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seneon · 2 months ago

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♰ LAST ARCH!VED ￤ STARS COLLIDE, WOLF¡DABI¡!

ABOUT. there is no resistance for the divine deity as you are simply a living sacrifice. highly suggestive content¡! ( short breast play ) omegaverse themes such as scent pheromones thingy, mating, knotting. but it's not too much bc i hate it LOL. and sacrificial ritual themes. wc of 1800+

NOTES. ok alpha dabi anon come get your food. YOO IM FINALLY DONE WITH THE HALLOWEEN MASTERLIST WOOHOO HAPPY HALLOWEEN SENATION

in desperate awe, you cling onto the fragments of the divine painting portrayed and gifted to your gaze. just like art, it almost felt like the heavenly angels were still working on the sculpture. albeit completed, it needed to be presented in perfection.

your eyes couldn't tear themselves off from the sight right in front of you. the image of a man, or a divine being, you do not know. he lays on his sides, elbows propped out to support his head as his free hands play with the white, almost gold silk linen.

but that is not all.

this being, so divine and beautiful as if he is the ultimate blessing from above. he bore the ears of an animal, his fingers and nails are long. it's perfectly shaped, along with his beautiful arms down to his chiseled and toned chest.

when touya's eyes paid mind to your existence, you froze under his cold turquoise gaze that pierced through your soul.

his eyes are beautiful.

you think to yourself, while your own eyes travelled around to drink in the colour of his hair as white as snow. there's a hint of a rather invisible gray veil covering him, and it made touya look even more divine.

“you're the one?” he asks, sitting up properly on the large bed covered in the finest and expensive silk blankets, covers and soft pillows.

yes indeed. you are the one. you were brought here against your will. your freedom stripped from your soul as the villagers have dragged you, a traveler from far away. you were to visit the divine being on your own accord, not have your senses blocked off from the face of the earth and only regain them back to be graced by such a work of art that laid upon you.

though his words did not strike you in curiousity, fear itched at your skin. what were you the one for again? you're here, dressed in a rather beautiful white dress, your hair is perfectly done, and beauty reeks all over you.

it feels like a curse and a blessing at the same time.

there's an odd smell that starts to circle around your nose, a sense that was once blocked off for such a long time you couldn't smell the difference between flowers and poison. this fragrance crawled into your brains and it journeyed down to your body.

you start to feel uneasy.

it's an uncomfortable feeling that wraps you around like the faint, merely visible gray veil he wore around him. it's now onto you, and the scent is even more dangerous to your nose. dangerously enticing.

“what.. am i here for?” you asked in a whisper as touya slightly tilted his head lazily at your question.

“what are you here for? do you really not know?” he repeated, his voice striking a chord in you, and it became poison to your ears. you can only shake your head slightly to keep the poison from spilling.

touya lets out a chuckle, amused by your lack of knowledge of your presence in his. there is so much imbalance in the power that you feel like a mere ant who dares to stumble across a human’s skin. a tiny smirk was carved at the corner of his lips as he gazed at you.

“you will be my woman in a few moments. i shall claim you as mine and you will bear my seeds.”

you are a sacrifice. a mere aspect in this living world that is to be sacrificed to touya, the divine being. what divinity does he even belong to? your eyes darted to where you first entered, then they came back to rest on touya's.

“are you a god?”

“perhaps. i am a blessing from the heavens. i rule over the wolves and all which are close to wolves.”

pieces of reality began to stick together like broken mirror shards who came together. the world is starting to make a little sense to you.

“so… i am a sacrifice to you and to be made yours in whatever way. at what cost?”

touya's fingers gently traced the silken sheets. “there is no cost. it's how the world works, pretty one. i am given a sacrifice that the heavens chooses for me, and i am to link my soul with hers and have her bear my seeds. then a new child of divinity will be made. what is the cost?”

before you could even utter out a string of protests, he holds out his arm and invites you to him.

“come here.”

and just like that, your feet listened to his orders and they moved against your will, lured by the allure of touya. everything has been happening against your will lately. you've forgotten what 'will' even is. you've forgotten freedom even existed in your world.

his fingers carefully took your hand, thumb immediately caressing your knuckles as he looked up at you and pulled you closer to him so you stood in between his legs while you gaze down at him.

“what is your name?”

you told him, and it runs down his tongue twice. your name sounded nice coming from him, an existence whose name you don't even know.

there the scent hits you the hardest. an immediate realisation washed over you when you realised you've been inhaling his scent all this time. it mends the strings of your heart to fall under his spell. your eyes gazed all over his face.

touya's his name, he tells you that. he's some worshipped divine being apparently. and you can't help but admire how beautiful he looks up close. you were in absolute awe at how flawless and perfect he looks.

when the caressing of your knuckles ceased, touya’s right hands found their way to rest on your hips while his other hand reached out to graze your cheeks. he then tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ears.

“you're the perfect sacrifice. so beautiful too. the angels have chosen the perfect woman for me.”

a faint blush painted your cheeks a field of bloody roses as touya rose up. his thumb that was previously grazing with the silk sheets now went back and forth on the skin of your cheek.

such a loving gesture that it has your insides fluttering. caterpillars have blossomed into butterflies to rage in your stomach, it seems.

touya leans in close to your ears to whisper a secret as if you do not know of it yet. “lay with me, y/n. and i will link our souls together.”

your blush deepens, and he moves to slowly push you on the bed. once your back hits the bed, he's hovering above you.

this divine creature, a perfect being who looks after the wolves. touya's a wolf himself, yet he's in this divine form so close to the touch of being human. it actually makes him wonder what is it like to be human. well no matter, he could ask you all about it.

you can smell his scent enveloping you when he closes the distance. his body is above yours, pressed firmly while his lips found their way to press against yours in the slowest and most intimate form.

it was like touya didn't want to ruin any aspect of this ritual. he wants it to be sacred like how his ancestors have made it sacred and memorable. more importantly, he wants to simply please his beautiful sacrifice and make her forget that she was even a sacrifice in the first place.

touya's tongue is engaged in a battle with your own tongue and the rest of it is simply the little sounds both of you occasionally let out. his hands feel all around your sides and waist, so gentle with it that it feels like the touch of the sun.

soon he pulled away, immediately pressing a chaste kiss on the side of your lips before his lips dragged down to your jawline and planted kisses along it. your neck becomes his canvas where he sinks his teeth deep into your skin and places his mark all over.

“it leaves a permanent scar, a reminder to everyone else that you're mine,” touya tells you before licking the mark he created. he pulls away to look at your messy breathing, cheeks flushed and chest rising up and down.

your eyes slowly looked at him above you, carrying the haziness that wraps itself around your vision. your breathing is ragged, hitched in every way as your fingers twitch at this odd sensation you're feeling.

a smirk crawls up to grace his handsome features. touya leans down close to your chest and his teeth takes the edge of your lace ribbons that ties the top of your dress together. slowly and carefully, he pulls away the lace in between his teeth to unveil the strings that kept you clothed.

he does that all his eyes are locked on yours. that lazy gaze who held something so dark behind them. your lace is untied, and his cold fingers slid the top of your pure white dress off your shoulders and soon they are stripped from your body. the cold air hit your skin and you shivered at the suspense.

touya kissed your chest and travelled his lips down to your breast where he began to trail intoxicating kisses. you can smell how potent his scent is, and it's killing you softly on the inside. all while his lips and tongue began to work their tantalising magic on your bare skin.

your back is arched in the pleasure he gifted to you, fingers immediately finding their way to weave themselves into his soft angelic hair. touya hums in approval at your fingers which hold onto his hair tightly while his tongue runs itself over your breasts and to embrace your hardened buds with his lips.

the uneasy feeling you felt has been defeated in a battle against pleasure. now all you can think of is how good divine wolf touya’s tongue and lips feel on your body, his smell that fills your nose, and the pooling feeling at your sex that gathered to stain you damp beneath.

it was silent the entire time. well not quite, for only the sounds of your soft and sweet praises echoed in touya's ears. they sounded like music in heaven to him. you really are the chosen one, a beloved child of the stars.

the stars above collide once touya finally intertwines your body and soul together. the wolves no longer has to worry about their existence coming to a halt when their deity has knotted a human sacrifice and she is to bear his sons and daughters.

the ritual is completed.

©SENEON 2024 ♰ D!ED, D3AD, G0NE. DO NOT REPOST OR ALTER. OR ELSE THE BATS WILL COME FOR YOU.

#♰ D!ED D3AD G0NE¡!#﹙🗝️ .𖥔 ݁ ˖ 𝐰𝐫𝖎𝐭𝖎𝐧𝐠﹚#dabi #dabi x reader #mha dabi #bnha dabi #touya todoroki #todoroki touya x reader #touya todoroki x reader #touya x reader #mha touya #bnha touya #mha #mha x reader #bnha #bnha x reader #﹙🐺 .𖥔 ݁ ˖ alpha dabi﹚

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classicanalyzer · 5 months ago

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Dragon Prince S6 Thoughts

"Sometimes the line between mercy and cruelty can be thin." Aaravos and Startouch Elves

Well holy shit, that opening really went from wholesome Viren (who is alive) hugging Terry and celebrating Aaravos’ supposed “lie” to OH GOD CLAUDIA KILLED A CHILD. God, it's really terrifying seeing Claudia give so much to save her father...it really hits home how Viren felt responsible for leading her down this route. The tragic thing is that I think Viren knows deep inside that as of now, he can't help her...but he hopes he can inspire her to turn back. Despite everything she did, Claudia's actions to save her father were all for nothing. She lost a leg and her soul (it is yet to be seen if her soul can be brought back) and yet by the time she reached home, her father died yet again...this time for good. Claudia's screams were really chilling and sad.

At least, Terry is always there for Claudia...though I'm worried about what will happen to him given Claudia's increasing mental dive into darkness and insanity. He rightfully points out how revenge is different from love and how it drove Aaravos to the deaths of God who knows.

I really love that Viren didn't choose to reveal what he did to heal Soren. It would've just caused Soren more grief and pain. That's one of the most best things Viren could have done before his sacrifice. He carries on the absolute shame (I felt chills when I heard how he obtained the last part of the spell) that he caused rather than “pass it on” so to say to Soren.

Viren’s true death feels fitting for him. All this time everyone close to him ask if he was willing to risk his life for another. Dark Magic has ruined so many lives and yet also saved so man in some cases. There is a price to be paid. But finally, he proved that he was willing to do that rather than find some other way to pay the price or back out. This time he paid the price and did a truly selfless action where nobody had to get hurt...other than him. He lived his whole life choosing what he felt was pragmatic and selfish with only a few moments of his good self showing...he chose to finally die a servant of his home. While Soren will understandably never forgive him for what he did to him and the world, he will remember him for his last act of unselfish genuine goodness and living up to his desires of atonement rather than going back. I also love how his last words are the last words spoken by Harrow to him.

"I am a servant. I am a...servant." Viren's last words

That entire ship episode is so hilarious with the meta-commentary. The Celestial Elves were a really cool sub-ect of Skywing Elves. I also love the parallels between dealing with Ice Behmeath in the present and the Magma Titan in the past. Instead of killing the beast which left people killed, they found what made it so sad and everyone lives.

Also Callum and Rayla are back together! So happy and I wished we didn't have the break-up personally but still finally.

I now understand the Soren and Corvus ship, and I approve.

I'm so happy that Amaya and Janai finally got married at last. Too bad Karim had to ruin all the vibes temporarily, thankfully, the two were able to salvage it. Amaya and Janai truly deserve the world.

The build-up to when Ezran and Corvus realizes the true plan of Karim is really chilling.

S6 really has me lowkey ship Ezran and Aanya haha. Two badass, wise, and compassionate young rulers who lost their parents...speaking off, I can't imagine seeing Ezran in S7 now that he knows his kingdom is destroyed.

