#and she's experiencing freedom for the first time.. and she wants others to be free as well.. it hits different...!!!!!!!!!

[swordmaid]

so when astarion tells her abt his old master cazador and how he was essentially a slave to him she's just like that's so sad for you.. i had a mistress too who kept me under lock and key but unlike him she loved me (:

[cobaltperun]

Genius (12 - Finale) - I'm Alive

Cairo Sweet x female (G!P) Reader

Summary: It was such a cliché, a reunion she didn’t expect to ever happen, let alone six years after she last saw you. It was supposed to mean nothing, a bit of nostalgia, maybe a brief catching up while waiting for class, it was supposed to be a small wave of nostalgia, not a tsunami that disrupted her entire life. You were her opposite, and as hard as she tried she couldn’t resist your pull.

Story masterlist / First part / Previous Part

Word count: 1.7k

-When you call on me, when I hear you breathe, I get wings to fly, I feel that I'm alive-

I am a shadow. Born and raised in the light, though dark remains my natural habitat. I am a shadow that was given freedom, released from the one who cast me. My greatest achievement? Using that newfound freedom and giving myself a shape beyond a dark figure without a face, without a voice, or identity.

I thought of my home as mundane, mediocre, I wished to leave it behind, searching for something more meaningful. I believed I had accomplished nothing, instead wasting my youth on normal, on boring. Valedictorian, though I am, I found that to be boring, average, not worthy of being called a great, let alone the greatest achievement of my life.

I sought affirmation, I sought recognition of my talents, a love so strong it would transcend conventions, and I found none of that. Instead, I found betrayal. I sought excitement, and instead found stability, support, and someone who built me up, improving me and letting me improve her and us in return.

And we traveled the world. Leaving our lives behind and with little more than a backpack of bare necessities, we traveled. At first, inspired by 'Around the World in Eighty Days' we visited our first destinations, traveling as tourists, and then we changed our minds.

We stopped traveling from place to place, we stayed, we lived there, experiencing the culture, the differences from what we were used to, and the journey around the world became a journey through 10 countries, one month for each one.

That is my greatest achievement, opening my mind to the world, to different values and cultures, learning and embracing the parts that resonated with me the most, and understanding the others. And I wrote about it, pages upon pages flowed through me and onto the screen or paper, and from that a tale was born. 10 stories about life, about will, about what it means to be human and free, each through the eyes of multiple people I met, combined into one.

My greatest achievement is finding my purpose.

You finished reading Cairo’s Yale essay on her greatest achievement and looked up, smiling widely at your girlfriend as she impatiently awaited your response.

“So?” she asked, and you hummed, leaning back on the sofa in the simple hotel room, you glanced outside, seeing the beautiful beach as the Sun began rising. You two deserved a bit of a vacation after the past year, because, well, it wasn’t that you just traveled and lived, you worked in those countries, so, you were taking a bit of a break now that Cairo would apply for Yale. “Y/N?” she warned you playfully as she moved from the sofa next to you to straddling your lap.

You grinned, your hands dropping to her thighs as she leaned in and kissed you. “You want to make out or do you want me to tell you about your essay?” you laughed when she pulled back for a bit.

“Can’t see why we can’t multitask,” she whispered in your ear and bit your earlobe gently.

“I can try,” you kissed her neck several times, making sure not to leave marks, since she needed to go and have a talk about her book with the publisher that was interested in it. “I think you are brilliant,” you told her, and groaned as Cairo, of course, didn’t have to worry about marks on your neck and her nails left tiny red lines along it while she kissed just beneath your ear. “Fuck, Cairo! You know I’m an awful critic when,” you pulled her collar aside and latched onto the skin of her shoulder since that was fair game. “we’re making out!” you complained earning a laugh from the girl on your lap.

“You are an awful, lovestruck, critic in general,” she teased, a low moan slipped past her lips as she pushed her body against you and hugged you tightly.

“Mhm,” you agreed, you absolutely agreed, but she was just as bad. “Remember when I recorded playing an out of tune guitar? You know, when it sounded like a sin against music?” you reminded her and smirked when she blushed. “You said, and I quote ‘It’s perfect’ just because I was making you feel really good,” you dragged your bottom lip up her neck before kissing her. Her mouth opened immediately, and you felt her tongue inside your mouth. “In all seriousness, I think you won. You did it, you overcame it all,” you said, no longer making out with her, instead you were just leaning your forehead down on her shoulder while she hugged you. “You were stronger than everything that happened in that school,” you ran your fingers through her hair, soothing her when she tightened her hold on you. “You’ll get in, I have no doubt in my mind, that’s how good your essay is,” you assured her, completely confident in that being the outcome.

~X~ Five years later ~X~

A smell of wild roses engulfed her senses as she brushed her hair, humming a tune of your band’s new song.

“You are, against all odds, somehow still tone deaf,” came Winnie’s biting remark from the bathroom and Cairo felt her eye twitching at her best friend’s constant teasing. “How can your Biker Girl even handle the sounds you make?” Winnie came out of the bathroom and leaned on the wall.

Cairo had a bit of a lecherous grin on her face and Winnie immediately put her hand up.

“Nope, no way, none of that, I do not need that image tonight,” she stopped Cairo before she could even say that you did, in fact handle the aforementioned sounds in a certain way. But Cairo figured she could show some mercy to Winnie, seeing as the two of them were getting ready for a fairly big concert of your band, the biggest one so far, in fact.

“She sure made it,” Cairo smiled, remembering how you managed to scramble together a band and slowly but surely gain popularity and make it work in the end. A lot has happened since the two of you came back from your one-year break. Cairo just published her third book, Winnie had several art exhibitions and was gaining quite a reputation in graphic design, and you not only had your own band but also worked as a songwriter.

While she went to college you focused on your career, and she was immensely proud of you.

“Okay, get that lovestruck look off your face, your face will get frozen like that,” Winnie laughed and shoved Cairo jokingly, only for Cairo to shove her back until they fell back onto the bed, laughing like they did all those years ago when they were teenagers.

“Come on, I don’t want to be late,” Cairo sat up, a grin still on her face as she went to finish getting ready.

~X~

The bright stage lights, clear night skies above you, the screaming crowd in front of you, and in the midst of it all you saw Cairo standing near the stage, and you heard her louder than anyone else as you sang. The drums and guitars overpowered the crowd as people sang along with you and you had to force yourself to look away from her.

The band was still a bit young, so you were mixing in some covers to get to that three-hour mark and right now, to close things off, you were singing ‘Shapeshifters’ by Hands Like Houses, a fairly fitting song for you and Cairo if you could say so yourself.

“We will be unbreakable! Let's take it all as a reminder we'll never need, every place we dance, in a way, we never leave! We're toe to toe, side to side, beneath the stars, we will be unbreakable!” you sang hyping the crowd up as you played the guitar in your arms. And then you calmed it all down and looked at Cairo once more, and knowing what part of the song was coming up she stopped cheering and just smiled at you, her eyes filled with love. “From up this close, I can't see a thing, aside from you in front of me. I can't recall a night this clear, a better light to lead us here, no brighter diamond in the sky than those embedded in your eyes!”

You finished the song and thanked the crowd, one more concert finished successfully and with the crowd more than pleased with your performance. You just took a moment to take it all in, see how far you’ve come, you and Cairo, and Winnie as well, but Cairo especially. She truly overcame it all, coming out stronger than ever before, and you wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of your life with her, watching her blossom again and again, with each new book, each new achievement, each new thing that brought her happiness.

“Go get your girl,” Rick, your drummer laughed, and you just rolled your eyes, but you weren’t about to complain, Winnie would go back to the hotel with them, you and Cairo on the other hand…

You jumped off the stage and Cairo ran up to you and jumped into your arms, and you spun her around, grinning at the clothes she chose to wear. “Wanna ditch this place?” the two of you already planned this, which was why your precious motorcycle was parked next to your band’s van.

“Mhm,” she kissed you while you still held her, and soon enough the sound of the motorcycle engine roaring as you drove down the highway, taking a break from the big city became the only sound the two of you heard. The scenery around you changed, and you felt Cairo tightening her hold on you. Before she began writing her next book, before you made plans for a tour with the band, before work once again took up your free time, you would just take time and have fun together.

Away from everything else, just the two of you, the way it was long before you even fell in love with one another.

A/N: Short, but I really didn't want to drag things out, I thought there'd be more to write, but this just feels complete as it is. If I knew, I would have just combined chapters 11 and 12. Anyway, there goes another story, unlike with Lost I don’t intend to write side stories so, unless someone requests it, I am saying goodbye to Cairo. It was more fun than I expected and thank you all for reading! Oh, and, there's going to be a poll, yes, I am being evil again. Sorry 🤣🤣

Story masterlist / First part / Previous Part

Taglist: @deimaisgail @bee-keeping @marvelous-disaster @jmwetterlund @tekanparadiae

@alexkolax @ioveyouyouloveme @aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh @autorasexy @lifeforsimp13

@puta1 @minnyyminny

[cooliestghouliest]

PUTTY, chapter one

(chapter one), (chapter two), (chapter three)

PAIRING: virgin!Eddie/former cheerleader!Reader

SUMMARY: Eddie has a little brother. Eddie’s little brother has a babysitter.

SERIES TAGS and C/W’s: mutual pining, experienced!Reader, inexperienced!Eddie but he’s eager to learn, mostly sub!Eddie, insecurities and self doubt, narcissistic and/or absent parents, jealousy, mean basketball players, hurt/comfort, they smoke weed, eventual smut (18+ ONLY, MINORS DNI), uniform kink, dirty talk, foot jobs, hand jobs, oral (f!receiving and m!receiving), public sex, sex toys, unprotected PiV. more to be added as this progresses!!!

WORD COUNT: 3.7k+

A/N: hi, my friends!!! this is a rewrite/repost and has been edited for a (hopefully) smoother, more enjoyable read. fun fact that this was one of the first Stranger Things fanfics i ever wrote. it was originally titled She Was Straight From Hell, But You Could Never Tell, and featured Eddie alongside an OC. i’ve changed it to be reader-insert, because that seems to be more in my writing wheelhouse nowadays. this fic will be multiple parts — it begins with backstory, but will eventually branch off into a universe of little smutty ficlets where Reader will corrupt virgin!Eddie as much as humanely possible.

—

Eddie hadn't known about the existence of his little brother until two months ago, when Al Munson showed up in the middle of the night with a small child in tow. Eddie didn't even know his dad was out of prison again, and yet here he was, in the flesh, a little boy with a mop of black curls resembling Eddie's own cradled in his leather jacket-clad arms.

Al was lucky Wayne was working or else this family reunion would have gone south fast.

While Wayne wasn't Al's biggest fan, Al was Eddie's dad, and Eddie would always hold onto as many moments with his father as he could get, no matter how sparse, and no matter how much of a self-serving piece of shit asshole Al Munson truly was.

But Eddie didn’t see it like that. Eddie saw it like this: His dad lived a hard life. His dad struggled with addictions. His dad lost a wife, just as Eddie had lost a mother. His dad tried his best with what he had.

Deep down, Eddie knew these were all just sorry excuses, but he kept that truth tucked away, not wanting to deal with the reality that Al truly only cared about himself.

He already had one dead parent. If he cut his dad out of his life, he’d basically have two.

"When'd you get out?" Eddie asked, stepping aside so Al could enter. His eyes followed the child, brows furrowed. The trailer was always Al's first stop on his freedom tour and the older man had always brought some sort of baggage along with him -- never a little kid, though. What the hell kind of trouble had his dad gotten into this time?

"Few days ago," Al replied, heading for the living room. He placed the sleeping child down on the worn sofa, then straightened and faced Eddie. "Listen, son, you gotta do me a favor. I'm not out long this time. I might've robbed an ATM or two last night. I'm kinda on the lam."

Al didn’t even have the decency to look sheepish at his wrongdoing.

Eddie was used to this. Even when Al was a free man, he was never a free man for long. He didn't think his dad knew how to coexist among non-inmate citizens. Eddie didn't think his dad even wanted to. Prison was a creature comfort for the elder Munson. Eddie wasn't necessarily mad at that fact. He was happy when Al was locked up, because then at least he knew where his dad was. Otherwise, Eddie worried his father would eventually get himself into a situation he wouldn't be able to get out of, and Eddie would really never see him again.

Eddie was also used to Al showing up after months and months, sometimes even years and years, such as now, always asking for favors.

"Who is that?" Eddie asked, pointing towards the couch, not being able to ignore the other human in the room any longer.

"Yeah, that's kinda what I need your help with.” Al rubbed at the back of his neck. "Well, no way to do this other than to just say it. That there's your little brother, Eddie. His name's Oliver. And I need you and Wayne to look after him while I'm gone."

"My... what..." Eddie stammered, face scrunching up. He expected Al to burst out laughing and admit he was just fucking around, and that this tiny sleeping stranger was actually just the kid of a fellow convict buddy. Maybe it was said convict buddy’s turn to rob ATMs tonight, leaving Al the babysitter. Irresponsible. Unlikely. And, turns out, untrue.

With Al's silence, Eddie knew his dad’s admission wasn't a joke.

Eddie was beyond confused now.

"Dad, how... you've been in prison for six years!"

"Conjugal visits," Al answered with a bit of a smug shrug.

Eddie shook his head in disbelief. "What the fuck? Wayne can't afford another kid that's not even his... and I'm in school still, I can't watch him... this isn't... I don't know how..."

But Al was already making his way to the door.

"I know you'll figure it out. I can always count on you, my boy," Al prided, tone cheery as if the favor he'd just asked of Eddie was to give him a quick ride somewhere or find an old family recipe.

Al wasn't acting like he was ditching another Munson offspring off on his older brother. He was treating this like an issue of minor importance, just a little speed bump on an otherwise flat road.

Al Munson was not an upstanding person. Never had been, never would be. Because of this, Eddie shouldn't have been surprised or appalled, but here he was, standing with his mouth agape. Surprised. Appalled.

His dad was out the door with a lighthearted, "See ya 'round, son," and Eddie was left speechless in the middle of the living room.

𖤐 ֪ 𖤐 ֪ 𖤐

Wayne got over the new addition to the Munson household fairly quickly.

While he'd been livid at first, calling up all of Al's old friends he'd still had the numbers of to try and find out where his dumb shit of a younger brother was, Wayne eventually became resigned to the idea that he now had another little boy to rear and mold.

What else could he do?

Wayne took care of his kin, especially if they were innocent bystanders and had no say in being born in the first place. He'd raised Eddie, and although he knew the boy had his struggles, he didn't think he'd done too bad of a job.

Eddie never went hungry, always had clothes to wear, a bed to sleep in, and Wayne was the one who haggled Eddie's van down to a reasonable price so the boy could pay for it with his lunch box salary.

Wayne knew about the weed and the pills, but so long as Eddie stayed smart about where he was selling and who he was selling to, he didn't much mind Eddie's unconventional line of work. It helped his nephew stay somewhat social, and Wayne knew how important that would be for Eddie's future. If the boy was nothing but a lone recluse his whole life, he'd probably end up just like Al. Nobody wanted that.

Eddie was just about grown now. Sure, he was rearing twenty and still in his senior year of high school, but Wayne had an inkling that '86 would be Eddie's year.

Wayne had always thought about selling the trailer and buying an RV with retirement money once Eddie was out on his own. He wanted to travel the country for the remainder of his life.

The idea that he'd have to raise up another wild Munson for the next fifteen or so years caused a knot to form in his stomach.

Would Wayne even be around for that much longer? He may have been relatively healthy, and he was only in his mid 60's, but Wayne wasn't an idiot. He knew anything could happen at any time.

Wayne knew he needed help this time around. He figured he could count on Eddie here and there, but Eddie needed to focus on school this year if he planned on finally walking the stage. Because of this, Wayne decided to enlist the help of someone on the outside. Someone with experience.

So, he posted an ad in the Hawkins Post, looking for a full-time nanny for a five-year-old boy to start as soon as possible, and waited for a response.

𖤐 ֪ 𖤐 ֪ 𖤐

Wayne didn't have to wait long.

Two mornings following the job post, shortly after he'd returned home from work, he heard a knock on the trailer door.

When he answered, he saw a pretty young thing standing on the front stoop.

"Hi!" you greeted, then immediately began to ramble. "Are you Mr. Munson? I hope it's okay I just showed up... there wasn't a number listed, only an address, and I didn't know if you wanted me to write a response and mail it, but the ad seemed maybe a little urgent, so I thought, hey, what's the harm in just... showing... up..."

You trailed off, feeling silly for word vomiting during your first impression. He was watching you with a small smile, eyes flickering with what looked like amusement, especially as your cheeks began to color to the soft red of embarrassment.

Listing no number on the ad was intentional. He hadn't owned a rotary phone in about ten years, after having tried to cut back on bills, and he knew not just anyone would make the trek to Forest Hills for a potential job offer. He’d figured only committed applicants that wouldn't waste his time would follow through.

"I have a lot of experience," you continued on at his silence, almost as if you couldn't help it, compelled to divulge all the information you could in the first three minutes of meeting. Wayne found it endearing. "I used to babysit for three different families when I was in high school. And I have two little sisters. My mom and dad worked a lot growing up, so I spent a lot of time with them. Didn't get paid, but... I made sure they didn't die or anything..."

