#i just think it would have been neat if there were image songs

[babygray]

Gintama image song ideas

Gintoki

A side: a song about continuing to live and make meaningful connections after losing everything

B side: Sugar Content Magic.

Shinpachi

A side: a young man striving to find his place in an ever-changing world

B side: Otsuu cover with occasional asides about how horrid his sister's cooking is. Ends with an explosive cameo from Tae.

Kagura

B side: a young girl's determination to rise above the limits fate has put on her and to nurture her familiar bonds

A side: a young girl's love for a seemingly unending list of basic, cheap food presented as the highest cuisine

Kondo

B side: a martial cry for his men to uphold their vows to themselves and the shogun.

A side: a horny love ballad dedicated to Tae. It also ends with an explosive cameo.

Hijikata

A side: a song about loyalty and devotion and all that has to be cast aside for the sake of duty.

B side: an upbeat ditty called "Mayo Wonderland"

Okita

A side: A heavy rock song about painting the world red with a blood rain. Chants of "Die, Hijikata" make up most of the chorus.

B side: Completely unlistenable. Has been known to turn listeners insane. At the end, Mitsuba's soft laugh can be heard.

Katsura

A side: a song about striving for a new age and the sun rising on a better world

B side: was left on standby in the recording booth, waiting for a chance to cameo in everyone else's songs. Does a duet with Elizabeth. It goes poorly.

[jenctrl]

love is not a walk in the park*ೃ༄

"when something that should be a walk in the park feels like a maze for the feline and canine–at least it's beautiful, serene, and sunny!"

warning; from the blackcat!Y/n series, the parts don't need to be read in order!

a/n: reuploaded from old to new account

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

It was the gentle breeze that pushed the clouds to move, the way there was a faint buzz of bees in the distance, the scent of green grass and soil and the presence of two suns that brought Y/n a serene feeling within her. 

It was as if she was alone, but not lonely because, despite their different nature, Yunjin brought her something she had been missing.

That feeling of inadequacy became faint. 

The words in her book didn’t hold a deeper meaning than her being able to live one life and during that one life being able to feel warmth on her skin despite sitting in the shadow of the tree. 

This was the most normal her life had ever felt which was ironic considering people would disagree because she was an idol. It was though, because she hadn’t been able to live her life more freely than now even with certain restrictions that came with fame and the need to keep a neat image. 

Yunjin basked in the sun where half of the blanket was–the other in the shadow where Y/n sat–these moments were the most peaceful ones she had. In a hectic life, as a person who indulged in the hectic with her energetic personality, Yunjin appreciated that she had Y/n to balance that out for her. 

The scent of cinnamon and benzoin was one she associated with serenity; Y/n’s scent reminded her of how she could wind down at times. 

There was a certain flow to the way her pen moved along the pages of the notebook as she scribbled down lyrics. Those songs she would brush off as silly, knowing she would never release them, that were, at times, about the feline her eyes would glance at now and then. 

What exactly were they about? Yunjin couldn’t figure that out, she couldn’t pinpoint what it was that she described when writing about someone she could write books about. It left her lost, but she kept chasing after the only thing her mind could think of; Y/n.

She wanted to state that she knew Y/n the best which still wasn’t as deeply as some would think that it was. However, Yunjin unlike others was able to figure out Y/n’s disguise; the girl always told one-fourth of a whole story and while the rest took it for the complete version the girl knew that there was more. 

Pretty eyes worn as a disguise. 

She looked up from the notebook and at Y/n who was leaning her back against Yunjin’s side for leverage. 

What exactly was it that she felt for her? So much, too much to simply put it into words, but it surely did make it easier to get words out on paper.

The feline was the perfect muse; Yunjin’s muse.

However, Y/n remained a mystery Yunjin loved being around. 

“What if we made a song together?” 

She casually put it out there, not thinking much of it as she mindlessly doodled on the page, underlining certain words. 

It wouldn’t only get them closer as she would get to spend more time with Y/n, but the girl beside her was amazing with her words. Yunjin would be able to learn; Y/n was highly lyrical and expressed herself in artistic ways Yunjin had yet to grasp. 

“What?” 

Y/n put the bookmark between the pages before she closed the book, her eyes didn’t leave the cover though. Nerves and uneasiness washed over her at the suggestion, her fingers traced along the outlines of the book in her hands, not being able to comprehend why Yunjin would want to write a song with her. Scared that she would get exposed for the fraud she felt like she was in a place she was supposed to fit into, but never felt like she did. 

