#I just need to catch a break weh

[revenantghost]

I really miss having the spoons to be around online, man

[wingedjellyfishflight]

Hogtied: Part 3

You stay busy for another week, finishing up exams and redacting most of König's file for him. Just in time, it seems, as you catch one of your nurses looking through it with a frown. The dressing down she receives is more than enough to deter others, but the cleaning rotation she gets for the next month ensures it won't happen again.

When the C140 lands again, it is complete madness, just as you were worried it would be. König has multiple large lacerations, Ghost has a through and through on the meaty part of his thigh, Gaz has a laceration on his head that won't stop bleeding and Soap, poor Soap. A broken leg, lacerations on his arm, and clear signs of torture.

You triage the men, passing Gaz off for stitches, sending Ghost to a nurse who previously worked in an ER and directing a set of nurses to tag team the lacerations on König, but only what he will allow. Any pushback means stop. You don't want to lose the trust you have built up in the short time he has worked with you. Turning to Soap, you work to stabilize him. Immobilizing his leg, you quickly stitch the worst of his wounds to stop the bleeding. With the help of a few nurses, you get good x-rays. Luckily, it is not a complex break, and you are able to set it with ease. He will need a hard cast once the swelling goes down.

The aftermath of torture is a harder thing to solve. You bandage his hands, slather burns in ointment, and inject an antibiotic. Gaz pulls you aside and tells you that he was also subject to waterboarding for a very short window of time before they rescued him. You nod, angry, but trying not to show it. You turn back and review all of Soap's injuries now that he is more stable, ensuring that you didn't miss anything. There doesn't appear to be anything else wrong with him, and you have him moved to a recovery room.

You make rounds, checking on the others as they rest. When you reach König's room, you note blood on his pillow and check over his chart. "Herzblatt, do you have an injury under your mask?" He turns to look at you.

"Ja, mein Kopf tut weh."

(Yes, my head hurts.)

"Let me grab a kit, and we will get it fixed up then." You do so, shutting the door on your way back to the bed. He slips off his mask, and you gasp, seeing the large cut across his face. "You should have mentioned this."

"I wanted you to fix, Schatz."

"Yes, Herzblatt, but I would have come to fix it sooner. Now hold still. I will have to numb you to stitch it. You may grip my shoulder if you need to." He hesitates, but as he sees you move closer with the needle, he wraps his fingers tight where you indicated. The way he grips it, you know you will have bruises later, but he doesn't flinch away. "Once it is numb, I will stitch inside to bring those layers together, then I will stitch the outside. You will tell me if you feel pain, yes? There is no reason to tough it out."

"Ja, already proved my mettle." You chuckle and lay out your supplies.

"Jetzt haben wir den Salat."

He chokes back a laugh at that. While his body is becoming numb, you check the rest of his lacerations and ensure the stitches look good. Returning to his face, you check to ensure he is ready, then work to stitch him up. It goes quickly, though you have to make a conscious effort not to look in his eyes.

(Now we have the salad, aka shit went sideways, and now we have a mess)

Just as you set down the needle and thread on your table, the door bursts open. Unthinking, you jump forward and use your body to cover König's face. "Unless someone is dying, get out!"

"Sorry, you've been in here a long time, and we were worried. Is everything alright?"

"I said, get the fuck out! You know the rules here, Lieutenant!" The door slams shut and you cautiously pull back, checking to make sure none of the stitches popped. König's face looks red as a tomato as he looks at you. "Let me finish bandaging this and you can put the mask back on, alright?" He stares at you saying nothing. "Uhh... sorry for that. I should have locked the door. And sorry for mashing your face with my... torso." You quickly place the bandages and hand him his mask.

"I'd prefer if you had a clean mask, but I don't have one handy. If you drop one by later, I can keep it on hand for you. Ghost keeps some here, the delicate princess. He refuses to wear hospital grubs if he can't wear the clothes he came in with."

"So, he is not... dating you?"

"Hmm... no. No, he and I are not dating. I'm half sure he is more interested in Soap than me, but I've been wrong before. Any roads, enough talk about our co-workers. Push the button here if you need assistance. I am going off the clock, but I will return if needed. Try to get some rest. I'm sure debriefing will be hell."

When you return the next morning, only Soap remains in recovery. The other men have left to debrief. You schedule an appointment for him with the therapist he doesn't hate and listen to him flirt with a nurse while you update files in your office. He quickly grows bored and insists that you sit and entertain him.

You acquiesce, deciding that a break is in order now that you've finished about half of your paperwork. He is chatting away about things he's done mostly. You usually try to deflect questions about yourself, but he is not deterred, sipping at his coffee while you enjoy your cuppa.

"Didja always wannae be a doc?" You shake your head.

"Got it twisted, mate. I never wanted to be a doctor. T'was my parents dream, not mine. I picked here to spite 'em."

He laughs hard. "You're a rebel. What didja wannae then?"

You stand suddenly, too flustered by his question. "Tea times over, fella. I've gottae get back to work." You pause in the doorway, leaning back in and looking into his eyes as you debate with yourself. "I wanted a job like yours." He looks stunned, then a bit sad.

"Ye woulda been a belter, lass." You smile sadly and walk back to your office. It takes forever for you to get any work done. You make sure to sign off on his release so Soap can leave when he is ready.

You look up at a knock on your door some time later. "Enter"

"Doc, you're still here? I was just checking in here since the light was on. It's already after 2100."

"Oh, shit. I completely lost track of time. Just have to finish this, and I will head out."

"Alright, see you tomorrow then."

It's after 2200 when you do head out, and you quickly realize that you are starving, not having had much more than snacks since breakfast. The mess is closed this late, so you head to the kitchen. Digging through the fridge, you hear a noise behind you, but don't see anything when you look around the darkened room. Shrugging it off, you dig some more before grabbing leftovers with Ghost's name on them. You're disappointed to see that they've gone off and toss them in the bin before looking again.

You finally find some leftovers that aren't bad with Captain Price written in capital letters with an underline on the box. It's butter chicken over rice, and you've honestly never been so excited for it. Waiting for it to heat, you hear the sound again. You turn and realize that there are two men across the room watching you. Through squinted eyes, you see that it is Captain Price and Gaz having tea together. Whipping back around nervously, your fingers tap on the counter, waiting forever, it seems for the microwave to ding.

Just before it does, you hear, "Butter chicken. My favorite," in your ear, and you nearly jump out of your skin.

"S-sorry, Captain. I missed lunch and dinner. I'll order some fresh tomorrow to make up for it. Please."

"I'm just teasin ya, doll. Eat up. You know we never remember to eat our leftovers." He winks and walks off, catching up to Gaz.

[tapwater118]

book is genuinely soooooo sopping wet if someone stabbed her homoerotically she would die. taco ii would look at her and immediately see an easy target, a perfect victim. AND THEN THEY COULD FALL IN LOVE....

not to name a ship only me and a mutual know about but they're soooooo eurydice/harmonia core. taco ii could kill her. taco ii could keep her dependent on her love. and then try to extricate herself when she realizes she likes book but it's TOO LATE FOR HER...... IT'S TOO LATE....... AND BOOK NEEDS HER AT THAT POINT......

like. let me elaborate on the harmonia/eurydice thing. it's. the way eurydice makes harmonia dependent on him almost immediately. the way he knows how to break him. the way he makes him crack in two. the way he leaves him incomplete without him choking him and calling him a perfect victim. the way he makes him have to come back and beg for his affection. ALL THIS IS TO SAY I THINK TACO II COULD MAKE BOOK DEPENDENT ON HER AWFUL TOUCH TO HORRIBLE DEGREES. AND THEN SHE WOULD TRY TO LEAVE BUT AT THAT POINT BOOK NEEDS HER - AND SHE NEEDS BOOK, NO MATTER HOW MUCH SHE HATES TO ADMIT IT.

all this is to say i don't even know taco ii or book well at all but wrong tacobook could stab me and i would thank it. just like taco ii and book. hello mutual in law do you forgive me for this ask (and rambling about a ship of an au of two aus that me and a mutual made two days ago of an album i don't think you even know exists)

you are right in that i don’t know what that part was about but you get bonus points for the passionate speech alone

i love codependent yuri ough… i especially love the image of taco wanting to get out of there once she realizes she’s catching feelings for book but she can’t because book is such a sopping wet puppy dog who goes ‘weh weh weh.’ that’s is good i like

[imustbenuts]

just wanted to say that ur irezumi symbolism post Destroyed me .. but also i gave majima's tattoos some thought, cause the whole sakura motif symbolically contradicting the snake motif thing confused me for a bit...

tbh? i think that this juxtaposition was very deliberate, and i wanted to dump my Brainthoughts about why that is since i think you'd appreciate it :)!

snakes shed their skin consistently, just as trees shed their leaves and how flowers shed their petals. i feel like majima's irezumi exists to highlight the transitive nature of this routine and how it's a product of change in the environment of a given thing, like the seasons passing or a snake literally outgrowing itself.

it's one big metaphor for the human version of a ship of theseus: majima can change and slough himself of whatever facade he had, and this process of removing waste he doesn't need anymore can imply venom and violence OR the beautiful, fleeting fragility of existence itself. but either way, there's always one specific factor that serves as a common thread between those personalities and events. u wanna know what said common thread is?

his anger. his rage. the hannya. no matter what era or 'season' majima is in, his disdain toward tojo is literally the factor that defines him as the person he always will be 💔 and i think there's even MORE symbolism in using a hannya specifically, but i don't know enough about noh theatre to confidently speculate about the usage of hannya in majima's irezumi and what that might imply.

tl;dr majima's anger/rage is eternal with him and it's the defining factor that makes him, well, majima. even if he chooses to let that shedding process be violent and explosive or delicate and beautiful he is still the same snake or sakura tree at the end of the day. because no matter what angle you look at a hannya mask from, it's still a hannya, and it's still a mask

yay, thank you anon!! man majima is FASCINATING.

i think the hannya mask, rather the noh masks are known for giving different expressions depending on the tilt and the lighting? he has a theme with being adaptable and as u suggest, transitory throughout his life. the nagas has this slick adaptability theme too.

majima's core doesnt change. he looks unpredictable and never the same but. his core is always the same.

hes so ROCK. yakuza/rgg is so very rock

i feel sad for majima tho, he never seems to be able to catch a break and truly be happy for long ;; weh the writers are mean. sometimes i look at the popularity ranking they conducted in 2013 and 2018 and i understand why majima is number 1 cabaret ojisan

bc and idk how but they made majima win by A) being strong and B) fumbling kiryu's writing at points especially in 2 probably by accident. so majima wins like this:

hes so good

howd they accidentally make the not-mc this good

[hootysblog]

Day 7 of the 31 day fan fiction challenge!

This is a light-hearted story so enjoy all, hoot hoot!

"I'll grab the first aid kit"

"Luz, be careful!"

Amity is standing underneath a tree. Her awesome girlfriend wants to show her how she climbs trees in the human realm.

"I'll be fine Amity! No need to worry!" Luz yells down.

Amity pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs. She will admit, Luz is a pretty good climber. It's amazing how agile she is, especially since she can't do a pull up in gym.

Luz loves to climb trees. It helps her blow off some of her extra energy she's built up over the day. She's proud of herself on how far she has gotten. "I have to get the others to try this, especially Gus," Luz says to herself.

Luz faintly hears the branch she is standing on start to crack, so she grabs for the next closest branch. Unfortunately, that branch cracks and drops to the floor. Of course, with Luz's luck, the branch below her breaks. "Uh oh" Luz thinks.

From Luz's perspective, it was like a classic cartoon. She felt like she stood on air for a few seconds and looked into a camera to give a look of "oh no", and then she falls.

From Amity's perspective, it was a nightmare. She saw the first branch fall, heard a loud crack, and then a scream. She saw her girlfriend falling down from the tree, hitting (what it seemed like) every branch along the way. She summoned an abomination to catch Luz before she could hit the ground.

Luz is screaming and thinking "This is how I die. Not heroically in battle or by a weird demon disease, but by falling out of a stupid tree." She lands in something goopy. She knows what she's in. Amity's abomination.

She stands up from the goop and Amity runs over.

"Oh my Titan! Are you okay?!"

"Yeah I'm fine," Luz replies. "But my ego is a little bruised."

Amity chuckles, and starts looking over her girlfriend.

"Hey, I told you I'm fine."

"I know, I just want to make sure!"

Luz rolls her eyes. Her overprotective girlfriend is at it again.

Amity touches the back of Luz's head and she immediately hisses in pain.

"Fine huh?"

Luz nervously laughs. "Yeah, fine."

Amity gives her a suspicious look. "And how did you hurt your head?"

"I think I hit it on a tree branch coming down."

"Let's get you back home and patched up okay?"

Luz agrees and they start heading back.

_______________________________________________

Amity orders Luz to go the couch.

Eda grabs the first aid kit from the bathroom.

"I knew this was a good pickup in the human realm!"

Luz smiles at her mentor. King is also assisting in patching up Luz.

"Okay kiddo, let's take a look."

Luz leans forward and Eda looks at her head.

"I wanna see!" King yells.

"Good news, there doesn't seem to be blood back there."

"Boo."

"King!!"

"Weh!"

"Anyway, I'm going to get some ice to put on there to reduce the swelling. Boots, make sure she doesn't go anywhere."

"You got it Eda."

Eda walks into the kitchen.

"Are you okay Luz?"

"Yes, I'm fine Amity. My head hurts but other than that, I'm okay."

"Hey, I know what will make you feel better."

"What?"

Amity kisses her girlfriend in the forehead. Luz is blushing at this point.

"A kiss to make your pain go away."

Luz is flustered. "Well, I'm still hurting..."

Amity laughs and leans to kiss her girlfriend.

"Hey, you two better not be doing that thing I told you not to do on my couch!" Eda yells from the kitchen.

They both turn beet red, while King is laughing at the young couple's embarrassment.

[adam-memeleri]

Dial Tone

so i finally finished weh recently and i am ✨not okay✨

BUT i couldn’t stop thinking about this ficlet and i actually really like it, so here’s some angst for this fine day (and some slight alterations to canon but whatever) excuse the poor formatting i don’t really know how to go about it for this type of thing

M Rating (mentions of death and grief, so just to be safe)

Dakota x MC (both unspecified or something idk)

~1.5k words

-

“Hey. Hi. It’s, um, it’s me.” Her voice rings soft through the phone, hesitant as she sits curled up on her bedroom floor.

“I, uh, I know you’ll never hear this but I’ve just gotta get some things... off my chest, or whatever. Just some things I’ve been wanting to tell you but, you know, can’t.

“I miss you. Like a lot. Which is probably pretty obvious, but still. Like I - I can’t stop thinking about you. You pop up wherever I go, everything just reminds me of you.

“No matter what, I just see everything you’d love or joke about or try to make the best of. Which I could use some of these days.

“And I know you’d probably tell me to move on or keep smiling or whatever, but I miss you. I already said that,” she laughs meekly. “But it’s true. I miss you, and your laugh, and your jokes, and your smile, and the way you’d just make everything feel lighter.

“Now everything’s too heavy. I keep waiting for you to text me, with a meme or a random heart or something, but there’s just... nothing.

“And then I realize you’ll never send me a heart out of nowhere just to remind me you love me again, and it feels like there’s a brick on my chest.

“So that’s why I’m calling,” she sighs heavily, the size of it sinking her shoulders. “I don’t know why, but I kept hoping I’d hear your voice as the line was ringing. You have such a nice voice, did I ever tell you that? I hope so, you deserved to hear it. My favorite part of the day used to be when I’d hear you say hi.” She laughs again, stronger now, “And my least favorite was when you said goodbye.

“I never liked goodbyes, and now they’re even worse. Every goodbye feels so massive now, you know? Like - like what if this is the last goodbye? What if one word is the last I get of someone?

“Sorry, you don’t want to hear about that. What’s something to tell you about?

“Oh, I’m going to school, just like you encouraged. I leave pretty soon, I’ve been putting it off as long as I can. Amy left for her classes already, but she calls me everyday.

“She’s just the best, always there. Even when it’s three in the morning and I need a distraction from...” she clears her throat, “yeah.

“And her and Heather are still together. They’re doing so well, I’m so happy for them. They deserve it, really. But sometimes... sometimes I put my phone on mute when she’s texting me about her and ignore it for the rest of the day. I always feel bad, but it’s just too much.

“Um, I go to the park everyday,” she abruptly switches topics, “and just hang out. Sometimes the dog park, I’ve loved that place since we first met. All the dogs are so cute and fuzzy.

“Mom says it’s good to get out, clear my head. And the flowers are pretty, so I’m not really complaining. I still go to the hospital sometimes, too. Peds is missing you, but the kids are doing well. Hope Springs is helping a lot of people too, sometimes Mrs. Batra invites me to get lunch in the cafeteria.”

Her voice tapers off for a moment. “Something else, something else,” she mumbles beneath her breath.

“Did I ever tell you what I first thought of you? I thought you were kinda annoying,” she giggles brightly, a smile alighting her features. “‘Too insistent,’ I think is what I told Amy.

