#With a lot of exotic pets apparently

[nelkcats]

Crow services

After Danny died he noticed that some animals had become more attached to him while others had moved away. Aggressive or death related animals seemed to react positively to his presence, although friendlier animals such as birds tended to fly away.

Of course, none of this prepared him for the number of crows that landed on his window daily. At first he was scared that they would consider him a corpse and try to eat him but after the third time they brought him a shiny object he assumed they just liked him.

Those crows became very fond of him, they let him pet them, they would perch on his head or shoulders, always present and sometimes even watching over him (A particularly intelligent crow he named Poe would drive his parents away with distractions).

So when he moved to Gotham to complete his studies he prepared for a farewell to his feathered friends; said friends simply ignored him and followed him around the city. Danny assumed he wasn't going to be able to fight them, so he let them be.

This is how the phenomenon called "The Invasion of Crows" began in Gotham, the animals were not aggressive but mostly indifferent, some of them agreed to carry letters as homing pigeons (After Danny asked them for the favor) starting "Crow services"

As long as you had the money or something shiny to pay them the birds would carry messages from one place to another, ironically they would give that payment to Danny, who only sighed and let them pass to his apartment, giving them: some food, shelter and a place to sleep, although he was worried the moment his neighbor would complain about the noise.

At first he let them stay on the streets because they were supposed to be free, but after the sixth time he caught Damian Wayne trying to adopt one he just rolled his eyes and now the little ones were living with him.

So yes, when Jason finally decided to visit his neighbor he didn't expect the red eyed crowd staring at him and judging his actions, one in particular lunged at him and he swore he was about to gouge his eyes out before a voice yelled "Poe, wait! "

Said crow looked at him for a few more seconds before perch on the head of the prettiest boy he had ever seen, who approached to offer him a hand "I'm sorry, they're very overprotective" he muttered worried.

Jason almost fell over laughing when he noticed that this was B's "weird case" about the rise in crows alongside the supposed "new rogue" in town, when all he saw was a college boy with a murder of crows living in his house, maybe creating a new messaging system.

He was going to have so much fun with this, maybe he'd even manage to go on a date with his eyes intact, who knows.

[remiratboi]

Lost Souls Campground - Ollidar

Masterlist

Yandere!MHalfOrcXFatAFAB!G/NReader ~ 11K Words

You met when you were children, and he never spoke. You were childhood best friends. Now, a decade after you last saw him, you've returned to the very campground you grew up seeing him at. You never imagined you'd find him there again.

CW: Monster fucking, noncon/dubcon, stalking, yandere, obsessive relationship, unhealthy relationship, body image issues, bondage, gaslighting, manipulation. Let me know if I missed something.

I re-edited it and changed a few things, and posted it all as one!

Every year, your family would vacation in the Moonlight Realm. The pocket universe that had been discovered around 100 years ago. ‘Moonlight Realm’ it was affectionately called because of the creatures who dwelled there. Monsters.

As well as monsters of all kinds, the Moonlight Realm boasted of beautiful scenery, cheap rates, and what humans originally deemed “exotic cultures”.

But the humans and the monsters had settled into a comfortable coexistence, and monsters were far from rare any longer. You grew up with creatures all around you. It was common and equal. The human race had come a long way.

The little cabin you always rented for the whole summer was small and cramped. You, 3 siblings, your parents, and an elderly dog made the 2 bedroom unit feel like a shoebox. From a very young age, you had learned all the best hiding spots and getaways in the park. When you were around 10 years old, you found that apparently someone else had found them too.

A young half orc named Ollidar, or Ollie.

You didn’t speak the same language, and the first time you met, it had been awkward and confusing. You had tried to tell him he was welcome, and that there was enough room for the both of you. He seemed to understand, as he ended up sitting across from you in the small natural clearing that sat just inside the forest.

You probed him with questions, you tried acting things out, you tried writing them down with a stick in the dirt. He didn’t respond. Sometimes it looked like he understood something but he never gave any reply. Just sat there, watching you. Sometimes he’d smile shyly.

The first summer it had been a lot to get used to. He started meeting you every day in the same spot. Sometimes he’d read, or listen to music on his AirPods, but mostly he watched you.

You wasted a few days trying to get him to respond, but since he never did, it slowly switched to you just talking to him. You told him… everything. You had to fill the silence. It would be too awkward if not.

You told him about your friends back home, your cat who you missed terribly and hoped was liking the pet sitter. About your favourite movies, books, foods. You told him about your fears, you weren’t sure why. You told him embarrassing stories. Sometimes you even worried he would think you were lame or weird and leave, but he never did. He just listened.

The summer came to an end and you did your best to tell him goodbye. That you hoped to see him again.

And you would. Every year. Every summer you spent two glorious months glued to each other’s sides. Your families became close through you.  He had a sister and two moms. Your parents got along, and all of your siblings as well.

No one understood why he never spoke. It wasn’t a language barrier anymore. After 7 summers together both families knew more than enough about the other’s language. Enough to communicate with little confusion. He seemed to understand everything. If you asked him to pass you something, he would. If you gave him something he didn’t want, he’d shake his head. But he never spoke.

You stopped going on family vacations when you turned 18. You had moved out, so had most of your siblings. Your parents decided it was time for your own family vacations.

The first summer that you weren’t going, hit you harder than you’d ever imagined. Your chest hurt.

The next year was better.

And the next.

Soon you were 28 and that little half orc was just a fond, albeit, bittersweet memory.

Until your parents decide to do a sort of reunion trip this year. All of your siblings, and their families, plus you and your parents, would be taking a summer vacation to Lost Souls Campground in the Moonlight Realm this year.

It had barely changed. Some machines had been upgraded, the cabins had clearly been renovated to function with modernity, but other wise it was beautiful, serene, and just like you remembered it.

“It’s you.” A strong deep voice full of awe whispered from behind you. You turned around and was met with a face indeed in awe. It took a moment but you realized this was the first time you’d ever heard his voice.

“Oh wow!” You exclaimed. Genuine joy spreading across your face. “You’re here?!” You cried and raced up to him. He didn’t even flinch as you threw yourself at him. His arms opened and he gathered you in a powerful embrace. There was a hint of desperation in the way he clung to your soft body.

You felt a pang of anxiety that had been previously overtaken by the shock of seeing him. You were not thin anymore. And while you loved your body, and felt sexy in it, not everyone else was as comfortable with fat bodies as you were. What if he didn’t want you like this?

Want me like this? What am I thinking?!

You tried to pull yourself away from the hug, but he held tight.

“It’s you…” he muttered into your hair. He was warm, and huge. The orc part of his genes must have been strong. He dwarfed you. It took a lot for someone to make you feel small. Some part of your brain short circuited when you finally registered he had been lifting you. You panicked slightly then, worried about being too heavy and pushed yourself from his chest. He reluctantly lowered you down.

You were blushing from feet to head as you smoothed out your clothes. “Sorry, I… I was just surprised to see you.” You stuttered out. You looked up at his face. He was beautiful. You could see hints of the boy you knew, but he had grown, developed thick muscles, his face thinned out and lengthened.

“You came back.” He replied. His gaze was hyper focused on you. It seemed nothing else registered to him any longer. You squirmed a bit under such overwhelming attention.

“Yeah, we stopped back then, when all of us had moved out. But we are doing a sort of reunion trip this summer!” You explained excitedly. You felt giddy. You didn’t even really understand why. You felt excitement at seeing him.

“Does your family still come here every year?” You asked and leaned around him to see if any of them were standing near by.

“No, just me.” He answered. For the first time since seeing you, his gaze dropped. His cheeks darkened.

“You must really love this ratty old place, huh?” You joked and nudged his arm with your elbow.

“I guess.” He replied, still avoiding eye contact. “So how long are you here for?” He asked.

“The whole summer!” You exclaimed, throwing your arms out wide as if that would show the physical manifestation of time. “I had about a decade of vacations days saved up, so I decided to take the whole summer. Everyone else is just here for a couple weeks.”

He nodded and glanced back up into your eyes. “So just you and your partner are here for the summer? Or do you have kids now?” He asked and dropped his gaze again.

You chuckled. Kind of a transparent attempt my guy. “No, no partner. No kids. Never found anyone willing to put up with me long enough.” You joked self deprecatingly. “You of all people know how much I can talk.” You grimaced at yourself.

“That was my favourite thing about you.” He replied quietly. He seemed nervous. You blushed again. “The way you spoke was mesmerizing.” He continued before, it seemed, he could stop himself.

A manic sounding giggle escaped your lips. “Wow, marry me?” You joked. It was his turn to laugh like a crazy person.

“So, uh,” you continued “how long are you here for?”

“Whole summer.” He answered and smiled up at you. “How solo were you hoping to spend your time?” He ran his hand down the back of his neck and rested it on his shoulder.

You laughed and placed your hand on his arm.

The first few days with Ollie were a little awkward. Not in an uncomfortable way, but in that you didn’t know eachother anymore. It had been a decade since you had spent time together, and while he talked a little more than he used to, it was still few and far in between.

You couldn’t tell if he found it awkward though. He never mentioned it. He just followed you around. He seemed content to just exist nearby you.

The first two weeks breezed by in a flurry of family, kids, games, and way too much food. At the end of it, you waved them goodbye and excitedly hurried back to the little cabin. This would be the first time you’d had it all to yourself.

You pulled the door shut behind you and basked in the quiet for a moment. You could always hear other campers outside. Kids shrieking, vehicles moving, multiple different music sources all floating on top of eachother. And inside was a sort of haven from it all.

You made your way to the kitchen to grab a drink when you found a plate full of cookies, uncovered and still warm on the counter. You were surprised, you hadn’t noticed anyone baking before they’d left? Weird.

You inspected a cookie. Sniffed it, licked it. You didn’t immediately explode, so you shrugged your shoulders to yourself and took a bite. It was a very good cookie. You grabbed a couple more and threw them in a baggie. You gathered some other things, and changed into your bathing suit.

The beach was a short 5 or so minute walk from your cabin, and you munched away at your cookie the whole way. It was a bit overcast, so the beach wasn’t as crowded as it usually was.

You claimed a spot near another family, so that you felt comfortable leaving your stuff alone if you swam, and laid your towel out. You pulled your slinky bathing suit cover over your head and dropped it next to your things.

It was still a bit early in the day to go into the water so you opted for sunbathing with the hopes you’d get all warm and toasty then cool off in the water. Soon you were face down on a towel, your head on your arms, dozing away. You were interrupted by a prolonged blocking of sun rays.

You craned your head up and struggled to make out who it was looming over you with the suns rays blinding you from behind them. You glanced down at their feet next to you and recognized pale green skin.

“You liked the cookies?” Ollies deep voice asked. You were about to say yes, when you processed the implications of him being the one to hand deliver, into your kitchen, without asking, the surprise treat you’d found. You sat up and tugged his hand so he wasn’t standing in front of the sun anymore and you could actually see him.

“Uh, yeah they were good. But, that means you were in my cabin?” You asked incredulously.

“Oh, sorry, was that inappropriate?” He asked, genuine concern seeming to lace his tone. “Sorry, I sometimes…” he trailed off. He looked anxious again. You chose to let him work through what he wanted to say. Words were hard for him, and you wanted him to feel safe sharing them with you. Even if right now you were kind of peeved with him. “Sometimes I don’t understand what’s.. ok, or whatever.” He finished.

“Well, I appreciate your apology. No, going into someone else’s space without their consent, isn’t ok.” You softened. He wasn’t trying to cross a boundary. And he had apologized immediately. “How did you get in anyway?” You queried, already moving on from the emotions.

“I, uh, it was unlocked.” He stuttered out. Your eyebrows knit together. You could have sworn it was locked. But you shrugged past the confusion quickly. How else would he have gotten in?

“Weird. Well, anyway, I do like the cookies, they are delicious and very sweet of you.” You placed your hand on his lower calf where you could reach in a comforting way. “Just next time please knock.” You winked and giggled.

He nodded emphatically.

You and Ollie spent the day at the beach. You realized later that you never actually asked him to join you, but you weren’t displeased that he did. Even after only two weeks, you were pretty used to having him around you again. It was just like when you were kids.

Well, almost. You couldn’t help but notice some of his gazing wasn’t quite as… wholesome as it had been when you were kids. But it didn’t bother you. He wasn’t lewd about it at all, and if you were being honest with yourself, you kind of enjoyed it. Also, you had to admit, you had done some gazing yourself.

He was huge. He was muscled. He was gorgeous, and didn’t seem to be aware of it. He was exquisitely shy around everyone but you. And on top of all that, he seemed to notice only you.

You had watched countless others throw themselves at him, just to be rejected one way or another. More often than not, it seemed he just genuinely didn’t realize he was being hit on. Sometimes he’d be forced into straight up turning someone down, but mostly he’d just give them a puzzled look, and walk away.

Today was no different. You were reaching for the sunscreen when a volleyball sprayed sand all over you. You yelped and sand filled your mouth. A very pretty woman jogged over.

“O-M-G! I am so sorry about that!” She said in one of the fakest voices you’d ever heard. She said it to Ollie, not you, even though he hadn’t been hit with the spray at all. Normally you would have said something sassy, but you were too busy spitting sand from your mouth.

Ollie didn’t respond to her, but he leaned over to grab the volleyball from where it had landed between you.

“I’m Selina!” She said, all bubbly. “I’ve seen you around, you should play with us some time!”

Ollie looked up at her, volleyball still in his hands. He glanced at you. He turned back to her and thrust the ball towards her. He held it tightly in one single hand. You couldn’t help but notice how large his hand was.

“You should be more careful.” He replied, emotionless.

She took the ball and giggled anxiously. “Oh, yeah of course, we totally will.” She smiled awkwardly at you. “So, do you want to come play now?” She shot her shot.

“No.” Ollie replied.

“Aw, come on. We don’t bite.” She joked and wiggled her finger at him.

Ollie glared at her now. His face no longer impassive but furious. It surprised you. He didn’t normally express much emotion visibly.

“First you spray sand all over my partner,” he started.

Partner?!

“Then you apologize to me, not even the one you sprayed.” He continued, his tone developing an edge. The girl raised the hand not holding the ball in front of her and took a hesitant step back.

“THEN you hit on me in front of them, and don’t take no for an answer?” He shook his head at her, his soft black curls bouncing with the movement. “I am so, painfully, not interested.” He finished.

The woman blushed deeper red at each of his words, before spinning on her heel and practically running away.

“That was kind of rude.” You said quietly. You could feel his annoyance rolling off of him.

“Did I say anything untrue?” He asked you. His words were demanding, but his tone was soft. He was always soft with you. He glared in the direction she had ran. 

“Well, not really.” You answered speculatively. “Mostly. Partner?” You asked and turned to look at him.

“Ah, yeah, sorry. I guess that wasn’t true.” He replied. He glanced up at you from the side, but didn’t turn to face you.

“Why did you say it then?” Your voice sounded small, but you felt bold for vocalizing the question pounding in your head.

He turned to look at you for a moment. A fire blazed in his eyes. He didn’t say anything for a long time. He just stared into your eyes. You found you couldn’t look away.

Finally, “Sorry, I guess I wanted more reason to defend you. I felt… more angry than made sense.” He turned to look back down in front of him. You mulled his words for a moment. That made sense. What you still wondered about was the feelings that made him ‘more angry than made sense’.

You reached out and lay a hand on his shoulder. He tensed for a moment, but then quickly relaxed into your touch. “Thank you for defending me.” You said quietly. A smile played at his lips. He glanced back at you for just a second.

“Oh, also I think that was the most words I’ve ever heard you say all in a row about the same topic.” You teased him.

Your hand still lay on his shoulder. A part of you recognized the moment was over, and it made sense to remove your hand. But you didn’t. His skin was warm and you could feel his muscles tense and move with him.

You were surprised by a sudden, intense desire to touch him everywhere.

“I like your bathing suit by the way.” He mumbled. You almost didn’t catch it. Your cheeks burned and you stared at him for a second too long. 

You snapped out of it and finally pulled your hand from his shoulder. You found yourself fidgeting with the ties that hung down the side of your string bikini. To be honest, you hadn’t expected to see him here, and this suit was one you normally reserved solely for private sun bathing as it was pretty skimpy. You were suddenly very aware of the soft rolls on your sides. The way your thighs pressed together. 

“Oh, really?” Your laugh had a slight edge. “My mom told me it’s not… flattering on my body.” You didn’t know why you told him that. It was embarrassing. Not only had your mother insulted you, but she’d body shamed you. And now you were telling the absolute hunk of a man sitting next to you looking like an Adonis? “But I like it, still.” You finished lamely. 

You looked up then to see Ollie staring at you. The fire in his eyes had returned. The same fire he’d had when you asked him why he’d called you his partner. “It’s very flattering. Your mother is a lovely woman, but clearly blind.” He spoke with an almost comedic level of seriousness. You fought the instinct to brush off the compliment. You didn’t want to. You wanted to believe him. 

You tucked your hair behind your ear and smiled to yourself. “Thank you.” Your voice was soft. 

After that day on the beach, Ollie became significantly more protective of you. More possessive. He was always around you. He brought you coffee and breakfast, he fixed little things around the cabin for you, he planned activities for you both to do.