Sol Regem really is responsible for the events of the show. While it is dark how he died and it's horrible how he was responsible for his soulmate's death, I can't say he didn't deserve his death at all. He was the one who laid the seeds for humanity's conflict with elves and utterly despises humanity. He literally choked and burned on his own element.

Katolis being destroyed made me sad since it was our primary setting in the human realm for 6 seasons.

The Startouch Elves gave me so many Collector vibes. Aaravos really is the Ardyn of Dragon Prince with a bit of Collector and I'm all here for it. Now all that is needed is for him to get a stylish hat and turn the sky into an eternal darkness. Also, Aaravos was really that big in his natural mortal form...which made S5's horrifying reveal of what he said make a lot of sense.

A major theme of S6 and the show is how revenge won't get you anywhere but further metaphorically drown yourself. Another major theme is love (platonically and romantically), whether familial, platonic, or romantic.

S6 really is an amazing return to form, and it felt like the quality of the first three seasons was consistent. I cannot wait for the final season of this saga. I did hear about them wanting to make three more books and I wonder how they can go from here...but I trust them to do right based on S6.

#the dragon prince #tdp spoilers #tdp season 6 #tdp s6 spoilers #tdp s6 #my original post #tdp callum #tdp rayla #tdp ezran #tdp aaravos #tdp amaya #tdp janai #tdp soren #tdp claudia #tdp aanya #tdp terry #sol regem #tdp karim #aaravos

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petrichor-idyllic · 2 years ago

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HI could i request a minho x reader where they’re best friends and have a thing for eachother but they’re oblivious so everybody in the glade starts pulling shenanigans to get them together

I can sure try I guess.

Gender neutral reader because you didn't specify.

Guys pls start specifying lmao I am stressed.

HOW TO WINGMAN (POORLY)

MASTERLIST | MINHO MASTERLIST

SUMMARY: See above. Gender Neutral! Builder! Reader x Minho. Takes place before the arrival of Thomas. Book based fic purely because no big 3D map.

WARNINGS: Inappropriate language, teenage shenanigans, oblivious reader/Minho, no one knows how to interact like normal humans, one awkward shower scene and mild suggestive content but nothing explicit.

You and Minho have been best friends since you popped up in the Glade.

Honestly, you're not really sure how it happened. You came up the month after Minho, so he was tasked with looking after you, and you just kind of stuck.

Minho is obviously the Keeper of the Runners, which means he's out in the Maze most of the the time, and you spend your days working as a Builder. But, you both still find time to enjoy each other's company after your long days.

It's definitely a close relationship, and anyone that knows Minho is often caught off guard to see the difference in him when he's around you. He's almost softer, definitely more smiley and easier to be around. His bitter and often slightly negative attitude is dulled in your presence. Of course, everyone likes Minho.

But everyone likes Minho a lot more when you're with him.

And that goes both ways. You're noth completely different people around each other; more approachable and easier to get along with.

It's obvious.

Of course it is.

Everyone in the Glade knows.

You guys like each other.

You have been harbouring a massive crush on Minho for pretty much as long as you can remember. And Minho isn't much better.

It's obvious, to everyone but you two.

Maybe you're both blinded by not wanting to mess up your friendship, or simply the pressure of living in a death maze is enough to give you both different priorities, but you're both blissfully unaware of your feelings for one another.

And it's starting to take the piss.

You have the other Gladers wanting to rip their hair out and just scream at you to go off somewhere and make out for a bit to let off some steam.

Obviously, they don't do that (probably because Alby would have their heads for distracting his best Runner).

But they want to. Man, do they want to.

So, instead, the remaining boys decide to come up with a plan after a particularly slow week in the Glade. They were going to do whatever it took to get the pair of you to finally realise you share the same feelings.

Which is easier said than done, especially when Minho is MIA most of the day.

But, with Ben slowly implementing hints towards Minho on their runs, and some of your Builder colleagues doing the same for you, the seeds were getting set in place.

Though, maybe your stubbornness/oblivion might be beyond help.

"Yanno, I really like them," Ben says as he runs with Minho, insisting on joining him for the past couple of days now, saying something about two sets of eyes are better than one.

"Who?" Minho grumbles, genuinely considering make a dead sprint to get away from Ben.

"(Y/N), duh," Minho slows down slightly, coming to the same pace as his friend.

"What?"

"I mean, they're really cool, funny, hot- how could I not? You're cool with that, right? I mean, I know they're your friend but I kinda wanna ask them out, that's okay, right?"

Minho hesitates, seemingly thinking for a second. Minho wouldn't ever do anything to possibly ruin your happiness, even if he does have feelings for you and he knows you can make your own choices.

"Yep."

And with that, he sprints away, leaving Ben to stand there in some form of shock.

Meanwhile you're dealing with Gally.

"You know, you really do keep that shank on a tight leash- Minho is actually tolerable when you're around."

"Uh, thanks, I think?" You chuckle to yourself.

"I mean.. you guys are only friends, right?"

You're in the middle of trying to fix a shack that got damaged during a dumb fight between two boys. You freeze.

"Yeah?"

"Hm, interesting."

"Why's that interesting?"

"Just you guys are pretty close, some people think you'd make a good couple."

You laugh, shaking your head. "Yeah, right." You say sarcastically, going back to your work and ending the conversation in one go.

Okay, so that isn't working.

The boys need to recuperate.

Okay, so, maybe they need to get the pair of you in situations you wouldn't normally be in, alone.

So, what could a group of dumb teenage boys possibly do with that?

"Yo, (Y/N)," you'd just finished your day of work when Newt approaches you.

"Hey, Newt, you good?"

"Yeah, can you go get Minho for me? I gotta talk to him but I gotta sort some klunk out first."

"Oh, uh, sure, where is he?"

"Oh, he'll probably just be getting out of the shower, he came back earlier so he should be finishing up."

"You want me to go into the shower block to get Minho?" You blink at him. "Couldn't you have spoken to him earlier?"

"I didn't get chance to catch him- Alby wanted to talk to me." Newt seems shifty and unsure of himself.

He originally wanted no part in this, but Frypan said he'd give him extra food for two weeks so here we are.

"But-"

"Just go get him, a'ight?" Newt walks away before you can say anything else. Now, he has to actually figure out what to talk to Minho about when he inevitably comes looking for him.

Frypan owes him more stew.

You grumble to yourself, going to find your friend. Since Minho came back earlier, he should be finishing up and probably about to leave. So, you think just direct him towards Newt. Easy fix.

Though you do feel a bit weird about it.

And when you rock up at the shower block with just the sound of running water filling the room, you inwardly cringe.

"Minho?" You ask, probably a little too quiet since he doesn't hear you over the water. Sucking in a deep breath, you walk further into the shower block.

It's not like you're fazed by this kind of thing. Boys walk around the Glade shirtless all the time and no one really care about skin being shown off. But this is Minho.

He's flawlessly attractive in your eyes, and he's actually a pretty modest guy. You normally leave him to his privacy, but if Newt wants to talk to him, it must be important.

"Minho?" You say, a bit louder, which gets a response.

"Yeah?" He asks as you stand awkwardly outside of the shower booth, a good few feet away from the curtain.

"Newt wants to talk to you."

"What?"

"Newt wants to talk to you," you repeat, your voice even louder. "He told me to get you."

To your surprise, Minho moves the curtain. He holds it in a way that hides anything inappropriate, but still reveals his chiseled, drippong torso.

Minho seemingly hasn't realised what this subtle and nothing act has done, but it leaves you almost silently standing there.

"What about?"

"He, uh, he d-didn't say," Minho groans as you pull your lips into a thin line. He pulls the shower curtain back, giving you a much needed second to recollect yourself. The water stops and there's some shuffling before he emerges again.

He's wearing pants now, at least, as he struggles to put his shirt on over his damp body.

"Can't get two shuckin' seconds of peace here," he grumbles before sighing. "You eaten, yet?" He asks you casually, still completely oblivious to your flustered state.

"Uh, no, I've only just finished myself."

He nods. "Alright, I'll catch you for dinner then, yeah?"

"Yeah, 'course."

Minho leaves to find Newt and you stand there for another few seconds before leaving with nothing having changed.

So, that didn't work either.

Though I don't know how they expected it to. Trust teenage boys to turn wingmanship into awkward situations.

Somehow, this keeps going.

Gladers start "accidentally" start bumping into either of you to get you to stumble into each other. Which does nothing. Or they'll make you scoot closer together when eating so you're squashed next to one another. Which also does nothing.

After what seems like forever of the boys acting really weird, you and Minho start actively avoiding them.

So, they come up with an actual plan- because far too many people are invested now and it's getting out of hand.

It's a simple plan, really.

But it did require a questionable request list being thrown into the box and your deep concern when people starting pulling boxes of candles out.

Night begins to fall over the Glade. People were winding down and they'd gone through to effort of separating you and Minho.

Somehow, you'd ended up in a long conversation with Frypan about his dream to make the perfect cheesecake one day. And Minho was getting lectured by Alby over being mean to Ben. Plausible, really.

Then, out of

"(Y/N)!" Winston startles you. "Minho needs you! He's in the Map Room! It's urgent!"

"What? Is he okay?"

"You gotta go! Quick!"

In a panicked frenzy, you run off to the Map room.

Unbeknownst to you, Ben has just done the exact same thing to Minho.

You burst into the Map Room, completely ignoring the fact you're not actually allowed to be in there. You're certainly no Runner since you're already out of breath.

"Minho! What's-?" Your words get stuck in your throat when you see the state of the Map Room and a very clearly lost Minho.

Candles are everywhere, and in the middle of the table, there is a big fancy meal- all of Frypan's best work.

You both stand there, staring at the scene in front of you.

Almost like something out of a comedy sketch, you turn to each other. "Did you do this?"

You then stand there, blinking at one another.

"It's like..." You trail off.

"A date." Minho finishes the sentence. "Who the everliving SHUCK thought it was a good idea to put fire in the Map Room?"

"They set us up on a date?" You mumble.

He chuckles. "Yeah, looks like it." You hesitate, a small smile starting to play on your lips. "Well," he clears his throat, "shall we?"

"What?" You snort, watching him as he walks over to the chair, pulling it out and giving you a fake bow. "Your seat, darling."

You roll your eyes, trying to suppress a smirk, but you do take your seat.

"No point letting all this good food going to waste, eh?" He walks to the seat across from you, sitting down himself. "I doubt Fry is gonna be making a meal like this again anytime soon."

"Yeah, I guess so. Explains why they've been acting so weird."

"Yeah, I just thought those shanks were finally losing their marbles."

"Nice to know they think we'd make a cute couple," you chuckle.

"'Cause we would make a cute couple," he says, a little too confident. "I mean- I don't know." He chuckles.

You freeze, picking at your plate for a second. But shuck it, you might as well ask. If you can ask anyone anything- it's Minho. "...Would you want to be a couple?"

He looks at you, a soft smile playing on his lips. "Yeah, I would, actually. Just... not now. There's too much goin' on here, yanno? I mean, would you wanna be... together?"

You nod. Maybe deep down, you could tell that Minho likes you, maybe he could tell you like him. "Yeah, of course I would, but you're probably right."

"I think when we leave here," he continues, "we'd be a shuckin' good couple." He sighs, smiling to himself." But for now, we stay friends, I deal with this klunk and one day we'll be enjoying our freedom- together."

It's a tranquil image. Freedom feels so close but so far away, and being with you is just further motivation for Minho. But, if anything happened to him out there, he couldn't put that extra baggage on you if you were dating.

"Well, you better get us out quick then, huh?" He chuckles.

"Yeah, yeah- well, let's enjoy our dumb date, shall we?"

"Guess this is our first date, then, huh?" You joke and he laughs.

"Yeah, guess it is."

I really didn't know what to do with this one, lads, ngl. It's more of a funny bit than a serious story and they don't even end up together- sorry.

