#and how easily she feels it comes to her because of that and augh!

[maemil]

Lying in my bed listening to butchered tongue on repeat and crying while my brain tries to convince me to relearn Irish

[midnight1nk]

EPISODE(???) CONCEPT #2

What if… the Tender Tunnel was a mini-game challenge in WOTFI 2024?

For context: this was written before WOTFI ‘24, when I thought Mario and SMG4 would have to save their friends one by one by winning mini-games. It’s not an episode rewrite or concept, more of an AU of sorts. Listen, I just wanted an SMG34 moment, okay.

Oh, man. What have they gotten themselves into this time…

Mr Puzzles has trapped the Crew in Puzzle Park, claiming they are “the missing pieces”. The Crew, except for Mario and SMG4, are under his control. And now, this lunatic wants them to “test” these mini-games before the official opening in 24 hours.

Mario and Four could hear the crowd waiting outside, the children curious about the bright and flashing attractions. They feared he might do the same thing as he did in Puzzlevision, trapping them all in this park. The duo demanded Puzzles to set them free. Unfortunately, according to Puzzles, the only way to free them was to beat the mini-games. “Hmph, I doubt you can.”

Well, he shouldn’t have underestimated them. The blue and red duo already managed to save Karen and Bob, and were now off to rescue SMG3.

NEXT CHALLENGE: THE EVER-TURNING DILEMMA OF MR. DYNAMITE

(I can’t come up with good names)

Woah oh, Mr Dynamite is going off the rails again! Hit the red X’s on the rotating target he's tied to using these blades without hitting him. Be careful! If the timer runs out, his dynamite vest will make him go “pop”! [ *insert evil laughter here*]

Thanks to Bob and Karen being experts of the blade, they completed the mini-game, and Three’s free of Puzzles’ control. Four removes the rope that held Three’s limbs and carries him down.

Three, dizzy: “Oh, what happened?” [*sees that it’s Four, annoyed*] “Oi, didn’t I text you guys to get out of here?” Four: “Mr Puzzles is controlling the entire carnival, we didn't exactly have a choice to begin with. Besides, we aren’t gonna leave you here.” Three, touched: “You stayed… to save me?” Four: “Why wouldn’t I? Dude, you were literally going to explode if we didn’t.” Three: “I…uh…” [*blushes*] “Augh, never mind. Why did I even send that text?” Four: “Aww, didn’t know you cared about us.” Three, muttering: “Shut up, baka.”

(and yes, Three thinks Four could’ve easily gotten rid of him if he wanted to. That their friendship is too good to be true. But the fact that Four is here, returning the favor... perhaps Three’s efforts weren’t for nothing.)

A door nearby opens up, leading them to the next challenge. They ran, passing by some mirrors. Three caught a glimpse of himself, in the getup Mr Puzzles had him in. He struck a pose. “Heh, still got it.”

NEXT CHALLENGE: LOVE IS BLIND

(still can’t come up with good names)

Grab a partner and test your bond in the Tender Tunnel! Each player will be assigned a lipstick of the color that matches their partner, show how much your partner means to you by giving them a kiss!

Of course, Mr Puzzles chooses his pair, Tari and Saiko, for his side. For the Crew, it was a bit more difficult to choose. Bob opted out because “none of them were sexy”. Karen was more worried for her children, whom she could hear from the outside. Mario decides to go with his one true love, spaghetti. Four went against it, thinking that Mr Puzzles wouldn’t even allow it. And this was a big one, they could save both Tari AND Saiko. They can’t risk it. Mario ignores him and gets on the boat anyway.

Mario, also being the wingman that he is, suggests that Four and Three pair up. Before they could even process what he said, Mario extended his arm and pulled them into a third boat. Mr Puzzles, or at least controlling a robot arm, hands out the lipsticks and reassures them not to worry, the lights will be dim in the Tunnel. There’s no need to feel embarrassed. Besides, with Mr Puzzles knowing how the blue and purple duo are, they won’t be able to win. Four and Three looked at each other, feeling the awkward tension between them.

They’ve been through this before. The elevator… the…

We don’t talk about what happened years ago.

But, to save their friends…

After a while, the boats come out of the Tunnel. The camera first shows Tari and Saiko with their kiss marks on the back of their hands. It counts for two points for Mr Puzzles’ side.

Four, off-screen: “Wait, we could’ve done that this whole time?!”

The camera pans to Mario and his plate of spaghetti, somehow in wedding attire. Where did that wedding cake come from? The wedding bells ring…

Mario, putting the lipstick on: "You may now kiss your partner."

....uh, before Mario proceeds to do his usual antics.

Mr Puzzles: “CUT THE CAMERA CUT THE CAMERA!”

The camera hastily moves away, going into static. Without Mario being the picture and disqualified, the last pairing is Four and Three!

…

Well, the camera is pointing at where they’re supposed to be standing, but they’re nowhere to be seen. The camera moves, trying to search them.

Four, off-screen: “Just skip us! You win this time, Mr Puzzles.” [*nervous laughter*] Three, also off-screen: “Uh, yeah, let’s just go to the next one…”

The camera turns to the pair walking away from the scene, suspiciously covering their faces with their hats. Failing miserably not to be seen by anybody. That was until one of them trips for not seeing where they were going. The camera zooms in to show what exactly they were hiding:

There were dozens of kiss marks smeared on each other’s faces, purple for Four and blue for Three. The two yelp in embarrassment, trying to hide with their hands and tempting to clean them off.

Well… to Puzzles’ dismay, the Crew clearly won this mini-game as well as saved Tari and Saiko. Mario gave the pair a supportive thumbs-up while the duo wished they could die here and now.

Goddammit, it happened... again!

[elasticbeach]

Please may we have a part 2 for breaking up with Shanks but realizing you still have feelings for him?

Part 2/ Breaking up with Shanks but realizing you still have feelings for him

Okay I’m really sorry this took so long. But I hope you guys like it!

Warnings: Sad emotions I guess(?), childbirth

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

Your leg kept bouncing up and down in a nervous manner, you were sat in the doctors office. `Soo…you`re now in your third semester. To me everything looks just fine, have something been bothering you?`. You looked at the woman, then shook your head. She smiled at you apologetically, because she knew, everyone knew. You were alone, no man at your side. Everyone kept giving you these looks, these pity full looks, there was this rumor that your man left to sea anf left you alone. The worst part of it all was that he didn’t leave you. You left him. “Thanks doctor.” You smile at the middle aged woman and stand up. “Take care” she smiles and you walk out of the hospital, you’re not headed home yet. It doesn’t even feel like home, so you take a seat on the beach. Your back hurting from the baby growing inside you. The baby is strong and healthy just like their father. You sigh and close your eyes. You miss him so much.

“Y/n!” You turn your head an annoyed sigh escaping you. “What?!” You shout from your lounger, you just layed down to tan a bit but your big baby of a boyfriend didn’t seem to be able to survive a second without you. “Where are my favourite pants?!” His scream seems panicked. You sigh again and stand up, with an annoyed expression you walk towards your shared cabin. “Can’t imagine how he would survive without you” jokes Yasopp and you smile a bit. You arrive at your shared cabin. Shanks is rampaging trough his closet in the search of his favourite pants you know he is about to visit whitebeard, you never stood on deck of the moby dick but the giant of a man still scared you. “They are hanging on deck! I washed them yesterday for you!” You cross your arms looking at your boyfriend. “Ooooh!” He gives you a sheepish smile. “Sorry love! Can’t imagine what I would do without you!” He presses a kiss to your temple and rushes to deck. You sigh and start organising his clothes again.

You open your eyes again when you feel the baby kick, you loved coming to the beach to think about your good times with Shanks. You still don’t understand yourself, what has gotten into you. How could you break his heart and your own so easily. Of course Shanks was a lot of trouble and of course dating him was tiring, but if you couldn’t handle such things, were you really to love such a free soul? You sigh again and stand up. Your swollen feet carry you to your ‘home’. Arriving home you take a seat on the sofa, you body hurts, being pregnant really is exhausting you. Another sigh escaped you, a habit you developed over the months of pregnancy.

You’re exhausted.

���Push! Push!” Screams your midwife. “AUGH!!” You scream and push. Another scream escapes you and another. You cannot think of anything but your desire for Shanks. For him to hold your hand and be here for the birth of his child. Another scream. Minutes feel like hours your body aches from pain, it hurts. Feels like every bone in your body is breaking over and over again. “AHH!” You scream again. The minutes pass and the pain finally stills, you hear your baby scream. “Congratulations! It’s a girl!” Says your midwife and puts your red baby on your chest. She’s still all dirty and covered in something and she screams with her eyes closed, but you can’t help but smile as you hold her. Your little bundle of joy, your little daughter. She has this bright red hair, just like her father. You smile and sob.

You’re happy.

“Come on say it! Say ‘ma-ma’ “ you look down at your little daughter. She’s laying on your lap while you play with her and want her to say mama. She’s four months old and just can’t stop blabbering, she truly is like her father. So active and eager to explore. You smile at her again. Her red hair is down in two cute piggy tails while she wears a pink onesie. She truly is the spitting image of her father only her eyes are yours. You pick her up. “Time to sleep don’t ya think?” You smile at your daughter again and carry her to her little bed. You woo her into slumber and walk away from her room, shutting the door silently. You sit in the kitchen, rethinking your life choices as per usual. You cannot stop thinking about Shanks and how he missed so much of his daughters life already and you know if you call him he won’t forgive you but you should let him know of his child. The debate inside of you going back and forth. You just can’t call him. You stand up and walk into your daughters room, you lay down in her bed and press her small body against yours as you silently cry.

You’re conflicted.

“Mama!” Your little girl finally says it aside from her blubber. You smile everytime she says it. “What is it my sunshine?” You ask as you dry your hands from doing the dishes. You come to sit on the sofa she’s laying on. She laughs and reaches for you with her little hands, desiring to be picked up and you oblige. You hold her in your arms. “You missed your mommy?” You ask in a teasing voice. “Mama!” She says again and you can’t help but smile. You put your babygirl back down and walk back into the kitchen. You do the dishes and glance at the transporter snail seated on the windowsill, you can call him. “Just promise me. You will call me if anything that brings you in danger happens. Please promise me.” You promised him, but the promise didn’t include telling him about a pregnancy right? You sigh, guilt plaguing your sould. You hate yourself for what you are doing for not giving your baby a father and complete family and for not telling him. He deserves to know, you repeat that to yourself day to day and still you cannot gather the courage to call him. To tell him.

You’re afraid.

It’s night. You cannot sleep, your now 5 month old daughter is deep asleep in her bed. You sit in the kitchen and stare at the letter you received. You cannot believe the sender. You’re scared to open. It’s from Benn. You cannot gather the courage to open the letter. Does he know of the baby? Did something happen? Are they coming for you? Is he just checking up on you? After one final sigh you take a deep breath and open the letter. It’s short. Relief washes over you as you recognise Benns handwriting, so it’s not from Shanks.

Dear Y/n,

I’m not good with formalities so I won’t ask how you’re doing. Not after what you did. I write this letter to let you know that Shanks is devastated. He drinks like never before, he’s truly a mess without you. We don’t know what to do to bring back our captain. The one who enjoyed life at sea. The one who wanted to explore the world and the one that loved you. He loved and still loves you, so I write this letter with one request. Call him. Bring us back the captain that we miss.

A shakky breath escapes you. He doesn’t hate you? You read over the letter a few more times. You start crying. You’re a mess, guilt eats you from the inside and so you collect yourself and go over to the kitchen. You take the transporter snail with you to the sofa. After a few minutes of hesitation you call. You don’t know what you will say. If you will tell him everything or not. You just want to give Benn what he asked. The seconds pass and you’re scared of him picking up. You wanna stop and just break off the call when suddenly you hear him picking up. Silence. Neither of you speaks, but you gather the courage. “Shanks?” You say in a shakky voice. “Yes? Y/n? Are you in danger?” Your heart fills with so much emotion when you hear his voice, tears escape your eyes. “No no, I’m fine.” You say in your shakky voice. “Are you crying?” He asks, he sounds tired. You can’t forgive yourself, you have to be honest with him. “Yes” “Why? What’s the matter?” You take a few deep breaths. “Uhm..how have you been doing?” You decide to ask him that, you truly want to know. “Well..I could lie and say I’m fine but I’m not. I miss you” silence again. You hear him shuffle and then you hear him purring liquid. “Please don’t drink” you say “Why not?” He asks as a dry chuckle escapes him. “Not like you really care..” he mutters and more tears escape you. “That’s not true” you say and hear him chuckle again. “Why did you leave me then ?” You knew you hurt him. Badly. You should have never left. “Shanks. I’m not calling to ask for forgiveness and for you to take me back. I think we both suffered from my dumb decision. I-“ he cuts you off. “Both? How did you suffer? Did you have fun alone? Met someone cute? Be honest are you calling out of pity?” You sigh. “Shanks, stop drinking please.” “Why? Not like you care.” You cry more at his words. You hurt him, so he tries to hurt you. “Shanks this is serious” you say still in a shakky voice. “Tell me then” he says and you take a few deep breaths. You stabilise your breathing. “Please don’t hate me.” You plead and he only hums. “You’re a father” Complete silence until his glass breaks you flinch from the sound. “Are you alright?” You ask Shanks. He doesn’t answer, you only hear him calling for Benn, then he hangs up. You’re in shock. Is he headed here? What is going on? Is he gonna take your daughter away? What is he planning. You walk to your daughters room. You lay in her baby bed once again. You hug her tight.

You’re scared.

Reposts are appreciated! <3

[girlbowser]

How do you feel about the portrayal of plurality in Homestuck? Because it’s not good.

Cherubs are “supposed” to predominate over their other personality. With Calliope being portrayed as naive for trying to co exist.

Horuss is mocked for being a system. But I’d say it was a king fun of people who pretend to be mentally Ill on social media for clicks.

