#and the reverse game of ‘now all the toys are there. now we bring them all back to a different spot.’

[demonmary]

i did babysitting again and i am. so tired i’m so tired i’m so tired.

[morellanimmermehr]

The Arcana Prequel - Your Questions Answered

Thanks to everyone who has sent us questions over the last few days! If there's anything else you'd like to know, my askbox is open.

Will the Prequel have an upright and reversed ending?

Yes! You’ll be following Asra during his time at the palace as he tries to revive the Apprentice. To succeed, he will need to win the trust of Nadia, Lucio, Valerius and Muriel. Whether he manages that and how far he is willing to go for his goal is up to you.

On a scale of 0 to 10, how angsty will this be?

We’re aiming to emulate the way the original game balances out the serious, gut-wrenching moments with more light-hearted ones. That said, grief, loss and unhealthy coping mechanisms will all feature heavily, so we’re going to say… 9.5?

How often does the story update, and how many episodes will there be in total?

We currently release a new episode every Tuesday, but we’re planning to eventually move to two episodes per week once some of our other ongoing commitments have wrapped up. As for the total number of episodes… we’re not sure yet, but definitely 20+.

Why did you decide to write this together?

@asrabounding (Azi) and I have been toying with the idea of making an Arcana Prequel on Dorian for over a year, but we realized pretty quickly that bringing it to life the way we were envisioning it would require more than two people. Azi and @motherofqups (MOC) first connected via the fandom all the way back in 2019, and we’ve all ended up bonding over our shared love of the Arcana, many congruent headcanons, and an admiration for each other's work. So this collaboration was a natural fit.

How much Asra x Julian is in this?

Their situationship will be one of the ongoing plotlines in this story. The choices you make will influence how it plays out and, to an extent, how much of it you see. Relationship points with Julian will not affect whether you get the upright or reversed ending, but can unlock additional paths.

You all have written Asra and Julian a lot, but which of the other characters are your favorites to write and why?

All three of us genuinely enjoy writing all of the M6 (and many of the supporting characters), but if you’re making us choose…

MOC: Lucio. His voice is so unique and he’s always flowed easily for me, but he still surprises me, even after all this time. There are so many knots to unravel and layers to unpack with him. He’s delicious to tease but he bites back, too, so he’s fun to play with whether I’m writing an angsty scene or a more playful scene. 

Azi: Muriel and Lucio. I have made myself laugh while writing them more than once, and their voices tend to flow naturally for me. I never have to wonder “what would Lucio say?”

Morella: Nadia. I love her sense of humor, and how absolutely savage she can be when she’s irritated with someone. I also really enjoy contrasting the way she can take control of a situation and command the room with the vulnerability that she only shows to a select few people.

Are the courtiers going to make appearances?

Yes. Valerius plays a major role as one of the characters that Asra will need to get onto his side to complete the ritual. The other courtiers will make appearances as well, though their roles will be smaller (similar to the original game).

I’m confused, is this meant to be canon?

No. Our aim is to stay faithful to the spirit and lore of the original game, but ours is just one of many ways to tell this particular story.

Why is the Prequel getting promoted by Dorian?

Dorian has criteria for which games get promoted. These include how many people play, how much money they spend, and whether the creators update the game consistently over a period of time. Over the past two years, Azi and I have built a track record of meeting these criteria for every game we release, so our stories now often get picked up for promotion early on (as do those of many other established creators on Dorian). The logic behind that is pretty obvious if you’ve ever been a fanfic reader deciding whether to take a chance on an incomplete longfic on AO3 - if you recognise the author and know they’ve finished their fics in the past, you’re probably more likely to trust that they’ll continue this one, too.

How much influence does Dorian have over the games you make?

The ideas that go into the stories are all ours, and Dorian doesn't tell us what to write. They do give us advice on what they think is more likely to succeed. It's our decision to take it or leave it. Sometimes we take it, sometimes we leave it.

Dorian doesn't set a release schedule for us, but they do offer more opportunities for promotion to creators who stick to a consistent schedule.

How much money do you make writing on Dorian?

Azi and I have both been writing on Dorian for going on two years now, and our earnings have steadily grown over that time. As part of that process, we’ve also gotten a lot more intentional about our release schedule. This has brought us to a point where our games make between $5K and $6K each month.

How much time does a project like this take?

These days, the hours Azi and I put into making games are equivalent to a part time job. We have tried different things and tested out what we could and could not handle on top of our other work and family commitments, and we have found our sweet spot. Luckily we are fully in control of our schedule and we make it work for us.

[mywaywardcupcake]

Here's just a fun little question, and you can ignore this if you want, but how do you think the Yugi group would respond to finding a stray puppy or stray kitten?

Oh I love this!

Yugi: I think Yugi would at first try to see if he could find the owners. He would want to make sure that if this baby had a loving family that he would get to return to that place, even if he has grown attached and it would be heartbreaking. But when it's official that the kitten (or puppy) was in fact a stray, he would adopt him immediately! They would be inseparable. I'm going with a kitten here for this take but, Yugi is working in the game shop and this little creature is just always chilling on his shoulder or is following him around like a little shadow.

Jounouchi: I think Jou would at first look for its family, but this would last all of an hour and a half before Jou just goes well we tried! Guess you're coming home with me! Jounouchi would take them with him everywhere! He would constantly be showing him off like, look at this little guy! He likes to play tug o war, and he steals my food constantly. He's great! Jou would also try his hardest to take on the responsibility of pet ownership without any help, even though he has no idea what he is doing. He does absolutely panic one evening when the little guy starting making a weird breathing sound and he knows he fucked up some how. He runs to Honda who just laughs like "hey he's good man! That's just reverse sneezing, it happens a lot. Just stroke their back and they're good."

Honda: He would be going through all the proper channels. Ok, let's check for a tag. Vet visit is scheduled, proper diet is ready to go. He has been training for this moment his whole life! Though, I am torn between he would give this guy up for adoption or not with the case of Blankey. Definitely depends on how animal friendly she is. He would definitely be on top of that slow introduction, making sure not to stress either animal out. He would be honestly best one to find and care for a stray.

Anzu: I think she would also be on top of making sure that they had the proper vet care, though she absolutely did not look for the owners. That is her baby now.

Bakura: He also took them home, he already has three so whats another one! He absolutely brings in strays and helps get them back on their feet. Are they sometimes a bit feral? Absolutely. But that's the charm. Who doesn't want an animal that you can only pet a total of 3 times before being scratched?

Mokuba/Seto: Mokuba is the one who rescues it. Brings it home, is caught feeding them by Kaiba who is immediately telling him no, absolutely not! It has to go. But look at him nii-sama! He doesn't have anywhere else to go! Please let him stay! Kaiba let's Mokuba keep him but he has to take care of it. He wants nothing to do with it. But Mokuba sees slowly how Kaiba is the one checking on them. Making sure it has everything. Kaiba is buying them toys and places for it to climb and hide (it leaves me alone this way). Mokuba has definitely caught Kaiba on more than one occasion, late at night, sitting with them in his lap. Reading to them, smiling softly as they cuddle closer.

[playingforever]

'Togetherness'...

The sound work and composition of Little Nightmares is really wonderful. I love how often the pieces are paired with an equally atmospheric name; something that packs an extra punch when you dwell on it.

When I learned that the (main, standard) iteration of the music box's melody is called Togetherness, this really ruined me! What a sweet name... As a result, I'm vividly forced to think of the music box as a symbol of Mono and Six's relationship. Representative of the state of being together; togetherness... The track also bleeds into this lovely ambience that plays when Six and Mono are having their first key moments in the Hunter's cabin. Mono offering his hand... Six beckoning him towards her... all of this, is interconnected with the music box, its tune...

The music box is a leitmotif present in so much of the game. In the very title screen! It's also in Teeth & Leaves, which plays once Mono wakes up at the start. The sound is eerie, as if carried through the wind, whistling through the trees... Makes me really feel as though Mono wakes up with an imperative urge, pull, towards the cabin. The memory of the music box ringing in his ears...~

What I also love, is how the emotional weight of Togetherness then recontextualizes Six's Theme from the first game. Six's Theme now evokes her music box, and subsequently, her relationship with Mono.

Obviously, chronologically, the music box's melody was made to take after Six's theme — likely drawing inspirations from the second part specifically, with its twinkly, childish feeling celesta and rhodes — but I still love the power of association it creates retroactively. I'd say LN2 in general was Tarsier reverse engineering more fleshed out answers to questions presented by LN1. Subsequently, I like reflecting on what the devs were going for with their choices, knowing they were going to be fleshing out Six with them.

We knew we had a cool character in Six, but we weren't prepared for how iconic she would become for people who liked the game. Because Little Nightmares was about the world and the kids that go there, not one kid. […] It just felt very natural that this then took place before the first game. Like, "well, where's Six been before? And how was it for her? Was there anyone she met along this journey to the Maw?"

— from an interview with lead writer Dave Mervik.

I like knowing these were the questions they had at the start of making LN2... There wasn't a solid resolution for 'who Six was', yet. I imagine when they made her theme initially, it was as simple as trying to encapsulate something cute yet creepy. Childish humming. That suits her character at the time of inception.

... it's sweet though, to walk it back and make it a tune Six found comfort in. A melody she would sing to herself even when reduced, warped. Something from a cherished object– one that she'd cling desperately to, bringing her a sense of escapism from the terrible world outside the tower.

Knowing Monster Six's room is enshrined in toys and present boxes, knowing the Thin Man gave her all this, is the music box not simply a gift from Mono...? Doesn't the very sound of it make her think of him?? Isn't that, emblematic of Togetherness-!?!!?!?

Really, it only makes sense that Mono destroying this wounds her so terribly, and that it's the catalyst for their separation afterwards. T-T (I'd have to make a different post about Mono's motivation towards breaking it (though just know it's driven by ignorance and self-hatred. And perhaps a wildcard incel jealously.)) But ultimately I like that Six remains perpetually haunted by it now. She can't escape the music box; it's an integral part of her psyche. As much as Mono is feeling its presence all throughout his journey, drawing him towards her again and again.

Anyways this was just me celebrating how much I love the fact that LN2 envelops LN1's narrative into itself... even on this granular of a level. I feel like Mono is a metatextual inescapable force that has left his handprints all throughout Six's being. She can't be freed from him... But, it's sweet, because without her, he wouldn't exist. :'3

[cyclone-rachel]

Tomorrowverse Karadox playlist analysis, part 2

Blame it On My Heart (Karmin):

Trust I wanted to tell you

No, I never meant for you to be hurt

Tongue-tied-up my escape plan

Now I got a million bridges to burn

Here comes the ache, too much to take

You got to let it go (let it go)

Give me a break, it's my mistake

Darling, I should've known

I couldn't help it, sorry I'm selfish

But blame it on my heart

Blame it on the beating

No alibi, I had to try, baby

Blame it on my heart

Blame it on the beating

All the things I said

Cross them out in red, honey

Blame it on my heart

Blame it on the feeling

Don't make it worse

I can't reverse it so

Blame it on my heart

Blame it on my beating heart

One of my favorite songs from the past few years, and I think it’s for sure the middle part of the movie where Brainy is blamed for what he didn’t do, and it definitely reminds me of when he confesses to Kara that his plan wasn’t logical but he still wanted to prove that he wasn’t his family. It doesn’t really fit the serious tone of that scene, but it’s a bop and I still like listening to it.

Checkmate- Conan Gray

'Cause I've gotten tired of the games that you play

When you tell me you love me then you throw me away

So cry me a river till you drown in the lake

'Cause you may think you're winning but checkmate

Yeah you may think you're winning but checkmate

I think I discovered this one on a playlist for another rivals-to-lovers pairing, and again the lyrics aren’t quite accurate, but the vibe fits, and the chess motif fits for Brainy.

Will They or Won’t They?- Misbehavin’ Maidens

In these stories we want to know

Will they or won’t they?

But with us, I know the answer: We won’t

Another song where not all the lyrics fit, and because it references several other couples, I don’t get all the references, but the vibes are there, and I just like finding enemies/rivals to lovers songs, I think they’re fun.