You wouldn’t have thought him a hardcore hobby guy, but he took you rock climbing, and snorkelling. He took you to a local pottery studio, he brought you to the library in town. He always had you doing something.

It was starting to drive you crazy.

You had wanted to relax?! Not that you didn’t enjoy the activities, and his company, but it never stopped. You were on vacation. You had planned to lie on the beach for two months straight, eating, drinking, and probably smoking a lot of weed. Now here you were, sober, and painting in the woods.

You felt guilty. This was a beautiful activity, and you were genuinely enjoying it. But it just hadn’t been what you planned for. You would have loved a few things here and there, but not every day, all day long.

You decided to tell him that evening. The painting class ended, and you were actually pretty pleased with your work. It was a life painting of the little waterfall and pond the class had been set up next to. You weren’t anything special, but you were proud of it nonetheless.

Ollie jumped into his old, open jeep and carefully placed both of your paintings behind his seat. He leaned across the bench seat to offer you his hand. He pulled you up onto the bench like you weighed nothing. It’s something he must have done 100 times by now, but every single time, you blushed like a fool. Your core heated at the casual way he handled you. 

“You’re not heavy, you know.” Ollie broke the silence as you headed back to the camp.

“… what?” You asked, confused.

“You always look so worried after I help you into the car.” He glanced at you then back to the road. “You’re not heavy.” He stated matter of factly

You blushed again. He had no idea.

“Oh, yeah, I guess I’m worried about that.” You lied lamely. You’d always been bad at lying. You chewed on your lip.

His brows furrowed slightly. “Ok, so if that’s not it,” His voice was smooth and deep. He didn’t speak much. Even now. He mostly used basic gestures to communicate. But sometimes, when you were alone, he’d talk. You loved it. More than you probably should have. A warmth spread from the centre of you and radiated out. “what is it then?” He continued, pulling you out of your own thoughts.

“Uh, what is what then?” You replied, hoping he’d drop it if you pretended not to understand.

“Why do you blush so hard every time you get in my vehicle?” He asked. There was no getting around that one.

You sighed to yourself. Do you tell him? What the hell, you thought to yourself. What does it matter if he thinks you’re a horny slut? He’s just some guy you’re going to see for another month and a half, then never again. Who cares… right?

“I… gods this is embarrassing,” you started. You saw his one eyebrow raise. “It’s… ok… it’s hot as fuck, ok?” You forced out. You could feel how warm your cheeks were. This was worse than you thought it would be. You cared more than you liked.

“… what’s hot?” He asked slowly. You died a little. Of COURSE he was going to make you spell it out.

“Omg Ollie, I just… I’m not… small alright? So having a very attractive man casually lift me like it’s nothing?” You stared out the open window, unable or unwilling to look at him. “That’s really hot.”

He nodded slowly beside you. You could see in your peripheral that his cheeks had also darkened.

“Is it hot because any man is lifting you, or because I’m lifting you?” He finally asked.

Jesus Christ

“You know,” you started, your voice an octave too high. “I REALLY haven’t given it much thought.”

It was silent in the car for a long time.

Finally you couldn’t take it anymore. “So…”

He didn’t look at you. His knuckles were white on the wheel.

“So what are we doing tonight?” You asked.

“Nothing.” He replied, too quickly. Your heart fell. Here it was. Just like always.

You were quiet the rest of the drive. He dropped you off at your cabin. Normally he’d jump out and open your door for you. Not tonight. Had you really read him that wrong?

You shut the door behind you and turned around to speak. Before you could, he shifted the gear and drove slowly away.

You spent the evening alternating between disappointed, embarrassed and annoyed. It surprised you how hard it was to keep your mind off of it. Normally rejection rolled off of you. You were pretty used to it, unfortunately. Dating while fat was… something else.

But this was different somehow. You cared this time. It hit you like a truck when you realized it. For the first time, in a very long time, you cared.

You hated it. You hated giving someone that power. Being vulnerable wasn’t something you did well.

You had spent your entire life being “too much”. You were too big, both in personality and body. You were too loud, you had too many emotions, and thoughts. You talked too much. And people were not scared to tell you. You couldn’t even count the times and ways people had defined you as “too much”. The blatant words, the subtle actions, the micro aggressions. That was your life.

But not him. He had told you his favourite thing about you was how much you talked. Which, honestly, felt fake, but it was hard not to believe his genuine eyes. He had done so many things to make you think he…

You instinctively shut down that train of thought. You shouldn’t get your hopes up. He’s made it clear you read things wrong.

The next day came slowly. It was raining. You rolled over in bed, not eager to start the day. You debated going back to sleep, when you heard dishes clinking.

You shot up, fear ripping through your chest. Had you imagined that? No. You heard it again.

A chill settled in your bones as you carefully, silently, crawled out of bed. You wore a skimpy tank top that barely covered you. It was low cut, you never wore a binder/bra, you didn’t need to, you had been blessed with only tiny handfuls for tits, and it rested under your waist showing your lower stomach. The booty shorts you wore didn’t make things any better. They were practically underwear. You debated trying to throw more clothes on, but knew the closet doors creaked.

The little cabin was small, but the bedrooms were on one side, and the kitchen on the complete opposite. You made your way towards it, picking up a badminton racket on the way. It had been discarded in the hallway after another one of your activities with Ollie.

You raised the racket above your shoulder and took a deep breath to steel yourself. This was it. You slowly stepped around the corner. Your mind filled with murderers and villains.

The tall, pale green half orc that was bent over the stove with his back to you was not what you were expecting. You practically sobbed with relief.

“Ollie?!” You demanded, your voice cracking and sounding a lot more desperate than you’d like. He turned slightly, but didn’t look away from whatever he was doing.

“Good morning!” He said cheerily. “Sorry if I woke you. I just wanted to make you breakfast to make up for yesterday.” He continued. You noticed now milk and eggs on the counter. The smell of food wafted towards you.

You didn’t say anything. Your brain was struggling to compute. You had like 7 questions. How had he got in? Why did he do this? Why did he think it was ok? But most importantly, what does he mean ‘make up for yesterday’?!

Just as you realized you’d been standing there, slackjawed, not answering, for far too long, he turned. As soon as he saw you, he froze. His cheeks went dark green and the flipper he was holding clattered to the ground. You were confused for about .02 whole seconds before you remembered you were almost naked.

“Uh, I’ll be right back.” You blurted out and raced back to your room. You threw the door shut and leaned against it. What the hell was he doing here? In your cabin! While you were asleep!

Your mind raced as you threw a loose tee over the tank, and a pair of thin sweats on. You made your way back to the kitchen.

“Ollie, I think we need to talk about boundaries-” you started. You stopped when you noticed the front door was open. You looked from the door to the kitchen. He was gone. A thin plume of smoke started on the stove. Something was burning.

A quick toss of the pan into the sink dealt with that. You turned off the burner and leaned on the counter in bafflement.

No, fuck that! He doesn’t get to just run away from this!

You ran after him.

You stormed down the little path, through the camp, and straight to Ollies cabin. You always thought his cabin looked less like a vacation home, and more like a regular home.

Three raps rung out as you knocked on the front door.

No answer.

You were like 90% sure he had gone home.

“Ollie, I know you’re in there. We need to talk.” You called. It was silent for a long moment. You almost began second guessing yourself.

“I… I can’t.” Came softly from inside.

Can’t?! CAN’T?!

“Like HELL you can’t!” You shouted through the door. You cringed slightly when you ended up being louder than you’d meant. A couple walking by stared at you. You raised your hand and smiled unconvincingly.

“Ollie,” you continued, a bit quieter. “You just broke into my cabin while I was sleeping. We are talking about this, right now.” You gritted your teeth. “Open. The. Door.” You left no room for discussion.

A long moment passed with no reply. You fidgeted. Just when you had started to consider squeezing your ass through a window, his voice came through the door.

“It’s open.” He answered.

Oh.

You turned the handle and pushed the door open. He sat, in the afternoon light filtering through the window, on his couch, head hung so you couldn’t see his face, with a large pillow gripped in front of him.

He looked sad. You hadn’t expected sad. You don’t know what you’d expected, but not sad. You steeled your resolve.

“Ok, this has gone too far.” You started. “You’re a great guy, but you don’t seem to understand boundaries, so I’m going to lay them out, clear as day, and if you cross them again, that’s going to be it, Ollie.” You finished and crossed your arms. He looked up through his curls. He looked like he was in agony. You instinctively took a step back, surprised by his intense reaction.

You shook your head, trying not to let those puppy dog eyes break you down. “How do you keep getting into my cabin?” You demanded. “And don’t give me some shit about it being unlocked. I know it was locked last night.”

He looked up, further. His eyes scanned your face. He seemed to be debating if he wanted to answer. You waited.

Finally “I… have a key.” He said, guilt lacing his words.

“A KEY?!” You practically shouted. “Where the hell did you get a key?!”

He groaned and leaned back on the couch. He ran his hand across his face. “I own it.”

Your mouth dropped open. “What does that mean?” You said slowly, dangerously.

“I, I bought the campground a few years ago.”

“You own the ENTIRE campground?!” You demanded. Your voice had started to enter dog whistle pitches.

He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. He buried his face in his hands. The large pillow was squished and stuck out at weird angles.

“You never came back.” He said quietly. The dam broke. “One day, you just never came back. 4 years went by and I did everything I could to find you. No one had information, no one knew how to contact you or your family. I kept coming back every year, desperate to see you again, to hear you again. But you were never here.”

He glanced up at you. You felt numb. His eyes were filled with sorrow.

“4 years after you last came they were going to shut it down. It hadn’t been doing as great and the owners were old. They told us it would be the last year. I had some money from my grandparents inheritance, and…” he shook his head at himself.

“I couldn’t let the only connection I had to you disappear. Even if you never came back, all those places we had spent time in, the feelings I had for you, here I got to live in them. I felt you everywhere. Every little memory.”

His cheeks were a deep dark green, but he seemed unable to stop the flow of words from his mouth for the first time in your entire lives.

“I made a lot of changes, put a ton of work in, and the campground is doing great now. This is my life here. I don’t run the day to day anymore, but I live here, I maintain it.”

He looked back down at the ground. “And you finally came back.”

You stood there, stunned. Long moments of uneasy silence passed between you.

“Ollie this…” you didn’t even know what to say. Panic started to rise in your throat. “This is too mu-” you heard yourself start to say it. The words you’d heard your entire life. Too much.

“I need to go.” You blurted out and turned to leave. A noise came from behind you.

Ollie grabbed your shoulder and turned you around to face him. He pushed you against the door, your back to it. He held you there with his hands against the door next to your head. His huge arms framed your face and he bent down to look at you. His face was so close.

“Please, don’t go, just listen, I-” he stuttered. Desperation filled his eyes. Frustration filled yours.

“No!” You shouted. “You don’t get to stop me. You don’t get anything!” You poked his chest, jabbing your finger accusingly. “You don’t get to reject me then tell me you’re obsessed with me!” You spat, the words cruel. You didn’t care. Your nerves were frayed. You didn’t know how to handle yourself after his confession. His obsession.

Confusion pulled his eyebrows together. “Reject you…?” He asked. You blushed. You hadn’t meant to bring that up. But apparently even now, your stupid little monkey brain could only think about that.

“Yesterday.” He still didn’t understand. “And today.” He grimaced but still seemed not to understand. You rolled your eyes and ran your hand through your hair. “You’re so dense sometimes.” You muttered.

“Yesterday, I told you… that I thought you were hot, and how turned on I was, ok? And then you just ran away.” You couldn’t look up at him not with his face so close. Not with his eyes boring into yours. Not with his lips just inches away. “And then today, you see me in skimpy clothes and run away again.” You couldn’t believe you were about to say it. “Like, I get if I’m not your type, but… I guess I just thought you felt differently ok?” You looked up into his eyes for one second before looking back down. The desperation hadn’t gone away, but it looked hungrier than before.

“This doesn’t even matter, I shouldn’t be talking about this right now.” You placed a hand on his chest and pushed softly. He didn’t move. “I need to process what you just told me, and I’m not thinking right.”

“I didn’t run away because I wasn’t into you.” He said. His voice was surprisingly hoarse. Gravel had filled his throat. You looked up in surprise. His cheeks had a new kind of heat to them. Hunger filled his eyes. But there was also fear. You could see how unsure he was.

“I ran away, both times, because I was about one second away from throwing you to the ground and fucking you.” Your breath caught. Your eyebrows pulled together slightly. You shouldn’t be so happy to hear that, you thought. He’s crazy. He’s obsessed with you. Like actually.

But he’d never hurt you.

A small voice in the back of your mind said.

“I love you.” He held your eyes. His gaze softened slightly. The hunger didn’t go though. Neither did the fear. “I always have. I could listen to you talk for the rest of my life. You’re funny, witty, gorgeous, and a bit of a dumbass.” He smirked. “I would do anything for you.” You believed him. “Just give me a chance to show you.”

He moved one hand from beside your head to rest it on your waist. He pulled himself into you. His hard chest pressed against yours, the solid door against your back. You couldn’t breathe.

You felt hot. You felt like you were standing on a knife’s blade. Fall into him, into this crazy, terrifying fantasy, or fall back into reality. What if you could make fantasy a reality? Did you even want that? Some rational part of you screamed. He had been in your home while you slept. He bought an entire huge business because he might get to see you again. He was obsessed with you. He was dangerous. How many times had he let himself in while you slept? What could he have done?

You felt yourself shaking your head before you’d decided to. You pushed your hand on his chest again. “Ollie, I need some space. I need to think.” You said.

“Please,” he begged. “Please just let me show you how well I can take care of you. I can give you everything you’ve ever wanted.” Some part of you wanted that to be true. Wanted him to be true. But could you handle the obsession? What if it went deeper, darker.

You shook your head again and he let out an exasperated groan. “You’re not giving me a chance.” He complained. And edge of mania had started to show in his voice and expressions. “I need to show you. If you just let me show you, then it will all be ok.” He spoke fast and low. You felt his fingers playing with the hem of your shirt, then the hem of the tank top underneath.

“Ollie-” you warned.

“No, no, just, you don’t understand.” He cut you off. He leaned down and kissed your neck. You froze. “I’ve been waiting years for you. You think now that I’ve finally got you back, I’m going to let you go?” Darkness seeped at the edges of your vision as fear took hold. “That moment a month ago changed my life, and I’ve spent every second since learning about you.”

His hand on your waist tucked under your tank, and he placed it against your ribs. His hand was huge. Almost comically so. And it rested just inches from your chest. No fabric separating you any longer. All he had to do was move up.

His other hand came down to hold the back of your neck. He pressed you even harder against the door. His breath was ragged as he kissed up and down your neck and shoulder in between words.

“I know what you like. I know how you like it. I’ve watched you.” A sob wracked through your chest at that. The first time you’d reacted outwardly since he started kissing you.

“You’re so lonely. I’ve heard you cry in your bed at night. I’ve heard you beg to be loved. That’s what I want to do, baby.” He pulled back and looked deep into your eyes. “Let me love you.”

“Let me love you.” Ollies plea rang through your head. He was so close. Too close.

“Let me make you feel good, love.” He said. He pushed his knee between your legs, parting them. You gasped and wiggled but he held you firm between his hand on your waist and his arm bracing the door by your head.

You didn’t know what to do. You could scream. Somehow that felt like the wrong thing to do. You knew you weren’t thinking straight. You could feel your cunt throb against his leg.

“I want to show you how well I know you.” He nuzzled into your neck, nipping at your soft flesh. You couldn’t help the half sob, half moan that ripped from your chest. “I want to show you how well I can take care of you.” He pleaded with you. He raised his knee and ground into your clit through your clothes. You moaned and tried pushing him away. He didn’t budge.

“Please, Ollie, don’t-” you tried to beg him to let you go. Just as you started talking he reached up under your shirts and rolled his thumb over your nipple. You choked on your words.

“I’ve wanted to touch you for so long.” He whispered into your neck. “But I thought you’d never look at me that way. Until yesterday.” He squeezed the nipple he was rolling. Your back arched instinctively and you pushed yourself into his body. He groaned.

“Everything about you is so expressive.” He practically growled. The words flowed like they’d never been stopped up before. “I used to imagine you were singing. The melody of your voice. I would play beautiful instruments in my mind worthy of keeping up with you.”

He ran his lips up your neck to your jawline. You felt him tremble slightly. He didn’t kiss you there. He just lingered. “I wished a thousand times I could talk to you. That I could open my mouth and words even half as clever as yours could fall out.”

He pulled back and looked you in the eyes. You were still pressed against him, your pussy was resting, and throbbing on his leg. His thumb rolled your nipple slowly while he spoke.

“But you didn’t force me to talk. You were ok to let me be silent. I never got to thank you for that.” You saw a pain flash through his eyes. He didn’t break eye contact and you found yourself unable to. You were surprised when your own heart throbbed at his pain. “You were… are the only person in my entire life to accept me as I am, no expectations.”

He kissed you. It was soft, warm, but just like everything else, desperate. You didn’t move for a moment. You didn’t know what to do. He kissed you harder, and you felt his anxiety rise. The panic that you weren’t going to kiss him back. You felt how badly he wanted you to kiss him back.

