#does Echo have a last name?

[lunagames]

I need to gush about this Devil’s Candy side character

Okay. So, Devil’s candy is a webcomic on hiveworks. It’s about a world of devil’s which is a shorthand for basically aything mythologically monstrous (also generally humanoid) here. It’s also about a boy imp who’s biological project is a person. It’s good. This post is not specifically about why this comic is good.

This post IS about Echo! A sidecharacter, first appearing in an intermission chapter (that’s chapter 9, 8 being the end to a big arc). This is her.

She’s a longlimbed wolf creature with starlight in her hair. She looks incredibly cool. But what I love most about her is her framing.

ALLOW ME TO EXPLAIN! This will take a while.

Like I said we’re in a world of monsters. Our main characters are also monsters. However our main characters are, comparitively, weak. An imp, a fish guy with half skin invisble (you’ll see), a satyr that looks a lot cooler than he is and a vampire that limits his blooddrinking and through that his power. The strongest people in our squad so far are a cyclops girl and the biology project.

What’s important is 1) the fish/invisble skin guy called Nemo is not strong and 2) the intermission chapter is his chapter. Out of his perspective.

Got it? Great enough preamble. Back to Echo. This is her introduction:

Monstrous. And then you have the next page, that I already showed and you see a dapper young lady. And you’re like: Okay author. You got me. You got me thinking this was the big bad wolf.

But see, they did get you.

Nemo is as surprised as you are that she’s suddenly in his bathroom, but he shakes it off pretty quick and they have an amicable exchange. He needs to go to her house, because his dad pushes of PI work on him or something. Unimportant. The important thing is this happens:

And you’re like Oh does he have a little crush? So far in the comic Nemo (and yes, that is him, see through until water remember) has never really looked shy or flustered like this. And we’ve seen him pretty often.

And then she says: “You’ve got me thinking of frog legs... And I say that in the fondest way.“ And he reacts like this:

And you’re like wait. Is he afraid of her? Does he think she’ll eat him? Is that why he’s so uncharacteristically shy? And...

Yeah. She’s a big wolf and he’s a small fish. He may not run away at sight. But maybe his screaming and suddenly falling on the floor upon her suddenly appearing wasn’t only about the suddeness.

Anyway, they get to her house, she introduces him to her friends, the school’s literature club, they go into the office, they find a decapitated head.

Everyone’s terrified. Except... no. Only Nemo is terrifed. The others are pretending. And Nemo notices.

He thinks they’re gonna eat him and they’re not doing super much to reassure him that they won’t. Echo specifically.

She’s always shown from so low. It makes sense. Nemo is small and she is hella tall. But there’s more to it, it’s not that they’re always shown side by side and Nemo is a dwarf. She’s towering over him. She leans over him, closely even as it unnerves him. Often she’s just a silhouette of starlight, a monster you’re too scared to even look at directly. Whenever she’s in focus, so are her claws. So are her teeth.

Anyway, he figures out part of it all, specifically the part where they are all duping him.

He runs.

And Echo pursues.

And let me tell you, she certainly looks like the big bad wolf.

Her shape is beastly, she moves not only faster but in a way where she seems to not be bound to space. She catches him with one claw that covers his entire upper body.

She breathes starlight and tells him that he can’t run away. He has to make it to the end of the story.

And then Nemo hits you with this out of nowhere:

Which frankly slots in more with what’s cool about this comic than just Echo, so uh, topic of another post.

Anyway, look at Echo again. A scary silhouette. And when she’s not her teeth come out. Her eyes are only shown when it would be scary.

Anyway, she’s a good person. Her father and Nemo’s dad set this up as a birthday gift for her (she enjoys mystery novels). She saves our protagonists in a later chapter in a really cool way, where again she seems to be the only one (beside the attacking villain) not entirely bound to space and time.

And this is such a long explanation to say... this is new to me. I have never seen a female character, human/monster/demon/angel or whatever, shown like this. When a female character terrifies a male main character there’s always something else about it. Sometimes it’s comedic, a cute girl that has a scary look in her face or something. Usually it’s seductive, a woman dominatrix kind, whose actions are more about turning on the reader than the male character in question.

Echo has none of that. She’s an elegant character, who doesn’t so much switch into a beastly mode as much as you think she already is one all the time. She’s framed as someone who has the potential to always be terrifying. At any moment, though it wouldn’t be a snap-decision for her. And she doesn’t do much to dispel the notion, no over the top apologies about scaring anyone and it almost looks like she enjoys the occasional scaring. When Nemo asks her if she eats frogs, she says “Not the cute ones” and at the end when he asks whether ‘really‘ no one is going to be eaten she says “Only if you want to.“

But it’s very much the framing. She doesn’t say a lot of threatening things, but the few things she does say is lingered on. And since it’s all out of Nemo’s perspective and he is, of all our protagonist, the one with the most functional  self-preservation instinct, we see her as very much dangerous.

In conclusion: I love her! She’s great. I stan. etc. etc.

Side-note: not sure if the comic is going for them as a pairing. Like I said, she’s very much a side-character and there are other side-characters that appear more and also I guess Nemo has comparitively the most possible romantic interests mentioned (he already made out with someone in chapter 1 technically), but I mean if this dynamic was gender-switched it would be very much like vampire romance stories, wouldn’t it? The Male Lead being somewhat scary even to the main character, even though he wouldn’t actually hurt her? I kinda like them. Unless proven otherwise, I am interpreting Nemo as being a little bit into her, if also still quite a bit terrified.

[linkspooky]

Hey, I loveyour post and I 100% agree with everything you said, and you are so smart for saying it. I've been thinking about this duel for a long time too, and was considering making a post about it so I hope you don't mind if I jump onto your post and share my own thoughts on the duel and these four characters.

If I'm being annoying feel free to ignore me, otherwise more thoughts on Judai / Yubel and Amon / Echo underneath the cut.

Thank you for this post. There are so few people in this fandom who are willing to discuss Amon beyond a level of "I hate that guy" even though he's one of my favorite characters to think about.

You're right in that trying to draw a diagram in how these four characters overlap creates a very weird shape even though the narrative is setting up both duos (Judai/Yubel and Amon/Echo) as intentional parallels.

The angle I like to take when thinking about it (because 149 / 150 is in my top five duels of all time in Yu-Gi-Oh) is why exactly is Yubel so interested in tearing down Amon?

Yubel's entire motivations are Judai-centric. Other people are either stepping stones to advance their plan to get to Judai, used and then disposed of (Professor Cobra, Marcel Bonaparte) or tools to use to make Judai suffer (Manjoume, Asuka, Kenzan, Fubuki, Ryo, etc...).

For the former Yubel doesn't even care about who they are, just how they can use them to either restore themselves or move towards their objective. As for the latter Yubel only cares about them because they're connected to Judai, they're a way to make Judai suffer. I doubt Yubel even knows their names, they probably mentally refer to them as (Ojama Guy, Girl, Hawaiin Shirt, Sheer Heart Attack). Yubel doesn't even know Sho's name, and only mentions them once in the last duel as a way to dig at Judai (If you lose I'm gonna send uh, what's his name, that guy over there to another dimmension).

The only one Yubel even acknowledges as a personal rival is Johan. Even then it's just because Johan is a rival for Judai's affections. They even personally ask if Judai gave all the love they once promisedto them to Johan now. Arguably, Yubel and Johan are character foils so Yubel might have projection reasons for disliking Johan as well but for the most part it's still all about Judai. For example as much as Yubel toys with Johan and stole their body, it all happens offscreen we never see any personal confrontation between Yubel and Johan. It's about what Johan represents, not about who he is personally.

Amon is the only character that Yubel feels a need to tear down personally. You could say part of what Yubel said in their final duel was just mindgames to shake his confidence, but Yubel spends a long amount of time onscreen personally dedicated to building up and tearing down someone who they only considered to be "emergency rations" to snack on in between their fight with Ryo and Judai.

The answer for me is well as you stated above for meta reasons they're deliberate character foils, but for in-story reasons it's a case of psychological projection.

As you so well put it, Yubel is well-defined enough that even just watching the duel with Ryo you can understand their views on love whereas Amon remains an inscrutable mystery.

However, I think 149/150 is absolutely necessary for understanding Yubel's character because while they are trying to tear down Amon they also spend the entire time explaining their motivations and worldviews. Amon has been established since his first duel to be inscrutable like the clouds themselves

Manjoume: So why is he so calm? Manjoume: He's almost like a cloud. I can't see his duel. What is he hiding in that cloud? -Episode 111

Whereas Amon himself describes clouds as something that can take any form or shape ad is constantly changing.

Amon: Manjome, have you ever gazed at the clouds in the sky? Manjoume: What? Amon: Have you ever watched them, in their constantly changing, infinite variety? -Episode 112

What are clouds but things you stare at and try to imagine the shape of? Everyone sees the clouds to be a different shape, because you're projecting your own views onto the clouds. Two different people can look at the clouds and one will say "I see a kitty cat" and one will say "I see a bunny rabbit" and neither is correct but you could surmise one likes cats and the other likes bunny rabbits.

Yubel is staring into Amon like a cloud-gazer seeing whatever shape they wish, at times they see Judai, at times they see themselves. Both of which invite an interesting comparison. The most common definition of projection is the freudian one, it's a psychological defense mechanism in which a person consciously, or unconsciously attributes their own thoughts and feelings which they can't accept onto another person or group. Simply put, it's a form of denial. As you put so wonderfully above in the fandom perception of Yubel.

Still, from what I've seen most people agree that Yubel comes across as more "honest" one way or another [...] Upon their return to Earth, they planned to return the "favor" [...] Everything they do is in the name of this motive*, whether Judai really likes it or not.

What makes Yubel so compelling is that they are open and upfront about what they want, and it's love not revenge. Understanding Yubel means bending yourself to think on their definition of love, and accepting they honest-to-god believe that what they're doing is an expression of love - or at least it's what they've convinced themselves of to cope.

Yubel to further convince themselves that what they've received from Judai, and what they're doing to Judai is love (and further sink into denial) needs to then project their relationship with Judai onto Amon and Echo's relationship.

I think all the ways in which these four characters align make Yubel deeply uncomfortable, because they need to believe certain things in order to keep going. This is in part why they so ruthlessly tear apart Amon because they are in fact projecting their own insecurities and doubts about their stated beliefs / coping mechanisms onto Amon.

Judai: Real love is wide enough, large enough, and deep enough to fill the universe. Your so-called love is only a conceited delusion! Yubel: A delusion? [...] Yubel: Was I not supposed to be deluded? I couldn't have lived with the heartache unless I felt that I was being loved... and yet, they stole my love away from you, Judai.

