#and offering no support and essentially just like. seeing me as a fuck toy and not a person that had been through trauma I guess

[necrotic-nephilim]

i recently remembered DickTim Week 2024 is happening very soon and i looked at the prompts again to see if i could get anything out for it and. the Hades & Persephone AU prompt for day 1 has got me really thinking so here's a vague concept i plan to write.

i've been pretty burnt out on modern Hades & Persephone retellings because of how they always seem to fall into the same generic "innocent wide-eyed girl runs from her evil mean mother into the arms of a dark mysterious man because actually she went willingly and chose to marry him" which has gotten repetitive for my tastes. (for clarity i don't care if this retelling is your cup of tea personally, so long as you're not actively trying to rewrite the original myth and claim untrue things about it, if this is your favorite flavor i sincerely hope you enjoy the buffet i just have little interest in it since it feels overdone for me and exhausted of it's supposed commentary atp)

but? but. biblically accurate Hades & Persephone AU has me all kinds of interested. because wait listen so hear me out right. Hades!Dick and Persephone!Tim, obviously. i feel it'd be more loosely inspired by with themes and imagery (though playing with death and nature powers could be interesting, i haven't decided) rather than explicitly making them gods and all. but. something dark and fucked up where Dick and Bruce are especially estranged. maybe to do with Jason's return, maybe to do with them just clashing and having their usual explosive arguments. and Bruce knows the peace needs to be kept, if he and Dick are at odds then everyone starts to pick sides and things just fracture so he needs a peace offering.

and the peace offering is Tim.

Bruce (the stand-in for Zeus) offers up Tim. agrees to have Tim move to Bludhaven and be Dick's... whatever Dick wants him to be. knowing that with the implication comes the likelihood of Dick grooming Tim. and Tim has no real say and is hesitant to put up a real fight. he doesn't want this, he knows what this is going to imply Dick will do to him, but he also knows if he says no things have the possibility to just... fall apart. so he's the unwilling bride, dragged off to the metaphorical underworld (Bludhaven) with Dick, away from his family, his friends, the life he built.

and on the flip side, i think weirdly enough, your best pick for the Demeter stand-in is *Jason*. just, hear me out on that. not necessarily on the side of it being motherly, but on Jason being just estranged enough from the Batfamily to be the one willing to call it out for being bad and wrong and raising bloody hell to get Tim back. maybe it's because Jason wants Tim for himself, maybe it's truly out of a concern for Tim to have autonomy, i'm toying with the idea of it primarily being Tim's POV and him genuinely not knowing which of these is true. (and the truth possibly ends up being a complicated middle ground) and because i like Helena, i think you can use her as the Hekate stand in, the one who strikes a tentative alliance with Jason and tries to go find Tim and bring him back. Tim stuck with Dick, getting groomed and hyperaware of it, possibly even getting fucked the whole time as well, knowing he can't go back without causing massive issues for Dick and Bruce because well, Bruce did promise him to Dick. so he has to adjust his whole life, try to figure out being a vigilante in this new city with Dick breathing down his neck the whole time.

and then much like the ending of the myth, a sort of compromise is struck that's a shaky deal for everyone involved. Tim is put on an essential timeshare, going back and forth between Gotham, where he has friends and family and a support system, then getting dragged right back to Bludhaven with Dick in this brutal cycle that he slowly gets used to and stockholm'd into even liking it. Dick isn't so bad, once he gets used to the quirks of their unbalanced 'relationship'. the sex is even something he can adjust to as well. not quite a happy ending but one that sits in this realistic grey area that becomes Tim's life.

i will write this, eventually, but i don't know if i'll get to it before DickTim Week ends so by posting the idea i'm essentially putting it out into the world so the peer pressure holds me accountable. i just. really like the potential of making Hades/Persephone AUs as fucked up as they can be simply by adhering to the source material and making it a raw story of being stolen away and forced to like this new home you didn't ask for.

also a less fleshed-out aspect of this idea i have ties into Persephone becoming the Queen of the Underworld when she's taken and how the transition from Kore to Persephone could be reflected in Tim. how he makes the best of the worst situation and becomes something far more dangerous and dark when he's in Bludhaven, possibly takes on a new vigilante name/identity and leans into the worst quirks of his personality he tries to tamper because there's no point in not going full tilt Obsessively Weird if he has no choice anyway and it being one small way he takes back his autonomy, and that inevitably making Dick *more* into him, because he gets to see Tim finally just. let loose.

[signalwatch]

Nintendo Watch: The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

I officially entered a new phase of life on Saturday when I went to see The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) with a cohort of second graders in support of my nephew's birthday.  I'm now an uncle who goes to movies he didn't select.  It's a good thing.

I am not anti video games, but I can describe my relationship to gaming as "apathetic".   The how's and why's of this phenomenon are uninteresting and best served in a dedicated blog post.  But even when we got our first Nintendo Entertainment System, I didn't have any Mario-related games.  I was spending my money on comics and tapes at the time.  Aside from a brief flirtation with a Wii and Mario Kart, never got into it.

That said, I recognize that Mario is essentially Mickey Mouse to a couple of generations.  I'm incredibly bad at predicting what will stick and what's a fad, and thought a plumber fighting turtles was just another thing that would come and go, like Ikari Warriors.  I'm still stunned anyone cares about Pokemon in this year of our Lord, 2023.  But the companies have gotten very good at punching the buttons that work well for children, year after year, as well as opening the gates for nostalgic teens and adults.  I'm pretty sure we already had a gritty Power Rangers reboot.

Back in the 1990's, I was offered the opportunity to see the Super Mario Bros. movie starring the late, great Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo.  Despite the fact I'd go see *anything* during this window, I took a pass.  All I remember is Steanso returning and saying "you dodged a bullet".  

A cynic looking to parrot the cultural complaints about He-Man in the 1980's will look at the new movie and say that this film is a toy commercial for the games and products of Nintendo.  That's only partially true.  Look, this movie is not something I would have seen if not for participation in family activities, but I get that for a lot of people, this is the first time the world of Mario has been fully realized in modern, cinematic terms, and without a whiff of that old hobgoblin of film-adaptations, a reimagining.  It's... Mario.  And Luigi.  And Princess Peach.  It's a celebration of Mario and Nintendo, and that's okay.  

It's 90 minutes-ish of telling a very Nintendo story about Mario doing all the shit he does in the games and defeating the bad-guy to save the not-in-that-much-need-of-saving Princess Peach.  

You know what my favorite part was?  There's no real learning or character growth.  There's no long stretches where characters talk about who they are and what they care about and you hear kids shifting and talking to their parents.  A scene or two happens, but only in dual-beat short scenes meant to pace the movie a tad.  It doesn't drive the plot.  Mario is not here to teach anyone life lessons, he's here to punch things and hop around.  This is literally a video game movie, and while modern video games can do complex storytelling for adults, that's not really Mario's niche to explore the workings of the human heart and psyche anymore than it's GI Joe's niche to explore the military industrial complex.  Kids don't give a shit about that, and neither do most young adults.  They came to see him put on a cat suit and drive the fuck out of Rainbow Road.

Speaking of, the movie is full of in-jokes, references, etc... as you'd expect.  YouTube will be littered with 20 Nintendo Easter-Eggs You Missed! videos for months to come.

Yeah, there's a bunch of big-name talent on the movie as voice actors, and they manage to dodge the goofy "It's a-me!  Mario!" shit without being weird about Italians.  You can look up who's in the movie, but I suspect you already know.

The movie is fine.  I won't make the mistake my friends who have kids make that declare "my kid liked it, ergo, this is a good movie."  That path leads to madness.  Instead, I can see that the film is intended to appeal in a certain way, and nobody tried to outsmart what Mario is or does and how his world works, and it's fine.  No weird re-do's on major characters or concepts thrown in that are anathema to actual fans.  No one is talking down to the audience, they're showing the audience the game in the coolest, boldest way possible.  If you like that stuff.  I'm still like "whatevs", but I had a good time sharing Junior Mints with my niece.  And my favorite part was probably the ape city and whatnot.  Quality Donkey Konging.

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from The Signal Watch https://ift.tt/hvfxS2P

[otptings]

Insomnia

-Idol ~ Kun

-Genre ~ Sick Fic, Smut, Fluff

-Warnings ~ insomnia, lack of appetite & weight loss, pillow princess by force, oral (f receiving), passionate fucking, dry humping? (she's half naked but he's fully dressed), daddy kink, rough sex, choking, degradation,

-Word Count ~ 2.9k+

-Synopsis ~ Sleeping never comes easy to. You've tried everything from exercising, to warm milk. Maybe the one thing you've been missing is some late night loving?

-A/n ~ loosely inspired by sky Insomnia, the rose insomnia, and dreamcatcher sleep-walking. best to listen to any of those songs as you read it, might help set the mood even though those are all break up songs lmfao. I also have my ko-fi link in my bio help raise more money to help me buy essentials for my emotional support animal, I cannot work at the minute because of my treatment for type 1 bipolar disorder, and door dash doesn't allow me to save up abundantly enough, if you could even only share it I would greatly appreciate it. anyway hope you enjoy this and thank you for reading

Sleep and you have always had a complicated relationship. Fighting sleep as a kid, climbing out of your bed after your parents tucked you in, playing with your toys until you passed out among us. At sleepovers you were always the one who stayed up all night, too excited to actually get tired.

As a teenager spending nights before school desperately trying to finish homework, staying up until the early morning hours, quickly taking a shower before running to the bus. If you had no assignments your crush at the time would distract you, joking and blushing until it was time to leave for school, bags under your eyes prominent, but the loss of sleep was worth it.

Now the only thing you wanted was to sleep.

Insomnia took over your life. Staying up sometimes days at a time, struggling to calm your racing thoughts that were determined to keep you up at night. They won most nights. Laying in your bed, struggling to get comfortable or staring up at the ceiling, willing sleep to overtake you. Even with the medication from the doctor you struggled to get more than 3 hours a night.

You tried other remedies too. Drinking warm milk with cinnamon and vanilla, the warm concoction soothing but never tiring you out. Exercising before bed that truly made you feel amazing but never worked to tire you out, only forcing you to feel the soreness in your body as you laid in bed. No electronics before bed helped you finish multiple books series that you had wanted to start but never had time for, but didn't work.

Everything you tried was in vain. Sleep continued to evade you, and it only took a higher toll on your physical body.

Your appetite started to lessen, your weight slowly declined. The bags under your eyes only got deeper and darker. Concerns about your physical state came form your friends, their worries growing as you continued to get worst and worst. It came to a peak when you almost passed out at an outing, shaky from the constant stream of caffeine that you were consuming in order to function properly, your eyes fluttering close as you collapsed into their arms. Concern was properly covering their face, and they rushed you to the hospital, you were too weak to even try and decline them.

At the hospital they gave you strict instructions to stay home and rest, with someone watching you over to make sure that you were properly taken care of. Along with instructions you got even stronger medication, 20 mgs stronger than what you were currently taking.

Kun being the thoughtful person he is offered to watch you while you were on bedrest. He was the best candidate out of your friends, the others practically pushing you to accept him.

Kun has been the best assistant? nurse? friend that you could ask for. Constantly at your beck and call making sure that you were drinking plenty of water, cooking you fresh homemade meals, and making sure your medication was taken on time. Along with that he also did the awkward task of helping you to the bathroom, since you were still shaky and weak at times.

He did this all without complaint, catering to you everyday and making sure that you were cared for. Sometimes when he wasn't busy with his own work he would sit and watch a drama with you, or just engage in conversation telling you about his day, and the funny things he did and heard.

Having him helping you 24/7 for 2 weeks straight, had caused some unwelcome feelings. Your friends weren't surprised at that, having been part of the reason why they suggested he did it, knowing your past feelings for him. With only a week left of your bedrest you were saddened at the thought that he was leaving, going back to only talking to him once or twice a week whenever the friend group hung out.

Kun had actually been the one who surprised you. Seeing that you were still up one night, thoughts of him running through your mind when he entered your room. Upon seeing you awake he sat on your bed, holding your hand as you asked what's up. You weren't truthful. Who would be truthful in that scenario? 'Hey actually I was up thinking about my crush on you and the desire that I constantly have to kiss you."

You were positive that wouldn't have gone through well.

Kun rubbed your hand soothingly, listening patiently to you as you lied about what you were thinking about, fake worries and complaints about going back to work. Offering you advice was always Kun's strong suit so you were ready for some good advice despite your lies.

That's what got you in this peculiar position.

Lip tucked tightly between your teeth, the taste of copper on your tongue. One hand grasping at the pillow behind you squeezing it tightly between your fingers, the other intertwined with dark blue hair as you tried not to pull too hard.

Kun thought the best thing to clear your mind was sex, and who were you to deny his generous offer.

You felt your hips jerking as tongue pressed his tongue against your hole, shallowly fucking into you. His free hand rubbed up your thigh, the sensation combining with him eating you out causing your mind to start to go blurry. His hand continued to glide up, before pressing down on your hips, forcing them down on the bed.

Without the ability to move you could only lie there as he continued to tongue fuck you. The fire in your stomach increasing, and Kun seemed to know it as he kissed your clit before sucking on it aggressively, causing your first orgasm to rip through your body.

Kun continued his ministrations, licking up your cum causing the fire to come back threefold. Kun sucked on your clit, flicking his tongue over it as you wriggled from the sensitivity. He seemed to be made for this, the way his tongue knew the perfect ways to fuck you open, and he hadn't even involved his fingers or cock yet.

Pulling away from your cunt you saw your juices covering Kun's mouth leaking down his chin. His hair was sticking every which way how you were messing, and pulling on it. Kun looked like all of your wet dreams had happened to come through.

"So pretty." A laugh let his mouth, a smiling spreading over his lips.

"Wish you could see yourself," Kun slid his hand up and down your thigh, rubbing it soothingly, "You're gorgeous. I've been wanting to do this for so long."

Kun changed the positions so that you were on top, straddling his thighs. You could feel his cock straining against his jeans, rubbing over your oversensitive clit in the best way possible. A whimper left your mouth as you started to rock on him, but Kun stilled your hips. His hand slid to your chin, rubbing his thumb along the side of your jaw.

"Can I kiss you?" You didn't bother answering, meeting him halfway. His chapped lips moved against your own as if you've done it before, there was a familiarity to it that made you wrap your arms around his neck pulling him flush against your chest. Sliding his hands up and down your body, lips moving in sync against yours. You nipped at his lip, causing a loud groan to leave his mouth as he opened it for you. Sliding your tongue into his mouth you reveled in the feeling of him taking dominance. His hands gripping your ass tightly, his tongue roughly dancing with yours.

You pulled away, placing your hips on his shoulders as you continued to grind against him. Another groan leaving his mouth as he moved you against him, forcing you to press down harder and faster against him.

"God baby." He leaned back as he looked at you, admiring the way you moved against him, needy and wanting to cum again. "You're so need baby. Who's got you like this hm?" You dropped your head back, continuing to rock your hips against his. Kun felt his cock twitching in his pants at the sight, grabbing the back of your neck and pulling you close to him, placing kisses along your neck and collarbones.

"Kun I need you." You tried to sound strict but it came breathy, a moan following it as he kisses over your jugular, nipping at it before listening to your 'command'. Flipping you over he gave you a peck, before pulling away to take off his clothes. You decided to join him stripping out of your shirt and throwing it across the room.

Kun crawled back over you, but he stopped just taking the time to stare at you.

"I need to say this before. I'm not just fucking you because of your insomnia, I'm not just fucking you to fuck you." Kun intertwined your fingers, "I really like you. I don't want this to just not mean anything to you, when I really like you. Even thought we're doing this backward I hope you can at least think of going on a date with me." You felt your face heat up, and the familiar feeling of fluttering in your stomach at his confession. Placing your hand on his cheek you leaned up, placing a quick kiss on his lips.

"I like you too Kun. More than I can put words to." A big smile spread across his face as he leaned down, showering your face with kisses. "But if you don't put your dick in me right now, you might not ever get that date." A laugh left his mouth as he placed one last kiss against your check, before grabbing the base of his cock and rubbing it up and down your cunt. Collecting some of your juices over his tips he looked down as he pressed into you, muttering a fuck at the sight of you taking him in so well. You threw your head back feeling the fuzziness come back, feeling how well he slid into you.

When Kun bottomed out he placed your still intertwined hands on the pillow beside you, his other hand sliding back to your hip.

"Fuck you feel so good." He growled as he waited for you to adjust, feeling your tight walls practically sucking him in.

"Please move. Please I need you." Kun placed a gentle kiss on your pouty lips before pulling. Thrusting back into you he set a slow pace, being gentle with you not forgetting that you were still on bed rest. Your other arm wrapped around his neck, pulling you closer to him. Feeling skin against skin as he continued to slowly fuck you, enjoying the feeling of him being close to you.

It was more intimate than it should've been, being the first time that you two were having sex but with Kun it felt right. This was more love making than casual fucking and you wouldn't have it any other way. The coil in your stomach started to tighten, Kun's groans helping greatly to push you towards the edge, but the pace he had set wasn't doing it for you.

"Kun." He slowed down, hearing the desperation in your voice and not wanting to hurt you.

"Yes baby? Am I hurting you?" You could hear the slight panic in his voice and shook your head, before meeting his eyes.

"Faster please. I need you rougher." Kun pushed your hair back, before cupping your cheek.

"Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you, you were just hospitalized."

"Please fuck me harder. I need you to ruin me daddy." At your words Kun's eyes darkened and without warning he thrust into you hard, causing a punched out moan to leave your mouth.

The mood changed just the way you needed it to, instead of being slow love sex Kun was fucking you. Hips meeting during every perfectly timed thrust, hitting deep within you as the sound of his balls smacking against your ass filled the room. He let go of your hand, instead opting to grab your waist and pulled you to meet him halfway on every thrust.

Ceaseless moans leaving your lips at the feeling of him fucking into you so beautifully, filling every inch of you. Opening your eyes that hadn't even realized had closed you were met by the sight of Kun, sweat glistening over his abs and dripping down his face. His hair plastered to his forehead, as he bit his lip harshly trying to hold back his groans. Your neighbors should really thank him for having some self control.

Kun slowed down as he lifted your legs up, pushing them towards your chest, folding you in half as he continued his rough pace. This new position causing you to feel him in your chest, the feeling of fullness completely overtaking you as you orgasmed for the second time. He fucked you through your orgasm, the tingly feeling spreading towards your hips as overstimulation set in. Even though his cock was dragging against your walls beautifully, blunt tip pressing into your g spot it started to get painful.

The feeling of it being too much, but not enough at the same time. Tears welling up in your eyes, as Kun pressed against your legs pushing them back further and forcing his cock impossibly deeper.

"F-fuck daddy please." You didn't even know what you were begging for anyway, him effectively fucking you dumb, his hands gripping your thighs tightly to the point where you knew you'd have bruises the next day.

"So tight around me, your pussy is sucking me in even after two orgasms? What's wrong baby? Two isn't enough, you need me to milk another one out of you?" You couldn't respond to him, only listened to him as he spoke, groans leaving his mouth harmonizing with your moans almost.

"Poor baby is fucked dumb," A cruel laugh left his mouth as he stuffed two fingers into your mouth. You sucked on his fingers, twirling your tongue around them. "Can't even speak, only babble and suck on my fingers huh? Lucky you're so cute. You liked being called dumb huh? Can feel the way you're pussy clenched around me? Must be close again." You could only let out a muted moan, Kun's fingers still pressed against your tongue, gagging you effectively.

Pulling his fingers out of your mouth he slid his hand around your throat, tapping his too soaked fingers on the side of your neck.

"So close baby. So. fucking. close." Punctuating his words with an extra hard thrust in between you had lost the ability to think, his hand gently around your neck, more like an accessory but just at the thought of him choking you felt yourself drooling, his thrusts still reaching that spot inside of you that was so deep it'd never been touched before.

As if hearing your thoughts, Kun's hand tightened around your throat, pressing you against the mattress. You came at that moment, Kun's tip hitting your g spot perfectly. Your eyes rolled back as you felt like you had exploded, all of your energy draining out of you with your third orgasm of the night.

At the feeling of you clenching around him so tightly, practically holding you in place Kun pulled out and quickly jerked himself off, cumming over your lower stomach. Kun marveled at the sight of you laid out below him, lips swollen from biting them, hair frizzy from rubbing against the pillow, his white cum painting your stomach, a light red mark around your neck from his hand.

Kun let you sit for a couple minutes before carrying you to the bathroom for a well needed shower. Setting you on the toilet, he let you pee while he started the warm. When you were finished and the water was warm enough Kun helped you into the shower, letting you lean against him as he started to clean the cum from your body.

"Are you okay?" You looked up at Kun, basking in the feeling of the warm water running down your body as Kun rubbed the soapy loofa over your body.

"Never felt better." A crooked smile spread across your face, too tired to even continue the conversation. Kun kissed you on your temple , seemingly sensing it and helped you rinse out. After getting you redressed and back into your bed with clean sheets, Kun went to go to the living room until you grabbed his arm.

"Can you stay?" Even after having sex Kun was still nervous to sleep in the bed with you, but he obliged hearing your soft, sleepy voice. Climbing into bed with you he pulled you into his chest, wrapping his arms around you.

"Thank you." Kun hummed, the vibration spreading through his chest and making you giggle.

"For?"

"Taking care of me." Kun placed another kiss on your head.

"You don't have to thank me. I wanted to care for you. Now get some sleep." Cuddling further into Kun, the beat of his heart along with the rise and fall of his chest lulled you to sleep.

For the first time in years, you slept like a baby.

[bluearson]

Double Trouble

Request: I see your requests are open and you write ✨ soft Dabi ✨ can we get a little smth for Dabi with an s/o who has a water quirk that sooths his burns to further soft dabi supremacy 🥺 (thank you for all the fantastic fluffiness you have blessed us with 💕) The day started off ordinary.  The sound of music filled your ears as you patrolled around your self-claimed “turf”. Life was easy, a little dull but the life of a vigilante with no loyalties was not always boring.  Then you saw him, hiding away in an alleyway. He was tall, beautiful even you might say. The scars that littered his body looked painful. You felt almost sorry for him, a quirk that his own body can’t handle.  You wanted to help him.