I hope you kind of enjoyed tho lmao :)

#🌿 petri writes #🌿 petri tmr minho #🍃 petri tmr #🌿 petri writes tmr #tmr fanfiction #tmr minho #minho tmr #minho the maze runner #minho tmr x reader #tmr imagines #minho maze runner

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infinitebrians · 1 year ago

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Favorite Games of 2023 Part 2: Super Mario Wonder

What a weird thing to say but this really is the best Super Mario has been as a 2D platforming game since the Super Nintendo! An overall creatively fresh look on that guy Mario and what he can do when he’s only got two directions to run around in. Just a true delight all the way through, I never had a bad time playing it. The new features like the badges and wonder seeds all gave the game a fun amount of variety and character to the game always keeping a sense of surprise in each area that at their very worst was easily ignored. Also a very lovely game visually that gave character to its characters and a fun new set of weird critters to appreciate.

A unique aspect for my playthrough of Mario Wonder was I insisted on playing through the whole game using my new snackbox leverless controller (arcade stick controller sans the stick). I’ve been wanting to try that controller with a side scrolling game because I kept hearing people play other side scrollers with it and it sounded like a fun perfect test case for that idea. I had a blast playing through the whole game with it. Using it’s button based directions felt entirely natural to play through the entire game with it and I’m absolutely going to be using it for any further similarly structured games in the future. The only time the unique button controls did not feel natural was when I was in situations involving four way direction like the water levels or those surprisingly frequent times where you turn into slime. That controller rules and I always feel bad I don’t like using it too much since I don’t always want to just get absolutely destroyed at fighting games all the time.

The thing though that I will always remember Mario Wonder is surprisingly enough it’s online feature. When this online aspect of the game was announced, a feature while you’ll see and be able to lightly interact with live ghosts of other players who are also playing the same level as you, I joked about Mario Wonder being the second ever strand game. Now having played the game 100%, I am absolutely standing by that statement. I’ve had numerous tiny but memorable experiences with other players with that feature either dancing around, spamming the simple emotes, or even helping each other out through tricky parts of the level. One experience of that in particular, the one this post’s drawing is referencing, happened during the final final challenge level where a Japanese Nabbit player and I were helping (them more to me than me to them) each other through a series of areas in that level. We would emote chirp at each other, cheering us on, and more importantly, wait at the room exits so when we left the room at the same time we’d maintain our online instance together. It happened for a whole checkpoint’s worth of that final level and it would’ve been longer if I didn’t screw up immediately with the infinite sprint badge room LIKE A FOOL. That player was a huge help to me with the few of the toughest rooms of that whole challenge and a very appreciated companion.

These little stories and memories I gathered from such a silly little feature gave me such a warm feeling toward everyone I was playing with in the game, we were all here to help push each other forward. A mechanic that gave people the encouragement to help each other out and feel good in the process of doing it, a fun look at what can be done with online semi anonmyous interaction. I’ll always appreciate that Nabbit player, I hope they’re having a happy new year.

#drawdogs #art #pixel art #writing #favorite games of 2023 #super mario wonder #toadette #nabbit

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stardancerluv · 8 months ago

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The Past Follows You Like A Shadow

Part 7

Summary: Memories and scares abound.

Notes/Warnings: No warnings for this chapter!

And I am so sorry I took so long between chapters. (Life and work got in the way!)

❤️s, reblogs, feedback and comments are welcome!

You threw the curtain back. Finally, able to move you scramble backwards. Though, before you realize you loose your footing with a thud fall down onto your bottom. You leg out a yelp. You had to get to your phone. You had to call Gator.

In your panic, you heard a muffled sound.

Turning, you see the masked figure in your living room. You scream, scrambling against the worn carpet you bump against the end table. The lamp on top of it trembles and jangles but remains standing.

“Tulip.” Muffled at first but then becoming clearer chuckles fill your small living room. As the mask is pulled off.

“Stop screaming Tulip. One of your good natured neighbors might call the cops, and well I’m already here.” A smirk curled his lips. “And I don’t feel like working.”

He helped you up. His smirked dropped when he felt your hands, sticky from the pumpkin. You stood breathless in front of him.

“Happy Halloween, baby.”

You pushed him then. “You scared the shit out of me.”

“Isn’t that the point?” A smirk once again danced on his lips. “Just like old times.”

You smiled, shaking your head you couldn’t stay annoyed.

You sniffed the air and made a face. “What have you been up to?” A sour scent came off Gator.

He shrugged. “Police stuff.”

You, pressed your lips together and nodded. “Well, I was carving a pumpkin and watching Halloween.”

“Fun.”

You rolled your eyes. “We can’t all be fighting crime.”

Turning the knobs on the stove you began to preheat the oven so you could roast the seeds soon. Coming back around to the pumpkin, you gave it a hard look. You tried to imagine what face to give it.

“I’m more of the kicking ass type.”

You glanced his way. “I believe it.” You stopped. “Gator, what happened?” You put the knife down, easily closing the distance and wiping your hand you reached up to the small bruise that smudged his cheek.

“Is it bad?”

You shrugged.

“Sometimes things get rough.”

You nodded and went back to considering what face to give to the pumpkin.

You remembered how he was before you left. He had gotten a fair amount of scuffles. The rumor had been he hit someone with a tire iron. Maybe he had finally had enough and fought back after all the years he had been picked on. You couldn’t be sure.

All you knew he never picked you up on the drive to school and the two of you never spoke again. The night his father caught the two of you, he changed. And that was why you ran.

A warm hand settled on your lower back. You leapt.

“Geez, tulip. I didn’t mean to scare you again but you looked miles away.” A wet chuckle came from him. “I’m here and I don’t want you that far away.”

You nodded. “Sorry.” Grabbing, the spoon you continued to scrap the inside of the pumpkin to get out the seeds.

Gator, leaned against the counter. “Are you going to bake those like your mother used to do?“

You nodded. “I haven’t done it in years, I figured I would.”

His nose wrinkled. “If they didn’t taste so good, I’d say the stink isn’t worth it.”

You chuckled. He was one to talk you mused. Whatever he had gotten into clung to him.

He drew closer. You felt like you were holding your breath.

“What’s so funny?” He brushed some of your hair side. His warmth radiated from him.

Turning your head, you were inches from his. You met his eyes from under your lashes.

“Whatever you had been up to has left a rather unpleasant smell on you.”

He made a face and pulled back. He tugged his shirt to his nose. “Oh, I didn’t even realize. Can I use your shower?”

“Won’t Mary Sue notice that you showered?”

He shrugged. “Probably not. But she’s in the next town over, she took his niece and nephew trick or treating and might not even be back till tomorrow.”

“Oh. Alright.” You waved your hand. “Go head.”

He drew close again, his nose grazed your hair line. “Do you wanna join me?” His lips grazed your temple.

You fought the flutter the thought it gave you. You smiled. “Tempting but this will go bad, sour if I don’t finish, but I’ll be here.”

“I’ll hurry then, don’t want to keep my Tulip waiting.”

You could have sworn you heard the front door open and close. Despite your earlier in the night, you were not terribly worried about an intruder. This just wasn’t that kind of place. You would miss that when you were back and done here.

You then could hear as the stairs creaked as Gator made his way up. He knew the way.

*****

“Aunt Mavis,” Your bottom lip trembled. “You can’t tell mom and dad I fell off Gator’s scooter.” Tears streamed down your cheeks.

The one leg of your shorts were rolled up a little higher as she looked at the scrape on your knee.

“Yes, Miss Mavis please don’t.” Gator’s voice wobbled. “If it hadn’t been for that rock.” He sighed heavily.

You glanced at your friend as he sat on the rim of the clawfoot tub.

Your aunt gave you a smile as warm as the sun that was high in the sky, that summer day.

“I won’t honey. I will tell them you tripped bringing my mail to me, alright?” She looked at the two of you.

You both nodded. She then placed two bandaids over the scrap. And pressed a quick kiss over them.

“All patched up.” She smiled at you again. “Now, go on downstairs the two of you, help yourself to the oatmeal raisin cookies on the table and if you are thirsty there is fresh lemonade in the fridge.”

“Thank you so much, Aunt Mavis.” You threw your arms around her, as Gator jumped down from the tub.

Soon you both were hurrying down the stairs.

******

There was part of you that was happy he was there and that he had not ghosted you. But it brought up so many things back. So many moments, you had pushed away. All of this had felt so long ago.

Your stomach churched, as you placed the seeds into the oven after sprinkling them

with some salt. You quickly washed everything down, and then curled up on the sofa.

Just behind you not hid by the sounds of the movie, the floor boards creaked once more and the fresh scent of your soap tickled your nose. Your lips curled into a smile. You would not be startled a third time.

Gator’s hands were on you then. They warm, rough but you enjoyed how they felt coaxing you to looked back at him.

You smiled wider when you did. His hair wet hung loose instead of slicked back. You did particularly like when it looked like that. Jeans rested on his hips while a soft black tshirt hugged his trim torso.

“Hi handsome.” You said softly.

He smirked, stepping a little closer. “How do I smell?”

You made a show of sniffing the air. “Much better.”

******

“I could get used to that.”

Hmm? You made a questioning sound as you opened the stove, after turning it off to take out the pumpkin seeds.

You placed the cookie sheet on the counter. Your heart leapt, as you caught sight of Gator leaning in the threshold of the kitchen.

You slipped one and then the other oven mitt off before looking at him again. You walked right up to him as he took a pull on his vape and he exhaled a cloud towards the ceiling.

“What could you get used to?”

“You tulip.” A smirk curled his lips. “You are quite the sight.”

@delikaitxx @keerygal

#joe keery #joe keery imagine #joe keery fanfiction #gator tillman #gator tillman fic #gator tillman fanfiction #gator tillman imagine #gator tillman x fem!reader #gator tillman x reader #gator tillman x you #gator tillman smut #gator tillman fluff #gator tillman angst #part 7 #the past follows you like a shadow #🐊

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angellayercake · 2 years ago

Text

Banchetto: Antipasto

Papa Emeritus III x Reader

AO3 | Aperitivo

The tomatoes should be small diced and even. In a dish so simple every detail must be perfect lest they disrupt the whole. The juicy seeds are scooped out and left to one side leaving you the ripe flesh to work with.

• • • • • • • • • ✦ • • • • • • • • • •

Whatever it was about the recipes from the book they had done the trick. He was finally eating and you could relax slightly. Although it was clear to you that whoever had translated it had not been an experienced cook. The descriptions were sometimes clunky, other times made little sense at all. With your lack of Italian and the mysterious translator's lack of cooking knowledge it was clear that some things had been lost in translation. But, since the day he had left the notebook out for you he had refused to discuss it.

You flick through the pages most days making notes of recipes to try, ingredients you need to acquire and passages that need further research. The thought of showing the notebook to anyone else made you uncomfortable but the odd instruction? That didn’t seem so much of a breach of trust. For now though you stuck to the simpler recipes. There had been less to translate and any errors you had found were easily corrected with your cooking knowledge.

The thought of being Papa’s personal cook hadn’t really excited you when you first found out, especially with how difficult he was during the first few weeks. You enjoyed cooking for the whole Abbey. It was a challenge for you cooking in such large batches and still maintaining the flavour and standard you expected of yourself. Cooking for one man hadn’t seemed like much of a stretch even if it was Papa Emeritus III. But now as you tried to settle on your choice of the day you could acknowledge how much fun you were having learning about authentic Italian cooking.

• • • • • • • • • ✦ • • • • • • • • • •

Leaves plucked carefully from the stem and piled in the centre of the wooden bowl. Your fingers come away fragrant, with a faint tinge of green you notice as you rock the curved blade back and forth slicing through the delicate leaves. There is nothing like the aroma of freshly cut herbs you think as you add them to the tomato.

• • • • • • • • • ✦ • • • • • • • • • •

‘Wine?’ He gestures the bottle towards you after pouring his own.

