#But I think it does aptly Hate this.

[selfcontainedunivcrse]

silly my little guy hc. Vwoop doesn't have your [redacted]era fanwork endermen tears, but it does cry some sort of solution with little flecks of ender particles in it. if crying on its own was not embarassing enough, having sparkly tears is a surefire way to get taken seriously in a fight

[missshirophantom]

Yandere Alphabet Sebastian Solace

From the author: hello everyone. I apologize for the abrupt disappearance after the first posts. There was a lot of shit going on in real life. And now especially, especially when I almost had a panic attack. This post... a small attempt to somehow cope with all the emotional problems. Ahem, I apologize for the mistakes, because English is not my native language and I used a translator. Yes, and I just got over it now... Tears, that's it. If I feel better (and a positive reaction will be enough), then I will write a small sketch using this post.

Warning: dr#g use without consent, threat of broken bones, threat of bondage, slight isolation, hint of c#nnib#lism. If you are for the fact that yandere Sebastian is gentle or dark, then you are absolutely not here. The author does not approve of the above written in real life.

Affection: How do they show their love and affection? How intense would it get?

— Due to so many years of literal torture and DNA implantation, Sebastian has forgotten how to show love and affection. At least, that's what many people imagine.

— Thanks to vague memories of his past, he often gives "gifts". These are usually very rare deceased marine life that he found while exploring the complex. Most often, he drags soft objects such as pillows and blankets to another person.

— It is worth considering that he will often be... Biting his beloved is not strong, of course, but deep enough and in prominent places so that the bite mark remains as long as possible.

— In rare moments, Sebastian can clamp his beloved with his tail and hands, preventing them from moving. Such moments last quite a long time — from several hours to even days. But don't be afraid, he will feed you.

— About feeding... Sometimes Sebastian intentionally brings dead marine life and forces the beloved to eat them raw, saying that he did not find a normal meal for you, and that's all he found, and there is no necessary equipment to cook.

— And I. Don't even think about giving up this "meal", because he can get very angry at you the longer and more persistently you refuse.

Blood: How messy are they willing to get when it comes to their darling?

— This case can be described as follows: rarely, but aptly.

— Sebastian hates people, especially getting dirty in their blood. But when the threat is directed either at him, or at the beloved, or at his refuge, then... Yes. It's better not to see it. In particular, you don't need to know where that poor guy's body goes next.

Cruelty: How would they treat their darling once abducted? Would they mock them?

— Despite his hatred of people, which he skillfully hides by contacting them in his store, especially if you are a person yourself, but in moments of his bad mood, Sebastian can mock you. Especially when you are trying to escape or are somehow stubborn, protesting against his actions and the like.

Darling: Aside from abduction, would they do anything against their darling’s will?

— It all depends on how his beloved behaves. If they try to escape more than once, he will give them a "medicine" in order to keep them in a sluggish and weakened state in the shelter.

— Well, he also locks them in a shelter while he goes out to get supplies. For good behavior, they may not even tie you up and tie you to the railing of the stairs.

Exposed: How much of their heart do they bare to their darling? How vulnerable are they when it comes to their darling?

— It's not much... It is difficult, especially when Sebastian vaguely remembers his life before his arrest and experiments.

— But if he is in a good mood, he can talk about his past. Especially about his cat, whom he misses.

Fight: How would they feel if their darling fought back?

— Definitely an annoyance. And the stronger and longer the beloved resists, the stronger his irritation, turning into anger.

Game: Is this a game to them? How much would they enjoy watching their darling try to escape?

— Sebastian does not consider this a game, even though he finds it funny to watch the escape attempts of the beloved and their plans for this. But still, he is serious that even for the sake of his "fun" he does not allow another to escape.

— So, yes. the DNA of the same white shark, which awakens in him the instincts of pleasure over the attempts of another to escape.

Hell: What would be their darling’s worst experience with them?

— Oh, definitely quite strong and a decent dose of "medicine" if the beloved misbehaves for too long. Sebastian rarely uses physical punishments. Except when he is very, very driven. Then he will definitely break a couple of bones in his legs.

Ideals: What kind of future do they have in mind for/with their darling?

— Sebastian just doesn't know. The arrest and experiments forced him to think about the present, not the future. Especially when there is a looming danger over him because of his mutations. And not only that.

— But somewhere in the tender moments with his beloved, he definitely thought about having a family with them. And also a safe place where they both don't need anything and no one bothers them.

Jealousy: Do they get jealous? Do they lash out or find a way to cope?

— As long as the other person does not speak directly and flirt, or God forbid, does not try to touch the other, then Sebastian is ready to be patient. And if any of this happens, he immediately throws this person out of his store and forbids him to come back. Believe me, this is the mildest thing he can do in bouts of jealousy.

Kisses: How do they act around or with their darling?

— Believe it or not, but it's pretty good, let it depend on the mood. Sebastian definitely likes to hold his beloved with his tail and sleep in this position, curled up in the "nest". Bite them, thereby marking them. As it was written above, he gives, albeit sometimes gloomy gifts: dead marine life, someone's bones. But it's definitely nice to get the same pillows and blankets from him. On particularly "lucky" days, he may even bring some simple puzzles, blank paper, and writing supplies. Or even the clean clothes of the employees! And also, as it was written, he definitely likes to watch the beloved eat the food he brought.

— However, do not try to annoy him in any way or, God forbid, make him angry. And even if nothing serious happens for the first time, it's better not to push your luck.

Love letters: How would they go about courting or approaching their darling?

— He will definitely compose a little poetry and read it to you. But mostly his love language, if you can call it that, is gifts, not particularly frequent physical contact, as well as... preening when Sebastian's mood is definitely high. He likes to mess with the hair of his beloved, untangling tangles with his claws and cleaning them from dirt. But it's definitely somehow caused by injected DNA and getting some instincts. Well, Sebastian can also be a good gentleman.

Mask: Are their true colors drastically different from the way they act around everyone else?

— Yes. Quite a lot if you continue to test his patience.

Naughty: How would they punish their darling?

— It varies depending on how much his patience is exhausted. If he speaks from the most harmless to severe punishment, then it goes something like this: stronger and deeper bites that leave a scar; short-term deprivation of food; small doses of "medicine"; medium doses; a large dose; broken bones, usually legs.

Oppression: How many rights would they take away from their darling?

— Freedom, defined. Sebastian will definitely lock the beloved in the shelter while he goes on business. But even without that, he still has no intention of letting them out of his sight, especially when they are not the first to try to escape or behave badly.

— It will also definitely monitor your meals with extreme care and sleep patterns.

Patience: How patient are they with their darling?

— Surprisingly, he is quite patient. But even such patience has its limits.

Quit: If their darling dies, leaves, or successfully escapes, would they ever be able to move on?

— Sebastian will refuse to believe that their beloved has died. By that time, he will have time to get very attached and it will be a blow to him. So be prepared for the fact that he will simply lose the remnants of his humanity and will babysit your body by locking himself in a shelter.

— Well, if it's an escape... It won't be difficult for him to find you. He knows this place like his own... "Five" fingers. Plus, his senses are highly developed, as are his newfound instincts.

Regret: Would they ever feel guilty about abducting their darling? Would they ever let their darling go?

— Definitely not for both questions. And even if Sebastian hated people and if you are a person yourself, he will not let you go.

Stigma: What brought about this side of them (childhood, curiosity, etc)?

— After the accusation that he did not commit, years of experimentation on him, torture, as well as the loss of some memories, you evoke in him... Something really different and new, amidst all this hatred and irritation. This feeling made him relax a little, feel the warmth in his chest and just made his barely controlled instincts calm down.

— You can say that he is really curious. Plus... Years of loneliness in this cruel situation are making themselves felt.

Tears: How do they feel about seeing their darling scream, cry, and/or isolate themselves?

— Definitely a confusion. Why do you want to come back at all? There, on the surface, you will find a much more cruel world than here, next to it. Yes, the conditions here are not so good, but it is much better than sitting behind bars in a dirty cell or, God forbid, being a test subject of these disgusting people.

— Despite the confusion, Sebastian understands these feelings. But he definitely didn't want to watch the situation worsen. He will definitely give you "medicines" to let you forget, but he will not work hard with it. After all, Sebastian does not want to be like the people who conducted experiments on him.

Unique: Would they do anything different from the classic yandere?

— Not really.

Vice: What weakness can their darling exploit in order to escape?