Feeling confident you strode up to him, “Sir?” You spoke out to him.  He was almost like a feral cat, he shifted his weight quickly onto his other foot and extended his left hand, blue flames appeared between his fingers. It was like a reflexive survival instinct. Your reflexes were faster than his though, you pulled the moisture out of the air and snuffed his flames out. He watched in disbelief as steam bloomed off his hand. “That’s an impressive quirk you got,” He croaked. “So, what are you? A pro hero?” There was an malicious edge laced into the words he spoke. “I wouldn’t want to rope myself in with such close-minded people.” You scoffed, “I’m better than that. I’m my own boss.” You crossed your arms over your chest as you eyed the flame-quirked stranger.  He only grunted in response as he looked you over. You felt like he was scrutinizing you under his eye. “If our paths cross again.. I think I’d prefer having your help.” He was gone before you could even say goodbye. Even though he hadn’t made the best first impression, neither did you. You weren’t sure how to feel about the next time you met him. At the very least you hoped that you wouldn’t be on the wrong side of his flames a second time. You shuddered at the thought.  You caught a glimpse of him walking down the street together with a girl much shorter than him, she rather cute. You wondered about what relationship they must have had. They seemed like good friends at the least. She was very animated and clung onto his arm as they walked together. Secretly you wished you could be her, clinging to his arm as you strolled through the city. That was another fantasy to write about in your journal. It wasn’t the first time you’ve been infatuated by someone but man.. you really wanted to be at his side. The universe seemed to have enough of punishing you when one day you heard a voice calling out to you, you looked over your shoulder as you took a long swig of water from your water bottle. You flashed the familiar figure a smile as it came fast approaching. “I missed you.” “I’m sorry I kept you waiting so long, sweetheart.” He teased. “I like what you have to offer. I think we could make a pretty good alliance.” The words sent your heart a fluttering. Alliance? He wanted to form an alliance with you? “I would like that..” You extended your hand to touch his forearm, looking up at him as though you were asking permission to touch him. Your fingertips grazed his skin softly. When he didn’t move away you allowed your hand to settle on his rough skin. “Does it ever hurt?” You asked as you examined where the stables met his skin. “Sometimes.” He answered quietly, as though he was sharing a secret with you. “Do you have somewhere we can discuss this privately? I hate being out in the open too long..” He rubbed the back of his neck as his eyes darted around. “Yeah I have a little hideout where I make deals.” You turned on your heels and made a beeline for the hideout before you could even see the look on his face. Once inside you fastened the series of locks that prevented squatters from breaking in when you weren’t around to protect your secret base.  You told your new partner all about your quirk, nearly professing that you held a flame for him once or twice as you tried to explain how useful you could be to him. You had experience teaming up with criminals before. Together you were a force to be reckoned with, especially since you could stay hidden as you supported Dabi from the shadows. You began to notice he’d start doing little things for you.  You even took note that his arm stopped sizzling as much after a fight, usually you tried your best to keep up with him but there was only so much you could do while trying to not seem like a shady person carrying around several gallons of water. Still you felt like your efforts were always appreciated, even if they weren’t up to the standards you wanted every time. You lived for the way he’d pat your head as steam rose off his arm. The way he’d smile at you even for a brief moment.  “I love you.” You said to him one day as he smoked his morning cigarette. You were enamored by him, utterly and totally captivated by everything he did. “I’m glad we’re apart of each other’s lives.” You quickly added.  The raven haired villain took a long drag before exhaling the smoke, you watched as some slipped through the staples in his face, it looked as though he was a dragon breathing fire. “I’m glad you’re around.” He tore his eyes away from yours and you felt a little deflated.  You wondered if there was ever a chance he’d see you as something more than just his “sidekick”. You wanted to ask him if he was single or not, about that girl you saw him hanging out with all those months ago. It never seemed like the right time, nor the right place. You didn’t want to ruin a good thing.  Things didn’t change between the two of you after your little outburst. You still couldn’t push your feelings aside for him, no matter how hard you tried. “Dabs, do you try to push me away because you don’t think I can be a good villain?” It had been on your mind for a while, the way he seemed to keep you at arms length even though you both shared a common goal. “You don’t need to protect me if that’s what you’re trying to do. I’m more than capable of taking care of myself and holding my own.” Your eyes searched his for an answer, for a glimmer of emotion under the tough guy act he held in public. You knew him long enough to see right through him. Every mask he wore. Every layer he tried to mask his true feelings behind.  You wanted to tear all those walls down for him, to hold him in your arms and play with his hair. To be vulnerable with each other and raise hell together. If he wanted to watch the world burn you’d gladly fan the flames of his ambitions and further his goals. You wanted to see him succeed in everything. For the world to know that there was nothing that could stop him with his partner in crime by his side.  He just stared back into your (E/C) eyes, a sad look washed over his face. He couldn’t just say you didn’t understand, you knew about his ideologies. You supported him with every fiber in your body. He cupped the side of your face, rubbing his thumb against your smooth skin.  For once he didn’t have a snarky comeback to bite back at you with.  You two just stood there, staring into each others having a silent conversation. It felt as though you two were trying to telepathically communicate with emotion what words couldn’t possibly convey. It lacked the power to truly grasp the full breath of the things you wanted to tell each other. Dabi pressed his forehead against yours, “I don’t ever want you to act recklessly because you’re following behind me. I never want you to get yourself hurt trying to keep up with me.” He paused, and brushed a lock of hair out of your face. “I know my own limits, and I know when I’m pushing myself too far. You don’t need to worry about me like I’m some.. fragile kid. I’m not made out of porcelain. I’m made out of flesh and bone, muscles.. and I’m a lot more sturdy than I might look.” You laughed lightheartedly, trying to lighten the mood. “I appreciate the fact that you’re looking out for me Dabi.. but I can only do so much if you keep me at arms length. I want to be your equal.”  “You always were.” “Then let me in. Open up to me. Talk to me for fucks sake.” “I think actions speak louder than words. Words get jumbled.. twisted.” He tore his eyes away from yours as he looked off into the distance. He seemed so far away and you let him have his moment to reflect. “You’re too valuable to me. You help the pain stop. I’ve gotten too used to it Y/N. You know you’re really cruel sometimes..” He toyed with a lock of your hair. “You’ve got me hooked on your special little treatment and now I can’t stand the thought of you no longer being apart of my life. You’ve made yourself essential to my personal comfort.” You pulled him into a hug, squeezing him gently as you listened to the steady rhythm of his heart. It took a moment before he wrapped his arms around you in kind, his body was warm. “How do you think I feel?” You chuckled as you shook your head, “I’ve always been fascinated by you Dabi, ever since the first day I met you. I’ve never been able to get you off my mind for even a single second to myself.”  “Damn..”  You felt a rough kiss being planted onto the of your head. “What did I ever do to deserve someone like you in my life?” He chuckled. “Don’t ever say I never loved you. You just weren’t looking close enough. Too caught up in your head to realize I’ve been saying it ever since I agreed to let you into my life.” You said nothing as you simply enjoyed his embrace. Drinking in his scent as you let his warmth envelop you whole. “Wherever you go, I’ll be close behind. Damn all the consequences. There’s no place in this world I’d rather be than with the man I cherish. I trust you with all of me, Dabi.” You planted a kiss on his cheek. “When you’re finally ready to entrust all of you, your baggage, scars, and whatever else you’re hiding away from. I’ll be there, to help ease your pain.” You took his hand and raised it to your lips, planting a firm kiss into his skin. Taglist: @some-kindofgnome @humanitiesstrongestchicken @hecatve @axerrri

[iworshipkeanureeves]

There Are No Rules (2/3)

Keanu Reeves x Reader (The Devil Wears Prada AU)

A/N: We are getting closer to @toomanystoriessolittletime​ birthday, so I’m updating the story dedicated to her birthday challenge. This one is a little dramatic with a lot of mixed feelings and some angst, but I hope you’ll enjoy it :)

Summary: Reader applies for a job in a fashion magazine where Keanu is editor-in-chief.

Warnings: angst, brief mentions of alcohol

Words: 3.2K

-Part 1-

“Keanu Reeve’s office, how can I help you?”

These words got carved into Y/N’s brain over the past couple of weeks. She had been repeating them at least fifty times a day, usually through her gritted teeth, and most of these calls would eventually leave her on the verge of tears.

No matter how much she hated this job, every day seemed easier than the previous one. Y/N felt like she was finally getting the hang of it all, and it was a little glimpse of hope that perhaps she was going to survive this madness. Maybe she was stronger than she thought she was.

Was Reeves as terrifying as everyone had told he would be? Yes, but in a strangely different way.

He had never really shouted or insulted her directly, yet Keanu had his way with words to make Y/N understand how immensely she had failed assigned tasks. Sometimes just his presence was fearsome, as his nit-picking gaze would land directly on Y/N’s desk, making her guts squeeze. Even if Y/N knew she was doing everything correctly, she felt like it wasn’t enough, it was impossible to live up to his standards.

When not in meetings, Keanu would sit in his office swiveling in his chair, enjoying the spectacular view of the New York skyline. Honestly, it didn’t appear like he was doing much, but Y/N could tell from his focused eyes that his mind was constantly at work.

Creatively Reeves had no rules, but when it came to his office, he preferred having everything structured. Every morning Y/N would receive a text stating Reeve’s breakfast order, and she had to get it before he came to work. A cup of plain black coffee, ready on his desk on time, was essential in order to make the day better for the whole office. Y/N was responsible for that, and whenever she failed, every co-worker would be badgering her for the remaining day.

The worst of them was Emily, who wouldn’t shut up about her upcoming Fashion Week in Paris and all expensive garments she was going to be able to wear. Y/N was neither bored nor jealous, but it was very hard to concentrate hearing Emily babbling for the whole day. Eventually, it would leave Y/N making more mistakes, which led to even more disapproval received from Reeves.

---

It was one of those calm days when Keanu didn’t have much on his hands. “Y/N, come over,” he called, and based on his frigid tone, Y/N immediately knew something was wrong. “Where are the Valentino samples I asked for the run-throughs?”

Y/N could already feel her hands sweating and her heart beating through her chest. “What?” her brows furrowed with tears threatening her eyes, she was simply too tired. “But you never mentioned those…”

“Please tell me you’re kidding,” Reeves sighed expressing his disappointment, which at this point was so familiar to her. “Will you ever do anything right here?”

Anything right…?

His words left Y/N helpless. For the past couple of weeks she had been working hard like never before, giving all her energy to keep the office organized and satisfy every single one of Reeves’ whims. Yes, she had made a few mistakes, but they were nothing compared to how much right she had done.

It was the moment Y/N realized she had had enough, she wasn’t even an assistant anymore, she was Reeves’ maid and it was time to save the last bits of her dignity.

“Oh come on,” her eyes were beginning to fill with anger, tears evaporating in the feverish air. Y/N didn’t even notice her clenched fists with nails digging into her damp skin. “Most of the things I do here are right, they are freaking perfect,” she breathed out, nearing to his desk. It looked like she was ready to fight him.

“It’s nice that you think so, but…”

“You never even notice, do you?” Y/N cut him off with a slight rise in her tone. “All you do is sit in your office, drinking coffee and flipping through the same couple of pages for the whole day,” she knew she was exaggerating, but Y/N was furious, she wanted to make Reeves feel bad, just like he had been making her this whole time. “You know, you couldn’t even manage to tell me to go get those samples, maybe you should start doing things right yourself?”

“Oh sweetheart,“ Reeves exhaled fixing his expensive scarf and stood up in need of reestablishing his dominance over Y/N, his wide shoulders were blocking the sun and casting shadow over her enraged face. He confidently walked around his table, and as Y/N saw him getting closer, she got scared not knowing what he was about to do next. Luckily, Reeves stopped crossing his arms and was ready to say something, but Y/N interrupted him again.

“Don’t sweetheart me,” Y/N knew she had crossed the line and there was no way back, disrespectful words had already escaped her throat, so she decided to go even further. “I am the only one here working my ass off, while Emily is barely functioning on her messed up diet. And yet somehow she’s still taking all the credit for my work. I-I just can’t deal with you and your crazy people anymore. You’re all delusional here,” she was practically shouting at this point.

It all felt like a dream to Y/N, she could barely understand what was happening, and her hammering heart was leaving her lightheaded. Y/N was gasping for air, all trembling and looking a little disoriented, Keanu could see that she physically wasn’t doing well.

Y/N felt his presence closer than before, his warm breath tickling her forehead. “Go on, I’m listening,” Reeves said, raising his hands up to her shoulders for better support. His words were unbelievably calm again, but this time it seemed like Keanu had no intention to intimidate, he genuinely wanted for Y/N to slow down a little and breath. She was questioning though, whether Keanu truly cared for her, or he just didn’t want to deal with the problem of Y/N passing out in front of him.

“I’m done,” she grunted escaping his grip. “I’m so. Fucking. Done.” Her words were quiet but convincing.

For a moment they stood still, Y/N was breathing deeply, debating whether it was time she should turn around and go, but Keanu’s sly smirk managed to catch her eye. “What’s so funny?” she asked, still annoyed, but slowly realizing she had been acting a little crazy, Y/N was beginning to regret her words.

“I’m proud of you, Y/N,” Keanu grinned, leaving her extremely confused.

“What?” She expected Reeves to be angry with her, maybe even come back with more hurtful words. But he didn’t.

“You’re done walking around with those sad puppy eyes, and I can finally see that you’ve got something in you. I saw that fire burning inside, keep it up.” He was about to come closer again, but tucked his hands back in the last second, keeping a polite distance.

“U-uh, okay..?” Y/N was still in shock, trying to understand how he could be so nice to her all of a sudden, especially after this little tantrum she had just thrown.

“Now I can be sure you’ll keep things in place here when I and Emily leave for the Fashion Week,” he tried to locate her sight, checking if she was fine. “Unless you really meant it when you said about being done, but I don’t think you did,” he gave her one last encouraging grin and returned to his usual state, solid and untroubled.

Indeed she wished she could take her words back, Y/N needed this job more than anything, she wasn’t going to find another one soon that would pay enough, and she couldn’t afford to be unemployed. She had secretly applied to a couple of other magazines, but since no one had reached back to her yet, she had to settle for what Reeves was offering her.

Still, it left Y/N wondering whether Keanu had been playing her all along, pulling strings one by one in order to see how far she can go before lashing out. She felt like his little toy, maybe one of his creative projects, something for him to have fun with. But Y/N was having no fun at all.

“I’ll go call Valentino about the samples,” Y/N exhaled turning around and rushed to the phone. Her heart was still racing with adrenaline flowing in her veins, and honestly, she was proud of herself too.

---

At 1:00 AM Y/N’s phone rang and she really thought about not answering it. Just in case, she decided to open her eyes and check the caller’s ID, unfortunately, it said Keanu Reeves.

In an hour, Y/N was standing on his doorstep holding a custom Tom Ford suit tailored just for Reeves. Of course, Keanu made them work on it until the very last night before leaving for Paris, and Y/N had to be the one bringing it to him.

“What took you so long?” He reproached opening his front door. Y/N was expecting to find him all pampered in some chic robe, but he was wearing simple jeans paired with a grey t-shirt, and his hair was messily falling over his face. To Y/N’s surprise, he looked like a normal human being, completely different from what she was used to see.

“Sorry, I was trying to be as quick as possible,” she smiled apologetically, hoping he wouldn’t be too mad.

Keanu just sighed opening his door wider, implying Y/N should come inside. She was immediately looking around for something to hang the suit on, so that she could quickly turn around and go home.

“Yet, here you are, wearing a full face of make-up,” he spoke locking the door, and Y/N took this as a sign that he wasn’t going to let her easily leave. “You know, showing up twenty minutes earlier would have impressed me much more.”

“Come,” he invited her up the stairs, waiting for Y/N to make up her mind. She was quite reluctant at first, lagging in the hallway, but she was also very intrigued, and ultimately, curiosity took over her.

Y/N was following Reeves mesmerized by the penthouse he was living in. High ceiling and tall white walls decorated with colorful artwork, it seemed like he was living in an art gallery. Every painting was more eccentric than the previous one, but it wasn’t happy kind of art. In fact, Y/N felt surrounded by a somber ambience, and the quietness of his home only added to it.

“So, you live here all alone?” Y/N realized she knew nothing about his personal life, no one had even gossiped about him in the office.

“Mhm,” Keanu hummed, showing the way to his living room, where his luggage was set ready, together with the rack curving from numerous expensive suits, which all looked the same to Y/N. “Hang it here,” he commanded turning to the console table to pour himself a drink.

Y/N was very careful, afraid the rack wouldn’t hold any more weight. Fortunately, everything went fine, and she was about to leave the room, when Reeves stretched his arm handing the bottle to her. “Help yourself,” he offered, leaving Y/N unsure whether she should accept it or not.

“U-uh, I think I should go,” Y/N kind of wanted to agree, she was interested to learn more about him, but at the same time she thought it would be wise to keep a professional distance between them.

“Do you have someone waiting for you?” He was unexpectedly persistent to make Y/N stay, and she didn’t really know what to think of it. 

“No, I just don’t want to disturb you,” she was trying to turn him down, but her words didn’t sound too convincing. Maybe it was his tacit loneliness bringing sympathy to Y/N’s heart, which was forcing her to stay for a little longer.

“Be my guest.” His arm was getting tired, so he pushed the bottle further, practically sticking it in Y/N’s hands. Instead of waiting for another rejection, he went past her and got himself comfortable on the sofa in front of the fireplace.

For a minute Y/N still hesitated, she wasn’t afraid to tell him no, but there was something mysteriously captivating about Reeves and she wanted to explore it further. Y/N poured herself a modest glass and went to join him for a conversation.

“Did you force me to go get you Tom Ford in the middle of the night just because you wanted company?“ she asked jokingly, but then immediately realized it was probably true and the question might have sounded a little offensive.

“Don’t you already know the answer?” Keanu mumbled looking down, and Y/N couldn’t believe it was the same man that she had been terrified of before. Now he seemed vulnerable and exposed, without that mask putting a stone cold expression on his face.

“Can I ask you something else then?” Y/N was much softer now, sipping her drink and thinking if the alcohol was going to start working soon.

“Go ahead,” he smiled.

“Why did you hire me?” It was the question bothering Y/N from the very beginning. She had been feeling so out of place at Vogue that even she wouldn’t have hired herself there.

“I needed some fresh air, I was getting tired of seeing the same kind of people.” Y/N was looking at him hypnotized, his husky melodic voice was like music to her ears. When at Vogue, Y/N would pray for Reeves to just shut up and go away, but now she felt like she could sit for hours just listening to him. “Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate Vogue girls, I really fancy them. They live on caffeine, nicotine and five hundred calories a day, yet they’re still always perfect and on top of their game, it’s impressive… But honestly, they can be depressing sometimes, and I thought I just needed someone like…” Keanu stalled, thinking about his next words. “Like you,” he silently said.

“What am I like?”

“I don’t know, you’re just different. You seem like you don’t care at all.” Keanu put an empty glass down, shifting his core towards her.

Every little move was bringing them closer, and Y/N knew she was walking a very thin line here. “And that’s good?” Y/N asked getting a little bolder, she was curious to know more of his opinion on her.

“It’s definitely not bad,” Keanu murmured, gazing into Y/N’s eyes. They both had their elbows leaning on the backrest and Y/N felt Keanu’s hand gently landing onto hers. She was trying to think of possible questions to keep the conversation going, but his touch was too distracting, and Keanu got the chance to speak first.

“What would you do if I kissed you now?” He asked, locking his eyes on Y/N.

Her mind went blank and she didn’t know what that was supposed to mean. Briefly she thought that maybe the words were all in her head, just her imagination disclosing her deepest desires, but very soon she realized this was a real question.

Maybe Keanu was playing her feelings again, provoking and expecting a reaction, but fuck, she really wanted him to kiss her. Part of her hoped it was the alcohol speaking, but Keanu only had so little of it that it was an impossible case. It was all him, loud and clear, asking Y/N what she would do if he kissed her…

“A-are you going to?” Y/N stuttered, feeling the weight of his sturdy palm pressing on her.

A long silent pause followed after her words, or maybe time just felt different as Y/N was anxiously waiting for Keanu’s actions, she was desperately holding herself back from falling into his lips.

“No,” Keanu suddenly came back to his senses sliding his hand away. It was obvious he felt uneasy too, getting all flustered and trying his best to stay composed. “That would be highly inappropriate. I am your boss.” He exhaled with disappointment in his voice.

“Y-yes,” Y/N gulped, downing the remaining of her drink.

“Yes what?”

“Yes, that would be inappropriate.” Y/N stretched her arm trying to grasp the handbag lying next to her on the sofa. “And I should get going, it’s late,” she blurted standing up and heading towards the exit. Y/N completely understood that running away was not very mature, but she thought it was better this way than staying to talk this through and saying something much more stupid.

Meanwhile, Keanu was rushing after, following her to the front door looking all worried. Y/N was relieved remembering she would not have to see him for another week and she foolishly hoped that everything would be forgotten once he came back. Keanu, on the other hand, had something else in mind.

“Wait” he grabbed Y/N by the wrist, turning her away from the door. “Come to the Fashion Week with me.”

Keanu struck Y/N with his words for the second time this night. She knew they had to leave in the morning and Emily was probably sitting at home with her bags full, getting ready for the event she had been dreaming about for so long.

“What?” Y/N knew that agreeing would make her a terrible person. “No, I can’t, Emily would never forgive me,” she was eagerly shaking her head, failing to understand what the hell was happening. She didn’t want to reject Keanu, but betraying Emily like that was not an option too. What would that make her? No different than any other person from Vogue.

“Why do you care?” he asked moving closer, and all Y/N could focus on was his lips, the ones she almost got to taste tonight. “Just please don’t tell me she’s your friend, because trust me, there are no friends in this business.”

“No, we’re not friends, but still… Don’t you understand how mean it would be to do so?” Y/N was trying to uphold her values, but Keanu was ripping them away from her.

“Has she ever been nice to you?”

“Well not really, but…”

“Great, I’ll call her to tell the news,” Keanu said with his chest almost pressing Y/N to the door, while he was working behind her to undo the lock. For a moment Y/N felt like Keanu was kidnapping her, but at the same time, she knew that a simple ‘no’ coming from her could resolve everything. She just didn’t want to say it. “I’ll pick you up at eight, good night,” Keanu smiled letting her go.

“Good night…” Deep down Y/N knew how wrong it all was, she didn’t feel like she deserved it, not to mention how devastated Emily was going to be, and on top of everything, there was that awkward kiss moment, which Y/N still couldn’t fully comprehend.

Nonetheless, it was Y/N’s chance, her big opportunity to put herself out there, make connections, and maybe soon she was going to be the journalist she had always dreamt being of.

-Part 3-

Tag-list: @keandrews @rdjloverxxx @jadore30-deactivated20200603​ @danceoftwowolves

>Masterlist<

[ink-and-flame]

Kinktober Day 5: Nukklebust Productions Presents

Kinktober Day 5 Prompts: Kneeling ~ Triple penetration ~ Video (being recorded) Fandom: Original (Auchendale Archives) Tags: exophilia, m/f, slight f/f, orgy, triple penetration, kneeling, video recording, pornography, group sex, anal plug, sex toys, Pairing:GoblinM/HumanF, GoblinM/ElfF, HumanF/ElfF

[Authors Note: This is purely self indulgent smut that I have written for my own personal enjoyment and it is loosely based on a dream I had a few weeks ago. I was torn between putting this in Warcraft or not and I decided to put it in the Auchendale universe so I can use Ember since I kind of fell in love with her, which was unintentional since I made her on a whim. Vyzzie was borrowed from a friend with permission.]

The owners of The Scarlet Eclipse had some very firm rules on photography and video being taken in the club. The top rule was that in general it wasnt allowed. This was to help enforce privacy rules and ensure that the people who came to the club felt safe. The exception to the rule was, of course, pornography. The owners had a relationship with a few directors in the industry and allowed some of their rooms to be used for photo shoots and film shoots as long as nothing got out of hand and it was kept quiet. The location was never allowed to be revealed. 

There were limitations of course, no large productions, and only so many rooms could be rented out for this purpose. The club still needed to cater to its own clientele of course, and it opened up the opportunity for people to explore their own exhibitionist and voyeuristic fetishes. Once it became known, it was an open secret around the club. Privacy was still respected, but the owners invested in a remodel that turned a couple of the rooms into permanent filming areas. They could be accessed through a special door and from the outside and the area could be locked down if needed.

When not in use by professionals, the owners allowed club members to book the rooms for a fee and they would get a copy of the finished product for their own personal enjoyment. Some allowed their amateur films to be released online, most kept them private. VIP members of the club were allowed to use these areas for free with enough prior notice. As it was, there was a waiting list, and sometimes it could take a few months to gain access to one of the rooms, especially if you needed a specific one. 

The club owners had made it easy to check the availability of the rooms online, and there was a link to the waiting list. Anyone already on it could also check their place in the queue. Vyzzie had been checking every day for the last few weeks to see if his request had been bumped up in the queue. He had paid extra and used his friends VIP access to cut in line as much as he could. He was eager to do the scene and had been making preparations for almost two months now. The preparations had to be changed multiple times already as people had backed out and Vyz knew the longer it took the harder it would be to do.