‘I’m working Papa. No thank you.’ You continued stirring the pot in front of you, turning down the heat fractionally. He had taken to sitting in the small kitchen space as you prepare his evening meal. He rarely spoke much but had the occasional question about something you were doing. Dipping your spoon in the sauce you blow across it to lower the temperature before giving it a taste. You allow the small mouthful to roll over your tongue giving yourself time to identify the flavours. Taking a pinch of salt you sprinkle it across the surface as you continue to mix. You reach for your tasting spoon, cleaning it quickly before taking another taster.

‘Why are you doing this? Hungry already, are you?’ You take your time finishing your taste test happy that the flavours were now balanced. He is watching you inquisitively and you shouldn’t be as surprised as you are at his lack of understanding given the life he has led.

‘I’m making sure the seasoning is as it should be.’ He tilted his head as though he still didn’t quite understand. ‘I am tasting, not eating Papa. To see if anything needs adding to improve the flavour.’ He nods as you finish speaking.

‘So you say Sorella, that you must taste it as you go along so you know when something is ready. You must monitor the flavour as it develops so you know if you must add this or that.’ He gestured to the rack of seasonings you had placed next to the oven.

‘The good thing about seasoning is you can adjust it as you go up until the very end of cooking, but how would you know if you didn’t taste it?’ You smile at him over your shoulder as you continue to stir.

‘Si I understand. But that only works if you have not done enough, no? What if you were to add too much?’ It is no surprise to you that this is his next question. You had asked something similar when you had been completing your training. You were enjoying sharing your knowledge with him. ‘Surely the dish would be ruined?’

‘Well that depends. If you know what you did to ruin it you can add something to counteract.’ Turning down the heat for the last few minutes you are able to give him your full attention.

‘Adding more, this would not just make the situation worse eh?’ You smile and shake your head. Aside from burning a dish there was not much you could do to ruin a simple dish entirely.

‘That’s why you must understand how to balance flavours before you try anything like this. For example if I added too much salt to this dish I could add some lemon juice to neutralise it or if I added too much spice adding some oil will help temper the heat.’ He didn’t respond further so you returned your attention back to the task at hand although you couldn’t help but glance at him every now and then. He was lost in his thoughts, brow furrowed as he absent mindedly swirled his wine around the glass. Every time you look over at him he holds your gaze for longer and longer until you can’t bring yourself to look away. He is not the man you thought he would be, that's for sure. Now he had gotten used to your presence he was quiet and thoughtful. Much more introspective than many would give him credit for.

He visibly snaps back to the present and you quickly turn back to your cooking. The thought of him catching you staring has a blush spreading across your face. He moves in the corner of your vision, setting down the glass and running his hands through his hair, his agitation confusing you. He stands and moves closer, placing his hand on your arm and squeezing to get your attention, as if he didn’t have it anyway. You don’t understand the frustration in his face or what about your conversation had inspired that feeling.

‘But how do you know Sorella? How can you tell what must be added, what must be taken away, and by how much?’ He flusters you with his questions. The thought that your conversation is no longer about food grows in the back of your mind as you look into his eyes.

‘Intuition, I suppose, practice, experience.’ Your answer only seems to increase his frustration so you continue. ‘Your personal taste also plays a part.’ His hand drops from your arm but he looks at you a moment longer before returning to his seat. The conversation is over and you can’t shake the feeling that you said something wrong. Removing the dish from the heat you quickly serve up a generous portion for him and place it before him at the table. You clean up quickly wanting to get away from the awkward atmosphere as soon as you can. As you are about to leave he calls to you.

‘This is very good Sorella, grazie,’ along with a tired smile. You take it for the apology you think it might be and give him a smile in return.

‘Good night Papa.’

• • • • • • • • • ✦ • • • • • • • • • •

The smell hits first as you pull the foil package from the oven, opening it slightly to let it cool as you prepare the bread. Cutting through the loaf diagonally for the best slice. Thick enough to carry their intended load but thin enough to ensure they toast evenly. You brush them with oil watching it drip into the airy dough before returning the tray to the oven.

• • • • • • • • • ✦ • • • • • • • • • •

The bread, cheese and seasoning could already be found in the now well stocked kitchen but the fresh ingredients required a trip to the Abbey gardens and so to see Primo. You were apprehensive. He would have questions naturally but you had been doing your best to keep Terzo’s confidence. The longer you spent with him the more you realised he was quite resentful of his brothers interference in his life. A veiled comment here and there. A roll of the eyes when you mentioned speaking with them but at least he wasn’t taking it out on you any more.

The walk through the ornate moon garden and past the fountain gave you some time to prepare yourself. The fragrant white blooms waved softly in the breeze as you walked. You had always thought this part of the garden bland especially when compared to the riot of colour and chaos that was the kitchen garden. That was until you had been passing through one evening on your way back to your quarters. More often you walked the long way from the Papal suites, through the winding halls but one balmy night you had thought to cut across the gardens to shorten your journey. Instead you found yourself sitting mesmerised as the white blooms seemed to glow in the moonlight. Now you take every opportunity you can to wander through the flower beds, the soft sound of the fountain and singing birds your soundtrack and the floating bees and butterflies your companions.

Today though you do not have time to linger so you spare only a quick glance before heading to the green houses. You slide open the door to let yourself in, feeling the humid heat wash over you as you close it again behind you. The sweet smell of ripening produce melded with the earthy scent of the damp soil filling your senses as you look around for Primo. You spot his dark robes through the greenery and make your way to the potting tables set up in the centre.

‘’Buon pemeriggio Sorella,’ he called as you moved into his line of vision. ‘And what can I help you with today?’

‘Only tomatoes today Papa, and some fresh basil as well.’ You had known Primo for longer than either of the other Papa’s, your work in the kitchen had brought you together very shortly after you had arrived at the Abbey.

‘Ah both staples in all good Italian cooking si. Is he still having you make all the classics for him?’ He gestures you towards the vines at the far end. ‘Come, come we will find the best that I have for my fratellino.’

‘Thank you Papa. Those meals do seem to be what he prefers, but I don’t mind.’ It felt that you were the only one not surprised that Terzo might prefer food from his home country given the reaction of everyone but you were genuinely enjoying his preference so far. ‘I hadn’t had the opportunity to learn many Italian recipes before this so it is an excellent opportunity.’

‘Si Sorella I am sure. And how is my brother? Is he behaving himself?’ You wonder what he means by behaving himself. Surely he knows that Terzo had been eating normally for some time now. ‘I fear he has not forgiven me for siding with Secondo. More often I used to be the neutral party between them.’

You take your time before answering him, slightly surprised at his candour. You had always got the impression that the brothers kept their familial relationship private from the majority of the congregation. ‘He is fine I think Papa. I don’t see much of him except at mealtimes but he seems well.’ He fixes you with a look you can’t quite decipher.

‘I think you have seen him enough to know him better than most.’ Hesitation fills you with his statement. You know exactly what he means and yet you don’t really want to let on.

‘I just make him food Papa,’ is your simple reply. You are just doing the job that has been asked of you.

‘The mistake people often make with my fratellino is to take him at face value. He does it very well, his show. He has done, since he was a child but it is a mistake to think he is only this.’ You nod slowly. That was something you had noticed. The man you had got to know so far was different from the man you had seen at rituals and at mass but that was not entirely unexpected.

‘You know him best I’m sure.’ You keep your attention on the tomatoes searching through the vines for the brightest red you can find.

‘Si, si. I know him, Secondo knows him but many others, I think they only know Papa Emeritus III. Many will need to find out who Terzo is now. Maybe even including him.’ You aren’t entirely sure how to respond. This was not how you were expecting this conversation to play out but you try to bring your mind back to the matter at hand.

‘I think I have enough tomatoes now Papa. I just need some basil and then I will be out of your way.’ You add what you have collected to his basket before winding your way back out of the vines.

‘Oh Sorella you are not in my way. I appreciate any visitors that find their way here.’ He hands you the basket of tomatoes and motions you to follow him out of the greenhouse towards the herb garden collecting a pair of secateurs as you pass the potting table. Instead of trimming from the larger plant though he picks up a smaller plant still in its own pot.

‘This one,’ he starts turning back towards you and offering you the plant to hold. ‘It was broken from the main during the last storm. But you see when something breaks if you allow it to grow roots and nurture it, it becomes a whole new plant.' He cuts away at the leaves all the way down to the stem starting from the base and working up the plant methodically.

‘That’s enough now Papa you can stop,’ you say but he continues cutting until there isn’t a leaf left on the poor plant, just little stumps protruding from the bare stem. ‘What will happen to it now that there are no leaves?’

‘If it is strong it will grow back even bigger and better than before Sorella. And I am sure it is strong to have survived all that it has already.’ He fixes you with one last confusing look before adding the cuttings to your basket. ‘Give my greetings to my fratellino, and tell him to come and see me when he has finished sulking.’

‘Of course Papa.’ You nod your head in farewell and take your leave. You had thought you would be subtly integrated about Terzo, not given some kind of plant based philosophy lesson. You sigh to yourself checking the time as you make your way back through the gardens. There is no time to dwell on cryptic metaphors. You need to get back and start your preparation otherwise his food will not be ready on time. And that was what you had been asked to do, just make him food.

• • • • • • • • • ✦ • • • • • • • • • •

It is a pleasant surprise that the recipe had suggested roasted garlic but it made such sense by smoothing out the pungent flavour and adding some depth. Before mixing you generously splash it with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season with freshly ground salt and pepper.

• • • • • • • • • ✦ • • • • • • • • • •

For once he wasn’t loitering in the kitchen as you cooked so as you came close to finishing you decided to fetch him. Bruschetta was best served fresh. You wandered through the rooms in an effort to find him but it wasn’t until you reached the door to his bedroom, left slightly ajar, that you knew you had located him. Reaching forward to knock your actions are halted when you hear a choked off moan.

Your eyes find him straight away through the gap in the door, sitting on his bed with his back to you. Which would be fine if he wasn’t sitting opposite a mirror which gave you the perfect view of exactly what he was doing and you have to hold back a gasp as soon as it registers. The first thing you notice is his hand wrapped around his cock. How could you not? His stroke is slow and teasing and you can see the pink head disappearing and reappearing from his fist. You shouldn’t be seeing this and you certainly shouldn’t still be watching but you can’t move. Realising how long you have been staring you quickly glance up at his face and let out a sigh of relief that his eyes were closed. His face was slack with pleasure, an expression you could recognise from when he especially enjoyed the food you had made for him. That knowledge sent a spark of unexpected heat through you and you have to look away.

But you can’t drag your eyes from him completely. The next thing you notice is his other fist clenched to hold the hem of his shirt out of the way of his ministrations. You can’t see much but what you can makes your mouth dry. His stomach was tense twitching as he pleasured himself but that didn’t disguise the softness that had grown in the time you had been working for him. Right there only just visible was the evidence of your hard work and you could not have predicted the reaction it would have inspired within you.

A loud low moan finally brings you back to your senses. You have to go, this isn’t right. Dragging your eyes away you turn as quietly as you can leaning against the wall a moment as you catch your breath. Pulling yourself together you carefully make your way back to the kitchen pleased that you weren’t caught in such a compromising situation. What you didn’t know at the time was if you had let your eyes drift to his face one last time before turning away you would have met his burning mismatched gaze where it was fixed on you in the mirror. Watching you, watch him.

• • • • • • • • • ✦ • • • • • • • • • •

Now toasted you grate the parmesan directly onto the bread and give them a minute more in the heat to begin to melt and crisp. You spoon the well mixed tomato and basil onto each slice piling it generously until you have one spoonful left.

• • • • • • • • • ✦ • • • • • • • • • •

It takes a lot longer for parmesan to melt than you had thought. You stare at it intently attempting to stop your mind from wandering to what was happening just down the hall. Don’t think about what he was doing. Don’t think about how he sounded. And certainly don’t think about how he looked, so different from the last time you had seen his body. Gone was the concave stomach and the visible ribs. You had noticed it somewhat in his face, the shadows receding under his cheeks and around his eyes. But that didn’t prepare you for seeing how his stomach had filled out. If you hadn’t seen him before it would have barely given you pause, but knowing that you had done that. Your cooking and your care had changed him, that affected you as much as watching him pleasure himself had.

