#It died on impact at least... I checked.

[prolibytherium]

Bro I just roadkilled something for the first time in my life (a young deer no less) AND it was while I was singing along to my favorite The Who song, so now I'm going to forever associate their classic anthem about how uniquely harrowing it is to be a man who is sad while having blue eyes with needless and wasteful deer slaughter

[milfbrainrot]

on a practical level the g@il simone situation is just such a bad look professionally because do you really want the people who employ you to see you talking shit about decisions they've approved

[wintersettled]

i am once again thinking about the hilichurl rogue :(

the first time i fought it was actually yesterday after climbing a mountain in fontaine cause i wanted to see what it was and the drops really reminded me of neanderthal flower burials + how both neanderthals and hilichurls are/have been seen as primitive beings despite tons of evidence to the contrary (ignoring what we know about khaenri'ah since the curse of the wild seems to cause them to be catatonic for a period of time).

theres tons of literature on how neanderthals actually appear to be similar to homo sapiens and have higher mental functioning as evidenced through their tools, their presumed social structures (taking care of injured/disabled neanderthals rather than abandoning them as would be thought of beings focused only on survival), but most notably for this the evidence of "flower burials" at Shanidar.

Basically, two neanderthals were found buried in primarily medicinal flowers (indicating their possible role in their group). I believe there were 11(?) other neanderthals found there who appeared to have been crushed by rockfall whos ages (if my memory is correct) were from around 7 to mid 40s. The reason i bring this up is because of one of the flowers found at Shanidar: Achillea/Yarrows. I find these flowers to be fairly similar in appearance of the petals (excluding size) to the hilichurl rogues drops

Now, each drops description:

A Flower Yet to Bloom "a wildflower that a hilichurl rogue treasured. it was plucked before it could bloom. the hilichurl takes nothing with it in its sojourn across the wilderness save this flower."

Treasured Flower "a wild flower that a hilichurl picked bereft of any special qualities. flowers can be used as gifts or offerings to express ones feelings in many cultures"

for this description in specific i would actually like to quote Ralph S Solecki's "The Implications of the Shanidar Cave Neanderthal Flower Burial"

"Under normal circumstances, today, in many cultures, flowers and death go together, as one can see a funeral corteges and burials. The association of flowers as tokens of esteem, respect, or for the joy of looking at [...]. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'the flower has been a universal symbol of beauty in the civilizations of the world. Confucius included its cultivation among the arts that were essential to a man of culture.' We pride ourselves thinking that we know a lot about Neanderthal man, but the association of flowers with Neanderthals adds a whole new dimension to our knowledge of him, and his humanistic nature."

Wanderer's Blooming Flower "a blooming wild flower that a hilichurl rogue treasured, bereft of any special qualities. the eternal outlander asks not for reward, but only to see their deeds come to fruition"

TLDR (abstract lol); hilichurl rogue drops remind me of the neanderthal flower burials found at shanidar

below the cutoff are some sources if you want to do further reading on neanderthals

(im not an anthropologist or even studying it btw but here are some articles on neanderthals i used for a bibliography on neanderthal spirituality in an anth class last winter in case you want to read up on it, theyre formatted in SAA kinda)

Appenzeller, Tim

     2013    Neanderthal Culture: Old Masters. Nature 497:302-304. 

Hochadel, Oliver

     2020    The Flower People of Shanidar: Telling a New Tale of Neanderthal Brothers. In 

Narratives and Comparisons, edited by Martin Carrier, Rebecca Mertens, and Carsen Reinhardt, pp. 99-122. Bielefeld University Press, Bielefeld. https://doi.org/10.14361/9783839454152-005

Mitchell, Mary Shirley

    2021   Geoarchaeological Methods and the Intentionality of Neanderthal Burial. Furthering

Perspectives 11:29-41. https://mountainscholar.org/bitstream/handle/10217/233626/JOUF_FurtheringPerspectives_vol10.pdf?sequence=1#page=29

Morris-Kay, Gillian M. 

    2010    The Evolution of Human Artistic Creativity. Journal of Anatomy 216:158-176. 

Pomeroy, Emma, Paul Bennett, Chris O. Hunt, Tim Reynolds, Lucy Farr, and Marine Frouin

    2020      New Neanderthal Remains Associated with the ‘Flower Burial’ at Shanidar

Cave. Antiquity 94:11-26. http://dx.doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2019.207

[chocogoldie]

Love Slip

bakugo katsuki x fem!reader

genre: fluff

contains: established relationship, a bit suggestive at one point

short continuation of Nip Slip 18+

It's been a while since the two of you started dating. Approximately three months, two days and forty-three minutes. But who's keeping count?

During your time together, you've come to learn many things about the blond ticking time bomb:

One, he's a very organized and clean guy. He has to-do lists separated into categories in his phones' notepad app, a strict schedule he follows everyday to stay in shape — not that he needs it, but getting to brag about being able to lift you up certainly strokes his ego — and an extremely neat room that stays neat no matter what. He brushes his teeth three times a day, eats healthy meals, has a proper skincare routine and smells of sweet caramel even when he's dripping with sweat coming back from the gym or from an intense training session with your classmates. ln short, his hygiene is top notch.

Two, he's a little bit of a gym freak. Not that you'd ever mind, you even find it hot most of the time, but sometimes he gets provoked by his other gym buddies, mainly Kirishima and Kaminari, to try out all sorts of exercises with you on his back. Push-ups, squats, even yoga poses, literally anything they can think of just to see if it'd work. You've fallen on your ass more than he'd like, or care, to admit. Not because he wasn't strong, no, but because you cannot concentrate on holding onto him for the life of you, always getting distracted by the way his muscles flex and how he grunts from exertion. It's a sight for sore eyes, strands of hair sticking to his forehead while his usually spiky hair dampens and falls down beautifully, framing his face. It reminds you of your first night together, so of course you wouldn't be able to pay attention to anything else. You don't mention how incredibly good he looks in his compression shirts. Yes, he bought multiple after you oggled him up and hinted at loving the way they fit muscly men.

And last but not least, he's clingier than anyone you've ever met which is a stark, and quite frankly adorable, contrast to his sharp appearance. You're working on some assignments? He's bringing you food and making himself comfortable on your bed while putting on a weird dating show on the TV, occasionally checking up on you to remind you to take breaks. You're going for a quick grocery run? He doesn't waste a second to throw on whatever clothes he can find and join you, walking around the store with the shopping cart and imagining you two as a married couple well into your marriage shopping for your little family. You're taking a bath? Scooch over, he's helping you wash your hair and back. You're feeling sad? He's bringing your favorite ice cream and listening to you vent while gently running his hands over your face, back, thighs, arms, anywhere to soothe you. He cradles your face when your sobbing gets louder, pressing his forehead against yours to help ground you into reality, to snap yourself out of your worries by murmuring “I'm here, baby,” or “I got you”. All in all, he's a big softie for you.

He often shows his affection through his actions, but sometimes when the two of you are alone and in the silence of your bedrooms, he pushes his embarrassment aside and spills his heart out. He vents about hero work, about how he doesn't think he's good enough, or rather, nice enough to be a hero, always ending up berating people to hide his true intentions and words. It's something he's always struggled with, but he's been working on it constantly with you, his friends, and in therapy. He tells you everything about what happened during his time in highschool, how the man literally died for a minute, and how much that impacted his life onwards. You listen intently and comfort him through it, crushing him into a tight embrace to remind him you're there for him as well and that you'd do anything to make him happy. He tells you that your presence is enough.

He whispers soft “I love you”'s each night before you two drift off to sleep, letting his hand rest on the small of your back underneath your shirt, needing to feel your skin against his to be able to sleep. The warmth your body provides gets rid of his reoccurring nightmares and allows him to sleep soundly throughout the night with you by his side. And he very quickly realizes he never wants to lose you. Ever.

Because he might've slipped into having a little crush on you, but he willingly chose to fall in love with you.

© chocogoldie 2024. do not translate, copy, or repost.

a/n: a little smth i came up with while waiting for the poll to finish :3 hope u enjoyed it! not proofread

[sttoru]

toji making suggestive comments towards reader infront of newborn megumi, then reader getting mad at him telling him to never do it again 😭😭

⟣ tags. dad!toji x female reader. fluff + suggestive themes. reader gets called ‘mama’.

“don’t start.”

you knew it — just by taking one glance at your husband from your seat at the couch — you knew toji was up to no good. his hands in the pockets of his shorts, eyes half lidded whilst checking you out and the corner of his lip curled up into a menacing grin; he was seconds away from making inappropriate comments about you, to you.

“ain’t said nothin’ yet.” toji shrugs, smirk still in place. he sits down next to you on the couch and looks down at the baby who was curled up on your chest.

it was an adorable picture; to see the mother of his child being so nurturing and caring, so loving and content. it was an every day sight, yet those mundane moments intensified the urge to take you to the bedroom and shower you with his. . . affection.

megumi babbles something in the meantime, his saliva creating a wet spot on your shirt — which you don’t mind since you’ve gotten used to it, “what is it, ‘gumi? hmm? cutie.”

you giggle and tickle your little son gently. your focus was entirely on him instead of toji, who had already snuck an arm around your waist by the time you realised the proximity. his breath tickled your ear;

“you look so fuckin’ sexy right now, mama.”

you gasp in response. not at the seductive and flirtatious words your husband had whispered, but rather at the fact that he cussed in front of megumi. you made it a household rule — to try and swear less in front of your child. and yet there toji goes, breaking that rule a week after its made.

“toji. what’d i say about cussing in front of your child?” you warn with a glare, but that does nothing more than turn toji on more. he loved it when you bossed him around or had an attitude.

megumi’s babbles and coos had died down eventually. he was more engrossed by the way his parents were interacting in front of him. you didn’t seem as ‘happy’ with toji’s words, however, and that made the emergency alarms in the little baby’s head go off;

“bwah! bwah!” megumi’s smacks toji’s thigh with his tiny hand. the impact wasn’t rough, but the sound of the slap on toji’s bare skin sure made it seem like it was.

you grin as megumi comes to your ‘rescue’. the small slaps didn’t seem to stop until toji gave up and defeatedly redrew from you—scooting just a few inches away from his son and wife.

“got what you deserved.” you lightheartedly comment to your husband. megumi didn’t seem to stop there; the kid sticks his tongue out towards his father’s direction for a split second—rubbing salt into the wound.

“watch it, megumi. i’ll fight ya if it means i get y’r mommy’s attention.” the dark-haired man jokes with a smirk tugging at his lips, his fist gently and carefully making contact with megumi’s chubby cheek. the little boy huffs and instantly tries to nibble onto toji’s knuckles, which was incredibly adorable.

“oh-ho? seems like i finally have an opponent worth fighting. .” toji comments before lifting his hands up in the air, fingers bent at the knuckles, teeth bared — re-enacting a scary monster creature of some kind,

you watch the two with amusement; megumi wasn’t backing down at all and was flailing his arms in the air as toji slowly approaches him again, making tiny noises in protest. your husband was also making some noises, though less. . . cute. his were more growling like—it showed the dedication to his role, at least.

“got’cha! c’mere,” toji grins as he suddenly grabs and lifts megumi up in the air; putting him in air-jail as he likes to call it. the baby kicks and squeals, trying its best to get out, “now—are ya gonna let me show mama some affection or should we do this the hard way?”

megumi protests once more like he actually knows what was said to him and kicks his legs frantically, causing both toji and you to laugh at your baby’s antics.

you sat back and watch the two go back and forth like that for a good while, enjoying the moment. you felt all giddy seeing them interact and wanted nothing more than to kiss and cuddle with both.

and of course, you wished that precious moments like these would never come to an end any tjme soon.

[fancyfeathers]

Yandere Capitano thought

Genshin Impact 5.1 Archon Quest Spoiler Warning

So in act four of the Archon Quest we see that whole war and just the devastation it has on Natlan, over two thousand people who could not be resurrected. With Capitano lending his and his subordinates strength to the Pyro Archon it is only natural that he sees some of the most terrible of things in this war, including a very harrowing sight after he cleared out another group of monsters from the Abyss. It was near a remote farm house and he was going to help them evacuate to the stadium but he was far too late. When he goes to check the house everyone was dead, not a soul around except a young woman.

She was clearly not a fighter, crying, shaking and curled up in a corner while covered in the blood of her family. The image of this just sends him back five hundred years to all the people he could not protect, and this poor thing did not ask to be born in the nation of war and she clearly wants little to do with the traditions of her people with the pilgrimage and the night warden wars, so why should she be here?

The Captain does not have much time to dwell on her in the moment, just picking up the shocked girl and handing her off to his subordinates to get her to safety. Capitano had saved hundreds of people by that point but the people of Natlan had courage and she clearly did not, it just struck a chord with him.

He does not see her again until it is all over, while people are celebrating their victory, she is alone with no where to go and no one to be with, they were all dead. She is just sitting by herself while everyone else who fought is at least somewhat happy with their victory. Then Capitano overhears the words she speaks to another, one of the new heroes or perhaps the Archon herself…

“I wish I died with them.”

Her friends had started their future…

Her brothers and sisters were married or had their partners…

Her parents had each other…

But she has no one…

She is the only one left to mourn what happened to them, and no one there is there to truly comfort her because everyone else is busy or counting their own losses.

The Captain is able to recognize her potential self destructive behavior and is smart enough to have his subordinates keep a close eye on her after he heard that because there is just something about her…

Then the next time he sees her is when one of his subordinates drags her to him, she is crying and yelling at them to let her go and at first the Captain is irritated that his subordinate would handle her like this, well that is until he is told what happened.

She tried to join her family…

In death.

In her mind she has nothing left to live for, but thanks to this the Captain has found his something to give his life true meaning again, to protect her from rotting away.

(Just when I was adding the tags to this I remembered the song Flowers from Hadestown and it just fits so well with this idea)

[crystalflygeo]

Kinktober Day 2 - Shibari ft Alhaitham (Genshin Impact)

Google hishi karada under your own risk. That's it. That's the inspiration and GODS I want that hello????//HIT This one ended up longer than expected but also can you believe I wrote almost all of it on the bus/train omw home?? NICE

“Just saying, it’s an interesting use of the House of Daena’s resources. Coming from you, at least.” Alhaitham speaks nonchalantly, eyes glued to the book he’s holding in one hand as the other is currently held by you, crisscrossing red rope in a rather complex pattern as you glance back and forth at the book in your lap.

You give no answer, concentrated in your work. The rope draws lines and presses knots along his bicep, crossing over around the elbow and following down to his wrist.

