#(the author cannot guarantee it will ever get better)

[aziraphalalala]

Good Omentober #3 "Fall"

Poor Crowley. He can't seem to catch a break in my writing these days. I hope one of these days I can give him something nice, for a change. Maybe Aziraphale has some ideas? 😏

^^^^^

He could not see. In fact, he wasn’t sure he could feel anything. He was numb. Numb, and freezing cold, and… Empty.

He couldn’t feel Her.

He couldn’t feel Her!

He wailed wordlessly out into the void.

No response. He was alone.

He was a brittle cast surrounding an empty space where Her Light used to be. 

But wait, what was this? He was holding something. It was the crank handle, for the engine of creation. He remembered. He clasped it tightly to his chest, and cried helpless tears.

[random-and-average]

Yandere Maruki Takuto Headcanons

Author's Note: What can I say? I simp for the clumsy man with the messiah complex. (Actually, I just simp for a good amount of the Confidant cast because you cannot tell me that Ryuji, Akechi, Haru, Joker, Yusuke, and Iwai wouldn't treat their loved one right. Do I have a problem? Maybe.)

Content Warning(s): Mentions of psychological manipulation, possible OOC Maruki

Regardless of how you met him, Maruki will always cherish you

Rain or shine, you can guarantee that he will do everything in his power to make you as happy as you make him—which is an amount that cannot possibly be quantified due to the fact that you make him so extraordinarily and immensely joyous

(And when I mean everything in his power, I truly mean everything in his power, but I’ll address that point later)

Even if the two of you are polar opposites, he will try his best to make you smile in his own way

I’d like to imagine that he’s a hopeless romantic too

While his career field usually makes one more practical and pragmatic, Dr. Maruki still holds onto the dream of being able to share an idealized romance with someone

Because of this, he’ll often write letters and poems professing his love for you, even though you two might already be in a relationship

Romantic dinners are a frequent occurrence, and they’ll either be at a place that is very expensive, significant to the two of you, or well-known for serving your favorite type of food

Just imagine that you want fried chicken, and he takes you out for some gourmet place that serves the best fried chicken you ever had in your life

Obviously, he always pays the bill

In fact, you never get to see the final price of the meal because he refuses to let you see the bill in the first place

Don’t worry though! He doesn’t mind the price

Seeing your face light up in delight makes the cost of the food completely worth it

There’s only one problem: he likes keeping all of this a secret from you in order to surprise you, but his clumsy disposition often results in you finding out anyway

In a perfect world, you would wake up to an eloquent letter—filled with nothing but compliments and thanks—right beside your pillow; though in actuality, Maruki trips on air and faceplants onto the ground with his letter in hand, waking you up immediately and spoiling the surprise

(In that situation, he prepares an amazing breakfast as an apology despite any protests from you that he doesn’t have to apologize)

When it comes to comforting you (and, if needed, providing advice), Maruki never fails to make to feel better as he’ll go out of his way to make the space comfortable for you before sitting next to you and listening to whatever is troubling you

If you prefer him to comfort you physically, he’ll give you all the hugs and cuddles you want until you feel better

Unless he has to deal with something extremely important, his time will be entirely dedicated to you and reducing your sorrow

(Although, it’d be important to note that advice he will provide might be a bit biased)

On another note, you can bet that he will always have your favorite snacks and candy on hand

But, don't think that Maruki is a complete softie

However, I can't blame you if you do think that way since he only shows you his more vulnerable and affectionate side

For all of the man's clumsiness, he is still capable of perfectly executing a malicious scheme

This is mainly done through psychological and emotional manipulation

(As one, the doctor literally studied the mind, and two, he is aware that he doesn't pose that much of a physical threat)

Any potential romantic rivals are driven away, believing that their flaws make them worthless individuals that burdens others

Your friends/family that don't like him become ostracized as he makes them out to be overly critical people who has it out for him for no apparent reason

And after all of this manipulation, he is still seen as the perfect boyfriend, or husband (｡ᐤヮᐤ ��), that is head over heels in love with you

(Okay, so the last part is true, but not the first part)

Unless he wants you to know of his schemes, you are most likely none the wiser to his wicked ways!

Once his Persona fully awakens and he takes control of reality, Maruki will make the world your paradise, even if it's at the expense of other people

(I did say he'd do everything in his power to make you happy)

You wish that you didn't have to work a day in your life? Suddenly, you are a billionaire as some mysterious benefactor chose you as the lucky person to receive all of his money!

You really miss a deceased loved one or a pet? They never passed away, silly!

You want someone gone? Who are you talking about? No one even remembers they existed in the first place.

(He decided that simply removing them from reality was the best possible method of getting rid of them without causing emotional suffering onto those who don't deserve it)

"I love you so, so, so much, sweetheart. You're my entire world, just as I am yours."

[strawberryamanita]

Y'all I'm sorry but this is making me freak the fuck out

I know this is gonna probably cause people to call me a terrible person, but I'm just gonna risk it anyhow because this is getting really scary.

If you are a USAmerican,

Please vote for Biden this year.

I am 1000% aware that the genocide in Gaza is being perpetuated by Biden's administration. It's not good at all. I don't like the guy either, and like every President the US has ever had, he will burn in Hell, guaranteed.

But if we don't vote, then Trump is gonna win. This sounds rhetorical, but I ask genuinely: do you think Trump is gonna stop the genocide?

Has Trump ever shown that he cares about a single human being besides himself? The level of misanthropy that idiot is on is remarkable. I personally cannot see him slowing the flow of genocide in any direction; if anything, he might redouble the effort.

I think it was Warren who is tryna warn people that if Trump gets elected again, he'll never leave. I think back to a time during his first term where he said there might one day be a "forever President", and that makes me sick to my fucking stomach. That's not a presidency, that's a monarchy or a dictatorship. That would be the de-facto end of having a say in who's in control until he finally fucking dies -- and not even then, because then the mantle will be passed down to one of his children.

I know the US shouldn't exist in the first place. I am 100% aware of that. They say that empires fall after 250 years, and the US is gonna be 248 years old in July. But unfortunately, it exists right now, and it's full of people who will not survive another four years of Trump.

Again -- I will say it as many times as I need to -- I don't like Biden. I don't like him. He's done some beneficial things, but using his executive powers to speed up a genocide tips the scale completely over back towards hating him.

But Biden will step down when his term is done. I know the bar is in the fucking Mariana Trench, but for the love of God I do not wanna be under Trump for even a minute more. I hate Biden, but I hate Trump more, and that is fueling me, personally, to show up to vote.

At the end of the day, the problem is systemic. Every single authority over the US, since even before Washington, has only cared about hurting people of color and churning up the earth to make money. Our taxes could help improve the lives of US civilians, but instead they are funneled into the trillion-dollar War Machine aimed in every direction, including the US itself. The US commonwealth doesn't matter to the US government. We are human livestock who generate revenue; no matter how many changes of hands our money makes for hopes of a better cause inside the US, every last penny will find its way back into the War Machine or under the dirty ass of a billionaire who should be tarred and feathered in oil and their own paper money.

With all that said. There are US citizens who are enthusiastically pro-Biden right now, and siding with them might just keep us from living in Trump Hell all over again. The bigots have gotten too proud around here, and it makes my blood run cold. My mother doesn't show enthusiasm for ANYTHING the way she shows it for her freedom to hate people loudly and proudly. It makes her come ALIVE. And I know I'm not the only one who's been subjected to this kind of horror show for the last 9 years. Every state of mind curated by the US is a cult, and there is no escape outside of moving away.

Please. Vote. For Biden.

[starlightkun]

love bites ❧ teaser [sungchan]

❧ teaser word count: 746 | full fic: 25.5k ❧ warnings: cursing, talking about like werewolf biting/marking and scenting and stuff, this is a werewolf fic either you’re into this stuff or you’re not lol ❧ genre: fluff, so incredibly fluffy and sweet it should’ve been a warning honestly, established relationship, modern magical creatures au, college au, werewolf sungchan, human reader, ft. siren shotaro, werewolf jeno & various magical neos, same universe as strawberry sunday, sequel to changer ❧ extra info: this is a sequel to changer! it cannot be read as a standalone, you must read changer first! this work is set in the same universe as strawberry sunday but can be read as a standalone! there is no continuing plotline between fics in this universe (aside from changer to this one), they simply take place in the same world/magic system and may have overlapping characters (neos may pop up in more than one work!) ❧ author’s note: so this is technically the spiritual threequel (fourqual?) to my werewolf jeno fics (pupsick + abh) but you still don’t have to read those to understand this one at all! this is absolutely meant to be read by itself (after changer, ofc) ❧ estimated release: saturday, november 18, 2023 2:00 p.m. eastern time

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ explore the strawberry sunday universe more here!

“So what were you so invested in on your phone?” Shotaro asked, cracking open a seaweed-infused sparkling tea drink popular with younger sirens. “You usually love Real Sirens.”

You popped the tab on your soda, taking a sip before answering. “I was doing some research, on what we were talking about earlier—”

“I thought you said there wasn’t a lot of research on half-werewolves.”

“Not a lot of scholarly research. But I found some people posting online about their own experiences either as half-werewolves themselves, or dating half-werewolves. About the scenting.” You explained, pausing to take a bite of your food. “And it seems like the general consensus is that most likely because their sense of smell isn’t as great as full werewolves, but they still can smell that kind of stuff, unlike humans, half-werewolves get a little more… intense with scenting behaviors.”

“Gross.”

“I meant the clothes and the hugging, dude.” You soft-balled a kick at his shin under the table. “Not my fault you’re immediately gross.”

“Does it ever stop?”

You grimaced, “Well…”

“No?” He asked with wide eyes, presumably having the rest of his recently renewed lease flashing before them.

“Again, there aren’t a lot of half-werewolves. Or at least ones talking about it. But there is one half-werewolf/human couple I found who says that the scenting took better, and the behaviors therefore decreased after…” You trailed off, messing with the strings of Sungchan’s hoodie.