“You just seemed so sure of yourself, I didn’t understand how anyone could be that confident and not be suspicious. You just knew what you wanted, and it was so obvious you would get it. I - I truly admire that now. I love that about you. To be fair, I love everything about you, but still.

“And then when you asked me to be your girlfriend, I was so surprised. When you asked me out that first time, too. Even when you said you loved me, I just... Dakota Winchester wanted me to be their girlfriend. It seemed impossible. Still does, honestly,” she turns breathless, lost in memories for a minute. “But here we are. Er... here I am.

“Um, Mateo and Lennox are doing well. They’re sweet. They keep trying to help and be there for me, but there’s not much they can do but keep themselves afloat.

“Mateo’s been sending me a random selfie every day to try and make me laugh. Today’s was him running from a store clerk with a broom. He says he’s innocent, but I don’t think I believe him.

“And Lennox... I don’t think she really knows what to do with me. She’s taken us all boxing a few times, but outside of that... She doesn’t talk much, or text unless Mateo invites her to something, but she never really talked much, I suppose.

“She, um, she bought me something. She gave it to me the day after graduation. I made a speech at graduation, actually. About you. Amy cleared it with the principal. I had butterflies the whole time,” she giggles. “If I wasn’t talking about you I probably would have run.

“But it’s a, uh, keychain,” she switches back. “It’s one of those name ones, with - with, uh... Dako-“ her voice breaks before she sucks in a deep breath. “It says Dakota. She said she thought I was lame enough to like it.” There’s a watery laugh, tears now openly streaming down her face.

“I mean, she was right. I -“ her voice cracks again, “I love it. I always carry it now, and take it out when I get stressed, or when I need to remember you.

“My mom keeps telling me I should stop remembering, ‘cause all it does is make me cry, but I’m-“ a choked sob escapes her “-I’m just so afraid of forgetting you. I can’t forget you, ever.

“I probably sound like I mess, but you’re not even listening are you, so what does it matter?” her tone darkens as she swipes beneath her eyes, harshly wiping away the tears.

“You’re not listening now, or ever again, and you’re the only one that would listen if you were here and I know you said that - that - that you are, but how am I supposed to believe that?! It’s been months and nothing’s changed and - and everyone always just stares at me when I say that, like - like-“ she cuts off.

“And - and Mateo -!” She halts, catching her breath before her voice returns, calmer, softer. “And Mateo keeps telling me that you are listening, that you wouldn’t say that unless it was true. That you’ll always be here for me, and... and I haven’t been able to decide if that’s as good as either of you made it sound. If I’m okay with you seeing me like this.

“I just know you’d hate it. You’d hate it so much, because you always hated when I was upset. I know you’d try and make me feel better and you’d have so many jokes, and then you’d put on a horror movie and get ice cream and - and -“ she stops herself for a long while, taking deep breaths to calm down and prevent sobs from fully taking over.

“I haven’t watched a horror movie since,” she finally speaks up again. “Amy invited me to the movies before she left, but I turned her down. Yours was so much better than all of them anyway, and not just ‘cause I was the star. You put so much love into it, I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve never seen anything like you, either.

“I wish you got the chance to make so many more movies. They would have been beautiful. Scary, but beautiful.

“Everything you do is beautiful. I miss that. The beauty every day. I miss you. I know I keep saying that but... I don’t know, I can’t stop... thinking about it, all of it.”

The keychain rattles as she pulls it from her pocket, the pad of her thumb tracing over the lettering. “Dakota,” she whispers, reverently. “I looked your name up a while ago. Means ‘friend.’ I couldn’t think of anything more fitting. My Dakota, the friend to everyone.”

She sniffles, the keychain clinking again. “I, um, I should go. Lennox is taking me to meet Mateo at the diner. We get milkshakes every Saturday and I don’t want to be late. I love you. So much. And I miss you so much, too and - and bye. For now, okay? Just for now.”

The phone hangs up, and she prays it can be heard. That they were right, and Dakota really was listening. Prays that the dial tone rings on an open line.

[jensvisualnoveladventures]

In general, I’m super behind with Choices. The issues with how the subscription works with coupons/discounts put a bad taste in my mouth and I haven’t really played since. I’ve kept up with spoilers and I figured once I save up enough, I’ll catch up with a subscription. 

But wow do I just have so little interest to do so at this point. Like part of me wants to finish out stories and make characters (And I’ll be honest, even though I’m not interested in the plot at all, Foreign Affairs hits some of my favorite tropes with Blaine), but I’m also just not that interested in anything right now.

I think, based off announcements, what I’m most interested in is: 

The new cooking book (And that could change based off how it goes. With the VIP Books, it’s been hit or miss for me-- I really enjoyed AVSP and what I played of TUH. I also liked WEH even though the end killed me (which I guess I should’ve expected, but it’s also the thing that holds it back from being a top favorite for me), but Hot Couture I found disappointing in the end (Only thing I liked was the scrap book feature), Ms. Match was just awful for me from the get-go (I can’t get into any romance that starts with sex with no choice otherwise. Simple as that. If I could stay single in that book, I would, but I guess I’ll at least save plenty of diamonds) and I honestly didn’t like the way the ending went either, and Wolf Bride clearly isn’t really for me, but I am curious about parts of the plot. (Like how Morgan fits in, more on the MC’s family and why her mother left, why she has these specific bonds and with who in general, etc. But honestly if there’s an option to not pick eithe and head back to her mom, I’m picking it)

The new Mystery book. At the same time, seeing how other mysteries have gone with a lot of unanswered questions or not the happiest of endings, I’m trying to not get my hopes too high. 

Blades Book 2, but after other sequel cancelations, I’m holding my breath there too. I also REALLY hope we can change our hair separately from our skin color. SO much. That was still my biggest disappointment with the book. 

I only started playing Choices a little under 2 years ago when a friend told me to check it out. For the most part, I’ve only liked a handful of books, but some LIs stood out for me.

But the big thing is it wasn’t as long for me as I last played and waiting for Book 2′s of books that were said to be coming. Most Wanted and Hero had such huge cliffhangers that we’ll never have resolved.

Nightbound was frustrating to not be getting a sequel as it still had a lot of unanswered questions. I also genuinely enjoyed it more than Bloodbound, a book which also disappointed me a lot with its final book in the series. 

Distant Shores and Ride or Die fell into a similar thing where they didn’t necessarily NEED a Book 2, but there were a lot of questions unanswered and I still hoped for some closure there. I wasn’t even as attached to either of these. 

I know a lot of people were upset about the Elementalists ending the way it did, but I was actually more or less okay with it. I felt it answered everything it left off, despite causing some of the foreshadowing to be for nothing. 

In general, I just hope PB thinks further ahead in the future I guess? Either have something set up to give us closure or make sure it’s all rounded up at the end without us needing another book.

As for the current ones going... I wasn’t really into Baby Bump to begin with and already being in a full relationship in Book 2 doesn’t make it any better. I wish she just could be friendly with the LIs for now. I also just... am tired of these types of plots-- there was enough going on without all the Craig stupidity and we don’t always need the extra antagonism. 

It’s part of what brought down The Royal Heir so much. We could’ve still used these books just to dig into everything with Eleanor without all the added treason and B Drama Plots to push it back and spending time together. And then the 4th could’ve been the hanging out relaxing time to take it easy if we really needed one final book... Or maybe a like “Through the Princess’ eyes” or something. There’s just so many better ways they could’ve done it IMO. 

And in the subject of both and really the MCs a lot of the time in general-- I’m tired of White being synonymous with Blonde and light eyed for them. 

I don’t have much to say about MTFL besides how horribly forced it was for all types of people. The main argument I’ve seen is that we’re following another character’s journey but like... then don’t less us name or customize them? So many people do put themselves into the characters they play in this type of thing so I think it’s understandable to be upset (That said, some people are absolutely hypocritical-- I’ve seen so many people only be upset about Ava’s kiss and not the boy’s and no, all three being forced sucked), but going through the break-up for each when you may have had no interest dating them was so uncomfortable to do. 

If it was really a set story, the LI chosen should’ve been set and we shouldn’t have been able to change anything. I felt like we had more freedom in ROE than MTFL and those were all set characters. But somehow it still felt my choices mattered more. 

Anyway, just lots of disappointments I guess. And if I have a spare $15, I’d rather just put that to my FFXIV Subscription again. 

[ollies-studyblr]

German III: 2.13-2.17

New Vocab:

Freibad --> outdoor pool

Luftkurort --> Spa city known for clean air

Kur --> Doctor prescribed vacation

römanische Bäder --> Roman baths

Krankenverischerung --> health insurance

Gesundheit --> health

Kurpark --> Large park in a spa city

Wasserkuort --> spa city known for clean water

irische Badentradition --> Irish bath tradition

Thermalbäder --> thermal baths

Verbs:

abnehmen (i), a, o,  lose weight

benutzen, use


husten, cough

niesen, sneeze

rauchen, smoke

s. abtrocknen, dry off

s. anziehen, o, o, get dressed

s. ausruhen, rest, relax


s. ausziehen, o, o, get undressed

s. bewegen, exercise, move

s. duschen, shower

s. erkälten, catch cold


s. fit halten (ä), ie, a, keep fit

s. heiraten, get married

s. rasieren,  shave (one's self)

s. verletzen, get hurt

s. wohl fühlen, feel good


schlucken, swallow

spazieren gehen, i, a (ist), go for a walk

vermeiden, ie, ie, avoid

weh tun, a, a, hurt

zunehmen (i), a, o, gain weight

Nouns:

der Alkohol, alcohol

der Arm, -e,  arm

der Arzt, (-¨e),  physician (male)

der Bauch, (-¨e),  stomach, abdomen, belly

der Daumen, (-),  thumb

der Ellbogen/Ellenbogen (-), elbow


der Finger, (-), finger

der Fuß, (-¨e),  foot

der Hals, (-¨e),  neck, throat

der Kopf, (-¨e),  head

der Mund, (-¨er), mouth

der Nacken, (-), nape of neck, back of neck

der Po (-s), bottom, rear end (child talk)

der Rücken, (-), back

der Schmerz, (-en),  pain

der Schwager, (-¨), brother-in-law

der Schwiegervater, (-¨),  father-in-law

der Sicherheitsgurt, (-e),  seat belt

der Stiefvater, (-¨), stepfather

der Witwer, (-),  widower

der Zahn, (-¨e),  tooth

die Allergie, (-n), allergy

die Ärztin, (-nen), physician (female)

die Augenbraue, (-n), eyebrow

die Erkältung, (-en),  cold (disease)

die Ferse, (-n),  heel

die Gesundheit, health

die Hand, (-¨e),  hand

die Hüfte, (-n), hip

die Lippe, (-n),  lip

die Luft, (-¨e),  air

die Luftverschmutzung,  air pollution

die Schwägerin, (-nen),  sister-in-law

die Schwiegermutter, (-¨),  mother-in-law

die Sonne, (-n), sun

die Sonnenbrille, (-n),  sunglasses

die Sonnencreme,  suntain lotion, sunscreen

die Stiefmutter, (-¨), stepmother

die Witwe, (-n), widow

die Zehe, (-n), toe

die Zunge, (-n), tongue

das Auge, (-n), eye

das Bein, (-e), leg

das Haar, (-e), hair

das Kinn, chin

das Knie, (-e), knee

das Ohr, (-en), ear

das Stiefkind, (-er), stepchild

das Vitamin, (-e), vitamin

Adjectives:

aktiv, active

frisch, fresh

geschieden, divorced

gestresst, stressed

verstorben, deceased

Prepositions:

an (two-way preposition), on (something vertical)

anstatt (+G), instead of

auf (two-way preposition), on (something horizontal)

aus (+D), out of, from (a country)

außer (+D), in addition to, besides, other than

außerhalb (+G), outside of

bei (+D), at (a place, someone's house)

bis (+A), until

durch (+A), through

für (+A), for

gegen (+A), against

hinter (two-way preposition), behind

in (two-way preposition), in, into

innerhalb (+G), inside of, within

mit (+D), with

nach (+D), after, to (a country)

neben (two-way preposition), next to, beside

ohne (+A), without

seit (+D), since

statt (+G), instead of

trotz (+G), in spite of

über (two-way preposition), over

um (+A), around

unter (two-way preposition), under

von (+D), from, of

vor (two-way preposition), before, in front of

während (+G), during, at the time of

wegen (+G), because of

zu (+D), to (building)

zwischen (two-way preposition), between

Extras:

auf etwas aufpassen, pay attention to, watch out for

eine Allergie gegen etwas haben, be allergic to something

den Daumen drücken, equivalent of "cross one's fingers"

Durchfall haben, have diarrhea

Haben Sie etwas gegen ..?, Do you have something for (an illness)?

jemandem ist heiß, someone is hot

jemandem ist schlecht, someone is sick

s. auf etwas vorbereiten, prepare for something

s. die Augen (etc.) schützen, protect one's eyes (etc.)

s. die Haare kämmen, comb one's hair

s. die Hände (etc.) waschen (ä), u, a, wash one's hands (etc.)

s. die Zähne putzen, brush one's teeth

s. etwas brechen (i), a, o, break (a bone)

s. etwas verletzen, hurt/injure something

s. etwas verstauchen, sprain/strain something

Verstopfung haben, be constipated

Fun Facts:

The city of Lüneburg is known as a Luftkurort. That means that the area is known for its pure air quality and pleasant climate. Unlike a typical Kurort, which has clinics and other special facilities, a Luftkurort draws persons who mostly just need to heal or rest and take advantage of what Mother Nature herself has provided.

Located in Northern Germany, the Lüneburger Heide ( Lüneburg Heath) is a breathtaking place to visit. With fields of purple heather amidst green juniper trees on a rolling sandy landscape, it is a perfect place for a long walk in the fresh air. It's not really good for much agricutlure, but beekeepers and shepherds take advantage of this. The Heidehonig is known throughout the country, and the Heidschnucken (a special type of sheep) provide many a specialty in local restaurants.

This well-known folksong by Hermann Löns, the main folk poet from the Lüneburger Heide area, talks about walking in the Heide and its treasure  ("bester Schatz"). It contains some of those wonderful tra-la-la nonsense words that are fun to sing.


Auf der Lüneburger Heide, 
in dem wunderschönen Land
 ging ich auf und ging ich nieder. 
Allerlei am Weg ich fand.
Valeri, Valera ha ha,
und Juheirassa, und Juheirassa,
 Bester Schatz, bester Schatz, 
denn du weißt, du weißt es ja.

[heressencebeauty]

Love don’t hurt so much...

Love they say, It won’t hurt they say. But here I was falling blindly in love with a guy who is nothing but trouble. He is everything that I desire. He could immensely quench my thirst, because I thirst only for him. But little do you know, does he feel the same way about me? Or am I just imaging things that aren’t supposed to be there? Who knows, only time will tell? 

BACK TRACK TO WHEN WE FIRST MEET.

He wasn’t the guy that I had pictured, and he sure for hell isn’t the guy that I wanted to be with. Yes, there was something about him that made me feel safe. But that still didn’t give me the satisfaction that I need to feel. He was a regular guy, somehow, he wasn’t a celebrity but he sure for hell knows how to make the crowd goes wild. Haha, by now I think you should have a clue has to who this mysterious man is. I think someone said it, yes he is.

 At first, I was going wild but when I saw him walked into the park and held my hand, there was no place I’d rather be but in his arms. I felt secured. I felt like he was the only thing that I wanted. But at the same time I felt unsatisfied. And when I say unsatisfied, I meant his body was great but not to the great that I want. He was very muscular. He was tender, tough at the same time. But I knew from the start that he had a soft spot. A soft spot where I’d take advantage of him. Or rather, that’s what I thought. We finally see each other face to face, but I being busy with my work schedule and his. I was mostly on night shifts, so I didn’t see him much after that first meet up. It was extremely hard, but did I even wanted to see him again? 

Years went by, we still “talked”, but not to the extent of him being my man, or me being his woman. If y’all are probably wondering, but,  I friend-zone him. And I think that was the wrong thing to ever do. Because I broke his heart. Unintentionally. I was trying to satisfy my own ego. So I won’t blame him for being as complicated as he is now with me.

 But in all honesty, you must be wondering, why friend-zone him, if you felt so safe in his arms? Great question. I honestly don’t like people to get close to me. Idk about you, but starting up something new and putting your all in it is good if the person felt the same way about you. I hate to get my heart broken and hence, once someone tries to get close to me, I’ll push you away. Anyways, let me not stray away from the topic at hand. I felt so good with him. I felt like he could be the “one”. LOL. Something that I really didn’t believed in at the time. But thinking about him daily, had me catching feelings. Feelings that I should’ve kept to myself, because now I’m in love with a man that’s about to break my heart. 

Anyways, I don’t intend to get emotional, but when he told me that he had a gf who was overseas I was broken. And that’s when I decided I should stop talking to him. I like that he was honest with me. But...there was a big but. I didn’t want to get involve with him. With someone else’s man. This was the first and last time I thought we’d see or hear from each other. But I could tell he wanted something from me. I wasn’t sure what it was but I smell trouble. And that’s one thing that call my name. But in the context of what this trouble will be I was lost. 

