#anyway no spoilers on what that moment is

[sabos-husband]

★ Waiting, Waiting

Trafalgar Law x Reader ★

Dressrosa Spoilers!! ~ Heart Pirate!Reader ~ Gender Neutral ~ Fluff to Angst

From across the Polar Tang's kitchen, you throw your head back and laugh. The sound is riveting, but the sight is intoxicating.

Your hand is posed over your mouth, shoulders shaking with mirth, lips are pulled tight over your smile. A smile so bright he just wants to kiss—

Law walks face first into a cabinet's open door.

For the past two months, you and Law have been... something. You've been a Heart Pirate for years, but he, in a brilliant display of his emotional constipation, only allowed himself to realize the depth of how he felt for you within the past six months.

Somehow, you must've noticed this.

He knows this because exactly two months ago you stomped up to him, cheeks flushed with inebriated confidence, and asked him if he would like to get another drink with you.

(The exact details afterwards don't matter. He can barely remember them anyways, with how drunk he also was.)

All that matters is that you two are something. You offer him a smile every time your paths cross, treat him with enough fondness to make his heart stop, and kiss him after the lights have gone out.

But you and Law are not dating. You're not together.

So, yeah. Now you and him are just... something.

He can hear Bepo freak out while your laughter spikes. Red-faced and flustered, Law's planning to do something—his options range from trying to Room away or killing everyone and then himself—before you're standing in front of him, closing the kitchen cabinet.

"You okay there Captain?" You say with a smile. "I think the door's got you beat here."

Law can feel his face getting red for a completely different reason now. He ducks his head to hide his eyes behind his hat. He opens his mouth to let a retort fall out, but he sees your feet shuffle past him and he closes it again. He'll speak to you another time.

Thank the seas it's only you and Bepo awake. Law collects his morning coffee (and a riceball at Bepo's behest) and retreats to his office. He doesn't catch the way your eyes linger on his back.

If he did, he was ignoring it.

~

"Captain," you call suddenly. You snicker at the way Law jumps. While he just glares at you, he doesn't kick you out, so you let yourself into his office. "You got a minute?"

Law sighs, rubbing his eyes. He pushed himself away from his desk. "Doesn't matter if I say no. What is it?"

You frown with your hands behind your back. "Don't be an asshole. I got you a gift!"

Looking expectant, Law stands up. His wordless reaction makes you step closer. You tilt your head. "It's a secret though."

"It's my gift."

"I haven't given it to you yet!"

Law raises an eyebrow. He holds out his hand, palm up. He can't deny his curiosity is piqued at your pause; hesitation and you don't belong together in his head. He steps forward, closing the distance. You don't meet his eye.

Cautiously, once you've drawn up the courage, you place the gift in his grasp.

It's wrapped, Law muses to no one but himself. The crisp seams and cute bow suggests you had it wrapped when you first got it—the paper's too unfamiliar and the work is too professional for it to have been done in the Tang. He glances up.

Still, you refuse to meet your captain's eye. "Well? Are you gonna open it?"

Law takes a moment to observe you. The shift in your demeanor is a gift itself; seeing the way you care about how he feels? No matter what's under the paper, he'll be satisfied.

That said, he can't deny his curiosity. Slicing the tape with his nail, Law methodically unwraps the gift until the paper falls away to reveal the brightly-colored box. He recognizes it immediately.

It's a Sora action figure. Its paint job is crisp and the joints move smoothly—he knows this because he has two, one in and one out of its box.

(This one is his new favorite.)

You look up at him, nodding your head towards the gift. "Well?" You ask nervously. "You like it?"

You don't seem to know about that Law already has this one. Not that you would know, considering he tries his best to hide his collection almost flawlessly every time his crew (you) has a reason to step inside his room.

Try as he might, he can't hide the smile that makes its home on his face. He turns around, walks towards his desk, and opens the box to extract the figurine. You follow curiously. You trip over your own feet when you see Law pose Sora to sit at the edge of his desk. It's so cute.

Too much. It's all too much. You smile as you leave and he sits and nothing gets done for the rest of the day.

(Law's attention keeps getting drawn to the figure on his desk. When he thinks of it, he thinks of you. He snatches up the figurine and tucks it away in a drawer to his left.)

~

It's snowing outside the island you're about to dock and you've never been more excited. The sub's been stuffy and the crew's been getting antsy—petty squabbles threaten to blow up if they don't get outside sooner or later. It's what pushes Law to observe the winter island, grit his teeth, and declare they're surfacing for a supply run.

You feel like a child on a holiday morning running around the Polar Tank—Penguin and Shachi are bickering playfully as they swap winter jackets. Bepo's checking and double (and triple) checking the sub's course, the poor mink's ramped up on excitement and anxiety. Ikkaku lightly shoves you out of your stupor with a smile. Jean Bart appears behind you, a hand on your shoulder. It always makes you grin when you think of how flawlessly the former captain fit into the crew.

"What's up?" You ask curiously.

That's how the rest of your preparation time gets eaten up—someone can't find their coat or someone needs help checking what's needed.

Bepo declaring the sub's surfacing is what finally frees you. With minutes until breaking surface, you're scrambling to find everything you need.

"I wonder if the captain's gonna come with us," you say idly as you shove a sweater over your head. Shachi and Penguin share a look.

"Captain doesn't usually go on islands with the crew when it's snowing 'round this time of year," Shachi says. You expect him to keep talking, indulging in gossip as he's wont to do, but he turns back to the rest of the crew to immerse himself in the bustle. You look at Penguin, hoping for hints of details.

"Bad memories," Penguin says back. He peels off before you can speak, muttering to Bepo about coming back to the sub early.

You don't ask anything, but inside, you're confused. You've seen Law go into snow storms by himself before. And wasn't he from the North Blue?

You almost begin to wonder if it's the crew that makes him worry with the snow, but then Law's voice cuts through the sub, calling the crew to attention, and your thoughts fade away.

Law's tortured stare grinds your racing mind to a halt. He can't look at you; his hand, clasped over your wrist, tightens its hold. His eyes are stuck watching the falling, falling snow.

His fingers slide down, slip into your hand, and squeeze. You squeeze back.

Your hands raise—slowly, carefully, like you're something he can't afford to break—together. His lips brush against your knuckles, too light to be a kiss but too present to be anything but.

"Come back safe."

Law drops your hand and turns back. He retreats back into the Tang. The wind had just begun to nip his ears, turning them a pretty pink.

(You can't even think about the snow for the rest of the day. Your hand is so, so warm.)

~

You tossed and turned for weeks before you actually decided to do something about it.

"We have to talk."

Law looks up at you from over the medical documents in his hands. His hat is off to the side, his hair is all mussed, and it breaks your heart. He raises an eyebrow, but doesn't put the papers down. "We do?"

"Yeah."

Pursing his lips, your captain gestures to the seats in front of him. You don't hesitate to sit down. You glance at the edge of his desk, frown, then look back at him. It makes him set the papers down.

"What is it?"

"It's... about us, Law." He freezes as you barrel forward. "I can't- I just can't keep doing this."

He can barely piece together a calm facade. "Then what do you want to do?"

"I don't know!" You throw your hands in the air. "I just," you say, rubbing your face, "can't do this."

You think of the night at the bar often. Your memory peters off near the end—near the part you wish desperately you could remember—but you mull over it often. You think yourself in circles, thinking if there was any way you could've changed what you'd done to make it so it didn't end up here.

