#hostile countries on both sides

[ayrennaranaaldmeri]

bisexuals are truly safe from no one lmao.

[katyspersonal]

[yndrgrl]

your boyfriend, katsuki bakugo, loves you dearly, but you're scared you'll never be deserving of him

cute lil dabble. lowkey songfic. fem! reader. angst to comfort. fluff. established relationship. any au. overthinking! reader.

warnings: there are none :D

a/n: picture a "too sweet" by hozier girl x "i wanna be yours" by arctic monkeys boy relationship !

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katsuki is always characterized as hostile yet calculating, a man who knows exactly what he wants. he's destined to be the top of the food chain, everyone knows it. he's powerful man with a deadly gorgeous face, his fangirls would describe.

& in comes you. plain old you.

you honestly have no idea what katsuki sees in you. like, if you're digging deep in yourself, maybe he likes your for your dark, crude sense of humor that always seems to make him belly laugh.

it's said that he's an early bird. he's awake before you every single day, asleep & sound by 8:30-- on the weekends, he'll push it to 10:00. before you've said your first words of the day, he's already made his side of the bed, made & ate breakfast, put away the laundry, & is off to his morning run after his morning workout. his good habits he's developed early in life has benefited him in every way.

he never procrastinated on chores, his paper work is flawless, & you could learn a thing or two from his time management skills. he's always making time for spontaneous dates you wanna go on, festivals you wanna visit, & he makes sure that the pantry is stacked with your favorite snacks. any of your interests are his interests, even if he doesn't fully understand it.

when it comes to katsuki, you ought to wonder if he ever wants to experience something different from his strict, repetitive lifestyle. you sometimes feel stupid for wanting more out; you want to travel somewhere far away, you want to go out clubbing with a bunch of strangers, you want to move to the country side & live in a cottage. katsuki always reels in your dreams, encouraging you but also reminding you that you need to stay consistent to achieve them. you're jealous with how fast he can accept reality.

"babe? you listening?" katsuki questioned, snapping you out of your thoughts. you blinked a couple of times then nodded almost-too enthusiastically. he let out a little chuckle & stroked your cheek with his thumb. "what're you thinking about?"

"nothing, i'm sorry," you sighed with your hands in your lap. you both were on the couch, doing your own thing. he was on his phone, & you were supposed to be doing some work on your laptop, but you found yourself spacing out again.

"don't apologize. i'm just curious about what's going on in that pretty, little head of yours," he told you before he took your hand & pressed his lips against your knuckles. you thought to yourself, i'm not good enough for this man.

you debated whether or not to tell the truth. on one side, he has been your devoted boyfriend for years now, but on the other, he could just be asking out of curtesy. like, what if he actually does not care at all- "(y/n)? talk to me. i know you have something you wanna say," katsuki commented, scooting closer to you. he set the pillow that you placed your laptop on the coffee table so he could get your undivided attention. he caressed your thigh to help ground you.

you stayed silent for a moment, & he waited patiently. you swallowed, your eyes darted from his piercing red ones to the floor to his hands. finally, you said, "you're too sweet for me." he laughed & laughed, & you couldn't help but crack a smile. "what? what's so funny?" you pouted.

"sorry for laughing, princess. it's just no one ever calls me sweet. like, ever," admitted katsuki as he settled down from his fit of laughter. what he said was true though, he didn't have a problem with it. he was not sweet at all, he was rough around the edges & egotistical with the skills to back him up. he only ever thinks about himself & you. "but what makes you say that, hm?"

"well, for one, you always treat me out & take me anywhere i want. we never go where you wanna go," you pointed out, jabbing your finger in his toned chest playfully.

"that doesn't make me sweet. i have the money, & i don't fuckin' care about where we go to eat."

you chose to ignore him, rolling your eyes at him because that was his excuse every time. "two, you're literally in the prime of your life, & you choose to go to sleep at 8:30? how do you sleep so well?"

"(y/n), what is this really about?" he questioned. katsuki brushed your hair away from your face, tucking the silky strands behind your ear. "& don't lie to me, i know you."

"ugh, fineee," you groaned as you threw your head back. maybe it was for comedic effect, or to gather your thoughts & regulate the tears that started to well in your eyes. "do you think i'm like, worthy of you?"

"worthy of me?"

"yeah, do you think i'm good enough for you?" you rephrased, pulling your hands away from him to rub your upper arm. it's embarrassing to admit something, it's scary too. what if, once you point it out, he'll agree & leave you?

"'course i do! i'm the best around & i got the best fuckin' girl, why are you thinking this shit?" katsuki exclaimed, his passion that you wish you had seeping through to his tone. a moment of thick silence followed, you took a deep breath. you suck at emotions.

"you're too good for me, okay! you're so much stronger than everyone, & if that wasn't enough, you're insanely smart! i'm just... here. average at best. people praise you like the morning after an eternity of darkness. you're the rain after a heatwave. everything works out for you, & i'm just the one holding you back from even better things-"

"babe, you're not holding me back or whatever. you've never held me back," he stated like it was a fact, but you felt as though he was just saying that to calm you down. it angered you, & you were ashamed that you were angry because it wasn't even directed at him, it was directed at the fact you felt unworthy.

"no, you don't get it! i aim low because it's realistic for me, i can't afford to aim for anything else because i'm destined to fail. you, on the other hand... you have so much potential. don't you get embarrassed about having a girlfriend like me?"

"no." he answered so quickly, like it was rehearsed, like he knew what you were going to say. "i've never felt embarrassed of you ever. you're so fuckin' dense, you know that?"

you paused just to stare at him. katsuki sure had a way with comforting people. even after years of being a hero, he never learned how to traditionally comfort people. tough love, everyone would call it. but with you, he forced himself to be tender because you deserve treatment no one else gets from him.

there were so many things he wanted to say to you. don't you realize what you do for him? god, katsuki would go mad living without you now that he knows what life is like with you, his missing rib. the two of you are meant to be, you're two sides of the same coin. so what if he's as bright as the morning? you were his darling night, the very universe was visible through your eyes.

"you must be dense if you really thing you're just average. would i go for an average girl?"

"i mean-"

"no, the answer is no. you're deserving of love, my love. everything you've accomplished, everything you've overcome, you're just diminishing it because what? you think you're dumb or something? you- you..." you're the reason my world goes round, you are so talented, he was so desperate to shout these praises at you.

he was never one for romantic gestures through words. if he did, he would've been the best damn poet in the game. "i am yours."

it was such a simple sentence, yet it shook you to the core. you stared into his lively, crimson eyes. the look he gave you in return made your breath hitch; he was so deeply devoted to you, as deep as the pacific ocean.

you leaned in, capturing him in a kiss. tears rolled down your cheeks, your despair melting away. you felt like the two of you were kids again, sharing your first kiss. how could you doubt a man who so clearly, who so desperately, loves every bit of you.

[jjkfanatik]

Pablo Martin Páez Gavira x Reader

Summary: You find out that the guy you have been going out with has been lying about who he really is. How did you guys even meet, what were his reasons and thoughts and will your relationship remain?

Warnings: grammar issues, brief and light mention of drinking, other than that it’s pretty fluffy.

A/n: Hello Ladies! This is the first time i ever wrote something with the intention to post it. Feel free to give me some tips on how to better my writing, as long as you are kind. Keep in mind that english is not my first language. I hope you guys enjoy this. 🤗

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He knew he shouldn’t have lied about who he really is, but that one little lie came out of him before he could even think about it and now what is he supposed to do! Should he just run away and tell you the truth after those two weeks of such nice dates he is almost convinced that he wants to spend the rest of his life with you.

Run away and block you as soon as he gets home, yeah thats whats going on inside his head standing still and silently in front of you.

