his car, you reached over and pulled Steve in for a hug. “Drive safe.”

“Thanks,” He said as his arms circled around you.

For some reason, there was a huge part of you that wanted to say “I’m sorry” in that moment, but you didn’t entirely know why, so instead you said nothing and simply got out of his car.

You headed to the entrance of your dorm building and then turned around, giving Steve a final wave before he drove away.

It was then— as he headed down the street and after a few moments his car became completely out of your view— that you wished you’d been honest; with yourself and with him.

Because it was in that moment of you yearning for him to turn around mixed with you sincerely wanting to go after him that essentially sealed it for you.

Steve was different and he always would be.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

“and maybe i don't quite know what to say, but i'm here in your doorway.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

You felt slightly lucky that you only had two classes on Thursdays because when you woke up after sleeping through your Statistics class, you knew that you wouldn’t be going to your Psychology class that started at three. And the reasoning actually had nothing to do with your hangover.

Aside from the slight headache, you woke up with your mind feeling completely clear for the first time in a long time. You knew exactly what you wanted and what you wanted to do, and before that feeling could go away, or you could convince yourself to push it away, you were in your car an hour before your class was supposed to start and driving to Hawkins. You were pretty much running off of impulse and hope.

The weather was terrible and you hated driving in the rain, but it didn’t matter to you right then because you needed to see Steve.

You had two long hours of driving in terrible rain to figure out what exactly you wanted to say to him, yet you still couldn’t form a coherent set of sentences in your head. But, similar to the rain, that didn’t stop you from ringing his doorbell.

In hindsight, it probably would’ve been smart to bring an umbrella because it was still pouring and from the short walk from your car to his front door, your clothes managed to become effectively soaked, but it didn’t bother you.

“Hey,” He said when he opened the door, it was easy to tell that he was surprised to see you. “Did you drive all the way here?”

You quickly nodded at his question. “Yes.”

“You hate driving in rain.”

“Yeah, but I… I just really wanted to talk to you, and didn’t wanna do it over the phone.”

“Come inside,” Steve said, pushing the door open wider so that you could step in.

You almost followed him but then stopped. “No, wait… I kinda just wanna say this here.”

Steve looked at you confused, but ultimately nodded. “Okay.” He then stepped out of his house and closed the door behind him; his clothes immediately got wet. “It feels wrong that you’re the only one getting hit by the rain.”

You laughed a bit. “Thank you. That’s very considerate.”

Things got quiet for a second and you suddenly felt nervous, but you pushed that feeling to the side.

“I know you said that we don’t need to talk about the party and we should pretend that it never happened. And although that’s exactly what I’d been doing for the past few days, I don’t wanna do that anymore.” It actually didn’t feel too hard to let all of this out; verbalizing exactly what had been going on in your head. In a way, it felt like a relief. “I think I kissed you that night because deep down I know that it’s you too. And that it’s always been you… Which is actually so scary to think about because we’ve known each other for so long and you’re the one person in my life that has been the biggest constant. You’ve seen every part of my very horrific love life and I don’t want us to end up like any of the stupid relationships I had before, and I think that’s why I ran away that night, which I do really regret.” You pulled your eyes away from his for a second. “But, what we have is different, and I want to try. I want us to try.”

You let out a long breath. “Okay, that’s it.”

Steve didn’t say anything for a few moments, and it was then that you realized how loud the rain was, and somehow it was actually a bit calming to hear the sounds of the heavy drops hitting the ground.

You searched his eyes to see if you could decipher what he was thinking, but before you could get a clear read on anything, he was closing the small bit of distance between you both and reaching up to cup your face in his hands before leaning in to kiss you.

The abruptness of the action slightly startled you, but you were completely okay with this nonverbal response to you pouring your heart out. You were kissing him back almost immediately and suddenly the sound of the rain was gone and instead all you could hear was your heartbeat pounding in your ears.

The kiss felt perfectly new but also so insanely familiar; even though this was the first time this was happening sober. And so many things were running through your mind, but it was also effectively blank and you knew you wouldn’t be able to form a coherent sentence even if you tried.

Most of all, though, everything happening right then— the way your hands fisted themselves in his rain soaked t-shirt to pull him impossibly closer to you, and how his thumb stroked your cheek so tenderly— it all felt so certain and sure and right; there wasn’t an ounce of doubt lingering in the air around you both or lacing its way within the kiss.

When you pulled away to catch your breath and smiled up at him, a smile that Steve immediately matched with an elated grin of his own, it slightly killed you that all of this hadn't happened sooner.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

“i just wanted you to know that this is me trying.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

let me know ur thoughts<333

#steve harrington x reader #steve harrington fic #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington smut #steve harrington x you #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington x fem!reader #stranger things fluff #steve harrington x reader smut #steve harrington imagines #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington

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ssaaaronmontgomery · 8 months

Note

give us some dbf!hotch i’m begging 😫😫

A Little Help

Warnings: Smut, dbf!hotch, oral (fem receiving), slight sir kink, pet names, vaginal fingering, gagging, masturbation (male and female), Hotch sends you a nude photo 🤭, age gap (both are consenting adults), not proofread, I think that's all!

Word count: 1.2k

Pairing: dbf!hotch x fem!reader

A/n: I've got some dbf!hotch in my drafts that I have yet to finish but maybe I can do a little something real quick 🤭.

Forever tags: @greg-montgomery @boredelle @hotchsdoormat @ssahotchnerr @criminalskies @beardedhotchh @hotchnerbau @ssamorganhotchner @mrs-ssa-hotch @canuck-eh @luvehotch @callm3c0nfus3d @ivyflowers13 @randomuserrs

Hotch: @14buddy22 @pastanoodles11 @htchnr

Let me know if you want to be added to my tags 🫶

This post is nsfw minors DNI****

You are in your bedroom when the party starts and you're having some trouble finishing yourself off so you can hurry up and get downstairs. Aaron had been on your mind and it was creating a problem between your legs that you couldn't ignore no matter how hard you tried, but once you got your hand between your thighs it seemed like you just couldn't quite get there. Not without help anyway.

You could hear the noise downstairs as the party your parents were throwing started to get a little louder and you could tell there were plenty of people there to distract your parents from your absence.

You continue to rub your clit as you try to bring yourself over the edge but it seems like every single time you might be getting closer, your body doesn't let you get there and it's more than frustrating for you. A few more minutes of this continue and you sigh at the frustration. It's right then that your bedroom door opens and you jump in surprise and move to cover yourself but you stop when you see Aaron walk through the door with a smirk on his face as he closes it behind him.

"Aaron!" You whisper shout at him and he chuckles a little as he sees what you've been up to. "So this is what's keeping you from the party? I'll have to come up with a different excuse for your parents. They asked about you but I think they're distracted by the new guests that keep talking their ears off." He stands there with that smirk and his arms crossed over his chest as he looks you over and you just lay there frozen as you look back at him. Your hand is still between your thighs but it has stopped its movements.

"You sounded frustrated before I came in, princess. Do you need some help?" His voice sends more arousal straight to your core and you lick your lips before nodding. He smiles and climbs on the bed and you instinctively spread your legs for him. Aaron situates himself between your thighs now and swats your hand away from yourself. He kisses and nibbles on the insides of your thighs, licking them and sucking on them.

Finally he gets his face right where you need it and he licks up some of your slick from your folds which immediately pulls a groan from him, thankfully it's muffled by your dripping cunt. The vibrations feel like heaven and you let your head fall back against your pillow as your hands tangle in his hair to keep him in place.

Soon enough Aaron is lapping at you. It's been a few weeks since he's tasted you and you've both missed it. He has felt starved from you and it is clear to you as he eats you out like he's desperate for it. His tongue flicks your clit and you moan at the sensation but a quick slap to your thigh quiets you down.

"Keep it down, princess. I love your sounds but right now we have to be quiet, okay? Can you do that for me, baby?" Aaron plants a soft chaste kiss on your aching bud and you whimper at him but nod. "Yes, sir." Another kiss. "Good girl." He moves his tongue to your hole and starts thrusting it in and out of you and he moans into your cunt as he gets a better taste of what he's been missing the last few weeks.

You have to cover your mouth with your hand when Aaron brings his hand up and starts rubbing your clit with his thumb as he continues to lap at your pussy. He quickly brings you your first and much needed orgasm of the night which causes another moan to slip from your lips but he lets it go for now so he can ride you through your high.

As soon as you finish, Aaron reaches for your lace underwear and grabs your mouth. He stuffs the fabric in and you look at him with wide eyes.

"You can't keep yourself quiet so we had to fix that." He quickly moves back down and wastes no more time before pushing two of his thick digits into your throbbing core. He brings his mouth back to your clit and starts licking and sucking and flicking it in a way that has you closing in on your second orgasm faster than you would have thought possible after how long it was taking you to just get your first one earlier by yourself.

Aaron pulls his mouth away briefly to speak. "Come on, angel. Be a good girl and soak my fingers. I know you can do it." As soon as he gets his mouth back on your sensitive bundle of nerves, your second orgasm crashes through you and you are both thankful for the underwear that is muffling your moans.

As soon as you come down from your second high, Aaron ceases his movements and pulls the underwear from your mouth. "I would love to stay and cuddle you but need to get dressed and get downstairs before someone else comes up to find you. And I need to go take care of this." Aaron gestures to his throbbing cock that is currently pressed against your hip.

You nod and he helps you up before handing the underwear back to you. You don't take it though. Instead, you push his hand back towards him. "Use it to get off. I have plenty of others." You smile at him and he just grins at you. When he kisses your lips you can taste yourself on them and it nearly makes you say 'fuck it' and decide to stay but you know you can't take any longer to join the party. So you reluctantly pull away and dress yourself as you move with wobbly legs.

"I'll see you downstairs then?" You ask him and he gets a little shy as he blushes and nods. "Yeah, in a few minutes. Tell them I had to use the toilet if they ask where I am." You nod your head and kiss him again, palming his member through the fabric as you do and he moans against your lips but you pull away and he sighs. "Okay, go before I change my mind and keep you up here with me. We can have more fun later but right now you really need to make an appearance at the party." You kiss him one last time before walking over to the door.

"Have fun, Aaron. Send me a photo. I want to see your cock wrapped up in my underwear as you get off with them." You wink at him and grin more which only makes him blush even more. He nods and you finally leave the room to join the party which you can't even remember the purpose of. Sure enough, a few minutes later you hear your phone chime and you sneak a glance at it to see a picture from Aaron. His large hand and your soaked underwear wrapped around his dick as he strokes himself in your room. It nearly makes you moan but you manage to suppress it and focus on the party once again.

