#and for the most part there'd be something off about it and you can tell it's meant for someone elses body

[emmavakarian-theirin]

for shits and giggles and @rookgallustroublesomehousehimbo i put neve in lucanis' armour and WOOF

[knightjpg]

Brick by Brick

You have his favourite tea on hand. You ask him what he'd like for dinner this weekend. One time you opened the door for him within seconds of buzzing, like you'd been as eager for his visit as he was.  And maybe most devastating of all: you routinely start making too much food for even Simon to finish. 

tags: 🔞construction worker simon/neighbour reader, unprotected piv, oral (f receiving), size kink, brief mention of simon's childhood abuse

part 1 | part 2

After that things shift, just a little. You still sit with Simon while he works, handing him tools he teaches you the names of; still try to convince him to get pay for his work around the house. 

But you have his favourite tea on hand. You ask him what he'd like for dinner this weekend. One time you opened the door for him within seconds of buzzing, like you'd been as eager for his visit as he was. 

And maybe most devastating of all: you routinely start making too much food for even Simon to finish. 

“Thought you might want some leftovers for lunch,” you tell him, holding out two tupperware boxes. ���If you're working those long hours you have to eat right, you know?” 

When Simon opens them at home, just before tucking them away in his work bag for tomorrow, his chest clenches. It's not just leftovers. There's dried beef jerky, a pack of crackers that go well with coffee, and a fist-sized chunk of banana bread. And— 

A little note. 

His heart hammers against his chest when he unfolds it. It's nearly dark out, crickets chirping soft and low somewhere beneath the window. The only sound in his kitchen is the ticking of a clock. 

Good luck today! Don't work too hard :)  

“Christ,” he mumbles, fingers tracing over the ink. Pretty. Like you. Like every fucking thing you do. 

Summer is nearing its end, and Simon is running out of excuses. Part of him feels proud to see the house shape up to the best it can be, but over the months the boxes have nearly all disappeared. He knows—has helped you unpack God knows how many books. Helped you put together a new bookcase, even. 

But if he's no longer useful, what's keeping you from closing your door on him? Dread rises sharp and fast in Simon's throat when he thinks about a dark, cold home waiting for him as his only company. He passes your door on the way home, more often than not sees your silhouette against the warm light of your window. Illuminating the hard dirty edges of him.  

You've started feeding him, this big mean watchdog, and he might choke on his leash if you stop now. 

“Hello, what is that?”   

Simon sharply yanks his lunch away from Johnny's grabby paws.  

“None f’your business.” 

“Is that bloody banana bread? You've got to be fuckin’ me.” 

“That's homemade,” Kyle says unhelpfully from just behind Simon's shoulder. 

“Piss off,” Simon grumbles. 

Johnny does not, of course, piss off. Instead he grins, cheeky and wide. “Didn't know y’had a bird, Simon.” 

“Fuck,” Kyle groans. “Is that roast beef? That smells so good. Where'd you get this?” 

Johnny snorts. “More like who's he blackmailin'.” 

Simon glowers at Johnny, then says through a mouthful, “My girl.” 

If there'd been any hope of them dropping it, it's gone now. Simon realises his mistake as soon the words leave his mouth and Kyle and Johnny light up.  

They're incessant. Dog him at every opportunity—who is she? What's her name? What's she look like? Show us a photo, Simon, dinnae be so selfish. 

Simon suffers it for a week until he slams his gloves on Price's table and threatens someone's going to end up in the cement mixer by the end of the day if he doesn't do something about it. 

They quiet down after that, though they can't help but ask after you every now and then—even Price, who despite his congratulatory shoulder clap admits he wishes he had a sweet thing of his own. 

And the lunches keep going. As do the notes, every one of which Simon keeps carefully tucked away in a box at home. He didn't find one last night, and he suppresses the wave of disappointment. Maybe you forgot. Maybe you were just tired, and maybe he's grown too comfortable with your casual affection. 

So when a little piece of paper that was stuck to the bottom of the lid flutters onto the ground the next day Simon is unprepared. The two seconds of surprise cost him—Johnny dives after it like a hawk and scoops it before it's barely touched the concrete. 

“You little shit—” 

Simon's at him immediately, and Johnny, delighted by what he thinks is a funny fucking little game, twists and dodges while fumbling the note open with one hand. 

“Looking forward to dinner tonight. Be safe today,” Johnny reads before Simon snatches it from him with a hard shove to his head. “Aww, Simon, you lucky shite. C’mon, give us one o’ those cookies, aye? If you're goin’ home to a candle lit dinner.” 

“Get your own cookies,” Simon huffs, and curls one arm around his tupperware protectively while he eats. 

Looking forward.   

So is he. 

- 

“Simon!” 

Simon whips his head around and catches you stepping out of your car with a wave. You've arrived home just after him today, and his breath catches in his throat when he sees your dress flutter prettily around your legs. 

You're dressed up all nice today—must've been at university, then. Simon doesn't know which he likes better: the shorts you wear at home or the glimpse of cleavage he gets when you wear a nice work blouse. 

His dick throbs when he holds his own hand up in greeting, hanging back just to get those few extra seconds with you.  

He's not sure why today is especially bad. Probably doesn't help that every time he jacks off in the shower you're the one he thinks of, imaging your pretty lips wrapped around his cock. It's hard to resist the indulgence after a long hard day of sweating and laying brick, then coming home and only getting to look, not touch. He doesn't want to stain you with his filth, but what's he supposed to do? He wants you. 

And his desire has sat festering in the confines of his rib cage for months. It curls his hands in tight fists so he doesn't reach for you by accident the way he does in his dreams, keeps him from leaning in to taste your lips to see if they're as sweet as your cobbler pies. 

“Alright?” he asks when you get closer. You feel off, distant, and when you nod it feels like it's more for his sake than for the truth of it. 

“Yeah. Um.” You adjust the strap of the bag on your shoulder, shifting on your feet. “I wanted to let you know I can't do dinner tomorrow. I'm, um, I have a date, so...” 

The spin of the world stutters for a second.  

Simon sucks in a quiet breath. “That so.” 

“Yeah.” You look up at him with a sad little smile. Not the kind of face you'd expect from someone who just scored a date, but Simon is too wrapped up in his misery to notice. “How was your day?” 

Normal. Unsuspecting. Good, even, until you told him some twat is taking you out to dinner.  

“Fine,” he hears himself say. Adds, “Watchin’ a match tonight.”  

An excuse—an out for both of you. You won't have to feel obligated to ask him if he'd like to come ‘round for a meal, and he won't have to pretend he doesn't feel like throwing up. 

“Go Manchester,” you reply with a smile. 

Just like Simon, they don't score. 

- 

He waits up for you. It's pathetic, really—that of all things this is what gets him to dig around for a pack of smokes. Been mostly clean ever since you moved in next to him, his half-hearted attempts to quit finally mounting up to something with real resolve. 

He doesn't want to taste nicotine when he eats your meals. 

Even threw out his lighter. Which means when he finds a crushed, dust-caked pack with only one cigarette in it behind his couch he has to light it with a match and shaky hands. 

It tastes awful. But it's familiar, and sometimes he craves the burn even when he sees his dad putting out his own cigs on Simon's legs behind his eyelids. 

The evening grows colder around him, late summer skies tinted with dark purples and blues. It's quiet in the neighbourhood. He's the only one out this late—everyone else has retreated to the comfort of their homes, ready to turn in for the night. 

It should feel peaceful, but all Simon feels is anxious and on edge. Not even the smoke calms his nerves. 

Should he back off, leave you to the happiness you deserve? Throw everything away in one last shot, ask to take you out like he's wanted to forever? 

Words are no good, but he's tried so desperately to show you that he'd do just about anything if you asked. To let you know that underneath his gruff silences he doesn't bite the hand that feeds him and that he'd rip anyone else to shreds for raising a finger against you. 

Simon's head lifts when his ears pick up the rumbling of a car. Is it...? 

It is. 

Lamplight flashes over the cobbled street, and then the rumble of the engine turns off with a click. 

You're alone—thank God. Simon doesn't know what he would've done if you'd taken your date home. 

You look worn out, and not the happy kind after a successful lay. Just tired—to the point where you almost don't notice him and jump when you do. You take a startled step back from his hulking silhouette leaning against the stone little fence curling around all the houses along the street you share, before pausing and asking in a soft voice: 

“Simon?” 

And because he's a masochist he asks, “Y’have fun?” 

He expects a yes. At best a non-committal shrug—at worst an enthusiastic smile. But you look down at your shoes, chew your lip, and say, “No.” A breath. “No. It was awful. He was a twat, and he tried to feel me up under the table, and he's been hounding me at university for months, and I got so sick of it I just said yes but now I'm going to have to email HR and ugh—!”  

Your voice breaks on the last sentence and you sniffle, turning your face away from Simon so you can give it a quick wipe with the back of your hand. 

He's up on his feet in an instant, trying to take slow breaths so he doesn't act on the overwhelming urge to hunt down the wankstain and crush his fingers so he can never fucking touch you again. Your dog bites without warning or remorse, and everything in him wants to show your sad excuse of a date just how sharp his teeth are. 

But he can't. You're hurting, and that's more important than breaking some bloke's nose. 

And so Simon tries for softness as much as he's capable of it, large scarred hand hesitantly landing on your shoulder. It's all the coaxing you need to lean into his touch, and when Simon shifts a little closer your head falls on his shoulder. He burns with a different kind of fire. 

“Sorry,” you sniffle. “I'm okay, I really am, it was just such a—such a—” 

“S’alright,” Simon rasps. He pets your hair and strokes your back with a clumsy touch, unsure of how far he should, can, is allowed to go. “Y’should've called me. Would've come t’pick you up, maybe sock him a new one.”  

He'd do more than that if you'd let him. He'd take you home and made sure the only time you cried was when he worked his fat cock inside you. 

Christ, he's going to hell. 

“I didn't want to bother you,” you say in a small voice. 

“Sweetheart. You're never botherin’ me.” You let out a shaky sigh, and Simon tucks your head under his chin a little more securely. “Woulda made sure y’got home safe.” 

It's quiet, then, save for the sound of a car driving away somewhere down the road. Simon doesn't say anything else. He doesn't want to break the spell that you're under. You feel so soft in his arms, his sweet bird, finally come home to where you belong. 

“I kept wishing it was you.” Your voice is so soft he almost doesn't catch it, but before he can process it you pull yourself out of his embrace, cursing under your breath. “Sorry. Sorry—forget I said that. I'm... I'm gonna go home.” 

Simon's hand shoots out and grabs your wrist. You stare at him with big wet eyes that has the pit of his stomach swoop low. 

“Y’wish it was me?” 

His voice is low and rough, strained with want. 

Your cheeks burn and you avert your eyes, though you don't pull your hand away. “Sorry. Ignore me, I'm just...” 

“I'll take you,” Simon says a little too quickly. “Anywhere you wanna go. Dinner. Movies.” He pauses, trying to remember what people do for fun. “The library.” 

There. You hiccup a little laugh, finally, and the beginnings of a smile tug at your mouth. 

“The library?” 

Simon smiles a little, too. “Anywhere you want,” he repeats. Even the fucking library. 

Your gaze drops to your hands, and you carefully turn your palm against his. “I think I'd like that.” 

Simon swallows and lets his fingers intertwine with yours. “Yeah?” 

“I don't really care where we go, though. If it's with you.” 

Jesus bloody Christ. 

“Okay,” Simon says, voice tight. “Alright. We'll—we'll figure it out. We'll go somewhere.” A breeze hits you as he says it, and you shiver. “...Right now let's just get you home.” 

You nod, the fatigue overtaking your features again. Simon walks you all the way to your door, squints against the night sensor he installed himself. 

You hover in the doorway before opening your mouth, closing it, then take a small step forward to rise on your toes. Simon's heartbeat kicks up under your hand where you steady yourself on his chest, and then he feels your lips press against his cheek. It's his bad one, the one with the nasty scar from a bar fight long ago. 

“Thanks,” you say softly. 

“Yeah,” he manages, tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth. “’Course.” 

The door closes with a soft click.  

- 

When you mention wanting to hike out on a trail nearby Simon, true to his word, makes it happen. It's not so bloody hot anymore and it's nice, hearing the birds chirp overhead. Nice to exist in a world where everything is washed in shades of mottled green, hearing the dirt crunch under his feet.  

It relaxes him. Makes his muscles untense. You promised him a picnic at the end of the trail, and to Simon's delight he succeeds in coaxing you to feed him bites of your homemade sandwiches in the midst of tall grass and meadow flowers. 

When you get home, sweat and sun lingering on your skin, Simon has full intentions of dropping you off at your doorstep and wishing you a good night. Maybe get another kiss if he's lucky. 

And he does—but you linger, soft lips hovering over his cheek. His fingers curl and uncurl against his sides, waiting and wondering. 

“Please kiss me?” you breathe on his skin, and that's all it takes. 

He surprises himself with the intensity of it, but fucking hell, he's wanted you for so long. His shoulders hunch, neck bent low, and he slots his mouth over yours. Your little fingers grab at his shirt for balance, and he pushes you against your doorframe. Every time he pulls away you make a small noise of protest and chase his lips, and though Simon hasn't had a drop of alcohol today he feels well on his way to hammered. 

“Do you want to—please come inside—?” 

Simon groans and rests his forehead against yours. Fuck. “I want to—want t’do this right,” he rasps. 

You exhale with a shaky breath. Your cheeks are flushed, eyes glittering like stars. Simon's stomach lurches at seeing you want him. “Right, um. Of course. I just—I've thought about... about you. For a—a really long timmf—” 

Simon groans into your mouth. He cups your cheeks, one hand sliding to hold you at the back of your neck. A sweat breaks out along his spine when he imagines you at night, in your bedroom, fucking yourself with your little fingers. Whimpering his name... 

“Yeah? Y’want me to take you to bed, sweetheart?” he murmurs, and you shiver. 

The two of you barely make it past the door until Simon is stealing the breath from your lungs again. He's wanted this for so long it's a little hard to stop, even if it's to break apart for air. Miraculously you seem to want it as much as he does, seem as desperate for his touch as he is for yours. 