“I mean we don’t have to release it, but just work on something together like a side project for fun.”

Yunjin shrugged and shifted in her place to turn to Y/n who sat up straight. 

“Why would you want to do that?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

That wasn’t the problem that Y/n saw with it, there were many.

“I mean as in; why with me when there are better options?”

The problem was that the girl felt like she was the least sought-after option and Yunjin would acknowledge her for the con that she was. Y/n was sure that she lacked, especially among all these other talented people. She stood out like a sore thumb and for all the wrong reasons; the feline did her best to stay hidden. She didn’t fit in a crowd of people who were talented when there were so many things she could do and have done so much better. 

She had achieved such high things in life, but was that enough? Was she enough? No way. All that she had done, Y/n could have done better, couldn’t she?

“Are you kidding?”

No, Y/n wasn’t kidding and she wasn’t going to entertain it either as she rolled her eyes and looked back down at her book, opening it again. Yunjin knew just how to make everything melt in the end and Y/n didn’t like that; no, it wasn’t that she didn’t like that; she just didn’t understand how Yunjin always managed to do it.

She was so confused about what it was that drew her to Yunjin. She just knew that it was a want; a need. Y/n wasn’t fond of that, especially as someone who had always been independent; she did not want to possibly become even slightly dependent on someone. She could simply ignore her emotions like she always did by occupying herself and pretending that she didn’t need Yunjin when it came to certain things. 

Yunjin smiled, putting down her pen as she huffed and moved to lie down on her back. Her smile didn’t disappear as she loved seeing the feline, who puffed up her fur at moments like these, melt into a puddle just for her. She loved not only the puddle Y/n could be, but she also loved her for the pompous behaviour and the person she was.

Was that it?

Despite her eyes being glued to the words she wasn’t able to read them and she let Yunjin put her head in her lap. Y/n was doing her best to try and ignore her canine, but it was hard to ignore the sun when it was beaming right at her. 

“Y/n, you’re the most competent person I know when it comes to music, especially when it comes to writing lyrics.”

The book got gently moved out of the way, Yunjin being able to see more than the cover as she looked over Y/n’s face and now met her eyes. She was aware that Y/n appreciated compliments, she could see how they worked as reassurance to her feline who she knew was insecure on the inside despite the confident and cold facade. 

Yunjin was always there for the girl; she was a loyal life-long companion for her feline. 

Still, words alone wouldn’t melt away a facade like hers, but Yunjin managed to do it with more than just words. She did it by simply being herself and it left Y/n confused; lost in something that sounded like an easy walk in the park but was like a maze with continuous dead ends. 

“How would you know?”

Comically Yunjin pushed the book back, blocking their sight of each other as she looked off into the distance of the park. 

The green grass gently blew with the wind, the sun beamed strongly and warmed her skin, and the whistle together with the rattling of the branches and leaves above them filled the momentary silence.

However, Y/n put it down onto the blanket they were on and looked at Yunjin with raised eyebrows. As far as Y/n knew she hadn’t shared any of the lyrics she had written and had yet to agree to help with the lyrics for their group's songs. The fear of being caught was too immense.

“I might’ve stumbled upon some papers–” “Yunjin.” Y/n groaned and Yunjin cowered, ducking her head at the bookmark that she was smacked in the head with. 

“To be fair, you gave me your book to read and it just fell out.” She defended with a squeak, peeking up at Y/n with her lower lip now jutted out. 

Y/n heaved a sigh and reclined, lying down on the blanket–Yunjin’s head still resting on her lap–and she stared at the tree above them. The green leaves swayed with the light wind and the sky peeked through the cracks of the branches. She closed her eyes when the sun managed to seep through the cracks and held them closed for a while as her mind started to work a shift.

At the silence Yunjin moved, sitting up and turning to look at Y/n. There was something overly serene about the feline when she looked at her. The bright ray of sun splayed across her face and her dark hair glimmered in the light as she lay with her eyes closed. 

Was it the sun? Yunjin could feel her face heat up at the ethereal view of her feline so comfortable in the open field.

She pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging and resting her chin on them while staring at Y/n. The canine knew she could spend a whole day just looking at the cat-like girl in front of her. 

Her head tilted slightly to the side, “Y/n…” Yunjin carefully started and got a hum in return, watching the hues of the sun reflect on Y/n’s skin. “You’re not mad that I did, are you?” She warily asked because the last thing in the world that she wanted was to make Y/n upset with her. It wasn’t difficult to get Y/n annoyed–Yunjin was aware–but it was difficult to get her upset and angry.