 Now let’s go back to the present.

Years passed on, we were in and out of contact. He texted  and I’d respond. But this time it was different. Different in terms of how he would texted me and so I decided that I was going to cut him off. Which I did. As the time passes by, I would preoccupy my time with other guys. 

Then out of the big blue ocean he arises, there it was. A whatsapp message. “You dash me weh though”, he texted. I responded as per usual laughing. Laughing at the fact that he messaged me such message. When the truth is I was trying to avoid him to stop feeling emotions for him. I was hurt beyond what you’d expect. He moved on. And I don’t know why I’d feel that bad for someone that I wasn’t even in a relationship with. He made me feel emotions that I never thought I had. 

Why was I hurting? He had a child. He had a baby mama. He had all the things I didn’t want, because someone else saw him for him. While I was seeing him for someone that I wanted him to be. Yes it was my lost, but here I have the perfect opportunity and I ruin it. 

1 Month Earlier 

 After he texted me, we continue to text frequently. But I still had my guards up, until he melt his way into my heart. And it hurts so badly, so badly because I don’t want him to love me in the state that he is in. He is sober. But I don’t know nothing about this man and I felt dam terrible, But I let him in without a fight, because I wanted him. I wanted to be his and he be mine. But that was far from reality. And it was then that I realised that he wasn’t for me. I had him in my heart, but he did have me nowhere his. His touch, his voice, it eases every pain that I feel, and I hate it, because he’s messing with the little part of me that’s keeping me sane. 

[movedyourchair505]

Napule Nights - trenta

Smut warning and thanks to Elana as always! There’s some big stuff coming in the next few chapters so beware x

- chapter navigation -

x

As the doors of the elevator on Turner's floor slid open, Jade was determined to allow him to see as much of her as he'd given her of him, not only during their time out, driving and giving up his control to her the way he had, but afterwards as well, the way he'd come back for her to kiss her and do exactly what she needed to be reassured, and she was sure that he'd known that, that he had consciously made that choice to succumb to her needs. And since she'd practically begged him to, she knew she wouldn't be herself if she didn't extend the same courage to him.

Her heels clicked on the floor as Helders escorted her down the hall towards Turner's door, held the door open for her in no time, and she couldn't help but note that because Turner was already expecting her, his head of security didn't bother with as much as a knock.

She barely noticed the door close behind her, her attention instantly captivated by the mellifluous sound of piano keys, too rich and uncoordinated to float from his record player and when she walked further into the loft, around the corner to see all of it, she spotted Turner sat at a large black piano. Despite it not having been there two days prior, it blended into the room perfectly, looked like it'd enjoyed its special spot by the glass wall of a window all this time.

Alex was unsure for a moment if he'd heard the door, had continued playing, completely lost in the familiar feeling of finally playing again, but the tension in his shoulders was eased instantly when he heard the familiar clicking of heels on his floor, his fingers then slowly ceasing to move on the keys and he took a deep breath.

“Oh, no” she said quietly, licking her lips as she finally stepped close to him, standing next to the piano to look at him. The buttons of his shirt were half-undone, sleeves rolled up, a sheer layer of sweat on his chest around his chain, fingers hovering over the keys, gazing downwards, his eyes only meeting hers after a few seconds of silence, then they met hers. “Please don't stop for me.”

Her plea almost had him continuing instantly, his eyes wandering down her body slowly, her sage green dress was tiptoeing dangerously on the border between evening wear and lingerie, shiny, the thin material covered completely in a transparent layer of lace, the sparkly green heel of her black stilettos matching, and he only dragged his eyes back up to her face when she cleared her throat and stepped forward, his elegant fingers slowly beginning to dance across the keys again, shifting to the side on the stool instinctively to make room for her.

She could tell that he wasn't in a very confrontational mood, she wasn't going to take advantage of it, but she noticed that he looked as tired as he had the last night she'd been there, and she didn't think twice before sitting down and resting her head against his shoulder instinctively. At that moment, she wasn't on edge, his movements were calm and slow, and made her heart skip a beat when the unfamiliar tune blurred into the opening chords of Love Theme.

“Alexander...” she said, feeling him tense slightly. “Did the meeting go okay?”

He let out a shaky breath, his fingers never leaving the keys. He huffed, and she was sure that he would not bother with a response, that the tension would rise again and the feeling she was enjoying now would fade soon, but then he cleared his throat, swallowing hard. “No...” he stated slowly. “The meetin' were fookin' far from okeh.”

She bit her lip, worried he was mocking her for asking, now slightly on edge and ready to throw all her intentions she'd promised herself to stick to on the way here out the window, put her guard up and fire back, but then the tension in his shoulders slowly ceased again.

“Fings are joost gettin' out of 'and.”

She was surprised when he added on to his statement, unsure if she should pose another question, or if that would just push him away, but then he surprised her again, unpredictable as ever.

“Weh're loosin' allies on all fronts” he said, his fingers still moving slowly across the keys, the familiar tune soothing her in contrast to the tension that his words evoked within her. “And I'm supposed teh run the business, so I'm supposed t'kno' but I joost 'ave no fookin' idea if 's teh do wif us or them, tha knows?”

She could sense that he wasn't looking for a response, that the tag question was meant merely as a rhetorical one and she stayed silent, enjoyed the music and the deep sound of his voice, determined to not miss a word he said to be of as much help as she could.

“Me padre is expectin' meh teh figure it all out.” He sighed. “At least weh fookin' know who will beh loyal through it all, eh?”

The weak huff of laughter he let out had her heart breaking, it was all wrong seeing him like this once again, and while she felt privileged that he allowed her to see him like this, that he wasn't hiding in front of her, she hated knowing that he was indifferent enough to forget who he was. It was clear to her that he wasn't going to share more, that his attempt at a joke was the end of it so she lifted her head slowly, unable to help herself swaying slightly, smacking her lips together. “Since when has this been here then?” She asked, running her fingers slowly over the side of the instrument.

“I 'ad it brought in while I were aweh yesterdeh...” he explained, shrugging, giving her more before she could even asked. “When yeh asked meh if I played last week, I … I realised I missed it and I thought it might relax meh.”

She smiled to herself, inhaling slowly. “And does it?”

His eyes lifted slowly from the keys, his head turning, the way his deep brown eyes locked hers making her stomach flip. “I s'pose” he nodded. “Nofin relaxes meh like yeh though, Jade.”

She swallowed, felt her own breath shaking now and she moved her hand slowly up his arm, feeling his bicep tense and she squeezed his shoulder, looking back at him through hooded eyes, her voice soft and sultry as she spoke. “Do you want me, Alexander?”

He bit his lip, his gaze locked on the perfection of her face, his fingers' movements on the piano once again ceasing. “Take off yehr dress” he ordered, the stability in his voice making him feel more stable himself. “And get on me bed.”

She hummed excitedly, closing her eyes as she took in his words, her lips threatening to curl into that satisfied smile that always made him want to dominate her.

“Now.”

She rose quickly to her feet, pulled her dress slowly over her head as she walked, long steps that accentuated her legs gorgeously, her hips swaying, turning around to give him the perfect view of her body when her dress flew to the floor, then sinking down on his silky bed sheets in just her heels and her black thong.

Alex's fingers twitched, aching to touch her and he stood slowly off the stool, his fingers undoing the remaining buttons of his shirt before it joined her dress on the floor, the look on his face as he approached her so dark and full of bad intentions that it had her weak and she instantly ached for him to touch her.

She rose to her knees on his bed, her fingers sprawled out greedily on his chest, scratching down his warm skin slowly, her gaze needy, desperate. “Mmmm, Alexander...” she coaxed, the sparkle in her eyes seeking only to provoke him, to challenge him, to build up his need to take control of her because she knew he needed control of something, and she was only too delighted to comply.

He'd admitted that he wanted her, the way she had his mind spinning within seconds and made him want to take her, her wits and brilliance undeniably a match for her physical allure because like him, nothing she ever did was by chance, and she knew exactly what she was doing, knew exactly what he needed from her, what he needed to feel.

Her eyes were hopeful, innocent, contrasting the salaciousness that fell from her lips. “Touch me, Alexander...” she coaxed. “I need you to take me.”

He swallowed hard, throat straining, his jaw tense. He stretched his fingers, tried to hold himself back because he wasn't going to give in so easily, no matter how badly he needed her, he was desperate to hear her begging for him, for her to assure him that she wanted him more than he wanted her, although he doubted that it was possible, he still needed to hear it.

“Impatient, pupa...” he drawled, stepping back slowly, undoing the button and zipper of his tight trousers, immensely pleased with the excitement he saw flicker across her face. He loved the look of her lips on his cock, the effort she put in and how she begged him for more, the absolute joy she could get from it the most satisfying part. “Gunna feed yeh me cock first, doll, does tha' sound good?”

She nodded eagerly, slowly sinking from the bed to the floor, conscious to place herself below him, a sense of relief rushing through her when he gripped the back of her head, his fingers twisting in her hair and pushing his hips forward, the way he forced his cock right into her throat and heard her groan igniting that spark she'd been desperate to see in his eyes, the light behind them slowly coming to life again as he felt that sense of control and dominance he so badly craved.

She swallowed around him without missing a beat, welcoming what he'd meant to catch her off guard with and she reveled in the feeling of his fingers knotting in her hair, pushing her down needily on him, breathing out shakily, his humming turning into a quiet groan as he lifted her mouth off him for a moment, pulling on her hair, her eyes ever-focused on his the way she knew he loved. She licked her lips, her eyes begging him for more and he missed no time forcing his cock into her mouth again, moaning at the familiar feeling of her lips wrapped tightly around him, her tongue toying with his tip, then swirling around him while she tried to free her head from the firm grip of his hand, not to get away but to start sucking him on her own accord, purring happily when he let go and she was able to start bobbing her head back and forth, her fingers coming up to aid her jerk him when she drew back her head, then relaxed her throat when she felt his hips buck forward again with a guttural moan vibrating from his chest, his lips parting and he grunted when she swallowed around him again, her tongue swirling around him and she almost saw his eyes roll back, immensely excited by how quickly she could unwind him.

“Fookin'ell...” he drawled, his fingers gripping her hair tighter, wrapping strands of it around his fingers and using it as leverage to guide her head back and forth along with her rhythm, pushing her closer and his cock deeper into her mouth when she wasn't fast enough for him but as much as he hated to admit it now, she knew exactly what he craved, when he needed her to be slow, when he needed her to do everything she could.

When she shifted forward to take all of him again, massaging the base of his cock teasingly, he threatened to let go right then and there, the sudden movement unexpected and he pulled her back roughly by her hair, groaning loudly as he tried desperately to hold on, breathing shakily and fighting the urge to release right then on her face with how gorgeous she looked on her knees for him, sat contently by his feet and ready to do anything he asked her to do, a true dream that he hadn't appreciated the luxury of for a while, because her eagerness combined with her enthusiasm, her excitement, her beauty, her experience and the way she'd figured him out, it was beyond comparison, and he didn't expect to ever be able to wrap his head around the sublime she was.

“Mmmm, Alexander” she pouted, licking her lips. “I just want to show you how powerful you are” she coaxed. “How much I respect you...”

He swallowed hard, his adam's apple bobbing prominently in his throat, his fingers toying with her hair, undeniably soothed by her words, reassured, a surge of confidence fuelled that he might not have allowed himself to carry out an hour before. “Get up. Take this off” he commanded, stepping back, his eyes following her watchfully.

She obeyed instantly, rose to her feet gracefully and looked at him for further instructions as she took off her thong, his quick gesture making her turn around and climb onto the edge of the bed for him, giggling when without a warning his palm smacked down hard on her ass. “Yesss, baby...” she hummed.

His jaw locked, his fingers stretching as he tried to compose himself, slowly stepping out of his trousers to improve his ability to move, then stepping closer to her and landing another smack on her already reddening skin, beyond aroused by the way she was wiggling her ass at him hopefully and he nudged her legs apart, groaning. “Yehr cunt fookin' loves meh, pupa, look 'ow fookin' wet yeh get joost suckin' meh...”

She could feel herself getting wetter from just his words, aching for him to touch her as she was now unable to close her legs without breaking the position he'd guided her into and she wanted to please him badly, wanted him to be in full control and succumb to his every need, to anticipate and carry out his every wish. “Please spank me again...” she begged, turning around to look at him over her shoulder, the darkness of his eyes, the lust and the power igniting a fire inside her.

He chuckled darkly, then landed three more hard smacks on her ass without fail, grabbing a handful of it when her squeal of excitement trailed off into a loud moan of pleasure. He could hardly contain himself, mesmerized by the way she got wetter with every collision of his hand with her smooth skin.

“M-More...” she whispered, her breathing shaky as her head hung between her shoulders, her ass wiggling in anticipation of the next slap.

He smoothed his hand over her back, pondering his next move. “I 'aven't 'eard one fank yeh yet, doll...” He drawled thickly. “Ask meh niceleh, pupa, yeh're so fookin' ungrateful...”

Her heart dropped and she turned to look at him once again, her eyes pleading. “Thank you for taking such good care of me, Alexander...” she coaxed, pleased with the way he tensed once again to not allow her to observe the satisfaction her words evoked within him. “Please, please spank me again, I'm going to be so good for you...” She licked her lips. “Anything you want...”

He groaned, spanked her again, desperate to be inside her with every moan that fell from her lips, with every push of her hips and wiggle of her ass towards him, he lost more and more control that he'd been trying to build up, it was impossible, her behaviour in itself a contradiction.

“F-Fuck me...” she cried, the throbbing ache between her legs down in sync with the pain pulsing underneath her reddened skin, tingling and drawing more and more attention to how badly she needed him to feel the emptiness inside her and tend to the ache he'd created.

He'd been holding back all day, had stopped kissing her because he couldn't contain himself and as much as he enjoyed the way she begged him, could have listened to her cries of his name all night, he wanted nothing more than to bury himself inside her, to have the wetness of her walls welcome him and squeeze around him in a way that brought him to his knees with ease, the way she shuddered when he stepped forward and rubbed the tip of his cock testing his control precariously, refusing to give in that easily, his hands coming down on her hips to hold her in place when she tried to push back on him with a whimper. “Mmm, I kno' yeh want meh, pupa, why dun't yeh beg meh teh fook yeh?”

“Please...” she cried and she loosened the way she was propping herself up with her arms when his hand smoothed down her back, bending her forward slowly, her body arching in a way he couldn't help but admire, her cheek pressed against his silk sheets. “Please, Alexander, please fuck me...”

“Are yeh mine, Jade?” He drawled, feeling the way she shivered as he held her body in place.

“A-All yours...” she whimpered when he inched his hips forward, sinking slightly deeper inside her. “F-Fuck...”

Alex groaned, unable to hold back any longer and with one swift movement of his hips, he filled her up, hard and without a warning, a loud moan of satisfaction fell from his lips, his nails digging into her skin as he held her in place when she almost squirmed away from the intensity.

She whined desperately, her fingers fisting the sheets as his cock stretched her out, the burning friction so tight as he fit snugly inside her wet heat, throbbing and forcing her to accommodate to his wishes. “Alexander...” she whimpered, her body tensing as she realised how close she was already, the way he'd spanked her never failing to arouse her.

He chuckled darkly when he realised how tense she was, didn't relax the way she usually did when she was going to let him move the way he liked and he smiled to himself with satisfaction, drawing his hips back slowly, sucking in a breath when she cried at the feeling of emptiness again, then jerked forward when he pushed himself all the way inside her again, her whole body shaking. “Fook, pupa...” He drawled. “Are yeh cummin' for meh alreadeh?”

“Please...” she whimpered as he slowly started fucking her, his grip locked on her hip, his other hand running up her back slowly, gathering her hair in his hand and pulling her head back slowly. “Please let me cum...”

He chuckled again, then slowly let go of her hip. “Fook yehrself on meh, pupa, show meh yeh deserve it...”

She didn't need any telling twice, cried softly at the way he held on to only her hair, working her hips on him eagerly despite the weakness in her knees, moaning desperately each time their hips collided and he delivered another hard spank to her ass, her whole body shaking. “I-I need to … oh, fuck, please...”

He gripped her hips with both his hands again, her body once again pressed into the mattress and he thrust into her hard, burying himself inside her, fingers tightening around her body to hold on, admire her orgasm without tipping over the edge himself. “Let go, darlin'.”

Her body shook violently as she whined loudly into the sheets, panting. Her walls squeezed him blissfully, drew him in further as the pleasure washed over her, reveling in the feeling of his hands so tight around her body that she couldn't have moved if she'd tried, squealing with delight at the way he forced her to stay in place and feel every inch of him deep inside her.

He breathed out shakily when the aftershocks of her orgasm subsided and slowly pulled back his hips, the way she gasped and tried to back up on him slowing his movements.

