#Stories of Friendship and Sharing

[santaclaustales]

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[dreamsy990]

hi i wanted to draw my own au so have a snippet of scene i rewrote like 12 times and will likely rewrite again

[angelosearch]

I just realized it was around this time last year that I started replaying FFVIII.

This time was different from all the other times I returned to it. For the first time since my initial playthrough, it brought me into the fold of the fandom. I tried to go on Reddit, but that was not enough. In the few months that followed, my ravenous desire for all things FFVIII led me back to Tumblr.

Since then, this fandom has done so much for me and my mental health. I've made new friends (even irl!). I've learned many, many new skills. Through the act of engaging, by creating, interacting with, and enjoying various fanworks, memes, and theories, I've been given so much joy, inspiration, and even moments of self-discovery.

And, of course, this fandom got me writing again, which has just been all-around life-changing. I used to spend so much time scrolling and watching TV - now I use that time writing.

If you would have told me a year ago that I would be learning how to sing, or dressing in cosplay I made, or finishing writing a 200k word fanfic, I NEVER would have believed you. But having this space to explore and play within the context of this videogame has brought out the best, most passionate version of myself.

Connecting with my inner child, returning to my favorite piece of media, meeting some incredible people; it has all just made me feel good about being alive and has motivated me to get creative in ways I never have before.

I was lucky enough to have the time and space to accept the wonderful things the universe offered me over the last year. As I move into this next (likely extremely busy) phase of my life with grad school and my internship starting, I want to express gratitude and also remind myself that while these pursuits do take energy, they also generate it.

This is my promise to myself: I will continue listening to my inner child. I will not stop writing. I will not forget what brings me joy. Holding onto these things is what makes the hard work and late nights and the stress of a new career doable. I will be a better person if I take the time to engage with my hobbies, and, as a therapist, it will be important for me to model strong work-life balance and professional boundaries for my clients.

To all my mutuals, thanks for being here for the journey. Shout out to a few of my closest fandom friends, as I cannot express how much better you've made my life since I met you: @tr1ck5 @suleikashideaway @irishais @gardengalwrites @aleheartilly @sevlinop @foxtrottcantfindshit @quiettekiyet

[syrupsyche]

Since Enjolras and Combeferre have known each other since they were in diapers, and Grantaire and Bossuet were childhood friends too, are there any others in teacher Au who have known each other that long?

And do Enj and Ferre, or Bossuet and R have any interesting stories from when they were small? 👀

HI EMILE!!!! 🫶

Hmm for now I believe all the other teachers met when they came to the school! We really only get these pairs of childhood friends because 1. Combeferre had recommended the job to Enjolras, who had a bit too long of an arrest record to hold onto any other jobs and 2. Grantaire lost a bet, which meant that he had to accompany Bossuet to apply for the job. He was extremely surprised when he got in.

As for childhood shenanigans, they all have a long looooong list of stories >:) perhaps I will explore them in future fics!! For now, they use their childhood connections in other ways...

[nixie-deangel]

Sweet Nix,

Yell at me about your Pacific Rim AUs... 😍😍😍😍😍😍

XD So tumblr didn't tell me you'd asked about this!!! I'm so sorry, @redfurrycat!!!

BUT!!! The Pacific Rim AU's are based off the ideas you gave me actually!!! No surprise there really! lol

But the first Pacific Rim AU is where they are both pilots and Bradley actually grows up and becomes Mav's partner and they are a dream team but then when things come down just before the BIG fight, there is an accident and Mav is hurt badly, so they need to scramble and find a pilot that can drift with Bradley and uh oh the only one on the planet besides Mav that can drift with Bradley, is Jake who hasn't been inside a jaeger in almost half a decade since he lost his partner while they were still in the drift. (It's a bit of a mash up of both Pacific Rim movies!)

The second Pacific Rim idea is Jake being a pilot and Bradley being the lead engineer/mechanic on his jaeger. The thing about this one, is that Bradley hasn't spoken to Ice or Mav in more than a decade (they washed him out of the pilot program) and when Jake is brought in to the dome because they are getting all the jaeger's together for one massive attack, it's the first time Bradley see's his godfathers. And it's the first time gets a first hand look at the men who hurt the love of his life. So Jake is extra asshole, and Javy since he knows all because he's with Jake in their jaeger, which puts them at odds with those in charge.

[wa3jetisbestpony]

revstar fans we need to put on the best talent show this towns ever seen and save ReLive!!

[thebramblewood]

Helena's been capturing scenes of Britechester over the course of an entire autumn for her elective photography class, and she just developed the pictures! 📸

Previous / Next

[beautyinsteadofashes]

chapter three: permanent record (4x09)

People always said it’s the quiet ones you've got to watch out for. He’d never listened. He'd rather keep tabs on the showmen. Those who were compensating, exaggerating and trying to be something they weren't... Sofia had a talent for watching, waiting and choosing her words...There was something crafty about the way in which she did it...They’d leave parties together and gossip and talk shit the whole way home. Home...Fuck.

