#[ i will have more thoughts later that i may elaborate on but for now here are basics ]

[s-c-l-n]

post retirement sakuatsu where sakusa becomes some rich science guy and atsumu does local volleyball rec leagues/summer camps and will on occasion coach at some local schools

[amitsuma]

some celes notes:

her dragon balls are about a half inch bigger than earth's dragon balls -- and they're white in color toward the middle, transparent along the outside, similar to ice, with periwinkle stars in the middle. there are 8 of them.

her dragon balls are commonly gathered in order to put inside of a shrine that is specifically dedicated to her.

at least once a year, there is a festival to inaugurate a wish granting ceremony that the biggest village holds where they summon Celes for her to grant wishes, generally to aid the people or village in some capacity.

Celes is highly respected on her planet, even worshipped as something of a god.

[medicinemane]

The world is set on prescriptivism and... it doesn't jive with me

[siribaes]

beggin’

armando aretas x (oc) [ black!fem! ]

a decade ago armando spent an unforgettable summer with an unforgettable girl, who taught him everything. his sex teacher. now decade later he’s face to face with the teacher once again, determined to show that her lessons didn’t go to waste.

contents: some dom & sub dynamics. voice fixation. size kink. praise kink. pet names. fingering. brief! p in v. cūnnilingus. p!ssydrunk armando bc duh. slight impact play (no face slapping!) they’re in love but in denial about it, minor drug mention, etc. mdni!

suggested tunes📻: elevator by flo rida & timbaland, strip tease by danity kane, get naked (i got a plan) by britney spears, radio by girlicious, virtual diva by don omar, push by enrique igelsias

author’s note: this is slight au, so think of this being the early stages of the revenge plot prior to isabel’s escape. lol the chokehold that the long lost love/lovers reuniting has lol >> i tried to make this as filthy as a possible :) not proofread or edited!

club exquisite was in full swing. bodies packed the building, from wall to wall, people were dancing, drinking, or doing both simultaneously. multicolored strobe lights swirled and danced, combinations of blues, greens and reds illuminated the dance floor, complimenting the dj’s killer set of miami’s finest.

it was lively and fun.

armando, however, was having anything but.

tucked away in a corner booth of the v.i.p., armando sat bored out of his mind, sipping on way too sweet champagne. he should’ve been doing something more useful with his time. instead, he was stuck playing babysitter for the son of a future drug connect, all this per his mother’s instructions.

. . .this marriage between his son and your cousin, alejandra will benefit us. our partnership will bring us one step closer, it’s all apart of the grand design mijo. . .

was sipping champagne that tasted like super sugary, ginger ale a part of the grand design? apparently. watching the groom-to-be snort a line of coke off of girl’s ass was a part of the grand design too. armando took another sip from the flute before sitting it down on table, watching as the girl giggled and kissed sebastian on the mouth. armando never cared for sebastian, they were just so different from one another. sebastian was a pretty boy who liked pretty things, he never worked a day in his life and instead of doing his own thing, he basked in the glory of his father’s notoriously ruthless reputation. armando was self-made, haunted by his father’s death and forged by the fire of mother’s imprisonment. armando blazed his own path and was destined for greater things.

yet, he was here in miami, clubbing with sebastian’s and his pack of idiot friends.

a heavy hand shook him out of his thoughts.

“primo,” sebastian slurred. he swiped at his runny nose, before running hand down his half buttoned shirt. “c’mon, we’re going to the real v.i.p.,”

slightly relieved, armando followed sebastian as the bachelor party were lead by security out of the main dance floor. as they weaved between the crowd, armando trailed slightly behind, keeping a careful eye out on the crowd. despite never being in a fight in this his life, sebastian had a fuck ton of enemies. he was like that. the music became a faint murmuring as the group walked through a door and into an elaborately painted hallway. the walls were a warm golden color, while the ceiling and its floors were covered in mirrored tile. the group continued on, armando continued to linger in the back. amongst the drunken laughter of sebastian and his friends, was this clicking sound.

click! . . . click! . . . click!

armando searched around for the sound as they continued down the hallway, eyes roamed around until he found the source, woman in a pair of high heels. they weren’t just any, regular pair of heels, they were black-patent leather so kate louboutins. fortunately enough for armando he’s familiar with the shoe, he may or may not have purchased a pair or two for his past situationships. armando continues to observe; taking in the details, the woman’s shapely and toned legs, the rich brown skin, and the intricate zipper tattoo that began at the back of her ankle, and traveled up her leg. the remainder of tattoo was lost from the fabric of her dress.

a curiosity sparked inside of armando, watching the woman confidently strut the mirrored floor. he wanted to see just how far the tattoo went. she continued leaving a lingering smell in her wake. it was a combination of warm and spicy, like cinnamon and peach pie. her fragrance filled the molecules in the air he could practically taste it. after turning a corner, the group came to halt in front of pair of doors. from the other side, a pair of security guards opened up the doors.

sebastian and his friends drunkenly ooo-ed and ahh-ed and the ornate nature of the room. armando could care less about the sliver couch, the decked-out bar or the strippers that awaited them upon their arrival, he focused on her. although he got better view, she still alluded him, he could see her from the back, fully, a black bandage dress, accentuated her curves and that ass. . . it looked so round and perky like you could bounce a quarter off it, or grab a handful.

something slowly churned inside of armando as he moved further into the room. he leisurely grabbed a seat on the far end of the couch, with the hopes of seeing his mystery girl's face. the party continued on with the speakers on the room ceiling playing a feed of the dj’s set back out on the dance floor. sebastian and his groomsmen settled on the couch, excited for their lap dances. the lights dimmed too, not enough obscure one’s sight completely, but dark enough to bring on a certain atmosphere to the space.

armando scanned the room for his mystery girl. somehow she’s disappeared on him.

“aren’t you pretty one,” a voice whispered to him, distracting armando from his search. standing before was a woman, one of the strippers. her voice was overly smoky and performative. even the way she batting her long, wispy lashes, she was trying way too hard. he tilted his head away from his obstructed view, “you wanna dance, papí?” armando glanced up at her, a laugh bubbled up inside of him, he suppressed it, for her sake of course.

“nah, sweetheart. i’m good,” armando rasped. the woman shrugged, on to the next. when the stripper moved, standing directly in his sight was his mystery girl. even through the darkness, she was as clear as day.

her heart-shaped face, her button nose and glossy lips, her disney-drawn eyes, brown and wide, in they way they’ve always looked when she was shocked or anxious.

armando’s mystery girl, was no mystery at all. he knew her.

before he could call out to her, she bolted out of the room through the doors. armando glanced at sebastian, who was having a grand ‘ol time being motorboated by a voluptuous stripper. he’s fine. armando took off, following the cinnamon-peachy scent out to the hallway.

she was almost at the end of the hallway. . .

“leyna?” she stopped. she slowly turned around and faced him. “you runnin’ from me?”

her brows furrowed. “i wasn’t running. i was just. . .getting some air,”

armando’s lips twitched. he sauntered over, baring no shame is as he took, no, drank leyna in. it’s been so long, his eyes roamed over leyna. armando took his time, observing, noting every single detail, both old and new. he zeroes in on her legs, watching has she nervously bounces her right leg, the tattooed one. her louboutins make a soft clicking noise against the floor.

armando smirks.

“still shakin’. . .you must be nervous,” armando gestured, it was a tick leyna’s had since she was a kid. leyna frowned, she stopped bouncing. she folded arms around her chest.

“please, i’m not nervous,” she sassed. her glossy lips pursed, forming into a small pout. such a brat. he wanted to kiss the pout off her lips. “anyways, what are you doing here, in miami?”

for a moment, he thinks. armando could tell her the truth flat out: he’s here in miami for business, and his only job was ensuring that sebastian, sober or not, makes it down the isle. . .or he could stretch the truth out. make it a game for himself. anything to distract leyna, even if it’s for a short while.

so, armando shrugs. “business,”

“business? that’s it? it’s been ten years armando, that’s all you have to say?”

armando steps closer to leyna. his over 6-foot frame easily towers over her petite 5-foot-3 frame. has she always been so tiny? he reaches out towards her, the corner of his lips twitch as leyna’s chest rises as her breath catches in her throat. he twirls a long strand of between his fingers, before giving it a gentle tug.

“s’ somewhere we can talk?”

“armando,” leyna sighed. her voice was all high and pitchy, it scratched a certain part of his brain. a flood of memories came surging through. he need hear leyna say his name like that again. “i’m working. both of us should get b-back,”

leyna moves past him, armando doesn’t protest. as she starts walking away, armando reaches into his pant’s pocket.

“how much?” leyna spins around on her heels. a flicker of curiosity dances in her eyes.

“huh?” armando watches leyna eyes light up even more when pulls a money clip out. he thumbs through several bills before he lifts it up.

“its ‘bout three g’s in my hand. should be enough for a shift plus tips, yeah?” her eyes bounce between the money and armando. he can see the wheels in her mind turn, she chews on the bottom of her glossy lips.

“10-minutes. that’s all i can do,” armando nodded. he placed the money in her hand, his fingers gently brushed against hers. ten minutes is all he needs.

armando follows leyna down the hallway, opposite of the party. his eyes roamed, watching leyna’s body sway as she walked. he shouldn’t be turned on from a walk but he was. leyna didn’t walk, she glided. so effortless, and so easy, better then any it was something about seeing her so confidence all these years later. it was refreshing, armando dealt with so many fakes and try hards in his line of business. leyna’s confidence was real. she was real.

“i can feel you staring,” leyna sassed. they stop at a door, she quickly inputs a set of numbers on a keypad. the door clicks.

“i like what i see,” leyna shakes her head, she opens the door, stepping aside to let armando walk in front of her.

the room itself was half the size of the v.i.p. room, and opposite in aesthetics too. the walls were painted a nice, creamy beige, with a matching colored couch. on the far wall, there was an elaborate shelf display old-used bottles of champagne. armando steps inside, taking the room in. the door softly closes, with a click. the room is quiet.

“so,” leyna drawls. she takes a seat on the couch. armando follows suit, sitting next to her. their knees almost graze each others. she flips her hair over her shoulder. “wanna tell me the real reason why you’re here in miami?”

armando chuckles. “a wedding. my cousin ‘s gettin’ married,”

“alejandra?” she remembered, of course she did. she was always to so knowledgeable and attentive. she used to be like that to him.

“yeaaah. she’s been lovin’ bein’ in charge of everybody with the plannin’ and stuff,”

“i hope she’s not bogging you down too much,” his lips tipped into a teeny-tiny smile. she still was still the ever-doting teacher, worried about her student.

“nah. wedding plannin’ ain’t my thing. besides, i’m just assigned babysittin’ duty for sebastian,”

“mhm. i would’ve never paired them together. alejandra, from what i remembered, was so kind, and funny, smart too! sebastian is just a grade-a asshole who likes wreck every club he goes to and piss in public,” armando chuckles as leyna shivers, maybe recalling a memory. armando reaches for the hem of her dress, he toys with it between his fingers. she doesn’t stop him.

“she loves ‘em i guess,” part of that was true, their marriage was arranged yet, alejandra told him that she’s learned to love parts of sebastian. there’s a part of him that wished it wasn’t like that for her.

“i wish her the best,” leyna spoke solemnly.

the room fell quiet, armando still toyed with the edge of leyna’s dress. he tipped his head, looking at leyna.

“you’ve been good though, yeah,” he meant for it to be question but it came out as a statement. she had to be good though, she looked good, and had this fancy ass job at one of miami’s most exclusive clubs. life had to be good.

leyna’s leg began to bounce, as she twirled a strand of hair around her finger. “yeah, i guess. my life’s been pretty boring since you’ve seen me,”

“tell me,”

“well. . .” leyna trailed. her leg still bounced. armando wanted grab her ankle and make her stop. why was his girl nervous? “i graduated, i gotta b.a. in business administration, got this hostess job short after, met my best friend ana here, let me tell you she’s literally the best cook,” she was rambling, slightly, but armando didn’t care, he wanted to know every single detail. he missed his girl, his bambi. they need to make up for lost time.

“we’re going into business together, a restaurant. i’m going to take care of all the logistics, put my degree to good use, finally. so, yeah, i’m really excited about it, as you can see. but yeah, uhm, what else, i was engaged,”

armando stopped toying with the hem. he turned and took her fully, her right leg bounced even more so. that’s what she was nervous about.

“what happened?”

“uhm,” her beautiful features held a pained expression. a twinge of anger sprouted inside of armando, seeing her like this. whoever made his girl upset needed their ass kicked, especially by him. “to make a long story short, he cheated, multiple times actually. i just got tired being the laughing stock in every room,” she lowered her gaze and fiddled her hands.

armando slowly reached for leyna’s hands. her hands were so soft under his touch. with his thumb, he drew light circles on the back of her hands. a strange emotion was bubbling up inside him, he couldn’t put his finger on exactly what it was. a little anger, some jealousy, a little sadness too, it was just too much fully explain but the his urge was clear. armando wanted to pull her close, and take care of her like she truly deserves.