Yubel's stated delusion is a delusion but one they must believe deep down to their bones in order to cope otherwise they can't go on. Which is why they can't stand to look at Amon because he embodies many of the same contradictions they do.

You Can't Kill Your Own God- [Yubel / Amon]

I'm going to pull from something Matt Mercer voice actor of Vincent Valentine in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth used in describing Sephiroth, because while it is an entirely different character it applies in the way Yubel sees Adrian.

"He was made into a monster not of his own choice, and it was the realization that he essentially had no path but to become a monster that broke him and forced him to embrace that. You can't wait to see how much of that thread he pulls from cloud, how much he attempts to unravel and kind of lead him down a similar path."

Which describes Yubel wonderfully because they are subjected to torture they had no control over, and then try to lead both Judai and Amon down similiar paths. Yubel wants to pull the string to unravel Amon from their first interaction. Everything that Yubel says in those interactions can be applied to Yubel in a way.

Yubel: After leaving the facility you were taken in, as heir to the world-renowned Garam Conglomerate. You worked your fingers to the bone, to meet the expectations of the parents who gave you your chance. To become someone worthy to lead the Garam corporation. However... Your parent's hearts moved away from you. They took you in, to carry on the Garam Conglomerate. But what are you to them now?

Yubel is also someone who number one gave everything of themselves for the sake of someone else, Amon gives everything to the Garam corporation and by extension Sid his brother. Yubel gives everything to the Judai including their very own body. They are both people who would be nothing without the ones they selflessly devote themselves to, because who would Yubel be without Judai, and who by extension would Amon be if the Garams never took him in?

Amon: That day I made up my mind. I would give everything I had, to live for the Garam Conglomerate and my little brother. Yubel: But is that really true? Is that how you really feel?

At this point both Amon and Yubel define themselves as basically servants who live to protect a chosen prince, in Amon's case the natural born heir of the Garam Corporation, in Yubel's case Prince Judai past and present. Amon is disgusted by the desire that rose up within himself to kill his brother to gain his parent's affection back for himself and swears to ignore all his own feelings to devote himself to protect his brother.

Both Amon and Yubel define themselves from this role, and cannot deviate from the role. Amon's entire reason for wanting to escape into another world is because in this world he won't go back on his word in this world he'll always be a servant to his brother.

That's also exactly the string that Yubel chooses to pull at in their second confrontation.

Yubel: I know that your true desires are churning behind that perfect will of yours. That godlike iron will. Your true self is within it, awaiting all this time. I can see it all this time. [...] Yubel: In order to fulfill your true desires,you must kill your god your very own will. However, you cannot cause the death of a god, because that is the role of a devil.

These words also apply to Yubel. Yubel possesses an iron-will to match Adrian's and then some. Consider everything Yubel's been through, years of torutre all alone into space, burning up entirely upon re-entry to the point they were just an arm, enacting a scheme to restore their entire body, and when Johan temporarily defeats them enacting yet another scheme to lure Judai into their dimmension. One of Yubel's main defining qualities is their sheer persistance it's how they define themselves, they can endure any pain and cause just as much damage back. Even in a duel if you kill Yubel, it just comes back in a stronger form. The light doesn't corrupt people, it straight up possesses them but unlike Saiou Yubel remains Yubel.

It's also their insane willpower that traps them in a way. Judai asks why Yubel didn't just take revenge against him and the answer is simply they can't. The same way they Amon who's capable of a lot of twisted things and even admits to his murderous desires cannot bring himself to kill his brother. Yubel cannot kill Judai, because they cannot kill their own god.

This is however, where you brilliantly point out their paths diverge.

Amon dedicated himself to the Garam conglomerate with Echo by his side before being replaced by his younger brother Sid, the sole blood Garam sibling. He nearly murdered Sid before changing his mind and dedicating himself wholly to his brother instead, a decision Echo and Yubel both describe as willingly chaining himself to their service. Even when given an opportunity to become the heir (all it'd take is watching his brother die to illness, not even murder) he rejects it, and begs for a way to save him. And yet, when when given the opportunity he made a deal with the devil to break the chains he put on himself and abandon that same family. Then when he gets the chance to obtain power by sacrificing someone he loves, he does exactly that.

Yubel stays true to their appointed role as defender of Judai at least in their own headspace, whereas Amon betrays not only the Garam Corporation but Echo in the end for the chance to be king.

Yubel cannot kill their own god.

Yubel: To reduce the damage you take to 0, you plan to sacrifice your monster? To sacrifice even Rainbow Neos? That is the supreme king for you. Judai: How many times does this make? That you've missed a clear and decisive change to beat me, Yubel?

This is said in E155, when Yubel has abandoned the "I'll make fuse all twelve dimmensions and fill them with my love" strategy in favor of the "I'll just destroy everything strategy" but even then, Judai calls it out as an empty threat Yubel can't bring themselves to follow through on.

So, why did Yubel push Amon down a path they themselves would never go down?

I think it's because Amon represents a fear / insecurity that Yubel does not want to admit to. Namely that, it's not just their love that prevents them from killing Judai, it's the fact that they are nothing without Judai.

Yubel not only parallels Amon in selfless devotion, but also in their circumstances. The first backstory piece we learn about Amon is this:

Amon: You faced setbacks from the crowd, acquired your complex, and felt your face on the ground, right? Setabacks that made you crawl on the ground, and this complex that you feel... That's the prattle of a spoiled rich kid. Humans who have truly plummeted to the depths, abandoned by their parents and ignored by society. Those who are destined to die shortly after birth... All they can do is stare at the clouds in the sky, and wait for death. That day all I could do was sit on a hill, and wait for the moment of my death. Back then, if the Garam Conglomerate's leader, now my adoptive father had not been passing by I would have died.

Yubel similarly faced a situation where they were abandoned by all the world, completely helpless to do anything about it, and the only thing that saved them was sheer luck. If Amon's adoptive father had not found him, and if Professor Cobra had not found Yubel, they both would have just died.

Yubel: It's hot... It hurts. I am in pain. Why? You know how much I love you. Why did you do this to me, Judai? In that moment I realized, that was how you showed love. Because you loved me, you hurt me and made me suffer. Because you see, the entire time I suffered. I never once forgot you.

This narration plays over a monologue of Yubel nearly burning up on re-entry, reduced to just an arm crawling on the ground, and being saved by the pure chance of Professor Cobra stumbling upon them.

The reality of that Yubel doesn't want to admit is that there was a chance Yubel could have just died there all alone and forgotten.

Amon could have just starved to death in the desert and no one would have mourned them. After his brother is born, the years which Amon devoted to his family meant nothing and Amon could have died because his replacement was already there.

It's a bitter reality, and also existentially terrifying for Amon and Yubel. Judai can go on living without Yubel, but Yubel cannot live without them.

This is where both Amon and Yubel's image as a perfectly selfless servant breaks. Where it was always going to break, because that level of selfless devotion just can't exist in reality. It almost seems inevitable, the way they switch from someone selflessly devoting themselves to others, to someone selfishly hurting the ones they love to impose their own selfish desires on them. For Amon it's a selfish desire for power that's more important than Echo's own feelings of love for him.

However, for Yubel it's an equally selfish desire to be loved for Judai. They want to claim all of Judai's love for themselves and feel entitled to it like it's a payment for their services rendered (though Judai did promise it to them). Even in the flashback, Yubel originally states they don't mind giving up their body as long as they can protect Judai, and yet far, far into the future they clearly expect their love and selfless devotion to be paid with love in return.

If they don't feel they're being given that love, they'll get angry and try to take that love, and even attack people who they perceive as threats to that love. They demand that the love they showed Judai be equally paid back in return.

Equals in Pain [Amon / Judai]

Again as you brilliantly pointed out, Yubel's all about sharing pain.

Yubel, the harm is the goal - or at least, the metric by which they will have achieved their goal (showing their love for Judai). Yubel, of course, claims that Amon is more selfish in his use of harm. Pain is love in their philosophy, but it's mutual pain - dishing out the pain without taking any back would only be mere cruelty.

Yubel and Amon may both subject the person they love to pain, but Yubel desires their suffering to be equal, whereas Amon is content to sacrifice Echo to become king, with the caveat that he'll always remember her. As you smartly pointed out again.

Then when he gets the chance to obtain power by sacrificing someone he loves, he does exactly that. Then he plans to become king of a utopia free of suffering, and always remember Echo.

This is where they diverge. However, it is where Amon aligns with what Yubel's perception of Judai is. Yubel's desire is for them and Judai to be equals, but in reality they are much like Amon and Echo, servant and King. In fact the way Yubel entices and lures Amon into the world where he can be king, and to take the power of Exodia to be king mirrors the way that Yubel pushes Judai down the path of becoming Supreme King. Including a scenario where both Amon and Judai sacrifice others for power (pointed out by you again)., Amon sacrificing Echo for Exodia, and Judai sacrificing random civilians in order to complete Super Polyermization. While the sacrifice of Judai's friends was Yubel's plan and something they were forced to do, in the aftermath the decision to complete Super Polyermization was all Judai and something Judai takes responsibility for - because he decides to take responsibility for all the Supreme King's actions.

Yubel when speaking of Judai frames them as someone different to the Judai that we all know. Judai must be someone who enjoys causing harm to the people they love, who shows their love by abandoning Yubel in space and forcing them to endure torture. Judai must be someone who enjoys hurting their friends, who takes pleasure when dueling Yubel in Johan's body because it gives him the opportunity to hurt Johan as well.

They attempt to then paint Amon's actions in the same light, because they see a lot of Judai in Amon, someone who is more transparently cruel and ruthless in his objectives.

Yubel: Hurting the precious friend that you're risking your life to try and take back. That s what makes you my beloved, Yuki Judai.

EPISODE 151

Yubel: Say, my king, tell me this. Are you able to just forget that you've killed the one you love like an insect? The darkness in your heart... The darkness of a king. I want to know what lies in that darkness, you have in your heart.

EPISODE 150.

Not only does Yubel draw this direct comparison between Judai and Amon, people who are capable of hurting and then forgetting about the people they love - Yubel is frustrated to find when looking deep inside Amon's heart that he's not a tyrannical king that Yubel has framed him as but rather someone who wants to build a utopia. The contradiction that Amon can heartlessly sacrifice Echo, but also want to build a world that's good isn't something Yubel can comprehend.

The same way that Yubel can't comprehend the way that Judai never lifted a finger to save them when they were out in space, and when they returned still don't make any real efforts to reach out - but at the same time Judai will cross dimensions to save Johan.