Law stands up, and you're almost afraid he's gonna bolt, but then he walks over to you. He sits beside you with a stony expression.

You almost laugh. He must've felt it too, because talking with a desk between you both felt more like captain and crewmate, rather than...

Well, rather than whatever you two are. That's the reason you're here anyways, isn't it?

"I don't not like you," you clarify quickly. The stone cracks. You reach forward, gentle hand on his knee, and tilt your head. "I... just don't know if this is what you want."

He stares back. "I don't know what you mean."

"Yes you do."

Law looks away, because really, he does. He sits back. He's got his arms folded over his chest like it could protect him any more than looking away from you could. "Then... what about it?"

"What do you mean?"

"If I didn't... want... then I wouldn't be here. Isn't that enough?"

You take your hand back to rub your face. That's the crux of it, isn't it? Is this enough for you?

It isn't.

"It isn't," you say out loud.

When Law looks back at you, there are tears clouding your pretty eyes. In a panic, he reaches out to you. The space between you closes instantly as you meet him halfway, holding him tight.

Seas, this is the problem. You mourn your breaking heart. It's too much—this is too much—and all you crave is more.

The suffocating silence drags on until you pull back, hiding your eyes as you look down. Even as you cling onto Law, it feels like there’s miles between you both.

“So,” you finally say, "what was it?”

“...What?”

Even as you wipe them away, the tears won’t stop. “What about me makes it so easy to ignore? T-To ignore what we have?"

Law winces. “That’s not—”

“—I mean really,” you sniffle, barreling forward, “it can’t be that easy to not want me.. Can it? No- You’ve gotta have- have something else that makes it this easy.”

Law swallows. Clearly his silence is the wrong answer because your face falls. You try to push him back. "Is there?"

"It's not like that," the doctor tries to say, but the words escape him right when he tries to grab them.

Law's a fool.

What would he say? If he's going to take down Doflamingo, and he will, there's a chance he may not live to see you again.

It's what he thinks about every time he sees you.

"What do you want from me?" He asks instead. If you didn't know him so well—if you didn't spend so often poring over each of his words, dissecting them for their meaning—you'd miss his desperation.

Your eyes trail. Law's eyes are skittish, glancing back and forth from you. His cheeks are growing gaunt and he seems to be avoiding everyone these days. Dark ink stands out against his tan skin; the letters on his fingers are impossible to miss.

For a moment, you look past Law. Ever since he told the crew about his plans for Punk Hazard, Law's been different. Colder. Like the stone-tough walls he'd built for himself were strengthened by the weight of the world. Law had been carrying so much now. His back bowed under the weight of the world—your very own Atlas.

No—not yours.

Something gnaws at you, whispering that the shadow over his eyes was something you could never ease.

You reach forward to gently take Law's hand. You didn't realize... but he should've known how you felt. You press a kiss against his knuckles.

Law yanks his hand back like it burned. You don't comment. The tattoos almost swallow the back of his hand, yet the circle in the middle looks like stigmata. Like he plans for his own crucifixion. What would it take for Law to lay down his own cross, to toss it away and rest his eyes? Would he do it now already?

The air is heavy with words you were too fearful to say. You blink away your tears and suck in a deep breath. You were sure Law heard them anyways, but now... But now—

"All I've wanted," you say, "and all I want now is you. All of you."

It's quiet.

You grit your teeth as he stares at you with wide, searching eyes. Your declaration—your confession—lingers in the air until Law finds what he's looking for in your gaze.

He stands up, puts on his hat, and walks out the room.

Silence fills the vacuum he leaves behind.

[takenbypeter]

The Counsel Given

SPOILERS FOR CAP AMERICA 4

Bucky Barnes x reader

Hey hey 👋 I’ve slowly SLOWLY been writing fanfiction again just haven’t edit and posted butttt I finally watched Cap America 4 yesterday and the Bucky scene was one of the scenes to make me cry because of how far he’s come. Soooo I wrote this lil story that takes place literally right after that scene. Anyways hope y’all like it 💕

Patience. That’s what you told yourself as you rocked on your heels, back and forth, standing outside the building. Patience is what you needed in this situation.

You knew they needed their space.

After alternating between standing and sitting for about twenty minutes your attention drew to the door that was finally opening up again and you watched as Bucky finally came out.

Without waiting another moment you walked up to him, “so how is he?”

Bucky nodded, “he’ll be alright.”

Bucky led the way as you trailed close, “and Joaquin, how did he look?”

“From what I’ve heard he’s a tough kid, he’ll pull through.”

You nodded following Bucky to the direction of his car.

Although you knew it was none of your business you were still curious, “what did you say to him?”

“I told him what he needs to hear,” he opens the passenger side door on his car prompting you to take a seat, which you do, while he adds, “and the truth.”

He shuts the door before entering from the other side.

“Good. He knows you care about him Buck.”

Bucky shares a considerable look before you ask, “did you tell him you loved him?”

Bucky paused for a moment. At his eventual nod you reach over, your hand landing on his. Bucky wasn’t cold hearted, you knew this could all be a lot for him too.

“I’m proud of you,” Bucky‘s eyes were down as he seemed to be listening. “You dealt with feelings and emotions.”

“Yup,” he let out a sigh through his pressed lips, “therapy will do that to you.”

“Buck I’m serious,” you rubbed your thumb comfortingly along the back of his hand, causing him to shift his gaze from your hands to your eyes. “Sure it maybe stemmed from therapy, but it’s also coming from you. You have come a long way. And I’m proud of you.”

Bucky’s expression softens. It’s the slightest shift but you catch it. Turning his palm upwards he interlocks his fingers with yours and lifting them up he presses his lips to the back of your hand.

While his stubble scratches you a bit, his lips are soft against your skin.

Your words seem to lift some weight off of him as his shoulders drop and he breathes out a deep breath. “Thank you.”

You nod, a soft smile decorating your face in reply.

Although he didn’t outright mention it, you knew that Bucky was worried for his friend. You had some worries too, but just like Bucky you were sure Sam and Joaquin, they would pull through even stronger than before.

[crispy-kitten-princess]

Some fanarts to bring attention to the long post about the books!

Yesterday i had finished the httyd books re-reading (it's been A MONTH), and today i watched the httyd movie for like the 30th time idk (i was really keen of it as a child)

Friendship with movie Hiccup ended, now Tuffnut and Ruffnut are my best friends. They are iconic. I remember book!Tuffnut being kinda sorta a background character, like somebody amongst the Hooligan tribe. And that's the move i liked about the dreamworks version, heh

Longpost and possible spoilers under the cut

Yeah, i loved movie Hiccup and associated myself with him very much... But now, after i reread the books, refreshed my memory about The Ending (and cried my eyes out), i found the movie rather.. strange? It leaves a lotta questions, like the world building, Astrid's behaviour, poor stylistic choise of making her as skinny and wimp as Hiccup, and Stoic s attitude towards his son, like.. stop??? He is an awful warrior ok but plz quit telling everyone around how much you are ashamed of him. Plus i miss Alvin as the main antagonist. He was one of a kind, never saw anyone so persistent to living and killing your distance nephew. And i miss Fishlegs No name as he was so cute and sarcastic. Movie Fishlegs is rather cliched