[novorehere]

Famished First-Time

Hello friends! This is an especially special post that I am very excited about, because the story you’re about to read was not written by myself. A friend who would like to remain anonymous submitted this amazing story to me and wanted me to post it to my blog for you all to enjoy. While they don’t have their own vore blog, I hope you can all enjoy and give them some praise and feedback! Words cannot describe how much I ADORE it, and I think you all will too no matter if you’re familiar with Obey Me or not <3 

Enjoy!

_____________

“Thank you!” Yuki, the lovely young cashier, smiled sweetly as Rayfa plunked down the appropriate amount of Grimm—plus a generous tip—onto the counter. “Come again!”

“You know I will!” Rayfa laughed, and the demon chick behind the counter laughed too. They had become fast friends—what with Rayfa being a proud regular and all—and Yuki knew she’d be back again within the week.

It always started with an unrelated shopping trip. An excursion to buy some nail polish and ribbons for her next sleepover with Asmo. Or perhaps an errand to pick up the newest video game Levi had pre-ordered, for he was too anxious to go out himself. Regardless of where her ventures began, they always ended back at the bakery—where she could purchase a little something for Beel. It hardly cost her anything (mostly because Yuki gave her legendary discounts) and Beel always got so adorably excited when she came home with dessert, so of course Rayfa had made it into a habit. It was such an easy way to put a smile on his face! How could she not?

“I’m already looking forward to it!” Yuki beamed. “See you next week, hun!”

“See you then!”

Rayfa carefully lifted the hefty white cake box into her hands, then began her leisurely walk back to the House of Lamentation, the soft chimes of the bakery’s doorbell twinkling faintly behind her. It was a lovely night outside, pleasantly warm but with the welcome caveat of a gentle breeze. It was the kind of evening that Rayfa liked to spend admiring the beauty of the Devildom, but something about this particular night was making her uneasy. She felt like she was being watched—nay, hunted. Instinctively, she quickened her pace, trying not to think about it. It was surely just her imagination.

Rayfa was maybe two blocks away from salvation—the HoL—when disaster finally struck. Out of nowhere, Rayfa felt burly/muscular arms wrap uncomfortably tightly around her waist. She readied herself to scream, but a freakishly large hand—with claws—clamped down over her mouth. She fought and kicked as violently as she could, but humans were no match for demons, and her attackers callously dragged her into the nearest alleyway.

Once they were far enough back not to be spotted from the sidewalk, Demon #1 forced her up against the wall and spat out an impatient order.

“I’m going to remove my hand now. Scream, and we’ll make things far messier than they need to be. You understand?”

Rayfa, shaking with fear, nodded frantically. Devildom nights were darker than black, and the streets had been relatively barren earlier, anyway. Rayfa doubted that anyone would come running even if she did scream. The clawed hand was removed, and Rayfa gasped for breath. It wasn’t that she couldn’t breathe before; She was just relieved to get that grimy hand away from her face.

“It’s not every day you see a human ’round these parts…” Demon #1 chuckled darkly.

Rayfa spied two more demons over his shoulder. So there were three of these fuckers, then.

Demon #1 stepped forward to grab her chin—to force her to look at him—which Rayfa desperately wanted to resist. Her self-preservation instincts told her to keep quiet though, and frustratedly, she obeyed.

…Until the dirtbag harassing her stepped purposefully on top of the cake box that had fallen from her grasp during the scuffle.

“That was for my friend…!” Rayfa growled angrily, surprising even herself with how upset she had gotten on Beel’s behalf—especially when her own current predicament was so much worse.

“Yeah, well-” Demon #1 scoffed and cruelly kicked the cake box aside. He stepped closer—again—and made a very deliberate show of licking his lips. “Your friend’s not the only one who needs to eat.”

Rayfa went pale. This guy was actually Oberon levels of creepy. (Levi would have been so proud of Rayfa for that SAO reference.)

“Wait! You-! You can’t eat me!” Rayfa squeaked. “I’m, like, the face of the exchange program! You could ruin relations between the three realms forever!”

“Tch. Like we care about that!” Demon #2 mocked boisterously. “We never wanted to make friends with those stuck-up celestials in the first place!”

“And humans, of course, are just snacks!” Demon #1 tacked on gleefully. “Who gives a fuck if Diavolo’s little exchange program falls through?”

Rayfa gritted her teeth. She wanted to argue more, but they had clearly already made up their minds. She was so royally screwed.