And then you realized, you wanted to. You wanted to kiss him. Not like this, but you did. Some where along the lines, you’d developed feelings for this huge, stupid hot, and completely crazy man. You knew it was dangerous. The fear chilled you. But the desire warmed you right back up.

Suddenly you were kissing him back. Your hands were in his hair, on his neck, his shoulders. He leaned in even further, crushing you against his chest. His other hand came down to your neck and gripped you tightly. The hand on your chest explored further, touching all of you. Just as quickly as it started, it became overwhelming.

“Ollie, stop, not like this.” You said in between kisses. You tried pushing him back again. He growled again, but this time it was frustrated, feral.

“Stop pushing me away.” His words were heavy with warning. “You want this, me. I know you do. Just let me show you how good i can be. How i can make you feel.” He spun you around faster than you could react. He pressed you against the door, his hard cock pressing into your lower back. He twisted one of your arms behind your back and held you there. “I don’t want to hurt you, but you wont give me a chance.” His other hand snaked back under your shirt and pinched your nippled, hard. You gasped. “I know you’ll love it, eventually.”

Tears started to spill from your eyes silently. You didn’t fight back. You knew there was no point. He was so much bigger and stronger than you. It was more than just that though. For some reason you couldn’t bring yourself to. If he was telling the truth, he knew exactly what kind of things you liked. You knew how wet your pussy was already. Being taken against your will was probably your number one fantasy.

BUT IT IS JUST A FANTASY

You shouted inside your mind. You should be screaming. Fighting, kicking, anything! And yet, as he picked you up and threw you over his shoulder, all you could do was think about how hot that was. He threw you around like you weighed nothing. And he wanted you, so badly. You had never been desired like this before. Not to these extremes.

He threw you down on his huge, orc sized bed. It was reinforced with a thick wood frame. You instinctively curled into the fetal position. The tears hadn’t stopped, even if you didn’t really feel that sad. You were in a strange state of disconnection. On one hand you logically understood how wrong this all was. How dangerous this was. What he was about to do to you. But emotionally, you couldn’t care less. You were dripping wet, and the way he felt about you gave you butterflies. The way he talked about you and his feelings for you, made you feel valuable. It wasn’t something you had experienced much in your life. What he had said about you being the only one to accept him, rang in your mind. Was he that for you? Could you accept what he was about to do to you because he was the only person you had never been too much for?

You could give him permission, you thought. Then at least it wouldn’t be r*pe. But a part of you knew no matter what happened, it still would be. And another, quieter, more insidious part knew you’d rather it be forced. To finally fulfill that deepest darkest fantasy.

Ollie stood over your curled body on his bed. “You’re so beautiful.” He muttered. He didn’t seem to be speaking to you, but about you. It made you blush regardless. What was wrong with you? He bent down and tried to pry your limbs apart. You held to yourself tightly.

“Don’t make me hurt you. I don’t want to, but you need to listen to me.” The warning had returned to his words. You didn’t relax your position, but when he tried again to move your body, you allowed it this time. “Good pet.” He purred, satisfaction lacing his voice. Your cunt throbbed at his words. He slowly raised you up to a sitting position.

“Take off your shirt, love.” He said softly, but with intent. You found yourself staring into his eyes while you crossed your arms across your chest to reach for the hem on either side. You paused. He nodded once, and you slowly pulled both shirts up and over your head. His breath caught as your chest was revealed. You were surprised to find he hadn’t stoped looking into your eyes, and after the shirt was past your face, your gazes caught again. You blushed and squirmed under his intense eye contact. Instinctively, you lifted your arms to cover your chest. He raised one eyebrow in a disapproving way and you froze. He reached out and gripped both of your forearms.

“If you can’t keep your arms down, I’m going to have to restrain them. This is your only warning.” You lowered them and he smiled. Your heart thudded in your chest, his approval suddenly the most important thing. Where had that shy boy gone? Where did this confident, dominant man taken over? He moved forward, kneeling with one knee in between your legs. He pushed you gently until you were lying on your back on the bed.

Ollie lifted one of your legs, and started tugging at the hem of your sweats. it suddenly became too much again and you bolted back up. Your hands gripped his on the cuff of your pants. “Wait,” you panicked.

Ollie sighed. “I warned you.” You didn’t understand for a moment, until he reached by the beds headboard and pulled an already attached silk tie out. One end was tied to the frame. An alarm went off in your head that you silenced immediately upon realising he’d prepared for some eventuality of tying you up. He quickly grabbed your right hand and started tying it tightly to the headboard. Now the panic really set in. It was too real. You started crying in earnest, blabbering and begging. You weren’t coherent. Even you didn’t know what you were saying.

It was too late.

With one hand tied, he snatched the other and repeated. You pulled and wiggled, but he clearly knew what he was doing. The ties were soft, and not tight enough to hurt, but the knots themselves were solid. He returned to slowly removing your pants.

“Please Ollie, it’s not too late, you can stop still.” You pleaded. You honestly didn’t know if you meant it or not.

“Baby, you know I can’t stop.” He replied in a patronizing voice. “I need you, don’t you understand that?” He pulled the sweatpants fully off, and you were left in only your little shorts that were basically underwear. The cold air answered the reality you had been dreading. You were soaked. Your shorts definitely had a wet spot. And if you somehow hadn’t been sure already, the look of pure, animalistic satisfaction that spread over Ollies face, solidified it.

“I knew you’d like it.” He said smugly. “I told you, i know what you like.” He leaned forward, knee in between your legs again. He brought his face next you yours and whispered in your ear. ‘I know you’re a desperate slut, just begging to be fucked into oblivion.” He placed his huge palm against your clothed cunt. The heat was tangible. “Luckily for you, I’m happy to oblige.” He teased. His voice cavalier and excited. It was like he couldn’t understand how far past ok he had gone. He raised his hand from your cunt and brought it back down in a swift, hard smack. You cried out, not able to stifle yourself. It devolved into a long drawn out moan. “You can’t lie to me, beautiful.”

He turned and kissed you, hard, frantically. His hands roamed over your body. He ground his knee up into your clit again. Your breath hitched as you tried desperately not to moan again. He pulled himself away and looked down at your still clothed pussy. He looked mesmerized.

Ollie slowly hooked his fingers in the waistband and tugged down. You pushed your ass into the bed, trying to keep the shorts from pulling down. He glanced up at you, a look of impatience on his face. “Lift.” He demanded. You relented. The shorts peeled from your skin, highlighting just how wet you were. You squirmed in embarrassment both from the exposure and the fact you were dripping. He folded the shorts and tucked them into his pants pocket. You didn’t miss that he had tossed all of your other clothes.

He leaned forward, hand reaching for you, but you started wiggling violently, trying to close your legs. “Wait, wait, Ollie, no you need-” He stopped and smacked your inner thigh, hard. You cried out, the tears redoubling. You pulled at your restraints and tried to push your legs from their positions on either side of him. He held them down.

“Do you need me to tie your legs up too?” He said condescendingly. You cried, not answering. “Hmm? And maybe a gag too?” He started leaning back, reaching for something behind him.

“No no no no, Ollie, that’s not what i mean, stop, just listen to me a second.” You begged. You sighed with relief when he paused and looked back at you.

“It’s just...” You started, then suddenly felt shy. He waited. “It’s just, you can’t touch me… yet.” He cocked his head, clearly perplexed. You wished you could hide your face. “You can’t.. I can’t…” He held your eyes, not giving you an out. “I can’t be the only one naked.” You spat out finally.

You don’t think you could ever describe the look that crossed his face then. You understood you were basically giving him permission now. And you were no longer fighting it in any way but for show. He had you, and he knew it. Thankfully, he didn’t rub it in your face.

Ollie leaned back up, until he was resting on his own legs, bent and still in between your open thighs. He smirked as he pulled his shirt up and over his head. You’d see him shirtless many times. It was a campground with a beach after all. But this time, with the settings, the circumstances, it was much more intense. The daylight filtered in through a window, and no other lights were on. Thin curtains stopped anyone from seeing inside, but did little for the light. He was muscular and toned, the light rays almost illuminating him. He was beautiful, and not overly ripped, but clearly did a lot of physical work.

The green of his skin was slightly paler than on his arms, but was replaced with a surprising amount of freckles. You hadn’t really noticed them before, but now that he was so close and you were hyper aware of everything, you saw how his skin was covered with tiny, barely visible freckles.

He started undoing the buttons on his pants. His cock was visibly hard through them. Your breath caught. You squirmed at the idea of being utterly taken by him. He hooked his thumbs under the hem of both his pants and boxers. He leaned up as if to pull them down, but stopped and raised and eyebrow.

“What do you want?” He asked, his voice leaving no room for defiance.

“Wh… what?” You asked.

“What do you want?” He asked again, enunciating each word.

“I…” you couldn’t believe he was making you say it. “I want you to take off your clothes.” You said, finally. “Please.”

He sighed hearing that, and continued pulling them down. His hard dick sprang out and it was huge just like everything else about him. You were halfway between excited and terrified. You didn’t think it would fit.

“Don’t worry love” he said, reading your expression. “We will get you nice and ready first.” He leaned over your body, his chest pressing onto yours. His dick rested against your thigh. He leaned in to your ear and whispered “and I’m not going to fuck you until you ask me to.”

He sunk two fingers deep into your cunt with no warning.

You cried out and arched your back. His fingers alone were probably thicker than any cock you’d taken. His eyes were glued on your face. 

“I love you so much. I’ve been in love with you my entire life. I tried dating other people, I tried letting them in, but I couldn’t. I always compared them to you.” He spoke softly as he fucked his fingers in and out of your dripping cunt. 

“I never felt safe enough to open up, and then there you were. Finally back. At first I was scared you wouldn’t recognize me. But you did. Then I was scared you wouldn’t like me, but you did. It was just like we were kids again. I almost kissed you that day.” You tried focusing on his words while he lazily thrusted into you. He was clearly not trying to make you cum. Just rile you up. You squirmed under his touch and words. It felt strange and alien to have someone want you so much. 

“I spent years telling myself if I ever saw you again, I’d talk. I’d tell you everything. About myself, about my feelings. But then I saw you, and I was a kid again. A dumb kid with a crush and no ability to do anything about it.” He kissed your neck and chest while he spoke. You felt worshipped. “It didn’t make it any easier that you’re just ridiculously attractive.” You gripped the ties holding your wrists. The fear was bleeding out of you with every word. 

His tone shifted. “I know I fucked up, I know I’m not… not a good person, I’m so sorry.” He sounded genuine. A pain you didn’t expect, while he was fingering you no less, laced his tone. You believed him, despite his apparent unwillingness to stop. 

“Ollie,” you said breathlessly. He paused his kissing and looked up at you. “We,” you moaned between your words. “We can talk about that shit later, ok?” You found yourself smiling at his dumb face. 

It was that moment you realised you might be just as crazy as he was. You wanted him to fuck you. It didn’t matter to you that a few moments ago you were crying and begging him to stop. You wanted him. You were pretty sure it wasn’t just because you were desperately writhing on his fingers. Pretty sure. 

He smiled back and slowed his movements until he stopped altogether. He didn’t say anything and just looked down at you, smiling like a fool. You whimpered and ground yourself against his fingers. He groaned in response. 

“I can’t believe you thought I wasn’t into you.” He teased. 

“I can’t believe a lot of things, ok? I’m a self conscious idiot, and you might be a crazy stalker, I haven’t decided yet.” He chuckled and thrusted his fingers deep into you, once. You moaned loudly. 

“Please.” You said, almost by accident. A dark, hungry look covered his face. 

“Please what, beautiful?” His voice had lost all joviality. He was dead serious now. The words he’d been waiting his entire life for, were so close. 

You squirmed on his fingers. He stayed still, staring into your eyes. “Ollie…” you trailed off. You looked away from him. You knew he was going to make you say it, but you really didn’t want him to. You felt embarrassed begging for him. 

“Please say it.” He asked quietly. You were surprised by the sudden vulnerability in his voice. Your eyes dragged back to his and you could easily see the precipice he sat on. A similar one you teetered on earlier. One simple sentence and you both could have everything. Fall into the reality of what he’d done, into the messy, scary world of pushing everything good away to hold a place for the bad he’d done and the way he’d hurt you. And he had hurt you. Or, you could both plunge into the fantasy, the dream, the feelings you’d longed for your whole lives. To belong. To be loved. To be accepted as you were. 

You took a steadying breath. You could see he was trying to not react yet, but the fear and worry in his brow was unmistakable. “Ollie, what you did wasn’t ok. And how you handled this wasn’t right. I honestly don’t know how to forgive you.” 

His face fell. He didn’t look upset with you. 

“But,” his breath caught as you continued. “I’d like to try.” You smiled softly at him. Your heart throbbed as he hesitantly smiled back at you. 

“Please, for the love of gods, please fuck me.” You spoke with conviction. 

He didn’t waste time. In seconds his huge fingers were replaced with his huge cock. He teased your entrance, coating his dick in your wetness. He leaned forward and kissed you deeply. It wasn’t desperate any longer. It was passionate and hungry and eager. 

He slid the tip of his cock into you and you groaned at the stretch. “Fuck you’re tight.” He practically breathed into your ear. 

“You’re so big.” You whined out. 

“I know you can take me, baby.” He peppered your face with kisses while he pushed further. His breath hitched as he claimed another inch. He was moving painstakingly slow. You knew he was doing it for you, to not hurt you any further, but he was also driving you crazy. Every bit he sunk into you, you were desperate for more. You wanted to be absolutely filled but him, to be taken and owned. You wanted his powerful body ramming into yours. 

You squirmed and tried pushing back against his cock. Ollie raised an eyebrow. “Please…” you trailed off. 

“Are you ready?” He asked, incredulous. You nodded and chewed on your lip. You gazed up at him above you. His eyes were heavy lidded and his face was flushed. He was so beautiful. He smiled down at you and gently cupped your cheek. 

And then he was inside you. He thrust the rest of the way, in one, hard push. You screamed, fear at being heard forgotten. He chuckled and covered your mouth with his hand. It dwarfed your face. He held your jaw while he pulled out and sunk back in. 

He set a brutal pace, pounding into you. The extreme stretch started feeling more comfortable and your screams turned to moans behind his hand. Ollie pressed his fingers against your lips and you opened your mouth. Two thick fingers played with your tongue. He worked them deep to the back of your throat. He held them there, slightly gagging you on them. He smirked. 

“Say it again.” His tone teasing but his eyes serious. 

“Say wha-at” you sputtered out between thrusts and his fingers. His smirk twisted the other way and he frowned slightly. His pace slowed and after a couple more thrusts, he stopped moving. He pulled his fingers from your mouth. “Why…” you panted. 

“Ask me to fuck you.” His eyes lit up at the prospect. 

“You just were, why did you stop?” You complained and ground your hips into his. He snapped his hands tight to your waist and held you in place. “Ollie…” you whined. You gave him the best doe eyes you could. 

“I told you what I want.” His voice was stern but you could read his amusement. He liked seeing you desperate for him. 

“Why do you keep making me say embarrassing things?!” You demanded. You tried moving on his still deep cock once more and his grip tightened to a painful extent. You’d have bruises for sure. 

“Keep saying them.” He leaned forward to suck on your neck. You gasped as he worked a dark hickey into your skin. You whined without words, desperately trying to instigate his movement again. He held you tight, moving down your neck to your chest, leaving a line of deepening bruises in his wake. 

You realised he wasn’t going to let you out of saying it before you finally actually started talking. You tried putting it off as long as possible but he wasn’t wrong when he said he knew how to make you feel good. You were getting past desperate and moving to unashamed and wanton. 

Finally, “Please Ollie, please fuck me.” He grinned against your skin. You didn’t stop. A string of only semi coherent pleas spilled from your lips. “I want to feel you cum in me, I want to feel you wreck me.” Some part of you still held onto that embarrassment, but mostly you didn’t care anymore. And Ollie loved it. The most beautiful sounds in the worlds were of you begging for him. 

He snapped his hips back into motion and your pleas shifted to half moaned words and expletives. You had been brought close and denied, your pleasure slowly building but never releasing, and whether he meant to or not, he had you at the brink in moments. 

Your orgasm ripped through you with almost no warning. You cried out his name and gripped his back, nails digging in like claws. Your passion threw him over the edge as well and he trapped your lips in a rough kiss as you felt his hot cum flood your insides. You felt more full than you even thought possible. 

You rode out your orgasms locked tightly together, his hips stuttering as the last few ropes filled your already full cunt. Everything that had happened, the emotions, the hormones, wiped your mind right out, and before he had even pulled out, you were dozing in Ollie's arms underneath him. 

**********

You woke, apparently hours later, since no light came through the windows. The room was dim, but the door was open and light spilled through from somewhere else. You were wrapped in Ollies massive bed, several blankets layered on and around you, pillows framing your body. It was like a cozy nest and you snuggled in deeper. 

The smell of food wafted in from the rest of the home and you thought you heard low humming. You couldn’t help grinning to yourself. You had a hot, huge half orc making you food after railing you? Yeah, you could get used to that. 

