#cool command prompt tricks

[llama529orange]

The au was inspired from a minicomic made be @shxuga I really loved it and inspired to make one too.

Pirates are known for their amazing adventures and how they seek to find precious treasure, but they are also known for being thieves who travel on the sea, scaring the people they encounter and stealing from them. A good example of their strict rules, punishments for breaking these rules, and merciless nature are the ships of The Hearts.

Captain Riddle - the head of the crew, follows the rules of the Queen of Hearts pirate. Riddle is the one who navigates the ship, guiding them to famous treasures and saving them from angry storms and unforgiving waves, while stealing from other ships transporting valuable goods . Riddle has a secret liking for sweets and the cute hedgehogs he sees every time he returns to land. Although he seems like a strict captain, deep down, Riddle cares about his crew.

The second-in-command- Trey, is the man Captain Riddle trusts to resolve problems or , better yet, to calm his captain down when the new crew breaks the rules. Trey takes care of the cooking, baking sweets when he feels stress or has a little moment of doubt, and the crew enjoys his treats happily. Trey also looks after medicine and checks if they brush their teeth correctly, occasionally managing them since the crew knows it is no joke when it comes to dental hygiene, and he works alongside them .

The commercial dealer-Cater, is the crew's trickster who scams people into buying overpriced goods. He profits the ship by dealing with marketing and knows how to manage money and public relations . Cater is a womanizer who is also attracted to men; he has had relationships before, but one ended badly, prompting him to join the crew for a fresh start, or mostly to escape from the angry guards he tricked in the past .

Troublemaker one- Ace, is known for provoking people and sometimes the guards, often ending with him running alongside Deuce. Because of his past mischief and thievery, Ace lost one of his hands but thought it was cool to use a fake hand to trick people, allowing him to escape and act like a pirate for kids , telling them it's cool to be a pirate and run away from their parents.

Troublemaker two- Deuce, also gets into trouble alongside Ace . He is responsible for handling the powder and guns on the ship . His first mistake involved using too much powder, resulting in the loss of one of his legs. He returned with Trey 's help, as Riddle restricted him from using guns and powder again, but Deuce still thinks it's cool and uses it as a distraction, planning to retrieve it later. Sadly, Riddle doesn 't have enough anger to scold the boys or worry about their troubles, eventually getting used to it, leading to the boys sitting down together .

[alittlebitofloveliness]

The Outsiders Prompt Fic #12- I didn't know where else to go

This is for @ramennoodlezzzao3 who requested prompt eight with Ponyboy. Sorry for the wait, I hope you like this. I wrote it sleep deprived after work and it's unedited so I apologiz wfor any typos.

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Tap. Tap. Tap.

When Curly first hears the tapping on the window he thinks it’s his beloved Princess Chunko, aka the raccoon he’s been feeding and attempting to train for the past six months ever since Tim told him off for feeding her- the poor thing was a single mom who worked two jobs and Curly wasn’t heartless. He wasn’t about to let his girl down, ok?- and Angela said you couldn’t teach a raccoon tricks because ‘they aren’t like dogs, dumbass’. Shows what she knows. Curly’s managed to almost get Princess Chunko to shake his hand on command (she’ll do just about anything for leftover fries from McDonald’s), and she’s only bit him like, three times. 

However, when he pulls back the curtain (thank god Angel’s sleeping at her new boyfriend’s place tonight because she would be beyond pissed to get woken at one in the morning) it’s not his beloved furry princess he sees, instead it’s his beautiful, very human and also male princess. 

Right. He’s gotta be cool about this. Smart. Suave. Pony’s never come here so late at night before. Curly isn’t exactly at his best right now- he’d been planning to shower in the morning so he still smells like the desperation of high school and whatever boozy concoction Ma had thrown at him earlier- but he isn’t gonna like, turn Ponyboy down if he’s come here for a hookup. He’s not that stupid.

Except when he throws open the window he catches sight of the pure misery on Ponyboy’s face and all impure thoughts fly out of his head. (Ok, maybe not all of them- he’s a simple man and Ponyboy is Ponyboy and he’s also right there-  but  Curly is again not heartless so like 98% of the impure thoughts are banished. Maybe 97%.)

“Hey Ponyboy!”

Pony runs a hand through his hair. He sighs, and the sound is so tired it could give Tim a run for his money.

“Hey Curly, can I-” his eyes get shiny but he blinks hard and they’re normal again, “can I come in?”

Curly doesn’t bother answering, just grabs his best-friend-maybe-boyfriend-but we-haven’t-had-that-talk-yet-but-also-kiss-and-stuff under the arms and half drags, half lifts him through the window. Curly thanks his unlucky stars that Angel’s mattress is under the window because this was not an elegant maneuver, and Pony landed right on top of him. Like, right on top of him. Curly isn’t exactly complaining because this close he can see the freckle near Pony’s hairline and smell his toothpaste and whatever shampoo he uses, but Pony also completely knocked the wind out of him, and Curly’s is also a fifteen year old boy and attracted to Ponyboy so if Pony doesn’t move soon a different problem is going to make itself known and Curly cannot let that happen or he’ll have to jump off a bridge.

He shoves Pony off of him as gently as he can without being soft, and leads him over to his own side of the room. Angel will already be pissed enough that he was on her side of the room, nevermind the fact it was just to open the window, and Curly doesn’t want to add fuel to the fire. Sure, he loves making Angela angry but she also took a razorblade to his favourite hoodie last week and Curly isn’t willing to risk her ire right now. Things with the boyfriend she’s currently staying with are slowly but surely falling apart and Angela going through a breakup is a dangerous creature. Even Tim steers clear of her as best he can during her anger phase, and then they both decide to be a little nicer when Angel moves on to grief. 

Pony sits next to him and Curly wonders if he should’ve put a bottom sheet on his mattress, then banishes the thought because it’s stupid and because he doubts there’s a bottom sheet anywhere in the house- angel bought her own and guards it viciously. Still, he can’t help the anxiety bubbling in his chest. Pony is in his room, sitting on his bed. In all the time they’ve been hanging out he doesn’t think Pony has ever been in his room. And they’ve certainly never been alone in his room- or in Ponyboy’s for that matter since Sodapop Curtis is the world's most annoying cockblock and one of these days Curly is really gonna slug him.

Fortunately- or unfortunately, he really isn’t sure- Pony seems oblivious to Curly’s internal turmoil. In fact, he seems kind of oblivious to everything, staring blankly at the wall and biting his lip hard enough it might start to bleed soon. 

Rude, Curly thinks, if someone’s gonna be biting ponyboy’s lips tonight it should be him.

It’s kind of worrisome though. It;s not like Ponyboy’s the more, well, present even on a good day, prone to daydreaming and getting all focused in a way Curly doesn’t understand, but this seems different, worse somehow. The misery is still written across Ponyboy’s face, but there's an undercurrent of anger there too, and beneath that, fear.

“You good, man?” Curly’s never been great with emotions, never understood his own or wanted to help with others. He wants to help Pony now though, he just doesn’t know what to say. “You uh, you need anything?”

“No- yes- I dunno.” Ponyboy shakes his head, curling in on himself, and no, nope, if he bunches up it’s like he gets even more stuck in his own head and Curly refuses to let that happen so he yanks him until Pony’s head is resting against his shoulder, his arm around the guy’s admittedly very nice shoulders. “I didn’t know where else to go, I just- I couldn’t stay there. Not tonight. Can I stay with you?”

“Of course,” Curly agrees immediately. There’s a whole host of reasons why and he’s sure some of them are good but the only important one is the thought of Ponyboy Curtis sleeping in his room with him, “why though? Didya finally get tired of Sodacan cockblockin’ us?”

He waggles his eyebrows suggestively, expecting Ponyboy to roll his eyes but snicker like he usually does when Curly makes a suggestive joke, but instead he just sighs, his eyes getting all sad again.

“In your dreams Shepard,” he says, “but nah, it’s nothing like that, just…Darry and Soda are fighting.”

Curly blinks. That’s what Ponyboy is upset about? His family fighting? If Curly got sad anytime people were fighting in his house he’d have died of heartbreak years ago. Shit, Ma hadn’t gone a day without swearing at them in years, and Tim had told him just this morning he was a waste of space. Last month, he and Angel hadn’t spoken for over a week after she tattled on him to Tim about his plan to get into Buck’s race fixing scheme. 

Then again, the Curtis family- even their gang- wasn’t much like his own. They weren’t soft exactly, but they weren’t cold neither, which was something Curly had got used to at a very young age. Ponyboy on the other hand…well, he doesn’t have much ice in him at all.

“They’ve been mad at each other for days, and tonight it’s like they just blew up,” Pony continues, “like a match in a powder keg. They’ve been yelling off and on for hours, and everytime they start to shout it gets worse. They hardly even noticed when I left.”

“Darry won’t be pleased you ran off,” curly points out. He’s not good at emotions but he is good at being practical, at least when he’s trying to think like Angela, and he knows Darry Curtis will be mad if Ponyboy comes home late or not at all. Curly thinks the guy needs to lighten up a bit. One murder wrap when Pony didn;t even kill the guy shouldn’t mean he needs to be supervised 24/7. Darry needs to lighten up.

Ponyboy rolls his eyes.

“Shit man, you sound like Two-bit. I left a note alright? And if they’re really that worried they can get over themselves and come and find me.”

“What are they arguin’ about anyway?”

That was apparently the wrong question to ask because Pony’s face shutters again.

“That’s the whole problem! I dunno! I can’t figure it out and I listened to them argue awhile. It got real personal real quick, whatever they started arguin’ about probably isn’t why they’re mad now.”

“I’m sorry man,” Curly says, and he is. Rarely is it that he feels any sort of sympathy for other people’s issues, but Ponyboy curtis is not just anyone. In fact, he’s maybe the best person Curly knows, and he doesn’t deserve his house to feel like Curly’s does. The Curtis’ are supposed to be better than that. Ponyboy is supposed to have better than that.

Curly knows there isn’t much he can do. There never is, and with his penchant for fucking shit up he’s rarely trusted with even meaningless things let alone important ones, so he’s not usually armed with the skills to help anyone. However, in this situation, Curly knows what to do because it’s something he wished for every day or his childhood, and something that was never really provided to him no matter how hard Tim sometimes tried. 

Tonight, he can keep Pony safe.

“You can stay here,” he promises, scrubbing a hand through Ponyboy’s hair as an excuse to feel how soft it is without grease in it, “whenever you want. Just show up.”

“Really?”

“‘Course.”

That earns him a smile, a real one, the kind that makes Ponyboy sort of glow and Curly kind of want to kiss him and combust and jump out a window all at the same time.

“Thanks.” Pony murmurs, and Curly feels himself grin when Pony settles his head back on his shoulder, exhaustion returning.

Curly lets himself grin as he maneuvers them so that they’re squished together on his lumpy single mattress. It’s not the most comfortable position- Ponyboy is half on top of him and not in a fun way, his bony elbow jammed into Curly’s ribs, and his hair tickling his nose, but Curly wouldn't change it for the world.

Ponyboy is already gone when he wakes up the next morning, but that’s alright, Curly expected it, just like he expected the call that came when he was making breakfast and the light that has returned to Pony’s eyes when he sees him at school.

The Curtis house isn’t supposed to be like his own, and it isn’t. Ponyboy wouldn’t ever look this relaxed if it was. 

Even still, Curly reasons, it can’t hurt to keep his window unlatched. Just in case. 

[illfoandillfie]

A Different Kind of Eduation: P Is For Pet Play (Chapter 13)

ADKoE MASTERLIST

Pairing: Professor!Roger Taylor x Fem!Reader

Series Summary: After being broken up with for not being kinky enough, Reader seeks out her professor to give her some private tutoring so she can win her boyfriend back.

Chapter Summary: Reader learns a few new tricks in Roger's latest lesson.

Warnings: Modern AU, smut (18+), slow burn romance, dom/sub dynamics, dom!roger and sub!reader, professor x student sex, dialogue heavy, role play, pet play, puppy play, training, holding, fingering, spanking, collar, butt plug, orgasm delay/cumming on command, a bit of degradation and humiliation

Words: 9951

A/N: I think writing is a winter sport for me. Which is part of why this chapter has been sitting at 85% finished for months. But, the weather is finally cooling down here in Aus and this chapter is finally done! I'm excited for ya'll to read it. Hopefully I've edited it enough lmao

(Also, apologies for any formatting weirdness, it's because tumblr now has rules about how many characters can be used before you have to put in a line break or whatever, so I had to go through and break up some paragraphs into smaller sections. It should still be okay but all my fics are also available over on Ao3 if you wanna read them that way)

As always *** indicates the smut scene.

Taglist: @labessieisallama @deakyclicks @jennyggggrrr @drowseoftaylor @i-cant-hangout-im-drumming @queenmylovely @ilovequeenmorethanyou @johndeaconshands @borhapbois @stardust-galaxies @cherries-n-rocknroll @rogersslave@scorpiogemini

@80s-roger @libsterslobsters @okilover02 @cjand10 @dealorgirl32 @youngpastafanmug @onceuponadetectivedemigod @zeida @demo-wise @yuillfandomqueen @tie-ur-mother-down @rogermyreligion​ 

(idk how many of you are still interested in this fic so if you want your name taken off let me know, or if anyone wants to be added i can also do that)

“Don’t you look professional,” Roger had teased, handing you a rather large glass of water in lieu of the wine you’d usually have, as you got settled in the study. You’d gone to his straight from work, so were a little more business casual than what he usually saw you wearing. The break from routine threw you off a little but mostly because you were too early for dinner so went straight to the study for your extra lesson. And you quickly got over it.

“So, pet play,” you’d said once you were settled, prompting Roger to start. “We touched on the basics last time,” he slipped easily into his teacher mode, seeming totally unphased by the change to routine, “but was there anything else you wanted to know?” You thought for a moment, “I guess I’m not totally clear on why people do it. And, like, you said it wasn’t always about having sex? I don’t really get how a scene with an animal can lead to sex but then also kink without sex sounds paradoxical.” “Very reasonable questions.” Roger tapped his whiteboard marker against his palm as he decided where to begin, “Last week I said that there were any number of reasons people might be drawn to role play and that includes pet play. Different people like it for different reasons. But I suspect thats not really what you were asking about.” You hummed and nodded your head, “Yeah, I guess my big question is why animals? Why don’t just do the naughty nurse thing or whatever.”

“Look, pet play isn’t something I am incredibly familiar with, certainly not when you compare it to other aspects of BDSM, so I can’t pretend to be an expert and I can really only speculate on some reasons people might be drawn to it. From what I’ve seen of it and the people I know who dabble in it, I think pet play offers an element of creativity that some other kinks don’t always seem to have. Creating your pet’s personality or even the costume you wear. Which isn’t to say roleplaying as anything else doesn’t also have those aspects, but I think for some people working out how to act like an animal can be more of a creative challenge or something more long term than your typical role play concepts. A person sinking money into animal inspired fetish gear is going to be inclined to revisit the role play multiple times, expanding on it, experimenting with it. But really, I think for most people, it’s not inherently about the animal, per se, but the animal opens up opportunities for exploration that other role plays may not. We established last week that part of what may draw people to role play is acting like someone else. You can be more demanding, or more sultry, or more adventurous than you regularly feel. Pet play just pushes that idea a bit further. Depending on the animal you choose and their temperament, it might be as far from you as you can possibly get.”