You know you'll both be having some more fun later. You'll coincidentally have plans and have to leave shortly after Aaron does. And then you'll end up in his bed as he pounds into you and your moans will fill his ears as his fill yours.

#anon🩶#aaron hotchner #hotch #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner x fem!reader #aaron hotchner x female!reader #aaron hotchner x you #hotch x reader #hotch x fem!reader #hotch x female!reader #hotch x you #aaron hotchner smut #hotch smut #dbf!hotch #dbf!aaron hotchner #mon answers🩷#hotch🌜

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nanowrimo · 6 months

Text

Pro Tips from a NaNo Coach: How to Write a Novel in 30 Days

NaNoWriMo can seem like a daunting task sometimes, for NaNo newbies and veterans alike. Fortunately, our NaNo Coaches are here to help guide you through November! Today, author Adiba Jaigirdar is here to share her advice on how to set yourself up for noveling success:

Welcome to the very first week of NaNoWriMo! I’ve done NaNoWriMo for (almost) every year since 2008. I’ve won some, I’ve lost some, but I’ve learned a lot along the way. In fact, I apply a lot of the tactics I learned in NaNoWriMo to all my writing. When I wrote my second book, Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating, I ended up with a first draft of 74,000 words written in 30 days. That wasn’t something I would have thought possible in 2008 when I was slogging through my very first 50,000-word novel. That’s why I’m here today to share with you a few tips and tricks I’ve picked up through my writing journey, in the hopes that they serve you and your novel this November:

1. Accountability

One of the most difficult parts of writing a novel is that it requires so much self-discipline. It’s not like a job you show up to where your boss is holding you accountable for how many words you’ve written. Only you are ultimately responsible for how much you get done—which is why it’s easy to get demotivated and give up. So, you need to figure out ways in which you can be accountable for your novel this month.

You’ll be glad to hear that you’ve already taken the first step in doing this: you’ve pledged to do NaNoWriMo. You’re here, ready to write. But you can go a step further: ask your friends and family to hold you accountable by checking in on your progress during the month. If you have friends who are doing NaNoWriMo that’s even better; you can hold each other accountable. If you’re on social media, you can share updates every day and be accountable to your followers. There are a lot of ways to do it; so figure out what kind of accountability works best for you!

2. Planning

Planning a novel is definitely not for everyone. This is coming from someone who has pantsed many books! Planning can look different for different people. If you are a true-blue plotter, you might have your entire novel planned from beginning to end, with comprehensive chapter outlines. But if you’re not someone who plots out your entire novel before you’ve written a single word, planning is still important.

This planning can look like a rough outline of your book or finishing your writing day and jotting down a few quick ideas of what to write when you come back to writing the next day, or it can be leaving yourself voice memos as ideas spark when you’re nowhere near your novel. Going into every new day of writing without any idea of what the blank page will hold is very, very daunting, which is why planning ahead can be just the motivation that you need to fulfill your word count goal for the day.

3. Figure out what works for you

I have published four books so far and I’ve written many more. The process of writing each of these books has been very different. I drafted one in three months, one in 30 days, one was completely plotted with a rigorous outline, while one was plotted with a flexible outline, and two were completely pantsed. What I’ve learned about myself is that to make a book work, sometimes I have to try something different.

The only thing NaNoWriMo requires of you is to write those 50,000 words. How you go about it depends on you. You don’t have to write every single day if that doesn’t work for you. You can write at the same time every day, or a different time every day depending on what sparks your creativity. You don’t have to participate in writing sprints if writing with a countdown doesn’t help you focus. The point is that now’s your time to figure out what works for you and what doesn’t. You might be surprised by what methods you swear will never work for you but ends up helping you over that finish line.

4. Have fun!

This is easier said than done, but try to enjoy writing your novel. Especially when it feels difficult. When I wrote 74,000 words in 30 days, it felt like a breeze because I was having a lot of fun with my book. Try to remember what makes you excited about your novel and go back to that when it’s tough. If writing is what you love, find the joy of it and nurture it throughout this month. The more you enjoy it, the more likely you are to keep writing.

Adiba Jaigirdar is the award-winning, critically-acclaimed and bestselling author of The Henna Wars, Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating, A Million to One, and The Dos and Donuts of Love. A Bangladeshi/Irish writer and former teacher, she has an MA in Postcolonial Studies and a BA in English and History. She is the winner of the YA book prize 2022, the KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards 2021, and was a finalist for the 2022 Lambda Literary awards. When not writing, she is probably ranting about the ills of colonialism, playing video games, or expanding her overflowing lipstick collection.

#nanowrimo #nanowrimo 2023 #writing #writing advice #writing tips #writblr #by nano coach #adiba jaigirdar

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authornina · 9 months

Text

Savvy Day Care

***THIS HAS NOT BEEN THROUGH A TYPICAL EDITING PROCESS; ALL SHORTS ARE ROUGH DRAFTS***

Sav sat in the driver seat of their shared brand-new Mercedes Benz sprinter passenger van going over his checklist to make sure he had all of his nieces. They had so many children and counting, a regular little mini-van wouldn’t do—like on ballet and gymnastics days that they all had together or when Jacob did field trips with them. Minus the boys who rarely made any fuss, all nine girls were very specific at times and some didn’t like sharing seat belts or their personal space if they weren’t in the best mood, so they invested in a sprinter and it’d been smooth sailing since.

“Melody, she so pretty make my heart all fluttery.”

“Here,” she cheerfully replied to her uncle. She didn’t always get to spend a lot of time with her father’s side of the family so being in the presence of her uncle and cousins made her happy.

“Delightful Damaris, she gon’ be a stunnin’ runway model in Paris.”

“Here!”

“Pretty Poppy, all these hoes gon’ wanna copy.”

“Here me go, Uncle Sav!”

“Savannah my precious banana,” Sav called then looked in the mirror and she raised her hand, still not able to verbally communicate much but they were working on it day by day. They mostly depended on sign language. He and Chi were just thankful she was able to walk on her own now without assistance. “Queen Day B, my G!”

“Here daddy!” she giggled.

“Aubree my gorgeous lil cup of tea.”

“Here,” she blushed.

“Ivory, my cute honeybee.”

“I’m right here,” she replied bashfully.

They loved their pet names given by Uncle Sav.

“Lovely Loire, even though you mean you the one I’ll always adore.” “Hmph!” she folded her arms with a scowl. The last thing she wanted to do was be in a leotard, tights, ballet shoes and a slick back bun. She looked just like a little Lake with an attitude.

“Ion know what hmph mean lil girl.”

“Me here!” Loire pouted, attitude on a hundred.

“You gon’ be flung over the bushes you keep actin’ up,” Sav threatened and she poked her lip out, and started crying into her sister’s arm. “My beautiful River gon’ always have my back and deliver…slaps! To ya muhfuckin’ dome on behalf of her uncle!”

“Here, Uncle Savy,” she laughed. “You make my sister cry,” River put her arm around Loire.

“She made her lil bad ass self cry. Loire cut it out before I get Sugar Sprinkle Pickle,” he referred to their dog that Lake let them name and she straightened up real quick. For some reason she was afraid of that little ass chihuahua. “Ard, everybody got their seatbelts on?” “Yes!” they all responded at the same time, Savannah nodding her head up and down.

“Do anybody gotta go number one or two before I pull off?”

“Nooo!”

“Goin’ once, goin’ twice, and we out!”

Jacob was on vacation for a week so what he’d usually tend to with their children was split between Sav, Lake, and Dem. Vant declined to help, wanting to use all of his free time from the kids trying to give Ivy another baby which she refused.

They had so many kids that keeping them active was necessary. They had tons of energy which needed to be channeled in something productive other than fighting with one another. Leave them in the house for too long, barrettes were flying, hair was being pulled and nothing but crying and screaming filled the air.

Once they arrived at the studio, Sav parked and got out making all of the girls hold hands as they crossed the lot. They basically had private lessons seeing as their group made up one class.

“Good afternoon!” their teacher, Ms. Farrah smiled as each of her tiny ballerinas marched into the studio. While the class went on Sav sat to the side taking pictures and videos, sending them in the group chat.

Avery: Fix Loire bow, she get on my nerves with that lil ass attitude! Ivy: Why is Aubree actin’ like we don’t practice the pliè at home? Ooh that girl! Vant: Fuck off my daughter bro Ivy: STFU! Avery: Nobody is talking about Damaris eatin’ everybody up though Chi: Straight running circles around them! Show them how it’s done Maris! Sav: My Banana is the best one Chi: And she is! Avery: She is doing so good, I’m so proud of her Ivy: Me too. Vant: Love Banny and all but I’m not bouta sit here and lie Ivory killin’ all them! Avery: LIES! It’s Damaris, River, THEN my pookie poo Ivory Ivy: Avery don’t make me kick your ass. Avery: Facts are facts! Lake: Can y’all all shut the fuck up? Chi: Husband! Why you gotta be so mean? Avery: Chi. Ivy: CTFU! Sav: I’m mutin’ y’all dickheads now Chi: You better not nigga! Ivy: Whose making dinner tonight? Avery: Not me! I’m tired and my back is hurting Chi: I can’t cook Lake: That’s why you need to sit the fuck down somewhere Avery: Do you see how you talk to me?😭 Ivy: Omg! Avery go away, you wasn’t complaining how he talk to you or crying when you laid up and got your ass pregnant again! He said sit down somewhere so SAT DOWN! Chi: Husband I woulda been sittin’ Sav: Chi get your fuckin’ head knocked off Vant: At least she lay down and get pregnant, some people act like it’s gon’ ruin their fuckin’ life to have another baby. Ivy: Vant do not start! You are not the one that has to PHYSICALLY go through a pregnancy! Vant: If I could carry my own fuckin’ babies I would! Sav: This nigga gay Wreck: Gay asf Vant: 🖕🏾

Pav: The girls are so cute! I wish I had a daughter to do ballet Sav: You late Pav: We were all napping Chi: You always sleep, let me find out you lettin’ Daly do you like Lake Daly: 🍆

Ivy: Okayyyyyyyyyyy! Get it get it! Vant: Ivy. Relax my nigga. Avery: I swear this is the last one. I can’t do this anymore. We’re gonna have to use condoms. Lake: Yea ok Ivy: TMI Chi: I would never make big daddy—nevermind Sav: Wait till I get home. Ima put a dent right in your fuckin’ forehead. Avery: LMAOOOOO! Big daddy that bitch! Chi: 🖕🏾 Dem: I’m not reading all that shit Ivy: Heyyy bookie Dem: Hey Avery: LMAO! Dem did you eat? Dem: No Avery: You want me to cook you some food? Sav: But you just said you was tired and your back was hurtin but now that Dem ain’t ate shit you got the energy Avery: Hater much? Vant: I’ll cook Wreck: Then I’m stayin home Daly: Me too Lake: I’m not eatin’ nothin Vant cook Pav: I will cook. Geez. Everybody be here by 8 Vant: Ayeee! Wreck: I’ll be over there Sav: You cook better than Avery anyway Avery: 🖕🏾

Sav: Ard the class is over. I’m takin all they asses to my house for a minute. Chi: Lord. Let me put up all my good shit Ivy: Don’t do that to them lmao Chi: You know they bad as shit! Sav: No, THEY kids is bad as shit. My babies is good. Dem: And mine Avery: So what tf are y’all saying? Ivy: Exactly! Wreck: Lake and Vant got some bad ass kids. Lake: Ok Daly: Now I need to put up all our good shit Ivy: Vant? Vant: Man…Ion feel like fightin’ and our kids is bad as shit Ivy: Wow. Sav: Bye dickheads!