“After…?”

“After they followed through with the werewolf mating bite.”

The siren stared at you blankly. “Oh.”

“They’re the only ones I could find online who has done that, so who knows if that’s a guaranteed result, not to mention that at that point they were also human married, and had been together for over five years, so there was definitely just a lot of security in their relationship not to mention they’d been living together for years so they were going to smell like each other anyway—”

“Yeah, yeah. I get it.” Shotaro stopped your defensive rambles gently. “You two don’t need to do that for me. Just wear his clothes and be annoying, it’s fine.”

You stabbed your fork into a bun. “Yeah, I know that.”

“That was some weird stressing of your words there, Y/N. Anything you want to share?”

You let out a long, steady breath, your lips just a centimeter away from being pressed together. Your mind was swirling with the memory of Sungchan’s last shift. Of him asking you to take his bite. He hadn’t mentioned it again since, but you couldn’t stop thinking about it. Especially because he hadn’t brought it up again since. And seeing his dad’s last night…

“Sungchan mentioned it once, but I don’t know how serious he was being, and he hasn’t brought it up again,” you admitted before tearing into the bun you’d just assaulted. It was filled with delightfully seasoned veggies wrapped in smooth, pillowy dough. God, these really were some of the best steamed buns you’d ever had.

Shotaro practically did a spit take with his tea, dribbling the sip he’d just taken back into the bottle. “He what? When?”

“Shotaro—”

“No, he brought up essentially werewolf engagement to you— What? While you two were playing video games or something? And neither of you mentioned this to me?”

“It wasn’t like that but... sure. I guess.”

“No, no, what was the context? Post-nut confessions or something?”

“God! Why are you like this?” You groaned, dragging a hand over your face in exasperation. “No, he let me be with him for his last shift, it was when he was coming out of it. He wasn’t all there, he was tired, he had all the extra adrenaline and everything else going through his body still.”

He didn’t seem convinced. “So I was right.”

You gave him an unamused look. “Think more like a boxer with a concussion.”

“And you haven’t brought it up with him since?”

“I was just focused on making sure he was okay. And now, I don’t know, he hasn’t mentioned it again. Maybe he wasn’t serious about it?”

“If he was... would you say yes? To be werewolf married?” The siren waggled his eyebrows at you teasingly. “Or half-werewolf married? Half-werewolf half-married?”

“They really need to make like even a single MCS class mandatory in the Gen Ed requirements, because what the hell are you saying to me right now?”

“You know what I mean. Would you say yes?”

⤷ blog masterlist  ⤷ anthology masterlist

[ninadove]

watching character ai lukadrien create the most heart wrenching debilitatingly angsty love story to ever love story ever

Hey, I can tell there’s no malice behind your ask, but — don’t do that.

I write fanfiction myself, and a lot goes into it:

1. Unreasonable amounts of ✨ Time and Effort ✨

Just the other day, my WIP kept me up until 2 AM, because I wanted it to be neatly polished before even sending it to my beta readers (@paracosmicfawn and @dragongutsixofficial). The first thing I did the following morning was re-read it again, to correct any typos and inconsistencies my tired brain might have missed the night prior.

2. Research and analysis

For a cute little Lukadrien scene I wrote with my ✨ awesome girlfriend ✨ — something that was never even going to be published — I went through a dozen different sources trying to get a better understanding of what meditation actually is and to capture the philosophy behind it accurately. This does not make me special — all authors do it out of dedication and love for their craft, but it’s energy that could be spent doing literally anything else, especially when you consider how horrifyingly lonely the writing process can be (see point 1).

Also, there’s a reason I spend so much time making analysis posts on Silly Little Blorbos who do not exist! It gets my brain running and allows me to sharpen my understanding of the characters, so I can write them properly in my works.

3. A unique perspective on the characters, the source media, and life in general

Which gives all the flavour to my favourite AO3 works out there.

Like, yes, that extract you sent in your follow-up ask is cute, I guess, but it’s also incredibly generic:

When actual living breathing human (or Senti) beings share their work with you, they’re inviting you to a special part of their brain that they’ve decorated with their own experiences, references and visuals — things that they love and passed onto their favourite characters, so they can hopefully reach you. For instance, Character AI would never have had the genius idea to compare Felix’s eyes to an aurora borealis; this could have only sparked from @wackus-bonkus-maximus’ brain. Similarly, my version of Felix will often reference works of art and literature that left a strong impact on me as a child — an impact I’m sure can also be sensed in my approach to storytelling and even in the way I structure sentences and paragraphs.

Which leads me to my final and most important point:

4. EMOTIONAL BAGGAGE™

Because let’s be real — there’s a reason our brains latch onto certain characters, and said reasons aren’t always sunshine and rainbows. I’ve cried more writing about the Senticousins than over the loss of certain people or relationships in my own life. Long before that, I latched onto Clive and gave him everything I felt was missing from my life as a teenager, so I could live vicariously through him. And of course, I always make my characters some flavour of queer, because for a long time this was the only outlet I got for my own feelings and identity.

It takes a lot of vulnerability to put all of this on the Internet for others to read and judge, and it’s very disheartening to see that people would rather ask a machine to spit out some easily digestible but impersonal interactions than give your work a chance.

I can guarantee there are beautiful pieces of fanwork out there that will cater to your tastes and haunt you for years in a way Character AI or Chat GPT never could. And the good news is — if you don’t find anything, it means it’s time to write it yourself!

And of course, I cannot end this post without encouraging everyone to read about the writers’ and actors’ strike currently unfolding in the US.

[kasumingo]

People who are like, get medicated, get therapy, get help, as if its the easiest most effective thing ever boggle the mind. Like i know they cannot know unless theyve been in the system for any length of time but theres so much to unpack here. Theres LAYERS

Theres the fact that everyone should be aware of by now, that its often expensive and inaccessible to many as well, but thats entry level shit. It goes deeper.

The fields of psychology and ESPECIALY psychiatry are steeped in stigma and dogma and straight up bad info. Everything is depression until proven otherwise. Gender stigma is very very real with autism and ad(h)d and so is actual genuine oppression that can come with those diagnoses and anything "more serious". God help you if youre diagnosed with or suspect cluster A or B personality disorders or ANY psychotic ones. I dont have firsthand experience but ive heard enough to know that often those with ASPD and schizoaffective/schizophrenic get treated as subhuman. Not to mention how severe antipsychotics are as medication, theres good reasons people often dont take theirs.

But even if youve got one of the "easy" disorders, guess what? "Success" is still not guaranteed. Figuring out medication and dosage can be a long and exhausting process, a lot of them have significant drawbacks and restrictions.

And cognitive behavioral therapy can also have negative effects! Especially if ur misdiagnosed! Or do it while youre still in survival mode! Or have alexythimia like myself! Its not an one size fits all cure.

People are so ready to condescend to the mentally ill and say stuff like "get therapy" as if its the holy grail of mental care without a trace of irony. People lapse treatment and lick their own wounds the best they can for so many reasons, A LOT OF THEM RELATING TO HOW SHIT AND INEFFECTIVE THERAPY CAN BE, and instead of that being the focus the talk about it is so often boiled down to them being lazy or incapable of taking care of themselves.

I know this couldve been its own post but honestly with you posting abt it i feel better giving this here directly. It got kind of ranty but just, people who use "get therapy" as the ultimate gotcha BOIL MY BLOOD.

People think that therapist, psychologists, psychiatrist and similar are these unquestioned authorities that always have your best interest in mind and have the answer for anything.

While the truth is that the psych field is filled with incompetent bigots either entering the field for the power trip or having an incredible biased and misguided point of view at best.

I don't personally have the experience with BPD or ASPD myself either, but it's not hard to imagine how they treat individuals they don't even consider people… that the majority of society don't consider ones either and doesn't care what happens to them.

AND YES GOD IT'S INFURIATING.

Especially since in many cases it doesn't come from genuine care, but as a dismissal and denial that many people ARE broken, weird, strange, peculiar, different but they do NOT need fixing, CAN'T be fixed and certainly don't owe strangers recovery.

Modern attitudes I'm seeing in online spaces are only setting mental health of the societies back years if not decades and leads to mental health of all involved unnecessarily dipping even further, only adding to what's happening in the world as a whole lately.

It's frustrating and I only can hope that my yelling in the void brings someone peace or makes rethinking the attitudes they've been carrying up until this point.

[acorpsecalledcorva]

Lmfao, so for whatever reason I decided to look at the DID tags on twitter, probably as a form of digital SH and the first post I see on there annoys the fuck out of me

TW for discussion of self harm and self injury

Ok so first thing I see is this

And this is definitely a touchy subject subject for me, I get hyper critical when I see it discussed, especially since some early conversations with my therapist. Even before that discussion though I've always hated the way self harm is discussed even if I couldn't articulate those feelings.

And that's because abstinence as a moral imperative might be the most damaging ideology to ever worm it's way into society.

I mean, even the title of that article "First, Do No Harm, Not Even to Yourself" is soaked in moral judgement, "hurting other people is wrong and bad, right? So why would do a wrong and bad thing to yourself? You wouldn't download a razor blade" and it doesn't even make a proper argument on the moral philosophy of harm, she merely attempts to imply immorality by association. Hurting others is wrong because it violates their autonomy, your liberty to swing your arm ends just where my nose begins, right? It's about consent. In BDSM, a sadist may physically hurt a masochist because they have consented to it being done to them. Similarly, gender affirming care doesn't violate the Hippocratic Oath no matter how strongly a transphobe feels about it because informed consent is given to the treatment. Conversely, genial reconstruction surgeries performed on intersex babies or even infant circumsions should be considered a violation because consent has not and cannot be given.

But how does this apply to self-harm? It's your body, it's your autonomy, you aren't violating shit. Even being in a system no single alter has complete authority over the body, it's still possible to come to a consensus without unanimous agreement because guess what? Making decisions while having conflictual feelings or being in two minds is a perfectly normal human experience.