Weeeeell this whole post exists just bc i love book Hiccup sm AND THE WHOLE STORY AND I LOVE THE FIRST HICCUP AND THE SECOND AND I LOVE FURIOUS AND HIS STORY AND I LOVE FISHLEGS STORY AND DEADLY SHADOW AND I ADMIRE VALHALLARAMA AND CAMICAZI AND CHINHILDA AND TANTRUM and i miss them and i want to share my love for the books with everyone around... But amongst all my friends i don't have somebody who would've read the YA fantasy book about a 10-15 yo viking boy and his tiny arrogant dragon, and i would not either if i had not became a fan at my 12-13s by absolute chance. This is insane. I love my fixations (that's the whole point of fixating) but it hurts that I can't share it, and even if i try to explain to one of my friends who are ready to listen, I can't tell why exactly would i cry for half an hour about the children's book ending where OMG the dragon died, no waaay

I really wish it were a cartoon series based on books specifically, bc that way i could show them to my friends, which is waaaay easier than making them read the books (which is impossible, i tried). But ig.... It would stay a wish forever

I wanted to tell something about the books again. Why i like them so much? But i get too emotional about them and can't muster up ANYTHING. What CAN i say??? They are good. They are perfect. Cressida Cowell made a great job. The slightest gradient between the first and the last book makes the neighbour books in the series feel alike, but the first and the last are nothing like the other. The first is really a cute local story. WHILE THE LAST IS ABOUT CHANGING THE WORLD AND WHOLE NATION. This is incredible

Myself, i like the first 4 or 6 books more. They are so funny! I read them just for fun. But when i do, i just cant stop. And as i proceed further, the world changes, and the Fate follows the main character with a knife of misfortune (i wish i could play with English words as i do in my native language lol) - or good luck! Who knows, when you survived so many terrible moments, are you extra lucky or the exact opposite?

The first books don't even have in them the main thought of the last - dragon slavery. Or do they? Now, when i think of it, i do recognise the abuse and unappropriate attitude towards dragons, like foreshadowing... It's hard to tell if Cressida planned it all from the beginning or expanded the world as the books went further and further. Anyway, the first book os nothing like the last. The last is insane

I hate the book series endings almost every time, but not in that case. No. No. No. This one is solid perfection. It is logical. It is mature. And most importantly, it is painfully realistic. That's what broke me. The realism of the ending, where the magical creatures have to vanish from the human world just to save themselves. It is common for books like that to end with death of all magical (like it dies when we grow up, blablabla and so on) and it is the story of maturing, but that is not all. It matches with our world, where all living things die away and vanish eventually, if they are not significant for human race survival... But in our case they will never ever return from some North fields or sea hollow. Abused animals have neither intelligence to speak for themselves nor some kind guy to save them. Theme of war and death is extremely actual rn too. And i was devastated when the peace was established and shortly after that Furious died 🤪🤪 amazing, thank you. It killed me when he said that he was dead for all these years, and lived again only after Hiccup III spoke to him and returned him to his right mind

This is a mess I'm sorry 😔

I remembered now that it supposed to be a post bout the movie I've just watched. Well. The movie's best part is that it brought my mother's attention to the book series,, i was obsessed with the movie therefore she gifted me the books, and i became so obsessed with them that she even yelled at me for rereading them so frequently, lol

I can't say anything about the movie. I have no thoughts. I guess i just re watched it too many times as a kid to feel anything anymore. It didn't work with the books though. Reading them again 6-7 years later the latest reread, as an adult, i figured out that they aged extremely well. I found inspiration in them. I'm lost in thoughts about them. I want them to be more popular and well-known. And i hate fucking live action movie btw if you even care 😘💅 not to think about all of the resources that could ve been put in use to make cartoonish HTTYD books real

Plz, if you came that far, reblog or comment with something thoughtful, it would be mush appreciated

Upd.: this one is obvious but I loveeeee the trope. When Hiccup went on the impossible journey of Training His Dragon Toothless, he learned how to deal with arrogant, whining, lazy people. He learned how to be a a leader who listens to his followers, a teacher, a mentor to all the crazy arrogant and wild viking nation, and that is why the title of the book focuses on Training your dragon

I'd looove to hear everyone's opinion about the series. Plz share yours!!! I love you fellow httyd fan

[ageless-aislynn]

SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING OF MASS EFFECT 3

...if anybody cares. Yeah, it's been 13 years since it came out but hey, I'm just getting here myself, so I figured I ought to at least lob in a warning, just in case. 😉

Anyway, I'm not done yet but I realized, as I'm about to do the Priority: Rannoch mission, what's about to happen to Legion. 😭😭😭

Which has led me to really trying to figure out which ending I plan on going for. Note: despite this being my first trilogy playthrough, I've known about the various endings for years now, so I decided to try and RP my Shepard in the best way I can to achieve an ending that felt the most like he would've selected.

But here's the thing (as I'd imagine I'm hardly the first to struggle with): my Shepard doesn't want any of these endings. (My understanding may be off on certain points but this is the gist of what I understand about all of the endings.)

Synthesis offers the most survivors, with not only your Normandy crew including EDI but the Geth as well, though not Shepard. However, the incredible lack of consent just skeeves me out. Forcing every living being to be merged down to their DNA into an organic/synthetic hybrid is bad enough but the idea that this will keep the Reapers from continuing their cycle so therefore everybody's going to be fine is ignoring the fact that every species has fought amongst itself since time began. So what's to stop a future person/species from coming up with something that will wipe out all life anyway, no help from Reapers required? So, while I like the idea that EDI and the Geth survive (and even seem to thrive a bit more with them gaining organics), this ending is off the table for me and my Shep.

Control keeps EDI and the Geth alive as well as saves the Normandy crew but again sacrifices Shepard, just in a different way. Shepard merges with the Reapers to take them over and thus end their cycle of killing all organics in the universe. But this is predisposing that this new Shepard!Reaper being won't eventually be corrupted and decide to resume killing organics or certain species or whatever might be. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, after all, and Shepard isn't immune to that. Even worse, this ISN'T Shepard, this is a Reaper with Shepard's memories, creating a new being. If I were Shepard, I'd consider that all you're doing is HOPING that the Reapers don't, at some point, decide to restart their cycle but you've got no way to ensure that they won't.

Destroy is the only ending that I can see really being an option because the Reaper threat will be GONE. But you're also killing EDI and all of the Geth, including those Legion sacrificed itself to save and who have become your allies. To put it another way, it would be like saying, "Okay, we can guarantee that the Reapers will be destroyed but this will also kill all Turians, including Garrus." (Or insert name of other species/squadmate like Asari/Liara, Quarians/Tali, etc.) Would Shepard be willing to do that? I know he wouldn't want to sacrifice anybody, other than himself, and I think it sucks that no matter which ending you take, you have to sacrifice something significant. Yeah, I get that it makes it more realistic but, darn it, I get enough realism in real life, lol.

I also find it really odd that, according to the colors, Control is the Paragon choice and Destroy the Renegade one. I mean, yeah, Destroy and Renegade do go together but Shep becoming a Reaper Godlike being is Paragon? That just doesn't track for me. 🤔😬

There's also the fact that Destroy, with a high enough War Asset Score, is the only ending with a hint that Shepard survives.

At the moment, I'm leaning the most towards Destroy but, mannnnn, I wish there was a way to save EDI, whom I adore, and the Geth, whom I also love because of Legion and when they're allies and not shooting at me, lol! I'll have to just hope that someway, somehow, EDI and the allied Geth can somehow be resurrected, even if we don't see it in-game.

So, to those out there who've played the trilogy, which ending did you get/want? I'd love to hear about it! Let me just scribble down some notes as we chat...