Mechanical Planet- VERIDIA

The truth is

I'll work day and night

To keep the gears grinding in your mind

To keep you from knowing you are worth more than gold

Not some assembly-line, rusted shell of a person that I try to remote-control

I never want you to believe

That when you're down on your knees

That someone is actually listening

If you are undistracted for even a moment

I'll lose my hold

And you would notice that you have never been alone

Never have you ever fought alone

Never have you ever fought alone

On this mechanical planet

You were made for perfection

Not created defective

On this mechanical planet

You were not meant to be

Just some broken machine

On this mechanical planet

I love this song! I love Veridia! I think they’re really neat! I have loved this song since I was in college, it’s great, it fits Brainy and his family almost perfectly, bye. I know they’re not quite robots here, but I still appreciate this a lot.

Feed the Machine- Poor Man’s Poison

I said hey (hey), you (you), poison the well

Watch it all burn, take 'em straight to hell

He's got the whole (whole), world (world) in his hands

It was nice to know ya, we've all been damned

C'mon (c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon)

We've all been damned, c'mon

I said hey (hey), you (you), feed the machine

Bring them all back down to their knees

Yeah so this is another song that I associate with Brainy’s family/the Dark Circle, it’s a song that I’ve only found recently so I haven’t gotten to really get into the lyrics, but it definitely reminds me of them generally, and the last part of the movie where it looks like they’ve won.

Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene- Hozier

I watch the work of my kin bold and boyful

Toying somewhere between love and abuse

Calling to join them the wretched and joyful

Shaking the wings of their terrible youths

Freshly disowned in some frozen devotion

No more alone or myself could I be

Lurched like a stray to the arms that were open

No shortage of sordid, no protest from me

With her sweetened breath, and her tongue so mean

She's the angel of small death and the codeine scene

With her straw-blonde hair, her arms hard and lean

She's the angel of small death and the codeine scene

So this one I’ve known about for a while but not actually listened to, I think someone from another fandom I’m in used it as a title for a fanfic, but I mean. It’s Brainy and Kara, right? Brainy’s point of view, and his perspective of Kara. Another song I recently started listening to and love a lot, and then realized how perfect it is for this version of these two.

Hold Each Other- A Great Big World, Futuristic

Everything looks different now

All this time my head was down

He came along and showed me how to let go

I can't remember where I'm from

All I know is who I've become

That our love has just begun like ohhh

Something happens when I hold him

He keeps my heart from getting broken

When the days get short and the nights get a little bit frozen

We hold each other

I just think this is a good romantic song in general, and I have used it as a song in my other Karadox playlist/used it as the source of a fanfic title for them. But looking at the lyrics again, it does really fit these versions of Kara and Brainy, and I should listen to it again.

Your Kind of Beautiful- Sophie Park

You see a lion and a sailboat in the sky

All I see is little clouds passing me by

You pick a dandelion and you make a wish

All I see is stubborn weeds growing in the ditch

And if I could be I would be be the way you be

And if I could see I would see see the way you see

Your kind of beautiful is beautiful to me

Your kind of beautiful is beautiful to me

Suddenly a symphony is playing in my head

Now I want to see the world the way you do instead

Like a silver lining, pretty picture, coin of you

I like the way you make me feel

the way I feel with you

Again, just a sweet song and one that I have on the other Karadox playlist, and it reminds me of when Brainy is healing Kara and telling her that he wishes he could be like her, and about how she’s so strong and brave and beautiful and whatnot. And I also think this fits from Kara’s point of view, with her seeing the good in Brainy and appreciating that he is also beautiful in his own way.

Cloud 9- Beach Bunny

When I start to tumble from the sky

You remind me how to fly

Lately, I've been feeling un-alive

But you bring me back to life

But when he loves me, I feel like I'm floating

When he calls me pretty, I feel like somebody

Even when we fade eventually to nothing

You will always be my favorite form of loving

Not a lot of lyrics in this one, but I think it’s from Kara’s perspective, contrasting how she feels at the beginning of the movie with her relationship with Brainy afterwards (and bonus “fade eventually to nothing”- nod at Crisis, even though that will never happen in the Tomorrowverse probably)

Life is Strange- MARINA

Don't know what I'm doing with my life

But maybe there's no wrong or right

'Cause everybody feels the same

And all we know is life is strange (Ah)

All we know is life is strange (Ah)

All we know is life is strange

We're in the future, living fast

Can never make a moment last

Is it ever gonna be enough

To love another and be loved?

Because I had to put a Marina song on here somewhere, and I just think this fits Kara’s perspective again, with her going from escaping Krypton to not fitting in on Earth to ultimately finding a place where she belongs in the future.

Bloodline- Natalie Jane

Try to escape it, I try to erase it

But you make me feel so alive

I'm sick and tired of tryina conspire

A way to outrun my bloodline

You ran into a battlefield I tried to disguise

Dodging bullets stepping on mines

All the ones before me have committed this crime

I gave a warning so many times

I mean, it’s such a Brainy song, isn’t it? It really doesn’t need an explanation, it just works for especially this version of Brainy with his relatives being so prominent in this movie and being the big reason that nobody trusts him.

Sparks Fly- Taylor Swift

My mind forgets to remind me

You're a bad idea

You touch me once and it's really something

You find I'm even better than you imagined I would be

I'm on my guard for the rest of the world

But with you I know it's no good

And I could wait patiently but I really wish you would

Drop everything now

Meet me in the pouring rain

Kiss me on the sidewalk

Take away the pain

'Cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile

Get me with those green eyes, baby, as the lights go down

Give me something that'll haunt me when you're not around

'Cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile

…I think this is a genuinely sweet and romantic song and I loved it when I was a teenager. And I like thinking about it in relation to Kara and Brainy, even though there’s a later lyric that includes “run my fingers through your hair” and that doesn’t really work here for obvious reasons. Although, Brainy could always run his fingers through Kara’s hair, that would be cute.

Intoxicated- The Cab

In a room full of frozen faces

In a moment of fractured time

We eclipse in a conversation

As your words, they pass us by

With you, we could be the only ones here

'Cause I think you're from another world

And I, I couldn't love another girl

'Cause you, you make me feel

Like I'm intoxicated, -toxicated

To the sky, flying high

Take me to the moon

Day or night, we don't have to say a word

'Cause you make me feel

Like I'm intoxicated, -toxicated

Another suggestion from Brandi, again this makes me think of the Miracle Machine situation and Kara and Brainy literally being frozen in time as they stop the machine, and Brainy just generally falling for Kara and being head over heels in love with her (also obviously Kara literally being from another world)

Dark Side- Kelly Clarkson

There's a place that I know

It's not pretty there and few have ever gone

If I show it to you now

Will it make you run away?

Or will you stay? Even if it hurts

Even if I try to push you out, will you return?

And remind me who I really am

Please remind me who I really am

Everybody's got a dark side

Do you love me? Can you love mine?

Nobody's a picture perfect

But we're worth it

You know that we're worth it

Will you love me?

Even with my dark side?

Like a diamond from black dust

It's hard to know what can become if you give up

So don't give up on me

Please remind me who I really am

Another pitch-perfect Brainy song in any universe, and another song I’ve loved since I first heard it. For this movie, I think it works best with the scene where Kara and Brainy talk while Brainy is imprisoned, and Kara indeed doesn’t give up on him, treating him like a hero and telling him that she believes him.

[sepublic]

hihi this is a general purpose one from the oc and creators ask game feel free to narrow it down to ur faves (which i know we arent supposed to have but come on now) or from ur oc canon as a whole !!

C) Did you have trouble figuring out where they fit in their own story?

Applying this question to my OC canon as a whole... Not really? My OCs are usually made in response to the story bringing up a role that suddenly needs filling. So for example, Lloyd and the other kids need a teacher at Arkley's, particularly one they can actually relate to, one who's genuinely concerned for them? In other words, that one nice teacher that everybody likes and remembers? Well, I fill in that spot and from there create Trexdis, throwing in character concepts and ideas that I've had floating about, and have always wanted to incorporate into something, before working from there.

In essence; The story needs a character, be it to flesh out a group, and/or provide a certain function/relationship to our characters. To serve as a piece of world building, because surely someone has to be in charge of this, etc. And from there, I look across a vast collection of bare-bones ideas and concepts for characters I have floating around; Stuff like a certain aesthetic, an unusual power I've wanted to toy around with... The basic structure of a backstory that informs their personality and motives, their mentality in life, that sort of thing.

Each concept doesn't have to be its own individual character, either; It's better if I combine a few to add more facets to an OC, while avoiding a crowded quantity over quality situation. Certain personalities and backstories are often devised from pieces of media I've liked, and wanted to try my own spin/take on...

For example, the Ensemble! I've always enjoyed the trope of the villains employing a mercenary that ends up working with them full-time, so what if the good guys did that instead? So I need at least one mercenary. And I was fascinated by the idea of a 'human' whose brain was actually a computer, essentially making them a robot in a meat suit, a natural reverse to the cyborg when it comes to the flesh-machine interface.

But what if we took that a step further? What if there were multiple robots in meat suits... And they were all synced? Because I like the idea of a singular mind spread out across multiple bodies, whom are more like different limbs than their own individuals, despite appearing as such. Robots are well-equipped to pull that off, and I have one operating a human body... So I mash them into a singular concept. From there I take this nebulous idea for an OC floating around, and then I use it to fill that 'mercenary working for the protagonists' role.

Lycan, Breda, Gene? It's because there needs to be a roster of actual students at Arkley's. Salazar? Started off as a necessary leader to the pre-existing Techno League (with an O, not an A). When I initially worked with the idea of various students being the children of big bad villains of notoriety, I needed a parent for Gene. Salazar already existed and I could make some similarities between him and Gene... And this aspect has since carried over.

Then there's groups like the Escapees or the Arkley Alumni; A fairly open sandbox for me to mess around with (the latter especially), and add any number of weirdoes, who manifest from concepts that are still unused. Organizing the Escapees felt fairly natural to me, and with Arkley's Alumni, there's a lot of empty space for me to fill in and create a new character from if I ever feel the need to.

If there's one OC whom I do struggle with, it's one I haven't properly introduced you guys to; His name is Shogaken, he's got this pretty bombastic, villainous personality, an evil warlord, that kind of thing. He initially started off as a canon character from another piece of media I was making an overly elaborate fanfic for (which is what the GEverse started off as), and I got attached to him and his design, the lore I fleshed out, etc. I basically re-characterized an 'interpretation' into an entirely different character.

So when I made the GEverse its own thing, I realized I could fully embrace this fact, and renamed him Shogaken as the beginning of the differentiation process, making this character my own. However, since I'm no longer wrapping the GEverse around the skeleton of another pre-existing storyline, I have the freedom to do whatever I want... Which means Shogaken's role is also liable to change.

And he started off as the ruler of the Underworld; But in a story where I get to decide everything, I'm not sure if I want the overseer of the afterlife to be so grounded and irresponsible. But I could make it work, so I'm trying different ideas out. Sometimes I don't want to force things, I just let time pass by, allow new influences to soak in, before I find inspiration.

And I guess there IS Beturos, who is another old OC of mine. He started off as a villain, and unlike Azayle or Magmint, I never made him an Escapee for some reason, when that idea came around... So I just haphazardly stuck him in somewhere. But now that the GEverse is no longer a fanfic/retelling, that means a lot of characters and roles from that original media are gone, left empty to be filled out; So I'll probably find something for Beturos there. Give him some justice, and probably some interactions with Azayle and Magmint, like old times. Maybe I'll just make him another Arkley's Alumnus...

Every now and then, I do come up with an idea for a character that I just want to do, independently of an established role; And if there isn't another pre-existing niche/character to attach this to, well, I don't usually struggle to build a new place for them. The story is already fairly open, and part of the premise is a big world with all sorts of weirdoes and their strange stories mucking about, so it doesn't take me too much to fit them in...

The real problem is deciding if I'm satisfied with that, or want to do something more/different, after all. And sometimes I'll debate giving a certain personality/backstory to this character, or that one, if I could just do both and make them different enough through some other means to justify it, etc. And when it comes to more intricate storylines... Right now, I’m taking it slow and easy, no rush. A lot of good ideas have come to me after finding new influences and inspirations. But that’s more a question of what they’ll do in canon, rather than their place in canon.