Yubel frames both Amon and Judai as ruthless kings, because it speaks of a fundamental inequality in the relationship between Yubel / Judai and between Echo / Amon. The fact that Amon can claim to return Echo's love, but at the same time he's allowed to move on and say "I'll always remember her" while Echo is dead. Amon is the king, and Echo is the servant, and ultimately even if Amon does acknowledge his love for her she will always be second to him.

The inequality in their relationship is what Yubel picks at like a scab over the course of their entire duel.

Yubel: I get it now... You weren't in love with Echo. NO... You may have loved her just enough to clear the conditions in place for you control Exodia.... but then, you didn't truly love each other. Yubel: You were unfairly hurting her, while you would stay unharmed... You wouldn't suffer... You wouldn't be in pain... Amon: Stop beating around the bush. What are you getting at? Yubel: I've been hurt! I've suffered! I've been in pain! And that's why I'm having Judai go through the same things I did! Don't you think that's what it means for two people to love each other?

While Judai isn't as blatantly cruel to Yubel as Amon is to Echo, he is arguably as cold, especially towards their suffering.

As stated above Yubel can't cope with the reality that they might have died alone and forgotten after having been abandoned. They frame things that it must all have been a secret test from Judai, to show make them stronger with the end goal that eventually Yubel would crawl their way back to them.

They can't live with the reality that Judai was living their life perfectly content without them, and that if Yubel had died there they would have just continued living on having forgotten them.

A fear that is reinforced by the way Judai treats Yubel the entire time, not as a friend lost to the dark side they want to get back, but just a mess they need to clean up. For the longest time Judai's behavior even seems to indicate that he would have preferred if Yubel had simply died there, rather than survive and come back to the twisted way they are now.

Yubel's survival sure is an inconveneience to Judai.

Judai isn't entirely unempathic towards Yubel, but Amon isn't entirely selfish and cold to Echo, he does acknowledge that he loves her, that he'll carry the memory of her sacrifice with her forever. How nice for him.

It's still a case of Amon's feelings coming first. Judai's guilt and self-pity towards what happened to Yubel, and also their feelings of responsibility for the harm that Yubel went to cause all of their friends takes precedence over Yubel's feelings of being horribly tortured.

Judai's claims that he feels sorry for Yubel and doesn't want to fight them seem to be mere lipservice, considering their actions seem to passive aggressively imply that it sure is a gosh darned inconvenience that Yubel survived and went on to cause trouble for Judai and all of his friends.

That is still cold to Yubel and the pain they went through, and yeah Judai's not obligated to save Yubel, he's not obligated to empathize with someone who's torturing all their friends, and suffering doesn't give permission for Yubel to do whatever they want.

Yet, the entire point of Judai's arc in season 3 is how his self-centeredness, his disregard for other's feelings can be extremely harmful even if it's not his intent - launching Yubel into space got them tortured, refusing to listen to his friends in the other dimmension and abandoning them to look for Johan gets them turned into human sacrifices.

There's also the symbolism to Echo's name. The word Narcissism comes from the story of Echo and Narcissus, from Ovid's metamorphosis. A story where Echo falls in love with Narcissus only to be spurned by him. Her love for him only grows with his rejection, so she prays to Nemesis to punish Narcissus with a love that was equally not reciprocated, causing Narcissus to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool of water.

Yubel points out the selfishness of Amon's love, does he love Echo or does he love the fact that Echo is completely devoted to him and what she can do for him? He loves her just enough that Exodia considered a sacrfiice, but he doesn't love her enough to share in her suffering.

Yet she's similiarly frustrated by Judai's inability to regard their feelings, that Judai thinks of themself first.

Yubel frames this coldness towards their suffering as something they love about Judai, but it's clearly just them high on COPE.

Yubel: You are overjoyed, aren't you? To truly hurt the one you love. But if that's what you wanted, why couldn't you get this serious before even against me? Why won't you say anything? Don't you have anything to say to me? Hey, Judai... How cold. How cold your eyes are... In that case I'll have to make you understand!

Judai is cold to Yubel's suffering, and yes Yubel hurt all of their friends, but it's not just about that. There's a very deliberate parallel between season 2's climax and Season 3's, because Season 3 is really good at incorporating callbacks and building off the first two seasons.

The way Edo treats Saiou after he's taken by the light is completely opposite from the way that Judai treats Yubel. In both cases they are childhood friends (Echo is Amon's childhood friend too) where one childhood friend has lost their way and been corrupted by the light.

Edo also spends a season unsure of what to do about Saiou and lost and hurt because they can't understand the change that's taken place within Saiou, but their attitude towards the final duel is completely opposite.

Edo: At dad's funeral, the first time I met you, I felt warmth. The same warmth I felt from my cards. I would be happy to be one fo your cards. I'll believe in you to the very end. You told me I was the one who could change your destiny of destruction. If so I will save you from destruction.

In a completely opposite scenario where Saio is even insisting that he doesn't deserve Edo's friendship, and Edo should just give up on him Edo is unwavering in his desire to save Saiou. Something which he puts above both the safety of the world, and the past harm he has caused others.

Edo uses the metaphor of the umbrella, that Saiou is someone who appeared to him on the day of his father's funeral and offered him companionship and shelter from the rain when he was all alone in the world and Edo now wants to be the one to hold the umbrella over his head, stand underneath it together and rescue it from the rain.

Compare this to Judai, who throws it in Yubel's face that while Yubel was suffering all alone, Judai was making friends and allies and that Yubel is still all alone in the world.

Judai: While you took in the wave Wave of Light, sunk into Evil and burned with your thoughts of revenge alone... I made a lot of friends. [...] Judai: We can't protect what matters to us just by being kind. I'm prepared to fight for the friends I love until the end... even if it means becoming a demon a deivl. I realized just now that willingness itself is power, and someone like you with no bonds or allies cannot possibly win.

Again Judai's not obligated to save Yubel, but Jim and O'brien werent obligated to die saving Judai either, and they sure did do that.

Yet, Judai's very quick to consider putting down Yubel like a mad dog after all they've suffered if it means they can have their friends back and they can go back to their normal life. If it means getting what they want.

Sure what they want is a good thing, but Amon also ultimately considered Echo expendable for what in their mind was noble-hearted goal. Which means they share they same contradiction, Judai will do anything and become a demon to protect their friends, will cross dimmensions to save Johan, but then give up on Yubel all too easily.

Yubel pretends they can accept that's just how Judai shows his love, but then they go out of their way to miserably tear apart Amon for doing the exact same thing to Echo - because Yubel can't kill Judai but they can use Amon as a punching bag and substitute for the things they're angry about Judai for.

They consider it their personal mission to set things square between Amon and Echo and take personal delight in balancing the scales.

The Loving Defender Forever- Yubel / Echo

As you state above Echo and Yubel never interact, and Yubel mainly uses Echo as a way of toying with Amon. However, I thnk Echo and the way she was treated by Amon represents another subconscious fear of Yubel's that causes them to project themselves all over Amon and Echo's relationship.

To show what I mean - a lot of people compare Yubel to Ai especially in the way they both undergo an arc where they kill half of the protagonist's friends. However, I'd argue that Yubel and Ai are different in one critical aspect.

Ai's final reveal about his motivation shows that he did what he did after running a simulation that convinced him with absolute certainty that in the future, Yusaku would sacrifice himself trying to protect Ai. Rather than let that future come to pass Ai would rather die by Ysuaku's own hands.

This is something Yubel would never ever do.

Like yes, they'd probably take a bullet for Judai and jump right in front of them if Judai were about to die. However, they wouldn't willingly sacrifice themselves for a future where Judai keeps living happily without them. In fact it's the fact that Judai was living just fine having forgotten them and made new friends while Yubel was alone suffering in space that was their breaking point.

They wouldn't accept a future where Judai and them couldn't be together, they'd literally rather have both of them die together so Yubel could claim all of Judai's love for themselves rather than having Judai be able to keep on living without them.

Yubel even attempts to do so when pushed to their limit. The double suicide option is better than Judai happily living on without them.

Yubel: Hahahahaaha! [Evil laughter] It's over! And by ending everything, I claim all your love for myself, for eternity.

Yubel would never let Judai kill them, if it meant Judai living safe and happily without them laying down their life in the way Ai did. SImiliarly, Yubel would sacrifice themselves and endure horrible surgery to become a dragon to protect Judai, they may even take a bullet for Judai in different circumtances, but they would never sacrifice themselves in the manner that Echo did in order to give Amon power - because Yubel wants to be together with Judai that takes precendence over everything else.

That, and Yubel can't cope with any reality where they might be considered expendable to Judai, or their sacrifices and love might not be appreciated or returned. They have to believe their sacrifice meant something, that the love they returned will be shown in full.

Again, this is the thread they pull during the final duel with Amon. What's the point of Echo's sacrifice or Amon becoming king, if it means Amon now has to live in a world without Echo, or Echo can't be by the side of the person she loves to watch him be king.

Yubel: I'm so glad. You'll get your wish... But who will be happy for you? Who would have been the happiest to see you live how you were meant to. WOuldn't that be the woman you loved, Echo? Yubel: But you kiled her. You will never be able to see her happy. Isn't that strange? Yubel: I wouldn't be able to take it. A world without the one I love... it is because I have judai, that I can feel pain, anguish, and even Joy!

Yubel can't fathom that Echo is selfless enough to sacrifice themselves in an unequal way - that she can be content knowing Amon will live on happy in a world without her. The way Yubel sees love, you cannot be happy in a world without the person you love.

As you so smartly and sexily stated Yubel and Echo are similiar in that they give up everything for the person they love - that they are the followers and servant in their relationship.

But I think there's another parallel between the two that's a lot more interesting. Or...most of a parallel. Namely, their relationship with their other halves and the responsibility of a loyal follower who would give up anything for you, be it their life or their humanity.

Yet, even if Yubel is willing to give up a lot for Judai, and sees themselves as someone selflessly sacrificing themselves in the name of Judai they can't take it as far as Echo did. Even when offering to get dragon surgery, Yubel was still staying by Judai's side as their protector.

Yubel can't really fathom the level of selflessness Echo displays, because their own desires to be Judai's side eventually cross over into selfish entitlement and making demands of Judai. So, they paint Echo as someone who was used and thrown away, stomped on like a bug, instead of someone who consented to making that sacrifice for Amon.

It's what they harp on again and again in order to get to Amon, but I also think it reflects a subconscious fear in Yubel themselves that their sacrifices might have meant nothing to Judai.

Yubel: You prepared another strategy, just in case Exodia were to be sealed. You don't miss a tick. Yes, yes.. That is why you are king. That's how a king conducts himself. [...] But then, why did Echo have to die? Wasn't it a pointless death?

Yubel doesn't state so directly, but you could infer they might even pity Echo as someone who made a sacrifice for someone unworthy of their loved, someone who in the end was only using them as they do their best to tear down everything about Amon and Echo's relationship and make Amon into a heartless king.

