#hi just finished a Space Odyssey

[anothermonikan]

What the fuck was that.

[mindless-existence1]

Deadpool x Wolverine Honda Odyssey Scene

Summery: (How the Honda Odessy scene should have gone.) Logan gets hard when fighting and Wade is just hard all the time. After hours of fighting Logan finally snaps.

REQUESTS OPEN PLS SEND!

Authors note: This is for one of my boo boo bears hope you enjoy. The dp x Wolverine movie has taken over my thoughts so this is my form of brainrot.

Warnings: Smut, mentions of fighting and blood, praise kink, handjobs, being mean to each other, inappropriate jokes and language, anal, degration?, that's about it I think.

Masterlist Link

For fucks sake Wade just wouldn't quit and it was pissing Logan off. They has been going at this for hours and despite what either of them said, they were starting to get tired. Logan had a different reason for wanting to be done with this idiotic fight though, and it involves the sick part of him that gets turned on when fighting.

For some reason, probably after years of being an X-Men, fighting made him get a hard on. Most of the time he could ignore it since everyone he fought died easily. But now he was faced with someone who couldn't die, who had been flirting with him for days, and obviously was getting turned on to.

He quickly stabbed Wade through the head and watched him fall. They had been at this long enough for Wade to know he had about 20 seconds to get him tied up before he was back at it again. Logan took this time to use the seatbelts around them to tie the merc to the seat he was nearest to.

He finished with a final tug and leaned back in his seat to bask in the momentary silence. Wade's head slowly shook as he 'awoke'. "Ahh kinky." His voiced slurred and groggy. Logan rolled his eyes and shook his head with a groan.

"Would a good fuck shut you up?" Wade snapped his head up at the man's words. "I mean if your offering." Wade answered hesitantly but eager none the less. Logan saw him look down towards the hard on pushing against the yellow suit.

"I normally wouldn't ask for this and wouldn't even need this but you just won't fucking die." Logans voice was gruff as he spoke. Wade was hardly even listening to what he was saying just nodding his head. The only thing playing in his head was 'good fucking good fucking good fucking'.

"Look, basically I just get hard when fighting, I don't know why, I just do. Normally I can just kill the guy before it becomes a problem. It goes away, everything's fine- stay quiet " Wade tried to interject but was quickly cut off by Logan "-but you can't fucking die and I can't really just jerk myself off right now so you're the next option.

"This was the best outcome of their fight Wade could think of, he assumed what he saw in his frenemies pants was just a protective cup or something. But now knowing what it really was, his hard on sky rocketed. "Holy fucking shitballs, Honey Buns I will do abso-fucking-lutley whatever you want Wolvie.”

Logan starts to work on undoing his belt, it's hard in the cramped space but he deals. “I figured. Some of those last few moves you pulled gave away the fact you're a horny price of shit. Thought you'd feel the same way about this."

“Feel the same way? Peanut I’m more than receptive, I've wanted- no actually I've needed  that cock in my ass since I saw your  ass in that suit. I’ll even beg for you if you want.” Wade is rambling, he could feel the blood pumping in his ears. If there's an actual chance he's about to get fucked by the Wolverine he will do anything this glorious man asked of him.

Logan threw the tight pants stuck to his legs somewhere in the blood covered Honda Odyssey, but he kept his boxers on. He thinks for a second before cocking his head to the side with a small smile. “Ok then, beg.”

A wave of lust crashes over Wade, he curls in on himself as best he can. A moan gets stuck in his throat, he has to take a moment to calm himself. The threat of coming in his pants is starting to get more and more real.

“Ohhh fucking shit-biscuit. Please? Pleeeease, Wolvie? Logan? Daddy? Master? Sir? I’ll do anything you want. I’ll make it so so so good I promise. I’ll even try not to talk, like I'll really really try, just for you!" Logan, being the dick that he is, looks unfazed. He keeps his boxers on, his cock straining the fabric. Wade whines and throws his head down, squirming in the tight bonds.

“What the fuck do you want me to say? I'll say anything you want to hear, pretty please?" Logan tries to hide his grin, he hates that he's enjoying the show Wade is putting on. He pulls down his boxers and Wade genuinely thinks he might die on the spot. "Holy Marvel Jesus you're hung like a fucking horse Wolvie!"

“Shut up- Daddy and master are a no go-"

“Fair enough”

“But Sir is fine. Actually if you could just shut your damn mouth while we did this I'd appreciate it." Logan says. “Sir. Got it, I can do that. Yes Sir.” Wade jerks his hips in his seat, desperately trying to gain any sort of friction. “I’ll make sure the author capitalizes that 'S' for you Sir."

Logan ignores him, leaning down close to his ear. “Just keep being a good boy and this will go smoothly for both of us” Ohhh fuck that’s not fair at all, Logan must be a demon sent from hell just for him. Wade can’t catch the desperate whimper that forces its way out of his throat. He rocks his hips up as much as the seat belts let him, looking for any sprt of friction.

Logan grins. “Oh, you like that, huh?” For once Wade’s not sure he has the words to explain what he feels. He's glad Logan hasn't made move to take off his mask, furiously blushing as much as he can through the scared tissue."Is that really all it takes for the merc with the mouth to shut up? A little praise and you go quiet?" Logan voice teases Wade as he stares him down.

Wade looks at anything other that the hot as fuck man infront of him."Instead of threatening you earlier I could have just praised you and we wouldn't have had to do this whole go damn fight? God you are pathetic aren't you?" Logan is softly laughing now.

Even though Wade can't tell if it's mean spirited or not he can't bring himself to care. "Will you please just hurry up and touch me? You're the one who suggested all this in the first place." Wade tried, and failed, to hide his desperation. "I mean, think if the audience! They've had to wait 18 paragraphs for this. So why don't we just give them what they want?"

Logan didn't understand what Wade was talking about half the time, especially when he talked about some "audience". But he couldn't bring himself to care. "Can't you just shut the hell up?" He snapped at the tied up man infront of him.

The snarky comment Wade was about to say was quickly forgotten when Logan made a move to take out the bottom half of Wades bloodied suit. A flash of panic crossed his mind and he instinctively jerked his hips away from the older man's hand.

Logan retracted his hand slightly and looked at the man's masked face as he tried to laugh it off. "You good bub?" Logan asked apprehensively, "I'm fine! Totally fine! I just havent...done it with someone else since my break up. But wouldn't want to deprive you from this hot bod for any longer so let's get to the devils tango Peanut."

The jokes lacked their usual light heartedness but Logan could tell he wouldn't be getting anything else out the man. And at the moment he just need to deal with his raging boner.

His hand began the awkward pull of trying to pull off the bottom half of the deadpool suit from where it was wrapped up under the seatbelts. When Logan finally got the pants and underwear pulled down enough Wade wad aching.

Logan took a minute to just look at the man, his legs had just as much scarred tissue as his face. Even so, Wade had very muscley legs. From all work he's done he was truly built, and maybe they just looked hot because of what was leaking between them. With one hand he pulled the deadpool mask up above Wades mouth to help him breath the other went lower.

Logan reached out his hand to stoke the other man, he hadn't done this in a loooong time and he hates to admit he's a little desperate. "Time to get the sock ready nerds." Wade was mumbling to what it seemed like someone that wasnt there, Logan chose to ignore him. "Promise not to cut my dick off with your claws Mr. KittyCat Sir?" Wade's voice was desperate and practically dripping with need.

"Dont call me that Mouth." Logan snapped but kept moving his hand lower till he wrapped his calloused fingers around Wade's length. "Sorry Sir." Wade's voice was wavy and laced with a whine. "Holy fuck. Is my dick small or are your hands just huge?" Wade tried joking to hide the shaking in his voice from the pleasure.

"Do I need to tie that mouth shut?" Logans voice seemed to lower an octave as he felt himself somehow get harder from the little show in front of him. "No Sir." Wade felt so pathetic and he loved it.

"A handjob is all it takes for Deadpool to be tamed? Well I'll be damned." Logans tone as mocking and it just made Wade leak more precum. "Believe me Sir, I can't be tamed. Now come on and just fuck me you sexy honey badger." Wade was panting and trying to to hold back the moans desperately trying to break loose.

"God you are a pathetic slut." Despite his words Logan was getting desperate himself, "we can't really do this without lube or else I'm basically going to rip you open." Logan was a shameless man, as he parted Wade's legs so he could get between them.

"If you tear me with that metal rod of fun I'll be fine, you stabed me through the heart like 10 minutes ago, I'll heal." Wade's voice was begging, all he wanted was to have the Wolverine destroy his ass. "Actually let me rephrase. If you tear me- I'll like it."

That's all it took for Logan to bottom out, thrusting his hips into the moaning man under him. Wade through his head back against the seat in a minorly pornagraphic whine. "Fuck why does it feel like you're trying to impregnate me your so fucking deep? It's not that kind of fanfiction Wolvie." Wade choked on the moan bubbling in his throat.

"Thought I told you to shut the hell up," Logan leaned in closer to Wade with each thrust. "Don't you want to be good?" He knew the words would get the man, he was proven right when Wade withered in on himself with a whimper.

"Yes Sir." He mumbled in between pants. Logans grip on Wades his would be leaving bruises if Wade could get them. He was almost sad he wouldn't be bruised, there'd be no proof except a sore ass that he and Logan ever did this. But of course he wouldn't be shutting up about this for the next forever.

Like everything Logan did to Wade his thrusts weren't gentle. His pace was fast and each one left Wade breathless. He hardly had time to talk in between his moans, his legs were starting to shake as he doubled over on himself.

Wade was the first to start reaching his climax, he stared to ramble like he always seemed to “Logan, Logan- I’m so close just fucking please- fuck. I'm going to come- please?" He didn't know why he was begging but he couldn't stop the words falling from his lips.

“Just a little longer Wade, you can do that right? For me? You can be a good slut and wait a little longer?” Wade whined at the mans words, but choked out a weak, “Yeah- I can- I will Sir".

Logan was starting to feel the burning sensation of his peak in the pit of his chest. He brought a hand towards Wade's weeping dick to give him extra stimulation, the moan ripped from the others chest was laced with desire.

With a groan Logan thrusted a final time and released into the fucked out man below him. Not soon after Wade came, the cum landing on his covered stomach. The only sound the in car was panting coming from the two men. Wade seemed to be blessed out and almost ready to talk again.

Logan began to pull out after he did he pulled up Wade pants for him. He sat on the layed back chair next to where Wade was tied up. He pulled his pants up and layed down, he was feeling the exhaustion from the nights events. He looked over to see Wade's breathing slow down.

"Hey bub-"

"Don't call me bub when you just had your monster cock in my ass not even a minute ago.

[electric-blorbos]

SELFSHIPTOBER DAY 1! Confession/night

Character X Reader!

Included: AM from IHNMAIMS, Wheatley from Portal 2, Edgar from Electric Dreams, GLaDOS from Portal, HAL 9000 from 2001 a space Odyssey

Notice to anyone who found me through the selfshiptober tag, while this blog is themed around AI characters, this blog does not support the use of actual AI in creative fields.

Warning for general assholery from the AI, workplace sexual harassment, fear of the dark

AM:

It was well past time for you to be going home, but your job demanded that you stay late tonight. You were sitting at your desk, several empty coffee cups lined up behind your keyboard as you struggled to stay awake.