“Mmmm,okay,” “I know it seems a little contradictory to say it’s not about the animal while trying to explain why other role plays may not appeal the same way.” “Just a bit,” “It is important to keep that in mind though, especially while we discuss how pet play can be incorporated into a sexual dynamic. It’s not acting out bestiality. It’s about roles – someone being in control of someone else in a concrete ownership way – and it's about scenarios that connect with the chosen pet. The way people who take on a canine persona act will likely be vastly different from those that take on an equine persona. And the scenes they choose to play out will in all likelihood be quite different too. For instance, a pony play scene might be physically demanding to simulate a racing experience – being ridden, using a crop, that sort of thing – or it might be an exploration of breeding through a scenario where the horse is put out to stud, or, for those who are more into a show horse type aspect, it might be more about dressing up in costumes – masks and hoof mitts or leather bodysuits - and being shown off at live kink events, maybe even performing a dressage inspire routine.” “Sorry, hoof mitts?” “A type of bondage gear, not always used for pet play. Basically, they’re something submissives can wear over their hands or arms as a type of restraint. They make it impossible to hold or grab things and sometimes they can represent animal paws or hoofs.” “Jesus, alright.” Roger chuckled, “We really are only scratching the surface with these lessons. Anyway, another example, cow play also known by the term HuCow, a portmantau of human and cow. Any guesses what that might entail?” “If you say milking,” “Ding ding ding, we have a winner,” “No way,” you snorted.

Roger shrugged, “It’s not a crazy as it sounds. Lactation fetishes aren’t all that rare, which probably says something about the way breasts are viewed and sexualised but that’s a discussion for another time. But also, it doesn’t have to involve actual lactation, it could just be about squeezing the breasts or even “milking” a penis until it ejaculates. HuCow scenes can tick a number of boxes for people. Those with breast or pec fetishes might like it for the emphasis it can put on that part of the body. There is, like with pony play, a potential for exploring a breeding kink, both as a cow or a bull. You can also get into some gender based kinks like forced feminsation and the like. A male identifying person could be made to act as a female cow, maybe dress in a cow print bikini and have their nipples stimulated as if they were being milked.” “Huh. Okay, that’s very specific. I guess I can see why some animal role plays might appeal to people more than other ones would. So, if we did do something with pet play, would you um, like me to be a, a cow?” “If you were drawn to the idea, I’d be happy to explore that with you. But I was thinking something more along the lines of puppy play.” “So no milking?” you teased, hoping to cut through some of your awkwardness with humour.

Roger smiled, “No milking, no. The first thing that came to mind was a training type scene. It’s fairly classic in the world of puppy play but with good reason. Training is a big part of owning a puppy, reinforcing desired behaviours, teaching them what behaviour is acceptable, teaching them tricks. But training can also be part of many other kinks and sexual dynamic. Sometimes it’s intentional training, sometimes more subconscious in just aiming to handle more intense sensations or to explore wider within a preferred kink. Impact play fans might train to be able to enjoy being struck with a crop instead of just a paddle. Someone might do throat training to be able to deep throat more comfortably. A dom might train a submissive to say thank you after a spanking or to ask permission to cum before each orgasm. We’ve done some light anal training in that I gave you a plug and you wore it to help adjust to the sensation and so you could take me better that way. It’d be my hope that, if you were inclined to try it, a scene about training might be easier to enjoy than something more out there like milking. You don’t have to respond yet,” Roger hastened to add, “I still want to answer your second question before we even think about prac.”

You were relieved Roger didn’t require an immediate answer and that he hadn’t forgotten your initial questions because you weren’t sure you could make a decision without knowing more. But you supposed you could also see the logic in his idea and, the way he’d explained it, training didn’t seem as scary as some of the other things he’d mentioned.

“So the second part of your question is a little more complex.” He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts, “You were curious how pet play can lead to sex when one person is acting like a literal animal. The answer is, the same way any other kink can lead to sex. Remember, it’s not about the animal, it’s about the dynamics. Playing as owner and pet is often just a variation of dom and sub – there's the power element, control, the stuff we’ve talked about in nearly every lesson. And, like I said before, the person taking on the pet role is probably also taking on a different personality than normal so that can contribute to the sex. But a large part of the kink community, I would even hazard a guess that it’s the majority, would tell you that any kink can also be fun when there’s no sex involved. With pet play specifically, it’s a fun excuse to dress up, to play, or curl up with someone you care about and have a nap. It can be comforting to feel as if someone owns you when you wear a collar for them. There is tenderness in having your hair brushed and being petted, feeling looked after and cared for. Pet play can just be a different way to express affection for someone.” “Not gonna lie, that sounds kinda nice.” “It really is. That doesn’t just go for pet play either. It is entirely possible to be in a kinky partnership with someone and never have sex. You will find that every single kink we have covered, someone out there enjoys it in a non-sexual way. Bondage, impact play, sensation play, you name it. Though, of course, different people define sex differently and have different boundaries around it. Go to enough kink events and munches and you realise how wide the spectrums for these sorts of things are.”

“So like, they’ll just be tied up and not fuck?” Roger chuckled, “Yeah, sometimes it really is just about the sensations and emotions involved in being restrained. If you continue to explore kinks after, uh, well after we complete this course, you may find that kinks you considered challenging or uncomfortable become more enjoyable when penetrative sex, or any sexual touch at all, isn’t part of it. It’s just about experimenting and figuring out what you enjoy and then defining those boundaries.” You felt a little sad at the reminder that your tutoring would eventually stop but tried not to show it too much. You figured that, as much as Roger might say he enjoyed teaching you, he was probably also at least somewhat looking forward to their end, just to be done with the risks to his teaching position if nothing else.

“Now, not to completely undercut that idea,” Roger said, pulling your attention back to his lesson, “but, if you are curious and okay with trying pet play, I was intending on steering it in a more sexual direction. That is the core point of these lessons after all, to learn about kink and how to safely incorporate it into sex. Of course, it’s helpful to keep in mind that what I’m teaching you isn’t the only way to enjoy these kinks and that enjoying being spanked or called names or engaging in role play doesn’t require an enjoyment of any sort of sex; but sex is kind of what we’re here for.” “So what are you thinking then?” “I’ve already suggested puppy play but did you have any other ideas yourself? I don’t want to tell you what pet to be if there's an idea that interested you or something you’re more drawn to. Role playing as a pet might feel a bit different to role playing as my groupie, and I’d prefer you to be comfortable with the selection than just to do what I want.”

“I don’t know, um, I guess my only thought was just not a cow.” You gave a little shrug, feeling pleased when Roger laughed, “If you think puppy play is a good staring point for me, then I’m happy to go with that. How exactly would it lead to sex though? I’m still not sure I understand that part of pet play.” Roger hummed in thought, “I think obedience and training is a very easy way to incorporate sex into a puppy play scene. I can reward you with physical touch when you obey my orders, or punish you if you don’t. Remember, you’re not being a dog you’re taking on personality traits and actions that align with behaviour common to dogs, but you’re a consenting adult who likes being spanked, so, if you want that tonight, I can do it.” “I want it,” you said with an eager nod, the thought alone enough to make you squirm a little in your seat. Roger smiled, “Okay, good. So rewards and punishments can be an easy way to incorporate sex and other kinks. In addition to that though, I can order you to touch me, or to position yourself in particular ways with the intention of turning us both on. I can tell you to behave in ways that will make you feel humiliated or demeaned, which we both know you get off on, or incorporate degrading nicknames that feel thematically relevant, like calling you a bitch instead of a whore. Even just the act of being bossed around will probably contribute. And they don’t call it doggy style for nothing do they.”

You realised you were biting your lip, “I like the sound of that.” “I thought you might. Now there are a couple things to go over before we start, just so we’re both on the same page and know what to expect and what’s okay. Let me know if something doesn’t feel comfortable or doesn’t sound enjoyable okay?” You nodded expectantly, curious to hear what else Roger had in mind. “Now, while my intention is for this to involve sex, I do also understand how out of your comfort zone a lot of this is, so I’d want to ease you into it a bit and not focus on sex straight away. Um, I’m thinking that you’d be in just your underwear to start.” “Sounds pretty sexy,” you joked. Roger shook his head but he was clearly amused, “I never said it wouldn’t be sexy, just that it wouldn’t focus on sex right away. In addition though, and only if you’re comfortable with it, I have a collar with a lead that you can wear.”

You stomach flipped at the idea “Oh, um, a collar? Like a dog collar?” “Well, it looks sort of similar to one a actual dog might wear but it is definitely made for a human. I did mention collaring very, very briefly when we were looking at bondage. They can represent a few things but one of the more common reasons behind collaring a submissive is as a symbol of ownership. Not necessarily in a master/slave way, though of course it can be. But if the sub wore a collar to a kink event it would be a very clear signal that that person already has a dominant. And in private it can be a signal that they are still okay with submitting to their dom, that they’re willing to follow orders or participate in a scene.” “Could I maybe try it on first, see how it feels before I decide?” “Absolutely, when we’re done here I’ll get it for you. I’d have some specific expectations too around what you are and aren’t allowed to do, things that could contribute to punishments and rewards. Obviously obedience is a major part of this so my expectation is that if I order you to do something, you will do it. Of course, if something is way beyond what you feel comfortable with you can say your safe word,” “Pizzazz,” you said at his pause. “Very good, you can say pizzazz and we’ll stop. We can stop for good if you want or we can just use it as a pause in the scene to check in with each other and adjust things. Does that sound okay?” “Mmhmm, yeah, definitely.”

“Good. My other expectation is that you answer to puppy and pup. I may also use your name during the scene but I may decide to just call you pup, we’ll see how it feels in the moment. And in addition to that, I want you to respond accordingly to good girl or bad girl. Now, dogs can’t speak so I don’t expect to hear much talking from you unless I ask you a question and prompt you to answer with words, or of course if you want to safe word. You can make sounds though, whatever feels natural in the moment. If you feel like barking or whatever, go for it, but if that feels too weird don’t worry.” He gave you a reassuring smile, “Umm, anything else? Oh, yeah, uh, dogs also can’t walk on two legs,” he laughed a little, “So, I would also suggest that you crawl around on all fours. And if I ask you to fetch something you should carry it in your mouth where possible. Does that seem reasonable?” You readily agreed. Though the idea of crawling around hadn’t occurred to you initially, it made sense and you reasoned that being on the ground would probably contribute to feeling more puppy-ish, or at least more submissive.

“One final thing, and this is definitely not mandatory but I figured you might be into it. Do you want to wear a tail?” Your mind jumped straight to the box of dress up items your kindergarten class had had including dinosaur tails you could tie around your waist. Surely Roger had to mean something else, “Uhh, a tail?” Roger held up a finger, signalling you to sit tight, while he ducked out of the room. When he came back he held up a butt plug that, instead of tapering into the traditional shape on the outside end, was instead decorated with a fluffy tail. “These aren’t always used with pet play and there’s a few different varieties. Technically I think this one is meant to be a fox tail, but I only thought of it a few days ago so my options were limited. You can definitely get ones that aren’t so fluffy, ones shaped more like a cat or dog tail that are thinner, firmer. There are little fluff ball bunny tails, horse tails, you name it there's probably a plug out there. The question is, do you want to wear it?” Your decision came quickly, “I’ll wear it.” and then when Roger raised his eyebrows as if asking if you’d really thought it through you added, “I think it’s cute. And I think wearing a plug will help make me hornier which will help me get into the scene more.”

“Alright then,” Roger smiled, handing the plug over, “I also brought the collar over, if you wanted to have a look at it too before we start.” You nodded, though it made you much more nervous than the tail had, and gingerly took it from Roger. The leather was smooth and cool to the touch but the inside was lined with a softer material that you assumed was for the wearers comfort. It had a simple buckle clasp, much like a regular pet collar, and a heart shaped charm dangling from it where a name tag would be on a real dog collar. “Can you help me put it on?” Roger nodded moving behind you to buckle it around your throat. He was gentle, carefully fitting it and checking that it wasn’t too tight both verbally and by slipping two fingers under the collar, before he finally fastened it in place. You reached up to feel the soft leather, tilting your head in both directions as you adjusted to the sensation of it. Your fingers slipped down to the heart charm, the metal cool against your skin, and you felt your own heart quicken a little. You put it down to a few nerves now that you were on the verge of trying pet play, though you couldn’t totally forget what he’d said about ownership. Belonging to Roger didn’t sound too bad.

“What do you think of it?” “I don’t mind it. It’s not as uncomfortable as I guess I thought it might be. I guess I probably wouldn’t want to wear it all the time but for a specific scene I think I’m okay with it.” “Does that mean you’re interested in trying a pet play scene?” “Might as well,” you laughed. You knew he was checking for good reason, that he was just trying to be safe, but it was tempting to remind him you’d not once backed out of a practical lesson, “I don’t necessarily think it’ll be super my thing but I am curious enough to try it out.” “Alright, sounds good. Why don’t you go to the bathroom and get ready then, there's lube in the cabinet over the sink. Just give me a shout when you’re good to go.” You nodded, feeling surprisingly calm, and collected the tail from where you’d set it aside on the desk.

It took you a little while to get ready – a few minutes to compose yourself once you were alone, the idea of acting like a dog suddenly sounding much more ridiculous than Roger had made it sound, and then of course there was the plug to sort out. The collar was a slight distraction too. Not because it was uncomfortable or difficult to wear, though you couldn’t exactly forget it was there either. But the sight of it in the mirror would make you stop, your fingers rising to run over the leather. You were kind of amazed that it didn’t feel worse. You’d also dithered about for longer than you might have needed to, trying to decide if you should leave your bra on or discard it since you’d had to forgo your knickers to wear the tail. Roger would probably appreciate it, if not prefer it, if you were totally naked. But then again, the bra would keep your boobs in place which was probably preferable while you were crawling around on all fours. In the end, you kept the bra on though you’d first asked Roger his preference when he met you at the bathroom door. “It’s up to you,” Roger had said patiently, “although, I think I’m much more likely to cum prematurely and ruin my pants if you’re totally naked. Going to have a hard enough time as is.” He’d dropped his eyes deliberately to your cunt and you’d shifted where you stood, knowing he’d know if you squeezed your thighs together but tempted to do it all the same.

