#and some admittedly lousy

[cheriladycl01]

Kinktober 05/10/2024 Sebastián Vettel - 69

Plot: Sebastian always gets so frustrated racing Mark Webber, but he always has you to come home to and relieve those frustrations.

Warnings: Kinktober SMUT 69ing, oral (both m and f receiving), 18+ Minors DNI

It was just another one of those races. Where team orders didn’t come in and he was left riding behind Mark Webber. He had to share a podium in P2 with Mark and Lewis.

He was angry, as he was fighting for a championship and the way Mark was driving, in his opinion was unsafe and deliberately trying to cause a crash.

And too top the race weekend off, you were even there. You weren’t there to watch his half arsed podium celebration. You weren’t there to congratulate him after the race and you weren’t in his hotel room afterwards.

Admittedly it wasn’t you’re fault, you also had a very demanding job just like your fiancé and that meant you couldn’t be at every single race even though you tried.

So after a lousy night in the hotel where he was moping about, he eventually got on his flight back to Switzerland and made the drive from the airport to your shared home.

“Schatz? Are you home?” He shouted into the warm and cozy place he called home. He didn’t know why he asked if you were home as there were telltale signs you were.

The warm fireplace crackling away, the half drunk glass of red wine on the coffee table, your book left open on the sofa and the blanket in a scrunched up ball as if you’d just gotten out of your blanket cocoon that he always seemed to find you in whenever he came home to you.

“Ahhhhh Seb!” You cry running from another room and towards him. You pull him into a big hug, standing up on your tip-toes to kiss his lips.

“Mmmmm I missed you and your warmth” he said nuzzling into you, refusing to let go.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there this weekend, I know you’re frustrated with the team and how the race concluded, but you still got some good points, you took fastest lap and you’re still leading the championship” you smile kissing along his jaw, and you slowly feel some of the tension release. He had a nasty habit for unconsciously grinding his teeth, but as you kissed across his jaw you felt that relax.

“Mmmm im still kind of frustrated though Meine Taube” he admits, his thumbs rubbing circles on your clothes hips as he looks down at you with that look in his eyes that you know all to well.

“Not tonight, you look tired. Let’s head to bed, hmmmm? And tomorrow I’m all yours” you try convince him it’s better for him to sleep all the tension off tonight and you guys once refreshed and awake tomorrow can have fun.

“I haven’t seen you in a week and you’re denying me?” He asks with a smirk and a raised eyebrow, an almost glimmer of a challenge in his eyes.

“Because you must be tired from the race and the flight” you say softly.

“I’m never tired for you. All I want right now is for you to sit in my face” he says nipping at your earlobe before looking over your flushed cheeks.

“Wanna taste you” he says as he starts to nip away at your jaw as his wondering hands starts to unbutton the jeans you’re wearing. Once the button and zip are undone his hand dips down to rub your clit through your underwear, where he can already feel a wet sport forming.

God he was hoping they were light grey or light pink. Something that showed the wet spot as that always made him that little bit harder. He loved to see how he made you feel, as it was all him.

“Argh Seb, please” you beg looking up at him with those big eyes of yours that could have him melt on the coldest day of the year.

He moves you both to the floor in-front of the fireplace, as he pulls your jeans off slowly kissing down your legs as he unveils more and more skin and then finally your jumper. You shiver at the cold a little, before the cracking fire can be felt on your back.

Seb starts to strip off himself before he lays down on the fluffy fur rug that of course he’d strategically placed in-front of the fireplace for moments just like these ones.

“You know where to go” he says and before you know it you’re climbing on top of him, facing away. You hover over his face, one hand holding you up on the rug for support while the other starts to rub up and down on his hardened length.

As much as Seb loved it, you hated putting your full body weight on his face when he asked you to sit in it. So you’d always hover and wait until he pulled you into a position he was comfortable at. His hand came up to your hips and in seconds you were pulled down so you were flush against him. At first his nose was pushing against your clit until he moved forward so it was more his chin that was putting pressure that.

Soft moans left your mouth as his tongue started to dip in and out licking wet strips up and down and doing exactly what he knew you liked.

One you were comfortable enough to relax your weight onto Seb some more your own mouth came down around his top sucking lightly on the head before licking up the underside where the strong and prominent vein was. You licked over the slit a few times, little delicate touches here and there before your mouth started to fully get you work.

With Sebastian it always felt like an exercise because of his sheer girth. Your mouth struggled to fully let him in without some teeth scrapping against him, but it’s something with you that he’d come to love as you were so careful and for the most time it was all your mouth and tongue doing the work but when you moaned or lost concentration he’d feel that slight little scrape that had his hips thrusting up and forcing his dick further into your mouth.

You were accustomed to this kind of love with Seb, he would normally be too tired for full on sex when he came back from a race weekend after a long flight especially if it was in Asia or America and the time difference was as messing with him. So you mouth and throat had slowly started to learn what worked best for both his pleasure and to make you still be able to breath and not have that gag reflex.

His tongue was darting in and out of you, his hands still holding your hips, but you’d slowly started to rock against his face to get some more friction and you could practically feel his smirk against you.

“So beautiful, I could eat you up all day everyday. The only meal I want to enjoy” he groan into you a long and loud moan coming from you thanks to the vibrations of his low and raspy voice.

The feeling shot straight up your spine and pooled into your stomach a familiar sensations looming.

“Seb, fuck please” you said as you came up for a breath, your hand accounting for the sensations he’s lost from your mouth as your fist him speeding up your movements. Once you’ve got enough of a break your mouth starts again, your hands focusing on keeping pressure on the base squeezing firmly once in a while making his hips thrust up and throaty moans come from him.

The tension is building for both of you. His hips getting more frantic and the fact that your thighs have tightened around his head and your body basically laying on top of him, your boobs pressed up against his stomach.

“Oh Leibling” he moans into you and your vision is clouded, as that tight coil in your stomach unravels and your releasing, Seb doesn’t waist a chance to lap it all up, the pressure causing your legs to shake.

Your teeth accidentally scrape the underside of his dick, causing his to release into your mouth, his release hitting the back of your throat so suddenly you nearly choke.

Your mouth comes up, a string of saliva mixed with cum connecting the two of you as you swallow what was left in your mouth, the salty taste sitting with you.

You climb off of him, turning round to see the bottom half of his face covered in a sheen that was most definitely from you.

“How about a shower, and then bed?” He asks with a blissed out and relaxed look on his face. And you can’t help but feel a sense of overwhelming love that you have from this man, and can’t help but be grateful that you are his sense of safety and relaxation.

“Mmmmm I think I’d like that” you smile and nod.

Taglist:

@littlebitchsposts @hockey-racing-fubol @laura-naruto-fan1998 @22yuki @simxican @sinofwriting @lewisroscoelove @cmleitora @daemyratwst @lauralarsen @the-untamed-soul @thewulf @itsjustkhaos @purplephantomwolf @chasing-liberosis @summissss @gulphulp @starfusionsworld @jspitwall @sierruhhhh @georgeparisole @youcannotcancelquidditch @tallbrownhairsarcastic @ourteenagetragedy @peachiicherries @formulas-bitch @cherry-piee @spilled-coffee-cup @mehrmonga @eiraethh @curseofhecate @alliwantisadonut @dark-night-sky-99 @i-wish-this-was-me @tallrock35 @butterfly-lover @barnestatic @landossainz @darleneslane @barcelonaloverf1life @r0nnsblog @ilove-tswizzle @laneyspaulding19 @malynn @landosgirlxoxo @marie0v @yourbane @teamnovalak @nikfigueiredo @fionaschicken @0picels0 @tinydeskwriter @ironmaiden1313 @splaterparty0-0 @formula1mount

[vivwritescrappythings]

golden linings

knight!könig x plus-size!fem!reader

part 1 - part 2 - part 4 - part 5 - part 6

the evening ball presents you with an unconventional dance partner

tw: fem reader, plus size reader, mentions of body image, yearning!, not proofread

wc: 2.5k

masterlist

--

You thanked Lord Asterly for his lackluster conversation, excusing yourself with a polite smile and a lousy attempt at a curtsy. It was obvious that your father had asked him to come speak to you, the eager expression on his face clear to you even across the room. You resisted the urge to glare at him as you retreated to the safety of the refreshment table.

König lingered nearby, his armor freshly polished and a clean hood over his head. He looked larger than life in comparison to the other knights and guards scattered around the room, towering over them despite his efforts to blend in with the column he stood next to.

His gaze was on you expectantly as you approached, a crystal glass of punch in one of your hands. A question lingered in the way his eyes narrowed slightly. “He only wished to talk about how big his family’s estate was, and the rumor of my considerable dowry,” you muttered with a roll of your eyes. 

The black hood covering König’s face rippled, a sign of his soft laughter. You heard it a few times, a rough bark of a noise—he reserved it for private times between the two of you.

“My father believes that I will meet a suitable husband at one of these,” you muttered, glaring over the rim of your glass at the dancing couples. “He is convinced that I can find a love match like my sister, but he seems to forget that she was blessed with a beauty I do not possess.”

König simply shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. He avoided speaking in the presence of others, only occasionally whispering in your ear if necessary. Apparently it was not necessary that evening.

You ran a hand along the embroidered fabric pulling in your waist; the dress you were wearing was far too extravagant for a woman of your station. It squeezed you around the middle—it had taken the effort of two maids to pull the bodice laces so tight that you could hardly breathe. As though members of the court would not see the softness of your jaw and your arms and know better.

The punch was tart on your tongue. You hardly could conceal your scowl as you watched the dance floor, men twirling their wispy dance partners over the polished stone floor. Jealousy threatened to strangle your heart as you set your empty glass down, pivoting away from the dance floor to take a turn about the room.

König remained where he stood, you could feel his gaze track the back of your head as you offered tight-lipped smiles to lords and ladies as you sidled your way past. You had become used to the weight of his eyes on you. It would be odd if he looked elsewhere, the comfort peeled away from your shoulders to leave you bare.

You wormed your way into a group of ladies your age, their chatter filling your ears. They made space for you readily, welcoming you into their circle with saccharine smiles and soft greetings.

“Tell us, have you thought about what your wedding will be like?” one of the girls asked. You recognized her from around the castle—a recent arrival for the ball. She had always been kind enough, smiling at you in the halls and asking polite questions about your embroidery.

You felt your cheeks heat up as though you had been caught doing something wrong. “Admittedly, probably not as much as I should,” you said with a sheepish smile. 

It seemed that a wedding should be the only thing on a young lady’s mind. 

The women giggled, some offering up remarks of solidarity. “Not even what color dress you will wear?” another asked, pressing closer into the circle as she observed you with wide eyes.

Another resounding no. “Well, most likely blue, I suppose.” You stumbled through the words, begging for some detail to come forth into your mind. “I would want the color of my dress to match my husband’s attire. Perhaps even the same fabric could be used for the gown as his tunic.”

“Oh I think that would be lovely!” Mary exclaimed, grabbing onto your wrist for a moment as she grinned excitedly at you. She was your closest friend at the castle aside from König. Her father was on the king’s small council just as yours was, proximity forcing you into an easy friendship. You squeezed her arm as a thank you.

“I think my father will be willing to pay for a gold gown for me.” Your eyes rolled of their own volition, your irritation obvious. Mary shared your sentiment, leaning into you as her bony arm pressed along your soft bicep—a silent agreement.

It was as though all anyone thought about was getting married: whose dowry was bigger or whose father was willing to spend more coin on their wedding. 

It was exhausting.

The whole event was exhausting. You never realized that balls lasted until the early hours of the morning. The musicians played until the blue fingers of dawn started to cross the sky, the sun threatening to rise over the ocean. 

You yawned into your palm, bidding Mary goodnight as you ambled your way back to König. He was still just as alert as you left him, posture straight and hands clasped behind us back.

