#Worship Before the Ark

[pastorhogg]

When Good Intentions Go Wrong—and Right Again

Thru the Bible in a Year The reign of King David is often remembered for its passion, poetry, and praise—but also for its missteps. In 1 Chronicles 13–16, we’re invited into a pivotal moment in David’s leadership: his desire to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. At first glance, it’s a noble act. But the journey of moving the ark teaches us more than logistics—it reminds us of the need…

[cosmicviolencce]

what we're fighting for. bellamy blake.

⊹ where bellamy sees you by the river, and you realize he needs a reminder of how good the earth can be.

⊹ smut, violence, fluffy, nsfw, swearing, breasts worship, unprotected sex, bellamy x fem!reader.

since you landed with the prisioners, your perception changed completely.

things were so different from the space, the air would actually smell like things, like trees and grass and dirt and... water.

you had your list of favorite things in the planet, including the sunset and flowers and the amazing feeling of laying on grass and watching the leaves waggling upon you, but the water would surely be on top of that list. it would taste infinitely better than how it did in the ark, but what you really loved was how it felt against your warm skin when you stepped into a river, or how calming the water would sound with the singing birds and the blowing wind against the trees.

there was a river a few kilometers away from the camp. everything was new for you, for a hundred teenagers on their first time in a new planet, though you weren't the first ones after the cataclysm, neither the only ones living there — and you discovered that in the worst possible way. but that didn't matter for you, because you already lived your whole life locked up in a cell, and you were already born in a box in the space, which didn't make things better.

the simple acknowledgment that you could actually see things you didn't even dare to imagine before was already worth the danger that came with the exploration; hostile grounders sneaked behind the trees and the next victim could be you, but you didn't care.

so you'd always find a way to sneak out the camp discreetly, and after insisting on helping with tasks on the camp that involved taking buckets of drinkable water to the camp or washing supplies, you had the path memorized in your brain, recognizing every curve and every hill.

your curious eyes wandered everywhere, and they still weren't used to how absurdly green your surroundings would be, so distant from the void you stared from the ark windows before you got arrested. and in that river, that beautiful place where trees were so close to eachother they created arcs of leaves upon the flowing water, you felt safe like in a fortress. at first you felt constantly watched, afraid a grounder would jump on you with a fatal stab from their spares.

now it didn't matter. as long as you could listen to the sound of the water flow crashing against the large rocks at the margin, feeling the cold sensation embrace your body, you'd die at peace.

so you made that a ritual, your secret little ritual. oh, swimming felt even better than floating on the gravity simulator. you took off all your clothes, disappearing into the water that mirrored dark green leaves. sat there, you could watch still as animals passed by to refresh themselves, and they didn't fear you. you felt like a mystical creature with superpowers, like you were born in the earth and belonged there.

at first, that was the first impression from the man that got surprised with the image of a young woman swimming so freely. when reality hit him, he wondered if it could be a grounder, but it didn't make sense, a grounder wouldn't be so near a river the teenagers used so often. not alone.

such a beautiful woman, wet long hair falling in waves on her bare back. slender and soft, stopping next to the edge of the river and hugging her knees like a fragile creature, covering all her nudity. he felt a pull, a primal urge to approach something so different from his roughness, from all the violence that planet offered. something pure and untouched.

bellamy watched from afar, hidden behind large leaves. then, when he realized it could be one of his own people, he approached. even if you were naked, even if you seemed so peaceful and free in your solitude. he couldn't let one of his own people in danger, so he stepped foward. your trained ears were so used to the quietude that it was easy to detect any changes on your surroundings. your eyes quickly looked for a sign and your hands instinctively went to your breasts, even though your knees were already pressed against them.

so, when he realized that, he stepped out from the darkness behind the tree and stopped by the marge, trying not to scare you. even though you weren't aware of how long he watched you, a hint of admiration still made his eyes shine. he was amazed, and tried to cover it with his toughness.

"you shouldn't be here," he said. a dead rabbit was hanging on his left hand, a bow positioned across his chest. he was hunting.

"i know," was all you answered, trying to look back at the water with nonchalance while you hugged your knees tightly.

"so you're rather stupid or suicide," he murmured with a hoarse voice, trying to intimidate you with his commanding tone as he did to everyone else in the camp. you didn't answer, which made him sigh in frustration.

then, he removed the bow from his chest and placed it upon a rock before approaching the river with a knife on his other hand. you watched it attentively as he started to clean the dead animal that would probably feed most of you later.

he was almost able to act as if you weren't naked so next to him, as if you didn't know he was trying hard not to stare too much at your hypnotizing form. he just couldn't leave you alone, so he made an excuse to not to leave. to be close. — to protect you, like the internal urge he felt when he saw you there, so sweet and innocent.

so while he pretended to be focused on removing the thin skin from the animal, you dived back on the deepest part of the river so that the water would cover your bare skin. you pretended to do something, to clean your hair or your to remove some leaves that the river would eventually bring from it's flow.

but bellamy couldn't stop watching.

your back, turned at him, moved gracefully. he admired your curves, the way the water only covered your hips. teasingly. your hair seemed even longer when it was soaked, and covered you like a blanket. but when you pushed your hair to the side to softly rinse your shoulder, his eyes fell to the curve of your back, imagining how his hands would feel against you. the sight of your exposed neck was driving him crazy.

he sighed, quickly focusing back on his task. even if all he did was for not leaving you alone, he couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt for making you feel vulnerable. at least he imagined you did, and he wouldn't blame you for that.

he cleared his throat. "it's getting late. it'll be dark soon."

"i know the way back," you said.

"i know you do." he said with slight irritation, what made you chuckle and turn your body to face him. but, when he took you in, water would be at your collarbone height.

"you act as if we weren't in the fucking earth."

his eyes went from the rabbit to you. "do you realize how many we've lost?"

you frowned, pressing your crossed arms upon your chest.

"that doesn't make the earth less amazing. just look around. it deserves our admiration... even if for a single moment."

he looked around quickly, "moment's over."

he swallowed, trying not to let your words annoy him like they would annoy the leader and responsible version of himself. being in charge of a camp meant having to carry on your shoulders the weight of every tragedy, and you could imagine how fucked up that was. but bellamy needed to understand your point of view too; and maybe it wasn't as easy for him to admire your freedom because he wasn't a prisioner like the rest of you.

but who in the ark would ever imagine any of you would be able to see the earth again?

"just look around, bellamy," you tried to step on his direction but remembered you were naked, and his eyes lowered quickly to your arms pressed tightly upon your breasts. you stopped there, because every step closer would take you to the surface and reveal more of your body. "there's trees, and animals, and... goddamnit, everything's so amazing. makes me feel like it's worth it," you said, "any of us who died got to see that, and the rest of us got the chance to make life possible again."

he seemed to think about the depth of your words for a long moment. they were beautiful, but not enough to get trough his tough facade.

"i don't have time for this. maybe i'm too busy keeping us alive,"

you sighed, frustrated.

"come here," you murmured in a soft invitation.

it was tempting. you standed so pretty, your frame shining among the water, your rounded eyes begging him for a chance to show him the beauty of the earth when you were the definition of it, a magical creature asking him to approach.

but he couldn't.

"listen, i don't have time for your-"

"please," you insisted with a soft smile, "i'm coming back to the camp with you, i promise. just come here..."

he sighed in frustration. though he tried to keep his word, he was still bellamy blake afterall, and the sight of a beautiful girl calling him that way would have it's effects on him

he put the rabbit down, cleaning his bloody hands on his jeans befote kicking his boots and removing his shirt. and at this point, it was already normal to stare, so you did. watched as his bronzed chest rose and fell repeatedly in a slightly quickened breath, his strong arms falling at the sides of his body while he approached you.

you smiled in satisfaction, now covering both of your breasts with one hand while the other took his own, bringing him even closer.

"look up, bell," you told him, your eyes following his to the trees that towered you, and for a second his eyes shined in admiration. leaves danced upon you with the wind, creating a calming sound that mixed with the flowing water. then, birds began to sing and you smiled.

you looked back at him, his pretty lips slightly parted as he began to relax, to appreciate the beauty that surrounded you two. then, when he realized, he'd lost you. he looked around to he surprised by your hands on his eyes, blinding him. from where you standed, so close behind him, he could feel your nipples brushing against his bare back, what made him sigh and swallow nervously.

"now listen," you murmured in a low and soft voice, guiding him. your breath so close to his ear made him shiver, "does anything you've heard up there in the ark sounds like this?"

you used one hand to cover his eyes while the other lowered to his heart, and you felt his incredibly fast heartbeat.

"maybe you need a break from the fight to just remind yourself what we're fighting for," you whispered and his breath got caught in his throat. "we're in the earth, bell. that's amazing for itself, just... think about that."

he sighed deeply, as if trying to take in the combination of your words and all the natural sounds around you. then he started to feel what you feel, what he felt himself when the dropship came down before the feeling got lost with the responsibilities. but it was easy with you, with your body so close to his, so intimately.

he felt as if the world silenced around him, and he could hear only his heartbeat.

your touch lowered from his chest to his abdomen, letting your nails tease the skin above the hem of his pants. he arched his back against you with a gasp.

then, your hand fell from his eyes and when he turned his body to see you - almost desperately -, he found that smile of yours, as he always did. and it was for him. your hands didn't cover your body anymore, they rested calmly at your sides, and your long hair served as a veil to your beautiful breasts.

and he had to see you.

he had to unwrap that gift the woods offered him, to feel you and claim you. every primal instinct shouted him to do so, because your ability to calm him trough a war got him simply amazed. hypnotized. so he gently put your hair behind your shoulders, now revealing your form completely. so pretty. his eyes shined, his hands ached in anticipation and the tenderness of his touch made you shiver. but you didn't move. you stayed there looking at him, seeing what else he wanted to do to you.

because you were at your favorite place in the universe, and his presence was the only one that didn't made you apprehensive in this world full of death and tragedies, and he did nothing but to touch you like a hidden pearl. his fingertips trailed down from your collarbone to the base of your breasts, feeling how heavy they were before squeezing both. you moaned, reaching for his curls at the back of his head and grasping it in response.

he swallowed hard, his jaw tensing with the burden of a hard decision.

"i should take you back to the camp," he said, yet not able to let go of you, his hands lowering to the curve of your back and brought your body closer to his as the water embraced both of your bodies.

"not now," you said firmly, and yet, it was one of the softest things he's ever heard.

"it's not safe for you here. you're vulnerable."

"i'm not," you murmured in a whisper, looking deep inside his eyes, "i have you." he blinked a few times, waiting for his heart to take in your words before continuing. "and i trust you," you said calmly, and he was almost flabbergasted. did you not understand the weight of these words upon him?

"you can't just say things like that," he murmured in frustration. his breath was hitched, ghosting over your face.

"come closer," you murmured, gentle fingers still stroking his scalp. he obeyed, gluing your body on his with your chest pressed further against his, and the growing bulge in his pants met the warmth of your thighs. he groaned at the realization; his clothes were the only thing between you, you were fully naked. and sometimes that was hard to take in when half of you body was covered by the water.

"i need you," was all he had the strength to mumble under his breath with his lips already ghosting over yours. in another situation, he'd simply take your lips with his the second you gave him the opportunity for it, but he felt in your arms the comfort he'd never felt in his whole life while all the responsibilities took over, and he was able to accept whatever you were willing to offer. like a lost boy in a fairy's arms.

you lips rubbed against his neck caressing the soft skin there, and you could feel his scent; something like woods and sweat. you needed it to fill your lungs, and you inhaled deeply. he held you tightly against him, lifting your body until your legs encircled his hips. felt like everything he's ever dreamed of, and suddenly he understood what you tried to explain.

the feeling of freedom.

and he needed more from you, to take all you was willing to allow him to feel; he kissed you deeply while guiding your bodies deeper into the water. you moaned against his mouth when he squeezed your waist, almost as if trying to bring you impossibly closer. you parted your lips for him and he groaned, tasting you desperately while you used your grip on his hair to bring him even closer and allow him to sink inside your mouth.

water seemed to dance around you, comforting and embracing your bodies. you didn't realize he was moving until he positioned your body gently in a large rock and pulled back to simply admire you there; droplets of water all over your skin while you layed there so sweetly, waiting for him.

he wanted to be inside you so bad, but the way you looked at him made him lean foward to kiss you again.

"just wanna make you feel good, bell," you murmured against your lips, and he kissed you again.

"you will."

you could feel him unzipping his pants, but you were too busy planting soft kisses on his jawline to do something about it. then, bellamy was hovering your body now, pants and boxers at the height pf his heels. you barely had time to admire his thick cock, to touch him and feel how his pulsating flesh would feel against your palm because he was already parting your thighs and forcing himself inside you.

you could feel every inch of him easily sliding inside your wet cunt. he groaned, burying his face in your neck. you sobbed, your delicate hands still on his hair, caressing and pulling at the dark locks.

your back arched against the tough surface, scratching your pretty skin. he pulled back and sank further agaisnt your warmth, needing more and more of the comfort you provided him, as if his heavy clouds filled his mind to the point he could no longer think about his duties and responsibilities, just the tight warmth of you sweet cunt encircling his throbbing cock.

and his only obligation was to drag more of those tiny sweet sounds from your lips.

he rolled his hips against yours, trying to feel all the extension of your insides, to know how deep he could reach before pulling back again, and again, and again.

"i need you so much," he breathed out, like fucking you this deep wasn't enough. his shoulder's muscles contracted so beautifully upon you, and your lips parted to let out a silent gasp. he was hitting you so deep you could almost roll your eyes if it wasn't for his torturously slow pace.

your hands lowered to his back in a sort of comforting touch, and you felt his burning skin; rays of sun mistreated his skin as he shelted you under his large frame. it would burn later, but you'd make sure to provide a more comfortable place for him to fuck you next time.

"faster," you pleaded in a whisper. he wanted to savour you, but he definitely wasn't against the suggestion; he'd have time to fuck you slowly over and over again, but right now, your pulsating walls brought him closer and closer to a no return point.

he pushed himself inside you harder and harder, one hand supporting his weight on the hard surface of the rock to allow the other hand to explore your body, cupping your breasts before using his hand to steady your trembling hips against the floor, allowing him to hit a sweet point inside you that made you moan in a quite satisfactory loud sound.

"holy fuck, bell," he looked down at you to meet your pleasured expression, half lidded eyes and the blush in your cheeks that came with the approaching release. he smiled trough his parted lips, parting your legs to sink even deeper inside you in a new angle, "fuck, just like that..."

he followed your words, despite fighting the internal urge to tease you further. his cock already throbbed fastly and not much different from your convulsing spongy walls, orgasm would reach him and he was desperate for it just like you were.

"hmmm..." he hits you even faster, "so. fucking. good."

"bell," you cry out, cheeks burning with the growing heat, legs tight around him, "bell..."

he reached for your swollen clit, his thumb brushing against your sweet spot while he lowered his mouth to suck at your breasts, pulling at the flesh between his lips and caging your nipple between his teeth making you scream pityfully. his cock pulsed harder at every response.

you pressed his face against your breasts and he submitted willingly, burying his face until he was lost between your soft skin, leaving marks there while he tried to distract himself from the growing urge — he had to feel you coming first, to listen to your sweet sounds.

so when his stimulation at you clit mixed with he burning pain as his canines stucked into your thin skin, your body couldn't handle it anymore, your pussy dripping slick and bathing his cock as it moved even quicker inside you.

"fuck, fuck-" you gasped, panting as your body contorted around him, "come with me," was all you whispered, making him nod repeatedly between your breasts.

your pussy clenched around him, your tiny sounds announcing your release for him and for all the trees around you, nature surrounding your intimacy while the world semeed to spin around you.

orgasm hit you two like a thunder, reverberating in your bones and making you tremble in a weakness that made your hips stutter against his. the accumulated tensin in your tummy spreaded all over your tired body.

bellamy moaned under his breath, pulling back and stroking his cock as it spilled all his release in your stomack in sweet threads of thick and warm cum, making you moan one last time before trying to bring fresh air to your lungs again.

he pulled back, putting back his jeans to kneel between your spread thighs again and take a deep breath, eyes closed. then, he did it again. focused on the sound of the wind, the flowing water and all the nature around you. and his body still felt the final effects, the ecstasy from release.

he felt like floating, for the first time in a while. thanks to you.

then he opened his eyes to meet you there, smiling so sweet at him and only for him. and he smiled too. leaned forward to cage you and kiss your neck tenderly.

"gotta get back now, princess," he mumbled, look deep inside your eyes,"but i have to say; i owe you for this. and i intend to return you the favor."

you smirk, supporting your weight in your elbows to face him. you touched his back softly, and the simple contact made him wince as the sudden absence of adrenaline made his skin burn painfully.