Not too tight as to hurt.

Your brow frowns with little expression lines as you maneuver the rope into the last knot. This goes here, then pull there, cross here and tighten a little…

“There we go! What do you think?” You smile proudly scooting back a little, hands by your hips.

The Scribe finally diverts his attention from the calculus book he’s reading and looks at his arm with genuine interest, his green and terracotta gaze appraising. 

He flexes his arm a little, testing the give, and tilts his head just slightly as he looks at the pattern from different angles.

“How honest do you want me to be?” He asks simply. It’s a little game you two have.

“Um… 7? 8? It’s my first time, don't be too harsh” You reply with a little pout and puppy dog eyes.

He sighs. As if he could ever live with himself if he made you upset. “It’s not bad at all for a first time. The rope feels a little loose at some parts and the design is not fully uniform but the knots seem sturdy and well-executed. Perhaps you could have picked a simpler design however this one came through really well.” He assesses, sounding a little too much like a teacher but that’s why you find him endearing. Alhaitham is honest and direct. 

“Really? I’m happy then” You beam. “I picked this one because I thought the diamond pattern was pretty… and it kinda fits you” You giggle, turning to the book and gesturing at the drawings and diagrams, blushing a little.

Alhaitham knows how to read between lines. Clearly, you have pictured him tied up like this.

Or perhaps… yourself?

“May I try now?” He asks suddenly, closing his book and setting it aside.

“H-huh?” 

“A fair trade, I was your guinea pig, so now you’ll be mine. And you’ve caught my interest with this.” He says with a casual shrug. His expression as stoic as ever, in a way that no one could read his thoughts.

But you know him better than anyone, and you catch that little glint in his eye. 

“Sure… of course.” You nod dumbfounded.

The two of you undo the knots around his arm and you gather together the strings of rope. Alhaitham picks up the book and quickly flips through the pages with a certain decisiveness. 

He suddenly stops, thinks for a moment, his hand smoothing out the page. “Are you ok with a full chest harness?” 

“Um?” You scoot over and glance at the book. It’s a beautiful design. Doesn’t look too overly complicated but you have learned they can be deceiving in practice. 

It has a diamond design too.

“Ok, I have no issue.” You nod. 

He places the book close by, picks a rope checking the length and starts working. He first loops it around your neck and slowly starts weaving the strands. This one requires almost no knots it seems, just the rope pulling on itself from different angles to keep it balanced and create the diamond shapes.

You watch silently, the scribe checks with you on every step, if it’s too tight, hurting or pulling at something. You shake your head every time. He diligently creates the wrapping around your chest and down your tummy and hips. 

It’s hypnotizing, soothing in a way, but also has your nerves alight. 

Finally he reaches the spot around your crotch and you suddenly feel hyperaware as he loops the rope around your inner thighs, digging on the delicate skin of your groin. The ropes crumple at the skirt of your dress.

You squirm a bit as he ties the final knot behind you. Bringing everything together and securing it. “There, all done.” He declares pulling back a little. “I must admit I’m impressed, looks even better than I expected.” 

You move around and test his handiwork. The rope is snug on your skin, thigh enough it will surely leave light marks for a while, but not enough to be painful or chafe your skin. The sensation is… comfortable, flexible. But also so… noticeable. You feel the slight pressure of them, the teasing pull. They’re just there, impossible to ignore, binding you. And you can see the erotic appeal.

Reverent hands ghost over the patterns of ropes going around your body, teasing you with feather-light touches. ‘Adjusting’ here and there, meticulous, bushing at your chest or pulling at your neck. 

“Alhaitham…” You whine. Keenly aware of your nipples hardening.

“You know, I could loop some more rope going from the back and bind your arms too. Or… add a similar tie at your legs… keeping your thighs and calves together and your legs spread. This diamond pattern has many varieties.”

And so, it dawns on you.

“Y-you… have you read about this before?” 

He chuckles, hands smoothing over your legs as he leans closer to you. “Yes. In fact… I borrowed this exact same book once.” He smirks “When I saw you with it, I knew I simply had to try this tie on you. It rather captivated me back then… but it captivates me much more on you.” 

His thumb rubs over the damp spot in your panties and you squeak, hips bucking.

“Bastard. Mean. Evil. Y-you lied to me!” You sputter, flushed and worked up at having fallen in his trap. Clearly he had planned this from the start and here you are now, all tied up like his prey. His little prize. 

His hand tilts your chin up towards him, his face close making your cheeks even warmer. “I did no such thing.” He says, sounding a little playful even. “Nothing of what I said was untrue, and especially not the part about you looking absolutely enthralling like this.” His eyes roam over your figure, and this time, you see the hunger. 

his fingers hook on the rope between your breasts and he pulls you into his lap.

“Perhaps I should keep you like this for a little longer…”

[hoodielord]

Green eyes in the fear fog.

For half a second, Steph thought today would be a decent day. But no, not in Gotham.

Steph's current events professor, who was also the head of student affairs, had offered extra credit to help give college tours. Look, she had to take the extra credit she had to, even if it meant that she had to be a tour guide. It wasn't hard, just annoying.

The group was small, only five people, but two of them stuck out. A brother and sister. The brother was the definition of adoption bait blue eyes, black hair, vigilante tendencies withholding. The sister was at least as tall as Jason. She had orange hair just like Babs, you'd think they were related.

Anyways, Steph's new mission was to make sure the kid and Dick never met. The kid would not stop making puns. Some of them earned him a laugh but some earned him a smack from his sister.

"Aw, come on, Jazz, it was funny."

"You can do better." she shrugged.

" Sounds like a challenge." A wicked smirk appeared on his face.

" Danny, please don't."

"Challenge accepted."

Yep, I'm definitely keeping him away from Dick.

But something was off about them other than looking at the crime capital's university. They could probably be metahumans. Their eyes seemed to slightly glow blue. They carried themselves as they had already expected danger. I mean, it pays to be prepared, especially in Gotham, but they aren't from here.

If the siblings weren't already on a list B has they should be now. Jazz had been almost ecstatic when we were moving through the psychology department. Danny was practically bouncing off the walls when it was time to go through the engineering and physics departments. Definitely should keep an eye on them.

It was reaching the end of the tour in the cafeteria. Another weird thing about the siblings was their reaction to food. They seemed to have this sort of optimistic curiosity like they were happy to have food to eat, but at the same time, they were poking to make sure it wouldn't attack or something.

Talking with the siblings was interesting too. Danny was buzzing about the engineering department. He went into a great rant about a project that Wayne Enterprises was working on in the aerospace engineering division. Maybe she should keep him away from Tim, too.

The conversation died quickly when a shriek rang out from down the hall. Steph turned quickly to see green fear toxin fill the cafeteria. Swarms of people ran for the exits knocking each over. She quickly dug through her bag and pulled out her gas masks, one for her and her backup.

"Jazz? Jazz, where did you go?" Danny called. They must have gotten separated.

Damn, she needed another one for the siblings. She shoved her spare into Danny's hands.

" Put the mask on and head for the exit."

"But I need to find Jazz."

"I'll find her. Put the mask on and go." Steph yelled as she went further into the fog. Quickly, she sent an alert to Oracle. Signal is on patrol right now, but more bats might show up.

It was dense she could barely see in front of her. There was some noise up ahead. Someone was screaming. The yelling grew louder as she rounded the corner.

"Stop! Get away!"

It was Jazz. She was practically growling. Her fist slammed into the concrete wall, leaving a deep impact. She was clearly affected by the Fear gas. A meta affected with fear gas, not good.

"Stop! Don't hurt him. He's not a monster! He's my little brother!" Jazz had gone from fury to sadness as she practically begged for her hallucination to stop haunting her.

If it wasn’t the meta thing it was whatever she was hallucinating that caught Steph’s attention. Definitely on B's list now.

"Isn't it interesting what fear does to the mind?"

Steph saw Scarecrow emerge from the fog.

"I saw you in the psychology department. Your eyes lit up like a fire. But now they are clouded with fear."

A chill went up Steph's spine. She quickly checked her mask for leaks but didn't have any. Turning her attention back to Jazz and Scarecrow, she saw something. Green eyes shifted inside the fog. They looked like a predator hunting its prey. For a second, they look like Jason's.

From behind Scarecrow, the eyes stopped, and a figure emerged. A baseball bat slammed into Scarecrow's face, knocking him to the floor. The figure came into full view now. It was Danny his eyes were glowing green.

He knelt down to Scarecrow.

"You really don't have any brains. Do you Scarecrow? If you did, you wouldn't have hurt my sister." His voice was downright, frigid.

He turned and rushed over to Jazz who was still trying to convince her hallucinations to stop.

"Jazz, it's okay. Come on, I'm fine. It's okay." His voice was soft and gentle as he helped her up. Jazz mumbled a little as she stumbled down the hall.

Steph quickly caught up to the siblings slinging Jazz's arm over her shoulder.

"Sorry, I couldn't help earlier," Steph spoke quietly.

"It's fine. Not everybody can be a hero."

Steph wanted to laugh at the irony of that statement, but she just nodded.

"Sorry about the tour too."

"It wasn't all bad."

" Oh, the rouge attack and poisoning wasn’t bad?" Steph asked sarcastically.

" Our hometown is haunted and our community college is funded by my godfather. And he is a rich fruit loop.”

‘Ghosts?’

“You know Gotham University is funded by Wayne Enterprises right?”

“Annoying crazy fruit loop or weird himbo? Hmmm. Yeah, I’m going to have to go with the himbo on this one.”

Steph laughed at that one. Bruce is going to want to hear about this but she’ll keep him away from these siblings for a little while.

[twistedwonderlandshenanigans]

The Baby Assignment HCs

CW: Crude humour

-------------------------

The lifeskills and health professor tapped his pointer against the board.

"THAT concludes our unit on the development of children in their early years. Each species varies slightly, but each come with their unique set of challenges. You will learn that fairly quickly."

A few awkward chuckles circulated the room, but a random student at the back of the room swung his legs up on his desk, leaning back as he locked his hands behind his head, a smirk on his face.

"Whatchya implyin' there prof? It ain't like any of us are gettin' any action, at least. Not the kind that would pop out a crotch goblin." A few snickers from two other students soon died out as the rare, smug, grin grew on the profs face.

"Your lovelife and lack thereof is of nobody's interest. I was referring to your unit exam."

With a flick of his wrist, the utility closet at the side of the room opened, and out floated eerily realistic looking baby dolls, one setting in front of each student, along with a wad of tickets

The looks across his students faces only fueled his grin as he began pacing.

"You will be taking care of your baby for the span of one month. Upon powering it on, it will respond to your magical signature and resemble you in looks alone. The tickets are to be treated like thaumarks - that's all you get for the month, and you must ensure you have all the necessary supplies for your child. The ticket amounts vary according to the accommodations you may need for your doll. It cannot be turned back off unless I personally switch it off, unless you wish for the doll to begin throwing a tantrum. Your other professors already know of this assignment- the dolls are programmed to not go off while in classrooms besides this one. It is capable of everything a real child is. If it is abandoned or left crying without comfort for more than 20 minutes, it will send an alert to my phone and I will dock 5% from your mark every time it alerts, which is every five minutes. The doll also has a tamper proof magic seal- if you attempt to disable the baby, the same consequences are applied. If you return the doll with any damage, your mark will be deducted proportionately. If you have any questions - ask your parents, they've been through this already. You are encouraged to work together and be resourceful. The instructions, requirements and rubric are posted online. I'll be checking to make sure everyone's dolls are activated before they leave the room."

The home ec teacher turned his back, grinning slightly over his shoulder as the bell rang.

"Good luck."

Heartslaybul

Riddle

He's taking this assignment just as seriously as any other. After class, he beelines it to the library with his baby, planning on holding it while he creates a spreadsheet to budget his tickets accordingly for the month, but the doll starts fussing near immediately.

He's more embarrassed that he can't get it to be quiet while he's trying to work, and tries to bounce it gently like he'd seen his mother deal with fussy babies before, but to no avail. It's not until he takes off his jacket to use as a swaddle and gently bounce and burp the baby that it settles again. He decides that he'll be better off just going to Sam's and doing the math mentally than go through the embarrassment again.

Assignment Journal Entry Excerpt:

I found the most difficult part of this assignment to be the restless nights. I am a fairly light sleeper, so the issue wasn't struggling to wake up to calm the doll down; rather, the intermittent waking and rest impacted my ability to focus in class and while studying. I'm forever grateful that the programming of the doll did not interrupt lectures.

Mark Achieved: 100%

Trey

Oh lord. Can he not apply for advanced credit? He basically raised his siblings anyways. No? Okay. He takes this assignment in stride, almost a little disappointed that he won't get to try "babysitting" a beastman or fae, but at least the familiarity will make this assignment easy.

He stops by Sam's right away to pick up diapers and wipes and that's it.

He uses an old curtain to fashion a swaddle for doll and wears it as he prepares a month's worth of homemade, (tasty) baby food. He ends up finding he kind of forgets that the doll is...a doll and genuinely treats it like a child.

His grandpa had an old trick to keep kids asleep through the night, so for shits and giggles, he tries it on the doll too. To his surprise, it ends up working. All in all, the assignment is a walk in the park.

Assignment Journal Entry Excerpt

This was one of the easiest A's I've gotten in this class. If you want to make it real challenging for the next set of students, you should update the programming to respond to textures the baby doesn't like.

Mark Achieved: 100%

Cater

Uuuuuugh does he have to? At least he has a doll to dress up now, right? That part must be fun.

It's not fun.

Being the baby himself, he never realized just how difficult dressing one was. Shoes and socks will never stay on. Onesies get sucked on and wet and gross and need to be changed so often. This man has never changed a diaper, what do you mean this doll is capable of all the same things as a real child. Oh thank god, it's just the diaper with an indicator of when it WOULD be soiled.

It only takes two days before Cater is OVER it. But he really needs a decent grade in this class, so he tries to keep himself motivated, but it's hard on the fake budget he's been given.

He ends up looking up how to make baby food himself so he can give himself more spending tickets for cute, more-easy-to-change outfits.

He did, however, end up taking the doll to PMC, sat down, and passed out for the duration of the club meet. Lilia and Kalim watched the baby for him, but that ended in a ransom note from them telling Cater that if he didn't show them his latest riff he had been working on, they would not return the baby. Lilia thought it was funny. Kalim thought it was a normal part of childhood. Cater almost walked away.