Does he even want to leave you? No, of course not. He wants to get to know you even better and continue all those dates and show you what you really mean to him.

can you really blame him tho? football players often don’t have the best reputation, pablo would never want you to think of him as arrogant or a player, or -even worse- an arrogant player. But you found out and now he needs to fix it bevor he never gets the chance to talk to you again.

“Um… your name is pablo right? Not actually Martin…”You asked, again seeing as he stood there not even blinking an eye, after you just asked him the first time, standing infront of your dorm room door.

keeping a soft voice and trying not to look too angry while asking the question that has been on your mind ever since he picked you up to take a walk and later on eat a sweet treat. Understandably you were angry, after finding out about his, real identity you could say, you have been nothing but thinking about why he would hide it.

Many emotions swirled through your body. Anger, disappointment and sadness. Feeling stupid for not having known him and needing your friend to look at you like you have grown to heads when you told her about this Martin guy and later showing her a picture of him “well thats pablo gavi” she told you. Thinking so much about it had you starting to form some self doubt, quickly shoving those thoughts away before they got to serious. Getting the idea that he may had gotten a wrong impression on you when you first meet him, causing him to lie but why would he then ask for your number and later on take you on really amazing dates where he had been nothing but a total sweetheart, nothing made sense anymore.

Bringing you flowers which seem like so much thought had been put into picking each and every single flower in there, holding every door open for you and making sure that you were nothing but comfortable and content during each and every second of the day. You guys had meet due to a really good Friend you had made during your first week here at university, Sira Martínez is her name. Having moved from a foreign country to peruse your dream, i had not been easy to make many -really any- friends since every student has their friendgroup and being pretty hostile when someone tried to come to close for their liking. When you had meet her in the community bathroom crying about her boyfriend beeing injured and not knowing how to help you could just not leave her there. Sitting there for more than two hours and talking about various things, both of you knew that a new bond was just formed.

After your first exam Sira had been trying to talk you to come clubbing with her, adding that you should “loosen up or else you wont find a boyfriend ever” and after hours of her sticking to your side like gum and telling you how both of you could even go into the vip section of that club because her boyfriend is known by the locals and many more, you agreed just so she would give you some peace.

Thats how you found yourself in a way to fancy club in the even fancier vip lounge all alone sipping on some cold beverage thats to expensive for its bad taste. Your gaze is set on Sira and her man laughing und danzing like there is no tomorrow. Your eyes sometimes shift to this one guy standing there with his friends conversing. Something about him just seems to draw your attention on him. Maybe its the way the purple light shines on his face, even a couple of meters away you can tell hes got those birthmarks on his really, really handsome face.

A scream shifts your attention to the other side of the club. Just some girl having had to much to drink. You want to turn around again and get back to observing that guy. But hes sitting right beside you. Jumping a little you look at your hands on the table holding an overpriced and not so good tasting beverage. Thank god its on the house -again Siras boyfriend- your bracing yourself because your sure your about to get told off for looking like some creep. But that never came instead; “I like your dress.”

And thats how you hit it of talking about how the club does not suite both of y’all’s taste and you would have much rather been invited to a more closed of, private and chill get together.

Never would you have expected him to lie about who he really is.

“I didnt want you making assumptions about me im not a bad person just bc i play football, im a nice guy you know that. I just thought that you would rather give me a chance being just me.” His eyes never meeting yours

“Your cute and kind Pablo, i like that about you and your fist name is nice, it fits you better”

Inching closer together and standing a bit on your tippie toes to fully reach his face

Pablos and your lips met in a soft and short kiss which had soon been intensified by Pablo’s hands that pulled you two closer together. His fingers caressed your cheeks. Even after parting from your lips they stayed right there providing you warmth and comfort You both stood there for a couple of seconds just smiling at each other, like some silly in love teens, which to be honest you guys kinda really are.

As you both then backed up a little bit. You wanted to make sure that nothing about your relationship -if you could call it that- had changed. “ so will you pick me up tomorrow? we should go on a date you as pablo and me as me.” I see his eyes get a bit wide wondering if he really thought that I would be so mad at him to not want to see him again my heart breaks a little thinking of that.

My stream of thoughts soon gets interrupted as he answers me. “Yeah! Definitely i will come straight after practice, don’t worry really!” His answer is a bit rushed. He seems excited. At least i hope he is. “Just make sure to not come smelly” we both laugh at that slowly inching more and more away even tho both of us would have loved some more time together. Having reached the door and getting my keys out i open the door, turning to him one last time debating if I should blow him a kiss or not but deciding against it, that can wait for after our date tomorrow.

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Alter Just found this after like 6 months 💀

[dicenete]

I repainted his face more times than probably necessary but something always caught my eye and still does, but it is done. is done. It's fine. xD IkePri Tagteam:

@scummy-writes @goustmilk @solacedeer @m-mmiy @mxrmaid-poet

@pawnkyyy @ludivineikewolf @violettduchess @floydsteeth @wistfulwanderingone

@sh0jun @lorei-writes

A little bit of rambling of him below the break, spoilers (Keith's route, and little bit of Nokto's route) and such :0 so you have been warned.

TL;DR: I enjoyed the route despite its questionable elements. MC is too forgiving at times, but other than that, romanctic route was cute. Licht, the third wheel, was funny but sad.

Okay first about Keith's visual design: I really love how his design is the most asymmetrical from the suitors. Like the jacket and the vest he has. The jacket is very interestingly layered, almost like you aren't sure which part is the main thing and what is the accent. The green or the gold? The host or the alter? : D Same with his vest. His duality is battling in his clothing too hahaha

Keith's route was interesting. I had heard lots of differing opinions about it and I had my own reservations.

One mainly about the portrayal of DID and how the route does it. First things first: I'm not an expert at all. I won't even humor the idea that I had any say in anything regarding it. But overall, it could have been worse? Of course it might be very extreme in the way Alter Keith is hostile towards Host Keith. And of course you shouldn't take this as the only way the alter systems work. But as I said: I'm not an expert.

I had heard that the dramatic route follows Alter Keith and romantic route host Keith. I picked the romantic one. I had my personal reasons for that tho. But aside from that, it was nice to be with Keith that who struggled with self-worth. It was nice to see him grow as a character and find that strength to stand up for himself. (The fact that the host Keith seems to think that he is inferior to Alter Keith and that people would prefer the alter over him. The amount of stress that will bring. )

Keith's uncle was your very generic villain/antagonist without any real depth. He was a spoiled noble and so on. But since this was more about Keith inner journey I thought it was fine that it was like that.

The drugging scene… Well. That's a… a topic. Hmm… Host Keith himself felt very guilty about it and was full of remorse. Not that it was his choice to do it. Alter Keith well… He might justify it because he was gathering information about a rumor that might endanger his home country and people if it were true. I kinda can see where he is coming from, but also...IT CERTAINLY WAS DESTROYING OF TRUST. Like that time when Nokto "accidently" gets MC drunk. but hey ho. Since there is limited time frame for the chapters, I do understand they can't really jam all the things there, but I wanted Belle be more angry with him with Alter Keith for longer.

Maybe that's what bugs me sometimes. That Belle/Emma/MC is sometimes too forgiving and too much of a doormat. It works in routes like Yves and Licht (from the routes I have played, Leon seems like the most respectable gentleman too), because they are not being insulting towards her. I would even think that she works with Clavis, tho I would love to see him with someone who shares his chaotic gremlin energy. But with characters like Chev, Silvio or Alter Keith the their "power" doesn't feel balanced. MC seems to be completely on their mercy even if they stand up to them in some way. (Gilbert is another can of nasty things.)(With Chev's route, well, that is also a rambling for another time. But I haven't finished his route yet. so I will keep my ramblings to myself for now.)

