#but I used to have some OCs I made when I was 15 and kept for a long time that fit perfectly

[oyasumillie]

the real experience of being an old vocaloid fan and an OC content creator is thinking which of your OCs would fit into each one of the Alices in Alice of Human Sacrifice 🤔

[rcmclachlan]

2024 Tumblr Top 10

Tagged by the wonderful @liminalmemories21

How it works: Share your top 10 tumblr posts from last year! Visit this site, scroll down to "Find your Tumblr Top 10," type in your username, and select 2024. When you get the results, simply click "Share to Tumblr" and you'll get an auto-generated draft for a post with links and previews. Make any adjustments you see fit.

Surprising no one, all my top posts in 2024 were about BuckTommy. Here’s the breakdown:

1. Tommy’s just as insane as Buck (1,184 notes - Aug 15 2024)

This is probably my favorite post of the year, so I’m glad it’s sitting pretty at number one. Even after what we’ve learned about Tommy since I posted it, I still stand by it. There is no way Mr. Sure I’ll Fly Into A Hurricane On A Hunch is normal about anything.

2. Amnion (mpreg, 8x06 fix-it) (777 notes - Nov 9 2024)

This predated the mpreg tsunami that hit the fandom by about a week, but if you’ve been following me since April, you’ll know that dadvans and I had been surfing that wave all along. 

3. Season 4 alternate meeting (726 notes - Aug 10 2024)

I’ve got a list as long as my arm of ways Buck and Tommy could’ve met earlier, but the idea of “what if their paths crossed the day Buck learns about Daniel” grabbed onto my ankle like a mutant west highland white terrier and wouldn’t let go. 

It eventually became the fic Histocompatibility on AO3.

4. 8x05 spec fic ("Kiss me, Thomas!”) (704 notes - Oct 23 2024)

I wrote this after the first pictures of Buck’s face dropped a couple of days before the episode aired. At the time, we could only see one boil (I think the most popular theory was that a spider had laid eggs in his face, a la Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark), so I decided to have a little fun. 

Apologies to the people who were scarred for life after learning what a giant weta is. 

5. The 118-217 Shadow Summit headcanon (665 notes - Dec 29 2024)

A very late addition to the list! There I was with all these headcanons, still mourning the breakup and wishing the show had given us some cross-station shenanigans, when I realized I could solve all my problems with fic. Why would I try to get Buck and Tommy back together when the yahoos at the 118 and 217 could do it for me?

Then I took it a step further with this missing scene, which I had an absolute blast writing. These people are bonkers (to me).

6. “So? Tell me about the hot pilot.” (652 notes - Sep 13 2024)

I can never get enough of the Buckley siblings, and since the show finally gave us something substantial with 7x05, I decided to delve a little deeper into Buck and Maddie’s conversation about Buck’s bisexuality and the man responsible for opening his eyes to it. 

It eventually became the fic Table of Contents on AO3.

7. New Year’s Eve fix-it ficlet (651 notes - Jan 1 2025)

Okay, technically it shouldn’t be on the list because I posted it in the new year, but I wrote it a couple of hours before midnight while watching Wicked with friends, so I’m including it. It was a half-baked idea that became a half-baked fic, but it seemed like people enjoyed it, so I’m taking that energy into the new year!

8. More 8x05 spec fic (missing scene) (589 notes - Oct 24 2024)

Another fic that was born out of the episode previews, which allowed me to bring my 217 OCs out to play. All I kept thinking was, ‘What was going through these people’s heads when they heard dispatch say a body had been found at the 118? Probably something along the lines of: must be Tuesday.’ 

9. Pregnancy kink ficlet/headcanon (526 notes - Aug 29 2024)

No explanation necessary. 

10. Relative Value (499 notes - Jun 26 2024)

“Give me Uncle Tommy or give me death” has been my mantra since Tommy and Buck made out in front of God, country, and the entire First Presbyterian ER lobby. Also, it’s a headcanon of mine that all the 118 kids are obsessed with him, much to Tommy’s confusion and amusement. 

It eventually became Relative Value on AO3.

Well, this was a fun little retrospective! I can’t believe this dumb show pushed me out of writer’s block limbo as hard as it did, but I’m very grateful. 

Tagging: @dadvans, @screamlet, @epiphainie, @leashybebes, and @beanarie​​

[acrobattack]

bliss redesign based off one I made in my teens

thought process + various other bits and bobs under the cut

I was 15 and annoyed by everything that moved when this character first came out, so in my own head I was very much making a Point with this redesign. Hence, I made very minimal changes. I wanted to work with what was already there and basically just make the existing design more thought-through. Little breakdown ahead (keeping in mind i myself am very much An Amateur who doesn’t know shit and am just ranting about my opinions and i also haven’t seen a single second of the 2016 reboot so i don’t know much about Bliss to begin with)

1. one of my Biggest pet peeves with Bliss is that the powerpuff girls each have bangs that are simple, memorable, and iconic while also being unique from each other and being reminiscent of irl little girls hairstyles. It’s very neat and clever and I like it a lot

and then Bliss has this confusing jumble of shapes that looks like it changes in style halfway across her forehead

i have absolutely no idea what the intent is here. My only guess is maybe it’s meant to look weird on purpose like she was trying to cut it herself or something (I suspect it’s something like that since she seems to have normal looking bangs as a little kid from what I can see) but it doesn’t really come off that way if that’s the case. It just looks like baby’s first PPG OC where you Understand that it’s meant to be hair and that it is made out of shapes but have 0 understanding of hairstyle or character design in general. Heck I might have put this exact hairline on a character in the past at the age of like 8

So in my redesign she’s got 5 even notches across her bangs, not thee most exciting change but it does the job I think. It is pretty reminiscent of Blossom but they look different enough from each other that I wasn’t too worried about it

2. low-hanging fruit time, Bliss’s hair color is horrible on the eyes. I’m bewildered at the decision to do this, especially since there is just so much of it, I struggle to think of how she could exist in any scene without hogging all the viewer’s attention constantly. That said, I understand they wanted her to have an unnatural hair color to really signal that she is a Fresh new Teen character from the late 2010’s, which is. Whatever, that’s fine, so she gets purple hair now. I kept the streak for the same reason, especially since she’s got a lot of hair, so no harm in a little extra interest in there.

I also learned recently that her hair glows sometimes? which i did Not know when first drawing her but well i think the darker color helps anyway. It adds some contrast for when she’s normal vs when she’s glowing and makes the latter appear more,, idk threatening or powerful or whatever the mood generally is when she’s doing that.

I did re-add that toothpaste blue to her eyelids though. I like to think it’s also the color of her lasers. It’s a cute color, just not as like 70% of this character’s palette

3. real talk I was drawing this from memory and didn’t mean to change the way her hair flares out from her head. realistically I think the original is fine, maybe just a little boring but fine, so that part of the redesign was an accident. Only thing is, it’s in the exact same position in every screenshot I’ve seen? It doesn’t seem to whip around when she’s flying or anything which looks weird and probably looks weirder in motion, especially since it takes up so much space onscreen. Idk it’s a strange decision, esp since the original show liked to use the ppg’s hair to emphasize their movement, so I’d just bring more movement into her hair. I mean if nothing else it’d make her look cooler.

very very rough little visual of what I mean

I also ended up making it shorter in my redesign—again, not really intentional, but I think it’s better that it eats up a little less of her silhouette

4. Her headband is largely the same, I didn’t hate the idea of her having an accessory, so I just toned down the colors. I’m not personally a fan of the powder blue and that pink heart is very bright and just doesn’t go with the rest of her (once again the color of her hair is doing it no favors). I also moved the heart over. Not necessarily needed I think, but I feel like it reads quicker as a headband and not a weird crown that way+introduces some asymmetry into her design that I think is nice.

5. my biggest gripe other than her bangs are her hips. I’m not against adding anatomy to this character design to make her read visually as older than the girls, but it’s so awkwardly done and distracting. I feel like it even interferes with her line of action more often than not (which is not helped by her unmoving hair).

Part of the issue is she still has the teeny tiny torso, just… with those square-ish hips slapped on, which makes her legs look all gangly and stretched out. I tried to balance out the proportions more in my redesign, as well as change the hips to a flared skirt. I think it helps differentiate her from the girls and still implies hips underneath, it just also functions as a less clunky transition from her torso to her legs.

Lengthening her torso also allows the stripe to look more like a belt above the skirt, which I think helps to sell her as “similar, but not the same” from the ppg

6. Her leggings(? Idk Im not a fashion person) aren’t a bad idea I think. like a more mature version of the girls’ stockings, but I think the white makes them look really distracting. It would help to make them a darker color I think, but since I wanted to keep them reminiscent of the girls’ socks I kept them white and just shortened them.

7. Not really sure what Bliss is wearing on her feet. I think they’re Mary Janes, but they’re drawn a bit different from the girls’ and I honestly think it’s too babyish a shoe for her to wear. I’m not sure what she’s actually wearing in my redesign either honestly, but the goal was just to make them look like the girls’ Mary Janes while clearly being something different.

8. Uh her signature color is something I’ve contemplated changing a lot but to be real I think it’s fine. I feel it was a very bad idea from a marketing standpoint because people were hype about Bunny and would obviously be mad they didn’t get her once the character actually dropped (and in the long-run she would just end up being overshadowed by the character everyone has already assigned that color to) but I’m personally not bugged by her being purple beyond that. If I were to draw them together though I think Bunny would have a more pinky shade of purple and Bliss leans more blue.

Loosely on the same topic, because of Bliss I’ve had a running headcanon that “only child” types of powerpuffs tend to come out purple. Kind of like how trios tend to have a red, blue, and green. It’s a fun little piece of fake lore to rotate around in my brain

Anyway with all that out of the way, here’s some redesigns I decided to have some fun with. Wasn’t being too precious about recognizability or simplicity or anything like that, but I did run out of steam partway through. There’s also one based off Whoopass Bell bc idk, why not

Finally, here’s some OCs I only ever drew once before out of a desire to give Bliss her own teen girl archetypes to form a team with. This is Bee and Beetle, who I’ll probably definitely forget about again immediately after posting this

[jeankluv]

If only wishes could be fulfilled - Gojo Satoru

Words: 2,6k

Paring: Gojo x oc

Warning/tags: manga spoilers, angst, flashbacks, mentions of characters death, fluff, established relationship, Gojo and oc adopted Tsukimi and Megumi, open ending, no use of y/n, gn!reader

Note: I posted this one on ao3 weeks ago but never posted here, so here you have. Also Gege when I catch you

Jujutsu Kaisen materialist

Everyone knew him as the strongest, as Gojo Satoru the strongest sorcerer of the modern era, the one that brought balance to the world when he was born. He was also known as someone annoying, irritating, arrogant, never caring about others and too full of himself.

But you knew they were all lies. And it broke your heart they only view him as that, because he wasn’t any of that, sure he was annoying sometimes but annoying in the good way. And he cared, he deeply cared for others.

So whenever you heard people describing Satoru it broke your heart a little bit, each time. Everyone knew Gojo but only a few knew Satoru.

You met Satoru back on the day when you entered the Jujutsu world when you were both 15 at the time and you didn’t know anything about the sorcerer's world or clans. The only thing you knew was that you could see things no one else in your town could, so when three years ago a big guy with sunglasses came and fought one of those things, you asked him if he also could see them. It was then when you found out for the first time about what those things were.

Professor Yaga then introduced you to the school and you began studying alongside Satoru, Shoko and Suguru.

It’s been over a decade since that and a lot of things changed on the mean time. Suguru left only to end up dying by the hands of his once best friend.

You still recall the moment you found Satoru sitting next to the dead body of Suguru.

24th of December 2017

It didn’t take you much to arrive at Tokyo thanks to you cursed technique. Arriving at the school you made sure the students were safe, and fortunately they all were.

“Where is Gojo?”

Yuta looked around searching for his teacher. “He was here just a few minutes ago.”

You looked around and nodded, leaving the kids on their own, knowing they would be safe. You walked across the destroyed place, searching for a white hair.

The sound of loud sobbing hit you in the face, like cold water. It was distant but your heart knew too well who those sobs belonged to.

Moving your legs as quickly as you could, you rushed to the direction where those faint sobs were coming from.

The scene you found was one that you would never have liked to witness, and that would continue to torment you some time later. Satoru was kneeling on the ground, while he hugged Suguru's lifeless body. You froze, not because of the cold of Tokyo, but at seeing Satoru hugging and crying the way he was doing at that very moment.

Taking light steps so as not to upset him, you approached him, even though you knew well that thanks to his six eyes he had already known for a long time that the person behind him was you.

Carefully you placed your hand on his shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. “Satoru…” You whispered, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to come.

Satoru stood still for a moment and then spoke. “It was what he had to do…” The words barely left his lips. “But it hurts too much…”

You knelt behind him and rested your forehead on his back. “I know Satoru… I know.” You wanted to be able to take away all that pain and keep it for yourself, you wanted those tears that kept falling down his cheeks to stop. You wanted to protect him.

Sniffing he moved and stood up with Suguru's body in his arms. A strong pang pierced your heart as you clearly saw the lifeless face of the person who was once your best friend.

“He had a family…” He whispered. You did know that Suguru had had a family during those 12 years that you had been apart, at least that's what the reports said. “Those two babies that were here with him… you would probably want to say goodbye to him… and bury him.” You knew where Satoru was going, he wanted to return the body to those Suguru had called family for those last 12 years and you weren't going to stop him.

You stepped aside and Satoru walked a few steps and then disappeared.

Satoru returned the next day, you were standing next to Megumi preparing a Christmas cake when Satoru walked through the door. Without saying a word he approached Megumi and ruffled her hair and then approached you and simply hugged you without saying anything. You knew that at that moment words were unnecessary and that what Satoru needed most was to be with those he loved most.

“In the afternoon we will go see your sister.” Satoru spoke, turning away from you and looking at Megumi. He just lowered his gaze and nodded. "Everything will be fine." He told him, ruffling his hair again, to which Megumi protested.

23th December 2018 [present day]

A sad smile appeared on your face as you remembered Megumi and Tsumiki. You had been unable to protect them. You looked up and saw Satoru's back, he was stretching. Tomorrow was the day, tomorrow he would fight Sukuna.

05th October 2008

You looked at Satoru first and then the two kids that were right next to him. “Repeat that?” You were confused as hell.

“Congrats babe, we have two kids now!” He said in a playful way.

You and Satoru had been dating for two years now, in fact your second anniversary would be in November. You were barely almost 20.

“Satoru…” You looked at him with your arms crossed. “Can we talk for a moment?” He nodded and walked towards the bedroom. You looked at the kids. “You can turn the tv on if you want.”

The two kids looked at each other and nodded. The little girl, who seemed older, grabbed the boy and guide him to the sofa and turned the tv on.

“Satoru…” You said entering the room. “Have you lost your mind?”

“Babe listen.” He said leaving a kiss on your head. “The kid, the boy, is talented and they have no one.”

They were alone? That broke your heart a little bit.

“How did you find out about them?”

Satoru sighed. “He is the son of that guy… Toji.” An immense cold ran through your body from head to toe. Just remembering what happened in the summer of 2006 made you nauseous.

“He is his son?” Satoru nodded.

“Before dying he told me about him, he was sold by him to the Zenin clan.” He fell silent for moment. “You know the type of clan they are and his father probably knew that too.”

“So he told you to take him in?”

Satoru shook his head. “Not exactly, but I decided to take him.” He smiled. “So I paid what the Zenin clan asked for him and here we are.”

“Satoru… they are both small, rising a kid it’s a lot of responsibility.”

“And we can do it…” He approached you. “I know we can do it. Besides, I think I could be a pretty awesome dad.”

You rolled your eyes. “Whatever you say, but I hope I don’t have to be taking care of three kids.”

He laughed and grabbed your face. “You won’t. I love you.” And left a soft kiss on your lips.

“Let’s go with the kids and introduce each other properly.”

You walked outside the room to be meet up with the sight of the two kids focus on the tv in front of them.

“Kids.” Satoru spoke and they both turned their attention to him. “This is…” Satoru mentioned your name. “Both of us will be taking care of you two from now on.”

“Hello.” The girl smiled. “I’m Tsumiki and this,” she pointed to the little black haired boy. “It’s my little brother.” She gave him a slight nod.

“Hi… I’m Megumi.” The kid looked up and then down.

“Hello kids.” You smiled wildly trying to calm them down. “I hope we get along well and take care of you as best as possible.” The children nodded.

Present day

Looking to the ceiling you tried to hold back your tears. God, you missed your two babies so much.

“Love…” Satoru’s voice made you look forward. “You okay?”

You nodded, even though it was a lie. “How about you?”

“Perfect.” He smiled but that smile was hiding so much pain.

“You know you don’t need to hide your real feelings from me.” You whispered as he approached the place where you were at.

“The same goes to you.” He said poking your nose. “But love, I’m alright. Tomorrow I will bring Megumi back to us and everything will be fine.”

He sat next to you and surrounded you, you rested your head on his chest and felt his heart beating. "Our poor Megumi... if I hadn't been in the state I was in, he might have been able to save Megumi and also Tsumiki. God, I just hope that Megumi isn't aware of what happened to him, otherwise our poor boy will be extremely devastated. ” Satoru grabbed you tighter and kissed your temple.

“You were injured in Shibuya and mentally you were not well. Shoko made the right deck to keep you away from everything that happened in the last month.” He whispered softly to your ear.

19th November 2018

Shoko had stopped by to check on you that same morning, apparently she couldn't come by in the afternoon and it was better to check on you that same morning.

You had hit your head in a very bad way during the Shibuya incident, it had even left you unconscious in bed for 5 days.

When you woke up, everything, absolutely everything had changed. Nanami was no longer with you, Kugisaki was in critical condition, the higher-ups had ordered Itadori to be executed immediately, and Satoru had been sealed and accused of treason.

At that moment you felt like your world was falling apart, you needed to find Satoru, know where Megumi was and see with your own eyes that Tsumiki had woken up, but Shoko wouldn't let you get out of bed. Apparently the hit had been big, she even was surprised that you could be as well as you seemed to be.

It was November 12th when Shoko walked with her head down into your room and you felt like your heart might jump out of your chest before she even spoke the words that were in her throat.

“Itadori arrived this morning…” She said sitting on the empty seat near a window and taking out a cigarette from her pocket. “Megumi….” Your world was about to stop moving. “He… was possessed by Sukuna.”

Your body felt weak at that moment, you were very cold, so you hugged yourself trying to stop shaking. Was it because it was cold outside? Or something else?

Shoko called you once again. “There is something else…” You could barely see Shoko clearly, your eyes were filled with tears. “A sorcerer from 1,000 years ago has reincarnated on Tsumiki…”

“What… what does that mean Shoko?”

“I’m not sure… but according to one of Itadori’s new friends it was Kenjaku…” Shoko looked at you and whispered your name softly. “She is gone…”

You covered your face with your hands and started sobbing. That was 7 days ago, since then you had barely moved out of bed. Your body was too exhausted to do so, you wanted to go back to a year ago when everything was fine, when you and Gojo were celebrating your tenth anniversary and both Megumi and Tsumiki were fine. Today, November 19, would be your 11th anniversary, but you were there alone and completely broken.

“Satoru…” You said, through your sobbing. “I need you, I need you here.”

That’s when you felt the bed moving and a hand touching your hair. You slowly opened your eyes, meeting up with a figure you didn’t know if it was real or your mind was already playing tricks on you.

“You are real?” You whispered, still crying.

“I am…” He said touching your face and whipping out your tears. “I couldn’t miss our anniversary right?” He smiled.

You sat on the bed and looked at him, still unsure if it was really him. “I missed you…” You said hugging him and feeling the warmth of his body.

“Missed you too, my love.” He whispered to your ear, hugging you tightly.

“Satoru, our…”

“I know, I know…” He said stroking your hair. “I will bring Megumi to us, I promise.”

And you nodded against his neck, believing in all his words.

Present day

“I’m scared…” You finally confessed. “And I know you’re too, that’s why you sent Yuta to talk with Miguel right?” You glanced at him.

He stayed silent. “I’m the strongest, everything will be fine.”

“Satoru… I know you are the strongest but that doesn’t mean you’re not terrified of facing Sukuna.” You moved to face him.

He rolled his eyes. “Love… I will win and bring Megumi back to us. Trust me.”

“I trust you, I trust you with everything I have but… but doesn’t mean I’m not worried and doesn’t mean I don’t know you enough to know that you have the feeling that things might it go as you want.” You took a deep breath. “That’s why you have been doing something behind everyone’s back right?” He looked in another way, you were right. “Satoru…”

“It has to be me…” He whispered. “If I had not been sealed, none of this would have happened. Maybe Nanami wouldn't be dead, nor Yaga either, maybe we could have looked for a solution to save Tsumiki, Megumi wouldn't have been possessed by Sukuna either.” She took a breath into her lungs and continued. “It has to be me… after all I'm the strongest, right?” A broken smile appeared on his face.

You silently approached him and hugged him as tight as you could. People didn't really know what kind of person Satoru was, always putting others before himself and always blaming himself for things that didn't go well, even if they weren't his fault.

“You’re too good.” You whispered against him.

“That’s not true…” He replied. “If I’m good is because I have a reason to be the best version of myself.” He separated from you and looked into your eyes, those blue eyes that you loved so much. “You make me be the best version of myself. Be a better sorcerer, be a better teacher, be a better influence on the kids. “It's because of you and it's been that way since we were 15.” He grabbed your hand and gently caressed it with his thumb. “I don't know what will happen tomorrow, but…” Swallowing and wetting his lips, he looked at your hand and then at you. “Let's get married, we've been together for 11 years and I want to continue being with you for the rest of my days, so…” In one quick movement he knelt before you. “Would you do me the honor of being your husband?”

From his pocket, he took out a small box containing a beautiful ring. “Satoru…” You whispered in surprise, both of you had talked about getting married on more than one occasion. You knelt in front of him and hugged him. “Of course.”

Satoru covered your face with kisses, causing you to laugh. “Thank you…” he whispered close to your lips. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Your heart still felt heavy, you didn't know what would happen tomorrow in the battle against Sukuna but you just hoped that Satoru would return to you and bring Megumi back. To be able to all be at peace.

That’s all you wished and hoped for.

If only wishes could be fulfilled.

[trashisstillhere]

After some days of thinking hard about this, I have finally decided that it is time to show off my ACTUAL Rc9gn oc, who is pretty much my fav and has been worked on quite a lot for so damn long, here.

Meet my ninja gal who I love so much, Serenity Peterson!

It feels nice to finally show here off here for the first time, now I can show her off some more whenever I have the time! I would be showing some art of her here right now at this part but most of them are quite old now, not only that but they have her old ninja suit design in them (the mask and head part is the same as the one you see here, the rest of the suit is different.) so yeah, maybe I will one day tho.

Anyway, here she is. Here’s a a few bit stuff about her.

-she is the same age as Randy, Howard and every other student in the school. (Obviously) like 14-15 .

-yes, Serenity is friends with Randy and Howard of course. Because I said so and yes, she knows Randy is the/a ninja just like her. They don’t really have the same classes tho, well, until later on.

-she actually looks up to Randy, like alot. He’s basically her role model, finds him to be so honking bruce as the current chosen ninja of norrisville and wishes to be like him one day.

-I actually have a fan made Rc9gn story that includes her called ‘Hidden Danger’, it takes place in season 2 after the finale and has a new villain, another Rc9gn oc, that I have made for it. I even made a poster for it long ago which is now also old but I’m planning on remaking it when I feel like it. I’m not gonna tell everything about it right now tho cuz it will take awhile, maybe some other day. All you need to know now is this story shows how Randy and Serenity got to meet.

-Serenity is Bisexual.

-you’re probably wondering what that mark above her nose is, Idk what it is myself lol. Just something I added to her design when I first made her and kept since then, I guess it’s just a random birth mark.

-while she may kinda seem like a tomboy, she actually doesn’t mind dressing feminine.

-she’s obsessed with collecting shiny things, mostly things like gems, crystals, just any kind of item that shines and looks pretty. She has her own collection for it too.

-like Randy, she has her own Nomicon. Yes, HER own Nomicon. I don’t care if that doesn’t really make sense or is kinda cringe. Her Nomicon isn’t different from the one Randy has, it’s pretty much the same just a bit different on the inside.

-she has a lot of weapons in her suit like Randy. I mean duh, of course she does. However, she doesn’t really use special abilities like earth attack and stuff. It’s not like she doesn’t want to, she could and would love to. The problem is that she isn’t ABLE to, like she can’t use them at all for some reason no matter how hard she tries. It’s like she’s cursed…..is what she just says about it because she’s upset with this. Either it’s that or she’s just not as much of a fast learner as Randy may be. Right now, he’s trying to help her with this problem.

And that’s basically it. Yippie! Hope you all like her.

I do have more Rc9gn ocs but I don’t really have like proper refs for them to show yet so for now, you’re getting to see best girl! (And maybe later or next time, I’ll actually show this fanmade villain who does have a ref too.)

[cletimz]

| Glimpses of Reality | Chapter 2

Stilgar Ben Fifrawi x OC Fem

Wc: 1834

Paul Atreides was startled a little bit when he heard a familiar voice enter the training room in which he was right now.

