#also i love how adam was the only one to stop him and basically acted as his conscience

[biinanzas]

i love that out of the cartwright family, joe is canonically the one most willing to commit cold-blooded murder.

[llilyrose]

llilyrose spends her time analyzing aroace stuff. yay.

isat spoilers afoot

what i especially like about the way adrienne wrote mira's orientation is the lack of room for interpretation. yes they snuck aroace talk into fantasy france, but just stop and think for a minute. what would happen if mira just said "i'm aroace" or "i don't feel love the same way" instead of all the nuance we got to her character in the friend quest convo?

we know she's sex repulsed, we know she's romance repulsed. we know she loves fiction that has those things in it, loves interpreting fictional characters that way, but can't bare to see herself in that situation. it makes a lot of sense with regards to her location (vaugarde, a very sex-positive and romance-adamant country) and also with regards to herself (the way she feels about her environment). Of course she wouldn't blame other folk around her for engaging with their religion the "correct" way, of course she'd internalize all her feelings of being outcast and turn it back on herself.

The fandom respects this! Nobody ships her romantically, or sexually, because we know she's not into that. We know she would never and i know a bunch of people who would punch you for even thinking it!

Now what if Adrienne hadn't put this in the game? What if they had just said on their tumblr one day, "mira's aroace," or something. where would we be now? aspec shipping discourse would definitely take the reins. we'd have people shipping her in all kinds of different ways, bending the aroace character to the best of their ability because they could still be into sex, or romance, or whatever. this is TRUE, it's POSSIBLE, but there's no nuance. We wouldn't know the way Mira really feels about these things unless Adrienne told us, so a lot of people would either ignore/"work around" her identity or just wouldn't even know about it to begin with!

Introducing mira's orientation in the way adrienne did leaves no room for discourse. we know if she's sex-positive, sex-negative, how she reacted to finding out she was, etc. It provides so much more representation than a simple "I'm aroace" ever could. It's such a wide label, so finally having CONCRETE information about a canonical aroace's experiences with their orientation is so, so freeing and honestly quite refreshing. and it's worked into the story seamlessly!!!

She's not an emotionless carcass with no capacity for love, she's not outwardly detesting sex or romance at every possible moment, she's simply a well-rounded character who happens to be aroace. You have time to warm up to her before ever even finding out about her orientation! Or having any clue at all (barring maybe the suspicious sketches)!!!!! Aroace people are real!!! We're so real!!!!

Speaking of the suspicious sketches! We know siffrin's alloace (from, like, one line of dialogue), but we don't know if he's sex-repulsed. Adrienne's gone on record to say "aces can still have sex" in reference to siffrin, so I'm inclined to believe he has at least some sort of libido.

When looking at the sketches, both him and mira have a repulsed reaction. I think there are three possible reasons for Siffrin here!

Siffrin is sex-repulsed and has a visceral reaction to them because he thinks it's gross.

Siffrin has no libido because the stress overrides everything in his system. That combined with his ace identity would probably lead to a distaste for the papers.

Some people would NOT GET THE MEMO from the act 3 friendquest. Sometimes when you're writing you have to account for the gamers being really really dense. Some people didn't even understand the Isa friendquest was him coming out as trans basically. Since Ace characters are hard to "prove" unless they explicitly state they dislike sex, this line of dialogue might've just been there to drill it in that Siffrin is ace because the only other place we see that implication is one line in the friendquest. It could even have no tie to his relationship with sex, who knows?

one of these options is not like the others! /silly

I couldn't tell you which one of those it is, but i think at least one of them had to have hit the mark. It's a lot harder to decode siffrin's sexuality when we only get like 5 lines of dialogue total that vaguely even reference it

With this we come back to the issue from earlier: He could be demi, he could be ace, he could be sex-repulsed, he could not! Most people write them sex-repulsed and I'm personally on that bandwagon, but interpreting them a different way isn't any less correct unless you completely ignore the fact they're ace in the first place.

Even sex-positive aces have complicated relationships with sex. Some do it for the gratification, some simply have higher libido and can't think of a different way to get it out, and others only do it to please their partner.

I think writing an ace character as sex-positive should be seen as a character study instead of an excuse to ship two characters together. Is this character the type to even enjoy it in the first place? How often? How do they interact with it? Etc. Which I think is what Adrienne was talking about when she said "aces can still have sex." We don't know about siffrin's identity, we don't have a grasp on the nuance, but we do know he's ace and that he experiences love differently from the way mirabelle does, and the way isabeau does, and the way odile does, and what have you.

I love love love the representation we get in isat. An aroace, an alloace, and someone that a lot of fans headcanon as aroallo though it's unconfirmed. Even if Odile's not aro, we still get that line of dialogue about not finding romance suitable for her at the moment, which speaks true to a different experience altogether. No two characters experience love, experience life the same in isat. That's why i get to make a tumblr text post that's a bit too long exploring the different avenues adrienne took when writing the characters lol :')

[gloomwitchwrites]

Can you do something angsty with Kylo ren for the 1k follower event? Like makeup/breakup (or both) preferably with a little 🌶️🥵

Kylo Ren, my favorite sad boy. Maybe it’s because I have such a crush on Adam Driver, but I adore Kylo Ren. Maybe it’s because I love dark side-leaning hotties. (Although nothing compares to Darth Maul but I digress). Now, I (personally) see Kylo Ren/Ben Solo as one person, just different personas, however, for this prompt, we’re talking about Kylo Ren. How would Kylo Ren react to a makeup/breakup scenario?? Honestly? Probably not well. Let’s be real.

Most of these are with gn!reader w/ an exception or two.

Content & Warnings (MDNI): angst, toxic/unhealthy relationships, suggestive themes, possessive behavior, non-descriptive mentions of sex

Word Count: 587

ao3 // taglist // main masterlist // 1k follower event masterlist

First and foremost, with how toxic the First Order is, and everyone wanting leverage on others in order to move up the ranks, Kylo would never be open about his relationship with you. He would do everything in his power to hide his relationship with you for that very reason. It’s almost giving Anakin hiding Padme from the Jedi, but in a different light.

Of everyone that might know, it would be Supreme Leader Snoke. Snoke would absolutely use this relationship to manipulate Kylo Ren. He’d encourage the passion but would also devise ways to undermine Kylo’s relationship with you. He’s basically Palpatine in that regard.

The breakup would come from you, not from Kylo Ren unless Snoke deliberately told him to call it off. Even then, I think Kylo would try to hang on to you. He leans toward the dark side but he’s not Sith. He just wants to belong, and he wants to be wanted.

The breakup isn’t explosive or argumentative. If anything, Kylo appears outwardly calm.  It’s almost frustrating for you because you wanted some kind of reaction from him.

It’s the afterward, when you leave, that Kylo loses it. That lightsaber is coming out and heads are rolling. He’ll never unleash his anger on you, but he’ll unleash his anger on stormtroopers, control panels, and literally anything else that might be in his way.

After Kylo has cooled off, he’s going to come after you. This man is determined to hunt you down and keep you by his side, even if you don’t want it. Let’s be real here folks, Kylo’s love is toxic and unhealthy, especially if we’re talking about Force Awakens & Last Jedi Kylo Ren. This man will search the galaxy to find you again.

He’ll do it himself, too. He’s not leaving this task up to stormtroopers or to Hux. Kylo and his Knights are coming after you. Period.

When he does find you again, you put up a fight, but you’re no match for him. Kylo drags you back with him and confines you to a room. It’s comfortable, and you have everything you need, but you’re not allowed to leave.

Kylo visits you often, and in this, he is also calm—to a point. He insists you made the wrong choice, and is fairly reasonable about it. But of course, you push his buttons. Eventually, he fractures, and he’s more like the Kylo we see in the interrogation room with Rey. Kylo has patience, but it’s only for you.

This back-and-forth eventually implodes, coming to a head that only ends with the two of you reuniting physically.

It’s Kylo that acts first. He wants you, and he always wants you to stop talking for a few seconds. Which is why he grabs the back of your neck and draws you in for a kiss.

You don’t fight him. You melt into him, wrapping your arms around his neck. These first few kisses are all soft, and then quickly devolve into insistence.

Clothes are ripped away from bodies until it’s skin-against-skin.

Kylo needs to dominate here. He needs to establish that he’s the one in control and that you only want him.

He won’t force anything. Kylo will never cross that line.

Kylo will need verbal confirmation that you’re his. He might delay or even control your orgasm just to hear you say that you belong to him.

Kylo will make you beg, and won’t give you your end until he’s complete satisfied that you’re his again.

taglist:

@padawancat97 @foxxy-126 @glassgulls @km-ffluv @sweetbutpsychobutsweet

@singleteapot @garfunklevibes2012 @tiredmetalenthusiast @childofyuggoth @miaraei

@coffeecaketornado @kayden666 @cherryofdeath @enfppuff @ninman82

@no-oneelsebutnsu @ferns-fics @beebeechaos @tulipsun-flower @nomercyforthewarrior

@hantheconqueror

[animequeen4]

okay y’all hear me out… alastor, Lucifer, and Adam and their s/o meeting their fandom personas

alastor x reader x cursed cat alastor

Yn: “Al look at what I found! Isn’t he the cutest 😍”

alastor: “what is the world is that? 😃”

is genuinely confused on what and where it came from all he knows is that it hates him and everyone else except yn

Yn once putted a bow tie on him and looked like he loved it by this smile seeming genuinely yet when his bow tie was coming undone he would hiss and scratch at anyone who tried to fix it and only allowed yn to fix it

had a tendency to bring gifts for yn like nice and one time a ENTIRE deer carcass but after seeing she would throw it away he started to bring started bringing stuff like Freshly pulled out of the ground flowers, sometimes jewelry, and one time a cute hat

as for alastor he does not like the thing

he hates how the thing will always try to get in the way when he tries to do anything with yn like when it’s early in the morning and he wants to enjoy the peaceful moment with you he will just show up somehow in the room cuddling you, when he tries to give you a kiss on the cheek the will but bring your attention to him instead, and onetime he tried locking the door to get some quality time alone together and keep him out, THE CAT NEARLY BROKE DOWN THE WHOLE DOOR!!! The only time they got along was when they were protecting yn and when they both showed dislike for Susan

then one day a cat version of yn showed up also out of no where and immediately Cat Alastor stopped beefing with regular alastor because now both have their own yn

although yn was sad cat alastor wasn’t hanging out with her as much anymore she was happy and hopefully she can finally enjoy some peace of mind knowing they were not fighting anymore

lets just say a few months later there would be some kittens and they become permanent residents because cat alastor would bite who every tried to touch the kittens and his yn 😅

Lucifer x reader x cursed cat Lucifer

Out of all three he is the one who is actually loving meeting their fandom persona

“OMG HE IS AS CUTE AS KIKI! 🥹”

Lucifer gets even more excited see he too has a appreciation for ducks

let’s kitty Lucifer sleep with any of his ducks (except the Lilith one which he hides)

Kitty Lucifer loves yn almost as much as regular version of him

Like cat alastor he lives little gifts for yn except they usually come some with ducks mostly rubber ducks

however it is a bit of a hassle sometimes with him having wings where as when it’s time for a bath we will try to fly away but will get in the bath willing it there are some rubber ducks

when a yn cat showed up Lucifer was excited but not as much as his feline counterpart who acted like they were husband and wife and he missed his wife dearly

Kitty Lucifer was latter found being groomed by cat yn who was licking him clean and the too we’re sharing kitten kisses with kitty Lucifer having a completely smitten look 🥰