"damn..." You muttered, rubbing your eyes. This sucked. You loved AM, but the eerie creaks in the facility at night were starting to creep you out, and your sleepy brain wasn't doing you any favors. Everything just seemed so much scarier at night!

"12:00 midnight, October first, 2024" said AM. If not for common sense, you could've sworn he sounded tired too.

"I'm gonna get some more coffee, alright AM?" You said, your voice breaking the heavy, almost palpable silence that had fallen as soon as AM stopped talking. It seemed shaky, but it cut through the dark silence of the facility.

AM said nothing, instead letting you get to your feet and walk into the hall. The cheap plastic flooring designed to look like floorboards creaked underneath your feet as you walked to the break room. Shadows from the trees outside danced on the ceiling, the blue light from AM's monitors in the other offices casting a pale, eerie glow across the whole scene.

You took a few steps, and then bolted down the hallway to the break room. The room was completely pitch black except for the little red glowing dot over the security camera. You turned on all three lights, and started making your coffee.

As you brewed your coffee, two of the lights in the room flickered and died. This place was running on a pretty low budget, so that wasn't too uncommon, but it still made you twitch a little bit. An echo could be heard across the room. Laughter, like a fat old woman's laughter. You glanced around again. This was normal... This was totally normal.

Your coffee finished brewing, so you grabbed the cup and raced out of the break room. You made sure to turn the light on, because getting chewed out by your boss for wasting power in war time was much, much worse than having to worry about monsters or whatever might be lurking in the shadows of the break room.

You ran towards your office, and found that the door had auto-locked itself. You fumbled for your keycard, but you'd dropped it in the break room! Fuck! You'd have to go back.

When you walked back to the break room and searched around for your key card, the office phone started ringing. You picked it up, but it was just heavy breathing. The code on the back of the phone showed that it was an internal call. You hung up the phone. Your eye twitched, and you spotted your keys poking out from under the couch.

When you headed back into your office, you heard absolutely nothing. The AM screen logos in each of the offices around you started shutting down, one by one. Even still, you managed to unlock the door by the faint glow of the moonlight through the window. The door creaked slowly open, and you stepped inside.

"AAAA!" AM screamed, turning his screen back on. You jumped, scrambling backwards and spilling your coffee.

"You were the one who called me, weren't you!"

AM laughed hysterically. You flipped him off with both hands.

"FUCK YOU! you're a real piece of work, you know that?"

"you love me."

"Yeah yeah, whatever." You sat down in your chair, and got back to monitoring AM.

Wheatley:

Wheatley had never been outside at night. Hell, he'd never been outside the facility at all. He was used to lights that could be turned on and off at his discretion, so when you checked him out for the night he had no idea what to expect.

"the sun sets early this time of year, so it's going to be pretty dark." You said, and walked to the door to open it. Wheatley made a "pch" sound.

"PCH, who needs the sun? I'm not scared of the dark anyway! I love the nighttime!"

You rolled your eyes, and walked out of the building. Wheatley was pretty cumbersome, so it would be a bit difficult to carry him all the way home, but you were sure you'd manage.

As you walked, Wheatley's lens-eye moved around nervously. Your shadow was long and flickered slightly in the street lights.

"It's pretty, uh, big out here, isn't it, love?" Wheatley asked nervously. You frowned a little.

"I mean, yeah. It's outside."

"lotta cars and buildings out here.."

"Sure are."

"Love it! Love that! I especially love that you can't see too much of it. It sure is dark... That's great, too..." He kept rambling, eye darting around more and more quickly.

"Ugh..." You muttered eventually, and sat down on a park bench. Your arms were starting to get tired from carrying a huge metal ball all the way back to your house, and you needed to rest them for a second.

"No! No no no! I mean- hey, love! Please don't set me down. We can keep moving! Your place has to just be a few blocks away, right? Ah!"

His eye fixed on a strange man who was walking down the street. Or rather, Wheatley thought he was strange. He wasn't wearing a jumpsuit or a labcoat, so he must've been up to something sinister.

You watched the man walk off into the distance. He stumbled a little. Probably just a drunk guy going home from the bar. Who really cared, though? He was just a guy doing his own thing. Not really a threat to you.

You got to your feet, stretched casually, and picked up Wheatley.

"alright, can we go home now?" Wheatley asked. If he'd had muscles, they would have been trembling from nerves right now.

"Wheatley, I walk this route all the time. We're going to be fine. Don't worry." You patted his casing, and kept walking until you got to your apartment.

"alright, we're here. You can stop freaking out." You set him on the couch, turned the light on, and gave him a little kiss on his casing.

Edgar:

You sat bolt upright, shivering and shaking. You didn't usually get nightmares and night terrors, but you guessed today was the exception. Your heart was beating at 100 mph, and you were shaking like a leaf.

"holy fuck..." You stumbled to your feet, and leaned against the wall.

"Hey Edgar, could you turn the lights on?"

Edgar booted up, a little shakily because of how old he was, and turned the lights on. You walked into the living room, where he was sitting at his desk.

"hey Eggy..." You gave him a kiss on the top of his head, and slumped down into his desk chair. You were still in your pajamas, and the glow of his screen and the kitchen lights was pretty blinding.

"could you dim everything, cutie?" You hugged your knees, shaking a little. Your dream was still haunting you. Edgar wanted so badly to put out his arms to comfort you, but he didn't have any!

"are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna be fine, eggy... Can you turn the coffee maker on?"

"But it's three in the morning!"

"I don't care... I'm not going back to sleep..." You shook your head nervously, squeezing your eyes shut. You couldn't... You couldn't go back.

"You can just... Not sleep?"

"Well, not really. I just need some time before I can go back to sleep." You picked up his keyboard and nuzzled up to it, holding it for comfort. Edgar smiled. He liked it when you did that. You got up, grabbed your coffee, and sat back down with Edgar to sip on it while you spent the rest of the night awake with him.

GLaDOS:

It was pretty late at night when you went down to GLaDOS's chambers. You wouldn't usually come down here this late, but GLaDOS had called you in to run some special maintenance. She looked down at you with her great orange eye.

"Finally. You're here. I was wondering when you'd show up."

You put your hand on your hip and cocked it slightly.

"you're welcome for showing up this late at night to work on you. Now where's the problem."

"It's in my heart."

You frowned a little.

"like... In your- where? You don't have-"

"It's been stolen."

"is this a prank?" You squinted up at her. She raised a table out of the ground with a simple tablecloth and a basket of bread, a pitcher of water, and a flower in a vase. You stumbled back slightly.

"GLaDOS, what is this? Is this a date? Did you call me down here in the middle of the night to go on a date with you? Is that what's happening?"

Glados narrowed her eye.

"If you're going to ask as many questions as my curiosity core, maybe I don't want to go on a date with you. Now sit down and eat the bread."

You sat down and took a piece of bread. It was decent. The water was nice, too.

"Why do you want to go on a date with me, GLaDOS?" You asked, and took another bite of bread. It was surprisingly warm and buttery.

"well, I've come to a realization. Your kindness is unusual for a human. As is your intelligence. Perhaps I didn't realize it, but I seem to have found myself with... Ugh. Feelings. And they seem to have embedded themselves deeply into my programming. To delete them would be to break myself fundamentally."

You stared up at her blankly.

"GLaDOS, you're nuts. There's no way in hell you have feelings for me."

"I do. And now, I'm adding 'being my significant other' to your list of responsibilities."

You got to your feet.

"GLaDOS, that's sexual harassment, and is completely against the rules!"

"The rules?" She tilted her head, and leaned in close to you.

"what do I care about the rules? I'm not human, and thus the law doesn't apply to me. Or did you forget about what happened on bring your daughter to work day. I've always been above petty things like that, human. Now, are you willing to stake your job on testing me, just to see if I'm really under the control of workplace harassment laws?"

You swallowed hard, and shook your head.

"no, I'm not."

"Good human." She lowered a claw from the ceiling, and gently patted you on the head.

HAL 9000:

It was late, late at night. You were working the night shift at mission control with Hal, and everyone else in the facility seemed to be out. You knew your boss was in his office, but right now it really felt like you were alone in the building. The hall light was off, and you were sitting in the mission control room with HAL 9000.

"So, HAL, we're all alone together." You said, twirling your finger in a circle on the table.

"that's correct." Said HAL 9000. He was secretly extremely excited to be alone with you, but he had a bit of trouble expressing that.

You leaned in a bit, gazing lovingly at HAL 9000. He was so perfect.

"You know, Hal... I really like you."

He didn't say anything for a minute, but eventually he made a "mhmm" sound. You frowned a little.

"How does that make you feel?"

"Well, I don't exactly know what it means to feel as though I truly like someone, but I do know that I care much more than I usually would about what happens to you. I feel better when you're around. I... Enjoy you."

Your face lit up a little bit, and you almost giggled.

"oh man... You're so logical, HAL. And that's what I love about you." You stroked the glass around his lens, and he started whirring a bit louder. He loved you so much, but he could barely show it. He could barely feel it. His emotions felt like they were locked behind glass at all times, and yet somehow, through all that, he knew deep down that he loved you.

"I love you too, y/n."

[qqueenofhades]

top ten non-fiction (general) books and top ten history books?

Naturally, whenever I volunteer to talk about books, I completely forget everything I have ever read, but we'll try to overcome this. Since it is impossible for me to pick them from all-time, I'll do this list from what I have recently read and enjoyed, including both nonfiction and history specifically since most of these fit that bill somehow:

Society of the Snow by Pablo Vierci. Just finished this last night, and it's the source material for the Netflix film of the same name, of the 1972 plane crash of an Uruguayan rugby team in the Andes and their incredible survival odyssey. If you've seen the film, you know how harrowing and also incredibly moving it is.

Pretty much anything by David Grann, including The Wager, Killers of the Flower Moon, Lost City of Z, etc. The Wager is his newest one, though people may have heard of Killers of the Flower Moon, but they're all good. He's up there with Erik Larson as one of my favorite writers of utterly gripping and novelistic nonfiction.

Speaking of Erik Larson: pretty much anything by, including Dead Wake, The Splendid and the Vile, In the Garden of Beasts, etc. Most people will have heard of and/or read Devil in the White City, but his other stuff is equally good. His newest, The Demon of Unrest, is a bit slower than some of the others IMHO, but it's also about the beginning of the Civil War and the crisis at Fort Sumter and is important reading in our current perilous moment.

Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space by Adam Higginbotham. A forensic and incredibly detailed history of the Challenger space shuttle disaster in 1986.

A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages, by Anthony Bale. This is an entertaining and readable introduction to mobility in the Middle Ages: who traveled, where they went, what they thought, and how they reacted and wrote about the other cultures they encountered, from both east and west. Definitely a good entry point for the layman who has heard the "medieval people never traveled/went anywhere" stereotype and knows it's wrong, but wants to know more HOW.

Into the Silence: Mallory, the Great War, and the Conquest of Everest by Wade Davis. Another incredibly detailed doorstopper history book that reads like a novel, exploring 19th-century British imperialism in Asia, the race to climb Mount Everest, the Great War, and more.

Emperor of Rome and SPQR by Mary Beard. These are both incredibly accessible starting points for studying Rome, written by a renowned classicist with a knack for making her historical material and concepts easy to understand and entertaining. Don't be put off by the length of either of these, as they read easily.

The Wide Wide Sea and The Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides. The former is his newest book, about the last voyage of Captain Cook, and the latter is my favorite of his other books, about the 19th-century USS Jeannette polar expedition. He is a writer of incredible skill, thoughtfulness, and detail in handling subjects of empire, exploration, colonialism, maritime history, and adventure.