From their brief interaction thus far, Wayne knew he succeeded in his method of weeding out flakes. You were obviously serious about the position. He felt he was a decent judge of character, and he'd learned in life that sometimes over-explaining was synonymous with caring.

"Sorry," you said, forcing out a little laugh. "I guess I could have just introduced myself. You didn't really need to know all that." You shot your hand out, giving your name. "I'm here about the nannying gig. Um, obviously. That is, if I didn't already scare you off."

Wayne took your hand in both of his own, shaking it. He placated you with a grin. "It's a lot harder than that to scare off a Munson, sweetheart. Let's go inside and meet Olly."

𖤐 ֪ 𖤐 ֪ 𖤐

Although Oliver Munson was only five, he had a spectacular vocabulary and a limitless imagination. Wayne knew the boy was a little charmer, quite like how Eddie was when he allowed himself to be, when the teenager wasn't drowning himself in existential teenage angst and nonsense.

You fell under Olly's spell almost instantly.

And it seemed the little boy had fallen under yours as well.

Oliver didn't stop talking to you while you were there, and didn't stop talking about you after you’d left, asking when you’d be back and if next time you could take him to the trailer park's playground and maybe you two could watch G.I. Joe or He-Man together afterward.

Wayne had taken your number down before you’d left and had told you he'd be in touch soon.

Later that evening, after Eddie had gotten back from his club meeting at school, Wayne took the trip into downtown Hawkins to use the payphone and ask you if you wouldn't mind starting as early as tomorrow.

𖤐 ֪ 𖤐 ֪ 𖤐

You were far from struggling for money.

Your father was a sought-after criminal prosecutor for the entirety of Indiana. Your mother was a real estate agent for high profile clientele who came from old family money; her father was CEO of a day trading business, and his father before him had been the same.

Although you likely would have never had to work a day in your life and could live a comfortable existence off of inheritance alone, handouts and the humdrum of an All-Play-and-No-Work lifestyle was never a dream of yours. That sounded so cookie cutter, so monotonous, so boring.

You liked to feel a sense of accomplishment. You liked setting goals and reaching them. You didn't want to freeload off of money that was gained from the capitalistic professions your parents were a part of. You wanted to be in control of your own finances and be the author of your own future, not have it already be etched into stone simply by being just another rich kid from Hawkins, à la the likes of the Carver's or the Cunningham's or the Harrington's.

You were ecstatic when you got the call from Wayne, asking you if you’d be willing to start the following day. He left for work at 2PM, so you’d have to be there before then, and would need to plan on staying until Wayne's nephew got home around six.

If you were to be completely honest with yourself, you felt a bit nervous, but the job itself wasn't the reason why that writhing feeling accompanied your excitement.

You had more than ten years of babysitting experience under your belt, and you were eager to get back into a job you actually enjoyed as opposed to trying out different careers to see what stuck and what didn't. Having graduated the spring before, you’d been taking an off year to save up money by working odd jobs around Hawkins to be able to buy your own apartment.

You’d worked as a florist for a few weeks, but it turned out your thumb was pitch black instead of green.

You worked as the personal assistant for a group of lawyers from a local law firm, but it turned out they just needed office eye candy and not someone to actually get any sort of work done.

You worked as a veterinary assistant, but it turned out the job was much more than just petting cats and dogs. You couldn't handle it when a sick animal would come in and there would be nothing anyone could do. Your heart broke more at that clinic than it had your entire life.

You were in between jobs when you’d decided to peruse the classified section of the Hawkins post. There, in the shortest blurb on the page, was a listing for a needed nanny, a full-time position offering negotiable pay.

The next bit was where the excitement wavered.

The listing was published by a Wayne Munson of the Forest Hills trailer park.

That had to be Eddie Munson's uncle. There was no way there were two separate Munson families living in the only trailer park in Kerley County.

You couldn't believe that you’d stumbled across this ad, that the geeky metalhead you’d crushed on since your freshman year of high school had a little brother you could be the potential nanny of.

You were two years younger than Eddie, but that hadn't stopped you from losing periods of time to daydreams about the way the wind ruffled his wild mess of curls on breezy days or the way his band tee sleeves always clung perfectly to the soft muscles of his biceps or the way his cheeks dimpled when he teased the other boys he sat with at lunch.

You’d always wanted to introduce yourself, but you didn't run in the same crowds -- you being on the cheer team and Eddie blasting Black Sabbath in the parking lot after his Hellfire meetings. You could never muster the courage. He seemed so carefree, so full of life, so effortlessly funny. Chrissy Cunningham, your best friend, had spoken to him once or twice and had told you how different he was than what other people said about him. He wasn't scary or mean or threatening, and instead was warm and silly and genuine.

But you knew how the people you spent your time around treated people like him. You knew your group of "friends" referred to him as a freak, a Satan worshipper, and did everything in their power to try to bully him into becoming a shell of himself. Thankfully, he never did -- it was almost as if Eddie absorbed the hatefulness and spent it tenfold by mocking the hilarity of the jock hierarchy that ruled the school, as well as using it to strengthen his own ability to embrace every misfit that walked the halls of Hawkins High.

You never introduced yourself because you were afraid he’d think you had an ulterior motive, that you’d be trying to talk to him as a joke or a prank. You knew the company you kept. You were sure Jason Carver had once or twice suggested you do just that, lead Eddie on and make a fool of him in front of the whole school.

You figured it'd be best to just stay away.

But now, you thought finding this ad was possibly a sign from the universe.

Maybe you were getting a second chance.

𖤐 ֪ 𖤐 ֪ 𖤐

Eddie was running late.

He was supposed to be back home half an hour ago to relieve whoever Olly's new babysitter was of her duties, but the campaign had taken a shocking turn and Hellfire couldn't disband until it had commenced.

The night finally ended with Will's character decapitating Dustin's, and Eddie had to thwart an actual attack when Dustin leapt across the game table at Will in a bout of rage. Dustin was small but mighty, and Eddie had to physically wrestle the boy off of Will's neck, threatening to banish Dustin from the next few campaigns if he didn’t chill out. Henderson had huffed and puffed but had admitted defeat and apologized to Will for the attempted murder.

By the time Eddie arrived back to the trailer park, the sun had almost set. He pulled his van into his parking spot to the right of the trailer and shut it off. Stepping out, he swung his backpack over his shoulder, but came to a halt when he heard Olly's scream sound from behind the trailer.

Dropping his bag and beginning to run toward the noise, Eddie's heart fell to his stomach. Horrible images of what could possibly be pulling that sound from his little brother pervaded Eddie's mind. He had an overactive imagination to begin with, and something like this verbal cue only egged it on. "Olly!" he shouted, panic raising his voice. "Olly, are you okay?! What’s going on, where are --"

Eddie came to a halt when he found the boy in the backyard with a huge smile spread across his small, sweaty face. Olly had a fake crown on, one made of twigs and leaves, and he was carrying one of the biggest sticks Eddie had ever seen. He had a blanket tucked into the back of his shirt, the cloth a makeshift cape. A thin piece of metal, probably from one of the cars Wayne and Eddie sometimes worked on, was wrapped around his center, acting as armor.

Olly had just been playing.

Letting out a heavy breath of relief, Eddie noticed your frame just off to the side. His eyes started from the ground up, noting the shiny red Docs donning your feet, moving up bare legs that were covered mid-thigh by a short black skater dress, one that hugged your curves in a way that had Eddie’s mouth going dry.

By the time he reached your face, your eyes were wide with amusement.

You’d been watching as he slowly drank you in. He didn't mean to ogle. He had to shake his head a few times to clear it, and when he did so, the face before him started looking more and more familiar.

"Wait," he started, head tilting. He spoke your name, tone riddled with confusion. "From high school?"

You were about to answer when Oliver cleared his throat, obviously not wanting to be ignored or to have his playtime interrupted any longer. You looked down at the boy, who pointed up to his head at his crown. You got the gist -- Olly wanted the game to continue. You could indulge him. You’d been doing it all day, and honestly you’d been having the most fun you’d had in a while.

You turned your attention back to Eddie, fixing your posture and jutting your chin out slightly. "I don't know who that is," you began, voice lilting. "I am Princess Guinevere of Kerley County and this here,” you brought your gaze back down to Oliver, “is my most loyal servant, Sir Olly of Castle Munson."

Eddie couldn't help the grin that broke out over his face at your announcement. He then took a moment to fully take in the rest of your appearance. You, too, had on a makeshift crown, this one made up of cherry blossoms and daisies. You had a flowing blanket tucked into the back of your dress, cascading down your back like a veil.

No fucking way were you, last year's cheerleading captain and prom queen, standing in his backyard playing fucking knights and princesses with his little brother. No fucking way.

Olly broke the silence by shouting out, "Hey, Eddie! Who are you gonna be?"

Eddie tore his eyes from you to focus on his brother. He pursed his lips to one side in thought, trying to come up with a character. He was usually quick on his feet when it came to creative play, but he had just spent the last three hours DM'ing a month-long DnD campaign. His brain felt shot. He was pulled from his introspective reverie by your soft, suggestive voice — no, sorry — the soft, suggestive voice of Princess Guinevere.

"Wanna be my dragon, Eddie?" you asked.

Eddie wasn't exactly sure why that made his breath catch in his throat.

He nodded dumbly, silent, then forced himself to speak because he didn't want to look totally lame in front of a Princess. "Okay. Yeah, I'll be your dragon."

You graced him with a smile before Oliver's tiny but booming voice cut through the air of the darkening night. "HEY! Dragons don't talk!" the boy stomped his foot and hit his stick against the muddy ground in annoyance.

A laugh bubbled from your throat and Eddie grinned, jumping into a wide-legged stance before outstretching his arms, tilting his head back, and roaring.

[scoonsalicious]

9.2 Major

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Summary: Lily McIntyre, trainer for new SHIELD recruits at the Avengers Tower, has been in love with her best friend, Bucky Barnes, from the moment she met him. She's been content with her role of the #1 girl in Bucky's life, even if it means she has to sabotage a romantic relationship or two. It'll be worth it when he realizes that they're meant for each other, right? There's just one small problem: Lily McIntire never expected Bucky Barnes to fall for You.

Warnings: (For this part only; see Story Masterlist for general Warnings) Language, mentions of past cheating.

Word Count: 2.3k

Previously On...: Bucky and Lily had a conversation. Now Lily knows you and Bucky are dating.

A/N: Sorry this is late; I had to clean out my office after hours today. It was... an experience, to say the least :/

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“I think you’re a fucking idiot,” your best friend, Hannah Santiago, said to you as you sat in the coffee shop across the street from The WarZone. She had been furious with you when you hadn’t answered her texts all weekend, so you promised her a lunch date to catch her up on your last few days in the company of one Bucky Barnes.

She did not appear to be taking it very well.

“Why?” you asked, mildly insulted. “He’s amazing, Han. I think you’ll really like him when you get to know him.”

Hannah rolled her eyes at you. “Oh, I’m sure he’s a peach,” she agreed with just a hint of sarcasm. “Though I’d probably feel better about it if you got to know him, too, before shacking up with him for days on end!”

“It’s NRE,” you told her, as if that perfectly explained the intense connection you felt you shared with Bucky. “That New Relationship Energy.”

“Oh my god,” Hannah groaned. “Get off of TikTok. You’re too fucking old for that shit.” A mother at the next table over with an infant in a stroller gave her a disapproving look and audibly tsked at her, but Hannah just responded with a glare.

“It’s great for marketing,” you grumbled.

“Look,” Hannah conceded with a sigh, “I’m sure this guy is wonderful, really. But (Y/N), sweetie, you haven’t had a serious relationship since you and Connor split.” You opened your mouth to protest, despite knowing she was right, but Hannah silenced you with a look. “I’m not saying I don’t want you to get back out there; lord knows it's past time– I just want you to be smart about it and not rush into anything headfirst with someone you barely know.”

Logically, of course, you knew Hannah was right. “He suggested we should put a pause on having sex so we can focus on getting to know each other better,” you offered. 

Hannah raised a well-manicured eyebrow. “Okay, that’s interesting,” she said. “Especially if it was as good as you said it was.”

You dropped your chin into your hand as you rested your elbow against the table and sighed dreamily. “Hannah, it’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I swear, I don’t even know if I can call anything Connor ever gave me an actual orgasm after then things Bucky’s done to my body.”

The mother at the next table muttered something about “inappropriate talk” under her breath, but loud enough that you both could hear her. 

“Last time I checked,” Hannah said pointedly at you, though projecting her voice so that you knew it was actually for the other woman’s benefit, “‘inappropriate’ speech is still free speech. So sue me, please.”

You rolled your eyes good naturedly. As a First Amendment litigator, Hannah took Freedom of Speech extremely seriously. “Han,” you warned. “Let it go. This isn’t a courtroom.”

“Fine,” your friend said, ignoring the mother as she stood up and walked away with her stroller. “I’m just worried about you,” she said. “The last time you jumped headfirst into a relationship without really knowing the guy, you ended up married for nine years.”

You hated that she was right– you did have a track record of impulsive relationship decisions. “I appreciate you looking out for me,” you offered, reaching out to squeeze Hannah’s hand across the table. 

“So, do you really see this turning into a long term thing?” Hannah asked, genuinely curious. “Because I’ll support you if you do; I’ll just tell you I told you so if it all falls apart at your feet.”

“I think I do,” you told her, choosing to ignore her jab about rubbing failure in your face. “I know it’s early, but… I’m happy when I’m with him. There’s just the one issue with his–” You paused, not quite sure you wanted to divulge the Lily-sized elephant in your relationship with Bucky just yet.

“One issue with what?” Hannah asked. “And you better not say ‘nothing,’ otherwise I will use my cross examination skills against you,” she threatened. 

Having no desire to subject yourself to that, you relented. “It’s just… he’s got this female best friend–”

“Oh, hell no!” Hannah said, loudly enough to attract the attention of most of the other coffee shop patrons. “Nope, we are not doing this, (Y/N). I will not stand by and watch you go through that all over again.”

Truthfully, this was the reaction you had been expecting. “I’m not the same person I was back then, Han,” you protested. “Bucky’s not Connor, and Lily’s not Danielle.”

You understood your friend’s anger on your behalf. When Connor had promised you there was nothing between him and his childhood best friend, Danielle, you’d naively believed him, despite the gnawing sensation in your gut that told you something wasn’t right with their relationship. It was years before the instinct grew enough to convince you to look at his phone and you had found thousands of text messages between the two of them. You’d promptly thrown up.

His reaction had been textbook. At first, he tried to gaslight you– you didn’t see what you thought you saw; you were taking innocent conversations out of context (though, you weren’t sure how much context the exchanging of nudes really needed). Then, he tried to shift the blame on you– you were never around, always away on deployment or assignments. You emasculated him by getting promoted again and again, until you outranked him, and how was he supposed to live with that? Finally, he love bombed you, showering you with compliments and praise, begging you to forgive him, making promises you knew he would never keep, telling you he’d do anything to get you to stay.

Except for cutting off all contact with Danielle, apparently. He was willing to do anything, anything at all to regain your trust… just not the one thing you’d actually asked of him.

In the end, the divorce had been relatively straight forward. You weren’t stupid. You’d made sure to take screenshots of all of the text conversations between him and his mistress in case he deleted them. You’d even recorded the conversation you had with him when you confronted him, and he’d actually admitted to it. 

There were a lot of things you had disliked about the United States Army, but their stance on cheating hadn’t been one of them. Connor had ended up demoted, and you were able to maintain all of your financial assets without having to shell out anything for spousal support, despite the fact that you had out-earned him by more than double. 

As for Danielle? Well, you became an expert at giving her the cold shoulder and pretending like she didn’t exist.

“You never thought Connor would end up like Connor, either,” Hannah told you pointedly. “And yet.”

You sighed. Your friend had a point, you knew she did, but you just couldn’t imagine Bucky doing that to you. 

“Look, I’m not trying to shit in your cornflakes,” Hannah said. “I love you and I’m worried about you. I don’t want to see you rush into something and make the same mistakes again. That’s all.”

“I know, I know,” you agreed. And you really did. Hannah had been your biggest source of support when your marriage had gone to hell. She’d set you up with your attorney, let you stay with her while your housing situation got sorted, and had been your shoulder to cry on all the nights you had too much to drink and swore you were going to die alone. 

“Look, I promise to not jump into anything crazy,” you assured her. “I’ve learned my lesson.”

*

After saying your goodbyes to Hannah so she could return to her firm, you headed back over to The WarZone, hoping to get yourself absorbed in some work so you could get your mind off of Hannah’s worries before they became your worries, too. Natasha should be arriving shortly for her standing Tuesday appointment, and you were hoping to chat with her for a few minutes once she was done. 

The bell above the entry door rang cheerfully as you pushed your way inside, but the atmosphere in the lobby felt unnaturally heavy. You looked up from your phone to see Rand leaning against the reception desk with his arms crossed, glaring at someone across the room, and Zadie trying to pretend to look busy at her computer.