Is Keith's route more about acceptance then? Accepting the good and the bad of a person? Possibly. I would think that is a good way to put it. Both Keiths have good and bad sides. And it seems that they are working on them.

[will80sbyers]

Noah started opening up to a dialogue about Palestine with people around him, I think it's a good step forward!

I would still be vigilant, hold him accountable to what he's saying in the sense that he has to show that he means all of this in the long run, but he is really young and went through a lot of propaganda like I said in posts before... I think people should give others the opportunity to do better and learn in general but especially when people are young and ignorant otherwise we won't go forward and no one will change their minds ever.

We also have to keep in mind that the definition of Zionism has a different meaning for some Jewish people, that meaning comes from propaganda and is obviously opposed on what Zionism is and what it has been doing, but propaganda works so well that some are calling themselves it without considering the context and believing only the direct meaning of wanting a safe place for Jewish people. They have not been able to consider the whole dynamic of power because they are/have been blinded by propaganda.

Transcript :

«Hey guys, it's Noah. I just wanted to come on here super briefly just to discuss everything that's been going on online. I feel like my thoughts and beliefs have been so far misconstrued from anything even close to what I believe and I wanted to just state from my heart how I feel. I only want peace and safety, and security for all innocent people affected by this conflict. I've had many open discussions with friends from Palestine/Palestinian backgrounds and I think those are very important conversations to have and I've learned a lot and one of the takeaways I've had is that we all hope for the same things, that being those innocent people still being held hostage in Gaza to be returned to their families and equally hope for an end of loss of innocent life in Palestine, so many of those people being women and children, and it's horrible to see, and I think anyone with any ounce of humanity would hope for an end to the hostility on both sides. I stand against any killing of any innocent people and I hope you guys all do too and I hope to one day be able to see those two groups live harmoniously together in that region and I hope for 2024 online to see people a little bit more understanding and compassionate and recognize that we're all human regardless of our race, of our ethnicity, of our background, of our country of birth, of our sexuality... of anything. We are all human and we are all the same and we should all love each other for that and support each other and stand together. And stand together for humanity and for peace.»

[matan4il]

To the Nonnie who asked me about the countries which recently recognized a state of Palestine...

First, allow me to make it clear why it's an anti-peace move.

Since (at the very least) 1990 and the Madrid Conference, the concept of negotiations for peace in this conflict was that Israel will give the Palestinians land to have their own state, the world will recognize said state, and the Palestinians will give Israel peace.

I'll put aside all the issues with this concept, since there still isn't any other model. Since 2010, Mahmoud Abbas has refused to so much as negotiate for peace with Israel, let alone make compromises to achieve that peace.

The model only offers two incentives for the Palestinians, one is land and self-rule, the other is global recognition as an independent state. Israel already gave them quite a bit of land (areas A, B and Gaza) and self-rule. That's never been taken back, no matter how many times Palestinians turned to violence since the Oslo accords, instead of giving Israelis peace. The only other incentive was international recognition as an independent state. That was supposed to be a prize they get at the end of the peace process, when everything is resolved, no side has any claims for the other, both have a state, and both can live side by side in peace.

What does it mean, when countries are giving Palestinians "for free" that which they were supposed to compromise for? It means the Palestinians don't have as much of an incentive to do that, to reach a final resolution to this conflict, and peace. THAT is why this is an anti-peace move.

Now let me try to respond to the other parts of your excellent ask.

but what does that even mean? Palestine doesn't have a singular, let alone functional government. Gaza and the west bank are not controlled by the same people. How can they recognize a country that doesn't have concrete boarders?

You're absolutely right. Areas A and B are controlled by the Palestinian Authority (headed by Fatah), while Gaza is ruled by Hamas. The latter is an all out genocidal, antisemitic, Islamist terrorist organization. The former developed from a secular, nationalist terrorist organization, and has never completely abandoned its roots, it just compartmentalized its terrorism ties, so it can maintain global recognition and legitimacy. But the Palestinian Authority still pays terrorists imprisoned by Israel based on how long they're serving (which means, based on how many people they've killed, known as the "Pay for Slay" program), it trains kids and youth to be anti-Israel terrorists, and Fatah also has "military wings" which carry out terrorist attacks for it.

So what does it mean when countries are willing to recognize regimes directly invested in terrorism?

But let's put that aside for a second, even if we pretended either Palestinian regime is uninvolved in terrorism, how do you recognize one Palestinian state, when the Palestinian-ruled territories are divided into two, due to their own doing... In 2006 the Palestinians had democratic elections, Hamas defeated Fatah, both agreed on joint rule, then in 2007, Hamas slaughtered Fatah's people in Gaza and took over. Which means, not only do you have two unrelated regimes, these two are actually hostile and even violent with each other. Why were the 2021 Palestinian elections canceled? Because Fatah is terrified of Hamas winning again, and then slaughtering Fatah's people in areas A and B, just as they did in Gaza. How do you look at this and recognize it as one state?

But let's put that aside. Let's go with the idea that these countries are only recognizing the Palestinian Authority's rule, not Hamas'... That raises so many questions. If Hamas' rule isn't recognized, does that mean Gaza, which is controlled by it, isn't a part of the state of Palestine? Does it means it's all a part of it, but Gaza is occupied... not by Israel, but instead by Hamas? If that's the case, why isn't the world protesting Hamas' occupation of Gaza? And why would Israel owe anything to the Gazans, water, electricity, food, medical care, connectivity (for calls and internet), anything at all, if Gaza is either not a part of Palestine, or is currently occupied by Hamas (which means Hamas, as the occupiers, must provide for it all of the above)?

And even with the parts ruled by the Palestinian Authority... Like you said, what are the borders? Gaza's borders are pretty clear, since Israel withdrew from them in 2005, and that was recognized (even applauded) internationally back then. But what happens in the areas historically known as Judea and Samaria, which the Jordanians occupied between 1948 and 1967, re-named them 'the west bank' (to emphasize Jordan's claim on them, as the holder of 'the east bank' of the Jordan River), and then gave up any claim to in 1988? What ARE the exact borders of the state of Palestine there? Will Palestinians coming from those areas to work or tour Israel have to pay taxes for those privileges, as workers and tourists from other countries do (and just how I, as an Israeli, would have to pay a tax if I wanted to visit Jordan, and did pay one when I visited Egypt)? Will the Palestinian Authority renounce any claims to area C, since they are now recognized as a state, but only in the confines of areas A and B? And if it is an independent state, what about all the terrorist attacks on Israelis launched from within those areas, will the Palestinian Authority finally be held responsible for not stopping them, for supporting them financially, for launching some of them? After all, if they're an independent state, they also can't hide behind the immoral excuse that resistance is justified when people are occupied. Because they're not occupied, right? They're an independent state and have been since the mid 1990's, when they got self-rule!

Let's not get into how, if they are an independent state, they should be providing water, electricity, medical care (remember that time Covid hit, and the Palestinian Authority demanded Israel pays for and administers vaccines to the Palestinians living under PA rule? That's not what independent states do) for their own people instead of demanding to be provided for by Israel (claiming they'll pay Israel back for stuff like water and electricity, but never doing so, because they know Israel can't stop supplying them or else it will be accused of causing a humanitarian disaster in areas A and B as "the occupying force"). Basically, the Palestinians juggle between demanding to be recognized as an independent state, and shrugging off many of the responsibilities that come with that, instead relying on Israel's "duty" to provide for them as "the occupier." Which is it, is Palestine an independent state or an occupied one? It can't be both!

If Palestine is a country, does that mean Palestinians lose their refugee status?