“I thought you were going to Arrakis with Duncan” Mileena mentioned as she looked at the room and realized the strong smell of sweat in there “He didn’t want me to go with him, I even told him about a dream I had about this visit to Arrakis and ending with his dead” He replied to her as he kept cleaning the swords used while training with Gurney “Probably though it was a silly dream. You made good by telling him about it. It was up to him to decide what to do next” She sighed at the end and inspected the arms held on display in the walls

“Don't worry, Paul. In a blink, we would be in Arrakis, and you will be reunited with your great love, Duncan '' She added with a smile on her face trying to enlighten the mood of her friend as she knows how much he appreciates him. Mileena always found it funny how Paul would try to follow Duncan everywhere, even as kids he would be the same. “I'm not in the mood for silly jokes, Mileena. You better than anyone should comprehend how these dreams or visions, whatever they are, affect” The future duke responded as he went to stand next to her and accommodate the swords he was cleaning on their respective place “I'm sorry, Paul. You seriously do not need to worry about him. He's a great warrior. Dreams are only dreams. We can make assumptions about them and we would never know if we are crossing the line of reality or fiction until the exact situation happens” She looked him in the eyes and noticed the lost look in them. “We need to focus on the real dangers we are facing. Do you not suspect anything about the Harkonnens and their passive response at the house Atreides taking over Arrakis?”

He nodded as he listened to her question “Gurney was telling me about them. They are wicked. I am not sure what they are planning but the Emperor asked us to go to Arrakis so he is on our side”

“Try not to be too confident about that, Paul. You could never know the real intentions behind a political move” Mileena commented as they moved to the door to leave the room “You sound like one of those old men advising my father. Maybe you should be the future Duke, or may I say, duchess' ' They both laugh at the boy’s reply “The Bene Gesserit would have my head for that' ' The girl commented as they made their way to have dinner.

————————————————————————

Mileena was in her bed reading a book about the Fremen. She admired their way of adapting to the environment they lived in, not only physically, but psychologically. The girl knew about the resistance from them to the Emperor as every man ruling Arrakis only saw the place as a gold mine to be exploited. She wished them the best for their stay at Arrakis. Some gut feeling told her it was not going to be a long one.

When she was about to close her eyes, someone entered her room. It was Jessica. “Did anything happen? Are you fine?” The girl questioned as she saw the nervous look Jessica “The Reverend's mother is here and she wishes to see you” Mileena could not help to freeze for a minute at the mention of the Reverend's mother in the Atreides palace “Get ready quickly. She is going to talk with Paul first and then with you” The older Benne Gessarit commented as she left her room to wake up her son.

The girl was intrigued by the sudden interest of the Reverend's mother to talk with her. The last time they had a meeting was when she was 15 years old and Mileena found the courage to ask her about her mother and the frequent dreams she had about Arrakis. She didn't mention the man in her dreams as something told her it would bother the Bene Gesserit. The Reverend's mother told her that her mother was no useful individual in her growing up. She was no Bene Gesserit. She could not teach her in The Way. Mileena wanted to argue that idea and mention that every child needs its mother, but she knew better, so she did not question any further.

She was waiting in the hall when she saw Paul leaving the room and Jessica Atreides sighed with her head to indicate that it was her time to go inside. Mileena went inside and court to the Reverend Mother “Come” The older Bene Gesserit used the voice on her and her body and mind followed the instruction. “You have grown, what are you eighteen? Nineteen? Save me the unnecessary questions, young girl” Mileena nodded and responded in a nervous tone “I am eighteen, Reverend Mother. This is my last year of training to become part of the Bene Gesserit” The older woman nodded at her statement “That is correct and that is the reason I asked to meet you tonight. Your training with Jessica is soon to be finished. You would become one of us and you will accomplish your duties”

The woman continued examining her “Jessica Atreides was supposed to have a girl who would, in the future, give birth to the daughter of Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen” Mileena was shocked at the revelation made to her “I did not know any about that. Jessica never told me” This was something very usual from Jessica Atreides. She would never share personal information with Mileena. “Of course she wouldn't, she was busy raising her son into our teaching method. She believes he is the Kwisatz Haderach. However, I am not here to talk about Jessica and her delusions. As I mentioned, she was supposed to have a girl who would fulfill the duty of breeding a daughter of Feyd-Rautha”

The girl did not like where this conversation was leading. The Reverend Mother continued talking “She didn't have a daughter and now we need someone to fulfill the duty of this absence” Mileena knew what the Reverend Mother was about to ask her, correction, demand her “You will marry Feyd-Rautha and bear a daughter from him. You are going to stay a few weeks in Arrakis until we arrange your arrival to Giedi Prime” The girl was about to protest when the older Bene Gesserit used the voice on her once again “Leave the room”

When she was outside, she could not believe what had just happened. She was furious. She went to her room and started crying as much as she could. She would never find peace under the hands of the Bene Gesserit.

————

The next day they were leaving for Arrakis. Mileena tried to ask Jessica if she knew anything about what the future held for her, but she already knew the answer. She knew everything was planned from the beginning. That is why Jessica Atreides could not refuse to train her as she was in no position to decline because she decided to have a son. The only thing Mileena could do was to enjoy her last days with the people she had grown around.

“What's gotten into your mind? You look defeated” Paul asked her as she noticed the change in her behavior since the meeting with the Reverend Mother “Nothing to worry about. I just want to finally land in Arrakis. I don't like flying” The boy nodded “We will land in a few minutes” and they did. As soon as they went outside of the ship, Mileena noticed the influence of the Bene Gesserit in the people of Arrakis as they were chanting for Paul Atreides as they were told to believe he was the mesias.

As the first days of their first week in Arrakis passed, the Duke’s heir was almost killed. The girl believed it was someone from inside who tried to do that but quickly forgot that as Paul told her they were going to have a meeting with the Fremen leader whom Duncan had met during his mission. She knew how important this was, if house Atreides were on good terms with the Fremen, it was possible they would have a good future in Arrakis.

These days she noticed she stopped having those dreams about Arrakis and the mysterious dream. She thought if she ever stopped having those dreams she would feel like a charge had been taken away from her, but it was the contrary, Mileena missed the caressing and small moments of peace she would feel in her dreams. Her mind keeps wandering about that as she walks through the halls of their new home.

This day was the one arranged for the meeting with Liet-Kynes to check the production equipment left by the Harkonnens. It was obvious they were trying to sabotage House Atreides. Right now the Duke was in a meeting with the Fremen leader. She wishes to meet him and ask him about their people. However, she knew he would probably show disgust for house Atreides and would never answer her questions. However, this might change depending on the outcome of the meeting between him and the Duke.

She kept walking with an absent-minded mind trying to avoid thinking as every worry about her future would fill her head and she would rather avoid that. She was looking at her feet while doing so until she jumped into someone. “I apologize I was not looking where I was going,” She said as she noticed who was the person she had bumped into.

She immediately recognized the clothes as the traditional Fremen vestment; she figured he was the Fremen's leader of the meeting. He mumbled something in another language before he responded “No need to worry. Watch your steps, young lady” He said to her as he moved past and continued his way to leave the place “Wait a minute. You are the Fremen leader, right? Duncan told us about you. I am Mileena, Mileena Almad” she offered her hand to him to shake them “Yes, I am. My name is Stilgar. We have just finished the meeting, your Duke seems to have good intentions”

He took her hand in hers and shook it. As soon as he accepted her salute, Mileena felt a warm feeling of comfort go through her body. She immediately recognized them as the ones she used to feel in her dreams when the mysterious man would caress her. The girl stood frozen in her place and could not say a word. She missed that feeling “I need to leave. I am needed somewhere else. Take care of yourself, Mileena” She watched him go and she was fighting the urge to follow him. She found peace in her mind for less than a second and it was still enough for her.

there are probably many mistakes but I just want to post this chapter and go to sleep, chauuu los tkm💋🧟

[oh-look-its-lia]

LIA'S RIPTIDE OC MASTERPOST :D

For those who are interested, here's some lore about my OCs! I kept everything as short and concise as possible (mostly) but it's still super long, so prepare yourself accordingly should you choose to continue on.

Esther 'Ink' Copperplate (Shadar-Kai, Paladin/Sorcerer, she/her), Captain of the Atlas Pirates.

She and her family escaped the Shadowfell and came to Mana when she was around 7. Her parents really wanted her and her brother Jasper to join the Navy so they could be 'successful'. Jasper was all for this plan, but it never really interested Esther. This created a rift in the family, Jasper being the favorite child, Esther being ignored and left to fend for herself most of the time.

Her safe place on her home island was the local tavern. She'd go there to listen to adventurers stories and daydream about getting off this island.

When she was about 12, a new pirate crew (the Merrythorne Pirates) stopped by. Their navigator, a blue tiefling named Terrance, caught Esther's attention immediately. He was working on one of his maps and it was beautiful. Terrance was happy to tell Esther about cartography, and even gave her the nickname 'Ink" because the vitiligo spots on her skin looked like the ink splotches on his own hands. He even colored in her spots with the colorful inks he used to help show her what a unique and beautiful thing they were.

Ink got very close to this pirate crew. She thought of them as family, more so than her actual blood relatives. She'd tell them about her successes, her struggles, even became Terrence's unofficial protege because she loved mapmaking so much. She often asked if she could just join their crew and get off this horrible island, but Captain Merrythorne insisted she had to finish school first. Once she was 18, she'd be allowed to join.

When Ink was 15, Jasper joined the Navy. He was always a conniving little snake, so he made his way up the ladder quickly. He'd write home about all his glorious achievements and any time he visited, he'd make sure to point out that Ink had done nothing her parents could be proud of. She couldn't wait to join Merrythorne's crew.

Almost a year before her 18th birthday, she wandered down to the tavern, hoping to see Merrythorne and his crew again. When she got there, she saw no pirates, but her brother who was wearing Terrance's pirate coat. The coat was terribly damaged, sleeves ripped off, tears in the tails, and a bloody stained bullet hole through Terrance's signature compass rose that had been embroidered on the back.

Ink immediately knew what had happened. Jasper had killed her mentor and friend. She avoided her brother like the plague, her only interaction with him before his visit ended was him giving her Terrance's coat, "So you always remember what happens to pirates in the end." (yeah Jasper's the worst-)

The next time Merrythorne and his crew came around, they let her join early. She fit in perfectly, taking Terrance's place as navigator. It took Ink a while (cause traumaaaa) but slowly, she started to notice she was happier on this ship than she'd ever been on her home island. Life felt exciting and she always looked forward to what might happen next.

Terrance's death took a toll on her though. She became obsessive about keeping her crew safe, tracking every single navy, pirate, and bounty hunter ship she found out about meticulously. She kept all this information in a ledger, and having this information actually saved them more than a few times. She ended up getting so good at this tracking ordeal that other crews asked her to go over their charted courses to make sure they wouldn't run into any trouble.

She did other little things to try to put her mind at ease as well. Terrance had shared with her his little superstition that putting a braid in someone's hair was a good luck charm. She always kept her hair braided, and did the same for any crewmate that would let her. (Basically she has ocd, and things like the braids and picking at the spots on her hands or tapping all 4 corners of a map before beginning work are her compulsions.)

Ink was living her pirate dreams, having the time of her life . . . until her 20th birthday.

Merrythorne's crew LOVED celebrating birthdays. The crew cared so deeply about each other, so getting to celebrate someone's mere existence was always a delightful event. This particular birthday, Ink received a magic ledger that never ran out of pages from her crew, and she was ecstatic. So excited, in fact that when Merrythorne said they were going to spend the day partying in Allport, Ink forgot to check if it was safe to do so.

Everything was perfect until around sunset, when Navy busted down the doors of the tavern they were in and took Ink hostage. Two crewmembers died in the scuffle, the rest escaping back to the ship.

Ink woke up in a Navy prison. Jasper was the one who had orchestrated her capture, because she'd been a massive thorn in the Navy's side for ages, and he wanted the glory. Ink had accrued a massive bounty by this point from stealing Navy information so she could warn pirates of ambushes.

There's a lot of dramatic dialogue here in her full backstory that I might post the link to when I go through and make sure it's ready, but basically Jasper tortures Ink to try and gain the location of the rest of her crew. He does this by cutting into her spots with a knife and painting them with her own blood. Jasper would often ask Ink about her visits with the pirates just so he could ridicule her, so he knew about Terrance and his efforts to show Ink she was enough. So of course, the best way to tear her down was to sour those memories.

This whole time, Ink stays silent, praying that her crew will leave her behind, because she can't take it if they go down because of her. Much to her dismay, she hears her name being called by familiar voices who are fighting their way through the prison to get to her.

The escape is a bloodbath, Navy soldiers and Ink's friends falling dead left and right. Only Ink, Merrythorne, and 2 other crewmembers make it to the lobby.

I should now mention, Ink has never been able to use ranged weapons. She's terrible at it. Can't accurately fire a gun for the life of her, so she uses a longsword instead.

Before the few survivors of the Merrythorne pirates can escape, Jasper manages to grapple the captain, holding a knife to his neck. He hesitates, having never killed someone before. His senior officer is screaming at him to finish the job, but he just can't in that moment.

In the fray, a pistol skitters to Ink's feet as she turns to see Merrythorne get captured. Having no other options, she picks it up and fires at Jasper in a desperate attempt to keep Merrythorne alive. She aims for her brother's head, and while she doesn't miss, she also doesn't hit her target. The bullet goes through Jasper's chest, and as he goes down, he slices the captains neck open. Merrythorne is dead.

Ink and her two remaining crewmates manage to escape, though her friends decide to retire not long after. Ink keeps the ship, (which I have yet to name, so if anyone has ideas, please tell me!) but has no crew. She also keeps the pistol, in hopes that one day she will be given another opportunity to confront Jasper and hit her intended target.

SO! That was incredibly long winded and crazy (apologies). I promise these next few introductions will be shorter. Now I get to tell you about the crew Ink builds so she can keep running her whole intelligence operation.

Tobias (Toby) Carlo (Half-Warforged, Artificer, he/they):

While Toby is not Ink's first mate, he is the one she found first. He is a half-warforged due to working with extremely toxic materials ruining many of his internal organs. They look like a completely normal guy on the outside, but if you get within melee range of them, you can hear all the mechanical sounds of their warforged parts.

He met Ink after his workshop exploded and she hid him from the police. He makes all sorts of devices and weapons illegally to help oppressed villages liberate themselves from the Navy. They are the crew's Master Gunner.

Levee Loch (Aasimar, Bard, she/her):

After sailing with Toby for a bit, he and Ink came across the Blue Royale casino, where they found Levee on a terrible losing streak. She's in impossible amounts of debt with no way out, so Ink smuggled her out of the casino after waking her from the trance.

Levee proved to be very adept in skills Ink lacked in, and became the First Mate. She keeps the crew (and captain) on task in return for Ink's protection from people looking to collect her debts. She doesn't make friends easily, but after a while, she becomes very close with everyone on the crew.

Jericho Sweet (Half-Elf, Fighter, he/him):

Jericho is an ex guard. Of who? I have no idea, but he realized being "well off and successful" was nowhere near as fulfilling as just having fun. Whomever he was hired by had a lot of secrets, so when someone would leave their employment, they'd have their memory wiped, just in case. He met Ink the day he had been dishonorably discharged and sentenced to imprisonment for life because he tried to steal from the treasury for some extra gold before he disappeared. She of course helped him fake his own death so he wouldn't be hunted down for memory erasing and imprisonment. He's a very positive and loving person, but in an ominous way. "You will succeed, it's written by fate!" Sort of deal. He's the Master at Arms.

Plat Slaughter (Tiefling, Cleric, they/them):

When Ink ran into Plat, she found them uncannily familiar. Turns out they're Terrance's niece, (I don't know if there's a gender neutral term, but they are more fem presenting, so I use niece.) and shared some relatively strong resemblance. Ink finds out that Terrance was the black sheep of his family, looked down on by everyone else for leaving the nice life his parents had built and joining a pirate crew. Plat loved Terrance so much, so when he left and wouldn't say his reasons for going, they started to do some digging. They found that their grandparents had built their empire on deceit and blackmail, rather than the good morals that they always said they were committed to. They abandoned their family much like Terrance, and joined Ink's crew as the Surgeon.

Alva Honeywell (Human, Wizard, she/they)

(There's more context needed to explain Alva's backstory, so bear with me.)

Ink does not have a bounty poster. This is because Jasper has sold her bounty privately to a hunter named Agate Oleander. (Jasper is also going against Navy protocol to do this and would be demoted or fired if found out.) Agate developed a very powerful spell to enslave the will of her crew, making them mindless puppets who do her bidding. This makes her deadly because her crew have no way to disobey orders because of morals or fear or anything else. (there's also cool mechanics like a shared hp pool where if you kill one they all die but I don't need to get into that now.)

Alva was one of these crewmembers. During a close call when Agate ambushed Ink, the Atlas crew managed to take captive one of Agate's hivemind. it took a long time and a lot of work, but they finally broke the spell on her and she once she'd recovered, they became the Pilot. They are a generally cold and stoic person, but they have a big soft spot for animals.

Creep (Changeling, Barbarian, he/him)

While the Atlas pirates had been at sea for a while, they found a random guy in the kitchen. No one had any clue how he got there as they had not docked for many days and there were very few places for stowaways to hide on the ship. Ink tried to talk to him, find out what he's about, but he wouldn't say a word. All he did was explore the kitchen until eventually he started pulling out cooking supplies and raising his eyebrows as if to ask for permission to use them from Ink. She let him do whatever he was doing, and he ended up cooking dinner for everyone. It was really good food, so they happily adopted him onto the crew as he didn't seem he wanted to leave. No one knows if he has a 'real name', because Levee said "what a creep," once and it stuck. Anyway, he's the Cook.

Needle Noble (Tabaxi, Monk/Warlock, she/her)

Needle is ex-navy. After she graduated training she was put under the leadership of one of the most vile and unkind admirals in the entire organization. She eventually got so sick of the terrible treatment and cruelty that she murdered the admiral in his sleep and had to flee the Navy entirely.

She didn't want to join a pirate crew, but Ink was the only one around who knew how to make someone truly disappear, so she begrudgingly became the Boatswain. Needle wasn't a team player for a long time, but Jericho made it his mission to befriend her. She and Jericho became best friends and she grew to love the rest of the crew as well.

Jasper Copperplate (Shadar-Kai, Rogue, he/him)

"Lia, why on earth is Jasper here???" you may be asking. Well, WAYYYYY later into the story, some events happen. It heavily involves @lui-del 's characters, so I won't get into too much detail as this is just about Ink and her crew.

Further into Ink's story, Jasper manages to imprison her again. Agate (the bounty hunter from earlier) gets her pay, and Jasper is left to do what he will with Ink and claim all the glory for taking down the Navy's biggest pest. Captain Maine (Lui's character), rescues Ink from her inevitable execution and takes Jasper hostage as well. The following events leave Jasper horribly injured, and instead of killing him like Ink had planned, she decides to do the unmerciful thing and forces him to join her crew as the Cooper.

He heals from all his injuries without the help of magic, which means he needs a leg brace to walk and has a lot of noticeable scars. It takes a very long time for anyone on the crew to consider Jasper a friend, however, they never leave any crewmate behind, so he's never used as bait or left behind when things get dicey.

After months, possibly years of Jasper living on Ink's ship, she finally asks him why he killed Terrance. She knew his bounty wasn't 'dead or alive', so he'd have been worth more brought in still breathing. Jasper's pretty shocked by this assumption, because he didn't kill Terrance, and he never claimed he did. All he'd done was inform her of the tiefling's death. Someone else in the crew Jasper was a part of was to blame, and Terrance had only died because of a misfire. The reason Jasper thought to bring Ink his coat was because he saw it as an opportunity to get praise from his parents for doing his job well and to make Ink feel small and worthless for the life path she'd chosen. (He was the worst brother ever guys.)

After that point, the two understood each other completely, and they start to try and mend their relationship because they finally see each other's value.

Also at some point Jasper adopts a cat named Chocolate Chip.

RAMBLE FINALLY OVER!! That's pretty much everything about Ink and her crew! If you read all this, you're insane, and I love you. I hope to sketch all of them eventually, so I'll add to this post when I do.

(also if anyone would like to draw these little guys I will be so unbelievably happy. I don't have reference for many of them, but I draw Ink a lot and post her on Twitter @ ohlookitlia)

Thanks so much for reading! :D

[refinedpet]

Ashley Game Log 2024

So for the past few years (since 2021 I believe) I've kept track of every game I play, beat and replay in a given year. And I've made a habit of ranking them at the end of the year.

At first, this was just for me to send to friends, then last year I posted it on Bluesky.

This year, it gets to live on Tumblr, because I'm now a full time resident here.

Unfortunately, I barely played any games this year. After June I kinda entered a permanently messy mental state and it slowed down my game playing considerably. Not to mention a lack of releases in any of my very favorite series. And the ones I did get, I was too poor to buy before the end of the year.

So, now I welcome you to, a ranking of every game I beat within the year 2024 (not counting some Replays because alot of this year was replaying old Pokémon games, but some will be counted)

I only beat 21 games this year (down from 27 last year)

#21 - Helltaker

So this game is extremely short, and free, so there's only so much you can complain about. But ultimately I found the writing in it a little too uncomfy and wish fulfillment-ey. That said, for a game made to get people to draw their OC's, excellent work on that, gotta hand it to you there.

#20 - Sonic Generations

I've been hearing for the last 10+ years of my life that this was the best Sonic game and- I'm sorry but what the fuck are you people on about.

The Classic Sonic stages just, aren't good. They control bad, I'd rather just be playing Classic Sonic. The 3D Sonic stages are pretty alright, some of them are enjoyable. And then the 2D Modern Sonic stages are what if the Classic Sonic Stages sucked less. All this wrapped up with mandatory bad filler levels, boss fights that across the board kinda suck, and a story that's so non existent that there just not being one would've been better.

All 3 play styles don't control well. Classic Feels worse than the Genesis games and Mania, 3D feels way too loose and slippery, and only the modern 2D stages I don't have any major complaints with on a control level.

For what it's worth I played the remaster in Sonic X Shadow Generations. We'll get to the other half of that game later

#19 - Pokémon X

So I beat Y when it released of course, and years later bought X. This was my third time trying to replay it, and my first time not getting so bored that I couldn't finish it (mostly because I was playing alongside my girlfriend at the time)

While I don't think X&Y are the worst Pokémon games, I do generally not enjoy them and I was shown more reasons why this time. I don't find the progression particularly fun, the story is still bad, and Mega Evolution, while a very neat and cool mechanic. Basically can't be used in the story!!!!! I wanted to use a Mega, but wasn't going to use a Kanto Starter again or Lucario. This means your options for a Mega within the story are. Gengar or Abomasnow. Every other Mega either the Pokémon itself or the Stone is post game. I might not like ORAS, but at least it let's me use the Generations gimmick. And hey at least it's not Dynamax.

I still had an alright time, but I wouldn't have been able to beat this game if not for playing alongside someone I enjoy talking with

#18 - Alleyway

This is Breakout on the Game Boy with Mario inside the paddle. It's pretty neat. It's just Breakout. It's fun for a bit

#17 - Class of '09

So last year, the re-up was in my top 3, and I super stand by that. However while It still has alot I enjoy, I don't think the structure of this game is as solid. It's on me for playing the sequel first, but I'd kinda rather just replay that. Still solid though

#16 - Mega Man: Dr.Wily's Revenge

This is the first Game Boy Megaman game! And I really enjoy it. The GB Megaman games are cool since they basically act as a mix between Megaman games. And as a first one on the GB, this is a solid, worthwhile entry. I think it's better than the original 3 Megaman games if I'm being honest

#15 - Fashion Dreamer

I kinda hate having this game so low, and while I do love alot about it, it unfortunately lacks the bulk of what made Style Savvy flow as a game. There's not really meaningful progression and you're just making outfits. Which is fun! Amd there's good stuff, but also I wish the game had more structure.

#14 - Pokémon Fire Red

So I've beat Leaf Green already, and this was my first time replaying the Kanto Remakes. I soured on them for various reasons overtime and was left thinking alot less of them. Like not having the new Johto evolutions in the story and not changing enough to make me wanna play them over the originals since those at least have janky charm. However, I still was able to enjoy this playthrough, it helps since I personally haven't touched Kanto in a while due to skipping Let's Go and my recent Heart Gold playthrough I paused right before Kanto. I also went very hard on planning out my team, and everyone's movesets which added alot of enjoyment for me.

#13 - Princess Peach Showtime

This game was a joy! When I was playing through it, it was exactly the kind of game I needed at the time. I don't think it's a masterpiece but I found just about every level some amount of fun, I adored the variety in gameplay and while I wish you didn't need to replay the whole level to get a collectable you missed, at the same time I never got annoyed while 100%ing it.