When has anyone wanted him this bad? When has he ever felt like he'd die on the spot if he didn't get inside you right the fuck now? 

He doesn't need to ask you where the bedroom is. This place has felt his touch almost as much as yours, has shaped up into a cosy little home that is part of him, too. Like he wants to be part of you. 

Simon simply scoops you up and carries you straight to bed, forgetting to be gentle when he deposits on the mattress. His head is buzzing, his heart is thundering, and he needs you now.  

Fortunately you don't seem to mind much. Your hands immediately fly to his belt, tug at the metal impatiently, then fumble with his zipper with trembling hands. Simon pulls your top over your head, throws it somewhere on the floor without a care followed by his own. 

“Lie back,” he husks, and makes quick work of your trousers. Pauses just for a second to take in the growing wet patch of your panties. 

“Simon,” you whine softly. 

He drops to his knees and slides his large hands over your thighs, transfixed. He smooths over the goosebumps on your legs, presses a kiss to your knee. 

“Want me t’take these off?” he rasps, snapping the band of your panties. You lift your hips in silent assent. Simon helps you shimmy off your underwear and suppresses a moan when a string of sticky arousal clings to the fabric—then follows it right to the source. 

You gasp when he kisses your folds before gently spreading them with big warm fingers. “Sweet little cunt,” Simon mutters, and then he goes to town. 

He starts with slow, wet licks, feeling out what you like and what's too much. He keeps it light for a while just to feel you squirm and to hear your breathing turn ragged, then backs off just when your knees start trembling. He smiles when you whimper his name with a desperate little “please". 

“Such good manners.” His breath washes over your clit, and your hips try to twitch away from him. “Proper sweetheart, yeah?” 

It's great fun, playing with you, but his cock is throbbing painfully and he's leaking everywhere, and he very much intends for you to end the night feeling so blissed out you let him sleep next to you. 

So Simon hoists you closer, hooks your thighs over his shoulder, and sucks on your clit until you're sobbing his name. He holds your hips down by splaying one big hand over your stomach because you're a sensitive little thing, bucking away from him when he's not nearly done with you yet.  

It's cute, seeing you lose yourself to the pleasure. It's also really fucking hot. Simon slowly pushes one finger in you and groans when you clench around him. 

“Simon,” you whimper. “Oh, please, please—” 

Such a good girl, begging without him telling you to. Simon crooks his finger, and your next breath is a stutter of moans before your whole body tenses and you cum on his tongue. 

Simon hums approvingly, keeping his motions slow and steady so you ride it out all the way. When you whine and wriggle away from him he lets up, wiping at your slick covering his chin. 

Best meal you've cooked him by far. 

“Oh,” you sigh. “That was... Give me—give me a minute...” 

Simon chuckles and rises from his knees to crawl over you and steal a kiss. “Feelin’ good, princess?” 

“Princess—” you let out a breathless laugh, but even in the low light of your nightstand lamp Simon sees the colour rise in your cheeks. Liked that, did you? You blink up at him, a sweet satisfied smile on your lips. “Mhm. So good. Come here?” 

Your hands trail over his sides, stroke over the light hair trailing down his stomach. Simon shudders when your knuckles brush over his cock and he shucks off his trousers further to give you better access. 

When you wrap your hand around him he drops his head into the crook of your shoulder and moans. The twitch of his hips is involuntary, too desperate to chase his pleasure to stay put. 

“Next time,” you whisper while pulling him forward, spreading your legs wider to fit around his hips, “I want to feel you in my mouth.” 

“Jesus,” he groans. It takes everything in him to not just slide in. “We need a condom?” 

“I'm clean,” you murmur against his jaw. “On birth control. If you want we can—” 

“Fuck yeah I do,” Simon says, and you laugh. Soft eyes when your hands slide over his shoulders, brush through the short hair on his neck. Simon watches your face while he lines himself up without blinking, and he's rewarded with the flutter of your eyelashes, the parting of your soft lips. 

Your brows scrunch together at the first few inches, and he kisses you sweetly to make you relax. Simon knows he's not small, and he groans when you clench around him. 

“Good girl,” he whispers against your hair. “Good girl. Just like that, yeah? Takin’ it real well. Just like that.” 

He slides in a little deeper. You shiver and mewl and beg him for more, and he gives it to you. Anything you want.  

“Simon,” you whimper. “Feels so—oh, you feel so good. More, please, please—?” 

Simon brushes the hair from your forehead, keeping his thrusts long and slow and making sure to kiss your cervix each time, just because your breath stutters so prettily every time he does. 

“Fuck,” he groans. “Fuck, you're so—such a tight little cunt. Couldn't wait any longer, could you? Jus’ had to have me?” 

You nod immediately and empathically, eyes glassy with arousal. You try to answer him, but the only thing you manage are airy moans that sound like his name. 

That's alright. Don't need to talk. He knows what you want to say; he feels the same. Simon catches you in a messy kiss while lacing his fingers with yours. Yours. Mine.  

He shoves his free hand between your two bodies and finds your clit, circling it until he's found the right rhythm that has tears gathering in your eyes. He could live on that for the rest of his life, of hearing you mindlessly stuttering his name while your body tenses up and your head drops back and those pretty lips part in a choked moan— 

“Christ,” Simon grits through his teeth, sweat dampening his brow. Your cunt flutters around him, soft little flower in full bloom that, with another thrust or two, has him falling apart as well. 

Both of you moan at the feeling of his cum spurting hot and thick in your waiting womb. Simon rocks against you slowly to make sure you get every last drop—birth control or not. 

He kisses you on the comedown. You melt into his touch, butter and honey, running your fingers through his hair until Simon shifts you around so you're curled up against him. 

In another minute he'll get up and get you a washcloth before tucking you in and kissing your bare shoulders. He'll wrap himself around you before sleep takes you, make sure that he's the last thing you see and hear and touch. 

For now he lets himself bask in the present. In having a sweet little bird clinging to him for comfort and giving him more than he could ever ask for in return. 

Simon doesn't think you quite realise what you've gotten yourself into, in giving this big ugly watchdog your affection. He's not a king or a prince; not even a knight, not like the ones you read so much about. Simon wouldn't exactly call himself chivalrous or genteel. 

But he's just as devoted and twice as vicious. He'll belong to you, and you to him, and from the moment he saw you he was oath-bound. 

He'll have to steal a ring or two to measure which size is right. It'll take some work to knock down the walls between your two houses, but he'll ask the lads for help. Simon knows you'll win them over right away if you cook dinner or bake them something sweet. 

And maybe in time he'll have to try his own hand at baking. He always did want to put a bun in the oven, and Simon just knows that if you're the one to do it with him— 

It'll come out perfect. 

[zarla-s]

i forget if you ever said before, but how much of handplates was planned from the beginning and what was added as you went?

Almost all of it pretty early on, haha. Well, at least the main plotpoints...

I knew Sans would push Gaster into the core (not exactly how but I knew it'd happen)

I knew the brothers would stay with Asgore for a while afterwards to adjust to normal life

Knew the brothers would slowly grow and mature into their canon forms while aligning with canon itself (befriending Undyne and Alphys etc) although not the specifics of it

Knew there'd be a murder run that'd get reset and a pacifist run after

Knew Gaster would come back (not exactly how) and the brothers would have a final confrontation where they'd show they were adults now with the strength to face and fight him/their trauma and they'd eventually convince him to come back and try again

I knew a lot of the main points but not how to tie them together exactly or their exact execution, that came as I went along. As an example, shots of Asgore with the brothers were VERY early in my sketchbook... you can see me sketching out some of the layouts for the one with Gaster trying to get Papyrus to kill something at the bottom.

I was drawing Asgore from memory, that's why he looks off, haha. There are also sketches both for Gaster facing off with the monster (although I hadn't worked out exactly what the monster would be at that point), them back in the lab/finding the drill in Gaster's house, and Sans sassing Gaster on the same page about ten pages later in my sketchbook. I also knew that World Revolution was set in the Handplates timeline when I did it but I didn't tell anyone since it'd be huge spoilers at the time lol.

So you can see I was working out multiple parts of the story at the same time, haha. Some of my one-shot ideas got scrapped or reworked, but the basic shape of it stayed intact throughout. A lot of sections had a lot of wiggle room as they came to me - them in the lab, them with Asgore, them in their house, them on the surface, that kind of thing. So what happened during those times and how long I'd spend there I didn't know for sure, I just knew the basic shape of the story and where I was going eventually. It was an interesting way to do it! I had a lot of freedom to run with any sudden idea for the most part, but I also always had a direction and plan for where I was going.

I had absolutely no idea it'd be this long or take this long to finish though lol.

[bobbinalong]

I'm not even gonna say anything to refute this, I'm just gonna show you what actually happened:

Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #1

Look at him! Grrr! So mad! Jokes aside, off the top of my head, Jay has only experessed annoyance or anger towards Jon twice. Once when Jon tries to bench him before confronting Bendix/taking back Gamorra and once when Jon puts his foot in his mouth after they've both gone through something very traumatic.

Superman: Son of Kal-El #13 & Absolute Power: Super Son

In both of these situations, he's, in my opinion, more than justified to be annoyed and/or angry. In the first, Jon's about to blunder into an international conflict and possibly make things worse for Jay's people. In the second, he's just lost his mother and Jon is suggesting he forgive one of the people he holds most responsible for her death, which, no matter how Nia helped Jon get through the rough parts of his most recent nightmare (haha), is incredibly insensitive.

In both situations, they (seem to) make up quickly. The next time we see Jay and Jon together in SOKE, they're doing this, so there's obviously no hard feelings:

Superman: Son of Kal-El #14

And in AP: SS, he specifically holds Jon back a second longer to make sure he knows they're still in this together, that he's willing to do the work their relationship needs:

Absolute Power: Super Son

Now, "boring" is subjective, so while I obviously disagree, I won't be arguing that point, but I hope I've already demonstrated thatJay is neither toxic or emotionally neglectful. He's a very attentive and supportive boyfriend and often knows just what Jon needs. Here's some more examples:

Superman: Son of Kal-El #3

Superman: Son of Kal-El #4

Superman: Son of Kal-El #5

Superman: Son of Kal-El #7

Superman: Son of Kal-El #8

Superman: Son of Kal-El #10

Superman: Son of Kal-El #15

Onto the "love triangle":

Here's what we have, textually.

Tension, and not the romantic kind, between Nia and Jay:

Absolute Power: Ground Zero

Jay and Jon firmly in one corner:

Absolute Power: Super Son

Nia pining for Jon:

Absolute Power: Super Son

and ... this:

Absolute Power: Super Son

which, if you wanted to, you very well could interpret as Jon expressing romantic attraction towards Nia, I think that's a valid interpretation of the text, but to me, personally, it reads much more as him mourning a person he's barely gotten to know.

They're not "childhood friends" and nobody is pretending they are; in fact, I'd argue that he's keenly aware of that in this moment and that's what makes it hurt all the more.

He doesn't have a lot of friends but he likes Nia. They're similar people, and maybe, if they'd stayed up, if he hadn't left, she wouldn't be dead and there'd still be a chance to grow closer.

He's sad because he thinks they missed their moment.

And even with Nia back now, there's no indication that there'll be any cheating. Not when the same comic the above page is from has him saying "I love you" to Jay for the first time on panel and tell him that his worst fear is not having a home with him in it. He loves Jay so, so deeply and no matter what feelings he may or may not have for Nia, he'd never intentionally hurt him.

Absolute Power: Super Son

Uh ... this one I think I've already "debunked" with the rest of this post. Jay loves Jon, he's demonstrated it time and time again, and if you truly believe he's with Jon just for Superman, then someone's been feeding you bad information. Because I don't think you can read any of the comics he's in with an open mind and come to that conclusion.

(Also, end note because otherwise it'd bug me, Jon's civilian identity wasn't "stolen" so much as Clark revealed his own, out of his own free will. So weird phrasing there.)

Superman (2018) #18

[melrosing]

the thing that annoys me the most about the bullying claim among the stark sisters is that they talk about how much it affects Arya that she thinks she’s ugly and such and like she does, but she’s so much more worried about being “bad” she killed a boy. She’s also going through poverty and war and starving and being introduced to cults/bands of “justice” by murder

but nooooo she totally is more affected by being called horse face despite being compared to SOOOOOO MANY PRETTY PEOPLE AND THAT MEANS SHES GOOD (never mind that good looking=good person should NOT BE YOUR BASIS)

I think most people, and especially girls, know exactly how it feels to worry about your appearance and feel ugly and unattractive, and I get that this is a particular pain for Arya, who apparently has never been called pretty except by her dad one time in AGOT, in an offhanded comparison to her aunt Lyanna. I don't think attractiveness is the most important thing to validate in any child, but I do think that it is good and nice to affirm to your child that they have their own beauty, so that they can then negotiate their relationship with that word from a safer place in adulthood.