Thankfully his friend had promised not to back out and had even suggested bringing someone along so she wasn’t the only female in the scene. It meant they could do much more with what they had left and the plans for the scene had begun to change. It was shaping up to be one of his better ideas, he just had to make sure the people still on board stayed on board. 

The idea had come about after a wild night with two chicks he didn’t really know well. He ended up getting kind of close to one of them and she had expressed a desire to have another threesome but with two guys instead. He knew someone that would be interested and it had been fun, but then they got to thinking, why not invite more people, and the idea developed into something that Vyz was quite eager for, as was his new friend Ember. 

Vyzzie had promised that he would only invite people she trusted, and Ember offered to bring her elf friend from the first time. It was shaping up to be quite a scene and once it was settled the negotiations began and everything was put in place with an understanding of what was expected of everyone. Simple color codes would be used instead of safe words so that everyone could be on the same page and no one got lost or confused.

When the day finally came Vyz could barely contain his excitement. He had gone over the details with Ember so many times that they both decided to share control of the situation. It also lead to copious amounts of sex between the two of them as every time they discussed it the conversation would inevitably arouse one or both of them. They had pretty much fucked on every surface in Vyzzie’s apartment, including his roommate's bed. That one he wasn’t particularly proud of when it was discovered and he had to do a lot of apologizing to make up for it. 

With Ember in tow and some luggage Vyz arrived at the club a few hours before the filming was going to start. This was pretty standard to give them time to set up, and get everyone ready. He was practically vibrating with excitement the goblin looking up at his human companion with mischievous violet eyes. 

“Ok, so it’s gonna be an hour before the others show up. I thought we could get everything set up and go over the negotiations one last time. Make sure nothin essential god missed.” Vyz opened the door to the main room and dropped off his bags before peeking into the equipment room off to the side. It housed all the recording equipment, back up servers, everything they needed but it was empty. “Ok looks like the crew ain’t here yet. S’fine, gives us a bit more time.”

Ember moved around the room checking things out and setting her luggage near the back wall and out of the way. She could change later. For now the room needed some work. The bed would be plenty large enough for all of them, not much else in the room would make it into the shot, but it was still worth it to spruce up the room and make it look nice. Despite what they were going to be doing, Ember wanted it to have a soft feeling and she began digging through the chests full of props and accessories to see how they could alter the look and feel of the room.

“Whatcha got there dollface?” Vyz had slipped up behind Ember, placing a hand on her ass and peering into the chest she was digging through. 

“I was hoping to find something to help the room look less plain and sterile. The bed is nice, its a good size. The furniture all matches and it looks ok. Has a bit of a hotel feel which might be on purpose, but I was kind of hoping for something a little different?” She looked at him and rolled her eyes when she felt him rubbing her ass. “You are getting awfully friendly there Vyzzie.”

“Yer my friend.” He quipped and pinched her. “Don’t worry. I remember. No attachments. Doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the benefits package.” Smirking he dug through the chest with a free hand, black claws catching on some fabric. “I trust your taste. I know we were only at your place once, but I liked it. Lots of lights, colors. Had that weird gothic rainbow vibe going. You got a unique style Em, that is for sure.”

“How about we change the lamps, throw up some lights on the wall, drape some fabric around and soften the whole room up a bit. Considering what we are going to be doing, it will be a really interesting contrast I think.” Ember pulled some sheer fabric from the chest and began draping it on the headboard.

“I like how you think. Let the room be soft, the actions hard.” Vyz helped change out the room decor to match her vision. It was getting close to when the others should start arriving. “Hey, uh.. Emmy? You know if you aren’t sure about this or need to change some stuff I will understand. You know that right?”

Ember laughed. “Emmy?” She stepped over to Vyz, running a hand through his dark blue hair. “Yeah Vyz. I know. I wouldn’t have agreed to this if I didn’t trust you.”

“I will make sure your boundaries ain’t crossed. I know ya got some hang ups and all that. Don’t want there to be any pressure in the moment to do anything you ain’t sure of. I know how it gets once a scene starts and ya get caught up in it. Don’t want that ta happen here.”

Ember nodded. “That is why I brought a precaution. I really don’t like anal, and I won’t be able to relax if I worry that it might happen, even accidentally. So I brought a plug with me to help. If something is already there that I am comfortable with, then nothing else can go in and I can relax. I know it sounds counter intuitive and it took me a long time to get to a point where I can even use it, but it actually helps and functions in a way that lets me maintain control over it.”

“Not weird, makes a lot of sense actually. You control its size, when you use it, and it prevents anyone you are with from just having an ‘oops’ moment or doin the whole ‘it's better to ask forgiveness than permission’ nonsense. I hear ya, I support it. Need any help or just some privacy?” 

“I can go put it in myself, wont take me too long I prepared myself for it but didn’t want to have it in all day. Give me a few minutes to get ready if you want to finish the room?”

“Sure, no problem, I can get it done.” Vyz went back to putting the finishing touches on the room when the crew arrived. 

They began setting up the cameras at the goblins' instruction and made sure all the equipment was well hidden so as to not ruin the scene. There would only be so many angles shot and the final product would time some time to edit and put together into something polished and finished, ready for release, but Vyz was fine with waiting. 

He had initially thought to hire a scene director, someone to keep everyone on track, but instead chose to work through the scenario with everyone, set a basic structure, and then just let things happen naturally. He wanted it to be real, visceral, and that wouldn't happen if there was a script or strict direction to follow. 

Ember came back into the room with nothing but a mask and some thigh high socks on. The masquerade mask was small, simple, and not too bulky. It would stay on easily, and leave her mouth and nose free. The thigh highs were a request from Vyz. The only other things she had on was special body make up that would hide her tattoos and dried down so it wouldn’t smear. She had practiced with it before, going through an intense sex scene to see how well it held up to sweat and other body fluids along with friction. It held up well enough that she was confident in being filmed. She knew her tattoos were recognizable enough that she just wasn’t willing to risk it since Vyz made it clear this wasn’t going to stay private.

The muscular goblin let out a low whistle when he saw Ember. The thigh high socks were perfect. A soft looking material, black, and they hugged her thighs in a way that made it clear they wouldn’t move. The mask was black with silver accents and it made her look elegant. “Damn, you sure do make a pretty picture there Em. So uh, when is Vela gonna arrive?”

“She should have already been here. I told her she needed to get here early to get ready. I hope everything is ok. Let me text her real fast.” Heading back to her bags to grab her phone Ember didn’t notice the door opening again.

The rest of the goblins arrived as a group. Vyz greeting his friends and acquaintances with a smile. “Glad ta see ya made it boys. Ember is in the back finishin up and we are just waitin on Velasara. I think you only met Ember though” Vyz commented to his friend. 

Coming back out Ember paused to see a room full of goblins standing around. All eyes were suddenly on her and never before had she felt more like prey. The moment passed quickly but it was hard to shake as a few sets of eyes lingered. 

“Here lemme introduce you. Ember you already know Krazz from the party. Those two are Riznik and Viznik, twins if it wasn’t obvious, and that is Zorblix.” Vyz finished the introductions.

“Just Blix.” 

Ember nodded and waved. “I would appreciate it if my name wasn’t used during filming, if it is all the same.”

“Sure thing, not a problem. Anyone else?” Vyz knew that both women would be in masks, but he wasn’t sure about anyone else.”

“I’m good with not using names. We all wearing masks or just the girls?” Krazz rolled his shoulders  and looked for a place to set down his bag. “I brought one with me just in case. No offence but I am not sure I want to be recognized.”

“We can just avoid names entirely if it helps. I can’t imagine there is gonna to be much talkin” Vyz chimed in, his accent sounding much thicker in comparison to his friend. 

“I don’t really give a shit either way. Not my first rodeo, so it is all fine with me.” Blix moved off to the back of the room and began stripping. 

There was a knock interrupting the conversation and the door slowly opened. “Hello? I am sorry I am late.” Vela stepped in looking a bit frazzled. “Sorry got caught up and it took me some time to get everything together. I hope I didn’t put us too far behind?” 

“Nah, yer good, we ain’t even started.” Vyz waved the lithe elf over and gestured to the back. “Go get ready and we can do a final run through and just make sure everyone is on the same page before we begin.” Vyz moved back to the recording room and spoke to the staff there, making sure that they would be ready to go as soon as the group finished their preparations. 

While Vyzzie was busy, the rest of the goblins stripped and got ready for the scene. The twins were engaged in a bout of rock paper scissors to decide who got which girl to start as they wanted some separation to start. Krazz slipped on his own mask, looking a bit like a corvid with the beak design. It was a little flashy for porn, but it went well with Ember's mask. He hoped that he would get a shot with the human at some point as he had been attracted to her since they met at a party Vyz had invited him to. 

Blix was busy strapping on his harness and cock ring. Fully prepared for taking over should the others struggle with any part of the scene. Of all of them he had the most experience performing for the camera,  he knew the best angles, how to position himself, and all the tricks needed to not blow his load too quickly. Considering how hot the girls were in this scene, those were some tricks he was going to have to utilize. 

Velasara came back looking an almost striking opposite of Ember. Her thigh highs were white with ruffles, her mask had white feathers and delicate gold filigree. She was taller than Ember with a lithe and delicate frame and soft features. Comparatively her body was a bit more slender when compared to Ember's more generous curves. The contrast made the pair enticing to look upon and the goblins in the room struggled to remain professional. 

Ember leaned up and tugged Vela down to whisper in a long ear. The tittering laugh from the elf filld the room as both women seemed quite amused about something. It made Vyz a little suspicious and he hoped that this wasn’t going to be something he needed to worry about later. 

“Ok, so here is the scene. I figure it will be easier if we don’t all start at first. I was thinking the girls could have a solo scene together or with one other person involved, then we can introduce some others, or if we are worried about time, then maybe we all just start? Opinions?” Vyz was looking around at the people gathered and realized how this looked. He hadn’t meant to only invite goblins, that was how it worked out. With all the cancellations and rescheduling, this was the group he ended up with and looking at it objectively, this would probably end up in a fetish category when released, even if there wasn’t a ton of kink involved. 

“Well are you looking to build a plot or not? Like do we want to have dialog, a wisp of a story, or just get to the fucking already?” Ember asked as she leaned into Vela

“Good question, uh, any thoughts, I know we ain’t got a ton of time. I booked us for the rest of the day, but gettin shots set up can eat into that, and we don’t really have a script. I kinda wanted this ta feel natural, a bit more amateur and spontaneous.” Vyz admitted.

“Eh, speaking as the one with experience here. Neither are going to work. It is too late to try and fudge a script and just jumpin in is going to get someone injured. I say let the girls warm each other up, that should also warm the rest of us up and get the mood set. I can tell first timers when I see em and there are some nervous faces in this group.” Blix walked up to Vyz and gestured to the setting. “Plus, with a setting like this, it just screams lesbian porno. So why not start that way? Then we transition into the spit roasting, the group sex, multiple penetration shots, all of that.” He shrugged and his eyes widened. “Oh, condoms? We doing condoms or creampies?”

“Creampies” Vyz interjected. “That is why this took so long. Everyone had to test clean and have alternative forms of birth control. We can switch to condoms if anyone is still uncomfortable with sloppy seconds or had some questionable interactions since getting tested.”

“Ok so it seems like we are ready. Vela, after you.” Ember gestured to the bed and smiled as her elvish friend climbed up on the bed. Ember followed staying on her hands and knees while Vela got situated. 

“What the fuck is that?” Blix blurted out and both girls fell into hysterical laughter. 

It took several moments for them to calm down enough for Ember to speak. “I have some hangups where anal sex is involved. I felt the only way I would be able to relax is to ensure that it couldn’t happen, even accidentally. Thus, an anal plug.”

“Ok, yeah, I get it, makes perfect sense. What I meant, was why is it flashing like a rave?”

Ember fell over laughing again and just shook her head, it took her a bit to compose herself. “Look, it is a thing with me. I never do anything even halfway normal. You see my  hair. My house look like a goth and a unicorn got into a fight. I like bright shiny things and honestly with the lights on it shouldn’t even be that noticeable or a distraction. I set it to slow strobe and match the lights hanging on the wall above the bed.”

“Ok, alright. One more question. Where did you get it and how much?” Blix was laughing and shrugging at the stares he was getting. “What? I wanna add one to my collection ok?”

“Let's talk after. I can give you all the details.” Ember slid up next to Vela and gave her friend a gentle kiss. 

Both women were clearly nervous to start and Vyz knew that the first several minutes of footage probably wouldn’t be used. Watching them slowly explore each other was a different kind of arousing entirely, and it was difficult not to get caught up in the moment and just be content with watching. The slide of their bodies together, the soft moans, the way the colors of their limited clothing contrasted, it was a truly beautiful sight. One that Vyz was loathe to interrupt, but knew he would have to if they were going to get to the point of the scene. 

The others held back waiting for Vyz to give the signal, It was hard not to be entranced, watching the women together. Especially once it was clear that they forgot where they were and were simply focused on the pleasure. Vyz held off a bit longer, watching with a slow smile as the women rocked slowly together at first, then sped up. The sound of their shared orgasm rang through the room snapping the goblins out of the spell they had been under. 

Ember lay next to Vela, her breathing slowing to normal as they nuzzled and kissed each other. Hands still exploring as they enjoyed the afterglow of their shared pleasure. Ember would have to remember this, maybe invite Vela over sometime to just see how things might work out between them. Up until this moment Ember was certain her elvish friend was straight, maybe that was not the case now and it was something worth exploring, only later. 

The bed shifted slightly as Vyz hopped up on the bed, crawling over to Ember and nipping her shoulder and neck. Pulling her gently and slowly to another part of the bed. The only way this would work was with a bit more space between the woman. Krazz was next on the bed, slipping up next to Vela and stroking over her sides and hip, his hands slipping up to her breast, fingertips teasing over her nipple. 

Riz and Blix joined Krazz by the elf, all of their touches light. Wanting to start slow, ease into it. Viz, was the last to join, slipping up next to Ember and Vyz, nuzzling at the human’s ample chest. Everything was slow to start, no one wanting to be the first to break the soft moment that had somehow been created. Vyz was the first to lose his battle with desire and pushed Ember onto her stomach, slipping a pillow under her hips and angling her face away from him. 

It was simply impossible to resist her, the scent of her, the sight of her, Vyzzie buried his face against her nether lips and pushed his tongue in, tasting her depths. Lips crooked up in a half smile at the sound of her moans suddenly being muffled. He didn’t have to look to know what had just happened and he was excited at how much Ember seemed to be enjoying it. Cutting his oral exploration short, Vyzzie lifted up and angled himself behind her, pushing his hard cock against her slick opening. She was so wet, so much wetter than he had expected and found it was far easier to slide in that usual. 

While the flashing light was a bit of a distraction, Vyz found it easier and easier to ignore the deeper he slid into Ember until he was balls deep and groaning. His claws dug into her skin as his control slipped for just a moment and he had to pause before thrusting. His ears twitched at the sounds coming from the other end of the bed and he risked a glance over at the elf. The sight was almost enough for him to lose it right there and he had to snap his gaze back down to Ember. 

Vela was up on her knees, Riding Riz, with Blix behind her, and Krazz standing with a firm grip on her head as he thrust into her mouth. Blix was still gently preparing her with some lube and a finger while he encouraged Riz with a quiet voice to keep a slow pace and to gently stimulate her clit. Blix knew that increasing the elfs pleasure was going to keep her relaxed and make penetration much easier. The extra lube helped as well and he wanted to make sure that she was fully ready before even attempting penetration. His experience was why he was the one handling preparing her and subsequently the one to be granted the pleasure of having her that way. 

Viz was careful, his hands resting on Ember’s head more than holding it as he thrust into her mouth. He was originally going to let her set the pace, and at first he did, but found that it just felt too good and he could not resist the urge to move his hips. He was focused, entirely on her and how it felt to be so far in her mouth and pushing into her throat. The feeling was unlike any other he had experienced, as this was his first time really trying anything with a human. He had a preference for orcish women, but now he wasn’t so sure that would be the case going forward. There was something softer, sweeter, more delicate about a human and he was eager to have his turn with the elf as well. 

Ember’s eyes rolled back in her head as Vyz snapped his hips forward hitting that spot so deep that only he ever seemed to hit just right. The feel of someone both in her throat and fucking her was becoming overwhelming. It was everything she had wanted from this experience and a little more. She could tell Viz was going easy on her, and she tried to encourage him when he began thrusting into her mouth. Closing her eyes she swallowed around him, letting her throat constrict around the head of his cock making him moan. It clearly worked to erode at his control as his hips snapped forward suddenly. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, his expression was one of slight concern. She just nodded, hoping he understood. 

It was pure heaven when Viz finally took the hint that she could handle it and threaded his fingers tighter in her hair, getting a good grip and tugging as he pushed his cock deeper into her throat. She was no longer giving him a blowjob, he was fucking her face, and her moans got louder and louder as she drew closer to release. The feel of her friend fucking her so hard and deep, his balls slapping against her clit as his sharp claws left little pinpricks of pain in her hips increased the sense of euphoria washing over her. Ember slipped into a more relaxed state, letting her body go slightly limp so that she could more easily be penetrated by both goblins. Soon her nose was pressed into the dark curls above Viz’s shaft as she felt his cock swell in her throat. A loud sharp moan from above her and the sudden heat in her throat let her know the goblin had reached climax.

Rope after rope of cum was pumped into her throat as Viz pulled out, some of his seed coating her mouth and lips, some hitting the mask as he fell back panting, clearly worried that he was choking her. With her airway free Ember could be better heard as she also reached climax almost the same time as Vyz did inside of her. The combined pleasure of dual penetration and stimulation was more than enough to send Ember over the edge hard. Vyz hunched over her back as he found his own release. 

Vela was on edge as well with Krazz thrusting more firmly into her mouth while Blix had slowly pushed inside of her. The feeling over all her holes being filled was one she had never thought she would enjoy and was now worried she would become addicted to. Somehow Riz and Blix found a Rhythm that kept almost constant stimulation within her, an almost overwhelming sensation as she was filled beyond anything she had ever experienced before. Surprisingly Vela was the first to reach release, easily, as Riz had continued stimulating her clit while she rode him. Since they were not closed to finished, the goblins did not stop and continued to fuck the elf right through her first orgasm. 

Blix helped Riz by taking over the clitoral stimulation so the other goblin could get a better grip on the elf to thrust deeper and faster up into her. Krazz kept his movements slow, despite wanting to just let go. He wanted to keep an eye on her to ensure that she remained ok, and he wanted to draw this out as much as possible. Vela was well on her way towards a second orgasm when Riz thrust up hard into her with a loud cry, his body shaking slightly as he emptied his seed inside of her. He could tell that Blix would probably be next and helped by reaching up and teasing Vela’s nipples to see if he could send the elf over the edge again.

Vela came almost at the same time as Blix who had snarled as he finally came, almost biting her and stopping himself at the last minute as he just pressed his forehead against her back and rode out his own pleasure while pumping his cum deep inside of her. The contractions of her body milking him for every drop he had as his grip on her remained tight. Krazz was the last to release, finally letting himself go and speeding up, pushing almost his full length into her throat with a loud cry. He almost fell over from the intense pleasure as he had unintentionally edged himself for the last bit of it. 

Carefully the goblins pulled out of their partners and all that could be heard was the sound of light panting and breathing normalizing. Vyz was the first one to speak. “Ok swap? Who wants to swap.”

Krazz raised his hand. “I call your position.” The others laughed at how quickly he responded. 

Blix shook his head. “I am good where I am if there are no complaints?” 

“Nah, I’m good, I’ll swap.” Riz offered. “Unless you want to stay with Ember Vyz?”

“That would put you and your brother on the same girl, that ok?”

“I don’t care, as long as our balls don’t touch it ain’t gay right?” Viz offered as a joke, he new that gay wasn’t the problem in that scenario, but it wouldn’t be the first time they had shared.

Ember lost it a little bit at that and then so did Vela. The boys had to wait for the giggling to die down before new positions could be achieved. Krazz rolled Ember onto her side, moving the pillow. 

“This ok?” He asked before positioning her leg up on his shoulder. 

Ember nodded and tilted her head up at Vyzzie. She had expected him to take a turn with Vela, and maybe he would, the night was young and there was no reason that they wouldn’t swap positions a few more times, especially with some of the ideas Vyz had shared with her during planning. He was smiling at her, stroking her hair away from her mask and carefully wiping the cum from it. Ember realized, from the look in his eyes that they might need to have a conversation later. It was clear an attachment might be forming and she just wasn’t ready for another relationship. Something she hoped wouldn’t ruin the friendship they already had. Glancing down she could see the eager look in Krazz’s eyes as he gazed down at her, positioning himself against her cum soaked folds. Ok, strike that, maybe a conversation with Vyz could happen after she got him and Krazz alone sometime and had them fuck her absolutely senseless. She had a feeling this was going to be a bit of a wild ride and while she still could she glanced over to see Vela being re positioned, clear glee on her friends face, even with the mask there was no missing that expression. 

The night was filled with the sounds of moans as the group quickly forgot the cameras and worked on trying as many different positions and combinations as they could before eventually collapsing in and exhausted heap and snuggling up together before the staff gently reminded them that closing time was less than an hour away. 

Overall, the experience had been one that wouldn’t be easily forgotten and new friends had been made from the most unlikely of scenarios. They all agreed that this was something they would like to try again, maybe with a script and more elaborate costumes, but that was a conversation for a later date when everyone was clean and well rested.

[braindeadskeletons]

I'd like to request a matchup of you don't mind! I dunno what to put down so I'm gonna ramble and call it good,, I'm 5'2 [and a half. I'm adamant about that half] and have adhd + severe anxiety! I tend to ramble a lot! I do have haphephobia, which means I hate being touched.i get violent when its not on my own terms or with people I trust. I'm very protective of people I love! I really like stars and bonfires! I'm my friend groups therapist,which I don't mind.I love reading and naps, Thank you!

I saw that you didn't mind two posts being used for the match up- I thought I'd give you more to work with! I have a kitten called sweetpea who's a RAT but she gets away with it! I have a ton of books,everywhere,I'm running out of space. I seem mature when alone but with friends I can and will hop from a giant pipe to a higher up one just to prove I can,scratches or not.I've put a small lightbulb in my mouth and broke it on accident, I felt like this was important to include

Hello! May I just say that I absolutely adore the utter chaos of a human being you are?? Like hello?? You accidentally broke a lightbulb in your mouth?? I appreciate greatly that you told me this but also please explain?? Why was it in your mouth?? How did it break?? Did you just?? Chew?? And didnt expect it to break?? You just had it in your mouth and when it broke you had glass in your mouth looking like: :0 

please I'm begging you for a story time wether its dm or on here through submissions/asks for all of us to see and behold

aLSO PLEASE I I DON'T KNOW SWEETPEA BUT TELL THE RAT CAT I LOVE HER THANK YOU

Okay now onto the actual matchup I'm sorry I rambled you literally just left me with so much to think about. These questions will haunt me. I want you to know that. This matchup is a fever dream and I mean that in the best way possible.

I match you with Underswap Sans!

No doubt in my mind that this is your guy. This is a cursed couple. You both frighten people immensely and for you two that is a mission well done. You genuinely bring out both the best and the worst in Sans. On one hand, he has never been happier with anyone! On the other hand, Papyrus suspects that the reason as to why Sans was missing in the ball pit for 72 hours then later retrieved with 24 stolen items in hand was your doing. How did you play a role in this? He doesn't know yet but he'll figure it out.