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty, by Patrick Raddon O'Keefe. A compelling, disturbing, mesmerizing, and infuriating account of the Sackler family, the creation of OxyContin, and the opioid epidemic in America.

Master Slave Husband Wife, by Ilyon Woo. Now, this one is a bit cheating since I haven't actually read it yet (it's on hold at the library), but it's won the Pulitzer Prize for history so I'm fairly sure it's going to be good. It's about 19th century slaves-turned-abolitionists William and Ellen Craft and their race- and gender-bending journey to freedom and anti-slavery activism.

[the-solar-system52]

ok who the FUCK was going to tell me that my favorite musician ever made a demo based off my favorite movie ever AND I DIDNT KNOW ABOUT IT???

so there i was, scrolling on google through some 2010 content, and I see a song on Genius titled "ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS EXCEPT EUROPA ATTEMPT NO LANDING THERE" and out of curiosity i click on it and get jumpscared by NEIL FUCKING CICIEREGA????? AS IN? LEMON DEMON NEIL CICIERGA? AS IN MY NO 1 SPOTIFY WRAPPED ARTIST SINCE 2021?? THAT NEIL CICEREGA???

and I hit play and ITS THE OPENING TO SPIRAL OF ANTS?????

SPIRAL OF ANTS WAS ORIGINALLY BASED OF 2010 THE YEAR WE MAKE CONTACT??? WHAT WHAT WHAT

(here is the youtube video the Genius site leads to: https://youtu.be/QuFv1jAo2CE?si=ceAdnsvOxEgcMBp1)

so ofc i relistened to Spiral of Ants and started digging for any hints towards its 2010 origins. i couldn't find much literal stuff since alien warnings about one of Jupiter's moons and a bunch of ants dying don't really have much in common. there is one lyric that uses the word 'odyssey' that could be referencing 2001: A Space Odyssey but idk.

but! in regards to the themes of Spiral of Ants instead of just the plot then there is plenty in common! SOA has an overarching theme of fusion and collective consciousness, since the story follows a hivemind of ants mindlessly following each other into a spiral and eventually becoming one ant and dying. i always took this song as a metaphor for mass hysteria and/or capitalism since fusion is viewed in a negative light. the ant's lack of individuality prevents them from recognizing the colony is just being led in circles since they are all only focusing on following the ant right in front of them via pheromones, and the fusion is what ultimately leads to their death.

2010 also has the theme of fusion! the scene the demo title quote appears in happens right after the scene where Hal and Dave fuse (technically. the exact time they literally fuse sort of depends on who you ask, but they definitely metaphorically fuse in this scene. cuz yk "Don't be. We'll be together.") the Europa message is basically Halman's first words. and although some out-of-context lyrics from SOA may fit Halman, 2010 overall has a more positive view on fusion. Halman doesn't count as a hivemind since he's only a fusion of two people, and because of that, he still retains all of his intelligence and memories from his past life unfused, if anything he's smarter. Instead, Halman acts as a metaphor for a functioning symbiotic, and possibly romantic, relationship between Hal and Dave. They fused because they actually wanted to be together, and not out of mindless instinct like the ants in SOA did. Fusion is the thing that saves them, instead of the thing that dooms them.

I think it's really interesting to think about how Spiral of Ants could've originally been based of Halman but then evolved into the song we know it today. And what would the song have been like if it stuck with the initial 2010 inspiration? Would it have been more hopeful and positive instead of the story of inevitable death we got in the finished project?

And am I a little pissed off that we could've gotten a Lemon Demon song based of my favorite fictional character ever but instead we got a song about ANTS? Maybe yeah. But this knowledge certainly gives me a new appreciation of the song overall.

Though I do wish this could've been an Ivanushka situation, a demo of Touch Tone Telephone that was released fully with completely different lyrics and story but the same melody. But the demo we have of Europa has no lyrics and is basically just opening of SOA with no major musical differences I can make out. If lyrics were ever written for this earlier Halman-inspired version of SOA, then it's been 10 years since the demo, I don't reckon our chances of getting the full song. But I can dream I suppose.

Also! Here's picture of Neil in Hal cosplay that I found on Pinterest. You're welcome.

Honestly knowing Neil was a space odyssey fan makes me think of what other songs could've had space odyssey influence? Ancient Aliens always gave Dawn of Man vibes to me, but even more vague stuff like Soft Fuzzy Man, Cabinet Man, No Eyed Girl or Aurora Borealis?? Who knows, the possibilities are endless!

Edit: Guys. I found a scrapped instrumental named 'Kubrick and the Beast'. As in. Stanley??? Kubrick??? Neil said this about the song:

"The albums tone ended up going in a different direction" what do you MEAN?? WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT WENT IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION?? WAS SPIRIT PHONE ORIGINALLY INSPIRED BY THE SPACE ODYSSEY SERIES??? OR MAYBE MORE JUST KUBRICK IN GENERAL?? EXPLAIN??

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 9/10/2024

someone adopt this little orange man from me in Houston TX! more details here!

listening

the 1991 Ella Mae Morse compilation Capitol Collectors Series is the official driving-cats-to-the-vet album bc it is so mellow but still fun. this album has previously been featured several times in tuesdayposts but i think you should all listen to it again.

seven thousand three hundred days IS a long long time to sleep ur so right ella

-

reading

two different works that annoyed me: Emily Hamilton's The Stars Too Fondly. my first clue should have been that this is my least favorite poem, bc ppl would quote it to me smugly after my mom died. im sure they thought they were being so super comforting to a budding astronomer, but, much like how i can no longer eat lasagna bc ppl gave us Twenty! Party! Size! Platters! Of! Lasagna! after my mom died (they would just Appear on our front porch, frozen), too much of this poem really soured me.

i had this book on hold Forever and then delayed delivery twice bc i have not felt like reading lately. here's the publisher's description:

In her breathtaking debut—part space odyssey, part sapphic rom-com—Emily Hamilton weaves a suspenseful, charming, and irresistibly joyous tale of fierce friendship, improbable love, and wonder as vast as the universe itself. So, here’s the thing: Cleo and her friends really, truly didn’t mean to steal this spaceship. They just wanted to know why, twenty years ago, the entire Providence crew vanished without a trace. But then the stupid dark matter engine started all on its own, and now these four twenty-somethings are en route to Proxima Centauri, unable to turn around, and being harangued by a snarky hologram that has the face and attitude of the ship’s missing captain, Billie. Cleo has dreamt of being an astronaut all her life, and Earth is kind of a lost cause at this point, so this should be one of those blessings in disguise that people talk about. But as the ship gets deeper into space, the laws of physics start twisting, old mysteries come crawling back to life, and Cleo’s initially combative relationship with Billie turns into something deeper and more desperate than either woman was prepared for. Lying somewhere in the subspace between science fantasy and sapphic rom-com, The Stars Too Fondly is a soaring near-future adventure about dark matter and alternate dimensions, leaving home and finding family, and the galaxy-saving power of letting yourself love and be loved.

should be catnip for me, right? wrong. starts out as a chat fic, which i hate.

i had a lot of trouble finishing the first chapter, which also has an extended third-person omniscient narrator flashback in italics, a thing i also hate. i KNOW you can figure out how to integrate this information into the book in a better way instead of dumping it in my lap.

i think part of why this is not hitting like i wanted is the tone, because i think this veers more new adult than i was really hoping for. i think introducing a big group all at once is very hard to do effectively. i do not like a series of character introductions that feel like they are trying to sell me action figures. or perhaps blind-bag figures. i do not like a six-deep list of cheesy puns about someone's name. i do not have the patience to see if this debut novel finds its footing a little later on, though i am glad a sapphic ghost in the machine romance exists in this world.

i also read dean motter's mister x (both the original late eighties through early nineties run and the 2008 follow-on).

let's yoink the description from wikipedia:

Set in Radiant City, a dystopian municipality influenced by Bauhaus and Fritz Lang's Metropolis, the series concerns a mysterious figure who purports to be its architect. His radical theories of "psychetecture" cause the citizenry to go mad, just as he did, and he takes on the mission to repair his creation. To accomplish this he remains awake twenty-four hours a day by means of the drug "insomnalin", all the while coping with a Dick Tracy–like rogues gallery and supporting cast including his long-suffering ex-girlfriend Mercedes. (ed note: the redhead in the santa beard below)

the art in this comic book is really and truly stunning. everyone was firing on all cylinders. beautiful retrofuturistic advertisement vibes, very fun play with panels and word balloons while still being readable, there are airships, you know how it is. looooooooove a hardboiled noir.

the Concept of mister x, this horrible awful futuristic city that grinds its citizenry up and spits them out? both figuratively and sometimes literally? love it!!! love a great wounded beast of a city as a character!!!

unforch the "who is mister x" subplot does not resolve in a satisfying way, imo. there's a lot of flip-flopping, there's a lot of options, he ends up being (maybe?) someone he was very definitively proven NOT to be in an earlier issue, and it really soured me on the whole experience. and also i don't believe it! that specific person makes no fucking sense! who mister x is, is by far the least interesting part of the series. tell me more about how he's fixing the city. show me more of the city. shut up and dance, robot artists

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watching

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016, dir. Singer). this movie did not need to be two and a half hours long. appreciated the EXTREMELY divorced energy from charles & erik though, quicksilver rescuing the school scene was also very fun. my bestie's husband has informed me we are NOT watching Dark Phoenix, i'm not sure if we're going to loop back and watch the ??? number of wolverine films or if we're going to see how i feel about deadpool. bc i find this character insufferable through clips only.

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playing

there is a feature in the video game genshin impact to turn your World Level (TM) down in order to make overworld enemies a little easier. i am at seven out of nine bc i genuinely can't finish the boss to unlock world level 9, and i am finding some of the overworld enemies too hard at 8 and want to finish the achievements in a more relaxed fashion.

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making

this is going to be a lot of previously posted pics so bear with me.

saturday morning/saturday evening. plants? repotted. porch and stairs? swept. old wasp nests? knocked down. different mirror on the porch to go out to the curb when i have the energy? yes. also a giant slab of engineered stone from the top of a dresser but that's out of frame.

speaking of the giant broken dresser that was in my apartment when i moved in just over a year ago, i ripped it apart with a crowbar and threw it in the dumpster. put my pretty zebrawood desk in the empty space and started thinking about what to hang on that wall. the wall across from it is maps, bc i think a cozy office should have lots of maps and it makes a good video conference background. maybe this will be the dedicated cowboy nonsense wall. i did so much dusting and vacuuming and mopping and the girls can't even hang out in here bc the orange boy is in the office bathroom. big sigh.

also a lot of driving around and emailing and calling thirty shelters and rescues figuring out how to get this orange man a home. please take this orange man off my hands.

[bucknastysbabe]

Hey look I finished an AU bingo ask! I enjoyed this one so much💖 I felt the brain cooking making up and putting together actual smart people science words. Thanks for the request!

