#AND THE BIGGEST [GETS SNIPED OUT OF EXISTENCE]

[stormyoceans]

let's focus on what truly matters: sea's smile (and dem tiddies)

[asteralis-01]

Actually no im not done complaining about toxic shipping cultures

Ever since I joined the proship + rq community (which was at the same time) I CANNOT stand people getting mad at ships. I have a few ships I cannot be around (tw but Sal x Larry being the biggest, we are uncomfortable w the concept, had it used against us to cause trauma, and Travis hates it for obvious reasons that’s HIS man not his brothers man ew). However- is this reason for me to invade Sally face spaces and start screaming and yelling about how horrible Sallarry is; is it ok for me to garner a good chunk of the fandom to go and storm the palace of sallarry and kill all shippers in their steps?? NO! From what I’m aware, the devs were even implying it before they decided to go the route they did (which honestly I like because it shows a really dynamic and complex relationship with many different phases, and Trav KNEW they had something for each other before they became siblings). Like I don’t know how much time I spent avoiding fanfic and fandom spaces because I didn’t ship the conventional ships (which in hindsight were SO CHILL compared to the shit I ship now). I left friends for the things they shipped, had friends leave me for what I shipped, and for what??

When my abusive ex was using the ship and various other sources of media to gaslight me into doing the gross things I did with them, then THAT is not ok. That’s a time where someone is taking a ship to far, and it’s genuinely hurting people. But not a SINGLE SOUL (including myself) was ever hurt by ships that I didn’t like. It was just the one time I had a bitch who used it against me. It just goes to show how stupid toxic ship culture is. Anyone remember the absolute OUTLASH that tsumishima got on TikTok from like 2018-2019? Yea that entire time I never actually saw any tsumishima content, and the people I saw who shipped tsumishima never posted about it. When they did they were just trying to defend themselves from the doxing and death threats.

And the thing is- how can you assume what someone thinks about a ship. I would ship junko and mikan in a recovery au- I think they would actually make a good couple with all their shared trauma as long as they got therapy for the rest of their lives. But no one would let me get past ‘Junko and Mikan would be cute’ Because they would already sniping me down from across the screen.

Anyways this is such a sleep deprived ramble, I just hate toxic ship culture. You literally NEVER have to look at a ship you don’t like- and only in the aforementioned case above or similar cases should a ship be called out. Not because of the content, but the way the person is using the ship. The fictional characters literally do not matter and they will not be mad if you put them in a ‘bad’ relationship. And don’t come at me saying ‘oh but I’m an introject/fictive and I-‘ BLOCK THE TAG!! STOP LOOKING FOR IT!! I AM TRAVIS AND I NEVER SEE SALLARRY STUFF BECAUSE I HATE IT SO I DON’T LOOK AT IT AND I AM PERFECTLY FUCKING FINE EVEN THOUGH IT EXISTS AND PEOPLE ENJOY IT. Someone else’s ship does not make it true- the only thing that should make it true is your own opinion, thoughts, feeling and perspective. And guess what- that’s only your truth, not anyone else’s.

[eneiryu]

hi! just wanted to say i love your fics a lot and i read a while back that you’ll sometimes take prompts if they speak to you and i know you don’t do aus but we sent a cameo request to dylan and this is what he gave us: https://www.cameo.com/recipient/65538f40d9da33f2eef38bff

and while we were trying to make sense of it, this is what we came up with. neither would cheat on the other since it just doesn’t make sense for either of them to (and i think in dylan’s explanation it seemed more like liam was the king who cheated which makes even less sense) BUT then we thought about it more and he says king and queen so it made sense that liam (who in the show is kind of like supernatural royalty through scott) is the king and the queen is someone he’s married to through a delicate political balance with another royal family for the security of the kingdom or something and theo is actually the MAID since theo would never make sense to be royalty. so king liam has an affair with maid theo and when it get revealed it tears apart the royal family and the delicate political ties and topples (or almost topples) the kingdom. and so theo because he was the maid gets sentenced and executed and liam is unable to do anything to stop it cause of reasons and so that love and betrayal and heartbreak and animosity then carry’s over to this life and is the cause of their dynamic in this life (since according to dylan it wasn’t theo almost killing all of liam’s friends but rather a cheating scandal in a past life that is the cause of their animosity).

but that also explains why they seem to be drawn to each other and have bitterness at the same time (a lot of their s6 interactions seem like bitter exes who still have feelings for each other which makes some sense with dylan’s headkahn) and liam’s explanation for bringing theo back and then protecting him and both of them protecting and sniping at each other at the same time. so their past life is the reason they’re both drawn to each other and hate each other in this life.

like in their past life they loved each other enough to sacrifice everything for each other but it wasn’t enough to save them so that pull between them still exists but betrayal will still always be a part of their story (except it’s the other way around in this life hence s5 theo)

anyway that’s what we were sort of able to come up with. i know i think you’ve said before that you don’t typically write au aus but was his cameo (and our semi explanation) something you could make sense of and/or maybe write a fic about someday 😭?

Thank you and I’m so glad you enjoy my fics!

Hmmm. So that’s certainly an interesting headcanon/take on Theo’s and Liam’s relationship throughout the series, and I’m impressed as hell with the amount of thought that clearly went into it. A couple of things would probably make a challenge for me to write, the biggest hurdle being that I’ve never developed a huge taste for “destined” relationships or soulmates or the like. It always seems to take away that critical element of choice—I want, and I want the people I write about to have, the ability to choose to love someone, rather than it being something that was decided by fate or whatever. But! One of the most memorable fics I’ve ever read had a really interesting take on this (if anyone is interested, it’s a Clarke/Lexa fic for the 100, and I will dig it up if anyone wants it), where the idea was that certain souls are “tied” together, rather than destined? It’s hard to explain out of context, but I remember liking that story a lot, and the author made the concept work. Winding back to the point, the second challenge I’d have is that I’m not a big regency person (for the past relationship element).

Buuuuut…I’ve actually brought in elements of this in other fics. Telegraph wires and the quiet earth still sleeping both deal pretty heavily with Theo trying to shield the McCall pack (including Liam) from suffering the political consequences of being associated with him, given his past. So I could see myself doing something a little more focused on that, possibly.

Meandering thought process aside, I’m really sorry that this probably isn’t going to be something that I’m going to be able to bring to life for you. But maybe someone else can, I would highly encourage anyone interested to take a shot at it!

[pathetic-gamer]

Graduation Day, baby!!! RSoS Alumni run complete!

shall we do a run recap?

okay FIRST OF ALL this took so much longer than expected (because i just kept Not Playing) and also was honestly a little harder than anticipated lol

This was pretty fun, but idk if it's my favorite of the gimmick roster runs Ive done. there are definitely things I would do differently if i did it again, like classed, but also stuff like the fact that i forgot to recruit Caspar and so lost out on Mercie's paralogue lol

We can get into that later though - let's review the stats:

MVP: tie between Constance and Annette, with 15 each!

Most battles: again, Coco and Annie with 999+ each

Most kills: Coco, with 673 kills

Longest battle: Chapter 22 (52 turns 😭)

Final classes:

Mercedes - gremory

Annette - gremory/dark flier

Constance - sword master

Lorenz - bow knight

These are the builds approximately as they sat for most of the run (shoutout to 130 avo coco)

I will say, I kinda fucked it up a little bit by letting Annette and Mercedes use viskams (hacked item from the AM Fhirdiad map that people sell via travelers at the Monastery). It trivialized a lot of things that maybe would have been more interesting if I hadn't had them around.

Now some reviews/recollections:

I think one of my biggest mistakes was making Constance my dodge tank sword master and Annette my battle mage - I should have switched their roles up or messed around with something different entirely.

iirc, my original thought process behind that was that Constance has higher speed. But! they actually have the same speed growths, and Annette has better strength, dex, and charm. There was no good reason for doing it the way I did other than the fact that I love Annette and I like when she gets to cast spells, since "meta" people always shove her into a dancer or support role lmao

A lot of the run boiled down to patience, going oh so slow and steady around the maps. Constance didn't start really being able to kill enemies on her counters until about part 2, which meant it was her chipping away and then Annette sweeping in and out on her pegasus sniping them from 6 tiles away (s/o thyrsus)

Lorenz was the strongest person for most of the run, but also the slowest. I invested a lot in his ability to just tank damage, but that was not very helpful, turns out. So I struggled to figure out how to use him for a while... That said, this was the first run where I've ever actually used him at all (or seen his supports lmao) and I will say I'm enlightened now. He's a great character.

notable stuff from part 2:

Despite all that posturing about not knowing how to use him, losing Lorenz for half of Part 2 was significantly more impactful than I had thought it would be. But then when he finally got back, he had to play catch up and couldn't even get right back to work smh. It also didn't help that he was already a little underleveled because I had put my attention on leveling up Mercie and Annie as much as possible before Hunting by Daybreak.

The biggest challenge in part 2 was, in fact, chapter 22, where I discovered that I simply couldn't take Edelgard’s last health bar, like, mathematically, just due to the reality of everyone's stats. I asked for help on reddit and was alerted to the sacred shield gambit which I fully had no idea existed, which also sparked running through all the other support gambits I hadn't paid attention to. fun stuff in there!

ultimately, i hired a couple new battalions, gave Mercie the dance of the goddess gambit (which I already had and which I have used before but I had forgotten about it lol), deployed my only two non-run-required units (Marianne and Felix, adjutants kept around for paired endings), and broke my own rules to let them help - mostly blocking stairwells and in Marianne's case healing and chipping away at enemies with Viskam. Felix did also get to tank Edelgard’s ranged attacks and help finish off some monsters, though.

So with the two of them, plus Byleth and Dimitri, we have the rest of the roster:

Byleth - Cavalier (blessing gambit)

Dimitri - Cavalier (sacred shield gambit)

Marianne- bishop (stride gambit, plus healing)

Felix - wyvern rider (just hanging out having a good time w the broskis)

speaking of paired endings, I had planned for Marianne/Lorenz and Dimitri/Mercedes but ended up with Marianne/Dimitri and Lorenz/Mercedes. Surprised, but into it!

(all of the battles and victories listed for Marianne and Felix come from the final battle)

And there we have it! the former student of the Royal School of Sorcery have saved the world and everyone in it 👍 they will pass their group project

Royal School of Sorcery Debate Team DESTROYS Enemies with Facts and Logic

that's right fellas - we're doing the RSoS run

I actually started this a while ago, but never posted about it!

Rules:

Azure Moon, maddening/classic, ng+

Can only use characters who attended the Royal School of Sorcery before attending the Officer’s Academy

Byleth and Dimitri are allowed to help by doing things like use gambits, and finish off stragglers

I reserve the right to turn down the difficulty lol

Units and classes:

Annette, gremory or perhaps dark flier or even wyvern rider

Constance, mortal savant

Mercedes, gremory

Lorenz, dark knight

Notes:

Nothing major to note. Currently at Chapter 7, and everyone is doing pretty well so far. MVP has actually been very evenly distributed. I've classed Felix into armored knight so he can proc guard for Annette lol it's been useful.

I'm very worried for Chapter 13, since Byleth and Dimitri are going to have to hold their own until Mercedes and Annette show up. I want to be able to keep Ashe alive, too, so it's going to be tough. Thus, I'll have a pre-chapter 12 save so I can turn down the difficulty if I can't manage it lol

[botanyshitposts]

Hi, I'm sorry if this is more in the jurisdiction of paleobiology, but I've been really interested in prototaxites recently and I'm even using them in a sci-fi world I'm building. One of my favorite things about lichens are their incredible textures and colors. But all art I've seen of prototaxites looks like smooth poles rising out of the ground! What do you think the surface of a 8-meter tall megalichen could look like?

i know you sent a followup ask saying that this was meant for @lichenaday but i have the pleasure to inform you that we do not need to imagine what the surface of an 8 meter tall megalichen would look like because we already know because it existed.

Prototaxites was a very early lichen (about 470 to 360 million years ago). not the earliest, but definitely the largest and probably the biggest of its time. it was thought to be a fungus for a hot minute recently, but more newer studies have found ancient algae embedded inside (keep in mind that these fossils were up to debate until like.... literally 2001, and until then it was up in the air between some sort of marine algae or rotten tree or...something, the wikipedia page talks about the history of 'what the fuck is this' in more detail). im not including a reconstruction of it here because although there are lots of fossils to back it up, there aren't as many consistent artist renditions of it as say, early devonian plants, and it seems like most artists have very different takes on it because like... god what do you even do with a 26 foot tall lichen that was only tentatively identified as mostly fungus in 2001 (this line of discovery is really similar to modern lichens imo; lichens were originally thought by victorian scientists to be fungus or overwhelmingly fungus because they were majority fungus by weight, thus the naming convention, but we now know that each part of the soup contributes roughly equally despite how much of each part there is). but yeah these bad boys could get literally one meter across and 8 meters high in an age where the tallest plants were like, a shag carpet on the ground. so many fucking questions arise from this as you can imagine.

from what i can tell looking at the fossils, it seems like it had a very lichen-y texture to it (i know that seems obvious but i do not know how else to say it). like the only way i can describe it is like...look at this much smaller cast of one from Tennessee:

honestly reminds me a lot of what cladonia stalks look like (very broadly, because theres a surprising amount of differentiation in cladonia stalk textures between species), but like 40000x as tall:

they could have had it all but they were getting too strong and god had to snipe them from the rooftops, is what im saying.

