#and you know the basics of how to treat them

[paradoxbeta]

Who wants a bit of Minecraft spec bio?

In my headcanon for Minecraft the majority of mobs share a very recent common ancestor with a slime-mold adjacent organism called the "root node," meaning most mobs (villagers, illagers, skeletons, zombies, mooshrooms, others) are fungoid/plantoid-appearing creatures.

Villagers are among the most complex of them all, boasting an intricate method of expression through extendable facial "petals" (thin, mostly transparent membranes) that shift in color, pattern, and intensity to express a vast and dynamic field of emotions. The protrusions on their head resembling eyebrows and a nose light up in patterns to convey information. Conversation is occasionally emphasized by vocal cues (the iconic "hrms").

While impossible to translate standard villager conversation into something intelligible to humans without advanced technology, Steve is the most "fluent in villager," with a baseline understanding of what different colors mean on a villager's petals and even dyed paper cards to replicate the expressions himself. He also has established a rudimentary sign language with the nearby village.

Steve works with a certain villager he's nicknamed The Language Guy, or "TLG," to propose new signs or revise existing ones. TLG distributes language updates to the village when they happen. TLG is the most "fluent in human," so they are the village's Steve equivalent when it comes to diplomacy with humans. They are also working on writing a book with every established sign and its definition. Since villagers don't have a written language yet, it consists of easily interpreted pictograms.

Humans and villagers have rather shallow avenues of communication due to their complete lack of intuition about each other's natures. However, due to their frequent interactions, TLG and Steve are very close friends for creatures with a compatibility gap bigger than the Grand Canyon.

Alex would really like to learn about all of this, but she's not quite got the hang of it yet.

[helenisaweirdo]

it’s you, it’s you, it’s always you ⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡

the blue lock boys who will only ever have one lover throughout their life…and the reasons why.

(a/n: this one can be cute but it can be just as humbling and cruel at the same time. i tried to be as realistically romantic as possible, remembering that the blue lock boys are still in the end, teenage boys)

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the ones who have one lover simply because they’re loyal

isagi, yukimiya, kaiser

⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ isagi - growing up with a loving family who loves him unconditionally, isagi is naturally someone who believes in monogamy and traditional dating values, such as loyalty. even if there is a hypothetical scenario where isagi falls out of love with his lover, he’ll still stay because he simply believes that it’s just “the right thing to do”. even if his lover breaks up with him, he’ll stay single because he doesn’t want the potential scenario where he falls back in love with his lover while dating someone else.

⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ yukimiya - loyalty and good morals is something that yukimiya shows a lot of in the series, so naturally, it’s the same when it comes to romance with him. cheating on someone is a clear “no” for yukimiya—why would he date someone in the first place if he’s just going to cheat on them anyways? and if his lover ever cheats on him? well, he’ll be far too heartbroken and insecure to ever go on a date with someone else ever again. he’ll probably try getting his lover back though.

⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ kaiser - i know, i know. kaiser, of all people, loyal? i think the biggest factor in this is his mother and also his constant needed desire for unconditional love. kaiser’s mother left him and his father, and kaiser is most definitely not wanting to follow in his mother’s footsteps. plus, kaiser canonically having studied psychology makes it clear that he probably knows that if he stays loyal to someone, that’ll make it easier to make them love him unconditionally. ultimately, kaiser’s sure as hell a red flag, but he’s not heartless.

⋆｡°✩₊ °✦ ‧ ‧ ₊ ˚✧₊ °✦

the ones who have one lover because no one else wants them

bachira, nagi, hiori

⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ bachira - i think we all know that bachira grew up pretty much alone. with such a lack of friends, the moment someone shows interest in him, he’ll latch onto them. it’s to the point where it gets unhealthy, as he’ll get into a nearly depressed state if someone he latches onto finds someone else, like his reaction when isagi and rin were ignoring him during the second selection. because of this, he’ll realize pretty damn quickly that if he wants someone else to be loyal to him, he’ll have to be just as devoted.

⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ nagi - similar to bachira, he grew up with basically no friends until he met reo. although nagi doesn’t seem to care nearly as much, ever since meeting reo, he is much more attached. nagi is self aware that he’s not the most pleasant of the bunch, so similar to how he is with reo, if he meets someone who genuinely cares, he will latch onto them. sure, there will be times where he will leave for a little while; but in the end, he will always come crawling back to his lover because he knows that no one else would want him.

⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ hiori - hiori is a weird one. a lot of people definitely have a crush on hiori; however, due to his childhood and the way that his parents treated him like more of a tool, hiori definitely just wants love—similar to kaiser. however, the biggest difference is that when hiori finds someone who loves him, he doesn’t realize that other people love him too. it very much matches the saying “love is blind” if you don’t understand what im saying. hiori is obsessed with the idea of being loved that he’ll do anything to help and stay loyal.

⋆｡°✩₊ °✦ ‧ ‧ ₊ ˚✧₊ °✦

the ones who have one lover because they want no one else

reo, kunigami, barou

(a/n: remember kids, THESE are the MEN—not boys—who you should date)

⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ reo - reo is someone where if he falls in love with someone, there is no one else in the world except for him and his lover. just looking at the way that reo acted when nagi left him for isagi says enough already on its own; reo didn’t try to find someone else to replace nagi—he tried getting nagi back and grieved. when reo falls in love, he truly wants no one else. even if someone goes on their knees and begs for reo to give someone else a chance, he’ll just reject them. in fact, reo will do anything for his lover to stay.

⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ kunigami - walking green flag. growing up with younger sisters, he knows that being loyal and dating someone who he truly loves is extremely important. he always makes sure to not date someone or give someone who he doesn’t like the wrong idea because he doesn’t want to break their heart and make himself feel guilty. similar to reo, once kunigami falls in love, the world is just him and his lover. to him, falling in love is an eternal thing—something forever. and kunigami knows better than to take advantage of that.

⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ barou - just like kunigami, barou always grew up with younger sisters who he took good care of. he understands to be a loyal man—that it’s important to treat someone who he loves in a devoted and loyal way. it’s rare for barou to fall in love because this man KNOWS his worth. he doesn’t want someone who will take advantage of him and his housewife ways; so barou falling in love is—like kunigami—a lifetime thing. he’s dedicated to whoever his lover is because…why shouldn’t he? if he fell in love, he won’t fall out of love.

[tazcrosblade]

I don't really know how to post this without sounding like a boot licker for the artificial intelligence, but here's my take on it. AI isn't going to really do anything for you that you couldn't do yourself. It doesn't have any access to information on the internet, in books, or in self-help books, that you couldn't also get access to. So in a way

number one: the AI provides a way to search and consolidate information that has become increasingly hard to do (try googling anything these days and all you get is AI generated results anyways).

Number 2: the ai, the internet, even Tumblr are just tools that you could use to find answers. Obviously if you're in a Mental Health situation, using AI rather than seeking professional help can be dangerous. Treating it like the be all end all of answers, especially for things like health or mental health, is so naive as to border on st*pid.

Number 3: you only get out of the AI what you put in, if you ask it for help it's just going to give you generic answers. But if you know how to use the AI as a tool, it can be useful.

Basically what I'm saying is telling the ai you are my therapist solve all my problems will only get you so far. But if you've ever tried, for example, taking all of the texts from a fight you're having with someone and plugging them into the AI and asking it to continue the conversation and give you different ways things could have been phrased or to summarize the issues into bullet points so you can more specifically focus on what's going on. Couples therapy in effect. I have found the AI to be extremely helpful as a neutral third party during conflict, almost like a mediator or a counselor. Sometimes phrasing your thoughts or breaking down what a person's telling you can be extremely difficult. The AIS we use are not general artificial intelligence they are large language models, the only thing they can do is talk and analyze text. Don't expect the AI to work like a therapist would work. Use it as a tool for, analyzing journal entries, breaking down a big long message someone has sent you into more manageable bites so you don't get overwhelmed by your personal emotional attachment to what's being said.

When my partner and I are having conflict I will often complain to the ai, and tell it to be brutally honest with me. It sometimes tells me the things that my partner is too shy to tell me, or I'm too self-centered to think for myself. And because it's coming from a computer, it's easier to take it for what it is which is just a single take on the situation.

Will the AI cure your depression? No.

Will the AI give you the same tips everyone gives you? Yes, literally that's what it's designed for

If you know how to use the AI to analyze a situation or generate a bunch of ideas, if you use the AI and prompt it to tell you the hard truth or to be critical of someone's actions or to give an explanation for why somebody might have done something, it can be a good tool to help guide some of your thoughts and mental exploration of a situation.

AI is not a therapist. It is not trained. Any information it gives is suspect.

But that doesn't mean as a data analysis tool, a stand-in for the person you're having an argument for, or a straw man to help run potential arguments past (while telling it to be rude short or selfish in its responses) can be a good therapy style tool for people who may not be able to afford professional help, but feel as though they need assistance in unpacking their own thoughts or phrasing things in a certain way or understanding something somebody is telling them.

guys. please

[burins]

bat physical therapy thoughts:

Dick: longest routine you've ever seen, does it religiously every night. some of the stretches are things he used to do with his parents but most of them are recovery/compensation ones for his bad knee and his fucked up shoulders and his weird wrist and his etc etc etc. dick is kind of a mess but he's also an acrobat and he knows how to keep his body at peak performance as long as he can.

Tim: also does all his stretches because a) Dick does and b) he wants to keep being Robin as long as possible and that means treating his body like a machine brute forcing his way into physical prowess

Bruce: has a VERY extensive routine. regularly forgets to do it until he finds himself white knuckling through blinding levels of lower back pain and has to get back on the wagon and rebuild his muscle strength. you would think based on everything else about him that he'd be better at basic bodily maintenance but he resents the necessity of it enough to not do it the way he should.

Jason: has never stretched in his life. sounds like microwave popcorn every time he moves. everyone thinks he does that stupid rolling panther walk because it's intimidating but he actually fucked up his hip flexors years ago and hasn't bothered to get them checked out because "it doesn't impact him in the field" (it does)

Steph: kind of perfunctory routine Leslie made her learn. she does it every couple weeks it's fine.

Cass: has never been injured in a way that required PT to recover because she doesn't move in ways her body doesn't support <3

Damian: should be young enough not to need it but does all of Dick's stretches anyway, just in case, and with incredible concentration. it's sooo cute

Duke: is kind of dubious about all of this (he has superpowers, come on.) but he'll do stretches with someone else as a team thing.

Babs: if any of the bats complain about not wanting to do their stupid routines for babies to her again she's going to beat them with a pull down bar removed from one of the very expensive custom machines in her extremely extensive home gym.

[ddlydevotion]

Dating Luigi Mangione ࣪ ۪ ֢ 🦢‌ࣳ ! !

currently listening to: salvatore by lana del rey

a/n: I’ve been seeing many fics of Luigi where people portray him as rude/aggressive so I wanted to try something a lil different.

His facial expressions are always on point in every video we’ve seen of him, so I have a feeling he’d be a very active listener. You could be in the middle of telling him how your day went and a small smile would spread across his lips at the sound of your melodic voice. His eyebrows twitching with concern once you start to mention anything negative occurring. this is basically his face when he’s listening to you:

He would most definitely be the type to make playlists in your name while he’s thinking of you. He’s so in love with you to the point where he can no longer listen to his favorite music without thinking of you and the beautiful moments the two of you have shared. He also has a habit of sending you songs that he thinks you’ll like/remind him of you.

He loves being able to live life to the fullest and loves doing it with you even more. He takes photos of the two of you wandering around whatever city you’ve traveled to with a little $30 digi cam. He has a Polaroid of the two of you placed in his wallet.

Luigi doesn’t need a gift to be expensive in order to fully cherish it. You could give him a handwritten letter and he’d protect it with his life because you gave it to him. He can’t afford to lose any evidence of the love the two of you share for one another. He loves gifting you items that reminded him of you, things you mentioned enjoying, surprising you to go do something you’ve mentioned wanting to participate in. You don’t even have to mention any of these things more than once because he’ll remember.

His back pain can get incredibly severe and there comes days where he can’t seem to focus on even the most simplest of things. Having you there while he attends physical therapy, participates in yoga/gets helpful treatments somehow makes the pain a bit more manageable. Knowing that he can go to you when he needs something is enough to ease his anxieties in situations regarding his chronic pain.

As I’ve mentioned before, Luigi loves trying new things and exposing himself to unfamiliar cultures/locations. This fact goes hand in hand with his openness to trying new food with you. Oh, he’s never tried ____ before? Well, might as well try it now with you!

You make his travels so much more lively and notable.

Three words: skin to skin.

The loving warmth of your welcoming hands and fingers tracing shapes onto his muscular back makes him feel as if he’s on cloud nine. He loves being able to wake up to the sun peeking through the blinds and feeling your bare skin embracing him.

He has a HUGE family and mostly all of them have heard the lovely stories he has stored up about you. During the first Christmas you ever spent with his family, they made sure they had your favorite foods out on display. How did they know they were your favorites? Well, you have your boyfriend and his ramblings to thank for that. Despite not having spent much time with you, his family still found the time to provide you with your very own gifts. You’ve felt nothing but welcomed by their presence as they treated you like an old friend upon your first meeting.

You don’t really have to want for anything when you’re with Lu. You mention wanting to go see that movie that just came out? He already has a tab open on his phone to purchase tickets. He sees you eyeing something at the store but hesitate buying because ‘it’s too much’ ? Well, he’s putting it in the cart anyway.

Definitely calls you cute little variations of your name. His favorite terms of endearment to use for you are probably: baby, cutie, babe, princess, etc. was gonna put sweetheart but I’m not too sure

[to-thelakes]

who's been at your apartment?

pairing; carmy berzatto x reader

content warnings; MINORS DNI, 18+ ONLY (pls), angst turned to smut, afab!reader, oral (r!receiving), fingering, unprotected sex, light dom/sub dynamics

summary; you and carmy had ended things a month ago but you just couldn't keep away from each other.

this has been sat in my drafts for far too long, like last month i was obsessed with 'your apartment' by wallows (i saw them on tour, hearing the song live was insane), and this was born, it's probably one of the more horny things i've released so please enjoy <3 my little end of the year treat for you all <3

also i have a whole ass playlist for this dynamic with carmy and it's eating my brain up when if i think too hard

You and Carmy had been dancing around each other for months. Your situationship - that neither of you had ever been brave enough to call a relationship - had ended messily but mutually. It hurt you both but as you both did, you bottled it up and pretended like nothing had happened.

You were amicable with him inn person but when you got home, you cried on the phone to your best friend about how much you missed him. And then you went back around, doing it all over again the next day. 

Your best friend had tried to get you to move on, think about someone else but it never happened. Nothing seemed to distract you from him.

Carmy had similarly been struggling. Even the stress of opening The Bear hadn’t distracted him from you. Even Syd and her refusal to sign the partner contract hadn’t distracted him. Seeing you every day made him crazy and seeing you laugh and smile and seem so care-free drove him even crazier.