The shrill beep of the timer pulls you back to reality abruptly and you reach for the toast quickly so as not to let them burn. Only when the tray is securely placed on the trivet do you allow your mind to wander again. The guilt was starting to overwhelm you now. You should have left as soon as you realised what he was doing, not stood and watched like a pervert but you had been glued to the spot. Reaching for the bowl you let the image of him fill your mind once more as you spoon generous heaps of the mixture on to the fresh toast. So lost in thought you are as you carelessly eat the last spoonful, oblivious to anything else going on around you.

‘Caught you Sorella,’ he whispers so close you feel his breath against your ear. No he can’t have. You choke, coughing and spluttering and he laughs as he pats your back, helping you clear your clogged airway. You gasp in air as soon as you can and force yourself to look at him. He is smiling, why would he be smiling at you after catching you watching him in such a personal moment? You wipe away the tears that had gathered at the corner of your eyes as you concentrate on regulating your breathing.

‘That was eating and not tasting I think.’ A hysterical laugh bubbles up in your chest, relief washing over you. He was talking about you eating, not about you watching him jerk off. He laughed along with his hand resting on your shoulder and you were torn between leaning into it and pulling away. You were already attracted to him and everything that had happened this evening just compounded to make it worse. This was not what you were here for and you needed to pull it together.

‘Yes Papa, you caught me this time,’ you offer with a weak smile before adding two slices of the bruschetta to a plate and handing it to him and creating a buffer between you. He accepts it with a grin, not even moving before taking a bite. His eyes close and he lets out a now familiar moan at the taste. He adds another couple of slices to his plate giving you a wink that makes your pulse race and your knees weak and then he is gone.

Thank you @ghostchems and @namelessdrool for all your help!!! And @running-ace21 for the original prompt :)

#papa emeritus iii x reader #terzo x reader #terzo #papa emeritus iii #the band ghost fic #the band ghost fanfiction #my writing #banchetto

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slowlyhardgoatee · 2 years ago

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Wow. I didn’t think you’d actually come, Smith.

I see you brought your son with you, as I told you to. Good. I want him to see and be a part of this. I want him to know what his father’s prepared to do to write off a debt.

That’s right, son, your dad’s into me for a couple hundred thousand. I told him there was a way to write the debt off. I think you probably know what the deal we made was - your dad might be into me for money, but you’re into me in a whole different way, ain’t’cha, boy? Yeah. Go ahead and stare at my crotch, boy, I can guarantee you’ll be getting well acquainted with it soon enough.

Y’know, I always have a rule: don’t get kids involved. That’s why we’re doing this now. See, your dad’s been racking up debts to me for about a year now, taking out loan after loan and never repaying - finally, I got sick of it. I waited deliberately until last Friday. What happened last Friday, son? …That’s right, it was your eighteenth birthday. And I sent your deadbeat dad a little message.

Read him the message, Smith, out loud.

Oh, you won’t? Ok then, I will.

‘No kids. That was the agreement. Time’s up. You’ve got a week to come up with the money, or I’m gonna cum up something else. Your choice. Wish Tim a happy birthday. Looking forward to seeing you both soon. Saturday next week. 3PM. Bring the money, or bring Tim.’

Well, I’m looking around real good, Smith, and I ain’t seeing two hundred thousand. I am seeing your son, though. And I think I’m gonna be seeing a lot more of him, am I right?

Tim, get over here a minute. Listen, son, I’m about to give your dad a choice. When he makes it, I think I’ll be handing him a piece of paper and a pen.

Well, go ahead, Smith. You got the money? Or you wanna write your name on a sheet of paper for me?

Yeah. Just as I thought. Tim, hand your dad this piece of paper and then come back over here. Don’t look at it! Just hand it over. Good lad.

Sign on the dotted line whenever you’re ready, Smith. There we go. And hey, just like that, your debt is forgiven. There’s just a couple more things I need you to do.

Give Tim that paper back. Tim, read it out for me.

‘I hereby swear that I understand that Tim Smith is now Your property to use as You see fit, for as long as You want. I understand that in exchange for forgiving my debt, I am giving my son’s body to You with no time limit, and that he is to be viewed as nothing more than a pair of holes to be fucked. My signature below makes this contract binding.’

And then there’s the signature, etc. Good. Glad we all understand each other. Tim? You understand what you’ve just read out? Good. In that case, I want you to strip, right here, right now, and get on all fours. I’ve seen the way you’ve been looking at me lately, boy. I know you’ve been wanting this for a while.

Now it’s over to you, Smith. Last thing I need you to do to ensure your debt is paid. Ready? Here we go.

Beg me. Beg me to rape your only son’s faggot cunt bareback right in front of you and take his virginity. Beg me to use him as a fucking cum dump. Beg to watch me breed him while I call him every whore, slut and faggot under the sun. And finally, Smith, when I’ve done seeding his hole, you can beg to lick his cherry off my cock. And then you’ll never see each other again.

In your own time, Smith. Tim’s got a hungry hole just waiting to be fed. You just say the word. Oh - and make sure you call me Sir while you’re at it. I can’t wait to look you straight in the eye knowing you’ve begged me to breed your only son’s virgin cunt.

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angelosearch · 1 year ago

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here is a weird little ramble about how weird and obsessive I am about this damn videogame.

You know that quote from Laguna at the beginning of disk 2 where he is like, "Oh, please let it be this room when I wake up! Please let me be in this puny bed when I wake up!"*?

I get that feeling sometimes. When you finally feel safe and happy and loved, it's hard to believe it will stay. Sometimes it's hard to believe I even deserve for it to stay. So I start and end each day with the fear of it all disappearing, and it's hard to hang on to gratefulness when you're doing that.

Right now I have so much joy and fun and creativity in my life. I spent so many years in a deep depression that I forgot I could be excited like this. I didn't know I could still feel so strongly about things. And while I spent a lot of 2023 seeing all of my mental health treatments/work paying off, I didn't feel truly whole until I rediscovered Final Fantasy VIII in July.

And my "puny bed" is just that - being engaged with Final Fantasy VIII. I get scared that one day I will be uninterested. But I never want to be unobsessed again.

I have loved Final Fantasy VIII at least since I was about 11, but I think I loved it since the first time I watched my brothers play the demo. It has been an important part of my life - playing the game influenced all my interests going forward; making fanfiction taught me how to write; going on forums to discuss the game helped me learn how to socialize online; and honestly I could go on.

But I've gone through cycles. I was very obsessed from 11 to 13, then someone made me a cake with the Griever necklace on it for my 16th birthday (WHICH WAS SO COOL) and all I could feel was embarrassment. My interest had gone completely dormant. It reemerged at 19 with the help of my Final Fantasy XIII roommate in college and went on long enough for us to go to see a Distant Worlds concert together, but faded again when she left for Amsterdam.

The first five years of my young professional life I am not sure I had any interests at all, being so busy and detached from myself, so Final Fantasy VIII was nowhere in my vocabularly. Which meant my wedding had not a drop of FFVIII in it. Even though my husband suggested it. Even though we learned how to dance for it, and could have done the waltz for the moon.

Strangely enough, about two days before the remaster dropped, I was inspired to look up FFVIII for some unknown reason. It was as if I felt the new opportunity to play in the force and when I found out a remaster was coming out, I absolutely had to play it.

And I did. And I enjoyed it. But that was when I started to fall down a dark spiral. The love was very quickly strangled.

When I was at my very worst, I kid you not, I could not even bring myself to think of FFVIII. I very clearly remember one December night in 2020 I spent manic in a psych ward, scared and uncomfortable and unable to fall asleep. I tried to focus on fanfiction ideas so I could maybe be relaxed enough to doze, instead of spending hours in the darkness wondering if my meds would ever work, if my heart was going to explode, if I would ever be "normal" again, while people opened my door at random intervals to shine a flashlight on my face. I tried to conjure Squall's face, or quotes from the game, and it all collapsed into nothingness.

And that was how it was. From then until mid-2023, FFVIII was shut away from me by the tomb of my own illness.

Then, I think it was March or April, my therapist and I were talking about ways to tackle my insomnia that didn't involve additional medication. It came up that I used to make "fake bedtime scenarios" about characters in this videogame I liked and that would not only help me fall asleep, but make me excited to go to bed.

"Why don't you play the game again?" She asked. I know I said "I can't" but I don't remember why. But it was enough to plant a seed (SeeD?).

As the spring continued, I started listening to the music from Final Fantasy VIII. Then I started going on the Reddit. I found this "State of the Arc" podcast that reviewed FFVIII. I listened to it on a roadtrip and, while I enjoyed it, I also found myself yelling at the dashboard because I disagreed with the hosts about something.

When I reached my destination, I found I could not fall asleep. I turned over a lot of things in my brain. I thought about Squall being a high-functioning depressed person with a lot of repressed feelings, like I once was. And how as your brain develops and you have issues like that, especially with CPTSD, it sometimes doesn't matter if your life is good now - the pain demands to be felt and the body remembers what you thought you forgot. And then I wondered, what if he was happy and with Rinoa after FFVIII but had a massive mental breakdown in his late 20s? And so, for the first time in three years, I could think about Final Fantasy VIII to fall asleep again.

After that, I was hooked again, and in a big way. I played the game again and found Reddit wasn't enough anymore. I may be even more obsessed with the game now than I ever was. So I joined Tumblr, and I guess you guys know the rest.

Since bringing this amazing videogame back into my life, I've been happier, more easy-going, and just... able to sit with myself. It makes me want to write, and draw, and sing, and play card games. I find that when my anxiety gets the best of me, I can shift to thinking about Final Fantasy VIII as a way of thought-stopping. And then I've met some amazing people on here that are so interesting and talented and supportive. I literally look forward to coming on Tumblr.

Today I was out and about a lot because I am with my in-laws and I am sort of on vacation. Because of that, I wasn't on Tumblr all day, and, more significantly, I didn't think/talk about Final Fantasy VIII. I mean, it wasn't completely absent from my day as I wore my "Compression of Time" tanktop and Squaket... but irrationally I feared I was somehow "not doing enough FFVIII" today.

And that is silly, of course. And I think in the big picture I am most afraid of being that disconnected and lost again. I could probably find joy in another fandom... maybe.

I just want to keep waking up here, in this cozy place that makes me feel connected and at home.

*btw in google this quote I found out Laguna is a brand of bed frame???

#Essay #personal essay #final fantasy viii #Little mental illness things

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herbofgraceandpeace · 7 months ago

Text

My informal review of The Last Graduate (here be spoilers)

Well, I just finished The Last Graduate, and I’m just sitting with all my muscles clenched in tension and sorrow, lol

But seriously, what an interesting ending……I’m not sure what to make of it yet? The narrative was leading you to expect a big push/big sacrifice from El when something inevitably went wrong, and I was hoping that everything would simply go right (obviously), but I wasnt unaware of Orion’s opportunity to make the self-sacrifice play. WAS IT NECESSARY THOUGH???? *insert look how they massacred my boy meme. i think i read way too much of this book late last night (whoops), so my comprehension of it is not as developed as with the first book (shame on me for reading too fast like a glutton), but what a great sequel! I liked watching El wrestle with learning to trust people and work as a team, I loved watching her relationship with sisters sorry her friends develop, and I loved the growth of her relationship with Orion as well*. I will say I think his character has been a little underutilized at times, in a way not untypical for a romantic interest of either gender, but Novik that’s my mannnnnnnnnnnn, I wanna read about him! But we definitely did get some good scenes that developed he and El’s relationship and seemed the seeds for some of his own character development (let this man GROW). I’m not sure yet how I think the ending plays into that. If Patience-Fortitude was truly going to recenter the world, then his sacrifice was noble and necessary. But if it wasn’t, then why does my precious child need to kill it himself instead of letting El cast it into the void, hmmm? Side note: I loved El finally coming to appreciate the Scholomance cause I was freaking devastated by her willingness to condemn it. Maybe if I had suffered as much as she had, I’d hate my Alma mater too, but the loss of a place you know so well, a place where you have the happy memories of making your first friends—that’s gotta count for something, right?