"i think you were wrong," he looked up, blinded by the sun, "not everything here is that good."

you giggled, pulling him closer to press your lips against his.

"'s okay. i have time to convince you again,"

[wife-of-all-dilfs]

from the flames | b. blake

masterlist

summary: season three — to signify the newly recognised alliance between the sky people and the grounders, a celebration is held within polis’ market square. a bonfire, alcohol, and the bawdy pulsation of drums is a sure-fire recipe for a stimulating night. add a watchful bellamy blake and his dancing muse into the mix, and, well… i’ll show you the consequences of such a potent combination.

pairing: bellamy blake x fem!reader

warnings: alcohol consumption/intoxication, sensual dancing, jealousy, sexual desecration??, mild possessiveness, arguments, bellamy speaking in trigedaslang (giggling and kicking my feet), dialogue-heavy, manhandling, mild angst, smut, unprotected p in v (do not), reader is short because i’m short, deal with it <3

notes: i haven’t recently been watching the 100 so the timeline and characterisation may be a little off. also, ik this took me a long ass time, but i’m gonna try and make sure the next two parts come out a little quicker <3 i love y’all!

word count: 2.5k

“People of Kongeda and Skaikru, tonight we gather as one, united by a common purpose and a shared future of alliance. Before us, this bonfire symbolises more than just a flame; it is a beacon of hope, an opportunity to cleanse old grudges and pain that has divided us for far too long.

“Let this fire signify a new beginning and serve as a reminder that unity is not our weakness, but our strength. Let it be known that from this day, we join not as enemies, but as allies, and anyone set upon spilling the blood of our allies is spilling the blood of us all. Let it be known: Jus drein, jus daun!”

“Jus drein, jus daun!”

As much as Lexa’s words intended to inspire harmony, the crowd massed below the second-floor balcony of the dominating tower she resided on reacted in any way but. Fierce declarations of worship were cried out; large fists were pumped in celebration; and misty clouds of brew and saliva were sprayed into the tepid night air.

All was well, for the first time since we landed on Earth.

“Happy Unity Day,” I murmured to myself, taking a sip from the metal cup in my hand. I was standing on the outer edges of the unruly crowd of dark, rugged figures, who were surrounding an unlit wooden mountain and raving as it abruptly burst into vociferous flames.

The monstrous tepee of sticks was raging at the centre of Polis’ trading square, an open area bordered with stalls and operating food vendors that infused the air with a salivating meaty aroma. Glimmers of light chipped away into the familiar starry night above and an orange ambience was cast throughout the square, seeming to blaze beneath the skin of those who orbited the fire.

It was a somewhat perplexing scene: to be together as one people, celebratingratherthan being at war with one another.

A pensive mechanic stepped in beside me, eyeing the mixed crowd of Grounders and Sky People.

Raven folded her arms over her chest. “Don’t you think the fact that the Ark originally had thirteen stations and the coalition now has thirteen clans is kind of…”

“Unsettling?” I finished for her. “Yeah. Probably best not tell these guys the story of how Polaris got blown out of the sky. Don’t want to give them any ideas.”

“Polaris… Polis…” she continued contemplating. “Think there’s anything equally unsettling about that?”

I looked at Raven. She looked back at me.

I sucked in a sharp breath—“I’m not drunk enough for this conversation”—and tipped the harsh contents of my cup down my throat. The liquid was molten in both its ferocity and colour and was infused with some potent earthly spice; it was a blow to the stomach upon consumption.

“Is that such a good idea?” Raven asked, judging me as my head craned back to capture the last few drops of throat-scorching goodness. “I’m all for pouring a glass when the occasion calls for it, but these people have stomachs lined with steel—what do you think yours is made of?”

I grimaced at the taste. “You tell me. You’re the genius.”

The roll of her eyes was deafening. “I’m just saying, they’ve probably spent decades perfecting their drinks to suit them, to match their tolerances. I mean, even that human fountain over there couldn’t handle it.” She nodded towards a cluster of barrels where a titan of a man wearing armoured shoulder pads and breastplates was hunched over, violently emptying his stomach onto the cobbled ground.

I swallowed my own stomach at the sight.

“I just assumed you wanted to spend the night somewhat differently,” she said, a sweet undertone of provocation twisting her words.

My brows furrowed, and I turned to face her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Her lips twitched at the corners—never a good sign.

The thing was, I knew exactly what she meant. Her unspoken words had already been circling my mind for days, weeks, months even, increasingly accumulating with both heat and fervour.

As ironic as it was, I think it’s fitting to compare my situation to that of a star’s formation.

There I was, a delinquent sitting stagnant in a cold nebula of misery in the Sky Box, parted from my family and friends, sent hurtling to Earth to die, only then to have my cold, miserable cloud intruded upon by a fiery presence, a head of tousled brown waves and a pair of rich, dark chocolate eyes.

An awakener. An activator.

This intruder began filling my head with his words, his laughter, his brooding stare. The weight of his presence began to grow; thoughts of him consumed me. From the most surprisingly vulnerable conversations to even the tensest arguments, he had a heat inside me swirling and it was sweltering to unfathomable heights. It showed no signs of stopping.

Raven’s malevolent brown eyes were pointing plainly at something far behind me as if to answer my question. I knew what I would see even before turning around to look, but moronic as I was, I looked anyway.

Chin hovering over my shoulder, my eyes wandered through the scattered crowd of Grounders and Sky People alike that loitered the bonfire’s outskirts. There, sandwiched between Lincoln and an unoccupied trading stall, was a face that not only had my stomach contents lodged in my throat, but my heart as well.

Bellamy.

He was standing with his arms crossed, each one concealed beneath his distressed guard jacket. And although his stance screamed ‘Don’t talk to me,’ his face said otherwise. He and Lincoln were engaged in some high-spirited conversation, much unlike themselves (although the supply of drinks may have been to blame). Bellamy was speaking through one of his overconfident half-grins while alternating between gesturing to-and-fro with a single hand and tucking it back under his opposing bicep.

My chest was burning; the bonfire somehow must’ve seeped into my heart.

It should be stated here that when a nebula accumulates enough particles, it turns into a protostar—not a main sequence star like our sun, but something that holds the potential to be. At this point, the formation is at its most precarious. If a sufficient amount of mass is not acquired, the protostar will fail to stabilise and will cool into a brown dwarf, forever existing in the cold, lonely expansion of space as a reminder of what it could have been.

Bellamy’s head gravitated in my direction. Our eyes met through the asteroid belt of rugged figures between us. My breath caught in my throat, and I turned back around.

A reminder of what it could have been.

Sometimes I worry my insufficiency has damned me already.

“Oh, my god.” I squeezed my eyes shut. “Oh my god, Raven, why would you put me through that?”

“In the hopes that you’ll finally grow a pair and do something about it,” she replied, taking a sip of her drink to conceal her smirk.

“About what?” Now I was just being evasive.

She let out a frustrated huff and folded her arms over one another. Her countenance was a reflection of impatience: the raised eyebrows, the slight downward tilt of her head, the pursed lips. I almost laughed at her theatricality; then again, I almost cried because I didn’t want the reason behind it to be true.

I wanted Bellamy Blake.

The confession was boiling inside me; it was burning the tip of my tongue, and I knew I had to let it out to cool. And if the words were never spoken to him, then they at least had to be expressed to someone else, even if I never admitted them in the exactness I felt, for the exact words would be so heinous, so—hedonistic, that if anyone were to hear them, I’d be thrown into lock-up for the rest of my days.

“Fine, I guess I’m… attracted to Bellamy,” I spoke slowly, cringing at my own words. Raven’s face immediately lit up like an overzealous Christmas tree, her smugly curved lips parting to no doubt release an incongruous stew of condemnation and encouragement, which I stopped before it could even start. “Anattraction that I am not going to act on, Raven; our friendship is rocky enough as it is. I mean,” I scoffed, “have I even told how we first met? I held a pocketknife to his neck our second night on the ground because he threatened to pry off my wristband in my sleep. And he actually tried! You know that tiny scar he has on his cheek? That was from me!”

“Yeah, sometimes I forget how much of a self-righteous dick he was for a while there,” Raven mused. Her face then screwed with confusion. “Wait, how did you two even become friends? Because when I came down, you were at each other’s throats every single day over one thing or another, and then out of nowhere, it was as if the slate had been wiped clean.”

Ah.

The day the slate had been wiped clean.

A thick blurriness blanketed my vision as my mind withdrew from the present. You know when you get run down with some kind of sickness and your mind gets all scrambled and foggy? Like a fever dream? That’s what that day seemed like to me. Too many unimaginable things had happened, too many emotions and losses were felt, and I’d only shared them with one person before.

“You still there?”

My gaze flickered to Raven momentarily. She was staring at me, half with impatience, half with concern. “Just—” I raised my hand slightly in front of me “—give me a second.”

I inhaled. One, two, three. And I exhaled. Three, two, one.

A vulnerable creature of some sort nestled in my brain, softening the tone of my voice as I hesitantly began, “It was the, uh, the day the Exodus Ship crashed. My dad was on it,” I said, my last words barely audible. “Knowing that he was gone was one thing, but watching the ship crash? That messed me up for a good while.”

Raven, taken aback, muttered her apologies. I just shook my head in return. I sucked in a sharp breath, forcing the memory into the cobwebbed corners of my mind, and then continued, “Bellamy had found me in the woods that night. It wasn’t exactly a pretty sight. I think that seeing me in such a vulnerable state forced him to set aside his asshole-ry for a while because he actually managed to… comfort me.”

I remembered the tone of his voice, so shockingly gentle yet hardened in his trademarked sort of way as he reassured me endlessly that I would be okay. I remembered the warmth of his body as I lay crumpled and sobbing in his lap on the forest floor, clinging onto his arm as if it kept me from plummeting into a bottomless pit. I remembered his hands, swiping away the thousands of tears that streaked my face, the hair from my eyes.

I remembered our brief conversation as we walked back to camp: “I won’t tell anyone. I promise,” he had said, to which I whispered, “Thank you,” and after a short pause, he spoke again, “We all need someone sometimes. I know we don’t have the best history together but… I can be that someone if you ever need,” and then, once more, with an unwelcome flutter in my stomach, I whispered, “Thank you.”

A small, bittersweet smile lifted my lips. My voice sounded distant to my ears as I continued speaking. “We still nicked at each other here and there after that—that tension between us has never really disappeared—but there was also this new mutual understanding. And somewhere from mutual understanding came a rough-around-the-edges friendship, and then friendship turned into something else.” I paused to recollect my thoughts. “Well, for me, at least.”

Between the moment I started speaking to the moment I stopped, my gaze had wandered sheepishly to the toes of my boots. I felt so exposed, like the outer layers of my being had been cracked open to reveal a part of my soul to a girl I hadn’t even known existed until two months ago. Suddenly I remembered why I didn’t drink often.

I stood awkwardly, waiting. The weight of my confession and vulnerability were looming above us.

Raven was quiet; she made no witty remark or tease. Her eyes had only softened with understanding, shifting back and forth as my words were mulled over in her brain. And it was only from her foreign silence that I realised what her next question could be: why don’t you just tell him?

I began, “I don’t want to ruin—"

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” she finally interrupted, shaking her head as if to dismiss my unspoken sentiment. “The age-old ‘I don’t want to ruin what we have right now’. But what exactly is that?” Her eyes once again interrogated mine. “Because I’ll make it clear to you right now and say that what you two have is not just friendship. Come on. You and Bellamy?” She shifted her head to catch my drifting gaze. “Anyone with eyes can see something is there, but clearly, neither of you have a pair.”

Talk about tough love.

A harsh outflow of air exited my nose, and I pushed my hair back out of my face. Everything was much more complicated than I thought it was. Was I really as blind as Raven said? I would have already seen what she does if it were true, right? Did Bellamy really feel the same?

Am I drunk?

I glanced behind me once more, catching a glimpse of Bellamy tilting his head back to finish his drink, exposing the sculptured column of his neck. Heat flushed through my cheeks.

Christ. I couldn’t let this one go. There wasn’t a chance.

“What am I supposed to do?” I asked, still watching him.

An uproar of hoots and howls exploded throughout the square as the sound of drums and horns began to play, bringing my attention to the second-floor balcony of the Commander’s Tower where the noise floated down from. Drums pulsed with bawdy rhythm; horns bellowed with lewd backbone; a woman purred tribal vocalisations.

Bodies began swaying in disharmonious synchronisation around the bonfire, in pairs, in groups, individually. What tethered them was the raunchiness of their movements and the subtle carnality of their interactions with one another. I’d never seen anything like it; as I looked over at Raven and saw her similar intrigue, I knew she hadn’t either.

That was my mistake—to even acknowledge her in such a moment, especially after speaking about our previous topic. Her lips began stretching and stretching into a particularly wicked grin, and she turned to me. The devil was burning in her dark eyes.

Her answer to my question: “Give his eyes something to look at.”

part two

[ahopefulbromantic]

No please you don't get it you don't get how heart-wrenchingly sad the golden calf thing was

Remember the conversation right before it? in which God tells Moses all about the ark and the offerings and the tent and the rituals and the garments and the Sabbath? The conversation that everybody thought was boring (fight me. FIGHT me this instant)?

The conversation in which God excitedly says, "Okay Moses, my Love, this is gonna be so great! I will live among you, among my people! I'm so happy!!! So here's the plans I've made while I was up here, you will build me a little house! That I will dwell in! Here's how I want it to look, I thought about the exact measurements and ornaments so you could build it for Me and we can live together! I will be your God and you will be My people and I love you all, I love you so much. And here's what I will eat, here's what I like so you can cook it and we can have meals together! And here's how we'll be spending our holidays together and here's how we will all be dressed, I thought about everything! And, and-"

And suddenly His face drops.

"Moses," He says quietly. "I think you should go back down."

"...Why?" asks Moses, his heart already sinking.

"They've made themselves a new god to worship. They... didn't want Me."

Can you imagine? All this holiest excitement doused, all this going out of His way for the Almighty to be family with humans crushed in one moment when God maybe suddenly realizes He isn't loved back? How heartbroken, how utterly crushed must He have been that the Boundless Love could even think about just killing Their people then and there?

Good thing Moses still couldn't see His face. No human would be able to handle so much sorrow.

[kitkat-sans]

Cyberverse DeceptiBee

Still thinking about that one episode in cyberverse where shockwave was trying to trick an amnesiac bumblebee into thinking he was a decepticon spy the entire time.

Honestly i can’t help but think IT IS possible,..

Okay hear me out, to those who have watched the entirety of cyberverse season 1 have clearly seen how bumblebee absolutely admired and idolized Megatron in his gladiator days, dude was out here going to his fights WITH shockwave and giving out highfives to him, my man was CHEERING for him.

DUDE HE WAS LITERALLY OUT HERE SAYING “Megatron is my hero!!” LIKE WHAATTTT.. The episode showing his kinda worshipping thing to megatron was literally called exactly that, you cannot tell me that the bumblebee before the war wouldn’t dare to start kissing his feet all in glory.

Bumblebee was so in awe of Megatrons words in the day that megatron annouced to all of cybertron of a new faction rising up and shouting to everybot that all cybertronians would now be in control of their destiny with the decepticon rising, Bee was IN that annoucement happily cheering for him in the far side.

Okay okay look, i know optimus was there as well but i like to think bumblebee knew megatron BEFORE orion pax.

I mean bumblebee was like recognized by megatron by now because he admired meggy over here a bit much during his days in the gladitorial arena, in all honestly not gonna lie he would just be a bit lower on worshipping megatron before Soundwave and Shockwave cause we know how much of a d-rider they are.

Bumblebe was fully in with Megatrons belief on being oppressed and wanted to make cybertron a better place for all cybertronians, we all know how righteous bee is all the time from past and present medias, generally i think he would be somewhat inbetween the outer and inner circle of Megatron, sure he’s loyal but megatron isnt sure what ‘peace through tyranny’ would impact Bumblebee.

If Megatron hadn’t introduced Bumblebee to Orion Pax he would’ve stayed loyal at his side, just with a little manipulation though, if megatron had held Bumblebee closer he would’ve made such a perfect decepticon, literally Megatron said it hinself in the “Megatron is my hero!” Episode, he wouldve made a good decepticon considering his loyalty, having no fear and strong courage.

“But what about bumblebee being righteous? he would know Megatron’s methods would make him leave the decepticons.” What’s a good little manipulation and a little mindbreak can do.

Shockwave almost made bumblebee think he was a spy all along until that part where ‘Optimus’ was on Megatrons side as well. Yeah shockwave you fumbled that shit so bad you should’ve just stayed with just bee being a spy.