Assignment Journal Entry Excerpt

If I have to redo this assignment to pass this class I think I'd rather fail.

Mark Achieved: 65%

Marks Docked:

Soiled diaper - left on for 15+ minutes x 3 = 15%

Diaper rash - untreated = 10%

Deuce

Doesn't even hesitate, he heads straight home. Like. Crowley's office to get a pass and then back to his mom. He's a little frazzled and overwhelmed, he had no idea this was what his unit exam was going to entail.

He feels substantially better after speaking to his mom, making a list of everything he needs, and a list of tips that she had to give for difficult to navigate situations with the baby - whom Deuce had already named Evangeline.

Deuce works himself into a very strict schedule with the baby, in order to make sure he'll get a mark an honours student would be proud of, and because he hates hearing the baby cry.

He has to admit, at one point when he couldn't get it to quiet down, he turned off his hearing aids (HC) just so that he could calm it without getting frustrated as quickly.

He sleeps with the baby next to him so he doesn't have to sleep with his "ears" in, and can feel when the baby is crying instead. Usually.

Assignment Journal Entry Excerpt

I tried really hard to make sure the baby was taken care of. I think the rubric should be updatd updated though. No parent ever is able to operate at 100% all the time and be a perfect parent. I'm not complaining about the assignment, but I think that maybe if we know we've done something wrong and we can explain what happened or take acountablitye accountability for our actions, maybe we should be able to get some points back or something.

Mark Achieved: 90% + 2% (bonus)

Marks Docked:

Unattended crying - 40 minutes = 10%

Bonus Marks:

Excellent suggestion, Spade. I will take your feedback into account for the future.

Ace

He wants to pawn this off SO BAD. Kids are gross. They're fine if they're not yours but by god the amount of birthday party horror stories his brother has told him as an entertainer leaves a pretty awful taste in his mouth.

If it was a real baby, he knows he could be like - the best dad there ever was to dad. He has a pretty good template in his brother, and an exact recipe of what NOT to be in his father! (HC) but like. This assignment is boring.

He has a decent grade in the class, so he's not too worried about flunking this "test", but he still kind of wants to pass still. Buuuut if word got out that he did poorly to Riddle, he may as well say goodbye to his precious free time.

He ends up falling into a pretty easy rhythm, though remembering to "buy" baby food before he's completely out is a little difficult and he ends up having to take on a few of Trey's chores so he'll show him how to just make enough to last til the end of the semester.

He doesn't sleep very well anyways, so if anything he comes off as more wired than tired by the end of the assignment. He will crash, and 17 hours of sleep later he will reach out to check on the baby and get an inexplicable wave of sadness when it's not around anymore. Maybe kids aren't as bad as he thought.

Assignment Journal Entry Excerpt

I actually found this easier than expected? Maybe I'm being a little over confident here. The learning curve is steep, but once you get the hang of it it's not...THAT bad.

Mark Achieved: 95%

Marks Docked:

Solid foods were introduced too soon = 5%

Savannaclaw

Leona

He didn't show up to class. He actually did do the assignment, last year, and got a decent mark but there was no way in hell he was going to do it again. When a classmate ended up bringing him the doll he IMMEDIATELY paid Ruggie off to do the assignment for him. When he was confronted by the teacher, he said that the tickets didn't account for childcare, like real parents have to account for when they're too busy to care for their kids. So he did what he had to do. The teacher should be thanking him for not making him reimburse him for the money spent.

Assignment Journal Entry Excerpt

Refer to last year's entry you lazy bastard.

Mark Achieved: 95%

Marks Docked:

You made your point, but name calling is juvenile even for you. = 5%

Ruggie

Bah, he takes care of rugrats all the time back home! However, he knows that his community could likely benefit from these essentially, free childcare items. Even if he can't tamper with the magic on the doll, he can sure as hell find someone who can tamper with the magic on the items from Sam's. He exchanges most of his tickets right away for food, toiletries, and one umbrella stroller. Then he offers to "babysit" for free for someone who has more magical prowess than he does that can override the magic on the items. He then takes all that shit HOME and gives it to his community, all while having his baby in a baby wrap against him. Easy A, and came with benefits.

Assignment Journal Entry Excerpt

Easier than a real kid, that's for sure! At least it wasn't teething. When beastmen cut teeth for the first time the poor kids have it rougher than their caregiver. Ain't nobody happy!

Mark Achieved: 100%

Notes:

While tampering with the magical items was not explicitly against the rules, it is advised you do not pursue that route to success again.

Jack

Oh dear lord. His real sister hates doing stuff with him because he always breaks everything, he is so scared of breaking the doll. He remembers when his siblings were little, he was scared of holding them too, because he didn't want to hurt him. On the other hand, the doll also absolutely reminds him of his siblings when they were babies, with floopy little ears and blue eyes and oh god the tiny tail? He's emotionally attached. The baby, however, is almost always a little uncomfortable, usually from being too warm because Jack keeps bundling it up to try and protect it from his own strength. But he also doesn't trust ANYBODY so he's constantly holding it, he refuses to put it down. His practices just happen to line up with Crewel's prep time, so he ends up leaving the doll in his classroom! Reason being that it won't go off if it's in the classroom, but in the chance that it did, Crewel would be able to override it.

Besides a simulated heat rash, the baby is otherwise okay, though Jack was VERY concerned for the dolls safety when he saw the rash flare up.

Assignment Journal Entry Excerpt

Most people don't have to do this alone, but I'm glad that I was able to prove to myself I could if I had to. At least, some parts of it. I'm just glad my siblings never saw me with the doll, they'd have made it their mission to do better than me, and they're not even in their double digits yet.

Mark Achieved: 80%

Marks Docked:

Heat rash - untreated, not documented in journal = 10% Crying unattended x 2 = 10%

Octavinelle

Azul

There are not many things that can come between Azul and his grades. He works very hard to maintain them. But the chubby little octopus mer staring back at him in what was essentially a fishbowl (just for transport to the dorm) destroyed any sort of direct involvement he wanted to have with it. He had, briefly, considered pawning the thing off to Jade, but he couldn't bring himself to subject the doll to that - sevens knows what experiments Jade was running on his own doll anyways.

Azul, as ashamed as he is to do so, ends up paying off Ruggie to hide the doll somewhere in Trein's classroom, where he won't find it for the duration of the month.

As good of a plan as it may have sounded, after school hours the doll was left to cry and sob, and also as a mer, dried out. However, as prepared as Azul is, he got it back two days before hand in. He thought he could convince Idia to repair it for him, but then found out that Idia refused to do the repair because of a deal he had with the health teacher.

With his grades and reputation on the line, he ends up swallowing his pride and handing in the assignment a day early, after school ends, just to avoid the judgmental looks from other classmates. He also asks for another assignment to make up for this one in advance, knowing full well he failed.

Assignment Journal Entry Excerpt

Exempt

Mark Achieved: N/A Notes: If you had spoken with me at the beginning of the month, we could have sorted this out sooner Ashengrotto. Your communication skills are not to the calibre I would have expected for a young businessman like yourself. Come see me next Tuesday at lunch.

Jade

He thinks it's funny. He has a little elver on his hands, but he knows it's not real. He holds no sentiments towards it. At first he found the assignment rather easy, but trying to work while taking care of the elver became rather. Annoying.

Needless to say, Jade lasted about 3 days. After it was deactivated, he let his curiousity get the better of him. Even though the head of the doll and voicebox of the doll were completely obliterated, he took pride in his near surgical precision when it came to dismantling the rest of the doll, sorting each part by size, colour and perceived importance.

He was rather proud to deliver his assortment of pieces and the "skin" that covered the entire thing in such an organized manner at the end of the assignment.

Assignment Journal Entry Excerpt

I wish the interior of the doll was more anatomically correct.

Mark Achieved: 25% Notes: You only achieved 25% to account for the consideration you took after breaking the doll. It was a rather unique approach to avoid complete and utter failure of the assignment.

Floyd (THIS IS A LITTLE ANGSTY IM SORRY IM SORRY)

AT FIRST it sounded great. He had a little elver to take swimming with him. It was a great excuse to get out of work, and if the thing got "hungry", he could just ask the kitchen for shrimp and he could grind it into paste for the little guy. Also, if he was always in the water, it meant NO diaper changes (sorry) but its true! He had it easy!

Wait no what do you mean he can't bring a glass bowl with a baby to it to the basketball court Jamil what's the worst thing that could happen.

Obviously, the bowl ends up getting hit and shattering. Floyd's eyes glaze over a bit as the kid starts crying for the first time and "gasping" for air. He has to remind himself it's just a doll, Jamil's reprimands going over his head. He picks the little thing up, holding it just tight enough it can't squirm out of his hands, debating whether it's worth the trouble to get it back into water, or just to fail the assignment. He figures it's a pretty big screw up, and his grade is already good in that class.

There's a loud pop and crack as Floyd decapitates the doll, shrugging slightly as he tosses both pieces onto the ground, tiny shards of hardware scattering among the broken glass and water.

"There, it ain't cryin'. You guys can handle the clean up."

Jamil ends up finding him crying in the locker room, but prevents anyone else from going in, not wanting to get involved. A few days later, Floyd gets the doll back, swaddled in a wet cloth and fully functional outside of his door. He will NEVER admit how much that impacted him.

Assignment Journal Entry Excerpt

I know you don't read this stuff, so the first and last paragraphs are coherent and the rest I'm bullshittin' to take up space. Im gonna get a hundred on the written portion I just know it.

Mark Achieved: 90%

Marks Docked: Significant Damage Detected - 10%

Notes: I only docked 10% instead of 20% as the doll returned in perfect working condition. Your conclusion was very well written, earning you a few bonus marks.

(Floyd breaks the fourth wall and looks knowingly at you with a smug ass grin /jjjjj)

Scarabia

Kalim

"Oh it's like taking care of my little siblings!" Yes well most of his little siblings can walk, all of them have moms to dote on them and servants to watch over them when he can't.

Kalim, however, is insistent on trying to do it on his own. Kind of.

He has his carpet follow him around everywhere, just because he knows he forgets a lot of things. But if he has ONE place to ALWAYS put the baby down and that ONE place can FOLLOW him how in the world can he forget anything! It's a win-win situation.

He's never changed a diaper before, and he's still not good at it, but he's got the right idea!

And he knows all the best foods to feed it, very familiar with the multiple milestones a kid should be at, but he got a little too excited to introduce it to ALL the types of food he could offer it (via Jamil).

Also, lets be real, a baby would love all the colours that Scarabia has to offer, so even just setting the doll down on the carpet helps calm it down sometimes!

It's not until the end of the month, when Kalim brings the doll to P.E and does a flip on the carpet with the baby on it that he realizes his mistake. Jamil spares him the visual of the doll shattering, saving it right before it hits the ground. Kalim spends the rest of the day being extra careful with the doll, and even going to "the doll doctor" (Idia) in tears, asking him to check and make sure nothing is damaged.

Assignment Journal Entry Excerpt

It was really hard to take care of a kid alllll the time! But I had fun doing it. I'm going to make sure I thank my mom a lot when I go home again though.

Mark Achieved: 85%

Marks Docked:

Solid Food Introduced Too Soon - x 3 = 10%

Jamil

AW HELL NAH

His competitive spirit eats at him a bit, but he decides to be petty resourceful instead. For two days he takes care of the doll impeccably, before returning to the prof and being very blunt and honest about the skills he has and how he came to develop them.

He had to take care of his little sister, and now he has to take care of Kalim, and Kalim's doll, (despite Kalim's best efforts).

He ends up negotiating to write an essay instead that he can submit online regarding how he believes parenting has evolved over the years, and what methods he has found effective in his pseudo-guardian role. He ends up getting full marks, as it was technically not an assignment he had to compete against Kalim for.

Pomefiore

Vil

He wants to say he doesn't have time for this. To make up some excuse about his beauty sleep. But there's a small part of Vil that softens immediately when he sees the doll; a part of him that imagines that doll aging into a toddler and being thrown to the wolves of the filming industry like he was. Though he knows it's little more than delusion, his thoughts still worm their way into how he treats the doll.

He puts in the research to give the doll the best food he can, but also makes an effort to feed it "desserts" (usually mashed strawberries but yknow for a baby that's a big deal!)

He struggles to cope most with waking up often and the MESS a baby makes simply by existing. He hides it well enough, though his hair care regiment starts to slip a bit over the course of the month, a detail that does not go unnoticed by many students. Vil also indulges in coffee a little more often than he should, though nobody dares to point either change out out of fear. He also tends to opt for a more toned down make up look. But you will never catch the queen looking as tired as they feel.

The other difficult part was managing the sheer amount of people who wanted photos of the doll. Vil made a strict no photos policy to the point he put a curse on the doll so that if anyone took a photo of it, the SD card/gallery would be wiped on the device they used. Real or not, Vil does not want any photos of the child online.

Assignment Journal Entry Excerpt

Seeing as our doll counterparts resemble us in appearance, it would have been nice if the same photo policy that was applied to us at the beginning of the year was applied to the dolls as well.

Mark Achieved: 95%

Marks Docked:

Minor Skin Irritation - 5%

Rook

:) If you know the way I HC'd his upbringing, you know that he won't know SHIT about babies.

Honestly having the little guy around is...it hurts a little. He has no idea how to handle kids, at least not ones this small. He ends up paying Ruggie off to take care of it and takes GREAT care to hide it from Vil and his other classmates.

Assignment Journal Entry Excerpt

I can only hope that one day, I will be a better father to a child than I was to this doll.

Mark Achieved: 100%

Epel

Oh god oh shit oh fuck oh lord godfuckingdamnit he is NOT READY. He is looking at his pseudo-flesh potato in disgust. It immediately bursts into tears.

He tries everything he can to make it stop crying, but it's not until he has to run to the washroom while he's at spelldrive that he finally catches a break, thanks to Leona. The doll ends up going into a sleep cycle as soon as Leona holds it and hums a bit, but he denies doing it (everyone saw him do it).

Epel gets the info from Ruggie and tries to do it himself later, but it doesn't work. Cue a VERY sleep deprived Epel with a VERY grumpy baby showing up at an EQUALLY grumpy lion's bedroom at 4 in the morning. Epel has a bluetooth speaker and death metal booted up if Leona doesn't take the doll for a couple hours, (thanks to Heartshackle and Jack's recounting of what happened in chapter 3), so Leona just takes the damn thing and Epel passes out in the beanbag chair in Leona's room.

Leona ends up teasing Epel because the reason it didn't work was because his voice wasn't low enough to make the baby sleepy OTL Epel gave him a look so dirty he may as well have been a warthog in a mudbath.