You followed Rand’s gaze and locked eyes with Bucky. His giant frame was spread out across one of the lounge chairs, and he seemed to have been watching Rand with a puzzled sort of wariness. When he turned to look at you, though, a blinding smile broke across his face that made your knees feel weak.

“Hey, sugar,” he greeted, standing up and making his way toward you. 

You moved to meet him halfway. “Hiya, Sarge,” you said, putting your arms around his neck and standing on your toes to kiss him hello. “I missed you.” 

“Oh yeah?” he asked, a teasing glint in his eye as his hands settled on your hips. “I just saw you yesterday.”

“Lotta lonely hours between then and now, Bucky,” you told him evocatively, toying your fingers through the hairs at the nape of his neck.

The loud sound of a clearing throat brought your attention back to Rand, who was looking at you in disbelief. “Really?” he asked.

“Oh, sorry–” you said, purposefully ignoring Rand’s meaning. “Where are my manners? Bucky, this is my office assistant, Zadie–” Zadie waved enthusiastically from her perch behind the reception desk, “-- and my Midtown location manager, Rand. Guys,” you said, taking an excited breath, “this is Bucky.”

“It’s so nice to meet you, Bucky,” Zadie said enthusiastically, and you knew the orchid and note he had sent you on Saturday had definitely won her over to his side. “Major’s told us so much about you.”

“Yeah,” added Rand through gritted teeth, “we’ve heard an awful lot about you, Mr. Barnes.” You shot him a look, silently pleading for him to be nice, or at least remove himself before he said something offensive.

“It’s nice to meet you both, as well,” Bucky said, ever the gentleman. He made to move, and you highly suspected he was going to try to shake hands with them. While you had no doubt Zadie would be friendly, you wouldn’t put it past Rand to just be a dick for the hell of it, so you wrapped your arms around Bucky’s midsection and drew yourself toward him, keeping him in place.

“So,” you began, hoping to distract him from your manager’s open hostility, “to what do I owe the pleasure? Because it is a pleasure to see you, especially when unexpected.”

Bucky smiled and moved a hand to brush a lock of hair away from your face. “Nat mentioned she was coming down for her weekly visit,” he said. “She invited me to come join her; thought I’d like to check out the place for myself.” He leaned in to whisper conspiratorially: “And if I just so happened to run into this pretty girl I’ve had my eye on, well, that would be a bonus.”

His words made your insides dance, leaving you feeling like a giddy teenager. “You’ll have to let me know if she shows up, Sarge,” you teased. “I’ll try to put a good word in for you.”

“You’d do that for me? Thanks, doll,” he grinned.

“Of course, handsome. Where is Nat, anyway?” you asked. The redhead hadn’t been in the lobby when you came in.

“She had to take a phone call. Avengers stuff,” Bucky offered with a shrug. “She shouldn’t be too long.”

As if on cue, the main door opened and Natasha breezed into the lobby. She caught sight of you and Bucky with your arms around one another immediately and threw a knowing smirk your way. “Sorry ‘bout that,” she said. She turned to Bucky and rolled her eyes. “Fury had some questions about the last mission that apparently couldn’t be saved for an email.”

“Fucking bureaucracy,” he muttered. 

“Tell me about it.” Nat’s frown quickly transformed into delighted glee as she rubbed her hands together. “Alright, Barnes. You ready to fuck some shit up?”

“Oh,” chirped Zadie. “I’m sorry, Ms. Romanoff; we didn’t have you down for a doubles’ room. Just your usual single.”

“Zadie, just move them to a VIP room,” you told your office assistant. You turned to Nat. “That should be more than big enough for the both of you.”

“They’re also significantly extra in price,” Rand interjected. 

“Waive the fee,” you said. 

“Sugar,” Bucky said, looking down at you, “that’s not necessary; we can pay the difference.”

“I’m not going to make my boy– er, um… my friends pay for an upgrade I offered them that they didn’t ask for. For fucks’ sake, Rand.” You hoped no one noticed your slipup, but the way Bucky was grinning down at you and squeezing your hip let you know it hadn’t gotten past him at all. 

“No problem, Major,” Zadie said. “Room 5c is available and all ready to go.”

“I’m sure you’re busy being the big boss, doll,” Bucky said as you moved to escort him and Nat to the elevators. You’d be having a chat with Rand later. “But any chance you could join us? I’d really like my first time to be with you.”

“Oh my god,” gagged Natasha. “You’re pathetic, Barnes. Seriously. That was bad.”

“So bad,” you agreed with a laugh, “but it worked.” You grinned at the both of them. “Yeah, of course I’ll help you pop your rage room cherry.”

<- Previous Part / Next Part ->

[dekusheroacademia]

I love how much of the Togachako chapters and ending of Ochako in MHA mimic the first ever yuri manga published.

I have been on a shojo kick and tried to read all manga that kickstarted GL and BL, and especially the Year 24 group authors (go read Moto Hagio... her work is wild). Among the Year 24, the author Yamagishi Ryouko who wrote the first yuri manga: "Shiroi Heya no Futari".

This post will have full spoilers for this manga!

The manga follows the story of Resine, a very sweet girl who is also very naive, and her new roommate Simone, who is a rebel, often laughs and can be kind of mean. Simone is much more open with her feelings, she loves freely as well and she soon falls in love with Resine and declares her love openly.

Resine tries to forget about Simone by dating Rounaud but he is not what she really wants.

Resine is not ready to accepts Simone's love - not because she does not love her back, but because she is afraid of the rumors around them, basically of society's reaction. She decides to leave the school.

Later she finds out Simone has been killed and she laments that she was at fault for it - because Simone was killed after goading a man, telling this man that she was in love with someone else when he tried to flirt with her. Simone is stabbed to death and dies because of blood loss, smiling and thinking of Resine:

The end of the manga sees Resine reading a poem Simone wrote about her and for her, and she decides to love Simone for the rest of her life and never love again, always mourning Simone.

The ending sets the scene with Resine alone on a cliff/in the forest, crying about Simone while Rounaud (the man Resine tried to fall in love with to avoid being queer) runs towards her to console her.

This is just like Deku reaching for Ochako while Ochako is mourning. We can see Resine and Ochako both curling over each other's in pain, to cry about Toga-Simone.

Their regret is also similiar, it is not only pain but guilt. Both Resine and Ochako think their loved one died because of them.

I thought the similarities were quite a lot. Maybe it is by chance, maybe it is just because of how influencial the first yuri was in determining the standards of many subsequient GL work, but it is still interesting.

Resine and Ochako are both positive girls, naive girls experiencing love for the first time. Both try to fall in love/fall in love with a boy (Deku, in the case of MHA) which is the socially acceptable choice for them, the choice that society would not mock or shame.

Both characters are put in contrast with another (Simone and Toga) who is open with her feelings. She is not afraid of acting freely, she wants to be free and she keeps her freedom even if that leads her to her death. The "teaching" experience is the same for both Simone and Ochako: live freely, declare what you love without shame.

Many expected that this meant Ochako would declare her feelings towards Deku, and instead Horikoshi uses this lesson to allow Ochako to mourn for Toga and to feel pain.

In both manga, Ochako and Resine end up living for Toga and Simone. Resine declares that she will always love and mourn Simone, while we see Ochako dedicating her life to never allow someone to be abandoned by society like Toga was:

[lightwise]

“Remain calm. Cooperate. And you might survive.”

A character study on Dr. Emerie Karr

I’ve had a post about Emerie wandering around the back of my mind all season, but haven’t really been able to pull anything together yet that I felt would do her character justice. In addition, I believe there are other people who can speak to some of her position and experiences in a cult-like environment where she has been raised with bounded choices and lack of agency better than I can, but I will still touch on those things here a bit.

Many people have been frustrated at Emerie’s character, even going so far as to say they hate her for not acting in ways we wish she would and for working in the Empire, conducting horrific experiments, and going along with Hemlock’s plans. While I understand the frustrations, there is nothing that Emerie has done that truly exceeds anything that Crosshair or Cody or Wolffe ever did under the Empire, especially when considering that her actions and choices are all very firmly rooted in a very chaotic, traumatizing, and lacking environment that she was raised in. She may not have had a chip (we don’t know), but regardless, she has not been given the amount of free will and expansive thinking that her clone brothers and Omega experienced during the war and after. Even still, her Jango Fett genes are showing through, with a natural affinity and compassion for children tugging on her latent moral compass the more and more she is around them. 

“Remain calm. Cooperate. And you might survive.” We first meet Emerie in season 2, when Crosshair is transferred to Tantiss after killing Lt. Nolan. She notably uses his name immediately, and seems to have a slightly more caring nature to her than any of the other medical assistants (like Dr. Scalder) that we have seen on Tantiss. She is focused and seems content and dedicated to her work, but wants Crosshair to survive and not be harmed more than is necessary. She seems to have traces of both Tech and Dr. Hemlock in her, with a dedication to science and the tasks assigned to her, and a mind that is obviously adept and capable of accomplishing various procedures. While she follows all of Dr. Hemlock’s orders completely, she shows traces of compassion to Crosshair along the way, and begs him not to try and escape. At this point, her own access card doesn’t even allow her to get outside, and we’ve never seen her on any of the landing platforms. She seems to have an intimate knowledge of how impossible it is to escape the facility (has she tried to herself?)

“She is a clone. And therefore Imperial property.”  Hemlock is talking about Omega here, but the camera pans to include Emerie standing beside him, looking at him. This cinematography choice will occur several times, where dialogue from Hemlock or Omega is overlaid with a shot of Emerie’s face to show that comments about freedom and clones and specimens and choice all have double meanings that include Emerie, even if she has the supposed station and respect of a doctor’s position. At this point it is unclear whether she fully understands how she is just as much a prisoner inside these walls as Crosshair and the other clones are. 

“A prisoner? You are no such thing. It is far safer in here than it is out there.” This is but one of many times that Emerie uses the word “safe” in regard to being on Mt. Tantiss, following the rules, and doing what is expected. She comes to retrieve Omega every morning, mostly chipper and focused on including her in her tasks for the day. She shows care for Omega but is fully absorbed in her duties and what to her is normal daily life. An empty room that locks from the outside is probably the norm for her. For Omega, it is decidedly not, and Omega’s curious but justice-oriented nature begins to tilt the axis of Emerie’s perceptions. When first meeting her, Emerie acknowledges her as her sister and wants her to trust her. It’s clear that she maybe knew of Omega at some point, even though Omega had never heard of her until now. We get a slight glimpse of why that would be, when Emerie tells Omega that she was on Kamino initially but was “sent elsewhere until Dr. Hemlock took me under his wing.” There is a LOT embedded in that sentence. Sent away by Nala Se? Why? What was her initial purpose in being created? Why was she discarded? Was Omega a “better” version of her? Where did she go, and how and why did Hemlock find her and bring her up as his medical assistant, seeing “potential” in her. It’s obvious Emerie’s sense of self-worth, while relatively strong, also hinges on following Hemlock’s orders. All of this screams abandonment and grooming even if not of a sexual nature, and Emerie certainly seems to show the submissive, trusting, and yet fearful disposition one might expect from someone whose life has been defined by those circumstances. 

 “You don’t know she won’t survive. She deserves a chance.”  A conversation about letting a domesticated Lurca hound out into the wild to fend for herself is clearly paralleled with Emerie’s fate. Emerie tries to act as a mediator between Hemlock and Omega, hoping that the girl won’t be hurt or punished. Hemlock scoffs at Omega’s decision to let Batcher go, and her impassioned statement above. He sneers “the flawed logic of an idealistic child. Emotion and sentiment have no place within these walls. You would do well to remember that.” Emotion and sentiment have seemingly been lacking in Emerie’s upbringing, yet they continue to have an influence on her impulses and actions more and more. A testament to this is the fact that she keeps Omega’s straw Lula doll after it is found during a midnight room inspection, and eventually gives it back to her even though it breaks protocol. She will later keep this doll hidden after Omega escapes, and give it to one of the Vault “specimens”, Eva, in an attempt to comfort her. In that initial confrontation with Omega, Hemlock had added a final warning: “Actions always have consequences. Sometimes not in the ways we imagine.” What will this mean in the future for both him and Emerie? Their choices until recently have seemed in line and coherent, but they are diverging more and more.  

“It’s best not to ask questions.”  Emerie once again demonstrates the dichotomy of her perspectives as she affirms the authority and deference that she believes she owes Dr. Hemlock, while also being attentive to Omega’s shift in mood after being told by Nala Se that she must escape. Emerie tells Omega to get some rest, thinking she isn’t feeling well. There is no reason for her to do this other than the fact that she cares about Omega, as against protocol as those feelings are.  

“You’re not thinking clearly. Escape is not possible. This is for your own good.”  After finding Crosshair and Omega ready to escape through the Lurca hound tunnels, she begs both of them to see what to her is reason and sense. She doesn’t want either of them to get in trouble or be hurt, and would have covered for them if they would simply surrender and return to their cells. She affirms again that escape is not possible, from her perspective, and that what is best is quiet acquiescence. We see this continued struggle between her own budding moral compass, her sense of duty, her fear, her belief that it is safer to stay and to be quiet and to stay small. After they escape the facility, she finds out that Omega’s blood is the binder they have been looking for all along, and partly out of scientific duty, and partly knowing that this knowledge is the only thing that will save Crosshair and Omega’s escaping ship from being shot down, she informs Dr. Hemlock. 

“Do you trust me? I’ve spent years working by your side. I could be more useful.”  Before Omega is recaptured, we get an entire episode from Emerie’s POV (which also establishes her as a very important character for the remainder of the season). Here we begin to see more of her conflicted moral compass, and also her budding sense of self esteem. “You wish to be the new chief scientist Dr. Karr?” “I believe I’ve earned it.” This fully encapsulates the dynamic that these two “doctors” have shared over the years. Emerie knows that Hemlock only values things that are useful, and probably only sees her own value in the light of what she can contribute, due to how she was raised and the circumstances she has been trapped in. Hemlock’s tone of voice implies that he has never considered her as being the new chief scientist, and yet he acquiesces quite quickly, almost as though he’s just too busy to think about it and if it means things are brought back up to production standard then he’s fine with her taking Nala Se’s place. His utter disregard for Emerie as an actual human and someone with merit is disgusting, but to Emerie it comes across as respectful benevolence (as long as she follows the rules). It is good to see her start to stand up for herself, although she has no idea what she is getting herself into.  

“You’re safe SP-32.”  Emerie’s experiences watching over the children in the vault begin to chip away HARD at the beliefs she has grown up with and the perspectives she has kept herself sheltered behind. She initially tries to connect with one of the children, Eva, but Hemlock quickly stops her and tries to force his perspective that these are simply “scientific assets. Specimens.” The children defy this characterization at every turn. Eva compliments Emerie’s glasses, shares her name. Jax reiterates that his number is not his name when he tries to escape, and Emerie spends the entire sequence of him trying to escape torn, worried for him, and disgruntled at how violently Scorch and the other commandos treat him. Her conflict continues to grow as Eva asks how Jax is after the escape attempt, and she has to face her duplicity in telling Eva everything would be fine, when it is not. 

“They’re children. Like I was. Was your plan to discard them too?” Finally, Emerie confronts Nala Se, and we get more of a glimpse into the circumstances of her childhood. Emerie obviously carries enormous bitterness and resentment for however Nala Se treated her and the choice to abandon her in favor of Omega, and she throws this back in Nala Se’s face asking why the rest of the children in the Vault haven’t been protected either. “The Empire will keep them in order to control them” — once again a layered statement that includes Emerie’s own position. “They don’t belong in here” — Omega’s hopeful and determined perspective has gotten through to her on some level, just as it did with Crosshair. However, despite her growing sense of guilt and remorse, Emerie still feels powerless and at the mercy of her environment. “I don’t have that kind of power.” But Nala Se challenges her that she does, and that her choices going forward will need to be hers and hers alone. 

“And where did this child come from?”  Emerie starts to take small steps towards more independent choices when she insists on accompanying Scorch to pick up the next force sensitive child. Whether her plan was to try and fudge the results so he could be returned to his home, or just find out more information about how these children are procured and how many are being kidnapped, she can’t change the outcome of Bayrn being brought in. But her dismay at how young he is and how much worse this situation keeps getting is evident. Just as telling is Hemlock’s misinterpretation of her hesitation of taking in another “specimen.” He thinks she’s afraid of them harming her in an escape attempt. He doesn’t see that her personal convictions have started to become louder in her mind and heart than his commands and manipulation. She continues to take steps toward autonomy by comforting Eva, using the girl’s name, and bringing her Omega’s straw toy, that she had kept against orders. The situation is wearing on her more and more. But there’s hope for her yet.