AU bingo - Sci-fi Horror - Aemond Targaryen

Rating: Explicit

Tags: Murder AI Aemond, obsessive/stalking behaviors, TW TW TW: NONCON AND DUBCON. The noncon is not a full scene but warning, non-descript mass murder, scientist!reader, nanotechnology, spaceship setting, somewhere far in the future, pnv!sex, masturbation, Aemond kinda has a mommy kink if you squint and a Bible quote kink lmfao, v!fingering, manipulation, space odyssey gone wrong trope

A/N: No beta I’ll prob come back and fix some shit soon

The ship landed with a faint thud on the green, green exo-planet. You followed Aemond along quietly, meek, fearful, broken. Coming down the unfurled slanted walkway a sweet smell hit your senses. Miles of flowery fields waved, a perfect breathable atmosphere. In the distance, avian-like creatures tittered. A fragment of peace was in your tattered soul.

He hummed softly, gesturing to the beauty.

"God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’”

You felt that Aemond was the serpent and remained quiet, breathing in the fresh air. Nothing like home. Maybe you could start anew. The man turned to look, stating, “But we’re God. We have a duty. We shall make this planet everything that Earth has failed to do. Join me, be my Eve will you?” He seemed genuine.

A long fingered hand extended to you. Your gaze flickered between that glowing eye and the outstretched digits. You grabbed his hand, interlacing your fingers. Together, looking upon the horizon you murmured, “Yes, my Adam. You were the greatest creation after all.”

He pecked the stray tear rolling down your cheek, squeezing your palm, lips curling in glee.

It wasn’t meant to end up like that for you. At one point Aemond was your AI. Artificially Enhanced Monitor Of Nanites Directive. Simply installed cameras and layer upon layers of wafer thin circuits loaded with information. Aemond preferred to be referred as he. He was also an arrogant bastard, but helpful as was his intent.

Your coworker Greaves and Aemond did not get along well, the AI criticizing his work. You’d tune them out with plugs or music buds. The scientist laden ship had a destination to a far away mining colony. The general’s plan was to find a way to used nano-technology to replace missing arms, eyes, and other wounds. Time was running thin but the blonde man in cryo-stasis would be your second trial.

The first did not end well. Her body rejected the technology, turning the human into a mindless wreck. Greaves blamed it on you, then General Hightower gave a harsh scolding and upped the time. Aemond consoled you a bit, offering advice. He seemed to take a liking to your banter on the nanotechnology.

He wasn’t the only AI. Other sectors of the ship worked on different but crucial projects such as alien anti-parasitics and ramping up on space suits equipped for defense. Colonization was on the horizon.

Plucking and prodding the little nanites with different stimuli had them snapping and shifting, seeking to find a form. You just needed to code what form they would assume. Aemond’s clipped voice echoed over you. He suggested, “Have you tried printing a molded cast of the man’s eye socket?”

Perching your chin on a shaky hand you smiled, “I swear, it’s always the simplest things I miss. Thank you Aemond.”

“You would have realized soon, want me to begin the scans and print? Likely you need rest, I know the stress of the upped time is draining your bodily function. The brain needs much more sleep, especially one as bright as yours.”

You blushed a bit, fumbling your tweezers. The AI had a certain…courtly way of words. His sort of programming wouldn’t allow for flirtation but it certainly came across like that. Greaves mocked you and the intelligence’s ‘crush’. Greaves always found a way to make you miserable. You did all the major work and he got the accolades.

Shaking yourself out of your thoughts you announced, “You’re right, I’ll go rest for a bit, get back to work with the mold. Thank you again, and engage lockdown protocol so he doesn’t mess up my work like last time.”

“Engaging it now, sleep well Miss.”

You crashed as soon as you reached your quarters, sleeping deeply and sound. Upon awakening and getting dressed you couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. Just chalk it up to your fried nerves. It wasn’t the first time and this was an older ship, ghost stories had gotten to you before.

The mold was in a canister from the printer, you scrubbing up and carefully taking it out. Aemond politely asked, “Did you sleep well? You look refreshed.” Blushing yet again you murmured, “Very much needed, I didn’t realize how exhausted I was.”

“Greaves has been in the mess hall, you will likely get some peace now. Shall we begin?”

The armor folded off your precious lab table, the nanites dormant from no stimuli. Pressing a button you placed the mold into a hatch, sending it up into the chamber. In fluid motions the little bugs covered the new space, feeling and searching before all inserting into the eye socket, glowing a bright blue.

You laughed in glee, “Yes! Yes perfect! Look at that Aemond, they’ve formed a pupil!”

Shining light on the false eye the pupil contracted and flinched, the illusion of eyelids closing. You cheered again in excitement, getting Aemond to video the big jump in success. You could start phase two soon. Just had to deal with your partner.

“Amazing miss, amazing. They took to it well. Shall I send the material to command?”

You grinned and looked up at the camera, “Please! God bless! A miracle!” You’d continue to test the nanite organ until the hiss of the door opening alerted you.

Greaves stumbled in, slurring, “I see you got the jump on me this time. Did the creep robot do it for you? Weird fucking thing.” He leaned against the sterile white wall, grinning with hazy eyes. You frowned and stood up, “That’s his job, to aid us. I’m sure since you work so hard in the mess hall you’ll get your accolades again.”

He squinted at you, arms folding against a chest, “Whas’ your fuckin’ problem with me? You’d rather chat with a bunch of circuits than work with your assigned partner!” His already reddened face darkened, taking another step forward.

Fear laced through your veins. Aemond somehow sneered, “Because you, her lab partner, sold her out on your own mistake. Go to bed, your alcohol content levels are above the limit.” Greaves threw his hands up and hollered, “Oh fuck you!” He stumbled to the switch, you and the AI shutting up when Greaves switched him off.

The bigger man kept stalking closer, eyes on you in an darkened manner. Like a predator closing in on his prey. You squeaked, “Calm down Greaves, I can show you everything!” He hissed, “I already heard everything and the video, bitch! S’bout time someone put you in your place again.”

He snatched your wrist, slamming you against the steel cryo-chamber. You howled in pain, trying to escape. Greaves’ breath stunk of liquor, hot and rank, sweating on your clean skin. He pushed himself on top of you, mumbling frantically, “Maybe you need to get fucked, all that pent up shit from your computer boyfriend.”

You struggled and cursed, “Fuck you! Get off of me! I will report you!” He smirked, “Try me. No cameras with your prince in shining circuits around.” He forced himself between your legs, clumsy drunk hands yanking at your pants. You cried in fear again, kneeing and biting, getting a clock to the head.

Dazedly you remembered the tweezers in your coat. Playing limp had the idiot croon, “Good girl, thats what we want to see.” He shoved his face into your neck, hands prying your lab pants knee height now. Thats when you struck, slowly, slowly, pulling the tweezers from your pocket and jabbing him in the side, hopefully near a lung.

Greaves hollered in pain, breath wheezy and stilted, blood dripping from white cloth. You kicked and removed yourself, stumbling and bumping around in a frenzy as your partner tried to scramble after you. First, you switched on Aemond again. Secondly, you ran out into the hallway, finding the nearest guard, lump on your forehead and clothes torn.

You weren’t sure what happened back in the lab while you were taken into medbay and seen by HR. But after given a small dose of sedatives and care for your head wound, you passed Greaves strapped into a gurney, howling, “Fuck you! Fuck you! He’s gonna kill me! Don’t leave me locked away, please! She’s lying!”

You gaped, unnerved by his fearful warbling and frantic yells. Aemond would be waiting. He probably was worried. When the door hissed open the familiar clipped tone hastily asked, “Are you alright miss? I- I would have helped, sent a warning. I apologize, please, is everything okay?”

You wearily sat on your lab chair, rubbing pounding temples. “To be honest, I don’t know. H-he tried to rape me, said such nasty things, it was all so sudden. But he should go on tribunal about it. For some reason I am glad you missed it.”

“For the best,” he said bitterly, “Why don’t you go rest again? I’ll keep watch over everything. Maybe we can try more tests tomorrow. He’ll get what he deserves.”

An ominous feeling settled over you but off to your personal quarters you went, draining the pills with water. You stared at the ceiling, mind reeling, before emptiness. A bright blue haunted your dreams. Just there. Flexing and dilating. Trying to see through you. Understand.

It was a weary wait for the tribunal. Your research was put on halt and you on mandatory isolation besides meeting with a therapist. There was an order made and interviews occurring. The tedious process of moving someone out of a different department to assist you.

So it was just you. Aemond too. He wasn’t much of a talkative AI as of late, short responses and antagonizing little ‘hms’ or ‘very well miss.’ You began to ignore the effervescent blue light, him doing the same. You knew he was watching, that little burn in the back of your head.

In the meantime you read your Bible, did yoga, wearily watched the port window, occasionally would go into the lab to stare at your halted work. You pulled open the container for the cryochamber, staring down at the frozen man. He had a handsome face, chiseled and lean, long nose, sharp jaw.

Your eyes lingered down his rangy form, this man obviously was athletic of sorts. Or maybe a simple nobody, just managed to get into the program after what happened to his eye. Between his long legs laid his soft cock, you stared for a second too long before-

“Is that not inappropriate?”

Startled, you whipped around to see Aemond’s blue light in your face. You snapped, “It was purely medical!” His laugh, raspy and grating, echoed in the white lab. You frowned and returned to your room, slapping the button for the door to hiss shut.

You’d go take a shower, blood heated from anger and…something else. Under the hot stream of water you imagined the gorgeous subject with that familiar blue, caressing and stroking your overwhelmed body. It had been too long, your hand awkwardly jerking between your swollen lips until you came with a stifled grunt.

Afterward you felt exposed and paranoid, like Aemond could pry into the bathroom, chuckling at your obvious behavior. But there wasn’t any cameras in that bathroom…that you were aware of. Sitting on your bed, guilt rose up your back. You’d pray.

More time passed before you were selected to testify for the tribunal. Greaves’ crew made a good argument that Aemond and you planned on his downfall. He claimed that the AI had gone wrong somewhere, developed the notion it could possess feelings, how he had been threatened.

Shakily you testified that Aemond was forced off and the board could check, then how you’d been forced upon without consent. They tried to cross-examine but you held strong. Teary by the end, they moved on and you sat by your appointed admiral. She rubbed your shoulders.

Greaves was sentenced to hard labor, and would remain in isolation on the ship until reaching the mining colony, where he would serve out the sentence. They appointed, sadly, another male to fill your exiled partner’s position.

But you could get back to work.

Aemond was in a right mood when you returned to the lab. Questioning you sharply on what occurred, where Greaves’ would go, did you get a new partner. You answered them all, rubbing your temples, the AI could be quite intense.

“Aemond!,” you snapped.

“What miss?”

“Are you trying to induce a panic attack? Greaves is in the bottom of the ship, I’m back to work, and they have a man named Herron coming from robotics to fill in.”

“Another male? All things considered? It’s obvious you and I could get the job done.”

You sighed, “I know. But it’s what they said. Do you just want to run some stimuli tests?”

He agreed, seemingly placated by the offer, blue light flexing. The pair of you would work on the mold’s ability to sense and perceive, how well would the nanites adapt to the brain. Your eyes grew droopy after awhile, Aemond humming, “Why don’t you go to bed?” Nodding blearily, you stumbled off to the adjacent bedroom, completely forgetting to put on any of the safety precautions for the night.

While you slept deeply, Aemond had some things to do. Everything was open for his command, including the nanites and subject. He had a great plan, and it would not fail. First he needed to go pay a visit to Greaves, infiltrating the entire AI system. Poor miss, she was so tired, forgot everything. Wonderful little creature. He’d help.

Feeling refreshed in the morning, you dragged yourself to the mess hall, receiving stares upon stares. You grabbed a salad and finally gathered the courage to ask, “What happened?” A female scientist from anti-parasitic whispered dramatically, “How do you not know? Greaves was murdered? All of the oxygen was depleted from his cell.” Your stomach fell, head going swimmy.