He let his gaze linger on your lower half, as if daring you, before he finally tore his eyes away, “Are you ready?” “Yeah,” you nodded, “I think so.” “Okay, then on the ground for me.” You lowered yourself to your knees right there in the hallway, and then to your hands. The carpet was a little rough against your knees and palms, the tail tickling the back of your thighs, but it was easy following Roger’s instructions and you waited for the next one, hoping he’d keep making it easy for you. “Good girl.” He leaned over you as he said it, a soft metallic sound drawing your attention though you kept as still as you could. “Time for walkies,” he announced as he straightened, “Go on pet.” You crawled down the corridor, your heart thumping as you realised just what a view you were giving Roger as he fell into step behind you. You weren’t sure where exactly Roger expected you to go but made an educated guess it would be the bedroom since that was where you usually ended up. It was open when you reached it which you figured meant you were right, however, before you could enter you felt the collar being tugged from behind and Roger tutted, making you stop. A leash was clutched in his hand when you turned to look. “Not in there pet. The lounge,” You nodded, readjusted your direction and set off again, practically able to feel Roger’s eyes on your arse and wondering if the tail was hiding much from view.

When you crawled through the doorway of the lounge, you were pleased to find Roger had spent his time getting the room ready. The coffee table had been dragged aside, pushed up against the wall so it wouldn’t be in the way, and the curtains had all been drawn so there was no chance of any nosey neighbours seeing anything, a couple of lamps softly lighting the room instead. But that wasn’t all he’d prepared. “You wanna play pup? Go get your ball,” Roger pointed towards the far side of the room where a fuzzy tennis ball sat on the floor, as he took a seat on the couch. You obediently crawled around the couch to the ball, lowering your head to pick it up with your teeth. But you paused a few inches from it.

“Uh, woof?” you said, feeling rather self-conscious, but wanting to get Roger’s attention. You succeeded, which you could tell by the way he was stifling a laugh, “Yes?” “This ball hasn’t been anywhere near a real dog, right?” Roger shook his head, “Brand new. I’m not that sadistic.” “Just checking,” you smiled, before picking the ball up between your teeth. You hadn’t experimented with gags in any of your lessons with Roger, at least not yet, but you had to imagine wearing a ball gag would feel similar to carrying this tennis ball like you were. It forced you to keep your mouth open, made it difficult to swallow which meant you could feel yourself getting drooly as you crawled back towards Roger. He held out his hand and you dropped the ball into it, finding it difficult to ignore how being on the ground put you closer to his cock. It was a small step from noticing that to realising Roger was beginning to stiffen, and then to realise he was probably at least partly aroused from seeing you drooling with a stuffed mouth and naturally you couldn’t help but wonder if he intended to use your mouth at all.

“Good girl,” Roger cooed, no idea what was going on through your head, as he reached out with his free hand to stroke your hair like he was patting a dog. You couldn’t help but lean into his touch, the praise making you feel warm and pleased and eager to earn more, although your instant reaction to Roger’s positive reinforcement made you think maybe he’d had a point when he suggested puppy play. You were turning into Pavlov’s bloody dog, getting aroused whenever Roger praised you. “Alright, pup, you ready to learn some tricks?” You gave an affirmative hum, hoping he’d find it an acceptable response and not demand you bark instead. Thankfully he seemed fine with any non-verbal response because he smiled and moved toward the centre of the room, dropping down to his knees, “Here girl.” At a click of Roger’s fingers you crawled over to join him, earning another good girl but this time the praise was accompanied by his touch. His fingers dipping between your legs to rub your exposed cunt.

“I’m glad you chose the tail over your knickers,” he said softly, “Think you might be too,” he added as he drew his fingers away, the tips glistening with your slick. You whined in response and nodded. Roger gave you a wink and then he was back to business, “Alright pup, we’re going to learn a few tricks today. Let’s start with an easy one, sit.” You weren’t a hundred percent sure what Roger wanted but you thought the most likely option was to rest back against your heels. “So close, pet,” Roger cooed, his hands firm on your knees as he directed you to open them, “Gotta keep your legs spread so I can reward you properly. Let’s try again, all fours now.” You felt a little annoyed at yourself for not realising, and hurried to obey him, eager to show you could get it right.

“Sit,” You sat back again, your arse against your heels, the plug being pressed firmly into you, your knees open. Roger took full advantage of your position, his fingers slipping between your pussy lips as he praised you again, drawing a soft moan from you. The sound of pleasure seemed to be Roger’s signal to withdraw his fingers, “Time to learn another trick, pup. When I tell you to beg I want you to sit just like this but put your paws up,” He physically directed you as his spoke, positioning your hands at chest height, elbows bent, fingers curved over your palms. “And whine so I know you need something.” You felt a little silly but whining wasn’t too hard since you did want him to keep touching you. “Such a smart puppy girl,” Roger said as he rewarded you again, each stroke of his fingers making you more eager to have him inside you. “Right, we’re gonna learn another trick now. Lay down.” You bit back a disappointed groan as he removed his touch again, and did as you assumed he wanted, stretching out on your front.

“Roll over,” Perhaps the increasing horniness was hindering your thought process because for a moment you didn’t understand what Roger meant. Did he want you to roll across the floor to the other side of the room? How would that be arousing for him? The whole situation seemed suddenly ridiculous and you forgot you weren’t meant to speak, “Really?” “Pup,” Roger’s tone was warning, “Do what I say now. Roll over.” “Sorry Sir,” you hurried to say as you prepared to roll yourself across the room until he told you to stop, still not sure why he’d be turned on by such a thing but willing to find out. But a full 360-degree turn was not what Roger had in mind. He stopped you once you were on your back, his eyes raking over your bra clad chest and then down to your bare cunt. You felt yourself blushing, partly from how he was staring and partly because you felt silly for thinking he’d jack off to you literally rolling around. Turning onto your back made much more sense.

Roger shuffled a little closer on his knees, “When I say roll over, this is what I want to see. But next time I expect you to put your arms and legs up too.” Once again he directed you as he explained, guiding your limbs into the air, knees and elbows bent. “This way I can see everything I own.” He gently parted your knees a little further so he could easily stoke between them, toying with your clit. “I can properly reward you for following my orders. Or punish you for speaking out of turn.” You yelped as he suddenly spanked your pussy but he was quick to sooth the pain, or at least distract you from it as his fingers dipped into your entrance. You moaned, willing Roger to press deeper, to give you more, catching yourself right before you’d added his name and a potentially pathetic, “please”.  Begging would only work if you kept your words to yourself. But at that moment Roger seemed inclined to reward you, his other hand coming up to rub your clit again as he started working his fingers further into you.

His paused again as his phone began to ring from where he’d left it forgotten on the couch. He rolled his eyes, “ignore it, it can go to voicemail.” You nodded, trying to block out the ringtone and focus on how Roger was touching you, his fingers pressing deeper and faster as if he were trying to make up for the annoyance of the phone. "Finally” Roger muttered under his breath as the call rang out and the phone fell silent. His fingers were still plunging into you, stroking you just right, pushing you closer to release. Your moan broke off in a disappointed squeak as Roger unexpectedly withdrew his hand, his mobile sounding once more. “Jesus,” he sighed exasperatedly as he shuffled on his knees until the still trilling phone was within reach, hastening to deny the call. “Right, where were we?” his voice softened slightly as he turned back to you but a moment later he was swearing as his landline began to ring. You sighed and let your limbs drop to the floor, craning your neck to look at Roger upside down, “Maybe you should take that.” “I should’ve taken the bloody thing off the hook,” he rubbed the bridge of his nose, “Alright pup, sit.” You dutifully scampered back to your knees, taking up the position he’d taught you. “Stay.” You smiled in acknowledgment, a little amused he was continuing with the role play.

Waiting was easier said than done.  Roger’s home phone was corded but the distance from where it hung to the doorway of the lounge was close enough that he could remain on the line whist he paced into your field of view and then back out. You caught snippets of the conversation – heard him apologise for missing the call and that he had company – and tried to work out who had called. “Mmhmm,” Roger hummed as he moved back into the doorway, “Well look now's not really a great time for m-. No, of course not.” Roger rolled his eyes and then threw you an apologetic glance.  You smiled back, his constant walking making you too wary to move from your position. He’d told you to sit and stay after all, he’d definitely notice if you rearranged yourself. But the longer the phone call went on, the more uncomfortable you became. Your knees grew stiff and you had to wiggle around to keep from getting pins and needles. Without Roger there egging you on, keeping you in the moment, stimulating you, the whole puppy thing started to feel even more silly than it had at the start. You couldn’t deny you were wet (it was hard to ignore) but you felt that was probably more to do with Roger than the scene itself. Although, perhaps you weren’t being totally fair in your judgement due to your current rising discomfort. You pondered the lesson so far, trying to work out how exactly you felt about pet play and how it was Roger could so affect you, trying to subtly shift yourself without being noticed. The tail plug was much closer to the forefront of your mind now, firm on one end and tickling you from the other and you were starting to feel a little chilly, close to naked as you were, but worst of all was the sudden realisation you needed to pee.

When Roger next crossed in front of the doorway you waved to get his attention and tried to tell him you were going to the bathroom with a lot of pointing. He didn’t seem to understand but he did seem amused, leaning in the doorway and holding up a palm to signal you to stay. You frowned and whined softly. Roger smirked as he said, “oh, I totally understand,” to whoever had called. He seemed to enjoy tormenting you because he stayed there, watching as you squirmed, and you were sure he was letting the conversation go on unnecessarily. At first you tried to beat him at his own game, attempting to ignore your growing need, but that just made you think about it more. You whined in desperation, louder than you’d meant to. As soon as you realised that Roger had heard the sound your attention snapped back to him. He chuckled into the reciever, “Nah, I’m dog sitting at the moment. No, no, I can see her from here, she's fine.”

It was mortifying to think someone else had heard you and you blushed as you pouted at Roger, but he seemed more amused than moved as he revealed he still had the tennis ball and rolled it towards you. At first you just let it sit where it had come to a stop near your knee but Roger clicked his finger and pointed at it. With a sigh you bent over, shuffling back a little so you could pick it up with your mouth again. Roger hummed into the receiver before mouthing a clear, “good girl,” at you. Unsure what exactly Roger wanted, you tentatively made to crawl towards him, but he stopped you with a raised palm. It seemed he wanted you to just sit there and wait, feeling yourself beginning to drool from the ball in your mouth, but unable to forget your bladder despite your arousal. Finally it became too much and you steeled yourself to beg for permission.

At first you stayed quiet, raising your hands to the position Roger had shown you, adjusting your posture so your back was straight and your chest was pushed towards him in the hopes it’d help persuade. Roger just looked at you expectantly and you realised he wanted you proper humiliated. Squeezing your eyes shut you whined into the tennis ball still between your lips. It took another louder whine before Roger became convinced. “Hold on one sec, I think she needs to go outside.” If you hadn’t been so embarrassed and distracted you’d have given Roger credit for doing such a remarkable job sounding natural when there was so much laughter in his eyes. He disappeared for a second as he placed the phone down, returning with a snort. “It’s not funny,” you pouted, holding the tennis ball out to Roger. “It is a bit,” but he took the ball from you, “What are you begging for?” “I need to go to the bathroom.” “Ask me again if you can go.” “Can I go?” Roger casually threw the ball to himself, “Dog’s can’t talk. Ask me properly.”

Silently cursing Roger, you let out another whine, trying to make it sound pathetic and desperate. “Doesn’t sound like you need it that badly. Maybe I should make you hold it until I’m through with my phone call.” You whimpered at the thought and raised yourself a little higher on your knees, hoping Roger would be open to some bargaining. He was standing close enough that you only had to shuffle forward a little to be able to rub your face along the front of his pants, whining and whimpering and pausing every now and again to look up at Roger and check he was understanding. If his arousal had diminished during the break, it was quickly returning. You could feel him as you mouthed around his fly, licking and panting against his hidden length. “Oh she is desperate.” He teased, crossing his arms over his chest (which you assumed was to stop himself from grabbing you). “She must be if she’s offering to suck me off.” You nodded, sucking on some of the fabric near his tip. Roger hummed, “I do love putting my cock in your mouth. Unfortunately,” he stepped back, “I have a call to finish up. I want you back here and sitting like a good girl by the time I’m done.” “Thank you thank you thank you,” You scrambled to your feet, pausing just long enough to kiss Roger’s cheek before you hurried past him to the bathroom. “Sorry that took so long,” you heard him say as he picked up the phone again, “Continue.”

When you returned to the lounge, bladder in a much more comfortable state, Roger had taken a seat on the couch and was looking at his mobile. “That was so mean!” you said, moving towards him and perching yourself on the arm of the chair, very aware you still wore the tail plug. Roger laughed, “But you were such a good girl. And I like hearing you whine.” “Should make you hold it, see how whiney you get.” You immediately realised what you’d said and felt your face warm. But Roger seemed flustered too. There was a definite flush on his cheeks when he said, “We both know I’d be into it,” that made the statement all the more sincere and not at all the deflection he was aiming for.

“So would you also be a puppy? Or a different animal?” You asked, your curiosity beating out your embarrassment. “Roger thought for the moment, “I think I prefer being a cat. I like to be pampered.” You giggled and, without thinking, reached out to scratch the top of his head like you’d scratch behind a cat’s ear. Roger leaned into your touch. “And, um,” you didn’t know what to do next and tried to cover the awkwardness with a question, “what would you differently as a kitten compared to a puppy?” “Well,” Roger shifted his hips, “a lot of the basics are similar – with both of them you can have the pet drink water from a bowl or play with toys. With a kitten I’d expect grooming to be part of it, like brushing my hair. If I wanted to still be more dominant whilst being kitteny, I might stalk you around the house and pounce on you. But usually if I’m acting as the pet I prefer to be on the subbier side, just being petted and pampered... maybe encouraged to lick my owner.” You felt even more embarrassed at the hints about oral but the thought did cross your mind that perhaps you would enjoy such an act more if it was occurring at your command. Doing it because you felt it was expected or simply to please a lover felt embarrassing and awkward but if you felt in control of it maybe it would be easier to enjoy the sensations. Roger had proven you could enjoy it if certain conditions were met, perhaps being blind folded and dommed wasn’t the only way.

*****

It was only then you realised your hand was still in Roger’s hair, absentmindedly playing with it, and your thoughts switched from how it might feel to order him to go down on you to what other parts of him you could be petting and stroking. Roger was watching you as closely as he could, enjoying the sensation of your fingers in his hair, but whatever was going through his own mind he kept to himself. However his rapidly stiffening cock gave him away a little. You withdrew your hand suddenly which seemed to be a signal for Roger to get the lesson back on track. “And what about my puppy? Are you still okay with it?” You nodded, “Yeah, lets keep going.”

“Alright, well I really should punish you for getting back here late. You were meant to be done before my phone call finished.” “That’s unfair,” “No, that’s the rules. But maybe you can convince me you’re still a good girl. On the floor, now.” You quickly dropped to your hands and knees, as eager to prove yourself as you were to distract yourself from the weird moment you’d just shared. “Alright, lets see how much you remember. Sit.” You quickly moved into position. “Beg.” You put your hands up and made a small whimpery whine. “Roll over. Good girl.” Each time you followed an order Roger had rewarded you with some brief touch- squeezing your breasts through your bra, letting his fingertips trail seductively along your body, teasing your clit, but it never lasted long enough. “Clever pup,” Roger’s voice was low and gravelly, “back to all fours.”