“Emerie, you don’t have to do this.” Once Omega is back on Tantiss, Emerie retreats back into her shell a bit as Hemlock orders her to test Omega’s blood again. She knows what will happen and where Omega will be taken when the sample comes through, and she looks utterly defeated and cornered, sighing, her shoulders slumped like Crosshair’s when he was still imprisoned. Yet even as far as she’s come, she can’t see a way around completing this task. “I’m sorry, but I do.” She tries to soften the blow with “for what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re safe.” But Omega is not having it. “Am I??” Emerie knows she’s not, sighing in fear and resignation again as Hemlock takes Omega away to the vault. She tries to console herself by giving the children better games to keep their minds engaged, and pointedly asserts her rank and decision to keep Omega in contact with the other children even when Dr. Scalder disagrees with her choice. Her confidence is still growing. Her sense of right and wrong is slowly becoming more and more defined. She is now starting to show a split front between her attempts to placate Omega vs. the questions and doubts that have been festering inside her. Will she finally be able to push through her fears and use her influence and position to help the children, the clones, Omega, and the Batch escape by the end? Or will she remain trapped in a life that she didn’t choose but that she has long since begun to question and pull away from?

Just like the rotating dial of test vials that she oversees every day, Emerie’s moral compass continues to inch closer and closer toward a resolution, until hopefully it will click fully into place. And when it does, Hemlock will (hopefully) regret every ounce of trust he’s ever placed in her. And Omega will hopefully be fully justified in the trust, pleas, and examples that she has been giving Emerie, her big sister, this whole time. Emerie’s sense of identity, justice, and conviction hang in the balance. She can be an agent of change for everyone’s fates, if she chooses to step into her own.  

✨ Tag List ✨

@drafthorsemath @freesia-writes @sunshinesdaydream @ladyzirkonia @jedizhi @the-little-moment @the-bad-batch-baroness @heyclickadee @burningfieldof-clover @dreamless-daydreamer

[hecalledme-jagi]

The Ponderings of a Man In Love

I've had this FanLore for Zen strewing in my brain for a little over a year and finally decided to write it out into a one shot!

Enjoy!

What does it mean to experience first love? 

Zen wondered as he watched you doze off beside him to the sound of a movie you both had forgotten about halfway through. He smiled to himself softly, gently brushing away a strand of hair that had fallen over your face, planting a tender kiss on the top of your head. The comforting gesture caused you to snuggle further into his side, cozy and loved. Treasured and wanted.

Zen often thought about the meaning of first love when he was with you. He always felt a pang of guilt over dating other girls before you, even if you weren't bothered by it. He knew you were his yesterday, today, and tomorrow--his dusk and dawn. His moon and stars--leaving him with the fact that you weren't his first, which felt wrong in every way imaginable. So there he sat wondering, and really pondering, what it meant to experience first love. Had he experienced it before? If so, that idea devastated him, leaving his heart aching, poking, splintering, and desperately wanting your comforting. Hoping all his wondering meant nothing. 

He snuggled in close, soaking in your warmth, soothing his self-inflicted wounds, nuzzling your hair, blinking back the sting of tears.

Slowly he doze off to the sound of your steady breathing, calming his anxiety. Slowly learning to bask in the simple pleasures of a quiet evening. 

His breathing steadied, finding rhythm with your own, and in complete unison, your chests rose and fell. 

He found his peace in his small basement apartment.

But absolutely and entirely, he found his peace here with you.

And in his slumber, there came a dream. Or, more accurately, a nearly forgotten memory.

Zen was younger here, much younger than you knew him now. His hair barely reached past his shoulders, fashioned into something of a mullet. His leather jacket just a size too big, but in a year's time, it would fit him perfectly. And he stood in a place filled with familiarity. His secret mountain hideout. The view was the same as it had always been, and somehow, that comforted the young boy, here now, and the man he would come to be. 

The cold evening air nipped at his cheeks and nose, a gentle breeze passing through his hair with the faint smell of cigarette smoke. Following the scent with his eyes and nose, he found a scene this young boy very well knew but was far from the scene his adult counterpart adored. There stood a girl who simply wasn't you.

Ji-an, a younger, much more boyish Hyun, recognized with an air of giddiness coating his thoughts, and in like manner, she was viewed with rose-tinted glasses. 

He admired her long black hair as it gently swayed in the passing breeze, her sharp and unusually dark eyes staring down at the view he found so much comfort in, reflecting nothing of the setting sun or the city lights flickering on one at a time. And her lips turned in a slight frown with a lit cigarette in hand. Ji-an was a girl made entirely of mysterious beauty, and for a long time, Hyun might've considered her the most beautiful girl he'd ever met. She was in the same gang as Zen, that's how they had met. She was older than him, but only slightly, maybe sixteen or seventeen. She was a force to be reconned with, a calm before a storm. Freedom and rebellion. Anger and desperation. Loneliness and devastation. But other than that, she was a total mystery. Hyun never knew more about her than she let him see, and maybe that was part of why he clung to her so helplessly. Or maybe it was because he envied her and how free she seemed to be. Maybe he wanted to live reckless abandoned where he was allowed to be who he wanted to be, the way Ji-an seemed to. Or maybe it was because bad habits always seemed more attractive than good ones at the start.

Ji-an sucked on her cigarette, holding the smoke in her throat until it burned. 

“You know,” she began as she turned to look at Hyun, “I think if we had met before everything hit the fan, I would’ve fallen in love with you for real.”

Hyun watched and admired the rugged elegance she exuded. Marvalling, despite how her words cut him deeply. His heart secretly wondering--when will anyone ever truly love me?

“For one thing, you’re a real looker,” she leaned in and kissed Hyun's lips softly, leaving the faintest taste of cigarette smoke and strawberry lip balm on the tip of his tongue. 

Is that all I'll ever be? A pretty face barely worth loving? Another secret wonder he wouldn't discover until much later.

“You’re not so bad of a guy either,” she reached out, with her free hand and gently played with the fringe that hung over his forehead. “If I wasn’t so damaged, I’d probably be able to appreciate that heart of yours,” she poked his chest playfully and with a tone of self-mockery, sucking another puff of cigarette tar into her lungs. 

“But instead, here I am, giving you cigarettes, beer, and bad memories,” she scoffed. 

Hyun took a step closer to Ji-an, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with her. He peered into her face, hoping to read the meaning in her words by seeing her expression more clearly, but there was nothing he could see. Her eyes continued to stare dispassionately at the scenic view, and not for a moment did she meet his searching gaze, nor did she acknowledge his presence at her side. Instead, her brow furrowed, and irritation fizzled in her vacant eyes.

"We shouldn't have met," she said, tossing her cigarette onto the ground and stomping it out under her boots. 

Hyun felt his heart drop.

Ji-an turned on her heels and walked towards her motorcycle.

"W.. wait! Ji-an, where are you going?" He called.

There was no answer except the loud roar of a motorcycle engine starting.

"Ji-an!"

She paused, looking towards Hyun, with more emotion in her eyes than Hyun had ever seen before, "Get out of here. Become something." 

And that was it. 

She rode off, the rumbling of her motorcycle fading the farther she got. And Hyun could only watch, confused, lost, and entirely too alone for a boy his age.

Zen jolted awake, beads of cold sweat running down his back and his heart dropping into his stomach, leaving his chest feeling hollow and unbearably lonely until he heard you.

"Hyun?" you said, coming back into the living room with a glass of water, "Are you okay?"

He looked at you, and the frenzy in his eyes became calm. A deep breath entered his lungs, and it was exhaled smoothly.

And that's when his wondering all made sense. 

Zen realized it then as his hysteria calmed at the mere sight of you. He knew then that perhaps in all possibility, before you came and before he had forgotten what life was like in your absence, he would've considered Ji-an his first love experience. And in some way, maybe she was. Maybe she was his first love, but that thought didn't seem to bother him so much anymore. Because maybe love was more about changing than firsts and lasts. 

(Although, admittedly, he was perfectly enchanted by the idea that you would be his last. You would hold all his ending chapters, and perhaps, that was far more important than keeping all his opening phrases.)

Ji-an encouraged his flaws but neglected his strengths. He knew now that they were bad for each other, beasts ravenously hungry for love and acceptance. In love with their shared self-pity. Wanting each other because of the addictive nature of cigarettes, loving the nicotine clinging to their clothes and mingling in their mouths. Loving the faint taste of strawberries after every kiss that made the bitter taste of tobacco seem pleasant and sweet. But even still, she inspired his drive for freedom.

And you? You came and captivated him.

You nurtured his strengths and loved his flaws, and for that, he loved you, but as his feelings began to grow, he wanted to be better for you. He wanted to change. So maybe, just maybe, it was for the best that you came at this moment in his life. You came at the point in his life when he still had room to grow but was mature enough to treasure you wholeheartedly. Perhaps now was the best time to love you--not to say it was the only time he could love you, nor was it the perfect time, for he knew that if he had met you ten years ago or ten years from now, he'd be ready to love you precisely and honestly--so now as Zen looks at you, finally finding his moment of lost peace, he realizes that all this wondering about "first love" was for not because all that matters is that he loves you.

Zen nods, gently grabbing at your waist and pulling you in. He rests his forehead against your torso, hugging your waist tightly.

 "Never better, honey~"

˚✧₊⁎𝒥𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑎⁎⁺˳✧༚

I do not own any characters, all ownership goes to Cheritz. Thanks for reading!

[cassieoz]

Here is the full story , I called it the perfect host

Computer log 22 - subject has display no signs of pregnancy but we will continue to track them  progress before run another implantation treatment on them.

Breeding unit on Deta ship a common area that many ships that held host for new lifeforms to be born. Currently The Deta ship breeding program only house 5 to 6 host all human and all been taken to become host . Doctor Ein and their team were busy keep the host under so the newborns could grow without stress the host body out . “Host number four is carrying twin make sure we give her lot of iv nutrients as to help the pregnancy “,she said to her team .

Doctor ein look some what human beside looking taller than the average human and her three fingers.  She turned to see subject 2 the newest host watch her as they struggled to get free from they bindings . Doctor Ein move town the subject and then said “sh..you safe now back to sleep you shouldn't be awake but don't fear ,my dear you in good hand “

“No, don't put me back under” ,my mind scream.  “Damn it get off of me “,my mind scream as nurses of doctor Ein held me down while I once again was put under . 

“Make sure that this subject is give another dose in an hour “,said doctor Ein as a colleague of her walk in . “What about alternative reality room . Make the house think they are experiencing something else while the baby grows that way the host can't pull themselves out of that “. 

“I could try it but I never had a subject wake up before “,said doctor Ein.  

In my mind I felt body laying on the cold table before a small movement in my stomach made me feel sick but it fade as the drug kick in again 

Doctor ein rush on night when one of the subject gave birth at night . The subject awake crying out for pain as the baby inside them move out of the host body and onto the table . The host body began to leak milk as the nurse clean the baby before letting it latch on the host.  “Move the newborn to the nursery and take the subject to the reset pods tell they are needed again . 

The nurses obey as they wheel the crying and screaming subject.  

Computer log - subject implantation failed.  Retry in a few weeks.  Going to see if host body will take implantation if they are stimulate and aroused.  Will documents if they factor help . 

As the pod of subject pregnancy grows doctor ein is worry about subject 2 as most of the other host had taken their pregnancies and role but not this one they had fought most way to be implanted . 

You body could feel the cold tools could begin to open your legs as another tool went inside you and move though the birth canal before digging itself in your  cervix where it push itself into your  egg then began to fill your cervix with a cool gel before move out of inside you. Your subconscious heard the voice said “hopefully their body accept it this time ,give them something for pain then make sure they keep comfortable “

As time pass doctor Ein confirm the pregnancy and wrote down . Computer log subject 2 is pregnancy and body seem to adjusting well will continue to monitor progress as the pregnancy is still new “

Month one notes - the host was place on both higher iv nutrition since the baby isn't gain the weight we want . Subject two also awaken again this time fron morning sickness.  

You awake as your body throw up liquid as the unhuman creature clean up up and place you back under before you can protest. 

Month two - baby weight is good . Well continue to watch.  

Your belly showing starting to swell and stretch.  

Month 3 -nothing new 

Month 4 - host belly is growing and her first milk is showing sgin of coming in . Baby heart beat is good as well their size . 

Month 5 -host awake again this time was able to are make it to a pod before being put under again .

You awake and began pull the iv out and get free of the straps before see how big your belly was then ran down the hall toward what you hope was freedom. You fought the Guards as they injected you to put under again . You kick and claw to get free before the drug take effect

Month 6 -baby is growing at a health rate and size. This baby looks it first live hybrid we have .

Month 7 -normal process nothing to document.  

Month 8 - nothing to document since the host body is near her due date. 

You awaken this time in pain as you feel wetness between your legs . You cry out in pain not sure what going on . The creature and the others rush in and said “subject two water broken , subject have small contractions so began the induction procedure by began to giving a dose of Pitocin”  once the drug to effect you felt like your belly was on fire from the pain . You whole body was screaming to get this creature out . You body sweating as labor was progress slowly . 

The creature look at you and check your cervix and said “not long now just breathe “

You let out scream as the contractions come again “get this thing out of me …ah 

..”.  

Doctor Ein said “we give you something for the pain soon but try to relax as any drug will only alow it down “ 

Couple hours later . You felt the pressure build again as what felt like a head press against you as you cry out in pain . “You are crowning ,push “

 

You follow the creature order began to push as the pressure rises once more before falling off as you feel the baby move down and out . 

Doctor Ein move to help the baby who is more aware then most baby and move up the host body toward it breast to began to simulate the milk and began to nurse .

“What a remarkable sight this is , they are the first hybrid to be this aware meaning that it seem our DNA had enhanced the human awareness “

You scream as the creature move up your chest and began nurse off of you . You then feel the red hot pain again.  

The creature look at you and said"you crowning again push my dear “

You push as another creature come out of you and it too climb you to nurse you . 

The doctor smile watch it and said to the team “take subject two to the pod room allow the babies to nurse from her and make sure she is give another another couple of dose of drug to make them immobile and keep them hook to iv tell the baby are able to be ween . 

You spend what feel like forever we both the small hybrid nursing off of you and the doctor and their staff coming in to check on you .

Doctor Ein walk in and said “both baby are still active nurse off the host and the host had them a six week ago which would be the the end of the reset time but since they cant reset I would like for us to see about testing way to boost their milk to hopefully make the babies to ween in the next few weeks so we can began to breed her again to see if she birth another hybrid with this hyper-awareness . 

You watch as the doctor began to stimulate your body to make you feel aroused as your milk began to flow out and you let out moan in pleasure as you feel your jump from nearing climax the hybrid move off your body . And began show that they ween off of you . 

Doctor Ein said “keep them aroused tell I return “. 

Doctor Ein walk to another laboratory on the ship and said “Doctor Quill, do you have any subject that I could borrow for my project .I like to test what happen if my subject mate with one of our kind . Their last two offspring were hyper aware like or our children when they are born and so I want to see if their next offspring would also “. 

“I have someone in mind but if this work we must then run test of why this human can make these rare offspring vs the other host “. 

Doctor Ein said “hurry I have her ready for mating so send your person down quick since I don't think we can keep her on the edge for long “

Back in the exam room you feel yourself going mad from the hyper arouse you feel . When you spot the creature you try to make your body move but you can't.  

The creature smile as it move on top of you and began to mount you . The creature began to thrust into your cervix each time make you letting out moan . 

“No”, you scream inside you mind as you watch the horror of being rape by these creatures . You wish for this hell to end to go back to freedom of being a normal human not some incubator for this thing .

The creature thrust against you again and again before release it seed into you and the doctors around have the creature stay inside you tell they could injected you with a dose of another drug .

You pass out from the mating and when you wake up you back to being hook up to iv and on the cold lab table lock to it with now a large group of doctor and nurse looking running tests and check every inch of you to see what make your body the perfect host . 

You are a great writer - keep writing!

[atopvisenyashill]

How do you expect dany ending slavery to be? By asking the slavers nicely to stop owning people? To the masters enslaved people are nothing, they do not view them as humans deserving of autonomy, of decency, of freedom to live for themselves. The masters will never have given up the people they held captive because they believed they are their property. Should she have let the masters go free in astapor, they would've undoubtedly started enslaving people again. abolishing slavery will never not be bloodless, for the masters because they don't want to lose the wealth and power they gained through the enslavement of people, their labour and their talents/creativity. And for the enslaved because they don't want to be at the mercy of people who treat them as if they're animals - or below - people who think they're nothing but bodies to be used and utilised as they see fit.

I've seen people saying the crucifixion of the masters was wrong, I think it was not nearly enough. What are the lives of a few hundreds masters to the millions of enslaved people they've killed? To the millions suffering at their hands? The unsullied if I remember correctly are around 8 thousand, meaning each one killed a baby, that's 8 thousand babies killed because of the masters. What they deserve is to stripped of all their wealth, death if found to be involved with the harpy or for refusal (I don't think that's what'll happen in canon though)

Also, I don't understand the comparison between dany and robb, yes they are both leaders of their people, who fail somewhat in their job but their similarity end there.... where dany grow up in poverty and without shelter, enduring her brother's abuse, robb grow up as the heir to a lord paramount, among his loving parents and siblings without ever worrying about food or shelter

Alright fine let’s break this down piece by piece.

How do you expect dany ending slavery to be? By asking the slavers nicely to stop owning people? To the masters enslaved people are nothing, they do not view them as humans deserving of autonomy, of decency, of freedom to live for themselves. The masters will never have given up the people they held captive because they believed they are their property.

