#wild. simply WILD how time flies like this | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

rebeccathenaturalist · 7 months

Text

Existence Value: Why All of Nature is Important Whether We Can Use it or Not

I spend a lot of time around other nature nerds. We’re a bunch of people from varying backgrounds, places, and generations who all find a deep well of inspiration within the natural world. We’re the sort of people who will happily spend all day outside enjoying seeing wildlife and their habitats without any sort of secondary goal like fishing, foraging, etc. (though some of us engage in those activities, too.) We don’t just fall in love with the places we’ve been, either, but wild locales that we’ve only ever seen in pictures, or heard of from others. We are curators of existence value.

Existence value is exactly what it sounds like–something is considered important and worthwhile simply because it is. It’s at odds with how a lot of folks here in the United States view our “natural resources.” It’s also telling that that is the term most often used to refer collectively to anything that is not a human being, something we have created, or a species we have domesticated, and I have run into many people in my lifetime for whom the only value nature has is what money can be extracted from it. Timber, minerals, water, meat (wild and domestic), mushrooms, and more–for some, these are the sole reasons nature exists, especially if they can be sold for profit. When questioning how deeply imbalanced and harmful our extractive processes have become, I’ve often been told “Well, that’s just the way it is,” as if we shall be forever frozen in the mid-20th century with no opportunity to reimagine industry, technology, or uses thereof.

Moreover, we often assign positive or negative value to a being or place based on whether it directly benefits us or not. Look at how many people want to see deer and elk numbers skyrocket so that they have more to hunt, while advocating for going back to the days when people shot every gray wolf they came across. Barry Holstun Lopez’ classic Of Wolves and Men is just one of several in-depth looks at how deeply ingrained that hatred of the “big bad wolf” is in western mindsets, simply because wolves inconveniently prey on livestock and compete with us for dwindling areas of wild land and the wild game that sustained both species’ ancestors for many millennia. “Good” species are those that give us things; “bad” species are those that refuse to be so complacent.

Even the modern conservation movement often has to appeal to people’s selfishness in order to get us to care about nature. Look at how often we have to argue that a species of rare plant is worth saving because it might have a compound in it we could use for medicine. Think about how we’ve had to explain that we need biodiverse ecosystems, healthy soil, and clean water and air because of the ecosystem services they provide us. We measure the value of trees in dollars based on how they can mitigate air pollution and anthropogenic climate change. It’s frankly depressing how many people won’t understand a problem until we put things in terms of their own self-interest and make it personal. (I see that less as an individual failing, and more our society’s failure to teach empathy and emotional skills in general, but that’s a post for another time.)

Existence value flies in the face of all of those presumptions. It says that a wild animal, or a fungus, or a landscape, is worth preserving simply because it is there, and that is good enough. It argues that the white-tailed deer and the gray wolf are equally valuable regardless of what we think of them or get from them, in part because both are keystone species that have massive positive impacts on the ecosystems they are a part of, and their loss is ecologically devastating.

But even those species whose ecological impact isn’t quite so wide-ranging are still considered to have existence value. And we don’t have to have personally interacted with a place or its natural inhabitants in order to understand their existence value, either. I may never get to visit the Maasai Mara in Kenya, but I wish to see it as protected and cared for as places I visit regularly, like Willapa National Wildlife Refuge. And there are countless other places, whose names I may never know and which may be no larger than a fraction of an acre, that are important in their own right.

I would like more people (in western societies in particular) to be considering this concept of existence value. What happens when we detangle non-human nature from the automatic value judgements we place on it according to our own biases? When we question why we hold certain values, where those values came from, and the motivations of those who handed them to us in the first place, it makes it easier to see the complicated messes beneath the simple, shiny veneer of “Well, that’s just the way it is.”

And then we get to that most dangerous of realizations: it doesn’t have to be this way. It can be different, and better, taking the best of what we’ve accomplished over the years and creating better solutions for the worst of what we’ve done. In the words of Rebecca Buck–aka Tank Girl–“We can be wonderful. We can be magnificent. We can turn this shit around.”

Let’s be clear: rethinking is just the first step. We can’t just uproot ourselves from our current, deeply entrenched technological, social, and environmental situation and instantly create a new way of doing things. Societal change takes time; it takes generations. This is how we got into that situation, and it’s how we’re going to climb out of it and hopefully into something better. Sometimes the best we can do is celebrate small, incremental victories–but that’s better than nothing at all.

Nor can we just ignore the immensely disproportionate impact that has been made on indigenous and other disadvantaged communities by our society (even in some cases where we’ve actually been trying to fix the problems we’ve created.) It does no good to accept nature’s inherent value on its own terms if we do not also extend that acceptance throughout our own society, and to our entire species as a whole.

But I think ruminating on this concept of existence value is a good first step toward breaking ourselves out first and foremost. And then we go from there.

Did you enjoy this post? Consider taking one of my online foraging and natural history classes or hiring me for a guided nature tour, checking out my other articles, or picking up a paperback or ebook I’ve written! You can even buy me a coffee here!

#nature #natural history #ecology #wildlife #animals #environment #environmentalism #conservation #existence value #deep ecology #science #scicomm #environmental philosophy #climate change

561 notes · View notes

pandorasfavorite · 2 months

Note

Kinky smut after reader acts like a brat on RAW

Influenced

AN: NOT ME WRITING REQUESTS FROM MONTHS AGO LMAO. Sorry lovelies.....

AN: I'll probably finish this...but I had to post something yo

Dominik wasn't a demanding boyfriend by any means, honestly, he was really kind and patient. He never asked much of you, so when he did you complied. You originally didn't have the desire to test Dominik's dominance ever, because he's already so good to you there's no need for him to prove anything. However, after falling into a rabbit hole on social media, you were influenced. There were hundred of posts and stories of women being "bratty" toward their sweet boyfriends. Each story ended well...

You were dressed up and ready to go interrupt the beginning of Monday Night Raw. Dominik was wearing his black gear (that drove you wild) and a shirt draped in front of his pants. From the moment you walked in the dressing room Dominik's expression lit up. His arms fell open and he completely neglected the conversation he was in before. You approach him and give him a quick hug and a peck on the lips. You are an inch apart from him, smiling up at him and grabbing his hands in yours. "Hey babe, you ready?", he looks over your outfit (his tongue slides over his lips quickly). You bat your eyelashes at him and hum as an answer.

You drop one of Dominik's hands and your eyes focus on the shirt that is hanging in front of his pants. It annoyed you a bit how he covered up the thing you liked looking at... you smack the shirt and it flies up. "Why are you wearing this?", you question him in a displeased voice. Dominik notices the attitude in your voice and you smacking the shirt was out of the blue -- even for you. Dominik furrows his eyebrows a bit at the behavior but lets it go un-noticed. He simply just grabs your hand in his and brings it to his mouth to kiss.

You pull the same hand out of his grasps again and you smack the shirt again, scowling at the useless thing. Being a brat was fairly easy when you had something to not like. This time though Dominik wasn't as happy, his face pulls into the sexy angry frown that shows so often on TV. He taps your cheek with his finger in order for you to look up at him, "Stop that".

"Stop what?", you smack his shirt one more time, just cause. Dominik grabs your wrist lightly, pulling it away from the shirt. "You know what cut it out. I'm serious". You stop, for now, the best way to work his nerves is to continuously stay on top of this. To calm him down you lift up to kiss his lips, and his body relaxes instantly. His hand finds its way to the back of your head pulling you in for a deeper kiss that makes your stomach do flips. He pulls back with his boyish grin and holds your hand as he walks out the door with you.

-------------------------------------------------------------

It's important to note that Dominik (while he is very patient), he is a very jealous man. All his patience flies out of the window when the jealousy filters in. In fact, his jealousy is so bad some nights after Raw he has to push you up against the wall and shove his fingers inside of you just to hear you moan his name. You were going to take advantage of that weakness to get what you want, after all it's the easiest way.

All 5 of you step out into the darkness with your heads down, then the lights turn on. Every night you fight the urge to squint your eyes from the blinding light. Dominik's arm is around your waist and he takes you with him, every step of the way. It was a 3 v 3 match with the boys against another group of three. You and Rhea were positioned outside of the ring to make an appearance and distract the ref if it came down to that. As the match started so did your bratty behavior...

One of the opponents was looking at you from his spot on the outside of the ropes, you waved to him with a seductive smile. Dominik watched the interaction and his face was downcast in anger, so much so his knuckles were turning white from the grip he had on the ropes. His eyes followed you as you skipped around the ring, and interacted with fans in the front row. You were always the most friendly out of all the members of the group.

Again the same guy was watching you, sizing you up, and he went as far as motioning for you to come up to him. Dominik is radiating heat and he is scowling without the desire to hide it, Damian notices the interaction and he instantly taps him in. Dominik walks around the ring and points to the guy that you were 'flirting' with. The rest was history. Dominik starts with the guy not letting up on any of his hits. You could tell even after the match was won and finished Dominik was righteously heated. He met you in the middle of the walk way and instantly thrown his arm over your shoulders, pulling you into his side so he could kiss your head while he was looking back at that stupid guy.

Though he may not seem all that mad to the blind eye, Dominik's clenched jaw and screwed-up face say otherwise. After a short goodbye the Judgement Day dispersed in different directions, leading to Dominik steering you into the Judgement Day dressing room that you know so well. He opens the door for you and then shuts and locks it behind him rather loudly. He runs a hand down his face before taking a step closer to you. Your chests are on the verge of touching and Dominik's hands are twitching as if he's itching to take action. But he'd never do anything without having a conversation first.

"What was that out there?", he takes a heavy breath trying to speak calmly towards you. "What do you mean?", you bat your eyelashes and feign innocence. Dominik's head tilts back and he chuckles at the blatant disregard for the obvious, "You know what you were doing out there, don't pretend you don't". His chest is puffed up and he's looking at you with such displeasure but his eyes say something different. His gaze is intense and makes your legs feel wobbly. Honestly, it's making you a bit nervous and it's intimidating in a way you didn't mind embracing, "I don't know what you're talking about" you squeak out.

Dominik acts fast; pulling right up against him by the belt loops. His lips are hovering just over yours and you can feel his deep breathing of frustration fanning across your cheeks. "Say it", he said in a deep raspy command, the words sent a shock down to your core. Your heart is racing out of your chest and if it wasn't for the desire you were feeling in that moment, Dominik would have to scoop you up off the floor. You raise your chin up in defiance at him, crossing your arms over your chest, "Make me".

Dominik's hands fly to your waist and he spins you around, pushing your body with the back of his to move you forward. He walks you over to the back of the couch and bends you over it by the waist. His hands then brush your hair to one side of your face, now he has a perfect view of your star-struck expression that he yearned for. Dominik leans in close to you, his teeth now poking out as he grins, "You've been a brat all fucking day", he recalls. He pulls your pants down to your mid-thighs, just enough for him to spread your legs a bit and slip two fingers inside of you.

The moment he pumps his fingers in and out of you, curling them inside of you every time your breathing picks up, you feel your legs shake. His fingers are soaking wet and knuckle deep inside of you, and the tent in his pants only gets more defined when he hears the squelch your pussy makes. Your wetness was beginning to drip down the side of your thighs and Dominik mentally had to block out the idea of getting on his knees and licking it up, so nothing goes to waste. You hum in delight at the increasing feeling that you loved approaching, Dominik noticed your tell tales and refused to hide the fact that he knew.

"You really think you're going to get to cum? After acting like a brat all day? Just because you wanted to be my cock slut". You gasped at the filthy words flying so carelessly from his mouth, but also from the way he spits directly on your cunt after pulling his fingers away. You try to reply but your words come up short as you feel his large hands sliding down the back of your thighs. His skilled hands pull your thighs apart even further so he can have room to bring his face directly against your pussy. The feeling of his nose bumping against your clit and his smile that you so clearly can point out has you moaning out to him, "Baby please- m'sorry". You gave in, being a brat was hard when your man knew how to please so well.

You feel the way he laughed and shook his head in disbelief, he completely ignores you and swipes his tongue through your puffy folds. His tongue thrusts inside of you, working out the tension of you clenching around him.

AN: when my writing is shit but I have to provide like a good mother..

#dominik mysterio smut #dominik mysterio x reader smut #dominik mysterio x you #dominik mysterio fanfiction #dom dom #dominik mysterio fluff #dominik mysterio x reader #dominik mysterio #dominik my bbg #wwe #dick me down

118 notes · View notes

clangenrising · 26 days

Text

Month 14 - Newleaf

“It’s almost time,” Fogkit muttered to herself. She enjoyed muttering, especially if there was no one there to listen. It made her feel like she was five steps ahead. And today, she was. She had spent all week making spells out of prey scraps and mud and moth wings and such in preparation for today.

Last night, Goldenstar had told her and Slatekit that they would be apprenticed at dawn. She had risen early to groom her fur and scatter feathers around the camp for good luck. Now she sat hunched in the dark, hidden in the grass near the nursery, waiting for dawn. The sky was starting to turn a soft, pretty pink.

A few cats were up and about, likely waiting just like she was. She watched as Floodpaw slank out of the apprentices’ den and arched his back in a long, lanky curve, and she brightened. She bolted for him and slipped underneath him to poke her head out between his forelegs so she could look up at him.

He jumped and said, “Yikes, kid! What are you doing up so early?”

“Um, I’m gonna be apprenticed,” Fogkit rolled her eyes. “Duh!” He rolled his eyes in return and sat down on top of her. She squealed in delight and thrashed wildly.

“Huh,” he said, “where did Fogkit go?”

“I’m here!” she screamed, kicking with all her might. He winced but stayed where he was.

“Fogkit?” he called. “Oh, Fogkit! Man, that’s a shame. She’s gonna miss her ceremony.”