It was extremely rare to see Y/n angry. Matter of fact over the past few years she’s only seen her angry once.

That was enough not to want to see more.

Yunjin held her breath when Y/n blinked her eyes open, squinting slightly at the bright light and her eyes glimmered like water did in the sun. Water Yunjin wanted to dive right into and swim in for an eternity. 

She stared at the girl who looked like a puppy that had been kicked to the curb. It was simply impossible to get upset with Yunjin. It made Y/n purse her lips for a second, the only person she was upset with was herself for being like ice cream in the sun when it came to her companion. 

Y/n exhaled, trying to cool off, but it was impossible when Yunjin’s big doe-like eyes stared at her like the sun. “No, I’m not.” The girl annoyedly admitted and the latter visibly perked up at the words, excitement evident because knowing that her feline wasn’t upset with her brightened her whole world which was filled with butterflies she loved to chase for the feeling. 

“Okay, and I’m sorry…It just happened to fall out and I didn’t know what it was at first so I read it thinking those were notes for the book.”

“I know you wouldn’t read if you knew, it’sfine.” 

Yunjin nodded as she manoeuvred around and lay on her stomach beside Y/n, resting her chin in her palm. Their eyes met as they stared at each other in yet another silence. It felt like a contest when in reality it was simply because neither of them wanted to look away. There wasn’t anything better to stare at in the end.

“Will you make a song with me then?” She at last repeated her question, but in a much smaller voice as if to not startle the girl.

Y/n broke their eye contact, but only to reach into her bag. Yunjin watched as Y/n blindly rummaged through it before she took out what she was looking for.

“Here, let’s look for some inspiration.” Yunjin happily grabbed one airpod and plopped down onto her back beside Y/n who opened her phone. 

“Do you have–” Y/n didn’t get to finish her sentence as Yunjin spoke up, “genuine love, like when you know that you’ve genuinely fallen in love because you are confused about why you fell in love in the first place.” 

The feline lolled her head to the side, coming face to face with Yunjin whose wide eyes gazed at her, a pink tint resting on the canine’s cheeks.

“You’re awfully cliché at times, you know?”

“Love is a cliché we can’t escape though, isn’t it?” 

“Unfortunately.” Y/n agreed and moved closer to the girl, resting her head on Yunjin’s shoulder so they could both look at her phone and be closer. 

The two didn’t need much inspiration though when they had each other.

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

[arcane-vagabond]

All That Glitters: Prologue

All That Glitters: Prologue

Pairing: Javy "Coyote” Machado x Reader

Summary: Growing up in the untamed wilds of the west afforded you many opportunities that most women weren't allowed, namely that of choice and self sufficiency. One day, your father announces his intention to marry you off, and you take your chance to escape, moving south to try your luck at striking gold. You arrive in the town of Maverick, setting up shop, but soon learn that life on your own is tougher than you previously thought. You catch the eye of a handsome man, but you're determined to rely on your own skills. Only, you may end up needing his help after all...

Content Warnings: References to living in the wild, Mentions of Indigenous tribes, Use of Y/N, Allusions to daddy issues, Poverty living, Sexism, Forced engagement, running away, Talks of gold. I think that's everything, but please let me know if I missed anything!

Word Count: 1.36k

Masterlist || DGU Masterlist

The mountains of the west are where you called home, and you knew every tree and stone like they were old friends. Or at least, that’s what it felt like to you.

The Rocky Mountains had sheltered you in their bosom from as early as you could remember, the old trees hiding you away from the rest of the world as your father worked, trapping and skinning the different animals that roamed this part of the world. He was an older man, getting well on in years, and you had no doubt he would pass on his trade to you any year now. You practically helped him run the business as it stood, a fact that you were very proud and mindful of.

It had just been you and your father for almost two decades now, your mother having taken ill when you were still young. The shadows of a kind smile and comforting song still teased the edges of your memories, but it had been so long, that you couldn’t be sure if they were real or the manifestations of hope teasing you with ideas of what it was to have a mother. You had been told by all who knew her that you were her spitting image, and to those comments you were never sure how to respond, so you didn’t.

You and your father lived in a remote cabin in what felt like the densest part of the forest. While he went out checking his many traps for new boon, you were stuck at home tending to the chores around your little fortress. Not many people came by your way, but those who did already knew where to look. Your father had friendships among the local Ute tribes, often trading with them for needed supplies. You had made tentative friendships over the course of the years, knowing that it would come in handy one day.