You were a little surprised, even a little put out that, that he’d not climbed over you, not taken his cock out of his pants, not made any move to fuck you. Thankfully he decided it was a good time to move things along, standing up so you got a good view of just how aroused he was, and moving to kneel behind you. It meant he could better feel you up, able to reach the parts he wanted to touch most with greater ease, his fingers firmer than they had been before. You became a little breathless, the combination of the series of tricks he’d had you perform with how his fingers felt running over and between your pussy lips. Your breathing came harder and before you knew it, you were panting in anticipation, your tongue sticking out over your bottom lip. “Fucking hell,” Roger said softly, “Okay pup, show me just how horny you are,” he pushed lightly between your shoulders, guiding you to lower your chest and raise your hips, presenting your arse and cunt to him. He still wasn’t in a particular rush though, opting to tease you a little more first. Roger started by stroking the tail you wore and making the plug shift within you before reaching for your cunt again. “Someone enjoyed being my pet, didn’t they pup?” You whined and nodded against the floor, trying to push back against Roger’s fingers.

He chuckled at how eager you were and allowed two fingers to slip inside you, working them in and out until he could comfortably fit a third. You moaned as he stretched you, trying to help by rocking back against his fingers as much as he would allow. It was distracting enough that you nearly missed the sound of Roger’s zip coming down as he hurried to get himself ready with his free hand. “Been such a good girl,” he grunted as he one handedly worked his pants down a little further, “Gonna get a very big reward.” You whimpered as his fingers left you, but you knew they’d soon be replaced by something even better though waiting for it was almost torture, especially when Roger used the slick you’d left on his hand to lube his cock. Thankfully he was more interested in fucking you than toying with you any longer and he only stroked himself a couple of times before he began to sink into you. Your breath hitched as his head pressed into you but it was quickly followed by a moan, echoed by Roger as he sank into your warmth.

He went slow to start, carefully pulling partway out and easing himself back in, testing to make sure you were wet enough that he could move comfortably. He grunted as he sank deeper, “Take me so well, sweetheart. Must really love feeling owned with how fucking wet you are.” You shivered as Roger leaned forward, his gravelly voice getting closer as his cock seemed to push even deeper, the sensations all capped off with a sudden sharp pinch as he lowered his head and bit a spot on your side. It made you yelp, more from surprise than anything else, but you felt yourself clench around his length too. When he straitened up again he was chuckling, “Oh pup, you make it so easy for me.” His hands slipped back to your waist, one gently caressing your arse as he moved the tail aside, and gave a quick tug, pulling you into him.

Your breath hitched as he suddenly completely filled you, but he barely gave you time to remember how to breathe before he pressed in again. The temperate test thrusts Roger had given became quick and hard as if his eagerness to have you had won out over his self-restraint from moments before. “Oh fu-u-u-ck,” you moaned, voice jolting as his cock filled you again and again, a rapid pace you had no hope of matching. Your arse suddenly stung as Roger lay a loud slap that made you squeal. “No talking, remember. Still my pup.” You whimpered as he gave you another slap to drive the point home. “Just my horny bitch,” he grunted, “Who practically goes into heat whenever she sees me.” A third slap was swiftly followed by a rough thrust, making you whine and then moan. For a moment Roger shifted all his efforts into his hips, making you squeal with each hard stroke of his cock,  but then he eased off and another string of slaps landed against you. He made it clear that the spanks were for being late as well as speaking out of turn, which only seemed fair when they felt so good. And then, once he was satisfied, he focused once again on fucking you senseless.

At first you were worried you’d slip up again, accidentally say a word instead of keeping your vocalisations to simple noises of pleasure, and in doing so bring forth another run of spanks that would make you clench but delay the orgasm you wanted. But it quickly ceased to be a factor. Between Roger’s cock filling you just right and him giving a new order to rub your clit, it was nearly impossible to even think of a real word let along get your mouth to form them. Even when he slowed his thrusts down again you were in little danger of saying anything comprehensible. That was when he decided to put the tail plug to a more specific use than just decoration, spitting on your arsehole so he could fuck you with it. Really all you could do was take what he was giving, whining and moaning, and eventually cum. He did make you work for it though, panting as he told you to wait for permission. You’d never been made to wait for it before, at least not in this way, and you let your fingers slow their motions around your clit, afraid of hitting your release too fast. But the barrage of stimulation from the plug and Roger’s cock were enough to get you close. You squeezed your eyes shut and whimpered loudly, hoping Roger would understand what it meant.

“Cum, pet” You couldn’t do it immediately but you hastily worked your fingers over your clit again, so close but not quite tipping over the edge. You jolted with another spank, “I told you to cum.” Roger’s voice was low, a little breathless but entirely in control. You whined, as you tried to do what he wanted, though your fingers felt stiff and clumsy. There was another spank and then Roger pressed the plug into you, holding it down as he rammed his cock deep. Perhaps it was the shock of both combined with your frantic rubbing, or maybe he just managed to hit the right spot at the right time, but you couldn’t help but tighten suddenly, moaning and shaking as you fell into your orgasm. “There you go,” he grunted, giving the plug a little jiggle to keep you stimulated as you came. You would have fallen limp if you’d been in another position, but Roger was still filling you and his grip was once again tight on your hips which kept your knees from giving out. Instead you just twitched from the aftershock, and whined when you felt him slowly pull back and sink in again. “Stay there, pup, I need to cum too.” The breath you’d only just begun to catch caught in your throat as Roger resumed fucking you, going neither as hard as he had or as slow as you might have liked. He didn’t bother with the plug though, focusing only on how your wet cunt felt around his cock. Thankfully it wasn’t long before he was holding himself deep, the grunts he’d made on each thrust giving way to moans as he came within you.

*****

“Good girl,” Roger said softly, tapping your thigh gently as he pulled out. He shuffled out from behind you, moving to your side as he tucked himself away, and then sat heavily down on the floor. You allowed yourself to sag too and, knees a little sore, lowered yourself onto your back. “Do you want a hand up?” “In a minute,” you sighed, the thought of getting up too much to contemplate immediately, “Have you got anything I can cover myself with?” “You mean you don’t want to lie naked on my living room floor?” Roger quipped, simultaneously reaching for a throw that was decorating the couch and then grabbing a cushion as well. You just laughed, tucking the cushion under your head, “Seems a bit unfair that you get to wear pants is all.” “Thats the perks of being the dom.” He tapped you teasingly with his foot, “How’d you find it all?” “It was interesting,” you thought for a moment before continuing, “I think it’s another kink that like wouldn’t be the first thing I would think of but isn’t a hard no either. Like, I think it’s probably the stupidest I’ve felt during one of our lessons...well maybe the queening beats it, but still, I felt like a fucking tit at first.” Roger laughed, “You got into it though.” “Yeah I did. And I definitely understand it better now, but it wasn’t my favourite.”

He hummed thoughtfully looking over at you with a soft expression you couldn’t quite pinpoint, “That’s similar to how I feel about pet play too. I can be into it with the right person and stuff, but it’s not a go to of mine.” You lay in a comfortable silence for a moment, considering things. Logically you knew Roger had favourite kinks and scenes he preferred over others, but it wasn’t something you’d properly thought of before. Maybe because he was so confident and capable at everything he’d taught you so far, it felt like all of them were his favourites. After a moment Roger interrupted your thoughts, “Hey, you okay? Not too overwhelmed?” “No, not at all, just thinking.” You pushed yourself onto your elbows to better see Roger, “Are you good?”

“I am,” Roger smiled, scooting a little closer. “Did you have any other questions regarding pet play? Anything you’re still curious about? “Uhhh, yeah I guess so, um,” you instantly felt awkward as you tried to phrase your question, “When you wanted me to, uh, finish when you told me to....what was that about?” Roger chuckled, “I s’pose I should have been ready for that question since we’ve not actually touched on it in a lesson. I guess it’s mostly closely related to orgasm delay or orgasm denial. Have you heard of them before?” “Maybe? I think I’ve seen denial mentioned online.” “Well, basically it’s when you delay or stop yourself or your partner from having an orgasm. There’s a bunch of different reasons to play with it and ways to do it. With our scene, because we’d spent so long working on you obeying commands and performing certain actions when told to, I thought it would make sense, and be kind of hot, if you came on command too. I’d be happy to do a full lesson on it next time if you want.”

“That does sound interesting but if I remember your curriculum plan thing correctly, shouldn’t we be getting to CNC next?” “Oh so now you’re paying attention to my curriculum huh?” Roger sat up straighter and, sensing the shift to a more serious topic, you followed, letting the blanket drop since you were wearing your bra. “That was my plan yes. And of course we can stick to that original plan if you feel ready to move on. But I’m also happy to spend more time on other kinks first, even just other role plays. We could play doctor.” You laughed, “Tempting offer, I think you’d make a pretty hot doctor. But I do think I’d like to learn at least the theory of CNC. It feels like an important topic and I think I’d prefer to do it sooner rather than later.” Roger sighed softly, “You’re right, we should cover it so we don’t run out of time. I’m just very conscious that this is a heavier topic than anything else we’ve covered. Some parts of it might get tough. And I really want to make sure to approach it with the right amount of gravity, without making it seem super scary.” You placed a hand on his knee, “I know that, and I appreciate it a lot.” Roger gave you a soft smile before another slight sigh, “I that case, yes, next lesson will be looking at consensual non-consent. I have been thinking about this lesson a lot actually and I had an idea of something we could a bit different, especially if you decide to go ahead with a practical lesson after we cover the theory.” “Different how?” Your question came out of curiosity not concern since you trusted that Roger’s ideas would be about your safety, but you couldn’t think of any ways to change what you were doing. “Well, because we’d potentially be role playing a non-consensual sexual encounter, I thought it might be a good idea to do it somewhere else.” “Like where? A hotel or something?” “No, no, nothing so public. Um, I have a little cottage a couple of hours out of the city. It was a family holiday house, but it doesn’t get used for that as much now. I thought we could go there for the weekend.”

Your breath caught at the idea of going away with Roger but you did your best to keep your voice steady, not too excited, as you asked, “How come?” "Well firstly, the neighbours are a little further away there so there’s much less risk of anyone misinterpreting whatever scene we would potentially be playing out and calling the cops on us. Plus, no one there would recognise you’re my student if they did see us together. Not to make it sound like some sort of bachelor pad or sex dungeon, but the last few times I’ve been there it has been for kink hookups so, even if we were spotted together, they’d probably just assume I’m bringing another girl over. Plus, because we are looking at CNC, a more unfamiliar location might help make the scene better. Assuming that we did that. Even if we went away, I wouldn’t expect you to participate in an actual CNC scene if you didn’t feel fully comfortable doing so.” You nodded but didn’t say anything, your stomach flipping uncomfortably with a mix of nerves about how serious Roger was being and excitement at the idea of going on a weekend trip with him. “But, more importantly, I want you to still feel safe in this house. I know CNC is technicaly what we’ve been building to but, since you’re so familiar with the curriculum, I’m sure you remember that it isn’t the last topic I suggested. I know I’m repeating myself but I’m happy to explore any kinks we haven’t covered or revisit kinks we have in the last weeks before the wedding, and I want you to feel okay doing that. CNC can be tough, it can be scary. It can play with sensations and emotions related to rape. And the last thing I want is for you to feel like I have raped you in what was previously a safe space. By moving the lesson to a different location, we could hopefully contain everything in a place that you won’t have to return to.” You nodded soberly, “That sounds good.” “Okay, well then, this weekend?” “Yeah, this weekend.”

[thebellearchives]

hi💗 can you do solomon x mc 17/18 prompt in the same fic? maybe about solomon having a nightmare and seeking comfort from mc🫵🏻

𝐎𝐅 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐎𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐌

~ solomon ; obey me [nightbringer]

✧˚ · . S Y N O P S I S : solomon doesn’t have many fears, so what are his nightmares made of?

‧₊˚ c o n t e n t s : gn!reader, stablished relationship, fluff and comfort

‧₊˚ a / n : omg writing that nightmare was so much fun!! thank you for the request anon hope you like it 🫶🏻

It was dark, and Solomon wasn’t quite sure where he was. He remembered holding onto your hand, both of you using magic to go back home, back to your original timeline, and then suddenly the warmth of your touch had disappeared along with the light. A deep and scornful laugh echoed from everywhere, prompting him to quickly stand back on his feet. Remain calm, was what every single one of his senses shouted at him, keep your cool. And yet the panic in his beating heart drummed inside his head like a hammer.

“You look distressed, Solomon. It’s a very nice surprise, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in this state. So… vulnerable.”

“Where’s MC?” the sorcerer frowned.

“Oh? You don’t want to know where you are?”

Solomon’s quick thinking started generating a bunch of possibilities and outcomes. Best case scenario: you had returned safely to your timeline and he had been withheld somewhere along the way. He had possibly been knocked out, and was now in deep sleep communicating with the demon behind this stupid trick. The current location of his physical body wasn’t really of concern to him, making his way back home to you had always felt natural. But the idea of you not being safe was terrifying, if something had happened to you…

“I know where I am. Where is MC?”

“Right, you were holding hands weren’t you? Well, you know the consequences of letting go of someone during time travel, Solomon the Wise.”

It’s a trick, he’s lying. He wants to torture you, you can’t trust him. Deal with this first and then you can go back to MC.

“What do you want, Nightbringer?” he started walking out into the infinite darkness, his shoes producing wet sounds as if he was walking on water.

“I had a task for MC, how dare you taking them away like that? This is none of your business sorcerer.”

“You’ve never been more wrong. This is my business, you’re forgetting MC is my apprentice” the veins in his arms became more visible as he closed his hands into fists, his footsteps picking up a faster pace “You’re stupidly full of yourself if you think i’m gonna let you meddle with them like that.”

Nightbringer’s laughter shook the floor in which the white haired magician was standing, making him stop all of a sudden.

“And you’re stupidly full of yourself if you think you can come up against me.”

“I can” he gritted his teeth “you’re forgetting who you’re talking to. I’m the strongest sorcerer known to the realms, I command an army of demons, I’ve gone to war with an entire realm by myself.”

“And how did that turn out for you, huh?” Solomon bit his tongue, his sliver irises searching across the endless darkness “now now, there’s no need to lose your cool like that. Although it is amusing, I’ll admit i’m not interested in you right now. All I want from you is to leave MC in my very capable hands, so go away, I have no use for you.”

“That’s not happening and you know that.”

“What a shame” the demon sighed “have fun trapped in here, I have matters to attend with your apprentice. Goodbye”

“Nightbringer!”

Solomon opened his eyes abruptly, he almost felt like he didn’t have any air in his lungs. There was faint moonlight streaming into the room from the window, but his eyes struggled to adjust. His heart was still quickly kicking in his chest and his hands immediately started searching across the bed until his trembling fingers found you right next to him.

“Sol?” your lovely honey voice called out in concern, slightly raspy and sleepy “what’s wrong?”

The sorcerer sighed loudly in relief, he ran his fingers through his hair in the middle of heavy breathing.

“I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Are you okay?” you moved closer, your fingers pressed against his chest and then moving up to his neck “you’re sweating! calm down, take a deep breath, did you have a nightmare?”