Then their are the sprites

okay so

i guess we're doing this

HOMESTUCK AND PLURALITY: A PRIMER

BECAUSE JESUS CHRIST THERES SO MUCH

SO SO SO MUCH

okay. so

homestuck is one of the best pieces of media of all time for plurality and i fuckin mean it. no shot do not pass go i have NEVER seen anything that is more built from the ground up to Support plural reads. like, to the point where it feels impossible to read homestuck without it.

as a work dealing with two huge primary themes of a) finding yourself/identity/growing up, and b) ideas coming to life, plurality is pretty much the Perfect intersection between the two of them. like.

take rose for example.

rose is plural and it's great.

when the doomed timeline evaporates, future dream rose does not actually "cease to exist." she ceases to exist as her own person -- her memories, experiences, personality, thoughts (or, as shorthand, her selfstuff) all flows back into rose prime. and that experience is just something rose has to roll with. one becomes two -- that other rose is still in her mind.

jade's plural and it's great.

when her dream self awakens as jadesprite, jade has a horrific argument with her. if you're plural i'm sure you understand. fighting with an age-regressed version of you, stuck in a traumatic past, who WONT FUCKING LISTEN -- we've all . been there.

she has involuntary barks, she can't stop seeing images of fire, she wants to go back to nonexistence but she doesnt want to die and it's torture,

and then in cascade, jade fuses with her.

dream jade is still in there. that part of her she has to grapple with is still real. her dog who she loves is in there, too -- but, yknow. woof

then grimbark gets forcefully introjected into her. i've seen a few fics play with the idea that the grimbark personality is still residually there (read ygtpoasu), but it's not a huge thing that's explored in the text. more backgrounded. but still! her crisis of identity is in there.

wanna know what's NOT backgrounded

tavros's plurality is like, a pretty big factor in his character!!!! it's one of the bigger points vriska uses to bully him with (because she's projecting because she's projecting because she's projecting, because she's also plural and kins mindfang), it's like. a big thing that he has to cope with and figure out.

kanaya suggested tavros treat his self-confidence as his own brain guy, like, completely sincerely. she genuinely thought it would help, and it sorta did!!!!!

and like

it is FAR from the only positive example of plurality in the comic.

like. look at sollux and aradia defending "alternate reality copies" of characters -- which can be pretty easily extrapolated to them talking about fictives

like. !!!!

i dunno, man. i think that homestuck is a DEEPLY plural story. you should read mtm and kgtac for more exploration of these themes. read detective pony too while you're at it. like.

i havent even TOUCHED on horuss or dirk or karkat here because there is just so much. there's so much! like ultselves. oh my god i completely neglected to talk about ultselves or cherubs or --

augh

but anyway here's The Screenshots from mtm

homestuck is, like, the single most fictive compatible fictional work i've ever read.

"oh im being sent to another universe as a brain ghost? that happened to my buddy dirk"

"oh im one of many incarnations of myself, and perhaps not even the most 'canon compliant' one? haha dream bubbles moment"

"ive been isekai'd into another world? lol sburb"

it. yeah. god. i could literally talk about this all day. but instead im gonna direct you to my ao3.

check out no metaphors and then scroll through the "multiplicity/plurality" tag on my page

and if youve got more specific stuff, send in another ask!

[aokoaoi]

𝐬𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮. ʰᵉᵃᵈᶜᵃⁿᵒⁿˢ

pairings : shuri x fem!reader.

synopsis : shuri has a little crush on you, another lab worker.

genre : fluff.

# someone managing to capture the princess' interest was something she least expected something to happen. but how can she help it if the interest was non-other than a lab worker, (name) (lastname).

# it was definitely strange figuring out if she liked you, or if it was just admiration. eventually, it was infact a small crush.

# she can't help but let her gaze lingers on you from time to time when you're working in the lab. she absolutely loves the dedication and focus you put on your work, it's what always caught her attention when it comes to you.

# you have done countless of important tasks around the lab. so many to the point shuri trusts you to do the most impossible ones.

# you are one brilliant girl as well, but you wouldn't say your knowledge rivaled the princess'. let's just say you were smarter than half the lab workers, or practically even all of the lab workers!

# you both rarely talk though, which is why shuri just admires you from afar. she doesn't know why she's so afraid of approaching you. you've literally been working for her for years, damn it.

# one interesting thing about this, is that you know alot about the wakandan princess, but the princess knows nothing about you.

# when her brother t'challa was still present, he'd often tease his sister to just come up to you and form a conversation. which she didn't.

# all she could do was wave and say hello! maybe when she's lucky, she can say bye to you when you're leaving.

# approaching you wasn't even a challenge, but she was definitely making it one. you just seem like the type to be hard to approach. what if she does end up going near you? what will she say then? 'yo what's up?' 'you look good?' 'nice work?'

# yeah she's definitely not gonna take that chance just to embarrass herself.

# often times, she sees nakia coming up to you to strike a conversation. it made shuri internally sulk to herself to see someone else talk to you so freely. she probably even believes you and nakia are 'besties'.

# when you see her staring at you, you form the most beautiful and sweetest smile she's ever seen. augh, your smile bro, it can make someone's day.

# despite not knowing much about you, shuri can definitely tell you're a very sweet and caring person. she justs can't help but melt when she sees you take over someone's work to help them when they're struggling.

# she thinks you're perfect girlfriend material too.

# she assumes alot about you and your personality based on what she sees you do. as of right now, she thinks you're caring, but you easily run out of patience when you're being provoked. yes, she's made a mental note not to get on your nerves because you're absolutely ruthless when upset.

# shuri has had enough feeling left out though. okoye, nakia, and other people had already had formed some sort of bond with you already, but she hasn't. she can't help but feel jealous when she hears nakia talk about you.

# sooner or later, she will eventually have the courage to talk to you.

"how can an edit be hot?" — "its hot when letitia wright is in it."

[ficbrish]

The Truth of It

Rating: Explicit 18+ only!

[AO3 Link]

[Kinktober 2023 prompt thanks to @absurdthirst! October 20th - Thighfucking]

[[TW/CW: Cptsd, blood, suicide (mentions, ideation, past attempts—girliepop goes through it), death mentions, self-hate]]

Summary: Vistri opens up about her suicide ideation.

Act I - Mountains camp - After the failed zaith'isk/Githyanki cure

[Click here for my other Kinktober one-shots]

“Vistri?” Shadowheart called out her name a second time; right next to her, on the same bit of seating, and she still didn’t answer. Not even her favorite people could shake Vistri from the mood she’d fallen into, bog-like and hollow.

The back of her neck stung hot with Astarion’s consistent frown. His eyes, sharp with professed concern, had stalked her ever since she’d messed with the Githyanki’s purification device. It wasn’t the first time she almost died in front of him. With that face, if she were gone, he could easily find another bedroll to slake his lusts. Vistri didn’t know why he was pretending to be so bothered about it! Her disappearance should be a non-issue.

A general or an artist would be able to point it out, someone who could look at the lay of the land and positions of its people, and read stories. While everyone else was gathered in a group circle, passing around open hearts, laughing smiles, and shared bottles, Astarion stood in front of his tent, glaring at his lover who could hear nothing but the displeasure in his eyes.

As Shadowheart called her name for a third time, Vistri stormed off with a growl.

She’d been a puzzle to Astarion for most of the day, but this really took the cake. It was alarming to see her blink Shadowheart out of existence like that. Sure, they’d all known each other for only a few tendays, give or take, but from the outside, those two could have grown up together. If Shadowheart couldn’t take control of her storm, Astarion had no idea how his ship would fare it. All raging waters, she stomped in his direction like a 50ft wave.

Before he could get a word out to question why she marched over in such a fitful state, she huffed, “Stop it.”

Something in her tone and approach immediately ruffled his feathers. The sheer unpredictability of her made his anxiety appear before she spoke, and whatever it was that got under his skin, spiked it. He didn’t expect these kinds of feelings to ever be molded by her hands. It was always quite the opposite.

Betrayed, he swallowed, then bit back, “Excuse me?! Stop what?”

“Augh!”

Astarion clicked his tongue and lightened his tone, “Oh, dear. Did you misplace your charm? Because I do miss it ever so much.”

Thankfully, none of the others were nearby to witness Vistri’s moment of disgrace. They were all sitting around the old cistern, laughing and having a pleasant evening. Even Lae’zel, who popped a vessel every time they stopped to rest and whose “cure” turned out to be a lie of her people, was unusually animated. She kept egging on Karlach to ask Gale more questions about his grandad. Vistri was more likely to elbow a dear friend out of the way for a better view than sit there unresponsive. Her favorite thing to do was fuck around, and she hated being serious.

So, again, what was she doing bothering him for? What-the-fuck did he do?! He was used to getting in trouble, made a habit of it actually; all he wanted was to know was why.

Astarion raised his brow, pointing to the merriment she’d left behind to come fuss at him. Then it knitted with the other one, “Are you sure everything’s all right—”

“No! That! Stop that!” One more version of, Are you okay? from his so obviously deceptive lips and Vistri swore she’d jump into the campfire.

“I’m sorry?”

“Augh!”

“Do you…? Do you need to sit down? Or?”

“I do not need anything. I’m fine! Please, spare me your false concerns.”

“False con—! Oh, I’m sorry! Did I dare to give a shit for once? Fuck me, I’m never doing that again.”

Frustrated tears began to well up in Vistri’s eyes. A crater opened up in her stomach, “No!”

“No?”

Because the thing was that nobody cared. No one who fucked her ever asked if she was okay, because Vistri was always fantastic, and even if one doubted that for even a second, all they needed to seek relief was just to sit back and enjoy her show. The audience may gasp at a particularly nasty fall, but she always shot up afterwards with a grand smile and confetti rained down on her head. Astarion asked without really being the first person to ask. He said the words, his brow screwed up, but there was no way in any of the hells that he meant it. And if she could just say, You scare the shit out of me because none of it can be real, then maybe he’d be able to clear things up for her.

But all she could articulate was, “Augh!”

Astarion sighed to calm his excited rage, “I’m lost. Am I speaking to Vistri? Or is this some sort of residual, pissed-off-tadpole effect?”

She bit her tongue to stop herself from spitting back with something truly nasty she didn’t really mean and would forever regret. Astarion looked like he was doing the same. His eyes were as sharp as his smirk, and there was something dangerous in his air. Like he was ready to fight to the death, and by the gods, so was she.

Vistri balled her hands into fists, so wanting to break whatever laid at the root of his giving a shit. To snap it like a twig, and watch it die in his eyes.

It was the only thing she deserved.

The tender glint in his eyes sliced through her, sharp like papercuts. She would lose his frowning lips, and the memory of her would disappear as others sucked them. Vistri wanted to kiss them before it was too late. Tangle herself in his tongue and his arms and his chest, until she was nothing but raw heat, just something for him to take. So the rage had nowhere to go.

She blinked back her revulsion, and the overflow spilled down her face. Embarrassed, her voice cracked, “My head…”

Astarion’s defenses shut down. His heart seemed to obey her voice; whereas before it raised his shackles and grit his teeth, it now stilled his rage and broke it down into tenderness. He stepped closer with the care he’d just promised never to show again. Instinctively, he caressed the sides of her head, as if touch could cure it. The gentleness of his gesture, its complete lack of hesitation, tore Vistri’s heart in two, with one side empty as the void and the other full to bursting.

“Did that wretched Githyanki device hurt you, love?”

She nodded. That wasn’t it, but it was an easier story. Besides, if everyone believed in it enough, maybe it would become true.

Astarion sighed, “I think you deserve a good lie down. Why don’t we head inside my tent?”

She shook her head, “I don’t want to be inside.”

He lifted her chin up with his finger to peer inquisitively into her face. Astarion’s eyes met hers with kindness, forgiveness, “What about a walk to clear your mind?”

She nodded her head gratefully.

“Then we’ll take a quaint little stroll around the cliff,” his voice was soft and a little cheeky, “Would that be nice?”

It was embarrassing for Astarion to act with the patience of a paladin, and even more so for Vistri to act in a way that required it. They wore those roles like ill-fitting clothes. With that awkwardness lingering around them, making the air sharp, they took a step forward. He led her to another part of camp, away from all the others and their merriment. To get uphill, they had to first walk a decline. He carefully guided her passed rocks that stuck out and ground that slid, like she was someone frail. A ghost had more presence than she did at the moment.

Discordant bits of laughter from the group carried over on the wind and hit their backs like mocking jeers, even though it had nothing to do with either of them. The only rooms they’d ever known filled one’s absence with group whispers. Astarion swallowed such blaring thoughts. Willing them away, he turned to the task at hand and gently brought her to the spot they claimed for themselves the other night.

“Care for a roll in the hay?”

She’d clicked her fingers, and about three bales of it exploded into existence around their feet that night. The proud cockiness in her smirk was too delicious not to lick up, and he’d devoured her with a similar pride. Guilty lusts settled in now with those memories. Astarion shook his head to clear it.

“Come sit,” he insisted, his tone harsher than he meant, “We wouldn’t want you falling over, and you seem rather dizzy.”

“Better?” he asked as she did.

Vistri nodded, but he saw it for the lie it was. Astarion knew more than most that sometimes there was no better. He sucked his teeth and sat down next to her.

“Does it hurt?”

“Hmm?”

“Your head, darling. Does it—?”

“Oh, it’s fine. I’m fine.”

The way she blew off his rare kindness brought him right back to his previous rage, like he’d never left it. His mood visibly soured.

“You’re doing it again,” she muttered.

Astarion scoffed, “Pray tell, what am I apparently doing again?”

She shook her head, “It’s so silly.”

“I could use a laugh.”

Vistri sighed, admitting bashfully, “You’re… You keep frowning at me. Like you care what happens to me—Or something! I don’t know what you’re playing at, but we both know what’s what here and I’d rather that than be played a fool.”

Her words struck his heart, and reminded Astarion of who he really was.

“Well… That wasn’t very funny. Try again.”

Vistri laughed, “You prick!”

For that second, he wasn’t a leech, and she wasn’t an empty glass. They stepped out of their roles to be Astarion and Vistri sharing a joke together. Then reality set in.

“I don’t like to see you hurt,” he said out loud, trying it on for size. It wasn’t wrong either. He felt like rats had been chewing through his veins as he watched her twist and shriek in the grasp of that alien machine.

“Afraid of the goods getting damaged?”