“he didn’t deserve you,” she looks at him now, her big brown eyes all wide and glossed over. long lashes fluttered against the tops of her round cheeks, her resemblance to bambi was spot-on. the air became thick around them, and that urge, thrummed in his bones.

armando wanted leyna and he wanted her bad.

“you deserved somebody that’ll take care of you,” he rasped. his words were sincere and true, leyna was one of the kindest, tentative, sweetest people he had ever known. she shown him a kindness when most people wouldn’t. leyna deserved the world, and then some. “you deserve someone who’s gonna protect you, an’ spoil you, an’ just fuckin’ be there,” words were spilling out of his mouth now, like faucet left on. he leans in closer to her, glancing down her glossy lips. he licked his own. “bambi, you deserve someone that can make you feel good,” armando was so dangerously close he could see a breath get caught in leyna’s throat, her chest slight rose up in response. he caught a glimpse of leyna’s jet-black bra that held up her ample cleavage. the peachy-cinnamon smell radiated off the column of her neck, it enticed him, slowly drawing him closer and closer to her.

armando leaned his forehead against her’s.

“fuck, bambi,”

“. . .armando,” leyna whispered. her voice was so pitchy and soft, it smoothed over him. it triggered a hunger for leyna, more veracious than ever before. ten years of distance and unresolved feelings, danced in his blood. his palms itched with desire to squeeze and caress leyna’s soft skin. he wanted to touch the softest part of her.

“please. bambi, ‘jus lemme care take of you, make you feel good. . . i never get what i want,”

leyna back away from him, keeping a steady gaze, she caressed the side of armando’s cheek. her manicured acrylics lightly scratched at his goatee. a bolt of electricity shot through his body when her thumb swiped at his bottom lip.

“i’ve only been with a few men after you,” leyna confessed. “none of them, including my ex, made me feel good like you did. you were the only one,”

armando groaned, lowly. everything in him surged to the surface, so much so he was bursting at the seams.

“c’mere,” leyna obliged. he pulls her in for a kiss. at first it was chaste and sweet, armando tried to ease into the kiss, but the pillowy, softness of her lips and her sweet peachy smell drove him insane. he deepened the kiss, moving his lips hungrily, against hers, while he cradled her head. when he licked her lips, leyna opened her mouth to allow him to explore with her with his tongue. she tasted like peach pie.

"i need it," leyna moaned into his mouth. armando hovered over her lips.

"you say somethin' bambi," he teased, he slid his hands down her frame, stopping at her ass. he rubbed and squeezed, before smacking it. she squeaked.

"baby, please," leyna whimpered, she climbed into armando's lap. she slowly, ground down on his lap, she gasped, feeling his hardness. the look she had in her eyes, a mix of lust and longing, shot straight through him and went to his dick. he snaked a hand towards the back of her neck, he gently gripped the soft flesh. she stopped her movement.

"take that fuckin' dress off," he groaned. leyna blinks. she rose from his lap and proceeded to shimmy out of the dress. she let it pool at her feet before stepping out of it. armando couldn't help himself, all of her smooth curves, and deep rich skin, he just wanted to take a big bite of her. he pulled her back to the couch, switching places, and slid between her legs.

there was no pretense, armando immediately spread her legs wide went straight for leyna's pussy. with his thumb he rubs at her clothed pussy. he revels in the small squelching noise that her pussy makes. leyna whimpers, looking down at him with those big, brown eyes. he chuckles.

“still sensitive?” leyna quickly nods. armando chuckles again, he peels her to the side, admiring the slivery trail of arousal that drips from her pussy onto the fabric. he hums. such a pretty pussy. leyna's pink pussy drips and drools with arousal, fully open and ready, all for him. with calloused thumbs, armando rubs small, droopy circles on the inner parts of leyna's thighs. he inched forward, replacing his fingers with chaste kisses, they create goosebumps on leyna's skin. he licks his lips, keeping his eyes on leyna, kisses her clit.

"fuck! armando,"

he anticipates. before she could ask, armando lays his tongue flat against leyna’s dripping core.

“oo-ooh,” she coos. “you ‘remembered,”

how could he forget, images of him buried between leyna’s shaky legs are burned into his brain. countless lessons from her, teaching him, guiding him. he swears he can hear her voice, way back when during that time.

. . .spread your tongue, a little to the left. yeah ‘just like that, s’ good. good boy. . .

a forceful yank on armando’s curls bring him back to reality. he adjusts his grip on leyna’s thighs, spreading them wider, the pads of his thumbs caressing the plushness.

“fuuuck me! oh my g-god,” leyna whines. armando smiles against her skin, his tongue licks a long stripe against leyna’s core. her arousal is sweet, like peach ice cream. it’s the sweetest thing he’s ever, will ever taste. his sweet girl. armando groans, pulling back slightly, he brings his calloused thumb to leyna’s swollen nub. armando rubs her clit, reveling in her response to his touch. she practically glows, deep brown skin, completely flushed, reddening a bit at her chest. her glossy lips formed into a cute pout, her bottom lip poking ever so slightly, just begging to be kissed, to be bitten by him. seeing her so overwhelmed, so pleasured, sends wave of arousal through armando. his erection painfully rubs against the fabric of his slacks.

“eyes on me, baby,” armando rasps. leyna’s struggle to stay open, succumbing to euphoria between her legs. smack! leyna��s disney-drawn eyes shoot open, to look down at armando. for a moment armando sees something flicker in them, it strips him bare, milliseconds feel like years under her gaze. armando pulls back, spitting directly onto leyna’s pussy. with a new vigor, he dives back in, his tongue licks and drags up and down her softness. his tongue swirls the mix, leyna’s honeyed arousal and his spit, gathering and spreading it onto her clit. he begins suckling the nub, feeling leyna’s sugary essence drip down his goateed chin.

“a-armando! wait s-slow down,”

“uh-uh. you’re my big girl,” he spits, again. armando slurps leyna’s clit, hard. no better then a starving man. “you can take it,”

“c-cumin’. i’m cumin’ baby, pleaseee,” leyna lets out a melodious whine. better than any song or music he’s ever heard. nothing can compare to his girl’s angelic voice, all pitchy and delicate. it’s music to his ears.

“ 's i got you. i got you bambi, let it out,” armando drawls. he sucks at leyna’s clit as it throbs against his tongue. her legs clamp down around armando’s head, this makes him push harder to get her over the edge. he switches his approach, one hand pries open leyna’s leg, with the other he slips his middle finger inside her entrance, slowly prodding her open, he flattens his tongue to lap at her clit. with the other hand he reaches, palming one of her bra covered breasts.

“s-shit! don’t stop please,” leyna is babbling now. she rakes her nails through armando’s thick curls. armando can feel her tightening around his middle finger. she’s close. . .

bam! the band snaps. leyna orgasms hard.

her sugary, syrupy essence flows out of her. leyna holds armando’s head close, she rides out her aftershocks, jerking lightly when his tongue and nose glides over her sensitive clit. slowly, armando pulls away, a string a saliva connects from his lips to leyna’s pussy. he rose up from his crouched position. armando towering over her, his eyes gazing down at her, dilated pupils heavy with dangerous mix, care and lust, maybe even something more. the soft lighting catches armando’s glistening goatee and cheeks. his pink tongue swipes at his bottom lip, like a coyote eyeing its subdued prey.

leyna was everything at the same time. his baby take care of, his princesa to spoil, and his bambi to devour.

“h-how’d you get so good,” leyna stammered. her breathing is still a bit choppy.

“learned from the best,” he rasps, he eyes slowly rake over, as if he was studying her. he wanted to remember her in this very moment.

leyna smiles, sheepishly.

“c’mere,” armando beckons. leyna obliges, she sits up, scooting closer to the edge of the couch. armando tilts leyna chin upwards, he leans in, capturing her lips. he nips at her bottom lip, when leyna opens her mouth, he seizes the opportunity to slip his tongue inside. she tastes herself on his tongue, it starts off tangy but quickly bleeds into a saccharine taste. their tongues wrestle. before, in this war of mouths, leyna used to win, mostly due to armando’s lack of experience, but now it’s much different. he wields his tongue masterfully like knight and their sword, twisting and tasting every inch of her mouth.

“you ready for me princesa?” leyna nods. he watches as her mouth opens and then closes when he slips his shirt over his head. she's pratically drooling at the sight. she should be, countless hours of training have contributed to his sculpted body, all muscles and hard edges. mindlessly her fingers trace over his chest. nails drag over the ridges of his six-pack. she stops her ogling when she sees a scar near his rib cage. armando notices.

“bar fight. fucker, got me good with a broken bottle. had to get a couple stitches,”

“oh baby,”

“hey, hey,” armando gently grabs leyna’s hand. he drags it up, so it cups his cheek. “i’m good,”

his voice holds sincerity as that strange feeling returns inside of him. that urge to hold and take care of leyna, to protect her from his woes, the world, and all its troubles. leyna reaches down to unbuckle his pants, but he stops her.

“not tonight, bambi. wanna be inside of you,”

leyna gulps. he cocks his head to the side.

“don't get all shy on me now," armando tilts her chin. "you know what to do, princesa,"

leyna peels out of her slightly ripped and soaked panties, she tosses them aside. she reaches behind for the clasp of her bra, she unbuckles it, carefully she lays it on the couch next to her dress. when leyna reaches down to slip off her heels, armando tsks.

“nah. leave ‘em on,” armando bites his lip, his eyes sweeping over her naked frame. she’s changed a lot over ten years, she’s curvier, with an obvious plushness and fullness in her breasts and ass. noticeably, there’s a small tattoo of a lotus flower on the upper right side of her rib cage. “fuck, bambi. you all grown up,”

leyna opens her mouth to retort but she shuts it as armando unbuttons his pants.

"you trust me?" armando huffs, he slowly pumps his hardness, feeling pre-cum leaking from his tip.

“of course, i trust you,” leyna replies softly.

“shit princesa. you can’t say stuff like that,” armando murmurs.

he slowly spins leyna around, her back was at his front. he made sure slowly grind his bulge into her, so she could feel all of him.

“soy el rey ahora,” there a slight edge in his voice, it contrasted with the soft circles he drew on the back of her neck. “on all fours, princesa,” leyna obliges. she moves towards the couch, planting herself on her hands and knees, and arches her back. armando groans as she makes a show of it, wiggling her hips in the process. “so pretty liked this. my sweet girl, my bambi, imma fuck the shit out of you,” armando all but growls. a hand reaches into her scalp, fisting her hair. he forcefully tugs at her locks, pulling her head backwards.

leyna whimpers. “baby ‘s rough,”

armando roughly spits on her pussy. he watches as the spit slides down, mixing with her slickness. he’s not nice, not like before. all the care and attention he paid towards her pussy, that armando was long gone. now, replaced with a meaner, tunnel-vision armando. he pushes himself, filling her to her hilt, his stretching out her pussy, all of ridges of his dick rubbing against her gummy walls. she's so warm and tight, a delicious contrast of pushing and pulling him further inside of her. a chill runs down leyna's spine while her manicured nails claw at the fabric of the couch.

“oh fuck!” leyna shouts, armando smacks her right ass-cheek. he executes a few shallow thrusts, barely moving in and out of leyna.

“how bad you wan’ it?” armando drawls.

“so bad baby, please fuck me, please,” leyna’s hoarseness sounds ethereal to him. the breathy way she sounds, the want, the need, makes him even harder. so much so it pains him.

“i got you,” armando tightens the hold he has on leyna’s hair and hip. he pulls all the way out, admiring the mess his girl makes on his dick. the glossy shine the covers him. he stifles back a moan, her warmth and softness send waves of pleasure straight to his dick. he bites down on his lip, watching leyna’s ass ripple against him with every stroke. a bolt of electricity shoots through him as she clamps down on him, her walls tighten, and grip at his dick. she's close.

"i feel you, you cumin' bambi?"

“y-yes, oooh fuck! i’m so close. don’t stop,"

a loud chiming erupts over the sex sounds leyna makes. armando can feel a vibration in his pocket. he reluctantly reaches and sees who’s calling his phone, he answers, while still keeping a steady pace. pumping in and in out of leyna.

“fuck, you want,” armando growls, one hand on the phone while the other holds onto leyna’s shoulder. she moans a little too loud, so he covers her mouth. over the phone one of sebastian’s groomsmen informs that sebastian has wandered off with one of the strippers, no one can find him and he’s left his phone behind. “fuck me. fuckin’ pendejo, i-i’ll be over in a minute, shit,” armando slows down his pace before pulling out completely, leyna whines at the loss of contract.