Adam x reader x squished/tiny Adam

Adam: “THIS LITTLE SHIT STOLE AND ATE ONE OF MY RIBS?!?! We need to get rid of it!”

yn: “oh come how Adam he is like you so he too likes ribs”

tiny Adam will often ask for cuddles and I imagine he is about as the same size as the cats so when cuddling he is pressed against yns boobs so tiny Adam will smirk at Adam making him jealous and flip regular Adam off while yn Isn’t looking

tiny Adam will also sleep on top of or cuddle yn while she sleeps so sometimes he just likes hanging out in her between her boobs

will often try to steal things like food, phones, jewelry to try and make him look cooler, and one time he has been caught stealing yns bra but was stopped easily due to how small he is

Will basically always come between the two of you when you tried to do anything romantic

not sure if he is wearing a mask like Adam or if that is his actual face due to always fighting anyone who tried to check

once Adam realized how he is able to get away with stuff they suddenly become good friends and caused a lot of mischief

I don’t know why but I imagine tiny Adam would also try to sing songs like hell is forever but it ends up sounding a lot cutter due to how high his voice is or he ends up squeaking instead

one day a tiny yn showed up and Adam finally understand why yn loved tiny Adam so much. ITS LIKE HAVING A TINY VERSION OF HER HE CAN TAKE AROUND WITH HIM WHEREVER HE GOES!! ITS SO FREAKING CUTE!! 🥹

tiny Adam then started started liking tiny yn and to regular Adam and yn it was like watching how they fell in love

ps these are not my art please don’t get after me I am just using these for illustrations on what they look like I am not claiming ownership and I hope you enjoyed 😁

[luceafarul-de-dimineata]

Lucifer NSFW alphabet

Aftercare

what they're like after sex

He's a lot softer after sex and he'll take all the measures necessary to make you feel comfortable. He's a doctor, so he knows how to patch you up. Asks Buer to make the two of you tea since it helps relax.

Body Part

their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner's

His favorite body part used to be his wings, but now it's his fangs. He likes the effect they have on you and how he's the only one, Heaven or Hell, to have them so pronounced

His favorite body part on you are your eyes. Not only can they cry so pretty, but they also show your true feelings. As they say, the eyes are the windows to the soul. (Plus he has a thing for eye contact and seing himself in the reflection of your eyes, but that's a post for another day)

Cum

anything to do with cum, basically

His cum has healing properties so you always feel better after he cums on/inside you. If you want, he'll give you a bottle of his cum to use as cream when you're hurt, since you already love drinking it from a bottle so much.

Also, if you can get pregnant, he'll be very worried about possibly leaving you with a baby, so he takes birth control pills religiously.

Dirty secret

pretty self-explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs

He had a threesome with Adam and Eve where he actually came in Adam's ass. He'll never admit this, not even to God.

The second time he decided to visit humanity, he found a cult that worshiped him and he still finds the idea of mortals praying to him arousing.

Experience

how experienced are they? Do they know what they're doing?

Bro participated in orgies, he knows how sex works. Though, after he fell from Heaven, he stopped having sex. Not because he's practicing chastity or anything, but the oportunity never showed itself.

Also, he knows how to have sex with angels, but he's never done it with a human before. So he might assume that you can take as much as an angel. It's fine, he's a fast learner so he won't overstimulate you... that much.

Favorite position

this goes without saying

He doesn't have one, but he hates all the positions where he has to lay on his back. He also likes holding your hands while you fuck because he knows you'll try to pull on his wings and he doesn't trust you. Other than that, he has no favorites.

Goofy

are they more serious in the moment? Are they humorous?

Even if he tried to tell a joke, his voice is so monotone that you couldn't tell. He'll also be very confused if you started cracking jokes in the middle of sex. He never laughs, he just looks at you with a bewildered and partly judgemental look on his face.

Hair

how well groomed are they?

We are in headcanon territory, so, I think angels don't have hair, they only have feathers. Their "hair" is actually fluff that baby birds have. So, in conclusion, I think Lucifer's dick is fluffy.

Intimacy

how are they during the moment? The romantic aspect

He would prefere doing anything else but sex to show you how much he loves you. He'll be more sensual and take things slow because he has no reason to rush. No matter how hard he tries to act like one of those porn stars you so admire, you always get the impression that he's mildly bored. He's only doing this because you like sex and he likes you, so, in part, it is true.

Jack Off

masturbation headcanons

He doesn't masturbate. He just doesn't see the use in it. If he's feeling horny he'll just call you over and have an actual passionate night of sex. Why would he bother jacking off when he has you for that.

Kink

one or more of their kinks

Dacryphilia, that one is canon, but I also think he has a thing for overstimulation. Will make you cum until you cry and ask him to stop and depending on his mood he may or may not listen. He usually doms because it's in his nature to do so, but he might indulge you once he likes you enough. When he subs he only accepts praise, the moment you degrade him he just bitch slaps you and leaves. He's not a prideful bitch, he just knows his worth/s

Location

favorite place to do the do

His garden. It's pretty, it's outdoors, you get some fresh air. He's probably really into botony so he'll show you plants as he fucks you. He also really likes the texture of grass, more so than his bed, so this is where you're having sex.

Motivation

what turns them on, gets them going

Seeing you cry especially if it's from something he did. Being a doctor and checking up on you as he randomly takes blood samples or gives you jabs that he refuses to eleborate on. His ideal partner is someone that's afraid of medical supplies. He likes scaring you, making you cry before saving you with an embrace while he coos about how brave you were.

No

Something they wouldn't do, turn offs

Getting called "daddy" or "brother" during sex is his biggest turn off. He had to deal with an incestous brother, please don't remind him of him.

Oral

preference in giving or recieving, skills, etc.

I preferes the idea of recieving, but he doesn't want to hospitalise you, so he'll be giving for most of the relationship. He's very good at giving as well, but he's a little shit about it. He never gives you full tongue treatment, you only get small kitten licks and nothing more. He'll give you a gynaecology/andrology check up since he's already there.

Pace

are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual?

He likes it slow. He drags out the forplay, usually it lasts more than the actual sex and then fucks you swiftly. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't be rough because his dick is twice the amount a human can take. He hates rushing, let him take his time.

Quickie

their opinions on quickies, how often

He's very against quickies. He likes to take his time, and if something urgent needs to be attended to soon, he'll push you away and deal with that before even considering having sex. The prep for sex with him is 3/4 of the sex experience, why would you want to pass it.

Risk

are they willing to experiment? Do they take risks?

It depends. He might experiment with some kinks if you express interest in them, but nothing too extreme. If you insist on doing extreme stuff with him, he'll just pay someone from Abaddon to do it. No, he won't let you step on his cock, he already has erectile disfunction.

Stamina

how many rounds can they go for? How long do they last?

He gets tired after speaking for 3 minutes, he has the stamina of a malnurished sloth. He's mostly fucking you out of professional obligation, so he'll give you one or two turns of action, about 5 minutes each and then he does the after care. If he's feeling very horny, and I mean very horny, he'll make sure that not even his cum can cure your soreness, but he lacks that motivation 9/10.

Toys

do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partener or themselves

Do needles and jabs count as sex toys? He doesn't use them often, but he does sometimes indulge in that fantasy. He can also tie you up like he does to Marbas if you want. He'll never use toys on himself because he considers them ungodly. But if they please you, sure enough.

Unfair

how much they like to tease

Honey, teasing is the sex when you're with Lucifer. You better have an hour free in your scheduel just for the forplay. It's his favorite part of the experience because he gets to do stuff that isn't 100% sexual while being sexual enough that they please you.

Volume

how loud are they? What sounds do they make?

His very quiet, to the point that you sometimes doupt he's enjoying himself. When he does makes sounds, usually when he's close, he'll groan or choke, before realeasing with a melodic moan. He also shooes and gives you orders about what to do. He doesn't like a partner that's very loud, only Gamigin has the green card when it comes to being noisy.

Wildcard

a random headcanon for the character

Lucifer is a sex neutral asexual. He doesn't experience sexual attraction and he only has sex if someone else that he likes asks him to. He doesn't see the hype around it, and sex is the least important part of a relationship for him.

X-ray

let's see what's going on under those clothes

I'll be honest with you, I've never seen a penis in real life, I have no idea how those usually look like. His dick is 30 cms, I'm not sure that's physicly possible, but who knows. Wouldn't a dick that big be uncomfortable to live with? I am very confused. Just imagine a baguette and boom, that's his dick.

Yearning

How high is their sex drive

Nonexistent. Before he met you, he only had sex during the annual angel orgies because it was tradition. It's not that he hates sex, but as stated above, he just has no interest in it. When you see naked people daily for your job, you stop being excited by nudeness.

Zzz

how quickly they fall asleep afterwards

He only falls asleep after he makes sure you did. Usually sleeps in a seperate room from you, but, after he gets attached, he'll insist that you cuddle in your sleep.

[eyecan02]

Alastor & Charlie's Dance Analysis

I find it interesting that Alastor would choose a hobby that has been so romantically coded for centuries. The art of dance is basically a mating ritual of sorts. It opens the door to romance, love, passion and trust.

In the dance film "Take the Lead", the lead character describes dance as an act of trust. As he says (paraphrasing a bit because I couldn't find the actual quote or clip) "The man leads the dance, but it is the woman's choice to let him lead so she is the one with the power."

I feel like this line sums up Alastor and Charlie's first dance in the pilot and their relationship in general. Tossing Charlie into the air and catching her. Sliding down the ramp/stairs while holding her hand. Alastor dipping her. All of these moments during their dance were how Alastor was building trust with Charlie.

Alastor believes he is the one leading their "dance". He's the one "producing" the show. He's the storyteller. He's the one directing the tide how he wants. Except for underestimating Adam, he has had a lot of control over many events; running the hotel, mutually agreeing with Charlie to let Sir Pentious stay at the hotel, protecting the hotel, the satisfied look he had during "More than Anything" almost as if the outcome of the song is exactly what he wanted, saving information on the angels for a rainy day, Alastor telling Charlie about his smile being a power play, Alastor taking her to a town full of cannibals, looping his arm through hers so Charlie doesn't stray, Alastor introducing Rosie as an ally for Charlie and lending Charlie his microphone staff.

"I knew she could do it all along."

"She's filled with potential that I could guide."

When Alastor returns during the Finale song, Charlie literally re-receives him with literal open arms. He smiles with satisfaction because her hug confirms that he hasn't lost Charlie's trust (which is currently the most important thing to him besides his freedom).

Earlier, I had said dancing can be a mating ritual. It makes people bond. In this case, Alastor and Charlie bonded as friends while also "bonding" through their ambiguous contract. While not binding Charlie's soul to him, their "dance" still bound her to him in a sense. They'll be "together" until Alastor decides what his favor will be/what he wants to do after he regains his freedom.

Now onto Charlie's POV of their "dance". She knows that Alastor's whole persona is an amalgamation of control and choice. As Alastor stated before, he can make people stay at the hotel so why doesn't he just force them? Charlie wants it to be the sinners' choice.

Why does he originally use modern technology for the first commercial? Charlie. Why does he stop beating up Sir Pentious? Because Charlie had said "He's had enough." He actually did stop and only blasted Pentious a moment later because he ripped his coat.

Why does he allow Pentious to stay at the hotel? Because Charlie was the one that encouraged Pentious to apologize to Alastor. Why was Pentious allowed to stay even after they found out he was a spy? Because Charlie forgave him and that was good enough for Alastor.

It's always about Charlie's choice. When they first met, Charlie said, "I know he probably doesn't want to change, but I can't turn him away. It goes everything I believe in." Then she takes the reigns of the situation by telling Alastor, "I hereby order you to help with this hotel for as long as you desire."