It's not about telling your child they don't look a certain way (e.g. no good telling Brienne she's a normal height and her nose is hardly crooked at all), but that the way they look is something unique to them and something they should take pride in, regardless of what others say. Like I think it's an OOC moment in the show, but I think it's sweet when Olenna tells Brienne she looks 'marvellous' or something. She's not saying 'you look like bella hadid', she's saying 'I love the way you look!' to a woman who has received nothing but insults (despite looking like fuckin. Gwendoline Christie lmao). that is nice. it's not the most important compliment anyone can receive, but it embraces divergence as positive.

as it goes though, Arya is a pretty girl and it's just weird that the adults found countless compliments for Sansa and none for Arya. and that's why I find it so bizarre that everyone wants to pin Arya's self-esteem issues on Sansa, a prepubescent child!! like, would Arya have taken these insults so hard if Cat had stepped in and said 'don't listen, you're a lovely girl and your father says you look just like your aunt Lyanna! sansa i am telling you off for calling people names'. children are always going to call each other mean names! it is one thing that is practically guaranteed to happen in any sibling relationship, and anyone who says otherwise is an only child or lying.

but it is much harder for a child to manage that hurt if they're getting called those names, and society seems to be reifying to truth of them at every turn! Septa Mordane is calling her ugly! Cat is calling her a mess! Ned has never complimented her till AGOT! etc! she has never received a compliment before! so how on earth can you say 'and Arya's self-esteem issues can all be traced back to the playground bickering between she and Sansa and Jeyne' when Arya is obviously getting the same message from what seem like far more authoritative sources! is it not worse that those sources are all complimenting Sansa all the time and never Arya? does that not make it worse when Sansa acts like a child about it? like!!

and yeah I agree that there are other more painful insecurities Arya is struggling with. I do think at least part of the reason that this argument keeps coming up in fandom is that people keep trying to claim that Arya's story is similar to Brienne's, in that she IS ugly according to society's standards and that's ok! which isn't true, Arya is canonically a pretty kid with a dirty face and unbrushed hair. that's all it is. so if we could just accept that, there'd be no excuse for the insistence that this is an important aspect of Arya's story.

because it isn't. like im sorry but the ugly duckling means nothing when there are plenty of people who don't grow up to be swans. they get called ugly as children, and they get called ugly as adults. look at Brienne: she has suffered far, far worse prejudice as a result of her appearance in childhood, and she doesn't get the catharsis of growing up pretty to show them all how wrong they were. Brienne has been treated like a fucking monster for how she looks, all of her life. this is a character for whom her appearance IS actually an important theme, and it will be meaningful to see her realise it's a strength, and find love etc. I'm sorry but Arya growing up to be beautiful doesn't mean shit to me lol. I fully accept it's canon, but it is not a meaningful story beat, in a story with people like Tyrion, Brienne and Sam. Arya's story has so many more fascinating themes about identity, trauma, justice, war, friendship and family. if Arya was pretty all along, why should I care?

[s3thwrit3sstuff]

❝ Helping hand ❞

Corey Cunningham x gn!reader | drabble | nsfw, smut |

warnings: masturbation, handjobs

req: could you please do Person A (gn reader) accidentally walking on Person B (Corey) masturbating and Person A and B’s first time together🥰

Accidentally walking in on him and jerking one out was a shock to both of you.

To Corey more than you — he had an overbearing mother who insisted on him not locking his doors throughout his childhood and then his awkward teenage years.

He was used to straining his ears to listen to every creak of the floorboards despite wearing headphones over his ears. The door being ajar did little to stop his hormonal self, so he is pretty confident in his ability to jerk off without anyone catching him.

That and the fact that he terrorizes Haddonfield like a bloodthirsty shadow. Most, if not all, of his victims, don't know he's there until it's too late. Even you don't stir from sleep when he sneaks into your home to gaze at you while you sleep.

You'd think with his impressive resume he would be the last person to be caught with his cock in his hands and a picture of his lover in the other.

There'd be this atmosphere of surprise blanketing the both of you. Corey's eyes are so wide you swear you see the mortification in them. His fingers twitch and pull away from his dick, mouth shaping to form words but none are uttered.

Your eyes dart to the Polaroid he has in his hand. It's a cute photograph of you in the kitchen in nothing but a pair of boxers and nursing a mug of your favourite morning drink.

Corey would tell you it's the way your eyes are still hazy — barely edged off sleep clearly written all over your face.

He'd say that your loose grip on the mug made his perverted head think of your fingers wrapped around the base of his penis.

If he was feeling brave he might even mention the way your lips look as soft as clouds and the pose you're in have them pushed against the porcelain rim of the mug — just about to take a sip. It makes him wish you had your mouth on the tip of his dick instead, he wanted to wet it with pre-cum and watch as they part around him.

But Corey says nothing. His brain clicks as you drop your hand from the door handle.

"Fuck! Fuck! I - I can explain!" he's raising from the chair, hastily throwing your picture to the side while he grabs at his sweatpants that were bunched around his knees.

"Oh god — I'm sorry!" you spur to life at his embarrassed display, not missing the sight of your picture that flutters towards your direction thanks to Corey's panic to cover up.

"I'll be in the kitchen!" "Wuh - Wait!"

The door slams close. Corey curses as he places a palm on the wood, cheeks as red as Sebastian's shell. On the other side of the door, your back is flushed on the wood, a hand covering your mouth as your heart beats out of your chest.

When both of you recover, he makes his way to the kitchen.

Fuck, why are you holding the same mug?

"Corey," your voice has his skin reddening all over again. He reaches for you and he's relieved you don't pull away.

"You washed your hand, right?"

With a groan, he hides his face in the crook of your neck as he nods.

"You're not mad...right?" Now it is your turn to blush. You shake your head, comfortingly squeezing his shoulders.

The night ended well, the takeout you'd brought over to eat with Corey was a little lukewarm but still edible, and you laugh about it before you drifted off to sleep.

But what makes Corey go wide-eyed was when you sleepily mumble to him;

"We should do it. I wanna do it, with you".

"Do, what?"

The smile you attempt to hide as you nuzzle your face into his chest makes his heart double in speed.

"Goodnight, Corey," was the last thing you said before you were off to dreamland.

Your first time together was something Corey could never forget.

He thinks your sleepy mumbles were just that — sleepy mumbles. You never bring it up again and he is far too embarrassed to even open his mouth relating to such a topic when it goes hand-in-hand with the fact he got caught with his pants down.

Besides, your routine didn't deviate at all and it was nice. The domesticity of the suburbs really has that effect on people, huh?

All this to say, when your first time with Corey happens, it surprises him.

"Hey" you plant a kiss on his cheek, the grin you wear infectious. "Ready to go?" he hands you a helmet and you nod as he places your things in the storage compartment and then saddles his bike.

He brings you to your favourite dating spot. It was a bummer that after murdering the radio host show, dates on the roof had to be postponed for a couple of weeks but now the yellow tape was gone.

The climb is filled with giggles. Setting down the picnic blanket, pillows and duvet — the weather is chilly but nothing a few leftover candles couldn't help along with a Bluetooth speaker.

After downing a few fries and beers, you're seated on his lap lip-syncing the song playing when you're suddenly kissing him. He's reciprocating, of course, but you're slowing down. Then, your tongues are tangling together and why are your hips moving like that?

Corey's not new to the sex scene. He knows what sex is and how to do it but everything that involves you has his very existence melt in awe. He was religious in his worship of you; to see you this way? With the night sky behind you and the moon just over your shoulder?

His hands slide up your shirt. Effectively leaving goose flesh in his trail as his mouth works on mottling your neck with his teeth and tongue.

He's whispering praises. You're shuddering as he works you open with his fingers and he doesn't even notice the tent in his pants as he feels your velvety walls clench around him.

"Come on, baby"

"Corey — Oh fuck, Corey, oh fuck oh fuck —"

"Thaaat's it, just like that. Oh, you feel so good, baby"

He has you on your back after licking his fingers clean. The blanket protects you from the flooring and Corey hides you from the heavens.

He's careful as he makes you his.

The building is remote from the rest of the population of Haddonfield — but you're trying to be polite.

That won't do.

Corey groans out your name as he breaches into you. He's braced on his elbows, the tip of his nose against yours and his bruised lips is connected to yours with a string of saliva.

He's gentle as he rocks his hips. Never looking away from your face. At one point, the very air you're breathing in is just Corey's and he relishes in every second of having you like this.

Corey didn't stop once the both of you had orgasmed. He wants to taste you on his tongue and despite what weak protests you make he chides you and makes you throw your head back as his tongue makes your thighs shudder.

By the time he's had his fill and you've come so many times you're sure even the stars are applauding you.

He gathers you into his arms. You hear his heartbeat and feel somewhat comforted that it's just as fast as yours.

"...Was that better?" You purr while Corey peeks at you, still attempting to catch his breath as he tilts his head.

"Was that better?" Your chin is on your arm, chewing on your lower lip to stop yourself from laughing. Corey strokes your arm patiently.

"Better than...?"

"Your hand —"

"Fuck off," Corey rolls his eyes and playfully ruffles your hair. Your giggles sound just as beautiful as your moans, he shuts you up by pecking your lips until you roll onto your back instead.

"It was better," you say in a sing-song tune that makes Corey groan as he covers his eyes with his arm.

[one-piece-aus]

Unbottle Your Emotions

Eutass Kid x Reader (Part 1)

Ahoy readers! Some of you who read my Whumptober works know I made two short whumps of Kid in a highschool AU and I can tell you enjoyed those angsty works. I've dug around in my drafts and found this, I wrote it a few years ago but nonetheless, it's the beginning of this story so I thought why not post it? Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

Enjoy ^-^

"Alright, class," Makino addressed you and your classmates once she finished attendance. "I have a partner project for you to work on for the next two weeks. Before you ask, I have already assigned who you'll be working with."

You glanced over to Hawkins, if you were lucky you'd be partnered with him. The two of you were loners who stuck together. You found it easier to work with him since you kinda were on the same level when it came to that. He made eye contact with you and knew you wanted him to check his chances of being paired with you. He drew his cards under his desk before looking back to you and shaking his head. You sighed, pulling up your hood and resting your head on your arms, you continued listening to your English teacher.

"You'll be choosing a topic to write about, whether it's a review of a movie or a poem about birds, I want the two of you to make it together. This will be a presentation assignment so make sure to capture your listeners' attention and practice what you'll be reading." Makino paused, going over to her laptop, and clicking a few keys before turning on the projector. "Here are your partners."

Once the screen had been displayed your eyes scanned over the list to find your name. You saw Hawkins got paired with Cavendish, you almost felt bad for him until your eyes landed on who you paired with. The person Makino assigned you to work with was Eustass Kid.

He was the most hostile guy at school, it was no secret the guy had anger issues and was completely obnoxious. You avoided him like the plague for two reasons: 

1. You were a good student and just wanted to learn, obnoxious kids disrupt the silence and your ability to learn. 

2. You could only tolerate someone directing their anger at you for so long before crying; not that they made you feel sad, but because you felt anger at them and wished to shout back at them to defend yourself, yet you held your tongue back since you didn't want to cause further trouble; that bottled up emotion stressed tears out of you. 

You hated crying because that made you think you appeared hurt and weak when in reality you were angry and frustrated, the more you felt it the more the tears came. That's why tried to quickly get out of the predicaments if you were ever in them.

The quickest way you dealt with someone's anger and got out of the problem was ignoring them if they were just insulting you or apologizing respectfully if you did something to piss them off. Since you pulled off these things well without appearing to be phased and having acknowledgement of the issue with genuine respect, those in school weren't aware you had a limit. However, you witnessed how Kid gets whenever someone pisses him off, you knew there'd be no way you could keep the bottle closed if he directed his anger at you, so that's why you always duck away when you saw Kid coming.

Internally you panicked when you saw you were assigned to be his partner. You didn't know how you managed to get this far acting as a ghost while being in the same classes as him this semester. You usually weren't in a corner or by the window, you were near the front of the room, second row and just two desks away from being in the center of the class, great for viewing the board. Perhaps you were a ghost to Kid since he sat around the back near the window.

Kid raised his head and looked around, searching for you, you pulled your hood further over you and lowered your head to face away from Kid. "Oi, Teach! Which one's the one I'm working with?" You heard Kid ask, I guess he really didn't know who you are.

You listened to the footsteps of the teacher, drawing towards you just as a brush does to the paints on a pallet. You feel her gentle hand rub your head, maybe thinking you were asleep, you did come in class yawning. You hesitantly lifted your head, looking up at Makino and seeing her smile. Oh, bless her heart for being kind and welcoming, wishing to create a pleasant and welcoming place for her class, but that's what's going to bite you in the ass because it meant you couldn't get out of this since she wanted her class to be comfortable with each other. You sighed, making it a sound like a yawn, and sat up but still kept your hood on.

"This is [L/n], Eustass," Makino told Kid, gesturing to you before she went to another student who had raised their hand.

You didn't say a word, instead, you took out your notes and reviewed them to see which ones you needed for the project. The daunting sound of Kid approaching your desk only made you read through your notes more frantic until he sat down in the chair in front of you with a scowl on his face. You looked away from your notes, masking your uneasy state as you finally spoke to him.

"Hi! Sorry- I was searching for the notes we'll probably need!" You apologized then glanced back at the papers and began putting the ones you didn't need back in your binder. You just needed to get on his good side, if you didn't irritate him you two could get this project over with and never have to speak to each other again, that's how classmates go.

"At least you seemed to know what you're doing," Kid responded, eyes gazing over the many notes you've jotted down as you slipped them away in the binder.

"Uh- you can pick whatever you wanna do for the project if you want," you told him and put your binder into your bag. "I'm uh- fine with whatever unless you wanted to ask the teacher to work with a friend instead, then I'll find a topic to work on by myself."

"None of my friends are in this class," he shrugged and folded his arms. "Besides I know Makino wouldn't change my partner even if I asked, I'm just glad it's not strawhat I'm working with again."

"Strawhat? Luffy?" You tilted your head, not recalling Luffy being in your class.

"He was in one of my classes last semester and we had Makino as our teacher," Kid explained as put his arms on your desk, taking up half the space.

"Oh..."

"You know the guy?" Kid inquired, raising a non-existent eyebrow at you.

"Not really."

"Good, he's annoying and so are his friends."

You sweatdropped unsure how to respond to his complaint. Normally you'd let some continue their rants until they were done, especially if they had anger issues you didn't want to trigger them, but you wanted to get everything figured out before class was over.

"So did you have something in mind?" You asked getting back on topic.

"We're not writing poetry, that's for damn sure," he grumbled, pushing his cheek onto his knuckled fist.

'How ironic, that's probably what Cavendish and Hawkins are,' you thought to yourself as you glanced at the two blonds. Cavendish seemed to be boasting about myself again, maybe being partnered with Kid wasn't so bad.

"Have you listened to any metal songs?" Kid inquired, throwing his idea out there.

"Yeah..."

"Really?" he questioned, not believing you.

"Yeah."

Kid's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, really?!"

"Uh yeah." How many times were you going to have to repeat yourself?

"Huh, I didn't think you'd listen to that kind of music."

You shrugged. "My dad got me into metal and rock when I was younger. Better than what plays on the radio."

"You don't have to tell me twice. Idiots that listen to what they play on there now don't know what real music is."

