#anyways the moral of the story is don’t hit your kids

[vins-oc-hell]

Shoutout to the time Loki spent an entire battle cowering under some rocks. 😔✌🏻

[beartrice-inn-unnir]

10. What is your favorite genre book to recommend to someone who doesn’t usually like that genre?

Usually when people ask me for a rec for a genre they don’t usually like, they are asking for sci-fi, and I start by trying to figure out different access points based on what they already like. I’m not much of a hard sci-fi person, tending more to the space opera and political thrillers, so here’s a few “if you like x, maybe try y”:

If you like romance, give Everina Maxwell’s Winter’s Orbit a try. It’s definitely sci-fi in setting and plot, but it also hits nicely in the formulaic patterns of a arranged-marriage, strangers-to-lovers story that will help you through it even if the sci-fi elements are throwing you off. The author has another similar book that increases the sci-fi elements and is enemies-to-lovers as well, so if you like Winter’s Orbit, Ocean’s Echo is a good next step.

If you like non-fiction, The Martian by Andy Weir is a great pick. I have multiple friends who got into reading again as adults via The Martian. It’s well-written, well-grounded, funny, and very sci-fi. If you’ve already read it, then maybe give To Be Taught if Fortunate by Becky Chambers a try. It can be described with all the same adjectives, plus it’s a short novella, so if you’re hesitant, it’s less intimidating.

If you like mysteries or political thrillers, boy is there a lot of great sci-fi out there for you. The crux of a lot of sci-fi is space or high-tech settings with a plot that asks questions about personhood, and that mixes really well with detectives and spies wandering around trying to solve problems and find truths. Try Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells (it’s partway through a series of great books and novellas, but that one’s the most traditional mystery plot) or A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine (ambassador solving her predecessor’s mysterious death while trying to do his job)(I’d also recommend this one if you read a lot of classics) EDIT: just realized I mistyped - book 1 by Arkady Martine is A Memory Called Empire.

If YA/ Bildungsromanen/ New Adult figuring the world out through trial and error is often your jam, try Provenance by Ann Leckie (for the kid who really wants to do things right) or The Warrior’s Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold (for another kid who wants to do things right, but is also a high-energy chaos gremlin).

If you like fantasy, you probably already have read some sci-fi; it’s all under the speculative fiction umbrella and genres are vague anyway. All the same, I know this is the Locked Tomb Website, but give Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir a shot (it’s got magic and mayhem and an epic locked-room whodunnit mystery). The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord is also good - it has a team of people traveling together and thinking about morals and discovering new abilities, plus some romance.

I’m sure there’s lots of genres I’m forgetting right now, but feel free to send me another ask for any specific one!

[mylovelies-docx]

Sorry, I Love You - Part 9

Oh wow, a new chapter? Who'd have thunk it.

My posting schedule is all off and I honestly don't know if I can get it back under control. I have no idea when I'll get time to sit down and write and when inspiration will strike, so I can't assure weekly updates. But I'll try my hardest to get this story out! I have future chapters written, it's just that I have no way of connecting them right now :/ Oops.

Plot: You and Bucky have a good thing going - best of friends that also have more than a little chemistry between the sheets. Everything is fine until you develop feelings for the man who doesn't want a relationship. What will happen when Bucky finds out?

C/W: Ah shit, here we go again. Angst, arguments, jealousy

Word Count: 2,250

Tag List: NOW CLOSED! If you'd like to keep up with this story, please follow my blog and turn on notifications! ❤️ you :)

[Prologue][Part 1][Part 2][Part 3][Part 4][Part 5][Part 6][Part 7][Part 8]

Some moments are easier than others. Sometimes you feel like you’re not pining like a love-sick teenager enough to think that you can actually do this – you can actually be friends with the man you love.

But then there are moments like tonight.

A few weeks have passed since community get-together, and you and Bucky are the new kids in town. Everyone drops by to say hello, leave you with enough food to last the winter, and invite you both back to their homes for dinner. It’s all very sweet, and you would appreciate the hospitality in any other situation.

But the amount of mothers trying to marry their daughters off to Bucky is insane. 

Several have not-so-subtley seated Bucky next to daughters of marriageable age, while everyone else is silently discouraged from interrupting their conversations. It skeezes you out when the girls are barely out of their teens, but most of the girls are around your age or older. Morality-wise, that’s a whole lot more appropriate. Internal monologue-wise, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh doesn’t even begin to cover it. What you feel whenever he laughs at something they say, or looks at them with his intense blue eyes – it hurts. That’s how he used to look at you, once upon a time. Like his life wouldn’t be the same without you in it, like you’re one of the most important people in his world.

To be fair to Bucky, you probably read waaaay more into it than he ever meant. And you only ever really saw that look come out when you were straddling his waist and grinding hard on his cock, skin mottled with his teeth marks and wearing his metal hand as a necklace. 

Stop, stop, stop, stop!

Anyway,

You’re usually placed next to older, widowed relatives, as most of the young men in the town have already settled down and popped out a few kids with their spouses except for Petre. Tessa foists the two of you together at every possible opportunity, hoping you’ll hit it off and decide to get married in the near future. 

Petre is nice, smart, cute, but not really your type. You’re convinced that you’ve only ever had one type and he’s off-limits. But Petre’s company is much more enjoyable than the sad, lonely older men they try to pair you with – it never feels great to be compared to someone’s long lost love – so you don’t mind having someone around your age to talk during these things.

Speaking of.

“It’s a nice night, yeah?” Petre comments. The night is warmer than expected, but you and Petre are still bundled up in your coats as you stroll through the dead copse of trees near the latest dinner party. The sun had set only minutes ago and the stars are making their presence known. There’s next to no light pollution in this area, so you always take the time to admire the night sky when you have the chance. 

You often take walks with Bucky up and down your street as a way to decompress after your shifts at the HYDRA facility. After the first week or so of being everyone’s errand-runner, they’ve slowly built up your workload to include calculations and deductions based on redacted data – it’s not as much information as you’d like, but it’s enough to build a foundational understanding of what the experiment was about.

You hum in agreement and continue walking. It’s about time to turn around and head back, but you can’t bring yourself to return only to watch Bucky flirt with the pretty girls that were also invited.  

“Is something the matter?” Petre asks you.

You startle out of your petty, jealous thoughts. “Hm? Oh, no. Nothing’s wrong,” you reply with a smile.

“It’s just that you seem very distracted tonight,” he responds.

With your hands in your pocket, the only thing you can do is shrug your shoulders. “Just tired, is all. It’s been a long week at the office.”

“Ah, I know the feeling,” Petre commiserates. 

All of the sudden, a wailing, piercing shriek ricochets between the tree trunks and reverberates in your ears. Tensing with adrenaline, you take two steps forward, ready to intervene in whatever events are unfolding in the darkness.

Before you get much further, Petre reaches out and takes hold of your elbow. Turning you around, he starts leading the way back. You try to tug your arm from his grip, but he holds firm.

“The cry of a vixen who is looking to mate. They’re rather vicious creatures this time of year, foxes. We don’t want to get in her way,” Petre deters.

“But…” you begin, looking back over your shoulders and watching for unexpected movement among the swaying branches. “It sounds so real.”

“Terrifying, really. I was just as concerned when they began, as well.” Petre gives you a tight smile and relaxes his grip slightly when you stop trying to pull away.

“What do you mean?” you question.

“What?” Petre’s eyes flash around quickly, looking through the woods that surround you.

“‘When they began’. What do you mean by that?”

“Ah,” Petre replies. “When mating season began.”

There’s no more discussion on the eerily accurate sound of a woman in distress. You can only trust that Petre would know the local fauna and their habits better than you, since you’ve never spent an extended period of time in areas such as this.

***

The neighbor’s house finally comes into view. A lone figure stands silhouetted against the porch as they lean against the railings, their arms braced against the banister and posture rigid. When you get closer, you realize that the figure is Bucky. 

You can’t see his face, but you can feel his eyes on you. And apparently Petre can as well.

“He doesn’t like me?” Petre asks.

“Why do you say that?” The question puzzles you because Bucky has no reason to dislike Petre. He’s been incredibly helpful so far, allowing you to ask as many questions as you want about himself and others and he doesn’t seem bothered by it at all. In fact, you feel as if you and Petre have become friends.

“It just seems like he’s never happy to see me.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that – James just has RBF,” you reply nonchalantly.

“RBF?” Petre replies.

You laugh as you and Petre climb the stairs, only now realizing that he still has a hand on your arm. You’d forgotten all about it, but you miss the slight warmth that permeated through your jacket when he removes his touch. You turn to look at him, but Petre is looking away, his hands now deep in his pockets. Turning your focus onto Bucky, you see him watching Petre, his eyes squinted.

A large smile returns to your face as you reach up and grab Bucky’s chin, squishing his cheeks and making his lips pucker from the pressure. “This –” you say triumphantly, “is an RBF.”

Bucky glares down at you and swats your hand away. You cackle at the perfect example of Resting Bitch Face™ in front of you, throwing your head back in joy. When you right your posture again, you can see a small smile on Bucky’s face as he laughs along with you.

“Whatever,” he murmurs. He shakes his head in exasperation before circling his arm around your shoulders. Bucky begins dragging you back down the steps you had just ascended and you grunt in protest. “It’s time to go,” he says simply.

“Ugh, you’re so rude,” you say to him. Craning your neck as much as possible, you look back towards Petre who remains on the porch. “I’ll see you later!” you call backwards with a wave. Petre raises a hand in return, face hidden in shadow as Bucky’s had been.

Focusing back on the road in front of you, you can practically feel what little mirth Bucky had drains away. Looking up, you notice that his jaw is clenched and a hard look has entered his eye.

“What’s wrong?” Now you’re worried that something happened to Bucky while you were gone that has put him in a bad mood. Did someone say something to him? Did one of the women reject his advances? You can’t see who in their right mind would turn him down, but not everyone feels the same way about him as you do. But if it’s the latter, the guilt you feel only slightly outweighs the relief.

“You don’t think you’re spendin’ too much time with him?” Bucky says between clenched teeth.

A frown appears between your eyebrows as you continue to look up at him. “No?” you respond. “He doesn’t seem to mind.”

“Ofcoursehedoesn’t,” Bucky mutters under his breath, but you can still hear him.

You slide out from under Bucky’s hold, his agitation sparking flames of your own. “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“You don’t think you’re leadin’ him on a bit, Y/N?” Bucky asks you.

You scoff. “What the fuck are you talking about?” 

“You’re always hangin’ around him!” Bucky quips back. “You’re flirting with him and walking out of parties together. All these people, Petre included, are going to think you’re pitching for an engagement.”

The hurt and pitiful feelings from earlier tonight come flooding back. Only this time, instead of feeling them for what they are, you combine them with the anger his comment brings. How dare he accuse you of leading Petre on? As if he isn’t doing the same thing to all those girls?!

“And what about you?!” you yell, the last word ripping its way between your lips and setting your tongue ablaze. “You don’t think you’re stringing all these girls along behind you? You don’t have any intention of getting into a relationship with any of them, either, do you?” 

As the words escape, you remember how Bucky sat you down and asked for a friends-with-benefits situation. Said he wasn’t ready for a real relationship, but tired of one night stands. How the two of you could help each other out since you weren’t seeing anyone either. The old resentment towards yourself and how you let yourself fall for someone wholly unavailable whiplashes back into your mind after months of repressing it. 

If he could ask that of you, does that mean he’s asked someone else? You usually arrive home later than him, but on some occasions that you are released early, he’s not there. Instead of asking where he’s been, you had just let it slide since it could have been construed as possessiveness. Like your feelings – that Bucky believes to be long gone – entitle you to his life. You hadn’t wanted to risk anything at the time, but now your mind can’t help running wild at the possibilities.

“It’s not like I’m screwing his brains out every time we’re gone!” You shout at Bucky. You had been walking down the road away from the house party which was on a street with few homes, so there’s nobody around to hear your fight. “We’re not in the bathrooms having quickies, he’s not fucking me against a wall, or bending me over his motorcycle! He hasn’t proposed we fuck around with each other until someone better comes along!” 

Your chest heaves with the effort of expelling these vicious words from deep within your heart, and you can feel a burning beginning to creep behind your eyes. You hate getting angry – hate that any strong emotion makes your eyes well with tears and makes you look weak. And in this situation, you are weak – weak against Bucky, weak against yourself, weak against the knowledge that the one man you’ve ever loved never felt the same way and never will. Your inability to keep yourself from falling for someone you knew you could never have? Your jealousy that he is probably sleeping with one or more of the women in town? That makes you weak. 

And you can’t stand to be weak in front of Bucky again.

“Newsflash, Buck: I know how it feels to be lead on by you and it fucking sucks!” You lower your voice slightly and take another step away from him. “I know that wasn’t your intention, and I didn’t feel that way at first, but that’s how I feel now.”

“You were my best friend, Y/N – I didn’t want to lose that!” Bucky exclaims. “And I genuinely thought we were on the same page!” He takes a deep breath and clasps his hands over his eyes before saying, “And seeing you run off with Petre all the time just reminds me of us – how we’d always sneak away to get some time alone. It’s just –” He drops his hands and sighs heavily, looking up at the star-studded sky and then back down to you. “I’m jealous.”

“You’re jealous?” You ask incredulously. “Why?”

“Because –” You can tell that he’s struggling to get this out, and if he hadn’t started this argument and accused you of wronging Petre, you might have been more receptive to what he’s saying. More understanding. But right now, your anger swallows all empathy and hope that his words would usually supply. “Because that could have been us,” he breathes. Bucky takes a tentative step in your direction, but freezes solid at the icy glare you send his way.

“No,” you say flatly, “No, it couldn’t have. You made that abundantly clear when I asked.”

You turn your back on him and start running, ignoring the sound of your name as you leave Bucky behind.

Part 10

Taglist: @jackiehollanderr @rabbitrabbit12321 @12345sebby @blackwood-bodecker-housewifeife @lauraashley93 @themorningsunshinee @happinessinthebeingg @nash-dara @calwitch @stany0url0calwh0res111 @pono-pura-vida @learisa @introverbatim @kentokaze @marvelogic @kaz11283

[bicheetopuff]

Hi again! If you don't mind me asking (again), what are your top 5 (or top 7) favorite media ever (can be anime/manga, tv series, books, movies, games, etc)? Why love them? Thanks if you want to answer....

Omg idk why but the question gave me flashbacks to my middle school hyperfixations…

7) My Little Pony: I guess this is how I come out as a brony. It’s honestly just my comfort show. I mainly love it because I love Rainbow Dash

6) Musical Theatre: I can’t narrow down which ones I liked more than others tbh but my main ones were Hamilton, Heathers, Beetlejuice, In The Heights, and the Waitress. That’s all I can think of right now, but Hamilton was probably my favorite now that I think about it. I used to listen to the entire musical three times a day in high school without fail💀

I just really like music and stories so having them mixed together blew my mind. I was actually a wannabe song writer for like 6 years and even went to college for composition for a while. That’s just a little bit of Puff lore though :)

5) Steven Universe: I DONT UNDERSTAND HOW THIS SHOW MANAGES TO MAKE ME CRY WITHOUT FAIL EVERY TIME I REWATCH IT!! The fact that it’s able to hit hard topics in a way that kids can understand is extremely admirable to me, and I honestly love everything about it. Plus it’s one of the only shows with a majority female cast where every single one is actually written well… and they’re like actual people with legitimate flaws. Cartoon Network never misses

4) Deadpool: I say this, but basically anything marvel related. Deadpool is just my favorite marvel character and honestly… I’m not sure why. I just latched onto him and ever since then, I’ve had a growing collection of random stuff with his face on it. Including a chair…

But yeah the Deadpool movies and Deadpool: Samurai, are like my favorite things to rewatch/reread. Again, it’s just a comfort thing.

