#((the dialogue all the way on the right is directly from the game in act 2))

[lonelyoleander]

i'm front row at their wedding sobbing violently and shaking like a frightened animal

[endiness]

Debunking misinformation about Netflix's The Witcher (Part 1)

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6] [Part 7]

"Henry Cavill is a massive fan of the books and the games and he quit the show because the writers wouldn't stick to the books and he just cares about the source material so much."

Henry Cavill not only did not know that the books existed when he started pursuing the role of Geralt, but he actually thought that the books were based off of the video games (and he still didn't bother to read them) and he didn't learn that the games were actually based off the books until Lauren told him (even though the first thing in the game credits is that they're based off the books); as of 2021, he as only read the full series once — right before he was cast in 2018; while he has played TW3, he has only played a little of TW2 (and I've never found any evidence that he's played the first game); and he also has not played the DLC for TW3.

Henry Cavill also started heavily pushing the narrative that he's just such a massive fan of the books and how important adhering to the source material is to him during the press for S2 to deflect from how it was due to his acting choices of cutting Geralt's lines and either saying nothing or just grunting instead that Geralt's characterization — who is much more verbose in the books — was book inaccurate in S1:

He also lied about the situation and tried to act like Geralt was never originally written as being verbose and blamed the lack of dialogue on Yennefer and Ciri's prominence, which cannot be true as confirmed by Lauren:

And tried to act like the lines he was cutting weren't that important anyway so it wasn't really a big deal, which also cannot be true as confirmed by Joey:

He also started pushing the narrative that adhering to the source material is so important to him and it's 'tricky' to do that with Lauren's vision, but his definition of "Lauren's vision" is the show being an ensemble piece with Yennefer and Ciri at the forefront (like the books) and the show in general heavily centering around women (like the books):

So the idea of him caring so much about "book accuracy" is, in fact, not accurate to the books at all as his problems were the prominence of women in the show when Ciri is the main character of the main book series, which the show started adapting from S2 onwards (which is when Henry Cavill started to complain about wanting "book accuracy" in the first place), and when women are very prominent, central, key figures in the books and they often drive the plot forwards.

Lastly, S3 was the closest adaption of the books out of all the seasons so far, so the idea that he quit after S3 because the writers just weren't respecting the source material and the show wasn't following the books doesn't make any sense anyway.

"Henry Cavill is the only reason why the show was even close to the source material at all."

I've not only never seen any evidence of this, but if anything, I've seen the exact opposite: Henry Cavill was either directly responsible for or at least contributed in some way to a lot of things that went against the books or didn't happen in them.

As I already pointed out, he cut Geralt's lines in S1 and either said nothing or just grunted instead which is inaccurate to Geralt's characterization in the books. Here's another quote from Joey affirming that:

(Just to note: During the press for S1, he frequently talked about how the games inspired his performance as Geralt — sometimes talking about them even more than the books despite how the show is based off of the books, not the games — and it wasn't until S2 press that he suddenly changed his tune and started talking about how important adhering to the source material ie the books is to him. He also only started advocating for a more book accurate Geralt because he got dunked on by reddit for his book inaccurate performance in S1.)

He didn't want to play Geralt and Jaskier's friendship as directly as in the books and buddy-buddy with each other:

He didn't want to have any kind of conflict in Geralt and Ciri's relationship in S2 — at least on Geralt's side of things:

Nor play Geralt struggling with fatherhood at all — all of which led to the domino effect of Yennefer's betrayal:

Eskel's death (which in itself also led to things like Vesemir trying to create new witchers and Lambert's attitude toward Ciri):

And Voleth Meir being the big bad of the season:

He didn't want Geralt and Triss to even just platonically find comfort in each other in S2 — which is what happens in the books:

He nixed a sex scene between Geralt and Yennefer in S2 because he didn't think it'd be in character of them to have sex after reuniting which, uh, is absolutely in character of them:

While this is an incredibly inconsequential change, given the prevalence of this idea that Henry Cavill is such an ardent defender of the source material ie the books and how much he wanted the show to adhere to them, I do think it's important to note that he pushed for — and got — more signs into the show even though by his own admission that is more of a game thing than a book thing and he got it into the show for the explicit purpose of catering to game stans:

This is also another incredibly inconsequential change, but again, given how prevalent the idea of Henry Cavill pushing for perfect source accuracy is, I do just want to point out that he would wear his armor 24/7 to make it look worn down:

Even though it is canon in the books that Geralt will buy himself brand new clothes, so the idea that Geralt's clothing has to look worn down and can't be brand new is not actually book accurate.

"Lauren wanted to make Roach's death a joke."

Just to address this point specifically, Lauren wanted to make a meta reference about how all of Geralt's horses are named Roach. That in no way, shape, or form means that she wanted to make Roach's death into a joke or even that the scene had to be played comedically. This is what Lauren had to say about the subject and the 'joke' in question (which, js, actually fits the tone of the books more):

And as far as the "Henry Cavill is the only one who cared about the source material and he's the only reason why the show even stuck to the books at all" front goes... Henry Cavill did change the dialogue in this scene to a book quote/reference; however, the quote in question ("Enjoy your last walk across the meadow and through the mist. Be not afraid of her for she is your friend.") is not something that Geralt himself says and the line/scene from the books foreshadows Geralt's ending in them.

So, at least imo — especially taking into account the incredibly high standard the fandom has set for Henry Cavill as the #1 defender of the books — I don't think this change was actually book accurate especially given the narrative significance of that exchange in the books.

[vxlkirayaxo]

Older women part 1

Character: Scara/ kuni / wanderer

Warnings/ tags:, modern au, cursing, fluff, little angst, inappropriate jokes, reader being oblivious, scara being a simp, 4th wall breaking scara, milf reader, alcohol (reader drinking)

No gn reader this time sorry guys 😔 this idea has been sitting in my drafts for months lolllz

I had beidou in mind a lot for the reader sorry xxx

You started genshin at first to get closer to your teenage children who had started playing this game called genshin impact. You were already a gamer so you decided to give it a go, downloading it on your PC that you usually use for work and booting it up.

Pretty soon you got to the sumeru quest line and a certain indigo haired puppet caught your eye. His attitude reminded you of your first love which caused you to sob, a little bitter at the memories of what happened between you and your first love.

You learned that he was once called kunikizushi and that scaramouche or wanderer now, had a very sad backstory. You got a bit thirsty and bored so you stood up from your PC to grab a bit of booze. As you staggered out of your office to grab some drinks, wanderer who was talking in the game paused and looked directly at the screen.

"Tch...this is an important part of my lore." He grumbled making nahida giggle. He glared at her before crossing his arms and just impatiently waiting for you to come back. Tapping his foot on the ingame ground until the door to your office opened again and he went back to the position he was in before.

You took a sip of your beverage before you sat down in your chair. Humming as you clicked the auto play as you continued to listen to the dialogue. You couldn't wait to talk about the archon quest with your children. You took another sip before leaning your chin against the palm of your hand.

"Come back to the banner, I wanna get you so I can name you stinkytoots." You rumbled bored of all the dialogue. It took every ounce of restraint not to react to that, still having to put up the act that he wasn't aware of the videogame.

Eventually you fell asleep from boredom. Your arms crossed and laying on the table while your head rested up on them. Some drool out of the corner of your mouth meaning you were deeply asleep. Wanderer stopped talking when he noticed you were asleep. He tapped his foot on the ingame ground trying to think of something before he sighed and reached a hand through the screen and moved your drink away from you in case you moved around in your sleep and spilt it.

He sighed and looked at you. Reaching his whole upper torso out of the screen and watching you sleep, not in a creepy way but in a 'whag am I going to do with you' kind of way. Nahida giggled again, of course the goddess of wisdom knew she was also just in a video game but she preferred to watch scara hopelessly try to interact with you.

"mm... stinkytoots...your crit rate sucks..." You mumbled in your sleep as you repositioned your head on your arms. Wanderer let out a huff of disgust at the nickname. He wanted you to think much more of him than....'stinky toots'...

Yes, he wanted you to think of him much more than reminding you of your first love, a bastard that left you when you were in need of them the most. He wanted to be your only love, since you were his he thought it was only right. He reached a hand and touched the end of your hair.

"you need a haircut, I could see your split ends from in-game." He hummed, a cruel smirk on his face as he insulted you but he meant none of it. He placed a kiss on your head before going back into the screen. He figured it would be safer to watch you from inside in case you wake up.

He wasn't ready to actually talk to you yet.

[cienie-isengardu]

Zuko and Azula in "The Beach"

Lately I think a lot about "The Beach" episode [x], especially about this small detail of great teamwork Zuko and Azula have during the game.

Zuko is looking ahead, directly facing their rivals (who had the control of the ball at this moment) but his body is clearly lowered to the ground, left hand most likely touching the ground, legs bent and widely spaced - a clear contrast to Mai standing near and how he stood before on two separate occasions

which is why I think Zuko willingly create an opportunity for Azula, so she could jump higher - something she definitely used to their team’s advantage. If Azula simply jumped on her brother’s back when he wasn’t expecting it or wasn’t ready, he would probably just fall face down from the impact but as the scene shows, he had no such problem nor was angry about it in the following scenes.

During the game sequences there was no dialogue shown between our protagonists, so it is hard to determine if Azula in advance called Zuko to give her a “lift” or Zuko offered on his own, or did they were that much in sync they just acted without thinking. Regardless I like this few seconds long interaction, because for me it implies how they trusted each other despite all the rivalry and bitterness from previous episodes. Like Zuko trusted Azula won’t use that moment to hurt/humiliate him by overuse of force, the same as Azula trusted in Zuko’s strength and that he won’t mess up by losing his balance. It is a small thing but no less sweet to see them working well together when fighting for the same goal - what reminds me a bit their teamwork from the previous season finale.

Interestingly, it was also the second time Zuko assisted Azula in scoring against their rivals while not scoring himself any point on screen. The first time happened almost right at the beggining of the game (second from total five sequences)

while each girl have the solo sequence of winning a point:

Azula's first attack,

later Ty Lee landing on the net

and Mai kicking the ball (and presumably scoring)

while Zuko’s two actions are shared only with his younger sister while there is no sense of competition between the siblings, something contrasting a lot with some previous and later episodes.

Azula is bossy and competitive through most of the episode and her brother lets her be that without a complaint. Azula and Zuko get along pretty well and A) do not argue (with the exception of the campfire scene and then they argue not even for the whole scene itself) and B) don't get on each nerves the way they do in the palace, with Ozai's presence looming in the back of their mind. I absolutely adore this episode, as it humanizes all our Fire Nation characters by showing them as teenagers outside the war zone but also giving us a bit of insight into what Azula and Zuko could be if Ozai didn't pit them against each other. And they could be a great team!

[butwhatifidothis]

I LOVED To Be a Creature, and it genuinely creeped me out to see the things Edelgard and Hubert said to Byleth (though it's the same as the game, stripped out of its voice acting and background music, the dialogue is so much more horrifying). Really makes me wonder if Edelgard's love for Byleth is genuine in any way. Do you think there's any real love there or is it just obsession?

Thank you!!! I had a feeling that placing Edelgard and Hubert's words in a context that isn't meant to make them look flattering would really let their casual racism shine, and I'm glad it's seeming like that is in fact the impression people are getting lol. SO sorry for the late answer btw 😭😭😭

As for whether Edelgard's love is genuine... I got opinions lmao.

got a bit long lmao under the cut it goes

If Edelgard felt the way she does for Byleth on exclusively SS and CF, I could maybe see how this is a "genuine" love (insofar as a love steeped in "I may hate your race but you're special and Not Like The Other Ones because I think you're special to me" can, uh, ever be genuine, in any case). But because Edelgard still feels as strongly towards Byleth on AM and VW where she quite literally never talks to them directly in any meaningful way, it becomes waaaaay more like she's just weirdly obsessed with this person who saved her one singular time ever five years ago from an attack Edelgard set up. It makes the "love" way more forced and contrived and obviously trying to squeeze tears out of the player for standing up against the cute girly trying to murder them. Or, alternatively, it makes Edelgard come off as manipulative, saying that she just wanted to walk with Byleth and it makes her so sad to HAVE to fight Byleth because BYLETH wouldn't stand by HER - and she's saying this on AM/VW to a person she's talked to in conversation a cumulative, what? Hour? Two? Maybe a few days, being nice? Over the course of, being as absolutely generous as physically possible and not counting the five years Byleth was missing... two fucking years? She's shitting herself over fighting this stranger she doesn't fucking know? Yeah, sure buddy, whatever you say - you see what I mean?

And honestly even outside of those two routes, I think it's more that she sees Byleth as being hers rather than actually liking them for who they are. A body to stand next to her and tell her how right she is and comfort her - who doesn't have the background of "I was literally raised to think this is my only purpose in life" muddying the sincerity of the brown-nosing - who also happens to also act as The Perfect Fighter and The Perfect Strategist to actively help her get what she wants. That view of Byleth being a tool doesn't really go away unless they marry her, seen by how they quite literally get nothing for all they've done for Edelgard should they go unmarried to a noble (guess they just weren't meritable enough once their use to her was done).

As well as how much more Edelgard doesn't like Byleth disagreeing with her or otherwise going against her flow than pretty much anyone else in the game - you lose supports points if you don't think the Black Eagle Strike Force name she made is good, she quickly denies the notion that Byleth is detached from others/emotions and insists they are just like she is, she gives them the same callous and thoughtless words she was apparently given once in her life while they are in the midst of mourning their recently murdered father so that they get over it already and get back to being useful to her (directly saying she will only reach out her hand when it's time for HER to move forward, not when BYLETH heals from WATCHING THEIR DAD DIE IN THEIR FUCKING ARMS MAYBE A WEEK AGO). She never treats Byleth kindly unless they do everything she wants, which like. Isn't love???? At all????