[the-darkness-does-not-bargain]

(pls tell me if this gets annoying)

i played origins last but i love the variety of the spells. i mean, yes, it was A Lot to deal with but once you got your combos down it was like those streetfighter games where you just line up your shots like a sniper & destroy every encounter. but yes Hasted Bea would be !!! 

oh yeah. i mean i was toying with the idea of Ava being tranquil & the Breach curing her but your idea is so much better imo so instead healing it = very cool. & yeah maybe when Lilith finds out it’s kind of her Big Trust Moment with Ava & Ava immediately goes a bit nova over the feeling she gets - from Hope - that she could do something like that.

& like, tranquility is so messed up & she definitely had loads of her friends taken by the Templars & made tranquil because Ava would make friends with the most downtrodden/ disobedient kids in her Circle for sure. & like, it’s a very OCS thing, right? watching everyone you love get taken from you, & Ava constantly getting left behind because she’s a spirit healer which makes her juuuuust barely too valuable to be casually made tranquil, hence the fact that she’s killed once the Circle falls. (oh no Diego?? i think there ARE some standards in the circles of not making anyone tranquil before they are a certain age, but maybe he’s not a very strong mage and it would have been almost guaranteed that he’d be made tranquil. kinda like how frances would have killed Diego too). i just... I love the surana/amell origin & i really love the idea of Ava being a circle mage and now being able to reverse tranquility. hell yeah!

coooould Dorian just be an advisor? i mean, i think Ava would rarely bring Solas with her, so in a similar vein? i think Ava would like half the time want to hit Dorian over the head with her staff but he’d introduce her to good wines and food & take her seriously when she wants to talk shop so she’d be like …. alright.

& yeah, Michael as Felix but idk if the blight sickness is a thing with him? or Mary could be like…. yeah i have a solution for that but ur not gonna like it (cue her sending a raven to Shan like ‘ayyy is anyone on this continent in possession of archdemon blood so we can make warden-potion?’) & yeah Bea would Heavily disapprove of all things Tevinter but again they would have things in common & Dorian is pretty responsive to ppl calling him out on things. (some poor writing in-game aside) Bea would be like 'reluctantly.... perhaps i can fix him?' & Ava would be like 'oh when he starts to sound too Tevinter i just mess up his hair. it works really well!'

it would definitely make the Hinterlands shorter if they were, y’know, delegating lol. & then you get all the party dynamics and also the smaller group dynamics when they split up. (oh, the Exalted Plains mission. what’s it called? All New, Faded for Her. Ava would be genuinely devastated - as a spirit healer she’d understand exactly what was done to the spirit & would be so angry & probably Bea would need to calm her down to stop her from drop-kicking the mages responsible through a wall - she’d never kill them but ‘i could be okay with seriously injured, Bea. i could.’ 

AW YIS Josie & MS!! fjghdkskhgd yes MS getting Leliana’s out & out mischeivous side, mediated through Josie. oh, and would we have MS follow Leliana’s arc of either being ‘hardened’ or ‘softened’ based on the decisions in her personal quest? bc i feel like s2 MS is soft Leliana whereas s1 MS is very post-Justinia Leliana.

i agree i don’t think Ava would use the Well of Sorrows - being beholden to a sketchy elven god? she is too atheist for that shit, & besides the kick that Ava would get out of Morrigan realising who Mythal is and the ‘lmao so now u have to do whatever ur mom says?’ is too good to pass up. :’D and i think ava is already thinking that she has enough things contending for possession of her body - what with the anchor/ Hope/ the Inquisition, & previously templars. she’s finally *somewhat* free and she’s not about to give an inch of it away. 

hmmm. in HLtA no Bea yes for angst reasons, watching her fall, not necessarily seeing her tear open the Fade. Bea bloodying her fingers and draining her magic lifting the rubble, sifting through for their bodies, finding nothing. :((((

Ava has to be there, naturally. I think Lilith (fuck, could they… like… leave Lilith in the Fade? to fight the nightmare/ do the Stroud thing? and that’s yk the whole getting killed by the Tarask and coming back?? and she does! step out of the Fade, but she’s different? she can’t be possessed because Seeker, but there are other Fade shenanigans that might be possible, and imo bonding with a spirit is not the same as ‘being possessed’. just a thought but like... seeker Lilith who Came Back Wrong but also has this different view of the Fade and of mages and possession and everything her order has scaremongered about for years... hmmm)

so, if that, then Lilith for sure in HLtA. and then since lil is warrior we could have mary or cam (i like mary, because parallels to lilith’s ‘death’ + her worst fears being HoF Shannon going to her Calling in the Deep Roads is very drama). after that i’m not sure. Solas is always a funny pick because he acts like he’s at the beach & it’s very side-eyes of him to be so at home in the Fade. plus he knows things, but also Dorian because Ava needs someone to joke with or she’ll freak in there (i imagine coming from Aeonar she has some potent nightmare material). 

oh shit! Hope in the Fade. remember Anders and Justice? it was just Justice when they went into the Fade! I wonder if that is optional, though i would think… not, but again it’s kind of different because Ava is not dreaming, per say, she’s physically in the fade in her physical body, so i don’t think abomination rules work quite the same, but I think Hope would be more present, & she should glow. as a treat. 

do you think that Ava would let the Wardens stay after HLtA? i get the feeling that she would, mainly because imo sending them away is kind of … not the best option. better to keep an eye on them if they’re sketchy, or have their aid if they are not.

and the Winter Palace! who is she siding with? i can see her being ‘yuck Gaspard’ but ALSO ‘yuck Celene’ once she realises that she burned down a whole alienage when the Halamshiral elves tried to campaign for rights/ ‘rebel’.

so i could see her giving a big middle-finger to Orlais and appointing Briala, or making Gaspard/Celene puppets of Briala. (have you read The Masked Empire? it’s like, the one Dragon Age novel i will heartily recommend. also the Cole one (called Asunder i think) because Cole my bby my precious and also Aeonar! anyway in TME Celene and Briala are SOOO fucked up and it’s honestly kind of amazing).

but yeah, Ava being very ‘then perish’ at Halamshiral & taking special pleasure in actually fucking dazzling the court, much to Bea’s astonishment. 100% court-approval Ava Silva. she totally duels someone. : D

If Ava learns how to reverse Tranquility, then she could work with Lilith to reform the Seekers with the added function of acting like an appeals court, where they could determine if the Rite was used appropriately and reverse it if not. They could also act as a kind of rehabilitation service for newly un-Tranquil to help them adjust without causing problems (I'm picturing a mind-body wellness retreat on steroids). Mages would be allowed to join the Seekers as they once tried to in Ameridan's day. They wouldn't have Seeker powers necessarily but they would balance the overwhelming Templar-ness of the organization and act as investigators and judges. This would do so much for Circle reform as well.

Dorian and Solas are probably equal in how often they're called on for missions. Ava respects their insights and maybe takes them on short jaunts or specific missions, but long journeys might just create unneeded friction. Maybe Dorian goes somewhat more frequently so his Thing with Bull can develop while the party watches in embarrassment. And yes, when he starts rambling on about all the ways Tevinter is better than the South, Ava steals his jewel-encrusted mustache comb.

Does Lilith get stuck in the Fade??? Maybe... If she does, then maybe she meets a Spirit of Faith, or even the Faith that made her a Seeker in the first place, and bonds or otherwise interacts with it to become, like the most Seeker-y Seeker to ever Seeker (which is literally what she's always wanted given to her in the most Traumatic way possible, poetry in motion). She reinforces reality so hard she gets punted straight out of the Fade (You KICK Lilith? You kick her body like the football?!) Consequently, this means she can never physically go back to the Fade again, so no Trespasser galivanting for her, and she might even become like the Dwarves, unable to dream or connect to the Fade in any way (big implications there).

Ava definitely glows in the Fade, and everyone is like, "Don't you have a dimmer switch on that thing? You're alerting the demons." She would let the Wardens stay too (exiling them is just a silly decision, don't fuxking alienate the only people who can save Thedas from the Blights, okay? YOU STILL HAVE TWO ARCHDEMONS LEFT!)

I don't think Ava would just let Celene die, but she wouldn't cry about it either. If it happens, then she uses the blackmail on Gaspard to give Briala the true power over the Empire.

The ways you win approval in Halamshiral are so hilariously arbitrary that yes, Ava, with her natural charm, is surprisingly proficient. The only time things might get tricky is if Bea's parents are there, because hoo boy. But then! Vivienne (who is there of course because what's the point otherwise) swoops in before Ava can start throwing hands and so tactfully humiliates them that it's an instant +20 Court Approval and they immediately leave. Afterwards, Ava will thank Viv sincerely with a "you were pretty cool back there" and Viv will preen and act smug like "Of course, my dear, hohoho!" But she is genuinely pleased to help Bea and know that her efforts have been appreciated.

Actually, a note on Viv. Getting possessed is one of Viv's greatest fears, and so Ava's whole deal is like a full existential crisis for her. If Viv goes to the Fade in the HLtA, maybe it helps her get over that fear a little. One because, hey, she just fought her way through the freaking Fade and didn't get possessed despite being surrounded by demons. And Two, she sees Ava and Hope together in a tangible way and realizes that they have a genuine, positive bond, so maybe, just maybe, Viv doesn't need to be scared of every spirit that crosses her path for fear of it trying to control her. I love Viv so much, she's so nuanced, she has The Range.

[elpida]

It tormented her that she wasn't sure if them being friends or, best buddies... was both compliment and insult.. She felt like jabbing at him that you don't go getting hard for your friends, you don't sit there enjoying their hips in your hands or their breath on your lips. There was an inward demon, nagging at her to make bitter comments that she was just a cherished friend. Yet if she were to weigh it in both hands, what would she say he was? If he asked.. she'd say he was a friend, a prospect, a delicious game.

"Next time you get hard for me... you should just ask for my help with it." to the point as she always was. "Do brothels still exist?" heavens at this rate it might be her the one to end John by giving him a heart attack. "You'd think that in modern day they'd have a... the reverse of a brothel, something that offers up men, you know?" she hummed at the prospect. "Do you really not like me.. being that close? It confuses me because you get red faced but... it's like your body wants me, and your hands.. and yet you hold back." Eris paused, her hands toying with the wind mirror idly. She liked having something for her hands to do. "Is it because of what I am? If I were human... would that be an improvement?" she was not self conscious as she appeared, and she was the rarity of demons. Some of them appeared as monsters, hellish beings but not her, Eris was the most desirable demon they had.

"You won't leave me, that sounds like you'd chose to have your soul owned by me if you were given the choice John... wouldn't every human selfishly pick heaven over hell?" she liked to watch him drive. That's what she was doing now, watching him drive to the store and come out with a whole armful of sweet treats and ice cream. It was cold, enough that she seemed to jump at the sensation at first and then quietly giggle about it.

The ocean, the view.. in that quick smoke she was perched there on the cars front, her eyes adoring the ocean view and the setting sun. "I never got to do this with human eyes." she still wore the sunglasses, they really did help protect her darkness prone eyes. "I never lived close enough to the ocean to get there by horse, we had a lake... but it wasn't the same as this it's..." she took a slow deep breath, smelling the salt from the ocean in the air, the freshness it created. The wind was blowing into her hair, auburn tendrils catching every golden ray of the setting sun. This was golden our but she was the most golden thing on that horizon. "I would've liked it, to live by the sea like this.." she commented with a gentle hum as her fingers offered out his ice cream and fought with the wrapper of hers. "So they have flavours? It isn't just one?" considering that Eris loved fruit, strawberry was a safe place to start. After the first taste her eyes practically lit up, this joy on her face. She had never tried anything like it, cold yet delicious. "I can just eat this, whenever I want?!" she was overjoyed with that, and she seemed happy discovering that there were things in the world that she could enjoy again, things that weren't... all bad, things when she was by Johns side. "Can we do this? Even when you're old? I'll learn to drive by then, I'll bring us right back here."