I forgot to mention this in my review of A Deadly Education, but El’s Mom and their relationship is so important. God bless her, I’d love to meet her. I’d be exasperated at her character role as the Sole Voice of Truth and Goodness, except that’s the truths attributed to her are valuable, nuanced, and beautiful, and her knowledge of them makes sense in the context of how she has chosen to live her life. A life of uncomprising, open-hearted service and self-sacrifice teaches you a lot! Which brings us to one of my favorite bits of the book. I adore that Novik, Scholomance, and El all realize that you have to be faithful in the little moments because they shape you!!!! She had grown accustomed to saving the freshman instead of sacrificing them for her own benefit, and this shaped her character and prepared her to realize and then do what needed to be done to save them all. (I have so many good quotes saved without page numbers, so you’ll get those later, but boy howdy, these books have so beautiful things to say)

I’m so, so invested in what’s going to happen in the next book, but I’m not ready to have finished this delightful trilogy either. They’re going to be great rereads for sure! Here’s hoping things turn out okay for Orion (also why did El’s mother warn her off him? We do not know.) I’d love to see El get to change the world with her tiny enclaves, despite my dislike of large stakes in a story since they often render the plot unwieldy to the point of disbelief. It’s hard to write a story about something that changes the world without either 1. Writing Lord of the Rings or 2. Being massively and disgustingly reductive about what it takes to change the world and the u comfortable, uncontrollable consequences of doing so. Nevertheless, I am ready to be hurt again!

*I am once again asking for people not to put sex scenes in books. Please. Don’t do it. Ever.

#the scholomance #The last graduate #The last graduate spoilers #Naomi novik #literary analysis #Peace reads books

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beevean · 5 months ago

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Castlevania Season 4 is an anomaly, because when put next to Season 3, it feels like either Season 4 was finalized before it's predecessor, and they had no time to update it to be more congruent with Season 3's developments, or they were exhausted after finishing Season 3, took a long break, and they lost all of their animation copies and continuity notes, so they had to write follow-up stories from their memories, but they also wanted to tell something new by then. Know what I'm saying here?

I do. I believe two factors impacted Season 3 and Season 4:

Season 3 was not meant to exist. The story was effectively done by S2, after Dracula's death. Or rather... the three protagonists were done, as per Dracula's Curse - Hector and Isaac should have, by all means, transitioned into the Curse of Darkness story. But the original script, the one revised by IGA, only accounted for a Dracula's Curse adaptation. I believe there is a reason S3 was announced in 2018, but was released in 2020: that suggests production issues. Basically, Ellis received more freedom, but he also didn't know what to do anymore, and it's written all over the season. It's obvious they (Ellis and the Deats brothers; I don't think Shankar had much input by this point) were all throwing shit at the wall to see what stuck, only vaguely inspired by the idea of a "vacuum of power" left by Dracula. The Trephacard gang, in particular, has screentime only because they couldn't be dropped as characters, but they really should have been cut.

S3 was criticized by the fans for being simultaneously bleak and a waste of time, and Ellis was accused by dozens of women of sexual misconduct. The story needed to have a happy ending that would make up for all the previous cynicism, and it needed to be wrapped up quickly to cut ties with the man (they couldn't replace him, I suppose: Nocturne is proof of how recognizable Ellis' style is). Season 4 was painfully rushed as a result.

I've read multiple times the theory that a 5th season was planned, and on Wikipedia they say this:

"On March 27, 2019, Netflix announced they had renewed the series for a fourth season,[21] stating on April 16, 2020, that it would be the series's final season.[22] On July 31, 2019, it was reported that amid a wave of sexual misconduct allegations being levelled against the show's creator and showrunner Warren Ellis, he would no longer have any involvement in developing subsequent Castlevania series after the fourth season's release.[23]"

And yeah, the timeline to say "welp shit better be done asap" matches.

I don't believe S4 was planned in advance. It is possible that as S3 was being written, they started to have a general idea of the kind of character development some characters would go through: for example Alucard was pushed into misanthropy by the end of S3, but with the idea that he'd eventually rise above his father, which happened, although in the span of one episode. I'm on the fence about Isaac learning to "live", because that feels like a response to his massive popularity more than something planned in advance, even though admittedly a few seeds were planted in S3. And as for Hector, I am positive the original idea was for him to go on a rampage in the castle, finally growing into the gigachad his fans wanted him to become, but someone in the crew fell in love with the Lenector ship (or saw how much fans loved Lenore), and they swerved his story into that direction at the last minute. That love story is no product of Ellis' pen, I can guarantee you: he only provided the sassy dialogue. basically what flynn did in frontiers lmao

(Trevor and Sypha did nothing relevant, ofc. Trevor was given the Death fight out of pity and I'm also positive about this)

#anti netflixvania #i would love to know more details #something happened in production i can feel it!#but no one has talked about it!#there are only rumors of ellis purposefully tortuing alucard and hector to spite shankar #but shankar was also kicked out of the franchise and i don't think he can talk about his experiences #something tells me those two had to be kept from biting each other's head off and that would explain the mess in the writing #not sure about the share of responsibility for the deats #aside from them cowardly deflecting criticism for s3 because 'kojima brought the horny'#but i think they have much more creative control for nocturne and it shows

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sims-for-semi · 1 year ago

Text

acknowledgements

Surprisingly, it's been harder to write acknowledgements than to have written all this simfiction HAHAHA. Where to start?

I'm happy. I'm very very happy, because not only did I have the opportunity to write about something I love, but because over the course of these three years I have shared with a lot of people aaall over the world, and it has been a rewarding experience in every way. Yes, it wasn't the best novel in the world, but as I mentioned before, I was draining myself of energy as time went on, getting my college degree, starting to work and all that.

If you've been following me for a while, and I know many of you have, you'll know that this started just because I finally had a little bit of time during the pandemic to sit down and get things done. It's been three years since then and damn, it's taken me a hell of a lot longer than expected to finish. Anyway, I'm glad I set out to get it done even though I wanted to give up halfway through, because 1. I like to deliver 2. I owed it to myself. Next year I'm going to be 20 years playing The Sims, and how until then had I not been able to create a silly little story about my favorite video game characters?

One of my missions while writing everything was to be able to maintain some of the gameplay while setting up scenes and editing in Photoshop. Could it have been better? Yes, I'm sure it could. But I also know that I had as much fun as I could have had doing it all.

Simblr is such a wonderful community. I am fascinated to be able to share something I am so passionate about with you. It is a privilege for me that my posts have reached so many people. Who would have thought we were all so invested in the Goths and old, boring Pleasantview.

To wrap things up, I'm gifting you my "Pleasant Valley" so you can read it from the beginning. It's yours. It's ours.

And with the risk of forgetting some people, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart:

and also guallarauco, Piperamitt, tamagniis, da3stars, aheavenscorner, Strangetownfan21, and spookythings as well as the 20 guests that left kudos on AO3. Your support, your likes, your reblogs were FUNDAMENTAL for me to keep writing.

@rurpleplayssims

@plumbtales

@clouse-playssims

@jsasimmer

@keoni-chan

@weirdnerdearnest-blog

@lulousims

@al-pomegranate-seeds

@bluemasims

@janika31

@cindysimblr

@silverspringsimmer

@dearsimmies

@simstationdance

@plumbbobtoggle

@missplayer30

@renfree

@cozy-sims

@cyberafterglow

@gordonlegacies

@midsummersunrise

@riosimblr

Gracias totales 💗

#pv extra #yes i'm crying its 2am and i have to work tomorrow #personal #simfiction

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numberonetacostan · 1 day ago

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Not really a hadcanon but more of a question for your “Taco if she was in III” AU

If Taco did a confessional what episode would it be in and what would she talk about? I’m genuinely curious about this and would like to hear more about this AU!!

Also hope you’re doing well Loomy and happy holidays ^^

HI MUSHY!!!!^^ WELCOME BACK, AND THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH FOR SENDING IN A QUESTION ABOUT ONE OF MY AUS!!!!!!! ☆*:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:*☆ I LOVE BEING ASKED ABOUT MY AUS!!!!!! I'M TYPING IN ALL CAPS BECAUSE I AM SO EXCITED TO BE ASKED ABOUT ONE OF MY AUS!!!!!!^^^^ I LOVE QUESTIONS ABOUT II IN GENERAL TOO!!!!!!!!!! EVERYONE BE MORE LIKE MUSHY /LH -> (any message makes me happy!!! i am being waggish)

AND WHAT A WONDERFUL QUESTION IT IS!!!!! She's not the most open about her feelings, so I don't think she'd use the confessional as much as other contestants. Taco would especially be avoiding everything to do with the game in the beginning, so I don't see her using the confessional early on- besides after the elimination in...

Episode 4 (The Overthinkers): She would use it to speak directly to the viewers, since the viewer vote is what saves her. She would go through the anger and bargaining stages of the five stages of grief in there, first shouting a tad and ranting about how upset she is that the audience voted to keep her around, and then asking the viewers to not give her immunity again. It does not work.

Episode 5 (Tragedy at 60 Feet): No Taco confessional in this episode, but an extra one for Candle!!! Just talking to the audience about how unwell Taco is, really. She's concerned for her <3!!! [I'm sensing a rarepair coming on, someone save me. Candle ended up way more involved in this au than I'd planned before typing it. I love when Taco is loved and is in love. I love women.]

Episode 7 (Best Served Cold): Yet another episode in which there's no confessional from Taco, but there is one about her!!! This one's by Balloon, done before he tries to reach out to Taco, mostly discussing his thought process about it to the audience. He isn't sure whether or not Taco can be trusted, but he can see that she's suffering, and wants to extend the same (theoretical, of course) hand to her that Suitcase extended to him <3.

Episode 15 (Blue Buried): Taco would do a confessional!!! 11 episodes later!!!! A short one, though, revolving around that one line from Blueberry after he's done playing dead!! "Because. Whenever MePhone has a personal problem, he turns it into a challenge. It’s so predictable. And unhealthy." Taco would agree so hard with this!! It's something she brings up in her Truth or Flare monologue, and she would bring it up in her final 3 speech in this au!!!!! And, in her confessional, she would highlight it to the audience. Blueberry may not have succeeded in rejoining, but he was right about how the game is run, unfortunately. It's unhealthy for everyone, really. Seeds of her big speech in the finale here, yeah?

Episode 18 (A Jury of Your Fears): All three finalists do a confessional reflecting on their time this season and their thoughts on facing the jury. Taco would be really annoyed that she's had to be here, has hated the season, hates hates the game and what it does to all of them... but would admit she did meet some nice people <3. As for her thoughts on facing the jury? She does not want to!! There's no way she's gonna win, she doesn't even want to win, and she does not want to stand in front of a group of people who hate her (almost as much as she hates herself <3). But if she has this platform, if she can get them to listen, maybe she can do something good.

Happy holidays, Mushy!!!^^ Thank you for the ask again I really liked answering this one!!!!!!!! X]

#inanimate insanity #ii taco #taco ii #loomy's answers #inanimate insanity hc #candle ii #ii candle #balloon ii #ii balloon #taco in iii au #im serious about the questions thing btw #au questions #character questions #meta questions #i am happy to answer those too because they are fun!!!!#honestly if its ii related im happy to receive it

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rosedarkness24 · 9 months ago

Text

Cult Shenanigans

Ghost stories

POV Ash

If you had told Ash 80 years ago that she would have her life turned upside down by a green wort worm, be put up for sacrifice to a God she didn't even know, and then saved by a adorable little lamb. She would've socked you in the face and told you to get back to work. Her old village wasn't big by any means. Smaller than the campsite they are at now. Resources were slim, and food was scarce. Being the only girl out of a litter of 7 kits, she had to learn how to fight to survive. But they were happy, and the future was looking up as they had gotten a big shipment of resources and seeds. Though they weren't expecting that the shipment was a trap.

