#but its better to try and get partway there

[serenova]

I strive to be one of those people

And from the outside I may look like that

But I've triple guessed mostly all the big decisions in my life.

Went to 3 different Uni's to get my degree. And I'm okay with that NOW, but those 7.5 years were hell, and the only reason I can be blasé about it in 2023 is because I graduated a decade ago.

I quit a job I absolutely ADORED last year due to my mental health. It's taken me a year to pull myself back together. But everyone who's talked to me that knew me before thinks I've made some huge life change and asked me my secret. There is no secret. I quit a toxic, emotionally abusive job

Now I've started my own business (still not profitable and still small, but it's mine (I dye yarn btw)), I've got a day job that is more stable, has better hours, and better wages than the job I quit.

But I wasn't able to do this alone.

People who seem to know how to live often have a support network they can fall back on. And I don't necessarily mean financially. But people who's shoulder they can cry on. Who will come and get them at 3am no questions asked. Etc.

Both my mom and my husband were INTEGRAL for me to get to the place where I am.

I've got friends I can vent to, who I let vent to me in return. BUT those SAME friends and I also just.... Swap memes and giggle at silly fandom shit.

I think.... It comes down to balance.

And FINDING that balance is DAMN hard. And it's WORK to stay there. I'm 36 and I'm still learning.

....idk where I'm actually going with this. I just saw this post and I've had people mention it to me in the past that I look like one of those people.

But take those silly pics of your cat. Go for than extra 5 min walk. Even if it's just to hit the pokestop just down the road to get some pokeballs. Buy yourself that little treat. Stop and watch autumn leaves fall. Or interesting clouds. Hold the cat up so they can see the birds in the bush. Try that art thing you've always wanted to. Read that book.

Yes, society can fucking suck. And yes, there's a lot of pain and suffering in the world. But you need to also carve out space in your heart for YOURSELF. You can't pour from an empty cup. And if you bleed yourself dry for the world, you'll have none left for yourself.

I'm not sure this is actual, real, life advice.

I'm a mildly jaded older millennial with 3 cats and ADHD. Oh and a husband.

I am envious of people who knows how to live. Doesn't matter if they are rich or poor, they have traveled the world or stayed in their hometown their entire life, are famous or unknown...they just know how to live. They are content and unapologetic. The ones who are convinced with their decisions and does not require validation. The ones who have glow of genuine happiness and joy on their faces. I chase this feeling of contentment, to be happy right where I am in life. The feeling that eludes so many of us. I just wish I knew how to live.

[mayhaps-a-blog]

I do love Murderbot's complete failure to articulate itself in a comforting manner XD Or rather, I love that it tries - it's consciously trying to comfort its clients, and just... doesn't have the toolbox for it.

Which leads to moments like the end of episode 8 where it strides in and announces "I have a plan!" only to see everyone jump and cower at its sudden appearance, so it backpedals and tries again, but... doesn't know what to do, so just ends up going "I have... a plan..." like it got partway through "oops, gotta say this better" and then realized it didn't actually have a way to do that and just ended up repeating itself but like, slightly quieter.

Or episode 7, when it's trying to get them to the hopper and goes for a "softer approach" (helmet down, like they keep asking, emphasize the danger) only to immediately lose track of its expression and tone and only catch up to having threatened them after the words are out. And then backpedaling again to clarify that it meant the bad guys...

Like, it's clearly trying SO HARD to get its clients through this mess intact and also feeling safe! With Murderbot! Because it's their SecUnit, and it wants to help, but more than that, it wants them to not be afraid of it (obviously ONLY because scared people are more likely to do something stupid, not because Murderbot's formed some kind of - bleh - emotional connection to them). But it just. Doesn't know what to say.

So it tries anyway and that just translates to it being so awkward and I love it.

[duskodair]

im catching up on critical role (am partway through C3 E120) and im struck by some differences between C2 and C3.

C2, for me, was a narrative that was endlessly about coming home. every character is searching for home, or a feeling of home (be that each other). Home in C2 is the nestled nook, the leaky tap, the dome, the lavish chateau, the mistake, the ball eater, felderwin, the xhorhaus, the blooming grove, the nein heroez, the tower, and more. the nein find a home in every town, in each other. they spend their cameos throwing in talks of home, of marriage, of future.

At the start of C3, the hells can't even pick a tavern to be loyal to. they come with two brief senses of home - Madam Zhudanna's and the Krook House (later Ligament Manor). but they are soon left behind. the hells never settle anywhere that feels like home, and they are all running from their memories of home and trying not to look back.

Caleb dreams of raising his home from the ashes, whilst Imogen runs from the storm that consumes hers. Home is something that is lost for the hells. they do not stop. they do not settle. laudna and Imogen's dream cottage feels more like a pipe dream than a promise.

it's this difference, I think, that makes the difference between the two parties. The Nein know their homes and stand steady and grounded with the philosophy of 'leave each place better than you found it'. This culminates in their final battle - a fight against a tortured city with its avatar wearing the face of a dead friend. Their final fight is deeply personal and deeply resonant to their story. They lay tortured memory to rest to save the world, freeing the long trapped souls of aeor, driven by the love of one. They are fighting for the homes that they have made and saved and loved.

The hells, on the other hand, come to us largely untethered from a sense of home. they are people from places that do not define them. Jrusar is just a temporary stop for people who never stop moving. Whitestone is no longer home to Laudna. Even brief visits to Ligament Manor are on a timeline, and come with a cost in later favours. They have no motto other than 'smiley day to you,' and 'what the fuck is up with that?' platitudes and questions get them nowhere.

It makes sense that their villain is philosophy. the nein fight corruption and tyranny. the hells ponder the notion of the divine right of gods. they find no fixed point of agreement other than the fact that they disagree with the methods that others use (and then kill them about it). in the end, their closest friend is their first enemy, Ira, whose morals that they once disagreed with but they have now overlooked. the hells are inconstant, changing.

when the nein were playing, the world was set dressing to their story, enhancing it, and serving as a tool to let us know them. the hells are the opposite. to me, they are set dressing to the story of the world, giving us a viewpoint to see people and places that once felt like home through the eyes of strangers. the hells are without constancy, without clear mission, without regular income, without a grounding in the world.

whilst their final battle is deeply personal to the hells, it still feels impersonal. it feels like the connections were all made off stage, in the wings, rather than at the roadside, at dawn, with a glaive. without a home, or a mission, the hells feel more hollow than the nein. they are defined mainly by their connections to other people - Keyleth's saviour blade, Lord Zathuda and the Fatestitcher's child, Delilah's puppet, Liliana Temult's daughter, Ashton of the Hishari. I cannot tell you stories of their heroism. They robbed a museum once, they raced in a speeder race, they went to the moon. They have been cogs in a larger story until they stumbled into the end of it, still feeling like strangers to me

I'm interested to hear how this story ends, when I get there

[honeybeeznutz]

It's Better This Way: Part 2

Part one: https://www.tumblr.com/honeybeeznutz/785301063173603328/its-better-this-way?source=share

Summary:

You fall for Bob but you aren't the only one, but it gets harder to hide how you feel

Warnings:

swearing, brief use of Y/N, angst, unresolved feelings, drinking

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

I didn’t anticipate the evening going this way. I just planned on sitting around in sweatpants and an old tshirt from high school, but here we are. Now I’m dressed up in a dress that shows off everything I’d normally hide, in a dingy bar with music blasting. I take another sip of my old fashioned and observe the group. Alexei is watching over the group, a bottle of vodka in hand. Ava and John were arguing over some tv show, I have no idea. I look to the corner and Yelena is nursing a vodka cranberry with Bob by her side. I take another drink. Bucky sidles up next to me at the bar. 

“You good kid?”

He asks knowing I’m not

“Just tickled shitless.”

I respond without looking up from my drink. Bucky knew what was going on. Of course he did. I wasn’t exactly being cryptic about my swooning at the moment. 

“You’ve gotta tell him. ”

He starts. I go to argue but he cuts me off. 

“Trust me. I know what it’s like to love someone you feel like you can never have…. To love your best friend…. But learn from my mistakes. Take that chance. Talk to him…. Before it’s too late… Before he chooses her without knowing you were an option.”

With that he grabs another beer and leaves me alone. 

Before long we’re all crowded around one table and John is trying to get us to do shots. I look over and Yelena whispers something in Bob’s ear. He giggles. I take a shot. One turns to three, turns to too many to count. One minute I’ve got a light buzz, the next I’m partway through a bottle of Tito’s. We’re all laughing and carrying on when someone starts playing the run down jukebox in the corner. Your Man by Josh Turner starts blaring through the background and John looks like he’s won the lottery

“Someone dance with me!”

He begs. Everyone groans. Yelena rolls her eyes and leans more into Bob. I take John’s hand and follow him to the makeshift dance floor to the sound of whoops and hollers from our group. I turn to see Bob. He looks…. Almost upset. I shake my head and turn back to John. We start to slow dance and he holds me close. 

“So,”

He starts

“When are you gonna tell him?”

“Tell who what?”

“Bob that your madly in love with him”

I pull back and shoot him a look. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re just friends. And even if we weren’t he had Yelena.”

John rolls his eyes. 

“All I’m saying is it’s a bit pitiful seeing a strong girl like you moping over a man.”

“And I think it’s a bit pitiful you won’t shut up and dance with me!”

He rolls his eyes, shaking his head. We finish dancing and I stumble back to the bar stool. I order another round and the shots start flowing again. 

A random man approaches me. 

“Hey there beautiful~”

He slurs out. I start to roll my eyes but I can see Bob out of the corner of my eye. Screw it.

“Hi there~”

He goes on to tell me he’s some business man looking for a good time. I honestly couldn’t care less, my body feels warm the way only too much liquor can make it, and I’m ready to make some bad decisions. I let him lead me to the dance floor and we start to dance. I don’t think too much of it and we’re dancing with my back to his chest. I feel him grind against me and I try to pull away but strong hands keep me there. 

I look around for someone to help but the only person I see is the exact person I don’t want to. Ava and Yelena are dancing, Alexei and Bucky are arm wrestling and John is judging. Bob just sits there and stares at me. He quickly looks away when he notices me looking though. 

“Let go of me!”

I struggle against him. The next thing I know Bob is between me and the guy. His eyes a shining gold. The Sentry is out. Shit. I pull Bob away and we head outside the bar. 

“What the hell was that?”

I ask. 

“I could have handled that myself!”

“Bullshit!”

He grabs me and starts to look me over. 

“Did he hurt you?”

“What do you care?”

I slur out

“What’s that supposed to mean? Of course I care.”

“Nuh uh, you’re too busy caring about Yelena!”

I pull away from him and start to walk. To where I don’t know, but I need to be away from him. Drunk or not I know it’s bad for me to be alone with him. Especially in an altered state. 

“Where are you going?”

He quickly follows after me

“Anywhere but here!”

He calls my name but I ignore him. I walk past an alley and he grabs me. He pushes me against the wall and holds my wrists so I can’t move. If I wasn’t so upset I’d be dead from the sheer closeness. 

“What is your problem?”

He asks. 

“What’s *my* problem? What’s your problem?”

I shoot back pointedly. 

“Why are you acting like this? Why have you been avoiding me? Why have you ghosted me? We’re supposed to be friends!”

He sounds tired, and if I wasn’t in so much pain myself I’d feel bad for him.

“I can’t tell you.”

“Bullshit”

“I can’t. It’ll ruin everything.”

“It won’t ruin anything.”

So I do it. Without a second thought I kiss him

Now True Believers it’s your turn to decide how it ends:

Happy ending:

He kisses back with ferocity. It’s like a missing piece slips into place and everything is right in the world. He pulls back for a second. 

“You’re drunk…. We shouldn’t do this”

“But I still know what I want. And it’s you.”

“Is this why you’ve been so distant?”