Assignment Journal Entry Excerpt (hes just kidding guys)

If my kid is this fussy, it's gonna be the reason I start drinking the other kind of cider.

Mark Achieved: 70% 85%

Marks Docked:

Unattended Crying x 6 = 30%

Notes:

After having your doll reviewed, there was an error in the coding, thus the restoration of 15%. If you would like to further negotiate your mark, please come speak with me.

(SKIPPING IGNIHYDE FOR NOW IT'LL MAKE SENSE AT THE END DON'T KILL ME PLEASE /lh)

Diasomnia

Malleus

He held it for two seconds, then it sneezed fire in his face. Lilia is SO damn giddy. Welcome to hell parenthood Malleus, it's going to get bitey.

He actually has it easier than Lilia did, getting a non-royal fae baby means no dragonet, just a very fussy little dude. Malleus finds it rather entertaining, and a little unnerving at how far technomancy has come to develop such complex machines.

Despite it's realistic appearance, Malleus finds himself neglecting it often, simply because he cannot listen for its heartbeat or breathing like he does with his loved ones to make sure they're near. His time blindness also makes him susceptible to putting the doll down and leaving for far longer than he should.

Lilia ends up taking on the brunt of the assignment, purely for nostalgia's sake. Sebek would have taken on the responsibility, but his own inexperience hindered him.

Assignment Journal Entry Excerpt

I found the project rather unnerving. It was capable of nearly everything a living being was capable of, yet possessed no heart nor soul to speak of, unlike the younger Shroud brother. I look forward to the day I can more truly experience rearing a child of my own.

Mark Achieved: 55%

Marks Docked:

Unattended crying x 4 = 20%

Delayed Feeding by 15+ minutes x 2 = 20 %

Minor abrasion = 5%

Notes: Just because a child or assignment isn't how you expect it to be, doesn't mean you get to shirk responsibility, Draconia.

Lilia

He finds this situation hilarious AND the perfect opportunity to tease Silver. Caring for the doll is easy - it's nothing like real kids in his opinion. But whenever he cradles it, he can't help but think of Silver and the way he used to fit between his palm and the crook of his elbow.

It only takes a little bit of trial and error to figure out what his doll likes, and he knows allllll the warning signs for when it's about to cry or fall asleep or anything else.

Assignment Journal Entry Excerpt

Doing this for a third time around was much easier than the first two times!

Mark Achieved: 100%

Silver

Narcolepsy is a beast for Silver to try and tame, and he's still training it! Adding on the responsibility of taking care of a child is daunting, especially since he knows even his own father can't wake him up.

However, Silver very quickly comes to learn he will wake up when someone sounds like they're in distress. It's not fun to wake up that way, and there's still about 1 in every 4 attacks that he can't wake up from, but he's somewhat conscious enough to know the kid is in trouble. He ends up dealing with chronic fatigue, as his body just is NOT used to the stress response that's induced from hearing the baby cry.

Silver also found out the hard way his baby was allergic to hay when he went to Equestrian Club. Riddle ends up feeling bad for his classmate, volunteering to look after the doll for a few hours in exchange for two of Trein's lectures, which Silver has permission to record. (Riddle didn't feel his notes were up to par). His reasoning being that balance is important! Even if Riddle is still learning that himself, he understands that Silver should have time to enjoy his extracirriculars just as much as anyone else. It's a small load to bear for someone he can recognize a strong work ethic and morals in.

Assignment Journal Entry Excerpt

I like to welcome challenges and face them head on, however I did not expect the magic on the doll to be able to simulate an immune system.

Mark Achieved: 75%

Unattended Crying x 5 = 25%

Sebek

This guy doesn't know how to hold a baby, and once he does, he's terrified of hurting it, even though its not real. He also becomes hypervigilant, taking into account every safety risk and trying to prevent it, at least until the kid bites HIM.

He then realizes in horror just how little he actually washes his hands and whatnot, and that this tiny being is ingesting every germ its mouth lands on, which, it aims its mouth indiscriminately at every person, place or thing.

Sebek ends up doing a DEEEEEEP clean of the entire dorm, all while trying to keep baby safe from the dust and whatnot while he cleans.

The dorm has never looked better, but Sebek definitely has. He is exhausted and dirty constantly, and due to his inability to prioritize certain tasks, the baby would sometimes be left in a soiled diaper longer than it was meant to.

Assignment Journal Entry Excerpt

I never realized how much dust cobwebs collect until I saw the top of Diasomnia's chandeliers.

Mark Achieved: 70%

Soiled diaper - 15 minutes + x 4 = 20% Unattended crying x 1 = 5% Minor Damage x 1 = 5%

----------------------------------

"Hello Professor." Idia spoke softly so as to announce his arrival, Ortho in tow, who waved animatedly at the instructor.

The Prof looked up from his marking, offering the Shroud brothers a small smile and waving them in as he got up from his desk.

"It's good to see you. Did you bring the wagon?"

Idia gave the prof a toothy grin as Ortho transformed, his torso region folding out so as to provide cargo room.

"Don't need some dingy wagon anymore. Ortho and I have been optimizing his hardware the whole month in prep for this lmao."

While his back was turned to them, the professor rolled his eyes, flinging the closet open. On the floor were about two boxes of various parts and pieces of dolls, the rest of the in tact ones placed neatly on the shelves above. He moved out of the way so as to allow Idia and Ortho to load up.

"I'm glad you've dedicated some time to preparing for transport. As you know, once you and any other Ignihyde students who opted out of this project have rebuilt, recalibrated and recorded any and all changes made to each doll, you can drop them off here again to be assessed."

Idia began filling the cavity Ortho had , removing some of the parts to compress the boxes better. The things technomancy was capable of was incredible, as every piece managed to fit into the robot's torso.

"Yeah, yeah. I've already updated the SOPs to streamline the whole process, so I should be able to get these back to you in like, three days? We'll say four cuz there are a few newbs joining in. I'd rather take the time to look over their work than get called during some other class to fix a stupid mistake I could have caught earlier on."

Idia shrugged a bit as Ortho closed up, before sparring the instructor a glance, making a conscious effort to look him in the eyes.

"....thank you, by the way. For the mods to the assignment. I really appreciate that you took my request seriously and actually y'know....followed through."

Idia fidgeted with the long sleeves of his sweater a bit before he finally broke eye contact.

The professor let out a small trill of self satisfaction. "Of course, Shroud. I'm glad you felt comfortable enough to reach out and ask for accommodations."

He made his way back to his desk as the boys went to the door.

"Have a good night."

------------------------------------------------

Bro this took so long and its lowkey ASS anyways

Here's an image of the prof, at least how he is in my head, he's based on a Great Horned Owl and this is a poorly edited picrew I did

ANYWAYS tag list:

@distant-velleity @lumdays @elenauaurs @nemisisnemi @theleechyskrunkly @starry-night-rose @my-cursed-brain @fluffle-writes

[snake-spire]

So I’m not sure if I should talk about this or if it’s even worth mentioning but, there’s a post trying to villainize Harlan for posting about the US election and “promoting” Malevolent, if anyone has seen the twitter post and those in the Invictus discord would know. And is actively trying to make him out as ableist and racist, and I am absolutely floored by this response and how people aren’t really thinking about it deeper than that. I am censoring the person’s username because I don’t want them to be attacked. Just block them and move on if you end up finding the post.

First of all, Harlan lives in Canada, and I ask, why can’t he say anything to give his audience, who’s primarily queer and American, hope to push on? He uses his podcast as an example to make his point clearer. Because people can relate to it.

It’s insensitive to think that the United States live in this bubble that other people living in different countries can’t care about what’s going on, especially when Canada’s borders are now closed. And the fascist President is actively trying to make it the 51th state for god knows why. (This tumblr post was made at least two days ago)

I’ll come back to twitter because there is actually something about promoting Malevolent that can be seen as pushy (and I do think it was) but it really comes back to bite the op if you aren’t actively paying attention and can’t be bothered to look at the person’s account.

But there are three very heavy claims that this tweet makes that without thinking, are very damning. So let’s dissect that.

1. No one cares that most women characters are dead. And if they do, they really shouldn’t. Harlan is the sole creator of the show. He is the sole actor. Because he wants to. That’s his decision to not bring on other voice actors. Would it be nice? Yeah, absolutely. But I don’t care in the sense that I’m neutral about it. Who’s alive and who’s dead shouldn’t matter. And again, this idea that the women who have died had no impact on the story is diminishing their value as women. They didn’t die for the male lead (most of them anyway). They (especially in season one) were actively doing something and they are quite literally, the only reason the story is happening in universe. So yeah, if you want to be as shallow as possible, there are many dead women in the show. Congrats.

2. What ableist undertones? No really I would like to know. Is it because you think they’re ableist? There are 0 examples in the post to back this up. Are you claiming that the entire show’s undertones are ableist? I am working with absolutely nothing here. If you’re trying to make a “call-out” post or want people like me on your side, give me something. So yeah, I’m tossing that away because op never cares in the first place.

3. Now this is the second most damming thing in the post. Because it’s a somewhat serious allegation to frame Harlan as being racist. But that’s easy to refute: it’s in the name of Shub-Niggurath. And it’s barely in season 1.

Now I’m going to state an obvious fact: H.P. Lovecraft was racist. And there are far worst examples in his work with creatures just straight up named racial slurs and many of his works contain those on the basis. And it’s bad that he wrote that.

I want to make it clear that I am white, I’m not a person of color. And the op isn’t black either after I checked their page. So neither of us can fully comment on the “time period racial slurs” in Malevolent in full. But my college roommate who is black can. And they said it was absolutely ridiculous because there are no slurs being used as it’s a part of the name. and as that roommate pointed out to me, I guess we have to go after Arnold Schwarzenegger because of his last name.

And besides, if you’re going to get on Harlan for saying the name, what about every other piece of Lovecraftian media that included Shub? Because unlike Malevolent where she’s a small drop in the overall story, she’s actually integral to those pieces of media (ie: Sucker for Love 2)

Now remember how the racism accusation was the second most damming thing about the post?

Yeah I think the Nazi claim is there too.

And when someone asked in the reply for proof, the answer boiled down to, look it up. Because again, op couldn’t have been bothered to provide evidence or examples. Is that person still in there? How long ago was this? Does Harlan share those same views now? Does said Nazi still have those views?

I’m not implying that this did or didn’t happen. I don’t know because there is nothing to implicate anything. I shouldn’t have to do the work op couldn’t do themselves.

Now to circle back to the initial Twitter screenshot and something that Harlan can be viewed as being pushy about, I unfortunately couldn’t get a screenshot of the screenshot (again I blocked said person and I do not and will never get twitter) but I do know that when WolfytheWitch had started their listen of Malevolent and got to episode 20, they made a tweet about it and Harlan @ ed them. He had mentioned how fans and Cain needed a distraction in trying times.

Do I find that pushy? Yeah. But again, I don’t really care. Because this show means a lot to people. And they know that if they need to shut the world out for a moment, it’s just a click away.

But what really irks me were the tags about Cain in OP’s reblog of the post where this section is. And it really goes to show that the op has no clue what they were talking about and couldn’t be bothered to provide examples and evidence.

Cain is from the Philippines. They do not live in America. And it’s in their bio everywhere. They don’t hide it. This isn’t a “oh I didn’t know.” It’s an “I couldn’t have been bothered to check.”

I don’t like the idea of call out posts. Hell, I don’t even like that I have to make this post in the first place but it doesn’t sit right with me because I want people to think critically when there is no evidence besides opinions. And the claim that he didn’t ban a nazi which again, I don’t know if that’s true or not because op should have at least provided evidence when throwing out a claim like that.

And I will iterate again, please if you end up finding the post or someone reblogged it, do not harass the op or the person that reblogged it. Because that’s gross and disgusting and you have no place here.

Now I’ve said my piece about a post I probably should have ignored. But I didn’t. Because it was eating me up all day today.

Stay safe y’all

-Snake-Spire

[zaine-m]

first responders arcane AU.

they get a call about a man about to jump off a bridge.

The paramedics arrived first Viktor immediately gets on the ledge with him and tries to talk to him about his mental state. Jayce is shitting his pants with fear, what if Viktor falls, what if this guy pushes Viktor off. The rest of the first responders don't know what to do and are just preparing possible rescue if he jumps but he gets mad when anyone else tries to come close.

After a bit of talking the man still decides he wants to die and Viktor offers his hand saying "you wouldn't want to die alone, would you?". Jayce is running in circles trying to find something to do to stop this.

The man looks at Viktor and asks "why would you do that?", "nobody should be forced to go through these troubles alone". He finally turns around and begins to climb back onto the bridge.

Jayce runs to Viktor full sprint and lifts him over the railing, "oh my god, never do that again. There are procedures. You could have died", "eh, this method has never failed me before" "...what do you mean before?"

Jayce finds Viktor later that night smoking, "you shouldn't be doing that, you know with your lungs and all"

"eh cancer would take at least 5 years to develop then another year for it to kill me and by that time... I'd already be gone"

Jayce pauses and looks deep into Viktor's eyes, staring off into the night.

Viktor continues "I... yeah... don't tell Heimderdinger. He only let me take this job because I told him my health was improving"

"god, I'm so sorry. I had no idea"

Viktor puts out the cigarette on the pavement "no point ruining your lungs too... I wasn't worried today because I knew it didn't matter. I die on some bridge or I die in a hospital, either way i died without making any impact on this world, nothing for people to remember me by"

"Viktor, what you do every day matters. All those people will remember you"

"I spend half of my time assessing colds and checking in on old people"

"And the other half you spend being there for people on their worst days. They might not remember your name but they'll remember seeing your face and knowing that someone was fighting for them to live. And I'll... I'll make sure your name is remembered" Jayce places a hand on Viktor's cheek, "I'll never forget your name Viktor"

"Thank you, Jayce" Viktor closes his eyes softly as he sees Jayce begin to lean into his face. The kiss they share is soft and gentle in a way that makes Viktor forget the dread of his diagnosis and want to stay in that moment forever

[r0entgen]

"Why won't Venezuelans just address the blockade?"

If you're wondering why, read below.

Let me start by saying that I wrote this after I finished work, with less than three hours of sleep and a single meal in my body, so if you find any grammar mistakes, my apologies.