— It's definitely that Sebastian has become a monster, without a shred of humanity. Despite everything, he still misses the time when he was human, and these words will infuriate him. Plus, the same flashlight or flash in sensitive eyes. This disorients him for a few seconds.

Wit’s end: Would they ever hurt their darling?

— Mentally? Not much. Physically? Quite a lot, and it depends on how much you've exhausted his patience.

Xoanon: How much would they revere or worship their darling? To what length would they go to win their darling over?

— It depends on a lot of things. From the time you are with him, situations have occurred, especially those related to your life. The longer you stay with him and the more situations there are related to your life, the more he will begin to take care of you. But as for the conquest, this is another story and much longer, because Sebastian lost that normal part of himself, acting on the basis of instincts and vague memories.

Yearn: How long do they pine after their darling before they snap?

— It depends on the situation.

Zenith: Would they ever break their darling?

— Oh, Sebastian, which is a little surprising, will try to prevent this. He doesn't want a man like you to become even a little bit like him.

[sadesluvr]

Dirty Little Secret

Even with a roster of sexual partners, Derek Danforth keeps coming back to you.

(Derek Danforth x GN! Reader)

A/N: I conjured this idea basically the moment Wallace started laying into Derek lmfao. You don’t have to have watched The Beekeeper to understand this (It’s chaotic and generic, but I had fun!) - Just know Derek is a coke and vape addicted, multi-millionaire crypto-selling playboy scammer who’s also the son of a president?😭 

The place mentioned in this fic (‘The Warehouse’) is fictional and not featured in the movie!

Word count: 1.3K

Tags: SMUT / Gender Neutral Reader / Drug usage (Cocaine) / WARNING: READER DOES A HIT OF COCAINE / Oral sex, M receiving / Degradation / Dirty talk / Implications of cheating / A little angsty, if you squint / This is just Reader giving Derek a blowjob so Minors DNI

‘Need u. Meet me at The Warehouse’

You needn’t check the message twice to know who it was. 

There was only one person in your life who spoke to you like this; who disappeared on most weekdays, only to show up on weekends between the hours of midnight to 5AM without a care in the world. The man’s name was Derek Danforth, a guy who ‘just happened’ to be the son of now President, Jessica Danforth.

You hadn’t met him through any lavish political gala, nor from a meet-and-greet after an inspiring TED Talk - no, he’d chosen the oh-so classy way to slide into your DM’s on Instagram. You’d come to know that fast and sleazy was Derek’s brand.

At first you’d thought it was a scam, not wanting to believe that a millionaire would even bother to speak to you, but a quick $100 transfer into your linked account had told you otherwise.

‘Think I’m real now?’ He’d messaged back, and it was from there that he’d sent a valet to your place for what was supposed to be a hookup.

He’d fucked you so good that night; the feel of his fingers gripping your ass as he pounded into you from behind still etched into your skin. He’d left marks; from marks sourced from his rabid teeth on your neck, to marks from the metal of his rings that had dug tiny scratches into your flesh.  He hadn’t shut up the entire time, grunting and groaning in your ear about how much of a dirty slut you were, and how good your tight hole felt against his cock. He’d probably said that to all the people he’d fucked.

Still, it got to you, and apparently to him also. What started as an unsuspecting DM turned into full contact, with 3AM calls and erotic FaceTime sessions. Derek was often high off of coke, or drunk, or somewhere in between, all whilst puffing on his vape, huffing the thick white air like a dragon. Fitting, because he was dangerous.

And you’d been pulled into his shiny lair once again.

The Warehouse, or what you liked to aptly dub the ‘Whorehouse’ was an underground club, apparently run by Derek’s dealer. Yes, Derek hadn’t even had the courtesy to take you to one of his many properties to do his business, deciding that a sweaty basement would be best for you.

At least you could somehow remain anonymous.

“Knees, now. I want a blowjob,” Derek said in his usual dismissive tone as he slumped on a red couch before leaning forward and sprinkling a white powder on the table. You rolled your eyes as he snorted it, watching as he ran a hand through his mullet, absorbing the endorphins into his bloodstream.

He looked up at you with furrowed brows. He wasn’t one used to dealing with insolence.

“I don’t have all day.”

“Jeez, a ‘hey’ would be nice,” you grumbled. “I had to work overtime, I barely even got settled at home —“

“So? I don’t fucking care,” he scoffed. “There’s a couch, you can settle here.”

You knew damn well there wasn’t going to be any ‘settling’. And as much as you hated it, you loved it. 

Derek spread his legs expectedly as you dived between them, struggling with his zipper to take out his hard cock. It didn’t matter if he was average sized - he'd more than proved himself to know how to use it. Still, it never got lost on you as to how thick he was, the filling sensation of his cock in your mouth for the first time becoming one of your favourites. 

He was already leaking precum, and you wasted no time in licking the fluids up before moving down to the rest of his length, with your hand planted firmly on the base of his cock. You started off with slow, but deliberate motions, desperate to feel his girth in every crevice of your mouth, motivated by the male’s drawn out moans. His head was flung back against the top of the couch, arms spread as he basically gave himself up to you - one of the rare times he would only surrender.

Until he got impatient and placed his hands on the back of your neck, grip firm as he began to drag your head up and down his length, demanding you increase the pace. Pools of spit began to build up inside of your mouth as he did, accommodating to the sudden force. Every time you retracted from his length, the pink flesh began to glimmer; shine, even, as you serviced it. To some, it was a taboo and demeaning act, but to Derek, it was the ultimate act of your submission and devotion to him. To this day, even a year on from your first encounter, you couldn’t understand why he kept coming back to you.

“Fuck,” he drawled, clenching his teeth down on his bottom as he heaved. “You’re so fucking good at this - It’s like you were just made for my cock…”

The statement caused your stomach to backflip, only encouraging you to take him deeper. His thick head was now inches away from the back of your throat, threatening to make you gag. Unfathomably, you seemed tempted to take that risk, but Derek intervened.

“Here,” he said flatly as he gently pushed you off of him, leaning down towards the table. “Try this,” 

He rolls up a fifty and guides your head along the white powder. Your nose tingles and your heart clenches a little, but there’s no immediate effect.

“It’ll take a while, but trust me, you’ll fucking feel it,” Derek smirks, drawing you from your thoughts. “Good thing we’ve got all night,”

It wasn’t long before you were back on his cock, vessel gripped firmly in your hand as you began to stroke him up and down, in tandem with the movements of your neck. 

“You’ve never had blow like this before,” he laughs, hands frantic as they gripped at his thighs, trying to hold them still. “Then again, you’ve never had a dick like this before either, hm? Don’t you have a boyfriend to go home to? Poor guy. I must have you whipped…”

Desperate to respond, you popped his cock out of your mouth, but he held up a hand to 

silence you. 

“I really don’t need to fucking hear it,” he chuckled. “You’re such a slut, you know that? You suck my dick, moan like a bitch, and keep coming back for more, but here you are arguing with me…I’m beginning to think you like this little relationship of ours,”

Who was he kidding? You both knew the truth.

You hummed, and Derek ran his tongue over his teeth, his bouncing leg beginning to quicken. His hands found your head, gripping the back of your neck as his cock began to twitch, vein throbbing against the flat of your tongue. He was always his most animalistic in the heat of the moment; and even though you enjoyed the culmination of your hard work, it was also the time where he spouted things, words and phrases that you knew were nothing but bullshit, and yet clouded your eyes with hope.

“Moan for me,” he grunted, pupils blown as they focused on the pornographic display below him. “Tell me that I’m the best you’ve ever had,”

You let out a whine, and he hummed.

“Worship me,” he continued. “Show me how much you love me…Fuck – Open your mouth…!”

Swiftly, Derek removed his aching member from your mouth, eyes wide as he watched a bridge of saliva form from your raw lips to his skin. With a few slick pumps, his fell half lidded as he came over your face, streaks of white fluid coating your cheeks and lips, with some even falling in your lashes and dripping onto your nose. He convulsed, as if he were temporarily losing grip on his sanity and panted as he tried for air. He ran his hands across his beard before he cupped your cheek, an indiscernible look in his eye before he patted it.

“Clean yourself up. I want you nice and fresh for round two.”

It pained you that you were so enthusiastic to oblige.

[secretmellowblog]

So, when Les Mis was first published, this conservative reviewer named Felix and Courtat went on a tirade against Victor Hugo’s disgustingly sensuous portrayal of Marius and Cosette’s romance. Here are some excellent quotes from his review (courtesy of a translation by @psalm22-6 ).