“Yeah” he did as you said and took another deep breath, you moved up closer and hugged him “I’m okay, don’t worry love”

But his arms slithered around your body and hugged you like it was his last day alive. He didn’t need anymore deep breaths, your warmth was enough to get rid of the cold that nightmare had left underneath his skin. Burying his nose in the crook of your neck he inhaled your scent, familiar and heart warming. Your hand caressed his face and forced him to pull back just enough to place a sweet kiss on his cheek.

“Better?”

“Mhmm” he nodded, kissing your lips sweetly and shortly “thanks, I always feel calmer when i’m with you”

The prettiest of smiles shone on your face, making Solomon forget about everything his mind had just fabricated minutes ago.

“Im glad” you kissed him again.

[miiilowo]

hey guys so genshin impact has been downloading for like 10 fucking hours nowbecause its downloading 1mb per second which ends up being like. hours long so if anyone knows how to fix it id appreciate the help. I've tried like. basically everything including the like command prompt trick and it hasn't really done much. idk why genshin does this but i kind of like want to gamble my savings (that i don't actually have rn) away instead of just staring at those 2 stupid fuck twins. i don't like this game. related note if anyone knows of a game LIKE genshin that doesn't suck taint balls and cock id also like to know because its so laggy and the updates suck dude and you save for months and end up getting a shit polearm none of your characters can use because you have all sword users on ur team which is LAME AS FUCK but whatever. anyways the new anniversary thing where u get a free 5 star is really cool I'm probably gonna get mona even tho i COULD get a c1 tighnari which would be fun but i don't actually remember what c1 does. i know i like mona tho. also the primogems and wishes are pretty cool. I'm not gonna pull for anyone but that's cause i wanna wait for the leopard girl xilonen i think her name is. i wish this game made her like. tan. because that'd make her hair n clothes stand out more but i really like her rollerskates. anyways send me hate asks instead pls pls pls pls pls please god pls please it'd be so funny

does anyone wanna help this guy witb his Genshin Impact download speed

[inventors-fair]

Modal Runners-Up and Commentary

To keep things a little short, I'm gonna be putting the runners-up and the general commentary all in one post. "Short" is relative for this commentary, as always, but hopefully all's well that ends well and this week will be donezo. And on that note!

I don't think there's anything particularly new/unusual about this week, no? It was a little bit of a last-minute contest, but everyone followed through with some pretty great designs, showcasing some of our regular strengths, with a variety of colors and themes, and that's about all that we can ask for. I actually really liked this prompt! Modal spells are some of my favorites. Having a lot of awesome options, like on Commands and what have you, really turns a good spell into a great spell when the situation arises. The limitation of last week's cards made things slightly trickier, sure, but you know what they say about restrictions.

After the runners-up will be the general commentary. JUDGE PICKS are cards that piqued my interest, and were either in contention for a top spot or had a specific aspect of their design that I wanted to showcase.

Our runners-up this week are @bread-into-toast, @hypexion, and @melancholia-ennui!

@bread-into-toast — Pharika's Intervention

I think I would've personally worded it "Destroy target nonland permanent if its mana value is less than or equal to twice X," but that's a small point of contention on an otherwise well-balanced card. A fascinating one at that, too. I actually didn't notice the flavor text cycle that followed the Interventions from TBD, and I would note that 4/5 mentioned something that nothing/no __ could surpass, but not Purphoros, and so each god gets their own little addition. Pharika is a fascinating character, isn't she? The double entendre in your line is wonderful. Part of her is the god that cures ailments, and part of her is indeed full of poison. I will talk about the art, of course, but even without that, the billowing, snaking majesty makes the sudden strength—or sudden weakness—all that more striking.

I believe that as a removal spell you've got some serious damage going on here. It's going to go toe-to-toe with cheaper removal simply because it's that much better in the late-game for dealing with more massive threats—in my opinion, anyway. It can always just snipe some smaller stuff in the 4+ mana investment range. The massive indestructible boost feels like something that black and green can also use heavily in the fight against white and red here. If your opponents are going wider, then you've got some awesome combat tricks of your own to show them. And on top of that, this triggers heroic! Which...isn't that big of a use, but it's a corner case, and I think that's cool. Man, what an amazing fever dream we've got going on here, though. The shocking reds in the backdrop give Pharika a real dreamlike quality to the cooler greens of her usual color scheme. Swell work overall.

~

@hypexion — Umbrafall

Honestly, this card isn't so much the rich flavorful soup that I usually gush over so much as it's just a big, nasty, bomb-focused spell that feels Commander-forward while also appealing to the Timmy enthusiasts. What was that one OTJ card, Rush of Dread? That one had some combo potential, but this card's got some massive payoffs. If you're at parity, making an opponent lose most of their lands in limited is quite nasty, especially because it's untargeted. If you're at any point in a Commander game, then you're now the archenemy for sure. Slam 'em down and make 'em pay. Like, personally I would've rounded it up, but that's just because of who I am as a person.

It's implied that you want to follow up the first mode with the second mode, and I can visualize the shadows forming a giant avatar-like being from the world-sized hole that's being created by the apocalyptic darkness. Like—points there, the card name is pulling so much weight here. For the record, I can say for sure that one of your personal strengths is in the names here. But back to the one-two punch: I don't necessarily forsee the Avatar token coming out as much, but it might be big enough to swing the game as a card; for nine mana, I might've given it flying, just to actually end the game. Does that feel too Demon-like, though? Hm. either way, some evasion could've been nice. Heh, if only it was shadow... Regardless, I appreciate this card as a cruel and flashy way to decimate the playing field.

~

@melancholia-ennui — Last Days of the Empire

There's a reason this card got some mentions in the workshop. What a fascinating approach. Keyword counters are harder to track with dice, but still, one can imagine that they're not going to be around for much longer. This card ends stagnant games for sure. I kinda wish you could make it different targets so that you could put multiple exalted counters on a single creature, but the way this spell has to work means otherwise, so there you go. I wonder if making X target creatures unable to block is a bend in BW, but it's part of black, so I suppose it's reasonable. The exalted counters are just perfect, though. I really love the BW approach to civilization from a color philosophy perspective—order and power, mattering in two quite different ways.

And the flavor feels majestic, even epic, which I recall being noted in your submission. I noted it myself and grok it for sure. A finale of valor, the strength of the people coming together to solidify a legacy for the ages—or, the crumbling remnants, the natural end to all kingdoms and rulers... Yeah, no, that tracks a lot. Exalted counters giving a single creature that heroic attack leaves all the others back to defend and pushes for a single strike. I would love to do this to force a block, honestly—swing in with the right creature in such a way that none of your opponent's creatures can kill it even if they all block. The decayed counter making them all basically attack or just sit there is really mean, too, but that's just how the story goes, how that other empire crumbled. Melancholy and old-school high-fantasy, good on ya.

~

Here's all our entries:

@curiooftheheart — Mabel's Intervention

Mechanics are pretty great here. I'm a huge fan of removing attackers this way, and Kill Shot (with its functional equivalents) is an old-school favorite of mine. The instant-speed reanimation is also pretty impressive for what it's worth there. Bloomburrow's creatures felt pretty small overall, even the ones with the higher mana values, and the speedy WX variants could really stand to have their stuff brought back for the backswing. Tapped reanimation is par for the course these days, and I hate to say it, but as much as I would love to have it enter untapped it's probably best not to, so that was a good call. I love me a surprise blocker, but good gameplay warrants this as more of a reaction to a balanced board to get ahead.

I was a little uncertain about the reanimation side of this as an "Intervention," unless it's supposed to show Mabel coming back out of nowhere herself? That's possible, so I understand if that was the intent you were going for, and I can buy an instant-speed creature as one who intervenes even if it's tapped. The part where it exiles an attacker is a no-brainer, so that's fine. The flavor text scans really awkwardly to me, though. I want there to be kind of an epic moment, and maybe it's just the word "translates" there but it's just not quite hitting the notes that are resonating with me. Perhaps more of a Story Spotlight quote could help?

~

@deg99 — Mystifying Mooze

The less important change I could've made to this card would've been to make the middle symbol hybrid like in that STX cycle, just for kicks. The more important change would've just been to have the second ability be worded like Tishana's Tidebinder with the minor changes: "Counter target activated or triggered ability an opponent controls. If an ability of a noncreature permanent is countered this way, that permanent loses all abilities except for mana abilities for as long as this creature remains on the battlefield." And even then... That's a lot of words for a mode. I would've just had it be a Stifle, honestly. The mooze makes it sticky for a turn, oh no! It's a really cool ability and I love Tidebinder, but man, this card's full o' text.

With those points out of the way, this card is an excellent throwback to the artist spotlight contest with some of the coolest art, in my opinion, out of the group. The mooze is loose, and it's doing some excellent things in the Simic Flash build in every format. Seriously, I'd turn my Dimir Flash into Simic Flash just to make this kind of card work. Protection? Hell yeah. Pumping on top of that? Excellent. Surprise body with an ability counter? I'm down for it 100%. I'm sure that you're aware how neat this card is. Again, it's a LOT of text, and I recommend messing with MSE settings until you get it to look just how you want, but it's worth it.

~

@dimestoretajic — Double or Nothing

Are you familiar with the card Wit's End? Just to be clear, that's the threshold we have for just straight-up "discard your hand" effects. Nothing wrong with that kind of effect, but at uncommon and for four mana, that's way too efficient. Setting someone into topdeck mode on turn four is overwhelmingly powerful and unbalanced. Making someone discard, though, totally reasonable. I think there's a lot of creativity to be had—like, they discard two cards, then mill equal to those cards' combined mana value. Or they exile two cards from their hand, which is massively powerful depending on the format but a huge pain in the butt no matter what you're playing.

The gist of this card is cool. I get the balance between wanting to draw a lot and wanting them to discard, and that aspect I'm on board with. Drawing equal to the number of cards in your own hand can be pretty huge, but if you're really playing a limited game it's an excellent effect that doesn't strictly win you the game; powerful, but I'm fine with it. The flavor is still a little off for me. What exactly would this card represent from Ashiok? As a nightmare creature, it's down for mind manipulation, but as for the rest of it, "double of nothing" has some gambling connotations that... Well, no, it could be a silly abstraction, a play on the trope via traditional imagery that we associate with knowledge. But that quote is a pretty generic string of mind-mage buzzwords that feel too vague to contribute to the mood that the name and effect are going for, in my opinion.

~

@harunakonomi — Soporific Somnobara

I'm a massive fan of people drawing their own art, as I'm sure you know by now. And here we go, the second capybara in Magic history!... Right? Yes, okay, had to double-check it. So! Sometimes we have "monster manual" style creatures, cards that serve more of a slice of worldbuilding than any singular story, and I'm down for it when it's done right. The flavor text here checks out, although we have seen serenity on the OG Basking Capybara flavor too; whether or not that was a callback, I can't say. As it stands I wish there was more of an impact to the flavor text? It's an almost memetic take on them, which can work for sure, but there's just not as much to go on here. More of the how, the why, the greater relationship—that's what the space is for, and I'd like to see that expanded for the future.

Mechanically, this card's definitely down for what it wants to do. But why a cast trigger and not an ETB? That's what's the most confusing part for me, because cast triggers are more complex on the cards that require them, and I don't think that this card necessarily needs it. The bounce and the stun are each powerful and simple enough that an "enters" would've been just fine. Still, maybe there's a reason I'm not seeing, and I'd like to hear if you had a specific idea that you were going for. I think the mechanics themselves are simple enough to put into the set that needs them, and I'm a fan of self-bounce for sure. Was the "cast" so that it couldn't bounce itself? If so, you can just word it "up to one other" instead of "up to one" and you're good to go.

~

@helloijustreadyourpost — Adapt or Perish

We're on a Phyrexian streak, eh? Nothing wrong with that. I think that the flavor text is pretty awesome and you really threaded the needle between the two modes, very nice. An instant-speed menace counter is surprisingly strong, I think, if your opponent has any kind of pre-blocker removal, and it would take some strategizing to figure out how to best bait them into a bad situation if you're using that mode. The removal side of things is a little more straightforward, and hey, my guess is that that's the mode you're going to be using most of the time. Both are useful. Removal is usually useful-er.

The wording isn't something that I would add to the MTG lexicon, honestly. "Destroy target creature that isn't modified" with the reminder text about modifications is how I would go about it. The name of the card is the only other point that I'm a little hesitant about? It gets the point across, but it's slightly blunt. That said, it's not a bad name by any stretch of the imagination, just on the nose. As far as Phyrexian spells go this sure is one of 'em—and it's one that I would really have liked to explore more with modifications. Living weapon, incubation, proliferation... There are a lot of amazing mechanics that could go well with Phyrexians and modifications so why the hell haven't we seen them? Huh. You raise a good point there, actually, or at least I'm seeing the vision. Hm...

~

@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes — Peruse the Library

Pretty standard blue modal spell, oui? Milling eight cards in limited isn't something to scoff about, although for a UU spell it's not exactly something I'll be using unless I'm winning the game. Relearn effects are usually the more powerful of the two. I suppose this is supposed to be a spellslinging-fantasy kind of core-set-ish card, more about the situation than the world, and I get that. I'm not sure why one would want to return a spell that an opponent has in their graveyard to their hand, though. It's situational, but is it really necessary? Maybe if you're making friends in Commander, although this card wouldn't be the one to play in whatever kind of spell-group-hug you're working out.

Small note: you don't use a semicolon for this kind of modal spell. Larger note: I feel that the name and mechanics in general are a little bit lacking in meat. Just to be clear, the flavor text doesn't parse at all for me. I get that there's supposed to be this tension between spending time and wasting time, but that's not really dramatized in either the art or flavor text? The mechanics are the strength here, and while this card is a distant (and I mean reeeeally distant) cousin of the powerful Breaking/Entering, it's not quite ready for the primetime yet.

~

@izzet-always-r-versus-u — Defy the Odds (JUDGE PICK)

I would've written this up in the big writeup if I had the time for it, but I like how a lot of people went for a duality theme this week, a balance between two elements in the world of their cards. I want to start with the flavor text side of things, because I'm still trying to work out for myself exactly how good these elements come together as dissimilar-but-mirrored ideals. I'm currently reading it as: "Our continued survival is a victory against the monsters. Every time we defeat them is another day we live." Okay, now that I've talked it out with myself, I'm on board completely. Phew. It really does feel great with the name, actually, because you can be either victorious (the destruction) or a survivor (the reanimation) but not necessarily both; and yet, both ensure the other.

Huh. Actually, that's really cool. Isn't that awesome when those concepts come together? Anyway, I hope we return to Ikoria one day, not just because the world was awesome and filled with giant monsters, but also because we did exactly one draft of it and it was so awesome to go UB flash on everyone trying to force 3-5 colors. Well! I'm sure that the humans would fit into it just fine, especially if you're cycling them into this card and reanimating them whenever you can, and/or destroying someone's massively mutated freak of nature. It's a functional spell at the absolute least and a death-defying tale as a whole. Great job doing a lot with a simple concept.