3) My Hero Academia: it’s so embarrassing to admit but bnha changed my life. It changed the way I viewed the world and how I view my relationships. I know that seems so stupid but it actually got me to enjoy reading and it made me pay more attention to the kind of media I consume. It legitimately made me grow as a person. I feel bad for putting it at 3 considering this is a bnha blog though… I absolutely love it and it plagues my brain, but I just get so emotional over the next two.

2) Attack on Titan: I don’t think tumblr talks about attack on titan enough. Like bnha, it made me reevaluate how I viewed the world and made me consider things outside of myself. I was a pretty selfish and inconsiderate teenager, as most are, but aot just kind of hammered into my brain that there are more problems in the world than just mine. It’s dumb, but watching aot and coming to understand it was the first step in me developing more “radicalized” political views and just overall setting my moral code and my values in stone.

Honestly the only reason why this isn’t just tied with bnha is because I never get tired of watching it ig? I got tired of watching bnha really fast and clung to the manga after a short while, but aot I can rewatch over and over again and never get sick of it.

1) Nana: I think it’s just cuz I’m in a really bad Nana phase rn, but this story just breaks me. I relate to Hachi a lot and again, the show just changed the way I view my relationships and made me realize that I’m my own worst enemy by letting myself indulge in the company of toxic people simply out of fear of being alone or unloved. I ignore the bad moments in favor of trying to savor the good ones as much as I can, and I feel undeserving of anything else. Minus relating to Hachi a lot, I really like the music and the style and just everything about it has me in a chokehold rn. Maybe it’ll pass, but I honestly don’t think it will. I’m in pretty deep.

Anyways, that’s all I got! Thanks for the question! I love talking about my favorite things :)

[emilieautumnarchives]

I throw up my hands...

Posted: January 12, 2008 Archived from BonnyTymePyrate’s Journal Archives

Hmmm…Suffer’s kidnapping and my plot for revenge has undoubtedly put me into a foul mood, something not entirely unassisted by my having been unable (happy “un” day) to refill my myriad drug prescriptions while on tour leaving me still unmedicated (which, in accordance with the public’s positively moronic understanding of bi-polar disorder, and yes, that is the exact same thing as manic-depression, folks, means that I ought to be out fucking some paparazzo guy whose name I can’t pronounce and jetting off to Mexico after shaving my head and getting myself kicked out of the Four Seasons every night)…but this would do in anybody’s day, UNless of course, as I’ve said before, you’re a fucking potato (would you be surprised if I told you just how many letters I’ve received from good people telling me, “Although according to you I’m a "fucking potato” - insert UNnecessary *wink* here - I’m a big F-A-N"):

So, word is!

Lady Marine. Pregnant. Went missing last month after accusing her superior Marine officer of raping her (can anyone enlighten me as to why news reporters aren’t allowed to call rape “rape” anymore, instead using the ambiguous and relatively harmless sounding “sexual assault,” which implies something about as important as saying that a kid on the playground pushed you…). Nobody believed her. Her family didn’t believe her (and WHY do we not tell our families??). Her own mother comes out and says, “She’s bipolar and has a history a lying.” I wonder if the accusation might have been taken a bit more seriously had her family not have publily discredited her before she even had a chance to hit the stand. Anyhow! Good news is, it doesn’t matter now, thank god, because she’s been found. In a shallow grave. Double murder.

Whodunit????

Who do you fucking think?

The guy she said raped her.

Oh well. If she had been black, and male, it would have been called a “hate crime”, as well it should be, and attacked with all the force of the military because, hey, a racial slur against Tiger Woods is a national shame with full media coverage and talks on “how can this happen in this century???”, but no, she’s a dumb crazy cunt who shouldn’t have been in the Marines anyway, and we all know that, right?

I swear to bloody god, the next boy I tell my “rape story” to who snaps at me, “why the hell didn’t you do anything about it?”, as if I had personally offended HIM, I’m going to fucking get one of Crumpet Aprella’s sexy-ass lighters and torch this planet.

Moral of the Story: Female in 2008 = lower than livestock + rumored mental illness = subhuman species with no rights and less credibility + “is this country really ready for a female President?” = no, not while we’re still a minority + oh, wait, we’re not a minority, we’re the majority = don’t try counting, little girls, math ain’t your thing.

And so, on that note, let it be said that, when I am kidnapped by one of the sweet & gentle stalkers who have already threatened it and who ruin it for everybody by making me wary and overprotected and unable to touch muffins or take pictures or even go to certain sides of the stage so don’t blame me when the signings stop, just look around you (jeez, they’ve already taken Suffer, what the fuck is next?), or simply just fucked up for the last time by some random guy on the street who doesn’t give a fuck who I am, yes, let it be said that I was Bipolar and therefore without credibility, not to be believed, not to be taken seriously in any way. And hey! They’re right! It’s all good! Because, isn’t that what I’m always preaching anyway? Lighten up, goths! Always look on the bright side…

I love you little potatoes, see you in Hell (Sartre’s hell, that is), but for now my heart is racing (proximity to Sir Edward and Basil?) which means the best thing to do is take a walk. I recommend we all do it, now. It’s walking time. Get on your winter coats, double socks please, I’ll see you on the streets in five.

EA

p.s.

As long is no one’s biting their tongue today, I will confess that I HAVE gotten into trouble at the Four Seasons, and Lady Joo Hee can confirm it…I was refilling our champagne flutes during high tea with the vanilla vodka I had stashed in my sarcastic pink thermos, and waiter boy didn’t like it, poor thing…best day evah!

Hey, Brit Brit, I’m on my way!

p.p.s.

Note To The Press: Being Bipolar doesn’t make you do any of the things that the Hollywood fucked-up are doing. Being a drug addict does. There’s a big difference. And it’s days like these that give me the slightest splinter of a reminder of why in the hell I am writing a book about it. So, please, remind me of this day when it comes out and I can’t quite recall why I went to the trouble.

p.p.p.s.

OK, I admit it: this is all just because I went to Home Depot the other day to find some new electrical outlet covers for my Asylum cell (apparently I failed to observe the “no shoes, no penis, no service” sign on the door) and as some middle-aged fucker passed me, instead of saying “excuse me” as he would have said to any other person, he said, “ I’m sorry, little girl.”

Hell? We’re livin’ it, bitches!!

[kairiscorner]

Okokokokok, not a rq, (focus on whatever you need to write bhie <33) but ur dialogue prompt list gave me so much material for my daily delulu musings hee hee :))

Im using prompt 43 as a basis here…

Teen miguel, right?? Enemies to lovers teen miguel is a classic tbh, BUT… one sided ‘’’’enemies’”” to lovers with popular kid! Reader and v emotionally confused gabri 😭

HEAR ME OUT,,, so i would think that gabri would be a fairly shy kid at school and all that, the textbook example of the quiet art kid

Being a teenager with an already microscopic friend group (consisting of his mom, miggy, and some kids from his extracurricular drawing club/robotics club) and with little to no experience with romance, little gabri finds himself crushing on popular kid reader.

BUT THE THING IS, gabri knows what a crush is, but he doesn’t know what a crush should necessarily feel like. Like, he’s a little confused on why his face gets all hot when you smile at him from across the packed cafeteria, noticing him even when your table consists of the ‘popular’ crowd. He can’t pinpoint exactly why he has butterflies in his stomach whenever you compliment his drawings, even the ones that he considers ‘ugly’ and ‘rushed’. He’s left wondering why his voice gets all shaky and caught up when he tries to talk to you.

So little gabri tries to figure out exactly what he’s feeling about you.

Then it hits him. Whenever he vists miggy at his fancy nerd middleschool, miguel is very open with the fact that he “”hates”” a certain girl from his class. (Its xina btw, bc we love xina in this household <3). Miguel is always rambling on and on about how much he hates her, and his behaviour towards xina is a perfect mirror of gabri’s behaviour with you!! Red face, shaky voice, the whole 9 yards. So, gabri concludes:

That this weird feeling he’s experiencing towards you

Absolutely must be hate.

So gabri tries to hate you. Keyword: tries.

He tries to scowl whenever you’re around, furrowing his eyebrows, puffing up his cheeks, having a big frown on his face that comes out as more of a pout. (he really just looks like an angry kitten, only making you fall for him more).

He can never be directly mean to you, so he settles for little curt nods whenever you compliment him. (On the inside, he’s literally melting)

He “”hates”” you to the point where he starts to absentmindedly doodle you. He “”hates”” you to the point of making mutiple drawings of him kissing you to “shut you up”. (He blushes up a storm while drawing those, but he swears and tells himself that it’s just him getting so angry to the point of his face going all red. Totally not because he’s in love. Totally not.) He always makes sure to talk about his pure “”hatred”” of you to his friends in his extracurriculars.

“Oh my god, I hate them so, so shocking much!!”

“Uh, dude, you draw you and them kissing like, all the damn time.”

“Y-Yeah, so? I still hate them!”

“You sure? It sounds like you’re crushing. Hard.”

“Crushi—? Wait, what?”

“You have a crush on them, duh. Like, half the school does anyway.”

“Oh.”

Moral of the story? Don’t use your older brother as reference when it comes to your dating life. (Especially when your brother is Miguel O’hara.)

ATEEEEEEE ANG CUTE WHAT THE FUCKKKKKK gabri deserves more bitches damn : ( I LAVET

[landslided]

i really haven't interacted w/ cobra kai fandom since i started watching the show like. twelve seconds ago (a few months ago) but its insane that sam gets that much hate that genuinely surprises me so much especially when i think sam && tory are the heir apparent for the future cobra kai -- i.e., the story that starts with the down on her luck sam in the johnny role meeting the successful tory and then navigating their lifelong (gay) rivalry and impact on each other and confronting their shared history the cycles of trauma blah blah etc etc etc. its like the whole skyler white thing just ASTOUNDING how much people just hate women. but also in cobra kai there is a larger problem with "morality" being equated with "badass" instead of johnny like unpacking anything/cobra kai philosophy leading him to where he is in life (not daniel like he blames in season 1) and unlearning/learning things. anyway much frustrations with the show. sorry to hear a lot of the fans also suck

god anon… you might have only been watching the show for a few months but you get it better than the writers themselves.

there is VERY much a problem with cobra kai’s concept of morality, mostly because the show’s perspective and its themes have shifted with the new platform because there is a very clear meaning and message in season 1 (and season 2) for johnny of "you cannot fix any of your problems if you refuse to recognize your part in them and work on them." case in point: miguel hurts sam then hurts robby and finds himself in the same circle of violence johnny was in the karate kid. johnny is at his peak in season 1 and 2 and they lose a lot of what makes him so compelling in later seasons because they just… start making a show about who can hit the hardest. this show is kind of a mindfuck in a lot of ways because there are great things with it but it is also the most frustrating thing on earth and i wish i could pry out the characters with my bare hands.

sexism in shows, especially in shows that cis men consider for them, is so prevalent and stains the art it touches. i haven’t seen breaking bad (it’s on my endless watchlist) but i know that apparently skyler’s crime for the fandom is… being a woman? truly just a wonderful way of watching shows lmao

also god… that samtory plot you just wrote down. yes, yes very much yes. i don’t think the show would ever ever understand that this is where it could be headed because it has lost its sense of awareness but you’re very right, they are the heirs of cobra kai and of johnny and daniel in many ways.

[tuulikannel]

Sometime last year I came across a game called I Was a Teenage Exocolonist. I’m… still not sure if this is a good name or bad name. I guess a good one, cause it caught my attention? On the other hand, I’m not sure how well it describes the game… well, the character you play as is a teenager and an exocolonist, so… I guess it is also an apt description. XD Anyway, I got it for myself for Christmas, and now I’m finally playing it.

You’re born on a spaceship on the way to start a new colony on an exoplanet called Vertumna. You’re ten as you arrive there, will be 20 at the end of the game (if you make it that far). You can choose name, pronouns (she/he/they) and teenage appearance (male/female/androgynous) at the start, plus some other things.

Your parents are pretty cool, but still, you know… parents.

Vertumna is, simply put, a pretty amazing place. Very different from Earth… but humans, I’m afraid, are humans everywhere. There is definitely a moral to this story, that’s all I’m saying.

There are 13 months in a year (if I counted right ^^;;) and you can choose one activity for each month to bring up your skills (studying, working different jobs that are unlocked as the game proceeds, playing games, having combat training, sneaking out to explore, and later on going on expeditions.) There's also a bunch of other kids to interact with, to form friendships and perhaps even romance(s).

In the colony during glow season:

This is also a game where the decisions you make will have an effect on how things go (though of course, you might not always be able to make the decision you'd like to, as you lack the skills). As you start a new game (trust me, you will), you will also have some new options available.

How well you do in the various tasks is determined by a simple card game. I kind of really like it. All the cards are based on your memories. And isn’t that just the way you get through whatever task or trouble lies ahead of you: using things you’ve learned during your life.

Out there, exploring, and getting new experiences (i.e. cards):

Random little thing, I like the little pic in the upper left corner that shows how tired you are. (There’s a meter for that, too, and once it hits 100% you got to take a month off.) Some examples from different ages:

I’ve really enjoyed this game a lot. I’ve played it through once now and have started my second playthrough (this is a game that might require several). It's not a horribly long game, I've now 17 hours on the clock. There’s apparently 29 different endings… It seems most of these are what could be called career endings. I got one of those. I assume the only difference between them is what occupation you end up with, based on stuff you’ve been doing. Still, it's not exactly the ending to strive for. There’s (I think, I’ve not looked into this too much cause I don’t want spoilers) 5 good and 5 bad endings. I’m quite curious to see those.

I love the art too.

[welcometowritersblock]

Reluctant Morals

This is a story about a DnD character from one of my friend’s games! Lyra is my PC! I adore Lyra, and I hope you also enjoy my little ball of anxiety and trauma.

Lyra stood stock still for a moment. No one had seen her yet, no one saw her turn the corner and watch as they yelled at Ilyam. Something about debt, something about payment, something about Lucia. Lyra began to slide back, turning to go around the corner, when one of the thugs grabbed Ilyam by the collar and began to hoist him to the air.

Lucia had told Lyra that she had a ‘special’ and ‘complicated’ relationship with her twin brother. Lyra could only imagine what that might have meant.

What kind of sibling relationship involved knowingly letting your brother be attacked? What kind of relationship allowed you to let your brother be hurt because of you? To use it to your advantage?

Maybe Lyra shouldn’t get involved, a voice in the back of her head said. Her anxiety felt physical, grabbing at her wrist, trying to drag her back away, as if she had never seen this.

Sometimes Lyra hated her sense of justice, her desire to protect, all the things that always pulled her in to this kind of situation. The loud kind, the difficult kind, the violent kind.

But that sense of justice pressed her forward harder than her anxiety pulled her back.

She quickly ran forward, stepping between Ilyam and the thug before he really got a hold of Ilyam. Everyone involved seemed surprised by this extra presence.

“Hey. Quit it. Leave him alone.” The words were soft and nervous, just like the majority of her was.

“Lyra-“ Ilyam began to say. She didn’t know if he was going to tell her to mind her own business or that this didn’t involve her or what, but the thug beat him to it.

“Get out of here, kid. This doesn’t involve you.”

“No. I’m not leaving. And I’m not a child.” Her voice was slightly louder but she could hear a couple of the thugs snicker at the shaking that she couldn’t force out of her voice, or the way she still avoided eye contact.

“You really don’t want to get involved in this. It doesn’t concern you. It’s not like we’re going to hurt him.” Lyra scowled at that one. She’d seen the bruise on Ilyam’s face not too long ago. “He just owes us something-“

“I said I wasn’t leaving, so you better involve me with this. Why are you bothering him, anyways? Isn’t his sister the one who owes you money?”

“Lyra-“ Ilyam tried to speak again, but the thug was too focused on this small girl trying to pick a fight with him.

“Lucia’s got to pay, one way or another.”

“He’s not Lucia! He’s her twin but he’s not her and you’re not accomplishing anything!”

“Lyra-“ Ilyam tried once again, grabbing her shoulders, trying to move her out from between him and the other thug, but Lyra only dug her heels in.