“Goodnight, papa,” you murmured to your father as you passed him. He paused his conversation to wrap an arm around your shoulders and squeeze you to his side for a brief moment, murmuring a “goodnight” into your temple before releasing you. 

König perked up slightly when you came to a stop in front of him, his broad shoulders relaxing a fraction as he tilted his head down toward you. 

“I think I have had more than my fair share of the festivities this evening,” you said, already turning toward the double doors leading toward the east wing of the castle. He nodded, dutifully falling into step at your side.

The castle was eerily quiet at that time of morning.

Many servants had either retired late or woken up as the sun rose and the party guests had not started to leave yet, the halls were empty. The light streaming in through the windows was tinged the periwinkle of early morning, the sconces lining the walls nearly burning out. 

“I can only imagine you had a rather exciting evening,” you murmured to König, a bit of a smirk on your face.

He huffed a laugh, shaking his head once. “I have had worse nights than that, my lady,” he said, voice low and raspy from disuse. It still surprised you to hear him, it felt like a special privilege to know his voice.

You hummed your acknowledgement. He told you of his times fighting along the eastern border. There was a vague memory floating in the back of your mind of your father discussing the skirmishes with neighboring kingdoms about farmland, but it had not affected your home much aside from a sudden drop in potato dishes. You could not fathom what it had been like on the front lines.

It was a relatively peaceful era for the majority of the kingdom; König was one of the few people you knew that had actually seen battle. He refused to tell you the details of it.

“Well that is true,” you concurred, inclining your head toward him, “but this certainly had to be boring. Knights on duty were not even allowed to dance.”

You turned the corner toward your quarters, the windows lining the one side of the hallway showed the sun starting to crest over the horizon. The sky was splashed with pinks and oranges, the whispers of the clouds above catching the colors and lined in bright white. 

“You did not dance, either,” König remarked.

Your cheeks warmed, embarrassment clenching around your throat. “No one asked me to dance.” You studied the way the hem of your gown fluttered across the floor as you walked. 

“Would you have liked to dance?” 

You shrugged noncommittally, chewing your lower lip for a moment. “I suppose I would have,” you finally mumbled. A sidelong glance at König confirmed that he had turned his head to look at you, eyes the color of aquamarines shining through the eye holes of his hood. “But it is not proper for a lady to ask, she must be asked by a man.”

König hummed thoughtfully for a moment before stopping in place. You were just a few paces from your door.

“Would you like to dance with me, my lady?” he asked, turning to face you dead on. He offered a gloved hand palm-up for you to take, his other hand tucked behind his back as though he was a proper lord asking a lady to dance.

You let out a soft chuckle, the warmth on your cheeks spreading to the entirety of your face. At first you assumed he meant it in jest, but a twinkle in his eye made you reconsider. “But there is no music.”

“Humor me,” he responded in the same beat.

It was enough to convince you. You smiled nervously, your nose scrunching a bit as you slipped your hand into his. 

“Which dance will we do?” you asked, having to crane your neck back to properly look up at König. You placed your hand on his shoulder, the metal pauldron smooth beneath your fingertips.

His broad hand found the curve of your waist, pulling you a fraction of an inch closer. You were surprised by the stretch of his fingers, feeling the press of his hand around the entirety of your side. You never thought you would feel small in a man’s embrace.

“The one that had you glaring at the dance floor.” König’s voice had a hint of a smile in it, mirth clear in his gaze. You scoffed, rolling your eyes good-naturedly. He squeezed your hand as he snickered.

Then he moved into the first steps, shockingly graceful as he led you into the dance. You stumbled at first, both of you laughing as his hold on your waist tightened. He pressed you in the right direction with his palm.

“You are rather good at this,” you commented, finally synchronizing with him.

“It was a long evening,” König explained, spinning you elegantly before capturing your waist once more. “Dancing is not so far from fighting when it comes to the core movements. The steps are not hard to grasp and are similar to one another, I did spend the past few hours watching them.”

“So you did use your time wisely,” you teased. 

His hand shifted from your waist to the small of your back, pulling you closer. You were nearly pressed against the metal of his chestplate, the burnished steel reflecting the light of the sunrise as König whirled you over the stone like it was a dance floor. 

You hardly even noticed there was no music playing, your mind filling in the silence surrounding the soft sound of your footsteps and the occasional metallic click from his plate armor. Your gown swished against his legs, just a whisper of noise.

The edge of König’s hood fluttered against your fingertips as your hand rested on his shoulder. The black fabric was coarser than you expected, the edges fraying. It was different from the hood he wore most days: there was no discoloration around the eyes. You ached to remove it.

The sun rose slowly, blood orange light flooding the hallway. Everything seemed to stand still aside from the syrupy movements of the two of you dancing in silence. König led you through the steps slower than the music would normally go, seemingly savoring the moments of closeness as his head bowed toward yours.

You were lost in the moment, the heavy scent of oakmoss incense interlaced with marjoram and sage that clung to him almost made you feel like you were in a dream. Perhaps you had dreamt this? It would not have been the first time you dreamt of the knight sweeping you off your feet.

“You are lost in your thoughts, my lady,” König said, pulling you from the reverie. You blinked a few times, looking up at him through your lashes with a guilty smile.

“You have surprised me, I did not think you to be a dancer,” you managed to lie, attempting to hide your daydreaming.

König let out a huff, spinning you once more. It would have been the crescendo of the music had there been any, he continued twirling you until the imaginary note ended. Then he yanked you close, pressing your belly to his pelvis as his forearm settled across the small of your back.

“König!” you yelped, giggling as you steadied yourself with your hands on his breastplate. The lack of sleep and proximity were going to your head, your face so warm you could practically start a fire. 

Gloved fingers brushed a loose piece of hair from your forehead, tucking it back into the braided style you wore. “Those men are fools for not asking you to dance, all of them,” he said softly, a knuckle brushing against the outside of your jaw to direct your gaze up at him. 

You floundered for words, mouth opening and closing like a fish. The sun had nearly risen, light flooding in and illuminating a golden outline around König. You could feel the scales of his armor through the too-tight bodice of your gown, the pieces of metal shifting with your breaths.

You inhaled, lips parting to respond.

Peals of laughter bounced down the hallway, making you lurch apart. You pressed your back against the carved wood of your door, teeth digging into your lower lip as he settled into the same stance he had been in all night: shoulders squared and arms clasped behind his back.

It took time to gather yourself after the shock—you and König had done nothing wrong. But you would have. “Thank you for the dance, König,” you finally blurted out, voice higher pitched than normal. 

He inclined his head toward you, silent now that others were wandering down the hall back to their chambers. They were in their cups, staggering in each other’s arms as the morning sun shined on them. You stared for a beat, chewing the inside of your cheek.

König grabbed the handle of your door, pulling it open for you in a smooth motion. “Goodnight,” you said, reflex driving you. It had become routine–bidding him goodnight at the end of each day. 

“Goodnight, my lady,” he whispered, so low you could barely hear it. You looked up at him over your shoulder as you turned, meeting his bright eyes before slipping inside your room.

The door closed behind you, your hand clapping over your mouth to muffle your giddy laugh. You leaned against the door, imagining what König was doing on the other side. He would have to be relieved of his post soon, he needed to sleep just as much as you did. 

But for the moment, you thought of his heavy hand on your waist and his knuckle on your cheek.

[hogans-heroes]

Learning Curve

Chapter 1/? (AO3)

Alex, admittedly, was confused.

He thought he was getting a pretty good handle on prison camp life, but some things—crucial things—still eluded him. Every day since he had been dragged to Stalag Luft III he had been limping around the compound with a leg wound that still wouldn’t heal from when he was shot down, the spiking pain warring with the insatiable urge to keep walking, like if he stopped he would actually be here. If he stopped he would collapse. Since the first shards of flak struck his Mustang his mind and body could not stop moving, racing, calculating, for any shred of information or hint of survival, so he spent his days limping and shaking, gritting his teeth. Categorizing and repeating everything he had learned, examining from every angle.

The guards were predictable once you knew what to look for.

The routine of prisoner-of-war life was lousy but survivable with certain strategies.

The others in his assigned barracks took some warming up to the newcomers, and though Alex couldn’t say he had them all figured out for certain, he could read them well enough to decide they weren’t a threat.

Egan and Cleven weren’t gonna survive the winter.

…..

Or,

Alex tries to make sense of life at Stalag III, but the two Majors from the Hundredth throw a wrench in things.

….

Read on AO3

[sapphic-agent]

I really hope my ask won't be seen as mean, hope to word correctly....bc your last post about how Eri and Shig do share some common ground. I agree but it irks me how LoV stans use this to make shig sound not so bad.

Many fics and arts where "shig saved Eri" exists as Eri is an accessory for Shig and nothing else.

I do see the paralels here. I do wonder about the mother....did overhaul killed her?

It's very convenient for the heroes to label Eri's quirk as good ...bc if she had just decay...she would be label as having a bad quirk. Maybe the heroes wouldn't care much. (Makes me wonder where are the healing quirks or medical advancement in this world)

But while they have a similar backstory...how Izu would possible know? I sincerely ask here bc AM went radio silence regards Shig to Izu, same with Gran and the police did a really lousy investigation (I'm assuming is lousy bc we don't see what they did and whatever they did it was one time thing) and didn't share the infos with Izu.

Does Izu knows about the nomus?

Im even surprised he knows shig is TENKO...but of course, such reveal is underwealming as fuck and him and Nana don't take at all.

Izu is mistreated by the narrative and no one talks to him ever.

Not to harpy on your post bc I agree this could have been useful....but like how Izu would know anything about Shig? Unless Shig tells or Izu becames the best hacker ever...or reads mind...he can't know. Ever.

I've said this before, but the reason Izuku doesn't understand Shigaraki is because they haven't interacted enough prior to the Final War.

Their conversation at the mall was a good moment. It shows that a) Izuku has the capacity to resonate with a villain's intent AND disagree with their actions (Stain), b) Shigaraki at this point didn't have a goal or direction, and c) it IS possible for Izuku to understand why hero society is corrupt. It also highlights the differences between them, attempting to show them as complete opposites.

The mall scene was a great way to explain the dynamic between them. And it's something that should have been expanded on throughout the story.

Admittedly, I don't know how Shigaraki's backstory would come up. But I'm sure it wouldn't be a hard thing to do. Didn't All Might pull up Tenko Shimura's disappearance? Maybe Izuku figures it out on his own somehow. Idk.

But to me, it doesn't even specifically have to be Tenko's actual past. It could be an implied thing that Izuku learns from watching how people treat Eri. Hell, part of him already has a clue from his fight with Shinsou.

(One thing I actually hate about Izuku's character is his inability to acknowledge the corruption of society despite being a victim of it. He started off being able to do this with Stain, but for some reason that just went away. He studies under Endeavor, even defends him to Dabi and tells Todoroki he's ready to forgive him. Lady Nagant spelled it out for him and he just... Doesn't react. Doesn't even think about what she said. This is on Horikoshi's awful writing decisions, but it's the one criticism of Izuku that's 100% valid)

Eri shouldn't be used for Shigaraki's redemption. I honestly wouldn't want her around any of the LOV, that's putting her in danger to make another character look better. It's the same issue that I have with Aizawa making Bakugou watch her.

But I do think that Izuku's experiences with the people around him- which includes Eri- should give him a broader worldview. That's typically how development and growth work. If Izuku was going to reach out and try to save Shigaraki, it should have been with an understanding of how society failed Shigaraki.