There's just this... weirdly possessive air Edelgard has around Byleth that always threw me off, especially with how easily she admits to have been willing to kill them so far into CF and how readily she cuts ties with them the second the fighting's done (which is particular because how just how clingy she was to Byleth everywhere else - you know during all that time Byleth had a use to her). Incorporating that into being an intentional part of her character is certainly interesting, but not in a way that's flattering to the idea of Edelgard genuinely being in love with Byleth lmao.

Personally tho, even disregarding almost everything else, the simple explanation is that I don't think you can really sit there and say you love someone while openly hating part of their racial heritage. Wild thought, I know lmao

[demento-mori]

Alright! Now that ive finished Act 3 ive put together some of my general thoughts and feelings from this section of the game.

First off, I absolutely love how much the dialogue, descriptions, flavour text and so on changes and evolves throughout the loops. There are so many little details and plot threads, such as Siffrin repeatedly hitting their hip against that one corner, and getting increasingly frustrated each time, or learning that the dying plant is Mirabelle's and being able to compliment it in the next loop. It makes the characters and the world seem so organic and alive, and provides a sense of progression as you are able to learn more and more about the world around you. Even though the game gives you the option to loop directly to certain floors and areas, I find that I prefer to go through the house the 'legit' way each time, simply because I'm so eager to see whats changed.

Siffrin's psychological decline has been devastating to watch play out, especially since you, the player, are right there alongside them. You're also hoping that each new dialogue unlocked, and each change in the loop means that you've found the right solution to end the loops, and everytime you're disappointed and feel like your efforts were all for nothing. This especially hit home in regards to the party/family members. The first time you do each of their friendship quests its so heartwarming and emotional, you feel so happy that you've been able to get to know them better and become closer with them. But then, in each subsequent loop the impact of those quests lessen, and its easy to begin seeing them as just another hurdle you have to overcome in order to progress. It mirrors how Siffrin gradually stops seeing them as autonomous beings and rather as actors in a play, who he is "manipulating" to get his own happy ending.

The changes in the game's artwork that show Siffrin looking more worn down and tired is equally devastating. Its a small but very effective detail that drives in how the loops are wearing down on them. It almost feels like the game itself is becoming more and more corrupted as the loops wear on.

The worldbuilding is on another level. Like, you can tell that so much thought and care has been put into the world. The countries and their different customs, the religions and their practices and mythology. The language, the fashion, the magic system, the history. One thing that really stand out to me is how Vaugarde is clearly a very wonderful place, but its far from a utopia and there are still societal issues and injustices. For example, rather than taking the route of "there is absolutely no prejudice, all races genders and sexualities are equal", the game shows that gender and romantic/sexual attraction are all widely accepted and seen as fluid due to the change belief, but conversely aromanticism and asexuality are not as common or accepted as they clash with the religions practices. This makes the world seem much more fleshed out and believable, as it provides clear and convincing justifications for why the society is the way it is. And all of this isnt even getting into the more spoilery worldbuilding elements, such as colours and the island north of vaugarde, or even simplier stuff like the other countries and their cultural differences, or the various different vaugardian towns and their unique customs.

I feel like Isat is the only video game Ive ever seen that utilises the time loop concept to its full potential, let alone accomplising that in a way that still translates to a well-made and engaging gameplay loop(ha). Both the gameplay and the story make full use of the time loop gimmick in order to craft a compelling narrative, to explore the characters, their backstories and development, and the psychological effects of the situation upon them to their maximum potential, and to ensure that the gameplay loop never becomes stale and is able to consistently keep the player invested with new things to explore each loop. Its truly a masterpiece of game development.

[phoenix-downer]

FFVII Rebirth Demo Impressions

I played the demo several nights ago and loved it! This post is about my thoughts/impressions as I was playing.

(Quick note: My shipping preferences are Cloud/Tifa and Zack/Aerith, so that is going to influence my perspective and what I write about. There will also be spoilers for the OG game and Crisis Core throughout).

One of the first things I noticed as I was playing through was the graphics. The graphics look fantastic. I can tell the game being on the PS5 is making a big difference. The jump in quality from Remake to Rebirth is really noticeable.

It's so weird seeing Cloud act like Zack. Like I KNOW it's Zack and it's creeping me out a;lksdjfdfj because it's just...so not Cloud. They knocked the "this is wrong" vibes out of the park by using Zack's mannerisms and gestures with Cloud's model slapped on top, and it's giving this uncanny valley feeling to everything "Cloud" does. Cody Christian even sounds more like Zack's VA (Caleb Pierce). The attention to detail with all that is excellent. The updated graphics give them a lot to work with in terms of showing the wonkiness with Cloud's memories.

There was also a clever shot in the truck of "Cloud" asking the real Cloud if he's okay, and you see a hint of Cloud's blond hair peeking through the helmet.

I liked the dramatic/heroic version of Sephiroth's theme that played. And when Zack gets hurt by one of the monsters, I think it was Cloud who made sure he's okay, which was a sweet touch. Also, the screen is tinted with green, which is a cool way to show the effects of the Mako poisoning on Cloud.

Another thing I noticed: Cloud's eyes look SUPER green, more so than in Remake. Don't know if it's the upgrade to the PS5 or if they wanted to show the Mako poisoning progressing, but I thought it was a cool detail.

Okay it's like Cloud swapped he and Zack in his memories directly at one point soon after they arrive in Nibelheim. I swear this is 100% what Zack would've said to Cloud about Aerith, but instead it's one of the "security officers" saying it to "Cloud": "So, any friends here you wanna see? Maybe a girlfriend? Speaking of which, I bet you're dying to hear about mine. Am I right?"

Lmao Sephiroth still has groupies, this is giving Crisis Core fanclub vibes and I'm all here for it. I'm glad the game still has those silly moments and that continuity with past games. It makes the tragedy I know will unfold later on that much more poignant.

Speaking of which, it's depressing seeing all the townspeople in Nibelheim knowing they're going to die. Just walking around talking to them, Nibelheim really feels like a lived-in place that Cloud has so many personal connections to.

An NPC asked Cloud if he's seen his mother yet, another one recognized me, and another couple of people noticed me and asked if I'm looking for Tifa. They Know™️

Also, it's really interesting seeing Cloud craft the welcome home he WISHES he had gotten. He wanted to come back to Nibelheim as a hero everyone praised, but the reality was much different. So seeing that contrast is a really good insight into Cloud's psyche and what he wants (praise, recognition, approval, etc.)

Oh found some cats, I'm glad there's another area dedicated to just cats ;aldjf; (complete with photographic evidence):

Awwwwww there was a sweet reference to Tifa leading the exercise classes for Nibelheim from Traces of Two Pasts, and she asks Cloud in the modern day if he was able to keep up with the class (she wasn't teaching this particular one, but I love that bit of continuity).

Tifa you can tell is nostalgic for Nibelheim hearing Cloud's recounting of what happened too, the voice acting and dialogue for this part is all really well-done.

The option to see Cloud's mom was really well-done. Cloud never went back to see her in reality, of course, which means his memory glitches out like crazy during this part: he "hears" his mother talking to him about a conversation that happened at an earlier time, like his brain is desperately trying to create something that never happened and is latching onto the nearest fragments it can find. I like how they translated this scene from the OG game, it gave off eerie vibes.

HE DID THE LIL SHRUG AND NOD LIKE HE DOES IN THE OG GAME if you try to enter his mom's house again after the "memory" is over. Also, it's like his mind is trying to protect itself from delving too deeply into a false memory so glitchy (and maybe he feels a deep level of guilt at not actually going to see her as well), and so you can't go back into his house, just like in the OG game.

You can have Cloud go up the water tower too, and he looks towards Tifa's window THE ANGST OF IT ALL a;lskdfj. I love those little moments of Pining™️

Tifa's like wait you went to my place?? Oh Cloud...you were such an awkward weirdo...

"Our reasons, huh? I bet most of them had to do with you." Barret shading Cloud for why he and Tifa didn't hang out more ;alkdjf again I love the humor in these moments.

Awwww Fluffy got mentioned! Nice to hear her brought up again.

"You went into my room?" I'm dead. Tifa sounds so indignant and rightfully so. It's weirdo behavior Cloud ;laskdfj

"You went through my stuff?!" Not off to a great start buddy, but I had him pick that option because I figured he ought to be honest. Tifa and Aerith both call him an asshole if you admit to doing it too, which made me laugh. And naturally my mind is wondering how this will impact the iconic date later on. Did I just piss both Aerith and Tifa off and lose affection points with both girls? Probably lol (and honestly, Cloud deserved it for that stunt).

Tifa's lil moogle plushie on her bed is adorable. I love the touches like that that make the environment feel more lived in.

Awwww I found Tifa's theme to play on the piano hehe. I love that that's the first piano piece you can find in the game. Just one of my favorite FFVII songs because it fits Tifa so perfectly and has this bittersweet sense of longing as well as this beautiful tenderness to it.

Also, I got a kick out of the piano minigame. The first time I wasn't great at it and got a C. I struggled to do both "hands" at the same time. I did it two more times after that, and it starts to sound really nice when you have a streak of a bunch of correct notes in a row. Like Cloud's going to town on the piano with extra flourishes. If you miss notes again though the metronome comes back on lol like "you still need to practice and get the rhythm down."

The second two times I got an A (I'll have to keep practicing to get a star and see what happens), and the gang praised Cloud, which I thought was cool.

Found more Sephiroth groupies and ran into Zangan in the inn. It was really sweet hearing Zangan praise Tifa so highly. Also, "Cloud" saying, "yeah right" when Zangan says "Tifa will go far" is another good clue Cloud isn't himself. Tifa was offended and Aerith was offended on her behalf. I love how Aerith keeps backing Tifa up on stuff, it's really nice to see more of their friendship.

The photographer dude is back and I love him. And he even says the same thing he said to Zack in Crisis Core about how he can't waste his film on Zack because he doesn't know who he is ;alskdfj. What's a guy got to do to get a little respect?

"You look so different" lol yes I do random villager because I'm not me, and then there are some nice creepy foreshadowing moments from her kids. The girl says, "Gonna beat those monsters?" and the boy says, "Gonna be 'em?"

The irony of the mayor saying he'd brag about Sephiroth visiting Nibelheim till the day he dies:

I still really love Brian Lockhart's design. He's like if the 70s met cowboy fashion, and it just works somehow. And this carries over from the OG game, but his concerns about Tifa's safety are well-founded given what happened when she and Cloud were kids and sets up future reveals in the remake trilogy nicely.

Also, Tifa is so small next to Sephiroth. I love her sass in this part of the story, and this time around there's some country twang banjo version of her theme and I love it. Also Sephiroth shaded the camera guy al;sdkfj;dskf but "Cloud" talked him into it and thus the iconic photo came into being. Again those moments of humor will never not be funny. And I loved how Tifa was being such a good guide and giving info about the area as they started to ascend the mountain.

Also, when you finally get to the title screen, it cracked me up how Nomura is listed first, before Hamaguchi. Probably a seniority/respect thing, but Nomura is the creative director and Hamaguchi is the director.

Also, the version of the main theme that plays as you go up Mt. Nibel is awesome, and once again I had to get a screenshot because this area is just so beautiful:

Tifa wanting to travel is a sweet touch, though Sephiroth is practical and points out that he travels on business trips and not for fun. Of course "Cloud" points out that you do learn stuff on these trips. It's a nice contrast between Tifa's naive optimism, Sephiroth's jaded world-weary outlook, and Zack's positivity tempered by experience.

Also, Sephiroth's hair is very swishy. I thought that needed a note as I was playing this. Props to the artists, animators, etc. who rendered it.

I chuckled at Tifa racing up the mountain and teasing "Cloud" and Sephiroth about whether or not they can keep up. Just shows a fun, playful side to her personality and also shows how eager she is to prove herself. And then she dropkicked a monster to protect "Cloud" and then teased him about it alks;jfdsf. She's so much snarkier with Zack than she is with Cloud, and it's an interesting contrast.

The real Cloud of course is in the background, protecting Tifa from danger. Even in his rewritten version of history, the real him is lurking in his subconscious protecting her because she's that important to him. She thanked him so sweetly when he did too.

I made a note about seeing the bridge that collapsed with Cloud and Tifa on it when they were kids, man all the little details like this and the foreshadowing is just A+.

Tifa has Trauma™️ from falling off a bridge before, hmmm, wonder what that's from, and she's still like hey I'm the guide I'll lead us a;ldkfj when "Cloud" offers to go first lol.

Still holds true years later but wooooow Nibelheim sucks at constructing good bridges lol. It was a wholesome moment where "Cloud"/Zack grabbed Cloud and kept him from drowning though, and Sephiroth was able to grab Tifa (which is ironic considering how he tries to kill her not much later, and it's sad because it really shows he was a good guy). Of course the other security officer probably drowned rip, poor guy.

YAY SEPHIROTH'S IN MY PARTY FINALLY

"For your performance review" lol I like Sephiroth's sass and how he teases "Cloud" like this.

I just obliterate everything playing as Sephiroth ;alsdkfj and truly love playing as him. And him slamming his own dad will never not be funny, I mean Hojo just really sucks.

At this point I started focusing more on playing the game since there were more monsters to fight etc., but I still got some nice screenshots and had a few more thoughts.

The Mako spring just looks incredible, so I had to include a photo:

The scenery by the ocean was gorgeous too, I can't wait to go to Costa del Sol:

The real Cloud helping Tifa get to safety from the monster and "Cloud"/Zack and Sephiroth being bros is top-tier content. Also Sephiroth looks like a model in pretty much every shot he's in:

Oh the dramatic irony of Tifa not knowing it's Cloud and him refusing to talk and her being sassy and telling him, "You better keep me safe" and then of course he does. The music is creepy now that we're about to enter the reactor lol, of course it is.