Now imagine that was actually real, i mean, we saw that multiple universes of that literation exists, an au where bumblebee was an actual Decepticon spy, undercover with deadlock, Bee was literally the one who took in deadlock who supposedly ‘left the decepticons to convert into an autobot’ turned out to be a spy, now that i think of this longer, Bee would still end up with the autobots.

Now instead of Optimus chasing after the Bee spy revealing he was on megatrons side as well, the rest of the autobots manage to catch him and put him in stasis lock, and after the ark malfunctions and crashes into earth, his pod crash lands on the snowy mountains, and he ends up having amnesia.

Now windblade, his old friend who has no idea that bee was a spy all along, thinks he’s still on the autobots side and tries to help him bring his memories back until windblade realizes she’s with a traitor, her being the a best friend ever tries to persuade bee into staying in the autobots side, Bumblebee seems hesitant but with his memories being incomplete and the only friend he knows on earth is windblade, trusts her and depends on her decisions and loyalty to her.

Guiding him to his original righteous decision.

This is just an idea and opinion of mine and i just wanna talk about it, im just baffled at how bee used to admire megatron so much in cyberverse and opened so many more possibilities on bumblebee’s posibilty of becoming a decepticon

[charliemwrites]

“Sometimes, I feel like I’m too selfish with you.” 

A simple sentence, one filled with a sentiment that many have felt before when balancing a relationship. But they were enough to bring Nikto’s entire universe to a standstill when they escaped your mouth. You? Too selfish?? Especially when it comes to him????? You could demand that he crucify himself for you, and he would walk into the arms of the cross like he is returning home, breathing in the scent of the cedar as it mixes with the iron of the nails that he strikes through his feet and hands and the blood that weeps from the wounds. You could ask him to drown the rest of the world, and he would tear the heavens open to cause waters to rise. He could become a plague upon humanity at the slightest hint of your desires, and you worry that you are being too selfish with him? When you have barely asked a single thing of him? Your commandments, though they are laws onto him and his actions, though craved into the wall of his bunk, were not orders. You never asked for his devotion, never demanded that he follow you, worship you, and, oh doesn’t that make you all the more worthy of it? So why do you now stand in front of him, shying away from his gaze, looking like a guilty sinner as you confess your perceived selfishness of him? Had he failed you so completely that you doubted his fidelity? What else could he possibly do to prove it to you? Every act of devotion the Bible has taught him is either is impossible for him (there is no family to sacrifice, no world-ending flood to build an ark for, nothing) or would go against your happiness (he would throw himself into fire while singing you praises, but he knows that goes against your first commandment and would make you extremely upset instead of happy). He feels trapped in that moment, staring at you, feeling like he failed you as your most devoted servant, when you finally speak again. 

“You never ask anything of me. Every day, you follow behind me like my shadow, you treat me as some sort of deity, yet you ask for nothing from me. After I asked you to help me when I was injured, you asked for nothing in return. Even when I know you are aroused, you don’t even ask for time away from me to take care of it yourself, and I know I shouldn’t force you to do anything with me like that, I know that it’s probably a physical reaction more than you actually being attracted to me, but the fact that you won’t even separate from me to jack off when you need it all because I selfishly told you to always come back to me that one time, or because you feel like you owe me for being your nurse, and it makes me feel so selfish that I haven’t done anything to free you from me, when you deserve it, you deserve happiness, and release and freedom and-“ 

Nikto has been your shadow for a while now, has been on the receiving end of you talking endlessly multiple times before. It was one of the things that first made him comfortable with you: you talking at him instead of to him because you knew he didn’t want to talk. But never before had this habit made him feel quite so desperately hopeless as it currently is. You think he isn’t attracted to you? You are more beautiful than words could possibly describe! He could know every language to ever exist, and still be left desperately searching for a way to properly tell you just how stunning he finds every single piece of you. No picture or drawing, no landscape, no human, no galaxy, no poem or verse, nothing could EVER come close to being even a fraction as beautiful as you are. And if Nikto were someone else, maybe he could will himself into saying this out loud. But he isn’t. Nikto is only himself, could only ever be himself, and these thoughts in his head stay swirling around while his tongue feels like lead within his mouth. Nikto isn’t a man of words, so he does the best he can, and he grabs you gently, and kisses you.

It’s not the best kiss. You were cut off in the middle of talking, and Nikto, so panicked over the idea of you not knowing his worship is so much more than simple Hero Worship for his nurse, didn’t even remove his soft mask that he wears around base. But Nikto is desperate, and so are his lips underneath the soft cotton of the mask. They work against your own, and it’s clumsy at best. Any kisses Nikto has had before were lost to him in the trauma of his rebirth, leaving him unsure of his actions but certain in his intent. Yes, he may not know how to kiss you in this new body you claim he inhabits, but fuck if the feeling of your lips against his, even through the mask, doesn’t feel like the closest thing to heaven he will ever find. And a part of him feels like he has been knocked into the pits of hell with how hot he burns for you, finally able to feel some of the thrumming arousal that had been living within him, just for you. 

If Nikto is left with a growing wet spot in his boxers when he pulls away from your lips, he won’t tell. At least, not if you don’t ask about it. Because he could never deny his Savior anything that you ask. And when you look at him, dazed but with stars in those beautiful eyes, and asks him “please, just ask for what you want. Don’t just secretly covet it. I want to give you as much as you’ve given me”, he agrees, because there is nothing else for him to do. 

A new commandment for his wall, a new law by which he lives. And he already knows the first thing he will ask for from you, since the taste has left him starving. 

Just… no words. Incredible.

[escapisttt]

in a flood, we built an ark

pet is nothing but loyal to vega, the sadism demon. but when they begin to have self doubt, how will he respond?

cw: nsfw! master/pet dynamics, angst to fluff to smut basically lmfao

authors note: this is for my baby @vegafan69 !! here’s your birthday present i hope you enjoyyyy!! i wrote this all in one sitting, never say i don’t love you. oh and i hope everyone else that reads enjoys as well HAHAHA

word count: 2.4k

the halls of the demons' and daemons' quarters were bleak, pale, and clinical. one could've assumed they were walking through an abandoned hospital, only lacking the character and signs of life that came with multitudes of people passing through. there was nothing welcoming about their surroundings, but pet was walking with nothing but anticipation in their steps. their footfalls echoed off of the blank walls and was the only audible sound besides their gentle panting, out of breath. every single room they passed was occupied, but you couldn't tell if you didn't know beforehand; starchildren kept weak and starving in small rooms, their light flickering out like the final whimpers of a supernova. pet didn't have enough in them to care. enough time, enough provision, enough devotion. their entirety belonged to a single demon at the end of this arid entanglement of halls, giving more of themself elsewhere would go against their nature.

the collar around their neck felt hot under the condemning gaze of the check-in clerk. not from shame, but pride. the holy silver name of their demon twinkled across their throat in the fluorescent lighting and they swore they could see his smile. once approved, they anxiously brushed past the clerk and toward their eden. the walk was a short one due to their eagerness, but when facing his doorway they took a moment to collect themself; would he enjoy seeing how desperate they were to see him, or would he prefer them to be more composed so he would have more fun breaking them down? they didn't precisely know, they just hoped he would be as happy to see them as they were.

they unlocked the door and instantly felt his presence. his room was always kept dark by his magical manipulation and pet went against their animal instinct, stepping into the inky black depths. the energy in the room quickly shifted.

"oh, is that my pet?" he asked, a smile tangible in his voice. he sounded so near yet he hadn't shown himself. the human shuddered and replied with a soft, "yes," feeling euphoria flood their senses like a drug at his resonance. they always opened themself up for him to invade, to overtake. nothing felt better than being his possession. he graced them with a small chuckle and responded. "come to visit so soon? you know you can't feed me, and i'm not hungry." they squirmed in place, knowing exactly what he was doing. he was right, they were about the least malicious person in the world and could never give him consistent sustenance, they both knew it. in fact, they both knew exactly why pet was here today. the demon simply wanted to hear them admit it.

"i missed you, master," they breathed, cursing themself for being so meek and soft-spoken. he snickered this time, stepping into the light at last. pet's eyes widened and immediately dropped to their knees. they let their gaze briefly stray across his form, nothing but a single robe hanging diagonally across him, before forcing their eyes up to meet his. he was so elegant in such a casual way, it made them want to scream. they understood perfectly how humans all those centuries ago worshipped marble-sculpted statues of greek gods, for they had their own right in front of them. a part of them wondered if it would be appropriate for him to have his own legion of devoted followers, they thought he deserved as much, but the truer, uglier part of them condemned the idea: he was theirs to worship, no one could do any better. they tried to forcefully stifle such possessive thoughts when in front of him, but a demon of his caliber could pick up on the slightest whisper of emotion. he glided toward them slowly, raising an amused brow at what he sensed.

"mm, perhaps you aren't such a gentle soul after all. jealousy, pet? what thoughts have been running around in that pretty head?" they swallowed thickly and felt their throat get tight, heart pounding so hard they felt dizzy.

"i-i.... i'm sorry master. i was thinking... i'm pathetic, i... i don't like the idea of others doing what i do for you. i'm sorry," they stammered hesitantly. they'd never felt so ashamed, so selfish and ungrateful. he could do whatever he wanted, they were just lucky he even liked their repeat visits. self-deprecating thoughts began to swallow them whole; god, this is what happened whenever they weren't under his control. they didn't have to think under his command, just follow his every word. it was so much easier than this. they spiraled and spiraled and spiraled without him, falling so easily down the hole of self hatred.

vega watched their eyes glaze over and he may as well have been by himself again. pet left their surroundings and retreated into their mind, leaving the demon to watch as they began to drown. his brows furrowed and he tasted their sour emotions on his tongue: self-loathing, disgust, helplessness. he felt his heart, whatever that was, twist uncomfortably. he kneeled down, large form still looming over them. he took their chin in a soft grip and avoided letting his sharp nails touch them, tilting their head up at him. snapping his fingers, he watched as their eyes quickly regained awareness and their pupils expanded, literally seeking more of him. the demon shushed them quietly and commanded their attention.

"shh shh, come back to me... there you are. don't go there, do not think without me. you lead yourself down dangerous paths meaninglessly. i only use others for food, heinous people, my dear. i taste them to stay living, and i stay living to taste you. no other being has ever showed me the loyalty and affection you have.” he looked down at their collar and smiled warmly, other hand moving to hook his finger underneath it. “look at you…” he whispered. he felt the silver material between this thumb and forefinger, admiring their dichotomous nature; so shy, yet so bold in displaying to the world who they belong to. he didn't know how he got so fortunate, it certainly wasn't because of any patronage or good deeds. they were transparent for one another and both knew exactly what the other one was, each loving what they saw no matter how depraved or immoral.

pet listened with wonder. if they believed in any other god they would have prayed and given thanks, but there was only vega. they sighed shakily and breathed, "thank you.... i worship you...." they could find no other words. the demon smiled and put his hand atop their head affectionately, pushing it back so they were looking directly up into the void of black. a few seconds of silence passed before they felt lips on the underside of their chin just above their collar. vega's lips soon found purchase atop the cool metal and kissed each letter of his own name. not self-aggrandizing, but rather a show of appreciation to the person wearing it. between kisses, that otherworldly voice resounded in their ears, now up close and personal.

"you are the only one wearing my name. you are the only one brave enough, dear enough to me. don't think of others, i have none. think only of me."

"yes master," they quickly said while nodding, breathy and dizzy with passion. his lips left hallowed ground in their wake, trailing slowly down their throat and chest. his magic made quick work of their clothes, leaving them both exposed to one another. just as fast as they were naked, the demon pressed himself against his human, not giving them a chance to shiver in the cold. he wrapped his strong arms around their waist as he kissed their nipples, deciding not to use his tongue. after a moment, he stood once again and looked down at them with something weighty in his eyes. they remained like that for a short, tranquil instant, telling each other something neither was quite ready to say yet. right then, a religion was invented when a human looked into a demon's eyes.

vega took his own advice and stirred himself from dangerous thoughts, his hand gripping the base of his hard cock. pet automatically licked their lips which made him smile. seeing them be so eager every single time made his body hot with something other than lust, though he'd be the first to admit that lust was the majority of it. he pointed his dripping tip down toward their mouth and when they went to open, he shook his head gently. "not yet, keep those pretty lips sealed," he instructed, to which they did so without question. they were rewarded with a soft, "good puppy" and felt their core throb. he then lightly placed himself on their bottom lip, tracing back and forth and spreading his precum on it. "you see? this is what you do to me," he groaned. trembling, pet fought every urge to lick their lips again and taste him; while that would have been wondrous, receiving his permission would have been much better, so they held back. the demon then kneeled again on one knee, bringing his pet's lips to his own and kissing them, tasting himself. they both moaned the second they made contact, feeling more connected than they ever had. while they kissed each other deeply, vega slowly guided them onto their back. if either of them were any better, he would have created a bed, but the animalism in taking them right there on the floor got to both of them.

pet felt the air supply in their lungs deplete the longer they kissed him, but they didn't care. it was vega who pulled back for their sake, pressing his knee against their thigh to spread them open. he looked down and saw their wetness, his grin regaining some of his natural pomp. "oh, look at that. it takes nothing to make you wet, huh? sloppy little dog...." pet keened at that, whimpering and aching for him.

"mhm... nasty little slut..." they echoed, degrading themself. half of the appeal in it was confirming to vega that he was right, because their master could never be wrong. the demon in question nodded with a smirk and prodded their entrance with his tip, spreading more of his slick on them. unlike usual though, he took his time and entered slowly, staring at the different expressions on their face the deeper he went. when their mouth dropped open and made that pretty 'o' shape, he had to hold himself back from ramming into them. no, something was different this time, something sweeter. he wanted to show them just how much he appreciated them and their devotion.

vega's cock was always difficult to take, stretching and burning at first, but this time it was like pet didn't feel the pain. they didn't squirm or even move at all really, frozen solid by the way their demon was looking at them. he never treated them gently during sex, not like this, and now they felt their soul lifting into the clouds. is this what it's like to touch god? to be saved? they thought so, and when his hips started moving, they were in heaven.

his hips rolled into their thighs fluidly, in and out and in and out and in and out at the perfect, swift pace. it was in neither of their natures to seek the gentlest sex, but this was their version of it. his cock pounded into them relentlessly but the look on his face was nothing short of proud: proud of the human he owned, proud that someone so sweet wanted him. never in his thousands of years of existence had he felt this way. a human reducing him to love? a different version of himself would've been humiliated at the thought, but this version didn't give a damn. not in this imperium. he would take what he wanted, what he cared for, and do anything to protect it.

pet whimpered and sobbed underneath vega's hips, their core on fire with pleasure. his face was in their neck and his hand over their throat, brushing his thumb across their collar every now and then. "beautiful pup... my perfect pet, aren't you? so ready to debase yourself for me... god, you're perfect," the demon mumbled, almost to himself. they nodded, their hands kept obediently at their sides but itching to touch him. they felt their orgasm fast approaching and whined, knowing they couldn’t cum before him—not wanting to cum before him. vega watched them squirm and look away, knowing exactly what that meant. he leaned in by their ear and continued fucking them at the same rhythm.

"ohhh, that's a problem isn't it? you're close. hm, i still cum first. you will not," he declared lowly. pet mewled helplessly, a bit of fear now coursing through them; vega sped up at the taste of it. hands still at their sides, they dug their nails into their thighs to distract themself from the blinding pleasure, tears falling down their face.

nodding feverishly, they cried, "no, i won't! a-anything for you master! i promise! god, you’re—god!”

the demon grinned, their obedience aiding their cause by sending vega nearer to his climax. the desperation in their fight to stave off their own pleasure just because he said so had him rolling his eyes back and rutting into them even harder. then, one more look into their teary eyes and he was done for.

vega's orgasm hit him almost as hard as it ever had in his life, sending rope after rope of cum inside of his pet. their eyes widened and they immediately let go after him, writhing and moaning on the floor. even without direct permission, it was still the best orgasm they'd ever had. their vision went spotty as they came, the waves of ecstasy never seeming to end.

once vega came down, he looked at his pet and guided them back to reality, wiping their tears and staying inside them, not wishing to part. they panted and heaved, breathing in each other's essences and the tangy smell of sex. the demon's hair curtained around them both as he hovered atop them, creating a tunnel of vision that only led to each other's faces. for a split second they were silent, until they both began to smile in unison. soft laughter escaped them as they basked in the haven they created for themselves. the rest of the world could collapse at any moment, but this sacred prison was untouchable.