"wha- what?" John is left speechless when she so openly tells him she can feel his hardness "Jesus, you shouldn't talk about it like that!" he groans in frustration, bringing a hand up to rub over his face.. the situation couldn't get any more awkward, Eris sitting on his lap and announcing out loud that John obviously is hard, saying it so blunt that leaves John a blushing mess. he strikes the side of her thigh gently, as to warn her when she asks if he wants her to stop squirming "it won't stop you at all, so what change-" he's cut when Eris leans down in his space, her lips only few inches apart, so close that he can feel her heat, the vibrate of her body, how easy it'll be for him to just.. lean in and kiss her.. Her hands feeling icy cold on her hot skin, sending a ripple through his body, he feels exposed, open and defenseless under her, the sharp tip of her nails scratching on his skin, heart pounding in his chest and suddenly his whole body feeling like wires, millions, millions of them all over like a system of webs and she pulls the strings beautifully, artistically playing with the cord holding him up, John can't help the small moan that leaves him when she puts a little more pressure on the tense muscle in his shoulders, shuddering with the ecstasy of it and oh boy you better believe me when I tell you creatures from the hell got lovely tricks in their sleeves, as long as John is concerned, Eris can make a man reach his peak by a mere touch of hers and John is left in awe that why she keeps bothered by following worthless men like him around while she can rule with being a succubus. his own hands come up to wrap fingers around her forearm, gently, slowly.. as if not to startle her. She had him in that mesmerizing bubble a second and next she was gone, asking something about the ice cream and he's still in that daze that he can't work his tongue to answer her. what she says next leaves him with no words "maybe I just love what is mine.. and I want you to feel cherished because.." he frowns, balancing the next words in his mouth because I love you and care about you? "we're friends, no? best buddies forever if you put it that way, since I won't leave you even after the death" he smiles, and it barely reaches his eyes why the thing that never bothered me before now tends to be the most hurtful thing I've ever imagined? what happened that made me want more time? more.. I'm not finished with this life. that voice inside his head laughs, like the answer is something obvious.. can't you see, idiot? you want a life with her! look at you, being a sappy romantic you never thought you'll be. "yeah.. ice cream.." and he pretends he isn't mourning the comfort of her weight over his lap. He buys ice creams and cupcakes on their way and shoves all the items in Eris's arms when he drives. "we can uh.. I know just the place- dammit, I've been here before but just.. ohh, there it is!" the place is near the seashore, some hills with tall bushes that he parks the car behind them, sun is starting to kiss the ocean surface in distance. "found it when we were driving back from a meeting outside of the town.. ain't it beautiful?" he hops off of the car and rounds it to open the door for Eris, helping her stepping out of the car. "we can sit on the car's hood and watch the sunset."

[doomfox]

When Wade brings home the meat cake and the gifts, Eclipse tries to talk him out of it. You don't have to waste time and money on me, I don't need or deserve it

"Talk about deja-freaking vu..." Wade muttered to himself as he loaded the foil-wrapped meat-cake into his truck, setting it beside a bundle of hastily-bought bits and pieces selected from the local supermarket. Beside him in the passenger seat, Shadow offered him an incredulous look. "huh?"

"Nothing..." Wade muttered, firing up the truck and checking behind as he began to reverse. "Just talkin' to myself, kiddo..." Shadow shrugged in response and returned attention to his 3DS. Apparently he had forgotten about Silver's birthday the previous year, his first as a Whipple, when Wade had rushed around like a blue-assed fly to put together something of a birthday for his youngest child. The present situation wasn't quite as time-specific - Eclipse didn't have a set birth date after all. But this was also Wade's only day off and he wanted to make it happen now if he at all could. He had a whole cake made out of meat that would need using up as soon as possible, at the very least.

Wade sighed. He swore, if he had a dollar for every alien kid he'd taken in that had never had a birthday...

It wasn't long until Wade was guiding his truck up the dirt drive to his old house. He and Shadow hadn't been gone long. Just long enough to grab some last-minute birthday gifts and pick up the 'cake', and he hoped the other two boys hadn't managed to demolish the house in that time. Wade expected he could trust Silver these days, but Eclipse was another story. Silver had standing orders to show the other alien his plush collection to keep him busy.

"Shadow, can you carry these?" Wade handed a couple of shopping bags to his eldest while he handled the meat-cake, locking the car with his other hand.

Shadow made a face. "That thing stinks," he said, in reference to the foil-wrapped mass in Wade's arm.

"I know," Wade replied dryly, "but you don't have to eat it. You guys can have some ice-cream or something."

"Couldn't we have had a normal cake just for us?" Shadow said, hopefully looking into the bags he held at shoulder-height as though a full-size birthday cake complete with candles would magically materialise."

"I think that'd be a little unfair for Eclipse, wouldn't it?" Wade replied, now juggling the meat-cake to retrieve his house keys, "y'know, you guys getting a big treat when it's his birthday?"

"It's not even his birthday..." Shadow grumbled, just wanting to get back to his game.

"Well it is now," Wade said, trying not to snap. He turned the key in the lock and shoved open the door. "Guys? We're back! Everybody still alive in here?"

Silence. No squealing voices, no bumps or bangs, no fires raging anywhere... just silence. Wade didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing. He and Shadow glanced to one another and entered the house, closing the door behind them. They set the things down in the kitchen and Shadow announced he was going to the bathroom. Wade let the hedgehog go about his business and stalked through the hall toward the kids' bedroom. He leaned an ear close to the door, hearing small voices inside, before knocking and sticking his head into the room.

It could have been worse. Wade inspected the room to find bedsheets and pillows covering the carpet, plushies scattered everywhere like some kind of adorable battlefield, and in the middle of the soft carnage two boys lay on their stomachs, rifling through a pile of Pokemon cards. Two pairs of eyes, amber and yellow respectively, and Silver beamed. "Hi dad!"

"hey," Wade said, wearing an incredulous expression. "You two, uh... having fun there?"

"Yeah! Silver's showing me these things called toys!" Eclipse said, sharp teeth bared in a happy grin. "We didn't have stuff like this one the Black Comet! I wish we did, it would have been fun."

"Uh huh," Wade said uncertainly, unsure what to make of that statement. "Well, your brother and I are back..." Wade said to the pair of them, "and you remember what we talked about yesterday? About birthdays?"

Eclipse cocked his head. "Yeah?"

"Well," Wade began, but opened the door and gestured the two boys to follow. "Come on, I think it's better we explain in person."

...

The look on Eclipses' face when Wade unveiled his 'cake' was priceless. Wade considered snapping a picture on his phone but, considering the Darkling's response to most technology he didn't understand Wade decided against it. Instead he grinned and gestured to the smelly mass. "There you go, dig in. It's all yours."

Eclipse stared at the human wide-eyed. "All for me??"

Wade nodded. "Yup. Nobody else here can eat raw meat so I guess so." Wade settled himself down with a coffee and a sandwich and took a swig from his mug. "Have at it."

Eclipse didn't need telling twice. With gnashing teeth he began to chow down on the raw mass, Wade swallowing down a little nausea as the gremlin child ate. Shadow seemed nonplussed, tucking into his own dish of ice cream while Silver gaped at the Darkling's appetite.

"Make sure you clean up after yourself," Wade said, taking a bite from his sandwich. "We still got presents to go."

The Darkling paused, remaining still for a moment until yellow eyes peeked above the remains of his 'treat'. "Why are you doing this?" the alien child said, confusion etched over his reptilian features. "Are you wanting something from me?"

"What?" Wade replied, not as shocked as he should have been. "That's not it at all, I just-"

"We're celebrating your birthday!" Silver piped up, ice-cream plastering his muzzle and hopping excitedly in his chair, "right dad?"

Wade nodded. "Right. If you want? You remember what we said about birthdays?"

Eclipse just stared at his cake. "You said it's a day when people celebrate somebody's birth, and they get treats and presents and stuff."

"That's right," Wade nodded. "I know we don't know exactly how old you are, and it's probably not the exact date you were born, but we can figure it out-"

"Why bother?" Wade fell silent at Eclipses' words, the Darkling now glaring at the meat-cake Wade had had specially ordered. "What's the point?" Eclipse glowered at Wade, tail swishing behind him like a snake. "Why would anybody want to celebrate the existence of something like me?? I'm a failure! I never accomplished my primary purpose, I failed my father so badly he banished me to this planet for the rest of my life, I don't even know how anything works around here!!! I'm worthless!!! Why are you bothering doing any of this???"

The table fell completely silent, Shadow and Silver awkwardly sat with their ice-cream while Eclipse glowered at Wade. Wade shrugged. "Because you're a kid," he said simply, "no matter what your... father meant for you to be. You're a kid, you're in my care, and I don't let kids go cold. Or hungry. Or miss their birthdays." He sighed and played with a sandwich crust. "Must be a human thing..."

Moments of silence went by, before Eclipse slid from his chair and slunk from the kitchen. Soon after the kids' bedroom door audibly closed, leaving Wade with Shadow and Silver.

"... dad?" Silver said quietly, looking very concerned indeed, "should we go talk to him?"

Wade shook his head. "Give him a few minutes," the human replied, standing and making to tidy up the mess left by Eclipses' assault on the meat-cake. "I'll go see him if he doesn't come out."

ten minutes later Wade and the boys occupied the living room couch, some superhero movie playing on the tv. Wade was just about to head in to check on his third charge, when movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention and he looked to find the small Darkling framed in the living room doorway. "Hey buddy," Wade said, "you wanna watch tv?"

Eclipse nodded and slunk over, crawling onto the couch beside Shadow and Silver. "Is there any food left?"

Wade nodded. "Yup. And you have some presents, too. We can go get them in a minute if you like."

Eclipse remained still, staring into space and chewing his lip. Eventually he replied with a few small nods. "Yeah, okay."

Wade watched the Darkling snuggle closer to Shadow, the two siblings becoming a pile of scales and fluff, while Silver snored quietly beside them. Wade had never intended to take in one alien kid, never mind two. And now, while he hadn't been so sure in the short time Eclipse had been around, it seemed third time was the charm.

[and-knowing-is-half-the-battle]

Got a good response! How about chapter 2?

Winterrogation, Chapter 2: The deal

Chapter 1 found here

Summary: The Winter Soldier is interrogating you for the second time with his unusual methods. 

Pairing: Winter soldier x fem!reader

Work Count: 1.7K

Warnings: dubcon, biting, bondage, smut, rough sex, minors DNI, vibrator, overstimulation, oral (m rec), penetrative sex, use of nicknames (sweetheart, good girl), creampie. 

A/N: Do not copy, translate, repost or rewrite my work, even if you credit me. I do not give my permission for my works to be copied or shared on other sites.

Picture source: bucky-daddy

________________________________________________________

Two men led you down a set of stairs, each holding an upper arm and wrist. You did your best to remain calm, taking in your surroundings to distract yourself. It seems Hydra had taken up residence in an old home or mansion, with lots of wood panelling and antique furniture. You knew where you were headed, his words ringing clear in your mind, “I’ll be interrogating her again tomorrow.” You weren’t sure how to regard him since yesterday. A mixture of desire, fear, humiliation, and shame churned in your belly. 

They had given you what you assumed to be standard issue Hydra clothing, a tight black long sleeved shirt and black cargo pants. They had given you nothing for your feet, leaving you feeling particularly vulnerable as you resisted slightly, skittering down the basement hallway. After all the handsome wood interior, the three large rudimentary metal crossbars on the door were jarring in comparison. Two armed guards took them down, unlocked the door, and opened it as you approached. 

Your mouth went dry as they shoved you inside, and you heard them reverse their actions, locking you inside. The room was sparsely furnished: a trunk full of clothing, a desk with a few books and some papers that looked like floorplans strewn on it, and a large metal four-poster bed. And the winter soldier was sitting on it. 

He stood up, practically towering over you, and approached in his intentional and menacing way. You instinctively backed up as he descended on you, surprising you by catching you in a bruising kiss, pinning you against the door. It was a rough kiss, his tongue pushing its way coarsely into your mouth, and once again you tasted the sweet mint on his breath. 

He pulled back and suddenly swung you effortlessly onto his massive shoulder, taking the few steps to the bed and tossing you down. You scrambled back, knocking the singular pillow to the ground. 

“I s-swear. I was telling the truth yesterday! I d-don’t know anything else! Please!” You squeaked, holding your hands out defensively. 