And, again when they find out Amon can be pure of heart and also at the same time sacrifice Echo, they throw a tantrum about it because it doesn't align with their reality. Amon can't have cared about Echo if he was willing to sacrifice her, if he can live without her. Echo's sacrifice must have been pointless if she can't be alongside the man she loves.

Yubel: I'm disappointed. What kind of world is that? I wouldn't want to live in such a world. The world is a place that you make alongside the one you love. What Judai and I make together... That will be the world. You should have made it with the one you loved too. A world with just the two of you. You could have made a world far more wonderful than the pie-in-the-sky promises of an empty king. [...] This is such a pointless duel.

Yubel's looking for darkness in Amon and Echo's relationship, because they are repressing hard their own resentments towards Judai, especially for how unequal things are between the two of them and all the sacrifice is on their part.

Echo also presents an image of what selfless sacrifice looks like and it's not pleasant, taking all the suffering on yourself for the one you love is just that - it's suffering no matter how noble minded.

Yubel actually can't suffer all alone, and they can't be the perfect selfless protector they frame themselves as and no one can. Which is why they're also searching so hard for darkness in Amon and Echo's relationship and they find it in Echo.

How can Echo accept Amon's willingness to sacrifice her and use her as a dispoable pawn for a greater goal without getting angry, and the answer is she doesn't. She just points her anger at someone else.

Yubel: Is this... darkness? The woman... even in death, the darkness of the woman trying to protect the man she loves. The desire to kill me. This is the darkness I've been waiting for!

Isn't Yubel just tickled to discover the darkness in Echo's heart, because it confirms what they thought -that the kind of selfless sacrifice Echo performed for Amon doesn't exist.

That Echo does feel anger, hurt, and darkness, she just doesn't point it at Amon, rather it manifests in a violent overprotectiveness towards anyone who gets near him. Which still seems selfless, but doesn't that mirror the way Yubel claims a lot of their actions, violent, murderous rage pointed at all of Judai's friends are done for Judai's sake, for protecting them as well?

Yubel and Echo both unable to bring themselves to hate the man they love, take it out on everybody else instead, and in doing so cling onto their image of the selfless, loving protector.

Yubel: Why the forbidding expression? Judai: If you hated my treatment of you so much, you could have focused your revenge on me. Yubel: Hatred, revenge? what are you talking about? I told you this is something I've worked very hard for in the hopes it would make you happy. Judai: Make me happy?But all my friends were hurt, suffered and disappeared? Yubel: But isn't hat not the nature of love? I wanted to hurt you, to demostrate the depths of my love.

Yubel can go on loving Judai, because one they have made convenient punching bags of all of Judai's friends, and they've lied to themselves that this lashing out is still done in Judai's name.

Echo can go on loving Amon even in death, by lingering as a curse that will kill anyone who dares to harm him.

Finally seeing Echo that way, not as a meaningless sacrifice, not a woman taken advantage of. Echo is an evil woman protecting the man she loves after death, which just so happens to allign with the way Yubel sees themselves.

Now Yubel feels temporarily satisfied, reassured that the things they were worrying about don't exist, that their twisted viewpoint is in fact right and ends the duel.

Of course their viewpoint is deconstructed two duels later. However, when it comes to understanding the way Yubel thinks I think this single duel is the best example, because you can learn a lot about how Yubel thinks, just from analyzing the way they identify with, perceive, and project all over Amon and Echo.

A Trapezoid of Foils: Judai/Yubel and Amon/Echo

I'm back on my bullshit, and my bullshit is yelling about the trashfire that is Judai Yuki and Yubel. This post is a collection of thoughts on how Amon and Echo were clearly meant to reflect Judai and Yubel in some way or other, and how it feels like it should be neater than it is. The parallels are there, but it's not fully symmetrical and some of the angles are kind of weird...so yeah, kind of like a (non-isosceles) trapezoid!

(Geometry Tumblr do not @ me, I'm doing my best with this metaphor)

Spoilers for GX season 3, naturally. I haven't said it before, but for this post as well as previous ones I'm basing all information and characterization on the sub version of GX rather than the dub (which drastically changes Yubel's backstory and motives).

Yubel and Amon

This is the most obvious one, because Yubel spends two whole episodes and honestly some of their most iconic monologues trying to tear Amon down after building him up the whole season.

They're both antagonists willing to cause harm to the one they love for their goals. For Amon, that goal is the power to build a utopia. For Yubel, the harm is the goal - or at least, the metric by which they will have achieved their goal (showing their love for Judai).

Yubel, of course, claims that Amon is more selfish in his use of harm. Pain is love in their philosophy, but it's mutual pain - dishing out the pain without taking any back would only be mere cruelty. This of course misses the nuance that Echo wanted Amon to use her as a sacrifice, while Judai didn't welcome any of Yubel's twisted affections.

Still, from what I've seen most people agree that Yubel comes across as more "honest" one way or another. And to understand why things feel that way, it's important to look at their backstory and motivations, as well as how their motivations change.

Yubel dedicated themself to Judai's past life, tying themself to him through lifetimes, and in the present remained true to that devotion in unwanted ways. When Judai sent them to space and it ended up being Oops! All Torture, Yubel developed their sadomasochistic philosophy as a coping mechanism and an attempt to reconcile Judai's past promises and present actions.

Upon their return to Earth, they planned to return the "favor": by sending Yubel to the pain and isolation of outer space Judai made them stronger (i.e., infected by the Light of Destruction, with all that entails), so they'll give him his own painful experience (all of season 3) to make him stronger (awaken his power as Supreme King). Then they'll reunite, having both demonstrated their love for each other, and [this part is where the Light of Destruction really twists up their thinking]. Everything they do is in the name of this motive*, whether Judai really likes it or not.

Amon dedicated himself to the Garam conglomerate with Echo by his side before being replaced by his younger brother Sid, the sole blood Garam sibling. He nearly murdered Sid before changing his mind and dedicating himself wholly to his brother instead, a decision Echo and Yubel both describe as willingly chaining himself to their service. Even when given an opportunity to become the heir (all it'd take is watching his brother die to illness, not even murder) he rejects it, and begs for a way to save him.

And yet, when when given the opportunity he made a deal with the devil to break the chains he put on himself and abandon that same family. Then when he gets the chance to obtain power by sacrificing someone he loves, he does exactly that. Then he plans to become king of a utopia free of suffering, and always remember Echo.

So then, what are Amon's motives? Is he somebody who got tired of being abandoned or unappreciated? An ends-justify-the-means idealist? Just a power-hungry hypocrite? It's hard to tease out a consistent character and ideology from him. And in a show where people wear their hearts in their decks, I think this part of why people hate him - and so does Yubel.

Yubel hates Johan because he's terrifyingly like Yubel in some ways, focused and protective and dear to Judai.** Yubel hates Amon because he can't be like Yubel at all, resenting the brother he dedicated himself to and sacrificing the person he loved for power in an empty world forever devoid of that same person.

No way Yubel can be that kind of person, right? Otherwise, what was it all for?

* To be fair, you don't know all of Yubel's backstory by the time of their final duel with Amon. However, even removing the context of their past life that duel together with Yubel!Johan vs. Hell Kaiser establishes Yubel's central motivations more coherently than they do Amon's.

** Help, I know there's been other essay segments on this topic, text and video alike. But I saw a lot of them back in early 2023 when I was mindlessly going through GX material in a haze of hyperfixation and now I've forgotten all the other good sources.

Yubel and Echo

If Yubel's parallels with Amon are about their dedication, Yubel's parallels with Echo are about who they're dedicated to. Both believe in their loved one's destiny to become a king, and take actions to make them that king.

Yubel has historical basis in that Judai is quite literally the Supreme King, bearer of the gentle darkness. To help him achieve that role, Yubel enacts a plot to break Judai until he awakens his Supreme King side. It fits neatly into their schema of things: this is how they make the person they love stronger, so that they will thrive and survive. Make Judai stronger and awaken his old power, and all will be as it was meant to be.

Echo just believes that Amon is amazing enough that he would make a better king than anyone. When the chances arises to help break his chains and give him a world to rule, Echo takes it.

...And boy does she.

Both Yubel and Echo believe their loved ones are meant to be a king. Both give their lives in support of their loved one, and become weapons wielded in their service.

No wonder Yubel was shaken by Echo's devotion remaining within Exodia for just a moment - it's not all that far from their own.

Unfortunately Yubel's only direct interaction with Echo is goading her attack on field-Yubel during the final Amon duel. Otherwise they only speak of Echo as someone used and abandoned by Amon - which in itself has potential, given Yubel's own feelings about Judai sending them away.

I think GX could definitely have explored this connection a bit more. There's space to fill here.

Judai and Amon

As noted above, Judai and Amon both have roles as kings - at least, in the eyes of their single most loyal people. Judai holds the title of Supreme King as the wielder of gentle darkness, and while not confirmed his past life sure looked like a prince. Amon simply has ambition, talent, and an ideal world in his mind.

And in operating with the ambition of kings, they both do terrible things to achieve power. Judai lays this out explicitly in the Edo vs. Amon duel:

Amon lets his need for power get in the way of his other relationships and priorities, and sacrifices the ones he loves to obtain Exodia similarly to how Judai sacrificed his friends and eventually uncountable innocents for his own goals - finding Johan, and then ruling as Supreme King. Straightforward, right?

But I think there's another parallel between the two that's a lot more interesting. Or...most of a parallel. Namely, their relationship with their other halves and the responsibility of a loyal follower who would give up anything for you, be it their life or their humanity.

What do you do when the person you love most dedicates their existence to you - to the point of throwing everything else away, even their very life?

Of course, the Judai-Yubel and Amon-Echo situations aren't exactly the same even putting aside the issue of reincarnation. (For the purposes of this essay I'm not making huge distinctions between Judai and his past life, but if you want to get into the details I've written about that previously.)

Yubel went ahead and made their sacrifice without Judai's input, and all he could do was decide how to respond. He chose to dedicate himself back to them so hard it crossed lifetimes, so hard he chose to risk his own existence for them as well in his next life.

Amon, on the other hand, is the one who proposed Echo sacrifice herself for him. Echo agreed to it, and even by the end she stood by her decision. But Amon loaded the gun and pulled the trigger.

He tries to honor her sacrifice, of course. He's always mindful of Echo's sacrifice and what it means. But in the end, he did choose to sacrifice her, ultimately using her as a pawn. Their love never trumped his own objectives.

And I think the example of Amon and Echo leads to the question: if Judai had the choice of letting Yubel become a dragon or stopping them, what would he do? When it was explicitly their will?