[talonabraxas]

“[Baphomet] is a knowledge rising in opposition to idolatry, protesting though the very monstrosity of the idol. The Israelites were forbidden to give divine concepts the figure of a man or of any animal; thus, on the ark of the covenant and in the sanctuary, they dared sculpt only cherubs, that is, sphinxes with the bodies of bulls and the heads of men, eagles or lions. These mixed figures reproduced neither the complete form of any man, nor that of any animal. These hybrid creations of impossible animals gave to understand that the image was not an idol or reproduction of a living thing, but rather a character or representation of something having its existence in thought. Baphomet is not worshipped; it is God who is worshipped, this faceless God behind this formless form, this image which resembles no created being. Baphomet is not a God; He is the sign of initiation.” - Levi, Eliphas. The Book of Splendours

Baphomet - Solve et Coagula Talon Abraxas

Baphomet is a representation of the Astral Light, the medium of all magic, and gaining power over it is the goal of the Great Work:

“The Great Work is, before all things, the creation of man by himself, that is to say, the full and entire conquest of his faculties and his future; it is especially the perfect emancipation of his will, assuring him… full power over the Universal Magical Agent.” - Levi, Eliphas. Transcendental Magick

[aniju-aura]

Two Time and Azure are here! Two Time is my favorite but I am not good at playing them :< They non-binary like me! ^u^ Two Time ascended in this AU. They and Azure are no longer in their cult but got a different deity to worship, kinda. So their appearance changed to match. Two is still a little delusional, but they are working on it. They can still turn invisible while crouching. Their footprints (which looks like pay prints) glow slightly. (It's based off of the Shadowmane from Ark) Two Time uses their tail as a weapon. They will whack things with it like a stegosaurus. Both Azure and Two Time live with Mike and Steven for now. The other survivors don't want to live with any of the killer at the moment. Both of them are not apart of their cult anymore, and Azure doesn't like to talk about it much. Old habits die hard for Two, but they are unlearning.

Azure is alive and well, but they have been cursed to stay in their current form. Mike got him an Alteration Charm that allows him to take on his old appearance, but it only last a few hours before it needs to be recharged. Dusekkar recharges it for them, but it takes a lot of magic. Azure is a bit sensitive of their appearance, so he stay home mostly. He's still with Two. Oh Azure doesnt have the hat anymore, I just drew them with it.

Had a lot of fun designing Azure's beast form. His esca glow and he got a second set of jaws in his throat like real eels have. They can survive just fine out of water. Azure does enjoy fish quite a bit.

Azure sounds like the Sucho from the Isle. Don't have any sounds for Two Time yet, but will update when we find something for them. Two Time and Shedletsky are the only Survivors as of right now getting any beast form because I am not sure what to do with the others. The Killers are easier to work with. Reblogs are much appreciated ^u^

[emmasmoke8]

You guys should have known I couldn’t leave well enough alone, so here’s some stuff about the Children of Space and Time series (or the idea about Silver being Sonadow’s kid but the Time Stones yoinked him)

The Scions of Chaos is a religious group. They primarily worship the primordial will of chaos (as in the energy). According to them, it was split into Gaia, the will of the earth (as in nature), and Sky, the will of the cosmos. They want Gaia and Sky to merge once more.

Their doctrines heavily focus on the natural world and celestial bodies, especially stars. As such, the scions will forsake their former names and take on the name of constellations/stars.

They are a mixture of humans and Mobians. They believe humans are of Sky and Mobians are of Gaia. They call humans “Son/Daughter/Child of Sky” and Mobians “Son/Daughter/Child of Gaia.”

In recent years, the Scions of Chaos have determined that Sonic and Shadow are particularly important. They have traced their powers and histories until a conclusion was reached. They are not merely the Sons of Gaia/Sky (they consider Shadow to be a Son of Sky despite being Mobian because of his Black Arms genetics, his time on the ARK, and his connection with humanity). Sonic and Shadow are the incarnations of Gaia and Sky.

From here, the Scions of Chaos knew what they must do. To reform Chaos, they must combine Gaia and Sky. Sonic and Shadow’s child, therefore, would be an incarnation of Chaos, like they are.

(It should be noted that Sonic and Shadow are not Gaia and Sky. Gaia exists, but that’s Dark/Light Gaia. Sky and Chaos—as the scions know it—does not exist)

Their pursuit was known as Project Aether. They tried creating several test tube offspring. Only one survived. When this child (who is about the age of the current sidekicks—Tails, Cream, Marine, etc.— but this is a timeskip so she’s younger than them now) passed all necessary tests, she was named Astra (star) and given the title of Daughter of Chaos.

Astra was with the Scions of Chaos for a while. Her experiences weren’t pleasant. Some revered her as a divine being, a primordial will in her own right. Others thought she was a stepping stone to finally awakening Chaos. Neither side treated her as an individual, even going so far as to suppress her personality (it would ‘taint’ the process).

There were also conflicts about inhibitor rings. Some thought they were necessary since Astra had a lot of power she couldn’t yet control. Others thought it was sacrilegious and an affront to Chaos. The rings were made, but they weren’t used to pacify both sides.

Her powers obviously included super speed, but she could also manipulate wind.

When Astra was given a chaos emerald, it was found that she couldn’t freeze time or teleport. Instead, Astra unleashed a gigantic storm made of chaos energy. She remained safe in the eye, but the Nebula (the institution she was made at) along with all the scions in it were killed or maimed.

Sonic was on a mission to find the chaos emeralds, so he noticed the storm. He made his way through to find Astra. He helped her stop the storm and took the chaos emerald from her. Sonic wasn’t quite sure what to do with her until a long look made him realize how similar she looked to him and Shadow. Just to confirm things, Sonic took Astra to Tails to check her blood.

Astra, who has never been given choices before, just went with him. She also recognized him, however, as one of the scions’ ‘gods.’ Astra worshipped them as the scions did, so she wouldn’t have been able to refuse Sonic, anyway.

Tails confirms that Astra is, indeed, Sonic and Shadow’s kid. This puts Sonic in a rough spot. He was looking for the chaos emeralds because his and Shadow’s firstborn (I’ll explain this in a minute) went missing. Sonic and Shadow haven’t spoken since this disappearance, so it’s a bit awkward when Sonic goes to leave Astra with Shadow. He’s forced to stay, however, when Astra refuses to leave him. Sonic only stays until she becomes more comfortable with Shadow. This will result in them reconciling and whatnot.

Now, the other child. Who could that be? Why, it’s none other than Silver!

So, Shadow, as a Black Doom’s greatest weapon, has many similar abilities to him, including genetic manipulation. When they were ready, Shadow combined his and Sonic’s DNA. The child was in a pod (like the ones from Shadow the Hedgehog 05). When they hatched, Sonic and Shadow were there. They were going to name their child after the birth because a) they didn’t know the gender and b) their names came from characteristics about them so they thought the same should apply to their kid.

Unfortunately, they only got maybe a minute with their kid before the Time Stones stole the hoglet away. This child was destined to be their guardian, after all, so they brought the child to the future to start guarding them. This event also bleached the child’s fur silver/white.

Sonic and Shadow went about saving their kid in two different ways, causing them to temporarily separate until Astra forced them back together.

Silver is in their lives, entirely unaware of being their kid (and they’re unaware, too). Silver and Astra team-up to take down the rest of the Scions of Chaos who will prove to be a threat in the future. As they investigate, they discover the truth bit by bit.

They learn of Silver’s parentage first. Silver is angry and sad. Astra believes in Shadow and Sonic, though, so she convinces Silver to help look for the reason they ‘abandoned’ Silver. This is when they learn about the Time Stones.

Although this puts the family back together, they still have to work out some things. It isn’t smooth sailing, but they’re trying their best

You can ask me questions if you want. I might have made too much lore about the Scions of Chaos lmao

I also might draw Astra

[lokideservesahug]

Let's Get Down To Business

Part of the 𝓕1 𝓕𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓪𝓼𝔂 𝓒𝓸𝓵𝓵𝓮𝓬𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷

-°•°•°•°•--•°•°•°•°--°•°•°•°•--•°•°•°•°-

Pairing: Max Verstappen x fem!reader (Mulan AU)

Warnings:Reader has hair that she ties up but eventually cuts (but no explicit length). No Max yet :( (but he will be in the next part ofc!!). Praying and so many mentions of honour.

Notes: I'm so sorry this took so long but I actually enjoyed writing this (despite being in a writing study for so long). Oh and I hope you enjoy another animal naked reference in this one, tell me if you got it😉

Summary: Your entire life you qerr brought up being told of the importance of honour for bothe you and your family all in preparation for the day you finally meet 'The Matchmaker.' Qell what happens when that day comes and it continues to get progressively worse and worse?

Wordcount: 4.2K

-°•°•°•°•--•°•°•°•°--°•°•°•°•--•°•°•°•°-

You can't remember a time before you were made to study. From being taught how to read and write when you were a child to now, being taught to be a lady. There were always strict regulations being enforced on you so you could learn. You take a deep breath. "Graceful, polite." You repeat from the scroll in front of you ad you make neat work, copying the words onto your arm. You continue this process for another few words before your tranquility is broken bu the distant call of a Cockerell.

You bolt up. Oh no...you're going to be late. You scramble out of bed, running around to try and find your dog. "Little brother?" Your shouts only elicit a small huff from the dog on the floor but the noise us enough to make you look down. You bend down and speak in a sickening, high pitch. "Aww there you Are! Aww who's the smartest little doggy in the whole world? Is it you? Yes it is!" You grab a familiar contraption, a light cloth bag, tied to a string with a bone on the end of the stick, left to dangle. "Can you help me with my chores?" You tie the contraption to your dog as you ask the clearly rhetorical question. He begins to run around, crazed and you gently push open the door to outside to give him some direction. He bolts off and you chuckle to yourself as you hear his barks as he runs of and spreads grain and seeds all over your garden.

☆-☆-☆-☆-☆

Your father tries his hardest to kneel in the temple outside. He uses his crutch to lower himself onto his knees, looks above and begins to pray. "Honourable ancestors, please help Y/N to impress the Matchmaker." Little brother runs to the worship gazebo and spreads seeds all over the tile floor. In just a moment, your father is surrounded by a flock of chickens all trying to savour the food. Your father lets out a sigh of despair as he closes of his prayer "Please, she needs it."

You approach the gazebo, tray of tea in hand. A soft whimpering makes you halt in your tracks and you take the bone of the end of the stick and feed it to the desperate dog as he gives you a small bark of thanks. You stand back up and down to your father. "Father, I brought yo-" Your lack of looking up meant that you couldn't anticipate your father being just ahead of you as you began to walk. Meaning that you drop the tray in shock. Your father, somehow manages to catch the handle if the teapot with his walking stick, but the mugs were not as lucky. You look up sheepishly at the sound of shattering pottery. "I'll go and get a spare..." He cuts across you, concern written across his features. "Y/N, you should be preparing already. We are counting and you to uphold-" You chorus your father's familiar words "The family honour. Yes, I know. Don't worry, you know I won't let you down." You hide your ink covered ark as you give your father a confident, reassuring nod. You quickly pivot, calling a gentle "Wish me luck!" as you run down the stairs. Your father shakes his head, brows knitted in worry as he speaks to the dog, "I'm going to go and pray some more."

☆-☆-☆-☆-☆

You are met by your grandmother, her friends, your mother and your mother's half hidden dissaproving stare. You can already feel the berating on the tip of her tongue. "I'm sorry." You shyly chime before she has a chance to speak. She just shakes her head as she goes to get something for your "makeover".

Your grandmother's friend (a short, kind woman that you have known for as long as you can remember) pulls on your arm and is very succinct on where she wants you to stand and what she wants do in the mean time. She flutters around you, softly chastising your looks, messy hair and slight imperfections. After you are undressed, she all but pushes you into the bathtub behind you and your body is instantly overcome with great shivers.

You manage to grit out through chattering teeth, an unamused "It's freezing." Your mother almost smirks and responds simply with "It would have been warm if you were here on time." Touché. Your grandmother's friend is very smiley and lovely but boy can she be strong when washing your hair. She pulls tighter than the past few minutes and you hold in a wince, knowing it would only cause more harm than good. After she has finished pulling your hair in every direction, she moves away to go, and you suppose get the "company" ready, and your mother lifts your arm. "Y/N. What is this?" You avoid her eyes and the sight of your ink-covered arm as you pull your arm to your body. "Uhm notes?" You nearly slap yourself at your clearly uncertain tone. Your mother just raises an eyebrow "For?" "Incase I forget!" Your mother just scoffs and turns away but you try and remind yourself that this is already the start of you "bringing honour to [them] all."

You're out of the bath and having your hair styled in a blur that is so fast that you don't even get time to think on what's happening around you. There are two even older women then before, both very polite this time, pulling on your hair and twisting it in every way hair can be twisted to the pivot that you think they're even finding ways to deny the laws of physics just to style hair. They finally decide on a hairstyle and a subtle accessory and only moments after, you are shooed out of the door to the next stage of your transformation.

You pass two men in a very involved chess match. You look at the old man, clearly pondering his next move on the smug man opposite him. You move the older man's Knight and walk off (just missing his jovial laugh and his opponent's slack jawed expression). Your mother leads you to a room where she finally has more involvement. Her and another woman? (Seriosly how many women do you need,  it really must take a village then) begin to tie all sorts of fabrics around you, leaving you adorned in an interesting combination (that you can't quite see yet as they refuse to let you move even to glance down).

You walk out of the courtyard yet again, finally feeling slightly more prepared to meet the Matchmaker. You pass along two fairly young children. A boy and a girl. The boy runs laps around the girl who is calmly sat on the floor. Well until he snatches the small doll in her hands. The small terror runs off, giggling, leaving the girl visibly upset. The boy happily skips past you and you lean down and grab the doll from his greedy claws. You freeze and pass the doll to the girl who just gives you a toothy grin (minus a few baby teeth) before nuzzling her head into the doll.

You glance to your side to see your mother, only to spot her still with her back to you but a large distance away. You break out in to a quick jog and manage to end up just behind her, giving an unconvincing smile by the time she turns to look at you. You sit the most still as you have ever been as one of your mother's friends applies a soft sheen of lipstick to your lips, finishing off the intricate makeup look now on your face. Your mother stands a few feet away, face contorted to show fear for today's upcoming events. You turn away, not selling her fear to manifest into more fear of your own and instead glance at the focused look of your makeup artist, adding the final few touches to the look. She holds a mirror up to your eyeline yet you grimace at how professional you look. Out of sheer habit, you grab a small strand of hair from the front of your face, pull it out of the updo and twirl it slightly. There, you feel much more comfortable now that you don't look too perfect.

You focus in the path ahead of you and fail to notice your mother running towards you, carrying a parasol.

Your mother unwraps a gorgeous hairclip, gently sliding it into your hair. You bow your head to make it easier for her. She softly whispers and pats your cheek slightly. "There. Now you're all ready." You smile at her, trying to fight of the nerves as you do so. As you walk away from your mother (who wipes a tear subtly as you leave) and your grandma (who also feels the need to try and hand a cricket to you which you decline). You let out a soft prayer as you walk, you hope today will go well and you bring the honour and respect that your family so desperately needs and deserves.

You knew you forgot something! What a great start to the day!

☆-☆-☆-☆-☆

You scramble to the line up and so all thoughts of grace, decorum and proper pracise leave your mind. So when the Matchmaker calls your name and you respond with a loud "Present!" You fail to realise that the matchmakers response would be a grumpy mumble of "Speaking without permission." as she turns her back. Your face nearly drops into your hands from embarrassment. Once you finally get inside, the Matchmaker instantly makes you spin and she mumbles to herself. Something about how you are not quite the right shape.

You watch with bated breath, trying to make out the matchmaker's mumbles. So you easily notice the small cricket that jumps onto another shoulder. Gosh you knew you shouldn't have let your grandma give it to you. It's just as much trouble as she is. You quickly try and grab the cricket so it doesn't start to create more conflict; your reputation is already on a line that's getting thinner and more delicate as time progresses. The Matchmaker sharply turns to you, leaving you with nothing left to do (you must admit that this is one of the lowest points of your life so far) but to swallow the cricket. "Recite the final admonition." You hum in acknowledgement and try to hide the crirping cricket in your mouth. "Well." It's now or never, you spin the cricket out and break out into the soliloquy.

You try and Recite the words to the best of your memory but feel it falter at the final sentence. You glance down at your left arm, speak what it says and the quickly correct yourself due to the smudged writing's misleading appearance. The Matchmaker grabs your left arm, leading you further into the room. She bends down and grabs a kettle from  where it was boiling. "Now, pour the tea." She gestures in an inviting way even when her tone is far from it. Your gaze however is only focused on the ink covered hand of hers. Your eyes widen in horror "To please your future in laws, you must demonstrate dignity and respect." She scratches her face and spreads ink all around her mouth. Still in your mindless, shock induced, trance you miss the teacup entirely and end up pouring a decent amount of tea onto the table. You shake your head and quickly correct yourself and focus on pouring the tea into the cup, not willing to have another mark against your name.