Demon #3, who had been relatively silent throughout the whole exchange, suddenly stepped closer. He was easily the largest of the three degenerate demons; Rayfa had to tilt her head almost all the way back just to meet his eyes. Intimidating. Demon #3 stared her down with the ferocity of a lion. Then he began to speak—quietly yet gruffly—the words foreign and unrecognizable. Suddenly, realization dawned on her. He was reciting a hex.

But by the time Rayfa realized, it was already too late. Her body shrank rapidly and she dizzily watched the world around her grow larger and larger and larger—until finally, she was left untouched at 2-3 inches tall. Things were not looking good for her. But! At such a small size, they couldn’t possibly clamp a hand down over her mouth again! Right?

Desperately, Rayfa began to recite the one phrase she prayed could get her out of this mess:

“Hear me, denizens of the darkness, you who are born of shadow and you who give birth to it! Hear me and do as I command!”

“Stop her!” Demon #1 roared furiously, and Demon #3 (the nearest) made a desperate grab for her. Rayfa just barely managed to scramble out of the way before he could get his grubby hands on her, silently cursing the fact that the summoning incantation was so ungodly long. Nevertheless, she was determined to see it through.

“I, Rayfa, call upon you to send forth one of your number! I summon the Avatar of- HnghGruh!”

Though he had failed to grab her, Demon #3 was still determined to shut her up. He backhanded her—hard—which was enough to garble her words and send her flying backwards across the pavement. Rayfa winced at the scrapes she received. They were gonna hurt like a bitch tomorrow, assuming she lived to see it.

Interrupted as she may have been, though, the spell—blessedly—had still gone through. There was a blinding flash of golden light, and then there, standing before her, was none other than…

Mammon, the Avatar of Greed.

Huh.

Rayfa had (admittedly) been hoping for Lucifer, but whatever panicked sound she’d made upon being swatted away had apparently sounded more like the word greed than the word pride. Honestly though, Rayfa was just relieved to see a familiar face.

…As endearingly incompetent as that familiar face could sometimes be.

Mammon stumbled around dazedly for a moment, and Rayfa felt guilty knowing that her poor casting of the spell was likely to blame. Quickly, she shook her head to clear her mind. Guilt could come later; Right now was her chance to escape!

Even though Mammon had not immediately chased off the three depraved demons, his unexpected appearance alone was more than enough of a distraction for Rayfa to work with. At the very least, she no longer felt quite as cornered as before. Demon #1, Demon #2, and Demon #3 were focused entirely on Mammon now, and that gave her the perfect opportunity to disappear. A full-sized demon was a much greater threat than a tiny human girl, after all! Rayfa instantly began scheming. Maybe she could subtly sneak away now, text Lucifer or Satan to come pick her up, and apologize to Mammon for using him as an escape later. He would fake like he was annoyed by it, she was sure, but there was no way these demons would actually be able to hurt him—not like they would hurt her—and Mammon would recognize that too. He’d just be relieved that he’d protected her, even if unknowingly at first.

Rayfa was just about to make her move, ready to dart out of the shady alleyway, but right before she took the first step, dark blue eyes swirled with gold locked onto her.

“Rayfa?!” Mammon spluttered out with confusion, as the last of the vertigo from her botched summoning spell finally wore off.

It took a good few seconds for Mammon to realize exactly what was happening, but eventually things did click for him, and the Avatar of Greed whirled on the lesser demons indignantly. Unfortunately for him, Demon #1 and his lackeys had finally recovered from the shock of their surprise visitor and were eager to make him pay.

“Oh shit!” Mammon swore, lightning-fast reflexes kicking into gear as he ducked to avoid a punch.

Demon #2 quickly lunged after him, but Mammon—surprisingly tactfully—sidestepped that, too. Levi really hadn’t been kidding when he’d said that Mammon was “Fast as fuck, boi!” Seriously! He moved so quickly that Rayfa could scarcely make out a blur! Mammon deftly avoided several more attacks, then glanced around with wild eyes, searching for an out. When he found one—as he always did—his body moved before his brain could catch up. Rayfa supposed she shouldn’t hold his recklessness against him though. It was what she was currently banking on to save her life.

When Mammon finally threw a punch of his own, the attack was surprisingly calculated. His fist connected squarely with the jaw of the head honcho—Demon #1—and Mammon capitalized on that fact. All he had needed was an opening, which he’d succeeded in creating for himself when Demon #1 had stumbled backwards from the force of the blow. He quickly darted past the now capsized enemy, taking advantage of the clever little “escape route” that was open. And then…

Mammon just fucking ran for it, gravel flying as he skidded past the remaining two lackeys and began sprinting directly towards poor terrified Rayfa. He didn’t slow down as he neared her. In fact, Rayfa swore he sped up! She squeezed her eyes shut as Mammon barreled forward at breakneck speeds, leaning down at just the right moment to scoop her up as he careened away from the alley. Rayfa let out a squeak of alarm as she felt Mammon’s fingers curl around her, but she relaxed somewhat when she realized that he had actually taken great care to hold her securely (but not so tightly that she’d be uncomfortably squeezed).