“No!” she giggled. “No, I can’t!” She rolled onto her back as best she could and kicked hard with both legs. Floodpaw gave a grunt of pain and tumbled off of her immediately. She laughed and sprang on him where he lay curled in a pained ball.

“Take that!” she declared, swiping at his ears.

The apprentice simply wheezed, “Good kick…”

Fogkit laughed and sat down to smooth out her fur again. Floodpaw was so much fun. Sparrowpaw and Barleypaw poked their heads out of the den and Fogkit waved her tail at them with a chipper smile.

“Everything alright out here?” Sparrowpaw asked, raising a brow.

“Yep!” she purred.

“Mhm,” groaned Floodpaw.

Barleypaw laughed and sat down next to her brother to purr against his side. “She must have got you pretty good.”

“Only ‘cause he sat on me,” Fogkit said.

“Oh, then I guess he deserved it,” Sparrowpaw smirked.

“Go hug a badger,” grumbled Floodpaw, finally managing to uncurl his body.

“Fogkit!” Slatekit’s voice squeaked from across the camp. Fogkit turned to smile at her sister and waved her over. Slatekit hesitated but crossed the distance to huddle beside her.

“Hey!” Fogkit said, “You excited?”

“Mm,” Slatekit whimpered in lieu of an answer.

“You’ll do great,” Barleypaw said. “I was super nervous at my ceremony too but it’s really not that scary.” Slatekit whimpered again.

“It’s okay,” Fogkit said confidently. “I’ve been doing spells all week to make sure we get the best mentors.”

“Spells?” Sparrowpaw blinked in surprise.

“Yeah!” Fogkit brightened. “Mystique told us all about how wild cats do magic spells to help their friends and curse their enemies. She didn’t know how to do them but I figured it out, I think.”

“Is that so?” Barleypaw seemed apprehensive. Floodpaw laughed.

Slatekit nodded. “Yeah, she said that wild cats are magic. We’re wild cats, right?”

“That is what the city calls Clan cats, yes,” said Sparrowpaw, “but-”

“Yeah!” Fogkit said, eager to share with them. “Magic is easy, you just have to get the right stuff and then think really hard about what you want to happen and sometimes put the stuff in a special place or something! I can show you guys sometime.”

“I’m good,” snorted Floodpaw.

“Maybe…” Barleypaw laughed awkwardly. “We’ve got to train for our final assessments though.”

“Oh, yeah,” Fogkit frowned. “You’re not gonna be in the apprentice den with us for very long…”

“Yeah,” said Sparrowpaw, “but you’ll be warriors before you know it. Time flies like that.”

Goldenstar’s voice rang out through the camp. “Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Stoneperch for a Clan meeting!”

“It’s happening!” squealed Fogkit, bouncing on her toes. Slatekit whined nervously.

“Come on, lets go sit closer,” Barleypaw said, wrapping her tail over Slatekit’s shoulders. The group of them moved in to join the other cats who trickled out of their dens and settled in a semicircle around the Stoneperch. Goldenstar sat atop the stone, her fur glowing under the creeping light of dawn. Fogkit kneaded the ground in anticipation.

“Today,” Goldenstar began, “we name two apprentices who have been waiting eagerly for this moment. Fogkit, Slatekit, you have reached the age of six moons and that means it’s time for you to start your training towards becoming warriors. From this day on, until you receive your warrior names, you will be known as Fogpaw and Slatepaw.” Everyone cheered, chorusing their new names. Slatepaw blushed and tried to stand up tall. Fogpaw didn’t stop looking at Goldenstar. She wasn’t going to be satisfied until she heard who her mentor would be.

“Slatepaw,” said Goldenstar, “for your mentor, I have chosen someone who has proven himself to be a kind and gentle mentor in the past. I entrust your training to Pantherhaze and hope that you will be able to rely on him when times are tough.”

Pantherhaze stepped out of the crowd, smiling softly. Slatepaw swallowed and stepped up to meet him. Fogpaw could see her trembling as they touched noses. He whispered something to her and she nodded. Fogpaw was happy with the pair. It seemed her spell had paid off.

“Fogpaw,” Goldenstar’s voice brought her back to attention. “Your mentor will be Scorchplume.” Fogpaw’s jaw fell open in surprise. She hadn’t realized that was an option. “Scorchplume, while this is your first apprentice, I am confident you will be able to teach Fogpaw how to excel at any pursuit she puts her mind to.”

Scorchplume swished her big, ginger tail up over her back and strode into the circle to meet Fogpaw. Fogpaw was frozen for a moment, unsure. Was this really what her magic had decided was the best mentor for her?

She glanced around at the other cats, the ones without apprentices. Branchbark, Aldertail, and Ospreymask all sat together near the edge. Ospreymask looked especially disappointed. Fogpaw realized that she wouldn’t want any of them to be her teacher. She looked back at Scorchplume who had raised her brows expectantly and tried to see through her expression to her aura. Scorchplume was bold and sharp and pretty. She was the only cat to have gone to the city and come back safely. Yes, Fogpaw decided, this was the perfect mentor for her.

Grinning, Fogpaw stepped up and presented her nose for Scorchplume to touch with her own. The warrior gave an amused humm and did so. The touch sent an electric shock through Fogpaw’s nose and she recoiled to rub at it with her paw. Scorchplume wrinkled her nose at the sensation. That had to mean something, right?

“We’re tied now,” she mumbled to Scorchplume, “you and me.”

“Really, now?” Scorch whispered back.

“With that, our meeting is concluded,” Goldenstar said. “Congratulations, Fogpaw and Slatepaw!” Another round of cheering went up for the both of them. Fogpaw looked around the circle and felt tears swelling within her. All of their will, all of their passion, was behind her now, driving her forward. She could almost feel StarClan’s presence on her back. I promise, Mama, she vowed, imagining spellwork being woven into every word, I’m going to become the best warrior there is. I’ll make you proud.

UPDATES: - Fogkit and Slatekit are made apprentices. Fogpaw is apprenticed to Scorchplume! Slatepaw is apprenticed to Pantherhaze!

76 notes · View notes

synthetickitsune · 2 months

Text

Pretty Skirt, Handsome Man ✧ h.js

Pairing: Joshua Hong x gn!reader (w/ f!anatomy) Genre: smut Summary: When your boyfriend so kindly informs you he'll be wearing a skirt when he comes home, there's only one possible way the night will end. Word count: 1.5k Warnings: unprotected sex, shua wears a skirt A/N: so idk if what he wore today was an actual skirt but it was close enough for me to get obsessed with the idea

Fingers pulling on his collar, sharp threats attacking him as he laughs and pulls you away from the door that he barely manages to kick closed with you all over him. Kicking off his shoes is even more complicated, but he manages although it costs him a look that could kill a man.

“Baby slow down, please,” Joshua grins in a way that suggests he means the contrary. On a different occasion, you’d probably do as he told you, knowing he wants the opposite, but today - well, you’re in no position to waste your time on teasing him. No matter how entertaining he might find it.

“No,” you say simply as you push his shoulders. Hard. He lands on a sofa and hurries to sit up straight with a disbelieving laugh that gets swallowed by your lips. You pull him into a messy kiss as soon as you straddle his lap.

Truth be told, he did sort of expect you’d go wild for him - just not as wild as you were.

“Babe, you’ll hurt yourself,” he warns, seriously this time. His hands steady your hips and give you a firm squeeze. You take a second to glare at him.

“I won’t,” you say.

He resorts to laughing again, helpless as to what he should do with you, as riled up as you were. Not like it didn’t have a certain very pleasant effect on him as well. He was well aware you were crazy for him as he was with you, but this? This was new. This made him feel tension in his abdomen and lust in every fiber of his body.

“We’ve had this conversation before,” he reminds you with a cocky smirk, “We’ve tried this before.”

You groan and grab his wrist. He lets you. He doesn’t flinch, only watches with amusement as you unceremoniously guide his hand between your legs. “It’s different now.”

The difference is immediately obvious the second Joshua’s fingers find your sopping center and it wipes the smirk off his face. His throat dries up. First - he didn’t expect you not to wear anything under your shorts, and second - all you did was pull him into a sloppy make out session once he walked through the door. And yet here you were so wet and horny you were all over him and demanding like he’s never seen before.

“All this just for me? Just because I wore a skirt for you?” he muses and watches with awe as you grind down on his fingers.

“It’s a very pretty skirt and you’re a very handsome man, Joshua, fuck-” your voice breaks as he slips his fingers inside you with a malicious grin on his face, “Need you inside.”

He coos at you in response. His foolish attempt at not succumbing to your pretty sighs even as his cock twitches impatiently under the fabric that’s quickly getting soaked. You’re dripping all over his fingers and your thighs. He doesn’t have to move at all while you ride his fingers and grind your clit on the palm of his hand. Wet sounds fill the room, mixed with your voice getting higher with desperation. His name leaves your lips over and over like it’s a chant. It’s intoxicating. Who is he to deprive you of his cock when you’re begging for it so eagerly?

You basically tear off your shirt and shorts in a second. Then your hands are on his hips, pulling off his boxers and hitching up his skirt as soon as he pulls his fingers out of you. He doesn’t understand the gibberish you’re muttering, but every word he does recognize is one curse or another. All he can do is lean back and let you take control. His hands run up and down your thighs. If he knew the extent to which you’d appreciate the outfit, he would have let himself be talked into the skirt much earlier.

Every single thought flies straight out of his head the moment he feels your slick cunt rubbing on his dick. He takes in a sharp breath and grips your hips for dear life because he doesn’t fully trust his body at the moment.

“How are you this wet, honey?” he asks a little breathlessly while trying to calm down.

“It’s too wet, Shua, need your help” you push against him more, easily grinding your clit against his tip as it slips between your folds.

He sees the tremors wrecking your body and while it will be a nice punishment to have you get off by just grinding on his dick some other time, the feeling of your juices pouring down his shaft has him swearing under his breath and working fast to grab his cock to line it up to your entrance.

He lowers you slowly, focusing his last bits of sanity on the fact you were not stretched too much. He doesn’t want to hurt you, although the expression on your face is anything but pained. His eyes close and he takes a deep breath. Or that was the plan - ruined by your lips on his. But he would never deny you kisses.

He wonders, briefly, where did this submission come from. His hands squeeze your hips but offer no directions, letting you ride him as you please. You fuck yourself on his cock hard and fast and it’s exactly what his body craves. You feel so good around him, so perfect, just what he needed after a long day. A sweet treat for his hard work. It takes a moment before he realizes the whines he hears aren’t yours - they’re his.

“Needed you so bad, Shua,” you whimper between the assault on his lips, “Ever since you sent me the pics and told me that’s what you’ll be wearing on the way home.”

Your fingers fidget with the first few buttons of his shirt, yanking it open and clawing on his bare shoulders to ground yourself, to get leverage.

“Take it, baby,” he hisses in pleasure, “Take what you need.”

He tries to be mindful and not hold you too hard, but with you bouncing on his lap so eagerly? Joshua has a one track mind to climax. He’ll let you do anything, anything if it gives you pleasure. The marks can be covered, and he’s not thinking about the consequences anyway.

He’s not thinking at all. You’re clenching around him, not giving his cock - or him - any space to run away from the pleasures of your body. Selfishly he indulges in it, he massages your ass in his hands and helps you keep the rhythm. He’s trying to hold out, trying to find something to distract him because he wants to last - he wants this to last forever. He’s not usually this sensitive, but your warm pussy feels so good around his dick after he danced in the cold the whole night. You’re moaning and mewling right into his ear that he feels so good that you need him, you’re keeping him right here with you in this moment, drowning out even his own pathetic whines begging you not to stop.

You don’t, and your release comes fast and unexpected and he finally - finally - lets go and pounds into you through your high and soon he follows after you. Only he can’t stop. Sweet words of reassurance spill from his lips, responding to your weak pleas as he fucks you and himself to the edge of overstimulation.

He’s completely spent when he slowly lets you rest with his cock deep inside you. His hair sticks to his sweaty skin. It feels a little disgusting, but then you move and his concern is fully on you. You, who just… laugh.

“That was quick,” snickering, you look at him. Your body is shaking, otherwise you seem fine though. Joshua scoffs.

“You still came first,” he reminds you with a quick peck to your forehead. Then whimpers and squirms when you clench around him.

“I won’t next round, don’t worry,” you give him a lazy wink.

“There is going to be a second round?” he challenges, slowly caressing your naked back. You lay your body on his and he’s basking in your warmth and reassuring weight grounding him and adding to the pleasant buzz in his body.

“Yeah, you let me wait for so long, so I deserve it,” you hum as if it was the most obvious thing on the planet.

“It’s been an hour,” he rolls his eyes.

“More if you count the concert as well,” you counter.

“Did you get horny watching the performance,” he teases - but at the same he’s genuinely curious. You slap his shoulder.

“Of course not, I enjoy the performance. Then get horny after,” you explain, pointedly meeting his gaze.

“Well, in that case, my pretty doll, you deserve the second round.”

#seventeen scenarios #seventeen x reader #joshua x reader #joshua scenario #svthub #seventeen imagines #seventeen smut #joshua smut #svt smut #svt x reader

101 notes · View notes

darkficsyouneveraskedfor · 1 year

Text

Unexpected 14

Sequel to Unsolicited

Warnings: non/dubcon, pregnancy, pegging, Lloyd being the worst, and other dark elements. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging.

As you choke down the iron tablets with a glass of prune juice, you wrinkle your nose and let out a noise of disgust. Worse than the vitamins and the constipation, you feel the shirt tight across the new curve of your stomach and how it peeks out in an ungainly fashion. You're only happy no one is around to witness how gross you are.