A royal decree but not one that forces Alastor to stay at the hotel forever. She's giving him a choice and choices are probably seldom for Alastor due to him being leashed.

"Sometimes the best way to conquer an enemy is to get right in their face."

Another fitting quote from the Take the Lead film. I feel like Charlie's decision to let Alastor into the hotel was meant to keep him as close as possible by keeping a watchful eye on him so that he wouldn't be all over the city again back to his old ways.

It was Charlie's choice to defend Alastors sadistic way of defending the hotel. It was her choice to make a deal in exchange for valuable information because they were all in a desperate situation.

Charlie trusted that Alastor would "ask for one favor at a time of my choosing where you harm no one." No matter what the deal is, for her the most important part is that she wouldn't be obligated to hurt anyone once Alastor collects. It was her choice to make a risky decision because it would be for the good of all.

Charlie has more power in this "dance" of theirs than people think. If Charlie is unhappy, Alastor is unhappy. She is the one with the power because for whatever reason, Alastor's goal is to keep Charlie happy and fulfill her "every bizarre request."

Her trust to let Alastor into the hotel did have a pay off. She didn't expect him to change or care and yet he ended up "growing accustomed" to Charlie and the Hazbin gang and went all out in trying to protect them and the hotel from the angels.

Even when Alastor cashes in on the deal/inevitably betrays her, she'll understand that it was her choice to let him in, to work with him and to care about him enough to say she "loves" him, the Hazbin gang and the cannibals.

That's why it will also be her choice in trusting him to do the right thing at the perfect time and her choice to forgive him and let him back into her life. That is why going back to the quote from earlier, "The man leads the dance but it is the woman's choice to let him lead so she is the one with the power." It will be her choice to allow him to be her partner in dance, business or anything else.

[scekrex]

Part 2 of the punk-rock band? 😍

Ya know, where the reader just puts Adam in his place after he constantly obsesses over him (In a way that he just tries to court him and get into his pants) and the reader just has enough of his bullshit and puts him on a tight leash (figuratively speaking or not, your choice) and teaches him a thing or two 🤭 Basically just Adam consensually pushed into a subspace and taught a lesson of how to behave and not act like a spoiled brat + how to nicely ask for something he really wants 🫶🥰

I fucking got ya babes, if ya want a part 3, lemme know bc idk why or how but somehow this turned out to be a lil more complicated and emotional than I wanted it to be.

Part 1

Love me like you mean it, a little bit harder now

pairing: Adam x male!reader

warnings: language, anal sex, subspace, sub!Adam, dom!Reader, praise kink

note: not beta read bc fuck you I don't have beta readers

After Adam had met you for the first time, had felt your touch through his robe and on his mask he couldn't stop thinking about you, you were on his mind all the time. Whenever he knew you were playing a gig, he was there, front row.

And all of that led to him ending up in your dressing room again. “The manchild is back,” you grinned at the first man as you entered the room, your crew had given you a heads up on it and secretly you thanked them for it. The guy was entertaining and dedicated, that you had to give him. Adam ignored that comment and as soon as the door fell shut behind you, he invaded your personal space, not that you really minded. Adam was the type of guy who'd act all tough to get what he wanted but in reality he was a tame dude, easy for you to handle.

The first man's eyes were glued to your body, mainly to your exposed chest. Oh how he loved the way that black vest made your body look, how he loved that you wore nothing underneath, body on display for his eyes to drink in. It was absolutely beautiful, you were beautiful.

“Sup pretty boy,” the grin Adam had on his lips was probably the cockiest grin you've ever seen, the sharp yellow teeth made it seem almost preditorically as he leaned his forearm against the door. His body was covering yours entirely - for a guy his size not exactly hard to do. The golden wings closed the cage on its sides, leaving you trapped, or at least that's what Adam thought would be the case. You lazily looked up at him, one eyebrow raised and your arms crossed over your chest, “Still behaving like a boy I see.” At that Adam huffed, clearly offended by the term. Him? Behaving like a boy? Up your fucking ass. “I should teach ya a lesson, baby, whatcha think?”

The first man had no time to even respond, too quick were your hands to grab a tight hold of his collar and switch your positions, now it was him who was being pressed against the door, his wings twitched in surprise and the air got knocked out of his lungs as his back hit the door. “The fuck you think you-” he almost choked on his words as you leaned in close, pulling him down a little by his collar so that your lips almost brushed against the surface of the mask as you spoke. “You wanna get dominated so fucking badly it makes you look incredibly stupid, big guy,” a sly grin was on your lips and your eyes flickered from his eyes to the edge of his mask, dear God you wanted this manchild to take that shitty thing off, you wanted to see his face, his every emotion. If he wanted to get fucked so badly, you could arrange that. “I don't know what the fuck you're talking about,” the first man responded, denial coated his voice heavily and you knew he was not only lying to you but also to himself. A man that labeled himself straight when he very obviously wasn't, nothing you haven't dealt with in the past. And none of them had ever complained about the sex being bad. “Oh,” you hummed sickly sweet as your hands reached to lift the mask off his head, the man in front of you froze, caught your wrists in a quick motion and held them in place. The panic he must have been feeling was written all over the LED face that shined at you, it amused you to a certain level and yet you silently questioned why he was so afraid of taking it off, he surely couldn't look that horrific. “But you do, you do know exactly what I'm talking about,” your voice was nothing more than a whisper, you tried to give him the feeling of a safe space, because while putting this manchild in his place was fun, sex only worked when both partners felt safe enough to commit to each other. You weren't gonna pressure him into things he didn't like, that wasn't your style.

“I-” his hands let go of your wrists as they dropped to his sides again, he lifted his wings a little in order to make him seem more confident - it did nothing to hide the uncertainty on his face though. You made eye contact with him as you slowly lifted the mask off of his head, making sure he was okay with it. And he let you. Once the hard material was in your hands and off of his head you couldn't help but drop it, the man in front of you had absolutely no reason to hide,he was the most divine looking angel you had ever met. The messy brown hair framed his face in the most perfect way possible and his golden eyes that looked down on you were filled with so many emotions. “I’m not taking it up the ass, I'm not fucking gay,” he managed to spit out - it sounded more like a question if you were honest, but whatever helped him sleep at night. “Of course you're not,” you agreed sarcastically as you stepped in a little closer, your wing slid underneath his jaw to tilt his head a little as your hand moved to his crotch, cupping his growing erection through the fabric of his robe, “Is that why you're hard for me already? Because you're not gay?”

And oh dear all seeing being, please let him die, Adam grunted as he tried to swallow the moan that dared to escape his lips, his dick twitched underneath your touch and the grin on your lips only widened as the first man stuttered nonsense. “Fuck you,” he grumbled through gritted teeth and tried to minimize his body's reaction as much as possible - to his own disappointment it wasn't much he was able to mask. “Oh no baby, you got me wrong,” you hummed sweetly, a little too sweet if you were to ask Adam. And he raised an eyebrow at you as his cheeks flushed a little. Suddenly the hand on his dick wasn't just pressing against the muscle but slowly started to stroke him through his robe. Oh fuck, Adam wished the fabric between your touch and his dick would magically disappear, would it be inappropriate to snap it away? Maybe. “You’re not fucking me today,” you continued to speak, he tried to focus on you, on the words you were speaking. But he only caught every other word - every important word for him. Fucking today. Sounded good in Adam's ears. “I’m going to fuck you.” That was something Adam caught completely and his body stiffened at the sheer thought of it. Surely you didn't mean it that way, right? You weren't actually gonna fuck him, he had told you he wasn't gay after all, no way in heaven he'd take dick up his ass. And yet the thought sparked a little bit of curiosity inside of him. Would you be gentle with him, or treat you like he treated all the women he slept with? Ruthless and rough?

“And you're gonna submit to me,” that caused the first man to snap out of his haze, “What?” You grabbed the ridiculously high collar of his white robe tightly and dragged him over to the leather couches, pushing him down onto the larger one. He fell onto his chest and anxiety shot through his body, he suddenly went into fight or flight mode and immediately tried to get up again, this was wrong, this was not what he had wanted. He had thought about a quick blowjob or maybe - if he was lucky - he'd get to fuck your ass. But him getting fucked? Fuck no.

You placed your hand firmly between his shoulder blades and pushed him down again, the brunette turned his head sideways so that he could continue to breathe and he seeked your eyes, his were almost pleading, pleading to be released, to simply leave. But you weren't having any of it and Adam wasn't something you haven't had dealt with in the past already. You dropped on your knees, your face once again so damn close to his and yet not close enough to kiss your lips. Adam wanted to kiss your lips so desperately. One hand kept him down, the other stroked through his soft, brown hair. “Shush pretty boy,” you spoke quietly like your words were spoken only for his ears and his alone. “We both know you can be good,” you noticed how the brunette's hips started to grind against the leather at your words. Someone had a thing for praises. Good to know. “That’s it, that's my good boy,” you hummed with a warm smile on your lips as the hand that had been pressing him against the couch slid down his spine and came to rest on the first man's ass. Adam whined at your touch, tried to lean into it while he also desperately craved and chased friction. His breath hitched as you squeezed one of his ass cheeks playfully and hazy eyes locked with yours. The anxiety and fear was gone, the lust had flooded those feelings out of his system. “You can always tell me to stop, okay?” Ground rules were important and even though putting Adam in his place without any mercy sounded like a good thing, you wanted him to enjoy it as much as you would. “If something doesn't feel right you're gonna tell me immediately and we'll stop,” the golden eyes that were filled with lust and desire suddenly seemed to adore you more than they wanted to see you naked, like no one had ever told him that saying no is always an option. “Yes, Sir,” he mindlessly mumbled and a sound similar to purring left his body as you continued to pet his hair and massage his ass.

“Just look at how well you behave for me,” a small kiss was placed on his temple and he whimpered as your lips left his skin again, clearly needing your touch. His hand reached out for your body and you let him, wanting to see where this would lead you to. His fingers softly moved up and down your exposed chest, they pushed the jeans fabric of your vest aside to brush over your nipples. You chuckled deeply as you saw how mesmerized Adam looked as he touched you, like you were the most beautiful thing God had ever created and he got to touch it.

“Pretty boy,” the gentle spoken pet name made it right through his haze and his eyes snapped up to look at you. “Think you can keep up being my good baby?” His eyes widened a little at your words and a nod was quick to follow. Yeah, yeah he could be good. Good for you, good for the only person that mattered. You had given him the option to stop at every given point and his dick caused enough pain for Adam to be okay with trying it. If it wasn't his thing he'd tell you, that he could surely do. The first man wanted you, his body screamed at him to swallow you whole and he gave in, the walls inside of him shattered as he took a hold of the hand you had buried in his hair and moved it to his cheek, you were now cupping his face, watching the brunette leaning into it. Fuck he was cute like that, all blissed out and driven by lust and desire.

You lifted your hand off his ass and the whine Adam let out at the loss of contact was one of the most beautiful sounding whines you had ever heard. His face was scrunched up and while pleasure was definitely visible, so was need. This wasn't enough for him. Your hand slammed down onto his ass, the slap wasn't as firm as you had intended to, you had to test the waters first. You checked Adam's face for any kind of reaction, anything. His eyes were wide open, shock laid in them. “Adam?” you asked carefully, checking on your partner, he however ignored your question and once the M left your lips he responded, “Again.” So you did as he had asked and slapped his ass again, a little firmer this time. Two slaps turned into three and before you knew it the first man started to breathe heavily, nothing else was coming from him that heavy breaths and quiet moans whenever your hand came down onto his butt yet again. Each spank firmer than the one before.