And then, just like that, they were gone.

Rayfa hadn’t expected anything less from him. If there was one thing Mammon was great at, it was running away. (Usually from debt collectors or angry brothers, but the logic applied here too.)

“Oh shit! Oh fuck!” Mammon panicked, footsteps pounding heavily on the sidewalk. “I really don’t wanna die!”

Despite herself, Rayfa felt a smile playing on her lips. Even when Mammon actually managed to pull off something pretty damn cool, he was still an endearingly panicky mess. But Rayfa wouldn’t have him any other way.

A few tense minutes of running later, Mammon veered off into another alleyway further down the street, panting heavily. Quick as he was, he obviously didn’t have the stamina to go on running forever. He needed a breather, but Rayfa didn’t think they could afford to take one.

The demon muttered something frustratedly under his breath. Rayfa couldn’t quite catch the words, but she could only imagine he was cursing out their pursuers. Which was totally understandable—they very much deserved it—but what Rayfa couldn’t understand was why he had stopped to do so. Tired or not, they had to get home!

“Mammon?” Rayfa questioned nervously, gently prying his fingers apart to sneak a worried peek up at the demon. He held her level with his heart, hands cupped carefully around her, blue-gold eyes gazing down upon her worriedly. Had they not been dangerously preoccupied, Rayfa would’ve melted at how concerned he looked over her.

“I’m not gonna let ‘em have ya,” Mammon growled protectively. “You’re my human, ya hear?”

Mammon had always been relatively exceedingly protective of her, but Rayfa had never really minded. She thought the whole “keep you all to myself” thing was sweet, even, albeit in a very Mammon sort of way. But something about the way he was staring at her now…

For the first time since they’d met, Rayfa felt inherently nervous under the Avatar of Greed’s gaze.

“Uhhh, are you-” Rayfa started to say, but the demon’s hands suddenly lurched beneath her, causing her to yelp with surprise rather than finish her thought. “Aaa!”

Mammon determinedly brought her to eye-level, an uncharacteristically serious expression etched across handsome features.

“What are you doing?!” Rayfa nervously demanded, the demon’s sudden solemnity eating away at her. Mammon was never sober like this. To make matters worse, Rayfa could hear the angry shouts of the demons they’d run away from. Those fuckers were finally starting to catch up.

It seemed that Mammon had heard them too, their voices being what finally spurred him on to do the unthinkable.

“S-Sorry ‘bout this!”

Mammon rarely ever apologized, which only solidified Rayfa’s right to fear whatever was coming. She had a really really really bad feeling about this.

Mammon, looking just as nervous as Rayfa felt, awkwardly guided the brave little human towards his lips. He gulped nervously, then opened wide with an automatic “ahhh”, and realization came crashing down onto the girl like a tidal wave. Rayfa screamed and tried to scramble backwards, but Mammon quickly threw his head back and fervently crammed her in.

It was almost absurd how quickly the demon’s mouth flooded with drool. Rayfa whined with disgust as warm gooey saliva oozed over her, bubbling up and seeping through her clothes. Mammon cautiously brought his teeth back together, sealing her away inside, then began eagerly slurping down her staple human flavors. Rayfa felt herself blush, angry and embarrassed that Mammon was spending such an exorbitant amount of time tasting her.

“Mammon!” Rayfa seethed, practically shaking with rage. “What the fuck!”

She was exhausted and disgruntled and grossed out, but begrudgingly, she decided to put up with whatever episode Mammon was having right now because she trusted him. For all she knew, demon spit could reverse hexes cast on humans or something! Right, yeah. Mammon probably had a plan. She just needed to play along and-

*Glk!*

Mammon gulped thickly, and Rayfa suddenly felt the clench of tight/squishy muscle around her as she was sucked down into the boy’s throat. She squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath, being worked deeper and deeper with every purposeful swallow. Mammon had been quick to stuff her into his mouth, but now that she was safely out of sight, Rayfa noticed, he was taking his sweet time getting her down. Slow, languid gulps. Pleasured hums vibrating around her. Fingers gingerly pressed against the throat, presumably to feel her fight back as he swallowed. Rayfa grimaced as she slowly squelched down his greedy gullet, squirming violently as the unyielding flesh easily suctioned her down.

“Stop enjoying this…!” Rayfa growled disgustedly. “Bastard…!”