This is the comment that kickstarted this post. I believe I've mentioned this before, but when you're living in a country that weaponizes propaganda and hijacks every single media outlet, you have to master the fine arts of fact checking and cross-referencing. Which is exactly what we're going to do right now, addressing the claim that 40,000 Venezuelans have been killed by the US sanctions, and why We Won't Engage with You In This Particular Argument.

*Note: click the underlined text for links and sources.

In the paper Economic Sanctions as Collective Punishment: The Case of Venezuela by Mark Weisbrot and Jeffrey Sachs (who will be referred to as WS in this post), WS mention that between the years of 2017-2019, the economic sanctions caused a 31% increase in the general mortality rate in Venezuela, a number that they calculate may be of about 40,000 deaths. While they cite ENCOVI and a UN report from 2019 as the sources of this statistic, they clarify the following in the footnotes:

The ENCOVI 2018 survey has not been made public, the mortality statistic cited here is from the UN Report (2019).

As of this date, WS has not made public the data source for this estimate, and the UN report used as a source (Venezuela: Overview of Priority Humanitarian Needs, March 2019) is not publicly available.

So let's take a look at some sources that ARE publicly available.

The World Bank Group World Development Indicators registers at least a 30% increase in the infant mortality rate in Venezuela from the dates of 2013 to 2016. Similar numbers are reported in this paper, seeing a 40% increase in the infant mortality rate in Venezuela between the dates on 2008-2016. Here's an excerpt from the paper Impact of the 2017 Sanctions on Venezuela:

While different than other overall mortality rates, increases in infant mortality rates are generally interpretable as a preventable consequence of inadequate pre- and post-natal care for otherwise healthy but vulnerable infants. Thus, infant mortality is often recognized as a good proxy measure of the quality on overall public health provision.

What this tells us is that THERE HAS BEEN an increase in general mortality rate - one that started long before the 2017 sanctions.

However, this doesn't mean that in the periods of 2017-2019 there wasn't a high death toll. Let's look at another publicly available source.

The National Hospital Survey (2019) found that between November 2018 and February 2019, 1557 people died owing to the lack of supplies in hospitals [...]. 40 patients died as a result of the power outages in March 2019.

We see the first mention of a number in the 2019 Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Something interesting this report mentions is that 40 deaths were caused by the blackout in March 2019. A blackout that lasted 7 days and affected our 23 states.

The energy crisis which caused this nationwide blackout started in 2010. The Wikipedia article is a good summary, if a bit simple, of the events that led to and took place during and after the energy crisis (which affects us Venezuelans living in the country to this day)

Back to the UN Report. Something else this report indicates is the following:

In 2018, the Government registered 5,287 such killings, while the non-governmental organization Observatorio Venezolano de la Violencia reported at least 7,523 killings under this category. Between 1 January and 19 May 2019, the Government reported 1,569 killings for resistance to authority. The Observatorio Venezolano de la Violencia reported at least 2,124 such killings between January and May 2019. Information analysed by OHCHR suggests many of these killings may constitute extrajudicial executions.

[...] Six young men executed by the Special Action Forces (SEBIN) in reprisal for their role in anti-government protests in 2019.

This means that between the dates of 2018-2019, there have been approximately 9,647 deaths in the context of security operations - which includes Venezuelans that took part of the protests in 2019. Very similar to what we have been reporting since after the elections in July 28.

2017 to 2019 was one of the most difficult periods in Venezuelan history, marked by the sanctions imposed by Trump which affected oil export, access to diesel, and food and medicine imports. Some people argue that the economic recession in Venezuela was caused by the sanctions - failing to notice the negative trends in the years prior to these.

Bahar, Bustos, Morales and Santos (who will be referred to as BBMS in this post) conclude in their paper, Impact of the 2017 Sanctions on Venezuela, that while the sanctions had a negative effect in the oil production, "it is quite impossible to attribute the fall [...] to one single event (i.e., the sanctions), when many other confounding events were happening at the same time."

Oil production: Oil prices dropped during 2015, and oil production decreased as a result of lack of maintenance and investment.

Energy crisis: By 2009, when the energy crisis was first declared, the electrical grid had already been suffering from the lack of maintenance and investment since 1998. The Chávez administration distributed million dollar contracts [...] that enriched high officials of his government and the works were never built. [1] [2] [3]

Economic decline and hyper-inflation: Actions taken by the Chávez administration such as expropriation and price control, as well as the PDVSA purge in 2002 led the country to depend almost entirely on its already declining oil industry, causing shortages and price rises in common goods, food, medical supplies and so on. By 2015, 60% of the Venezuelan population was living in poverty. [1] [2] [3] [4]

From only these three points, we can establish a negative trend starting way before the first US Sanctions. Thus, we can conclude that by the time the devastating 2017-2019 sanctions took place, Venezuela was already deep in a state of generalized crisis.

WS conclude in their paper:

[...] One of the most important impacts of the sanctions is to lock Venezuela into a downward economic spiral. [...] An economic recovery could have already begun in the absence of economic sanctions.

While Bahar, Bustos, Morales and Santos declare:

[...] Our analysis finds insufficient evidence to conclude that they [sanctions] were responsible for the worsening of the socio-economic crisis. [...] The weight of evidence seems to indicate that, rather than being a result of US-imposed sanctions, much of the suffering and devastation in Venezuela has been, in line with most accounts, inflicted by those in power.

In conclusion - both papers seem to agree that the crisis in Venezuela started before 2017, but where WS claim that it worsened due to US sanctions, BBMS place a higher blame on the deterioration caused by the Venezuelan government.

Now, you may keep whichever analysis you prefer, but one thing we know for sure: the 40,000 Venezuelans that WS claimed died due to the sanctions cannot be found in any public report, while the death toll of protests and extrajudicial killings has been extensively reported.

Why is this relevant?

Contrary to what some people on this site would say, Venezuelans generally agree on the negative impacts of US-imposed sanctions (note: this poll accounts only for Venezuelans in Florida, as polls aren't often published inside Venezuela). However, the general consensus is that US-sanctions only added up to a crisis that had been building up since Chávez rose to power, and rather than the cause, it was yet another symptom.

Yes, the US is the Big Bad, but placing the blame solely on the sanctions only takes the responsibility away from the government and diverts the attention from the poor governance, rampaging corruption, violent repression and denialism that we've grown used to in the last 25 years.

So if you ask "why don't you address the blockade?", my response is: why don't you address the 9,647 extrajudicial killings, the 40 deaths caused by the energy crisis, the energy crisis itself, the economic decline, the lack of maintenance in the infrastructure, the violent repression, the forceful abductions and the censoring?

What we want you to understand is that when you center the US as the cause of the crisis, you are actively participating in our state-funded propaganda and knowingly turning a blind eye on the suffering of all Venezuelans. You are no better than imperialists - you ARE participating in imperialism.

Remember:

Last, but not least - be careful with your sources. This Venezuelanalysis article was written by Andreína Chávez, former editor-in-chief of TeleSUR, a government-funded news channel known for spreading Maduro propaganda. One of their most recent claims: dead Venezuelans are shown as having voted in the ballots shown in resultadosconvenezuela.com. Needless to say, this is false. This news portal is what some people would call, BIASED.

For more information, please read the amazing analysis written by @systhemes HERE.

A more direct response by @achillesmonochrome HERE.

For other sources, check HERE.

*Fellow Venezuelans, feel free to include anything I might have missed.

[commandershepardvasfuckit]

Kingsguard part 4

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

M!troll x f!reader

2.3k words

You knew Ba’tual rarely slept with someone more than once, you weren’t quite sure exactly what to make of him letting you know he was expecting more.

(Oral: male receiving, size difference)

————

The sounds of movement woke you and you opened your eyes to see sunlight streaming through the windows and Ba’tual getting dressed.

“Good, you’re up. I though I was going to have to wake you” he commented, only barely looking over.

You sat up, your head spinning a little. Not the worse hangover you had ever had, but you certainly were not feeling so great.

Looking around you saw your clothes folded and sitting on the table along with the borrowed jewelry neatly placed beside them, so at least getting dressed and leaving would be easy.

Well, mostly easy. You struggled to figure out how exactly Bira had tied the shirt around you yesterday and you resigned to wrapping it any way you could just to keep it up. Hopefully you would not see anyone on your way back to the inn where you were staying.

As you went to leave Ba’tual stopped you for a moment and placed his hand under your chin to tilt your head up and make you look at him. He glided his thumb along your bottom lip before pressing the tip of it into your mouth, “I have things to do today, but I’m not done with you yet.”

He pressed his finger in a little farther and forced you to swirl your tongue around it “But you know where to find me.”

As you went to leave he gave you such a saccharine smile. He was still insufferable, but you supposed you did not have to like him to be able to have a little fun.

Tracing the roads back to the hold as a best you could, you kept an eye out for anyone who might recognize you, disheveled hair and last night’s clothes on incorrectly was not a good look on anyone. There were not many humans in the city so you drew at least some attention anywhere you went, but at least so far you did not know anyone you walked past.

You wanted to take a wide berth around the hold, figuring that was where you were most likely to bump into familiar faces. Besides the road you usually took to get back to the inn, you realized you actually did not know any other way back. Going through the main square was your only option for now.

Cautiously you looked out from the side street you were on to check who was there. It was still fairly early in the morning and almost no one was out yet, which was quite a relief. You moved quickly across, hoping your little hustle was not drawing too much attention and you made it just over half way across before you heard a familiar voice.

“Looks like someone had a good night” Bira teased.

You could have died of embarrassment right there.

“I’m just glad to see you didn’t spend all night writing notes” she laughed.

“Yeah” you laughed back awkwardly.

“So, anyone I would know?”

“I don’t think so” you lied.

She gave you a little shrug and a smile, “Well, hope you had some fun.”

As you turned you saw something that made your heart sink: Ba’tual walking towards the two of you. Quickly you started to walk off, hoping to not be too suspicious but you heard him call out to you.

“Hey, you left this at my place” he called out much too loudly for your liking and holding up a bracelet.

You looked back and forth between him and Bira and tried to brace for impact. You were one hundred percent certain that you had put on everything that was laid out by your clothes, you had no idea how you missed something.

“Him?” Bira practically spat at you, “You have a whole city to pick from and you picked him? That’s who you went home with?”

“Good morning to you too, Bira” he smiled, clearly enjoying the scene he was currently causing while he went to hand you the bracelet.

“I could have set you up with so many better choices!” Bira hissed at you as she snatched the bracelet from Ba’tual.

“She can��t help that she has good taste” he smirked.

“A whole city. A whole city! And you choose the guy who’s been pestering you nonstop?”

You did not know how to explain it, nor did you think Bira would actually care, but Ba’tual could actually be quite charming when he wanted to be. And besides, you had fun with him. It was not like you were looking for a relationship.

“Just because you don’t like me doesn’t mean that other people can’t like me” Ba’tual teased Bira.

“Fine, fine, make whatever poor decisions you want” she threw her hands up in defeat and sighed, “Just be careful, ok?”

“It’s fine, Bira. I’m an adult, I know what I’m doing” you assured her.

“And you” Bira snapped at Ba’tual, “don’t be such an asshole.”

“Oh but I think she likes it, she certainly seemed to like being pushed around last night” he smiled.

“Not another word” Bira warned him.

He smirked, “That’s fine, I have places to be anyways, but I’ll be seeing you later.”

“Really?” Bira asked you as Ba’tual walked off.

“I mean, it was really good” you shrugged.

Bira looked like she wanted to retch.

After getting back to the inn to wash up and change, the rest of the day went pretty smoothly at least. You headed back to the hold as you were supposed to meet with several of the huntsmasters from the minotaur clans that lived in the plains outside the city.

As you approached the hold you spotted Ba’tual in his typical spot outside, watching over two newer recruits as they sparred. He looked up as you passed and beckoned you over.

“Find me when you leave, I’ll be here all day” he told you.

You just nodded, fairly excited for whatever awaited later.

The day dragged on much longer than it should of. You found yourself struggling to write down everything the huntsmasters where telling you: important information about traveling routes for trading or following migrating animals, mostly just going in one ear and out the other. At the end of the day you smiled and nodded politely as you bid them farewell, kicking yourself for being distracted at such a vital time.

You quickly scanned the area outside the hold, the excitement building as you spotted Ba’tual sitting and leaning against one of the posts that lined the sparring area.

“Found you” you playfully called to get his attention.

“Great job” he snorted.

“Soooo” you began, “What’s the plan?”

“I’m starving, and could use a drink. Dealing with new recruits is draining.”

“Not a fan of being a teacher?”

“No. They all think they know better and then whine about unfair fights when sparring” he stood up and once more placed his hand under you chin to make you look up at him, “So I could could use a drink and some stress relief.”

You tailed behind him, somewhat struggling to keep up with his long strides as you made your way across town. The tavern he brought you to was one that you had never been to and you were the only human there. Ba’tual sat at the bar and and immediately started chatting in troll to the bartender. He smirked and nodded his head towards you and the bartender gave a laugh.

“What was that about?” you asked.

“Nothing, just ordering for us” he shrugged.

You were certain there was more to it, but it was not like you knew what he had said to prove anything so you dropped it.

The two of you made your way back to his place, a pleasant buzz in your head from the alcohol but less tipsy that then previous night at least. It was a short walk at least.

Ba’tual wasted no time once inside, immediately beginning to unlace his pants. “On your knees” he directed you, only barely glancing your way as he folded his pants and sat them aside.

You raised an eyebrow at him and remained standing.

“Please” he added with a clearly faked smile as he saw your facial expression, “And come over here.”

You knelt down between his legs next to where he sat on the bed and immediately he grabbed your hair and pulled your face right up against his cock. He was looking down at you expectantly, but did not say a word. You ran your tongue across his tip, lapping up the pre cum that had formed already. He groaned and tightened his grip on your hair, somewhat forcing his way into your mouth in his impatience.

Swirling your tongue around him got quite a response. He caught you off guard and bucked into your mouth, making you gag a bit and pull back. You looked up and shot him a dirty look, but he did not seem to care.

“Careful” you hissed at him.

“You can handle it” he shrugged.

“If you want me to blow you then don’t do that again.”

Cautiously you resumed, this time wrapping a hand around his base to hopefully keep him from shoving his cock down your throat. You started a steady rhythm of stroking him while you sucked on his tip and you felt his grip on your hair loosen as he relaxed.

Looking up at him, he really was quite a sight. When he was not being a pain the ass and kept his mouth shut he really was rather handsome.

You ran your free hand up his thigh and felt the taut muscle right under the skin, you had seen him sparring several times and knew he could absolutely manhandle you if he wanted. Slowly you moved your hand farther up his thigh until you were able to cup his balls, they hung heavy in your palm and you smile as you heard him moaning while you played with them.