[pyro-tf2-but-trans]

loved your general headcanons :D may I now request general tf2 merc x reader romantic relationship headcanons, if thats okay?

Yes of course!!

Scout- #1 most corny s/o you'll ever have. REALLY big on PDA, a lot of "oh yeah! this is MY partner!!!" He means well, if you're not a big fan of PDA he's gonna have a hard time figuring it out. He means well tho!! Expect a lot of movie dates too

Soldier- He's gotta be a CLOSE second on the corniest s/o. Again, a lot of "oh yeah! this is MY partner!!!" the difference between him and scout though is how much he brings it up and how much he just... openly adores you?? he brings you more goodies too. def a big gift giver. Expect a lot of gym dates or picnics

Pyro- Pyro is a little less dramatic with their undying love for you, but it's still very much there!!! She loves hugs and kisses and he's just like openly the most positive person you'll ever meet. Also a big gift giver. Expect a lot of picnics and movie nights.

Heavy- Heavy is the most gentle person on the planet. He loves it when you tell him you love him, and he'll do the same. Hell, he might even bring you to his knitting seshes* with demo if you want. He also definitely knits things for you. Makes food for you too. Expect lots of cooking dates

Engie- Engie is the best hugger!! And kisser!!! Please love him!!! it gets him off work!!! but actually yeah. He's a big workaholic, but you're a really good remedy for him. you might even be able to convince him to get a full night's rest! Remember that pecan pie* I mentioned? Well if hes off work, and he has the time, you will get to get a rare sighting of engie making some! he might even let you help him :). Expect lots of picnics, dinner dates, and just hanging out a lot when you can drag him away. oh yeah and guitar. lots and lots of cheesy love songs on guitar

Demo- Another big hugger and kisser and whatnot. Loves hanging around you two just being the light of each other's lives. Big on just existing together, think like everyone thinks ur just besties, and then out of nowhere you kiss and everyone's like "oh ok then" lmao. Expect lots of takeout dates and movie nights.

Medic- Another workaholic. But a lot easier to drag away from his work. He Falls in love when you baby talk his birds. Loves dancing with you, loves just existing with you. Sometimes hell call you for a "checkup" and then hell be all like "lmao ur fine I just wanted to hang out with you for a while". Expect a lot of dinner dates and dancing in the kitchen.

Sniper- He's real shy on PDA, but will occasionally sneak in a "did you find it, Love?"'s and "Take care of the camper while I'm out, Darling"'s But that's IT. Real clingy too, you can't be in a room alone for longer than 5 minutes without snipes ominously looming over your shoulder. But alone he's definitely more touchy, with lots of handholding and kisses. Expect lots of just cuddling, camping, and the occasional movie nights.

Spy- Spy has one rule in a relationship, Never, under any circumstances, use PDA. He hates it. But if it's any consolation it's for good reason. He doesn't want you or him getting hurt because somebody who didn't like him saw. But behind closed doors? Biggest puppy dog in the world. You couldn't fight his hands off you if you tried. It's just buildup from what he couldn't give you under eyes. Anyways 10/10 s/o would recommend. Expect lots of dinner dates and just dancing together.

[clownao]

Liking Hayachi in 2022 is so. If 2017 me and 2022 me existed in the same timeframe, we would be each other’s biggest antis. I’m five pessimistic steps away from debunking Hayachi and why maybe they won’t be good for each other in specific scenarios (since if you squint, they’re treated quite differently by both in-universe characters and the fandom). Yet they’re still my comfort ship. I can’t stop thinking about them. I’m genuinely truthing that Hayami has a crush on Chiba. My views have changed so radically that basically no fancontent satisfies me now, including like all of the fanfic I wrote, but I also can’t write more because I don’t know how to express them. So I’m stuck in a limbo in which I stare at Hayachi quotes (from the math book) and start screaming.

It’s the comfort of finding someone who understands you when you’re quiet and awkward in middle school. It’s also seeing that someone who’s like you be better at the thing you’re best at, only to find out he’s also in awe of you because you can do what he can never do. It’s about relying on math and calculations and losing your mind over them, only for your sniping partner to causally hit the target and go “it’s just intuition”. It’s being in sync with someone and he’s the one you’re the most comfortable with, yet he’s friendly with everyone else. It’s about spending so much time together and being so in tune with each other’s thoughts, yet they reply to each other’s messages a day late. It’s about Hayami getting the accuracy wrong but the timing right, and Chiba getting the timing wrong but the accuracy right in the island assassination. It’s about everyone in the class cheering when he scores a hit using calculations, yet he’s the only one watching when she shows him how to shoot with intuition. It’s telling your best friend that if he says so, he has to be right, and him saying in return “hearing you say that makes me happy”. It’s about looking at him in 3-E and noticing he has a “silent flame from his gaze behind his hidden eyes”. It’s him saying he doesn’t want to rely on anyone else for the assassination, only for her to say “if we form a combo, there’s no target we can’t hit”. Does anyone get me

[xamaxenta]

Yah! After Sabo’s been soothed by Ace and Ace has heard Sabo call Marco every name under the sun Sabo immediately drags Marco out to toss him in the ocean

He fishes him out eventually, and then whilst Marco’s kinda laying there like a ragdoll remembering how to exist again, Sabo shoves him back down when he tries to prop himself up and smashes their mouths together in a very violent kiss like fuck you you split my lip and you dont get to heal this dickhead

Marco finds his voice again after a brief interlude of unceremonious but vaguely humiliating choking up sea water and hes like why would i want to heal that

That gets sabo going like i wasnt trying to kick your ass today.

Ace gets called out on deck to see Sabo sitting on Marco’s prone twisted body with a thunderous expression, pettily stomping out blue flames from where they flicker up around his body

“Did you really have to make me see this?” Ace asks the Crewmember who had the painful foresight to fetch him

“Sorry commander, figured youd wanna intervene before your boyfriend kills your other boyfriend for reals.”

“Right, I appreciate the thought but it looks like they’ve figured it out.” Ace mutters, he’s never been able to stomach Marco’s rejuvenation, he doesnt understand how Sabo can and is thoroughly willing to be the cause of.

“Sorry.” Sabo mumbles, now that the emotions have been forcibly wrung out of him and into the phoenix, he feels a little guilty. Mostly because Ace had to see it.

“Thats between him and you.” Ace says, stays his distance and looks at a point in the far horizon beyond the sails of the moby. His mouth creases slightly, the only pointer either needed to know that the logia was clearly nauseous.

“I got carried away.” Marco rasps out, always the martyr. Sabo almost wants to rip his jaw off for that.

“Mm.” Sabo acknowledges instead.

“I think you mean thank you for healing me, Marco.” Ace interjects, his voice is remarkably level, when both blondes know he can smell Marco’s blood, even if hes not looking at it.

“Thanks.” Sabo says eventually, “even if you were a dick about it.”

Marco laughs, he has no regrets. The part where he says he’d do it again and again doesnt need to be vocalised because they all know he will and Sabo will hate it all over again and Marcos blood will be all over the fucking deck again.

“I’d be your biggest dick anytime.”

“Gross” sabo snipes, his stomach does a funny little flip at the lopsided smile Marco directs towards him, grimaces when he realises he’s still going to forgive him no matter what

Easing up on his weight, Sabo stands and helps the phoenix up, braces his weight on his own because Marco’s still healing his right leg and Ace still refuses to look at them.

Clean up is a grim affair when Ace continues to give them the silent treatment, but considering his penchants for morbid comedy , Sabo laughs anyway, when Marco trips up a bit in the shower and shoots him a look from over the top of Ace’s dark head.

“Aww does your leg still hurt?” Sabo ribs, he cant help it, hes a sore loser sometimes. (Mostly)

“Just a bit.” Marco indulges him, theatrical groan and all, “so kind of you to ask.”

Sabo inhales, ready to reply with something catty, barbed when Ace tugs them both in by their bloodied lapels.

Satisfied that he has their attention, Ace glances between them with a narrowed expression, “can you both for once, shut the fuck up”

Marcosabo thoughts where Marco holds Sabo down with that crazy beast zoan strength and heals the wounds he’s come home with

Sabo hates it, spits that he’s never gonna be able to do his work right if he doesn’t suffer if he doesnt heal naturally, the healing via phoenix proxy method still hurts but it never lasts for long

Marco remains calm, keeps him in a hold Sabo has never to his dismay learnt to break out of and asks him why does he want to hurt? When he can fix it, hasnt he had enough?

Sabo always thinking of others before himself snaps a retort that viciously asks Marco if he will play healer for the entire army and Marco scoffs and presses his fingers into the edge of a laceration just to see him flinch

“I don’t have any personal commitments to them.”

Sabo looks stricken for a moment, hes always so expressive during these healing sessions, twists in Marco’s grip his mouth tilted in a tight unhappy line

“You’re a selfish bastard.” Sabo hisses, his good eye glitters with something more than anger, shining between the strands of sweaty blonde hair sticking to his face.

“So we’ve found out.” Marco agrees and tugs Sabo back, who comes unwillingly, but, with a burn of satisfaction that Marco had to transform his hand into talons just to keep him close.

“I’m going to do the fractured rib now. If you think you’re going to pass out—“ Marco nods at his burning breast, phoenix flames wreathing his clavicles and torso in a soft invitation.

Sabo glowers at him, “Ace hates it when you get like this.”

“I dont really care what Ace likes and doesn’t like me doing to you.” Marco slowly lets go of Sabo to move his hand down to where the bloody bruise mottles across Sabo’s flank and radiates in a throbbing swell to his hip.

“You—“ Sabo almost bites off his own tongue, teeth snapping shut over an agonised groan, blue flame burns against his skin, penetrates deep and invasive and unnatural as he feels his insides, his wounds react to the phoenix.

“Lucky.” Marco murmurs, eyes glowing a faint violet, clearly fixated on Sabo’s trembling whitened lips, “I would’ve healed that too.”

Sabo doesnt doubt that, he’d rather choke on his own blood than allow the phoenix into his mouth.

He refuses to moan in the wash of relief that comes with his fractured ribs being reset, refuses to give Marco that satisfaction.

But he cant stop the tears spilling down his cheeks and loathes that Marco obviously enjoys to see it.

[palaceofpassion]

MAY I stop Time?

A fic done for a friend!  In which May lets her new semblance go to her head.  

“Okay… okay I can do this.”  

Here May rested, her body hanging above the man of her dreams, one of the many people of her dreams but still the only man.  Her eyes gazed upon his delectable form, his toned form gained through months and months of hard work.  His boyish face on the threshold of a chiseled deity.  Nearly losing herself in his gorgeous blue eyes she felt her heart thump in her chest.  Her beloved Jaune rested below her, his body glistening with the sweat of his hard labor.  

Even as she lowered herself upon his lap he made no distinct movements, no signs of noticing her attempts.  In fact he didn’t move at all, neither did the incredibly gorgeous women around him.  Taking the time to handle her nerves she gazed upon the other six figures in the room.  Her pulse raced in her veins as she stared at each of them, bare as the day they were born.  Their bodies much like Jaunes were coated in a thick layer of sweat.  And just like the man below her they made no special attention to her own depravity.  None of them moved, not a single person besides herself were even aware, conscious of her actions.  

Even as she pressed her virgin lips against the tip of his massive cock she couldn’t help but remember the day this all started.  The day that she unlocked her semblance, what felt like so long ago was only a month.  In that month she’d learned to control her powers, learned to use them to their best and make the most out of them.  And what else would she do with them but enjoy her beloveds to their fullest.  And here they all where, here they all sat around her.  

Closing her eyes she pushed down, the memories of yonder days returning to her mind as she did so.

It had been any other day, May had been at the shooting range practicing her sniping, she wouldn’t let that Ruby girl show her up!  Then out of nowhere one of the punks from Team CRDL decided it was a great idea to scare her, so they decided that they’d take a pot shot at her.  In her surprise something happened, before the dust round hit her the world came to a halt, everything slowed till the bullet stopped right in front of her.  

“Wha?!  What’s going on?!”  The normally quiet May couldn’t help but have a minor freak out when she realized the bullet that should have slammed her right in the face had stopped.  After a moment it dawned on her, this was her doing!  Excitement filled her breast as she stared at the bullet, completely forgetting about those jerks from CRDL.  In her excitement she dashed out of the room, not even paying attention to any of the other students as she passed by.  She only had a small group of people she wanted to tell, the most important people in her life.  