I love smaller scale games like this existing, it feels like playing a 3DS title in alot of ways

#12 - Mega Man II (GB)

This is if Megaman 2 was a good video game

#11 - Sonic Colors DS

This was an extremely good Sonic game. It was my first of the Rush Trilogy I played and really made me want to try out the first two. I probably like it more than Colours Wii at this point. This was also my Age Regression game for a bit, so perhaps my view on it is skewed

#10 - King of Fighters 2002

So I played alot of KoF and Fatal Fury games this year, but didn't wanna crowd the list with a bunch of fighting games I played less than an hour of and thought I'd just give it to the KoF game I actually have continued to keep playing. I'd tried both series before, but this year I kinda fell deeper into a fighting game obsession and this and Darkstalkers 3 were by far the ones I played the most. I'm still not good at fighting games though

#9 - Persona 5 Royal

Honestly I'm shocked this game is so high. I really don't like Persona. I'm an SMT girly. I think the games combat is boring, the themes are wishy washy and undercut themselves, I'm annoyed by at least something about most characters in the game, I hate how long you go without the meh gameplay. Stuff like Mishima's existence, and Kawakami's early Support Conversations, and lots of just really bad writing choices like making Ryuji a perv for no good reason when it doesn't make sense for his character, and Morgana running away arc, and how poorly the female characters are all handled.

I don't like so much about this game. I didn't have genuine fun until 50 hours into it.

And yet, the more time passes the more fondly I look back at this game. I spent half a year playing through it with my girlfriend at the time. And because I was with her, and getting to talk to her about it, and do voices for characters, it made me able to get through the long stretches I could've never done alone.

I don't just think of this as Persona 5, I associate it with alot of the running jokes we made throughout our playthrough that only we'll ever fully understand.

And being made to look at the game through this positive lense has just made me warm up to the parts of the game I was already somewhat inclined to like.

I love Futaba and Akechi as characters even fully within the context of the game. The rest of the party is all really good. I love Yusuke, and Ann and Makoto for their own reasons. Alot of the Heart to Heart only characters I enjoy! I adored doing No Good Tora's, and ended up looking forward to seeing more of alot of the side characters.

Not to mention the Royal exclusive Chapter is like. Actually good. It's if the game was actually good. And for what it's worth I extremely enjoyed Futaba's story in the main game.

Persona 5 went from a game I was bitter twords to a game I hold alot of hate for and yet also begrudgingly love aspects of.

I still don't think it's a good game, and if I tried playing it alone, I wouldn't have been able to enjoy it. But I'm glad I was able to play.

#8 - Splatoon 3: Side Order

I swear I didn't give this 8 on purpose. Yeah this is DLC, it's a DLC campaign though so it deserves its own spot. It's alot of fun and I enjoy the story! I just wish it felt more replayable after beating it with every weapon. I think this is the best Splatoon Single Player after Octo Expansion

#7 - PokéRouge

This is upsetting to me, but here I am.

So for those unaware this is a Pokémon fangsme, and its also hard drugs for my brain. I was addicted to this game for like a month, to the point it was a PROBLEM how much I was playing it. And then the original creator left in a weird, gross way and the team remaining acted transphobic. So I used that as an excuse to quit my addiction and even with their attempts to back pedal, I refuse to play again because I'd rather not let this game have a hold on my brain again.

I wasn't even going to count it at first because it's a fangame, but it was just too good and I put too much time in it to ignore

#6 - Wario Ware Move It!

So, I really love Wario Ware. And Smooth Moves is my favorite Wario Ware. And this is a sequel to it.

Anyways this game is really good, and I adore it

#5 - Pokémon Emerald

So I beat Sapphire as a kid, I've replayed Sapphire a good bit throughout the years, and I watched playthroughs of Emerald as a child, but never beat it until this year. And honestly? Maybe one of the best Pokémon games if I'm being real. I love the greater context for Hoenn as a region and my main worry being missing the physical special split wasn't as big a deal as I thought. I loved replaying through Hoenn, and this was maybe the most fun I've had doing so. Emerald might be my third favorite Pokémon game now

#4 - Life is Strange True Colors

I love the LiS series, and in alot of ways this is the first time I've enjoyed one as much as when I played the original as a teenager. I love the setting and characters, the story it tells and how the main characters powers effect the story feels like the most refined out of all the LiS games. Also shout outs to Lesbian Failgirl Radio DJ simulator DLC Chapter

#3 - Shadow Generations

THIS! This is what I wanted Sonic game to be as a kid and they just weren't! IT'S SO GOOD! SHADOW CONTROLS SO WELL! AND ALL THE LEVELS ARE SO MUCH FUN! Not to mention the different abilities she unlocks. And while the story isn't amazing and I wish Omega and Rouge got to play a bigger role, it's waaay better than Sonic Gens.

This is probably my favorite Sonic game now and it's made all the better because SHADOW!!!! AAAAA!!! I love her so much!!!

I should've played one more game better than it this year so I could've made a 'Damn 4th Chaos Emerald' joke

#2 - Fields of Mistria

So, technically this game is in early access and not finished yet. But I've played everything that's there and in its incomplete state this is already the best farming sim I've ever played without question. I love the characters, it looks absolutely beautiful, it's so charming and cute. Not to mention the games customization options and how it let's you change your outfit, name and Pronouns just whenever.

I will probably count this game again next year since it'll be finished by then, and gods I can't wait to experience more of it.

#1 - Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth

To the surprise of no one who actually knows me. Like a Dragon 8 was my favorite game this year. When playing it in February I said "I think the only game that has a chance to make this not my Game of the Year is Fantasy Life i" and then that got delayed again, so here we are!

My first Yakuza game was 7, because I'm a turnbased JRPG girly and it quickly became one of my favorite games of all time. And somehow this game is even better. The combat is so incredibly good, like some of the best turn based combat I've ever experienced.

I love it's characters so much, I adore Ichiban as a protagonist and this games story is so wonderful. Not to mention the insane amount of side content like every other Like a Dragon game. Dondoko Island ate hours of my life, the Sujimon side story was extremely enjoyable and not to mention all the smaller scale side stuff I don't even have time to list.

This game is probably the only one this year that's managed to break into my Top 10 of all time and it did that effortlessly.

...

Anyways I'm not done yet because I wanna go over stuff I didn't beat but played alot of aswell as other stuff I replayed this year!

I played through the majority of the Paper Mario TTYD remake and then I got distracted by real life and found the train chapter really hard to get back to and finish. Overall I was enjoying the game alot though.

I also started Super Lesbian Animal RPG which is, insanely good and I need to get back around to.

I did my usual Replays of stuff like Fantasy Life, Terarria and Plants Vs Zombies. But I don't go 2 years without touching those games so ranking them feels a tad redundant.

And that about covers it. There's other stuff I started but didn't beat, however my year for games was far more tame than it has been the past few. I'm hoping to better incorporate playing games with my life this year, and get around to the stuff I really wanted to play at the end of this year but completely missed due to lack of money. Notable DQ3, Zelda Echoes of Wisdom, the new Life is Strange and Mario Party Jamboree.

I'm also very much so looking forward to XCX DE, Pokémon Legends ZA and Fantasy Life i next year. Not to mention the Switch 2 will likely release sometime within the next year.

Though I'm always gonna replay more old games than focus on new things.

I hope this was in any way enjoyable. Maybe I'll post my lists from years past if I see any interest

[searchingsomewhere]

All Too Well, Part 16

{"I start the day lying and end with the truth; That I'm dying for the knife."}

poly!Gojo x OC x Geto

CW: Toji's Aftermath. Blood, some mild gore, you guys know the drill.

All Too Well Masterlist

Part 15

Satoru and Suguru were hand-picked to bodyguard the Star Plasma Vessel. They just had to keep her alive for two weeks until she could assimilate into Tengen. It made sense- This was the perfect mission for them. They were the strongest, after all.

The night before they left, Miho held Satoru a little longer than normal before they left her room. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, breathing into her hair.

"Be careful. Please," Miho said, pulling away. She hugged Suguru just as tight, standing on her tip toes to kiss him. Suguru cupped her face with one hand.

They both took one of her hands. Their bracelets glimmered in the light. Miho felt an odd pang in her chest. Seeing her hands clasped in theirs. It just seemed right. So why did it hurt that she couldn't go with them?

"It'll be easy," Satoru said, waving away her worry, "We'll be back before you know it."

"When we come back, we should all go out together," Suguru smiled at them.

Miho tried her best to be happy. It really was an honor to be picked by Tengen. And anyway, they'd be back soon and everything would be fine.

----

Satoru was right. The two weeks did pass fast. Miho kept herself occupied with her other friends, training and studying when they went out on missions. When everyone else was off campus, she returned to the library. It's dim lighting and endless rows of shelves didn't hold the same pain it used to.

Suguru and Satoru both texted her often. Updates on how the mission was, telling her that they missed her, complaining about the vessel. The vessel seemed like a bit of a brat, but Miho could tell the boys had a soft spot for her. The Sealing Sorcerer hoped one day, as they were nearing the two week mark, that Satoru and Suguru were giving the vessel the best of the time she had left. At first she had shook her head at the girl's behavior, but she quickly pushed that judgement out of her head.

It was easy to forget that she had an expiration date, too.

On the final day, Miho was in the library. The whole campus was empty, leaving only her to wait on the boy's arrival. They would be back any minute. She was eagerly checking her phone every two minutes, waiting on the 'We're back!' text. They had landed at the airport with no issues. So far so good.

Thunder rumbled in the distance. Miho could feel its reverb in the ground beneath her feet. It's not supposed to rain today. She was on a ladder, halfway up, when the whole library shook violently. The sheer force knocked her to the ground. The ladder clattered against her forearms as it fell.

Cursed energy exploded up from somewhere on campus. She could feel it expand, filling every nook and cranny. A familiar sensation ran up her spine.

This wasn't just any cursed energy. It was Satoru's.

What-What the fuck? She ran through the library with her phone pressed against her ear, dodging the fallen shelves. Please answer. Please answer-

"You have reached-"

She hung up and dialed Suguru's number. The shadow of an object entered her peripheral and she skidded to a stop just as the wall in front of her shattered. A large chunk of concrete decimated the wall and floor. Miho screamed, covering her head as glass showered her.

"Miho! Miho are you okay-" Suguru's voice was panicked.

"What the fuck is happening?!" she exclaimed, scrambling over the concrete chunk, "Where are you? Where is Satoru?"

"I'm with Riko. We're heading for the Tomb of the Star," Suguru said. Miho could hear a young girl screaming on the other end. "Satoru is- We were attacked. But Miho you can't fight him-"

"On campus?!"

"He has no cursed energy. Hide, now!" Suguru urged.

"Come back to me, Suguru," Miho said, stopping in the hallway for only a moment. Her hand gripped her phone in a white knuckled grip. "...I love you. Please."

Silence.

"I love you, too. I have to go."

Miho sucked in a breath as the line went dead. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She squeezed through the half collapsed door, taking off towards the plaza.

----

By the time she made it, everything was destroyed. Green eyes scanned the wreckage for any life. It looked like the intruder was gone. Not that she knew for sure, since she wouldn't be able to sense him anyway. But where was Satoru?

The white haired boy had always been the strongest. He was the strongest Sorcerer she knew. The fastest, the most adaptable, the most untouchable. She had never seen him break a sweat or get tired. Not even winded. Whatever they were up against, he'd be able to handle.

She spun, looking outwards towards the direction of the school. The sight before her knocked the air from her lungs.

"S-Satoru...?"

He laid in the wreckage, covered in debris. Her legs trembled as she ran, climbing down the jutting concrete to collapse onto her knees beside him. Bright scarlet blood painted the ground beneath him. It was everywhere. His white hair and face soaked with it, the entirety of his chest still trickling. It coated everything; his mouth, his throat, his entire front half. He didn't respond to her voice. Only stared blankly at the sky with his crystal clear eyes.

"Satoru- S-Please, Satoru!" Miho's voice was lost in her shock. Her hands shook as they hovered over his lifeless body. What the fuck was she even supposed to do?

His eyes followed her as she pressed her hands to the wound in his chest. It stretched from his hip to his shoulder. She felt something else. It was faint, so faint she could barely perceive it. His cursed energy was concentrated on his heart. Slowing it down. Healing himself. Reversed cursed energy? Satoru's mouth flopped open. Wet, gushing sounds gurgled out of him. His throat was destroyed.

"What- Who did this?" She asked, speaking through the tremble of her voice.

Satoru's hand began to move. He weakly groped up her arm, walking his fingers up her shoulder...

...And shoved her away. His arm fell limply to the ground.

"Ru- Ru-" He could barely utter the syllables.

I have to help Suguru. I don't want to leave, She squeezed her eyes closed, tears falling onto Satoru's chest. I don't know what to do!

The panic and fear in her chest was churning angrily, warping into something else. She wiped her bloodied hands on her uniform shirt, staining the white fabric. She hastily scrubbed the tears from her face, smearing blood there too. There wasn't anything she could do for him. She could only move forward.

Miho pressed her forehead to his, sobbing.

"I love you," she whispered between sobs, "Please, please don't die. Please, Satoru."

Leaving him lying there tore a hole in her chest. Pain pinpricked her fingertips and she balled them into fists as she took off into a run.

He's using reversed cursed techniques, she kept telling herself as she sprinted through the campus, making a beeline for the Tomb of the Star. He'll be okay. He has to be!

Miho didn't know what waited for her in the Tomb. All she knew was that, if Satoru was almost killed fighting this guy, she had to give it her all.

Part 17

[raya-hunter01]

Fade Into You Part. 6

Prequel Lights, Camera, Action!

Jey Uso x Black Female OC! (Shantell)

Roman x Black Female OC! Tangela

Solo x Black Female OC! Sofia

Jimmy x Trin

Rating: 18+

Warning: Smut; oral, sex, fluff, masturbation

FADE INTO YOU

Summary: This is the Prequel for Lights, Camera, Action! How does an outburst on your first day lead to a lifelong friendship with the Tribal Chief Roman Reigns and the stands the test of time. How does that friendship introduce you to a special group of people that will become your family.  

When did the lines get blurred between friendship and wanting a relationship with one of your best friends Mr. Main Event Jey Uso. Follow the friendships, and relationships of how they all came to be the one big happy family we all know and love in Lights, Camera, Action.

15 months later

Amway Center

Shantell’s POV

It is insane how a two-week shutdown has now turned into months. My graduation was cancelled and did virtually. I got hired by WWE, Joe had been home due to being immunocompromised.

Then another blow hit us even harder, Jimmy got hurt and had to undergo knee surgery leaving his and Jey’s career in limbo.

Gram and mom moved back in with me when the shutdown hit, and I think I’ve reeled them in to stay permanently.

We did shows at the Performance center, but I felt we could do more. It was so boring just seeing an empty place with occasional wrestlers cheering in the audience behind Plexi glass.  

Paul agreed and I began brainstorming ideas and the rest, as they say is history. The Thunderdome was born…Yea, I did that, and couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed watching the crew putting the final touches my vision.

We did a trial run for smackdown last night and everyone loved it. Today we’ve been working out the kinks and it’s coming along very well.

So how does it feel to be the new boss,” Tevin asked walking up to me as I laughed. “Scary as hell and I wanna throw up,” I said honestly.

“Stop stressing, they loved this idea,” he said walking around taking in the Thunderdome.

 “This shit is a game changer and last night was amazing.  You did dat Ma. Stop being modest and own da greatness that is you,” he said as I blushed.

“Thanks Tevin I just hate you leavin’,” I said as he waved me off. “I been on smackdown so long, I need a change and I think the Raw brand is it,” he said as I nodded in understanding.

 After the kiss and I set him straight Tevin had been on my good side and I have to say he has made working here these last few months fun.

I was actually going to miss him if that made sense. “They are going to enjoy your talent on the Raw brand,” I said as he gave me a hug.

“So, what is this I hear about these buff wrestlers asking you out,” he whispered as I cringed.

“Ugh, how you know about that?” I asked as he smiled at me. “One thing you gon’ learn, everybody knows everybody business when you work here,” he said as I pulled away, shaking my head at him.

“I don’t even know how it got started,they just been approaching me,” I said honestly confused.

 “Your fresh meat, that’s why ,but it will pass and I’m sure Jey ain’t takin’ it too well,” he said as I saw Jey coming down the ramp.

“No, but Jey’s just protective of me is all. So are Joe and Jimmy so it’s no big deal,”I said as Tevin scoffed.

“Bullshit, that fool likes yo’ ass but some reason can’t take the leap. He shouldn’t be able to control who you date especially since he’s dating people and I hear Taraji’s sniffing around again,” Tevin said as I kept a neutral look on my face as Jey got closer to us.

“It ain’t like that, Jey thinks of me as his friend. Plus, It’s been my choice to be single and has nothing to do with him,” I said as Tevin rolled his eyes at me.

“What I’m being serious, I have too much going on and some of ya’ll men tend to be drama queens. So, with that in mind I keep my heart and legs closed,” I said smartly as Tevin laughed at me.

 “Why you laughin’ at me?  I’m just keeping it real, it’s all about me and building my legacy.I ain’t got time for the bullshit,” I said shrugging my shoulders standing boldly in my truth.  “I feel you,” Tevin said as Jey made his presence felt.

“Damn, this looks tight Shan!” Jey exclaimed, cutting his eyes at Tevin before giving me a hug. I cringed as I saw Tevin’s eye twitch before he walked off without another word.

The tension was always there between the two and I didn’t know why.

Tonight was SummerSlam and Joe was returning so not even their pissing contest could ruin my night.

“Uh, thanks Jey, I’m shocked it’s coming together so good,” I said trying to change the subject as he looked at me in disbelief.

“It came from your brain of course it was going to be good,” he said as I smiled at him.

“Thank you, it means a lot,” I said as I saw Paul come on the top of the ramp smiling at the setup.

Yea, I think we were really on to something.

---

Joe’s POV

“So, this is what you do?” Tangela asked as I smiled at her. “Yea, it’s a little different now with no fans,” I said as she nodded her head taking in the backstage area.

I could tell she was overwhelmed as Shantell came over and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“I know it seems like a lot, but Joe knows what he’s doing and nobody is going to bother you back here,” Shantell reassured her.

I hoped Tangela could get use to this life. I mean being with her is just so different from any other relationship I’ve experienced.

She has a good head on her shoulders, just graduated business school and ready to take on the world.

I’m in love with this woman and I don’t want to screw it up.  

“Dang, you have to do a lot of stuff Shantell, I’d probably have a nervous breakdown,” Tangela said looking at the monitors as Shantell smiled.

“Girl, it’s a breeze I love it. How bout I show you some of it while Joe does his thing,” Shantell said as I smiled at them.

“Thanks for taking care of her, sis,” I said as she waved me off. “Go get ready and be careful,” she said as I went to get ready.

---

SummerSlam Main Event

Shantell’s POV

I missed Joe being in the ring and I honestly felt a little choked up seeing him again. This new side of him was what he wished he could do from the beginning.

The world was about to experience a new side to Roman Reigns and I hope they are ready for what’s about to come.

“You can’t handle this responsibility,” Joe said holding up the universal championship.

“I need that final shot, we’re going to fade out on Joe,” I called Tangela looked on in shock. “You want me to scan the Thunderdome or pace out?” Stu asked as I smiled.

“I need a zoom pan on Joe for about ten seconds then we’re going to fade out,” I instructed. “Got ya, Shan,” Stu responded. “This is all crazy,” Tangela whispered as I gave her a small smile. 

“Nobody saw this coming,” Cole said as Joe continued to talk his shit. “It’s always gon’ be mine,” he spoke as I smiled. He was in the zone, and that made me even more excited for this new storyline Paul had been working on.

 “I need a slow pan out shot of Joe over Bray, lets finish SummerSlam strong. It’s been amazing doing this with you all tonight,” I said as Paul smiled at me.

“Got you Shan,” Jane said. “Whoo, that shot looks sick girl,” I praised as she laughed. “Thanks boss lady, you keeping me on my toes,” she said as I smiled.

 “A’ight we’re out in 5, 4,3,2,1,” I said as Paul rubbed my shoulder. “You did that, everything looked amazing,” he said as I sighed in relief as he gave me a hug.

“Thank you so much I whispered returning the gesture before he got up to take a call. I felt accomplished, we really pulled it off. The fans interacted and everything looked awesome.

“That was amazing Shantell,” Tangela said as I smiled at her. “Thanks girly, I hope you join us more often. This is going to be where we hold all shows and PPV’s until we can start traveling and have crowds again,” I said as she gave me hug.

“Thanks for making me feel welcome,” she said as I smiled. “Your family and that is all to it. No need to thank me,” I whispered feeling her body relax.

She was good for Joe; I knew the first time I met her. Yep, big brother was off the market, and I was happy he found someone to love.

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

One month Later

 Amway Center

Paul’s Office

Shantell’s POV

“Do you like it though?” Jey asked as I looked at the mullet he was rockin’.  “I mean it’s interesting, I said as he laughed.

“So, that means you hate it,” he said as I looked at the back of his head again and smirked.

“It fits you; I promise it looks good,” I reassured him as we waited on Paul and Joe.

“I wonder what this is all about, I hope they ain’t sending me home,” Jey said as I grabbed his hand.

“Stop overthinking everything. You have nothing to worry about, “I said trying to hold in the secret I knew they were about to drop on him.

“Sorry we ran behind in the creative meeting,” Paul said coming in with Heyman and Joe behind him.  Joe and I exchanged smiles as he nodded at me, letting me know everything was a go.

“So Jey we’ve been thinking about a few things,” Paul said as I felt Jey grab my hand as I gently squeezed it in support.

“When Joe decided to come back he asked me for several things. One of them was to work a feud with you,” Paul said as you could hear a pin drop as I looked at the shocked look on Jey’s face.

“Jey say something,” I said as he blinked quickly and looked at Joe. “Are you serious, Uce?” he asked as Joe smiled at him.

“Yea, I want us to work together and make history. The world deserves to see how talented you are,” Joe said as I could tell Jey was overwhelmed.  

“We want to build a stable with your family. Though it’s months away before Jimmy can return to action, we want to bring him in to be apart of this now as well,” Paul said as I felt Jey’s grip tightening on my hand.

“So, uh, how is this gon’ work?” Jey asked as Heyman laughed. “We are all going to put our heads together and blow the wrestling worlds mind. This is going to be the best long-term storyline in the history of this company,” Heyman said as Jey sighed rubbing his hand over his face.

“That is the goal Jey, and I promise you, if you trust the process, you’re going to go further than you ever dreamed you could. So will Joe, Jimmy, and Sefa,” Paul said as Jey perked up at the mention of his baby brother’s name.

“Sefa…. Are you serious? Don’t play wit me ya’ll,” Jey said as Paul laughed. “Yes, we are going to bring your brother in when his contract expires with Arizona Wrestling expires Paul said as Joe smiled.

  “We are in charge of this and how it goes Uce, no writers just us in this room,” Joe said as Jey looked at me.

“Did you know Shantell?” Jey asked as I nodded. “Yea, I did and I’m very happy for you and I know you can do this,” I said as his innocent eyes pierced my soul.

“So, can I take this to the creative table and tell them we are all on board?” Heyman asked as I began to wonder what my part in all this was going to be since Joe said we all would be involved.  I was just here for moral support.

 “I see the wheels turning over there Shantell. I need you to be my eyes portraying this story on camera. What you’ve done with the Thunderdome has been amazing and I need you on this,” Paul said as I nodded in understanding.

“You know I got ya’ll, count me in,” I said without hesitation truly honored they wanted me to be a part of the masterpiece they were about to create.

“Glad you’re on-board Shantell. Now Jey are you in?” Heyman asked as Jey seemed to be in doubt. “I don’t know ya’ll, I’m use to tag wrestling and having Jimmy by my side. I can’t abandon my brother now, can I even do good as a singles wrestler,” Jey said expressing his fears openly to us.

I understood what he was saying but he needed to know he wasn’t leaving Jimmy behind, and he needed to get out of his own way and try.

They were all about to be elevated to another level.

“Hey, you deserve this and your not abandoning Jimmy he’s going to be right there with you through it all. You can do this, stop doubting yourself,” I said as he sighed appearing to be in deep thought as he contemplated the huge offer just put before him.

“A’ight, I’m in,” he whispered as I clapped in excitement before giving him a hug.

“Ya’ll are going to change the game with this, enjoy it,” I whispered as  Joe came over and joined in on our group hug.

“Let’s do this Uce, let’s run this place,” Joe said as Jey smiled at him. “Damn right let’s do this,” Jey said as Paul smiled at us.

“I’ll go let creative know everyone is on board,” Heyman said as we celebrated.

History was about to be made, the bloodline was here and ready to take over the wrestling world.

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

Hell in a Cell

Jey’s POV

I had been followed by WWE cameras for the last few days. I allowed them into my home as they documented my history with Joe.

I was nervous at first, but with Shantell being their instructing the camera crew on how to film and when to give me space I felt better about the mini documentary.

 She knows me so well and I’m thankful for her. Joe really seems to think everything is about really take off for me, but I feel bad Jimmy is hurt.

“Aye, you can keep filming, but can you give us a minute and film back there,” I told Stu pointing to the back of the room as I talked to Tamina and Shantell.

“Hey, you good?” Shantell asked kneeling beside me as I sighed knowing I wasn’t, clad in my white gear and my lei Tamina had made I was losing it.

“Hey breath, just breathe Jey,” Shantell said rubbing my back as Tamina reached over and grabbed my hand.

“You gotta stop cuz,” she whispered as I nodded.  “This is how it’s supposed to be, you deserve this, Stop thinking you don’t belong here,” she cried reaching over as they both embraced me as I broke down.

“I’ll give ya’ll a moment,” I faintly heard Stu say as I nodded truly overwhelmed as I heard the door close.  