Putting the phone in his pocket, Sav gathered his tribe of little ladies. They all walked to the van hand in hand talking over one another.

“Loire, you feel better?”

“Yes!” she answered her uncle now all smile. Sometimes it took his niece a minute to warm up.

“Good…who wanna go bother auntie Chi?”

“Meeeeee!” they all raised their hands at the same time.

“She’s my mommy,” Sav heard Day say.

“And she’s my auntie,” Aubree sassed.

“Don’t be mean to me.”

“Talk to the hand!”

“Daddy!” Day shouted. “She put her hand in my face,” she whined.

“Aubree chill out.”

“I’m tellin’ my daddy on you!” Aubree asserted.

“And what he supposed to do?”

“Beat chu up.”

“Your daddy can’t beat my daddy,” River added twisted her neck.

“I bet he can!”

“No he can’t!

“Ard,” Sav laughed. “Y’all chill, it ain’t that deep.”

“But Uncle Savy, she—”

“It’s ard River,” Sav turned to her giving her a look. “We know the real.”

River nodded then rolled her eyes at Aubree. “My daddy still can whoop uncle Vant, I seen him do it,” she whispered just having to get the last word.

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summerlinenss · 3 months

Note

out of curiosity, if Max doesn’t release its metrics, then what metrics are you actually using to make these statements about the show’s popularity? what does “it’s currently in the 99.7th percentile of the comedy genre, meaning it’s in higher demand than 99.7% of all comedy series in the u.s.” even mean? How are you measuring what’s “in demand” - by who? Where? It’s bold to claim that this show was wildly popular (despite the fact that I never hear about it outside of tumblr, tho that’s a personal anecdote) but cancelled just for being queer, so I would be really interested to know where you’re getting all these numbers from. Thanks!

hey anon! first of all i am so sorry for the delayed response. i started typing something up and then i got distracted with something else and totally forgot about this in my drafts.

sure, i have no problem citing sources. i probably should’ve linked some in my original post, that’s absolutely fair.

this ended up way longer than i planned so bear with me, but a quick overview of what i’ll be going over:

1) what are the stats/where did they come from?

2) how is the show so popular?

3) was it really cancelled for being queer?

(also just a disclaimer that this will contain spoilers for the show)

1) first, the numbers

you’re right that hbo doesn’t release metrics to the public. in fact, ceo casey bloys tried to justify the cancellation to the hollywood reporter by saying “the numbers weren’t there,” despite refusing to say what exactly those numbers were or where they came from.

however, there are websites dedicated to researching/analyzing the data of different media. one of those is parrot analytics, who focus on industry insights like audience demand, competitive analysis, and content valuations. they’re trusted as a reliable source by forbes, the new york times, reuters, the wall street journal, and more.

this is what we can learn from them about our flag means death from a basic google search (note that all of this data is relevant to the last 30 days as of january 26 2024):

audience demand for our flag means death is now 33.6x greater than the average tv series in the united states. as explained in the “about demand distribution” section, this means it’s one of only 0.2% of all u.s. shows to fall in the “exceptional” performance range compared to the “average” demand benchmark of 64.1%.

the change in demand for ofmd in the u.s. has increased by 7.5% compared to the average tv series.

ofmd now actually ranks at the 99.8th percentile in the comedy genre in the u.s. i’m not a math person, but in basic terms, this is like a scale of measuring and comparing performances to create an average score. essentially, ofmd is performing at the very top of all comedy series in the u.s.

ofmd has 100% home market travelability. as it says above, the market of origin is always 100%, so in fairness i included the graph of international markets for comparison. some of these aren't super high, however (as explained by parrot analytics themselves) one of the key issues with the international market is accessibility to content, which has been an ongoing struggle for international fans. many people (i guess fittingly) have resorted to pirating ofmd because they don’t have access to max or affiliate streaming services in their country.

there are more stats i could have and wanted to go more in-depth into but it would make this even longer than it already is, so i’ll just leave some links you can check out if you’re interested and move on:

• comparison of ofmd's success to shows like ted lasso, euphoria, and peacemaker

• ofmd's placement as #1 most in-demand breakout series in the u.s. for 8 weeks

• ofmd's impressive 94% critics score and 95% audience score on rotten tomatoes

• how ofmd evolved from sleeper hit to a flagship series at max

• a list of ofmd's past and present award nominations/wins

• praise and recognition from news/entertainment sites: the atlantic (2022); the new york times (2023); tv guide (2023); vulture (2023); forbes (2023); the los angeles times (2022); vanity fair (2023)

2) so why haven’t you (or others) really heard of the show outside of tumblr despite all this success? likely because max did a terrible job marketing it.

ofmd first aired on hbo max (pre-merger before it was “max”) in march 2022. the entire season aired over one month, every thursday at 12am pst. season 2 followed a similar release schedule in october 2023.

season 1’s marketing was almost non-existent, pretty much relying on taika waititi’s name being attached. there was one teaser and one full-length trailer, as well as a few clips on youtube of taika and rhys darby answering pirate-themed trivia, all painting the show as a “silly pirate workplace/buddy comedy.” but hbo max didn’t put any real effort in because they didn’t care. david zaslav and the other higher-ups had no faith in the show and expected it to fail.

most people weren’t aware it was actually a romance due to the poor marketing, and although there were many romantically charged scenes between them, many were still wary to believe it wasn’t queerbaiting until ed & stede confessed their feelings and kissed.

showrunner david jenkins has said in interviews that he had no idea how deeply queerbaiting had hurt audiences and impacted their ability to trust what’s on screen without feeling like they’re being ridiculed, despite the fact that he was calling it a love story the whole time. it wasn’t until people realized they weren’t being queerbaited and that it was a funny, sincere show with a compelling plot that word-of-mouth began to spread. by the time the season 1 finale aired, there was a decent-sized fandom that continued to grow as it received more praise.

it was a fight to even get the show renewed for season 2, and david jenkins and the cast have majorly credited that renewal to the unexpected and massive fan response to the show, which basically forced hbo’s hand.

max didn’t bother trying to properly promote the series until season 2, when they begrudgingly accepted that it was one of their most profitable and successful shows. ofmd had huge billboards in times square, downtown los angeles, and on the side of hbo headquarters. they started accurately marketing the show as not just a workplace comedy at sea, but a heartfelt romcom. max began selling long-demanded merch (which became best sellers) and spent money on an FYC campaign.

i will emphasize, whether they liked it or not, they knew ofmd was their new moneymaker (especially with the recent end of succession, which was obviously a cash cow for hbo).

photo credit: @/bookishtheo

3) now if it was that successful, was it really cancelled just for being queer?

i mean, i can’t say that definitively. no one can. there are several potential factors at play that we may never know, and there have been a lot of rumours and speculation (many of which i don’t feel comfortable discussing in case they aren’t true) since the cancellation.

but do i believe the fact that it’s a queer romcom was one of those factors, especially since max has a history of cancelling and scrapping its most diverse projects? absolutely.

first and foremost, i can’t stress enough that this isn’t just a show with a few characters thrown in for token representation. ofmd is built on a diverse, intersectional cast and narratives, including:

• lgbtq+ representation: 5 main couples are explicitly queer (including mlm, wlw, nblm, and nblw relationships). multiple characters are implied to be poly, and there’s a polycule forming in season 2 that was hinted to be developed more in season 3. beyond relationships, it’s confirmed that (similarly to the way wwdits depicts all vampires as being pansexual) all of the pirates are somewhere on the queer spectrum.

• bipoc representation: the majority of the main cast are people of colour. this includes david fane, joel fry, leslie jones, samson kayo, vico ortiz, anapela polataivao, madeleine sami, samba schutte, ruibo qian, and taika waititi, as well as many guest actors (like rachel house, simone kessell, and maaka pohatu) and extras.

• disability representation: multiple characters have physical disabilities, most notably amputated/prosthetic limbs and visual impairment. a lot (actually most) of the characters also deal with mental health issues, particularly coping with severe trauma and suicidal ideation/behaviour.

• the show has been praised for addressing difficult and serious themes like toxic masculinity, colonialism, and self-discovery, all while still managing to be a witty comedy and not come across as “preachy.”