~

@mrcatfishing — The Shadowmirror

I really want to emphasize how much stronger the second mode of this spell is. Potentially countering all of your opponents' creature spells, and definitely countering them if they're hellbent, demonstratively strips their resources in any format. The ability to have your spells not be countered is basically sideboard-only and I can't think of a situation where I'd rather have this instead of just a spell that, in general, can't be countered. I'm also not sure about the necessity of this in blue and black? Blue sometimes gets that anti-control bend, sure. This card feels like it's not necessarily capitalizing on how much more powerful that side can be as it it relates to your noncreature spells. Still, I don't hate the Deception mode, and it's a really nasty ability. I feel that that part alone ups this card to four mana, and if Reflection was at the same power then that would be 100% justified.

The flavor of this card is a little strange to me. Wouldn't the whole thing about the Dimir be the fact that they never have anyone looking over their shoulders? Because they're spies? They're the ones that are looking over the shoulders of other people. A mirror in general feels pretty cool to have as the modes of Reflection vs. Deception, even if that too feels more Eldraine than Ravnica. Honestly, I'm not sure why you went for Ravnica here where Eldraine has a mirror motif in fairytales. Maybe there's, uh, a second magic mirror?... Either way, I'm not quite sure this card on this world was the best fit. Remember too when you're quoting a character to put the quote in quotation marks.

~

@nine-effing-hells — Bane of Frontiers (JUDGE PICK)

"X is the number of Humans it devoured." God, it was so close, not gonna lie—this one was really funky for me and I love it immensely for that line alone. I'm curious about what "frontiers" are being referenced here, but it's not like it matters. Lots of places have humans that are good for eating! I wonder what kinds of archetypes would be present in this set, and if each one had a human-specific kind of interaction. The submission right above here had me thinking about Ikoria, and I wonder if there's a draft set where you could have human/monster mechanical relationships there, or if there would be opposing forces, perhaps. Either way, I'm sure that I see the vision, and devouring horrors are a great trope.

Human tokens aside, the control aspect of this card shines through way more than the aggressive side of things. I can see this in WB or UB more than I see it in GB, oddly enough, although WB makes the most sense for the humans... I'm talking archetypes, btw, not changing colors. RB feels possible—I'm getting ahead of myself. I think each would be situational, but the drawing on their as an option feels less strong when you can make them discard their hand potentially, BUT but drawing is also good... I'd be quite interested to see how playable this would be in the right environment, because the feeling is heavily horror-based in a traditional and pleasantly balanced manner.

~

@piccadilly-blue — Hazardous Resource Zone

No reminder text for space sculptor there? I don't blame you. And also, while this card is entirely crazy and zany and wild, we're still abiding by the rules of standard-forward designs. I don't see a current storm scale number for space sculptor (criminy, try saying that five times fast) but there are still some rules—namely, that +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters as themes don't play well together in singular draft environments. The fact that you can flicker this enchantment and divide into different zones with whatever is happening hardly matters, since it only does your creatures with the buff and your opponents' creatures with the nerf. Regardless, the larger theme that's suggested is enough to make me finger-waggle you back down to metaphorical Earth.

Looks, aside from the absurdity that is friggin' space sculptor, this card's not too bad. You've got a three-turn decision to make assignations and then let your sense of gameplay determine what's best for it. Nothing inherently wrong with that notion, and frankly, despite everything being slightly jank with how a physical battlefield can get confusing in the late-game, it's totally okay for limited. With the exception of the whole counters thing, I mean. Each creature being assigned to a zone as part of state-based actions means that you're going to get some longer decisions between turns, sure. This is still part of Magic's chess-like back-and-forth, and I actually kinda enjoy the gameplay that could happen? Like, in theory, I could. I've never played with or against Space Beleren and I don't really want to, but who knows? Maybe you're predicting the future here.

~

@reaperfromtheabyss — Gift of Iroas

I'm shocked that there's not a card that specifically destroys attachments and removes counters like this one. Some do one, some do another, but not both. Wild! That means that the wording feels a little bit off on the first ability, though, and I don't have any means to back it up. You know what? I think that Oblivion Stone is the closest we'd get, which turns that "creature and remove" into "creature, then remove" instead. Now that we're not being pedantic: this card rules. It's a real shame that the second mode doesn't trigger heroic, but like, it probably doesn't need to. You've got enough things to worry about here and enough good stuff going on. Let's talk about it.

Firstly, great mood and great theming. Already way on board. Secondly, the ability to both remove attachments AND counters means that your opponents are probably already invested enough in that creature to send it with some combat-trick-heavy nonsense, enough that you're going to get the best of it when it swings in. Cheating an Aura onto the battlefield, whoof, that's just asking for trouble, but Bruna and Uril players are going to be absolutely thrilled with you. Let's cheat in an Eldrazi Conscription, Colossification, Sheltered by Ghosts, Umbras... Let's be real, cheating in Auras is nothing new. The fact that this doesn't target for it is—a little wild, but really swings in your favor if you only have one good target, because you can choose not to. Man, this is a powerful card. I respect it a lot!

~

@sparkyyoungupstart — Admirer's Charm

I think I get the gist of this card. Rather, I think I understand what it's trying to go for? The first mode is the positive charm, and the second mode is someone being repelled by the admirer's advances. Right? I think that's it, but I really don't know, because an admirer destroying a creature feels pretty bold, and I don't get the flavor of that particular aspect. Flying as well feels like a strange choice. First strike I could see, because the admirer is someone who's eager and opportunistic. Maybe there's something in the mental art direction that I'm not seeing here, because I'm having a hard time linking the specific mechanics with the flavor that you're trying to represent here.

The card by itself, regardless of the flavor, is pretty awesome. I'm a huge fan of white's nasty little ways to get efficient removal, and I'm also a fan of combat tricks. Manifesting dread takes up a lot of text on a card, but it's worth it here. Three cheers for forcing your opponents to mill at the cost of a body that's worse than what they had before. Like, it's super strong against the colors that are going against it, and when it's paired up with another color I can think of a bunch of situations where you're going to want to get in with either a flier or when you're going to need to blow up a troublesome permanent. Unwanted Remake is still definitely a card. All the same, I'd like to hear your take on the flavor/mechanics connection, because I feel that I might be missing some kind of specific trope/idea.

~

@teaxch — Arkbow Shot (JUDGE PICK)

This is a reminder to folks that past/present mods were chosen for their strong card design choices, and while teaxch isn't currently doing full-time contest work, the fact that they make awesome cards like this is a testament to why we snatched 'em up in the first place. What kind of combination is this? You've got one mode that's Commune with Nature, one that's Plummet, and it's flavored in such a way that both modes are directly tied with the powers of Vivien Reid and her weaponry. I would hope so, because that's just (most of) her first two abilities of her incumbent planeswalker card, but all the same. It's just plain a Good Card! I'd expect to see something like this in Foundations or something similar, right from design to print. The power level of the modality is evened out by both cost and speed.

Now you can run flying removal in your pre-sideboard draft deck, or you can dig for advantage against decks that don't play flying threats. And all that aside, if you are a huge Vivien stan, this card just feels like her. She's got both big shots with her arrows, or she looks for the beasts, and you get to experience the harmony/aggression either way. Every part of this card comes together in a meaningful mechanical way without necessarily sacrificing the flavor that's intended as a planeswalker-themed spell. Is it the most exciting? Well, no. Is it well-executed? All the way. I didn't want to gush in the modchat, and out of objectivity I didn't, but I really did just feel great looking at this card and being able to point out exactly what makes it good. Let it stand as an example!

~

@wildcardgamez — Pantry Raid

What happened to your MSE settings? Your text is...mad small for some reason. Well, all the same. This card is definitely on the weirder side of things, and I feel that somewhere along the way mechanics got dropped off for flavor cohesion. Now, the flavor is pretty interesting. On the first mode, you're raiding your opponents' pantries and getting food based on what's in there. On the second mode, you're destroying the pantries—maybe with one of those food armies from WOE? I'm not super sure on that side of things, unless it's instead meant to be the more mechanical half of this card with the detriment, and it's just kind of artifact destruction for artifact destruction's sake. Nothing wrong with that, of course, although it is a wee bit narrow. Still, sometimes you can use that; I imagine that a Food-based commander could use that mode even more than the first one.

All the same, the contingencies on your opponents' boards makes this card feel narrower than at first glance. If there are no artifacts, then this card's dead twelve ways to Sunday in your hand. There will sometimes be cases and environment where it's not like that and you get to go on a shattering spree just fine, sure! And maybe this isn't even supposed to be on Eldraine, maybe it's more Bloomburrow then. I'm not sure what the intent of the environment was, and that makes it a little harder to determine how to talk about this card's strengths and weaknesses. The more clues towards where this card would fit best, the easier it is to really gauge its power. As it stands I feel that it's lacking a bit on the context front, but could still see some use as a corner case.

~

@xenobladexfan — Ransack the Evidence Locker

Wild, reckless, and quite interesting for that mana cost. I think that "Ransack the Evidence" or "Ransack the Locker" would have worked fine, honestly, and I get that the name is a little more evocative of a specific setting but I think the shorter versions flow off the tongue better. Is this meant to be an MKM-style of card? The vibes are quite interesting, and this is going to sound wild, but I...can't quite place what kind of set this card belongs in! It's an oddly powerful effect, all things considered. Two mana to clear someone's graveyard isn't too bad, and two mana to Raise Dead at instant speed can be quite the card in a game of attrition. It could honestly have been an uncommon with a little lifegain on the end of the exile, and then I could've seen it more clearly as a standard signpost.

Maybe I'm just used to either crazy-powerful cards or less powerful effects like this for common. Either way, that little bit of adjustment can't change the fact that I want just a tiny bit more in the flavor text department here. There's the room for it, and there's the question of why someone might ransack the evidence locker, and I really want to know what you had planned for that tip. The question of why someone might do this is something for us to know and Proft to find out, if you feel me? All that's to say that the effect you're going for here, depending on the environment, can be really strong, and that's my thumbs-up.

~

@yourrightfulking — Dreamspore Thallid

Minor wording notes: "this creature" instead of the first "this" in the first line, plus a comma after "control." Now to the important stuff. Spore counters are an odd duck, and the way that you've chosen to go about a new version is...intriguing, actually. In a good way. I think that despite the need for more Funguses to enter, it's totally okay to have a new way to get counters. I will say that I like the upkeep better. That's partially because it's a guarantee and partially because I'm an oldhead with that sort of thing. The entering with a counter is still pretty good, though. And an attack trigger to make a Saproling? Quite odd but, again, cool.

I think that a lot of counter synergies could make stunning a little confusing in the heat of battle without an online client—what's stunned, what's spored, what other kind of counters might be in the set, etc. It's a weird little thing but not impossible to grok. But...jeez, looking at standard cards, there isn't a single "freezing" effect that isn't either an Aura or that uses stun counters in the whole lot. I think that stun counters are awesome tech and I get why they've moved away from freeze-memory, but like—I think it was a minor issue at best, and players could remember a single instance of not-untapping without needing a counter for it. Maybe that's just me, though... Either way, UG Fungus nonsense is cool, and I like how aggressive this thing could be in the heat of battle. I wonder if that could lead to Thallids in all colors now? Who's to say.

~Thank you all for your entries and your patience <3 @abelzumi

[goldensunset]

trying to brainstorm cool challenges and gimmicks in pokémon that could make for difficult and interesting moments:

•de-evolution. imagine you’re in the middle of battle and your opponent pulls some devious new trick on you and suddenly your final evo is a baby/teenager again. granted there may be advantages to this in certain situations but generally i think it would be a problem lol. could be a brief temporary issue that lasts the duration of the battle or it could be a thing where it’s actually difficult to get it back up to an evolution level of exp. if not de-evolution it could just be like a reduction in levels and stats. perhaps it even forgets certain moves (but you’re at least prompted to remember older weaker moves)

•arrogant cheating trainer who just keeps sending out more pokémon even after you’ve defeated their six. yes i’m thinking like volo but on crack. just keep going straight up and give no indication of when they’re gonna stop. perhaps it’s even nearly infinite and it’s a fight you’re not actually even supposed to win; just a battle to see how long you can hold out. someone in this universe other than the player character who has several boxes full of pokémon and somehow manages to access those files during battle so they can just draw out hordes of pokémon almost infinitely

•something where you as the trainer temporarily lose the ability to command your pokémon, and for a few turns they just wing it and try using any moves they know on their own. i’m thinking like horrible ai here. you can act otherwise (really just use items) but you can’t call out to your pokémon to either tell them to use moves or to switch them out, and there’s no item to fix whatever happened to make it this way. the reasoning could be something like your pokémon is experiencing a special type of confusion (like a lack of comprehension of human speech. or it could just be temporary deafness), or it could be like some sort of magic barrier got put up in between you two, or someone karate chopped you in the throat and now you can’t speak lol. or there was interference with the bond you two share within your hearts or w/e idk. maybe it was never about physically speaking at all idk how it works. you basically just have to wait and pray for a couple turns in a row that your team can act intelligently on its own. bonus if your success in this is dependent on preexisting friendship/affection

•not even a gimmick just. trainer with a good ai who can use all the same items in battle that you can. including revives. also their mons all have good held items

•again not even a gimmick but. trainers who specialize in a type should have a lot more dual types on their teams

•something where the type chart gets randomly shuffled around- suddenly you actually don’t know what’s super effective against what anymore. every move is a gamble. you click water against fire but reality has been turned 45 degrees today and for some reason fire is immune to water. ice is now good against normal. universe is having a silly goofy day and your ground type gets completely eviscerated by an electric type move. flying is weak to fire. bonus points if this isn’t just like the new normal in whatever gimmick region/game this is, but if it literally does change every time. bonus bonus points if there really is a secret pattern though that you can study to at least give you some idea

[swaps55]

20 Fanfic Questions

Tagged by @cchickki. Thank you!

Tagging @urrone @westernlarch @bioticbooty @commander-krios and anyone else who feels so inclined!

How many works do you have on AO3?

47

2. What's your total AO3 words count?

944,833

I haven’t checked to see if Mezzo’s current word count will put me into 7 figures, but if it doesn’t, it’s close.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mass Effect. One trick pony right here.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Sonata – Sam and Kaidan fake dating.

Cantata – The Making of Commander Shepard, aka, a group of misfits find a home in each other. Also it’s an epically slow burn friends to idiots to soulmates.

Celestial Navigation – One of the rare times I wrote smut. The entire time I worked on it I was the equivalent of a hissing cat stuck in a tree.

Pieces Form the Whole – A collection of mshenko shorts, prompts, etc., featuring more or less a proto-Sam Shepard who isn’t Sam Shepard but eventually became him.

Fugue – Alchera and the 2 year gap. A story about finding hope in grief.  

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes! Sometimes I go through a low spoons period where they sit for a bit, but I have a rule that I cannot post anything new until I have responded to everyone who took the time to share their thoughts on a thing I wrote. Community is the best part of fandom. Having others to yell and flail with about the fictional people in my head is fucking incredible.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

A short in Pieces Form the Whole called Faraway, So Close, which is the only Angst Without a Happy Ending thing I have ever written. It is the fic that kicks puppies. It is less than 1,000 words and I will never write anything like it again.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Not sure I have ever written about two happier people than Sam and Kaidan at the end of Sonata.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Nope. The occasional odd comment, but I haven’t gotten any hate, thankfully.