Within the minute, Mammon finished swallowing her down, letting out a relieved and breathy sigh. Rayfa, meanwhile, gasped out as the tight, hot, unyielding throat finally gave way to a much roomier space. Fleshy and vulnerable, the squishy pink walls shifted easily around her as Rayfa scrambled to reorient herself. A noisy gurgle stretched on, echoing around the darkness. She had finally reached his stomach.

“…hububhhuhuhh…” Mammon babbled through what sounded like a very drooly mouthful.

“Mammon! Are you kidding me right now?!” Rayfa screamed, raging annoyance briefly overtaking her fear.

“…tha’ feelsh…” Mammon moaned out. “…so fuckin’ guhd…”

Rayfa shuddered at how the stomach lurched as Mammon stumbled almost-drunkenly backwards, then slumped against the grimy brick walls, slowly sliding down and lowering himself to the ground.

“Urghhh!” Rayfa groaned, utterly exasperated. “You! Are! The! Absolute! Worst!”

Every word was punctuated with an annoyed punch to the stomach walls. She only really succeeded in getting her fist all sticky/slimy with stomach ooze though; Manmon appeared entirely unaffected.

Rayfa surely would have chewed him out even more had she not been interrupted by a sickeningly familiar voice. Even though she was tucked away out of sight, she still shivered just hearing it. They had finally caught up.

“What did you do with the girl?!” Demon #1 demanded furiously.

“I, uh…” Mammon slurred. He had barely even begun to answer when his digestive system suddenly did the work for him, a deep and contented burp rolling up his throat. “Mrph. ‘Scuse me.”

It didn’t take much for Demon #1 and his lackeys to put two and two together after that.

“Bastard! She was supposed to be my lunch!” Demon #1 roared. “Get him!”

Rayfa hated that her heart leapt at the thought of Mammon getting caught up in trouble. Especially on her behalf. She was supposed to be angry at him—he had fucking eaten her—but much to her annoyance and embarrassment, she couldn’t shake the worry from her heart. She’d grown to care too much.

“Mammon, please! Get it together!” Rayfa urged, cursing herself for encouraging the man who had gulped her down like nothing more than an afternoon snack. But she couldn’t just sit idly by!

Mammon stayed seated, but Rayfa felt the stomach shift as he at least sat up straight. She felt a sudden surge of power flow through and around her, too. And when Mammon next spoke, his voice was unrecognizable.

“BaCK oFF,” Mammon snarled like a rabid dog, sounding like an actual demon for the first time since Rayfa had met him. “Or I’LL eaT yOU foR desSERT!”

Rayfa was pretty sure that Mammon only had a hankering for humans—not for other demons—but the threat worked all the same. Mammon almost never lost control, which made the few times he actually did downright terrifying. Rayfa could only imagine the looks of horror on her attackers’ faces as they trembled at the sight of the second son’s true form.

“Shit! I didn’t realize he was one of the seven Avatars-!”

“Okay, okay! You can keep the human! Just-!” An honest-to-god whimper. “Please don’t hurt us!”

“Quick! Let’s get out of here!”

Noises from the “outside world” (with the exception of voices) had proven too muffled to hear from within the confines of the demon boy’s gut, but Rayfa imagined that if she had been out there with him, she would’ve heard a stampede of receding footsteps. Her suspicions were further supported when she felt the energy needed to maintain his true form slowly fade away. Mammon let out a thoroughly contented puff of breath and relaxed back against the wall again, too. Demon form now totally dispelled. And then, in a move Rayfa never would’ve expected, Mammon began rubbing his belly appreciatively—she could feel the gentle weight on the other side of the “wall”. For a hopeful but fleeting moment, Rayfa almost believed he cared. But no! He had eaten her!

Rayfa tried desperately to work out why Mammon had done this. Had he decided that, if she was going to end up “demon food” anyway, it may as well be his belly she was filling? A memory from long ago suddenly sprung to the forefront of her mind:

“The next time your life’s in danger, I’m gonna be the one to save you, all right? Don’t you forget that.”

“…And if I can’t manage to save ya, then make sure you die, got it?!”

Rayfa felt tears prickling at her eyes. So that was it then. Mammon had decided that if he couldn’t protect her, the least he could do was take her out himself.

Rayfa shuddered as the stomach gurgled loudly. It’d been relentlessly noisy—groaning and churning around her—for the entire duration of her “stay”. She felt drowned out, unsure whether or not Mammon could even hear her, but Rayfa had never been the type to give up.

“Mammon! They- They’re gone now, right? So then let me out!”

“…fiyve mr…minuhhs…” Mammon mumbled out, words slurred and utterly unintelligible.

Rayfa groaned.

Why are you like this?

Praying that Mammon could hear her—she still wasn’t totally sure her words would reach him from down there—Rayfa did the only thing she could think left to do. She called upon the power of the pact.