Saving him also could have meant a lot of different things. Saving Shigaraki from AFO's influence/brainwashing wasn't a bad goal. Saving him from himself, though, is different. People have to want to change, you can't make them. You can give them support, but Izuku wasn't in a position to do so because he's, y'know, a sixteen year old who isn't even an official pro hero. Of course he wasn't equipped for this. Most actual pros wouldn't have been

[keis-slut]

needy|k.tsukishima

CW: DIRTY TALK, DEGRADING, SLIGHT CUNT SLAPPING

she just couldn't help herself.

the tall blonde barely even noticing her presence as he practiced with his team.

sitting on the bench next to suga, she watches as he effortlessly blocks his opponents spike, nearly melting in her seat. suga notices this, turning to the female.

"you and tsukishima have gotten quite close, huh?"

he blurts, making her turn in surprise, cheeks slightly red.

"i wouldn't say close! but we'll get there…"

she responds, yamaguchi next to suga giving her a look, understanding what she meant.

"that's good. i think it would be nice for tsukishima to have some more friends outside of the team"

suga says, giving a small smile. the girl sends him a gentle smirk.

"i don't think you're picking up what i'm putting down, suga"

she says, making yamaguchi snort.

"y/n..."

suga turns to the girl confused, eyebrow raised.

"what?"

he questions, and she gives him a slight side eye. suga all of a sudden perks up, with eyes that had slightly gotten bigger due to realization, just as the volleyball slams to the ground, grabbing their attention.

tsukishima, visibly frustrated, watches as the ball rolls across his side of the court, after a failed block. his eyes wander from the ball, to the girl seated next to suga on the bench. his stare lasts a few seconds, before he turns his monotone, poker-face back to his opponents.

"that's game"

daichi announces, hinatas team winning with three more points than tsukishima.

"yeah!"

tanaka yells, jumping up to belly bump hinata to their victory in a lousy practice match. the girls eyes wander to tsukishima, seeing the way he just strolls away as if it meant nothing to him, wining or losing.

even though his team had lost this time, she still couldn't help but almost drool at the sight of his strut over to her.

"hi, tsukki! great job out there!"

yamaguchi blurts excitedly, almost leaping out of his seat when tsukishima walks over.

"shut up, tadashi"

He mumbles as he steps over.

"sorry, tsukki!"

yamaguchi nervously chuckles, rubbing the back of his head as he stands up and walks away, heading over to help clean the volleyballs scattered across the gym.

"hey, kei"

y/n greets, his face turning almost irritated at the name as he stepped over to her.

"i told you to stop calling me that"

he announces nonchalantly, bending over to pick up his water bottle placed on the floor next to the bench.

"it rolls off my tongue nice though, don't you think?"

she teases as he lifts himself up, taking a few sips of his water, not bothering to respond. but he gave her a look instead as he drank his water, narrowing his golden eyes and staring her down as he kept silent, making butterflies rattle not only in her stomach, but between her legs shamelessly as she tightens them. fortunately, he notices this, and smirks to himself.

everyone else, however, were already on their way out, calling to tsukishima as a reminder.

"just grabbing my things"

he responds, daichi giving a nod before walking out.

tsukishima then looks back down at the girl, who isn't very good at hiding her arousal.

his eyes travel to the floor in front of her, where his uniform jacket rested on the floor after carelessly throwing it off during a game. but he brought his eyes back up to hers before bending down to get it, right in front of her legs.

"you're not very good at it"

he spits, looking up at her as he got to the floor to grab his jacket.

"at what, kei?"

she questions, the way she said his name making his pants grow only a little tighter in the front, and his stomach to turn just a bit, admittedly in a good way.

"what about me do you like so much?"

he questions abruptly. she sits up and leans forwards a bit, their faces just getting closer to each other's.

"answering a question with another question?" she spits.

he goes to stand up, and sighs.

"i could say the same to you"

he retorts, and she smirks, shaking her head.

"wise ass"

he goes to sit next to her, legs touching.

"don't you want to catch up with everyone else?"

she asks, pointing to the door as her head turns in the same direction.

suddenly, her head is turned back towards him, his large hand grasping at her jaw.

"i'm speaking to you"

he says sternly, her legs twitching at his actions, and the strength of his hand clenching her chin sent an aroused pulse through her body.

"what's in it for me?"

she responds bluntly, pushing his hand off slightly, as it drops dangerously close to her leg.

"who knows? you've been trying so hard to get my attention somehow, haven't you? maybe you'll get what you want"

he says, turning his head away. she thinks before letting out a hum, opening her mouth to speak.

"figure it out, you're smart"

she says, standing up from the bench and strutting away as she speaks. she glides out the door, hearing a small chuckle escape his lips as she heads to the other side of the building.

she steps behind the corner, waiting for him to leave.

finally, hearing footsteps with the door closing behind who she assumed was tsukishima, she peeked out and no one was there. she turns back, and exhales sharply, leaning her head against the wall.

hesitantly bringing her hand from her side, she glides it across her thigh, a sigh of relief emitting from her nose. she hooks her finger on her shorts, slightly moving them over along with her panties, accessing how soaked she was.

she runs a finger along her clit, her knees starting to give out as she held herself against the wall. the night breeze feeling cold against her folds, she cups her fingers along her cunt, a small moan escaping her lips.

pure bliss eroded her body, the feeling of finally getting off making her mind fuzzy. she squeezes her eyes shut, and furrows her eyebrows, her now slick finger just imagined as if it were his.

she lets out another whine, a bit louder than the last one accidentally, with the thought of his hand between her legs instead of hers.

"you're not very quiet are you?"

his familiar voice is heard from in front of her, she lifts her lids slightly to see him staring down at her.

but she didn't stop.

the way he gazed at her so indecently only making her twitch more.

"kei..." she pleaded, her back arching off the wall.

"no"

he spat, stepping closer.

she exhaled sharply as her chest heaved.

"you should be ashamed" he spoke.

"do i look ashamed?"

she answered back, moaning as she pushed a finger in.

“sound ashamed?”

she added with a needy whine.

"cum yourself first, and maybe i'll reward you with another"

he growls.

"don't act like you're against the thought of being knuckle deep inside me right now"

she spits, curling her fingers slightly, making her hips jerk forwards.

being seven inches deep sounds better to me.

"you're so naughty, n’ so bad at hiding it"

he completely changes his words from his thoughts.

"what if i don't want to hide it?"

she moans, her teeth gripping at her bottom lip.

he steps closer, his leg pushing between hers, making her hand slide deeper inside of her. she cries out at the sudden action, him close enough for her to collapse on his chest. he smelt of sweated down cologne, his scent only getting her off more.

"what if i wanted to see you come undone anyway?"

he purrs, his face pressing into the side of her neck, him almost having to break his back to get down to her height.

"fuck, kei..." she moans, begging for his fingers.

"finish first, filthy whore"

he commands, and she cries as her walls tighten to his voice.

"you wanna shamelessly act like a slut? then i'll treat you like one"

he wouldn't stop, degrade after degrade.

"but you'd like that, wouldn't you?"

he adds, bringing his hand between her legs to cup around hers, his other hand roaming to the back of her head, gripping a fistful of her hair as he pulls it back to lift her head up.

he pushes her hand up, her fingers prodding at her own g-spot.

"o-oh! oh god..."

she cries out suddenly feeling his hand against hers, mouth gaping open as he pulls back her head with her hair in his hand.

not thinking through this idea thoroughly, she goes for it anyway, moving her hand out of the way quickly, managing to get his to stroke her cunt ever so slightly.

"oh?...so needy for me...you'd play such a dirty trick like that? pathetic"

he spits, abruptly slapping her pussy. she rolls her hips against as much of his fingers she could get. a few more slaps later, he shoves his two middle digits inside her, unknown to her she'd now be getting it all after acting so desperately.

"oh, yes, please..."

she whines, eyes rolling back after feeling his fingers.

chills wave through her body, stomach and chest swirling with ecstasy as she finally felt the length of his fingers stretch her drooling cunt, just what she’d been waiting for.

"this what you wanted? practically riding my fingers like a bitch"

he growls, leaning into her face, taking his hand from her hair to clench at her jaw and bring her to look up at him. forcing eye contact, he curls his long fingers inside her, feeling how tight she'd get from that sensation, and enjoying it a bit too much.

seeing how her mouth hung open into a perfect ‘o’ with swollen lips, and knitted eyebrows resting above those dangerous doe eyes that could make him crumble in a second.

lucky for him, he’s had enough practice at keeping his composure.

"you needed me to help you finish, yeah?"

he teases, giving her that infamous smirk of his.

her face scrunches as she goes to speak, but barely getting a sentence out as he timed it perfectly with curling his digits.

"y-you fucking!- oh!",

was all she could manage as he goes faster, purposely distracting her from speaking.

"cum on my fingers then, whore. do it"

he orders, feeling her tighten again.

she moans, her back arching against the wall as her chest heaves agains his own.

she finishes on his fingers, but he holds them there for a bit longer after she does, letting her ride out her climax and drip down his fingers.

but suddenly, she brings her hand up to grab at his neck.

"you're such an asshole, i know you wanted that too"

"i never said otherwise”

[nepotisticlandgraab]

| Meet Solaria and Ingie | Solaria’s Story Part 1

Sol watched as his fingers strummed the guitar strings. Each note leaving shockwaves of rhythmic harmonies. She thought to herself, “His voice could use a bit of practice,” but let it slide—his face more than made up for what he lacked.

The sound of his music was a pleasant highlight in an otherwise difficult day. Leaving her childhood home in Oasis Springs behind and losing the last parental figure just weeks earlier had left her feeling more than just homesick. Sol was tired of starting over.

The small crowd brought their hands together in applause at the end of his performance. Sol made her way over, bending slightly as she pulled out a crisp ten-dollar bill. Their eyes met, lingering a second too long.

“Thank you,” he said in a low whisper as Sol turned away, following the flow of foot traffic toward the nearest street vendor.

————-

“What the hell!?” Sol’s voice rang out louder than she’d intended, drawing a few curious glances. She had been waiting for at least ten minutes behind a crowd of hungry customers, only to spot a familiar, attractive figure cutting in front of her in line.

“Did this asshole really just skip me?” she muttered, loud enough to ensure he heard. She was especially frustrated because she had just given him a ten-dollar tip.

Ingei turned his head slowly, clearly caught in the act but feigning innocence with an infuriatingly charming smirk. “Oh, hey, it’s you. Didn’t realize you were waiting back there,” he said, holding up a plate of freshly grilled food as if it were a peace offering.

“Didn’t realize?” Sol snapped, stepping forward. “What part of me standing here for ten minutes didn’t you realize?”

He raised a brow, taking a bite of his food with a maddening calmness. “Well, you’re kind of hard to miss.” His eyes flickered down to her expression, clearly enjoying her irritation.

Sol crossed her arms, glaring. “That’s not an apology.”

“Apology?” Ingie chuckled, stepping out of line. “You tipped me ten bucks—I figured I earned the fast pass.”

Her jaw dropped. “Fast pass? You’ve got some nerve.”

He shrugged, his grin widening. “I’ll make it up to you. Dinner’s on me. Call it a thank-you for being my biggest fan.” He winked and started to walk away, leaving Sol stunned and simmering.

“I’m not your fan!” she called after him, her voice rising. But her cheeks flushed as she caught herself watching him leave, his confident swagger all too aggravating—and admittedly distracting.

The vendor interrupted her thoughts. “Miss, next in line?”

Sol sighed, stepping up to place her order. Great. First a lousy day, and now this guy. Why do the cute ones always have to be so insufferable?

Read Solaria's Story Part 2 (x)

[duckapus]

You Wouldn't Download a Godparent

Had an idea for a Fairly Oddparents/Mega Man Battle Network crossover.