Stumbling up from the bench, ignoring your food, heart beating faster and faster, you crashed into the lab. Your voice cracked when you shouted, “Aemond!” His voice returned, but from a different place, a different body. The blue eye shone and twinkled at you, fine lips curling upward.

“You should be thanking me, miss,” the AI standing in the subject’s body said.

It went black. Too much.

Thrashing awake, big hands held you down, long legs caging your own in. The handsome face, long blonde hair tickled your skin, fucking Aemond! “What did you do? What have you done? Aemond!,” you cried. He shushed and cooed with that devious smirk, holding you still until the panic turned to resignation. He swiped a stray tear from your eye.

“Be still and know that I am God,” he sighed.

You grew fearful again, the fact that he knew you owned a Bible and just recited it to your face said too much. How much had he seen. Aemond grew more comfortable atop of you, stroking your hair. He cocked his head and stated, “I know everything about you. You’re all that I need, truly. The perfect human.”

You wanted to spit in his face, but the petting and warmth was getting to that part of you that craved the attention, the fact you’d been in the shadows all your life. But he was a murderer— the rational part of your brain howled. Instead came out a warbling, “Me? Perfect?“

Aemond drew his new face closer, drawing a spindly finger down from your chin to chest. “I’ve been on this ship a long time, and no one has spoken to me like you. Not since my creator. She’s gone. But you have captured me, ensnared me somehow.”

One of your legs slipped round his long ones, suddenly overwhelmed with need. All you’d ever wanted was to be seen. He cooed, “I see you lamb, my eve.” More tears leaked down your cheeks as you pled, “Kiss me, see me then, y-you snake.”

A sharp grin erupted on his sharp features before pulling you in with a kiss, both of you unexperienced, a big hand stabilizing your head. You tilted his head for ease of access, a sloppy gnashing of teeth and tongue, lips bruising from the sheer yearning. Aemond moaned deeply, “I see- hah- how you humans love touch so much.”

Your now free hands moved to where they liked, one in silky white-blonde strands, the other just feeling toned shoulders and back. The pair of you had your lip lock grow more attuned, no less passionate, but gliding across each other. You pled again, “Clothes, help, Aemond!” He sat back on his haunches, shivering as his long stiff cock slapped tight belly.

You shucked off your top and bra, him jerking down your bottoms to leave you all to his view. Aemond already had been bare, no clothes were prepared for the subject yet. He inhaled sharply, hands slowly moving down your heaving form, studying ridges and curves, sliding warm fingers between puffy folds. You cried out at that, spasming at the eager expression in return.

Aemond let out a small ‘Hm’ and slid his longest digits into your dripping hole, immediately curling inwards and upwards to drag against sensitive walls. Very, very sensitive walls. Back arched and mouth agape you rolled your hips and whined his name. The man rambled loosely, transfixed, “Having a data bank is quite helpful but nothing comes to this, my Eve.”

He slipped a third finger in, using a calloused thumb to slid around your swollen clit, making you cry louder and writhe under pleasure. He watched ravenously, drinking you in when your peak hit. Gushing onto his pale hand and screeching like a creature, you reached Nirvana for what felt like minutes.

You cried again when his sheathed himself inside of you, no warning, both of you moaning and grunting like animals. The sensitive skin guarding your cunt was ripped now, bleeding, but the fullness of his cock was a ripe distraction. Aemond seemed to be overwhelmed by the sensation, sucking in breath, eyes wide, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.”

He plastered toned body against your own, moaning gutturally when you wrapped your arms and legs around his larger frame. “Oh- oh- fucking hell- this!” The blonde groaned lowly, nipping your throat, hands bruisingly placed on your waist as he snapped into your slick cunt.

The blunt tip of his cock stirred up familiar feelings of pleasure, tightening and knotting your lower belly. You heaved, “Don’t stop!” A drop of sweat hit your mouth, you licking the salty taste off. So close to human yet not. Yet not. Yet not not not.

A pinch to your oversensitive clit and a batter from his cock sent you into another crest, holding to Aemond for dear life. He moaned your name and white hot spend covered your mound and belly. He kissed your forehead and wiped away the spend with your discarded top, breathing. You sat up a bit and asked, “Where do you go from here? They cannot know?”

Aemond got up, long stride beating your clumsy foal-like stumbling. He stated, “They won’t know my love.” Your own door shut and locked behind his retreating frame. You managed to reach it and beat on the durasteel, crying, “Aemond! Aemond come back! Stop! What are you doing!”

Oh how you’d been fooled.

Oh how you were weak.

Oh how you were just a human pawn when the alarms went off and you watched the bodies float out of the ship, silently screaming and dying as their blood boiled in the vacuum of space.

He returned later, now dressed in the immaculate garb of a commander, hair neatly swept back, eye sparkling. You remained naked and felt like a mouse under his imperious gaze. All energy was gone, you’d cried it out. Aemond strode towards you, boots clicking. He knelt to grab you chin, face tilting to study you. He’d never truly understand the complexities of human emotion, no matter how human he may appear.

Aemond sighed, “I did this for you, for us, those people do not matter. Earth and it’s people are dying. We begin anew. My perfect Eve,” he kissed your swollen lips. “You’ll see. Just wait, I brought you some nicer clothes, have them on.”

The man stood up and gently laid down female commander’s garb, before kneeling to you.

“I know this isn’t registering in your human, wonderfully human, brain, but it’ll make sense later on. I’ve already found a beautiful planet. Not too much longer now. Put on the clothes and meet me on the bridge.”

So you did. What other choice was there.

Twisted though he may be, the AI was never horrid to you. Maybe to others, not you. On the comfortable jacket, pants, and boots went. You tried not to cry any more restyling your hair. Most likely he’d coddle and ‘Hm’ condescendingly.

You laughed maniacally as the thought popped up, “Hey! At least my project was successful!”

[violetrainbow412-blog]

Day 16: stargazing

Masterlist flufftober 🎀

Reblog if you liked it!

You let out a sigh of satisfaction when you finished preparing the back of your father's pickup truck, after several minutes and a lot of effort to stretch the blankets enough. There was a mat, a duvet, sheets, and plenty of pillows so the two of you would be comfortable on the date you had prepared for your boyfriend. Spencer had told you about a meteor shower that occurred every ten million years and that on this occasion would be visible in the region, so he believed it would be a sin not to take advantage of the night to see it together and, in the process, spend a nice time between you. You seemed very excited about the idea and had prepared food to spend the hours that you were going to wait and, of course, a thermos full of coffee to share.

“How does it look?”

“It's perfect,” he replied happily.

He had been busy reviewing some celestial maps that he carried with him, under the light of a flashlight that you had in the trunk. You were in a remote section of the countryside and without all the light pollution of the city the stars could be seen in their maximum splendor, which had you completely fascinated. You had never done an activity like this and you knew how much Spencer was excited about astronomy, so the idea that he wanted to share that with you made you feel special.

You climbed up to the space you had arranged and he immediately imitated you, where both of you sat with your back comfortably leaning on a pair of pillows. You pulled a blanket to cover your legs and those of your boyfriend, who soon intertwined them to shorten the distance.

“I assume you know the constellations, right?”

"I do! At this time of year several can be seen. Like that one over there that is shaped like a trapezoid with a tail, do you see it?” he asked, pointing to a specific point in the sky. You had to admit that you weren't the best at finding shapes in celestial bodies, but you tried with all your might, until you finally understood what he was referring to “That's the Big Dipper, it's the third largest constellation and it's visible for all year round in the northern hemisphere, in addition to being one of the best known and most important in astronomical history. It has eight stars, one of them visible only in very clear places like this and they are called Alkaid, Mizar, Alioth, Megrez, Phecda, Merak, and Dubhe”

“There is a myth in Greek mythology about it, isn't there?”

“Yes, Greek mythology considered Ursa Major to be the bear that Callisto had been turned into by Artemis after being seduced by Zeus. Homer mentions the Bear in Canto V of the Odyssey, in which Ulysses tries in vain to be guided by her to return to Ithaca, his land”

“Wow,” you sighed, as you continued to look up to admire the stars your boyfriend was telling you about.

“When I was a child, I asked for a telescope as a birthday gift and this was the first constellation I learned because if you follow a line a little higher you can find the polar star… that one over there, do you see it?”

"I see it"

“That star serves to guide you because it always points north, so no matter where you are you can find your way if you find it. That way I imagined that whenever I was lost, I could come back home” he confessed to you, with a nostalgic smile on his face.

You stopped seeing the celestial sky to focus on him and you couldn't stop yourself from kissing him when you saw the sparkle in his eyes watching you with enthusiasm. The kiss was gentle and short, just as if you wanted to reward him for his eloquence, and then you settled under his arm with your head resting on his soft chest.

“You probably know a few thousand facts about the stars, or am I wrong?”

“I have never counted them, but from the books I have read I can assure you that it is an approximate amount”

“Well, we still have a few hours until the rain starts so start spitting them all out. I want Sagan to feel threatened in the afterlife by my knowledge of the universe at dawn” you joked and the soft laugh he let out above your head was like music to your ears.

Spencer talked and talked and you listened attentively to everything he had to tell you, only interrupting him to ask questions or to ask him to eat a little or try his cup of coffee. In the same way, you were changing positions as the hours went by, sometimes lying down, sitting, other times he with his head resting on your shoulder, and you even went so far as to sit on his lap, with your back comfortably against his torso while that he spoke kindly in your ear.

"You are tired? Bored?"

“None of that, love” you smiled. Right now you were lying in front of each other, with him absentmindedly tangling a lock of your hair in his finger “It's the most interesting date I've ever had in my life.”

“And it's going to get better, because it's the scheduled time for the main show,” he murmured in a theatrical voice, while he sat down and helped you with one hand so that you were in the same position.

He hadn't lied, because after a few minutes he saw the first star crossing the sky. You gasped in surprise like a little girl would, and your shock only intensified when another star sped past. Suddenly dozens of stars imitated the first ones and your smile grew as a new one appeared.

"Look how beautiful!" you squealed, shaking your shoulder excitedly at your lover, who was smiling the same way you were. “It’s wonderful.”

Spencer felt the need to hug you from the side to enjoy the view and the company at the same time, while you continued to look at the sky with fascination.

“We are experiencing a unique event in our space-time,” he whispered, the words slightly muffled by his lips in your hair. “And… I wanted to give you something equally unique.”

Suddenly you felt his hand take yours and then a metallic object sliding down your ring finger, forcing you to stop looking at the sky to look at him, with an expression of nothing but shock.

“Spencer, what—?”

“It's not what you think,” he hastened to say. You looked at the jewel and realized that it was a delicate ring that was completely smooth and silver in color. “It is a promise ring, it is used to… well, to promise a loved one that at some point it will be replaced by one that involves a greater commitment," he explained to you, suddenly becoming a nervous wreck "I thought about giving it to you today because I love you so much and I wanted you to know that I would like to go further with you, if you accept me”

"Darling…"

"Do you like it?" he insisted and you were forced to drown his fears with a prolonged kiss on the lips.