He smirked, “Obviously.”

Vistri pulled apart a bit of hay, watching it break between her fingers without seeing it, “I don’t know how to take… I mean…”

Astarion waited for her to continue, but more words never came. His hand reached for hers, “Vistri, I—I don’t want bad things to happen to you.”

That desperate look in her eyes pleaded for truth, but Astarion was lost as to what that was. A chill ran through him. She deserved so much more, and all he had to offer was himself, a falsehood.

He watched her try her best to believe in his words, and squeezed her hand, “Do you think it brings me pleasure to see you in pain?”

Vistri raised an amused brow.

Astarion chuckled, “Yes, of course that, but it’s not the same, is it?”

She smirked and scratched the back of her neck, “No.”

“Even with that, it’s not so much seeing you in pain, as it is seeing you let me do it.”

“Seeing me let you do what?”

His smile was devilish, “Anything I want.”

A bit of shyness colored her agitation. The more he watched her expression, the more it seemed to change to sadness. There was so much beauty to take in from the distance, but Vistri was staring out at nothing.

“Yeah,” she said.

Astarion brought her knuckles up to brush them with his lips. And kissed them bump by bump.

“My pretty pet… What is it that bothers you so?”

Vistri sighed, “You’re being nice outside of the bedroom and it’s weird.”

He scoffed and dropped her hand, “I’m nice!”

She leaned in and raised her brow.

“Don’t look at me like that. You make me nice.”

“Why?”

“Why? I don’t know why. It… Ugh! Maybe it rubs off!”

Uncomfortable with the heaviness, Vistri joked, “Gods know we do a lot of rubbing.”

He chuckled, looping his fingers through hers.

She looked out into the distance again. So did he.

As they sat there, Astarion played back every word and interaction he’d had with her that day, the day before, and basically any time they’d ever spent together. He was trying to figure her out on his own, and the more he contemplated, the more vileness crawled up his throat like bile. Every detail he went through made her more vulnerable, which made him more of a monster.

“What is it about this time?”

He was surprised she spoke. It had been a while since either of them said anything, “Do you really want to know?”

“Yes. I’m asking because I really want to know.”

“Now, now, darling. We don’t bite without asking.”

Vistri smirked her apology.

“I didn’t know I was being any different. Except… Why did you jump into that thing? That device? Wait—Don’t answer that, just listen. Because then I thought… That’s not the first time I’ve seen you jump in like that. Countless times… And then there’s me. And that’s the thing that explains it all, isn’t it?”

“What are you on about?”

“I think you’re hoping something’s going to come along and finally kill you. Like you died ages ago, and the moment to pass on keeps running by and you’re just… Well, maybe you’re just trying to catch up to it,” Astarion spoke plainly, without any weight, just a statement. He cleared his throat upon finishing his last word.

Vistri dropped his hand and laughed, “Silly boy!”

They’d held on for so long, letting go felt like losing a limb. Their empty, damp palms were chilled by the air as it breezed by.

“Right. Silly me,” he said with the absence of amusement.

“What do you want here?”

“What do I want? I don’t want anything,” he made a grand gesture with his hands, “I’m simply revealing my revelations.”

She scoffed, “What? That I’m just waiting for death? Aren’t we all?”

He sighed, “Forget I said anything.”

Vistri felt her lips tremble. She felt so stupid, “That’s it?”

“I was concerned. I said my bit. We can move on if you don’t want to discuss it further.”

She sat there and raged. Who the fuck was he to pretend to know her?

“You don’t care.”

“I never said I didn’t,” he didn’t know if that was true.

Biting her lip, Vistri tried to pull herself together. She needed to breathe, but a big wave of something ugly threatened to slip out with every bit of exhale. Her past was like an octopus, and the constant vibratory tension from his worry ripped a hole through the steel walls neatly containing it in a forgotten corner of her mind. Like a clean, empty facility, it was abandoned, yet well-tended to. His queries poked through the hole and reached around inside, and if even one tentacle got wind of the crack, all eight arms could slip out, and its head would follow like liquid. 

Astarion could see she was on the verge of telling him something but needed a bit more encouragement. He grabbed her hand, “I think I do care. At least enough to wonder what that’s all about.”

Again, he didn’t know if it was true, but it felt… not like a lie.

“Promise me you’ll laugh?” she asked.

Astarion sighed, “If that’s what you want, I’ll do my best to oblige.”

“All right, then,” her smile was unnerving. It wasn’t just out of place in the moment, it was equal parts ‘grimace as a silent shriek’ and ‘grin of a delighted fey’, “I could tell you the story of what I was doing before the Nautiloid snatched me up. Does that sound good to you?”

“I guess…”

She still wore that same horrific expression, “I was on a cliff just like this one, trying my best to jump right in, as you put it before.”

As shocking as that was, it really wasn’t. He might’ve placed his bets on someone else if he’d have guessed, but he also wasn’t that surprised. Of course he was drawn to another soul as wretched as his. In the best of cosmic jokes, Astarion picked a mirror to play Cazador to. 

He answered slowly, carefully as if navigating a minefield, “Yeah?”

Vistri pouted, “You promised to laugh!”

Astarion gave a weak, “Ahahahaha…”

She rolled her eyes, scoffing, “It’s funny!”

“Sure it is.”

“Whatever.”

“While the thought of you going splat is endlessly amusing, your delivery was all wrong, love.”

“What a critic!”

“Try again.”

Vistri cleared her throat, ready to be dazzling, "Okay, Hold on... It was a day just like any other day—”

“Gods! Not like that!” he teased, “We’ll be sitting here until the sun rises again.”

She glared at him, “I see you expect perfection.”

“I accept,” he spread his fingers and collected them back with a sweeping wave, “No less.”

She smirked at him slyly “There once was a Drow named Vistri, who some say was quite the mys-try!”

Astarion nodded his approval.

She proudly continued her improvised little song, “She went to jump over a cliff, but it was a miss. She took a step forward, oh my she was tortured! Then down from the sky came a very bad guy, and a tentacle scooped her up northward!”

Astarion couldn’t help but actually laugh with her this time, “It’s not funny! But—While you were stepping over the edge?”

“Yes! One foot hovering over the abyss,” she giggled, “Then poof!”

“If that would happen to anyone, it would happen to you. Or me, come to think of it.”

Vistri wiped the tears from her eyes, “It’s ridiculous!”

“It’s truly amazing, is what it is.”

“It never works for me, you know,” she said, “Any time I try to… Well. You know. It’s something in my magic, I was born with the powers of an old dragon I didn’t do anything to earn. My magic is always there—I didn’t ask for it, and more than just a survival instinct, it’s like a vengeance of life.”

“A vengeance of life? I can identify with that. I think I survived those two hundred years just out of pure spite. A stake through the heart felt like letting him win.”

“No matter what I try, it’s always okay in the end,” she continued, “I can’t even take myself seriously after a while. More than half the times I’ve… I’d be going over plans in my head of what to do later that evening. And after all those times, I’m still here.”

“I don’t hate that you’re still here.”

Vistri scoffed, “Yeah?”

“No, I mean it. I’m glad,” he took her hand back, “I benefit, at least.”

She smirked, but her eyes were dead. They filled and ran without noticing, just sitting there in her skull, barely looking out.

One “Ha” of a laugh escaped him that was more like a huff, “And immediately after, you had to fight for your life.”

“What?”

Astarion pointed to his head, “Tadpole. Big ship? Took us up? Remember?”

She chuckled, but it was so empty, “Shut up.”

“Do you really want me to? Or can I ask you another question?”

“Go on,” she said weakly.

“It’s rather broad, are you all right with that?”

She shot him a suspicious glance, but the accusation quickly melted into something else, “All right.”

Astarion sighed, and then simply asked, “Why?”

Like a child, she brought her knees up to her chest, and rested her chin in the crook of them. Her expression was thoughtful, not refusing. She looked like she was going to answer, and was just deciding how.

And then she didn’t. She just sat there and stared ahead.

The broken way he eventually said, “Oh, my darling…” pulled at her thread that was holding everything together.

“Don’t!”

Vistri was stiff as the rock around them. So unmoving, she was shaking.

“I’m sorry,” he said very calmly, “Is there anything I can do?”

She shut her eyes tight, and began rocking, “No. Stay there. Shush.”

He nodded and waited for her signal to do anything other than watch and freeze. The timelessness of the hells fell over their heads. Gravity felt steeper. Now was forever.

“Okay,” her voice broke the spell, and she looked up at him, nodding, to repeat, “Okay.”

Astarion flew around her, and for the first time outside of a whoopsie in battle or moment of fun, held her tightly, so tight, for the sake of his own aching heart. He kissed the top of her head reflexively. Warming her back with one hand, he cradled her face against his neck with the other. He genuinely wanted to do it, felt no ulterior motivation, but at the same time, a part of his mind marked his victory. Catching her up at a vulnerable moment, and being the shoulder she leaned on, would bind her to him like a warding enchantment.

“I’m so sorry,” he muttered senselessly, “I’m so sorry.” He had no idea whether he was apologizing for whatever she couldn’t say, or himself. Perhaps both. Perhaps a bit more for his own wrongdoing.

Only it didn’t feel wrong. And that scared him. Frightened him.

Vistri knew she was crying but couldn’t feel herself doing so. She knew she was being held by him, but rather looked out and saw it from above and off to the side. She thought she looked terrible, and he looked so fine. Dashingly picturesque and tragic.

Nobody ever held her the way he did now. She never felt such warmth, and they were both such cold people. How was it possible? Was it some dream?

She started speaking, “We’re more similar than you know.”

Right then, Astarion predicted the gist of what she was about to say. He could tell by the look on her face and the way her tone itched at his brain, she had her own Cazador. She also walked around weighted by invisible chains held by a very nasty man. Same prison, different jailor; he was understood. He found a home there in that knowing. Still, he’d give her his own rusted shackles just to lighten his burden, even if it meant crushing her under them. Anything to soothe the wound.

He’d warned her so many times; he was a thing that ate. He had real no say in the matter, the curse that fueled his undead life was a restless jaw. If Vistri was looking for a guide to a kinder world, she wouldn’t find it in his arms. They belonged to another very nasty man. Even though it was different this time, he’d take her with him to Cazador’s lair and someone would die. If only one of them were to make it out of this mess alive, well, he was a scrappy survivor, and she was the type to ball up and welcome oblivion. Anything to be free.

“Yeah,” was all he said, and it was so warm. Like an embrace, it held her softly, making her feel like something meant to be protected. She nodded tearfully into him. Leaning on him like this was an indulgence, but he tolerated it at least enough to let it happen. Vistri knew she had to pull herself together. The home she found was rented, and she could only borrow so much. Astarion had more to give, but it wasn’t for her. There was no way she’d be one of the lucky ones.

He kissed her head again, and caught himself, “Sorry. Is it okay to touch you?”

She nodded harder than the last time.

His chuckle was relief. To her, it was a song. He held her tighter. She dissolved. He’d taken off her mask, stripped her of her costume, and naked, she cried into his chest, “I just want to die. I want to be dead. And I can’t. I keep trying, and I can’t!”

Holding her at a moment like this was a key part of his plan. Step one, open her legs. Step two, her heart. It was a system as efficient as it was ugly and cheap. And it made him ugly and cheap, but it also made him safe. He closed his eyes, Vistri’s tears soaking through his shirt felt like fire and it burned into his cursed, cold skin like a holy symbol; a brand. It was like her body knew what lurked inside his, called him out for the parasite he was even as she was oblivious to it, and fought back to defend against him when she couldn’t.

Vistri sunk into him, tucked into his warmth. She found her breath again in his arms, and in the moment she came back to herself, started to laugh.

He peeked down, “What are you chuckling about in there?”

Her eyes still freely flowed, silent and thick, but she was more present than before, “In where?”

“My shirt,” he said, “My damp shirt, mind you.”

“How is that my fault?”

He glared at her, “What do you mean, how?”

“I told you not to ask questions.”

“Well excuse me for wondering about your tendency to… To—”

“Try to kill myself?” she finished, her tone too light.

Astarion sighed. She threw her head back and laughed. He didn’t join in.

“You promised!”

“Let me let you in on a little secret about me and promises,” he said dangerously sardonic, eyes lowered, “Besides, I already pretended to laugh earlier.”

“Faking it doesn’t count!”

“Maybe I’d find it funnier if…”

“If what?”

If what?

If the others wouldn’t kill him before her corpse was cold? If they didn’t rely on each other every battle? If the very thought of her…

“Oh, I don’t know! I don’t want you dead! Is that so horrible to believe?”

His grumpiness was sweet. They were always pretending, with each other, with everyone else. Vistri knew it the moment she first laid eyes on him. That’s why every word he uttered that she ever wanted to hear made her ache all over with a dull sorrow, and why the words he pushed her away with were such tender caresses.

“Of course it’s horrible,” she joked, smiling, “I can’t give you what you want and kill myself! However will my two worst impulses co-exist?”

Astarion smirked, “Shithead.”

She smiled, and that sign of life from her made his blood rush.

He kissed her cheek to whisper in her ear, “If you ever feel such a desire coming upon you in the future, come to me, darling. I won’t provide you a real death, but I have plenty of little ones to give.”

His advances flooded Vistri with relief, she knew who she was within desire. Who to be and how to be had familiar answers, and reuniting with any sense of self was such a comfort, she had her first real sense of stillness since breakfast that morning.

He was so close, she prayed he didn’t hear the way her breath gave out.

“I heard that,” he muttered against her cheekbone.

“No, you didn’t,” she giggled heatedly.

“Yes, I did. Now, I know you want it, but I can’t give you that yet. There’s something you must do first.”

“Gods!” she groaned, “Please tell me you’re not about to request I promise not to throw myself right off this cliff!”

He chuckled, “I wasn’t born yesterday! That’s not a promise you’d keep in the long term. Then I’d have to call off whatever this is between us because you’d be lying just to get in my pants, and that would be awkward because your lie would have been exposed just after you tried to off yourself.”

She laughed loudly, “I wouldn’t lie! I would just refuse, and eventually you’d fuck me anyway.”