He was leaning back on his elbow, eyes closed and taking deep breaths through parted lips.

“Fuck” he moaned, “That’s why he didn’t shut up about it.”

You snorted, you did not know what he was going on about, but it was almost charming in a way.

Slowly you took more of him into your mouth, enjoying how he tasted and smelled. He had been outside training recruits and sparring most of the day, giving him a strong, musky smell especially with your face between his legs and tasted of salt from the traces of sweat on his skin.

“Look at me” he directed you, though the commanding tone had all but dropped from his voice. Now it was almost a plea.

You looked up at him, though leaning back a bit he was watching you closely now, breathing heavily through parted lips.

“Spirits” he sighed, “You looked good with your lips around my cock.”

You held his eye contact and took more of him. At this point you were just at the edge of gagging if you went any farther and still it was only about half his length. You kept your tongue against the underside of his shaft, teasing him a bit as you slowly pulled back to see how he would react.

Quickly you felt his grip on your hair tighten again as he yanked you back towards him, though this time with your hand around him he did get deep enough to make you gag.

“Don’t” you warned him as you all but removed him from your mouth.

He gave you an almost pathetic whine, but released his grip on your hair entirely.

With your newfound freedom of movement you wrapped your other hand around him, working your mouth and hands in sync. He was nearly whimpering as you continued and you could hear soft words in troll falling from his lips.

As your pace increased so did his panting and ragged breathing to the point where he was nearly gasping as he finished. Spurts of thick, warm cum filled your mouth and quickly got to the point to overflowing and dribbling down your chin.

He reached down and wiped the cum off your chin with his finger before holding it to your lips.

You humored him, not only licking it off playfully sucking on his finger for a moment.

He let out a deep breath through his mouth before speaking, “Fuck” he sighed. “Really does live up to the hype.”

“Wait, have you never been blown before?” you asked in bewilderment.

“No? Have you seen troll tusks?”

“What about orcs or minotaur?”

“Look, we share a city and all get along, but not like that.”

“Then how’d you even know what it was?”

“My best friend is married to a human, you think he doesn’t tell me all about what he gets up to?”

“Fair” you conceded and you went stand up. You pressed yourself against him and began to kiss and nip along his neck.

“What are you doing?” he asked, almost sounding annoyed.

You did not know how to answer. It was obvious what you were doing: continuing.

“Aren’t we just getting started?” you asked, doing your best pouty, sultry voice.

“Wasn’t that enough?”

“No?” it was your turn to sound annoyed.

“Well, I’m tired. I’ve had a long day.”

“And I must be the only human you’ve had luck with, because while I’m not the only one in the city I must apparently be the only one willing to blow you” you fired back.

You saw his lip twitch as he scowled at you, clearly annoyed and doing his best to play nice. “Fine. If you’re going to be like that then give me a few minutes to catch my breath.”

[jaqofalltrades]

Work From Home

Anakin Skywalker x F!reader

Warnings: Smut!!, oral f receiving, fingering, voice control?, low-key edging, sub!reader, sweet Ani:), secret relationship.

Your day started as any other, waking up in the Jedi temple to do your duties and practice your training. Anakin had gone on a mission off planet. Somewhere on Kashyyyk, not the safest of planets. Even though you had been worried for him all day, you could not voice your opinions, seeing as any romantic relationships were strictly forbidden for Jedi. 

The two of you had started your secret meetings a few months ago, at first it was just to relieve stress and pent up excitement. A mutual agreement, as long as no one caught feelings. Obviously that didn't go as planned, and now you were dating. Only for the past month and a half, but it was still longer than anyone else in the vicinity.

So now you were winding down, freshly out of the shower with a towel covering your body, rolled at the top to keep it from slipping, and one wrapping your wet hair. You had a small room, connected to an even smaller bathroom. It came fully equipped with 1 table, 1 chair, 1 bed, and 1 pillow. Over the time you had been here, you acquired more. Like the extra robes in your closet, too big for you, but a perfect fit for Anakin. An extra pair of mens boots were tucked behind a hanging jacket, and extra pillows thrown on the bed. Every now and again you’ll have company, and spot one of Anakin's things lying around. You are quick to redirect them as you used the force to flick them away.

You were in your dresser, about to pick out something comfortable to wear to sleep. The door opened with a mechanical sound, that made you jump slightly and grip your towel harder, “Who the hell do you think you are?!” You called out as you turned, expecting someone in your business. Your voice died out as you saw the six foot figure standing in front of your closed doorway. A smile immediately graced your lips as you rushed forwards to hug him. 

He stumbled back at the impact and chuckled as he wrapped his arms around your back. He started with a chuckle, “Geez sweetheart, thanks for the warm welcome. At least I know you don't have anyone else sneakin’ around in here.” He lifted you slightly off the ground as he squeezed you tightly.

“Mm, you know I would never. And maybe if you knocked, or even just let me know you were coming I wouldn't have yelled.” You ended your sentence with a more stern look. As your feet went back on the ground you pushed yourself off him, looking up at him with a scrunched nose. “And anyways, I should be mad at you for not checking in all day, how am I supposed to know if you've died?” You crossed your arms as you walked back to your dresser. You took the towel off your head and grabbed a brush, looking in the mirror above as you started to brush through your hair.

Anakin's eyes were glued on you as you brushed your hair. Specifically the water that was dripping down your neck, over your collar bone and.. Soaked into the towel wrapped around your body. 

He had been thinking about you all day, and to have you in front of him now was like a sweet treat for his eyes. He let a smile grow on his face at your attitude. He found it more endearing than anything. “Oh, did I worry you? Don't let it sweetheart, I’m always careful, I’ve got you to think about.. But I’ll do my best.” As he spoke he removed his heavy boots, and his cloak; leaving him in his pants and your favorite fitted black shirt, not bothering in taking them off.

But he didn't for one second, take his focus off you. Your clean scent filled the air and it was making him woozy. He had already had a long, and extremely tiring day, he just wanted to relax, and do something he enjoyed. You had finished brushing your hair and you stood with your arms crossed, looking at him through the mirror. “Thank you Ani. But you aren't invincible okay?” Your eyes followed him, turning around to look at him directly. He sat idly on the edge of your bed, only 2 feet in front of you. He looked tense almost, like he was thinking really hard.

In his own perspective he was simply watching you. The way your mouth moved as you scolded him, how drops of water skimmed down your collar from your hair. The small puddle around your feet, and how your towel was starting to slip. He reached his arm forward, grabbing your waist gently and using his foot to pull you closer. 

You moved between his legs where he sat on your bed with a light gasp. He looked up at you and his pupils were blown, and he looked like a puppy. His hands gripped the back of your thighs, massaging them lightly. “I know baby, trust me. I’m always careful.” You have tingles running all over your body, starting from where Anakin's skin came in contact with yours and out. His eyes roamed over your covered body as his hands stayed where they were. He breathed you in as he pulled you closer, sitting sideways on his lap. “Have you been missin’ me?” He asked airily, placing his lips against your neck. He kissed along it gently, moving towards your jaw. 

Sparks flew across you skin, making you shiver. You leaned into him and you felt your thoughts melt away. “Mhm…” You hummed in response, “All the time.” Your brought your hands to cup his jaw, gently pulling his face up to yours. His eyes flicked between your eyes and lips, smashing them against his, quick and hungrily. He had been waiting for you all day and there was no stopping it now.

Your lips pressed against his in unison. His lips were chapped from being out all day, but you kind of liked it, it added extra roughness to his touch. Your hands started to roam over his shoulders, squeezing them tightly. You felt him smirk into your lips as you makeout on the edge of your bed. Soon you started to feel his hands groping you, partially over your towel, some not. His mechanical arm trailed up your back and into the bottoms of your hair.

Anakin's metal hand secured a grip in your hair, pulling you down onto the bed, hovering his body on top yours. He has a big grin on his face as his other hand rubbed up and down your side gently over your towel. You were looking up at him, a warm blush spreading across your cheeks.

His smile lines shone deep in his face, making him even more handsome in your eyes. “You look so pretty for me baby…” He spoke against your jaw in a hushed tone, leaving slow kisses on it. It sent shivers down your spine and made you smile flusteredly. “All squeaky clean,, and you smell so damn good.” Anakin let out a quiet and airy chuckle as he spoke to you. He buried his face into you and it made you laugh at the tickling sensation.

You playfully pushed his face back and spoke with a laugh, “Stop it- that tickles!” The laugh cut off and was replaced with a pleasured gasp leaving your lips as Anakin bit down and sucked on the skin. Not enough to leave a dark bruise, but just enough that the two of you could recognize it.

His hands roamed your body, gently tugging the towel off your still damp skin. The contrast of your soft, plump skin on his calloused palms felt like his personal heaven. He continued to massage, kiss and seer every bit of you into his mind. You had started to feel hot with need for him, arching your body up onto his.

“C’mon Ani, do something before I have to take this into my own hands,” you huffed at him in a whiny tone. His eyebrows raised and he gave you a look that made you want to pounce on him. His eyes had gotten heavier, and the tension felt ten times more real.

Anakin dragged his gaze down your bare figure, then back up to your big, sparkling, needy eyes. “I’m sorry angel, are you saying you can do this yourself? Because I can let’ya do that…” He smirked as he retracted his hands from your body. 

His smirk grew as he watched you immediately start shaking your head. “No, no- thats not what I meant! Please, Ani, I need you.” You pulled his hands back onto your waist and ran your fingers over his shoulders, looking at him with you bottom lip between your teeth; knowing how it drove him crazy.

His head shook with a smile as he kissed your forehead, “Only because you asked so nicely.” His mechanical hand traveled down your stomach, towards the growing heat in your abdomen. The coolness of the metal made your skin flinch under it.  

He landed a few kisses on your stomach and looked up at you with a devilish smirk. His cool hand massaged your inner thigh before making contact with your wet folds. Your jaw fell open at the coolness of his fingers, then biting your lip in anticipation. Anakin slipped his middle finger into you agonizingly slow, knuckle by knuckle. A subtle whine left your lips when he added a second finger, pumping teasingly.

Anakins’ eyes were glued to your dripping pussy, pupils blown with lust. “Maker you’re gorgeous… Cant wait to fuck you how you need,” his voice was low and gravelly, making you shiver. He curled his fingers in just the right way, making you moan abruptly.

“Fuck Ani-” his other hand clamped over your mouth gently, restricting you from making anything more than a muffled groan. 

“Shh- shh. Gotta stay quiet for me princess. Okay?” He didn't let up his pace, pushing knuckle deep. You nodded your head hesitantly, concentrating on holding yourself back. His hand slipped down your jaw and then hooked his arm under your thigh, reaching around to your side, holding you in place. 

His metallic fingers felt so right inside you, hitting all the spots you cant. He sped up his thrusting, the sound of your wetness filling the room. The sight of you crumbling beneath him made his pants tighten painfully. 

Your back arched off the soft sheets, and your lower half wiggled with pleasure. His hand pressed you down onto your lower stomach, and into the bed, thrusting his fingers into you faster, but left you unsatisfied when he suddenly pulled them out. You trained your eyes on him as he lifted his fingers to his mouth, sucking in his cheeks as he cleaned your juices from them, that dark look in his eyes.

Your cheeks flushed at his actions, butterflies erupting in your stomach, the dull ache becoming stronger. “Ani! Why’d you stop?” your voice a low whine. 

He spoke as he lowered his head towards your core, “Don't worry baby, m’just gettin started.” His metal hand wrapped under your other thigh, holding down your other hip. He licked a slow stripe on your aching pussy, relief rushing through you. 

Before you could give him a physical reaction, Anakin started eating you out like an animal starved. His tongue massaged inside your walls so good. He was practically a god in this area. You tried to keep it down, but you couldn't help but let small whines and moans escape. “Mmmf.. fuck, just like that Ani, you're so good to me,” your words came out airy and high pitched, making Anakins dick twitch in his pants.

He groaned against you, the vibration sending a wave of pleasure through your tummy. You let out a sudden moan when his flesh thumb started to circle on your clit, an acutely slower pace compared to his tongue inside you. Your pussy gripped his fingers like a vice.“Y’so sweet Princess… like fucking candy,” he mumbled as he continued to ravish your cunt.

You felt your high approaching quickly, his vulgar words urging you closer. Anakin removed his thumb from working your clit, and you were going to say some bratty quip about it when he pressed his two fingers back inside you and set a rapid pace. You couldn't stop the pornographic noises leaving you, consumed in pleasure.

His fingers immediately slowed their pace and you groaned at the sudden drop in pressure in your stomach. Anakin looked up at you, lips and chin glistening with your arousal, “You gonna stay quiet, or do you want everyone to know you're a slut for my fingers baby?” 

You squirmed under him, trying to get more friction. “I’ll be quiet I promise, just please keep going Ani m’so close!” Your toes curled when his fingers just barely scraped that squishy spot deep inside you. He pumped them slow and deep, making your eyes flutter shut.

Anakin kissed your inner thigh, his voice deep, “Thats my good girl… Now eyes on me. Want you to watch me make you cum.” Your pussy clenched around his fingers, your slick making lewd noises. 

You opened your eyes, to be met with Anakin already looking at you, his eyes dark and concentrated. His mouth attached to your clit, sucking and licking feverishly. He thrusted his fingers in an uncontrolled manor, curling them at just the right angle. 

The two combined with the eye contact you held has you coming undone fairly quick. Your thighs clenched around his ears, and he felt like he was in heaven. As your legs started to shake he increased his pace even more, which you didn't think was possible. Quiet moans escaped you, your hands grabbing at the sheets beneath you. 

“Ani- ah.. m’gonna… please, please- Anakin!” you begged in a raw and hushed moan. He sucked on your clit, keeping his eyes on you. The view of him below you, eating you out like a god had you cumming in seconds. Your thighs clamped around him and your tension filled legs spasmed and heels dug into his back muscles.

Anakin watched how your face contorted with pleasure, mouth hung open slightly and your eyes begging to flutter closed, but you kept them on him like he told you. The small sheen of sweat covering your face made it seem like you were glowing, his perfect little angel cumming on his fingers so sweetly.

Your juices flowed from you as he continued to fuck you through your high, his fingers only letting up slightly as you clenched around him. He shamelessly licked up your juices, taking his time as you started to relax. Your ears were ringing, vision black in the corners, and your voice was temporarily out of order. Your body melted back into the bed, legs going slack over Anakin's shoulders.