He didn’t understand how you weren’t falling apart at the seams. He was. Even if he hid it, he was falling apart without you. And he would lie awake at night thinking about how you were moving on and imagining all the ways you had moved on. It was his own unique form of self-harm. Or that’s what he thought because he didn’t know that you were also falling into that same pattern.

You knew that Carmy didn’t sleep around but he had gotten closer to Claire recently. He had been friends with her for as long as you had known him - so your entire lives - and that made it even worse.

Was he sleeping with her? Did she hold him like you had? Was he moving on? 

It drove you crazy.

And service at the Bear was driving you crazy. It was stressful, the new menus every day basically made it impossible to be efficient. Everything was difficult and the company was drowning and Carmy was drowning. He was stressed and you could see it but you couldn’t do anything because you were drowning too; drowning in your own feelings and your own self-inflicted mental wounds.

Service was the most stressful you’d had since Carmy had joined months ago and the intensity in the kitchen seemed to increase with every passing second.

Every second counts.

That was becoming increasingly true as you rushed your way through dinner service. When the last order went out and everyone cooled off and Carmy had stopped asking for food to be re-fired over and over and over and everyone began to clean up, you felt like your head had finally come up from under the water.

The tides were calming but then you made eye contact with Carmy and it was like you were drowning again. He was anxiously chewing on nicotine gum as he quickly averted his gaze from you. You looked away and ran your hands across your face.

“Fuck,” You mumbled to yourself before you turned away and went straight to the back door. You couldn’t exist in that kitchen, you felt like you were drowning. The night air was soothing as you dropped onto the bench next to the back door. Your hands rested in your lap as your whole body slumped back into the brick wall.

You couldn’t get the thoughts out of your head. Carmy with Claire, Carmy fucking Claire, Carmy touching Claire. It was driving you fucking insane. You let out a rough breath.

“Fuck,” You muttered again. You leant forward, elbows on your knee as you rested your head in your hands, “Fuck!” You shouted before you let out another rough breath, kicking your heel into the bench. 

It felt impossible to think. Nobody could distract you enough to keep him off your mind. Sydney, Marcus, Tina, even Ebra had tried to help but nothing. He was stuck in your head, invading every bit of free space, sinking his claws in.

The memory of him was branded into the deepest part of you. The genuine look of relaxation when he was asleep beside you was seared into your mind, his smile when you said something funny, his laugh that you rarely ever heard, the way he became pliable and obedient after a stressful service and his face when you kissed and praised him was burnt into the very deepest parts of you. The reminder of how good he felt between your legs and how easy he slipped inside you and fucked you until you couldn’t think persisted in every corner of your mind.

It was like every part of you was clawing, desperate to get back to him.

But you couldn’t talk to him, you couldn’t speak, any time you went to text him, you couldn’t do it and the words clawed at your throat, desperate to spill out but they never did. Instead, your throat was left sore.

“Yo, Chef, gonna finish cleaning your station?” Carmy asked as he appeared outside the door. His voice was a little awkward, trying to be casual but both of you could sense the tension that needed desperately to be broken.

“Yeah, uhm, give me a sec,” You said as you lifted your head out of your hands. You cleared your throat and wiped your hands down your apron - force of habit. You glanced at him, giving him a small smile. That was a mistake. He was looking at you so softly. It made your head spin and you had to look away, “I’ll be there,” You added, hoping he would take the hint and walk away.

“Yeah, take your time,” He responded. You nodded and when you didn’t hear him move, your body felt like it was burning up. This was so much. There were words on the tip of your tongue, desperate to get out but finding no way, “Everything good?” You didn’t even know how to respond to that as you stared blankly at the night sky.

“Are you fucking Claire?” The words fell from your lips before you even knew what the fuck you were saying. But they were out there. It wasn’t what you wanted to say but you needed to say it, to do something about this because fuck, you were losing it. With or without him you were losing it.

Carmy was baffled by your question, pausing and not entirely sure what you wanted to hear. He cleared his throat and glanced at the kitchen before he stepped down out of the restaurant into the back alley.

“No,” He retorted. You nodded and rested back against the wall, “Are you?” He asked. Your eyebrows furrowed.

“What? Fucking Claire?” You asked, unable to help the way you teased him as an amused smile spread over your lips.

“No, fuckin’ hell, no. I meant, fucking anyone,” He quickly corrected, stumbling over his words.

“No.” You didn’t feel the need to elaborate. Both of you knew why. It was fucking obvious to everyone.

You both fell silent and a soft breath escaped your lips, somewhere between relief and annoyance. You felt like you were being tortured by this, by him. It wasn’t exactly all his fault but you fucking needed him. You wanted him so badly and you had no idea how to tell him, how to do it.

“Want me to help with your station?” He asked after a beat. You nodded and he nodded back in response. You then got up from the bench and the two of you headed into the kitchen. The silence that lingered between the two of you was somehow comfortable as you cleaned. You worked in tandem, together, perfect and in rhythm. It was easy. 

The two of you had always been easy, well, until it wasn’t but it had been mistake to quit just because it wasn’t fucking easy anymore. You felt so stupid.

Once you were done with your station, you took the trash out together. You were both deep in thought, not needing to speak to understand what was going on here. Carmy held the bin open as you chucked the black bags inside. 

Your mind was running around in circles. You felt like you were going crazy and every time you looked at him, you wanted to scream and cry and kiss him all in the same instant. It was mind-numbing and dizzying and you didn’t know what to think. And his hand was on your back when you stood on your tiptoes, supporting you as you threw the bags into the trash. 

His hand was on you, his eyes never left you. It was making your head spin and he wasn’t saying anything. 

Granted, neither were you, but he wasn’t saying anything. You didn’t know what to do. You wanted to kiss him and when you made eye contact, you caught the way his eyes briefly glanced to your lips. 

You were halfway picking up a trash bag when you let out a ragged sigh.

“Fuck this,” You stated. Carmy’s eyebrows furrowed and you dropped the bag. You were done, done with this fucking back and forth bullshit. You turned to him and kissed him.. He let out a sigh of relief into your mouth as he kissed you back. His hand kept the bin lid up, frozen and yet relieved all in the same instant. After a moment, you pulled back, “My apartment or yours?” You asked bluntly.

“Mine.”

You threw the last few bags out, washed your hands, grabbed your shit from the locker and got into Carmy’s car - heading straight to his apartment.

The tension was only growing and neither of you really speaking as he drove.

“You really haven’t been fucking Claire?” You asked as you stared out the window.

“No, not fucking Claire,” He retorted. You nodded and let out a breath of relief.

“So I was the last one to touch you?” You questioned as you turned to look at him. He nodded, glancing at you from the driver’s seat. You nodded, letting your hand slip over the console to rest over his thigh. His head snapped to you again, taking in your face.

Your mind was screaming good, good, I’m the only one who should touch you but you kept those thoughts to yourself as he continued to drive.

The second Carmy had the apartment door closed, your hands were on his face, pulling him in. You were kissing him, arms wrapped around his neck as you tugged at the curls at the nape of his neck. He gasped and you used it as an excuse to lick into his mouth, pulling him towards the couch. You didn’t care about getting to the bedroom, you just needed him, right fucking now.

You pushed him until he was sitting on the sofa and he groaned into your mouth as his hands roamed up your sides. His hands slipped under your t-shirt, his cold fingers slipped over your warm skin. It made you shiver as you whined softly into his mouth. He smirked against your lips and tugged you down so you could feel how hard he was.

You whined just a little louder, grinding down against him but his hands snapped to your hips, keeping you still.

“No,” He panted against your mouth as he gently began to kiss across your cheek and jaw. His nose nudged your jaw up as he sucked and nipped and kissed at the skin of your neck. His arms wrapped around you, keeping you pressed against him as you let out breathy whines, “Good girl,” He praised softly when you threw your head back so he had better access to your neck.

You were needy and compliant in his arms as he flipped you both over so you were lying across the couch beneath him. He used his knees to nudge your thighs open. His hands slipped over your crotch and he could feel the heat, glancing up at you. A shit-eating grin was spreading across his face.

“Really fucking needed this, huh?” He asked. You whined, using your heels to wrap around him and tug him closer. He quickly grabbed your calves, holding you back as he looked at you, “Words, baby,” He reminded.

“Take them off, please,” You begged as you wiggled in his lap, desperately trying to get something from him. You needed him. It had been too long.

He needed it too which is why he was quick to strip your jeans off.

“Fuck,” You said softly as he threw your pants to one side. He moved so fluidly and the look in his eyes, the desperation was making your head spin. 

His thumbs then hooked under your panties and he glanced at you, seeking permission again. You nodded your head, “Yes, please,” You reaffirmed, desperate and needy. He pulled them off and threw them in the direction of your pants before his head was between your thighs. His tongue was licking up across your inner thighs, kissing and biting and nipping at the skin as you whined and squirmed under his ministrations. Your fingers were quick to bury into his hair, gently tugging them closer to where you desperately needed him as you squirmed.

“Please,” You begged softly. Carmy hummed, smirking against your thigh as he pressed kisses along the skin. Whenever a little whine escaped you, he took his time to bite and nip at the spot.

“Carmy,” You were fucking breathless and needy, unable to think straight and he had given you nothing. “Stop- stop teasing,” You whined, just as he pulled your thighs a little wider. His hands moved to your pussy, using his thumbs to gently push your folds open. He leant forward and used the flat of his tongue to lick from your opening all the way up to your clit. The feeling made you grip his hair even tighter, a needy whine escaping your lips. Tears formed in your eyes, desperate and so beyond needy.

“Forgot how good you tasted,” He murmured against your pussy before he began to lap at your opening like a man starved. The mix of his saliva and your wetness coated his face as he reacquainted his tongue with every part of you. His tongue then moved to your clit. He gently sucked it into his mouth and your back arched off the couch.

All that fell from your lips were whines of his name as he sucked and lapped at your clit. He used his hands to pin your hips down to the couch, not giving you even a moment of reprieve. You couldn’t decide whether to watch him or stare at the ceiling or close your eyes. The pleasure was so overwhelming; you didn’t know how to think. One hand gripped his hair, nails digging into his scalp while the other gripped the couch cushions for dear life.

He gave a particularly harsh suck to your clit before he began to lap across your cunt again. His tongue licked across your entrance before he traced it all the way up again. His fingers replaced his tongue at your entrance, one finger gently nudging past your walls. It took him with ease, greedily sucking him in. You whined softly.

“Oh, Carm,” You let out as your head fell to the side. The feeling of having someone else inside of you - even just his fingers - was a new kind of euphoria. You let out a soft whimper when he began to curl his finger, pulling in and out.

“Such a pretty pussy,” He murmured as he pulled away to watch his finger sink in and out of you. Once he was sure you were ready, he added a second one and glanced up to see the way your face contorted. You were squirming, desperately shoving yourself further into his fingers, “So fucking desperate.” You looked down at him, using your hand to tug him towards your mouth.

He swallowed your moans as he kissed you, his fingers starting their brutal pace inside you. Every time he thrusted them in and out, he crooked them at just the right angle to make you see stars. You could barely think straight, let alone kiss him. Carmy swallowed every moan as he licked into your mouth. Your eyes closed, head thrown back as he pulled you closer and closer to orgasm, just from his fingers.

“Baby,” He whispered against your skin as he trailed his kisses across your face and towards your ear, “Feel good?” He whispered directly against your ear. Your loud moan as he crooked his finger at just the right angle was the only way you could respond as your thighs began to shake. 

“Please, please, please,” You begged as you gripped his hair, pulling him into your neck as your back arched. You could feel the coil tightening and then you were hit with a blinding orgasm. You were panting and whining and moaning as you released around him, walls throbbing around his fingers. He gently coaxed you through before pulling his fingers out. Your grip on his hair had loosened almost completely as he sat up, taking his fingers into his mouth.

You watched with wide eyes as he slowly licked up your wetness from his fingers. You had forgotten how dirty Carmy could be and watching him had your head spinning.

“You look so pretty, baby,” He praised as he trailed his saliva-slick fingers across your thighs. Your cunt was throbbing and he watched with a smirk on his face, admiring how wet you were. It was all just for him.

“Carmy,” You let out, whimpering as you gently reached out for his arm. He looked up at you and you gently pressed a kiss to his fingertips, kissing up to his tattooed knuckles. The action made his heart melt and then you placed his hand on the hem of your shirt, silently begging him to strip it off. He did, without hesitation. He was quick to trail kisses along your stomach, taking in every inch of the exposed skin. He breathed heavily, transfixed by the taste and smell of having you this close. His tongue slowly licked up and across the skin of your stomach before he nuzzled his face back into your cunt. His nose pressed up against your clit which made your hips instinctively hump against it. The feeling made you breathlessly and Carmy chuckle against you.

“Needy,” He said as he pressed a kiss against you before licking his tongue all the way up to your clit.

“You’re the one who told me to leave, haven’t been able to fuck anyone else,” You murmured back. The smirk that spread across his face was dangerous and you felt the way his licks and kisses became more confident. His fingers held your thighs apart as he began to eat you out like a man starved.

“Fuck, Carmy,” You moaned out, not expecting the sudden stimulation. Your back arched as he sucked on your clit, his tongue flicking back and forth across the sensitive bud. Your eyes rolling back at the stimulation before his mouth moved down. His tongue nudged past your entrance, licking into you while his nose continued to press against your clit. The double stimulation was driving you wild, desperation clinging onto every whine and praise that fell from your lips;

“So good, Carmy, make me feel so good.”

“Tongue feels so good, keep doing that, please, please,”

“No-one else can fuck me like this, no-one makes me feel this good”

“Don’t want anyone but you.”

You felt like you were losing your mind as Carmy used his tongue and nose to slowly break you apart. You didn’t expect the orgasm until it was cresting over you. Your back was arched, pushing your cunt into his face, your hands gripping his hair, thighs wrapped around his head as you moaned out his name like a prayer.

Your thighs loosened around his head as he licked up the slick and cum that leaked out, cleaning you up before he sat up. He looked pleasure-drunk as he used the back of his hand to wipe the slick from his chin. You were staring, watching the way his mouth turned to a smirk. His hands slipped over your thighs, tugging you towards him.

“You okay, baby?” He asked softly. You nodded, following his lead. You dropped into his lap without a second thought and wasted no time, grabbing his face and kissing him. Carmy was a little breathless still but would never deny the kisses as he wrapped his arms around your waist. You kissed him over and over again before he tilted his head to the side, deepening the kiss.

You groaned out in satisfaction as you wrapped your arms around his neck, lifting yourself up to get a better angle on the kiss. You gently licked across his bottom lip, begging for permission. He opened his mouth, letting you lick your tongue into his mouth. It was hot and heavy and you felt dizzy from kissing him but this was all you had wanted.

For weeks, this is what you had craved. Your hands slipped down to the hem of his white t-shirt and you slowly began to tug it up, desperate to get it off him. Your hands clawing for any touch of skin. You broke the kiss, only for a moment, before your hands were wrapped around him again. The shirt was discarded somewhere with the rest of your clothes and your hands roamed his chest.