😉Love you all, my friends, and I hope you're doing well! 💖

[angellayercake]

I never do WIP wednesday because all my wips are in writers block hell BUT I managed to finish a little something of something banchetto today to try and ruin @dolceterzo's life so I may as well share with everyone

So this is just one part of the chapter which will at some in the indefinable future be finished 🙃

Terzo x freader VERY NSFW and all that fun stuff. Anyway ...

Banchetto teaser/spoiler ahead

‘Fuck me.’ Although barely a whisper it comes out of you unbidden and you both freeze staring at each other in shock. The world continues turning, the television continues blaring the day time show you had been pretending to watch, the blankets change from comfortably warm to uncomfortably stifling. His stillness is almost unnerving as he tries to process what you just said. 

It may have not been what you were planning to say when you opened your mouth a moment ago but your demand wasn’t entirely unprompted. The morning had been unseasonably cold, something Terzo had taken as a personal offence, by the time you had reached his quarters the fire was roaring and he was sequestered under, in your opinion, an excessive amount of blankets. After bringing him his breakfast he had insisted you joined him. 

‘I can't feel my toes, cara mia! What if my fingers are next?’ He cries mournfully, wiggling his fingers under the blanket. You wait him out, holding his plate and coffee mug out patiently until he relents with a dramatic huff. He wriggles until his arms are free of the blanket and takes them from you, pouting all the while and muttering to himself as he takes a bite out of his toast. 

‘It is as if I woke up in the Arctic.’ He takes a sip of his coffee. ‘See if I spend one more winter in this frozen place.’ Another larger bit of toast. ‘I should be in the Bahamas or somewhere nice. Warm.’ You watch him fondly as he finishes off his breakfast, grumbling all the while. 

‘Is there anything else I can do for you this morning Terzo?’ He gives you a sidelong glance refusing to give up his frown just yet but there is a twinkle in his eye you know means his mood is already lifting. 

‘I fear there is but one thing that will save my fingers and toes.’ He almost keeps a straight face but the corners of his lips give him away lifting as he tries and fails not to be amused by his own idea. ‘You must join me here cara mia, share your body heat so your Papa doesn’t freeze to death.’ 

‘And that is the only way to save you?’ You have no plans to refuse him, there is nothing for you to do for a while anyway and it would take a stronger person to refuse an opportunity to snuggle with this ridiculous man. 

‘The only way! You would not let me freeze to death would you?’ He looks at you pleadingly as you take the plate and mug from him and set them on the side table.

‘No I would not, I would miss you too much.’ He lifts the blanket with a much more genuine smile, until you don’t move quite fast enough for his liking, a scowl overtaking his face as watches you step out of your shoes before he hurries you under the blankets before too much cold air can get it. And so you found yourself held as close as you could possibly get, under the guise of helping him keep warm. He was pressed against your back, chest to thigh, your neck pillowed on one of his arms which was now looped around you, his hand caressing your shoulder through the fabric of your jumper. His other arm laid against your thigh as he had wandered his fingers down the side seam of your skirt, before resting on the curve of your hip. 

As impatient as he may have been with you he clearly appreciated your forethought, wasting no time intertwining his feet with yours. Even though you had both unspokenly acknowledged his thorough exaggeration you are momentarily shocked by the chilly temperature of his toes even through his socks.Before long your shared body heat does the job creating a cosy and relaxed bubble where the two of you can while away the morning. You are content, and so is he for a time but whether it had been his plan all along or whether he just couldn’t help himself, his wandering, fidgeting hands become a distraction.

The hand that had been resting on your hip gives him away first slowly bringing the hem of your skirt up your thighs inch by inch until you can feel his warm fingers against bare skin. You let him continue, unable to conjure even one reason why you should stop him. The anticipation builds as you wait for him to make his next move. Fingers creeping teasingly slow across the top of your thigh while you feign interest in the day time telly that was playing out quietly across the room. If someone was to ask you to explain what was happening you wouldn’t have a clue but you do so enjoy these little games the two of you play together. 

He stops just shy of your underwear, tracing teasing circles against the sensitive skin of your inner thigh. The barest pressure of  the side of his finger skims you through your underwear as he strokes you and it takes all the will power you possess not to squirm and grind down for more. It feels like forever as he keeps pushing and pushing. Giving you nothing but the barely there back and forth of his fingers. Even though you can’t see it like this his smirk is palpable as your wetness starts to seep through the infuriating material that bars you from his touch. How could you be blamed for your patience finally snapping?

The few seconds since you spoke stretch like hours as he gapes at you, fingers still poised between your legs. You catch his eye over your shoulder trying to gauge his reaction but as you shift you feel the tell tale bulge against your ass. From your forwardness or his teasing you aren’t sure but his obvious arousal gives you the confidence you need to try to spur him back to action. 

Stuck in this awkward position there is only one thing you can think to try. Moving deliberately as you hold his gaze you grind your hips back, pressing your ass against his bulge. He sucks in a sharp breath, his hips twitching towards the friction and his grip tightening on your shoulder. 

‘Terzo,’ you say, not even trying to suppress the whine in your voice. ‘Stop teasing and fuck me.’ You grind your hips back against him again to punctuate your words and it is only the combination that seems to crash him back to reality. He takes advantage of how you have twisted to look at him, kissing you clumsily. He misses your lips entirely on the first try, his shock and eagerness overwhelming his usual self control. When he finally captures your lips he doesn’t relent, lapping at your lips determinedly until you open for him then shifting trying to untangle himself from your limbs and the blankets.

‘You are sure?’ He questions, showing an unexpected hesitance as he hovers over you, his hand still warm against your thigh and still not offering you more than a tease of pleasure. It’s not that you had been deliberately waiting. You knew from experience there was no right time and it’s not even something the two of you had discussed. It had been an unspoken arrangement to allow your relationship to progress and in this exact moment you knew you needed him now. With your voice now caught somewhere in your throat you can only nod frantically to reassure him before pulling him in for another intoxicating kiss. 

His fingers firm up against you finally dispensing with the teasing touches and instead exploring, checking if you were ready to take him. He finds the wet patch again easily, not even needing to find your entrance, you can't help but grind down against his hand confirming what he must already know, you need nothing but him inside you as soon as possible. 

Your patience wearing thin you find his waistband, thankful he had yet to change out of his lounge pants so you can impatiently push down and free his cock. It takes some manoeuvring, becoming slightly awkward in that way that first times tangled in blankets tended to be. There is  barely enough room for him to twist between your legs and it's too hot considering you were both still mostly dressed but you don’t want to stop. He attempts to slide your knickers down your hips but he is already between your legs and the thought of him moving away from you instead of closer, closer, closer, in order to remove them has you slap his hands away. 

With little effort you pull the gusset to the side, hooking your calf around the back of his thighs to pull him close enough to line up the blunt head of his cock with your entrance. His hips jerk forward the moment he can feel your wet heat but you hiss, the slick still not quite enough to soothe the initial stretch. He pulls back blinking at you owlishly. 

‘Did I hurt you?’ His worry overtakes him and he begins to pull away bracing his knees on the sofa cushion beneath you. You shake your head, tightening your legs around him, enjoying the soft give of his hips against your thighs.

‘It’s ok,’ you sound breathless but you don’t care, only able to focus on getting what you want. Inelegantly you spit into your hand, the only quick solution coming to your mind. Prepared for his reaction this time, you swipe over his cock anticipating how he thrusts into your palm and hoping the cursory improvised lube will be enough because you need him now. You barely have to line him up before he is taking over, pushing into you in one hurried thrust. Gasping into each others mouths you stare, still somewhat wide eyed and surprised that you are suddenly fucking. 