“I know, sweetheart,” he chuckled unkindly, pulling his shirt off over his head, exposing his broad chest littered with bruises, cuts, and scars of varying ages. You swallowed thickly, trying not to stare at his corded muscles. “You said you would be my toy,” He reminded you, “so I thought we might play a game,” 

He reached forward and pulled your ankles toward him, unbuttoning your fly and tugging your pants off. You were frozen in place, feeling your heart pounding in your chest as he leaned over you, making true eye contact. The darkness in his eyes was terrifying, yet magnetic. 

“Each time you cum, you have to stay one more day,” he proposed with his gravelly voice, undoing his own pants and letting them drop, revealing black boxers. He moved forward, his thick thigh slotting between your trembling legs. 

You shook your head, moving backward again as he pursued, grabbing your thigh firmly with his metal hand and pulling your shirt off in one swift motion with the other. While he turned to throw it to the side, you took advantage of his distraction and slipped out of his grip, scrambling to the floor and making it a foot or two before his fist gripped your hair in warning. You stilled, panting, and stood as he raised his hand to your height. 

“While I enjoy the chase, sweetheart, I don’t know where you think you’re going,” he smirked, tossing you back on the bed. “Now be a good girl and do what I say. Starting with taking care of those,” he gestured to your bra and underwear. 

You knew better than to defy the Winter Soldier, so, looking away in embarrassment, you complied, feeling his burning gaze watch you. He slid toward you again, leaning down over the bed to bring up a large metal shackle on the end of a chain, which you now realized were attached to the bottom of each bedpost. He held his large hand out expectantly, looking at you under his heavy brow, daring you to challenge him. You placed your comparatively small arm in his hand, and he wound cloth around it several times before securing the shackle over the top. Against your better instincts, you felt electrified by the touch of his skin on yours. 

“What a good, pretty, little thing you are,” he taunted, repeating the same with the other arm and each leg. There was quite a bit of wiggle room between each point of restraint until he reached down and secured a thick velcro strap against your belly. “Much better,” he hummed, lying alongside you, “now we can play,” 

He started with the same trick, a vibrator tucked inside you on low. It lit up your nerves, making you sensitive to any touch. He grabbed at your breasts with his flesh hand, biting into your neck. You cried out, your wrists pulling at the slack of the chain. He gripped your jaw, turning your face to him to kiss you again as you felt his bulge growing on the side of your thigh. He brought his hand down to turn the vibrator up, accidentally brushing against your leg with a light touch, causing you to shiver. A glint of understanding caught his eye and you knew that you were done for. 

He ran a single finger along the column of your neck, lightly teasing your skin before trailing down to circle your nipple. You groaned, trying to shift away from him uselessly. 

“So that’s it,” he teased, nipping at your ear. You had never been so close to him before. His smell was woody and masculine, adding to the wetness growing between your legs - which his super soldier senses picked up right away. He breathed deeply, your cheeks heating in response, then licked lightly along your neck. It didn’t take long for you to be a quivering mess. When you were practically dripping, he rid himself of his boxers and positioned his cock by your mouth. 

“Get it nice and wet,” he groaned when you licked at his tip, once again losing the battle against your wits. You pulled him into your mouth, wetting as much of his length as you could, twirling your tongue around his shaft. He then unstrapped the velcro and knelt toward the end of the bed, pulling your hips toward him, making your arms taut, but allowing your legs to bend toward your chest despite the chains, your pussy on display for him. He pulled the vibrator out and stuffed his cock inside you, his hands supporting each thigh as he fucked you roughly. 

You forgot everything but the giant cock inside you. You forgot your name. And when he reached down to play with your clit, you keened within seconds and bucked while he continued to fuck you through your high. When you came back down, he leaned over you, caging you between his large arms, his long hair swinging around his face. 

“One,” he grunted, pistoning into you without mercy. You were finally stripped away enough to admit to yourself that being helpless beneath him was all you wanted. That losing all control was making you come undone. He changed his angle slightly, hitting your g spot with every thrust, and reached between you to circle your clit again with his flesh fingers. Your realization mixed with this sensation sent you tumbling over the edge again, clenching against him. He groaned, his own climax being pulled out of him by the force of your pussy. He stayed hovering over you for a moment while you both panted. 

“Two,” he breathed heavily onto your sweat slicked neck, laying beside you again. He didn’t give you much time before his metal thumb ghosted over your nipple, his heavy arm laid across you preventing much movement. You twitched against him, gasping as your heart rate skyrocketed when he didn’t relent. It could have been five minutes, it could’ve been an hour. All you knew was that your nerves were stretched to their breaking point when he finally reached down and stroked your tender clit again. You struggled to get away, feeling overstimulated, when he caught you by surprise by leaning up and licking your nipple slowly. 

You sobbed as you unconsciously rutted against his hand, wanting him to stop and wanting him to never stop. When you finally came, squirting audibly against his hand, your spent muscles strained against him and the shackles. 

As your vision returned to you, you caught him licking you off his palm with a moan. He obviously got off on being in control as much as you did being under his control. 

“Three,” he said as he got up, pulling his clothes back on. He walked to the door, knocking three times, and the guards on the other side began the process of opening the door. Two of them entered, approaching you to undo your bonds as he gave them orders. “Take her to The Artist. I want her marked. And keep her for the three days I am gone,” 

He leaned against the wall as you were allowed to dress, except for your shirt, which a guard held instead. His dark blue eyes watched your feet as you were lead out much in the same way you were lead in, which you were grateful for considering the trembling state of your legs. As they took you down a series of hallways, you felt you understood something. Of course he liked control - the locked door, the armed guards, the shackles too big for you on the bed - was he a prisoner, too?

They brought you to a room where an older man waited with a tattoo gun. 

“The Winter Soldier wants her marked,” one guard said, as they pushed you roughly into a chair, holding your left arm and shoulder still. 

“Very well,” he said, wetting his finger with his tongue to flip the pages of his book. When he found what he wanted, he brought his chair closer, holding the book in his lap open to the page with a red star overlapped by jagged black lines.    

Chapter 3

[brujahinaskirt]

Here's a non-shitpost KCD essay for you. Cut for length.

One of the reasons KCD's writing works is that it's sort of an antithesis to the late-season spirit of HBO's Game of Thrones. Maybe we could even say it’s an antidote—a counterstudy to offset the crude grimdarkiness that's become so ubiquitously posh lately in fantasy and historical fiction alike.

In Kingdom Come: Deliverance, almost every character you meet—big or small—is profoundly human. That’s not to say “inevitably weak and disappointing,” as with many (grimdark) stories of its ilk. It’s to say that, at some crucial and overt point of their development, these characters are defined by love, either by its failings or its emotional pressure or its capacity to bring out the best in us.

This is especially true for those who are or appear to be villains. Just a couple examples from an impossibly long list:

The mean-spirited dandy drunk, your knightly nemesis apparent, reveals himself as a fiercely moral but desperately lonely new adult who needs love more than constant scoldings—and who utterly, embarrassingly adores our protagonist through the rest of the game.

The brigand who poisons you, struck suddenly by his own empathy, hurries to stop the poison and save your life—in much the same way as an incident of animal cruelty suddenly reversed his dark ideas about the nature of the world.

The unfaithful, conniving noblewoman may seduce you in insensitive and borderline offensive ways—but she is also a generous and compassionate leader, beloved by her subjects for treating them like people, not underlings. (Even if she treats our protagonist himself like this week's favorite toy.)

The calculating, pretentious lord who seems indifferent to his subjects’ suffering, who has a scholarly answer for everything, who presumably seduced and abandoned a woman… is again and again rendered weak, nervous, and tongue-tied by his powerful fear that the child he now wants to love will reject him.

Complex characters aren't a novel invention, but this is a specific type of complexity: the idea that a person's behavior towards us is not always emblematic of who that person really is. This pattern is true for countless characters, minor or major, and I’d suggest it’s the definitive narrative element of the game. Even the “proper” villain—the marauding robber baron whose schemes contribute to an entire village burning to the ground—is rendered scared and vulnerable when his lover’s safety is threatened. And—when the man he loves is freed—this villain comports himself with honor that feels almost anticlimactic in its humanness.

Some players complained about this... about the story being too fiddly, too personal, too talky, too slow. I see why a product of twenty-teens HBO might think so, but I say their expectations are grossly mismatched with the type of story/art they're consuming here.

In Kingdom Come, the climax isn’t the point. HBO-style unguessable plot twists and entertainment violence and this maudlin grimness about the supposed "true nature” of people aren’t the point. Kingdom Come’s point isn’t that goddamn pervasive, falsely-clever TV writer crux of “within every friend lurks a monster with the capacity to betray you, so WATCH YOUR BACK.”

It’s not quite the inverse crux, either. KCD doesn’t claim all evildoers are secretly good at heart and can be fixed if you hug them enough. Some people, it maintains, are fundamentally broken. But its point seems to be exactly that: it's hard to predict who's who until you figure out what and how a person loves. It explores that nuanced road between goodness and wickedness: that humanness, if not humanity, dwells in every person, even the villains. That people—even the worst people you know—are, when compelled by the right kind of love, capable of shocking tenderness, honor, and maybe even kindness.

I remember watching a Let's Play of the final hours of the game. As the protagonist and his companion (said dandy drunk) gallop toward what appears to be a blisteringly obvious HBO betrayal setup, the streamer mentally scrambles to figure out what's going to happen—namely, how the HBO-brand grimdark plot twist is going to smack him in the face. He's not excited for it. "Please don't be evil, Hans, please," he pleads, groaning at the certainty of what's coming just around the bend.

And then it doesn't.

Hans isn't evil. The villain wasn't luring you into an elaborate betrayal set-up. This time, exhausted by the fighting and the politics, everyone has simply told you the truth—and maybe this is the most surprising and satisfying twist of them all.

Refreshing, tbh. I’ve had enough compulsory grimdarkiness. Like streamer dude, I am here for it.

[sweettodo]

Animals ⟿ Levi Ackerman x fem!reader

Includes : cockwarming, smut, swearing, riding, slight praise.

Word count : 1,8k

An, ik this is short. But I’m down bad yall. I am so dick deprevied it is just sad. ANYWAYS. Also I couldn’t think of a good title bc this is just smut w no plot??

Levi was not the one for pda, quite the opposite- no surprise there; he hated kissy couples who laid all over each other like idiots. It was really disappointing when you were more or less ignored besides meal time throughout the day, where in the dining hall we would be able to have some conversation.

You sat across from him at dinner, the smoldering heat from the summer evening which kept you all from wearing your normal uniforms, you wore a white tank top with some random shorts while Levi looked incredibly sculpted, his pecs and abs filling out a tight-ish short sleeve shirt, sweat slightly sticking to his arms, restricting, that- that tight...

“Oi, staring much?” My gaze snaps back to his dark eyes, deadpan face and all. You smirk and roll your eyes, his eyes fell deep into yours; he bit his tongue in anticipation of what you were planning next.

“Sorry, Captain.” You drag, with that slight whiney undertone you purposely allowed to slip from your lips. he scowled at you, obviously irritated at your childish behavior, you playfully kick him under the table, Hange eyes you from the corner of her eyes, smile planted on her face. Everyone knew you rarely called Levi ‘Captain’ and the only time you did was- quite frankly- in the bedroom.

She turns to face Levi, her smile only growing when she sees how irritated he looked, “why the pout ‘Captain?’” She laughs teasingly, patting his shoulder. It was all fun and games until you don’t expect the sharp kick into your calf, you jerk backwards and wince, followed by a hiss and you stand, your legs hopping over the bench and as you pass Levi, you feel his eyes burn holes into your backside. Steering yourself across the halls and finally down to Levi’s office with the adjoining bedroom, sneaking into the office; making sure no one saw, you close the door behind you in excitement; your stomach giddy knowing you did a sufficient job planting a little bug in Levi’s ear; enough to get the ball rolling.

One thing no one knew, a surprising fact that left you baffled the first time you had heard it; Levi was a switch. At least when he felt like it. It came in handy when he didn’t want to do any work.

He liked to watch you get yourself off and use him like a toy.