Not only they would, it would also mean they have lost it (and might owe back a great deal of money) since the 1990's already... If the PA rules areas A and B, and Hamas rules Gaza, why have refugee camps in these territories never been dissolved, and their residents settled as regular Palestinian citizens?

And let's not even get into what Palestine being an independent state means for the crimes against peace, the crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by Palestinians, including ones in power, especially during Oct 7, but also since the 1990's in general...

Let's be honest here. If Palestine was an independent state and had to act like one, it would actually really fuck them over. They don't want to be one. They just want the perks and international political and diplomatic rights and power that comes from being recognized as one. That doesn't help the regular Palestinians who just want a normal life. It does help the anti-Israel terrorist regimes that rule over the Palestinians.

So these countries recognizing Palestine as a state now, before there's any resolution to the conflict? It's anti-peace, and it also only rewards the terrorists in power. But more than that, due to the timing, it's a specifically pro-Hamas move. This recognition is a middle finger to Israel as "punishment" for waging a war in Gaza. But Hamas started the war. This recognition is therefore a result of and reward for Hamas' massacre of innocent Israeli civilians, and it's literally how Hamas take it.

That's what this step means for the average person in the conflict, too. No matter on which side...

These European countries are rewarding an Islamist and antisemitic, genocidal terrorist organization for having launched the greatest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

Let that sink in.

(also, yes to your footnote about the hypocrisy of Spain, which hasn't been as generous with its recognition of independence for the people living under its own rule, but having no problem rewarding antisemitic terrorists with exactly that)

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[hpowellsmith]

Heart's Choice WIP announcement: Heart of the Mountain by Fay Ikin

Heart of the Mountain is a new Heart's Choice text game by Fay Ikin, the author of Heart of Battle and Asteroid Run: No Questions Asked. It's in the same setting as Heart of Battle, with a new MC and totally standalone.

Play Chapter 1 here! Fay would love to hear whatever feedback you have if you have a moment - either on the forum, or send it to me and I'll pass it on to her as she's not on here.

-

The war between the Coritan Republic and Messimera has been over for years, but as a magician you’ll never be free of your duties to your country.

With control over warmth and heat energy, you’ve been sent to a remote Messimeran outpost, where a small group of soldiers from both sides have been tasked to cooperate and guard the northernmost demilitarized zone…where your predecessor went mysteriously missing.

If anyone crosses the mountain pass or the frozen waterway, the peace treaties could fail. It’s frigid, isolated work, and monotonous until a mysterious fellow magician falls at your doorstep hiding dangerous secrets. Will you welcome your kind, or support your colleagues’ suspicions of them?

Everyone has their own agenda - and their own secrets to guard. When their goals oppose each other, who will you support and who will you stand against? Who will you keep close when your magic starts to fail, when paranoia and fear strike the outpost? A mysterious force within the mountain threatens to topple everything your country has worked for. What are you willing to lose to survive - your livelihood, your love, or your magic itself?

Heart of the Mountain is set in the same setting as Heart of Battle, 4-5 years later. All of the characters are new for this game, though backstory elements can have some familiar notes from the previous game. You won’t need to have played Heart of Battle to play this game.

I’m aiming for 3 or 4 chillies - some sex scenes are very explicit, and some will (at the reader’s choice) feature some intense kinky experiences.

As with Heart of Battle, it’s v/v. The MC can be a man (cis, trans or non-specified), woman (cis, trans or non-specified) or non-binary person (AMAB, AFAB, or not specified); the love interests are selectable between cis man/cis woman/non-binary.

There are four characters alongside the MC - everyone the MC interacts with is romanceable and plot relevant, and the conflict between different love interests’ goals and ambitions drives the plot.

All the characters have the possibility of a happy ending, but on some high-conflict routes some characters can become hostile antagonists

There are currently some polyamorous options planned: Eleri/Felician/MC, and Stelare/Theano/MC.

Romance Options:

Captain Felician Resende

GRIEVING OFFICER from the Coritan Republic

Felician’s magician best friend, the MC’s predecessor, went missing a month ago: a devastating loss Felician is still struggling to accept. With bad experiences with magic in the war, and a lingering deep distrust of magic, Felician’s trying hard to keep it out of the way of professional - or personal - relationships.

Best Felician: honorable, go-getting, enthusiastic

Worst Felician: inflexible, manic, controlling

What to say: “I agree, a five mile hike is a perfect team-building opportunity!”

What not to say: “I hope you don’t mind, I’ve made some amendments to your chore chart!”

-

Sergeant Eleri Katsaros

CONFLICTED ENGINEER from Messimera

You can’t get secrets out of Eleri with a prybar, but it’s still obvious that Sergeant Katsaros bitterly regrets whatever happened during the war. So now, here’s someone committed to being kind while frozen with shame. Eleri can’t imagine being called a good person, let alone believing it.

Best Eleri: Idealistic, practical, reliable

Worst Eleri: Fatalistic, brittle, volatile

What to say: “Let’s stay up until four in the morning to do inventory. In silence.”

What not to say: “I’ll only give you your toolbox back if you can name five things you like about yourself.”

-

Doctor Theano Leventis

MISANTHROPIC PHYSICIAN from Messimera

“Doctor Leventis has the potential to be a shining star of the Messimeran Army…if only Leventis could match talent with compassion”.

This, like other performance reviews, Theano has disregarded as ‘pointless sap’. There’s little point in babying other people’s emotions when there’s any number of things to do instead: music, reading, gambling, scientific analysis…you name it, Theano can do it. Unless it requires a bedside manner.

Best Theano: Creative, progressive, perceptive

Worst Theano: Bitter, destructive, dismissive

What to say: “Why would we be emotionally vulnerable with each other when we could get drunk and pass out instead?”

What not to say: “I’m sorry, but the future of the outpost relies on your ability to give me a convincing hug.”

-

Stelare Belmonte

FLIGHTY MAGICIAN from the Coritan Republic

Magic academy washout, army washout, an Illustrious’ magickeeper’s washout, an arena designer washout…is there anything Stelare can’t get fired from for ‘wilful disobedience and lack of adherence to basic safety’?

Stelare has telekinetic magic: the application of force to move and manipulate the world. But instead of being indispensable, Stelare has happily embraced the label of ‘massive liability’ and the freedom that comes with it. But what exactly is the plan on this remote, classified mountaintop?

At their best: Passionate, ambitious, protective

At their worst: Unpredictable, careless, vindictive

What to say: “I made you some hot chocolate, the others are so jealous!”

What not to say: “You don’t scare me…you’re just mediocre.”

[leonstoenailunderhisbed]

“Friend”

Summary: reader is a double agent, ready to betray Leon for their own benefit.

Warning: angst. hurt/no comfort. betrayal. short read. no smut. practice writing.

A/N: this is an attempt at writing betrayal from a literary point. so in other words, it’s just practice and I want to hear your thoughts.

“Always the fool,” Gilded Lily - Cults

Humans were built to survive and live with each other - yet, there is always that innate humanistic feeling where your blood runs cold at the sight of betrayal before you.

Or so does every classical author interpret in their novel. Does this portray you and Leon? Never. You stuck by his side, every day and every night for all your missions together.

When you first joined the force, he was there to guide you and to welcome you just the way he wished he was welcomed. In a way, you felt as if he was treating you with hidden hostility or jealousy. You did choose this career—he didn’t.

But you couldn’t blame the guy, to save a life you have to pay a price. Nothing in this world is ever free because if it was, nothing would exist and we’d all just be mingling about.

As you trekked through the abandoned building of the forgotten and former research facility otherwise known as Umbrella Corporation, Leon began to act different. He became cold, distant, and a little too observant on you.