This is another missed opportunity, one that could have solidified the parallels neatly. But GX never asks that question, so the answer is unclear. What could have been a parallel is just kind of...askew.

Judai and Echo

Okay, I admit there isn't a lot here off the top of my head. Probably the best parallels between them are in relation to their other halves, as the people "harmed" by their villainous partners, and how they respond to that harm.

Judai rejects Yubel's torments as unwanted attention, until he remembers the past and flips to understanding why Yubel did they did and makes moves to unite the two of them forever. Echo, meanwhile, understands Amon's motives from start to end and...lets herself be sacrificed, the end.

I don't know about this one. Really, ultimately Echo is supposed to be a willing participant in her own sacrifice but in the end I still don't feel like the narrative gave her a strong sense of agency in the matter and it really weakens my attempt to write this section.

In Conclusion

Some of these connections are stronger than others for sure, but I argue that they're all there in some way or another. They're very uneven and overall I'm not entirely sure what you're meant to take from the parallels, and I wish I could give something neat and concise for this section. Instead, it's a bit messy and misshapen - hence, the trapezoid metaphor.

Still, I think there's interesting room for thought in this awkward space. I was certainly thinking about these parallels while working on the latest chapter of Need (accidental last-minute plug?) and trying to figure out exactly what the prince felt while Yubel was in the middle of dragon surgery. What must it be like, to be in these relationships of sacrificial devotion?

[perenlop]

looking at wc excerpts is so exhausting bc ill hear secondhand stuff from the fandom about female characters and their situations and go “wow i kinda hope she interacts with this other female character, i think they’d get along really well” and then i do find excerpts where they interact and they hate each other because the erins will scream and die before letting two grown unrelated female characters have a nice interaction post omen of the stars apparently

[dootznbootz]

Odypen definitely and equivalently adore each other BUT I weirdly can't see them as the type to actually say "I Love you".

They still definitely vocalize their love for each other but it's more so in "My Joy", and "Extraordinary Woman", "Strange Woman/Man", etc. And very cheesy lines (both say some cheesy shit in the Odyssey, and he definitely does in the Iliad as well. "Joy like a drowning sailor seeing land" bit???)

I could see "I adore you" but even then, that's probably during very specific moments but the actual "I love you"??? I just typed it just now for fic shit and... It weirdly just didn't feel right and I don't know why. 😅

Idk maybe it's kind of because I see them as over the top in ways, they love wordplay and riddles and I think they'd almost think "...That's not good enough >:( " about it??? I don't know???😂

[randomsufff]

Legit had a dream where the voice actor for Victor (I think? Or maybe it was the director? Idk someone on the official team) went on a podcast interview and straight up snapped over something and went on a whole rant on how Jayce and Victor were canonically a couple but are doomed lovers and will never be happy. Tumblr and Twitter were going crazy and all the people with that Jayvik pfp were like “vindiCATIONNNN!” but also crashing out.

I’m not even in this fandom- what have these sillies invaded my brain so much 💀

[shokushii]

🌊 amicus' freestyle swimming lesson

[ramblebrambleamble]

"But then I realised that the things that interested me and brought me joy terrified and hurt everyone else."

I always wondered why Durin died in such a relatively good mood but Elynas' words make it make more sense. It's not that Venti's music kinda hypnotised him to make him stop attacking Mondstat; it's that he was just playing the whole time. Unfortunately, his idea of playing terrified and hurt the populace.

It's also interesting that Elynas has the potential to be brought back to life despite being an entire literal pile of bones. But it begs the question of what death is, if it is not a true death. What is it that makes his bones and his being remain, when all the small things we kill turn to dust? Why does Durin's heart still beat? Is Durin the mountain, now? Is the reason Dragonspine is so dangerous that, even now, he does not understand his own strength?

[hawkinslibrary]

It's a shame Kali got deleted completely from ST, she was so cool? I hope they bring her back to S5 but... probably not, since she wasn't even mentioned by Brenner during the Vecna sequence

oh, i agree !! i know that 207 isn't everyone's favorite ep or anything, but it is a very important one and kali is an important character. i'd love to see her and her crew again and get caught up on what's been happening with them. and honestly closing out the series without her would feel super weird to me

i think each season has been louder and louder about how they can't do things all on their own, and that they don't have to, and it would be such a wild decision to not have the only other known person with powers get involved in someway

[septembersghost]

today I'm stuck on how E sings "I've gotta stop myself from whispering your name." (I am going to annoy you with these messages!)

she even 💋 kisses 💋 me like you used to do! and it's just 💔breaking my heart 💔 'cause she's not you...

(you could not annoy me, it's entertaining <3)

[coffee-and-geto]

𝐑𝐄𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐌𝐔𝐓 𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐒 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐉𝐉𝐊 𝐌𝐄𝐍!!

➤ including: satoru gojo, suguru geto, kento nanami, toji fushiguro, choso kamo, ryomen sukuna.

➤ summary: when they found your naughty books and want to reproduce the scenes with you…

➤ warnings: +18 MDNI, smut, nsfw, sex (p in v), thighs riding, cowgirl, oral (f + m), fingering (f!receiving), semi-public sex, edging, office sex, childhood bedroom sex, reverse cowgirl, backshot, creampie, missionary, degradation (whore), marking (m!), overstimulation, dick drunk, riding, teasing, anal (f! receiving), true form! sukuna, hair pulling, fanart by the queen @/yunonoai.

𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐔 𝐆𝐎𝐉𝐎

Satoru furrows his brows and purses his pretty pink lips, deeply focused. “Hmm… Are you sure it’s like this? I think she was in reverse rather than—”

“Toru!”

“What?” He shifts the book that’s hiding his handsome face from your view. Your cheeks are flushed with a warm, yearning desire, your lips swollen from hungry kisses, and your eyes have been tearing up for several minutes because your boyfriend has stopped stimulating you, leaving you craving his touch. He gives you a playful smirk and chuckles. “If you want me, sweetheart, you just have to come and get me.”

“You activated your Infinity!” you whine, trying for the tenth time to reach his pale, soft, bare chest. A barrier that gives you the feeling you’re about to touch him but keeps your fingers from making contact, trapping you in an endless loop where you’ll never touch him.

“That’s your punishment for scolding me for being horny all the time while you’re reading this!” Satoru delights in the desperate look you give him. “And you still dare call me shameless!” He waves the book in front of your nose as you whimper, weakly trying to snatch the book from his hands, but in a feeble, pathetic attempt. But finding that the punishment has lasted long enough, he deactivates his Infinity, and you end up collapsing onto his legs, your breathing ragged, but dying to have him inside you. He bursts out laughing as you climb onto him, though he doesn’t place his hands on your hips like he usually does.

“Toru… Please…” you whisper, moaning softly as you slide his hard, thick cock inside you, your drenched walls greedily swallowing him up.

“Tut-tut.” He shakes his head and lets you adjust to him, leaving you with only the sensation of your pulse throbbing against his delicious length. “You’re gonna fuck yourself stupid on this fat cock of mine, ’kay? Like the good girl that you are.”

A sob escapes your lips as you start to fuck yourself on him, your breasts bouncing slowly and gently under Satoru’s amused, mocking gaze. It’s much more effort than usual, and he doesn’t miss a chance to notice it.

Satoru crosses his arms behind his head on the pillow and laughs heartily. “C’mon baby, ride me like you mean it,” he purrs, your inexperienced thighs gripping the muscles of his hips. “A lot harder when I’m not helping you out, huh?”

Frustrated tears roll down your cheeks, and a pout forms on your lips. You sniffle as you try to bounce on his cock buried far too deep in your tight little cunt — preventing you from going faster.

But maybe he’s had enough too, because his hands grip the flesh of your hips, digging his nails in hard enough to leave definite bruises before bucking his hips into you — causing you to let out a yelp of pleasure as he hits your sweet spot deep inside. “So deep…”

“Deep, huh?” Satoru pulls you into a fast, rough rhythm, his hips slamming into you as you cry out his name, echoing through the room, fucking you in cowgirl just like in your book. “It’ll be like this all night, sweetheart.”

𝐒𝐔𝐆𝐔𝐑𝐔 𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐎

“S-Sugu… Please…”

“Please what, princess?” Suguru murmurs, his nose rubbing against your soaked panties, his tongue licking your swollen folds through the fabric, savoring your intoxicating scent. The tip of his nose gently presses on your swollen clit, causing your hips to buck against his face.

“I can’t take it anymore, please, I need you…” you moan, your trembling arms hugging a pillow tightly to keep yourself from going crazy.

But Suguru’s hands pin your plush thighs against the mattress, obstructing any attempt you make to struggle. “But the scene was just as slow as I’m doing it, darling,” Suguru whispers, his lips pressed against your wet, clothed slit. “I can feel how close you are if I really eat you out.” A chuckle rumbles through his chest before he slowly slides your underwear down your thighs, finally gaining access to your pussy, now openly exposed to him. He whistles at the sight of your fluids, almost like transparent glue forming a delicate web between your already parted lips and your entrance, which opens and closes around nothing.

“I know, Suguru, but please, I need you to do something or— Ah!” you’re cut off as he captures your bundle of nerves between his lips, sucking shamelessly — the wet, slurping sound vibrating against your sensitive flesh. A shiver runs through your body, and you moan uncontrollably as he devours you eagerly — his tongue alternating between licking and sucking your clit, and the tip of his agile, teasing tongue tracing quick circles around your dripping hole.

“Sugu! I’m close… s’close,” you cry out, squirming as gasps leave your lips in sweet sounds that make his dick twitch in his pants.

“Mind if I add a finger?” He glances at your pussy, on the brink of release, lifting his head from between your thighs for just a few seconds. “Or two.”

“No, Sugu— cumming!” you mewl as you immediately cum on his thick fingers, your tight cunt clenching around his gummy walls.

He gasps at the sensation of your tightness and the flow of your fluids trickling down his hand and wrist.

“And what about my cock?”

𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐍𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐈

“Please, darling, anyone could—”

“I know, I know, Ken, just cum for me, will you?” you purr, your tongue swirling around the angry red tip of Kento’s dick, so thick and swollen, threatening to burst and release his seed with every stroke of your fingers or suck from your soft mouth.

Nanami tries to control his breathing, his hands usually occupied by a pen at his desk in his workplace, his perfectly straight nose bent over documents to fill out or sign — but today, he’s a grotesque image of what his employees are used to seeing: cheeks flushed, one hand under his desk, fingers tangled in your hair, and his tie lazily loosened to allow him to breathe.

“Darling, I’m close I can’t—”

“C’mon, baby,” you coo, one of your hands stroking his base while your mouth takes in more of his cock, sucking him properly to make him cum as quickly as possible.