“No, please...” she cried. “P-Please don't stop...” The ache was already unbearable, feeling empty once again unthinkable and she looked back at him with wide, glossy eyes. “Please, Alexander...”

He hummed, licking his lips before reaching forward to cup her throat, pulling her up slowly, her body still shaking as he pressed her back against his warm chest, feeling her heart race and her body squirm at the feeling of his cock sinking deeper inside her again, his fingers tightening around her throat. “Oh, is tha' wha' yeh want, pupa?” He hummed. “Yeh want anofer?”

She nodded, whining quietly. “P-Please...” she stammered, trying to roll her hips and work them back against his, his grip once again tightening on her hip and she was overwhelmed by the way his scent intoxicated her, his breath shaking, tickling her skin.

“Fookin' greedeh, aren't yeh, principessa?” He hummed, well-aware that there was no way he'd deny her another orgasm, desperate to drink her in, it was the most gorgeous form of entertainment for him, satisfied him beyond reason to watch her let go for him. “Fook, I love 'avin' yeh at me merceh, doll … such a fookin' brat, 'ow about weh go until yeh can't 'andle anehmore? Until yeh tell meh teh stop?”

Without giving her a chance to react, he drew his cock from her, making her whimper with need and desperation as he bent her forward again. “A-Alexander, please … I-I need-...” She was cut off by a sharp sting of pain, his hand most likely leaving another imprint on her skin. “F-Fuck...”

“Tha's reyht, doll, say me fookin' name...”

She whimpered, her body tensing when she felt the tip of just one of his fingers poking inside her, feeling her wetness and stroking slowly at her walls, knowing full well that he'd be able and was desperate to tease her out of his mind by touching her but not giving her nearly enough of what she needed.

“Is tha' enough for yeh, Jade?” He teased, his tone mocking, without looking at him she could see that smug smirk playing around his lips, whimpering at the way his finger was now slowly moving in and out of her, stroking teasingly at her walls.

“I-I need more...” she whimpered, well-aware that she was giving him exactly what she wanted, she knew that he just wanted to drive her crazy, and it was working.

“Mmmm, wha' do yeh need, doll?” He asked, pleased with the way she was trying to move her hips backwards but even when he let her every now and then, he could feel her walls fluttering, his finger not quite enough for her, the way her body shook had his mind pondering all kinds of ideas about how to make her come undone for him. “Yeh've got teh tell meh exactleh wha' yeh want, darlin'...”

She breathed out shakily, her mind clouded with lust, desperate to do anything that would give her more of him, create more friction inside her. “I-I … p-please fuck me, I-I need you to fill me up, Alexander, please...”

He hummed contentedly. “Yeh?” He asked. “Are yeh a greedeh girl, 's this not enough for yeh?” He knew that the way he was toying with her now was agonising, giving her something but not enough and he pushed a second finger inside her slowly, licking his lips at the way she groaned and tried to push back against him instantly, glad to take anything he offered. “Yes, doll, yeh like tha', dun't yeh?”

She nodded eagerly, swallowing hard. “M-More...” she whimpered. “More, oh, f-fuck, please, I'm begging you, I'll do anything...”

He smacked her ass again, making her yelp and jerk forward, his fingers slipping out of her and she looked over her shoulder, whimpering at the loss of even the slightest bit of friction. “Mmm, I'll put me fingers back inside yeh but yeh're gunna 'ave teh work for it, alreyht?”

She let out a sigh of relief when he pushed three fingers inside her, now feeling her walls squeeze them. “Y-Yes...”

“Ride me 'and, doll, come on...” He drawled deeply, slapping her ass again and loosening his grip on her hip to give her room to move, licking his lips as he watched her moving her hips instantly and hurriedly, chasing the orgasm he'd already built for way too long, slapping her ass each time his fingers filled her up and he could feel her get wetter by the second, knowing that she wasn't far off letting go again. “Yeh're so fookin' desperate, so fookin' needeh … so warm 'n wet and 's all for meh, innit?”

“A-All for you...” she cried, willing to give anything he'd ask and her breath hitched in her throat, her voice trailing off into a moan when he suddenly gripped her hip again and held her close, curling his fingers inside her repeatedly and into the spot he knew would make her see stars, over and over before she could even tell him too, her body collapsing on the bed as she came around his fingers, panting out her orgasm, her hips shaking, desperate to ride out her orgasm but he forced her to stay as she was once again, his fingers stroking at her walls through her high.  

Without a warning he reached around her, once again pulled her up with his arm locked around her body and his fingers wrapping around her throat, enjoying the way he could feel her breath hitch behind her sensitive skin when his fingers pressed harshly against her clit, his other hand moving slowly up to grip her chin, then parting her lips to push two fingers inside her mouth, shaking slightly when her tongue swirled around them instantly and she moaned, sucking them greedily and desperate for something to hold onto when he out of nowhere started rubbing her clit, disregarding how sensitive she already was but he'd told her he was going to go until she couldn't take it, and she'd thought it was too good to be true but when he continued she could hardly contain her anticipation, knowing she was not prepared for the blissful state he was going to put her into and she wanted him more than she ever had before, could feel his hard cock pressed against her ass, desperate for more.

He felt her body shaking in his arms, kept his fingers inside her mouth to keep her quiet but she couldn't suppress the soft cries and whimpers around his fingers, was trapped pressed up against him and could feel a layer of sweat on his skin now, desperate to look at him but she couldn't move, didn't want to with how good he was working on her, adding more and more pressure with his fingers on her clit gradually, rubbing her mercilessly in circles and she could hardly breathe when he rolled the sensitive bundle of nerves between his thumb and index finger, her body shaking violently when she once again had nowhere to go, nothing to hold onto, sucking needily on his fingers when the waves of pleasure washed over her.

He could tell her legs were giving in, the muscles in his arms straining as he held her up until she had calmed down once again and he laid her down on the bed again. “Fook, doll, yehr legs are shakin' … d'yeh want more?”

She gathered all her strength to turn around, watching him with wide eyes, pushing her lower lip forward as she tried to catch her breath, nodding slowly. “Please...” she begged.

“Mmmm, come on then, principessa” he drawled, bending over her and holding himself up with one hand next to her head, his other hand nudging her thighs apart and her legs fell to either side for him easily, giving him unlimited access and he without a warning shoved two fingers deep inside her, starting to move them relentlessly, making her cry out and grip on to his bicep, her fingers digging into his skin, her eyes wide as she stared back at him, struggling to breathe evenly as he stroked her walls. “Cum for meh.”

He curled his fingers, simultaneously pressing his thumb down on her clit and she was gone, would have doubted just weeks ago that no man would ever make her come as quick as he could herself but here he was, and she just needed three words from him to make her body obey him unconditionally, crying out his name.

She was panting when his movements slowed to guide her through her orgasm, his gaze hungry and he was already aching to get her there again, could tell that she was spent and could hardly keep her eyes open, her mind hazy with lust.

She felt like she was floating, on cloud nine because of how lucky she felt and she bucked her hips forward, whimpering at the feeling of his fingers brushing up against her now sensitive walls. The intensity of her now fourth orgasm had her weak, but she was desperately gagging for more.

“Fook Jade, 'ow mooch more can yeh take?” He asked, mesmerized by the way she just wanted more and more, could take as much as he was willing to give.

“I-I need more, Alexander, I need you to f-fuck me...” she begged, her round eyes desperate with lust.

“Mmmm, not yet, darlin'...” he muttered. “I fink yeh dun't need meh teh fook yeh, I fink I can bring yeh teh the edge wifout touchin' yeh.”

Her body tensed, her breath hitching in her throat. She was so desperate for him to fill her up that while she knew he was probably right, she wouldn't be able to handle that kind of torture but the dark glimmer of lust in his eyes, the way the tortuous smile played around his lips, she knew that he'd set his mind to it.

“Turn 'round, pupa.”

Despite her knees being weak and her body still shivering slightly, she followed his command instantly, turning around onto all fours again, her ass sticking in the air towards him making her whine when she wiggled it at him and he delivered another slap.

“Come up 'ere, doll...” he mumbled, the desperate need to feel her close once again overtaking him and he guided her body upwards, his hand closing around her throat, caressing her skin, the other moving down to part her legs and cup her wet heat without touching her anywhere she needed, humming as pressed his lips against her shoulder. She was warm, a sheen layer of sweat on her skin, her body shaking in his arms. “Reyht, doll, joost relax for meh...”

She was breathing heavily, his scent, the feeling of his breath as he spoke against her skin, the scent of smoke and his cologne and just him overwhelming her, she needed him badly and while she was all for his game, was eternally thankful that he'd made it all about her, the way his cock was pressed against her ass, throbbing and hard, her eyes fluttered shut instantly as she tried to clear her head and relax but it was impossible, merely the way he was holding her, his strong arms gripping her tightly was too much for her, she needed to challenge him, knew she'd get what she wanted easier if he fully lost control. “I don't think even you can do that...” she lied.

He chuckled darkly and she could feel the vibration in his chest, his heartbeat strong, fast. “Well, I fink weh bof kno' tha's not true, principessa...” He drawled. “Can 'ear by yehr whimpers tha' yeh're alreadeh patheticalleh close again...”

The deep drawl of his voice, the filth dripping from his words, it was going to be enough and she knew it, he knew it and he was playing right into her weakness, well-aware of what he was capable of, of the power he had over her. “Alexander...”

“Shh, Jade, joost listen teh me voice...”

Bastard.

“I kno' yeh want meh teh fook yeh, and yeh've been sooch a good girl...” At that moment he knew it was probably harder for him than for her to not be inside her, to not feel physically how much wetter his words met her, but he attempted to be satisfied with the mere knowledge. “Yeh want meh teh stretch yeh, dun't yeh, doll? Luv meh fookin' yeh 'ard and deep...”

She whimpered, trying to squirm in his arms but he had them locked around her, giving her throat a light squeeze.

“Yesss, darlin', I luv those fookin' whimpers of yehrs...” he hummed. It was taking all his own self-control now to not bend her down and fuck her into the mattress with everything he had, but he was enjoying her helplessness, her submission too much to give in now, desperate to prove his point even when it really was not necessary, he loved to play with her and he knew that she enjoyed those games as much as he did, had never met anybody who did. “Yeh joost can't fookin' get enough, can yeh?”

“Please...” she cried. “Please touch me...” Her walls were fluttering around nothing, empty and desperate for him to fill her up.

“Almost fookin' droolin', are yeh, doll? If I touch yeh reyht now, would yeh cum for meh?” He teased.

“S-So hard...”

He chuckled, guided her body back down on the bed, watching her back curve, her legs shaking as she struggled to keep her ass propped up and he smirked, nudging them apart and spanking her hard again, again, the mewl against his silk sheets driving him beyond wild, groaning as he saw her juices running slowly down the insides of her sides. He just wanted to sink inside her, feel her wetness envelop him, her heat squeezing him.

“H-Harder...” She whimpered.

He spanked her again, this time making sure his ring smacked right down on her skin, making her cry out louder. Another smack, two more, her ass wiggling and her moans increasing in volume each time, desperate for more and as much as she made him feel more and more powerful, it also felt incredible not having to hold back, her taking everything he needed to let out and asking for it and couldn't get enough still, no one stopping him and no matter how rough he was, how much he teased her and when she purred at a final smack, he took a tight hold of her hips, without a warning lining his cock up with her entrance and sinking all the way inside her, groaning loudly as she squeezed his hard cock instantly, her whole body shaking violently and he wrapped his arm around her waist to keep her from collapsing, to hold her close as another orgasm hit her, intense and burning through her body, stealing her voice from her throat as she sobbed into the sheets and before she could recover he was fucking her hard and fast into the mattress, giving her no warning, no time to catch her breath but the breathless moans falling from her lips, the little pleas of his name fuelled his need.

“I love your cock” she whimpered.

He chuckled, smoothing his hand down her back. “Mmmm, I kno', doll, I'm so fookin' close” he groaned. “And yeh're gunna fookin' come wif meh...” He was half-ready for her to tell him she couldn't take more she just purred appreciatively at the way his cock drove all the way inside her, throbbing and coaxing her walls to flutter around him desperately, hitting deep inside her over and over again and she was shaking, blissed out and already sore, her walls tender and sensitive, her body weak.

He could feel himself coming closer, reaching around her with his other hand to press his fingers into her clit, chuckling at the way she tried to flinch away but then when he kept going melted into his touch, too spent to fuck herself back on him and he screwed her hard, mercilessly until his hips gave one final thrust forward, his fingers twisting her clit and as he buried himself deep inside her, his cock twitching and emptying himself inside her, she gasped, tears of pleasure running down her cheeks silently as the intensity of another orgasm ripped through her, her lips parted with no sound coming out.

He grunted, bucked his hips forward slightly again and again until he'd ridden out the waves of both their orgasms, his fingers gripping her hips as he tried to catch his breath, the view before him, her body writhing and shaking beneath him carrying the potential to get him there again right away and he hissed when he pulled out, the sound obscene and he groaned.

“Mmmm, yeh 'ad enough now, darlin'?” He asked, his fingers twitching when she turned her head to look back at him over her shoulder.

“Please don't stop...” she whispered. “Please, please, Alexander...”

“Jade...”

“I haven't asked you to … to stop...”

He groaned, swallowing hard and brushing back his hair, slick with sweat and he bit down hard on his lip, slowly bringing his fingers down between her legs, gathering up her wetness before teasing her folds with his rough fingertips. “Like this, pupa...?”

She whimpered, her body trembling. “I want your fingers inside me...” she whispered, her voice nothing but a hint, her voice hoarse. “P-Please...”

He pushed his fingers inside her slowly, stroking at her sore walls, his jaw locking as he watched her hips shaking, caught between jerking away and fucking herself on his fingers, the latter instinct winning and she could hardly move, groaned gratefully when he gripped her hips to hold onto her again and forced his fingers inside her, in and out and in and out and she cried out his name with every push of them.

She knew that she should've asked him to stop but she was drunk on him, drunk on the lust he instilled and was ready to evoke inside her over and over again and she just wanted more, felt on top of the world that he was willing to do whatever she needed, the tenderness within her throbbing, burning deliciously with each push of his rough fingers, having her almost drool onto the sheets and just when she thought he'd drained her, she felt her orgasm building again, his fingers curling inside her harshly, pressing down again and again and without so much of a cry or a shake of her body, her walls melted around his fingers again, she could hardly breathe, her eyes rolling into the back of her head and she felt fresh tears of relief running down her cheeks, with everything she had pushing her hips back into him.

He pressed his lips together, watched her orgasm once again with wild eyes, his gaze full of need and adoration and he could've watched her forever but there was no way she could take more and he drew his fingers out of her as carefully as possible when her walls relaxed around them, easing himself off the bed slowly to face her, seeing the look of desperation in her eyes, the way she begged him silently for more, shaking his head.

“No, doll” he whispered. “Yeh can't take more.”

She breathed out shakily, knew that he was right even though she desperately craved more, feeling her body shiver and she shifted closer to him, feeling his body tense instantly, yet still aching to be near him.

He swallowed hard when her whole body curved into him, fresh tears running down her cheeks and he could still feel her trembling, the closer she pressed herself to him the more he was growing aware of how much she needed him, only to happy to hold her as she curled into him.

“Alexander...” she whispered, shifting weakly when she felt him pull the covers from underneath her and on top of them to keep her warm, cautious to not remove his arms from her, his bicep flexing as he adjusted their position, then brushed back her hair and wiped her tears before she pressed her face to his chest to be closer to him, a sense of warmth washing over her as she breathed in his scent, felt his cold chain against her forehead and she relaxed slowly, gradually into his strong arms, feeling him start to move his fingers slowly up and down her back.

He hummed, adoring the way she leaned into his touch and needed his affection now even more so than before, craved just being near him and letting her guard down completely in a way that broke his heart, made him not want to let go and instead cater to her every need because she had to his without him even asking, despite the smoke he craved and the unfamiliarity he sensed, he held her close as she sank into his arms, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. He felt her trying to move as if flinching when she realised what she was doing but he held her close, as close as she'd tried to get.

When she felt his arms squeeze her gently, it was like all the tension fell from her body and she allowed herself to relax in a way she knew now he wouldn't hold against her, breathing out shakily, her cheeks stained with tears again at the overwhelming burst of the realisation that he really was taking care of her, in more ways she'd asked, but definitely in all those she needed. She thought it almost unfair not to thank him and she cleared her throat, breathing out shakily. “Alexander, I-...”

“Shhh...” he whispered, adoring the way she'd let him see all of her now, the smooth feeling of her skin against his, growing warmer again under the blanket, smelling absolutely blissful and as much as he hated himself for letting everything get that far, he couldn't remember a time he'd been more content. “I've got yeh.”