Suddenly, something emerges from the tea and your grandmother's cricket floats to the top, clearly enjoying itself in the warm beverage. You softly whisper as the woman takes the mug "Pardon me..." She shoots you a glare. "And silent!" She lets her face hover over the mug, soaking in the hot fumes. "Could I just-" You lean over the table in an attempt to grab the mug. The Matchmaker gives you an odd look and the two of you commence in a brief tug of war like situation before the tea ends up going flying, all over her front.

Unsurprisingly, she wails in pain but most of your attention is focused on the cricket who jumps down the front of the Matchmaker's dress. You gasp in horror. The older woman reels back in shock and ends up knocking over the container of hot coals used to heat the kettle. The cricket continues to scurry around under her clothes, tickling the Matchmaker which leads her to fall backwards into the steaming coals with a pained wail. You try and grab a nearby flat scroll to try and act as a fan but it only ends up making the glowing patch on her behind flare up into large flames. The Matchmaker continues to scream and run around the room like a headless chicken as you only stand there helpless.

Outside, your grandmother turns to your mother with a smile. "I think it's going well. Don't you?" Without warning, the Matchmaker bursts through the doors to outside and begins to shout to anyone and everyone to "Put it out!!!" In a last ditch attempt to save the Matchmaker, you pour the now (slightly colder) tea all over her. Well it puts on the fire but it also smudges her makeup and makes everyone freeze and look at just how disheveled she is. You wordlessly pass the teapot back to her, bow and scurry away, refusing to make eye contact with her.

The Matchmaker shakes her head and realises that you can't get away that easily. Just as you reach your mother, she stalks after you to shout in your face. "You are an utter disgrace. You may look like a bride but you will never. Ever. Bring your family honour." You just hand your head in shame and slowly make your way back to the house. Your grandmother and mother comfort you and lead you home before the mumbling of townspeople around you can develop.

☆-☆-☆-☆-☆

Over the years, you have found that one of the most theraputic things to do when times get tough, is visit your horse. Sassy walks behind you, quieter than usual, clearly sensing your sombre mood. You walk through the courtyard and spot your father in your peripheral vision. He smiles at you and you duck your head, refusing to meet his eyes and speed up your pace just a small bit; yet you fail to notice your father's concerned and upset face at your dismissal of him.

Sassy already knows where to go when you enter the other stable, she happily starts to lap water up from the pale and you are left, staring at your own reflection. You almost cringe at your painted face. You look like a delicate doll, waiting to be a bride but you feel like anything but that. You draw your attention away from your reflection and begin to remove your jewellery. You stare outside at your father and when your mother and grandmother walk up to him, clearly informing him of earlier events, you feel the oit in your stomach turn into an endless chasmic abyss.

You turn away as your parents have a moment, both lowering their head in sorrow. You walk outside of the stable, feeling constricted in the dark walls. You walk over the dainty bridge in your garden, and head to the prayer gazebo. Your hand gently skims over the water. Unsurprisingly, your sleeve is left damp but all you fucus on is the tranquility of the pond despite it being disturbed.  You look at the polished stones and once again are forced to come to terms with your current looks. Maybe if you pray you will feel some relief. I mean it always works for your father? You bend down yet even then, you are placed face to face with your own face staring back at you in the shiny tiles.

You grab your now wet sleeve and rub it over your face, trying to scrub away your makeup and the expectations placed upon you. You do it a few more times and end up getting majority of the art off of your features. You pull yourself back up, not in the right state of mind to pray but you catch sight of your hair. You remove the hair clip (that is miraculously keeping your updo together) out and let your hair fall down.

☆-☆-☆-☆-☆

Despite not clearing your thoughts, a small walk leads you to be sat at the foot of the large cherry blossom tree in the corner of your garden. You fiddle with the intricate hairclip, clasped in your hands. Your father clears his throat and gives you a small smile. For the second time today, you turn away and refuse to meet his eyes out of sheer embarrassment. He sits down on the bench next to you and lets a pregnant pause sit for a short while.

"Wow. How gorgeous the blossoms are this year." You don't respond. "But look. This one is late." Curiosity piqued, you turn your head slightly and follow the direction if your father's finger. At the end of it's 'path' is a small, unblossomed cherry flower. "And I bet, when it blooms, it will be the most beautiful of them all." As he said the last part of the sentence, he takes the clip from your hands and slides it into your hair once again. You finally meet your father's eyes and the two of you share a silent, meaningful moment filled with smiles and love.

Suddenly, the distant banging of drums cuts across your tranquil moment and your father straightens up. He pushes himself up using a crutch and you are left extremely worried. "What? What's wrong?" Your father gives you no response and walks to the front gates. Your mother, who is already there spots you and gently shoos you back. "Y/N. Stay inside." Your grandmother coughs behind you and gestures offhandedly with her thumb. You jog towards where it is pointing and you start to scale the wall that you had used so many times to stargaze in your youth.

You sit on a faux ledge part of the top of the wall (created by the meeting of the top wall tiles and a stable wall) and listen in. A clearly important looking man on a horse, surrounded by other, tougher looking men on horses stand in the middle ground of land between the and your neighbour's houses. "Citizens, I bring a proclamation from the imperial city. The huns have invaded our country." His words instantly cause people to gasp and even young mothers to scoop up their small children out of fear. The man continues. "One man from every family must serve in the army. For the good and honour of our country." He begins to read of the names of neighbouring families, in alphabetical order. One man steps forward and volunteers volunteers fight in place of his clearly old and frail father which makes you feel a pang of sadness. When he reads out "The Y/L/N" family you mutter a small "No..." You watch as your father hands his walking stick into the shocked arms of your mother and begins to hobble to the man on the horse.

You jump down and run towards your father, shouting "You cant go!" Your father turns at your intrusion. And groans your name as you run up to him. You look up into the yes of the advisor. "Please sir, my father has already fought bravely in the past. He is far too-" He cuts across you with a loud boom. "Silence." He turns towards your father. "It would do you some good to teach your daughter some manners and to hold her tongue in a man's presence." Your father continues to hold eye contact with the royal advisor but adresses you. "Y/N, you dishonour me." You look away. Oh not again. The second time today? You must be on a streak of dishonour. You father takes the instruction envelope and hobbles back to your front gates as you are left feeling hopeless.

☆-☆-☆-☆-☆

Later in the evening, you sneak around to peer into your father's spare room after hearing a small commotion come from here not long ago. Inside, is your father opening a cabinet that you have never in your life seen open. His army crate. You were told as a child to avoid it at all cots due to the danger of it and its contents and now you can see why. Your father pulls a giant blade (probably a sword) out and you also catch a glance of his old army uniform. Your father holds the sword up to the light and begins to swing it, clearly in an attempt to practise his swordsmanship by swiping the air. And you must admit that it's an impressive show.

Until he feels a sharp pain shoot up his arm, causing him to drop the sword. You nearly nearly to his aid but then remember that you are strictly spying on him and would be in so much trouble if you were caught (and goodness knows you don't need that today). He staggers towards a wall and pulls himself up making you shuffle away from the doorway slightly, feeling as panicked as he looks.

☆-☆-☆-☆-☆

Despite how action-packed the day had been, everyone at dinner was surprisingly silent, making for a tense atmosphere. You must have been left alone with your thoughts slightly too long though because when your parents discuss your father's enlistment in hushed whispers, you slam your bowl on the table. "You shouldn't have to go. It's not fair." Your voice breaks at the end of the sentence and you stare at your father in desperation and sorrow. You ignore your mother's quiet cry of your name. "There are plenty of young men. Healthy men that are fit and willing to fight for our country."

Your dad just shakes his head. "It is an honour to fight for this country and to protect my family." The emphasis for his fourth word nearly makes you stop and think. But the key word is 'nearly'. You shake your head. "So you're willing to die just for honour." Now your father finally stands. "I will die for what is right." "But if-" "I know my place. Clearly you need to learn yours." You stare at your father, bottom lip quivering, and flee.

☆-☆-☆-☆-☆

You sit in the garden, letting the rain and darkness envelope you. You watch the sihlouettes of your parents fade as they turn off the lights, clearly deeming it the right time to sleep and then suddenly a plan begins to devise itself in your head. You begin a determined walk to the gazebo and begin to pray. Then you rush out of the gazebo, determined to not waste anymore time. You walk into the spare bedroom and take a deep breath on an attempt to rush your stressed, quick beating heart.

You raise both hands and open the double doors to your father's army supplies. You raise the sword and unsheath it slightly. Wow it's much heavier than you anticipated. You stare at your reflection and the depth of your actions finally sinks in. Your father's words earlier ring in your brain. You too will "die for what is right." As long as it means keeping your father out of danger. You raise the sword and grab a handfull of your hair... Well today must be a day of transformations. You take a giant chop to your hair and you and do an even looking one on the other side (because even with your plan, you still wanted to retain some dignity). You manage to style your hair in a way the is closest to other men's that you have seen in town and move on to the next stage of your plan.

You pull down your father's old uniform and mutter a quiet thanks in your head that it was from when your father was younger and much closer to your size. You put it on, doing up every fastening, tightening every part you could and you look at yourself in the reflection of the sword. You sneak out of the house into the stables, startling your favourite companion. Sassy goes to buck at you due to your unfamiliar appearance but you gently shush her and the ever clever girl, quickly clocks on to the predicament. You ready her up by equipping your saddle and saddle bags (but not before grabbing some extra horse food for the journey).

You take one more glance behind you as you walk out of the courtyard. Yet despite the abysmal weather, your path has never looked so clear. You get up onto Sassy and ride to the camp, letter clutched in hand. You hope this works.

☆-☆-☆-☆-☆

Across the garden, one of your families prayer stones lights up and at the same moment, your grandmother wakes up. She bolts upright and gasps. "Y/N is gone!" She stalks through the house whilst feeling around for a candle to light. Your parents wake with shocked, disbelieving mumbles. "What?" Your father turns to his side but his attention is caught by something. On his bedside table is something that wasn't there when he went to sleep. Your hairclip.

He shakes his head and grabs his walking stick. "It can't be." Even in his half asleep state, he manages to reach the spare room extremely quickly. He opens his old crate and is left speechless.

Your family runs out into the night. "Y/N?" Your father somehow looks likely as he runs towards the gate until he slips in q puddle. He lands face first in the puddle but your mother quickly pulls him up. "You must go after her. Otherwise she will be killed!" Your mother stands up but your father grips her hand. "If I reveal her, she is as good as dead." Your parents stare off unto the distance, silent prayers playing like broken records in their mind. Leaving them to not notice where your grandmother walks off to. She seeks shelter in the gazebo and looks up to the sky, helpless mumbles tumbling pass her lips. "Ancestors, hear my prayer and help to protect Y/N. Please"

-°•°•°•°•--•°•°•°•°--°•°•°•°•--•°•°•°•°-

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!

As always, likes, reblogs and especially feedback is always welcome!

Taglist: @nikfigueiredo @mysoulispainted @leclercings @d3kstar @hiireadstuff @a-beaverhausen @nichmeddar @lozzamez3 @stinkyjax @marymustdie @littlesatanicassholebitch @mehrmonga @insanedeathwish @ems-alexandra @a-disturbing-self-reflection @cherry-piee

[punkinspice]

what r your shadow headcanons?! 👀

👀🖤 Ooooo oh my gosh!!! Thank you for asking op! A lot of them I have are kind of inspired a looot on the future AU I have, and starts from basically the beginning of his life to the potential end... so let's see where this goes...

(Disclaimers: This is written like a week before SXShG comes out so until we learn the new crazy information that I'm sure is going to rock all of our headcanons and theories for better and the worse, this is what I've got for now. Also I base this all on the two world theory, of Earth and Sonic's world being separate universes but currently are being brought together with Chaos Energy and that perhaps a lot of the Earth's magic/energy/gods have somehow been awoken with Chaos Energy, which may have caused the worlds to be open to each other... if that makes sense...😅)

ANYWAY, LETS GO

-Gerald/GUN had been messing with the possibility of interdimensional travel for a long time and were eventually able to tap into Chaos Energy, which allowed for the ability of Gerald to be able to do research on Sonic's planet, and for GUN to find and collect the chaos emeralds.

-Gerald needed dna from the (at least what he thinks) is the local chaos emerald's planet because any of the human or animal dna that they've been using back on earth isn't strong enough to withhold the energy of the emeralds and falls apart.

-Shadow is a hedgehog possibly because the part of the planet Gerald was researching was an ancient burial ground of a people who worshipped the Chaos Emeralds and figured it would be easiest to abstract ancient alien hedgehog dna from bones (Jurassic Park Style) rather than upsetting the rest of the planet because who knows what it could unleash, and the last thing GUN needs is ANOTHER alien invasion.

-Speaking of Aliens, the Black Arms were brought in as both a way to appeal Doom's promise of invading again, but also because Gerald needed something genetically stronger that would be able to withstand chaos energy.

-Shadow was supposed to be the start of an underground program of developing super soldiers for GUN but obviously due to the raid, that was shut down.

-We know that chaos is power, power enriched by the heart, and part of the reason so many experiments failed was because the energy could not properly bond without a positive influence, hence the need for Maria's pure heart and soul.

-The Black arms blood only acted as a bonding agent for the chaos energy to sustain the life form they were creating.

-Gerald incorporated the aspect of putting Maria's Soul/heart into Shadow behind Doom's back, and in so doing saving Shadow's life from being able to be completely overtaken by Doom. (Maria helped save his life too 🥺😭)

-Shadow has the same amount of Chaos Energy coursing through his body as an actual chaos emerald.

-His inhibitor rings act like both a seal and storage of his chaos power. Without them the energy would burn away to quickly to be able to regenerate and it would eventually kill him. Eggman is the only one so far known be able to rebuild perfect replicas to replace them (Heroes)

-He uses his inhibitor rings to store chaos energy to use as spears/snapping/skating etc.

-He skates using excess chaos energy that he burns off.

-Due to having so much chaos energy in him, he doesn't get as cold as easily or quickly and can go a little longer without eating. Though if he has recently done a chaos blast or gone super, he definitely notices a drain on his energy and gets really hungry.

-Shadow was only a few years conscious/old on the Ark when the raid happened.

-Shadow is currently deep in his grieving process, but doesn't even know he's grieving. All he knows is that he feel safer and more in control when he's alone and isn't really able to explain or understand why he's so angry.

-Shadow is deeply afraid of accidentally hurting those around him and self-isolates as a way to protect them.

-Sometimes he can feel the amount of energy coursing through him and it scares him. He doesn't fully understand how powerful he really is, or what the limits to his power even are.

-Despite his friends constantly telling him otherwise, Shadow thinks that he really is nothing more than a conscious weapon and doesn't deserve to be anything more.

-He deals with a looooooot of self loathing and survivors guilt, that often comes out as pride and bravado.

-He gradually gets his memories of the events of SA2 after being rescued in Heroes, and was a little hurt at first as to why Rouge hadn't told him everything initially... They had a long complicated talk about it, but soon Shadow realized that how would you even begin to tell someone the things that happened to him.

-Chaos energy eventually will heal his brain of the damage done from the brainwashing and manipulating that Gerald did.

-He is a naturally quiet, reserved and introverted person, but unfortunately the trauma he's suffered kicked it all into overdrive and now socializing is exhausting and awkward.

-Being in cities for too long overwhelms him.

-He is incredibly intelligent and a brilliant strategist, but technology and computers often stump him and it frustrates him (bless)

-Babies and chao are strangely drawn to him. I think they're able to instinctually sense the inherently calming and healing aura he has, and was originally intended to have. This does confuse and fluster him greatly. 😂

-As Shadow heals and moves on he gradually gets more of a sense of humor. It is a dry sense of humor though, and he can get very very sarcastic.

-Rouge was the first person he really allowed himself to get close to or trust himself to be safe around.

-He eventually goes back to live in Sonic's dimension and to suddenly be in a world where everything fits him was a weird adjustment to get used to.

-Shadow sleeps on his back, and only starts to snore when he feels safe and calm.

-Shadow does age, but he ages very very slowly. (think Logan/Wolverine) There will eventually come a time where he notices that he's stopped aging alongside his friends.

-Sometime in the future, Shadow will discover that his powers also have the ability to heal. And he eventually is known to be as great a healer as much as he is a warrior.

-Due to his healing abilities it will lead him to the Master Emerald where Knuckles helps teach him how to meditate and be able to connect with that deeper spiritual aspect that there is to chaos energy.

-He guards the Master Emerald for a time after Knuckles and everyone else is eventually gone... both as a sense of respect and purpose but for solitude and space to grieve again.