“You can do this, you are going to do this. Now let’s get it together,” Shantell said as I took a couple deep breaths. “I’ma kill it,” I said talking down my nerves as Tamina laughed wiping her tears.

“Yes, you are, now stop making us cry,” she said as Shantell wiped her own tears. “I got ya’ll, I‘m ready now,” I sighed trying to convince myself.

“We are going to leave you alone and let you get your mind right,” Shantell said giving me a kiss on the cheek before standing up readjusting her hat.

“Yea, we will be in Gorilla,” Tamina said giving me a hug.

“Thanks, I don’t know what I’d do without ya’ll,” I said as Shantell smiled brightly at me. “We’ll see you soon,” she whispered as they left me to my thoughts.

Pulling myself up, I walked in front of the floor length mirror in my dressing room. I looked at myself in disbelief, I looked like a main even player.

I looked like I belonged and all that was left to do was to prove it tonight..

“This is it Josh, make it count and have fun,” I muttered to myself trying to shake off my nerves.

Tonight I knew I was losing but one day I know I will be world champion but for tonight I was going to put Joe over and began my career as new his right-hand man.

I hope the world is ready for this…

----

September 2021

Shantell’s Condo

Pensacola, FL

My first year with the WWE had gone well, the bloodline storyline was thriving, everyone was captivated by their storyline, and it was breaking viewing records on YouTube and bringing in high ratings.

 Yes, life was great but these last few weeks I had a nagging feeling something was wrong and the bomb my mom just dropped on me confirmed my worries.

“What do you mean stage three, and she doesn’t want chemo!” I exclaimed as my mother pulled me into the living room.

“Don’t let her hear or see you like this Shan,” my mom whispered as I tried to control my tears.  “Can ya’ll keep mama company for a minute?” my mom asked Jey and Joe as they sadly retreated to the kitchen.

“Why didn’t you tell me before now?” I asked my mom as she sighed in defeat. “We didn’t want to worry you, it’s only been a few weeks baby,” she answered without hesitation.

“Ya’ll shoulda’ told when you found out mama,” I said trying to stay calm. I had to fix it, I had to convince her to do chemo.

“I don’t understand how this happened and why she doesn’t want to do chemo,” I whispered as my mother tried to control her own tears. 

“Baby, it’s stage three and is beginning to spread. Chemo isn’t going cure her, it only is going to prolong life,” my mother cried trying to get me to understand.

“So, what’s wrong with prolonging life,” I cried not wanting to accept they were giving up.

“Baby, she isn’t strong enough to go through this. Think about it…. Constant chemo just to live and you know how it wrecked her body before. That ain’t a life for anybody, she’s tired Shantell,” she said as I cleared my throat trying to stop my tears.  

I knew she was right, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.

“I know she’s tired mama, in my mind, I know we have to let her go. I just wish somebody could explain it to my heart how to let her go,” I whispered in despair as we embraced each other.  

It was her choice and we had to accept it and prepare. How do you let go of someone you can’t imagine even existing in a world without them.

“Let’s go talk to her baby,” my mom said as I tried to get myself together.

---

Joe’s POV

“When the time comes, ya’ll take care of them,” Gram said as I held her hand. “We still got some time, you ain’t leaving us yet,” Jey said as she smiled at him. “I love ya’ll sweet boys,” she said as I smiled at her. "We love you too," Jey said giving her a sad smile.

“We sure do and we gon’ take care of them both, don’t you worry Gram,” I reassured her as we sat in silence in the kitchen.

As Shantell and her mother came back into the kitchen, I felt like my heart was straining against my chest as I saw the look of helplessness on their faces.

Jey’s POV

Shantell came and sat beside her grandmother taking her hand in hers. “Hey, baby,” Gram whispered as Shantell smiled sadly at her. “Hey Gram,” she whispered as her grandmother caressed her face.

“Gram, I’m going to call Paul,” Shantell started as her grandmother interrupted her. “No, your not Shantell. You goin’ to go to work, I ain’t letting you do this again,” she said with conviction as Shantell closed her eyes, her tears flowing freely.

“Gram, I..I want to be here with you,” Shantell said as her mother interjected.

 “Shantell, you are working one day a week sometimes two. We can manage here, until you come home. You’re not putting your life on hold again,” she said making no room for argument as Shantell sighed in defeat.

 “I don’t like it,” Shantell said wiping her tears as Gram smiled at her. “Well too bad because we got this, your mama and I already talked it over,” she said hugging Shantell. I knew the road ahead was going to be hard and this loss was going to hurt Shantell deeply.

---

May 16,2022

Raw

Trin’s POV

So much has been going on and the frustration is mounting. All of our schedules are picking up as we are appearing on both shows to help Raw with ratings.

The guys were thriving, while I was miserable. Sasha and I are really lacking teams to feud with.

 Shantell has been trying to help us voice our concerns to Mark, but he isn’t hearing anything we are saying and I’m ready to throw in the damn towel.

“You are going to do what we asked you to do and that’s the end of it. Stop being difficult or you both can walk,” Mark said as I looked at him in disbelief.

“Excuse me what did you say?” I asked Mark as he rolled his eyes at me. “I said you’re doing what I asked , or you can pack your shit and go home,” he said as Shantell looked at him like he was crazy.

“Aye, you need to calm down. They just brought you their concerns about the match and that’s what they are supposed to do. It ain’t no need to get rude,” Shantell said as I could tell she was about over his attitude as well.

“Shantell she ain’t getting special treatment cause' her husband is a star here. She should feel lucky we are considering her for this. They will be in the six-pack challenge; Sasha will pin her end of story,” he said as Sasha sighed in frustration.

 “She ain’t asking for special treatment she just asked a damn question. Will you listen to them, that’s your job,” Shantell said trying to reason with him.

“I ain’t got time for the theatrics today,” he said as I felt the fire rumbling within me.

“Look, I ain’t askin’ for no special treatment, but I deserve to be treated with respect. You don’t have to be rude, I just asked a question as to where the story was going,” I said feeling attacked and overwhelmed.

“I don’t think it makes sense for us to be in the title picture for the women’s title when we are tag champions. We need to be building a tag team division for us to compete against, instead of these random teams,” Sasha said as he scoffed at her.

Shantell’s POV

“Look we ain’t payin’ you to think. If we did you and Trin would both be broke!” he yelled as I as Trin and I both raised our eyebrows in shock.

Oh! So, you sayin’ we dumb? Look, you keep pushin’ but you don’t know me Mark, I ain’t the one,” Trin warned as her resolve was slipping. “Don’t know me either,” Sasha said fuming.

 “Ookk, and damn sure don’t know me! Cause’ one things for certain and two things for damn sure. If you say one more off the wall comment bout my sister or Sasha, we gon’ beat yo’ ass all up and though motherfucka. Think it’s a game Mark,” I said as he seemed to calm down at the new information he was being told.

“But you know what Shan? We ain’t gotta do that, cause he ain’t worth it. I should be thanking him because he just said made me realize something important,” Trin said looking at me with a sad smile as her unshed tears began to fall.

It painfully dawned on me she had reached the end of her rope, and I couldn’t blame her.

“What did you realize?” I asked as she took a deep breath trying to get her tears under control as she turned to face Mark who wore an unreadable expression on his face.  

“I realized that I have gave my all to this business to not be appreciated.  Constantly looked over because I don’t fit the mold of what they thought was marketable. I had to watch with a smile on my face as less talented people got ahead," she said unwavering, her voice strong and with conviction.

“You sure did put up with a lot of bullshit, patience of a damn saint,” Sasha muttered as Trin continued speaking her truth.

  “I put up with the constant disrespect but no more! I’m tired,” Trin cried as I felt my heart breaking for her.

“So I’ma take your advice Mark and leave,” she said wiping her tears. Slowly nodding her head in realization as to what she was actually doing and was at peace with it.

“What are you talking about?” Mark asked in shock.

“You heard me,I’m done…..Yea, I’m just done,” Trin said calmy walking out of the dressing room  “Fuck,”I muttered angry that everything had went this far.

“You know what? She’s right, I’m out too,” Sasha whispered following behind Trin.

I could tell he wasn’t expecting that outcome as he looked rather ill.

“If I was you, I would be really worried about the ass whopping you bout to catch for disrespecting Trin,” I said as I saw the look of fear set in as he processed what had just transpired.

“Better yet wait until I call Paul and tell him how you’re the reason two of his top female stars just walked out,” I said as he began to walk towards me.  

“Shantell you gotta help me,” he said as I looked at him like he was insane.

“Nawl, you was Billy Badass a few minutes ago. Keep that same energy,” I said leaving him alone in the dressing room in search of Trin and Sasha.

“Sasha wait!” I called out as I saw her moving swiftly towards the exit with her bags. “I’m good Shan, my husband is getting the car. I promise I’ll call you, I just need to get outta here,” she said hurrying out of the building.

“Damn it Trin where are you?” I muttered now searching the halls hoping I found Jimmy before she did.

Rounding the corner, I cringed as Jimmy came storming out of the bloodline dressing room with everyone hot on his heels.

 “Jon don’t! It’s not worth it!” Trin yelled, as he was trying to push past Jey who wasn’t moving. “I can’t let you do this Uce, let’s go talk,” Jey pleaded as Jimmy growled in frustration.

“Where the fuck is he!? I’ma kill his ass!” Jimmy yelled as Joe gently took Trin in his arms trying to calm her down.

 “Jurdy, I wanna leave, can we just please go,” she pleaded as Jimmy began pacing.

“Move Uce! I can’t let this slide, he been doin’ shit like this! I gotta Get his ass!” Jimmy yelled as Jey put his hand on his brother’s shoulder.

"Bro, let’s just go, and try to figure out what to do next. Trin needs you right now, look at her Uce," Jey said as Jimmy looked at Trin crying in Joe’s arms.

 "Let’s get outta here, we don’t need folks in our family business,” Joe said firmly as I went to Jimmy.

“Jonathon, Trin held her head high in there, and spoke from her heart. She said her peace about everything she felt and made her choice I said trying to reason with him. 

"Shan, he fuckin' "Jimmy started as Jey stopped him from talking so I could continue.

“She did the hard part, now she needs her husband to tell her it’s ok and he has her back,” I said as Jimmy seemed to be calming down.  

"I always got her back, she ain’t neva gotta question dat. It just didn’t have to go down like dat Shan. He ain’t had to do all dat to her,” he said pacing as I nodded in understanding.

“I know, but he did and now we gon’ deal with it,” I said rubbing his shoulder.

“I don’t want her to leave,” he whispered as Trin ran into his arms as the embraced each other tightly.

“I  gotta go babe, I can’t do this no more. It’s just too much to deal with,” she cried as he kissed her the top of her head gently. “I know it Trin….I know,” he whispered in defeat as we all looked on helplessly.

Damn…..The hits just kept coming, Trin just quit and her future was uncertain.

In my time in knowing her though I knew she would bounce back better than ever, just give her time.

-----

Clash at the Castle

September 3, 2022

Shantell’s POV

“Shantell, you need rest,” Paul said as I sipped on my hot coco. “I’m good, I promise,” I said as we got ready for the main event.  

“You look tired,” he pressed as I sighed putting my headset back on ignoring him. We needed to finish the show strong.

The crowd was hot, and they deserved the best show.

I had been on the go these last few months with Gram being sick and trying to stay on top of stuff here. I also help out Trin on my off days too, she just had shoulder surgery.

I have to say she was making good use of her time off getting old injuries fixed. Her and Jimmy were going strong but were still trying to get use to not seeing each other everyday.

Tonight, Sefa is coming into the fold to take his place in the bloodline. I couldn’t wait to see what ride they were going to take us on next.

Jimmy and Jey were given this PPV off storyline wise so I felt better about being over here in England knowing they were in Pensecola. They had been checking in on mama and Gram. Mama Uce even cooked for them a couple times a week.  Throughout this difficult time they all were a godsend and I owed them so much.

“How is your grandmother,” Paul asked as I smiled at him. “She’s doin’ ok, I mean the doctor told us six months and here we are pulling up on a year, so I am thankful,” I said really just grasping how time had really flew by.  

“Camera five, pan out Sefa’s coming your way,” I alerted seeing him come from the side. “Who is that?” Jane asked as I laughed. “I’m sorry, I meant Solo. Jane, my bad,” I laughed.

“We’re going to crown a brand new champion!” Cole screamed as the ref began to count. “What the hell! Someone just pulled the official out of the ring!" Cole’s excited voice rang in my headset.

“Camera eight it’s on you I need a side view,” I instructed as they focused on Solo as he pulled down his hood. “That is Solo Sikoa the Uso’s younger brother!” Cole announced as I smiled.

“Money shot!” I yelled as Paul laughed at me. “You enjoy this shit entirely too much,” he said as I shrugged my shoulders.

“Pan to Drew then back to Solo, I need that shot between camera twelve and hard camera,” I said watching the ending play out.

“Good call on that,” Paul praised as Joe and Solo walked up the ramp together. “Come on look back Joe,” I muttered to myself as Joe seemingly turned and posed as the fireworks went off.

“Great work! Team pace out shots of Drew and Joe along with Solo to close out in 5,4,3,2,1 and we are out!” I exclaimed, happy that it was over.

I quickly put my headset down and went to wait for them by the curtain.  I ran and hugged Solo as soon as he hit the curtain. “Congratulations!!” I yelled in excitement as he and Joe laughed at me.

“I take It your happy for me,” Solo said laughing as I handed him my phone. “Yes, now call your wife. she’s been blowing me up. She’s so excited,” I said leaning over to giving Joe a hug next.

“Damn, we are leveling up sis. Time for even something bigger,” Joe said as I smiled at him.

“Can you enjoy the moment for a change and stop trying to jump to the next thing,” I said as he shrugged his shoulders at me.

“I can’t help it, I’m excited,” he said as Solo passed me back my phone.

“Sis, it’s your mom,” he said as my heart dropped. “What’s wrong mama?” I asked as Joe’s smile dropped.

“You need to come home,I think this is it baby. We’re at the hospital,” she whimpered as I took a deep breath trying not to lose it listening to my mom cry.

"I love you, and  I’m on my way,” I said now on autopilot as I began moving around trying to gather up my things.

“What did she say?” Joe asked trying to keep up with me as I ignored him. “Shantell stop, what’s wrong?” Joe asked stopping me from moving.

 “They had to take Gram to the hospital and mom thinks this is it,” I whispered as Joe pulled me into a comforting hug as Solo went over to Paul to let him know what was going on.

----

Joe’s POV

Paul sent us home on the jet and it was the longest flight of my life. Shantell was quiet the majority of the time and seemed to be trying to process everything curled up in a seat by the window as we flew over the Atlantic.  

Eventually she fell asleep and I called Jey. I needed to know and prepare for what we were walking into.

“Aye, are ya’ll in the air yet?” Jey asked as I sighed. “Yea, we are we got about three hours left. Shantell is finally asleep, so I wanted to call and see what was going on,” I said trying to keep my voice down.

“Uce, they think this is it. She has sepsis in the colon and at this point all they can do is make her comfortable. It’s anytime now,” Jey whispered as I felt my own tears fall. “Damn it Gram,” I muttered.

“They are waiting for Shantell and her aunt to get here so the doctor can explain everything,” Jey said as I laid back in my seat.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen like this Jey,” I said as I heard the breaking in his voice. “Yea, I know. Ya’ll just get here safe, and I’ll see ya’ll when you get here,” Jey said as I reluctantly hung up.

I was dreading getting off this jet even more after my conversation with him but I knew one was for certain we were all going to be with Shantell through all of this.

----------

Pensacola Memorial Hospital

Jey’s POV

I didn’t know what to say or do as we all gathered into the family consultation room as Shantell and Joe were downstairs and on the way up.

The room quiet as Shantell’s mom and sister sat opposite each other and I could feel the tension between them.

Trin and I looked at each other feeling sad witnessing the moment between the sisters but we were here for Shantell and her mom.

Jimmy came in with Sofia and sat on the other couch. “Shantell wanted to see Gram and should be in shortly. The doctor should be in soon too,” Sofia said as I nodded.

I was so grateful to know Sofia was the RN assigned to Gram tonight. I knew she would be in good hands.

---

Shantell’s POV

“Gram, I’m here,” I whispered as she opened her eyes. She tried to talk as I shushed her to stop trying knowing it was uncomfortable with the  tubes in her mouth and nose.

Her hand reached up and caressed my face as tears began falling from her eyes. I grabbed her hand and kissed it. I knew in that moment she was hanging on for me but was ready to go.

“She’s waiting on you to tell her it’s ok to go babydoll,” Joe muttered wrapping his arms around me. gently placing a kiss on my temple as I broke down in his arms.

“I’m here wit you,” he soothed as I could only nod my pain to great to even put into words, but I knew I had to let her go.

 She looked so tired and not like herself, I couldn’t be selfish. “Gram, are you tired?” I whispered and without hesitation she nodded slowly. Quickly blinking her eyes as more unshed tears escaped them before she looked at me again.  

 “It’s ok Gram, I’m ok….Me, mama and auntie are going to be ok,” I whispered reassuring her as she nodded. Leaning over I gently kissed her forehead and then her cheek.

“I love you,” I whispered as she nodded placing her hand in mine as we sat in silence.

Joe’s text alert went off as he sighed. “The doctor is waiting Shan,” he whispered as I nodded taking a deep breath.  Reaching over I hugged my grandmother. “I’ll be back,” I said as she shook her head at me.

“Gram, please,” I started as she shook her head again as I sighed.

“She don’t want you to see her this way,” Joe whispered as Gram slowly nodded indicating he was right.

Sighing in defeat I gave her a look to let her know the conversation wasn’t over.

Walking to the consultation room I felt numb and couldn’t believe this was really happening.

 Jey’s POV

“They on the way,” I said to Shantell’s mom and aunt. “Good because somebody needs to tell me something,” Shantell’s aunt said as Trin and I shifted uncomfortably in our seats.

I understood how she was feeling but she’s been rude as hell since she’s got here.  

“Why are ya’ll even in here? This is for family only, and you’re not family,” she said looking around at us as I heard Trin sigh in frustration.

 “Lady, don’t make me read you yo’ damn rights up in here,” Sofia started as I reached over and patted her knee. Calm down sis, I whispered as she took a breath shakin’ her head in disbeilf.

 “Ain’t even been here for yo’ mama, and now wanna come in here and take over,” Sofia muttered as Trin cleared her throat trying to mask what Sofia said. Thank god it seemed only Trin, Jimmy and me heard it.

“They here because while you’ve been in Ohio livin’ your life, they’ve been helping Shantell and I take care of mama. Mama loves them all and considers them family and so do I. So, you can either deal with it or get out,” Shantell’s mother said as her sister dropped her head in shame.

“I’m sorry ya’ll this is just a lot, and I meant no harm,” she said as I nodded at her in understanding.

Seeing Shantell and Joe walk in I felt even more helpless. She looked so broken hugging her mom, aunt, and Sofia.

"Thanks for being here ya’ll," she whispered as Jimmy, Trin and I stood up to give her a hug.

“We love you,” Trin whispered as Shantell nodded and sat beside me with Joe on the other side as I grabbed her hand.

I felt her tense as the doctor began talking. I rubbed her hand trying to calm her down as Sofia got up went to stand behind Shantell putting her hands on her shoulders.

“I wish I had better news to report but we found sepsis, and her organs functions are slowing down. Even with treatment if her heart stops, we can’t perform life saving measures,”he said as Shantell’s mom broke down.

“Why is that?  I mean you all have the equipment you need to do what’s necessary,” Shantell’s aunt started as the doctor interrupted her.

“Your mother signed a DNR when we brought her in, and she did another one a couple weeks ago at her last doctor’s appointment. It’s in her records, did she not tell you,” the doctor asked as I saw Shantell shake her head in disbelief. 

“Aww, Gram,”Shantell muttered as her mother was trying to process the inormation the doctor was saying.

“What is a DNR?” her aunt asked as Shantell wiped her tears.  “It means do not resistitate auntie,” she whispered as her aunt scoffed at the notion.

“No! She wouldn’t do that!” she cried as Shantell took over asking the questions. “How long does she have?” Shantell asked as her aunt interrupted.

 “Shantell be quiet It ain’t going to even come to that. Mama is going to bounce back,” she said in denial.

“She is dying! What part of that don’t you understand!” Shantell cried as Sofia rubbed her shoulders.

“It’s ok Shan, just breathe,” Sofia coached as I tightened my grip on her hand as her knee began to bounce nervously as Joe caressed her knee.

“How long does she have doctor?” Tanya asked as the doctor cleared his throat.

“We will be lucky if she makes it through the night,” he responded as Shantell stormed out of the room without another word.

“I got her Uce,” I said stopping Joe from getting up as I went in search of Shantell.

I saw her getting on the elevator, as I rushed to get in before it’s doors closed. Her body leaned against the back wall, her body trembling as she cried..

 Reaching over I hit the emergency button as we stopped.

I knew she needed a minute before we stepped off the elevator to the prying eyes of strangers.

Her tear-filled eyes piercing my soul as her tears flowed like a river down her beautiful face. “Josh” she whimpered enclosing her hands over her face as I closed the distance between us taking her in my arms.

"Let it out baby," I whispered consoling her as her silent cries began to grow louder as she fought against releasing her pain.

A soul crushing scream fell from her lips as I refused to let her go.

“AAAAAH! GRAM!!!” she cried fighting against me as I held her tighter.

“I ain’t letting you go, Shan…. Do you hear me? I got you, I always got you. Just lean on me baby,” I whispered as the woman I loved continued to fall apart in my arms.

“I can’t do this,” Shantell cried as I held her tight.

“You ain’t gotta do it alone, we all here and we gon’ get through this together,” I soothed as she nodded, her hands now gripping my shirt tightly as I rubbed her back.  

Trying to wrangle in her emotions, she pulled away, wiped her tears and began taking deep breaths as she paced the elevator.

It was like she was preparing herself for what she knew she needed to do.

 I watched in awe at the sudden calmness washing over her beautiful face as she cleared her throat and stopped pacing.

Several minutes passed and I knew we needed to turn the elevator back on before they sent out the calvary.

“You ready beautiful?” I asked as she nodded as I restarted the elevator. “Go back up,” she whispered as I hit the seventh floor.

---

 Shantell’s POV

The calmness and peace that washed over the room is something I will never forget. My grandmother’s body stilled as she took her final breath as my mother sliently weeped at the loss of her mom along with her sister.

“Are we calling it?” Sofia asked as the doctor as he finished checking her vitals and looked at the clock.

“Call it…. Time of death 12:35 am September 5,2022 he said as I gently leaned over and kissed my grandmother goodbye before walking out of the room.

“Sis, you ok?” Jimmy asked as I smiled sadly at him and Trin. “She’s gone,” I whispered taking a seat beside Joe and Jey as we all sat in silence and grief.

Damn it Gram, you really got us with this one……

My name is Shantell Johnson and my grandmother Renae “Gram” Johnson died on September 5, 2022, and she took a piece of my heart right along with her.

Taglist: @reci24 @southerngirl41 @vebner37 @jeyusos-girl

@melaninsugababy @romanreignkisser @bebesobrielo

@arination99 @2-muchsauce @bakugoumarianawrites

@empressdede @alyyaanna @christinabae @anonandwannakeepitthatway @venusesworld @jeyusosgirl  @theninthwonder @mya2real @ trc-punzel

[blobmanwhotries]

I wanted to reblog the og post and add the speedpaint there but ig Tumblr doesn't let you do that

It's here instead now ig, for those who want to watch (3 min.)

Notes, ramble, and fanfic updates under the cut

Video time: 3 minutes.

Total time: ~5 hours, 17 minutes.

App: IbisPaintX (ugly ass water mark in the corner).

Device/Tool: My phone and finger.

-

I like this speedpaint a lot. You can see how I improve and change things throughout the piece. I wish you could see just how much I use that undo button though - that button is my savior.

The starting sketch DOES belong to me. I want to make that abundantly clear (I use a lot of outside references sometimes). If I use an outside reference and it is in the final product (as in I use other art as reference), I will give credit if I can. The reaper picture next to it is not mine and belongs to the Subnautica devs.

-

Process (kinda):

1) Using a sketch makes this SO MUCH EASIER. It's a pain in the ass but jfc it's faster than trying to digitally sketch with your finger

2) Blah blah blah rough outline whatever

3) I swear I know how to use the paint bucket tool yall, that would've made shit so much easier, but there were gaps and i couldn't figure out where they were so my background kept turning fucking blue

4) SO PROUD OF THE BLUE TO RED FADE MARKINGS ON THE ARMS. I USED THE ERASER TOOL FOR THAT.

5) Realized the blue was too bright and i need to tone it down - tried to keep it from looking like the blue water was making him (the character) blue

6) i cant remember when the reaper reference is added it just lowkey appears

7) i wasn't trying to shade but i kinda did with the way i outlined some of his torso

8) color gradient for texture

9) scars. Tried to add more texture to the scars by adding color but i hated it.

face: his dad

(right) arm: small fish (biter? bleeder? unsure)

(right) axillary zone: prolly another reaper

(left) hip area: small fish (unsure)

front of the pelvis (kinda): scratch (prolly a claw)

(right) lower than hip zone: small fish (unsure)

10) at some point i added texture to the dorsal fin???