“I know how close you are with Yelena, and I care about both of you so deeply…. But I love you Bob… I love you and I want you. And I know I’m drunk right now but I need you.”

Bob smiles at me gently.

“Yelena and I are just close friends…. And I love you too…. We can talk about this tomorrow when you’re sobered up, okay?”

I nod and smile. I couldn’t wait for tomorrow. 

Unresolved ending:

He immediately pulls away.

“You’re drunk, we can’t do this!”

“But I want this! I may be drunk but I know what I want. I need you Bob, I love you! And it breaks my heart every time I see you with Yelena! I need you!”

“Look, let’s get you home…. We’ll talk about this in the morning….”

“Promise?”

“Promise…”

I let him walk me home. I let him carry me home. We make it to my room and he helps me into my pajamas. As soon as my head hits the pillow I’m asleep. 

When I wake up my head hurts and I crave water. I stumble into the kitchen. I see Bob making breakfast. 

“Morning sleepy head.”

He says looking absolutely exhausted.

“I drank way too much…”

“Yes you did…. Do you remember much of last night…”

“Not really, were we supposed to talk about something.”

I see the wheels turning in his head. I remembered what happened. I remember him promising.

“Nope. Not that I know of.”

Bad ending:

He immediately pushes me away

“What the hell!”

“I- you told me to”

“Y/N….. No….. Look you’re drunk and you’re not thinking and-“

“I may be drunk but I know what I want! I know I’m not the one you want but I love you Bob! You’re my best friend and I love you! And I love Yelena but not like you. And I’m sorry if you hate me now but I need you to know how I feel!”

He takes a step back and leans against a wall. He puts his head in his hands and shakes his head.

“I’m sorry… but I’m in love with Yelena…. It’s always been her. You’re my best friend too  y/n  but I love her…. Not you…. I should…. I should go….”

“Wait, Bob- please!”

“I’m sorry…. But I just see you as a friend….”

He keeps talking. Apologizing for not choosing me, but I don’t listen. I just walk away. Back into the bar. I remember ordering another shot. I don’t remember how I got home. I don’t remember how I got back in my bed. I woke up the next morning with a note on the side of my bed.

“You’re my best friend. We can talk when you’re ready.”

I wasn’t ready though. I put on a fake smile and walk into the kitchen where the rest of the team were relaxing.

“There’s the party animal!”

John laughs. I roll my eyes and pour myself a cup of coffee. I look to Bob. He has his arm around Yelena. He looks at me as if there was anything left to say. I take a swig of my coffee and sit down next to Bucky. 

“I drank way too much last night….”

“Yes you did, but I’m very proud of you!”

Alexei beamed. Bob looks like he wants to say something when Yelena interrupts

“You kept apologizing for ruining things last night, what was up with that?”

I look at Bob. I bite my lip and then grin. 

“No clue, I was really drunk and I say dumb stuff when I’m like that.”

I don’t know what hurt more. The fact the conversation with Bob never came, or how he acted like nothing ever happened. As if I hadn’t laid my heart out on the line for him and he’d squashed it with a simple “I’m sorry”. It wasn’t his fault. Days turned to weeks, turned to months and nothing was said again about it. My feelings never went away, but I learned to deal with them. Learned to pretend to be happy for Yelena when she confessed she liked him to me. I pretended to be happy for them when they went public. They were my best friends. They were happy. I was broken and hiding behind a mask. But they were happy. It’s better this way.

[fireflysummers]

Good Omens S2

Okay so.

Excellent Job, Gaiman

Ouch???

I don't like to publicly talk about my personal life. My academic life is my professional life is my artist life. But my personal life? Not so much, outside of vignettes.

But for the past several months, I've been deconstructing a lot of personal baggage and trauma surrounding both family and religion, after leaving the cult I was raised in (mormonism).

It's terrifying to realize that the framework you built your entire self on is false. It's exhausting and painful to deconstruct that framework, to disentangle your identity in the way that won't destroy you.

And it's slow.

Nobody ever tells you how slow it is to heal. You can't control the rate you heal either. You just have to be patient with yourself, and give yourself an environment where that healing can occur safely and naturally.

Anyways.

Good Omens, and its weird tendency to be exactly what I need when I need it.

I first read Good Omens in high school. And honestly, I didn't quite get it, at the time. I only knew it was different from every other book I've ever read, one that didn't treat religion as stupid or trivial, but also one that called out the blatant hypocrisy and control tactics involved. It helped me safely challenge a status quo I hadn't even realized existed.

I first watched Good Omens partway into my Master's Degree. It was everything that I could've hoped for. I understood the book a lot better, but the TV adaptation captured my struggles with mental dissonance, trying to understand and accept the parts of my identity that I was taught God didn't want.

I watch S2 a year into my doctoral program. I'm out of the cult, and it's exhilarating and painful and scary and fun, but I can still feel the scars its hooks left when they were torn out.

I feel like S2 Aziraphale is in about the same place. He's exploring his freedom, but also trying to reorient himself. He's trying to let himself be. He's healing, but his boundaries got overridden due to circumstances out of his control (naked Gabriel). He's been pulled back into the gravity of the abusive system he tried to escape, given a carrot on a stick, and isn't yet healed or strong enough to resist.

On top of that, Aziraphale is still holding onto the hope that the problem was bad individuals, not a corrupted system. He thinks if the leadership is different, things can change. He thinks if he had more authority in the system, he could make things change. And... that's not how it works.

And Crowley. Dear Crowley.

He wants Aziraphale to be farther along in his healing than he is. Honestly, Aziraphale wants it too. But again, you cannot force this kind of healing, even when it results in a loved one making some truly stupid decisions.

Crowley sees the system for what it is. He's already deconstructed that part. But he hasn't really started addressing his own trauma. He's hinged his entire existence on Aziraphale, on being what Aziraphale needs, that he hasn't allowed himself to heal either. And Aziraphale, who is vulnerable and healing, is not able to provide the support that Crowley would need to recover safely.

Which is why them separating is probably the best thing for both of them.

It won't be permanent.

But they don't communicate, and their relationship while delightful and beautiful risks unhealthy codependency that prevents either from really growing or healing.

Anyways, what I really hope to see next season is Aziraphale's realization that the system never had his back. That the system is what's wrong, and that he can't win by playing at respectability politics or gaining a higher status within it.

I want Aziraphale to get angry.

He deserves it. He's tried so hard. He thinks he's lost Crowley over it.

I want him to feel the gut-wrenching despair of realizing how conditional and fleeting the system's version of love is, and I want it to turn into a rage.

But not a destructive rage--the sort of anger that Pratchett ascribes to himself and many of his works. The sort of anger that fueled Discworld and Good Omens. The sort that can be finessed into a weapon and a shield, that can be used to protect the people who truly love you.

For millennia we see Crowley fighting for Aziraphale.

For Season 3, I want to see Aziraphale fighting for his demon.

For him to apologize, without the expectation that Crowley will come back, but because he was wrong and Crowley needs to know it. To not expect forgiveness, not even think he deserves it.

And then for Crowley--who is trying to hide his heart eyes at seeing his avenging angel coming to save him for once, who he can tell immediately has changed, and is finally going Crowley's speed)--for Crowley to give that forgiveness, without strings attached.

[quibbs126]

And this here is today’s attempts at drawing Transformers, specifically TF One

I had this idea when I started today, since I knew the faces and noses were giving me trouble yesterday, to try this paintbrush style. The logic in my brain was that the movie was made in 3D, so logistically a more lineless style should work better, right?

I do admit, I think that the lineless style works far better in terms of the eyes and noses being the right shape, but I also admit my lines are probably a bit too soft and I may need to darken them. As well as get something good for the actual thin lines, since the paint brush on its own feels too thick, even at the lowest size

And you know what, since we’re here, does anyone have any Procreate brushes they can suggest for this sort of style? Right now I’m just using Flat Brush, but I wonder if I should use something else

Anyways, so this canvas was supposed to be more D-16, but partway through I figured I should try someone else to draw as well, so I decided Orion, so we could have the yaoi

Honestly my big problem with Pax here is that I don’t have a good comprehensive reference for him, while I can get by just fine with D-16. These were about the best I could get, and that last one I only got because these other two weren’t cutting it

I need high quality references of these characters, or at least specifically their faces. And I’m gonna need even more if I plan to draw Megatron and Optimus as well

But yeah, Orion’s here, and I was also having trouble getting the correct colors for him, because I’m stupid and used to flat colors. D was pretty easy considering he’s just greys, and a yellow tinted grey works just fine there as a grey (though I do admit I’m struggling with his eye color), but I feel like blue tinted Orion looks too blue by comparison. But I don’t know how to give him his proper face coloring without it being the same shade as D-16

I feel like my words aren’t making sense. But just get that Orion colors are a struggle. And still are, because I still don’t think that other grey is the right color

Also Orion has a significantly more complicated helmet than D, so that’s fun

I really wasn’t planning on Orion taking up so much of the space, but I needed to actually practice how he looked so that I could draw him easier. I had numerous attempts at D-16 prior, I could sort of understand his look, but I was flailing in the dark on Orion and needed the practice

I think another problem is that I don’t make him wide enough. But sue me, my character designs usually don’t have their bodies that wide/their heads that small. I’m working on it

I capped off this canvas by just deciding to make a small doodle of Orion kissing D, since why not and also I was too lazy to think of anything else to add

Where do we go from here? I have no clue, but hopefully it’ll go good

[fistsandfangs]

hash brown, egg yolk, i will always love you

cm punk x fem oc (lux). rated t. warnings: age gap relationship (punk in his late forties and oc in her late twenties).

summary: punk loves to joke that he's an old man now, and being madly in love with his girlfriend almost twenty years his junior would only make it worse if it weren't for the fact that she's such an old soul

header by me!

Punk never missed an opportunity to poke fun at his age.

It was in part an occupational hazard, being televised the way he had been through both his younger years and the evolution that followed. Eras immortalized became ghosts, the only question was whether they haunted for better or worse.

However, there was another significant factor at play: his girl.

Lux was in her late twenties, still evergreen and sweet, though by no means naïve. She was wise and thoughtful, and observed the world with a keener eye than people older than Punk himself. He had always been roughened by rebellion and enjoying working against the flow of things, but she was gentle and peaceable, able to bring things and people together.

The gap in their ages lingered beneath the foundation of the life they were building together, harmless but present if they dug around for it. Occasionally, though, something small would evoke its faint shadow.

“You’re falling asleep again,” she told him softly, poking his cheek with her forefinger to try to keep his attention.

“Mm, no, I’m right here.” His words were slightly slurred, and his tongue admittedly felt a bit heavy in his mouth.

The gentle, sympathetic hum she made as she scratched her nails along the base of his skull did nothing to help the alleged accusation either, evoking a full-bodied sigh of contentment as he relaxed deeper into the couch.

They were settled in for the evening to start on their meticulously planned month of horror movies for October, with tonight’s schedule consisting of a respectable trilogy marathon. They were partway through their second movie now, and as much as he hated to admit it, Punk was maybe relaxed enough that he could fall asleep if he closed his eyes for a good ten or fifteen minutes.

Lux was pointedly silent, and when he looked over at her, there was a small, knowing smile on her lips that she was trying to hide.

“Baby,” he murmured with false bravado as he straightened up, “I’m totally good. You know me; I can go as many rounds as it takes.” He shifted a little to lean over her, effectively forcing her onto her back beneath him with her head against the armrest.

“Wow, perv.” She rolled her eyes playfully.

“Hey, I was talking about the ring. You’re the one who made it dirty.” He stretched his upper body over her and shifted his hips to anchor against her pelvis. “But hey, I can get down with that.”

Inclining his head above her throat, he was about to bite her softly, but instead he made a rather undignified yelping sound and leaned back on his heels. “Damn it.” His elbow had buckled under his weight with a sharp twinge of pain echoing the rhythm of his pulse.