"Would it kill this guy to say something" he would die from embarrassment and shame, yes:

"The company really needs to be more transparent" that's the understatement of the year "Cloud" ;lakfj;asdf

Cool use of JENOVA'S theme. I always enjoy hearing that theme and how otherworldy but also very 90s it sounds.

Zangan's comment here is gold, I love the bee in his bonnet bit:

The Shinra basement stuff was genuinely creepy l;kasjdf like I know what happens and I was still freaked out! The atmosphere was just really well done.

"I should go. Mother is waiting." There it is, the iconic meme line a;ldal;skdjf;lsdjf it just kills me, Sephiroth is such a psycho.

Loved seeing Zangan helping people get out of the town and telling "Cloud" to get in there and help, but of course the situation is still incredibly dire by the time "Cloud" gets there.

This shot in front of the water tower was gorgeous and really haunting, especially when the water tower collapsed. Just the symbolism with that, the loss of Cloud and Tifa's special place and how not long after this, he feels like he failed her and failed to keep his promise:

Main Scenario: Check on Mom. Oh Cloud...

And then you see the real Cloud collapsed in front of his house and calling for his mom, this is so depressing:

This is where the more realistic graphics really serve the story well, because it makes this moment that much more of a gut punch, especially when he hears his mother begging him to live. The last few moments before her soul returns to the planet perhaps, trying to save her son from danger one last time.

And now that "Cloud" is hurt, he looks busted up even in the menu. I thought that was a cool detail to include.

It's like Cloud's memories are trying to right themselves because he winds up on the ground like where he was supposed to be. When Sephiroth murdered the man who tried to help him and then went on his creepy murder spree of several other villagers culminating with the mayor, that was all really well done too. Horrifying because there's nothing Cloud can do to stop the senseless murder of people he's known all his life, and it really shows how cold and ruthless Sephiroth has become.

This moment was good too with the memories seeming glitchy again:

And then of course I must end this on The Iconic Scene™️ a;lsdkfja;kdslf complete with psycho smirk:

Needless to say, I very much enjoyed this demo and am looking forward to the Juno one! And the full game, February 29 can't come fast enough.

[the-bitter-ocean]

( ACT 3/ ACT 4 SPOILERS) This is part 7 of the many responses/ dialogue options I wrote for the conversation that Rewind and Mirabelle have on what Rewind’s identity truly is. To understand the full context you can find the original post here. Writing is under the cut:

{{“So I suppose you must have a lot of questions for me don’t you? Theories as to who I might be?”}}

{ You do. You can’t help but feel overwhelmed by all of this.}

{{“Let’s make this like a game so you can get to know me a little better. How’s that sound hm?”}}

{You nod slowly, still unsure.}

{{“You get one guess for this so pick whatever feels right in your heart.” }}

{One guess?}

{ You don’t know why but Rewind’s aura feels .. otherworldly. Divine, but it’s not something that you quite recognize. }

{There are a lot of different beliefs outside of Vaugarde that believe in deities other than the Change God. }

{ And even though you aren’t familiar with most spiritual practices other than the Change belief- you know for certain that the Change God does not tend to help directly in this way. }

{So if it’s a god that’s helping you…it has to be something else other than them. }

{ Odile talked about Ka Bue and their religious practices during one of your loops.}

{You remember because everyone was shocked by the vast number of potential gods someone could pray to. }

{With that logic in mind, you figured an Expression would make the most sense. }

=> {You’re an Expression.}

{“..Are you an Expression?”}

{{“Me, an Expression?” }}

{{“As in the kind of deities that your ever elusive Mage prays to from time to time?”}}

{ Riri shakes their head.}

{{“It’s a good guess, but no. I’m not any type of god in the slightest.”}}

{{“Sorry to say it but there’s no divine intervention at play here! Just help from regular little old me!”}}

{ She winks at you. }

{ You groan.}

[let-spretend]

hey !! very self indulgent fanfic here, wanted to insert reader into the game itself so lots of dialogue is directly pulled from chp 15. armageddon !! could be platonic if you squint ‘cause it’s pretty vague. still open to requests and criticisms.

liu kang x reader !!

"There is nowhere to run, Shang Tsung. Nowhere to hide." Liu Kang opens his arms, looking side to side. "We have banded together to rid all timelines of your evil. The threat you pose to them ends today." He points to the ground.

"Such certainty, Liu Kang. That this battle will end in your favor." Dark Shang Tsung only spits back with venom.

"It can end no other way. Because across all timelines, the arc of history bends toward justice."

"Does it? In this timeline, it bends toward me." Dark Shang Tsung's arms engulf into flames and he starts to swing his arms into a circular motion. Chanting, he shoots a beam of fire towards the sky. Slowly, a portal starts to rip open, lighting up the area. "Behold, Liu Kang, the hell I unleash upon you!" He motions his arm toward the portal and skulls start to pour out, creating a pathway. Dark versions of everyone start to come out, with Quan Chi leading the herd. Dark Shang Tsung and Liu Kang stare each other down, while Dark Shang Tsung's army starts to line up near him. He yells for them to charge, gesturing toward all of you. You start to run up the stairs, with the rest of Liu Kang's army also doing the same. You don't pay any attention to who you were fighting, just interacting with whoever decided to stand in your way. You push and kick your opponents into the green waste between the pyramid stairs.

"My godly might will strike you down." You turn your head to see a Li Mei in similar attire to Raiden. You get into a ready stance and are ready for anything she tries. You notice crackling occurring between her fingertips and you realize she was a version of someone's timeline's Raiden. You land the first punch, cornering her into a wall. Continuously you strike, pushing her down to the floor for enough time to escape. She falls with no intention of getting back up.

You sprint toward the stairs again, climbing up to one of the many platforms on the stairs. You see a flicker of green in the corner of your eye. Before you could act, a version of Syzoth punches you right in the face. You fall to the floor, clenching your cheek. You send a low kick, causing Reptile to meet you on the ground. You push yourself into the air and aim your feet toward Reptile's face. "How you like that, Syzoth?" You chuckle, imagining your timeline's Syzoth being defeated by your hands. Before she could respond, you lift her up from the ground and throw her across the platform. After this action, dozens of dark Shang Tsung's people come rushing towards you. You start to run, sucker punching a dark Kenshi along the way. You hear Sento clank to the ground as you turn the corner. You see an oncoming shadow but no people around. You clamor to the ground as a heavy weight jumps onto you. A person that appears to be Sub-Zero towers over you, ready to strike. You roll to your right and get up onto your knees. "So eager you had to jump onto me?" You banter. She sneers and sends icicles toward you. You crouch down and go for her feet. She acts quickly and jumps up, coming down with a kick. It lands on your stomach, you grunt in pain but punch her in the face as she lands. Blood paints her face as she attempts to wipe it off. Her stance now staggered, she summons an ice flail into her hands. She lunges toward you but you block, the flail breaking on impact. You suck in from the pain and cold it left. You slap her face and punch her in the stomach three times, sending her a couple feet in front of you. As she goes down with a thud, a Dark Sonya that has Kano's eye starts charging toward you. She kicks for your face and tries to slash your arm with her blade. You block all of her attempts and reply with a punch to her face. Her face swings back as her robotic eye releases a deadly beam. You hold her face away from yours and punch her with brute force. She cries in pain and falls.

"You get to be killed by a megastar." You turn around to be met with a Shao Kahn dressed in Johnny's attire. You can't help but let a loud laugh escape your lips. He charges at you and you go flying, landing next to the defeated Sonya. He walks over slowly and you jump up and kick his stomach to keep him from coming any closer. He groans and you keep at it. Punching in any place open and finishing with a kick to the balls. He yells out in pain and topples over. "Learned that on from you, ironically." You retort. You hear a mix of low growling and yelling above you. It was Goro. He jumps off of the roof and lands next to you, making you almost fall over from the impact. He hurls his hammer into your face. Your face burns with pain and you clutch it instinctively. You thought your whole face was taken with the hammer. Goro tries to hit you again with his hammers but is stopped by a punch. He falls onto the stairs but kicks your aid back. You look up to see a Ninja Mime Cage being caught by more Cages. Johnny taps him on the shoulder. He jumps back up quickly and turns his head to the right to see why Johnny tapped his shoulder. Janet also taps him and he faces her. Johnny shouts and "Ms. Cage" does the same. Probably to hype themselves up. Ninja Mime smiles at their antics and also yells silently. You chuckle at the mime's attempt at yelling. He notices your laughter and sends you a wink, but is quickly interrupted by Goro. He swings his hammers toward the three of them and they all dodge. Johnny back kicks Goro in the balls while Ninja Mime flips in the air and kicks his calf. While he winces, Janet kicks him in the face, leading him closer to the ledge. Johnny sends a green blast from his hand hurling toward Goro. You don't remember your timeline's Johnny having powers. Ninja Mime tries to land a finishing kick but Goro grabs his leg. He bends it in an unnatural way, a crackle left his leg. Despite that, he does not make a sound. Although his face contorts in pain and distress. He is tossed by Goro into the green abyss. The Cage's both kick him onto the ledge, pushing him off politely with a send off. Johnny sends you a thumbs up but Janet gives you two. You smile and pick yourself up. You hear yelling behind you but don't bother to turn as another Dark version of Johnny starts to approach.

"You've clearly no sense of self-preservation." You sigh again. "I don't have time for this." You say, in a deadpan voice. Janet scoffs. "Oh, you will." You run towards her and she braces for some sort of attack. But all you do is push her to the floor and take off. "Ugh! Come back here, Y/N!!" You ignore her and run up the never-ending stairs. Your breathing was starting to become shallow. You try to drink your spit to somehow calm yourself and also give you hydration. But it obviously didn't help. You try to look down while running to keep you from seeing the amount of stairs left, knowing the consequences. But you stop, hearing many footsteps ahead of you. You look up to see 4 people. You scan their faces and they all seem familiar but you couldn’t quite place it. Before you could attack, you’re surprised by a weaponized fan.

“Allow me.” Kitana declares.

You happily oblige and let her slay the four in front of you. She ruthlessly slices off limbs and heads. One head with sunglasses on, rolls down in front of you. Weirdly, it felt like a taunt. You try not to think so deeply about it. "Thank you, Princess Kitana. Or.. maybe not a princess?" You say, with uncertainty. It was hard to keep track of everything and everyone. Kitana only chuckles. "You are too cute. Kitana is just fine and you're welcome. Now hurry. There's no time to waste." You were about to reply to her before she was tackled by some person. You were caught by surprise and your first instinct was to help her. You figure she was able to defend herself, but mostly it was the fact that you were being approached once again.

"Reptiloids are apex predators." She calmly says. This time it was a Reptiloid Sindel. You sigh and get into a ready stance. You don't even bother with a quip. Before Sindel could even attack, the ground starts to crackle with red lightning. You look around your surroundings for anything and your eyes land on a chain hanging from a pillar. You kick the pillar to push yourself toward the hanging chain. Sindel screams in pain from the lightning and a figure that looks like Kung Lao, lands. You could see that stupid hat from a mile away. Sindel falls to the floor with severe burns but the figure pays no attention. He removes his hat and cleanly slices the chain you were dangling from, in half. You fall to the floor but get a glimpse of his face. It was Raiden's. "Ew!" You exclaim, not being able to fathom that 'that' exists. He practically flies into you and your stomach burns from his lightning. You dodge his attacks from his hat and begin to punch once he puts it back on. Getting a closer look at the Kung Lao-Raiden mashup, your eyebrows furrow. You push him toward a torch and his clothes catch on fire. He screams and tries to put it out but falls off the pyramid, not realizing where he stood. "That was an abomination.." You breathe out, as you watch him flail to his death.

You jog up the stairs, tired, before noticing two figures. You look up to see Dark Shang Tsung and Quan Chi up at the top, staring down at you attempting to run up the stairs. You see Shang Tsung talking to Quan Chi but can't make out what he says from all the yelling around you. You keep running up the stair trying to catch up. They face each other and start to create a bubble of magic, mixed with orange and green. They both raise it into the sky and throw it into your direction. "Shit!" You dive onto the next platform, as you watch it pass by you and hit many others toward the bottom. Your body aches from the fall and fatigue. "Ugh.." You slowly start to pick yourself up try to continue up the stairs.

But distant growling could be heard from around the corner. Just as you start to catch your breath, three dark clones of Mileena charge toward you with sai in their hands. The two in the back stay in a standby position, while the Mileena in red attire attacks. You grab her arms and make them cross, using her left hand with the sai to puncture her right shoulder. You twirl her to make her face her copies. You use her body to block their advances, also using her arms to attack them. You slice the neck of the Mileena in yellow. You stab the side of one in blue and stab her again but with both sai in the stomach. You kick the Mileena in your hands and take the sai out of hers. You stab her in the chest but have no time to take them back out, as another Mileena charges. You block, but she swipes you off the ground, flipping her sai to face your eyes. You catch her arms and use all your strength to keep her away. She tries to push harder with her body weight but you turn her arms inward, gouging her eyes out with the sai. Her blood flings onto your face as you push her off of you. You stood up quickly, looking at the scene. You were breathing heavily, scared of what could’ve happened. "Fuck..” You just stare at Mileena’s lifeless body. A little bit of payback for Kenshi's eyes.

"Hurry Y/N! You are almost there!" You look up to see a very ethereal-looking Shang Tsung cheering you on, with a version of Quan Chi by his side. But they are both blasted with a green force, which seemed to be sucking their souls out. You watched as their bodies were being ripped away from their skeletons, the flesh sploshing onto the floor.