The stillness breaks you first but trapped as you are between the tangled blankets and his welcome weight on top of you you can hardly take control. You wiggle your hips to no avail so resort instead to baring down, squeezing him tight inside you his reaction almost instant snapping out of his lust induced daze only to give you a smirk. 

‘Quanto è impaziente la mia ragazza,’ he says, brushing his nose along yours until he can press a kiss to your cheek that might almost be considered chaste if his cock wasn’t buried to the hilt inside you. He trails kisses down your face to your jaw, nuzzling at the joint until you give in with a sigh, tipping your head back to offer your neck up to him. He sucks and nibbles at your skin as he finally, finally moves, the pull out agonisingly slow despite the relief that he was moving at last.    

It feels indescribably good as you move together, not frantic and fast as you might have imagined it, and you imagined it a lot. Not too slow either, just right. Good. He loses purchase once, twice before giving up on holding any space between you, resting his soft body against yours. It is your turn to wrap yourself around him craving to feel every inch possible pressed against you even as you curse the layers of clothes you hadn’t bothered to remove. 

Next time, you think with a thrill, certain as you are there will be a next time, you will make sure you can feel all of him. A shudder wracks through your body, mostly from the way he is grinding his hips, rubbing back and forth against your gspot in a way that has the beginnings of your climax curling in your belly. But also the thought of the future of feeling his soft skin pressed against yours, tickling hair and beads of sweat. Now you had a taste you weren’t sure you could wait.   

His lips find yours again as your bodies move together, kissing you deeply until you can hardly tell where you end and he begins. A shudder passes through you after an especially deep roll of his hips, your whole body tensing as your orgasm starts to build. He breaks the kiss with a grunt, resting his sweat-dampened forehead against yours. 

‘Cazzo!’ He groans. ‘Sto per venie.’ He seems as if he is speaking to himself, pleasure glazed eyes blinking at you slowly. His eyes regain focus locking onto yours and you feel that pleasurable shudder run through you again. 

‘I need to feel you cum on my cock mia cuocoina.’ His hands grip your hips holding you still as he starts to fuck you harder, his precise thrusts pushing you closer and closer to the edge. His upper body covers yours, his comforting weight and more deliberate attentions making your breath come shallow and fast until your head is spinning. You grip his shoulders tightly needing something to ground yourself as. WIth a growl he shakes off the blanket, kneeling back so he can fuck in to you even harder. You would miss his closeness if you didn’t feel so connected by his burning gaze and iron grip on your hips, pulling you back to meet his every thrust. 

Even without the blankets the heat between you is stifling as you both hurtle towards your climax. You can’t even speak, barely lucid enough to keep breathing when his thrusts begin to stutter and lose rhythm. His thumb finds your clit rubbing barely in time with his thrusts but it's enough and you cum with a gasp, your hands gripping his waist like your life depends on it. 

‘Fuck, fuck, FUCK!’ He moans as he rides out the pulses of your climax. He throws his head back with a groan pushing as deep inside you as he can as his orgasm overtakes him, his thrusts shallowly matching the pulsing of his cock. He pants for breath above you, his cheeks pink from the exertion but a smile creeps over his face that you can’t help but match. 

‘Fuck,’ you sigh, still feeling light headed with pleasure. As you look at him you feel a rush of feelings you still don’t quite want to put a name to but you push aside those thoughts for now to focus on the moment. Using what little strength you can muster you open your arms and he eagerly accepts, his exhaustion already creeping up on him. 

‘Fuck,’ he murmurs into your chest as he settles in your arms. Your fingers wind your way into his damp hair, smoothing the strands from his forehead so you can drop a gentle kiss in its place. He sighs contentedly, his eyes drifting closed. The telly continues playing the unwatched mid morning drama but nothing could pull your attention from the man falling asleep in your arms.  

[megamagimugi]

The Cruel Fate of the Left-Behind Toad

M&L: Brothership spoilers below!

I need to talk about something that happened to me during my first playthrough of the game, because it still haunts me to this day. And I don't think it's a very common experience among the players. This is going to be a long post, so please bear with me.

You know the sidequest called "The Left-Behind Toad"? You fish and find a note in a bottle that goes like this:

"How long's it been since I was sent flying to this island? It's a small island, that's for sure. There's almost nothing on it. Just pipes. That's it. Pipes. I'm bored! Nothing to eat but grass. Only clouds for companions! Now my cap is drying out. I have little hope that I'll be rescued. But maybe throwing this message out to the sea will do something. Whoever you are, if you're reading these words, PLEASE HELP."

There's also a crumpled page saying:

"Oh, Mario and Luigi, I hope you're both doing well. Please, Princess Peach, forgive me. I won't be returning for a while."

Of course, with a message like this and the very name of the sidequest, I felt bad for that poor soul and naturally wanted to help him as soon as I could. I imagine it must be the same for most people. So I did what the game suggested and immediately went to see those adventuring brothers from Allsand. They showed me the islet in question on the ocean map. The only problem? After that interaction, I lost the way. I don't know how. I just couldn't find that darn Inphant Islet. When I tried again on my replay after beating the game, it was so easy, it was RIGHT THERE and I have no idea why I couldn't find it on the map the first time. Guess I must have gotten distracted by other sidequests and the main story soon after. I never completely forgot, though.

After an embarrassingly long time, I finally discovered that stupid islet. But it was too late and the sidequest had expired. I launched Mario and Luigi to Inphant anyway. What I found shocked me. The poor Toad had been glohmed! I still wanted to do what I could, and found my way to him through the maze of warp pipes. Sure, the fact that there was also treasure to find gave me extra motivation, but I really still wanted to help that Toad. But as one might expect, when I tried talking to him he responded in the same way all glohmed characters did. He wanted to be left alone, and there was nothing we could do. It was honestly quite heartbreaking. I didn't want to leave him there. I wanted to bring him back to Shipshape, cure him and then bring him home to the Mushroom Kingdom. But the game didn't give me any way to do that from that point onwards.

Honestly, I wish they had let us carry Toad like an object even against his will and force him to come with us. Heck, it could have even been quite a funny little scene as Toad would try to resist and protest all the time as we carry him through the pipes and then to the cannon. But alas, no such luck. The game let us know we failed and we were forced to come back with nothing except for the treasure.

Too bad I didn't take any pictures or videos of that moment. I suppose I was simply too shocked. I just couldn't believe there was nothing I could do. If the same thing happened to anyone else who does have some footage/screenshots, I'd appreciate it if you shared them in a reblog!

Think about the implications of this failure, guys. That Toad was already in a bad physical and mental state when he was writing the letter. How much time did he spend on that little island before I found him all glohmed? And then once I was forced to leave him there, the game never gave me another opportunity to rescue him. Sure, once we beat Reclusa and saved Concordia, the Glohm was gone, but then what? The islets were never part of the main land of Concordia. He was still left all alone on Inphant. Really, I'd say that his best chance of survival were those two Allsand brothers who might discover him there - but will they make it in time before he dies there?

And as I found out today when I was playing some of Brothership again using my old save files, it gets even WORSE. I swear the little dude can't catch a break.

I used a save file from the time when Reclusa has already been reborn and trapped a lot of people in those strange VR headset flowers. I deciced to visit that Toad since, even though I've already rescued him on my second try during my replay of that part, sometimes I still think about this particular timeline. And guess what! Of course that poor Toad who had already spent who knows how much time all alone on that islet was caught too! Guess the game really wanted to let me know I had royally scewed up.