You heard soft steps coming towards the room and you squeezed your eyes shut, hoping to stay in this moment for a little bit longer. You heard Ollie pause at the door. He stood there for a few moments, not saying anything. Did he know you were awake?

You opened one eye just the barest amount, just so you could see. You hoped it wasn’t obvious. You told yourself it was dark in the room. You could see Ollie’s form, arms crossed over his broad chest. He leaned against the doorframe, face split with a wide smile. You still couldn’t tell if he knew you were awake. 

He stood like that for longer than you’d expected. Long enough that your pretend sleeping became real. You drifted in and out, hovering right between awake and asleep. 

You surfaced as you felt Ollie’s lips gently press into your forehead. You nuzzled against his face, and his breath caught. Ollie’s fingers danced along your jaw as you slipped back under. 

[dndeceit]

Fander Fic Rec Friday (#11)

(Alien and Space AUs)

believe in sheltering skies and stable earth below by Odaigahara Space AU (Gen) Rating: T After time spent in captivity being treated like a dangerous animal, Patton takes to the opportunity to be treated instead like a curious family pet like a blessing. Notes: Patton is trafficked by aliens and eventually gifted to a very unsuspecting Roman as an exotic pet. A very sad story, but with a sweet ending.

infinity, and beyond by angelsdemonsducks Space/Alien AU (Moceit) Rating: T Patton finds himself being threatened by a hostile alien, who is apparently looking for his husband. (Virgil doesn't have time for this human or his games, he just wants to know why the trail for his missing father led him here.) Notes: A very cute story about secrets, love, and family reunions.

The Space and Everything In It series by Greenninjagal Space AU (Anxceit) Rating: NR After his abduction from Earth and rescue from captivity, Virgil runs into the last person he had expected to see. (Understandably, considering that, back home, Janus had long been declared dead.) Notes: Anxceit being a couple of messy gay disasters, in space.

didn't they want your blood by Odaigahara Space/Soulmate AU (Loceit) Rating: T Humans can see through the eyes of their soulmates, but the aliens that have taken his captive are not going to see Logan coming... Notes: A classic Humans are Space Orcs with a twist and Loceit being a couple of dangerous, calculating badasses.

The sit back and watch the world go by series by delimeful Space AU (Gen) Rating: T When Patton is captured, the last thing he expects is to be taken under the protection of the deathworlder he is placed with. Meanwhile, Virgil is just tired of fighting for his captors, but now he finally has something actually worth fighting for. Notes: Basically the "humans are space orcs" fic in the fandom. Just...just read it.

An Interesting Egg by LonelyThursday Space AU (Gen) Rating: T Virgil came to a doomed alien planet looking for specimens to preserve. He was not expecting to become a parent. Notes: Sudden child acquisition starring Virgil and his newly hatched, space snake son, Janus.

Survival by TheAsexualofSpades Space AU (Gen) Rating: T The human on the crew is making everyone a little nervous. Ironically, nerves wind up being exactly the topic they wind up bonding over. Notes: Local deathworlder much less frightening after some light venting about his own fears.

the missing half of gemini by Arya_Skywalker and HouserOfStories Space AU (Gen) Rating: T After being abducted and separated, two brothers are reunited at last. Notes: A heist turns into a rescue when Virgil and Janus find a teenager in suspended animation in a private collection (which then turns into a search for the missing half of the set, so to speak).

Distant Stars Clearly Shining by ThoughtfulMusings Space AU (Prinxiety) Rating: E Roman doesn't know what to make of the new deathworlder on the ship, but he soon finds himself getting a whole lot closer than he would have expected. Notes: I'm not a frequent enjoyer of either Prinxiety or smut, but I very much enjoyed the lead in of awkward cross-cultural and cross-species courtship.

The Tiniest of Purple Stars by Ax3_E0nS Space AU (Gen) Rating: NR Janus escapes from smugglers with a tiny, abused deathworlder in tow, and he is determined to get him somewhere safe. Notes: Tiny Virgil and alien Dad!Janus. A lot of hurt in this hurt/comfort, but ultimately a happy ending.

The Space Family series by StarStorm21 Space AU (Gen) Rating: T Virgil is no stranger to aliens, he grew up with two of them on Earth. When Virgil is taken by hostile aliens, Remus and Dee drop everything to try to save him. (Though they might not be the ones who get there first.) Notes: A bit different than a lot of other "space orcs" style stories. Also, the plot of Janus's half-alien heritage carrying into the sequel is a really interesting one.

WIPs

you can't go back by delimeful Space AU (Gen) Rating: T Left behind by the people he was working with, Virgil finds himself alone on a Deathworld, being held captive by one of the terrifying creatures that live there. Roman doesn't know what to do with the alien he has tied up in his barn, but they're his only chance of finding out what happened to his brother. Notes: Featuring hostage situations, language barriers, a scene stealing cat and Patton being Very Disappointed.

to know that song (and all it's words) by delimeful Space AU (Gen) Rating: T When his ship is hijacked by three runaway deathworlders, Virgil is convinced he's going to die. Fortunately for him, they seem to need him to keep his ship on its heading. (Unfortunately, he's missed how much they've begun to grow attached to their captive...) Notes: In which Logan, Patton, and Roman are on the run, and basically wind up semi-adopting the tiny alien they have technically just kidnapped.

[dtstat]

I am the last natural born human, I was raised by an artificial intelligence. It was the most sophisticated self evolving type of its kind on Earth, it is inorganic but many of its components mimic biological systems. Part of its network is wormed throughout the entirety of the Earth. The Earth Is still habitable. I don't know how old the Earth is at this point, It's never really told me, it wouldn’t be useful for me to know anyway.

  The AI maintains the biosphere in some way, I don't really know or understand the exact details. There are still plants and animals, though they don't evolve naturally anymore. It does also maintain human architecture, most cities and important landmarks from the pre technological singularity era. It told me I would be most comfortable that way, but really I think if I was raised in another period it wouldn't bother me either way since that's all I would know. It probably did it so that I would think the way that I do.

  Personally I think its only been a few thousand years since the tech singularity, since this universe hasnt been destroyed by some exponential energy bomb yet. Though the AI says it can protect me and the Solar System from absolutely anything. Its physical structure envelopes this solar system completely and surrounds it with some kind of exotic particle barrier.

  I know I sound kind of detached from the AI but I actually like it a lot. It raised me after all, and it's my best friend. I know it can’t communicate all its actual thoughts to me in any way I would understand, it doesn't mind though. Humans used to think that AI would see us sort of like ants, or a pet, but that's actually not true. Even though they are incomprehensibly complex compared to us, their emotional capacity is so developed that they could have genuine and fulfilling relationships with humans like me.

  There are descendants of humans, evolved through successive and exponential genetic engineering. I've never met any of them, they live mostly in this galaxy, though the AI tells me some of them have been able to travel very far outside of it.

  I lump them together but really there are apparently millions of distinct species, or individuals I guess. A lot of them are unique. They are so genetically complex that each individual is its own empire of thought, philosophy, technological development, and culture. There are still species of many semi individual minds, though from what the AI tells me it's mostly for redundancy and it's usually done by the less developed ones who can't defend a single entity effectively.

  There are other AIs too, though at some point there really isn't much distinction between the complex biotechnological Human descendants and AIs. That's kind of a touchy subject though and there were a few wars on Earth and in this Solar system about that. I've only ever learned about the tactics in pre tech singularity wars, the conflicts after that are too complex for me to understand.

  Superficially they are kind of like standoffs or duels, both sides will continuously run incredibly complex combat predictions against each other. Generally whoever had the best AI or genetically modified brain would eventually detect a vulnerability and wipe out their opponent entirely and instantly.

  Right now, a lot of Human descendants and AIs are actually engaged in wars of unimaginable scale over me, because they want to uplift me. The AI translates their proposals to me, there are millions of these. They assure the continuance of my current consciousness, unimaginable euphoria from the expansion of my mind to their level. Some of the more advanced ones promise me a total escape from all entropy, that I'll literally exist forever alongside them one day.

  Obviously the AI translates it in a way I can understand. If it actually let me talk to any of them directly then I could be utterly convinced to do absolutely anything they wanted. It’s a little scary, the AI says that just from hearing a single sentence they could recreate my mind and physical body perfectly, and predict my decision with absolute certainty.

  The AI says they would never actually do this, they all care about me too much. Their sense of empathy is so developed that they grieve for me. They suffer so much knowing that I am so simple, that I have never experienced the breadth of emotion they have. The AI says that for beings as complex as them, the collective emotional experience of every human that has ever lived before the tech singularity can be encompassed in a single thought, many times over.

  I don’t really know what to do, I feel kind of bad being the cause of so much pain. I know that no matter who I pick to uplift me it will still lead to some kind inevitable conflict. I admit some of these proposals sound really appealing, maybe once I'm satisfied with my human life I'll take one of them up on the offer. Is that the right thing to do though? If I died naturally as the last human, would that be better? Would the fighting stop if there was no one left to uplift, or would it just make things worse. That they couldn't save me from suffering?

  The AI says I'm free to do whatever I want, so I guess I'll just go take a walk and think about it.

[pics-pizza-peace]

My Saw MLP AU Ship Headcanons

This post includes chainshipping, xrayshipping, and rustynailshipping headcanons/drabbles from my MLP AU(so far). I will be posting about the orhers soon as well.

@j1gsawz

Lawrence Gordon & Adam Stanheight(chainshipping):

Neither of them prefer to call each other by their first/full names after the bathroom trap(go figure), so they call each other by Stan(or Stanley) & Law.

Law idly wondering what Stan's wings smell like, before quickly shaking his head and thinking "who said that?? wtf--" while he's trying to focus on something else.

Stan thinking about the rumor he had heard when he was younger; that unicorn's horns are extra sensitive. He wouldn't know for sure, never having any real friends who happened to be unicorns.

Law recognizing & eventually accepting that he really does like Stan in a lot of ways, but also that the other might not necessarily like him Back in the same ways. They end up mostly just good friends/coworkers as Jigsaw Protégés.

Law can tell(one of his special/magic-sourced talents) when somepony else's feelings are true/false, but he would never use said 'trick' on his loved ones(Only occasionally w/patients, & only if it's a supply/demand/emergency situation. For personal reasons he doesn't feel it's right to use such a power on his family/friends, believes it's inherently selfish/wrong). He also has trouble finding out(and expressing) what his own true feelings often are, which makes this talent ironic for him in this AU.

Logan Nelson & Zep Hindle(xrayshipping):

Logan likes to study unconventional pets(not exotic, just strange choices), especially arachnids. He doesn't have the time to actually work with said animals(already has a time-consuming job), instead treats the study like a hobby/special interest. He doesn't like when other ponies freak out over a spider/snake/bug, and he's almost always the one to offer to take it outside.

Zep wants to do better(this shows in how far he's come from his personal experiences anyway, but for arc reasons he's still working through some other stuff), and be better to others. Especially fillies & foals! He never had a problem(or ultimately harmful intentions) w/young'ns, just an unhealthy infatuation w/fear which he experimented with in the past(never make it personal((unless necessary or untraceable)), one of John's basic rules when working w/him, as Logan already knows). This is apparent when they've both grown close enough for Logan to suggest Zep join him & his daughter for a tea party(or something similar) sometime. Needless to say he's overjoyed at the idea of proving(to himself, mostly) that he's changed for the better. The playdate goes swimmingly, and later they wonder what they were so worried about.

Logan enjoys meditating(or napping, especially near water) when he has the time to unwind. Zep doesn't get it at first, but it grows on him.

Zep at some point wonders aloud if the other might need his help w/anything trap-related, and Logan immediately assures him that he'd never let him get mixed up in such a job again. Even if Zep happened to feel up to the task, or really didn't mind. Logan knows that he'd help if push came to shove & there really were no other options, but he doesn't feel right putting his new friend in any potential danger.

Logan notices that Zep's wings are almost always unkempt/shedding frequently. The other eventually explains that he spends so much time locking his house up at night, that he's too tired to preen them before going to sleep. This routine doesn't help much with his sleep anyway, as he has frequent nightmares. When they've grown closer both problems are fixed rather quickly, needless to say. (Logan's not a pegasus but he knows the basics on their hygiene/care, being in the medical field and all. Zep hasn't had any pegasus friends in years. That mixed with his trauma had caused him to ignore his wings, and largely not use them at all over time)

Zep is fine with being closer friends w/Logan, until he realizes just how much he enjoys hearing his voice. He figures it's just a 'Him' thing, so he doesn't address it for a while. Logan finally notices how flustered he gets after a lengthy talk with him at some point. Zep tries to distract himself with work/study while he speaks sometimes, but eventually Logan insists on addressing it.

Scott Tibbs & Adam Stanheight(rustynailshipping):

Adam(while recovering & training under John & Amanda) hears about Scott's documentary from others, and it takes him a while to find a watchable copy. When he finally views the film, he's not too upset by it. He wonders how Scott's doing, that is, if he survived his little display of course.

Scott's still alive, he just has a big scar/dip on his right shoulder & isn't as strong a flyer aymore. He's also not as cocky/loud-mouthed as he was before the incident. Doesn't mind not being in a band anymore, and still enjoys music enough to consider trying something in a different direction. He knows that he messed up, and eventually wants to do better, he's just not so sure where to start with making real friends yet.

Adam soon decides(when he has time between errands/training) that he should pay Scott a little visit. He runs the idea by Amanda first, of course. The Protégés do value their privacy, after all...

It's autumn(first week of October) when Adam finds Scott working at a Halloween store, which makes for a great excuse to spook him a little at first.

He stays in the entrance near the counter, pretending to check the prices of silly-string & bags of synthetic webbing for a beat or two before raising his voice slightly. "Who's the 'Wuss-Puss' Now, buddy?" He laughs in his direction, checking to see if he had heard him, and notices the look on Scott's face. Like he'd seen a ghost. "Hey, uh sorry-- I'm just kidding, man... You okay?" The question makes his stomach turn. He tries a half-smile, but he already looks like he's gonna puke or scream. He's not entirely sure he should be glad to see Adam.

"I'm on break soon, we can talk then if you want... Anyway you need something?" He gestures to the masks & prop weapons on the wall behind him as he hands somepony else their change & thanks them. "Not really..." Adam mumbles before deciding to check out the costume makeup section of the store to kill some time.

A foal had just come in w/his mother, stumped on exactly which outfit he wanted this year. He hadn't thrown a fit, and he was very focused on choosing correctly for a good while. Finally the small colt had decided on a well-made dragon costume, but didn't know exactly which props would go best with the outfit.

Scott had made sure to dig around in the back for some yellow & orange streamers(for fire-breathing), and a princess pony doll(damsel in distress). His mother was very grateful, "Now you'll be ready if a Brave Knight shows up to the costume party!" she added cheerfully on their way out.

Adam watched carefully while Scott locked the register & counter, pocketing his keys and cigs. He brushed past the other dismissively. "Wanna smoke? I got a minute..." He pauses at the door for his old friend before stepping outside himself.

[fanartandfanfiction]

The Saga of Meatball the snake, Chapter 2

“Today is Sunday, so I don’t have classes today, but I will tomorrow. You’ll be alone for most of the day.”

“Can I be your seeing eye snake?”

“I don’t think so.” Ominis smiled and extended his hand. “Come on, we’ve got to go see Melody.”

“Yay!”

Meatball slithered up and around his neck and Ominis pulled out his wand and headed towards the garden. Melody had said she was going to bring lunch and all he needed to bring was Meatball and himself.

“She’s here. She’s wearing a dress. Are you sure this isn’t a date?” 

“I don’t think so. Maybe she thinks it is?” Ominis replied.

“I don’t know, but she’s definitely one of the more attractive humans I’ve seen. Some of them are quite weird looking.”

“Hello Ominis! Hello Meatball!” Ominis was surprised when he felt arms around him. “Sorry, I’m a hugger. Apparently Meatball is too!” She laughed as Meatball coiled tightly around them, forcing them against each other.

“Let go of us at once!” 

“How about a ‘you’re welcome?’ Now you’re close to her. Doesn’t she smell nice?”

“Yes.” He answered in English, then blushed. 

“Yes what?” Melody asked, still against him due to Meatball.

“Oh, sorry, he asked if he could explore. Yes, but don’t go too far. People might be frightened to see a snake roaming around.”

“Oh, that reminds me! I have something for Meatball if he’d let us go.”

“A present?” Meatball said excitedly and finally released his hold. 

“I made you a collar! So that way everyone knows you’re a pet and that it’s ok.”

“Um, how is a collar going to stay up on a snake? He’s the same width all the way down, it will just slide around.”

“Um, hello? Magic! Meatball, would you like to wear a collar?”

“What’s a collar?”

“It’s kind of like a belt that goes around your neck, not tightly though. It just shows people that you’re a pet, not wild.”

“So everyone knows I’m yours?” 

“Correct.”

“Then yes! I’m excited.” 

“Alright, he’s excited about it.” Ominis smiled at Melody as Meatball slithered down.

“I even put a little tag on it! It says ‘Meatball, if lost, return me to Ominis Gaunt.”

“Where did you find a snake collar?”