Lloyd's absence has been peaceful. A mission which has stretched on two weeks and left you anything but lonely. Quiet mornings and similar nights, only briefly interrupted by his check-ins. You keep the phone close if only stave off any concern or further interruption of your solace. You might be alright if this is the usual. If you could count on a respite from the torture of his existence.

You rinse out the glass and burp up a nasty mouthful of prune flavoured reflux. You cringe and put the glass in the rack. You have no plans but you aren't restless.

You find little things to do. Sometimes you walk on the treadmill and watch a reality show about women with overinflated lips, other times you settle down with a book, rolling your eyes at the ridiculous thrillers Lloyd keeps in perpetuity, or you simply zone out in front of the television. With your cravings running wild, your time is merely counted as hours between meals.

You make your way to the door and ease it open. Spring is coming, the snow is thawing to mud, and the air smells like rain. You take a seat on the simple white bench and rub your back as you watch the sky. You wince as the speaker beside the doorbell clicks.

"Enjoying the view, peaches?" Lloyd asks from his remote observation.

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere," you grumble, "I'm not that fast."

"Aw, baby, I know you're not gonna run," he taunts, "I'm just... enjoying the view myself."

You sigh and slap your thighs before you stand. You grown, keeping a hand on your hip as you move slowly. The extra weight, not much at all, is already straining in your back. You squint at the doorbell where you know the lens is.

"Dick," you utter as you pass by and go back inside.

"I didn't say you couldn't go outside," his echoed voice follows you inside, "wait, peaches... Mrs. Hansen. Give us a turn."

"Lloyd, leave me alone--"

"Wait, wait," he speaks, the noise of his fumbling rubbing against the mic, "better angle. Well, well, well, look at you. Is that junior I see peeking out beneath your shirt?"

"Stop," you hug your stomach, trying to hide it as you spin, dizzily searching for the seamless cameras.

He's quiet. You wait. The empty static dies and you think he's gone. You shake your head and go to the living room. You flop down and lean your head in your hand as you search through the menu for something to put on and fill the void.

As you hit play, the door flies open and jolts you from your comfort. You crane your head to look over your shoulder as Lloyd struts into the entryway, "honey, I'm home. And horny!"

"Jesus fuck," you snarl and turn back to the screen.

"Aren't you happy to see me, peaches?"

"Could've warned me--"

"Where's the fun in that?" He taunts as he comes behind the couch. As you drop the remote beside you he bends and kisses the crown of your head, "honey bee, I got an idea."

"Uh huh, that's always a good sign."

"Yes, you're a woman, you like simple things," he leans down and crosses his arm across the back of the sofa, "let's go shopping."

"Nah, I'm not really--"

"Look, baby, as much as I love seeing that soft tummy, you're gonna need something that fits and you're only going to get bigger."

"You think I don't know that. Lloyd, please, don't act like you care."

"Well, I do care. About my dick and how you make it feel, but nonetheless, I think by the time I get you in a cute little maternity dress, I'll be at full staff--"

"If I agree, will you be quiet?" You snap as your ears burn.

"I'll try but you know me well enough, peaches, I don't exactly know when to stop."

"For all your flaws, self-awareness isn't one of them," you mutter and push yourself to the edge of the couch.

Lloyd comes around and offers his hand. You haul your ass off the cushions and stand straight.

"Don't worry, baby cakes, I know you missed me," he winks, "that's what I like about you, the emotional repression."

💎

Your feet ache, even in the Vans you convinced Lloyd to buy you on the way in. New shoes are never comfortable but preferable to the unreasonable heels he keeps in good stock. You traipse behind him, nonplussed at the prospect of new clothes. You've never been a shopper and the last time you tried….

Well, you met him.

The memory chills you and floods your current reality. The realisation that a singular mortifying encounter became your foreseeable future. He sure had a way of ruining even the most mundane things.

Several stores down and you could collapse already. Even as he carries the load, you feel as if you're bogged down, hauling a boulder across the desert. You struggle to keep up with his long strides.

"I think we got enough," you puff, "really, not like I go anywhere."

"There's one more stop, then I'll take you home and rub you down," he winks as he nearly bowls over another shopper, his shoulder hitting theirs with an indifferent force, "get you oiled up and relaxed."

You sneer at him, even as the suggestion bubbles beneath your skin. No, he's not going to get to you. He interrupted your you time. One more he's ruined it all and for what, so you can buy stretchy leggings.

He turns into a black fronted shop, the pink moniker sending your heart into overdrive. No. He doesn't stop.

You trail behind him reluctantly. Shameless as always, he stops before the table of thongs and drops the bags by his feet, he stretches a lacy vee and faces you, holding them up to measure.

"Low rise so enough room for–"

"Lloyd, jesus," you cover yourself instinctively, "we're in public."

You feel the steady boil, the tingle that creeps up your thighs and ensnares your chest.

"Never stopped me before," he goes back to fishing through the displays, messing up the carefully folded piles, "satin… now what's the point in these?" He raises a thong that's little more than string, "well, if the point is to get me hard–"

"Quit," you beg as his words carry and the associates giggle at each other. Your cheeks burn even hotter, the sudden surge in your core surprising you.

"Let's find something to try on," he gathers the bags with one hand, several pantites clutched in the other, "hello," he greets the women behind the counter, both young and dressed in sleek back, "do you mind if we leave these? We're gonna have a look around."

"Uh, yes, sir," the blond chirps, "we'll keep an eye on them, no problem."

"I'm sure you will. Gorgeous blues," he compliments, "and that smile."

You frown. That's not cool. You're standing right there. It's not jealousy but the fact that he has no regard for you. That these young girls must assume you're some nag of a wife, easily forgotten for a pretty face.

You roll your eyes and strut away. He follows and chuckles. He's not dumb enough to think you care, surely not. Or that you would even think of dragging him out a fucking him in the backseat--

Because you wouldn't.

He take a leather corset and tests the resistance, "guess this is probably too much, we need something flowy."

"Whatever you want," you shrug.

"What's wrong, baby?"

"Nothing, grab what you want and let's go. I'm sore and hungry and tir–"

"Horny? Ah, okay, okay, sorry, I just thought… it's been two weeks."

"Don't," you growl, "I'm hardly in the…" you pause and stare at his hand as he grabs a baby blue teddy with an open front. It's like you can feel his touch already, "...mood."

"This," he wiggles the teddy, "looks cozy. Easy to rip off you."

"Sure," you swipe it away, "whatever gets me outta here." You go back to the girls at the desk, "hey, can I get a fitting room, please?"

"One sec," the blonde jingles her keys on her belt.

She comes around and you follow her to the back area. She lets you into a stall as Lloyd wanders up.

"You go to school?" He asks as you pull the curtain shut.

"Uh huh, law."

"Oh, sexy, a lawyer," he flirts, you can picture him stroking his dumb mustache, "freshman?"

"Sophomore," she replies as you strip down.

You shake your head as you pull on the teddy. You don't like how much of your stomach shows or how your tits feel like they're gonna fall out of the cups. You peek in the mirror, oh great, they also look humongous.

"Lloyd," you call as the girl giggles, "can you help me with this?"

"Yes, honey," he returns, "sorry, wifey's expecting and she's not as limber as she used to be."

"Aw, you're so helpful," the girl praises shrilly, "just let me know if you need anything else."

You face Lloyd as he comes through the curtain and you grab the front of his jacket. He blinks and gives a startled grunt, "hm?"

"Shut up and sit down," you swing him around and shove him onto the bench, "I'm should fucking smack you, you know that?"

"You should," he say brightly.

You narrow your eyes at him. He watches you boldly, mockingly. You hate him so bad but you also can't think of anything else but the way his shoulders look so broad and his chest strains his jacket tautly. You grab his belt and fumble with the buckle.

"Wait–"

"Shhhh, you'll get us in trouble," you hiss.

"Baby, it's not me making trouble for once," he sits back with a grin.

#lloyd hansen x reader #dark lloyd hansen #dark!lloyd hansen #lloyd hansen #series #unexpected #drabble #dark drabble #dark!drabble #the gray man

354 notes · View notes

strangerqueerthings · 1 year

Text

Eddie wants to get Billy something special for his birthday, so he asks Max what his favorite animal is. She shrugs.

"He likes sharks, I think."

Her voice lacks conviction. Eddie supposes that Max doesn't really try to ask Billy too many personal questions, so it's probably an educated guess.

It's a good educated guess- they came from California, Billy's a good swimmer, he's mentioned missing the beach, the surf, and he's talked about how he's going to be a lifeguard during the summer.

He's a hard person to read, stand-offish, a bit solitary at times, and frankly, he can be dangerous- he looks it, too.

Somehow, that still doesn't feel right to Eddie. There's something else that bothers him about the whole shark thing, and he decides to explore it.

It doesn't take long to notice what makes it feel off.

One night, when they're crashed out in Eddie's bed, he hears Billy whimper a single word in his sleep, and it breaks Eddie's heart.

"Mom."

He's never asked about Billy's mom, and now, he never will- it's up to Billy to bring that up. Still, it reminds him of something, and it makes him look at other aspects of Billy's behavior.

He loves to drive- going as far as his car can take him, as far as his curfew will allow. He loves driving as fast, wild, and free as he can, the Camaro practically an extension of his body as it hugs the winding curves, flies down the highway. He loves the night air flowing through the open windows, music blaring a soundtrack of freedom as the speedometer pushes 100mph.

He's careful about showing it, but he's protective. When Eddie pushed too far, making fun of Jason's blind servitude to church, and Jason got in his face, Billy stepped in between them. He didn't say anything- he didn't have to. His eyes, his stance, they all said more than words could.

Rethink this before I break you.

Despite their tense relationship, Billy admits things are getting better between himself and Max. They won't ever be friends- Billy holds grudges and doesn't forgive easily- but they have an agreement. They collaborate to cover for one another, and to misdirect Neil's wrath. Billy's protective nature has slowly been spilling over into this arrangement with Max, and even though he promised to stay out of her business, no one messes with Max, because they don't want to risk invoking Billy's wrath.

Billy isn't necessarily a bully, but he's easily recognized as the apex predator, the top of the pecking order at Hawkins High, and no one fucks with him.

Billy has a need, a drive to provide for those he's close to. Eddie notices this whenever they go out. Billy always pays for dinner, he refuses money for gas, and he gets a bit offended if Eddie tries to 'pay him back.'

Eddie has learned that it's better to give him "gifts" as a way of showing his affection- gifts aren't given out of obligation or as a way to "pay him back" for dinner, or for the many times he's worked on his van, changed the oil, replaced a flat tire.

Billy has a need for physical and vocal affirmation, Eddie learns, the more time they spend together. Billy needs to be touching Eddie in some way when they're together. Whether it's small, like simply being close enough on the couch to reach out and brush hair behind Eddie's ear, or big, like pulling Eddie on top of him or into his lap, wrapping his arms around him and nuzzling his neck, Billy needs the physical contact.

His vocal needs are small, and frankly, hilariously adorable, and Eddie doesn't think Billy even knows he does it. He firsts notices it when he's in the kitchen, making breakfast, and Billy calls out his name from the bedroom, half asleep, half awake.

"Eddie?"

"I'm here, Billy. In the kitchen."

Billy grunts and goes back to sleep. Eddie doesn't think anything of it, until later in the day, Billy does it again. They're sitting together on the couch, watching TV, and Billy simply says his name.

"Eddie."

"Yeah?"

Billy doesn't reply, he just hums and rests his chin on top of Eddie's head. This happens multiple times a day- whether Billy can see him or not- and Eddie learns the best way to respond is simply saying his name in reply. It's an acknowledgement, like when someone says hello to their lover, despite having been in the same room together for hours.

Eddie wakes up one night to find Billy sitting up, watching him. Eddie asks him what's wrong, sleep clogging his voice, his hair a mess, and Billy just smiles, then leans down to nibble at his ear.

"Just making sure you're safe and comfortable," he says, and lies back down, pulling Eddie into his arms to fall back asleep.

It takes Eddie a few months to put it all together, and he realizes why Max's guess of sharks is wrong.

He spends a few days in the library, pouring over books, encyclopedias, and scientific articles. Everything makes sense, and once he's sure of it, he takes a trip into Indianapolis for the perfect gift.

It's just in time- everything fell into place a few days before Billy's birthday, and Eddie doesn't know if he could have waited longer than that to give Billy his present.

He's nervous as Billy opens the gift. It's practical, useful, but he worries if he read it wrong, made the wrong choice. Billy pulls away the tissue paper, and stares at the matte black Zippo lying in the box.

On the side of the Zippo's casing, is an enameled engraving of an orca, leaping into the air, breaking free of the water in a joyous moment of temporary flight.

Billy doesn't say anything, picking it up and stroking the matte sides, then running a fingertip over the black and white enamel. Eddie exhales nervously.

"Do you like it?" he asks.

Billy's response is a bruising kiss. He has no words to answer Eddie with, because he doesn't know what to say.

He's never been so seen in his entire life.

#Mungrove #sqt drabble #Billy Hargrove #Eddie Munson #look I know folks like the shark #and I like it too #but orcas make soooo much sense for Billy

214 notes · View notes

more-than-tender-curiosity · 8 months

Text

this is brought to you by me reading the princeton holograph over and over again until im sick to my stomach. I can tell when fitz was drunk writing this. That’s how much I’ve been looking at this.

No but I’m being serious. Let me transcribe this for you.

To set the scene, Nick has just come over to talk to Jay and Jay asked if he could confide in him. They’re sitting in the garden and Jay explained his past with Daisy. All fuckass grammar is Fitz’s own.

"Well, you have Daisy," I said, "After all she ought to be a satisfactory incarnation of anything."

"She is," he answered without conviction. "But it's a little like leaving a place where you've once been happy."

"You don't know what you want," I told him impatiently. "You wait three years and then after three weeks you're tired."