“MAMMON!!!” Rayfa roared at the top of her lungs, fingers crossed that he could actually hear her so that the pact would work. “SPIT! ME! OUT!”

Rayfa guessed her words must’ve gotten through to him, because just like that, the demon’s body began to obey. The stomach lurched, and Mammon began making throaty/guttural choking noises like he was dry-heaving. Rayfa felt herself being tugged back towards the esophagus—This was her way out!—but the gagging sounds poor Mammon was making were rapidly becoming unbearable. Rayfa was genuinely beginning to worry that she’d accidentally commanded him to choke himself.

“Hrrk, rggh, hrghk-!”

“Okay, okay! Stop! Don’t hurt yourself!”

Rayfa cursed her own lack of resolve. She was going to die here now. As nothing more than “demon food”—like Mammon always teased. All because she couldn’t bring herself to hurt the lovable dumbass who’d eaten her.

Her surroundings shook turbulently for another few seconds as coughs wracked Mammon’s body. He wasn’t choking anymore, thank god, but he was very clearly gasping for breath. Rayfa felt terribly guilty for putting him through that. When Mammon had finally cleared his throat, he muttered out an unabashedly annoyed:

“Ya know, it’d be a lot easier on the botha us if ya lemme cough you up myself.”

“You-!” Rayfa brightened at finally being addressed, tears of relief blurring her vision. “You were really going to let me out?”

“Well, duh.” Mammon shrugged, and Rayfa slid as the walls shifted around her. “If I wanted ya dead, I woulda let those lesser demons have ya.”

“But-! But you-!”

“Didn’t ya hear the protection spell?” Mammon grumbled, clearing his throat again. Apparently, some lingering discomfort remained. Rayfa winced sympathetically. She really hadn’t meant to hurt him. “I cast one on ya right before I swallowed ya down.”

Ah. So that’s what he had been doing when she saw him “cursing out” the demons chasing them. Apparently, that flustered muttering had been a protection spell.

“Okay, fine! But why didn’t you answer me?!” Rayfa demanded shakily. “I was seriously freaking out, Mammon!”

“I, uh…” And the regret was practically tangible. He sounded immeasurably guilty. “’M sorry.” He finally settled on. “I didn’t mean to get buzzed like that.”

Yeah, Rayfa had figured that much out. She didn’t say so, though. Instead, she stayed patiently quiet, giving him room to elaborate.

“Humans really are a delicacy for us, ya know? And havin’ one alive and kickin’ in my belly…” Mammon mumbled embarrassedly. “…kinda fried my brain.”

Yeah, that checked out. Rayfa hummed in acknowledgement.

“Didn’t mean to give ya a heart attack though…” Mammon continued after a beat. “I really am sorry ‘bout that, Rayfa.”

He sounded so beyond apologetic that Rayfa couldn’t help but want to reach out to him. In moments like these—rare as they were—Rayfa would usually give him a hug. But obviously, that couldn’t quite be done…

Almost reflexively, Rayfa reached out with both hands, palms splayed against the squishy stomach walls. She gave a reassuring little shove—like a playful nudge to the shoulder—then slowly began rubbing soothing little circles into the flesh. Mammon shivered with delight at her touch; Rayfa could feel the stomach tremble with pleasure. Despite herself, she let out a little laugh.

“That good, huh?” Rayfa teased. The playful banter almost made her feel like they were chilling out on the couch together. Almost made her forget where she really was.

“Sh-Shaddup!”

Rayfa just knew he was blushing like crazy.

“I guess I should probably thank you for saving me,” Rayfa sighed wistfully. “Albeit through very unconventional means.”

Mammon huffed proudly. “You’re welcome! You should know by now never to doubt the Great Mammon!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Rayfa waved away the egotistical comment. “Can the ‘Great Mammon’ cough me up already? It’s super gross down here.”

“Uh.” Mammon froze, and Rayfa could feel the stomach tense up nervously around her. “Just lemme getcha back to the dorms first. You’ve got a penchant for trouble and I don’t wantcha runnin’ into any more of it.”

Excuse me?! You think I’m the one with the penchant for trouble?!

It took Rayfa a moment to realize that Mammon didn’t actually think her a trouble-magnet. He just wanted an excuse to hold onto her for a little longer. Because he was enjoying it.

Rayfa sighed heavily. She knew she was going to regret this: “Yeah, okay. But you’d better let me out the second we get home.”

“Yeah, ‘course! Sure thing.”

Rayfa laughed and shook her head. Now that Mammon had gotten a taste, Rayfa had the distinct feeling that this wouldn’t be the last time she found herself playing the role of “dinner”.

But curiously enough, Rayfa also found that maybe she didn’t totally mind. ❤️

[cheriafreya]

Penacony's 2.0-2.2 patches: genuinely HSR's peak, full of unforgettable moments. I still get chills watching the cutscenes and some of them still make me cry like the first day.