First, he points out that if Marius is supposed to be Victor Hugo’s self insert, this is all a big plot hole:

This reviewer begins by complaining about Hugo's fixation on virginity:

Cosette and him, who have not spoken to one another, fall into each other's arms, call each other “tu,” and they give each other a deeply loving embrace, "the ineffable first embrace of two VIRGINITIES in the ideal,” as the author so aptly puts it. After bravely embracing following the first meeting with Cosette, Marius spends part of the night with her for six weeks, alone together, in brother and sister innocence. I am absolutely ignorant of the youth of M. V. Hugo, however I would readily believe that, in Marius, he wanted to paint himself at the age of twenty. Nevertheless, I would struggle to allow that such an adventure happened to him. . . other than in a dream. His adoration of VIRGINITY, which is found in Valjean, in Javert, in Marius, in Enjolras (I am only speaking of the men), leads his pen astray. But I’m afraid to push that point.

“If Marius represents Victor Hugo, he and Cosette would NEVER be this chaste. Hugo is far too much of a slut.”

Courtat continues:

Now, I will ask M. Victor Hugo, adorer of VIRGINITY, does he think he has honored the beginning of his austere old age as a writer by glorifying sensual passion through the love of Marius and Cosette to the extent that he did? He wrote with a smugness that should make this book forbidden to young girls, and which is unworthy of a social reformer. I hate lyricism applied to the flesh (to employ the least dishonest word); with great difficulty I forgive it with young people; but my pride of almost sixty-year-old is in agony to see one of my contemporaries write of its ecstasies.

I know we’ve reached the romance chapters in the year’s @lesmisletters readalong so I want to make sure your morals aren’t corrupted 🙏

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

Greek mythology has evolved over the course of hundreds of years, and with all those… retellings now, it’s gotten me thinking about just how many people have been spreading false details of myths through word of mouth to the point of becoming the most common interpretation, when if you were to look back in history, a great number of them were only recently made up, barely a a few centuries prior. Example of this is King Midas and his turning his daughter into a gold statue. I remember this part having been included all throughout my childhood, only to find out it was never part of the original myth but a recent addition in a book from 1852. (suddenly, the daughter being aptly named “Marigold” makes a lot more sense.) My ask is: which commonly told misconception of this type regarding any Greek myth is most infuriating to you and why?

oh my god misinformation can be INFURIATING smh

Let's start off with the Apollo misinformation.

"He raped Persephone/is a serial rapist!"

First of all, no he did not. LO, toss yourself into an eternal blaze and incinerate.

and secondly- he's not a serial rapist. There's only two accounts of rape, specifically Dryope and Creusa, but that depends on interpretation and the source so if you want to discard it, you can. No one can tell you you can't.

"UwU Apollo's love life is terrible!"

do i even need to say anything?

"Athena hates women!"

hell to the fuck no. the evidence people use for this is the Medusa Myth: Ovid's Version, and CONVIENTLY IGNORE THE ONES WHERE SHE HELPS WOMEN ESCAPE BEING RAPED!! AND THAT OVID IS THE ONLY ONE WHO DOES THIS!!

Even with the ones where she punishes the victim, the older versions do not have that! She made Nicymene her eternal owl companion, for heaven's sake!

"Hermes/Dionysus/Hephaestus is the only unproblematic god! UwU"

uh... *waves Leuconoe/Choine/Philonis around* no matter which version you go with, Hermes/Mercury does rape her...

...and in the Dionysica Dionysus rapes like two women...

...and Hephaestus tried to rape Athena... (oh wow, would you look at that...it's like Athena would have *gasp* sympathy for assault survivors...)

...See the double standards? :/ Ignores Roman/late Greek literature when it's convenient, and then exaggerates it to suit their own needs.

"Demeter is a terrible mom!"

GET OUT OF MY HOUSE NO ONE DISRESPECTS THE QUEEN

"Hades only kidnapped Persephone because Zeus told him too!"

Hades is his own man and wasn't being held at gunpoint to abduct her. He did so on his own merits. From a literal perspective, what was stopping him from just. you know. talking to her. kidnapping was not necessary.

(yes, yes, i know about the symbolic perspective, hence my use of 'literal'.)

"But Hades and Persephone are the only ones who don't cheat!!"

uh, nope. Hi Adonis, Minthe, how're you doing?

"But Adonis was more of a son to Persephone!!"

uh, NO. Even the ancients saw them as a couple!!

"Artemis is a girlboss who hates her brother!"

*kicks open door* OUT!

"Orion's the only man Artemis ever loved!"

how dare you disrespect my boy in this way Apollo was the first man she ever loved and no one will be able to replace him how dare you-

-and how dare you disrespect Hippolytus in this way he did not die in the name of all aroace people to be disrespected like this smh

"Zeus's only quality is how he fucks around!"

look, I've joked about this before but I know that's not all there is too him and that it has a symbolic representation.

Sure would be nice if people focused on that more :)

also anything that villainizes Aphrodite or Hera. god forbid women do anything.

"Clytemnestra is a girlboss who did no wrong!"

OH MY GOD THE DOUBLE STANDARDS.

funny how people fawn over Cassandra one moment and then COMPLETELY FORGET HER EXISTENCE to becry the woman who murdered her!

AND ALSO GO OUT OF THEIR WAY TO HATE APOLLO FOR CURSING HER WHEN THEIR STORY IS LITERAL ABOUT A WOMAN'S AUTONOMY BEING RESPECTED!!

AND GUESS WHAT!! APOLLO AVENGES HER DEATH!!

anything that is "UwU Achilles!" omg i am sick of it.

that bitch had everything coming. he deserved everything he got. Tenes, Troilus, and Hemithea did NOT deserve what he did to them! APOLLO AND PARIS HAD EVERY RIGHT TO TAKE HIM DOWN!

i'm probably forgetting some but here's the one that popped into my head :)

[lemonmoonlavender]

i havent posted anything on this au in a bit over a month now so take them being all edgy and stuff while i dump more lore on you

to quote the stupid shit i vomit out onto my google doc: "As the modern-day rolled around and vampires were run out of their gothic French mansions by homeowners looking for affordable housing, they had to take their wealth to the suburbs to blend in with modern civility. These German kids hate them for it (and also because they’re killing people, y’know?)"

before i continue on, i would like to state that any similarities to a certain aptly named juicebox chronicles is purely coincidental and i only read the series starting a week ago. all the random crap i wrote in the google doc was written well over a month ago

and i quote:

"Idk maybe Varian’s backstory for being a vampire hunter is that his dad was in a coma and Varian got kidnapped by a gang of vampires (the Saporians) and they like gaslit him into being okay with it for a bit

Hell yeah that sounds like a good reason

Hugo’s is that he thought Donella was killed by vampires and now he kills them for sport

Nuru just thinks ridding the world of evil is neat

Yong does it for funsies"

thank you for coming to my ted talk

[ronearoundblindly]

Hi Ro! I know I'm late to this party, but can I get B and F for Steve?

Thank you! 💜

Never too late, darling! This is tumblr, not a job 😁

This one got away with me. It got weirdly sappy for the categories asked, but I went with general Steve from no particular universe here, plus a nondescript part of the timeline or beyond, could even kinda be AU--if you squint--except Steve is definitely famous in some capacity and was small when young. (I just think he happens to look very cuff-able in this gif so we roll with it.)

These dirty asks from this game are aptly titled, so MINORS DNI.

B - Bondage

He can't exactly be tied up, not by anything commercially available, but Steve surprisingly likes the chance to sit still, take a backseat, and enjoy experiencing your enjoyment. He used to be so small. He assumed he'd never have the power he does now.

The restraints, as useless as they are, work as a calming tool to shut off his brain for a while. He's not responsible for anything. That's nice. Very freeing. The act of binding him is in itself roleplay; he's playing small and weak.

He's noticed something else, too.

Over the weeks and months you two have repeated this ritual of tying him up, and you both understand just how much it doesn't remotely hurt him, you've grown...more aggressive with the bonds. It's only when you're tying them--never an ounce of it in anything that follows--but he watches and realizes that you relieve frustration by pulling harder, knotting tighter, heaving around until their just so.

At this point, since Steve can do nothing else, he loves to see it. He's heard short and vague accounts from you, of shitty behavior, of innuendo, of back-handed compliments about how you do so well even with Steve. How his reputation must boost you. How you don't have to work so hard or be good because he'll carry you. How your accomplishments are all tied to him somehow.