In this universe, Timmy and his friends live in the Electopian city of Dimmsdale, and instead of magic we have Netnavis and the Cyberworld (though admittedly we do still have some magic because Mega Man is weird like that). Timmy's still a pretty average kid with a pretty lousy homelife (his parents are still That Bad. Vicky and Crocker aren't but they're still not great), apart from the fact that he's stumbled into being one of the few people to have more than one Navi.

Wanda.EXE he obtained and customized one of the usual ways, while they found Cosmo.EXE one day while they were virus busting. Poor guy was a mess of junk data and poorly installed customizer programs, seemingly stuck in a slightly unstable WindBug Style Change, and clearly in pain. They took him home, got AJ's help fixing him up, and he kind of just never left. Based on his abilities some of his data might be from the long-deleted Darkloid CosmoMan.EXE, but given he acts like his canon self there's clearly not that much left.

Wanda is Null-Element and favors Sword attacks, while Cosmo is Obstacle-Element and just throws everything but the kitchen sink.

As for some other pairs:

Timmy's Dad has a Wood-Element Navi named PencilMan.EXE. Given what he's like with other living things he's supposed to take care of (hamsters, snakes, his own son...) you can probably imagine how healthy their relationship is.

Chester has StrikeMan.EXE, a baseball-themed Null-Element Navi that belonged to his mother before she died.

AJ has AstroMan.EXE who acts as a lab assistant. Despite being Number-Element and who his Operator is he's a bit spacey and honestly not very bright.

Vicky has Vile.EXE, a Break-Element Navi who's just as mean as she is. He was actually a HeelNavi before he was customized, and they didn't actually change the design that much. Well, apart from his left arm being a massive cannon by default.

Tootie has QuakeWoman.EXE, Tempo to her friends. They're apparently massive fans of Dex and GutsMan.EXE, to the point where they've managed to customize Tempo into the second ever Panel Destruction-Element Navi (GutsMan being the first and for a long while only, of course).

Elmer has SplashWoman.EXE, who's a lot more confident than he is, likely by design. You can probably guess her elemental affinity.

Sanjay has the explosive Ballade.EXE, a Null-Element Navi who probably could've been Fire if he'd really wanted to.

Mr. Crocker has the powerful Elec-Element Navi DynamoMan.EXE. He's not as fast as you'd expect an electricity-based program to be, but he makes up for it in raw strength and voltage.

Trixie has Quint.EXE, who's actually possibly one of the earliest NetNavis to have ever been made. Trixie found his PET in a box in her attic, too damaged to turn on but its data apparently retrievable, and found what was left of Quint inside. She managed to get him fixed up and give him some upgrades to bring him up to modern standards. He doesn't remember much of his life before due to the damage and degradation. (I thought it would be cool if Battle Network Quint came from the past in contrast to Classic Quint coming from the future).

Veronica has Gemini.EXE, a Break-Element Navi with a very split personality.

Francis has OilMan.EXE, who's basically a giant blob of tar with oil drums for hands. You'd think he'd be Fire-Element, but he's actually Wood. Oil burns and came from prehistoric plants after all. He's also a lot friendlier than his Operator.

Chloe has Ciel.EXE, a Recovery-Element Navi who has the unofficial full-time job of helping her deal with her severe anxiety (that girl is a tightly wound bundle of nerves with no real outlets and you all know it).

Jorgen is a Net Official and has Signas.EXE, a Null-Element Navi who's coolheaded and calculating demeanor sharply contrasts his Operator's hot temper and gung-ho attitude.

And there's Catman.EXE, an excentric crime-fighting vigilante Solo Navi who's taken a liking to the kids.

There's also two villain groups, the newest Netcrime syndicate the Network Killers and the mysterious Project X, but they deserve their own posts.

[the-bar-sinister]

Chains of the Dragon (59149 words) by VickytheSnake, thesavagesabretooth

catch up here

-

October 4, 2028– 12:30 pm 

After almost two more hours of study with the princess, Trucy rubbed her temples. She'd been letting Rayfa quiz her on terms and procedures– and thankfully, getting a lot of it correct. 

Studying with Rayfa had been interesting, that was for sure. The young woman was well versed in the court, and its various intricacies like the divination seance– but it seemed occasionally that she’d falter on important words and the occasional concept.

Mostly, it seemed, when it came to the defense.

Still, she approached it with a kind of determined-to-help excitement that she seemed to try and quash into reservation at every opportunity. 

It was fascinating in its own way, and honestly a lot more fun than studying alone had been. But admittedly by now, she was losing focus. Even though she didn't want to admit it.

Her body betrayed her though– in a quiet moment, her stomach growled loudly.

Rayfa’s head snapped up, and her fierce and intensely alert eyes stared Trucy down for a strangely tense moment before she spoke. 

“I..” She held her hands up “I have been terribly rude, Attorney Wright. You’re hungry, are you not?” 

Trucy balled her hands into fists. 

"I can keep going! I'm tough!!" her stomach growled again and she hung her head. Honestly, she was feeling a bit dizzy. "Okay, maybe I'm a bit hungry."

Rayfa stood suddenly and offered her a hand up.

“L-let me take care of that. I’ll take you to the royal kitchen and have someone whip you u–” She paused for a moment, and twisted her looped braid around her finger. “Or is it more polite for me to cook it myself? Either way, please, follow me.” 

"Oh! Do you cook?" Trucy asked cheerfully. "Its something I've kind of been wanting to learn to do, myself. My daddy's great but he's a really lousy cook."

“Barbed head cannot do something as elementary as cook? Tsk…” Rayfa shook her head with a huff as turned and bent down to grab her cloak, buttoning it around her shoulders with a prideful smile. “I shall wow you with my cooking prowess, Miss Wright! Follow me! Perhaps you may learn more than just law in my company!”

With that, the young princess pushed out of the study.

Trucy happily followed Rayfa out into the palace halls, wondering if there was a way she could manage to tease her dad with 'barbed head' when she got back.

"I sure wouldn't say no! Maybe I could teach you a magic trick or two if you wanted. It's okay to share secrets if it's with an apprentice magician,."

Rafya walked with her hands folded behind her cloak, sneaking peeks at Trucy with wide and curious eyes that she tried to hide. She flushed and ducked her head. 

“Apprentice magician, me? ...mother would say it was a waste of my time when I haven’t learned all there is to know about leadership…but…”She bit her lip “yes? Yes please.” 

"Awesome!" Trucy bounced on her heels as she followed her. "We can do an exchange of skills. But– how come she'd say its a waste of time? I mean, if you wanted to tell me…"

Rayfa’s eyes glanced around…there were some guards in the hallway, who she looked up at with a slight downturn of her lips before she lowered her voice with a shake of her head.

“An exchange of skills seems amenable to me.'' She turned down a hall, past a tapestry of Khura’in’s…it looked like maybe a founding, going by the faceless woman and the masses…and a few old weapons kept free of dust.

“Mother gets disappointed when I become distracted,” she started in a quiet voice to Trucy. “I’ve already wasted too much time being raised as a…a spoiled housecat…when I should have been learning to carry the weight of responsibility on my shoulders. The responsibility of the people– their hopes and wishes for this country.” 

"That sounds like a ton of responsibility," Trucy murmured. "Is she a good role model? She must work herself to death, huh?"

“Of course it is!” Rayfa sniffed– the thought that it might be derisive died when she sniffed again “It’s what I was born to do, even if my father lived in disgrace, I was born to lead this country and give everything I had to the people.”

She placed her hand on her chest and intoned “What you want does not come first. Or second. Your people come first. The country comes first. That is the duty of a princess or a queen.”

The words didn’t sound like hers, not with how practiced they were, or the way her voice shook when she said them. “....” she fell quiet for a moment before she said “my mother works very hard…preparing me for the crown. She’s abdicated from the throne, however. Her time is spent undoing the m…mistakes of my fath—false parents.” 

"Oh." Trucy was starting to get the sense that there was a lot to unpack here. The question was, where to start. "Um…false parents?"

Rayfa hurried along, until they came to a dining hall, and shut the door behind them with a word to the guard to leave them be.

She took a deep breath. “Do you remember Queen Ga’ran and Inga? The victim and prosecutor of that case you attended.” 

"Yeah, I do remember them," Trucy said, biting her lip. "A little anyway."

“I was raised by them.” Rayfa said with a chilly coldness to her tone. “...Queen Ga’ran took me from my mother, and tasked her to raise me as a nanny…and Inga took me in as his daughter.”

"You were going to call him your father, weren't you?" she asked as she looked around the dining hall with curiosity. "A minute ago."

Rayfa jolted and her hand went once more to her heart. 

“N-no, of course not. I..He…” The young queen-to-be was shaking as she gripped her chest, “he spoiled me like a housecat , and left me struggling to prepare for the burden of rule. He was an evil man. Mother says…” 

Uhoh. This is above the Trucy Wright paygrade, but we're gonna fake it til we make it. This sounds a lot like when Mr. Edgeworth gets upset…

Trucy carefully approached Rayfa, and put her hands on her shoulders to steady her. "Rayfa… um, by spoil you, do you mean that he was nice to you?"

Rayfa jolted slightly, but she took soft, shaking breaths as Trucy’s hands settled against her quivering shoulders.

“Ah..yes. He was kind to me…he’d bring me things for my garden and for my room. He’d let me make him medicine and tell me all sorts of stories…he acted like he loved me, and cared for me…I thought he was a hero…but…but mother…” 

"Rayfa," she said her name again to ground her, hopefully. "Rayfa that's how a dad is supposed to act. He did that cause he's your daddy, no matter what else he was, okay? Blood isn't the only thing that makes family."

Rayfa sniffed softly, and Trucy heard her hiccup. 

“He was always there when I was upset. I didn’t know. I didn’t know what he was doing as the Minister of Justice.” She reached up slowly and wiped her eyes. “That is correct, Miss Wright. He’s my daddy. but my mother, she says he’s r-ruined me. That his s-spoiling made me unfit to do my duties without atonement and sacrifice.” 

She looked up at Trucy with watering eyes.

Trucy bit her lip. "Your mom– the one who's saying this…. she didn't like your daddy, did she?"

Rayfa shook her head. “n-no, Miss Wright. She did not. Even less than her sister, who she…she seemed to believe in until that…that verdict was handed down.” 

"I don't like to say this, but I think maybe some of her words here are coming from jealousy, or bitterness, Rayfa. That doesn't mean she doesn't care about you or anything like that. But those sound like destructive, tearing down words, not supportive, confidence building words."

Rayfa brought her balled up fists to her mouth “...destructive, tearing down words…?” 

"Words that make you feel bad about yourself, and tear down your feelings, instead of words that help you grow and learn," Trucy said patiently. She was no expert. It was above her paygrade. It was all pulled from daytime talk shows, things she'd heard Mr. Edgeworth saying, and old psychology books left around the apartment that she was pretty sure had been gifted to her daddy from Kristoph Gavin and ended up in her room as part of a… joke.

Rayfa straightened a little under her touch, her hands pressed over her mouth as she took another deep breath. 

“...I …I see.” She swallowed, Trucy could feel the way her back tensed before she said “My feelings are secondary to my duty as a queen, Miss Wright. I…I have to simply grow and learn no matter the s-sorts of words mother is fond of using.” 

"Well, I mean, we all have to grow and learn," Trucy said. "but your feelings shouldn't be secondary. I do get that being a queen is a huge deal though. Probably more important than even being a magician…"

Even being a magician as important as a Gramarye. But somehow she could still relate. Her conversation with Vera came to mind once more, the talk of responsibility and the weight of a legacy.

She knew how heavy that could feel on a girl Rayfa’s age, even if the weight couldn’t begin to compare.

“My feelings are secondary.” Rayfa said sharply, though Trucy heard the way it warbled without conviction “I’m secondary! Tertiary! It’s the country, the people…our faith that comes first. J-just like your magic, yes?”