“The girl wants to be involved so badly? Fine. We can involve her.”

Before either Lyra or Ilyam could say anything else, Lyra wasn’t surprised but also wasn’t entirely prepared to be essentially slapped. She stumbled back, Ilyam managing to grab her and keep her from falling. It stung and might leave a bruise, but Lyra grit her teeth. She was still trembling, but she righted herself, exhaling heavily.

“We are not playing around, kid, get lost-“

“Last chance to back off,” Lyra interrupted. The threat threw everyone off guard. This girl was 5’1”, 100lbs when wet, she was still shaking and her voice did not sound intimidating at all.

“…I feel like I’m being intimidated by a cupcake. Don’t you know what’s good for you? Get lost, I will hit you again, I don’t care if you’re a girl or a child-“

The thing that was more surprising than the insult was the follow through.

A red energy formed in her palm - some kind of spell caster? But in an instant, it formed into a perfect shortsword in her hand. The speed and precision at which she swung it was unexpected. It was a glancing blow, but Ilyam, standing right behind her, could see that that was on purpose. It cut the man’s shirt, breaking skin and making him bleed but not much else.

But the surprise of a young girl summoning a blood red energy sword from seemingly nowhere was what she was looking for, not to actually cause damage.

The thug was reeling and Lyra grabbed Ilyam’s hand, dragging him behind her as she fled the alleyway. The few seconds head start was all they needed to find a different alleyway to duck into, some boxes to hide behind. Lyra held her breath and stayed silent, finally sighing when the footsteps were completely gone.

She finally turned to Ilyam who was absolutely staring at her, causing pink to color her cheeks.

“Lyra, what on earth was that?”

“I… w-which part?”

“All of it.”

“Well, I… they were going to hurt you. I couldn’t just let them hurt you. I thought about getting Cipher or something but I couldn’t just. Leave.”

“What about the sword?”

“Energy sword.”

“You didn’t even have to use any components or anything to summon it, what was-“

“Let’s not talk about the sword.”

“But-“ Ilyam began to argue, his curiosity piqued.

“Please?”

He sighed but relented immediately.

It was about this moment they both realized they were still holding hands. Her pink cheeks turned redder and he began to blush himself as they pulled away.

“W-well, I probably could’ve handled it myself but… thank you for helping me Lyra.”

“…of course. I’m glad I was able to. Should we go, um, report this to someone?”

“P-probably, yeah.”

“Please don’t mention the sword when we do.”

“I won’t mention it, but you know the thugs will when they’re talked to.”

“I know…” she said with a small pout as they began heading towards the governmental offices. “…I’ll figure it out.”

[ghoulfr13nd]

(about your ocs) OH HELL YES! your playlists are great and absolutely convey the right vibes if my guesses are any indication! :D i actually have questions about them though! when u make playlists for ur ocs do you put songs in a specific order? like for example, trying to tell a story with songs or dependent on genres or something else? and are those songs purely songs describing their chracters and their vibes or do these playlists also show music taste of these ocs? 👀

and i meant bipolar! i mainly said that because i myself have bpd and i just- yeah i felt these playlists fdgjsdf

you know, i actually didn't consider them being supernatural (pun not intended fsdjk)! for some reason i imagined them in like- crime thriller setting xd but i love that, angel and demon aesthetic is my jam! especially when it turns out it's not just simple "good guys (angels) vs bad guys (demons)" and things are actually more complicated! love the idea of an angel designated to kill in god's name but grappling with her morals it's chef's kiss also I KNEW THEY WERE GAY FOR EACH OTHER YESSSS I LOVE when someone gets ordered to kill the other but it turns into a complicated gay mess! :D it's like- one of my favorite tropes! hell yes! and then you add a troubled kid for them to take care of and that's an instant win for me! is Linsey also supernatural or nah? i love premise of this story!

also omg this art is beautiful! ves looks so cool her style is so in my type fgsdj (also i love the 3rd character they look so cute 🥺) and I would be interested in seeing more of their art! :O (but only if it'd be not too much trouble i wouldn't want to make you dig too much!)

are you kidding i love them all! i think especially Mac because she just seems like the type of character that i naturally gravitate towards lately fgsdjkf (and ah yes, "problematic characters", or as i like to call them: characters that aren't bland and have some actual flavor fsdgafj though i get the fear of showing them, people can get wild with the discorse and accusations 😭)

and aaaaa it's really ok! im doing well thank you! :D hope u doing good too! it was so much fun! ✨

music anon 🎶

LOVE LOVE LOVE THESE QUESTIONS, ANON I WAS SO GIDDY READING THIS ASK THE FIRST TIME THAT I LITERALLY NOT EVEN JOKING, CLAPPED MY HANDS TOGETHER AND SWUNG MY LEGS AROUND. I’ve been SO excited to answer you!

First off, let me say I am so flattered by your interest in my guys???? Like, these are my little dolls that I fling around in my skull sometimes, but barely make it out into the world. It makes me so happy to share them!

ANYWAY. down to business.

when u make playlists for ur ocs do you put songs in a specific order?

I DO NOT, these bad boys are made to be thrown on shuffle! especially Mac’s, because it’s important to me that you don’t know when the somber piano music is gonna hit!

are those songs purely songs describing their chracters and their vibes or do these playlists also show music taste of these ocs?

THEY ARE BOTH!! Mac likes club music, but her sense of time is sort of skewed, so she listens to a blend of pop from several eras. I do think she really likes Billie, she vibes with the edginess of that one album. She’s polished, though, and keeps her doubts buried underneath pretty clothes and lip gloss and several layers of self-importance. The somber songs represent moments where her true feelings rear their heads — they’re abrupt and painful and stop her in her tracks.

Ves, on the otherhand, is possessed by her doubts. Her songs are more of a reflection of this internal struggle to figure out what she wants, how she feels, who she is. My initial concept for her includes more of a club-vibe for what she listens to, too, but I really think she enjoys rock. However isn’t the type to sit around feeling sorry for herself. She prefers to suppress that, by finding trouble to get into. So songs like Two Beers In and the songs by girl in red are there to describe her.

Linsey is mostlyyyy narrative-driven stuff. I don’t know she cares much for music. But she’s got a thick accent and has spent more time with her granny than she has her parents, so her songs are more focused on that aspect of her, as well as her struggles as she learns how to be a kid. Linsey isn’t supernatural, but you’ve got me rethinking that a bit. I might change that.

Finn is the one without a playlist. He’s just trying to keep it together. His dad was a fisherman and he followed the family business, and pretty much only owns clothes that are good for being outdoors. Finn is also human, and his humanity is important to me, so he’ll probably stay that way. I don’t have much lore for him other than that though. 😔

Thank you for listening!! I don’t share them very often so it means a lot to me. I’ve dug up some old art (drawing isn’t my strong suit so please take them with a grain of salt). I’ll attach it in a reblog.

But what about you?? What are your OCs like? I would love to hear about yours!!

[socksbiteshuman]

I think today I want to talk about Captain America, the Captain with a moral compass that always pointed towards Friendship.

Steve starts out as a scrawny little kid who grows into a man with Power and a man that has the Power to steer his abilities in the right direction.

A true Hero. Righteous, Kind, Polite and most importantly an excellent Leader. A Captain.

A man of Unwavering Loyalty to his responsibility to the world as the Nation’s Hero, this guy,

sacrifices everything for his best friend.

His only family.

Now I know it’s hard to understand the severity of his decisions if you haven’t been in a position of power where people rely on you to be the voice of reason and trust you with their lives, but this guy is CELEBRATED for all of it okay and without a second of hesitation, he gives it all up.

Everything. For his friend Bucky.

He’s literally Captain America. A National Hero. He’s supposed to be a Righteous, Good against the contrast of Evil, the Personification of Justice-

and he chucks it all away for a friend.

It’s this quality, the ability to put not just the good of the world above all else, but to put the well being of your friend regardless of their history, their actions, their reputation, that kept me invested.

And the whole time, he keeps his manners, he keeps his beliefs. He doesn’t give in to manipulation and the forever condescending and controlling shit that he received from Tony. He’s willing to fight the whole world, the very world that he lived to protect- all for his best friend.

And all along unlike Tony, he isn’t losing his shit or constantly trying to prove that his moral compass is superior despite literally being the Symbol of Good his whole life, he simply chooses his best friend over everything.

Usually you’d probably expect this from a villain, and this guy is the Hero.

Whatever it takes to save Bucky, guilty or nah, it’s Bucky. His best friend. His family.

I don’t think I can describe his unconditional loyalty to Bucky in words. There’s a scene in Civil War where on the end, T’Challa is listening to the villain narrate his story, and Tony has just ripped off Bucky’s arm, and you get about 5 seconds of Steve absolutely pummeling Tony to bits and his face is of someone who has lost someone precious.

You can see it written all over his face, the grief of not being able to protect his friend and he goes completely crazy on Tony.

That story of Friendship always gets me. I’ve outgrown marvel a long time ago whenever o come back to it, I only do so for that excellent and extraordinary friendship that flourished between Steve and Bucky.

On the other hand, Tony blamed others for all his problems. And I feel like that was lowkey one of the reasons why so many of his superhero colleagues actually couldn’t connect to him the way they did with Steve. When Vision is trying to hit Falcon in the scene where Steve and Bucky are escaping, and Falcon dodges so the ray hits Rhodes and he falls from the sky, Tony manages to blame Falcon for it. The guy who dodged, not the guy who actually fired.

He always had this weird misplaced anger thing going mixed with ugly cockiness and a naturally condescending manner of talking to people. Not very likeable to me personally. He eventually gets betrayed by Natasha, his own team member. Tchalla eventually joins Steve and and also has a great relationship with him from the very beginning- of mutual respect.

It’s also kinda funny that all the cool and fun and goofy ass superheroes with the best personalities were fighting for and with Steve, and Tony only had Peter Parker to make up for the complete lack of soul on team Tony. But anyway this isn’t a post about why I dislike Tony,

It’s about why I absolutely love Captain America and I will add moments of some lovely interactions between Steve and Tchalla, since Black Panther was my favorite Superhero besides Captain America.

…….

Bonus bc I absolutely love these two

[ghostaholics]

@stardustsoups

Your tags made me tear up again.

Anyways, just to add onto your wonderful analysis, I’ve always gone back and forth between whether his ideal SO would be somebody on his team or a civilian. There are pros and cons to either of them, but I think this au takes the best and worst (most painful parts) of both worlds – he really does seem like the kind of person who deep down, yearns to have a ‘normal’ life with marriage and kids but knows it’s nothing more than a pipe dream – a nice idea. At the same time, he’s so flighty and restless that he has to answer the call; counterterrorism, saving the world even if he has very unorthodox/morally-gray ways of achieving that.

So, keeping those two conflicting desires in mind, he goes to war and he does these things because at least that means that other people can have the life that he secretly wants (another reason why the London attack would upset him even more as his intention is to never let the blood and gore reach the UK home-front).

I have a draft of a different story that explicitly states what I believe his code is: not for ourselves, but for others.

And as I mentioned in the first part, he didn’t didn’t really think he had a soulmate because he didn’t feel her pain. I’m talking about actual, true pain (beat within an inch of your life, on the verge of death) not ‘oh I accidentally got a paper cut’ or a ‘I bruised my knee by hitting it on the table.’ But she’s a civilian, so what situation would she even be in where anything bad happens to her?

(Right, the attack on London).

That’s also a huge defining moment, because she sees firsthand exactly what Price fights everyday to put an end to. So, she understands. She has the sympathy and innocence of a civilian who hasn’t been hardened by war, but now she’s gotten an up-close and personal account of the the very thing that he’s been working so hard to prevent from reaching the major cities. She gets it. What he does is important. It matters in a way that’s bigger than the both of them.

And it’s so sad to consider their two perspectives.

I wish we could be together in the way we were meant to be. In another universe, in another lifetime, perhaps.

They do a good job of staying away from each other too.

But I can’t. I don’t want to.

Which inevitably lands them into hot water as we kind of see as a jump-off point from the end of this part because he shows up on her front doorstep.

I try not to have characters say ‘I love you’ in stories; I always think there’s a better way for them to say it in different words or express it through actions, but the reader here would say it freely, as often as she can to him, because it’s really all she can do.

for soulmate au:

would johnn and reader cross paths again and if they would what would it look likee

would they maybe find a way to love eachother despite johnn's proffesion

𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒖

here’s more on what happens between them

After their long talk, they decide to regrettably, but amicably part ways – neither of them like the circumstances, but they agree it’s for the best. She sends him off with a hug; they hold onto each other for a little bit longer than they should. It tides them over for maybe a week. Cue a whole montage of them in their respective places unable to adjust back to normal life for a while.

Then, as previously mentioned, it starts to hurt. At first, it starts off like a little twinge – a bones-deep sadness that comes and goes every so often but she tries to ignore the feeling. It gets worse not long after, a visceral chest pain that’s so awful it sends her straight to A&E; she thinks she might be having a heart attack. Who’s your emergency contact? they question. Don’t have one, she says, and it sends another stab of pain through her. The entire hospitalization is about a day-long affair. They run every test in the book, they give her clot-busters, vasodilators — hell, they’re contemplating cutting her open for invasive procedures even though the labs don’t say she’s had a myocardial infarction, just an EKG that had some anomalies but everything else was fine. Someone, a cardiologist maybe, has the sense to ask, How’s your soulmate? And she replies in a grim tone, ‘We don’t talk.’ Well, there’s the problem.

Price caves. He caves so fucking bad; calls her up (they’d agreed only to contact each other for emergencies), because to be honest, he wasn’t sure if it was just him or if she’d been feeling it too – emotional pain was never in the books but it seems like now it is. This is new. This is bad. His voice is gruff like usual but the concern is evident behind his words. And the second they hear each other down the line, there’s a weight that’s been lifted – the pain dulls. Relief. Not quite gone altogether, but more manageable. Neither of them feel like they’re on the brink of death anymore. And there are just shaky breaths being exchanged on both ends as they try to come to grips with what’s been happening. So, cutting all contact, going cold-turkey, is clearly not going to work for either of them. They know they can’t be doing this, but the more they talk over the phone, the easier it gets to breathe, to function normally. And so it begins.

Their relationship runs on a schedule; a loophole – every Sunday, 0600 her time. They count it down, too. Exactly one hour. Just enough for them to keep the pain at bay, to go about their lives until the next call. Sometimes longer when he knows he's about to go off-the-grid for a mission and won't make the usual Sunday time. They talk about anything and everything: she usually talks about her personal life, old stories from her past, what she’s making for breakfast, what her plans are for the week, and him – stuff about the 141 (never anything confidential or gory) like what sort of antics they get up to, spends an entire call telling her about Villa Claras and why they’re the superior cigar (kind of a nerd about those, whiskey, and the Reds, which she finds endearing – actually very knowledgeable regarding many things that he can talk her ear off about for hours). She falls in love with his voice first, the rest comes after slowly.

The more times they use this loophole, the weaker it gets. It starts off with him asking for five more minutes; yeah, he hears the alarm go off. Maybe a little bit longer will buy him more time throughout the week until the next call. Nothing they haven’t done before. But five turns into ten the week after, then twenty, and so forth. She says his name softly, interrupts him when they reach 0930 during one of their talks. I know what you're doing John. We can't. And here's the thing: it's a case of 'she fell first, but he fell harder.'

It doesn't last as long anymore; three days now until the longing starts back up again. And he calls her. He fucking calls her in the middle of the week on a Wednesday. John— She feels it too. I had to hear your voice again, he says with urgency. Because he just couldn't fucking help himself.