It's not true, but they say it. They mean it. Steve can do nothing but let you physically yoke him down in your life, even for a few minutes. The weight it seems to lift from your shoulders is worth any momentary sting he might feel.

No. Steve doesn't mind the bonds at all. He even hates that you can't restrain him for real. He wishes he could give you that. Then people might see that you're just that powerful and you've always been that strong. He had nothing to do with it.

Okay, one sec, let me pull myself together here. YIKES.

IT BECAME ITS OWN FIC! [Entwined]

F - Food Play

[Fools Rush In Steve a.k.a. Sketch is notoriously anti-crumbs-in-the-bed, so he is 1000% not a part of this convo. Sorry, bub.]

YUP. Steve loves to feed you. It's a care thing. He always wants your opinion of all the food on the table, so you have to try everything. Here! Try this. The fork is already by your lips and he's smiling eagerly.

In the bedroom? Oh yes, he is very fond of licking sweet things off you and having them licked off him. It's one of the things that seems to tickle Steve the most--body and soul--and it's so playful. He even gets to lean into having a fast metabolism and needing calories after his workouts. If he drizzles honey or chocolate syrup on you, or hilariously fizzes too much whipped cream out of the canister he has not gotten the hang of yet, then that's a snack and a half. That's multitasking. That's just good time management, ya know?

Savory stuff is for meals and the table though. There's none of that that gets played with during sex. He's never outright said that's a rule, but it seems obvious when there's never been a crossover event.

Super random shout out to Steve having a bit of a thing for champagne and licking it off your neck after he deliberately splashes or pours it there. The bubbles tickle like hell and the cold is so shocking, but whatever, he loves it.

🙄

Thank you for asking!

Ack, I can feel in my bones that the bondage one might end up as a one shot. I am in so much trouble.

[Main Masterlist; Dirty Asks Masterlist; Ko-Fi]

[avelera]

One thought I can’t get out of my head with regards to the mock trial in Interview with the Vampire 2.7, the trial Claudia so aptly calls a stoning, is this quote by Terry Pratchett in “Small Gods”:

“I know about sureness,' said Didactylos. 'I remember, before I was blind, I went to Omnia once. And in your Citadel I saw a crowd stoning a man to death in a pit. Ever seen that?'

'It has to be done,' Brutha mumbled. 'So the soul can be shriven and-'

'Don't know about the soul. Never been that kind of philosopher,' said Didactylos. 'All I know is, it was a horrible sight.'

'The state of the body is not-'

'Oh, I'm not talking about the poor bugger in the pit,' said the philosopher. 'I'm talking about the people throwing the stones. They were sure all right. They were sure it wasn't them in the pit. You could see it in their faces. So glad it wan't them in the pit that they were throwing just as hard as they could.”

If I was any sort of gif maker this is where I’d include all the gifs of the audience hungry for blood, the vampires hungry for cruelty. I’d include the scene of Santiago saying his maker was buried in the walls of the Theatre for violating the laws.

But fledglings are usually made out of love, twisted as it may be. Which means Santiago’s maker probably loved him. Santiago may have loved his maker back. But his maker broke the laws and so they are in the walls now.

So I can’t help but wonder if Santiago’s fervor during the trial was for exactly the reason in the quote: so long as it is Claudia and Madeleine and Louis being stoned, so long as he is the judge, it means it’s not him. If his earliest introduction to vampirism was watching his own maker’s trial and stoning then he’d be all the more certain he doesn’t want it to be him on trial.

And I think it is a broader cautionary too to the modern audience. Be careful when you feel the blood lust to tear someone else down. Listen to the voice of fear inside you, asking if you really hate them or if you’re just glad it’s not you. Remember that there’s a reason that a sane society does away with stonings and mob justice, because of that fear that it could be you next, because you can’t really know if the accused is really guilty, or if it all a pantomime to distract from the crimes of their accusers.

[sleepyboywrites]

Kinktober day 2: Public humiliation|cum inflation|Priest kink- Jeff the Killer x GN! Reader

I try not to yuck other's yum but Jeff's my least favorite, I don't hate him he's just not for me you can have him, and it shows because I can never write about him for very long, so I apologize for the shorter post than yesterday TvT

Tw: public humiliation, mild degradation, slight religious imagery, blasphemy so much blasphemy

~1,004 words

Nothing makes Jeff hornier than the thoughts and actuality of corrupting and embarrassing you, especially since you used to be a priest, a speaker of the lord. Married to Jesus Christ and God. But now you call him daddy and he makes you sin and you call his name in place of God's now.

He drools thinking about how innocent you were the first time he took you, in your own church, going down on you just under your podium. Just out of sight as you performed your last sermon. Too embarrassed to go back, poor thing. Though it didn't help that Jeff had stood up with you dripping down his chin and thanking you in front of the mass.

Not that it mattered much he was going to have and take you one way or another. Luckily for you he didn't chloroform and snatch like he normally does, he was clumsy, you found him, and being a priest you legitimately saw the good in everyone. Even a killer and kidnapper like him, though all you know him as is your god by now, he's conditioned you to worship him instead.

Today, he makes you wear a crucifix collar and has you tied to a very short leash under the tablecloth of an outdoor seating area an hour before close. Jeff ordered for the two of you claiming that you were on the verge of an accident and had to use the restroom. All the while unzipping his pants and shoving your mouth onto his cock. Clearing his throat and coughing to mask the gag you let out.

“Sorry I need to get this cough to quiet down” He tells the waitress though it's crystal clear he's referring to you telling you to be quiet. So you do just that, relax your throat, steady and quiet your breathing and soon Jeff begins to bob your head up and down. Not so much as letting his breath hitch only thrusting on occasion and speeding you up until he paints the back of your throat as the server leaves and repeats the process before the server arrives with the food. Pressing your head flush against him both times he finishes before looking down and mouthing “open” watching his cum drip down your chin before mouthing “good toy, swallow” as the waitress returns with the food and questions where you are.

To which Jeff responded, “The silly goose dropped their phone under the table and will be up any moment.” Forcing you to get up despite the cum on your chin and awkwardly waving your phone , only his number and a colleague of his inside, he spent a lot of time making you his and he's not going to let anyone else into your life, and thanking them both for the meal.

“What a good cum slut, you deserve a reward, don't you?” He says, speaking as if it's casual conversation. “Why don't you actually head to the bathroom out here after you're done eating, and I'll give you a reward.~ hm?”

Knowing that no isn't a word in his dictionary and being well trained you'd nod and hurriedly finish your meal before making your way to the public outdoor bathrooms of this establishment. Walking inside and leaving the door unlocked as you rushed to prep yourself even just a little bit would be helpful with how impatient Jeff is. You managed to open yourself up a little before Jeff came into the bathroom, locking the door behind him and pinned you to the far wall. In one fluid motion he shucked your pants and underwear to your ankles and maneuvered himself between your legs.

Unzipping his pants and pulling out his cock. He rubs it a few times, using his precum as lube before playing with his tip and your entrance for a moment. He then slowly pressed himself deep inside and grinding his hips there, leaving you feeling aptly full. Before moving at just the perfect pace and rhythm to leave you and him feeling nothing but good. Pulsating against all the best spots until you see stars. Cumming harder than you had in a very long time. A good reward for a good cum slut.

“Did that feel good? Yeah? That's it, come back to me, that's your reward and the rest?” He pets your hair lightly as you come down from your first orgasm of the night before ramming back into your sensitive walls hard and fast, fully self pleasuring. Like you were merely a toy drawing a strangled cry-like moan from you. “This is a punishment for making noise in front of that waitress.”

You knew better than to protest at all at this point. You simply let yourself find pleasure in Jeff's self fulfilling thrusts. In and out, sloppily, rough, until you felt him twitch and he pressed you firmly against him shooting you full of him and by the way he continued thrusting just as hard, you knew he wasn't stopping until he saw results. Until your stomach was bloated and until he was dripping out of you. He did just that chuckling as he pulls out seeing how full you were before giving you enough space to get dressed.

As you stumbled to pull up your pants Jeff did the same and you went to step outside turning the door handle, but it wouldn’t budge. Your worst fear had come true, the two of you were locked inside the bathroom from the outside as the restaurant closed a couple hours ago.

The dumbfounded look on your face and the settling frown makes Jeff scoff and shove you aside. “Oh shut up, you think, I don't know how to pick a lock? Don't be a baby.” He picked the lock and had the door open in less than three minutes, holding it open for you. “Your highness~” He sneered, slapping your ass as you wobble outside waiting for and then supporting yourself by clinging to Jeff's arm which he allowed.