Slowly walking around his perfectly neat desk, the infamous Levi walks in, slamming the door behind him. While he stood there, you continue strolling around the wooden desk, fingers lightly trailing across the smooth finish of his desk, “do you think you’re subtle? Practically moaning my title in front of our peers?” He grits, walking over to his bedroom door, opening it and standing there waiting for me, “get on the bed. Now. This is what you wanted right? To piss me off enough?” I slyly walk by him, ignoring his tantrum, my fingers once again trailing across his immediate tensed stomach. He shuts the door behind him and watches you sit on the bed, legs hanging off the side.

It didn’t take long for the air to quickly become thick in the moderalty large room. Your neglected pussy throbbing at the idea that it was about to be packed to the fucking brim.

He slips off his shirt whilst standing in between your legs, you gulp and look up at him. Suddenly grabbing your jaw, a tight grip which you quickly realized he wasn’t going to make this any easier for yourself, “I’m gonna get on this bed, and you’re gonna ride me.” You blink innocently, incapable of nodding from his freakish Ackerman strength. He shoves you off his hand, your back hitting the bed, your hand raising to your jaw and rubbing the tenderness.

Unbuttoning his pants, kicking them off his thighs and propping himself against the rustic wood headboard, you slip off your top, followed by your shorts, you approach him to straddle him, starting to throw a leg over his waist.

But before you can do that...

Grabbing ahold of your hips, he begins manhandling you, turning you around to reverse him, “that’s unfair.” You pout, his hands dragging up and down your thighs, applying a loud slap against your right ass cheek, your cunt clenching as he slaps you again with his hard calloused hand.

“What’s unfair? What’s there to look at if you’re facing me?” He chuckles, you crane your head back to look at him, a smug look on his stupid face.

You bring yourself up and deciding to give yourself a little pleasure. You find yourself bringing your clothed heat against his hard cock, grinding.

This. This, for certain Levi could not resist, he allows you to give a little friction, knowing he wouldn’t allow it to go on for too long regardless, “I wanted to look at your face.” You hum, whining your hips slightly against him, his mouth falling dry.

“Tch, show me what you can do, yeah?” His hands massaging the small of your back, gripping and kneeding tightly as you sit up only a little, leaning down so you can snake your hand between your legs and releasing his dick from his boxers with one hand, he uses his two fingers to move your underwear to the side, adjusting so you can ride him.

Your hands grip his thighs, the curve to your back which he looked at, your shoulder blades rolling, fitting him into your cunt, your head moving almost erratically as he stuffs you, “so fucking wet, how long have you been like this princess? I fucking love it.” He praises, his hands still helping you up and down still at a slow pace.

“All day Levi.” You admit, he lets out a little ‘hm’ in response, he was just so fixated on the way your hips and thighs moved while on top of his slightly sweaty body; the sound of skin sticking together was echoing throughout the bedroom.

His hand lingering up your spine, reaching for your hair, his fingers entangling into your roots, grabbing hard and yanking your light headed - head back, he sits up and brings his head right to the crook of your shoulder, you stop thrusting yourself up and down momentarily, “I love it when you sit pretty on my cock like this, mh’ could be like this all fucking night.”

You can only wimped in response, walls uncontrollably flexing and twitching around his cock which sat nested in you for what felt like forever, with his hand still in your hair, he used his free one to weave around to your front, slipping into your underwear, you gasped and cried out, panting like a fucking dog as he plants firm and pressurized circular motions around your clit.

You couldn’t move; body being help down on his dick, you couldn’t even squirm underneath him, “Such a feign for my cock aren’t you? Tell me what you want.” You could’ve cum right then and there.

“Bend me over.” You begged, he picks up the pace of his three fingers which spun crazily around your bud, his fingers becoming soaked. He completely ignored you, “fuck! Levi!” You wail, your pussy twitching, eyes rolling back, still restrained over his hard on. Thighs twitching as you feel the slick of your cum bathing Levi’s already drenched cock. His fingers had slowed tremendously, working you through your first orgasm, he releases his fist from your hair and your weak neck drops down and you breathe, you wanted him to fuck you now.

“You better not move. I’ll fuck you when I’m ready.” He growls, feeling you attempt to lift your hips back up for any type of thrust; which he stopped.

His hand leaves your slit, you groan in frustration, “Captain, please bend me over.” You whine and plead once again.

This time it works, he quickly pulls out and pushes you onto your elbows, he gets on his knees, lightly slapping your shoulder, motioning you to turn your face towards the head frame as he stood perched behind you; your head in the pillows as he kicks open your legs with his knee, pushing down against your hips so he could look at your throbbing pink pussy, screaming to be fucked.

“I shouldn’t even be touching you right now.” He grits, angling himself against your cunt, sliding back in, it truly stung, the time he spent sitting inside you only heightened those nerves, they exploded when they came into contact. “Annoying me like that? You think you deserve this?” He insults, contradicting his words with his slow thrusts, crying into the pillow, his tight grip which held your legs in place, he’s pulling your hips towards him; fucking you onto his dick.

“I-m sorry Levi.” You moan, he smacks your ass, the stinging sensation onto going straight to the most sensitive area. You were so close to releasing again; luckily for you Levi wasn’t they type to stop you. Loud moans being somewhat silenced by the pillows yet didn’t block all the sound. Levi, who is drilling your hips onto his, he stops and switches roles, him doing the pounding.

Levi’s hand grabs ahold of the headboard, watching you fall apart under him, arm and back flexing beautifully as your cum juiced down his cock. You were so fucking wet, wetting his thighs and your own from the skin to skin contact.

With one hand placed roughly on your back, the other on the headboard, he wastes no time gaining momentum and fucking you absolutely silly; fucking you till’ you were seeing stars when you closed your eyes.

Your weak hand reaches for his moving body and you keep it on top of your tail bone so you could touch his stomach as he thrusted back and forth into you, the tips of your fingers touching him was enough for you to orgasm.

Not to mention the headboard banging back into the wall as well- which neither of you paid any mind to-while he was assaulting the absolute fuck out of your cunt. Your tears and drool which have destroyed the pillow are no match for the amount of cum and sweat that both you and Levi had soaked the sheets with. You two fucked each other like animals, you two could be going all day and night if you didn’t need the sleep for the coming day.

Nor did he care about pulling out, not even warning you, or even himself for that matter- he’s catching himself unloading a thick load deep into your squeezing pussy. His grunts filling the room; followed by a repeated ramble of your name. You had lost count to how many times you had cum, which came to no shocker when it was Levi.

He stays inside you, his sputtering thrusts, he panted as he still kept you full and warm with his softening cock, not wanting to feel cold, stubborn about the fact he needed to stop fucking you at some point. People were bound to have heard the banging headboard and wailing, which you and Levi would be hearing about with the neighboring headroom and office... Hange’s room and office.

He finally slides out of you, entertained at the sight of his cock covered in slick. You lift your head up and throw yourself onto your back, whilst Levi is doing the same. He looked a mess, glistening with sweat, hair either sticking to his forehead or little pieces even clumped together; with his cheeks red, mouth slightly open with heavy breaths from his chest- he was a hot mess, but you didn’t even want to know what you looked like.

“Let me pee and we go again Captain Levi?” You tease, body perking up, he looks up at you and smirked, nodding and as you roll out of bed, he slaps you hard against your ass, you jump and scurry to the bathroom.

“We don’t have anything to do tomorrow anyways.” Levi mumbles as he stands up to follow you to the bathroom.

[seriouslysnape]

With a student aged Sev, could you do one where the school is having a ball, and it’s girl’s choice where the girls are the ones who ask for dates. Sev hears a rumor or something that his friend that he loves has asked some other guy, so he’s devastated. In reality, that’s not true, and she’s always planned on asking him, but has just been busy. He’s all down, but then can’t believe it once she asks and is unbelievably excited and stressed over what to wear and so on. And the ending is just a lot of fluff and romance, please?

SO. CUTE. I actually got a little emotional writing this, hahahahah. 

(Below the cut) :)

__

The Spring Formal

Young Severus Snape x Fem. Reader

Warnings: None.

Word Count: 2,191

“How many times have we heard things about other students that weren’t true?”

__

It had been all the rage through Hogwarts for the last couple of weeks. Hogwarts was hosting a spring ball, somewhat similar to the Yule Ball that always took place in the winter. Hogwarts’ witches and wizards would dress in their most formal clothes and have the time of their lives for one night of the year. Young wizards would shake in their robes when trying to ask their witch of choice to accompany them. 

However, everyone soon learned that there was a catch. 

For this dance, the girls were to ask the boys.It was a totally different idea than everyone was used to. All the boys were on their best behavior in hopes that they could get the attention of the cute girl from their Potions or Charms class. It was a totally exciting role reversal.

The only person who wasn’t thrilled about this was young seventh year Severus Snape.

Severus had always been reserved, and everyone knew it. He kept his head lowered at all times and only spoke when spoken to (and sometimes not even that). He was textbook insecure and doubtful of everything about himself. He was sure that no girl would want to go with him, but there was one that he desperately wanted the hand of. You had been his friend for years now. You were strikingly different than he was, which is why he supposed he was just so fond of you. 

He could only ever dream of being as outgoing as you were. With this hope in mind, he found himself in your presence more than usual.He would walk you to your classes that you didn’t have together, sit next to you in the classes that you did, and even carry your books for you most days. He tried to be more talkative, striking up conversations that he normally wouldn’t. 

He would compliment your outfit and ignore the burning blush that embarrassedly appeared on his cheeks when he did so. He wanted nothing more than to go to this spring formal with you. That wish fizzled out into disappointment, however, when he heard some classmates talking in his Potions class. 

“Can you believe that she asked Remus Lupin to the dance?” A young Slytherin boy said from in front of Severus.

His friend leaned over, matching his friend’s whisper, but still loud enough that Severus could hear every unmistakable word.

“Yeah, I know. [Y/N] had the pick of the litter and that’s who she went with? It’s a bloody shame. I could’ve shown her a better time.” He sneered.

Severus felt his heart seemingly sink into his shoes. It was true that lots of wizards were hoping you’d ask them. You were rather popular after all and stunningly beautiful. Severus had just had a glimmer of hope that you would’ve seen something a little different in him. That you’d want to ask him over everybody else. He supposed he was wrong.

In his saddened focus, he accidentally tipped over his cauldron spilling the beginnings of whatever potion he had been making. The class erupted into laughter, causing the tears that were already stinging at Severus’ eyes to go spilling down his pale cheeks. He ran out of the class in a hurry, not wanting to see anyone for the rest of the day. His robes were drenched with this sticky potion, the bottoms of his shoes making this horrible squelching noise with each step he took. He was zooming through the halls to get back to the Slytherin tower, but stopped when he bumped into someone else. 

He didn’t bother with an apology, but felt his blood run cold when he saw it was you.You briefly shook your head to recover from almost getting knocked over, smiling casually when you saw it was him.

“Woah, hey, Severus!” You piped, readjusting your own robes.

Your smile faded into a frown when you saw the orange colored potion dripping from his clothes, and his reddened, glassy eyes. Before you could ask, he brushed you off and ran down the hall.

“I have to go.”

He was hurt, and now dreading going to this dance alone. He avoided you at all costs now, which you noticed was odd in comparison to the way he had been right on your heels. You tried to reach out to him, but he just gave you the cold shoulder at every attempt. The next week went by, and the more people that had dates, the more irritated Severus became. It was already bad enough that he had a hateful passion for Remus Lupin, along with his other friends that made their lives about torturing Severus. 

You were so kind, so loving. He couldn’t make sense of how you could possibly go with someone like him. The dance was only two days away now, and Severus was beginning to toy with the idea of not going at all. He didn’t want to be the only one without a date, and he definitely didn’t want to be alone all night. He sulked as he fiddled with a stick out near the Quidditch fields. 

He sometimes liked to get away from the castle when things were rough. He lazily dragged the stick through the dirt, poking at a small beetle as it scuttled by with a fellow pal.

Lucky beetle.

He sighed heavily as he continued to pout, almost not noticing the new presence that had placed themself next to him. He looked over hesitantly, and had to fight the urge to get up and leave without saying a word. But you just looked so concerned that he couldn’t bring himself to go. So he stayed put, but returned his gaze to the stick in his hand.