• the diversity also extends off-screen, with a team of directors, writers, and additional crew comprised of numerous bipoc, women, queer people, and trans/non-binary people.

my point isn’t just the quantity of representation, but the quality. they take great care and respect into every marginalized group depicted on-screen. the actors would often be consulted about their characters’ costumes, hair, tattoos, and the kind of language they use. it’s not a world where discrimination magically doesn’t exist, they just have zero tolerance for it. if a character does something homophobic or racist, you can guarantee they’ll quickly (and often violently) be punished.

so okay, sure, it’s got great representation. what does that have to do max cancelling it?

because they’ve been interfering with production from the start.

i already mentioned the marketing issues so i won’t get into that. it was also revealed in interviews with david jenkins after season 2 that hbo cut their budget by 40%, which is why they had to do everything they could to save money. this included letting go of some of the original cast (and even still having episodes where some of them don’t appear at all) and moving the entire production to AoNZ. the budget cuts also meant two less episodes, so they had to rush to fit an entire season’s worth of plot into eight half-hour long episodes.

but one of the biggest frustrations is hbo’s (alleged) censorship of the show. samba schutte revealed that the entire plot of episode 2x06 was completely different in the original script. before it was rewritten as “calypso’s birthday,” the episode took place during lucius & pete’s wedding and focused on the crew getting sick of the sexual tension between ed & stede and trying to get them to hook up (this aligned with lucius & pete getting engaged and ed & stede deciding to take things slow in the previous episode).

vico ortiz and writer jes tom have also commented that many scenes between jim, oluwande, and archie establishing them as a polycule were cut, including one of the three of them emerging from a bedroom in their underwear. jes has mentioned other elements of season 2 that had to be cut out or rewritten, like the implication of other poly dynamics between the crew and more sexually explicit scenarios and jokes.

considering that ofmd is an extremely sex-positive show that isn’t afraid to be raunchy or taboo, it’s clear that either higher-ups at hbo forced them to cut these things out or they had no choice but to cut them out due to tight budget/time restraints.

in addition to this, a recent article citing an “anonymous insider” has alleged that hbo was uncomfortable with and was unsure how to market the “shock violence” in the show (the same network that aired game of thrones), which david jenkins outright called out as being bullshit. ofmd is rated TV-MA and the posters and trailers all show the audience that it contains violent content. there is literally nothing more graphic in ofmd than any other pirate show — it’s probably a lot tamer than most of them, actually.

violence on the show is most frequently used in a comedic context, in the sense that it’s not meant to be seen as scary or taken seriously. the few instances of serious graphic imagery on the show are meant to invoke a mood shift, like ed’s transformation into the kraken or ned low’s murder. it should also be noted that some of the most graphic deaths are reserved for bigots, like ed snapping the neck of a colonizer who was ridiculing stede’s love letter.

it’s also most often used in a sexual context — not sexual violence, but violence as a sexual metaphor. more specifically the act of stabbing as a metaphor for penetration, as seen with both ed & stede and anne & mary. bearing all this in mind, it seems like the real issue here isn’t executives struggling to market explicit violence to a mainstream audience, but rather explicit gay content.

as much as we joke and affectionately call it the “gay pirate show,” ofmd has always been nothing more than an opportunity for rainbow capitalism for hbo (e.g. the fact that they waited three months to announce season 2 just so they could do it on the first day of pride month). like other cancelled queer media, ofmd was a way for hbo executives to show how “inclusive” and “accepting” they are when it was convenient (aka profitable) for them, but they never actually respected the show or us as a community.

it’s impossible to be certain of what the exact reasoning for cancellation was, especially when they won’t give us a clear answer themselves. and maybe it had nothing to do with ofmd being a queer romcom at all. maybe that’s all a horrible coincidence. but for hbo/max to axe a critically acclaimed and beautifully inclusive show that’s successful by every metric, with an extremely devoted fanbase, especially after casey bloys just had the nerve to ask “gay twitter” to hype up the gilded age? it doesn’t exactly put them in the best light regardless.

in summary, i’ll leave you with this editorial, which details how the campaign to save ofmd isn’t just about one show, but a fight to save the future of all queer art.

#asks #anon #ofmd #our flag means death #save ofmd #renew as a crew #fuck david zaslav #queer media

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mybrainproblems · 4 months

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hello, i'm finales georg...

i don't want to further clutter up the notes on this post while responding to the tags below but the persistence of the "finale is short/scenes are missing/extra ad break” conspiracies drives me absolutely bananas when i've watched the finale ten times and have posted about this A LOT trying to clear things up. (disclaimer that yes, i'm a goddamn destiel shipper but i care about Facts above all.)

ok but this is weird because i'd swear the episode was shorter (11 missing scenes!) but okay. maybe we all mandela effected ourselves into #beleving that. because it felt shorter. but i will die on the hill that it had another ad break. i understand this person has the thing #recorded with ads so i am thinking maybe different ad breaks in different idk time zones??? #because the finale did air an hour earlier in canada so maybe idk i am reaching here but maybe different states or whatever had different #ad breaks??? as for the last minute changes - wasn't the cover band asked for permission to use their version of carry on like a week before #the thing aired??? so even if the episode was 42 minutes and had no additional ad break - which i am side eying but lets say all was normal #i will always say they were changing thing until the absolute last minute (carry on my wayward son X 2 #the crew on the bridge which is not only giant 4th wall breaking but also wow they really got all those people in one place in times of #covid???) #anyway. tinfoil hat stays on sorry guys :/ (via @officialmisha)

short and snarky: there are plenty of real and sourced examples of network homophobia and scripted/directed destiel scenes being cut to point to. we don’t need to make this stuff up just bc the finale wasn’t what we wanted. so it’s not the mandela effect — it’s ppl repeating a conspiracy/rumor bc it supports their narrative and it’s easier and more fun to repeat something that supports a narrative they already believe (misha or something destiel was cut) vs the boring act of fact checking.

longer circumspect answer with links bc like many ppl i am in my debunking era and i rewatched "roblox_oof" last night.

like i said. i've watched the finale ten times. i’ve gone over the episode with a fine toothed comb and posted a detailed breakdown of timing marks on my blog. it’s actually extremely obvious where the ad breaks are once you know roughly where to look for them (they have a longer fade to black instead of a quick cut scene change). there’s no room for extra ad breaks and i think this conspiracy/rumor persists in part bc the episode feels so sparse in terms of cast and the fact that the episode’s momentum hits a barn post (and rebar) less than 20min into an hour-long programming block.

also i’m begging ppl to actually look at that timing mark post. it’s very straightforward and i spent a lot of time on it. i don’t care if ppl plagiarize it at this point if it means this conspiracy stops. i've got almost every second accounted for.

the "eleven missing scenes" that you're thinking of are probably from the finale script of questionable authenticity that @spnscripthunt acquired back in 2021 which can be found here. it's dated as the “final draft” from 11 sep 2020 and filming on 15x20 wrapped on 10 sep 2020. as noted at the bottom of this superwiki page "[the] script came from someone claiming to have been the person who did the closed captions for the show in Russia. There are some indications that it possibly may not be authentic, but this has not been confirmed."

if we go with the possibility that this was a transcript meant for subtitles, the "omitted" scenes were probably written but never filmed since it's the "final draft" and not a color revision (blue, green, yellow, etc). unfortunately, i’ve lost track of where i read it and a preliminary duckduckgo search isn’t bringing it up bc there's a program for script writing called final draft, but iirc the “final draft” version of a script is a transcript of what was filmed (e.g. there are parts of that 15x20 script that ended up being deleted scenes on the DVD). spnscripthunt also has an example of a confirmed final draft for 09x02 (funnily enough, also a dabb-penned ep). if anyone can confirm with a source that i have the purpose of the “final draft” version designation wrong, please let me know! i love being proven wrong with Facts.

i do want to acknowledge that the two “final drafts” do look different from each other and the 15x20 one doesn't look like a “real” final draft script since it lacks the revision/versioning dates that a script would normally have on the cover page. it could be that it was intended for subtitles; there's the chance it's been re-typed to anonymize it if there was anything indicating who the "owner" was, tho that seems a wee bit cloak and dagger to me. and again: it's considered of questionable authenticity. there are some things that don't quite line up but oh dear god i don't want to get even further out into the weeds than i already am.

i won't disagree that it's weird as hell that neoni only got asked about using their cover seven days prior to the episode airing (tiktok here). my personal theory is that they were hoping to get a more expensive song (maybe a zepp song, idk) and didn't manage to secure the rights in the end. again: this is pure conjecture on my part! but i could absolutely see someone working on the show hearing neoni’s cover and liking it and then maybe they were using it as a placeholder until it got down to the wire and they had to make a call/send the ep to networks. because yes, it is baffling they played a song and then a cover of it with only a 40 second break between. (i do actually really like the neoni cover! the placement is just weird and i think it could have worked if they had the kansas version at the beginning and closed with neoni's full cover.)

as to the 4th wall break COVID stuff: robert singer talked with variety magazine about filming the last two episodes and the logistics of filming during a pandemic. whether they should have been filming during a pandemic is a separate discussion but their use of office vs set pods, strict quarantining and daily testing meant that they had zero positive tests in the month they were filming (18 aug to 10 sep). so given all that, i personally don’t think it’s totally out of pocket to have everyone standing outdoors on a bridge for maybe an hour to get a drone shot of them together. (i won’t get into incubation periods and viral load, but if everyone tested negative that day and every day for a month prior, it was a fairly low risk scene to film outdoors and for all we know everyone was masked until the last possible second. there were plenty of outdoor masked protests in 2020 that weren't superspreader events.)

and before anyone brings up “but misha was in vancouver!” i know someone who looked into it and they said no dice, nothing matched up between the backgrounds in those pics and places in vancouver. his statements about “us” going back to set over the summer were pretty generic in hindsight and “we”/"us" could be him or the spn crew generally. unfortunately i’m not able to find those tweets but the use of “we” was likely so as not to give away he wouldn’t be returning to set. (bc we were absolutely casbaited!) and bc it comes up a lot: the "onion field pic" was from when they were filming 15x17 and was not taken while filming 15x19 and 15x20.

besides, it would be ridiculous to go through the financial and logistical headaches of bringing someone into the country to film during a pandemic, only to cut their scenes in the end! honestly, the script is pretty tight when the scenes are given so much breathing room! the only thing i could see being further cut down is The Monologue and even then, i don’t think there was any intent to cut it down given it was filmed in fairly long takes.

i’ve said it many times before, but i believe the finale was fucked long before they returned to set. walker got the green light in sep 2019 and it was being marketed heavily as a “follow on” show to spn given jared’s involvement. the demo they were courting for walker has little to no overlap with the demo for destiel fans — why would they want a finale that catered to a demo they weren't interested in courting? we just went through a historic double strike that exposed so much of the rot of business interests overriding creative vision. this isn't completely unfounded conjecture.

i will not apologize for the length of this bc i wanted to be thorough, but i do want to give context that i think the reason these conspiracies and rumors grind my gears so much is because anyone can fact check all of this. the truth is out there and absolutely none of it is that hard to find. the most time consuming/difficult part of this was finding someone who had a DVR’d copy of the finale from when it aired live and they actually found me themselves after i’d been low key asking around for a year!

and like. i get it. conspiracies are fun. but there are so many sourced instances of network homophobia and destiel being cut that it's like. why is this something folks are hanging onto? the cw is notorious for having upper level meddling with finales bc there's a follow-on show they want to shuffle fans along to and spn is no exception.

#this is my personal bugbear / debunking hill to die on #it's so easy to disprove and has been disproved for so long at this point and it just keeps. on. getting. repeated.#finales georg #destiel #spn #unfortch most destiel folks don't venture outside the ship harbor and this has been LONG debunked by w/incest blogs #as in like. days after the rumor first started circulating in nov/dec 2020. (and it takes next to nothing!)#i'm a more recent arrival to the fandom (feb 2021) which i think gives me a bit more distance being able to watch the finale 10 times lol #but like. it is RIGHT THERE. folks don't even have to watch the ep. just pull it up on netflix/DVD/whatever to see the runtime.#the 'new post' button is right there. screencap my post and dismiss the effort i've put in somewhere i don't have to see it.#fandom debunking #i heard tommy tallarico was the first american hired to work on supernatural (his mother is very proud)

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sunny-desk · 6 months

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Journal (Troy Otto x Reader)

Next Part

Summary: Set during Season 3. Troy's late night notebook scribbling often wakes the reader up.