He grabbed hold of her wrists and leered at her seriously with a piercing expression. Time seemed to stop.

Astarion observed her reaction to pick apart her every emotion, willing his own to remain carefully neutral. Her confidence was so hollow. Her eyes gleamed with the delight of having him wrapped around her little finger, and yes, gods yes, he’d suck it and moan and beg for more, but he was the one really in control. He had all the power because he was clearly giving her something she never had.

The first cut and all that.

Her fingers played with his chest through his open shirt. His heart skipped on its own at the brush of their tips.

“And what about you?”

His mind had wandered, and while he was away, one of her arms broke free to reach for him, “What?”

“How tempting is this cliff?”

“Me? Oh! Right. That, uh,” he paused with a scoffing chuckle, “No, my dear. Sadly, it was my wish to live that landed me in this spot in the first place.”

“And since?”

Releasing her other wrist from his grip, he answered dryly, “Everything’s been fairies and rainbows, and all my days have had happy endings.”

Vistri smirked, raising her brow, “Well, they do now, at least.”

He flashed a heated smile and lowered his eyes, “Why do you care to ask?”

She squinted at his question, like it had the sting of an insult, “I don’t know! Why do you care to ask me?”

“You’re right. That was horrible! Let’s never care again!”

He expected her to laugh but she looked rather serious. “I didn’t mean for you to worry,” her tone was small, and younger than he’d ever heard.

His smirk was friendly and understanding, “If it helps, I was more curious than anything else.”

“Curious?!”

There was a contentedness in his playful tone, “They call her Vistri, ‘cus she’s a mys-try!”

“Oh, stick to readership, darling.”

He growled and tackled her to the ground. She was breathless underneath him, laughing like every spot on her body tickled at once. Some might call it happiness, and maybe it was; Astarion felt it as acceptance. Overwhelming acceptance. So adored, he was given anything he wanted, completely spoiled. And if he was invited to take, why shouldn’t he?

“Remember that favor, my dear?” he asked, pinning her forearms above her head. Before she could answer, he leaned in for a kiss, one that was gentle and hungry.

Her sighs were moans, “Maybe I’ll wait it out.”

He kissed her neck and whispered, “Could you?”

The way she shivered was her answer. Astarion grinned and stroked her throat with the tip of his nose. From the base of it to her chin, and sealed his gesture with another longing kiss.

She was his.

Even if it meant degrading herself. Being his little slut, bent over and drooling. He moaned on the next stroke of her tongue, overcome by the whim to fuck her senseless. His mind reeled with possibility. Just how far would she go for him, out in the open air, with the others just off into the distance? How could he give her a taste of a life that was worth living?

“Get yourself off for me, dear.”

“Here?” Vistri asked, grinning. Her heart pounded faster than it already was.

They weren’t exactly discreet, but only ever touched each other tucked away in the woods or his tent. Here, out on the cliff where anyone might see… It was like he was claiming her. Like maybe some small part of his mind, or some feeling deep down, knew how important she was going to be to him once he realized his truth. That if he asked her to cum in the open air under the evening glow, she was worth something.

“The sun is disappearing, and I’ll cover you.”

Her grin grew wider, even reaching her eyes. She tried to tug one of her arms free from his grip.

“Ah, ah! No hands."

She looked at him curiously. Maybe he’d changed his mind about her. Maybe he had a delightfully naughty idea. Maybe this was the start of his attempt to toss her off the cliff.

He unwrapped one of her legs from around his, and slid his thigh between hers, “Use me.”

“Okay.”

Showing her how to proceed, Astarion rubbed himself against her middle. She bit her lip and began to roll her hips. Her obedience was like a drug, and they passed it with their tongues where it melted into them and infected their minds worse than those tadpoles ever could.

“Good,” he praised, just above a whisper. He fondled her neck, and the hand he let go of shot to his curls. His fangs throbbed, so ready to take her that he gasped as if biting into something hot whenever they touched her skin.

She made a sound he had to shush, it was too personal and way too explicit.

“I can block you from view, but I cannot stop your sound.”

She nodded, sighing and rocking against his thigh.

“All the pieces come together,” he said as she pleasured herself on him, “You’ve always given yourself to me so willingly. Let me bite you. Now I know why.”

Vistri tossed her head back, craning her neck, and sighed, “There are worse things than dying in the arms of someone pretty.”

“And if I had killed you that night?”

“I hope you would have drunk me up.”

A full, wanting, warm acceptance of himself—Not just his charm, but the monster, the ugliness in him. She wanted all of it, treasured all of him. He’d never been good enough for anyone before, just a disappointment under an illusion. But she made him feel like a god.

He groaned, composure slipping, “Ohfuckme…”

“Okay.”

“Not yet,” his grip on her arm loosened enough for him to travel up her wrists and interlace their fingers, “You haven’t earned it.”

She shouldn’t surrender. It would just be another attempt at non-existence. Why couldn’t she have answered with something along the lines of coming back to life just to drive a stake through his heart? Astarion wished it had been anything other than wanting him to have his fill, even if it meant her destruction. It was her will to be his sacrifice, to be truly devoured. He shouldn’t yearn for her so completely; cherish the way, I hope you would have drunk me up, fell out of her so blissfully, like belonging to him was a good thing.

Vistri playing with the point of his ear made him twitch and toss his head. The moan that betrayed him sounded so pathetic.

“I could wait you out.”

He chuckled, “No, you couldn’t. As much as I want you, I’m stubborn. Thrill me all you want, love, I’m determined for you to be absolutely dripping before I give you that.”

She arched her back, “I’m close.”

She wasn’t.

“Already?”

Not nearly, but worried she couldn’t give him his fantasy, she played the part.

The muscles on her face squeezed up real tight, and as her breath grew more shallow, she exhaled with high-pitched, little cries. Her tension peaked and melted away, “Already.”

It didn’t fool him one bit. In fact, he was sure that wasn’t even her finest performance. Like she’d started to pretend and went somewhere else, forgetting she was still on stage. Or a whore with ‘first day’ nerves. He was frowning when she opened her eyes.

“What?”

“Did you just fake it?!”

Vistri’s eyes grew real wide, and having been called out, laughed breathlessly, “Gods!”

“I was right! You faked it!”

She got caught up in another wave of laughter, “I’m sorry!”

Astarion smirked and tickled her sides, “Faking it doesn’t count!”

Squealing and wriggling to dodge his hands, she protested, “It wasn’t a lie! It was an attempt!”

“An attempt?! What is that supposed to mean? An attempt!”

Vistri couldn’t get a word in. She couldn’t breathe, “Please!”

He stopped tickling her so she could answer. Her breasts bounced with her heaving chest. His palms roamed over to cup them, “Did you not like it?” He’d thought of it just for her, and played with her nipples to distract himself from sudden choking disappointment. Buried in arousal, the sting ebbed away.

“No, I love it! Your thigh is heavenly, but you have other, better parts for pleasing—”

“How much better?” he interrupted in a heated tone.

Laughing, she answered, “Better than anything in the world! And not just this,” she brought her hand between his legs and gave that beloved, rock-hard part of him a squeeze, “Although it is wonderful, you have so many other parts for pleasing.”

“Just not my thigh.”

“It pleases, just not enough to bring a bout of ecstasy.”

“Do you want to stop?” He would at her command, but wasn’t ready to lose her.

She ran her hand along it, “No.”

A bright feeling ran through his spine, “You’d like to continue?”

“I do,” her hips resumed their flowing movement.

Her validation killed his fears, and so grateful for the throne to her world, a soft smile nestled in his expression, tugging at the corners of his mouth, “Give yourself time to get there, darling. It’s the journey, not the destination. I can watch you burst any time I want, but for now I want to observe as you slowly unravel.”

“Okay,” she moaned.

“And no performances this time. I will be very displeased. Do you want me displeased?”

She shook her head, “No.”

Anything but that. She’d be good for him so he wouldn’t throw her out.

“Good. Now slow down. You’re not just any rutting pup. You’re my little dragon and these sensations are your treasure. Lurk among your treasures, dear. Survey them, indulge.”

Her thrusts followed the command of his voice. She let them linger, like a slow drip.

“That’s it,” he praised, squeezing her breasts until she gasped.

Astarion looked around, and no one was in sight. The others would stay on the other side of camp for most of the evening and had no reason to pass by other than Lae’zel and Shadowheart, but it was still unlikely either of them would see.

He tugged her shirt lower, stretching it until her breasts spilled out through the top. Gravity squished them into perfect spheres under her neck, and her nipples just peaked out.

His tongue felt so warm on them. The impact of bumping into his thigh and the tight grinding against his femur were her favorite treasures, and then his roaming mouth was added to her pile. She could feel her pants bunching up as they soaked with her, and the damp cloth pinched at her skin as she humped him. The sting of it was a rainfall of coin over her glittering pile of sapphires and amethysts.

Kissing her deeply, Astarion took her hand and moved it back to his bursting laces. Their fingers tangled, undoing them together. When they were loose enough, he pulled her hand through the opening and wrapped it around his cock.

“Gods!” he groaned as she stroked him skin to skin.

Throbbing under her fingers, pulsing, hard; the perversity of her hand dipping into his trousers, riding his leg, nearing completion; his taste, his smell, his focus trained on only her: These were diamonds, so sharp they cut her. But they were so beautiful! And clear, and shone so bright!

“If I outlast you,” she sighed, “Then I win.”

She might win. Astarion did his best to hold back, but he was leaking in her hands.

“What would you win?”

“The mess of you all over my skin.”

He tried to think of something else, anything else, other than the image that conjured. It brought him too close. Teetering on the edge and planting his feet there, he moaned and it sounded like something dying.

Vistri gasped as it met her ears, bringing her closer.

His hands wandered down to her bum, and squeezed it in both hands, adding more pressure to her thrusts, bringing her closer to him. Closer and closer. Her bones started to hurt, ground away by his, but that ache was a handful of rubies, red and lush.

“Harder,” she said.

Astarion tightened his grip, leaned into her movements. He held her so near she could nuzzle her face into his shoulder. His skin was a pearl against her cheek.

“Kiss me,” Vistri pleaded, and when he did, she lost.

“I’m—” a little possession, a bit of a wail, and she could no longer speak.

In her rapture, she ceased her stroking, gripped him like a pulsing cunt, then left her palm hanging limply under his laces. His eyes were fighting to roll back when she let go, and even as he was grateful for it, just the brush of her unmoving hand was enough to be dangerous.

He pinned it above her head to take it away, “And now you’re mine to take.”

Her face was flushed, her breath still gone. “Yours to take,” she repeated as consent.

Pulling down her trousers, he found a river of her. He pushed her thighs up into her chest and took a look between them. Her pants were soaking, their slit a dark spot.

“All mine?” he asked.

She nodded, giving herself to him entirely. The fact that he wanted it made her blissful, like she belonged.

“Well, well, well,” he brought his face lower and spoke between her legs, “Might I have a taste? You smell de-licious!”

“Yes,” she whimpered, trembling. He gave a long, lingering lick along that dark spot, and she arched her back, groaning.

Astarion lifted his head to take another look around. The position they were in now was a bit more conspicuous. A dark part of him wished the others were around to watch him feed.

He kissed the back of her thighs, and she didn’t let even one of them slip by without a reaction. His tongue wrapped around the soaking strip of her pants, and he peeled them up to the crook of her knees with his teeth. A hungry whine left him, being so close to her skin flushed with pumping supper.

His nose nuzzled the back of her knee, tangling in her underwear, “Turns out a taste was just not enough. Mind if I take a bite?”

“Please!”

Her back writhed pleasantly against his cock as he sunk aching fangs into her flesh. He hadn’t anticipated the force of her leg pushing against his face. Her arms were so much weaker, and her neck never offered any resistance. Oh, but he liked it! Astarion felt vicious, attacking and taking something that fought back.

Having taken enough, he forced himself to stop. He pressed his tongue against the wound until it closed and gave it a kiss. Then he licked up every drop of crimson dripping down her lavender thigh. His tongue strayed its course, finding her middle. Vistri grabbed his head as he indulged in another kind of meal.

It was one of his parts she said was good for pleasing. She’d already earned him with one little death, but he gave her another, and another.

After the fourth, she summoned her very best begging voice, “Please, fuck me!”

His face was covered and shining with her wet. It even dripped down his throat, mixing with smears of her blood, “I thought I was.”

“Bury yourself in me.”

He made a quick vow to himself that it wouldn’t be over the moment he did. Then dove in with an uncomposed groan, “Fuck’ssake!”

The genuine sounds of what she tried to fake earlier were in his ears, right under them.

“Already?” he asked.

“Already!”

His face screwed up tight with hers, and as she pulsed around him, he yelped with the effort to hold back.

At the end of his cock, her chest pried open as if split down the middle, exposing her insides like two heavy doors creaking their welcome. Astarion felt himself crawl up her gut and slip into her heart, where sitting inside it, he could reach up with clawed, wretched fingers and tear at her throat. Then he’d kiss it better, the only one able to do so, and she’d never leave his side.

He felt her fingers on his chest, and found himself facing a pair of attentive eyes.

“Come back to me,” she asked like it was a favor, with a touch of light affection, an air of breathlessness, and enough simplicity that it was safe to come back.

“Hello there,” he smiled.

Vistri pulled him close for a kiss so full of gentle, living heat it was a hearth.

“It’s okay,” she said, forehead pressed to his, “You can let go.”

Starved of something in her tone, his body released into hers.

“Vistri!” he called out her name like it was the only thing that could save him. Then caught himself, realizing he’d been loud enough to carry across camp, “Shit!—Huh!”

Her arms flew upwards, wrapping around his head as if to help him keep his soul from seeping out. She couldn’t help the way her body responded to his echoes of pleasure by leaping into another wave of ecstasy. Just to be with him. A reflex of hers that must’ve been borne from her haunting impulse to follow him anywhere.

Unable to leave her, he let himself slide a little in and out; slow, slight strokes. Then finally stilled. They stared at each other a long while before moving apart.

“We should get cleaned up.”

“Right,” he muttered, “Right.”

She kissed the tip of his nose and giggled, “You have to get off me.”

He pecked her ear, “But I don’t want to.”