FIRST OF ALL i don’t need a lecture from a grey faced anon on the horrors of slavery, EYE have Indigenous ancestry on both sides of my family, I have actual proof of SLAVES in my family, and I can almost guarantee my ancestors experienced the horrors you’re lecturing me about first hand so maybe roll back on the attitude a bit hmmm.

Second, idk how many times I have to say it, other people have to say it, how many times i have to scream it from the rooftops but- POLITICALLY, I think the crucifixions were a misstep. MORALLY, my issue with her is not the crucifixtions. POLITICALLY, this was an objectively stupid thing to do that makes Meereen harder to control, and since this is a series MEANT for analysis I personally think it’s fine, actually, if I critique something that is POLITICALY stupid regardless of the MORALITY of it. Making decisions fueled by anger is BAD and any toddler knows that.

Should she have let the masters go free in astapor, they would've undoubtedly started enslaving people again.

You are putting words in my mouth or mixing up the events. She doesn’t crucify the Good Masters of Astapor, she sacks the city. She takes their resources, their Unsullied, their food, murders children and teenagers just like her who were born noble class and inherited slaves they may not have wanted, leaves behind a council of only THREE PEOPLE, and slavery is brought back the moment she leaves by Cleon the Butcher.

It’s the Great Masters of Meereen that she crucifies. She tells them to “give up their leaders” and takes them at their word, doing something that is going to piss everyone off without thinking of the consequences. Also - she DOES let the masters go free in Meereen! She literally lets them keep all of their riches, lets them pay their servants next to nothing, and resorts to bitching about how mean they are even though SHE is the one with the power to change this. Not only does SHE let the Great Masters go free, she then BRINGS BACK SLAVERY, so, really, what exactly do you think she accomplished with the crucifixions besides inventing the Sons of the Harpy??

abolishing slavery will never not be bloodless, for the masters because they don't want to lose the wealth and power they gained through the enslavement of people, their labour and their talents/creativity. And for the enslaved because they don't want to be at the mercy of people who treat them as if they're animals - or below - people who think they're nothing but bodies to be used and utilised as they see fit.

Who said anything about it being bloodless? I am critiquing a specific act that she did that hurt her overall attempts at reconciliation in the region. She goes for a flashy, brutal way of collective punishment instead of actually figuring out whose idea it was to crucify the children, who the leaders of the city are, if there is any sort of abolition movement going on, and then acting accordingly because she is ruling through her emotions and not making smart decisions.

I've seen people saying the crucifixion of the masters was wrong, I think it was not nearly enough. What are the lives of a few hundreds masters to the millions of enslaved people they've killed? To the millions suffering at their hands? The unsullied if I remember correctly are around 8 thousand, meaning each one killed a baby, that's 8 thousand babies killed because of the masters. What they deserve is to stripped of all their wealth, death if found to be involved with the harpy or for refusal (I don't think that's what'll happen in canon though)

But she doesn’t strip them of their wealth does she? As a matter of fact, many of them still have their wealth. Many of them still effectively have slaves. The situation becomes worse in fact because she creates considerably worse class stratification wherein most people are living in abject poverty or living in the pyramids with the other rich nobles who she herself lives amongst. She also doesn’t give them the choice of “give up your wealth and disavow the sons of the harpy or die.” She takes 103 nobles that she is told are leaders, crucifies them without any sort of inquisition, and then let’s the rest keep their wealth. She does the complete opposite of what you are saying. I am critiquing her on exactly the point you are making - she makes a decision out of anger then doubles down on this stupid behavior instead of doing what’s RIGHT and what’s SMART, she sticks to useless, angry half measures that don’t go far enough because going far enough would mean giving up her OWN wealth.

During the farce we called Reconstruction, we didn’t just execute a bunch of random ass southern soldiers did we? No, there was an attempt by Lincoln to try the highest ranking government and military officials for treason. Did South Africa execute or kill every single white person when Apartheid ended? No, because committing mass slaughter of an entire class of people without some sort of plan in place doesn’t freaking help when you are trying to LIVE with them. Fuck it, do you know why MAO was so effective when he killed the landowning class? Because he had an entire plan and didn’t just kill a handful and let the rest keep their wealth!!! If what Dany had done was offer them that choice, or just straight up exile or kill literally every single Great Master, this would be a different convo. Instead she kills a handful of random ass dudes and then can’t figure out why she can’t get ahead of the political situation. It’s because she let THEM choose who to kill and she offed people who might have TALKED to her or explained the basics of how Meereen works. You can’t say you’re here to liberate the masses and then let the elites keep their shit!! That’s not ending slavery, that’s just cronyism.

Also, I don't understand the comparison between dany and robb, yes they are both leaders of their people, who fail somewhat in their job but their similarity end there.... where dany grow up in poverty and without shelter, enduring her brother's abuse, robb grow up as the heir to a lord paramount, among his loving parents and siblings without ever worrying about food or shelter

oh well since Catelyn never hears a prophecy that makes her go insane, I guess that means I can’t compare her to Cersei. and since Rhaenyra and Aegon grew up in a castle I guess that means we can’t compare them to Dany. and since Viserys II was a hostage for several years that means we can’t compare him to Tyrion. and since and since

you’re unserious if you think we are not meant to compare and contrast two teenage war rulers who are the exact same age born in the aftermath of the exact same freaking war.

[mmyashas]

ALL QSMP PRESIDENCY CANDIDATES

bbh: he proposes he's the only person able to make the necessary decisions the quesadilla island president would have to make. he's sure he's the only one with enough courage to keep the island free for the residents and make sure no dictator runs while keeping the eggs safe.

foolish: he appreciates the opportunity he got from the quesadilla island. he says its not often that you get stuck on a weird island with a bunch of crazy people who speak different languages and wants to get the most out of it. most people would want to leave as soon as possible, but he wants to make friends with everyone and enjoy what the island has to offer him.

etoiles: hes smily, generous and the only negativity he has inside of him is for himself, never for others. hes going to visit eighty trillion of dungeons the island has for better understanding. he commits to exploring the island to understand it better.

baghera: she has a good head on her shoulders and only wants the best for the island members. she prioritizes communication and has a good relationship with everyone. she thinks she can handle any problem and precipitated actions that can appear. the island is the one that gave her motherhood and thus, a goal. this place gave her friends and family; and will do her best to preserve it at any cost.

felps: he is a navigation officer, bus conductor, artist and gardener. he wants to make everyone happy, give the eggs more rights and gift macaroni and pasta to everyone.

forever: he is one of the players who is the most time in the island, so he will always be there to look after the island member's interests. as experienced mc player, he has many ideas for community projects for the people. he's bald and will represent the people in this series. he comments he likes richas very much; that he's the happiest accident he's ever had. he also likes all the island habitants; everyone is so nice and funny, even though the french make lots of noise in the eggs' houses.

mike: he will finally bring the order to quesadilla island. what he likes about the island the most is the people. first of all, he would prohibit the use of waystones. this would change the dynamic of the island, as it would force players to make paths between their bases and finally they could install a railway system and trains.

cellbit: his past work experience is tribute, assasin, prisoner and detective. he's roier's husband. he's able to make eloquent speeches and manage complex organizations. he thinks he'll be good representative for the future of the island; not only apporting new ideas and narratives to other content creators but also protecting the eggs. his favorite things from the island are his husband, his kid and his friends.

gegg: gegg's a business man going from door to door gegg. gegg's a war criminal gegg. gegg's an influencer in relation to the family lifestyle gegg. "gegg change world." what gegg likes the most from the island are the wet, the wet places and caves. gegg promises your freedom. gegg promises truth. gegg promises your power and abolishing any gubernamental law, tax, debts and any existing law. the establishment stops us, gegg will free us. only one gegg rule. trust in gegg, because gegg trusts you.

elquackity: he says there's lack of organization, lack of order; that he thinks under a perfect scenario he could carry out. has run for qsmp presidency and says this job will be very important and hopes it'll be the best possible.

[canonmisogynyvictimstournament]

PROPAGANDA

NATASHA ROSTOVA (WAR AND PEACE) (CW: Pregnancy)

1.) Natasha is one of the MCs of the novel and for the majority of it she stays an incredibly complex, flawed and fleshed out character but then THE EPILOGUE COMES. In the epilogue she marries Pierre Bezukhov (who I talked about in my previous propaganda) and essentially loses her personality. The point of her existence now is to serve Pierre and be his 24/7 baby machine. The narrative puts emphasis on how important singing is for her (Natasha expresses herself through it) but after she gets married she stops singing (the other moment she stops singing is after her failed elopement with Anatole Kuragin, when she's depressed and basically at her lowest point) because she doesn't need it anymore since she has a husband UwU.

Natasha is described as a perfect and understanding wife for Pierre and yet she's allowed only to soak in his views and thoughts without adding anything from herself. ("Now that he was telling it all to Natásha he experienced that pleasure which a man has when women listen to him—not clever women who when listening either try to remember what they hear to enrich their minds and when opportunity offers to retell it, or who wish to adopt it to some thought of their own and promptly contribute their own clever comments prepared in their little mental workshop—but the pleasure given by real women gifted with a capacity to select and absorb the very best a man shows of himself." (c) Book 15, Ch. 17).

When Natasha's cousin Sonya tries to stop her from eloping with Anatole, Natasha screams that she's now his slave and will do anything he wants and although she and Anatole never meet again after the elopement fails, she never escapes the fate of becoming a slave to her man.

To be honest I dislike Natasha (there's no excuse for how she and her family treated her cousin Sonya) but the way she portrayed in the epilogue infuriates me. Her marriage to Pierre cancels out her character arc and personal growth she had before it completely.

2.) After 2k pages detailing her unique way of thinking, lust for life, hyperactivity and love of freedom Natasha is married and therefore summarily shunted off to being jealous and incapable of understanding her husband's higher purpose, no longer singing and having no other preoccupation in life but the color of her children's pov

3.) oh my god. so shes this young girl (literally shes like. 13 to 17 throughout the main story). as natasha makes her way into society, she gets more and more hated by tolstoy. (because tolstoy hates society & women). if im remembering correctly the first time she flirts with a man & uses a fan she gets scolded. all of her love interests are considerably older than her. when natasha is 17, she gets engaged to andrei (who at this point would be around 27). he goes off to war! because he loves war. while hes away, anatole (who is vaguely around andreis age) seduces natasha. he knows she's engaged & impressionable and does it anyways. anatole plans to kidnap & elope with natasha, but the plan gets found out. natasha learns anatole is already married and tries to kill herself via arsenic. she gets better. pierre (27) who has known natasha since she was 13 & is close with her family and is also andreis friend, visits natasha. he comforts her and she's like "no what i've done is unforgivable and deplorable". pierre then kind of proposes to her ("if i were free"). natasha stops singing for a while. this is significant because singing is very important to her. well fast forward his wife dies. then theres the epilogue where pierre and natasha get married. natasha is miserable and is basically a baby pumping machine and she also stops singing again.

GWEN (BBC MERLIN) (CW: Mind Control, Adultery)

1.) She was one the main 4 characters in the show and basically the leading lady as the show went on and YET. She was literally treated like an object to make her pain a point of conflict and angst for the male characters and then SHE WAS BARELY EVEN THERE. FOR THE SEASON FINALE. THE LEADING WOMAN. so that the writers could focus on their male characters more. Also in season 4 the writers forgot that they had to make a Guinevere/Lancelot affair happen (to follow the Arthurian canon that they ~totally~ were following before. this is sarcasm btw). But at that point Gwen as a character was not in a place where she would do that. So instead of writing something actually good they decided to just have Gwen end up with an Enchanted Bracelet That Makes You Cheat On People. I’m not joking. So it wasn’t even her choice to have an affair and they never explore the implications of this. And it’s never even revealed to the characters that she didn’t choose this. She’s just. Never vindicated. Evil and terrible.

2.) At the beginning of the series there was on episode when Gwen was like “women should be allowed to fight” (in a battle that was happening). A big part of her character at the beginning was also knowing armor and weaponry bc she was the blacksmith’s daughter. But then in the series finale they had her say something along the lines for “I’m not meant to fight” just so she could be gone so that the writers could just write about the two male leads

3.) Okay also in the last season they didn’t know what to do with Gwen’s character so for almost half the season they made a plot line where she was mind controlled (again :)))) after being kidnapped and tortured. And like. Again instead of focusing on her and the effects it had on her they made the whole thing an excuse to get Male Lead # 1 and # 2 angsty about it. They had to like. Knock her out and throw her into a lake (magic baptism???) to reverse mind control and then they literally never her reaction to the whole situation ever. Literally objectified for the plot.

[wolven91]

A Heated Bed - Chapter 3

Matt was perched on the end of his bed sitting mostly still. It was an odd fact that he'd yet to actually use the furniture for a full night's rest and he was already starting his second day on board the felinoid craft. He was currently resting his chin against one his fists whilst leaning his elbow on his knee and biting his nails on the other hand absently. All the while he maintained an impressive thousand-yard stare at the far wall. 

The human was considering the situation he had put himself into, contemplating it properly and turning it over in his mind. Matt had come to the conclusion that he could no longer allow himself to simply wash down the river in the currents that he was being subjected to. He had to enforce his own will, or he'd be drowned by the creatures he was sharing a craft with. 

As Ruby, the felinoid who had started all this off, put it; he was experiencing 'True Freedom' for the first time. The way she said it though.  The emphasis she used sounded differently than the words he knew them as and the implications he had learned for them didn't seem to fit properly. He suspected that something was being lost in the translation between her language and his own. The way she had described it, 'True Freedom' was intimidating to those who hadn't actually experienced it before. 

And the more that Matt now considered it, the more he realised it was true. Back home; 'home', home, he was told what was right, not in just not being a general dick, but what was 'normal' or expected. 

Then everything went wrong, the human suppressed a flinch as the fearful memories that he had no intention of confronting any time soon bubbled back up. He unconsciously licked at the scar that marred the side of his mouth, a 'gift' from those times. After Earth wasn't his or anyone else's problem anymore, he was thrown into the hands of a government that apparently barely knew anything about humans. This government then told him what they had decided was 'right' and 'correct'. In their opinion, his objective was now to work, but he 'didn't have to'. All the while they flaunted the hellish grey world that awaited him if Matt didn't earn his way. Oh sure, you won't starve, they said, you won't be homeless either, but you will only have a bare minimum with nowhere to call your own. 

So if you want a home; get on the treadmill and start running. 

Was it the choice that was freedom? The choice; work or don't. Conform or don't. If he aligned himself to the power's desire, then he could make a life for himself in the free time he scraped together between working. Was it the reward for working that was freedom? He wasn't so sure now that he'd been dumped into the deep end of a society that toted 'True Freedom'. 

The felinoids showed up and exposed Matt to something. different. The hand he had been biting the nails of stopped and gently touched at his bottom lip. It still tingled at the fresh memory; it was barely a handful of hours past since he had been kissed by Onyx. More passionately than anything he'd had experienced before, albeit his personal experience list on the matter was short to say the least. He hadn't hated it either, quite the contrary, but now, on his own; the heavily ingrained guilt was creeping out from the depth of his skull.

He was human, they weren't. This was the first aspect which his mind taunted him with. His mind played that concept over and over, happily reminding the man that humanity was a dying, critically endangered race and had been for a quarter of a year with no change. But it was the fact that the creature wasn't the opposite sex to him that seemed to play on his mind more. Matt's upbringing had more to say on that matter than the former concept any way. If or when he encountered another human, messing around with another species was excusable, but if they were the opposite... god this felt like the wrong mental track to take! It felt morally wrong to the man, like he was becoming someone he'd hate just by thinking like this. But... all his conditioning from his upbringing was struggling to fit in this new world and this? This was the thing his mind was sticking on because it was something that Earth had or did have. Matt's subconscious mind understood this concept of 'correct' genders so clung to it like a lifeline despite its horrid nature.

The man stood and breathed in to swear, but stopped himself as his mind flashed to the past. Like a burst balloon he exhaled and instead tried to shake himself from the thought. Onyx was lovely, he, no, 'they' were lovely. They had taken him by surprise, sure, but he wasn't into... Matt didn't... If he wanted Onyx to kiss him again, was it gay? What about those twins, would that be...? The punk? Ruby?

Matt suppressed the urge to shout in frustration. He had no clue what was right, or wrong or... or... what was he supposed to be worrying about!? His mind told him to feel shame without an explanation, but his maddening loneliness was screeching at him to grab onto at least one of them and never let go. Whilst his brain couldn't explain why he should feel shame, it knew exactly why he should avoid being alone. Three damned months he'd been alone. Three months day in, day out, with an utter absence of another. He had wanted to die towards the end of that hell.

Even when Matt had not just stepped out of, but truly left his comfort zone, and tried to engage in conversation with others; it hadn't gone well. The man had researched what they were talking about the day before with a plan to offer an opinion or agree with someone else. In answer to him joining in, they'd dispersed almost immediately. Back in the present, Matt clapped his hands over his face at the memory of the embarrassment, his body physically tightening in shame, his toes curling into the plush carpet. The shame of social suicide as he cemented his place as an outcast on the station replayed in his head. He didn't want to think about this!