Dark Shang Tsung was on his knee, supporting himself. You start to run up the pyramid stairs again, angry, but interrupted by a different Quan Chi body slamming you to the floor. You let out a grunt, landing on your arms. "I don't have time for all these distractions.." You state. You waste no time and punch his stomach. Blood sputters out of his mouth from the sudden blunt force. You take a small knife from his belt and decide it was now yours. You swipe for his neck and push in deep, and glide the knife across. Blood spews out and you are drenched in it. "Ugh.." You lightly push him and topples onto the floor. Now you have his and Mileena's blood on your face. You sigh as you start to run, trying to find the stairs again. You hold your new knife tightly, ready for any attack. But instead you find Liu Kang on the stairs, fighting off some foes. He kicks them off and notices you climbing up the stairs. He turns his body and attention towards you. "It's only a little further, Y/N. Follow me." He lingers a little, sort of assessing you. He slightly furrows his brows but gestures for you to follow, which you do.

You both reach the top where Dark Shang Tsung and Quan Chi seemed like they were waiting for you to arrive. You pocket your small knife and form your hands into fists. You looked over at Liu Kang to see him with barely any injuries and effortlessly vibrant. You try to cover up the fact that you were heaving from just climbing all those stairs and the fact that you were admiring him at a time like this.

"Your defenses have failed, Shang Tsung. This is over." Liu kang instructed, while tilting his head slightly.

"I do not think so." Shang Tsung delivers a simple, yet defying answer.

"Realize, sorcerer, that you've brought this on yourself. Avarice and ego have again proved your undoing. We have no choice but to eradicate you." You had to be completely honest, you have no idea what avarice meant but you only nodded in agreement with Liu Kang. You note in your head to start using that Word-A-Day calendar from Johnny...

"It is you who will be eradicated. You and your followers." Shang Tsung's eyes linger on you when he mentions Liu Kang's followers. "And once you are dead, all timelines will be mine." He starts to run toward you and you react the same. You throw a punch but he dodges and extends his claws out. He raises his arms and scratches your chest. You grimace in pain but don't stop for it. You aim a kick to his face and follow with another one. He blocks them all and pushes you and kicks you in the head. You get dizzy and fall to the floor. You try to get back up, knowing Liu Kang needs your assistance. But you couldn't. You slump to the floor, trying to fight the urge to close your eyes. You try and focus on the sounds of grunting and punches being exchanged. You hear Liu Kang's high pitched yells and fire leaving his hands. You cannot stay on the floor any longer. You ignore the gnawing pain in your head and shake it. Your eyes open right as Quan Chi releases a beam in the form of a snake attack Liu Kang. It entraps him and tangles him so he cannot move. Your face contorts that into a scared one, but you take a deep breath.

You try not to seem nervous to your enemies and hold your expression blank. You slowly start to approach the two. "Your position is precarious." Quan Chi states, with a bit of enthusiasm laced within it. "To survive, you must submit." He stops walking and forms his hand into a tight fist. Shang Tsung approaches you, slowly. "Yes. The question you must ask is: if Liu Kang couldn't finish us, how possibly could you?" You didn't say anything, only replying with a solemn facial expression.

Shang Tsung jumps up and tries to land a kick onto your face but you slide and make him miss. He swiftly turns back and punches you consecutively. Every blow hurt, but reminds you that you needed to win, not just for you, but also for Liu Kang and the Realms. You block and grab onto his arm. You throw him onto the ground and start to do the same. Just punch the shit out of him. He cries out in pain but uses his feet to kick you off of him. He extends his claws again and swings in whatever directions he could think of. "Two can play that game." You pull out your small knife and pierce his lower stomach area. He instinctively clutches his wound and you take that opportunity to bash his head onto the ground. He stops moving, but you could tell he was still breathing.

"And they called me the Chosen one." He looks down at your work but looks to you smiling. You were tired but still super happy Liu Kang complimented your efforts. "Thank you, Liu Kang. Should I..?" He places a hand on your shoulder. "You have done more than enough, Y/N. Please, permit me to end this." He lightly squeezes before letting go and again lingering to take a look at you. You look back with an honest face. He blinks and turns away. He begins to swing his arms and sand starts to fall out of his hands. Dark Shang Tsung and Quan Chi slowly start to fade away into sand, then blown by the wind.

"May that be last we see of you." Liu Kang sends the sand off, watching it fade away.

The ground beneath you starts to shake and soon cracks. Liu Kang looked equally as puzzled but you still ask him. "What's going on?" He looks over at you, then back to the few specks of sand. "The timeline! Without Shang Tsung to hold it together, it's falling apart!" His eyebrows furrow as looks at you but he shakes his head, looking at the ground. "You must return to your timeline before this one collapses." His arms engulf into flames and it surrounds you. "Thank you for your aid and presence, Y/N. May we one day meet again.." Before you could process his words, his warm flames start to hug you. "Wait, Liu Kang! I've got so many things to-!" Everything around you turns into white and you're scared for what's to come. Was he going to restart the timeline? Or did he only remove you out of there? You had so many questions and everything had moved by so fast. You could only hope that he would come see you again.

[annasinterests]

I See Fire

|| main masterlist ||

a/n: i'm dedicating this to my love @tinygarbage because the percy brainrot has been unreal for both of us. i thought this up after watching a tiktok (pls don't ask me i literally watched it once, swiped out of the app, then threw my phone across the room) and so this is what we got fellers. ALSO, one line is directly inspired by/from the D&D movie, so i give credit to my boy edgin because honestly the scene about him being so unapologetically honest about his mistakes was everything to me (i also guessed his dialogue word-for-word that entire time and was RIGHT). honestly thinking ab whether or not if i wanna make a part 2 to this..

divider by @saradika ! ❤️‍🔥

word count: 682 words (who knew i could actually write under 1k)

pairings: percy de rolo x reader

warnings & tags: angst, past trauma, arguing, cursing, miscommunication, unresolved ending

“No!-” You seethe, hands balling into fists at your sides, “Don’t you get it?”

Percy scoffed, “You ask that like I should know, and I don’t!” He raised a pointed finger to you, “How can I when all you ever do is leave us in the dark!”

Your jaw clenches as you turn away. White-hot anger blazed your body and blotted out everything else, even the tears that brimmed your eyes and streaked your cheeks.

“Always putting yourself at an arm’s distance, acting like you have the biggest burden to carry– well, guess what? We all have shit of our own!” His rigid tone made your face scrunch up. “You push away every single person that tries to get under the surface, including us! We’re supposed to be a team, damn it!”

You hated him. His pompous attitude and sense of entitlement, as if he’s somehow better than everyone else, or deserves explanations for things that don’t concern him. You hated his stupid glasses that made him look pretentious as hell, and that unnecessary trench coat he wore at all times. And the way he constantly whips out some sort of contraption that leaves the others in awe, stroking his ego, but you wouldn’t dare give him the satisfaction.

But what you really hated, arguably most of all, was that he saw you. Right through all the acts and walls you put up to protect yourself– a promise that there’d be no more pain and tears for as long as you lived out your days.

A promise now shattered.

“Without trust, we are nothing.” The words are venomous, so full of exasperation that it strains his voice on the last word.

A sigh and some shuffling follows a moment or two after, and all you can think is how he’s undeniably soothing the crease between his brows while his other hand rests on his hip, a classic pose of his in high-stress situations. Not that you ever paid attention…

“Believe me, it’s not worth living life that way.” His voice was softer, almost apologetic, “It’s… lonely.”

Had you been completely blinded by your own emotions, you would’ve taken the opportunity to tell him to shove it and kick rocks, but you spared him.

“I, too, thought it was easier. I’d seen my loved ones hunted like game, my own sister betrayed our family name, Whitestone had been–”

“Whitestone still stands,” you snap harshly, abruptly cutting him off. “My home does not.”

It’s then you finally turn back to him with a chilling glare and darkened features. His expression drops to widened eyes and slightly raised brows, clear that he’d not been expecting that response. But now it started, and you couldn’t stop.

“My friends do not– my family does not.” The words are registering at higher decibels that burn your throat after each word, “My life– everything!”

You march up to him, squaring up before his infuriatingly tall frame, locking eyes with his. You were shouting in his face, reaching a point of zenith you didn’t know you had, your vocal cords raw and sore that you were sure they could snap at any moment.

“I’ve lost everything that ever mattered to me and it was all my fault!”

Your body is trembling from the sheer force of the confession, and the air isn’t getting to your lungs the way you need it to right now. Your eyes, narrowed and fierce, fight to maintain their focus, but that buried, broken part of you is clawing its way out with a strength you can’t compete against.

His eyes flicker between yours, his face softened by a frown. You force yourself to look anywhere but his pitying gaze; you don’t need or want it, especially from him. You hastily wipe away the tears with the back of your hand, take a sharp breath in, and then exhale deeply. Out of all people, you couldn’t believe the one person to break you down would be none other than fucking Percival Fredrickstein von Mu—

“You don’t really believe that… do you?”

Yes, of course I do.

[kattythingz]

For the ask game thing, J K R X!

Hoooh? You're approaching me? Well, if you dare...

J - what’s your favorite fanfic trope? Have you written it?

I ADORE A VERY SPECIFIC FLAVOR OF CANON REWRITES. Basically: what if canon but my blorbo was treated as the love interest (and all the cliches that come with that, yes, hello I love whump) and my ship is endgame?

Think literally just Crown. The entire concept came to me years ago because I wanted, so desperately, to see a world where Ed was basically treated as Ling's love interest. And how that would change the plot! How would their relationship develop? How would they act AFTER they're dating? Blorbo treated as love interest + established relationship MY FUCKING BELOVED.

I did it to Ed again with Reliable Conclusion; I did it long before that to Stiles with Sweet Disaster; and I've most definitely contemplated doing it to Shinichi in a kaishin "what if Shinichi played Aoko's role in Magic Kaito" au.

If this trope has no fans left, it's because I'm DEAD.

K - do you have a guilty pleasures in fic (reading or writing)?

Oh, dude, SO MANY. SO SO MANY. I've already said I like my favs being treated as love interests, so you can imagine all the "stupid cliche" positions that I like to write said favs into. I CAN'T HELP IT MAN. I know my blorbos are competent in canon, and I'll never erase that! Any "weak" situation I ever write them into HAS to make canonical sense to me, otherwise I just. I can't.

But also, what's wrong with a strong character needing to be saved? Ed, for example, altho yes yes he's disabled, is also just human. Even without his automail kicking his ass, as a human he can still inherently be weak! You just need to know where to apply that weakness!

Also I really like dressing my favs pretty, heh. I FIND THEM PRETTY AND THUS THEY DESERVE TO LOOK THE PRETTIEST. TIS THE LAW!!!

R - which writers (fanfic or otherwise) do you consider the biggest influence on you and your writing?

Right off the top of my head, SiryyGray from Capra comes to mind. The way they tied Ed's flashbacks into the narrative so time feels WACK. The way their writing style is so damn atmospheric and vintage somehow, like you're IN those 1940s with Ed. THE WAY THEY TIED THAT WHOLE BOY WITH A COMPASS STORY INTO THE LARGER NARRATIVE AND IT HELD THEMATIC MEANING? I ATE THAT SHIT UP.

Their writing style definitely directly influenced mine! Honestly, I've caught myself thinking back on Capra a lot whenever I'm trying to write certain scenes in my own fics.

I can also cite The Map to Everywhere book series (highly recommend) as direct inspo that taught me to just, have FUN with formatting! Even in a published book! That series is my favorite in the whole world and it has so much fun with its visuals and formatting! I really admire it.

X - how would you categorize your fanfic reading? Are you a voracious reader? Do you carefully pick and choose? Something in between?

Oh, god no, I am DEFINITELY picky. Like, "I'm striving to become a professional literary editor" picky. I try so hard but unless your premise is EXTREMELY captivating and ticks all my trope boxes, then even slightly mediocre writing will turn me off at times. I can't unsee if there's a dialogue tag every single line; if the punctuation's bad; if two characters speak in the same paragraph. Every fanfic pet peeve you can think of, I've clicked off a fic from.

It's unfortunate, because I remember being 12 and reading every cool sounding fic I could get my hands on. But my writing's evolved a lot over the years. And so have my expectations for fics because of that. It's not rlly sth I can turn off in my brain anymore, as much as I wish I could sometimes.

[nightmarebunarts]

The Flipside was bad for like a number of reasons but ignoring all the glaring bullshit it had going on, it also just wasn't as entertainingly written as the prior games.

Class of '09 has the unfortunate issue of dialogue sometimes feeling a little bit stilted, with characters monologuing in like a "creator talking directly at you to own the haters" way, and it's only really saved by the great voice acting when it happens. But The Flipside had some of the?? Wonkiest dialogue in the series? Maybe ever?

And like it's saved by voice acting again, but it's much more in your face because the characters feel so much flatter and it becomes much harder to ignore with the absolute fuckery of everything else. And you kinda start to notice the cracks early on and then you realize, "Oh this guy doesn't want me to enjoy this experience" because what other conclusion are you supposed to draw after getting, like, one of 5 character assassination endings within the first 15 minutes.

And then you finish the game and you find that obnoxious fake suicide tape with another classic "character talking right at you but it's actually the creator" monologue we've gotten so used to. Which for the record sucks ass and is entirely incoherent in its attempt to be profound or whatever. And then you get a message from the creator that confirms everything you've been thinking for the past 2 wasted hours of watching a car wreck unfold in real time (at one point literally!!) and in the last paragraph this guy calls you specifically a pedophile if you didn't enjoy this experience and have like A Criticism for him, because there's no better way to evade criticism than to deliberately antagonize former fans I guess?? How's that working out for him do you think

[maleficore]

Daydreaming bg3 scenarios is my full time job at this point and I've had this phenomenal idea on my walk the other day. It's not really a headcanon since it has little basis in canon and directly contradicts some game events and plays with the lore like it's play-doh so more of a AU/fanfic idea, but...