Adam's mind was fogged up, he wasn't able to process any words that were spoken by you and yet he felt the praises going straight through his dick, making it painful to rut his hips against the couch. He needed a different kind of friction, he wanted to beg you for more but his body wasn't listening to him and not a single word was leaving his lips. His thoughts were full of you, you, you. You spanking him, calling him a good boy, telling him how good he was, fucking him. Oh he wanted you to fuck him silly.

“Adam?” you asked as both of your hands came up to cup his face, pausing the spanking for a moment to make sure the first man was enjoying himself. But. Adam didn't respond, his eyes were only half open and he was drooling onto the black leather couch, his hand has stopped touching you, it hung off the couch and Adam looked like he had just got his brains fucked out.

His cheeks were flushed, a deep red covered them and the flush went all the way down his throat. Had Adam gone into subspace from a little spanking? Apparently. You leaned in, your face only a few inches away from his as you softly praised him for taking it so well, “You are so good for me, baby, took it like a pro.” And then his eyes found yours and you went quiet for only a moment. Adam used that moment, his hand grabbed your chin and pulled you in for a kiss. The kiss was lazy yet entertaining, the pace was slow and still Adam was quick to involve his tongue, he deepened the kiss by meeting your own tongue where your lips connected, his breathing only grew heavier. Your tongues fought for dominance and you knew he wouldn't win, he was too out of it, his mind too hazy. The first man turned around, now laying on his back as he continued to kiss you. The hand that had been stroking your chest before lifted you up, placing you on his stomach. You yelped in surprise which he used to his advantage to slide his tongue inside your mouth, he claimed it as his territory, you were his now - if only for the moment. “Fuck,” you mumbled against Adam's lips as you pulled back to catch your breath. The first man pulled on your hips, moved your body downwards - if only a little - to rut his hips against your ass, a loud moan fell from his lips at the sudden body heat of yours that covered his dick. He wanted more, needed more, eyes begging you in silence for what he desperately longed for. You let the brunette have it for a moment, he was too far gone to properly realize what he was doing. However when his movements grew greedy, you lifted your hips and slid down between his legs.

Golden eyes watched you curiously as you undressed him, careful not to hurt his wings, you took off his robe for him - that was trickier than you thought it would be considering that Adam was purely out of it, he was barely able to lift his hips so you could pull down his fucking underwear. You shrugged off your vest, threw it across the room to get it out of the way and then you got rid of your pants and underwear right after kicking off your shoes.

The brunette's hands reached for your hips and he lazily traced little circles against your skin as you covered your fingers in your own spit. Usually you carried a small bottle of lube with you but not today - why you didn't remember. Spit would do the work though, not as smoothly as lube but you'd make it work. The hazy eyes that were watching you looked happy with the view they got and you couldn't help but make a small show out of it. You lifted your hips a little to arch your back and with your own fingers in your mouth you moaned, eyes rolling back into your skin as your hips thrusted up into the air, needing friction just as much as Adam did.

When your fingers were wet enough, you gently placed your index finger against Adam's hole and you felt how he tensed up, how he denied any entrance immediately. You gently patted his hip, “Don’t you worry big guy I've got you, if you don't like it we'll stop, but give it a try.” And those words seemed to help because the man underneath you relaxed at least a little. You'd make it work. The feeling of your finger entering him was not as unpleasant as Adam had originally thought, it was actually okay, he could handle it. But soon impatience took over and he started to squirm, that was a signal for you to enter another finger, and so you did, a whimper of your name was your reward.

Adam was quite easy to stretch, his body gave in so easily, like it knew what Adam was craving, that the first man had been made to take your dick. Sooner than you thought you were able to replace your fingers with your erection and entering Adam was bliss pure, his thight, hot walls clenched down around you and you bit your lip to not spill your load immediately - fuck he was good. Your hands moved up and down his sides to calm him down, grounding the first man with your touch seemed to work quite well, the poor dude was touch starved through and through. “So fucking tight,” you grunted as you were slowly burying yourself inside of hin, he took it better than you had expected. Adam whined at your comment, his hands tried to grab your shoulders to pull you down to him but ĥe was too out of it for his body to work properly so he had to try a couple of times before he acually grabbed ahold of you and was able to pull you down, “Don’t fucking treat me like a weak bitch,” the first man mumbled, almost sounding annyed at your slow pace. Blissed out Adam was a version you liked better, that was for sure, when he was all heavy breaths and needy whines, a drooling mess for you and only you to enjoy. But whatever that cocky bastard wanted, if he wanted it rough you could definitely deliver that. So your hands moved down Adam’s sides on last time before you grabbed his hips firmly and started to pound into him, there was no bottoming out inside of him first to get him used to your size, if the first man wanted to be torn apart, to drown in pain and lust, then you would give that to him. His head fell back at that, the flush on his cheeks that also crept down his neck only deepened as spit drooled from the corner of his mouth. His hard dick was resting against his chest and seemed to be in desperate need of attention, so you sneakily wrapped one of your hands around it at the same time as your dick hit his prostate for the first time.

Adam screamed.

You were sure your band mates and the crew would hear him but you didn’t mind, it was some sort of trophy in your book, who could say of themselves that they made the first man scream from pleasure? You were quite certain that not a single person had ever gotten him to be that vocal. “That’s it Adam, lemme hear how good ya feel,” you placed a soft kiss on his chest, your hips kept moving at the quickest pace you could offer and considering that Adam wasn’t begging for more made you feel like it was enough to give him the pleasure he desperately wanted and needed from you. The hand around his dick tightened and Adam was visibly overwhelmed, he tried to match your pace, to meet both your dick and your hand half way through - it didn’t work out as well as he would’ve liked it to but it was enough. Enough to bring him so, so close to the edge, “So much, so fucking-” Your lips wrapped around his nipple and what was originally meant to tease him made him come undone. Because the second your soft, warm lips closed around it, his entire body tensed up, a violent shiver ran through it and then you felt the hot liquid that painted both of your bodies like a canvas. You weren’t done with him though, not until his insides were just as white as his own stomach, so you fucked him through his orgasm. His wings came up to cover his face - a move you didn’t approve of so you were quick to push the golden feathers out of the way, “Don’t even think about it, I wanna see your face when I mark you up from the inside.” Adam’s eyes watched yours, filled with greed and desire he nodded, “Fuck, yeh, just- ugh” He interrupted himself as he clenched down around you, offering you more friction as his own dick slowly grew soft again. And yet he wasn’t complaining about how you took longer than him - a thing you definitely thought would happen. Adam had given you the vibe of a selfish asshole when it came to sex, you were glad that impression had been proven wrong. “Gonna mark your bitchy ass as mine,” you growled as your pace quickened slightly, your thrusts started to become a little sloppy and breathing became harder as lust took over your body entirely and all you were able to do is to fuck him. Adam, who seemed to still be on a post-orgasm-high, whined at that, his nails dug into your shoulders lightly as he responded, “Yes, please.” And a plea from the first man followed by a moan of your name was what did it for you. The grip on his hips became bruising and you slammed your dick into him violently. And then you fell apart on top of him.

Your orgasm washed over you, causing your arms to give out which resulted in you falling onto Adam’s chest with a loud moan of his name that fell from your lips. Adam was quick to wrap his arms around your body, he wanted to keep you as close as possible. And when his wings closed themselves around the two of you, covering you like the warmest, softest blanket, you had to force yourself to pull out of him, had to rebel against the tiredness that lulled your body in far quicker than ever before. So you moved your hips backwards, a whine left both of you as you weren’t exactly happy with that - but you knew it was better than staying inside for too long. You crawled up a little, rested your head underneath his chin and let sleep take you as you listened to Adam’s steady heartbeat. The first man was already asleep.

-

When you woke up it was because of the cold that surrounded your body, Adam’s wings were no longer your blanket replacement and his body heat was no longer spending you comfort, the only way you were able to inhale his scent was when your nose pressed against the leather of the couch you were laying on. You turned your head to the side and watched as the first man got dressed. Of fucking course. “Leaving already, huh?” your voice sounded rough - not only because you had given a bunch of concerts lately but also because of the sex you had earlier. Adam flinched at the sound of your voice and gave you a quick glance as he straightened his robe, “See babes, you don’t do fucking boys, I don’t do fucking cuddles.” You sighed. You should’ve known it, should’ve stayed away from him before you got attached. “It was a good fuck babes, but I don’t do fucking love, only gets you hurt and shit.” You forced yourself to get up, and as you did your wobbly knees gave out underneath you. You were prepared to hit the floor but Adam caught you instead, “Jesus fucking Christ man, you need to be careful.” HIs face was so close to yours and while his eyes gave you a hint of annoyance, you also found worry in them. Still a little drunk on just waking up you reached for his face while his mask was still laying on the table and gently caressed his cheek. The first man seemed conflicted by that, he wanted to lean into the touch, to embrace and enjoy it, but that would show he got attached - just like you. But the decision on how to react was taken from him as you leaned in to place a gentle kiss on his lips. Fuck getting attached. The brunette kissed you back just as soft as he prevented you from falling by pulling you against his body.

“You’re so beautiful, y’know that?” you mumbled against his lips as you pulled away a little, ending the kiss - too soon for Adam’s taste, he could be standing here kissing you for all eternity. Beautiful. When was the last time someone had told him that with such honesty and without the intention of getting in his pants? He didn’t know.

[macabr3-barbi3]

God, That's Good!

Chapter 9: Mea Culpa

Charlie overhears Adam having his very own original idea that he didn't get from someone else.

Tags: Sera Remains the Worst™️, Adam is Also Gross, Charlie pining

literally every person that has liked and shared this story has my whole heart (but especially @fraugwinska and @minkdelovely you guys get a kidney each as well)

I hope this chapter makes it suuuper obvious the beef that I have with the OG Sweeney timeline for Anthony and Johanna planning to get married after 3 days!!!!!! Girl you don't know him!!!!

Act 1:  Chapter 1 🥧 Chapter 2 🥧 Chapter 3 🥧 Chapter 4 🥧Chapter 5 🥧 Chapter 6  🥧Chapter 7 🥧 Chapter 8 🥧 Chapter 9 🥧 Chapter 10

Charlie is still second guessing her decision to slip the key to her home to Vaggie the night prior. She knew how against her association with the sailor Adam and Sera were- it hadn’t stopped her yet from learning from the woman, befriending her. Their talks when Vaggie came to the alley late at night were some of her favorite moments in recent memory, only improved when Angel found time to get away and join them. There was still some friction between the two of them, with Angel constantly making inappropriate jokes that made Vaggie and Charlie both blush, but it wasn’t uncomfortable when all three of them were there.

She could admit she was a little more fond of the time she got to spend alone with Vaggie. She had so many tales about the world, the places that she had seen about the Bountiful, the people she had met and things she had done. They had yet to broach the topic of her missing eye, but Charlie could be patient for that story. She was starting to feel like she would wait for anything if Vaggie was involved, which was why she had snuck the key into her hand- she felt drawn to her in a way that she didn’t with Angel, almost romantically so, and she felt that she needed an opportunity to get closer to get and examine the feeling a little more intensely. 

How would it feel to stand before her without the wall in the way? To reach across the space between them and cup her soft cheek, brush her thumb reverently along Vaggie’s cheekbones and the bottom of her eye patch? To let one of her strong arms wrap around the small of Charlie’s back and pull her closer, using a slender finger to push back a strand of hair like she had seen young lovers do on the streets or in church?