[rosenrot234]

explaining Preacher’s playlist

Putting this under a read more break because there’s a lot. I was bored so I finally tried to explain the reasons each song is there. Granted some only have a sentence or two. Not everything needs a giant essay response. Warning though, talks of abuse do take place.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT9aIxp8n042hnvTQMd7vOTVJp2utaZwp

1: Beim Ersten Mal Tuts Immer Weh / The First Time Always Hurts -Just one last time please be nice to me Come over here Just be nice to me and come and sit beside me here Just one last time please be nice to me Come over here One more time again Come on give me just a little bit now Come on let me have a final kiss now Come on give me just a little bit now Fool me please just one more time again -I wanted to start Preacher's playlist with something surprisingly dark rather than edge into the darker parts later on. So Preacher's trauma is right in the listeners face and how in a fucked up way he still misses someone that really fucked them over. -Especially with the last bit of the song "Why don't you want me no more?" Bishop would often ignore him as punishment and it would fuck with Preacher's head a lot and how he just wanted to be in his good graces again.

2: For Your Entertainment -I call this one of his "mask" songs. How Preacher often tries to appear to people. It also ties in a bit with how confident he felt in the past when Bishop was around. I wanted to counter the "wtf" start of the playlist with something boppy. Since once Preacher catches wind that someone is figuring out what happened to him, he's all lies and glamour to distract people from talking about it.

3: You Think You're a Man -I kinda wanted to include this song because the listener would have trouble figuring out "Okay is Preacher singing this or Bishop?"

4: Message in a Bottle -Catchy little song but it helps explain how even if Preacher made a bunch of new friends he still felt isolated due to having to hide a lot as a Tiefling. -Love can mend your life But love can break your heart

5: Mony Mony -I always pictured Preacher singing this with his friends. There's not a lot to say for every single song. I just wanted to get mood music for Preacher's gang of buddies.

6: Out There -More alluding to Preacher's lonliness and how Bishop also used that to have some sort of control over him. With all his friends, Bishops word really was the only word that had meaning / value to him.

7: Medicate -Yeah Preacher's coping mechanisms weren't the healthiest

8: A Penny for a Tale -Mocking the greedy? Say no more

9: Goo Goo Muck -Lore wise I always pictured Preacher making this song up on the spot to entertain his friends

10: Lost Boys -While this song is about vampires I just felt it fit still with Preacher and his buddies. His playlist early on covers a lot of that part of his life.

11: The Rocky Road to Dublin -Yet more "Just singing with friends"

12: Zydrate Anatomy -I mean lorewise he did deal in drugs both real and fake in his mid teens so I wasted no time getting this song onto the list.

13: Open Your Eyes -More mood music to his early teens. Trust me I'll have more to say with other songs

14: Back and Forth -This song screams Preacher when he's scamming people to me

15: Drinkin with Jesus -At first I picked this one because cmon. A Tiefling called Preacher , a song called Drinkin with Jesus seemed perfect. Then I realized "Oh shit the lyrics fit". A lot of the time Preacher had to be completely alone to show just how messed up he was back then even before his assault.

16: Feel Good Inc -A lovely mix of isolation, "The world is corporate bullshit" , and more. You damn right I'm putting this on the list.

17: The Cave -Timeline wise this is a bit of a jump into the future where Preacher is in another down mood and tries to recover from it. -But I will hold on hope And I won't let you choke On the noose around your neck And I'll find strength in pain And I will change my ways I'll know my name as it's called again -That last lyric always made me think of Preacher actually maybe someday going back to using his birth name. Berlyn. And just finding his own identity again. Away from Bishops shadow. This would be around the time he grows his trademark purple mustache. It's a small decision but it was still an important decision since Bishop used to even control how he looked.

18: Devils Dance Floor -CMON. DEVILS Dance Floor. Perfect Tiefling music. I also wanted something to pick the mood of the playlist back up a little after that dip.

19: A Touch of Evil -Aka the most metal "Gay pining" song I'm aware of. The playlist takes a turn of "But I want his attention so bad" and how he wanted to be in a proper relationship with Bishop. Teenage hormones are rough so I'd imagine they'd be double rough as a Tiefling.

20: Skills in Pills -More showing Preacher's distructive habits and drug selling. I wanted to avoid putting Rammstein on the list because it'd be predictable as fuck. So I settled with Lindemann.

21: Jigolo Har Megiddo -Preacher playing up the whole "I'm made from demons" thing for flirty singing.

22: Come Out and Play -And we jump back into more "street punk shenanigans"

23: You Look So Fine -More pining and angst. I really liked sudden dips in mood with this playlist. Like his outer walls are cracking and you're getting peeks at the sensitive stuff going on in his head.

24: I Wanna be Yours -Even more pining because I'm an asshole

25: Sleeping Powder -I wanted something comical to again lift up the mood of the playlist so this song was perfect. Just that "I'm back! Where are we going?" makes me think "Okay I'm done being sad, wait what are you guys doing today?" Also the faint "broken" from 2D in some parts of the song were fitting.

26: Sandmann -Preacher's super protective of kids so this was perfect

27: Deleted this one, moving on.

28: Breaking the Habit -One of the  many times Preacher TRIES to get out of his self destructive habits and loops but its left unknown if he got out this time or not. This song fits in pretty much any part of his timeline with Bishop. Adding more to the "loop" of abuse that will be talked about near the end of the playlist.

29: Unzerstorbar ( Indestructable ) -I broke my "no german lyrics" rule with this song but I HAD to. It's such a "FUCK YEAH WE'RE YOUNG AND INVINCIBLE" song that ends on a more quiet note that always made me think "Deep down they know they're not" -As a child I was - I was ahead of all. As a child I was cold and I figured out how much time I have left anyways, because I am indestructible.

I was cool - I was hard and I knew what's goin' on. I was clever and smart and have considered long, Why am I made of steel? What is the meaning that I am indestructible?

This world is so small, so much lesser than I. Super Hero - all alone. Whether I like it or not. Meanwhile, I ask myself: is there someone like me here?

30: Sympathy for the Devil -Again. HOW THE FUCK CAN YOU NOT HAVE THIS SONG ON A TIEFLING PLAYLIST?

31: All I Want -I always pictured this song during a hectic chase either in the sky or on the ground. Preacher is a speedy boy so this was a good fit ( The fact that this song was in Crazy Taxi also makes me think of speed )

32: Action -I thought this fit the mood of Unzerstorbar and wanted to continue the vibe

33: Hit That -More chaotic city vibe music

34: Down the Rabbit Hole -I wanted to include Adam Lambert again since he's early in the playlist.

35: The Heart of the Riding Man -I blame Fennah for getting me into this song. The lyrics were just such a fun match. Preacher might be a Tiefling. But Bishop will always be the "Devil" in this song. -Oh the heart, the heart of a riding man Scarred and cut himself from the devil he ran Oh, from the devil he ran

36: Komm Zuruck / Come Back -DID YALL WANT MORE PINING? Well it's back and much more chaotic this time. -I've missed you long enough asked myself, where exactly you are and if you still bite your nails we planned everything perfectly with false papers and well covered and then suddenly you did it on your own account.

I've had enough, get me out of here don't give up on me now.

Wherever you are (wherever you are) oh, I'm with you Whoever you kiss (whoever you kiss) oh, I forgive you Make your way (make your way) and then release me come back, don't make me wait

37:  Sick Boys -Imma be real with you. I'm a slut for Social Distortion so I had to include SOMETHING with them

38: God is a Popstar -One of the first songs I put to this character and it's still such a perfect fit with the religious stuff in Preacher's story. The video is even nice as a helper because you could imagine Preacher is in the place of Jesus here. All dolled up then thrown away.

39: Applause -More flashy "haha nothing is wrong I just want attention" songs since Preacher is a greedy mother fucker when it comes to attention.

40: Trust Me -This is getting to the important part of the playlist. His relationship with Bishop was toxic as fuck. Preacher also did lots of things he didn't want to but the reward was Bishops attention. So with the previous song and this it really shows the leftover effects Bishop had on him. Preacher is one hell of a good liar thanks to Bishop. So in a way. He does have the risk of becoming someone elses Scorpion. Those mental walls I mentioned earlier are breaking at this point.

41: Fireflies -The sad truth that Preacher still misses and thinks about Bishop. The lyrics here are meant to really tug at you as Preacher's barrier is crumbling at this point. -If all you ever get from the sonnet is the count of the fall of man Every call and cost made to your heart You were in the kind of game that put the force in me I was ever chasing fireflies -Sometimes I follow a firefly He takes me into the night Baby, I just survive I got drunk, I'm sorry Am I losing you? Sometimes I follow a firefly He takes me into the night Baby, I just survive I got drunk, I'm sorry Am I losing you?

42: Prison Sex -Probably the most important song in the playlist. I wanted that earlier darkness to come back full force now that the listener is at probably the most vulnerable part of Preacher's head. It's disgusting and that's the point. Preacher finally fully admits to himself about his rape. And the song implies he has a huge risk of continuing Bishops cycle of abuse. Both the abuser and the abused have lyrics in this song.

43: I'm Not Jesus -This is sort of like Preacher is finally saying "No FUCK THAT. I'm not like you." This song is also about abuse so I wanted to include it. He's angry at this point and finally fighting back in his head.

44: You're Gonna Go Far, Kid -In my head this is Preacher sort of mocking himself and his skills at lying

45: Lone Digger -I wanted another song to help "lift up" the mood again since this playlist has a lot of ups and downs.

46: Money -I thought the lyrics were fitting for this part of the playlist

47: I Don't Care -Mood gets a little somber but in a more beautiful way than flat out heartache or suffering. A little more of Preacher rebelling finally against Bishop

48: Creep -But in the end all his rebellion eventually leads to him being depressed. Bishop is gone from his life at this point. But he's clearly still lingering in his head. No matter how much he tries to ignore it.

49: Souk Eye -The finale where Preacher admits he'll always have Bishop in his thoughts even if he also knows damn well to never deal with him ever again. Even if sometimes it hurts like hell.

I wanted this playlist to be able to go  on a loop and make sense. His moods are often on a cycle of "Fuck yeah I'm awesome! Fuck you Bishop!" to "Dammit we could have been so good for each other in another life wtf" It just repeats and repeats much like how people repeat their own cycles after trauma or abuse.

[aoba-hime]

boy i was really ready for things to start getting better after i moved and ik its only been a week but shit is bad and i am really struggling

my job cut my hours in half and fucked up my pto and i am so so broke and the whole point of moving was to save money and im like, almost at the point ill have to open another credit card or smth to get by and i am just…. so royally fucked in the money department rn i really dont know what to do.

our animals always struggle when we move and its been really hard to find something that works for them..: i love my dogs all so much but we have a really rough system rn and no one is getting what they need

i have just been in Moving Crisis mode for like nearly 3 months now and i just…. really needed at least one thing to get better and now shit is getting worse and im totally lost. i have to try to be the reasonable and level headed one bc i know my partners are really struggling too but im having such a hard time and i just like, cant slow down. cant catch a break.

some of the things were in my control sure but some should not have been my problem and i just dont know what to do. i am so so tired. praying someone here will hire me for a different job because i just cant do it with the petstore anymore. i really really like dog training and im really good at it but i just… i just cant right now. i dont know what to do.

weh.

[asrisartarena]

Schneepleganger: Part 2

It snarls at Marvin’s words, eyes darting around the room, and it sees the hidden shock underlying their anger, their fury. It looks like Schneeplestein, it knows, and the eye certainly helps, twitching and dripping with tears from the sniveling doctor it ripped the eye from now curled up in a ball in the other room.

There is silence before all hell breaks loose, and Marvin’s eyes glow bright and dangerous with each spell blast he fires, and Anti’s knives are sharp with each blow he puts forth, and Jackie’s fists cut air with the force of their power, so that it is a whirlwind of fighting as the creature dodges.

Then, the snake schools its expression to one of fear; it makes itself miss the blows just barely, as if it is not used to moving so fast. It raises its hands to block the fists and knives and magic like a terrified child, almost whimpering. The eye dripping with tears becomes so much more apparent, and the clincher is when it speaks in German.

“Bitte tu mir nicht weh!” It shouts desperately, mimicking Schneep’s native tongue with ease, and for a moment they freeze, because the thing looks so eerily familiar to Schneep. Marvin’s magic stutters, afraid that perhaps by separating the two, the spell had turned Schneep into the monster, that they have been fighting the wrong person. “Bitte tu mir nicht weh,“ It whispers in a tone that sounds of desperation, however faked, and even Anti stops, the air calming for a moment.

And Schneep, who has been watching the fight through the eye that was stolen from him, Schneep, who does not trust Chase’s hold because such hallucinations have been forced on him before, only to be turned to hellish nightmares of which no escape is found. Schneep, who cannot fathom hope of a rescue, knows what the poltergeist does in its lies, and he cries out, “NO!“ as if it were a battle cry. He shouts against the liar and screams at them to listen and know truth and Marvin’s gaze turns back sharp to the copy, who grins something feral in reply and pounces with a roar that sends Schneep shuddering into a curled up ball.

And the thing, the monster, it smiles but finds itself furiously foiled, and it goes after the source with vengeance, dashing off of walls and crashing into the blockade between rooms that is Jameson, Shawn, and Angus with claws sharp and teeth bared. Schneep hears its roars, its screeches and snarls as it pushes against the bodies holding it back, the bodies it is slowly getting through, and Schneep curls up impossibly tighter and shakes and sobs because there is no point, there is no point in running anymore because he believes it to be over.

Robbie watches Schneep break down and feels the fear radiate off of the man in waves, sees a part of his family fall apart because of the thing pretending to be that family member that is trying to get through the door, and Robbie feels protectiveness and anger well up inside him until he jumps forward with a roar to rival the thing he is jumping towards, the thing that Robbie pushes back away from the three men at the door. Robbie has the thing on the floor and in an instant Robbie bites into the thing’s shoulder and tears at the flesh, though it is less than flesh and more like tar, dripping black and green and red. The doppelgänger roars again, in pain and anger and it grasps Robbie in its claws and lifts him up and throws him back like a ragdoll, back into the office wall where the zombie slides to the floor, bruised and a little dazed but otherwise unharmed.

Chase has to laugh a little then, at the madness and the excitement, and he ruffles Robbie’s hair as the zombie crawls back over to where Schneep is still hiding. Chase praises Robbie and Robbie giggles a bit and grins and in that moment, as Schneep peeks from behind his knees, the doctor’s heart flutters with something that feels like hope, like the question of perhaps being repeated louder and louder until it is answered.

And it is answered in Anti’s own brand of battle cry, furious at the monster that dared harm his sibling. It is answered in the glances Marvin and Jackie share in the spare moments of the fight. It is answered in Shawn’s fretting over Jameson’s well being, Angus’s hand gripping a hunting knife in preparation of another attack on the doorway. Through his stolen eye Schneep sees his family so determined to stop this being that had tormented him, had stolen his breath and cracked at his sanity and tore at his heart and Schneep will not let the hope grow any further lest it be crushed, but that he dares to hope at all is something beautiful, in the ugliness that covers the carnage just one room over.

The little moments tantamount to large wounds, a graze in the thing’s side, a cut to its chest, a punch to the face, until it is bleeding and tired and weak. It staggers forward, but Marvin raises his wand with a blast that warms the room to the point that Anti is sweating, and the thing burns as a hole where its chest was is made. It falls to its knees, crawling with clawed hands to where its counterpart is. It tries to send something, and for a moment it tries to reach its hand up to claw at its stolen eye as one last pain to inflict on the doctor, before twin knives pin its hands to the floor. It roars, writhing and screeching like a wounded animal and the septics watch with disgust save for Schneep, who covers his ears and clenches his eyes shut in fear.

After a moment, the blood loss and pain seem to catch up to it, and it starts to wheeze, starts to shudder and settle as it almost seems to give up. It lays its face on the floor, as if to rest for a moment, before it shoots back up, positioning itself in a kneel so the world can see the blood spilling out, black and red and green.

Its eyes turn to Anti, vile and angry and dying.

“I was supposed to be you,” It rasps, coughing up what blood it has. “This is your fault. If you’d just done your job, I wouldn’t even exist.” It laughs then, glitchy and static and familiar in a way that makes Anti’s heart clench in surprise, even when the laughter dissolves back into coughing and wheezing. “You want so badly to protect your family from the person you’re supposed to be, but you can’t even do that. Look at him.” Schneep is shuddering in a corner, clutching the eye that matches this thing’s own dark gaze, oblivious to Robbie and Chase’s attempts to talk him out of his own panic. Shawn, JJ, and Angus are still on guard, but Shawn is fretting over a cut on Jaime’s cheek at the moment, and Angus chances a glance at Schneep’s shuddering figure, wincing at the sight. “Pathetic, weak. You know they all are. You could kill them all so easily, and there’s a part of you that wants to. That’s me, and when I go, I’ll just come back stronger until you crack. And won’t that be fun?” Its face splits into a sharp smile and Anti growls, low and cold, as if the noise could dispel the doubts following him, the truths being spoken.

It struggles under Marvin’s power, under Jackie’s strength, under Anti’s demonic presence, but it gives Anti one last grin.