With speed that would drive Ruby to envy she found herself in the Library, where she knew her special friends would be.  Spotting them in the distance she made her way forward, the first coming to focus was her most beloved man.  Jaune Arc, the only person who would go out of their way to talk to a wallflower like her.  He’d gone out of his way to talk to her when no one else would at the beginning of initiation.  Being teamed with him had done nothing but cause her near case heart attacks.  She’d pretend not to stare when he’d come out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel.  She was only so strong though, weak willed as she was, she'd gaze upon his figure over and over.  And believe her when she says he’d come a long way.  She still held their first conversation dear in her heart, it was because of him that she’d been able to make such precious friends.  She wouldn’t admit it, but she’d had many an erotic dream about the young blonde… though speaking of erotic dreams she knew she wasn’t the only one.

To his right, was quite possibly the single most gorgeous woman in existence.  A beauty who made lesbians out of even straight women, Pyrrha Nikos.  The all Star Champion, the invincible girl, the untouchable unapproachable or at least that’s what May used to think.  If it hadn’t been for Jaune she may have never seen the real girl underneath, the one who was just as lonely as her, who only wanted to make friends.  They both owed a lot to Jaune, and if she was being honest, Pyrrha was probably her biggest rival for his affection.  At least she would have been if not for her also being a target of May’s pining heart.  The woman was amazing, strong, powerful, glorious, gorgeous!  But more than that she was just a girl, a sweet and loving girl that like herself was just happy spending time with her friends.  

Then there was the girl to his left, the dark skinned beauty Ciel Soleil, her own partner.  She hadn’t really known what to think of the girls when they first met.  But now they were as thick as thieves, even if Ciel rarely ever spoke.  She owed much of this to her previous two teammates, they’d taken the time to get everyone to sit and talk with one another.  She knew that if they’d been left to their own devices then neither her nor Ciel would have taken the time to become friends.  She would have surely regretted that decision.  Despite her cold nature, May knew she cared in the end, she herself was an incredibly sweet woman who May couldn’t help but feel an affinity for.

To Ciel’s own left, there was Penny Poledina, her odd but rather fun friend who had come along with her Atlas.  The two had originally planned to be partners, but because of Ciel accidentally running into May first those plans had become derailed.  Things had worked out surprisingly well as Penny would visit the four of them frequently, becoming fast friends.  May herself was surprised at how quickly Jaune had adapted to Penny’s inquisitive nature, he himself admitted to having seven sisters so he had grown to become rather patient.  She was incredibly adorable, and May couldn’t help but feel her heart flutter every time the inquisitive girl spoke to ehr.

In front of them were sitting the other three members of their little friend group.  One being the second year Velvet Scarlatina, a student who had somehow just kind of drifted into their little group.  May couldn’t even remember when she first showed up, but she was now a full part of their group.  And honestly she didn’t really mind her, though she saw the way she looked at Jaune, not that May could have blamed her.  The girl herself was quite the beauty, her adorable ears expressed a lot of her emotion, and well May would be lying if she said she HADN’T stared at that nice plump rear of hers.  

To her right was another odd one to join their friend group, Reese Chloris, she’d apparently been having issues with some of the girls from team NDGO, and Pyrrha happened to walk by.  Not one to let things like injustice go unpunished, she stepped in and absolutely humiliated them.  It was pretty obvious that Reese had originally joined by the simple virtue of her own lust and admiration towards Pyrrha.  But as time went on she became a genuine friend with the group.  May really liked her style, her mohawk was incredibly stylish, and her slim figure was one that May envied.

Then there was Weiss, the last member of their little group.  Member of team RWBY, Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, she will never let you forget that by the way.  Or at least she wouldn’t have in the past.  Weiss was honestly the most surprising member of their group, she’d been a pain in her posterior when they’d first met.  Mostly because of how Jaune had been stricken by the young Heiress.  May hadn’t been the only one bothered by this obviously, as Pyrrha despite giving Jaune the go ahead had come to dislike the attention that she had been given.  Then there was the fact that she was quite mean when it came to turning down the young Arc.  He’d only asked her out three times and yet she’d gotten terribly upset with him… she wished he’d been more forward with her or at least Pyrrha or Cie.  Though things turned around near the dance, he’d realized that it wasn’t going to happen he  apologized and even helped push that Neptune guy in the right direction.  That ended up not working out, and well they’d become friends along the way.

She wouldn’t say that she was as fond of her as she was all the other girls, but for what it was worth she was very pretty.  

Even in her excitement she didn’t yell out to them, she hated drawing attention to herself, she was quite literally a wallflower.  Her parents had named her after a mayflower in itself.  Though, as she drew closer she noticed something strange, they hadn’t moved even the slightest.  That… that wasn’t normal, not even in the slightest.  Her confusion grew as she drew closer, finally reaching them.  Then she looked around… no one was moving, not a single person!  “Wha..what?!”  Fear seized her heart as she started to panic, had she done this?!  Did she freeze everyone?!  

“Please go back, please go back!”  Closing her eyes she wished as hard as she could that this was just a dream.  

“May?”  She nearly jumped out of her large jacket, her one good eye opening wide as the other seven individuals watched her with concern and confusion.  “When did you get here?”  Jaune’s warm voice assisted in calming her nerves.  

“I… uhm… I….”  She wanted to tell them about her semblance, this was a big moment!  But… but there was a part of her, concentrating once more she felt the world fall to a halt.  “I… I did do this…”  She’d stopped time!  She wasn’t sure exactly how she’d do it, or what had brought this around.  But this was amazing!  Though… though sinister thoughts fluttered through her mind.  Mustering her courage she walked in between her friends, taking a deep breath she leaned over towards Jaune.  It was quick and small, but she pressed her lips against his offering him a small peck.  

Pulling away she felt her face burn hot, embarrassment flowed through her.  “I… I did it!”  She couldn’t believe she’d done it, she couldn’t believe that she’d managed to kiss the boy of her dreams.  Though one could hardly call it a real kiss, it would suffice for the time.  She wasn’t quite brave enough, nor did she want to abuse these powers.

Moving back to her previous position she concentrated, time fell back in.  “Uh, I… I just wanted to come by and study with you guys… if that’s okay?”

“Of course it is sweetheart.”  Her heart fluttered in her chest as Pyrrha stared at her, her gorgeous emerald orbs peering into her ugly blueish grey.  “We’d love to have you… though it is quite strange how you’d gotten here out of seemingly nowhere.”  

“Yeah dude!  Where did you even come from?”  Reese’ question nearly threw her off.

“I uhm… I just walked over, maybe you guys didn’t notice me? I am really hard to notice. ”  She didn’t mean to get down on herself, and she sort of prided herself in her unnoticeable status.  But there was a part of her that really didn’t like it.

“No… no we would have noticed you.  You’re always noticeable to us.”  All of the girls nodded along to Jaune’s words, and once more May remembered why she loved these people.  All of them, each and every last one of them.  “So what brought you over here in a hurry?”  

“I uhm I!”  In her panic time stopped again, “oh no!”  She’d need to get better control of that, still she watched everyone.  Their lips puckered in worry for her, and then… then a thought hit her.  She could do anything!  Anything at all… so she made her move.  Stepping to Weiss first she gulped, her heavy chest heaved beneath her thick jacket.  Lowering herself she cleared the hair out of her vision.  

With courage that can only be found from her new found abilities she pressed her lips against the Heiress.  Just like her namesake she had a crisp icey taste to her, one that May would very much like to try again in the future.  

Not delaying she pulled away with a small pop, running her tongue around her lips.  

Next came Reese, the exotic girl proved to be quite the opposite, her lips had an earthy taste to them, it wasn’t bad, just completely different from Weiss.  

Next came Velvet, May couldn’t help but giggle against Velvet’s lips which tasted like Carrot Cake.  “Oh Vel~”  Pulling away she couldn’t help but run her fingers through Velvet’s ears, running her nails through her thin fur.  

Penny was next, copper, it tasted a lot like copper… and silicone?  It was an odd combination!  But she didn’t hate it, it was pleasant once she grew used to it and she may have dilly dallied a bit more than she meant to.  She placed another gentle kiss against her forehead before moving onto Ciel.

She took a moment staring at her partners glossy chocolate covered skin.  Oh god she felt her nerves fail as she grew closer.  Unlike the other girls she made sure this one lasted, her lips pressed tightly against the timely strict girl and she kept them pressed for a while.  She enjoyed her flavor most of all so far, it was a cool minty flavor one that sent chills down her spine.  After reluctantly pulling away she moved over to Pyrrha.

Her heart fluttered thoroughly in her chest, like a drum beating rapidly she felt her heart about to explode.  Mustering her courage she actually grabbed Pyrrha’s head.  Puckering as much as she could she pressed her lips, spice and ginger filled ehr senses as she found herself unable to pull away from the exotically erotic woman in front of her.  Running her tongue across her cherry red lips she couldn’t help but enjoy the woman’s plump lips.  

Truly reluctantly she pulled away, her heart thumped louder and louder to the point she swore that she could hear it pumping blood in her veins.  Turning towards Jaune she just went right in, her moist lips crashed against his.  One minute, two minutes, three minutes she continued to kiss him, not even coming up for air her courage turned into a burning fire as she ran her tongue across his teeth.  Pressing on she slipped into her mouth, by this points he was basically tongue fucking him.  She lost count for how long she’d been doing so but she now knew his taste intimately!  Thick ropes of drool rippled down as she pulled away, her tongue slipping out of his mouth last.  “So goooood~”  She wanted more, needed more!  She could always feel the power going to ehr head, but she didn’t care!  For now though… she needed to keep things under control.

Pulling back she made sure to take her original spot, giving herself time to calm her beating heart she finally allowed time to return.  She’d nearly missed it, but several of the girls, and Jaune, had quickly pressed their fingers across their lips.  Velvet herself had slipped her hand across one of her rabbit ears.  Once more time stood still, and a sudden realization hit her, “They can feel it… they can’ feel everything…”  This should have scared her, should have terrified her, but it didn’t, instead it excited her, it sent powerful urges and lit a strong desire inside of her chest.  

Once more taking the time to calm herself, she let time flow again, “I… I just wanted to see you.”  Despite her meek tone she felt far more courageous than she’d ever felt.  The fire that lit in her soul wouldn’t burn away, not for a long long time.  For now though, she’d take the time to practice, to truly get used to her powers.

“Uh… well come and sit down!”  It was obvious that Jaune was trying to get over the strange sensation in his mouth, but bless him for still thinking of her.

A small smile crossed her lips as she sat down with the group, this really was the good life and she wouldn’t trade it for anything… but she wanted more… wanted more with all of them.  It was small, but she knew what she would do.

The sun hadn’t even risen by the time she’d woken the next morning, the excitement of the previous day had truly gotten to her and in her excitement she’d found sleep hard to come by.  Even Pyrrha, Ms. Wakes up before the crack of dawn, was still slumbering, “Mmm~ Jaune not in front of the others~”  

A smile slipped past her lips as she listened to their Vice Leader talk in her sleep, it was a good thing that Jaune was such a deep sleeper.  Though she’d have to talk to Pyrrha about that one day, the girl’s thirst was unquenchable, not like she could blame her.  Jaune was quite the wonderful boy, she’d had quite a few dreams about him as well.

Though… speaking of the boy, her eyes glanced over at his resting figure.  The soft silver light of the moon illuminated his lithe figure.  As her eyes trailed down from his face, to his chest she felt a knot grow in her throat.  Apparently Pyrrha hadn’t been the only one to have an erotic dream that night, with only the moon’s light casting upon him she could still make out his impressive mast standing at full attention.  

Once more she had that sickly thick feeling bundle in her chest, her breathing grew heavy.  Without thinking she slid off her bed, with light steps she made her way over to him..

Activating her semblance the world grew still. Her core grew slick as she drew closer, trickles of warm juices began to run down her inner thigh.  Before she knew it she was already by his side, her hand gingerly pressed against his thick hard member.  Even covered by his rather soft onesie she could tell just how massive it was, excitement began to boil in her core.  

As her gaze fell to his slumbering face she felt herself awash with shame.  Was she about to do this?  This was an invasion of privacy!  Jaune would never do that to her… but… but this could be her only chance… the only times he’d ever get to actually see it.  Then she looked back towards his towering member, she was so very weak.  Pushing past her hesitation she slipped her right hand up his surprisingly firm chest.  Her fingers slowly pinched upon the zipper, the zipper that held her long desired treasure.  

And without even the slightest bit of hesitation or a second thought she slid the metallic key downwards.  As she slowly pulled on the last lock to her goal a thought occurred to her, how was she moving something even when time was stopped?  How could she still hear the sound of the zipper coming down?  She’d have to investigate later, but for now, for now she had a prize to unbox.  

Her heart throbbed in her heaving breast as her goal came into sight, finally she’d pulled that darned thing all the way.  She wanted to enjoy this, wanted to really let the moment sink in.  Bit by bit, she continued.  First her gaze fell upon tufts of unsheared golden fur, “Oh!”  He was as voluminous in the lower section as he was up top.  She’d… she’d love to run her nose across it, take a moment to really enjoy his scent.  

As she continued her venture she felt her boxers wedge into her quivering pussy, she would need to change after this.  Finally she reached the very tip, and with one last pull she allowed it to spring free.  She felt as if she’d used her semblance on herself, her mind went blank as everything stood still.  There it was, in all it’s massive glory, “Could… would… would it fit?”  She couldn’t help but tremble at the sight, both in awe and fear at the mighty shaft that stood at hopefully full attention in front of her.