You chuckled, agreeing with Kid, maybe he wasn't so bad. "I guess we found our topic. Now we need to figure out how we'd be writing it." You flipped over one of your papers and started writing down a few methods. "Fan letter to the artist, a review of the song, analysis of the lyrics-"

A loud buzz rang throughout the school and repeated itself, you cringed at the obnoxious noise blaring in your ear. Someone must've started a fire in the bathroom again. Your class filed out of the room, merging into the sea of students exiting the building. You wanted to cover your ears as the noise became louder in the halls but you didn't want to appear like a weirdo using your hands, you had wireless earbuds but that wasn't something to take out in the stampede you were in since you could drop one. You just had to suffer internally.

Once outside, you went and stood by Hawkins while waiting for the fire department to find the fire. You rubbed your ears now that you were away from the crowd and just had your fellow loner next to you.

"Acting like a cat again, [Y/n]?" Hawkins asked, seeing you paw your ears. He often compared to his cat, Faust.

"Yeah, my ears just hurt from the noise." You despised noise.

"You should listen to some soothing frequencies after instead of your regular choice of music if you want your ears to recover properly," Hawkins advised.

"Ehhhh... I might have to this time."

"Oh?" Hawkins glanced at you, inquiring you for further details. You didn't usually listen to him when he advised you to give your ear a break from your music, hence why he grew curious to understand why you were thinking of taking his suggestion.

"I might be hearing more noise today at school but once I get home I'll probably be able to listen to it."

"And what makes you think you'll be hearing more noise?"

"I don't know, maybe-"

"OI! [L/N]!" Kid shouted to get your attention as he marched over to you.

You flinched at his voice in that tone, and the irritated expression on his face made you think you did something wrong. You turned to him and held your arm behind your back.

"Sorry, what did you need Kid?"

"Give me your phone."

"What?" You feel your chest begin to burn and you know your forehead will begin to paint itself red.

"I need it to put my contact in your phone."

You were going to push back but you folded your tongue seeing the impatient scowl Kid wore. Not questioning him further, taking your phone out of your pocket. Unlocking it, you hastily clicked over to your contact app and handed it over to the redhead before you could see him grow more impatient.

Kid, just about to add a new contact, couldn't help but notice how you only had five contacts on your phone. Only three out of the five weren't family-related. Did you just not add people to your phone? He scoffed the thought off, it wasn't his business. He began typing his number into your phone.

You wanted to ask why Kid needed to put his contact in your phone, however, your bottled emotion prevented you from speaking your question. Kid seemed pissed enough, you weren't going to attempt to do anything that might push him off the edge. You shifted your footing, the expression on your face displaying your unease.

"Perhaps you should tell why you're adding your number to her phone," Hawkins spoke up for you.

"Fuck off Basil, it's not your business," Kid barked.

"It may not be mine but it is [Y/n]'s business to know since it is her phone," Hawkins stated unphased by Kid. Oh, how you wished to be as stoic as Hawkins. Granted, you did a good job ninety percent of the time but it crumbled easily in the presence of hostile or authoritative anger.

Kid glared at Hawkins for a moment before he handed you back your phone, his attention now on you. "Send me a text," he instructed you and pulled out his phone.

You weren't sure what exactly to send so you just typed 'Hi' into the chat. A ding came from Kid's phone and he checked the message to make sure it came from you. Comparing his screen to yours, you felt your hands brush against each other. The chills surfing across your body turned your body pale from how uncomfortable you felt to Kid standing this close to you. You wanted to isolate yourself in your room, though when Kid moved away you couldn't help but be grateful.

"Alright, I got it." Kid put his phone in his pocket and started walking away. "Text me about our project later."

You stood there confused with the hidden parts of your head burning red. You didn't understand why Kid confronted you like that when he could've easily asked when the two of you got back to class. You stared in the direction Kid left until a concerned hand rested on your shoulder and you let out a breath you didn't know you were holding. Glancing over, you met Hawkins' crimson eyes.

"The cards said you needed a comforting hand," Hawkins said unsure if he helped. "There was an 80% chance you would've shed tears if not."

Right, Hawkins is the only one who knew of your bottled frustration; he saw it happen when he walked in the middle of you being scolded by a teacher. Anyone else would've thought you were upset and sad but he could read the frustration and anger written on your face, and he drew the cards to double-check. The two of you never spoke of it at first, but after you began to hang around, and he saw it a few more times, he offered to be there for you if you ever needed a quiet place and a listening ear.

"Once the firemen are done we'll be in second period," Hawkins informed you, shifting the topic away from what just happened. He knows you don't like to stay stuck in your conflicted emotions.

"So that's why Kid did that..." You glance at the phone in your hand to see the time; English is over. Slipping it into your pocket, you groaned, realizing something. "Hhhhh, that means we still have to get our stuff from English... We have drama next class, right?"

"Hmm." Hawkins nodded.

"Can you please get my stuff, I don't think I can face Kid again at the moment."

"Very well, [Y/n]."

"Thanks, I'll treat you to lunch."

"Does that mean we'll go to the vegan restaurant?" You've known Hawkins long enough to tell the subtle delight in his monotone.

"For doing this-" You turned to him, a grateful small smile drawn on your face. "Yes."

Tag: @lil-skelly-bones

[kawareo]

My Durge's stats pre-tadpoles are absolutely insane so I've been thinking what it'd look like if Orin failed to lobotomize him... Like the fight with him a Tav would have to win?

It'd be a bitch but there'd be fun options to make it easier and winnable

Him and Gortash would be working together still but what'd complicate things would be that Bhaal would've grown impatient and reduce Durge to a mess that would've dragged hinself in his temple and stay there. When Tav talks to Gortash, Gort has a massive fresh scar over his neck where Durge nearly killed him last time they were together. Gortash sends Tav to the temple but he fully expects/hopes they would die and that that could bring Durge back to his own mind.

If Orin would still be alive? Tav could make a deal with her that she'd help them find the temple, where she'd eventually need help in the combat with Durge, but if Tav would've helped her, that'd initiate a fight with the entire temple and with Orin, who'd be furious that you intervened.

Then, fight with Durge would be a bitch to win, but there would be some ways to get around and make it easier. Most of all would be useful a Persuasion or Deception proficency, and also going around Baldur's Gate and finding information about him - what would be Tav's best option would be to provoke Durge to a degree that he loses his already fragile cool and Bhaal forces a Slayer form on him - that way he loses his spellcasting abilities and also the double attack he gets from his fighter levels, and his paralysis weapons!

Options for that would get him to lose his shit would be

- [Deception] Gortash has sold you out, you mad dog. You've grown too unpredictable after what happened, we're here to put you down.

Has Advantage if Tav found notes between them or used Detect thought when talking to Gortash and asking him about his injury. He lies to Tav's face but thinks about how Durge mauled him last time they fucked and Gortash had to fight him off of him

- [Persuasion] Look at what you've became; Chosen of Bhaal, yet fighting His gifts? Your own Kin died for what you're rejecting so.

Only available if the above mentioned Orin thing happens. Durge stares at her corpse for quite a while, then proceeds to sort of... Give up. Accepts the Slayer and surrenders himself fully to his Father.

- [Persuasion] [Unholy Assassin] You think you know better than your own god, Chosen? You, who has failed him so in every way?

He starts to yell at Tav that he didn't fail, then as if something hit him, clutches his head and starts begging Father for forgiveness (reciting some parts of Prayer of Forgiveness). While he prays, he cuts himself, the blood drips down his arms and draws itself into the circle of Summoning for the Slayer.

When Tav wins, Durge lays there dying for just a bit longer, stares into nothing and clutching at his wounds and begging Father to forgive him because "im not done yet, Father, please, I can do better, plea-!" And then his eyes roll up suddenly and he dies in a moment, when Bhaal chooses so. His body falls apart and leaves behind only the Stillmaker, his Netherstone, and a half-writen letter that's like Prayer of Forgiveness, but adressed to Gortash and one Durge never got to finish.

The idea is very rough but essentially I love the thought that Bhaal is the one who fucks it all up because he can't be patient for two minutes, and Gortash is still delusional enough for him to hope Durge can go back to normal. If you win and kill Durge, Gortash will be upset and surprised, but will kind of shut off the grief in the moment to focus on dominating the brain. If you would've lost, the canon ending would be that Durge pulls through with the stones, him and Gortash get the Brain under control, and then Durge almost immediately slaughters both of them, leaving Toril to the Brain's mercy.

Another bonus option in the dialogue would be to tell him that you killed Gortash, but if you lied or didn't have Gortash's head to prove it, he would just laugh at you. That option wouldnt be a good idea in any way, because if you wouldn't pass the deception check (DC20) or wouldn't have the head, the laugh would clear his mind enough for him to focus on the fight (not as a Slayer) and if he WOULD believe you, he'd get so angry that he would start a fight with an extra feature that would be an absolute bitch to deal with.

[itsbenedict]

Games I Played In 2024 And Whether Or Not I Thought They Were Good (Part 3/4)

[1] - [2] - 3 - [4]

More of them! I've been doing these roughly in chronological order so I'm going to have more to say about these ones probably.

Another Crab's Treasure

Haaaaaah. Mixed feelings on this one!

The idea is that it's a Dark Souls game, only, like, vibrant and colorful and ocean-themed. You're a hermit crab who's trying to get his shell back! Cute!

First off: if you get this game, do not get it on the Switch. It is broken on Switch. Like, crashes regularly, freezes up on simple object interactions, drops frames all the time... it's rough. I've seen LPs of people playing the PC version, where it looks and plays much better, so that's probably what you want to do instead. I'm shocked Nintendo let them release it on their store in this state.

And... that kind of colors my perception of the gameplay, too, because it turns out soulslike difficulty gets way more frustrating if you're usually dying to the game freezing up during an enemy attack, or the camera getting stuck where you couldn't see the tell animation, or some other technical issue that completely wasn't your fault. I was fighting the game every step of the way.

That said, I can easily see the version of the game that works, and the gameplay's pretty fun! The various shell powers, the rolling mechanics, and the smart enemy design make it really smooth to play when it's actually running at full FPS. The environment design is also really good, and overall it's very well-executed.

Hated the story, though. What a mess. It's... totally thoughtless doomer nonsense, whose primary message is "capitalism bad!" while completely failing to depict any capitalism and instead having the government be bad. It's all half-formed ideas from people with no model of how the world actually works- just a vague sense of anger at powerlessness and disenfranchisement, directed at incoherent strawmen. The speech where the evil corrupt mayor tells you that laws exist to make it legal for him to kill anyone who defies him is especially eye-rolling- as is the strawman of techno-optimism who shows up as the surprise final boss. Just idiotic stuff.

None of its metaphors even work on its own terms- like the thing where pollution is a nebulous force of corruption caused by greed in the hearts of the crabs who hoard trash, except that the greedy trash hoarders live in the clean colorful heights and the poors with no trash live in the polluted undercity with too much trash. Wait, what? Yeah.

Fun though.

Loop Hero

This one was really cool! It feels like there's some potential it had that it didn't realize, but I enjoyed it as a smaller experience anyway.

The idea is... the world's been destroyed, and you can sort of bring it back by remembering. As you walk along this desolate looped path autobattling enemies in search of a boss, you can put down tiles that change it- biomes that spawn different types of monsters, buildings that give you buffs, and terrain with global effects. As you progress, you unlock more types of tiles, and learn synergies between different types of tiles that create new effects.

There's a lot of these, and they're really cool. Like, put down nine mountains or hills in a square, and bam, you get a tall peak that spawns harpies to fight. Or put forests next to a lightning tower, and get burning forests that, uh, I think lower everyone's HP or something? Place a light source next to a field, and it blooms with flowers, doubling its XP bonus or whatever it is those do.

My problem I think is just that there's not enough of them. Each type of tile has between two and four different kinds of interactions with other tiles, and you don't really get too many elaborate combos. Most types of tiles ignore each other. I kind of wish there'd been a little more depth to these systems, with more surprising interactions with older terrain types as you unlocked new ones. Let me run a river past a spider nest and get diving bell spiders, or put a storm tower next to a vampire castle to spawn frankensteins! The surprise tile synergies were the most exciting part, and there was definitely room to include more of them.

The story had some kind of cool things to say about, like, the weight of creation, passing judgment on the world, deciding what has the right to exist. I don't know that it really explores it fully, but there's something there!

Hades II

Yep, this thing's in early access! And no surprise: it's good as hell. I've wasted far too much time in it.

Gameplay-wise, it's going to be pretty familiar if you've played Hades, but there's a few major changes. The most impactful, I've found, is that you only get one dash. No upgrading it with the mirror or getting more from Hermes- you get one, and then can hold down the button to run slightly faster if you gotta move fast. This makes Melinoe play very differently from Zagreus, who favored getting in close and overwhelming foes with a flurry of blows before zipping back out with dashes when things get hairy. Melinoe needs to stay safe a lot more than Zag does, and relies on her ranged options to do so.

(There's also a few other tweaks- every attack comes with a charged version that costs mana from a mana bar, olympian calls are replaced with "moon blessings", and of course all the weapons are new and take some getting used to- but the dash is the biggest thing.)

The story, this time, is fascinatingly weird. It concerns a war between the gods and the titan Chronos, and... it's not entirely clear if you're on the right side of it. They play up how callous and evil the gods are with respect to mortal life, and have multiple supporting characters who put this concern front and center where Hades 1 kind of sidelined it. But Melinoe is this weird, uptight honor student type of character with a strong sense of propriety and familial loyalty, and kind of doesn't care about that compared to her quest to rescue her family.

It keeps, like... dropping hints that you're not really on the right side, here? Chronos is personally unpleasant and loathsome, but you keep getting little hints that what he's actually doing is an improvement over how the gods were running things. Various character arcs seem to be headed in a "the gods suck and you should stick up for your non-god friends" direction, but...

...I mean, they can't actually do that, can they? Just, structurally! It's a roguelike, meant to be infinitely replayable! Hades 1 had a pretty elegant resolution to that problem, reframing the gameplay as something that can fit without the central conflict, but I can't imagine how Hades 2 could possibly do that. An entire section of the world takes place on a fleet of ghost ships sailing to join the war effort! Even Melinoe failing to grow and just winning seems incompatible with the game continuing. A good chunk of the game doesn't exist without the conflict! I don't see how they can possibly put a bow on all this, and I'm excited to see how they try.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

My favorite game from my childhood has received an updated rerelease on Switch... and they did it right. You gotta check this out.