[y-rhywbeth2]

I have too many theories going to really nail one down, but: oh thank god, a reason for Durge defaulting to Storm Sorcerer to (sort of) make sense if I reach a bit even though I don't use the class it bugs me:

'Wisps of thoughts, lost memories, forgotten ideas, minor musings, subconscious fears, important concepts - these things are drawn to the Astral from the planes it touches. Psychic energies generated by thinking creatures drift unbidden onto the Astral Plane every moment, where they gather and collect. 'As mental energy swirls, congeals, and interacts, it forms what planewalkers have always called the psychic wind. The wind moves through the Astral, but it doesn't really feel like wind to a traveller. One planewalker (whose name is now forgotten) described it aptly as the plane itself rebelling against the thoughts that make up the wind. The moving, active mental energy disrupts the normal fabric of the plane, itself primarily a construct of the mind. ' When the psychic wind strikes, it occurs in an area stretching anywhere from 3-300 miles in diameter, or at least what passes for such in the nonspace of the Astral. From the outside, this affected area looks much like a storm on the Prime Material Plane — dark, roiling skies, punctuated by occasional flashes of energy. Within the storm, everything grows dark (travelers can use fire or magic to create light, but infravision does not work). It remains dark but calm for two to three minutes, after which everything in the area begins to vibrate, warp, and distort.

Storms appear like literal storms, although they instead overload the minds of those caught with them with whatever they are made of - which may be active thoughts, emotions or dreams. So you know you could (amongst numerous other possibilities) be overwhelming people with thoughts of death, hate, homicide ideation...

'As dangerous as a normal encounter with the psychic wind is, a psychic storm is much more horrible. These very rare occurrences result directly from an influx of dangerous thoughts from some other plane. “Dangerous thoughts,’’ in this case, are those of strong fear, hatred, or other emotion found in great amounts. When a great disaster strikes, a huge battle occurs, or some unique event results from belief (like the passing of a gate-town from the Outlands to another plane) [or hey, what if a prophecy came to pass and mass death and war and chaos due to a certain god was wrecking a continent, or if an entire forest of elves and an avatar of their god was being spiritually torn apart also by that god...], the ripple of thought carries to the Astral and forms a true storm of psychic wind. 'When this occurs, a huge, almost immeasurable section of the Astral is affected. The storm carries with it the same threats as those detailed above (adding 20 to the location and mental effects rolls), as well as the ability to literally tear the Astral asunder. If a psychic storm strikes, there’s a 10% chance that it rips a hole in the plane itself. This causes everything within 10-1,000 yards to be thrust from the Astral to a random plane that touches it and tears a like amount of matter from the other plane and deposits it on the Astral. If no matter is near enough to be moved (on either or both sides of the hole), the hole remains open for 1-4 days, functioning as a gateway between the two planes. The Astral repairs this rent by forming a color pool that leads to the affected plane.'

Heeyy what if a chunk of Bhaal's 'flesh' ended up on Toril, where there's enough ambient faith and leftover divine essence to work with...? Like that might not be my final theory but it is now a factor.

Me: Durge being born on the Astral from Bhaal's corpse makes sense, but how did they leave?

Planescape: What if they were born from a massive storm of pain, rage, death and hate that tore the fabric of reality asunder?

And if you want your Durge in this theory to be older or younger than certain events:

'Because the Astral Plane exists outside of time, the thoughts and memories that form psychic winds don’t always have to be from a time concurrent to those experiencing them. That is to say, thoughts from the distant past or the future (relative to the traveller in the storm) can buffet a victim caught by the psychic wind. This facet of psychic wind does not actually change the effects of a normal encounter, but it does open up the possibility of gaining images or ideas from’ the distant past or those that haven’t even yet been conceived.'

[someguycalledratcliff]

To me the most interesting part about the mage exam arc so far is how flippantly death gets treated by some chatracters. Frieren is a show about death, but it's just as much a show about life. How much it matters to spend time with people, the small moments that make up the majority of life. How one person, one life can change another irrevocably. It's a show that takes death very seriously, especially when compared to much more typical anime.

So then when we're presented with a scenario where not only do people die for absolutely no good reason, they die by design. It's made worse by the seeming lack of purpose, at least to me. It's not that someone has anything against these people, or even a wild beast's need for sustinance. They die just to die. The test is literally meant to weed out weaker mages, and part of how it does this is by killing them. Death is just another tool. It makes this whole thing feel frankly sickening, a mage killing machine in an era where they're already rare. And for what? If there was a no killing rule or something, the only thing that would change is the number of living mages. Yet they uphold this brutal system, just to give a title more of a meaning.

It also presents us with many different ways to view killing -- Wirbel stands out especially. From what we know, he has likely killed significantly more people (not even counting demons here) including children than any of the other new characters we're presented with. Yet despite having killed so many times, he still hesitates. Somehow he has managed to hold onto the value of life despite the real atrocities he's been a part of.

Then we get Denken, who seems to view killing from a perspective of value. Like it's a high price that can be paid under the right circumstances. It's not that life is priceless, it's simply expensive. (Granted I do not trust that old man, but this seems to be his perspective thus far). And of course ��bel who's "a pervert who enjoys killing", as Wirbel aptly put it. Although I doubt he'll be as important, there's also Denken's teammate who wants to kill simply because it's the easiest way to win. Not out of necessity, but convenience.

So we have a soldier who hates killing but does it when he thinks he has to, a politician who kills when he sees it's worth the reward, and a woman who kills just because she wants to.

Although this is my least favorite batch of episodes so far, I think it's still got a lot of interesting things going on. Looking forward to seeing how things develop from here!

[imonthemoonitsmadeofcheese]

Hello! Me again, back to pester you about lore.

So what's going on with The Drifter? For once I know a little about the character, I read 'A Man With No Name', but I still have questions. From how the book read, Drifter convinced Felwinter to get revenge for the destruction of the village. Did that go anywhere? And what did Drifter get up to for the (unspecified very long) timeskip between the book and the game?

And with the modern day, does the Vanguard know he's running a fighting ring out of the basement? Or does every single guardian look away when Zavala tries figuring out where people keep getting these weapons? I guess first rule of fight club and all that. What's he even trying to do? He seems to be pretty against most of the Vanguard's leadership.

Anyway, another invitation to infodump about your other blorbo. I hope you don't mind XD

If you thought I was long-winded about Eris... She's maybe 400 years old whereas the Drifter may be 900... get comfy... this will not be quick.

"Dark Age was wild times."

I adore the Drifter and a good chunk of how and why I adore him is his voice - both the voice acting and the syntax/diction/phrasing used in the writing, but voice alone does not cover why I find his character so utterly enthralling and fantastic.

I wrote a short piece consisting of Eris telling Ikora what she sees in him in my story Finders Keepers. It's basically a personality analysis and some people have (I think probably accurately) accused it of being a love letter to that character. (Reminder: that link is fanfiction - I wrote it - it is not lore, but it is based on lore. However, everything else I list after this is actual lore.)

But, personality aside, ultimately the Drifter's story is what I find most compelling about him and makes him so empathetic. You mentioned you've read A Man with No Name, but there's more. A lot more.

To start, the Drifter is D2's most violent pacifist.

He doesn't want to fight and when he does, it's vicious. The Emissary of the Nine, formerly Orin (his ex-best friend and/or ex-lover, depending upon how you read it) aptly says "He hates violence. He hates it so much he'll murder anyone who tries to inflict it on him."

In A Man with No Name, we see him go from hiding in a town and having it obliterated by warlords, to running a bar at the bottom of Felwinter peak, to getting Lord Felwinter himself to avenge the town. Drifter doesn't fight anywhere in there and gets other people to do his fighting for him, which is a pretty standard tactic for him. And yes, it is strongly implied that Felwinter does indeed murder the fuck out of Lord Dryden when he says "Call Lord Dryden. Prepare my Iron Banner arsenal."

But then we get Dark Age Drifter entries where he's gunning down Fallen attackers with quotes like "He had never brought himself to shoot a human. Or anything even resembling a human. Risen included." (Bonus mention: notice "Alright" repeated here and compare to his standard Gambit opening of Alright, alright, alright...") Where he's slipping away from non-violence, specifying, in particular, that he won't shoot a human but will defend himself from aliens.

And then he becomes something else entirely in these amazing entries with what I've been calling his Breakneck crew:

Now Otto's a Sword man. He's all about "craft." Technique. Precision. It's disgusting, but I don't care how he does it, as long as it gets done, so I just let him do it. And Otto does it so beautifully that, when he's done, you're standing there holding your guts in your hands and thanking him for the show.