She couldn’t help but feel in awe of how mighty it was, but at the same time, the very thought of trying to slide it inside of her frightened her.  She would need to practice, need to get ready for when the time came.  But!  That was not why she was here, no she was here to… to… to help her leader!  Yes!  That’s why she’d come this far, he must have been in so much pain, so she as his faithful teammate, had to do her duty and help… help relieve his stress… yes… right that’s what she was doing.  This was for him, this wasn’t for her…  right.  At least that’s what she told herself.  

Once she’d taken the zipper to the very end she had decided on repositioning herself.  Laying herself between his legs, she allowed herself to really get close up and personal with hopefully her future husband’s mighty… p… penis.  She felt her face flush hot at the thought of using the word!  Still… something was odd, she’d tested it before but she could definitely taste things even with time frozen.  But apparently she was also able to smell them, her nose was assaulted by a thick strong musk, one that was mixed with the scent of spice.  That in itself had answered a question that was at the back of her mind, did he shampoo his pubic hairs?  The answer was apparently a strong yes!  

Still… it was impressive, impressive with how even after he’d spent nearly 25 minutes in the shower he still had this strong… powerful… tantalizing… invigorating odor to him!  Pressing her nose forward she pressed herself between his thick heavy sack, and his impressive… massive… gorging c...c...cock… yes that’s what this was!  She felt his flesh move against her touch, she’d almost jumped back when she realized that it hadn’t been as hard as she thought.  Instead she felt warmth, felt his touch against her face.  This… this was good… she’d been worried about how well this would turn out.  But as she took in deep strong breaths she knew it was going to be amazing.  Burying her nose against the base of his penis, she allowed herself the time to take in his scent.  She was practically marinating in it, and she loved every last second.

Her instincts took control of her actions, without realizing it she’d already brought the tip of her tongue to the slit at the head of his massive cock.  Before she could stop herself she’d already moved in to get a taste, running her pink muscle across his sensitive glands, scooping up bits of frozen precum as she dug into the tiny hole.  Once she’d finished she took the moment to savor his thick and natural flavors.  She’d read that most women hated the taste, but she found herself becoming addicted to the salty tangy flavor.  

Once she’d pulled back she took the time to admire the view in front of her.  “I can’t believe I’m doing this… it’s… it’s so wonderful.”  She wanted him, wanted to feel so very full, wanted to slide that thick hard cock between her needy pussy.  She could feel her womb tighten at the thought, begging for her to mount him and breed herself on her unsuspecting love.  

However, she still had enough self restraint, it was too early for that.  She couldn’t let herself be carried away… though… though she could help him out a little right?  He’d been there for her from the very beginning, it would only be right if she were to… were to help him get off.  Just… look how hard… and pent up he must have been.  Right, she was just being a good friend… a good… a good follower!  Yes that’s what she was doing…

WIth her final bits of self control crumbling before her she took the time to move forward.  Once more she placed her nose between his cock and balls allowing his scent to invade her nose.  She couldn’t get enough of it!  She hadn’t realized just how amazing scents could be till today, but here she was stuffing her face into her beloved man’s balls like a… a… a horny little slut… “Ahhh~”  She felt her pussy clench at the thought alone, her body shook with excitement in response.  “I… I’m a dirty… I’m a dirty little slut.”  That crumbling self control was gone, and now only her desires leaked out.  

“I want you to breed me… I want you to breed me!  Breed Pyrrha!  Breed CIel!  Breed Reese!  Breed Penny!  Breed Velvet!  Breed Weiss!  Break all the other girls!”  Her right hand moved to the base of his cock, she swore that the hot burning member throbbed at her touch, but that wasn’t possible.  Her left hand moved between her thighs, slipping between her tight boxers her fingers moved along her plump moist vulva.  Unable to control herself any longer, consumed by his thick musk, she moved her hands in tandem.

Her dainty thin fingers ran along her plump lips squeezing and grinding back and forth.  She could feel herself growing slicker and slicker.  Her nose buried deep between his massive cock and heavy balls she continued to breath in his thick scent.  Her right hand continued to run up and down his thick heavy meaty fat cock, pumping him over and over running her fingers across his thick heavy veins.  Her brain could only think of breeding, could only think of pleasuring the man before her, even if he wouldn’t feel it.  But she did anyways, placing her lips against his thick, full balls she placed several heavy and hearty kisses against them.  From time to time she dragged her tongue across his sweaty savoury orbs.  

She wanted more and more, when her tongue wasn’t enough she wrapped her lips around one of his impressive sacks.  Dragging her tongue against the precious balls of flesh she began to gently suck on them.  Her pumping grew faster and faster, while her fingers continued to explore her nether regions.  SQUELCH SQUELCH SQUELCH   Over and over she ran her thin digits through her plump pussy.  Her fingers began to explore her thin hole, finally penetrating her needy little slit.  She could feel her pussy suck and clench around her fingers, she needed something bigger!  She needed his cock in her, she needed to be bred!  She wanted him to do her, to do so to so many others!  The thought of all of the girls riding this member, while the others watched invaded her mind!  The thought of him putting those nasty girls, those nasty insulting girls that liked to put him down in their place.  For him to have them face down ass up, this MIGHTY cock plunging in and out of their holes as they begged for more, begged for him to breed them like the dirty little breeding sows that they were.  Those thoughts invaded her mind like never before.

She couldn’t believe herself, couldn’t believe how easily she felt she was being corrupted!  But it wasn’t just the breeding!  No! NO! That would imply she only wanted his cock in her!  She wanted other things, wanted to run her tongue through Pyrrha and Ciel’s pussy, to eat them out and savor their flavors.  She wanted to stretch out Weiss and Reese, bend them in positions that only their thin, gorgeous, and lithe bodies could handle.  She wanted to grind with Penny, wanted to get tribal with Velvet!  

Her inner desires burned through, she’d been a good girl!  She was allowed to have these absolutely nasty thoughts!  She wanted more and more AND MORE!  Her suction grew harder till she felt her jaw grow tired, he was so impressive!  So mighty!  Even as she continued to invade her own body, with three fingers invading her needy pussy.  She found herself gazing upon his manly mane, the tufts of blonde hair that called for her to bury her nose into.  Scooting forward she placed her face against his sternum, dragging her nose against his thick fur.  He smelled so good!  The harsh fragrance from his shampoo hit her nose at the same time as his thick heavy musk, built up from the heat of the night.  “Oh god!  I’m so bad~  I’m such a bad little girl.”

She couldn’t stop herself, her cervix opened and closed as she continued to attack her own pussy.  She couldn’t stop, there was no way she could, her juices flowed freely down her thighs, her boxers were practically drenched in her own fluids by this point.  She really couldn’t use them anymore!  It would be too embarrassing, and yet, and yet a thought occurred.  What if Jaune were to catch her like this?  What if she started time up again… oh what would he do to her?  Would he push her down, breed her?  Use her massive ugly tits like… like handles as his thick hard cocked pumped in and out of her nasty… naughty...needy… pussy?  The thought was tempting!  She wanted to do it!  But she knew she couldn’t, she just couldn’t!  She was too scared, absolutely terrified!

Still the thought was there!  The thought that was pushed back into the depths of her mind!  For now though, she felt herself hit her climax, her body shivered and convulsed, her juices oozed down her thighs, her boxers drenched and unwearable at this point.  She fell forward, her chest heaving up and down as she did her best to breath, her nose buried deep against his pelvis.  

As her post orgasm clarity hit her, her face began to burn hot, burned so damn hot.  Her eyes snapped open as she pulled away, nearly tripping as her drenched underwear clung to her body.  Embarrassment consumed her at a realization of what she’d just done.  “I… I… no!  No!  I’m sorry!”  Running towards her dresser she grabbed a clean pair of boxers, she couldn’t believe what she’d just done, what she’d just THOUGHT!  It was… it was so bad!  Burying her face into her clean underwear for a moment she did her best to sling her moist used set down her slick wet thighs.  With a wet SCHLOP her boxers hit the ground.  

She shivered at the sound, her body growing hot as her embarrassment consumed her once more.  Once she’d slipped on a fresh pair, she’d need to make sure that he was fixed as well.  As she began to zip him up once more she couldn’t help but give him one last gift.  Pressing her lips against the tip of his cock she gave him one last kiss.  Once she’d finished setting him up she made sure to hide her… her shameful piece of cloth at the very bottom of her clothing hamper.  

Gently she climbed into her sheets and closed her eyes.  Her power over the world began to vanish, and she’d been prepared to fall asleep when she heard a loud thrashing sound and… and what sounded like a powerful squirting noise!

“NNNNGH!♥!!”  Her eyes snapped open as she stared at the cause of the sound, Jaune was twitching, his upper body jolted upright.  Her eyes glanced downwards as his loud moaning filled the otherwise quiet dorm room.  SPURT SPURT SPURT SPURT!  Her face grew red hot as she realized what was happening!  All the feedback from when she'd been stroking him was finally happening.  “Ah! AH AH!”  Under the silver light of the moon she could clearly see his cock twitching and spurting out thick globs as his onesie became stained in his thick seed.  

“I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry!”  She hadn’t meant for that to happen!  In her own lust she’d forgotten about it!  Now the boy of her affection was having quite possibly the strongest orgasm he’d ever had, and it… it was all because of her!  A sense of pride filled her chest, but was quickly replaced with shame as she saw the distraught face in front of her.  Her instincts screamed to move and comfort him!  But… but she couldn’t bring herself to move, she couldn’t let him know she was awake.  Instead she watched him, watched as he stared in panic at his own sputtering cock the obvious shame built upon his face… it did things to her... things she didn’t want to admit.

“Hah hah hah…”  His panting echoed and sunk into her ears, it was… it was doing things to her.  She could feel her core heat up once more.  “I… why… I… no….”  Despite how terrible she felt, that small tinge of pride still filled her chest.  “Why… I… no… I… they can’t see this… they… they’d hate me…  I can’t… I cant believe I had a… wet dream about all of them… why…”  She nearly flinched when he turned towards her.  “I’m sorry May… I can’t… I can’t believe I… to you…”

Had he been having a wet dream?!  Was she in it?!  Was that why he was apologizing?!  “You… I’m… I’m such a bad friend.”  Even with her eyes closed shut as they were, she could still make out the sounds of him heading to the bathroom, obviously to get changed and to clean off… off that thick… stain on his onesie… that rich… fresh…  and like that the world stopped once more.

Once more she got up, making her way around him she quickly unzipped his onesie, unable to resist the treat in front of her!  Once she’d gotten the zipper all the way down she was treated with his cum coated cock.  She remembered the previous embarrassment!  Remembering how bad she felt!  But how could she resist?!  Quickly she moved, running her tongue along his still thick hard shaft she lapped up his thick honeyed cum.  “Schow good!  You taste schow bery good!”  She couldn’t stop it, she couldn’t stop till she consumed every last bit.  And there was just so much!  So very much very much.  For what felt like forever she continued to lap away, consuming and gulping down as mucha s she could.  Tasting his flavors so directly had nearly lit her fire again, but she needed to control herself.  

Once she’d made sure to have consumed as much as she could, even going as far as to lick what she could off of his onesie she went back to bed.  Letting time return she heard him nearly fall over, “Wha?!”  He’d apparently grown weak kneed with her previous endeavors.  “Wha… what is wrong with me?”  His voice released a hushed whisper, but she could still hear it, hear the embarrassment in his voice.  It… it was so delectable.  She… she was awakening tos something new.  She wanted more… but for now she’d sleep, close her eyes and rest.

[isablooo]

I know this is just me but I'm never a fan of modern vampire media using the names of pre-existing vampire characters and then making the character entirely unrelated to them (unless it's Dracula because he's so ubiquitous that idm). I've seen more characters called 'Carmilla', just because it's the first female vampire name that comes up from a quick google search, than I have seen actual adaptations of the book Carmilla!!  

Netflix Castlevania is a big perpetrator of this. I find Netflix Carmilla compelling as a character for sure!! But it was a bit of a sting getting excited when she first showed up and then coming to realise she had nothing to do with Carmilla at all, apart from living in Styria. And like, idm!! Make cool, dynamic new vampire characters!! But the need to justify their existence by tacking on the name of a pre-existing vampire character is bizarre and lazy to me???  

Also I got the biggest whiplash when Varney the vampire showed up in Netflix Castlevania. SO many questions about that weird plot twist with him, and I found it so jarring (and kinda funny) that they dressed him like a Victorian with an inverness coat so that he looked like he came straight out of the original penny dreadful despite the fact that they ESTABLISHED specifically that the show is set in the 15th century! (But that's one of my more general issues with the character designs in the show lol) 

But anyway, there's just a clear disinterest in engaging with the source material it’s referencing and yet it still tries to reference it for kudos. It comes off as a little tacky!! 