Author’s Note: This is the second thing I've ever written, I don't really know what I'm doing. I think the tenses might be a mess. Part 2 may happen but it also may not. This has been in my drafts since July.

You wake to the sound of pencil hastily scratching on paper and Troy quietly mumbling to himself. This happened often. You knew there was a lot going on in his head, some of which you’d managed to get him to open up to you about, mainly the simpler stuff, but most of which ended up scribbled in his journal. (He didn’t like it when you called it that but if writing down your theories, thoughts and feelings isn’t journaling, then what is?) You’d been staying in his room, or “our room” as he’d often correct you, most nights for the last few weeks and in that time you’d become mostly accustomed to his ever changing, sometimes unpredictable to the people who didn't know him well, mood. He was quick to anger or annoy but he was also quick to make happy or smile, you just had to be the right person for the job, and the more you learnt about him, the more the right person was you. Being woken in the night had almost become a routine. It wasn’t too hard to predict when it would happen, any significant goings on around the ranch, good or bad, pretty much guaranteed Troy would be up in the early hours scribbling away, noting down any thoughts or ideas he had. Slow days made it less likely but slow days were rare and you’d started realising that sometimes just because the day was slow that didn’t mean Troy’s mind wasn’t racing.

The most useful thing you’d come to learn was when it was worth trying to talk to him during these night-time writing sessions. When the previous day had been a good one, when you woke up, you’d often roll over and ask him about what he was writing down. You’d have to sit for a minute to get a response but he’d always give you one. And when the answer came it was a rush of thoughts and theories and ideas about the dead (Can they survive underwater? How long would it take them to starve? Could they be useful, maybe as camouflage?) or the militia (“We need to change strategies, there’s too much land to cover. Here, look, I drew this diagram of the routes around the ranch. We should do more training in the camp too, I’ve planned this schedule, see?” “They’ll hate you for that wake up time.” “They’ll hate me more if their families die because I didn’t train them well enough to protect this place.”) or sometimes the garden (“We need more people out there working. Maybe we should expand it too.”) He would listen to any thoughts you had on the subjects once he was done rambling and if you said something useful (which, to your credit, you sometimes did), he’d start writing that down too and another five minutes of silence would commence. When the previous day had been a bad one, you had learned to not roll over at all. You’d tried it a few times, the first because you didn’t realise it was a bad idea, the second because you hadn’t yet noticed the pattern and the two times after that because you thought maybe he’d finally want to start opening up to you about the bigger things you knew plagued his mind. He never did.

Usually the small amount he would say on these nights was just short sentences (“I’m fine.” “Go back to sleep.” “Nothings going on.”) or grunts or, one time, a shout (“Why do you want to know my business all the time?!”). You understood it was hard for him to open up, a journal had been his go-to for most of his life when it came to big thoughts and feelings. He couldn’t rely on his father for emotional support and his brother tried but he wasn’t always there and when he was Troy didn’t get the sense that Jake really understood him or would know what to do with all the thoughts sloshing around in his head anyways so it was best not to bother burdening him. After the shouting incident you explained (the next morning, when he was more calm) that you were just trying to be there for him when he needed it. He apologised and made it up to you but talking to him on those nights wasn’t something you’d tried since. Until now. Because his dad was dead.

#fear the walking dead #troy otto x reader #troy otto #mine #ftwd fanfic #troy otto fanfic

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banzaitaka · 6 months

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I had this in my drafts for a long time. Started writing it when I was on my period and needed comfort.

Shall I make something more outta this?? Gimme your thoughts

Reader is:

-ftm trans (he/him)

-hyena beastman

-octavinelle student

-introverted

Azul, Jade and Floyd are gonna be your frens in this, eventually. Platonic, fluff, comfort.

___

(Y/N) dreaded his monthly week of red and dysphoria the moment he got the news he was going to NRC, even more than he already did. At first it actually started off as the usual mix of fear and excitement. Excitement because he actually got to go to a boys school, and fear mostly because of his social anxiety. After a bit of looking through the internet though, he couldn't really find information on transgender students attending that specific college.

Didn't mean there weren't any at all, but surely it wasn't enough to actually normalize certain things...Like buying pads, which is where the dread kicked in. It was hard enough for him to enter a store all by himself, but then going up to the counter of the school store and asking for period products? In a boys school?

And like the teen has feared, he was quivering, curled up in a ball in the corner of his dorm room. It must've been either luck or fate that gave him his own room. Although the roommates he could've had might've been that one group he needed as mental support during this horrible time. That group could've called him masculine terms, refilled his hot-water bottle for him, got him those damn pads he was slowly running out off...

That group would've been a blessing, truly. Knowing it could've also went the oppisite way, though, made (Y/N) not sad about sharing his room with his plushies, and his plushies only. It was easier for him to sleep alone in a smaller room anyways.

The bitter aftertaste of being given a separate room because he was trans, without questioning if it was necessary, was ignored as best as possible. It was somewhat disappointing, but there were perks in it too. And leaving it as an act meant well was feeling better at the time being.

Only when the actual pads were replaced with a bunch of toilet paper, (Y/N) counted the money in his wallet. NRC was clearly not transphobic, but the possible humiliation was steadily crawling around in the back of his mind. Honestly, the last thing he wanted was people finding out about him being transgender. Not because he was ashamed of it, he was actually very open about it back in the Shaftlands, his confidence about anything regarding himself was just not existing at that time. Any unwelcomed comment could shape his view on himself to the worst.

If only he had friends in this school full of strangers.

He had gotten know his dormmates, sure, but spoken he only had to three of them. Properly, I mean. They came straight from under the sea, switched out their tails and tentacles with human legs. Of course, they had to get used to walking first. Learn how to walk, to be more specific, seeing as none of them came to the surface before enrolling.

The help they received from the school only provided improvement, but that still didn‘t prevent all tripping or knees giving in.

(Y/N) actually made it his mission to try and catch them as often as he could. And once the headmage saw him executing that task, the hyena became their unofficial guide. No job interview or anything. It wasn‘t all that difficult nor time consuming since there were actually professionals working with the mermen, though. So that was a good thing. The pressure was bearable.

Their names were quickly saved in his brain, there was no way he would allow a mix up. Azul, silver hair, glasses. Jade, sharp eyes, highlight on the left side. Floyd, dog eyes, highlight on the right side. That was his personal Quizlet.

It wasn't difficult to get along with those three. Being quick to sort people into different personality categories really helped. Jade seemed to be alright with most approaches, being watched was the only dislike point (Y/N) noted in bold font. Azul seemed to be against accepting mere favors from others. (Y/N) proposed getting a written compliment for everything he helped him with. Which really seemed to help him for the most part.

And Floyd, now Floyd was the toughest one. Though (Y/N) was able to relate to his mood swings and lack of motivation, that didn't really help him deal with it. He had no idea how to make walking any more fun, didn't know how to bring in a new element to reawake the merman's excitement for his new limbs. So he just lets him be whenever he didn't feel like it. Floyd seemed very interested in running and jumping around, letting him just lay or sit around wasn‘t going to have a bad impact.

And that's pretty much all the involvement they had with each other. Besides the occasional greeting, information exchange and chase around the school ground.

So not even they were on the list of people to ask for aid...

There was nothing and no one else to turn to, he knew that, stuffing his wallet in his bag and reapplying his perfume. Being seen buying period products is one thing, but having a fellow beastman smell it? He never felt so lucky being a beastman, or else he might've been under even more stress, wondering if they knew.

Take a deep breath, (Y/N), you got this.

The dress shoes of the dorm uniform weren‘t comfortable on his feet. If it wasn‘t for the satisfying click clack of their heels (and the dress code), he would‘ve thrown them straight into the trash. Why did they have to wear uniforms at any time besides sleeping? Dorm uniforms were cool, but come on. Isn‘t this the time for relaxing? At least the usual uniform was pretty bendable. Though not all teachers clearly didn‘t appreciate all types of styles, it was allowed to bring your own taste into it.

He remembered seeing a fellow freshman wear a hoodie under his jacket, seemed a little too warm, but certainly looked nice. Oh, or a junior who ditched the jacket completely and paired it with sandals.

(Y/N) was still figuring out how he was going to style his uniform himself. A balance between comfortable and certified by as many teachers as possible seemed like a good bet, if it wasn‘t so difficult to achieve.

One year later, this already looked much different.

(Y/N) curled into himself, breath shaky and quite as another cramp overcame him. His fangs dug deep into his bottom lip, providing no release to the pain, however. A soft knock on the door made the male slowly open his eyes, eyebrows still furrowed in a frustrated groan. His eyes were only met with the wall at his bed, darkened due to the little light illuminating the room.

"Ye.", he squeaked out, hoping it was loud enough to be heard from the other side of the door.

The light from outside the dorm room spilled into the room, shining and revealing a tall shadow. The hyena didn't have to turn around to know it was Jade. He could smell the moray's cologne and the hot chocolate.

"You seem to still be in a lot of pain. Are you sure you don't want something to provide heat?", he stepped into the room, catious not to step on or kick any of the plushies that fell onto the ground due to (Y/N)'s thrashing. He placed the mug on the nightstand, before leaning over the male a bit to search for his face.

(Y/N) shook his head, "You guys did so much for me already. I can handle it from here."

#banzaitaka #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x male reader #x reader #x male reader #octavinelle #jade leech #azul ashengrotto #floyd leech

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storyslurper · 1 year

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GunXReaderXGoo|| Quick(ish) one-shot

OkOkOk this is suuuper self indulgent, and has also been sitting in my draft for literal months, yes they may be a lil ooc but lisTEN- i needed to do this. No one else will so i shall. anyway it's just some drabble about what these lovely guys might do on a nice day with their shared lover

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"Goo, honey..? Baby, love, sweetheart, darling, gummy bear, ban-"

"Yes. Hello, enough of that." Goo cut you off while rolling his eyes. "You don't have a million cringe nicknames for Gun y'know."

"Sure I do. I don't have to use them though, since he usually answers the first time." you said while motioning for hi to sit next to you on the couch.

"Yeah, sure." he said with a sigh then sitting down.

"Gun is just about ready, he just finished in the shower." to which Goo only hummed in response.

"Did you ever send me those materials?" he asked turning to look at you.

"...What?"

"I need materials to upgrade my shit, I told you this." he said with an annoyed sigh.