This time, I have footage, so you can see for yourself what happened. Watch with the sound on and until the end.

The noise he makes at the end after I'm done talking to him? He mutters to himself like this all the time when we're on this islet, even farther away from him. His distorted voice sounds scary, too. And look at what he's saying, what he's dreaming about. I think all of this means the poor fellow lost his mind, stranded among nothing but pipes that kept confusing him. His biggest dream at this point is simply finding his way through them with ease. So, not only is he most likely going to die here, he couldn't even keep his sanity. This Toad did NOT deserve this fate. I'm so sorry for failing you, little guy :(

For me, it was hands down THE darkest part of this entire game. Even though technically it shouldn't have happened. It's definitely very dark for a Mario game. What's more, Mariowiki says:

Clearly, this is not the case. The Toad is present alright, at least in body... Or at least he was during my playthrough, heh (if nobody says it happened to them too I'm totally starting an "every copy of Brothership is personalized" rumor xD).

Anyway, if you've made it this far, thank you. I needed to share this with the world and would love to hear your thoughts. Here's a little rough doodle I drew before writing this post.

...Yeah. I'm sorry, little buddy. At least there's a timeline where I did save you <3

[fastcardotmp3]

❄️wip wednesday❄️

tagged by my beloved @kkpwnall! which is perfect because i was in a sharing mood anyway (:

i actually wrote a scene last night that i'm still buzzing about but i can't share it because it's too far ahead and too big a spoiler, so you get a snippet from part 4 of (all my friends) instead mwah <3

“I—” he croaks, clears his throat, tries again. “I was just doing my job.”

Eddie breathes deeply like he’s gathering himself and they’re standing close enough that Buck can see the flutter of his eyes behind their lids as he closes them for a moment, can see the way the movement radiates to the very tips of his eyelashes. 

“Y’know, I believe you mean that,” Eddie says. “That’s what scares me.” 

He turns his back to pull on his overshirt and then sling his bag over his shoulder and Buck stares all the while, caught between conversation and convalescence from the day at large. 

“Eddie,” he starts before promptly cutting himself off from arguing further and instead starting from the top. “Eddie, I’m sorry I freaked you out.” 

Eddie stops where he stands, the work of his jaw more obvious in profile than it would be head on, and then he turns and looks at Buck with this slow and deliberate exhale. 

“I know you are,” he says, and Buck knows him back just enough to realize what they’re both choosing not to say. 

Buck regrets scaring Eddie. He doesn’t regret what he did. 

“Okay,” Buck presses his lips together tight and shifts his weight from one foot to the other and grasps at words like straws. 

Because this tension hasn’t existed between them since Eddie stopped the fights. This tension hasn’t existed between them for quite some time and Buck does not like it. He doesn’t like being on this side of it. 

“Eddie, are we…?”

It’s like Eddie’s strings get cut. Buck isn’t sure what precisely he sees in Buck, if it’s the screaming abandonment issues or something else, but he sees something that has all of his anger sloughing off his shoulders and dropping anticlimactically at his feet. 

“We’re fine, we’re okay,” he drops his duffle at his feet with his anger and takes a few long strides back towards Buck, “Jesus, c’mere, we’re fine.”

Buck doesn’t get hugged very often. He’s single and he lives alone and most of his personal interactions happen in a work environment and so he doesn’t get hugged very often which is why his breath shudders, startled and unsteady, when Eddie wraps him up in a tight embrace. 

It’s why it takes a beat for him to hug Eddie back. 

tagging! with zero pressure and one trillion love: @judasofsuburbia @fragilecapric0rnn @cheatghost @snowangeldotmp3 @figthefruitfaeth @butchhorse @stevethehairington @lookforanewangle @ghostlandtoo

[copepods]

ok arcane s1 act 1 misc thoughts (SPOILERS)

-i like that a lot of the rich characters (cait's family, some council members) have transatlantic accents. i didnt really notice at first but upon rewatch of ep 2 it was super apparent and i love it

-i never got super into vander's character bc by the end of ep 1 i was like Yeah this guy is super dead. the 2 other kids who died as well (never even learned their names lol). also there was a lot more vander + silco than i thought there would be? like they laid it all out at once. i kind of knew they knew each other in the past from fandom osmosis but i expected it to be more of a slow burn reveal i guess

-im interested to see what the show does with ekko specifically. i know he becomes more prominent later on AND has stuff going on with jinx/powder, which i was honestly expecting them to set up more? like have them be friends or like talk to each other once lol. anyway he was pretty minor thus far so im intrigued in what they're gonna do with him

-i know vi goes to prison after this, but the guard who chloroformed her seemed to be trying to save her??? so i have no idea what's happening actually

-i knew silco was gonna adopt powder but i was honestly expecting it to be more? calculated? on his part? like he finds out powder was the one who blew up the building, and is like ooooh new talent. hey kid. do you want to join my gang of evil drug warlocks. but nope he genuinely reached out to her in a moment of grief against his better judgement. kind of a baller move mr. lesbian i respect that

-also powders eyes turned purple for emotional reasons and not magic drug reasons? cool. didnt know peoplw could do that

-Heimerdinger War Flashback last episode was kind of really funny im sorry i cant take this guy seriously. but i also got distracted because there were horses in the flashback and for some reason that surprised me? it did not occur to me that horses exist in the arcane universe. they just don't fit the vibe. also this guy is transparently what if yoda were lorax

-also i wanna know how the fuck jayce and his mom and the wizard (viktor probably) got to piltover after all that in the flashback. did the wizard summon a honda civic to drive them home or what. also, what were they doing there??

-and jayce keeps saying "magic real. ive seen it" but refusing to elaborate??? if i got saved by a wizard who warped space and time then gave me a cool rock i would make it my personality. which i guess he kind of did but you'd think he'd be telling people about it more. maybe he thinks people won't believe him? silly jayce. magic tech isnt real. you escaped the siberian tundra through the power of science. athiests on christmas waiting for charles darwin to come down the chimney etc

-i cant tell if mel is just one councilmember and not like above all the others OR straight up the president or whatever? she clearly has influence but i cant tell if she's everyone elses boss or not. maybe they said something about that in dialogue and i missed it. also is piltover an oligarchy or do they inherit their council positions or what? somehow i don't feel like normal democracy is on the table here

-what is it exactly jayce (and viktor) were trying to do WITH the magic? this always bugs me in tv shows when they just say "im working on some Science Tech Inventions" and dont elaborate on what those inventions are. are the magic balls a source of infinite renewable energy??? please tell me what you're actually doing with the sparkly zero-g machine

-vander's dying words being "protect powder" and vi immediately doing the opposite of that is crazyyyyy sure hope that doesnt haunt her for the rest of her life lol

-was genuinely distracted by the cool ass crab logo on the abandoned building. that was sick as hell. i love crabs

[perpermintttt]

Lantern of Wishes: Episode 2:6 ~ Translation

Warning! Spoilers for the event, obviously. Originally I wanted this to just be moments I wanted to share but it turned into me just adding the whole chapter so... translation...sorta...😭🙏 Chapter title! "I thought you were a stranger"

The chapter starts with Kalim and Jack praising Riddle! AWHH I LOVE HIS SMILE SO MUCH There was a question about strength and exercise that Riddle didn't immediately know but Jack helped him with that one!! They rejoice in the disappointed faces of Idia and Ortho LMFAOO Poor Deuce has his head hurting from the crossword puzzles :(

There's another gush of wind! The pattern for Part 2 of the event seems to be everyone visiting them! OHHH ???: "Pathetic. You should be using your brain more often." HEARTSLABYUL DORM THEME / OST PLAYS AND IT'S ACE WHO SAID THAT!! Deuce asks if he came there just to laugh at them and Ace replies he isn't THAT bored with an offended expression 😭😭😭

Ace says he went through the trouble of getting the darts set he and Deuce sometimes play with in their room! Also there's something from Jamil but he handles it roughly making Riddle mad but Riddle literary immediately goes back to normal when he sees Trey LOL Trey tells him to not worry about the dorm and just focus on escaping <33

And there's the chapter's title reference!