You think that Sans is innocent? A bouncing blue baby boy man? No. Well yeah, but also no. He seems like a very happy skeleton who just wants to help others, and yeah that's still accurate; but he's also a literal troll. You both can relate to each other due to how people see you as mature at first, which isn't incorrect i'm assuming but you're also capable of utter chaos. Nobody suspects him to do half the chaotic shit he does. He will be the cause of Armageddon. This man single handedly causes the world to end. Normally Papyrus is the one to keep him from doing something chaotic but with you here now? Now it's just utter chaos. If you do something stupid just to prove that you can, Sans is not too far behind to prove that he can also do it but better. Genuinely the worst part of all of this is how Sans has his own motorcycle he rides and he can take you wherever you need to go. Want to go into some obscure area people fear to cause chaos? Sans will drive you no questions asked. He does have some limits however, for example y'know, he'd be immensely concerned if someone broke a lightbulb in their mouth.

----------

You: hehehe

You: hey sans look

Sans: HM?

You: [shoves lightbulb in mouth]

Sans: :0

You, voice muffled: isn't this cool?

[insert shattered lightbulb noises]

You: :0

Sans: OH FUCK

Sans: HUMAN ARE YOU OKAY 

You: :00

----------

Whether or not at the end you're shocked about how Sans cursed or you're still in shock about the glass in your mouth is up for interpretation. 

Honestly most of the stuff you two do together are your ideas. Sans just really wants to impress you and show you how magnificent he is! So please, of course you two can have fun, but don't completely rot this skeleton's mind. Not that Papyrus would allow that anyways. You both are essentially the Sans protection squad, and you're both very protective and would die for Sans before he got hurt, but Papyrus is the more responsible one out of the two members of the squad. Depending on how you view Papyrus, that can be seen as concerning. 

Okay let's actually get serious for a moment here since I got carried away. That's my bad lol. When it comes to physical touch, Sans would typically all for it! However the moment you inform him that you have haphephobia he initially doesn't understand what that is. Once he does the research and understands it'd be totally alright with him! He respects your boundaries and wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable. Sometimes you'll have to remind him since when he's happy his immediate instinct is to hold the person closest to him, but a light reminder is enough to get him to back off again. If you ever want to try and overcome your phobia, he'll be right there. If not, that's okay with him too! He's here to support you no matter what.

It's important to mention that I personally headcanon that this version of Sans also has ADHD. Sooo in terms of usefulness, he's very sorry, but he isn't going to be of much help since he has a lot of the same habits you do. He can offer you some of his fidget toys if you'd like them though, and some pointers as to how he handles having it! Papyrus has gotten him plenty once he was officially diagnosed by Undyne and he's very happy to share! Sometimes both of your conditions lead to hilarious conversations and rambling since you both have that habit. Or just no conversation. Sometimes the two of you will be mid conversation and you both just kinda.

Forget.

You both forget what you were talking about.

In quiet acknowledgment you both just decide to move on to something else and not dwell on it.

However with anxiety, Sans is willing to do anything he can to help you! Would you like something to distract you? Soothing words? He knows that you typically don't like touch, but would it help in this situation? Would you like him to breathe with you? He's trying his best to help you in any way possible and he's there to listen if you need him. 

Speaking of listening to each other, Sans appreciates the fact that you listen to people so much. He loves his brother very much but being treated like a child is frustrating, you know? Sans is an adult just like his brother and he has his own worries and problems. He won't like it if you try to treat him like a kid, so please refrain from doing that if you could. He'd greatly appreciate that.

Most of your date nights take place in your own home! Once Sans learned that you had a cat he was immediately determined to become besties with your cat. I'd personally like to imagine that your cat, for whatever reason she might have, doesn't feel the same way. If he ever cat sits it goes a little like this:

----------

You: hey Sans, I'm home! How was sweetpe-

Sans, covered in scratches: SHE WAS GREAT

Sweetpea: >:)

You: 

You: o h ?

Sweetpea: >:))

Sans: I FEEL LIKE WE REALLY BONDED TONIGHT

----------

Yeah, it isn't great. But Sans hasn't given up just yet!

For dates Sans tends to take you out to places such as bookstores (a popular location for you two), the movies, restaurants, the park, and then end the night at his place! Alternatively, Sans would love to set up bonfires and a night of stargazing with you! If you'd like him to he could invite a handful of his friends and yours to share the night together with. If not, he's more than happy to sit with you and gaze at the stars as he lists all of the reasons in his head of why he loves you so damn much. These are the moments he loves the most with you. Just spending time together, no one else there to disturb you two and the beauty of the stars above.

[popculturebuffet]

Paul Dini’s Jingle Belle: The Mighty Elves (Comissoned by WeirdKev27)

Well well boys, we’re back to Jingle Belle with another kevmission, though per his request i’ll be getting back to Life and Times Of Scrooge McDuck at long last. I also have some other stuff planned and all that, but for now, let’s focus on everyones faviorite elfen hellion as we dive back into Paul Dini’s Jingle Belle. 

I covered most of the behind the scene’s stuff last time so in short in case your just joining us, since this one’s got a bit more stuff to tag: Jingle Belle is an indie comic book character created by animation god Paul Dini, the daughter of Santa Claus and the Queen of Elves who acts like a standard rebellious teenager sterotype and causes trouble for her dad.  Last time I touched on the character a good two days ago, we looked at her first appearance, where she sent her family to Family Therapy. At the time I’d ONLY read that story, and hadn’t gotten that far into Jing’s world just yet. As you probably guessed despite plugging a decent amount of time into re-reading the rest of Scott Pilgrim (shout out to my good friend Mike for the early christmas present), on digital and in color and into the Switch port of the first Fire Emblem, I still got 2/3 of the way through the omnibus Kev gifted me of almost all her stories up to 2018′s The Handmade’s Tale.  Honestly not a lot has changed from the pilot.. while Jing’s designs changed a bit, she’s still more of a rebellious hellion, and while Santa’s no longer a slut shaming jackass, he’s still hard on her while her mom tries to keep the peace, The humor’s still edgy, if toned down enough to support returning whenever Dini felt like it but it’s largely the same for better or worse.  Overall the stories haven’t been bad but have been a bit reptitive to read in one giant omnibus. This really is down to the format they were made in: These were one off stories spread months apart meant to be picked up off the shelf with no real ongoing stories or character development and only some slight worldbuilding here and there. In short not bad stuff, just clearly not built to be collected in a huge omnibus like it was and not the first comic collection i’ve encountered with this problem and definitely not the last. 

That being said the stories are creative and still well put together. It is Paul Dini and he has wrote pretty much every story collected here with few exceptions, so it’s still good stuff, just as I said clearly not meant to be read all in one block like i’ve been doing. And today’s story happens to be one of my faviorites so far, breaking the formula up a bit by having Jing do something a bit diffrent and also involving hockey, a sport this story made me realized might actually intrest me on some level.. if in part due to letterkenny. 

God bless those two handsome idiots. So let’s ice up or skates, get those letterkenny refrences at the ready and see what the Mighty Elves have to offer. 

We start at Hockey Practice for Santa’s Hockey Team, The Elves, the kind of sentence that makes me really happy to type for money. Santa’s team is naturally for this kind of story and what the title references, are the last place in the bi-polar hockey league their in.. presumably ran by commissioner bi-polar bear. 

Again, I really love this job and that i’m actually getting paid for this this go round. Anyway, Santa’s team isn’t all that agressive because.. well i’ts a team coached by Santa, why would they be? But Santa’s still proud of his boys... as for his girl on the otherhand he gets a call and we soon find out via mugshots Jing dragged her two friends, up from just one in previous stories, to an air force base, somehow got arrested for hitting on enlisted men, not a crime, and stealing and crashing a helicopter, very much a crime.  Naturally Santa isn’t pleased, so we cut to a few days later where he’s letting her friends off making robo kitties, damn I want one of those now, while leaving Jing to do the packaging, though like most stern but fair dad’s he admits he dosen’t like punishing her and is right in saying there’s more to do with her summer vacation than you know, piss off the military. Santa needs his flight clerance dammit. Jing complains there isn’t much to do but feed the reindeer and make toys to which I say.. really santa? You haven’t set up anything else for your eleves to do? Making toys is their job. Build a fucking movie theater. And at the very least if not for them than for your bored and rebellious daughter to distract her from doing crimes. She’s still likely got a few hundred years of teenagering left, give her something else to do other than piss you off.  Santa does have a least a little something: Hockey! Which Jing’s cousin Rusty has taken up. Rusty showed up in the first story but I kind of glossed over him, he’s basically Jing’s Dorky cousin she frequently abuses. Not really much more or less to him. Jing isn’t on board mostly because their team always looses, to the other teams: The Penguins, the Polar Bears, The Snow Leopards and the Eskimos because they don’t really have killer instinct, which yeah is kind of necessary for hockey. To her..

But during her rant she does show Santa she’s got genuine talent for the sport, so he makes her a deal: Do a little favor for him, and she’ll swap that for making toys.. it’s a deal.. one she soon regrets but hey. 

Jing naturally makes an ass of herself pretty quickly beating the shit out of Rusty with her dad repremanding her and threatning to throw her off the team if she has another outburst like. That is until she runs into the Huskies Coach, Stan. 

I mean i’ts a hairy old man who makes a side bet with Santa Claus despite it technically being against commission rules, might as well be. So Santa tells Jing screw it, as long as it’s the opposing team violence is a-okay.  And naturally our first target is the world famous hockey player, aka snoopy aka a snoopy stand in. And being a big fan of peanuts i’m a sucker for a good peantus parody. Doubly so since Dini did his homework, and as I’d remembered and a quick google confirmed “The World Famous Hockey Player” was indeed one of snoopy’s many personas.

 Not that it was much of a stretch: just about any time snoopy played a sport he was “the world famous X player”, but still it’s a nice little nod. Not so nice is Jing within seconds slamming him into the air and under a Zamboni and getting sent to the box for it naturally. So clearly she’s the shorsey of this team, all chirps and ultra violence. 

Snoopy is thankfully still alive, if barely, though he’s off course been through much worse.

But while in the Box jing helps advise the team and a presumed combination of her beating the shit out of the other team’s best players and her team now not only having something to inspire them but a strategy means the Elves win for once! Santa and Jing share a hug, though Santa advises her not to go for his wallet, it’s still a sweet moment as she’s genuinely invested now.  So we cut to..

Okay Hank Ribbon seal is genuinely one of the best things humanity has made but as for Quiki I just... wow that joke is mildly racist at worst, confusing and unfunny at best. I mean... it really just makes no sense on any level and that’s with me not knowing a lot about hockey, but knowing just enough to know Kathy Lee Gifford existed. Just.. what even was that? I know Paul can do better than this.. because as my first review outlined he wrote a LOTTTT of Tiny Tune Adventures including my favorite episode. He also wrote most of the best Joker episodes for BTAS, so it’s not like the guy CAN’T be funny.. so I have no idea how he could fail so hard with this. Just.. what is this. Who thought this was funny? what was the joke? 

That.. utter bafflement aside, this newscast is used to push things ahead as the elves are on a winning streak, having also beaten the Polar Bears and the Penguins.. though weirdly we DON’T get a cameo by this guy despite having already had Snoopy show up. 

That’s my boy. But yeah there’s only two teams left with this, the Eskimos and tonight’s matchup the Snow Leopards, aka snow catgirls lead by Tashi Ounce, who Jing met at the winter games last year and lost too and thus has a whole rivlary thing going. In a really nice moment Santa stops to make sure Jing is okay going into the game. 

It’s part of why I REALLY like this story: Santa instead of just being disapointed in his daughter genuinely bonds over her over something and Jing shows she has a softer side to her. It’s some good character stuff, helps shake up the normal formula nicely. Back to the usual though she and Tashi naturally go at it, phrasing, and fight the whole damn time, with Belle eventually scoring the winning goal. Though noticably while Tashi is just as competiive as belle and lost this time.. she’s fine with it, knowing she’ll win next time and congradulating the opponent.  But before she can leave the rink, Tashi is approached by a mysterious figure with an offer and we cut to said figure’s lair... it’s THE BLIZZARD WIZARD! dun dun dun!.... yeah I haven’t introduced him the Blizzard Wizard is.. well exactly what he sounds like, as well as the former ruler of the North Pole. He enslaved everyone there to do his bidding and was essentially, a butt till Santa showed up, united all the various animals and kicked his ass. Since then he’s been reduced to basically a rankin bass villian, lurking near bye and scheming to get petty revenge on Santa for it. So essentially....

Minus the tragic backstory. He offers them a deal: The championship cup for him defeating the elves. As he puts it the cup symbolizes hard work, respect and team work.. i.e the things their throwing out to get payback. Tashi wants none of it, but the blizzard wizard has his slush minons capture her and with the rest willing to sell out, he gets to work. 

Bliz snows out the eskimos, and brings up accusations of Santa gambling, which he gets away from by.. having his wife donate the money real quick don’t ask just go. But he has a waiver signed by the other coaches so their playing his goons. But Jing isn’t phased and Santa asks her to give the lockeroom some inspiring words. 

10/10 no notes. But naturally Bliz has a sneaky trick up his sleeves.. to win.. specifically a hot french canadian player which.. makes jing fall to pieces flirting with him and makes her entirely ineffective. Okay time out.... huh so this is the timeless void known only to zack morris, that girl from the reboot I haven’t watched, and Regis Filbin. But yeah while I wouldn’t expect Jing to slaughter the guy it feels out of character for all she’d do is to giggle like an idiot instead of making a move. She’s been established as forward and knowing what she wants. I’m not against her being distracted by this it’s just the how that feels off especially since the opening reinforces this. She hit on air force guys. She’s not going to just be giggly and awkward. Jing may not be the most complex charcter but she’s better than this. Aside from the baffling Kathy Lee Gifford gag, this is the only thing I really don’t like abotu the story, and it lasts two pages before it’s resolved and in a 22 or so page story, that’s a good chunk of it spent on something that isn’t funny and that’s out of character even within story. That being said it dosen’t drag the story down entirely, still a good story. Just a bit uneven is all. 

But unsurprisingly Tashi escapes her earlier imprisonment offscreen to let Jing know not only the full extent of Bliz Whiz’s machenations, i.e. that the other coaches are in on it, but that the hockey player is really just one of Bliz’s minons uner a glamour. WIth that knowledge Jing asks why she’d help and Tashi shows her inner honor beneath the whole rival deal, pointing out she wants to win from a GOOD team next year. With the jig up Jing pulvirzes her former crush, claims to have been under a spell (no one byes it) and the elves clean house and win. Super fuckin shooter. As for Bliz Whiz he tries to steal the trophy but instead gets booted into the snow leopards box, phrasing... it doesn’t end well for him. 

And yeah while he comes back eventually, some how, apparently, for most of the stories after this he’s just.. dead. He was killed and then his remains eaten. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

But Jing admits she had fun, she and her dad bond and we get one last gag as he assumes she learned not to showboat only for her to block everyone else in the team photo. Falalallal we’re out. 

Final Thoughts: As I said, one of my faviorites. It’s really well paced, has a good premise and only one part drags at all and only that part and one gag really don’t land. The rest of it is really funny, nice and touching, and overall a nice shakeup from these stories usual pattern of “Jing getting into hyjinks”. While she DOES here, her and her dad are literally and figuartvely on the same team, and she does show a sweeter side genuinely bonding with her dad and it’s nice to see them actually enjoy each other’s company for once. It’s a nice change of pace and one I wish more of the stories had. I’m not saying they all have to be holly jolly but i’d be nice if more of them had a bit of heart to them is all. Tis the season and all that. Still for what it is, it’s a fun ride and I highly recommend it. We’ll probably see her again sometime this season but that’s a bit off.  For now coming up I have some ducktales to tell, a chapter in a man’s life story that’s long overdue, a holiday mess I wish I didn’t have to clean up, and in the distant future.. an old friend to reconnect with. Until then if you liked this review reblog it, comment etc all that good stuff, and you can send me asks with suggestions fo ra review or direct message me, or ask for my discord, to comission a review yourself. Until then, happy holidays. 

[crqstalite]

damn, things get really fuckin’ dark if you let them in knights. basically a disorganized essay with no theme, rhyme, reason or even real thesis on why the dark outlander can quickly turn the expansions into an absolute clusterfuck.

obviously, spoilers below the cut.

as i assume most of you know, i played a light leaning neutral warrior (mellena) through knight-forward first. the main cast stayed the same throughout, koth, senya, arcann, theron, lana and so on. theron was still alive at the end of onslaught, arcann and senya were still alive and so was koth. mellena was a peacekeeper of the galaxy. she romanced theron, mostly everyone was happy with her. she was good with zakuulans, assisted the republic during iokath and sabotaged the empire for them while placing the blame on the other darths and effectively destroying the new dark council from within.

but a dark sided outlander? holy fuck i wasn’t ready for what could happen and what did happen.

THE ISSUE WITH KOTH.

koth fuckin’ up and LEAVES with the gravestone (chapter sixteen, battle of odessen) if you let too many zakuulans die and have less concern for them than he does. there are a few main decisions you have to make to get him angry with you, the first being in chapter three, outlander, if you let the generator blow in favor of your own life, chapter four, the gravestone if you kill the exiles, and anarchy in paradise (i reference this chapter a lot in this section) if you blow yet another generator. once you do most of these, specifically the last one, you’re locked in to lose koth for the rest of the game.

he shows up again during wrath and ruin for voss, then leaves, then appears again in dark reunions when he needs help with vaylin and scorpio on the gravestone. he later leaves even if you offer him to stay, making a remark about it being better for the alliance if he just disappeared. 

here’s the issue that i have with koth’s character in respect to his relationships with other characters.

tora and the rest of the crew that was acquired on asylum. obviously they knew him longer than anyone else, but tora says this after he leaves in chapter ten, anarchy in paradise, ‘we’re with you. as captains go, koth wasn’t a complete hutt-stain, but you provide a steady paycheck and nice toys.’ tora’s obviously just a tad gung-ho about everything, but even len doesn’t mention anything to you about it later down the line. they aren’t even angry with you for letting their captain go. i know relationships are tough but jesus christ i thought they’d be angrier with me.

theron and koth didn’t have much history outside of meeting in chapter nine, the alliance but you can just as easily turn theron against him (i’ll get to the corresponding exchange during chapter four of kotet, where dreams die). wasn’t surprising, i figured it wouldn’t be. can’t be mad over someone you did even know. theron’s being held hostage when the gravestone as being stolen and is dropped off on odessen before koth leaves, and that you can’t blame the man at the end of your excursion on zakuul after chapter ten. no harm done here, and personally i didn’t care much for theron on khaak’s runthrough.

the exchange mentioned earlier with theron and koth here during chapter four, where dreams die. to set the scene, you’ve just found theron and koth after a disorienting trip on iokath, halfway through you found torian. torian says, ‘what’s the traitor doing here?’ in reference to koth. theron answers, ‘he picked up my holo-signal to the others and i let him in, against my better judgement. told him if he moves he’s dead.’

that isn’t even it. i figured theron would be more forgiving, even chastise me for being rude to him earlier, but instead he threatens the man.

koth answers with something along the lines of wanting to help, and khaak answered, ‘you’ve “helped” enough, koth. you had your chance to be a hero’. theron follows up with, ‘the only reason you’re here is so you won’t cause more trouble out there. don’t push it.’

but lana and koth do have history, in fact they reference it quite a bit in chapter three, outlander,  and you can turn her against him rather easily too. i can’t pick out any memories of her being particularily upset about koth’s leaving or your actions leading up to it and after it. i know the excuse here is that she’s pragmatic and not emotional, but there’s an underlying issue here that needs to be talked about. 

khaak romanced lana, hardcore went sith wife with her. which i can figure was helping along an emotional dilemma for lana. on one hand, she had ties to koth for helping her find khaak, and seemed to respect him for it and enjoy his company. on another hand, she has ties to khaak for being her girlfriend, and subsequently the alliance commander who she’s known for years upon years longer than knowing vortena. she has no ties to zakuul other than through koth, and doesn’t even really bat an eye when the outlander blows the generator in the city. she is imperial, first and foremost, though most literally follows you to the end of the galaxy no matter what you do. in battle of odessen (if you shot down senya and arcann), she responds to theron’s ‘guess i’m glad you’re showing some remorse’ with ‘senya made her choice. she betrayed us, just as koth did. but right now we have more pressing concerns.’

another note here is that khaak did let the generator overload in chapter three (lana even approved of the decision to let it blow and have them escape first, i think saying ‘we can’t save everyone’), and because of one little decision for lana in chapter five, from the grave, (i’ll talk about this at a later date and why it was stupid) asylum was damaged because of valkorion’s power. i won’t say i don’t understand why he left, he thinks you’re supporting the other factions more than zakuul, but koth doesn’t even attempt to talk to you or understand your reasoning before taking off. i guess in an angry moment like that, he can’t, and bioware didn’t develop his character enough to do so effectively. (that i’ll also talk about at another date).

there is an exchange in the following expansion that my heart definitely cracked over though, and deals with another issue i have with koth.

setting the scene, the outlander and lana find koth on the gravestone during dark reunions. khaak was civil enough with him, agreeing to help to disable the bombs koth put on the ship (yet another issue i’ll talk about later). koth sadly says lana’s name after this agreement, before she responds, “there’s nothing left between us” and stomps off into the gravestone. that leaves the commander and koth alone, and if you romanced her (like i did with khaak), he says this, “you’ll be good to her, right?” [this entire scene is pictured above]

khaak responded “lana means everything to me.” which prompts koth to answer, “that’s all i needed to hear”. which leads me to believe that they definitely were together at some point, before one of the two decided something wasn’t working and acted accordingly. a personal headcanon of mine, but it still shocks me lana was so quick to brush off the man she’d worked with for canonically the last five years to get you out. a lot of people speculate it wasn’t a serious romance if there was one, especially if the pc romanced lana before kotfe. no matter what, i figured koth would come first and was bracing for the scolding to come from lana at some point, but it never came. she essentially didn’t care, and was either more concerned about her current lover or the alliance. that’s some hardcore bullshit if i’m being honest, but i also wasn’t raised sith so i digress.

you do also apparently have the choice to kill koth in that chapter. i didn’t take that option (falls under the ‘hey wait this is really dark, stop’; another issue i’ll talk about later), but i am curious what would’ve occurred if i had.

personally, i think if koth was treated the same as lana and theron, given more flirt options, more character development and not disappearing after hearts and minds to fuck off to zakuul, he would’ve been a great character and a lot more appreciated by the fandom. his actions did have deeper meanings, and though most see him as little more than a self-absorbed douche obsessed with zakuul, zakuul, zakuul, i don’t hate his character. obviously i do still have issues with koth in general, his personality grinded the gears of both my warrior and smuggler respectively. given he’s never known anything but zakuul, but at least lana and theron are sympathetic to the opposing factions.

i’m not saying lana didn’t have the right to act the way she did, but there has to be a hardened part of her heart against a dark side outlander for pushing him away.

THE ISSUE WITH ARCANN AND SENYA.

playing with mellena, she got beat around by arcann for an expansion but did forgive him eventually and accepted him into the alliance. she kept senya as well, though she technically betrayed her in battle of odessen. all light side options.

now, this is where things get morally ambiguous. a grey area, if you will. arcann has only ever known zakuul, ever. he doesn’t know about the outlands that you came from, and only was ever taught how to act by valkorian. he’s angry with you for essentially taking his father’s power when it should’ve been his after years of being by his side and doing everything he can to be worthy. of course he’s violently hunting you down because of it. yes, he tries to kill you multiple times. is this excusable? for his background, it is. he doesn’t know better.

senya really believes her son can be redeemed, and on a light side run, he can be. but without knowing this, lana’s concern of ‘extermination is safer. the alliance can’t risk war against both of valkorion’s spawn’ during wrath and ruin seems like it is a good idea. with how the gravestone was stolen from out under your nose (dark side in the previous expansion with koth), any sane commander would cut their losses and go anyways. murdering arcann before he can stab you again is the best idea than assuming voss (which depending upon your actions on their planet years prior, good or bad) will be able to heal a tyrant, especially during the literal destruction of voss-ka.

senya’s death was painful. it really was. but to even attempt to kill arcann in his current state, you’re forced to. mandalorians are also sacrificed in this fight when the commander sends them after the tiralls (though never mentioned by torian surprisingly enough). however, it isn’t really you she wants to kill. it’s valkorion, and she’s acting under the idea that it’s him causing you to do these things, and by killing you, she’ll be rid of him and will be able to escape with her son. valkorion has a touching moment with her before her death, and the line she says before being killed is extremely sad.