I've talked about why TTYD is great before- I think one of the first posts on this blog, waaaaaay back in the day when my posts were bad and you shouldn't go looking for them? But the upshot is: the battle system uses small numbers, and you can figure out exactly what kind of damage you can dish out and take in a given turn, and plan your risk-taking and resource management around it precisely- in a way you can't really do when you've got big damage numbers with RNG ranges of outcomes. All the risk is in the execution of your guards and special moves, which let you attempt harder inputs in exchange for more favorable outcomes, with a chance that you'll fail because you fucked up,

Going back to it after so long... honestly, with fresh eyes, the writing isn't quite as lively as I remember? Like, I remember a big reason I was disappointed by later PM games was that there were no partners, or that the partners didn't really talk or figure into the story. But... honestly, TTYD does have that same problem, outside of the chapters where those characters are introduced. Once someone's In Your Party, their relevance is kind of over, and they all deliver pretty similar filler lines while out. That's something they could maybe improve on in a proper sequel.

Still, the writing generally remains sharp and very funny, and the variety of scenarios it throws at you are great. And the remake adds a few things that really enhance the experience- like new remixes of the battle theme for every chapter, and extra animations for every character, even the random background nobodies. You can hit NPCs with your hammer and they'll play a little "hey, ow!" animation now! Different characters get different dialogue bleep sounds! And they added a warp hub for backtracking, so the General White quest isn't so tedious! And a warp pipe between Creepy Steeple and Twilight Town, to cut out like an hour of pointless backtracking! All the changes they made were really smart.

(Including: putting Vivian's trans stuff back in the script, after it was cut in the original localization. Good on you, Nintendo!)

Pokérogue

I was weak. I held out two months, and then gave in. And I regret everything.

This fucking thing ate multiple months of my life. It's... infuriatingly addictive. It boils the Pokémon experience down to this ultra-tuned flow state, with accelerated levelups and mechanics to streamline the game into a roguelike form factor, and it's so goddamn tight. Every moment of it is setting you up with a thing you can do next, so there's no stopping points- just new goal after new goal after new goal. It totally hijacked my brain until I beat the damn thing into submission, doing absolutely everything it's possible to do in it.

Except "ever voluntarily using Skwovet", because fuck that thing.

Don't play this. It's bad for you.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

Technically not a new game, but the DLC is basically an entire new game, with a map about the size of the base game and its own progression system and story.

I don't have too much to say about the DLC itself! It's More Elden Ring. Miquella's story is cool and tragic, the final boss was a terrifying surprise, and the new environments and enemy designs were sick as hell. If you liked Elden Ring for those things, there's more of it here! 'Nuff said.

What stuck out to me was... I started a new character and a whole fresh playthrough of the game, because I didn't know what the entry point to the DLC was. And while last time, I built a strength-focused warrior with tons of HP, this time I decided to try out a totally different build and play a squishy wizard with ranged attacks. And the game was so different like that! Still balanced, still fun, but completely a different game.

Instead of being about getting in close, staying in close, and sticking around for a long time while finding openings to attack, it became about staying at a safe distance, dodging projectiles, and retaliating with nuke spells to end fights before bosses could get much of a chance to hit me. Some areas that were a huge problem for me before were trivialized by my reusable ranged blasts, and some areas that were no trouble were suddenly a difficulty cliff because there was no way to be effective at range. I'm surprised at how much of a transformation it was! Impressive feat of design.

WEBFISHING

This is a cute little multiplayer fishing game based off Animal Crossing's fishing system. It's a relaxing little second-screen game without too much going on! Not too much to say about it- it does what it sets out to do. Kinda wish they'd tried a little harder for some of the fish "jokes", though- a lot of them are anti-humor about not having a joke for this one. I will retaliate by... not having much of a review for this one.

DEATHLOOP

This thing was fuckin' cool. You're an amnesiac trapped in a time loop- but not just any time loop. The people on this island came here specifically to trap themselves in a time loop, where they could kill each other and live out hedonistic fantasies with no consequences, but something fucked up and now only you and a crazy lady who's trying to kill you are actually experiencing the loop. For everyone else, it's their first day, and they don't take kindly to you trying to break the loop and ruin their fun.

In order to break the loop, you have to kill a bunch of important assholes (called "Visionaries") who've somehow anchored the loop to themselves. But you've got to do it in a single day, and they're scattered all over this huge island- so you've got to come up with a plan. Find ways to manipulate where they'll be at what times, when they'll be vulnerable, and line up that perfect killstreak.

It's fun stuff. Initially, it seems impossible- they're too spread out, too inaccessible, too heavily-defended. But as you work on figuring them out one at a time, you learn lots of little details about gaps in their defenses, ways to fuck with their routines, and traps you can set for them so they'll die without you needing to be present. It's like a mystery game, even though the minute-to-minute gameplay is a pretty standard stealth action shooter.

(Said gameplay's pretty fun on its own- though weirdly, the starting pistol pretty much kills everything in the game in one headshot and has perfect accuracy, so I'm not sure why they bother giving you other guns. I upgraded to Frank's SMG which is basically the same gun but it reloads instantly, and basically never needed to use anything else.)

The story's... a little weird. It tries to focus on the relationship between Colt and Julianna (your also-looping nemesis trying to stop you from breaking the loop), but like... she's not... there, except as an annoying random superboss encounter that sometimes spawns in the middle of you trying to do other shit. She's just a voice over the radio that snarks at you and doesn't have any relationships with any of the other characters.

So like, ultimately you learn a twist about who she was to you before you lost your memory, and she explicates her reasons for wanting to protect the loop, and there's like, some decent character work being done there?

Buuuuuut, in attempting to foreground this character dynamic and make it the main resolution to the game, they kind of forgot to give a satisfying resolution to anything else. Like, these seven people you spend the whole game obsessively stalking and learning everything about so you can efficiently murder them in one go... don't really get a resolution other than being anticlimactically murdered. And there's like no resolution to like, what is the loop and how does it work and why did it get fucked up and what are the stakes here. It's all so meticulously done that I get the impression some writer somewhere answered these questions while plotting it, but they just either didn't put any of it in the game, or I missed something huge.

One negative I will say is: this thing made my old computer overheat like instantly. I had to build a proper gaming PC before I could run this thing- and that was in fact my main motivation for building it, was because I wanted to play this game without my laptop melting. Not really playable on smaller machines, even on minimum settings.

-

One more coming down the line, for the games I played but didn't beat this year, and that should do it!

[1] - [2] - 3 - [4]

[misguidedasgardian]

I want to steal the bride (2)

2. Desserts, Yi-ti and old things

MASTERLIST

Summary: Aemond finds himself without you for the first time in ten years, so he starts to realize certain things 

Pairings: Aemond Targaryen x BestFriend!Reader, Cregan Stark x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Cursing, Aemond goes around hehe, Criston is sort of a red flag, but that is nothing new, since its an adaptation of the movie, I will be using sort of stereotypes, and there are some jabs about marriage and married men in this part.

Wordcount: 3.8 k

Disclaimer: This is a direct adaptation of the movie “Made of honor” and its script! also the pictures of the header aren’t mine, I took them from Pinterest 

Notes: UPPSSSS

It hasn't even been a week, and Aemond already missed you terribly, he had barely spoken to you, you whined with him about not getting service anywhere, and you were almost always disconnected from him

But he had his weekly meeting with his friends and his brother, and he was ready to play basketball and keep his mind off of things for a while

He met with his brother Aegon, and his friends Criston and Adam Velaryon 

“So, how was the old man’s wedding?”. teased Aegon

“You would have liked it, the bride I mean”, he muttered while tying up his laces of his shoes 

“What was this one? the fifth?”

“Sixth actually”, he said, Aegon chuckled

“For the gods!”, he laughed, “I’m guessing you went with Looooove”, he teased

“Yes, next wedding you go instead please”, he said seriously

“Oh please, you love to find any excuse to take her everywhere”, he mocked, they walk back towards the group and find the guys arguing

“I'm not gonna be able to play today, man. My back”, whined Addam

“If we don't have a fourth, we're gonna end up with Tiny Shorts Guy”, complained Criston

“How's it going?”, Larys Strong appeared with a basketball in his hands, he was known on the court for not being very handy with the ball, and for wearing booty shorts when he played, it was not pretty, “need another?”

“No, our friend Ramsay, with longer shorts, is coming”, said Aemond, he laughed and left, cleary not getting the hint

“No he is not coming!”, remembered Addam, Myranda signed him up for some art-walk thing”

“Art walk? Are you serious? Tell me something, what do you think Myranda did with his balls when she cut them off?”, mocked Criston

“Gods”, mocked Aemond, I go to art walks with (y/n) all the time”, he defended 

“Oh, come on, guys, marriage isn't that bad”, defended Addam

“I agree”, said Criston, playing with the ball in his hand, “without marriage, there'd be no divorce. So, without divorce, I wouldn't have my condo in the Vale”

“There you go”, laughed Aegon, “Good one” 

“I'm serious, man. You're missing out on the best parts of life”, continued the only current married man in the group, now speaking only to Aemond and Aegon, “the most important part of life”

“This coming from the guy whose wife won't let him go to bars”, said Aegon

“Hey, I thought we weren't gonna talk about that, huh?”, he said back, “and besides you are you to talk?”, asked Addam, annoyed, “you are single and you've been single ever since… What was her name, in sophomore year?”

“Um, Cer-, Cerse….Ceresse!” said Criston mockingly, everyone laughed, except for Aegon

“Ceresse, that's it!”, laughed Addam, “Ceresse dumped you for him sophomore year”, he mocked pointing at Aemond

“You've never been the same. You haven't been able to sleep”, mocked Addam

“Scarred”, mocked Criston

“Yeah. You have no idea how nice it is to have someone who's gonna be there for you, no matter what, forever”, concluded Addam

“And you don't know how nice it is to sleep with a different girl every night”, snapped Aemond

“That's true”, said Criston

“Nice rebuttal”, peached in Larys

“You know, you got the best of both worlds, Aemond”, said Criston

“It's true. I can sleep with whoever I want, but I still get to hang with (Y/N) afterwards. It's a perfect setup”, he said with the brightest of smiles, only thinking of you

“Well, maybe not for her”, muttered Addam, Aemond’s smile got wiped out pretty quickly

“What's that supposed to mean?”, he asked

“Come on, Aemond. She's a woman”, continued Aegon

“Yeah, I got that”

“You sure?”, mocked Criston

“Yeah”

“Dude, she's pushing 30. You think her idea of happily ever after is coming home to you and hanging out after you got laid?”, mocked Aegon, Aemond frowned 

“Makes you think, right?”, asked Larys, sneaking into the group

“Yeah”, nodded Addam

It did made him think

You had never shown yourself annoyed when he discussed his conquests with you, you loved hanging out with him on fridays, and… anytime, yes you were annoyed when he asked you to go to his grandfather’s weddings with him, but… anyone would, right?

With a sigh, he picked up the phone, and dialed you

It rang a couple of times, until you picked up

“Hello?”, he asked enthusiastically

“Hey”, you whispered lowly

“What’s going on?”, he asked, “were you sleeping?”, he mocked 

“Its very late here Aem”, you whined 

“How's the weather in White Harbor?”, he asked

“It's great. Only I'm in Winterfell”, he had woken you up, you were exhausted 

“Oh, right. Right”, his smile didn’t waver as he listened to your voice, “So, it's sunny”, he assumed 

“It's 3 in the morning”, you whined

“Oh, right. Sorry. So it's dark”, he said

“Yeah”

“Hey, have you seen the Big black wolf yet?”, he didn’t hear anything back, so he just dropped it, “I know, a terrible joke. Anyway…”

“Is there something important?”, you asked, falling asleep with phone in hand 

“Yeah, you'll never guess what happened”, he said with an enthusiastic tone

“What?”

“They filled in the pothole”, he said matter-of-factly

“The pothole?”, you asked, frowning

“On 83rd”

“Terrific. Hey, Aemond?”

“Yeah?”, he asked

“I'm gonna go back to sleep now”

“Oh, okay. Sure”, he said, finally catching on

“Love you”, you whispered, and Aemond jumped on his seat, it wasn’t the first time you had said it, but clearly it played with his mind

“Good night. Call me Tomorrow”, he said but you were already gone, and he hadn't said it back

He was more confused than before

He loves hearing your voice, and he missed you, but he didn’t know what to think, he didn’t even know what he was hoping for, what he expected with just one phone call, if that could give him more clearance 

It hadn’t

No, he shook his head, he couldn’t, no, he couldn’t

You were his best friend 

But his male friends were right, you… were a girl… a woman, you have had boyfriends before and it's not going to be long before you get another one, maybe one day you’ll get married…

The thought frightened him, he realized with surprise

The thought of being without you scared him to death

So he came to a conclusion…

A bad one…

He invited the last girl in his little black book, to meet her in the vintage store you both liked going to, it had to work… You were going to move on from him, and even though that scared him, he had to be prepared

He was with women all the time, he was going to prove everyone else wrong, he could get girl-friends….

“This stuff's all old”, Jeyne mumbled, looking everywhere, bored out of her mind

“Yeah. That's the point”, he answered, she looked back at him and shoot him a wink and a smirk

“Let's go to Fendi”, she said, perhaps it was a mistake to tell her how much he gained

“Fendi? No. No, no”, he said dismissively

“Yes!”, she shrieked 

“We're here. Let's just stay here”, he said, trying to convinced her

“I'm not into old stuff”, she whined like a little girl

“Why are you talking like a six-year-old?”, he said, immediately regretting his choice 

“I'm not”, she answered sharply

So the next day, he invited Floris to the famous bakery, to try his luck

“This line is too long. Can't we just go somewhere else?”, she asked, anoyyed

“No. This is the best bakery in the world. That's why it's worth waiting in line”, he said simply, but as she looked terribly annoyed, those stilettos she was weaning weren’t making her any favors to stay for two long on her feet, he tried a bit harder

“Come on, we'll play a game. Wanna play a game?”, that seemed to pick her interest

“Yeah, we can play a game”, she said, visibly more engaged

“Okay, good”, he said, now more confident, “Tell me what to order”, he teased

“Why?”, she asked back

“We are playing, that’s the game! you'll see. It'll be fun.Make a suggestion.