The strong muscles made you feel somehow even wetter and all you wanted to do was kiss and lick your way down his chest. But another part of you desperately needed him to fill you up, you needed him to fuck you like he always did.

You broke the kiss, whimpering his name. Carmy opened his eyes, pressing kisses here and there as he asked what was wrong.

“Need your dick,” You admitted shamelessly. Carmy let out a soft ‘mhm’, his hands moved down to your waist.

“Yeah?” He asked as he pressed kisses over your face. You whined, wiggling in his lap and pressing your still wet cunt against the fabric of his jeans. The grunt he let out was music to your ears.

“Let me take them off, please,” You begged softly as your hands trailed down to the waistband of his jeans.

“Okay, baby,” He responded. You smiled happily, dumb on pleasure and desperate for his cock. You unbuttoned the jeans and tugged them down, standing up off the couch to finish pulling them off his legs. Once they were gone, you could see just how hard he was.

The tent in his boxers was hard to miss and it made you smirk.

“Did I make you this hard, Bear?” You cooed, teasing him. Carmy looked up at you and he tugged you back into his lap.

“Don’t be rude or you won’t get this cock at all,” He snapped back, his voice right in your ear. The dominant way he spoke quickly put you right and you nodded, swallowing thickly. He cupped your face with his hand and gently but slowly kissed your lips. It was the kind of kiss that made your head spin which is why you didn’t notice Carmy nudge his boxers down or flick the tip over your cunt until he was pulling your hips down to sink into him. 

You let out a stuttering whine as you sank down onto him. You weren’t used to taking him so Carmy took to slowly pushing in but it wasn’t long before he had bottomed out. You felt so full, your forehead pressed against his as you panted, breathless. You felt so fucking full.

“Carmy,” You whined his name, high-pitched and needy as you buried your face into his neck. It felt so good.

“Good girl,” He praised, his fingers running through your hair. You whimpered at his words, slowly lifting off him. You followed his movements, letting him guide you up and down. You slowly got used to the movements, eyes rolling back, mind going blank as you felt him fill you over and over again.

“You take me so well.”

“I’m so proud of you, baby, look at you.”

He let out soft words of encouragement as he guided you. It was soft and slow, every thrust hit the spot that made you see stars. Your fingers dug into his hair and when the pace became too soft, you slowly began to speed up. Carmy smirked against your hair, your head still buried in his neck.

But your thighs were exhausted and he could tell from the needy whines you were letting out that you wouldn’t be able to keep this pace up for much longer. 

So, Carmy grabbed your hips and pulled you all the way down onto his cock before flipping you both so you were lying on the couch again. His arms caged you in as he began to fuck you. Every movement of his hip was quick and sharp as you threw your head back. His cock made you see stars as you grappled for anything to hold onto. His thrusts were speeding up, taking you quicker as he felt your walls throb around him. Part of him was chasing his own orgasm, desperate to cum in you.

“That feel good?” He asked as he pressed kisses along your chest and shoulders and neck, his teeth nipping at the skin as he fucked into you. Your eyes were squeezed shut as you gripped his shoulders, legs wrapped around him as you moaned and whimpered his name like a prayer.

You nodded, unable to let out anything coherent especially when he added a finger to your clit. The quick circles he ran over the sensitive bud made your walls throb around him. You were both desperately chasing your orgasm as you moaned his name and begged for him to take you, to cum inside you. You needed it.

And then you both fell apart.

Your legs were shaking, head thrown back, chest pushed up as you let out a loud moan of his name, devolving into heavy panting as Carmy filled you up. He worked himself through the orgasm, painting your walls white with his cum before he pulled out completely. A soft whimper fell from his lips and your eyes opened to take him in. He was panting as he watched a mixture of yours and his cum leak out of you.

Some carnal part of him wanted to scoop it up and push it back in but he held himself back. He watched it slowly leak out over your couch cushions as he panted, desperate to get his breath back.

“Carmy,” You said softly, grappling for his attention. His head snapped up as you looked at him, “Come ‘ere, please,” You begged softly. He followed your hand and then you tugged him down onto your chest, allowing you to move him however you wanted. Once you had settled him, you buried your face in his hair, “Missed you,” You muttered softly. Carmy nodded his head, pressing a soft kiss to your skin.

“Missed you too.”

[that-dreaming-dragon]

1/ Which category of alterhumanity do you belong to?

Draconic Alterhuman is my basic "summary" term to use. I also am a myth type, otherkind, fictionfolk (otherhearted, flicker, and othervague), anymic, folcintera, archetroper, otherlinker.

Niche term that is more just identity instead of a whole category subgroup I utilizes are kardiatype, paratype, othervague.

Our plurality is bit more on the alterhuman side of things, so that gets put under here.

edit: can't believe I keep forgetting nonhuman. Or I can. Human don't say human as part of their identity terms, so I think that's only natural I don't say I'm part of the nonhuman group, I just am nonhuman, and happen to be under that category.

2/ What/who is/are your type(s)? (if you have any) Is it okay if I just copy paste my profile descriptor?

dae-median quoiSinglet with two daemons (Anymic) Shapeshifter Dream Dragon otherkind & folcintera Uzumaki Naruto otherhearted Japanese pacific ocean dragon kardiatype three-tailed enfield para-heartlink Aurelion Sol (collective) vaguetype Mew Paraarchetrope Bond Thread Weaver Archetrope Ninja Archetrope Flammie vague-flicker

3/ Do you experience shifts? If so, can you tell us your most common shifts and your strangest cameo shift (if you've ever had a cameo shift)?

I'm nearly permashifted, so I think phantom is my most common one. I have a lot of cameo dream shift, and I don't really know how to say if they are strange, but they are wild. I tend to never had the same sort of dream shift, human or otherwise. I'm not the same human, I'm not the same creature, hell, I get to be all sorts of dragon that has nothing in common with myself. It gets crazy.

4/ How do you experience your alterhumanity in everyday life?

Vibin' and chillin'. Largely just via interacting and talking with other in the community, make noises at partner and occasionally talks about my experience with them.

5/ What do you think of the community? It's got its ups and downs, good and bad, like any community really. I do love our community, but I'm also aware I'm selective in where I spend my time. I wish we could be more aligned and unified, but that's unlikely. We are all simply too different. The single thread of commonality of not experiencing "typical" or "standard" human identity is but one thread.

6/ What are the things that make you most comfortable and euphoric in your alterhumanity? Acceptance, acknowledgment, and engagement.

I can wear gear, have art, play games, or watch shows that resonate with me, but they are for comfort and resonance. Having safe people and places where I can not only be myself, but be accepted as myself, and others engaging with me with this acknowledgement gives me the most euphoria.

7/ Are you experiencing species dysphoria? Not all the time, but yes I had experienced species specific dysphoria.

8/ What advice would you like to say to a young alterhuman who has just awakened? Research, read, and reach out.

Don't hole up in the first subcommunity you find, and try not to treat any trauma you received as the end-all-be-all for how your future alterhuman community experience will be like. Branch out, LEARN. The alterhuman community has a lot of folks who are queer, who are neurodivergent, disabled, or had dealt with trauma, possibly like you and me. That means there will be lots of clashing intentionally or unintentionally. Be kind to others, and be kind to yourself, alterhumanity is about self-exploration, which can translate to self-reflection.

I had to use the word, but study. Please don't add to the misinformation by regurgitating the piecemeal information you got right away. Chew on them, and learn the different types of alterhumanity. And by the love of all that's rainbow and sunshine, please know the basis of alterhumanity is that it includes a wide variety of identities--it includes nonhuman AND human, it includes identify-as and identify-with and MORE. Also therian is NOT just earthen animal, it is about feeling like an animal, being an animal, and having animality, so yes you can call yourself a therian dragon or therian human if it feels right. Don't treat anyone from your canon or source as 1-to-1 as what's on screen/text/book/game/whatever format. Dragons are more than "typical european/western dragon". Not all concepts originate from alterhuman spaces, reincarnation is definitely not from alterhuman.

Always remember, that it is your identity, and nobody can tell you your experience is wrong. You can do whatever you want with your identity forever! This also is specific about your species or type of identity, and labels (nobody can tell you if you fit under a label or not). BUT this is not about the label's definition so please, please don't go changing a label's known definition.

Nothing is ever black and white, everything has nuance. This will be very hard. But please, stop, read through everything, and then think.

Still, have fun, enjoy your discovery journey, remember that you are not alone, there's a whole community alongside you. Watch out for discourse, keep your eyes open but minds even more open. Make friends, follow the flow. Good luck!

9/ Do you have/want to have gears? I have a pair of tiny wings, a smol tail, number of pins, part of my wardrobe is my color. I would really like to one day have a full quadsuit though, or at least a head piece, or horns. Do you know how hard it is to find straight-back horns that aren't "devil" "demon" and dragon horns that aren't curled curved spiral or spiked? I still want to get Assassin's Creed tailcoat jacket, and a Uzushio forehead protector (which I cannot find anywhere TAT)

10/ Do you know/have any theories about the origin of your alterhumanity? If so, tell us! (all beliefs are legitimate) The origin of our kinity is too complex, but I think part of it is the influence of our kardiatype, thus we are a dragon. You can say it is past life origin, but we really hate that. Our kintype is NOT based in past life, so like a "soul is dragon" thing, but also not quite. We aren't physical, biologically animal, more monsters, energy being? So we are inhibiting this body.

Ironically in a way, the hearttype Naruto is in fact a past life, or it feels like it.

Number of our linktype are quoiluntary in nature, one is due to paratype feeling, the other is social origin, where we wanted to be with others and to make a sort of gag 'type (which turned pretty serious).

The ninja archetrope is likely past lives business. Mew is paratype archetrope. The Bond Weaver we are uncertain where the origin lays.

11/ Tag someone/a creature to answer these questions!ㅤᵕ̈ @dinocanid @talon-dragonbeast @nimdreams @liondrakes @casserole01 @karak9 @byte-count @unearthlygamer May I interest yall in this?

If you are a alterhuman, reblog and answer these questions!

(don't be afraid to write a lot, do what you want ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯)

1/ Which category of alterhumanity do you belong to?

2/ What/who is/are your type(s)? (if you have any)

3/ Do you experience shifts? If so, can you tell us your most common shifts and your strangest cameo shift (if you've ever had a cameo shift)?

4/ How do you experience your alterhumanity in everyday life?

5/ What do you think of the community?

6/ What are the things that make you most comfortable and euphoric in your alterhumanity?

7/ Are you experiencing species dysphoria?

8/ What advice would you like to say to a young alterhuman who has just awakened?

9/ Do you have/want to have gears?

10/ Do you know/have any theories about the origin of your alterhumanity? If so, tell us! (all beliefs are legitimate)

11/ Tag someone/a creature to answer these questions!ㅤᵕ̈

[kararisa]

darling, starling

— 27. through it all — ✦ (wc: 0.8k)

notes: this took longer than expected ^^ hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

To Yae Miko's credit, she cut straight to the chase. 

Not that Scaramouche would give her much credit in general, given that she had always treated him with such indifference over the years before he finally moved out. But he'd take his small blessings whenever he could.

It was a cut-and-dry deal: Yae Miko would interview Scaramouche regarding the recent scandal between his partner and one of the band members of Windborne. He would get the chance to clear the air with the help of one of the most influential news outlets in all of Inazuma, while Yae Miko would get an exclusive story people could only dream about.

It should have been over the moment they ended the interview. But here they are, making casual conversation. At least as casual as it gets between a son and his estranged mother-in-law.

Scaramouche has seen these tactics before. Whenever Yae Miko wanted information, she’d make casual conversation with the interviewee to get them to open up. And that’s when she strikes.

Ironically enough, it was also Yae Miko who taught him how to avoid this. She was the one who taught him when to give information and when to hold back; how to satiate people’s curiosity enough so they leave you alone. Basic media training — training he and Kaori knew by heart.

Yae Miko tilts her chin downwards, the way she does whenever she gets curious. “You’ve been back in Inazuma for a little over a year now. Is it nice living with them? I’m assuming so since no one’s spotted you packing your bags just yet.”

“I still live with them. But that’s none of your business.”

“Oh come now, you saw me turn off the recorder. Everything we’re saying right now is off the record.”

Against his better judgment, he yields, “It’s... nice. On the days when they actually wake up early, they help me cook. It’s become a routine of sorts.”

He knew that was exactly what she was looking for when he saw the hint of satisfaction in her eyes.

It’s a slippery slope, trusting a journalist. Some will risk their lives for the truth while others will stab you in the back while shaking your hand. But if it’s Yae Miko, he has no doubt she’ll only publish the truth, if only a little embellished. She has to sell stories, after all.

“You’re never usually this civil with me,” Scaramouche doesn’t attempt to mask his suspicion. “What do you hope to gain with a conversation that’s off the record?”

Yae Miko offered a cryptic smile, her eyes revealing a flicker of sincerity. “Am I not allowed to be curious? People are actively looking for you just for the chance at an interview and you reached out to me in the hopes of clearing the air about your relationship.”

He’d be loathe to admit that she was one of the few people he trusted to handle the story properly. But he still had to ask, “And now you’re just this so-called off-the-record conversation as some sort of blackmail?”

She sighs, “I’m getting an exclusive interview with the author who’s dating an Inazuman pop star. Would you blame me for asking a few questions? Besides, you’ll see none of this conversation mentioned in any articles.”

“How do I know you’re not just bullshitting me...”

“I can understand your apprehension, but words hold power, Scaramouche. Everyone in the industry knows this. And so do you.”

Scaramouche has never really seen eye-to-eye with Yae Miko on a multitude of things, but one of the few things they can agree on is that people shouldn’t just blindly believe what people say just because they have a large following. The Narukami Press has always strived to publish articles that are reflective of the truth. 

But bias is inevitable, whether you work in journalism or public relations.

“A large majority of people are always going to want to chase the latest drama without caring if it’s true or not,” she starts. “You’ll find no such motivation in me to keep fanning the flames. I want them to die down as much as you do.”

“People like us have a responsibility to be careful with what we say and how we say it,” she continues. “The drama with Zenith was blown out of proportion, that much is for sure. People were hungry to see their downfall given that they were on top for so long but they were just as eager to drag you down with them.”

“Setting the record straight by yourself will be nearly impossible,” she states matter-of-factly. “But your friends have been preparing their statements to defend your partner, yes?”

He isn’t even surprised that she knows about this, especially a PR move this big. Working with his friends will be the best way to get the rumors to die down to a manageable level.

“Your word and Xiao’s will be what people hang onto the most. Make it count.”

“And fight for them, Scaramouche. They need you now more than ever. If you decide to ignore all my advice, then that’s fine by me. But never stop fighting for them.”

“Like hell I’d ever stop. No matter what happens, I’ll be with my partner through it all.”