“We all grow old,” I told him, “It seems to me you’ve come pretty close to getting all your desires.”

“I haven’t got anything,” he said simply, “I thought for awhile I had a lot of things, my house—“ He looked up at it for an instant— “and things like that. But the truth is I’m empty and I guess people feel it. That must be why they keep on making up things about me, so I won’t be so empty. Why, —Daisy’s all I’ve got left from a world thay was so wonderful that when I think of it I feel sick all over,” He looked around with wild regret, “Let me sing you a song—I want to sing you a song!”

He began to sing in a low unmusical baritone. The tune seemed to be a vague compendium of all the tunes of twenty years ago. It went about like this:

“We hear the twinkle of the gay guitars

We see the shining Southern moon;

Where the fire-flies flit

And the June bugs sit

Drones the crickets single tune.

We hear the lapping of the wavelets

Where the longsome nightbirds sing

And the soft warm breeze

Tell the tall palm trees

The Dreamy Song of Spring”

“I made that up when I was fourteen,” he said eagerly, “and the sound of it always makes me perfectly happy. But I don’t sing it often now because I’m afraid I’ll use it up.”

Through all he said, even through the doggerel of the song, I was reminded of something—an elusive time, a fragment of lost words that I had heard somewhere a long time ago. For a moment a phrase tried to take shape in my mouth and my lips parted like a dumb man’s, as though there was more struggling upon them than a wisp of startled air. But they made no sound and what it was that I had almost remembered was made incommunicable forever.

Like. Do you mean to tell me that boy didn’t just make you remember what it felt like to be loved? That phrase you tried to form, wasn’t it I love you?

#the great gatsby #jay gatsby #nick carraway #natsby #tgg

103 notes · View notes

rocknroll7575 · 8 months

Note

the time line where Ranger Jaune is from is the Dark time line, where Salem created a stronger and dangerous grimm she created more than one she created multiple types of grimm(aside from the grimm from the canon time line), Lumière a small city far away from vale, the city) hold a tree given by the brother of light in secret so the brother of darkness well never know, the tree a symbol of hope to the people lumiere human and faunas work together to build walls to keep any of types of grimm out, but the nearby towns and villages far from the city are prone to bandit raids and grimm attacks some villagers and townsfolk flied to for safety some aren't so lucky, some are victims of the bandits and some are food to the grimm, huntsman and huntress are viewed as heroes to the 4 kingdoms but to the people Lumière,Rangers and militia viewed them as glorified mercenaries who studied in some fancy academy.

Team RWBY walked into Lumière, following behind Jaune, who Blake still hadn't explained how she knew the Ranger.

As they walked through the town, Weiss noticed that the people of Lumière were looking at them, not just her, but the whole team, some looks of disgust some with confusion.

"Why are they looking at us like that?" Weiss asked.

Jaune turned to her, "Forgive them, we here in Lumière don't like Huntsmen," Jaune told her.

Ruby looked at the blonde Ranger with shock, "What!? Why!?" She asked.

"Because in all reality, you're nothing more than small mercenaries who trained in some fancy and safe academy," Jaune replied.

Weiss was confused by this, "But weren't the Rangers and the Militia of Lumière founded by a Huntsman?" Weiss asked.

Jaune smiled and rolled his eyes, "No, that's just some rumors that the council and the Academy spread to make themselves look good," Jaune replied. "The Rangers and the Militia were just regular humans and faunus who fought with everything they could, eventually, the skills we learn aren't as fancy as yours but they keep us alive, more than you Huntsmen," Jaune finished.

Weiss looked offended by the comment, "We're trained to hunt Grimm, that's our job," Weiss said, "And we could do a far better job then you,"

Jaune chuckled, "Yet who's the one that saved you?" Jaune asked, "The wilds are dangerous, you three barely survived out there, had Blake not remembered some of the things I taught her, you'd be dead and Grimm food,"

Yang glared at him, "So we should just bow and praise you for saving us?" Yang asked.

Jaune shook his head, "No, I'm simply stating that those Academies of yours teach you how to kill Grimm, their weaknesses, and how to use your aura and Semblanced, but do you have any idea what it takes to survive out there?" Jaune asked. "We Rangers are trained at a young age how to survive out there, but from what I saw, you Huntsmen don't know the basics of surviving outside of a city,"

Yang was going to retort but Blake stepped in front of her and looked at her.

"He's right," Blake said.

Yang glared at her, "You're taking his side!?"

Blake sighed, "I'm not saying he's right about everything, but Jaune has a point, what would have happened if I had not been there?"

"We would've been fine!" Yang cried, her eyes glowing red.

"Yang, be honest-"

"NO!" Yang cried, "I'm sick of this! Since he came around you've been taking his side over you're own team! I get it! He saved you back in Vale! But you don't have to keep riding his ass like some schoolgirl" Yang said, pointing her finger at the cat Faunus.

Jaune sighed, "And you call yourself protectors of humanity," Jaune said.

Yang looked away from Blake and at him, "You stay out of this!" Yang cried.

"I'll stay out of this when you and the rest of your team start treating me with respect," Jaune seethed, "Your friend has the nerve to disrespect the Rangers by implying you huntsmen are superior to us, yet Lumière's never need you Huntsmen centuries, and you can't even handle the truth of how you almost died out there because you weren't trained properly! You Huntsmen think you have it all figured out and are the heroes, but you're not... all you people are, are children who had it safe behind the walls until you chose to hunt Grimm for fame and power! Because you think it's simply a game!"

Yang's hair was set ablaze and before she could think, she pulled her fist back and punched Jaune in the face and sent him backward.

"YANG!" Blake cried.

"They attacked the Head Ranger!" cried a civilian.

Suddenly, a small group of Lumière's Militia arrived and aimed their weapons at Team RWBY.

"Hands up!" cried one of the soldiers "Surrender you're weapons now!"

Yang turned to them with a glare, "Or what!?" Yang asked with a fighting tone.

"Or this!"

Yang turned around only to see two other Rangers with their weapons against the necks of Ruby and Weiss.

Blake turned to them and quickly got in between Yang and the two Rangers holding her other teammates hostage. "Wait! Please! We're not here to fight!"

"You struck Jaune!" Cried the Ranger holding Ruby.

"She didn't mean it!" Blake cried.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Everyone turned to see Jaune getting up and looked at the Militia and the two other Rangers.

Balke turned to him with a pleading look, "Jaune! Please, Yang didn't-!"

"I DON'T GIVE A SHIT!" Jaune cried. "You two surrender your weapons or I give the order to have those two's throats slit!" Jaune seethed while glaring at the two.

More Militia and Rangers showed up and one took their place next to Jaune with their weapons at the ready. Blake dropped Gambol Shroud and Yang was in shock and was about to act only to look back and see the Rangers holding Ruby and Weiss, pressing their daggers closer to their necks. Yang undid Ember Celcia and they dropped to the ground.

Jaune looked at the Ranger next to him, "Nebula, take them to the Bastille,"

Nebula nodded and she and another ranger cuffed the four Huntresses and led them away.

Today was not a good day for the four young Huntresses or Jaune...

XXX

Had a lot of Fun writing this honestly!

#rwby #rwby meme #jaune arc #ranger jaune arc #yang xiao long #ruby rose #weiss schnee #blake belladonna

41 notes · View notes

streaminn · 1 year

Note

Hi stream ! A little drabble for t&t please ? Maybe Enid bringing a fresh kill to Wednesday ? Like a courting gift but Wednesday doesn't understand what it has to do with her. (As you said, culture clashes, so the meaning flies over her head). Or if you don't like it, whatever you you to write.

wussap lost, ty for the request :)

There's one thing Enid knows that Wednesday would appreciate and that was bodies. No, its not a human, Enid wasn't that down bad.

Anyways, it just came into mind when Enid was lounging around the room and saw the taxidermy kit that Mr and Mrs Addams gave for Wed's birthday. She can vaguely remember how Willa mentioned wanting a live one and well...

It just reminded her that she could give something to showcase her appreciation. If it also showcases just how good of a hunter she is, then that's just a bonus.

Enid should really feel bad, considering that she wasn't even going to eat them but simply use their dead carcass as decoration but the means justify the end.

She shakes her head, Romulus would be proud of her mentality.

Enid knocked on the door, rolling on the back of her feet as she waited for her roomie to open the door.

She could feel the bottom of the box slowly turning damp, probably the blood when she accidentally sunk her nails a little deeper than she should. She winced, she really could've gone back out and grab a much better one but there was a balance in the wild.

Enid knows better than to needlessly kill and she hopes that Wednesday still likes the effort.

(but if Wednesday were to ask for it.. its not so needless now is it?)

"Enid," Wednesday greets, her head is a lil tilted, a silent question. Enid just smiles, noting the jacket around the shorter girl's body.

"Wens," Enid replies back, "i got you gift!"

Wednesday steps back and Enid skips along, trailing like a well trained mutt. How amusing, she notes. The fact that Wednesday doesn't know what Enid is willing to do for her.

"What is this for? My birthday isn't until next year, Enid."

"I know! just wanted to showcase my appreciation." The reply has Wednesday stilling before she nods.

"Thank you then."

Enid had to stop herself from flashing her teeth, omygod Wednesday can be so cute at times. Just the way she paused, its like the tumbling on your feet in Wen language.

"Is it another snood?" Wednesday asked, gesturing at the box as Enid snaps back to attention. "Black nail polish?" a pause as her brows furrowed and Enid knows that the blood must've gotten strong enough the mortal could smell it.

"Nooooo~" Enid trails and she fully smiles now, knowing the lil tint of red staining her teeth is obvious as she passes it over. "Its something better."

Wednesday looks all the more confused before taking it, a flicker of recognition in her eyes when her hand sunk a lil bit more than it should.

With careful hands, she opens it to the fresh dead corpses of squirrels.

"You killed them..?" she utters, dragging her eyes up to meet the shining of Enid's. "I thought you detest gore."

Enid shrugs. "I can do anything for you."

#wenclair #enid sinclair #wednesday addams #tongues & teeth au #writing

93 notes · View notes

alexanderlightweight · 1 year

Note

Cat Magnus if someone tries to take Alec away (yes, i realize i just called Alec a snack that was very smart of my subconscious)

Did you update your tumblr app btw? They added a read more button!

i have not updated my phone (lets be real, saeth normally does that for me because the update alerts come when i'm busy and then i never remember they came) but thank you because now i'll try to remember that

also your subconscious is brilliant! and correct

oh 100% that is Magnus with Alec

i don't even know if this was a prompt but here we go because i love this verse so much and magnus was not happy to wake up and find his skittles missing... i mean alec

<3 lumine

Alec wakes to warm softness and he rumbles, almost curling deeper into the fur around him before he realizes he’s hungry.

It’s the work of a thought to shrink to the size of a ferret and he wriggles his way past the large paws that were holding him close. Magnus shifts in his sleep, whiskers twitching and paws tightening on the empty space where Alec was.

Alec waits a moment, admiring the markings of Magnus’ coat before he pulls himself away and follows his senses to the roof. He flies up the stairs and while Alec could simply go through the door, he whistles to it until it unlocks and then goes through.

Alec can’t keep Magnus if he doesn’t prove he can protect Magnus’ nest and while Alec normally takes things to his hoard, it won’t be the first hoard he’s built around a priceless treasure. Alec will miss sleeping in the singing fire opal caves that he claimed over a hundred years ago, but he’s sure he can eventually take Magnus there.

Once he figures out how to convince the warlock to ride him of course. Portals don’t work in the caves and Alec’s magic and intent have made the caves impossible for anyone else to find or navigate, even other dragons.

With a sigh of contentment, Alec fishes out a last mouthful of the freshly formed koi crystals.

It’s enough to sate him for now and while he likes Magnus, the magic of the roof of the roof is created all from him and Alec is too content to move. Instead, he stretched himself out in the large gazebo made of willows and he slowly lets himself grow until he fills it and then he shuts his eyes.

—

Magnus wakes because his paws are empty and half asleep, he blindly reaches out and finds nothing but emptiness. It’s with a snarl of outrage — at himself and falling asleep — that he wakes completely and throws his magic out. It’s hard to pinpoint if a dragon has gone through his wards, but Magnus can certainly find out if he’s still nearby.

He is back on the roof and Magnus should be fondly amused, but he won’t be happy until he has his little dragon back under his watch.

The roof is open, petals and leaves on the staircase and Magnus chuffs, using magic to shut it as he stalks carefully through the garden. If Alexander is simply hungry then Magnus will have to ensure he has easier things for his little dragon to snack on. Magnus is hardly going to suffer losing his little treasure every time Alexander gets peckish.

Magnus can’t pinpoint his location, can only feel that his presence is within the bounds of Magnus’ own magic and it’s only that knowledge that keeps Magnus from slipping into a feral rage.

The koi pond has been raided but is empty and the water Alexander tracked has already dried. Magnus created a dimensional space on his roof, and he nearly regrets it now, when he gets to the tangle of his garden that he’s neglected for… a few years.

He stalks through the thick foliage, wild with the magic that nourishes it, and it isn’t until he steps on something long and sinuous that he pauses.

When he looks down, paws kneading curiously, it’s to find a long, tapered and scaled black tail. It’s far larger than anything Magnus has seen so far and he’s instantly curious as he follows the tail.

There he finds Alexander, several feet away from where his tail has coiled around a warm rock. He’s nearly twice the size Magnus is and he’s on his back, belly exposed to the dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves that form the roof.

Magnus shifts before he can think anything of it, reaching out to pet over the matte and gorgeous scales that are his dragon’s skin.

“I’m going to have to keep a very close eye on you,” Magnus murmurs as he admires Alexander’s form. “A very close watch.”