Am I saying you should self harm? No. Of course not. I'm simply saying that self harm is not an immoral act and I will remove the personhood of anyone that tries to weaponise shame in this way against people who almost certainly feel an incredibly painful and torturous amount of shame and guilt already.

The article is also vaccuously lacking in substance. The author seems to think this 'gotcha' is a sufficient argument but itself, checkmate traumatised liberals, but obviously needs to generate ad revenue through scrolling so offers 8 "new realities" to help reinforce a morally pure and healthy mindset.

1. Feelings are survivable and containable

Uhhh sure, they can be, if you have the right coping mechanisms to deal with them. You can't just tell someone to forgo the coping mechanisms they already have without successfully replacing them with something equally or more effective though. The whole point of dissociation from trauma is because certain feelings ARE deemed to be unsurvivable by the brain, you're not weak minded for thinking so.

2. We have art, reading, distractions, therapist, meds

Yeah no shit, that's not always enough though and you haven't failed if you try them and they don't work, the coping mechanisms have failed, not you.

3. We deserve to feel better

So true! Self harming makes me feel better when emotional distress is overwhelming me, I'm glad we agree

4. We don't need to guarantee pain

You know what guarantees pain? Shaming yourself out of using a coping mechanism without addressing it's root cause, but that's ok because feelings are "survivable" right?

5. We don't have to hurt via self-abuse

I actually don't know what that's supposed to mean, I can hurt myself without hurting myself? I don't have to self harm? I know I don't have to, but I can if it's better to do so than to not

6. Our trauma is over, why continue it?

First of all fuck you, retraumatisation is a very well noted trauma response, but so is shame and guilt so who's really continuing our trauma here?

7. We don't have to stand vigil over pain to honour abused parts

EXACTLY! That's what coping mechanisms are for, hey guess what coping mechanism can be really effective at temporarily relieving emotional pain? I'll give you a hint, it's not reading.

8. We will honour our abused parts with self compassion, understanding, acceptance, and encouragement

Once again so true! I will be compassionate to abused parts, understanding and accepting of the coping mechanisms they choose, while encouraging exploration of healthy alternatives without shaming them if they don't work.

Her website is littered with BuzzFeed style listicles of "25 ways to avoid self injury and prevent self harm" "25 more ways to avoid self injury and prevent self harm" "another 25 even more ways to avoid self injury and prevent self harm" and like, sure, they're all perfectly fine distraction techniques but what really pisses me off about the wording of these is that they're framed as ways to distract yourself from the urge to self harm, as though the urge itself is what's wrong, and not the pain and hurt that the urge is a response to.

Just watch one more movie bro, trust me bro, this next one will be the one that makes the pain go away bro just trust me one more movie bro.

I have wasted so much fucking time hating myself and shaming myself and feeling like a failure for breaking my streak. Torturing myself during some of the most emotionally distraught moments of my life because "it doesn't matter how much pain I'm in I can't give into the urge, I can't do that, no matter what I mustn't ever do that" imagining how much worse I'll feel when I punish myself for being too weak.

Do you know what I do now? I take note of the feeling, give it space and allow it to be present and I make a bargain with myself. I will give myself 2 hours to distract and soothe from the emotional pain that I or another part is experiencing, and if that doesn't work then we'll self harm with no shame or judgement. And you'll never guess what, I haven't even come close to self harming, and that's great! And maybe sometime it won't be enough and that'll be fine too, it'll just mean I really needed to. The parts that want to self harm feel respected and listened to, my hurt and abused parts feel seen because I'm paying attention to them and not fighting with the self harm part and we all get to move through the experience with grace.

8. We will honour our abused parts with self compassion, understanding, acceptance, and encouragement

Fucking damn right I will, in every way I can.

So yeah, that was my first 5 seconds on DID twitter how was your day?

[adarlingwrites]

Hellbound

Summary:

Unable to shake off the demons, particularly a devil, of her past, Fortune becomes aware that her anguish is bleeding over to her current deal and dalliance with Raphael.

Once and for all, she confronts this with the devil she knows better. After a much needed amendment to their agreement, she seals her fate.

Inspired by the songs A Pearl, and Shame.

Words: 5379

Relationships: Raphael x OC/Raphael x Tav

Date of Original Publication (AO3): January 25, 2023

Tags/Warnings:  Unhealthy Relationships, Manipulative Relationship, Age Difference, Power Dynamics, Power Play, Deal with a Devil, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Past Relationship(s), Trauma, Moving On (Fortune is traumatized by a former love interest), Angst and Porn, Angst, Smut, Fear Play, Oral Sex, Rough Sex, Face-Fucking, Vaginal Fingering, Anal Fingering, Sex, Vaginal Sex, Anal Sex, Rimming, Fluff (if you squint hard enough) Praise Kink, Master/Servant, Exhibitionism, Semi-Public Sex, Aftercare,  Not Beta Read

Author's Notes:

A direct continuation to A Devilish Distraction.

More of Raphael and Fortune because this damn devil has me on a chokehold. I went into a spiral listening to Mitski, and I coped with it by writing this. Welp.

I'm still hoping that we get NPCs as patrons for warlocks in the game, like Auntie Ethel for an archfey patron, or Raphael for a fiend patron. Fortune would be a Pact of the Talisman warlock if that option gets into the game. I know warlocks get pact boons at third level in tabletop D&D, but I took some liberties and had Raphael forge her talisman right after their agreement.

I

Love, hunger, possessions, wealth, influence, knowledge, power, pleasure- there’s always something that everyone is enslaved by, from the simplest of creatures, to the most powerful beings in the multiverse.

To Fortune’s shame, she had been a slave to her desires. She wants a partner in crime, for someone who will stand by her, for someone who will love her even after seeing all the ugly and twisted parts of her psyche, and it cost her the freedom she took for granted.

From the moment she had lighted the candle the night she wagered her soul for a stranger she stupidly claimed to have loved, she already knew she was damned. The flames flickered and illuminated her visage from below, and in the mirror, she can see herself surrounded by darkness; it was how she imagined hell look like, and later, the foolish girl found out that it was far worse than that.

True to her name, she’s fortunate enough to have evaded the Hells the first time. Then came her defeat at the hands of those who were to be her quarry. That should have been the end for her.

The wheel of fortune turns, and she finds herself free from her prison, only for her to squander that freedom again.

All because she’s still a slave to her desires.

The bastard Raphael left a mark on her, after their sin in his king-sized bed- not a mere love bite, but his goddamn initial, in Infernal script, branded onto her skin. It still ached when she woke up, and the curse the let out upon seeing it when she looked in the mirror reverberated through the walls of Raphael’s home.

Now she’s truly damned.

Then again, was she ever free?

Does true freedom even exist?

Raphael manipulating her into a contract didn’t stop her from seeking him out for a distraction from what haunts her. Fortune was bent over hardwood and used like a whore, then read to like a child, and still, she cannot fall asleep, or put the past behind her.

On the other hand, Raphael had already dozed off, his hands slack around the book. His wings are wrapped around the two of them in an embrace guaranteed to warm Fortune up even in the coldest of nights. The tiefling didn’t even know cambions can do that with their wings.

In his slumber, Fortune observes him. In his slumber, he looks at peace. In his slumber, he is vulnerable.

One flick of the rogue’s wrist and that throat would be gaping and spraying with his devil blood.

Instead, Fortune found herself caressing his cheek, and leaving a feather-light kiss on his horned forehead.

True to her nature as a rogue, Fortune moved in silence, careful not to wake her lover up, slipping past his arms and dodging his leathery wings. She puts the book on the table, leaving the bookmark where they stopped, and leaves his study. With muffled footsteps, she treads back to the bed chambers provided to her.

As soon as the doors behind her click shut, the tears started falling.

Everything is all coming back to her; the way Thatcher, or Kairon, broke her damned heart. Fortune is certain Raphael will break it even further.

It started with Thatcher plying her with wine. Devils and their bloody wine.

Before she learned of his true nature, she had mistaken him for another elven noble who wanted to try what lying with a tiefling felt like. In hindsight, him making a remark about wondering how it would feel like to be in her skin should’ve given it away.

A lot has transpired since then, from watching him dragged to the hells due to someone else tampering with his gift meant for her before she can get to it, to losing her mother to a lycanthrope attack and watching her father be cursed with the affliction. It made her desperate to keep the people in her life.

It made her desperate enough to beg Asmodeus to give Thatcher, or rather, Kairon back. Later, it made her desperate enough to embrace her mother’s copy, but that’s a story for another day.

Fortune should have seen the figurative knife coming. Even after wagering her soul for him like that, and after showing his true nature which he loathed so much that he built Thatcher to mask it, he didn’t trust her.

Devils don’t trust.

But Thatcher twisted the knife way too far when he disguised himself as Hoard, sullied his own name to the party, and tried to convince Fortune not to kill those strangers in Asmodeus’ name, just to test their reaction. Of course, Fortune would lie to her father about not wanting to kill those strangers Asmodeus tasked her to eliminate. They’re strangers, and Fortune isn’t that selfless. But learning of the truth that his daughter would be a remorseless killer would break her daddy’s heart.

So, she lied.

Still disguised as her father, Thatcher kissed her forehead, then revealed himself a few moments later, furious at the perceived betrayal.

Devils and their bloody schemes.

The most heartbreaking part is, if Thatcher hadn’t betrayed them, if he had stayed with Fortune, they would have had a fighting chance to take down their quarry. Perhaps they’d have fulfilled their contract with Asmodeus, and earned their freedom.

Instead, Fortune revealed her hand and didn’t even fight back.

Overcame with guilt and despair, the rogue committed suicide by proxy by letting her prey take her down, taking blow after blow until her body collapses, and her minotaur companion, her oldest friend, takes her away, and watches as hellfire claims her.

Poor Villian. He didn’t deserve to see me like that.