✧— previous — masterlist — next —✧

summary: being the world-famous singer-songwriter "zenith", the limelight has been on you ever since the start of your career. however, the media becomes relentless when leaks of music you never meant to release begin to circulate. your friend scaramouche, meanwhile, seems to have gotten stuck while writing his second book. with a deadline fast approaching, he comes to you with a deal: act as if you're dating him so he can gather reference material and, in turn, he'll help keep the press' eyes off of your leaks until you release your next album. a win-win in your book, so why not help a friend out?

author's notes:

i lied, this was my favorite chapter to write by far

happy new year everyone!! updates will probably slow down from here but i hope you enjoyed the chapter ^^

taglist — currently CLOSED:

@aestherin @your-kuya-pogi @yourstrulykore @krnzysh @vxnuslogy @yumiaur @featuredtofu @kodzusmiles @meigalaxy @nymphxie @motherscrustytoenailclippings @samyayaya @hiimera @beriiov @e0nssadrift @dazaisboner @nillajhayne @chluuvr @deffenferofjustice @romyoia @xiaomainlmao @hotgirlshit5 @potabletable @letthewindlead @esuz @toriiee @kclremin @angelkazusstuff @phoenix-eclipses @sakiimeo @mayuumine @lilybythevalley @one-and-only-tay @keiiqq @what-just-happened-huh @haunts-gh0st @layla240 @miaakai @duckyyyx @cinnaniyoom @kgogoma @xtobefreex @mechanicalbeat1 @feiherp @venturinea @nnasv @retiredmommylover @onmywaytoteyvat @tiredslepz @saccharine-sucks

[stonerbamtori]

Purple Haze

synopsis: Due to screwing up at the Strawberryland Annual Fair, Mary Jane isn't very well liked by her fellow villagers. She hardly ever goes into town. Elsewhere in the little village is Peach Beomgyu, equally isolated but for entirely different reasons. After typical medical malpractice leads the unlikely pair to cross paths, things get smoky.

THIS FIC IS BASED ON THE STRAWBERRYLAND EVENT BY @thetxtdevil and @beomiracles 's concept of Peach Beomgyu but with tweaked bruising lore and can take place in a pre/post/parallel timeline to Little Apricot

pairing: Peach!Beomgyu x Marijuana!Reader ??????

wordcount: too many ~10k

warnings: MDNI, fluff/smut, hurt/comfort, sub!Beomgyu / softdom!reader, fem!reader sorry for pussy rocking, chubby!reader (she gets the munchies haha get it), pretty vanilla sex all things considered, but there is slight cum eating, bad language, drug use, smoking, edibles, reader has snake bites, that pottery scene from ghost but its teaching him to use a bong, other txt members mentioned, also chaewon don't worry about it, clementine was cute in strawberry shortcake and chaewon starts with c so i had to add her, idk what im doing, i don't normally write fics, this is basically just a disability allegory, beomgyu is a fuzzy peach like in the og, my shitty sense of humor is involved

author's note: this account may just be me dumping this fic and running. hope you enjoy if you have the same derangements as I do

Strawberryland is an idyllic little village, rather conservative in its values- after all, everyone that lives in it is a cute little hybrid motherfucker. The culture surrounds plants, especially fruits- gardening, exchanging foods, sharing recipes, etc. Residents nearly all tend to their own gardens, sharing heritage with a particular plant species. Some even had full orchards. A few of the villagers are quite popular, like Cherry Yeonjun or Lemon Drop Soobin. Others, though, are not- like Mary Jane.

Mary isn't a particularly tasty fruit. Rather, she was a flower, an herb. But she wasn't delicious. Sure, she was edible, but no one was baking her buds in treats for the taste. She was something else.

For a day job, Mary Jane puts herself to use as a town healer. After many years of trying her hand at helping with different things around town, she stumbled upon her uncanny ability to alleviate pain. Naturally skilled, she took care of whoever she could when the opportunity presented itself. Before long it became clear that this was her natural talent; this was all she knew how to do. Soon enough she settled into such a role. Although many thought she was a bit kooky and out there, she didn't really know what else to offer.

Though she has limited training, she is rather successful. Still, because she's a natural healer, her work is commonly thought of as improper. Dr. Chamomile and the others, licensed in medicine, are considered reputable. Mary Jane is considered shady- not above board.

Still, Mary wanted so badly to be a part of Strawberryland, to be among the people. After running into him at the local market, Mary took up baking alongside the kind Gingerbread Taehyun, who had a rather curious mind. In exchange for information on the mystery of the young woman living on the outskirts of town, he teaches her some basic recipes, including brownies.

Using what she learned, Mary Jane baked a big batch of brownies for the County Fair. But when people started to turn loopy after eating her treats, any salvageable bit of reputation she had left was gone. Blueberry Kai was so faded that Cherry Yeonjun had to carry him home on his back. When their precious youngest is threatened, the villagers accuse Mary Jane of trying to poison them. She is swiftly banned from the Fair. From then on, any appearance she made in town was met with scoffs.

Not everyone was so rude. Blueberry Kai, for example, still brought her pie when he had some to spare. "Just because you're not... great at baking, doesn't mean you're a bad person," he'd say, with a grimace. Others, like Clementine Chaewon, came to her for healing. Mary Jane was mostly shunned into her home, but she at least was not completely isolated.

Although her services are not under high demand, Mary takes great comfort in being able to contribute in at least this little way. The one thing that can heal her lonely heart is putting herself to good use. She soothes the pain of her fellow villagers whenever she can.

-

Something is wrong with Peach Beomgyu. Everyone in Strawberryland knows it. Hell, his hair isn't even Peach. Within a dilapidated cottage hidden in the forest, Beomgyu keeps to himself. He isn't like the other fruits. His garden doesn't bloom. His hair is dark. He is consistently covered in bruises. And although he is rather playful, he can only manage to brush aside his chronic pain so often. It isn’t uncommon for there to be a frown on his face.

Peach Beomgyu doesn't go into town much, but for reasons different than Mary Jane. It was an entire ordeal- he would have to ration his energy, plan for mishaps, and take time to recover after. Most of the time Beomgyu left the safe haven of his cottage, it was just to visit Chamomile at the clinic. Only the necessities.

Today is just one of many in a week of flare-ups for him. Once he has reluctantly exited his bed, Peach Beomgyu makes some tea, swirling a spoonful of apricot jam into the mix. Although the first sip is heavenly, and the warmth soothes his throat, the rest of his muscles still ache. After tossing and turning for the umpteenth time on the couch to get comfortable, he drops his book on the floor. He groans, defeated. If he couldn't even read, he might as well be dead.

-

"I'm sorry, Beomgyu. There's just nothing I can do," Dr. Chamomile sighs, scribbling something on the notepad on her desk. He wasn’t even sure she was listening. Or what she could be possibly writing down given the conversation. Maybe she was just doodling.

"Please, Dr. Chamomile. I know my condition cannot be cured, but there has to be something you can give me to at least help with the symptoms," Beomgyu pleads, eyes worn.

Dr. Chamomile sighs, her tired eyes blinking slowly. "I can offer you some tea to help the body relax, but that's really it. I've told you this time and time again."

Frustrated after being consistently let down, Peach Beomgyu can't help but slam his fist on the desk. "That stuff isn't strong enough! It doesn't do shit!"

At the sudden slam, Dr. Chamomile jumps, startled out of her stupor. Dr. Chamomile didn’t take nicely to being so violently bewildered. She scowls, a stern look suddenly on her face. "Then don't take the tea. Now get out. I have other patients," she mutters, jaw set. Beomgyu feels his heart fall at her look of disapproval, just like everyone else's. Head hung in shame, he sullenly leaves the office.

As Peach Beomgyu slowly hobbles through town, too stubborn to let anyone see him with a cane for fear they'll pity him all the more, he can't help but glare ahead. A raincloud practically hangs above his head. As he shuffles over the cobblestone, a cheerful voice snaps him out of his sulking. "Peach Beomgyu! It's good to see you," says Clementine Chaewon.

The short girl smiles up at him, excited by the opportunity to speak to someone so elusive. It almost makes Beomgyu's frown soften. No one ever looked that excited to see him. If anything, they winced. "...Hi Clementine Chaewon," he murmurs awkwardly, dropping his gaze.

Chaewon, although cheerful, is not tone deaf. "What's wrong?" she murmurs gently, tilting her head slightly to try and catch his eyes.

Beomgyu sighs, dragging a hand through his hair. "Dr. Chamomile says there's nothing more she can do for me. I mean, look at me. I'm all fucked up, there's no hiding it. How am I supposed to live like this, knowing I'm never going to get better?" His voice cracks with vulnerability as he extends his bruised arms. Shit- he really hadn't meant to say that much, especially stuff so dark. It just slipped out. Maybe he was beginning to reach a breaking point.

Chaewon's eyes widen. To say she didn't see that coming would be an understatement. Peach Beomgyu hardly ever spoke more than a few words, infamously quiet. After a moment, though, her gaze softens with compassion. "Beomgyu, please don't say that. You're not 'all fucked up'. You're just bruised," she gets out after a sputter.

Beomgyu sighs, unable to help but relent under her kind-hearted words. But who was going to pick on the bruised guy? Of course she had to say that. "Thanks. I just wish I wasn't in pain, that's all. Even if I am different from everyone else, even if I can't bear fruit- that's fine... I just wish these bruises didn't ache."

Chaewon sighs, nodding in understanding. She's quiet for a moment, gaze drifting aside as she thinks. Finally, she suggests, "Why not go to Mary Jane?"

Peach Beomgyu furrows his brows. It went without saying that he was a total homebody. The only people he knew in town were the ones he came across when he was forced out of his hideaway. "Who's Mary Jane?"

"Marijuana. She lives on Hemp Lane. She does natural healing. I know it sounds like snake oil salesman nonsense, but she really helped me when I hurt my back last year gardening!" Clementine Chaewon explains.

Beomgyu narrows his gaze as he considers this, nose scrunching up in distaste. As a well-read man, Beomgyu always thought of himself as informed. A man of science. He was too intellectual for essential oils and natural remedies. That stuff was all scams.

Still, the desperation in the back of his mind doesn't want to completely let go of the idea. It is still hope, albeit half-hearted. "...It's not like I have anything to lose," he sighs. "Thank you, Chaewon. I'll give it a shot."

Chaewon smiles once again. "Of course! Do you need any help getting home?"

Beomgyu frantically shakes his head. "Oh, no, no! Thank you, but I'm alright." And just like that, he scrambles to return to his walk home before she can insist. He's not sure if it's his pride or his general hatred of small talk that propels him, but he's off.

"No problem. Have a good night!" Chaewon calls after him with a wave and a beaming smile, before heading off in the other direction.

Beomgyu can't help but let out a huff as soon as he's out of earshot, pain shooting up his legs as he rigidly corrects his posture for imagined prying eyes. Appearing in public was always a performance. As he continues the trek home, it's as if his mind turns off. The only thing he can focus on is the deliberate effort of every step. When his cottage finally comes into view, he thinks he could weep for joy.

Once inside, he collapses on the couch. He doesn't get up again until the next day.

-

It's about noon when Mary blinks her bleary eyes open. People didn't come by often, and certainly didn't in the morning hours. With a yawn, she stretches, relaxed muscles coming to life one by one.

It's a day like any other. Mary tends to her plants in the yard, watering and surveying them. She mostly grows marijuana, of course, the plant passed through her family. Still, she's experimented with many variations. Her favorite is Purple Haze for its beautiful color- and lucky is she, for it matches her hair.

Once Mary is satisfied with the state of her crops, she returns inside. She hums as she enters the kitchen, grabbing a few buds from a jar on the counter. In one swift move, she clicks on the radio and grabs the mortar and pestle.

Mary sings along to the tune as she grinds down the buds, too lost in the song to pay much attention. Once she feels little resistance, she smiles down at the bowl. Perfect.

When she sits down on the couch and sets the bowl on her coffee table beside her favorite bong, her tranquility is interrupted as she hears a knock at the door. She pauses, brows furrowing. Had she imagined that? No one called to say they were coming today. Maybe it was just part of the song on the radio?

When another knock is heard, she hums, pouting in surprise. She makes her way to open the door, only to have to squint into the bright sunlight.

Slowly, her pupils adjust to the light, green irises rimmed with red more visible. The young man standing before her isn't someone she recognizes, and he's at least a head taller than her as she looks up. "Hello," she murmurs with a lazy smile, eyes a bit droopy.

"Uh, hi. Are you Mary Jane?" Peach Beomgyu asks nervously. What was with this girl? She looked half asleep.

She blinks for a moment. "Hm? Oh, yeah. That's me," she drawls, a bit dazed. Still, Mary notices the way he shakes, frowning slightly and giving him a once over. It wasn't just anxiety- he was leaning on a cane of beautifully carved wood. Her eyes light up at the sight. "Holy shit, that's an excellent cane you have. Come in!"

Beomgyu's eyes widen a bit, not expecting a genuine compliment on his mobility aid. "Ah, thank you..." He nods with a slight blush, slowly stepping inside behind her. Mary closes the door and gestures for him to sit on the couch.

Mary Jane smiles, patiently waiting until he's comfortably sat to join him. "Did you carve it yourself?" she asks excitedly. With the cane at the forefront of her mind, she'd forgotten to ask why he was even here. It wasn't immediately important.

"Uh, yeah, I did..." Beomgyu says nervously, eyes surveying the items on her coffee table. A bowl of herbs and some sort of... phallic contraption. Maybe coming here was a bad idea.

"Well, you're very talented. I'm a bit of an artist myself in my free time, but everything I've whittled is shit compared to that," Mary chuckles, before catching herself cursing. "Oh shit- sorry, I have a bad habit of swearing..." she murmurs, voice softer and apologetic.

Peach Beomgyu chuckles. "It's fine. I'm not hurt by little words," he says with a smirk, before sighing. "So, Chaewon told me you do healing and stuff. Is that true?"

Mary blinks, spacey and having forgotten the task at hand. Ah! "Yeah, I try! I'm a bit of an amateur, but I do my best. I'm CPR certified by the Strawberry Council," she announces proudly, a self-satisfied grin on her face as she raises her chin high.

Beomgyu can't help but chuckle a bit at her goofy display of pride over something so simple. There's something charming about it. "Wow. I'm impressed," he murmurs half-heartedly.

Although Mary Jane picks up on his half-sincerity, she smiles. "Thanks. So you need to be healed, do you... what's your name?"

Beomgyu chuckles again. Mary didn't seem too quick to the punch. "I'm Peach Beomgyu. Nice to meet you," he introduces, giving a slight bow of his head, which Mary returns.

"A peach? No wonder you are here for healing. You're awfully bruised," Mary murmurs with a frown, gaze drifting from the brown hair atop his head to the marks on his fuzzy arms. It was as if she dumped a bucket of ice water on his head. Most of the villagers wouldn't acknowledge any of it out loud. Too awkward, too taboo. But Mary Jane is taboo.

It took Beomgyu a second to gather himself enough to answer coherently. "...Yeah... I was just born this way. I've been to Dr. Chamomile several times, and even traveled further to visit Dr. Ginseng, but there's no cure. The only thing I can do is try to be comfortable as I live with it," Beomgyu explains, voice a bit gentler than before. It was as if his voice handled the fragile topic as delicately as it could.