-He will have to watch all of his current friends die... but he does become a guardian and a stable rock of guidance and wisdom that the future generations can depend on.

-Shadow is Silver's great great great (idk how many greats) grandfather, and got to see him be born, but due to a calamity threatening the planet was unable to be there for him to help him grow up.

-Shadow and Omega both go out in a blaze of glory together as companions and dear friends as they save the world together to give it a second chance to survive...

AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR NOW... I'm sure I'm forgetting some and will have more come to me later, but I'll start with these.

G o s h so much of Shadow's story is just... so sad. There's so much healing, hope, love and purpose in there too... but at the cost of great sadness... and I think a lot of us can relate to that in deep personal ways. And I think that's what makes Shadow so important and special to us as a character.

[whencyclopedia]

The Ancient Synagogue in Israel & the Diaspora

A unique and fundamental aspect of ancient Judean society in both Israel and the Diaspora, the ancient synagogue represents an inclusive, localized form of worship that did not crystallize until the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. In antiquity, there was a variety of terms that represented the structure, although some of these were not exclusive to the synagogue and may refer to something else, such as a temple. These terms include proseuchē, meaning "prayer house" or "prayer hall"; synagoge, meaning "a gathering place"; hagios topos, meaning "holy place"; qahal, meaning "assembly"; and bet kneset or bet ha-kneset, meaning "the house of gathering". The oldest term, proseuchē, originated in 3rd century BCE Hellenistic Egypt and clearly identifies a key characteristic of the structure: prayer. Although Torah reading set the synagogue apart from other public buildings or places of worship, much like the Temple before it, the Torah was not the only defining feature of the synagogue. Other distinctive traits included the activities that took place within them as well as the art and architecture of the structures themselves.

The Role of the Ancient Synagogue

Inscriptional and literary evidence suggests that judicial proceedings, archives, treasuries, prayers, public fasts, communal meals, and lodging for traveling Judeans were all associated with the ancient synagogue. The public reading and teaching of the Torah took precedence over all else by providing the liturgical activity that set the synagogue apart, but the synagogue was much more than a religious institution and must be considered as distinctly different from its predecessor, the Temple.

Following the destruction of the Second Temple and the rise of Rabbinic Judaism, a more democratic form of worship began to take root, as well as concepts such as urbanization and institutionalization, which spread throughout the Roman, and later Byzantine, Empire. With the end of the Second Temple period came the end of the practice of sacrifice, and so the reading of the Torah filled the void. As a result, the Ark of Scrolls and the Torah shrine developed, eventually emerging as the focal point of the synagogue, representing a symbol of survival and preservation. Nearly every ancient synagogue in the land of Israel yields traces and fragments of a Torah shrine, either in the form of a raised platform as a base for the aedicula, a niche, or an apse. This evidence demonstrates the significance of the Torah shrine as one of the few consistent features within the ancient synagogue. Yet the appearance of the Torah shrine was not the only emergent trait accompanying the rise of Rabbinic Judaism. Unlike the exclusivity of priestly-mediated ritual attributed to the Temple, the participants in the ancient synagogue were involved in the performance and conducting of ceremonies, reciting prayers, and reading from the Torah. A new participatory nature of worship was developing during this period, and it is preserved through the architectural remains.

As the rabbinic class rose in power, criteria that may be deemed "non-religious" began to fall under the control of the rabbis, and therefore, the "religious" domain. In terms of legal matters, Tannaitic cases may relate to settlements for divorce/widowhood, damages for public shaming, deeds dating on the Sabbath, and so on. Despite the fact that other venues were available for resolving legal matters, the rabbinic judges served as an alternate, and seemingly popular, venue. Generally, rabbinic legal activity revolved around property and family issues, which occasionally intersected with ritual law such as in Deut. 5-10 and halîsâ, a ceremony concerning the obligation of a man to marry his brother's childless widow. Quite simply, aside from the reading and studying of the Torah, the separation of religious and non-religious functions is not as clear as one may assume in terms of the activities performed in the ancient synagogue. Whether separate or not, both religious and non-religious activities attributed to the synagogue originated in response to communal requirements, differing in distribution throughout the ancient world with the exception of the study of the Torah, around which the synagogue's ultimate purpose revolved.

As a result of the Torah's dominance in synagogue performance, it seems only reasonable that it would become a popular motif with the rise of Jewish art in late antiquity, and in fact, the Torah Ark would become just that. Yet the Torah's dominance would be expressed by other means as well, such as with the development of the Torah shrine as the focal point and physical statement of Judean religious and historical lineage. Beyond the Torah shrine, however, the ancient synagogue would come to develop additional features and characteristics that reflected communal needs and practices, all of which are evident in archaeological remains.

Continue reading...

[theoutcastedartist]

Hello! My friends and I discovered your Shadow Light AU tonight and I just have to tell you that we are INSTANTLY obsessed with this! We love it so much!! I personally have been screaming about how tired Sonic looks (my poor boy) and what is the significance of the 17??? 👀👀👀

I don't know if you still plan on returning to this AU, but we'll be very happy if you do! (I saw the asks where you said you'd gotten into LMK which, valid. Me and a few of my friends love LMK too!) Anyway, I hope you have a wonderful day!

(Also your art style is absolutely AMAZING. Tails looks absolutely adorable and I love the way you draw Sonic!!)

hello! Sorry it took so long to FINALLY answer this XD

Haven't really checked my inbox in a minute imma be real. But I'm very glad to hear you and your friends have been liking the AU (despite it having been in an indefinite hiatus lmaooo) the AU **MIGHT** be coming back if my current returned interest in sonic stays for long enough. If I do decide to bring it back I'll make a post officially announcing it.

and yeah my AU boom!sonic is a very sleep deprived little guy.

The significance of "17", if I remember correctly (it's been a minute since I've thought of the more intricate details of this AU) for sonic is that he was Dr. Thorndyke's 17th (and last) attempt at Project Light (who is a scientific experiment created with the goal of harnessing the powers of one of the Halves of Solaris, known as Iblis the Flame)

Project Shadow on the other hand, is the one and only of himself (the ultimate lifeform) whose original creation under Gerald Robotnik was, like Project Light, meant to harness the powers of one of the two halves of Solaris, his being Mephiles the dark.

The Bio lizard and the Chaos clones were part of a failed abandoned project of trying to harness the God powers of recreating Chaos themselves.

Iblis and Mephiles are some of the gods the Ancients worshipped before the collapse of their old civilization, the two are quite literally halves of a bigger God (Solaris, who does not have a design in the AU yet).

It's important to remember in this AU that despite the two being created within the same facility/on ARK, they are not related by blood at all.

Shadow still retains his black arms DNA (with a twist) and was created by Gerald and his team,

Sonic's DNA is that of one of the preserved remains of one of the royal children from the collapse of the Ancients, and he was created by Thorndyke and his team

(and he and Gerald had very... Clashing views on the ethics/morals of how they treated their respective creations.)

Dr. Thorndyke was not a nice man, from the few interactions shadow and maria had with him. He was a very secretive man when it came to any version of Project Light. They didn't even meet our Project Light - ver. 17 (who we all know as Sonic) until 3 years before shit hit the fan - to say the least.

Shadow, while being in stasis for 50 yrs had his memories slightly tampered with, while he remembers most of ARK, he does not remember sonic (but feels unusually drawn to him for some unexplainable reason) and Sonic had been accidentally sent 50yrs into the future instead, but unlike shadow he has lost all of his memories on ARK - poor blue couldn't even remember his own name (dubbed 'Little Light' by Maria) and was largely mute until he met Tails and Co. His name "Sonic" technically came from Eggman, constantly referring to him as a "SuperSONIC nuisance" lmao

But yeah thanks for sending this ask! Even if it's been a minute ToT

[vilevenom]

I wrote a part two to "Made to Worship at Your Bed" that no one asked for, lol. Also, I got tired of working on it, so idk if it's as good as the first one. But, I tried! Like before, this fic is EXPLICIT. I ain't your mama, but make good choices.

With My Mind He Runs

Fandom: Sonic the Hedgehog (no specific media)

Pairing: Sonic/Shadow

Summary: Sonic was used to Shadow being in a foul mood, but perhaps...perhaps he had a way he could fix that.

WARNINGS: Explicit sexual acts. Characters are depicted as ADULTS

P.S - If you want a full list of tags, I'll be posting this on AO3 shortly

Sonic sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping as Shadow stormed into the kitchen.

Date night had become a more regular occurance after their first proper one, with Sonic making an effort to clear his calendar at least once a month, and Shadow purposefully booking days off from GUN. Of course, it wasn't always a guaranteed thing, with Eggmans attacks being unpredictable, and GUN sending Shadow off on missions here and there, more often than not without warning. However, the two made a concentrated effort to spend more time alone together.

Tonight was supposed to be one of those nights, with Tails having a sleepover at Charmy's, so the hedgehogs could have the house to themselves. Sonic had even made a point to get ingredients for home made pizza, since Shadow had complained only the week before about how all the hero seemed to eat were premade foods from the convenience store and chili dogs. He wanted to show Shadow that he could cook, he just never felt the urge to. Unfortunately, it would seem that whatever GUN mission the hybrid was coming off of had put him in a foul mood, which would likely sour his demeanor for the rest of the evening. It wouldn't be the first time it had happened, and most likely wouldn't be the last. But, by this point, Sonic liked to think he was relatively well versed in how to deal with Shadow when he was in a mood. He'd adopted a rather simple tactic for it, really.

Just let him rant.

"…And then he had the audacity to tell me that I was wrong!" Shadow snarled, setting the table more aggressively than was strictly necessary. Sonic was fairly confident that the plate Shadow had just set down was cracked from how hard he'd slammed it onto the table, but he wasn't about to make a comment when the hybrid was so riled up.

"Mmm, that sucks, Shads," Sonic hummed, absently twirling the pizza cutter between his fingers, before slicing into the steaming hot pie.

"And that wasn't-!" Shadow started, his quills bristled in anger, before he visibly deflated, catching Sonic's eye as he slipped on oven mitts to bring the pizza to the table. "It wasn't even the worst part of my day," he finished, much quieter than before.

"…Shadow?" Sonic approached slowly, setting the pizza on the table softly before turning to the darker hedgehog with a look of concern.

"I…This is going to sound so petty," Shadow groused, rubbing his hands over his face, "But, Commander Tower, he…When I got back from my mission, after the debrief, he wanted to speak with me. It was nothing important, or even really relevant to GUN. He just wanted to talk. I guess he's trying to make reparations for how awful he was as a child." He snorted quietly, moving around the table to sit as he scooped up a piece of pizza and set it on his plate. "It was awkward and stilted, but I thought it was going relatively fine. That was, until he started talking about being on the ARK…He brought up Maria. I made an excuse to leave."

"There's nothing wrong with avoiding conversations you don't want to have," Sonic reassured with a shrug, snagging his own slice of pizza and sitting down.

"I know that. But…The way he spoke, it made me feel like I should have moved past it by now," Shadow growled, glaring down at his pizza as if it had offended him, "It's like he forgets that while he's had 50 years to work through what happened, I've only had a couple. And it's not like I can even really get mad at him, because I think he's genuinely trying to be better. It's…frustrating." With that Shadow took a vicious bite of his pizza, glaring at the plate while he chewed, only to perk up a moment later. "This is very good. Did you actually make this, or did Tails and you're just taking the credit?"

"Nice avoidance tactic there, Shads," Sonic snorted, arching a brow at the hybrid, who looked a bit sheepish at being caught out. "I did make it, thanks. Glad you're enjoying it. I do happen to have some culinary skills. Had to feed Tails and I somehow, y'know. Now, as for Tower…have you tried talking to him?"

The dark hedgehog snorted loudly, taking another vicious bite of his pizza. "Ah, yes," he spoke around his mouthful of food, "Let me just have a heart to heart with the man who, the last time I can recall seeing him as a child, called me a freak and ran off yelling about how I needed to stay away from him." He finished chewing and swallowed his bite. "The man who is now my boss, and runs the military. Yes, let me just make some tea and have a little chat with him about how I still get nightmares about the ARK raid, and have panic attacks over it. That sounds like a fantastic time," he bluntly stated, offering Sonic nothing but a deadpan stare.

"Hey! It was just a suggestion. You don't need to get all snappy about it," the hero scoffed, leaning back in his seat to rock on two legs as he ate his own slice.

Shadow opened his mouth as if to speak again, scowl on his face, before obviously thinking better of it and slumping down in his seat with a sigh. "I'm sorry," he muttered, setting his half eaten pizza back on his plate, "I shouldn't be taking my frustrations out on you. It's supposed to be date night, and I'm ruining it."

Sonic let out a breath, tossing the last bit of his own slice into his mouth, letting the front legs of his chair hit the kitchen floor with a resounding thump. "It's okay, Shads," he hummed, offering the other a lopsided smile, "You needed to vent. It's not my favorite activity, but I get it."

"I shouldn't be venting on date night," Shadow grumbled, shaking his head slightly while offering Sonic an apologetic look. "I am sorry. I shouldn't come straight here after work when I'm frustrated. I need to find a way to cool off, so I don't do this again." He let out a slow breath, "I wish I could get out of my own head, sometimes…"

At that, Sonic's ears perked forward, a little gift he'd had stashed in his room for a few weeks now jumping to the forefront of his mind. "Well," he hummed, sucking on his teeth for a moment, before shooting Shadow a sly little smirk, "I may have an idea about that? A way for you to maybe get out of your own head, and make it up to me?"

Canting his head in curiosity, Shadow arched a brow. "Oh?"

"Mhmm," Sonic bounced up from his chair, offering Shadow a hand, "You interested?"

"Intrigued, at the very least," the hybrid hummed, taking Sonic's hand and allowing the hero to pull him from his seat and lead the way upstairs to his bedroom.

Upon entering his room, Sonic shut the door and leaned on it for a moment, taking a deep breath, before crossing the room to his bedside table and digging into one of the drawers, all while trying to ignore the curious set of red eyes watching his every move. Once he found what he was looking for he stood with his back to Shadow, suddenly very much doubting if this was really an appropriate time to give it to the hybrid as a sudden case of nerves froze him to the spot.

"Sonic?"

"Right! Yeah," Sonic coughed, hiding his gift between his hands as he turned to Shadow with a nervous grin. "Okay, first just let me say, you are totally allowed to punch me through the wall if you think this is inappropriate, or if you think it's weird," he rambled a bit, before spreading his hands, allowing a thick red ribbon to dangle from his fingers, a shiny gold pet tag hanging from the center. He watched Shadow's gaze snap to the tag, anxious nerves making him fidget where he stood. The two of them had experimented with different sexual acts a few times since that first fateful date night, when Shadow had unintentionally dropped into subspace, but it hadn't really happened again since, and they hadn't really spoken about it, either.

"Is that…?"

"It…it's a collar and tag," Sonic admitted, staring down at the ribbon instead of continuing to watch Shadow's reaction, mouth running away on him, "I know we haven't really talked about that night, but…I haven't been able to stop thinking about it, if I'm being honest. I read that usually submissives buy their own first collar, and it's this whole thing if a dominant buys a collar or whatever, so this isn't exactly, y'know, by the book, or proper etiquette or whatever…Which is why I just got a ribbon! Because, well, I thought that if this was something you really liked or wanted, we could look for a proper one together. The tag doesn't have anything on it, either, since I didn't know if you were really serious before, about being called a 'pet'. So, uhm-" He gasped as suddenly Shadow was inches from his face, bright red eyes boring into his own.

"Yes."

"Wh-huh?" Sonic grunted as Shadow pressed a rough kiss to his lips, before turning his back to the blue hero, his tail wagging faster than Sonic was confident he'd ever seen it go before. "D'you want me to…?"

"Yes," Shadow shot him a look over his shoulder, relaxing his quills so Sonic could get closer without fear of stabbing himself while maneuvering the ribbon.

"Oh," Sonic breathed, truly not having expected to get this far. He quickly shook himself from his stupor to carefully untangled the ribbon from his fingers, reaching around Shadow to wrap it neatly around the hybrid's neck. He was careful not to tie it too tight, but tight enough that the little gold tag nestled into the top of Shadow's white chest fluff. Once satisfied he stepped back, chewing on his lip as he watched Shadow's reaction to the simple, light collar.

Hesitantly, the hybrid lifted his hand to touch the tag, gazing off into the middle distance as he traced his fingers over the simple circular shape. After a moment, his attention flicked to Sonic, eyes focused once more, though his gaze was softer than before. "How does it look?"

"So pretty," Sonic couldn't help but coo, a dopey little smile on his face, "It suits you." He didn't miss the pleased smile Shadow tried to hide by turning towards the mirror on the back of the closet door, nor the way the hybrid's muzzle flushed pink. Slowly, he walked up behind Shadow, who was tilting his head this way and that in the mirror to see how the collar looked at all angles, gently placing his hands on the black hedgehog's shoulders. "Do you like it?"