11) adjusting the face

12) turn off the lineart layer

13) While working on the lighting and shading (that wack white box and purple shit? yeah) I realized that I'm gonna need help figuring it out - I got on the floor behind one of the couches in my living room and tried mimicking the pose and realized that the anatomy was all fucked up and I had to fix it 💀💀💀

14) properly work on shading (kinda, still looks wack)

15) blend that shit (lowkey liked it better before) but thats fine

And there we go, you got urself a reaper Jeremy

-

I plan on working on Viktor next - might do chris first tho. I'm not sure yet. I still have other things to draw (and write, for that matter).

I'm currently working on getting a lot of my lore straightened out. I'm also trying to make character sheets for me to reference and use to write headcanon drabbles n whatnot. The world-buliding is genuinely crazy -

I mean, I made three OCs just so I could build up Chris' experience in the mafia, and that's not including Jubi. There's about 20 characters I have to write things for, and that's not taking the missing children (which is ALSO about 20) into consideration. I also have other AUs which really messes with the timeline.

All in all, I've been slowly working on more stuff to post in my oneshot book. Since I've thought about him the most, Scott's almost done. I believe Viktor will be done soon too.

-

Anywho, if you've made it to the end lf this, thanks. I like being able to post random thoughts and ideas I have, even if I know not everyone will read or engage with it.

As always, ask box is open - feel free to drop a note or smth in there. Have a fantastic day/night.

[muselexum]

Birthday Reflections

My birthday was on the 3rd (celebrated the weekend prior) and it's honestly just so wild to look back at just a few years ago and how different my life is. I can say without a single doubt, that I'm in a much better place than I ever was before. Despite some existing problems like struggling to get my career/finances to take off, or the frustrations with living at home with aging parents, I just feel so much more at peace with myself. I've also been slowly building a social network and have finally found people that I don't have to put up a mask around, and they still accept and welcome me as I am.

With each year I get older-- now 28, I can't help but think about Akane and how throughout the years she has shifted in relation to me. When I first created her at about 15, she was almost like a cool older sister, and an outlet for a lot of my own anger and pains. She was 'stronger' and 'cooler' than me, and she could take all that anger I wrote into her own story out in a way I was never allowed or capable of in my own. She also got to experience found family and loyalty, in a way that was absent from my own life. She was a way for me to alchemize my deep hurts around connection, and to find some comfort in knowing that at least some aspect of my own experience with loneliness could be placed in the safe arms of the family I helped create/shape for her.

Then slowly, I kept getting older. Suddenly I was the same age as her and her experience was more relatable than ever. I feel like I wrote her best at this time because I could speak very closely to the experience of an angry, depressed, 19-21 year old woman. I internalized everything and she externalized it. Then older... and now, I look at Akane and see her frozen in time as I've kept changing and healing. A part of me aches, and though I was never sure how her story would end, I'm finally at the point where I want her to find her peace too. She's gone from this strong older sister figure that could handle things I couldn't, to now my troubled, sad daughter I just wish I could hug. I'm not sure if it's too extra to humanize and view OCs in this way, and I usually don't with all my others, but with Akane, she has been so close to my heart for nearly 15 years now. She's truly a part of me, and has brought so much comfort and joy in my darkest times. She was a source of so much writing and art, feeding my creative energy which was an outlet to escape from reality. Now that I no longer really desire to escape reality, I've noticed- with sadness, I struggle to put out as much writing and art as I used to. While I'm glad I don't 'need' those things to survive anymore, I have had to go through a process of accepting my life and my needs are just different now. I still desire to write and hope to keep writing long into the future, but I can't expect myself to output the same amount when I'm no longer using it as a coping mechanism. I made it out of my darkness and now I hope, with time, I can bring Akane out of hers. ☺️🤍

[vintagepresley]

Pretty Baby

Chapter Four: That's What You Get For Loving Me

Pairing: Elvis Presley x OC Reader

Word Count: 13,854

Warnings: 18+ SMUTSMUTSMUT Angst, lots and lots of angst, cheating, Linda is kind of a bitch, fluff, physical arguments (no one gets hurt), slightly toxic behavior, talks of porn, rough sex, slapping, dirty talk, use of the word 'whore', fingering, unprotected sex, crazy power dynamics between these two. Just a lot of drama. Typical Elvis stuff.

Author's Notes: Hello besties!! Chapter four is here and it's a DOOZY. I did not mean for it to be this long but here we are as usual. This chapter is going to be a bit wild and has a lot that's going to progress the story further. Side note, I didn’t remember who Jerry was dating around ‘75, so I used Sandy, lol. I hope you all enjoy it! Possible spelling errors!

Pretty Baby series

“And he looked at me, like there was something in me worth looking at.”

Morning had come quickly and Rebecca was turning over onto her side with her eyes half open as she checked the time on the alarm clock that said 9:15. She let out a soft groan and buried her face into the pillow. She just wanted to stay in bed the whole day, she didn’t think she could face Elvis after what happened last night between the two of them and these confusing feelings she had for him. She pulled the blankets over herself just wanting to hide away from the world. As she laid there she could hear some noise outside of her room, it was Elvis. She was surprised he was up so early and she listened as she heard him moving things around in the living room. Elvis had invited everyone up to have breakfast in the suite, he was doing his best to put what happened last night behind him but he couldn’t help but wonder why she was so determined to deny what she felt for him. He just couldn’t understand it. There was a spark between them and he felt it especially last night and was just left feeling sad. But it was only her second day in Vegas and the last thing he wanted was to make her feel uncomfortable and want to go home. He didn’t want to be alone and she made him feel less lonely, so he decided if she didn’t bring it up; he wouldn’t. 

Once Elvis had everything set up for breakfast he hesitantly walked over to Rebecca’s room door and he stood there for a moment and carefully placed his ear against the door to see if she was awake. He couldn’t hear anything and then he knocked lightly. “R-Rebecca? You awake, honey?” he spoke softly. She lifted her head up when she heard his voice and she turned over onto her back and popped her head out of the top of the blankets and she stared at the door. Elvis could hear her moving around in there and he furrowed his brow when he got no answer. She wasn’t sure if she should say anything. But she also didn’t want to say anything. She didn’t want to see him, truthfully. Not now. Elvis let out a soft sigh and he placed his hands on either side of the door frame as his head hung low. “I-I-If you are awake, honey, I’ve invited everyone up for breakfast and they’ll be here soon. I hope you’ll join us..” he said softly. Rebecca just listened and still didn’t say a word and then she heard him eventually walk away and she exhaled softly before she threw the blankets off herself and then she climbed out of the bed and headed into the bathroom. She wasn’t going to be rude and not join everyone for breakfast. She figured with all his friends and their wives there she would feel less uncomfortable if it was just the two of them. 

Elvis sat down on the couch in the living room and he kept staring back at Rebecca’s room door and he was hoping she would join breakfast. He sat there silently playing with the rings on his fingers and he perked up glancing back at her door when he heard the shower suddenly start from inside her room. A small smile formed on his lips, as hurt as he may have felt he just wanted to see her, be near her at any cost. Elvis got up from the couch when he heard a knock at the door figuring that it was everyone and he went to answer it, letting them all in. “Where’s Rebecca?” Joan asked as she and Joe came into the suite. 

“She’s just gettin’ ready. She’ll be out in a bit. I ordered breakfast and all will be up any minute now.” Elvis replied. 

As everyone took a seat at the table Rebecca could hear all the chattering going on outside the door when she got out of the shower and she took a few deep breaths as she got herself ready. Once she had finished brushing her teeth and doing her usual skincare, she only put on her light pink lipstick and a bit of mascara and brushed her hair out. She then opted to wear her tan crochet bell sleeved mini dress that clung to her curves and she paired it with some cute floral print platform clogs. She took one look in the mirror and nodded in approval of her cute outfit and she headed toward the door, taking a deep breath as her hand grasped the doorknob and then after a few more seconds she opened the door and headed out to see everyone had started eating but then suddenly staring at her as she walked out. Elvis stood up out of his chair at the sight of her with a warm smile on his face as he stared at her. She looked beautiful as always and it was obvious he was starstruck by her. Rebecca noticed the way he was looking at her before she looked away from him and cleared her throat as she walked toward the table. 

“Good morning.” she hummed softly. 

Everyone greeted her with a good morning and Elvis stepped over to the chair beside him and pulled it out for her to sit. “Good mornin’, honey.” he said in his deep southern drawl. Rebecca exhaled softly, still trying to avoid eye contact with Elvis as she sat down hesitantly in the chair he pulled out for her. 

“Good morning, Elvis.” she said softly as she soothed out her dress. 

Elvis smiled as he sat back down beside her and everyone continued to dig into their breakfast and Rebecca began to reach for some food to put on her plate. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Elvis staring at her. But she refused to look at him. He reached over to grab the bacon and offered it to her. But she shook her head not saying another word to him. He set the bacon down and now he was starting to notice that she didn’t seem to want to talk to him or look at him. He sighed softly. As breakfast continued on it was obvious to everyone that something was going on between the two of them because she had hardly spoken more than a few words to him even as he was talking to everyone during breakfast and getting everyone to engage. She would just nod and smile at his words, but not share a glance with him. She wasn’t trying to be rude, but after last night she just couldn’t pretend as if everything was okay. She wasn’t okay because she didn’t understand her feelings and had wished she could just turn them off. As she had gotten lost in her thoughts Elvis had reached over to place his hand over hers and holding it as he was talking about what Rebecca thought of the show last night and she snapped out her thoughts and snatched her hand away and looked at him. 

“Can you not?” she mumbled to him.

Elvis leaned toward her with his brow furrowed. 

“What?” he mumbled back. 

“Don’t do that.. Don’t touch me..” she mumbled through her teeth putting on a smile for everyone else at the table. 

“Everyone is here, don’t start, Rebecca.” he whispered in a heavy serious tone as he glanced up to see his friends doing their best to act if they didn't notice what was happening at the end of the table. 

Rebecca scoffed at his words and she stood up from the table and angrily walked away to her room, slamming the door closed. Elvis, embarrassed by her behavior stood up and excused himself for a moment. He went to her room not bothering to knock and just barged in slamming the door behind him and Rebecca was facing away from him and he grabbed a hold of her forearm and turned her around to face him. “What is your goddamn problem?! You hardly said a damn word to me out there! I hold your hand and suddenly I can’t touch you??” Elvis said in an angry whisper. 

“I’m sorry I can’t pretend that everything is okay when it isn’t!” Rebecca shouted not giving a damn if his friends heard as she pulled her arm out of his grip.

“Are you talkin’ about last night?” he asked. 

“What else would I be talking about, Elvis!” she yelled. 

“Keep your goddamn voice down. I don’t understand you, Rebecca. You want us to be friends, that's what I’m doin’ as hard as it is for me!” he said softly. 

“I-I don’t know what I want! I’m confused.. I don’t know how to feel.. I just.. I-I don’t know! I didn’t even want to see you this morning.” she said frantically as she paced around the room. 

Elvis watched her pacing back and forth and he raised an eyebrow as he listened to her talk. He really could not understand her or what she wanted. One minute she wants them to remain friends and the next she doesn’t know how to feel. Elvis approached her and grabbed her to make her stop walking because it was making him nervous and he forced her to face him and they shared a longing look with one another. 

“Just answer this question.. Did you feel what I felt when we kissed?” he whispered. 

She looked away and then pushed him away from her. 

“I told you I don’t know how I feel!” she snapped at him.

Elvis exhaled sharply and now he was getting frustrated. 

“You're in denial and don’t understand why. I know you feel something for me, Rebecca. Why can’t you just fuckin’ say it?? You’re doin’ my damn head in with all these mixed signals!” he shouted. 

“Are you fucking deaf, Elvis?! I told you I don’t know how I feel!!! It’s not my fault you assume I want you.” she screamed. 

Elvis was growing tired of this now and he grabbed her by her arms and roughly pulled her toward him and he shook her in his tight grasp. 

“Goddamn it! What is wrong with you!? Can’t you fuckin’ see I love you! You heard me say I loved you! I know you feel the same for me! Just say it!! Just say it, baby.” he yelled at her as he shook her. 

Now he was scaring her and she was not one to scare easily and as much as she wanted to admit the feelings that she knew she couldn’t deny anymore, she just couldn’t. She was scared. Scared at the thought of loving him; loving anybody. She decided to say the thing she knew would hurt him and break his heart to hear. But she felt it was best just to make him stop wanting her because she was not ready for whatever he wanted them to be. Elvis continued to shake her violently and yelled at her to just tell him she loved him. She began to hit him as she tried to wiggle out of his grip. Now everyone outside the room was growing concerned because of all the commotion and screaming that they weren’t sure if they should intervene. 

“Stop it! Let me go! Stop it, Elvis!! I don’t love you and I could never love you!!!” she screamed with tearful eyes as she pushed him off. She knew those words were a lie. 

As soon as those words left her mouth Elvis stopped and he felt like his world was crashing down around him and he let her go. She rubbed her arms as her tears began to stream down her face, she could see the hurt in his eyes. The last thing she wanted was to ever hurt him because she got to know him so well and knew the loneliness he constantly felt and she was a light in his life that made him feel less lonely. Suddenly it was silent between them and Rebecca now had tears streaming all down her face and Elvis in shock and close to tears himself, but he couldn’t bring himself to be upset now because was filled with anger. 

“You’re a goddamn liar, Rebecca. Y’know somethin’, honey? Out of everyone you’re the last person I expected to hurt me.” he muttered angrily, giving her another look and shaking his head before he stormed out of her bedroom and slammed the door shut. She inhaled shakily as she burst into tears. She never meant to hurt him and now she was scared she may have ruined everything between them. 

As Elvis came back out it was obvious his mood was noticeably different as he plopped back down in his chair and didn’t say a word to anyone. He was so upset he couldn’t even eat and after sitting down at the table with everyone for another minute or so he just got up without saying a word and went to his room slamming the door so hard he could’ve broken it from its hinges. That was everyone’s cue that they needed to leave and they all made their way out quickly. When Elvis was alone in his room that’s when his anger had turned to sadness and now he was in tears as he sat on the edge of his bed trying to comprehend what just happened. He had hoped that she didn’t mean what she said that she could never love him. Hearing those words hurt him the most. What was it about him that she could never love? He knew he hadn’t looked like he once did and that he was much older than her, but she never seemed to mind. Now he had all these anxious thoughts running through his head and feelings of loneliness creeped up inside of him. Why couldn’t she just love me? Why? He thought to himself. 

Rebecca couldn’t stop crying. She had never cried for anyone like this but she was so overwhelmed with all her feelings that consumed her and the hurt she caused Elvis she had no other way to let it all out. She frantically grabbed her cigarettes fumbling through the carton as her hands were trembling and she ended up dropping the carton and her cigarettes all fell out. “Shit!” She cried and she just walked away and sat down on the bed sniffling softly as she continued to cry and now more than ever she needed some sort of guidance or advice and so she picked up the phone and decided to call the two people she knew that would be able to help her, Paul and Abby. She knew it was early in New York but she was hoping one of them would be up. As she dialed the number and held the phone to her ear she tried her best to stop her crying as the line trilled until there was a click and someone had picked up. 

“Hello?” Abby said groggily. 

“Abby? It’s Rebecca.. Did I wake you?” she muttered softly between her quiet cries. 

Abby could sense something was wrong just from the sound of Rebecca’s voice and she sat in bed as she grew concerned. 

“Rebecca, is everything alright? You sound strange.” she asked. 

“N-No.. Something happened with Elvis and I..” she said softly and now she started to cry a bit more. 

Abby sat right up in bed and she was fully awake now. It was unusual for Rebecca to be in such a state that she was crying. So she knew something really bad happened. 

“What happened? Did that asshole hurt you??” Abby said, concerned. 

“Oh god, no, no, no… Nothing like that.. We got into a fight.. I said some things I probably shouldn’t have said. I don’t know what to do..” she said with a sigh. 

“What did you say? What happened? And tell me everything.” Abby asked.

Abby had a feeling Rebecca was leaving something out. She was aware of how close she and Elvis had gotten and she was no fool the times she met Elvis, Abby could see how smitten Elvis was with her and the connection between them. But Rebecca loved to self-sabotage a good thing because of past relationships. 

Rebecca let out a soft sigh and she took a deep breath deciding to catch Abby up on everything that had happened between her and Elvis since coming to Vegas. Abby wasn’t the least bit surprised when she found out Elvis was in love with Rebecca. But she was more surprised at the fact that Rebecca said what she did to him when it was quite obvious she loved him too. 

“Becca, you fool. Why would you do that? That man is in love with you and probably has been since the moment you met. How could you say that to him?” Abby asked, now feeling bad for Elvis. 

“I-I don’t know.. It just came out. I.. I just wanted him to stop. I didn’t mean it.. I didn’t. I..” Rebecca stopped herself as she was on the verge of tears again. 

“As your best friend... Tell me honestly, I mean it. No bullshit here, man. Do you love him?” Abby asked. 

There was a silence that felt like it went on forever between them as Rebecca was hesitant to answer because that meant admitting her true feelings. 

“Rebecca? Hello? Do you love him??” Abby questioned. 

Rebecca wiped the tears from her face and held the phone close as she breathed in and out deeply.

“Yes..” she said faintly into the phone, finally saying it out loud to someone that it felt like a weight lifted off her shoulders. There was another silence and Abby just smiled. 

“Why couldn’t you have told him that?” she asked. 

“I was scared. I’m still scared. Being in love scares me. You know that. But being in love with him? It’s terrifying. I know it sounds silly, but does he love me for me, or does he love me for what-.. Nevermind.” she said softly, forgetting her own friends had no idea what she did for a living. Abby furrowed her brow wondering what she was going to say, but not dwelling on it.

“Has he ever given you a reason to be scared of loving him?” Abby asked. 

“No, of course not. He’s the sweetest and so caring towards me. When I’m around him it’s like I become this different person. A softer person. He just.. I don’t know.. The way he looks at me like there’s something in me worth looking at. He makes me feel good. But I just still have my reservations about him. What could he want with me? Why me? He’s so much older that it just makes me suspicious. But maybe it’s just me trying to find something wrong with him.” she said with a sigh feeling herself begin to calm down. 

“Well, the only way you’ll find out is by giving him a chance to show you. If you just let him.” Abby remarked. 

“I know, I know.. I can’t now. I know he’s upset with me. You didn’t see what he looked like.. The hurt in his eyes. I probably ruined everything. I’m going to give him space and maybe go out just to get some air and think. You know?” Rebecca said, hoping Abby would agree. 

“You do what you think is best. But you should tell him how you feel regardless if it’s ruined or not. You owe him that.” Abby replied letting out a soft yawn. 

“Okay. I’ll let you get back to sleep. Thank you, Abby.” she smiled. 

“Mhm.. That’ll be $100 dollars for my services.” she laughed tiredly. 

“Shut up. I’ll talk to you soon, bye.” Rebecca laughed softly as the both of them hung up. 

Rebecca needed time to decide on what she was going to do and maybe going out for a while and getting some air would help her think. She went to the bathroom to fix herself up and she did her best to reapply her makeup, but her eyes were so bloodshot and puffy from crying that she did what she could. She then grabbed her purse and headed out of her room, seeing that everyone was gone and no one had finished their breakfast, she sighed and looked over at Elvis’ room door wondering what he was doing and thinking at that moment. 

Elvis had closed all the curtains in his room and he climbed into his bed and had made a call for Dr. Nick to come up. He made no plans to leave his bedroom until the show that night. That part of him wished he could cancel, but he knew the Colonel would be furious. So, he hoped that whatever Dr. Nick prescribed to him would help and put him to sleep. Elvis heard the sound of Rebecca’s heels as she walked through the suite and then he heard the front door open and close and he raised an eyebrow wondering where she was going. Now he was worried that she decided to leave Vegas all together. He quickly got up and walked out of his room and went to her room to see that all her things were still there and he let out a sigh of relief seeing she hadn’t left him. Despite him being so angry with her he also still cared deeply for her no matter how she may have felt for him. It was something he couldn’t shake. There was a knock at the door and Elvis knew it was Dr. Nick at last with his medication. He would soon fall into a deep sleep with the pills he prescribed to him. 

Rebecca had decided to venture along the strip of Vegas on her own just needing fresh air and time to think about everything. As she walked she was still so amazed by Vegas even during the day it still seemed so bright and flashy with all the big marquee signs and all the people. She went into a few different gift shops to get a few souvenirs for Abby and Paul and stopped for food since she never did get a chance to eat her breakfast. Rebecca had stayed out for hours, she could’ve gone back to the hotel but she was afraid of going back and facing Elvis even though she knew she had to talk to him. But she decided to just spend as much time as possible out as a way to avoid her problems. Since there was so much to do in Vegas there was no limit to what she could do. 

6:00pm - Elvis’ Suite 

Elvis was just waking up from his long slumber and he felt groggy and tired as he laid in his bed almost forgetting where he was for a moment, he rubbed his hand over his eyes and once his vision cleared he looked at the time and saw it was almost time for the first show and that he had to get ready. He slowly sat up in bed and placed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger and he let out a long exhale as he sat at the edge of the bed before he finally stood himself up. He had wondered if Rebecca had come out because he didn’t hear anything. He walked out of his room to see this morning’s breakfast still on the table and the suite silent. He walked over to her room and knocked on the door and he got no answer. “Rebecca?” he said in a low voice. He knocked again and opened the door this time to see no sign of her and everything as it was the first time he came into her room. Now he was beginning to worry. Where could she be for so long? He walked back to his room and grabbed the phone calling down to Joe’s room and impatiently waited for him to answer as the phone rang. When someone finally picked up it was his wife, Joan. 

“Joanie, it’s Elvis, have you seen Rebecca?” he asked. 

“Uh, no Elvis.. Isn’t she there with you?” she replied. 

“N-No.. She left. All her stuff is still here so I thought maybe she went out with a few of you girls.” he said, trying not to sound worried. 

“Mm, no, I’m sorry I haven’t seen her, Elvis.” she hummed, part of Joan wanted to ask was he okay after what happened this morning, but she knew better to leave it alone. 

“Will ya tell Joe to keep an eye out and ask the guys if they’ve seen her?” he asked. 

“Sure, of course, Elvis.” she said before they hung up. 

Now he was more worried than ever if the girls hadn't seen her. She never been to Vegas so there was no way she could’ve possibly known anyone. He knew she was a grown woman and that she liked to remind him that she was a big girl. But she was a young girl and not that big at all and he was thinking of all the terrible things that could’ve happened to her going out into that wild city. Not only did he have to deal with the nerves of the show, now he had to be worried that something happened to the girl he loved. He went back to his room and freshed himself up before he had to go down and get changed and ready for the show. Jerry, Charlie and Sonny were coming up to meet Elvis to take him down to his dressing room backstage. When he heard the door open he assumed it was Rebecca and he came running out only to see it was the guys and he sighed. 

“Have y’all seen Rebecca? She’s been gone for hours..” he asked. But they all shook their heads assuming she was up in the suite with him. After this morning they didn’t even want to bring her up to him. 

“Maybe she made some friends and she’s out with them? I’m sure she’ll turn up, EP.” Sonny said. 

Elvis sighed and shrugged. “Maybe so.” he mumbled. He couldn’t help but feel worried when he knew he shouldn’t feel anything after how she hurt him this morning, but it was not in his nature to be uncaring especially toward someone he cared so much for no matter what. He couldn’t continue to dwell too much on it because he had a show to get ready for and all he could do was hope she’d turn up and still come to the show despite everything. Elvis grabbed his glasses and headed out of the suite with the guys down to the showroom where they were getting things ready for the show and he went backstage to get his jumpsuit on. 

Meanwhile Rebecca was finally heading back to the hotel she figured she’d still show up to the show tonight even if Elvis may not want her to be there. After watching him perform last night she wouldn’t miss it. Once she got back the place was filling up fast with Elvis fans dying to see him and she made her way through the crowd to the elevator so she could drop off her bags and freshen up a little. She got into the elevator and hoped that Elvis was gone already she wasn’t ready to run into him. She couldn’t take seeing him so angry and hurt again. She got onto the floor of his suite and walked down the hall getting her key out and unlocking the door and heading inside. Everything was still as it was when she left and Elvis’ room door was open and no sign of him and she felt relieved as she headed into her room to set her things down to quickly freshen up for the show. She didn’t have long so she did her best to hurry, she wasn’t even sure if she still had a seat. She just assumed Elvis would want her there. As she came out of the bathroom the phone began to ring in the other room and she went to answer it. The hotel front desk said there was a call on the other line for Candy. She knew it was probably her manager back in New York she had left the hotel she was staying at with him in case there were jobs out in Vegas. Something she had failed to mention to Elvis that she had agreed to do even though he said he’d pay her for work she’d miss. But taking his money didn’t feel right. 

“Yes, that’s me. I’ll take the call.” Rebecca said. 

As the call was put through a man’s voice on the other line came through the phone. 

“Candy? That you?” her manager said. 

“Yes, it’s me. I have to be somewhere so I don’t have long. What’s up?” She replied. 

“I just wanted to let you know there’s a skin flick being filmed out there and they’re looking for a girl. I recommended you to the director. If you want it, it’s yours.” he said. 