Now that you were older, you were trusted with more, and you prided yourself on keeping a neat home despite the surrounding wilderness. You were hanging the laundry up to dry when the sound of a horse trotting through the thicket caught your attention. Your body stiffened, ready for a potential threat, but you relaxed as you recognized the rider.

“Duncan,” you greeted easily, continuing your task. Duncan was a tall, strong man of about thirty years with strawberry blond hair, earth brown eyes, and sun-kissed skin. The scruff on his face indicated that it had been a few days since he had last shaved, and you weren’t sure if you like it.

“Y/n!” He called with a grin, his horse, Boone, barely coming to a stop at the foot of the small hill before he was dismounting. You supposed he was a handsome man, but you had known him since you were young, your fathers working together in the trade before Duncan’s father took ill some six years back. Duncan had already been well into adulthood by that time, promptly picking up the mantle his father had left behind.

Deep down, you knew your father had wished you were his son rather than his daughter, but you worked tirelessly to prove to him that you were just as capable as any son. You supposed it also helped that Duncan was a near constant figure in both your lives.

“Is your father around?” He asked, looking past you towards the cabin. You pinned the last sheet to the line before picking up the basket and holding it at your hip.

“He should be back soon,” you told him. “Why don’t you come wait inside?”

The rest of the day passed quickly, your father making his appearance just before the sun set below the horizon. You served dinner, listening quietly as your father and Duncan discussed business around the fire. You cleaned quietly, excusing yourself to your bed. The cabin was a one room building, the little privacy you were afforded was hidden behind a makeshift curtain in the far corner. You changed into your night shift, moving to slide into bed when you heard your father utter your name. You paused, glancing at the curtain that separated you from the two men. Padding to the edge quietly, you peeked through the crack between the fabric and the wall. The two chairs were silhouetted against he warm, orange glow of the fire, but you could still see the smoke rise from your father’s pipe.

“I’m getting older. You know that, Duncan,” your father sighed, relaxing further back into his chair. His accent was thick with the weariness of the day, and there were days where even you struggled to understand him.

“Yes René,” Duncan chuckled. “I’m aware.”

“My girl is smart, strong, capable,” your father continued, and your heart swelled with pride at his words, your chest puffing up a little. “But she can’t be on her own when I’m gone.”

You frowned at that, brow furrowed in confusion. What did he mean by that? Had you not proven to him time and time again that you were able to take care of not only yourself but him? You were so caught off guard that you nearly missed his next words.

“She’s too dependent on me,” he murmured, frown evident in his voice. “She needs a man to keep her safe and grounded.”

“What are you getting at André?” Duncan asked carefully, leaning forward onto his knees as he stared at your father.

“Take her for your wife, Duncan.”

Your heart stopped.

“She’s agreeable and a hard worker,” your father continued, a cough wracking through him. “And I’m sure it has not escaped your attention that she’s quite the beauty as well.”

“It hasn’t,” Duncan hummed. “It’s true, she would make a most agreeable wife, but I don’t know.”

“Duncan,” your father chided. “You are the son I never had. Why not make it official? It would do this old man’s heart good to know that my daughter is in the care of someone who will take care of her.”

There was a long pause between the two.

“Alright, André,” Duncan relented. “I accept.”

You watched as the two men shook hands, bile rising up in your throat. You slunk back into your bed, waiting for their conversation to die down and silently making plans of your own.

It had taken you all of one day to find your opening to escape, a singular, small pack holding a change of clothes and your mother’s journal. Duncan had left your home with the promise to return the following week, your father having gone out not too long after. You had left him a note, telling him that you had left and that you wouldn’t be back. There was no point in beating around the bush. The two of you weren’t flowery people. It took you all of two days to make it to Denver, trading a couple of furs for a few nights at the local tavern. You hoped you’d be able to come up with a plan before your stay was up.

“You heard the news?”

You glanced over to the table to your right where two men sat, drinking beer and playing a game of cards.

“What news?” The man with the beard asked in a grunt, throwing down a couple of chips. His friend threw down the same amount, drawing a card to add to his hand.

“Heard they found gold northwest of Santa Fe,” the first man said, scratching at his whiskerless chin. “A little town called Maverick. Sounds like they’re opening a mine and everything.”

“Maverick,” the bearded man drawled, “ain’t that the town with the upstarts?”

“The Dagger Gang, yeah,” the man said. “Anyway, the mayor apparently announced that they’re handing out permits or whatever for mining and panning. Could be worthwhile.”

His companion grunted, revealing his cards as the man groaned. Pulling the pile of chips closer to him, he sniffed.