Mary Jane nods slowly, a look of acknowledgement taking over her eyes that betrays an unexpected wisdom. "So the system is failing you, and you need to get creative?" she murmurs, much more invested, though her little grin provides the smallest hint of levity. Peach Beomgyu lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

“Yeah… Can you help me?” Peach Beomgyu whispers, lower lip caught between his teeth. He didn’t mean to plead, but the desperation in his eyes was hard to hide. He didn’t want to hurt anymore. 

Mary Jane smiles, resting a hand on his shoulder gently, careful not to hurt his tender skin. “Of course. I assume you are coming here because you're willing to try some less conventional options. You know about my reputation, right?" she asks with a grimace.

Beomgyu nods. "Yeah, I'm aware of the risks.... I'm still interested," he murmurs meekly.

Mary Jane nods, keeping a trained neutrality on her face so as not to sway his decision. "Marijuana helps with pain relief- not strong enough for surgery, for example, but certainly for body aches and pains,” she explains swiftly, sitting up straighter. “Do you smoke?”

Peach Beomgyu’s eyes widen a bit as his cheeks flush pink. “Uh, not really… I can if that’s the only option, but…” he trails off, awkwardly averting his gaze. He didn’t fuck with his lungs. He already had enough to deal with when it came to the bruising.

Mary Jane shakes her head with a smile. “No, no, don’t worry about it! I have edibles. It takes longer for it to kick in, but it is also generally stronger. Since this is your first time, I’ll give you a low dose to try,” she explains, standing to her feet. The soft patter of her feet is heard as she walks into her kitchen to retrieve two brownies- one for each of them. 

“Brownies?” Beomgyu asks, furrowing a brow. 

Mary Jane nods. “Yup! They might taste slightly off because of the pot, but I think they’re passable,” she says with a grin, extending the plate. Beomgyu takes a brownie, frowning slightly as he examines it. There was obvious hesitation in his eyes. Was it really worth this? He didn’t know what was scarier, if he had a bad reaction, or if it just didn’t work. Did he really want to eat something strange from this girl?

“Do you trust me?” Mary Jane asks softly, rousing him from his thoughts. Beomgyu was about to say no when he looks up at her face, at her eyes sparkling with hope, and suddenly he's taking a bite.

It was alright. He chews slowly.

Mary Jane beams, sitting beside him again and eating a brownie of her own. 

The two finish their treats and sit in awkward silence.

“....So… How long is this supposed to take to kick in?” Peach Beomgyu whispers, twiddling with his thumbs.

“Twenty minutes on an empty stomach,” she murmurs back. “It has to digest to hit your bloodstream.”

“Oh,” Beomgyu remarks softly with a slight nod. 

The silence is regular for Beomgyu, but unbearable for Mary Jane. After another minute, she can’t help but yap again. “So, Peach Beomgyu! I’m a healer or whatever, but what do you do? How do you pass the time?”

Beomgyu blinks, unsure where the girl who can barely keep her eyes fully open gets the energy. “Well, I don’t go out much on account of the bruising… I usually pass the time reading.” 

At this, Mary Jane lights up. “Reading? I love books! What do you read?” she asks excitedly, nearly a golden retriever at this moment. Maybe if she’s enthusiastic enough, he will crack a smile.

Not yet, though. “Uh, mostly fantasy. I mostly read fiction, novels. I like scifi too, but fantasy is my favorite,” Beomgyu explains, more interested than before, maybe, but still far from excited.

“Ah. I only really read nonfiction. I’m a bit of a nerd, I guess,” Mary Jane confesses sheepishly. It’s this that finally gets a reaction out of Beomgyu, eyebrows shooting up. 

“Nonfiction? Really? But isn’t it boring?” he implores, eyes widened. “I don’t really read that stuff for fun.”

“Not at all! I love to learn about the outside world. I can’t experience all of it myself, but I can learn about it. I can hear the stories of those who came before me, too. Of how the world became this way,” she muses, thoughtful words in contrast to her lazy drawl. At this, Beomgyu pouts in consideration. He gives her a shrug. “Besides, doesn’t fiction kind of get boring sometimes? When you think about how the stories aren’t even real…”

Peach Beomgyu can’t help but blink as he realizes the differences in their ways of thinking. He didn’t anticipate that this eccentric girl would be, perhaps, a bigger nerd than him, but anything was possible. Before he can think much further into it, though, his eyes start to feel a bit fuzzy- and not like his peach fuzz. “Uh, Mary Jane? I’m starting to feel it, I think,” he stutters softly, chest warm.

Mary Jane’s eyes light up as she peers over at him, examining his demeanor. Drooping posture, half-lidded eyes… “You’re high,” she smiles. 

“High?” Beomgyu asks, brows furrowing. “Isn’t that bad?”

Mary Jane shrugs. “It won’t harm your body nearly as much as alcohol would, because it stresses your liver. And since you didn’t even smoke it, your lungs will be fine. Marijuana is a depressant like alcohol, so it general slows down the nervous system. The high will last about two or three hours.” When she sees the nervous look on his face, she softens a bit further. "You wanted to give it a try, right?"

Beomgyu slowly nods. He had been willing. It’s just that now that he’s heard the term “high” all his negative associations begin to surface once more. Still, this really wasn’t that bad. For once, his arms weren’t aching, and neither were his legs. Even the bruise on his ribs was conspicuously numb. “I did. I guess I’m just nervous because I’ve never been high before…” he trails off. 

Mary Jane hums in understanding, her own edible starting to hit as well. “It’s okay, you’ll be fine. I’ll be right here in case you have a bad reaction or anything. You should expect some dry mouth though. Unfortunate side effect,” she chuckles. Beomgyu nods, cracking a small smile at the sound of her laugh. 

“Alright, I guess I can live with that,” he murmurs playfully, relaxing further into the couch cushions. The further he sinks into the plush stuffing, the more weightless he feels. It’s almost akin to floating on clouds, if they were covered in corduroy. A feeling of relaxation and general pleasantness washes over not only his body, but also his mind. His anxieties begin to fade.

Mary Jane tilts her head, gaze narrowing as she gives him a knowing look. He was rather cute as he grew more dazed. She hadn’t known him for long, but this was the first time she’d seen him so peaceful. “So how do you feel? How’s the pain?”

Beomgyu hums happily as he melts into the couch beside her. He hadn’t even consciously thought about the bruising, really. But his pain was definitely alleviated in this moment. Or maybe some of it was there, but the high made him not care, made it not bother him. He wasn’t sure. But before Beomgyu can even realize it, silent tears slip down his cheeks. This is the first time he's been without pain in years.

The second Mary sees his tears, her heart aches, and she quickly touches his shoulder again. “Oh, Beom, are you okay? Why are you crying, Peach?” she coos, a more doting side of her coming out. She was a caretaker, ultimately. 

Peach Beomgyu sniffles, wiping his face clumsily with the back of his hand. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it's just… I can’t remember the last time I felt relief like this,” he confesses in a whimper. Mary’s heart wrenches. 

Hesitant, she opens her arms. “Oh, sweetheart… can I hold you?” she whispers, needing permission before she touches him, no matter how much her heart was screaming at her too. Especially with his sensitive skin. There were times when having discipline was important, to not impulsively give into her instincts, and this was one of them.

When Beomgyu wordlessly nods, Mary Jane scoops him up in her arms as delicately as she can, cradling his taller form against hers. She’s soft to the touch, squishy under his weight. After all, all these years of the munchies hadn’t left her particularly skinny. 

Beomgyu lets out a shaky sigh as he eases in her grasp, slowly letting go of his muscles. He didn’t want to crush her with his weight, but the high was relaxing his body so much. He felt so heavy, but not in a bad way. Mary Jane quietly coos again, gently stroking his back over his shirt. Beomgyu can’t help but give in completely, melting into a puddle in her hold. 

“...thank you,” he whispers meekly, a small, vulnerable voice. 

Mary Jane knew in that moment she would protect him to her death. 

“Of course, angel. You don’t need to thank me. You deserve to feel comfortable, to exist without pain…” she whispers back. 

And just like that, the two remain cuddled on her couch in comfortable silence. 

-

It becomes clear rather quickly that Beomgyu needed this kind of support regularly, and there was no reason for Mary to deny him. If she could help it, he would never feel pain again. After he went back home that first time, he’s continued to drop by regularly. Mary Jane offered to bring his supply to his house, but Beomgyu insisted that he needed to get out of the house once a week. Mary Jane didn’t realize what a little safe haven her home had come to feel like to him.

It’s a month later when Mary carefully blows him a glass bong of his own, forging in her garage. The smoke isn't anything out of the ordinary, anyway. She carefully sculpts the molten glass, adding a peach shaped bulb for the water to sit in at the base. Once the glass is cooled enough, Mary Jane can’t help calling him. 

“Peach Beomgyu?” Mary Jane chirps into the phone.

“Hm? Mary Jane?” she hears Beomgyu’s voice filtered back through the line.

“Yes! I have a gift for you. Could I come by?” she asks, biting her lip in excitement. She couldn’t wait to show him how to smoke this. Now that he’s opted to smoke so he can get the relief faster, this would be a game changer. 

“I was already going to drop by later today to pick up my stash anyway. I’ll be there in a couple hours,” he responds. He can’t help but smile to himself when he hears her eagerness through the phone. She was rather excitable. 

“If you’re really sure you’re okay with walking all this way?” she asks with a grimace. 

“Mary Jane, it’s like three streets down. I’m not that bruised,” he chuckles. He has sounded so much happier lately, she thinks she could cry. Still, she laughs at his joke. 

“Alright, alright, I won’t nag then. Just please be careful!” she acquiesces, before hanging up the phone.

-

As Mary Jane waits for Peach Beomgyu to arrive, she tidies her little cottage. Once she’s done with that, she’s a bit restless. She has to force herself to sit down on the couch to stop pacing willy-nilly.

While she sinks into the sofa, her gaze settles on the two bongs on her coffee table- one purple, like her, the other peach, like Beomgyu. Beomgyu wasn't in pain when he was with Mary Jane. But maybe she could aim higher than that. It didn't take long for Mary Jane to feel a deep connection to this young man. In a lot of ways, he was just like her, and just as lonely. The moment they shared was intimate, and she couldn’t help but feel guilty at how much it meant to her. She wasn’t supposed to be this attached. She was basically just a glorified dealer who deluded herself into thinking she's a nurse. But still, she had held him while his life changed. 

At this point, Mary couldn't help but want to please him more. Seeing his smile had become an addiction. Watching him come to stop hating his body was amazing. But maybe seeing him merely comfortable wasn’t enough. She wanted him to enjoy his body as a source of pleasure rather than pain for once. It was a body she loved, because despite its flaws, it was his. And not only that, it was the reason they met in the first place. Maybe, if Beomgyu had been a perfect peach, they wouldn’t have ever crossed paths.

Mary Jane’s thoughts are interrupted when she hears a knock on the door. She quickly shakes the thoughts away, jumping to her feet to answer the door. There he was, looking far more radiant than ever. “Hey, Mary,” Beomgyu says with a smile, stepping inside. Mary Jane can’t help smiling back- it was like his grin was contagious, somehow.

“Hi, Beom! Come on in,” she says, stepping aside to allow him inside. It doesn’t take long for Beomgyu’s eyes to fall onto the bongs on display. 

“Oh, Mary Jane! You bought me this?” he asks, eyes lighting up as he takes hold of the peachy bong. He examines it as he sits on the sofa. 

Mary Jane feels some shyness come over her as she fidgets with her sleeve. “I, uh, actually made it,” she explains with a soft smile. 

At this, Peach Beomgyu looks at her incredulously. “You can do glass work?” he questions, baffled. 

Mary Jane can only nod as she awkwardly sits next to him. For some reason, being the center of attention right now made her squirm. It was completely irrational, but after the inappropriate thoughts she had just moments ago, she was scared he would somehow sense it. She was terrified he would find out. “Oh, yeah. It’s something I learned from the bakery twirling sugar. Glass is the same…” she trails off awkwardly, unable to meet his eyes. 

Beomgyu assumes she’s just become meek because he’s praising her work, and doesn’t think much else of it. “Well, why don’t we try them out?” he suggests with a smirk. 

Mary Jane blinks. She was certainly more than eager to no longer be sober. “Fuck yeah. I’ll show you how to use it,” she says. And with that, she plucks the peach bong from his hands, heading to the kitchen. She pours some fresh water into the chamber before returning with some weed already ground. 

“Alright, so it’s kind of like smoking a pipe, but bigger,” she chuckles, welcoming the distraction. She packs the bowl, before turning to give him a clear view of what she’s doing. “When you want to take a rip, you cover this hole-” she explains, gesturing to it with her fingers and demonstrating- “and then you put your lips on the mouth piece and inhale. It’s more intense than smoking a joint, though, so keep that in mind.”

Peach Beomgyu slowly nods as he watches. 

“Are you ready?” Mary Jane asks, tilting her head. Peach Beomgyu blushes, but nods, taking the bong into his hands. It really was pretty, he thought. He didn’t want to fuck this up. 

Mary Jane smiles as she helps him, guiding his hands to where they belong. “Alright, put your mouth on. You can breathe through your nose,” she chuckles. Once he does, she flicks her lighter on, lighting the bowl. Steamy smoke begins to billow within the bong, and Mary Jane can’t help but grin excitedly. “Okay, now you can suck it up into your mouth and inhale.”

Beomgyu does as instructed, only to hold it shortly before coughing out a laugh. “Damn, that is different,” he chuckles breathlessly. 

“You did it!” Mary Jane cheers, beaming. Beomgyu takes another rip, holding it much longer now before he exhales, the smoke billowing from his lips. 

“I did,” he drawls with a smirk, passing her the bong. Mary Jane simply blinks for a moment, having imagined using her own. Still, she can’t resist. She swiftly takes the bong herself, taking a long rip before relaxing into the couch with a sigh. “I take it you like these, huh?” Beomgyu murmurs with amusement. Mary Jane only nods. 

The two continue like that until the bowl is all gone, melting into puddles on the couch. She begins to repack the bowl, mostly moving out of muscle memory. In her daze, mind left to her own devices, Mary Jane can’t help glancing over at Beomgyu. She doesn’t notice when she freezes in place. Beomgyu really was incredibly handsome. The straight slope of his nose, the way his eyelashes feather his cheeks (especially when he could barely keep his eyes open like now), his soft lips. She doesn’t even realize she’s staring until he calls her out. 

“Hey, Mary Jane? Earth to Mary Jane?” he drawls with a smirk, snapping her out of it. Mary Jane hums, perking up at attention. “What are you thinking about? You got all zoned out staring at me.”

Mary Jane feels her cheeks burn, turning to light the bowl. “Snacks. I’m starting to get the munchies,” she jokes, lying with ease. “I like to eat, you know…” she trails off with a playful look, gazing down at her plump body before looking back at him. She then lifts the bong to her lips. 