“A cookie”, she suggested

“No, no, you have to be specific, like what type of cookie?”, he pushed

“A really big cookie”

Alright this was a bad idea 

“Aemond, your phone's ringing”, said Alys Rivers, the girl he had been seeing every week, he ran back from the bathroom to pick it up, it was you! it had to be you

“Hello?”, he desperately asked into the phone, but there was no answer, only noise, “Hello?”, he asked, but no answer

“What's wrong?”, Alys asked when she say him sighing loudly and desperately

“Missed an important call”

“That's because you're an important person”, she teased. He looked at her, she was gorgeous, he liked having sex with her

“Do you like Yi-ti food?”, he asked curiously 

Half an hour later he was sitting on the same table he used to sit with you, and Alys was right in front of him

The cart was approaching and she smiled widely

“Hey, come to mama”, she giggled, “Uhh, we will have, um, two fried dumplings, two of the wontons, and six of the, uh, fried porky thingies”, she ordered

“Yeah, but that's fried”, he said, annoyed, once her order was on the table, she grabbed a fried piece with her chopsticks 

“Come on”, she teased

“It's not healthy”, he said seriously

“Have some of the fried. It won't hurt you”, she insisted, nearing the fried piece into his mouth. She dropped it, making the piece fall into his pants and staining them

She gasped apologetically

“Sorry…”

“Thank you”, he said, rolling his eyes

This was a bad idea 

It’s been weeks, he had dated, actually taken on dates, many women, and none of them, not one, had made him feel the way you do

He missed you

He realized there was no replacing you, there is no other woman he rather be with… and… that was driving him insane

So today he decided to calculate the hour properly, and call you early, it was nighttime still, but at a  night he knew you were going to be awake 

But it was a glitchy call, he knew it from the beginning

“Hello?”, he tried, rubbing his forehead

“Hey. Hello?”, your voice, so beautiful and melodic, it made Aemond feel like everything was well, like he was at peace, relaxed 

“Hello?”, he repeated, “Love?”

“Hello?”, you asked back

“Hey”, he said, excited of actually being able to talk with you

“Aemond? Aemond, is that you?”, you asked, “Aemond?”

“Hello?”, he asked, annoyed

You could barely hear him, you were on a two day trip to a castle on the outskirts of Winterfell, it started pouring, the road was a mess and you were surrounded by huge cows, they were everywhere

“Hello?”, you asked back, actually, the thought of hearing your best friend right now is just what you needed, but you couldn’t

“You're cutting out. I can't hear anything you've said”, you whined, “I'm stuck in a thunderstorm. I'm surrounded with a herd of cows. Listen, I'll call when I get to the hotel”, you tried to explain

“Love, I can't hear you”

“Aemond?”, you asked, “Hello?”

“Hello? Hello?”, you were interrupted, and hang up when someone knocked on the window of your car, you smiled apologetically, and found yourself in front of the most handsome man you had ever seen

“Oh Hello”

“You lost lass?”

. . .

“Oh, I hate Winterfell”, whined Aemond and threw his phone away to bag, it was basketball day again, and he need to get ready

But his mind was thousand of miles away

As the days passed he realized there was no other like you, you are the only one he liked to hang around with, he loved being with you, he… he loved you 

And the thought scared him

“C’mon C’mon C’mon!”, called Criston, but Aemond was barely able to move before Addam snatched the ball from him 

“We're having a hard time”, mocked Criston, “We're having a hard time”

“Oh, yeah? Want a hand?”, asked aegon, who got the bal and had no problem avoiding Aemond and threw a three pointer from half the court

“Give it up, baby”, he mocked

“Come on, Aemond. Aemond, Aemond”, called Criston, but Addam intercepted him

“Easy”, he mocked, Aemond tried to grab him, tired of failure

“Aemond, foul. That's a foul, Aemond”, called Aegon, “what's the matter with you today??”

“I don't know”, he whined, stopping in the middle of the court, “I think I might have feelings for (y/n)”

“Oh, come on, come on. Let's just play”, mocked Criston, but Aegon and Addam shared concerned looks 

“It's just... without her, something's off”, he explained, like it pained him, “It's got me thinking that, maybe, there's more to life than just sleeping around”

“I don't understand”, said Criston

“I-I'm not following”, muttered Aemond

“Come on, let's just play”, dismissed Aemond 

“I know exactly what you mean, Aemond”, said Addam with a shy smile on his face. Aegon and Criston shared concerned looks and passed the ball to each other

“I'm gonna tell her, when she gets home… I'm gonna tell her that I wanna be with her”, he said with a wide smile, “nothing about marriage, just be together”, Addam’s smile wiped out pretty quickly

“Yeah, that's romantic”, mocked Aegon

From hare, and for the next few weeks he still had ahead of him without you, he could breathe a bit more easy

. . . 

You have one unheard message.

A message from you! Aemond was so excited when he heard it

“Hey, Aem, I'm back. Gods, I cannot wait to see you! I don't care what you're doing tonight, cancel it. We're going to dinner”,  he smiled at the sound of your voice, this was going to be perfect, he knew exactly what he was going to say. “Meet me at that new trendy place next to the small Bravoosi  place we hated that used to be the Mantari-fusion place we loved. Meet me there, at 8 o'clock. I have so much to tell you!”

He had heard the voice message like eight times already while ha changed clothes, he was so so excited, he had his apartment cleaned, his suits pressed, his cologne, - the one you liked- stocked, his hair fixed, tonight, he was going to tell you that he had feeling for you, that he wanted to explore it further

With any luck, he was going to take you back to his palace for the night

You were going to be the first woman even going up there

And he was okay with that 

He entered the new place, it was very nice, as could turn into a date kinda nice, he looked at the flowers he bought on the street for you, and took a long breath as he told your name to the receptionist who led them to the back of the restaurant 

And there you were, gorgeous, like always

He could recognize you everywhere, anywhere 

But as he catched your glance and you smiled at him, you look back to someone else, and there it was, some guy, tall handsome, he hadn't seen him, instead he hugged you and kissed your neck

Fuck no

No no no no

Who was that?

he got so distracted that he didn’t see the waiter coming at him at full speed

They clashed scandalously, plates flew as the flowers and Aemond fell to the ground, not very elegantly, on top of the poor waiter

“AEMOND!”, you called, running to him. He was whining on the floor, “Aemond. You okay?”, you asked sweetly

“I'm all right. Are you all right?”, he asked, turning to the waiter who was moaning and wheezing in pain

“I think I broke a rib”, you helped Aemond up from the floor, and he smiled apologetically at you 

“His rib. I'm fine. I'm fine”, said Aemond, helping the poor waiter up on his feet, he was fine, he hoped 

“Are you okay?”, you asked to Aemond

“I'm so sorry”, muttered Aemond, the manager approached you

“I'm sorry, sir. Here are your flowers”, she said apologetically, trying to grab them front he floor

“Oh, but…”

“You had flowers?”, you asked him

“No, they're not my flowers”, he said dismissively

“They're your flowers. Those are yours”, said the waiter, grabbing his side

“I didn't have flowers”, fought Aemond, grabbing you softly and walking away from the scene. He finally turned to you and smiled

“Hi. It's good to see you”, he purred softly, his eye shining excitedly

“I missed you”, you admitted, hugging him quickly, “there's someone I want you to meet”

Aemond wanted to be the one that broke a rib

“Oh, good”, he said, not expecting you to notice the change in his demeanor 

“Aemond, this is Cregan”, there it was, this tall, handsome, beautiful man

“oh”, they shook hands, and Aemond didn’t know what to think

So fifteen minutes later, with a drink in hand, Aemond was pinching his own leg under the table, because he wanted to scream 

“It started pouring and suddenly it was just me in a field of cows…”, you laughed, Aemond watched in horror the way you were looking at that man, “of course, we're in the North there are no street signs anywhere and it's getting dark…”

“I think she thought she was in some bad werewolf movie”, he chipped in, and Aemond even hated to hear the sound of his voice, "Stay off the moors, lassie.", he continued

He only had eyes for you

“So, anyway, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, Cregan comes riding up on horseback”, your eyes are finally back on him, so he had to muster a weird smile. You laughed excitedly, Aemond had never seen you like that, “Can you believe it?”, you asked him “A horse! And asks me if I need any help”

“Wow!”, he said, faking it, not that you’d notice 

“You were a lady in distress. What was I gonna do?”, he said, Aemond wanted to throw up

Dammit Cregan, we are in a public place! Aemond was sure that if a policeman would have been here he would have arrested him, for public indecency and being a creep

“It was right out of a Valyrian novel”, you said lovingly, you could see that Aemond wasn’t that invested, so you smiled at him, what he had said that you where a “love slut” came back to you, “So, anyway, he shows me to this charming little inn where he proceeds to buy me the most awful dinner I have ever had”, you said, with a bitter taste in your mouth

Probably Aemond thought this was stupid, that you were being silly 

“Right. Okay. Aye. It was pretty bad, even by Northerner standards”, Cregan agreed with you

“Then, we just spent the next month traveling around the country, getting to know each other, and visiting museums. It was…”, you sighed, looking into Cregan’s eyes

“It was perfect”, he said right there with you, looking into yours

“So, when it was time for (y/n)  to leave, I just… I don't know, I just… I couldn't let her go”, Cregan finally found it in himself to look at Aemond

“Ah…”, he muttered

“So, I got down on one knee…”, you smiled widely, showing Aemond your hand, and the huge rock that decorated your ring finger

“And he proposed, and I accepted”, you said excitedly

Aemond was never a man who let himself be controlled by his emotions, that being said, he never thought he even had a nervous breakdown, or a panic attack… until now

He felt his heart beating sot wrongly he thought he was going to pass out 

“Wow, that's just… It's huge, it's…”, he couldn’t stand it, his legs were getting numb

“So, the wedding's coming together very quickly”, you continued

Oh suit fuck, shit, he started looking for the emergency exit, couldn’t find it anywhere 

“Ah, it sounds like it”, he managed to say, his mouth was dry

“We're gonna get married in Winterfell, at Cregan's parents' summer home”, you continued, another nail on his coffin

“It's gonna be a pretty small thing. We can't expect too many people to make the trip overseas in just a fortnight”, Cregan chipped in

“A fortnight”, he said, trying to calm himself

“Right!”, you said

“That's two weeks”, he said seriously

“It's crazy, isn't it?”, you asked him, he seemed to notice how incredibly nervous you were

“Have you ever been to Winterfell, Aemond?”, asked Cregan

“You know, I haven't”, he said, trying to smile, but his cheeks were numb too

“You should see the little church where we're exchanging our vows in”, that smile on your face, Aemond’s heart broke, if he could be the one that caused it, it was so beautiful and bright, filled with love, “It's the same church that Cregan's parents were married in”

“It's pretty spectacular. Just across the loch from our distillery”, of course

“Distillery?”

“Yeah, Cregan's family owns the largest whisky distillery in the North”, you said with a knowing smile

Did you expect him to like this Cregan person?

“Aemond, look…”, oh shit, he thought, “If you were getting married I'd expect to be your best man”, you said surely, and he paled even more, “Aemond… will you be my maid of honor?”, you asked excitedly 

“Your maid of honor?”, he asked, it felt like the knife this Cregan guy had plunged into him, was being twisted, he got up, he needed to get out of this place, he needed to run,t o scream to

He turned and BAM

He crashed against the same waiter, both ended up in the floor covered in some warm soup

“Oh, I'm so sorry”, he whined

“WHAT IS IT WITH YOU MAN?”, he screamed high pitched

taglist!

@snh96 @sagelovesreading @toodlesxcuddles @ammo23 @bananzaa @ttkttt @at-a-rax-ia

[666writingcafe]

Greed (Part Two)

Lucifer

"Well, hello MC," Solomon merrily greets when he opens the front door of the cabin. As soon as he sees me, however, his expression grows more serious. "Lucifer, is everything alright?"

"I'm afraid not," I reply. "There's been an incident, and--"

"Tie me up," MC abruptly interrupts, their voice slightly strained. Solomon looks between the two of us, clearly confused.

"I'd do what they say," I suggest. He's still unsure, but he nevertheless lets us in and pulls out a chair from the kitchen for MC to sit in. He utters a spell that causes ropes to magically appear and wrap around them, effectively keeping them in place.

"There'd better be a good explanation for this," he warns, turning his attention back to me. "I'm not about to hurt my apprentice--" My phone suddenly rings, and I quickly excuse myself to another room to answer it.

"What happened?" I ask once I've answered the call.

"Mammon's lost the coin," Satan quietly responds on the other end. "The dumbass kept tossing it in the air, and it ended up rolling off somewhere."

"So you've haven't made it back to the House yet?" Satan sighs.

"No. We're still in the forest. He's making us look for the stupid thing."

"Asmo, I don't care about your fucking nails! We're not leaving until my lucky coin is back in my hands!" I've never heard Mammon scream that loud, and he's one of the more noisy ones in the bunch when he's arguing with someone.

"We're literally on our hands and knees, combing through every single thing on the ground. It's fucking ridiculous, if you ask me." I sigh.

"This is probably going to be a stupid question on my part, but has anyone tried to tell him to let the coin go so that you can get home safely?"

"Belphie." He pauses. "His statement caused Mammon to go berserk, and somehow he used magic to force us to the ground. If we even try to stand up, he makes the most excruciating pain shoot down our bodies." A faint whipping sound cuts through the air on his end. "And that would be due to him spotting someone taking a rest." This isn't good. Not at all.

"I'm assuming you've found a place to hide?"

"Yes, but I'll have to move soon. I hear him getting closer." Something suddenly starts rattling loudly, followed by various objects shattering on the ground.

"Lucifer, I think that's coming from your end," Satan nervously observes. "Did you at least make it to the cabin?"

"We did. Listen, I'm giving you permission to use whatever means necessary to knock Mammon out. Just make sure it's not fatal. Call me when you've done that." I quickly end the call and rush back to Solomon and MC, only to find the room they're in to be an absolute wreck.