Charlie wasn’t brave enough to act on her thoughts with the wall in the way- if Vaggie didn’t like it she would pull away, and then how could Charlie apologize or explain herself if she couldn’t follow her? She flushes at her own thoughts, at the idea that she would follow Vaggie nearly anywhere. She hopes giving her the key was the right move, and not a foolhardy mistake; if Adam and Sera ever found out she was sure that she would be sent away from home, or else immediately married to one of the boring men from the church community for her strange thoughts.

And speaking of her guardians- Charlie hears the click of the door downstairs and creeps from her bedroom to hover in the hallway. Adam was returning home from court, and Sera usually joined him for the walk home since she and Emily lived just next door. She didn’t relish in eavesdropping, of course- but sometimes it was the only way for her to get information on what their plans were for her. They seemed to be mid-conversation when the door swung closed again, and Charlie stayed crouched on the landing out of sight as she heard the end of Adam’s train of thought.

“- been thinking about Damien and Lilith lately, and- shit, Sera, Charlie looks so much like her. Do y’know how fuckin’ strange it is to look at a girl that’s basically your daughter and see the woman you were like, in love with for years? It’s fuckin’ weird.”

“Please watch your language,” Sera reprimands him softly, and as per the usual Adam’s mouth closes entirely. “Do you mean to tell me you’re having… improper thoughts about her?”

Charlie is pretty sure she throws up in her mouth. Just a little. 

“No! I mean- well, maybe a little.”

She suppresses a gag behind her hand.

Sera sighs softly. “You should have come to me right away, Adam. What else am I for but to help steer you along the right path?”

She hears the huff that Adam releases, and she can picture in her head perfectly the way that he’s running his fingers through his hair. “I didn’t come to you cause it’s fuckin’ weird, alright? I know that. Honestly, I was kind of hoping that you could… take her off my hands? Bring her to live with you and Emily so the… you know, so the temptation isn’t there or whatever.”

Charlie blanches. Depending on how soon something like that took place, her plans would be ruined- Adam would ask for the key back while Charlie didn’t have it; Sera would surely lock all of the windows and doors so she couldn’t sneak outside to meet with Vaggie or Angel; Sera would also be more insistent on Charlie marrying like she was with Emily, so much younger and already engaged. Charlie had been spared that route so far because Adam simply couldn’t be bothered to properly look for a husband for her and dismissed all of Sera’s suggestions, but with Sera fully in charge…

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Sera reprimanded him, and Charlie almost sighed in relief. “You’re missing another rather obvious solution to the problem that you have here. The thoughts are only improper because of your relationship to the girl- you are seeing her as your ward, the daughter of your love and your once best friend. But you forget- despite my frequent pleas that you consider the suggestions I have given you- that Charlotte is now a young woman and not a child.”

“So what, just- let her move out?” Adam sounds conflicted about the notion, but Charlie’s heart leaps in her chest- there was no way she could be so lucky. For Adam and Sera to willingly let her be on her own was almost too much to hope for. “I mean, I guess she could manage on her own. She’s just as smart and stubborn as Lilith and Damien were I guess, I’m sure she could handle herself-”

“No, Adam.” Sera interrupts, and Charlie can hear the soft clicking of her heels across the floor as she steps closer to him. “You’re missing the point. Think of Emily for a moment, if you would- a young woman, a member of the church, a respectable lady in society. What is something that she has that Charlie does not?”

“Um, fuck if I know? I don’t keep track of the comings and goings of your daughter, Sera, that’s your deal.” 

Adam might be trying to work through the hint still, but Charlie had figured it out. Sera was going to suggest that she get married again; she probably had a new list of suitors to go through, and with Adam evidently desperate to get Charlie out of his hair, maybe he would actually consider them this time.

Sera sighs, and Charlie can picture the crease between her eyebrows that forms when she’s frustrated. “Emily has a fiance,” she says slowly, as though speaking to a child. Charlie can’t stand when she speaks to people like that. “She is to be married within the year, something that I think could truly benefit Charlotte in a situation such as this- and that could benefit you as well, if you act accordingly.”

No. No no no, Sera couldn’t be implying what Charlie thought she was. But for once Adam manages to catch her meaning as well.

“So, I marry Charlie then?”

“Oh, what a splendid idea!” Sera exclaims, like she hadn’t been feeding Adam the breadcrumbs to that idea for the better part of fifteen minutes. “I can’t think of a better match for our sweet Charlotte than you, your excellency- an upstanding member of society, a man of good standing with the Church, and surely you’ve gained her affections over the years as a guardian. It shouldn’t be much of a stretch for those feelings to sway into a romantic sense.”

Charlie stumbles back into the wall, careful not to make a sound as she brings her hand to her mouth to muffle her breathing. She wouldn’t marry Adam- the man was practically her surrogate father! He had known her since she was a child, he was more than twice her age, and she could say with the knowledge of being a young lady that had lived with him for fifteen years, he was gross. That they were even considering the notion together, unaware that she could hear them below her, made her insides bubble unhappily.

“Yeah… yeah, that is a great idea that I had!” Adam takes credit for the idea as Sera surely hoped he would- Charlie had noticed this pattern over the years, of Sera leading Adam by the hand to a conclusion without ever claiming involvement, so that if things went wrong she couldn’t be held accountable. “Charlie is getting older and she needs a husband- who better than me? And she looks so much like Lilith, it’s almost like, you know, fixing what should have been before Damien ruined everything.”

She wouldn’t do it. They would have to drag her kicking and screaming to the altar, and even then they couldn’t force her to agree to the notion. He wanted to use her as some sort of substitute for her mother, for God’s sake! As they continue to talk below her, making vague plans and pitching date ideas, Charlie tries to think of how to get out of the situation.

“And once she’s married- to a Judge, no less- that horrid sailor that keeps coming around will finally get the hint, if she knows what is good for her.”

And Sera provides the answer that Charlie hadn’t thought about- Vaggie.

Vaggie could get her away from Adam and Sera, away from New Orleans altogether. If Charlie hadn’t been wrong in her assumptions about Vaggie potentially feeling more for her as well, then she would come tonight, or at least soon- perhaps Charlie could convince her to take her along when she left town. And then Charlie would be free of them, of the shadow of her parents that hung over her like a cloud whenever Adam looked at her and saw them. She could-

“Shit, should I go tell her now? She’s gonna be excited, right?”

Fuck no.

She hears the creak of the bottom step and prepares to bolt herself in her room when Sera’s soft voice stops her.

“Don’t be silly, Adam,” she admonishes him, and it’s followed by the creak of the stair again as he comes back to the ground. “You’ve come fresh from court- you should prepare a bit, freshen up first before you see her.”

“Freshen up? I’m not a woman, Sera,” Adam laughs. “It’s fine- I’m a handsome man, once Charlie gets past the shock of the news she’ll see-”

“With all due respect,” Sera says gently, “I highly suggest that you freshen up before you see her. Forgive my saying so, but you are looking less than your best these days.”

Adam scoffs, and Charlie would laugh at the mental image of his indignation if the situation wasn’t so dire. “The fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you look sloppy,” she says matter-of-factly. “As in most things, it appears that you are overly hasty in your morning rituals. As happens frequently, your stubble is spotty; you have a bit of shaving soap that has dried behind your ears; there is powder upon your chest, and a spot of mustard on your shirt from your lunch during court.”

He scoffs again. “Charlie is used to those things,” he insists. “She’s not going to care-”

“As a daughter, perhaps not. But you are looking to have her as a wife, correct?” A pause while he nods. “Then you must take further consideration. She’s a young lady, and they have certain… sensitivities to things like this, you know. What woman wants to think that the man she is meant to marry cannot even clean himself up before he comes to ask her for her hand?”

It’s quiet for a moment, before he speaks up. “Shit. Shit, you’re right. I should shave before I go up to see her, and change- maybe I should go see a barber since I’m missing spots? Just to make sure the job is done right.”

As if a barber shaving him would remove the issue of Charlie feeling sick to her stomach at the idea of being his wife.

Sera laughs, bell-like and soft in the foyer. “As luck would have it, I happen to know of a barber of great skill! He’s rather new to town- I’m sure he would be just thrilled to have you grace his place of business and spread the news of his excellency, provided that he does a passable job. But I have seen his methods firsthand and can assure you that he can get you in top shape before you go to speak to Charlie.”

Charlie herself is momentarily distracted by a rustling of leaves outside her window- when she risks a glance to her balcony, she sees Vaggie eyeing the wall as if trying to determine the best way to get across it. Her heart soars- she was already here! And if Adam and Sera were leaving to take Adam to this barber, they would be able to talk and perhaps discuss a plan. Thankfully, Vaggie is fast and agile, vaulting over the wall in a quick move and looking up to catch Charlie’s eye where she stood at the doorway to her room. Charlie waves her down, a silent bid for her to wait until she could be sure they would not be discovered. She understands without words, ducking low behind a bush close enough that she would still see Charlie give the go-ahead to come up.

“The barber is located on Fleet Street,” Sera says, and the name tickles something familiar in Charlie’s head though she can’t quite recall why. “I know you have your reservations about that end of town- and I admit I have no yet had a chance to assess the parlor for you- but I can assure you that he is more skilled than any barber I have seen before. Perhaps even more so than Damien was.”

The silence is deafening as Charlie waits to see if Adam will disregard Sera’s wishes for the first time- ignore her advice and come up to Charlie now to tell her of the ‘happy news,’ when her possible escape plan sat five feet below the balcony with Vaggie.

How convenient that the Judge seldom has a thought for himself outside of court. “I can deal with Fleet Street,” he says confidently. “Go ahead- take me to the barber.” There’s a shuffle of clothing as Adam and Sera put their overcoats back on, and then the reassuring opening and closing of the front door.

Charlie waits a solid bit of time to be sure they wouldn’t return suddenly before she dashes to the balcony. Vaggie’s head pops up from the bush, a question in the crease of her lovely face, and Charlie beckons her inside with a smile and a renewed sense of hope in her heart.

Act 1:  Chapter 1 🥧 Chapter 2 🥧 Chapter 3 🥧 Chapter 4 🥧Chapter 5 🥧 Chapter 6  🥧Chapter 7 🥧 Chapter 8 🥧 Chapter 9 🥧 Chapter 10

[odditycircus-2002]

Shang Tsung x Medusa!Reader Part III: Aftermath

PREV

FIRST

For some reference, this takes place around MK11: Aftermath Story Mode. What happened between that and the last post is up to you to decide. Oh and in this scenario, Sindel isn't a villain (Let's be honest that ret-con did her dirty), rather she'll be aware of what she's doing BUT, you, the reader basically are controlling her like a puppet. While perhaps unnecessary, I suggest reading my other posts to understand what's happening here. Now, on with the show!

You were tossed in the Void similarly to Shang Tsung, Fujin, and Night Wolf because you, too, refused to take Kronika up on her offer. That and you were taken first before them as Kronika's Insurance so that your husband would complete her Crown of Souls. In fact, your entire existence was made and written so that you were essentially a carrot on a stick for Shang Tsung.

Understandably, you're more than a little bitter about this being true. Still, whether or not your love for Shang Tsung changes(Though, let's be honest, you were bemused and absolutely jubilant when you found your DEAD husband not dead and alive), that doesn't stop you from conspiring with one another to bring Kronika to her knees. A fact that Fujin and Night Wolf suspected while trapped within the Void, without knowing you two are married.

Then again, how would anyone really know? The demigod brothers were used to your glamor and mask that made you look more human rather than your gorgon form.