“Oh, uh.. Can I think about it and get back to you?” she responded, with everything going on with Elvis she didn’t feel right about going to work and having some guy fuck her. What once made her feel liberated now slightly repulsed her because of her feelings for Elvis. 

“Um, sure, but you’ve got until tomorrow or they’ll find someone else, Candy.” he said. 

“Okay, thank you.” she said before hanging up. She glanced at the time and grabbed her purse quickly headed out of the suite where she bumped right into Jerry.

“Rebecca! Thank goodness. Elvis has been worried sick about you.” Jerry said relieved to see her. 

“H-He has? Why?” she asked, trying to hide the small smile that formed on her lips. 

“Yeah, he wanted me to come and see if you had come back. He had no idea where you were.” Jerry said as the two of them walked down the hall to the elevator. 

“Oh, I just went out to explore Vegas and to think. I didn’t mean to worry him. Please tell him I’m alright.” she smiled. Jerry nodded as they both got onto the elevator and took it downstairs and she followed Jerry to the showroom where he took her to the same seat as last night and he headed back to Elvis. When he got backstage he saw Elvis almost ready to take the stage and Jerry went over to him with a smile. 

“I found your girl, E. She’s out in the showroom in her seat.” Jerry said 

Elvis smiled when he heard Rebecca was okay and that she was at the show tonight. He felt so much better that he almost forgot what happened this morning. He was more than ready to take the stage now. Rebecca looked around to see that there were more people than the night before and as the lights went dim and the music began to play she smiled when she saw Elvis take the stage and the women in the crowd screaming their heads off as she stayed seated in her chair, staring at the godlike figure on the stage. Elvis spotted her in the crowd and the two of them locked eyes and for a moment it seemed like things may be okay between them. Rebecca gave him a little wave and he winked at her before he began the show. 

When the first show came to an end Rebecca didn’t think she’d be able to stay up long enough for the midnight show. It had been a long day and she was tired. Jerry came back over to get her because Elvis wanted to see her. 

“I better not. Tell him I loved the show and I’ll be upstairs in the suite.” she said softly with a smile. 

“Did you want me to walk you up?” Jerry asked. 

“I keep telling you guys, I’m a big girl. But thank you.” Rebecca laughed as she headed out of the showroom and upstairs to Elvis’ suite. She knew he’d be a bit more upset with her since she didn’t go backstage, but she needed to talk with him and she wanted to do so in private and she didn’t want to do it while he was still amped up from his show and preparing for the next. As she waited for him she showered and changed into her pajamas, an oversized t-shirt and a pair of panties. She also cleaned up the mess from that morning and fixed the living room up and she plopped down on the couch and turned the television on trying to do anything to keep her from being so anxious about what she was going to tell him. She began to bite nervously her fingernails as her heart was racing waiting for him for those few hours that passed. 

When Elvis finished his second show he was a little disappointed that Rebecca hadn’t come back after the first show, but he understood things weren’t okay between them still. So, instead of lingering backstage to meet some of the people who came to his show he wanted to get upstairs to Rebecca and a few of the guys walked him up and when he came in Rebecca was laying on the couch nearly falling asleep until she heard the door closed and she sat right up swallowing harshly when she seen Elvis. Much like last night he had a towel around him and he was covered in sweat and his hair a mess. She chewed on her bottom lip as she stared at him and he stared back. 

“Hi..” she whispered. 

“Hey.” Elvis responded. 

Things felt so off between them that they acted as if they didn’t know how to talk to each other now. But she knew she had to be the one to start the conversation. She needed to apologize to him. 

“Can we talk, Elvis?” she asked as she turned the television off. 

“I’d like that, honey.” he muttered. 

“Did you want to shower first? I can wait.” she said softly. 

“Nah, I’m okay.” he said as he made his way over to the couch and sat beside her. 

Rebecca turned to face him and she took a deep breath as she stared at him trying to find the words to say to him. 

“I-I’m really sorry about this morning, Elvis. I never meant to hurt you. The last thing I’d want to do is ever hurt you.” she said as she placed a hand over his. 

“Rebecca.. You don’t have-” but she stopped him before he could get another word out. 

“Please.. Just let me say this. It’s all I’ve been thinking about since our fight. I spoke to Abby because I was so upset and she knocked a bit of sense into me.” she exhaled sharply as she took both his hands into hers and Elvis raised an eyebrow as he turned his body to face her more. “I lied to you this morning about what I said about loving you.. I said it to hurt you. But I didn’t mean it. I was just scared and honestly I’m still scared. But it’s not helping you or me to continue to deny what I feel for you.” she said softly as her nervousness took over that her hands began to tremble in his. 

“And what is it that you feel for me?” he asked curiously, grasping her delicate hands in his big strong hands. 

“I..” she paused as she took a deep breath as she squeezed his hands in hers and she looked away as she spoke. “I care about you deeply. I was so scared of that feeling because of what followed the more we spent time together. But.. I-I love you, Elvis. I’m in love with you. I’ve never felt so deeply for someone but there’s just something special about you that just drives me crazy. But I’m scared of this feeling.” she looked up to see him smiling ear to ear. 

“You love me? Really?” he asked as he scooted closer toward her, he didn’t need to hear anymore. He had already forgiven her and just wanted to kiss her and as he went to lean in she leaned back and placed one of her hands over his mouth. 

“Elvis, please, did you hear what I said? Loving you scares me...” she whispered. 

“Why? I’m not goin’ to hurt you. I wouldn’t. I just want to take care of you.” he muttered as he kissed her hands. 

“I-I know, well I think.. But do you really love me or love me because of what I do? Because I’ve had men in the past say they love me when in reality they just loved what I did for work and how cool it made them seem dating a pornstar. But I’m not that person.. That's Candy.” she confessed. 

Elvis slipped his hands out of hers and he cupped her face in his hands and lifted her head to look at him and he shook his head at her. 

“Now you listen to me, honey, I know exactly how you feel not knowin’ if someone loves you for you or who you are or what ya do. But I’m tellin’ ya, I love you for you. I love Rebecca. I don’t like that you do porn.. Honestly, I hope you quit.” he said softly as he stared into those green eyes that drove him wild. 

She reached up to place her hands over his and she smiled as she got teary eyed. 

“You mean that, Elvis? Because I love you for you. The soft and sweet man I’ve gotten to know over the past few months. I didn’t like you or your music to begin with so that should tell you my honest feelings.” she teased, laughing softly. Elvis had joined in on her laughter and he pressed his forehead against hers as they continued to laugh softly. 

“I can always count on ya to be honest, baby.” he chuckled and a small silence fell between them as their eyes met for a brief moment and their noses brushed against one another as their lips grazed upon each other’s before they embraced in a deep kiss. The softness of his lips consumed her and made her feel completely drunk that she wanted more. His hands ran along her body and brought a chill down her spine and she lifted herself up and pressed him back against the couch as she climbed into his lap. The two of them continued to kiss passionately and his hands running along her thighs and tugging her shirt up just a little and she whimpered softly against his lips as her hands ran along his chest and his round belly. Elvis pulled back from the kiss for a moment and tried to catch his breath. 

“I ain’t showered yet, baby.” he mumbled. 

“I don’t care..” she whispered before crashing her lips against his again. They wanted each other more than ever. Their hands squeezing and groping at each other. He made her feel aroused in ways she never had before. He reached beneath her shirt and his hands ran along her panties and he slowly shoved his hand down them and she whimpered against his lips as she felt his fingertips graze along her pubic hair and his fingers slipping between her pussy lips that caused shockwaves throughout her body. She reached down frantically unzipping his jumpsuit. As things were getting hot and heavy between them the phone began to ring. Elvis pulled away looking toward his room. She grabbed his face to make him look at her. “Ignore it, Elvis..” she said breathlessly, kissing along his neck as one of her hands slipped into his jumpsuit. He listened to her running his finger along her clit and getting aroused feeling how wet she was becoming for him and she moaned softly as her hips moved against his hand. The phone stopped ringing for a moment and Rebecca was relieved until it began to ring continuously.  

Elvis pulled away and shook his head. 

“Mm, sorry baby, it could be important.. It’s probably the damn Colonel.” he sighed. Rebecca rolled her eyes and climbed off his lap fixing herself and hoping he wouldn’t be long and Elvis got up fixing his jumpsuit as he went into his room to answer the phone. He was met with a surprise at the end of the line. It was not the Colonel calling. It was Linda and she was furious. Elvis had been making excuses as to why Linda couldn’t come out to Vegas and when she tried to get some answers from the guys and a few of their wives, no one could give her an answer. She figured out there had to be another girl. As she continued to yell at him he quickly shut his door which caught Rebecca’s attention and she raised an eyebrow. 

“Ah hell, would ya calm down? I told you in two weeks you can come out.” he whispered on the phone. 

“You’re hiding something from me, Elvis! I just know it! Why can’t I come out there now? It’s another girl, isn’t it?” she yelled on the other end. 

“I told you, Linda.. I’m just too busy right now. Would ya stop actin’ like a naggin’ ass wife!” he whispered angrily. 

The two of them continued to go back and forth over the phone with Linda getting more upset especially because Elvis hadn’t denied there being another girl. Rebecca began to listen in on his conversation and she furrowed her brow because it did not sound like a conversation with his manager. She got up from the couch and quietly made her way to the door and pressed her ear up against it and she listened to him talking. She could hear someone yelling loudly on the other line. It sounded like a woman and she was hysterical. The way Elvis spoke to her sounded like this was someone he was close to. He was calling her honey and baby, which began to make Rebecca upset. Who was this person? Did he have a girlfriend? When she heard him say there was no else and he loved her that’s when Rebecca’s heart dropped and it felt like a lump was in her throat. She slowly backed away from the door and she didn’t know if she wanted to cry or kill him. She stood at the door silently waiting for him to end his phone call and she could feel her blood boiling as tears filled her eyes. When he finally hung up he let out a soft sigh and the moment he opened the door and saw Rebecca standing there with tears streaming down her face he knew he was in trouble. His heart began to race and it looked like he had seen a ghost. 

“You fucking asshole!” Rebecca screamed and began to hit him. 

“Rebecca, honey, I-I can explain!” he said frantically trying to get her to stop as he grabbed at her hands. 

“Explain what!? That you’ve had someone else this entire time!” she pulled back from him and she walked away from him and he tried to stop her by grabbing her arm.

“Take your fucking hands off of me!!!” she screamed in his face. 

“Baby, please, j-just lemme explain!” he yelled. 

She ran off to her room and slammed the door closed and locked it, crying softly. She felt like such an idiot. 

Elvis pounded his fist against the door.

“Baby, please let me in so that I can explain..” he pleaded. 

“I feel like such a damn fool! I knew it. I knew I should’ve trusted my gut when it came to falling in love with you. You’re a liar and a damn cheat! I don’t want anything to do with you, Elvis!” she yelled through her tears. 

“Rebecca.. Y-You don’t understand, honey. That relationship is over. It's been over for a while. I haven’t been happy with her in a long time and I’ve been tryin’ to leave her. The moment I was fallin’ in love with you, I’ve been tryin’ to end it. You gotta believe me, honey.” he pleaded. 

“How long?” she muttered. 

“What?” he answered. 

“How long have you been with her, Elvis?” she asked, sniffling softly. 

He sighed as his forehead rested against the door. 

“Three years..” he mumbled. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Rebecca blurted out as she began to cry even more. 

“But it’s over! It’s done!” Elvis yelled. 

“It didn’t sound fucking over! I heard you tell her there was no one else and you loved her. So I guess I mean nothing to you?!” she yelled. 

“N-No.. Honey.. I.. It’s.. It’s complicated.” he stuttered. 

“Save it, Elvis. I don’t want to hear anymore of your bullshit.” she snapped, wiping her tears. She grabbed a pair of pants and slipped them on along with her shoes and then she began to gather up her blanket and a pillow and she unlocked and opened the door to see Elvis standing right there and she pushed past him angrily toward the front door. 

“Where are you going?” he asked as he followed behind her. 

“Away from you, asshole.” she sneered. 

She quickly headed out the door slamming it in his face before he could approach and he quickly opened it to see her hurrying down the hallway. She decided to go to Jerry and his fiance’s room, hoping they would let her sleep there until she could get her own room away from Elvis. He watched her disappear down the hall and he sighed and went back into the suite, slamming the door closed. “Fuck!” he yelled. He was so angry that he began to knock and throw things over in a fit of rage before he tired himself out and was nearly out of breath, plopped down onto the couch and put his face in his hands. He didn’t know what he was going to do now. 

Rebecca made her way to Jerry’s room and knocked on the door and Sandy, his fiance, was surprised to see Rebecca but she knew something was wrong because she was in tears. 

“I’m sorry to be bothering you.. But Elvis and I got into another fight and I just needed somewhere to sleep for the night. If that’s okay?” she said, wiping the tears from her face. 

“Oh my gosh, of course. Come inside.” Sandy said sweetly, helping her inside. 

“Thank you.” Rebecca smiled. 

Jerry came out of the bedroom wondering what was going on and then he saw Rebecca was crying and he furrowed his brow. “Is everything alright? What happened?” he asked. 

“She and Elvis got into another fight..” Sandy said, looking at Jerry and without saying much, asking him to give them some privacy. He nodded and headed back into the bedroom. 

“I know it’s none of my business, but did you want to talk about what happened?” Sandy asked. 

“Did you all know?” Rebecca asked without hesitation. 

“Know what, honey?” she said softly. 

“About Elvis’ girlfriend..” she murmured. 

Sandy clenched her jaw and cleared her throat a bit. She didn’t want to lie because they all knew Linda of course. But they were so used to Elvis and the different women he’d bring around they didn’t think much about the relationship with him and Rebecca. But Sandy was soon realizing things were becoming more serious with him and Rebecca from the way breakfast went that morning. 

“Y-Yes.. We did. I’m sorry.. We–” Rebecca put up her hand to interrupt her. 

“It’s fine. It was his responsibility to tell me about her. Not his friends. What’s her name?” she asked. 

“Um.. Linda. Linda Thompson.” Sandy answered.

Rebecca nodded and didn’t say a word as she made herself comfortable on the couch. 

“There’s another bedroom if you’d rather sleep there.” Sandy said. 

“I’m fine on the couch. Thank you.” Rebecca said softly as she laid on the couch. Sandy nodded and began to head back to the bedroom with Jerry who was hoping she’d fill him in on what’s going on. Rebecca laid there for a moment staring up at the ceiling and then she sat up and grabbed the phone, dialing her manager's number. She knew it was late in New York but he kept late hours working in the porn industry so she was bound to catch him awake. She was so upset with Elvis that just to spite him and piss him off she was going to take that job her manager offered. When he finally picked up she didn’t give him a chance to say hello. 

“Harvey, it’s Candy. I’ll take that job.” she said softly and she quickly grabbed a pen and paper to jot down the details of where they were filming and then she hung up and slipped the paper into pants pocket before she laid back down. She didn’t know how she was going to get any sleep. She felt heartbroken that Elvis had been lying to her this entire time and betrayed her trust. She just felt so stupid. She turned over and the more she thought about it the more it brought on the tears that she cried herself to sleep. 

Elvis, all alone in his suite, had finally calmed down and had decided to sleep on the couch in case Rebecca had come back in the middle of the night. But as time went on he soon realized she wasn’t coming back that night. He was so scared of losing her and just wanted to explain everything to her in hopes of understanding his situation. The longer he waited up for her he eventually ended up falling asleep in the most uncomfortable position on the couch and waking up anytime he heard a noise hoping it was her. 

The Next Morning

Rebecca had gotten up early before Sandy and Jerry were awake and she quietly gathered her things and headed out of their room and back up to Elvis’ suite. She had to be at the set early so they could get her fitted for her outfit and to do her makeup. So, she needed to shower and get dressed and she was hoping that lying, cheating bastard as she began to call him in her head was in his room asleep. When she got back to the suite she snuck inside to see him asleep on the couch still in his jumpsuit and she rolled her eyes at him. Just seeing him made her blood boil. She hurried to her room and shut the door which woke Elvis up and he could hear her shuffling around in there and then the shower running. He quickly sat up and stared at her bedroom door. He was hoping she calmed down a little so they could talk this out. He decided just to wait for her to come out because he didn’t want to anger her more than she probably already was with him. 

When she finished showering she brushed teeth and her hair and got dressed, sporting a pair of denim bell bottoms and a crop top. She then packed her little bag with a few things she always brought when she’d be making a film and once she made sure she had everything she headed out the room to see Elvis awake and staring at her and she rolled her eyes making a b-line for the door. Elvis jumped up and ran over to her.

“Leave me alone, Elvis.” she hissed. 

“Where are ya going?” he asked. 

“Work.” she answered, not looking at him.

“W-Work? Where??” he questioned. 

She sighed and turned to face him with her hands on her hips. 

“Yes, work. I’m a pornstar, remember? My manager set me up with a job. They were looking for a girl and I took it.” she said. 

“Don’t fuckin’ do this, Rebecca. I told ya, I didn’t want you doin’ this shit no more. No girl of mine–” Rebecca scoffed, cutting him off. 

“I am not your girl, Elvis! You made that abundantly clear last night! We don’t always get what we want.” she yelled.

Elvis tried to grab her to stop her from opening the door and she snatched her arm away from him. 

“Touch me again and I’ll kill you.” she snapped, swinging the door open and slamming it shut as she stepped out and headed to her destination. 

Elvis was furious and the last thing he was going to do was allow her to make that film. He went and grabbed the phone calling up Joe and practically yelling for him to get the guys up and get their asses to his room. When he hung up he went to his bedroom to shower and get dressed. The guys were already waiting for him in the living room of the suite, confused as to what was going on and what was wrong with him. As soon as Elvis emerged from his bedroom he was dressed in a two tone black and white colored suit with belt sewn into the suit jacket and his glasses on. The guys were more confused than ever because Elvis had made no plans to go anywhere today. 

“Everything alright, EP?” Sonny asked. 

“What was the uh.. the damn name of that guy who invited us to that porn set months ago where we met Rebecca?” Elvis asked. 

The guys looked at one another, none of them remembering what his name was but knew exactly who he was talking about.

“Wasn’t it like Harvey or somethin’?” Charlie chimed in. 

“Do y’all still have that bastard’s number?” Elvis asked. 

Sonny, who didn’t want to admit he kept in touch because he liked a few of the young girls Harvey managed and sometimes had a thing with them. 

“I may have it somewhere, EP. Why? What’s going on?” he asked. 

“He sent Rebecca to do some damn film and I need to know where the hell she is. Just get the goddamn number!” Elvis yelled impatiently. Sonny nodded and headed out and down to his room to look in his little black book and he tore the page out and headed back up to the suite nearly out of breath. 

“Call ‘em up and ask that fucker where he sent Rebecca. But don’t use her real name. She never uses her real name with ‘em.” Elvis said. Sonny didn’t hesitate to call Harvey up, especially seeing Elvis’ mood today. As soon as he called Sonny and Harvey chatted like they were old pals with the amount of times Sonny had spoken to him for his benefits. He began to tell him about Elvis and if he remembered the girl who left with him and Harvey knew right away that it was Candy/Rebecca he was talking about. Sonny lied saying Elvis wanted to know where she was filming because he wanted to see her again and since Harvey liked Elvis and the guys he happily gave them the address. Sonny hung up as soon as they got it. All of the guys headed out to Elvis’ Cadillac where Charlie hopped in the front seat to drive and Jerry sat up in the passenger seat. While Elvis and the rest of the guys sat in the back. Elvis was silent the whole ride, his leg bouncing and shaking as he stared out the window. He was pissed and upset and felt Rebecca was doing this because of last night. He understood she was hurt and upset. But she didn’t have to be spiteful. He was determined to get his girl back at any cost. 

Rebecca had arrived not too long ago and she was getting fitted in her costume for the film. She was wearing just a black and red corset with black stockings and a pair of heels. She finished getting her hair and makeup done and was waiting for her scene where she was supposed to be seducing the guy and then letting him fuck her. She had to admit she didn’t actually want to do this, she felt disgusted by her job now because of her feelings for Elvis and this just feeling wrong to her. But she was angry and hurt. She wanted to hurt him the way he hurt her and this was the way because she knew he hated her doing this. 

Once they arrived at some house Elvis and the guys got out of the car. Charlie and Joe stayed outside while the rest of the men barged in with Elvis who walked in on Rebecca in the middle of her scene of seducing the guy. He clenched his jaw staring at her. The director had yelled cut the moment Elvis walked in and disrupted the scene, but he had not recognized Elvis at first when he began to yell. Rebecca sighed wondering what was going on until she looked up and saw Elvis standing there staring at her with that angry glare of his. She felt like a little girl who got caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to be doing. She stood up and backed away from the guy as Elvis continued to stare at her. 

“What the hell, man!? Can’t you see we’re shooting something!” he yelled as he walked toward Elvis, Sonny and Red moving in front of Elvis to stop the guy from coming any closer and he finally realized who it was. “Holy shit.. You’re Elvis Presley!” he beamed. Elvis completely ignored him as the guys kept the director away as Elvis made his way over to Rebecca who was scared of what he was going to do. 

“E-Elvis.. How did you find me?” she said nervously. 

But Elvis didn’t say a word as he grabbed her by the forearm and began to drag her back with him to one of the bedrooms so they could talk. Rebecca began to squirm and try to fight against his strong hold over her. But he was much stronger than her and had a tight grip on her. “Elvis, let me go!” she yelled. The director, confused as to what was going on, tried to stop Elvis but the guys grabbed him to stop him. The entire cast and crew were terrified and confused.

When Elvis and Rebecca got to a room he pushed her inside and shut the door closed, locking it. As soon as Elvis turned to face her she slapped him right across the face. She backed up, afraid of what he might do. But he rubbed a hand over his face and smirked a bit, not saying a word. Then he grabbed her and slammed her up against the wall and he grabbed her face in his right hand and his face got close to hers and she began to squirm and whimper, reaching up to slap him and claw at him. 

“What the hell did I tell ya, Rebecca? No girl of mine is goin’ to be doing this shit! Why do you insist on hurtin’ me, baby? Huh?” he growled. 

“Oh fuck you, Elvis! You’re the one who’s been lying this whole time!” she mumbled out as he gripped her face harder. He slammed his other hand against the wall beside her head. 

“I told you, she means nothing to me. I love you!” he yelled. 

“Bullshit! You don’t love me!” she yelled back and began to hit him again, knocking his glasses off and now he grabbed her arms and slammed them against the wall, pinning them down to make her stop. She swallowed harshly as the two of them breathed heavily fuming in anger at one another as their bodies pressed against one another. She hated that part of her was turned on by this seeing how jealous and pissed he was when he walked in seeing her straddling another man. The possessiveness in him was so animalistic that it aroused her.  

“I do love you! Why can’t you fuckin’ understand that! I love you and only you, Rebecca!” he shouted in her face with his jaw clenched. 

“Then fucking prove it.” she whispered to him, challenging him.

They locked eyes and both filled with so much anger and lust for one another that the only way he knew how to prove his love to her in that moment was what he’d been wanting to do for a long time. There was so much tension in the air between them that it was almost hard to fight against their urges. Rebecca’s gaze fell from his eyes and to his lips and she kissed him hard and deep and distracted him enough that his grip on her arms loosened and she pulled them away and pushed him roughly that he nearly fell back and then he pushed her back and their pushing one another ended up with Elvis grabbing her, turned her around so her back was facing him and pushing her up against the vanity that was in the room and she fell against it knocking things off. When she tried to turn around to face him he stopped her and grabbed her by the throat, his hand grasping around it tight and she let out a soft gasp, becoming even more turned on and he leaned in to whisper into her ear. “The only man who’s gonna be fuckin’ you like a little whore is me.. Do you understand?” he mumbled as he pressed himself up against her ass. 

She captured her bottom lip between her teeth and nodded her head slowly as she stared at him through the mirror of the vanity. 

“Yes, daddy.” she whispered to him as her hands gripped onto the vanity, she could feel her pussy already dripping wet for him just by how forceful he was being with her and the feeling of his already erect cock pressed firmly against her ass. 

He smirked at her calling him daddy. He ran his hands along the corset that hugged around her curves and he wrapped his hands around the back of it and he tightened his grip around the cheap fabric and he tore it off of her and she let out a soft gasp as it fell from her body and his big strong hands cupped her breasts, squeezing and groping them tight as he kissed a few places along her neck slowly. She began to grind her ass slowly against his cock as she continued to watch him from the mirror and she could feel him growing and throbbing for her, a low groan escaping him. She continued to move her ass along the front of his crotch and up toward his belly and she let out a soft giggle when she heard him groan again. He grabbed her arms and forced them behind her back and he slammed her upper body against the cold wood of the vanity causing more items to fall and she hissed softly from how rough he was being. 

“You fucking asshole.” she mumbled under her breath as her face was pressed up against the vanity. 

Her words only caused him to smirk because he knew she was enjoying every minute of this and held her arms back with one hand as he used the other to trace over the fabric of her stockings and her ass, giving it a hard slap and she let out a soft squeal because his rings made the slap hurt even more. “I don’t want to hear another goddamn word from you.” he said angrily through gritted teeth. He gave her ass another hard slap which made her body jolt and then his fingertips traced against her stockings before he made a hole in them and ripped them open and his hand coming in contact with her bare ass she squirmed beneath him. He squeezed and ran his hand down her ass and slipped two of his fingers in between to spread her thighs apart and he raised an eyebrow when he felt her thighs slicked in her own juices. 