“S̭͚̈́̃̿̇ͅě͈ͪͧ̌̉̒͌e̝͓͍̬͍̳͈ͫ̿͒ͪͪ͘ ̱̰̬͓̜͍̪ͯỳ̨̻̣̜̫̖̫̤o͍͈̣̤̺̼u̞̠͇̖̝̍ͨ ̹̙͍͇̣̭̗ͬ̉s̮͙̬̠̻̟̺̈̈ͮ̑ͫo̗ͤͣ̐̈ͯͤ̽o̘͍̱̲ͥͮͯn̻̖̞͉̂̓ͮͅ~̻̗̬͚̤̣͕ͩ͞.̃̄͗̾̒̅͌̀ͅ”

And then it is gone, with Schneep’s eye on the floor as its only remnant.

(Submitted by @kitkat1003)

The dust settles. The magic fades, the electricity fizzles out, the knives are sheathed, and everything is still. Marvin and Jackie both look at Anti with concerned expressions as they see just how shaken he is from what the copy hissed at him just moments ago. He feels them staring, and he shakes his head and clears his throat. “What’re you guys staring at?” Anti asks, brushing off their unspoken worry. “We got more important things to focus on right now.”

Neither Marvin nor Jackie say anything, but they nod in sync. It’ll have to wait for another time. A noise from the doorway catches their attention, and the three of them turn and see Jameson break away from Shawn, who just finished patching up the cut on the dapper man’s cheek, head towards the messiest part of the room and immediately start cleaning, picking up papers and gathering them in his arms. The others know Jameson cleans to relieve stress and anxiety, and considering the ordeal they all just went through, it’s understandable that Jameson feels very anxious. When Marvin goes to help, Jameson turns towards the magician and shoos him away, which confuses Marvin until he sees Jameson point at the open door that leads to Schneep’s office, and then he understands. With a nod, he turns and enters the office, where he sees Robbie and Chase coaxing Schneep out of his hiding spot under his desk.

“C’mon, Schneep, it’s okay,” Chase soothes, holding out his hand for Schneep to take, which the doctor does. “That thing’s gone now, so it’s safe.”

“I– I-I have to…” Schneep stammers, fear still thick in his voice, trying to process everything, “I need to… to see for myself. I…”

“I got’cha, dude, don’t worry,” Chase responds reassuringly, slowly easing the doctor out from under his desk and onto his feet. He’s still shaking, but much less than before. Robbie stands up as well, but he lets out a sharp whine halfway up and his face scrunches up in pain as he wraps a skinny arm around his abdomen.

The sound breaks Marvin from observing, and he goes and pats Schneep’s shoulder before making a beeline towards the zombie. “Robbie? What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Marvin asks, his voice heavy with concern. Schneep and Chase both look at Robbie with worried looks as well.

“H-Hurt. Sore,” Robbie whines, gingerly standing up to his full height while still having his arm loosely around his torso. Marvin bites his lip, remembering the scuffle the zombie got into with that thing and how it clocked him in the gut when it grabbed him and threw him across the room and into the office wall. Marvin also knows that Robbie has the highest pain tolerance out of all of them, so the fact that Robbie is even feeling sore enough to whimper from the pain means that the creature landed quite the blow on him, and Marvin’s motherly-like worry grows. Robbie sees the worry, and the younger ego flashes him a soft smile. “I okay, though. Sore, but okay.” Before Marvin can protest, Robbie starts shuffling to the clinic, slower than normal due to his injuries, to help the others with cleaning everything up. The zombie wraps his free arm around Schneep’s and gives it a squeeze before doing so, and the three of them watch the zombie head into the other room.

“I should… I should check him… later…” Schneep mumbles, the eye still in his head glazed over with shock. Chase has to muster every ounce of willpower he has to not throw up and/or pass out on the spot due to the gaping hole in Schneep’s head where his other eye should be, dried and fresh blood trickling around the edges.

“You can do that later,” Marvin states, unsettled by Schneep’s wound but keeping a straight face about it. “Let’s go see the others, okay?”

“You wanna do that, bro?” Chase asks the doctor, his voice patient as ever. Schneep can only nod, and Chase guides him into the other room with Marvin right behind them. When they enter, the doctor scans the room with a slow gaze, taking everything in. 

He watches the others clean up the mess in his clinic with tedious care. He watches Anti, Jackie, and Angus lift the desks and cabinets back up where they belong, he watches Shawn help Jameson take some of the load of clutter from his arms, and then his gaze falls on Robbie, who he watches sit down and pick up his other eye with one hand while the other holds a mason jar full of water, and gently drop the organ into the clear liquid, screwing the lid on tight. “It okay,” Robbie says to the eyeball, softly patting the lid of the jar with a small smile like he’s talking to a baby animal. “Home in Sheep head soon.”

It’s then that everything hits Schneep all at once, and he laughs breathlessly and his knees buckle under him and Chase and Marvin catch him before he falls to the floor. The others hear and stop what they’re doing to look at Schneep, confused and concerned. Schneep lets out another shaky laugh, and he starts crying. For a split second everyone panics, but it quickly fades when they see Schneep is smiling. Not the thin, forced smiles he use to give to reassure them that everything was fine when it wasn’t, but a genuine, warm, relieved smile. The tears flowing down his cheek from his good eye are happy ones and his smile grows wider the harder he cries and he slumps into Chase’s arms like a puppet cut from its strings. He laughs and cries into Chase’s chest, happy and relieved and elated that it’s finally over. That thing is gone, and he’s finally free from its torment. Chase sinks to the floor with Schneep and he holds the doctor as he cries into his shirt, the others pausing their tasks to sit with the two fathers in a comforting circle. Anti pulls Robbie into his lap and wraps his arms around his little brother, careful of his torso, and Robbie hands the jar to Marvin so he can later use his healing magic to reattach Schneep’s eye as best he can. The magician sets it on the desk for now, and he joins the others on the floor, sitting in between Anti and Jackie. Anti leans over and gives Schneep’s shoulder a firm, reassuring squeeze, and Jackie rubs the doctor’s lower back while Chase rubs soothing circles into Schneep’s upper back.

They all sit there and say words of encouragement and comfort and let Schneep cry and cry until he can’t anymore, until he’s exhausted all the tears in his body and all he’s left with is feeling dead fucking tired. Marvin pulls out his phone to call Dr. Iplier about the whole eyeball situation, and Chase helps Schneep to his feet once more. The dadbro ego leads his fellow father ego to his bedroom while the others finish cleaning up the mess from the earlier chaos.

“You’re gonna be okay, dude,” Chase says, smiling and rubbing Schneep’s arm as they head towards his bedroom. “You’re gonna be okay. I promise.”

Schneep smiles softly and leans into Chase. For the first time in months, he has hope that he will.

[felinehypocritical]

hi hope ur having a good day! can you pls write some stenbrough hc's or a fic about when bill first gives stan his baseball jersey to wear and stan is all flustered and excited???

“You cuh-c-can huh-have it if yuh-y-hou want.” Bill’s voice is quiet in the small space of his room, and Stan looks up from where he’s tracing the embroidery on his jersey. They’re in Bill’s small bedroom after the fifth game of his third season of baseball, supposedly doing homework, but really just sitting and talking, and Stan’s hand follows the sewn pattern of the patch that says 06 on it before he glances up and catches Bill’s eyes with his own.

“Gee, really, Bill? Can I?” Stan’s voice is tempered with eagerness and excitement, and he unconsciously balls a fist into the material.

Bill nods, his messy, slightly sweaty hair pieces falling out of place and across his face. Stan reaches up and absently fixes them, smoothing a hand over his boyfriend’s red waves and letting his hand fall to cup Bill’s freckled cheek, before dropping it all together. Bill practically nuzzled into the touch at how rare and nice it was. “Yuh-yeah, I m-m-mean, untuh-hil the next guh-g-game,” he replies after a moment, before he moves away from Stan, who flops against the bed when Bill leaves his post as a support pillar, and starts unbuttoning his shirt to reveal his white long sleeved undertop, before tossing the shirt on top of Stan. The smaller boy scrambles up, taking the dirty shirt off of his head and inspecting it.

“Oh, GROSS,” Stan complains. “You put your dirty shirt on my head, that’s weird, Bill.”

Bill smiles at him in return, taking the shirt back delicately and starting to fold it. “Guh-huess you don’t w-wuh-want it th-then, do you?”

“No!” Stan reaches for the shirt, but Bill only holds it higher. “Give it!” Bill just laughs, backing up a bit, and soon enough Stan’s going en pointe just to reach the shirt.

He‘s still much too short, obviously, and Bill lowers the shirt to give back to his boyfriend before dropping it onto Stan’s fingertips and stepping backwards. “Thuh-th-there.” he grins at Stan’s indignant face. “Nuh-now you’ve got it.”

“I guess,” He huffs, folding it up and sliding it inside his backpack. Checking his watch, he blows a lock of hair out of his eye in a way that makes Bill’s heart flutter in a familiar way. “Aw, shoot, it’s closer to curfew than I thought. I gotta get home, Big Bill.”

He picks up his backpack, kissing Bill on the cheek absently before he starts heading out the door to his car.

And Bill flops back onto his bed, sighing a little and smiling at the feeling of Stan’s lips on his cheek. In a rare moment of weakness, he touches his hand to the spot where he was kissed.

The day had been great- he’d won the game, aced a quiz, gotten a kiss from Stan… Bill was a simple guy to please. There wasn’t much to it.

He’d find out the next day what a simple guy he was.

It really wasn’t all that good at first- Stan drove to school where Bill biked, they didn’t have the first few periods together- but come lunch break and Bill’s day got astronomically better.

The redhead was walking out of the mess hall with his vending-machine chips and soda in hand when he saw Stan sitting in his regular spot, waiting for Bill to come so they could find a spot to sit. They almost always sat on campus- they didn’t like the park much, anyways, but a bunch of the people they didn’t much need to be bothering with sat there. When Bill saw what Stan was wearing, though, he felt a wave of goosebumps

(shockflesh)

run up his arms.

Stan was in his uniform shirt.

Why was Bill surprised by this? He scolded himself. Obviously Stan was going to wear it, he gave it to him. Shirts were meant to be worn.

He guessed he just didn’t figure Stan would look so good in it.

It wasn’t the right size, that’s for sure. Not even close. The sleeves went down to his elbows and the bottom grazed the middle of his thigh, and it was like a tent on Stan’s tiny shoulders and chest and waist- everything, really. Stan was a tiny guy. It hung off of him like wet clothes on a line.

It certainly wasn’t anything like his usual fitted, slim-cut button ups with slacks or corduroy pants that were wonderfully complimentary of his figure, but it looked just as good as them over his khaki shorts. God, Bill thought, snorting a little, Stan always had looked so preppy in those shorts- he hadn’t worn them for years, not since

(since he almost died his face was so covered in blood you can still see the scars oh my god where are the scars now where did they go)

middle school, but you could hardly see them under the shirt. He wasn’t wearing a visible baseball undershirt, but he’d buttoned it up all the way so it barely hinted at collarbone. His hair matched the whole just-got-out-of-bed aesthetic, too, Bill though lovingly, longing to run his hands through the messy nest of curls on Stan’s head. It was obviously done with the intention of looking undone. It even looked tousled.  

“Hey, kuh-k-kid,” Bill greeted, taking Stan’s hand and helping him up, reciprocating the little smile Stan was giving him.

“Heya, Bill.” Stan looked down at himself, his curls flopping upside down with the rest of his head, and he glanced up at Bill, his smile growing into a mischievous grin. “Like my shirt?”

Bill frowned slightly. “Nuh-not your shuh-sh-shirt. It’s muh-m-m-hine.” He tugged at the hem. “You’re juh-just b-b-borrowing it.”

“Whatever you say Bill,” Stan replied, rolling his eyes affectionately. “But do you like it?”

The redhead looked down at the smaller boy, surveying him with surgical care he didn’t really need. “Yuh-yeah,” He said finally. “Thuh-there’s only wuh-wuh-one thing.”

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Ih-it s-s-says Denbrough on the buh-b-back, right?”

“Mhm.”

“And puh-people know weh-we’re kinda together, ruh-right?”

“Yeah, I guess…” Stan’s eyes darted around Bill’s face for a clue of what he meant, but Bill only smiled.

“Ih-it just looks a l-little like…” He trailed off. “Luh-like you sp-spuh-spent the night over and nuh-needed a chuh-change.” Bill walked on in silence, leaving Stan confused.

Stanley jogged up after him, not used to the speed, holding onto Bill’s shoulder and asking, “so? Who cares?” He kept walking on his tippy toes, forcing Bill down a little into a slouch as he talked. “I’ve slept over at your house before school before.”

“Y-y-yeah,” Bill practically hissed. “Buh-huh-hut not coming to scuh-scuh-school the day after in m-my cluh-hothes, Stah-hanley.”

The confused look on Stan’s face shifted, and his hands went to his trim waist and settled on his tips. “Oh,” he said with a grin. “So that’s what’s up with you.” He straightened the shirt and grabbed Bill’s hand, mussing up his hair with his free one, and kept walking.

“S-s-s-so…” Bill trailed off. The shorter boy looked up at him with a smirk. “So, yuh-you’re okay with th-th-that?”

“Mhm!” Stan’s curls bobbed as he nodded and he pressed a quick kiss onto Bill’s jaw- the only place he could reach from so far below. “I love it, actually. I know why you were staring now, at least.”

“I wuh-wasn’t st-st-staring,” Bill mumbled, looking away. “I was j-j-just… ah-admiring.”

“Admiring?”

“Ah-ah-admiring.”

“Hm.” Stan looked up at his boyfriend, tapping his chin as if wondering something, like a detective. Bill felt his heart leap a little at how cute Stan looked like that. “Admiring isn’t what it looked like.”

Sighing in frustration, Bill looked back at the thin brunnet. “Ih-it’s what it wuh-wuh-was,” he responded, squeezing Stan’s hand. “I swuh-swuh-swear

(swear to me youll all come back swear it i swear bill i do i love you i love you i love)

th-that’s all it w-w-was.” He was more earnest now, wanting to make it clear to Stanley he respected him and would never treat him like a pretty thing to look at and not to talk to, loved him enough to treat him with decency.

Stan chewed his lip, looking at Bill in thought, before breaking out in a new smile and bumping his hip playfully.

“It’s okay, Bill,” He said happily. “I’m glad you looked.”

And the way Stan’s hair gleamed in the late summer sun and his frame looked so dwarfed and lovely in his jacket (oh how Bill loved he could say it was his), Bill was glad he looked, too.

[spacegate]

Okay, I’m going to finally talk about the reasons why I quit my last job. It’s, quite a list. But know that I really did enjoy making the drinks and food and I LOVED my customers. However, when they say you quit bosses, not jobs, it’s the truth. I do miss the dog they had. Bruno was a sweet pea and I loved him. Weh.

A list of the shit fuckery. under a cut so it doesn’t break people’s dashes.

> The mop broke and was in constant state of falling apart, but the bosses never bought a new one. We were forced to mop with a BROKEN MOP up until the time I quit. It made cleaning SO MUCH HARDER than what it needed to be and they literally only needed to just pick up a 10 dollar mop at wally world.

>I would work 11 hour shifts and not have a single break. Lunch breaks were determined by the boss’s whims. If she wanted to go to the gym, no lunch for me. She also counted sitting down to wrap bars as ‘breaks’, but they require a lot of mental concentration to do so. So it wasn’t a break.

>The boss LOVED talking shit about my other coworkers. She constantly complained about them to ME, WHILE I’M TRYING TO WORK, saying horrible things about them and making me uncomfortable. I’m sure she bitched about me to my coworkers too. You literally could do nothing right for her.

>Not only that but she micromanaged constantly. There were several times I set out supplies to begin wrapping sweets for the cold case. I’d turn around for one second and she’d swoop down to clean up all my supplies so I would have to do it ALL OVER AGAIN. Her excuse, “Oh I just have high standards!”

>She would chew you out in front of customers, which wasn’t cool at all.

>She was super anal about chores. She wanted them done, one at a time, going down a list. She didn’t like people multitasking, so there would be times we’d run out of cups and dishes cause she didn’t want me putting in a load to wash while I wiped down the counters. She wanted me to wipe down the counters FIRST and THEN put in the wash. It’s like??? What??? 

> I was lied to about the promotion I was SUPPOSE to get. It was literally twice the work with the same amount of pay. I didn’t even get to learn how to make anything.

> I had to work along a LOT, WHICH SCARED ME. We were right next to a BAR, and there was a BAR just down the street, and people get stabbed a lot in that neighborhood. So I would be by myself, for 6-13 hours, at night. I kept a bigass knife under the counter. The only times I felt safe was when the other baker in the back would be doing some catch up work in the back at night. Where were my bosses? Out at the gym or somewhere else.

>We had such a barebones crew that I literally did the work of two people daily and only got paid for one. I originally only wanted part time, but was forced into ‘full time’ (i was an hour short of working 40 hours.) to make up for lack of people.

>Sometimes the drawer would run out of small bills and change, and instead of GOING TO THE BANK, JUST DOWN THE ROAD, boss would encourage us to put OUR OWN MONEY IN THE DRAWER to make sure the customers got their change. WHAT.