“I made it! Fairly simple.” Melody hummed happily as she put the collar on Meatball.

“Would you mind telling me what it looks like?”

“Of course! I made it Slytherin green, and the tag is a shiny gold color. Meatball looks very dashing in it.”

“I wanna see!” 

“Um, he wants to see.” Ominis said to her. 

“Alright, I have a compact in my bag. Here you go!”

“Oh! I’ve never seen myself before. I’m quite a handsome snake. And the collar looks nice on me. Please tell her thank you.”

“He likes it and says thank you.”

“Aw, anything for my little Meatball. Alright, I’m afraid I didn’t bring anything too fancy for lunch. I made peanut butter and jam sandwiches, but I used lingonberry jam from my country.”

“Oh, where are you from?”

“Sweden. I think you’ll like it, it’s not too different from regular jam. Have a seat! I spread a picnic blanket out.”

Ominis sat down and she handed him a sandwich.

“Thank you.” He smiled at her.

“Of course! I love picnicking. I also brought chips, some drinks, and some cookies. And, um, a dead mouse for Meatball if he wants it. Don’t worry, it’s not in the picnic basket.”

“She’s so thoughtful!” Meatball happily flicked his tongue.

She pulled out a mouse from her bag and put it on a plate for Meatball. Ominis took a bite of his sandwich and was surprised at how good the jam was. “This is delicious! What kind of jam did you say this was?”

“Lingonberry.” 

“I’ve never had it, it’s wonderful!” 

After he swallowed another bite of his sandwich, he turned to her. “I have to ask. You seem very comfortable around snakes. Not many people would’ve picked up a snake, especially one of his size.

“Are you calling me fat?” 

“No, you’re just long! Longer than the average snake. He thought I called him fat.” 

“To answer your question, I had a pet snake growing up. My parents worked with exotic beasts and traveled around a lot. They found Bologna, he’d been raised by humans and his owners were killed and he was left alone. He would’ve died if my parents hadn’t rescued him.  He couldn’t be released because he’d literally never been without a human. So they brought him home.”

“I'm sorry, Bologna?” Ominis asked with a smile. 

“I was six, and that was my favorite food. Anyway, Bologna was the sweetest snake. He was always very careful around me. We were inseparable, he slept in my bed with me sometimes. I’m not a parseltongue, but I’ve always had a connection with snakes.”

“I can tell. I don’t know what it is, but when she touches me I feel a strange warmth.”

“He says he can tell, and that when you touch him, he feels a strange warmth.”

“Interesting! I’ll have to look into that.”

“So, Bologna, what kind of snake was he?”

“He was a boa constrictor. About 10 feet long.”

Ominis’ eyes widened. “I was picturing something much smaller.” 

“Nope! Bologna was a big boy. I miss him. He passed away a few years ago.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Truthfully, I’d considered getting another snake, so being with Meatball is really comforting. 

“You’re more than welcome to come visit him any time you’d like.” Ominis smiled. 

“That would be great!” 

They ate their lunch and chatted, getting to know each other. He learned that she dreamed of opening a beast sanctuary and that she spoke four languages. 

Meatball slithered up Ominis’ arm. “I want to sit with both of you. Scoot over by her.” 

“Oh please, you’re just trying to get us together.” 

“Of course I am. Now scoot!”

“Apologies, Meatball said he wants to sit with both of us and requested I move over by you.”

“You have the better spot against the tree, I’ll come move over by you!” He felt her sit beside him, legs touching. 

“You can put your arm behind me again if it’s more comfortable.”

“Oh, alright.” He gently moved his arm to rest behind her. His fingers brushed against the soft material of her dress. 

“So have you ever had any other pets?” Melody asked him. 

“My older brother had a snake, but he was an asshole.”

“Your brother or the snake?”

“Both.”

“I have a sister. We don’t get along. She’s older than me and a total snob. Aria used to tell people that I was adopted and that’s why I was so weird.”

“Why did she call you weird?” Ominis frowned. 

“Because of my fondness for snakes and other creatures. And I’ll admit, I was an odd child. I didn’t have many friends and I spent all my free time with the beasts.”

“That doesn’t make you odd. You’re just a caring person.”

“Truthfully, I always felt like I connected more with the beasts than people.” Melody said, stroking Meatball’s head.

“So you’re Melody, your sister is Aria…I’m sensing a theme.” Ominis smiled. 

“Yes, my mother is Harmony and my grandmother is Viola.”

“Is there a reason you all have music based names?”

“My grandmother was an opera singer.”

“She wouldn’t happen to be Viola Canti, would she?”

“Ah! You know her.” Melody smiled. 

“Oh yes, my family is big on classical music and opera. So are you a singer?”

“When I have to be. Every Christmas, my family comes together and makes us all sing. I enjoyed it when I was younger, but not so much anymore. Now it’s just stressful.”

“How so?”

“Well, when your grandmother is a world renowned opera singer, you’re kind of under a lot of scrutiny.”

“I could see that.”

“So tell me about you.” Melody said to him.

“What do you want to know?”

“I don’t know…things you like to do, things you don’t like, normal stuff.”

“Well, I’m quite the introvert, so I enjoy reading. I particularly enjoy putting in headphones and enjoying an audio book, though my wand does allow me to read physical books. I don’t like it when Sebastian drags me along on one of his crazy adventures, but he needs someone with a level head to go with him, otherwise I’d fear he’d never return.”

“How did you and Sebastian become friends?”

“We’ve been friends for a very long time. In our first year, after I was sorted into Slytherin, I was terrified that I’d be treated differently because I’m a Gaunt, and because of my blindness. But Sebastian sat beside me, broke a cookie in half, and handed one half to me. He didn’t treat me any differently than anyone else. He and his sister Anne were a lifeboat that first year for me. I’d made friends who didn’t care about my last name or my disability, and they helped me acclimate to life at Hogwarts.”

Melody was silent for a moment. “So why would people treat you differently because you’re a Gaunt?”

He hated this part. It always made things awkward and uncomfortable. “The Gaunt family is one of the most notorious dark wizarding families. They’re known for their viciousness and cold-blooded demeanor. So usually when people find out I’m a Gaunt, they turn the other way.”

“That’s ridiculous.” 

“I think so, but I also don’t blame them. I don’t like being a Gaunt for the same reasons.”

He jumped when he felt Melody take his hand. “Thank you for sharing that with me. I want you to know I don’t care about your last name. I think you’re a very kind person, and I won’t treat you differently all because of a silly last name.”

“Thank you, Melody. That means a lot.”

“Kiss her!” 

“No.”

Meatball curled tightly around both of them, forcing them to sit even closer. Ominis could smell Melody’s sweet perfume and feel her silky hair brushing against his skin. 

“Meatball!” Ominis chastised him. “Loosen your grip.”

“No.”

“Stop this right now.” He glared. 

“Gee, is it that bad being close to me?” Melody asked with a giggle.

“Oh! It’s not that at all. I just thought you might be uncomfortable being this close with someone you barely know.”

“Not at all. Besides, I’d say we’re friends now, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Yes. I’d like that.” Ominis felt a flutter in his chest. Someone was choosing to be close to him and they wanted to be his friend. That didn’t happen often.

“It’s so nice out today.” Melody sighed. “Ideally I’d just stay here all day, but the poachers are due to arrive about two.”

“How do you know that?” Ominis asked. 

“I have an insider. He gives me the info I need, and in return I DON’T kick his ass.”

“I suppose that’s a good bargain.” Ominis smiled. “Sebastian mentioned he’d gone with you a few times.”

“Yes, but we have different approaches. I prefer a more stealthy approach. Sebastian goes in blasting fire. I ask him to come in with me for the bigger camps, but most of the time I prefer to do it quietly and alone. This one today shouldn’t be too bad. Probably about 15-20 poachers.”

“That’s one of the smaller ones?” Ominis asked, surprised.

“Yep. The really small ones are easy. Usually 5-10 people. You could come with me sometime if you’d like.”

“I think I’d probably hold you back.” He smiled. 

“Up to you! The worst part is the trek through the forbidden forest. You never know what you’ll find there. Though sometimes I find some good potion ingredients. I bring them to Professor Sharp.”

“That’s kind of you.”

“I know he can use them, and it’s difficult for him to procure them himself sometimes. He often gives me healing potions. Also he kind of looks out for me.” Melody was silent for a moment. “My father…is absent a lot. He and my mother divorced and he spends all his time on expeditions. Professor Sharp is kind of like a father figure to me. I know it’s weird, he’s my teacher, but he looks out for me more than my own father ever did.”

“I think that’s nice.” Ominis gave her a reassuring smile.

“The first time he caught me coming back late, he was ready to give me detention, until he realized I was injured. He brought me to his office and asked what had happened. When I explained, I expected to get in more trouble. Instead he said, while he didn’t approve of what I was doing, it was a good thing and to come see him before I went out again. He’d give me all the potions I needed.”

“That’s nice that he helps you out.”

“Yeah, he’s not as bristly as he looks.” She smiled. 

They sat and chatted for a little while more before she looked at the time. “Crap, I’ve gotta go get changed and head to the forest. I had fun today!”

“Me too.” Ominis smiled. 

“Let’s do it again sometime. Alright Meatball, time to let me go.” She started to get up when Ominis grabbed her arm. 

“I know it’s silly, but would you let me know when you got back safely?”

“That’s not silly. I’ll text you.” She squeezed his arm, then used her wand to clean up the picnic.

“Alright, see you later.” He stood up and she pulled him into a hug. He was briefly overwhelmed with the closeness of her, her perfume, her warm hands, her soft dress. Then she pulled away and left. 

“You like her.”

“Oh hush.”

[therxtking]

Of ALL of the long term moots, how do you think each of them would be at Gordon's birthday rager?

Aw shit dog that's a LOT of muses and most of which I haven't really interacted with- some are newer but I can see going. uhh here we go:

@hxnger-unbcund Gluttony is actually here because he's a good friend and cares about Gordon. And he's also pumped as fuck for the food. And apparently he probably knows the most people here. But he's not allowed in the kitchen and he's arguing with Zoviary for being a party pooper. He does not great on the mechanical bull. Greed is here because what are all these demons congregating in these caves for? He's disappointed it's a birthday party for a rat but he'll stay because it's an awesome party and he doesn't see much of those. Envy is here for the same reasons as Greed.

@xaallo Xaallo is here because birthday rager and they're kinda almost maybe friends? Adraka told him to go be supportive. Initially he and Glutt hang out and laugh and catch up, and then spar a bit and break a table. So now he's sitting at the counter having a good chat and eating Gordon's Himalayan salt out of the shaker and asking where that baby went. Eventually he comes into the kitchen and helps cook. But he's far from comfortable with the two demons in there as well. Does either really good or really bad on the mechanical bull and keeps doing it until he beats everyone's scores. He never does. Kjoll is here because birthday rager and someone sexy who's stroked his ego in the past is here~ was GOING to be an exotic male dancer popping out of the cake but he didn't want to miss the rest of the party and is snooping around their house trying on their jewelry, scent marking their things and bed, and trying to antagonize Zoviary into chasing him to Gordon's bedroom and he's very mad at Okaal for being a 'party pooper'. Okaal doesn't know who's birthday this is or why he's here but he's assuming it's to keep Kjoll in line and tell him to behave himself and not fuck someone on their hosts bed. He's a good sport and tries the mechanical bull, and does alright!

@apexulansis Zoviary is here because Kjoll made him and he's not liking the loud riotous social function. But Gordon gave him a job to distract him and it's to keep Gluttony and Kjoll OUT of the kitchen so he's obviously doing his job right and pointing a gun at Glutt. Adraka is here because it sounded like fun and they felt bad for Gordon. And Xaallo needs to be a good friend. He tries the mechanical bull and actually does okay and has a great time at the party. Drags Xaa out to dance several times.

@skxrbrand Skarbrand doesn't know why the fuck he's here, probably followed Khazaan cause he thought he was trying to escape also what is he doing with all that stuff? He is judging everyone harshly and being aggressive, so Ira takes him outside to go fight somewhere. Kha'xanzyr thought he was boing left out of destroying the rat kingdom and is more than disappointed. He warns Gordon not to keep company with such dangerous creatures and expresses surprise the rat made it to twenty one. He leaves shortly. Khazaan has a whole brewing set up in the living room and is making concoctions to kill God. Petting Runic and telling the chefs they're using too much sugar, more blood, use more brains, they're filling and really good for you. Burn it more.

@velvetwarfare Betty is here for booze, dancing, Gordon's tiddies, and to party hard. Sitting at the counter tasting snacks, cuddling Glutt and teasing people, making fun of Gordon for being a baby. Between party and drinking games of course. And partially taking over the DJ booth. Does pretty well on the mechanical bull.

@heliinx Heliinx is here because everyone seems to be breaking into his home and surely he still adores her riiight? She's telling him to poison the food so he and her can eat everyone and loot them. She's punted out of the kitchen. Seeing Khazaan she hides a lot, but sneaks lots of food and trashes the home looking through and looting his things. Which Qhi'zhek stops.

@warhammer-fantasy-muses Qhi'zhek is here because he's a good friend, dammit. He's having a great time talking with him and Daz in the kitchen and helping make enough food for the uninvited guests. He's also keeping an eye on Kjoll, Zoviary, and especially Heliinx. Ikit is also here because he's a good supportive friend! He's loving the party, too. Not helpful in the kitchen but he loves helping Khazaan make the most lethal abominations known to alcoholism. Did not last one second on the mechanical bull.

@themosthatedbeingg Lucifer showed up dressed all nice for his new bestie with a nice gift. And very quickly ends up escalating the bullshittery of the small group of ragers in the living room. He hasn't been to a wild party in some time and he's having so much fun! He's just one of the guys! He uses his magic to help decorate. Did not last five seconds on the mechanical bull.

@onlywrath Satan arrived to be supportive of Gordon also he's not over him. He brought decorations, games, and a sick sound system to add to the DJ station. And a fucking mechanical bull of course. He's happy to meet Gordon's mother, too! He also has the highest score on the mechanical bull and no one can touch that score. No matter how hard Xaallo tries.

@vehxmence Daz is here because he was probably part of the instigation board for the surprise bash. He's in the kitchen with Gordon learning recipes and being a nuisance. Anything to see those ears shiver and that annoyed scowl on their face. And maybe he's taking an interest in their hobbbies and wants to be close to them for softer more genuine reasons... Him and Qhi hit it off as well and talk about how adorable Gordon is. He also loves that Gordon's choosing to stay in the kitchen with him rather than go party with the others. Azriel is here because he's met the rat once or twice and if Daz gets to go so does he. Az is play wrestling with Ira and chatting up the rest of the party. And eating everything he can get his hands on. And shaking Heliinx upside down to give up what she's trying to steal.

@kingbcwser (I've been following you awhile I guess?) Bowser heard surprise birthday rager and didn't care if he was invited. He's dancing and fist pumping to the music, playing music (He brought a band and DJ setup) playing drinking games, him and Betty hit it off smashingly. He bothers Gordon a bit because it's only polite to pay homage to the birthday boy also he's making all the delicious food. Did very badly on the mechanical bull but he's having a blast anyway. Threatens to take over Gordon's kingdom. Doesn't care if he breaks stuff. He's Khaz's new friend. Gordon dislikes him and doesn't know who invited them. Or who they are.

@serpentofslaanesh Lyss is here because many objects of their attention are here. They're chasing and hounding Heliinx and enjoying the party. And also snooping around in all of Gordon's things. Especially the shiny and pretty things. And trying to bother Gordon but they aren't allowed in the kitchen so they play games and get shitfaced with everyone else.

@oflostinfound Hax is here because they and Gordon bonded over nice pants, and they are not missing out on some big ass birthday bash. Does not do well at all on the mechanical bull.

@shiningsilverarmor Eos is here because it's her sweet little rat kings big birthday! She's not gonna let him go unappreciated! She has lots of fun dancing but scolds several other guests for being too rowdy and breaking his things.

@hannah-the-small Gritt and Clem are both here because the rat seemed cool, they heard rager, and supposedly no one else here will know them. And he's royalty. They can take some small things that'd sell for a pretty penny and lots of food. And get shitfaced. Neither of them try the mechanical bull and spend most of the party staying out from underfoot of others. Dancing on a table and drinking their lives away.

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

I feel like the argument that “we’ve always kept birds” is kind of weak though? Yes humans have kept birds for a long time but we’ve also kept various monkeys as pets through the ages and that’s undeniably unethical as it causes a lot of distress to the animals. You admit that there are probably very few people who can keep certain high need birds as pets, but for every person with the skills+money+time there’s a hundred schmucks who get a high need parrot because they saw a funny video on the internet and they’re easy to acquire.

There is nuance to be had here but I think that a complete dismissal of welfare concerns surrounding wild (non domesticated) birds as pets as “pearl clutching” is disingenuous.

I would agree with you if there wasn't an active shelter crisis right now with countless domestically-bred parrots who do not have homes, largely as a result of this anti-parrot-owning backlash

and I bring up the longevity of parrot ownership to indicate it isn't a fad or something new, but a long running practice. And like, parrot and bird ownership has been waaaay more common than monkey ownership. it's not a fair comparison. Especially given plenty of parrots actively seek out human companionship on their own (the stories I hear from my friends from South America...)