“i gotta go,” armando sighs. leyna now sits facing him.

“but why? what’s the matter?” his heart pangs at the disappointment that edges out in her voice. he quickly redresses, buckling his pants and slipping his shirt back over and on.

“a situation came up,” he leans down and kisses her on the cheek. “imma come an’ find you,”

without another look or word, armando walks out of the v.i.p. with a hard dick and an odd feeling panging in his chest.

[thankskenpenders]

Help me out here: Why is there so much Ian Flynn hate going around lately? I thought everyone loved that he was contributing to the games. Now suddenly they aren't. I guess that's par for the course for this series but I don't get it. He isn't perfect but I like what he's done. Am I a weirdo?

Ian Flynn has always had a lot of fans, but any creator putting their work out there is going to have detractors as well. That's just the nature of being an artist. To some extent, it's no big deal. He's not a perfect writer. Nobody is! I consider myself a fan of his work, but I've criticized plenty of individual writing decisions from him on here.

But Ian doesn't just have critics. He has his own obsessive hatedom. And the specific nature of Ian's hatedom is... interesting.

A decade ago, Ian was only the guy writing for Archie Sonic, meaning any debates over his work were quarantined within that tiny niche of the larger Sonic fandom. Only people who kept up with the comics month to month had any real reason to have an opinion on the guy, which means we're talking about merely thousands of fans as opposed to millions.

Within that group, he had some haters. You had the people who were mad about story changes made during his run, particularly things like ancillary characters getting killed off (although over the years we've learned that most of those were editorial mandates from Mike Pellerito). You had the people mad that Ian didn't push their favorite ship, with feuding SonAmy and Sonally fans claiming that he was CLEARLY biased towards one or the other. You had the people who just really, really liked one of the previous writers way more - usually Penders, as hard as that may be to believe today. That sort of thing. Pretty normal comic fandom type stuff. Again, it comes with the territory.

Unfortunately, many of those haters only got worse over time, morphing into reactionaries who constantly try to incite Comicsgate type culture war bullshit.

There are people still mad at Ian for making Sally bi and pairing her with Nicole instead of Sonic in the later Archie comics. There have been elaborate MS Paint red string conspiracy boards explaining how people like Ian and Jon Gray have apparently been destroying the franchise from the inside for years by Making Sonic Woke. (Jon gets dragged into this because people are still mad about him drawing The Slap 20 years later. Yes, really!!) There was an unhinged change.org petition trying to get Ian fired, specifically from people who were mad that the Freedom Fighters aren't in the IDW comics. There was even a very sad little fan campaign from these people trying to get Sega to move the Sonic comic license away from IDW and over to Udon, because they thought Udon would bring Sally and Bunnie back and also make them sexy again. There's a lot of this.

(Unfortunately, Penders has also exacerbated this by gossiping about Ian on Twitter and giving these fans ammo, but that's a whole 'nother discussion.)

The thing is, for years, people who only played the games or watched the cartoons had no reason to pay attention to any of this. Now, though, Ian isn't just writing for some weird spinoff comics that only the super nerds read. Now he's writing comics that are canon to the games, and ALSO some of the games themselves, and ALSO consulting on other tie-in media like Sonic Prime, and ALSO writing the official Sonic encyclopedia, and ALSO serving as part of the new Sonic Lore Team at Sega. And on top of all this, he's got an increasingly popular podcast where he fields questions about his work on all of these things, which serves as one of the fandom's main windows into creative decisions being made behind the scenes.

As a fan of Ian's work, it's been really cool to see him rise in prominence. But the dark side of this is that his obsessive haters from the Archie days now have WAY more of a potential audience of their own. Now, every Sonic fan has to have an opinion on Ian. What this frequently means is that you'll have the Comicsgate types taking things Ian writes or says out of context, attempting to get more of the general fandom to yell at the guy.

Unfortunately, there are a wide variety of Sonic fans who take the bait:

You've got hardcore fans who disliked basically any recent piece of Sonic media and are looking for someone to blame.

You've got the people who are concerned about the sanctity of Sonic's canon, who shoot the messenger any time Ian mentions a new retcon from Sonic Team on the podcast - or any time he even mentions the THOUGHT of changing anything about the canon, as we saw recently with the Sol Dimension nonsense.

You've got people who romanticize some sort of mythical artistic vision that Sega of Japan supposedly has (or had) for the franchise. To many of these fans, American contributors like Ian just don't "get" the heart of the series and are trying to turn Sonic into something different. (This "heart of the series" tends to be some mix of Japanese instruction manual lore, the cinematics from Sonic CD, the OVA, and/or the games written by Shiro Maekawa, depending on what Sonic media the fan in question grew up with.)

You've got fans of specific characters or ships who pin the blame for how their faves are depicted entirely on Ian - most vocally fans of Shadow, even though the root problem is that Sonic Team hasn't known what to do with Shadow since 2006. At best this stops at regular old criticism, but at its worst this devolves into claims that Ian has an agenda against certain characters.

You've got fans annoyed by a perceived over-emphasis on comic-original characters in the IDW comics, ignoring the obvious facts that these characters exist because the game cast is so tightly controlled by Sega, and also, you know, that people just like the IDW characters and want more stories about them.

You've got a LOT of discourse over IDW's Sonic being a hero who tries to give his enemies second chances, as if half of Sonic's closest friends aren't already former villains and rivals. Honestly this is very transparently just reheated Steven Universe discourse lmao

You'll also see people who just think they could do Ian's job better. They can't believe that THIS GUY is the American fan working on all these Sonic projects, when clearly THEY understand the characters and lore and themes SO much better than this charlatan.

All it takes is for someone in one of these categories to be unhappy about some recent piece of Sonic media, and for them to come across an out of context quote or comic panel that rubs them the wrong way, and suddenly the leftist Zoomer Sonic fans will join the latest dogpile on Ian alongside the reactionary Comicsgate types who are mad at him for Making Sonic Woke.

In general, when fandoms get upset, they tend to want a scapegoat. A person or two to point a finger at and go "THAT's who ruined the thing I love!" This tends to be based less on reality and more on which contributors are the most visible online. You'll sometimes see teenage and adult fans of children's cartoons single out a storyboarder who's particularly vocal on Twitter, blame them for every story decision they don't like, and harass them off the platform out of a sense of retribution for their favorite ship or whatever. Failing that, fans might choose to blame every nitpick, down to individual lines of dialogue and frames of animation, on a showrunner, just because that's the name they associate with the show. And unfortunately, when it comes to Sonic, Ian is now arguably the most prolific and outspoken contributor on the English speaking internet, and therefore a common scapegoat.

Some of the things I've seen Ian blamed for are truly wild. A lot of people have claimed for YEARS that he's just lying about the existence of creative guidelines and restrictions from Sega - or, as fans call them, The Mandates - even though they're just an inherent aspect of working on a licensed property. Others claim that The Mandates are real, but somehow Ian's fault. A vocal minority of fans have convinced themselves that Ian is the sole reason the Freedom Fighters don't exist in the IDW comics, even though Ian says he's been pushing to bring them back since day one.

Sometimes you'll see people say he ruined shit he didn't even work on. A few weeks ago on Twitter I saw someone claim that Ian had written a rejected script for Sonic Forces in which Tails died. I could not find a source for this for the life of me. As far as I can tell, the rumor seems to have been born from an alleged leaked script for Forces with margin notes from Aaron Webber that criticized the way Tails was written, and also an old tweet where Aaron joked that Tails would die in an upcoming episode of Sonic Mania Adventures. These merged into "Aaron Webber criticized a draft of the Forces script in which Tails died." How'd Ian get dragged into this? Who fucking knows!

It's all just a big game of telephone. All it takes is some asshole to make something up about Ian on Twitter or YouTube or a DeviantArt journal or some forum, and at least a couple people will believe it, and then it gets repeated as fact. Again, this used to be contained by the niche nature of the Archie Sonic fandom, but now there are WAY more people who are receptive to this shit.

It's just sad to me that Ian tries to be so open and honest about his work, to try to explain the rationale for certain things, to keep fans looped in on the direction the franchise is headed, and this just gives the Flynnspiracy types more quotes to take out of context and try to paint him as the devil. If it sounds like I'm being overly defensive and dismissing his critics, man... some of the things I've seen people say directly to him are just unbelievable. People will send paragraphs-long angry screeds in to his podcast that completely tear him apart, and he has to sit there and be like "Well, that's your opinion, and you're entitled to it." People literally pay for special guest interview episodes where they just rapid fire complaints about his writing at him directly to his face. I don't know how he does it. I would snap.

All of this over Sonic the fucking Hedgehog of all things.

I don't know how to wrap this up. Engaging with fandoms online is very tiring, which is why I tend not to do it. Things like this are too common. I guess, just... remember that making art collaboratively is a complicated thing. The people involved are generally trying their best given the circumstances, but they're only human. They make mistakes. But please treat them like humans. Criticism and dogpiling are not the same thing.

[honeytonedhottie]

HONEYS IT GIRL MAGAZINE june edition⋆.ೃ࿔*:･🎀

welcome back to honeys it girl magazine, this is the june catalog. get ready for the inside scoop on data that i've collected, things i've learned/started doing, and just general info like that organized in kind of a teen-magazine inspired fashion. a magazine for it girls ✨ and now please enjoy, the it girl magazine.

LIFE UPDATE ;

as you may or may not have noticed, i've been hiatus for most of the month now. and i disappeared because of personal reasons, and one of those reasons being that i felt i needed to reflect. here are some things that i've learned and realized during my reflection time.

in that post i go into things that i went thru during the month of june and the reason behind my absence. something that i mentioned but failed to elaborate on in that post was what i plan to manifest next and i'll talk about it later on in the post.

FOR THE WELLNESS GIRLIES ;

this summer is a hot one, and one way that i've been getting my vegetable and fruit intake is through smoothies. smoothies and juices are perfect for the summer because they're SO refreshing so im going to talk about some smoothie recipes.

adriana limas smoothie recipe ; (1 cup cold water + 1/2 avocado + honey). candice swanepoels smoothie recipe ; (1 frozen banana + 1 cup blueberries + 1 tsp protein powder + 1 scoop collagen powder + 1 tbsp chia seeds + 2 tbsp almond butter + 1 tbsp spirulina + 1 1/2 cup coconut water)

smoothies make amazing breakfasts or just amazing drinks to have when ur craving a sweet drink. for me, i like to keep my smoothies simple and use ingredients like strawberry and banana, but lately i've been loving mango in my smoothies.

LETS TALK MANIFESTATION ;

because of my period of reflection i had time to focus on what i wanted to manifest next and i wanna manifest a trip to italy for the summer + other mini things within that trip.

i've already created a script for it, and im gonna start affirming for it on the first of july. im so so excited to go and share this with you guys...💬🎀 furthermore i wanted to share some manifestation reminders and posts that have been helping me so far.

ABOUT WAVERING

YOUR NOT A VICTIM, YOU NEVER WERE

HOW TO IGNORE THE 3D AND BE UNBOTHERED

PATRICIA NAVIDAD STYLE DISSECTION ;

patricia navidad in “la fea más bella” is an over the top, feminine queen who i absolutely adore. she was easily one of my favorite characters so ofc i wanted to make this editions style dissection about her.

she has beautiful blondish hair that is similar to and complements her skintone, making her look super put together and gorgeous. she wears jewelry that she coordinates together. but my favorite outfit of hers HAS to be the one shown above on the left.

if theres one thing patricia knows how to do is to make her outfits work for HER which is why i thought she'd be the perfect candidate for this months style dissection...💬🎀

in this outfit shes wearing a matching pink set, the shade of pink is very soft and matches beautifully with the white (what looks like a corset-ish top) underneath. the color coordination is superb and she makes the shirt pop more by only using one button beneath her bust which draws attention to her figure and the top underneath.