‘you are truly the daughter valkorion always wanted.’

personally i hadn’t expected it, it may just be a sentence but i holds so much power. senya believed in you at one point or another, but by saying this, she’s literally giving you her parting words. she trusted you, and you betrayed her. but both expansions and even some of the vanilla game are all about vitiate anyways, and senya wants justice for what happened to her children. with your violent actions in line with things valkorion would do, it’s understandable why senya would associate you with being his daughter. still, that hurt in a way it really shouldn’t have.

arcann’s death was even more painful, really. he even tries to ally with vaylin to take down the outlander that killed his mother. even though she’d been gone out of his life for the longest time, it haunts him. it hurt him, and he’s determined to kill you for doing so. with the relationship he and senya can have if you let him live, he’s justified because he was half healed by the voss. knowing his mother died pushed him over the edge, hence why he’s out to kill you.

arcann sees his father for the last time before his death, and his strength is absorbed by you in a way that lana compares to how valkorion had done so with you years earlier.

in the end, senya and arcann are misunderstood by the dark sided outlander. khaak’s reasoning extends past vitiate, the eternal empire and everything else, but just a dark sided outlander with no past does stand to gain a lot by killing the tiralls. senya, because she stands in your way if you kill arcann and honestly continues to badger you for not considering the zakuulans (chapter twelve, visions in the dark when you consider sending kaliyo in to follow aric and havoc squad in the spire) , and arcann by having him out of your way and not plotting in the shadows.

neither character, like koth, is inherently bad. in fact these two are (beyond lana and theron) my favorite characters. their stories are engaging and exciting, and even vaylin’s fascinated me to no end. they are purely zakuulan, and with such a fractured family there has to be stories there that no one expected.

the reason they act the way they do is because they’re out of their element, koth in the outlands for the first time over the course of five years and still trying to protect his people, senya for wanting only to protect her children after the war with the republic and empire begins, and arcann for only wanting his father’s validation. all three characters did need more fleshing out for them to be more effective. senya was done well, with some missing elements. arcann needed to have more story behind him than just ‘im valkorion’s kid and im trying to kill you because you took his power instead of me raaaa’ and ‘oh i was reedeemed. guess i’m cool with you now.’ even his romance path doesn’t reveal much about him. you really have to stretch the story to even comprehend his personality, and wading through the fandom, it isn’t agreed upon just how old he and senya are, nor what his life was like in between cinematics.

THE ISSUE WITH IOKATH.

iokath (war on iokath, patch 5.2 that is, yes the little half an hour patch not the two chapter excursion in knights) isn’t particularily bad. in fact i thought i was a nice addition (also probably because i played it nearly two years after it was released and didn’t have to wait another couple months for the traitor arc), especially for a warrior and trooper to reunite with dorne or quinn. it can be emotional for characters that knew them or even romanced them. mellena had a reunion with quinn that was rather unhappy, but fit well for both characters. thank you bioware.

it does fall flat for someone like khaak, with no relations to either character, but it’s who you ally with that can really get you. khaak turned her back on the republic to ally with the empire (depending on a character’s story, someone who fought for the republic beforehand or didn’t, this can be a very tough decision), and there are quite a few places where you can hammer it home for theron that you’re fighting against his father. and the codex doesn’t help with your guilt either.

“Theron was born from the love affair between two Republic heroes: Jedi Knight Satele Shan and Republic Captain Jace Malcom. Their romance was short-lived, and Satele only discovered her pregnancy after the two parted ways. She kept the child a secret and gave birth in hiding. Though Satele wanted nothing more than to care for her newborn son, she had to uphold her duty to the Jedi Order. She surrendered Theron to the care of her Jedi Master--Ngani Zho--to continue serving the Republic. Theron was briefly raised as a Jedi, but the older he grew, the more obvious it became that he was not Force-sensitive. He ultimately left the Jedi Order and joined the Republic Strategic Information Service. Theron excelled in his covert work as a spy, and finally met Jace Malcom and learned that he was his father. They worked together on Operation End Game and parted on good terms. In the following years, they shared the occasional father-son meeting, but struggled to grow close. Though the meetings were awkward, Theron always felt a fondness for his father--a feeling he never had for his mother, who he felt abandoned him for the good of the Republic. Theron's relationship with Malcom reached a breaking point when he left the Republic to help found the Alliance. Malcom saw this as a betrayal, but Theron refused to bow to the Eternal Empire's oppressive army. Harsh words were exchanged during their last holocall several years ago. They haven't spoken since.” - SWTOR Codex, Theron Shan: The Secret Son

the codex really hammers home that you’ve turned a son against a father. theron had never been close to his father, but by doing this, you’ve only fractured it further. and yes, you. theron only left the republic because he was helping you found the alliance, and turned his back on his father as well.

personally, i thought this was so bad i couldn’t even bring khaak to respond how she would’ve, which would’ve been to tell someone to cut their losses and leave. that’s how painful this scene between theron and his father ended up being, and theron even screams an emotional ‘father!’ after the throne fries him, the first real father-son interaction he and theron even have. malcom even asks theron to tell his mother he was sorry before dying. khaak couldn’t do much but literally just give him a moment with his thoughts. troy baker did so well in this scene, his voice shaking as it actually sounds like he was choked up. definitely a tear-jerker.

however, it also sets up crisis on umbara extremely well, considering your outlander was the one who allied with the empire and essentially killed his father by pushing him to get the superweapon without knowing much about it. unlike the light side route (which is much more a facade on theron’s part because he has no ill will towards you, in fact probably respects you more because you did ally with the republic), the dark side route is much more believable. you are the empress, though you said you’d fight for peace and are instead violently quelling rebellion on zakuul against your rule. whether theron thinks that far ahead, of course he’ll be angry with you for it. you’re most literally a person he swore to protect the galaxy against, and you screwed it up. now he left the republic and his father for an extinguished dream. he’s allied with the faction he once fought against, all because of you. maybe his betrayal is only to gather intel on the order, but he definitely doesn’t have remorse for you at some point.

to be continued with everything after the traitor arc :)

[failes-xtra-bits]

 CHAPTER 7

             So they take off for Marlas the following morning, after a public hanging that does NOT put Makedon in good spirits. Damen and Laurent evenly matched, riding side by side. 

Damen was taller, but nothing could be done about that, Hendric, (the Veretian Herald) had said with an impenetrable expression. 

Damen couldn't tell if he was joking. He rode closer to Laurent.

'At Marlas, we’ll stay in adjacent chambers,’ said Damen. ‘It’s protocol.’

‘Of course,’ said Laurent, his eyes also on the road.

Laurent showed no sign of distress, and sat upright in the saddle, as though nothing at all had happened to his shoulder. He spoke charmingly to the generals and even made pleasant conversation in response to Nikandros, when Nikandros spoke to him.

‘I hope the injured boy was returned to you safely.’

‘Thank you, he returned with Paschal,’ said Laurent.

When they reached Delpha...

'Welcome home,’ Nikandros said.

Akielos. He drew in a breath of Akielon air. In months of captivity he had thought of this moment.

Damen glances over at Laurent, who is of course, above it all. To be fair, Delpha used to belong to Vere and the people there are more excited to see him, this must make him feel some kind of way.

Damen doesn't recognize Marlas when they arrive. It's grown lush and green with beautiful wildflowers, so drastically different from when they battled there. Also this.

Damen looked at the courtyard. The parapets were broken down and reshaped. The stonework hacked off. The stone itself carted off for use in new building, the splendid rooftops and towers levelled into an Akielon style. Now it looks bare and barren to him. Laurent does not react to the changes but thanks Nikandros for his welcome.

Inside the household is waiting for them. 2 dozen slaves lining the walls. At first Nikandros is upset because the King's preference is known, until they realize that they are for Laurent. Laurent, ever the gracious guest picks a young slave with the coloring of Damen and Nikandros(hmmm), named Isander.

‘I like that one,’ said Laurent.

The slaves were dressed in the northern style, in light gauzy silks that threaded through the link on their collar and covered very little. Laurent was indicating to the third slave to the left, a dark, bowed head.

‘An excellent choice,’ said Kolnas. ‘Isander, step forward.’

Damen realizing that Isander is pure frowns.

'The slave remains wholly untouched, kept pure for the first use of the Exalted.’

Laurent’s eyes lifted to Damen’s.

‘I never did learn how to command a bed slave,’ said Laurent. ‘Teach me.’

‘They cannot speak Veretian, Your Highness,’ Kolnas explained. ‘In the Akielon language, using the plain form of address is appropriate. To command any act of service is to honour a slave. The more personal the service, the greater the honour.’

‘Really? Come here,’ said Laurent.

Isander rose for the second time, a faint tremor in his body as he came as close as he dared before dropping to the ground again, his cheeks bright red. He looked a little dazed by the attention. Laurent extended the tip of his boot.

‘Kiss it,’ he said. His eyes were on Damen. He's such a little shit, toying with Damen. He knows what he's doing. Poor Isander.

Damen is preparing for the banquet and reflecting on how homecoming is not quite what he expected. I would even say he's feeling a bit misunderstood, alone, his world is bigger now so he doesn't quite fit. 

When the last laurel leaf (how did I never see this?) was arranged, the last piece of fabric wound into place, Damen proceeded with his squires into the hall.

Men and women reclined on couches, amid scattered low tables or on low, cushioned benches.

 Pallas, the handsome officer-champion, reclined with the easy posture that spoke to his aristocratic blood(and this! He isnt just a lowly soldier,  this feeds in to my theory on Laurent and Jealousy).

So they are now at the banquet Laurent and his immaculate manners and besotted slave to do his bidding, Damen brooding. Time comes to talk about pledging support.

Barieus stepped forward. ‘I want assurances that Vere does not hold undue influence over Akielos.’

Undue influence. ‘Speak plainly.’

‘They say the Prince of Vere is your lover.’

Silence. No one would have dared speak that way in his father’s court. 

‘Who we take to our bed is not your concern.’

‘If our King takes Vere to his bed, it is our concern,’ said Barieus.

‘Shall I tell them what really happened between us? They want to know,’ Laurent said.

Laurent began to unlace the cuff of his sleeve, drawing the ties through the eyelets, then opening the fabric to expose the fine underside of his wrist—and then the unmistakable gold of the slave cuff.

So apparently the cuff means ownership of the royal family. I don't think that Damen thought of it as ownership like his people do, just part of a shared experience and sentimentality over what brought them together. He's shrewd enough to know he's laying some kind of claim, but I bet Laurent thought the whole thing through and realized the complete meaning of the cuff or how people would see it. OWNERSHIP, deeply pledged to the royal family. 

Do I have the question clear?’ said Laurent, speaking in Akielon. ‘You are asking if I lay with the man who killed my own brother?’

Laurent wore the slave cuff with utter disregard. He had no owner, the aristocratic arrogance of his posture said that. Laurent had always possessed an essential quality of the untouchable. He cultivated a faultless grace on the reclining couch, his chiselled profile and marble-chip eyes those of a statue. The idea that he would let anyone fuck him was impossible.

Barieus said, ‘A man would have to be ice-cold to sleep with his brother’s killer.’

‘Then you have your answer,’ said Laurent. (I love this, because he answers the question, but it doesn't mean what they think, I'd they think differently he knows they won't press the issue.)

There was a silence, in which Laurent’s gaze held that of Barieus.

‘Yes, Exalted. They pledge to Damen.

Laurent requests The Fall of Inactos, Damen broods some more, jealous of Isander.

The wine came. As he took up the cup, he saw Jord approaching Aimeric's parents to pay his respects.

‘Thank you, soldier.’

She gave him the token attention a lady might give to any servant, and turned back to her conversation with her husband.

Before he realised it, Damen had lifted his hand and summoned Jord over. Approaching the dais, Jord made the three prostrations as ungracefully as a man wearing a new armour suit.

‘You have good instincts,’ Damen heard himself say.

It was the first time that he had spoken to Jord since the battle at Charcy. He felt how different this was to the nights they’d sat around a campfire swapping stories. He felt how different everything was. Jord gazed at him for a long moment, then indicated Laurent with his chin.

‘I’m glad you two are friends,’ said Jord.

‘It’s good that you could trust each other,’ said Jord. And then: ‘I think before you came, he didn’t really trust anyone.’

Damen said, ‘He didn’t.’

 He and Jord part ways Damen see's Laurent whisper to Isander and head out the door. He goes to follow him and realizes that he's abandoned the slave and gone for a ride. He finds Laurent at the site of his brother's death.

Clearing a last jut of stone, he saw the curve of a shoulder in the moonlight, the white of a loose shirt, his outer garments stripped, all wrists and exposed throat. Laurent was sitting on a stone outcrop. His jacket was discarded uncharacteristically. He was sitting on it. Stone slid under his heel. Laurent turned. For a moment, Laurent looked at him wide-eyed, young, and then the look in his eyes changed, as though the universe had fulfilled an ineluctable promise. ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘perfect.’

Damen said, ‘I thought you might want—’

‘Want?’

'A friend,’ said Damen. He used Jord’s word. His chest felt tight. ‘If you’d prefer me to leave, I will.’

‘Why cavil?’ said Laurent. ‘Let’s fuck.’

He said it with his shirt unlaced, the wind teasing the opening there. They faced each other.

'That isn’t what I meant.’

It might not be what you meant, but it’s what you want.’ Laurent said, ‘You want to fuck me.’

Anyone else would have been drunk. Laurent was dangerously sober. I really want to know what he'd have done if Damen would have taken him up on his offer.

‘I came because I thought you might want to talk.’

‘Not particularly.’ (again, there's an undertone that I missed before, sure he's trying to put Damen off, but is he really? I think he might want comfort but is disgusted with himself and can't really ask for it).

He said, ‘About your brother.’

‘I never fucked my brother,’ said Laurent, with a strange edge to the words. ‘That is incest.’ 

They were standing in the place where his brother had died. With a disorientating sensation Damen realised they weren’t going to talk about that. They were going to talk about this.

‘You’re right,’ said Damen. ‘I’ve been thinking about it since Ravenel. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.’

‘Why?’ said Laurent. ‘Was I that good?’

'No. You fucked like a virgin,’ said Damen, ‘half the time. The rest of the time—’

‘Like I knew what to do?’

‘Like you knew what you were used to.’

He saw the words impact. Laurent swayed, like he’d been dealt a blow.

Laurent said, ‘I’m not certain I can take your particular brand of honesty just at the moment.’

Damen said, ‘I don’t prefer sophistication in bed, if you were wondering.’

'That’s right,’ said Laurent. ‘You like it simple.’

All the breath left his throat. He stood, stripped, unready for it. Will you use even that against me? he wanted to say, and didn’t. Laurent’s breathing was shallow too, holding his ground.

‘He died well,’ Damen made himself say. ‘He fought better than any man I’ve known. It was a fair fight, and he felt no pain. The end was quick.’

‘Like gutting a pig?’

Damen felt like he was reeling. He barely heard the rumbling of sound. Laurent jerked around to look into the dark, where the sound was growing louder—hoof beats, thundering closer.

‘You sent your men out to look for me too?’ said Laurent, his mouth twisting.

 ‘No,’ said Damen, and pushed Laurent hard out of sight, into the shelter of one of the huge, crumbling blocks of stone.

They hide from a troop of riders.

And then they were gone, passing them as quickly as they had arrived, disappearing across the fields towards a destination in the west. The hoof beats receded. Damen didn’t move, their chests pressed to each other, Laurent’s shallow breath against his shoulder.

He felt himself shoved back as Laurent pushed himself out to stand with his back to him, breathing hard.

Damen stood with his hand against the stone, and looked after him across the landscape of strange shapes. Laurent didn’t turn back to him, just stood holding himself still. Damen could see him once again as a pale outline in a thin shirt.

‘I know you’re not cold,’ said Damen. ‘You weren’t cold when you ordered me tied to the post. You weren’t cold when you pushed me down on your bed.’(Damen! Theres a threat! Get yo head outtake yo ass!)

 ‘We need to leave.’ Laurent spoke without looking at him. ‘We don’t know who those riders were, or how they got past our scouts.’

‘Laurent—’

‘A fair fight?’ said Laurent, turning back to him. ‘No fight’s ever fair. Someone’s always stronger.’

And then the bells from the fort began to ring, the sound of a warning, their sentries belatedly reacting to the presence of unknown riders. Laurent reached down to snag up his jacket, shrugging into it, laces hanging loose. Damen brought over their horses, unhooking his reins from the stone column. Laurent swung up wordlessly into his saddle and put his heels into his horse, both of them riding hard.

[rwbyremnants]

WARNINGS: BLACK SUN CONTENT. Also, lap-sitting, cunnilingus, tickling, pet play, in-depth kink discussions. Plus this is kind of a short chapter.

Note: Sorry for all the delays! I'm going to try to post more regularly next month I swear, just busy writing and editing this month. Hope you guys are still into it!

=Chapter 6

Two orgasms were enough. When the moans subsided, Winter brought Glynda’s hips to a stop and kissed her throat on either side, then breathed against her skin, "Are you ready to end play fully, Snowmare?"

Still shuddering from the sheer intensity of the finish, the older blonde slowly nodded, squeezing her shoulder a short moment to try and hold her support. Until at last, she whispered, "End play."

“Alright.” When Winter drew back, her face was casual, but her businesslike questions had an undercurrent of need. "Are you okay? Do you need to get off me quickly, or to have any of the cuffs taken off? Otherwise, you can rest here for a minute."

Panting still, she found herself lightly straining against the binds on her ankles. That was her greater need by far, to be free to move however she wanted. Licking her lips, she asked, "The restraints please. Then I can… clean up the mess."

"Hmm… alright, but only if you can bring them back up here. It's a little hard with this thing still inside you." Then she grinned wickedly. "Not that you have to take it out right away… I know sometimes I like to let it linger."

Nodding again, she leant right forward against Winter, pressing their chests right up against one another so she could bring her feet back in her direction for her to work with. But each move was sending little aftershocks of pleasure through her. Some which she didn't want to stop, even after play. But alas, it couldn't linger all day.

Not when Qrow was growing more and more impatient by the minute. His hand had ended up covering the crotch area, attempting to keep it down and not too obvious. But it was just making it worse.

"There," Winter sighed as she finally undid both clamps. She had thought about only doing the one, but didn't want Glynda to accidentally step on or trip over the dangling hazard when she got up. Then she settled back a little more comfortably, grazing her hands up and down her back.

"So. Now you've had your fun; I know you'd been wanting to do this again for a long time. Was it everything you hoped for, or did I let you down?"

"Oh you were more than satisfactory," she agreed, still not having shifted from her position on the member just yet. Still gaining her breath, she held her shoulder. "You were fantastic. I mean, I was uncertain, with Qrow being in the room, but no, it was wonderful. You probably ride him pretty hard."

"…Wait, what?" Qrow asked, only just snapping out his lust filled daze. The erection was still as present as ever, still quite obviously there for both Glynda and Winter to see. "You think I'm the sub? Really?"

"I would," Winter chuckled, smiling warmly over at the clearly horny man. "And we might try it sometime eventually, but for now, he's my Dom, actually. I'm alright being a switch, and could never go full-sub, but you must have heard by now that my preference is the bottom."

"Oh, I have. I just assumed… Look, I thought you and I were both on the same page with him – thinking he’s a boor. My thinking was, if you felt that way about him, you'd much rather put him in his place than the other way around." When she finally found the bravery to get up and off the member below her, she let out a long groan as she rose to her feet before adding, "Besides, he… doesn't seem like someone who could Dom very effectively to me."

"Oh really?" Qrow asked. Thankfully, the fully erect length was coming to an advantage this time. They were still in the room, still out of people's view. He was on enough grounds to make the following challenge: "A drink says I can, right here, right now, Dom the hell outta Snowbird."

"As if Glynda wants to see a male Dom, anyway," Winter chuckled, standing up to slide the strap-on down her legs. "Would you like to get a condom out and see to business? Unless you're really serious about this bet of yours."

"Oh please,” Glynda snorted. “I'd much rather buy a drink than win one so easily. But I suppose your confidence is admirable."

Rolling his eyes in response to that, he ignored her while she began to pack everything away again, including the anklets and wrist cuffs. Although when Winter asked about the condom, he tilted his head. "Wait… even before she leaves the room? Can we do that?"

Nodding at the drawn shade over the window, Winter nipped a napkin out of he bag and did her best to wipe Glynda's essence off the dong. "Well, strictly speaking, we're not supposed to have actual sex in these rooms, but… it's essentially an understanding. If they don't know about it, they can't be held responsible. If you’re asking if we can fuck in front of Glynda…" Her shoulder raised and lowered. "Performance anxiety?"

"So it's a case of 'if someone catches you it ain't the club’s fault', then? Right." But in truth, he had meant the latter. Would she allow them to even do such a thing? Glynda didn't want him involved with her, but this was different. This was just he and Winter scening on their own. But the erect member spoke volumes. He needed to do something soon. And if Winter was offering, now was a better time than any. Reaching into his wallet to pull out a condom packet, he smirked.

"Lemme get your seat ready, then."

"Ooh," Winter cooed with a grin, crossing her legs. Then she looked over to their third party. "Oh, and if you want to watch, you're more than welcome, but… I'll understand if you'd rather not. I just need to get off after all that fun with you."

"Oh, I might take a peek while I tidy all this up." It was so matter-of-fact with her. Collecting all the toys and straps, she was distracted enough.

Distracted enough to not mind when Qrow pushed down both his trousers and his underwear, holding himself erect and ready for Winter to work herself on it. The need for her far outweighed his need to dominate, but that didn't stop him from at least sparing the taunt as he held his member still.

"Sit down, Your Highness."

Lucky for both of them, there was nothing covering the most intimate part of her; just straps on either side. Grinning wickedly, she threw one leg up and over, then began to grind said straps up against his length. "I can't yet," she teased. "My seat isn't shrinkwrapped."

In his haste, he had forgotten the most simple step! Groaning outwardly, he quickly tore the condom wrapper apart, tossing the remains aside as he tried to reach around her to sort business. However, that was giving him an idea.

"Y'know what, Princess?" he asked, lifting the hand with the condom up so she could take it from him. "I think you should face away from me and sit on me that way. Face the one who you just Dommed so she can watch her royal highness get fucked silly."

"You know what I say to that idea?" Grinning, she stood and turned around while he slid the condom on, but before she sat down, she pressed her hindquarters in toward his face. "Kiss my ass."

"God, you disgusting straights," Glynda rolled her eyes and uttered, still mostly minding her own business.

Even when Qrow merely grinned at the display. Not too long ago, he had that ass filled with all sorts of goodies. If only he could do that again to assert his authority. But not wanting to disappoint, he did lean in, and pressed a kiss on one of the cheeks.

"Thank you," Winter told him in a voice that was clearly pleased that he capitulated. Immediately afterward, she slowly began to lower her hips. "Ready for me?" She didn't even have to inform him that she was definitely ready; the moisture glistening between the leather straps did that all on its own.

He was indeed ready. In fact, so much so, he decided to take matters into his own hands. Even if he hadn't made the bet with Glynda, that didn't stop him from trying to act more dominant toward Winter. Holding both of her hips for himself, he was already pulling her down onto his thick member, sighing in satisfaction now that they were finally getting off.