The girl turned and looked up at her with watering green eyes “it’s my legacy, Miss Wright! I’m a queen first..”

And a person second. She didn’t finish it, but it was clear what she was trying to say. 

Trucy bit her lip so hard it almost bled. "And I'm supposed to be a great magician, not a lawyer," she said finally. "What do you want to be, Rayfa?"

Rayfa looked down, quickly and obviously trying to shut down her own answer. “it’s n-not proper of me to speculate on such things.” 

Trucy squeezed her shoulders. "Well, not everyone's proper all the time…"

Rayfa looked up at her with a quiver to her lip. She took a deep breath before she whispered 

“I don’t know for sure…but I am fascinated by the techniques Miss Skye performs.” Her head hung low “...I started to daydream about being like her…using s-science to solve mysteries and help others find justice outside of the divination seance.” 

"So, you want to be a forensic investigator?" Trucy said brightly. "That's so cool though. I totally love watching Ema– Miss Skye work too. Like I said, I'm supposed to be a magician, but my daddy… he's inspiring too, you know?"

Rayfa nodded shyly. 

“or something like it, yes…” Her hands twisted together, but something like a smile crossed her face again “i-isn’t it cool? Miss Skye is impressive…inspiring. J-just like my big brother on the prosecutor’s bench…or Mr. Apollo Justice when he defends. But I w-want to be like her. With the chemicals and the determining time of death and everything!!”

She took a breath, having not taken one in since she’d managed to speak her wish for who she’d want to be into the world. She composed herself before she smiled curiously. “...you are supposed to be a magician? I remember you talking about magic tricks when I ran into you…but you’re studying law…because of your daddy? Mr. Wright…”

"Yeah…" she fussed with her hat. "It's a pretty complicated situation actually. I'm supposed to be the heir to a great magician legacy. The greatest ever, really. And I'm supposed to carry on the tradition."

Trucy had wanted to. For a long time it was the only thing she had really wanted. To live up to the Gramarye legacy. To make her father– her magician father– proud of her in his absence. To be the person she'd been born to be. 

But lately the only thing she thought about when she thought of the Gramarye legacy was how much pain it had caused. Not just her– but everyone.

Mr. Reus had talked about them like they were a curse, and no matter how hard Trucy tried to find the joy she once felt… and the urge to make her birth father proud… all she could see was the blood and loss. Magnifi’s scheme, the division between ‘brothers’, abandonment… Thalassa… secrets, they were all part of a legacy of pain.

Rayfa watched her with big, green eyes. Her hands were clenched before her, balled into fists against the clasp of her ornate cloak as she listened and nodded. 

“...that’s a heavy legacy to bear” she murmured “...the greatest magicians ever…I would imagine it would leave you no time to follow in your daddy’s footsteps too, no?” 

She shook her head thinking about it. 

"No, not if I wanted to live up to the legacy. It'd be my whole life. It's been what I've been working toward for years, but…" Trucy shrugged. "There's a lot of bad stuff in the history that I've found out about."

It wasn't something she'd opened up about with anyone yet. Not her daddy. Not Pearl. Definitely not the De Famme sisters. Maybe it felt safer to tell a near stranger. Maybe there was just something like herself she saw in the sad young princess.

“Bad stuff in the history…” Rayfa’s fingers tightened around one another “yet it’s supposed to be your whole life. Meaning the burden of that bad stuff would fall upon your shoulders, yes?” 

Trucy let go of her, and she leaned heavily against one of the counters, sagging. "Yeah. And… everybody's done a lot of bad stuff to uphold this legacy. I'm afraid I'll start… doing something like that too."

Rayfa bit her lip “it’s a frightful thought, Miss Trucy Wright. A heavy thought, too.” She inched over and tentatively put her hand on her arm. “I understand the fear well…” 

Trucy leaned into her a little and nodded. "I bet. Seems like we kinda have a bit in common. If you don't mind me saying."

“I don’t mind in the least…” Rayfa flashed her a sad smile “it isn’t often I meet someone who understands. Much less one I can talk to so easily.”

She put her fingers to her chin, looking down, “If you don’t mind me saying, you’ve taken to law no? Does that mean you’re turning away from that difficult legacy?” 

Trucy hesitated. Did it mean that? She'd only volunteered to help out Apollo and Klavier– it wasn't as if she had any real intention of being a lawyer– did she?

She remembered all those times in court next to Apollo. The tension. The excitement. More surprising than a magic trick.

"I…" she began, and then closed her mouth. She couldn’t help but think about the view from behind that bench, the evidence making its grand debut to turn the case around. It was thrilling…and in the end, justice was done with a cloud of confetti and the smile of someone who came out the other side of the worst day of their lives.

And wasn’t that beautiful? The time she was in their shoes, standing behind the podium as a man told her she deserved to burn for the sins of her grandfather…she couldn’t help but compare. The Gramarye Secrets in their locked little book brought smiles to the faces of the crowd, and blood to the hands of those who kept them. How long was it until the legacy fell to her? Would Bonny and Betty become jealous of the secrets within the book?

Would Apollo? Or would yet another person her grandfather hurt crawl from the darkness to tear her down?

It was all she could see anymore when she thought of that grand stage.

“W-well…”

Rayfa was looking at her with a furrow of her brow and a small and worried pout. She had to say something.

Daddy had always been so supportive of her, and her magic acts. They had even helped support them while he was disbarred. But… he wasn't any more. He was a lawyer again.

Would he be proud of her, if she wanted to follow in his footsteps.

The Gramaye legacy. It was a legacy of cheering applause in the name of tricks and illusions. Smiles brought to people's faces, all while there was scheming and blood in the background that the audience would never know.

Except sometimes they found out anyway.

What would a Wright family legacy look like?

She thought of the marvelous turnabouts in court, and the smiles on the faces of the defendants whose whole lives and livelihoods her daddy and Apollo, and Athena had saved.

That happiness wasn't a trick, or an illusion.

She took off her hat, and put it on the counter beside her.

"Yeah. I– I'm turning away from that legacy," she said quietly, as her hair fell in her face. "I want to be more like my daddy– my adopted daddy– than the family legacy I was born to follow."

“Oh..” Rayfa’s hand suddenly touched her arm, thin fingers giving it a squeeze. Trucy could feel she was shaking again “that is very brave of you, Miss Trucy Wright.”

She took a soft breath “...Mr. Barb– Wright, I had many fights with him while he was here, but he helped me understand a truth that saved my brother and my country. To follow in the footsteps of your adopted father rather than the legacy you were born for takes strength…but I think in his footsteps, you will make an amazing lawyer.”

 "Thanks, Rayfa," Trucy murmured gently, leaning closer to her again. Her heart was beating fast, but there was a kind of lightness in her chest. Like a weight had been lifted.

The moment would have been more somber if her stomach hadn't growled again.

Rayfa leaned just the slightest on her for a moment…close enough that she startled when she heard the growl. She hopped back up and bowed deeply. 

 “O-oh! Ah…sorry…I had gotten so invested in our talk that I neglected the reason we came here.” Peeking over her shoulder at the kitchen, “I’ll prepare you the finest meal I can, please… have a seat. As thanks for telling me your story.” 

Trucy was grateful for the talk. And for her own resolution

But she was also deeply grateful for the distraction, too. She had a lot to think about.

"Thanks for telling me yours, too, Rayfa." She rolled up her sleeves. "Now!! Let's get cooking! You can tell me the stuff you need and I'll get it for you."

The young woman seemed to have a lot on her mind as well…there was a thoughtful furrow in her brow even as she put her hands on her hips with a broad smile “Alright! Be prepared! It shall be the finest meal you have ever laid upon your tongue!”

Her smile turned suddenly sheepish as she declared “I don’t know how to make anything but herbal teas and a simple curry. But it’ll be the best you’ve had! I swear!” 

Trucy laughed. "Herbal tea and curry sounds great!"

October 4, 2028– 12:40 pm 

Apollo noticed that none of them were letting each other out of their sight as they headed back into the palace together, and he wasn't exempt from it. He stayed close to Ema, Nahyuta and Kalvier as if they were a pack– as if an attack could come from any direction.

It really felt like it could.

I'm really not loving this whole random violence, 'Pollo.

Yeah, me neither… Do you think Klavier's nose will be okay?

Worried it's going to ruin his pretty good looks?Ema looked twitchier than usual– he noticed she was reaching for the pocket he knew she kept her cigarettes in, her fingers twitching nervously as she walked closer to him and Nahyuta.

Everyone was on edge…even Nahyuta. His expression was clouded, but why wouldn’t it be? His father’s movement was turning against him piece by piece.

Apollo wasn't surprised. Especially about Ema. Especially with what they'd been talking about, and what she and Clay had been talking about before.

As they passed through the quiet hallway, Klavier asked "So what do we do now" at the same time that Apollo had leaned over to Ema to say "We should have that talk."

Ema pulled out her cigarettes and tapped one out to place between her lips with a nod. 

“Yeah, we should.” She spoke up. “Nahyuta…we gotta talk to you in private.”

Nahyuta was silent, still staring off into the distance as he walked. Lost in his own head. 

Apollo startled– he hadn't expected her to want to include Nahyuta immediately. But he realized he shouldn't be surprised. 

"'Yuta?" he repeated, trying to shake him out of his head and back Ema up. He noticed Klavier cock his head with interest. Probably wondering if he was invited too.

Ema pulled her lighter out and looked at Klavier to whisper something to him. Klavier seemed to brighten, and nod.

Nahyuta shook out of it, blinking quickly to look down at him with a subtle smile. “Pollo…sorry. I was just thinking about the schism.” 

Apollo grabbed Nahyuta's hand. "Yeah, I thought so. Look– I think we should all regroup and talk about this stuff. Does that sound right to you, 'Yuta?"

Nahyuta sighed, and pushed his hand through his hair with a nod “....yes, I believe that’s for the best."

"Maybe somewhere a little more comfortable than an office, ja?" Klavier suggested. "Or at least less formal?"

“Less formal than an office?” Nahyuta closed his eyes. “...alright, I’ll take you to my bedchambers.”

“Forward, Yuta.” Ema puffed at her cigarette, the smoke curling into the bright blue sky above “sounds like a date.”

"Sadly not as much of a romantic mood as I was hoping earlier in the day," Klavier sighed. "But still, who knows what the day will bring?"

"We've already proven anything could happen," Clay grumbled. Apollo winced a little as it came out of his mouth. But he wasn't wrong.

Ema laughed sharply, and exhaled her smoke. “Yeah, we sure goddamn have.”

Nahyuta gave them a tired smile, and led them back to the palace and towards his room. 

A few minutes later they were settled there in the couches around the tea table. Apollo had sat himself next to Klavier, feeling bad about his nose and everything else, and Ema across from them with Nahyuta.

Ema gave Klavier another look of worry— made sense given she had a front row seat to the bruising that was setting in, before she took a deep breath. “so we all agree things are going to hell, right?”

“I would not put it quite so direly,” Nahyuta said as he folded his hands on his lap. “but they aren’t good.” 

"Mein prinz, I have to say public brawls with government officials over public policy is pretty dire," Klavier said.

Government officials?

He means us, 'Pollo.

Ema laughed tensely. 

“Yeah, it’s pretty dire when the brawls start, Yuta. Tempers are rising, you know?” Her fingers tightened on her lap “I think it’s time we had a frank talk about the viability of the system as it stands.”

Nahyuta sighed quietly “...I was afraid that was where this was going.” 

"It's hard not to talk about it," Clay said, rubbing the back of their neck. They felt sore– their own bruises already starting to form over their face and chest. "Especially now that the politics have come up."

Ema nodded slowly, rubbing gently at her forehead. 

“There’s a contingent of communists who want to rid the country of monarchist rule. Which, given the monarchy before you guys, I can see why they’re unhappy.”