And that's why What we do in the Shadows is still the best vampire media to come out in the 21st century imho. They just get it!! The show rarely if ever mentions pre-existing vampire characters, most of the cast are original characters. Instead, if you've ever played a vampire in a movie, you're canonically a vampire in wwdits (Like Tilda Swinton is a vampire since she was in Only lovers left alive, Wesley Snipes from Blade is a dhampir etc etc) That shit is so funny. Van Helsing is also canonically real in the world of wwdits because of how he embellishes Guillermo’s character arc!

Ofc I’m not saying that including these pre-existing vampire characters is bad because I personally love 19th century vampire lit, it’s the main thing that interests me about vampires and I’m doing a whole ass dissertation on it, but I would like there to actually be engagement with the source material and the character (and their legacy) if they are included. 

[princessfbi]

Maddie Buckley, for the character thing

Maddie Buckley aka my heart 

How I feel about this character

I LOVE HER! Listen, I’ve been watching this show from the beginning and loved it but I stayed with it for Maddie. She’s one of the reasons I love Buck as much as I do. First of all, when I heard JLH was joining 9-1-1 I was ECSTATIC because she’s a powerhouse of an actress. But then getting to know the layers of Maddie and just the depth JLH brought to her is one of the things that makes the show in my opinion. Maddie had the possibility of being one of these kind of cardboard cut out “victim turned barely made it out survivor” characters but knowing how quickly JLH just got Maddie saved the character and made her into something real and complex. Her chemistry with Oliver and Kenny is just INCREDIBLE. I love her. I love her. I love her. 

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Madney all the way. JLH just getting who Maddie is and being the one to suggest her dating Chimney is just a gift. A gift I tell you. 

My non-romantic OTP for this character

It is no secret how much I love the Buckley Siblings. I think that relationship is so important. It is so important to who Buck is and who Maddie is. It’s so easy to come out bitter and damaged and cut off from the world with the things they’ve gone through but they didn’t. They were together from the very beginning. They loved each other and continue to do so. Buck Begins was just as much as an exploration of Maddie as it was Buck and just how significant they are to one another. I could write sonnets about them. Buck and Maddie can be vulnerable around each other. They can snipe at each other and tease one another. They are quite literally the epitome of ride or die for one another. The reason Buck is as kind and compassionate as he is, is because of Maddie. Growing up emotionally neglected as they were, with a mother who resented their existence, they would not be the people they are without each other. They saved each other. 

We would not have Buck without Maddie and we would not have Maddie without Buck. 

It’s as simple as that. 

Maddie raised him. She encouraged him to take risks. She sacrificed for him. She didn’t resent him. She loved and cherished him. She’s the person he feels safe with. Both are people pleasers and constantly try to smooth out the waters except when it comes to one another. We really don’t see Buck lash out or show anger towards anyone except for when he’s around Maddie (or defending her) because he knows he can show that ugly side of himself without risking losing her love. It’s why that scene after the truck bombing, the scene with the “being a firefighter is my life” was so striking. He can be completely vulnerable with her in a way he can’t be with anyone else. 

I could go on and on about Buck and Maddie. 

My unpopular opinion about this character

Honestly? I don’t think I have an unpopular opinion about Maddie. I think it’s more an opinion no one likes to talk about because it is more about Doug. I think Doug was the person who validated Maddie and pointed that it wasn’t her job to raise Buck. I think Doug was the one who pointed out to Maddie that she was not Buck’s parent. 

But I also think Doug recognized that Buck was a subject that he had to be very careful about with Maddie. It’s why when he saw her with Buck, he didn’t go storming in and drag her away. He knew that Buck was always going to come first for Maddie and if he pushed too hard then he would lose her and losing Maddie was his biggest fear. 

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I kind of wish we could’ve gotten to see her reaction to the lawsuit (clearly I have a lot of thoughts on that story arc). I think Maddie was the one person who told Buck he could do anything and I think she was also his biggest defender (yeah, Marge I’m looking at you and your “Don’t be stupid, Evan” comment). So, I think it would’ve been interesting to see her reaction to Buck seemingly --albeit misguidedly-- trying to defend himself. But also, I know JLH can go feral and I would love to see that too. 

Give Me A Character and I’ll Break Them Down

[homoeroticvillain]

I wanna know more about the world/society your ocs live in 👀👀👀

yess fantastic question. okay so i am going to write this assuming youve read my shitty blurb for it on my carrd just cause i don't want to focus on the simple stuff? idk

anyways this whole universe was made when i was obsessed with dystopian imagery for a bit so i wanted an actual universe i could do something with when i was having dystopian thoughts. its very 1984 despite uhhh... me not actually having read 1984 [yet]. but its also pretty inspired by vincent secret of myers cause that was my thing at the time of creation. anyways with that out of the way lets actually get into things

the whole story takes place in a city built on/near a radiation zone that happened due to a nuclear accident. the city *did* already exist before the accident but it was in its infancy and the accident fundamentally changed the area. the biggest change is that it skyrocketed the production of robots and androids due to the demand for something to be able to clear up the nuclear waste. this caused for the company jones robotics® to also blow up, in current day it is now one of the most influential corporations with it producing 85% of the robots in use today. while there is still efforts in cleaning up the radiation zone [due to plans to industrialize the area again] most robots are made for other uses. typically produced to perform "unsavory" jobs but many are also produced for governmental purposes, mostly due to the ability to wipe memories or simply destroy them with little to no consequences. the biggest example of this is d03 [doe], who is an android produced solely to be a mascot for government announcements and psas. thing is, in the effort to make him have a personality some underpaid coder ended up making him sentient. and as such they made the first known sentient robot, of course this knowledge isn't public. the government actually is very obsessive on emphasizing that sentience in robots is impossible. i might expand on doe another time but for now lets move on.

but not moving on from robots cause i am literally obsessed with developing them in this. lets expand on the "unsavory" jobs i mentioned earlier. robots have automated many jobs such as construction, security, customer service, and etc. of course this isn't without its consequences, as such human unemployment as skyrocketed. and while some companies prefer human employees for certain reasons, most prefer robots for the simple reason that they don't have to treat them humanely. but androids [which are different from robots in the sense that they are humanoid] have been known to be produced by many more underground companies for a variety of reasons but the most popular is sex work. i won't expand on this *too* much cause i don't want tumblr to snipe me but, there are plenty of alleyways in the green district that are stocked with androids that you can feed some money into them for a variety of services. although due to a lack of monitoring there are also many broken down androids that due to their human appearance makes heading down any back alleyway in the green district not for the light of heart.

okay so i mostly ending up talking about robots for this but i feel like this is getting too long so genuinely just hmu in tumblr dms if you want to know more cause this is already too long

[justanotherkpopmultislut]

Title: “I’ve always wanted to be kissed under the rain.” with Kim Mingyu

Genre: Mafia AU, angst to fluff

Warnings: mentions of snipers and character death (not main characters)

Notes: check out my fanfic prompt generator game and be sure to tag me if you write something :)

“You know you shouldn’t be here alone right?” A voice behind me spoke, tapping my shoulder, just as I quickly grabbed hold of their wrist. “Woah, chill.”

I rolled my eyes and let go immediately, “I’m not alone, Mingyu. I can protect myself.”

“Your lack of security says otherwise.” He shrugged, taking a sip out of his coffee. “You should know you’re a big target, Princess. You’re the Don’s only daughter.”

We stared at each other in a brief silence, listening to the rain outside, almost forgetting we were in a public coffee shop. Forgetting our families hated each other. I quickly broke eye contact and gripped my pen and journal harder.

“Will you be hurting me Kim Mingyu?” I finally spoke with a dejected sigh, looking up at him.

“Never.” He responded immediately.

“Good. Now take a seat before Seulgi and Irene puts a bullet in your head for blocking their view of me.”

He hesitated a bit before taking the seat in front of me. “Just so you know, I’m only sitting because I can’t digest my coffee standing up and not because I’m scared of their accurate sniping skills.”

Ignoring him, I listened to the cafe’s lowfi playlist playing in the background with the rain pouring outside, while continuing to write in my journal.

“I’ve always wanted to be kissed under the rain.” He mumbled out loud, staring out the window onto the wet streets.

“I’m sure you can ask one of your many admirers.” I retorted.

“But they’re not you.”

My heart stopped. I slowly looked up from my journal and saw him already staring at me with that stupid look he always has on his face. “Mingyu-“

“-Hey, we have to leave.” Seulgi interrupts, helping me pack my stuff, while glaring at Mingyu. “Code blue. The deal went wrong because of the Kim’s and your location is clearly compromised. Irene has the car out front—let’s go.”

“You lied to me.” I faltered, allowing Seulgi to pull me up into a standing position. “You said you’d never hurt me.”

His eyes widen in confusion, “What are you-“

“We gotta go now.” Seulgi pulled me away. “You’re lucky Irene is in the car and that this is a safe zone Kim.”

All I could hear was Mingyu calling out my name as the rain fell down harder, repelled by the umbrella Seulgi held up for us. Seulgi hopped into the back seat with me and buckled in my seatbelt. I felt her squeeze my hand as both her and Irene kept trying to ask me questions, but I couldn’t hear them. What were they saying? Where are we going? Why would the Kims kill my father? 

—

Four days after the funeral, my older brother decided his first official act of business as Don was to end the feud with the Kims. He had received verified intel that cleared the Kims of our father’s murder and instead, discovered an up and rising crime family to be responsible. Specifically, they had plotted to start a war between the two most powerful families in the city and once both sides were weakened, they would take over the city. Very ambitious for a group of rising amateurs. However, as much of a reach their plan may have been, they had the numbers. What they didn’t account for (besides my brother finding out) was for the union of those two powerful families. A steadfast alliance through a fast-tracked arranged marriage between Kim Mingyu and I.

“You know you shouldn’t be out here alone right?” A voice behind me spoke, making me immediately turn around and relax at the sight of my worried fiancé. I turned back to face the dimly lit garden. “Seulgi and Irene are supposed to be with you at all times, so why are you alone again?”

“It was getting stuffy inside.” I mumbled, playing with the tulle fabric of my blush pink gown. I failed to notice the awe-struck gaze he had on his face as he saw my face illuminated by the fairy lights his sister-in-law hung up on the gazebo.

“I can’t believe you came out without a coat, you’re gonna get sick.” He frowns, immediately taking his coat off and placing the warm fabric around my bare shoulders. “It started sprinkling just as I started walking towards you.”

“Thank you.” I gave him a smile, “Would you sit with me for a moment?” He immediately nodded and sat besides me on the wooden bench. “Seulgi and Irene are never far. They know me more than my family does and I consider them to be my best friends. One thing I really love about them is that they respect my need for space and alone time. It’s just a coincidence you’re always catching me without them by my side.”

“Still, one too many times.” He held. “I know they’re the best body guards I could ask for to protect you, but we’re to be married in a week and you’ll have a bigger target on your head...” He slightly paused, as if afraid I would run off at the mention of the ‘m’ word. “I’d like to add three more guards for your protection.”

“I-“

“They’ll only be necessary when you leave our home and I’ll let Irene and Seulgi have the final decision on who the three will be.” He interrupted, leaving me in shock.

“How did you know-“

“I have been crushing on you since you went against an entire group of Shakespeare fanatics to argue that Romeo and Juliet portrayed toxic relationships in our literature class.”

I gasped in realization, “That was before I knew you were a Kim. Did you know who I was?” He shook his head with a blush, as I continued looking at him in awe. We sat in silence with the gazebo protecting us from the light shower of rain, my gaze on him and his everywhere else but meeting mine. “You defended me that day against that diehard Shakespearean guy... I had the biggest crush on you after that.”

“And then our families became enemies...” He sadly smiled. “I never stopped liking you though. I just kept holding onto the fact that we both had nothing to do with the family business, since we have older brothers... I always made sure none of our plans involved hurting you directly and especially now, that we’re getting married, I promise that I will continue to protect you and-”

I suddenly stood up and held my hand out, “Come with me.”

“Uh okay.” He followed, very confused when we left the safety of the dry gazebo and immediately got pelted with rain. And so, I dragged him towards our engagement party his brother threw for us, stopping midway in the garden and smiled up at him. “Why are we stopping? We’re getting wet and you’re gonna get sick!”

Standing on the tip of my toes, I pull his head down towards my face with my arms around his neck. “Kim Mingyu, may I have this kiss?” I wasn’t prepared for the look on his stupid, pretty face be filled with literal heart eyes that immediately lit up. It made me forget about the rain. Forget about the fact that this was only the first of many kisses we would share in our lifetime. Because in this moment, only we existed together. And Kim Mingyu would finally get his kiss under the rain.

[monstersdownthepath]

Spiritual Spotlight: Angazhan, the Ravenous King

Chaotic Evil Demon Lord of Apes, Tyrants, and Jungles

Domains: Animal, Chaos, Evil, Plant Subdomains: Decay, Demon, Fur, Growth

The Complete Book of the Damned, pg. 18~19

Obedience: Ingest hallucinogenic jungle plants and then beat a complex rhythm on a large drum made of human skin and bones while chanting prayers to Angazhan. Benefit: Gain a +4 profane bonus on saving throws against diseases and poisons caused by exposure to the jungle or inflicted by creatures native to jungles.