“D-Darling— I—”

You pull his length out of your mouth with a pop, a string of saliva mixed with his precum connecting the tip of his dick to your lips. “You promised to redo the scene, didn’t you? So cum for me, ’kay? It’s perfect if someone catches us because—” But the growl Nanami emits, along with the pulsing of his dick in your fingers wrapped around him, tells you he’s far too close.

You take him back into your mouth, using as much space as he allows, bobbing your head up and down until he sighs your name and spills out in unintelligible words, his balls tightening as he cums in your mouth, painting the inside of your cheeks white — the thick, sticky, warm strands filling you up until your throat has no choice but to swallow everything.

Nanami’s Adam’s apple nervously bobs as he swallows, his eyes lowering to see your disheveled head under his hand, tangled in your hair, and your satisfied expression under his desk.

You gently remove his softened cock from your mouth and kiss the tip. “Thank you, Ken. Another round before your secretary arrives?”

His dick immediately hardens again at your words.

𝐓𝐎𝐉𝐈 𝐅𝐔𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐔𝐑𝐎

“Nuh-uh, doll, don’t make a sound, this is an important call,” Toji whispers, a finger pressed against your trembling lips that threaten to give in at any moment. “That’s what you said you wanted, right?” he chuckles, his lips curling into a smirk as he keeps his dick buried deep inside you, while his other hand holds his phone to his ear.

A few rings later, Toji’s boss picks up, and he continues the call while fucking you at a steady, deep, and unapologetic rhythm. His hips slap against yours, pushing your patience to its limits.

After all, you’re the one who started this, right?

“I want to redo that scene,” you had whined.

And now you have it — Toji taking you in missionary, your legs desperately wrapped around his firm hips, his hand sliding from your lips to your throat, gently squeezing around your neck. He slowly reaches that sweet spot inside you, making your back arch, an involuntary whimper escaping your swollen lips.

He gives you a warning look before fucking you dumb without mercy, continuing his conversation with his boss as if he were at a café, his hips pounding into you relentlessly. “Yes, of course, Shui mentioned my next mission, but I wanted more detailed information.” He licks his upper lip before smirking, his emerald eyes never leaving yours, begging for the call to end. He shakes his head and keeps applying gentle pressure to your throat, threatening to make you let out a gasp of pleasure under the delicious roll of his expert hips inside you.

A white ring forms around the base of his thick, veiny cock just before he notices how tight you’re getting, and he has to control his breathing to avoid sounding strange during the call with his superior. But your cunt, obsessed with him, swallows his shaft with ease, making it even harder to remain impassive. To the point that his boss asks if everything’s alright when Toji lets out a low grunt, his top teeth sinking into his lower lip, making the gesture even hotter thanks to the scar that crosses his mouth.

“No, no, boss, I’ll call you back later, I’ve got a little situation,” he murmurs before abruptly hanging up and tossing his phone aside, grabbing you by the hips in a grip you can’t resist. “See what you’re doing t’me? Huh? You wanted it, now take it all the way, doll.” But your cunt clenches around him, pushing him so deep that you cry out his name, writhing on the bed like a kitten — you’re sure he’s fucking your stomach now.

𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐎 ��𝐀𝐌𝐎

“Baby— I— Please…” Choso babbles, his pretty blood-red eyes rolling back in their sockets from the overstimulation of his cock buried deep in your wet, tight, gummy walls.

The poor thing has no control over the fast and overwhelming pace of the pleasure you’re giving him — the sound of your skin slapping against his with every drop of your hips in your reverse cowgirl position. The idea to fuck your sensitive boyfriend in his childhood bedroom, the one he once shared with Yuji, could only have come from you.

Who would have thought you’d take advantage of a family dinner to do this? It’s a good thing Yuji is busy playing video games in the guest room with his best friend, Aoi Todo. Their laughter and complaints about losing a match carry through the walls to your room — a fear that Choso might have, the poor, adorable sweetheart who whimpers and whines like the virgin he was not too long ago.

“Babe— Ah! Please, they’re going to hear us…” Choso whines, his voice muffled against a pillow on his bed.

You chuckle, a pleasured grin on your face as you bounce on the dick that swells and throbs deep inside your pussy, hungry for him. “Poor Cho… You promised we’d redo the scene from my book, didn’t you? And it takes place in a childhood bedroom, hmm?” You speed up the pace, the tip of Choso’s cock now hitting your cervix with each slam back in. You bring a hand to your mouth to stifle your sweet sounds. “You feel s’good, baby, doing so good f’me…” you purr, glancing over your shoulder to admire the messy state of your boyfriend; his eyes filled with tears from overstimulation and his mouth open, letting out sounds that make you tighten around his cock. “G’nna give it to me? Huh, baby?”

“Gonna cum, gonna cum, gonna cum,” Choso whimpers in a small, submissive voice. “Please, please, please, make me cum, I want to cum in your pussy,” he begs before letting out a small sob.

“Fill me up, Cho, c’mon,” you encourage with a smile, bringing a hand to your sensitive clit, rubbing in firm circles, your ass pressed against his pelvis. “That’s my good boy, give me your cum.”

𝐑𝐘𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍 𝐒𝐔𝐊𝐔𝐍𝐀

“Ah! Kuna, please,” you moan, a grimace of pleasure twisting your face as the King of Curses pounds roughly with his hips in your tight holes. His two cocks — one in your pussy and the other in your asshole — abuse you, thrusting as if it’s the last time he’ll ever fuck you.

“Can you obey me for a minute and shut up?” Sukuna growls, the back of his head resting against the wooden door of the pantry where the servants store food for the King of Curses.

Of course — reading one of the books from the estate’s library made you beg your husband to fuck you right in the kitchen downstairs — just like the fucking king or prince in the kitchens of their castle — and who was Sukuna to deny you that? That’s how you ended up here, your head buried between your arms as your husband stuffs you raw and rough in a pantry where apples and carrots taunt you.

The scene might seem comical, but not when you’re terrified of being caught by the servants or the staff — though Sukuna has never really give a fuck about that. The cramped space is as hot as your cunt and asshole, which still manage to take every slam Sukuna delivers inside you — his heavy balls slapping against your clit and your ass. He’s ready to fill you and make you scream if your pleas didn’t hold him back and if the pantry hadn’t turned into a sauna. Instead, he prefers to edge you, not letting you fall over the edge of orgasm.

Sweat sticks to both your bodies, where the slapping of his balls makes enough noise to attract the staff — if you ignore your muffled moans and gasps.

“Kuna! Mmph! M’close! Please, make me cum!” you whimper, clinging to one of his four arms that knead your breasts and pinch your nipples — the other two busy holding your hips already marked with red scratches and blue hickeys, and the last one making circles around your clit.

“Is this how the other princess got stuffed too? Begging like a whore to cum for her charming king?” Sukuna’s chest shakes with a rough laugh, quickening his pace until your vision blurs with dazzling stars and your cunt spasms around one of his dicks, while he follows, shooting his white seed in thick ropes deep inside you until it overflows despite still being inside you and the door moving with him — fucking you through your orgasm.

Footsteps echo in the kitchen and you freeze, along with him.

“Is someone there?” a valet’s voice asks, not far from the pantry.

And Sukuna glares at you — should he kill him or remain silent?

➤ a/n: if anyone knows the @ of the black dividers pls tell me i didn’t save it...

➤ tags: @ssetsuka @zara-zara11 @bearwithmoo @elliesndg @lymsfm @mutsu422 @whathappenedtobees @drippymcdrippison

[evilgwrl]

ExHusband!Simon x Reader

You Want a Divorce? (One)

Note: I'm having the WORST writer's block now so pls excuse my lack of proper writing... I'm currently sitting in front of a beach writing in hopes that ill gain inspo

CW: Angst, mentions of sex, jealous/possessive Simon, PLS DONT LEAVE YOUR KIDS IN THE CAR !!! Or break into someone’s house

Inspired by: Ex!Husband Simon

PART TWO

Simon stared at you. The shades of his eyes simmering into endless voids of obsidian, blonde lashes moulded against his greased lids, the residue of the perpetual torture his body had succumbed to during deployment.

“You want a divorce?” He spoke, voice deep as he flickered between your shaking heads, sweat soiling into the papers gripped firmly and your swollen face, cheeks feverish with a red hue, eyes even more so.

You held back a rough sob, throat stripped of all moisture evident in your hoarse voice as you spoke, “Yes, Simon. I think it would be best for our family… for us.”

He scoffed. “You think the best thing for our family is to separate?”

“We already pretty much are. You’re away for days, weeks, months at a time. We’re hardly a family and it’s difficult to explain to the children why I’m crying.”

“Ok then.”

That was it. You would admit, it stung. His lacklustre tone felt like a stab in the gut, the blade drenched with anthrax as it reared blistering sores internally, the effects having shown through your putrid complexion. Your skin was dull, practically lifeless, the only living form of you grew day by day through the darkening of eyebags that almost made you look apocalyptic.

It had been 12 months of separation, officially 8 being legally divorced. You kept his last name, the permanent burn of hearing Mrs Riley still searing through you with every syllable, yet you feel it would only hurt you more if they said Ms.

Simon was often away now, and the minimal family time he used to get felt pointless as the shabby apartment he moved into after the sudden interference of your mind-boggling news barely fit the two kids you shared. His body felt more relentless on him, the taunting of his mind fulgurated the inoperative reality that he would come home to you, to his family.

His voice, almost like it dropped an octave had grown richer in aggression, tormenting those he deemed suitable, both with his tongue and with his bruised knuckles, an oil painting of blue and purple hues radiating across the pale flesh as he shrugged it off to his team as “pushing himself and others to do better”.

Couldn’t you realise your mistake? Wouldn’t you prefer crying in his arms about his absence than never having it fulfilled again?

As he looked around the bleak environment, tan stained walls revolting the creaking mattress he had brought someone home to, someone who wasn’t you. It made him feel sick like a viral infection had slunk its way into his bloodstream as he laid next to a woman that failed to make his cock throb, endless images of you sprawled out under him flickering. No wonder he called out your name instead.

You felt the familiar shake of your hands every time your phone dinged; Simon’s dreary tone was evident through his dry “On the way” text. You ushered a day of your children’s life into their cartoon-themed backpacks, innocent smiles adorning their skin, doe-like eyes of brown, far too familiar to Simon’s staring up at you.

The sound of his car scraping into your paved driveway almost made you feel like throwing up, the nerves of seeing him combined with the already present pit of anxiety due to your date later turning you into one big shaky mess as you brushed it off as “too much caffeine”.

The echo of his car door slamming shut rung through your ears, staining you with the reiteration that your ex-husband was now at your door, heavy fists knocking upon the wood. The image you saw of him in your mind morphed back to reality as you stared at him, a blank expression on your face.