Nahyuta frowned. “Yet we deposed Ga’ran and they didn’t speak then– they have waited until Rayfa has settled into her rule and escalated into violence.” 

Klavier raised his hand. "Ah, I was not here so forgive me– but did they have an opportunity to speak then? Were there perhaps messages that were ignored or intercepted, or anything like that?"

Apollo made a face. It was a fair question. "I have no idea."

Nahyuta’s eyes closed “I didn’t receive anything of the sort, though I admit…when the change in rule occurred, I was tasked with my prosecutorial duties and that sort of correspondence was handled by other parties. Interception is possible.”

Ema leaned her head back. “Great…which makes them think they’re being ignored, which makes them violent.” 

Apollo rubbed his chin. "Yeah, a lot of the stuff at the palace was being handled by clerks and things. Some of whom have been around a long time. It's possible they just… got rid of that kind of stuff, assuming we didn't want to see it. It wouldn't even have to be, you know, ill meaning."

"Just typical government paperwork, ja?" Klavier sighed.

“Precisely…” Nahyuta hummed quietly. “Which as Miss Skye stated, leads them to feeling ignored and thus more likely to take drastic measures.”

Ema gestured to Apollo and Klavier. “Which they’re already starting. Who knows when it’s gonna be something bigger than a fist to the face.” 

"Could be any time," Clay murmured.

Klavier leaned forward, putting his hands together. "So what do we do about that?"

“Weather the storm and reassure the people. Find a way to extend the branch of peace to the schism dragons” Nahyuta murmured “for the safety of Rayfa and her future.”

“Yuta, babe…” Ema spoke up. “...this could lead to Rayfa and you being executed if it gets bad enough.” 

"We already talked a little bit about that, didn't we?" Apollo murmured, leaning toward him. "We have to be realistic, politically, 'Yuta. You talk about weathering the storm, but what are we going to do? Put 50 Dragons who used to be our brothers in jail? Cause we can't let them run around inciting violence."

"For wanting political reform," Klavier added quietly.

Nahyuta winced, his lips tightening and his eyes staying closed as his arms crossed delicately over his chest.

“I don’t wish to imprison any of them for wanting reform…I don’t want that to be necessary.”

Ema tented her fingers “nobody wants to…but they’re inciting violence sure…but it is in the name of reform.” her voice shook a little as she continued “Nahyuta, I think we need to talk seriously about abdication. I KNOW you and Rayfa have been suffering these last few months. I know you don’t want this either!” 

Klavier cocked his head. "We spoke a little of this earlier, ja, Nahyuta? 'Yuta is a cute nickname by the way– may I?"

Nahyuta flushed very slightly and finally opened his eyes with a nod. 

“...of course. I’d like it if you did.” He took a deep breath “but we did…and I admitted you had a bit of a point.” 

Klavier smiled, and probably only Apollo and maybe Ema would notice the nervous edge to its bright gleam. 

"'Yuta– I'm an outsider here. I know that. But I have to say, things don't look good. You and your sister are being asked to run the whole country. Your clerks and administrators are full of people you're not sure if you can trust to pass on important messages. The people who supported you once are not stepping up to help you run the country, and half of them want you out of power. You really only have three ways this situation can go."

Apollo didn't like it, but he had a point. "Three ways?"

"First," Klavier said, "You can resort to tyranny. Lock up those who disagree with your regime. Use force where words will not do. Show them that your resolve and your regime is strong and unyielding. Make them bow to you as a leader."

Nahyuta’s fingers balled into fists against his sides as he nodded. “my aunt’s preferred method, yes.” 

"I am not suggesting its route, but it is effective," Klavier said. "It possibly the only effective route to cement your monarchy against those who want to abolish it, mein prinz."

"Okay, what are our other options?" Apollo asked. He could tell Klavier was putting on a show. Might as well help him out.

"The second option is that you continue as you have been. You continue to attempt to rule fairly and justly in a position in which you have no allies, and too much work, where your enemies are closing in on you and you refuse to raise your hand to them out of mercy, ja? That is the course that you are suggesting, mein prinz, and it is… unsustainable. It will come to a natural end, one way or another."

“You’ll fucking die.” Ema spat in frustration, her head still laid back against the back of the couch.

“Either through overwork or revolution, yes…” Nahyuta sighed, twisting his braid around his hand. 

"The third option is that you abdicate while the abdicating is good," Klavier said. "It is not as bad as it sounds. These communists– you say that they were your brothers until recently, ja? So you must have some trust in them. If they want so badly to run a free government, let them have it. Mein engel, it should not be on the shoulders of one brave man and a little girl to rule a whole nation, no matter how romantic the idea is in stories. I have read many of these stories, and so many of them end with brave dead men, and weeping little girls."

Klavier was in fine form. His words send a shiver through Apollo. It was amazing how much of a performer he was. How much weight his words carried.

Apollo didn't want to face any of this, but when Klavier said it, it sounded obvious.

Ema tensed, and her shoulders shook as she took a deep breath. 

“The glimmorous fop is right. I’ve been scared that was how this would all end since the first batch of dragons refused to help you defend or prosecute the other cases.”

Nahyuta was struck. At some point he opened his eyes, and at some point his fingers rested over his heart. “I…see.” he murmured in deep concern, “brave dead men and weeping little girls…”

"I don't know what Dhurke would have wanted in this situation," Apollo murmured plaintively to Nahyuta. "I don't know what he would have done– because he would never have been in this situation. But he's not here. I want to carry on his will, his dream, of returning Khura'in to its glory– but I don't know how to do that. Do you, 'Yuta?"

They realized with a start that there wasn't a meaningful distinction between Apollo and Clay right now. There had been earlier– it had been obvious, broad. But now Clay's feelings were his, and his feelings were Clay's. Apollo couldn't summon up the suicidal– yes, suicidal– willingness to die for Dhurke's cause now. Nor could Clay summon up the will to just… get up and leave.

Nahyuta’s cool demeanor wavered for only a moment, a look of terror and dismay in his eyes before he stilled it with a deep breath “...Dhurke would have continued fighting for the glory of Khura’in…I..”

His body went rigid as he muttered “I do not know how to do it, Apollo…but a dragon never yie—”

“The dragon fucking DIED!” Ema almost shrieked as she flung herself up from leaning her head back on the couch, looking over at him with wide eyes. “he died and dumped all of this on your laps without anything to support you!” 

"I– he didn't– that wasn't his fault," they sputtered. "Dhurke didn't know that the Defiant Dragons would fall apart like this,"

Klavier put his hand on Apollo's shoulder. "Ja, but they did. And you have to face that. If you want to fight, Apollo, 'Yuta– they you're going to have to actually fight. That is what I am saying." 

He stood up from the couch as he continued speaking, and he raised his chin. "It is not good enough simply never to yield. If you are under attack you can fight, or you can run. But you two are talking about simply waiting for the jaws to close around you as if that were noble. I like to think that I am a good man, justitia knows I have faltered, but if you bring out the tanks and the guns, I will lay down my pretensions to sainthood. I will support you if you choose to fight and refuse to yield. But I will not let you just let yourselves drown!"

Ema sighed and smiled up at him with a nod “that’s right…that’s damn right. You two can’t just sit here and drown. That’s not going to do anything for you, for Khura’in, or for Rayfa; It’s fight or run, and I’ll support you no matter what you choose.”

Nahyuta’s surprised eyes widened. They watered as he took a sharp intake of breath. “Fight or run.” he murmured quietly to himself. His whole body shuddered for a moment before he managed to speak.

“I will not let myself become another tyrant for Rayfa to suffer under.” 

Thank goodness.

They felt themself shudder as Apollo felt Clay– separate from him again, and triumphant– while all the air had rushed out of Apollo. There was a thickness in his throat. Had they really come all this way to let Dhurke's dream falter?

That's not what we're doing, Apollo. At a basic level Dhurke's dream has already come true, and you've done all that you can to support it. Let someone else take over now.

I guess. But it feels wrong.

Do you want Nahyuta and Rayfa to be killed? Do you want to be killed?

Me? You know I've thought about it.

I don't want to die again, Apollo. And I don't want you to die. Nahyuta won't fight– and he's right to turn from bloodshed. So we'll run. It's not our responsibility. It's not our mess.

Am I a coward for this, Clay? I feel like a coward.

You're no coward, my love. You're a hero. You're helping save their lives.

Apollo thought of Rayfa's fear and sadness under the assault of her mother's words. He thought of the dead flowers. He thought of Nahyuta hunched at his desk, and the time they;d been unable to spend together.

"For Rayfa's sake," Apollo croaked out. "Yeah. Yeah. We– we can't let her be used as some political token. We can't go to war to keep her in power for a position that's already killing her."

Ema nodded. “We’ve seen the way she’s been wilting, right? Between he way Amara’s been treating her, and the weight of the crown…she’s still a kid, dammit. And YOU Nahyuta…you’ve been crushed under it too.”

Nahyuta grit his teeth…a trail of tears leaked out from under the pale fringe of his hair as he took another deep breath. “I refuse to allow it. She’s had enough of being a tool for others to keep hold of this country. If…if abdication is the only way, then I will support it if the alternative is becoming a monster like my aunt– a woman twisted by this legacy of fire.” 

Apollo watched Klavier move toward the other couch, and he scrambled up as well, hurrying over to put himself practically in Nahyuta's lap as Klavier collapsed gracefully into a kneeling sit on the floor in front of the couch.

Apollo put his arms around Nahyuta's shoulders without a word.

"She deserves better than such a legacy, ja, mein engel," Klavier murmured. "and so do you. Let the communists have the country, ja? And you can have your own life. You are worth your own life."

Nahyuta looked in pain, Ema draping over his side with a plaintive look as he took several deep and steadying breaths. His fingers rested against his beads as tears flowed down his face in uneven trails, as if they had no well trod path to follow on the normally stoic man’s face..

“...We…we should speak to Rayfa.” he said in a low voice as he looked down at Klavier, leaned into the embrace from all sides. “If you all insist, if Apollo will yield…then I will yield as well. But we must speak to Rayfa.” 

Apollo held Nahyuta tight, his own breath hitching in his chest. "Should we do it now? Before we have time to change our minds? I– it hurts, 'Yuta. It hurts to think about. But all we've done here is be crushed under the weight of the world. I want to… I want to let Klavier win this one. And Ema."

Klavier, still on his knees, smiled gently. "Let us take you away from all this."

Ema nodded and squeezed his arm. “I promise, you’ll be happier. I know how much you love learning new stuff, Yuta…I saw how much fun you were having in LA.”

Nahyuta nodded “It hurts…very much.” He murmured “but let’s go now before I start to second guess. It’s true…I already miss travel, and the joy of experience.”

He offered a hand to Klavier to help him up with a quiet smile, framed by tears “I’ll accept this offer of salvation. Thank you.” 

Apollo wiped traces of tears from his own face as he stood up, and let Klavier help Nahyuta to his feet. "Yeah… thanks, Klavier."

"Any time. Promise." Klavier smiled as he pulled Nahyuta up, and Apollo let himself half rest on Ema's shoulder.

Apollo swallowed. "Let's go find Rayfa."