#lumine writes #writing wednesday #writing wednesdays #the taste of his magic #malec #shadowhunters #magnus bane #alec lightwood #shadowhunters au #my fics #my fanfics #my ficlets

82 notes · View notes

pythagoras180 · 7 months

Text

"Miraculous World: Paris, Tales of Shadybug and Claw Noir" Review

Spoiler warning for the special and all of season 5

The special begins with an alternative title sequence with Re-Verse!Gabriel instead of Marinette. Then there's a cold opening where Betterfly (Re-Verse Hawk Moth, who's a hero) and Re-Verse!Alya. Watch a news broadcast from the main universe talking about Ladybug and Cat Noir, before Betterfly uses a Kamiko (alternate Akuma name) to transform Re-Verse!Alya into Ubiquity, who can travel between universes. At this time, Shadybug and Claw Noir burst in and attack.

Meanwhile, in the main universe, Gabriel is in his lair right after being Cataclysmed, since this is right after "Destruction". He puts all his new Miraculouses on a table before trying to call Nathalie, but it goes to voicemail.

Wait a minute, doesn't this take place after the beginning of "Multiplication"? It does, because this special is the last thing that happens that night, it's dawn at the end of the special. So Nathalie should already be in the mansion, she arrived there in "Multiplication". Why doesn't he physically go talk to her? Gabriel then considers talking to Adrien, who is watching the news in his room. Wait, didn't Adrien fall asleep after calling Marinette? Did he fall asleep, then immediately wake up to take part in this special? None of this adds up.

Continuity errors: 2

Adrien still feels bad about Cataclysming Monarch, and he tells Plagg that he's afraid of his power. Gee, it would sure be awkward if Adrien intentionally tried to Cataclysm like 3 more people in season 5, none of which are as bad as Monarch, and then showed no remorse for it. That would make this scene look stupid, wouldn't it?

We have a scene between Marinette and Alya, where Marinette calls her "the best BFF ever".

Earlier this same day, Alya accused Marinette of lying about Adrien not wanting to go on the trip. Yeah, what a great friend.

There's then a scene establishing that Marinette's parents are downstairs.

Marinette expresses doubt that she can defeat Monarch, saying that she feels like she tried everything.

That's not true Marinette, you didn't take advantage of the Rabbit Miraculous's ability to spy on anyone, anywhere, at anytime to determine Monarch's identity.

Alya then is transformed into a duplicate of Ubiquity, and the two Ubiquities form a portal between universes. Betterfly jumps though the portal. He asks Marinette to lead him to Ladybug and Cat Noir, but she doesn't trust him, for obvious reasons. Shadybug and Claw Noir then force Ubiquity to reopened the portal. Alya warns Betterfly and Marinette that they're coming, and Betterfly doesn't simply recall the Kamiko to close the portal, and instead he chooses to run away with Marinette. What a great hero he is /s.

Shadybug and Claw Noir arrive in the main universe, and they tie up Alya, destroy Marinette's wall, and give chase. Only now does Betterfly recall the Kamiko. Oh, and the butterfly flies out of main universe Ayla's glasses, even though it was used on Re-Verse!Alya. That doesn't really make sense. Also, Alya immediately unties herself. Is Shadybug just terrible at tying people up?

Alya tells Sabine that the sound of the explosion was just a video game, and then she tries to call Marinette on her phone, but it's still broken from when Monarch smashed it in "Destruction". So instead she calls her using the computer.

Hey, that's actually a nice piece of continuity. Good job.

Shadybug and Claw Noir lose track of Betterfly, so Shadybug summons her Lucky Charm. She receives a pair of goggles that can identify butterfly pheromones, and uses them to track the Kamiko butterfly as it returns to Betterfly.

Oh, that's why they had the Kamiko randomly hop universes, to provide a way to track Betterfly. How convenient. Does the Butterfly Miraculous require white butterflies? Could Betterfly not have just used a random butterfly out in the wild?

Anyway, Betterfly and Marinette arrive at the Eiffel Tower, but Shadybug and Claw Noir arrive shortly after and start beating up Betterfly. Marinette watches the fight while on a call with Alya, and Tikki explains that they are Miraculous holders from a parallel universe, one of billions. Marinette asks Tikki why she never told her about this, and Tikki says she's lived billions of years in every universe, and there isn't enough time in Marinette's life to tell her even a fraction about it.

Um, Tikki, it doesn't take a lot of time to say "By the way Marinette, there is a multiverse. So don't be shocked if versions of you from another universe show up one day." This is a terrible excuse. Also, Tikki implies she is one entity across all universes, yet she doesn't seem to know anything about he Re-Verse.

During the fight, we get the first mention of "The Supreme", the evil overlord who controls all the Miraculouses in the Re-Verse.

Honestly, I think the fact that Shadybug and Claw Noir are just working for someone else instantly makes them much less interesting.

Marinette asks Tikki how Shadybug and Claw Noir can use their powers repeatedly, and Tikki explains that the one time use and time limit is to protect young holders from over-exerting themselves, but Shadybug and Claw Noir are ignoring this and hurting themselves in the process.

If the limitation on power use if the users physical body, then why did Ladybug and Cat Noir gain unlimited use in "Revolution", after allegedly maturing emotionally? Are they going to end up hurting themselves too? Maybe don't make up the rules as you go along guys.

And I'd like to point out that Shadybug can summon Lucky Charms without speaking or using her yoyo. How?

Marinette transforms into Ladybug and starts fighting the villains, and shortly afterward Cat Noir shows up too. He then immediately threatens to Cataclysm Claw Noir.

Gee Adrien, I can really see how bad you feel about the whole Monarch situation when you literally do the exact same thing mere hours later. What a good guy you are.

Claw Noir then forces Cat Noir to cataclysm his chest. And he just tanks this? How is that possible? At first I thought they would explain that his power is enhanced or something, but nope. Remember what happened to Cat Noir in "Miraculer"? Are we supposed to assume that that actually wasn't a big deal but Adrien is just a massive baby?

Ladybug summons her Lucky Charm, a traffic cone, which Claw Noir immediately grabs and destroys. Um, why did the Lucky Charm give her something that doesn't work? Shouldn't it have predicted that Claw Noir was going to grab it? You might be thinking "Well it would have worked if Ladybug reacted quicker." The power should have scanned her mind and determined that she wouldn't react fast enough, and adjust accordingly. Seriously, how does a Lucky Charm fail?

"Intuition", what a great and non-harmful episode /s.

Shadybug and Claw Noir get the upper hand, so Betterfly uses a Kamiko on Cat Noir. Betterfly and Cat Noir speak to each other telepathically at superspeed.

What is going on right now? The Butterfly Holder and akumatized person have always needed to move their mouths to communicate and talk at normal speed. Stop making up new rules.

Anyway, Cat Noir transform into Celesticat, which is just a reused Cat Blanc model with green eyes and wings. He then flies Ladybug and Betterfly away from danger.

Too bad Betterfly didn't just give him crazy superpowers strong enough to defeat Shadybug and Claw Noir, because otherwise this special would be over already. Yes, I know, Shadybug's Lucky Charm should still give them an out, but we literally saw a Lucky Charm fail 2 seconds ago. So thanks for making the power inconsistent. If Celesticat was even 1% as powerful as Cat Blanc, the battle would just be over.

Shadybug grabs Celesticat's tail and is dragged along, but Ladybug simply removes his belt to make her fall. Claw Noir lets her fall, and then tries to take her Miraculous. We find out that these two have repeatedly tried to steal each other's Miraculouses because they hate each other so much.

In Emilie's tomb, Gabriel already knows that his condition is terminal. How? He was wounded a few hours ago, the mark couldn't have spread yet. I guess the Kwamis may have told him, but we don't see that.

Gabriel senses the villains arguing, and sends a Megakuma after them. However, Claw Noir immediately destroys it, thinking it's a Kamiko.

Wait, why are they afraid of a Kamiko? Do they force people to be good? But they were experiencing negative emotions at the time, wouldn't the Kamiko make them more evil? Their reactions make no sense.

But there actually is some good continuity here. Claw Noir immediately destroys the butterfly, like Cat Noir did in "Cat Blanc". Meanwhile, Shadybug sees it but just stands there instead of purifying it, just like Ladybug did in "Cat Blanc". I just love consistency.

Shadybug and Claw Noir return to Marinette's room to look for clues. And Alya hides and spies on them.

In the sewers the three heroes talk as they recharge. Betterfly talks about his world, and says that all forms of mutual aid are a crime.

I'm sorry, what? There is no way such a civilization can sustain itself. This is so dumb and overly simplistic. Couldn't they have just said that the world is rampant with greed, corruption, and authoritarianism? That's at least realistic, the entire world being evil is not. But hey, maybe the people of this world don't think or feel the way we do? Nope, later in this special they are shown to be very similar emotionally speaking. The world Betterfly is describing can not exist.

Betterfly also explains that the Supreme controls all the Miraculouses, and only hands them out to his allies. Re-Verse!Gabriel stole two of them, apparently for selfish reasons.

So the Supreme decided to give out the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses to a couple of children so they can steal back the other Miraculouses, instead of just, you know, use the ultimate power to wish them back. "Oh, but what about equivalent exchange?" This is equivalent exchange. The Supreme gains two Miraculouses, Gabriel loses two Miraculouses. Equal equal. I guess the Supreme is just as dumb as everyone else. Gee, it's almost like establishing that you can choose the price of the wish and can decide who pays that price completely breaks the entire story. And I'm definitely going to make this same criticism of season 6 if Marinette doesn't immediately wish for the Butterfly Miraculous back.

Back in Marinette's room, Shadybug reads her diary and learns about how great Marinette's life is with all her friends, and that she is Ladybug.

In the sewers, Ladybug and Cat Noir deduce that the villains are alternate versions of their civilain selves.

Meanwhile, Shadybug learns from the diary about the ultimate power of the Miraculouses, and Marinette very conveniently decided to tape a copy of that Grimoire page into her diary, with exact instructions on how to use it. How nice of her /s.

By the way, establishing that the Grimoire has clear instruction on how to use the wish definitively destroys the plot of "Deflagration". Gabriel definitely knew how to use the wish then, he had absolutely no reason to attempt to unify.

Shadybug then handcuffs Claw Noir with a Lucky Charm and immediately takes his Miraculous. If it was that easy, how did she fail in the past?

Shadybug recognizes Claw Noir as famous model Adrien Agreste. She then puts on the Black Cat Miraculous and detransforms. Re-Verse!Adrien remains handcuffed, even though Lucky Charms are supposed to disappear as soon as the holder detransforms.

Continuity errors: 3

Re-Verse!Adrien recognizes her as a girl he saw in a bakery once, and immediately fell in love with.

You know, I think "Miraculous" has been pretty good at avoiding "love at first sight" until now. But Re-Verse!Adrien likes her even though he never talked to her or saw he do anything special to make him like her. They put no effort into this, huh?

Re-Verse!Marinette tries to summon Gimmi, intending to switch her life with main universe Marinette's. However, the Supreme put a safeguard in place to prevent a wish from being made. He also sealed the Kwamis mouths so they can't speak. I quite like this plot point.

Re-Verse!Marinette then gives Re-Verse!Adrien his Miraculous back. Wait, why would she do that? I thought she hated him? She tried to steal his Miraculous in the past just to get rid of him. And she doesn't know him as Re-Verse!Adrien, so that shouldn't change her opinion. Why does she suddenly trust him?

Also, Claw Noir's suit is still cracked after retransforming, even though their suits and weapons are supposed to be completely restored every time they transform.

Continuity errors: 4

Monarch then portals into the room, after apparently hearing everything. So shouldn't this clue him in that Marinette and Adrien are Ladybug and Cat Noir? Shouldn't he at least investigate them? Is he stupid? Yeah, I know the answer to that.

Shadybug and Claw Noir attack him, but he is immune to their powers thanks to the Ox Miraculous. But wait, shouldn't Shadybug's Lucky Charm sword still be able to defeat him somehow? You might be thinking "Well maybe there is a way, but Shadybug wasn't smart or creative enough to figure it out." Why would the power give her something she can't figure out? Shouldn't it have scanned her mind and given her something she can figure out?

"Intuition", what a great and non-harmful episode /s.

Monarch offers to help them steal Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculouses, so that they can make wishes that way. Shadybug and Claw Noir agree to this. That's it, they just agree. They have no hidden scheme, they don't plan to double cross him, they just go with his plan. What great villains these two are /s.

The three heroes see massive versions of Shadybug and Claw Noir rampaging through the city. Thinking they're akumatized, Betterfly attempts to recall the Akuma.

If that's possible, then why the hell did Lila send Timetagger to the past, where a different Butterfly holder was active? Even if Timetagger successfully stole the Miraculouses, Hawk Moth could have just recalled the Akuma and stolen them for himself. We haven't even seen Lila as the main villain yet, and they already damaged her. That's honestly kind of impressively bad writing.

Alya then gets Ladybug's attention by driving through the streets yelling for her. Couldn't that also have attracted Monarch's attention? Alya then shows Ladybug that she recorded Monarch telling Shadybug and Claw Noir his plan. Monarch created giant illusions of the villains in order to split up Ladybug and Cat Noir, so that the villains can fight them separately and Monarch can ambush them. And... Ladybug is stumped. She has no answer for this. I'm sorry, isn't she supposed to be smart? Did she really need a pep talk to solve this simple problem?

So, what is Ladybug's plan? Well, the Butterfly Miraculous has a limited range, so first they have to

Wait, wait, wait. It was shown in "Startrain" that there is a limited range for the Butterfly Miraculous, but this is contradicted in "Intuition". You might say that the Horse Miraculous is what allowed Monarch to overcome the range problem, but he has the Horse Miraculous right now. So there is no guarantee that he has limited range. Whatever, maybe Ladybug doesn't know that.