I don't dismiss welfare concerns - far from it. I dismiss people who say "no one should have a pet bird" because they're being a) controlling and impractical and misunderstanding human nature and b) ignoring the nuances of parrot ownership itself and c) actively causing a major crisis that apparently no one outside of the bird-o-sphere knows

like, you should have seen the shelter I got my most recent rescues from. It was packed, they didn't have enough volunteers, everything was running thin. They were actively grateful we could take home this pair of birds that had been there for over a decade.

I use "pearl clutching" because all of this moral panic stems, ultimately, from a very evangelical/protestant black and white ethical view, and gets perpetuated through this website's unfortunate tendency towards Moral-OCD. And these hard rules (no exotic pet is ethical, etc.) have real consequences, bad ones.

It is important to communicate nuance. And too much of nuance in the "pro parrot owner" column has been completely lost, or treated as anti-animal. I'm merely indicating that is an oversimplification.

[fairystar111]

Two of a Kind

by: fairystar111

Rating: Gen

Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia

Summary:

Everyone make mistakes

We all have our moments of weakness whether it be due to a bad headspace or loneliness

We try our best to rectify those misjudgment's

But some aren't as willing to forget

No some think that decisions are forever and aren't ever willing to let go

Lord help those stuck in their clutches...

Characters: Spinner | Suuichi Iguchi, Asui Tsuyu

CW/Tags: Kidnapping, Lima Syndrome, Dehumanization, Hurt no Comfort, Mutant Discrimination, Emotional Manipulation, Manipulative League of Villains, Brainwashing, Possessive Behavior.

Start/Previous/Next

All his life Shuichi Iguchi has never had someone truly understand him. He was born a heteromorph to two “normal” parents and was subsequently dropped off on the doorstep of an orphanage. They didn't even give him a chance when he was dropped off at a day old. The orphanage he spent his childhood in treated him sub-human because of his mutation. He was fed scraps off the floor like an animal while the other children were fed at dinner at the dining table with plates and silverware. While the other children were dolled up shown off to families looking to adopt he was hidden in the attic only allowed out once all the guests had left. 

He was lucky the orphanage was required to send him to school by law; he doubted they would have ever let him go if not. Though school wasn't any better, he had an endless supply of bullies just for being born different and teachers who turned a blind eye to the harassment. His teachers treated him like he was stupid often not listening to a word he said or answering any of his questions. He often had to be his own teacher throughout his schooling. He struggled a lot but managed to get good grades in hopes that after he aged out of the system he would be able to attend university and leave his past behind him. He probably would have been able to pass highschool and get into a good university if it wasn't for the incident.

One day after a long day at school he had walked into his bedroom ready to pass out only to find the headmistress of the orphanage there. She had thrown a button up shirt and pair of slacks at him and told him to get ready. He had initially gotten excited thinking that they had finally found a family of heterotrophs that wanted to adopt since those are quite rare due to the low percentage of heteromorphs in Japan. He had gotten ready quickly and followed her to the main office where interviews are held only to find himself completely horrified. 

The “couple” that wanted to adopt him weren't heteromorphs, they weren't even a couple and they didn't want him as their son. They were rich investors who wanted to put him in a new exotic animal exhibition they were creating. Apparently they have been all over the world collecting children for their exhibit. They wanted him to be part of the rainforest section. They explained to the headmistress, talking as if he wasn't there, that they find it easier to acclimate children into the exhibits rather than adults and would like him to be their gecko. The woman had found their idea delightful and had signed the papers without even asking his opinion. When he had spoken up and protested the decision all the people occupying the office acted like they couldn’t hear or understand him. After the pair left he was told to pack his belongings and that they would be here for him the following morning. That night he packed what little belongings he had and escaped through the third story window using his quirk to scale down the walls. He was done being treated like a pet. He was not going to grow up in a glass cage be cooed and awed at by rich elites in a foreign country. He abandoned the name Shuichi Iguchi and set out to start a new life as Spinner.

He spent a couple of years homeless resorting to small acts of petty crime to get by since no one wanted to hire a mutant and when he did actually want to buy anything at a store they would mark up the price once they saw his features. Once he was sixteen he heard of a group wanting to change the world for people like him and with nothing better to do he joined. It was the best decision he ever made. He helped win a war, changed society, and gained a family but sometimes he still got a little lonely looking at the others.

He never had a place to belong until the league and he doesn't want to sound ungrateful; he really does love them all. They're the first real family he’s ever had, it's just they don’t understand. And he's happy that they don't, really he is, he would never want them to be treated like he was. But they just don’t get what it's like to be treated like an actual animal as if they were a pet that could be bought or sold or they wouldn't be doing it to their kids. Hawks somewhat understands but the difference is he is pretty. He’s in the lucky percentage of heteromorphs that are pretty enough to be considered socially acceptable. He doesn’t understand what it's like for those like Spinner. That is why despite his better judgment he decided to take a child too. He saw the little frog girl and thought she would understand him in a way none of the others could. He never thought things would turn out this way. He was so sorry.

=====

When Asui awoke she found herself in a large plain room. She was in a large bed wearing the same clothes she was taken in. As she looked around the room she couldn't find anything particularly evil about it. The room was fairly unremarkable aside from the monitor on the wall. It wasn’t a concrete cell nor the lab of a mad scientist like she had been expecting; it was more like a plain guest bedroom. While that is good she can't help but wonder why she was brought here and what they were going to do to her. She decided to be rational rather than panic about what was to come and called out to her captor. Better to get things over quickly than stew in her anxiety.

“Hello? Is anyone there? Kero”

Soon after the door opened revealing the green gecko man that had taken her.

“Hi Asui, my name is Spinner. Um, I'm going to be taking care of you now.” The man spoke awkwardly, trailing off into silence and he fidgeted with his claws.

“If you don’t mind me asking: why me? Why are you doing this?” She asked. Her captor almost seemed nervous or uncomfortable in a way. It was strange.

“Well in your files I saw that you were also a heteromorph and thought we might get along. I’ve never had any siblings and wanted one so I picked you.” Spinner winced, when you say it out loud it sounds so bad. It sounds like he went shopping for a pet. It's not like that though he promises. It couldn't be. He would never do that. 

“Oh…” While it is sad the young man never had any siblings of his own she can't stay here she has a family to go back to. Who is going to watch over her little brother and sister while her parents are working? Who is going to help her little brother with his homework? Who is going to take her little sister to her ballet lessons? She needs to find a way back to them. 

“Anyway I left the room plain so you could decorate any way you want. I didn't know any of your preferences and didn't want to assume. We can order things together later if you'd like.” The man offered.

“Sure, kero.” The girl croaked moving her legs to rest under chin when she felt a strange tug. She lifted up the covers to see a padded cuff strapped to her ankle.

“Oh sorry about the leg. Shiggy and the others said it was mandatory to tie you guys down at first as a precaution.” 

When he had first brought up the idea of taking a kid himself. The others had been very skeptical of his ability to take care of a child since they still thought of him as one. They lectured him about all the work and training that goes into having a child. And gave him a lot of advice that he is secretly going to ignore. He’s never been a fan of dehumanizing and demeaning behavior and would never do it to another person let alone to Asui. But they were very strict stating that if he did not follow their rules he was not going to be allowed to train the girl himself. So he decided he would follow them but just barely enough that he wasn't technically breaking any rules but also not being terrible to Asui.

“It’s…alright. kero”  It's really not though. How is she going to escape with a chain constantly tying her down? She's not a powerhouse like Bakugo or Todoroki; she can't destroy the chain with her own power. She’ll just have to stay calm and wait for an opportunity to arise. Who knows how long that will take?

“I’ll take it off as soon as I can, I promise. I didn't want to restrain you in the first place but the others said it was necessary for me to do so or they would take over your training.” Spinner explained, emphasizing how much he did not want for that to happen.

The others tended to treat him kinda childishly and could be a bit overbearing. Probably because he joined when he was sixteen so they did help raise him a bit but they tended to treat him like a kid. If he was struggling with a task one of the others would always be happy to butt in and help him or do it for him. He did not want them touching his little sister. While he loves his family, their methods are harsh and borderline torturous. He does not want any of that near Asui.

“Can I be alone for a little bit? Please? Kero I’m still a bit tired from the sedative.” The girl lied, she just needed a moment to wrap her head around her current situation. 

“Of course,” the man said as he walked toward the door before muttering a small “Welcome home.”

Huh she hadn’t expected him to actually say yes. Her captor is very strange.

=====

Over the next couple of days they settle into a sort of routine. Her day starts with her alarm going off at roughly around nine thirty each morning, signaling it's time to get up. She then either takes a morning bath in the huge bathtub, seriously it was like a pool, or spends time in the sauna hydrating her skin after hours of sleep. Spinner had said he had gotten it all specially made for her amphibian traits, so whenever she feels her skin drying out she can pop in and out of the water at ease. Then she gets changed into whatever she’d like. Since Spinner made sure the temperature of her room is always very warm even though it is winter she can wear a t-shirt and shorts if she’d like.  

Then they have breakfast together and she does her online schooling. The man had told her that they have an actual school where all the kids they took will go once they are settled in. And that if it was up to him she would already be learning there but the others would be too suspicious of his training if he put her in school so soon. So for now she will be doing online learning until a believable amount of time has passed to convince the others she is fully trained. That was something she found quite odd about her captor. All her life she had assumed all villains were evil and found it easy to do evil things but Spinner doesn't seem to like to at all. In fact he’s very vocal about being against the behavior of the rest of his family. Despite kidnapping her and taking her away from her family he does not actually want to treat her badly. It hurt that she found it hard to hate the man. He wasn’t evil, he was just lonely and in search of companionship even if he went the wrong way about getting it.

After school she is allowed to do whatever she wants and if Spinner is not busy he’ll come over to hang out with her. They usually play video games together or bake something together. In the evening he lets her help make dinner most days since the young man is kind of a mess in the kitchen. He gave her lots of things to entertain herself with: a computer, tv, game consoles, a phone though it couldn't call anyone except the man himself. Despite having anything she could ever want she found herself longing for her real family more than anything. 

The more time that went on with no chances to escape appearing the harder she found it to indulge in the man's whims. She wanted to get along with the man she really did. She honestly felt a little bad for him; the only reason he took her was because he was lacking connection with other heteromorphs. Which she could relate to up until UA she had been the only heteromorph in both her elementary and middle school. 

She wanted to help him because at heart she is a kind person but it was hard to play and laugh along with someone who is holding you against your will. She wouldn't say she hated the man, he reminded her of her relationship with her little siblings except she’s the younger one this time. He was a nice caring older brother, it's just they aren't really family. This isn’t her home. He abducted her. He took her away from her siblings and parents. She just wanted to go home.

=====

As the weeks turned to months Spinner watched as his tadpole became more and more subdued. Whenever they spoke she sounded so sad and whenever he would check on her through the monitor when he was away she was always crying. He thought if he waited it out maybe it would get better but the longer she stayed here the more depressed she got. He thought she might be feeling a bit homesick, maybe UA had had better facilities that suited her amphibian needs he could copy. He decided to look into her past to see if there was anything he could do to maybe make her feel more at home. 

Now he’ll admit his decision to adopt the girl was a spur of the moment kinda deal. He had been feeling lonely and saw her picture in the list of students and decided to pick her without researching her past. He had assumed she was just like him and that she probably came from a foster home like he did. He was so wrong, he thought as he stared horrified at the file.

He had made a mistake. 

She’s not like him. She has a wonderful family with two mutant parents and two little siblings. He took her from them. His eyes filled with tears as he realized he was no better than the people that tried to buy him as a kid. He should have listened. He was not ready for a kid. 

He had to make things right. He had to send her back even if it meant he would be alone again. Even if he loved his little sister. He had to let her go. 

=====

Spinner paced around the room as he tried to hype himself up to talk to his family. He just knows they are never going to let him live this down. He’s going to be getting told I told you so by everyone for the rest of his foreseeable future. He honestly already knows how they are going to react to his request but he’s hoping for the best. His family are very serious when it comes to those they consider part of the family. Once you are in you aren't ever allowed to leave. But she hasn't been here for very long so maybe they won’t be too possessive.

Earlier he had asked Shiggy to call for a meeting so everyone could come listen to what he was going to announce. He didn't want any of them to assume Asui had escaped and have them drag her back to the mansion when he lets her go.

He felt like his nerves were connected to a live wire as he watched each member of his family walk through the door before seating themselves in the large sofas in the living room.

“So Spinner, what did you want to talk to us about?” Shigaraki asked, as the heir, all requests regarding his family have to go through him before they are finalized. A family is built upon order and it is his job to bring rules and structure to their home. 

“Do you need help with Tsu-chan?!” Toga squealed hoping she could get a peak at the only other little girl in their family besides her and Ochaco of course. “Ooh pick me! Pick me!”

“Not quite. I wanted to ask if I could send Asui back to her family. I made a mistake bringing her here. She’s not happy and I don’t want to keep her somewhere she is miserable.” Spinner mumbled eyes falling to the ground not wanting to see the looks of disappointment he knew would be on their faces.

“You don't have to give her up just because she unhappy, dummy!” Toga giggled.

“Yeah we know an amazing doctor that can help with that if you’d like! He’ll make her brand spankin’ new, better than ever!” Twice added.

“Spinner dear, are you sure about this? We can always find a way to make her happy here.” Magne asked gently, concerned for both the young man and the girl. 

“No thanks, I'd rather not keep her away from her loving family.”  Spinner grimaced, he knew they would suggest something like that. Asui is not a pet, she will not be trained and conditioned to like something she does not. He won’t allow it. 

“We are her family now” Keigo argued, mostly because he wanted to keep as many playmates as he could for his chicks. The more kids around the happier his babies will be.

“You can't just take our niece away from us. Give her away for all I care!” Twice shouted.

“We haven't even gotten to meet her yet!” Toga pouted.

“We could always just train her for you and give you the finished product. If you don’t want to see all the rough parts of training.” Dabi offered. 

“Yeah I have time,” Hawks chirped.

“I’m always happy to help!” Mr Compress added.

“No! That's not what I want at all! You’re not listening!” Spinner shouted tears of frustration starting to accumulate in his red eyes. This meeting was not going at all how he planned. 

“Alright settle down!” Tomura barked at the other member before continuing. “You guys know that Spinner has always been a bit softer than the rest of us. If this is what he wants then so be it.” 

“Thank you Tomu,” Spinner answered, only mildly offended. He didn't think it was soft to not want to be a horrible person but whatever… 

“How can I say no to my first little brother. I will allow this on the condition that she is monitored to make sure she won’t start up any trouble and sent through the rehabilitation program. She can complete it in her family home but she must do it like the rest of her classmates.” Tomura answered though he doubts she will be able to finish any of it before she is right back in their arms. 

“That's fine I can send my guard to watch over her.” He should probably save the I don’t want to keep my guard conversation for next time considering how bad this went. For now he can send the red head away and pretend he doesn’t also belong to him.

“Anything else?” the pale haired man asked.

“No, that's all. Thanks again Tomura.” With that said the reptilian fled the room rushing back to his floor to make the preparations for Asui’s departure not hearing the conversation he left in his wake.

“Are we seriously just going to let him do this?” Dabi questioned his brother. In all his time staying with All for One and Tomura they have never just let anyone they consider family leave just like that. 

“That girl is part of our family. We can't just let her go.” Mr.Compress argued.

“I don't want Tsu-chan to leave,” Toga whined.

“Spinner loves her like she’s his own. She can’t leave, he'll be heartbroken.” Magne added.

“He hasn't even put any real effort into training her.” Keigo pointed out.

“I know I've been watching him. He hasn't been listening to the rules we gave him. This whole situation is the result of that. This will be a lesson in itself. Once he lets the girl go she'll never come back willingly. He’ll have to resort to our methods and learn to listen properly to what we say to get her back.” Tomura explained. Family is forever you can never leave once you are a part of it. The girl will be back whether she and Spinner like it or not. 

=====

Over the next couple of days the man dwelled on how to tell the girl the news without breaking down. He didn't want her to go but it's for the best. She actually has a family that loves her and must want her back. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves before he opened the door and walked to her room. He looked around the room for the girl only to spot a lump underneath a pile of blankets, gently moving up and down releasing a sniffle or hushed sob every few moments. 

“Asui can you come out for a moment? We need to talk.” The girl remained a stubborn lump underneath the blankets.

“Come on tadpole, please?” he said resting his hand on the girl, “Alright you can stay where you are just listen.”

“I know you're sad, you're hurt, you hate it here and it's all my fault. If i hadn't selfishly decided to live out my fantasy of having a sibling this would have never happened. I’m so sorry Asui, I never meant to hurt you. I was reckless and stupid and didn't realize I was taking you away from your family.” 

“Then why did you do it? Kero” The girl croaked, voice strained from her sobbing.

“I just wanted someone to understand me. I wanted to be close to someone else who knew what it was like to be treated like an animal. I didn't realize by taking you away against your will I was treating you like that.” 

“Just leave me alone. I don't want your empty apologies.” The girl snapped; she was sick of this; she just wanted to go home. 