[pinkrangersarah]

What are your thoughts (if you have any) on the respective love interests the rest of the F7 are shown meeting in the end credits? 🎤 me personally I never really saw the three tin girls we see alongside the triplets as their love interests, I always thought they built them and are therefore (technically) their daughters; mostly because I think it’s a bit boring to pair up the triplets with other triplets idk that’s just me 🤷

okay, so technically i have A LOT of thoughts, which is hilarious considering we don't know anything about these characters; not even their names. i've just been thinking up fan fiction so long that i've basically created entire oc's around them. so i'll give my initial thoughts and then what i've personally come up with!

little red riding hood has never been a super interesting character to me. rather, her initial persona has never been interesting to me. it's a good fairytale on its own, but nothing about red herself had ever stood out to me. all of the different interpretations of her over the years, however, have been really fun. her "once upon a time" interpretation is probably my favorite, and it plays into one of the BEST tropes that has come out for red riding hood over the years--which "red shoes" also does--is red riding hood herself being the wolf.

i think arthur and werewolf red riding hood could be very fun for various reasons. werewolves are monsters, something merlin states in the beginning that the fearless 7 are called to deal with regularly. arthur also puts a lot of value and his self-worth into his physical strength, and as a werewolf red riding hood would no doubt be much stronger than him. these are prejudices arthur would have to climb over (i don't see arthur as sexist, but he cares so much about being strong that a tiny girl like red being five times stronger than him would no doubt bug him), allowing him to grow as a person and love red riding hood for who she is.

ugh. to be honest, this is my least favorite. it really feels like they just didn't know what to do for jack; i can't seem to find the JPEG anymore, but if what i found was genuine concept art then they were originally just going to make a merman that looks... just like jack? thank GOD somebody said that was a stupid idea (again, if that was real concept art), so then we ended up with this. YES, i know the moral, but i just... don't really see what they were going for with this.

admittedly, i did make up an oc for jack, whom i will eventually put out more art for (because i do genuinely want to write something), and i did keep the water theme. i liked the idea of arthur having to overcome a major prejudice so much that i came up with the same concept for jack by making up a sea witch companion for him.

this is no doubt sleeping beauty, and honestly it is probably the funniest one out of them all. true loves kiss who? no, just make some damn good food and sleeping beauty will come running. making female characters (especially princesses) messy eaters with lousy table manners is absolutely nothing new, and i'm certain someone somewhere has paired them up with a foodie with exceptional cooking skills before, but it's still an endearing duo and a very fitting choice for hans. he doesn't strike me as particularly picky, he and the triplets honestly seem the less vain out of the seven; he just wants to cook and bake for someone he loves. it's very sweet, and i like sleeping beauty's design here.

i also agree with you that these automatons are not meant to be girlfriends. hell, the triplets seem content in their dwarf forms. i think the automatons are just assistants that happen to look female. to be honest, i think it'd be hilarious if somebody, maybe arthur, joked that they couldn't find anybody they each clicked with so they just made companions, and the triplets just go "what, no, we needed help in the workshop since you're too afraid of little oil and grime."

[x-is-bored]

I've neen thinking a lot about Steven Universe lately, so if you don't want to see any of that just keep on scrolling (This drags on for quite a while)

So what I'm about to type is mostly about Lapis and Peridot and their whole dynamic because I saw something that I can not stop thinking about. I was scrolling through TikTok (a horrible mistake I now realize) and I saw a Lapis and Peridot edit, and it wasn't bad, but the description of the video really got me thinking. It said that they (the original poster) couldn't believe that The Crystal Gems would leave Peridot in "an isolated area" with Lapis, who "hated her guts just a few seconds ago and then abruptly became all blushy" and that their relationship wasn't healthy because there was a "Power Dynamic" and Peridot apparently respects gems that have a higher authority then her on Homeworld (the example they used was the episode with Amethyst during Peri's big character arc). Now, for what ever reason, I have not been able to stop thinking about this and coming up with rebuttals to it in my head, so I thought why not let the internet hear these thoughts of mine.

Peridot is in an isolated area and can not leave

No??????? We are shown time and time again that the barn is very easily accesible to The Crystal Gems (Ex: Steven warping to the barn to stop Lapis from breaking Peridot's tablet when she thinks Steven is trapped inside of it) and we are also shown that Peridot is fully capable of using the warps (Ex: Beta). According to Peridot's Twitter she is fully aware of what a car is (Presumabley because she was hit by one). Now this seems like a very odd and random detail to bring up, until you realize there is likely no roads for miles at the barn, so she was in a situation where she was on a road away from the barn. Also, in the episode Too Short to Ride, the first shot is Peridot in Steven's house, without Lapis, So the idea that Peridot is trapped with our favorite water themed gem is just flat out wrong. Peridot also has full agency over her life and where she chooses live, if she wants to not be around Lapis she has the full ability to do so, but she doesn't, she wants to live with her in the barn. The show has told us multiple times now that she is very quick to assume that something is "a weapon" or out to get her in some way so if she feels safe, it's 90% likely that she is. Also the gems aren't stupid, if they feel like something will go wrong or that there is a problem they'll try their best to help both Lapis and Peridot in their whole Barnmate situation.

2. Lapis hated Peridot's guts a few seconds ago and is now all blushy

Now admittedly, yes it does appear like that with absolutley zero context of who Lapis is as a character. This is the kind of opinion someone would have if they turned on their TV while this episode was airing, watched the bit where Peridot is trying to win Lapis' affection, went to the bathroom after Lapis broke Peri's tape recorder and came back after Steven talked with Lapis. The reason Lapis asks Peridot "Are you okay?" isn't because she's some unstable gem that is constantlly flip-flopping between love and hate, she's trying to do what Steven asked her to do, get to know the Peridot that Steven knows, not the one Lapis met. ALSO she has an absolutley justifiable reason to "hate her guts". Lapis has spent thousands of years trapped in a mirror being used as some kind of informant, and then left alone and discarded, not able to move or do anything, the only thing she could do was watch the stars move. And when she's finally free and tries to fly back to her Homeworld she is taken captive AGAIN and used as an informant AGAIN. And after their plan goes awry, the other gem who kidnapped her fuses with her to harm the one person she actually cares about on this lousy gem-forsaken planet. And so, in a moment of deep panic and hurt she traps both her and her captor at the bottom of the ocean because she feels like if she doesn't, Steven will get hurt. And after months and months of back and forth in a horrifically damagingand draining power struggle, she's finally free and ready to live a life on Earth with Steven, and then all of a sudden your current best friend (the child) says that you're going to be living with one of the two gems who dragged you back to the planet you so desperatley tried to escape from? I'd be pretty peeved too. Lapis is a very emotional gem, she blushes at Peridot's smile because A: It's adorable, and B: She just realized that she asked if Peridot was okay and is embarassed that Peridot knows that she, in some level, for Steven's sake, is starting to care about Peridot. She isn't some unstable danger to everyone around her who's an irredeemable monster, she's a deeply traumatized PTSD ridden being who has made mistakes before, but is trying her best to find a little comfort in the life she's choosing to live.

3. Peridot has high respect for gems that are deemed higher then her by Homeworld standards and is in an unhealthy power dynamic with Lapis

The specific quote from the description is as follows "I swear, people forget the power dynamic these two have, Lapis is a high ranking gem, and we know how Peridot gets around people she deem as higher ranking (cough cough amethyst)". I have been trying to be as kind as possible while dissecting this description, if I let my emotions get in the way of the genuine facts this essay will become an all caps angry ramble session. But this is the stupidest thing I have ever read. Sure, in the episode Too Far (the episode the original poster is referring to with the Amethyst comment) and through most of her arc, Peridot is shown to have preexisting prejudices about gems and their values. And we do know for a fact that back on Homeworld Peridot's were deemed lower then Lapis Lazuli's, but this person is implying that the reason that Peridot is trying to impress Amethyst is because she's "Higher Ranking" back on Homeworld, when that simply isn't the case. She's trying to become Amethyst's friend, she thinks she's cool and has a genuine apprectiation for her. All too often I see people state that Peridot "is afraid of Lapis" when she isn't, she's trying her best to be considerate to her friend and Barnmate. During the time period when "Barnmates" takes place, Peridot has nearly fully wrapped up her character arc. She no longer has respect for someone just because of how highly they may be ranked on some stupid arbitrary ranking system, and there is one episode that perfectly demonstrates that fact. Season Two, Episode 24, "Message Recieved". In this episode Peridot has a direct line to Yellow Diamond, one of the four three Dictators of the planet and society she comes from, quite literally the top of the top. And when Peridot is directly speaking to her she gets into an argument with Yellow over the fate of the Earth, this all bubbles up to this exchange. Yellow Diamond: "What do you know about the Earth!?" Peridot: "Apparently more than you, you CLOD!" This one insult marks the completion of Peridot's character arc, she would never have even thought about saying this to Jasper when they first got to the Earth (who, by the way wasn't even higher ranking then her on their specific mission, she was an escort to Peridot). Now she's yelling at the Luminous Yellow Diamond and calling her a clod. Peridot could not care less about how high a gem may be ranked back on Homeworld. The statement from the description suggests that Peridot's whole arc never even happened, she's just a nice little green triangle who is constantly walking around eggshells when talking to literally anyone. Peridot is not trapped in some unhealthy relationship with a gem she can't escape from. She has a new found lease on life and wants to be friends with someone who she deems to be underestimating and assuming the worst of her. Lapis isn't some terrible abusive monster who is tricking the crystal gems into leaving her alone with Peridot. She now has no need to be scared and is ready to attempt a genuine connection with someone else, they've both done bad things in the past, but they're ready to move past those things to become better.

In conclusion, they are silly, great, and lovable. The end.

[deusexlachina]

Stemquisition Part 3 (In Hushed Whispers) - I violated the principle of causality and all I got was this lousy necklace

In which we have to go back...to the present!

Dorian, a much nicer mage from Tevinter, holds a secret meeting with me away from prying eyes, but right next to a small army of demons. He starts spouting magical technobabble about time travel that, frankly, does not sound scientific.

But he reassures me that he helped to develop this time magic, so he would know, and it makes as much sense as anything else at this point. To impress Alexius, I gather 25 Power doing the adventuring equivalent of filing paperwork, so he finally deigns to meet me. He tries to negotiate the terms under which he might loan out his army of disposable slaves future Tevinter citizens. I'm really more interested in the time travel. How did you do that.

He tries to have me executed, but Leliana remembers her adventures in Redcliffe, and she has her assassins go through a secret tunnel, which must have been a lot of fun. But it's not fun for Alexius' guards, and Alexius decides to erase me from time in a sickass green swirly portal.

He accidentally sends me into the future instead, but an entire year in my absence renders the world totally dominated by Corypheus. So, really, he's largely succeeded, entirely by accident. We scientists call that serendipity, which in Thedas is also the name of a transgender sex worker. She's a barrel of laughs and, despite living in the single deadliest city in Thedas, has not suffered violence like more than half of transgender sex workers. My point is that we should decriminalize sex work immediately, and also that Serendipity is not a good character.

Fortunately there's a much better trans character in my own army - Krem, along with his boss, The Iron Bull. Hey, how are those lovable rogues doing? My gang? My squad? My goons? My buddies? My pals? My sweet boyos? My chuckling chums?

...okay, I'm getting some "not so good"s.

Iron Bull is infected with red lyrium, as is Varric. That's especially bad because Varric hates red lyrium. Go on. Ask him why he hates red lyrium. Or not, he'll tell you anyway. There was this adventure in the Deep Roads...

We have to get back in time before Leliana kills Varric. With her thighs. I just learned she could do that, in a scene that would be pretty hot if it didn't immediately follow a year of grisly torture.

Despite being an accomplished spymaster who has every intention of sending me back in time, Leliana doesn't want to talk about what happened, but I've seen enough clues in my investigation of the future. She's been...experimented on...oh no.

They've used science...for EVIL! Which is admittedly pretty par for the course in Thedas. There aren't a whole lot of experiments whose subjects aren't "terrified prisoners" and whose methodology is more robust than "I WILL HAVE YOUR PATHETIC BLOOD!" What a shameful attitude. No wonder we're living in a medieval world despite it being common knowledge that there's a formula for gunpowder and that it is possible to make explosives that can level a city. I need to fix this, but first I need to get back...to the present!