It took a moment, but finally Shadow offered Sonic a tentative little smile, resting his hands over the hero's with a short nod. "I do."

"I'm glad," Sonic hummed, pressing a kiss to the side of Shadow's muzzle. "I sort of agonized over giving it to you for a little while now."

"I couldn't imagine why."

"Oh, no? Mister shoot first, ask questions later? Couldn't imagine why I, a hedgehog that has seen the bottom side of your air shoes more times than I'd like to admit, would have trouble getting up the courage to offer you a collar? Really?"

"Point taken," Shadow said with a quiet chuckle, letting his hands drop to his sides. He watched himself in the mirror for another beat or two, before turning in Sonic's hold, dislodging his hands. "What now?"

"Now we discuss a few rules, and then I had an idea for a nice little test run."

"I assume you're referring to 'do's and don'ts', as well as a safe word?"

"Pretty much," Sonic shrugged, "I figured we could work with the stop light system for now, instead of a safe word? Since we're just starting out, and I wanna keep tabs on how you feel about things."

"Green for good, yellow for slow down, and red for stop?" Shadow rattled off quickly, surprising Sonic for a moment, before he recalled the black hedgehog mentioning that he had done a lot of reading before their first time about being a submissive.

"Yup! That's right. And then hard rules; do's and don'ts. Personally, I'm down for pretty much anything, though I draw a hard line at bathroom stuff. You?"

"Ah," Shadow faltered, looking a bit flustered as he absently fiddled with the tag on his collar, "I'm not sure?"

Sonic clicked his tongue quietly, rolling his eyes at himself. "Right, duh. Kinks aren't exactly something you've got a lot of experience with. Uhm…how about we stick with no pain for now, yeah? No hitting, scratching, slapping, etcetera. Judging from the last couple of times we've had sex, you respond better to praise anyway, so I'll stick with that. Does that sound good?"

"Yes?"

"That sounded more like a question, Shads," Sonic scolded lightly, reaching out to take the hybrid's hands, "If we're gonna do this, you've gotta be sure. I don't want to hurt you."

"Right. You're right," Shadow murmured, giving Sonic's hands a gentle squeeze, "Those terms sound agreeable to me."

Sonic snorted a quiet laugh, grinning and bouncing on his toes a bit as he leaned in to press a kiss to Shadow's lips, his tail whipping back and forth behind him. "Perfect," he sighed into the hybrid's mouth. "One last quick thing…you can call me whatever you want, but I'm gonna either call you by your name, or pet. Maybe babe or baby, we'll see. That sound okay?"

"That's fine…Can I call you 'sir'?"

"Fuck, Shads," Sonic groaned, a visible shiver going up his spine, "Yeah, you can definitely call me that. Now…go take off your clothes for me, and get on your knees next to the bed."

Shadow watched Sonic for a moment, obviously having a brief internal debate, before he licked his lips and began to move with a quiet, "Yes, sir."

Sonic watched as Shadow slipped his shoes and socks off near the bedroom door, before taking his gloves off and setting them on the hero's desk. He then shot Sonic one last questioning glance, before gingerly settling himself on his knees with an encouraging nod from the blue hedgehog. "Already such a good boy," Sonic praised, kicking off his own shoes and socks, while tossing his gloves aside with far less delicacy than Shadow had exercised with his own clothes. He then trotted over to the bed and sat down on the edge, nudging the hybrid's knee with his toes to get Shadow to turn towards the bed. "There we go. Perfect," Sonic hummed, lazy grin on his face, "Now…I want you to put your hands on your thighs, and don't move them. No touching yourself, got it? You're just gonna watch for now."

"Yes, sir."

"Nnn, yeah, I don't know if I'm ever going to get used to that," Sonic sighed happily, absently dragging a hand through his chest fur. He bit his lip as he locked eyes with Shadow, quirking a brown as he slid his hand down to draw two fingers over his pouch, rubbing gently just along the outside of the slit. He let out a low chuckle as Shadow visibly swallowed, his attention laser focused on Sonic. "Look at you," the hero sighed, licking his lips as he teased himself, encouraging the head of his cock to slip out of his pouch by gingerly dipping the tip of his finger into his slit, "Sitting so nice and pretty. Mnf…Do you like watching me, Shadow?"

"Yes, sir," Shadow murmured, his voice slightly strained as he clenched his fists against his thighs, his own pouch becoming visibly swollen.

"Good," Sonic purred, dragging his free hand over his chest and up into his quills while spreading his legs wider to give Shadow a better view. "Would you like to touch me, pet? Hmm?"

"Please, sir."

Sonic let out a pleased hum, tossing his head back as his cock slid free of his pouch. He stroked at it languidly, teasing only the tips of his fingers along the length of it and relishing in the low whine he could hear Shadow trying to repress. He tipped his head forward to watch Shadow as he swirled his thumb over the head of his dick, smirking at the way the hybrid had sucked his lower lip into his mouth to bite at it, either to suppress his little sounds or to help ground him, Sonic couldn't say. Either way, he quite liked the look of eager anticipation in Shadow's eyes. He teased at himself for a moment more, before finally shoving himself up from the bed and taking a short step forward so his cock bobbed just in front of Shadow's face, the hybrid nearly going cross eyed as he stared it down, the previous anticipation on his face morphing into mild surprise.

"Open your mouth for me."

Shadow's gaze flicked up to Sonic's face, trepidation blatant. Oral was something that Sonic enjoyed performing, but Shadow had yet to return the favor. Sonic wasn't sure if it was because the hybrid was nervous about his fangs, or if Shadow just didn't think he'd like the taste, but the hero hadn't been able to get the idea out of his head for months.

"It's okay, Shads," Sonic soothed, reaching down to gently stroke Shadow's ears, "If you feel overwhelmed, or want to stop for any reason, just grab my leg and squeeze, okay? Otherwise, keep your hands on your thighs."

Swallowing thickly, Shadow gave a short nod, while slowly opening his mouth for Sonic.

"Good boy," Sonic drawled, caressing Shadow's ears, "Open wide, and stick out your tongue a little bit. That's it." The hero waited patiently as Shadow followed his instructions, before easing the head of his cock into the hybrid's mouth. "Mmm, yeah. See? not so bad, right?" He scratched gently just behind Shadow's ears as he shallowly rocked his hips, a low purr rumbling in his chest at the quiet little slurping sounds Shadow was making. "Your mouth was just made to be used like this, wasn't it, pet?" he began to ramble a bit, grinning to himself at the calm, serene expression beginning to settle itself on Shadow's face as he fell into the steady rhythm of Sonic's cock sliding in and out of his mouth. "That's right, baby. Just focus on the feeling of my dick against your tongue. Doesn't it feel good? Letting me slowly fuck all those pesky little thoughts out of your pretty head."

Without warning Shadow began to purr, surprising Sonic, resulting in a startled yelp and a swift jerk of his hips, which unintentionally shoved his cock into Shadow's mouth deeper then he'd meant to. He began to apologize and pull out, only to pause at the low whine the hybrid let loose as the tip of Sonic's dick slid past his lips. "Oh? Did my pet like that?" he asked as Shadow began to lick at the head of his cock, earning a shudder and a low chuckle from the hero. "Okay, okay," he sighed, sliding his length back into Shadow's mouth, petting at dark ears with a satisfied moan as Shadow's purrs began to kick up again, "You can have your toy back, don't worry. I'll make sure your head stays nice and empty, yeah? Mmm, such a good boy. You really like how I feel in your mouth, don't you? The perfect little pet, aren't you?"

Sonic smirked as Shadow's eyelids fluttered, a happy little moan leaving the dark hedgehog at the praise.

"Yeah, such a sweet boy I have," Sonic sighed, sliding his hands from Shadow's ears into his quills, an idea rapidly forming in his head. "Though, I wonder," he hummed, pressing himself further into Shadow's mouth, watching the hybrid's expression intently, "Just how far down my pretty pet's throat can I go?" He held fast to Shadow's head, chewing at the inside of his cheek as bright red eyes popped open, an alarmed little sound leaving him as his purrs stuttered out, though his hands remained firmly on his thighs. "It's okay, Shads," Sonic murmured, pressing in a bit deeper, biting back a groan as he felt the tip of his dick press into Shadow's throat, "I've got you. You can take it, I know you can. You're such a good boy. My perfect pet can take my cock all the way down his throat, can't he?"

Shadow grunted as Sonic pushed deeper, tears springing to the his eyes as he squeezed them shut, his hands jumping momentarily from his legs, only to clamp back down, his claws digging in slightly.

"That's it, Shads. Breath through your nose and relax. Almost there," Sonic murmured, shifting one foot forward to give himself better leverage as he continued to gingerly push forward, biting at his lip as he watched his length disappear into Shadow's mouth. "Fuck. You're so pretty, Shadow. Love watching you swallow down my cock like you were made for it," he muttered, "And you were made for it, weren't you? Your throat was made to be fucked like this. Such a good, good boy." He let out a low groan as he finally bottomed out, Shadow's nose pressed into his pelvis, his throat fluttering around the length shoved down it as he struggled to breath through his nose. "Chaos, Shadow," Sonic breathed, scratching his claws lightly through black and red quills until his fingers met the hybrid's sensitive ears once again, his thumbs absently petting over them. "You feel amazing, pet. If I weren't sure you would choke," he sighed as he began to pull his hips back at an excruciatingly slow pace, "I'd fuck your throat nice and deep. When we get you all trained up, would you like that? Hmm? Would you like me to cum down your throat after fucking it raw?"

Shadow gasped as Sonic finished pulling his length free of his throat, panting quietly as a few stray tears ran down his muzzle and drool mated the fur on his chin. He coughed quietly as Sonic knelt in front of him, clearing his throat as the hero gently cupped his face. "Yes, please. Sir," he finally muttered, his voice sounding wrecked and deeper than usual.

Sonic let a feral little grin settle on his face, pulling the hybrid in for a rough kiss, pressing his tongue into Shadow's mouth to taste himself there briefly. "You're amazing, Shadow," he moaned as he pulled back, wiping drool from Shadow's chin, "I don't know what I did to deserve you, but Chaos, I hope I keep doing it." With that he stood back up, smirking as the black hedgehog eagerly opened his mouth once again, his tail wagging eagerly as he closed his eyes in anticipation. "Oh, baby," Sonic chuckled, taking his length in hand to gently rub the head of his cock against Shadow's tongue and relishing in the whine he got in response as he pulled away, "As much as I would absolutely love to continue fucking that gorgeous mouth of yours, I have other plans for you."

Shadow blinked his eyes open, his mouth closing with a quiet click of his teeth as he tilted his head at Sonic. He whimpered as Sonic slid a foot between his legs and nudged gently at the underside of his erection, which had slid free of his pouch while Sonic had been using his mouth like his own personal flesh light.

"You're being such a good boy, and I've been wanting to feel this inside me for quite some time," Sonic hummed, sliding his foot back and striding across the room to his desk. He rummaged around for a moment, pulling a bottle of lube from the mess after a beat. "You keep sitting there and watch me, okay? I'm just gonna get myself ready for you," he purred, striding over to Shadow to gently caress his muzzle, "I won't be able to keep an eye on you, but you'll keep being a good boy and keep your hands to yourself, won't you? You won't touch yourself while I'm not looking, right?"

"No, sir."

"Good boy," Sonic leaned down for another sloppy kiss, letting his tongue rove over every inch of Shadow's mouth, before breaking away with a lick of his lips. "Stay." He then turned to trot over to the bed and bend over it, stretching his arms out like a cat against the bed spread as he arched his ass into the air, letting out a chirrupy little moan as he rutted against the side of the bed briefly. He shifted enough to glance behind himself at Shadow to see the hybrid's reaction, entirely pleased with himself at the way shining red eyes were glued to his backside, and thick beads of precum were already beginning to drip down the side of Shadow's cock, while his hands remained steadfastly on his thighs. Sonic let loud purrs erupt from his chest as he drew one leg up to rest his knee on the side of the bed, while pouring a copious amount of lube over his fingers, before reaching back and shoving one into himself without preamble. He was pleasantly surprised as his own moan was echoed by Shadow, causing him to hide a smirk in the blanket as he began to work himself open.

Sonic didn't take nearly as much time with himself as he had with Shadow previously, thrusting each finger in and out of himself once or twice before adding another. Upon thrusting three fingers into himself a few times he drew his fingers free and sat up, glancing over his shoulder to find Shadow shallowly panting on the floor, his claws digging into his thighs hard enough to nearly pierce skin, and his cock an angry, neglected red. "Awww," he cooed, leaning back down to wiggle his ass at Shadow teasingly, "Is my perfect little pet just aching to shove his big fat cock into me? Hmmm? Do you want to fuck me, Shadow?"

"Yes, sir. Please," Shadow managed to choke out, while Sonic watched a generous pearl of precum ooze from the tip of the hybrid's cock and dribble down the side.

"Well, then," Sonic hummed, sitting up and patting the bed eagerly, "I shouldn't keep my pet waiting anymore, should I? Come lay down."

It took a moment for Shadow to push himself up from the floor, gingerly shaking his legs out after kneeling for so long, before he hurried over and onto the bed, laying down as the hero had instructed. He got himself settled amongst the pillows, his eyes bright with anticipation as his dick continued to slowly wept precum onto his belly.

"Such an eager boy," Sonic teased, situating himself between Shadow's knees once the hybrid was still, "Now. You keep your hands on the bed, okay? No touching." He chuckled quietly at Shadow's petulant low growl. "Now, now," the hero chided gently, reaching up to press Shadow's hands down into the blanket, "You're going to feel so good, baby, I promise. But I want to play with you for a little bit, okay? Promise you'll be a good boy and keep your hands to yourself?"

"Yes, sir," Shadow growled out after a moment, obviously not pleased with his instructions, but following them regardless as he dug his claws into the blanket, his hips jerking up slightly as his cock twitched against his stomach.

"Perfect," Sonic purred, drawing a lazy finger up Shadow's length with a smirk, gathering a thick glob of precum, "Look at you. Haven't even touched you properly yet and you're drooling all over yourself." He paused as he shoved his finger into his mouth, watching as Shadow's face screwed up, a low whine leaving him at the gentle tease. Sonic pulled his finger free and chewed his lip for a moment, before leaning up and over Shadow. "You good? What color light?"

Shadow groaned quietly, licking his lips quickly as he rutted himself against Sonic's stomach, "Green."

"Ohh, naughty," Sonic chuckled, letting the moment of churlishness slide as he settled back again. "Alright. Let's get you ready for me then, shall we?" he hummed, pouring lube into his hand and wrapping it around Shadow's shaft, giving the base a light squeeze.

"SONIC!" Shadow shouted gruffly at the touch, his claws digging into the blankets as he turned his head to press his face into the pillow.

"Ohhhh, poor baby. Sorry. I won't tease," Sonic cooed, loosening his hold and stroking up to coat Shadow's shaft, "Don't worry. We'll have that all sorted out here in just a second." Once he felt that Shadow's girth was well coated he repositioned himself, straddling the hybrid's hips, the head of his cock just barely kissing the hero's entrance. "You ready?"

"Please," Shadow gasped out, peering up at Sonic from his spot half hidden in the pillow, "sir."

"Such a polite boy," Sonic purred, letting gravity pull him down onto Shadow's sizable cock. He grinned at the broken little noises the hybrid let pour from his mouth as Sonic sunk down at a leisurely pace, his own litany of whimpers and groans joining the cacophony. "Fuck, Shadow," he gasped once he was fully seated, his fingers trailing absently over his stomach where he could swear he could feel the bulge of other inside him, "You're so big. Fill me up so good, don't you?"

Shadow didn't answer, but the holes being torn into his blanket told Sonic all he really needed to know.

He ground his hips in little circles, enjoying the feeling of being full, before he leaned backwards and tapped at Shadow's legs. "Bend your knees for me, pet," he instructed, humming happily as Shadow did as he was told, though the hybrid was obviously having a touch of trouble controlling himself, if the way his face was still screwed up was anything to go by. "What color, Shads?" Sonic gasped out, using Shadow's bent knees as leverage, the hybrid's length slipping free of him as he hoisted himself up.

"Green! Oh, Chaos, green, green, green," the black hedgehog chanted, his toes curling into the blankets now, adding even more little holes with his claws.