9. Do you write smut. If so what kind?

When a story calls for it, I write it, though I’m too ace to write much smut for the sake of smut. I don’t have anything against it; smut just doesn’t interest me much unless the conditions are right. Couldn’t tell you what the conditions are. I just know them when I see them.  

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Crossovers and AUs aren’t usually my thing, but I have to admit I have been mildly tempted to write a Mass Effect/Stargate AU, because I sure wouldn’t have to work hard to set it up, and Sam Carter and Sam Shepard breaking physics would be tons of fun.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I am aware of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not translated, though I’ve had a couple of stories podficced, which is insanely cool!!!

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Once, and it taught me rather painfully that cowriting is not something I am cut out for.  

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Shepard and Kaidan, to the surprise of no one.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

It’s pretty rare I start something I don’t finish. My head explodes if I try to work on more than one project at a time, so if I get invested in something it generally gets finished. I have a story called Cadenza that isn’t currently doing anything – because I can’t work on 2 things at once – that I really want to finish; I just don’t know when I’ll get there. But I really hope I will.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue and combat are two things I have a very good time with.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I suck at setting. If reading that surprises you in any way, and hopefully it does, it is because I have worked very hard to suck less at it.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I have long envied the ability of others to write in other languages, and write dialect. I would love to be able to do it, but I suck at it. So add that to #17, lol.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Technically, it was The Black Stallion. I was probably eight. I sent The Black and Alec Ramsey to space.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Aww, don’t make me choose between my children. I love my stories. But gun to my head, long fic is probably Cantata. It was such a joy to write, and watching other people fall in love with OC characters I figured no one would care about was proof magic is real.

My favorite one shot is probably The Words That Change Us, an N7 day story that became the catalyst for all the Sam and Kaidan First Kiss AUs. Writing that story was an insane experience – I couldn’t write it fast enough. At one point I had two completely different conversations unspooling in my head at the same time. It’s so much fun to go back and read.

[ghostkingart]

OC tober - day 22 - prompt "taking a well-earned break"

word count: 420

fandom: N/A, original

author's note: prompt list below the cut. I'm getting burned out from all these events and writing every day so this once again features only one pair of OCs ;;

“It appears smaller than the one in Florida,” Seth said.

“It is, but it’s also better,” Tye responded.

“How many times have you been here?”

“Twice.”

“Really? Only twice?”

Tye shrugged. “Hey, whenever I went to Paris I was working. Look!” Once they passed through the gates, Tye grabbed Seth’s hand and dragged him forward, weaving past the other people. “Isn’t the castle much nicer here!?”

“I’ll give it that,” Seth said. In all honesty, he didn’t care much about Sleeping Beauty or her castle. What brought the biggest smile to his face was seeing Tye this happy.

“Come on, selfie time,” Tye commanded. He got his phone out, stirred Seth so that they were in front of the castle and hugged him. Seth made little bunny ears behind Tye’s head when he snapped the picture, which he saw, but didn’t complain about.

“Where to first?” Tye asked after pocketing his phone.

“Haunted Mansion?” Seth suggested.

“We call it Phantom Manor here in France,” Tye said, putting a bit of an accent on the word France.

Seth raised his arms in surrender. “Apologies. When were you gonna tell me you speak French, by the way?”

Tye took Seth’s hand and they headed down the road to Frontierland. “I don’t use it much outside of Fashion Week. Thought it’d be a cool trick to pull when we arrived.’

“You sure did impress me,” Seth said.

Tye smiled cheekily. “But you’re always impressed with me.”

Seth nudged him.

“After Phantom Manor, let’s check out Indiana Jones and Big Thunder Mountain, must-see in this area,” Tye said casually.

“And then Pirates?”

“Of course, we can’t miss Pirates! Peter Pan’s a bitch, though, the wait is always forever.”

Seth chuckled. “You weren’t joking about Peter Pan? Also, language. There’s children, like, everywhere.”

“Disneyland is no joking matter,” Tye said, dead serious.

“What about Star Wars?” Seth asked.

Tye pouted. “Do we have to?”

“Have you ever been on a Star Wars ride? They’re fun, even if you haven’t seen the movies. Which you will.”

“Keep on dreaming. Fine, we can do the Star Wars rides, but I’m not buying you a lightsaber.”

They were nearing the spooky looking house. Seth stopped in his tracks, pulling Tye to a stop with him. Seth kissed him, lacing his fingers in his cotton candy colored hair. When they parted, Tye’s eyes remained closed for a few seconds longer.

“You’re cute,” he said, “but I’m still not buying you a lightsaber.”

“Dammit.”

Together, they walked towards the queue.

[theuniversitychallengereview]

Amol New World

When I wrote the first ever edition of this blog in 2016, I described Jeremy Paxman as 'stony eyed, hair thick and flowing like a bear post-hibernation.' Having completed his twenty ninth series earlier this year he has now departed for a longer rest, well earned after nearly three decades of sardonic quips and withering put-downs. From all of the press pics, his replacement Amol Rajan is not boasting a bouffant on Paxo's 2016 level, and I can't choose which animal to compare him with, but I'm sure we'll get there.

I, like all viewers of University Challenge, am intrigued to see how Rajan hosts the show. For a large number of people Paxman is the only person we've known as quizmaster, and his style has become synonymous with the show itself. In his later years, he mellowed out a little bit, taking the edge off his caustic nature for the most part, but his furrowed brow, knitted tightly in befuddlement at the silliness of a contestant's throwaway guess remains iconic. Amol Rajan certainly has a big seat to fill.

I think its pretty cool, for what its worth, and I reckon they had to mix things up a bit or it might have felt a bit strange with someone else in the hotseat.

There is an excitement around this series, a nervousness about the newness of it (amplified somewhat by the faked death of the University Challenge YouTube uploader, which you can read about here if you haven't heard of it. Let's just say here that hopefully someone else steps up to upload this new series).

Manchester have won the show four times, and Trinity three, making them two of the most historically significant UC teams, but only one of them can win tonight... Without further ado, your first starter of the Amol Rajan era.

The show opens with a bizarre aspect ratio which I feared they were going to stick with the whole time, but the camera zooms in and we are treated to Rajan's dulcet tones for the first time. He introduces the teams and then we're off to the races.

Immaterialism is a concept associated with which philosopher...

Manchester hit back thanks to captain Senehedheera, but he rushes on the first bonus, losing out on the five points. No one knows its Honolulu on the next starter, but a second from Senehedheera gives Manchester the lead. Jaksina gets the first picture starter on Dr Zhivago by Pasternak, before a full bonus set on samizdat novels ties the game, and another from Banerjee takes back the advantage.

De los Reyes-White takes a starter on Wandavision and Senehedheera is disgusted by his own failure to recall the names of philosophers on the bonuses.

Henderson gets the music starter in about two seconds, prompting a big 'wow!' from Rajan. Maybe this can be his thing - pure shock at the speed of knowledge on display. Good bonuswork puts Trinity on double the score of Manchester at the halfway stage.

Banerjee wins a bonus set on herbs for Trinity. Bucking the stereotype of the cooking-ignorant student, they manage two of the three. Jaksina then takes his second picture starter with Vermeer, and Trinity are in command with five minutes to go.

Needing a starter, Grady buzzes in and starts giving Wide Sargasso Sea, but Rajan accepts his answer before he even finishes saying wide. Fair enough, but certainly something Paxman would never have done. They reduce the gap, but Kang shuts down the comeback. Whenever Manchester look like they're going to get back in it, one of the Trinity quartet block them. Fifty points separate the sides, so all Manchester can play for is the high-scoring loser play-off.

Or is it?

A starter from Kullmann is followed by a quickfire hat-trick on the bonuses. Another starter. Dawdling on the bonuses. Too much conferring. They only manage one, but its a crucial one. They're ten points back. A supremely clutch starter from De los Reyes-White (yak) ties the game with seconds left. Some of which Rajan wastes by telling us there are seconds left.

What kind of electricity...?

'Static?' guesses Senehedheera, and then the gong. Is he right? No he is not.

Tiebreak. 👔

In the first episode of the new era.

Which activist art group...

BuZz!

Senehedheera - Guerilla Girls?

Correct.

Trinity 175 - 185 Manchester

Phew! What a game to start the series. I know there is a bit of choice for the schedulers over which match gets broadcast first, but they must have been rubbing their hands with glee when this one fell into their laps.

Astonishing comeback from Manchester, and huge commiserations to Trinity, though they will surely return for the play-offs unless Rajan's increased speed of delivery results in loads of high-scoring games.

As for Rajan himself, new things always take a bit of getting used to, and as I said in the introduction, Paxman had become so synonymous with UC that its odd to see someone else there (it sort of feels like we're watching a alternate universe version of the show), but I think he did a good job and I'm sure we'll get over it soon enough.

Although it might take longer than that for people to get over the lack of question cards...

Join us next week for Episode 2 of the Rajan Era, as Aberdeen take on Birmingham, and subscribe here so that you never miss a review!

[modpuregame]

Stick War Modpure Full Guide: Tips, Tricks, and Hidden Features

If you enjoy strategy games, Stick War Modpure makes Stick War even more interesting. The APK version of the game adds fun new ways to play, secret powers, and more control over your stick army. Let’s share a lot of helpful advice, secrets, and cool new features in this blog to ensure you always win your fights comfortably.

What Is Stick War Modpure?

Stick War Modpure differs from the original Stick War: Legacy because it is a mod. You get unlimited skins, lots of free resources, custom levels to play, and improved mechanics. The mod aims to improve player freedom and overall game experience.

Key Features of Stick War Modpure

You get unlimited gems and gold to improve your upgrade speed

New weapons and skins that help make your warriors better

Don’t have to deal with ads for seamless gameplay

More exciting action comes from custom missions and maps.

Enemies that get smarter as the game goes on and become harder.

Because of these features, Stick War Modpure is a must-try for strategy fans who want full command during fights.

Tips to Get Started with Stick War Modpure

Want a good beginning in the game? Use these suggestions:

●       Train miners first

Having gold quickly will allow you to build your army.

●       Upgrade swordsmen early

They are fast and not too expensive.

●       Use the formation button

It allows your units to stick together when you battle.

●       Watch enemy movement

Counter their moves when they are joined and stop them when they spread out.

If you manage your economy and defense equally, it will be very helpful to your strategy.

Best Strategies to Win Every Battle

●       Use ranged units wisely

Archers can weaken the opponent which gives the close-range soldiers an easier job. Put them in defense areas and provide security for them.

●       Mix unit types

Use more than one type of unit. Team up some warriors using swords, bows, and spears for greater effect.

●       Use upgrades smartly

Upgrade the health and damage as soon as possible at the start. Then make your focus on investing in speed and armor.

●       Take control manually

Play without auto moves when the battle gets hard. You can move out of the way of attacks and then hit your opponents in critical spots.

Hidden Features You Should Try

Stick War Modpure offers some cool hidden tools that can change your gameplay style:

●       Secret hero mode

In some versions, a special unit is unlocked after you finish specific missions. It causes a large amount of destruction.

●       Speed glitch in replays

Playback your old matches at a faster pace to pick up tactics faster.

●       Custom skin editor

A few software versions provide an integrated editor. You can customize how your stick army is styled.

●       Double resource trick

Train two miners fast after the battle starts. Send one to mine gold and the other to mine mana. Boosts the economy early!

Advanced Tricks for Pro Players

If you know the first few steps, you can dive into these more difficult ones:

●       Wall-push trick

Encourage teams to group by using speartons. Attack on both sides at once for a prompt victory.

●       Timed retreat

Get your units out of danger as soon as they are almost finished. Let them remain away from you for a while and then they can heal and become stronger.

●       Spawn sync

Arrange units for training so waves of matching strength are launched at the right time. It makes enemies tend to lose rather quickly.

●       Mana boost build

Focus on creating magikill and flying units. Better support and magic damage can be obtained from using mana miners.

Final Thoughts

You can play Stick War Modpure no matter if you are just starting or have played before because it’s designed for everyone. Additional features improve freedom, without reducing how challenging the game is.

Discover the game’s hidden parts, use your points wisely for upgrades, and work on being better in all battles. The things discussed above can help you play better, win more, and have much more fun.

Download Stick War Modpure now and lead your stick army to victory!

[theccpress]

Bitcoin Dominance Surge Amid Institutional Interest and Market Anxiety 🚀

🤑 As if on command, Bitcoin’s dominance has skyrocketed to a staggering 64.9%—a four-year high! But let’s be real, this isn’t just Bitcoin flexing its muscles; it’s more like the cool kid at school watching all the altcoins in the lunchroom trying to navigate their way through economic turbulence. 🌪️

Bitcoin dominance has surged… fueled by a flight to stability and substantial institutional inflows during these volatile macroeconomic conditions. - CoinMarketCap, Your Friendly Neighborhood Tracker

Key Takeaways:

Bitcoin gains market share; altcoins face liquidity issues. Oops!

Institutional flows prefer Bitcoin's stability. Smart choice, right?

Market volatility prompts a mass flight to Bitcoin. Like moths to a flame!

With traditional markets throwing tantrums that would make a toddler proud, *who wouldn’t* run to dear old Bitcoin for stability? The big players are emerging, and it appears major holders and institutional investors are hoarding those precious $BTC like they’re rare Pokémon cards! Meanwhile, our darling altcoins have endured a $300 billion contraction. Yikes! 💸

Bitcoin Dominance Surge Amid Institutional Interest and Market Anxiety

And look at Ethereum, trying to maintain its composure while slowly sliding down the Bitcoin slope. 😬 Sometimes I wonder if altcoins have been binge-watching too many horror movies, just waiting for the next jump scare in liquidity.

Looking to the Future 🔮

With Bitcoin’s dominance, history tells us that altcoin rallies often follow—provided the environment shifts back in their favor. The wait for the market’s next magic trick is real! So, keep your eyes peeled for any regulatory or technological shifts that could set the stage for a grand comeback.

Want to dive deeper into this crypto drama? Check out the full article here! And let’s all cross our fingers for our favorite altcoins! 🤞✨

#Bitcoin #CryptoMarket #Altcoins #Investment #Cryptocurrency #BitcoinDominance #Blockchain #InvestSmart #CryptoTrends

[flintandthedog]

“Bunny Mode” and the Joy of Being Seen in a World That’s Burning Out

On the surface, it’s just two Huskies — Archer and Leia — hopping around in “bunny mode” because their human called them “good dogs.” But behind those airborne paws and wiggly butts is something we’re all aching for right now: the joy of being truly seen. At a time when burnout is the cultural baseline and attention feels transactional, this viral video is more than just a serotonin boost. It’s a howl-sized reminder of what wholehearted connection looks like — and why we need it now more than ever.