"Oh, on that crappy game you made me download, yeah I'm still only level 6." you replied leaning your head back on the couch.

"WHAT?! HOW? You've had the game for like a week! I was level 24 by then!" he practically shrieked making you slightly flinch from his volume.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're a little loser with almost no life, I get it." you retorted with a chuckle.

"Oh shut your trap! You're just mad you can't play a simple phone game!" he said crossing his arms and dramatically leaning back into the couch.

"Are you two done yet? I'd like to get going before the traffic rush." Gun pipped in from the corner of the room smoothing down his silky dress shirt.

"It's not like you're driving... we'd never make it if you did.." Goo said the last part a bit quieter.

"Even if I'm not driving it's still unpleasant to sit in traffic. Even worse, I'll have to listen to you complaining about it." Gun replied while grabbing your jacket and starting to walk over to you.

"Oh c'mon guys, play nice. It's my day, sooo that means you two are the best of friends today." you said firmly while standing and turning around to let Gun put your jacket on you.

Gun held your jacket while you slipped your arms into the sleeves. When he was done he smoothed over the jacket leaving his hands on your waist, you craned your neck to look at his face behind you.

"The very best of friends." he stated stiffly but with a smile on his face.

"For some reason, I find that hard to believe." you said turning slightly to plant a quick peck on his nose. "Well let's get going then, I want to pick up some smocks so I can keep them."

"Smocks? What the hell is that?" Goo asked with a scrunch of his nose.

"Art smocks, y'know. They go over your clothes so you don't ruin them, and I figured you wouldn't want to wear something at least a dozen other people have worn. They reuse their smocks, more cost effective."

"If even a single thread of-"

"Don't worry my little primadonna you won't mess up your fancy clothes. now let's gooooo." you cut him off, dragging out the end of your sentence. Goo only replied with a scoff and a roll of his eyes.

The three of you made your way to the car and you were off. You all agreed to a deal that at least once a month you got to choose something for all of you to do together. With their busy schedules it was the least they could do. Both Gun and Goo knew you valued the little time you got with both of them, but they also knew you wanted to spend time with them together. That's why today you chose to go to a small town you used to visit all the time as a kid, you looked up what the art center was doing today and it just so happened they were having a 3-hour long open painting session. You liked creating things, whether it looked professional or not didn't matter to you, just that you liked it and that it was fun. You were a little nervous with Gun and Goo there, you were hoping they wouldn't start a fight over nothing and then you'd have to awkwardly pack up your canvases and shuffle out of the place as if you didn't know them. Regardless, you were still excited too. You'll get to relive some nostalgia, paint, and spend time with your men, it's the perfect trifecta for a perfect day.

As you were getting closer to the destination you were getting more and more restless, just about ready to jump out of the car and wander around the place until you felt satisfied. You pointed where to go out to Goo, definitely annoying Gun with your frantic pointing and leaning so far into the front you were practically sitting on the center console. Finally, you arrived at the front of the building jumping out of the car before even coming to a full stop. You ran inside and to the front desk to check in, Gun and Goo came in shortly after you. You excitedly babbled on about all the time you spent here as a kid, barely taking a breath between words. It wasn't until Gun put his hand on your back and started to walk to the Courtyard, where the open painting was being held, it was breathtaking. When you were here last there weren't huge willow trees, a peaceful little gazebo, or the bright wildflowers dotting the whole yard.

"-snookums, babygirl, princess, honey bunches of oats?" Goo's voice finally reached your ear.

"Uh-huh, yeah, wait. What?" you turn to him with a confused look.

"THAT is what got your attention? Really? None of the cutesy ones?" he asked with a slightly annoyed tone. "Not even my beloved worked.." he sighed.

"Aww, how sweet~" you cooed while latching onto his arm.

The three of you painted although it was more you and Gun painting while Goo just flopped his brush around the canvas every now and then between bothering you by trying to paint on yours. You all talked about meaningless topics and even cracked a few jokes, Gun too, surprisingly. This went on for about an hour and a half before you were satisfied and starving. You packed up everything and the instructor told you that you could stop by tomorrow to pick up your paintings, that way they could dry over night. Which you were thankful for seeing as you saw no way that Goo would allow wet paint in his car.

After dinner, at yet another overly fancy place, with the two men you all had went back home. Almost immediately as you got inside Gun and Goo started to argue on what movie you'd be watching to which you let out a long over-exaggerated sigh causing them both to stifle their arguing opting instead to take off their shoes and jackets to walk over and sit on opposite sides of the couch in silence while you riffled through all the different DVDs you owned, settling on one of your favorite movies. After you set up the movie, grabbed a blanket, and a bottle of wine and three glasses you sat down between the two of them pouring their glasses and handing them off. You glanced back and forth between the two of them hoping they'd get the hint, which they did as they both scooted closer Gun resting his free hand on your thigh and Goo sliding his arm around your waist. You pressed play on the movie and settled in comfortably between the two, a content sigh leaving your lips.

By the time the movie was done and you were ready to get up and head to bed you realized both of them had already fallen asleep, both clutching onto you in their own right. You slightly adjusted so you were a little more comfortable, only for Gun to mumble for you to go to sleep and pull you into his chest, which made Goo stir and latch onto your waist putting his face to rest on your stomach. You sigh and lean forward as much as you could to give a kiss to the top of Goo's head then laid back to crane your neck and place a kiss on Gun's jawline, not long after drifting off to sleep.

#park jonggun #goo kim #lookism #lookism manhwa #gun x reader #goo x reader #gun x reader x goo #lookism x reader #i need them fr #just me and my boyfriends #im obsessed with them #oneshot #fluff #self indulgent content

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katscki · 2 years

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Let’s Talk About Sex

let’s talk about sex: salt-n-pepa

MDNI

bakugou x fem!reader

masterlist

wc: 1.7k

all characters are aged up!!!! like 18-19 ish

cw: praise, established relationship, inexperienced, virgins but not virginity loss, dirty talk, sex talk (idk man just go with it), dry humping if you squint, oral (fem receiving), fingering, mentions of masterbation again if you squint.

this has just been sittin in my drafts for forever

You were a virgin, both of you were, never going past heated make out sessions and fleeting touches, never having the courage. However, after spending the day with your friends talking about their experiences with guys, you haven’t been able to get yourself off knowing there was something more pleasurable to be explored. Of course you knew about head, the gist of it that is, where you would like to be touched, speed, pressure, but actually experiencing it was something completely different. It has been so difficult trying to rub one out after things got a little too intense with Bakugou. So after hearing about how heavenly getting eaten out was, naturally you wanted to see what it was like for yourself.

You walk out of your bedroom to find him splayed across your couch in a comfortable manner, before going up to him. “Suki, can you um… can you sit up. I need to talk to you.” Your words ring in his head and the constant fear that you’re going to leave him instantly surfaces in his mind.

He clears his throat before sitting up to which you invite yourself to sit cutely in a cross cross applesauce manner in front of him. Shorts riding up in the process so only a little fabric is visible below your his sweatshirt.

“What about, baby? Somethin wrong?” He tries to sound cool but internally he is just waiting for the ‘it’s not you it me’ conversation. Seconds feel like minutes as you try to gain your composure enough to get the sentence out.

“Um you know how I was over at F/N’s the other day?” You ask and he nods tentatively. “W-well we were talking about um… well we were talking about s-sex. And they were telling me about what it’s like when a guy eats you out… a-and the way they were describing it… it just seems like it would feel so good.” You say sighing dreamily at what it might feel like.

Bakugous brain has stopped working, cheeks flushed a pretty pink. Not a thought behind his eyes other than pleasuring you in a new way, until an influx of worries began to plague his mind. Were you asking him for head? He didn’t know how to do that! Why now, you never seemed very interested before?!Were you waiting for him to make the first move but decided he took too long? Just. Why now?

“O-okay but where’s this comin from? You went over there like a week ago? Why not ask when you got back?” He asks genuinely so confused.

“So um after that conversation I couldn’t stop thinking about,” You take a moment to point at his head then point between your legs, “and it made me r-really um… horny… I guess is the word. But every time I would try to help myself, I would start to imagine it was y-you then it would get ruined cause it wasn’t you.” You shyly look up from your lap with innocent eyes that beg for him to understand.

“You think about me when you…” He inquires but it isn’t so much a question more so adoration that you see him in your mind at your most intimate moments.

“W-well yea! Don’t you- don’t you think about me?” The second half comes off quieter than you intended but he hears it anyway. No verbal answer was said but the blush on his cheeks darkening gives you all the answer you need.

“So,” He clears his throat as to sound more composed, “You want me to eat you out? M not sure what i’m doing…” He says dejectedly and you think that’s his way of saying no. Bakugou sees the way your shoulders instinctively sink in disappointment so he makes the second part of his statement quick. “But I wanna learn! um, I wanna learn how to make you feel good… if you’ll teach me…”

“Really?” He can see the excitement etch your features as you look in his eyes for any regret of saying yes. “F’ course baby. Why wouldn’t I wanna get between my pretty girls thighs?” He says a little more confident now, bringing his hands down to squeeze at the plush of your thighs before lifting you to straddle him. He moves his hand up your waist landing on the back of your neck, thumb rubbing circles on your jaw before guiding you to kiss him. Immediately it was heated tongues beginning to explore each other’s mouths. It’s everything you would want in a kiss, the only way you could physically show your passion for one another so far but it was all about to change when you subtly roll your hips against his seeking friction. Seeing how he wasn’t appalled by your newly lewd behavior he thinks it’s hot you once again move your hips forward, letting out a small whimper into his mouth. You were about to do it again too if it weren’t for him flipping you on your back, him above you continuing the kiss.

“Mm can’t have you cummin on my lap sweets. Want the first time you let go with me to be on my tongue. Wanna taste you.” Bakugou purrs into your ear, kissing down your neck, slowly moving his body towards your womanhood. Stopping at your shorts, he looks up at you gauging your reaction to a slow lick below your belly button. The action making you shudder in anticipation. His fingers hook at the sides of your shorts awaiting your permission to undress you. “Can I take em off pretty?” You nod nervously.

Suddenly, the thought of this being the first time a man will see your most intimate places has you shutting your eyes tightly, not wanting to see his reaction. But this was also his first time seeing a pussy, he was never one to dabble in porn, always being able to get the job done with the imagery in his mind alone. He pulled them down, underwear too in the process and you gasped audibly at the chilly air hitting your cunt so suddenly. The fact that he is quiet for a while makes you even more nervous until you feel his finger take a curious swipe through your folds.