The gift from Jamil is a basket with Kebab ingredients and Jamil was busy with arrangements so he couldn't come. They're about to cooking to recreate the princess's story!! Trey says he and Jamil are worried about them doing the cooking 🙏 Awhh the list sent by Crowley said "baking ingredients" so Trey thought they wanted to bake something but they can't bring in big stuff to the library. He just brought simple cookies so they can just finish it themselves by putting chocolate or jam in between 🥺💞 In a way they make the cookies themselves. TREY ALSO BROUGHT A TEA POT FOR TEA!! Anyways, this teeth freak.

Trey told Ace to also bring some kind of collection that Riddle will use even if when they cook they won't be using any fire. Riddle says he will also be using the darts Ace brought with a smile ❤️‍🩹 Only now does Ace notice that Riddle's hair is much more longer than everyone else's hair. AWHH Deuce saying that their housewarden is amazing 💞💞💞 Ace doesn't get what he's praising though 😔 Trey asks if the hair length is bearable and Riddle replies he'll just have to deal bear it until he can escape.

THEY'RE GOING TO CUT IT NOOOO 😭😭😭😭😭 But indeed Trey, it has grown so beautifully.

Riddle tells Ace and Trey to leave the rest to him. They comply with smiles. End of chapter. This one is a little late cause I ate breakfast sorry 😔😔

Previous ~ Next

Episode 2:1, Episode 2:2, Episode 2:3, Episode 2:4, Episode 2:5, Episode 2:6, Episode 2:7, Episode 2:8, Episode 2:9, Episode 2:10, Episode 2:11,

[jj-maybank-deserved-better]

I think these people are setting themselves up for disappointment honestly, if Rudy does return I’m actually not expecting to see any bts of him because I know he’s gonna be hidden.

JJ’s revival would be the BIGGEST spoiler of the entire series, they want us on the edge of our seat not knowing what’s gonna happen.

So obviously they won’t make this easy on us, it’s highly unlikely fans will be able to get a glimpse of him if he’s on set, and if they do I have a feeling NDA’s will absolutely be involved and people will be forced to remove any photos of him.

I have a feeling it’s gonna be a huge WTF moment, idk why but I feel like they’re gonna make us lose hope that JJ will come back and then bam, just throw it right at us.

But yeah, I’m not expecting any bts content of Rudy for season 5 if he returns.

They're probably gonna have the set locked down since it's the final season anyway and if he is coming back. I also think we haven't seen a pic of him since Friday because he's fully blonde now.

[yaboy-miz]

OH MY GOD IT GOT BETTER HOLY FUCK

Spoiler warning for all of chapter 8 but especially the end

I just. Holy shit.

It’s so perfect. They hate each other. Shadow milk dragged pure vanilla down to rock bottom and told him to keep digging. He kept on pushing him further and further to see how far he could go before he cracked.

Shadow milk cookie literally made him choose between his power and his friends’ lives and when he gave up his power decided to kill his friends right in front of him anyway

And this whole time, pure vanilla was miserable. His memories were distorted, he couldn’t tell what was real anymore, he had to doubt everything he thought he knew and everything he thought was right.

All of this broke him down bit by bit. The shame, the guilt, the self loathing, it gnawed into his mind.

And to escape this, he had to embrace deceit, even just for a moment. He had to hold onto the truth but accept lies and trickery and deception. He had to cheat the tests before him, lie about his intentions, and trick shadow milk.

The two became one. For just a moment, he and shadow milk were a pair. And in that union pure vanilla saw through another lie, the lie shadow milk hid behind, the lie the beast tried to fool himself with.

He saw that, behind the theatrics, behind the anger and desperation for power, behind all the cruelty, shadow milk was deeply and miserably alone.

Shadow milk cookie was truly elated to have pure vanilla by his side, not quite as equals but as each other’s companion nonetheless.

And even after he betrayed shadow milk, pure vanilla still offered friendship. He offered him a chance to stop hiding behind lies and be happy.

And he refused

He refused to face the truth, because it’s easier to hide than to face the problem head on. He refused to make himself vulnerable, to show weakness.

Shadow milk needs pure vanilla for much more than the soul jam, but he won’t admit that to anyone

Not even to himself

…ok I see why people ship shadow milk with pure vanilla now

[psychotic-nonsense]

Thinking about VG!Eddie with one of mine and my dad's favorite songs: "Nobody Wants to Hear Songs Anymore" by Ben Abraham (recommend listening to it first it's got a nice sound and neat little twist that me and my dad laugh about all the time)

Rambling bc I can't leave anything be ever

- - - - -

I'm gonna animate this some day so scene by scene replay as follows:

First two verses are imagined scenarios by Eddie, dreams that are too soon tainted by reality again.

First verse) Eddie as a little kid, laying in bed and making that first wish. An angel does come down, looking like his mom, and he gets a brief moment of being held in her arms. But soon his mom's face falls, and she floats back up into the sky as Eddie scrambles for her to come back. Reality takes over and we see he's clutching a small silver ring, his mom's.

Second verse) An older Eddie, around sophomore year. He writes his song, shedding a few tears along the way. He invites the person - featureless at first - over to the trailer and performs it on his acoustic, all emotion and purity and vulnerability. But as he finishes, his face falls as he sees the person is disinterested. Their features come into focus, as Steve just shakes his head and fades away. Reality comes back, and Eddie's sitting on his bed alone with the book full of lyrics. Angrily, he snaps it shut and holds it close to his chest.

Third verse, first two lines) Eddie's fight with the bats. He stands tall but is inevitably taken down, landing straight into Dustin's lap. He struggles to breathe, but still gives Dustin one last smile. As he dies, he sinks down into the ground, floating lifeless in that mind void beneath the water. His features shift into place, wings and claws and tail and black skin.

Last three lines) Eddie wakes up, pleading for freedom. He thrashes and fights the water, but keeps getting pulled down. Flashes of moments throughout the story play around him, but he keeps pushing through. Until one freezes him solid, so loud and jolting and painful that Eddie gives up completely. A black solid muzzle with chains wrap around his mouth and pull him further into the water, and he just goes with it.

Fourth verse) Set near the latter half of Vecna's Generals storyline. The Imprisoned in their cave, all watching Eddie with varying levels of concern. He's sickly looking, laying down in a curled up ball facing the rock wall. Chrissy sits next to him, trying to provide comfort by rubbing his shoulder, but she knows it's not working. Eddie sings this last verse to himself in tears, completely dejected and tired, giving up.

[riickgrimes]

I know who you are. You're Fire and Ice, right? Which one's which?