Varric and The Iron Bull help Leliana hold off Corypheus' army while Dorian reverses the time magic and I...what am I doing to help? I'm not a mage, so...I guess I'm just there? Honestly I feel a bit bad about mostly standing around while my fabulous friendarinos give their lives to give me as much time as they have arrows.

Before I can determine the arrow-time conversion rate, Leliana dies as she lived: not having a good time. But me and Dorian escape just in time. And through time. It's time magic. Alexius surrenders, having played all two of his cards (easily-defeated guards and faulty time magic).

Later, I coerce Alexius into sharing the secrets of time magic. The ramifications could be world-changing! A mere glimpse into this field could revolutionize everything we think we know about reality! Against my allies' warnings, I authorize Alexius to continue this line of research.

The result is an amulet which makes my skills recharge a few seconds faster.

[peterlorres21stcentury]

chaos through hunger

Yesterday I was reminded of something rather funny from my old office, which was the sort of place that was constantly tripping over its own feet into a pit of failure. This failure included not learning from past failures, so every year we spiraled into the same Fail Loop without, er, without fail. There's a reason I don't work there anymore.

Anyway, the higher-ups liked to distract everyone from their general failures with frequent parties. This particular occasion was either a retirement party or a baby shower, and honestly who cares because for a while there it felt like we were forced into one celebration or another every week. One of my superiors (who would later leave the state for a better job, an action that resulted in an eventual mass-exodus from others in Fail Job, strangely enough) contributed some manner of iced sponge cake. It was not the best cake, but cake nonetheless, and I happened to be especially ravenous that day. Too impatient to wait the five extra minutes for the party to actually begin, I took a slice and went back to my desk to snarf it up, perhaps in the hopes of snagging a second piece during the party proper with no one being the wiser.

No sooner did I finish devouring it when I heard my superior raise her voice just down the hall from me, reading the riot act to her five-year-old son who happened to be with her that day (maybe it was "take your child to work day" as well, I don't remember). She was positively livid that he had taken a slice of cake before the party, how dare you, eating so much sugar without PERMISSION, and all the while this poor kid is desperately pleading his innocence.

I may be evil in many ways but blaming children for my crimes is not one of them. I announced from my cubicle without bothering to get up, like a disembodied voice from the ether: "hey [boss lady], don't blame him. It was me."

"SEE??!" the kid yells, never more vindicated in his five-year-old life.

Boss lady comes over to my desk, sees my empty plate with crumbs on it, and gives me this look--half-sheepish, half wanting to chew me out for the same offence but realizing how utterly stupid it would be to admonish a grown adult for eating cake that was intended for all of us anyway. We all went to the party and said nothing more about it. My greedy self also took another slice of cake, because fuck you.

It's still hilarious to me that, in an entire office of possible suspects, she instantly zeroed in on her son as the culprit. Admittedly, he was kind of a miscreant at the best of times, but in this case he truly had nothing to do with my cake thievery. It was around that time, in fact, that I realized I just didn't care anymore. Because if they were going to underpay and underappreciate me for all the years of contract labor I gave them, by damn I might as well take two lousy slices of cake.

[wall-legion]

And while I'm on here you know what, I'm undeleting the theory from the other day. Here goes of what I can remember, plus some new thoughts since I've had a few more days to let it percolate!

With the addition that I am now aware that "Isgarren appeared to Turai as such, it was in Turai's journal", I have one thing to say to that: how do we know what's real in regards to documentation left around in the game. The current maps we are playing in are obviously lousy with a magic we as the Commander/Wayfinder are completely unfamiliar with and cannot do a vibe check on. Beyond that, we have never met Turai (living anyways) as the Commander/Wayfinder so we have no reference for how he sounds. In short, I am chalking a lot of the documentation left around up to magic manipulation/unreliable narration until proven otherwise.

And to get back to the theory as it once stood: Isgarren claims that he is a Seer. If we go back to the Guild Wars 1 wiki, a Seer appears like the one in the image below.

The face is correct for Isgarren, but he is blue and not black and as someone on Discord pointed out, Isgarren is lacking "the weird Seer pizza feet".

Also of note at that link: there was a dead Seer at Zinn's lab back in Guild Wars 1. There certainly isn't one now in the fractal. 🤔

But now to the meat of the matter - if Isgarren is not a Seer, then what? I posit that is in fact a djinn, as seen below in a screenshot from (once again) the GW1 wiki.

Now to make my case...

1) djinn can shapeshift, while it is never indicated in the lore that Seers are able to. Yes the argument can be made that "his magic" but;

2) Isgarren seems to prefer a form of elemental magic in the fight against us, which is also indicative of djinn. He gives Garenhoff the elementals, as well. The magic in the boss fight against him is admittedly different but I circle back to my point of the realm having magic we don't know how to utilize;

5) djinn are also capable of choosing paths of good or evil, like most mortal races of Tyria; and finally,

3) djinn are native to Elona, where Turai's ascension failed;

4) djinn are historically enemies of demons, explaining Isgarren's beef with Eparch and his ilk;

6) Seers are written in the GW1 wiki as being genderless. I don't think GW2 would arbitrarily decide to start gendering a character from a race they wrote as being genderless almost twenty years ago.

I think Isgarren is a djinn, and I have my doubts now as to whether this is even the real Isgarren or someone playing at being him- or them. But I suppose time will tell.

[kleinstar]

❝ i am going to lay completely still on the forest floor until either things start going my way or i disintegrate into nothing ❞

@wolfpupy twitter ask meme (ACCEPTING)

" You'd have to go to forest for that though... "

Sweltering hot day and training sesson is a lousy match admittedly. Both them are laying on their backs on the floor. Hiyori's voice remind Eiden of something though.

" ...if you change all the I's to we's you could have meditation regime there. "

" We're just missing relaxing music from the background.... Spiraltube probably has some actually. How about I---"

He looks at his bag no more than few steps ahead from them. There's an attempt to crawl ahead but he only manages to rise his hand til it drops on the floor.

" Ahh, it's no good.... I can't reach.... "

[smokeybrandreviews]

Faerie Tales

I am in full Fate/Grand Order mode right now and it's paying off nicely. I think. It's an odd thing to juggle three mobile titles (FGO, Azur Lane, and Ever Crisis), Baldur's gate 3, Persona 3 Reload, and my millionth run at Mass Effect Legendary. I got too many games on my plate right now. I feel like i should pull back on something but, at the same time, nah? Like, P3R is my sh*t and i am absolutely in love with BG3. I dunno, maybe I'll reassess eventually but my crippling gaming addiction has only a nebulous effect on my choice to continue grinding through the admittedly frustrating and horrifically pay-walled world of the Grand Orders. I do it because i shill hard for Nasu and have for actual decades. Plus, some of the stories are really cool. F*cking Avalon le Fae was peak Type Moon and i cannot wait until the Dragon Slayer money runs out so they have UFOtable animate that sh*t. Interestingly enough, the Faeries are kind of why I'm even writing this update.

Yo, i popped Barghest! Tam Lin Gawain is easily my favorite of the Faerie Knights. I mean, Melusine is but Barghest is definitely right there with her. Of the newer Servants released since i lost my first account, She ranks right up there in the top ten. Actually, i think she was number nine. Albion was number one, but making it into that top ten is a feat in of itself. Dozens of dope ass servants were added in my years long hiatus and the Black Dog made it to the top of the top. It just kind of blows she's a Saber. I'm lousy with Sabers. A good portion of my Five-Stars are Sabers. Like, i already have Mordred, she will NEVER leave my party, and Artoria. They are powerhouses in their own right but i also have Okita and Altera as back up. That's four Five-Star Sabers. Where the f*ck does my Hellhound even fit? Still, i am mad hype to pop her off the Artoria Caster Banner, because i did it with some bullsh*t Summon Tickets! Pretty sure i got Artoria doing that, too, but that's not why I'm happy.

You see, that Caster Banner is part of the Twenty Million Downloads campaign. Also [art of that, are two special summon tickets, one for a Four-Star Craft Essence and the other for a Four-Star Servant. I was going to use that ticket on Barghest, even though i already have a ton of Sabers. That's how much i like the character. Popping her off that banner allows me to choose a different Servant now, one that i actually need. I have one Avenger and it's Hessian Lobo. That guy sucks. I mean, it's fine, but it ain't Demon Nobu. However, there is another Four-Star Avenger who i had on my old account. An Avenger that happens to be a Medusaface, and we all know how much of a sucker i am for Medusa. Not only did i get a Barghest on one of the most improbable ways possible, but i was able to outright choose Gorgon! I was able to secure a much need Avenger option AND the Black Dog I've wanted since Avalon was released! Honestly, I wish I had one more of those free tickets. I'm set on Gorgon, for sure, but Lancer Artoria Alter is an option, too, and she's kind of my favorite Artoria. There's just something about an Alter which really does it for me.

I'm actually really very pleased with this account right now. Sucks I'm still missing a ton of Servants that i want, but progress is being made. I mentioned in my last update i was able to finally acquire Anastasia but, since then, I've also added Ivan the Terrible, Anne Bonny and Marie Reed, Assassin Okita, and Lakshmibai. These are all solid additions, even though they aren't necessarily Servants i would personally choose for myself. I mean, Ivan is, that gigantic motherf*cker is a powerhouse, but considering i don't run at FGO Banners like i do Azur Lane ones, the fact that i have any Five-Stars is kind of a blessing. Obviously, my Mordred is coming along nicely. I've been able to both unlock and max out her second Append Skill, while grinding away at the monumental task of getting that eleventh Bond Level. Right now, that's the current quest. Oh, somehow, i was able to naturally roll a second Mordred so she's got a level two Noble Phantasm now. Just three to go! I'm just chipping away, man. Slowly but surely, I'll have my max Mordred.

[bluekat12345]

Pokémon Concierge Review

When I first heard about a stop motion Pokémon series, I admit, I was hesitant, mostly because it wasn't what I was used to, and I was honestly worried the show was going to butcher the series in some way, since around that time, I have been seeing plenty of shows that have been lackluster, to say the least.

I am happy to report that I was wrong!

The show was actually pretty good! It was a nice slice of life like show. It was honestly pretty refreshing to watch. The animation was also really good. The stories were wonderful and again, the slice of life storyline was wonderful to watch, and I hope Pokémon does more like this in future, since it shows there is more to the Pokémon world than just battling and competing.

And the characters were great too, I actually found the main character surprisingly relatable, and I could really empathize with her throughout the episodes, since I'm pretty sure a lot of us, me included, have experienced her anxiety and stress. And even the side characters were well written, even when they didn't much screentime, they were presented well.

Like I said, the animation was great too. The characters looked well crafted, wonderfully detailed, and I really like the facial expressions, I thought that was very well designed. And the Pokémon looked awesome. Admittedly, I was afraid the Pokémon were going to look creepy, but they looked cute and cool.

And on a minor note, I actually like how Pikachu wasn't a main character in this series. Since it is the mascot of the franchise, I figured it would be heavily included in the series, but nope, the show actually gave other Pokémon, especially ones I've always considered not as focused on in the main series, some time to shine.

My only real issue was how short the episodes were. Don't get me wrong, the episodes were great, and I loved them, but I just wanted more. Though that just probably the 'time flies when you're enjoying something' feeling.

I am also upset that there are only four episodes. I want more, but I've been seeing articles that say that there would be no more since stop motion is rather expensive. But I really hope more come out in the future. If they can fund lousy shows no one really cares for, then they should be able to fund the good ones.

(Yes, Pikachu was the main focus of the 4th episode, but that was just one episode and it was only natural it would get some focus, since it is the franchise mascot.)

Nonetheless, the show was wonderful, and I highly recommend it to all Pokémon fans, especially adults.