Maybe it was because he cared for you but he’s always cared for you in a warm way. There was something amiss, a hidden secret that he kept. Just like you did.

It didn’t matter, of course, you both had a mission to accomplish. This wasn’t the time to dwell on betrayal or potential conflict between you two. You didn’t even know why he so suddenly changed.

“Seems like this place has been abandoned for ages, huh?” You detailed, only for your words to fall on deaf ears as he gave you a silent hum in response.

The facility, run down and beaten like a stick, was a heavy reminder of Leon’s time in Raccoon City back in 1998. T-Virus, outbreak, the Birkins…

It was like reliving a nightmare that you’d thought he was over with. But no. He wasn’t.

His shoulders were tense and his gaze was distant. He wasn’t looking at you, he was looking past you. Just how he always does when he’s left alone to his thoughts.

“Our main objective is to take the sample and take it back to the lab,” he said as he aimed his flashlight through the dark halls while you covered his back with your gun aimed.

“Got it. This is more like a recon mission,” you muttered. The mission itself sounded relatively easy, just take the simply and leave.

Getting the sample was easy, easy enough to even squeeze a lemon as the saying goes. But to everything, comes with a price.

You stood in front of him, holding the virus sample in your hand while your other hand aimed your gun at him. He was appalled. What were you doing? How could you betray him and the country?

“Y/n,” he spoke lowly as he aimed his gun at you. Face firm and serious but there was no denying the hurt that betrayed his emotions, “What are you doing?”

“I wished it didn’t come to this,” you said, gripping onto the virus tightly like a leech. Like the leech you were. Leeching onto everything single thing to gain information for your own benefit.

Yes, now he sees clearly who you truly are.

“Give me the sample,” he said, taking one are closer to you which prompted you to rest your index finger on the curl of the trigger but not pulling just yet.

“I won’t,” you said, “I’m taking this with me.”

“You’re going to walk away with the very thing that could save millions of people? Are you that selfish?” He asked rhetorically. He didn’t want to believe it. Or maybe he already knew you’d do this.

You were suspicious in many ways that he had tried to dismiss. The constant gazes towards secret files, the way your eyes were solely concentrated on specific things and the way you’d lie. He caught on but he refused to believe that you’d ever stab him in the back.

“This doesn’t have to be personal—“

“Dammit! It is personal Y/n!” He yelled in frustration, “You’re taking valuable information that could help an entire population and for what?! Money? Power? Is that what you’ve been seeking this entire time?! I was just a pawn to you?” He tone was accusatory but you knew he was right.

You both knew his words were true. You were a double agent after all.

But despite the amount of words you wanted to say, nothing came out. You simply just stared at him. Was that guilt? Shame? Or perhaps nonchalance on your face? He didn’t know anymore. He thought he had the ability to read people, but I guess with you it was different.

You broke through his walls, forcing them to come down until you finally attacked his vital point and watched him crumble to the ground. But he didn’t yell for help. He stared at you, bleeding painfully at your betrayal as you walked away with the sample.

As much as he wanted to shoot you, he didn’t. He wanted to stop you. But he didn’t.

And for the nth time in his life, he wondered if his so called “friends” were worth keeping as he walked the other way. Forever leaving you alone and attempting to forget you.

[paperlunamoth]

Seeing the interactions between the trans movement and radical feminism from both sides has really opened my eyes to just how severe of a problem misogyny continues to be.

"Terfs" are objectively less of a threat to trans people in every way than conservatives.

Conservatives are overwhelmingly larger in numbers. Radical feminists are a minority of a minority.

Conservatives have overwhelmingly more public support. Conservative views are mainstream, radical feminist views are fringe.

Conservatives have overwhelmingly more political power. I am not aware of a single person in a position of real political power who is openly a radical feminist. Meanwhile, depending on the country, a significant portion to the vast majority of those in positions of political power are conservatives.

Conservatives are more hostile to trans people by default. They genuinely and truly want trans people to suffer. Radical feminists just take issue with the philosophical views being promoted by the trans movement.

And yet, and yet, it is the feminists who are receiving death threats, rape threats, being doxxed, being stalked, being assaulted, having our spaces vandalized, being told to kill ourselves, being inundated with disgustingly misogynistic language, and otherwise harrassed with fervor and en masse. Despite the fact that even if it was true (which it absolutely is NOT) that every single radical feminist wanted all trans people to be murdered, it wouldn't fucking matter. We have no meaningful power. We are not accepted within larger political movements. We are not in charge of the government of any country. Our voice is essentially nonexistent both within our local communities and on the world stage.

And yet, it is this group that happens to be made up exclusively of women that is seen as deserving of more hatred, more vitriol, more hostility, more vile and sadistic behavior than the group that is objectively and inarguably a greater threat to trans rights and trans lives. That tells us all that we need to know.

[kinglivv]

One Bed

Kate Lethbridge-Stewart x Reader

Summary: Being Kate Stewart’s personal protection was a job full of challenges - aliens, monsters, the supernatural. But none as big as finding yourself in a hotel with her… and only one bed.

Warnings: Implied PTSD

A/N: Realised I’ve never done this trope so rectified that immediately! Also, first time writing for Kate - what do you think?

You couldn’t believe it.

It was classic. You couldn’t write it. One bed, one room, you and Katherine fucking Lethbridge-Stewart.

It was a work trip. Travelling out to Belarus to look at some potential satellite launch sites. UNIT was still regrouping after it’s recent Brexit dissolution, and your commander was desperate to begin scraping back that hard power. Seemingly pointless trips like these had become the norm in the absence of anything existential such as the Flux.

The trip had been last minute. You knew you were going to share a room with Kate - a product of budget cuts and a HQ concerned that as her protection detail in a hostile country, the room next door wasn’t close enough. The hotel however, had apparently royally screwed up by giving you a double instead of a twin.

“Right,” Kate said in a matter of fact tone. You both stand in the doorway, suitcases in hand, clutching yours like a rubber ring on a sinking ship. It feels like a dangerous threshold between sensibility - your job, your boss, your professional relationship - and something else unwritten.

“There’s obviously been a mix up,” she states.

“Yeah,” you clear your throat, “I’ll go down to reception, get it sorted?”

She looks at you. Her hand clasps and unclasps her suitcase handle.

“You could… But I mean, it’s fine. Right?” She says, “It’s the middle of the night, we’ve just been travelling 12 hours. If you’re not bothered, I’m not.”

You take a breath. She had a point. It wasn’t a big deal - two grown adults just sharing a bed on a business trip.

“Alright ma’am,” you agree, “it’s only one night either way.”

“Great,” she musters, and powers on into the room.

It is alright, you tell yourself. It was just Kate. Your boss. It wasn’t like you weren’t used to being glued to her side. That was what you were paid for - her personal protection. You were one of her “strays” as the office called it. One of her impulsive job offers. You’d been a mere police officer in the right place at the right time, when in the middle of an alien incursion, you’d knocked her out the way of a deadly bullet, almost getting hit in the process. She’d quickly made it her business to know everything of use about you; did you go to the gym a lot? How many languages did you speak? Were you satisfied with your job?

Upon finding you had the reflexes of a cat and couldn’t stand the police, you were hired.

You’d been by her side ever since. Everyday in the office, the occasional night shift, the odd weekend at her house in the country. It was fairly mundane work, lurking in the shadows and watching her every step, but you’d quickly learned that there wasn’t much downside to being paid to stare at Kate Stewart all day.

Back in the present, you find that co-existing with her in such close quarters is fairly uneventful. She takes a couple calls, does her emails. She showers and changes into checkered pyjamas. She asks after your dog and you ask after her kids. You go over the car’s planned route for tomorrow and at 11 o’clock it’s lights out. You curl up as close to the edge of the bed as you can get and try to ignore the smell of her fruity shampoo.