So they schedule something for Wednesdays. It'll help. It should. And it does, for all of two weeks until the same bloody thing happens again. This isn't sustainable. He knows that he’s not going to retire anytime soon, and even more that that – he knows that she shouldn't be doomed to live this kind of life. Not for for him, but most especially not fair for her. It's like she said, isn't it? She waited an entire lifetime for him. Why keep putting her through that? So he mentions this, kills him to do it: you deserve better; I know there's someone out there who can give you the things that I can't (Sunday mornings face-to-face over tea, to be near one another in a way where they can see the other's okay, where the hurt is non-existent; intimacy and affection and proper romance; marriage, growing old together, something quiet and normal.) She's already taken on his pain. He figures that it's his turn to bear it for the both of them now.

She tells him, without reservation, that it's the stupidest thing he's ever said. And before time's up for this call she uses the last few minutes to admit what's been on her mind lately. I don't want any of that stuff if it's not with you. What would be the point? It took me a while but I've finally figured out what soulmates are for; not for all the things you've said, as nice as they are – or would be; it’s simple, really. I was put on this earth to love you and I think that I've fulfilled my purpose. Nothing else matters.

She waits for his call on Sunday, 0600 on the dot – he's always punctual, she knows; this time is no different. But she doesn't even get a 'hello' out before he speaks into the phone: I'm outside.

[rwbyremnants]

Warnings: mostly just incest discussions, slight grinding.

Welcome to the end of this story of MILFs and bad decisions! There's gonna be a lot more - and even before this fic is officially ended, I'm throwing in a bonus chapter. But I hope you enjoyed and I'll be trying to post more soon!

=Chapter 13: Raven

For whatever reason, Raven wasn’t all that surprised she was the first to arrive at the buffet table. She was a woman of few words, after all, and the others could babble for hours - especially when yelling at their own kids about being “sluts” or whatever was going on in the other corners. Just because she had bent over for Yang’s dick didn’t at all make her think that the others would be quite so morally bankrupt.

‘I really am an old whore,’ she thought as she helped herself to a bratwurst. Might as well - plus they had all the toppings she liked, up to and including curried ketchup paste. Many an Oktoberfest had been as memorable for the currywurst as for the actual beer. ‘Funny how I don’t feel any regrets, but I know I probably should. That’s just proof of how much you’re losing it, Branwen; they’ll probably have to commit you soon. Or execute you flat out.’

Then Kali arrived, and they both shared a nod. The lights were still low and swirling, so she couldn’t see her that well… but the slightly cautious manner in which she was walking told the story, especially combined with her tousled hair and the way her fingers fluttered as she waved. 

“Huh,” Raven said.

“Yes?” Kali replied, glancing idly over the food.

“Nothin’.” Silence reigned for a few seconds. Then… 

“You did it, too, didn’t you?”

Raven turned to look at Kali so fast she probably got whiplash. "Huh?"

"Well?"

She felt her stomach churn. "I'm… you gotta be more specific than that."

"No, I don't,” Kali rebutted with a half-smirk. “But I want you to know that you'll receive no judgment from me."

Because they had both crossed the same line. Raven couldn't be sure, because that was a hell of an assumption to make, but they really seemed to have been in the same boat - both ridden it just as hard in the whitewater rapids of forbidden passion.

"So, uh… some spread they got here," she remarked, for lack of anything better to say.

"Yes, I have to say I wasn't expecting this place to have any food at all." She cut one of the footlong subs in thirds and took one, moving it to a paper plate. "So, while no one else is here yet, I wonder if you would mind me asking a question or two."

"Sure. As long as you don't mind knowing I might knock you on your ass if I don't like some of those questions."

Kali chuckled softly. "You might find that more challenging than you think." She glanced over toward the center of the room, where three figures were just barely visible. It was impossible to tell what they were doing or saying, even though they weren't all that far away. "We really do have some very special girls."

Raven nodded, thoughtfully chewing her bratwurst. By now she was starving - plus it meant she could avoid saying something extra gay about Yang and Ruby. Maybe she wouldn't have, anyway, but lowering the risk couldn't hurt.

"So unless I miss my guess, by now you can fully appreciate why I had such a hard time resisting."

Now she regretted the bratwurst tactic. Somehow, she managed to keep from choking on it, but the slight gagging and the way she had to pound her chest to get the bite down when she hadn't intended to swallow it yet were almost as telling as if she had outright agreed with Kali.

"Mmm, I see. You don't have to say anything, Raven; believe me, I understand why you wouldn't. This is a very touchy subject and most people would never be able to accept this. But I think… you might already realize why I'm not freaking out."

Raven watched her warily for a moment, looking the other woman up and down as she nibbled a corner of the piece of sandwich. "You… mean what I think you mean? No bullshit?"

"I think we just joined the same club, yes."

"God…" She set the bratwurst aside, finding her appetite was suddenly greatly reduced. "I don't know how you can stand there and act like we're not monsters. Not that I was much of a saint before, but this is a new low."

Kali shrugged as casual as could be, taking another nibble and swallowing it before she spoke again. And as she so often did, her words suddenly revealed just how far from casual she felt. Raven marveled at the way that woman could manage her emotions.

"I've felt like a monster for years, tortured myself half to death about this. Now I'm finally starting to feel like I might not be one. It's… very strange, but good."

"For years? You mean…" She squinted hard at the other mother. "You mean you wanted to diddle your own-"

"Careful in that glass house," Kali warned her with a hint of steel creeping into her tone. But she let it go with a sigh. "As it turns out, the feeling was mutual. Hers existed before mine did, and me finding out about her indiscretions had instigated my own."

"Huh? How did you find out?"

Stepping closer and lowering her voice, she whispered, "Poor thing was trying to figure herself out and started trying on my clothes, taking care of her urges while wearing them. I walked in on her one evening. Honestly, I knew I should have cleared my throat to let her know I was there so we could talk it through, but I was embarrassed and knew she would have been even more embarrassed. Then I heard her moan my name, and… as they say, the rest was history."

"Woooow," Raven breathed. "Well… I guess… that's bad, but clearly she wasn't that little if your clothes fit her and she was jerking it. Could be worse." 

"Could be. At the time, she was too young; I would never have done anything about it. Probably wouldn’t have for the rest of our lives, if not for this evening forcing the issue." She took another bite, and Raven reclaimed her own bratwurst, since this conversation was going a lot less horribly than she had anticipated. "So I take it from your obvious nerves that it wasn't the same for you and Yang?"

Raven snorted. "Nah. I mean, I don't really get it, I… know we were all wound up from the Spanish fly, but it was weird how easy it ended up being to just… bump uglies with my kid. That’s what sucks about me being such a shitty, absentee mom; she's not even like my kid to me. She's just this really hot blonde with a giant dick that-" She cut herself off before she could describe how well it fit inside her.

"Believe me, I know how good it was," Kali laughed. Raven tried to glare at her about it, but her heart wasn't in it because it was the pot calling the kettle black. "And hmm… I have a theory that might make you not feel so bad about this situation."

"I'm all ears."

"You mostly knew Yang as a very little boy, right? I know you trying to reconnect has been a very recent development." She nodded glumly, since that was dead on, and Kali sighed, "Right. And not only has she grown from a child into an adult outside of your home, but she's transitioned from 'boy' to woman . The curvy bombshell who's entering your life now isn't much like the child that you had to walk away from once upon a time."

Against all odds, Raven found her heart swelling with gratitude for Kali Belladonna. She understood. There used to be all kinds of barbs from Kali and other relations and coworkers and friends about how she had "dropped" her family before, the usual joke about going out for cigarettes and never coming back, but it seemed she wasn't nearly as judgmental about it as she had playfully implied.

"You were never a parent," Kali went on, and her tone was gentle enough that Raven only bristled a little in indignation. "Some people just aren't born with the nurturing gene and you recognized that for what it was. Your marriage wasn’t working because he fell out of love, you didn’t know how to be a mom, and you made a drastic, difficult decision. Only your ex and your child get to judge you for that; only them. Now that Yang is older, you accurately assessed that you could do a better job of being there for her now because you can connect with adults , not kids. And that's fine."

After mulling that over for a moment, Raven shrugged and took a huge bite. "Mm. Connecting with her like this is 'fine', huh?"

"Not for most people, no. But since when does Raven Branwen care what anybody else thinks?" Raven let out a slight laugh through her bite, and Kali smiled. "You'll have to be careful not to let it ruin her life, of course. And you'll also have to figure out what it means for the two of you from here on."

"Here on? I… wasn't planning on it being a regular thing. She can do better than me. Honestly, I think she should end up with your girl, they seem to get along."

The other woman's smile was a little coy. "Yes. More than you know." 

She cut off and stood a little straighter when they both noticed another woman approaching. Raven squinted, trying to make out which of the two it could be, but the height and stiff posture very quickly told her it was-

"Willow."

"Branwen," the imperious woman sighed as she cast a critical eye over the food. In the end, she selected another banana. "And Belladonna. Bee and bee; you should joint-run an Airbnb."

"Oh, you're a riot," Raven snorted.

"I trust your conversations with your girls came to a decent resolution? Mine did. It was difficult, but Winter seems to have relented to try rekindling our mother-daughter relationship. And of course, Weiss and I are still doing fine. All in all, I suppose this terrible idea of mine has borne some fruit."

That prompted a laugh from Kali as she swallowed her latest bite. "At least you're willing to admit this was not your brightest notion. But honestly, no real regrets; I think it was for the best."

“Yes, of course.” She cleared her throat and smoothed down her obviously-rumpled outfit. She really had done her best to put it back together, but the sweat and disheveled hair weren’t so easy to fix. 

"This 'resolution' you came to," Kali began slowly. "Does it have anything to do with why you seem so flushed and sweaty?"

Instantly, the wealthy socialite grimaced and held perfectly still, halfway through peeling her banana. Raven knew Kali was really on to something. But her only response was, "It must have something to do with that horrible drug. The one in the lemonade? You were the one who was so sure about it - what about your sweatiness?"

"I'm not sweaty," she chuckled. And it was true; even though she had all but openly admitted she fucked Blake the same way Raven fucked Yang, it was almost impossible to tell other than her clothing - and how she had been walking before. What kind of demon had the Belladonnas sold their souls to?

"Hmph. Damn you, Belladonna."

"Aww, is somebody jealous that their sex hair is so hard to tame?" That remark easily cut off any further complaints from Willow.

At that point, a fourth figure came hobbling over to their little circle of sin. Out of all of them, somehow, Theia Nikos looked the worst for wear. Her skirt was on backwards and her blouse was missing buttons, and her glasses were slightly askew - and no longer clean, for that matter. She spent a moment dazedly looking around at the three of them, watching Raven take another huge bite of her bratwurst.

"Well," the normally-composed ginger began with a shaky sigh, trying to sound bright and positive. "I can say that my time with Pyrrha definitely helped make some things clear. How did it go for you girls?"

They all looked at each other, then back at Theia. "Pretty well," Willow attempted cautiously. Then she leaned in and whispered something; Raven couldn't be sure she heard it correctly over the thumping music playing overhead, but she was reasonably certain it went something like, "You really did it. Didn't you?"

"What?" That awkward tone was definitely yet more of a tell.

"Pyrrha!" she hissed. "That was exactly how I looked and felt afterward!"

They both started talking at once, seemingly in a rush to tell the other person how to behave. Kali seemed content to nibble on her sandwich and smirk like a cat that had a mouse in its paws. So once again, even though she didn't really want to be the de facto leader of their little group of ladies, it fell to Raven to step in.

"Alright!" she said loud enough to be heard over them. It only took them a second or two to turn in her direction. "Alright. Let's just say for the sake of argument, and cutting through the bullshit… maybe we all did something we ain't proud of. And I'm pretty sure it's the same thing for all of us. You see what I'm digging at?"

"I'm sure I have no idea," Willow immediately rebutted, being the difficult one as usual. "But if you have sins to confess, be my guest and go right ahead."

“Oh, give it a rest,” Kali half-chuckled. She took a deep breath. “I’ll go first. My name is Kali Belladonna, and yes, I let my daughter use my body as her own personal Fleshlight.”

Willow was the only one who gasped. However, Theia did look surprised - not disgusted or alarmed, just surprised - and took a step forward. “You did? I… really?”

“Yep. Raven, you missed out.”

Now it was her turn to laugh as she folded her arms over her chest. She wasn’t nearly as comfortable with this conversation as Kali; not even close. But the cat was out of the bag, so she saw no sense in doing a lot of posturing at this juncture. “Nah. Yang lays good pipe plenty - but you knew that.”

“Oh, I most certainly do,” she breathed.

“This… this is crazy,” Theia was going on. “I- well, um… I just didn’t think any of us would go that far. But I’m certainly not passing judgment on either of you, it’s… they are consenting adults, technically.”

Kali’s smile was wolfish. “Trying to pretend that you didn’t have the same party over in your corner, Nikos?”

“What? I… I can’t say I know… what you mean.” She flinched back when Kali’s finger flicked out and swiped over the splotch on her glasses. “H-hey! What are you doing?!”

The latter was more in reference to the way she popped the finger into her mouth afterward. She smacked her lips noisily before nodding and saying, “Yep, that is most certainly cum. Not bad, either; I hope you went down on Pyrrha or it would have been a real waste.”

“U-um…” Even with the rave lighting, Raven could tell Theia was blushing up a storm. 

“Bingo.” Then she turned to Willow, who raised her eyebrows. “You may as well admit it now. I understand why you wouldn’t, but honestly, no one here is going to hold it over your head when we’ve all fallen into the same trap.”

Raven was nodding along, but then she grunted, “Wait, I thought ‘trap’ was offensive or whatever. Neon said - or was it you, Theia?”

“I meant ‘incest trap’, not that kind of trap,” Kali laughed. But the other three had fallen silent. After a moment or two, she demanded, “What? Why am I talking to scarecrows?”

“You really said it,” Willow breathed.

“Oh, is that all? Yes, incest. So what? It’s taboo mostly because of genetics and the chance of birth defects - a percentage which is a lot smaller than most people think, actually. But we’re all old ladies now. If our daughters wanted to get us knocked up, well, that would really be an uphill challenge. And I think a couple of you are already on the pill.”

Raven cleared her throat. “For uh, regulatory purposes. Fuck periods. I’m about this close to asking the doc to get the ice cream scoop, anyway.” Willow shuddered at that one, too; good. Let the little priss have to confront concepts and coarse language she normally thought were beneath her.

“I’m potentially still fertile,” Theia admitted quietly. “But carrying a child to term would be hazardous, either way - and I doubt it will be an issue.”

“Do… do you hear yourself?!” Willow hissed. “You’re talking about your child’s child! This isn’t Alabama - you cannot, under any circumstances!”

“Kinda makes me want to outta spite,” Raven muttered under her breath, and Kali laughed.

After a few breaths, Willow sighed, “Fine.” She glanced toward the middle of the room, where all of the girls were assembled now. The outrage in her face slowly faded, leaving her looking drained and forlorn. “Fine, you win. We’re all the worst kinds of sluts imaginable. And abusive; this is abuse, it has to be.”

“I never said any of that, Schnee. Just that we might as well fess up, since I’m sure as soon as we go over there…” 

“Yes, that’s exactly what I was thinking about. And I wasn’t going to deny it and try to insinuate they’re lying; I just… I can’t let this information get out. I really can’t do that to either of my girls, especially Weiss.”

Kali shrugged. "I can respect that. The question is… now what?"

All four women had to take a moment to reflect on that. Debauched as it may have been that each and every one of them had done something not only illegal, but immoral in the eyes of just about everyone on the planet, they also each knew individually that it had been so easy to let happen, and so natural… maybe only thanks to the chemicals, but also there had likely been something beneath the surface all along. Either way, what was done was done, and they could either panic and lament their lot in life, or… 

“Now we love our girls. That’s it.”

“But we love them too much, ” Willow growled under her breath. “I know you were so comfortable with Neon, Raven, but… come on, you can’t really mean it’s ‘fine’ that we keep doing this with them .”

Raven shrugged. “Then don’t keep doing it. I mean, I’m not sure if that's right, either. If you can’t handle the idea of doing the nasty with them from here on, then you should own that. Make the hard choice.”