Never touches a gun, that girl. She likes to get close. Likes to look right in their eyes and be the last thing they see.

The chumps that run out to stop us are babies. That's the kicker with Warlords—other than ours, there's not a Ghost in sight here. Just civilians who can barely hold their guns without wetting their pants, who can't aim worth a damn, who stick their necks out for the bad guys with eternal life. Real geniuses.

Cenric stood up. That vein of his looked about ready to pop. Drifter let his feet down as he reached for his rifle, asp-quick. "And you know what we do with rats, don't you, brother."

And the thing I love about this is the character development this speaks to where he goes from pacifist who won't fight at all... to someone who will use a machine gun competently, repeating "Alright" and getting himself used to killing, but not humans, never humans... to stone cold vicious murder-Drifter talking about the lightless who die to his crew in ways that make them (and himself) seem no longer human, to gunning down his own crew, people he felt were a perfect team, when they make deals with warlords behind his back and lie to him about it.

The Drifter started out adhering to an ideal of nonviolence and it destroyed him and everyone he cared for. His sense of self, his principles, everything he believed in is eroded until he completely loses all hope and in order to survive the cruelty of the world he lives in he becomes a ruthless monster.

Either before or after his Breakneck-era crew (it's not clear), the Drifter (under the name Eli) joins the Pilgrim Guard, a group of Titans protecting lightless people as they travel to the Last City. He does this out of a desire/need to be near Orin, a Titan with a complicated past and strong ties to both Queen Mara and the Nine. But then after spending time with Eli/Drifter and the Pilgrim Guard, Orin, the one person Drifter's ever had a deep human connection with, the person he considers his best friend, leaves without a word.

It's very telling that the green snakes, the jade coin, and the red string on those same coins that form such profound parts of the Drifter's symbolism and identity all come from Orin. When the Drifter truly cares for someone, he incorporates part of them into himself, into his identity, making them part of who he becomes, so they live on inside of him.

After his time with Orin, we get into the extremely confusing, contradictory mess that is the Drifter's intersection with Shin Malfur-related Rose/Thorn/Lumina lore. And by this I mean that the Drifter, after fighting alongside people doing genuinely noble good work, in the wake of losing Orin, leaves the Pilgrim Guard and eventually ends up joining the evil cult of evil: following in the footsteps of one of the most reviled risen to ever exist - the guardian-killer: Dredgen Yor.

If you're gonna hang with me, you need to know about the Shadows of Yor. They follow the edicts of a very bad man named Dredgen Yor. And what're his Shadows after? Everything the Light can't provide. I thought they could help me find an answer to the battles of Light versus Light that raged during the Dark Age. But the longer I flew with them, the more I saw they're blind as all those who follow the Traveler. One albatross for another. I was done with 'em.

And while in the cult, in some sort of ritual, he communes with the Darkness directly and gets some sort of Darkness powers (possibly Stasis, possibly something else - it's super unclear) and the Darkness whispers to him his Dredgen name: Dredgen Hope, which is particularly brutal in context with this quote from Dredgen Yor himself:

I care only to give hope to the frightened, huddled masses so that when I come upon them they will have more to lose. Their pain will be greater. Their screams more pure… Nothing dies like hope. I cherish it.

But it is also particularly pointed because hope is the thing the Drifter doesn't have. Trust is the thing he doesn't have the ability to do any more because of his experiences (and is also the name of the hand cannon he wears shoved into his pants). He is the most jaded (literally - constantly fidgeting with a jade coin) character in the D2 universe. He loses everything and leans in on it and follows that path to full evil.

And then he walks away. Because evil doesn't work for him either.

But also (either before or after he's completely left the cult - it's ambiguous, but possibly when he's still entangled but it's already fracturing and falling apart) he finds Orin again (he's using the name Wu Ming at this point - either having returned to it, or because he hasn't changed it yet from Felwinter Peak, or perhaps this happens before Felwinter Peak - the order and timeline is somewhat fuzzy).

Orin does not remember who he is when he finds her the second time (she's pretty nuts at this point - her story is filled with madness and tragedy), and is going insane with grief over losing Namqi (the person she left with when she disappeared the first time) as well as her obsession with the Nine. And the Drifter is once more drawn to her and once more connects deeply with her:

Wu Ming leaves his questions by the wayside as he is drawn inexorably into the gravity well of her desperate honesty. Her confessions lower his defenses. He talks of himself. Of his fear. Of his loneliness. How he feels he is one fingernail away from plummeting into an abyss. How he feels vicious resentment every time he is brought back from the dead: He never asked for the gift of the Light... They make excuse after excuse to meet again. Every conversation is colored by excavated truths; every day they feel they will reach some bedrock that will break them to pieces. It is as frightening as it is intoxicating.

But then Orin finds out about him being a Dredgen, terminates their relationship, goes off to become the Emissary of the Nine and, as someone I was talking with once referred to it: 'it was a breakup so bad he had to leave the solar system.'

Things go very poorly the first time the Drifter loses Orin but the second time is far worse. He has a full-on Lovecraftian 'At the Mountains of Madness' style horror-movie-plot experience with a crew he calls his 'best friends' (which may or may not be all ex-Dredgens but there's at least evidence they might be) out on a frozen planet being stalked and driven to insane levels of paranoia by Darkness creatures able to snuff out their light:

I think I mentioned we're all raving psychos at this point. Well, we did what all measured raving psychos would do. We thought we each had been betrayed by the others. We drew on each other.

The Drifter kills them all to keep them from killing him (at least, that's what he says - no one else is alive to argue). Then his ghost, who up until now has been kind of a moralistic asshole, suggests he hunt down the ghosts of his former crew and Frankenstein them together in order to survive:

And the craziest thing happened. My Ghost snapped... But we would need parts. Ghost parts. And we knew where we could get some... The Ghosts of my former crew all fled as soon as their charges hit the dirt. So me'n mine, we hunted them... "Hey. There's always hope. For what it's worth, I'm proud of you." It was the last thing my Ghost ever said, and the last lie it ever told.

The Drifter's ghost is rendered mute from the experience (either mechanically or due to the trauma of hunting down and murdering other ghosts - it's not clear) but the plan works, they survive, and the Drifter builds the Derelict out of scrap, returning to the Tower where he sets up Gambit.

It's super unclear (again, the Shin-related lore is just a mess and deliberately confusing) but it turns out that Drifter going on about how the Man with the Golden Gun is out to get him is actually a deal he made with Shin to set up Gambit (because, spoiler: the leader of the entire Dredgen cult, Dredgen Vale, turns out to be none other than Shin Malphur, the Man with the Golden Gun, who hunts Dredgens and who the Drifter has been saying is out to get him this entire time) to draw out the truly Darkness-corrupted guardians so Shin can kill them. (And this is ultimately why the Vanguard lets him run a fighting ring in the basement - because Shin convinces them it will help find the truly bad guardians so they can be eliminated).

If you find that confusing, that's because it is. Anything to do with Shin Malphur/Dredgen Yor/Rose/Thorn/Lumnia is pretty much an acid-trip, continuity-wise. It hurts my brain.

As for where the Drifter gets the weapons he gives us for Gambit? To the surprise of no one, he's stealing them. Because of course he is. It's him.

While running Gambit, he ends up visited by the Emissary of the Nine (formerly Orin - same body, different person) and has the Haul attached to the Derelict as a 'gift' in this amazing cutscene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFtmr___dSw

And he pretty much stays in "shifty morally ambiguous guy in the basement" mode until Arrivals when the pyramids show up on Io and we get one of my favourite lore tabs in all of D2: Whispering slab.

The two sit. They speak. They listen. Linkages forged in Light and Dark of traded secrets as the Derelict hangs in orbit around the Earth. Pacts are made. Soon, there is only the silence of knowing left between them.

"Next time you fly over the Moon, dust your boots. Tracking that crap all over my floors."

Both of the Drifter's deep emotional entanglements with Orin happen when he really genuinely talks to her, and now in Whispering Slab, he's genuinely talking to someone else, plus we get the origin of why he calls that someone else Moondust.