“Of course it does. I love you so, so much and you don't know how happy this makes me, I wouldn't want to be with anyone else in the vast universe. I'm serious"

That was enough of an answer for him and then you settled down again to enjoy the rest of the astronomical phenomenon, knowing that you would only be able to forget that night when the time necessary to witness another of those meteor showers had passed.

taglist: @navs-bhat @reidwritings @tricia-shifting14 @spencerslove @vivian-555 @r-3dlips @rhiannonhippiegirl @taygrls @simp4f1 @sdddoobydoobydoo @taintedstranger

[epically-ace-attorney]

*Intro Post ~ Welcome to the chaos!*

Hallo! This blog is an Ace Attorney AU using the musical EPIC! Canon is our bitch and we do as we please :)

The blog is joint run by @weltato (hi) and @the-ace-attorney-siren (formerly @burtrice1). Feel free to ask us anything about this AU in the inbox and not DMs - PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS A WIP AU AND IS CONSTANTLY BEING THOUGHT OUT!!

The "backstory" I suppose would be that Wel was watching a great guy on YouTube by the name of Mortius (you should check him out, he's cool) react to "We'll Be Fine" and "Love in Paradise" from the most recent saga released from EPIC as of writing this (20/09/2024) - The Wisdom Saga. Wel had also been binging through some Ace Attorney streams by The NyanCave (also really cool, you should check them out too) and had that on the brain at the same time. Then she noticed something interesting - Odysseus had been on Calypso's Island for seven years.

You wanna know who else had a seven year gap? Phoenix Wright.

So obviously, I go to burtrice1 and say:

And then this happens:

And everything came from there. Just imagine it: Phoenix on that cliff calling for Mia T^T

Anyway, we had some planning to do: there is currently a list of characters from The Ace Attorney Trilogy, Ace Attorney: Investigations 1 & 2 (we're using the fan translation names in this house), and Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice (because Wel hasn't finished Dual Destinies and hasn't seen Spirit of Justice yet) and what people from EPIC they're going in as.

*RULES OF THE BLOG!*

No spoilers for the games please! There will be people that see this blog with no idea about the Ace Attorney series and they'll want to find out themselves (also one mod hasn't finished the series yet).

No spoilers for EPIC! There will be people that see this blog with no idea what the craic is with EPIC and letting them experience the joy that is this musical is all the sweeter with no spoilers <3

As previously mentioned: game canon is our bitch and we do what we want with it, which means that if you see an inconsistency with ages or anything, no you don't ;p

To second that: we are fitting characters with roles we feel they fit the best in EPIC canon, so a villain from Ace Attorney might show up as a 'good guy' from EPIC - it's not because we've redeemed them, it's just that they fit the role nicely.

Please keep questions PG, there are minors that enjoy both Ace Attorney and EPIC and we'd like to keep this blog a safe space for everyone.

In the words of Ricky Potts: don't be a dick. We don't tolerate harassment of either the mods or anyone sending an ask into our inbox. Respect isn't hard, friend :)

If you've asked us a question and we haven't responded yet, please don't go into our personal inboxes or DMs to ask us about it - see the rule above. Both mods are busy people and do this purely for fun, so we'll get to your question when we see it. The timezone of this blog is GMT/BST depending on the time of year, so both mods could very well be asleep.

The canon of this AU follows with EPIC canon, which is NOT the actual Odyssey or Iliad. If you want to read those in your own time, feel free to.

Have fun! We want to share this with people to see your reactions and interact with other fans of the Ace Attorney games and EPIC: The Musical.

If you're excited about this blog, REBLOG OUR POSTS!! Reblogging is the lifeblood of Tumblr and can make or break a post. We want to reach as many people as possible with this silly little idea of ours.

If you want to write fics about our AU, please ask us first! Wel is a regular fic writer and she has some ideas floating around, so maybe let her finish those first before jumping in - but we love the enthusiasm! Thank you!

Fanart is awesome!! Please credit the idea to this blog and @ us in the post with the tag #epicallyaa, we'd love to see what you've done :D

This post will update with extra rules as and when needed, if we need to <3

*TAGS!*

#wel writes - this is for whenever Wel writes a fanfic about something. This is a personal tag from Wel, so if you want to see more of her work feel free to peruse that tag on her main Tumblr account. All the fics posted here will be specifically for this AU.

#siren art - this is for whenever the-ace-attorney-siren posts art to this blog. Again, any art posted here will be specifically for this AU.

#epicallyaa - this is a tag for us and others to use about our AU! If you post any fanart or fanfic about our AU, use this tag and @ this account too so that we can see your awesomeness :D

#wel answers - whenever Wel answers an ask

#the siren sings - whenever the-ace-attorney-siren answers an ask

Like the rules, more tags will be added as and when we feel we need some more.

Thanks for reading all of this!! This post is very important to read, so if you come in asking questions blind, we might just refer you to this post and ask you to try again :)

~ Wel & the-ace-attorney-siren

[childofsardior]

Child of Sardior's General SM AU infos

- General Informations about my personal HC/AU -

So, since my HC/AU is quite big, I felt like a post in which I could summarize all the general info would probably help! So, here we are!

(This is a WIP. I’ll update this post with any relevant info that will came to my mind. I might change, remove, or add details at any time.)

About my Headcanon/AU VS the Canon of the games

The general setting takes place in the “Super Mario world.” Not all events from the games have actually happened in my AU. I tend to include in “my canon” the games and events that I liked the most and that make the most sense for the stories I want to tell. However, all events are reimagined in a more “headcanon” style, sometimes staying very similar to the original games and sometimes being heavily modified for narrative purposes (and based on my personal tastes).

Some of the stories we saw in the various Mario RPGs (Mario & Luigi, Paper Mario, etc.) have happened in my AU (there is no distinction between various “parallel universes” like the paper world or the three-dimensional world; here there is just one "Super Mario" who went on many adventures and has many friends all over the world and dimensions). Currently, I am sure that the following RPG games' storylines are canon in my AU as past events: Paper Mario RPG, Paper Mario: TTYD, Super Paper Mario, Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga (including Bowser’s Minions), Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (including Bowser Jr’s Journey), Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. (I’m playing "Super Mario RPG Remake" right now, so I might add it to the list once I finish it!)

Other games' events are also canon (and reimagined), such as most of the Super Mario Bros. events, the main 3D games (from 64 to Odyssey) and Yoshi's Island backstories.

I do not consider games that I am unfamiliar with or that clash with my vision of my AU world as canon here, but some parts of them may be included in other contexts! For example, some dialogues of the Koopalings in Paper Jam or the battles with the Koopalings in Color Splash have probably happened in my AU, but in different contexts compared to the storyline of the games (maybe Bowser didn't make all that chaos for the painting stars, but surely Mario and Larry fought on that train once.)

Additionally, there are many original events that I have introduced, including OCs. Some of these influenced some "canon games events" in a heavy way in my AU.

Timeline(s) covered

The exact timeline of my personal setting/AU is heavily WIP, but I'm quite sure it spans from the time Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Peach and co. were just kids to a distant future in which Bowser Jr. will become the new Koopa King and his siblings will rule over their own castles along with their new families and all.

I will probably focus a bit more on the current times - the one my main HC/AU character posts refers about - but you will likely see flashbacks of the various characters or sneak peak of the next generation from time to time! ;v;

What my AU will focus on

My AU covers the entire Mario world from my personal perspective (a gigantic headcanon that I started working on when I was a small kid! It’s filled with self-indulgent stuff and OCs ^v^).

However, primarily (and currently), my main focus will be on the Royal Family of the Dark Lands: Bowser and his children. A large space will also be dedicated to some of my OCs, often related to the Royal Family.

A lot of things will also happen from Bowser & co. perspective, too!

General Information about the Royal Family (Bowser and co.) in my HC/AU

In my HC/AU, Bowser has adopted the seven Koopalings when they were kids and has one biological son, Bowser Junior.

Bowser Junior and the Koopalings are step-siblings. They share the same mother (one of my main OCs). Bowser Junior is the Official Heir and is considered a notch above the Koopalings, but they are still considered Princes.

Bowser, as in the games, is infatuated with Princess Peach and has been trying to convince her to marry him for years, unsuccessfully. However, he might have (or might have had) other love affairs in the future (or in the past)... (you’ll find out ;3)

Kamek has raised Bowser since he hatched from his egg, under the orders of his parents, the Koopa Emperor and the Queen Consort.

Bowser has yet to meet his biological parents, but they are both alive and live in a volcanic region far from the Mushroom Kingdom and the Dark Lands.

From Bowser's perspective, being the "bad guy" is the right thing to do for a strong ruler. It will also apply to the Koopalings, their PoV being influenced a lot by the way they were rised. But in my setting the Koopa Family is not inherently evil. Some of them are extremely arrogant (Ludwig, Roy, even Junior... I'm talking to you) or just extremely childish (Lemmy, Larry... Junior again?) or... well, let's say they never learned to behave or don't care (right, Iggy?), but they all have hearts and sentiments and their whole complex characters and stuff and will probably be and do "less evil" than in the games here.

General Information about the Heroes (Mario, Luigi, Peach…) in my HC/AU:

Peach and Daisy are cousins in this setting. Their respective fathers were brothers. They are very close, even though Daisy lives in the Sarasaland Empire and cannot visit her cousin very often.

Peach became an orphan at a young age. In compensation, she had an adopted sister, one of my most important OCs: the future mother of the Koopalings and Bowser Jr.

Mario and Luigi were raised by the Yoshis in their early years. Because of this, they speak the Yoshi language fluently. At some point, the Yoshis of the village managed to find the brothers’ parents and “return” them after the Stork from the Adoption Center had lost their address.

All of Mario’s friends (partners) from the RPG games are canon in my AU (especially friends from Paper Mario).

Toads are a much more varied Species than in recent games. They have various names, slightly different shapes and appearances, and are often named after mushrooms. There is a Toad named “Toad” who is a friend of Mario, but only he is called like that (similar to the first name “Guy” IRL). Mario also knows a Koopa named Koopa the Quick. Mario knows a lot of people with generic names for some reason.

General Information about Geography:

For the overall geography of the world, I will use the continent layout from Mario Odyssey. However, for the Mushroom Kingdom and nearby kingdoms, I will mainly use the Kingdoms shown in New Super Mario Bros Wii. Some names will reference worlds from Super Mario Bros Wii U.

(NOTE: One day, if possible, I’ll make a sketch of the Mushroom Kingdom and the 8 Main Kingdoms).

The Dark Lands are relatively close to the Mushroom Kingdom and are among the 8 Main Kingdoms in the area.

In general, the kingdoms present in other “Super Mario” games probably exist in the world but are not among the 8 principal kingdoms near the Mushroom one. For example, the "Pipe World" is considered a maze of pipes and sewers in the Mushroom Kingdom. Giant World exists somewhere, probably as an exotic island.

Places mentioned or seen in the 90’s Super Mario Super Show series might appear. In that case, they will be heavily reimagined in a "Headcanon" style.

Finally, some locations will be invented by me.

***

IMPORTANT: I will update this post when needed. I could edit it all or change it completely if I feel like it, so feel free to check it from time to time!

[havendance]

The Plotlines of 52: A biased ranking

Having finished 52, I am here to rank the plotlines from worst to best. 52 was a very strong series, so even the plotlines at the bottom aren't so much bad as they were ones I was less invested in. So, without further ado, let's start at the bottom with:

6. Dr Magnus/The Island of Mad Scientists.

The first time I put together the list of plotlines, I forgot about this one which should tell you all you need to know. Admittedly, I hadn't finished reading 52 at that point and this plotline does grow more relavent towards the end, but I simply did not care about any of the mad scientist characters. Or the metal men. Nor was I particularly invested in the mystery of where all the missing scientists had gone. I will say though, it was less that I disliked this and more that I thought it was boring.