She laughed heartily and tossed him aside, “Get off me!”

“I was comfortable there!” he whined.

“Tough shit,” she grinned.

Astarion smiled back with empty eyes, sure that her grin was meant for someone else; the person he pretended to be.

“Are you all right?”

Apparently, he was unable to hide. When a lie didn’t work, there were always deflections.

“I’m more than all right! How’s your head? Didn’t steal too much of you, did I?”

“Astarion.”

When deflections failed to take, the only thing left was trading one truth for another. What could he sacrifice to keep the main thing hidden? It had to fit the same feelings as those he already wore.

“I just keep thinking… And excuse me, it’s quite selfish,” he moved some hair out of her face, “If you’d gotten what you wanted, you and I would never have met.”

Her round eyes were so fragile as they looked into his. All of her walls were knocked over, and the part of her that sat there was all raw existence.

She grabbed his hand, kissing his fingers. “All right then,” she rolled those round, breakable eyes, admitting, “I’m glad we did.”

Vistri was his. He squeezed her hand as if to tell her, never let go.

Rooted to the spot, they sat together and looked out at the view, actually seeing it this time. They deserved to have a nice sunset. One nice sunset.

“You’re unusually quiet.”

“I’m just taking everything in. Look at it! Aren’t you glad we aren’t just stuffed in your tent?”

Astarion raised his brow, “Insulting my castle is no way to get invited back, you know.”

She giggled and nudged his shoulder with hers, “It wasn’t meant as an insult.”

“You sure?”

She laughed, “Are you scolding me, Astarion?”

“No!”

“You are! Like you’re my mother or something! Well… Not my mother. She wouldn’t give a shit if I hurt myself. She scolded me plenty, but only over being an embarrassment or an inconvenience. Sometimes both.”

Vistri never talked about her past with any of them. Not even himself, who couldn’t stop telling her about Cazador once he started. It made Astarion hold his breath, afraid to chase away her confessions with the slightest disturbance.

“Gods! How in the hells did I end up talking about my mother? What a silly thing…”

Astarion leaned back, “I don’t know. Probably for the same reason I mention Cazador from time to time. If she’s as bad as she sounds.”

Vistri chuckled, “Her and Cazador would probably be friends.”

“He did often call me an embarrassment and an inconvenience.”

Vistri looked down shyly, “You’re not either of those things to me.”

Astarion took her hand, “Thank you. And neither are you. You know that, right?”

“You flatterer,” she teased.

His smile was a heapful of sorrow. All his lies were true, and his truth was a lie. His pretty songs echoed his real heartbeats. His determination to trap her was a sham, for he’d got caught up in it himself. She was right, Astarion was a flatterer, but he also wasn’t.

Neither confirming nor denying his accusation, Vistri settled for the worst case answer. He was probably looking for an excuse to leave. They always met up for this so much later in the night, and the sun hadn’t fully set yet.

Not wanting him to go, she turned her attention back to the view around them, “You know this big crater around us was probably an ocean before?”

“Actually?” he asked, grateful for a change of subject.

“It’s what must have made this shape. Well, that or a god’s great big fist,” Vistri rambled, “But I bet we’d find a lot of old bones in this stone if we looked for them. That’s what would tell us for sure.”

Astarion brushed his fingers lightly over her fist. She opened it so his fingers fell gently into her palm. He stroked along its curves until she closed her fingers around them.

“Would they be fish bones?”

“Ancient fish bones! And they probably wouldn’t even look like any fish we know. They might even look like monsters!”

“You like those,” he smirked, “Don’t you?”

“I don’t think of you as a monster. I think of you as a vampire.”

Like he was part of a species and not just a classification of Undead. Natural, and not a twisted version of life. Heart aching with the idea, Astarion’s eyes softened, showing Vistri an emotion she wasn’t sure he was capable of. Something she’d given up on ever earning from anyone. 

“A rather refreshing perspective. Just look at that waterfall! Isn’t it darling? And that little river that runs with it.”

Vistri nodded her head against his breast and stated theatrically, “All that remains of a mighty, prehistoric sea.”

The colors in the sky were candy-bright before they grew dark. They were still holding onto each other’s hands when the stars came out, even though they’d shifted positions as often as conversation topics.

It was only allowed because they pretended not to notice.

Lying down was better for looking out at the stars, but Vistri was so exhausted, it was hard not to slip into trance whenever she blinked her eyes. Astarion watched it take over, her face tucked in the nook of his shoulder.

Poor thing. She didn’t deserve to be cast under his spell, another of his cursed conquests. Even though Baldur’s Gate was still far away, and the tadpole took away the power of compulsion, every time his heart skipped for her, it sang, Caz-a-dor, Caz-a-dor, take her to Caz-a-dor! Any time he felt a part of himself wishing they’d met much sooner, Astarion was reminded she would have just been discarded like all the rest.

Sighing, he tried to slip into his trance. He closed his eyes. Opened them. They were on a cliff, how stupid would they be to remain unconscious here. Careful not to rouse her, Astarion untangled himself from her grasp to get up and carry her.

With his cursed heart pumping her dragon blood through his muscles, she was so easy to whisk away. He had to look where he was stepping, but her face proved such a distraction. The moonlight bounced off her silver scales and set her periwinkle skin aglow.

He smiled, stopping for a moment to appreciate—”Mother of fuck!”

Lolth didn’t guide her Drow towards pretty memories, she filled their heads with living nightmares. Whatever Vistri saw in her trance, it wasn’t bunnies. Still deeply within it, she’d reached out and punched Astarion vaguely in the nose with a whimper. He almost dropped her.

“Hells, girl!” he muttered, readjusting her in his arms.

At least some part of her fought back. The pulsing pain in his face was a reminder of what he deserved. As he walked passed the dying campfire, he leaned over and blew angrily into it, hoping that was enough to revive it but not really giving a shit either way. Then he tucked them through his tent flaps, and set her down with care.

She was simply the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

Just one part of her face; whether the metallic scales across her brow with her eyes closed under them, the shape of her nose and a peek of cheekbone at the side, or her pouting lips that rested over her chin; was equivalent to an entire sunset watched from a cliffside, on a mountain, towering above lively rivers and waterfalls. Such beauty required a tenderness he was too base to give. Pride in ownership soiled the sweet whispers of his heart. Greed reverberated through him, and loathing for himself echoed out of every pore. 

Astarion frowned as he surveyed Vistri on the floor of his tent. She couldn’t be too comfortable. Torn between the idea of fixing it and accidentally waking her, he started to pace around for a solution.

Like a sickly, potent stomach acid, he’d consume her slowly; digested through the mouth, by his tongue. His doing. He had a rot he needed someone else to hold.

With no good way to toss her into a bedroll, he made a nest of some blankets, and rolled her on top. Treating her like a baby bird, he adjusted her neck to rest on a cushion. He moved hair away from her face, caressed her cheek, and stopped himself from planting a peck on her brow.

He changed his mind as he settled in next to her. His racing thoughts made trance unreachable, but when his lips met her cool forehead, a peace came over him. Astarion took a deep breath through his nose before pulling away, and his eyes thickened with a bit of moisture.

“Rest up,” he whispered. And when he next closed his eyes, trance came to him. Unlike hers, it was his only refuge from nightmares.

[Click here for my other Kinktober one-shots]

[skyland2703]

Just gonna toss some random PR at you and see what sticks now that you're out of hibernation:

MMPR #121 is out and I....hate it:

I really, really, really want to be happy that we get to see Adam and Rocky and some character development in the wake of their possession, and get an entire issue based around Billy, but it all really just goes downhill from here. The only nice thing I can say is that Hendry Prasetya's art has gotten very smooth and I quite like it compared to previous chapters.

However, revisiting old Dual MM and PR chapters has made me happy finding little gold nuggets around that actually speak to true personality:

Next to Dan Mora, Marco Renna mighty be my favorite artist for this series. At least I can stand to look at Zedd with this style.

And also: THIS ☝🏿☝🏿 I miss this kind of thing.

I know we've all had fun throwing rocks at the Eltarian War Arc, but I cannot be the only one that sees the VERY EASILY streamlined version of events where this would have been perfect for Identity Reveal, Action Survivor, Big Damn Heroes, Big Ego/Hidden Depths, The Chosen Zero, Karmic Jackpot, Kleptomaniac Hero, Chekhov's Gun, Everything is Trying to Kill You, Strolling Through the Chaos, and an Establishing Character Moment tropes for...our babies Q_Q Honestly, so much fanfic possibility. Wish I could figure out how to make it work...

Also, just random pics of the minions being CUTE.

AYIYIYIYIYIHFRBHJTFBRVDCENDFR

This is the best thing i could've gotten coming out of hibernation, tbh. THANK YOU.

what the FUCK have they done with Billy's HAIR. Why do they look like THAT. (They've drawn Adam and Rocky beautifully but wtf billy.)

Feeling SO bad for adam and rocky they look BROKEN 🥺

Who's the lady in red?? Is she a ghost?? Can nobody else see her??

Zedd looks very overconfident, and is talking about how overconfidence will be the end of them... hmmmmmmmmm

i really like Zedd's art style! Marco Renna does a GOOD JOB O.O

But seriously wtf was that with Billy's hair.

i think i screamed at this. THIS IS CHARACTER <3

7. THEY HAVE AN EXECUTION ORDER TO MELT ALPHA???? i know it's supposed to be a serious scene but THAT many eltarian soldiers for one alpha, it's making me laugh awdhydfsvfadwfrgt 8. BULK AND SKULL BULK AND SKULLLLLLL!!!!!!!! HELLO BABIES!!! I love this style for them, they look so CUTE and smushable and cheek-pullable. Skull being depressed about Candace and bulk distracting him and cheering him up AND THE WAY THEY RUUUUNNNNN *wipes stray tear from eye* BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN <3

9. who is this man. why does he look like that girl from hinger games. 10. did they melt the alpha yet??

11. THIS ART STYLE. FOR THEM. YOUR HONOR I LOVE THIS PANEL (and they're shooting Matt. Lol i love that) 12. The empyreals?? IS THAT A BLUE KATAPPA 13. Jailbreak blue lady is Candace, I assume?? (She'd have looked prettier with blue hair, tbh. Why couldn't they just make zordon the bald eltarian. Why'd they have to make ALL ELTARIANS bald????) 14. Bulk and Skull are literally interviewing aliens. I don’t know how amazing THAT is, but also i cant stop laughing at the image of Mr. Blue katappa in my head.

For reference, this is Katappa.

Angry old general man who is one of the biggest memes here.

15. ERNIEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 16. "Honestly, so much fanfic possibility. Wish I could figure out how to make it work..." <- you say, let me read this arc. Then I'll yell at you about it.

17. WAS THIS YOUR TRAP TO MAKE ME FALL INTO THE ENDLESS PUDDLE OF THE ELTARIAN WAR????? because i think it worked 18. GOLDAR!!!!!! Kim going "saved by gOlDaR?? I’m gonna need a minute" *cackles*

19. Taking a minute to appreciate THIS. How CUTE. AUGH. 20. and Goldar in that veryyyy last panel. BRO. GOLDIEBRO. I FEEL YOU. it's the downfall era for ALL of us. WHY MUST WE SUUUFFFERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

i have so many thoughts here awdsfghbdfjsvns I NEED TO READ THIS ARC!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU AUGMENTT ASDNRGHJFDSCSEJDFG

[kiisuuumii]

@kiisuuumii's writerly questionnaire !

thank you @lead-to-code for tagging (ily kara <33)

i'd love to see yall's answers (only if you'd like to share of course !) @noahsbong @yearning-rambles @thesorcererpoet

about me:

1. when did you first start writing?

i was maybe between seven and nine ? to be honest, i can't really remember when it was, but i remember the first few things i wrote were story quizzes on a (now gone </3) website called quizilla (it was naruto rp....................)

2. are the genres/themes you enjoy reading different from the ones you write?

not really, now that i actually think about it ! ive always been the type of writer that only liked writing angst, and even outside of writing (fan) fiction (which tbh i dont do very much of anymore), so much of my poetry either comes from heavy emotion or features it so sdghjksd

3. is there an author (or just a fellow writer!) you want to emulate, or one to whom you're often compared?

theres one mutual, actually, who i actually wished i could write more like. in a very self-deprecating way, but ive since become very comfortable, and maybe even happy (!), with my style of writing ! so, no, i'm not really looking to emulate anyone in particular, and no one's ever made a comparison between my work and someone else's so no to that one too :0

4. can you tell me a little about your writing space(s)? (room, coffee shop, desk, etc)

i usually write on my phone, in the notes app or in my drafts here ! and ill usually only write in a (head) space where i can really think, undisturbed, for at least 30-45 mins. so i'll usually be out in my backyard under one of my calamansi trees ! though, lately, ive been occasionally writing at my desk on desktop tumblr :>

5. what's your most effective way to muster up some muse?

fall in love with someone

once i start thinking about how everything around me is alive, i start remembering that i, too, am apart of nature—a lucky enough set of sequenced mutations, to make me—just a eating, breathing, shitting animal. how lucky this set of mutations is to take it all in, the emeralds in the trees, and the beat of a chipmunk's heart, how scared we all are.

that or love

6. did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and places you write about?

people, no, but places, yes. i grew up for most of my childhood in the desert, and i have /always/ hated summers, because i'm kinda heat sensitive, and i sweat easily, and i hate it i hate i hate it djhks

but, a year ago, i moved back home, and, honestly, since being back home, ive come to appreciate the desert a bit more sgkjds i used to think they were ugly and uninteresting, but there's so much more there if you look a bit harder imo

7. are there any recurring themes in your writing, and if so, do they surprise you at all?

honestly !! i think there are plenty obvious ones, but i really wanna talk about /the lack of/ sexual themes in my work !! i wanna write more sexetry or whatever, but it feels really embarrassing to sdghks i really like writing them too, but again !! it just feels embarrassing !! ;w;

my characters:

1. would you please tell me about your current favourite character? (current wip, post wip, never used, etc)

not to copy of kara dskjfs but i love my first (and my current) d&d chara !! her name is maeve umerie, and shes a drow wild magic sorcerer / (planned artillerist) artificer !! shes so packed full of trauma and self-harming behaviors and addictions that i dont even know where to start <33 (i promise i love her i would actually be so devastated if she died before i could give her a proper happy ending </3)

2. which of your characters do you think you'd be friends with in real life?

i have this fantasy novel thought that ive floated in my head since maybe september-october of last year, and, in it, i have a character named levin hel, and AUGH hes just a sweetie :^( hes the son of a blacksmith-gunsmith duo who know a thing or two about magic, and is the apprentice to the son of the wizard who saved his life (who's name is nox, and he's an asshole ! but also i love him so much ;v;)

i need go go back to all my notes and stuff on it, bc i invested A LOT of time worldbuilding for it, but yea levin's a very kindhearted person, very much wanting to be like nox's father :'''^) </3

3. which of your characters would you dislike the most if you met them?

i would absolutely hate to meet maeve mother. she's horribly self-serving and emotionally manipulative. she rules the house with an iron fist, and anything less than the best is worthless. she uses everything at her disposal to get what she wants, family or not.