So the heroes and Alya fly far way from Paris, and then Betterfly transforms Alya into Ubiquity. Betterfly detransforms, and gives the Butterfly Miraculous to Ladybug, which she uses to become Ladyfly. She transforms Re-Verse Gabriel into Guardian Angel, who has the power to put protection spells on Ladybug and Cat Noir. He then puts the object that contains the Kamiko into the Re-Verse using Ubiquity's portal, preventing Monarch from recalling it.

Wait a minute, placing an akumatized object out of range of the holder doesn't remove their powers? So why didn't Monarch just teleport all akumatized objects outside the solar system? His minions would be invincible. Also, it's confirmed that Monarch has absolutely no control over Akumas if they're out of range. So couldn't the heroes have just used the Horse Miraculous to teleport an Akuma outside the solar system? Since he's limited to one at a time, he would be completely powerless afterward. Do you see how making up new rules makes previous stuff much stupider?

The heroes do split up and fight their counterparts, and Monarch plans to ambush them using the same invisibility strategy he used in "Illusion" and "Deflagration", even though in "Illusion" he acted like he just came up with it for the first time. But I don't really blame them for this. Also, in "Kwami Buster" the Miraculouses did not multiply along with Multimouse, they remained singular. Why is it different here? I guess maybe that's an adult power or something. Hey wait a minute, if the illusions are now taken down, why doesn't Monarch just stop using the Fox Miraculous and use the Snake instead? That would greatly increase his chances of winning. But he forgot about it I guess?

Anyway, Monarch tries to use Venom on both heroes, but they are protected by Guardian Angel's spells and the Monarch copies are immobilized by feathers. Monarch just recombines with them though, at a very great distance I might add. I thought the copies needed to gather in a group to combine, but I guess not.

Ladybug and Cat Noir continue to fight their counterparts, who decide to start ranting about their motivations. Re-Verse!Marinette was bullied by Re-Verse!Chloé (aka the Devil), and she didn't have any friends or loving parents to help her, so she accepted the Miraculous from the Supreme because she wanted to be able to protect herself. I guess that makes sense, but why was she genuinely trying to steal the Butterfly Miraculous? Wouldn't she want her assignment to last as long as possible so that she wouldn't lose her Miraculous? Also, in a world without mutual aid, wouldn't Marinette's situation be commonplace? It's almost like that world doesn't make sense or something.

Claw Noir's motivation is that he's sad that his mom died. Um, is that an explanation? Did the Supreme promise to bring her back or something? I guess that's possible, but it's never stated in the special. I don't understand why he became a supervillain. Also, this is literally the first time his mother has been brought up. That's not how you write a motivation. Cat Noir tells him that his mom is also dead, and he was also really sad about it, but his friends helped him through it. Um, what is Adrien talking about? He never seemed significantly effected by his mother's death. The audience can't just be made to assume that he was sad about it offscreen, that's not how writing works. Also, Claw Noir is angry at his father for not caring about his mom's death and moving on. Shouldn't he be angry at Cat Noir for the same reason, not moved by it? Also, Emilie died months before the start of the series, which is when Adrien started making friends. Adrien clearly wasn't very affected by her death at the time, so no, his friends did not help him through it.

Also, Re-Verse!Adrien explicitly had 2 good parents, yet he still didn't have friends. I take this as explicit confirmation that Adrien's lack of friends during childhood wasn't his parents' fault, as many claim it was.

Claw Noir says he wants to use the wish to bring his mother back, but Adrien explains that there is equivalent exchange in play. If he wished for that, someone else would lose their mom. I'm pretty sure that's not true, the rule is a life for a life, not a mom for a mom. Sacrifice a death row inmate with no family and you'll be fine.

Dear reader, I urge you to please take a seat, or get a grip on something sturdy. I am about to reveal something that annihilates Adrien's entire character. Something that permanently disqualifies him from being considered a hero. It's literally just one line of dialogue that I already mentioned, so you might have picked up on it. But I understand if you didn't, because the writers clearly didn't.

Adrien explains the equivalent exchange rule to Claw Noir. Adrien knows the rules of the wish. This special takes place the night of "Destruction". In "Passion", an episode that takes place weeks later, Cat Noir asked Ladybug if he could make a wish (he secretly wanted to cure Nathalie). Ladybug has to explain the equivalent exchange rule to him. But thanks to this special, we know that Adrien already knew the rules, so he must have just been hoping Ladybug didn't, and she would agree to let him make the wish. He was prepared to sacrifice somebody else's life in order to cure Nathalie. He would have done so if Ladybug said yes. Adrien is honestly as bad as Gabriel at this point. I would go as far as to say this is a character assassination, if I didn't already consider Adrien's character destroyed by the past 3 seasons. So surely Adrien doesn't have any fans anymore, right? I'm kidding, I'm sure he could commit cold-blooded murder and his fans would still defend him.

Continuity errors: 5

So Shadybug and Claw Noir win their fights, but Marinette and Adrien convince them with words that a better world is possible and they should stop being villains. This might have been powerful if it was earned. Shadybug uses her restoration power, which also heals the damage to her and Claw Noir's bodies? But they were acting like it was irreversible earlier, but Shadybug just had the power to fix it the whole time? Whatever, I guess they needed to stop being evil before they could be healed.

So everyone reunites. Re-Verse!Gabriel was also no longer transformed by the Kamiko? How? His object is in another universe, with no way to reach it. They couldn't have recalled it or broken the object without a portal, which they are only creating now. Speaking of, Betterfly transforms Alya back into Ubiquity, so she can bring the Re-Verse gang back home.

But wait! We can't end the special without shoehorning in some references! Monarch uses the Rooster Miraculous to give himself the power to travel to any universe he wants.

My patience with that Miraculous is really being tested. Also, Monarch used the quill to write the power he wants on his hand, even though that was never a thing before. Maybe it's just for dramatic effect.

Ubiquity senses what Monarch is doing, so Betterfly instead uses a new Kamiko to give Ladybug the power to travel between universes. Monarch travels to a universe where the heroes are Scarabella and Kitty Noire (her first chronological appearance) and tries to take their Miraculouses, but Ladybug intercepts him and kicks him back to his universe. It sure is lucky that Monarch was able to teleport directly behind the heroes. Unless you're telling me that Monarch has his own multiverse burrow, in which case I say giving him the power to also spy on anyone, anywhere completely breaks the story all over again. So Monarch keeps trying to get Miraculouses in other universes, but Ladybug intercepts him every time. Did he just forget that he has other Miraculouses to use? Use some extra powers to defeat Ladybug, genius. But whatever, the sole purpose of this is to show different universes. There's the PV's universe, the manga universe, and one where Adrien Mister Bug full time. I guess this is kind of fun, but they should have done it in a smarter way.

Monarch eventually gives up, and Ladybug returns to her universe claiming that he won't try again any time soon. Excuse me? All he has to do is wait for the Re-Verse gang to return home. Then try again. Even if Ladybug could somehow sense you hopping universes, there's nothing she could do to stop you. Why didn't Monarch try again some other time?

You know, this problem could have been so easily solved if Monarch wasn't stopped by main universe Ladybug, but instead alternate universe heroes dedicated to maintaining peace between universes. Then he know there's always a chance they could intercept him, so he won't try again. Or maybe just don't give the Rooster Miraculous this insanely OP ability. How does that sound?

So that's about it. The Re-Verse gang departs as Ladybug and Cat Noir promise to defeat Monarch (HA!). Marinette and Alya have a scene with weirdly romantic undertones where they decided to eat breakfast then take a nap because they've been awake all night, and the special ends.

Conclusion

So that certainly wasn't great. It's pretty weak as far as multiverse stories go. I don't feel like Marinette or Adrien really learned anything from their alternate selves. This could have been a great place for Adrien to reflect on his potential as a violent person, but that doesn't work when he becomes worse later in the season. And I feel that Adrien is an even worse person than Claw Noir. Honestly, I think this special is proof Adrien shouldn't be making his own decisions. Imagine if he did make his own decision in "Passion".

Saying that the entire Re-Verse is evil is just a laughable concept, they should have at least tried to make is sound realistic. And Shadybug and Claw Noir's backstories didn't really justify their behaviors.

Giving the Rooster Miraculous the ability to travel between universe is yet another plot breaking superpower. They just can't resist adding more of these in, can they? And they couldn't resist shoehorning in cameos after the story was already over.

In total, I counted 5 blatant continuity errors, and I was being very generous.

So it doesn't seem to me like the writing quality of "Miraculous" is improving at all. I don't know if it's just because I'm analyzing it more critically, but it feels like there has been significantly less effort put in to making this make any sense.

Anyway, thanks to anyone who read this whole thing. I would like to hear other opinions as well. Have a great day.

35 notes · View notes

adhdbisexualramblings · 2 years

Text

One big shift I noticed in Enter the Florpus that the fandom uses a lot in fanfiction is how the Tallest talk to and about Zim.

I would like the point out, the Tallest never say anything bad about Zim when he’s in earshot.

This isn’t disqualifying the fact that they talk shit about him to each other, and to the other Irkens on the Massive. Just never in front of him. They try very hard to keep his exile a secret, correcting themselves very quickly the few times they do slip up.

For example, most prominently, Backseat Drivers From Beyond the Stars, where Zim calls them to show off a plan of his and annoys them for three hours straight. When trying to come up with an excuse, the Tallest (Red, at least), make up some story about an enemy ship going up against the Massive, despite knowing that to any other Irken, that would raise doubts. They know Zim’s unbridled, faulty loyalty better than anyone, and know that they need to placate him, no matter how wild those aforementioned placating words are.

Another, much larger example is Battle of the Planets. Zim calls his leaders in a bear suit for seemingly no reason. the Tallest, along with every other Irken, watch him ramble about whatever Zim-like things he talks about, trying to stay completely calm. a noteworthy detail; they were laughing at him and mocking the fact that he wasn’t around to mess Operation Impending Doom 2 just before this. It’s only when Zim calls do they stop, and even then, they’re trying to hide laughter. Zim soaks up the “praise” of his leaders and his fellow Irkens before hanging up. Then the Tallest spill into laughter again. It’s rarely ever been in front of Zim. Ever. Because I’m sure that, as oblivious as they know Zim is, they must also know there’s a point where he’s going to realize they’re not laughing with him (even if this is never the case).

They don’t seem to completely despise him as they could have simply hung up when Zim’s constant yelling of ‘my Tallest’ got too annoying, but that’s a different story entirely.

Purple seems to have less of an issue of bullying the invader to his face, and Red is obviously the more work-focused of the two (which is debatable, as both of them seem to slack off a lot), as well as the one who keeps the secret about Zim’s mission and his disdain for him under wraps.

The movie, while admittedly changing a good few things about characters, butchered the Tallest the most, in my opinion. For Purple, it made complete sense to want to fly straight. he’s been childish a few times, and a lot more open about when he doesn’t like an order or anything else (see Megadoomer). However, Red was always the one that seemed to have things under control, at least a few times. When the Massive flies out of control, his first instinct is to run a diagnostic to find the problem, while his companion tries to save the donuts (this is not to say they differ too drastically in personality, as Red also wanted to save the donuts). For him to insist on flying straight, especially when there’s a very large and dangerous rip in space some miles away that he no doubt knows could hurt him and his companion, is a bit out of character.

When Zim calls, they make no effort to hide the fact that they’re annoyed with him, with Purple outright stating he liked him better when they thought he was dead. Red yells that they really don’t care about whatever he has to say. These are minor things, the only interaction they have with him in the whole film, and admittedly isn’t that telling. But I feel that short five minute was very telling to how they interact with him. Especially for newer fans who didn’t analyze every character in the show in comparison to the movie I’ve watched 20+ times now,

And a lot of fanfictions make the Tallest unnecessarily cruel, even going as far as to tell Zim, unprompted, to his face, that his mission is fake. Understandably, it’s possible for them to reach their limit and blurt it out in anger, but even then, Zim would just laugh it off, never taking it for what it is. Hell, the best example of the Tallest I’ve seen written ever is Forced Perspective, where they stuck to expected behaviors and, even when Zim asked about the legitimacy of his mission, stopped him from finding out. Zim finding out his mission is fake would make him want to go back to Irk, after all. And they can’t have that.

They know keeping the secret of Zim’s mission is crucial for keeping him away from them and causing destruction away from them, yet I feel that’s easily forgotten.

#Invader Zim #the almighty tallest #Invader Zim analysis #enter the florpus #the tallest iz #Almighty Tallest Red #almighty tallest purple

240 notes · View notes

daniwib · 10 months

Text

About comments like 'Update soon!' or 'More please!'

It seems that many of those who leave these sorts of comments and other variations thereof are not writers yourselves. So, you may not realize that a simple demand for more without any other feedback can be very disheartening for writers.

Writing a story takes considerable effort. We invest hours in crafting, editing, and perfecting our work. Our stories are our babies, and despite the time they consume, we love them dearly. We write and share because we find joy in it, not because we earn money from it. We create content for you to enjoy, free of charge, simply because we love it. Then we set our babies free into the wild in the hope that others will enjoy them. And maybe, sometimes, tell us if they did.

No one is expected to comment. It’s nice if you do and we adore it, but it’s not a rule. And some people have very valid reasons for not commenting. We get it. This note is not about that.

It’s about how receiving a comment that merely demands more without acknowledging what you enjoyed about the story does not inspire us. It does not make us leap up and start typing madly, merely because you told us to.

What it does do is reduce our creative efforts to mere content production, making us feel as though you expect us to churn out stories on demand, without any appreciation. And quite often that stops us from writing at all.

Please remember that fic writers are not machines. We are people with lives that demand our attention - we have jobs, families, and sometimes we even like to eat or sleep. That’s why many of us update on a schedule. Demanding more won’t change that.