You started to come back when you felt his gentle hand stroking up and down your calf. You smiled at him cheekily, brain mush while staring at his pretty features. He crawled up to you, leaning down to kiss your forehead, then your lips. You could taste yourself on him, not complaining. He had your cheek cupped in his mechanical hand and he pulled back slowly. “Ready for more baby?”

Lmk if you want a part twoo, if you do i'll get to the GOOD stuff. I just need validation in my work lol cause I constantly question if its worth writing. Anyways tell me what u think, send requests or don't rlly whatever you want! want fanfic to start a comeback bc its been lacking lately in new fics so I've been getting to work

[weirdmorefics]

My Birdy Took Flight

A/N- I am aware I really need to write my asks and my Spencer Reid story but I am currently obsessed with Simon Riley okay!

Simon Riley x Sniper Reader

Readers pronouns- She/her

TW- Swearing, falling, injuries, and military inaccuracies but I mean it's COD and they have a zombie game so are going to attack them too? lol

Summary- Who knew the complete off-the-books mission would go off the rails and leave you with the worst rope burns of your life. The injuries however were not the scary part it was having to face Ghost and admit you fell out of the heli.

Word Count- 1991

This mission was completely off the books, asshole Shephard did not care at all that Kate had been taken hostage and would not send reinforcements for help. I've been working with Price and Kate since I was a recruit they are my family. There was no way I was leaving Kate to be killed. The plan was simple enough I stayed in the heli for overwatch while Price, Gaz, and Farah worked their way up the line. Things were going smoothly I've worked with Nik before he is one hell of a pilot. Things however took a turn for the worse an explosive hit the copter and I fucking fell out. I'm sure Nik and Captian thought I died for a moment but I was bloody hanging from the rope. I am lucky my sniper skills are still top-notch when I'm hanging upside down though I would prefer not to test it again. After that hiccup, we recovered Kate and she luckily had no physical injuries.

We returned to base that night and Price insisted I go to the med bay to get checked out. To quote his words, "You look like shit kid, get the hell to med bay before I drag you myself."

The medic rushed to treat me, but something told me that was Price's doing. They wanted to keep me here for observation due to my concussion from the explosion impact. I begged them not to I'd sleep way better in the barracks I hate the sanitary hospital smell, I even prefer the smell of gunpowder. The medic would not take no for an answer I wanted to fight them harder but they said they preferred my anger to Price's wrath. The medic left shortly after and would return sporadically to do random vital checks. At least I knew the concussion wasn't that bad as it didn't beckon me toward the darkness like other times. Though my raw skin kept me from finding any peace I honestly kind of miss the darkness. I spent the night tossing and turning the pain and clinical setting keeping sleep a far distance away from me.

The clock ticking was mocking me as I watched it hit four am. How are hospital settings supposed to help you heal when there is so much beeping and someone always coming into your room? Speaking of which I heard the door creak yet again didn't they just take my vitals ten minutes ago! I can't take this without thinking I launch the flat uncomfortable pillow at what I assumed would be the intern medic yet again only to lock eyes with Ghost looking as shocked as I did.

"That's one hell of a greeting darling," he says in his usual deep voice. My eyes are still wide with shock that I just hit my superior with a pillow but he takes this opportunity to speak again. "Heard you took flight today, Gaz was telling everyone."

I wince at the thought of everyone knowing I failed to hold on during the explosion and try to change the subject to avoid thinking about it, "Aren't you supposed to be on a mission with Soap?"

"Just got back. Johnny and Gaz are out celebrating," he responds.

"They are out celebrating at four am?" I question.

"You know Johnny no one can outdrink the Scott," he says like it's the most obvious thing the world.

"Well, why aren't you out there celebrating with them?"

"My birdy took flight and thought it only decent to check up on her," any other time I would have dwelled on the fact that he said 'my birdy' but he placed his hand on my welted ankle and I could not suppress the groan. His eyes quickly shift to concern and he rips the scratchy hospital blanket off me.

"Ghost!" I shout at him for having the audacity to rip the blanket off me. He has no right to barge in here and act like he's in charge, he may be the boss of me in the field but he is not my doctor and I do not care for showing off my nasty ass wounds to my team members.

He does not acknowledge my shout at him in the slightest instead his full attention is on my rope-burned ankles."What quack treated this," he growled.

"I'm fine," I try to yank my foot out of his grasp but he holds tighter.

"Yeah because the skin falling off your ankle looks spectacular," he says sarcastically.

"Wow you sure know how to treat a girl," I roll my eyes.

"Haven't heard any complaints," he says nonchalantly as if that innuendo wouldn't have Soap applauding.

"Seriously, it's fine. Go celebrate with the team," I assure.

"If you think I am letting you let your ankle get infected you are off your rocker. I am going to need names, sweetheart," he commands.

The nickname glides out of his mouth so easily it's as if he had said it a hundred times. I want to stay as calm and collected as him but I unfortunately stutter, "What names?" God, it's a good thing I'm a sniper and not a spy because I would be dead.

"Of the idiot docs who treated this," he speaks as if it's obvious.

I sigh, "It's not their fault... I didn't tell them. Price only knew about the concussion and I just wanted to get out of here as soon as possible."

"Ah so you're the idiot," he growls.

"Can you not be mean to me I did just fall out of a heli."

"Shut up you lived," he rolls his eyes, gently places my foot down, and turns to leave.

"Please don't take your anger out on the medics," I beg.

"Oh trust me darling I will be taking my anger out on you," he growls yet again.

I shiver, "Where are you going then?"

"To get some medical supplies for your dumbass. No one way I'm letting a medic treat you when you will just lie to them."

"What makes you think I won't lie to you?" I tease well aware that I am in no place to be teasing.

He chuckles an evil kind still it's one of the best I've heard, "Me and you both know you aren't capable of it."

He exits the room and I am unsure if I want to slap him or rip that mask off and kiss him... I am definitely incapable of either. I may be able to beat Soap, Gaz, and even Price on the mat but no one can best Ghost. I, unfortunately, hear him shouting at medics for a damn first aid kit... so much for him taking out his anger on me.

He returns rather quickly but does not speak as he meticulously places the first aid supplies by my bedside.

He pours some alcohol on my rope burn and I hiss loudly, "shit a little warning would be nice."

"You would have just fought harder. Need to clean the debris out who fuckin knows how old that rope was."

"Aw is Ghosty worried about me," I pout.

"Thought I told you and Johnny to stop calling me that, you want me to make this hurt worse than it already does?"

I roll my eyes at him and in response, he presses the gauze harder than necessary. "You asshole!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I can see his wicked smile through his balaclava.

"Yeah sure," I huff. "You know..." I smile mischievously. "This would go a lot faster if you just kissed it better."

"Oh really," I could hear the grin in his voice. I was expecting him to make some snide comment in return instead he finishes wrapping my ankle and lifts his mask to rest on the bridge of his nose.

I am sure my eyes widen to the size of saucers. I feel like a Victorian man seeing a woman's ankle. His grin widens it could only be compared to the Cheshire cat's smile. He gently lifts my ankle to his lips but does not stop there. He places delicate kisses all the way up to my thigh. I think I have officially stopped breathing. Then my heart decides to do the most embarrassing thing ever. It speeds up so atrociously fast that the monitors start beeping incredibly loud. That's it I have officially died there is no coming back my face is melting off from how flushed I am.

Ghost sits back and laughs and I mean properly laughs, I have never seen him like this. "This is a good look on you birdy all red and flustered, all for me too." He pulls his mask back down but I can still see the smile in his eyes.

"Shut up! I am a highly trained sought-after sniper, I don't get flustered!" I feel like that would have sounded better if I didn't stutter each word.

Ghost glances at my heart rate monitor, "Your heart says otherwise."

A medic comes in as the dumb machine won't stop beating, "Are you alright? You're looking quite flushed and your blood pressure is higher than it was when you first came in."

I swear I could see the smugness radiating off Ghost. God I want to strangle him.

"She's fine thanks to me," his eyes squint at me and I know he has a huge grin under that balaclava. He then turns to the medic, "Don't you know the 141 are notorious liars and the worst patients! Next time call me down here as soon as she is being treated."

The poor medic flinches at Ghost's rough voice and can barely whisper, "Yes, sir"

I mouth, 'I'm so sorry," to the medic he looks appreciative.

The medic flees as soon as my blood pressure normalizes. Ghost roughly throws his body onto the uncomfortable hospital chair and groans.

"What are you doing? Shouldn't you be going back to the barracks," I glance as he makes himself comfortable well as comfortable as one can be in a torn hospital chair.

"In a rush to get rid of me birdy?"

"Is that name going to become a thing," I roll my eyes.

"Only for me, if anyone else has the nerve to call you that I'll gut them," he replies.

"Even Johnny?"

"Especially Johnny," He grins.

I smile, "Seriously Ghost you should go sleep in your own bed that chair cannot be comfortable. I'd be in my bed if they would let me escape."

"I know you can't stand hospitals, I won't let you be sleepless and cranky alone."

"Fine, then at least share the bed with me, I forbid you from sleeping on that fifty-year-old chair."

"The fact that you think you can forbid me from doing anything sweetheart is laughable. Are you sure you want me to be over there might make your heart monitor scream again?" He makes his way over to the bed despite his words.

I roll my eyes, "I'll manage."

He lays on the small hospital bed and takes up ninety percent of it but I don't mind it because it doesn't smell like hand sanitizer and blood anymore it smells like him.

"Goodnight birdy," he kisses the top of my head and my heartrate monitor instantly starts beeping annoyingly again.

"Goddammit," I groan and he just laughs.

"You would make a terrible spy with all those emotions, you're lucky the red face works on you." he chuckles.

"You're just jealous of my amazing sniping abilities you must point out my flaws," I poke his chest.

"You ain't got no flaws birdy except the fact that you're stubborn as hell. Now go to sleep before I knock you out myself."

"Yes LT.," I fake salute him and he rolls his eyes.

Sleep comes so much faster in the med bay when you aren't alone, I wish falling asleep would always be this easy.

[flightfoot]

ML Fanfic Recs for Completed Fics 40K-70K Words

Got 16 fics here! More lengthy fics than I would have thought, actually, given that there have been fewer ML fics this year than last year.

All of these fics will be in my Keyseeker's Choices For Best Completed Miraculous Fics Of 2024 Collection, and if you like that, please consider checking out my other collections, Keyseeker's Choices For Best Completed Miraculous Fics Of 2023, Keyseeker's Choices For Best Completed Miraculous Fics Of 2022, and Keyseeker's Choices For Best Completed Miraculous Fics - Misc. Years.

---

He Couldn't Remember (Falling For Her) by @purpleautumnvision

"If I was given a choice in who Chat Noir would be, I would've chosen you." "And there's nobody else in the whole world I'd rather have as my little bug." Without secret identities in the way, Marinette and Adrien get to live out their love story and put their heads together to discover the identity of Hawk Moth... but an unforeseen twist puts the Miraculouses in Gabriel's hands. When he makes his wish for a world where his wife never became sick from using the broken Peacock Miraculous, the universe requires someone else to become sick in order to maintain balance. Who better than his greatest enemy, Ladybug herself? Adrien, with his memories rewritten by the wish, wakes up in a world without superheroes, without Hawk Moth, without Marinette, without friends, and without a clue as to why everything feels so wrong. Something's missing, but he's gonna find out what. Then he'll put his world back into place.

So this was a fascinating scenario, with Adrien waking up in a world where Marinette was dead while his mother was alive, a world that as far as he knew had always been the case... but having weird feelings he can't explain. And not just him, I love how much focus Alya gets here as well! Turns out that the memories are kind of hidden, but still present, and since Adrien and Alya never got to meet Marinette in this universe (she died just before the new school year began, at the same time that Emilie did in the normal universe) AND Adrien and Alya were her closest friends in the previous universe, their feelings towards her are closest to the surface and least impacted by the memories from this universe.

The other people in this universe... well, the class isn't taking Marinette's death well. It's fascinating to see just how much her death effects them, to see how it haunts them, and I loved seeing their reactions to Adrien's weird behavior about their dead classmate who he never got a chance to meet, it shows how strange some of this can look to the outside, and it doesn't help that these are grieving kids.

Just... this is a great fic, I highly recommend checking it out!

---

this is my winter song to you by katrinette

On the last day of school before winter break, Adrien overhears someone singing in one of the classrooms. By the time he gets there, she's gone. He can't get her out of his head. And he keeps hearing her, wherever he goes, until she's the only thing that he can think about. But Adrien doesn't know who she is. At least... not yet. ––– Set against the backdrop of season 4 before Kuro Neko, Adrien begins to really understand the role that his friends play in his life.

Ah this is a lovely Lovesquare fic! Adrien's smitten with a voice he hears and he just keeps on hearing snippets of her singing, but can't track her down and it's driving him crazy!

There's a lot of cute Adrienette and slice-of-life in here, so if you want a low-key fluffy fic full of Adrien's and Marinette's usual adorableness, you came to the right place!

---

Herbs And Steam by @liiinerle

Juleka le Flor Blef, nature witch from near the forest of Couffaine, arrives at Eiffel Castle so she can partake in the Queen's Trials - a contest to determine the strongest witch in all of France. She wants to prove the strength of her magic, but when she arrives, her attention is quickly distracted by two very interesting women: Kagami, the princess, who seems to act nothing like a princess should; and Marinette, the blacksmith, who has created a magic all her own through metal, steam, and ingenuity. Juleka is immediately besotted with both of them, and needs to work extra hard to focus on her magic. Juleka also soon becomes aware that there is stronger magic at Eiffel castle than she had expected. For one thing, there's a tree in the courtyard put there years ago by a witch whose powers seem to surpass hers; for another, there's Alya la Pluvie Versaunt, who must be the most powerful mage Juleka has ever met...

Unusual poly here, there aren't a lot of Juleka/Kagami/Marinette fics! I love the world here, getting to see all these different witches honing their craft, and Juleka making friends with many of them - though especially the nonwitches Kagami and Marinette, of course XD. If you like some femslash or a good fantasy AU, this fic should scratch that itch!

---

Under Your Spell by @hazel652

Marinette loves Quidditch more than anything. That is…until a distraction arrives in the form of Hogwarts’ newest fifth-year, Adrien Agreste. When one of their professors organises a magical surprise for Valentine's Day, will Marinette finally be able to confess her feelings – or will it all end in disaster?