Heurgh, Angazhan has some pretty restrictive requirements here, and his Benefit really only works against a single environment, making Angazhan one of the most environmentally-locked deities since Dagon! It’s fitting, considering Angazhan is basically only worshiped in Darkest Africa the Mwangi Expanse, a massive and terrifying jungle he’s had his six-fingered hands buried deep into ever since humanity began settling the land. Since worship rarely ever leaves a jungle home, any player character wanting to serve the Ravenous King had better make sure they’ll be sticking close to the vine-draped homeland, or they’re just completely out of luck! Not just because they lose out on the benefit above, but because they lose out on a good number of Boons too!

anyway, it’s a difficult alignment to set up for and keep a secret, if you’re trying to hide your worship of the Tyrant King. You COULD pass off the drum as being made of animal tissues, but the loud chanting to a known and famous Demon Lord and the fact you’re likely to be seeing stars and colors due to your Hearty Breakfast is much harder to explain if someone kicks your door in. The fact you need both jungle drugs and a drum means this Obedience is utterly ruined if you get robbed or have your equipment stolen, though at the very least it’s easy enough to replace your belongings... if you’re in a jungle. If you’re not, getting a new drum is simple, but a visit to the black market may be necessary to restock on your Hearty Breakfast.

The benefit is notably weaker than other benefits of a similar theme; a few deities are generous enough to give universal protections from poison and disease, but Angazhan punishes you for going where he cannot tread. Fitting for a tyrant who likes having people under his thumb, but annoying for someone trying to actually extend his reach. In a jungle area, however, it’s MUCH more impressive than it looks in a vacuum; many, many, many, MANY horrors within the deep and mysterious tangles rely on poisons or disease to fell their enemies and their prey, so the added protection will always come in handy!

Boons are acquired slowly: the first once you reach 12 hit dice, the second at 16, and the third at 20. However, the Evangelist, Exalted, and Sentinel Prestige Classes can be entered as early as level 7; doing so grants you the Boons at levels 10, 13, and 16 instead. Servants of demons may also take the Demoniac Prestige Class; you don’t get the Boons any faster than E/E/S, but you may select which Boon set you get, and you get cool demon-related powers!

------- EVANGELIST -------

Boon 1: The Jungle Consumes. Gain Pass Without Trace 3/day, Tree Shape 2/day, or Spike Growth 1/day.

‘Consumes’ indeed; Spike Growth can render a frankly offensive amount of terrain completely inhospitable (ten 20ft squares!), shredding 1d4 HP off every creature trying to pass through a single 5ft square and threatening to halve their movement speed for a full day every time they take damage. As anyone who’s played as or fought against a Druid can attest to, Spike Growth is useful for exactly two things (slowing an enemy’s retreat or advance) but it’s amazing at doing so. The sheer amount of terrain the spell covers and the length of time it covers for (an hour per level) makes useful for stopping everything from a charging dragon to a charging army... provided your foe has less than 4 DR. In order to halve someone’s movespeed they need to actually take damage from the growth AND fail a Reflex save, meaning even the meager DR 5 you’re likely to encounter at levels 10+ is enough to make Spike Growth completely irrelevant.

If you can use it against a foe who’s not immune to it, though, it’s absolutely stellar. Moving through even a single 20ft square triggers four separate Reflex saves to avoid having one’s movespeed halved for a full day, and--as written--the halved speed can’t be undone with Fast Healing or Regeneration, the victim MUST find a Cure spell. Perhaps the biggest downside is that using it to its fullest potential--that is, to cripple a charging swarm of foes--is unlikely to happen, delegating it to crowd control versus a small amount of enemies.

It’s leagues better than the niche Tree Shape, but Pass Without Trace also has its merits, hiding up to 10 people from sniffing noses and prying eyes for half a day, letting you and your allies effortlessly vanish into the foliage. Indeed, all three of these spells are extremely useful in the jungle setting Angazhan demands you remain in, so if you ARE actually hiding around in the Mwangi Expanse, all three of these can be genuine picks depending on if you plan to be a trapper, a stalker, or a sentree that day.

Boon 2: Canopy Crawler. Your feet become prehensile and apelike, allowing them to act as a second pair of hands for every purpose except wielding a shield or weapon, such as to execute somatic components, to aid in climbing, to hold objects, and to maintain your Dexterity bonus to AC while climbing. In addition, you gain a climb speed equal to your walking speed +10, and can attempt a Climb check in place of the following checks: Acrobatics checks to swing or leap between branches and vines; Stealth checks to remain hidden within trees, and you can move at full speed through them without penalty; and Stealth checks to snipe from trees, the penalty for doing so reduced by 10. 

The way this ability is written in the book is kind of a mess, so I tried my best to shuffle it into a more easily digestible form.

Anyway: Freaky monkey feet! For all your freaky monkey feet needs! One of the more unique Boons in the game, and unlike most highly unique Boons, this one is still highly useful! While your handfeet can’t wield weapons or shields, you can use them for more or less anything else while your actual human hands are occupied. Sleight of Hand? No, my friend, I’m on a completely different level.

The big star here is the free climb speed, which automatically gives you a meaty +8 to Climb checks, making the various skill checks it replaces much, much easier to exploit. You become an expert of gorilla... guerrilla... Gorilla Guerrilla Warfare, soundlessly moving from tree to tree and hurling spears or firing arrows with nary a peep but for the whoosh of the weapon through the branches and leaves, moving from position to position as easily as playing hopscotch. Even if you never invested in Stealth at all, you can suddenly pour ranks into Climb and become an ersatz Rogue for the party, leading a silent charge against the foes of the Ravenous King’s cult. 

Side note, this ability combines beautifully with all 3 of the spell-likes from The Jungle Consumes, as your brachiating movements put you above Spike Growth, Pass Without Trace makes you utterly impossible to nonmagically track if you attack at night, and Tree Shape lets you become a horror movie villain that vanishes the instant it appears you’re about to be ‘caught.’

Boon 3: One With The Jungle. While in the jungle, you gain blindsight to a range of 60 feet, you gain a +2 insight bonus to AC and on saving throws, and you are never flat-footed or surprised. You ignore cover and concealment caused by natural features of the jungle, as the very plants and stones twist out of the path of your attacks and spells.

An eternal Diet Foresight if your reward for remaining in the Ravener King’s grip, but this ability--unlike Canopy Crawler--is entirely blank if you adventure outside of your god’s chosen locale, a punishing loss of an otherwise incredibly strong defensive ability. Being impossible to catch by surprise is good enough on its own, especially at levels where enemies can have Sneak Attacks exceeding +4d6, poisons that cause people to hemorrhage ability scores, or fatal grappling embraces, to say nothing of what happens if a spellcaster gets the drop on everyone. The +2 to AC and universal bonus to saving throws will struggle to make a difference, but it’s a rare insight bonus and will thus stack with all your existing bonuses... and, of course, it lasts forever so long as you remain in a jungle.

I enjoy that the jungle will shuffle aside to let you shoot and swat your enemies without penalty, making my ‘treetop sniper’ suggestion in Canopy Crawler even more viable. Now, as long as you can see even the smallest portion of your target, the natural world will bend and sway to avoid your blows so that they always strike true, letting you attack enemies without the possibility of them retaliating unless they begin cutting down the whole jungle... at which point they’ll have much bigger issues than just you.

------- EXALTED -------

Boon 1: Jungle’s Wrath. Entangle 3/day, Bull’s Strength 2/day, or Summon Monster III (1 fiendish ape, 1d3 fiendish advanced baboons, or 1d4+1 fiendish baboons) 1/day.

Bull’s Strength is always nice to have to give the beefy members of your party, giving them an extra +2 to attack and damage rolls for ten or so minutes at a time, among other bonuses. Strength bonuses are some of the most boring but practical things you can hand out, because you never know when you’ll just need to do something as simple as moving a large rock or hit something for 2 more points of damage than normal. Having it at twice a day means it’ll likely carry through the most important battles or puzzles you’ll face.

Entangle, however, tends to be the better option here. See everything I said above about Spike Growth? Paste that here, as well, but trade off the damage for the ability to grapple everything trying to move through the 40ft radius(!) of plantlife you’ve affected. In some ways it’s better than Spike Growth, utterly halting the movement of anyone heading through it if they fail their save rather than halving it, and being difficult terrain even if the victims succeed, which halves their speed anyway.

Seeing summoning abilities on a Boon is usually good, but the painful limitation of only being able to summon various demon apes means it severely lacks its normal Swiss Army application. It’s only really good if you need either a distraction, or something heavy moved, both of which could be accomplished with Entangle and Bull’s Strength without it being tied to a creature with subhuman intelligence. At the very least, apes have humanoid hands and can thus perform tasks very few other summoned creatures could do, such as wielding weapons.

Boon 2: Summon Child of Angazhan. 1/day as a swift action, you can summon an Advanced Fiendish Girallon, 1d3 Advanced Fiendish Dire Apes, or 1d4+1 Advanced Fiendish Apes as if you had cast Summon Monster VI.

In spite of my mockery of the Boon above, the ape restriction here is anything but painful. ... well, it’s painful for anyone who’s not you, mind. An Advanced Fiendish Girallon is a CR 8 monstrosity with enough damage output and resilience from the Fiendish template to punch above its weight class. A Girallon is a four-armed, Large-sized ape beast with five attacks (and Rend!) a round, with enough agility and maneuverability to run down fleeing foes or chase them through just about any terrain easily.

It’s also your best option among the summons; the Dire Apes and normal apes are nice, but the chance of summoning a single Dire Ape or a meager 2 fiend apes means a Girallon is the best go-to unless you need a lot of bodies rather than one large one. The Fiendish template is really what gives this ability the oomph it needs to shrug off most of my criticism of Jungle’s Wrath, granting even your normal apes a bit of Spell Resistance and elemental resistance to Fire and Acid... though, notable, both the normal ape and the Dire Ape have too few HD to gain the advanced benefits of the Fiendish template, and none of the creatures here have high enough Charisma to make the Smite Good ability granted to them useful, even with the +4 to all ability scores from Advanced.

Perhaps the biggest gold star this power has, however, is the fact that it can be used as a swift action. You can instantaneously flank an enemy with a murderous gorilla and then stab them in the back when they rightly turn around to look at said murderous gorilla in disbelief, or you can blast them with another spell, or you can do any number of other things with the distraction you’ve just created. Don’t forget that Summon Monster VI also has a range of Close, letting you hurl a demon gorilla at an enemy from 25+5ft/lvl away. The downside, however, is that SMVI also has a duration of a meager 1 round/lvl, meaning you’ll often run into the issue of saving the use of this ability, often until you no longer need it.

Boon 3: Jungle’s Might. You gain a +2 profane bonus to your Strength score and a +2 bonus on Fortitude saving throws.

Useful but boring. It’s moderately better than most stat-buffing Boons thanks to the additional Fortitude bonus, but final Boons typically give +4 bonuses, not +2. There’s no flash or pizazz here, nothing to really expand upon, so lets move on!

------- SENTINEL -------

Boon 1: Tyrant’s Roar. Gain Command 3/day, Sound Burst 2/day, or Suggestion 1/day.

I almost got mad because I mistook Sound Burst for a different, much worse spell. Nope! That was sonic scream or whatever, one I’m so unimpressed with I didn’t even bother looking it up. Sound Burst is significantly better, anyway, able to stun a small crowd of enemies in a single casting, which is exactly what you--as the Sentinel--want to happen. Either because you’re holding back an enemy(/ies) for your allies to get into place, or because you’re holding them still so you can get in close. The damage it deals is pitiful, but it’s automatic even if they succeed against the stun effect, and you never know when 8 damage to up to a crowd will make a difference!

Like most of Angazhan’s blessings, it gets better if you’re in a jungle, as the hostility of the Mwangi Expanse means invaders are likely to be clustered together as tightly as possible to prevent attacks from all angles. Punish them, hard.

Command is in-character for the Tyrant King, and it rewards creative uses beyond the ‘come,’ ‘stay,’ and ‘drop’ commands, though those serve their purpose well enough. I’m quite partial to KNEEL, which fits Angazhan rather well! The only problem is that its low saving throw scaling means it’s unlikely to affect enemies that matter, and in combat it’s often much better to just rush in and start slapping. Out of combat Suggestion is king, though it’s an odd choice for someone who tends to force people to follow his orders through violence and threats rather than relying on coercive and subtle magic. Personally, I’d let the Face of the party or the dedicated enchanter rely on Suggestion, and carry Sound Burst around for those times you need to explode people’s eardrums.

Boon 2: Reign of Terror. You add your Strength modifier to Intimidate checks (this does not stack with Intimidating Prowess or similar feats and abilities) as well as your Charisma modifier. Once per minute, you may use Intimidate to demoralize a single creature within 30ft as a swift action, or all creatures within 10ft as a move action. When using Intimidate to demoralize a creature in this way, if your result exceeds the DC by 5 or more, the creature is frightened for 1 round and then shaken for the normal duration; if your result exceeds the DC by 10 or more, the creature cowers for 1 round, then is frightened for 1 round, and then is shaken for the normal duration. When you use Intimidate to demoralize an ally, instead of being shaken, that creature gains a +2 morale bonus on attack rolls for the appropriate duration.