It always struck me as inaccurate for Durge to be referred to as a "Bhaalspawn" since they're literally a PART of Bhaal made into a separate person in an act of (very confusing) divine creation and it really downplays just how powerful and dangerous they are. Especially since I fully subscribe to the idea that Durge is NOT a mortal, but that's simply not in the game due to just how OP it would be to play an unkillable Dame Aylin-esque character and the definition of a Bhaalspawn is "mortal offspring of the dead god Bhaal". So what the hell are they?

The Slayer. Or at least they're a direct vessel for it, more like.

No, really. Hear me out. Have you noticed how Gortash refers to Orin as "The Slayer" in that bit of dialogue when she puts a dagger to Ketheric throat? Except she's not? Not yet at least because the dialogue does not change depending on if you're still the one who has Bhaal's favour or not and she doesn't get it until you piss of Dad enough for him to go "fine have it your way, ungrateful brat". Plus I don't think The Slayer has been used as a shorthand for "Chosen of Bhaal" anywhere else sooo... Does he assume it's a feature of the position since he knew Durge had command over the form before their disappearance?

That's what birthed the first worm in my brain leading to this unhinged infestation, but it's not all -- there's THE URGE itself.

The game fucks it up SO bad on the whole front because it's reluctant to take choice away from the player, which is maybe understandable, but absolutely WRECKS the narrative that it's something to be afraid of. There's what? Alfira and the squirrel? Those are the only unavoidable consequences of having these supposedly violent and divine compulsions baked into every cell of your damn body. Saving your partner from a gruesome death by your hand needs a dice roll of 15, for fuck's sake! It was harder to convince a bunch of goblins to not turn me into an arrow pin cushion. Durge themself has been scared shitless of it their entire life and you're telling me the thing mostly boils down to dialogue choices? That just won't do for me, sorry. In the game The Urge's source is also never really explained beyond "of course you have unstoppable violent compulsions, you're 100% Bhaal's flesh and blood" which is fucking BORING and doesn't make sense to me because as far as I know Bhaal loves murder because that's his domain as a god, he was not a compulsive killer as a mortal so why would it be something that's passed down? No, The Urge is a fucking Slayer thing!

"It also had the ability to incite attraction in others, and remove any negative feelings they felt, or compel an urge to slay in any intentionally malevolent being, whenever it chose."

To be fair this is from a 2e sourcebook, but COME ON. Didn't it strike anyone else as weird that young Durge is mentioned to have slain an entire PALADIN ORDER before making their way to the temple if you're playing as an oathbreaker? Like, HOW? Slayer form bay-be, that's how.

(Can you tell by now I'm not normal about the idea? Yeah.)

All living creatures learn the best from their own mistakes and I think that letting The Slayer take over would be Bhaal's version of letting your incessant kid touch the clothes iron because they just refuse to leave it alone. Bad parenting, but it's Bhaal we're talking about lmao. "Oh you don't want to kill? No biggie, fuck around and see what happens then. I'll wait." is way fucking scarier to me than him just forcing Durge's hand with the butler basically being like "Heads up, master. Your father is pretty mad and your Urge is hungry so you might commit a murder tonight!" right beforehand.

Just the mental image of Durge thinking "I've done it! I've saved Isobel!" and then having the starved Slayer rip itself out of them like it does out of Orin when Bhaal forces her to transform... You see my vision right? RIGHT? And then the beast gets slain because what else is there to do and since Durge is immortal they just come back to themself instead of becoming goo (which is a game mechanic already since their sis is not so lucky, rip). The drama and angst potential is INFINITE. The sheer raw power of THAT being the "Bhaalspawn" reveal because if Isobel is alive that means Jaheira must be there like "what the FUCK are you exactly??" and no one can pretend that Durge is just Bhaalspawn+ like they do in the game. Do they kill anyone? People are bound to be at least heavily injured, especially since they've JUST fought Ketheric's bossfight and are not rested and at full potential.

GOD, I am rotating this thing in my head so fast the friction is bound to make my brain melt.

[game-anglia-brief-ga-2024]

First-Person Puzzle Games: The Stanley Parable

The Stanley Parable is a narrative driven game where the player walks through an office building where all their co-workers are missing. There is a narrator who voices over everything that's happening and even interacts with the player directly. The narrator attempts to lead the player down a certain path, but there are PLENTY of different paths where the player can deviate, leading to many wacky interactions.

The main charm of The Stanley Parable is the dialogue from the narrator, if it weren't for that, the game would honestly be incredibly boring in my opinion.

The office area:

The game is incredibly self-aware, and comments on all sorts of things. There's an area near the beginning of the game where the player can collide with objects in the office in such a way to raise themself onto the desks, and then they can walk right out of a window, taking them outside the map. After a few seconds, the narrator will comment on this and a funny interaction will play out:

In a similar vein, there's also another fairly easy secret to find involving "breaking" the game. You see, throughout the game doors will close behind you as you enter each new area, however there's one place where if you time it right, you can get back out the door before it closes. This causes all narration to stop, and the game appears to be broken, however the player will soon realise all the doors that were previously closed behind them are now open again. They can then walk all the way back to the start to see a new door open that wasn't before, leading them to a secret ending:

And of course, we can't forget about the ICONIC "Broom Closet Ending" interaction:

The witty humour and self-awareness of The Stanley Parable is unmatched and provides a highly entertaining experience. It inspires me to think about including some voice acting in my own projects! (granted I'm significantly less funny than Kevan Brighting (the voice of the narrator in The Stanley Parable))

[raayllum]

Now, TDP doesn’t do this often, but occasionally they will overload character dynamic(s) with like, enough overt symbolism / association in order to centralize a third character’s arc. Think Janai with Amaya and Karim in S4. Karim represents Janai’s uncertainty, pointing out some of the inner thoughts she’d rather ignore and her people’s rising ‘concerns’ shown through dialogue. We also see this more discreetly with scenes like Janai taking off her crown as soon as Karim is in frame, and she spells this out for us in 4x09: “But I am uncertain, I am afraid. That’s why I thought maybe you and I... we could leave. Go live peacefully in Katolis. At least Karim would lead the people with some kind of certainty.” 

Karim represents one path she can choose, the arguably easier, safer path she could choose. And Amaya doesn’t quite represent the other one as clear cut (S4 requires some of her own steadfastness to fade in order for her to grow, too) she is the main proponent as she signs, “Forget Karim. This is not about him. What life do you want?” and expresses that Janai doesn’t have to choose between a life with her and a life as queen: “Just have two cakes.” 

With that in mind, let’s talk about 

Aaravos and Rayla as Callum’s Two Paths in S4 Beyond (+ Bonus Claudia in S2)

Season 4 takes literally every chance it has to emphasize Aaravos and Rayla’s thematic opposition of each other in Callum’s life, as well as the according parallels that come with it (down to having two separate scenes in which people think he’s going to talk or is talking about Rayla, and he’s actually discussing Aaravos). Callum is “the best thing [she] ever had.” He’s Aaravos’ “favourite,” a human mage tainted by darkness like all the others he’s dried up over the years. Rayla herself is the one to primarily identify this usage. Her own description of Callum in the past has also mirrored this one (minus the magic). 

Z: Aaravos could offer them access to the great mysteries of the universe. [...] Yes, mages were his prey.

She is also the one whose arrival turns Callum away from the mirror - away from the darkness - and toward the light. I don’t think I have to explain the symbolism too much on that one, especially not with Rayla’s letter also in mind: “Making hard choices and going to dark places is an act of love. It’s a gift. So please, let me give you this gift, Callum. Stay safe, and stay in the light” as well as Callum’s reflections from the S2 novelization in 2x08: “What sort of primal could glow in this dark place?”

However, if Rayla is the Light to Aaravos’ darkness (ignoring the cube on her shoulder for a second), what does that tangibly mean? Well luckily, 4x07 also spells this out for us pretty directly in tandem with 4x04. Rayla is the first to react to Callum’s possession, gasping; she’s the one who reaches out to Callum when he goes on his knees, backing down when his eyes are black in shock; she’s also the one who catches him once the possession fades. “Already tainted by darkness,” Aaravos claims, gloating over his control both literally in the present and in the future, “and destined to play right into my hands.” Aaravos is confident he’s going to win the game he’s playing. 

Callum reiterates this in 4x05 to Ezran and in 4x07 to Rayla.

C: You know, when he took control of me and used my whole body like a puppet? [...] When Aaravos possessed me at the Storm Spire, I felt so weak and out of control. I was his puppet. I’m not afraid that he’ll hurt me. 

(Perpetually screaming about the way it cuts back to Rayla solely when there’s the “Or hurt people I care about” line, but moving on.) 

So Aaravos represents Control and a pre-chosen Destiny. These things are terrifying to Callum, who has always prioritized and chased after strengthening his capacity to choose - and to choose how he contributes. Luckily, Rayla likewise spells this out and reminds Callum of it as well. If Rayla is his light, she represents his Agency. 

Not without her faltering (leaving in TTM and leaving him behind in other occasions) but agency and choice is largely what she’s always encouraged for Callum, down to agreeing to get his cube in 1x04 and being the first one to see his potential as a mage in the first place, which Callum acknowledges. 

This is why it’s so important that she rejects his request first hand in 4x07. Callum is so scared he’s trying to remove agency from his own hands by putting it (and his life and death) into hers, but that’s just going to exacerbate the problem. Rayla keeps on reminding him that his agency is in his own hands and how strongly he used to believe that: “Callum, you’re the ‘destiny is a book you write yourself’ guy.” And Callum to his credit tries to follow through on her advice by dropping the Key of Aaravos into the lava; he’s just currently unable to go through with it / to let go of it. 

And I also think it’s entirely intentional that Rayla is the one he’s asking to do this for. Not only in the layers it gives their interpersonal dynamic and understanding of each other, but specifically in the way it’s deliberate for future plot lines, set up, and payoff: if the crew wanted to, they could’ve had Ezran go with Rayla in 4x05, leaving Callum and Soren alone. Callum could’ve asked Soren, a crownguard sworn to protect Ezran and who has done so even when it means killing his family, to kill him instead, but Callum didn’t. The crew didn’t. They chose to orchestrate it like this. 

And, not to mention, they’ve done similar things with Rayla and Callum like this before, all the way back in S2. 

Claudia and Dark Magic

Now, S2 and S4 are very similar in the emotional arcs they give the bulk of the cast, especially Claudia and Callum in particular. Hardly anyone’s emotional arcs (outside of Callum’s sky arcanum) are resolved in S2, merely they are built upon and then driven further to provide a broadening and resolution (for now) in S3. I expect S5 to follow a similar pattern of resolving quite a few things, even if it will leave others disastrously open ended (especially if Aaravos gets out by the end of S5). 

But I’m getting off topic. Claudia in S2 very much represents one path Callum could take: he could choose to go home and sacrifice the mission, which he cites as being��“the hardest thing we’ve ever done” as well as “the most important thing we’ll ever do”. He’s just learnt that primal magic without a primal stone is a nigh impossible path for him, and so Claudia offers her friend an alternative, encouraging his path as a mage in the worst way.

Callum returns to the dark magic book, literally and metaphorically, in 2x07. Seeing an old sketch of Claudia with her tome is what sparks the idea that dark magic is how he can help save Rayla in 2x07 (“I want to go down there with you and be the heroes who stop all the fighting, but I can’t do that! I can’t do anything”) in the wake of feeling helpless/useless. Then he uses her book outright to complete the spell. What he wasn’t willing to do for himself or his own ends, he’s willing to do to protect a loved one.

While, just like in 4x02, Rayla literally turns Callum away from his former path / friend / love interest. This is her mirroring Callum’s own choice of choosing her over Claudia - both in who to ultimately trust when it came down to the wire, but even as a future romantic partner. Not only in the scene on Phoe-Phoe in 2x03

but also literally within the pages of his sketchbook and future spellbook that, as stated, lead to the decision of him doing dark magic in the first place. Rayla, despite being a representation by and large of Callum’s path as a primal mage, is the hinge that causes him to chase it down on her behalf anyway and in spite of the fact he knows she would hate it.

By the end of S2, specifically 2x08 The Book of Destiny, it seems pretty clear that Callum’s has firmly shut down a more active pursuit of dark magic, with his infamous, “No, I get to choose who I want to be! Destiny is a book you write yourself!” and his subsequent connection to the Sky arcanum. Although 2x08 does give hints that Callum’s journey with dark magic and pre-written destinies is perhaps not entirely laid to rest, as it features these shots, I might add:

Paths Converging

Okay, so Callum was given choices represented by Claudia and Rayla in S2, refusing the temptation and possibility of being a dark mage, and thereby subsequently choosing Rayla. Now he’s being given two paths - one in light and one in shadow - in S4.

But without the same merits of temptation (at least for now) which is probably why Aaravos outright possessed him to begin with; Callum may need a different manipulation playbook than Aaravos’ other pawns. Okay, great? What does this all mean, though? Or least, what could it possibly mean?

Remember how I said Aaravos and Rayla are put in thematic opposition to one another for Callum in S4? Yeah - here’s where the symbolism gets a bit muddled, because Rayla shows up with the cube of Aaravos on her shoulder, glowing and pointing downward. In the first 3 seasons, the Key was more often shown with the Star primal at various angles, not necessarily right side up (the primal symbol itself) or upside down (Aaravos’ symbol). But that changes at certain key moments, specifically once the Key is aligned with Aaravos, and how all the runes are shown to be upside down in the dark magic dream. 

If Rayla showing up is truly meant to just be agency, then why have the cube - the same cube featured in Callum’s 4x04 intro, directly linking it to Aaravos’ control of Callum in some capacity - on her shoulder at all? And even if you’re like “well, they wanted to make sure you’d notice Stella making it glow,” the cuddlemonkey could’ve picked it up and not gone directly to Rayla’s shoulder, disassembling the shot. Or they could’ve, y’know, had Rayla with the cube on her shoulder right side - agency side - up. But they didn’t. 