THE CRINGE STIGMA ;

to be a victim to the cringe stigma is to be caged in ur own mind bcuz ur so scared of what others may or may not think of you. lets talk about it. the way others perceive u isnt ur business. lets think about how many times that you've stopped urself from doing something that u rly wanted to do, or something that you've really loved because u were scared of what others might say? imagine all that wasted time and energy worrying?

its not ur responsibility to keep urself small or digestible for someone. u can't grow where ur comfortable so to grow u have to get uncomfortable even if that means being called cringe by others. bcuz when others call u cringe thats their own projection onto you and it rly doesnt matter. dont take someone else's judgement too personally and just enjoy yourself no matter what...💬🎀

[quibbs126]

…Okay, you may end up seeing these drawings yet again on a later date

I finished the page, which was small at 500x500 px, but I wanted to make the page bigger. I did that, and I drew one new thing, but now I don’t know what else to draw on there. So for now, I figured I might as well post the original full page right now

Yeah, sorry for the laziness

This is the other sketch I finished on there, for those curious

Anyways, so yeah, this new style practice I’m trying

The original page I tried these out on is this, which also isn’t full, but I thought trying it out with actual characters instead of just random poses and shapes would be better, so I switched over to Cookie Run characters

The method is still a work in progress when it comes to all the shapes and the red sketch layer

I suppose what I should do now is try drawing a bunch of different Cookies that have different body shapes, so that I have practice with that. As well as maybe attempt some full body ones

I suppose you can suggest some if you want, considering I don’t know who to draw other than like, Hollyberry or Avocado, since I should try drawing large but not buff characters here. But I should also probably draw more skinny, and also chubby

But on to what I actually drew

So I already talked about Peach Blossom and the top Dark Choco drawing prior, so no real need to elaborate

The Dark Choco and Dark Cacao one was me drawing them in their younger forms to see how they compare. Not for any sort of study thing, but just in a symbolic sort of way. Since they’re so similar looking

I think I had a lot more fun with Choco, especially his hair. I remember Cacao being mostly annoying for his weird cloak thing that I don’t understand

The hand pose was ass though. I knew the general idea of what I wanted, that being them with their hands over their swords, but I was struggling to figure out how to draw the hands. Not to mention I had to change the pose from the red sketch because the swords were further down than I put them. I still don’t think I did the pose exactly correct, but screw it, it’s good enough

I’m also noticing that Choco looks way lighter in skin tone compared to Cacao. Like yeah, I know he’s normally slightly lighter, but it’s far more noticeable here. I’m pretty sure it’s because I used Dark Choco’s ToA colors here (bc they work better with my black lineart), which are slightly lighter, as well as just that Dark Choco is wearing much lighter colors while Dark Cacao’s are relatively darker. So maybe it just makes them contrast more

I liked drawing them, but I also did basically do the same body type 3 in a row, so I should probably draw different characters

Anyways, let’s talk about that extra sketch

So for those who likely don’t remember, that there is an OC of mine called Prickly Pear Cookie

I made her entirely on a whim one day, and she doesn’t really have any character or story, just vibes, but I really like her design and wanted to draw it again

I probably should give her some sort of bra though. The shirtless chest looks cool but in my opinion sounds really uncomfortable without at least that

I did originally draw her with the green skin, but it looked weird so I shifted it to more of a yellow so it looks more human

Honestly I really like how she turned out

But yeah, I think that’s about it for now. Just wanted to show this

[mosneakers]

Clementine: [staring at the screen in disbelief] This doesn't make any sense. She won… it's official. Kirsten: [with a heavy sigh] Well, I’ll be damned. You kids see the power you wield? You resurrected that Salas bunch, and now we’ve got a damn vampire in office. I'm telling you, it's that Darling family curse, it's no joke.

Salem: Yeah, no one's fucking laughing, mom.

Yellow: [Starts pacing, checking cell phone] Has anyone heard from Coraleye? It’s nearly 4 AM, and she hasn’t checked in. That’s not like her—especially after this long.

Donna, anxiously knitting on the sofa, turns to give her husband a loving glance, striving to keep her tone light and comforting. Donna: We needn't fret, love. She's likely off with Tycho, helping him get his mind off things like lovebirds do— hehe! Yellow: [Sighs] You’re probably right. I’ll give her more time before trying again. I do remember how it felt, being young and utterly smitten. [Grins and cheesily winks at Donna]

Salem: Disgusting.

Donna: You are! [Playfully sticks out tongue]

Seymour, thought to be asleep, croaks a laugh. Salem groans and leans forward, burying her head in her hands.

Out of nowhere, the Darling family landline rings, breaking the silence with a jolt. The unexpected sound causes even the family dog to yelp in surprise. Donna: Oh, heavens! It's alright, Mimsy, that's just the phone. Gave me a scare too; it hardly ever rings. Excuse me, I'll answer it.

Donna gently sets her knitting kit aside, then carefully maneuvers around the jumbled feet and dog, making her way to the foyer to tend to the ringing phone. Yellow tries his daughter’s cellphone once more, as Clementine nudges Salem with her leg. Clementine: What's wrong? Having doubts about resurrecting them? Salem: Of course not. Don’t be stupid. That was the only way I'd get you back. How was I supposed to know it'd get lead to this? She was so different all those years ago.

Donna, usually known for her bravery, suddenly cries out in distress from the foyer, causing Yellow to rush to her side, alarmed. Yellow: Donna, sweetheart! What's wrong? Who called? Donna: That was an officer from the city. We have to go pick up Coraleye right away! There's been a terrible accident. Yellow: What? What happened to her? Is she hurt?

Donna: She's safe, but it sounds like others may have been hurt, and she's rather quite shaken. They wouldn't elaborate, so I guess we'll learn more when we arrive. Oh! Let me just fetch my slippers!

Clementine: Shit, I’m pretty worried… should we tag along? Yellow: We’ll manage. Maybe you all stay here in case anything comes up here. Thanks, Clem. Mom— we'll be right back with Coraleye. Will you be alright getting Dad to bed? Kirsten: Yes, of course, hun. Just get my baby girl back home safe and soon.

Clementine: Ditto. Give her hugs and kisses for me. [Waits for Donna and Yellow to leave] What a crazy night. What do you think went down?

Salem: How should I know.

Clementine: Think it’s connected to Salas winning?

Salem: Most likely. And now that a psychotic vampire is in charge��� this is just the beginning. Who knows what she's capable of?

Kirsten: You can say that again. How long is it gonna take before someone addresses that none of us mediums have been able to make contact with Jay Salas? I think the bitch killed her husband. Salem: Mom please, not now. Kirsten: Sorry! Just saying... I have my suspicions. Guess we'll save it for a later season.

Salem exhales heavily, clutching her scalp. Her gaze drifts to the glowing TV screen, where Tatiana's unsettling grin beams back, mocking her hesitation.

Salem: Ugh, fuck! I can’t believe I’m responsible for this fucking shitshow.

Clementine: [Brief silence, eyes transfixed on the screen] …You brought her into this realm.

Salem: …And I’m gonna have to take her out.

[bwabys-scenarios]

If you haven't already, I'd love it if you could elaborate on perv!Kurapika 🤭

Omg gladly 👀

warnings: general perv behavior, panty/vibrator stealing, peeping tom, masturbation

So Kurapika is generally seen as a sweet, polite man. He doesn’t seem to have much interest in anything romantic or sexual. But god can looks be deceiving.

So you and Kurapika are friends, maybe took the Hunter exam together with him and the other 3. You’re sweet, motherly towards Killua and Gon, and have a soft figure.

At first, Kurapika doesn’t realize he has feelings for you, and even if he did he wouldn’t act on them in the beginning. He’s a little frustrated, he has a mission to complete and he can’t let his feelings get in the way.

It’s when his little crush turns into sexual desire that he gets really pissed. Why are you so cute? Why did you wear that shirt skirt when meeting him today? The wind blew and he saw your underwear, now he can’t stop thinking about that moment.

They were just a pair of white cotton panties, so why can’t he get the image of your ass out of his mind? He is a little perturbed with how hard he gets the next time he sees you and you’re wearing a dress with a revealing neckline. You even joking tell him your eyes up here, which makes the blonde turn red in embarrassment.

You don’t often catch him staring. When you do, your brush it off. He isn’t talkative, so you assume he’s just staring off into space.

Oh that isn’t true at all. He watches you like a hawk, catching anything that could be remotely seen as lewd. Your vanilla ice cream dripping down your chin, your boobs bouncing when you run to meet him, your nipples getting hard through your shirt the one time he showed out of nowhere in the middle of the night, giving you no time to put on a bra.

Your house becomes the closest place to a home to him. He knows the layout by heart. The kitchen, living room, bathroom, your room. He stays over often after a lengthy mission, usually up to a month. When you’re gone, he’ll hesitantly sneak into your room and peek into your drawers.

If you have any sex toys hidden, he’ll turn red and pick them up, sniffing them slightly. He’ll be disappointed to know they weren’t freshly used, but he’ll still pocket one of your vibrators to play with later. After all, you have several.

He steals a few pairs of panties, some that you won’t miss. He prefers the more mundane looking ones, your white cotton panties being his favorite. They’re the first pair he saw, so they’re his now. Every once in a while he’ll take one of your favorite pairs, but he’ll always return those!! They may be a little… used tho

He’ll cuddle up beneath your blankets, taking in your scent with deep breaths. A sweet moan will leave his mouth as he dips his hands under the waistband of his boxers, stroking his cock. Your sheets smell just like you, and he wishes more than anything that it was your hand on his dick and not his.

He learns your schedule, knowing exactly when you like to take showers. Kurapika will wait outside your bathroom door until he hears the water turn off and the shower curtain open, then he’ll bust in, acting nonchalant. Once you notice he’s there he’ll act surprised and flustered, hiding his eyes(but not before he gets a good luck at your naked form). “Sorry, I didn’t know you were in here.”

Kurapika usually sleeps on your couch. He’ll stay up late, listening to you move around in your room. Once he hears the distinct sound of buzzing or soft moans he inches towards your door, hand in his pants. You whine out his name, and that makes him FERAL. He’ll wait until you’re about to orgasm before knocking on the door. After a moment he’ll open it, seeing the hands between your legs stiffen and your eyes go wide with embarrassment.

“K-Kurapika! What are you doing in here?”

You’ll try your best to hide yourself but he’s seen everything. You’re mortified, he’s creaming in his pants.

“My apologies, I thought I heard you call my name…”

If he’s feeling a little confident he’ll lean against the doorway with an innocent look, maybe even offer to help you out.

Kurapika is a perv but not a very confident one. He’s quite embarrassed his body reacts the way it does, and would probably die if you ever found out. Though there is a fantasy he has of you finding out and really liking how much he wants you…

He has a lot of fantasies about you, mostly about getting your pregnant or waking up to you jerking him off. He will not make a move though, he already is embarrassed enough of these feelings, I don’t think he could take rejection.

Anyways, if you two were to enter a relationship, his tendencies will only become more intense. Now that he doesn’t have to hide it, you’ll find pairs of you panties in the bottom of the hamper full of cum. You’ll wake up to him grinding against your ass, sleepily lifting his hand up your shirt to grab your boobs.

Instead of walking in on you showering, he’ll join you in the shower. His touch is innocent, combing through your hair and helping you wash your back, but it’s lingering. Soon enough you’ll feel something hard pressing against your back, and he’ll whine about how cute you are. “Could you help me out, sweetheart?”

You’ll never have to question how much Kurapika wants you, because he’ll tell AND show you.

Kurapika is surprisingly horny, with high stamina.

Honestly I could go on and on. He’s so….😩😩😩❤️

[nadas-dirthalen]

Veilguard Theorycrafting Week 2: My Best Guess at 1200 Years of Mythal Shenanigans

Welcome, one and all! While I count down to Veilguard's Halloween release, I'm going to dissect one tinfoil hat theory I have per week.

This week: I'm going to try and guess what Mythal has been up to since the end of the First Blight—and why Vivial, one of Andraste's children, is the key to understanding everything about modern Mythal.

Elaboration, brainstorming, and sources below the cut! Be warned: this post is LONG.

SPOILERS for the Trespasser DLC, Tevinter Nights, and all Dragon Age games so far, INCLUDING VEILGUARD PROMOTIONAL CONTENT.

I'll be honest, folks, I thought I was going to do this post in a later week. But with as much content about the story coming out as it is right now, I wanted to get ahead of the game on Morrigan/Morriflemythal speculation.

The tl;dr here is: I think Mythal started the First Blight with the intention of finding a human host. I think she became Andraste, and that every one of her identities thereafter has been a descendant of Andraste.

So without further ado, let's go over this chronologically. Walk with me.

Part 1: Who Mythal Was Before Her Death & Why She Was Killed

I'm going to briefly gloss over this portion, because I already wrote a post in this series on what I think of the relationship between Mythal, lyrium, and the other Evanuris. Find all the specifics there!

Suffice it to say:

Mythal, though sea-coded, has more dealings with "the earth" than most of the other Evanuris (that we know of), and we know "earth" to be synonymous with "Deep Roads" and "lyrium."

The other Evanuris fought her, and each other, over this.

Mythal, however, avoided outright bloodshed for a long time. She was their judge. She advised them on nonlethal combat.

Various Flemeth dialogues imply that there was marital/domestic violence that Elgar'nan inflicted upon Mythal, up to and including SA. I don't have enough sources to affirm any specifics, and I don't want to get into very triggering territory, so I will leave it there.

We know that a spark of Mythal's soul lived on after her murder, and that she was never imprisoned by Solas like the other Evanuris. Thus, she has been free, unlike the others (that we know of) to seek other hosts for her spirit.