“But talk to them,” Kali put in, wiping her lips with a napkin. “I’m certainly going to discuss with Blake if she wants to do this again. My guess is ‘yes’; I may as well tell you all that Blake and I already shared a mutual attraction before tonight, since I already told Raven.”

Theia’s brow furrowed. “How… long before?”

“A few years. And if not for our new best friend, Salem, we probably would have kept right on nursing secret crushes forever. I’m not sure if I’m ‘grateful’ exactly, but…”

As surprising as it was, Willow was the one to say, “I can’t imagine, Kali. I’m so sorry. The frustration must have been unbearable, knowing you could never… I’m so sorry,” she repeated earnestly.

Kali shrugged as she speared a cocktail weenie on a toothpick - but Raven could see a shadow within her eyes, even in spite of the lighting. “It worked out in the end. We just have to figure out where we’re going from here.”

“I guess we talk to them,” Theia agreed softly. “I’m… I don’t want to go as far as Kali, saying that I would lean toward… maintaining something this sinful. But the connection I felt with Pyrrha, over in that corner?” 

All four of them let out a happy sigh. Clearly, not one of them failed to appreciate what happened to them; they were all varying levels of regretful or scared for the future, but the actual act, the emotional and physical bonding, had brought them so much closer to their girls than they could have ever dared imagine. 

In some cases, even revealed that they might have found a soulmate bond. Raven didn’t think she quite felt that way about Yang, but maybe she wouldn’t rule out another session like that. She would have to see what they felt like in the morning. The sex itself had been mind-blowing, but that wasn’t the same as thinking further romps were a good idea, or that they were “in love”. Besides… 

Even though they had barely done anything, her mind still kept drifting back to Neon. That poor thing. She had really, genuinely liked her, even if it was a little weird how similar she and Yang were in a few ways; not body type, other than that one notable area, or life goals, but they were playful, fun, upbeat girls. Maybe she was being greedy, but she wanted to see where things might lead if she looked her up again. Maybe nowhere - maybe they were too different. Still, curiosity lingered.

“So alright, I guess I’ll just… go see how they’re doing,” Raven started, clearing her throat. In the back of her mind, she knew she was most nervous about talking to Blake and Yang at the same time, since she had just been with both of them; Ruby not so much, since clearly her crush was aimed more in her big sister’s direction. Plus, she had barely touched her in comparison.

“How they're doing in what way?” Kali playfully asked. “But no, no, I think you’re right; one representative, since Ruby masterminded this whole situation and didn’t lay out that part of her plan yet. We don’t want to immediately intrude.”

Clearing her throat, Raven said, “Doesn’t have to be me.”

“No reason it shouldn’t,” Willow sighed shakily. “My God, I can’t believe this is my life now… it’s literally quite insane.”

“A little,” Kali admitted, giving Raven a slight push in the small of her back. The instinct to turn around and deck her was strong. “Let us know; either give a shout, or just come back.”

“Right. Can do.”

A few steps later and Raven had to question if she was telling the truth. Could she do this? The girls were coming into better focus, and they were all standing around and laughing as they chatted. Her eyes strayed down and saw a few erections; some of them had faded. She wondered why she always looked there first… but then again, after that stage show’s big finale, it was only natural.

“Oh, hey, Aunt Raven!” Of course it was Ruby who piped up first. She ran over and hugged her, poking her in the hip; she was sated enough to mostly ignore it. Mostly. “Hiiii!” 

“Hey,” Blake said with a sly smirk. Now that got to her a lot more.

“Cut that out,” Yang laughed as she playfully slugged her on the shoulder. The brunette chuckled, but her eyes lingered on Yang afterward; Kali seemed to be quite correct in her assessment. “Hey, Mom. You coming to see if we already hashed shit out?”

“Pretty much,” she sighed as Ruby released her. She left her arm looped around the girl’s trim back, content with the unexpected warmth and closeness. “We kinda did the same. So… I guess you all know?”

“Yeah,” Weiss scoffed. “I can’t believe Pyrrha got further with Theiaki than I did. What is that?! Am I not literally adorable? I feel… snubbed. That’s it, snubbed!”

“You can stop using that nickname, if you please,” Pyrrha sighed awkwardly. Not that Raven really was following that part, but she figured it was important.

“So we mostly resolved everything,” Blake said in a deadpan.

“Everything’s cool!” Ruby piped up. “I mean, we figured out pretty quick that we all did the thing with all the mommies. It’s, um… weird, yeah, but I think we all had a good time? Right?”

Yang cleared her throat. “I, uh, yeah. But I sure wasn’t expecting that surprise attack, sis!” 

“Awww,” Ruby purred with a playful, catlike smirk. “You’re just sore that you didn’t expect me to try it, and I got the- HEY!”

The girl giggled hard as Yang snagged her in a headlock, giving her a noogie with the knuckles of her other fist. Except for the fact that they were nude and both in various states of arousal, it would have been quite an endearing family scene. She glanced over to see Blake watching them with a bittersweet smile.

“Hey,” she whispered, leading her away a couple of feet. Blake followed obediently, watching her face with rapt attention.

“Yes?”

“I know this is gonna sound… hypocritical, probably. Or just stupid. But I gotta ask, you and your mom… before today… did anything ever…?”

When the girl caught on to what Raven meant, she closed her eyes and nodded for a second. “Right. No, no, nothing happened between us. We just… creeped on each other a little. I mean, it was gross for both of us to do, I know that. But we couldn’t help it; I wanted her my whole life, and when she found that out, it made her want the same thing. But nobody hurt anybody, I swear.”

“Okay, good,” she sighed. “Like I said, we’re all still in a weird place, but that’s a whole other kind of bad. Just wanted to double check.”

“Aww, are you looking out for me?” She curled around her - and Raven had to fight down a reaction. That had been quite enough for one night. But Blake didn’t push any more than that; just kissed her cheek and whispered, “Thank you. Honestly, just because it’s not necessary doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate that you would.”

Raven smiled a little. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she had another visit from Kali's daughter in the future - even if she had her hands full with her own. “Sure. I mean, I’d trust Bellad- Kali, but not over your word.”

“Mm, makes sense. So what did y-HEY!”

“What are you guys talkin’ about?” Yang giggled as she embraced both of them. Raven grimaced slightly but couldn’t help the snort of mild bemusement.

“None of your business. That’s why we’re over here, Yang.”

Raven sighed, trying not to think about all that arousal digging into her through her clothing. Yes, she knew it was thanks to miracle pills that kept them from deflating for a few hours, but that didn’t make it feel any less intriguing. “Alright, alright, enough of this weird group hug.” 

“Fiiiine,” Yang drawled out, sticking her tongue out at them. “Imma go see what Kali’s up to, then. See ya!”

“H-hey, no!” But Blake’s protest fell on deaf ears. She sighed and muttered, “Mom really liked her dick. I’m kinda worried.”

“That she’ll take your place?”

Amber eyes blinking, they snapped to Raven’s face as she said, “Huh?” 

“It’s obvious you’re crazy about my girl. And she likes you, too. Say something.”

“Well…” She fidgeted for a moment before sighing in defeat, looking out over the rest of the room at nowhere in particular. “I don’t know if it’s worth it. I’ve always… you know, for Mom. And I’m still the same way. Would it really be fair to ask Yang out? I know I love her, and want to be with her, a lot, but… I can’t say for sure if it’s more than my own mother. That’s really messed up.”

Shrugging, she said, “Hey, I let Yang pound me into the wall a minute ago.” She noticed a little twitch from below but didn’t let her eyes glance down at it. “Tonight’s been crazy. But if you and her hit it off, I mean… I could think of worse girls. Easy. You deserve to be happy and all.”

That only made Blake smile again - a real, wide one, even though the girl so infrequently looked that happy. “Thanks, Raven. I’m… honestly, you’re a real catch, too. Still my type.”

“Ain’t my girl supposed to be your type?”

“I can have more than one,” she said airily as she walked back toward the group, letting Raven watch her ass sway. The girl was a natural on the catwalk. Shaking off the arousal that was trying to come back, Raven followed.

“Come on, settle this!” Weiss immediately demanded of her.

“Huh?”

Pyrrha’s sigh was very heavily put-upon, but her tone was still polite when she explained, “Weiss is wondering which of us has the better johnson. I’ve been trying to tell her it’s irrelevant; we’re both beautiful in our own-”

“Yeah, yeah yeah,” Weiss interrupted, stepping closer and putting her hands on her hips so she could more easily jut her pelvis forward. Her decently-sized dick was fully erect yet again, which she had so boldly drawn attention to. “Mine, right? It might not be huge but it’s flawless!”

“I don’t want to enter this contest,” the taller girl laughed nervously.

“Of course you don’t! You aren’t even hard!”

Finally, Pyrrha frowned at her. “I have reached orgasm three times today, you know.”

Laughing openly, Raven said, “Leave me outta this. I’ve touched more dick tonight than Batman has in a lifetime. Not really sure how I’d judge that, anyway.”

“Pleasant mouthfeel?”

They all turned to see Winter had rejoined them. Her cock was ramrod straight as was her posture, but at least it was mostly hidden by her garment, which she had put back on - unlike the other girls, who were mostly nude. Raven was still having trouble fighting down those urges, thanks to having so many pretty girls with pretty peckers surrounding her. What a ridiculous situation.

“O-oh, Winter,” Weiss breathed, instantly more anxious. 

“I went to check on our time. We have about thirty minutes to vacate before someone is sent in.” Then she turned to look at Raven. “Ignore my little sister’s pushiness. You don’t have to settle some kind of silly pissing contest; Pyrrha and Weiss both have perfectly serviceable equipment.”

“Roger, roger,” Raven said with a salute. “You oughtta try to get into the military; you already sound like an officer. We could have used a few good women like you out there.”

“Tell that to the military - and my mother,” she grumbled. “But perhaps I’ll try again.” 

“Maybe you could help, Aunt Raven,” Ruby hissed, bouncing excitedly.

“Maybe I could. My old C.O. could probably put in a good word.”

“Good word for who?” Willow asked with a sigh as the rest of the group joined them. She was glad to see Yang wasn’t hanging all over Kali, but they were standing together; probably awkward for poor Blake. Or a dream come true, one or the other. 

“For your oldest,” Raven told her immediately. She noticed Theia sneaking quietly around the back of the group to put her hand on Weiss’s shoulder, whispering something to her; it was sweet, even if she couldn’t hear any words. “Trying to get her into the military.”

Willow frowned at Winter. “I thought we already talked about how dangerous it is. Especially for a girl like you!” 

“I want to serve our country,” she sighed irritably. “I understand you don’t think I should because of my ‘degeneracy’, but that doesn’t change my desire. I think I could have a truly meaningful career there.”

“It’s not about your- do you really not understand that I used that as an excuse?” 

“What?”

Glancing over at Weiss briefly - and frowning when she saw Theia backing off instantly as if burned, she took a step toward the taller of her daughters. “Yes, I didn’t approve of your choice back then. I’m still… learning. But I took one look at how effeminate you were, and thought the army would eat you alive! I didn’t want them to haze my child to death before she even got the chance to see active combat! And I didn’t want you to see active combat, either!”

Winter’s face did soften marginally. “Mother, I can appreciate you wanting to protect me. I really can. It just isn’t your place to make that decision for me.”

“Yes, well, I… I suppose you’re right. But do you really have to risk your life like that?”

“Absolutely. I truly believe I do, if the opportunity is open to me. But perhaps I can put in for the reserves or something,” she finally relented, rolling her neck slightly. “Suppose we do have some lost time to make up for, and I can’t do that if I’m deployed overseas.”

“Great.” Raven clapped her hands loudly enough to get everyone’s attention. Weiss and Ruby jumped. “Looks like we got all this sewn up.”

Kali cleared her throat. “Now remember - no one outside this room is to know what transpired here. They wouldn’t understand. Everyone in here is guilty of the ‘crime’ of incest; it’s a really dubious legal issue. Just because I doubt any of you would press charges doesn’t mean we should start parading around with a banner declaring-”

“We’re all motherfuckers,” Yang finished for her with a nod. Blake snorted.

“That… wasn’t how I would have put it, but yes. Exactly.” Glancing at Raven, she went on, “Whatever happens between you when you go back to your homes is up to you; I can’t begin to predict that, and won’t tell you how to live. But this situation was unique. We had substances in our systems that removed our inhibitions. If you want to call it a fluke and move on, then that’s fine. If not… then good luck.”

As she began to move toward the door, it was Weiss who said, “Wait, wait - what does this mean? We’re done?”

“Hm? Oh - yes, I suppose it does. We’ve already… well, we’ve all finished is what I’m trying to say.” 

“Uh… not really?” She gestured between her legs. “I don’t want to go out there like this!” 

“Then you shouldn’t have taken the side job,” Winter reprimanded her, making the younger sister cringe and grimace. “They explained how this would work and you all went along with it; honestly, it’s a little surprising you can still be aroused after multiple climaxes.”

"I-I'm sorry, Winter. We just usually have waited until the condition goes away before leaving, that's all."

"Hey, most of us are still pretty hard," Blake said reasonably. "Not just the ones who came more than once. Give Weiss a break."

The silver-haired girl smiled with gratitude. "Thank you, Shadow. Yes, it's absolutely the drug; I'm almost never this aroused to begin with, let alone it keep coming back after I already climaxed! I suppose I just thought when we took care of it that would be that, though our training made it pretty clear that isn't always true…"

"Well, do you want to take care of it again?" her sister asked her with a smirk. "Go on, we'll watch."

"Oh, we could do some more practicing!" Ruby piped up, bounding over to the squirming Weiss and snagging her by the arm. "I'm still pretty stiff, too!"

Weiss was definitely blushing by now. "H-hey! Don't be a pest, you are presuming an awful lot!"

"Ohhhh, you're right - we could take turns in the back door, I guess. I tried it on Yang just now and I think I did pretty good! Right, Yang?"

Blake and Kali were staring at Yang just as much as Raven was, though the latter was the only one smirking. The poor blonde was grimacing and laughing in a would-be casual way before hissing, "Ruby, do you gotta tell the whole damn room?!"

Most of them laughed. Not Ruby, of course, who looked chagrined - or Raven. She didn't want to tease her daughter too much, since their tentative rekindled relationship was too new to test in that way. At least, not too often.

"So do all of you want to use the rest of this time to seek out yet another climax?" Winter asked. "I'm fine as is. I'll probably get more tips for the rest of the night in this state."

"Not I," Pyrrha answered with a heavy sigh, staring down at her soft package. "Though I’m glad, because it’s already in enough pain as it is. Perhaps if I ice it…"

Raven shook her head and laughed, pretending not to notice the way Ruby was quietly leading Weiss off into the corner. She noticed Willow's brow furrow, so she helped to distract her by throwing an arm around her shoulders. "I really think the best thing for all of us would be to get out of this room. A lot of crazy shit just happened and somehow, we all don't hate each other. Why risk it by trying to prolong the magic?"

Kali was already nodding before she even finished. "Yes, I agree. Though my libido is telling me I should play a little more, common sense says this has run its course."

Those golden eyes of hers had been focused on Yang the entire time. The poor blonde let out a nervous laugh and scratched the back of her head, her unfortunately still rock hard anatomy refusing to deflate even though it was sore and its owner unwilling.

"Leave the girls alone, Belladonna," Theia sighed. "They're entitled to a break."

"I said nothing, I did nothing." But since her eyes didn't move away, Yang finally gulped and blushed a tiny bit more. Kali's smile widened even more. "Aww, she's sweet. And a lot of fun - I can't blame Rosebud for being unable to resist her tight little ass. But I suppose you're right; we really must be going."

As the rest of them began to filter out through the door, save for a couple of notable exceptions that had hidden themselves away in a corner somewhere, Raven took a look around the dimly lit room. For some reason, she had this bizarre feeling she would miss this place. Why? They barely had a chance to get to know it. Then again, a lot had happened in a very short period of time.