You wake to the sound of a muffled groan.

It’s pitch dark and hot. At first you jump, forgetting that you’re in a shared bed and you feel like duvet shift slightly. Then again - a groan. Followed by mumbles - scared mumbles.

You sit up to look at Kate. She’s a dark silhouette, but you can make out her tossing against the sheets. She’s having a nightmare, you realise.

Roll over, a part of you thinks. Spare her the embarrassment. But it’s difficult to listen to. Your heart twinges for her as her brow furrows in anxiety over imagined monsters.

You were her protection - it was your job to protect her.

“Commander,” you whisper gently, reaching out for her shoulder, and then more firmly, “Commander!”

Brown eyes snap open as she’s wrenched out of her nightmare and back into reality. She all but jumps away from you, narrowly avoiding falling out of the bed.

“You were having a nightmare,” you pull your hand away as she frantically wipes away tears and catches her breath.

“Sorry,” she mumbles.

“It’s okay,” you respond softly, “I get them too. More often than I’d like to admit.”

“I - um. Sorry,” she repeats, shifting to prop herself up against the pillows, and it’s only then that you realise how close you are and how wildly inappropriate this is, “I woke you didn’t I?”

“It’s alright,” you say firmly, “Can I… ask what it was? I don’t know - sometimes it helps me when I get them. To talk.”

“Oh,” she says dismissively, “just… you know. Sutekh stuff. The usual really.”

Your face falls. You felt a lot of guilt about that day. Seeing your death approaching and being able to do nothing about it. Watching her crumble to dust seconds before you did. You had failed her in that moment.

“Kate-“ you try to say but it chokes in your throat slightly. “I never apologised for that day.”

She frowns at you through the dark. “What do you mean?”

“I didn’t do my job properly that day,” you state, as if it’s obvious. “I should have been quicker. Done something. You died - as your assigned protection I literally can’t have cocked it up any moreso.”

“Cocked it up?” She repeats with a sort of sad myrth. “Darling, a god of death appeared in our office. The bloody Doctor couldn’t prevent it and you certainly couldn’t have done anything. You died seconds later, I seem to recall learning.”

You blink back tears and look away, picking the duvet pooled around your waist. She’d called you darling. You’d called her Kate. Uncharted territory.

“Have you been blaming yourself for my death all this time?” She asks quietly. Her hand reaches out, cups the side of your face, forcing you to make eye contact with her. Her touch is electric.

You nod silently against her palm.

“Darling,” she whispers again, and God you could die happy hearing her say that. “It’s not your fault,” she murmers. She’s closer now, leaning in, “it’s not your fault.” She whispers against your lips and then you’re kissing her.

It’s soft and cautious, and your mind goes black for a minute as you try to process the fact that all your fantasies are coming true at once. She breaks the kiss - perhaps to mentally list through all of the protocols and policies she’s currently breaking, perhaps just to catch her breath - and you stare at her dumbly, mouth open like a fish and tears drying quickly.

“Sorry,” she rambles hurriedly, “that was unprofessional. Was that alright? I can’t bear the thought of you carrying that guilt when -“

You lean in again and this time the desire hits you like a wave, taking everything within you to keep it at bay. There’s a sigh and her hand sneaks into your hair, the other fighting off the duvet tangled around her legs to get as close to you as possible. You slip a hand under the hem of her pyjama shirt to find hot, smooth skins and you moan into her mouth.

The noise seems to bring you back to yourself and the tension in the room snaps, reality flooding back in. The kiss breaks and she stares at you for a moment with a sort of wonder in her eyes.

“Wanted to do that for a while,” you confess before she can say anything.

“Me too,” is all she manages. She leans in again, but you muster every resolve within you and pull away after a few seconds. She pouts.

“You have to be up at 6am tomorrow,” you point out.

“I’ll sleep in the car,” she quips back.

“Someone has to drive that car,” you retort.

She laughs and it’s a nice sound, much better than her whines of fear as she shook in the grip of her nightmare, only minutes earlier.

“I never get to tell you how much I appreciate you,” she says, shifting to lie back down and pulling you down with her. Her golden hair splays around her head like a halo, and fingers thread through yours. “You make this job a damn lot easier for me, you know that? Not just the safety stuff, but just… you.”

You know what she means. You pull her into you and she sleeps sounder than she has in months.

[beguines]

Whereas the election of Modi had already demonstrated that this new India was prepared to sacrifice Muslims and others for the purported chance to economically transform the country (read: corporatize it), it was only natural that Palestinians too would be discarded if it meant getting closer to Israel and the boon of global capital. By refusing to allow parliament to pass a resolution against Israeli aggression in Gaza and by abstaining from the resolution endorsing the 2015 UN report that called for accountability for Israeli crimes, India had shown that it was no longer prepared to provide Palestinians even performative support. Moreover, equivocating that both sides had an "equal responsibility" to lower tensions and prevent unnecessary loss of life, Modi's government had already amended the substantive nature of its foreign policy on the question of Palestine.

India had normalized relations with Israel in 1992 without Palestinians achieving statehood or self-determination. In 2014, New Delhi went one step further. It upgraded its public appreciation for Zionism and Israel and reduced its foreign policy to a contorted and performative "sympathy" for the Palestinian cause. It also began to illustrate a respect and intention to emulate Israeli policy at home. In 2014, the Punjab Police traveled to Israel for training on "security and anti-terror operations." A year later, the Indian Police Service (IPS) began an annual program in which recent graduates would spend one week studying "best practices in counterinsurgency, managing low intensity warfare and use of technology in policing and countering terror" with the Israel National Police Academy. In 2015, the Indian government began the implementation of a "smart border" along the Line of Control. These partnerships with Israel did little to deter the Indian foreign ministry from insisting that its commitment to the Palestinians remained unchanged. But the changes had arrived. And it had been a long time coming. India's decision to abstain from holding Israel accountable to the UNHCR resolution in 2015, was the surest sign that India believed in Israel's fundamental right to self-defense, and therefore, its right to exist as a settler-colonial state, unconditionally.

Azad Essa, Hostile Homelands: The New Alliance Between India and Israel

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

Genuinely trying to understand why a gay person would be supporting the party you do.

Not American myself but from what I understand there’s a lot of homophobia there.

It doesn’t look like Democrats are perfect either but at least less hostile to gays?

I'll dispense with my usual "Shut the fuck up European" image response because you do actually seem genuine, so here's my genuine answer.

Yeah, there's some homophobia on the right. Some. It's nowhere near what the media would have you believe. But there's homophobia on the left, too. The left just has the media and their ability to shape a narrative on their side. The worst thing I've had said to me by someone on the right was that they don't support gay marriage and think its a sin. Or that they think gay sex is disgusting. And that's fine. I don't like hearing about certain sexual acts myself and find them gross and weird. I don't need anyone else to approve or support my sex life.

And as for the part about gay marriage, I understand where most of them are coming from when they say that, too. They truly feel that their religious beliefs are under attack and that religious marriage is supposed to be between one man and one woman. But even many of those people will say that they don't really care if gays get legally married as long as there's some differentiation between the religious ceremony of marriage, and the legal institution of marriage, which are two different things. I personally don't need anyone to validate my marriage but me and my husband. I don't care if it's legally recognized. I don't care if it's recognized by any particular church. My marriage and my relationships are my own personal business. And there are a lot of people on the right who feel the exact same way.