But she would not find success in this for millennia. Freeing her spirit to move while her archdemon was trapped belowground may have proved impossible. To find a new host, she may have had to free her archdemon — and for that, she would need existing mortals to do the freeing.

I (and many others) think she would not find success in this until the First Blight — the one that ended the same year Andraste was born.

Part 2: The First Blight & the Archdemon Dumat

For a long time, many people theorized that Dumat was Elgar'nan's archdemon. Many people theorized that archdemons were something else entirely, but recently it was confirmed (more or less?) that an archdemon is a dragon containing the sundered spirit of an Evanuris, much like Corypheus' did, to house their soul and keep them immortal.

But I think Mythal used the First Blight as a way to free Dumat's soul and transfer it to a living host.

Let me sum up the First Blight as fast as I can:

It began (supposedly) after the Magisters Sidereal crossed physically into the Fade and visited the "Golden City."

They did so because their gods (the archdemons) began whispering to them — and Dumat was the first to do so.

The archdemon Dumat then led this Blight for two hundred years.

During that time, Dumat was killed once, only to come back later. This is because his soul (like Corypheus in DAI) resurrected in the body of another darkspawn shortly thereafter.

It ended at The Battle of Silent Plains in -203 Ancient (just south of the city Solas, for those keeping track at home) and caused the explosion that gave the Silent Plains their name, for nothing could grow there in the ~1200 years thereafter.

To me, Dumat being first to whisper to the Magisters Sidereal bears similarities to Mythal whispering to Flemeth during the hour of Flemeth's greatest need. I believe she knew that unleashing a Blight was the only way to move her sundered spirit out of her archdemon — and into a living host on the surface.

We know that typically, during a Blight, a Grey Warden must be the one to land the killing blow on an Archdemon — and that, if successful, both the soul of the Warden and the soul of the Archdemon are destroyed.

We also know there is one way to circumvent this: by a Warden impregnating someone during a ritual that we learn from Flemeth. This results in a baby born that houses the soul of an old god — AKA, we now know from the DA:tV combat release video, a sundered piece of an Evanuris (presumably).

A mortal host, free of the Blight. Just what Mythal would want.

Enter: Andraste, born in -203 Ancient.

Part 3: From Silence, Justice. From Dumat, Andraste.

Firstly: look at that beautiful crown, people. That lovely crown in Dragon Age: Origins in the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Don't worry: we'll see it again and again and again in later games. :)

It's not just the year of Andraste's birth that makes me think she was born with Dumat's soul. I think her parentage is just as important to my understanding of her origins.

Namely, that her father may have married Andraste's mother, Brona, but also fathered a child with his advisor on matters of alchemy, who was said by Andraste to whisper of the old gods. I can find no record of anyone else in that time period who might have access to understanding of the ritual to create an old-god-imbued child from the slaying of an archdemon.

Now, you may be asking, How do we know that other daughter wasn't born with the soul of Dumat? Why Andraste, specifically?

The truth is: either daughter may have been born with the soul of Dumat. But crucially, only one daughter survived their childhood. And the circumstances of that death scream "weird magic" to me.

Andraste woke up one stormy night to find her sister following lights into the woods. She followed her sibling, after which an unspecified event of violence occurred. Halliserre was found dead in a burned clearing, having suffered wounds beyond weapons, while fires sparked throughout the forest. Andraste was found pale but alive, uncertain of what she had seen, and developed a sickness of the lungs that would prevent her from bearing children for a decade. [...] In the aftermath of the event, Andraste reported hearing voices and talked of strange auras and the sounds of bells. Several years later, Andraste began saying that heresy had played a part in her sister's death, suggesting that Halliserre's mother had been involved in worship of the Old Gods.

My theory is this: one of the sisters was born with the soul of Dumat. It does not matter which, since Flemeth was later able to remove an old god soul from a child in DA:I (more on that later), so we know that that magic is possible even in Andraste's time.

What we do know is that the surviving daughter, Andraste, reported hearing voices. She claimed a connection with the Maker.

But regardless of who was speaking to her in dreams and meditations after this moment, I believe it was Mythal whispering to her in that forest. And whatever happened, I believe that Andraste emerged not just with an old god soul, but another piece of Mythal. The same that would later travel into Flemeth, and then Morrigan.

Andraste went into that forest a child, old god soul or not. She came out the vessel for an Evanuris, holding knowledge that she had no idea how to comprehend.

And regardless of the events of her life, that soul would continue to travel after her death—into the souls of her daughters, the only children she ever bore herself.

Part 4: Andraste's Daughters

Andraste only ever had two children of her own: daughters Ebris and Vivial. I think Mythal influenced both girls from the beginning, because, "They were kept out of the public eye and not permitted to marry, though both had consorts."

In short: they could not marry, but they were allowed to bear children.

Following Andraste's death, I think Mythal's soul went into the first of these daughters: Ebris. It makes sense for her to have chosen the elder child, the one likely to be wiser and more experienced. But we know just one thing about Ebris:

Ebris had but one child, Alli Vemar, who perished on a voyage to Denerim—less than a month after her mother fell to plague, and without children of her own.

Ebris — Mythal's next choice for a vessel — died. Less than a month later, the one who I believe to have been Mythal's next choice for a host, Alli, perished on a voyage. And after Alli, there were no more children (nevermind daughters) in that line. No new hosts that were immediate descendants.

So where should Flemeth turn but Vivial? There was just one problem.

The younger daughter, Vivial, was more controversial: a strong-headed woman who defied her family by falling in love with a mage of Tevinter, Regulan. Vivial and Regulan went into self-imposed exile as the Exalted March began, and into hiding following Andraste's betrayal and murder.

Vivial had been in hiding since just after Andraste's murder. By the time Alli died, Vivial was gone. And her descendants?

What became of Vivial and her descendants is largely unknown for one primary reason: she had only daughters. Each of those daughters only had daughters. They married into other families and took other names, and in the chaos of the Second Blight, all traces of survivors were lost. Andraste's true bloodline, if it exists, lies solely in the descendants of Vivial.

Gone. All of the daughters of Andraste's daughters, and their daughters, and their daughters, were scattered across Thedas, all with different surnames.

If Mythal wanted to continue existing in living hosts, she would have to find them. And it would take hundreds of years.

Part 5: Heir and Spare... and Spare... and Spare...

It's only rumor that Flemeth was born in 3:00 Towers. Much of Flemeth, unsurprisingly, is rumor. But one thing, Morrigan confirms as true: she is Flemeth's daughter, and this means she is doomed to become a vessel for Flemeth one day.

But how did that begin? Legend says Flemeth was an abomination, harboring Vengeance, but this does not seem to be the full story. From the wiki:

Although Morrigan at first believed Flemeth to be an abomination, she later realized that Flemeth is not truly human. Flemeth herself reveals to The Inquisitor that the Fereldan legends of the Witch of the Wilds share one aspect that is true: Flemeth fled the Alamarri and asked spirits for help. Flemeth then admits that Mythal answered, and in exchange for fulfillment of Flemeth's request, she possessed her.

I believe Flemeth is the first of Vivial's descendants (that we know of) who reached out directly to Mythal in a way that would actually reach Mythal. I believe Mythal leapt at the chance to help Flemeth, in exchange for living within Flemeth.

And once the two were one and Flemeth understood Mythal's true aims, she would proceed to birth daughter after daughter to keep she and Mythal alive, all to pursue vengeance against (presumably) the Evanuris who killed her in the first place.

Part 6: The Morrigan of It All (and the Kieran of it all, too)

We know Morrigan is next in line for becoming Mythal's vessel. We know it for sure from the recent Veilguard release date trailer, but this has been a looming threat since Dragon Age: Origins. Morrigan admits this herself.

But I think there is more than that, because of the Kieran of it all.

I don't think Bioware are clumsy enough to write that in only some world states, the archdemon Urthemiel's soul still lives on. It would be impossible to properly bring into Veilguard if there was just sometimes an old god kid running around in a game all about vanquishing the threat of the Evanuris and their archdemons.

I think they knew this in Inquisition. In all Inquisition world states, if Kieran exists, Mythal removes Urthemiel's old god soul from his body. She says, "I am not the only one carrying the soul of a being long thought lost."

I posit that this is the reason for the "appointment" that Flemeth "had to keep" at the start of Dragon Age 2: that she was passing by Lothering on her way to Denerim, where she was going to do... something with Uthemiel's soul. If she arrives in Denerim and does not find it, she understands that only Morrigan can have done something about it, using Flemeth's grimoire.

What Mythal intended to do with Urthemiel's soul, we cannot possibly understand. In our impression of things, if the Warden or Alistair sacrificed themselves to kill Urthemiel, that should be it. Both souls should be erased.

But if that were truly the case, why would Solas be so afraid of the Grey Wardens attempting to find and slay the old gods in Inquisition? Wouldn't that be a good thing, to see them destroyed?

I think those old god/archdemon souls are lurking elsewhere — and I think Mythal might know where. Whether that means the other Evanuris have been doing more than we think they have since the Veil's creation remains to be seen.

How do I know? Because Mythal passed her soul onto Morrigan at the end of Inquisition, in that last scene with the eluvian, before Solas arrived (which was confirmed in a dev note, but I do not currently have the source for it). Once he did arrive, he took what power remained — but I believe it is Urthemiel, not Mythal's soul, that he took.

Part 7: Veilguard Predictions

Now, time for me to dump various things from my Veilguard bingo card. :) In no particular order:

I think we're going to realize that Solas is carrying around some of Urthemiel. Maybe.

If this is true, then I think we're going to see more of the Evanuris than just Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain, and the others that we see might be hiding within mortals. Maybe even allies...

(Did someone say Bellara-Dirthamen? Dirthara? Me. I did. I wrote a post about some of it.)

I think Morrigan is going to confirm all of the Andraste-Vivial-Morriflemythal theorycrafting I've done above, and explain how this relates to the Tevinter Chantry.

If ALL of this is true, I think Morriflemythal (if not Emmrich/the Mourn Watch) might be our key to un-demoning Lucanis, as well as un-demoning Solas, and whoever the hell else needs un-demoning.

And, of course, a million other things that could happen!

If you got this far, thanks always for reading. And if I'm wildly off base or you have something to add, lemme know! <3

[inactivewattpadauthor]

Raiden x Reader: Grieve Together

(Fun fact: mk vs dc was my first mk game. Guess I am a lil young)

Context: After not preventing Kung Lao's death/accidentally killing Liu Kang, Reader has been avoiding Raiden. He teleports to their memorial wall at a convenient time.

Warning: plain angst... still running out of shit to write🤧 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ The candles crackled as they functioned as the only light in the room beneath the portraits they're lit for. Two giant frames mounted on the wall to honor the ones who fought for this realm.

Also known as the two close friends you had and loved to the very end. Kung Lao and Liu Kang.

How unfortunate you are to lose both of them in such little time. And unexpected. While some call it coping, you knew who to blame all along. That fucking Thunder god.

The very first time you were in his presence, you felt so little and anxious. Always scared to mess up even on something little. No matter how times Liu and Lao, and Raiden himself reassured you. All that aura from a god is scary.

And now, you think you hate him. You think so little of him. And no one can ever say you didn't try to give him the benefit of the doubt.

When Kung Lao got his neck snapped, it didn't first occur in your mind to blame Raiden. With you and Liu Kang, he was ready to put down Shao Kahn for that.

And then soon, when you didn't go with them the same time Shao Kahn attempted to conquer Earthrealm, you find out by the developing actor, Cage, that they got into a fight... Raiden killed Liu Kang.

Seeing his body absolutely tore you just like when the shock settled after Kung Lao. Covered in all those third degree burns that not even Raiden could've healed up... That's when it all started.

Raiden tried to speak with you. You were forced to hear him out. It was an accident. He was only defending himself. You believed him. Yet, you were unbelievably angry.

There could've had to been another way to stop Liu. And with all the "future sights" Raiden gets, how does he not see when Shao Kahn kills Lao like that? Everything was off with Raiden. And at that, you told him you didn't want him near you ever again. Later, you left a notice at the academy that you were dropping out.

Now, you were back here again. Only to visit your friends. "I'm sorry I don't ever visit you guys. Know I still love and miss you so much." You dip your head before the two beloved portraits.

A flash inside the room startles you and you flinched slightly before peeking over your shoulder.

Raiden.

When you see him lift his head up and those glowing eyes spot you from beneath his hat, you instantly decide it's time to leave. Respect has been paid already.

Sighing in vexation, you got up, ready to make your exit, until-

"Hello, Y/n. I hope you find yourself well."

Eye twitching, you give him a sharp look. He still looks as guilty as a kitten that torn up curtains.

The man gestures a hand back to the floor where you were kneeling and praying at. "May I join you in tributing?"