"Ugh, wow, Rubes is so eager," Yang was commenting as they strolled toward the door, hands laced together behind her head and elbows up and out. That was more like the girl she knew. "Went right for my booty hole, and now she's gonna do the same to Weiss. Didn't figure her for such a sex fiend."

"She's not, I don't think," Raven said thoughtfully. "I mean… I'm no genius, but I'd lay odds she just likes being close to the people she cares about. This is just the latest bonding activity - and like any kid that age, she goes for it full throttle."

With a light chuckle that melted Raven's heart, she replied, "Yeah! That's my sis!" Then she grimaced. "My sis who fucked me. Man… tomorrow I'm gonna think this was really cringe, but right now I'm vibing, y'know?"

"Uhhhhh, sure." She didn't want to admit how much of the younger generation's slang she didn't quite understand.

"You let her fuck you while you fucked your mom," Blake said with a sly smile. "I'd be more worried if you didn't think it was weird at all."

"Hey, you fucked your mom, too!"

"We both fucked my mom. Face it, she's just really hot and kind of a slut."

Blake grimaced and glanced guiltily over at her mother immediately after making that comment, but Kali just smirked and said, "And don't you girls forget it."

“What am I, chopped liver?” Raven scoffed.

“Oh - no, no, you’re hot, too,” Blake immediately reassured her, turning a little awkward. “I was just… nevermind.”

“You’re fine,” Kali reassured her with a half-smirk. “Raven’s just a little grumpier than usual. Funny, since she shouldn’t be after all that ‘stress relief’...”

While Raven was trying to come up with a rebuttal to that, Yang bounded over and hugged Blake from behind. “Don’t be such a sourpuss! I mean, we all had a good time, right? Our moms don’t care that you said that stuff, they’re tough ladies.”

However, Blake was squirming all over the place in Yang’s grip. “H-hey! Watch where you’re putting that thing!”

“Huh? Oh - this here? Come on, it's not like we haven't done stuff like this before.” She rolled her hips a little, making her dark-haired coworker groan - and her mostly-hard cock twitch a little bit closer to fully erect again. “Wow, you’re really into it. Almost would think you want me to pump you full, Blakey.”

“She probably does,” Kali said before Blake could protest - earning her a scandalised gasp and a look of dismay. Yep, Raven knew that look; she definitely wanted to be with Yang. Just couldn’t bring herself to admit as much. “You’re quite a good lay, Yang - I already know you can handle that tempting back door.”

“She can WHAT?!” Raven burst out. Kali had gone that far with her kid?!

“So why don’t you take these last twenty-ish minutes and show Blake what you’ve learned? Think of it as more… ‘practice’. You should ask, of course, but…”

Yang looked bewildered, though also vaguely nervous. It did take a moment, but she finally turned and tried to look at the side of her friend’s face. “Blake? I mean, I am pretty hard and all, but we don’t… have to do anything like that. I don’t even know if you’re into all that, back there.”

“Well… Salem already trained me, remember? And it was… fun. Intense, and a little painful at points, but I think I liked it. I just would rather have done it with someone I know and trust.”

“Liiiiike me?” Yang said with a big grin. But instead of laughing, Blake looked down and away, biting her lip, and Yang's grin faltered. “Not with me?”

“Especially with you,” Kali said - for her daughter. Again, Blake glared daggers in her mother’s direction, but the older Belladonna only shrugged with a wan smile.

“That right? Awww, Shadow, you got a crush on me?” Yang giggled.

“Wha- shut up! God, let me go, fuck this! I’m going to go shower!”

But Yang didn’t let go. After a second or two, she turned Blake in her arms until she was grabbing her by the shoulders, staring intently into her face. It got a little uncomfortable; she was breathing hard, trying not to look down at how close their bodies were. Raven couldn’t look away; she was too curious how this might turn out.

Finally, Yang breathed, “Whoa…”

“Leave me alone.”

“No, Blake, I was… I didn’t think…” She cleared her throat awkwardly. “For real, I thought there’d be no way you were into me. I-it was just a joke, because… because I th-”

“It’s fine.”

Yang shook her head so hard her golden locks bounced all over the place. “It’s not fine. Dude, I really like you, and… if you have a crush on me, I mean, I just don’t know why you would. I’m a girl like you are, and you like your mom and all that, right? I’m nothin’ like Kali.”

That got Blake out of her spiral at last, and she looked up earnestly. “So what? I can have more than one type. Pretty much MILFs, and uh, and… you.”

“What, blonde half-asian chicks?” she cackled. 

“No. Just you, Yang.”

“Huh.” It seemed to be finally catching up to her - and Raven felt a tug at her elbow. As she allowed Kali to drag her toward the exit, she just barely heard her daughter breathing, “Holy shit. Are you fucking serious?!”

“You’re such a dork,” Blake said with a nervous chuckle just before the door swung shut.

Now that they were back in the hallway in the back of the main club, Raven grunted in annoyance. “Why’d you drag us outta there? I wanted to see if the kids actually made a love connection.”

“Because it wasn’t for us to see,” Kali said reasonably, though her smile was snarky. “I mean, they wouldn’t have stopped us, I’m sure. But I think… we’ve robbed them of all sorts of other varieties of privacy tonight. Let them have this one little moment of sweetness all to themselves.”

“Well… I guess they deserve that. Hope they don’t screw it all up and pussyfoot around, though.”

“You’ve talked about pussies enough for one night.” That was Willow's voice. Raven looked over to see she and Theia had waited on them to catch up. In the somewhat brighter lighting of the hallway, it was really obvious how disheveled all of them were; Raven prayed silently that there wouldn’t be a police raid or they were never going to be able to convince a single soul they hadn’t done what they did.

“Guess I’ll pick up where I left off next time,” she shot back snarkily.

“Droll.”

Shaking her head, Theia looked off toward the room they just removed themselves from. “Can you believe that all really happened? It feels like a dream… and yet I can feel things that tell me it certainly was not.”

“Silky things inside your body?” Kali purred. The other two made a face while Raven facepalmed. “Mm, but I understand. We really should find that Salem and tell her she can’t simply use chemical substances like that without incurring potential health risks; she’s lucky the four of us and all of those girls are in peak health or who knows what could have happened.”

“But she did tell us to be careful what we wished for.” Theia pushed her glasses further up her nose; the vague smear from the splotch of cum was still there, but no longer quite as recognisable. “Something tells me… she knew. She knew what we were to her girls and let this happen anyway.”

Raven felt her lip curling. “What kind of sadistic old bitch…?”

Even as she spoke, she glanced over - and there she was. The dark madam herself. She was standing at the door at the very far end of the hallway, watching them with detached interest - though the prodigious bulge in the front of her dress said it might not have been nearly as detached after all. Noticing Raven was watching, Salem flashed her a wicked, knowing smile, tossed a small package in their direction, then backed through the door and out of sight.

Raven goggled after her as she caught the thing out of the air, dumbstruck for a moment. The bitch absolutely knew. She knew they were related to the dancers, and still spiked their beverages. Why? What could possibly make her want to do something like that to not one, but four families? Sadism? Just wicked curiosity? Gritting her teeth, Raven took a step down the hall, ready to throw that far door open and give her a piece of her mind-

It seemed they wouldn’t get to confront her, after all. A very tall, muscular woman with her dark hair up in a short ponytail strode up to them from another side room with her meaty hands on her hips. “You lost?”

“Hel- lo,” Kali muttered very quietly, clearly still under the influence. Raven elbowed her for good measure. "What's your name?"

"Elm. And I asked you a question."

“We, um…” Willow stumbled. If Raven had to guess, it was probably that the socialite suddenly realised they were about to admit to sleeping with their own children. “We were looking for the bathroom.”

“Well, it’s not back here. Get movin’.”

“Will… you be dancing anytime soon?” Kali asked, eyes raking all over this formidable woman’s tanned physique. Her outfit was white capris and a small jacket over a one-piece bathing suit, all tones of white and grey. Plus the usual clear heels. The seam was a little too prominent on the pants, which meant they were likely tear-away. 

“Kali!” Theia hissed, trying to help drag her away. But Elm was already chuckling and relaxing - if only the tiniest bit. Seemed now she had written them off as horny and overeager clientele.

“In about fifteen. Maybe I’ll see you out there.”

“Maybe y-” Another yank. “Maybe another time, when I don’t have these killjoys with me!” Elm’s laughter followed them all the way back out into the club proper. Raven had a feeling Kali's promise wasn't an idle one.

The mothers didn’t say much as they spilled out into the night. Even while dropping by the bar for some glasses of much-needed aphrodisiac-free water before leaving, they kept to their own thoughts, mulling over everything that had transformed a simple night into something that most likely broke the history books. 

Was Raven happy about this? She wasn’t sure. Yang seemed fine - and that all but completely convinced her that she was, that nothing was wrong. But she knew that might not be the case. She had crossed a line with her own flesh and blood and could never take that back; now it would be up to both of them to see how they felt in the near future. But seeing that her daughter could so easily joke about it immediately afterward, that it didn’t stop her from expressing her feelings for Kali’s girl, really did warm her heart. So she decided that for now, she would view it as a very bizarre one-time experience that helped strengthen her newfound bond with her estranged offspring and leave it at that. 

If in the future, they revisited this… well, she would deal with that when the time came.

"What is that, anyway?"

"Huh?" Raven followed Kali's eyes and saw she was staring at the small package in her hand. "Oh. Forgot about it already. Here…"

Once they had managed to tear the tape holding it closed, they discovered its contents were a note card and… a hard drive. Willow reached in to pluck the card free and read it for the group aloud.

"Huh. 'We always ensure satisfaction'. What on earth…?"

"The footage." When they all looked in her direction, Kali shrugged and explained, "It's the security footage they promised we would get the only copy of. Just ripped the hard drive out and gave it to us. Now I suppose we should be looking into a really powerful magnet to ensure it is destroyed in a way that a hammer can't quite accomplish."

“Club fucking Futopia,” Willow finally grunted as she stuffed the card back into the box and turned to move closer to the curb. Raven stowed the box in the inner pocket of her jacket as she switched it out for her cigarettes. "They truly don't miss a trick, do they?"

“Nope,” Raven sighed as she lit up, figuring she might as well as long as they were waiting for the driver to pull around. Theia edged away slightly from the smoke, as usual.

“I still can’t believe both of my babies are in there. And they seem to be doing fine. That’s… a statistical impossibility.”

“Yep. Pretty wild shit.”

Kali held two fingers out toward Raven, and she passed the cigarette over with no complaint. No reason to worry about swapping spit at this point; they had already shared a lot more than that tonight. “Thanks. I could use one after all those big O’s.”

“I bet,” Raven chortled while her friend smoked. After all they had been through, she was starting to appreciate Kali the most out of all of her POTluck friends; she was no-nonsense, even if she was too playful and lewd sometimes. Better than Priss and Prude.

“I… I think I have to confess to you girls…” When they turned to give her their attention, Theia cleared her throat. “I know it’s very unorthodox, but I keep trying to convince myself I’m not actually in love with Pyrrha. She’s my daughter, it's not right - it shouldn't be possible! Yet I know these feelings, I know how deep and real they are when they are the truth. I feel for her so close to the way I did with Peleus… I think I’m going to tell her. Not that she won’t already know.”

Willow was goggling at her, but luckily, Kali was able to answer first. “I know exactly how you feel. And well, after testing the waters… I could let myself feel that way about Blake, to a lesser degree. But she has Yang and I have Ghira; we can just… be two ships passing in the night. And that’s perfectly fine.”

“Ah. Well… yes, of course.”

“But that doesn’t have to be what happens with you and Pyrrha. Again, I can’t recommend you go putting an announcement in the paper, but you should hold on when you get love, and let go when you give it. Words of wisdom to live by.”

The blushing Theia was just starting to smile gratefully when Willow burst out, “You’re all insane. I certainly can’t delude myself into thinking I could have a relationship with Weiss and Winter - not that kind. Mostly because they deserve far better than their demented old mother who would follow them to a strip club and then fornicate with them! It’s… I can’t believe I let that happen, drugs or no drugs!”

“Hey, don’t discredit them completely,” Kali warned mildly. 

“I know, I know. But… I did really enjoy getting to bond with them in that way. Perhaps never again, but for just tonight…” Her grumpy expression faded to one of warmth. “Winter’s talking to me again. I… started to give up hope, after so long…”

It was Kali who wrapped a hand around Willow’s shoulder, and she reached up to grip it hard, lip wobbling. She didn’t cry; just very nearly so. But it was still such a strong emotional display that Raven had to turn away, not wanting to let the emotions have a chance to take root and prompt her own tears.

It was lucky she did. While her head was turned, she saw a thin figure dart from the side of the club several yards along, tearing down the street on rollerblades. Raven’s crimson eyes flicked over toward the street when they were distracted by a city bus pulling away, completely uncaring of the hand waving at it to stop. The figure halted and started gasping for breath with her hands on her knees, then stared up toward the departing bus-

And it was Neon. The girl was Neon, though she now had her hair styled in two cone-shaped buns instead of the big puffy pigtails, and a white jacket thrown on over her top. The rollerblades really should have tipped her off, of course, but she had been too surprised by the whole thing to start guessing if it was someone she had already met.

“Raven, are you listening to this?!” Willow suddenly demanded. 

“What? Oh… no, I musta missed it.”

Pointing, she said, “Tell Kali that she has no right to call my Weiss a ‘cute little slut’! I think that word is getting tossed around far too casually this evening for my-”

“Yeah, uh, don’t do that thing. I gotta go.”

“GO?!” Willow asked incredulously as Raven took off jogging over the pavement toward the bus stop. “We’re waiting for Clive! Get back here!”

The shouts quickly faded behind her, and it wasn't too much longer before she sank down on the bench next to Neon. The girl had her head in her hands and looked the picture of someone who couldn’t believe her life was so full of terrible luck. When she felt the weight of another person shifting her seat slightly, she glanced up, then back away- then suddenly jumped and did a double-take.

“MOMMY! I mean, sorry, Mommy- SORRY! Uh… oh God.” She facepalmed hard, letting out a long, floaty groan. “Jesus H. Christ, I’m so dumb, I can’t believe I’m still calling you that out here.”

“Raven,” she provided, just in case. 

“R-right! What are you doing here? Catching the bus?”

“Maybe.” At least she didn’t lie. She took out her cigarettes and lit a new one, since Kali still had her first. “Smoke?” 

Neon considered, then just pulled her knees up onto the bench. Raven marvelled that she could balance those wheels there without them slipping off, but once she had her arms around her knees that was probably easier. “Thanks, but it’s cool. I don’t… need anything! You’re good!”

“Wasn’t trying to set you up in a new condo, girl. Just offering a cig.”

“I know. Just, um… I get a lot of the pity lines, guys trying to ‘save’ me from working at a strip club. Sometimes a smoke or a ride home is where it starts. Kinda gets old.” 

So her joke had been closer to the mark than she thought. As Raven puffed, she thought about what she had debated earlier. “Sorry to kind of bail on you in there.”

“Nah, it’s all good. I, uh…” Still clearly nervous, she said, “Ace explained. Sunbeam’s your kid, huh?”

Caught a little off guard, she finally said, “Yeah. Yeah, she’s my girl. We were just trying to make sure nobody was-”

“Y-you don’t have to tell me or anything. I guess… I knew you were older, but I tried to tell myself it wasn’t a big deal? But I’m literally like, the same age as your ‘little girl’. Obviously you’re not gonna wanna fuck with a baby.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing,” she told her with a light laugh that didn’t really reach her eyes. “I’m just being dumb.”

“Wait, wait. No… I thought…” Clearing her throat, she pushed herself not to be so guarded with her feelings. Very difficult for the war-hardened bitch she was. “I thought you were just messing around in there. We had a good time. But I didn’t expect you’d be interested after tonight, or… anything.”

Neon’s expression turned melancholy. “Yeah, I get that. Just some waitress in a strip club throwing herself at you; probably thought I was begging for tips.”