So, that's the worst I've gotten from the right. Let's talk about the worst I've gotten from the supposedly gay friendly left. The following is not a complete list, but here's some of the things that I've been told by Democrats and other leftists when they find out I'm a gay right winger, both online and offline:

Kill yourself

Die faggot

You should be gay bashed

I hope you get raped by a closeted Republican politician

I hope your dog dies

Kill yourself

You're a traitor to all gay people

Kill yourself with one of those guns you love

I hope you get cancer and die horribly

I hope your husband dies

You should be sent to a concentration camp

Kill yourself

and basically every anti-gay slur you can possibly think of

That's what I get from the left, from other gay people, when they find out I vote differently then they do. Just based on these anecdotal experiences with the American right and the American left, I think it's pretty clear why I find myself on one side and not the other.

But!

I'm not a one issue voter. Gay issues are mostly meaningless to me. What I care about are personal freedoms, protecting my rights, and the success of my country on the world stage. Currently, the American right aligns with those beliefs way more than the left. That's not to say the Republican Party always aligns perfectly with what I want or believe, but the reality is we live in a two party system. Until enough of us get together and make a nationally viable third party, if the choice in presidential elections is between one party that I almost never agree with and whose stated goals are to violate my rights and destroy everything I love about America, and one party that does what I voted for them to do around half the time, of course I'm voting for the second party nationally.

Locally it can be a bit different. It's easier to effect local elections and policies just by being active, and in geographically close areas the differences between the people running for town council might not be as wide as two people running for president nationally, so I won't just vote the R party line by default. I've voted libertarian locally before. Hell, I even voted Democrat once. But, for the most part, it's the Republicans who I feel will do what I think should be done more than the other parties. And that's why I vote for them, and why I'm a registered Republican. Well, that and I want to be able to vote in the Republican primaries.

[whateveriwant]

The Scenic Route

Civilian/Non-Military AU

Summary: You, your boyfriend, and his best friend go on a road trip together. One night, when his friend's asleep in the backseat, you and your boyfriend get up to trouble in the front.

Pairing: Simon "Ghost" Riley x F!Reader

Word Count: ~1.0k

Warnings: SMUT 18+ (fingering, vaginal sex, voyeurism/exhibitionism – both include an unknowing/unconsenting party)

A/N: Hello! This scenario actually came to me in a dream lol. I'm sorry I haven't posted much as of late, but I've been trying to get over a nasty bout of writer's block recently. This drabble is the first thing I've been able to finish in months, so as always, I hope you all enjoy! :)

Just imagine it: you, your boyfriend, and his best friend are on a cross-country road trip for the summer. After miles and miles traversing winding roads and visiting quaint, historic towns, what started out as a fun adventure has become… mmm, less so. Because the days, maybe weeks, stuck together in a metal box with wheels has left you feeling a little… frustrated, if you know what I mean.

It's no one's fault, really. That's just the nature of extensive group traveling. But your poor boyfriend's friend, bless his heart, has really received the brunt of your ire.

Though it's not technically his fault you're all pent up, you can't help but feel a sort of unjust bitterness towards him. It's just that all the times you and Simon have tried to sneak away for a little 'alone' time, his friend was always hot on your trails, interrupting whatever tryst you two were trying to engage in.

So now, well over a week into your trip, Simon can tell you're about to explode. Trust him, he feels the same way as you, so at the first opportunity he sees, he takes it.

One night, when his best friend is fast asleep in the backseat of the car, Simon suddenly pulls over on a stretch of deserted highway. You think he's stopping because maybe there's something wrong with the vehicle, but then he's leaning over the center console, pressing his lips urgently to yours.

Immediately, you startle and try to push him back. "What are you—?"

"Shh," he hushes softly. "It's alright. He's asleep." He points his chin towards the snoring passenger.

And though a quick peek for yourself confirms Simon's words, that doesn't stop the concern from rising within you, especially as he undoes both your seatbelts. Even if his friend is dead asleep, he's still sitting just a few feet away in full view of everything. The proximity as well as possibility of him waking has you flooded with anxiety, and with your eyes locked on the sleeping figure, you try to protest your boyfriend, whose lips gently suck the hinge of your jaw.

"He could—"

But then Simon's big hand is down the front of your pants, swirling quick, tight circles around your neglected clit. You choke on a moan as he presses his fingertips hard against you, grabbing his collar when he dips lower, smearing them through your slick.

It feels so good yet so wrong all at the same time. But despite the guilt weighing on your conscience, ultimately, you can't help but be swept up in the moment.

Gaze still fixed on the man in the backseat, you let your boyfriend play with you however he wills. You twitch and groan, trying to keep your noises to a minimum, but it's difficult with how terribly brilliant he is at this.

He's smirking, the bastard, as he takes you apart right there on the side of the road. And when he stuffs you full with two fingers, causing your voice to suddenly pique, Simon urges with a low purr in your ear, "Shhhhhh... Don't wanna wake him, do you?"

~OR ALTERNATIVELY~

Simon, feeling like the third wheel on you and your boyfriend's road trip. Even though this trip had been planned for months and even though you two try to include him in everything, he can't shake that feeling of a deep tension directed towards him, from you in particular.

While you're not outwardly hostile to Simon, it's the little things he's picked up on. Like how multiple times he's caught you staring at him in the rearview mirror, or whenever he's accidentally brushed against you, you've reared back and caressed the spot like you'd just been burned.

And he gets it; he's not the most convivial of traveling companions. A few weeks crammed together can strain even the best of relationships, and especially so when you two weren't particularly close to begin with.

So imagine Simon's confusion when one night he's awoken by the gentle sway of the car rocking back and forth. At first, he thinks it's just the normal movements of a vehicle in drive. But then he hears something – the unmistakable sound of a woman's breathy moan – and his senses are suddenly on high alert.

With the motion of the cabin around him and the crude noises in his ears, it seems obvious what the two of you are getting up to. But they wouldn't, would they? Not when he's sitting right here.

Peeking one eye open, Simon's suspicions are confirmed as he sees you straddling your boyfriend in the driver's seat. Your arms are wound around the headrest, your face twisted up in pleasure, and Simon can just make out the naked skin of your hip as you bounce in his best friend's lap.

The sight is such a shock to the system that Simon's first instinct is to freeze, both lids flying open without thought. You two must've noticed him asleep and taken a chance to steal a quick moment together, and now he's an intruding third party who's become witness to something he was never meant to see.

Realizing what he's doing, he's about to feign sleep and pretend like nothing happened tomorrow. But before he can act, your eyes suddenly connect with his, and he finds he's hopelessly rooted to his spot.

Are you about to scream? About to cry out and call him a pervert?

So many possibilities run through Simon's mind, but what actually unfurls is even more surprising than anything he could've predicted.

Rather than being angry or shocked to see him peeping, you seem almost… amused. Aroused, if he didn't know better.

Keeping your gaze locked with Simon's, you flash a pleased, little smile, and continue eagerly fucking yourself on his best friend's cock. You toss your head back, grope your chest through your shirt, really put on a show for the man in the back all while the one in the front remains completely unaware.

And Simon, for his part, can't look away from the scene. Whether it's out of confusion or sheer curiosity, he watches on, keeping his eyes firmly glued to your figure.

Will either of you mention this come tomorrow morning? It's hard to say in the moment. But for now, as he's kept rapt by your performance, Simon's content to sit back and let this road lead him where it may.