You shook your head and pushed past the tall being. "Thought I told you to stay the hell away from me.

Raiden doesn't say anything right away but watches you go to the door before commenting. "You're not alone, Y/n."

Your hand rested on the knob. You had to think. "Yes, I am. Those two were the only ones I had." You looked at him with pained eyes. You would not elaborate with him any further on that. He wouldn't understand.

Turning from you, the god kneels on the ground before the tribute. "I suffer every second of how their fates came, if that makes you feel better. I wish you were around more. That way, we could suffer together and not alone."

He pauses and looks at the beloveds on the wall.

"You have every right to be disgusted with me. Angry with me. Or hate me, even. I understand. Because sometimes, I conflict with myself that way."

"I don't want to hate you." You admit. "But... You couldn't have done more? Are you sure you didn't see anything that could've prevented Kung Lao's death? Or restrain Liu?"

The lord looks at you quietly and shakes his head. "I promise, I had no visions that foretold Kung Lao's death. I would've stopped it without doubt. And for Liu Kang..."

You could've sworn you saw shame in his face as he turned back forward.

"I was scared."

That's something you don't think Raiden would ever say. But he's being truthful with you.

"I'm only a demigod. Part of me is still a man. And men can feel fear. I shouldn't have used my powers to stop him. I'm not asking for forgiveness, but please trust me when I say I did not mean to hurt him."

The doorknob turns back into its regular position as you let go of it. Inhaling and exhaling, you walk back to the tributes and sit next to Raiden.

"I believe you." You tell him. "I just... I'm just so angry. I was a sad person before they came in my life. I thought I won. Now, just like that, they're gone. I don't want to be alone again. Especially now that I'm grieving." You frowned and looked at the two.

"I don't hate you. I'm just extremely upset and ended up putting it all up on you. I'm sorry."

"You don't need to be sorry." Raiden tells you. "And you don't need to be alone."

"I don't have anyone else."

"You have me."

You laughed ever so softly. "Right. You have priorities."

"I do." Raiden does not sugarcoat. "Earthrealm will always be my priority. But I won't leave you alone if thats what you need."

He rests a hand on your shoulder for reassurance. "Only if you're agreeable with it."

You knew you needed any supporting company. "Okay."

You didn't think too much on it but you were against his side as a strong, caring arm was wrapped around you as you both looked upon the deceased pair.

"We will grieve together for them." Raiden calmly mutters. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rushed ending, sorry🤷🏿‍♀️

[bimbosanddolls]

Choose Your Own Adventure: The Dark Sorceress

You stand outside the door to the Midnight Cathedral’s throne room. Inside, you’re certain that you will find the Dark Sorceress Narcissa. The very thought of her sends a chill through your body. For years, Narcissa has tormented your kingdom. Tales of princesses being vanished away, curses placed upon entire towns and villages, and countless other terrible stories are whispered throughout the taverns and castles alike. In an attempt to finally cast the shadow of Narcissa away once and for all, a group of promising heroines were assembled and trained to become a new Order of Witch Slayers. You are the fifth Slayer to be tasked with Narcissa’s defeat; the first four having never been seen again after storming the Cathedral. You shudder as you think of your fellow Slayers before taking a deep breath to calm your nerves. You would be the one to finally end the Sorceress' reign of terror and avenge your sisters. With a renewed sense of purpose, you summon a blast of wind magic and send the heavy onyx doors flying open. Inside the throne room, your bold entrance has fallen surprisingly flat. Four veiled figures turn their heads and, though you cannot see their eyes, you can feel their gaze on you. It feels familiar but unfriendly. You’ve interrupted something and they are not pleased. You notice that they are nude; their lithe bodies in stark contrast to the sheer, black veils they wear. Between them, dressed in a long, black gown, sits the Dark Sorceress herself. Her eyes are also fixed on you, but you do not sense any concern in them. Instead, you see her blood red lips curve into a wicked smile as Narcissa stands from her throne and takes a step forward. “My my, what do we have here?” her words are heavy and sensuous. “Had I known we were expecting company, I would have dressed the girls in something a little more… appropriate.” You can feel your blood begin to boil. It’s clear she doesn’t see you as a threat. You reach for the blade at your hip but freeze when your eyes dart from the Sorceress to her attendants. A look of disbelief washes over your face, and Narcissa responds with a knowing laugh. “Oh? Did you notice your friends? Or, forgive me, were they your sisters? I never did bother to understand the structure of your little Order.” You look past her again, taking a moment to focus on each woman still kneeling by the throne. Narcissa wasn’t wrong; these were indeed the missing Slayers. Each of them is recognizable to you, yet different. The fire that previously burned in each of their eyes is now doused. Their toned bodies appear softer, and more inviting. You can’t tell whether either is the result of the Dark Sorceress’ magic but you suppose it doesn’t truly matter right now. Your mission is clear; slay the witch. Rescuing your allies would have to come later. You reach for your blade again, determined to finish this once and for all. If Narcissa is worried at all, her expression does not show it. “Oh darling,” she purrs, “do you really think that cheap piece of steel is going to do anything to me? It doesn’t need to be this way, you know. You could join me, join the others."

She gestures back towards your sisters, "Don’t they seem happy? Does it really seem as though I’ve harmed them in any way? I know you all consider me to be some sort of ‘Dark Sorceress’ but I assure you I am a very kind and loving Mistress.” You say nothing but your eyes shoot back to the former Slayers. Could it be true? Or was this just another one of Narcissa’s evil tricks? Perhaps seeing your hesitation, she takes the opportunity to elaborate. “Think about it, dear. They took you from your families, trained you to little more than tools for their cause, and denied you the chance to make your own path. All I’ve done is offer your ‘sisters’ a choice. And now I offer you the same. You may join us and experience a life of your own, a life that the people you mean to defend have hidden from you. Or, you can fight and feel the fullest extent of my power.”

[fandomnsfw]

That’s What Friend Are For - Peter Hale x Reader

Pairing: Peter x Reader

Prompt: Derek comes to you when he has concerns about Cora, Peter decides to tag along for his own amusement. Shopping, Seduction and Sexiness ensues!

Warnings: Explicit smut. BECAUSE I CAN! Muah! :* Love you guys! Enjoy!

****

You turned over in your bed, trying to get comfortable but having no luck. After being laid there for over an hour you gave up. You sat up with a huff opening your laptop you decided to scroll through Tumblr. You got bored after half an hour and decided to look at some NSFW posts. You tilted your head as you saw the first post, you stare at the girl who had stockings on, no panties and a lacy bra. Her hands were tied with black silk and he eyes were covered with the same material. The man was licking from her pussy to her ass. Gotta love Tumblr you thought, you bit your lip and continued scrolling, after about half an hour you decided to watch a film.

The next day as you were walking out of school you saw Peter and Derek stood by your car. You sighed and made my way over to them cautiously.

“What are you doing here?” I grunted as I threw my bag into my passenger seat. I took a look at Peter and he smiled softly making you blush slightly.

You’ve had a developed a crush on peter not long after the Darach. Well it was more than a crush because not only did you like him, your body craved him so badly it hurt but who wouldn’t have you seen that man you thought. Derek turn to you with a confused face.

“I have a personal question to ask?” Derek asked nervously making you brows furrow, you blush soon forgotten. You raised an eyebrow waiting for him to elaborate.

“What is NSFW? Cora got a notification through to her phone but there was one of them hashtag thing saying NSFW and when I tried to open it she freaked out and ran up to her room.” Derek genuinely looked concerned but Peter had a smug smirk on his face. Your jaw drop and your eyes blew wide as you tried to stutter out a lie but you knew he’d call me out on it.

“I-I think that something you should ask one of the boys. Like Stiles or Scott…” You swallowed and looked over at Peter and blushed, ducking your head before he could see.

“Can’t you just tell me?” Derek asked confused.

“Google it.” You huffed hiding your face behind your school books. You looked over the top of the books to see Derek with his phone out. OH MY GOD! You scream internally.

“YOUR GOOGLING IT NOW!?” You screeched your face turning a deeper shade of red, you dropped your books letting out a squeak.

“Why wouldn’t I? I need to kn-Is that porn?” Derek’s eyes went wide as he stared at his phone, Peter started laughing making Derek growl.

“You knew.” It wasn’t a question it was a fact.

“I may be old but I know what Tumblr is. Half of that site is pure filth.” Peter chuckled, his eyes drifting to you before smirking.

“If you knew why didn’t you tell me?” Derek snapped angrily.

“Because it was more fun this way.” Peter laughed as Derek stormed off to the Camaro, he turned to you then walked closer. He stopped directly in front of you when he bent down, his denim clad ass resting on the back of his heels. He looked up at you as he grabbed your books, he was right in front of your pussy probably able to smell the arousal rolling off you. You blushed and bit your lip as he slowly stood up so he was almost chest to chest with you. Your breath hitched as he leaned forward his lips brushing against your ear.

“See you later Y/N.” He whispered softly before handing your books to you and walking off.

You still hadn’t moved from your position, your legs felt weak. You could feel how he had affected you the evidence slowly soaking into your underwear. You let out a breath after five minute trying to calm myself down. He affected you in ways you’d never experienced, yet he hadn’t even done anything to you.

****

After getting home you decided to invited Lydia, Allison and Erica round for a sleep over. After turning 18 you left foster care and decided to buy a house with the money your deceased parents left you. It came in handy when the pack need a place to hang or plan for upcoming battles because there were no parents to deal with. Plus it made pack sleep overs easier. You ordered 2 large pizza’s and made sure you had popcorn and ice cream before hearing the door open and a bunch of chatter.

“So what was the reason for this ESR?” Lydia pursed her lips waiting for your response. ESR meant Emergency Sleepover Required. You guys had this code for whenever you needed each other.

“Peter Hale.” You huffed throwing myself on your king sized bed.

“You still haven’t made your move?” Erica laughed before flopping down next to you.

“He’s the sexy older bad boy! So no moves will ever be made.” You whined rolling over so you were on your back.

“What happened anyway?” Allison asked and she sat next to you.

“Derek came to asked me what NSFW meant. Peter was there and he knew exactly what it meant but didn’t speak up! God it was so embarrassing then he picked up my books that I dropped like a klutz but while he was down there, I almost died because he was about 15cm away from my goddam vagina!! When he started getting up he did it so slowly, I had dirty images flashing all up in my head! Then he whispered in my ear and I practically came in my pants!” You exclaimed my face flushed slightly as you spoke.

“Intense.” Lydia nodded, as she brushed through her hair.

“Seduce him.” Out of everyone you did not expect Allison to come out with this sentence and by the shocked faces neither did Erica or Lydia. You sent her with a questioning glance waiting for her to continue.

“Give yourself a makeover and seduce him.” Allison grinned her dimples appearing slowly.

“That’s actually not a bad idea. We could go shopping tomorrow!” Lydia added excitedly, her face glowing at the thought of shopping. Erica nodded in agreement before you sighed.

“Fine! Now enough about sexy older men! Pizza will be here soon.” You giggled and made your way downstairs.

For the rest of the night we enjoyed movies and ate to our hearts content. We gossiped about the boys and went to bed at quite early. When we woke up in the morning we decided to go for coffee at Starbucks before we went shopping.

You linked arms with Allison and Lydia did the same with Erica as you all made your way over to the first store. Coffee and credit cards in hand. Before long you had your arms filled with clothes to try on. You giggled as you made your way to the dressing room.

Your first outfit consisted of a suede, nude pink miniskirt, an off the shoulder white bodysuit and plain white peep toe heels.

You walked out and Erica wolf whistled at you making you chuckle. You did a little spin and Lydia looked at you as if something wasn’t sitting right with her.

“You need jewels.” Lydia finally spoke as she stood up and went to look at the jewellery section.

“A choker. Peter seem like the type to get turned on by something like that.” Erica snorted sarcastically before picking up a golden choker that curved round your neck but didn’t fasten. It also had a few gems in the middle making it look more feminine

“Oh yeah perfect! Next!” Lydia snapped clicking her fingers at you. You laughed and tried on the rest of the outfits by the time the last one came around you was tired but happy. You looked down at the last outfit and grinned. This was the one you had been looking forward to trying on since you started shopping. It was a pair of denim high waist skinnies, a long sleeved low cut black body suit, a maroon handbag and black ankle boots.

You wandered out the stall with a grin on your face the girls complimented you and told me you should wear this outfit today, you nodded and paid for everything. You linked with Erica and walked to the hairdressers. You told Lydia your hair was fine but she insisted on get a few high lights since it was summer. She also paid to get your makeup done making you sigh. You just hoped this worked otherwise all this money will have been wasted. Not that you don’t have money to blow but still as an ex foster child you know how hard life can be.