“Nothing wrong with that. Bet if I had a better appetite I’d have a lot more energy,” he chuckles, but Mary Jane doesn’t miss the way his gaze lingers on her figure. She was definitely curvy, large chest and round belly obvious with her form-fitting top. Not that he minded. He loved how plush and squishy she was when she had held him the day they met.

“That’s fair enough. I think the energy might be wasted on a lazy stoner like me, though,” she retorts, smoke let loose with every word. Though there’s something between them now, some elephant in the room. Mary Jane doesn’t know if it’s just the purple haze, or wishful thinking, but the air feels different now that she's noticed his gaze. 

“Nothing is wasted on you,” Beomgyu says automatically. Mary Jane’s eyes widen. She quickly searches his face, only for him to blush when he feels her examine him. “What?” he murmurs, much more softly. 

“Nothing. That was just really sweet. And I don’t know… something just feels different…” she answers quietly. Mary Jane was a lot of things, but tight-lipped wasn’t really one of them. She hated silence, she hated walking on egg shells, she hated ignoring tension. 

“Different how?” Beomgyu asks, a hint of trepidation in his voice. 

Mary Jane can’t help but sigh, giving him an earnest look. “You really want to know?” she questions, peering back at him skeptically. 

“...Well, now I’m nervous. But yeah,” he answers quietly, honest. 

“I find you attractive,” she confesses bluntly, looking back at him with a simple gaze. Beomgyu almost chokes on a breath. For a short moment, he just looks back into her eyes. Maybe Mary was wrong- maybe his gaze didn’t linger. Maybe she imagined it. He doesn’t say anything at first, wordlessly taking his bong back for another rip. Mary Jane watches him in silence as his eyes flutter shut, little clouds of white slipping from his mouth. “...Beomgyu?” Mary Jane murmurs tentatively, tilting her head. 

“Hmmm?” Beomgyu hums lazily, eyes slowly blinking open. 

“I’m interested in you. I guess I didn’t really ask anything, but I thought you might comment,” she chuckles. Despite the blush on her cheeks and the way her heart fluttered, she still lets out a little joke as if she weren’t shaking in her boots. 

“Oh, yeah…” he murmurs, blinking slowly as he gives her a once over. “You’re pretty cute yourself.” Mary Jane can’t really read his expression. After burying all his time in books, he wasn’t very skilled with flirting. Still, she smiles at his compliment. 

“Yeah? Just cute?” she murmurs with a smirk, plucking the bong from his hands once more to have some more herself. Once she inhales, she sets the bong down. “How cute?” she teases, leaning in with that same smirk, smoke escaping her nose. 

Beomgyu gulps. She looked like a sexy dragon sizing him up. It only made him feel even smaller and more helpless under her gaze. “...uh, very?” he mumbles, almost inaudible. As Mary watches him fluster, she’s only emboldened more. The high alleviates some of her inhibitions, and she’s more playful than usual.

She takes a hit without ever taking her eyes off of him, before leaning closer. “Cute enough to kiss?” she purrs, lips hovering mere inches from his. The scent of the warm smoke brushing against his lips makes his breath hitch. It’s all Beomgyu can do to nod, cheeks nearly flushed scarlet. When his eyes drift down to her lips, snake bites glinting in the light, Mary Jane realizes he likes them. And with that, she captures his lips in hers, exhaling the smoke into his mouth. 

She pulls back with a satisfied smirk, reclining against the couch cushions as she keeps her gaze intent on him. He lets out a shaky breath, the smoke slowly slipping past his parted lips. He just looked stunned, as if nothing were going on in that head of his. Frozen in place, he watched her with doe eyes. “Maybe next time we get high, baby,” she begins, looking at him with darker eyes, “I can take care of you. Make you feel good when your body isn’t hurting, hun. But sober you will have to decide on that,” she asserts.

Beomgyu feels a shiver course through him, face burning more than the hot smoke in his lungs. Take care of him? His body? He almost couldn’t wrap his head around what she was suggesting. Still, she was pretty, and it was hard to say no. He quietly nods, peering back at her like a puppy. Shit, he was supposed to smart. This stupid fucking weed was making him dumb. “...okay. I’ll think about it.”

-

It’s not until the following day, when Beomgyu has sobered up, that Mary Jane hears from him. “Hello?”

“Mary Jane?” a voice calls from the other side. She’d recognize that voice anywhere at this point. 

“Yeah?” 

He’s quiet for a bit, trying to pick the right words. “I… I’m sober now,” ends up being what slips out.

Mary Jane chuckles. “I should hope so,” she jokes smoothly, ignoring the quickening pace of her heart. “What does sober Beomgyu have to say?”

“...I want to try it,” he murmurs shyly, almost a mumble. He doesn’t know why it’s so hard to get the words out, she can’t even see him. But her voice alone was enough to make him weak in the knees.

Mary Jane is silent for a moment. “Are you sure? I don’t want to take advantage of you, baby,” she clarifies, slipping the pet name out to sober him for the first time without thinking. 

It makes his heart do a flip. “Yeah, I’m sure. You introduced me to new things before… I trust you,” he says automatically, the words seeming to come back to him. Mary Jane can’t help but smirk to herself. Maybe he really did want this. 

“Alright, Beom. Bring an overnight bag and I can take care of you tonight,” she instructs, and Beomgyu instinctively nods. She can’t even see him; what is he doing? 

“Okay. Tonight?” he murmurs, voice still a bit shaky. Mary Jane can just imagine him fidgeting with his sleeves on the other side of the phone. 

“Tonight.”

-

Beomgyu fusses with his hair as he stands on her doorstep that evening, procrastinating knocking. He felt like this girl might eat him alive. She was ostracized from the village for a reason... but the way she made him feel, as if blending into a blissful harmony with the world around him in a way he never had before, was too tempting to resist. He never felt unsafe around Mary Jane, only nervous about the unknown.

Finally, he musters up the courage to knock.

"Beom!" Mary Jane beams, eyes lit up with excitement as she throws open the door. "You came."

"Mary Jane," he mirrors with a smile, "I did." He follows her into the cottage, putting his bag down by the couch.

"So, have you eaten dinner already, hun?" Mary drawls, already halfway to the kitchen.

"Ah! No, not yet..." he explains sheepishly, gently scratching the side of his neck.

Mary Jane smirks. "Well, lucky for you, I have prepared a fabulous meal," she declares playfully, mimicking a posh accent. It isn't even that funny on its own, but something about Mary's unapologetic corniness was endearing. Beomgyu can't help letting a chuckle slip.

"Well, I'd be honored," he responds softly, playing along. He follows Mary Jane to the kitchen, helping bring the dishes and silverware to the table. "You didn't cook weed in any of this, did you?"

Mary Jane laughs. "No, no, that's for dessert," she jokes. She carefully carries her pot of spaghetti to the table, oven mitts shielding her hands.

"More of your infamous brownies? I can't believe you ever gave one of those to Blueberry Kai," he teases, setting their places. Mary Jane scoffs, jaw dropping in a scandalized smile as she takes her spot opposite him.

"I didn't realize that if I don't wear gloves, everything I bake gets contaminated with weed! It wasn't on purpose!" she insists, placing her oven mitts aside.

"Likely story," Beomgyu murmurs with a smirk, eyeing her skeptically. "Are you sure you didn't just want to get someone else hooked so you can have stoner friends?"

Mary Jane's jaw drops into that baffled grin again, a sputtering sound of disbelief slipping past her lips. "You're a stoner too, now! I hope you remember that!" she retorts.

"Yeah, and it's all because you groomed me to be," he teases again, now just happy to push her buttons. Mary Jane just scoffs, rising from her seat to serve them both a good amount of spaghetti.

"Don't tempt me. If you keep treating me like a criminal, I might as well have the fun of enjoying the crime," she smirks, sitting back down with a satisfied grin and a glimmer in her eye. Suddenly, Beomgyu felt a shiver go down his spine.

"F-fine..." he stutters, a bit thrown by her flirty look. He quickly shovels some spaghetti in his mouth, eyes settled on his plate rather than her.

"You can dish it but you can't take it, huh?" Mary giggles, taking a bite of her own. Beomgyu looks back at her with a slight blush, shaking his head.

The two continue to eat their respective meals in silence for a bit, until Mary Jane remembers their earlier conversation. "Hey, Beomgyu," she whispers, quieter than before.

He hums, lifting his head to look back at her with clueless eyes.

"You said I could take care of you tonight. You know what I meant, right?" she asks, looking back at him plainly. "I meant sex."

Beomgyu sputters again, nearly choking on the bit of spaghetti still in his mouth. He's certain that the tips of his ears are glowing red now. He grimaces with his lips in a tight line, nodding as a strangled "mhm" sounds from his throat.

Mary Jane can't help but chuckle at his reaction. "Sorry, I just wanted to make sure... You were high when I suggested it," she jokes, shrugging. She takes her plate then, standing and carrying it off to the sink.

Beomgyu scarfs down the rest of his meal before following her meekly, trying his best to ignore his burning face. "Thank you," Mary Jane smiles, carefully taking his plate to wash off alongside her own.

"I should thank you... You're the one who made me dinner," he murmurs softly, reaching over to try and take the sponge. Mary Jane tsks, pushing him aside with her shoulder.

"You're a guest. It's two plates and a pot, I can manage," she reassures with a chuckle, before gesturing with a flick of her head. "Go ahead and have a brownie. Treat time," she smirks.

Peach Beomgyu certainly won't turn down an intoxicating treat. He takes one of the brownies sitting on the counter, letting out a happy sigh after his first bite. It doesn't take long for Mary Jane to finish up the dishes and have one as well.

-

"Let's go get ready for bed," she suggests, giving Beomgyu a questioning look to which he simply nods.

Peach Beomgyu grabs his cute duffel bag, peachy-pink like everything else he owns, and follows Mary Jane down the hall to her room. "Ah, where's your bathroom..?" Beomgyu asks meekly.

"Right here, first door on the left," she explains with a soft smile. Beomgyu nods gratefully, slipping inside with his things.

Mary Jane makes it the rest of the way to her room, butterflies settling in her chest. Beomgyu brought his bag into the bathroom with him, so he must be getting ready. He'd probably be gone long enough for her to get changed into pajamas of her own.

Mary Jane grabs a sheer purple nightie, lacy trim on the edges. In reality, she never wears cute shit like this to bed- who did? But Beomgyu didn't have to know that she normally slept in a huge tee and ratty old sweatpants. Those weren't so sexy. Tonight, she'd look at least a little alluring. Hopefully.

Meanwhile, Beomgyu is having his own wardrobe doubts in the bathroom. He was in completely regular pajamas- a white tank top and plaid pajama bottoms. But still, he couldn't help his shyness. Beomgyu nearly always wore long sleeves and covered as much skin as possible for fear of his bruises attracting unwanted attention. As he looks himself in the mirror, so many conflicting feelings come bubbling to the surface of his gut. He gulps, steeling himself to exit the bathroom.

When Mary Jane hears the door open, she looks up with excitement, only to be met with the vulnerable look in Beomgyu's eyes. She can hardly take it- it's like her heart is clenched in his fist. She immediately coos. "Oh, Beom, come here," she whispers, perched atop her bed.

Beomgyu blushes as he sees her body veiled in lilac, plump and round. He nods, hesitating for a moment before closing the distance to join her. It doesn't take any time at all for Mary Jane to open her arms to him, pulling him up against her.

Beomgyu lets out a shaky breath. "Sorry, I just... don't let people see the bruises much," he confesses in a whisper. Mary Jane nods, gently petting his hair as he settles in her hold.

"You're very handsome. I'm pretty lucky to have the viewing pleasure," she reassures in a playful whisper. Beomgyu can't help but chuckle at her flirty words.

"Leave it to you to hit on me at such a moment," he snarks. Still, it's a bit hard to keep his head straight at this point. The brownie is starting to kick in, blood abuzz. He instinctively nuzzles his face into her shoulder as he leans against her, the sensation of her silky skin against his fuzzy cheek pleasant. Her large breasts are nearly an inch from his face, and he's trying really hard to ignore that fact and not freak out.

Mary Jane giggles. "Maybe if you saw yourself the way I do, you'd understand how hard it is to keep my mouth shut," she whispers, gently stroking his back. She smiles down at him, his pretty brown eyes magnetic. "But I suppose I could show you..?" she suggests softly.

Peach Beomgyu blushes at her cheeky suggestion, gulping once more. He looks up at her with a curious gaze, head still resting atop her shoulder. "Show me?" he repeats under his breath.

Mary Jane nods, smiling sweetly despite the darker spark in her eyes. "Did the edible hit, baby? How do you feel?" she whispers, glancing down to his bruised arm. She gently caresses the spot, carefully gauging his reaction. "Does it hurt?"

Beomgyu shakes his head, sucking in a shaky breath. "No... not sore," he whispers.

That's all Mary Jane needs to hear, swiftly lowering him onto his back so he's reclining atop her pillows. Beomgyu's breath hitches as he's nearly manhandled by the smaller woman, though she's probably twice his weight. Maybe she's really just shorter.

Mary Jane giggles when as she notices his stunned reaction. "Relax, baby. Just gonna make you feel good," she murmurs comfortingly, moving in to lay beside him. Beomgyu gulps again, but nods.

Once he's relaxed a bit more, Mary Jane leans in to begin trailing kisses down his jaw. She hums, the soft scent of peaches surrounding her as she drags her lips over his skin. "You're much sweeter than me," she whispers, lips curled up in a grin as her path leads her to his sensitive neck. His peach fuzz stands at end, a shaky gasp escaping his throat.

"Mary Jane..." he whispers, hands instinctively lifting up to hold onto her by his side. She doesn't let up, continuing to trail gentle, loving kisses along his flesh.

She can't help but giggle at his half-hearted protest. "What? It's true! Peaches smell better than pot," she teases, kissing her way down to the juncture of his neck and shoulder.

Beomgyu can only groan, too weak to protest in his dazed state. The combination of the high dizzying his mind and the overwhelming sensations of her playing with some of the most sensitive spots on his body is simply too much to bear.

Mary Jane hums in response, making her way down his shoulder. Beomgyu is hardly paying attention to what she's doing, just along for the ride. Mary Jane coats him in kisses, making her way from one bruise to the next, gently worshiping his marred skin. "You're gorgeous," she whispers sweet praises, taking her time to appreciate every piece of him. The high heightens every sensation, each touch all Beomgyu can comprehend in his daze.

By the time she reaches his hand, trailing kisses over his knuckles one by one, Beomgyu can't help but whimper. No one has ever spoiled him with this much attention before.

Mary Jane smiles, peering back at his face with loving eyes. "What is it, baby? Am I going too slow?" she whispers, unabashed affection in her eyes. It makes his heart skip a beat as he swallows.

"N-no... I just... I didn't think you'd be so sweet..." he mumbles, shyly averting his gaze. Mary Jane was normally so playful and cheeky, and here she was doting on him like he were the most precious man in the world.