>They had cameras everywhere and would listen to us talk. If they didn’t like anything we said they’d come over and grill us. I found it VERY creepy. 

>We weren’t allowed to keep lunchboxes in the back because of ‘FDA Standards’ but would fill the work fridge with their own food???

>They would pick out good berries from the moldy ones and use them for food for customers. 

>The quota system. Oh lord, the quota system. They expected us to wrap two bars of chocolate every minute but yet we had to put everything down and serve customers the second they get through the door. There’s no way that anyone could wrap 60 goddamn bars in three hours while serving customers at the same time. By the time I quit, nobody could meet their quotas. They expected us to stay late and wrap our quotas if we couldn’t meet it during the day.

>The most disgusting thing is that I told my boss that I wanted to go to part time again. Why? My bf wasn’t feeling good so I wanted to be home more to take him to the doctor and be there in case he needed to go to the ER. This bitch tried to convince me that I shouldn’t ‘smother’ my boyfriend and continue working my hours because ‘time away makes the heart grow fonder.’ MY BOYFRIEND HAS CANCER, YOU FUCKING INHUMAN PIECE OF GARBAGE.

>Critique was treated like personal attacks. Hell, it wasn’t even serious critique. It was things like ‘working in pairs would be really nice.’ or ‘it would be great to have an UNBROKEN MOP’.

>We were responsible for washing the dishes in the backroom AND keep an eye on the register at the same time. I would be washing dishes in the back as fast as I could but still get chewed out for not being in the front. Do they??? Expect us to be in two places at once???? THEY DID.

>You could never be proactive and just clean or do something because it needed to be done. You had to ask to do things before hand and here, we were all adults. 

>Boss told us all the time how ‘lucky’ we were to work there because sometimes we get the stale leftovers and we get 50% off the products. Like that will pay for my medication and stuff lol. 

>There were times I worked weeks without a single day off. Since I worked mostly nights, she thought that it ‘counted’ as days off since I could ‘get stuff done during the day’. w h a  t

SO YES. THAT IS WHY I QUIT. ENOUGH WAS ENOUGH. I may have burned that bridge but it’s a bridge I never want to cross again anyway.

No wonder why people don’t last long there lol.

[jolienjoyswriting]

Mortem In Contumeliam FFVI, Ch. XIII

Chapter 13 of "Mortem In Contumeliam Final Fantasy VI," a Final Fantasy VI fan fiction story.

Tako-tako-tako, spo-i-ler~ (Don't tease the readers, kids~)

Also, if this chapter seems a little… "compressed?"  There's a good reason for it… I was getting tired of writing so many chapters!  Weh!  This is handily and easily the longest single story I have ever written!! (At least, if you don't count Essence of Ragnarok as one very long story.) … but, if it does seem like things got rushed, I apologize. I think the pacing is okay… but, I wrote it, so…

Word count: 5,582 – Character count: 32,443 Originally written: July 28th, 2019 Partially rewritten: Same day

There's panic in the air as the Blackjack finds unwanted company high above the world!

Final Fantasy VI, Wedge, Biggs, and related characters, scenarios, and properties created by Square Soft, Inc. and © Square Enix Co, Ltd.

[ ← Prev. Chapter | Next Chapter → ]

    A gigantic cloak of darkness fell over the airship, Blackjack, and its crew.  High above them was something that not one of them had ever seen before… an entire continent of land, held aloft through unknown means – though, one beholder had their theories.

    “The origin of magic… the Three Warring Gods…”     All eyes were on Stragos, an old mage from Samasa Village.  He wore a look of shock and dismay, seemingly talking to himself… or, perhaps, no one at all.     “They found them… the three, sealed in stone…”     “The Empire?” Lock loudly asked as he ran over to the old man.  “They found the Warring Triad?!”     “They sealed themselves… canceled out each other’s powers and brought balance back to the world they’d helped destroy…”     All-at-once, he spun around, grabbing the treasure hunter by the collar.     “If– if those fools do anything to the triad… even turn one statue away from another by just a fraction…!     “W… what would happen?” Tina asked, choosing to stay by Wedge for the time.     “The balance would crumble…!  And… and, their power would…”     He trailed off as Lock pulled himself free.  Despite leaving his thought unfinished… it didn’t take much guessing to figure out where he was going with it.

    “Well?  I think it’s pretty obvious what we need to do, kupo!”     Wedge gave a blink before joining the others in looking toward the steering wheel.  Standing there was a small creature, covered in white fur, with an angler-like bauble on his head and tiny, purple wings on his back.  He had his arms crossed and unless the former soldier missed his guess… seemed to be speaking the same language as everyone else!     “We need to go up there and kick some butt, kupo!” the creature told the group.     “Do… moogles normally talk like people…?” the soldier asked Tina.     “No, but I made Old Man Rumah teach me the language, kupo!” the moogle replied with a chittering chuckle.  “You’d know that if you were here when this lot rescued me, kupo!”     “It’s a weird story involving a thieving wolf,” Lock added.  “We’ll explain later.  For now, Mog’s right!”     “‘Mog…?’”  Wedge chuckled to himself, much to Mog’s irritation.     “Setzer!”     “Yes?” the ship’s owner answered.     “Think this baby can catch up to that flyin’ island?”     “I’d bet my life on it!” was his confident reply.     “That may well be the case…”     Stragos suddenly whispered as Setzer ran to the controls, shooing the other man way as he made adjustments.     “If we don’t stop the Empire…”     “We will, gran’pa!” his granddaughter told him.     He shakily looked over… only to brighten up as she gave him a comforting smile.     “Bless you for–”     “‘My mom’s spirit,’ yeah-yeah,” she interrupted.  “Get us up there, Fancy-Pants!”     Setzer blinked and paused before giving a nod.  Then, they were off!

    The ship’s engines groaned and the machinery whirled, causing the ship to move faster than anyone else dared to fly it.  Not long after, the airship pushed through the clouds and followed the continent as it reached a stable altitude.  A look overboard would have told any of those onboard that the ground was a long… long… way below them, but everyone’s focus was on boarding that continent and stopping the Empire from doing any more damage!

    “Um…  I don’t want to alarm anyone, but…”  Setzer paused before announcing, “We’ve got company!”     “What?  No, that’s impossible!” Edgar shouted as he ran to the side of the ship and looked over.  But, sure enough…     “Machines!  Heading right for us!!”     A legion of what looked like flying Magitek Powered Armor was chasing them, propellers whirling from their sides and mechanical arms reaching up with metal claws.

    “You!”     Wedge gave another blink… before finding himself shaken by his chest plate.     “Gyaah!!  Lock, what the he–”     “Why didn’t you warn us about these flying things?!” the angry man interrupted.     “Would you believe me if I said ‘I didn’t know?’”     The ex-soldier offered a little grin… but, Lock just scoffed and let him go.     “You’re absolutely useless, you know that?” he said as he walked over to the pilot.     “Love you, too…”  Wedge adjusted his armor with a sneer.  “Jerk.”

    “Setzer, what’re our options?”     “Well, that depends…”  The nobleman grinned as he asked, “How many of you own bows and arrows?  Because… this ship is entirely without weaponry!”     “Edgar has an auto-crossbow…” Macías helpfully suggested, drawing a dirty look from his brother.     “Actually…”  Lock turned to the king and asked, “Hey, Edgar, what else ya got?”     “Uh… I have a couple of Noiseblasters…” he said as he checked his pockets and cape, “a Chainsaw, a Drill… this broken camera we weaponized…”     “Those Noiseblasters and that camera of yours.  Are they easy to use?”     “Fairly easy.”  The king hummed… then, he gave a smile.  “I think I see where this is going…  Good thinking, Lock!”

    “Right!  Kaien, Wedge, Mog, grab a tool!”     The trio did as they were instructed, Wedge and Mog grabbing the Noiseblasters while Kaien picked the broken camera, giving it an utterly baffled look…     “Everyone else?  Magic up and form a perimeter!”

    Wedge tilted his head as everyone ran to one side of the ship or the other, the group making an uneven circle around the railing.  Four of them – including himself – were holding devices while Lock pulled out what looked like a boomerang and a sharp-looking metal disc.  Almost everyone else had brought their hands up, channeling energy and preparing to use whatever magic they had at their disposal.  Two, however, didn’t quite seem combat-ready.

    “Gau, Gau!” the green-haired wild child shouted from beside Wedge.     “Aren’t you gonna… uh… ‘magic up?’” he asked as he tried to figure out how to work the strange-looking hearing horn that was attached to a metal box.     “Gau fight how Gau know!” was the child’s reply.  “Gau be bad guy!”     The former soldier had no idea what he meant by that… until the boy stood back and drew a sword from seemingly nowhere.  A second later…     “This is the end of the line!” he shouted, sounding nothing like himself.  “Everyone, hold your positions!  We’re in for a decisive battle!”     “Gau…?  Are you feeling–”     “Back off, Imperial scum!” the boy yelled, jerking away from Wedge and giving him a steely glare.  “You’re lucky we’re shorthanded, otherwise I’d throw you overboard, myself!”     The ex-soldier… was understandably confused by the uncharacteristic display of leadership and borderline-antagonistic behavior he was given.  When he took a look around… no one else seemed bothered.  Not even Stragos and Lilum, the newest additions to the Returners.  Though, that may have been because they were busy arguing…

    “Lilum can help, gran’pa!!” Lilum told him.     “You don’t know how to use magic!” was her grandfather’s reply as he readied his own.     “Lilum knows, but Lilum can paint ‘em up!  They just… need to stay still for Lilum!” she explained as one aircraft went whizzing by, below.     “Go down to the lower deck and wait for me to tell you it’s safe.”     “But–”     “Lilum!”  The old man spun around and scowled.  “For the sake of your departed mother, just–”     “Look out!!”     Before Stragos could turn back around, an orange-red suit of powered armor came up from the side of the main ship.  A panel opened and it began charging energy, when…     “Hold that pose!!”     Lilum pushed her grandfather aside, pulled out her paintbrush, and waved it around.  Wedge almost couldn’t believe his eyes as, right next to the powered armor… another appeared only to crash into the original, propellers-first, then vanished as the panicked, distant screams of one very perplexed soldier filled the air before fading away.

    “We make a great team, gran’pa!” she chipperly said as her grandfather caught his breath.  “Gran’pa Stragos ‘n The Great Lilum, Heroes for Justice!!  Sounds cool, huh?”     “Y– yes… very ‘cool,’” Stragos panted.  A second later, he gave a begrudging smile and told her, “Stay close and keep your eyes peeled, granddaughter!  We’ll lick these soldiers, yet!”     “Yaaaaay!!  Er, Lilum means…” Lilum corrected as she took on a more moderate attitude, “You got it, gran’pa!”     With that, the two redoubled their focus as a team, ready for the next attack.

    “Here they cooome…!”

    That was the war-cry that Setzer gave from the controls of the Blackjack, keeping the ship steady as the Imperial Air Force closed in.  Wave-after-wave of their flying units darted and weaved in, some shooting lasers, some firing missiles, and some drawing close enough to slash at the support beams keeping the giant, metal air-pouch and its passenger car attached.  But, just like the one that tried to attack Stragos and Lilum… each-and-every-one of them failed.     Some of the air units were knocked out of the sky with a well-placed electrical attack.  Some of them were popped like balloons and made to explode by either a flurry of arrows from Edgar or a curious, violent wind that seemed to come from Gau.  Others found themselves out-of-control due to pilot error, sometimes by a deafening roar from one of two Noiseblasters, or by an absolutely blinding flash of light coming from Kaien’s camera… usually, by accident.

    Eventually, what few units remained decided to break off and fly away, causing those on board to cheer!  But, that cheering would be shortlived…     “Hey, do you guys see that…?”     Something weird was floating toward them.     “That can’t possibly be…”     Something shiny!  Something slimy…  Something that wriggled and writhed.     “Gran’pa, look!  It’s that octopus from before!”     Something… that almost everyone on board recognized as…     “Orthros!!”

    A giant, purple, jellyfish-like creature with eight, wiggling limbs and a row of razor-sharp teeth had flown in from nowhere and landed at the head of the ship, squirming and grinning as best as he could.     ���You remembered!” he called.  “I’m touched!  Really!”     “What the hell is that thing?!” Wedge called out.     “That, soldier, is a giant octopus!” Gau told him before clearing his throat and hunching down to growl.  “Octo-man bad!  Try hurt fight lady!”     “Alas, that was not one of my finer moments!” Orthros sighed, bringing one tentacle up to his forehead, closing his eyes.  “It’s against my very nature to harm a lady!”     He paused, peeking out with one eye.     “Especially one that’s dynamite in a virgin-white dress!  Woo-woo!”     “You… be qu-quiet!” Celes spat, looking both flustered at and furious with him.     “Ah, and I see the cute girl with the long legs is here, too!”     Two tendrils waved toward the sky as he made some strange, squishing noises.     “Did’ja miss me, baby?”     For the first time that Wedge could recall… he actually saw Tina blush.  She wasn’t saying anything, but her shy, uncomfortable body language said certainly more than words could…     “What did you do to–?!”     “Aaand… beret-girl is here, too!  Wonderful!”     He squirmed forward, reaching toward the distant Lilum.     “Come give Uncle Orthy a hug, cutie-pie!”     “Lilum would rather paint your picture, again!” the young girl smartly said, causing the octopus to recoil.

    “Anyhoo,” he said after taking a moment to recover, “I heard you guys were gonna save the world!  Great!  I’m all for it!  In fact, that’s why I came!  Let me join up and lend a hand… or, a bunch’a hands!  Just imagine what all these gorgeous hands could do for you!  Ladies.”     When he gave a wink, Tina finally hid behind Wedge and Lilum pulled her beret over her face, seeming more bothered than embarrassed.  Celes, on the other hand…     “Why don’t you drop dead, you lech?!” she shouted as she drew a new sword – a red sword with a spiked blade that looked like fire.  Wedge recognized it as a Flametongue.     “Now, hang on, Celes…”     Lock raised a hand to the former general as he walked over to the then-crying Orthros.

    “Look.  Orthros.  No offense, but… you aren’t the most trustworthy cephalopod we’ve ever met.  Why the sudden interest in saving the world?”     “Are you kiddin’ me?!” the octopus exclaimed.  “Why wouldn’t I wanna save the world?!  Could you imagine how rich and famous I’d be…?  ‘Sexy octopus saves world from weird island!’  Oh, the babes would be breaking down my door to get a piece’a this!”     His cheeks turned a rosy pink as he fell into a self-made fantasy.     “Ladies, please!  I only have eight tentacles!  Wait your turn and I promise… I’ll send you all to sticky, wriggly heaven one-by-one!  Mwah, mwah, mwah!!”     “You’re disgusting,” Edgar – of all people – told him.  “Go home.”     “Oh, I see how it is!”  Orthros crossed two tentacles in front of him.  “You guys wanna save the world so you get all the fame and glory!  Well, then…”     The octopus’ head curled upward, causing his teeth to bend in a weird… yet, somewhat-threatening way.     “I’m just gonna have to beat you all up and steal your ride!  En garde!”

    Edgar, Celes, and Lock stepped up as the octopus affixed itself to the deck with four arms, the other four wriggling erratically as he shimmied in-place.  All three of them drew their weapons, ready for a fight!     “This is our last battle!” their opponent called in a lighthearted way.  “It’s true, it’s true!”     “You’ve got that right…” Celes coldly told him.  “Fira!!”     Orthros screamed like a frightened little girl as a sharp curtain of flame swept across the deck and hit its mark, bathing the octopus in a powerful wall of flames!  He twitched, scorched and red, before sliding off the ship’s head and out-of-sight.  It seemed like the battle was over before it even started!  But, just as the trio put their weapons back…     “Ugh…  Losing, again…!”     Everyone heard that creepy, unnerving voice call from below.  Shortly after, everyone stared as the octopus slowly floated back into view.

    “I knew this’d happen…” he hissed at the men and women of the Blackjack, “so that’s why, today, I’ve got a strooooong ally!  Folks, lemme introduce you to…”

    The whole group went wide-eyed as Orthros continued to float up.  It wasn’t long before they realized, however… that he wasn’t floating.  He was sitting on something.  Something pink and cloud-like… something huge… something with piercing, yellow eyes, strong arms with sharp claws, and something with a gaping maw full of horrible, jagged teeth.

    “Grand Master Typhon!!” Orthros announced as he flopped back onto the ship and enthusiastically waved a pair of paper fans he’d retrieved from… somewhere.  “Say ‘allo, GMT!”     Everyone had to cover their ears and brace themselves as a massive blast of wind rushed over the deck, accompanied by a teeth-rattling “Gruhk– phuuuuuhhhn!!”     “Articulate, ain’ ‘e?”