Fortune could already feel in her bones that another bloody catastrophe will unfold with Raphael.

Devils are always so tempting at the start. But in the end? All they bring is ruin. One cambion already ruined her. Now she’s letting another one damn her further.

Fortune is certain that Raphael doesn’t trust her either. She’s certain that whatever affection or fondness she has for him won’t change him, just like it didn’t change Thatcher. She’s certain that down the road, Raphael will gut her, just like Thatcher did.

Even worse, she and Raphael consummated their lust.

Fortune is certain that she will never be able to erase what he felt like, what he smelled like, and what he tasted like from her memory.

The rogue was being deceitful when she told the devil that the stress that comes from minding her compatriots is what drove her to seek him out.

Fortune wanted him one last time before the chase begins.

In a hurry, she begins to dress. She had intended to leave through the window, and disappear into the night. Blinking away tears, she puts on her stockings and adjusts the hemline of her skirt. As she puts on her boot, she felt a searing hand on her shoulder.

“My dear, I’m offended that you’d spurn my offer of a bedchamber in my house for a bedroll in the dirt, after I’ve treated you so well too,” he starts, voice hard.

“Wait, Raphael I-”

The words cease from flowing out her mouth as Raphael whirls her around and pushes her against the wall, pinning her under his weight. Forcefully, he burns her lips with a kiss, tongue invading the wet cavern of her mouth. Gooseflesh ripples through Fortune’s body, and she felt her knees buckle under his touch.

“Do I have to remind you of what you agreed to, Fortune?” the devil asks as he gasped for air. “Or do I have to remind you again with a lesson? I grow tired of this; you test my patience-”

Instead of letting passion overrule her better judgment again, Fortune wriggles away, palming at his chest. “No!”

Raphael tries to catch her, but she takes a misty step away from him, panting, tears in her eyes.

“I can’t take it, I can’t! I don’t want your touch right now. I want you to stop touching me,” Fortune wails, voice breaking. “I want you to stay there and listen. You said you’ll give me anything I want, yes? Failing to do so is a breach of contract, so stay put.”

This girl is far too clever, too quick-witted than what he gave her credit for, and Raphael isn’t sure if he should be furious, or proud. The cambion stops short of moving or talking, seeing how doing so would result in him breaking the contract. No devil worth his salt would incur the punishment of Asmodeus’ ruby rod over such an error.

“You truly are a descendant of Glasya. Go ahead, use every loophole you can find, but few walk away from me in violation of a deal, Fortune. Remember that.”

Fortune takes a steadying breath and clears her throat. “Let me explain, just, give me a damn moment.”

“Take all the time you need, we have all night,” Raphael replies, crossing his arms.

Sighing, Fortune takes a seat by the open window, eyes closed as she tries to calm herself. Raphael sat across her, on the bed. In any other circumstance, Raphael would have been relishing at the sight of his clients like this: vulnerable and easily plied. For some bloody reason, he can’t find in himself to celebrate seeing the tiefling lady like this.

This girl really is growing on me.

The cambion’s eyes are trained on her as she began to speak.

“I was lying, I’m getting along well with my compatriots. There was something else haunting me. Remember that whole affair with Asmodeus’ bastard son? It left me scarred, in more ways than one. It left me slow to trust, and yet it also left me desiring to be trusted. I want someone who trusts me. And you devils, I know you’re incapable of such a thing. I don’t think you can fulfill this contract, under these circumstances. If I were cruel, I’d say that I want you to do that for me, and watch you burn as you fail.”

Fortune is right, and that makes Raphael wince. Devils don’t trust.

“But I can’t afford to be cruel right now. I know that I might need you later. And I-“ Fortune hesitates, biting her tongue, then she screws her eyes shut, as if saying the next words physically hurts, “For some bloody reason, I’ve grown fond of you. I still want you. Gods, I want you so much…”

Now that, Raphael did not expect her to say out loud. Still, he gives no reaction, and lets her continue.

“I don’t think I can fulfill my end of the bargain, as well. Oh, bloody hells, I’m not even sure what being yours mean, Raphael! Do you expect me to stay here and sit on my hands while the tadpole eats away at my brain? Is that what you meant in making me yours, by treating me as some kept woman you provide shelter and support to in exchange for my companionship? Is-is it my soul that I wagered to you? You can’t even have that if I lose it to the tadpole- gods! This is far too complicated… The point is, we’re doomed to violate it, one way or another, and you of all people should know that. Isn’t there a way out of this, or at least a way to amend the deal?”

Raphael had been pondering about voiding the deal. Now, there’s an opportunity to do so, but Raphael is not a fool to just let this woman go. To his delight, she had given him an opportunity to make it work in his favor.

The devil produces the written copy of their contract from thin air. “We can agree to render this contract void… as if the deal never happened. However, reverting has its consequences. How would you propose I give back the intangible things you wanted that I provided, Fortune? Like a night of passion, or a request to listen?”

No answer can come out of the tiefling’s mouth. She shakes her head.

Raphael continues. “I admit, I’m also starting to grow fond of you in my way, so I am extending my mercy. For both our sakes, we can agree to amend it with a new one, to balance the books.”

A long, tired sigh pushes past Fortune’s lips. “Looks like I’m stuck with you.”

Fortune’s hand itches to slap that smile off of Raphael’s face, but she kept her hands to herself.

“Now that we’re both in a situation that allows for clearer thinking, unlike the last one…” Raphael begins, harkening back to the circumstances of their first agreement, the memory of burying himself deep inside of Fortune making him lick his lips. “Let’s discuss the stipulations of this new agreement.”

“Name your terms. What makes me yours? What exactly do you want from me?”

The devil’s clawed, long fingers stroke Fortune’s chin, and he leers at her. “I want to own your body,” he purrs into her ear, voice low and seductive. One hand squeezes her hip, and it slowly inches to her behind. “To use it for whatever I desire, my dear.”

“Human, elf, or devil, you men are all alike,” Fortune spits, sneering.

“Are we now? Or is it your dark, sensuous charms that captivates and enthralls a man, regardless of his origins? But I digress- Now name your terms. Tell me something that you want.”

“Now hold on a minute, owning my body could mean several things,” Fortune snaps, placing her palms on his chest. “It could mean that you can use me as a means to sate your sexual appetite. You can use to it bear your children. You could use it to fight a battle. Hell, it could even mean that you own the tadpole in my head, as it is technically inside of my body right now. Reword it.”

Raphael laughs and squeezes her. “This is what I love and hate about you, sweet cherry. You always see beyond what’s in front of you, always reading between the lines, always attempting to think a few steps ahead…”

“I can’t afford myself to be short-sighted anymore, and you know that.”

“Indeed, my dear. Fine, let me rephrase.” Raphael pauses to kiss her neck. “I am the only creature allowed to gain carnal knowledge from you. I am the only one allowed to kiss you, hold you, taste you, know you, and violate you like this. In the works of the flesh, I am your only master,” he near-whispers into her skin, taking in her scent as he did.

“Exclusivity? Are you getting attached now?” Fortune asks, slightly amused at the notion. “Don’t you have countless mistresses who can attend to your needs better than a rogue on the run for a cure to an illithid infection, Raphael?”

A gasp pushes past the tiefling’s hips as her cambion lover grinds his hips against her. Underneath the layers of cloth that separate them, he’s already hard as rock, and pulsing against her thigh.

“As you can see, you’re the only one who can elicit such a reaction from me even before you touch me, little cherry,” Raphael growls.

Truth be told, Fortune is flattered to be this desired, after feeling unwanted from Thatcher’s betrayal. The tiefling leans into him, heat pooling into the pit of her belly.

“Now, name your terms, so we can seal the deal.”

Eyebrows knitting together, Fortune thinks, thoroughly. She needs to make this worth it; being a cambion’s consort and bedmate is too steep of a price for something that won’t be of much use to her. All the nobles that sought out dalliances with her in her youth gave her the same material things Raphael had provided. Even without a noble financing her, riches, she can earn with her own hands, and influence, she can earn with her own tongue. What can Raphael offer that she cannot achieve with her own means? What can Raphael offer that other nobles she had the displeasure of knowing can’t?

Fortune recalls his halfling servant, Korrilla Hearthflame, and how effortlessly she wielded her borrowed magic. The only magic Fortune knew are spells that supplement her roguish activities.

Fortune could use some of Raphael’s magic. Fortune could use more power.

“Make me your warlock. It even ties in with your original intent of using my body- turn me into a vessel of your power.”

The devil’s laughter booms. At this point, Fortune might as well offer herself on a silver platter.

At the same time, Raphael cannot wait to see just how this little vixen will use her gifts.

“My dear, it’s a deal.”

II

Back in his study, Raphael drafts the contract as Fortune looms over his shoulder.

Watching a devil produce a contract out of thin air is a sight that will remain in Fortune’s memories until her last days. In gold ink, the terms of their contract appear on the document. This time, Fortune carefully reads every single word.

Satisfied, she dips the feather in the inkwell, and signs her name over the dotted line. Raphael follows shortly, and the contract dematerializes. Pain sears Fortune’s neck as the brand on her skin glows, signifying that the deal is sealed. Magic surges through her veins, arcane and eldritch powers coursing through her, and she nearly stumbles. Raphael catches her, steadying her feet.

“Couldn’t we just have made a toast to seal it instead of this?” she asks Raphael, an unamused expression on her features. Raphael presses a thumb against the mark. Fortune sucks air through her teeth at the feeling of the touch.

“Don’t you think branding you is more… thematically appropriate, consider the nature of our deal?”

“You devils and your whimsical nonsense,” she groans. To that remark, Raphael snickers.

The devil’s palm glow with hellfire, and an intricate, golden amulet with a blood-red gem embedded in the center materializes. It dangles on a delicate, golden chain. As the metal cools, he unfastens the chain, and puts the necklace around Fortune’s neck.