'But these creatures haven't shunned you...' His mind offered him, like a pusher offering an addict what they desired despite them barely keeping it together. 'They've accepted you unlike anyone before...' His body stopped tensing in response to the lifeline. 'You could take and take and take.'

No, he wouldn't... abuse their kindness. He wasn't a bastard, he didn't want to hurt anyone. He had to take control. He had to control himself and school his thoughts too.

Ruby and Onyx, they took him by surprise. He... he enjoyed everything that happened, but it was a heat of the moment thing. Yeah... yeah! That was it! He had gone from utter loneliness to being doted on. Of course! Of course, he would go along with that. Like being drunk and going along with the group, one could end up doing stuff one wouldn't do normally. His body relaxed more and more as this train of thought gathered speed and solidified as a reasonable excuse and mental out.

Matt nodded into the empty room as his mind latched onto this conceptualisation of what he'd experienced. Everything that had happened last night, and this morning was a one off. He was still who he was a few days ago and all that had changed was that he had made new friends. They weren't what he was used to, true, but he'd accept them regardless, and the rest of them for who they were as well.

Matt decided that he'd pass no judgments, he would hold himself to his standards, not them. To ensure he did this right, he spoke to himself, verbally making an agreement and setting ground rules for himself.

"Okay, first goal; no snogging anyone else. Simple. I've been doing that the majority of my life so far; this will be the easiest one. Second, tonight, I will sleep in my own bed. Whether I fall asleep or not, I will not climb into someone else's bed."

The man nodded with his fists against his hips, these were good, reasonable goals. Left things nice and open for discovering whatever new concepts the felinoids wanted to reveal today.

As for today, maybe he wasn't planning on becoming a teacher when he left, but even if the idea of standing in front of a class petrified him, it was better than staring at a computer typing in people's names from one spreadsheet to another. He'd dedicate himself to educating the felinoids as they had asked him to.

He'd never seen the other races of aliens express themselves in such a manner as the felinoids did. Perhaps the station he'd been on was particularly uptight, and there were other touchy-feely aliens out there? He didn't know, but either way, he'd give the felinoids a fair understanding of what was polite and what wasn't when interacting with humans. He'd avoid the subjects he wasn't sure on; it wasn't his place to speak on matters he knew little about.  It should be easy enough to ignore or redirect those questions.

His door chirped, having the man flinch and look round at the still securely locked door. The console light pulsed; someone was asking to see him. 

"Come in." He called out, blinking and coming back to the 'real world' and disregarding his almost mad rant to himself.

The door revealed Ruby, who gracefully tiptoed into his quarters. Matt noted that it seemed all the felinoids walked on their toes, giving the impression of a runway model regardless of who it was. It was as if when they walked, if Matt was standing in the way, they'd either walk through him or over him without breaking stride. She stopped a few steps in and waved her hand at the door controls, effortlessly ordering it to close and give them privacy. Matt had yet to work out the intricacies of the device, he'd been too busy trapped in his own head.

The human stood and brushed his worn jeans down and smoothing the wrinkles out of his flannel shirt as best he could. He didn't own an iron and the only other clothes he had were jumpsuits or plain white tops that he had bought at the station for cheap. The clothes he wore were his 'best' despite the singes to the hems. He looked up at the smiling alien and breathed in to recite his practised speech.

"Hey Ruby, listen, last night, I. I wanted to thank you for helping me. I really got some good sleep, and I'm sorry if I imposed or snored or-" A thickly furred paw gently closed over his mouth.

"Are we about to assume what I find offensive?" Asked the towering alien, crooking a single eye ridge. Matt could have sworn he heard the click of a gun's hammer being cocked.

Matt reached up to grasp her paw, but it didn't budge. She did, however, gain a smirk. The human shook his head in answer to her and the hand immediately left him in response. Her crooked finger, however, was placed against the underside of his chin and she forced him to look up and meet her gaze.

"My Matt, you are not a burden. I invited you into my home, just as I did Onyx. I did that with the knowledge that for all I knew, when you slept you would screech at the top of your lungs like a Farfellel beetle. If that was so, I may have retracted my invitation for future nights, but I would not have blamed you even then. Please... for me? Stop saying 'sorry' for things you have not done wrong."

The alien stood there, holding his chin, other hand on her hip and staring the human down. He grimaced and understood he was pushing it now. Still, he had caused her negative emotions and like two plus two equals what one would expect, he couldn't stop himself as his programming demanded the correct response to forcing her into saying that.

"I apologise. Wait! I didn't say sorry- Oof!"

His words were cut off as the felinoid stepped forward, and with one paw, gripped the front of Matt's shirt, lifted him up and launched him backwards onto the bed where he bounced once, rolling head over shoulders, into a collapsed mess. It seemed he had finally found the limits to her patience. Matt was unharmed, but he had a new understanding of just the kind of strength Ruby had, saying that the long fur did little to hide the bodybuilder's physique she controlled.

"Now I forgive you. You are not allowed to reference it again." Ruby declared with a resolute nod before clapping her paws together loudly. "Now! You have a bit of an issue that should hold your attention."

Matt disengaged himself from the bed, and stepped back around to the foot of it, closing the distance with the alien, straightening himself again, but giving her his full attention.

"Okay, right, what's that then?"

"Your... etiquette lessons, if that's what we're calling them? When I explained to the crew before we left the station that humans required a different approach if we wanted to give a good first impression, some interest was raised." The alien grimaced and continued. "Since you joined the ship however, most if not all the crew have made it clear they want to be part of the lessons."

She stalked around him and sat on the bed, becoming just under his eye line in height, it felt odd to be near eye to eye with her.

"I attempted to mitigate this without your input by claiming we were only doing small groups. This has caused its own issues as now many of the crew are calling in favours, or buying and selling their place on the possibility they get a place and... well... you're new, you're cute and everyone wants to meet you. How would you like to handle this?" She asked, finishing up her explanation.  Matt blinked as he processed the information, he skimmed past the compliment hidden in there and considered his task. Explaining etiquette is fairly easy, but talking to too many of them would be too much for him personally.

"Maybe... I can do several lessons, but with smaller groups? It might take longer, but that way everyone gets a go. How long is our current trip?" As he spoke the man scratched at his chin, thinking carefully how best to handle them all. Whilst Matt was unsure of how to handle the social norms of aliens, if given a task, his mind could grasp it and work it out as best it could. It was the first time in a long while that the man was able to really utilise his intellect for a task more complicated than data input and he relished it.

"Oh we have at least a week of travel between systems alone. Then we'll swing by the station in the same system, figure out if there's humans on board and go from there." Ruby explained, leaning back on the bed on her outstretched hands.

"Okay, the lessons should be fairly easy. For the most part it's just some core 'rules' and everything else is just your judgement as to whether it's appropriate." The man chuntered to himself as he figured out what he was going to do.

Ruby frowned as he verbalised his work, then her features softened again as she looked up at Matt and caught his eye with a warm smile.

"It sounds complicated, but you will do brilliantly, and I will sit in on the first few so I shall learn as well. You will not be alone."

=== 0 ===

Matt stood outside the room that had been designated his 'classroom'.

He had hoped that there would be more time to prepare. To create some sort of lesson plan or something. He'd heard someone who was a teacher once say something about a 'lesson plan' and it sounded like a good concept now he was about to begin a class without a clue what he was going to say. He took a deep breath and let it out. He did it again and entered the room before his bravery left him.

The human had been unconsciously expecting a classroom. Desks in rows or an auditorium. Maybe a desk or podium at the front for him to sit at or more likely hide behind? He'd later consider the idea and be forced to ask why the hell aliens would have school desks like Earth? But this didn't occur to the man until the early hours of the following morning.

Instead, it was a relatively small, cosy room. The walls were a deep sunset orange and realistically, there wasn't much floor space to walk about in. The centre of the room was dominated by a huge, raised piece of furniture. It was circular with a single 'segment' removed, where one could walk into the centre and sit on the thick looking cushions. Matt gauged that it came up to his chest in height, but the backrests were taller than him. It looked like a fancy sofa or settee suite and it certainly looked comfortable with how the group of aliens were lounging about on it.

The group were chatting amongst themselves and seemed to consist mostly of familiar faces. Ruby was present, she was very much aware of Matt's arrival and was the only one facing the door. She said nothing though, lounging back, sitting cross legged and resting her head against a raised finger. She had a smirk on her muzzle as she watched him and let the group live in ignorance as they continued debating something.

Matt chose the wall closest to the door and facing the missing segment. He went and stood by it before clearing his throat. Like a ripple, the conversation stopped, the various swivelling ears atop of the various alien's heads turned to face him, followed by the faces of all present.

He knew all four present, well... 'knew' was perhaps too strong of a word. Ruby was present and he had known her roughly two days at this point. Onyx was missing, but he recognised the garish colours and stark white mohawk of the punk felinoid hair from this morning. Furthermore, were the two golden pelts of the twin lions, they were draped over one another. Mercifully, they were wearing what looked like oversized towels, connected around their hips that stopped just short of their knees instead of being stark naked.

"Umm, hello, everyone." Matt started, unsure as to what to say. All of a sudden, his mouth was dry and his mind empty of thoughts. The aliens' faces were impassive and watched him carefully.

"Ah, we're... That is Ruby... Well, I've been asked to talk about our... I mean, my, ah, human manners, or-or-or..." Matt stopped himself, sighing through his nose in defeat. He was panicking and tripping over his words. It had gone wrong already so he closed his eyes. He kept them closed as he spoke next.

"I'm sorry, I'm- I'm not great at speaking in front of a group." They'd bet on the wrong horse here and now they were going to realise-

"I have a question." Asked a voice, dropping the bottom out of Matt's stomach. The room reappeared as Matt opened his eyes and the punk gave him a wave. She grinned briefly before speaking again. "Why are you standing there?"

"Yeah, aren't you tired?" Asked one of the lions, laying on his front, taking up the most space on the large round 'sofa'.

"Oh... Should I be...? Where do you want me to stand?" Matt asked, mildly concerned that he'd just picked wrong and there was a correct place to stand.

"You have to stand?" Asked the other lion, whose legs the first lion was draped over, briefly copying the punk by raising a hand. The golden fur and red mane rippled as he glanced at the punk before back to the human.

"Well... I... I thought I did? My teachers always stood at the front, I was just copying them, you know?" Matt extended his hands out to the side, palms exposed. "It's my first day."

"Do they have to? You don't unless that is part of politeness?" Asked the other lion, his voice rumbling. This one seemed to constantly be purring and extended the end of his sentences peculiarly.

"I don't think so? It's just so you all can see and hear me. I think?"

"So, if we can't hear you standing up there, you'd have to sit with us?" Pointed out the prone lion, but before Matt could reply, the twin chipped in.

"I can't actually hear you, I'm really struggling."

"Me too, plus I can't see you." Added the punk, who had admitted being forced to turn herself to see him, now turning back to the centre of the sofa with a flick of her ears.

"I could also do with hearing you better." Confirmed Ruby, briefly raising a clawed paw to have her vote added. Ruby's smirk had developed into a full grin by now. Why did Matt have a feeling that she knew it would go this way?

"That's decided then. Come on, sit down then." The punk commanded, patting the sofa with a toothy grin. Matt blinked, glanced at Ruby who shrugged with an unreadable smile, before Matt straightened his shoulders and attempted to govern his thoughts. 'They were just energetic, give them this and then regain control. You're in control of your destiny.'

The human strode over to the sofa, standing in the missing segment. If Matt was standing at the six o'clock of the sofa, going around the circle from his left, the punk was sitting closest to him at eight, Ruby at eleven o'clock and the twin lions on Matt's immediate right at four or five o'clock.

It was intimidating to be stared at by what had previously been predators in Matt's youth. To be fair though, he'd only seen TV shows for most of them present. Matt perched on the edge of the sofa.

"So." He began before being cut off as two thick arms looped around his middle and dragged him backwards into the sofa until his legs were flat and he found himself being propped up against the raised back of the furniture, placed neatly next to the punk felinoid.

"Look, you were going to be sat there all stiff and that was going to annoy me." The punk explained, waving her hand dismissively as he looked round at her. "This way you can relax and so can we." she tilted her head and smiled with her eyes closed, her various piercings through her ears gleamed and glittered. 

Matt wanted to protest, but each of the aliens sitting around him nodded sagely in agreement with her. Matt decided not to push it; it was fine, regain control, it's fine.

"Is it true humans don't like other species?" Asked the punk who leaned forwards, quirking an eye ridge, Matt mentally retreated, but quickly recovered to dissuade that idea.

"What? No! I mean, there will be some, sure, but no that's not true as a general rule." He retorted, briefly glancing around the group to ensure they understood that he didn't not like them or anything.

"Is it true you shed?" Asked the prone lion, now propping his head up in his hands supported on his elbows and lazily kicking his legs. Had he gotten closer?

"Not... Like I don't have fur or scales, but..."

Matt felt another wave of questions coming, but just before they started flying.

"Enough!" Ruby interjected, stalling the next question before it began. "I believe if we do not focus, we will not actually take part in what we've intended to do with this lesson."

"But he's new!" Pointed out the dramatic lion. "We have to know stuff!"

"There will be time to ask questions, we are here to learn and are lucky to be doing so." Replied the punk, nodding before making eye contact with the human. Her different coloured eyes were glinted.

The lion huffed, going limp and letting his face hit the sofa.

"Well... what would be the best place to start I suppose?" Matt asked himself.

"What about a good introduction?" Ruby asked, going back to her fully relaxed pose and draping her arms over the back of the round sofa.

"Honestly, it's just introducing yourself and going from there." Matt supplied, smiling at his lifeline.

"I want to try then!" Said the prone lion, only now he pushed himself up right and had a wide and open grin. Matt was glad of the towel, with how he was kneeling the human would have got another good eyeful. The back of Matt's neck tingled with the idea of seeing the lion in all his 'glory' again. He stamped on the idea; It was rude, it was crude, and it was fun. No! Bad thoughts!

"S-sure, let's pretend you've just seen me and you're introducing yourself." The lion's face lit up and with incredible dexterity, pushed his hands into the sofa, lifted himself off the cushions and swung his legs beneath him so he landed his feet against the floor of the missing section and scooted closer. Matt, wanting to be polite and meet him halfway, leant forward and scooted towards him.

"Hello! Hi! I am Yilen!" Announced the friendly creature, beaming from ear to ear.

"Hello Yilen, I'm-Oof!" Matt's reply was cut off as the giant lion launched himself forwards and pancaked the human against the sofa. Thankfully it deformed around the larger creature, preventing Matt from being crushed, that didn't stop the alien from pushing his face into the human's, wiping his cheeks and mane against him as if a cat marking its territory. The only problem was this cat was significantly bigger and capable of holding the man down. All the while a rumble on par with a muscle car's engine was vibrating the pair of them.

His mind also made note that it was most of the alien's front that was pressed against him, his legs were pinned and aside from some limited movement in his arms, there was not much he could do to resist.

"W-wait, hold on! Y-yilen?"

The lion paused, raising up and beamed down at him.

"How'd I do?!"

Matt wasn't sure how to respond, staring up at the creature, he was aware he was meant to be in control here, but couldn't bring himself to admonish the overenthusiastic felinoid.

"Ah, you're... it was a good first try, but you can't... not everyone will appreciate it being pounced on and pinned? I think?"

Yilen's ears lowered flat against his skull.

"I did wrong?" He asked, backing up and off of the human, who grunted as he tried to sit back up. The punk's toes pushed his shoulders from behind helping him. He noted that while they were removed from his shoulders, he could feel the toes touching the base of his spine.

"It was a first try, I'm not expecting you to just magically know how all this goes. But a safe way of saying hello is introducing yourself like you did, but instead of jumping on top of them, offer them your hand. Like this..." Matt extended his hand as if to shake the lion's paw. Only instead Yilen grabbed the hand, lowered himself, whilst pulling Matt forwards and manually ran Matt's hand over and through the fur and mane that was on top of the lion's skull.

It took a few minutes of trying and coaxing before the alien started to get it. Matt taught him slowly on how to shake hands as a greeting, explained that it was a common action as a mark of respect or agreement amongst humans, but not used widely with aliens. This was particularly interesting to the group as they all wanted some sort of advantage over the other races while dealing with humans.

They made no attempt to hide their intentions to Matt, when he asked why they were so interested in humans they explained that they had experimented with sensations and experiences amongst themselves and with the other races too and, realistically, were now bored. There was nothing new to their race for several hundreds of years.

Then humans appeared. A whole race of creatures that had no intention of working beyond what they had to and put value into the new, the unique or experiences of something new and unique. Humans were all those things so naturally the felinoids were being drawn to them like moths to a flame.

The next time Matt honestly took any notice of his surroundings, he surprisingly found himself propped up against the backrest of the sofa, between the lions, Yilen and Kiki, and the punk, who he had discovered was called Esk. Esk had her arm draped over and around his shoulders. He only actually noticed as the conversation had naturally led to a lull and Esk’s claws were gently scratching circles into his shoulder through his shirt.

"Why do you have so many rules?" Asked Kiki, the slightly more reserved of the twins.