"Let me go!" MC yells. Solomon looks like he's walked through a minefield with his hair in disarray and his clothes torn.

"As I keep telling you, I can't do that--"

"Whose side are you on, Solomon?! His?!"

"Look, I think it's unfair that he stole the coin from you, but--"

"But what?! You don't think he deserves to get punished?!"

"That isn't what I'm saying--"

"MC." They snap their head, focusing their attention on me. "Pull yourself together. You're being unreasonable." The air around them begins glowing.

"How dare you!" MC screams.

"Great, Lucifer," Solomon complains. "I was trying to calm them down, not provoke them even further."

"And how well is that turning out for you?" Silence. He may know MC better than I do, but I've dealt with Satan on the warpath many times before. Explanations mean nothing when someone is in this state, so the best thing to do is to be simply firm and wait for them to tire out on their own.

"Let me at him!"

"No."

"It's my coin, and I want it back!"

"No." Is it my imagination, or are the ropes starting to break?

"Of course you would side with Mammon."

"I will deal with him accordingly."

"Then why are you still here?!" In a nearly blinding flash, the ropes fly off MC, and they lunge themselves at me, knocking me down to the ground. I quickly spin us around so that I'm able to pin them down. They're thrashing about, but that's to be expected.

"Sleep." Their body quickly goes limp as the magic behind the command takes over them. I stand up and dust myself off. I don't have to look at Solomon to know that he's glaring at me.

"They'll be fine," I tell him. "It'll just be a few hours before they're awake again. Help me get them in bed." He's still seething, but he at least comes over and assists me. It's not until we've gotten MC tucked in and leaving their room that he reacts by slamming me against the wall.

"What the fuck is going on?" he whispers threateningly.

While I certainly have enough strength to throw him off me, I'm not about to get into another fight. Plus, I do understand why he's upset at me. In his eyes, I'm currently a threat to his loved one's safety. He has every right to protect them.

Especially since I'm trying to do the same thing. It'd be hypocritical of me to hold his feelings against him while experiencing them myself.

"Growing pains." If I gave that answer to someone else, they'd probably demand a more detailed explanation after chastising me for being so vague.

Thankfully, Solomon's smart enough to read between the lines of my short answer.

"They're affecting MC."

"Yes." The fact that he doesn't pose that as a question makes me suspect that he knows something that I don't. Then again, he did know MC back when they were human, so perhaps it makes some degree of sense.

Solomon steps away from me, allowing me to move freely.

"How much time do you have?" he asks.

"Enough."

"Good. Fancy a trip back to the castle?"

Taglist: @lost-in-time-wanderer, @fuzztacular, @dianedancer18, @sweetbrier2908, @flare-love, @completelyshatteredbrokenmschf, @thunderlightning351, @l3v1chan, @anxious-chick, @5mary5, @expressionless-fr, @tenkobitch, @budbuddnbuddy

[greenerteacups]

I think I've seen you mention in previous asks that you didn't really like aspects (or possibly the whole thing) of DH. I'm curious if you could expound more on that? Was it the horcrux hunting? The hallows themselves? Did you think the final battle came too quickly? What did you want to see when you read it the first time? And looking back as an adult what ways do you think DH should have been altered?

I've always found DH has too many plot holes.... Almost like it tried to wrap itself up too quickly. When I was reading the books as a kid I actually thought there'd be more than 7 books. Like there'd be a least one more since the war began and ended rather quickly when the first wizarding war seemed to go on for years.

To make a long story short, I don't like DH because it's not a war story, and Books 5 and 6 read like the setups for a war story. They are books packed with espionage and spycraft, flareups of violence, and are simmering with tension. In contrast, most of DH is spent camping in a forest, far away from anywhere that the Death Eaters or the main battle could have been. The Order has vanishingly little to do and the friends that we spent the last 6 books making and learning to care about vanish until the last act, where half of them die in a big battle that only happens because Harry needs to find the last horcrux.

And the thing is, horcruxes are a great plot mechanic for the final book, because they give you discrete milestones that count down to the final battle. They also clearly establish why you can't just rock up and fight Voldemort the old-fashioned way, i.e., why the Order needs to run defense for most of the book. What they don't explain is why the Order isn't then a much bigger part of the horcrux hunt, because by all accounts, Harry's first move should be to tell them what's up with Voldemort and how they can help, including — especially!— if Harry and the Trio happen to die, in which case the only knowledge of how to kill Voldemort would die with him. This is the nightmare scenario, and I cannot think of a counterfactual risk attached to telling the Order that would outweigh the danger of this happening. But I could honestly tolerate plot holes if it weren't for the thematic problem — if the story is about love and familial sacrifice, why do we spend 75% of the last book completely disconnected from the found-family that Harry built? Why are the Weasleys gone? Where is Ginny? Where is Molly? Where is Lupin?

The book really should have been called "Harry Potter and the Last Horcrux," in my opinion. The Hallows are red herrings, and they're used more as excuses to set up nice scenes/moments than they ever are as mechanics that fully integrate into the world. The ring gives Harry the ability to talk to his parents before the final sacrifice, which is a nice touch, and it explains why his Invisibility Cloak is so OP, but (and I've complainted about this before, but TLDR) the Elder Wand stuff makes no sense except as a buff for Harry in the final battle to explain how he beats Voldemort in a 1v1. Which, fine, but it opens up more questions than it ties off: how does it work? What does this mean for wand ownership? Is it actually possible for a wand to be "unbeatable"? Also, why do wands respond to fucking monkey-in-the-middle rules? If you hand your wand to someone, does that count as disarming? Etc., etc. And it also weakens the final battle of the series, which should be about Harry as a person triumphing over Voldemort because he was capable of doing something Voldemort never could, i.e., fully and willingly sacrificing himself for another person (or people). You have a soft magic system! You don't need to invent these weird rules of wand ownership to give Harry the W here! There's so much more that could have been done with this!

So. To leave a long story long, I was disappointed with Deathly Hallows. It wasn't bad, in that there were no decisions I thought were galling or egregious breaks with someone's character, and nothing happened that ruined what came before; but there was a ton of missed potential, and that's why I still kvetch about it all these years later.

[lovejosephquinn]

SFW Alphabet. My opinions and head canons based on pure fluffy boyfriend Joey. Honestly, we love to see it. 🥰

A is for Affection: Affection is number one for Joe. He will show it personally and through materials. As much as he loves to give affection through time and himself, you'll always find you're receiving silly little gifts that maybe he's found in passing because they reminded him of you. One thing he tends to do is keep your flowers replenished at all times, stating that the brightness and beauty of them makes him think of you. B is for Best Friend: As well as your lover, Joe will be your number one bestie. Sharing in your rants and playing the bitchy part with you if you're venting about someone in your day that irritated or pissed you off. He loves to share in every thing that you do, whether it's joining you in your friendship group or you his, or just plainly sitting down, staying silent and listening to you.

C is for Cuddles: Big spoon. His total favourite. Joe loves nothing more than to have his arms wrapped around you, closing the space between your bodies and having one leg wedged between yours so he almost feels at one with you. His face will probably be pressed into your hair as well as you feel little kisses on the back of your head or giggles coming from behind you when you say something silly when you're half asleep, cosy and content. Sometimes if he's feeling needy, he'll use you as a pillow and have you cradle him like a baby.

D is for Domestic: You love it when Joe cooks for you. He's always conjuring up new ideas for meals and will do anything to make you a good hearty meal, getting you both to try new things, different cuisines and fine dine together in your own home. Joe can be quite the messy person to love with so you do tidy up after him often, but he soon makes up for it when he's giving you the puppy dog look and offering you the sweet treats he's baked in order to be forgiven.

E is for Ending: As much as nobody wants a sad ending to a relationship, if it were to be on the cards, it'd be a very adult conversation. There'd be none of the over text rubbish, it'd be a case of either talking it out or letting you down lightly, more for your benefit than his; after all if he's telling you the truth at least you may be able to get over it quicker.

F is for Fiancé: Joe's quite a slow burn in a relationship, a taking every day as it comes kind of person. But when he knows, he knows. In the back of his mind beknown to you, he's got a plan on how he'd propose, it'd be the most romantic thing in his own head but it'd take a while for him to sit, brainstorm and fully plan it without you knowing. He knows he wants to be with you for the rest of his life (he tells you every god damn day). It already shows the commitment.

G is for Gentle: Joe is a gentle soul unlike no other. On a bad day? He'll do everything he can to make you smile and laugh, even if it's him that's in the dog house. His soothing touches, like playing with your hair or tickling your arm or back, giving you massages after a long hard day just to make you feel better. It's the little surprises of you getting in and him running you a candle lit bath, a glass of wine settled on the corner and him running to show you what he'd done.

H is for Hugs: One of your most favourite things about him. No matter how he's doing it, Joe gives the most sensational hugs. His arms wrapped around you so tightly, little tight squeezes of plain reassurance every now and then, swaying from side to side if stood, his hand caressing your back by rubbing his fingers up and down your spine, giving you little forehead kisses and whispering sweet things in the most gentle tone which sends electricity flooding through you.

I is for I Love You: He would most likely be the first to say he loves you and every time he does is always like the first time. The butterflies can get too much not just from the purity of the words, but the meaning in his voice when he says them, always in direct contact, staring right at you, his brown eyes piercing through into your soul. When this man loves, he'll love hard and you'll know about it.

J is for Jealousy: You'll know when he's jealous, arms will folded, chest puffed out in a manly state trying to put an act on that he's not. When you ask him if he is, you'll get the bluntest reply of no. It's pretty much the only time he's quiet with you and you'll receive one word answers until he's over it. He's not too bothered about you having guy friends, but anymore than a simple hug and he's watching them like a hawk and believe you me, if he's up for the challenge (not that there is one) but he will make it known that you're his.

K is for Kisses: From the soft to the down right passionate, you can't get enough of Joe's kisses. He's not one for full public displays of affection but when you're alone, you'll receive kisses left right and centre. His lips feel undeniably fantastic when they're on yours. If you're busy doing something he'll interrupt you by tapping on your shoulder and puckering out his lips just so he can give you one. You'll always receive those cute forehead kisses whilst you cuddle, sometimes little ones on the tip of your nose and always in a morning when he's in a rush, a sloppy one planted right onto your cheek; running back for the occasional smooch before he's really got to go.

L is for Little Ones: There's no denying his whole demeanour changes when he's around children. His paternal instinct is insufferably adorable and he'll do anything to make a child smile, pulling silly faces at babies or seeing him pick them up to give them a hug. You get broody like crazy when you see interaction between him and children because he's just such a good father figure, you're always in talks of the future and having a family together and you know he'll be ultimately besotted by his own little one, spoiling them no end and making you fall in love with him further by the way he shows full devotion towards them.

M is for Morning: At first, he won't want to get up, he'll be snuggling up to you, burying his head into your neck and groaning at the sun light seeping through the curtains. By the time he's up and awake and if there's time, you'll have breakfast on the table by the time you've forced yourself out of bed. He's more of a morning person than you which infuriates you since he's most chaotic at that time of day, yet there's something about waking up to this man each morning and him giving you reason to start your day the right way.

N is for Night: Nights in are the best. He'll always have a make shift bed on the sofa on the go, plenty of pillows and blankets to be getting on with. The good snacks are in and home made cocktails are set upon the coffee table in front of you, he's either forcing you to watch his favourite movie for the hundredth million time or he's letting you handle the remote on the rare occasion. You'll always fall asleep on him and he won't mind, but you'll wake up to him looking down at you in full admiration, little giggles when he's telling you that you're snoring or making weird noises making you slightly embarrassed. When you're too tired, he'll carry you to bed in full princess mode before tucking you in as tight as a burrito as he likes to describe it; as small as it may be, he'll always wish you sweet dreams.

O is for Open: Joe is a private person through and through. He'll tell you little things first and will build up the more his trust and confidence in you builds. Knowing him it won't take long, especially after he's had a few drinks, more of his deep dark secrets are spilled during those moments and most of the time they're not really that dark, just things he wouldn't necessarily tell other people in passing.

P is for Patience: It takes a lot to piss Joe off. He'll take everything in his stride and be as patient as he can for so long. If he blows up on you, well then you know it's bad. But hopefully nothing would ever go that bad for him to kick off in that way. He's not really someone who tends to start an argument, but if he's got a point to make, he'll certainly finish it. You know that if he's in the wrong, he won't be stubborn about it and will apologise but will expect the same from you in return. Q is for Quizzes: It always surprises you that Joe remembers every tiny little detail that you tell him. He'll always say oh that one time you or I remember when you said. His memory as an actor serves him extremely well and it just shows that his listening skills are top tier because you'll never feel like he doesn't know you, in fact he probably will know you better eventually than you know yourself.

R is for Romance: When he wants to be, he can be overly romantic. Flowers and chocolates and wine type of boyfriend. Paying you compliments at every given chance, holding doors for you, taking you out, spending all his free time with you. No matter the occasion, he'll always have a reason to spoil you in that department.

S is for Security: He's extremely protective given the circumstance, always has been, always will be. If you're feeling anxious about something, he'll do everything in his power to make it better for you, even if he can't control the situation. Given that touch is for sure his love language, little squeezes of reassurance when he's holding your hand, soothing your back or just urging you on to do the best you can, you're definitely appreciative of the protection he aims to give you.

T is for Try: Joe's version of trying is always successful and he will go to extreme lengths to always try his best just for you. Efforts are given no matter what like on special occasions: birthdays, christmas, anniversaries etc. He'll give 110% in what he does for you only to make you happy, of course he expects the same in return but his number one priority is to see you happy and if trying does that, he will make it happen.

U is for Ugly: Bad habits? The word ugly? Joe? It doesn't exist to me. You must be kidding.

V is for Vanity: He always wants to look good for you and truth be told the man would like good wearing a bin liner. He cares about what he wears out in public and always likes to look good to make himself feel good. You love his sometimes questionable fashion sense, but when the man cleans up, he does it well and it makes your heart do back flips every single time you see it. Your favourite time is to see him in his lounging around clothes. It's the best version of Joe, his comfortable side not many people see and it makes him look extra soft.

