#[ we're not beating the Crashing and Burning allegations ]

[losojos-decupido]

Memory is as but memory. He does not see you as anything except who you are in front of him. The two of you bleed the same, but for different causes, you and that buried hyena. You worried that one day you would become that same creature, hobbling about and laughing at the next carcass prepped for your consumption. But perhaps that is not so. At least, not for this Fogado who appears as the mask detaches. “ …surprise! did i getcha? ”

fogado cannot remember what he had been thinking back then. what was it that made him feel so sure in that moment? to bear himself to the beast despite no necessity present? what had he felt that had so overpowered everything his body had ever known? secrecy? safety?

well, there's nobody he can ask. the fogado who appeared as the mask detached died moons ago.

rafal likely does not mean to show it, but the burn of blush stands out quite clearly against his pretty, pale skin. it seems he thinks fogado a player; at this moment in time he believes those flukes were intentional. that's good. the higher fogado can sit off the ground, the better his hold against he whose thoughts he cannot yet parse.

does he feel bad for this? not at all. if the fell dragon's bravado is shattered by a prince's game, then it's simply, crassly put, an Issue of Skill. what happened to all of that haughty air, backed by blood under the fingernails of his lackeys ( as expecting it under his own is too much to ask )? what had he been hoping for with this stupid little game? equality? " our levels are simply that different and your nature only human. " yeah, right.

so fogado is quite pleased with this ending---he has been mistaken for a cleverer version of himself and is not required to say anything in return. rafal turns away from him and fogado smiles a wryer face; what is there to mourn? nothing at all.

he doesn't notice the pocky he's crushed underfoot as he walks back to his room. maybe he should take the rest of the day off.

end

🍪 + 1

( fogado tries to be smooth and cool about offering. when rafal gets even remotely closer, though, his face prickles and flushes. ez win for the fell dragon. )

POCKY DAY ♥

Avoidant gaze and flushed skin in fullest force, a frayed bundle of nerves Fogado was. Transform and Rafal suspected the rank smell of pheromones would flood the very air, except there was no need for that - to investigate more thoroughly or to taste the evidence on his tongue. Only one glance and he could tell. A far cry from the Fogado of his own world who had never once given his master an inch, neither in traditional respect nor in duly attributed fear.

He could almost delight in the difference.

"Nervous, I see. That is to be expected, in close proximity with a being who could tear this monastery apart at a moment's notice." Not that Rafal would. He merely savored the hierarchy of reaction; such a cause as Rafal, and such an effect as those shrinking around him. Did it not all compose the cachet of the mightiest dragon?

That mightiest dragon smirked with pleasure. Returned to the crux of their matter, he stepped closer toward the chocolate-coated stick in Fogado's mouth. Power sat in these hands, and now - of all things - in the mere existence of his lips.

Rafal roll: 5, victory!

Ready he was at the prospect of a challenge, eager even, but he did no more than breathe against the other and the thin confection snapped in two. Disappointing. He plucked away the crumbs on the prince's cheek, at the corner of his mouth, and licked his fingers - not a single morsel left to waste. This gesture did not mean poor little Fogado was in the clear.

"Far too easy, Fogado! Though, I suppose that is no fault of yours. Our levels are simply that different and your nature only human." Merciless Rafal was, raising another stick from the box yet abounding with supply. Running his Corrupted ragged and a friendly face no less. ". . .We will have to work on that, don't you agree?"

[lesbienneanarchiste]

My only 2¢ addition to the Watcher debacle is that I was talking to a friend abt what they could have done if they truly felt they needed that extra $6 a month or whatever and yeah people have made very valid points about joining a different service like Nebula or beefing up their patreon but in this conversation, my friend and I came up with two options I haven't seen people mention before which are

Sticker or pin club. TONS of people would pay an extra $6 a month for official pins or stickers and they would be fairly low cost (compared to launching an independent streaming app) without, ya kno, alienating the vast majority of their fanbase

A book! Like literally have some silly book ghost written about their shows/careers etc that no one will take particularly seriously but will buy out of affection! And yeah less people will shell out for that but thousands of people buying a ~$40 collection book would get them more money than crash and burning their reputations.

It's just.... So easy to come up with easier and less disastrous ways to make the extra cash if they truly needed it and could not cut down on costs, which is debatable but if we're giving the benefit of the doubt (which I am personally not inclined to do) it's incredibly easy to come up with shit they could have done instead of starting a new app (a very difficult and expensive venture) and paywalling their luxury good in a global cost of living crisis.

It is genuinely funny to me at this point bc I haven't watched or cared about Watcher basically since it launched and a train wreck is a train wreck so I'm gonna enjoy watching it burn, but like. Gd it's so stupid. And tbh they'll probably get away with it and be fine in the long run but damn they are NOT beating the tacky capitalist allegations