4. tell me about the process of coming up with one, all, or any of your characters.

im ngl most if not all of my characters are just bits and pieces of me and my wants in different aus >_> .................................

5. do you notice any recurring themes/traits among your characters?

family and/or religious trauma mhm yep

6. how do you picture them? (as real people you imagined, as models/actors who exist in real life, as imaginary artwork, as artwork you made or commissioned, anime style, etc)

for my fantasy wip, i imagine imaginary artwork, but for maeve, i have pieces i've drawn and pieces i've commissioned of her !! id love to someday get pieces of her family and other major characters in her past commissioned :>

my writing:

1. what's your reason for writing?

i will say that it's changed over the years. as a kid, and up until college, i've wanted to always be a story-teller. but, lately, i dont really have a reason for writing, other than to satisfy the thing that lives inside me that wants to write :^)

2. is there a specific comment or type of comment you find particular motivating coming from your readers?

knowing other people's reactions, getting to hear how something made them feel emotionally, or physically, or if there was a particular thought or memory that came to mind. i love knowing what people see, what my work makes people see, if anything.

that or if theres something, a word choice, or a line, that you thought was clever or struck you !!! i always love knowing people's thoughts !!!

3. how do you want to be thought of by those who read your work? (for example: as a literary genius, or as a writer who "gets" the human condition; as a talented world builder, as a role model, etc)

i want to be thought of just as another person, honestly. someone who had very human emotions, and did the only thing she knew how to do.

4. what do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

uhhhhh im ngl i think this is also my greatest weakness but i have a tedium to my world-building, in that i need history-book-level details of my worlds or i will die (like i drew my own map. i drew a fucking map of an entire contiment)

5. what have you been frequently told your greatest writing strength is by others?

yk,,,,, no ones given me a whole lot of specifics so im not sure,,,,,

6. how do you feel about your own writing? (answer in whatever way you interpret this question)

i said it before, but im pretty content at the moment with my poetry. though with prose, i think i could probably improve a bit sdgjksg

7. if you were the last person on earth and knew your writing would never be read by another human, would you still write?

uh yeah !!!! i write and record voice memos in my journal fully knowing no one will ever read it or listen back right now as it is so !!!!

8. when you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely what you enjoy? if it's a mix of the two, which holds most influence?

i gotta be honest, writing is a selfish act for me. i write because i want to, in ways that tickle my fancy dgkjds

it really is almost like an instinct for me

[salty-an-disco]

Drew that thing I was thinking about- now, what is this about Mae and Gregg and Cold and Contrarian parallels? (Looking at you very politely)

Him melting aomsksjdxkdoke. so cute <3 Augh. Thank you so much for the contrahero, I’m love them T^T

Now– onto the Gregg&Mae and Contra&Cold parallels– *cracks knuckles* (warning: long ramble ahead)

The most obvious similarities is how dismissive all these characters are of danger and death. One of the first things Mae does when she comes back to town is climb to the wire lines so that she can go over a fence. And before that, she almost got crushed by some tree trunks and this is her reaction:

And on your first encounter (and Mae’s reencounter) with Gregg, those two easily fall back into a familiar bit: listing off horrible things that could’ve happened to the other one, seemingly trying to one-up each other in tragedy levels (that ‘too bad…’ game). To these two, danger, risk of death and injury, it’s all entertainment. Something fun to do with your closest friend. Each of Gregg’s hang out is a dangerous and illegal activity that Mae is happy to go along with (smashing lightbulbs with bats, firing a crossbow on a statue or birds, the knife fight, stealing an animatronic, etc, etc, etc).

Just from this, you can already see where the parallels start. Much like Mae and Gregg, Cold and Contrarian also don’t really care for danger, not really believing consequences are a thing, and going along with whatever would be the most fun.

There’s a very crucial difference though, and it’s that Mae and Gregg are actual people that grew up in a community full of other people; and I think looking into their character arcs more thoroughly could really help to see how Contra and Cold could develop in the real world, or even the kinda people they could be if they were always humans.

First, Gregg:

When you first meet him in Snack Falcon, he’s incredibly energetic and excited to see Mae, happy stimming, screaming, and immediately deciding they need to do a band practice. Those are the first things we learn about Gregg: energetic, impulsive, has a bit of a morbid humor, and really missed Mae. And after meeting with the rest of the band, Bea and Angus, he’s apparently the only one there who missed Mae; both Angus and Bea seem more bemused than enthusiastic, and Casey (someone both Mae and Gregg mention fondly) is nowhere to be found.

That immediately presents Gregg as Mae’s main support, besides her parents, back in Possum Springs, since everyone in town seems to dislike and distrust her for one thing or another she did in the past, but Gregg never seem to care. He’s on the same wavelength as Mae, and because of that, Mae thinks fondly of him. In the midst of all the mess that was dropping out of college and going back home, hanging out with Gregg, doing stupid and illegal shit is a reliable, and maybe even cathartic, source of comfort.

At least– that’s what Mae was hoping for. But Gregg is planning to move out with his boyfriend, Angus, sometime in the future.

And when you think about it– that’s perfectly fair. Gregg is a queer man, heavily implied to be neurodivergent (bipolar is mentioned at one point in the game), living in a conservative small town; of course he’d want to leave as soon as he could. And it’s not like it’s easy for him either, he knows what kind struggles they’ll run it, Possum Springs may suck, but it’s familiar and where everyone he knows is. But he HAS to go, it’s the only way he can grow. (Let’s shelf this for later for now).

And not only that, but much like Mae, Gregg’s also dealing with his own mental issues.

With some more prodding from Mae, we learn that Gregg and Angus have been arguing, and it’s really heaving on Gregg, making him feel like he’s not good enough. Paraphrasing his own words– “Maybe I’m inconsiderate. Maybe I’m not good. I’m just parking lot trash. I’ve known it all along; I’ve got no future if it was just me.”

And that’s what he’s scared of. Being with Angus gave him hope and a future to look forward to, when before, he was most likely just trudging along and whatever happens, happens, much like Mae is doing for the entire game. But now, he has a future, and someone he cares for. And he’s terrified of screwing it up, of losting the one thing, failing the one person he so badly wants to do right by (*gestures vaguely towards ContraHero*).

And Mae doesn’t really understand. She doesn’t know what it is like to have something to worry about, or a future to prepare for. She went to college, yes, but her heart was never in it, she only went along with what her parents wanted and as soon as it got too bad for her to handle, she dipped and went back to Possum Springs, where everythings more simple. Except, it isn’t anymore. Bea hates her, her parents are disappointed in hee, Gregg will be moving out soon, and everyone remembers what she did to that kid in the softball game.

Speaking of–

Let’s talk about Mae’s reputation in the town.

(sounds familiar........ 🤔)

We immediately catch up that Mae was a troublemaker in town by how everyone talks to her. Her aunt mall cop already sounds exhausted (if unsurprised) after seeing that Mae jumped over the fence instead of going the longer way around to the town’s entrance. Mae is known for stealing, vandalizing, causing trouble to the elders, and, more predominantly, of sending a kid to the hospital back in high school (where the ‘killer’ nickname came from). That last one is treated as one of the main mysteries from Mae’s past, together with the reason she dropped out of college. No one in town, and we, the player, really know why she did that, and Lori M (the rat girl up there^) mention their mothers warning kids to stay away from her in case she snaps again.

Mae, for the most part, acts unaffected by this, and seems to embrace her troublemaker status; in a confrontation with an old man that was directly affected by Mae’s behavior in the past, you have the option to double down and insult him back, basically confirming his statement about how Mae hasn’t changed, and is still just the same kid that’s always searching for trouble.

And, yeah, during the day, with other people around, Mae acts like it doesn’t affect her, says she enjoys being seen as a miscreant, and plays into what everyone expects of her. But alone? There’s this very poignant scene where Mae is standing in front of a mirror, preparing for a party, where all her insecurities and self-consciousness comes to light:

(note: the other option you can choose in the second pic is: “You don’t like people. Clearly.”)

We see that not only is Mae self-conscious about her appearance, she DOES care about what people think. She craves connection and a community, that’s why she came back to Possum Springs, but for some reason, it seems like she just can’t hold on to a relationship for long before fucking up.

She’s impulsive, doesn’t have much of a filter, and struggles to understand other people’s perspectives. We see that clearly with Bea. It was Bea’s dream to go to college, but because of personal issues, she can’t; and Mae, someone who GOT that chance, simply threw it all away and dismissed it as ‘college just wasn’t for me’ upon coming back, and expects everything to be as it always was.

Mae isn’t an understanding person. She tries, and she really wants to help the people around her, but she just isn’t very good at understanding people, and will often run her mouth at the worst moments. Bea’s hangouts has some of the best (or worst, ig) examples of that. I’m not gonna get too deep into what happens, but, uhm. It gets BAD, and those moments can make you really unsympathetic towards Mae; but you gotta respect this game for not pulling its punches when showing off its protagonist’s worst traits (and honestly, it made me love Mae all the more, she’s so beautifully flawed).

You can see the familiarities to Cold? Struggle with understanding others, impulsive decisions made with the main goal of entertaining yourself, no sense of danger, disregard of own life, no filter– the main difference is that Mae is much more emotional and prone to snapping, but I feel like their core struggles are very similar.

I could go more into how Mae’s derealization is also very similar to how Cold views the world, but while Cold embraces that feeling as a reason to why you can disregard pain and consequences, that thought terrifies Mae and the kind of person that makes her (it doesn’t make her a bad person, btw, she’s mentally ill and traumatized, but ‘bad person’ is what she internalizes after being told so for so long), but anyway aaaaaaaaahhhhhh this got so long and pretty rambly akaksjsmsjd)djsjdj. Hopefully it made sense though? This has been turning around in my head for days now, glad to finally put it out.

[kuruk]

I love stimulants I feel like if I were to think a thought, I could literally have the energy to even think that thought clearly in my mind with structured language and everything.. like instead of it being a web graph with a bunch of random words circled in it and maybe a picture drawn next to the graph. my thoughts are so disorganized usually that I give up on even trying to articulate the vague fuzzy half thoughts in my head it feels like 90 percent of my thoughts aren't even able to surface anymore because the very structure of it has fallen apart like I don't know how to describe this even sorry...

I feel like I'm forgetting how to think in english sometimes because of how the structure itself is hard to create and visualize now. like the base and foundation is so weak when I try to think and talk about things and I can never explain anything because I'll forget what I just said and I'll forget where my thoughts are as if it's supposed to be somewhere tangible like I lost them and got them tangled like wire. I keep forgetting what I say as soon as I say it T_T this type of brain fog feels so bad I feel like I'm never really even awake.. my sister showed me a funny picture recently and then 20 minutes later I brought it up to laugh about it and claimed that I was the one who showed her it and even after she explained I just couldn't recall much of anything that just happened or actually correct it in my mind -_- idk I feel like my sense of language is falling apart or something it feels like I'm thinking the way an animal with no knowledge of language thinks, like vague pictures and ideas graphed on a big sheet of paper with arrows pointing everywhere and connecting those ideas together with a sense of direction and physical but unstable placement in my mind instead of written out in sentences. so they're not grounded they disappear and fall apart so easily just one part of the puzzle suddenly goes missing and then I can't remember where to even start again. I have to like put a puzzle together every time I wanna word my thoughts because they come in so mixed up and disassembled and I have to do so much work to assemble it. and ik everyone has a million vague thoughts aside from their inner monologue of course but I struggle to even form real concrete thoughts normally at all usually now augh

[valleynix]

GHOSTIE AGAIN (ch16) WE R FINALLY ON FIRST NAME TERRITORY WITH ALCINA YESSS also oh my god lottle crow is SO cute i absolutely love that petname!!!

also. THE HEIGHT DIFFERENCES MAKE ME INSANE EVERY TIME ugghhh dani just /towering/ over reader in the alleyway 😩😩

also² i love how u wrote how the forest just extends on and on- it's just a simple line but i think it has such a big effect esp on how it makes reader seem a bit more trapped :P

i absolutely love how u write dani too btw- shes such a sweetheart and i love her constant will to keep trying esp for reader 😭🫶

also³ BELA ughhh omg i can be soo good for u trust i follow commands And i can beg 😩😩😩😩 WHY DO WE KEEP GETTING COCKBLOCKED BY THE SIBLINGS RAHHHHH

also⁴ rip red (i dont feel that bad tbh but bashing their head in was BRUTAL)

YIPPEE!! i forgot how soft Alcina was in the beginning of this chapter 😭 “my little crow” ma’am 🙏

REAL OF YOU. it’s funny that the Dimis are much taller than Reader but often don’t act as if they are. i try to include that as much as possible :D

that was the intention! i guess they COULD leave if they really wanted to, but why would they?? regardless, they really started to see just how isolated the village really is and it does make sense why they were lost so easily

DANIIII MY BELOVED. she’s the sweetest thing ever, especially when it comes to those she cares for. she’s so accommodating and gentle and AUGH

LMAO IT’S AN ONGOING JOKE WITH BELA 😭 like a running gag kinda. continuously never gets her alone time because no one can leave her alone

RED DESERVED IT‼️ and i will always stand by that

[cartoonrival]

kakashi and ummmm spins wheel akane from r1/2

kakashi

i dont really talk about kakashi and theres not really a reason for that beyond i dont super have anything intelligent to say about him but i do really love him ToT i dont think he works BETTER as part of a dynamic bc that implies i dont care for him much on his own but i think his character shines BEST as part of a dynamic... in pt 1 he was one of the characters who most most emphasized how young the team 7 kids were and it makes me SICK it makes me sick seeing how much he loves them, the way he talks to them and about them like theyre really children and he cares about them so much and has loved watching them grow up and helping them train, i looove how the chidori becomes one of sasuke's signatures after kakashi taught it to him and how excited naruto gets about getting to train with kakashi again and how kakashi was disappointed at the start of shippuden that naruto and sakura werent as easily amazed by him anymore and he had them try and steal the bells from him again as a little welcome back exercise .... and when he watched the three of them defeat kaguya together he was thinking how much he loved them .... BWAAAAAAAA

and and. i think his relationship with guy honestly balances his relationship with the kids rly well because we get to see him as a protective figure with them but with guy he's talking to someone whos his age and on his level and who he's known for like 2 decades, obviously not to say he never lets loose or relaxes or is irresponsible with the kids but the way he is with guy and the childish competitiveness of their rivalry (which he acts like he's annoyed by but this is obviously not true) is just idk. i like seeing that other facet of him. i think the race through konoha that ended w guy giving him a bouquet was an anime original scene but idc it was so cute and i think it was lee and neji who said smth about them finally being able to have fun and let off steam or w/e. augh. yeah.