While normally Boons are built to be taken advantage of by any class within the margins of those who can enter the Prestige Classes in the first place, sometimes you get one that forces you into a specific path. This one highly, highly rewards having both a high Strength and a high (or at least neutral) Charisma, and focusing a feat or two into making your Intimidate as high as possible can see you sending squadrons of enemy combatants scattering and trampling one another to get away from you. I love, love, LOVE that there’s no per-day use restriction on this power, only that it can be used once per minute, meaning you can bring it out in more or less every fight you encounter.

Exceeding the victim’s Intimidation DC by 10 or more causes them to cower, a status affliction barely above paralysis in how terrible it is to be suffering, opening them up to a whole round of being beat on without any ability to retaliate. Even if they survive the round of helplessness, they’re forced to run from you and use whatever resources they have available to get as far away from you as possible... which can be a blessing or a curse depending on what they were carrying and how badly you wanted it.

Being able to Intimidate a single foe as a swift action or a whole crowd surrounding you as a move action is strong, especially if you can bolster your prowess enough to always score 10 higher than their DC (a challenge, but not an insurmountable one)... And even if your enemies are immune to being intimidated either because they’re mindless, starved, or immune to fear, you can use this ability to give your whole team +2 to attack rolls for 4+ rounds. It’s more of a consolation prize than anything else, but note that the final sentence does not say “in this way,” meaning you can use Intimidate normally without needing the 1/minute bolstering to give your allies a bit more accuracy! Wasteful, but viable!

Boon 3: Unchallenged Tyrant. When you perform your Obedience, designate a number of present and willing creatures equal to your Charisma modifier; these are your Thralls. This designation lasts for 24 hours or until you next perform your Obedience. 3/day, you can infuse all Thralls within 50 feet of you as a swift action, granting them a +4 bonus to their Strength and Constitution scores and a +2 bonus on initiative checks, and granting any teamwork feats you have as bonus feats *for an number of rounds equal to your hit dice. If a Thrall dies within 50 feet of you at any time, you gain the effects of Death Ward (CL = half the Thrall’s Hit Dice, to a maximum of CL 20th).

*this ability originally had no listed duration, making it quite awkward and insanely powerful. I’ve added one that makes sense.

Oh, not bad! Another reward for buffing up your Charisma! Even if it’s just to a +2 bonus! And it’s a fine one, too, letting you enchant your allies with a discounted Barbarian Rage, including a bonus to initiative checks to help them move before your enemies even know what’s happening! THREE TIMES a day!!! And--wait, wait, there’s more? You also transfer ALL your teamwork feats to your Thralls? Teamwork feats are pretty powerful but wholly rely on your allies being willing to give up their own feat slots for them, and they utterly fail to work if you aren’t working together or become separated by enemy shenanigans. This ability (along with the Inquisitor’s Solo Tactics) turns those empty feat slots into something truly game-changing due to applying them to all of your Thralls at once. This means that, even if you don’t or cannot join in the fight, they can still use teamwork with each other, and all you need is one of them to be nearby to make use of feats like Lookout (if one of you can act during the surprise round, all of you can), Precise Strikes (+1d6 damage if you’re flanking an enemy)... or, perhaps the most useful of them, Coordinated Charge, allowing you and your allies to all charge the same target.

It doesn’t take a genius to see why Coordinated Charge is one of the best you can use with this ability, as the +Strength and Con bonus means you can turn even the weakest member of the party into another source of damage however small. It also means all of your melee battlers can get into the fray immediately, and if used in combination with Lookout, it can turn an enemy ambush into a pile of severed limbs and broken armor before they even realize what they’re up against.

I also like that if any of your Thralls die, you get a free Death Ward. If you know you’re going up against a necromancer or an Undead with Energy Drain, making an incredibly weak but tasty-looking creature one of your Thralls and sending them in to die is one less spell slot your Divine caster needs to use on you. I’m amused by the idea of blessing one member of your Sack Of Rats and just crushing it in your hand if you ever need a ward. If you have the Charisma for it, definitely try it out!

You can enter Monkis World here.

[innittowinit]

Abandoned amusement parks are the best place for young children (chapter 5)

Fic summary: 

Techno, Tommy, Wilbur and Phil have been hanging out at the abandoned amusement park in the woods since they moved in. Techno likes knowing he's definitely alone with his brothers Tommy likes climbing on the old rides Wilbur likes having a place to play his music Phil likes spending time with his younger brothers

That is, until a group of brothers calling themselves the 'dream team' move in down the road. Will the sleepy boys give in and share the park or will they succeed in scaring the new kids off?

Chapter summary:

 the dream team talk how to maximize their attacks

the sleepy boys talk about no more fighting

Chapter word count: 1938 (a little shorter than usual sry)

AO3 

I am the author, please don’t re-upload this fic to any other sites/ reblog>re-upload

As the hazing summer weather beamed through the glass panes of their windows, the oldest of all the Dream kids, Bad, was recleaning out the scar on George’s cheek, making sure it was safe for him to go out for the day without him getting it infected, Covering it up with some gauze and medical tape once he was satisfied it wouldn’t be getting infected. Dream watched with ferocious intensity as he tried to memorise every movement, Bad wasn’t home very often, he had school and other things to deal with, so Dream was left to be the biggest brother most of the time. 

When he was little, he would have jumped at the chance to be in charge! It meant he was strong and trustworthy but recently, despite his confident facade, he did find himself getting worried a lot. Being the oldest meant knowing what to do when everyone else was scared, it meant being the bravest! And while he did have to admit he was a natural born leader, he didn’t always feel prepared. People were unpredictable and it scared him a little that it was his responsibility to judge them now. 

“Look” Bad sighed as he listened to his two youngest brothers rant on and on about how mean their ‘rivals’ were; as much as he hated to see them all upset and bothered like this, he was sure something must have happened to cause such a big feud. Kids don’t just fight for the sake of fighting right? When he was their age, he, skeppy and their other friend used to just prank people and play random games together. Maybe they did play fight, he couldn’t really remember..

“Are you sure that nothing happened to provoke them? I believe you muffin heads but maybe try to talk to them about sharing the park next time? Not everything has to be a war y’know……. And keep the gauze on this time! The doctor said you can’t leave it open until it’s fully healed. If you think those boys are actually dangerous I can go talk to their parents while you're gone, stay away from them though okay? I don’t want any more bumps or scratches.” 

As the boys all scrambled to grab their things before running out the door, they each gave Bad a hug, letting him know they’d call if they would be out late. The summer air lingered with an overwhelming feeling of comfort and familiarity as the three kids walked down the street, they hadn’t lived here long at all but they’d already made a name for themselves; they had even already made a group of enemies on the same street as them. This would be fun. 

Walking around in a thick green hoodie and a mask was proving to be more of a challenge that he had initially anticipated though, he wasn’t sure what kind of hell they had moved into but summer was so much more than summer. It was thick thick air, beads of sweat, and absolute torture. He felt his breath fog up and condensate his mask, leaving a coating of wet breath along the inside of the plasticy surface. It was disgusting but he’d rather pass out through heat exhaustion than take it off. Taking off the jumper was fine though, he did need to take extra care when pulling it off though since he couldn’t risk accidentally flashing his face.

Dream had always enjoyed the more violent games, he was an athletic boy, the most athletic out of all his brothers, and he loved trying to see if they could track him down or catch him. This usually ended up being games of hide and seek or bulldog that got taken too far, the scar on the cheek hadn’t been a big deal for them since they were so used to playing in such a rough manner. To them, this was all a game. They’d have a big war over the den but at the end of the day they’d still be friends, if he was being honest Dream was glad he had found other boys who liked the same kind of games as they did! 

His brother’s were fun but they were getting predictable, he knew how they’d react. He wanted new people to play with! He wanted the chance to team up with George and Sapnap and fight as one. 

This would be fun. They needed a plan though. 

“I think.. I think we need to prove that we deserve to hang out there too. There’s absolutely no reason why a little kid should be allowed there but we can't!” Balling his fist up and hitting it directly into the palm of his hand as he tried to think, Dream led the group in the direction of the woods. 

“Wilbur thinks he can talk about what they want as if we don’t exist! I say we declare war on L’manburg! Who are they to say where we can and cannot go!”

Sapnap, the youngest of the three but not by much -certainly not as big of an age gap as the sleepy boys had- had yelled out, waving his toy wooden sword around in mock anger. Really, he was a little upset about not being allowed into the park but it would be so much more fulfilling once they had earned their passage into it. 

Dream glanced at his brother and chuckled, George was holding a toy axe as well, himself having a nerf crossbow, which he had saved up all of his pocket money for a whole month to buy. After doing so many dishes to get the extra cash, he was absolutely going to try it out. 

“Dream you’re good at running, I’d say you should snipe them from behind a bush with your crossbow and when they’re weak you run in there. While they’re distracted George and I can charge in from another point. We shouldn’t attack today, George is still wounded and we aren’t prepared. Let’s just scope the scene and find an alternative entrance”

Admittedly, Dream had a tendency to underestimate his brothers. This was proof enough that Sap could be smart though, it would be an objectively bad idea to attack while they were weakened and the enemy was strong. They only had their ‘weapons’ to defend themselves with, in case the sleepy boys started throwing rocks again. 

In fact, he was still quite surprised that Wilbur even had thrown the rock. He had expected him to be an easy target, he was carrying a guitar around and he was so tall, Dream could definitely push him over if he wanted to play dirty. While it wasn’t ideal they had a tough enemy, he would be lying to himself if he said he wasn’t intrigued to see what would happen next.

Yes, this game was going to be very fun. 

----

“Okay everyone!” 

Phil called out, his three brothers all sat on a half-rubble brick wall. 

“So we all know that we’ve already had two people get hurt inside the L’manburg walls. Obviously nobody wanted this to happen, whether it was from losing your temper or just not paying attention to your surroundings, we need to do something about it” Phil clapped his hands together, he knew them well, if he made this into something fun they might actually take his advice. 

“L’manburg is not just a hang out spot, it’s not just a theme park either! It is our great nation! And, like every great nation, we need laws and rulers to keep us safe!”

Looking around, he saw how their faces perked up, even Techno, who didn’t usually enjoy roleplaying, seemed excited. It was a nice change, especially things were starting to get mundane, considering there wasn’t much of the park left unexplored -Wil had expressed a desire to want to check out the swampy area but Phil immediately shut down that idea, telling him that even if Wil ended up okay, Tommy would copy him and without a doubt get hurt.

“Wilbur will be your president, while I’m not here he’s going to keep you safe and make any tough decisions. Tommy, you will be the vice president” he had to keep himself from saying this role was just to keep the boy from getting upset at not being chosen for anything cool. 

“Tommy, this is very important, do you think you can handle it?” 

The young boy nodded excitedly, bouncing a little where he was sitting. 

“Okay, Tommy you need to help Wilbur make all the important decisions, and when anybody wants to join L’manburg you need to get Wilbur and then you can be in charge of making them go away” As silly as it was, at least he could trust Tommy to not throw rocks if he was told not to. 

“Finally Techno,”

“Oh my god, me too?” The teen chuckled 

“Of course, we need our warrior! Where would we be without our brave fighter!”

“Ah yes, the warrior. Tommy, I eagerly await your command. I’m so ready to fight people” Techno pulled his hair back, tying it at the back in a low ponytail as some small wisps framed his face. It was beautiful, everyone seemed to agree on that -unless they were overly masculine teenage boys- but Techno would kill anyone who dared say so in an instance.

He seemed to be stifling a little laugh, he was never into acting or theatre like his brothers were, while he was little he always preferred playing strategy games rather than make believe ones. That being said, he still loved seeing them happy and even though he doubted he would be doing it nearly as much as they would, he’d make an effort to play along.

The grin that shot across Tommy’s face was reason enough to roleplay, just a bit. 

“Okay okay so we need laws too! Wilbur, as the president, has already prepared a list” 

Phil sat down on the wall, it was cold and uncomfortable but against the humid air mixed with the slight smell of mildew from the slowly rotting park, it was nice. Last night, he had stayed up late with Wilbur, talking about this idea. If they gave Tommy a new place to hang out inside the park and called it the White house, he’d surely play there instead of doing whatever it is he does on the coasters. 

It still made Phil a little dizzy to think that they had been letting Tommy climb unsupervised while he wasn’t here, hopefully he had the mind to not go too high but knowing his brother, he would have taken the chance to climb higher. 

Wilbur cleared his throat as he got a piece of paper out of his pocket. 

“Dear citizens of L’manburg” 

Tommy giggled, which made Wilbur give him a little smile before he carried on with his speech.

“We will be a peaceful nation! I intend to rule this land without the need for any more people getting hurt. Any kind of weaponry, including collected rocks, are strictly prohibited inside L’manburg, the only instance in which we fight is if we are under attack! My fellow Sleepy boys, too much blood has been shed on this land, I hope you will all stand with me while I strive to steer this great nation in the direction of being more loving and accepting of our neighbours.” 