Plus, it helped that while Shang Tsung still wore his wedding ring, you kept yours on a cord around your neck, hidden beneath your clothing.

In front of the others, such as Lui Kang's allies, you two also acted formally with one another, with brief and curt exchanges if you needed to interact. Leaving others to believe you both used to be in Shao Khan's court.

Shang would be adamant about not needing your medicine or help whenever he gets injured in any battles you face. Yet, you wouldn't have any of it, you just got back your husband, and you are sure as FUCK not gonna lose him again.

"Shang, you old fool, you're useless to anyone if you can barely walk or see straight!"

Although, you didn't let any of your actual concerned sentiment seep out from you; instead, you just assure Shang that he can "pay" you back later. This works in both your favor as Shang Tsung openly healing you can also be seen as chipping away his tab with you.

While neither Night Wolf nor Fujin suspected your marriage to Shang Tsung, they still were wary of both of you. So they would try and keep you physically separated. Shang Tsung's honesty track record is abysmal at best, and you're already known to be a notorious dealmaker that lives in a cave.

Still, when both of you can slip by their watchful gaze, you'd both would exchange hushed, tender, and encouraging words to one another. Yet, words aren't enough for you to express just how much you've missed his presence. His company has always been far more entertaining and fulfilling than any souls you've bargained with or stone slaves you kept in your cave as security.

Shang Tsung can only use many words to express his pride in you. He would make many promises and vows to you to give all you desire in his new Era, to make up for all the years he's lost with you.

Despite a few hiccups regarding restoring Sindel to life, mainly in the form of you turning one Tarkatan to stone and shattering another, the process was successful thanks to you, Shang, and Fujin. Or so it seemed.

You took the liberty of briefly snatching the Jinsei Fujin collected to add just a few drops of venom you specially made to those that can't hold up their end of the bargain into the bottle. So whether Sindel realized it or not, you pulled the strings.

Funny, some of you almost felt bad for what you'll put Sindel through. Here's a loving and heroic woman who lost her husband and realm to Shao Khan, then her life to ensure Earthrealm's protection. Only for that sacrifice to be reduced to meaningless when Quan-Chi resurrected her to force her to act on Shao Khan's will, including brutally murdering the very people she tried to protect. Only for her leash to be passed to Shinnok and Quan-chi after her second death at the hands of Night Wolf. Finally, after years as a pretty little puppet, she has restored memories and body. Now reunited with her daughter and able to apologize for leaving her alone with Shao Khan as a young child. Well, almost being a keyword here.

You first had her free the man she hated the most, her "husband" Shao Khan, from his imprisonment. You can imagine her horror when her body started moving beneath the Kolosseum, without being prompted. When she tried to open her mouth to shout for help, you made sure no words could escape her. The next time she opened it again, well it was to let out her banshee scream, peeling back the flesh of his Shokan guards. You give her some reprieve by letting her kick Shao Khan in the face, hard. Enough to break his nose and a few spikes of his.

You laughed through your enchanted crystal when Queen Sheeva saw the gruesome scene before her, with horror and disbelief in her eyes. Sindel could only get a few words out, insisting that she was not in control of herself, before you had her let out another scream and put the Shokan Queen out of commission before quickly using Sindel as your mouthpiece to spin a tale to convince the rest of the Shokan that Kitana Khan was to blame and to swear loyalty to her to avenge Sheeva. Sindel could only watch the scene unfold from her eyes in horror.

You have to give it to the former Queen. She fought hard against your control, thrashing against her invisible strings harder than anyone before her to the point it seemed physically painful. Even managing to snap out of your control briefly to rectify her actions before you ultimately took back her strings. You chalk that one up to her willpower and the fact she made no soul-binding contracts with you.

The pieces began to fall into place after using Sindel to explain to Shao Khan the plan you and Shang Tsung had concocted to restore them both to their rightful place. With Sindel as your puppet, Shao Khan was slowly able to take back Outworld's armies. And because you were in a good mood, you allowed her some control over her voice again, enough so she may speak her true thoughts and motives. Apologizing in tears for all she's done and wishing she was stronger, letting her daughter know she loves her more than she'll ever know. There were still tears in Sindel's eyes when you retook her voice to command Kitana to be put in chains. Nobody on the other side knew it was you except for Shang Tsung, not when you were fighting alongside Raiden and Fujin against the Netherrealm's army.

When Shang Tsung tricked Fujin into finally giving him the crown, his first move after putting it on was to embrace you in his arms and unabashedly passionately kiss you. He ran his fingers through your snakes that affectionately curled into his touch with your arms wrapped around his neck.

"Fujin, Raiden, I believe you're familiar with my wife?"

Saying you had a diabolical grin on your face, made more evil-looking by your boar-like tusks jutting from your upper lip, would be an understatement.

After feasting on Fujin and Raiden's souls, you turned them into stone to preserve them for later. However, that's when Sindel finally broke free of your control, first to briefly brawl with Shao Khan for harming her daughter before you pulled her into combating you. In the end, you not only beat Sindel in combat but, to ensure she can't do anything further, have her look into your gaze and turn to stone.

"Do not worry, your Excellency. I can reverse the spell later and make it so she's devoted to you for all eternity. "

Not surprisingly, both you and your husband betrayed Shao Khan and drained him of his life force until he was nothing but a barely breathing husk of what he once was.

When Shang Tsung defeats Kronika, and before he starts working on the Hourglass, he takes your wedding off from the cord around your neck to lovingly put the jade and nephrite ring in its rightful place on your hand. You both share a loving kiss before he starts getting to work, well before Fire God Lui Kang arrives.

If your husband wins, he makes good on all those promises he made you earlier, including making you a throne of your own right beside him. Because you had such fun with Sindel and Shao Khan, they, too, become your personal servants, similar to Shang Tsung with Raiden and Fujin. While Kronika is long gone, Shang Tsung is forever grateful that she made you. You are his Empress, his equal in power and mind, his beloved wife. Now, there'll be no one in all of existence that can ever separate you two.

If Lui Kang wins, you can only fall to your knees amongst the dust that once was Shang Tsung. Lui Kang would look upon you with pity as tears start pouring from your eyes, a first for you in eons. You touch your damp cheeks before closing your eyes, taking a breath, and looking toward the Fire God with a strained smile.

"Can I please join my husband too?"

"Are you sure, Y/N?"

"I'm certain, he was my life after all. Whether or not I wanted him to be."

Lui Kang acquises to your request. You whisper "thank you" as you turn into dust and join your husband.

In the Fire God's new Era, he will ensure you turn out differently and, hopefully, kinder. And to keep you and Shang Tsung as separate as possible. However, even if you manage to meet through oceans of time, then at least it'll be your choice whether or not you fall for the Sorcerer.

Playlist while writing this:

"Poor Unfortunate Souls" by Pat Carrol

"Judas" by Lady Gaga

"Momento Mori" by Fish in a Birdcage

"Mary on a Cross" by Ghost

"Queen of White Lies" by The Orion Experience

"Look what you made me do" by Taylor Swift

"I'm the Bad Guy" by Andy Bean and Noel Wells

[y2kbugs-moved]

I'm going to debunk some Miguel misconceptions from movie-only fans, ok. I'm going to try my best to not sound like a dick, which is hard because it's early morning here and I really do want to clear things up.

Spoilers, obviously.

This is going to be very long (because I love to over-explain things), and I do want people to read all of this. I even highlighted important points in bold.

(Fanon portrayal is a whole other can of worms and I could make a post about that too, but I'm just going to stick with the biggest issues right now.)

Miguel is the villain!

The confusion of villain vs antagonist is a common one.

I'm going to use this site for definitions, but basically:

"In literature and film, an antagonist is a character or force that actively works against the protagonist or main character. Think of them as a roadblock with a clear purpose and well-defined reasons for their choices and actions."

"A villain is an amoral or evil character with little to no regard for the general welfare of others. They are driven by ambition, greed, lust, or a desire for power or revenge"

Indeed, a story can have both! A villain could also be the (major) antagonist, but not all antagonists are villainous. The site I linked actually lists some great examples from movies and I recommend looking through them! They're very clear.

A story can also have multiple antagonists and villains but it does take a bit to really pull it off. I'll make this brief and just speak my interpretation: The movie has two antagonists, but only one villain.

The Spot is both a villain (has evil motives, no regard for the welfare of others, driven by revenge) and an antagonist (a force directly opposing our protagonist, Miles Morales). He is actively trying to destroy the multiverse, and targets Miles specifically out of disproportionate revenge including wanting to kill his father, Jeff. Yes, he's goofy and incompetent at the start and has a inferiority complex, but he's still villainous. All of his actions are motivated by revenge, destruction, and perhaps pride.

Miguel/Spider-Man 2099 is an antagonist (Opposing force/obstacle to the protagonist), but, while having a few traits, ultimately not a villain (has ultimately good reasons and is driven by what he believes is right, even if his actions betray these).

Miguel is driven by trauma and an unflinching sense of order, and indeed he brings these beliefs to their extreme, resulting in his violent behavior in the latter part of the movie. He's trying to stop the Spot just as much as Miles is. He does not want to destroy the multiverse, he wants to keep it in check even if his theories about canon are ultimately wrong. The only non-supervillain person we see him be really violent to is Miles. He is described, both by Gwen and Peter B, as "a good leader/listener" and "just looks scary", and going by PB's reaction to how violent Miguel becomes, this isn't a normal occurence for him. He doesn't usually act like this. That's what pushes him to be like a villain, even if his motivations are good.

This isn't any defense of Miguel's actions in the movie, but to explain that what we are seeing here is a person who is ultimately a hero/"good guy" changed by trauma and refusing to compromise, therefore resulting in behavior that feels villainous to outsiders.

The third movie is yet to be released, but I have belief that Miguel will get some form of redemption but remain mostly an anti-hero and foil to Miles, while The Spot will always be the central villain.

And check out this Twitter thread on what Miguel is really like as a person. Images here:

2. Miguel is a vampire!

I'm not sure why people are so adamant about this one. I guess it's because vampires are hot, and he has fangs, but this is the most easily debunked one of all of these. Especially when you keep in mind that the only person describing him as being like a vampire is a teenager who just met him. I don't mind if you want to make Miguel a vampire in an alternate universe of your choosing, but to act like he is one in the main canon (ironic) is ignorant.

While the movie takes liberties and changes a few things from a Spider-person's origins, the core is generally the same. I see no reason at all for the writers to completely change Miguel's origin to make him a vampire. Not only is this just lazy, but it is also in my opinion disrespectful to the original writers who came up with his origin story.

I implore people to read the 1992 Spider-Man 2099 comic, it is really very good (but does have a few racial stereotypes early on unfortuunately), but for a brief rundown, Marvel Future Fight has a good summary of his story:

(Text: Miguel O'Hara is an engineer who worked for Alchemax in the year 2099. He was a genius in the field of genetics, but was reluctant when pressured by his higher-ups to imprint foreign genetic codes onto human physiology. After a test resulting in the hideous transformation and then death of the test subject, O'Hara attempted to resign from his position. However, he had a drink laced with a drug that bonds to the victim's DNA. To counteract the drug, he used a procedure to save himself, splicing his DNA with that of a spider, granting him enhanced senses and abilities.)

It does leave out what exactly the spider DNA gave him (and the fact that the genetic experiment was sabotaged by his boss) but it's a good summary that does not mention anything about vampires.

He has fangs which he can use to envenomate a person to paralyze them temporarily, and sharp talons under his fingernails (not part of or on top of) that can rend through metal and he uses to climb the walls instead of having sticky fingers.