“Hi, love.”

“Hi, Simon.”

Your frown was clear, the pet name you were so used to becoming a distant memory in the past few months. It was a hole you were attempting to fill, to clear yourself away from his teasing tongue and faux impression of a healthy relationship. You were divorced for a reason, you knew that, but as you gazed upon the lack of life in his skin, it was almost like he was holding a mirror up to you.

“Daddy!” You watched as your 5-year-old, Ella, practically leapt into his hefty frame, his hands coiling around her like second nature. You could feel his warmth, the heat that would build in your stomach when you felt those same digits touch you.

“Hi sweetheart,” his voice gruff, yet tone lighter as he placed a delicate kiss on the skin of her forehead, “You miss me?”

She nodded, her face buried in the hem of his neck as your other child cooed from the bouncy chair, tubby legs attempting to wheel himself to the door.

“There’s my boy,” Simon practically cooed as he placed Ella down, bounding inside as he lifted the toddler out, grabby arms reaching out to pull at Simon’s locks, gentle tugs causing you to laugh.

Your voice cut through the scene like glass. Why would you want to destroy such a happy moment? Weren’t you supposed to be reuniting? Just say it, tell Simon you want him to come home, that you need him.

“This is Ella’s bag,” you speak, holding up the pink Minnie Mouse bag, “And this is Toby’s.” Your son giggled as he muffled out the words, “Transformers”.

Simon nodded, “Are you doing anything tonight?”

Ella practically screeched, “Mummy’s going on a date!” The thrill of her laughter that followed only seemed to make the situation more awkward.

“A date?” Simon’s voice was deadly, the hair raising on your arms as you shook your head, a tight smile on your suddenly dry lips.

“No, no, nothing like that. Just catching up with an old colleague of mine.”

“But he’s a boy, Mummy,” Ella giggled. Who was raising your daughter to be such a big mouth? Your face formed an annoyed look, eyebrows raising as a line of wrinkles crinkled against your forehead, your pointer fingers massaging your temples.

“An old colleague?” Simon practically gasped. Had he met him at your old work Xmas parties?

“Let’s get you guys in the car.” You fumbled with Toby’s car seat as you strapped him in, your nimble fingers shaking with anxiety before you shut the door, pressing a kiss against the window before wiping away the minimal residue of dirt. Gross.

“Who is he?” His tone was acerbic like he was looking for an argument. How dare you try and replace him? He was your husband, the father of your two kids? Have you seen this random man before? Had he fucked you?

“God, Simon-“

“Who is he?” Simon was relentless, bullying his way into getting the answers as his arms folded across his chest, tattoos practically screaming at you too.

“His name’s Andrew. I ran into him at a coffee shop a few weeks back and he just wanted to catch up. That’s it.”

A loud scoff sounded in the air. “You mean that geezer from that corporate job you hated? The one who didn’t know it was weird to blatantly stare down your dress when you were standing next to your fucking husband?”

“He didn’t stare down my dress! You’re not my husband anymore, Simon. I can see who I want.”

“I don’t want our children to grow up thinking they have multiple dads.”

You’ll admit, that stung.

“Multiple dads? You’re out of your mind. The only reason they would ever believe they have multiple dads is if their real one stopped showing up. And where have you been, Simon? When have you shown up?”

Simon held his tongue, the warmth of the metallic taste gashing through his teeth as he practically snarled past you. “I’ll bring them back tomorrow.”

The dress you wore was practically suffocating you as you tucked your stomach in. Simon never minded the change in your figure after motherhood, he found himself liking it even more. He loved knowing that his seed put you through that, that he made you swell with his children, and he brought out the glow in your cheeks and the delicate stretch marks that laced your hips.

Andrew was nice. His tone was comforting as he walked to your door, ushering you to his car as he insisted you could order whatever you wanted. He was handsome, the salt and pepper hues of his hair settling your insecurity.

“We’ll take the Pinot Noir,” he spoke, looking at you with an almost arrogant sheer in his blue eyes. You only liked white. Simon knew that just like he knew everything about y-

You’re not with Simon anymore. You had to realise that. Maybe that’s why you brought Andrew home, let him shove his cock (that was a lot smaller than what you were used to) inside your heat, as you let out moans you had mimicked from the porn you watched with the actor that resembled far too much of your ex-husband.

Simon's fingers gripped the steering wheel early the next morning, your two children snuggled up in the backseat as he drove back to his old house, your old home. He wasn’t a man who gave up easy, he would show you, prove to you that you made a mistake. You needed each other.

Hold on. You don’t drive a red car?

His car lurched into the entrance of your home, nearly ramming into the garage as he shoved it in park, rolling down the two back windows slightly for air as he dug around in the small side compartment of his car.

The familiar gold key he had stolen from you the night he packed up all his stuff stared back at him, practically egging him on. Go on Simon, march in there. So he did. His hand rattled against the door knob, glancing back to peak into the car for a second before he slammed the door shut.

Your body froze. Were you being robbed? No. It was only Simon. A very angry-looking Simon. You stood, the white sheet barely shielding your naked body as he took in the sight of the man next to you, his hands wrapping around his shoulders as he practically ripped him out of bed, flinging him onto the floor as he grunted, eyes reared with hatred.

“Simon, what the fuck are you doing? WHERE ARE THE KIDS?”

Andrew groaned, on the floor, covering his groin as Simon chucked the masculine clothes at his head, the thin boxers soiled across the man’s scalp as he trembled.

“Our kids are asleep in the car, waiting for their Mummy to come to the zoo with them.” Simon’s words were despicable, laced with an acrimonious tone, small particles of spit seething through his lips as stared at you.

He turned to the man, a giant frame staggering over the top of him. “Get the fuck out, and if you wake up our kids when you go past, I will personally put a bullet straight in the middle of your skull,” he said, pushing a thick digit against his forehead as Andrew rushed out, clothes barely on before you felt the front door shut, a cry of apologises leaving your lips as you tried to assist him but Simon only held you back, a tight grip coiling around your arm.

“What the fuck was that? How’d you get in?” You couldn’t even place the words to say, humiliation roaring through you as you snuggled the sheet closer to you, away from his peering eyes.

“It’s time to be a family again, don’t you think love?”

[sttoru]

 𝝑𝑒 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐒. dom!sylus x female reader. smut, pwp. gun play. degrading. cowgirl position. power trip. hunter - prey-ish? reader gets called ‘sweetie, kitten, sweet girl, slut.’ not proof read !

“careful, sweetie,” sylus’ husky voice rings in your ear. your hand trembles as you hold onto the large hand that’s pointing a gun right at your chest. you’re sweating—not knowing if it’s from fear or excitement.

the scene was a familiar one. you’ve been in this position before - on his lap - with a gun involved. yet this time you’re both so intimately connected; your clothes scattered around the velvet chair, your hips trembling as you ride him. the same man you swore you hated.

“it’s quite funny, no?” sylus inquires, unable to hold back a grunt when you stare at him with such a drunken look in your eyes. you’re drunk on the adrenaline, the barrel of the loaded gun pressed against your flesh. a hint of a smirk tugs at his lips, “how the tables have turned.”

your hips don’t stop moving. you pull them up and push them back down, the back and forth rhythm not to be missed as well. he fills you up too well—his pink tip prodding at your sweet spot with precision. it doesn’t help your case at all. especially when you’re whimpering and moaning about how good it feels.

it’s you who’s supposed to hold that gun up to his chest. that’s how it went last time, but alas. this is your second failed attempt to show your dominance over him, onychinus’ leader.

“it’s also quite pathetic to see you give in so easily to me, kitten,” sylus continues, teasing and belittling you. he presses the barrel right above your heart, his finger right on top of the trigger. your breath hitches and yet you can’t help yourself—your body seeks the pleasure by itself. he scoffs, “so desperate. is it that good? does it feel that good to have me all the way inside you?”

you shiver at his words. you can’t respond when you’re busy moaning the name of the silver haired man. he’s so big, you’re absolutely cock drunk on him. you don’t want to admit it. you refuse to, though the answer to his question is still as clear as day.

“sh-shut up,” you try to retort through a choked up moan. the lewd noises of your wetness swallowing him up to the base repeatedly, with each thrust, echoes through the room. it’s not like sylus can deny the fact that it turns him on to see you like this neither; he’s rock hard.

sylus shakes his head with a low chuckle. “you seem to have forgotten that you don’t have the upper hand right now,” he sighs, the metal of the gun gliding up your skin to your chin, tilting your head back. your eyes widen and your hand squeezes his larger one that held the gun.

he bites back a groan when your sloppy cunt tightens up around him instinctively, “do you need me to remind me of your place, sweetie?”

“or do you simply like putting yourself in harm’s way?” sylus adds, his free hand guiding your hips in a strangely gentle manner, just so his fat cock could hit all the right spots. “either is fine by me. i love to tame disobedient prey like you.”

he leans his head back and his red eyes roam over your body. your skin is glimmering with sweat, the dim light in the room giving it a soft glow. his gaze stops at your bouncing tits for a second before returning to your face.

“i—i just want..” you stammer through whimpers. you can barely think, your thoughts are an absolute mess. you don’t know if you should fear the fact that your life is being played with while you’re in such a compromising position, or if you should just enjoy the addicting sensations the situation brings along.

sylus encourages you to keep on talking by tapping the barrel of his gun beneath your chin again, his right eye faintly glowing a brighter red. you gulp as you bounce on his dick. you know your inner desires and needs have already been exposed to sylus—he probably knows what you need, yet he’ll still make you say it to him directly.

“i just.. need you,” you finally manage to form a proper sentence. you’re unable to take your words back. you don’t care at the moment; you’re focused on chasing that sweet high.

sylus’s long fingers tighten their grip around your hip. he closes his eyes for a second to recompose himself before opening them again. “who knew you’d be such a needy slut,” he mutters underneath his breath, trying to keep calm when you admitted to needing him in such a whiny tone.

“need me, hm?” sylus grins as he finally got you to be vocal about your true needs. “need me to fill you up that bad? to pound you brainless? to have you submit to me while i show this slutty cunt of yours what it’s like to have me fucking it?”

the words fall off his tongue with such ease. the sudden dirty talk and change in tone makes your stomach do flips. his free hand reaches up to tug your hair back harshly while he whispers that in your ear.

“yes, fuck—yes, need it so bad,” you nod mindlessly. you don’t care about anything as you’re riding him. you’re willingly handing your destiny over to sylus—which drives him insane. the thrill of having that power over you makes his finger tremble on the trigger. the power trip is messing with his brain.

his eyes darken for a few seconds while he regains his composure. he can’t wait to flip you over and have his way with you.

sylus grins before kissing your ear and neck, bucking his hips up to hear you mewl from pleasure. he pulls away from your skin to look at you with his signature smirk, teasing you once more, “then, who am i to deny my sweet girl?”