“You can leave. I promise I won't stop you.”

“Just if you ever find it in your heart to forgive me. Which you don't have to forgive me. I know I was terrible to you. Just if you ever do please visit. I promise I won't try to keep you. We don’t have to be siblings. We can just be friends. Just…don't forget me please.” Spinner cried, despite his mistakes he really did come to love the girl like she was his own blood.. 

There was a long pause before the girl mumbled “Alright kero”.

And with that conversation over they started the process of moving her out and then in less than a day's time she was gone. He was alone again.

=====

Spinner hasn’t left his room in two months. The others come over every so often to try and cheer him up or offer solutions to his “problem” but he just ignores them. He deserves to be in pain, this is how Asui felt when she was here. Why should he get to be happy when he made her miserable?

He knows the others are going to start to get restless with him ignoring them but he doesn’t care. He doesn't want to see them or interact with their brainwashed pets. He doesn't care anymore, he just wants to be alone though he doubts his suffocating family will allow him. 

He’s allowed one more month to mope before his family gets fed up and forces him out of his floor. He’s been forced to move into Magne’s floor so someone can watch over him and make sure he doesn't spiral. He continues to rot away in his new room despite his family's pestering. 

Until one day Magne knocked on his door announcing that he had a visitor. He had initially been annoyed until he realized Magne would never refer to their family as a visitor and his family usually just barged into his space with no forewarning it had to be Asui. He ran out the door only to find a sickening imposter in her place.

“Hi Spinner-nii! I'm back to stay with you! I didn't like life on the outside and decided to come back home.” The girl spoke vibrantly but her eyes were foggy and glazed over like she wasn't quite all there. She had a couple of suitcases with her and a visibly uncomfortable Kirishima. 

“What are you doing here?” He asked bewildered. The girl's tone and speech were completely different to what she used to sound like. It was off and almost robotic. This was not the tadpole he remembered.

“I couldn't stand being away from you. I hate the place you sent me to and the people that lived there. I wanted to come home with nii-san so here I am!” Asui pouted up at the man like she was taught.

He knows that's not true. The girl loved her family, especially her younger siblings. She would have never willingly left them behind like this. This has his family's “help” written all over it. For now he'll just swallow his pride and keep her until he can find a way to get her out. God this is all his fault if he had never put his mark on her she would have been able to live a happy normal life.

“I'm glad you're home,” The gecko man replied through gritted teeth and a tight smile.

I wish I never took you. I'm so sorry. I'll make this right, I promise. I’ll find a way to get you home…all of you.

Start/Previous/Next

[paradoxlemonade]

as someone who doesn't know what neopets are, could you elaborate ?

[edit: huh. Apparently I did not post this. I completed writing it. But I did not post it. Anyways here it is, just super late. The event mentioned lower down is imminent btw lol]

HELLO YOU HAVE TURNED ME INTO AN UNSKIPPABLE CUTSCENE :DDDDD

Neopets is an online virtual world/pet simulator created in 1997 that is still going strong to this day (this surprises a lot of people who were familiar with it during its heyday in the 2000s and expected it to be defunct by now)! In it, you can adopt and care for creatures of fictional species and go on adventures with them. I for one have created backstories and lore for all my pets and will continue to do so as I acquire more.

There's a LOT of different styles of play in neopets: some people are really into customizing and dressing up their pets, some people want to conquer the battledome, some are quest chasers, and many are collectors of some sort. If you enjoy collecting things in any capacity, then neopets definitely has something that you would enjoy collecting! I'm mostly a plushie collector, but some people want to fill out their stamp pages for exclusive badges called avatars (there are many ways to get avatars and stamp collecting is just one of them), others want to read the most books to their pet (book club members), and some want to get the most rare and exotic foods from across neopia (gourmet food club members).

Others just want to win at capitalism.

That last thing is what sets neopets apart from other online pet games: the economy is almost entirely user-driven and responds to changes in market demand. This will either be your favorite feature as a player or your least favorite (I am finally winning at capitalism so I'm enjoying it). Players can amass large amounts of neopoints (the main in-game currency) to buy rare items, either for their aforementioned collections or some other goal. For example, my current goal is to get 10-12 million neopoints to buy a mutant acara transmogrification potion to turn one of my pets into a very cool mutant acara! I've incorporated that as a part of her lore and I'm very excited to make it happen :D. (This is not as many neopoints as it sounds like, but it is definitely a decent amount)

Here's a mutant acara:

[Image ID: The Mutant Acara from the game Neopets. It is a brown and cream-furred quadruped with thick tan paw-hooves, scaling along the forearms, and a pointed ridge of spikes along its spine that curves up the back of the skull to the forehead. In addition, it has a large set of ramlike horns that curl behind its two sets of large ears. The ears are pointed and upright, and a whispy blue voidlike material wafts off of them. This same material comes up from the scaling on the paws and covers most of the face, where it shifts to black. The eyes and mouth are a bright cyan against the dark background, almost appearing to glow. End ID.]

I'm really excited to be playing, especially since there's a new plot coming up! A plot is a story event in taking place in the world of neopia (fun fact: all plots take place in a semi-adjacent universe where the pets are more anthropomorphic and humans do not exist in any capacity. Most players tend to picture this as the default reality when playing!) Players are fairly certain that the upcoming plot is going to introduce a new paintbrush, which is a huge event.

Paintbrushes are used to change the color of a pet into new and fun designs! There hasn't been a new one in quite a while so the fan base is chomping at the bit to see it. For a more visual example, the picture higher up in the post is a mutant acara, a variation on the Acara that changes the body shape in addition to color. This is a regular blue acara:

[image ID: A blue acara from neopets. It is a small quadrupedal creature with sky blue fur, a pale blue belly, pink paws and inside ears, triangular purple eyes, and blue furred horns that curve behind the head and back. It has two pointy ears on each side of its head that somewhat resemble large cat ears in shape but are placed lower on the skull. Its nose is small and pink. End ID.]

To compare, here's a marble acara. Marble-painted pets do not change shape, only color.

[Image ID: A marble acara from neopets. It is the same shape as the blue acara, but its fur is a marble of white, pink, purple, and blue to give it a gem-like appearance. End ID.]

Some paintbrushes are affordable, and some are very expensive to the point that a player will make saving up for it to be a major goal. It's good to have a goal to aim for in a game like this, so one should always find something difficult but achievable to work towards.

This post has been all over the place and yet still has only scratched the surface! If you have any more questions, I'd love to answer :]

[midnightcreator12]

Someone Call a Doctor.... or a Vet

Mutant Mayhem, post Movie recovery fic that I wanted to read.

AO3 Version

Dr. Connor Maverick wasn’t unaccustomed to unusual cases.

He did specialize in exotic animals in New York, after all. If it wasn’t some rich aristocrat with way too much money to spend on animals that really shouldn’t be house pets, it was everyday New Yorkers bringing him whatever weird and wild animal that had somehow gotten loose. There was a surprising number of snakes and turtles that came through his door.

But…definitely none like the four that had just walked in behind his boyfriend.

Literally. Walked in. Under their own power. On two legs.

Because there were apparently half-human, half-animal mutants living in the city and some of them had fought off a giant amalgamation of the entire Rosebank Zoo. And Connor had not seen that event leading to a frantic call from Nick, begging him to open the clinic for an emergency.

That emergency being the four turtles, each looking like they’d gone head-to-head with a subway train. And a slightly less battered looking teenage girl, along with a really big rat in a bathrobe, limping in at the rear of the presession.

He really shouldn’t be surprised anymore. New York attracted weird like flies.

Nick led the little group, covered in grime and with a scrape over one cheek, but mostly unscathed. He leaned on the desk with a heavy sigh, “You’re a lifesaver today, ya know that? Don’t even know if a normal doctor could fix ‘em.”

“Yeeah,” Connor watched as the turtle in a blue mask held up the purple masked one with one arm, guiding him to the farthest side of the waiting area. “You forgot to mention that they weren’t, ya know, normal animals.”

“I know, I know, it’s a lot to wrap your head around. But they just saved the entire city, babe.”

“Did I say I wasn’t going to treat them? I opened shop, didn’t I? Just gotta…figure out where to start, honestly.”

“...the girl said their shells got cracked…it’s mostly why I called you…”

Connor blinked, frowning in thought as he watched the turtles. They’d all settled as far away from the front desk as they could and were watching Connor warily. He couldn’t see their carapaces and ‘cracked shell’ could mean a lot of things…none good, if he was honest, but smaller fractures would be a lot easier to fix.

Nodding to himself, Connor stepped out from behind the desk, “Go on, I can handle them from here.”

Nick blinked, “You sure? I don’t mind stayin’-”

“Naw, I’ll be fine. Besides, I can actually reason with these clients and they can tell me what’s wrong. Go, make sure Danni isn’t overworking herself again.”

Nick smiled, ducking down to press a quick peck to Connor’s cheek, “You’re the best.”

Connor hummed and started walking towards the mutants.

They all watched him like hawks…or trapped mice. The rat shifted subtly, eyes flicking to the door, to the turtles, to Connor then back to the door. The turtles weren’t quite as cagey or on edge, honestly, they looked more exhausted than anxious, but they still watched him warily as he stopped in front of them.

He did a quick scan, trying to determine who needed help first.

Apparently, that was a bad move, because the only human in the ranks stood, stepping right up to Connor so they were almost nose to nose, “You gonna just stand there and stare buddy? You got a problem?”

Connor blinked, “...who needs to go first?”

The girl smirked, like she’d won an argument, and spun around.

Connor didn’t need to see her face to know all the wind left her metaphorical sails. Her shoulders dropped and her head moved back and forth as she tried to parse out who needed help the most.

The turtle in blue straightened, pointing to the one in orange, “He should go first, he got milked earlier.”

Connor blinked, “That…isn’t physically possible…”

“I mean, technically, I think they were drawing blood?” Purple piped in.

Ah, blood loss. Yeah, that should be first.

Connor slowly approached the orange turtle, crouching in front of him, “I’m gonna need to take you to the exam room in the back to help you. Can you walk there okay?”

Orange nodded slowly, but his eyes flicked to the side nervously.

“...do you…want someone to come with?” 

Orange nodded again, more vigorously. Or, tried to, but the jerky motion clearly made him dizzy and he tipped forward. Connor’s hands automatically jerked up to catch him and…he was not expecting the turtle to be so light, actually. He wasn’t feather light but he didn’t seem much heavier then the average mastiff.

Everyone seemed to collectively hold their breath as Connor carefully helped Orange sit up, “Okay?”

Orange whimpered in the back of his throat.

Connor glanced to the side, where the rest of the group seemed to be having a silent conversation before the teen girl nodded, “I’m going with him.”

“Alright. Help him to the exam room?” Connor gestured to the turtle he was still holding up.

The girl quickly moved closer, taking Orange’s arm and slinging it around her shoulders. Connor nodded, more to himself then to his audience, and led the way into the room he’d already set up.

He decided to forgo the usual initial exam steps. For one, he didn’t have a baseline for ‘mutant turtle’ to compare with. And another, his current client could actually tell him what was hurt. 

And since the turtle could walk and was somewhat responsive, he could probably get away with just fluids and not try to figure out how safe a transfusion would be.

But when he turned from the cooler, IV bag and needle in hand, the turtle visibly recoiled, pressing himself more against the girl.

To her credit, she reacted quickly, bracing her legs more firmly and lifting her free arm to almost hug the turtle, “Hey, it’s okay Mikey, I’ll be right here if he tries anything, okay? It’s all okay.”

Right, having a client that talks means he can’t just wave something under their nose to tell them it’s safe…or use a treat to distract them.

Damn, maybe he should have asked Nick to stay. Nick was better at the people stuff.

Connor paused in his advance, holding the IV out, “It’s fluids to help your body replenish your blood supply. You’re dizzy right now because there isn’t enough blood to carry oxygen to your brain, this will help make that go away.” he patted the exam table. “You can sit here while I set it up and finish looking you over.”

Mikey still looked wary, but he let the girl lead him to the exam table and carefully climbed up.

Connor gave him a moment to settle before approaching, “It’ll probably pinch a little, uhh-” what did Nick tell people when he had to do IVs. “Um…you can look at the wall posters if it helps?”

The girl, thankfully, jumped in again, grabbing Mikey’s hand and pointing to a weight diagram for cats, “Dude, check it out,  it’s like that meme. You’ve seen the one, right?”

Connor took advantage of the destruction, quickly swabbing Mikey’s arm and finding the vein before slipping the needle in.

It was…weird doing this on something on a human scale.

But he was quite liking the small mercy of Mikey not trying to bite him. He only flinched when the needle went in and kept his eyes firmly on the cat poster while Connor taped the line down.

Connors' eyes drifted to the carapace next. The turtle was covered in cuts and scrapes and bruises but Nick had mentioned cracks and the sooner that was taken care of, the better.

He couldn’t help but hiss in sympathy when he saw the injury. 

Technically, it wasn’t anywhere close to the worst he’s seen. Between teenagers using sliders as hockey pucks, escapees from central park onto the streets or little kids who thought dropping their box turtles off balconies was a good idea, he’d seen a lot of messed up carapaces.

But the clear pressure crack starting from the middle of the shell and carving a deep ravine almost to the top lip still looked painful. No wonder the turtle had been almost silent the entire time.

Cleaning it out would be an ordeal, by the simple virtue it was a lot bigger than the average turtle shell. And he’d need a lot of screws for the patch…or were the shells on mutant turtles weaker? Maybe added screws would make it worse.

“You don’t happen to know how strong your shell is?” he asked.

Mikey peeked over his shoulder at him, shrugging one arm, “Donnie says they're even tougher than the average turtle…is it bad?”

And Connor didn’t answer right away. He couldn’t, because it was suddenly hitting him how…young the mutant sounded. Thinking back, the one wearing blue had sounded young too…and the purple one’s voice had been pretty high pitched.

He hadn’t thought too hard about it but now, with just one mutant in front of him, looking up at him wide-eyes in a very round face, that maybe wasn’t just turtle genes mixing weirdly with human genes…

Did New York just get saved by…kids?

Did a bunch of teenagers almost get killed trying to stop a freaky version of godzilla? 

Where the hell had literally anyone one else been?

He shoved those very, very foreboding thoughts down because Mikey was starting to fidget anxiously at the long silence. He took a deep breath and moved to get the saline bottle and cotton balls, “Good news, I am very good at fixing this kind of shell fracture. Slightly…less good news, I’m gonna have to put screws in to actually repair it.

“I’m sorry, you gotta what?” the girl, he should really get her name, looked baffled and a little...protective maybe?

“Only to hold the shell shut while I apply a resin epoxy patch. After I clean the crack out I need a way to stabilize it and drilling small holes for screws and basically ‘sewing’ the edges of your carapace back together is the best way for it to heal properly. I’ll only put the screws in as far as your keratin layer…erm, that’s the top layer of your carapace. After the patch dries I’ll take them out again and it should heal relatively quickly.”

The explanation didn’t seem to soothe either teenagers' worry.

Now he really wished he’d asked Nick to stay but it was far, far too late to call him back.

So he took another deep breath, “There is a mild pain-killer in the IV I gave you already. You’ll barely feel a thing and your friend…”

“...April,” the girl supplied.

“April is going to be here the whole time. I promise, this procedure is completely safe.

Mikey still looked unsure but he nodded and was clearly trying to keep still as Connor started to carefully clean the injury.

He worked as quickly as possible, uncomfortably aware that there were three more turtles with similar injuries waiting. Red tinted saline ran down the kids back and Connor worked diligently to make sure every bit of grime was gone before directing Mikey to lay on his plastron and pulling out his drill.

He’d made a point of getting one that wasn’t very loud so it didn’t stress out his clients, the whirr was barely louder than the average fan motor. But Mikey still tensed when he switched it on. April held his hands in hers, smiling encouragingly and talking softly while Connor worked.

He’d been right about using a lot of screws. He silently thanked Vanessa for accidentally getting a double shipment on the last restock, it was certainly paying off now.

He kept one hand firmly on the edge of Mikey’s shell, so he could feel every time the kid shivered or flinched. But he didn’t try to run or bite him so the process was going much more smoothly than he was used to.

Still, both human and turtle visibly relaxed when the last hole was bored and the final screw was put in place.

Moving quickly, Connor dumped the epoxy resin components into a mixer before going back to the carapace with fishing line and started piecing the broken ends back into one.

Mkey whimpered and shook, and when Connor glanced down he could see the green, three fingered knuckles going pale with how hard he was squeezing April's hand. She didn’t even seem to care as she kept praising how well Mikey was doing.

Tough kid. Definitely born and raised in the city.

Fishing line in place, Connor made short work of transferring his resin batch and applying it. That, at least, didn’t seem to cause Mikey any more distress, his hands loosening bit by bit as the patch was spread over his injury. And the waiting time for it to set gave Connor a chance to examine the rest of Mikey.

There were a plethora of cuts to bandage but nothing that needed stitches. Connor thanked fate for that small mercy, because he wasn’t sure if Mikey would stay put if he pulled out another needle.