“Hey.” She was careful as she sat up, trying not to jostle him further. “Are you okay? Do you want some Tylenol, or an ice pack?” Reaching for him instinctively, looking for something to do to help ease his pain, the remnants of her teasing had dissipated. It was sweet—she was sweet, and he was still getting used to being the benefactor of such a heart.  

Punk pressed his fingers into his skin to try to stimulate blood flow. Prodding at the sore spot made him grimace, but he still shook his head. “’M fine. Just my elbow acting up again.”

She was out of patience with his pride, though. It broke her heart to see him struggle, and it was uncalled for. He was hardheaded, in more ways than one, but being in a relationship with him for a few years had given her more than enough time to start catching up.

“The one you hurt last week?” When he remained stubbornly quiet, a bit of her passiveness chipped away, blunting a bit of the guilt she might have felt at pushing just a bit further. “Punk. Don’t shut me out.”

When she swung her leg across his lap to cage him in with her knees, he looked up at her curiously. One eyebrow cocked, he asked, “What’s up, doc?”

Fingers tightening in the collar of his shirt with one hand, she reached back for the television remote and clicked it off. “Come with me.” She tugged once, hard.

“What about the movie?” Punk wrapped his arms around her to hold her steady, his fingers laced at the small of her back just beneath the hem of her shirt.

More accurately, it was his. Faded and softened with wear, and broken in perfectly. He hadn’t told her yet, and maybe never would, but it gave him a very warm sense of pride in his chest that bordered on possessive.

She offered a dismissive shrug in reply. “We can finish it later. It was definitely weird as hell, but Society has still got it beat.” Her fingers on the neck of his shirt loosened slightly. “Screaming Mad George is pretty much a trump card of weird.”

“Mm, now who’s talking dirty? My girl, the horror historian,” he purred in her ear, letting his teeth catch on her earlobe. “You know how hot that gets me.”

The shiver that made its way up her spine and made her skin erupt in goosebumps didn’t go unnoticed by him, and that certainly didn’t cool the embers of his ego. “Excuse me,” Lux started, a little breathless, “don’t even try flirting your way out of this.”

“I’m sorry, you’re right, how can I make it up to you?”

“Well, you can stop being such a smartass—”

“Not gonna happen, what else you got?”

“—and you can let me help you.”

She had already won before she even asked, even if she didn’t know it. He was just too soft to deny her, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. Dropping his chin slightly, Punk lowered his eyes a bit in deference, and she gave another tug on his shirt to coax him to his feet.

Just as they stood, a streak of black darted past their feet and came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. It was her one-eyed Manchester terrier, MacReady, no doubt eager to be back in his favorite spot at the foot of her bed.

“What a good boy, that’s my sweet RJ. Go ahead,” she cooed, nodding at him. With her approval, he shot up the stairs, and the two of them followed at a slower pace.

Once in the master bathroom, Lux turned on the faucet to start some warm water running and pulled herself up to sit on the countertop. It put her eye to eye with Punk, and she smiled proudly. “Hi.”

He chuckled, putting his hands on either side of her hips to move in close. “Hi, baby.” When he leaned in to kiss her, though, she turned her head to rinse her hands now that the water had warmed up. Punk shook his head wryly and dragged his nose along her jaw instead.

“Okay, okay.” Lux turned back and pushed him away with a hand on his chest. “Can you grab the bottle in the front of the cupboard for me, love?”

Punk crouched down and pulled the first one he saw from the shelf. ���This one?”

“Mhm. Thank you.”

He positioned himself in front of her again, sliding her knees apart so he could stand between them, and then stood still, arms out with his palms up in offering.

Lux poured something dark gold and sticky onto her index and middle fingers, then reached for his sore elbow. “This should help.” With a light touch, she rubbed slow circles, smoothing the syrupy liquid into his skin. It smelled nice, especially combined with the scent of her perfume that was strong in his nose.

“What is it?”

“Honey and lavender, they’re both really good for inflammation.” Her eyes stayed fixed on what she was doing which allowed Punk to admire her at his leisure.

Normally, she blushed and balked at his attention being concentrated on her like that, but while she was occupied, he could take the time to watch the way her eyelashes caught the orange-tinted bathroom lighting and admire the cute slope of her nose. He could reach out with his free hand to brush her hair back over her forehead tenderly, and relish in how smooth and soft it felt as it moved between his fingers.

Seemingly tired of going ignored, MacReady ambled up to the doorway, interrupting his thoughts when he looked up at them in puzzlement and sneezed twice.

“Just be patient, RJ, I’ll give you lots of snuggles as soon as I’m done,” Lux said sweetly, glancing around Punk’s shoulder to smile at him.

With a huff, he ambled off and laid down, and she giggled to herself, a sweet, peaceful sound.

“What’d you want with an old man like me, anyway?” Punk teased. It wasn’t sincere—at least, not really. Or maybe that was just what he told himself, and it had stopped being true at some point.

Ever his saving grace, Lux shook her head slightly with a sardonic, closemouthed smile. “I’m the wrong person to try to bait into this conversation, Punk. You listen to Chappell Roan, you secretly kind of enjoy social media and how you’re getting good at it, you keep adding to your never-ending list of tattoo ideas, and you watch action figure unboxing videos. Besides, my parents had me when they were your age, so this is a losing battle already.”

He looked at her curiously, his head tilted. “You never told me that about your parents.”

“I told you that I was an accident, and that they had me later in life.” Lux spoke matter-of-factly, like it didn’t hurt her at all to say such a thing.

With his free hand, Punk held the side of her face in his palm while his thumb pushed back some hair that had fallen against her cheek. He wasn’t usually as good with his words as he wanted to be, particularly when it came to her, and he wished he could bring her hand into his ribcage to hold his bloody heart in her hands and know him.

In lieu of the all the words he wanted to say, he instead reverted to humor. “Yeah, but I’m all creaky and shit.”

That finally broke Lux’s concentration and she looked up at him just so that she could arch an eyebrow dramatically. “Strike two; you just got thrown around a wrestling ring, two announcers tables, and a handful of barricades two days ago.”

For emphasis, she squeezed gently above where the pain was worst on his arm, and he flinched. “Okay, okay,” he relented, raising his hand from her face in surrender.

She shook her head in annoyance, but there was no heat behind it.

Once she was satisfied with her efforts, Lux smiled up at him kindly and touched her knuckles to his cheek. “That should help a bit.”

“It’s already feeling better,” he assured her. “I think I like it better than Tylenol and ice, to be honest.” He leaned down to touch his nose to hers. “But maybe that’s because you worked your magic.”

“I think you’re giving me too much credit, baby.” Lux rinsed the remaining stickiness from her fingers with more hot water, then moved to turn out the light. “You ready?”

He stayed close to her, careful not to smear any of the honey on their bedsheets or clothes, as they undressed for bed.

MacReady was curled up at the foot of the bed, sitting perfectly still save for his tail that was wagging furiously in anticipation. Punk leaned over to scratch between his sleek, pointed ears and rub his head. “You ready for mama? You ready, big boy?”

Lux gasped dramatically and bent over to be closer to eyelevel with him. “Is that my baby? Is that my Mac? My sweet Macaroni Boy? My RJ Loverboy?” She dropped down in front of him and rubbed his ears and head enthusiastically, drawing a playful grumble from him.

Punk just looked on adoringly.

This was maybe his favorite ritual they shared, even more so because he was in the unique position to appreciate what it was like after being apart and sleeping alone on the road. Watching her turn down the sheets, fluff her pillows, or thoughtfully choose her nightclothes from the dresser just reminded him of the gravity of his circumstance.

That she chose him, of all the people in the world, to be so nakedly herself with.

When he was on the road, he spent every night sleeping with the blanket she had knitted him for Christmas last year. Even in temperatures upwards of a hundred, with his skin almost boiling off his bones, he kept it close enough that he could feel her there, smell her perfume inextricably imbued in the fabric.

At home, he didn’t need it, because he had the real thing. Instead, the blanket sat lovingly folded between her out-of-season clothes to preserve every bit of her that was left on it.

Lux crawled under the cold sheets, now dressed only in his t-shirt and a pair of soft, cotton underwear, and flicked on the TV for background noise. Reruns of Emergency! played with the volume low were how she got herself to sleep, particularly when Punk was away.

There had never been anything more beautiful than her.

“I love you,” he murmured just because he could. Just because he wanted to.

Tearing her gaze from the TV, she gave him a blush-warmed smile and leaned over the mattress towards him. “I love you, baby.” She laid out her arms with her palms up, inviting him to come to her.

As soon as he was in her embrace, her nails raking against his scalp as her fingers combed through his hair, he almost forgot that anything else ever mattered at all.

Maybe he had meant what he’d said earlier, a little bit—he couldn’t understand what she could want with a guy like him, but fuck if he wasn’t grateful for whatever the reason.

He couldn’t ignore that there were things that would always make him feel a bit out of place in her world, the same as she did in his. The worry that he was holding her back somehow might always wash up on the shore again eventually. That might all be true—but then, he remembered times like this. Times where he remembered that her soul had always been old, worn with love and wisdom.

She preferred to use a ceramic dish of water by the air register on the floor instead of a humidifier. The e-reader he bought her had been sitting on the dresser with the battery dead for months in favor of well-aged paperbacks—even though she swore she just kept forgetting to charge it. She kept her iPod video alive with all but spit and wire for years until it wouldn’t even turn on anymore, and then reverted back to her Walkman CD player for a short time. When she woke up early in the morning to make them breakfast in bed, she listened to Sam Cooke while she made pancakes and eggs.

A lot of the time, the things that were part of his youth were foreign to her, but before the self-consciousness could creep in like ink bleeding rapidly through a page, he remembered that much of hers resided even further back then his.

Maybe she made him feel…free.

[inkdemonapologist]

Way back before we got the BatDR trailer I had this wild theory -- basically, that the reason they couldn't show any concept art/trailers/etc was that BatDR was gonna pull a wizard of oz and suddenly be in colour partway through. So then that's why we were getting teasers like "look, its a model of A SHELF," because all the actual interesting stuff would've obviously been in colour and spoiled the surprise.

Part of the reason I thought this would work really well was that I assumed Nathan's acquisition of the Bendy IP and "revival" of the franchise in-world would be thematically relevant, rather than just... an excuse to have a second game. Like, Bendy is in new hands now, the cartoons are essentially being rebooted, and there's a LOT of thematic potential in that concept of Old vs New or the good and bad aspects of Change, and the idea that reviving Bendy in the real world would impact the ink realm was a fascinating concept to me. Now that we know the main thrust of the story........... actually I still think this could've worked with it? The sepia-toned Memory of Joey's Regret and the evil of the Ink Demon lingers over the studio and corrupts this new colourful world, while Wilson, the Man Who Killed The Ink Demon, is the one trying to forcibly extinguish these old stains and make the machine useful again.

Geez, you could tie Wilson's motivation in pretty directly actually if you dropped the ENTIRE thing where he says he's trying to BETTER THE WORLD THRU THE POWER OF THE MACHINE or whatever and instead just make him an actual janitor whose dad just gave him this bottom-tier job at his company. Give Nathan one audiolog about how his son is neglectful at work and its hard to find a job he can actually do or some such, and then you have Wilson as someone desperate to prove he deserves more. He sees his father's idolisation of Joey is naive, is able to realise the memory of Joey may be literally corrupting the business through the machine, and wants to eradicate that -- including Audrey, the most subtle infiltration of Joey Drew's influence. He's essentially the force of the New applied with no respect for the Old -- and then you could still give Wilson ties to that psychedelic neon ink from the Shipahoy battle; in fact, you could probably lean into it more: colour taken to the extreme, colour taken too far, something just as destructive as Joey's monochrome obsession.