ALSO esp in the anime i love how noticeably his tone of voice shifts when he's talking to someone ranked above him when he's usually so nonchalant and casual its something something about how he used to be part of the black ops. idk idk i rly love him and i love how he has pretty distinct facets of himself that come out depending on who he's interacting with it makes him feel very real. he's laid back but on edge and kind and blunt. ill be honest though i dont care about the stuff w obito and rin im sick of that dead girl and that man whos still obsessed with her!!!! but its ok because i love you kakashi.

akane

SHES EVERYTHING .TO ME. as with all of r/2 i think her struggles with bisexuality (ambiguous) couldve been carried further and her martial arts abilities kind of fell off towards the end which SUCKSSSS AND MAKES ME SO MAAAAD but anyways. she gets a lot of hate for being a jerk BUT LIKE. YEAH? she's scared and angry all the time and doesn't know who she is and is afraid of who she is and everyone's telling her she's living wrong so she's forcing herself into a box where she doesn't fit because she's afraid of nonconformity and she takes that fear out on the person closest to her and the one person who might actually understand what she feels. because it is so scary to admit that you are not what you are supposed to be and intimacy and honesty are so much scarier than bullying someone who'll do it right back. she's been engaged at 16 years old and burdened with the expectation that she'll marry ranma and carry on the legacy of her father's beloved dojo, and now she's been thrown in to this situation where she is forced to confront her wayward sexuality head on and directly in front of her entire family.

will say though possibly unpopular opinion. i dont like transmasc akane reads .. i think shes cis. she has a tomboy thing going on (meaning characters (mostly ranma) make fun of her for being boyish and violent and she has an arc about cutting her hair and no longer growing it out as assurance of her own femininity even though she really prefers it short) but i dont think taking "this female character has some issues with not being seen as feminine enough because of her behavior/struggles with not tying her worth to how feminine she is" should be immediately taken as "this character is not a girl" because i think the potential for her gender nonconformity (esp in relation to her bisexuality) is just as valuable a theme, especially considering r/2 already has very potent transfem (ranma) and transmasc (ukyo) stories. idk "this character has some not traditionally feminine tendencies -> cannot be a girl" doesnt sit right with me. in any series other than r/2 it wouldn't bother me because people can take little tidbits of possible transgenderism as they'd like, but since the trans themes are already so potent in r/2 i tend to lean towards more realistic interpretations of the characters and i dont feel like "akane doesnt fit into traditional femininity and is therefore not [fully] a girl" is reaaally a win. expectations and gender roles are a huge theme in r/2 and i think its valuable seeing how they impact a cis girl as it is how they impact trans people in terms of determining what even MAKES someone a girl or a boy. is it what you wear? what you do? how you talk? these are genuine questions that r/2 asks and i feeeeel that transmasc reads of akane kind of respond to these questions in a really surface level way. this is the reason for the slash over the everyone else is wrong box. because not everybody thinks this and i know some reliable akaneheads (hi jordan)

[fruit-sy]

Siblings with a Mountain Man/俺哥来自深山 drawings!

Fan art I did of this manhua I've been reading for the last couple of weeks! This manhua has been living rent free in my mind and I cannot stop thinking about these silly goofy lil characters <33

It's a comedy-centric manhua, but it has its serious moments and times where its sincerity really punches me in the gut <:)

I loove the dynamic between the main siblings, Li Mo and Dao Mo.

Dao Mo is a relatively impassive person and gives off a cool-looking vibe at first glance, but that impression shatters as shenanigans happen, with him adapting to urban life after having lived in the mountains for 10 years and embarrassing Li Mo along the way. And as comedy comics are, he tends to dispel moments that are too serious with humor (also maybe as a defense mechanism when he feels genuinely moved by something)

Li Mo is a springy girl whose normal life crumbled as soon "that guy" came into her life. She does a lot of things with earnestness and vigor. She contrasts her brother a lot, very obviously pointing towards the yin and yang principle, and they make for a very entertaining duo. Though, as much as they goof around with slapstick humor, Li Mo really underestimates just how much Dao Mo cares about her.

Dao Mo repeatedly puts himself in harm's way to protect Li Mo and does a lot to give her a normal life, like damn, the boy tries so hard and fails when she starts seeing spirits. Li Mo began to acknowledge him as her brother slowly, and she starts fighting back the danger surrounding her as the series progresses. At the climax, she makes a major decision that changed everything, all with the single thought of "I want to be like him, I want to FIGHT." and BOI, the feeling I FELT WHEN I READ THAT CHAPTER WAS CATHARTIC

It might be simple, but god damn I love it when series build a mutual respect for both sides of the party, when they both acknowledge that they would do anything to protect the other from danger AND I LOVE THAT AUGH

They made it clear that Li Mo can stand on almost equal ground to her brother, she can defend herself physically, but when it comes to spirits, she can't dispose of them easily like Dao Mo can with his taoism skills. Also sidenote I love how badass all the women are in this story, like (points at dorks) DAMN THEYRE SO COOL I WANNA BE LIKE THEM

LATER DOWN THE LINE, WE GET A BIT MORE BACKSTORY AND THAT MADE MY HEART HURT WITH HOW EARNEST IT WAS ;O; Seeing the ending of that arc filled me with a sense of completion, we see just how much the characters' relationship has developed compared to the start.

Though, as much as I enjoyed this manhua and have reread it at least 3 times in the last two weeks, I do have some things that dragged me down while reading it. I think I got "combat-fatigued" from all the fight scenes in the story. Like, maybe because it was my first time reading it and I just really wanted the plot to happen faster bc I wanted to know what happened next and I binged it in a day, but I just skimmed through it quickly and was quite bummed when a lot of the chapter numbers (nearly half iirc) was focused on the combat, and the big baddies getting bigger and bigger-

Next was the typos in the translation. I could ignore some of them bc my brain just, autocorrects the dialogue ig, but sometimes it kills my immersion in the story.

But still, all that aside I really enjoyed reading this manhua! And so I gave it my appreciation in the only way, besides screaming into some text, I know... Which is fanart!!

[sakuraswordly]

Spoilers #Tsofph Season 11(Chapter3 The beginning of the miracle) Dark Gilgamesh Reborn.

Danny: That's right. Hurry, both Punch and Peter! PUNCH has turned dark. Once she captures Sonic, he will swallow him without mercy…!

Peter: (Please be all right, PUNCH!)

The sky turns into purple and black when Gilgamesh enter without warning.

Sonic: No..........Punch......

Sonic shocked that this gone to far for Vaten Hörmulegt: Gilgamesh’s curse.

*Thup Thup*

Shadow: Sonic......stay behind me....! Huh?!

*Boom*

Gilgamesh: I see.......you're here, Enkidu.

Enkidu: So you are now being controlled by Kujaku. Yeah. I don't have a reason to save you, unlike Peter. It was obvious that you'd come to kidnap Sonic when the time came. You've done it once before, so I'd be foolish not to keep an eye on him.

Gilgamesh's showing unhappiness. He shows undisguised hatred that would surprise anyone who knew his previous self.

Gilgamesh: That's so mean. You always make fun of me, Enkidu. Aren't you here to stop me like when you came intending to punish me once?

Enkidu: That’s right. I’m going to set your arrogance right again with my own hands.

Gilgamesh: You're absolutely hateful. Enkidu. Am I that bad of a person?

Enkidu: Of course. You're a big fool who gave up his chance to be saved the instant from them. You didn't trust the person that Punch and Peter wanted to protect.

Gilgamesh: ..........!!.............You're right. I was definitely like that until now........if I was strong enough......I shouldn't let myself corrupt like this.....corrupt by this curse......But Enkidu. I'm not weak anymore. You're the one who stays my way now. I'll protect Punch.

His cold stare, the emitting ominous shadow…

Enkidu: ---------------

Gilgamesh: Because I'm stronger now.

Enkidu hurrys to use his power to create the barrier as fast as possible but.....

Gilgamesh: Oh, you can't do that, my dear friend....It's dangerous if you stop there. This time I will torture you by real!

Gilgamesh points her hand at Enkidu without hesitation. There's no mercy. Gilgamesh smiles, enjoying the absolute dominance.

Gilgamesh: Fuhahahaha! Then I'll be having you now. I was looking forward to this. This will be the first time I've eaten magical energy from a tool like you.

The black shadow covers Enkidu. The gel-like mud tightly binds Enkidu's body, turning into numerous tongues to invade his magic weapons. Head down and chest heaving, Enkidu has no power to resist. He has no way to fight back, but------

Gilgamesh: Hahaha! This is amazing! I can't believe this is so fascinating!! But.........that won't do.....I can't let Enkidu fail so easily....I need to torture more.......because he's my dearest......friend that no one can replace him......!

Sonic: ------------

Sonic knew even darkness covered Gilgamesh's mind but Gilgamesh still tried to fight without losing his feelings and dearest memories. Gilgamesh struggles to attack Enkidu but suddenly....! Punch, Peter and Danny make it in time!

Punch & Peter: Punch------!!!!

Gilgamesh: Punch......! Peter.........?!

Shadow: Punch....!

Punch: Peter, go look for Enkidu!

Danny: C'mom, Peter!

Peter: (What's going on?! How could it become like this?!)

Gilgamesh gave a death stare to Peter making him chill.

Peter: Hold on, I'll have this off you in a minute…! Augh!

Danny: Peter....! (I tear away the mud that's covering Enkidu. The mud is gelatinous, but it's just like rubber. I can't grab it, and even if I pull it off of his body, it just bounces back onto him.)

Gilgamesh: It's useless, Peter my love. I'm the only one who can dispel my shadow. Someone as weak as you will be swallowed instead.

Gilgamesh speaks in a cold voice that Peter've never heard from. A chill runs down their back. No, this isn't just a chill. It's an intensely cold thorn as if a knife were slashed from their brain down to their waist.

Punch: Peter....! Hold on!

Punch hurries back to Peter and tries to heal him but without warning....

Gilgamesh: Why are you trying to protect him? Why won't you say anything? Why won't you scold me? You saw what happened to me, right?

Punch: No that's not-----

Gilgamesh: No, it is. You see, Punch. I've been crazy from beginning.

Punch shocked......Gilgamesh became a machine that can went around killing people, lives and even the world itself! He became stronger than Ea and the gate of Babylon.....! Even the gate of Babylon sealed off by Gilgamesh himself but.........

Punch, Peter and Danny: Pu-----Punch.

Gilgamesh: Yes. You were always like that. You said you'd protect me, but then you'd watch over everyone but me. But it's fine. I wanted you because you're that kind of a person, Peter, Danny.

Shadow: No.....that's....

Gilgamesh: Surely. It's painful for you to near me, right, Shadow? I know how much of a burden I am to you, Velevt and Syaoran. You'll continue to suffer as long you're with me. So I had to get away from you.

The shadow dances around. The ground is like a stage for a shadow picture.

Gilgamesh: But I can't. You're the only happiness I have. Peter, you can't get away from me. Because you can't betray yourself anymore.

Peter: ----------

Gilgamesh: *Sad face*……Yes. That's why I'll kill you. *Change to creepy smiles* Then you'll be with me forever, and most of all......you won't have to suffer anymore, right?

Suddenly someone take Punch, Peter and Danny to Sonic's side before attack by shadows.

Gilgamesh: Chester........!

Chester: I can't let you do that, Punch. You told me and Syaoran to protect both Sonic and Punch no matter the circumstances.

Gilgamesh: You really are a bad little boy, Chester.

Pit: Peter big brother! Enkidu! Danny! How could this happen?!

Syaoran: Morgana....? Wait---!!

Ermelinda: King Gilgamesh, stop walking on that path, that path is nothing more than hole and emptiness. Ugh!

Hades: Your role is done, Morgana le fay.

Pit: Hades!!

Ermelinda: -----------

Gilgamesh: Then I'll take you in as well, Morgana. I don't need any more slaves since I've absorbed something that wasn't in the plan.....

Sonic: That's enough. You shouldn't do anything unnecessary, Punch. You can't come back if you take any more in.

Gilgamesh: I am------the strongest-----

Sonic: If you want to absorbed me, you should find a place where the gate of black hole went.

Gilgamesh: Deal. If that was your final wish.

The shadows retreated. Not only the shadow, but the mud that cover Enkidu fades away as though it never existed.

Gilgamesh:…Please never show yourself again. Should you stand in my way again.......I'll have to kill you, Peter.

Peter: No!.....stop.....!

Sonic: See you again, Punch. I had a lot of fun.

Punch & Shadow: Sonic!

Syaoran & Pit: Wait---!!