“Hello.” He said dryly.

“Hi,” You acknowledged him. A silence went by, so you pressed on; “You want to tell me what’s going on with you?”

“Nothing. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He lied.

You scoffed, forcing him to look at you.

“Please. You know you’ve been ignoring me. If I’ve done something, I want you to tell me.” You said almost as a plea.

Now it was his turn to scoff with a scowl.

“Why don’t you ask your boyfriend? Since he’s so interesting and all.” He barked, tossing the stick away in an aggravated manner.

You were annoyed with his tone, but more confused as to what he was he was on about. You furrowed your brows and scrunched your nose at him.

“What?” You queried, completely lost; “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“So I guess your date to the dance is just a friend?” He asked sarcastically.

You were beyond puzzled. Boyfriend? Date to the dance? Where was he coming up with this stuff?

“Severus, enough. Just tell me what you’re talking about.” You said, fed up with his guessing game.

“Lupin, [Y/N], I’m talking about Lupin.”

That’s when you felt the lightbulb go off in your head. Realization came crashing over you like an ocean wave on a shore. You had heard the rumors that you had asked Remus Lupin to the spring dance, but you denied them, considering that they weren’t true. Remus was already going with someone else, but you had wanted to ask someone else. A knowing smile crossed over your face. Severus was brutally jealous.

“Oh, Sev...” You breathed out; “I didn’t ask Remus to the dance.”

You swear you saw a shimmer of joy wipe across his dark eyes. His heart did a happy leap.

“You didn’t?” He asked softly, suddenly ashamed of how he had been acting.

“No!” You laughed, leaning your head on his shoulder as you giggled.

“But...they said that-”

“Come on, S. You should know by now how stuff gets started around here,” You pointed out; “How many times have we heard things about other students that weren’t true?”

Severus pondered on that for a second. You had a fair point. Hogwarts was notorious for meddling, gossiping kids. He was relieved, but a new question crossed his mind.

“The dance is in two days. Are you going to ask someone?” He asked, not even thinking that you might want to ask him. 

“Why else do you think I’m out here with you now?” You posed.

He paused hard, hardly believing what he was hearing. 

“You...want to go with me? Why did you wait so long to ask?” He questioned.

You were a little offended that he asked you that, but were mostly amused. You lifted your head from his shoulder and looked at him.

“Well, I’ve been trying, but you run away from me every time I try to talk to you. On top of that, I’ve been slammed with work,” You explained; “But better late than never, right?”

He agreed with a shy smile, apologizing for his behavior and making up with you. It wasn’t until you left that he felt a surge of a thrill. He had a lot of preparation to do. 

He sprinted back to his dorm and to his trunk, digging through his clothes trying to find something spiffy to wear. His outfit had to be nothing less than perfect. He liked you a lot, and he wanted to make you look good. Although, you’d look amazing with or without him in his best clothes.

He tossed pants, shirts, socks, and everything else that wasn’t good enough over his shoulder. He went through all the way to the bottom of his trunk before finding something suitable. He bounced up with relief, thankful that he found something on such short notice. He made sure to try it on to make sure that it still fit. Much to his pleasure, it did. 

After the outfit was settled, a new concern sprang to mind. Should he get you flowers? Chocolates? Maybe a present? He was sure he was overthinking everything, but he wanted to be the very best date he could be, as your friend and possible future lover. With a little help from his Herbology professor, he was able to get a hold of some flowers that would be ready the afternoon of the dance. 

He was bright with giddiness. He could barely wait for Saturday.

Saturday night came around, and Severus was shocked that he didn’t collapse when he saw you. His breath caught in his throat, he became lightheaded, and his heart raced like a car on a track. However, he was able to keep his composure and attend the dance with you. And he had the time of his life.He danced with you, laughed until his sides hurt, and he was sure that his cheeks would be permanently stuck from how much he had smiled. He never knew how amazing one person could make him feel.

By the end of the night, you both had sore feet from dancing, but happy hearts from being with one another. To get away from the hustle and bustle of everyone else, you two took a stroll around the outer perimeters of the castle. You both needed some fresh air and some quiet. 

You were both still laughing and soaking up every moment together. You had both hit a positive spot in your lives. You stopped at the edge of the lake, mesmerized by the way the half-moon was glittering on the reflection on the surface. You stood side by side, now silently looking over the water and the small ripples. 

“I had a really nice time tonight, [Y/N].” He spoke lowly, afraid for a moment that the feeling wasn’t mutual.

“Me too. I’m glad you came with me,” You replied; “This was the best night I’ve ever had.”

Suddenly, you felt a warm presence in your hand. Severus had slipped his hand into yours, entwining your fingers. 

His thoughts were racing. He thought about how everything in his life had led to tonight...this exact moment. He always wondered if everything happened for a reason. He wondered if every second of life was connected. Had his small choices determined the big things in his life? The good and the bad things? If he had made one tiny, menial different decision somewhere down the line, would that have prevented him from making it to this moment in time?

Whatever the answer was, he was glad for whatever choice brought him here.

You saw that his eyes were dead set ahead, but the blush on his cheeks were evidence that he knew exactly what was he was doing. You could tell he was nervous, and he hadn’t been the entire night. You knew what he was thinking.

 “Hey, Sev?” You called gently, his eyes diverting to you. 

“Yes?” He replied.

“Just kiss me already.” You said with a smirk.

Before he could overthink it, his lips crashed into yours. His hands went to the sides of your face as yours settled on his shoulders. A million spastic fireworks were going off in your mind, body, and soul. Severus didn’t have a great life, but always felt like he’d know the moment that his life did finally begin. 

And that moment was now.

[seostudios]

mark’s dad.

pairing: johnny x fem!readr

genre: fluff + smut (like little angst) info: dilf!johnny, son!mark, best-friend!mark, aged-up!johnny warnings: age gap, unprotected sex, masturbation (fem) wc: 2.1k

note: hi i wrote this on my phone at like 1-3 in the morning... sorry if it’s bad but i wanted to put out something! i hope you guys enjoy it though cause dilf!johnny is so sexy

i think my son ditched you for haechan today, dear.” mr.suh informed you as you stood respectively in front of him, wearing an oversized sweater and basketball shorts. “aw man, i drove all this way for a movie with mark, and he ditched me for his other best friend...” you quietly sneer, the obvious jealously making an appearance. johnny chuckled, hands resting on his hips. he felt bad you came all this way for a simple movie night. “how about this?” your eyes look up, to the terrifyingly good looking man. “i will treat you to a movie and popcorn!” he suggested, knowing very damn well he’s going out of his way to possibly spend time with his son’s best friend, who he has known since they were sewed to the hip in sophomore year, now in university. “i-i don’t think that’s be appropriate,” “why? because i’d like to spend time and get to know the friend and possible love interest of my son? i don’t see any harm in that. i’ll get my coat.” he quickly responded, saving himself.

you knew he said you’d watch a movie together but you didn’t expect to get yourself two tickets to go watch a movie at an actual theatre. “that was amazing mr.suh-“ johnny looks down at your tiny figure holding the popcorn, “-i mean johnny!” if you’re being honest now, it was really nice getting to know johnny, besides the age difference and the possible complications with your amazing friendship with his son, you liked him. making your way over to his car, you listen on as he rambles about how he hasn’t this much of an outing since mark was in high school. “now he’s clinging onto me like we’re dudes, like i’m his dad not his bro.” he laughed, starting the car. “that’s so sweet though!! my mom never gave an effort to trying to be my friend even when i tried,” although you kind of party pooped the mood, you can literally reverse uno it right there. “but whatever!! she still brings me shopping which is good enough,”

nearing midnight and you know god damn well your mom would’ve killed you if she knew you took a taxi home alone in the middle of the night. johnny picked up on this, and even if he saw you in a new light today, a light which could possibly ruin his relationship with his son and a possible one with you, he couldn’t have let you home alone. “you know what? marks sleeping over at haechan’s anyway. i’ll call your mom and tell her you should stay over.” nodding, you let yourself in and up into his (messy) bedroom.

“hope you enjoy peanut butter and jelly for dinner, i kind of forgot to buy groceries...” johnny said handing you a plate of mini sandwiches. you mutter a quick thanks before digging in. tonight you saw johnny not as mr.suh but as johnny, the hot ass mother fucking dilf of the neighbourhood. you thought you were just a regular teenager to him, but you thought wrong. feeling his gaze on your exposed neck, lips. how his breathing would quicken whenever you leaned in to grab another sandwich. “wanna watch america’s got talent?” you asked pointing towards the couch. he shrugs agreeing, “why not?”

you had insisted on cleaning the dishes, i mean it was the least you could do. “so what’s the point of this whole show? to humiliate people or actually scout out people?!” johnny questioned staring at the screen, not noticing how you went from being on opposite ends of the couch to being almost inches away. should you initiate something? no, that would be overstepping into something erasable.

“this is so wrong,” you tell yourself before abruptly standing up. johnny turns his attention to you, trying to foreshadow your next moves. however, he didn’t expect for you to turn back around and straddle on his lap, “whoa..” he said, gripping onto your hips. “i want you.” his mind goes blur momentarily, “i-i cant, your my son’s best friend...” god, you looked so hot with your shorts bunched up as far as they could as you slowly grinder down onto his (huge) clothed cock. “fu..fuck,” he moans aloud, pushing all thoughts aside except for the one that kept telling him to ruin you tonight. the night was going better than planned, since you were in straddled on a topless johnny with only your bra and shorts on... probably a good twenty five minutes into kiss play, but mark chose the best time to unintentionally cockblock you and his dad. “y/n!!”mark shouted through the phone loud enough for johnny to hear (and the speaker wasn’t even on!) “yes markie?” you cooed, using one hand to speak on the phone and the other to signal johnny to keep it quiet. your hands trailed overtop your breasts, cupping them through your bra and pinching your hardened nipples, soon bringing your cold fingers down to the waistband of your shorts. “it’s fine. we can always watch a movie next weekend, i literally see you everyday! go hang out with hyuck,” you encouraged. past the waistband and under the hello kitty panties your hand comes in contact with your sensitive (dripping) folds. “a-ah, m..mark i gotta go...” “are you getting laid or something? i’m out.” he quickly ends the phone and you made sure to turn on ‘do not disturb’ incase he calls again.

“go on, i’ll watch.” johnny said seductively observing you as you toyed with your sensitive clot. “i’m close johnny!” you quietly moan into his ear, rubbing faster. “cum on your fingers, now.” he ordered, feeling you twitch underneath him, grinding as you had an orgasm. “dirty girl...” he groans watching you pull your fingers up to suck dry. now, you were a filthy girl, tasting yourself without being told to, cumming in your panties which you knew damn might have to force you to go commando tonight in marks bed. it was like a slap in the face when johnny lifted you up to stand, “it’s late. i- we should head to bed... i can give you some new shorts... since you know,” he quickly stammered before swiping his shirt off the floor, heading upstairs.

it was almost nine in the morning when you woke up, you knew johnny woke up around seven to eight so the sizzling smell of bacon wasn’t just some evil mind games. after last night, you felt, intense shame and guilt. did you seriously just betray your best friend for a lousy orgasm you could’ve done alone in the bathroom. “your up! i made breakfast, go ahead and dig in, i’m just gonna be cleaning up my bedroom.” he sounded as if you didn’t cum all over his lap not even 12 hours ago, but i guess he shouldn’t dwell in the past especially this time.