You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

A kind and thoughtful comment will always be more appreciated than a demand for more – and will encourage us to keep writing like nothing else will. If you don’t know what to write, that’s alright. Short and simple is perfectly okay! If you do want to write something more, here is a great guide to get you going: 101 comment starters.

#how to comment on a fic #fanfiction #archive of our own #ao3 #reading things #fic things #author things #fanfic #fic #writing #reading #commenting #how to ao3 #fandom etiquette #fanfiction etiquette

39 notes · View notes

writingrenna · 9 months

Text

Jacq x GN!Reader

"Learn to Love (Pt. 2)"

You start your quest towards getting your Capsakid to respect you more. Training your Pawmi and getting him to watch is simple enough, but as you soon learn, it might not be as easy as it seems...

Tone/Ending: Frustrating, but Things Start Changing

Warnings: This is the part where you risk your life, but it's over pretty quickly. Also, the tonal whiplash at the end is intense (but intentional)

Continuity: Part 2 of this story

Word Count: A bit over 5,000

_\V/_

It was nighttime. You had spent the day fighting random wild Pokémon near Los Platos. Pawmi takes down a Bounsweet with ease, turning to you with pride. You cheer her on.

"Go, Pawmi! You did it! You're a natural!"

And she really was, she even showed you a move she thought of trying out where she rubs up against the opponent and paralyzes it. Thankfully, the Pokédex could identify the move as 'Nuzzle'. You were in awe of how it could be identified so fast just by analyzing her movements. There could've been a mix-up, but there wasn't upon further research.

You decide to call it a day, ready to find somewhere to sleep.

"Ok, Mii! You did amazing out there, let's go settle in for the night!"

She relaxes as you recall her, contentment obvious on her face, happy to be getting some rest after a long day.

Bringing your mons to the nearest Poké Center, you get her healed up. You then call them both out, a smirk on your face, wanting to see Kid again.

Mimi jumps out, feeling refreshed and recharged. Kid also makes quite the entrance, but when it lands, it blinks a few times and stares up at you, taking the wind out of your sails.

"Hhhh-hi, Kid! Here we are in Los Platos again, how was it watching Mimi from your Pokéball?"

Capsakid turns to the Pawmi, who curiously tilts her head, ready to hear how it felt. It looks down for a second before looking back up to you, making you nervous. So you change the topic.

"Uhhh, HEY! We should eat, yeah?"

Pawmi jumps around happily, having worked up quite an appetite since lunch. Capsakid watches her response before looking up at you. The stare isn't as intense as before, so you assume it's simply saying it would like food, too. You clasp your hands together.

"Allllll righty, then! Let's grab some grub!"

_\V/_

Every day went something like that. You'd wander around to train Mimi up, letting Capsakid out to run around and play with her sometimes before settling in for the night. Five more days had passed just like that, with Pawmi even evolving into Pawmo! Watching her transform was an experience, and you still get chills thinking about it, endlessly proud of your little mouse girl. Jacq got like, eight pictures of her before you forced yourself to stop, but he took the time to comment on them all. Apparently, she was now half fighting-type, too, which intrigued you.

That night, you decided to have a picnic for dinner, watching your Pokémon run around and play fight each other while occasionally coming back to the blanket for a few bites of food. As you were spacing out, contemplating your next course of action, your phone vibrates.

"Eh?"

You remembered other people's Rotom Phones saying what the notification was, but you kinda preferred it this way, simply vibrating instead of making more noise all the time. Placing your sandwich down on your plate, your phone flies up to eye-level (which makes you jump), and you see it's a text message.

Going to investigate it more, you see it's...

"Jacq?"

You read it.

"Hello, hello, there! Just checking in, hope all is going well. At this rate, I can only imagine how strong Pawmo is! Be sure to stay safe out there, alright?"

He's right, Pawmo's now strong enough to use Thunder Wave, although you were slightly confused on how it only paralyzes the foe. Capsakid must've been learning and getting ideas while watching her, as it recently tried out a move the Pokédex called 'Crunch', which... not gonna lie, did not excite you. But mostly because you can only imagine the stuff it'd absolutely wreck back at the academy once it got better. How was the place so pristine with all those Pokémon roaming around...?

Shaking your head, you respond.

"Oh! Sorry for going MIA, been really excited training with them. Tomorrow's our last day away, I'll let ya know how it goes!"

You furrow your eyebrows, deciding to quickly shoot a text adding onto the conversation.

"And yeah! You're right, thank you! Pawmo and Capsakid have been doing great! Uhhh, totally unrelated, how should I Crunch-proof a home? Asking for a friend 😇"

You hoped your message came off as jokingly as you wanted it to, as you suddenly felt guilty only talking to him about Capsakid-related stuff. You'd have to have an actual conversation where you don't run away the second it isn't focused on the little green gremlin sometime soon, no matter how hard it is to think of something.

You look down when you see some movement. Speak of the little devil...

"Wha- HEY!"

Capsakid runs off, having successfully stolen some noodles from your weird hodgepodge of a sandwhich. It laughs maniacally as it does so (well, to the best of its ability with noodles in its beak), its tiny form whizzing past Pawmo, who watches in confusion before turning to you, chattering lowly. You sigh, shrugging, before picking it back up and taking a big, noodle-less bite.

_\V/_

Later that evening, you decide to sleep outside instead of trudging to the nearest city or calling for a flying taxi. You put together a makeshift campsite, debating on whether or not you wanted your Pokémon out with you before deciding to call them back into their Pokéballs. Better safe than sorry.

Lying down on top of your picnic blanket, backpack acting as a pillow, you sigh. The air was chilly, so you were thankful for the forethought to bring an extra blanket just in case any inns or hostels had underwhelming bedding.

You close your eyes after getting one last look at the moon. Everything was so clear out here. No city lights, no sandstorms, just moonlight and the sky. It was great! And you idly hoped you'd dream of yourself and your tiny team exploring more of this big beautiful world as you finally drifted off.

_\V/_

The next morning, you open your eyes, adjusting to the rising sunlight. You vaguely catch a glimpse of some Pokémon fighting nearby. Shooting up, you see it's a Chewtle and... Capsakid!?

"Cap! What!? WHY are you intimidating random Pokémon!?"

Capsakid actually turns to you, looking rather angry, before crying out. You aren't sure what that cry meant, but it seemed specifically angry at you...

"What did I do??"

Capsakid knocks the snapping Pokémon out before toddling over to you, crying out even louder, frustrated that you don't get it. And you really don't. All you know is that you woke up to Capsakid out of its Pokéball, attacking a Pokémon with no prior context. It seemed to be mad at the Pokémon at first, but after you woke up and admonished it, Capsakid seemed genuinely, personally mad at you. You're very close to realizing why they were fighting, but something just isn't clicking in your tired, tired mind.

You look around. A pair of Chewtle were watching from the sidelines before running off when they notice you looking at them. Strange.

You sigh before sitting up more and letting Pawmo out, rubbing an eye as she chatters a little. The picnic blanket is already out, might as well make breakfast for the three of you.

"Well, I'm up now. Final day, let's do this!"

_\V/_

You basically forgot about your anger that morning, taking it easy and just letting them passively train through casual play on your way back. They both seemed to enjoy your walk. You're returning to the academy, but before that, you decide to do a little check-in on your duo.

"Okay, guys! Show me your moves! Who's going first?"

Mimi waves a paw, more than eager to show you what she's learned. You smirk at this action before pulling the Pokédex app up.

"Okay! Show us what ya got, Mii!"

She gives you a confident nod before going somewhere a little ways away from you two. She then starts the show.

She jumps up and does a front-flip, using her tail to slam into the ground.

'Slam'

She runs into a small bush and sparks fly.

'Spark'

She raises her paws up, a few thin veils of electricity coming off her in waves.

'Thunder Wave'

She burrows into the ground.

'Dig'

You whoop and cheer, clapping.

"WHOOOOOOO, HECK YEAH!!"

She casually comes back up, grinning from ear-to-ear before running over and rubbing against your leg. You pick her up and pet her puffy head tuft, turning to Capsakid.

"Okay, buddy! Your turn!"

Capsakid... stares at you. You wait, ready to see what all he learned, when you realize...

"...oh no..."

_\V/_

"Okay calm down"

Your frantic text was answered right away.

You were running toward Mesagoza, something that seemed to be becoming a regular occurrence for you. Pokéballs in-hand, you manage to burst through the front entrance, causing the man who had been waiting for you to jump.

"H-hey?" He waves timidly.

"He STILL won't listen!"

He does a little hand motion to get you to settle down.

"Okay, okay, let me see... bring 'em over there?"

You do so. Standing out on the battle court, tears of frustration threatening to spill out. But you don't let them, assuming it's some misunderstanding. Jacq kneels down to talk to Cap better.

"Capsakid... what's going on, bud?"

Capsakid cries out a little, seemingly irked by something in particular while gesturing towards you. Jacq nods, glancing at you when it does, asking "And this happened today, right?" Capsakid nods, chirping affirmatively, and Jacq says something else to it. You caught the end, where he promised to talk to you, however. Talk to you about what? You wish you could understand your Pokémon more, guess that'll take time, too...

It chirps a little. Jacq nods before a strange expression flashes over his face. He looks it in the eye, asking something that made you worry.

"What's the last move you thought of trying out? Can you stand over there and show us?"

You freeze as you watch the little pepper run off to use a move you'd never seen before. It jumps up, and a barage of seeds, larger than when it uses Bullet Seed rain down. Jacq freezes upon realization.

"Seed Bomb..." He looks to the side.

"What?" You turn to him, frantic. He mutters under his breath, although you can't hear what it is for a moment.

"... why didn't I consider this..." he hissed to himself. "Of course this would happen, why... why didn't I..."

"Wh-what?"

He looks up at you, eyes already pleading for you to forgive him.

"I... may have forgotten how potent their ability to learn from each other can be... these two species usually get stronger at about the same rate, too... I'm... sorry... for not thinking of this..."

You... aren't sure what to do with that information, staring out with a look of utter bewilderment on your face. You can barely feel his hand slipping into yours, thumb gently rubbing yours as he holds it.

"I'm sorry... please don't blame him. You're a wonderful trainer, a natural, even. I know he'll listen to you soon, I can feel it..."

You whine a little, refusing to look at either of them. Refusing to look at anyone, actually. He has an offer for you.

"If you like, I can keep Capsakid while you train Pawmo more. Maybe if it sees you raising her, it'll trust you and want in."

You let out a sad little huff.

"...he... would..."

He raises an eyebrow.

"Eh?"

You clarify.

"I think it's a boy. I think so, based on the tail..."

Jacq looks down at Capsakid, who had come over to check on you. You continue.

"I'm not that good at identifying the anatomy of plant types, which is why I hesitated, but the way the tail curves into the back... it might be a guy. Correct me if I'm wrong, though."

Jacq picks the Capsakid up, gently holding it under the stomach to examine the tail... and you're right. Capsakid is a male.

He slowly starts to smile, before that smile turns into a beam, face turning a light shade of pink as he looks up at you.

"Wow, good eye, you're right! You really DO know your Pokémon..."

You groan. You don't feel like you deserve any credit, but you won't put him down for giving it.

"If I said yes, could I still get him at night? And take him to breakfast in the morning?"

He squints, trying to remember what was said before nodding.

"Oh! Yes, of course. You can take him back any time you want."

You look absolutely gutted... but you agree.

"Okay. How about next week?"

_\V/_

You weren't nearly as enthusiastic as before, and Mimi could tell.

You sat underneath a tree in South Province Area whatever when she came over, berry in-hand. She lifted it up to you, a small smile on her face. You look over at her, taking it.

"...thanks, Mii..."

She grinned, head held high before looking back at you. You hadn't put it in your bag yet, so she took it and put it in your berry pouch for you. You nod in appreciation.

"Thanks again."

You groan, stretching a little before letting out a stream of air.

"Ugh, sorry, guess I need a pick-me-up."

Mimi chirped as if agreeing with you. You huff, feeling mildly better, letting her climb up on your shoulder before forcing yourself to your feet. You then make your way to an empty field so you could summon a flying taxi.

Something was very, VERY off.

_\V/_

It's nighttime in Mesagoza.

Making your way back inside the academy, churros in-hand, you pick Capsakid up, who was running around, happy as can be in the empty hallway as Jacq watched from the biology room's doorway.

The moment Cap sees you, he chirps and runs up to you. You smile a little bit, holding your leg out. He grabs onto your pant leg with his beak and shimmies up a little as you lift it up, Mimi reaching down to grab and place him on her head, chirping out a little welcome. He returns it, nestling into her head tuft. He may not listen in battle, but he seems to not even need direction in other areas of your life together.

You look up at Jacq, who smiles warmly at you all, offering a warm greeting.

"Welcome back, how'd it go today?"

You try to smile, but you can't.

"Eh, I uh, I dunno. Guess I didn't sleep too well last night. Couldn't get much done. I think I'm gonna take a break tomorrow, it's the weekend after all. No classes, and I don't need tutoring."

He frowns, but not for the reason you initially expected.

"Please take it easy, you're pushing yourself too hard. I think a longer break where you bond in other ways is in order."

You shake your head.

"Nah, just gotta rest and mentally prepare better. I know I'll be okay soon..."

You notice the pitiful look on his face. Even Mimi is turned to you, worried, which doesn't reassure him.

"...thanks for the concern, though. I promise I won't force myself to do anything."

He hums a little, lips pursed slightly, eyes darting off to the side as he nods in deep thought. You walk over to him, shoving a chocolate covered churro in his hands, snapping him out of it as he looks down at the treat, then back up at you in confusion.

"Also, thank you for watching Kid. You like these, right?"