Then, during Arrivals, we get the amazing banter between him and Eris, and in Beyond Light they learn to control Stasis together with the result being (in my highly subjective opinion) the best cutscene in all of D2 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQAB-sSi6P0

At the end of Haunted we get Eris' message to him about healing and finding joy , he has this line in Plunder "What we do now matters more than who we were", we end up with the Kept Confidence lore tab during Season of the Witch where the person who previously insisted he trusted no one now is saying: "He didn't trust them. He trusted her" and then in the Gloaming Journeyer tab, he pulls her into a hug and reminds her of what she told him once (in the Prophesy dungeon dialogue): "That we'll live in the night if we have to. We do it for what comes after." (What comes after is dawn, hope, the continuance of existence after the darkest point.)

Someone in a chat I was in once summed up the core dynamic of the Drifter and Eris' relationship perfectly as "He gives her trust. She gives him hope."

There are people online who are very frustrated with the Drifter's character development, feeling that the Drifter has 'had his teeth filed off' and that he 'got his depression cured by getting a goth girlfriend' but I feel that's just people who don't like change. The Drifter has, throughout his entire storyline been constantly changing who he is. Change is part of his many self-constructed identities which he re-creates over and over as his old sense of self is destroyed and remade. Gritty vicious Drifter is still in there and he will be just as brutal as ever if he needs to be.

He doesn't want to be, though. He never has. And as someone who deals with medical-grade depression and who found themselves in a situation where they needed to reconstruct a sense of self to replace the one that was lost, the Drifter finding a way to hope and trust again after all he's been through is an extremely powerful and poignant narrative which speaks to me on many levels.

It's not trite, thoughtless happy fluffy rainbows, friendship-fixes-everything-whee! It's painful and slow and beautiful as the Drifter learns to have healthy relationships with other people. We need stories like this to speak to us at an unconscious level and tell us that even if you're not Eris Morn and you failed, and you gave up, and you didn't make it out of the Hellmouth, and you in fact gave in to despair and completely lost all hope, your experience erasing who it was you were and having that old you replaced with someone else, you can still find hope again. Even if you've been burned so severely by so many, many, negative human interactions that you cannot trust anyone, if you find the right people, you can slowly learn how to trust again.

The Drifter's story has been called a redemption arc, and I guess in a way it is that too but, for me, the essential quality of the Drifter's narrative isn't redemption: it's healing.

Stories have power. We incorporate them into who we are. Dredgen Hope ultimately does live up to his name. Within D2 he is finally starting to heal. I find that idea, of healing in spite of being so altered by one's experiences as to have had to become an entirely different person in order to survive, of being unable to trust and still finding a way to learn how to trust again, to be important and beautiful to have in my subconscious as something to draw from. It is a story that is very much needed by a lot of people. We need to be reminded that we can be irrevocably changed and have everything taken from us and still find a way to trust and hope and love again. That might seem a bit much for a shooty game, but I maintain this is why D2 has some of the best storytelling of any game I've ever played and that the character of the Drifter is a huge part of what makes that storytelling so compelling.

Sorry this took so long to answer. This seriously was as short as I could make it and still say everything that I felt needed to be said. There's more, and more detail, of course, but this is my treatise on why the Drifter is as awesome as I think he is.

That is all.

[thewertsearch]

Yep. That's a 'fuck this shit' face if I ever saw one.

CC: T)(ere is not)(ing to worry about at all. GG: bluhhh what are you talking about…. GG: my head hurts GG: just stop it, stop trolling me GG: i hate you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Understandable. Jade's most recent memories are a garbled collection of monster nightmares, immediately preceded by her own death. She just woke up, but what she needs more than anything else is a break.

GG: my dream was horrible!!! GG: i dont know what that was, i have never dreamed anything like it CC: Yes, I imagine not! You )(ave spent your w)(ole life dreaming about prospit, no? GG: oh god…. GG: prospit :( GG: is it really gone? CC: Yes, Jade. It is time to face t)(e facts! CC: Our moons are gone too. If we wis)( to sleep now, our dreams must take place in t)(e bubbles glubbed by t)(e gods w)(o live in t)(e Furt)(est Ring.

This is the real perk to being a Derse Dreamer. Your affiliation with the Furthest Ring makes you well-equipped to navigate the shadowy, garbled world of the Horrorterrors - unlike your Prospitian siblings, who are too accustomed to Skaia's gentle light.

It makes a kind of sense, I think, that the darker Dreamers would only reveal their true potential in death. Their 'ghosts' can rendezvous outside the session, which could grant them all sorts of advantages.

CC: In fact, t)(ey are quite )(elpful if you know )(ow to talk to t)(em! CC: Don't you remember our dream? I was trying to s)(ow you t)(at t)(ere is not)(ing to fear.

Feferi, in particular, has an eldritch affinity which is completely off the charts. The Horrorterrors are effectively her family, and with her serving as a guide, the Furthest Ring is a little bit safer for everyone else.

Perhaps, with Feferi's help, it could be safe enough to serve as a hideout. Both sessions seem to be living on borrowed time, so establishing a 'safe house' external to any Incipisphere seems like an excellent idea. The Horrorterrors claim to be here to help, so maybe it's time for them to prove it.

...wow. I never expected Feferi to be a potential lynchpin of the Grand Intersession Plan, but here we are.

GG: sorry but GG: could you please GG: not use all those stupid parentheses?????? [...] CC: GLUUUUB oh fine. CC: I will suspend my neato quirk just for you. [...] GG: what about the -E thing, can you stop that too? it is also annoying and stupid [...] CC: Okay, you win. I have officially humbled myself before you. Entirely glubbing peasant-IFICATED for your pleasure.

If only Gamzee would do the same...

GG: ohhhhhhh!!!!! GG: i do remember you! GG: i remember you were talking to me about my lusus, and i had no idea what you were talking about GG: also it was shortly before your friend sent me a weird message GG: about how my robot was going to explode, and i should talk to him when it happens

At first, I thought we'd missed a conversation in the hell-bubble - but no, this unseen conversation happened immediately before she talked to Future Karkat.

This does appear to be the timeframe that he needs to talk to her in - but I don't see what this Jade could do to help him. As she so aptly put it, she currently understands jack shit.

Perhaps there's something she needs to do immediately before Entering. Does Karkat have an idea for what she should prototype?

CC: Oh? Who was that? GG: it was the most awful and angry one GG: i am so sick of him, i really dont want to talk to that pathetic jerk ever CC: Ah, Karkat. Of course.

lmao

[denimbex1986]

'Andrew Scott has played two of British Television’s most fascinating characters and has become a pop culture staple. The ‘Hot Priest’ of Fleabag gained notoriety for his role as James Moriarty in BBC’s Sherlock starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. Since then, he has appeared in a number of prominent roles.

The Ripley star is extremely private about his personal life, although he has spoken about his childhood and sexuality. The Irish national is openly gay and has been a vocal advocate of LGBTQIA+ rights. On the occasion of his 48th birthday, here are a few facts about Scott that fans might now know about him.

1. Andrew Scott Began Acting To Get Over A Speech Impediment

Andrew Scott began his career on the stage and went on to appear in independent Irish films. He reportedly began acting as a child, joining the Speech and Drama class. In an interview with BBC’s This Cultural Life, Scott admitted that he initially joined the class to help with a lisp he had. He said,

The reason I started Speech and Drama was more for the speech element. I had a real lisp when I was a kid and I had to go to these elocution lessons… Eventually, that disappeared, as it does for a lot of children, but then I really got into the drama element.

Scott also mentioned that acting really helped him while he was struggling during his teenage years.

2. Andrew Scott Had A Small Role In Saving Private Ryan

Fans have seen Andrew Scott as the disgruntled soldier in 1917, but he apparently played a really small part in one of the best war films of all time. Scott revealed that he was one of the soldiers who got killed at the opening of Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, where the American soldiers storm the beaches of Normandy.

Scott mentioned that he even had a line. However, his work with Spielberg did not end there as he went on to appear in the series Band of Brothers, which was produced by him. The Sherlock star mentioned that working on the show and the film made him realize that he was not a ‘fighter’ (via BBC).

3. Andrew Scott Hated The Initial Response To Sherlock

Tumblr users in the early 2010s remember that the decade was dominated by BBC’s Sherlock, which starred Benedict Cumberbatch as a contemporary version of Sherlock Holmes. The actor was aptly opposed by Andrew Scott’s James Moriarty, his arch-nemesis. Beginning with the final episode of series one, Scott won the BAFTA for his role.

However, Scott was reportedly saddened by some criticisms that he had received when the episode first aired and even called co-creator Mark Gatiss to apologize. He said to BBC,

Some people thought it was great and were really celebrating it, but some people absolutely hated it. I was devastated by that. And embarrassed. I thought, ‘Oh my god, I’ve completely humiliated myself’… I remember calling Mark Gatiss and saying, ‘I’m really sorry.’ Because of course, all you remember is the negative stuff. He said, ‘Oh god, I meant to say, never go online’.