“mr.suh! my mom’s here! thank you... goodbye!” you shout from the front door. “anytime! bye!” he replies before you jolt out the door.

it’s been a couple days and johnny hasn’t left your mind. you always think about what stopped him, was it the age? your friendship with mark? that fucking phone call? johnny and you that night was like no other, you saw him for johnny, not mr.suh and it made your panties soak at every thought. how his ink black hair is always combed and in the most attractive middle part, how his broad should could feel when you hold yourself while being railed by his enormous cock. it was big, would it even fit? you’ve been with men before but the bulge you felt poking you in then thigh was something else compared to the other men.

you roamed his mind freely too. spending his day drinking hours, pondering over you, will you just slap him in the face and let him know you want him and you don’t care? he hopes. but it’s wrong. “dad! y/n’s coming over to study today,” mark shouted running down the stairs to his father. “so don’t snatch her up and take her away for a movie date, we got an exam this monday.” he said nonchalantly, the mention of their little outing slipping oh too casually. “w-what?” he asked surprised. “yeah yeah, i know about your little date and hook up” “- we didn’t hook up.” johnny interrupted, “well whatever you were doing for her to end my phone call like that,” he goes to the fridge to grab some milk, “so...” johnny said, eager on his son’s say on this. “so..? do you want me to be mad, dad?” i was lying if i said johnny was chill now... “no!!!!” he shouted, which earns a couple laughs from mark. “hey, dad,” mark sits down infront of his father. “it’s okay, y/n probably likes you back so you can do whatever you want with her, except hurt her cause i’ll kill you.” he deadpans before letting him off with a laugh. “so she can be your new mom for all you care?” he asked, playfully of course, waiting for the “hell no” and “what the fuck dad?!” to come but... “i mean she bags and tells me what to do, she helps me with school, laundry and chicks so... i don’t see why not,”

ding ding ding ding ding ding now what? hopping off the bean bag you were binge watching the office on, you head over to the door, not caring what you look like, just shut up to whoever had the audacity to spam a doorbell. “hello?!” you look up, “hey y/n,” johnny said with a small daisy in his hand.

“let me be your boyfriend,”

“what about mark?” you asked, staring at your feet wiggle in anticipation. hoping he’d tell you he doesn’t care and we could do whatever we wanted to. “funny you asked, he said for all he cares you could be his step mom.” you threw your head back laughing “he what?! no he didn’t....” the laughter dies down soon enough to get back to seriously listening in on what he has to say but did mark really not care? “your girlfriend huh?” you asked, raising a brow. he nodded. johnny proceeds to take the daisy and place it behind your ear, “you look like shit, but that is sexy as fuck.” he said, caressing your cheek before leaning in to place a peck on your lips.

“i don’t get why you drove half an hour here to say that, when i was already coming over to study.” you tell your boyfriend, johnny, as your backs his mattress. it was seriously an eventful day, wasn’t it? “i thought i should be romantic,” he shrugged turning to his side to wrap his large arms around your waist pulling you in closer. “i like this...” he mumbled into your hair, slowly drifting off to sleep.

“are you falling asleep?! we need to leave in ten minutes!!” you shouted, attempting to free yourself from his hold but he was knocked out and not letting go any time soon. “i hate you.” “i think it’s the quiet opposite y/n dear,” he replied, burying himself in the blanket, bringing you with him. “now let’s take a quick nap, mark can wait,” you sigh in defeat, “okay fine... twenty minutes!”

five months later, and you couldn’t believe having a relationship with your best friends dad was oddly working out perfectly. “johnny! fuck! baby your so good!” you whine as he penetrates into you against the wall. your legs wrapped around his waist as his cock rubs around your g-spot stimulating you into your third orgasm of that night. mark had recently gone travelling with jeno for fun so that meant you and johnny could’ve have your own fun in the empty house. “you can cum for me one more time can’t you?” he begged, placing you on the kitchen counter, kissing down your stomach. “answer me...” he sucks harhly on your clit. “yes! i can!!” you whined, squirming feeling johnny licking up your juicie; which sure as hell was mixed with his own cum, lapping his tongue around until you were shaking under his mouth and curling your toes to his mouth’s magic. “i’m- i’m cumming!!” you scream, releasing your juices onto the man’s face. “my favourite meal of the day.” he playfully joked before pinching your nipple. “tired?” he asked, as if he hadn’t been using you as a cum dump for hours. “mhm,” you reply opening your arms for him to carry you up, because “no way in hell am i walking up the stairs today after being railed by a monster cock.” you said snorting with a laugh. nonetheless, johnny swoops you up and gracefully carried you up and into his bed, “we can clean up tomorrow, let’s sleep now.” he said, feeling you wrap around him like a koala. “mmm goodnight... i love you,” you said in the crock of his neck, right below his ear before drifting off, “love you too,”

[arleendoeswords]

Never Fear-Kevison is still here

After watching the finale, it struck me how on the nose the writers’ are being with the Kevison storyline. It is literally, almost beat by beat, a retelling of Jerry Maguire romance subplot. I mean, they even made it more obvious by making it the focus of the second to last episode of the season. This is not foreshadowing. This is renting out a stadium and blasting the story line through the Megtron screen and speakers.

Pay attention to Jerry. It isn’t a mistake that episode was called Jerry 2.0

As of right now, this is what we have, the following:

Jerry has an attack of his conscience in the middle of the night creating the mission statement.

Kevin realizes he wants more out of life but doesn’t know how it is going to happen. He is lost and anchor less. Finds Madison. Not a person he expected to open up to, but he does anyway. 

He opens up to a woman who he basically shamed in a hospital the last time they had a major interaction and opens ups. He says, he is always the first to leave when things get hard instead of fighting.

Mentions to Madison that she is the one always willing to stay and that is better.

(Note, the reversal of their roles from the finale. Kevin is begging Madison to not leave, to not let go. He hasn’t started fighting yet, but that is the ground work for next session. I fully expect him to fight tooth and nail to get her back.

The inverse is true for Madison. Kevin has shown her what love could really be. The Pearsons have shown her and for the first time in her life she is believing enough in herself to demand that affection for herself. I am so happy to see this growth in her character. This is the catalyst for their actual love story next season)

Both Jerry and Kevin, do something that has lasting, life altering effects.

Jerry-Mission statement

Kevin-sleeping with Madison, bringing forth the twins

Because of the mission statement and imploding Jerry’s life, Dorothy comes into it, with her adorable son. Jerry immediately falls in love with the boy. Likes the mom.

Kevin, gets one of his wishes, kids and immediately falls in love with the thoughts of his kids. He loves his kids. Likes the mom.

Both Jerry and Kevin, make commitments to the women to be with the children.

Both Dorothy and Madison have a history of being grateful for scraps of affections and expecting that to make them happy.

Both women know their partners adore the kids, but only really like them.

Both Dorothy and Madison come to love their partners and want more than just like. They want to be loved. Wholly. Not as just mothers to the children that come with the package, but for themselves as individuals.

Both are the ones to break off the relationships because of this need. (Note again, for Madison how important this is.)

Both women continue to live their lives.

This is where were we are left at the end of Season 5. Ignoring the flash forward, which all but confirms all of this for me, we can say Kevison’s story is only at the 2/3 of the way.

Right now, Season 5 left us at the equivalent of the scene in Jerry’s backyard when Dorothy has the talk with him and tells them they need to separate. Which means we still have a ways to go!

So far, we only know Jerry’s journey, but we will use that as a template to mark where Kevin’s journey may go in the last season.

After the breakup, Jerry goes off to biggest game of his life. Everything hinges on it. He is alone.

The game goes and he is reserved. Rod has a great game, then suffers an bad hit. The world is on hold. Jerry gets the call from Marcee. He tires to calm her down. They all wait and then Rod bounces up. The cheers and joy over take everyone.

Everyone except Jerry. Because even in the biggest moment of his life. Even in the single most exhilarating second of his existence, this self-absorbed, board line narcissus, could find no joy, no meaning in it because she wasn’t there. Not her son. Not a person next to him. Not a convenience. Not part of a package. Her. Dorothy wasn’t there. And her absence was a void devoured all the light exuded by the moment.

That is why he runs home. That is why he give her the speech, because her presence, her voice, her light was more vital to him than his own.

Kevin will have a similar moment of clarity.

And when he does, Madison may be in the middle of some event with Kate, bent over picking up a toy from behind the sofa when Kevin busts in demanding to find her.

Then get the kleenex ready, because if there is one thing Kevin Pearson knows how to do is give a melt-your-panties speech.

If you are worried, don’t be.

Kevison is still on track and will be firmly in canon by the end of the show.

[ladyprince202]

Pick Your Tarot Reading of the Night ✨

Please pick 1 or 2 of these, as the message will convey to you personally. (It has been shuffled and laid out with crystals and/or cowrie shells)

Don’t panic! All will be fine…❤️✨

Now that you picked your numbers/cards, please read these messages carefully.

Card #1: 9 of Cups (Reverse) - 💰Save every dime you have. Whatever you want (new shoes, clothes, toys, game etcs… material things), it’s gonna have to wait. You don’t need it. You need (self-evaluate, organize your home surroundings, take your vitamins & medicine responsibly, eats your fruits & vegetables… etcs) to focus on things that will help you ground yourself. You’ve been wasting time lately, you need to work on your consistency. Start off making up your bed, take a shower, pick up after yourself. Your mental health is disorienting because you don’t know how to motivate yourself. Do something you need to do, only for you. TIP : Sounds like self-initiative is a problem… are you waiting for your parents to tell you what to do? Why? When you learned how to walk on your feet as a baby, you walked because you were determined to stand on your feet, regardless what your parents told you to do. If you’re an adult, parent yourself. Or better yet, imagine you have a child you have to care for, your whole demeanor will change because you have a responsibility. So take more responsibility for you and your health, and the universe will bless you with abundance and happiness.

Card #2: 5 of Sticks - Their wands raised high, this girl (boy too) gang is engaged in battle, ready to defend their position and fight one another. It could just be a friendly competition, or it could get ugly, either way it’ll be exhausting. Competition is fierce, and the obstacles are many. TIPS: Healthy competition is good to strengthen your weakness. But flexing your strength to boost your ego is not going to bring the hard earn work, respect. You want respect, you have to earn it by respecting others people boundaries. If they cross you, have 3 rule… 1. Don’t fight back 🛑 2. Give a warning⚠️ 3. Defend yourself 🤜🏽❗️🤛🏽

Card #3: 9 of Pentacles (Reverse) - Everything is chaotic and disorganized right now, and you have to stop standing in the sinking mud, you will suffer. You’ve made a dumb decision, you need to manage your time and money wisely. Now is not the time to relax, chill and procrastinate, you must do something to keep you busy. Once you finally find your consistent pace after a few successes, treat yourself to enjoy the fruits of your labor. TIP : Don’t be discouraged. This card is supposed to layout your everyday reality. You’re probably depressed or feeling overwhelmed that you don’t know where to start. But trust that once you begin to tackle the problem, you will feel such a relief when it’s finish. Almost like that itching spot but you ignore it but it will bother you. Once you scratch it, it will make you feel sooo good. (Not a good advice to someone with a skin disorder/condition.) Point is, once you keep up with yourself, you rarely have to organize yourself since you’ve already maintained them.

Card #4: 2 of Wands (Reverse) - You’re an inferior presence looking up on the world above you. 🌎 The phone in your hand holds answers while you know what to do and where to go next. You’ve had your failures lately but are a bit certain about your future. It is time to relax and distract yourself. Let the universe show you how to align with your goals. TIP : Feeling tempted to do what’s right? Don’t know where to start? Start manifesting your mind into believing you can do it. Once you believe it, then you will have to do it into actions. Then let the rest speaks for itself. The universe will show you what you need & want to know. You may or may not like the Truth of the Universe, but it’ll save you time from the delusional negative false lies we human sometimes fill in our heads.

Card #5: Ace of Pentacles (Reverse) - The world around you is full of limitations and hopelessness right now. Dismiss it, figure out how to ease your pain emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually. Drink your water, eat your greens & fruit, sleep and take naps. You are in this world, on this planet Earth 🌍 🌎🌏. So live your life and let the good things comes to you. TIPS: There’s cockroaches 🪳 and there’s ladybugs 🐞, they are both bugs. But one is cute and easy to tolerate and the other just rage us to FEAR! Just like life on Earth, people do the unthinkable, sickening things that good people cannot imagine and want to erase it from their life. Know that these things happen to wake your spirit up, it’s happening everywhere. Your fear can turn into anger, be smart about how you manage your feelings. They (Supernatural Evil energy) want you to be broken, hopeless and giving up. Only problem is, they need your energy to generate more fear and control your spirit. To prevent this, you have to manage your emotions and do not let your fears cloud your judgement. You can’t have Good Trouble while you are in rampage anger and fear. They will trap you down. Be strong, human. Don’t give up just yet.

If you want more Tarot/Oracle readings, please reblog this post. Thank you ✨🙏🏾