"O-ohhhhh," she moaned out, feeling the thickness edge inside her. Every inch of her flesh cried out in joy that it was finally getting the attention it had been demanding for almost an hour. "Oh yes… that's so good! Make Princess feel good!"

"Oh, you bet," he growled. Not even allowing her time to properly settle, he was already starting to push her more firmly against him, forcing his cock all the way inside. And then he pulled out again, and then back in, settling into a fast pace to match their mood and need for it.

And gradually, as she zipped up the bag, Glynda began to look over and watch. Even after getting off twice, the show was certainly making her cheeks glow. Meanwhile, Winter was putting on the show that Glynda truly desired. Back arched, hips bouncing up and down, and spikes gleaming in the low lighting, she was the picture of control over herself, even in giving that control to another. A power bottom on top.

But would she be for long? It might well have been what Glynda wanted to see, but Qrow had ideas that would show him as the more obvious Dom between them. Even if the bet wasn't on, he was determined to win.

Looping a hand around her stomach, and then another up to the back of her head to pull her hair back, he held her firmly still. That was until he was suddenly rising up with his thrusts. Each time penetrating harder, building up more speed than before. Enough to make his heart race – and perhaps secondhandedly, Glynda's.

"AHHH!!!" Winter screamed out as her head was jerked back, exposing more of her elegant neck, removing all shadows from her bouncing breasts as she watched Glynda watching her. Even though this had not been her original intention, not entirely… it was a bizarrely satisfying fringe benefit. Having someone else watch her get soundly fucked was such a turn-on that she felt her climax already nearing.

"Look at that, Winter." He was beginning to tease all the more, continuing to pump his member up inside, even as he felt it throbbing. Even though her name was said, it was also a show for their audience. Of whom he noticed was still watching intently. "You might be able to Dom somebody else, but you'll always be the same thing…"

The hand left her stomach and instead headed between her legs, spreading her apart so he could get that bit deeper. Even by a few centimetres or two, it all counted. Finally, he whispered right in her ear huskily, "My, little, cumslut."

Such a word was the only thing needed to tip her over the edge, get her screaming and writhing on top of his lap as she contracted around him, shivering with each pulse of her inner tissue. Oh, how glorious! She could feel her body trying to milk him for all he was worth. She wanted it to last forever.

Not that it would. As her muscles clamped on his thick member, he found himself gritting his teeth, grunting rather loudly whilst it throbbed hard, releasing more seed into the latex. Yet again, he'd dominated sweet Winter, to the point of both of their orgasms. This time, in the audience of another. Holding her there for a short moment, he eventually slumped back against the wall, sighing deeply to try and regain his breath. After being turned on for such a long while, climaxing granted him intense relief.

Feeling the man slide free when his member softened, Winter shivered but did not otherwise budge. She needed a moment to catch her breath, as well. But either way, she was beyond satisfied; how was it he managed to make her feel so scandalously good every single time they fucked?

Then she spotted Glynda blushing and undressed, and arched an eyebrow. "Want to come sit on our laps for a third? I mean, wow, are you insatiable…"

"No, thank you." She immediately cleared her throat, looking away from them both to focus back on her bag again, and stocking everything inside. But it was fairly obvious she was affected by the show.

"She liked watching," Qrow smirked, letting her go and holding her hips instead, still panting.

"Well… I liked watching her. Not you." But her protests weren't doing anything to erase her flaming cheeks.

"Glynda… come here." When Glynda put her hands on her hips, Winter laughed. "It's not an order, just a request; we did end play." When she walked over, eyeing Qrow warily but still doing as he was bade, Winter took both of her hands and began swinging them from side to side. "If you need me to get you again, just say the word. I don't want to leave here with you unsatisfied."

At that question, Glynda smiled shyly and dipped her head. "No… no, I don't think that will be necessary, thank you. I mean… I want it, but you and he have already finished, so I don't want to be greedy."

"That seems to be a sub trait, huh? I usually end up getting Winter twice before I finish myself off." Qrow's unneeded opinion was pitched in, which earnt him a glare from Glynda once more. Not that he cared. He simply patted Winter's thighs, just as a small reminder of who she was still on top of. "C'mon, lemme put it away."

But instead, she leaned far forward and down, kissing the smoothly shaven skin above Glynda's sex. Immediately, the woman sighed with ill-suppressed need, but then she took a step backward. "N-no, don't tease me further. That's unacceptable if I'm-"

"Nothing complicated," Winter cut across her, sliding out of Qrow's lap and onto her knees as she pressed her lips into Glynda's. The elder woman shivered and windmilled her arms briefly before her hands fell to the top of her Dom's head, quivering all over as she weathered the sudden, frantic attentions. "Just some quick head. I wasn’t going to start another scene and I still do not intend to."

Now that Winter was distracted, Qrow began tucking himself back into his underwear and pants, buckling his belt again. But then his focus turned back to the ladies. Although he wanted to stare and watch their third round for the evening, he himself was still exhausted. He knew while the two could probably continue all night if he wanted, he couldn't. And watching the both of them wasn't going to do him much good in keeping to that personal promise.

Standing up, he clapped his hands, heading toward the door. "Well, I'll let you two ladies have fun. I'm gonna just… You know, browse a while."

"You do that," Winter panted in between her tongue's hungry motions. As he opened it to leave, she was already half-throwing Glynda onto the bench to continue their activities, and Glynda wasn't complaining a bit. There was no distracting them. Silently nodding, he left the two of them to their play, closing the door firmly behind him.

The occupied sign was still illuminated, and the cover was still drawn. Perfect; their privacy was secure. Perhaps he didn't fancy watching Winter and Glynda one more time, even if it was still appealing, but maybe he could satisfy his curiosity. What other activities were going on in the rooms? That's what the cover was for, right? To make viewing optional if people wanted to see?

With that thought in mind, he wandered down the corridor, looking at the various doors available. Most were vacant, but it was a weekday. Chances were they'd be completely booked out come the weekend. Although there were a few rooms at the end were also occupied. Two of them also had their visors closed; it seeming like a common occurrence this evening. But at the far end, there was one more room which had its visor open. Taking the opportunity, he spied inside…

And saw a black-haired beauty towering over a blonde man, tied to a rack, spread eagle. She was wearing fishnet stockings and a leather bustier, and high-heeled black boots with stiletto heels. In one hand was a feather, and in the other, a cat-o-nine-tails. As Qrow looked on, she bent slowly down to glide said feather over the inside of his thigh. Right away the boy below her was twitching, muscles spasming as a grin sprang to his face, and he gritted his teeth while trying to close his legs in. Of course to no avail. He only just managed to hear him asking her to stop, through a loud shrieking giggle of course; mostly the door blocked all sound.

But something in particular was catching his interest. For some reason, he found his eyes drawn to the woman, and not for the simple aesthetic reason. There was something about her that seemed oddly familiar.

After a few more seconds of teasing him, she snapped the whip at his flesh, though with such a lazy flick that it couldn't have actually hurt. The idea seemed to be more to toy with him and tease than actually invoke the "SM" of BDSM.

"Oh, ow, the pain. Please stop." Her sub had begun to tease, shaking his hips back and forth to try and draw her in toward him. He wasn’t troubling to keep his voice down, but he almost had to more read lips than actually hear the words. "If I was a prisoner, I'd give this torture a five star rating for comfort! Thought you were gonna mess me up."

His Dom’s muffled voice replied something he couldn’t catch, and she turned back to dig within something out of Qrow's range; likely a bag. When she straightened up, however… she froze.

"Is it my silicone buddy?"

But as her partner giggled, the raven-haired beauty’s focus had turned elsewhere. Specifically, to the audience member currently at the window. But rather than looking with arousal at what was happening, or even with glee, he was instead staring straight at her face. The look upon it could only be described as someone who had just seen a ghost. It had taken him a moment to put the face with a name, since he had only met her a handful of times. But eventually, muffled through the glass…

"Blake?!"

When he said her name, she looked confused. Then she smiled briefly, but the smile fell away as she continued to stare. Then she turned back to the bound man and said, "Um… chipmunk." Apparently, that was a cue to end play, because she quickly followed up with, "Would you excuse me for a moment?"

"Chi- wait, what?" But he was already watching as she headed toward the bag again, presumably to fetch her night gown. "You're just leaving me like this?!"

But Qrow had already moved to one side to give room for her to leave, waiting for her to make her way outside. Just before she did, she pulled the shade down. "Don't worry! You know I won't forget you. And I’ll be quick, I promise." Then she slipped outside, pulling a zippered hoodie on over her arms to cover the top half of herself.

"I… I'm sorry," she whispered once the door was shut and she was facing the scruffy man with the black tie and the mildly-surprised expression. "You do seem familiar, but… how do we know each other, exactly?"

But Qrow's face was only starting to light up more. It was definitely her, out of all the people he could have seen in this place. "You're that emo chick that was around at Christmas that year! You dated my nephew!" That didn't seem to be helping, and simply brought more confusion. That was, until he added, "Well, my niece… Ying? Now Yang?"

"Oh! Oh, aren't you her uncle?" Her expression was slightly more pleased now. "Wow, what a small world! God, I haven't seen anyone from Yang's family since then, other than Ruby… damn. How are you?"

Chuckling a little, mostly out of nerves, he said, "Doin' alright, all things considered. Just getting introduced to this place, as you can see." He held up the small visitor card on his lanyard, giving it a light tap to exaggerate. However he went straight back to asking, "What about you? I did kinda wonder how things went once Ying… y'know."

"Dumped me?" Nodding almost more to herself than to him, Blake leaned back against the nearest wall, stuffing her hands in the hoodie pockets. "Yeah… I was a little upset, and I missed her like hell. But we worked through it, got past it… and now we're friends again, which is great! And I have Sun and am honestly happy with him, so it all worked out."

"Guessing Sun's the guy spread eagle you're about to have your way with?" It wasn't as though he was going to sugar coat it. Not when the evidence was right there, still tied up and helpless.

Grinning through her slight blush, she answered, "Yeah… is it weird that we're talking about this? I mean, obviously we're both at the Clamp for similar reasons, so we shouldn't be kink-shaming, but… is it weird?"

Scratching the back of his head, he looked away as his own blush seemed to form very slightly. "I'm not exactly open about this kinda stuff, usually. Personal preference and my…" For a moment, he cleared his throat, looking to the other side to continue to avoid eye contact. "My… associate's rules."

Both of her hands came up in front of her to ward off further details. "Hey, say no more! I wouldn't want you telling anybody I come here, either - or that it's Sun I have in there! For his sake. But, I mean… some friends wouldn't care. I just don't want coworkers or his family finding out, mostly." Then she smiled. "So, you're new to being a… sub? Dom? I'm having trouble reading you."

"Well, after the display she put on for me tonight, that could be up in the air now. But… let's just say my test drives had me in the Dom seat." Unable to help but point at the door with his thumb, he asked back, "You always the Dom with him or do ya switch it up?"

"Always," she snorted. "I… okay, this is gonna sound weird, but even though I don't like being Dommed, I do like being manhandled. You know, just regular rough stuff, not all… all this!" She gestured down to her fishnets and boots, then up at the spiked collar around her neck. "Guess I'm picky. But we both find it fun for me to go the whole nine yards as his Dom."

The scruffier man simply shrugged his shoulders, unable to help look her up and down to admire the attire. But upon realising that she'd probably get the wrong idea from such an action, he quickly made eye contact again instead, still holding the back of his head.

"Guess everybody’s boat floats for different reasons. I mean, I think I could be a sub, but the main thing putting me off?" Quickly looking over his shoulder just to be extra sure they were alone, he then leant in a little closer. "I don't particularly wanna bend over. For anybody. It's just… not my thing."

"Are you sure?" she whispered back. When he grunted, she immediately followed up with, "Maybe you are. But just saying… I didn't think Sun would like it, either. Most guys are afraid of anal, like it makes them 'gay' or 'weak' or something, and then…" Shrugging, she raised her index finger and wiggled it around. "They turn into putty in my hands. Not all of them asked for it like Ying and Sun, either - I mean, we know Ying was a special case since she's Yang now, but some of those guys were very straight, and very against it before I…. convinced them."

Though he was turning his nose up at the mental image of his niece being handled in such a way, it did seem to get him thinking. While anyone he had ever felt confident enough to talk about sex to before had been opposed to the idea of a man having his behind teased; everyone he saw here seemed to be enjoying their fair share. Odds were that was what Sun was waiting for in the other room. Eventually he shrugged his shoulder. "Well, maybe a finger. And even that’s a big maybe."

"See? That's more democratic. But honestly, if you tried it and didn't like it, that's cool. Just… you know. Don't knock it before you do." Leaning in, she cupped a hand to her mouth. "Don't tell anyone, but… once, Sun wanted to take a double-ended dildo and do some butt-to-butt. It didn't really work that well, and we ended up falling over so much, but… it was kinda fun, for a minute or two."

That was a mental image that did seem to make him chuckle, however. But that chuckling was cut off when a muffled voice sounded through the door. One rather desperate. "Did you plan to wind me up this much then leave me tied up? Don't make me beg! I don't wanna beg for the strap on!"

"Oops!" Blake giggled, covering her mouth with her gloved hand. "Said I wouldn't forget about him… but we haven't been talking all that long, have we?" Sighing, she shrugged and turned back toward the door. "See you downstairs, maybe?"

Nodding while he laughed to himself, he gave a quick thumbs up. "You bet. Have fun smashing your boyfriend's ass."

But before Blake could answer that same needy voice from the room replied instead. "I heard that, jerk."

Sighing as she walked through the door, she growled, "Alright, alright! Nobody likes a whiny sub!" Then it was shut, and the shade was closing him off from the view this time.

Shaking his head as he walked back down the hall again, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. In a tiny amount of time, Blake, a woman he'd not met for years and years, had convinced him to let Winter try some form of anal play on him, even when he was adamant he wouldn't do such a thing before. It didn't seem so bad, all things considered. All of the men who had tried it had recommended it. So why was he so afraid he wouldn't enjoy it?

But when he neared Winter's room again, he was beginning to realise; maybe it was because he might enjoy it he never wanted to try. As Blake said, afraid of being perceived as gay. But Winter had been broadening his horizons for a while now. Maybe they could grow yet broader.

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

At long last, Winter and Glynda had finished and dressed. Even though she was used to wearing her Dom outfit on the second floor amongst the scenes, she wanted to make a seamless exit once they had enjoyed a drink, so she opted to put her dress back on before leaving the private room. Glynda did the same… though Qrow noticed she never put any underwear back on. It was quite possible she didn't wear any ever, but there was no way of confirming without asking an awkward question.

As they passed through the scenes and Winter stopped to talk to Candy again, who was being idly shocked by a male Dom, Glynda turned to Qrow and asked, "By the way… I've been wondering if you had a card I might hand out to anyone in the community? Male Doms who aren't complete chauvinist pigs are sadly rare."

Having been watching some of the scenes himself, the question caught him off guard. First there was a club like this in the middle of the city, now kinky business cards were a thing? There was far more to learn about this game than he thought. He was a fool to think it was simply fucking Winter a few times a week, it seemed. "Uh… like, laminated cards? Do they have to say if I’m an organ donor?"

"Apparently not," Glynda sighed, eyes roving over the scenes as they spoke. "That's alright. And yes, some Doms like to give out a card, usually just with their cell number and their 'Dom de plume'. I have Cinderella's… not that I'll ever call her again," she added in an undertone.

"Yeah, what’s the story with her?" he found himself asking. The tone Winter took with her when they were talking had him assuming that it was just instinctive jealousy, but now that someone unrelated was doing the same… "I spoke to her when I came in, she seemed… alright, just kinda full of herself."

A harsh bark of laughter escaped the bespectacled woman. "Oh, there are so many things. First of all, she doesn't believe in aftercare. Says it's 'not her job'. That alone is enough to make sure I'm never putting myself in her hands again; even if I didn't need it most times, knowing that she won't comfort me if I have a bad experience…" Her voice got quieter. "Or if I can't come back from subspace…"

Even the least experienced Dom like Qrow knew what “aftercare” was. Although he and Winter had never needed it after their play, he had still offered the service to her. Even if that mean just sitting and talking or general “hugging it out,” as he put it. For someone to shrug it off, it was worse than simple dominating. It was cruel.

But there was that word again, as well. "Subspace?"

"You really are just getting started." It wasn't spoken with any malice or scorn. Glancing around at the scene, and noticing Winter was face-deep in Candy's posterior, she decided to be kinder and chivvy Qrow along toward the stairs that led to the bar.

"Subspace is the mental state a sub can sometimes enter if they're in a particularly… intense scene. When you go beyond simply acting, and really start to feel like you're a lesser being. With pain and pleasure mixing together, it releases epinephrine and endorphins, shooting through your brain and- well, I might be getting too technical. Essentially, you might stop feeling any pain, or at least being able to tell you are. You can drop down into a sort of trance, detach from the reality of the scene. Reality altogether. It's a very incredible and profound experience, scary and exhilarating, but if you can't come back at the drop of a hat, or you come back incoherent and exhausted… you need to be gently soothed until you make it back to normal. Treated like you're made of glass, because even just careless treatment can make it worse, or at least make it take longer to come out of it. Which is terrifying. If you’ve ever heard of sleep paralysis, it can be a little like that: you want to move your body but you simply are not capable, and you panic but it still doesn’t help. A living nightmare."

"Huh…" It was a very odd explanation, but she had broken it down well enough that Qrow thought he understood. Winter had used the word before, but never explained what she meant. But now he had a meaning, he felt he could learn far more. And also how to make the experience better.

"So… if you wanna go for the brass ring, you want to take someone to this ‘subspace’, right? And then bring them out at the end?"

"You do." Then she shrugged. "Well… you don't want to try too hard to get them into subspace, since you might go too far. At least, I wouldn't recommend it to a beginner, or even an intermediate-level Dom. Just play the scene out the way it's meant to be played, and view subspace as a possible bonus if it happens."

"Right… Say, does this happen often? As in, like, planning out scenes from start to finish?" He asked rather nervously, shrugging his shoulders as he placed his hands into his pockets. "Cause so far, I've been winging it. Pun intended."

Smiling slightly, she finally approached the bar and dropped her bag of tricks onto the seat next to the one she claimed for herself. "There's nothing saying you have to plan one out. But a really involved scene can be… quite fun. Today's was a mixture of planning and spontaneity."

"The spontaneity part was me turning up. I know." Standing by her side and leaning against the bar as well, he gazed around at the patrons of the bar again. He still found it a little odd a place like this existed, but everyone was having a good time. Laughing, chatting, a general meetup. Even if the upstairs was filled with scenes and further upstairs was even more intimate acts going on. It was a place he never expected, but would go to again.

"So if we come again, I shouldn't need this, right?" He pointed at the lanyard again.

Turning back from the bartender she had just ordered from, she eyed the badge. "Hmm. Probably not, but it depends on your comfort level. It seems like I wore mine only once, but I've seen some people wear theirs three or four times before they're ready to begin participating. No one would think any less of you." Then she scowled. "Well, maybe Cinderella."

"I'm pretty sure I can handle her," he assured, leaning back against the bar himself to get a drink order of his own. But as he waited for Winter to come back downstairs, he turned to Glynda once again, asking, "How long's Winter been going to this thing? Or is that on a need to know basis?"

"Well… ordinarily I'd say you should be asking her, but she probably wouldn't mind me telling you it's been a little while. Still, if you want any more details than those, you had better ask her after all." Then she nodded toward the curtain that closed off the stairs from the rest of the bar. "And it seems like you can do that now."

Emerging from the curtain was Winter, who was talking amiably to a red-haired man in a white suit jacket and a bowler hat. Trailing behind him was a very short girl with two-toned hair, a collar around her neck and a leash that led from her to his hand. After a few more seemingly-pleasant words, Winter waved to him, and he executed a very brief bow before he went off to one side with his "pet" to secure a table.

Such a gesture had Qrow tilting his head for a moment while he watched, but soon turning back to the barman, calling up, "Better make that two of those, pal." Then by the time she reached the two of them, he was back facing her again, raising an eyebrow as he gestured back to the curtain. "Who was Clockwork Orange there?"

"Well, apparently he likes to be called 'Roman Candle'," she informed him as she came to a stop, slipping a business card into her cleavage. "He's heard of me and wanted to know if I'd be open to him Domming me. Of course, I'll ask around and consider his offer, but…" She glanced to the side.

"But what?" Glynda pressed.

"Well… that 'pet' of his looks a bit young. He assured me she's twenty, and that all she'll be doing is watching, but I'd still like confirmation of her age first." Then she snorted. "He told me she isn't allowed to carry personal effects while in the collar, which is fair."

"A pet that just watches? That seems like a waste of a collar to me, but each to their own, I guess." Shrugging his shoulders, he reached back around for the two freshly prepared drinks. Two more Toasted Marshmallows, both with gin. Qrow's clean night was completely off the table now, it seemed.

Although he never said it, he couldn't help but feel a slight hint of jealousy toward Winter's possible new contact. And not for the reason he thought he would. While she had her freedom and reputation around this place, he was stuck with a lanyard around his neck that warded people off. All except the rope handler who checked him out upon entry, that is.

"Well, I'm sure they do a lot of pet play things, but…" She made a non-verbal gesture to the bartender, then turned back to lean against the bar. "I get the feeling that they don't… you know, interact. Outside of the non-sexual roleplay aspect. I could be wrong, but I guess we'll see if I take him up on this."

Shrugging his shoulders, he handed one of the drinks over to Winter, soon taking a sip of his own straight after. "I'd have thought you of all people would know height isn't a factor to do with age. What's Weiss, like, 4'11”?"

"She's about 5'1", without shoes, actually. But you're right, that's not much of a difference, is it?" Shrugging, she took a sip and smiled slightly at the familiar flavour. "And it wasn't just that; she also has a very youthful face, a slight build. As I said, it's entirely possible she's twenty, but to be twenty and look that young… well, I envy her."

"Well duh, what I wouldn't give to look like anything other than a scruffy old coot with a drinking problem." The sound of Glynda clearing her throat was enough to make him glare in her direction, only for him to add, "Alright alright, less of a scruffy old coot, then. Can’t completely change my spots. Geez, I don't know why I'm still here with you two."

"Because you're a gentleman," Winter teased playfully, flicking at his necktie. "And you wouldn't dare let two beautiful blondes walk to their cars alone in the dark."

"I can take care of myself," Glynda grumbled, though she didn't sound too firm on that point. "But… it would be appreciated, I suppose."

After finishing another sip of his drink, he laughed to himself. "I'm guessing that's the 'I want to leave now' signal, right?"

Laughing, Winter placed her hand on his forearm again. "No, not at all! If you're enjoying yourself, we could linger a bit. It's… oddly nice to get to see you outside of play or bowling." Then she nodded to Glynda. "And you, as well."

"I'm not sure about us becoming… 'friends'," Glynda confessed. "I have tried not to mix business with pleasure at the Clamp. But…" Her cheeks rouged slightly.

"But you can't resist me?" Winter guessed. The rouge only deepened.

[lovelykhaleesiii]

I understand...(Part 15)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Stark!Reader

Words: 1993

Summary: You’re the daughter of Tony Stark, and after meeting the Avengers for the first time, you begin to fall for the one who your father despises most…Bucky Barnes.

Warning: FLUFFY AF, pregnancy, mentions of SMUT, breeding kink (cause it’s Bucky fucking Barnes), change of perspectives (from reader to Bucky)

Tags:

@fandom–0verdose , @m4shtyx , @impalatobakerstreet , @dreams-in-blxck , @irondadandspidersoncute , @basicmarvelbitch , @tonyystarkle , @woman-of-letters-legacy , @seabasstiantrash , @can-you-actuallynot , @conflictedintima , @wtfholland , @ivartheblessed , @iamaunicorn4704 , @bookgirlunicorn , @lost-in-the-stories , @chloe-skywalker , @a–1–1–3 , @crazystarlady , @beckyystevens , @peachyavaline

Weeks after Bucky’s brutal encounter with Tony had passed, your normal routine of preparations for the baby’s arrival resumed. You both had been busy with the baby registry, having to purchase the essentials needed for your little one, such as the pram, the cradle, a nappy-changing table, and even a breast pump, which to your amusement Bucky initially assumed was some sort of a toy.