Penacony's 2.3, 2.6 and 2.7 patches:

[hiwelcometothemonstersancturary]

So who is your favorite creepy pasta my is laughing jack

Abandoned by Disney and Godzilla NES!!! For the creeps associated with the slendermansion idea (which I love btw), it has been years since I last read their creepypastas, but just for their characters I think Laughing Jack and Ticci Toby! I think Jeff is INCREDIBLY funny because in the og story he was just 13. To me he made that story up and posted it in the internet. I know him.

[lavendertrash39]

So.. huntlow childhood friends au :]

It all starts with the mountain trial. All the scouts get left at the top of a mountain and they see who can make it down alive, and the fastest. 

Hunter is 9 years old when he attempts it. He ends up being one of the fastest scouts there. 

When he starts to reach the bottom of the mountain, he hears a girl cry out. He looks behind him and sees that he's far enough ahead, and goes to investigate the sound. He ends up finding a girl around his age standing by a stream, holding a bunch of mushrooms in her hands. 

She introduces herself as Willow. She's sweet, bubbly, and loves foraging, just like him! She seems equally excited when he shares that he has the same interest. He ends up showing her how to find a specific mushroom and gives her a bandaid for a scratch she'd gotten when tripping.

They unfortunately have to part ways soon after meeting each other, but neither of them forget their brief interaction. After all, they’d never met anyone else who enjoys foraging like they do.

[ahopefulbromantic]

Okay. Alright. Not that anyone cares

I felt the need to tell my story, my well, testimony, some would say, though I don't like this word that much.

Get ready for the wall of text!!!

I'm not straight. That's a fact, it's not something I could change even if I wanted to (I don't. I love it). I don't identify as asexual. I am asexual. As far as I remember, I've never been straight. And if there could be anything that "changed me" it would have happened way too early for anyone to be able to be sure about it.

I've never been straight. But I don't call myself LGBT+ or queer person, either. Because that to me means identifying as a part of the community I don't feel a part of. I'll get to it. For now, let's start from the beginning:

There were, of course, boyfriends from kindergarten. But they weren't anything more than a make-believe play which actually often irritated me. I mean, I decided I was in love with one when I was six, not because I actually was, it was just a thing all the girls did and I wanted to make dramatic confessions like those I've seen in movies. Another one decided he was in love with me so I used him for my benefit (things like: "yeah okay whatever you can be my boyfriend if you clean up my desk, sweet"). I was telling people I had a crush on Michał Wiśniewski who was at the time a thirty-something-years-old Polish vocalist. Did I find him attractive? Of course not. But he did have red hair, and that's an esthetic trait I'm still really fond of, and remember, I was six. So yeah. Apart from those I've had no other boyfriends or crushes ever again. As early as 9 years old I already decided those weren't for me and I haven't changed my mind since.

And nobody bothered me about it. No girly sleepovers where everyone had to confess their crushes, no people pestering me about it so much I'd feel uncomfortable. Not even that many deep conversation with other people about their crushes to which I could only respond with "mkay" or "who needs crushes anyway? but you do you I guess?". And, most fortunately, no talking about s*x of any kind. I've only attended a few s*x-ed classes at my schools - thankfully at first my mom decided I didn't have to waste my time there, though later she thought maybe I could get some use out of it despite my pleas and whinings. I did not get any use of it. I was repulsed by everything that was said there. I was positive everyone else must be, too. I tried not to listen at all, best as my little grindy and obedient mind could. Goes without saying that I despised any s*x scenes in books and movies as well and never talked with anyone about those topics, cause they made me extremely uncomfortable. Even the occasional intrusive thoughts I fought like fire.

I've seen lots of acearo people confess that they feel like they are broken, or like there's something wrong with them. I've never had that. I knew I wasn't broken, that would be ridiculous. I was right. It's everyone else who was gross and weird.

I started to ponder that maybe I was different during junior high. One of my classmates kept asking me who's the most handsome boy in our class and I always replied: my brother, of course! 😁 (Truthfully so, he's really beautiful). It may have been around that time I noticed that I looked differently at people than most did. I couldn't tell if someone was attractive or not. I found everyone beautiful, though some features I liked more than others.

There was a boy in our class, shy and quiet, we got along pretty well. After graduating junior high, another classmate called me to tell me he fancied me and to ask if I fancied him, too. I told her I didn't look at people that way. Her immediate response was "yo are you a lesbian???". "No! I'm not a lesbian!", I replied. "...Am I?", I thought. After this I had a long think about my orientation. I wasn't straight. I wasn't lesbian, either. I figured I might be bi, I did seem to be keen on girls on the same level as on boys. But it didn't feel right either, as that level was 0. It was funny, I realized I'd never thought about my orientation until that moment, when I was 16. I hadn't ever needed to. I finally decided I must be something else entirely, some glorious anomaly in the world who's wired differently than everybody else. I left it at that. There wasn't any need in figuring it out for now anyway.