(I've always loved the idea that Wilson isn't actually an artist and just stole the Shipahoy design while janitoring, which works great with the Shipahoy Monstrosity at the end being part crab because he couldn't actually create an isolated model to feed the machine... in this current era of The Threat Of AI Generation, the idea of wilson introducing a lot of mechanical innovation and incompetently dumping artwork into the machine to make new, too-colourful horrors in the interest of impressing his father while destroying all the old things these cartoons were first built on feels apropos lmao. obviously AI wasn't a huge talking point while BatDR was in production, but "ppl who assume more technology automatically makes art better while inadvertently destroying its heart" is extremely not new)

So the ink realm could be partially in colour (a world changed by the new cartoons), partially sepia (the infected memories of the old studio), and partially glowy neon (wilson's overzealous renovation). It'd be neat if Audrey became a bit of both -- partially colour, partially sepia -- and represented the new cartoons' ties to the old. Learning about the horrors that befell her father's old studio and the Gent technology that Wilson is now using are both relevant -- Joey's exploitation of actual artists who care was bad, and so is Wilson's complete disregard for the heart of these artists' work. The memory of Joey can't fix it because he is part of the problem -- he and the demon are the source of the monochrome infection -- so you have to be the one to bring heartfelt colour into this world, a power none of the others have; find a way to heal those trapped by old wrongs and restart the cycle in a better direction. Then, when Audrey says she wants to create a kinder cycle at the end, we have an idea of what that means and that she can do it b/c there's simple symbolism associated with it -- the new, colourful world that's neither corrupted by festering wrongs nor torn apart by Wilson's machines.

anyway. thats my half-baked idea. i still think its a shame that there WAS colour in there for like 2 seconds and they did NOTHING WITH IT!!!!

[triviallytrue]

I know webnovels are kind of irrelevant compared to... everything else, but do you have any recommendations in the vein of those you've talked about/posted before?

I'm currently caught up on Pale Lights and TWI, and I'm trying to fill out my schedule to one new chapter a week without resorting to catching up on wildbow's work, or rereading Practical Guide until aforementioned have a backlog. Completed works are fine as well.

Here's my full webserial opinions list, with the general caveat that webserials are, on average, longer, more poorly paced, and less polished than print novels, and if you aren't hooked pretty early on you should probably drop it:

Finished or currently caught up:

A Practical Guide to Evil

The gold standard of the medium imo, definitely my favorite. It has its flaws like any other, but I feel more comfortable recommending it than most.

Pale Lights

PGTE's author's new work. Still in progress, imo has even more going for it than PGTE does. The setting is more original and the shape of the plot plays to the author's strengths more. Very fun first book, maybe my first recommendation.

Worm

The experience of reading Worm is not very good, but the experience of having read Worm is great. Incredibly compelling story with shitty execution. Is it worth it? I dunno.

HPMOR

The 2% of people who won't find HPMOR too insufferable to read have already read it. Everyone else, steer clear.

UNSONG

Both short and polished by web serial standards. Weird, irreverent, mostly gets better as it goes. Some people will be put off by it, but if you like the first few chapters I think it's excellent.

Did not finish:

Ward

The sequel to Worm. Ward has all of the same issues as Worm with none of the redeeming qualities. Even if you really liked Worm, you still probably shouldn't read Ward.

Pale

By the same author as Worm and Ward, and (I think?) generally considered to be his best work (or best since Worm). I liked it but ended up petering out partway through - it's long even by webserial standards. Will probably pick it up again someday.

The Wandering Inn

I think the longest work of fiction in the English language? Or maybe any language? In a medium full of prolific authors, pirateaba puts them all to shame. Surprisingly decent, but nowhere near good enough to justify its length.

Almost Nowhere

Deeply weird, incredibly compelling, dense enough that I got stuck when I was trying to power through it. Will return to it sooner or later.

Are there more? There's definitely more. But this is off the top of my head, and most of the rest is schlock that is not worth mentioning.

[saltydogsmut]

You know, there could be an argument that Ashley a deeply closeted comp-het lesbian. Aro/ace if you prefer.

Because in spite of her obsession with Andrew, we never see her even think about or acknowledge other men. Even though she's upset when they don't find her particularly attractive, she doesn't seem to understand what sex drive is attached to. Only realising that Andrew would be a deterrent to the guards when he mentions it. And not recognising the murders and threats would quash Andrew's when dealing with the lady I the apartment.

Ashley may not understand the feeling of attraction and love, which is why you get to choose how she defines her own feelings. Her jokes about sex and loving Andrew too much are just that, jokes. She doesn't get the intense feelings everyone else does about the topic as she has no stake in either.

Her understanding of sexuality/people is from r-rated films and maybe some of the theoretical porn books Andrew has stashed away somewhere. (So far as I know, you can't find any, but maybe they're the parents' books, who knows.) . When she's trying to appeal to Andrew it's all about her labour and not anything of a sexual nature, it's always Andrew who initiates the more dubious physical side to their relationship, fingers in her belt loops, crawling into her bed at night, etc. This is why she thinks it's Andrew whose actions are more suggestive than her own. She even admits that in the questionable/love ending, she doesn't particularly care to pursue it. It's just a way to keep him around.

And yet, she always has feirce reactions to women. Why does she call all other women vile temptresses‐ aside from indoctrination from movies/her mom? It could be because she herself has a strong attraction to women. She tries to get confirmation from Andrew about her feelings, asking if he thinks nina is pretty, because she thought nina was pretty. Nina stopped being her friend as soon as Ashley found out she had feelings for her brother- not just because of the risk to Andy spending less time with her and the potential of them never being friends to begin with and only a means to an end- but potentially because Ashley had a crush on her and felt rejected.

The same could be said for Julia, who Ashley sends insulting and vulgar phonecalls to, showing her confusion of where the lines should be by saying "you think you're better because you can fuck him and I can't?!" But clearly according to one ending she can. Or at least, partway. We understand something sexual happened, but its possible they didn't have vaginal intercourse. Ashley might not be able to get physically aroused while thinking about men, making her assertions about women even more stark. If women can arouse even her, then surely no man could ever resist their charms. Not even Andrew.

After all, Ashley can place herself in the romance spot between the other girl bunnies, but her budding feelings can never blossom. Only Andrew gets to experience the blooms of romance.

Anyway. This bitch gay. YEET.

[five-rivers]

providence 6

[Prompts used are from @kinglazrus@lexiepiper and @ash-rabbit. Special thanks to @jackdaw-sprite @datawyrms and Lexie for beta and encouragement! You can read the full fic here.]

Danny turned away from the pile of scrap metal, satisfied with its increasing size, and startled backwards into it when he saw Clockwork standing right there.  

He pulled the pile back together with a bit of telekinesis (not the easiest when he was flustered), and glared at Clockwork.  “How do you do that?  Are you doing a time out and then timing in once you get into position, or what?”

“That would be most improper,” said Clockwork.  

“It would?” asked Danny.  “Really?”

“According to some.”  Clockwork surveyed the mostly-clear air around Long Now.  “You have been hard at work.”

Danny squared his shoulders.  Just a little.  “I do my best.”

Clockwork said nothing, continuing to look out into the Ghost Zone.  Danny frowned and tried to follow his gaze.  

“Would you like to learn?”

“Learn…?”

“How to hide from even another ghost’s better senses,” said Clockwork.  “You will have to practice.  Carefully.”

Danny thought about how often he felt eyes (or maybe just an eye) on the back of his head lately, and nodded.  “Absolutely.” 

.

Clockwork had said that the trick was to slip between the minutes, between the seconds, walk through the moments of time that no one noticed existing.  Be there.  Be then.  

With time being continuous, and made up mostly of those moments, that meant that a person who was doing this was always there.  It was a math thing.  Like how there were always more irrational numbers than rational numbers.  Or something like that, anyway.  

As hard as it was to describe what he was doing, it was harder to actually do it.  But Clockwork had told him to practice.

So.  Practice.  

“Nope,” said Tucker from the bean bag in the corner.  “I can still see you, dude.”

“Me too,” said Sam.  

“Well,” said Danny, “maybe if I do it while you’re looking away…”

Tucker, pointedly, shifted his PDA to point at Sam.  She was lying on Danny’s bedspread, her Spanish notes in front of her.  “You were.”

Danny groaned and threw himself dramatically into the air.  “I’m never going to get this.  It’s harder than duplication.  At least then there were signs I was going in the right direction.”

“Danny,” said Sam, “when you were trying to learn how to duplicate, you kept growing eyes out of your fingers and heads out of your mouth.  Mouths.  Because you were growing extras of those, too.”

“You said it was awesome.”

“Yeah, awesomely goth.  That was some good body horror.  But maybe it’s a good thing that nothing like that is happening with this.”

“What do you mean?” asked Danny.  

Sam rolled over and sat up on the bed.  “What you’re doing is sort of more a perception filter kind of thing than an actual invisibility thing, right?”

“It does sound very Dr. Who,” agreed Tucker.  

“But, it’s still a time thing.  You aren’t time traveling or stopping time or anything like that, but it still has to do with time.”

Danny nodded.  “Clockwork said that I wouldn’t have been able to do this if I hadn’t done so much time travel stuff.”

“Right.  So what would it look like if you were doing it partway?  Would you, I don’t know, fall through time?  Start glitching out?  Get stuck?”

“Oh,” said Danny.  “That’s… a good point.  I was just hoping that I’d be able to use it to get into Vlad’s.”

“You can already turn invisible,” said Sam.  

“Vlad’s got all sorts of ghost tech, though,” said Tucker.  “Plus, basically all his stuff is ripped off from Dr. and Dr. F, and we know they’ve got those invisibility seeing goggles.”

“Yeah, exactly,” said Danny.  “But Danny says tonight’s the best time to break in, and Dani won’t want to stick around until I do get it right, so…”  He sighed.  “I’m just going to have to brace for Vlad finding out and beating the hell out of me.”

“We’ve got to get those guys some different nicknames, or the next power you’ll need to figure out will be how to give yourself subtitles.”

“I’d suggest sign language,” said Sam.

“I’m already learning Esperanto,” protested Danny, “and have you seen my grades?  I don’t have time for another project.”

“Sign language could be so useful, though.”  Sam sighed.  “I guess I don’t have time for it either, though.”

Danny made a face.  “Maybe in the summer?”

“Maybe.”  She shuffled her Spanish notes together.  “I’m on backup duty tonight, then?”

Danny nodded.  “Sorry, but if Vlad caught you stealing from him on one of his security cameras…”  It was one thing for it to be Danny, Danny, or Dani, especially if they were in ghost form, but Sam didn’t have a solid secret identity, and Vlad had no reason to keep her involvement quiet.  

“Yeah, that’d be messy,” said Sam.  “I get it.  It just sucks.”  She stood up and stretched.  “I’ll keep an eye on Ghost Watch, too, just in case.”

“Thanks,” said Danny.  “Are you leaving?  Already?”

“It’s four thirty and Mom and Dad want me home for dinner,” said Sam.  

“Is– Oh,” said Danny, looking at his clock.  “It is.”

“Ugh,” said Tucker, “why do you have to go and be responsible?”

“Someone has to be,” said Sam.  “Besides, I’m sure you’ll be responsible for something someday.  Like a massive computer security breach at a multinational corporation.”

“What, and Mastersoft doesn’t count?” asked Tucker.  He slid out of the beanbag and turned to Danny.  “I’ll be online at eleven, okay?”

“Yeah,” said Danny.  “That’s when I’m meeting up with Dani, so that works.”

“Cool.  In the meantime, my bots should be getting into Vlad’s systems on their own.  I should have lots of ways to mess with his security by then.”

Danny walked with Sam and Tucker to the door (talking about other things than the planned break-in, because Danny’s parents were around) and waved goodbye to them from the steps.  

Maybe when he saw Clockwork next, he’d ask if there were any ghost powers that would help with telling time.  

.

“Hey, cuz,” said Dani, fading into sight next to Danny.  