This goes back to the Light and Dark dichotomy with both being represented by Aaravos. Dark isn’t always clear cut bad (just look at Claudia’s hair) and light isn’t always clear cut good (the cube flashing a bright light as Callum’s transformation into a literal pawn is completed). A chessboard has both black and white squares. Rayla’s explicit return, as said by Soren, is “kind of good and kind of bad.” Which brings us back to this exchange from the S1 novelization, as always, in which Callum and Rayla discuss moonberries and deathberries:

“So they look identical,” Callum said. “But they might kill you or they might save you.” “Exactly.” Rayla smiled. “Just like me.” 

Again, most of this points to Rayla saving Callum, and given that a large part of her clearly doubts her capacity to save anyone, anymore (“We can’t save everyone, Soren”) in ways that weren’t present in her youth, Rayla saving Callum from Aaravos’ brainwashing - Callum choosing her as his path, literally, over Aaravos, after all this foreshadowing, makes the most straight forward sense. Callum gets to choose and pick his own destiny (her) and Rayla gets to be restored as someone heroic who can save the people she loves (him, and possibly later on her parents). 

Which would be a perfectly happy ending - if we weren’t still on season five of seven. And if season four didn’t have a massive theme of resolving dichotomies, and reconciling dualities. 

Aaravos’ control extending past the ‘resolution’ of the brainwashing plotline would also make sense. There’s more dramatics / more at stake emotionally if Callum is in his right mind and plays into Aaravos’ clutches anyway. Even the awareness of his possible fate from the start, even escaping the brainwashing, wouldn’t be enough to escape his Destiny. It also emphasizes Rayla’s loss. She did everything she could to possibly protect him, including leaving and hurting for two years, and then she shows up right in time to watch herself be helpless to protect him all over again. How’s that for tragic?

Which is to say: I don’t think, ultimately for the next arc of the story, that choosing Rayla or Aaravos is mutually exclusive. I think whether it’ll be what leads Callum to Aaravos’ possession, or what follows after it, Rayla will be what causes Callum to fall (at least temporarily) into his clutches or carrying out his plans. Kill you or save you. Light and dark. Callum refused dark magic until he felt like he was backed into a corner in S2, and going to lose her. Callum is also likely going to almost kill her and his friends. If Rayla is surviving that, and saving him, why wouldn’t he also be saving her?

Two cakes, where you save and free the person you love more than anyone alongside the person you hate and fear the most, and what’s worse, is that you both simultaneously gave him the tools he needed to do exactly this all along. 

[anthropologyruinseverything]

Updating the Fanfic!

“Got You” Part 4 - 8.3k words

Finally chapters and epilogue!

Note - I am working on writing dialogue heavy scenes in my novels, I apologize if anything seems stilted or needs work & welcome any feedback as always

🚨Very mature content ahead! No one under 18, sorry!🚨

Chapter 7

Aurora POV

“Josh…”

“We don *have* to say anything specific. These things, it’s just gonna be hard to keep it from Jon anyway. Can’t ever hide shit from each other.”

I nodded but it didn’t make me feel any better. It was easy to accept that he had strong bonds to his family, I just didn’t know how that felt. Everything still felt new and raw, I wasn’t even a whole 72 hours into this relationship before he’s talking about letting people know. It felt rushed and I couldn’t tell if I would feel that way normally or just because of the situation.

“Okay.” His eyes narrowed, my tone must not have been very convincing.

“Bullshit. You better learn t’speak up for yourself ‘round here.”

Crossing my arms I tried to force the words out of my throat. It wasn’t easy, I’d never been asked directly how I felt about things. Not unless I was going to be punished for those feelings.

“Promise you won’t be angry?”

Understanding dawned in his eyes and his whole face softened. Gently he tucked a loose strand of my crazy hair behind an ear. “Promise.”

“It feels rushed. This-us-I don’t even know what we are. I don’t know what’s safe to assume or not. I’m nervous. What if they don’t like me? Or thin-mmph!”

Josh cut me off by pressing his lips to mine with a grin. His hands ran gently over my arms and back up to stop at my shoulders with a comforting pressure. “Relax baby girl. You and Trinity are gonna make a great team and Jon’s gon love you just because. It’s me they’re gonna be mad at.”

That didn’t make sense. Why would they be mad at him when he’d saved me? “Why?”

With a groan he swiped a hand over his face. “Cuz anyone with sense would assume I’m completely takin advantage of you. Hell I am. Never shoulda touched you.”

Tears built in my eyes as fear rippled through me again when his face became clouded with guilt. What if he decided he didn’t really want me or this was all too wrong? I didn’t want that. My heart hurt at the thought of not feeling him close anymore.

“But-but-“

“Shhh, baby.” His calloused hands cupped my face and his thumbs ran along my jaw. “Doesn’t mean I plan t’stop.”

My emotions were a roller coaster and I really didn’t appreciate him sending me for another loop. I reared back and punched him in the shoulder, not hard enough apparently, but he was right again about winning games. He acted as if I’d dislocated it, making a dramatic noise and falling to his knees in front of me, effective in making me laugh as he’d planned.

When he started running his hands up and down my thighs while kissing my stomach through the soft cotton dress he’d presented me earlier my laughter dissolved into soft sighs. I gripped the counter and tried to grit my teeth in an effort to hold onto my frustration.

“Not fair.”

He was pushing the knee length hem up past my waist with one hand while the other ran two fingers over my clothed slit. Even through the underwear the sensation made me twitch, my hips seeking more. As much as my body wanted it I needed to think, to get ready. I pushed him away

“Stop it.”

The twist of his lips was contrite but he stood and guided me to the table. “Here, sit and I’ll make us somethin to eat.”

“What do we tell them?” Fidgeting I realized for the first time since texting Josh I didn’t have my phone. “Dammit.”

“Hmm?” He raised an eyebrow at me.

“My phone. Oh man, my laptop. How am I gonna get schoolwork done?” All the overwhelming feelings that felt like they were hovering just behind a dam threatened to spill over. Panic tightened my chest and made my head swim, I dropped it into my hands, grinding the heels of my palms into my eyes. Josh was by my side right away, murmuring soft, comforting words in my ear while he petted my hair.

“Hey, hey, you gotta breathe Aurora. We’re gonna take care of all that, I was just waiting for you to feel better before I brought it up. Get you a new phone, new computer, new clothes, all of it, whatever you need.”

Instead of stopping my tears his words broke the dam and I started crying again, this time in a weird mix of sadness, stress, gratitude and love. It was hard to believe he cared so much but I had no choice but to trust him. Not something I was inherently unhappy about but also not something I was used to. Everyone in my life had let me down so far. Would Josh really be different?

“Let it out baby.” He cradled me against his shoulder and let me sob. Faster than before I felt the immense waves of emotions subsiding and my cries faded only for my stomach to growl loudly.

Josh laughed, rubbing my neck and kissing my forehead as he stood and went about fixing sandwiches.

“Thanks.”

“You don’t have to thank me but you’re welcome. As for your first question, we’re gonna tell ‘em the truth. I don’t like lying to Jon an there’s no point. Now, what we tell everyone else may be different. But don’t worry bout that tonight.”

I was struggling with the thought of talking to his closest relative, I couldn’t conceive the thought of more people right now. Taking a bite of my meal I nodded, using the time I needed to chew to think over what I wanted to say.

“I don’t really understand your need to tell him but I can be okay with it. But can we keep it at them for now please?”

“Course baby.”

“I really miss Jason, can’t wait to hug him.” The little boys love would be a much needed balm right now.

“Me too.”

It felt good to be listened to even if I didn’t understand how I was feeling. I must have zoned out because Josh laid a hand over one of my and called my name quietly.

“You with me Rori?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you really wanna be together? We don’t-“ he paused and worked his jaw for a second “-don’t have to be together ya know. I’ll make sure you’re okay and I’m gonna keep paying you for taking care of Jason. If you know, you wanna leave at some point.” He was squeezing my hand now, almost to the point of pain.

I loved his touch. Raising my gaze from where our hands rested on the table to his dark eyes I swallowed and tried to make sure whatever I said next captured what I wanted to say. ‘Yeah, duh’ didn’t seem right.

“You asked me earlier and my answer is the same. No body else I’ve met has made me feel like this.” I paused and tilted my head in thought. “I like our lives together so far. I don’t wanna go anywhere. Just scared. Like it’s too good to be true.”

He nodded. “You been through a lot, hell I don’t hardly know what all, but we can make something outta this, something real good. Just gotta do the work.”

“Now you sound like the school counselor.” I felt my lips quirk into a grin when he made a face.

“Ugh don’t remind me how young you are. And I sound like that cuz I went to therapy. You’re gonna go too.” Now that surprised me.

“You go to therapy?”

“Yeah. Ever since little man was born. Can’t be mad all the time with a kid around, ya know?” He tilted his head and smiled with a shrug.

“Yeah. I don’t even know my dad’s name.” I laughed when he winced. “It’s okay. I’ve have a long time to make peace with it.”

“Still. I know it’ll take some time but I want you to trust I’m not gonna go anywhere or hurt you or throw you out.” I don’t know how he read my mind so well but I appreciated hearing it all.

“Now c’mere.” Pulling me into his lap Josh buried his face in my neck, nipping and kissing and licking softly while he massaged my thigh. Smacking his shoulder I shrieked a laugh.

“You’re the worst!”

“Oh you have no idea.” And with that he slid a hand up my dress again, pressing that most sensitive spot while his lips worked their way to my ear. “Don’t want you thinkin of sad stuff. Want you all hot and bothered and moaning.”

He got his wish as he worked me with his hand until I was clutching his shoulders and making a mess in his lap. Laying against his chest as the aftershocks receded I closed my eyes and let the remaining exhaustion steal me under again. My last coherent thoughts were on his voice murming to me softly.

“I got you baby, Daddy’s gonna keep you safe, I promise. You’re home with me now.” I thought I dreamed the last part but I would have sworn he said, “I love you.”

—-

Jey POV

Carrying the small woman in my arms was becoming a habit I didn’t want to get rid of. I loved how she melded into me as if she was fucking custom fitted. Loved how easily she let me maneuver her and the warmth of her curves. Loved her laugh and her accent and the way she moved.

I loved Aurora Begay.

Goddamit.

It wasn’t easy to come to terms with the fact that I was, indeed, taking advantage of her situation. It was impossible not to be touching her all the time, like I needed to make sure she was really here, really okay and really wanted me back. I wanted her to forget the bad she’d been through but was also painfully aware that isn’t how it works.

Settling her sleeping form on the sofa I went to work on the house. There wasn’t much to do without little man leaving a trail of crumbs and toys behind him. Something a dog would be good for helping clean up. An idea occurred to me. Maybe Aurora would like a companion? Jason would lose it for a dog.

I decided we were going to the local shelter if that’s what Rori ended up wanting. Running the easy mop over the floor I looked over at her on the couch. I’d do just about whatever she wanted to make her happy, something I had a feeling fancy things wouldn’t accomplish but another being to love and be loved by would.

Jason. I was thankful they already got on so well and that he was so young. At three there wouldn’t be much of a difference in his perception of the situation. If anything, having ‘his Rori’ around more often and closer would be a good thing in his mind. Once I was satisfied with the state of the downstairs I settled in next to her and checked the time. Almost 7, my brother would be rolling up any minute.

Reaching over I nudged her shoulder. “Hey baby, wake up.”

“Hmm?” She stretched and looked disoriented upon opening her eyes at first but smiled when they landed on me. Again I tugged her close to me, enjoying the smell of her hair and the way she giggled when my beard tickled her neck.

“They gon be here soon. You feel ready? Need to do anything?”

No sooner than she shook her heard no the doorbell rang. I could see the anxiety flicker in the way her brows drew together and her lips tightened. Kissing her forehead I went to let them in.

“It’ll be okay, I promise.”

My brother and his family tumbled in like usual, talking and laughing about something or other while handing a waving Jason over to me for a hug. Trinity noticed Aurora standing in the living room first and turned to me with a confused expression. She nudged Jonathan and he did the same, before Jason finally noticed her from my arms. His scream of joy was piercing.

“MY RORI HERE!”

Rushing to him with a huge smile I was happy to see she wasn’t shy about showing her love for him. Her whole face was heart stopping as she swept him away from me and his chubby arms locked her neck in a vice.

“Sure am little dude!”

“Let’s move this to the dining room.” Neither Jon nor Trinity were satisfied but did what I asked. “Aurora? Can you start setting up while I get drinks baby?”

I made sure to add that to the end and avoided meeting their gazes. They’d have it explained soon enough.

Of course my twin followed me through the swinging door into the kitchen, putting a hand against the refrigerator door so I couldn’t open it before he finally spoke. “Excuse me.”

I sighed. “Yeah?”

“The fuck you calling Jason’s nanny “baby” for? Why is she here Joshua?”

I knew he’d be mad but using my whole first name let me know we were starting off at a solid 7.5 on the Richter scale.

“I’ll explain everything after dinner and the kids are occupied k?”

He pushed away with a huff, his anger palpable but helped me gather beers and cups of water. When we got back to the dining room Aurora and Trinity had all three kids settled in their seats as they portioned out food, making small talk about the kids. I was relieved they seemed to have slipped into conversation on their own. Dinner was nice but quick as they caught Aurora and I up in what everyone had done that weekend. It was obvious they were rushing and I couldn’t blame them, I may or may not have dropped the “baby” just to aggravate the situation but also to give them a heads up in a weird way.

Aurora made up bowls of ice cream for the kids and set them up in front of Jason’s favorite movie, ‘Cars’ before returning to the dining room.

“Now look-“

“What the fuck are you doin dawg?”