I went to the best high school ever. One of its many cool features was that we didn't have s*x-ed classes in the timetables at all. They were done once in a while by a school psychologist when the teacher for any class was absent. This happened during one of my first days and it took me by surprise. It wasn't that bad, I had a book and a few friends to chat and dismiss the teachings entirely with.

I did hear a few sentences, though. The psychologist was speaking about there being different orientations. "And many people don't know that beside heterosexual, homosexual, and bisexual people, there also exist asexual people." My head jolted up. I did not need any explanation. As soon as I heard the term, my immediate thought was: "Oh. So I'm asexual. Huh, cool!" It made my day. I was beaming without cease for the rest of it.

I did some research. As soon as I found out the term aromantic, I claimed it as well. There was never any doubt in my mind. And I was the most stereotypical acearo imaginable, too. S*x-repulsed, childlike, innocent, a proud virgin, valuing my friendships more than anything, fairly androgynous, quirky, weird, fantasy loving, romance hating, not being able to understand any of it, turning my head away whenever two characters kissed during a movie, a garlic bread enjoyer. I loved the memes, they were so relatable!

So naturally I bought myself an ace ring to proudly wear, I secretly celebrated every asexual/aromantic awareness dates, and I joined online ace communities.

That was... where the magic bubble started to pop. I just, I couldn't feel myself a part of the group. For instance, everyone was so caught up in being recognized as part of the LGBT+ club, which to me frankly didn't make sense. I mean, I get gay and bi aces wanting to be part of the group, but for aroaces and straight aces, I didn't see what we had in common with the rest of them? But that was bearable, to each their own. What really made me feel sad and unwelcomed were some other things. Firstly, how much talk about s*x there actually was? In an asexual community? Like guys, please, I thought this would be a safe space where we did NOT have to talk about it all the time??? And yeah, I get that not every ace is s*x-repulsed and negative about the topic, but do we really feel the need to stress it so much on every possible occasion and to top it all go into nsfw topics on main so much that it's really getting uncomfortable, even with all the tw and cw? Secondly, from the content of the posts it seemed that somehow being ace and/or aro is inextricably intertwined with being a leftist? Why are you all talking about abortion bans? Why are you advocating for which US president to vote for?? Why are you so proudly defending prostitution??? And why are you making fun of Christians so much???? And all in a way that would suggest we all universally agree, how could we not.

I realized something during this time. I realized what orientation really was, or rather, what it was not. It was just that - orientation. The one and only thing it said about someone was who they were attracted to. Which honestly is not a thing I feel the need to know about people. What it did not say about someone was: how they go about experiencing their orientation, what their ideal family looks like, what their worldview is, what their stance on social/political/religious issues is, whether they feel a part of LGBT+ communities or not, what their lifestyle is, what other traits they possess, and so on (y'know, the things that would actually interest me about someone).

After three years I took off my ace ring. I cut ties with any queer groups I was in. I was looking for a place to find like-minded people where we all would share confusion about the world's obsession with s*x, where we would celebrate other forms of relationships and intimacy than erotic and romantic ones, where we would value virginity and celibacy, where no one would tell us we were broken or worse for it, where we would ensure each other that different lifestyles than married with biological children are possible and out there, where we would laugh together and feel good about ourselves.

I didn't find this in queer spaces.

I found it in the Church.

[lena-oleanderson]

True Blue (to Rio) from Side Wounds

fun fact: a version of this poem was in the first draft of side wounds (it went through Many, and features a lot of brand new poems i wrote just for the collection) but was also the last one i finished editing. and truth be told, if my deadline hadn't caught up with me, i'd probably still be editing it.

[bumblingbabooshka]

Post Voyager returning to the alpha quadrant there’s definitely (in my heart) an unofficial club where the spouses/loved ones of her ex-crew gather to talk about how different and fucked up the experience made them, both of them in some cases. There’s also an official one but many of them don’t want to talk to a professional since Voyager is a media circus and they either don’t want more spotlight, are afraid of things leaking to the press, or are just uncomfortable talking to someone who might potentially idolize the person they’re talking about. (some of them share their experiences of this happening even amongst family or friends). A lot of talk of divorce, a lot of feeling trapped in relationships (a breakup would now be at LEAST semi-public and again it might prompt a lot of negativity - YOU broke up with a HERO? or speculation about the person they love[d] not to mention just general feelings of guilt). But there’s also a lot of funny (at least to them) stories, tears, venting, community. Also maybe to lighten the mood Quark’s there trying to get them plastered.