“Hey to you, too,” said Danny, grinning.  They’d decided to meet up at the Amity Observatory before breaking into any of Vlad’s places to hammer out the details, and they were hovering above the dome.  “How was the trip?”

“Great,” said Dani.  “Greenland was really cool.  I liked the volcanoes.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, I saw so many eruptions.”  She paused for a moment.  “The ocean was better, though.  Sharks are my favorite now.”

“Nice,” said Danny.  “Any particular kinds of sharks?”

“Not sure yet,” said Dani.  “Where’s the other guy?”

Danny - the other Danny, the one from the future - was late.  “Don’t know.  Maybe he got held up by Vlad?”  He hoped not.  The other Danny was their guy on the inside.  

“Think fast, pipsqueak.”

A box smacked into the side of Danny’s head, and he barely caught it in time to keep it from plummeting to the dome of the observatory.  He glared at Danny.  The other Danny.  “Hey!  What’s this?  And who’re you calling pipsqueak?”

Dani, meanwhile, squealed and launched herself at the other Danny.  “Clone cousin!”

“The Skeleton Key,” said the other Danny, rolling his red eyes.  He didn’t look nearly as dignified as he thought he did, with Dani hanging off his shoulders.  “Somehow, I thought you wanted it.  And, you.  You’re the pipsqueak.  On account of you being a pipsqueak.”

“It’s– What?  But we were–”  He stared down at the box in his hands, then opened it.  Inside, on a crushed velvet backing, laid an antique key with a skull on the end.  “I thought we were going to go get it together.”

The other Danny stuffed his hands in his pockets and snorted.  “What, you thought we were going to bond over a heist?”

“We’re not going to go bonding?” asked Dani, looking up at him with wide, wet eyes.  

The other Danny looked down at her in horror.  “Who even taught you how to do that?  I thought you were some kind of feral hobo.”

“Hobos have jobs,” said Dani.  “Me?  I’m all alone in the world without a penny to my name, and now my little brother won’t even speak to me.”

“Little?”

“That’s right,” said Danny.  “Your clone came out after she did, so you’re the younger one.”

“Bold words for someone shorter than I am,” said the other Danny.  

“We’re the same height when we’re in human form.”  It was true.  Even though the other Danny’s ghost form was as muscular and overbuilt as it had been the first time Danny saw him, his human form was virtually identical to Danny’s.  

“Nope,” said the other Danny.  “I’m three inches taller.”

“No you aren’t.”

“Yes I am.”

“Bonding!” said Dani.  “If we’re not going to rob Vlad, can we at least get burgers or something?  I’m starving.”

Other Danny frowned.  “What, like, literally?”

“Yes,” said Dani, dramatically.  “I am but a poor street waif who has never eaten ever in my whole life.”

“If we’re not going to rob Vlad,” said Danny, “I can go pick up Sam and Tucker.  But we probably shouldn’t go to the Nasty Burger, too many people there know who I am.”

“What about Jazz?” asked Dani.  

“College stuff,” explained Danny, apologetically.  “It’ll only be Sam and Tucker today.  Tonight.”

“Whatever,” said the other Danny.  “I guess we can hang out with your lame friends or whatever.”

“They’re your friends, too,” said Danny.  “Or they would be, if you’d answer our texts, like, ever.”

“Anyway, I grabbed Vlad’s credit cards, too, so let’s go somewhere high end, okay?”

“Whoo!  Let’s ruin the nights of some rich people!” said Dani, zooming off towards the city.  

“Hey, Danny,” said Danny.  “Thanks.  For, you know.”  He raised the box.

“Yeah, well.  I figure I owe the old meddler for,” he huffed, “you know, whatever.”  He followed Dani.

“Uh huh, great job keeping up the act– Hey, wait, where are we going?  If I'm getting Sam and Tucker I need to know!  Hey!”

[clatterbane]

One minor domestic victory that a lot of people who haven't been there wouldn't necessarily get: I just washed a few pieces of dishes while standing on my own two feet at the sink! No awkward angles of approach involved or anything.

I also realized partway through that I'd left a pot lid that I wanted to wash and use in a while over next to the stove. So, I just sidled right over there, and then back to the sink with my dirty lid! (With a hand against the edge of the counter to make sure I stayed steady the whole way, but hey it's progress even so.)

Dishes have been one persistent aggravation around here. We have a long narrow kitchen through most of its length, so I've been having to get pointed in the right direction, park the chair at sort of an awkward diagonal, and usually stand on the "good" foot with my other knee on the chair seat. That's MUCH better than trying to work at that sink at a terrible height while sitting pulled up parallel next to it--but it really is not ergonomically great, and I need to take a lot of breaks.

[ETA: I also needed to sit back down and roll the chair over there if I wanted to transport anything between the stove and the sink, which kept irritating the shit out of me. Remember a lid or a dirty cooking utensil you need to wash? Time to totally interrupt what you're doing and dry your hands off to push yourself over there and get it! Never mind trying to, like, drain a pot of pasta without doing it into a separate pot on the stove. Which still leaves you with a less pressing pot of hot water to transport sitting down!]

Now I can just stand up straight in front of it to work at the sink again, like it's designed for. 😯

[calypsolemon]

okay let’s try and analyze anthy’s reactions during duels and why she sometimes is just completely still and other times she’s like “utena watch out!!” and other times she’s full on interfering. also how her relationship with utena and vice versa changes during the whole season

Lune you had no clue how much you were asking for when you sent this partway thru our watchthru lmaooo

I think the easiest question to answer here is "why she is completely still sometimes" and well it's that... most of the time she doesn't need to do anything. Anthy has been acting as the rose bride for what is clearly a looong time, and her "job" (her real job, as commanded by Akio, not what she presents to the duelists) essentially amounts to subtly manipulating people into projecting their desires onto her, so they will fight to own her. Usually, by the time they are at the arena clashing swords, Anthy has already done everything she needs to - the pawns are in place so to speak, she only needs to watch them play out their parts.

Beyond that, Anthy is generally emotionally disconnected from what goes on in the duels, despite the fact that they influence who she is going to have to live with. Though some duelists may, on a surface-level, treat Anthy better than others, and that might lead her to attempt to subtly push duels in her favor when she can, she ultimately sees her abuse at the hands of duelists as an inevitability, just another Thursday in the life of the Rose Bride. Therefore, apathy is the default Anthy emotion for any given duel.

So lets talk about the times when she is Very Much Not Apathetic

From the very first duel, she actually does express shock at Utena winning the duel with just a wooden sword. I will be honest, I dont actually put much weight onto this moment. I think its just sort of a natural reaction to someone so uninvested in either Anthy or the power she represents, winning the duel in such a dramatic way. I'm not even sure at this point she's clued in to Utena embodying Dios.

More notably, we have Miki's duel, which is the first true sign of mid-duel intervention by Anthy. By this point Utena has had an actual moment of "Dios coming down from the castle to possess her," which... depending on your reading means either Anthy, Akio, or both see some sort of potential in Utena. So she blatantly throws the duel for Miki by directly contrasting the idea of protecting her she's purposefully built up till this point.

The most notable reaction from the first arc, though, would be in the second duel against Touga.

This is after we get one of the only direct confirmations in this arc that Anthy is actually beginning to care for Utena; the scene where she is sitting alone, imagining Utena across from her at the table. In this moment, when Utena is fighting for her princely ideals despite the risk of actual death, Anthy is (for lack of a better term) triggered into recalling when Dios was gravely injured and still attempting to act as prince. And whether it is through the protective instincts of those memories, or just straight up being pulled out of concentration of what she's doing, it causes her to accidentally throw the duel for Touga, by rescinding her power from his sword.

So, we basically have two precedents set for Anthy reacting during duels: She sometimes consciously interferes as a strategic move, and she sometimes has a genuine emotional reaction, usually in relation to her memories of Dios being triggered and/or potential care for Utena. I don't actually think these two things are mutually exclusive, however, and they become muddled as we move into the Black Rose Arc.

Anthy definitely begins to be a lot more lively during these duels, from interacting with the objects on the tables, to giving Utena's sword the blessing, to yelling for her as she catches her mid-air. Is this because she genuinely cares for or is concerned about Utena? Is projecting Dios onto her? Or is it just because Utena winning is what is necessary for the duels to function? Maybe some combo of all? Who knows

The most notable Black Rose Duel reaction, to me personally, is when Anthy downright demands Utena pull the sword from her against Wakaba. Its very uncharacteristic of her, and I believe its because, despite the Black Rose Duels being something she has a hand in, she may genuinely be concerned for her own life here, as she has built up Wakaba to be actually, murderously jealous of her personally, and Utena is actively refusing to fight.

As we move into the final arcs of the show, we get one of the most blatant Anthy duel disruptions to date:

The sword of Dios disappears mid-battle, and instead of remembering Dios in the face of fighting against impossible odds, it is now Utena's words of friendship that spur her to jump in front of her, and draw her own sword from her chest. I really think this is one of the most significant mid-duel actions Anthy takes besides the final duel. It shows that Anthy's emotions are no longer being spurred on by simple relation back to Dios, but rather by the genuine care that Utena is showing her. Even if their relationship is about to be mired in turmoil thanks to Akio's interference, it was starting to become something real, and it was also starting to break down Anthy's carefully built walls.

I'm getting eepy and also this is getting long, so I'm going to stop the analysis train there. I could get into the final duel but quite frankly I think thats an essay in and of itself. Anthy's reactions during duels is really a fascinating topic and you could probably go on forever talking about it (just like everything else in this show)

[sketchfanda]

A Little Moxxie Love Party

Studsucker gets Imped

Kiera Kite, known on the sexually beneficial dating app Sizeland as the infamous stud-sucker, has had a short recent rivalry with the matriarchs of the Herron family, Jane and Veronica, since moving into the neighborhood with her meathead son Magnus. Given their respective reputations and the libidos to match, this was naturally in regards to matters of a sexual nature such as who could drain the most balls in the fastest time to who could handle the biggest, meatiest cocks. However in recent months she's noticed something had seemed rather off with the duo and the swarm of misfits that made up their nieces and daughters, mainly they don't seem to be going out with boys lately for casual flings as much they usually would on a daily or so basis. Ever since Jon, the sole male not dead or in jail and son of Jane ran off (because for a guy packing a major set of equipment on him, he apparently wanted to be just an average joe?!!), they'd had a veritable bus of studs and bulls in and out of their house like a conveyor belt through a revolving door.

But now a days, oddly enough, it was way more silent and it didn't seem like any of them were going through a dry spell, Christ on a stick Jen and Jenna even turned down her son Magnus for a date, stating that they found someone better and that was just mindblowing that the sluttiest bimbo brats of the bunch would actually reject even a quick fling with him of all people. Honestly though, she hoped that cold rejection gets him to start getting serious about his future, if Jon was too gung ho about trying to be normal, than her boy was a total meathead too into treating the world and women in it like his own personal porno movie. Anyway that digression aside, we come to blonde succubus in human skin as she tries to research online, mainly using Size-Land to keep track of any studs who might have found the Herrons and perhaps have proven themselves to be the ideal alpha male bull they'd so badly desired and needed to keep them in line and on track but found nobody besides a few potential casual flings and lays for future consideration. She was surprised partway through her profile browsing to suddenly get a chat message from Joy, who noticed her watching them the last couple of days and said she'd just had a meeting with the other girls and it was unanimously decided to let their semi-official family friend in on the big secret to their recent mysterious state of domestic bliss.