[scribeofmorpheus]

Why Dragon Age Veilguard isn't a "Cathedral"

Concept art by Matt Rhodes

"To disinherit the storylines of past games goes directly against the notion of building cathedrals."

What is inherent with Veilguard that keeps bothering me is the fact that the world's choices truly didn't matter--and it doesn't simply bother me from a player perspective, it's not simply a grievance borne of frustration to what I (as a longtime fan) have lost. It's about the very culture of the arts under capitalism's new media habituation cycle [x][x].

Yes, I spent hours of my life playing and replaying each instalment of Dragon Age. Yes, I painstakingly curated a 'canon' world state by replaying what came before in preparation for Veilguard. Yes, I am even more unsatisfied with the end product--time hasn't helped, it's just widened the divide. But, and I can't stress this enough, these very personal gripes aren't what hit home the most. It's the inherent disregard of legacy. A legacy that the previous writers and game developers were building towards.

In the DAV artbook, "cathedral" is the word used to describe the process of making a game. Matt Rhodes' exact words are: "One artist can make a painting, but it takes a team to build a cathedral." Cathedrals took centuries to build. The architect who drafted the first blueprints would likely never see his work realised, he had to rely on those who came after him, like-minded and passionate, to see it through--for the culture, for the future, for legacy. Painters took on several apprentices for this reason too--giant frescoes were not completed by one man's hand, even if it is one man's name that immortalises them. Similarly, if you weave a narrative around choice, what good does it do to take it away at the final act if not to fall to caricature?

To disinherit the storylines of past games goes directly against the notion of building cathedrals.

Late-stage capitalism and profit-margin-obsessed game producers forcing developers to churn out meager content, to make a known brand into something it's not, to chase a fad or a popular trend... o, how reductive and cliche you've been forced to become Bioware. We have lost the cultural thought patterns relative to Cathedrals. We know only of barn-raised churches--done in a day but unlikely to last the turn of the seasons.

And don't even get me started on the music of Veilguard either. From Origins to World of Warcraft to Everquest to Baldur's Gate to Dungeon Siege, you can hear the intricate interconnected weave of sounds inspired by the Dungeons and Dragons-esque fantasy genre. You hear it in the repeated use of certain instruments, in the harmonic weeping notes of a bard-like singer or the foreboding echoes of drums as if of war. In tavern songs. But then, rather than hire someone who loves these worlds and this genre, who is a hungry artist looking to make a name, a legacy if you will, for themselves with a spectacular score, you hire any already sated composer, one well-into the encroaching years of career fatigue, whose notes repeat in countless projects, who feels less concise and more uninterested with each new project. One who has long since cemented his legacy. Someone in it for a paycheck and nothing else! And, to top it off, you let him compose something so minimalist? I am offended actually.

Cathedrals! We should have witnessed the final tile being placed on the Dragon Age cathedral. Instead, some architects walked up, tore down the interior and installed IKEA furniture and called it authentic before having to call the previous architects to come and fix the "load-bearing issues", forcing them to rush and add a coat of varnish and a few 'aged' details for authenticity.

[perenlop]

man i do not feel like doing my final project for my animal literature class and the reason why makes me feel like a bad person

[augustinewrites]

“sunflowers or peonies?”

“awe, nanami! i’m flattered—”

“they’re not for you,” nanami says flatly. “you can buy your own.”

shoko squints down at the man lying on her exam table, arm held up and behind his head. “i’m quite literally stitching you back together, you know.”

the blond thinks bitterly on what had landed him in her infirmary in the first place, injured and likely having to reschedule dinner tonight. it’s already well past the time he’d planned on picking you up, and the table he’d reserved at the new restaurant in roppongi has likely been given away.

he’s dreading calling to tell you, his heart already twinging at the idea of letting you down.

shoko stitches him up neatly, cleaning and covering it up with a layer of bandages. she offers him a hand to help him sit up, but he bypasses it to plant his palm against the cot, pushing himself up with a groan.

she rolls her eyes, peeling her gloves off and pulling her mask down, tossing them both into the trash. “clean and dress it at least twice a day. no sudden movements of strenuous activity for at least a week. if you ruin my work, i’ll put you on bedrest.”

she digs through her cabinets as he awkwardly pulls his shirt back on. his mind drifts to you as he does so. he’d lost his phone in the fight, so he hadn’t been able to tell you about cancelling.

he wonders if the pout on your lips is painted your lips that shade of red you’d been wearing when he’d first met you. wonders if you’re waiting wearing the dress he’d gifted you last week.

he’d really wanted to see you in that dress.

nanami sighs heavily as he does up the buttons, prompting shoko to glance over her shoulder at him.

“what’s wrong with you?” she asks, setting a small bottle of painkillers on the tray table next to him.

“i’m missing an important dinner,” he grumbles, wondering if just a bundle sunflowers or peonies from the small stall outside is enough. he should order you a proper bouquet from a shop. perhaps he can also book you a massage or—

a knock at the door interrupts his spiralling.

“oh!” shoko suddenly gasps. she reaches up, brushing a few stray hairs from his forehead and fixing it as best she can.

“what are you doing?” he asks, genuinely confused in this moment.

“you’ll see,” she simply grins, sending him a wink. then, “come in!”

the door to the infirmary opens to reveal…you.

“kento,” you breathe, the quiet click of your heels echoing through the empty room as you quickly walk towards him.

he’s shocked, but lets you carefully wrap your arms around him, cradling his head against your chest.

but before he knows it he’s holding onto you too, breathing in the deep, sweet scent of your perfume and focusing on the steady beat of your heart.

“what are you doing here?” he asks once you finally release him, taking your hands in his.

“shoko called me,” you tell him. “apparently…apparently i’m your emergency contact.”

his face is suddenly hot with embarrassment. he’d honestly forgotten about that. he hadn’t even realized he’d done it when yaga had asked him to update his information with the school. your name had been the first and only name to pop into his mind.

“sorry,” he apologizes quickly, dropping your hands. he jumped the gun, didn’t he? you’ve only been dating for six months… “i should have asked you first but—”

but no one knows me better than you.

a soft sigh slips from your lips as you sit next to him, with a gaze so reverent that it strips him to the bone. “i love you, kento. i will be your emergency contact as long as you want me to be.”

he whispers the words back to you, suddenly shy.

sometimes nanami lets himself slip a little too far into his own head, overthinking and a little insecure. but you’re always there, ready to coax him back into the light.

“you look beautiful,” he murmurs, taking your hand and pressing a kiss to your knuckles. he’s seen you in a lot of dresses, each one making him weak in the knees. but this dress…this one makes it a little hard for him to breathe.

“well, you still owe me a date,” you tell him, helping him up off the cot. “we could go to the ramen place across from my apartment.”

he wraps an arm around your shoulders, and you reach up to intertwine your fingers with his. “i’d go anywhere with you.”

[wonryllis]

✴ ONE OF YOUR GIRLS TONIGHT.

❛ 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗂𝗌 𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗄𝗂𝗇𝖽 𝗈𝖿 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾.

FEATURING. sim jaeyun & fem!r GENRE. smut! they are fuck buddies and jake is sort of a fuckboy, dom!jake, obsessed but no commitment WDCT. 700 SONG───oftg

WARNINGS. SMUT PG18 ofc, choking, nipple play, unprotected sex, clit rubbing, rough sex, illusions to multiple rounds, brief dirty talk, bit of manhandling yeah. ( D𝒾RECTORY? )

jake sim’s favorite— you took pride in it. his little cum dump, the only one he fucked raw, the only one whose name he moaned out loud when he came— so much pride, you were blind to all the ways it was so wrong.

“fuck take it just like that,” jake grunts, the sound of skin slapping and your cum mixing with his in filthy squelches echoing in your ears in a numb ringing.

his hands grip your throat tight enough to keep you in place as he pistons in and out, fast and hard. forehead against yours, mouth fallen open in quick pants and dirty praises. his eyes narrow, brows furrowing while looking straight into your pretty brown orbs,“keep your eyes on me,” he grunts again, feeling his climax creeping up on him.

“you're always so tight, so warm— fuck oh god, makes me wanna fuck you till i physically can't anymore,” his words waver, tone going down as he struggles to hang onto to the edge.

“my pretty little slut,” one of his hands leave your throat, trailing down to fondle with your nipples. your evening gown torn on the side from the sheer force he used when he had pushed it down to pull out your breasts. as always. he just never seemed to have any kind of patience when he needed his cock to be inside you.

asking you to be his date for a charity gala, buying you the perfect dress and a matching lingerie set to go with it. touching you shamelessly the entire night before ripping it all off and pounding your brains out at his penthouse later. sometimes only lasting till you get inside his car— the need to have you so strong, he can't help but have to watch you cum at least once, either on his fingers, his mouth or if he's too worked up: on his cock, before he can even think of of driving off.

jake's fingers are rough as they touch you, shivers running down your body at his squeezes. jolting and jerking when he slips them over your clit, rubbing harshly. desperate to make you cum with him. the hand still on your throat moving to grab your jaw, squishing your cheeks together.

the way your face srunches up with pleasure, he can't take it anymore. overflowing with the urge to stuff you with his cock so deep you can't think of anything but how good he fucks you.

and so he does exactly that, grabbing your waist and throwing you onto the bed with your back against the mattress. slipping his cock into you in one brutal thrust and then pushing and holding your legs up over his shoulders by the back of your knees. it felt insanely hot and heavenly, the way you clenched again and again, gripping him so hard; he succumbed.

“shit shit shit— i’m cumming— fuck—” jake’s hips buck forward in jerks as he cums, his head thrown back while he groans and curses at every hot spurt of cum hitting against your walls.

he grabs your thighs in a bruising hold as soon as his high starts to eeb away, hammering into you at a pace that feels borderline hurtful,“can't ever get enough of you—” thrust. “it's fucking impossible—” thrust. “even if you milk me dry,” thrust. fucking you through your third orgasm of the night with no intentions of stopping any time soon.

imagining you everytime he is down with another girl, moaning your name and picturing your face when he cums in them. it would be an understatement to say you are his favorite.

jake is obsessed— addicted, to you, your pussy and to fucking you raw but he just can't commit. that's not him. it has always been so wrong but it felt so good.. neither of you could think of giving up this twisted relationship.

choke you and fuck you till you pass out. use you till his heart's content and fill you up to the brim. pepper your face with kisses and your neck with hickeys. and then disappear the next morning— out of reach until he needs you again. this was his kind of love.

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