Phil chuckled as he watched his brothers, they all seemed so happy, most importantly though, they would finally have a reason to be more careful.

Hopefully nobody else would get hurt.

[epic-potato-crisp]

Courtship - Part 2 (AjinWeek2020/7)

Notes:

Part 2 is here after...a year?

Originally, this was supposed to be posted for Ajin Week 2020 Day 7: Anything goes. The whole story was just supposed to be two chapters, however I want to expand it a little and now we're at looking at 3-4. Stay tuned for further updates! (I'm considering whether Twilight is the right choice for their movie night. It's very temping. There are five (5) movies and so very little of Kei's patience.)

———————————————-

“I’m sorry, what?” Tosaki says.

Yeah, Kei probably shouldn’t have agreed to this. On the other hand, the look of pure bewilderment on his team leader’s face replaces about a month of entertainment for him. At the very least. It’s a fair deal.

“We’re dating.” Kou explains sheepishly, for the second time, scratching at his neck.

“Since when?” Hirasawa asks, appearing just as invested as he is amused.

Izumi hasn’t said anything yet, instead observing them in silence.

“Since like right now.” Kou says, laughing awkwardly, “It was pretty spontaneous. Right, Kei?”

“Don’t drag me into this.” Kei responds briskly.

“Hey, you just said yes!” Kou argues, his brows furrowing.

“And I’m regretting it more and more.” Kei snipes back.

“Oof, boys, 20 minutes in and trouble in paradise already. It’s not looking good, huh?” Ogura comments.

“It’s just a…trial.” Kei says, anxiety still spiking up in him months later at the thought of the any kind of experiment, “For a week. More for research purposes than anything.”

“Research purposes, now we’re talking.” Ogura chimes in, “What’s your hypothesis? Are you going to need help evaluating the data?”

“Can you even evaluate a relationship that way?” Hirasawa argues, “In numbers? That sounds strange to me.”

“Well, plenty of psychological studies say yes, so.” Ogura shrugs, “So Nagai, what’s your deal?”

“The hypothesis is that seven days of close interaction will not lead to me murdering him.” Kei glares in Kou’s direction, “And that he will shut up about my dating life.”

Kou coughts out something that suspiciously sounds like “what life”, for which Kei elbows him in the ribs, hard.

“Yeah, what he said.” Kou wheezes, returning the glare in kind.

“And we’re not really going to write a report about it. We’re just letting it run simultaneously. Would that be with you?” Kei asks.

Tosaki stares at them for a full minute and then leaves the room without another word.

“I’ll just be-“ Izumi says, apologetically, hurriedly following after him.

“You boys have my blessing.” Hirasawa says, winking at them and toasting in their direction with his barley tea.

“Mine too, with a little extra sprinkle of blessing on top if you do take a few notes about it.” Ogura says, “From a sociological perspective, it’s pretty hilarious. Completely anonymous, of course.”

“Fine, I can do that.” Kei says, “I’m bored as it is.”

They take their leave.

“Well, you’re not going to be bored for long with me around.” Kou says, once they’re out of earshot, grinning at him brightly.

Kei grimaces. “Yeah, we’ll see about that.”

Kei hadn’t believed that dating Kou would be difficult- to be truthful, he hadn’t considered the situation at all, but here they were. But reality is a whole different obstacle.

First, there’s the hand-holding. It’s been a good while since Kei had held hands with anyone, frankly, when he was in elementary school and crossing the street with Eriko, and that had been more of a safety precaution than anything. It’s an unnecessary amount of touch in his opinion, the sweaty entanglement of fingers grossing him out in theory. In practice…it’s not really that bad.

Kou slips his hand into Kei’s, that evening as they’re taking a walk around the forest. It comes as a surprise to him. They had just been strolling around aimlessly for a while, trying to clear their head from a day of training and the awkward conversation earlier. Lost in his own thoughts, Kei startles a little at the sudden physical contact.

“The cicadas are really fucking loud, aren’t they?” Kou says, almost nonchalantly. Kei notices that his grip, although confident at first, loosens a little in hesitation, giving Kei the opportunity to pull away. He considers it. However, instead of sticky and oppressive, the touch is comforting somehow. Which is weird, considering there is no purpose to it. But then, there is no purpose to this entire trial run, Kei concludes, which makes up his mind. He hums noncommittally and squeezes back. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see how the other’s face lights up in surprise. “Maybe they just have a lot to talk about.” Kou stumbles to add. “Maybe they’re just as chatty as you.” Kei replies sarcastically. Kou laughs. “Yeah, probably.” he agrees, grinning. They continue walking until dusk approaches, coloring the sky in shades of purple and blue.

Izumi’s waiting for them when they get back with two glasses of chilled water. They say their thanks, Kou gulping down his water in a flash and wiping his mouth with his arm.

“Ah man, thought I was going to die of thirst.” he says, sighing blissfully as he goes in for a refill.

“Literally impossible in that short of a time span.” Kei corrects him, but he too can’t help a small sigh of relief. August brings about a heat wave that makes him even more grateful for the air conditioning at the hideout. He regrets to think that he “voluntarily” signed up for a training camp during this very time of the year when he could have instead spent his days in his room doing practice questions. Pure insanity. He’ll definitely get Sato back for this.

“By the way, Tosaki-san is okay with you… dating.” Izumi explains, “He was just a bit overwhelmed at the situation.”

Not only him, Kei thinks grimly.

“Well, it’s just for a week!” Kou interjects, with an embarrassed laugh, “We’re not sure about anything yet, you know?” Kei side-eyes him hard. His attempts at preserving his chances with Izumi-san are obvious enough that it’s almost pitiable. “Well, I am. I’m pretty sure I don’t want to spend the rest of my life dating someone like you.” he scoffs, which should serve Nakano’s agenda well, ignoring the slight constriction ins his chest. The walk must have tired out his muscle more than he realized.

“So he is okay with it?”

“Well.” Izumi bites her lip, “He said that by your mere existence, you’ve ruled out his two biggest concerns, so after that he doesn’t really care what happens. Unless it jeopardizes your training, of course.”

Yes, that does sound indeed like Tosaki.“And those concerns are?” Kei asks, genuinely curious.

“You can’t get pregnant and you can’t die.” she says, matter-of-fact. Kou chokes on his water.

“In that particular order, in case you were wondering.” she adds, rolling her eyes.

“Wow.”says Kei, any other words temporarily not coming to mind.

That’s one obstacle removed.

For some strange reason, having a boyfriend doesn’t magically remove Kei’s above average exhaustion after what the others refer to as one instance of basic interval training.

“I can carry you the rest of the way.” Kou grins, kneeling beside Kei who is currently wheezing into the ground, fingers digging into the earth. Thirty situps, followed by half an hour of jogging? Give him a break. He’s been through 15 and already wishes he were six feet under.

Permanently, that is.

“Are you dumb?” Kei coughs out, “How on earth would I benefit from that exercise?”

“Well, you could rest- you seriously sound like you’re gonna pass out any second.” Kou pointed out, “And I could get some strength training in. Win-win. I know I’m strong enough to carry you.” He has the audacity to wink at Kei.

“Hirasawa-san!” Kou yells and runs over to where the older man is standing and timing them. With Kou gesturing broadly while explaining, and Hirasawa nodding eventually, Kei knows his fate is sealed.

“Pick me up.” He says, lethargically stretching his limbs skywards once Kou comes back for him.

“Just get on my back like a normal person.” Kou laughs at his purposeful display of weakness, “Unless you really want the bridal carry?”

“Hell no.”

“Your choice, Nagai.”

Remarkably enough, riding on Kou’s shoulders is not as bad as an experience as Kei had imagined it to be. He gets a ride across their training grounds, coupled with brilliant view of the clear blue sky and puffy clouds that drift by without a care in the world, and his only physical exertion is reserved for clinging to his teammate just enough so that he doesn’t fall off.

Which is to say minimal. For all his bragging, Nakano really does have profound upper body strength.

“See? Told you I could easily carry you!” Kou teases.

Easily.

Kei doesn’t know what does it, the confidence emblazoning his tone, the mere fact that Nakano was right or the reality of the situation where he picked him up and carried him around like it was nothing.

Kei’s heart starts to beat a little faster.

“I’m not sharing a bed with you.” Kei declares, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“What’s the big deal? Couples do it all the time.” Kou says.

It’s close to midnight and he’s standing at Kei’s door, armed with his phone and a pillow.

“Yes, but we’re not a couple.

“We are for this week.” Kou points out and damn, he is right. He pouts at Kei.

“So we only have a week. Please, Nagai?”

“You know how I feel about physical contact.” Kei glances back at his bed, which looks perfectly designed to host one person, and one person only. As it should.

“Well, I mean we don’t have to cuddle. Unless that’s…something you want?” Kou throws him an inquisitive gaze, the tips of his ears reddening.

“Of course it’s not, you moron!” Kei snaps back, a blush rising to his cheeks.

“Well then what the hell is your issue?” Kou says, slightly frustrated.

“I don’t want to share a bed with you, that’s it. Good night.”

Kei slams the door close in his face.

He hears his teammate/boyfriend-for-the-week groan and the head of to God knows where.

Kei fortifies his resolve – he doesn’t even need to give a reason, and yet he gave perfectly acceptable to deny his overnight stay.

Perhaps that’s his only issue.

Perhaps he also doesn’t want Kou to be able to listen to his steadily accelerating heartbeat whether they’re in close proximity.

But that’s something Kou is better of not knowing about.

Little by little, the hand-holding is integrated in their daily routine. Not when anyone can see them. And only if there’s nothing immediate that needs to be done. A brush of fingers as they pass each other in the hallway. Kou’s hand naturally slipping into Kei’s as they’re watching a video on his phone. Kou’s fingers grasping for Kei’s in the middle of a team meeting, right under the table, and Kei holding on for just a second too long, a scene that he will replay in embarrassment in his memories later.

Sometimes Kei wishes it wouldn’t feel as comfortable as it does, because this too is something that he will have to erase once their week comes to an end.

“Oh yeah, can we use the room later?” Kou asks, three days into their trial, barely swallowing down his food in time to ask the question. Which is directed at Tosaki, an unspoken agreement that comes with trying to sort out most hideout-related issues. Because the man really is the only person that would find a problem with that, Kei thinks grimly, and isn’t disappointed.

“For what?” Tosaki asks, suspicion setting into his features. Or perhaps that’s just his default look these days.

“Like, for a movie night?” Kou says, “The screen in here is really big.”

There is dead silence. Kei picks at his soba and tries to stave off his oncoming headache.

“Why?”

“Dunno, cause we want to have one?” Kou tilts his head curiously, “If you guys aren’t gonna use it, we can have it, right?”

Ogura tries to turn his laugh into a cough, failing miserably.

“Yeah, Yuu, don’t be such a spoilsport. Let them have it.”

“What are you calling me?”

“I already said I’m cool with Ikuya, you’d just have to stop being so uptight about it.” Ogura shrugs, gesturing at him with his chopsticks.

“This room is reserved in the evenings.” Tosaki grits out between his teeth, ignoring Ogura’s third consecutive attempt that day to get under his skin, if Kei is keeping count correctly.

“Damn it. “ Kou sighs, “You can’t make an exception?”

Tosaki’s eyebrow twitches.

“Wouldn’t a couch be more comfortable than chairs?” Hirasawa interjects, right before Kou can continue in what Kei knows is a losing battle, “There’s one in the storage room. It’s a little battered, but it will do the job.”

“Yeah, I actually think there’s a projector in their too.” Manabe says, “You won’t need a screen. We’ll just get the laptop hooked up. Kind of like a home cinema.” He smiles nostalgically at the prospect: “Haven’t been to one in ages.”

Tosaki sighs.

“Hell yeah.” Nakano says, pumping his fist. He grins at Kei: “What do you say, Nagai?”

“Whatever.” Kei says, despite feeling strangely excited at the idea, taking another bite to avoid further conversation.

Izumi appears thoughtful. “I might be subscribed to a streaming service, if I remember correctly.” she says, “So make use of that if you will.”

“It will be better than risking a computer virus.” she adds, awkwardly, as Tosaki shoots a glare in her direction.

“Izumi-san, Hirasawa-san, Manabe-san, you’re the best!” Kou proclaims loudly, his body positively vibrating with excitement, “This will be the most amazing movie night ever!”

Hirasawa chuckles. “You’re welcome. We’ll help you set it up right after dinner.”

“And I’ll check the wifi and my login details.” Izumi says, pointedly avoiding eye contact with her boss.

“I’m glad everyone has their priorities for the evening sorted.” Tosaki says icily.

Kou gives Kei a winning grin, which seems to say: “I promised you a movie night, and I made it happen.”

For all intents and purposes, Kei is the slightest bit impressed. Which is yet another tidbit of information Nakano doesn’t need to possess.

“You better not make me sit through one of your dumb action movies.” he mutters, instead.

This is going to be a long night.