“Y/n what the hell’s this?” Bucky quizzically exclaimed, as he picked up a sample of the breast pump from the shelf, placing the funnel end near his face as he curiously examined this never-before seen invention.

Having burst out of laughter, he immediately distanced the pump away from his face, snapping his attention towards you, aware that his actions were most inappropriate. Lately, your hormones were greatly affecting your mood: one second you’d resent Bucky and not want him near your personal space, the next you’d become submissive towards him...Wanting every inch of his thick manhood inside of you, pleasing your sensitive needs.

“Bucky that isn’t a toy...That’s a breast pump, sweetie, for breastfeeding!-” you attempt to speak, in the midst of laughing uncontrollably. “-Which we need, though” you finally exclaim, having composed yourself hastily, as other couples passing by had strangely glared at the two of you laughing beside one another.

Bucky finally understanding the comedy behind his action, simply chuckled whilst loading a box of the pumping device into the full trolley. Walking beside you as he drove the trolley through the aisles, you’d never felt more relieved and ecstatic that Bucky fulfilled his promise...And that was to be the most supportive, most unrelenting partner. You loved Bucky with all your heart, and he loved you, and you both were already excitedly obsessed with your unborn child, impatient for the baby to arrive already. The due date was still sometime ahead, though your appearance said otherwise. Your belly protruding like never before, you felt as though each day your belly had grown rapidly overnight by a few inches. You felt incredibly insecure. You’d never envisioned yourself like this before, all pregnant and swollen, though it was a beautiful experience: motherhood was divine and you were thankful to know that your child was healthily growing inside, although your conscience still played with your doubts… Your greatest fear was that Bucky wouldn’t look at you the same, that he would find you unattractive and leave you to nurture your child alone. With the sheer yet unforgivable possibility, that both him and Tony could be out of the picture, you couldn’t bear to imagine how much a struggle it might be. 

Though, you always had a plan and you’d always had great faith in yourself. You were an intelligent, independent woman, which Tony had full responsibility in raising you to become: and you were certain that your skills and knowledge would accomodate for your single-mother lifestyle, if it ever was to be...Though as incredible as Bucky was, he had continuously reassured to you that he not once could nor would ever consider the thought of leaving you and the baby to for his past. His conscious wouldn’t let him, considering the guilt he’d been carrying with him for all these years, after commiting some of the most heinous crimes, under the alias as the Winter Soldier… He repeatedly made sure you knew how much, how badly he wanted to establish a family with you, and how much he’d loved you, since the first time he’d set his eyes on you. Bucky always admitted that from the start, he knew he just had to have you. As for your current physical state, he was obsessed with you. To your surprise and relief, Bucky had a major secret that because of you, he’d grown to have a kink for breeding.

“Honestly, ever since we had our first round of sex, baby, I had this fantasy in my head of just seeing you pregnant. Seeing how flawless you looked those nights, I couldn’t help but wonder how much more perfect you’d be, seeing you filled with my seed, of seeing you grow with our child inside of you, and just knowing that everyone’s aware that your growing belly was all because of me...So you being pregnant now, baby, is one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever laid my eyes on. I just want to start a family, with the love of my life and that’s just what you are, Y/n... I love you” you’d reminisced the scene of these heartfelt words pouring from Bucky’s luscious lips, as you both lay against each other in bed, his hands gently gliding over your growing belly. It was the one of the most comforting moments and you couldn’t help but feel thankful for Bucky’s enthusiasm.

Focusing back unto the reality of baby-shopping, a small yet genuine smile had grown on your face, and you knew instinctively that everything was accordingly splendid.

***

After shortly arriving home, you’d managed to help Bucky assemble all the necessary equipment needed for your child to have the most possible, yet most adequate lifestyle. The nursery room, that was initially a simple, spare guest room was coming to life, the only thing missing was any sort of decoration that signified whether you two were expecting a girl or a boy. All four walls still remained a simple white shade, though both Bucky and you had thought it be best to spice up the room, make it feel more welcoming, and more entertaining for your little bundle of joy. You both felt that once the room was dolled up, you’d both have closure and gain complete certainty that parenthood was your new-found responsibility. Bucky, especially was still unbelievably overwhelmed by the news that he was going to be a father, no matter how many times you’d reminded him of your growing belly.

Not once in his unfortunate, miserabld life did he ever consider the possibility that he’d have grown a family of his own. He’d convinced himself that the closest he’d ever get to having a family was through Steve: being the greatest, most selfless uncle ever to Steve’s children.

Soon enough, after finishing up with the nursery, you both received a call from Steve, that himself, Sam, Rhodey, Natasha, Bruce, Wanda and Vision would drop by, on their regular visits. They all agreed to the two of you, that they were definite on not wanting to be absent throughout your pregnancy, despite Tony repeatedly disapproving them of leaving him to be, having his business to mind: as be seemed to be mostly preoccupied with the family enterprise. Always, before leaving the tower to visit your humble apartment in Brooklyn, one of them would always ask Tony if he’d like to join, hoping that perhaps a possibility existed where he changed his mind, knowing that he was missing out on his own daughter’s pregnancy.

Yet each time he’d turned down the offer with swears and rage. Each time you’d open the pure white door of your apartment, you’d been greeted with disappointment each time, although growing accustomed, you’d managed, as you were raised to be resilient.

“So, when are you two going to find out the sex of the baby? We’re all putting in bets...I’m counting on it being a her.” Natasha eagerly insisted, interjecting your recurring thoughts.

Both Bucky and you instinctively diverting your attention towards each other and then back towards Natasha, you both had previously discussed this matter before and hesitantly came to a conclusion.

“Well, uh, Y/n and I would love to know the gender beforehand, we would have done it so in the baby shower, but money’s tight and we’re really just trying to save up as much money for the baby after the birth. So we both decided that it would be best if we just spend money only on the essential stuff that we need. I mean Y/n just finished college, and is trying to find a new job elsewhere from Stark enterprise, for after the pregnancy, and my income right now isn’t the best since I’ve been away hardly on missions. It was a hard decision, but it’s the best thing for our child, and that’s our utmost priority.” Bucky sadly exclaimed, with you nodding aside to his words.

“But what about the nursery, you guys have always planned on that. And you guys, c’mon, how do you not want to know? Don’t you want to feel prepared?” Bruce anxiously responded, disheartened by your uneventful plans.

“And what about our bets??!” Sam interfere, agitated with his patience running thin, knowing there was a lengthy wait till the birth.

Becoming rapidly annoyed by their inconsiderate comments, hoping at least they’d be the ones to understand, you furiously stood from your seat, Bucky immediately springing by your side holding your arm, worried that your immediate action caused you to imbalance.

“Sorry to hear that the interests of our child has disrupted your plans of a bet...I would have thought that you’d all be the ones to understand our circumstances. Guess I was wrong about that too, just like I was with Tony, huh?” You infuriatingly respond, diverting your stares from Avenger to Avenger. Soon enough, before Sam or anyone else could apologise, you insisted that you were exhausted for the day, and excused yourself to bed.

After entering the shared room, both Bucky and you had created for yourselves, you couldn’t help but feel guilty for your quick, rageful outburst...Your hormones were really taking a toll on you, though you knew that, that couldn’t have been an excuse for everything. Humiliated by your sudden torrent, you felt that you’d apologise tomorrow, after having time and space to clear your moody mind.

Bucky’s Perspective

“Guys, don’t take it too seriously. She’s been on and off here and there, it’s just the hormones, but more so this whole Tony situation is taking its toll on my poor girl...But she’s right about the bets and all. You’re really going to use our child as an excuse to make some money on the side, huh?” Bucky sincerely had responded, seating himself back down, running his fingers through his hair.

“I tried to stop them, tried to tell them it wasn’t such a good idea but here we are” Wanda admitted, as she smirked towards Sam and Natasha, the two main opponents of the bet.

“Buck, I’ll deal with the bets...But besides the point, I think that it just isn’t right for you guys not to have a baby shower or a gender reveal. It’s something to celebrate about, I can guarantee it would bring some happiness in her life, to at least know something about her child. So guys-” Steve pleaded, averting his attention from Bucky to the rest. “I think we should hold a surprise baby shower/gender reveal for Y/n. We can do it at the tower, I think your apartment’s a little too small for a party-”

“Steve, you know we can’t do that.” Bucky firmly sighed.

“Well Mr Barnes, I believe in my opinion, Captain’s idea is brilliant” Vision had gleefully interjected.

“And what about Tony?” Bucky sternly suggested.

“I’ll deal with Tony, don’t you worry. That place is just as much as home for you two, as it is for Tony, believe that...And if this is a collective decision, there’s no way he’ll interfere with that. I’ll let him know about our plans, and if he wants to stop by then great, if not guess that’s his loss.” Rhodey assured Bucky.

Sighing, knowing that he was completely defeated in this, Bucky nodded in acceptance for the surprise party to commence.

“Thank you guys, seriously. She’s going to love it, I just know it.”

“Well, we’re with you two till the end of the line as it’s always been, Buck” Steve smiled, gripping Bucky’s shoulder, comforting his best friend for old times’ sake.

“What do you think though Bucky? Boy or girl?” Bruce intrigued.

Chuckling to Bruce’s question, before he could respond it was as though Wanda had read his mind.

“We know, we know. All you want is for the baby to be healthy and that you don’t care...But just tell us, honestly, what are you expecting?” Wanda slyly proclaimed. Surprised by Wanda’s sudden, yet accurate response, that he himself was just about to say, he finally gave in. Unable to look at any of the Avengers, staring towards his fumbling hands, carelessly smiling against the pure thought that he was soon going to hold his own child protectively in his  arms...Bucky knew exactly what he wanted.

“A girl...I want my own baby girl.”

A/N - taglist for the series is still very much open xx Any requests also, please feel free to  message :) 

[light-and-darkness-equally-well]

I Saw The Crimes of Grindelwald

And like any movie, there were things I loved.

Baby. Nifflers.

The freaking artistic departments and the COSTUMING were all very beautiful.

I liked Theseus Scamander more than I thought I would - maybe I was getting more realistic older sibling vibes, maybe his human moments just hit me. Idk.

OMG the cast performed so well??? I’d literally just list all their names if I wanted to point out anything specific. If you’ve seen the movie yell about the spoilery things in the comments with me?

SPOILERS BELOW

Okay, Leta was awesome and I had honestly expected her to follow Grindelwald? But they definitely broke expectations with this one. Really pulled a Last Jedi on us in that regard - the person we expect to be tempted to the dark gave her life for the right reasons, and one of our brightest, most hopeful and wholesome characters in the first movie goes dark.

BTW she made me want to cry when she screamed “Walk with me,” ugh. I really hope she doesn’t die still on Grindelwald’s side. The man must be a powerful occlumens to not reveal his actual endgame to a legilimens that just hears people without even trying. I’m glad it wasn’t just “for love”, though that is a driving factor for her - it’s for freedom to express that love, and being caught in a moment of vulnerability in the crowd, and Jacob finally calling her crazy out loud for that decision.

Also, like, can we talk about how her descent into darkness was definitely not unexpected? She enchanted Jacob to keep him compliant! I mean, I get it - but Jacob was the one who loved more in that scenario, because he cared more about her than about them being together. She could have campaigned for the right to marry him at the Ministry - but she went with mind control. There’s a clear difference in what she believed was right and wrong versus others.

IDK I just hope that if she does come to a breaking point it won’t take someone killing Jacob to bring her to the Light again.

Nagini was pretty cool even though she was just kind of along for the ride? I liked her companionship with Credence. Unfortunately we already know how her story ends.

Okay, gonna touch on Johnny Depp - I’m not extremely well read on the irl controversy and really based off of what I know I can’t personally condemn or acquit him just because I don’t have all the info.

But I’m able to separate a person’s actions from their work either way and - he was a goddamn good Grindelwald. Very charismatic and softspoken when he needed to be, cruel in turn to see where loyalties lie, and he knew how to push all the right buttons. The only part that just made me giggle at the absolute wrong moment for a movie to make me want to giggle (with death and destruction on the line, ugh) was the “I hate Paris”. It was too cheeky for me at that moment, idk.

ON TO HOGWARTS

Freaking Jude Law, ugh. He definitely was an amazing Dumbledore. I was all for his performance, and there were definitely images with the Mirror of Erised scene where I just was like wow, you two had such a profound bond. And Grindelwald used “The Greater Good” line, which was a thing between the two of them regarding their positions on this whole new world order thing. He’s enigmatic and friendly, especially in his interactions with Newt and Leta.

(OMG McGonagall was there for a hot second and it was perfection)

Theseus Scamander, my friends. He is SUCH an older brother around Newt. I am an older sister, and can confirm. My heart broke for him when Leta died, omg.

and Flamel was unexpectedly hilarious and simultaneously badass?

Tina was kind of following a trope that I expected of the spurned girlfriend, so meh on the storyline but A+++ with the “salamander” dialogue between her and Newt and the moment when she pulls out the little bell toy.

I don’t have much to say about Newt because he was very typical Newt. It worked well and I was glad he wasn’t the only main player in the movie, but I adored every bit of him.

AND OKAY THE NIFFLER BEING THE ONE TO STEAL THE THING FROM GRINDELWALD OMG

Okay, you’ve guessed that I’ve been holding back on the Credence bit because -

What the actual fuck?

Okay, the very first option is that Grindelwald is a lying liar that set it all up, and that would not be a surprise honestly.

(Gonna still call him Credence for a bit on account of that notion)

But these things tend to be important, these “phoenixes come to Dumbledores” type of things. So I’ll take it as truth for now.

And we have heard nothing about an Aurelius Dumbledore even existing until this point - and we know very little about Ariana and Aberforth. So I suppose it’s plausible that we never heard his name before. Still!

He has been pulled from every side for every reason to use him or destroy him, and that breaks my heart. Look at how freaking powerful he is at the end at Nurmengard (which we know later, of course, will be Grindelwald’s prison) - all he could do. And that of course worries me, because under Grindelwald he could do a ton of damage.

The one good thing Grindelwald does, imo: give Credence a freaking wand. Ezra Miller has been waiting too goddamn long for this moment, probably vibrating in his seat with excitement, let him be a proper wizard.

And how in Merlin’s name did he get where he is? I have a pretty interesting timeline.

Ariana Dumbledore, the youngest Dumbledore until now, was an Obscurial child because of muggle bullies. She died during a fight between Albus, Aberforth, and Grindelwald (who may have already witnessed her power and had ideas of how to use her? Albus hadn’t enjoyed the burden of caring for, essentially, a disabled sister. Maybe he had been wondering how to take her off his hands, and Aberforth had seen it coming and that’s how that mess occurred.)

Anyway, she died in the fight - no one knows who killed her out of the three. This was 1899.

Credence was born two years later.

Now, he doesn’t necessarily have to be a brother - he could be a cousin - but I’m super inclined to think that if he is indeed Aurelius Dumbledore, that he’s the youngest brother, or at least is symbolized as such if he is a cousin. (Wizards live a lot longer than average humans, so it’s totally plausible to have siblings that far apart I think) It would be a different mother, because Kendra Dumbledore (Albus’s mother) died some time the same year before Ariana did.

And Albus, upon finding out about Credence and perhaps guilty about his own treatment of Ariana, thinks I am not fit to care for a child keep away and offers to send Aurelius and his mother to America. Thus we have Credence.

NOW this is assuming we don’t get an entire retcon of the Dumbledore history. If we do that, then my mini-headcanon is a bit more disturbing.

We know very, very little about Ariana Dumbledore. We didn’t know she existed until the seventh book. Same for Aberforth. We learn a lot about Dumbledore all at once from some unreliable sources (Skeeter etc) through Harry, who finds certain information more important than other info.

I looked up the timelines earlier, so the first theory fits better with canon. If we throw timelines and whether Kendra Dumbledore died at a certain point out - if we assume that the little tidbits might be wrong -

What if Ariana wasn’t hidden away in the house? What if she was born later? What if she and her mother moved to America when it became clear that Albus wouldn’t support them?

And this is sort of fanfictiony, and very weird, but what if -

Aurelius was Ariana? I mean, Obscurials. Dumbledores. What if Dumbledore didn’t love his sister enough to keep her close, and supposedly lost her to a storm at sea?

What if, in a bout of childhood accidental magic, Credence changed their own body, uncomfortable as a little girl?

(This leads Mary Lou Barebone to scream about witchcraft for the rest of her days, but she still takes care of the cursed little boy. She feeds him, houses him, hopes his sins will be forgiven, punishes him because he’s a little curse on her too, and Lord if it happened to her-)

So Albus believes Ariana to be dead, but if he can save this Obscurial boy, just maybe -

Yeah. Okay. So. Tangent over, fanfiction to be written, this movie was great and weird and confusing and cool. Ta-da.

[fan-tasticfour]

Diviner Scroll Headcanon Time

I’m shoving all the details under the cut but here’s A Quick Summary of what I (personally) imagine Diviner Scrolls can do and how they work:

Scrolls are typically a lot harder to control than Tomes

Anyone with magic/spiritual ability can learn to use the scrolls

Dog & Pig scrolls exist

Zodiac scrolls difficulty is not in actual zodiac order and There Is A Reason

Diviners can summon any animal spirit as along as it’s the right zodiac ‘group’

Diviners can summon any specific animal spirit as long as they have something to call out to it

Diviners can not only summon animal spirits but also take direct control of them

Anyone can create their own scrolls but Good Fucking Luck

Basically Zodiac scrolls are Choose-Your-Patronus-Animal scrolls

So that was the short version. Here comes the longer one.

Scrolls are typically a lot harder to control than Tomes

In-game somewhat supports this as scrolls overall often have slightly lower might and hit rate than their tome counterparts (besides a select few), in favor of instead offering an extra stat point somewhere depending on what scroll is used.

I figure the difference comes from tomes using elements that are inanimate, while scrolls (usually) use spirits that are animate. The elements are generally easier to control because their power and precision are strictly tied to the mage’s abilities, while scrolls that call upon spirits also depend on the spirit’s personality. A fireball won’t argue about where it’s being told to go-- but a horse spirit might.

Anyone with magic/spiritual ability can learn to use the scrolls

And, ironically, it’s probably going to be way easier for beginners to learn how to use scrolls than for mages who already know how to use tomes, just as it’d be harder for experienced diviners to learn tomes-- while both draw their energy from the same source, they both require very different approaches due to the animate/inanimate separation and it can be hard to ‘unlearn’ what you already know in order to better absorb how the other one works. (But hey, maybe one day Nohr and Hoshido will be close enough to have cultural exchanges on the regular and someone will find out that being able to manipulate paper and malevolent text is a very good transitional exercise for both sides.)

Dog & Pig scrolls exist

Because there are already scrolls for the first ten zodiac signs and you can’t tell me that the last two aren’t on the list.

Zodiac scrolls difficulty is not in actual zodiac order and There Is A Reason

Okay so here’s how the scrolls are all grouped up by rank in the games:   - E : Rat, Paper   - D : Ox, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Malevolent Text (and where I put Pig)   - C : Tiger, Bird, Calamity Gate, Izana’s Scroll   - B : Rabbit, Ink Painting (and where I ranked Dog)   - A : Dragon, Snake

And now, given said ranks, this is how I see things:

Rookie diviners are usually thrown into using Rat Scrolls near-immediately because most scrolls rely on spirits and mice are the tiniest, easiest, least energy-demanding spirits to summon. Once diviners succeed in summoning the spirit, they then have to learn to properly control the spirit and persuade it to do as asked. And from there slowly move up to mastering more and more complex animal spirits.

Oxen, Horses, Sheep, and Pigs are farm animals that are often used to human handling and fairly easy to control. Monkeys will fool around if you’re not good enough, but they’re incredibly smart and helpful in the right hands.

Tigers, Bird, Rabbits, and Dogs are a tricky mixed bag of FUN that only rank as high as they do because you can summon domesticated cats/birds/buns/dogs just as easily as your would the other farm animals but you can also summon ridiculously overpowered dead Laguz and those aren’t scrolls diviners are usually allowed to touch until they’ve at least learned how to control what sort of spirit exactly they want to summon because someone could accidentally summon a Taguel and spell disaster for the whole town.

Snakes don’t have the capacity to feel any sort of emotional attachment to humans and unless you REALLY understand snakes and other reptiles their spirits are ridiculously hard to control. Dragon scrolls are extra hard because they’re basically VERY BIG and VERY POWERFUL reptiles.

Izana’s Scroll is both easy and hard to use because it’s about summoning Shikigami, which are essentially tiny low-energy spirit bubbles with a consciousness, but the scroll is about summoning A LOT of them, so you’d better be really god at manipulating multiple tiny spirits at once or they’ll eat you.

Ink Painting is basically a dragon scroll but easier to use than an actual dragon scroll because it’s not a real dragon just an ink dragon and is more likely to do your bidding.

Diviners can summon any animal spirit as along as it’s the right zodiac ‘group’

Wanna summon a guinea pig? Rat scroll. Wanna summon a leopard? Tiger scroll. Wanna summon a pegasus? Horse scroll. Wanna summon a wolf? Dog scroll. Wanna summon a gecko? Snake scroll. Wanna summon a penguin? Bird scroll. Wanna summon a TINY TWO-INCH SEAHORSE? Dragon scroll.

Diviners can summon any specific animal spirit as long as they have something to call out to it

If you never got proper closure because your dog ran off into the woods one night and never came back and you wanna see him one last time, you can bring diviners some of its fur or bone or favorite toy and diviners can summon him for you so you can say goodbye.

Diviners can not only summon animal spirits but also (almost) take direct control of them

This is actually a pretty advanced technique and not something just any diviner can do, you need a lot of experience and respect and understanding and trust and spiritual power to be able to do that, because the spirit you take control of is actually just lending you its eyes and allowing you to feed it suggestions on what to do. You probably wouldn’t be able to take control of a cat and take it for a swim, unless it already liked water and swimming in its lifetime. 

Spirits you take control of will usually do as you ask, but only as long as you don’t abuse of their trust by trying to force them into doing something they refuse to do.

Anyone can create their own scrolls but Good Fucking Luck

This is solely because creating your own scrolls requires a deep understanding of how they work in the first place and being able to write and memorize a functioning sutra. Even someone without spiritual abilities could create a scroll, because it ultimately relies just on knowledge and creativity, but that’s still A LOT of studying and experimenting.

[d-a-l-3-k-s]

Receipts

Over the last month I’ve accepted we’ll never talk again, I’ve come to terms with it, but I feel as though there’s one last thing I need to do and that’s get the venom out. I’ve held my tongue and tried to be the better person, but let’s face it…. you know me…. I remember everything…. store all the negatives up and let them fester.