“You filthy little thing.. You’re wet for me already, huh?” he smirked. 

She whimpered softly wanting to close her thighs around his hand as it ran up and down in between them playing in her juices before he slid his hand up and his fingers traced along her pubic hair and he licked his lips as his rough fingers landed against her clit and she let out a soft moan. Her thighs slightly closed around his hand and she could feel the coldness of his fingers brush against her thighs as he began to painfully rub slow circles against her lip as he continued to keep her arms pinned against her back with his other hand. She begins to moan louder the more his fingers pressed firmly against her sensitive swollen clit and his hand becoming covered in her sweet nectar. The feeling of his fingers only gave her more pleasure and caused her to become so aroused that she was dripping wet around his hand and slowly beginning to grind against it. 

“Goddamn, baby, this little tight cunt of yours is soaking for me.. Such a good girl..” he mumbled. 

He slid his middle finger down and traced small circles around her entrance teasing his finger in and out of her tight hole and her thighs trembled around him. “Gonna stretch this little hole of yours to my liking and make you remember who you belong to..” he whispered. 

She nodded her head in response as she continued to moan out softly, desperate for him to shove his cock inside of her. He pulled his hand away that was covered in her slick and he admired it and loved the mess she made already, wanting her to make an even bigger mess on his cock. After staring at his hand for another moment he took it and smeared it all over her face and she gasped, desperately licking and tasting herself. He was so turned on he couldn’t fight the urge to fuck her any longer and he let go of her arms to start to unbutton his pants and while he had his guard down, she lifted herself off the vanity, turned to face him and she grabbed a hold of his pants, shoving her hand down them once he hand them undone and she wrapped her hand tight around his cock, squeezing him in her grasp and he grunted loudly. She got close to his face, smirking. “Did you think I was going to let you be in complete control?” she whispered, before she crashed her lips against his and now he could taste her pussy on his lips as they kissed and he pressed up against her as she still had a hold on his cock. She giggled seeing the needy look in his eye as her fingers grazed along the length of his cock. 

She let him go and lifted herself up onto the vanity and brought her legs up, and firmly pressed her heels against the rough wood as she spread her legs apart in front of him, her throbbing, dripping pussy on full display for him and he licked his lips staring at the beautiful sight of her little pussy that was begging to be fucked. She ran a hand down between her thighs and traced her index and middle finger along her pussy and spread her soaking lips apart for him to get a better view of her. His jaw was nearly on the floor as his eyes never left her pussy as he slowly began to remove other parts of his clothing, revealing his upper body to her, she bit her lip as she stared at him at his hairy chest and his round belly, she thought he was the sexiest man she had ever seen. “Well? What are you waiting for? Fuck me.” she cooed.

He quickly tugged his pants down and as he moved in between her legs she lifted her right leg up and pressed the sole of heel against his bare chest and it pierced his skin, causing him to groan. “Don’t you dare cum inside of me..” she hummed demandingly. He nodded at her words, willing to do whatever she asked like a little puppy the way he wanted her. She smiled and set her foot back down on the table, her legs spread wide apart for him still as he moved in between them and one hand clung onto her thigh and his other hand reaching down to grab his cock and he teased the head of his cock between her soaking lips and the feeling of her pubic hair tickled against his cock as he groaned softly feeling her velvety folds brush against him. Rebecca tilted her head back against the mirror and let out a soft moan. After his little teasing he slowly guided his cock inside of her and he grunted and groaned lowly as he entered her and he stretched her pussy open inch by inch with his cock until he completely bottomed out inside of her. She gasped loudly and shut her eyes tight as she moaned, grabbing onto his big arms. 

“Ah, fuck, baby, you’re so tight..” he mumbled under his breath as he began to thrust his hips roughly inside of her and she whimpered and cried out his name as he forced her pussy to open up around him and take him deep, leaving her no choice to adjust to the size of him. 

“Oh, daddy.. You f-feel so good inside of me..” she said breathless. 

Her hands squeezed around his arms so tight that her nails began to dig into his skin as his hands grabbed her waist and tugged her forward as he began to slam his hips into her, fucking her roughly that the vanity beneath them began to shake and wobble, the mirror slamming up against the wall to the tune of his thrusts, her legs wrapping around him and her heels digging into his sides as she panted heavily and her eyes rolled back as she moaned and whimpered, nearly screaming his name with how his cock hit inside of her, so deep and hard that she could feel him hitting against her cervix and stretching her open that his cock fit like a glove inside of her. He leaned down to kiss along her neck and he was breathing heavily and grunting loudly with each thrust as sweat gathered at his brow and he kissed down to her breasts, his soft lips taking one of her nipples into his mouth and she kept one hand on his arm still and brought the other up to tangle into his hair as their bodies slammed against one another, moaning and breathing heavily in sync with each other. It was so loud that everyone could hear what the two of them were doing. He kissed back up to her neck until he reached her lips and they kissed sloppily and passionately as he lifted her up and began to slam his cock harder inside her, determined to make her remember just who she and her pussy belonged to. “Oh god.. Elvis.. Fuck.. Just like that!” she screamed, pulling at his dark hair. The faster he fucked her the louder the squelching sounds of her pussy became, she was soaking for him that it was making a mess of them. 

The both of them had so much pent up sexual tension that this little game they were playing of power dynamics and the anger they felt toward one another, but also the love was building up into something more and ready to explode at any minute as they continued to fuck each other. The louder she moaned the louder his groans and grunts became, their bodies growing weaker and numb to the pleasure they were giving each other as their orgasms built within in approaching the surface quickly as they continued on until they couldn’t hold on any longer. Rebecca was screaming his name as her orgasm hit like a train that her eyes rolled all the way back and her body went limp as she came all over his cock. He couldn’t hold himself back the moment she did and remembering what she said he grabbed his cock trying to slip it out of her stretched cunt as quick as possible and his warm cum shooting out onto her stomach in thick ropes all over and she watched with delight until he finished and collapsed against her. She slipped her arms around him as the two of them tried to catch their breath as their bodies laid trembling against one another. Her soft whimpers escaped her lips as she buried her face into his hair. 

“Oh, fuck.. Fuck.. That was amazing..” she mumbled. 

All Elvis could do was nod at her words before he pulled himself off her and she sat up, her legs feeling wobbly and her pussy sore from his rough pounding that she slowly climbed off the vanity and she grabbed a few tissues to wipe his cum off her stomach and she kicked off her heels and slipped out of what was left of her stockings. Elvis watched her as he got himself dressed and it was silent between the two of them now with some of the tension gone, but very much present between them. She glanced over to see him staring at her with a smirk. 

“Don’t go getting crazy ideas. I’m still mad at you.” she said softly as she continued to clean herself. 

“Are you? Because it sure didn’t seem that way, baby.” he said with a chuckle. 

“It was just sex. That’s it.” she mumbled. 

“No, it wasn’t. We just made love and you know that it was more than just sex.” he replied.

Elvis furrowed his brow as he watched her shake her head and once he had gotten his clothes back on he walked over to her and pulled her naked body against him, kissing her deep and she couldn’t stop herself from kissing him back. She loved him. She wouldn’t be able to stop loving him. But she was still hurt that he lied to her. She pulled back from him, shaking her head as she looked up at him.

“Elvis.. This doesn’t change anything. You lied to me. You broke any trust I had for you. It’s going to take more than us fucking to fix that.” she said softly. 

Elvis sighed and he knew it was a long shot to hope that the two of them making love would fix everything. He knew he was wrong and that he should’ve been honest with her from the start. “I’m sorry, baby. I-I didn’t mean to.. I want to fix this..” he said. 

A small smile formed on her lips, she nodded slowly. 

“I know you are. I know you want to fix this. But it’s going to take time..” she said as she pulled away from him and grabbed her bag of clothes. “I’ll meet you out there.” she hummed as she headed into the bathroom to shower and get dressed. Elvis let out another sigh as he fixed himself up before heading back out to see everyone staring at him knowing what had just went on in that room. Elvis approached the director that Sonny and Red still had a grip on. 

“Let ‘em go, fellas.” Elvis said, the two men listening and letting the guy go. Elvis got close to him as he slipped his glasses back on. “Find yourself another girl because she quits.” he muttered before pushing past him and toward the front door where he stood to wait for Rebecca. She finished up in the shower and quickly got dressed and grabbed the rest of her things and hurried out of the room, seeing everyone staring at her and she just continued to walk, not making eye contact until she reached Elvis who took her hand and the both of them walked out together with the guys following behind. 

International Hotel

When they got back to the hotel Elvis and Rebecca headed to his suite alone as the guys went their separate ways. It was a quiet walk to his suite as they continued to hold each other’s hand and shared glances with one another. Elvis got his key out as they approached the door and opened it and much to both of their surprise there was a woman sitting on the couch who stood up the moment they walked in. It was Linda. She had flown from Memphis to Vegas because she had enough of Elvis’ lies and secrets and she didn’t trust a word he had said over the phone. She decided to surprise him with a visit just to catch him in his lies and his new girl. Rebecca furrowed her brow wondering who the strange woman was in his suite. 

“L-Linda..” Elvis mumbled. 

Rebecca pulled her hand away from him and looked at him and then Linda and then back at him.

“This is Linda?” she said softly.

“And you must be his new shiny toy.” Linda said snidely. 

Rebecca didn’t like her already as she narrowed her eyes at the woman and now she slipped her arm around Elvis feeling possessive over him. 

“Rebecca is my name.” she said sharply. 

“Right.. Do you mind? I’d like to speak with Elvis alone.” Linda said, looking her up and down. 

“Actually, I do fucking mind. Whatever you have to say to him you can say it in front of me.” Rebecca snapped as she tightened her grasp around Elvis who was too stunned to even speak and now both women were basically fighting over him. 

Linda scoffed and shook her head. Elvis finally cleared his throat and looked over at Rebecca. 

“It’s okay, baby. Just give us a minute, please?” he asked. 

Rebecca rolled her eyes and nodded at his words as she stared over at Linda out of the corner of her eye as she leaned up to press several soft kisses to Elvis’ cheek just to piss her off before she walked off to his bedroom on purpose, closing the door. Linda rolled her eyes in disgust as she turned her attention back to Elvis. As usual Rebecca was listening in on their conversation. 

“So, that’s her? She’s pretty. Super young.” she remarked. 

Elvis sighed. 

“Don’t give me that shit. What are you doin’ here!?” he shouted. 

“I wanted to see her for myself. Now I have and well I hope she’s the one this time.” she said softly. She had no tears left to shed for him after dealing with his infidelity for the past three years. 

“She may be the one. She makes me happy and she challenges me, she’s honest with me. Something no one else seems to be around here.” he replied. 

Linda laughed, nodding. 

“Right.. Sure..” she grabbed her purse and began to head toward the door, grabbing a hold of the doorknob and turning back around toward him for a moment. “I just hope she realizes you only like the beginning of things.” she muttered as her last parting words before she slipped out that door and out of his life forever. 

Elvis sighed and shook his head at whatever hell that meant as he stared at the door for a moment and felt a wave of relief that Linda had ended things between them so he wouldn’t have to. He turned back around to see Rebecca standing in the doorway of his room, looking up at him with those beautiful green eyes, she heard everything and the last thing Linda said really stuck with her. She stared at Elvis as he walked over to her, slipping his arms around her and pulling her into his embrace. She didn’t put her arms around him, she didn’t even move.

“It’s over, baby. It’s officially over. I promise ya” he said softly as he looked down at her. She was staring up at him and she shook her head and pulled away. 

“Elvis, I-I think I’m going to go back to New York tomorrow..” she whispered. 

Elvis furrowed his brow, confused. 

“What? Why?” he asked. 

“I need space from you. I need time to think.. I told you no matter what happens us having sex the two of you finally being over doesn’t change the fact that you still lied to me. What did she mean by you only like the beginning of things? How can I trust you not to do to me what you did to her??” she said as she backed away from him. 

“Ah, baby, don’t listen to her.. She just said that to stir shit up. I would never do that to you. I love you. I only want to be with you. Please don’t go..” 

“I don’t believe you, Elvis. I don’t trust you. I need space... I can’t stay here. So, I’m leaving tomorrow morning. I’m sorry. I want things to work between us because I love you too, but if you mean what you say and want to gain my trust back it’s going to take more than you just saying it or fucking me.” she said as she began to walk away.

Elvis grabbed her hand, pleading for her not to go. 

“Please.. I-I need you, baby.” he said softly as his eyes welled up with tears. Rebecca shook her head and now tears were streaming down her face. 

“Then when you finish your engagement here, you come show me how much you need me and love me. You know where I live..” she said before pulling out of his grasp and going to her bedroom, shutting the door and locking it to keep him out as she gathered her things and began to pack. She could hear Elvis out there pleading for her to not go but she ignored him.

She felt horrible leaving him but she needed to. She needed space to think away from him and she’d hope time away from her would help him think about what he really wanted. She couldn’t get what Linda said out of her head. She knew she probably did say that knowing she was listening just to cause another problem between her and Elvis. But either way, her mind was made up and first thing in the morning she was catching a taxi to the airport and heading back home. 

He only likes the beginning of things…

Tagging: @18lkpeters @peaceloveelvis @iloveelvis @elvispresleygf @wanderingelvis @richardslady121 @dkayfixates @doll-elvis @kendralavon7 @honey6578 @marie73ep @wanderlustingtomboy @powerofelvis @lindszeppelin @idontwanttoputanything @amydarcimarie @returntopresley @literally-just-elvis-fics

[lovelyladyabsinthewrites]

Love Song for a Vampire Pt. 36

Pairing(s):Edward Cullen x Wolf!Reader, Jacob Black x Witch!OC

Warnings: underage smoking (non nicotine, non cannabis)

Words: 3242

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5  Part 6  Part 7 Part 8  Part 9  Part 10  Part 11  Part 12  Part 13  Part 14  Part 15  Part 16  Part 17  Part 18  Part 19  Part 20  Part 21  Part 22  Part 23   Part 24  Part 25  Part 26  Part 27  Part 28 Part 29  Part 30  Part 31  Part 32  Part 33 Part 34 Part 35 Part 37 Part 38 Part 39 Part 40(series finale)

The time was growing late where you should have been back home already preparing for bed. You couldn't leave the comfort of the forest though, not when you and Edward lay side by side, him listening as you described Dieufel's magic and Nadege taking over Bella's training. Soft grass tickling your bare arms and legs and the singing of evening birds swooping into the trees after a long day. Bugs kept away from you and Edward, probably thanks to whatever supernatural scent was embedded into you.

You also brought up that in just two days you'd be free of all academic obligation. That meant you could finally go on your long overdue date.

Edward smiles, turning onto his side to face you. "I've been thinking of all the things we can do. Can't seem to decide on just one though."

Laughing you follow suit and roll over to talk to him. The sun wasn't bright any longer, but just a few meager rays were enough to dance off of Edward's skin and illuminate the prism-like structure of Edward's skin and how it's almost blinding. Odd how vampires took on such a trait. "Yeah? What are some of your ideas?" All the while you covertly admire how handsome Edward is in daylight. Your fingers itch to touch his luminescent skin and feel it's coolness against your skin.

He watches the subtle twitch of your fingers as you restrain them from reaching out to him. That makes the corner of his lips curl. Boldly he grabs your hand as he replies "Well, I thought about maybe a movie but that's too cliche. Go-karting sounded like fun when I was researching what girls these days like to do on dates."

You snort, hiding your blush while Edward plays with your small fingers. "You sound old when you say things like that."

"I am old!" Edward chortles before shaking his head. He likes how soft your hands are. It really felt like you were made for him the way your hand easily melds into his grasp. Pale fingers weave themselves with your's offering a contrast in skin tone that mesmerizes both you and Edward. "Then I remember you telling me how the pack go cliff jumping. We could probably both appreciate a bit of fun adrenaline."

"What about the sun? If we go during the day people might see you light up like a disco ball." Oh you love his laugh and how it rumbles his whole body. You don't remember him laughing as much as he did when he was with you.

He acknowledges your concern though. "Unfortunately we'll have to go later in the day to avoid that." An apologetic tone laces his words. There were limits on what the two of you would be able to do together. You don't mind though. The most important thing was being with him and nurturing your bond.

An amusement park would be ideal since places like that have many different types of rides to enjoy. The downside was that anything like that would not be found near Forks. You'd have to travel outside of the city, possibly several hours out but thanks to Edward's driving, it wouldn't be a long drive. It would be a sight to see the vampire on a roller coaster. A picture would be necessary to show the others that Edward wasn't us stiff and brooding as they all thought he was. At least with you, he came to life.

"What would you like to do?" He asks you.

You think for a moment and shrub against the blades of grass. "I don't know. I've never been on a date before."

That was news to him. "Really? You and Embry-"

Instantly your upper body shoots up and your hand falls from his. "What're you talking about?" For some reason it made me defensive when Edward brought up Embry. Not like anything happened. It had only ever been a crush plus that one kiss several weeks ago.

Gauging your reaction, Edward makes sure to compose his sentences more delicately. "I'm sorry. Just. . . The way I've seen him look at you and his thoughts. . . I thought there was something between you two."

What had Embry been thinking while around Edward?

Evita was going to need to make more amulets to prevent Edward from reading anymore intimate thoughts.

You purse your lips and relax back down though there's now a frown pulling down your lips. He wasn't exactly wrong. "Nothing like that at least. I did used to have a crush on him a couple of years ago and I think he did too, but nothing came of it. We've just decided to stay friends. Other than that, no dates. This will be my first."

That seems to make him grin a little as he was tickled by that. "I'll make sure not to disappoint."

The next day was spent with you itching to get out of your summer school classes and Bella continuing her lessons with Nadege while Dieufel and Evita tag teamed on making the wards. Their energy was always spent after making just one and needing a recovery period of at least the rest of the day so they could get back at it the next. However, even after getting out of your lessons, you and Embry had patrol duty and couldn't stay at Sam's for long. Seth is assigned to your shift too but linked to his mind, you feel something off. Unsettled as he attempts to keep whatever secrets that were bothering deep inside of him under lock and key. Embry exchanged a look with you but you shook your head. It was something to discuss later. Right now they had to keep constant vigil. Like the Cullens had reminded them, time was of the essence. No one knew when the Volturi would learn of everything. Not exactly. So every minute counted. Edward, Esme and Rosalie also aided in security as they kept to the treetops. A good thing they didn't require sleep.

Spreading out in a tactical maneuver, your pad along as your eyes easily adjust to the darkening sky. Above you hear branches groan against the landing feet of Edward. A reassuring sound for you as you had broken apart from Embry and Seth. You could still hear them, both in your mind and outside. Random check-ins with one another. Nothing to note. All the anxiety over when the Volturi would arrive was starting to wear on you. You hadn't been able to sleep well to begin with thanks to Xiomara, but now it was damn right impossible to fall asleep right away. If you were lucky it took you about four hours to fall asleep meaning you were getting about three hours worth of genuine sleep. But you couldn't complain. You didn't want to as you felt Seth fretting over something he didn't want you to know about. Even Embry was wearing thin thanks to summer school and was running on exhausted fumes.

Thankfully the both of you would be free soon. It was just one more day then You could focus your energy completely on patrol. Unfortunately you'd had to explain the circumstances to your parents on the simplest level. You kept the major facts away from them like how the Volturi most likely wouldn't like that fact of the existence of your pack and that they most likely wanted to exterminate all of you. Nothing too big.

A twilight glow takes over the sky that gradually fades into indigo and then eventual blackness. If only you could check your phone just to see what time it actually was. You wouldn't know if you're shift was up until the voices of the others became vocal in your mind. The residual scent of magic still hung in the air, waking you up and providing enough energy to keep moving through the part of the forest that was densley packed with trees and foliage alike. It echoes in your bones and fills your lungs up with the sweetest spices that envigorate you.

Thinking about the witches made the time go by faster thankfully as your conversations started to lean towards Bella's involvement.

"I still can't wrap my head around that Bella Swan, the weak human girl, can actually use magic and help us." Embry snorts at the thought and Seth's mind hums in quiet agreement as he half pays attention to the conversation.

"Oh come on. Don't say that. You make it sound like she was completely useless to us before. Just because she's a human doesn't mean she should be disregarded. She has her own given strengths."You roll your eyes at him. Granted she was the one to instigate this whole mess but it had never been her intention.

There's an accusation in his words "When did you two become friends." You didn't appreciate his tone and though you couldn't see him, you stop dead in your tracks and glare toward the direction you scented him.

"We're not."You shrug to yourself knowing Embry wouldn't understand. Though the hackles on your neck are now standing at attention, literally ruffled by him.

Embry wasn't about ready to give up though. Whatever bone he was gnawing on, he refused to relinquish it. "Even if Edward still loves her?"

Finally Seth butts in. "Embry. . ."The last thing he wanted to hear was more arguing. You catch a glimpse of his memory of earlier that morning. Leah was there as well as their mother Sue. Mouths moved with no sound produced but even that bit of a picture quickly dissolved as Seth didn't want anyone to pry.

You feel the skin of your snout scrunch up into a snarl, your teeth showing and your tongue licking across them in agitation. "Why are you bringing this up? Is it so wrong that I don't mind Bella? Can I not just be pleasant toward her for the sake of it? Edward has nothing to do with it."Why was everyone ready to pit you against Bella when she had never really done anything hateful toward you?

In response, you could feel Embry's embarrassment and shame, maybe even a lick of jealousy too as he finally backs down and doesn't say another word much to the relief of both you and Seth. You didn't like fighting with Embry, it never felt right. But it didn't sit right with you what he said. Bella wasn't useless. She just didn't have the special abilities that the pack and vampires did. Well, technically she's had magic in her all this time, just no way of knowing how to wield it or that she could manifest it into something greater.

Around midnight (or so you guess) you hear the voices of the others coming to take over for the rest of the night. Jared, Colin and Paul could already be heard padding through the trees.Glad that you could finally return home, you make a pitstop after you switch back to your human skin and slip on your shorts and tank top. You stumble into Sam's occupied backyard. There are two tents already set up, one for Nadege and Evita and the other for Diuefel though the later is the only one still awake. He's sitting outside the flap of his tent, from his lips is what looks like a cigarette but it smells sweet and calms you. Like herbs and not the sickening fumes of nicotine.

He notices you and smiles softly. "Welcome back. Hard day?"

"Not really. Just tedious." When he pats the spot next to him, you take it. "What is that?"

Pulling the small stick out of his mouth, you notice that the paper is black and not white. "It's a special blend of herbs that help me go to sleep. Even though I'm beyond exhausted I still have difficulties going to bed. Even when I was little it takes me hours to really fall asleep. Annoying but this helps." Dieufel hands it to you. "Try it."

Since it wasn't toxic like nicotine you gingerly take it between your forefinger and thumb, lifting it to your lips. You felt naughty but even sniffing the smoke that twirled from it's lit end has your muscles relaxing.

"Inhale very slowly." Dieufel instructs, watching you carefully. Even though you do as he said, you're still hacking up a lung. Not used to anything other than oxygen circulating in your lungs. You're basically tossing back the herbal smoke at him as your eyes water, throat up in flames. He pats your back and reaches into his tent for a bottle of water. Again he warns you to drink slowly.

You wheeze out that you're okay and hand the bottle back to Dieufel. "S-Sorry."

He chuckles. "Don't worry about it. Not your fault. It happens to everyone their first time." Returning the smoke back to his lips, he expertly inhales, holds it in then leisurely lets it go. Even though you weren't successful, you were still feeling a bit of a soothing effect that has your eyelids growing heavy and you have to lean back on your hands in order to keep yourself up.

"How'd you guys do today?" Voice still raw, at least you were capable of speech once again.

Rolling his neck to produce a nice 'pop', Dieufel groans. "Evita got sick when making her's. She's not used to using so much magic. I was only able to make one as even I am growing weary. But Bella, I don't know how she does it. She's able to take in so much information, absorb and utilize it appropriately. It took me two years before I could successfully conjure flames to light candles. Bella did it in a second after her lesson."

"How long until she's ready to make a ward?"

His grimace was enough of a response to you but he goes on to say "I don't know. Hopefully she'll surprise us. But. . . something like that is complicated. You see how it wipes us out each time. And the refractory period becomes longer. A spell like that is similar to weaving. You twine different spells together for a ward. In order for it to stick, the threads can't risk being unraveled. If it unravels at the wrong time, it could mean calamity to Forks."

From one of his pockets he pulls out the ward he had made today. The carvings that were magically etched into, he explained, were actually the spells woven together. No wonder it felt alive in your palms, warm and buzzing with energy.

He sadly regards it in your palm. "If we had older witches, they would have been done in a faster manner. We're young though, our magic not as strong."

"You guys don't know any other witches that are older?"

Shaking his head, Dieufel takes another drag from his smoke. "Not one that can travel easily. Plus witches tend to scatter themselves in the wind. It's dangerous to have a coven of witches. All that magic concentrated into one place? Any monster could descend on them with no trouble at all. Even with wards erected, there can be leaks if you're not absolutely careful. One leak will be the doom of the entire coven. I'm not going to lie, I feel uneasy with all of us being here. That's how Nadege and I were able to find Evita so easily from the sky."