Matt leant his head back and looked to the ceiling for answers. He wasn't some social or culture specialist! How was he supposed to know the answer to such a broad question?

"Well..." He began before stopping. It occurred to him that a bunch of rules came up thanks to religion and the many things that had to say about various matters. Was it his place to discuss that? Amongst the topics of gender and choice he didn't know enough about religion either. Oh sure, his childhood was filled with 'be good or burn forever' threats that went away after was old enough to not be involved but there was a whole history behind that subject too, beyond just punishment. Religion wasn't some inherent 'evil' thing, its problem was that it could be used in certain ways for the personal gain of others just like any other belief.

But like anything with belief involved, it was a touchy subject. If he said the wrong thing, would he sour the relationship between humanity and felinoids? He opted for vague.

"...it just developed with our culture. We've... we've had a couple thousand years to develop this stuff and it just sort of... builds up over time."

"Do you enjoy all the rules?" Ruby asked.

"Not especially, but I guess they help me take the path with the least chance of upsetting someone?"

"Because if you don’t follow the rules you’ll upset someone, so you like the rules?"

“I suppose if we didn’t have all the various do’s and don’ts you couldn’t trip over the do’s and don’ts, would you?” Matt admitted with a forced chuckle and a half grin.

“Do you need them?” Probed Yilen, basically laying on Matt’s legs. Matt gave a flat smile, no, it wasn’t needed. To him; it was a choice. Memories rose up from the tar-like depths.

“On Earth, to ‘navigate’ everything? Yeah. My family, my parents felt it was important to be polite. Up here though… I… Well… I suppose now that’s Earth is gone and we’re not allowed to group up… A bunch of things aren’t going to be relevant anymore? Y-you know?” Matt’s voice wobbled and cracked out of nowhere. He blinked in surprise and tried to clear his throat, but a lump had appeared and refused to budge. The man blinked again and the group of aliens became blurry.

His mother taught him grace.

Frowning, Matt put a polite hand over his mouth and tried to clear his throat more forcefully, but the pain there was building and causing his eyes to water. Instead, his cough caused his chest to quake, which caused something to fall from his eye onto his cheek. Matt brought his hand up and wiped his face, his fingers came away wet.

His father taught him humility. 

“I’m sorry, I’m…” He started, trying to apologise but unsure as to what was happening, so blind sided by these unneeded reactions as he was. The man moved to shuffle away from the group, to extract himself from the room and get himself under control. What was wrong with him?! 

He tried to say something, but his voice was threatening to close up and his damned eyes kept leaking!

His sister taught him patience. 

Matt had barely moved before a paw landed on his shoulder, stopping him. A blurred glance; Esk’s hand.

“Why are you sorry?” Asked Yilen, his paw now reaching out and resting on Matt’s shin, not holding him there, but Matt would need to snatch his limb away to be released.

They never made it.

“B-because, I’m-“ Matt had to clear his throat to continue, but he couldn’t. "Ah… I'm…"

His family’s faces became harder to see over time, but the day itself was as clear as day. He was in the city, buying wrapping paper of all things. He'd been lucky enough to have been there when the crafts landed and collected people in huge groups, with or without their consent. They had used weapons, Matt flinched at the memory of his muscles spasming with alien lightning running through them. The scar that marked his lip was from when he had been grabbed; it wasn’t deliberate, they had been rushed. 

The aliens in the room that Matt’s body, but not mind occupied sat up and reached out for him.

Matt never had a chance to go home. No heirlooms, no memories of his family had made it. That all was gone now, not even ashes remained.

The felinoids were watching him carefully, but he was frozen in place, merely staring back at them without seeing. Someone pressed a hand to his cheek, a thumb wiped at the steady stream of tears.

There was no proof that they’d live or died. The man had tried everything to locate them. Their names, descriptions, he'd begged and pleaded with any of the aliens who were organising the giant mess for even a crumb of hope. He begged other humans but there was no record of his family or anyone matching their description being rescued. Everyone was looking for someone. They were so few, yet so many. Apparently it was only the bare minimum that still had ‘extended’ families.

Matt screwed up his eyes and pushed his hands into his face. Rage bloomed within his chest, rage and fear and frustration. He furiously wiped the tears from his eyes, but they welled back up within a moment.

To hell with Earth and its rules! Back home, he hadn't really cared much about manners, aside from the basics to get him through life!

But now? 

It had been a regular topic of contention for his parents and him. They wanted him to be more like them, to be polite, to know how to navigate social graces. Matt had always found it ridiculous and difficult. He’d been obtuse, deliberately going against the grain because it got a rise out of them. He'd been an awful son, for the sake of just being…

Not wearing a hat at the table would have made her smile…

God why didn't he just…

"Matt?"

Reality slammed back into the young man. He thought of himself as a man, but in moments like this he was reminded that he was barely an adult, but an adult all the same. The human was just trying his best, like they would have wanted. Realising he was having a bit of a meltdown and it wasn’t fair to the aliens surrounding him, Matt came back to his senses. 

"I'm fine." He croaked, but his face was pressed into Yilen's furred chest and a large hand gripped the back of his head, holding him there. The chest rumbled.

“Please our Matt, please do not lie to us. You are not ‘fine’ and are harming yourself by pretending otherwise…”

Matt was staring into the golden fur of an alien he had known less than a full day. 

“You have lost almost everything… You can be sad… You can cry with us, our Matt…”

A sob tore itself from his mouth, finally given permission. The pair of them fall backward, Yilen pulling the human with him as they collapsed. Matt clung to the stranger as a lifeline. 

A second and a third choking sob obliterated the human as he finally began to cry for everything he had lost, no longer able to speak.

Three months had passed since the ‘Sol-3 Incident’, the aliens not even wanting to call his home planet by its real name. Three months where he had suppressed everything just so he could fit in. The other felinoids present crowded the pair as they lay there. Matt felt clawed hands grip him from behind before a warm furred body spooned him. Through the tears, he saw the familiar pelt of Ruby crouch over his head and protect him from above, her paws gently stroking his hair. Finally, Kiki’s golden paw appeared from behind Yilen and rested against Matt’s hip. 

Finally given permission and truly embraced by the aliens, a beleaguered floodgate finally broke within the human’s mind. 

Matt, for the first time, began to mourn his loss in the arms of his new allies.

Discord / Ao3 / Tip Jar / G Drive

[cartoon0bssesedb1tch]

My angel ♡︎

Lucifer x fem! Fallen angel! reader

Summery: Lucifer and reader have been friends since Lucifer was still in heaven but sadly separated when he fell. What happened when the two are reunited but reader has experienced something that concerns Lucifer.

!Warnings!: sexual assault , bullying, abuse, violence . Also Adam’s a dick. (If you like him I’m sorry it just felt right to the story)

A/n: hii! So this the first time I’m writing something here in a while so I hope you enjoy this! XDDD

𖦹

Freedom.

That’s what she felt when she fell.

She felt free to speak her mind and not be judged, she felt free to agree with him…Lucifer.

Although, the two shared the same dream, (y/n) decided to stay quiet since she was scared of the seraphims and was scared to also be like him, fallen.

But it changed when Lucifer’s daughter came for a meeting in heaven.

*𝑭𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒉 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌*

“Oh my goodness! It’s you!”

Charlie heard behind her right before she entered the room for the meeting in heaven. She saw an angel, who looked oddly familiar to her.

“Wait? You know me?” She asked. “Well, of course, being the daughter of the king of hell gives you quite the impression up here” the angel said while smiling but stopped when she saw the worried look on Charlie’s face.

“Oh no! Not in a bad way! Well, at least not for me, I always knew that Lucifer’s daughter will more like him.”

The younger demon sighed in relief “ oh that’s good- wait you know my dad? Like personally?” She asked.

“Oh I’m so sorry! Where are my manners? I forgot to introduce myself, my name is (y/n).”

‘(Y/n)… that’s right! That was dad’s best friend when he was in heaven!’ Charlie thought. “Wait- so you don’t hate him?”

Hate him? She could never hate him.

“Heavens no! He was my best friend, my only friend actually…” (y/n) said. “How is he? I heard about the divorce, it must tough for him…”

“He’s fine? I honestly don’t know… when he’s around he seems all cheery but I notice that it’s not really… sincere, you know? As if he’s trying to mask his feelings just to make others feel better.” Charlie said sadly.

(Y/n) sighed “I wish I was there to help him…”. The two stood in comfortable silence as if a mother and a daughter would. “Oh golly! Look at the time! You don’t wanna be late for the meeting, now do you?” She said while slightly pushing Charlie to the doors of the room. “I hope the meeting goes well, Charlie. I’ll see you inside” (y/n) said right before Charlie goes in.

She stood there in silence, and disappointment not at Lucifer or Charlie.

But herself that she couldn’t even be by his side at his lowest.

He still is her best friend…

… And first love…

Almost tearing up she stood in front of the door to the meeting room until…

“Heya babe, whatchu doing here?!”

Adam.

The one person she despises most.

“Are you fucking crying?! That’s hilarious! Well what are crying about hmm?” He asked with fake sympathy in his voice.

“It’s non of your business” she said.

“Yeah probably about that guy that literally fallen from heaven just to not to see your face” he said

Although she never took his words seriously, this one really hurt.

“Well you know I can satisfy you in ways that guy wouldn’t even think of” he said while putting his hand on her waist.

It got lower and lower…

“Please stop-“

“Adam” the voice of Sera the head seraphim was heard. And immediately his hand left her body. “The meeting is starting”

“Yeah right we were just going in” he said. He waited for the seraphim to go inside. When she did he didn’t hesitate but throw a punch right in the angel’s face.

“You fucking bitch! You really want sera to fucking think of me as the bad guy huh?! Well, next time it won’t be just your face you’ll have to cover” he said while going inside the room.

She sat there yet again in silence. She took out a pocket mirror that she had and some foundation.

Because it was not the first time …

* 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 *

When she fell felt even happy to out of there.

Until she hit the ground breaking her wings and most of the bones in her body.

She saw shades of red in the sky and was the last thing she saw before she fell unconscious

Lucifer’s pov:

I was in my office sorting some paperwork I don’t even know what it was, until I heard something crash.

Or rather someone…

I rushed outside since I can’t just leave the person alone to suffer.

The first I saw was wings. White, beautiful wings, although cover in blood since they were injured. The blood was gold that meant one thing.

It was an angel. A fallen angel.

I quickly went to check the angel’s other injuries so I turned them around only to find out…

It was (y/n)… my best friend from the beginning of time. My (y/n)… wait what was I thinking she probably met some tall hunk while I was out of heaven.

I pushed those thoughts aside and focused on helping (y/n). I took her to my room and carefully laid her on my bed.

Thankfully she was breathing and was starting to heal since angels can heal faster. (a/n: idk if it’s actually real but for the sake of the plot k go with it )

What did she do to fall? She was always so kind to everyone and was cautious not to talk too loudly about things that were forbidden by the seraphims.

What happened?

No one’s pov:

The first thing she felt when waking up was pain in her back specifically her wings.

When she opened her eyes she was confused and also scared because she didn’t recognize the room she was in. She groaned in pain while trying to get up.

“Oh no no no don’t do that, they’re still healing, you should rest” that voice.

The voice she loves oh so much. It was him.

“Lucifer?” She asked while her eyes are filling up with tears. Even though it hurt and she really shouldn’t do that, she didn’t care. She got up as fast as she could and wrapped her arms around him, crying in his chest.

Those were tears of happiness and relief that she finally got to see him again.

“Hey it’s okay, I’m here shh don’t cry” he told her in the softest tone ever as if she would break if he had spoken any louder.

“Im just- I’m so happy to see you” she said while looking up at him smiling through her tears.

“I’m really happy to see you too, sweetheart, but seriously you should rest. You still aren’t fully healed .” He said while picking her up and gently laying her down on the bed. “You know, I was really worried you wouldn’t wake up.”

“What? How long was I asleep?” She asked genuinely confused.

“It was only a couple of days, don’t worry. But my back did start to hurt because I was sleeping on the couch” wait what.

Then she realized, it was his room. And that was the way he saw her for the first time in eons, she probably looked terrible. That brought tears to her eyes yet again.

“I am so sorry, lucifer. I-I didn’t mean-“ she was cut of by her own sob while Lucifer quickly went to comfort her.

“Hey shh it’s okay. Really, I don’t care if i break my back, I just want you to feel better.” He said while holding her close to him.

Boy he really did miss this.

Eventually (y/n) calmed down and said “well I’m glad that you’re the one that found me and not some random weirdo on the street”

He laughed softly. “Yeah well I’m glad as well. Speaking of finding you, why exactly are you here?”

* 𝒇𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 *

“Are you fucking kidding me?” (Y/n)’s voice was heard in the meeting room.

“(Y/n) use proper language-“ the head seraphim was cut off the angel’s enraged voice.

“I don’t give a flying FUCK about the language. But extermination of human souls just like us. What is wrong with you?!” She exclaimed.

“Ooh the nice little girl is getting feisty ” Adam said sarcastically.

“And YOU! You don’t give a shit about anyone but yourself. If i were to decide, you would be in hell in no time” she said to him.

“Careful or else-“

“Or else what? You will throw me to hell? To me it seems much more nicer than here. If you gonna do it, knock yourself out. Go fuck yourselves, all of you.”

* 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 *

“You really did that?” Lucifer asked shocked. He never thought that (y/n) can even say curse words.

“Yeahh… well now I’m here.” She said smiling at him lovingly.

Lucifer’s pov:

I’ve missed her so much. Her voice, her eyes everything about her.

God I love her…

“Wait what”

Shit. I said that out loud.

Fuckfuckfuckfuckkkk Lucifer calm down breathe in ,breathe out. SHIT NO how can i mess up this badly already. I mean she just got here and you’re telling her that you’re so stupid why did you do tha-

“I love you too, Lucifer”

“What.”

No one’s pov:

“I love you too, ever since you left heaven I realized that more and more everyday but I also knew I could never be with you. You were in hell and I was up there in heaven also you were with lillith-“ (y/n) was cut off by Lucifer after he calmed down from his internal panicking.

“It doesn’t matter anymore, because now you’re here with me and nobody is going to change that” he said while leaning, glancing at her lips until their lips touched.

It was something that both of them wanted for a long time and it’s finally happening.

His hand went to cup her cheek and the other one went to her waist.

But then she flinched way.

She wrapped her arms around herself, almost as if protecting herself from something.

Lucifer did know what caused this or why was this happening but he knew he had to help.

He went closer to her but not touching her to not trigger her even more. “(Y/n), my love, it’s me, it’s okay” he said trying calm her down.

She looked up at him. She was scared. But why?

When she saw it was him, she started to clam down “I’m sorry it’s just something that happened u-uhm it was-“

“Love, it’s okay you don’t need to explain if you don’t want to. I just want you to know that I will never do anything to hurt you. I love you and I mean it.” He said softly. “Darling, is it okay if I hug you?”

She nodded and was immediately wrapped in a warm hug.

She realized she was safe, with Lucifer, finally.

☆

[hazshit-hotel-hater]

"I own you, b***!"

"Yeah, you do. In the studio. And you can do whatever you want to me there, just like our deal says. But out here, I get to do what I want." - Valentino and Angel (episode 6)

That one scene made me come up with a solution of how Angel can be freed and Valentino getting what he deserves. OK, fine, let's say that Charlie and Lucifer don't have the power to mess with other demons' contracts and can't free Angel's soul with just a snap of their fingers. BUT they do have the power as a royalty to take down Valentino's business. "And you can do whatever you want to me there(in the studio), just like our deal says." Think about it:

(No business + no studio) + Valentino losing his power and his overlord title = Angel's freedom (and the freedom of many others)

Just imagine: a powerful man-turned-demon doing a lot of terrible things in order to get wealth and fame, and people to step on (pls, don't take that out of context). He gets what he wants every time, and everything is perfect. For him, at least 😒. And then, out of nowhere, the "stupid, blonde, good-for-nothing" princess of Hell and her father, the King, declare that this porn business is coming to a close, and Valentino shall no longer be an overlord. Everything, EVERYTHING, that this disgusting moth-man has worked for crumbles right in front of him. Money, gone. Porn movies and drugs, bye-bye 👋🏻. His favourite toy (Angel) and the souls he has under contracts are free. Even Vox and Velvet are leaving him behind because he is worthless to them now. Personally, I think this will be more satisfying than simply killing Val with an angelic weapon.

But, alas, knowing Vivzipop, it's highly unlikely that she will come up with something like this.

I kinda feel proud of myself 🤗, and I'm not even a writer. 😅

(Sorry if I have any grammar mistakes, English is not my first language. )

Your grammar is very good don’t worry! Also you had me terrified a Valentino roleplay blog messaged me for a second

This is a really interesting idea actually! I’ve seen a lot of people mad at Charlie for not doing something about Angel’s situation and honestly I am too but Angel asked her to stay out of his business which is something I and many other have experienced of that “It’s fine I can handle it myself this is my issue” mindset, but still in the future I really hope she actually steps up and does something. Especially with her stupid “But thats so meaaan :(” line when Vaggie tells her to actually use her authority.