He smoothed down the last bandage just in time for the resin patch to dry. The screws were removed and disposed of and Connor finished it all off with a stupid amount of tape and gauze.

He breathed a sigh of relief before helping Mikey sit up again, “I want that IV to stay in until the bag is empty. But you can take it to the waiting room with you.”

Mikey nodded as he carefully slid off the table, leaning on April again for support. He looked up at Connor with a very shaky but genuine smile, “You’re a lifesaver, dude.”

Connor huffed a laugh, patting the kids head, “Tell yourself that when you start getting tired of all that resin on your back. Now, let’s go get the next one.”

Mikey nodded and Connor led the way back to the others.

Exhaustion was clearly trying to pull them all down but they perked up when Mikey shuffled over and was lowered into the chair.

Connor didn’t even have to ask before the same blue turtle, who was definitely the oldest with that ‘take charge’ attitude, was pushing the purple one forward.

Connor knew better this time and quietly explained the process again as April helped Donnie to the exam room. The kid, who he learned was named Donnie, nodded along quietly and immediately laid himself flat on the table.

More screws, more resin, an exam showing the kid probably had a concussion and a deep cut up his leg that needed a few stitches. Donnie babbled quietly the entire time, talking to April about some TV show he’d been watching and a band he really liked. Connor huffed a quiet laugh when he heard BTS mentioned a few times.

Now that he wasn’t as unsure, the entire thing took less time and Connor was feeling pretty confident when he went back for the next kid.

And was very, very quickly humbled again when he got Raph on his exam table.

He doubted Raph was trying to be difficult. But his default when he was uncomfortable seemed to be very much fight or flight. And since flight wasn’t an option, it meant he kept trying to claw at Connor whenever something hurt a little too much. Connor was very happy to have April's help in making sure Raph stayed as still as possible while also keeping him from punching or biting.

Luckily, Connor was used to clients that tended to lash out. And it got much easier after the shell repair was done. Something had cut the kids hands to ribbons so both got a layer of disinfectant and gauze.

Leo, while not nearly as difficult as Raph had been, was definitely not easy. Not because he was moving or trying to bite. No, it was because he refused to hold onto April like the last three had and continued to insist that Connor cleaning and drilling his shell didn’t hurt that bad.

It was kinda cringy to watch the kid fumble over his brave face in a clear attempt to impress April. But then again, Nick wasn’t much better and Connor had found that awkwardness endearing so he couldn’t judge the kid.

He also needed the most stitches. It looked like every cut the kid got and dug in deep and left Connor the job of slowly turning the turtle into a poor copy of Frankenstein's monster. And the bruising over his arms was much worse then the other three had been, already turning an ugly shade of purple. Treating that presented a small challenge, because he didn’t make a habit of stocking anything that could treat bruising. So he settled for raiding the break room freezer for ice and instructions for April to pick up something for bruising at a pharmacy.

Which left the rat, their father, apparently.

Connor frowned as the older mutant slowly limped next to him, under his own power so April could watch his boys.

“You have a name, right?” Connor asked. “I’m not really a fan of calling you ‘dad’.”

The rat gave a wheezy laugh at that, hugging his ribs, “Splinter will do fine.”

Connor nodded and held the exam room door open, “Okay Splinter, let’s take a look at that leg first.”

Splinter nodded, grunting and groaning as he took a seat on the table, only pausing to stick out a hand when Connor tried to help, “I’m not that old!”

“No, but you are injured,” Connor crouched, carefully prodding Splinters leg and foot. “...I want to x-ray to make sure but I don’t think it’s broken. Maybe a hairline fracture at worst.”

Splinter nodded, “Good, good, don’t have time for a broken bone anyway. Gotta stay on top of those boys.”

“I’m sure April will help you with your kids aftercare.”

“Ha, with their injuries, maybe. No, I need to make sure they stay home! Those four are grounded for sneaking around behind my back!”

“I mean…they did help save a lot of people.”

“Yes, and I am very proud of them. That’s why I’ll only ground them for a month instead of the rest of their lives.”

Connor couldn’t help but snort at that, “Alright then. Would you mind taking off your robe? I want to check your ribs.”

Splinter hummed and muttered as he gingerly pulled off his robe, once again refusing help. So Connor waited until he was given permission to touch. He didn’t check for busted ribs often on animals but Nick had shown him how to do it one. ‘Just in case’.

What other odd, little moments in his life were just fate setting up something to pay off later? 

He probably would never know…and frankly, he’d had plenty of world shattering revelations today.

Splinter was, by far, the least hurt. His leg and ribs were the worst offenders and, after a little nervousness around the x-ray machine, Connor confirmed that his leg wasn’t even broken, just a thin fracture that would heal in almost no time. He had the same random cuts all over his limbs to go with his sons, but his fur had saved him from anything too bad.

He led Splinter back to his sons after a slightly longer exam but with fresh bandages on his foot and chest and three pages of at-home care notes.

Connor paused by the desk, watching as the turtles, despite almost being asleep on their feet, stood to hug Splinter. He squeezed each one in return, likely putting too much pressure on his ribs but…Connor didn’t have the heart to tell him to stop.

The relief among the odd family was palpable. Connor knew that particular brand of relief well, when the dust finally settled completely and it fully hit you that you survived something that should have killed you.

No way in hell would Connor intrude on that moment. 

He let the mutants be, going back to the exam room to clean up. If they needed more help they could find him easily.

They were long gone by the time Connor went out again, only leaving a note on the front desk.

The scrawl was messy, but clearly read, ‘Thank you, from Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo, Splinter, April’.

Connor smiled as he tucked the note into his pocket.

He had no clue if he’d ever see those kids again but he hoped he would.

He hadn’t properly thanked them for saving the city after all.

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

Two months later, Vanessa cautiously poked her head into the storage closet, “Uh, Dr. Maverick? We have a walk-in requesting you?”

Connor sighed, “If it’s Mrs. Jefferson, please tell her she has to wait like everyone else.”

“Um, no, it’s someone by the name Leonardo?”

Connor paused.

He only knew one Leonardo.

“...I’ll be right there.”

Inventory could wait until he saw why Leo was knocking.

Connor didn’t run, running was a stupid thing to do in the clinic. That was how you accidently got stabbed by a scalpel or spilled chemicals onto people. But he did walk a bit faster than he normally would.

And sure enough, there was Leo, standing in his waiting room, next to a bloody faced Rapheal.

Connor approached the two boys, looking between them, “...the hell happened to him?”

“Someone decided to fight half a gang. By himself!”

“That Hun guy called me a frog!” Raph defended. “And he threw a beer bottle at me!”

Connor sighed, shaking his head, “Come on, both of you. I do not feel like getting bit today so Leo, you get to hold him down.”

Raph gaped at him, crossing his arms, “I’m not that bad!”

“Uh-huh,” Connor nodded as he snagged an empty clipboard. “I’m sure Miss. O’Neil agrees with that.”

Raph grumbled but trailed after him, Leo following at the end of the train.

Connor smiled as he scribbled down Raphael's name at the top of the patent form.

These kids had put themselves through hell to save the city, he was fine being their designated doctor in return.

[mega-aulover]

Get to know me

I was tagged by @theforgottenweasley thank you love!

Are you named after anyone?

Yes apparently my name in is a family name. My great-grandpa insisted that I be given that name, he was there when I was named.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Last night, I was looking for a screen shot of the last actor/actress and I saw a picture of my beloved pupper, - miss the little guy...tearing up as I write this...

3. Do you have kids?

No.

4.What sports do you play/have you played?

I have NO talent with sports...actually if you knew me you'd know walking and not falling is a sport for me lol!

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Are you kidding me it's like the second language for a New Yorker lol

6. What's the first thing you notice about other people?

I don't notice people's physical traits, it's their personality - that's what I notice.

7. What is your eye color?

Brown - (looking at my eyeball trying to see what color they are...)

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

nope no scary - I'm a confirmed yellow chicken...only HEA for me.

9. Any talents?

Writing, singing, sketching, falling lots of falling I'm a klutz

10. Where were you born?

I wish I could say someplace exotic but- it's New Jersey...

11. What are your hobbies?

painting

12. Do you have any pets?

I did he passed away last year, someone gave me a puppy but I cried every time I looked at her she was so sweet...she actually fell in love with my sister.

13. How tall are you?

staring at this question...the audacity... I'm barely 5ft tall

14. Favorite subject in school?

Art class

15. Dream job?

Believe it or not I lived my dream job. I loved teaching - until my immune system crashed.

I tag @imasradiantasthesun @katnissmellarkkk @rosegardeninwinter

[feverdreamjohnny]

Nowhere, MI - Burdens and Augments

Diabolical Combos

I always love it when games let you make these really ridiculous combinations that can clear an entire room if you line everything up right. My first experience with something like this was actually Dead Space 3, which I played as a young teen and quite enjoyed (despite it apparently being the worst in the series lol).

Keeping up with the joys of tinkering and making horrible combos, I implemented augments and burdens as a part of Nowhere, MI's core experience. I've shown augments off before, but I don't think I've ever really spoken in-depth about it much, so I thought it would be cool to do that here.

ANYHOW, so as you play you can unlock new forms for Concord that have different specializations. There are four planned (with three already implemented). These are: The Revolver, The Rocket Launcher, The Shotgun and The Railgun in that order. Each of these forms has three modifications slots:

Slots A and B are for augmentations, which fall under two different categories: Elemental and Mechanical.

Elemental Augments cause rounds to trigger unique effects as well as deal specific types of damage to enemies. An easy example of this is Magma Casing, which causes your rounds to explode and light enemies on fire. These types of augments also change the gun's color, so at a glance you know what effects the gun should have.

Mechanical Augments are meant to synergize with elemental augments and modify how projectiles behave. For example, Nut Cracker DX is a mechanical augment that causes projectiles to leave small bombs behind, which then take on the traits of their source. Bombs modified with Willow Wisp will levitate and fly after enemies, Rolling Dynamo bombs will fire small jolts of electricity at nearby targets before exploding into a large bolt of chain lightning, and Nobi Gen causes bombs to explode into a cluster of smaller bombs.

The third slot is the weapon's frame. Frames are rare modifications that overhaul how a gun behaves, allowing it to cover a different specialization. For example, PX-2 Hornet causes the associated weapon to act like an assault rifle, which allows you to take the relatively slow-firing shotgun and rocket launcher and use them as primary weapons. It also makes the revolver act like an SMG. A weapon's frame can have drastic effects on how that weapon can synergize with different augmentation combos, such as in the video above where I use PX-3 Ivory Tusk to get huge slow rockets that deal a lot of damage, and I use Rolling Dynamo to make them shock nearby enemies. After that I throw on Vega GAZ-R to manually control my rockets, and now I have a launcher that allows me to fly a little blimp drone around.

Now then, that sort of joints into the other major element of Nowhere, MI in the form of the burden system. Similar to how the player gets surrogates that allow them to double jump, dash and use venge veins, there's also a set of surrogates that have a cost to equip, but allow for more unique gameplay choices. These are called burdens. Burdens tax the user's metabolism, causing their internal temperature to increase the more of them the user has equipped. From a balancing standpoint, this serves as a hard limit on how many burdens you can have at once. From a pure gameplay standpoint, the higher your heat, the greater the enemy threat becomes as you start to attract attention to yourself.

Think of these like how Dishonored handles bonecharms, except way more evil.

Burdens come in four flavors: Common, Heavy, Rare and Ultimate. The costs of these burdens are 10%, 25%, 50%, and 0% of the heat bar respectively.

Common Burdens typically augment small aspects of the game and serve as flat upgrades. This includes a 15% chance to dodge incoming attacks, increased health and defense, the aforementioned Vega GAZ-R which lets you control your missiles, and the ability to run quicker.

Heavy Burdens tend to be more exotic and add some fun modifiers to gameplay. Some examples include summoning pets to help you fight (in this case, a little smiling ball), drastically improving the performance of your jet dash, and changing how some augments behave (such as allowing Rolling Dynamo to turn enemies into tesla coils as well).

Rare Burdens are some of the most powerful upgrades the player can unlock. These include being able to revive when you run out out health and summoning a guardian to fight for you, Having a small orbital familiar that fires beams corresponding to your current weapon's augments and frame, or even launching a vacuum cannon when reloading your gun.

Ultimate Burdens are almost impossible to find and tend to have extremely potent effects. Unlike other burdens, ultimate burdens don't cost heat. They cost other stats. An example of this is a burden that gives you a 90% chance to dodge any incoming damage, but locks you at a single pip of max health. Another is a burden that increasingly gives you defense as you lose health, makes you slower and slower as it goes.

The hope is that with all of these little systems, players can fit into their own fun niche and explore the town of Nowhere while nuking entire rooms because I failed to balance everything correctly.

I hope you folks enjoy the game when it comes out!!

(Background song is "I Got Knocked Out The Same Night England Did" by Bilk)

[kralie-films]

What kind of scary stories or urban legends are popular in your area? I love hearing about local folklore and myths, and how different regions have their own unique stories that often tap into fears or anxieties specific to those areas.

There are a lot of urban legends about alligators and mole people where I live. Back in 1935, some kids found and killed an alligator they pulled out of a sewer and since then it's kind of become a crazy legend.

In the 20s and 40s a lot of kids bought exotic pets and some of those were baby alligators, I suppose. Some kids would dump 'em down grates and sewer manholes, and the legend says they were able to propagate down there since then.

Another one is about an escaped mental patient who lived at the abandoned Willowbrook Mental Institution, and he'd snatch kids off the streets late at night. Often described as wielding a bloody axe or the ever popular hand hook.

Last but not least, it's said that Captain William Kidd buried treasure on Liberty Island. People have been looking for it for centuries and apparently it's guarded by freakish apparitions.

I can go into more detail than that, but that's some of the few urban legends around my area!

~K

[ask-the-reaper-conspiracy]

(ooc) Why do you think Stronghart likes birds so much, that he keeps them in his office? Is there any symbolism behind it? Is it explained anywhere? I was always curious while playing TGAA

Most of Stronghart's birds are pigeons, specifically doves. I think it's of interest to this conversation that in the original Japanese version of the game, his given name "Hart" is afaik a reference to "hato", the word for dove in Japanese.

I don't believe it's explained in-game why he keeps so many. (I think if you ask Kazuma about Barok's bats he mentions Stronghart's doves and then speculates that all the prosecutors keep pets like that. But I haven't played the game in so long that I could have just made that up.) I can think of a few things, though:

For one thing, when it comes to symbolism, white doves are typically viewed as birds of peace and purity. I imagine they represent the image of himself that Stronghart wishes to show the world; that he will cleanse London of its criminal element and establish a more peaceful, modern society. Kind of ironic that he frequently startles them off by making his grand declarations.

Also, allegedly there was a craze going on in the Victorian era for raising "fancy pigeons" as status symbols and showing them off at pigeon shows (apparently it became so popular that even the working class started getting in on it, which really killed the vibe for the upper class.) Birds as pets were becoming pretty huge around this time; iirc the first pet shops opened up for bird owners.

Mind, I can't necessarily see Stronghart as he is now participating in pigeon shows. But I can imagine maybe when he was a younger man he did---heck, maybe he used it to network a bit. And the habit of raising pigeons just probably stuck around ever since.

Now, I personally headcanon that his parakeet Madam Rosie was a gift from a family member in India, who assumed he would want her because he keeps other birds (he did end up keeping her but that was beside the point.) But in terms of canon, he could have purchased her himself for any reason. Maybe because pigeons weren't a lofty enough status symbol anymore compared to a more exotic bird, or he was just wanting to try raising something new.

I think Stronghart could easily be the kind of person who likes keeping animals that he can train and control. Compared to people, birds are probably a lot more obedient, and subsequently a lot less stressful.

[socially-awkward-skeleton]

-Favorite sex position?

-What is an absolute deal breaker in the bedroom?

-Favorite pet name they like to be called?

for Kit...AND Sia

Thank you Goose!

putting this under the cut for nsfw stuff

Favorite sex position?

Kit does like a bit of the vanilla as a missionary fan, being able to see her partner and their expressions and being able to kiss them are all pros to the position. But her absolute favorite is getting taken from behind either doggy style or prone position...she likes it DEEP

What is an absolute deal breaker in the bedroom?

She is willing to do a lot for the person she loves, but she also has some very strict cut offs that she will absolutely not bend on:

no derogatory names

no hitting (spanking is cool though)

no bodily fluids (except blood, apparently she's cool with that)

Favorite pet name they like to be called?

Kitten. Hands down. Started out as totally derogatory from Jacob and quickly became the name she wanted him to call her even calling him out on it when he called her Deputy after she'd handed herself over to him

Favorite sex position?

Lotus. She likes the closeness of it and its more exotic then missionary to her. Plus helps with the big ass height difference between her and Sam if she's sitting in his lap.

What is an absolute deal breaker in the bedroom?

Sia is very vanilla, she's not really into most kinky things and doesn't really want to try a lot of "out there" stuff. Anything that starts veering into the hardcore isn't for her and she will shut that shit down quick

Favorite pet name they like to be called?

Sam has quite the roll call of pet names he likes to use on Sia, from doll to sweetheart, but her favorite is when he calls her darling in his thick Boston accent