W is for Whole: Would Joe feel incomplete without you? Hell yes. He likes to have you by his side at every attempt he can. He's always been one to rely on the people he loves and trusts and you are no exception to that handful of people. He loves the reassurance, he loves to know you're there for him and he loves to be loved. Giving is everything to Joe but he'll always be a needy little baby and require your time, presence and acceptance in everything he does.

X is for Xtra: I head canon that Joe would be the most fantastic photographer for you, getting you at all angles to get the perfect selfie of you. Sending a few of the shots secretly to himself so that he can just admire them when he's not with you, changing his lock screen weekly is a personal challenge he's set himself so that he's always got a new picture of you to look at. He never swipes off his camera roll because it's full of you and it makes his bad days better.

Y is for Yuck: Joe hates fussy eaters, disloyalty and deceitful people. And will not entertain a girlfriend that doesn't like physical affection. There I said it.

Z is for Zzz: No matter what, you'll always go to sleep cuddling. But when Joe finds turned away or in general moved away in your own sleeping habit, he'll be finding a way to touch you in one way or another. It's like you're his comfort blanket. He'll describe you as his own personal radiator in bed and it helps him sleep because you're always bringing him warmth. You'll know when he's back fast on though from the little humming sounds he makes when he starts to dream, you can't help but smile, hopefully he's dreaming all about you, that's usually the case.

[storiesbyjes2g]

3.122 Sweet potato

I bought a robe. Since there'd be three of us soon, I figured my days of walking around half naked in the morning were over. It's strange that this piece of clothing, not my wife's growing belly, made me feel like a dad. I wasn't the most stylish dresser to begin with, but I'd never owned anything so...mature looking. Not that maturity was a sign of fatherhood. Maybe it just reminded me of my own dad. Sophia entered the second trimester late last night, so we decided to go to the doctor and make sure everything was okay. We also opted to discover the gender, if possible.

We ate slowly, gushing and speculating about what our child would be and what we should call it. Like me, Sophia wasn't concerned about the baby's gender and just wanted a smooth pregnancy and a successful birth. Part of me wanted a boy just to add more male energy in my life, but I would be totally happy with a girl. Mama gave Less and I our grandparents' names, and while that was an honorable thing to do, I wasn't sure I wanted to repeat that. Not saying my parents didn't deserve to have anyone named after them, but I didn't want my child to be haunted by relatives it hardly knew. My sister was named after Gammy, but she had no memory of her and never showed an interest in learning about her. My grandfathers, Luca and Winston, passed on way before my parents even met. I barely knew anything about those guys. Hopefully, my parents would be around long enough to develop lasting relationships with my children, but they're running short on days and won't be around forever. I think it's best to just give our kids their own names, but we'll see. It's not completely off the table.

At the hospital, we arrived at our appointment early, but just like always, we sat in the room and waited an eternity for the doctor to arrive. The room was cold and had colorful medical posters plastered over the bland beige walls. Some of them made me laugh because they were so corny, but I suppose corny art was better than boring, authoritative posters. Finally, the doctor hurried in and introduced herself. Dr. Kira McKnight was her name, and she was gorgeous with long, thick hair, just like Sophia's and smooth looking cocoa skin. I could be wrong, but she looked to be maybe just a few years older than us.

Before she turned on the machine and showed us the magic, she and Sophia chatted about the pregnancy. Sophia said she'd been feeling great and hadn't been sick at all. Dr. McKnight was surprised and said she was a blessed woman. From the sounds of it, Alessia would agree. Overall, the doctor seemed very satisfied with Sophia's answers to her questions, and that relieved me. I didn't expect that anything would be wrong, but we couldn't take anymore bad news.

She fired up the machine, put the cold jelly on Sophia's womb, and invited me to come watch the show. The wand glided back and forth across Sophia's belly, searching for our little celebrity. Finally, Dr. McKnight said, "there you are!" She pointed at a certain part of the screen, saying that was our baby. It didn't look like much, honestly--just a big ball of goo. But it was my ball of goo, and I loved it. Luckily, she zoomed in so we could see the details, and I saw a head, fingers, and toes! It was my baby!! After taking some measurements, she said the baby was a good size, probably about the size of a sweet potato.

"Awwww," Sophia cooed. "Our little sweet potato, Luca!"

I could tell from her puppy dog eyes and the way she said it, sweet potato was definitely going to be a thing. It was a cute nickname; I guess.

"Can you tell what it is yet?" I asked.

Dr. McKnight wielded that wand, fishing around for something. Probably the thing.

"I'm looking. It hasn't shown me yet." She kept moving the wand back and forth until she found what she was looking for. "Ah ha! I just needed her to move that leg."

"Her?!" Sophia and I both shouted.

"Yep! It's a little girl."

A little girl. Finally, we could stop calling her "it!" I'm a girl dad!! That news filled me with so much joy. A smile spread across my face, and happy tears glistened my eyes and rolled down my cheek. The anxiety I had felt earlier disappeared, leaving only immense love for my daughter. Love and excitement and relief, that is. Every cell in my body seemed to jump for joy as a warmth came over me. If Dub's baby is also a girl, maybe our kids would also be best friends.

"I would tell you the worst is over now, but you've been on easy street already," the doctor said. "You still may experience fatigue, but it won't be so bad. The baby has all her organs and systems now, so she's gonna start growing, getting longer and heavier, so your back might bother you from time to time. She'll start moving around soon."

"That sounds so magical," Sophia said.

"Oh, and you also may start feeling contractions."

Even though I knew that was part of the process, something inside me just panicked.

"Contractions?!"

She giggled.

"Don't worry. It's completely normal. They'll be mild and won't last long, but it's important to know it's normal. The baby isn't trying to come early. No need to panic, okay?"

"I understand," Sophia said.

"Now, I don't like this next part, but I have to tell you," the doctor continued. "I see you just had a birthday yesterday?"

"Yes."

"Okay. You're still young age-wise, but your body is not. Adult pregnancies can be hard. You seem to be doing great so far, but if you start experiencing other symptoms, just know it comes with the territory. There's nothing wrong with you. It just is what it is. Relax as much as you can and keep stress as low as possible."

She asked if we had questions, then left us to await the nurses to run additional tests. Now that Sophia was pregnant, our lives could go back to being more joyful and carefree, so I wasn't concerned about the stress part. But of course, I would do everything within my power to make sure Sophia's life was as easy as possible. The only problems she would have during this pregnancy would be within her own body on my watch.

[mediocreanomaly]

i'm so normal. can i request a part 2 to the knives/reader soulmate au? im just so curious how it'd go, hdjdjnd

Authors Note: Non-Normal Knives kisser spotted.

Kidding! yes of course I shall make you a pt.2 (guys am I the Trigun Soulmate guy now? I'm not complaining it's just a bit funny to me, let me infect you with Trigun soulmate au now...)

*Not NSFW but a slightly "spicy" scene at the end (jesus I'm old do people still say spicy unironically? guys I mean it ironically I swear-)*

Read Part 1 Here!

Knives X Reader Soulmate AU Pt.2

•It's a painstaking process, both literally and metaphorically, as Knives recovers

•You feel awful. Your body vaguely burns everywhere, Knives is incapacitated, and the fact it's Legato who sits like a hawk watching over the two of you not yet trusting of your intentions doesn't exactly ease any of your stress

•It's a bit tedious dodging the blue haired mans constant questioning not quite ready to say "hey you know the most feared man in all of Gunsmoke who hates the idea of soulmates is actually my soulmate?" yeah sounds awful.

•So you sit dutifully day and night rewrapping wounds and running your fingers through Knives's hair appreciating that he at least seems to heal much quicker than humans do so hopefully this aching burn will subside quickly

•When he finally wakes up it's, of course, the one time you leave the room to go get something to eat. You almost imagine the dammed plant planned this even though you know it's not the case

•You stand in the door way...saying nothing. The two of you had become close before, was close the right word? but now you felt awkward and out of place watching Knives' cold blue eyes stare a hole into you

"Legato says you haven't left my side" he says, it's more of a statement than a question but you'll bite

"Yes." You say simply, not making a move as if dealing with a wild animal that's ready to pounce

"Why?" He's searching you as if looking for something or...no he's watching you like he's waiting to catch you in a lie

"I think you already know" Is all you can manage. You stay still, waiting for sharpness of metal, you just hope it'll be quick. You weren't stupid, you knew Knives didn't want a soulmate, so there wasn't much to do than to accept the fate the universe had laid out for you. You close you eyes and wait....and wait....and- wasn't he going to kill you?

You peek your eyes open to see Knives watching you with a furrowed brow. You have to admit he looks oddly cute like this despite the fact your life is most certainly in danger.

He stares, as if perplexed by you then scoffs

"This is ridiculous. I'd never be bound to a human like you" he states, you just nod not sure what to do until he sits up straight in bed

"Come, inform me of what's happened while I was asleep"

You aren't stupid enough to try and push the matter or point out the fact he was a little worse off than "asleep" so you just sit on the side of the bed with him, giving him what little information you know.

•After that he begins to talk about his new plans. You listen intently, letting him ramble on about this new era he's planning to usher in

•and if he begins to stray from the topic, if he begins to go on about the Ja'lai incident, or about how he really thought Vash would understand...don't bring any attention to it, your slowly beginning to understand there's a reason he trust you with these things even if he won't say it out loud

•Speaking of which...he won't say anything about the "soulmate" matter out loud. Not now anyways, not yet. He's not sure why but...he can't bring himself to kill you and it scares him. He isn't used to sparing lives besides his brothers and even then his forms of punishment are a lot more severe than what he's willing to do to you

•Not that he didn't contemplate taking a limb or letting you see how sharp his knives can really be but there'd be no point really he'd only be hurting himself (at least that's what he tells himself)

•He's also...a bit protective of you now. Even though he still refuses to say to anyone, including you, that you're his soulmate he does make vague mentions of it when you try to leave and he says something along the lines of

"No you can't leave. If you were to get hurt it'd be inefficient for me"

•(aw he likes you!)

•He begrudgingly lets you begin working again because there was a reason he allowed you to stay with his team in the first place, although if his hovering around your work place was bad before it's 10x worse now

•You are met with the sight of his chest every time you turn around and you have to shyly look up to the piercing gaze that's trained on you like a predator

•eventually you get him to back up a little bit by telling him if you spill any chemicals on him it'll just burn the both of you although he still stands in the corner watching your every move

•In all...don't expect him to be all lovely dovey...yet. Although...

You stand absent mindedly as you look over your work. This formula was driving you nuts and the constant feeling of being watched wasn't exactly helping. You lean down placing your hands on the table scanning over the papers messily sprawled over your desk when you feel a strong pair of hands at your hips.

It takes everything in you not to yelp, only for that feeling to turn into you trying not to moan when teeth nip at the shell of your ear. Knives body is pressed against your back, strong and solid, god you were either touch starved or the soulmate connection was doing wonders because he'd barley even touched you and you felt like you were unraveling. He pushes you forwards slightly forcing you to hold your most your weigh with your arms as you shudder. He's trapping you against the table, mouth trailing down to harshly nip along your throat, right hand running up your side and his left hand is moving to-

he pulls away.

You're breathless. You glance up at him, and if the amused smirk on his face is anything to go by, you look like just as much of a mess as you feel.

"I fixed your formula for you"

you glance down and sure enough...the numbers you had been mulling over all day had been fixed in the matter of...minutes? Seconds?

You watch dumbfounded as Knives strolls away as if nothing happened, even thought the blush painting your face and the bruises beginning to blossom against your neck are more than enough proof

•That's the thing, the universe never prepares you for your soulmate being an asshole. That's okay though, two can play at that game.

[goshdangronpa]

Maybe some Ibuki and WAIT NVM I WAS GONNA BE SHY ABOUT IT BUT THEN I READ YOUR BIO TSUMIODA PLEASE!

Welcome, viiluen! You could not be in a safer space as a fan of this ship. Tsumioda made me lose my mind, and I'm always happy to talk about them.

If you look through my blog for posts with that tag, you'll find roughly a million rbs and plenty of originals with my own thoughts. I'm also working on more than one fanfic featuring them. So what can I do that's 1) different from what I've already posted before, and 2) not gonna be covered in one of my fics?

Well ... how about a bunch of hcs?

Among other reasons why they're a perfect match: I believe that Ibuki wants to give love and be loved for giving it, while Mikan yearns to receive love and not be punished or hated or pitied for wanting it.

You ever see that part in Punch Drunk Love where the main character tells his love interest he wants to smash her face in with a sledgehammer ... and she replies that she wants to chew off his face and eat his eyeballs? I think Ibuki would handle Mikan's "I want to paralyze you so you always need me and can't ever leave" comments like that. Just immediately defuse it with humor, match her freak, and say she'll never leave with such unmistakable earnestness that even Mikan can't doubt her.

Mikan likes scary movies. Ibuki, not so much - she's easily startled. But it's cool to see this braver side of Mikan that otherwise rarely comes out, and it's sweet to be comforted by her gf's strong arms, so she'll watch them with her on occasion.

Ibuki sees no problem sharing toothbrushes with someone who regularly swaps spit with her. Mikan still thinks it's extremely unhygienic. Once she realizes that Mikan might concede from a sense of pressure, though, Ibuki drops it.

Someday I'll shell out for an art commission of Mikan doing her sleepy cuddly thing with Ibuki, who wants to make the moment last as long as possible but also really wants to scream in delight.

I've shared this thought before, but I don't think Ibuki would immediately forgive Mikan after SDR2. Like ... she murdered her. When she was at her most vulnerable. Specifically by taking advantage of her trust. Ibuki's emotionally mature enough to recognize that Mikan wasn't really herself at that moment, but that doesn't shake the initial feelings of horror, revulsion, loathing, misery ... Ibuki wants nothing to do with her and retreats into herself.

Continuing that thought, Mikan would run away from this, giving her former victim a huge berth for a while after they wake up. It's what Ibuki wants, and it's what they both deserve. But she'd feel a sense of duty to the girl. No one had ever been kinder to her, and Ibuki needs kindness now more than ever. It'd be clumsy. There'd be mistakes, flare-ups, moments where one or the other or both run away. But something stronger will pull them back together. Hope, at first. Then, against all odds and anyone's expectations including their own ...