“Well, not exactly. I knew… you acted more into it than just that. But out of all your customers, why should I be the one who means something? I don’t really have much goin’ for me.”

“Are you kidding?” she burst out, turning to look at her more directly. “You’re so fucking hot. I mean, like, gotta love a guy who can pound my ass like there’s no tomorrow, but you are so gorgeous. And I liked how you kinda took care of me. Like, it was just for tonight; I’m not completely deluded. Still, hey, it was nice, chilling on your lap and letting you hold me, and… I mean, forget it, I’m just dumb. And gay; dumb and gay.”

Before she even finished, Raven was already shaking her head. “Nah. I felt just like you did. I mean… I’m not good at this stuff anymore. But you didn’t do anything wrong, you didn’t feel anything wrong. It’s fine.”

Neon was quiet for a moment. Then she finally chuckled very softly, eyes sad. “You don’t wanna ask me out.”

“What?”

“I mean, you were gonna. I’m just saying, like, why would you? Cuz it felt nice to have me in your lap? That’s not much of a reason, huh? But like, I’m super flattered you’d even think about it, so like, count this as a win!”

A little disbelieving at how direct this dancer could be, Raven took a breath before responding, “What if I wanna find out for myself?”

“Huh?”

“What if… I was likin’ how close we got, but tried to talk myself outta it? Then I overheard Wi- Ace say you were really into me. So now…”

“Omi gawd,” she blurted, covering her face with both hands. “What a dick! Like, no cap, I hate that bitch, she’s always in everybody’s shit! Doesn’t she know how to mind her own goddamn business?!”

Backpedalling awkwardly, Raven said, “No skin off my nose if you’re not interested. Just putting it out there.” Then she went back to her cigarette, trying not to pout like a stupid lovestruck teenager. And she didn’t, but the desire remained. Why did she have to let herself get caught up in all this bullshit? Her lonely little life was just fine. It made her almost regret trying to reconnect with Yang. Almost.

Then Neon reached over to lay a hand on her forearm. Raven looked up to see a bleary look in her eyes.

“Okay.”

“What? Okay, what?”

“Okay, we can go out!” Slowly, her lips began to split into a smile. “Like, I still don’t think you really wanna date me, but hey, might as well try, right? Could be fun for a while, anyway. And you’re probably a fantastic fuck, like, you’re so buff. I don’t know how you get that kinda definition.”

Raven couldn’t help a rueful smile of her own as she puffed on the cigarette. She was elated - and surprised by her elation. She barely knew Neon! Still, it had been long enough since she found a man who was capable of handling her that she was willing to give her newfound bisexuality another test drive.

“Oh, workin’ out. I trained every day in basic, while I was deployed… just kept it up, I guess. Plus I work with my hands.” 

“Nice! I mean, I’m all about it; pick me up and throw me down, right?!” She laughed as if this were a really obvious joke to make, even though the reference was lost on Raven.

"Right, right. I mean, you sure you wanna do this? Could be fun, but you'll probably wind up hating how grumpy I am sometimes."

Neon curled her arms around Raven's bicep and leaned her head against her shoulder. "Nahhhhh. I'll probably love it. I've always wanted to see what it's like with a chick, but none of them ever floated my boat before you came along, Mommy."

Another shiver thanks to that very loaded word. "Mmhh."

"So like, what was the deal with you and your kid and all that? I heard you guys paid for the full package, but obviously you didn't go in there and fuck your own children!"

Raven instantly started hacking up a lung. Naturally, she would be interested in the most forward, filter-free woman in the entire establishment. No way. She absolutely could not tell her about any of that, but she also was too half-drunk and drained from multiple orgasms to come up with a readymade excuse. Her lips flapped a little before she hastily took another drag, even though her throat still burned from before. 

“Wait, whoa.” Neon leaned a little closer and squinted. “You didn’t… did you? Oh my GOD.”

“Y-yeah, well, we were all hopped up on some kind of wacky weed your boss gave us!” Raven quickly grunted, hoping somehow it would make it less weird. “Wasn’t supposed to happen!”

“What the FUCK?!” But to her shock, the girl started laughing. “That’s so CRAZY! What’s that like? Keeping it in the family - damn, I thought that was like, not a real thing people did, but you walk in and-”

“SHH!” 

Still giggling, she bumped her shoulder against Raven’s. “Hey, it’s none of my business or whatever. But I thought you weren’t here to get laid.”

“I wasn’t! It was just supposed to…” No sense in putting on airs anymore. She heaved a heavy sigh and leaned back against the bench. “We came here to see if Willow’s damn kid worked here. Dumb fucking Willow. We just didn’t expect to find all our kids, and for them to start wavin’ their dicks around while we were tripping on Spanish Fly.”

“Uhh… I mean, it is a strip club…”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Neon frowned at her and laid a hand on her arm. “Hey, I’m not really that grossed out. Like, it’s your business, I guess. You fucked your kid for some reason, and not gonna lie, that’s sus. But you’ve also been really cool to me, and I know Sunbeam’s cool; she gets mad at me because I don’t know when to shut up but I like her. So I mean, you do you, I guess.”

Raven arched an eyebrow as she turned to look at her properly again. “You mean that, huh? You don’t think I’m some kinda monster for gettin’ too familiar with family?”

“What? No way! I mean, if she was actually a kid, then yeah, I’d sell you out in a heartbeat and hope you're in jail for a long time. But she’s a grown ass woman. You’re just a… more grown ass woman,” she giggled, though it was a bit more subdued than usual. 

“Ugh. I feel like I oughtta cut my clit off.”

“OW!”

Raven shrugged and fidgeted as she watched her companion for the moment. Neon definitely was quieter now, looking out across the not-so-busy street. She nudged her and said, “Hey, what’s up?”

“Huh? Oh, nothing. Just… wondering if I should get outta your way. If you have a thing with Sunbeam, like, I’m nobody to you. Why would I make everything messy? So I should move on.”

“What?” She sat up a little straighter. “I mean, we haven’t even gone out yet. You and me, not me and- that’s…” She took a breath, trying to settle her nerves so she wouldn't get angry purely because she was frustrated. “I’m not datin’ my daughter. I mean, I’m trying to be a mom to her for once in her life - sucking at it, obviously. So I’ll be seein’ her, but not seein’ her. That make sense?”

A little glum and quiet now, she said, “Well sure, but I mean, if you can have your girl as part of your life, and she’s got a huge dick and you already get along and shit, then what’s the point of me?”

Oh no. Neon was sad. The girl was doing a pretty good job of covering it with that carefree attitude, but Raven couldn’t pretend she didn’t notice. So she reached out and pulled her into a firm, gentle hug - and she did stiffen at first, but it didn’t take her long to melt into the embrace, wrapping her arms around Raven.

“You’re cute and you’re fun. Don’t have to have a point beyond that, really, but the rest’s up to you, kiddo. Just… don’t say shit like that about yourself. You ain't pointless - not even close.”

“O-oh,” she breathed, voice finally cracking slightly. “Um, yeah, I guess. Thank you, Mommy.” 

This time, there was no teasing tone to the word; just earnest gratitude. That made Raven feel even weirder but she endured - for Neon’s sake. Because she deserved to have someone accept her for who she was the same way she had done for the weird, incestuous old woman who had just wandered into her life.

Raven didn’t know how long they had been hugging when the car horn interrupted their reverie. She jerked away and looked over, expecting a cop car for some reason - well, for good reason. But instead, it was the Schnee family limo, there to pick her up and whisk her back to her normal life. 

“What are you DOING?!” Willow called through the barely-rolled-down window.

“Forgive her!” Kali called out. “She had her empathy gland removed!”

Shaking her head with a rueful grin, she turned back to Neon - to see she was extricating herself from the embrace. “Hey- wait, where you goin’?”

“Gotta dip,” she sighed with a shrug and a smile. “I missed my bus, so now I’m skating all the way home. Don’t worry, I do it all the time; it’s how I keep this trap body!”

“But…” Raven suppressed the instinct to call out to her, to chase someone. It left her too vulnerable. Though she did stand and clear her throat, deciding that doing nothing was wrong for this situation; she had to step up. “Alright, I won’t keep ya. But it’s been, uh… I liked meeting you. Helped make tonight fun, and… well, maybe we’ll bump into each other again sometime. Hope so, anyway.”

Neon watched her for a moment, head tilted as if with the weight of her curiosity. “You’re sure I didn’t just annoy the piss outta you?”

“Yeah. You didn’t annoy me.” Raven smiled a little. "You or your little cocktail weenie."

“Huh. Okay. You got a phone?”

“What? Oh… sure.” It took her a couple of tries to fumble it out of her pocket, but she finally got it to happen. 

“Cool.” She unlocked it - Raven had never bothered to set a code or anything, all she had to do was swipe - and started tapping away. Finally tired of not knowing what was going on, she angled her head just enough so she could see Neon was putting her number in the contacts.

“Oh.”

“Yup! Here you go.” She handed it back, cheeks aglow. “If you wake up tomorrow and decide, like, I wasn’t the worst mistake ever, then give me a call. You’re a cutie and if you really don’t wanna yeet me off a cliff, then I could hook up with you sometime.”

Taking the phone gingerly, she put it into her pocket with a slight smile. “Alright, awesome. I know… I’ve been pretty weird all night, but I guess you didn’t mind.”

“Nah, not that weird. I’ve met so many creeps who just go ‘lemme get dat dick’ right out of the gate, so like, it’s completely refreshing that you actually talked to me. Plus your whole vibe is…” Instead of finishing the sentence, Neon fanned her face with one hand as she began to skate backward. “WHOO! Muy caliente and shit!” 

Finally, Raven cracked a real smile. "Yeah? I still got it, huh?" She had thought similar about Yang, but didn't want to think about that just now.

"Oh yeah. Don't forget me!" Neon blew a kiss, waggled her fingers cheerfully, then turned to speed off down the street. 

And Raven watched her go. She cursed herself for having ridden there with Willow so she couldn't offer Neon a ride; it wasn't her place. But the argument that they might drink at the club was convincing enough to get her into a chauffer-driven limousine. 

At least all was not lost. Smiling to herself, she fidgeted with her phone in her pocket and crossed the sidewalk to open the door.

"About time," Willow grumbled, scooting to make sure she was out of the way. "Were you setting up your next visit to this gaudy brothel?"

"Sit on it, Malph," she grumbled right back.

"Oh, come on," Kali laughed softly. "Willow would be Malph? She's probably Potsy if she's any of them. Theia's too straight-laced to be anybody but Richie; I'm Malph."

That at least brought back Raven's smile. "And I'm the Fonz? I'm not jumping my bike over any amount of cars or sharks, I don't care what it's for."

"You're talking about a television program," Willow sighed in annoyance as the limo pulled away from the curb. Theia didn't say anything, she just looked vaguely put out. "For a moment, I thought you had both lost your minds."

"And you think we're uncultured," Kali said in an exaggerated imitation of Willow's snooty voice. She even examined her fingernails.

"I told you to stop doing that!"

Theia chuckled and asked, "So why were you talking to Neon? Did you find enough courage to ask to see her again?"

"Uhh…" Raven grimaced, sincerely hoping they couldn't tell she was blushing in the dark interior of the limo. 

"Well?" Kali needled.

"Not exactly." She was slightly touched at the way they all looked a little disappointed. Maybe they did genuinely care about her happiness. "Neon really is the one with the balls. She gave me her number."

Instantly, their expressions boomeranged to excited - even Willow seemed pleased. "Thank goodness!" Theia breathed.

"Yeah, at least one of you figured it out," Kali laughed. "I wish you the best."

"Yeah, yeah," she grumbled - even though their good humor was catching, and her smile kept growing despite her best efforts to kill it where it sprouted. "So what did I miss?"

"Not much," Willow admitted with a small smile. At least she wasn't a frigid bitch all the time. "We've just been trying to figure out what to do about this whole situation. Mostly, we're going to tell no one but keep seeing where it leads with our daughters. With one exception."

When they all turned to look at Theia, the diminutive ginger flushed scarlet. A moment later, she whispered, "Well… I suppose I did already admit it… but aren't I making a huge mistake?"

"You are in love , girl," Kali laughed. "Whether or not it's a 'good idea' to enter into a relationship like that with Pyrrha is… academic. But love is not an academic topic. I might be the odd one out, but I say if you two really have that kind of connection, then you are the only two who can decide if it's what's best for your lives."

"Really?" she asked in a desperate rush. "I know you certainly won't judge about the… physical aspect, but… this is so much more. I feel bad that I don't feel bad; I'm just so happy…"

As she started to cry, Willow sighed. "That seems to be the feeling du jour. I hate myself, and yet…”

“And yet,” Kali agreed with a small smile and a nod. Raven knew they were all thinking about their little girls and how good it had ended up being, in spite of how reprehensible the idea was. 

“So! Are we coming back to that fine establishment again in the near future?”

The four of them all looked between each other, a smarmy, playful smile on all their shared features. Then Raven chuckled as she nodded.

“Fuck no.”

“Agreed,” Theia breathed in relief. “This is already more adventure than I ever expected to have to endure in my entire life! I couldn’t handle anything worse.”

“Pussies,” Kali cackled. For whatever reason, she was looking fondly at her phone when she added, “But I also wouldn’t dream of forcing you to go back; it was… a lot. At least we’ll always have our memories.”

Willow even laughed weakly herself. “Thank God. It was… well, it turned out to be fun, as terrifying as it started. But no more, for the rest of my life.”

“Then I’m glad we agree,” their de facto leader sighed as she leaned back, draping her arms over the back of the leather seat. “These MILFs are done with Club Futopia forever.”

But as Raven Branwen glanced back through the window at the glowing speck in the distance that was the setting for their biggest, most wonderful mistakes, she couldn’t completely suppress the feeling they had spoken too soon. The club would beckon again someday. Whether or not they survived was up to fate and chance - and the mercy of some very zealous, very girthy girls.

-----------------------------------------------

  The End…? (Probably Not)

Stay tuned for BONUS CHAPTER

[blondrichclosetwitch]

But I thought this wouldn’t hurt a lot,

I guess not

Dreaming up an alibi

Nothing feels good like you

Limbs clenched so hard

All I want from you is a letter and to be your distant lover

that’s all I can offer at this time

Man, these bitches get scared, they tellin, tellin'

Pluto and Jupiter, I go to Venus

'Cause I got a really big team and they need some really big rings (to me this is a reference to a past life I learned about from a teacher who saw us as brothers, and he compared us to planets: Blond was Jupiter because she had the money, and I was saturn who had the wit. He went on to say that I was going to write about us, and that it was going to be hilarious. Saturn of course has the big rings.)

What happened to that, that chubby little kid who smiled so much and loved the Beach Boys?

What happened is I, I killed that fucker and I took his name and I got new glasses

When I’m closing in on death

Heroine, be the death of me

“It’s my wife.”

Hit this one out of the park

Every time you close your eyes, lies, lies (one of the practices done on me and Jakk was like a subliminal repetition that would work on us while we slept)

I really want to see you

Substituting your lies for fact

Substitute you for my mum

All my celluloid scenes are torn at the seams

Ex-cowboy (one of their calling cards for Jakk was lonesome cowboy bill, about how all the girls were hot for the lonely rodeo guy, so might be a reference to some change in his status)

Like the video films we saw

The barbarians are coming but will the dreamers stay strong

Barramundi

I Love my baby; and my baby loves me

Mars (a lot of action today)

I’ll Follow you down down down (I made a recording of me singing this in the tub for Jakk, it’s something they used to like me to perform, yes, it’s got it’s own dance)

Gain the weight of you and then lose it, believe me I could do it (have you heard the story of as the pandemic began, tricking me into believing I was pregnant? That went on for five months, because you couldnt get to the doctors. I even wrote Jakk a letter that was delivered to his work telling him I was expecting and I needed to keep calm. anyway imho that was the meanest thing she did. Though the decapitated animals was pretty bad.)