“There, another gift. A symbol of our deal, and a useful tool in your endeavors. Use your new gifts wisely, Fortune.”

“I intend to make you proud,” she half teases, half declares.

“Ah, speaking of whimsy, there is something new I wish to try tonight. I’m certain that what I have in store will help you bury the memory of that damn Thatcher. First, let’s pick up where we left off…”

With that, his lips descend upon the tiefling’s. This time, she readily accepts him, pushing back the memories that haunt her as she lived in the moment, tasting her lover’s intoxicating tongue, inhaling his heady perfume and musk, and feeling his muscles under his night shirt.

Smoke rises around them, and they are transported to Raphael’s bedroom. The doors to the balcony are left open, the wind making the fog dissipate, and the curtains sway and dance.

Breaking the kiss, Raphael strips himself, and Fortune watches his muscles shift and move with grace. Then, he proceeds to undo her clothing, until both are bare in each other’s presence.

Lifting her up, Raphael groans as his lover wraps her legs around his waist, her arms around his shoulders. With his tail, he pulls a drawer open from his nightstand, and retrieves a fresh flask of that lubricating concoction they used on the first night they lay with each other.

Still carrying Fortune in his arms, he walks to the balcony, and sets her to sit on the railing. The crisp night air makes his member retract slightly, but he’ll warm up soon enough. He pulls away from Fortune, and sees the hesitation in her eyes.

“Worry not my dear. I’ll hold you.”

“On the balcony?!” Fortune blurts out, looking over her shoulder. “What if someone sees us?”

“Let them see,” he moans into her ear, and nips at it.

Kisses mixed with bites and scrapes of sharp teeth mark Fortune’s neck, and any attempts to keep quiet in fear of a passerby hearing fail. Deft fingers pluck, roll, and pull at the hardening cherries on her bosom, cold to Raphael’s touch due to her exposure. Her devil beau’s warm, sinister tongue brushes over the brand on her neck and Fortune curses, the pain and pleasure making her head spin.

Gods, Fortune is almost in her mid-thirties, but with a gentleman like Raphael? She feels inexperienced, and way younger than she should.

She leans back, momentarily forgetting that she’s perched on a railing, and fear jolts into her body, much to Raphael’s fiendish delight. He laughs at her reaction, and she knits her eyebrows together.

“Bastard,” she hisses, cheeks burning in embarrassment and arousal.

Raphael smirks, then firmly holds her with one arm as the other snakes between her legs. His tail brings over the bottle of lubrication, and he pours it all over Fortune’s already glistening sex, thoroughly wetting her until her tender flesh offers no resistance to his claws.

Obsidian eyes saw stars, literally and figuratively, as Fortune throws her head back. Raphael had three fingers lodged between her folds, his pinky inside that tight ring of muscle hidden between the cheeks of her derriere, and his thumb on her clitoris, circling the sensitive cluster of nerves as his fingers teased her. Fortune’s tail curls around his arm.

Raphael went to work. His lips latched on to a tit as he pleasured her. Fortune’s hands flew to his horns to steady herself, feeling the delicious, agonizing stretch of having both of her entrances filled and toyed with.

“My dear girl,” Raphael grunts, taking a break from suckling her breast. “Seeing you like this, I am unsure if I wrote my clause for my benefit, or yours.” Then, he went back to being busy with his mouth, his devilish tongue flicking and circling her hard nipples.

Fortune offers no reply, unable to form words from the intensity of the pleasure she felt. The telltale twitch of her hips lets her lover know that she’s close.

“Now, come for me,” Raphael growls against her breast, then he bites down, her maroon nipple pinched between his teeth, and his ministrations becoming aggressive as cruel as he teased chased that orgasm from her.

A submissive, sexual slave at heart, Fortune spasms around his hand at the command, the sound of his voice pushing her to her release. The devil’s name is upon her lips like a zealot’s pleas, a string of saliva connecting her lips together.

Slick with her release and the salve, Raphael withdraws his hand from between her legs, and he allows her to recover, head pressed against his chest as she breathed heavily. Then, he tilts her chin up, and shoves his forefinger and middle finger in her mouth. Fortune tastes the slightly sweet salve mingling with her own tang.

“Good girl.”

The praise makes Fortune moan against his digits. Raphael’s free hand stroked her head, watching with delighted arousal as her obsidian eyes flutter shut. She licks his fingers clean.

“You love your master’s praise? You want more?”

Fortune nods a few times, eager to please.

“Then you’ll have to earn more.”

Without being prompted, she hops of the railing to kneel before him. A leer spreads across the devil’s mouth as the tiefling grips his member and runs her tongue from the base to the tip.

“Such a good girl you are, learning how your master prefers to be pleasured in such little time…”

With her talented mouth, Fortune bathes him with her saliva, then gets busy suckling the heavy flesh that hangs below his length as she strokes him with her hand, ending it with a wet, lewd pop. Inch by inch, Fortune takes him in until his head tickles the back of her throat, and his dark hair tickles her nose. Eyes watering from exertion, she blinks the tears away and starts to bob her head.

Raphael’s eyes are fixated on his lover, watching her every move with a lascivious expression on his fiendish features. His hands clamp around her horns, and he proceeds to use them as handles as he thrusted his hips.

“Perfect,” he hisses, eyes drinking in the sight of her helpless and at his mercy.

The rogue maintains eye contact as she skillfully pleasured her master, taking all of him in as much as she can, letting him use her mouth. Her hands reach under his manhood to fondle him, squeezing him as he took her.

The devil’s hips twitching, he pulls her away from him, saliva stringing from her mouth to the angry, deep red tip. Fortune gives it one last suck, tongue fluttering against the underside.

“Enough. Bend over the railing, right now.”

The gruff, nearly guttural tone of Raphael’s command makes all of the hair on Fortune’s body stand on end.

“Yes master,” she whimpers as she does as she is told.

An embarrassed squeak bubbles up from the tiefling’s throat as she felt his warm tongue skirting around her back entrance, the ring of muscle quivering as it slid around it. Her tail stands erect in the air, twitching and vibrating like a happy, affectionate feline’s.

“I- that’s- isn’t that- oh! Fuck, Raphael what are you- oh gods,” Fortune babbles, no longer coherent once again. She hates and loves how he manages to rob her of her words every damn time.

The new sensation made Fortune lose herself to the pleasure, wild cherry eyes screwing shut and a look of labored pleasure upon her visage as Raphael licks, sucks, and kisses around the area. It all feels so taboo, and that factor just adds to the tiefling’s exhilaration.

Satisfied with his work, Raphael withdraws his face from between the apples of his lover’s cheeks. He wipes his mouth. With the snap of his fingers, the mess is gone, his mouth and hands clean. Then, with his strength, the cambion dangles half of her body over the balcony, her hips crushed against the cool marble railing. Without the need to tease her due to her already dripping snatch, Raphael slides right inside of her, past her folds, taking her like a bitch once again.

The position makes Fortune panic.

“Oh gods, Raphael, I’ll fall-“

“Shhhh,” he soothes her, holding her firmly. “I will never let you fall. I’m right here…”

Fortune screws her eyes shut, hands planting themselves to the railing as Raphael moves inside her, flesh slapping against flesh.

“Tonight, I am your master, and I’ll leave no holes unfilled once again,” he growls, the tiefling’s messy curls tickling his nose and chin. “You’re mine, and all of you are mine to please myself with and violate, do you understand?”

“Yes, master!” Fortune cries, voice quavering.

The angle of Raphael’s penetration hits Fortune in all of the right places, his head brushing against that spongy cluster of nerves that sends jolts of pleasure radiating through the tiefling’s sinful body. Opening her eyes, she sees the pavement down below, and fear mingles with her pleasure further, breaking her.

Shamelessly, her moan echoed into the night, the howling wind masking it. Her lover reaches one hand around her to massage her clitoris as she rode her release on his length, coming all over him.

As Fortune recovers from her high, Raphael takes the bottle of that lubricating concoction once again, and he douses her backside with it, spreading the lubrication all over her flesh, ensuring that it covers and slickens her hole. Then, he withdraws his hard, hot length from her womanhood, coats that with the lubricant too, and gives It a few pumps.

“Yes, master, please, your cock in my ass,” she begs, and the filthy language makes Raphael twitch. “Please, please, please, I need it!“

As the head pushes past her entrance, Fortune pushes back on it, eager to have her hole suck him inside of her, tail twitching in anticipation once again. The eagerness he displays makes Raphael chuckle, amused that she had grown to love and crave the feeling of being sodomized by him. Not a lot of his mistresses were open to this treatment. Some found it degrading, or violating. Perhaps it is, and Fortune is among the few who sought it out and begged to be degraded and violated.

Fortune felt ashamed of having such desires. However, in the presence of a devil like Raphael, there is no moralistic judgment against them.

What’s for certain, however, is damnation. For dealing with the devil, for consorting with the devil, for surrendering to the devil, Fortune is hellbound.

Raphael slides half of his length in and out a few times, watching with perverse satisfaction as her entrance stretches and shrinks, an obscene pop punctuating each motion. He teases the ring with his head in between penetrating her, basking in her moans and little sounds of enjoyment as he debased her. Finally, he stops teasing. He grabs her hips, dangles her over the edge once again, and pounds her properly, burying himself to the hilt.

The tiefling rogue’s pert breasts bounced and shook as her lover took her, her hands scrambling for purchase on anything she can grab. Thankfully, Raphael bends down to kiss her head, and she uses that opportunity to cling onto his horns. Fortune’s tail snakes around his thigh, clinging on for dear life. This earned her his amusement, and he laughs into her ear at her display of fear.

“Our activities are much more pleasurable when you’re reeling in fear,” he purrs, voice dripping with evil intent. “Are you afraid, Fortune? Scared I might let you fall?”

“Y-yes,” she chokes, breathing hard and fast from the fear of falling to her death, and being pounded mercilessly by a devil.