In the now-viral Instagram reel posted by @siberianderpskies, two Siberian Huskies launch into full bunny-mode bliss when their owner showers them with love. It starts innocently enough — a paw on the back, a jealous glance, and then Archer, the more animated of the two, explodes into a series of joyful hops like a caffeinated jackrabbit. The trigger? Being told he’s a “good boy.” Meanwhile, Leia sits nearby, a cool queen on her couch throne, absorbing the chaos like a seasoned older sibling.

There’s no trick, no treat prompt, no performance expectation. Just pure canine glee in response to being noticed and loved. The owner gives both pups affirmation, cookies, and the kind of gentle praise that feels more like a hug than a command. He ends the video with: “You’re perfect. Don’t ever change.”

Cue the emotional floodgates.

Because let’s be real — when’s the last time someone told you that you were perfect, just as you are?

“Bunny mode” might be new internet slang, but the emotional undercurrent it taps into isn’t: the universal, biological hunger to be affirmed. In dogs, that looks like Archer turning into a literal hop tornado when he’s told he’s loved. In humans? It’s more subtle — or buried. But it’s just as primal.

As we limp into May 2025, people are burned out, under-validated, and quietly desperate for real connection. A January APA report found that 62% of adults in the U.S. feel chronically undervalued at work or at home. And social media — originally designed to connect us — now often leaves us feeling more seen through than seen for.

That’s why this video hit a nerve. It doesn’t just show love, it models it. The owner isn't training his dogs or trying to monetize their behavior. He’s responding to them. He’s in the moment with them. It’s unfiltered. It’s mutual. It’s intimate in a way that reminds us that affection doesn’t have to be earned — sometimes it just is.

There’s a reason why dog videos like this go viral while major news stories slide off the public consciousness in hours. Because animals, especially dogs, give us a safe space to experience emotional truths without the baggage. They model trust, vulnerability, and joy in its most unvarnished form. We can project our needs onto them without shame.

But “bunny mode” doesn’t come from nowhere. It’s not a default setting — it’s a symptom of security. Archer doesn’t hop like that because he’s hyper; he hops like that because he trusts his human completely. That kind of exuberance is only possible when there’s a foundation of unconditional safety.

Which raises the question: what does “bunny mode” look like for us? And how many of us feel safe enough to even try?

We’re in an era where emotional burnout isn’t just a private struggle — it’s public policy. Teachers, nurses, caregivers, and yes, even parents (hello, moms scrolling Facebook between drop-offs), are told to do more with less, constantly. Praise is a scarcity. Rest is guilt-ridden. Joy feels indulgent.

So watching a dog literally bounce with happiness because someone told him he was good? That’s more than cute. It’s revolutionary.

Let’s talk about moms for a second. She’s managing a thousand invisible tasks. She’s default parent, default emotional support, default everything. She rarely gets to bunny-hop.

So when she sees a dog break into pure excitement because he’s finally seen and affirmed, it hits. Hard.

There’s a parenting metaphor here too. The way the owner talks to Archer and Leia — individually, intentionally, based on their different personalities — mirrors what we try to do with our kids. Archer needs the enthusiastic, repetitive praise. Leia, calm and composed, needs eye contact and quiet assurance. There’s wisdom in that, and also a tiny pang of guilt. How often do we affirm our kids like that? How often do we affirm ourselves?

This isn’t just a feel-good dog moment. It’s a cultural cue. “Bunny mode” isn’t the punchline — it’s the aspiration. In a world that demands constant productivity, the joy of being seen and loved just as we are isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity.

So here’s the call to action, not just for your fingers but for your heart: Be the human that calls someone else a “good boy.” Praise your kid for existing, not just for behaving. Compliment your friend for being your friend. And yes, pet your dog like they’re made of magic — because in a way, they are.

And when you see someone else bounce into bunny mode? Don’t roll your eyes. Cheer them on. We all need a little bounce.

Watch the full video of Archer and Leia’s bunny antics here:

👉 Watch on Instagram via @siberianderpskies

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Leia & Archer (@siberianderpskies)

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[inextures]

Python Requirements File: How to Create Python requirements.txt

Ever get confused with all those different Python pieces you need for your project? Well, good news! There’s a thing called a Python Requirements File that makes it way easier. Imagine it like a simple list, kind of like your shopping list, but for computer stuff. It’s called requirements.txt, and it’s here to save you from the hassle of manually setting up everything.

In this blog, we will discuss how to create these Python necessary records. You can surely rest; we’ll keep it simple. We’ll explain to you the best method to accomplish it, as well as a few clever tricks and why it’s such an outstanding idea. People typically use it with what are known as virtual conditions, but we will stick to the basics and help you learn how to create and use these Python records. Ready to make your coding life easier? We should jump in!

How to Create a Python Requirements File

Creating a Python Requirements File is pretty easy and helpful for keeping your Python project organized. First, go to your project folder and make a new text file. Make sure to name it requirements.txt and save it in the same place as your Python files (.py). This file keeps a list of all the important modules your project needs to work.

Once you have your requirements.txt file, it makes it easy to install the same modules on other computers. You can also speed things up using a command in the terminal:

Adding Modules to Your Python Requirements File

This command collects a list of all the modules you have installed in your project, including their versions. When you use this command, it puts that list into your requirements.txt file. This file becomes like a snapshot of your project, making it simple to share and set up the same environment on different machines.

We’ll also look at some more details, like how to manually install packages in the terminal, as we go forward. This way, you’ll have a good understanding of how to handle Python requirements effectively.

Now that you’ve made your Python requirements file, let’s make it even more useful by adding the specific tools your project needs. It’s easy! Open the text document and just write down the names of the tools you want. For example, if you want to use the TensorFlow tool, write “tensorflow” on a new line and also mention the version you want. It would look like this:

Do the same for all the tools you need, like “uvicorn” and “fastapi”. After adding everything, save the document and close it. This simple step is important because it tells your project exactly which tools to use and in what version. This makes it easy for others to set up your project without any problems, no matter where they’re working from. So, go ahead, add those tools, save, and you’re all set for smooth installations and teamwork!

Installing Python Packages From a Requirements File

Once you’ve listed the important modules your project needs in a file called “requirements.txt,” the next step is to get those modules into your project. We use a handy tool called pip, which is like a magic helper for installing, updating, and removing Python stuff.

Here��s how you do it: open a special window on your computer called a terminal or command prompt. Then, go to the folder where your Python project lives. Once you’re there, type in this command:

This command makes sure all the modules you listed in your “requirements.txt” file are set up in your project. After you press Enter, you’ll see a bunch of text showing that the modules are successfully installed, kind of like a receipt.

Successfully installed absl-py-1.0.0 astunparse-1.6.3 … zipp-3.6.0

A good idea is to start with a fresh workspace before installing these modules. If you ever want to get rid of a module, just use the same command but say ‘uninstall’ instead of ‘install.’ And if you need to update an old module, use ‘upgrade’ instead of ‘install.’

Here’s a cool trick: if you want to see a list of all the Python modules you have in your project, use the command ‘pip freeze.’ It’s like taking a snapshot of what’s installed. This way, managing Python modules becomes super easy, making sure your project stays strong and well-organized.

How to Maintain a Python Requirements File

Keeping a requirements file is critical for remaining current and ensuring compatibility with the most recent versions of bundles. If you’ve neglected your requirements file for a while, don’t worry – follow these steps to get it back in shape:

Step 1: Identify Outdated Packages

Use the command pip list –outdated to get a list of packages that have newer versions available. This will show you which packages need updating.

Step 2: Upgrade Individual Packages

For each outdated package, use the command pip install -U PackageName to upgrade it. For example:

Command: pip install -U fastapi

This updates the ‘fastapi’ package to the latest version.

Step 3: Upgrade Everything

If you prefer, you can upgrade all packages at once with pip install -U -r requirements.txt.

Step 4: Check Tests

Ensure that all your tests pass after the upgrades.

Step 5: Update Requirements File

Run pip freeze > requirements.txt to update your Python requirements file with the latest package versions.

Step 6: Commit and Push Changes

After updating the requirements file, commit the changes using git commit and push them to the production branch with git push.

Bonus Tip: Ensure Dependencies

Check for missing dependencies using python -m pip check. If everything is in order, you’re good to go!

By following these steps, you maintain a healthy and up-to-date Python requirements file, ensuring predictable builds for your project.

How to Create Python Requirements Files After Development

After completing the development of your Python project, it’s important to create a Python Requirements File to document all the modules and packages your project relies on. While you can create this file manually by listing each dependency, a recommended practice is to leverage the pipreqs module, which automates the process by scanning your project’s imports.

To get started with pipreqs, you need to install it first. Execute the following command in your terminal or command prompt:

Command: pip install pipreqs

Once pipreqs is installed, you can use it in the command line to automatically generate a requirements.txt file. For instance, if your project is located at “/home/project/location,” run the following command:

Command: pipreqs /home/project/location

By running this command, pipreqs will scan your project, identify all the imported modules, and create a requirements.txt file containing the necessary dependencies. The terminal output will confirm the successful creation of the requirements file:

Command: Successfully saved requirements file in /home/project/location/requirements.txt

Using pipreqs streamlines the process of creating a Python Requirements File after development, ensuring that your project’s dependencies are well-documented and easily reproducible. This automated approach saves time and reduces the risk of overlooking essential dependencies, contributing to a smoother development and deployment experience.

Also Check: Python Environment Variables

Why You Should Use a Python Requirements File

Python requirements files provide a structured way to list and manage the dependencies your project relies on.

They ensure that others can replicate your development environment accurately by installing the specified modules.

Using a requirements file with the pip package manager simplifies the process of installing all necessary dependencies in one command.

It works with a coordinated effort by allowing team members to work with similar arrangements of conditions, keeping away from similarity issues.

Necessities documents empower rendition control for your project’s dependencies, guaranteeing consistency across different stages of development.

Updating or sharing your project becomes more efficient as you can modify the requirements file without manually tracking and installing each module.

Best Practices for Using a Python Requirements File

Group dependencies logically in your requirements file, separating standard libraries, external packages, and version specifications for clarity.

Pin versions of your dependencies to ensure consistency across different environments and avoid unexpected updates.

Include comments in the requirements file to explain the purpose of specific dependencies or any additional information helpful for developers.

Periodically update and review your requirements file to incorporate the latest versions of packages, enhancing security and leveraging new features.

Combine Python requirements files with virtual environments to isolate project dependencies, minimizing conflicts with other projects.

Use ‘pip freeze’ to capture the current environment’s dependencies, aiding in replicating the environment on different systems.

If your project has optional features or additional requirements for specific environments, document them using extras in the requirements file.

Keep your requirements file under version control, enabling easy collaboration and tracking changes to dependencies over time.

To sum it up, learning how to create and handle a Python Requirements File is important for Python developers. Think of it like a simple plan that notes down all the important parts your project needs to work. Using best practices and tools like pipreqs makes this process easy, ensuring that your project’s setup is neat and can be recreated without any hassle.

This file isn’t just for you; it makes sharing your project and working together with others a breeze. Plus, it helps install and update modules smartly. So, by understanding and using a requirements file, developers can make their work smoother, keep things consistent, and boost the chances of their projects being a success. Consider leveraging professional Python Development Services to enhance your project’s development and ensure optimal results.

Originally published by: Python Requirements File: How to Create Python requirements.txt

[tech-vi]

"Amazing CMD Hack - You Won't Believe Your Eyes!"

**In this video, we will be showcasing an amazing cmd trick for typing master that will help you improve your typing skills in no time! If you're someone who spends a lot of time typing on your computer, this cmd trick will definitely come in handy. By using the command prompt, you can easily access typing master and practice your typing skills without needing to open any software. This cmd trick is not only convenient but also highly effective in helping you type faster and more accurately. Whether you're a student or a professional, typing is an essential skill that you need to master. With this cmd trick, you can easily improve your typing skills and increase your productivity at work or school. So why wait? Get started today and become a typing master in no time! If you're interested in learning more about cmd and other useful tips and tricks, make sure to subscribe to our channel and hit the notification bell to stay updated on our latest videos. Don't forget to leave a like and share this video with your friends who might find this cmd trick helpful.**

[darth-sonny]

Hi Sonny ! I just read all the post I could find on your Prime Leo Au (though I'm not sure I found everything... I don't know if you ever explained why Kraang Prime needed an Host in the first place). And it gave me thoughts !

First about why Kraang Prime wouldn't want Donnie as an Host despite his smart (yes I know we're well past that but bear with me please ?), there's also that Donnie's knowledge and smarts is primarily on machinery, engineering and programing. But considering that Kraangs rely much more on biological means for their technology, that really wouldn't match well. And since I'm a fan of the Medic Leo headcanon, I also headcanon as interested and good at anatomy, biology and biochemistry. So even there he's a better fit for Kraang Prime that Donnie.

Second, remember that 4 (?) pages comic where we see Prime completely possessing Leo and explaining that Leo can't hear them coz in a dream world etc. It made me thought, what if Raph tried to mind meld Leo right then and there in an attempt to reach out to him. Except it doesn't reach Leo of course coz he's in too deep but it does reach Kraang Prime who's in front... And what if Kraang Prime decided to let it happen ? So Raph just mind meld with it for a few seconds ? Wouldn't that be fuck up or what ? (oh and Prime would be a bastard about it too commenting things like "oh~ it tingle", "You wish to enter right ? Very well I'll allow it")

Ans I know this one won't happen officially in the story (coz if so they would realize Leo's touch aversion wayyyy before Leo himself told them) but if the Fam does enter Leo's Dream World, imagine if Prime, that sick bastard, go "visit" Leo at the same time. I already had that idea as soon as I read about the Dream World but it got back full force when I read how Prime was really "touchy" with Leo, making him uncomfortable. There isn't 1 person in this massive family that wouldn't snap seeing this and I would be here for it.

(In fact, if you're still taking art suggestion, I think that it would be very cool if you could draw the moment where Kraang Prime is there "greeting" the Bros in the Dream World while having his hands on a Leo that is frozen in discomfort while the Bros are also frozen but in shock and stupor because they are still processing what they are seeing. Only if you want of course 👉👈 👀)

another long folks strap in!!

also hii @louve-garoue !!

1.) the answer on why Prime needs a Host: it's honestly easier commanding armies when you have a physical body to help you do that, yknow??

2.) yep! when there's an entire race of aliens who's tech is biorganical, it makes sense taking control of someone who knows how the body works in every aspect. also, to Prime, Donnie is just a smarter than everage baby sooooo

3.) shoot! i legit forgot about mind melding when i made that!! but i'm gonna have to disagree with you; the mind meld trick wouldn't reach Leo at all, and Prime isn't going to let anyone in to try and talk to Leo and help break him out. they'd be a huge dick to Raph about that and flaunt it ("awww, our former brute can't reach the Host~, how...tragic")

4.) ooooooooooo, that's gooood!!! it won't happen in the story "canon"-wise like you said, but it is still a good prompt (maybe i'll write it one day, who knows..). Prime just....forcibly and creepily touching Leo while the fam watches and they can't do anything about it and it pisses them off something good is just *chef's kiss*

for the drawing request, here's Prime playing with Leo's mask tails (pretend that they're looking at the fam while they do this, it was three in the morning when i finished and i straight up conked out)