"Why haven't we been attacked then?" You ask.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Lowly chuckling to not wake up the girl's in the tent next to him. "Could be because of the Cullens. Even other supernatural creatures try to stay away from vampires."

You were unable to stop the flow of questions coming out of you. Curiosity encouraging you. "What other things are out there? Witches, vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters. . ."

His smile turns sympathetic. As if you didn't already know the world was actually a more dangerous place to live in since vampires existed. Now the possibilities were vast and endless. "Lets see. . . There's ghouls, you definitely never want to encounter them. A pain to kill. Ghosts certainly. Zombies, in a way. Wraiths. Sea people. Necromancers."

All that was missing were aliens which Dieufel could neither confirm nor deny since he'd never personally seen one.

Noting the subtle fear on your features, he attempts to reassure. "Not all of them are evil. Just like with vampires, there are good ones.Those who resist their thirst for blood and flesh. They still have their humanity."

You glance up at the stars. "Then. . . is it possible that there might be some good members of the Volturi? Those who we can talk sense into."

"If they are then they remain silent. Likely they have no real power and are just as helpless." Finally he's down to the stub of his smoke and Dieufel deposits it into a homemade clay ashtray. "It will not do us any good worrying about what is out of our control. We both need rest. Best if you head home."

That was the best idea you'd heard all day.

You drag your exhausted body home, taking care not to make too much noise as you go in through your bedroom door. Easier. The front door had obnoxious, creaking hinges that no amount of WD40 could fix. Tired, burning eyes barely manage to pick out your pajamas from a small heap near your bed. You let your body fall atop of your mattress face first.

"(y/n)! Please wait!"

You'd been dreading talking to Embry after the brief spat last night. No longer angry, you just didn't want things to grow awkward. Feet halting, your hands fly up to your backpack straps and grip them tightly; an anxiety soother. "Em. . ."

Equally nervous about confrontation with you, Embry hurries with his words before he lost his courage "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I said. I had no right and it wasn't fair of me. I'm. . . I-It's still hard for me to really let you go. . . I get jealous. But I'm working on it, I promise."

Demeanor softening, your lips turn up in an understanding smile. "No, it's okay. Embry. I appreciate the apology. And I get it. I'd probably feel the same way as you if you were the one to imprint on someone." Before your feelings had transgressed to those of romantic, you were best friends first and foremost.

Embry's face brightens and a blinding grin shines. There was nothing more that needed to be said about it.

Once backpacks were dropped off at your place, you and Embry hustle through the woods but stop when you pass by the Black residence. Gloom weighs heavy in your chest, remembering getting into a fight with Jacob over you revealing his imprinting to Bella. Bella needed to know but at the cost of your relationship with him? "Do you think Jake will forgive me?"

"Of course he will." Embry immediately replies with ease. He misses when it was just the four of you guys, back to simpler times where the four of you would spend hours outside in the woods at the back of Jacob's house. "Let him blow off steam. You know how stubborn he is. Give it time. Maybe Sam will let him back to patrol as long as he behaves himself."

One could only hope so as both of you continue to stare longingly at the back of Jacob's house.

TAGLIST: @saltedcoffeescotch​  , @dangerouslittlefairy​ , @burn-crash-rqmance​ , @casedoina , @avadakadabra93 , @daryldixonstorm , @blue-aconite​ , @xanniestired666 , @esposadomd​, @godinho11​ , @arin-swear-rose​ , @alexizodd​ , @melaninsugarbaby​ , @lyeatoalinatoheaven , @ronwownsme​ , @itsmytimetoodream​ , @afro-hispwriter​ , @mutandis-extremis993 , @hxgemxscles​ , @nightly-polaris​ , @corrodedcoffins-slut , @ellesalazar​ , @itgetzweird08​ , @crybabyatthediscooffandoms​ , @sassyandclassyx​ , @scarlet2007​ , @theroyalbrownbarbie​ , @jennyamanda8​ , @stevenandmarcslove​ , @biancaindaeyo​ , @loversjoy​ , @turningtoclown​ , @vixorell​ , @xxthackerybinxxx , @daredevilonmyheels​ , @dumbbitch-juicee​ , @southern-bell-give-hell , @nat-the-gemini , @imdoingathingmom​ , @emmettcullenswife , @yoong1c0re , @daddykylokenobi​ , @minjix​ , @magical-spit​ , @krismdavis​  

[daddysfangirls-dc]

The Arrangement

CH 15 - Stephanie Brown

Damian Wayne x OC! Female

Prev | Next

Syn wasn't ashamed to admit that she had no idea how to approach Stephanie Brown. She was outgoing, upbeat, headstrong, and energetic—all good qualities; she didn't dislike Stephanie; she was just very busy. Syn had no clue how to get to her. She was so friendly there was no part in her life that she was alone, at least not at the moment she felt appropriate to intrude on.

Thank the Heavens for Cassandra. Here she stood in Cassandra's Studio apartment, ready for a sleepover (her first sleepover).

"Hey, Hey, - oh."

"I hope you don't mind. Cassandra invited me to join. I - "

"Is this my date?" Stephanie asked, dropping her bag. " Oh my god, it is! I'm so excited," she ran around the couch and hugged her eagerly. " This is going to be so much fun".

Energetic. 

"I must confess I've never had a sleepover before," Syn said as she sat her on the couch. Cassandra came with drinks. 

"We've got so much to do. Snacks, movies, facemasks, and boys or, in your case, fiance."

Energetic indeed.

-

Two hours later, Syn found herself sitting on the couch, legs and hands propped up, face mask, and being fed cookies.

" This mask is supposed to moisturize your skin and give it a glow. And Damian will love the color green on your nails." He wouldn't. He wouldn't hate it, but he wouldn't favor it. He always preferred her in red. Or he did? She wasn't going to tell them that. 

"The purple and black suit you very well."

"The glittered brings out the mischief in my eyes." Stephanie posed with her fingers next to her eyes. They laughed. " Enough about nails. It's time for boy talk. Tell us about Damian." Stephanie was wiggling her eyebrows and leaning into her. Cassandra saved her personal space by pushing her away with her foot. 

"Um, what would you like to know?"

"What was he like when you first got together? Doubt he was romantic."

"When we were first arranged, he did not think I was worthy. But I was not chosen for my worth. My potential is what kept me there." Syn said she looked at nails. " Honestly, he cared very little for me in the beginning. I was just another servant, and I was beneath him like everyone else. Probably deeper...What about you and your relationship? I know you had a relationship with Drake at some point. How did that become?"

Stephanie groaned, throwing her head back. Syn would have thought she said something wrong it not for cassandra giggling. She shoved her face into the nearest pillow for a few seconds. "Damian  told you?

"No, it was in Tim and your files."

"Wait, what?!" both girls snapped up, looking at her. 

"Well, you dated Robin. All romantic partners are noted, especially the long-term ones and those who know your nightlife. And you became a vigilante yourself as being clue master's daughter; that alone got your own personal file. So far, no relation against your romantic partners has been made. I'm sorry." Syn said, and seeing the emotions that crossed Stephanie's face, she truly felt sorry. Invading one's privacy was never nice.

"You guys know everything." She took note that she was no longer energetic. Sober. 

"Do you know about-"

"Yes," she didn't let her finish. She knew what she was talking about. She knew. "Talia, it was around the time of Damian. She was still soft. She got a good home. Talia made sure of it."  Steph just nodded, tears gathered in her eyes. She got up and went out the fire escape.

Cass and Syn watched as she sat, shoulder shaking. They left her alone, giving her a moment to weep. When she steps back inside the conversation is forgotten and the tear streams in her mask are ignored.

"What are your plans for the future?" she asked, taking the bowl of grapes Cass offered. " I know you've just bought a house." Cass ignored the scathing glare she was receiving for a sequence pillow, a pretty pillow.

"Honestly, we've been mostly playing it by ear. The goal is marriage, and there are milestones to be made, but in between, there is no true plan."

"Winging it. I like that." Syn noticed how toned down Steph was now but did not mention it. 

"Why did you stay? Why didn't you go?" she asked. " He gave you a chance, and you had a chance to escape all this. You left, explored the world, and met new people. Why's you come back? Why didn't you go?"

"I... I traveled, saw all I could, and halfway through it, I realized two things. 1) I was lonely, and 2) Damian never left my mind. I missed him. He was in this, so I came back to it." Syn shrugged.

The night was sober after that. They washed their face, made hot chocolate, and started a legally blonde marathon. The rest of the night was spent watching movies, eating snacks, and laughing the pain away.

Tonight, Syn learned that everything in Stephanie Brown's files was correct. She was outgoing, upbeat, headstrong, and energetic. But she was also soft and kind-hearted. She wasn't as impulsive as most thought her to be. She was smart and quick when thinking about an action. Stephanie Brown was everything they said and so much more. 

"Thank you," she sighed to Cass. She just nodded. 

-

-

-

The one thing I hate about Stephanie Browns character is how everyone seems to forget that she had a child. She was pregnant, gave birth, and put her baby up for adoption.

It is very rare that her child is mention in fanon. Which I find sad because it is a big part of her origin story. She got pregnant then started dating Robin who , along side batman, helped her give birth and put them up for adoption.

One would think the Fanfon would expand on it.

- -

I have a request. If you can recommend a fanfiction that expands or mentions Stephanie Brown's pregnancy and/or child?

[iltaimpi]

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Vento Aureo OC: Zucca Korhonen

{I've been working on this for several days. While I will keep the old post, which has also been updated, up, I'm posting this as a new post.}

{Notice: Contains body horror, mention of suicide, general light gore, lots of blood.}

{Hildá Áile Gurbbet, legally Kurpitsa Lauri Kemppainen, born in the Suomi area of Sàpmi but moving to Italia at a young age and subsequently being raised there, was a... relatively normal child, all things considered.

Their general home and guardianship situation had some oddities, as they were frequently passed awkwardly between various legal guardians due to hectic family affairs and other assorted tragedies.

This trend of frequent relocation started when they were very young, still living in Sàpmi, after the suicide of their mother; the ensuing mental disintegration of their father made him a danger to be around for both himself and others, not to mention more than unfit to care for a very young child. Kurpitsa was thusly moved to live with their very Christian grandmother and less religious aunt in Helsinki.

This lasted briefly, perhaps a year or so; one day, they got home from school to a fleet of emergency vehicles. They were never told what had happened to their grandmother and aunt, but they'd heard in passing that there had been a gas leak, and they were left to fill in the blanks from that. They were effectively hauled off to stay with their aunt-in-law—their uncle's widow—in Italy, far from home (though they could never quite remember where in Italy it had been), until she, too, ended up dead; the death officially alleged to be the result of her actions following a psychotic break, even though she'd never been reported to have shown any symptoms of psychosis. They attributed it to a "very rare byproduct" of the grief of losing her husband. Kurpitsa wasn't sure they ever really believed it, but they hardly knew the woman anyway, so they didn't feel compelled to dwell.

Somehow, Kurpitsa seemed to skirt most of the direct trauma or grieving periods that one would expect to result from the deaths. This was perhaps due to factors such as them being too young to understand the death of their mother, much less the concept of suicide; never having seen the bodies of their grandmother (whose behaviour may have actually been more traumatic than her death, though it didn't seem to stick with them either) or their aunt when the two presumably died; and not having particularly close with their aunt-in-law—the woman wasn't even directly related to them and lived all the way in Italia, for crying out loud! Kurpitsa barely knew her, nevermind had any kind of relationship with her.

Perhaps, though, it was also because, instead of grieving—a natural and healthy thing to go through after such things—and dealing with trauma that should've theoretically originated from all the death surrounding them, they just got used to it.

The trend of these relocations was that they allegedly happened due to general mental instability within the older adults of the family or the vulnerability of more stable ones due to (occasionally supernatural-seeming) hazards of the area they lived in. Or otherwise, just in general terribly bad luck.

So it was a while until they finally settled to live in Napoli with their cousin, Rutabaga (who had changed her name from Lantuu to 'sound more Italian' and usually went by Rita) and uncle, Nauris, who kept his Finnish name and usually still called Rita "Lantuu".

The Korhonens were who they managed to stay with the longest, from between the ages of around 10 to 15, coming to see their cousin more like a sister and building a real relationship with the two. Ultimately, Kurpitsa took the surname of Korhonen—to attach themselves more meaningfully to their family—and, at some point, the forename Zucca, presumably to better fit in with their Italian peers, similarly to Rita, as they felt insecure with their distinctly Finnish name.

When Zucca was around 14, Nauris died—relatively peacefully, it seemed at the time—of "health complications", but ones that Rita swore up and down that her father was too young to have, so foul play must have been involved; she swore she was going to figure out what actually happened. Her opportunities and capability for this mission were, however, minimal.

At the same time, in the aftermath of the death, Zucca's cousin insisted that unless something better could be arranged, she was capable of and willing to responsibly care for Zucca. Her insistence was an attempt in earnest to offer some sense of stability to Zucca, allowing them to remain in the place they'd lived in the longest, with someone they'd lived with the longest, instead of dragging them off to some other family member (or worse, the system) instead.

Unfortunately, veneered stability could only do so much against alienation and mental instability; Zucca had hit the point where, despite their efforts to fit in with their Italian peers, feelings of isolation became a rampant issue, and the other chemical imbalances were becoming prominent. Being at the age of typical teen angst with a family history of Issues, even if their peers didn't alienate and ostracise them, the rut of anxiety and despair they'd hit was inevitable, and in a vicious cycle, being seen as "troubled" made them more alienated and ostracised.

But when they dared to finally tell Rita why their mood had tanked, Rita responded well with support and understanding to further foster the trust between them and (with the help of some... very low-end counselling they could afford) help Zucca find some foothold, at least some solid ground to stand on while travelling through teenage social darkness.

As far as anyone could tell, Zucca had finally met equilibrium and was in a relatively stable mental state, which was more than they could say for quite a few of the other people in their family, sadly.

But there was one hitch: Rita was a Stand User, whereas Zucca was not. Though they had no Stand of their own, through experience with Rita, Zucca developed at least some general awareness of Stands from Rita; they knew plenty about what, loosely, Stands "were", and, most importantly, how they were typically used for extreme and supernaturally-charged combat. They also had some idea of their cousin's Stand ability, or at least what it could do.

「Heart Demolition」, Rita's Stand, was rather intense. The way that Zucca understood it, through the transmission and reception of information, such as that spoken by mouth or written on paper, a fire could be ignited—the more upsetting the words, the more intense—either burning the mouth of the speaker, to great suffering; effectively allowing the speaker to "breathe fire", still to great suffering; or otherwise simply setting the paper alight, which really didn't bother the paper much although it certainly did it no favours.

Unfortunately, being an older-teen, younger adult Stand User in that area of Italia, living an admittedly quite challenging situation, especially in terms of finance, and most of all still particularly searching for answers she'd not had an opportunity to reach, Rita was led to the seemingly inevitable: attempting to join Passione. With the suggestion of a "friend" of hers, though Zucca wasn't sure which one—they'd later wish they did, they’d love to give them a piece of their mind—Rita had supposedly met with the so-called 'Polpo', and, as many others had, attempted an initiative test... omitting the fact, of course, that she already had a Stand, much like a to-be preeminent "Gang-star" later would, but with a far-less-victorious outcome.

Zucca, by then at the age of perhaps 15, like with Stands, had at least some vague awareness of what Rita was getting herself into; in fact, they knew a little more than they probably should've, to the extent of understanding the dubious nature of Passione, but still having faith enough in their cousin not to cast doubt on her decision.

When Rita explained what this test entailed, Zucca respectfully tried to keep their distance from the lighter so as not to interfere. Inevitably—though Rita had, at the last second, realised and attempted to salvage the flame—the lighter burnt out when her attention drifted for a few seconds too many.

Zucca, clueless as anyone else in their position would be, suggested that the lighter ‘hadn't burnt out, just very low’ and that, 'technically', if the flame was ‘fed’ without striking the spark wheel, then there would be no harm, no foul, surely, right?

They didn't have any matches in the house. Or other lighters, for that matter. Both were rarely a necessity. So Zucca instead suggested that Rita use 「Heart Demolition」, offering to write something on a paper for Rita to set alight, mostly just out of a desire to feel like they were helping. Rita, none the wiser and happy enough to let her cousin feel useful, so to say, attempted as Zucca suggested, setting the paper alight with a tiny flame.

Though the spark wheel had been untouched, the reignition of the flame, of course, summoned 「Black Sabbath」. A confrontation began, and Rita, though she tried her damned best, didn't have much room to escape or otherwise manoeuvre about, considering they were indoors. However, though they couldn't see what was happening and had no means of protecting themself, Zucca intervened anyway, trying to protect Rita or at least give her a fighting chance. Because they got in the way—perhaps trying to act as a distraction somehow—the Stand, it seemed, refocused on Zucca, ultimately piercing them with the Stand Arrow, to Rita's—and, well, surely their own—dismay.

Zucca's next memory was a blast of heat and blinding light, coupled with a wild burst of, perhaps, blood, from behind them. As if in ignorance of the situation, they turned their head; behind them, they saw Rita, standing for a brief moment—covered in bewildering lacerations from which bloodied razor blades of varying sizes appeared to emerge—before crumpling to the ground, motionless, the blades disappearing, her body seeming to dehisce from itself where the deepest wounds were. Odd movements came from some of the slices on her body, like eyes opening on her flesh—on second look, Zucca found that they were eyes, and making "eye contact" with one of these, they could see the memories of their cousin, leading right up to the memory of what had just happened, what Zucca's brain had failed to process, and at that, Zucca fall apart—literally.

With a burst of blood and a deep, internal, slicing agony through their whole being, Zucca—somehow still alive—collapsed as their own body, like they witnessed with Rita's, fell asunder, turning them into a shattered mockery of a human form. Despite this, they found themself still both completely conscious, cognisant and even able to move, though barely, between their body not being attached to itself and the combined numbness and immobilisation of the agony. Their ears rang, and where their vision landed first was upon the Stand that had attacked, remaining for a brief moment amongst firelight before it appeared to vanish.

The entire room had effectively been shredded to fragments and utterly torched, still ablaze, even, to the extent that the outer wall had a hole in it, the window blown out. Yet, somehow, nobody seemed to have caught on to the fact that anything had happened at the time despite the noise that they had so blatantly been deafened by and the fire, to Zucca's fortune and misfortune alike. The only thing left unscathed, it seemed, was the lighter, which Zucca reached out to, grabbed, and tossed into the inferno, not affording it a chance to burn out again, like it meant anything to them.

Somehow, they managed to get up partway, limbs reattaching as if they'd never come off, the places where the dismemberment had occurred marked only by pain and protruding razor blades, and pulling those out proved futile and agonising. They barely managed to lug themself over to their cousin, praying to find her alive, reaching out to touch her to... shake her, wake her up. But any chance of her survival was soon obliterated; as soon as a blade stuck in the palm of Zucca's hand came into contact with Rita, the razors that had retracted into Rita's skin suddenly re-emerged, ripping through her body entirely, completely dismembering her, to Zucca's abject horror.

Zucca remained in the wreckage amongst the flames, frozen in bewilderment, staring at the dismembered pieces and hoping one of the two of them would wake up. They were utterly unable to process after seeing what had just happened. But finally, from the corner of their eye, a glint off the metal of the lighter they'd thrown in their frenzy caught their peripheral and seemed to give them a twisted motivation.

Rita and 「Heart Demolition」 had passed the torch to them.

They manoeuvred over to collect the lighter despite the flames and stayed by the body, immobile and mourning, until they heard distant sirens at early daybreak as the fire had already dissolved to ash and, somehow, they were still alive. Whether the sirens were approaching them to finally investigate whatever unholy disaster had occurred in the Korhonen household or whether it was a coincidence, Zucca decided it was in their best interests not to find out. Besides, they had something to take care of.

Dazed, they somehow managed to stand, now whole again, yet the evidence of their wounds was still visible, the blades still lifting slightly from their flesh, but now hardly more prominent than thorns on a rose. Aside from the slice marks, they blatantly showed damage from the proximity to the fire, though this, too, was more subdued than it realistically should've been. Because, of course, between the fire, smoke, heat and dismemberment, they should have been dead.

Stepping through the ash and smoke, staggering as they struggled with the pain and the inability to focus, they made their way to their room, which the fire seemed to have failed to completely engulf. The clothes they'd had on were torn and scorched, and, setting the lighter down with no concern to further damage it could cause if something else caught alight, they did their best to put something less conspicuous on, only to tear up the new clothes in the process of putting them on. And giving up as the sirens were now fully audible, getting closer, they grabbed their longest coat, covering their head.

By the time anyone could be bothered to actually investigate the long-burnt-out fire and commotion—whether the delay had been out of fear or genuinely nobody had heard or seen anything—someone had already left through the hole in the wall instead of the door, gone to finish what someone else started.

And while it was unclear why the fact that she was a different person entirely seemed to be glossed over, nevermind how she managed to accomplish the heist-like task in the first place, Zucca left a member of Passione... and would very shortly thereafter, by chance, meet a very concerned young man known by most as Buccellati—concerned, no doubt, due to the fact that the young teen was... visibly not in a fantastic state at the time, on account of the whole 'not-really-doing-anything-about-the-injuries' thing, and probably looked entirely lost as her brain was now catching up and she had started to realise she didn't exactly have anywhere to return.

Zucca would soon learn that she now had a Stand.

「Razorblade Meltdown」.

Zucca Korhonen's deeply disturbing Stand, 「Razorblade Meltdown」, is a Close-Range Power Type humanoid Stand. Despite being a power type Stand, the type most typically suited for Stand-to-Stand combat, 「Razorblade Meltdown」 is actually quite rarely seen... as the Stand's ability makes Zucca herself quite the dangerous entity, and that's usually enough.

By use of her Stand, Zucca can bare dangerous razor blades that create deep slices in and extrude through her flesh, even to the point of dismembering herself, which she uniquely can survive and reconstruct at will, though, unsurprisingly, it does appear to be quite excruciating to do so.

This effect is typically inflicted upon others—often on a non-fatal scale—to make use of the 「Razorblade Meltdown」's actual primary ability; when a victim is subject to the slicing effect of the Stand, these slices open into eyes, and making eye contact with these allows you to see the victim's memories.

The effect and, subsequently, the ability, is typically inflicted through contact with the Stand or, more commonly, contact with the blades (or sometimes her blood) when she's using the ability on herself.

The most direct way to inflict the effect upon a victim is when the victim makes contact with the blades coming out of Zucca's skin, which will typically impose a critical-severity full-body impact, and if Zucca is not focused on controlling the ability, can often lead to death. Making physical contact with her blades twice will almost always kill someone immediately via dismemberment. The ability's effect can be undone—though the injury and pain will still be evident—but whether this happens can be case-to-case.

The drawback of her potent ability lies within one simple fact: she must have a genuine mental breakdown or panic attack to effectively use 「Razorblade Meltdown」 (especially to utilise the ability in, say, combat). Typically, in doing this, she extends the effect through every available spot of her body, and the razors extrude to a severe degree, sometimes even "shooting out" and damaging everything around in the most extreme of circumstances.

While her ability is massively powerful and a great asset to have both for combat and for interrogation, it also makes her insanely dangerous to be around while active; she cannot be safely approached until the ability deactivates, but the ability won't deactivate unless she mentally stabilises / calms down or passes out; so it's a bit of a catch-22 in that regard, and she can be seen as a liability because of it... There's also often a lot of screaming. Again, it's quite painful.

Though she is prone to cry while using her Stand, this isn't generally as well-known as the very obvious screaming; often, by the time anyone approaches her, once her ability has been neutralised, she's already stopped.

She can be a bit concerning to be around for those with a touch more empathy, such as most members of Buccellati's inner circle; because her ability requires her to have a breakdown or be pushed past her limit mentally to be used effectively, she often keeps herself on the brink of hysteria or keeps traumatic wounds fresh so she can send herself into a mental or traumatic breakdown if ever she needs to use her ability, instead of trying to figure out if she could learn to use the ability in a stable mental state.

As a result of this self-destructive "necessary evil", she's easily spooked and often struggles to control her own tears seemingly at random. Though she can be pretty friendly and fun to be around, she also, at times, zones out, struggles to even speak and suddenly isolates herself from a conversation group out of fear, anxiety or general self-consciousness. If she doesn't seem tense, she usually looks quite tired instead, which she attributes to the frequent blood loss that comes with using her Stand.

While not necessarily a member of the immediate primary group associated with Buccellati, she falls within the same sort-of "sector", to put it loosely; she at the least works with them frequently but possibly belongs to a 'parallel' group. It would seem that Buccallati's group is, perhaps, a bit more compassionate to her than her own group, which might be the thing that's starting to balance her out.

Initially, her intention lacked the desire to be involved with the organisation. Something of the opposite, actually; on a surface level, she blamed 「Black Sabbath」 - and Passione by extension - for her cousin's death despite holding significantly more turbulent feelings buried within her regarding the event. Still, despite joining with a hunger for revenge, she instead found a sense of family to substitute for the one that had been taken from her and soon lost the will to harm them.}

Update 19.12.2023: Polished up and refined the story. Changed some details and corrected some unclear wording. Update 10.1.2024–16.1.2024: Added new pictures. Still a bit hasty, but better.

Update 4.5.2024: Grammatical revisions.