“Jesus fucking christ” He whispers as he sees the wetness that secreted from your hole. In hearing that the first thing your mind goes to is he thinks it’s gross, that is until you open your eyes to see him sucking your essence off his finger, eyes rolling back at the taste of you.

“Suki, please want it so bad it hurts.” You pout at him wiggling your hips to try and catch your clit on something, anything for some relief.

“Aww my poor baby, tell your Suki where it hurts so he can kiss it better.” He coos, loving the way your eyes are glossing over from gaining pleasure in his words alone.

“Right here Suki, n-need it right here.” You let your hand drag down to your throbbing nub, aching for some kind of friction, and giving it a few tight circles before reluctantly pulling away. He stairs at the spot you showed him trying to commit it to memory. Pshh what’s all this about not finding the clit? You just showed him where it was! How are other men struggling with this? He leans down to cautiously make the first swipe of his tongue across the bundle of nerves trying to see if he was doing it right. But after seeing your hips jolt, eyes rolling back at the foreign feeling, he figures he’s at least got this down.

He continues to lap at your clit in small short licks trying to get one thing right at a time. Bakugou feels your hand gravitate to his hair, fingers intwining themselves with the strands as you gently start to pull. The groan that leaves his mouth is enough to tell you how much he likes the slight burning sensation as you pull. He’s licking and licking and licking until you say something, “S-suck it Suki, fuck me with your fingers while you suck.” His eyes widen at your wording but ultimately enjoys the noticeable sign that you’re getting more comfortable.

Bakugou slowly brings his finger to your entrance, collecting some of your wetness onto it before carefully slipping it inside of you. And just when you thought it couldn’t feel any better, he finally began to suck on your clit, moaning around you at your taste, the vibrations sending pleasurable jolts through you. His finger moves in and out of you smoothly, reaching places your tiny fingers couldn’t. Just a little more and you would for sure cum. Once he sees that your hole is big enough to comfortably accommodate his finger he adds another creating a pleasurable stretch.

“Oh god yes, fuuuck yes! C-curl your fingers! Please p-please!” Your eyes have officially shut, brows furrowed basking in how intoxicating it feels. He does as you say, curling his fingers upward grazing against a small spongy spot inside of you. All the while still basically making out with your nub.

“Right there! Don’t stop— d-dont stop… Oh my fucking god! K-katsukiiii!” You moan out pornographically, hips rolling onto his tongue and hand chasing your orgasm. And he knows when it hits, core tightening around his fingers so hard he thinks they may break, thighs shooting up to squish his head in between them, fingers still dancing through his hair albeit harder now desperately trying to get him to keep going.

Once the after shocks die down, you lie limp on the couch, cum dripping from your throbbing hole.

“How *pant* are you *pant* so fucking *pant* good at that?!” He licks your excess juice off his lips before he answers.

“So I did okay?” He asks nervously, way out of character for him.

“Are you fucking kidding me?! You just made me cum the hardest I ever have and you’re asking me if you did okay?! Yes! God fucking yes you did so good.” you assure him.

His cocky nature returning to him as he hears your praise, leaning down to whisper sexily in your ear, “Course I did, I’m Katsuki fuckin Bakugou. Now spread those legs again pretty. Still gotta stick my tongue in this pussy.”

Your friends are gonna love this.

TAGS 🏷:

@trafalgar-lau @mybabekatsuki @loving-katsuki @ariavaana @melaniebakugo @keyz-writes @kuleo26 @sirensuki @theweasleysrule @asmaechan

#mha #bnha #bakugou #bakugou fluff #bakugou katsuki #bakugou imagine #bakugou x reader #fanfic #bakugou x you #katsuki x reader #mha bakugo smut #bakugo smut #mha smut #bakugou katsuki smut

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morallyinept · 6 months

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HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE! 🖤

How has your week been, lovelies?

My week started off with a touch of a cold, but thankfully hasn't developed into the flu or anything. One of the things I really can't stand most, is that feeling of being all bunged up in your face - bleurgh. Just no thank you ✋🏻

Otherwise, it's been all systems go as usual on the Jett plane. ✈️ Busy with work, busy with friends and busy with writing! 🥵

So Jack, let's crack that whip n' get into this week's whip round, sugar. Yeehaw!

Catch up on last week here, sugar.

☆ Things I've posted this week

Five Days - Chapter 3 - We're starting to get into the meat of this Joel Miller story a bit now and I'm so thankful for all of you that read, re-blog and leave comments on this. I am so glad you're all enjoying it!

Polynesian Kiss - One Shot - My first time writing for Max Phillips which was super fun! 🩸

Ring Toss - One Shot - Donuts & Frankie? Always a tasty treat. Inspired by the awesome & lovely @secretelephanttattoo and her Doughnut Debauchery Marcus Pike Fic. 🍩

Clickbait - Joel Miller GIFLET. I went over 500 words on this one, and I'm not sorry.

Cuts Like Glass - Dave York GIFLET. I'm considering expanding on this one... got a few ideas brewing in the ol' noggin for Dave. 😏

Ezra Ask - My lovely @sweetenerobert was putting ideas into my head first thing on Monday morning, and this quick drabble was the result. 🥵

Lazy Sunday Frankie Vibes HCs - This pic of Pedro from the La Vanguardia shoot, got me thinking some hot Frankie thots... 🔥

I also had some spicy Frankie thots on this awesome post by @rebel-held too. 🖤 Frankie Friday messed me up this week! 🫠

This week's Self-Care with Dieter & Jett focused on Sexual Expression & Repression. And we had World Mental Health Day on Tuesday. 🌍🧠❤️

Phew! It's been a busy week! 🥵

☆ Things I'm currently working on

• Editing the final draft of my Halloween fic to drop on Oct 31st. I'm excited for this one!

• Working on some more GIFLETS as always.

• A fair few one shot drafts that I've always got brewing. Have finished editing a Marcus Pike one shot that I'll probably post next week.

☆ Things I've read this week

My Favourite Fic Recs List hasn't been updated yet this week yet as I've been busy with other things, however all these stories below, and more, will added next week. 👇🏻

A few fics that stood out in particular that I read this week were:

Mystery Strain - @rebel-held I really enjoyed this alternative take on a sex pollen troupe from Rebel's Kinktober prompts, and may now also have a thing for Dieter's big, soft belly after reading this. 🤭

For You I Would Ruin Myself - @thelightsandtheroses Sticking with Dieter, this was a great emotionally charged story, and I love how Dieter was written in this. As much as I love reading smut (who doesn't?), I also really love stories where you are pulled into the inner workings of a character's emotions and thoughts, and sex isn't the main plot point, and this story really impressed me by doing that. Deffo recommend. 👍🏻

Behind Closed Doors - @sweetenerobert Where do I even start?! This was just utterly delicious and debauched. I had so much vivid imagery in my head reading this that a cold shower was needed afterwards, let me tell you. This was such a super hot read and I am so here for it! 🥵

Private & Confidential - @sin-djarin Becca has created the start of something truly wonderful here, I just know it. My Agent Pike senses are tingling to see where this story goes. You should totally check it out too. 🖤

50 - @linzels-blog This was a fic I really enjoyed this week, and I highly recommend it if you're looking for non-age gap fics specifically. It was utterly wonderful and features our favourite pilot, Frankie. 😍

In Another Life - @chronically-ghosted This beautiful Frankie story moved me. The way Taylor writes moves me. I am still thinking about this story and will read it over again. I urge you too also. You're really missing out on something utterly spectacular if you don't. 🖤

I Might Kill My Ex - @beskarandblasters This was such a fun, twisted little tale inspired by the song by Sza, about Joel, and I loved every second of this. It was super hot, and I really liked all the twisty turns this took me through. Deffo a must read. ☝🏻

☆ What have I been watching/listening to this week?

🎃 As it's spooky season, I watched a couple of horror films this week.

I rewatched Evil Dead Rise. I am a lover of the original films with Bruce 'The Chin' Campbell, but the remakes are quite good, particularly this one, I thought. I'm partial to a good horror film and it's been a while since I watched one that made me cringe and recoil at the gore. (The cheese grater scene, if you know, you know! 😬🫣)

Also rewatched both Scream and 30 Days Of Night this week too. Classics, IMO. 👍🏻

I'm looking forward to watching Talk To Me when that comes out on streaming too. The trailer looked fab.

Earworms of the week:

I just love Ronnie Radke's version of this Papa Roach original! I imagine it playing to the backdrop of an epic sex scene in a movie or something...

☆ What have I been up to this week?

Aside from the usual humdrum of work, I went on another short hike yesterday. Always good to get out and stretch the ol' legs.

A very good friend of mine cooked me a wonderful meal this week too when I visited them for a catch up. If you feed me, you can guarantee I will absolutely be your friend forever. 😀

As always, thanks to all those who have DM'd and sent Asks. It's so much fun getting to know you all! 🖤

Well, that was pretty much this week all whipped up in a nutshell! I hope you've all had a great week and are enjoying yourself this weekend too.🤘🏻

Stay kind & stay creamy 🖤

🖤

#jett's weekly whip round #agent whiskey #agent whiskey jack daniels #whiskey jack daniels #agent whiskey kingsman #pedro pascal #pedro pascal characters #jett's pedro boys #jett's writing #jett's giflets #ezra prospect #dieter bravo #joel miller #fic recs #jett's fics recs #jett has spoken #Spotify

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beginnerblueglass · 3 months

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Elvis (2022), culture of celebrity, Greek heroism, idolatry, and dehumanization.

So this Christmas my Gramma got Baz Lurhmann's Elvis Presley biopic, aptly named Elvis, in her stocking. I watched it with her, and then I watched it again three days later, and then a third time a week after that. Since then it's pretty much been keeping me up at night. I felt like I had to get my thoughts down, even if this just lives in my drafts for all eternity. So here we go; I've never written a long-form meta like this, and I'm really just emptying out my brain at this point. (Long post).

1. Elvis as seen through the eyes of the man who killed him (or did he?)

The movie begins in Las Vegas in 1997, and we are immediately introduced to an old man who's just collapsed from a stroke. He's rushed to the hospital in an ambulance and in his stroke-induced, fever-dream narration he describes himself as Colonel Tom Parker, the man who gave the world Elvis Presley. This narration is interrupted by loud voices of accusation and glaring headlines flashing across the screen, which accuse him of abusing, manipulating, overworking, and ultimately causing the death of Elvis Presley. He sits up quickly in his hospital bed, looks out at the Las Vegas cityscape, and tells us not to believe what the newspapers say about him. He declares that he did not, in fact, kill Elvis, and begins to tell the story from his point of view.