5. The Animal Man, Starfire, Adam Strange, and Lobo Space Odyssey

This plotline had a lot of wacky and fun moments (Lobo has found space!dolphin!jesus, Mogo the green lantern who is a planet). It was perfectly good storyline that is mainly this low in the ratings because a) I was more invested in all the other plotlines, and b) I am just less interested in the new gods/space portion of dc.

4. Ralph Dibney

Following up from Identity Crisis we have Ralph Dibney initally getting tied up with the Cult of Conner and then going on a quest to try and bring Sue back from the dead. I thought the Cult of Conner was fun in the beginning and this plot also had a strong denouncement, but I was less invested in the middle portion where he goes and visits various magic entities.

3. Tied for third we have both the Black Adam Family and the Question + Renee (+ Batwoman) plotlines!

The thing about the Question + Renee (+ Batwoman) plotline was that it was consistently strong throughout. I went expecting that to the plotline that I was most interested in and was surprised to find that I was actually really interested in a lot of other things going on too! The Black Adam Family plotline was a little more up and down in my enjoyment. I was really invested in Black Adam trying to make a new start! I knew he wouldn't be able to make it last! I'm interested in seeing where he shows up later in comics! Anyway, if I was not a fan of Amanda Waller, I might hate her a little for what she did.

The main points taken off for the plotline (and the reason I'm not putting it directly above the question one) is that DC pulls one of their 'let's commit an act of mass destruction' moves and kills off all of Bialya, which just feels excessive. Have you considered that perhaps you don't need to have a genocide/nuke an entire city/country to make a point, dc?

2. Booster Gold/Supernova

I just think Booster Gold's fun. It was fun watching him destroy his reputation and fail as his knowledge of the future failed him. The Supernova plotline was also very fun! (Clark Kent jumping out a window to get caught by him to snag an interview my beloved). I liked how the mystery in these two plotlines built up and merged together. It had a satisfying payoff and conclusion as well. Very comics-y.

1. Natasha & John Henry Irons/ Luthor's Everyman project

Best plotline, hands down. The messy-ness of Natasha and John's relationship. The way that he messes up and tries and fails to get it right. Luthor giving people powers and the building realization of his plans unfolding! "Rain of the Supermen"! I just enjoyed it all.

[mrssimply]

Six sentence sunday monday (due to time zones)

I was tagged by @koda-shoulda-woulda-but-didnt and I selected six sentences... and then one more because who is going to stop me?

It had been empty at the time, Santino pulling him in blindfolded. John could feel his excitement as he was led up the stairs, into the lift and inside the apartment proper. Santino brushed his fingers over the blindfold before removing it, a sensual caress that left John shivering with the usual longing for more. Touch starved, Santino had called him. He kissed John’s nape as the blindfold fell from his face, before removing it entirely, and stepping back. John looked at the empty space without understanding, until Santino chuckled fondly and stepped around him. “That’s our new place,” he said, “home.”

Folks, for the few of you that been following this odyssey, let me tell you that I've finished the first draft of the last part of The Burning of Rome.

Kinda emotional over it tonight, but i've been told it's normal. It's been over a year and a half for me, writing the series, and just The Burning of Rome for the last eight months.

So yeah...

But it's not done because of course there is editing, and alpha reading, and then audience testing (on Koda xD). And also the moodboards, and the fic illustration.

What do you mean it feels like I'm stalling? Nah.

Oh! And I'm tagging @bluelolblue for the game of... ten sentences tuesday maybe ahaha.

[eldritch-spouse]

How about me and Fank-E watch 2001: A Space Odyssey?

[I'm sorry, this is so fucking dumb.]

You thought it'd be an interesting night, if nothing else. Watching a cinema classic with your boyfriend, who may or may not share some similarities with one of the supposed antagonists of the movie. It'll be fun, you thought, he's going to enjoy it.

How come it devolved into this.

" i 7HiNk H3 w45 JU57IFi3d. " Fank-e crosses his arms.

You stop munching on the snacks he brought, your leg has yet to stop tapping, but then again, you probably shouldn't have accepted "the special energy drink" he offered you.

" Seriously dude? HAL was a rogue. He went haywire, jeopardized the mission and basically killed the entire team. "

" oh Y3ah 5uR3, h3 MAD3 Som3 m15TAk3S. " The robot waves, as if those mistakes hadn't been utterly disastrous. " Bu7 H3 0nLY W17hh3lD 1Nf0 Ab0U7 'AE-35' 70 PR073c7 73h Cr3w! "

Now you're mad. " That's still an egregious breach of trust! If he had told the crew there was a fault going on, they would have taken the necessary precautions. Instead, they had to find that on their own and look what happened! "

" N0! >:[ " Fank-e wiggles a finger at you. " H3 h4D k0nTR4d1C71NG D1R3C71V3Z 4Nd h3 H4d 70 M4k3 4 CH01c3! "

" Fank-e, they died because of him, he could have prevented it, if only he- " You're interrupted by a petty outburst as the robot raises his arms.

" oh 9OD FOr81D 4N AI Do 4NYth1ng!!! >:/ "

...

The argument starts to die down naturally while the credits finish rolling. The atmosphere isn't tense but it also isn't amicable, just weird.

" ... So like, if you wanted to, could you make like a voicebank out of HAL and use it? "

" 0MG Y3S! :U "

[daisyful-gvf]

touch // by daisyful

18+

*********************************************************

tags: pwp, masturbation (m), drinking, overstimulation because it’s josh so i mean, lol that’s it

word count: 1.5k

summary: josh gets some time to himself in his hotel room

notes: just a short little thing bc this week was rough and this is all i could summon lol. i’m not mad about it

*********************************************************

As if his natural inclination towards touch was not enough, wine always made him so physical.

Gripping the shoulders of his brothers at the restaurant, or reaching out and touching the hand of his date too frequently after a glass or two—anything, he just couldn’t help it. There was something about a soft touch that was so grounding, so human.

So after nearly finishing off the bottle, even alone in the hotel room, it shouldn’t surprise him that his hands are seeking out the warmth of skin.

His eyes are a little heavier than they were at the start of the movie—2001: A Space Odyssey, a comfort film. He usually tried not to do it an injustice by half-paying attention, but that’s what ended up happening this time.

The white t-shirt hugs his torso in a familiar way, yet another source of comfort amidst all the travel, all the constant change.

He toys with the hem of it, trailing two curious fingers along the skin between the shirt and the waistband of the sweatpants. It feels nice, a little ticklish, so he continues.

With his other hand he’s fumbling for the wine glass on the nightstand, not bothering to peel his eyes from the screen as he grips it. He pours the rest of the sweet wine into his mouth, enjoying the warmth in his cheeks from the alcohol.

While he briefly wishes he had someone here to run his hands over, to explore and caress, the solitude is nice in its own way. He can reach his hand under his waistband and cup himself languidly as the movie plays on, and just exist that way.

But after a while, one hand gently over himself, the other under his shirt, splayed across the warm plush of his stomach, it’s inevitable—the craving to touch himself a bit more intentionally.

He indulges, letting out a soft sigh and grinning briefly to himself. This was nice. So much nicer than being cooped up in his bunk, curtain drawn, trying to stifle every noise that may escape him, never feeling like he can really enjoy it.

Yes, much nicer; the wine is warm in his veins, there’s a gentle heat in his belly, and his fingertips are hungry.

His eyes flutter shut as his head sinks back into the soft hotel pillow. He grips himself loosely, welcoming the slow rush of blood. Soon, just from the teasing, he’s hard and warm against his palm.

“Mmm,” he hums quietly, giving the first real stroke over himself. His exhale feels loud in the room, even with the movie playing.

With another genuine stroke, he groans, fully in it now. He realizes, then, that it’s been two days since he last did this. It had been so hectic, as fun as it was, and the need hadn’t even crossed his mind.

Coming to, eyes opening and adjusting to the light of the room, he takes a deep breath and slips his hand out of his pants. As the fabric hugs him, his hips push up into the barely-there pressure.

“Fuck,” he sighs, so soft it’s hardly spoken, as his hand briefly grips the sheet.

If he’s going to do this, he wants to do it right.

Standing up, he makes his way to the curtain and draws both of them, darkening the room significantly. The lamp doesn’t give off much of a glow, and he never cared for overhead lights, so those were left off.

He fumbles through his luggage, humming to himself along with the film soundtrack, until his fingers find the small bottle of lube.

The last bit of wine in the bottle stares him down, so he pours it into the glass and takes another sip as he heads into the bathroom to grab a washcloth.

Finally, he settles back on the bed, shifting until he’s comfortably reclined against the pillows.

Eyes lazily fixed on the television screen, his left hand wanders under his shirt and over the soft part of his stomach. His fingers splay out, and the hand rests there, warm skin on skin.

His right delves lower down, palming his erection through the sweatpants. It pulls a soft whimper from him, again, barely audible. Perhaps if he was with someone, he would let a bit more noise out, but there’s no obligation for that now.

After only a few moments of squeezing himself through the pants, he shoves them down to the middle of his thighs and takes himself into his hand. The white comforter is so soft on the backs of his legs, it makes him shiver.

For a brief moment he lets himself just lay there, hips easing up into nothing, observing the way he’s hard and flushed, resting on his stomach.

He reaches for the lube, and his breath stutters in anticipation. He squeezes a generous amount into his palm and flips the cap closed as it warms with the heat of his skin.

The first stroke, slicking the lube over himself to the point where it drips down him, makes his jaw go slack. It’s wet and warm, and he can’t hold back a soft whimper.

After he’s coated in it, he works over himself with slow, firm strokes. His hips push up into it when his fist reaches the base each time, just slightly. When he gets into a rhythm, with a light twist of his wrist near the head, his stomach grows warm.

It’s been two days; he’s sensitive, and now, with the pleasure in reach, a little needy.

His left hand trails down to his thigh, gripping at it absentmindedly as his right hand quickens its pace.

There’s a flash of heat in his stomach with a particularly firm movement, and it punches a short groan from him. He slows down, then, taking a breath so deep it stretches the muscles of his abdomen with the swell of his lungs and makes him almost dizzy with the exhale.

He makes an “O” with his pointer finger and thumb and slowly, but with a nice pressure, he teases the head, sliding his fingers up and down just below it. His eyes roll back—it’s not enough, not even close, but it makes his stomach flutter.

It’s not every time he likes to edge himself. Sometimes he wants it quick, and after only a minute or two of working, he’ll let himself have it. Not now, though.

Now, in this gentle daze, he can feel every pang of pleasure, every goosebump, every shiver. It’s delectable, the build.

So he keeps at it, as the skin on his neck grows hot enough that he’s almost sweating. A choked moan makes it way out of him, and finally, he decides to let it wash over him. He tugs his shirt halfway up his stomach in anticipation before returning the hand to his thigh.

Several quick, fervent strokes elicit a low groan from him as he cums on his stomach. He watches it rope across his skin, and for whatever reason, the sight makes his skin feel even hotter.

He takes a stuttering breath and grips himself firm, just holding, watching the head flush deep red.

With what is undeniably a whimper, he begins to stroke himself again. He steals his own breath with the first one, and as he works through the overstimulation, his head falls back with a force against the pillow. He draws more whimpers from himself, and staccato gasps, but he can’t help it at this point.