“Josh I would not have expected this from you.”

They both started talking at once and I gave up trying.

“He saved me.”

The table went quiet and all three of us turned to Aurora who looked nervous as usual.

“Wanna elaborate?” I appreciated that Jon reigned his tone in when speaking to her.

Hazel eyes looked to me for permission. Taking her hand I gave it a squeeze. “Like I said earlier, you only have to tell them that you’re comfortable with.”

Her lips tilted with a slight smile, relieved. All she needed was to be reassured. Taking a deep breath she started explaining.

“Long story short my mom and her boyfriend sold me to a friend of his for the night.”

The shift in their faces and postures was immediate, Trinity looking especially upset. Her own nine year old daughter was just in the other room and I knew she would never let anything like that happen to her. When they remained quiet Aurora kept talking.

“I sent Josh a text before they took my phone and he got there before anything really awful happened.”

I wrinkled my nose and couldn’t help but interject when I felt a hot spike of anger recalling the scene. “Define ‘really awful’ then because that’s not enough for what I walked in on.”

She bit her lip and looked at the table. “He was beating me.”

“With a fuckin leather belt.”

“Josh.” Trinity looked at me pointedly and I remembered what I said. Shit.

“M’sorry Rori.”

Now she squeezed my hand. “It’s okay. You were upset. But the point is you got me out of the bad place. I already had feelings for Josh, it all just kind of bubbled over with this.”

I snorted at the upset part and she smiled. Yeah, “upset” if that meant “seeing red and ready to commit a couple felonies”.

Trinity smiled at Aurora reassuringly and Jonathan put his head in his hands and groaned. I glared at my twin.

“What?”

“Can’t never be cut and dry wit’ you fool. It don’t look good and you know it.” I knew what he meant. We weren’t movie star famous but still decently well known athletes.

“Well at least you get to control the narrative when it does come out. Let’s be grateful for the privacy that’s come with the lockdown, at least in regard to this.” Trinity always had the best perspective. “No one has to know the details, it’s not like we’re going to start calling the news.” She smacked Jon on his arm making him look up and sigh.

“Nah, definitely not. But I do think you should keep it quiet at work for now.” I’m glad we were on the same page there.

“Plan to.”

“Okay. Well, I don’t think lecturing either of you is going to get us anywhere.” Trinity clapped her hands together lightly. “So how about this. Aurora, you and me are going to go outside and talk while the guys get the kitchen cleaned up. Let’s go.”

Aurora looked at me for permission again and I nodded, understanding now wasn’t the time to mention all the habits she’d developed over years of abuse. If things went the way I hoped, we’d have the rest of our lives together to work on it. I watched as she followed the older woman outside, hoping, needing them to get along.

Once it was just me and Jonathan in the kitchen he let nudged my arm, giving me a dirty look. “Well?”

“Well what?”

“You done the deed yet? I mean, she’s real pretty-“ I cut him off by shooting him with water but he just laughed. Asshole always knows how to get under my skin but at least I knew he wasn’t pissed anymore.

“Nah. Trying to give her time to heal.” He nodded and turned the dish he was drying in his hands but I caught the relief in his face.

“You really care about her?”

It was my turn to nod. “Yeah. She brings me peace and loves Jason, you see that.”

“Mhmm.” He seemed to really be chewing on what he wanted to say. “Look, just, I don’t know man, don’t break her heart or something stupid. I don’t want you to get hurt either, feel me?”

Ever the big brother, even if it was by less than ten minutes. I clapped him on the back.

“Preciate it.”

Chapter 8

Aurora POV

The following day I stood in the pool, helping Jason as he sorted out paddling around the shallow end. Josh had to go into work today, something he was not happy about since I didn’t have a phone yet. I’d assured him everything would be fine for the six or so hours he’d be gone. He’d fussed his way out the door, declaring he was ordering me one as soon as he had a chance.

Great, I’d said.

Have a good day, I’d said.

What I didn’t say was how much I would really miss him or how anxious I was about being without him. Some strange fear had taken root, a fear Danny and Paul would somehow find me and try to drag me back with them.

It was due to this fear I screamed when the poor delivery man in a bright blue vest and matching mask waltzed through the backyard gate. Jason started to cry, I felt tears burn my own eyes and the poor kid holding the small brown package also looked ready to cry.

“Miss I’m so so sorry! The directions said to bring the box to the back door.”

“It’s okay, I’m sorry guys! Jason, it’s okay!” The little boy clung to me but quieted as I comforted them both. “It’s really okay, I just-I thought you might be someone else for a second. Here, I’ll take that. Do you want a water? Or juice?”

After getting the poor guy who wasn’t any older than me a bottle of water I took Jason inside and set the package on the table, forgetting about it.

Having the little dude to take care of was a great way to keep me from giving in too much to how I was feeling. I wanted to cry but I couldn’t right now so I took a few deep breaths and replayed the conversation I’d had with Trinity back in my head while getting Jason into fresh clothes.

“Do you want to be here?” She’d asked right out of the gate.

I’d been honest and told her I wasn’t unhappy about it but also aware my options were slim for now.

She’d asked a few more probing questions being careful to be polite and not make me feel like I was being interrogated. I got the sense she was genuinely concerned about my well being and not being nosy or manipulating. It was a strange but comforting feeling to talk to her so openly. Josh trusted her so I would to.

Jason tugged my hand and we were off to build with his blocks. I put a toddler appropriate dinosaur show on the television, hoping that maybe some of the information would sink in.

Trinity had offered to talk further, saying she would be happy to help with anything I needed, including finding my own place if I ever chose. It wasn’t an encouragement but more letting me know I had options beyond Josh for aid if I needed it. Looking at Jason as he stacked blocks only to knock them over with an ecstatic shout of destruction I laughed.

I still wanted my own life, still planned to finish my degree and become a published author. I just also wanted this. Maybe it was the chaos I’d lived with for so long that made me crave the stability I felt here. Maybe I was just young and hormonal and experiencing things for the first time.

I didn’t care. Being here, with Josh and Jason made me happy and right now that was enough.

“Wanna help me get dinner ready?” Jason dropped his blocks like they were on fire. Cars, sharks and cooking with Rori were life. At least this week but like all things with toddlers, that could change.

Losing myself in the process that is cooking with a toddler I tried not to worry too much about falling behind on my class work. I was usually pretty ahead and realistically I hadn’t even missed a class yet but I couldn’t help it. I wanted to do well. Jason and I were invested in making fry bread dough, both of us covered in a decent amount of flour when a car door from the driveway signaled Josh’s arrival home.

We pounced on him halfway through the door, the flour stuck to his sweaty face and torso making it look like he’d fought a ghost. Scooping Jason into one arm he used his other to encircle my waist and pulled me in for a deep kiss, earning an “ewwwww!” from the little dude. “Did y’all miss me or somethin?”

I giggled as we parted, both at him and the look on Jason’s face.

“Just a little.”

He pinched my bottom and laughed before leaning down to whisper in my ear with a low, husky voice. “I’ll show you how much I missed you later baby.”

I shivered and my mouth went dry, memories of the last few days coursing straight to my core. Collecting myself I pushed away and took Jason back, turning for the kitchen. Hopefully he didn’t notice just how much he affected me.

“Let’s go finish dinner!”

-

We ate and did some online shopping before Jason’s bedtime rolled around. He was reluctant to go down but when I pinky promised I’d be there when he woke up he agreed to settle. Halfway through Stellaluna and he was out.

Josh’s hands were on my waist as soon as we made it to the hallway, steering me towards his bedroom. My mind went blissfully quiet and my bones felt warm and heavy. Knowing I was safe in his arms was probably the sexiest thing of all.

My dress was gone before we made it to the bed, Josh kicking the door shut gently behind him while tugging off his tshirt. “Thought about you all damn day.”

I didn’t get to reply before his lips descended on mine while his hands carefully navigated around my bruises. He came a little too close to a particularly bad one and I twitched away. “Shit, how’re you feeling baby? Did I hurt you?”

Shaking my head I kissed his chest, focusing on the tattoos over his pec. “No, just a little close. Don’t stop, please don’t stop.”

That familiar throb was so bad and he hadn’t even touched me there yet. Laying on the bed he dispatched of his sweatpants and pulled me on top of him. “Here, like this.” Guiding me he helped me get situated so I was straddling him, my knees on either side of his hips and my wetness pressed to his hardness.

Leaning up a little he gently bit one of my nipples with a smirk. “Now move for Daddy.”

“How?” Heat rushed through me and I thought I would cum right then.

“Roll them hips, find a rhythm you like.”

Anchoring my hands on his shoulders he chuckled darkly when I couldn’t suppress another shiver. “Oh you just so needy huh baby?”

My mouth wasn’t working, I just moaned in reply as I did what he instructed. The friction of my clit against his cock created an unbelievable sensation even through the clothe of our underwear. For a second I felt worry he wasn’t enjoying it but he chased that fear away with a groan from deep in his chest.

“Oh Josh, oh my god it feels so good!” The words finally tumbled forth in a heated whisper. One of his hands fisted in my hair and his kissed my throat before placing a hard bite at the juncture where my neck meets my shoulder.

I keened, my orgasm building rapidly as my movements became erratic.

“I know you wanna scream baby, but you’re gonna bite me instead. Shoulder, bite my shoulder when you cum.”

He didn’t have to tell me twice. Not knowing any better I didn’t hold back as I sank my teeth in when I felt myself shatter in waves. He rewarded me with a euphoric noise I’d never heard him make before, my name in a stuttering groan. I filed that away for later. Did he like pain?

Rolling us carefully so as not to hurt my bruised back he reversed our positions, tugging his boxers down to free his manhood, fully hard and dripping precum. Bracing himself with a hand next to my head he took my hand and wrapped it around himself. I loved the feeling of his slick member in my hand and gladly took over stroking him so he could use both hands to hold himself up. He grunted softly, bucking into my hands when I got an idea. It hurt to tighten my core enough to lean up but I didn’t care as I captured on of his nipples with my teeth. Not crazy hard but enough to hurt.

Best decision ever.

He *whimpered* as a hand caught the back of my head. “Ah, fuck, good girl.”

Carefully I did it again, sucking the sensitive nub this time and he came with a shudder and gasp, hot ropes shooting over my stomach as he pulsed in my hand.

Falling back I smirked up at him as he panted, raising an eyebrow in question.

“Imma quick study Daddy.”

With a soft growl he bent down to kiss me, thrusting his tongue deep into my mouth in a dominating fashion. Inwardly I I smiled as I remained submissive and pliant beneath him, a touch of satisfaction at knowing I’d figured out something he liked without having to be told.

I couldn’t wait to figure out more.

——

Jey POV

I checked Jason’s overnight bag for the umpteenth time, as if it would make my cousin appear any faster. Two weeks and we’d been busy with schedules shifting, adopting a puppy who would come home from his foster family in a few days and Aurora fretting over her class work as she struggled with varying bouts of anxiety and depression and horny. Some days she couldn’t get enough and less often she would wave me off, being “touched out”. It stung the first time but she explained it was nothing personal, it was usually if Jason had been extra clingy during the day while I was busy. Something else the dog might help with.

Tonight we would finally have the house to ourselves again, Jason having been invited to a sleepover at Joe’s house. Aurora’s bruises had faded days ago and her crying bouts had mostly ceased, except for when a nightmare struck. It stoked my pride to see her slowly getting comfortable, her confidence building Lego brick by Lego brick.

When my older cousin finally pulled up to collect Jason I met him outside and by her own choice, Aurora remained indoors. Jonathan and Trinity were plenty for her right now. It hadn’t been the easiest thing to keep from Joe, he’d noticed me on my phone all the time and overall better, more focused attitude. But he hadn’t asked and I hadn’t offered.

“You good man?” Being him he hopped out to help me secure Jason into the toddler seat in the back of the SUV. It was such a soccer mom car I couldn’t help but smile every time he pulled up in it, happy as a fucking lark.

“Yeah.” I passed Jason off who was more than happy to see his ‘uncle’. “You, big guy?”

Nodding he confirmed he was doing good and so were his wife and kids and I found myself nodding but not listening as he filled me in on their lives. Instead I was daydreaming about quivering golden thighs and a southern accent singing my praises when he waved a big hand in front of my face, looking bemused.

“Josh? His bag? Hey, earth to Josh?”

I realized I was still holding Jason’s overnight bag in my hand, hanging at my side.

“I’m sorry dawg. Jus distracted is all.” I handed over the bag and he laughed.

“Yeah, I can tell. Anything you wanna talk about?”

Sucking my teeth I shook my head. Part of me did want to tell him, knew he might even be able to offer some advice for how to deal with the issues Aurora was facing and how to help her. But I had to respect her request.

“Nah, thanks though. You know I’ll come to you.” That seemed to satisfy him for the moment and he hugged me tightly before sliding into the drivers seat.

“I’ll let you know when we’re there. Want me to call you?”

“It’s okay, y’all just have fun alright?”

He nodded and I waved at them as he took off. Not that I didn’t want to hear from them, I certainly wanted the text, but I wanted to focus of Aurora for the night. There was no doubt in my mind my son was safe.

I waited until they’d turned out of sight to head back inside, nerves twisting in my chest. For the last few days I’d kept my hands to myself for the most part, wanting her needy and desperate tonight. If her squirming last night was any indication she was ready. I’d soothed her distressed little whimpers with a quiet promise of “tomorrow baby”.

Sure enough she was waiting at the top of the stairs dressed in nothing but one of my tshirts and her underwear, simple cotton boyshorts. My body stirred to life at the sight as I climbed the stairs slowly, like I was stalking her. Aurora’s eyes widened and she backed up a few steps, hesitation flickering across her face. We’d established a safe word this morning, “code red”, and everything would stop. She knew that’s all she had to say.

“You ready for me baby?”