After getting the information for a certain ritual from the twisted, sadomasochistic Satanic goth girl, she goes through with it once she had it all set up to its specifications, not expecting it to work. Seriously was she supposed to believe that a deal with the devil was somehow the cause and solution to that band of sluts' sex life? Though if such a thing were the case then maybe the devil had something to do with their family tree, she thought to herself as somewhere down in Lust, a certain king of the sin itself found himself sneezing for some reason and getting a thought about something he couldn't quite recall. However back to the lusty Ms.Kite herself where you imagine her surprise when Moxxie appears, dressed in his underwear, proving to her that it actually worked and the freckled little dude couldn't help bemoan and state Loona wasn't going to be happy when he gets back given it was her turn for one-on-one quality time with him this week. Kiera was naturally a little confused as she expected something bigger than him, given there had to be some hype for being the source of what made her horny neighbors so tame only to see this tiny guy so yeah she was just about ready to write this off as flagrant false advertising.

Moxxie, however, seeing this absolute bimbo he swears has to be related to the Herrons, was in no mood for any nonsense or debate and simply says "Let's get this over with" before suddenly jumping up and kissing her, catching the platinum blonde nympho off guard as the two collapsed onto the couch, instincts taking over as she tries to take control. The stud sucker would not be taken down so easily after all, if a whole gangbang or train of frat boys and street thugs couldn't outlast her then what could one little runt of a demon possum do?! However, as she found herself being touched by the imp's hands, it felt like a very foreign sensation to her as if it was less horny groping and feeling more like Moxxie was worshipping her body like a goddess. And when he pealed off of her clothes one by one until she was naked as the day she was born, she blushed as she found those eyes on her ogling her not with lust like a sex object but more like she was observed as if akin to appraising the value of a work of art and that she was being acknowledged her sexiness and beauty, it had dawned on her that this wasn't just about getting laid, it was about making sure she felt good.

Towards the end of his quite sensual foreplay which overwhelmed the notorious non-Herron succubus in human skin, Moxxie had ditched his boxers and before she could get a good look at the cock that had been satisfying tyhose thirsty bitches next door, Kiera felt it inside her...and was experiencing an orgasm so intense that she swore she was seeing God!! Wanton, deep-throated moans escaping her luscious ruby red dick sucking lips as the imp claimed her doggy style with her toned, curvy torso bent over the couch arm as he pumped and thrusted away which had her bubbly booty cheeks clapping and jigglinglays her down on the floor pile drive, and shifts into a mating press as he takes her harder and better than any of the past studs who had challenged her and vice versa. Orgasm after orgasm rocking her every nerve as his length and girth out every prior lover to shame, even Magnus was a eunuch in comparison. To say nothing of the rush and thrill when he came inside her, flooding her womb with his demonic seed and to think, he wasn’t even going soft or limp!!

With that round done, the imp lets it slip that during his recovery he thought that Jane was more of a wild ride which got quite a rise out of the Studsucker to knock her out of her orgasmic haze. Not liking being compared to any other whore but least of all that bitch, Kiera took the reins and taunted seductively "The gloves are off now, little man!!!" before proceeding to attempt to turn the tables and get herself some payback. Starting off fierce and intense as she was now riding Moxxie in cowgirl front and back and even an amazon press in forward and reverse but to her shock and frustration, she found she' couldn’t get him to pop early. It was mind boggling to think he had such stamina and staying power when she had left entire gangbangs worth of cocks and balls drained high and dry!!

Little did she know that in addition to his experience and encounters with the Herron girls, Moxxie had amassed quite a string of lovers that could be credited for making him the sex machine he is today. So of course his already gifted stamina and staying power made him more than capable of being able to handle and endure the tightness and skill of Kiera's silky vice-like pussy in its attempts ring and drain him dry. If anything it only made him more prone to want to shower and overwhelm the infamous studsucker with more sensuality, caressing and groping her as he thrust against her riding motions. Making the blonde feel overwhelmed at this foreign sensation so new and intoxicating to her as the imp didn't just simply fuck her as if she were some 24-7 porn star, oh no.

He was making lover to her in a way that affected her in mind, body and soul and not treat her like some bitch in heat whore but....like a woman, a sexual work of art, a goddess of lust!! It was so just so frustrating yet absolutely amazing as she found herself at the mercy of the imp, losing control in this duel for dominance with her body being on on the bottom more than the top. Mating press into a wheelbarrow into a prone bone, he was a veritable kama sutra given physical form with Kiera feeling herself...dare she say, falling in love with him!! Pink hearts glowing in her icy blue eyes as she succubmed to the imp that had manahed to leave his impact upon the Herron ladies for a damn good reason, every orgasm a nail in her figurative coffin....

In the end, Kiera declared him her daddy after one final simultaneous climax in their sexual marathon and collapsed in exhaustion just as Moxxie vanishes signifying the Ritual's end. The studsucker left in an afterglow heap, sweaty and exhausted while the imp returned to Hell to find a very irked Loona to whom he wasted no time in pouncing on. He may've been through the ringer but he knew damn well he had to make it up to the hellhound after that setback delay and never let it be said that Moxxie didn't like to leave his women wanting. But of course Loona wasn't complaining, that was for sure.....