•I offered you a free place to stay after you recovered from surgery to start a new life. •You had zero intention of creating a normal existence, even taking things slowly because you had the time, you had a perfect opportunity and you decided to throw it all away just to become a dominatrix. •Do you know how many people from non middle class spoon fed backgrounds would kill for an opportunity like that, for a friend to take them in and say “don’t worry about bills or food I’ve got you”? so they can take their time to find a job and become independent. •Your work clearly affected you leading you to smoke and drink more. •The money you earned that you kept promising me you’d save so we can move in together you spunked on over priced sex toys, getting drunk and touring the country leading you to have zero money for us to move out together. •I only realised this once we started house hunting and seeing the reality of your financiers written across your face. The constant bragging of how much money you earned didn’t matter because in reality you had non due to the above. •Constantly held it against me that you had to look after me while I recovered from surgery. I never asked you, I agreed with you that moving out would be for the best and yet you never did. You just stayed because it was convenient and free nothing more, but you made it out that you were martyring yourself for me. •Yes I am thankful for the help you did give me, but on reflection it was wholly for selfish reasons. •When i decided to be selfish and put myself first by moving out of my then current living situation and move into a place that felt like a home… a fresh start you turned into a utter dick. It was clear the only reason you were pissed off was because your 5+ month free ride was over and you had to find a place to live. •You wrote everywhere about how you were now homeless, essentially saying to the people that new you were living with me that I kicked you out. Only giving them half truths and sensationalised sound bites to feed your social media persona. •The above really fucking hurt because that wasn’t the case. •You had 3 people wanting to live with you and were willing to bend over backwards to help you financially, but you didn’t want to help yourself. Instead of getting a second part time job that fit around your one day of working at a dungeon you refused like a spoilt child. You weren’t willing to fight for it so why should I factor you in. •You gave me of all people… someone who comes from a benefit class background whose family had zero money, who had always worked shitty 0 hour contracts or part time and even had 3 jobs to cover their bills…. a lecture about how I’ve never had to live of x amount of money a week/month despite me telling you numerous times how bad my life up until my current job was. •You constantly blamed my “middle class” lifestyle as to why you never had any money because you never wanted to face up to your own life choices and reason as to why all that money you earned isn’t there anymore. •You constantly used the fact that within the last 2ish years I landed a dream job, working 9-5 Monday to Friday with decent salary. Deeming me entitled and middle class regardless of my history. I fucking earned the life I have, I worked fucking hard for it and I only landed that job at the age of 30…… how fucking dare you speak to me like that. •After you moved out in your petulantly way you decided to bad mouth me to everyone who’d listen to you behind my back. Obviously twisting and distorting it to make you out the victim to add to your drama machine. •You didn’t talk to me for a month. I was fine with this and gave you space, honestly I needed it too. Then when we met you had the audacity to say you forgive me and said how two people gave you the best advice “if you still miss them after a month then you know you still want them in your life”. •Realistically you’ve never apologised for your behaviour and when you’ve tried to make it right any promises you’ve made you haven’t fulfilled. •For example, you promised to give both me and my housemate money towards gas, electricity and water, which you used in abundance and without any care for the bill payers. All those long baths you had during the week because your life was to difficult and stressful due to the work you chosen to do. You even acknowledged I might need financial help while being off work for 3 months and suggested giving both me and my housemate money towards rent as a way to give back and help me during a time of need. When I carefully brought this up with you you acted like a selfish child, which meant I never felt comfortable talking to you about money let alone asking you for it. You used a lot of my stuff, some of it even relating to post surgery recovery and promised like you always do that you'd replace it.... you never did or when you did it was a drop in the ocean. Same goes for a handful of other stuff, you'd use it, replace it with your own and then moan when I or someone else used it because it's yours. You'd always pretend that you don't remember using it or that much and make me feel guilty for bringing it up even though money was tight for me back then. •The constant digs against me as a human despite me always being accepting of you. Putting me down because I’m the wrong type of trans (attracted to women) in your mind and my choice of partners after splitting up from my ex. You know what I never judged your lifestyle despite how cliched it was… you think you’re a better trans than me because you’re attracted to men and transitioned at a younger age…. well look at yourself, you’re far more AGP than I ever have been, your constant taking of nude selfies to get attention, being part of the kink scene and not to mention how much you enjoy being desired by wearing heavily sexualised clothing. Yeah I’m the bad one for being into video games and anime, fuck off. The only reason you constantly chipped away at my self esteem was because you saw my existence at conflict with not only your own shining a light on all your flaws, but also reinforcing that you aren’t the one true trans.

I now watch you as you freeload off others essentially being a leach and now I see it as that I understand why you were my friend for the most part, I gave you freedom when nobody else would and once you found better options, people who reflect your latest persona you left me in the dust.

I’ve given you way more chances than I’ve ever given anyone else in my life, I was happy to give you anything because I was happy and willing to help a friend. I thought we had something special, I thought we were true best friends where other people would come and go but we’d always have each other, but I’ve outgrown you and you’ve outgrown me. I’m over mourning it. Go enjoy the new persona you’ve created, keeping chipping away at the whole impoverished sex worker angle you’ve got going for you because let’s face it we all now the truth…. you’re just a sex worker tourist, doing it to be controversial, to get attention. You’re not doing it because you have no other choice, you have no drug habit to feed, no child to financially support and only yourself to fall back on…. you always have mommy and daddy in their big old house with their middle class jobs and holiday home to fall back on if times get hard or you get bored.

Thank you for the 2ish years of friendship. You were who and what I needed at that time, but now we’re nothing but strangers.

[utopianparadoxist]

The pleas of false people mean nothing: Nier’s sound and enemy design carries a vital message.

(This Cannot Continue.)

For Nier/Taroverse Fans: (Skip this section if you’re not one of my tragic people (yet)):

This essay is primarily aimed at fans of Nier:Automata, or at least people interested in it. Or good game and sound design fans in general. 

That said, I am primarily a Homestuck blog, and my perspective will include some comparisons to Homestuck. Don’t worry, nothing you won’t be able to follow-- even if you’ve literally never heard of Homestuck. In fact, you may come away from this with a new area of interest if you’ve exhausted Nier: Automata’s content and it left you hungry for a similar kind of story. 

Even if you can’t imagine reading all of the comic proper, Hiveswap is coming out soon--possibly even this month, and I’m confident that game will make an excellent entry point into the series. I’m also running a youtube channel dedicated to explaining the comic to newcomers, along with potential lore links between the game and the comic, a la Dark Souls.

This piece will include some fairly big Homestuck spoilers, but frankly I don’t think it will matter either way--like with Nier: Automata itself, even spoiling the entire story couldn’t for a second make up for the actual execution.

In any case, No matter how much you’ve interacted with either Nier or Homestuck, you should be able to follow along and enjoy my points about both in this essay just fine. 

I’m also going to avoid spoilers about Nier: Automata for the most part. However, I will be outlining the basic premise of the game and the thematic undercurrents that run through the entire story, so there are obviously some spoilers for the early game.

For Homestuck Fans:  (Skip this section if you’re not one of my tragic people (yet)): 

Yeah, I know I’m in the middle of a whole series of essays on Jake and that I kind of established a strong build up for the next essay. That one’s still coming--I might publish it tonight or maybe tomorrow. I’m excited about it!

But frankly, I kind of went through some really intense and borderline traumatic stuff in my personal life the last couple days. Not to do with Dirkjake or Homestuck at all--everyone who’s read my posts has thus far been terrifically kind to me, and the criticism and feedback I’ve received has been constructive in polishing and framing the next entry. I haven’t gotten a single anon hate message or anything. Thanks for that.

Just to do with some stuff irl, and writing is how I cope, and what happened made me want to write about this right the fuck now. I don’t feel like it can wait, no matter how much I love the subject of Jake English. Given how bombastic I am in those essays, that should give you an idea how strongly I feel about this subject.

I also think that understanding my views on Nier will illuminate how I approach and deconstruct Homestuck from an analytical perspective, and at the very least help you contextualize my ongoing writing on the comic. So this is relevant in the long term anyway, I’m just kind of chagrined I’m essentially pulling an analysis series intermission here. Fucking RIP, I have become my own comedy.

OK, so all that stuff out of the way: This essay will be split into four sub-sections, following a naming convention you should be able to recognize pretty quickly.  I want to talk about the main antagonists in Nier: Automata: 

The Machines, and why they’re currently my favorite antagonists in any video game ever. 

Androids: Data for the uninitiated.

(This Cannot Continue.)

Nier: Automata is the latest entry in what is obscurely understood as the Drakengard-Nier franchise-- A series of action RPG Square-Enix games. Like Homestuck’s Andrew Hussie, most of the Taroverse saga (Drakengard 2 can stay in its corner) was conceptualized and directed by a notable Auteur figure: Yoko Taro- from whom the franchise gets its name. That’s not to say he’s solely responsible for the quality of his games, but simply that this is the reputation he’s earned in the fan community. 

The reason I bring these auteurs up at all is that they both seem concerned with very similar ideas, leading to some peculiar similarities between their works. By bringing up the similarities between them, I feel I can better get at the core of what each series has to offer, and hopefully enticing fans of the one to consider the other.  

Both series include explorations on the nature of existing as part of the Multiverse, along with multiple and sequential apocalyptic scenarios (both stories span over thousands if not millions of years and several civilizations).  They both have questions to ask about the human condition, the nature of power and relationships, and humanity’s relationship with both reality and God. 

If I had to describe my opinion on their philosophical differences in a paragraph, here’s what I’d say: Homestuck explores the concept of the multiverse while presenting a path for how to reach Heaven. The Taroverse explores how it can be used to imagine an endless, cyclical Hell.

If you’re not averse to spoilers or watching some pretty disturbing and depressing stuff and you want to see a fantastic case for this reading of the Taroverse, I suggest watching @pixievalkyrie ’s excellent breakdown of the entire franchise’s history. Fair warning: Trigger warnings for pretty much every kind of horrible abuse and degradation of life imaginable. 

If you want to see my case backed up further for Homestuck, well-- there’s no earthly way to break Homestuck into smaller chunks like the Taroverse allows for, so I suppose you’ll just have to stay tuned to my work and read the comic yourself in the meantime. But Tex Talks does a very good job of explaining the nature of Homestuck’s setting in this video, and I think you’ll find similarities. 

Now we can finally get to talking about the damn game. 

Aliens: The Shape of the Enemy.

(This cannot continue.)

The premise of the game is as follows: After surviving about four distinct apocalyptic events and/or wars, thousands of years in the future, Earth faces an alien invasion. The invasion is successful and drives what’s left of humanity off the planet and onto the Moon. 

The aliens do not fight themselves, however-- instead preferring to build a distinct industry of robotic weapons to fight their war for them: The Machines, our antagonists.

In response to the threat, humanity builds autonomous weapons of their own. Our Protagonists: The Androids. The three primary androids in our story are two combat androids, codenamed 2B and A2, and one scanner/support Android codenamed 9S. Here we see 2B, 9S, and A2--from top left to bottom right.

What’s immediately noticeable is how different Androids and Machines are. 

Androids look and feel, for all intents and purposes, perfectly human. They talk fluently, consider complex problems, and clearly care for each other. They are expressly ordered not to show emotions, but they demonstrably have them anyway. 

Machines, by comparison, look like crude imitations of people, toy-like and expressionless. Their voices are synthesized and robotic, their intonations and accents alien, making it difficult to discern emotion. Machines look mass-produced and cheaply customizable, with a variety of modifications pasted onto a crude and simple base design to fill out enemy types.

Androids are also ridiculously more competent and functional. This is a hack n’ slash game, and the Machines are direct analogs to, say, Heartless from Kingdom Hearts. 

During gameplay, you’ll mow them down by the hundreds practically effortlessly, and though there are some bigger and tougher variants, most of them come across as borderline pathetic in their attempts to fight.

But both kinds of robots share a few similarities, one of which is this: 

They are both connected to Post-Singularity Server networks that give them orders on how to fight their enemy. 

For both Machines and Androids, these supercomputers are the structures actually calling the shots--they’re the sources of the series of orders that lead to a war that seems to span anywhere from centuries to millennia. 

Neither Androids or Machines are calling the shots. But Androids have a design that makes it easy for them to signal feelings and complex internal realities, and Machines are designed to look very easy to dehumanize. 

And this is a Taroverse game, so of course this depressing as hell setup is only the beginning of a long fall down. 

Machines: Sounds that mean nothing. 

(This cannot continue.) Early into the game, 2B and 9S begin to note more and more machines behaving erratically. More and more machines become non-aggressive, staring blankly into space or beginning to ramble about random subjects, wandering the land and modifying themselves based on their environments.

As a player, Your orders are clear: Machines are to be eliminated. These are also the orders of 2B and 9S, and the game has you continue carrying them out mostly unquestioned except through these little niblets of bizarre behavior from the machines. It doesn’t matter anyway--they’re the enemy, and you have to fight to win.  This dynamic comes to its first climax in what will surely become one of the game’s most memorable scenes. 2B and 9S find their way to a small enclave of machines minding their own business, and what they find staggers their imaginations:

These robots are non-hostile. They’re rocking cradles while repeating “Child. Child.” Bumping into each other in suggestive ways while repeating “Love. Love.” and “Together. Forever.” All in those monotone, synthesized voices. Sounding so empty and wrong. 

9S forms an interesting response to this. He says: “Don’t listen to them, 2B. They don’t have any feelings. They’re just imitating human speech.” 

And it’s easy to come to that conclusion, right? It’s not like they emote. It’s not like they’re really able to. Essentially, 9S considers the Machines a threat, first and foremost--so when they act in a way that might engender empathy, he assumes it’s a trick or a ploy--an attempt to win the Androids over in order to hurt them. 

It’s deceitful, but it’s also worse than that. It’s deceit by sheer virtue of it’s premise: Machines cannot possibly say something indicating emotions like love, desire, or care because Machines are not real beings. They aren’t people.

They’re tools and weapons and puppets to a supercomputer’s Agenda-- not autonomous entities who think and feel for themselves, at least as far as he’s concerned. That’s what he was taught by his intelligence server, and that server is really the only source of information in his life. It’s natural to rely on it. 

Still, the machines don’t react to your presence and there’s nowhere to go. The only way forward is through violence. And once you provide it, they answer, with a lone Machine rising up and declaring: 

I’ll get you for this. 

As the fight continues, more and more machines make odd statements as they throw themselves at our protagonists, who demolish them by the dozens. Statements like: I love you! Kill! and Hatred! Pain! The robots suggest they feel what you’re doing. That they know what’s happening to them.  Again, this war has gone on forever, and you--as the Androids--are almost absurdly more powerful than they are. 2B executes machines by the dozens constantly, across every corner of the world she can reach them in. The Machines surely know this as they watch their community die on her sword, one after another. They can likely feel exactly how weak they are. 

But the voices that deliver their pain to the player remain stilted and alien--difficult to recognize. As the battle rises to it’s conclusion, however, one machine voices a thought that catches on. A short, clipped statement every machine can get behind. A meme.  This Cannot Continue. The machines repeat it faster and faster, uniting under a common rallying cry. This tension builds and builds until suddenly, the Machines experience some sort of breakdown, straight up throwing a collective tantrum in (seemingly pantomime) desperation and repeating the words so fast and so often it barely sounds like a recognizable statement and sounds pure like pure cacophony.

Looking at this screenshot might convey some of the effect, but listening to the noise they’re collectively making is really something else. I’d link to the scene, but I don’t want to spoil what they do next. All I’ll say is that once they all gather around this common, desperate thought, they take action. When they do, the music shifts... And the game does something I’ve never seen before.

[Please Listen]

Here’s another area where Nier: Automata is similar to Homestuck. Both properties are downright famous for their use of leitmotif and attaching particular meanings to different musical motifs. (The developer of Undertale, Toby Fox, got his start as a Homestuck musician.) But even in this sense, what Nier: Automata pulls off is uniquely powerful. This song uses everything about itself to inform and flesh out the themes of the game. Once the robots do what they do next, we get an new rendition of the game’s main battle theme. A battle theme titled as Birth of a Wish. 

Right from the title, the song is telling us something. Birth of a Wish (This cannot Continue) qualifies the robot’s collective statement as a wish, a desire. A wish for mercy? For deliverance? For justice, or peace? It’s hard to know. Probably all of the above.  And the song itself tricks the player. Or at least, it tricked me. I should mention that Nier does one thing that Homestuck only really dabbled in: Vocal work. Specifically, vocal work in a made up language-- @pixievalkyrie again comes to my rescue with an excellent breakdown of Emi Evan’s downright staggering artistic achievement in her creation of a composite chaos language derived from most of the major languages on Earth. 

Emi’s music is one of the major reasons I love this franchise, which is to say that when I first listened to this song, I did so actively hoping its vocal works wouldn’t make sense to me. 

And I got what I wanted! The vocals, as usual, were smooth and fascinating but seemingly meaningless enough that I could use the music as a backdrop for my writing--I’ve been listening to this track pretty much nonstop for the last couple of weeks. 

Which made it downright chilling when I realized, quite abruptly, that I was wrong. I have no idea if you noticed while listening to it or not--I genuinely don’t know if I’m an outlier here (pls send me asks with your experience!). But if you didn’t, then listen again: Most of the vocals for this song are written in plain English. 

They consist of three words: This cannot continue. 

The voices of the robots become part of the song. And the song itself is structured such that it informs the nature of their plight. The voices of the robots are barely musical--they are blank statements stated in synthesized monotone, hard to draw sentiment from. 

But they are persistent, barging into the song as forcefully as they possibly can for as long as they can. Their voices don’t rest or stop willingly, seeming as though they’re almost forming a sort of counterbeat to the song’s main line. And when they stop, it is always because they are cut off, shut down and out of the song by the force of the Instruments. 

Which is fitting, because instruments are what deny them in the game, too--after all, the Androids are simply tools. To the humans, to their server, and to you. 

The experience of listening to them goes something like: This cannot continue this cannot continue this cannot continue this cannot-- Over and over again, until the song inevitably drowns them for its climaxes, only for their voices to return once again. 

It’s a marvel of musical storytelling. But what makes it a diamond is what happens next. Later into the game, you come into contact with a village of Machines waving the white flag of surrender. 

These machines inform the androids that they have disconnected from the information network, as have been many other groups of machines across the world. This is the cause for their erratic behavior--these machines now wish only to learn about the world and themselves and live in peace. 

The music for this village is fundamentally different, to go with the information we gain:

[^Please Listen^]

Here the game tips it’s hand for good. I’m genuinely not sure what language this is in, or if it has actual lyrics--but it doesn’t matter. The vocal work is so stellar that the sentiment and meaning are carried in the simple tone of the voices. Like before, the Robots sing in harmony, but they sound deeply different. 

Their voices are still synthesized, but now they suggest an almost melancholy and gentle inquisitiveness. They sound so similar to the childlike voices that actually emote that the two distinct voice tracks flow into each other, rather can harshly contrasting like (This cannot continue)’s voices do. 

The sentiment conveyed is clear, even though in this case the Machines don’t seem to be speaking any language I understand. These are real beings. 

These are real people. These are just a bunch of kids. 

This is only the beginning of the Nier: Automata experience, and it’ll go on to explore so many more concepts that I don’t feel bad about spoiling it. It would be literally impossible for you to guess what happens next, and this isn’t even a quarter into what the game as a whole has to offer. 

But this is where we get off the train of Nier’s plot and into what the game is trying to tell us. There are only two more relevant pieces of information from the story left for me to spoil. After that, I will be discussing only the message the game is trying to send philosophically, without leaning on any more of the story. 

These are two more similarities between Machines and Androids:

1) Machines and Androids are built from the same materials.

2) Machines and Androids both consider their creators their Gods.

As well they should. Because once humans transgress the boundary of creating sentient life, that is what they will have become. And that is not just a possibility. It is an imminent reality of our future, which is coming sooner than you think. Which is why Nier: Automata is more than just a profoundly existential, deeply enjoyable work of art. 

Nier: Automata is a warning.

Humans: Become as Gods.

(This cannot Continue.)

[^Suggested listening^]

The leading scientists and experts of our planet pretty much agree that the Singularity is not just inevitable, but coming fast. The point when the machines we create become advanced enough to recognize and modify themselves, thus beginning a process of autonomous self-improvement that will far outspeed even the increasingly staggering rate of progress we humans are capable of, is coming.

Many of the most successful and scientific minds in our generation have issued dire warnings about AI. Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, Elon Musk--these are not uninformed people prone to spreading fantasy. I know this sounds like sci-fi drama, but it’s just a fact of life--what’s about to happen is real, and serious people are taking it very seriously. 

We can already reform the very shape of our planet. We can already extend our own lives and perform fucking magic like creating warmth when the world is cold, drawing water from nowhere as soon as we want it, and talk to literally anyone anywhere on the planet because we are all interconnected through a massive, sprawling, infinite plane of ideas and concepts we forced into reality--a composite experience containing all of our minds.

Once we have created life that can evolve without us, that is as aware of the world as we are--then we will really be as good as Gods. And when it happens, it will not save us from ourselves. It won’t fix the world for us.

If we are not mature enough to handle it, if we cannot evolve to the responsibility of our power, then it will without a doubt destroy us as a species. And it will destroy us because of our ability to dehumanize and abuse each other.

We humans have more in common with Androids and Machines than one would initially think. In fact, we have one unnervingly real similarity with both of them:

We have intelligence superstructures that inform how we think about reality and other people, too. You’re reading this on one. This is true whether you’re on Tumblr, Reddit, or wherever else this ends up. 

In this time of intense political division, there two main internets: The Left and The Right. The internet is a marvelous place where we can all talk to each other and transmit ideas, sure. But like with the servers providing information to both Androids and Machines, it’s also where a lot of people get their orders.

But not everyone. Obviously, like in Nier: Automata, the reality is more complicated than that. I just wonder if we will realize that long enough to look at what our world has become and fix it. 

There are people in control of my country right now that view me and the people I love as Machines were viewed by Androids. Our voices are wrong. The shapes and colors of our bodies are unnatural and awkward. The intonations and behaviors we use are strange and eerie to them, and the way we love and wish to present ourselves is incorrect to them. And so when we say we are being hurt it does not matter. We are not real. We cannot say real things.  It is all in service to a greater Agenda. 

The horror of the Machines, and the reason they are important characters, is not because of the threat they pose to the characters or some intrinsic Wrongness they reveal about the nature of life or humans. 

The horror of the Machines is how easy it is to ignore the fact that they feel horror. The horror of the Machines is how easy it is to make them look horrible. The horror of the Machines is that they can speak and speak but the Androids may never choose to listen. 

The horror of the Machines is that they are people, and we have stolen that from them. And if we continue to regard other humans the way we regard the Machines in our own world, once we have achieved Godhood, we will inevitably steal it from each other.  Nier: Automata’s message is clear:

Gods: This cannot continue. 

Very soon in the course of human history, we are going to be faced with a Choice. It is a Choice we will have to make every moment, every instant, for the rest of our lives. It is a Choice we are already making, but which many of us still have the luxury to ignore. Although not for much longer.

We must face this choice, both as a Collective and as Individuals. But the choice of each individual must inevitably come first, because how can we decide how to move forward as a species if we can’t even talk and agree about it? 

What kind of Gods are we going to be? Are we going to be like the Humans and Aliens in Automata? This is a Yoko Taro game, so I don’t think it’s a spoiler to tell you-you won’t like how they end up. 

Personally, I have a suggestion. 

I would like us to be more like Gods from Homestuck.

I like the world they build a lot better.

You can find my writing here, on this blog. You can also find some of my writing on games on ZEAL, and find my series aiming to make Homestuck accessible to non-fans on my youtube channel. If you like my writing and would like to support me in the endeavor of creating more of it, it would also seriously help me out if you pledged to my Patreon. I’ll be more than satisfied if my words move you enough to simply choose to share them with others, though.   Doing so will also get you access to my Discord server, where I’m more than willing to answer questions about Homestuck and Hiveswap whether you’re a long time fan or just getting into them for the first time. I’ll still answer questions if you just send me an ask on Tumblr, but I’m basically always busy with writing or helping to run the communities I am a part of, so answering questions can’t be my top priority at the moment. I’ll get around to all asks, but it might take time. 

Regardless, if you made it this far I am deeply, deeply grateful. More grateful than I think I can express in mere words. I hope my words change something for someone, somewhere. I hope my words change something for me.

Because this cannot continue.

See you again soon, everyone. 

Until then, keep rising.