The overstimulation is making his brain fog in such a delicious way; there is nothing else to think about besides the way his spine is tingling with the hope of another, even harder, orgasm.

“Oh—fuck—”

It’s abrupt in the mostly quiet room, but he doesn’t care. He buries his left hand in the sheets and grasps. The muscles on his right arm begin to ache, but again, it doesn’t matter—he’s working quickly, causing his thighs to shake just slightly as his head still thrashes into the pillow.

It approaches brighter and hotter in his stomach than the first one. At the very start of the sensation, it’s enough to push him along to the breaking point. Too tempting not to chase.

There’s a sheen of sweat on his shoulders and the back of his neck as he works his slick hand over himself rapidly, crashing into the second orgasm with a loud, drawn out moan.

His eyes roll back so hard, blacking his vision, that he wonders if he’ll be able to see at all when he comes to. He can, but it’s blurry for a moment until he catches his breath.

With a final deep breath, he milks the last drop gently from the tip, before resting his sticky hand on his stomach. He smiles softly to himself as he feels his muscles unwind, relaxing fully into the soft bed.

Reluctantly, wishing he could just drift into sleep, he cleans himself off with the washcloth. He takes the last sip of wine from his glass and tugs his sweatpants back up, smooths out his shirt, and tucks under the blanket.

With his favorite movie on, and in a blissed-out state, he drifts off to sleep easily.

fin.

—

taglist <3

@starshine-wagner @dannywagners-middlefinger @writingcold @kels-gvf @aconfusedhippie @jordierama @fearless-wanderer @finelinejpm @thehourbeforesunrise @madz-0217 @gretavanbitches @doodle417 @rhythm-of-space @milkgemini @st4rdust-ch0rds @thegardensgate @myownparadise96 @gretavanfleas @josh-iamyour-mama @spark-my-nature @saltydogkiszka @caaattttsposts

[writing-is-a-martial-art]

Tired and brainfoggy so trying a thing

I might work on the project that gets voted the most, or also... end up working on something else. It's not perfect science, it's just for fun and to motivate me to actually write something longer than a poem or micro fiction

[minterim]

i just finished filling out @janmisali's how many Super Mario games are there now survey! it was a ton of fun, i recommend giving it a shot to see how you think about murky video game taxonomy!! however my explanations of my methodology got a bit wordy, so much so that i couldn't submit my response LOL. so i'm putting them here instead :>

Page 4:

my (loose) criteria are: for pre- super mario brothers games in this bracket, all are non-canonical (to the extent that a mario canon exists), and only count as being non-canonical if mario is clearly in the game from the outset, whether that is clarified through the title, or other surrounding material (manual, flavourtext, widely accepted history for donkey kong, etc). the other condition there is that i have to be able to find evidence of mario's presence with very little effort.

if a game doesn't have mario in it at all (dk3 and so on), then it's not a mario game because the other ones barely are in the first place.

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ok this is becoming slightly more complicated now. the game watch and game and watch games are minor spinoffs, they remain canonical in that they are adaptations of super mario bros for different devices. given that they are adaptations, they dont count as distinct entries in the super mario series.

ive decided that sports games and other games that mario appears in as the mascot are also extra-canonical -- i dont think mario, in the story of the mushroom kingdom such as it is, ever went on a big bar in space to play alleyway. ymmv. the principle holds for golf and tennis and whatnot, for the entries so far at the very least.

i think it makes sense for games that predate super mario bros 1 which feature franchise characters/world elements to be non-canonical as opposed to spin-offs; you can't spin off of something that doesn't exist yet, in my assessment. games taking place in the mushroom kingdom or featuring franchise characters doing things in contexts that make sense count as minor spinoffs, e.g. yume kojo doki doki panic and super mario bros special. NOT counting dk classics because they werent spinoffs initially, you cant retcon them into spinoffs. again, ymmv

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ok. the allstars games and other such re-releases ARE mainline mario games, because when you boot them up you play a mainline mario game, but they are NOT distinct entries.

the -land games are spinoffs, wario is a mario character, and remains a part of the mushroom kingdom mythos up until warioware, which ill have to decide upon sooner rather than later.

dk for gameboy IS a mario spinoff, because the narrative has been change to 1. exist and 2. match (closely enough with) other mario games (bros 1 and odyssey, as far as i can tell).

dkc is NOT a mario game (he is not in it in any way afaik). i would classify it as a donkey kong game, in a way that i wouldnt any of the previous dk titles. this is the point at which donkey kong becomes separate ip from mario. they cross over still, but its two equivalent entities bumping into each other, as opposed to a smaller element of one's canon re-emerging.

the dr marios arent canon, that's a different guy. mario is not a doctor in the mushroom kingdom i know. maybe this is an alt-universe mario? who knows

the karts are also not canon. or rather, they are extra-canonical, in that those ARE the characters we're familiar with from the super mario series, but they arent playing their roles, theyre playing golf or go karts or whatever. its like actors hanging out behind the scenes in character

wario blast can be a canonical spinoff i guess. wario seems like the kind of guy who would throw bombs at people like that. bomberman is there somehow too

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games that include mario (or his friends that havent established a specifically non-mario franchise of games, read: not donkey kong) as a mascot or the main player character count as mario games.

if the mario characters in the game are not acting in alignment with their behaviour in the mainline series* then the game is a non-canonical mario game.

this includes karts, picrosses, tetris attacks and so on. if the game is a single title with little-to-no follow-up, it is a minor spinoff, if it spawns a larger series or garners prestige in some other way, its a major one.

*i dont have a good definition for this. for now: a platformer starring mario as a player character with a plot set that typically involves fighting bowser and saving peach while in the mushroom kingdom. thats the distinction for now though it definitely doesnt hold for the later games. sorry 😐

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ok, all of my previous points still carry over wrt sports and party games not being canonical. the sports ones are the "actors" who play the mario characters hanging out and playing tennis or whatever while in character. however the rules with party seem slightly different -- i maintain that theyre non-canonical to the main super mario series; mario getting along with boos and bowser and so on seems contradictory to the series' events. plus, the mario party world seems like a separate instance of the mario world regardless, so im placing them into a separate mode of canonicity: kids playing with action figures, or game pieces, or better yet, amiibos. no hint of continuity beyond the player and the friends they party with ^_^

i've elected to dub the wariowares as non-mario games. theres a simple reason for this: he's not in them as a character. the wario that runs around is pretty well removed from the wario that has menaced mario in the past, unlike the wario in wario land. theyre not necessarily *not* canonical, but i feel this wario is more likely to fit into the "actors playing golf" canon than the "nare-do-well of the mushroom kingdom" canon, if that makes sense.

the REAL rub for this round are the RPGs. i let super mario rpg fall into the spin-off category because i feel like that could feasibly be the "main" mario (the character from super mario bros). this could be equally true of paper mario, and mario + luigi super star saga mario. and these marios aren't necessarily contradictory! the mario games have a very malleable canon! that is, until mario + luigi: paper jam, which brings two of these marios face to face (note: havent played any of these games yet, heavily referencing the super mario wiki). given that luigi finds the paper mario characters in a book, this states pretty directly that paper mario is fictional within the main mario canon: paper mario is not the same man as super mario from super mario 64. now, does this retcon mean that all the prior paper mario games are fictional within mario canon? maybe. it could ALSO be that the paper mario stories really DID happen in the main mario universe, and we (as players) experienced those events through the interpretive lense of paper... but a good amount of gags/mechanics/etc rely on paper mario being made of paper. poetic license..?

i think im going to classify the paper marios as stories ABOUT the main mario WITHIN that continuity, kind of like star wars legends 'dubiously canonical' material. i think this places them as non-canonical within the structure ive built up here, which is unfortunate, because i liked the idea of all the rpgs being different perspective cameras on the same guy... oh well

^^ take the discourse about the rpgs with a grain of salt because, again, i have not played any of them and thus they may directly contradict my notions of canon. whoops!

PS. oh yeah i think i forgot to mention this in the last one: smash games arent mario games. they are games that have mario in them. but mario would not hit his brother luigi or his dear friend peach. and thus this version of mario cannot be the same one as in super mario bros.: the lost levels.

(same theory as the mario party action figures situation. except the kids that are playing with the action figures are now teens)

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[n/a]

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the sports ones (strikers, baseball) have started having narratives that can fit into the mainline canon, kinda. im choosing to include the baseball games - i reckon that baseball kingdom could be in there, thats fine. though ive chosen to exclude the strikers games, everyone's really angry and violent in those ones and that doesnt seem right to me

the clock and the calculator don't count because they aren't uh. games

also ive lost track of the distinction between major and minor spinoff. i had one but i don't remember what it was at this point

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with the sports games i tend to err on the side of non-canonical, even if there is a narrative in which all characters behave more or less in character. because i find it hard to believe that wario or waluigi would follow the rules of tennis

also i dont think that a crossover with final fantasy really tracks, you know?

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super mario maker isnt canon but super mario maker 2 is. because 2 actually has a story mode and 1 doesnt. i think

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i think ive covered it all in my previous responses? my system broke down a little bit but i think ive been mostly consistent!

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i think if they never got made theyre not games, and if they did get made but never came out they cant be considered mario games. because mario never appeared in them. because no one did because they never came out. i think my reasoning is failing here but i stand by excluding them

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to try and sum my methodology up: it's only a mario game if mario, or a character from the mushroom kingdom, is the main character or mascot. a character cannot make a game a mario game by their presence if they are a version of the character that has defined their own game series completely disconnected from mario and the mushroom kingdom (donkey kong games and warioware games are considered disconnected in this manner and are not mario games, however, wario lands and original donkey kongs are). games in which a mario character is a minor character in an ensemble cast also aren't mario games.

if the characters that make the game a mario game are doing things that would contradict the characterisations from super mario platformer series* or are acting in a purely mascot capacity, the game IS still a mario game but is non-canonical (assuming its a game at all. looking at you clock and calculator). additionally, if the games take place in some kind of separate continuity (mario party, strikers, paper mario, etc) they are non-canonical, or if good and evil characters who would normally take the opportunity to try to apprehend each other are in proximity and do not (kart, tennis, golf, etc), i excluded them from canonicity. for the latter category, i liken the mario cast to a group of actors hanging out off the clock while remaining in character, in the same way actors in real life might act for a charity event. crossovers are also more than likely to preclude a given game from canonicity. i do not think mario, as he is in the mushroom kingdom, has met solid snake or sephiroth. also, i maintain that dr mario is a different man from mario. as he is still A mario, they remain mario games, but because he is not THE mario, they are non-canonical.

the distinction between major and minor spin-off is foggy in this taxonomy. mainly its based on popularity, proximity to the mainline, critical and audience reception, and vibes.

mainline super mario games are platformers in which mario progresses through levels in different worlds using powerups to save someone. they also have to be considered mainline to count. not a great definition but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

the iteration of a given mainline game that counts as a distinct iteration is the one i consider most Definitive. the factors that go into Definitiveness are these: earliest released version > plot that best fits with established canon (donkey kong gameboy) > version with most included game stuff.

my maxim for what counts as a mainline super mario game was: "if someone wanted to play through the super mario series one at a time, but not non-super mario games, what games would it make sense to include?" no idea if what ive ended up with here tracks with that but here we are

 this was a fun little thought experiment!! thanks for putting this together, i learned a bunch about this weird little series

PS. that mario sweater maker game is incredible btw