Now, 80 years later, the last surviving member of the village. She has died, been resurrected, died again, and been resurrected yet again. For what, she honestly didn't care to know. She knew she was going to be resurrected. The Lamb always let them know, though sometimes even the Lamb couldn't keep up with who wasn't here and who was. She'd been watching her fearless leader running around doing tasks about the camp. More than what they should be doing in her honest opinion.

The heat of the day was over and giving way to the cool night breeze. The sun would be setting soon, and soon, their work day would come to an end. Shifting on her stiff legs, she let's her butt plop down onto the ground before just falling backward and groaning in tiredness. A stifled chuckle comes from her side, Keith finally making noise after three hours.

"What's wrong, Ash? Getting tired of worshipping the Lamb finally?" A feminine voice echoing across the statue. Of course, Valefar would jump on the chance to poke some fun at her.

"Not as tired as you are after a night with Thorn~" her retort was quick, gaining a dramatic gasp from the fluffy pink cat at her side.

"We have not done the naughty! We just chat a lot that's all."

"And the giggling with sounds of what is clearly you two making out?" She bumps her tail to the cat's arm.

"It's absolutely normal for couples to make out. You're the weird one without someone. Heck, even Keith has a crush on someone." Thron was not having it. Not that she could blame him, everyone has teased him for somehow managing to swing two former followers of the choas God.

"Yeah! You literally fit the lone wolf vibe like our leader. Go find someone or just ask the leader out." Yeah, that wasn't happening. From the number of times she had been witness to the Lamb's rejections, she could tell they didn't really like anyone more than as their flock.

"How about you shove it up your ass Valefar."

"Bitch! I am saying you need a life outside of devoting your existence to the Lamb and Death." She wasn't wrong. All Ash has done since she's been here was devote herself to the Lamb and The One Who Waits. But it's not like a 24.7 thing, she does hang out with her friends, just not as much as she likes showing her devotion. She wanted so desperately to be at the Lamb's side. To be the once they confide in, but so far, they have been distant.

"Well, if we're done poking fun at each other, let's head to bed. Night fall is upon us soon."

"You're dodging the topic, Ash~" The fuzzy red silk worm moves past the statue over to the group. Closing Ash in their little bubble.

"I have a life outside of devoting myself to our God and Lamb. I just know when to separate work from play." Sitting up off the ground finally, she stretched out her back a bit. She wasn't able to do an actual full stretch while sitting on the ground like Thorn. But in a way, she counts that as a blessing. She knows her limits.

"Plus, isn't this like our job? We power the Lamb to help free our God. What else could anyone wish for?" The looks she got weren't ones she liked.

Keith scratches the back of his head. Despite him being the first follower, he never really seemed to be eager about all this. More than once, has he fought with the Lamb about their decisions. And while she understood his values didn't aline well with the Lamb's. It's those same values that have kept him from his death. Those same values showed him that it was okay to be flawed.

"Ash.... I don't think we should sacrifice our health..... especially our mental health." He nervously taps his fingers together. "And That's kinda worrisome behavior...."

"Oh, okay. So we all know Keith is a skeptical bitch." Valefar claps her hands together and takes a deep breath, shooting a glare at Keith who was trying to speak again. "We aren't saying love is devotion. There's a difference, and while you do have devotion. You clearly also have a thing for the Lamb."

How can she have a thing for the Lamb? She wasn't even sure they even thought she was even a friend. Isn't this a little jumping the gun? She sighs, pitching the bridge of her snout out of frustration.

"While you're might not be wrong about me wanting to know them more, that's it. I don't know about you, but I don't think they even know that we exist outside what we do." She pushes herself up off the ground and brushes herself off. "Plus, looking at this from a more modest perspective, I want to be someone they can trust. And I will do so without pushing them out of their boundaries."

Thorn smiles softly and takes her arm into his. "I agree with this. That's a lot healthier way of getting into a relationship compared to my way."

"Oh? Was me pin-"

"Aaaaaahhh! Valefar nooooo!" Quickly, the pink cat covers his taller lover's mouth.

----

Night had fallen hours ago yet. Sleep didn't come for the four, so to combat this, they decided to sneak off to the temple to tell ghost stories. Like scarring the shit out of each other would fix their insomnia. It mostly fueled Valefar's and Ash's gremlin behavior as Keith was too easily spooked by things, and Thorn was so fluffy when they got to scare him.

Keith had been bad at telling ghost stories compared to the rest. Thorn's while can be scary. It was more a predictable scary. Valefar's genuinely scared them all. For a former follower of chaos, she definitely showed follower of death traits long before all this. Graphically telling of true horror stories about things she has done in the past to those who didn't follow the old faith.

Meanwhile, Ash seemed to be more on the supernatural side of ghost stories. Her turn, having rolled around again, She was growing tired. But the others clearly were still wide awake. It was definitely close to midnight or past midnight now. And none of them are going to want to wake up tomorrow. Taking a deep breath, letting her mind clear so she could tell her story. Her ear flicks, and she opens her eyes, an idea in mind now.

"You ever hear about the Lambs that were all sacrificed? What happened to their souls?" Her voice had drops a bit with the seriousness in it.

"A bit of an insensitive story, Ash." Keith crossed his arms, not amused by this at all. And he wouldn't be wrong if he wasn't the one pointing it out. But so far, there were no objects to her using this topic.

"Oh, shut up, Keith. Valefar has been telling fucking old faith stories this whole time." Thorn jabs back to the fawn. "Continue with your story, Ash. I know that I personally never heard anything about what happened to the lambs' souls before."

A smirk danced on the fox's lips as Thorn allowed her to continue. "In my old village, not too far from this campground actually." A lie, "We had worked throughout the night, and when night falls, the barrier between life and death is lowered by the magic in the air. So it was a great time to craft magic infused items to make a protective barrier around the village. Like how the Lamb has those just outside the campground." She gestures to where the stone wall would be outside the temple.

"That night, me and my brother, Jackson, were assigned this task. We hadn't ever done this before. So we spent the whole day learning each one who what they were supposed to do." She leans back and reaches up into the air.

"We came up with a game plan. I would take care of my half of the village while he did his half. It's quicker that way. And we could possibly get a few more hours of sleep." Grabbing onto the air, a silent gesture to how untrue their thoughts were.

"Everything started out fine. I was able to get halfway through my side in such a short time. Finding the whole process of blessing and crafting a mind-numbing experience. I guess I never really noticed the movement in the treeline till I was just mear inches from it."

The room was silent in her momentary pause. She had captured their attention now. "I would not lie. If a doll could be made creepy, it was then. Because right in front of me was a doll of a lamb. One poorly made, I guess it had been made by a lamb if I were to think about it clearly now. Though at the time, it wasn't something we'd make. So, seeing it hanging from a string on its neck really freaked the hell out of me."

Keith's face contorted to confusion, as well as Thorn's. Both had been expecting her to scare them then. Valefar was more interested now. For her, this wasn't normal behavior of a sane person. This was the behavior of someone who genuinely wanted to get a reaction out of Ash.

"I don't really know how to explain it, so this might sound shitty. But just looking at that doll gave me this more unsettling feeling, like something, or someone was just trying to get my attention. I felt like I needed to quickly finish what I was doing there before anything else were to happen." She leans forward. "After a while, though, you can't ignore the eyes, bareing into you back."

The boys both tense up unsettled by the feeling. Being so invested that they themselves felt the pinpricks of goosebumps crawling around their backs. It felt so real to what Ash was saying, as if they actually did have eyes on their backs. Thorn's fur raised making him much larger that he truly was.

"Time didn't seem to go so fast anymore. Going back to a sail pase, as their was silence in the air around me. Nothing dared to make a sound other than me. Cross, wrap, bless, cross, wrap bless." They all seemed to be sitting on the edge ready for something, anything to happen. Uneasiness filled the air as if they were being circled by a predator.

"Snap... I broke one of the sticks." She hangs on the eerie silence. "It's next to me now. I can feel its breath down the side of my neck. But I dare not to look. Don't look Don't-"

"WhErE's My HeAd~" The deeper, monotone, broken voice of a half awake grumpy Lamb comes just beside Thorn and Keith. Causing both to scream in pure terror and scrabble out of the temple. A very shocked and scared Valefar was dragged out by her hairbairned boyfriend. All this just cracked the fox up.

She heard the Lamb coming out of their hiding spot within the temple before. Where exactly that was, she didn't even care. It was just convenient for her to scare the others to bed. She'd been laughing hysterically at her peers. She looked over to the Lamb in her fit of laughter.

They were smiling rather amused as well from the whole interaction. "Having fun there, my dear?" They stepped into the light, the red glow around their mouth and eyes flipping back into their natural look. Though lately after the first bishop's death, their eyes have been slowly turning more red by the day.

"Very my Lamb. It's about time we headed to bed. Thank you for helping them to bed."

There was silence as the Lamb watched her from where she sat. She was suddenly very glad that she was a black fox, as she could feel embarrassment crawling at her.

"....Rest here for the night. It'll keep them in bed." They move over the the podium. Opening up the side and pulling out a few blankets and bags of wool as pillows. "Plus, you look like you're about to pass out right here and now. So bedrest is in order." They smile at her seemingly to be completely unaware of her embarrassment.

"Thank you, my L-"

"Max.... my name is Maximum, but call me Max."

"Thank you, Max." She smiles softly up to them, glad to see them opening up, even a little bit.

#cotl #cult of the lamb #cotl au #cult of souls #cotl lamb #cotl oc #cotl follower #The Loyal Bell

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excelsi-or · 1 year ago

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summoned (pt. 11)

hi everyone!! i've been writing a ton for other things the last month (original work???? scary and shocking), but now i need to let those stories stew for a bit. SOOOOO a promise to you all and myself that i will finish posting this story before the year is done! @darum-darimda i've seen your tags on the last few posts and they've made me really happy! 💕

pairing: woozi x fem!reader/fem!OC

w.c. 2.8k

With a gasp, she jolts upright. Her heart is racing; she can feel it pulsing hard in her neck. She puts her hands flat on the bed and takes stock of the gasping breaths, the slight pain in her chest. When the door opens, she isn't surprised to see Jihoon standing there.

"I thought you were getting possessed," he says softly.

She hangs her head. Her breaths are shaky, the incoming air to her body cool and sharp. "Nightmare, I think."

"Hm."

When her heart rate comes down, she straightens her spine and lets out one long exhale. Then she notices Jihoon still standing in the doorway watching her.

"I'm fine."

"I know."

"Yet you look concerned," she chuckles.

He shrugs one shoulder in response. She doesn't know why that's so charming.

"Are you going to go out tonight?" she asks.

Jihoon shakes his head. "No. I wanted to finish a book."

"Ah."

When she doesn't move to lie back down, he demands, "Why are you not going back to sleep?"

"You're kinda staring. How am I supposed to sleep?"

Jihoon frowns. "Since when has my presence disturbed your sleep?"

She lies down, using her pillows to prop herself up a bit more. "It's different when you're staring."

"I'm not staring."

"Then what are you doing?"

"Waiting until you fall back asleep."

"Why?"

He shrugs again.

She smiles a little, but she closes her eyes.

It's not Jihoon's presence that is preventing her from sleeping. Actually, if anything, it's comforting. But her brain is circling around and around the conversations she had today. She and Jihoon had gone over them on the drive back, but her brain seems to be trying to make connections.

"Is this going to take a long time?" Jihoon asks after a while.

She snorts and sits up. "Yes. Apparently, I want to think about the Grand Plan." She stretches towards her bedside table for the notebook she'd used during her impromptu interviews.

Jihoon takes a seat on the edge of her bed and leans towards her to get a look at the notebook. He hasn't seen the notebook, but he's surprised she's actually taken notes.