The actor reportedly went on to have a healthier attitude towards criticism.

4. The 1917 Star First Commented On His Sexuality In 2013

Andrew Scott has been vocal about his sexuality and has come out as gay. He has since spoken about LGBTQIA+ rights and what representation in the media does to people who are going through similar struggles. Though he is extremely private, he first spoke about his sexuality in an interview with The Independent. He said,

Mercifully, these days people don’t see being gay as a character flaw. But nor is it a virtue, like kindness. Or a talent, like playing the banjo. It’s just a fact. Of course, it’s part of my make-up, but I don’t want to trade on it. I am a private person; I think that’s important if you’re an actor.

According to GQ, the actor was reportedly encouraged to keep his sexuality a secret during the initial stages of his career.

5. Andrew Scott Initially Wanted To Be An Artist

While everyone is delighted that Andrew Scott picked acting and performed in brilliant roles, the Ripley star reportedly dreamed of being an artist as a child. He said to BBC that he was planning on following in his mother’s footsteps as she was an art teacher. He said,

When I was six or seven, I knew I was really interested in painting and drawing. I was really obsessed with it growing up. On a fateful day, when I was 17, I had to choose between these two things,” he says. “I’m left with a sense of guilt… because [painting] was such a huge part of my life growing up, and it’s not as much a part of my life now.

Scott had almost chosen the path and had reportedly won a grant to study painting, but chose acting as he was offered a role in the Irish drama Korea on the same day.'

[stromuprisahat]

You came here for Ravka. I came here to chain you to my stove.

Siege and Storm- Chapter 18

Skip your duties (that can help feed the country) to watch me be cool doing stuff! Anyone less important would do it for me!

This could've been sweetly melancholic if:

a.) The country they live off weren't collapsing and a few of Alina's lightballs could grant them at least a drop of much needed resources.

b.) Grisha don't get sick... and what has Alina's childhood, adolescence and life in Cofton been like? Malyen truly isn't bothered by it, is he? Either he's an idiot, who didn't connect the dots, and doesn't see it as weird, that Alina HAD been sick for such a long time, or he simply doesn't give a shit.

c.) Other Grisha... if he can't have her as ordinary otkazat'sya, he's willing to settle for ordinary Grisha. As long as she's NOT special, and has plenty of time to focus on him.

d.) As stupid as their party date was, it could've been something to distract Alina from her duties and the pressure put on her. This wouldn't be even spending time WITH Mal, just watching him be the skilled cool guy.

e.) Of course he hates the place that made Alina MORE than him. If it weren't for her time in Little Palace, she wouldn't even think about wanting more than to follow him around like a lost puppy.

Perhaps put some effort in it?

If Mal can so miraculously fit in everywhere, what's stopping him from taking his duties seriously? Not just mope around near Alina, but try to truly become captain of her guards? Learn about strategies and best ways to protect her, exercise and train action with the twins, look for more guards, train them and WITH them, consult Botkin...

Do more than just go where he's invited, act as if he WANTED to PROFESSIONALLY protect Alina instead of playing hero, when others can see it?!

Not to mention he can make himself useful even at those parties. If he does notice nobles hate Grisha, he can at least make a list. They're careless around him, why not listen? Why not consult with Nikolai to learn who they might need?!

He isn't there for Alina, he's there to drag her back into obscurity as soon as an opportunity arises.

Now, that he's doing something FOR Alina, he misses their period of stagnation, when she was slowly killing herself.

He admits it, while caressing her self-mutilation scar aptly representing their relationship.

And here Alina should pull: Never deign to deny. Instead her puritan shame kicks in.

I know Malyen isn't friends with anyone in Os Alta, but if he weren't such a jerk, he could've catch Nikolai for a moment and discuss a strategy. It's not like Kolya doesn't have an interrest in this too. ...and knows how to deal with Court gossip.

I think "We need to discuss what to do about everyone thinking you're a whore." could be added to post-strategy discussions with Alina too. If Malyen can sit in Alina's council AND act like her captain of guard, they deffinitely DO have to spend time together.

If only he'd become interested in reality and its requirements, quit seeing himself as a knight in shining armour, destined to save feeble helpless Alina, and acted according to her actual needs and requirements.

Perhaps sort his priorities differently and instead of bringing up his one-night-stand with Zoya and inviting Alina to make fun of Suli focus on your damn fucking job!

And you didn't read my mind!

And Alina accepts all the blame.

This could be Malyen spiralling. Or simply jumping to another reproach as soon as Alina attempts to address the previous one.

valid concern

digging into Alina's fear of corruption

reminding her right after she chose it (so the stress is really her own doing)

Yup! This is the crux of the matter.

Alina might operate under faulty assumptions, she had to be physically dragged back to Ravka, but eventually she's attempting to DO something.

Malyen saw what the system does to people like him, to his friends... so he decided to pack his gf and bail on it all. And when he finds himself back in the middle of it all, he's simply waiting to drag her away from it again, no matter what SHE wants.

The Collar is temporary, her position of Saint is temporary, her leadership of Second Army too.

They reacted to life-changing events in a way that made them two diametrically opposite people, but Mal's sticking around in hope for Alina's regression. And eventually he gets exactly that for all his trouble.

I'll keep the rest for an extra post since some extra shady bitch is chiming in.

[grovermungus]

i read seven of the eight books in the throne of glass series, and holy shit it’s awful.

in order from best to worst it goes as such:

-tower of dawn

-assassins blade

-empire of storms

-throne of glass

-i don’t give a fuck they’re all at the bottom

when it got to reading kingdom of ash, i just couldn’t. i tried, i picked it up once and then again a month later, still there was no want in me to read it. how you bitches love this shit so much i’ll never understand but each to their own i guess.

to start the complaints, the thing is poorly written, but given that it’s a debut series i cut it a little slack, that being said it goes on for FAR to long. the main character is one of the most uninteresting, shallow, millennial esk, boring characters ever written. i felt zero connection to her at all, she didn’t feel like a character she felt like words on a page. the same goes for both the mmc and a good handful of the side characters too. they’re all very one note. the only character i enjoyed near to the beginning was killed off far to soon for a shit plot point that made little to no sense and could’ve been done without easily.

this aided with the fact that, as you may know, sarah’s writing style usually leads to the last 100 pages of the book being the action, which is all good and fun if there’s a. characters you’re interested in, b. something else going on in the meantime to keep us interested, and c. a reason for us to be reading what we’re reading. this however, does not happen, a majority of the book is just build up for the ending, and that’s it, it’s all they talk about, i could honestly tell you nothing that happens for the whole of the books except for the final part. every time i put one down i would think “oh wow i enjoyed that” but then once the rush of the action dies down i’m reminded rudely of the ache it got to get there. this is made worse by the fact that each of the books gets larger with every instalment, the last being almost 1,000 pages, the thought of even having to begin the 900 pages of dicking around makes my brain feel like it’s going to pour out my ears.

as the series progresses, there are a few little hidden gems here and there, mostly for me the world building when outside of adarlan and the woods was good, hence why i enjoyed assassins blade. not only that but as we meet more characters later on, they’re better written (nesrin and sartaq my beloved). tower of dawn was my favourite by miles, mostly because aelin wasn’t in it. the world building was there, the plot was there, and there felt like there was actual STAKES, when aelin and rowen (more aptly named the prince of mediocrity, my friend actually described it perfectly as him being the “edward cullen” type, zero personality, handsome, strong, obsessed with his girl) are the main focus it never feels heavy, because we already know that she’s just gonna pull some fucking sun beam out her ass the moment things get tough.

tower of dawn to me feels a lot more reminiscent of acotar, it’s better to think of it as a standalone than as a part of the series, it’s also why i think i enjoyed empire of storms more too, i tandem read so anytime i felt like dragging a claw down the fleshy inside of my skull, i had a soft reprieve in tower of dawn. it’s also why i won’t read kingdom of ash, i was reminded of what it’s like to actually love and enjoy the book you’re reading, to actually want to pick it up and not only do so because you feel bad about having been bought the entire series as a gift and now hating it.

all in all, i have to say it’s one of the most overhyped book series i’ve ever had the misfortune of reading, this, a court of silver flames (a shit show i could make a whole other rant about), and a lovely dose of zionism, is why im no longer bothering to read any of sarah’s books.