Raphael’s strong wings curl around their bodies, shielding most of Fortune’s body from the wind, and any onlookers that might be watching. Above all, it felt like a safety net.

“Embrace It, my cherry. Fear and pleasure are two sides of the same coin,” the devil purrs, grunting and groaning as he pumps inside of her.

The pressure starts to build at the base of Raphael’s spine, the pent-up frustration making his tail lash back and forth involuntarily. He had been holding his release for quite a while now.

“I’m close,” he growls. His hand moves to wrap itself around Fortune’s torso. “Join me. Come for me, cherry, come for me…”

One had letting go of his horn to stroke herself, Fortune did her best to follow the command, grunted over and over into her ear. Soon, her release is imminent.

“Raphael, master, I’m coming, I’m coming- yes!“

A deep, guttural groan almost deafens her as she felt his warm seed spill into her in spurts. Fortune cries and moans as she rode out her second climax with Raphael’s, hips twitching and tail shaking around his thigh.

The wind tousles their hair, howling with them.

The devil brings his lover back to safety, pulling her into his arms, and into his warm room. With a soft thud, Fortune finds herself on his bed. Then, Raphael closes the doors to the balcony.

“Stay,” he commands, but his voice is soft, almost taking a nurturing quality to it. The tiefling lays in silence for a brief moment, watching the shadows of the curtains dance.

The devil comes back with warm water and a washcloth, even when both of them could just prestidigitate the evidence of their lovemaking away.

Fortune does not question it.

With care and tenderness unbecoming of a devil, Raphael cleans her up, running the wet cloth on her skin. Mind still hazy from pleasure and fear, the tiefling sits in silent confusion, feeling like a small child being tended to. The rational part of her brain reminds her not to trust any tenderness from a cambion. However, her body, her senses, and her most primal desires crave more of these petty affections.

Once he is satisfied with his work, he lays next to her, and pulls her to his chest, covering her with the duvet to her waist. His wings, sprawling on the king-sized, curl around their bodies, further covering his lover from the cold.

Fortune does not question it.

Instead, unprompted, she whispers.

“I love you.”

[reikiajakoiranruohoja]

I commented on this post, but I want to explain why I often feel this trope is misused. I want to be clear, this is not a bad trope. It, like ANY trope, can be done well. The problem arises when it's not used to give a satisfying end to the villain but instead to save the author from having to figure out what letting a bad guy live means. To put a complex matter WOEFULLY simply; There is very little trust in redemptive justice and a persistent belief that letting someone bad live will only result in further harm. One of the biggest genres guilty of this is the detective series. I have spoken before about this, but it bears repeating. Killing/the death of the criminal is narratively treated as the better option to putting them through the justice system. In fact, the justice system is at times treated as a guarantee the baddie will return/get away with it. The reason this is darkly funny to me is that the shows are supposed to be about how the detectives are doing good and saving people. And that killing other people is bad. But you cannot trust the justice system, because it will never punish the bad guy. Or, more likely, it isn't the punishment the viewers WANT.

But killing is still a crime, so any way to get the bad guy killed without getting the detective's hands dirty is used. Acts of God, the bad guy just pretending to surrender and such are used. It rarely if ever feels coherent, because its going against the whole point of the genre. Like anything in fiction, a bad guy falling on their own sword has to be earned. It has to come from the character's own folly and flaws, not because the bad guys HAS to die.

[not-poignant]

Hi I wanted to know if you had any tips for authors like yourself who write fanfics as well as original stories. I am having a bit of trouble regarding whether to use my established fanfic accounts on Wattpad, tumbler, A03 and twitter as a way to promote my original stories. I am okay with making separate accounts, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to start building an audience all over again. But I think using the accounts I already have with help me build a better community. Whats your opinion ?

Hi anon!

This can be rough and ultimately it's a personal decision. You haven't said whether you want to do this as a paying job or not, but this is mostly how I'm answering. Here's some things to keep in mind and reflect on (and obviously - just my opinion, you can ignore whatever you want!):

You can't 'market' or easily promote your original writing on AO3. You can never mention a Ko-Fi account or Patreon account or similar there. No direct links to anywhere that allows you to sell your writing directly (so not Amazon, not other buy links etc.) Not in your profile, not in comment replies, not anywhere. If you get reported, you must remove the references, and if you don't, you can have your account suspended. It's against AO3's TOS. So AO3 is actually not an ideal space to launch original writing if you want to make it into a career.

I don't know if you want to go into writing as a job, but if you do, you will probably want to look into self-publication of e-books first, because that is the quickest/fastest way to start getting paid and finding an audience willing to pay. Not all reading audiences are the same. Like, e-books + subscriptions via Ko-Fi and Patreon are probably the very best way to set up. Please keep in mind that AO3 readers don't actually like reading original fiction proportionately to fanfiction, which is one of the reasons why none of my original fiction has ever done as well proportionately as my fanfiction. Overall, original fiction is not a super popular category, you can't list by 'classic' genres, a lot of people don't even know it exists on AO3, and it's not why most people visit AO3. Even most of your current readers. So onto my next point:

You cannot guarantee that your fanfic readers will want to read your original fic, so you don't necessarily already have a 'built in audience' for your original writing. Like, hopefully you do! But this is something to really keep in mind. I ended up doing things this random way because interest was shown in the OCs I put in fanfiction. When I launched 'cold' characters that had never been in my fanfics (Mosk and Eran) they were the least popular characters of any I'd ever written. And that was after a lengthy background writing original fiction already with original fiction readers. Just keep it in mind re: AO3.

It's normal to use Tumblr / Twitter and other socials to promote original writing, there's no issues or conflicts with that at all. But you might want to consider having dedicated socials for these things. The not-poignant account is my main account just for my writing, writing connected things, and stuff that feels relevant overall to my readers (and me, lol).

I have other Tumblrs under another email where my main + side blogs are (this account is obvs not a side blog and I run no side blogs out of it). I don't think it's great to market original writing on an account where you're posting 50 irrelevant-to-your-writing posts every day, because it just means people can't find what they're looking for as easily, or at all, and will be less likely to follow you, because they might not want irrelevant 'spam' type posts in their feed. There are authors I love on AO3 who I would never follow the Tumblrs they link, because they post like 60 things a day about stuff I can't keep up with and/or don't really care about. And I just don't want to constantly scroll when I can avoid that completely.

As to Wattpad, you can definitely put original fiction there, and it can do pretty well because Wattpad was mainly made with original fiction in mind. That being said, these readers are also not always accustomed to paying for fiction, so if you're wanting to go commercial eventually, you'll probably need some pretty huge stories re: popularity to convert a tiny percentage of readers into folks who can give you income. But if you're already popular on Wattpad, you can 100% use your fanfiction account for your original writing. Just make sure you include your original fiction name somewhere in the summary. And remember if you do want to go commercial + publish books, you will eventually have to take those stories offline.

-

If I was doing this all again to build a career, I would do it completely differently. But if I was doing it all again for fun, I wouldn't.

So it's worth just sitting and reflecting on what your motives here are, because I can't tell from your ask, and if it's 'just for fun' that's different to 'actually also for income.' Knowing what your actual goals are - for yourself - will probably determine the best way to go forward.

Be honest with yourself about why you want to put original fiction out there and what you want to get out of it, but since you mentioned 'promo' I'm assuming there is a commercial bent, which in that case, I don't always think that AO3 is the best place for it unless you're just writing straight up smut or longfic with a lot of smut, which tends to do the best in the orig-fic category.

Oh! And finally, like... if you do want to do original fiction for profit, I'd just point out that even I made two completely separate AO3 accounts because I wanted a space where I could still relax and write fanfiction, and I found that doing it on the 'official original writing account' was very restrictive for me. As a result, most of my fanfic readers find out that I write original fiction through my Tumblr, because I don't want it all on the same AO3 account. (It also means some of my original fiction readers don't know I have a bunch of fanfic over at thespectaclesofthor on AO3).

Just some things to keep in mind!

[operaofsocks]

if i may...

being a popular and well-known fic author isn't really like... a thing? in modern day fandom? maybe in some, sure, but your cassandra clares or whoever else just don't really happen anymore. fandom is much bigger than it used to be, and you'll always be putting your work onto a pile of existing works, unless it's a small fandom, in which case you'll be one of the few posting it but also one of the few even around to read it.

and, look, here's the thing: your fic will be popular, at best. you, as a person? that still requires some legwork. you cannot just write well and become a household name in the same breath. like even for famous published authors, how many people do you think know who stephen king is as a person? his name is certainly "household", but he's also been putting out an obscene amount of work for decades.

now. i'm not actually trying to be disparaging, here. i just wanted to get the ugly bits out of the way first.

here are the metrics on my most popular fic:

and here's the raw text of that screenshot:

Comments: 397 Kudos: 2,351 Bookmarks: 170 Hits: 29,345

i'm sure there's tons out there with more than mine, but for my fandom i think this is pretty good. now let me tell you how i did this:

i wrote what i wanted to.

this is not a guarantee. it is not a surefire way to become popular. but it is fun, and people will recognize your passion. they'll enjoy your work more because you're enjoying it. writing what you want, how you want will always be better for EVERYONE involved, i promise. if you write to meet a quota, to appeal to the common denominator, people can tell. it's not nearly as fun to read unless you're really, really good at it, in which case you'd honestly be better off using that talent on things you like anyway!

and my fic has not made me popular. is the fic popular? reasonably speaking, sure. but i've been plugging this tumblr into the comments of every chapter for a few of those now, and the people who have followed me are few, and the people who've actively spoken to me are even less. and this isn't a bad thing! i don't want anyone to feel obligated to talk to me because they like my writing. in fact, if they actually want to do it, it's way more fun for both of us! sound familiar?

if you want people to like your work, you need to make work you can be proud of, anon. people will be far more interested in you if you do. and they'll give you nice comments and theorize on where you're going and write essays in your inbox about their favorite parts. that feels so good. way better than raw metrics ever could!

do not chase the high of popularity. it will only hurt you, i promise. someone will like what you do, and if not, write something else you want to write, and keep doing that until someone does finally come along and go, "oh, wow, look at all this content for this thing i didn't think anyone else would like!"

anyway, sorry for the ramble. hope it helps.

my biggest obstacle as a writer is that i desperately want to be a popular and well-known fic author, but my main fic inspiration comes from characters most fans don’t want to read fic for, or ideas that go against popular fanon/characterization and so are doomed from the start. i end up feeling paralyzed and like i can’t write the unpopular ideas I want to write, because i hate knowing i could have done better by writing something with broader appeal. but whenever i try to write solely for numbers i lose motivation while the halfway through the fic. so i end up unable to write anything and feeling miserable because of it.

i want to see my unpopular ideas come to life, but i don’t want to see my fics crash and burn and keep missing the chance to create fic that people really love. so most times, i don’t write anything, but i hate that i’m so hamstrung by my own anxieties. i so desperately wish i could create one of those extremely well-known long fics that most people love and always rec everywhere, but i feel like i’m completely incapable of that. i know i should be writing for myself, but i’m greedy and want results and for people to like my fic, however unlikely that is. wanting to write my ideas but knowing i’ll limit my audience if i do is something that’s constantly on my mind. do you have any advice for me?