Mary Jane can't help but laugh at his words. "I can be mean?" she whispers with a teasing look, to which Beomgyu's eyes widen. He frantically shakes his head. "That's what I thought," she finishes with a smirk.

Once she finishes pressing little pecks to the tips of each of his fingers, she swiftly moves to straddle his lap. "No pain?" she whispers, to which he nods. She carefully rests his arm on the bed once more before lifting its opposite, starting from the tips of his fingers to kiss her way back up his body. Beomgyu shivers as her soft lips trace his body, a shaky breath escaping him. Mary Jane hums with pleasure while mapping his body.

Eventually Mary Jane has made it all the way back to his neck. She presses her lips beneath his jaw, caressing his skin lovingly. Beomgyu sighs, eyes fluttering open to give her a pleading look. Mary Jane nearly freezes when she sees it. Still, she's determined to do this properly. She kisses her way along his jaw and cheek to complete her path before finally giving him what he wants.

Mary Jane captures his lips in hers, the sudden action after all the anticipation stunning Beomgyu for a moment. It takes a second for his dazed mind to catch up to whats happening, to which he finally returns her kiss, arms slipping up around her waist. Mary Jane can't help but sigh against his lips, relaxing into his arms.

Beomgyu feels his stomach do a little flip when she hears her breathy sigh. The sound was so intimate, soft, vulnerable. He instinctively kisses her with greater need, and it doesn't take long for Mary Jane to catch on and part her lips. "Damn, baby," she purrs between kisses, softly licking at his bottom lip. Beomgyu can only groan in response.

The sound makes Mary Jane's eyes darken as a possessive sort of hunger flares up inside her. Fuck, his voice sounded hot. Once allowed entrance to his mouth, her tongue curls around his. She's greedy for dominance, and Beomgyu doesn't seem to care, just soaking it all up. At the feeling of her tongue dancing with his, Beomgyu lets out moan, slowly losing his inhibitions as the weed and lust cloud his mind.

If Mary Jane wasn't wet before, she certainly was now. She groans, quickly breaking their kiss to hastily undress him. "Let me take this off?" she whispers, breath heavy as she pulls back to grab the hem of his tank top. Beomgyu gulps, simply nodding with red cheeks and parted lips.

Mary Jane wants to rip the damned garment off, but she is too smart for that. She couldn't hurt Beomgyu. So she instead carefully removes it from his body, helping him shimmy out of it with her jaw set. It was taking all her self control not to pounce on him completely, and she wondered if he knew it. Once he's left bare, tender chest and bruised side visible, Mary Jane can't help but curse. "Fuck, you're so beautiful," she sighs, gently kissing each newly exposed bruise.

Beomgyu blushes as he opens his mouth to speak, only to gasp when she licks a stripe up his chest. It was much lewder than the delicate kisses of before, and he shudders. "Oh, Jesus, Mary Jane," he pleads softly, holding her a bit tighter. Mary Jane feels his cock twitch beneath her, and it only spurs her on further.

At this point, Mary Jane's mind is blank, simply indulging in her impulses. She licks and sucks at his skin, leaving little hickeys to bloom across his chest. He can feel the vibrations of her hums through his skin. At a particularly harsh suck, Beomgyu whimpers, hips stuttering beneath her. "Fuck, baby, you taste like heaven," she whispers against his skin, finally climbing off his lap to begin her descent.

It takes all of Beomgyu's self control not to squirm as her searing hot lips trail down his abdomen. At this point he's perpetually breathless, panting beneath her touch. "Mary Jane, please..." he begs softly, the lack of friction where he needs it beginning to ache.

"Relax baby, I've got you," she whispers, finally making her way down to his waistband. "May I?" she asks, meeting his eyes. When he nods clumsily, she helps him kick his pants and boxers right off, hard dick slapping his stomach. Her mouth is already watering at the sight.

"Fuck, look at this cute cock," she purrs, carefully taking him into her hand. Pretty pink tip and swollen with need, she wants to taste him right there. So she does.

Beomgyu lets out a soft cry when Mary Jane licks his tip, quickly grabbing onto her hair. "Mary!"

Mary Jane can't help but giggle as he squirms beneath her. "Sorry, baby, you taste like peaches and cream," she whispers, pressing an affectionate peck to his tip before releasing him. She moves to straddle his hips once more, hovering over his lap. "Don't want you to hate this wonderful body of yours anymore," she sighs, leaning in to press a kiss to his forehead.

Beomgyu doesn't know whether to laugh or cry when she ambushes him with such sweet words after saying something so filthy. His hands settle on her hips as he peers back up at her with blown-out eyes. "I... I won't..." he whispers, gulping.

Mary Jane smiles, nodding. After a moment, she lifts herself up a bit, slipping off her panties. Beomgyu gulps. "Mary Jane... you're sure?" he whispers, searching her eyes. Mary Jane's heart immediately melts. She was the one taking him, and he was still trying to make sure.

"More certain than I've ever been," she whispers, leaning in to steal a quick kiss. "Want to milk that pretty cock of yours, baby," she purrs against his lips, explicit words in contrast of her sickeningly sweet tone. All Beomgyu can do is gulp and whimper while he feels his cock throb. "Are you sure?"

Peach Beomgyu nods, face flushed scarlet. "Yeah," he whispers. "Mary Jane, I want you," he confesses for the first time.

Mary Jane can't help but smirk, his words going straight to her ego. She reaches down to align him with her dripping entrance, eyes locked with his. "Fill me up, baby," she whispers with a lopsided grin, before finally taking him in. Her walls are snug around him as she bottoms out, lower lip drawn between her teeth. Beomgyu lets out a deep moan, head fallen back against the pillows as he squeezes his eyes shut. It takes all his self control not to buck his hips. "Fuck, you fill me up so good."

"Please move," Beomgyu whimpers, fingers digging into her hips as he struggles to stay still. Mary Jane can't help but giggle as she looks down at him. She had this effect on him? It was too good to be true. Experimentally, she softly rolls her hips, gaze intent on his face as she toys with him. Beomgyu's hips stutter in response as he whimpers, hazy eyes slowly fluttering open to give her a pleading look.

Those puppy eyes were her weakness.

"Don't worry baby, I've got you," she coos, resting her hands on his shoulders to brace herself before she rides him. Her purple nightie sways with her movements, though the sheer material leaves nothing to the imagination. Her large breasts bounce as she finds a rhythm, walls fluttering around him. At this point, he's crossfaded- high and pussy-drunk.

Wanton, unrestricted moans fill the cottage as the two chase their high. Beomgyu gradually begins to meet her movements, hitting Mary Jane at a new angle that makes her see stars. "Fuck!" she gasps, walls clamping down around him. The bed creaks with each move of their joined hips.

"Mary Jane, I'm-" Beomgyu starts, but she doesn't need to hear a syllable more before she interrupts.

"Cum, baby, fill me up," she commands, voice stern and commanding despite being strained from breathlessness. Beomgyu whimpers, nearly there.

Determined to take him over the threshold, Mary Jane leans in, capturing his lips in hers. She sucks on his tongue, swallowing his moans as their movements reach a crescendo. It doesn't take more than a couple more thrusts for Beomgyu to burst.

A flood of warmth fills Mary Jane and she shudders, the sensation of his release bringing her ecstasy. But even more than that, it's the whine that escapes Beomgyu with his release that breaks her. With a deep guttural moan from within her chest Mary Jane reaches her peak, walls pulsing and fluttering around Beomgyu's sensitive cock. The two ride out their overlapping highs, hips clumsy. Their foreheads fall together as they part for air, equally panting.

Waves of euphoria pass through them both before the exertion catches up to them. Mary Jane slumps atop Beomgyu with a shudder, slowly catching her breath.

"Holy shit," Beomgyu whispers. Mary Jane opens her eyes just to see his beautiful post-orgasm glow, fucked-out expression on his face. She can't help but grin.

"You look so fucking delicious," she whispers, voice a little hoarse from their previous activity.

Beomgyu would blush at the praise if he weren't already beet red. "So do you," he whispers.

Mary Jane slowly sits up again, hissing as she climbs off his lap. The emptiness is immediately upsetting, but she can't keep him forever. Slowly she slips her hand beneath her dress, fingers swiping up some of his peachy release. She licks her fingers clean with a hum of satisfaction, relaxing atop his lap.

Beomgyu groans at the sight. She had no shame.

-

authors note: idk how did i do guys? should i never write smut again? did you jerk off to this? did any of my shitty jokes land? happy new year. if i find any mistakes or typos i might edit the post. gonna go get high now

[bilolli]

HEYYYYYYYY @xitsensunmoon

It's a work in progress, still untranslated, unedited, unfinished and full of errors but it's there. I finished raw writing the first 3 chapters and the courrier only just met the bots, LOL. I don't know if I'll ever finish writing it because I'm no writer and I find it really hard to be constant with both style and formatting but I'm at least pretty proud of my current word count! I never wrote something this long, my usual word count goes around 2k/3k words haha. As for posting it...dunno. It depends on how far I get with it because I don't want to hype people up and then not finishing the project, BUT (EVERYONE) FEEL FREE TO ASK ME ANYTHING ABOUT THIS!

Also if you search for "nsjac au" I already have posted some very basic info about "Not Stupid Just a Courier"

btw Thank youu!! I have more! I love to messy sketch them when I have time :DD Sorry for the quality, I don't have my scanner at hand right now :')

and a gift for a treat

[kirain]

I honestly don’t know who to scream about this to so I’m here in your DM’s as an anon~ but how do you think Emmrich would react if he saw how mages are treated in the south? Harding and Emmrich go on a little camping trip to the south at some point, so it got me wondering! Especially how necromancy is viewed down there!

Hello!

In game, Emmrich does seem painfully aware of how differently he's viewed. When you speak to him for the first time in his study, he mentions wanting to "make a good impression", saying he noticed how some of the companions side-eyed Manfred or whispered about his skulls. He knows Nevarran culture is considered "weird" outside the kingdom, and he's considerate enough that he takes steps to ensure he doesn't make anyone feel uncomfortable.

I do think all Nevarrans are aware of this as well, as they tend to keep to themselves. Don't forget, they broke off from Tevinter and fought to implement their own laws and practices. For example (and I do wish Veilguard had explored this more), Tevinter basically runs on slavery, but Nevarra banned and is vehemently against slavery. They're also one of the most devout kingdoms in Thedas, hence the necromancy. In my opinion, it would've been nice if the devs had Emmrich go into detail about why Nevarrans place so much importance on the dead—and for anyone who doesn't know, it's because they believe you need to be "whole" in order to join the Maker beyond the Veil and avoid being possessed by a demon.

Cassandra goes into some detail in DAI, but as a Nevarran estranged from her own culture, her views on necromancy (and mages in general) are pretty negative. She was raised by her uncle, who was a member of the Mortalitasi, after her parents were executed, but she grew to resent him because he spent more time with the dead than with her and her brother. In addition, he kept them locked up in the Grand Necropolis, which she called a "smelly gilded cage". She admits to both Varric and Dorian that she thinks necromancy is bizarre, so she's a pretty unreliable narrator, but she also confirms that Nevarrans know how they're regarded by the rest of the world.

As for how mages are treated in the South, Emmrich seems aware of that, too. There's some party banter where he speaks to Neve about mage independence and their influence on politics, and he simply says "politicing does happen" but he's not interested in it, even in knowing that mages don't have that kind of power elsewhere. Plus, at the end of Dragon Age II, all mages throughout Thedas became apostates—and Veilguard takes place about twelve years later—so even if he came across any mage-haters while travelling with Harding, they wouldn't be able to do anything to him. He'd probably talk them down or break all their bones if they tried. 😏

Overall, I think he'd react with sass or sophistication if someone truly pressed him about his necromancy, which does happen a few times in game. He's a kind person by nature, but if he saw any actual injustices, I don't think he'd take it lying down. That said, he seems happy in his own little world, having hardly ever left Nevarra or the Grand Necropolis, though he is eager to expand his knowledge. At one point, he does say he's envious of Rook for being so worldly and experienced, but he also ends up feeling extremely homesick and wanting to go back; which makes sense since he credits the Mourn Watch for saving him and the Necropolis seems to be his safe space. He's just a peppy older man living his best life with his peppy little skeletons.

[caffinated-squid]

The Eltingville club- consumerism, control, and how they relate to Josh Levy

So initially I wasn’t going to talk about Josh because I have seen his archetype multiple times and it felt self explanatory, as well as not really having much to say on him as a character, but I still want to give it a shot. So I am going to talk about 2 things: what Josh represents in fandom, and how that intersects with his relationship with his parents.

Starting with the basics, even though all the characters collect figures and memorabilia, Josh is the most obsessive about it, which can be seen in how he goes to several fast food stores for toys to complete his collection, later tearing through several loaves of wonder bread for a card in Bread and Suck Asses, and refusing to eat anything other than Batman Kraft Mac n cheese in the hopes of getting a new figurine.

On surface level, a lot of Josh’s behaviors reflect the overconsumption aspects in toxic fandoms, the need to spend everything to finish a collection, even if it is something they don’t even like. But I also think that its a way for Josh to have something that he doesn’t have a lot of in his life: control.

As much as Josh owns and collects, as much as he knows about trivia, he is unable to control how other people view him, which becomes more of an emphasis when taken into account that Josh (next to Jerry) is usually bullied the most. He has no control over the club, as Bill constantly reinforces his status through making sure that he gets to decide how the day is planned and what they are going to do. No matter how much he knows about comics and sci fi, he will never get hired at Joes because Joe sees him just as another source to get money out of.

I think the collecting allows Josh to have some say in how things go, same with his writing of superhero fan fiction, it gives him the ability to decide what will happen without being questioned.

*This can also apply to how he treats people in customer service, considering how he talks to them and how he treated the seller from As Seen on TV. These people can't lash out because if they do, they will get fired, and only exist to Josh as someone who he can tear into without consequence.

In this case, it is probably why Josh never got better as a writer, along with his own entitlement, he probably saw any criticism as an attack on him, and he already gets shit on daily by pretty much everybody. The only way he could find a way around this was to force people to have to deal with it out of spite, which can be seen in the epilogue as he goes on a whole speech on how when he finally gets in with the desired group of people, he can finally force people to accept his work as canon.

Josh’s parents also play a role when it comes to his consumerism and how he interacts with people. Although they are never seen, the pieces of information given (Josh having the most money to spend on memorabilia, their willingness to let him keep spending money and continue his terrible diet, giving him punishments for his behavior but still being very forgiving as they still let him interact with the club even though that’s usually how he gets into trouble) give more context for why Josh is so quick to anger and entitled, he is used to getting what he wants with little to no resistance which is something that Bill constantly challenges.

Though there is definitely a shift in this behavior after the events in This Fan, This Monster. Out of all the characters that get yelled at, I would say that Josh’s is one of the worst. You can see that his parents have reached their breaking point, and possibly have a lot of built up resentment towards Josh that is finally being let loose as they tell him they would rather be dead and blame him for his mothers heart attack.(as well as their own regrets of how they raised Josh being blamed on him) It is a personal attack that is directed towards Josh, and this is one of the only times that he doesn’t respond with hostility.