"Good boy," Sonic sighed, letting himself drop back down heavily with a gasp, his ears perked forward as he listened intently to Shadows quiet curses and grunts of pleasure. "Fuck, you're so big, Shads," he whined as he pulled himself back up again, hovering as high as he could hold himself, so only the tip of Shadow's length was still inside, "Can you believe you even fit?" He chuckled, before letting a loud moan rip from his throat as he dropped himself heavily back down, his own cock drooling precum into the puddle already on Shadow's stomach. Slowly, he began to increase his pace as he got used to Shadow's girth, tossing his head back as he bounced on the hybrids' cock, biting his lip at the filthy, wet sounds of his partners dick sliding in and out.

"Fuck!" Sonic gasped out as Shadow's control finally slipped, as the hybrid's hips snapped up as blue hips dropped down. "Chaos, Shadow," he whimpered, leaning forward to rest his hands against Shadow's chest, panting into the black hedgehog's face for a moment as he gathered himself, "That wasn't very nice, was it, pet?"

"Sorry. Sir," Shadow growled out, twisting the blankets in his hands against the bed.

Sonic clicked his tongue quietly, watching Shadow writhe beneath him for a beat. "…Color?"

"Mnn," Shadow grunted, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, before letting out a breath and looking up at Sonic pleadingly, "Yellow."

"Okay," the hero cooed, stroking his fingers through Shadow's chest fluff, "That's okay. What part do you need me to slow down with?"

"Let me touch you," Shadow begged, "Please. I don't…it's not enough."

"Hey, hey, it's alright," Sonic soothed, leaning in so he could peck a few featherlight kisses to Shadow's muzzle, "Of course. You can touch me all you'd like, baby. You were being so good." He gasped as Shadow's hands immediately flew to his thighs, claws lightly digging into skin through his fur. "Careful, pet. Watch your claws."

"Sorry, sir" Shadow murmured, visibly relaxing as he caressed Sonic's thighs in apology.

"It's alright," the hero hummed, sitting back up, a shiver running through him as Shadow's length slipped fully back into him. "Mmm…Can I continue? Color?"

"Yes, sir" the hybrid moaned, arching his hips a bit to push himself deeper into Sonic, "Green."

"Ah! Fuck," Sonic jerked at the push, little sparks of pleasure dancing up his spine. "Nnn…Shit. K-keep doing that," he groaned, starting up his previous rhythm of bouncing on the hybrid's cock. He let his hands settle over dark, grasping fingers as Shadow began to meet his movements partway, driving the hybrid's dick faster and deeper into the hero. "Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck," Sonic chanted, panting as his legs began to shake, "I-I can't…" He lifted himself and drew away as Shadow tried to push up into him, rolling off the hybrid with the least amount of grace he was certain he'd ever had, flopping onto his back next to the other.

"…Sir?"

"Yellow."

Shadow sat up in alarm, hands hovering in the air, obviously unsure if he was welcome to touch. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Haaa, no," Sonic chuckled, tilting his head to offer Shadow a reassuring little smile, "You're doing great, actually. Little bit too great, though, I think, 'cause my legs are starting to feel like jello." With that he pushed himself up and rolled over, dragging a pillow to his face as he shoved his ass into the air and spread his knees, his tail swaying invitingly over his slick entrance. "I'm gonna need you to do the rest of the work, pet."

"You want me to…?"

"Fuck me, Shadow," Sonic hummed, shit eating grin half hidden by the pillow, "Fill me up like I know you want to, pet."

With a low growl, Shadow quickly scrambled onto his knees, not needing to be told twice as he positioning himself behind Sonic. "Yes, sir," he purred, sliding his cock easily into Sonic's well stretched hole.

"Fuck! Shadow," Sonic moaned, burying his face into the pillow as the hybrid wasted no time in wrapping his arms around the blue hedgehog's chest and starting a near brutal pace, pumping himself into Sonic over and over again without hesitation. Sonic tilted his head to tell the hybrid to slow down, when suddenly he saw stars, a choked wail leaving him instead as the hybrid slammed into his prostate, Shadow's deep purr rumbling against his back as he wantonly shoved himself backwards into the other's thrusts. "Ah! Hah, yesss, yes! Just like that. You feel so good," he babbled into the pillow, drooling as Shadow hammered into him.

Sonic wasn't expecting Shadow to change his position, so when, without warning, the hybrid pushed his hips down into the bed and and pinned his hips by straddled him, he choked on a gasp. Shadow ground his dick into him, his brutal pace turning into short, sharp thrusts, forcing Sonic to rut against the sheets. He whined as he tried to push himself back up, but Shadow sunk his teeth into Sonic's shoulder and held him fast, ignoring the hero's squirming as he chased his pleasure by brazenly driving himself into the hero's body.

"Shadow! Shadow, please," Sonic panted, reaching back to grab at Shadow's quills, only to choke on another breath as the hybrid clenched his jaw, forcing the tips of his fangs into Sonic's shoulder, drawing blood. "F-fuck! Ah!" He shuddered as Shadow bucked into him a few more times, whimpering loudly when the hybrid finally stilled, the thick length inside him pulsing as warmth poured into him. He whined long and low as his own neglected length remained trapped between his stomach and the blankets, twitching weakly as his stomach bloated with Shadow's spend.

They lay like that for a minute or two, until Shadow's cock finally finished throbbing inside Sonic, all while the hybrid licked apologetically at the bloodied bite mark.

"Yeah, you better be sorry," Sonic grumbled quietly as Shadow nuzzled at the side of his face, "You've got some making up to do." He shuddered and mewled as Shadow's cock gingerly eased out of him, a low whine escaping his lips as he could feel the hybrid's cum begin leaking from his abused hole. "You came a lot, huh?" he chuckled into his pillow, squirming slightly as Shadow pressed back up against him, his hot breath against Sonic's ear causing them to twitch.

"May I clean you up, sir?"

"Well," Sonic sighed, "Dirty boys should clean up their messes, shouldn't they?" At that, Shadow's weight lifted away from him, with the hero fully expecting the hybrid to leave to go fetch a cloth, as Sonic had done before. He hoped that the other would take a moment to find the clothes in Sonic's messy bathroom, so he'd at least have time to finish himself off. Instead, Sonic jumped as Shadow's hands began to knead at his ass, spreading him open once again. "Shad-OH!?" He yelped as a bold, hot tongue pressed against his ass, lapping eagerly against his entrance.

"Color?" Shadow's voice was slightly muffled against Sonic's ass cheek, his fangs gently grazing the skin there.

"Ahhh….green," Sonic managed to gasp out, his claws digging into his pillow as he arched his back into Shadow's face. He was definitely going to need new bedding after this, he thought briefly, before the hybrid's tongue was suddenly delving into him, a surprised shout ripping from his throat as the appendage wriggled inside him. He nearly wept as he buried his face into his now torn up pillow, while Shadow thoroughly 'cleaned him up', all while his still hard cock was pinned against bed in such a way that he couldn't cum, no matter how much he desperately wanted to.

Finally, after what felt like a gloriously torturous eternity, Shadow's tongue slipped free of Sonic's ass, the hero letting out an overwhelmed sob as the hybrid sat back. "Chaos," he groaned, tears running down his face, his limbs shaking as he shifted to reach a hand down to try and relieve himself. However, that didn't seem to be the plan, as Shadow's hands were back on his hips without warning, and the hero found himself flipped onto his back, a surprised yip leaving him as he rapidly tried to regain his bearings.

"Color?"

"Huh? Oh," Sonic blinked owlishly, his sluggish, overstimulated brain taking a moment to catch up to the question, "Green."

The low growl that Shadow let out at Sonic's answer made the hero shudder, before another loud, startled shout left him as Shadow grabbed at his hips once more and the hybrid's mouth was on him. He whimpered as Shadow pressed kisses against his hip bones, his fingers tangling in red and black quills, tugging lightly, his neglected cock oozing a steady stream of precum onto his stomach. "Please, Shadow," he openly begged, sucking in a shuddering breath, "Please. Let me cum, pet."

Shadow glanced up at him at that, his eyes sharp and almost predatory as a slow grin split his lips. Then, any thought that may have been in Sonic's head flew right out as Shadow took his dick into his mouth and sucked him down. Not all the way to the back of his throat, like Sonic had been before, but as far down as he could comfortably go. And the warm, wet heat was more than enough to finally shove Sonic over the edge, the hero coming with a scream loud enough to rattle the walls while he pulled harshly at Shadow's quills.

When Sonic's hips stopped twitching and he managed to blink back into reality, he found Shadow hovering over him with a mildly concerned look on his face, his hands absently rubbing at Sonic's thighs.

"Hey," Sonic rumbled, his throat sore and raw from his screams, "I'm okay, Shads. You did really good, pet, I promise. Just…I feel a bit floaty. Give me a sec?"

Shadow hummed quietly, leaning in to press a chaste kiss to Sonic's lips before vanishing from the bed momentarily, returning with a glass of water.

"Aww, thank you," Sonic murmured, grunting quietly as Shadow manhandled him into a sitting position, before accepting the glass into shaky hands and taking a long, slow sip. He cleared his throat once he felt it was sufficiently moistened after his yelling, offering Shadow a reassuring smile, since the hybrid was still hovering worriedly next to him. "You did amazing, pet. A very good boy. I don't think I've ever cum that hard in my life." He chuckled as Shadow's tail began to wag, the hybrid moving to tuck himself into Sonic's side and curling against him, his nose pressed into the bite he'd given the other earlier. "Mmmm, such a good boy," Sonic sighed, petting at the quills he'd pulled on as he sipped at his water.

It took a while for Sonic to finally feel his legs enough that he felt like he could stand without falling over, but when he finally did he gently tugged on the bow he'd tied Shadow's collar with, the weight of the little golden tag causing the ribbon to fall onto the bed between the two hedgehogs.

"…Sonic?"

"Didn't figure you'd want to wear it in the tub," the hero hummed, sitting up slightly and dislodging Shadow from his shoulder, "I really need a bath after all that. Pretty sure you do, too."

"I'll go run it," Shadow murmured, slipping from the bed. He paused at the side briefly, a contemplative look on his face, before he reached out and gather the dainty ribbon collar into his hands, chewing absently on his lip.

"…Did you not like it?"

Shadow snorted, shaking his head as he trotted over to Sonic's desk and reverently laid the ribbon down on it, making sure it was flat and neatly displayed, and the tag was clean. "I think I liked it too much."

"No such thing," Sonic teased with a smirk, leaning over to set his now empty glass on his bedside stand. "Did it work?"

"Did what work?"

"Did having the collar on let you get out of your own head?"

The hybrid blinked, staring off into space for a beat, before a fond, warm little smile settled on his face as he turned to Sonic. "It did."

"Then that's all that matters," Sonic shrugged, shoving himself to the edge of the bed. He yelped as he overcompensated and toppled off the side, landing in a rather ungraceful heap. He whined petulantly as Shadow simply chuckled at him, rolling over to shoot the hybrid a glare. "Rude."

"Perhaps, next time, you could simply ask for help," Shadow snorted, leaning down to scoop Sonic into his arms, swiftly turning to the door once the hero was settled in his hold.

"Perhaps next time," Sonic scoffed in a mocking tone, tightly wrapping his arms around Shadow's neck so he couldn't be dropped.

"Brat."

"But I'm your brat."

"How unfortunate."

"Hey!"

Later, as the two sat in a warm bath, bubbles overflowing onto the floor, much to Shadow's chagrin, Sonic perked up, turning to Shadow with a curious look.

"What?" Shadow sighed, already sounding put upon.

"I haven't even asked anything yet."

"No, but I have a feeling I'm not going to be particularly fond of whatever you're going to ask me."

"Presumptuous," Sonic snorted, flicking bubbles at the other, "I was just curious…what gave you the idea to stick your tongue in my ass, when, like, twenty minutes earlier you were nervous to have my dick in your mouth?"

"Ah," Shadow sighed, sinking into the water up to his shoulders, "I'm not sure, really. It just felt…right. In the moment."

Sonic chuckled, draping himself over Shadow's shoulders and settling himself in the hybrids lap, blatantly ignoring the way his movements made the bath water overflow onto the floor. "I mean," he snickered, nuzzling into Shadow's cheek and pressing a sloppy kiss there, enjoying the groan of disdain he got out of the hybrid, "You weren't wrong, but damn. You could've given a guy a little warning."

"I asked you what color you were. Was that not sufficient, when I had literally just licked you?"

"Hmm, fair point," Sonic chuckled, "Fair point."

[nightmare-foundation]

I'm thinking again about the take that the brother cult religion as seen in The Infinite Man (or similar to it) is a widespread/well known religion in modern Remnant.

And like... i do LIKE the idea of there still being a Brothers-based religion on Remnant. Fantasy religions are always fun, and it'd be fun to explore how that might effect Remnants societies.

But like. It's almost laughably false. It's a cool headcanon, and I like seeing it in AUs (I use it myself), but when talking about canon, it's just not true.

For one, there isn't any discussion of religion in any rwby material, at least nothing truly in-depth. None of the characters are ever stated to be religious in RWBY, and we also don't really get any hints of religion in the entire show? We never see any churches in Vale, Mistral, Atlas or Mantle, and the only thing I can think of that MIGHT be a church is the building in the v4 Ruby-focused short, though we never see the inside of it and it could just as easily be like, a town hall or something. Specifically, it has statues of 2 women in front of it, so if it IS a church, it doesn't appear to be Brothers-based.

Also in v4, Qrow states to RNJR that "Not many people are religious these days". I highly doubt that this line is untrue? First of all, Qrow has absolutely no reason to lie. Second, I doubt this is a case of Qrow being an unreliable narrator; even if he believed that all of the other religions were "fake", this would still be a very odd thing to say if religion is widespread?? It's like if you were talking to your friends and said "haha yeah not a lot of people are religious these days :)" which would obviously get you VERY weird looks. On top of that, none of RNJR ever seem to recognize what he's talking about. Qrow never says like, idk, "Do you know about [insert name for Brothers religion]? Yeah, they're real. In case you don't know the story- [insert convenient religion/lore dump for the audience]". At least, if i were writing RWBY and wanted to make it clear the Brothers were still being worshipped, that's how I'd write it.

Qrow does, obviously, phrase it like it WAS a religion- which is true. But it doesn't seem like it's like still a religion, and if it is, it's certainly not big anymore because religion on Remnant has slowly died out.

And about Fairytales of Remnant, it isn't a "propagandistic hit piece", it's a book of fairytales that Ozpin put into Beacons curriculum. I doubt a tale in a widespread religion (or religions) would be put in a book containing fairytales, at least not without public backlash. That'd be like if you put the story of Noah's Ark into a book containing things like Cinderella and Snow White. If Ozpin really wants to create a Light-based cult in the modern day, he wouldn't do that lmfao. (Though that would be a HYSTERICAL move on his part)

Also, the topic of the Brothers (and separately, them being real) is treated like it should be kept secret. Ozpin never told the Inner Circle about his task either- they follow HIM, not Light, and the Gods aren't really treated as important by anyone. The Relics are more important, both before and after the reveal in v6.

And in general, there's nowhere in RWBY on Remnant that shows that it's main religion is a doomsday cult. If it was as widespread as Christianity is in the modern day, that would SHOW. And people on Remnant seem very against controlling religions and doctrine like these, both The Infinite Man and the Great War showing this. Oz's biggest achievement up until that point... was creating a TOWN dedicated to his task. A freaking town. Where peoples main desire was to learn how to defend themselves and the people they cared about, which was promptly destroyed by people who HATED the idea of a doomsday cult (reasonably so) and completely forgotten afterwards. And you're telling me he'd be more successful with an oppressive religion right after the war that was fought partly BECAUSE people hated that kind of oppression?

And like... idk it doesn't track with Ozpins character as it is now. It's sort of a Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond situation- we see how he is now, and then shown how he WAS, and think how he was is how he is now. And like. I don't think how he is now would do that kind of thing- it's blown up in his face multiple times, why would he keep trying? On top of that, there's multiple other pieces of evidence that he's saying NO to Lights task and the Gods' return. And like... i feel like the end of the war and post-war kinda shows that he kinda Gets the balance thing? Even if he doesn't realize he gets it, he kinda... did the thing the Blacksmith was talking about. Destruction to clear away the wilderness (the Relic of Destruction was presumably used during the final battle, then he tore down the world's militaries and monarchies), and then he created (created institutions of learning, created an entirely different form of government, and raised Atlas. Idk which this one goes into, but he also helped free Vacuo).

He... kind of Gets the whole balance/actual meaning of destruction thing (hello, the circle/cycle theme in the Infinite Man?). I mean, it's sort of how his reincarnation works. I don't think his current belief system is very compatible with Lights at all. Plus it seems like he kinda... doesn't like the Gods. So it doesn't make sense for him to continue working towards his task at this point.

Anyways. There's no proof there's a modern Brothers-based religion in RWBY, and it doesn't fit with Ozpins character at all. I like the idea, but it's better as an au.