Kiera soon began to climb up the stairs to go to bed and rest her deliciously sore body once she felt enough energy return to do so. Her nude, sticky and glistening form laying atop the silk sheets when at this point Magnus had come home, hoping to get some relief getting rejected by the Herrons again as he stood looming by the doorframe like the down to fuck meathead he was and clearly missing the damn hint. Only for his mother to turn him down and lay down to sleep, leaving the lunkhead with his confidence shaken yet again as he wondered what the deuce was even going on with the damn world. Kiera meanwhile simply dreamt sweet dreams of her imp Daddy making her feel that intoxicating feeling he had so thoroughly ingrained into her...and made her want it again..and again...

~~~~~~~~~~~~

V Family Reunion

Verity and Vanna, the sister and mother respectively of Vera and Vivian Herron had recently both arrived at the Herron house for a surprise visit, much to the equal parts shock and confusion of the athletic duo. After all, Vanna never usually came or went anywhere near the big cities but as the family reunited and does some catching up, with Vanna of course embarrassing her daughter, they clearly found something amiss. The travelling fortune teller and bootylicious hornet particularly noticed a lack of any man about the house and notices the satisfied glow of one or more of the girls, feeling intrigued. After all who or what sort of man could manage to tame and sate the relentless thirst and libidos of a Herron woman that they weren't even having Johns casually in and out like a revolving door?

When Verity asks who the mystery man is exactly, it was pretty much decided that truth would be easier than any eexcuse as they showed her the enigmatic summoning ritual, shocking them with this knowledge that they weren't sure how to process this knowledge. Even more so when they opted to prove to them it was the truth as the pair stood in Jacqui and Joy's room along with the twins, Vivian and Vera where the Satanic sadomasochistic goth proved the ritual works and Moxxie appeared in front of them. Given that it was to be Vera's turn this time around for quality time per the schedule the family had worked out, the imp was surprised to find himself here earlier than intended but oh was he shocked to see Verity and Vanna, even declaring "THERE ARE MORE OF YOU!?!" Verity of course thinks her sisters and cousins had to be joking due to Moxxie's small size, as if some little runt like this could somehow be Herron approved yet Vanna says enigmatically and sensually, especially from her own vast wealth of experience that a stud can come in many sizes and she was certainly quite intrigued by this dapper little devil genteman.

So they both sit down on the nearest bed ready to have some fun and down to fuck with Verity looking to put on quite a show and give them pointers on how it was really done when milking a stud dry. Only for Vera to suddenly interrupt as she pounced and glomped Moxxie possesively, hugging and holding close like a precious plush toy stating she's not losing her turn to her little sister and mother after she waited so patiently since the last time, surprising the others at the show of such aggression from the usually sweet, docile cinnamon roll. It was honestly quite adorable and definitely showed how much of a bind she’d come to form with the imp before naturally Verity took issue with that tandem started arguing with her. Starting a tug of war as she grasped his tail and one of his cloven feet while Vera held onto his sweet little head before soon finding himself the centrepiece of the most intense sister threesome sinc his first time rut with Jane and Veronica.

It was about the same sort of erotic tension for sure as Moxxie found himself stuck in the middle between the two bootylicious sisters starting off their duel with a double team blowjob followed by using their aforementioned bubble butts to get him off with Vera still acting unusually aggressive while Verity tried to prove herself against him and his established reputation. All the while Vanna sat back in wait with voyeuristic bemusement alongside Vivian, Joy, Jacqui and the twins as the fortune teller was rather proud to see Vera so in tune with her more erotic natural instincts. Vera and Verity eventually wound up taking themselves further into their duel as their battle for dominance gave way to their need and thirst for that big imp cock.

The cinnamon roll of course managed to lay claim first as she bounced and rode on Moxxie cowgirl style but Verity wasn't going to sit idly by as she parked her perky ass on his sweet horned head to smother his freckled face with her heavenly buns. The sisters moaning as the imp soon began to hit his stride and start using the skills and experience with which Verity began to experience first hand how and why he had claimed a place as the family's Bull king. Fucking the dusky skinned size queens in between turns of one on one to 2 on 1 from fucking Vera in a mating press as the sweetheart gladly made out with him, holding her demon prince in her embrace to Verity howling sensually as he had riding him in reverse cowgirl with those skilled hands of his beating her asscheeks like a bongo drum. Eventually the pair had to tag out and needed a break after the the imp had given them quite a few orgasms and loads which was Vanna pounced soon as she saw opportunity presenting itself.

The quite well aged like a fine wine beauty wasted no time in mounting and impaling herself upon that quite deliciously talented cock with the slickness of mixed juices providing a fine bit of lubrication, taking delight in Moxxie's reaction to the warmth and tightness of her pussy. Proudly and sensually stating to him that her womb was hands down the strongest in the family with 20 kids to prove it and playfully, teasingly told him to bring his A-game. What followed before watching eyes was the most intense and wild ride he's had yet, exceeding even his three way with Jane and Veronica as the gypsy woman's experience was really showing. Moxxie had some difficulty matching her at first but to her joy and delight she soon came to the imp match and soon surpass her erotic intensity causing her to lewdly declare "Yeah, baby. Prove to me you got what it takes! Knock me up! KNOCK ME UP!! THEN KNOCK UP MY DAUGHTERS AND NIECES!! ADD A WHOLE BRANCH TO THE FAMILY TREE!!!"

In the end, Moxxie finally fired off into Vanna's womb, the intense simultaneous climax rocking her as she knew for sure she was going to finish this with a bun or few in her oven before Vera and Verity got back into the fray for their next turn. The sweet possum finding himself entangled within the embrace of 3 exotic, sexy bodies and the heavenly marshmallow warmth of a fine set of tits and asses. Painting their luscious cinnamon bodies inside and out with his seed as Vivian, Joy, Jacqui and the twins looked on in voyeuristic awe at such a primal scene before them. Just how was it that their Imp Daddy seemed to get better each and everytime they called him up like this?

Before they knew it, it was soon over as the trio of mother and daughters collapsed, exhausted and stuffed with Vanna even having a bit of a pudge from the amount of imp seed launched and pumped into her. Moxxie panting as his cock stood in between a state of relaxing yet ready to go again at any moment as it dribbled in its lather of mixed juices before he turned to see the other 5 Herron girls in the room, all naked and down to fuck. Pink glowing hearts in their eyes as they wanted, needed to have him do them like only he could since they still had so much time before the Ritual finished out and sent him back home. Never let it be said that Moxxie never turned down the ladies in his life when they needed some loving as h got right down to giving them their fix, setting quite the record for himself in managing to satisfy 8 women within the same summoning session......Millie was going to just love hearing these details for sure.

Months later in their cozy love nest in Imp City, Moxxie would receive a text that would have him collapse and start to have small heart attack upon reading its contents. When Millie asked just what'd happened to set him off like that, he showed her a picture which displayed Vanna in the hospital. Along with her in the shot were Vera, Vivian, Verity, the twins, Joy and Jacqui and most amazingly, a trio of babies in the gypsy MILF's arms. All of them having Moxxie's white hair, the cinnamon skin, freckles and and the imp's gold and red eyes with the text saying, "Say hi Daddy ;) <3".

Millie was surprised yet couldn't help but giggle as the 3 sisters and their 4 cousins sent texts of their own promising that next time, sooner or later, Imp Daddy could give them some babies of their own. Vera especially guaranteeing she'd be a good wife and mama for him which made Millie remember she really needed to meet and get better acquainted with the cinnamon roll girl. If the babies he gave Vanna were anything to go by, then Vera's were sure to be adorable...and it was rather putting Millie in the mood for some baby making herself. After all if and when she ever got knocked up then that would mean she'd need to ensure her Moxxie had plenty of ass on hand to tap and soothe his carnal needs...and make even more babies.....cute, sweet little Moxxie babies...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Who was on top again?

Fate and her ever troll-level sense of humor was prevalent as ever as it saw IMP come back to Mexico where unfortunately it saw them have to come afoul of a local cartel run by Miguel Mendoza, who so happens was the designated target. Unfortunately and naturally, this saw Murphy's law kick in as a few of El Jefe's thugs were using some of the drugs from their insane stock (rule no.2 per Scarface, never get high on your own supply!! and that's one of the reasons Tony Montana died!!) and while high they wind up exposing IMP in the midst of their infiltration as their drug addled brains made them panic and think they were being invaded by chupacabras. The trio were ducking and dodging for cover from sprays of bullet fire before fighting back and winding up getting separated in the labyrinthian compound and their luck going from bad to worse as they were soon captured with Blitzo and Moxxie getting grabbed by Miguel's security force and knocked out. El Jefe wasn't sure the who, what or why he had some weird possum and a chupacabra come his way but you can bet he was going to get himself some answers...and that was assuming his scarousing trophy wife didn't want her way with them first.

Meanwhile, Millie found herself in one of the personal dungeons of Mendoza's aforementioned wife, the French-Canadian rookie sensation pornstar herself, Penny Burfine and the dominatrix wasted no time in demanding to know who and what exactly the fuck the Imps were and what they wanted so bad that they had the balls to even come onto their doorstep. Millie, being the vicious little Wrath girl she is, refused to break, hissing and spitting at her for good measure however the scary sexy goth-like dom decided that was the perfect opportunity to have herself some fun. Using a cattle prod, she started off intense as she shocked Millie before tying her to one of the many devices in the dungeon to "torture" the information out of her, making sure to seize the moment of disorientation the shortstack was feeling about then and there. Meanwhile Moxxie woke up first to find himself and an also recovering Blitzo in all too familiar set up of being bound to a chair in what had to be the wine cellar or something (the rich sure knew how to live) no doubt pending some interrogation but lucky him that their captors hadn't quite finished tying the knots on his ropes nd gets out to go find Millie, a move Blitzo approved off as her muscle would be instrumental in getting out the fuck out before this job went further south, a rare case of him wishing his employee the best of luck which the former circus kid was left behind to be tortured...and let's be honest, you knew he was going to make it cringy and awkward as fuck for Mendoza and his crew.

Now one thing you can say for certain about Moxxie was he had a natural radar 6th sense when it came to his beautiful wife and given he was a mafia kid, he knew all too well it was a matter of just finding the right dungeon in this maze of a basement. Soon having managed to find Millie by following her screams, thinking she's being tortured as he kicked the door down only to find Instead she's handcuffed and bent over a bdsm vaulting horse while Penny is taking a paddle and a strap-on to her crimson hellborn shortstack booty!! Millie shouting 'Yes, Miss Penny!!" at the top of her lungs much to the sadistic bitch's satisfaction before seeing Moxxie, who is staring in shock at what he was witnessing before him to which the dominatrix she mocked him asking if he wanted to be put on a leash and get broken like her new toy as Millie pleaded her hubby for help. Now Moxxie wasn’t usually a short tempered but seeing his wife like this just set him off something fierce then and there as he leapt at Penny, pouncing knocking her over and along few other objects including a webcam which unintentionally turned on a livestream of the incident which proceeded to play out on Penny’s assortment of porno social media accounts…and woild go down in erotica infamy.

Penny was caught off guard at first before she countered and pinned Moxxie to the ground with a snarl and taunted “You think you can match me?! I am Penny Burfine, I am the queen. I am always on top!" which was naturally quite scarousing. Moxxie's response was immediate as he spat out “Do you ever shut up!?" before he then proceeded to knock any tools out of her hands and using a nearby sex swing, manage to set her up and hangs her there much to her shock and frustration. The righteously furious imp then made to tear open her her latex pants exposing her full bubbly booty and her pristine pussy lips in full glorious view. “The funny thing about queens” he quipped as he squeezed that ass before giving it a swift slap to each cheek and finished speaking "they need a king" with which he then proceeded to mount the bound woman and started railing her like a beast, not in his usual loving style that Millie and others were intimately familiar with but a legendary style of absolute hate sex, that would shock any girl he had been with in the past…and it was hot as all Hell, pun unintended.

Penny meanwhile was quite taken aback by Moxxie's size and shocking strength yet she managed to break out of her arm bindings but Moxxie stopped her with his tail without losing his hatefucking momentum and put her in a wheel barrow position all the while refusing to slow down or stop. This continued for several minutes passing into hours with the imp and the porn star trophy wife going through numerous positions all with him on top much to her frustration. Any time Penny tried to take the reins, Moxxie turned it on her as he tightened his grip as reactions to this spontaneous livestream ranged from Simps all over crying bloody tears as their queen was dominated by some rabid little horned possum dude While in Hollywood, specifically the Herron House, Jacqui and Joy watched with rapt attention as the latter’s gaze was a mix between lovestruck and Lustful at seeing her imp Prince truly be a king in the sack…she’d have to remember to show this to some of their cousins.

In an apartment complex not too far away from the den of the size queen misfit family, Chloe Swanson looked on laughing happily as her notorious archenemy had her brains screwed out, yet wondering who that was that was doing the deed to French Canadian bitch while her friend Amber Tweep was scouring the internet looking for any sort of clue or intel on Moxxie as she was watching the livestream out of the corner of her eye. In Skullfuck Productions studios in Lust back in Hell, Mr. Sketch was watching the video in interest and wondered if there was a way for Moxxie to play the dominant part in any future shoots while several of his roster girls were calling in hoping to get a scene with the conqueror of THE Penny Burfine. Such was but a tip of the iceberg as we come back to the action to find Moxxie had Penny in a mating press, his hips a blur and Penny having an ahegao from the most intense sex of her life. "Come on, Queenie! I want to hear your say it! Who's your daddy? Tell me!!!" Hard deep thrusts accentuated his sentence throughout as his balls slapped and smacked her jiggling asscheeks "WHO! IS! YOUR! DADDY! BITCH!"

Unable to hold it back any longer Penny threw her head back and screamed “YOU! YOU’RE MY DADDY! BREAK ME DADDY! MAKE ME YOUR LITTLE PET!!!" with her facade as a dominatrix of the Black Serpent Society crumbling away to revert back to the bimbo once known for a time as Jenny Laroy due to this onslaught of pleasure. The imp had finally reached his limit not long after as he came inside deep and hard, leaving Penny passed out, her belly bloating slightly from the heavy load flooding her womb as Moxxie then got up, putting his pants back on and grabbed his wife after freeing her before heading out and home to Hell sweet Hell. Good timing too as Blitz had managed to off Mendoza during all that erotic mayhem and let’s just say the cartel Jefe’s corpse wasn’t looking too dignified and they had a lot of prized off, drugged up, tequila intoxicated thugs to get the fuck out of dodge from. Little knowing that Moxxie had gone and given himself quite the reputation boost among the sexual freaks and purveyors of the chaotic Inferno…

Penny would later wake up not long after a while and soon came to find out about the livestream that they had aired unintentionally leaving any and all who had access to bare witness to her erotic ruining by that crimson possum. The fallout had been immediate to her reputation and status with a lot of her sponsors and endorsements withdrawing as her carefully crafted dominatrix image had been tarnished and it was clear a lot of the cartel had lost respect for her, seeing her as just another bimbo. But oh to say nothing of what this meant for the intentions and plans of the Black Serpent Society, Lysandra was sure to be equal parts livid and disappointed as the French Canadian Dom growled in indignation and fury swearing revenge as she was now intent on finding that little weird red runt and skin him alive. That is after she drained him dry, castrated him and made him her new gimp trophy and after which, she’d set reinstating herself as the dominatrix queen of porn….to think he made her feel like Jenny Laroy, the fucking nerve!