Ain’t it funny? All the twisted games

As we lay upon your bed (twisted games as you lay upon my bed; you mean like the tub of urine you threw on the underside? Or are we talking about the animal blood on the wall? Laurie I’d be happy to show you these things)

You know I’m still somebody’s daughter, see

Who the hell is in your bed (Stella says she can name the participants)

With the endless: SERGEI: I shall see her again. I know that in my heart. One last time. Until then, I shall continue to send people to her.

Girls all In your bed and they just ask a hunnid questions

Whole lot of 6’s

Got the key, and now the door’s open and we all goin through it

Oh and she’s known in the darkest clubs

“If she says she can do it, she can do it.” Speaking of I’ve been making a list of what was done, and how much other practitioners charge…I was being “trained” by January 2016, and the full plan didn’t start to go into effect for seven months. There was candle workings, dolls made, an unborn invoked and tethered, spells of the mind, not to mention a spell to break us up (that was the original thing she was hired for),…many of these are spells that you work on slowly, so monthly charge for each of those. And of course there was the getting me to trust her. Many of you don’t know that the TR was my closest female ally in nyc. I trusted her with everything. Even her LP knew there were times I only could handle talking to the TR, nobody else. I fell for an intimacy that was a fabrication, funded by a millennial who had a trust fund. Moral of the story: love all, trust few and beauty is only skin deep. Don’t fall for it. They’ll lie to your face while looking you in the eye without batting a fake eyelash.

Oh could it be

I passed you by a thousand times before

Not knowing who you were Then she sees the uneasy look on his face She goes back to work and all her friends are pointing

She thought she'd turn a boy into a man but in real life some things don't go to plan

Welcome to no sympathy night

I was enchanted to meet you.

(Go west) this is our destiny

Chicago

Down in New Orleans

In New York City

Don't ask me questions that you don't want the answers to

The world is so loud, keep falling, I'll find you

starvation's necessary

'Cause my head's a dictionary

“I know, dear It has been a brutal year”

Prince Johnny, you're kind, but do be careful when all your friends and acolytes are holding court in bathroom stalls

Well, your eyes flash out a warning

And we'll take this man, left almost passed out til he forgets the crawling way real people sometimes are

[fedzkun]

Villain Hunt Arc Meta: All For One’s Horrific Guide to Methodically Breaking Down Your Local OFA Holder

Ft. Turning the ‘Overpoweredness’ of OFA into a Setback, and AFO’s Successful Manipulations Of Midoriya Izuku

In which I also give AFO too much credit for all the pain he’s probably caused, and theorize that his plans to break Izuku actually started getting enacted even before he’d escaped Tartarus.

(A.k.a. me loving the angst because this is really good angst writing, but also hating it because the manga doesn’t come with a Angst with A Happy Ending tag unless you count Izuku’s ‘this is the story of how I became the greatest hero’ which isn’t really a guarantee of happiness )

So. What an arc! In the span of ten chapters (starting from the end of the War arc) Hori delivered a full-on Villain-looking, Vigilante Midoriya Izuku. Congratulations, Horikoshi, for finally introducing Akatani Mikumo!

The fast pacing and lack of breather panels are so fitting for this arc truly. AFO never gave them a moment’s rest. Yes, from henceforth as he’d promised... It’s always going to be his turn.

Izuku is making amazing progress with unlocking the full power of One For All. In his words, his abilities might as well already be on par with what a healthier All Might could do, and with no recoil to boot. Plus, there’s only one last quirk to unlock. For villain fights, I don’t think we need to worry about him losing, or him breaking anymore bones at this time.

Which, some might argue, makes Izuku too ‘OP.’

To start with, I want to talk first about the ‘overpoweredness’ of the One For All quirk. It’s a wonderful quirk truly, having inspired and amazed so many because of its sheer power. Used well, it could grant instant victories and restore the people’s wavering faith to the heroes. Because with a quirk like that on your side, everything’s going to be alright, right? There’s always gonna be that bit of hope that something is still strong enough to stand against the looming evil...right?

Yeah. That’s what the people who’d lived under All Might’s Era of Peace thought so too. History repeats.

OFA’s ‘OP-ness’ is both a great blessing and a great burden.

Here are some points on how the narrative has made OFA's 'overpoweredness' a setback:

1. All For One—that bastard—exploits the urge that comes with OFA. Just as ‘AFO the quirk’s’ goal is to steal OFA, OFA’s job is to defeat AFO, and Izuku is sacrificing himself to its cause.

Here’s another thing I want to point out: The conclusion that the heroes drew about AFO planning to capture Midoriya Izuku alive? In rereading, I’m starting to believe it’s nothing but a mere assumption of his plans. Aside from the deal made with Lady Nagant—of which I think AFO didn’t take seriously anyway and set her up for failure— (and while we as readers are already aware of his true intentions to wear Izuku down) it’s weird that nowhere had AFO directly mentioned to Izuku that he’s going to kidnap him and take his quirk from him.

2. OFA made Izuku so brilliant (e.g. Pros and former Pros alike going “This kid...”) that they really can't help but place all their hopes on him. Sighs. In an ideal world, this would be a dream come true of Izuku getting his due credit for all his heroic achievements Pro heroes have started to do to Izuku what they’ve done all their lives to All Might--which is to put him on the pedestal, while they fall back to cover him like guards/safety net. Hence, falling back to the One Pillar Model mindset.

3. OFA makes Izuku untouchable, not only to the villains, but also to his allies. Prime material to reinforce isolation. And if Izuku doesn't want to be caught, he won't make it easy for either side.

4. OFA IS SUS AF, OKAY? What are the Holders doing?! While gaining access to them makes it easier and convenient to have personal trainers in handling OFA, the vestiges prove to add a lot to Izuku’s mental load. If they’d allowed Izuku to come to the point of being caked with blood and filth, they’re not doing very well at guiding him. Realize that most of their arc interactions with Izuku is Quirk Talk. They, of all people, should know how AFO’s machinations work! Hey First, for the love of god, warn Izuku! He’s showing so many signs of being manipulated that you should be picking up on. please /sobs ;;

Tbf, like, I’m pretty sure that the Holders haven’t been as mentally okay either, which would feed into Izuku’s current mindset.

Now that the setbacks have been listed, let’s dive in to AFO’s plans to toy with Midoriya Izuku.

PHASE 1: Pre-Tartarus Breakout

Speaking of OFA being sus, there’s something that has been niggling at the back of my mind.

All For One basically tells Izuku: “You were my main interest that entire time I was in prison”. So, to pass the time in Tartarus (since he can’t use any(?) of his quirks), AFO has been doing nothing but apparently daydreaming and designing a personal hell for the Ninth Holder during that entire period. HOWEVER, it also made me wonder…

…Even before he’d broken out, had AFO made any moves at all in enacting his plans to break Izuku?

Yeah?

And here’s the kicker: he says that before Blackwhip bursted out.

AFO is a master manipulator. Assuming that Izuku doesn’t have any latent AFO quirk (for whatever reason *coughs* maybe dfo if you're a believer) or that Quirk Singularity has anything to do with it, what is the trigger to Izuku suddenly having access to Blackwhip?

I’d argue that it is All For One himself.

Why? What’s his goal? If you notice during the Joint Training arc, Izuku is feeling pretty confident about his progress. He’s rather happy and feeling blessed, and he is making leaps and bounds with base power OFA.

AFO can’t have that. He can’t allow the Ninth Holder to become too emotionally stable, or else he’d have a stronger will. So by somehow activating Blackwhip, AFO makes Izuku feel like he hasn’t made any progress with his quirk at all. During the evaluations, Izuku mentions that he still needs a lot to work on, and while not all of it is visible, with the way he behaves, it’s pretty evident that his self-confidence has taken a rather large hit.

But, wait! If AFO had tampered with OFA during the JT arc, paving the way to unlocking the rest (like he’d also done during the War arc when he tried to ‘steal’ it then), then wouldn’t AFO be sabotaging himself since he’d be making Izuku a more formidable opponent?

Sure. Except that the quirks inside OFA are mostly useless when it comes to the mental part of the fighting. The only thing they’re useful for is for the current Holder to be able to play keep-away in the physical realm. And AFO could easily just find counters for those through his work on Tomura.

You know how else the situation becomes advantageous for AFO? With every quirk unlocked, Izuku’s goalposts keep on getting away from him, and Izuku will always feel like he isn’t ready or prepared enough. Izuku will push and push himself to master OFA to its fullest, to become more powerful, at the cost of his mental/emotional stability and physical wellbeing as he wears himself down.

And every time Izuku grew more powerful, and became more ‘OP,’ he is burdened with all the aforementioned setbacks that came with it. He could be the most powerful person in the world, but it’s all for naught if he doesn’t take care of himself. This plan is both a high risk and high reward on AFO’s part, and as of the moment, with a bloody Izuku staggering all over, AFO is visibly reaping these high rewards.

PHASE 2: Post-Tartarus Breakout

He’s going to toy with Izuku until Izuku fucking breaks. What follows is his series of actions that instills the desired responses from Midoriya Izuku. Let’s see how the master manipulator plays this game of chess, shall we?

Izuku’s plan: Reach out to villains and try to save them.

AFO’s counter: Kill off those who turn their back against villainy and/or acknowledge Izuku as a true hero.

Izuku’s resulting response: Stop reaching out to villains. Gain an instant victory and move on.

After all, what do you get when you block a hero from showing sympathy? You get an unfeeling living weapon.

---

Izuku’s plan: Work with the top pro heroes to bring down AFO.

AFO’s counter: Make plans that will serve to highlight how the top pros are just slowing Izuku down. (e.g. Making moves while it’s raining, so as to divide them, but also to bring out No. 1 Hero Endeavor’s "slowness" in the rain. Nope, I don’t think that’s a throwaway line at all.)

Izuku’s resulting response: Grows more reckless, often leading the charge.

---

Izuku’s plan: Track AFO down.

AFO’s counter: Lead them to dead-ends. Or when they do supposedly reach something, endanger them.

Izuku’s resulting response: His tunnel vision worsens, as he grows more desperate.

---

Izuku’s plan: All Might following him around is okay since it would help All Might from worrying so much, and Izuku could simultaneously keep an eye on and protect All Might.

AFO’s counters: There are a lot to really fuck with this bond, damn you AFO.

Taint that passing the torch memory of ‘You’re Next.’

Declare that All Might no longer interests him. Liar. He outright stated before that he’s one for keeping a grudge

Send another assassin to Izuku [Underlying Message: You yourself are a walking danger zone to those whom you dearly care for.]

Izuku’s resulting response:

Interpret that memory of ‘You’re Next’ as taking up the position of being AFO’s shiny new plaything, and therefore supposedly sparing All Might from the torment (Unfortunately, making Izuku push AM away is just part of the torment ;A;)

Think that AM is no longer in the direct line of fire as long as AFO focuses on Izuku

Finally, push his last line of morale support away, and completely isolate himself.

Btw, I wonder how All Might feels about Izuku using Nana's quirk to get away from him.

---

The suffering doesn’t end.

Izuku’s plan: Save people.

AFO’s counters: (possibly offscreen) Send more villains and assassins to torment Izuku some more with the knowledge that he can’t save them. Sending villains out also puts innocents in danger.

Izuku’s resulting response: He won’t stop for anything. He won’t sleep, won’t eat, won’t slow down. He will always do his best to save as long as someone is in danger.

His body will keep on moving and moving and MOVING on its own.

--- All For One is very effective as a supervillain. He has managed to make the heroes think that his only goal is to capture Izuku alive for his quirk. He has Izuku right where he wants him: dancing to his tune at the palm of his hand, utterly toyed with, left with no escape in sight.

Psychologically vaulted.

.

.

.

PHASE 3

And so, if Izuku is being manipulated to drive himself further and further into self-destruction, what then is there left for All For One to do?

So much more. Because, my god, I think AFO has mastered the art of traumatizing the OFA Holders.

All For One once told All Might, “I will destroy all that you’ve protected.” And boy, is he delivering. He's definitely not done with AM btw.

First, he destroys All Might's image. And he is manipulating Izuku to drive himself to that point. To looking into his absolute worst.

And when that point arrives, AFO will hammer the final nail home.

Something like...

BEHOLD

JAPAN’S SYMBOL OF PEACE.

And oh, how it'll hurt. To see All Might's pride and joy be flaunted about as looking nothing like a hero to the masses, for him to be so utterly humiliated.

"See what I did to All Might's successor."

AFO will be banking upon the possibility that the angry masses will not want to be saved by whom they're tricked into viewing as someone that's the cause of all the pain. Izuku might have the willpower to stay true to his resolve, but with him on the verge of total breakdown, what would happen when he is shunned by the very people he is trying to help?

I once wrote a post about how the current events seem to be a bastardization of Izuku's wildest fantasies: he's working with the top pros, he has the most powerful quirk, and he's working with All Might (whom technically acts as a sidekick to him rn).

AFO has warped all that into a never-ending nightmare. And Izuku...

Izuku is really in need of saving.

Last thoughts:

Let me just say that it shouldn't be a competition about who gets to get through to Izuku. Right now, he’s gonna need all the help he can get, and it can’t be delivered by only one or two people. Saving Izuku is going to be a team effort, a solid support system that sees Izuku as their classmate/friend/student/actual person that they care about. And there’s sufficient space for that.

More hands reaching out means more chances to catch him if he falls.

[chaoticavrey]

in my old apartment building, we lived there for about ten years. i had experienced my fair share of upstairs neighbors. but not once did my parents ever submit a complaint about any of them.

towards the end of our time living there we had this single mother of three boys living above us. i was a teenager in high school at the time at didn’t have a lot of patience. this poor mother, her kids were loud. they lived on the very top floor and it was like living underneath track stars.

the little one was about three, and like any toddler he would cry and cry while also running around like crazy. the older two were in middle school and liked to play video games and i had to listen to them do so very often. and i also had to listen to the screaming matches between the mom and the oldest. not to mention the two dogs she had as well, who were insane.

anyway, i was at the end of my rope 24/7 all the time, so was my mom. sometimes i would even take the broom and hit the ceiling if they were still running across their apartment after 9pm. but the moral of this story is that we never once complained about them to the office because a) the building was shitty. it was falling apart at the seems. and b) this mom was doing her best. it wasn’t her fault. kids are kids. sometimes they were out of control but it was a small apartment, so i just had to remind myself this is just a part of life.

things happen, people are human beings, and sometimes everything is beyond your control. just don’t be shitty about it when you don’t need to be.

I really fucking hate memes about "haha, upstairs neighbors are always so loud, they're the worst, they're a universally-accepted target of rage" because when we lived in an upstairs apartment, it was so poorly-constructed and unstable that the entire building shook when anyone closed their front door. You could hear pretty much everything that everyone else in the building was doing at all times, even if they weren't being particularly loud.

Our downstairs neighbors would pound on our door and even register full complaints with the landlord if we walked across our own house at 3 AM. We wound up in an all-out feud with them because they would make near-daily complaints about us "stomping" when we were just walking normally across our own fucking home.

And god forbid we did anything like set down a heavy laundry hamper after hauling it upstairs, or tenderize some meat for dinner, or have a night of tossing-and-turning in the bed--all things that received angry complaints and caused our neighbors to pound on their ceiling/our floor with a broom. Despite the fact that those really ought to be normal apartment sounds that you just fucking deal with because sometimes there are Sounds In Places.

I'm never going to forget how fucking humiliated I was when I had to explain to my landlord for the umpteenth time that I'm fat and can only soften my footsteps so much. That the downstairs neighbors only seemed happy when we sat still, never talked to each other, and acted like living statues. That we were going to have to make some noise sometimes because, again, the entire building would shake when someone closed a door.

Several years of being forced to be on constant, hyper-paranoid alert about whether I'm walking too loud has done irreparable damage to my mental state. I haven't lived in a second-floor apartment in seven years and I still get anxiety over walking "too loud."

Your upstairs neighbors are most likely trying to mind their own business as much as you are. Give some shit to your landlord for the shitty state of the building instead.