*Slash!*

Pit: Get out of my way, Hades!!

Hades: Do not pursue them. I will kill you if you take another step, Pit.

Pit: -----------

Hades: This is your final warning. If you wish to save him, then withdraw. Should you follow us in spite of that, I will take your head.

They've vanished, as if they've fade into the shadows.

Danny: I failed again......I failed like what happen to Homura....! If I.....

Shadow: No, we still not failed yet.

Syaoran: We still had a time where are they going. Let's have a rest from now.

Punch: --------------

Peter: Punch.............

.

.

Punch: So-----

Sonic: You still don't understand? You can leave King Gilgamesh to me. This is my purpose, so you can just go home and......

Punch: You stupid.....

Sonic: What?

Punch: You stupid Idiot! Don't say dealing with the aftermath is your purpose! You can't fool me how much you act to be tough! Don't you dare tried to sacrifice your life again!! I won't be tricked, no matter how much you bluff and pretend you're all right. I'm going to take you home as long as you don't want to be here…!

Sonic: Wha---sacrifice and bluff what?! I told you that I was just a container---

Punch: That your excuse word is "sacrifice" and "bluff" you idiot! Sonic is Sonic, okay?!

Sonic: ............!!

Punch: If you want to stay as yourself, just ignore all of this. Don't sacrifice your life for someone else…!

Sonic: But I.........

Punch: Sonic......you still have a place where you belong....you told yourself, right? You will give up to sacrifice yourself for me and the other me.

Punch takes Sonic's hand. Punch: Let's go, Sonic Crowe. We'll go home before they find us. Punch pulls his small, light body and starts to walk.

Danny & Velvet: Are you two finish talking?

Punch & Sonic: Sorry.

Punch: Let's go.....

.

.

Shadow: I can't let you sacrifice yourself.......I've done to losing Sonic because of his stubbornness.......Punch.....if you dare to.....then I....

Punch: I'll fight until the very end. I want to save PUNCH, just like you want to protect him. I don't know what result it'll bring, but I can't run away.…I'll fight Kujaku to save PUNCH. I'm going to choose Punch no matter what.

Shadow: That's your answer to my question from the other day?

Punch: That's right. So please, Shadow, trust both me and Sonic once again.

Shadow: Alright. But I will not fight unless there is a chance to win. What do you expect of me, Punch?

On another side

Enkidu: So you're sending the shadow instead of showing up yourself? You've gotten arrogant during the short time you've been away, Gil.

Gilgamesh: Enkidu.....protect them then I can be at peace and take his life with mine.

Enkidu: Gil, I'll ask just in case, but do you intend to cut ties with Kujaku's shadow.

Gilgamesh: I--- I won't last long. I don't know when I'll disappear. I might only be able to hold out for one night.

Enkidu: You don't know when you're going to disappear, huh? You're wrong. You just don't know when you'll run out of patience.

Gilgamesh: .....................

Enkidu: Don't you notice? Your words and actions have been all over the place. Right after you said you'd give your life and disappear.

Gilgamesh: *Change to anger*

Enkidu: We'll go there. Don't be hasty. I'll kill you with my own hands.

Gilgamesh: Yes.....I'll be waiting for you, Enkidu.

.

.

Gilgamesh: I won't give you any mercy. The only things I'll give to this world are regret and despair. You mongrels shall drown in the vortex of darkness....like insects dropped into an acid!

[fighting-these-demons]

Episode 9

Trying to get the last of these in before my sub craps out

Well dang IvySoulCalibur didn't expect that I guess.

He said dude you suck get over it lmao.

Darkness of immeasurable depths. Yeah he's been going through it. 😭💔💖

BODY TAKEN OVER?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!

YOU MEAN TO TWLL ME BIG RED HAS BEEN TRYING TO LITERALLY BODY SNATCH THIS ENTIRE TIME?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

WHAT THE FUCK???????????

Please say psych

Or at least have a very good way to spin this

I really do love the OP. It's Fantastic and I appreciate it more as I go on.

How is she getting these pictures? He has to be consenting to some of them they way they're framed.

😬🥺

He hasn't been to school in days.

Damn they really did abandon him and bead him for real I thought it was a plot since they played dirty before.

Well I'm glad Matakara came home. I feel awful for Blondie and Teal Terror but Teal Terror has the sense to just be thankful he's back and to ask/demand/plead for him to come back to school while putting a hand on Blondie's shoulder to comfort him.

Girl iis now REALLY the time for a Cat Cafe scene?????? Ain't you just gonna give us nothing? The timing here is Way Off.

Dang. As soon as I typed that it got good. I know it's bullshit that won't go anywhere but DAMN DO I WANT THEM TO DATE SO BAD

Augh!!!! 😭💔 Cat Guy you're dating the Cute Teacher IN MY HEART OK??? 💖

Arajin you're so full of shit. 😂

That or his mom did it on purpose.

Arajin is like "Well Damn. He's usually excited to talk to to and when I might be hanging around..." but like THE ONLY THING Matakara could have wanted to hear was an apology or plea for forgiveness probably. (Since the darkness is eating at him and also because most normal people would want that too)

WHOEVER WAS IN CHARGE OF ANIMATING BLONDIE FOR THIS SCENE NEEDS A RAISE AND A PROMOTION

AND ANOTHER RAISE

Ah nvm. Got too goofy with it rip.

AUGH TEAL TERROR 💔💔💔😭😭😭😭😭

Lmao Blondie! 😂💖

Aw they're bonding. He's probably miserable though. Can't believe she cornered him with tea.

BITCH WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

OH MAN

BITCH YOU DIDNT COVER THE EVIDENCE????? HAVE YOU BEEN CAUGHT WITH IT BEFORE????????????

WAIT IS THAT HIS ROOM????????????

HE HAS A DOLL OF HIMSELF?????????

Wait did Matakara's brother actually die?!?!?!?!

And blondie said Cheer Up earlier?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Blondie why?????????

BITCH FOR REAL??? YOU TOOK THE TIME TO HIDE

How did he not find her?

Did she hide in the alligator and Slick just decided to cover for her to focus on his point in the conversation????

I can't tell if that his ass of his knee. That frame could be very suggestive depending.

She crawled out and he covered for her apparently.

HE WAS SLEEPING IN THE TEMPLE IN THE OP I KNEW IT I FUCKING KNEW IT

Aaaaaaaawwwww!!!! Him and Teal Terror and Blondie becoming friends! 💖 Would have loved that flashback earlier but I'll hake it now.

I cannot fucking believe he's dead like. The way they chose to do it is insane.

You tell him girl!

Ishiya is really drilling into him. I guess he's gonna break because of story trajectory.

👁👁

Well. THAT is certainly the way to prey upon him!

He's weak to that!

I can't tell if he's always been perceptive or if they can naturally read minds/hearts and only ask questions as rhetoricals to help their companions figure out their feelings?

FINALLY THE BACKSTORY IVE WAITED THE ENTIRE SEASON FOR

Love that they're opposite aesthetics but mirror fighting styles.

Ishiya has more of that cool boy look as a kid and grows up to have more cold/coy and feminine features - like Arajin.

While Senya had precious baby features and grew into a masculine brick shithouse with a kind face - like Matakara.

It also lends to how Ishiya can convince Matakara so quickly/easily and how Senya is the only one that can seem to guilt and convince Arajin after extended debate.

Their dynamic as kids was the same too that's so cute!!!

They're also so Jin and Touya coded as kids it's so silly.

Love their outfit changes as time goes on.

They looked like they were so in live as Teens.

HE GAVE SENYA HIS NAME?!?!?!?!?!

Also did I hear the word for In Love With? I swear I did.

I feel like if they were going to replace it with "He meant absolutely everything to me."

Knowing they have a 2 line limit they could have also had "He was the love of my life."

Also watching Ishiyas outfit show more skin and more tit as time went on is hilarious he's BEGGING Senya to touch him. And I thought the necklace halter was A Lot I forgot How Much his current gravity defying bustier is lmao.

Senya was clearly obsessed with him could he not have just asked?!?!?!?!?! 😂

Not that I mind at all when the End Result is his current outfit in all of its perfection! 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

BUT THEN WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

I know it'll be revealed but I'm still mad. :P

Augh at least he's honest.

He loves how much of Ishiya he sees in Arajin. How precious! 💖

Senya is so fucking cute Jesus I love him.

(Everyone in this show sucks to some extent but like. I love Senya and Matakara so much.)

YES BABE SHOW US THAT NEW MISPLACED DEVOTION AND BEAT HIS ASS!!!!!!!! HE DESERVES AT LEAST 1/4 OF IT LETS GO!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh shit dude. Lol literally.

I winder if that was feelings nerves because of the "Don't run away." Or fear nerves at Absolute Brick Shithouse Matakara walking at him with Ill intent.

Poor Matakara is so fucking broken up about being forced to do this augh!!! 😭😭😭😭💔💔💔💔

What a great guy! 🥺😭 God he's so upset!

Well. A half warning is better than no warning I guess.

And at least Arajinw ill learn about the body snatching from someone even if it isn't Senya.

God fuck Ishiya.

Wait is MATAKARA'S mark on the side of his ass cheek like a My Little Pony Cutie Mark?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Absolutely insane

Dang. I'll always prefer his sweet look but his broken anger look is 😘👌

Her ending clips with Matakara and Senya are the best ones hands down in the OP.

[charbunnies]

top 5 final fantasy xiv characters and why. go 🎤

okay some of this is hard and some of this is really easy. i'm sorry that most of these won't be super detailed but to be fair my memory is rusty on xiv and my favoritism in xiv tends to be based on vibes and how they relate to vett so 👍 i'm also gonna slap gposes in here if i have relevant ones. for funsies :)

ENDWALKER SPOILER WARNING

1. elidibus

EASY CHOICE. extremely easy choice. i normally don't pick favorites based on how i relate to them, but he's kind of an exception. i started paying attention to him at around the same time that i was really struggling with losing my memory, and i got SO attached to him that it helped me work through/come to terms with that. so he's really important to me. but, aside from that, i want to put him under a microscope, and i think he's funny, and the TRAGEDY of it all makes me insane, and my own headcanon stuff about him (plus the stuff i've done with him and vett and/or anteros) just makes it worse. he's just so interesting, there's so much going on and every bit of it makes me feel sick in the head. i will think about him holding those crystals in his little hands for the rest of my life i think. changed me permanently. i miss pandaemonium. i love you themis my scrinkly. that's my baby. have a gpose

2. alphinaud and alisaie (do not separate them.)

MY KIDS!!! MY LITTLE GUYS!!! they were the reason i actually started taking xiv seriously, so, also easy choice. izzy showed me the twins before i started playing and i got invested. i am very easily moved by teenage protagonists and also twin characters so alphinaud and alisaie were like catnip to me. i was waiting through all of ARR with bated breath for every moment that i could get of those little freaks and got attached to alphy so fucking fast. i've never understood the people who didn't like alphinaud through ARR because i always thought his spoiled-brat-ness was so fucking endearing. i was worried that i wouldn't like alisaie as much because she properly joins the party late, and alphinaud was my Favorite Favorite up until that point, but GOD i was proven so wrong. i love her so so much. that scene with her and ga bu on the cliff in post-heavensward is so vivid in my mind. like, branded there forever. both of the twins are just so so good, so determined to help people, so differently headstrong but they love each other SO MUCH... i have so many feelings about the twins. and don't get me started on their relationships with vett. alphivett makes me crazy but honestly alisaie and vett may make me even crazier (though how do you even quantify that?). THEY'RE FOILS!!! THEY'RE BEST FRIENDS!!! THEY CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT EACH OTHER!!! AUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!! THROWING MYSELF ON THE FLOOR!!! have some gposes :)

3. meteion

hard for me to put her third tbh, but i can't tie all of them LOL. oh meteion, my dearest little bird. i cried so so much over her. the fact that she was an endwalker original character and yet she's up here at 3rd is crazy. there's so much i could say about her, but i don't even know where to start. she and vett are just so much alike, it was impossible for her not to get a death grip on me. the instant i saw her i knew she was going to wreck me and i was so, so right. admittedly a lot of the reason why i love her has to do with vett (because everything in xiv is colored by him to me) but that doesn't mean i don't love her just as she is. she's just so little, and she meant so well, and she suffered so much for a cause she didn't even understand. i love her dynamic with hermes so much (AND I LOVE HERMES!!! SO SO MUCH!!!!) and i love her kindness and i love her curiosity. my itty bitty sweetheart 🥺💙 AND she's vett's best friend!!! i will be talking about her a lot in one of the other asks i got for my birthday so i will end this here but look at these anyway :')

4. estinien

yknow i was thinking about this list really hard. because after 3rd it starts getting muddy because i love so many of these characters so much. but estinien was a standout i think, so he gets 4th. i am enthralled by his autistic nature. i love him i think he's silly but also i started bawling over him in garlemald when he showed up to save the twins and he made me cry the hardest in ultima thule (aside from the twins but that's Different that was a whole different thing). he's comforting to me. he's vett's big brother. i love the ways he expresses his love + care for things (awkwardly). i love thinking about how he's changed since ARR. i give him identity issues and chronic pain and dragon traits because it's correct. i just love estinien so much. my stinky dragon. also one of my favorite gposes i've ever done was this one of him and vett so like Yeag. no one gets them like i do (sobbing into my hands)

5. g'raha

i agonized over this spot for so long you have no idea. however! grandpa tia won out in the end. he makes me feel the agonies extremely badly. yet another character with weird identity issues and chronic pain YAYYYYYY. also funny thing, g'raha is the only one here without a huge amount of baggage with vett! lol. (count yourself lucky that i didn't put hades 5th because then there'd be a whole ramble about THAT unusual baggage) instead i smush him and vincent together like barbie dolls and put them in the long-lost-childhood-friends-to-lovers blender and torment them. but yeah. i love g'raha very much. i think about the crystal exarch for a little too long and feel like crumbling into nothingness. also, fun fact, he's my mom's favorite character :) so that's fun. anyway look at my vinraha boy

but the TRUTH is. my favorite xiv characters. are my wols <3

i love you y'vett bhell. i love you vincent fowler. you will always be famous to me