    The octopus waved his fans and cheered as his “master” took swings and swipes at the group of adventurers, his claws crashing against Celes’ fiery blade and Edgar’s lance while his other arm blocked the tossed projectiles from Lock.     “Yeah,” he said, “he may not have my natural good looks or my silver tongue… but, his strength’ll blow you away!!”     Typhon pounded the deck, causing the airship to physically dip enough for some people to lose their footing.  Setzer stabilized the vehicle and everyone got back to their feet, then.     “The master’s scaaary if you get him maaad!” Orthros warned, wriggling his arms as Typhon inhaled…  “Seriously, he’s teeerrifying!  You guys might get eeeaten…!”     The octopus paused as his companion spewed fireballs at everyone within range.  Setzer was quick to shout orders to douse the flames while the trio fighting him continued their attack… seemingly, with little effectiveness.     “Why… just the other day, I was dozing off and I got my head gnawed on!”  Orthros laughed.  “Guess GMT was bored or hungry or somethin’…  Man, do his teeth hurt!”     “Tph.  Tph tph,” the frightening, pink creature huffed, covering his face as blades and blunt objects came his way.  He didn’t seem like he was into the fight as much as his friend…

    “So, you guys give up?” Orthros eventually asked.  “You gonna let me join up, now?”     “In your dreams, ink-breath!” Celes shouted, still visibly angry from before.     He closed the fans then flipped them open, waving them toward the big, pink thing.     “Master Tyyyphon.”     “Grnk?”     “Give ‘em the good stuff, pal!”     Typhon paused.  And, then…     “Hyah!!”     Celes leaped up and heel-kicked Orthros right in the face!!

    “Cuuurse yooou and your sexy leeeeegs…!!”     The octopus sadly cried out as he fell off the ship for a second time.  Once he was out of earshot, the three at the bow, as well as everyone else, turned their attention to Typhon…

    Lock leaned over to Edgar and whispered, “Why isn’t he moving?” noticing Typhon’s sudden disinterest in fighting.  The creature hadn’t done much since Orthros’ departure.     “I… don’t know.”  The king of Figaro pondered before suggesting, “Maybe, he’s bored?”     “Could be…”  The treasure hunter stared at the giant beast…  “Should we do something?”     “Blizzara!!”     Both men jolted as a female voice broke the unwelcome silence.  When they looked, they noticed that Celes had made another move, angrily pointing a finger at Typhon… who had a huge chunk of ice attached to his face.

    “Celes…!!” Lock squeaked as he ran over to the woman.  “What did you do?!”     “I took the initiative and disabled my opponent,” she calmly explained, holding her sword with both hands after her spell.     “Okay, but…”     Lock frowned, glancing at the creature who was frantically scratching at the magical ice.     “He wasn’t doing anything, anymore…”     “He attacked, first!” she countered.  “Now, are you going to stand there and judge me, or are you going to–”     “Graaaaahhh…!!”     The three of them were thrown backward as Typhon broke free of the ice, his booming voice sending splinters everywhere.

    “Just get rid of him, already!” Setzer called from the ship’s console, looking genuinely worried about the additional holes to the top deck.  “He’s hurting my baby…!”     “We’re working on it!” Celes shouted back.  “Thundara!!”     The giant beast groaned as a crackling line of electricity ran from her hand to his body, zapping him.  A second later, he retaliated with another flurry of fireballs, causing Setzer to shout about the ship even more.

    “This is getting us nowhere!” Edgar called as he shot the beast with his Auto-Crossbow.  “I’m not even sure we’re hurting it!”     “Gotta say… I think you’re right,” Lock agreed as his bladed disc bounced off Typhon’s head.  “This thing is just too strong for–”     “Fira!!”

    Both men leaped out of the way as a tongue of flame violently slashed the pink giant right across the face.  When he stopped moving and brought both gnarled hands up…     “I… think you got his attention, Celes…”     Lock smirked.  It didn’t seem like Typhon was in a fighting mood, anymore.  Actually, he seemed to be breathing pretty heavily, for some reason…

    “Are you ready to concede?” the former general asked, standing at-the-ready, just in case he decided he’d rather keep fighting.     “Hruuh… hruuh…” he panted, keeping his face covered.     “The lady asked you a question,” Lock said in a scathing tone.  “You give up, Pinky?”     “Hruuh… hraah…!”     “Wait a second…!!”     All eyes were back on Stragos.  He’s shouted and looked like he’d just seen a ghost!

    “I just remembered something!  I know what this creature is!” he called.     “Okay?  Good?”  Lock crossed his arms.  “Do you know how to beat it?”     “No, but…”     “Hraah… hraaaaah…!!”     “Gods above!  Everyone, get down!!”

    He’d tried…  He really had.  But, Stragos was too late to warn them…     “Hraaah-pheeeeew…!!”     That Typhon had some seriously strong nasal passages!

    The people closest to the beast found themselves blown overboard, all three of them hanging on to the rails in a half-panic.  The people to the sides were knocked to their feet or tossed up against the guardrails, thrown for a loop.  As for the people straight ahead…     “Look out…!!”     Wedge stood in front of Tina, guarding her with his body as a huge, semi-invisible projectile warped the air and headed right toward them.  As it made contact with the former soldier, he expected it to hurt.  However…     “Whaaa-hoo-hoowaaah…!!”     It, instead, sent him flying… right off the deck and, unfortunately… much farther than even the people closest to Typhon.  He had absolutely no chance of grabbing onto anything and wound up in a freefall some distance away from the Blackjack!

    For several moments, he flailed his limbs and screamed in a complete panic!  As the realization that he was going to become a really big mess on the ground far-far below set in… he stopped screaming and put his hands over his face, deciding not to watch.     “So, this is how it ends?” he asked himself.  “With an over-the-top sneeze and a looooong plummet with a very sudden stop at the end!  Can’t say I ever imagined that one…”     He sighed, moving his hands and crossing his arms.     “Ya know… I don’t think the Imperial Army ever planned for anything like this…  Or, maybe, they did?  I didn’t even know we had air machines, ‘til now, so…”     He gave another sigh, closing his eyes and going silent for a while.     “Guess there’s nothing left to do but–”     “Weeedge!”     The ex-soldier gave a blink.  He could swear he’d heard a female voice scream his name.     “Great, now I’m hearing things…”     “Weeeeedge…!”     “Go away, female-voice-in-my-head!  I’m already freaking out enough without you–”     “Weeeeedge…!!”     “Okay, fine, what?”     “Grab on…!!”

    Wedge gave a hard blink.  Grab onto what? he thought.  A second later…     “Please…!!  Take my hand…!!”     That same, somewhat-distorted voice called to him from his left.  He finally convinced himself to look… only to see a vaguely-familiar, glowing form in a dive right next to him.     “T… T-Tina…?”     She was desperately reaching for him with one purple-pinkish, clawed hand, her angular face full of worry and fright.     “Grab on…!!” she called, again.  Not a second later, he did just that before being pulled into her arms to hang on for dear life!

    “Look, not that I’m not grateful that I have someone I love escorting me to the great beyond… but, Tina!”  He squeezed her.  “I’m gonna kill you if you didn’t get sneezed off, too!”     “I followed you!” she shouted over the whipping air.  “I couldn’t let you die…!!”     “You idiot…  I’m gonna kill you.”     Wedge smiled, giving her a loving hug.     “You seriously leaped after me?  I… uh… hang– hang on.  Something’s not right.”     He looked around.  Were they falling… slower?     “Tina…  Um, tell me something.”     “Yes?” she called in a softer, calmer tone.     “Your Eidolon half…  Uh, can it, by chance… fly?”     “Yes,” was her simple answer as she slowed, stopped, then started flying back up, carefully carrying the former soldier in her arms.  “You didn’t know?”     Wedge blushed… then, he sighed.     “Just… get me back on the airship, please.”

    The fall down had taken about three minutes, but the flight back up took twice as long.  He watched Tina, feeling relieved that she didn’t seem to be struggling with him… but, felt extremely embarrassed that he didn’t know she could fly… not that he’d have any reason to think otherwise, of course.  He’d only seen that form twice, counting his current situation, and the first time was a less-pleasant experience, for him.  Still… he was glad that she’d come to his aid.  And, as he looked her over… he couldn’t help but notice how pretty her Eidolon form was.  He made a note to ask her to pose and turn for him in that form, later.

    “This is as far as I can go…”

    Tina landed somewhere before collapsing onto her knees.  Wedge was quick to kneel beside her, ready to help her to her feet.  When they both stood, he looked around… only to scowl and furrow his brow.     “Tina…?”     “Y-yes…?” she panted.     “Either this isn’t the airship… or, Typhon really did a number on the flight deck.”

    They both looked around at their surroundings.  Just as Wedge had noted, they weren't standing on the deck of an airship… but, rather, a large chunk of rock and dirt which, not unlike the airship, was hanging in the air and flying free.  Unlike the airship, though, the mass of land seemed twisted and torn, and seemed to stretch on for quite some distance.

    “Weee’re… on that flying continent, aren’t we…?”     “I… I couldn’t make it,” she told him, leaning on his frame.  “I don’t have the stamina… haa… to stay in that form… for very long.  I’m sorry…”     “Hey, hey, it’s alright…”     Wedge smiled, gently nudging her head up.     “You saved my life.  Which is funny… ‘cause, it’s usually the guy who saves the girl!”     “I can… relate to that…”     He gave a blink… then, he smiled, more.  She was grinning at him.

    “So, we’re stuck on this island ‘til your friends head this way, huh?”     “I guess so…”     Tina slowly parted from her friend… only to wobble and fall to her knees, again.     “T-Tina!”  He was quick to kneel behind her.  “Are you okay?”     “N-not really…” she admitted.     “Still worn out from the trip back up?”     “Yes, but… there’s something else.”     Slowly, she raised a gloved hand, pointing into the distance.  Biggs had to adjust his goggles before he noticed…     “Are those…?”     “The Warring Triad…”

    He couldn’t see it very well… but, situated at the approximate center of the island, stood upon some sort of plateau, were a trio of gray figures.  While he couldn’t make out any of their features, he could seem the radical power emanating from them.  Considering that he wasn’t the slightest bit magically-inclined… it was enough to send shivers up his spine.

    “This entire island,” Tina told him as they both stood back up, “is being held in the sky by those three.  This place also feels… familiar.”     The girl looked at him with sad eyes.     “I think… this may be what became of my home…”     “Wait… are you trying to tell me that this island, itself, is the Eidolon’s World…?”     “Wh-what’s left of it, anyway…”  She shivered.  “My home…  My dad’s friends…  It’s all… it’s all…!”     “Tina, no… please, don’t cry…”     But, she couldn’t help it.  The realization that they were standing on what little remained of her home… that the Empire had, more-than-likely, utterly eradicated all of the Eidolons… hit her like a ton of bricks.  It was emotionally overwhelming for the poor, half-Eidolon girl.

    “W… W-Wedge…?”     “Y– yeah, Tina?”     She looked up from hiding her face against his chest.  Despite her wet eyes… she looked angry.  Angry… and, determined.     “We have to stop the Empire.  Even if it means… if it means…”     She looked away, sounding like she didn’t want to finish that thought.     “Yeah… yeah, I guess we– hey, wait, Tina!  Where are you going…?”     “I’m sorry, Wedge…”  She’d pushed him aside, then took a few steps away before telling him, “I have to do this.  For my family.  For my friends.  For my kind…”     Wedge hesitated… then, he started to give chase.  “Y-you don’t have to do this alone!”     “H-he’s right, you know… ehn…”     Both figures stopped in their tracks.  A somewhat-familiar, gravelly voice had spoken up.  When they turned to see who had spoken…     “S-Shadow!!”     Tina called with a start, covering her mouth with one hand.  There, shambling toward them, was a beat-up man completely covered in black cloth… which had been stained red, in places.  It could be none other than the self-made mercenary, Shadow.

    “Damn the Empire – present company excluded…”     He coughed, giving a nod to Wedge as Tina started magically healing him.     “Once they were done with me, they tried to kill me…”     “They didn’t do a very good job,” the former soldier nervously joked.     “What’s worse?  I never got paid for the Triangle Island job.  Heh.”

    “Are you going to be alright?” Tina asked as she finished.  She was trying to wipe his darkly-clad face with a white linen cloth, but he just kept ducking away.     “I’m fine, stop fussing over me,” he eventually told her, gently grabbing her wrist.  “We have bigger concerns, right now.”     “O-okay…”     She offered a slight smile as he let her go, then tucked her cloth into her dress pocket.     “Where are your friends?” was the man’s next question.  “We could use their help.”     “They’re… up there, I think?  And– oh!!”     She had pointed to the sky, but when she and the others actually looked… they were shocked to find that the Blackjack was being attacked by some massive construct!  By the look of it… the airborne vehicle was full of nasty weaponry, too.

    “No…!” she gasped, covering her mouth, again.  “We have to do something…!”     “I mean… if you think you can fly up there, let’s go,” Wedge commented, “but…”     “I can’t–” the girl quickly answered before looking away in sudden silence.     “Then,” Shadow began, “I guess we have no choice but to go forward.”     Both Tina and Wedge gave a blink as Shadow stepped over to a rocky formation.  When he kicked it, they were both genuinely surprised as part of it collapsed into a pathway.

    “It’s kind of a shame.”  He crossed his arms, leaning against the rocks as he told them, “I’m sure at least one of your other friends has a score to settle with the Empire.”     “More like, all of them…” Wedge added with a grin.     “We could just wait for them.  But…”     Shadow looked up and the other two followed suit.  That huge air vehicle was still focused on the Blackjack, bright flashes of magic and explosions firing off near both.     “They could be a while.”     “Hey, uh…”     They both turned to Wedge as he spoke up.     “As much as I’d love to go punch Kefka and Gestahl in the face, right now?”  He skittishly squirmed.  “I’m pretty sure they’d tear me apart.  I mean, hell, I left my sword… uh…”     He’d paused.  Tina was curiously looking at him with her hands folded over her lap.     “I left my sword… somewhere,” he half-lied, “so, I’m a bit under-dressed for combat.”     “You can use my sword, if you want!  I never use it, really…”     The former soldier gave a blink.  Tina had unhooked her scabbard from her sash and handed it and its blade over with absolutely no hesitation… and, a smile.     “Well… shi– oot.  Shoot,” he corrected himself.  “I guess I’m… ready to go, then?”     “Okay!”  Her smile brightened.  “Lead the way?  I’ll make sure no one sneaks up on us!”     “Who would possibly–”     A deafening roar from somewhere on the island stopped him from finishing that thought.  Somewhere… something was waiting for them and, from the sound of it… it was angry.

    “You know… I think we should wait for the others!” Wedge suddenly exclaimed.  “Just in case there’s, uh… something really ugly up ahead!”     “Wedge…”     He gave a blink.  Tina had nudged up to him with a soft, sweet smile.     “It’s okay if you’re scared,” she told him in that innocent way she spoke.  “I’m scared, too.  But, we’re not alone.  We have Shadow, and he’s a super-cool ninja!”     Wedge wasn’t sure… but, he thought he heard said ninja chuckle.     “Plus…  We have each other…”     He blushed a little, then.  Tina held his hand in hers before looking right into his eyes.     “It’s okay if you’re scared…” she repeated in a softer voice.  “Just, don’t let that fear eat you up.  We’ll make it through and stop the bad-guys.  I promise.”     A moment later, she had to tilt her head.  One hand reached up, brushing his cheek.     “Wedge?” she asked, her face filling with concern.  “Are you crying?”     “You are such an innocent, sweet little cinnamon bun, Tina…”     “Thank y– oh– mm!!”

    Shadow turned his head away, hiding his face behind one hand.  Without any warning, Wedge had grabbed the girl by her other hand and pulled her around to pull her closer.  A second later, he had done something he’d been wanting to do since the failed mission in Narshe.

    He kissed her.

    “I… um… I… o-oh…”     Those were all the words Tina could find as she stood there, her face red with embarrassment and her hands fumbling over each other.  She had never been kissed like that… or, kissed at all, actually!  It was completely new to her, and… she wasn’t sure how to react!

    “Listen…” Wedge said, causing her to jerk upright.  “I know this isn’t the time or place for that, but… Tina?”     He took a deep breath.     “I couldn’t live with myself… if I died before I let you know how I feel.”     “This really isn’t the time or place for this…” Shadow commented.     The former soldier grinned at the mercenary… who just shrugged and turned away, again.

    “So… yeah.  Ever since that time in Narshe where I abused the Slave Crown–”     “Oh, come on!!” Shadow shouted.  A certain kind of picture had entered his mind.     “– I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.  I know you have a million other things on your mind… and, I know you have a whole company of cute guys you trust with your life… but, Tina?  I… I love you.  And, well… if we… no, if the world survives today?”     He inhaled, then exhaled as he told her…     “I’d… really like to take you out that date I promised.  I-if you still wanna, I mean!”     “I… I’d like that…” she shyly told him as she brushed some hair away from her face.     They shared a smile, then Wedge spun around, looking at Shadow.     “Sorry,” he told the mercenary.  “We’re set, now.  Let’s go kick Kefka’s ass!!”     “Finally…” the man in black sighed.  “Take the lead, ‘ex-soldier.’”     And, that’s exactly what he did as the extremely-unlikely trio navigated the island.