You looked at your freshly cut, washed and blow dried hair which had also been straightened, it looked nice your Y/H/C now felt brighter. You looked at your makeup, on your lips you wore a matte lipstick that was a similar color to your bag, and your eyes were a metallic brown in a smoky effect. It was all very dark but it looked perfect with your outfit.

“I called the boys and told them to meet us for lunch.” Lydia stated as you left the salon.

“Who’s coming?” You asked as you played with the ends of your freshly cut hair.

“Scott, Stiles, Jackson, Boyd, Derek, Isaac and Liam. Cory and Mason are on a date so they politely declined.” Lydia grinned then continued gushing on how cute mason and Cory were. You smiled as you saw the large table that contained the boys.

You sat down across from Stiles who was gawking, when you looked at the other boys they were gawking to except Derek, who just had wide eyes. You looked at Lydia with a panicked look thinking you looked bad. Before Lydia could open her mouth Stiles spoke up.

“I think I just popped a boner.” Everyone started laughing and you blushed slightly but chuckled as well. Derek glared at Stiles who quickly sat up straight.

“I mean…I love you Derek.” He grinned cheekily, before kissing Derek’s cheek telling him he was joking.

“Aww you guys are so cute!” You gushed resting your head on your hands. Derek blushed and mumbled something about not being cute. As each person looked at the menus you heard a throat clear making you look up to see Peter stood behind Derek. You blushed and looked back at your menu. You felt Allison nudge your knee with hers making you look at her. She motioned for you to sit up straight. You did as you were told and crossed my legs as you did so.

“Would you like to sit here Peter?” Allison asked politely as she got up to move.

“Thank you Allison.” Peter smirked and strolled over to the seat to your right. He sat down, his arms brushing against mine making you shiver involuntarily.

“You look nice Y/N.” He smirked down at you, his head resting on his left hand as he looked you up and down hungrily. Your thighs clenched as his voice reached your ears, shifting in your seat you looked at Erica for any kind of help. She smirked and motioned to your lips. You were confused at first but she bit her lips for emphasis making you nod lightly. You softly tucked my hair behind your ear and looked up at Peter.

“Thank you Peter.” You responded, your tone mildly flirty. You let out a soft giggle biting your lip lightly. His eyes immediately went to your lips, you watched as his jaw clenched his eyes narrowing slightly. You looked back to your menu before glancing up at Stiles who was smirking at you knowingly, you flushed and stared at him as he motioned to his phone. To anyone else it looked like he was just tapping his nails against his phone. You picked up my phone and looked at the new text you had.

Stile : In about five minute move your hair to left.

Me : Why

Stiles : Peter has a neck fetish.

Me : Not sure I wanna know how you know that. But Thanks babe.

You waited about five minutes after you ordered and moved your hair over your left shoulder and continued to Derek about how school. You glanced at Stiles whose eyes were presumably on Peter. He nearly laughed but quickly covered it up with cough. He looked at me and nodded slightly you giggled making Isaac and Derek look up at you. You quickly covered your mouth lightly. Making sure you didn’t smudge your lipstick.

“You know what I don’t wanna know.” Derek grunted before looking to the waiter who was slowly bringing out everyones food. You were halfway through your pasta salad when you felt your phone vibrate in your pocket. You took it out and looked at the new text.

Derek : ‘Accidentally’ bump your foot against his leg.

Derek : And if you ever tell anyone I gave you help on how to seduce my uncle I’ll rip your throat out…with my teeth.

You grinned at the texts and shot a moody looking Derek a thankful smile. He nodded and went back to eating as he listened to Stiles. You continued eating, when you all ordered coffee and cake you glanced at Peter who was talking to Jackson about something. You tuned in to the conversation and waited for the perfect opportunity.

“Yes but basketball is a man’s sport. Lacrosse…not so much.” Peter said as he drank his coffee.

“Yeah whatever older man.” Jackson snorted before kissing Lydia’s temple.

“I’m not th-” He didn’t finish his sentence because you brushed your foot against his calf. You continued to talk to Isaac about the new movie he wanted to see.

“You’re not what?” Jackson chuckled as he drank if iced coffee.

“He was going to say he’s not that old.” You smirked as you turned to the boys.

“Yes. I was.” He responded stiffly as your foot ran up his calf.

After dinner you all made our way to the parking lot, the girls and you got to Lydia’s car but you were stopped by a strained voice.

“I’ll drive Y/N home girls.”

Peter’s eyes narrowed at you not waiting for the girls to respond he walked over to his car. You followed after looking back at the smirking girls. You stopped at the car as Peter open the door for you. You smiled at him, thank him before getting into the car. The ride was silent and it crossed your mind that maybe your plan hadn’t worked. You looked out the window contemplating what went wrong by the time you arrived at yours, you had lost all your confidence. You plucked up the last bit of courage and turn to Peter who had dutifully walked you to your door.

“Would you like to come in for coffee?” You asked softly trying to appear confident. Peter nodded and followed you in but as soon as the door closed behind him you were thrown against it.

“Did you really think you’d get away with teasing me?” Peter growled, his nose touching yours. His lips less than 2 inches away, you stared at him wide eyed before realising your plan did work. You bit your lip letting out a little giggle.

“Oh this is funny is it?” He whispered against your lips, you shivered slightly but maintained your smile. You nodded and looked up at him through your lashes seductively.

“Do you have any idea what you do to me?” His body pressed against yours as his left hand made its way around your waist. You gasped as he spun you round. You reached out your hands automatically slamming against the door. He gripped your hips tightly pulling you against his apparently rock hard dick. You whimpered and pushed back into him. He groaned softly before moving his right hand up your torso agonizingly slow.

“P-Peter please…” You pleaded grinding you ass against his member.

“Please what baby? What does my little seductive Kitten want?” He whispered in your ear making you shiver. You leaned your head against his chest and spoke.

“Bed..” You moaned as his hands ghosted across your breasts before quickly continuing to your neck.

He turned you round and picked you up wrapping your legs around him. You looked into his eyes before smashing your lips against his. Your body melted against his as he licked and bit at your lips slowly working his tongue past your teeth. He explored every crease of your mouth, you were enjoying the kiss that much you barely registered you were on my bed. He pinned your hands above your head, working his way down your neck kissing and biting his way down to your breasts. He moved the material out the way and kissed your uncovered nipple before circling his tongue round it. You let out a soft moan as he moved his attention to the other, you dug your nails into his shoulders making him growl.

“Peter please…T-Too many clothes…” You whimpered clawing at his top.

“Okay Kitten let’s get rid of these clothes.” Peter responded softly trying to sooth you. After he removed both your clothes he stood and stared down at you, prompting you to quickly cover your pussy, embarrassed by the staring. Peter crawled onto the bed and eased your hands away.

“You’re beautiful Kitten you don’t need to hide anything from me.” He reassured and began to kiss down your stomach. You watched as he slowly made his way to my bare pussy. He spread your legs further making you blush. His hot breath fanned across me causing you to whimper in anticipation. Your hands gripped the sheets beneath as he finally pulled your lips gently apart and took an experimental lick.

“God you taste amazing..” He purred as he finally began attack your pussy with soft nibbles and licks. You bit lip painfully trying to hold back my moans. His tongue pushed into you slightly and you lost it you couldn’t keep quiet anymore.

“Oh god…P-Peter Mmm..Fuck!” You screamed, your hand making their way to his hair tugging at it slightly. He pulled away and grinned at you like you were his prey.

“Do you wanna cum now or do you want me to fuck your orgasm out of you Kitten?” He whispered against your pussy making your back arch slightly.

“W-Want you to fuck it out of me…P-Please?” I knew I sound desperate begging like a child who wanted more candy but I had waited too long for this to happen.

“Okay baby don’t worry…I’ll take care of you.” He got off the bed after giving you a kiss on the forehead, he made his way to his jeans and took out his wallet. He rummaged through it and quickly pulled out a condom. He knelt back on the bed about to open it when you whined grabbing his attention. You shook your head and he look at you uncertain for a second.

“I’m on the pill…I-I wanna feel a-all of you…” You bit my lip hoping he’d agree, you’d waited too long for this and you didn’t want that barrier.

“Okay Kitten…I want you to tell me it I get to rough okay. I don’t wanna hurt you.” However the idea of Peter getting rough only served to turn you on more but you nodded anyway and spread your legs in invitation making him groan as he fisted his cock. Dear god he was big at least 9 inches, it made you wonder if he would fit.

He crawled over to you pressing a passionate yet sweet kiss to your lips before nudging your entrance. You let out a little sob thrusting upwards making his tip push in, he growled before slamming in the rest of the way with a firm thrust. You screamed out in pain and pleasure, burying your head into his shoulder, clinging to him like he was your life line. After a minute I felt the pain subside, you wiggled your hips experimentally. You whimpered and thrust up once again this time with more force.

“S-Shit Y/N don’t do that.” He groaned.

“Jesus Kitten you feel so good.” Peter added his jaw clench it restraint. After calming down a little he decidedly took control of the situation, pulling out almost completely before thrusting back into you roughly. Your nails dug into his bare back making his thrust before faster.

“Oh s-shit! Faster..” You screamed as he sucked a bruise into your neck, his growls getting slightly more feral which only served to bring you closer to your end. You felt the pit in your stomach making you pull back and look into Peter’s eyes.

“P-Peter…so close…” You whimpered your eyes tearing up from the amount of pleasure you were feeling.

“M-Me too Kitten.” He panted softly his right hand intertwining with yours, he leant down and kissed you with so much emotion, you felt your stomach coil tighter and you moaned against his lips. He pulled back and whispered in your ear.

“Cum for me Kitten.” Everything unravelled, his name leaving your lips as you fell over the edge.

“Fuck…Y/N!” Peter growled into your ear as he followed moments after.

After a few minutes of panting and gathering ourselves Peter pulled out and got off the bed and grabbed his boxers. You looked over at him realising he was about to leave, your eyes starting watering, a tiny barely audible whine escaped your lips which made him turn round faster than you’d ever seen him move. He looked at you with worry in his eyes.

“Hey, baby what the matter?” He questioned urgently his voice softer than you’d ever heard. He got back onto the bed and took your face in his hands, wiping away the tears.

“Y-You’re leaving…” I sniffled.

“Woah Y/N I’m not leaving honey. I’m going to get a cloth to clean you up then get you a drink.” He said softly making you look him into his eyes.

“R-Really?” You asked hopefully trying to blink the tears away.

“I promise now wait here and I’ll be back okay.” He kissed your lips softly before moving and going to get what he needed.

After he’d wiped to down and given you a drink of water he rummaged through your drawers and found you a pair of comfortable undies then passed them too you along with the V neck he was wearing before. You smiled softly as he got into bed and pulled your body against his. You stared out the window at the stars.

“Goodnight Kitten.” You heard Peter whispered behind your ear.

“Night Peter.” You responded before letting your eyes drift closed happier than you’d been in forever,

That’s what Friends are for.

[queer-ragnelle]

Hi! I really want to read the vulgate cycle but I have a hard time staying focused when reading it. Are there any sections of the vulgate that are not as important to the understanding or able to skip? Thank you so much for making all these stories accessible and thanks for your reply :))

Hello my friend! This is a great question and one I get a lot. The Vulgate Cycle is long and daunting, but I can help you navigate it!

Firstly, here is the full Vulgate Cycle PDF collection for everyone to read. Secondly, I'll summarize what you can do, and elaborate below a cut.

TL;DR

If reading a PDF, use CTRL+F to find your favorite character's name/stories.

If reading a physical copy, utilize the index (located at the very end of the Post Vulgate) to find them.

Discover chapters of interest from the summary page (also located at the very end of the Post Vulgate).

Skip The History of the Holy Grail and begin with The Story of Merlin or Lancelot I.

Now, let's break down the ways you can navigate the Vulgate Cycle step by step.

CTRL+F

This option will certainly be less effective if your favorite character is a prominent one such as Lancelot or Gawain as they appear a million times. However, if you want to learn more about someone else, say, the Lady of the Lake, you can search her up and find every instance of her appearance. Like so.

Index

In the very back of the final book of the Post Vulgate, there's an Index listing every named character [Ex: Gawain], location [Ex: Orkney Isles], entity [Ex: Holy Spirit], animal [Ex: Gringalet the horse], and language [Ex: Hebrew] mentioned in the entirety of the Vulgate Cycle. There you'll find a list of which book/chapter/page they appear in. Here are all the mentions of Gawain's horse in The Book of Merlin.

Chapter Summaries

Each book of the Vulgate Cycle has a Table of Contents with the chapter numbers and long, descriptive titles. That alone may give you an indication of what you want to read. However, at the back of the Post Vulgate, right before the Index, there's a list of every chapter in the Vulgate Cycle with a summary of events. That will give you more detail and may help you decide if you want to read in full.