The one thing that Josh lacked which he needed the most to improve was some degree of self-reflection, as well as needing to accept that he can be wrong. The epilogue shows he did neither of these and instead doubled down. He may have gained more power, but has not gained any sense of self or respect to others, and will probably be treated as just another disposable piece in the comic industry.

[brownhood69]

TFE RANT (also spoilers)

Okay, so for those of you who haven't heard of Transformers Earth Spark, it's basically a show where the cybertronian War is technically over and now cybertronians are trying to get used to the life on earth. But they are completely treated like they are animals. If you want to watch the show yourself then go right ahead it should be on Amazon Prime or on Paramount Plus because this will contain spoilers for the first season and the 2nd season so feel free to skip this.

ANYWAY!

So all of you know the Decepticons right?

👆

These guys?

Well, near the end of the last episode of season 1 of Earth Spark they all decided to work together with the Decepticons to take down mandroid, the main antagonist of season 1. There was also two episodes where one of the Decepticons started to have a relationship with the Malto family. Like for example

Nightshade and tarantulas:

And Starscream and hashtag:

See how these two GIFs are completely wholesome? Infact, the first season teaches that even though somebody could be on the opposite side of things that doesn't initially mean that they are a bad guy completely, just misunderstood.

It teaches that everyone can have a second chance if they really try but not everyone can really get that second chance.

And then season 2 comes around,

And BOY was I pissed off about it.

Now I haven't watched season 2 myself but I have watched one episode in it and that's it. remember that I said that the Decepticons finally decided to fight Mandroid thanks to Twitch and that some of the Terrans actually had some decent relationships with some of the Decepticons?

Well season two just completely THROWS ALL OF IT OUT OF THE FUCKING WINDOW!!!

When I watch season 2 I thought it was going to be all cool and hype and I thought everyone was just overreacting over season 2. NOPE! THEY HAD THE RIGHT TO BE UPSET! Because one episode in and I was immediately flashed banged with shock. Robby was explaining after 2 years of like saving cybertronians from Mandroid's destruction the quintus prime Stone (I don't remember what it's called) kind of shattered into like thousands of pieces across the globe. He then says that the Decepticons help them to retrieve them but then they decided to turn on them and get the shards for themselves. EVEN THOUGH THE FIRST SEASON SAID THAT NOT ALL DECEPTICONS ARE BAD!!

Like where did this even come from!? And why make them back into villains when we already saw the shot of them HELPING TWITCH AND HER FAM FROM KILLING ALL CYBERTRONIANS!? Like, what is the point of this!? If you're just going to make them bad guys anyway, why give the Terrans a chance to understand them and sympathize with the 'cons!? You had such a good new take on the Transformers yet you decided to throw away that said good take and just take it back to square one!

WHAT THE HELL HASBRO!?

*SIGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH*

And don't get me started with Bumblebee's relationship with Breakdown. You clearly set them up to be best buddies and then you just set that friendship arc on fire and just went on the 'Con vs 'Bot arc again. But the part that pisses me off the most is Starscream's abandon arc. Earthspark *clearly* wanted to make this Starscream as sympathetic as possible and this could have worked well. IF THEY DIDNT MAKE HIM THE MAIN VILLIAN IN SEASON 2!

And I guess prowl appearing in season 3 is kind of nice but it would have been better if he was like the villain instead of Starscream. If they were going to be good Decepticons then there has to be bad Autobots. But hey, Hasbro isnt keen on keeping promises are you Hasbro?

God, you had such a good idea and you just had to ruin it with season 2 and 3. I hope the rumors of Earthspark getting canceled are true thanks to this.

Also, GIVE US A TRUELY, ACTUAL, HEROIC, SYMPATHETIC STARSCREAM FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! **AND DONT FUCK IT UP THIS TIME!!!**

Okay, I think I'm done for now, but I might add a part 2 if I decided to watch the rest of season 2 and season 3.

K bye!

[yet-the-world-spins-on]

So i reblogged this earlier today and I still agree with the main point of it but I did want to clarify one thing: the phrase "things considered sin" does not refer to 'sin' being a social construct. I do not know if OP chose the wording deliberately, but as i thought about it I realized one reason to use that phrase is because it is not possible to gravely sin on accident (you may be asking what I mean by gravely; that is a whole 'nother post)

I have seen many definitions of sin; one I might fall back on (since I am Catholic) is the Catholic Catechism (CCC) definition: "Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods." (CCC 1849) -> Basically, sin is a failure to prioritize correctly. Evil is absence of good, so sin is the deliberate prioritization of a lesser good over a greater good; ultimately, it is treating something other than God as the highest priority.

In that sense, sin can be considered objectively: an act is sinful, an act is not sinful. The "things considered sin" comes into play at the same time as the word "deliberate" -- if a person does not have the information they need to priortize correctly, and they could not get that information on their own, they are not at fault for failing to prioritize correctly. E.g. young children have very little experience and need guidance to learn how the world works. That's why Jesus says it is better to hang a millstone around one's own neck than to mislead one of these little ones-- because little kids have to trust the adults responsible for them to teach them how to interact with everyone they meet.

At the same time, because truth is objective, someone who Does Not Know that their priorities are wrong is Still going to mess up their own life and the lives of those around them. It just won't be on purpose. So it is better to know that something is a sin --and have to learn, often painfully, and generally with a lot of two-steps-forward-one-step-back progress, how to not do that something -- than to not know and continue to make things worse without meaning to.

I think that's everything I wanted to add -- Thanks for your time, and back to your regularly scheduled programming!

The pluralisty version of religion as a cultural way of live is just fundemantly different from the christian concept of religion as a truth claim because ways of life do not have to be universal but truth is

And I think it leads to misunderstandings about evanglising

Christianity, because of it's nature as a claim to the truth about God, is either for everyone or for no none. Either true or false. Because truth is universal - we don't all have our own specific truth. What's true is true independent of people.

And so when Christians evangalise, it's because we believe our faith to be true (and also because it's commanded in our holy texts that too)

It is not because we have a cultural way of life and spirituality we want to everyone to universally partake in

It's because truth is universal

And truth is what Christianity claims

Christians don't see religion as one to one equalling culture and Christians do not have to change their culture when they become christian (though they will have to stop things that are considered sin even if they are prominent in their culture)

And that's also why it's frustrating when people are like "yeah it's fine if you're a Christian if that's the way to be spiritual for you" because that is fundemantly not what this religion is

[i-liketoast]

Five's season three suit

I haven't seen anyone talk in depth about Five's SUITS in seasons three and four and since I'm just a girl who likes suits, I analysed his season 3 suit so hope you guys enjoy my weird ass analysis.

Basic things to keep in mind that since his suit has a jacket, waistcoat and pants, it would be a three piece suit and since on the jacket and waistcoat there's only one row of buttons going down it's single breasted. These are some basic bits of information that you can figure out about a suit from a single glance now onto the insanity.

First we need to talk about his suit jacket since it's the most important imo. Thankfully this was actually super easy to figure out. The jacket tapers at his waist giving him more shape and includes pocket flaps. With these details it's safe to assume the jacket is a British cut, though it diverges from a traditional British cut because as I was re-watching season 3 due to some movement when he was walking up stairs I saw that his jacket had a single vent as appose to the typical two vents British cuts have. One final thing about his jacket is the absence of a ticket pocket though I've seen British cut suits without them before so it's nothing out of the ordinary.

Next I wanted to look at the waistcoat. I have never been more thankful for drunk five and his absence of a jacket or the scene where Pogo was about to tattoo him. Since in these scenes it's clear how well tapered the waistcoat was it was easy to come to the conclusion it's a slim fit waistcoat with five buttons. But one thing I want to mention is that waistcoats typically have some kind of adjustable strap in the back so keep that in mind when I mention that it's slim fit. (but ngl I find the fact it's five buttons on the waistcoat so funny)

Now, his pants, this was weirdly enough the hardest to figure out and I had guess big time. When he stands straight the pants tend to be quite cylindrical so my safest bet was that it's a straight cut. BUT, if you look closely at his ankles, you can see a whole lot of bunching there instead of the pants ending before the shoe. That is actually called a break in suit terms and there are four types. No break, quarter break, half break and finally, full break. From just how much fabric is at his ankles it would be a full break which honestly I think he would've been better off with a half break but that's just my personal preference.

And because I am the way I am. I (under consideration) also came to the conclusion that his shirt is a pretty basic white button up dress shirt since the collar doesn't have buttons that connect it to the main part of the shirt that would make it a button down and speaking of, the collar seems to be a straight point collar being some sharpness to the look.

If you made it this far without getting bored, thank you, and as a treat I also analysed his tie. Nothing special there, just a simple knot and based on his proportions a narrow width tie. Also here's a few of the images I used to figure this out (though I used way more then these along with watching clips on youtube)

This took me half an hour plus re-watching the season and I'm not even 100% on the pants. Please like, I killed my sanity doing this. Also let me know if you want me to analyse any other suits from the show or even his season four suit.

[rivalswrites]

Rivals characters react to your dog!

Before you read, please be warned that I'm writing based on my impressions of them not only in the game (though it's the biggest inspiration), but some of them with the movies/shows in mind too.

How Rivals characters react to you(reader) having a dog fight with you! (Maybe like a tracking dog, but breed not specified. Dog is referred to as big, and the gender changes randomly)

Dog will be named Spruce as a placeholder

The relationship between the character and you is not specified, though implied romantic.

(First post, kinda nervous) Masterlist

Warnings for mentions of semi-canon violence

It was during down time, that he met Spruce. She was running around and probably playing with a butterfly or something before she set her eyes on him. Making a beeline for the shiny man that almost glowed like the sun in the light.

Spruce ran circles around him, a little too quick for his attention to keep on her exact location. He hadn't come in contact with a dog before or knew much about them, though he knew they existed- he probably mistook her for another animal from space.

When you had shown up and apologized for her unmatchable energy, explaining it's just a dog thing (zoomies, he really liked that word). He took Spruce’s energy with stride, happily willing to play with her on down time and even- on occasion- during training. While Flerkin’s were adorable, Spruce had wormed her way into his big heart and sat down to stay.

Overall: He really enjoys Spruce's company, and will use his free time to play with her and give her treats (even going behind your back sometimes do to so)

Natasha knew you had a dog, hearing Clint talk about it, but she'd never had the opportunity to meet either of you. She had finally got her chance when she was at the training ground, taking down bots. Spruce had come up from behind and taken one of her batons, running away before she could catch the thief in the act.

Trying to get it back was a lost cause, she knew this, she knew how dogs were. But she tried anyway. It didn't take long for you to come running and haggle Spruce into dropping the baton and apologetically handed it back to her (after whipping the slobber off with your sleeve). She thought it was sort of cute.

Now she always watches over her batons, when she knows Spruce is around, but she doesn't hold a grudge for the less than desired first meet. She thinks it's funny to be honest, and brings it up often when lounging around with you and Spruce.

In all honesty she has a guilty pleasure in watching Spruce and you run around the map, but would never admit that.

Overall: She loves the dog like her own. The two of you train her while on down time, though it's mostly playing catch now rather than training

The first meeting was- not at all ideal. It was during a match, and the two of you were on opposite sides of the fight. Though there's no bad blood between either of you now, it's an embarrassing story to recall because he totally got mauled by little ‘ol Spruce.

After the match he had found you and (with hesitation) Spruce. You apologized for how violent it ended up being, but he brushed it off and told you it's all good. No harm truly done, and it's definitely not the worst he's had, which you definitely believed.

He found the strength and bond between you and your dog admirable, seeing as it seemed unbreakable. The amount of trust you had for an animal was something he thought he'd never understand, and maybe he won't.

He likes to relax after matches with you, sitting somewhere quiet with Spruce sprawled over both your laps- basically begging for some praise after the match (which he gives into, because who can say no to those big beady eyes).

Overall: He doesn't mind Spruce, as long as he stays away during matches so he can concentrate fully. The same goes for you, though he won't say that.

It all began when you first joined the fight against the Doom’s, not really catching Hela’s eye- though she did acknowledge your existence.

Spruce had taken a liking to her, running over to see her whenever not on duty/fighting. She didn't mind, nor really pay attention, until you kept coming up and apologizing while calling Spruce over. But Spruce was determined, she wanted Hela to acknowledge her too and she'd be damned if she didn't get her attention.

Hela was nothing but happy at this little dog's devotion to wanting her attention, it's so hard to find good minions nowadays. She takes Spruce’s devotion as your devotion as well, seeing as wherever Spruce is you follow (and vice versa).

While it's hard to tell what Hela is feeling, due to how neutral she is about a lot of things, devout minions make her happy, thus you and Spruce make her happy. And yes, she does use you two as human shields during matches, as all good minions would do

Overall: She tells you she doesn't care for Spruce, simply just being your pet. But in actuality she loves Spruce, he reminds her of a fierce warrior and tells you you've trained him well.

When she first met Spruce, he had come up to her and started tugging at her outfit while on down time. She was at first confused, for obvious reasons, and easily used a little magic to get the dog to unhand her. Watching as the dog sat down and stared at her with his big, beady eyes.

Soon after, you ran over and apologized, explaining to her that you were just practicing his skills to make sure they were up to standard for matches, which she admired. Nodding in approval while still keeping an eye on the dog that was now looking at you expectantly- it's tail thumping on the ground rapidly.

You took a treat out of your pocket and offered it to her, asking if she wanted to give it to Spruce. She looked at you, then your hand, then to Spruce- who was now trained on your outstretched hand. With an ever gentle smile, she took the treat and knelt down, letting Spruce come to her and gently take the treat.

She wasn't one for animals, but for you she could make an exception. Often she could find herself admiring not only you, but the ever lively Spruce on the field or during training, and eventually could only think of how cute he was when she looked at him.

Overall: She can happily say she enjoys the company of Spruce, almost as much as she enjoys your company.

He had first seen Spruce while in battle. Same side, thankfully. Spruce had run past him, with you quickly following her, into a tunnel. It wasn't anything special or impressive to him, so he didn't understand why he decided to stare at the tunnel while he still had some poor person to take care of in the blades of his claws.

After finishing his business, he took towards the tunnel, observing as you bent down to give the big dog some pats while completely unnerved by some nerds body almost right underneath you. He wondered if it was yours, or the dogs doing.

Honestly, he didn't pay Spruce much mind in the beginning, only looking at you during down time or training (sometimes even during matches). But alas, he knew the two of you were a pair, and that was non negotiable.

Soon, he took up the offer you made ages ago on helping you train and hone Spruce's skills. As much as he hated to admit it, she had a pretty harsh bite, almost ripping the flesh of his arm off before you called her off. He reassured you it wasn't a big deal when you had apologized.

Overall: He doesn't mind Spruce at all, and tells you he simply tolerates her for your sake. But you can sometimes find him patting her in the head after a match well won.