__________

A/N: I'd love to know what you thought! Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

[crow-aeris]

So i’ve been thinking (shocking, really) about the world building for my reverse robins wingfic.

ike, sure, it’s a little fic and ppl prolly won’t notice, but i just cant help but speculate.

in this au, everyone is born with wings unless afflicted with a certain illness, disease, or genetic defect that leaves you with no avian traits (which is the excuse the kents use).

but how would having wings influence the infrastructure? well, i’m glad you asked! cities are more compact because there isn’t really as big a need for transportation unless you’re an aves that’s just not built for long-distance travels like various passeriformes birds.

planes still exist, but they’re utilized by the avians who aren’t able to fly long distances. avians who have wings like albatrosses or terns or other soaring birds would probably require licenses to do their annual migrations and travels- same applies to regualr migritory species like ducks and geese- where the instinct remains despite not needing to migrate.

of course, with the constant migration through countries, i think there would be more mixing of races and ethnicities especially within the migratory bird communities, so there would probably be less overall hostilities.

now, there will still be discriminatory and hateful ideals, and some are shown in my fics. For example, Gotham’s elites are mostly made up of raptors and birds of prey like eagles, kites, kestrels, hawks, falcons, ospreys, owls, etc- birds who actively hunt down mammalian or lizards for prey (in the real world i mean), that is because of displays of powers. Scavengers like condors, vultures, buzzards, are regarded lower on the social ladder but not as low as perching birds and song birds simply because of their ability to have sustained flight.

like i mentioned briefly, songbirds and perching birds (passerines) are regarded lowly in general due to their “weak demeanor” and overall flashiness, which gives them the reputation of being only suitable to work in brothels and such regardless of gender (but especially dudes where the aves species exhibits sexual dimorphism, eg. cardinals, peacocks, golden pheasants, etc.)

there are definitely some exceptions, being corvids. some cultures have corvids as villans, whereas others may portray corvids as intelligent and charming.

now, we arrive to genetics. im still not 100% sure how i want the phenotype of an avian to be passed down. so far, it’s mainly just sons are the same aves as their fathers (like thomas wayne, bruce, and damian are all harpy eagles, but martha wayne was a kingfisher and talia is an imperial eagle), but im not sure abt daughters. genetics is messy, but i think i’ve managed to sertle on a 50/50 chance of being born either the same aves as their mother, or their paternal grandmother. like if damian had been born with xx instead of xy chromosomes, then he’d either have been an imperial eagle like talia, or a kingfisher like martha wayne. intersex people exist too, and i think their wings would be a blend between both their mother and father’s.

now for the the supers and the other metas:

as mentioned previously, the kents claim that their adopted son had a genetic disorder that basically prevented him from growing wings (or just left him in a state similar to humans before they were all “cursed” by a diety to have wings, or whatever. in the dcu, that probably woulnd’t even be too far fetched), so clark lacked a major social component to his childhood. without wings and a tail, others would have a harder time reading his emotions, seeing as these appendages are crucial in nonverbal communication between avians, and that gives clark a leg up in reading other people, but having them not understanding what he’s thinking.

now with jon and kon, they have two VERY different situations. for jon, since his paternal side is wings-free, i just gave him lois’s ave- western kingbird- instead of making him no-winged. kon, on the other hand was a test-tube baby, so it was a toss-up on whether he’d get lex luthor’s purple martin wings, or clark’s no-wings since they’re both guys. I think kon would’ve enjoyed wings, so i gave him the purple martin wings. Plus, they’re pretty much invulnerable, and their wings are no different.

diana and the other ppl from themyscira wouldn’t have wings since they aren’t human, and same applies to the other jl members who aren’t humans.

on a wholly separate note: the lazarus pits. here, not only does it give you white streaks in your hair, it’ll bleach out your feathers. so liek if a peacock was thrown into the pit, not only would they die and come back manic, their feathers would make them look like piebald, or have different markings or white ticking.

anyways, that’s the end of my long post, and i hope yall enjoyed listening to me speculate and talk about birds and my silly little guys!!

[biceratops7]

… let’s talk about “Arrival”

So I was fully intending on making a more general but thorough peruse through the new Good Omens title sequence, because my FUCK aren’t those always a gold mine. But then I thought to myself, “hey wait a minute, I can be even more unhinged and on brand.”

Something I’ve seen nobody talk about yet is that the movie that the procession is marching into is The Arrival, which is a 90’s movie that draws a pretty straightforward parallel. But I think if it doubles as a reference to 2016’s Arrival, THAT has some much more interesting implications. Either way this reference is doing some heavy lifting.

For those who haven’t seen the movie (or that one philosophy tube video about it lol), the basic plot is that a group of aliens later named heptopods arrive on earth scattered across the world, and just kind of invite humanity to check them out. Each country hires a team of linguists who are all tasked with figuring out what the visitors are here for. But the thing is, it’s only about aliens on the surface level. This is really about communicating, cooperation, and how language holds the power to alter your very fabric of reality.

Spoilers for the movie:

Two major revelations occur towards the end of the movie. The first is that an element of fluid time is revealed. Throughout the movie, the main American linguist has been having flashbacks to a daughter that passed away of an illness. But since the heptopod language has no regard for chronological order, we learn that these are actually flash-forwards when she becomes nearly fluent. In other words, learning heptopod, having a genuine curiosity and even compassion for these vastly different beings. has given her the ability to perceive reality in ways thought previously impossible.

Even before noticing the Arrival reference, I’ve been side eyeing these “flashbacks”, but this and the image above confirmed it for me. Any instance of the word “becoming” when talking about the past indicates some sort of fluid time nonsense. The past is fixed unless something ✨happens✨. I don’t think these are simply memories, I think something rather cosmic instead is afoot.

But it’s more than just “there’s probably time travel in this” though. Simply having Aziraphale as a companion has changed Crowley. It’s given him an ability that he’s not meant to be capable of as a demon. He already had it in him to be good and have mutual relationships based in trust and kindness, I’m sure all demons can if given the right nurture… but Crowley is experiencing love. In the show, something tangible to the senses and distinctly angelic. I’m very much hoping that that whole element of things is going to somehow be a driving factor in what’s occurring over all, and possibly involved in time going screwy.

The other element of Arrival’s ending that’s of import, is the heavy emphasis on the importance of cooperation. First of all, we learn at some point that not every country has the same message to decipher, they each have one piece of a whole. Some of the countries begin using games to communicate with their heptopods, and this poses a problem because it causes messages to be more easily interpreted as hostile. For example, the phrase “we brought a tool” can be easily misconstrued as “we have a weapon.” Eventually, the world gets impatient and scared, and a war is imminent. What finally leads to everyone putting down arms and cooperating, is the American linguist sending a message to the Chinese linguist saying “in war, there are no victors, only widows.”

Something noteworthy about this particular march is that the procession never splits like it does at the end of the first season’s. Not only are both angelic and demonic figures marching into the light atop a mountain as a United front, but this actually seems to be a theme this season. Heaven and Hell aren’t working together as far as we know, but they are at least working towards the same goal, which for some reason is getting Gabriel’s ass. There is also a heavy emphasis on mending broken relationships, with Crowley and Azirphale trying to fix a (probably) lesbian couple literally being the B plot.

Now this is where we bring in what’s actually on the movie screen, which is that damn box. So at this point we know basically nothing about it accept for it probably being a Mcguffin. But we DO have the imagery of three feathers, a black one, a white one, and a bluish grey one, falling into it… and it sure as fuck looks like a moving box. So back to arrival, what actually was the message? The heptopods told the linguist that they’re here to help humanity (via giving them a tool or new tech I think?) because in 3,000 years, they will need humanity’s help. So with this and the world eventually being inspired to stand down and share their pieces of the message, it’s this over arching theme of setting aside fear of the other and cooperating indefinitely for the benefit of the whole. The black feather, the white feather… and then something that is somehow both yet entirely unique.

I think… somehow, someway, this season may culminate in Heaven and Hell reconciling. Whether it be against a common enemy, for a shared goal, or in love, there seems to be many clues both symbolic and literal that show them learning to be one again. Learning to understand eachother’s language and see new ways of being neither before could fathom.