My biggest question after reading your ask is simply: why?

You're very clear about wanting to be a popular writer. You want to write a fic that lots of people talk about, and you want people to know who you are. Have you examined that desire at all?

You say that the things you actually want to write are not the things that will make you a popular author. That means you have a choice:

write things you don't care about with no guarantee of becoming that Big Name Fan or

write things you love and enjoy spending time writing and know that BNF status will probably never happen.

Writing fanfic is really not a great way to try to become popular. It's an even worse way to try to become "famous" in any kind of way. So dig into what it is that you hope to get from the "broader audience" that you could appeal to by writing something you don't really like.

Are you trying to get a feeling of being liked? Respected? Looked up to? Do you want to be someone other fans look to for advice or for setting the tone of the fandom? Do you want love? Power? Some kind of community connection? Recognition of the effort you put into your works?

Some of those things likely will require you to pretend to be someone you're not. You might even manage to write that one big fic that gets thousands of comments and tons of people talking about it on tumblr (or wherever else you care about, social media-wise).

Others you can probably still get by writing your "unpopular" ideas but seeking out your fellow fans. It will take more legwork to find them and you'll need to be willing to be the first one to reach out for a conversation, but it can definitely be done.

I'll leave it up to you to decide what you actually want, anon. But take your time and scrape off the top layer of shiny thoughts about popularity first. Then you'll be able to see what's underneath.

[shakunthalaravikumar]

Smart Strategies for Buying Affordable Used Cars in Bangalore

Introduction With the busy streets in Bangalore, it makes almost indispensable for a person to have a good personal vehicle for transportation. But, on the other hand, all persons cannot afford a fresh vehicle. The good news is that Bangalore has an exhaustive listing of used cars that cater for all purse strings. Let your used car purchase in Bangalore be a wise investment by following the smart strategies.

1. Vibrant Second Hand Car Market in Bangalore Why Bangalore Is the Best Place to Buy a Pre-Owned Car

All of this has, in turn, given Bangalore the name of a tech capital with high rates of vehicle turnover and, thus, a considerably strong market for well-maintained used cars. Ranging from a hatchback that is more suited to fuel efficiency to a luxury sedan, means the availability of a type for anybody's taste. Understanding this market is possible only if you do research to find the vehicle that meets your needs and budget.

First of all, Mumbai citizens should research the car market in Bangalore before heading there in search of one. Use online websites like CarDekho, OLX, and CarWale to compare the prices, reviews, and possible models. These are going to save you from setbacks and give you the best possible deals.

2. Certified Pre-Owned Cars: A Reliable Alternative Benefits of Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles

The concept of pre-owned certified cars is a blend of affordability and reliability. They are the ones that have undergone a serious inspection process and, in most cases, are reconditioned by a certain authorized dealer in adhering to set quality standards. Besides, they offer a warranty in most instances, therefore providing confidence to buyers of used cars in Bangalore.

Where to Find Certified Pre-Owned Cars in Bangalore

You can browse through licensed certified used cars in Bangalore at a range of dealerships, from brand-specific ones to those that are more popular, like Maruti Suzuki, Honda, and Hyundai. While these may indeed sell at a slight premium over other options which are not certified, the quality guarantee will make them a worthwhile proposition for those shopping on a budget.

3. Shopping for Bargains at Local Dealerships Why Local Dealerships would be the Way to Go

Local dealers around Bangalore offer a wide array of used cars to cater to a variety of budget needs. J.C. Road, Koramangala, and Whitefield are a few hot spots for local dealers. Most of them allow scope of negotiation too, thus giving you a chance to get a vehicle within your budget.

Thorough Vehicle Inspection

When purchasing through the local dealer, be very observant of the automobile. Its exterior and interior and particularly an engine should be very attractive. Request a test drive and if possible take your mechanic with you too for car verification.

4. Convenience of Online Platforms Browse Second Hand Car Online

Online platforms make finding used cars in Bangalore easier than ever. Websites like Spinny, Cars24, and Quikr host a large inventory of cars, with an exhaustive description along with photographs. These platforms let you compare prices and even delve into the history of the car, not to forget organizing test drives—all done from the comfort of your home.

Safe Purchase Tips on the Net

Although online shopping is convenient, it's always good to take proper care and not fall for a scam. It's better to go the extra mile, if possible, to confirm the credibility of the seller and prove the physical existence of the car before exchanging money. Full scrutiny, alongside taking the car for a test drive, is essential to establish if you'll love it at the end.

5. Discovering Hidden Treasures in Auctions The Value of Car Auctions

For people in Bangalore looking for used cars, car auctions can be a treasure trove of bargains. Be it government or private auctions, they offer countless options for vehicles at much lower prices compared to the average market prices. Having said that, purchasing any vehicle at an auction requires some specific preparation and knowledge.

How to Be Successful at a Car Auction

To be as successful as possible at a car auction, you'll want to do your homework. Research the types of vehicles that will be available, have a clear budget, and show up early to view the cars. Knowing what happens during an auction will place you in the best possible position to make intelligent bids that hopefully will mean you get a good deal.

Purchasing a used car in Bangalore can prove to be the most cost-effective way to satisfy the dire needs of transport. One can easily get a reliable car within the budget range from certified pre-owned options or through local dealers, online platforms, and many other ways. All you need is proper research and inspection to make a wise investment that provides value and peace of mind.

[thequietmanno1]

Thelreads, MHA 283, Replies Part 1

1) “But, I shall face this grief, and we shall see this through, on Chapter 283: 75 … Yeah that’s the name apparently.”- Should have been “75% to emphasize that’s how complete Tomura’s body is at present….which means he’s still got a sizable chunk of remnant power to unlock if he ever gets some downtime after this. Alternatively, flipping it around, that means the heroes have a 25% chance to win….but that number drops with every hero that falls to Tomura or Machia.

2) “Oh my poor kids, if only you lot hadn’t died so young, oh the humanity, sometimes it’s almost like they are still here, staring at the fourth wall with abject horror.”- They’re basically looking at the aftermath of a speeding bullet train crashing though the landscape, that only missed hitting them by metres because somebody had the presence of mind to push them out of the way. Heroes are used to confronting disasters, but not nation-wide ones on this scale- and mere kids at that.

3) “My… that was quite the scar he left behind, even considering it is gigantomachia jesus so the pro heroes are all dead aren’t they?”- For all we know, these kids are all that’s left of the army that tried to stand in Machia’s way. There’s just no stopping him when he gets going, no matter how strong you are, unless you’ve got something like OFA to try and hold him back…and even then, it’s honestly a toss-up how effective that would be, if Machia keeps getting up again and again thanks to his endurance-enhancing powers. 4)“WAIT FATGUM AND AMAJIKI WERE THERE AS WELL?! ON THE FRONT?! OH GOD NO NO ABSOLUTELY NO THEY MUST’VE SURVIVED”- Must they? Really? Are you sure that plot armour’s in effect anymore with this fighting? The danger is real, and there’s no guarantee that even your fan-favourites will survive – heck, I know of an author who killed one of their characters specifically because their editor liked him and asked him to let them live. 5) “jesus fucking christ Absolutely terrifying. It is like a natural disaster given flesh and bone”- If Tomura is becoming god, then Machia is his hammer, his enforcer, his will made absolute, and unstoppable for whenever the master himself is busy elsewhere but needs a job done regardless. And mere mortals cannot stand against a god’s will.

6) “oh god, that was directed at momo, wasn’t it? because she was the one that would be taking this one the hardest, she was the one that took this decision, she’s the reason why Machia rampaged ): “- It’s also because she’s the student he mentored during their internships, so he knows her the best out of all of the kids he’s saving, and reassuring her that she can’t blame herself for the fallout of this. On Momo’s side, it’s also her mentor trying to reassure her that she doesn’t need to feel guilty about this as he goes off the face his Obi-Wan moment.

7) “they were all for naught in the end, because there isn’t a way to stop machia Shigaraki is The End, but Machia, machia is the calm before the storm. You can imagine how bad things are when Machia is the easy, merciful one to be met with.”- Machia acts according to Tomura’s will, which is why he wasn’t a factor until Tomura’s nap was over, and allowed the kids a chance against him out of disinterest until they started proving effective. Tomura himself is capable of taking action immediately to kill his foes and is actively trying to kill as many of them as he can before his body falls into pieces like a victim of his own decay – and until that moment happens, you’d better take care not to let your guard down against a single piece of him. His body breaking apart isn’t a sign of victory, it’s the hope that the heroes can maybe outlast him in the end, and that’s still a slim hope.