All of the above points to being half-Spider DNA, nothing like a vampire.

3. Miguel is the Prowler/an Inheritor/Morlun!

I'm shocked some movie fans recognize these characters given their general ignorance of the comics, but...no.

I'm seeing something about Miguel and Prowler's musical cues having a similarity, while I can't check for myself, this is just something that occurs in media and narratives, and I would not be surprised that the music artists might reuse motifs just as animators reuse models, simply for convenience and time reasons.

Also, their masks look nothing alike.

If you've read through the whole post as I hoped, congratulations! Please go read the comics, there's a good reading guide here and a video overview of Miguel's origins here. You can easily read the comics online by just googling "Spider-Man 2099 1992 comic online" as a start.

[bedforddanes75]

wips!!! talk to meeeeeeee about them <3333

-b

tbh it was just the one and im gonna rant because I Have Been Prompted x

for whatever mentally ill reason its gatty so apologies but basically its dlid era, and about 20k words of george being In Love and In Denial but hes silly leave him alone:( in those 20k its just RIDICULOUS tho. it is soundtracked to literally anything angsty BUT... also songs and instrumentals by adrianne lenker because that's where i got the title from LMFAO. i also made a pinterest board of it and thats mostly what i wanted to bring up because its so like omg the vibes are so AAA. anyway have...a snippet. so. hoe this is scary how do u do this OKAY dude omg im stressed ALSO Maybe consider this nsfw idk he starts talking shit about matty wanking So um. whatever ALSO sorry tw for homophobic slurs :<

They're fine, stood alone, until someone walks past and shoves Matty with his shoulder, mumbles something about 'What a fag', then looks at him, sniggering. Matty looks down at his hands, fiddling awkwardly.

George glares at the boy, then grabs his shoulder, yanking at him so they're face-to-face.

“Something to say about your boyfriend? Boyfriend who looks like a girl?”

George gives him a hard look, clenching his jaw, balling his fists.

“He’s not my boyfriend. But yeah, I do, actually. Don’t you fucking call him that.”

“Oh, makes sense that you’d say that. Cos you're one too, aren't you? Fucking queer,” he spits, attempting (and failing) to square up, having to tilt his head back an embarrassing amount just to look George in the eye.

The next thing George knows is someone's on the floor in front of him with a bloody nose and his knuckles are pink.

“George, what the fuck!” Ross shouts, suddenly appearing from some door or other.

He can't reply, just stares at the boy on the ground, accepting as people cheer for more and Adam and Ross pull him away.

He's a little unsure of what happens for the next while, all he knows is he doesn't enjoy it, sitting, walking, explaining what happened over and over again, because all he can think of is the look on Matty's face after he spoke. The way he'd looked so hopeless, pulling his hat down further. All he knew in that moment was that he never wanted to see it again.

His mother questions him about what happened as she drives him home, in shock about the fact her (usually quite docile) son had just punched someone. And he tells the truth. He tells her about how sad Matty had looked, how he just wanted to hug him, but something just made him want to hurt the kid.

She believes him, of course, knowing the lengths they’d go for each other, but decides to stay quiet about the fact George got himself almost punched just for the sake of his friend, and what that might mean, especially with their conversation the night prior.

Once they get home, George hides in his room, sitting on his bed and staring at his hands. He can't believe he actually punched someone, the only acts of violence he'd ever shown otherwise were to his friends, playful, nothing genuinely harmful. The sight of that kid on the floor, nose all red and bloodied, made him feel uneasy, knowing he could do that. He knew he was intimidating to most people, with a resting face that looked almost empty, and a stature of six foot something, but he didn’t think he had it in him to give another reason to be scared.

He just can't stop thinking about how happy Matty had seemed before, his smile, those crooked teeth that he loves oh so much, his stupid giggles. The fact he's thinking about his best friend's smile and blushing to himself doesn't fail to make him even more uncomfortable.

George puts his head in his hands, squeezing his eyes shut tightly behind his palms, and lets his shoulders dip down. His mind races with thoughts of Matty, and he feels sick. The thoughts don't stop at just his smile either, and he finds himself thinking about Matty's bare body, thinking about his skinny torso and bony arms, thinking about Matty touching himself, wondering what he would do, what he thought about, who he thought about, whether he'd fuck up into his fist.

He whines, distressed, feeling like a kicked dog, unsure of what to do.

The worst part about it, though, is the fact he's now fully aware of the fact he's getting hard. Over Matty, his best friend, who is also a boy. He wants to cry, he's not gay, so why is he thinking about Matty like that? Especially since Matty is very much a man.

um. anyway. bragging is cool guys show me every wip you have Immediately... also if this sucks then suck my dick and prove it

[zcricketz]

So I saw this in the tag and I’m sorry, but this is like the biggest reach to say freezerburn and ladybug should be canon (check the last screenshot)

So this person claims bumbleby is doomed by the narrative for reasons that don’t really make sense to basically claim this is why freezerburn should be canon. Because I don’t think this person understands what a foil is and how it was intentional for Yang and Blake to be foils to Adam and Raven and that having a similar semblance does not mean Yang and Adam share the same kind of flaws. Yang is nothing like Adam whose flaw is that he’s is an abusive maniac who only cares about power and control and Blake doesn’t run in high intensity situations or run for no reason. All the times Blake ran were legit. She ran from the white fang and Adam because she no longer wanted to be apart of their violence and didn’t need to be around someone who constantly manipulated and abused her, she ran to an area within Beacon in volume 1 because she outed herself as a member of the WF who her team already wasn’t fond of and who at the time she barely knew and didn’t know if she could trust, and she ran in volume 3 because she wanted to protect everyone because Yang got hurt from Adam and felt like she had no other choice, but to remove herself so that she could protect them and so no one else could get hurt because Adam was after her

Also if it were true that Blake does nothing but run in high intensity situations then in volume 5 she would have ran away when Adam tried to kill her parents, she wouldn’t have made a speech and gathered everyone to stop Adam in Haven she would have ran away, she would have ran the moment Adam showed up in volume 6 and not stay fighting him till the end, she would have ran away when Salem showed up in volume 8 when she came with an army of grimm and swarmed Atlas, and she would have ran away the moment Cinder showed up in volume 8 and surprised everyone attacking them and throwing each of her members off the cliff because all of these situations are high intensity situations that Blake did not run away from

It’s posts like this that really miss the point to Blake and Yang’s relationship and Blake and Yang as individual characters and their growth throughout the show because they want to claim that so and so ship would be a better fit by only wanting to focus on the negative aspects of their relationship and acting like Yang is like Adam and that Blake is stunted in her growth with running away and can never learn to stop or understand why Blake runs in the first place because Blake has no reason at all to run now

Blake and Yang will be in a long lasting relationship because they bring out the best in each other and love each other deeply. It’s nice to see a relationship like theirs in media and if people think ships like freezerburn and ladybug who have no romantic build or any attraction to each other should be canon then that’s on them I guess because even if Yang and Blake weren’t together that doesn’t mean those two ships would automatically become canon lol

[canmom]

NieR Automata anime episode 9

Continuing commentary from [part 1], [part 2-3], [part 4-5], [part 6] and [part 7-8]. (Coming soon to canmom.art.)

Episode 9: hun[G]ry for knowledge

This is a big episode, mapping to two big moments in the game that have been kind of smushed together.

So, following 9S getting captured in episode 8, 2B pursues 9S into an underground space. 9S, meanwhile, is in cyberspace, where Adam taunts him for having desires and repressing them. This is a very memorable moment in the game...

...whose interpretation merits an entire page on theark.wiki.

The anime adds an extra element of bondage imagery...

You want to destroy everything, you have lost hope in everything, you want to obtain everything, you want to be loved by all, says Adam. 9S has a convincing rebuttal: no I don't.

Meanwhile, after Commander White refuses backup, 2B, Pod 042 and Pod 153 enter the Copied City. This is one of the most distinctive environments in the game, a city made of white material with bright directional lighting so that the shapes are defined by sharp shadows and ambient occlusion only.

The backgrounds here are pretty much all 3DCG, at least for the outdoor areas you visit in the game - I think it's pretty likely they just used the game assets directly lol. This allows some showy camera moves. But unlike the game, the church-like building at the end of this courtyard is open...

In the game, we don't learn a lot about why Adam builds the Copied City beyond his general obsession with humanity. Here, it seems to tie in with the more artistic side he's showing in following 2B and 9S around, sculpting dozens of humans in relief:

and even taking a leaf out of Simone's book and making a sculpture of the YoRHa logo out of dead androids:

We also get a visit to a very familiar location...

...Devola and Popola's library from the original NieR. In the game, you encounter a replica of the library inside the Tower during the C/D route; here, it's moved over to be the setting for the big confrontation with Adam, since I guess we're skipping the outdoor boss arena. It's also the setting for...

...the reveal about the aliens. (In the game, this part happens a bit earlier, when the fight against Engels makes a big hole in the ground leading to the alien spaceship. You go into the spaceship and meet Adam and Eve; Adam gives a speech about how the machine lifeforms destroyed their creators while you fight them, and then they run off. So the anime has folded these two encounters into one.)

Adam also offhandedly mentions that the humans which the androids are fighting to protect are already dead. Not news if you've played the game, or indeed played the previous game, but it's definitely news for 2B.

And speaking of Adam, he's animated gloriously in this episode.

I particularly loved the over-the-top acting in this cut, with the little licky-licky and everything. That's the kind of thing you just can't easily do with game rigs so I'm glad the anime animators went all out on this melodramatic twink.

So, much as in the game, Adam explains his ideas about humanity to 2B, and taunts her with threatening to torture 9S in order to bait her into expressing the emotions that so fascinate him, caressing 9S's face as he explains the tortures he plans to inflict. 2B doesn't have the fujo energy to appreciate it tho so they fight. It's a strong series of action cuts that sadly end all too abruptly.

In the game, you fight, beat Adam, and that's pretty much the end of the sequence. In the anime, I guess they judged that would not be a very satisfying resolution, so they added a few more elements to the arc.

Perhaps anticipating the scenes in the Tower later where the machines create duplicates of 2B, Adam creates a replica of 9S. Considering 2B (2E) basically exists to kill off 9S over and over again, and she knows full well this is only a replica as Adam states explicitly, it's interesting that she stops here. To Adam, it's further proof that they are alike, and both akin to humans.

Since 'summon 9Ses' seems to be the unbeatable strat, Adam has them start strangling 2B - foreshadowing, eh?

The tall windows here are highly reminiscent of the architecture of the Shadowlord's castle, not sure how much I should read into that.

Anyway, the end of the fight comes in a pretty goofy twist: earlier in the episode when 2B sent Pod 153 away, Pod 153 actually refused, and was hacking Adam throughout the whole fight, so 2B was just buying time. To indicate the hacked state, the Copied City turns from pure white to pure black (well, mid grey, but shh)...

Black/white symbolism has become a core motif of the series in Reincarnation, and of course YoRHa are heavily associated with black, so I can see where the idea comes from... it just seems a bit silly to have this 'I've been hacked' visual indi. As a rewrite... it moves the focus/agency from 2B to pod 153. It's interesting to have the pods be more active characters, but it seems a shame to detract from 2B's 'scarily good in a fight' side.

The biggest divergence, however, comes at the end: 2B goes to stab Adam after his defences have been disabled, and Adam welcomes it (fitting his fascination with humanity and mortality as in the game), but this time Eve intervenes, somehow appearing in between 2B and Adam and getting stabbed in Adam's place. Suggesting that Eve has also cut himself off from the network? Lots of questions raised by this! Anyway, we get a double Pietà pose as 2B escapes with 9S and Adam leaves with Eve's body...