Meanwhile, the Order of the Pink Lotus was now set to start searching for Moxxie after having witnessed the stream when Jenna (a current rising member in their ranks, unsurprisingly the Herron ladies had long since held a history with the enigmatic ninja bimbo group) had pointed out that she knew the imp personally. How he had dominated her family and showed up on occasion to spend time with the babies that he had with her great aunt Vanna and her cousins Vera and Verity. This convinced Queen Kami that finding and seeking out the Imp was a key priority for the Order search stating he might be what they need to bring down Black Serpent once for all in the long standing war of Bimbos and Dominatrixes. This got some of their agents wondering, would this affect the prophecy of the Chosen One ….oh if they only knew…

Deep within the archives of the Pink Lotus’ sister branch in Mexico, La Dalia Roja’s bimbo academy, sat an old tome of sorts, it’s pages well aged and worn as it fell from its perch and landed in the floor to fall open on a select page. It’s chapter title baring the name “The Red Possum” with an illustration that seemed familiar in its shape and design. While back in Hell, Moxxie was busy giving his lovely wife some much needed aftercare as he gave her a sensual massage as she enjoyed a soothing bubble bath. She was in need of some major TLC after that experience, that’s what that bitch got for messin with His Millie…unaware that his unexpected online show was going to give his sex life and porn career quite a level up…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Thrill

For as long as Lust had been a force within the aspects of life as a Sin, it had often had its hand in key moments in history from the downfall of Samson to the infamy of Oedipus and Electra but even history had its secrets. Key among them being the long standing feud between the Orders of the Pink Lotus and the Black Serpent and their views of the Slut Force…yes they’re basically porno Jedi and Sith, look I didn’t write this stuff up, okay? Anyways since recorded history, the duelling Orders have strived to gain an edge in the war of erotic attrition and for a time had seemed iss the Black Serpent was gaining an edge. At least so they had though until a recent events of course.

Said events being the unexpected livestream witnessed by many which saw Penny Burfine, the French Canadian rookie sensation proceed to have her image and reputation tarnished as some weird little horned possum man…well, to be frank, utterly fucked her and made her his bitch. To say Lysandra and the Black Serpent had to run majo damage control was an understatemen particularly with Penny now out in the warpath looking to hunt that guy down. Naturally for the Pink Lotus, this made undoing this Moxxie a priority so the word was sent out to any and every bimbo possible with the ranks of their agents from Hollywood to their Latino sister branch in Mexico, La Dalia Roja to find and secure this red possum. Believing that perhaps he played an unexpected key part in the prophecy of the chosen one that would see to the downfall of their long standing enemies, assuming research yielded results of course.

Thus we find ourself following one of the Lotus’ agents, Kate Read, heavy metal fan, porn star and of course a total exhibitionist and she knew she had a job to do but she was so bored. Who could blame her though when nobody was even sure where to start looking for this Moxxie guy to begin with? You’d think a little red possum man with horns and a tail would be easy to find, was he like some sort of cryptid or something? As the platinum haired tomboy sat in a cafe nursing a coffee, she idly browsed her cellphone while her thoughts ran wild with her usual exhibitionist fantasies in between wondering if the guy would save her some trouble and show up already.

Funny thing as by chance she had the Skullfuck Prod. stream app running on her phone with which she happened to be watching some Mysterious M highlight reels, thinking the masked little red dude looked a bit like him. Yeah come on you expect bimbos to be able to put two and two together when they had sex on the brain more often than not? Yet Kate found fate seemed to send her sign as or was trying to as nine other than the imp in question entered the cafe along with his sexy wife, the pair no doubt out on a job for IMP as they sat not too far from the Pink Lotus agent with their eyes onine if the rando patrons who was no doubt their target for the day. The heavy metal pornstar spotting them just as soon as they got up to follow the guy when he made his way into the restroom, confused as to what they were uo to and curious if this was the guy sh was looking for but like how many other freckled horned possum dudes with bow ties were there?

As Kate was on her way to follow the M&M pair, it so happened they were in the midst of commiting their hit on their target as Moxxie kept an eye out for any witnesses to avoid and deter. While Millie, ever the feisty violet Wrath girl she was, was busy dunking and drowning the fucker with his head in the toilet, yeah believe you me there's no context as to how and why their client wanted him to die like this but they specified it so why the fuck not? Just their luck right then and there was when the lovely Ms.Read graced this restroom with her presence, causing Moxxie to scramble and shut the door mere moments before the target finally expired. Millie hiding and staying quiet as she cautiosly listened in and peeked through a gap narrow enough to give a good view. Looking on as her hubby attempted to run damage control, feeling a sense of deja vu in a sense like what had happened in the gym with Vera.

Whatever Kate was about to ask or say of course hit a snag in her train of though as she couldn't help but be distracted at seeing Moxxie up close and personal like this. Her pulse racing as it hit her bimbo brain just how cute the little dude looked now that she had a clearer look on him compared to the livestream with Penny Burfine as she grew a sensual, seductive smile on her face. Giving Moxxie a distinct feeling of dread he hadn't felt since that infamous encounter with Victoria Herron before said sensation was confirmed as Kate suddenly began to strip naked right in front of him. The distinct down to fuck energy clear in her bright blue eyes as she pounced and started making out with the freckled thespian.

Millie looked on with ever voyeuristic glee as seems her hubby's rizz worked without even trying and got himself a real freak then and there. Because goddamn Kate was being plenty loud and vocal about how totally horny she was and how good and hard Moxxie was fucking her, naked save for her choker, wristbands and shoes as as she pinned and draped over the sink counter of the restrooms while he was plowing away like the genetic jackhammer he was. Growling and grunting as he mounted her so he could reach up and strangle her which she found quite a turn on for being so aggressive and assertive. But really he was just doing it to make her shut the fuck up, just his damn luck to encounter a goddamn exhibitionist!!

The cafe patrons were certainly confused and curious to what was going on in there and what the deuce were those noises all the while Moxxie worked to bring Kate to a high enough peak of ecstasy. Now of course bimbo ninjas of the Pink Lotus academy were no slouches when it came to sex and handling the biggest, meatiest cocks but the freaky heavy metal babe was finding the imp to be quite the love machine!! His length and girth reaching deep and hitting her sweet spots in ways no porn star bull had ever managed to achieve all the while Millie scretly gave Kate the audience she so desired as she had out her cellphone to capture some pictures and videos of this explicit little mens' room liaison. Her demonic eyes twinkling with lust as she watched Kate fall with every orgasm into becoming yet another notch on Moxxie's road of conquests....

By the time some of the staff and patrons had decided enough was enough, a few of them went and gatecrashed the mens' room to find Kate all by her lonesome in her state of nakedness. The bimbo ninja girl looking like she had a freaky encounter with a ghost assuming all that white stuff was supposed to be ectoplasm of course because hot damn she was a mess. A big dopey smile on her face, pink glowing hearts in her eyes as she felt her body trembling with the phantom orgasms still lingering as someone scrambled to call a hospital for her. It'd be quite a while before anyone thought to also check the stall where the dead body was of course.....

As Kate had some r&r in the hospital, she had a feeling for some reason she'd need to remember to run this by the Pink Lotus, who would later of course find the security footage which proved to be quite a good way to measure how well their mystery man could handle one of their agents. Making it all the more imperative they find out anything they could about him and if he perhaps had a part to play in their feud with the Black Serpent and the balance of the Slut force. While back in Hell, Millie was busy having a little quality time with her hubby after getting seriously turned on by how he had worked over Kate, that is after she'd sent Mr.Sketch a copy of the pictures and video of that little restroom scenario. Which of course got the wheels in the Enigma's head turning as he knew all too well as Pink Lotus girl when he saw one.....those tier chokers of theirs were a major give away....

[alexanderwales]

I binge-watched Cross on Amazon, the new Alex Cross show. I watched the first episode on a whim, then stuck around because ... I don't know, I guess I was trying to figure out what it was trying to say about crime and the police. And after eight episodes, I think it just totally fails to hit any sort of mark.

The big problem, for me, is that it's trying to weave in a lot of discussion of the relationship between law enforcement and race while showing some of the worst elements of "copaganda". Police searching a home without a warrant, police tampering with evidence, police not playing by the book and having that be what allows them to catch the killer, implying that restraint and due process is a shackle on police that makes them ineffective ...

And this is a show that's trying to tackle these questions, to weave them into the show organically. After watching the show I read an interview with the showrunner, and ... he was trying to say something! But the story is being told in a world where there are billionaire serial killers, it focuses on their depravity, it punishes restraint, and I think in the end, really just wants to be a fantasy of getting "the bad guys".

There's a plotline where Cross beats the shit out of a guy he thought had either killed his wife or knew who did, and it turns out the guy is innocent, and the way they talk about it, it's like they think that this would be okay if he were guilty, or if he had priors, or if there was some kind of reason. And you're just never going to get to good policing if you're still in the mindset that we should only refrain from beating the shit out of the innocent.

Also, the main bad guy is nicknamed "The Fanboy" and his MO is to kidnap people, make them look like famous serial killers, then document their resemblance, recreate some famous scene using real life props, then kill whoever he's abducted. I found this interesting, but it felt like a lead-in to or parable about the obsession with true crime, or the ways we deal with media representation. It just never really came, and felt like the punchline was missing. Like, surely "I take innocent people and pretend that they're killers for my own sadistic pleasure" should have tied into the conversations on race and law enforcement, right? I mean, he's literally picking his victims because they bear some resemblance to famous serial killers.

But the killer explains his philosophy, that serial killers are like gods because they spit in the face of the idea of fairness, and any narrative cohesion seems like it gets shot in the foot. He's doing this because he wants to join the pantheon of killers, to be as famous as they were, and I don't know, there's probably a reading that ties them together better, but in the end it seems more like a "wouldn't it be fucked up" kind of serial killer, and any thematic resonance I was seeing partway through has mostly evaporated.

I am moderately interested in hearing a defense of this show, or a reading of this show that makes sense of its themes, but right now it feels like it was just confused about its message and how it was slotting things together.

[crossdressingdeath]

DAI does that with a lot of things. Morrigan gets to claim to be a Elven expert, even though you know that is far from the truth if you've played Origins where she didn't know shit. Cullen gets final say in his dialogue options despite you knowing that he's lying. Grey Wardens gets shit on and the Inquisitor can wildly overstep.

DAI has this weird mix of a) expecting you to have read all the books/comics so that they don't have to explain anything and b) assuming that you haven't played the previous games so they can try to rewrite what happened.

Yeah, the required reading for DAI was ridiculous. WEaWH is always the big one because most of the others you can get by without it (even Cole's backstory isn't necessary to appreciate and understand the character, and enough of it comes up in-game to get by), but knowing what Celene and Gaspard did is kind of fucking important, Bioware. And then even when Celene purging the alienage comes up it's used as a mark against Briala for being in a relationship with her at the time even though if I'm understanding the excerpts I've seen of TME Briala breaks it off as a direct result of the purge and (as Dorian rightly points out) that'd be more Celene's scandal than Briala's anyway. Like, they try to make Celene purging the alienage into Briala's crime because she was sleeping with the empress at the time and that's just... ugh. But it's like, I would argue that it would be fair and honestly best practice to assume that people playing the third game in a series have played the first two games? DA has an overarching narrative even if the connections aren't particularly close, if someone wants to start partway through they can but the writing should expect people to be familiar with the games' stories. Maybe have some codex entries summarizing the previous games or a little intro cutscene, but... I don't know, I'm worried about the fact that apparently DAV doesn't need you to have played the first three games when literally all the setup for it is in DAI. Expecting people to have played all the games in a narrative-driven RPG series and not to have jumped in partway through is fair! Expecting people to have read five supplementary novels and two coffee table lore books to understand the plot is ridiculous. At least Tevinter Nights and The Missing so far seem to only be relevant to DAV in that they show some glimpses of what's been going on between games and give us a point of reference for some of the new characters...

The thing that gets me with DAI is that the game really wants you to side with the Templars whether it makes sense or not. Like... let's take the choice between mages and Templars as an example. The game wants you to side with the Templars. It really does, it tries its best to dissuade the player from siding with the mages if you go that route (Cullen's little "Oh... it's so dangerous... we shouldn't do it..." routine is notable when compared to Leliana and Josie, both of whom favour the mages, being very professional about you picking the Templars), it does its utmost to claim that the rebellion was unwarranted when it absolutely was not, the rebels are constantly framed as weak or mean or evil or stupid while the Templars were just misled (by... a guy who told them he'd let them murder all the mages and left out the "in service to Corypheus" bit, they still joined his little walkout to murder people, but the game doesn't get into that), it even lets you switch quests well past what should've been the point of no return if you're on the mage route (WHY CAN YOU SWITCH AFTER LEARNING THERE'S A FUCKING MAGISTER IN FERELDEN TRYING TO ENSLAVE A BUNCH OF MAGES, BIOWARE, WHY THE FUCK IS THAT AN OPTION) whereas with the Templars you can't even learn what your advisors' plan for getting you in alive is until you're locked in. And I'm not going to lie, CotJ is legitimately the better quest. I did it once to see and god damn it is quality, I don't dislike IHW but... yeah CotJ is definitely stronger.

But then you actually look at the story and... why the fuck would you side with the Templars? They left the Chantry because the Divine told them not to murder people. That's explicit, people tell you that repeatedly. They're making excuses for it, but there's always an acknowledgement that... yep, that's why the Templars left, they wanted to kill people and were mad about being told no. Leliana (the most familiar face among the advisors and given Cassandra's previous appearance was threatening Varric and Cullen's was playing yes man to Meredith for nine years and only changing sides once she became a threat to him/because not doing so would mean fighting Hawke Leliana's the one people are most likely to want to side with) is pro-mage and dismisses Cullen's claims that the Templars could help close the Breach as speculation. Which... it is. This situation is completely unprecedented, no one knows what's going to happen. But given mages are incredibly powerful and Templars are repeatedly portrayed as mostly useless in any sort of real danger that doesn't involve children or indoctrinated Circle mages (it is not a coincidence that the only people locked in the tower in Broken Circle who survive with their minds and bodies intact without the demons actively choosing to let them live for funsies are mages; the only Templar who's alive and unpossessed is Cullen, and the demons very obviously could've killed him at any time and just chose not to because they were having fun toying with him) I'm gonna say the mages are a safer bet. Also because... they invited Quiz. That could be a trap, but you know what's definitely a trap? Walking into a fortress full of heavily-armed mage killers who openly want you dead. Meeting with the Templars is really, really stupid (especially if you're a mage) and you don't even learn the plan for getting you inside unharmed until you actually select the quest. Also that plan is basically just "if there are witnesses with societal power the Templars can't murder you unprovoked" because reminder: the Templars are the absolute worst. Why would you ever want these people around. And then if you meet with the mages first like "Well I'll figure it out once I've heard what they have to say, I don't have to commit if I do things this way so I might as well" you learn that there's a Tevinter magister serving an evil Tevinter cult just chilling in Redcliffe and why the fuck would you go to the Templars at that point this needs to be dealt with. The game wants you to side with the Templars but it gives you no reason to do so, I really wonder sometimes if the writers weren't talking to each other at all.