8) “I don’t think there were “right” choices to be made here. This is the End, and no choice is right or wrong, just what allows you to survive until the next day, but there’s no escaping The End The End always arrives”- Mineta is way too young to be suffering from this much Peter parker guilt syndrome, and he’s merely voicing the concerns of the entire class. They took a risk, made a stand against Machia, and from their perspective it might have only made things worse, because it pissed him off and made him actively fight back, to devastating consequences. And until the war’s over, they’ve no way of guessing whether this was the best or the worst possible outcome of it all.

9) “And the calm blows through another city, precluding the days to come. The End is close, and the one to warn you about it will make sure you don’t forget that.”- Machia tears through the cities and the remnant of the PLF follow in his wake like a tide of villainy, rousing other criminals and the like to follow the chaos onwards, laying waste to what Machia’s original charge didn’t fully destroy, all whilst the heroes are either too dead or too far away to stop them. The image of a safe society that All Might protected has been smashed to bits, and there’s no putting it all back together.

10) “And seems like only Dabi there is enjoying himself, Spinner doesn’t look too pleased even though he believes this is necessary, and Toga seems… unhappy, which would be understandable considering that Twice died less than 20 minutes ago, but there’s something more than that. She seems angry in the way she’s looking forward, but it look like she’s looking at Dabi I wonder the implications of this”- Whilst Spinner, compress and Toga are pensive about the destruction, knowing on some level this is what they wanted, but still feeling twinges of guilt seeing the mass destruction of lives around them, Dabi is actively rocking out to the screams like it’s music to his ears, delighting in the madness and demanding more of it. Toga seems to notice that dabi’s composure has finally cracked a little, and she sees that the real him doesn’t care about all the death, not those of civillians, not even those of his “allies” like Jin.

But he’s still “on her side” for now, so whislt she might have a lowered opinion of him from this, she still can’t actually turn agaisnt him without a valid reason. After all, the league is all Toga has left, and she’s devastated by Jin’s loss, so regardless of how she feels, she’s doing her best to help them stick together in the midst of all this, including getting her friends to where Tomura’s in need of their aid.

11) “OH THIS MOTHERFUCKER IS STILL ALIVE MIC PLEASE, I THOUGHT WE AGREED ON TAKING CARE OF HIM ALREADY”-Satisfying as it would be, he’s the only other person they might hope to interrogate as to the truth of AFO’s grand plans, since clearly Tomura’s role in them is not exactly what he was lead to believe it would be.

12) “Oh that settles things then, Machia isn’t a nomu even though he had all those quirks in him, but he is pretty much the template that was used to design the final product. If he was able to handle it, so others should be able to as well, right? That also ties with using trigger to make instant villains, pushing the limits of the drug to see how strong it could make one’s body and quirk”- I’m pretty sure Machia was something of a “lucky accident” from AFO managing to stuff more than a few Quirks into a loyal servant, possibly on a curious whim, and from how he reacted to them, it gave the villain the idea of intentionally modifying the existing body to better handle more powers being forcibly injected into it by himself. Granted, from what’s been seen of Tomura, it seems like the Nomu, barring the High-End, where meant to be modified into “strongmen-like bodies” capable of using brute-force, simple Quirks in a fight, whereas the Hih-Ends got more control and versatility added into themselves to go with their higher brain functions. Tomura’s enhancements seem to be the best of both, in his base state, he’s arguably as strong and as durable as Machia without the size issues, and if he can unleash his full range of Quirks properly, he’ll have the same versatile combination and on-the-spot mixing techniques AFO demonstrated at Kamino. The only advantage All Might had against him then was than no combination of Quirks was as strong as OFA’s singular core power, and against Machia, his lowered brain functions mean he can be tricked or out-thought easily. A being that combines the traits of both is utterly unbeatable, which is why Horikoshi’s had Tomura on the verge of completion, without actually managing to cross the threshold into an absolute powerhouse.

13) “The Calm before the storm marches forward, with no regard to what is destroyed in its path. It shall only stop when it reaches The End and i don’t like the implications of what will happen once Shigaraki gets Machia’s power”- I mean, he technically doesn’t need it. Tomura’s already as strong as Machia, if not stronger, and he’s a harder target to hit to boot. Machia’s more effective as a walking base for his allies to defend from heroes whilst Tomura’s out tearing the world apart around them.

14) “Oh yeah, Aizawa is down, now the fuckery can truly take place sweats cold I’m absolutely ready to see what will unfold”- Aizawa’s down, but luckily, the damage dealt to Tomura’s not-quite-ready-yet shell in the interim period was enough that the cracks started to show by now, and whilst Tomura can now use his abilities, it’s starting to physically cost him, destabilising his body further the more damage he takes, whether self-inflicted or by the heroes. It’s now possible for him to use Decay again, but the power might now blow back on his body once again, and even besides that, he’s still getting used to his new range of abilities, such that he’s stuck with simple but effective ones so far. Having too many powers to handle at once gives Izuku a window of opportunity to use his one power most effectively right in Tomura’s face before he can decide.

15) “Okay the old timers can step back, now it’s time for the next big three to show what they can do and hopefully not be completely obliterated”- Well, Sans Izuku and his immense power, the other kids can only really provide support for the top pros still standing to pile on the damage to Tomura whilst there’s still a window of opportunity to do so. In fact, Izuku’s now really the only one who can hold back Tomura for any length of time, both because of his Quirk combinations preventing him from using Decay, and his immense strength beign the best thing to damage him through his durability and healing.

16) “Oh look, is that Gran Torino’s body? And Midoriya jumping in towards certain death? My that reminds me of the Stain arc”- It’s Bakugo flashing back to Tomura’s charge towards Aizawa’ and how Izuku moved faster than he could to entangle him with Black Whip, whereas Bakugo was only fast enough to barely blow up the decoy Erasure Bullet in Tomura’s other hand. Bakugo swore he’d keep up with Izuku as his rival, but in this clash between AFO and OFA’s inheritors, he’s just not on the same level no matter how hard he tries, and that’s eating at him.

17) “oh okay he wasn’t going towards certain death this time, he went to see if Aizawa was alive, that’s certainly an improvement. Can’t believe it would ever come the day we see Midoriya not rushing into the meatgrinder like the maniac he is”- Izuku’s bloodlust is barely being eclipsed by his natural concern for other’s safety, but the more Tomura hurts those he’s close too, the more the red mist descends….

@thelreads

[nickerson-insurance-agency]

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[the-f-formula-by-marissa]

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[usvesseldocumentation]

The Benefits Of Yacht Documentation

Yacht documentation is essential to owning a vessel and running it as a business. It is a method for keeping track of important information on your boat, and it may assist you in avoiding fines and other penalties if the Coast Guard ever stops you. We’ll look at the advantages of yacht documentation and discuss why it’s such a crucial step for boat owners to take in this article on our blog. It may give vessel owners various advantages, including tax savings and a simpler time selling their vessels.

You can guarantee that the process of yacht ownership goes as smoothly and without as many hiccups as possible if you have a good awareness of the significance of documentation and if you take the time to complete all of the relevant yacht documentation correctly. The following are some of the reasons why you should make sure that your boat has all of the necessary documentation:

It Establishes Legal Ownership Regarding boat ownership and the myriad rules that pertain to them, it’s easy to fall between the gaps if your vessel is more than fifteen years old. Some jurisdictions classify boats as real property, so even if you don’t utilize your boat for commercial reasons, you still need to pay yearly taxes on it. If your boat is stored where it doesn’t get used much, you may need a reminder every year when filing your taxes since this is another case of something simple to forget but important to remember.

One of the benefits of having a documented boat is that you may more easily comply with the requirements for boat registration. Registering your boat with the proper authority requires evidence of legal ownership, which you may get if you have your vessel documented with the United States Coast Guard.

Yacht Documentation Provides Proof of Ownership Documentation is an essential stage in the process of safeguarding your financial investment and ensuring that your yacht complies with all applicable laws and regulations. Even though the government’s registration and titling processes might be sluggish at times, if your boat is properly documented, you will never be in a position where you cannot demonstrate ownership of it.

Boats missing required papers often find their way into the underground market, where they are bought and sold without titles or registrations. This makes it more difficult to trace ownership if there is a disagreement about who the yacht is owned by. This also implies that the boat is subject to seizure at any moment by the relevant authorities. Producing yacht documentation takes time, but the effort is well worth it! Registration and titling of your boat will assist in guaranteeing that you are protected in terms of safety, legality, and ownership, and having that kind of peace of mind is worth more than any amount of money.

It Serves as Evidence in Case of a Dispute It may be used as proof in the event of a disagreement. However, that’s not the only benefit of registering your yacht. It’s also important to determine who owns it and whether or not it’s been acquired and used lawfully. In the case of a divorce or a claim against your boat’s ownership, this is essential documentation (like if an insurance company decides you were negligent in using it). You can better prove or defend yourself with the documentation at hand.

For instance, if someone near your dock smashes into your boat by accident, you’ll have an easier time proving that it wasn’t your responsibility if you provide proof that your boat was registered and insured at the time. When operating a boat, it is necessary to register the boat with the government and, in many situations, to have a license for the captain, according to archives.gov. These regulations are implemented to reduce the potential for accidents at sea and increase the security of recreational activities on the water.

The USCG Tracks All Documented Vessels This may seem like a no-brainer, but if anything happens to your ship at sea, your friends and family will want to know how to get in touch with you immediately. For example, mobile phone reception is spotty at best in the middle of a lake or out in the middle of the ocean. When people need your assistance, they can reach you more quickly if your contact information is prominently displayed on all of your boats. Any formal documents will help authorities identify the owner and locate the vessel if your boat has been stolen or lost at sea. Having the proper yacht documentation may aid law enforcement in locating a yacht being used for illicit purposes or concealed from them.

A third party can manage the steps mentioned earlier at your request, but you must apply for them in advance and pay special fees. If you wish to handle this process yourself, you can visit the U.S. Vessel Documentation Center website or call them directly at 1-800-340-7580.