I also agree on the point I’d like to see Val have more consequences to his actions instead of just killing him. Of course I want him dead but I’d like it to be later on. Number 1 thing I hate is character’s abuser dying and then suddenly the character is fine and has no issues.

Id draw a picture of Valentino and put him through the oven and stove but I don’t want to draw anything more than the back of his torso and hands. Maybe someday you’ll see me make an animatic of Val being gunned down but certainly not soon.

Anyway expanding on this idea sounds like it’d be very interesting, if you’d have anything to add I recommend toying around with it!

[storm-angel989]

Could you do a part four of this series Eres jodidamente estúpida, niñita? Where they find out she went back to working there and is flirting with customers and other employees and like making out with some customers in the back and the person who hired her promotes her to a stripper?

Sorry if it's a lot and you have other things to do!

Hi there,

As requested! Enjoy the time-hop!

<3 Mandy

College meant freedom. Freedom to study, freedom to learn what I wanted to learn. Freedom to play a sport- or to not. And of course, at the age of eighteen, freedom to make my own money. Finally, my name was the only one on my bank account and as much as I loved my family, I was free of their overbearing eyes. The Lust ring was just far enough away that while my father, Vox, had some control, his camera’s hadn’t yet reached every single street corner. 

I stood in my dorm room as I watched my family fuss around. The work of moving me in had been done by hired demons, but the finishing touches my Aunt Velvette wanted to handle personally. The hour of leaving was upon us, and I could see exactly where this was going as Velvette continued to muss with the blankets on my bed. 

“Call us, if you need anything,” my Dad had told me firmly. “I’m still depositing a check into your account every week. If you need anything, or you need more you need to just pick up the phone and call. I can’t stop you from working, but baby, please enjoy college.”

“And bebita? Stay away from the boys. Watch your drink at parties and practice safe sex. No one wants an STD,” my Uncle Valentino advised. “And if you need protection, I’m happy to…”

“Ew, Uncle Val, enough! Dad, I’m fine. Aunt Vel, leave my bed alone. My roommate will be back any minute, and I’d like to get to know her before she finds out who my family is,” I said as I embraced my father. “I love you all, but shoo- I’ll be home for Thanksgiving, I promise.”

“The limo will be waiting,” my father promised as Velvette and Valentino joined in on the hug. “Just be careful, and call if you need anything.” 

“I will, I promise! Now go, be safe and text me when you get home,” I said as they released me. “Bye guys! Love you!” 

I closed the door behind them and flopped on my bed. Finally, I had the space I always wanted. No prying eyes- of that I was sure. The door opened and I sat up. The girl who I assumed was my roommate walked in. Introductions were quickly made and off we went to dinner. 

One dinner turned to two, which turned to an every night routine. Unlike home, where everyone seemed to know who I and my family were, here I was just another face. I made friends quickly, and learned that most of the girls and guys in my dorm were from the lust ring. Together we explored the local club scenes and for the first time in my life, I experienced total freedom to party. My roommate typically joined us, but at least three nights a week she declined, citing her job. 

“So, where do you work?” I asked my roommate over a quiet breakfast one Saturday morning.

She looked up from her bowl of cereal and her expression brightened. “Ozzie’s! It’s owned by Asmodous, you know who that is, right?”

Asmodeus. The sin of lust. My Uncle Valentino’s boss- though technically, as far as I knew, he didn’t own my Uncle’s soul. But as Valentino served as the overlord of lust, he somehow fell under Asmodeous’s jurisdiction. 

“Is that like a strip club or…”

“It’s a restaurant. And Asmodeous and his lover, Fizzerolli come often. They’re super nice, great to work for and the tips are fantastic,” she paused and seemed to consider. “Hey, didn’t you say you wanted to find a job around here? We’re hiring, and I can put in a good word for you. Actually…” Her expression brightened. “You should come with me tonight!”

I considered her offer for a moment. Briefly, I wondered if this would be anything like my accidental stumble into Valentino’s strip club. I quickly erased the thought from my mind. No way would this be anything like that. And even if it was, I was officially eighteen and there was nothing anyone could do about it. 

To say I was hired on the spot would be an understatement. I scribbled down my name on the application and hesitated for a moment. What if they recognized my last name? Would it keep me from being hired? Without another thought to it, I scribbled down a nondescript, false last name. 

Within a half hour, I was dressed in a scantily clad uniform having the time of my life. I flirted, smiled, pecked cheeks, and at my own discretion, sometimes more. To say I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the job would be an understatement- I was thriving. As the months passed, my clients grew and I had regulars begin to request me. The time passed quickly, and it wasn’t but three days before Thanksgiving break, the manager approached me with a promotional offer. I would be serving private clients in the back. Bigger tips, he promised, and an hourly raise.

“Look at you, promoted already,” my roommate teased as I pulled on the new outermost layer of my red and black uniform. “Damn girl, you look good.”

I caught my reflection in the dressing room mirror and smiled as I flipped my hair and leaned forward as I applied another coat of bright red lipstick. Between the extra dieting I had done, the touch ups at the local salon, and my perfectly applied makeup, my body looked like something out of a magazine- ethereal and stunning. 

I made my way to the back of the club and climbed up on the stage. The manager had walked me through the steps of the show. Walk down the stage, smile, strip off the outer layer of the uniform and then fulfill the same tasks as I did outfront, just a little more scantily clad. I tossed off my top and as I swung around the pole, my eyes met a familiar face in the crowd. 

Fuck. 

I swallowed back the missed beat and continued until only my new uniform showed. With all the confidence I didn’t feel, I strode back down the stage and ran smack into him. 

Angel Dust. The one employee my Uncle Valentino owned that I had even a touch of a relationship with. 

“You have got to be fuckin kiddin me,” Angel said in disbelief as he grabbed my arm. “Does Val know where you work? What you’re doin? God, Val made me change ya diapers, ya can’t be a whore!” 

I yanked my arm away. “What does it matter? I’m eighteen, Angel. Say what you want, but I’m officially an adult. And nothing you, or my Uncle Valentino, or my Dad or anyone does or says can change that.”  

Angel rolled his eyes. I expected him to protest, to pick up his phone and call my Uncle right then and there. Instead, he gave me a toothy smile and pushed past me. 

“Suit yourself, kid. But move over- the poles are mine tonight.” 

I watched him as he sauntered off and took to the poles like a practiced professional. Although as factual as my words were, a part of me knew that if my Uncle Valentino did find out, there might be actual hell to pay. I swallowed back the cold fear that settled in my gut as I pasted a smile on my face. I had to focus on the job at hand- I could grab Angel and try to talk to him again later. 

Unfortunately for me, Angel Dust vanished off the pole as quickly as he had entered. As I stood in the dressing room, I felt a hand on my shoulder. 

“Hey! You did so well,” my friend gushed. “Ozzie is here! He asked to speak to you privately- it must be good!” 

Somewhere deep in my gut, I doubted that. Reluctantly, I followed her through the maze of dressing rooms until an office door appeared. 

“Just knock, and don’t be nervous! He and Fizz are super, super nice,” my roommate reassured me before turning away. 

I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. In a moment, it opened slowly. 

“Come in, come in,” a voice boomed. “And close the door behind you. This is a private conversation.” 

I stepped inside and whatever fear I held inside multiplied by ten. Asmodeus, the sin of lust and depravity, savagery and drugs sat behind a desk. His lover, Fizzarolli, lay wrapped over his shoulder, whispering and giggling in his ear. The bright grin on Asmodeous’s face vanished the second he saw me. He gestured to the chair infront of his desk. 

“Well well, missy. Care to share what you failed to disclose when you were hired here?” He said condescendingly as he leaned his elbows on the desk. 

“I, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I stammered as I slowly lowered myself into the chair. 

“Oh? So you’re not the daughter of Vox?” Asmodous asked with a raised eyebrow.

“And Valentino ain’t your so-called Uncle?” Fizzerolli added. 

I swallowed. “I mean, I…”

“Simple question. Requires a yes or no answer,” Asmodeous replied as he leaned back.

“I, yes, Vox is my Dad and I…Valentino is my Uncle, that’s all right, but I’m over eighteen and I can…” 

“You lied on your application. That’s reason enough to fire you on the spot,” Asmodeous said slowly. “But on the flip side, you’re one of my most popular girls.” 

“Yeah! And it's not like you have a deal with Valentino!” Fizzerolli chuckled. “Other than the lying, I don’t see any harm in keeping her employed!”

”Right, well. I’ll consider it. For now you can consider yourself on probation while I decide how to handle this. You can leave now, you come back from break when? Next Tuesday? I’ll have your answer before then.”  Asmodeous said with a sigh. “That’s all, reader. You can leave now.”

In trouble? On probation? Asked to leave? I had never felt this way before. Heat in my cheeks, the painful throb of embarrassment as I echoed soft thanks yous and made my way out the door. I changed from my uniform to my street clothes and numbly made my way out the door. 

The last three days of college passed in a blur and before I knew it, I was seated in the limo, head on the glass as I watched the rings of hell slowly pass by. Part of me was glad to be going home- even more happy that I was going home with straight A’s. But another part of me resented the impact my family name seemed to have even being so far away. And an even bigger part of me worried that Asmodeous would chat with my Uncle Valentino and I would be walking into literal hellfire. 

As the limo pulled to a stop, I stepped out and walked the familiar route to the front door of the V tower. I swiped my access card, and a quick elevator ride, I stepped out into the penthouse. 

“Baby! You’re home!” My fathers voice, a hug so fast he had to know I was coming. 

I laughed as the feeling of warmth washed over me. For the moment, I forgot about the club. I forgot about the stress of class, of grades and long nights. I forgot about long practices and gym nights with my friends. I forgot about parties and sneaking into the boys' dorms at night. 

I was home. 

“Bebita princessa,” my Uncle Valentino’s voice, his body wrapped behind me, squishing me between my father and him. “We are so glad you’re home!” 

“Don’t you dare exclude me!” My Aunt Velvette jumped on the other side, effectively trapping me in a triangle of hugs. “Baby girl we missed you!”

“I can’t wait to hear all about college,” my father said as they released me. “Come on, your Uncle Val cooked all your favorites.

“Yes! The dining hall sucks compared to your cooking, Uncle Val,” I said cheerfully as I followed my father to the kitchen. 

“Mmm, from what I heard, the food isn’t the only thing that sucks,” my Uncle Valentino said lowly as he followed behind me, “meet me in my studio. After your father and Aunt go to bed. Understood?” 

A cold fear settled in my stomach. The tone in his voice was enough to tell me he knew. And the joy and cheerfulness in my fathers told me he and Aunt Velvette had no idea. 

Several hours later, the apartment was quiet. My Dad and Aunt Velvette had long since gone to bed. I stood in front of my bedroom mirror as I carefully braided my long hair into two braids. My face was clean of make up, and my pjs were my favorite pink striped with a bunny patch on the pocket. With any luck, my Uncle Val would take one look at my outfit, smile and tell me how cute I was and then send me right back to bed with a juice box from the fridge in his office. 

I doubted I would be so fortunate. 

I stepped off the elevator into his studio. It was quiet, like usual. Uncle Valentino didn’t allow me in there when he was working, unless of course I was confined to his studio and given Angel as a babysitter. I made my way across the dark wood floor to the only light in the studio- his office. 

“Ah, my bebita princessa,” Valentino greeted me as he looked me up and down. He raised an eyebrow. “Your outfit doesn’t change the fact that you’ve been sucking dick for the past three months.”

I crossed my arms angrily, “oh and what’s it to you, Uncle Val? I’m eighteen! I can…”

“Yeah, yeah, you can do what you want. You’re an adult- a legal adult. And I can’t stop you,” he replied in a bored voice. 

I watched as he stood up and with a single move, he stepped forward and  took my chin in his hand. I felt his fingers press into my jaw and unwillingly, I opened my mouth.

I flinched and tried to step back as his lower set of hands emerged, one holding a cotton swab. 

“Oh relax, you’re not three and I’m not brushing your teeth,” he scolded lightly. “This will only take a second.”

I felt the cotton swab the back of my throat and I gagged. He released me and retreated back behind his desk, dropping the swab into a vial. 

“The fuck was that?” I demanded between coughs. Defeated, I sank into the chair in front of his desk. 

He slid a  juice box towards me.  “That, my dear, is the first of many tests you’re going to submit yourself to tonight. I can’t stop you from working in my field, but I will be making sure that you are safe.” 

“What do you mean safe?” I demanded as I swallowed, trying to suppress the tickle that emerged in the back of my throat. 

He rolled his eyes and ripped the straw off the juice box, opening it up before handing it to me. “Drink and I’ll explain.” 

Desprarly, I took a sip and swallowed. He raised an eyebrow as he shook the vial. 

“Funny. Asmodeous said you were one of his most obedient workers. I thought maybe that attitude would follow you home.”

“So you know, now what?” I asked. “You can’t stop me.”

“We established that,” he replied evenly. “But I can invoke the contract you signed when you began to work for Asmodeous. Specifically, the part that says his workers must receive regular STD tests, and be up to date on all health care. In addition to you receiving all testing and preventative care, I have asked Asmodous to provide you with additional protection while working. Silent eyes on you, as well as an escort to and from the club each night you work.”

“Uncle Val, you’re being invasive and overprotective,” I argued. “I’m fine.”

He shrugged. “Maybe. But it’s either follow my rules, or your father and I have a chat over breakfast tomorrow morning. You may not see how dangerous this line of work is, but that doesn’t negate it.” 

I felt the heat rise in my face. I didn’t have any shame in what I did, but I didn’t want my dad to know. The knowledge would be a painful slap in the face he didn’t deserve. I swallowed nervously and glanced to the ground. 

“You promise to keep this from my Dad? And from Auntie Vel? Uncle Val, I’m just…I’m having fun.” I said quietly. “I enjoy it.” 

“I know, baby,” he replied softly. “And I’ll keep your secret. As long as you promise to play by my rules. Above all, I want you safe.”

[inks-lil-quiet-corner]

Meet Souda!

She's my Pikmin 4 Rescue Corps OC! :D

I'll put their lore and stuff about them under the cut -w-

(small warning it's pretty self-indulgent (and also really long) lol)

==================================

Backstory-

Name- Souda

Pronouns- She/They

Age (in Pikmin 4)- 23

Occupation- Rescue Corps Rookie

Before joining the Rescue Corps, Souda was born to a pair of space pirate crew members, and was raised by the crew. They never enjoyed their time with them, as the living conditions and the way they treated them were significantly less than ideal.

When they turned 17, Souda took one of the crew's spare single-person ships and flew away out of rebellion, but then crash landed onto a strange and unfamiliar planet. The ship surprisingly didn't sustain any major damages, but they still stayed on the planet for a short while to cool off and relax.

On the planet, she met many strange creatures, including both friends and foes. The friends included these strange carrot-shaped creatures that she simply labeled as "my friends." The first one she met, a blue one, she gave the personal name "Aqua" to and put a green bow tie on them to be able to tell them apart from the rest. The foes, on the other hand...she just kept her distance, too afraid to go near them.

Around a week later, out of fear of the space pirate crew tracking their ship's location (since they didn't know how to turn the feature off) and pillaging the planet for all it's worth, she left with the ship and returned back to the crew.

When they became 18, they considered genuinely leaving the space pirates for good. They were too afraid to simply quit the crew since those who did normally just became the crew's servants and were denied freedom, so they instead fled and sought out shelter in a populated planet.

Once free from the space pirates, they lived a peaceful life in the planet they now resided in, and later on decided to apply to join the Rescue Corps out of a strong desire to help others and to be a part of something good. When they got accepted and passed their training, they labeled it as one of the happiest days of their life.

She strongly wanted to fit in, so she tried to raise up her confidence and even dyed her hair green to match her unit's uniform. She studied things that she wasn't originally tested on during training, and tried befriending as many members of the Rescue Corps as possible.

When she was sent out to PNF-404 for the rescue mission and saw the pikmin and other creatures living on the planet, she simply thought that the planet she went to when she was 17 and this one just had the same species living in it, but she never believed that they could've been one and the same. That was, until she was reunited with Aqua.

Extra Notes-

She used to be a very gloomy character, but after going to the strange planet at 17, she suddenly became more cheerful and excitable. She herself isn't exactly sure what caused her sudden shift in personality, especially since some of her memories of being on the planet were either a blur or oddly missing

Her shift in personality was the catalyst for her escape attempt when she turned 18, since it helped her become more self-aware of the things going on around her and think of the possibilities for a better life

They never talk about their past, and only express their strong distaste towards space pirates while keeping the reasons for disliking them to themself. They want to one day help others that want to be free from a similar life that they experienced

They love learning new things about nature and civilization. They first only learned these things because of their old occupation, but after escaping they learned that they truly did love the topic. They also have a vast knowledge on a large amount of languages, and still study them whenever they can

After reading Olimar's research notes on PNF-404, they became a huge fan of his. They're determined to try their best to save him (and maybe also get his autograph? perhaps?)

If any pikmin perish, they hold a personal funeral for each and every one of them

......And that's all I have for them so far! If anyone's actually read this far in, thank you for reading!! Feel free to lemme know your thoughts! :D