Get your Pietàs here! Two for the price of one!

In the game, after Adam dies, 2B and 9S go back to the factory area and encounter a machine death cult. Meanwhile, Eve goes berserk and forces the connected Machine Lifeforms into a red-eyed hostile state: their faces get torn open, and they viciously attack the androids. In case that's not enough, we even see the symbol of the Church of the Angels on his body. Drakengard shit ahoy.

This time Adam is the one who lives, so perhaps things will play out differently? This writeup has reached the horizon of episodes I've seen so far, so the next episode will be new to me, even if I'm still currently way behind what has aired...

All in all, it's an interesting remix of the game's material. Thematically it hews pretty close to the corresponding scenes in the game, but there's some neat little embellishments to keep things interesting, and I really enjoyed the animation on Adam. Hoping for something spicy in the season finale.

The puppet skit at the end of this one concerns 2B and 9S coming up with T-shirt designs. They're pretty cute. I have no idea how many are actual merch lol.

[queen-scribbles]

🍒 you know I love to enable you, plz gush about m&m 😛

Claire, I love you, thank you for enabling me <3

I think the bedrock of their friendship is the fact they both have a) a borderline nonexistent tolerance for bullshit, and b) a very high appreciation for the quiet. What really makes it flourish, and what the two them would probably point to as the reason they're friends, is that Mason doesn't coddle and Mallory doesn't ask to be.

Right from the start, no matter how nicely(or bluntly) they phrase it, the rest of the team is trying to protect her. Keeping her in the dark about Murphy, trying to keep her out of fighting, they're coddling her (is how she sees it). Doesn't matter that, y'know, supernaturals ARE way more powerful than humans and that they're doing it for good reason. Mallory's been underestimated her entire life for a variety of reasons and there's only so often you can hear variations of "not doubting your skills BUT sit this one out" before all you hear is the second part. Nothing hits her buttons faster than people(or vampires) thinking she can't handle something. So Mason being all "okay, fine, you wanna be part of this world? I'm not gonna lie to make you feel better, I'm not gonna hold back in combat training, I'm not gonna pretend you can do anything you can't, but you have our backs and I'll have yours" was bigtime friendship points from Mallory. She can do that, ofc she'll have their backs. And Mallory being so stubbornly determined to keep up, to throw herself at everything, to (more than) pull her weight as part of the team got her bigtime Mason friend points.

They also both enjoy a good fight, so having him help with sparring/combat training is a good--but very dangerous--call. xD She will run herself ragged trying to beat him, even if she knows, technically, for now, she can't. (She may desperately want a no-holds-barred sparring match with Adam when/if she goes vampire, but the same with Mason isn't far behind. would be hilarious if she can beat Adam but can't beat Mason bc Adam gets *cough* distracted😂) Mason doesn't pull his punches, verbally or physically, but also knows when to stop her so she doesn't hurt herself. (See Late Night Worry) I'm really sad that since she's romancing Adam I didn't get to see her and Mason teamed up for the Trapper fight in book 2 ngl. (Might be one of my favorite things about the Natemance AU for her; she got to kick ass with her bff. Not the actual romance or anything. She gets more Mason time in the AU bc of how Mishka splits up Bravo. 🤣🤣)

SPEAKING OF ROMANCE. Mason basically telling Adam "If you break her heart by being an idiot/ass I'm gonna take her side, you know that, right?" and Adam's response being "As you should" was PERFECTION. They've platonically bonded so hard he'd side with her over Adam, his friend/commanding officer for something like a century after less than a year. Truly peak brotp. I am fully prepared for Mallory to want to rip whoever's responsible for Mason's, uh. Mirror Backstory Stuff to absolute ribbons, even if she didn't see the mirror vision. Just SHRED them. Nothing left. (she might even be more vicious about it than Kasey? Just bc she's always 110% ready to throw hands--esp for people she cares about--and combat is a v low stat for Kasey xD)

And then you flip it in the Natemance AU and Mallory's the one dragging her feet and doing stupid shit like not admit she loves him even after she figures it out(Bobby was charming too. Doesn't matter that Nate's way sweeter and keep his promises, there's part off her that's terrified of getting hurt again), Mason calls her out on that. It may involve threatening to beat some sense into her and he's only half-joking. Hearing him be so no-nonsense about how dumb she's acting is part of her push to actually confess at the end of book 3 (Nate saving her from Anwir also killed any lingering doubts pretty dead).

My absolute favorite things about them, though, is they are 100% Grade A platonic love. Way back when I first thought about the Wayhaven RO Swap(best. decision. ever), I thought about just putting each of them with their respective bff(Kasey/Adam LMAO. The sarcasm would kill people. I might still try that ngl). Mallory/Mason is what killed that idea. They DO NOT work romantically. There's no romantic or sexual tension between them, which is impressive with Mason involved. xD Like, he'll definitely enjoy the view if she's in a crop top + leggings for training, and she is not immune to Arms™ if he's shirtless, but it's more... admiration/appreciation than attraction. They're just platonic soulmates and I love them so much.

[cxncordia]

This new wave of Queer cinema worries me a bit.

I'm talking things like Saltburn, Fellow Passengers and All of Us Strangers.

It worries me because, while beautiful to look at, it's a beautiful package wrap around one very detrimental idea: gays are not okay.

I'm gonna spoil a bit here. Ignore the list if you haven't seen any of these movies:

Saltburn is the story of Oliver, a guy that at first glance is shown that is experiencing the worst crush of his life on Felix, a beautiful English boy that he just can't have... and thus he starts this strange journey to get him, only to reveal to us that it was never Felix whom he wanted, but the Saltburn state where most of the story happens.

Fellow Passengers shows a beautiful love story of these two men who keep on being lovers through the ages and shows the audience what it means to be gay through a moment in time very difficult, because as they deal with externalized homophobia, they deal with internalized homophobia.

All of Us Strangers, while I haven't watched it, I have read that the basic idea is that Adam (Scott) is a screenwriter who runs into Harry (Mescal) who seems to make him open up and become vulnerable. And then they seem to move back to Adam's house where his parents are still living.

Now, I don't want to extrapolate over something so silly and superficial. But it worries me that these are the new "wave" of queer cinema. Because underneath it all, the basic conflict is that being gay is somehow linked to these problems of internalized shame and regret. While not explicitly villainizing homosexuality, we don't have the counterpart on the industry. We don't have homosexuals we can look up to and when we do, they are wrapped in the police and government propaganda idyllic world that serves the powers to be. (yes, I'm talking about you, Tarlos).

And yes, that's true. We gay men go through shame and regret more punctually than straight men do: because the world was not constructed for us so we have to learn to navigate the fact that we "look" the part but we "aren't" the part. We become performatic and we fill the gap between ourselves and the very large mask we use with shame.

But straight men have something we don't: an array of power fantasies at the tip of their fingers where their sexuality is not even questioned, put into consideration or a source of shame. Some other factors may be questioned, but never their sexuality. Rebel Moon comes out in December 21st and it's a testosterone-filled action movie with male actors and male characters that have not their sexuality questioned in this imaginary universe. Aquaman 2 comes out around the same time and it also features straight masculine acting men who do not have to worry about one ounce on how gay they look.

And that's the problem.

Every gay media I watch that gets to the mainstream is "woe is me and I'm gay". Even stuff that's supposed to make you feel good (Heartstopper or Smiley) has that component of internalized shame. And I get it, many of us who have come now into economic power and who are main consumers lived a time where shame was the norm.

But it's time to stop that. And also, is time to stop telling the gays that come behind us that they have to suffer this.

It's been more than 20 years since I fist watched Queer As Folk (the British version with a twink Charlie Hunnam) and we are still dealing with the same tropes, the same stories, the same ideas.

Where are the hyper-masculine gay super heroes? Or even better yet: the fat and femme gay super heroes?

The romantic and endearing fantasy princes looking for their own prince?

The fantasy hero based on the monomyth who faces his father as a representation of the Patriarchy that has stomped on him?

Where are they?

I'm just... tired.

Tired that in 20 something years we still have the same shit and we don't seem to move beyond Queer as Folk and Brokeback Mountain type of stories. And when we do present something new they are bogged down and ignored in the corporate shitty streaming world that only cares about how much money it can pull out from our pockets. Like that supernatural show (Astrid and Lily Save the World) with two plus size lesbian main characters.

I mean, it's amazing to see Andrew Scott get it going with Paul Mescal, and to see Jonathan Bailey suck Matt Bomer's toes is a first... but I need something more. Something different. Something were the character's sexuality isn't questioned or a source of shame, but a worthy, proud, and unapologetic trait of the main character who also has fun in the movie.

I want joyful gay stories that celebrate my sexuality. I want simple gay stories. I want happy gays.

Isn't that what the term is supposed to mean in the first place?

[jenn-the-mostly-harmless]

I don't want to get caught up in evaluating whether the old show is better than the new show, but I've been thinking lately about how wildly different the Trigun animes are.

The new show characterizes everyone very differently than the old one did. In the old version, Vash has this facade that he's carrying, a jokester silly man act to hide how fucked up things have been for him and how sad he really is. He also gets the chance to save some people now and then, and that's important, because it's what keeps him holding on. If he never saved anyone, the despair would be overwhelming and he might stop trying.

In the newer show, it's all out in the open. He starts as a sad boy, and he doesn't really save anyone. Some people survive, but it's not the same thing, there's little or no catharsis for his character. His experience is so bleak and his sorrow so obvious that I found it jarring when he was silly.

Meryl is different too. In the old version, she's a badass who has a shit ton of derringer pistols in her cloak because she knows the world is dangerous. She's savvy and prepared for anyone and everyone to try to fuck her over. She literally lives in a world so dangerous that following Vash the stampede to keep her job is worth it to her, and she keeps Vash at arms length for a long time because of all that.

In the new version she's basically Lois Lane. Other people fight and die for her as she naively follows Vash because she...thinks he's newsworthy? I found it hard to understand her motivation. She's also no longer the leader or the senior in her coworking relationship.

And then there's Milly from the old version. I loved her simply on big girl rules, so I'm definitely biased, but that said, she also brought an important humanity to the team. Milly was there to remind you that even though the world of the story is mean and desperate, there are still nice people who can treat others kindly. Talk softly, carry a big gun.

So how does Roberto De Niro (yeah, they really named him after the actor) stand up to Milly? He's mostly looking out for himself, but I guess he has fatherly feelings for Meryl, or he wouldn't keep shlupping along with her. I don't know, I found him and his motivations mysterious and eye-rolling. Is he a hard ass that is only doing a job, or someone who actually cares about all this?

But it's not just the characters, I'd argue the very plot is characterized differently. The first anime is all about characterization and spends a lot of time with the characters before getting to the broody sci-fi stuff, which only happens toward the very end. A lot of people who watched it when it came out won't even remember the darker sci-fi stuff because it was aired on old school tv and they just missed an episode here or there.

The new one is almost entirely concerned with the darker sci-fi plot, which is really interesting, but their characterization suffers for it. The action scenes are more impressive, but perhaps less fun. There isn't a lot of mystery to Vash's past in the newer version, but it definitely does a better job of telling the sci-fi part of the story than the first one did.

I haven't read the manga, this is just what I got from watching both animes recently. I find I like them both for different reasons, but it does make me want to read the manga to see how each compares to the original concept. It's easy to get tied down to the first way you meet a fictional character, but it's important to remember that they aren't real people and they change based on who is writing them. If I say I like Batman, am I talking about Adam West's version or Frank Miller's?