"I wanted to be accurate," she says when she notices him scanning the pages.

"It's great work."

She hums. "But what does it mean?"

"Well, you forgot to mention that Eliza said this," Jihoon points to the middle of the page of her second interview. "She's describing espionage."

"Well, she did turn the conversation to Russia and US relations."

"You guys seemed to have been talking about American recipes, though."

She shakes her head. "Demons don't always seem to think in straight lines. But what's catching your attention?"

"She said something about international seeds?"

"In the context of them being planted."

"Planted specifically for plants? Or could it have been metaphorical?"

"You're thinking that she turned the conversation to espionage, because she was talking about demons going international to spy on angels?"

"And further the Grand Plan."

She shrugs. "Anything is possible now. Would the demons have thought of something so cunning?"

"We're not all stupid."

"I guess that's true."

She flips through the pages, and Jihoon reaches for her wrist. He doesn't touch her, but the heat of his hand stops her.

"These four," he says, and flips to four different interviews, "say that the Final Day is coming."

"They all also mentioned the Antichrist."

Jihoon frowns. "The Antichrist?"

She looks up at him. "Maybe they think the Antichrist is coming."

"Very specific events have to happen for that," he mutters.

"Well, what else could the Antichrist mean?"

Jihoon shakes his head. "I need to think on that."

The interviews don't yield much more, other than to tell them that the demons don't care whether humanity survives or not. If anything, they are pretty anti-humanity.

She sighs and leans back into her pillows. The notebook falls closed in her lap. She looks over at him. "How long have you and Seokmin known each other?"

Jihoon blinks at the random question. But they do seem done talking about the Grand Plan. "We met in the 60s."

"The 1960s?"

"Sorry, the 1360s."

"Oh."

Jihoon snorts at her surprised expression. "I've lived a long time."

She hums and studies his face. There seems to be a question she wants to ask, but Jihoon senses she holds back. "Where did you guys meet?"

"He bumped into me in front of a church."

"You were in front of a church?"

Jihoon shrugs. "Just scaring some God-fearing people."

"Did Seokmin lecture you?"

"Incessantly, but he seemed to like me. I don't know why. He invited me to his shop for tea."

"Shop?"

"He had a tea shop at the time. Sold all sorts of varieties of tea, dried leaves, the tea bag was starting to become an idea. Didn't really have the plastic thing down yet, so the paper would melt in the hot water."

"Doesn't sound delicious."

"Or popular. He had to wait a while for tea bags." Jihoon describes a fragrant tea store, the walls covered in shelves that stocked all sorts of tea varieties. Many of them are extinct now. The floors and counters are so well greased that they're reflective. And Seokmin was very particular that his tea be accessible to everyone. So, he had another selection of easier to get teas that the less wealthy people could afford.

"We talked until nightfall."

"Wow."

Jihoon nods, casting his mind back to that first meeting centuries ago. "He was so sure I was an angel then."

"Really?"

"The eyes eventually gave it away." He looks over at her, his eyes flicking black and green. "I hadn't quite learned the trick to keep them... normal looking. Wore a lot of hats and sunglasses at the time."

"Ominous."

"Well, you know. People could get killed looking like me."

They let that sit for a while before she asks, "Did you?"

"Get killed?" Jihoon snorts. "They tried. Seokmin got upset, though, the second time he realized that I was possessing humans and—" He remembers he's talking to a human and stops himself. "Anyway, I learned to play different tricks."

She tips her head, but Jihoon doesn't seem to want to elaborate.

Or rather, he does want to elaborate, but seems worried that she'll judge him.

And she probably would. Human and demon scales of acceptable are definitely different.

"How did you meet Seokmin?" he asks her. He slips the notebook out of her lap and places it on the bedside table.

"High school. He was in my literature class."

"Did you know he was an angel?"

She pauses to consider this. "When I first met him, I wouldn't say I knew exactly. I was 15, maybe? Linnaeus didn't tell me the truth about my parents until I was 16. But when he did, I was certain about Seokmin."

"And you never told him?"

She shrugs. "Never really came up in conversation. And then he was busy becoming a lawyer. Not that he ever really studied."

"Of all professions, I would never have expected him to become a lawyer."

"He has businesses on the side. He's his own lawyer. I don't know how ethical it is, but no one's stopping him." She wiggles further under the covers.

Jihoon gets to his feet once she's asleep. It's nearly imperceptible the way she falls asleep. It was as if he'd blinked and she was unconscious.

He catches one last glimpse of her as he shuts the lights off and closes the door.

At the picnic the next afternoon, she learns a few things very quickly about having a demon.

One, this one hates the sun. Jihoon insists on staying in the shade for as long as possible. When the boys drag him to play foot volleyball, he plays, but he also slathers on as much sunscreen as demonly possible.

Two, they can't get too far away from each other. They've tested it enough times to know 2 metres is about the limit before she feels a tug at her waist and suddenly Jihoon's at her side. The invisible tether's pull is so uncomfortable that she's just been lounging near him in the shade of a tree.

Three, it's evident he has a moral compass. And it's confusing.

"Stop," Jihoon says.

Lying on her stomach on their picnic blanket, she has her sketchbook open in front of her. Jihoon leans back on his palms, watching her sketch, the two of them trying to come up with some sort of coherent plan.

"You can't keep assuming that I'm going to take your soul."

She rolls her eyes. "How many times has Seokmin needed to heal me today?"

"How was I to know that demons liked sunbathing?"

While there isn't any reason why Jihoon can't be around them, the demon has suddenly gotten very cautious whenever other demons are around. He's reached out for her to take on her human scent, forgetting that his skin is the temperature of the sun. More than once, Seokmin has had to discreetly heal various parts of her body.

Her lower back is still sore.

"All your friends think we're dating. It's getting very bothersome trying to divert their minds."

She waves him off, as she taps the back of her pen against the paper, thinking. "Leave it. They think I'm dating every man they don't know."

"You're okay with them assuming that?" Less strain on him.

"We've been together all afternoon, can't leave each other's sides, and you keep touching me. So, yeah, Demon, it kinda looks like we like each other." She stabs the sketchbook. "I have no idea what we do. We don't know what they want, we don't know what was on that computer. You said all the bad stuff, the war, the uprisings in different countries, the pandemic, could be demons edging it all along. But all of that has historically happened before. They mentioned the Antichrist a few times." She stares down at her notebook, which just has doodles of Pup and the boys throughout. "What are they trying to do?"

It clicks for Jihoon then. He straightens, his eyes widening, turning cat-like to the deep human brown.

"You look like you're going to possess someone? Or is that your idea face?" She looks out to the grass where the boys are playing. "Is Pup okay?"

Pup is happily playing with the humans.

"Your mother doesn't know because what's coming doesn't directly have anything to do with us. It's why the demons have all been giving vague answers." Jihoon gets to his feet and pulls her to standing.

Before the burn on her hand can turn third degree, she pulls away. "What's going on?"

He picks up her bag and guides it over her shoulder before dragging her by the bag strap towards the car. "You said it right there, and it all just came together in my head. A new war, uprisings, pandemic. There's death everywhere. It's so obvious, but most demons wouldn't think specifically of it. But clearly it's been on some of their minds. What does all of that sound like to you?"

She frowns.

"Did your parents not bring you up on theology?"

"It shouldn't surprise you that we typically avoided that sort of stuff in my household."

"How's that even possible knowing who your parents are, I'll never understand." He goes to the driver's side of his car. "The Four Horsemen."

Her jaw drops at that realization. "That... is surprisingly obvious." She tosses her bag into the car. "Let me just ask Wonwoo to take care of Pup. I'll be right back."

Jihoon watches her hurry back to the picnic.

And then he hears someone call out to him. With a name he doesn't like to use.

The demon turns and comes face-to-face with Linnaeus.

"I thought that was you." Linnaeus looks past Jihoon to his human walking over to her friends. She joins the game for a bit before stopping it completely to say something. "Thought I recognized you in the elevator." He turns back to Jihoon with a smirk. "Xero's daughter, I see."

Jihoon's eyes narrow, but he says nothing. Linnaeus always liked a fight.

"Whatever you and that human are up to, I suggest that you stop what you're doing. You do not wish to fall out of favour with Him."

When Jihoon still doesn't respond, Linnaeus tries a different angle.

"That human of yours may have a larger role to play than you think. What do you think was going to happen when Xero and that angel she 'fell in love with' mated?" Linnaeus shivers before a grin grows on his face. "A catastrophe."

Jihoon wants to say something in her defence, but her voice echoes in his head. He's just trying to scare you. Whatever lead you're following is getting a result the demons don't want.

"Do you really want to continue to live in this, in this, this purgatory? Are you not sick of needing to deal with the angels constantly? The Grand Plan is near completion, and you are doing nothing to help it along."

Linnaeus continues trying to convince Jihoon to stop, but then the human, Seokmin, and Hansol start walking over.

"I would reconsider where your alliances lie."

"Who was that?" Seokmin asks, his eyes following Linnaeus's figure as it saunters off.

She doesn't say anything, just watches him walk away. When she meets Jihoon's eye over the car roof; he's sure that the human knows exactly who he'd been talking to.

They all climb into the car.

"Wow, sweet ride, Mr. Demon," Hansol says as he puts his seatbelt on.

"He's moving up on my human list," Jihoon says to her, as he turns the key in the ignition. "I won't even demand that he get out of the vehicle."

She snorts, her smile playful. "Get off your high horse. Where's—?"

Seokmin sits back in his seat, his palm hitting his forehead with a loud thud. "Horse. The apocalypse! How could I have missed that?"

Jihoon glances at the angel in his rearview mirror as he pulls out of the parking spot. "The human helped me with that one."

"But where exactly are we going?" she asks.

"We're going to Mrs. Han's store." He swerves into the left turn lane, ignoring the barrage of honking. "It's the only time we've sensed something evil without a body being attached to it." He speeds off as soon as the light turns green.

And then the lights don't stop being green.

Hansol, who is gripping both his seat belt and the handle of the door with his eyes shut tight, asks, "Why though?"

Jihoon's so focused on driving that he doesn't remember to scowl when answering Hansol's question. "The hospital and patients I could tie back to demons. The abandoned building that we visited is a demon body dumping ground. Demons are stirring up shit here, but it's not the only side of the story." He pauses to whip around a corner, nearly missing the turn.

Seokmin and Hansol both gasp and hold their breath. Meanwhile, she's dozed off in the passenger seat again.

Jihoon catches the side of her head on another turn and nudges her back into her seat.

"What concerned me is that Seokmin said angels are manipulating humans too."

Hansol gasps. With his eyes still closed, he turns to where he thinks Seokmin is. "What? You never told me that."

"Humanity is like putting the world in limbo. While you all still exist, we don't live in eternity," is Seokmin's vague answer.

Hansol doesn't like it. "I don't want to know more." He turns away, wincing at the next sharp turn. "Does your plan involve us all surviving today, Mr. Demon?"

"The plan is to get in there and demand to know what's going on."

"Oh, we're not even going to be subtle?" Seokmin inhales sharply on a tight turn. "God, Jihoon, can you slow down?"

"The world could be ending soon and you want me to slow down?"

"What is the likelihood that the world is going to be ending—?" Before Seokmin can finish his question, Mrs. Han's shop comes into view. The black smoke is now billowing out of the front door and seeping out through the front window.

As Jihoon comes to a stop, his human rouses. She has to blink a few times to readjust to the sunlight, and then fiddle with her hair. "Hmm," she leans forward to peer out the windshield, "seems we are right on time." She grins at Jihoon and hops out the car.

Jihoon and Seokmin exchange looks.

"Something's weird now," Seokmin agrees to Jihoon's unasked question.

The demon slams his car door closed. "You think?"

part 12

#woozi scenarios #woozi imagines #woozi #lee jihoon scenarios #lee jihoon #woozi fic #seventeen #seventeen imagines #seventeen scenarios #svt

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