Her little pink tongue darted out to lick her plush lips and she nodded, eyes fixed on me. Seeing her there, framed in the low light of dusk was something else, it was like her dark auburn hair was on fire and all the different colors in her hazel orbs stood out.

“Gotta say it.”

“I’m ready Daddy.”

This time when I advanced she held her ground, reaching out a hand in an innocent display of trust and willingness. I pulled her close, kissing her cheekbones and lips chastely.

“Yeah?” Her little shivers as I ran my hands up and down her sides fed the hardness growing in my jeans. Biting her earlobe softly before I pressed my lips to the shell of her ear. “Want me to fill you up with my cock? Make that empty feelin you talk about go away?”

She gasped softly when I lightly pinched a nipple through the soft cotton. “Yes please.”

I growled, using my body to push hers towards my bed, and she made a cute noise in her throat. At the doorway I caught her around the waist and cupped her heat through the boyshorts, digging the heel of my hand into her clit when I found the cloth soaked through. “Fuck yeah you are baby. Your poor little body’s cryin for me.”

For whatever reason Aurora’s own desire turned me on harder than I’d been before. Every time my fingers probed her entrance like they were now she was slick. It would have been easy to half-ass the way I handled her but no, I was going to make sure I ruined her for anyone else in the best way.

Sliding my middle finger into her waiting pussy, her walls immediately tightening around it, I dug my palm into her clit harder than before and started making circles. Her head fell back against my chest and she squeezed my arm. “Oh Josh!”

“That’s right baby, this pussy belong to me, you hear me?”

She whined and thrust her hips into my hand. “Yes!”

“Fuck.” I swore, not wanting to wait another second. Removing my hand from her I tugged the shirt off and nudged her backwards gently until she was laid out on the dark blanket. Out of my own clothes quickly I knelt at her feet, finding it cute when she squeezed her legs together.

“Nuh uh baby girl.” Taking her ankles I slowly parted her legs and ran my hands up their smoothness, watching intently at the muscles in her abdomen and thighs jumped in anticipation. Hooking my fingers under remaining garment I tugged it down her legs slowly, carefully, kissing a path down as I did so. The whimper and whines were delicate and sweet, just like her taste. Licking her hard and fast I thrust a finger back into her, making her hips buck.

“Josh, I - oh it feels so good!”

Continuing my assault on her clit with my tongue I very carefully added a second finger to the first, meeting resistance as her body tried to accommodate the change. Pressing forward I stretched her carefully, taking note of how her sounds changed. Pausing I looked up at her.

“How you doin?”

Aurora blinked and shifted her lower body ever so slightly. Her voice was thick with lust when she answered me.

“S’a little uncomfortable but I can take it.”

Slowly, I scissored my fingers within her before hooking them to massage her walls and she gasped.

“Good girl, gotta get you ready for me.”

Repeating the motion over and over again I hoped to prepare her. Sucking her nub between my lips again she dug her hands into my hair, gripping for all she was worth as I anchored her hips with my other arm.

“Yes, yes, oh I’m gonna cum!”

Perfect, I wanted to get her off before we actually had sex. There wasn’t a way for me to make it completely pain free but I was going to try. Like in my fantasies those thighs quivered uncontrollably, her walls clenched and she writhed as her orgasm ripped through her.

Taking my time I slowed my motions, drawing out her pleasure as long as I could before kissing my way back up to her face. Wrapping her arms around my neck Aurora pulled herself up to kiss me deeply, her inexperience showing when she tried to deepen the kiss and our teeth clacked together.

“I’m sorry!”

Laughing I kissed her again, until she was moaning into my mouth and her body shifting beneath me. Her fingers found the top of my boxers and gave a slight tug. Understanding I moved off her and removed them, stroking my leaking cock a few times as I knelt back over her, settling between her knees. She swallowed thickly.

“Point of no return baby. You ready?” I let my fingers trail over her, dipping in slightly to relish the wet heat that would envelope me soon. Biting her lip she nodded.

“Go slow?”

“Course baby.”

My own heart was pounding in excitement. Leaning over I braced myself on an elbow while reaching between us to drag the head of my dick over her slit, loving the way she shook and whimpered. Again she wrapped her arms around my neck and leaned in for a kiss. I pressed the tip into her slowly, wanting nothing more than to thrust hard and fast, but also desperately wanted her to relax and not hurt.

She was so tight and hot and wet it was like heaven. Pushing a little deeper I could see she was becoming uncomfortable when her eyes closed tightly and she took a deep breath.

“That’s it, a little more baby. Just a little more.” Pressing in deeper I groaned when her body fastened around me like a vice, my control was slipping. Aurora panted and wiggled, digging her nails into my shoulders, tears collecting in her eyes.

“Hurts…” I kissed her tears away.

“I know, I know. S’gonna be okay.” Withdrawing until only the very tip remained within her I prayed she’d forgive me for what was gonna come next. Claiming her lips I thrust, deep and hard until I’d bottomed out.

Swallowing her wail I did it again, fisting a hand in her hair and pulling her close while I kept my body supported on my elbow and knees. She cried out and tried to twist away.

“Ow! Ow! Too big! Hurts too much!”

Lost to the sensation of being buried in her I growled, “C’mon baby, relax and take what your Daddy has for you.”

“Josh!” I couldn’t tell what she was feeling but she hadn’t said the safe word so I thrust deep again.

Looking down I could see how she’d painted me with her trust and the last bit of my need to hold back fell away. She belonged to me. Mine. Mine alone.

Heat wound through me, burning in my lower belly as my orgasm built. I hooked her knees over my shoulders and leaned back to take in the sight of our bodies bound together.

Aurora looked ethereal, her skin flushed a beautiful rose gold, hair spread around her like fire and silver tracks on her face from her tears. The words started tumbling out of me as I pumped in and out of her, watching her face change slowly from pain to pleasure.

“I fucking own this pussy, you hear me? You’re mine.”

Her breath caught but she didn’t speak.

I thrust harder, the sounds of our skin meeting driving me more.

“You belong to me, feel me? Another man touches you and I’ll rip his fucking head off.” Her hands clutched at my biceps and she nodded.

“Imma breed this gorgeous pussy over and over, say you want it, tell me who’s fucking you baby.”

“You Daddy, I want you and only you to fill me up forever.” Auroras soft southern accented whisper fell over me like water, burning down my spine to settle in my tightening balls.

“Yeah, that’s right.” I started circling her clit with a thumb and her walls squeezed me even tighter.

Fuck, I was gonna cum soon. Her body was so intoxicating, it was like she’d been custom built to fit me.

“Gonna nut soon baby. Want Daddy to fill you up with my cum?”

She tilted her hips upward and I almost came undone. “Yes!”

“Ah fuck, oh I love you Rori baby!” Her body squeezed around me in another orgasm driving me over the edge into my own. Lights exploded behind my eyelids as my cock pulsed deep within her, over and over as I filled her like I’d promised.

Collapsing, I could hardly keep all my weight off her as I kissed her all over her face and neck. “You did so good baby.”

She sighed and nuzzled into my neck. Carefully, slowly, I withdrew from her and rolled to my side to drink in the sight of her, well fucked and disheveled and the proof I was the only man to touch her painting her thighs. Aurora hesitantly met my gaze.

“Did you mean it?”

“Mean what?”

“You-you said you loved me.” She looked fearful, like I was going to be upset with her for mentioning it.

“Yeah baby, I meant it.” I’d been thinking it a while now, it had just finally come out. May as well own up to it.

Rori gave a small sob of relief before breaking into a perfect smile. “I love you too.”

Leaning in I kissed her again before sliding my arms under her. “Forever, promise baby.”

“Where are we going?”

“Gotta get us cleaned up. Want you ready for round two.” I winked at her and she smiled. “But really, how you feelin?”

“Good, sore but good.” I felt relieved now, not realizing how much I’d been worried she wouldn’t enjoy herself.

“So we saying we love each other now?” I smirked at her as I got the bath started.

Her eyes lit up hopefully. “Is that okay?”

I held her face, kissing her softly. “I love you Aurora Begay.”

“I love you, Joshua Fatu.”

I wasn’t sure I could get any happier than I was now.

Epilogue -

4 1/2 years later, August 2024 SummerSlam

Aurora POV

I didn’t think I’d ever get used to how loud these arenas are. It was worse than walking the stage to get my degree earlier that Spring. My stomach turned over yet again in anxiety as the match progressed and Josh was slung out of the ring. Digging a hand into my bag I clutched desperately for an anti-nausea candy. Joe’s wife Galina put a hand on my shoulder.

“You okay?”

“Oh yeah, just nerves.”

I felt bad fibbing to her but wanted Josh to know before anyone else and I’d intentionally saved the surprise for tonight, knowing he was “going over” in his championship match.

Finally.

Jason screamed and cheered next to me, at almost eight he could just barely see over the barricade. The man Josh was wrestling, Gunther, swaggered by, yelling at us “shut up” and something about “crushing hopes”. Little dude stuck out his tongue and made a “Nyah!” sound and I swear I saw the tall blond laugh as he turned away. In any other circumstance I may have been upset but after meeting the sweet, soft spoken Austrian and had the plans for the interactions explained it didn’t bother me.

At first, integrating into Josh’s life on the road had been difficult, even if I hadn’t expressed it. But eventually I’d adjusted to the constant business, schedule changes and stream of large, imposing friends. My main focus was on keeping Jason’s schoolwork on track as we traveled and I had become an unofficial babysitter of sorts when other superstars who were traveling with their kids needed some extra hands.

Josh’s jealousy had been an issue and still was but we were working through it. Couples therapy was great for helping him realize trust was key and that he’d have to relax and have faith I wasn’t leaving him. On the other hand my traumas and a lifetime of abuse had left me with some bad habits and I’d had to learn he wasn’t going to snap on me suddenly and become someone else.

Like all marriages it was give and take.

The crowd roared again as Josh rallied against some nasty slaps to the chest. I HATED the sound it made and the bruises I’d knew he’d have afterwards but I cheered too. The end was finally approaching and I was ready. We’d been at the venue all day and my feet were killing me.

I may have only been three months along but my back hurt already and sitting in these hard chairs was not helping. Shifting I clutched my chest when Josh climbed to the top rope yet again and threw us a big smirk over his shoulder with a wink. He was wearing that fanged grill he knew I loved and my heart skipped a beat.

I could hear Michael Cole from where I sat. “USO SPLASH USO SPLASH”

1-2-3

To say the arena exploded would have been an understatement. For well over a year now people had been behind “Jey Uso’s” solo run and it was finally paying off as we all jumped to our feet screaming and clapping for him. I didn’t cry until I heard the emotion in Samantha’s voice as she spoke into the microphone.

“AND THE NEW WWE CHAMPION…”

The next fifteen minutes were a blur of celebration and it was another ten after that before we made it to the back. Waiting patiently in guerrilla while everyone took turns congratulating a beaming Josh, who looked absolutely stunning with that big belt slung over his shoulder, I nudged Jason. “I think it’s time little dude.”

I’d only told the little boy my plan right before we’d headed out to ringside, not wanting him to blurt out the news to his dad. He’d been bouncing on his heels ever since we got backstage.

“Finally!” Pulling his hoody off he ran up to his father and grabbed his arm as Josh pulled out of a hug from Bayley.

She noticed Jason’s shirt first pointing and making a bird like noise.

“What’s your shirt-holy shit! Oh my god!”

Josh scrunched up his nose in confusion and made Jason step back a little so he could read it out loud.

“Best Big Brother?”

It took a few seconds for recognition to ripple through the small space, a smile hitting his twins face first as he was still silent and processing.

“No way!”

Cody smirked and smacked Josh on the shoulder. Gunther gave a double thumbs up.

Trinity gawked and shook me a little before pulling me into a hug. “How long!?”

Josh finally turned to me, his face unreadable and everyone quieted a bit again. Normally “Jey Uso” wasn’t the man you could count on to be so still. Panic exploded in my chest. What if I’d been wrong? What if he hadn’t meant it when he said he wanted to try? I replayed him asking me about trying once I graduate. Had I misunderstood?

“For real?” His voice was soft but thick with emotions I couldn’t easily decipher. I rang my hands together and felt Trinity tighten her arm around my shoulders.

I nodded hesitantly. “Yeah, three months.”

Taking a deep breath he hung his head and pinched the bridge of his nose for a few seconds. Cody and Jon looked concerned.

“Josh? You good man?”

When he finally moved it was to take several strides and pull me into his arms in a big hug. It wasn’t until then that I realized he was crying.

“Josh?”

“They’re happy tears baby.” He finally straightened and swiped at his face before pulling Jason into our hug. ��Today’s been a good fucking day you guys.” Everyone else in the area relaxed and went back to congratulating us.

By the time we made it back to the hotel that night everyone was exhausted, Josh had to carry a sleeping Jason back to our room. Curling up I relished the feeling of his arms around me, my back nestled to his front as he rubbed my bare stomach.

“You sure? You still so little baby.” He kissed my neck and nuzzled the spot behind my ear, a habit I’d learned meant he wanted sex even if we couldn’t in the moment.

“I’m sure. Gonna go for the first ultrasound next week, made sure to schedule it for when you’d be home.”

It amazed me when he was ready to go after a long match but also I found it insanely hot when came back all sweaty and disheveled. More than once he’d tugged me into a closet in a random arena for a post match quickie. Now he nipped my ear.

“Part a why I love you so much is cuz you’re always doin thoughtful shit like that. Thank you.”

Tears burned my nose and this time I didn’t fight them. When he looked worried I shook my head and repeated his earlier statement. “Happy tears. Never dreamed I’d be so happy.”

“I got you baby, I love you.”

“Love you too.”

That night I dreamed of twins, a boy and a girl, with dark curly hair and coffee colored eyes running back and forth across a wrestling ring.

The End