CHALLENGERS (2024) dir. Luca Guadagnino

[foxx-queen]

as much as I get why lucanis is positioned as the one needed to kill ghilan'nain as the mage killer etc, I can't help but feel like it should've been davrin

like. there's something about the dalish elf with andruil's vallaslin, a grey warden, a monster hunter, hunting down the mother of all monsters, who creates monstrosities with the blight, who was once andruil's beloved.

ghilan'nain created the halla. she still cares for the halla, despite what she's become, despite being unable to create them anymore. davrin cared for the halla under his uncle's tutelage. assan cares for and nurses a sick and dying halla. assan, who's name means arrow in elven, when andruil's weapon was a bow, who's hunting instincts give way to something more protective.

davrin was taught the way of the three trees. it was created by andruil. andruil, the goddess of the hunt, also known as the goddess of sacrifice. davrin feels like a weapon sharpened to make that final sacrifice against the blight, a tool that once drove andruil mad, and has twisted ghilan'nain into something unrecognisable. andruil, blood and force, who loved a mortal for her creations and raised her to godhood.

would ghilan'nain see andruil in him? would that offer something more to her character than just oh she's evil?

the dalish tell a legend of ghilan'nain and a hunter who bested her. maybe it was a prophecy instead.

[ectophasm]

so episode 1 <3

the only issue i've had is that the game runs like a cryptominer on my computer where it has absolutely no excuse to. this is a damn VN it has no right to be eating as much of my memory as a moderately-modded minecraft save i forgot to download optifine/embeddium on. it loaded in on ultra graphics but even after turning them down to medium i was still having my laptop fan blaring (less after medium graphics but still there) and frame drops (nonexistent before medium graphics but prevalent after) during the courtroom segments. i suspect a memory leak or things not unloading when they should be but i don't have the knowledge to have any say in it at all

you'd think the reading comprehension minigames are a pace breaker, but they tend to pop up when the game is slow anyway. this does hurt my ability to pay attention to them, but they are just a bonus most of the time. as a(n occasional) perfectionist i think this game might genuinely improve my reading comprehension and i think that's beautiful. they also provide a lot of worldbuilding, which is especially important with this genre + setting combo to set boundaries of what's realistic in this world and what isn't, so it can get your brain in the right mindset for Theorizing . they also get added to the archive so if you're like me and was trained in american public school to throw out all information once you've already used it on the test then you can reread it whenever

also ITS COURTROOM SEGMENTS

its trial system is like if danganronpa's trial system and ace attorney's trial system had a sexy sexy baby with a gambling addiction. when lag was minimal it felt satisfying as hell to play, and when you're up to bat with ace attorney and danganronpa that sort of gratification is tough to match but otD hits a home run. its minigames make more sense than danganronpa's (all beautifully themed) and it's SUPER engaging. i was liveblogging on bsky but locked in too hard at the court segment to say anything about it

past this point there will be ep1 spoilers. beware all ye who enter... admittedly i am very biased (this game isn't just up my alley, it's ringing my doorbell) but if you like mystery VNs at all then you will LOVE this game. at the very least play ep0 and see if you like it

guh momin ...

i LOVE this chapter. no notes here, just... it's fantastic. the mystery is paced well, the new characters are amazing, BLATANTLY CANON TRANS WOMAN, the animation of a card whacking emma in the face is funny as hell to me...

That aside. Some analysis because I'm a chronic yapper when I want to be.

idk if i'm reading subtext that isn't there but... morgan IS grieving. just doing it her own way. the way how in the trial she IMMEDIATELY jumps to the conclusion that serra killed david... before being like. wait. this isn't me. i've gotta consider all the variables here. there's a couple of other moments too (would she have flipped out that bad at the xmas photo if she weren't already exhausted?) this feels like a miniscule thing but morgan has a lot of nuance other media serial killers don't get and that's important when she's the protag. also i wonder if emma KNOWS morgan is the HK but doesn't have the evidence to get her on it. doubt it but she's got a lot else about the case on lock. i love morgan she is a fantastic character

serra is adorable and i will protect this robot with my life. david really did just force a serial killer to adopt his daughter huh... i've seen this trope with dads and daughters and dads and sons but never with a mom. i wanna see how this unfolds so bad

i could yap all day about this game but i should probably stop here for my own sanity. i need to go be mentally ill about this game in other ways too

so i saw of the Devil on bluesky and, as a self-proclaimed Detective VN Enthusiast, had to play the demo.

and it is FANTASTIC so far. so fantastic in fact that i am typing this up on tumblr for the higher character limit

first off, the game has INSANE style points.

morgan has a huge theme of poker/gambling, and that's reflected in the game's UI in an absolutely beautiful way. the UI also brings in the cyberpunk aspect, so just looking at the UI can tell you what kind of world morgan's in and how she thinks about her job. and also it looks awesome combined with the comic book motifs of the artstyle. my only complaint on this front is that london and reyes aren't very expressive in their sprites, but it at least makes a little sense considering they're detectives. and also i've been playing ai: the somnium files, which goes above and beyond on the expression front, so my perception may be skewed here. some extra poses in the sprites overall would be nice for the full game but they are absolutely great as is and do not need it to hold up

also i LOVE that you're rewarded for interacting with the game world and understanding it. reading comprehension game my beloved <3 being rewarded for investigating every object in the room my beloved <3

some extra notes under the readmore. don't click unless you've finished ep 0

also a spoiler for zero escape: zero time dilemma but i try to be as vague as possible abt it

God forbid women do anything.

i LOVE morgan already. i didn't see the twist coming at all, but the foreshadowing was extremely solid. it could have easily felt as bullshit as the villian's reveal in ZTD, but it didn't feel like that at all - it made a lot of her past lines make a lot more sense, and it being revealed this early in the game makes me excited about how the game is going to handle it. also you texted a heart emoticon to the fucking DEPARTMENT OF STATE ? absolute fucking menace

i was playing aitsf before i picked up otdevil. i will be drawing date and reyes together with their yellow prosthetic detective-assistant eyes as soon as i finish aitsf

also the interviews in extra content are a fucking fantastic idea and every VN should do them. i've only viewed reyes's so far (i need to be up in 6 hours </3) but it was AMAZING. tell me your character has autism in one easy step (and possibly a tgirl depending on what that third thing is)

that being said, i do have a few nitpicks.

- it's obvious from the moment the photo is shown that carlos isn't the killer. iirc we already determined that carlos didn't have a right arm at the time, and whether you account for the mirror or not, the suspect in the photo has both arms. this tripped me up for the rest of the mirror segment and i think it could be fixed (relatively) easily by altering the pose of the figure such that the arm not holding the gun is more behind the figure or perhaps less distinctly an arm

- some of the solutions are a little unintuitive. to me anyway. and sometimes i am a little stupid. the one that comes to mind is the smell of the jacket -- admittedly i'm not very knowledgeable on guns, but i don't think i'd have thought of the smell of the gunpowder not being on it. that being said, gambling's kinda the point, so maybe i'm bound to have to make a few guesses

- it's not very easy to jump back to a particular segment of the episode. i unlocked everyone's interviews but morgan's on my first run, but if i wasn't such a religious multi-slot saver i might've had to do the whole episode over to get morgan's unless there's a replay option i'm missing.

i'll prolly have more and better thoughts when i'm more awake but damn that demo was good and i'm so excited for ep 1

[egophiliac]

time for skeleman

with the lack of any other info yet, all I can focus on are those Charles Lloyd-looking sunglasses. they are absolutely sending me. I feel like we're gonna fall through a tree or whatever and this stitched-up boney gentleman is gonna pop out from behind a gravestone and start serenading us with some smooth jazz on the saxophone.

or should I say...the saxoBONE???????