Now the first time I watched this movie, I was overwhelmed and slightly put off by the off-kilter pacing, and having read some reviews, I can see that many other viewers were as well. The first half of this movie is frenetic, erratic, impossibly quick-paced, bright, colourful, and has little respect for chronological order. These are the frantic, confused, morphine-induced ramblings of an old man on his deathbed, allegedly trying to set the record straight concerning the serious allegations which have been plaguing him for decades.

Something happens in the middle of this movie, however. After the victorious emotional and career peak of Elvis's '68 Comeback, the tone of the movie takes a turn. The pace slows down, the colour scheme loses its lustre, and there begins a growing sense of unease and dread. Something terrible is coming. It's ominous. Even if the viewer knows nothing about Elvis Presley, the opening scenes of the movie have already told us that he dies at the end. The main character of the story is nearing his end, and the storyteller on his deathbed is also nearing his.

So Elvis dies, and we get to the end of Parker's tale of self-defence. The only problem is, while he's been telling the story, we've been watching the story, and it seems beyond obvious that the Colonel is exactly what the shouting voices accused him of being at the beginning of the movie: a liar, cheat, and conman, guilty of causing Elvis's death. His final statement is easy to throw away as just another lie, "I'll tell you what really killed my boy: it was love, the love he felt from you, his fans." We roll our eyes in disgust and hope that he dies soon.

But wait. What does he mean by that and could he possibly have a point?

2. Celebrity culture, idolatry, and dehumanization.

I love a good story that accomplishes more than one purpose and tells more than just one story. Elvis tells the story of Elvis Presley, sure, and Colonel Tom Parker, and American pop culture, and the history of American music. It also tells a story that's been played out in real life, film, and television many, many times. The story of the meteoric rise and cataclysmic downfall of a beloved celebrity, a cultural icon, a superstar. What causes the downfall? Well, Parker claims that the culprit is love, specifically, the love fans feel for the celebrities they idolize. I found this movie to be a compelling examination of the dangers of the most prevalent form of idolatry in our culture: celebrity worship.

Before watching this movie I thought I had a pretty fair idea of who Elvis Presley was. I grew up in North America after all, and watched television, and you know, existed. I grew up listening to his Christmas album. I grew up watching Full House, in which one of the main characters, Uncle Jesse, is Elvis Presley's biggest fan. Since I can remember I've always been able to identify pictures of Elvis, and his voice. I can sing along to many of his songs. Many years ago my Gramma acquired a box set of all of Elvis's movies; I've seen bits and pieces of quite a few. Because of the internet, I've learned many commonly circulated fun facts about him, things like, "He was actually blond," and, "He was a legit federal agent," and, "He loved peanut butter." White sparkly jumpsuit, slick coiffed black hair, sideburns, curled lip, funny voice = Elvis, of course.

He is one of the preeminent members of a class of celebrity all on its own: the cultural icon. I wonder if some people don't think about the fact that "icon" is a religious word. In the minds of most people, and in the view of pop culture, Elvis Presley is no longer a human being just like anyone else; he has been reduced to a costume, an easily recognized symbol. Of what? Depends on who you ask. A symbol of America, or good, or evil, or Hollywood, or rock 'n roll, or Las Vegas, or teenage rebellion, or wealth, or a sex symbol.

What happens when a human being becomes the object of another human being's worship? They become just that, an object. Forms of worship include adoration, attention, devotion, money, and sex. They are offered in the name of love, and are often received as love. Our unreliable narrator makes the probably-true comment that Elvis became addicted to the false love, to the point where real love could not compare. Worshipers then feel entitlement to receive certain things back. The idol's life becomes public property, an open book which must be available for a photo shoot at all times, no matter how invasive. Fans swarm the gate of his private home, climb trees to peer into his window, refuse to watch a movie in which he doesn't sing, and photographers must capture his grief after his mother's death, and his haircut and physical exam before entering the military. Both the worshipers and the idol are eaten up by the vicious, dehumanizing cycle, which bears the pretty name of love.

We are invited to consider: did the consumeristic, idolatrous culture, which has a tendency to see people as products to be bought, invite the meddling of wicked, opportunistic men like Colonel Parker? Or did the wicked men, who package people up and market them as products to be sold, engineer such a culture?

3. Greek Mythology, the American Dream, and Elvis Presley.

Typology and literary archetypes are my jam. I adore how movies can play with these concepts through imagery and music. One of my all-time favourite movies is A Knight's Tale (2001). A Knight's Tale is about a peasant who masquerades as a knight and achieves fame, wealth, glory, and love. The director wanted the story to resonate with modern audiences, so he decided to portray knights as the medieval equivalent of rock stars. The movie utilizes symbols, metaphors, costume clues, and a killer soundtrack of classic rock songs to reinforce the idea that we are watching not just a movie about a knight, but also a movie about a rock star. The audience is invited to make inferences and assumptions based on what we know about the rock star archetype.

Baz Luhrmann made a comment in a behind-the-scenes interview, that Elvis had a mythic, hard-to-wrap-our-minds-around life, one that conforms to both the ancient Greek heroic tragedy and the American Dream narrative. So naturally I am obsessed with this idea. Let's get into it.

i. Greek hero stories, glory, the classic character arc.

I'm not an expert in Greek mythology, but I'm no slouch either. The ancient world greatly valued this thing, which has many names in many different cultures. You can see it in Genesis, the concept of having a great name, and the power that comes with it. It's a not-quite-abstract but not-quite-actual, metaphysical substance. For the Greeks, we'll call it glory. Glory is gained by accomplishing heroic feats: killing monsters, fighting in wars, and going on quests. Glory comes with fame, reputation, power, respect, money, women, and often supernatural abilities which give the owner the ability to accomplish more heroic feats, thereby gaining more glory. It is the vocation of heroes to pursue glory. Along with the ability to pursue glory, comes the desire for more. The more you have, the more you want. In fact, it's almost addictive.

The other thing about glory: it's corruptive. The longer you have it, the more things you are willing to do to get more, and the more power you have to do those possibly morally dubious things.

Most Greek heroes were demigods. They were born with a little bit of glory already inside them. This compelled them to seek more glory, and since they were demigods, they had a leg up when it came to getting it; they already had some supernatural strength and a powerful parent. They did heroic feats, achieved glory, received the power, fame, and wealth that came with the glory, were compelled to seek after more, and so on and so forth. Most Greek heroes had one or a mixture of two fates. 1) They died. Either they were in a situation where they were prevented from seeking more glory, so they wasted away, or they were killed in the pursuit of glory by an enemy, monster, or possibly by another hero. 2) They became corrupted. This often happened in ironic, cruel-twist-of-fate ways. One of the villains they fought in their youth was an evil king who murdered his own children, so somehow they ended up becoming a king who murdered his own children, something like that. You know the story: "You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain," or the classic, "You've become the very thing you swore to destroy."

ii. The American Dream Narrative.

A common literary trope, the American Dream story is appealing and inspirational, at least at first glance. The structure is pretty simple: The hero is born poor, with nothing but some talent and/or charisma. Due to a mixture of savviness, charm, hard work, and luck, the hero rises to the top and achieves the Dream of money, renown, independence, and freedom. The deconstruction of the American Dream is just as common in fiction. There's a catch, things don't go according to plan, the illusion fails, your luck runs out, etc. There is both so much hope and optimism, and so much mistrust and jadedness surrounding the American Dream. Can it be real?

iii. Elvis Presley.

Elvis was born with a little bit of something. He was born with beauty, charm, and musical talent; a star quality. These qualities of his drove him to use them. Nothing huge at first, but he always had high aspirations; he believed he could go somewhere. The more heroic feats he accomplished (performing and recording music and making movies), the more glory (or fame) he got. The more glory he got, the more he sought; gradually it became addictive. Soon, the corruptive quality of the glory reared its head.

Imagine an arc; the glory propelled him to the top of that arc, along with everything else the glory promises: money, fame, recognition, love, women, power. Up to a point, the glory is a positive force, but once the hero reaches the top of that arc, it becomes a more sinister thing; it starts pushing him down the other side. It starts to corrupt not only the hero but the people around him. While on the upward climb, the glory is like a magic elixir that grants wishes, but on the descent, it becomes more like drinking poison. Elvis's drug addiction and eating disorder seem like an on-the-nose literary device to symbolize this, but no! It happened.

What about the American Dream? He's the poster boy! Born absolutely dirt poor, with nothing but some talent and a dream. With a fortuitous mixture of charisma, hard work, meeting the right people at the right time, and being in the right place at the right time, he rose to the top. He also managed to nab (or be nabbed by) a business-savvy manager with a carnival background. It could only be the American Dream because Elvis, his music, his career, and his fashion were all uniquely American; he couldn't have come from anywhere else in the world, at any other time in history. Rock 'n Roll, the US Army, Hollywood, and Las Vegas, are inseparable from America.

I saw a person saying that the message of Elvis is that the American Dream is unattainable, but I disagree. It is attainable, but that's not the whole story. The movie presents the American Dream more as a deal with the devil. You'll get everything you ever wanted! But then you'll have to pay the price. To gain the American Dream is to open yourself to the ravages of American consumerism and celebrity idol worship. It's to make yourself vulnerable to the vultures, while you fatten yourself on the riches they feed to you. I don't think the movie portrays Elvis as a completely duped, innocent victim. While he was sometimes force-fed the glory (or the pills), many times he swallowed them consciously, willingly, losing the people who were actually looking out for him and truly loved him to forces outside his control, or due to his own choices. He was not immune to the corruptive power of fame and glory; no one is. That's the tragedy.

Anyway, I don't know how to conclude, but this isn't a school assignment so who cares? Baz Luhrmann is a genius, wow what a good movie, I can't wait to watch it again, I didn't even say anything about the soundtrack or Austin Butler's awe-inspiring performance, I love you Austin Butler,* I wrote this instead of a book report for school, it was worth it, I don't even care if no one reads it, I had fun, now to get on with my life.

*edit: his work, that is, and I admire his devotion to his craft. My point is not that we can’t be fans of celebrities. I believe that ALL human beings are worthy of love and dignity, NO human beings are worthy of another human’s worship, and such an attitude is as damaging to the worshipped as it is to the worshiper, and that SOME human beings, by virtue of extraordinary talent, are worthy of additional respect and admiration. I respect and admire Elvis Presley, Baz Luhrmann, and Austin Butler for being talented artists. The English language being what it is, love is the word we often use to sum all that up, but seeing as I just wrote this whole thing, I thought I’d clarify ✌️

#my first meta #elvis presley #elvis 2022 #baz luhrmann #baz luhrmann's elvis #analysis #movie analysis #thats the fastest 2400 words i've ever strung together in type format #long post #ok im posting it now #i think thats about all i had to say

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