He nods furiously, mouth slightly agape, a light blush creeping on his face. You yawn, arm covering your mouth as he blinks at you.

"Okay... gonna get some rest now- enjoy! I'm sharing mine with these two back in my dorm room."

You give him two firm pats on the shoulder before walking back down the hall towards your room, Mimi squealing excitedly as he watches you head off.

_\V/_

You had slept in quite a bit, but it was still light out. Cap was already staring down at you and laughing, as usual, while Mimi was lying on her back, tongue out and limbs tucked in at the foot of the bed. She looked awkward like this, sure, but she just found this position comfortable... for some reason.

Sitting up, you get ready for the rest of the day, putting on your uniform and trying to come up with ideas on what to do. You're still drowsy, but you need to feed your critters. Bringing Cap and Mimi down to the cafeteria for some food, you stare at your Rotom Phone. There was quite a bit going on in Mesagoza that you didn't even realize were going on. If you're done with this whole obedience thing by the end of the semester, you'd actually like to slow down and enjoy the area before going back to Cascarrafa.

You can't help but wonder how much Mimi would enjoy your hometown. Looking down at her as she enjoyed her fruit salad, you come up with a plan to visit a few times to get her used to the... quirks of the area before going back permanently.

...

Darn. You actually feel kinda sad. You sorta enjoy the school. You'd miss it, even though you're only here for the one thing. The fact that you were basically using the academy as a whole to get access to Jacq didn't ease your guilt, either. Does he realize your ploy...?

Ah well, no use dwelling on that. Your duo had finished eating, and you still didn't know what to do before getting back to work tomorrow.

"You two wanna walk around the city?"

The two of them chirp happily, so you stand up, letting Mimi crawl up on your shoulder as you grab Cap, taking them toward the entrance hall.

It's vaguely humid out, but Mimi's fur is strangely unaffected. She jumps down, spinning and dancing in the afternoon air, prompting Cap to hop down out of your hand. You watch as the two dance and play. They really do get along despite their differences. Capsakid is a natural troublemaker, while Pawmo is very mild-mannered. And yet, they didn't let that get in the way of their weird little siblinghood. It was even evident that Mimi is older than Cap. Not by much, but enough to where she acted as a second caregiver at times without thinking about it, even before she evolved. You can't help but chuckle a little at the thought, but something about the idea gave you hope...

You pull out your phone, walking towards the steps before deciding to sit at the top. Watching the two of them effortlessly run up and down the stairs made you wish you could just climb up the sides or something. Whoever made the elevators in Cascarrafa should be handed this project, just saying... but nevermind that! Nevermind the fire in your calves just thinking about it! You're off, letting them lead the way, simply happy that you were able to just run downstairs this time. You could dread the walk back up later.

They wander around Mesagoza, exploring the city streets with wonder in their eyes. You watch, a small smile on your face. You're starting to like your life with them as-is, even if Cap won't listen sometimes. You don't necessarily NEED to battle to own a Pokémon, and with his mischievous nature, perhaps he'd just always be this way. You can still have good moments together regardless.

The two had started playing some weird kind of leapfrog. Chirping and giggling together as they got closer to-- the edge of Mesagoza?

"Wait, guys!"

Cap, now on Mimi's head, jumps up onto the short wall connected to the gate leading out of the city, wagging his tail and taunting Mimi, who giggles at the attempt to rile her up. He starts to dance, but he looses his footing.

"NONONONONONONONOOO!!"

He cries out in terror, knowing his fate as he falls over the edge. Mimi is frozen in fear, but you start running on pure adrenaline, almost dropping his Pokéball in your haste to unequipt it. Launching yourself over the small barrier, just barely holding yourself up due to your feet hooking onto the wall's edge, you hold his Pokéball out like a ring's box, hoping, praying, BEGGING to Arceus he's close enough to recall...

...it snaps shut, almost pinching your fingers as you struggle to keep your grip on it. You're too afraid to look anywhere, eyes squeezed shut and hands holding the ball in a death-grip. You hold it closer to your face and finally, fearfully, give it a look...

...and you see it. The blurry green blob inside the translucent shell of the Pokéball. He's safe! Sighing in relief, a hysterical laugh escaping your lips. This Pokémon would be the death of you and you knew it, but right now, you were the happiest you'd been... ever, really. The pain of the tears escaping your eyes as the situation dawned on you hit hard, but you didn't care. Cap is safe. Cap is SAFE. You'll make sure he's safe from here on out. Mimi, too, who you had just realized was holding onto your leg for dear life on the other side of the barrier, crying out as her little fighting arms tried to keep you from tipping over any more.

...

Crap, there's no ground below you. He really chose the absolute worst place to be a menace, didn't he? Even the surrounding area had places to push yourself back up, but here... you stare down below, as if keeping a firm eye on the water will keep it from getting any closer to you.

Mimi, who is still trying to pull you in the right direction shrieks in horror, and suddenly, you feel something grab your shirt. You're then lifted several feet into the air.

'No, NO! Why did I wake up this morning? I just wanna go home!' you think, breath caught up in your throat as whatever it was that grabbed you brought you somewhere. You didn't know where, or why, holding Cap's Pokéball close to your chest and curling up into the fetal position, Mimi hanging onto your calf. It must've been quite the sight...

The creature slows down at the steps leading up to the rest of the city.

"Thank you, Farigiraf..." you hear a man say as the creature, apparently a Farigiraf, gently places you down, snorting as it backs away.

You feel a hand touch your back, hesitantly, before it starts to rub it.

"You... I saw that, that was insane..." he mutters, almost to himself.

You're too scared to open your eyes, still curled up in a ball to the best of your abilities, although Mimi climbed onto you to hug you like a Komala, covering as much of you as she could. The man had stopped rubbing your back as a result, but he stayed close, telling a group of curious passersby that you were alright, just shaken up.

You open one eye, turning your head to see the wild-haired scientist kneeling down next to you. He had a very pensive, if not concerned expression on his face. You can't take it, the adrenaline, the fact that you almost flipped yourself into the waters below, the fear Cap must've felt when gravity took over-

-his cry of terror-

Your face wobbles as you tremble, staring the man in the eyes with clenched teeth. His expression went from firm, steady, to one of pity as your shock turned to sorrow. You open your mouth to speak, but a hiccup, followed by a choked sob rips from your throat. He pulls you close, Mimi still holding you with all her might, nuzzling you as he calms you down in his own way. He seems somewhat unsure of what to do, but he tries.

"There, there... I'm sorry this happened."

You cry uncontrollably into his shoulder as he rubs your back, Mimi on your side, and Cap's Pokéball in your hand, pressed into Jacq's back-

"W-wait-"

Jacq allows you to sit up, pulling his Pokéball closer to you.

"I-I gotta see if he's really there-!"

Before he can even respond, you open the Pokéball to release Capsakid. And he does indeed emerge, a blank expression on his face as he sits there, slightly hunched over. Mimi squeals in delight as she lets go, running over, scooping the Pokémon up and twirling him around in the air, lowering him to give him a few aggressive beak nuzzles before spinning some more, now holding him out in front of her.

"...Kid?"

The Capsakid turns to you as Mimi continues her celebration. Relief washes over you, and you cry some more, a wobbly smile on your face. Jacq, who is now behind you, pulls you closer to keep you from lying on the ground.

"...he should go to a Pokécenter. Then we should head inside. You definitely need a minute," he softly says as he perches his chin on your shoulder to observe the scene as well.

You can barely sit up from how much adrenaline just entered and exited your body, so you don't fight it.

"R-right."

_\V/_

He somehow managed to lead you all inside, him supporting you as Mimi carried Cap, holding him close and cooing at him the whole way, although he didn't respond. Jacq was off that day, so he lead you up to your dorm, reassuring Tyme and Hassel along the way that nothing inappropriate happened. He makes sure to keep your door slightly open to quell any suspicions of misconduct.

Hauling you onto your bed, he lets out a small sigh.

"Okay... now you REALLY need to relax, and I mean it this time." He mumbles the next part to himself, looking off the to side, but you can just barely make out "Maybe even get signed up for some counseling..."

You're exhausted, on the brink of collapse. Mimi is already curled up, acting as a pillow for Cap at the foot of the bed, protecting him from the world as he nods off to sleep. You feel the need to say something, but you can't, draping your arm over your eyes, mouth forming the start of words that are never spoken, as they were never there to begin with.

He grunts.

"Look. You need to put a long pause on training, otherwise you'll get even more burnt-out."

"...burnt... out?"

He crouches next to your bed, tilting his head a bit.

"Yeah, you're pushing yourself beyond your limits. Working off all that passion of yours at once may have left you exhausted, which includes mentally. Remember, patience is key, even on your end."

"But I-" you take a moment to swallow. "I'm not even the one fighting..."

"True," he nods. "But that doesn't mean you aren't putting your all in as well, it's just in another department. They're good at fighting, and you're good at being a leader."

You let out a stream of air, signaling that you don't believe him.

"Me? A good leader?"

He lets out a soft chuckle.

"Well, yeah. Some people have the power, but refuse to further understand those they lead. You're so... patient... understanding Cap was your driving force in even coming here! You're doing great already, even if you don't feel like it."

Something felt personal there, especially how his tone softened as he said the word 'patient'.

You finally turn around to look him, but in a different way than before. You look at the man, Jacq, not the teacher or living biology textbook. You hazard a glance at his eyes, before almost immediately looking away because you've never really studied his face before and oh my GODS is it terrifying.

They're... gray? How did you never notice that? You assumed they were blue, and a more vivid blue at that, but they were... like, straight-up gray. You want to curl up in a ball and scream for not realizing this and also for looking at him at all an-

"You alright?"

You can't see his face, but you can feel your chest pounding at the memory of it. He's... very pretty. In a way you didn't realize before. Or at least, you didn't take a moment to think about it. Actually, scratch that, you can say big words in your head, it's just you after all. The man is VERY attractive and you literally want to evaporate at the thought. Of course it has to be the one you're personally learning from, too. Why did your brain decide NOW was the best time to let your imagination run wild?

"Uh, yeah! Sorry, just... thinking... a lot."

That's an understatement.

"I see... well, do you need anything?"

Your face scrunches up in confusion.

"Eh, no? I think?"

You honestly can't remember what he even asked at this point. How is Cap the only thing keeping you from unraveling around this man? This is a TERRIBLE time to realize your teacher is ho-

"Oh, you sure? I have to go tend to something, but I can do you a favor before I leave."

Wait. Why was he outside already when he saved you? You sit up before you could even fully process the thought, eyes wide with realization.

"Did- did I... distract you? From something?"

"Uh- well, your situation was far more important, so please don't worry about it. It's just some routine fieldwork."

You groan, placing a hand over your face.

"...sorry I've been- a bit much this semester."

"Uhp!"

He leans over to the side slightly to see your face better.

"Nono, please don't think that way! I really do enjoy, uh, seeing you bond with Cap so well! It's a beautiful process, don't you think?"

You shrug, hand still on your face.

Jacq seems to look behind himself, the slight vibrations pointing toward that, before carefully pulling your hand down.

"Hey now... no worries, really..."

Your shoulders shake a little. You don't know why the tears are coming back, but they are. Eyes squeezed shut, you groan a little bit in defeat. He gives you a gentle back rub.

"Ah... stay here, alright? I might not be back in time to check on you tonight, but I will in the morning. I really don't want you leaving Mesagoza for a while..."

You nod, arm still up before flopping back in bed, tossing and turning a little as you try to get comfortable. He gets up, stretching a little.

"...you have my number, I'll catch Director Clavell up on what happened on my way out. Just focus on getting some R&R today, okay?"

"Mmm... okay."

"Good."

You hear him make his way toward your door.

"I'll have someone lock this for you. See you tomorrow?"

You huff.

"Yeah, tomorrow, at some point..."

He lets out a chuckle before closing the door.

Hopefully he doesn't worry about checking in, because the moment you're alone, you fall into a dreamless slumber.

_\V/_

A/N

Sobbing/j, this Jacq story is gonna be SO long, and we didn't even get to the cute part yet. But don't worry, this part sets it up a little! Hope you like slow burns I guess, oof. The next chapter will be pretty cute, and I'm currently working on the last chapter, which I will make as fluffy as I can. Also, I already posted part 2 to Ao3 as a test yesterday, I don't know how I feel about the mobile version, but the layout is top-notch, so *shrugs*

I like to imagine Pokémon will practice/come up with the idea for a move before getting good and actually consistently using it at certain "levels", which is why Jacq wasn't really worried when Cap started using "Crunch" (he is a tiny terror that needs practice), and also why they can "forget" and remember moves at different times (they have to specialize in using/focus on mastering different moves instead of straight-up forgetting. They can get rusty, too!)

If you feel like I speedran through the "almost falling into the river" part, it's because I did! I feel like the "written in one go" feel kinda suits the mood better than what I had in mind, but then again, I have no idea what my brain was trying to say there in the first place. Fun fact! You were originally going to run into a vendor's cart that was about to run him over (since he's so hard to see) and end up knocking it down, getting hurt in the process of saving him instead of almost falling, but damaging public property was NOT something I wanted to deal with, good intentioned or not, so I changed it

Also, uhhh, I wanted this story to have one drawing for each part, but this one's was accidentally absorbed into Part 3, so have this! I think Jacq is the cursive type (at least while grading papers) just because he's a fairly professional guy. I also imagine his handwriting is looser when writing more than a word or two. Trust me, this is him when he takes his time to write something really neat. He'd be the type to comment on his student's doodles, especially biology related ones (and a powerful Capsakid accidentally catching grass on fire just by existing certainly counts, even as a joke)

#gender neutral reader #jacq x reader #pokemon scarlet and violet #spoilers #learn to love

20 notes · View notes