So this is an adorable slice-of-life Hogwarts AU, it's mostly Adrien and Marinette dancing around each other, with a subplot about Chloe basically pulling a Draco and bribing her way onto the Slytherin Quidditch team (much to the Slytherins' consternation) playing out in the background.

---

a wish come true by Magaritas

"My wish has three parts. First, I wish my love, Emilie, never fell ill to the Peacock Miraculous' wounds." When Gabriel's ultimate wish is granted, he is brought back to a time long before any of his grievances came into fruition. However, he soon realizes that every wish comes with an equal consequence. "The second part of my wish is that I would have never been struck by Chat Noir's cataclysm." The only way for him to solve all of the new problems that arise is to make another wish, isn't it? But since he is no longer in possession of the two most powerful miraculouses, how would he go about getting them back without rising suspicion from his now healed wife? "Finally, I wish that Adrien Agreste never became Chat Noir, and that Marinette Dupain-Cheng never became Ladybug." And how will our two heroes manage to reunite in a world where they never got to meet?

I loved seeing Emilie and Nathalie figuring out what was going on in this world, and taking active steps to help the kids out, especially with how Adrien's hurt. They're not just standing by, nor are they willing to just let Gabriel hurt others.

Of course, Adrien and Marinette are also active, but they have less clue about something being wrong than Emilie and Nathalie do. But they'll manage to find their ways to each other, one way or another...

---

In Pursuit of the Uneatable by @nemaliwrites

Who do you trust when your own reflection becomes a stranger? In a Paris where Lila weaves tales that blind the city, Marinette stands accused, isolated. Her parents' trust is shattered, her friends distant, and in battle, illusions blur the line between ally and enemy. As the shadows and uncertainty threaten to close in, Marinette finds herself turning to the last person who claims to be on her side: a boy in a white mask who calls himself a fox hunter.

THIS IS NOT A BASHING FIC. Well, Lila bashing, I guess, but even then she gets a lot more consideration than usual. Anyway, there's no animosity towards Marinette's friends and family here. Instead, the fic has more of this melancholy, contemplative tone, with Marinette feeling boxed in by Lila, and trying to figure out how to navigate her circumstances, especially being around Lila. Even when there isn't any particular threat against her, just having Lila around, knowing that she could pull something else to make Marinette's life worse, and thinking that there's no way to counter her, that she always wins... you can feel how suffocating it is. But she does have a way out, a mysterious boy who she's seen around, who completely has her back as far as Lila's concerned... but she might not want him to, to the extent that he goes.

By the way, this IS a Lovesquare fic, the thing with the boy... well, that'll make sense once you read the fic. But it's not romantic, I can tell you that.

Anyway, it's this interesting psychological, low-key sort of fic. If you want a look at the more emotional consequences of Lila's brand of bullying and isolation WITHOUT any sort of demonization or bashing towards anyone else, but just exploring the effects on Marinette and how to respond to it, then this fic is worth a look.

---

Hanahaki by @generalluxun

First fic: Late Bloomer

On what might very well be the last night of her life, Sabrina Raincomprix pulls out a very special scrapbook, pressed between the pages is the past, the past she has never shared with anyone. She relives how she got to this moment one page at a time, preparing herself for the end. A phone call interrupts her self-imposed exile and brings news that could change her life forever. Even if it does though the question looms... change it how?

I love this series, how it shows how both Sabrina and Chloe have changed, how bad Chloe's circumstances are, and how much she needs help. She's not in good shape when Sabrina reunites with her - she's got a pretty severe eating disorder, for one thing - and Sabrina can't just... leave things like they are.

I love the delving into of Chloe's and Sabrina's psychology and viewpoints, and them both growing as a result (this is solely from Sabrina's perspective, but Chloe's the focus of the plot, so you see a lot of her).

---

Bubblegum Soul by @wehadabondingmoment

"The impulse to throw away his ring, to slam it on the ground and watch its metallic splinters chap away at his soul, got more tempting by the second. Maybe, for a moment, he would learn what it meant to be alive." (Or: Hawk Moth has been defeated and Adrien is suffering more than ever. Armed with unhealthy coping mechanisms and the knowledge that he apparently isn't human, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery.) (Except that his father isn't quite ready to give up just yet.)

Poor Adrien. His father's defeated, but that doesn't mean that he's alright. Dealing with finding out that he's a sentimonster via his father attempting to order him around... that's harsh.

And it doesn't help that while he gets one ring back pretty quickly, he doesn't realize that he has a second amok...

If you like angsty sentiadrien fic, this'll be right up your alley! It's M-rated, but I'm not sure why. Maybe because Adrien's just kind of in a bad headspace?

---

The Adventures of Babybug and Kitten Noir by @unecoccinellenoire

When Chat Noir gets turned into a baby all seems lost to Ladybug....or is it?

So despite what the name and the summary makes it sound like, this fic is less about Chat Noir and Ladybug, and more about their parents, with Gabriel and Nathalie discovering that baby!Chat Noir is Adrien, and Tom and Sabine finding out that baby!Ladybug is Marinette. Needless to say, neither group are happy about their discovery.

I loved seeing the parents work things out here. While most ML fics are about Adrien and Marinette driving the plot and ultimately, the resolution (for obvious reasons), in this case, we get to see the adults being reasonable and competent, and doing their best with this new situation they've been thrown into.

---

Each Hum And Click by @echo-has-queries

Kagami thought her understandably high standards for a match in marriage would mean she could avoid being paired with a man by her mother. That she could keep perfecting her flying-machine skills and eventually take over her mother’s place in leading the Tsurugi steam engine manufacturing company without having to defer to a man. She would have thought that when her mother told her to test the Agreste boy as a marriage match she had been kidding - if her mother ever kid. But she was serious and there truly was no fault to be found with Gabriel Agreste's son - except for the small detail of course, that he was not human. So Kagami must turn to the only fine mechanic she knows in Paris to find a solution to this new dilemma. But perhaps the dilemma could turn out to be the solution itself. Written for the AU Roulette Challenge 2024 with the prompt: Steampunk AU

So this fic is entirely from Kagami's POV, and it is a treat! It's an Adrigaminette fic, which you slowly figure out from reading the fic, if you didn't check the tags - Kagami may have tried not to like Adrien, but he grew on her regardless, and then a few chapters in you find out about hers and Marinette's failed relationship. I loved slowly finding out why the two of them broke up, when there are clearly still strong feelings between them, and how it ties into Kagami's character arc and the overall themes of the story: standing up for yourself, breaking free from those who would control you, and forging your own path.

---

Soul Seeker by hislittlelady

After a shooting on her 6th birthday, Marinette Dupain-Cheng died. She was brought to the afterlife by her grandmother. She was content. Until the paramedics did their jobs and suddenly she wasn’t dead anymore. Waking up to find that half of her soul had remained tethered to the afterlife, allowing her the ability to see things others can’t, Marinette grows up an outcast. It isn’t until she moves in with her only friend, a detective she’s known since preschool, that she finds her purpose, solving his harder cases with the help of her spiritual connections. Three years later, she’s thriving. Her own business, two best friends, a K-9 drop out as a companion- life couldn’t get better. Until she meets Chat. A ghost with amnesia and a mask to match, Chat isn’t sure what he needs to move on to the afterlife (and, considering he’s stuck around for another three years, he doesn’t seem in all that much of a hurry to figure it out either!) When Amelie Agreste, a socialite from out of town, comes to Marinette for help locating her missing nephew, Marinette knows her career and her life will be on the line. But even a murderer intent on silencing her forever can’t keep Marinette from seeking the truth.

This is a really fun detective story. You can probably guess one or two of the major twists (not counting the twist of "Adrien is Chat Noir" which I certainly HOPE isn't a spoiler to anyone reading this), but that doesn't make it any less satisfying, especially with how Marinette's and Chat's relationship is developed. Or well, what interactions we see from them, since they've known each other for years by the time the story starts. I adore the "my friend is a ghost" trope, and the identity shenanigans and mystery around what actually happened to Adrien kept me wondering.

It's an M-rated fic, which I'm guessing is mostly due to an attempted sexual assault at one point in the story, though it doesn't get very far before it's stopped. I also want to warn Luka fans that he's not shown in the best light in this fic, though it's not too extreme.

---

Through Yellow Eyes by @echo-has-queries

"Nooroo bleeds and Paris drowns in his blood." The day of the Blight, Paris bore witness to a horror too grand to comprehend. Only Chloé Bourgeois bore witness to a miracle. Marinette, Alya and the rest of Paris will need more than faith in Gimmi to survive. As the city's sanity hangs by a thread, bodies, minds, and souls are traded with the unknown in order to hold on to the things they each treasure most. Written for the AU Roulette Challenge 2024 with the prompt: Cosmic Horror AU

If you like Cosmic Horror (Lovecraftian I think? Though this isn't really my wheelhouse), then this is the story for you! I love seeing how Paris copes with the madness seeping through its streets, somehow going about daily life despite it all.

Kwamis here are more inhuman, more separated from humanity. There's no cute little miniature form to help bridge the gap. While humans can still meld with kwami, it's not all quite as firmly in the human's control as it normally is, and the side effects are worse. It doesn't help that the kwamis can't fully understand squishy little humans' wants, needs, or morality.

Like, as Ladybug, Marinette can't remember her human name, and her human concerns are somewhat muted. While as Marinette, she can't remember certain aspects of her time as Ladybug, and only regains those memories when she transforms again. She also has to be careful about restoring everything, as she can't just give Tikki a cookie and call it a day. Instead, she herself needs to eat enough to compensate for the lost energy, which can be a substantial portion of the goods in her parents' bakery.

As for Adrien... well, this is still going off of Sentimonster Adrien, though the ritual to create him went differently... and went wrong. But he is still Adrien.

Chloe's interesting as well, she's this sort of priest, this missionary for the kwamis, but her methods are... well, not the best. She still has a bunch of her canonical hangups, even though she IS somewhat helpful.

I love Alya in here, she's just desperately trying to figure out what's going on so that she can try to fix it, especially since Nino's one of the people who's been driven mad by the Blight. She does find some answers, and even ends up being partially responsible for Ladybug's creation and Chat's and Ladybug's subsequent fight against the worst effects of the Blight, but the risks, danger, and side effects she suffers are still significant. Though some of those side effects can be used to her advantage.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this AU and thought it was an interesting take on the subject, I highly recommend checking it out!

---

Phantom Pains (and other hints of you) by @buggachat

She couldn't remember anything. Not where she was going, where she'd been, why she was in this stairwell, or even her own name. But as she watched the blood pool at the base of the steps, she at least knew one thing for certain: the corpse was hers. Getting used to being dead was going to have its growing pains. — “Well, unlucky lady,” Chat Noir greeted with a bow, “Can I get your name?” “Didn’t we just talk about this? I told you, I don’t remember it.” “And I told you,” he reminded, “that you can just pick whatever fits you best.” — Ladybug and Chat Noir may not remember who they once were, but at least the two lost souls can find comfort in each other's company. But as Ladybug starts uncovering more and more memories of her life, letting the past go doesn't seem as easy as Chat Noir claims it to be.

So this is a beautiful, sweet, tragic love story of two lost souls wandering around with each other, yet with Ladybug still desperately wanting to be found, to remember who she was - and wanting to know why Chat so adamantly wanted to stay amnesiac. It's got some neat worldbuilding, and some fantastic prose. It's just a really nice little story!

---

Do You Read Me? by @19thsentry-blog

The problem with being a Couffaine was the hereditary bits. The stubbornness. The weird need to pick a fight with authority for no reason besides the principle of it. The way being a Couffaine meant falling in love, fast as a car crash, and just as deadly. It ruined you forever.

So basically, this takes place a few years after Season 5, in the post-Wish world. Luka takes over as the Ladybug Holder, battling Chrysalis in Marinette's place. It's causing him some strain, since it's hard to hold down a job when you need to vanish randomly for long periods of time while on the clock, and it doesn't help that Chrysalis is a lot sneakier than Monarch was.

That's not the core of the story though. No, the real story starts up at chapter 3, when Luka suddenly wakes up in 19th century London, supposedly having always been there, and talking to a 19th century version of Max. From there, he soon gets escorted to Felix, who is a detective around those parts and agrees to host him for awhile.

This is a Sherlock Holmes inspired story, with the setting ripped straight out of those old stories, and I think it does a great job of that! Felix feels natural as Sherlock, with his deductive abilities, and the mystery really does read a lot like a Sherlock story. Though of course, the ultimate cause is more magical in nature.

I love Luka's perspective in this story and his and Felix's dynamic, it just feels very natural and well done!

I was satisfied with how the mystery wrapped up, 19thsentry did a good job of making things make sense at the end, and it felt satisfying. If you want a story with some great characterization for Luka or Felix, or just feel like a mystery, this is the story for you!

---

A part of me recognizes you (do you feel it too?) by Nalalaa

In which Adrien leaves Paris to escape the mediatic storm of Hawkmoth’s defeat and forget about the nightmares that crawl along the walls of his bedroom. In which Marinette stays, left caring for memories and a child she cherishes more than anything. Six years later, a string of coincidences has the two meeting again as strangers. Secrets long left untold are revealed and slowly, they work to untangle the lies and misunderstandings that had once kept them apart.

Classic plot here, but that makes it no less good. Ladybug and Chat Noir were a couple, he unknowingly got her pregnant, and when they took down Hawkmoth a few days later, Chat ran off and disappeared without a word to anyone, leaving Ladybug to give birth and raise her child alone. Until Adrien comes back from his sabbatical a few years later, finally ready to face the ghosts of his past, to find that Marinette's a single mom, with the father of her child being unknown. He gradually gets closer to her and her kid, only to eventually find out that HE'S the father... yeah you can fill in the blanks from there.

There's not really any plot twists or surprises to the plot, but there aren't meant to be. It's just a bunch of hurt people who care about each other navigating this fraught situation they found themselves in, trying to move forward towards a better future.

---

Methusalenette by @liiinerle

Dear Diary... --- After Lila's defeat, Marinette and her friends realise that something is up with their bodies. Some are aging faster than they should - and some slower. As the realisation sinks in, Marinette worries about what has happened, what is happening, and what will happen in the future. As it turns out, she has a lot more future to look forward to than most... Epistolary fic (journal entries/news clippings/other).

This is a very melancholy, somewhat sad fic, as some of Marinette's friends age way faster than they should have, while others, including herself, age far too slowly. There's a lot of loss and worry and guilt here. No one had any clue that this was going to happen, but they have to live with the consequences - or die with the consequences, in some cases - nonetheless.