Skip

If it sucks, hit da bricks. The beauty of the Vulgate Cycle is that you don't need The History of the Grail or The Book of Merlin to understand what comes later. I enjoy them because History gives a ton of background to the religious themes the Grail Quest will eventually explore and sets up all the motifs way in advance and Merlin has the Orkney Bros as well as Yvain and Sagramore as kids which is fun. But the fact is you can begin with Lancelot I and you won't be lost. Lancelot I was written first, Merlin is a prequel, so it's optional, and the motifs of the Grail Quest are going to be heavy handed when you get there anyway without the added stuff from History. That's hundreds of pages you can skip if you want to! Norris J. Lacy, the head editor, and his translation team did a phenomenal job with footnotes throughout, so if a character off-handedly refers back to something, you can rely on them to leave a little note at the bottom for you to refresh your memory with. It'll even give you a chapter/page number if you want to refer back yourself. Here's a footnote referring to Agravaine's unnamed amie [his ladylove] who helped wing woman her sister to romance Gawain. That was 4 chapters prior to this moment.

So there are plenty of ways to navigate the Vulgate Cycle and make it more digestible. That being said, it's translated so beautifully by Lacy and his team, that it reads like a modern novel. I have no doubt that once you get started, you'll become invested, and find it much easier to work through than you first thought. It's long-winded and character dense but it's fun. I do hope you're able to read it and understand why I love it so much! Thanks for this ask and I hope this helps. Have a great day!

[studentinpursuitofclouds]

Here's a silly idea if you wanna try it, no pressure!

How do you think the bachelor's/bachelorette's world react to the Farmer casually mentioning a blue man who leaves notes for them around town as challenges who also keeps cameras around town to watch them?

They do not elaborate, the Farmer just moves on like they talked about the birds lmaooo

Oh, man. I found the idea itself so funny that inspiration immediately kicked my ass 🤣 There's already been more than one mention for Qi and about his weird obsession with Farmer, strange quests and, God forgive me, about "snake milk"... Sheesh 😅

Thank you so much for the ask! ☺️ (hope I translated this correctly. Or feel free to ask again!)

SDV bachelors/ettes react to Farmer, who casually mentioned Mr. Qi:

_________________________________________

"You gotta drink less so you don't see shit." It's unusual to hear Shane say that, but even he doesn't remember drinking so much that he saw some hallucinations like "blue men". He'd let Farmer's words pass his ears and now was beginning to wonder if he should let his dear niece near that weirdo. Challenges, cameras everywhere... yeah sure.

The doctor's instincts hit right away and Harvey will run after Farmer to see if they have a fever. Cameras in the whole Stardew Valley? Dangerous quests in Calico Dessert? Sorry Farmer, but Harvey won't believe it and will insist they go to the clinic for a check up, or at least rest at home. You can’t ignore rest, you know, because it affects both physical and mental health...

"So I'm not the only one who noticed it." Wait, what? How does Sebastian know? "Found a weird note with your name on it when I was in the mines." Hold on, what was a local emo doing in the mines? And why is his arm in bandages? "Hm, let't change the subject, we were talking about blue stranger, weren't we?" Wait a minute, Seb!

Alex probably won't even listen to what the Farmer is saying. "Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever you say, weirdo." The athlete may not be a genius, but even he can realize that there's no benefit to anyone putting cameras in Pelican Town for, like, what? Fun or whatever? To keep tabs on Farmer? That's stupid. Don't be stupid, Farmer.

"Wait, seriously? Yo, no kidding." With a lifestyle like Farmer's, Sam immediately believed in their words even without the details. However, the interest and desire to organize a quest with his friends to find the "secrets of the Valley" quickly faded away as the skateboarder's stomach rumbled. He would just forget the whole thing later.

Honestly, Elliott is completely confused. How should he react to what his friend Farmer has just said? The writer thinks it's complete nonsense, but because of his manners and his unwillingness to be confrontational or rude, Elliott will simply try to change the subject.

"Absurd", Abigail thought, but somehow the Farmer's words stuck in her mind. Considering that the purple-haired girl was just looking for an excuse to procrastinate duties, her ass began her own adventure of finding cameras. And she found one right away! And a strange note from someone named "Qi"! Wtf, hey Farmer, tell again about that weird blue dude!

"Ok, let's think: why would someone follow you around 24/7 and give you weird tasks?" For some reason, Maru was very much interested in Farmer's casually thrown words, trying to make sense of them. It's unclear, really, where this interest comes from, but maybe the young inventor wants to spend more time with Farmer. Even if the conversation is kinda strange.

Penny did her best to keep her smile from looking too forced. Wishing to remain polite and not to be rude, the red-haired teacher simply thanked Farmer for the conversation and went about her business, trying not to think too much about their words.

"The blue man? Oh, has Clint been drinking that Joja soda again?" No, Emily, that wasn't Clint, and he only turned blue once (and that was probably from worry, not from Joja cola). She would have forgotten about Farmer's words, but she also could swear that Sandy had once mentioned a similar person paying the rent in Oasis. Hmm, maybe Emily should ask again...

When Farmer told Haley about the strange blue man and other oddities, the blonde paused and wondered: if she should really have even listened to the words of a person who just a couple days ago had been rummaging through trash cans and eating raw seaweed? The answer was obvious, and Haley forgot about it as a misunderstanding.

Leah only shakes her head. "Whatever you say, Farmer." She doesn't want to be rude to them, but all this talk of cameras, dangerous quests, and a mysterious man hasn't impressed her one bit. If Farmer keeps this up - they'll always be considered a weirdo.

[iblameashley]

I'm punny and you know it.

Civilian | Male | Gay

1,608 words Content: Minor warning for mention of panic attack. follow up to Friental - My Personal Friend Rental.

Simon ’Ghost’ Riley | Male/GN Reader

!!!SFW!!!

You've had a few meeting with this Si guy now, but he's inviting you over to his flat? Well, its not against the rules, but you're surprised to say the least.

(Thanks to @loneghostwolf for permission to use this image)

You learned from the last time, and as Si opened the door to his flat, you clasped your hands behind your back. 'No touching' you reminded yourself. 'And be respectful.' this was you first time at his Flat. A shock that after only four in-person meetings, he'd agree to.

Si opened the door, masked, as per the agreement and looked you over. Always with the suspicion. You kind of liked it, mostly because you could only be less of a threat. His hair was still unruly, and you suspected he normally wore a hat of some kind. His eyes were a little more sunken than usual. They were puffy and dry.

He stepped out of the way, and ushered you inside.

“I like the mask.” You said as you entered his flat. It was new, well, for you. A jawbone pattern splashed across his face.

He grunted and closed the door.

You glanced around, taking in the simplicity of the space. "Nice place you've got here. It's cozy." Simon looked around. "It's functional."

'Oh thank fuck.' you thought. 'won't have to elaborate on that, at least.' This place was sparse to say the least. It looked like he was either moving in, or out.

His living space was minimalistic, with a few practical items scattered around—a small coffee table, a bookshelf filled with manuals and classics, and a modest-sized TV. The walls were adorned with a few framed photographs nondescript people you were sure he wasn't going to tell you about. There was also a world map marked with red pins, you figured they indicated places he had travelled. The atmosphere was quiet and chilled, reflecting Simon's personality as you knew it.

You settled on the pristine couch, maintaining a respectable distance between you two, as per Si's rule. You propped yourself against the armrest so you could look at him. He was reclining with his hands once again in his hoodie pockets. His gaze was firmly affixed to the TV that was on a news channel, muted.

“So remember last time we met I was telling you about my sister?” You began. He nodded and you continued. “Well, she's planning to come visit soon. She's bringing my niece with her as well. Nether of them have been on this side of the pond.” You were getting excited.

He looked at you with a tilted head. He was interested. Rule four. You were starting to understand him and his nuances.

“She's gonna be here for a month, so I may need to postpone some of our meetings. Thats something I though we could discuss later?”

“Mmm.” He grunted. A simple acknowledgement. A fact.

“Excellent. I rarely get to see them, and my niece is turning ten soon, so I want to celebrate her birthday while shes in England.”

You went off on a tangent of family drama and stories of your rivalry you had with your sister as a child. How you used to absolutely torment each other with pranks, jokes and sometimes fights. But there was always a hint of love in your words. Fondness.

Simon sat there and listened with his utmost attention. He liked having you talk. He liked that he could deep dive into your voice and forget the ones in his head that clawed at his ears and neck. Voices of the dead, or the ones he wished were dead. Or just the demons that haunted him when he was allowed to be along with himself for too long. But mostly, he was grateful to not have to talk about work, or hear people talk about his work.

He appreciated the one-four-one team, even Soap. But all he had in common with them was the military, death and endless missions. The aches and pains of his failing body as his career took its tole on him. He assumed the nightmares came for them as well. He didn't want that. He wanted to try feeling normal. This was normal.

Your eyes turned to the map on the wall. You looked at North America and saw several red pins. To your surprise, one appeared to be pinned to a port-city you grew up near. You knew there was a military base there, and with the books and sparse nature of his apartment, it started to click.

“You travel a lot, it seems.” You finally say. “Or did the pins come with the map?” You joked.

He turned away from you. Rule four again. You knew there was at least a hint of a smile pulling at the sides of his mouth. He'd never show you, but it made you happy to know he had a sense of humour.

“They came as a set.” He finally said. He flashed you a glace.

You smiled and quietly laughed. You knew he was pulling your leg, but it was nice. He rarely spoke, so you had to enjoy those times he did. But he was also a roller coaster of moods, sometimes you thought you had him opening up, the next minutes he'd shut down. Your last appointment with him, he booked you for two hours and you both sat in silence for the last forty-five minutes after you had made a comment that didn't quite land with him.

You sighed a breath of relief when he booked another appointment with you a couple of days later. Which lead you to tonight.

You didn't know what cause the sudden change in his mood, but his eyes had been locked on the TV. By the time you had looked over, the report must have ended.

Simon's heart rate quickened, and a wave of unease washed over him. Memories flooded his mind, threatening to break through his carefully constructed walls. The weight of of his emotions pressed against his chest, constricting his breath. Even through the mask, you could tell something had happened. Simon's stoic expression tightened, his body rigid with tension. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to get you out of his flat, but he resisted. He was fighting to maintain his composure because he knew if he scared you, he'd lose his only distraction from work.

The chaos of his mind started to swirl around like a tornado, and his eyes fell to you. There were beads of sweat forming on his brow, and you knew you had to at least bend some of the rules.

“Si. You doing OK?” You asked with a hushed tone. You felt like you were attending to a wounded animal. “Need something?”

Simon shook his head. It was slow and methodical, and you weren't buying it.

You stood up and walked over to his kitchen and filled a glass full of water. You weren't exactly a doctor, so you didn't know what to you. But you did know what not to do. Gripping the cup tightly you marched back to Simon and held the glass in front of him, keeping as much distance as you could.

“Take it.” You said, shoving it forward.

He stared at you for a moment before he took it with a shaky hand. He looked at the glass of water, and then at you. How was he supposed to drink this? That was the thought you knew was rolling around in his head.

Wanting to respect the rules of your agreement. You moved to sit yourself down on the floor beside his coffee table; your back to his, and your eyes firmly fixed to the floor.

“You should drink that.” You said. “And take several deep breaths.”

You felt the tick-tick-ticking of time passing, and it seemed to last forever, until suddenly you heard the sound of Simon gulping down the water. He made a huff as he finished the water off and put the glass down on the coffee table with a 'clink'.

“Better?” You inquired.

You heard him shuffle on the couch and let out an indifferent grunt.

“Hey, Si?” You started, not moving from your place on the floor. You didn't wait for him to reply. “Why don't skeletons fight each other?”

There was another tick of time.

“Because they don't have guys.” You finished.

There was a low guttural chuckle that escaped his mouth. You felt his boot on your back, and he gave you a gentle push forward.

“Fucking terrible.” He said, the faint hint of his laugh still on his lips.

A wall had come down. You didn't know for how long, but it was important. He seemed to like the joke, so you cracked another.

“Why do scuba divers fall backwards off the boat?” You wait a beat. “Because if they fell forward they'd still be on the boat.”

“Heh.” He grunted.

“All good now? Can I turn back around?” You asked.

He gave you another push with his boot. You took that to mean 'yes' and took your place back on the far end of the couch.

Simon sat on the couch, tension still consuming his body, but he seemed calmer overall. He was clammy from the sweat that covered his forehead and he was breathing deeply. But he was calm. His eyes were impassive as they looked at you. He had asked you to keep talking, and you were happy to.

As you walked home from your meeting, your phone dinged with a notification. You had stayed longer than the allotted time and Simon was sending and updated payment for the extra hour you spent with him. You denied it, and shoved the phone back in your pocket.