“Might not be a bad idea to get a move on now before more people showed up.”

You didn’t hear the rest of their conversation, already heading back to your room to make plans for tomorrow.

A/N: And here it is! The start of Javy's spinoff! The plan is to work on my entry for the Galentine's day challenge and then I'll let you guys decide who we hear from next! As always, reblogs and comments are greatly appreciated! Be sure to follow my side account: @sailoraviator-library and turn on post notifications if you'd like to be notified of when I post! You can also follow me on AO3 under the username arcane_vagabond Thanks for reading!

[002yb]

Blanket apology on the lateness to all of these replies.  ┬┴┬┴┤･ω･)ﾉ

Head bonks when they’re brushing their teeth over one sink

A persisting argument of Dick wanting to save any stray bugs that make their way into their apartment while Jason wants to eradicate them (because Dick thinks they’re neat, but Jason associates them to an unkept home)

They don’t own a mop, so they make a conga line where Jason shuffles through with a wet towel and Dick shuffles through with a dry towel behind him

Dick coming home with groceries, only for the both of them to go back out again because he forgot the top thing on the list; it happens consistently and Jason has an inkling Dick does it on purpose (he does)

Whipping each other with towels and vaulting over furniture to escape impending doom

Tucked away in this ask, only I’m not sure what else to add hahaha.

Just Jason consciously falling in love with Dick over a series of mundane moments

So he associates all these little things with Dick in that way young lovers do

A certain route they patrolled, the flickering of a neon sign, the wind pulling through their hair as they sat up high on a skyscraper.  The pounding of his heartbeat as they chased each other, the sweltering heat of a humid day or the smell of a coffee – warm where Dick pressed it to Jason’s cheek and warm throughout his body when Jason sipped at it and let it chase away all the fatigue.  Dawn on the horizon with Dick at Jason’s window - lingering just a moment longer.

Jason being very aware of how smitten he is and doing nothing about it.  Just basking in the present moments as they come and being content in their afterglow.

This is perfection.  No notes.  Superb.

Uaaaaaahhhhhhhh an art like this must exist, right?  It’s too good not to!!  Damian being ornery with Dick in this sort of capacity (with them both fawning over Jason) is probably my most favorite dc fanon thing hahaha.  Thank you for the visual of this, anon!

Hahaha, how Dick keeps his degeneracy under wraps is beyond Jason, truly.  Truth be told though, it stops being discreet because Jason’s reactions to all of Dick’s dirty talk is so obvious.  That’s okay though because Dick doesn’t mind.  Even if he goes down, Jason goes with him; they’re partners in life and in their perverse ways.  An accusation Jason adamantly refuses because they are not the same; no way!

To which Dick will roll his eyes but it’s whatever.  Denial is the first step to acceptance.  That besides, it’s not like Jason isn’t the one pulling Dick aside or beckoning him someplace private after Dick drops those suggestions. ;)

Hahaha, the perpetually single ones for sure.  But I think those who are in committed relationships would be overwhelmingly fond and nostalgic.  Seeing dickjay’s young love, so new and sweet and exciting, would remind them of back when they were first falling in love.  And it’d maybe spark some rekindled romance in their own relationships as they reminisce.

Meanwhile dickjay admiring those who have been in relationships longer because they’re comfortable and settled and really?  They can’t wait to be there, but for now Dick and Jason just enjoy each other day by day. //u///

There’s a story sitting in my drafts that covers this.  It’s been done for months but tbh having to tag on ao3 is such a daunting thing.  I’ll try to get this posted for you soon, anon.

This exchange is the closest to eldritch!Dick as I can imagine.

Will-o-Wisp!Dick lives in my head rent free and it’s the closest I think I can get to something eldritch (because I’m dumb I don’t actually get what it’s supposed to be LOL).  Or something akin to a will-o-wisp.  With Dick being able to twist his voice and image to lure people into the bog that is Gotham’s bowels.  He usually makes himself known as a robin chirping in the night; a warning song.

Other times he’ll appear as a child, dashing through shadows with laughter echoing through alleys.  A beautiful boy that lures criminals away from the main streets and any lingering lights, or guides innocents someplace safer.

And then there’s Dick Grayson, grown and bewitching with the mirthful light in his eyes and a wicked smile; bared teeth and a jaw that might be too sharp.

Dick becoming an urban legend in his own right.  Where he’s ‘passive,’ only not really.  He guides people through Gotham and depending on the situation, Dick will bring them home.  Or he’ll walk them off a building’s ledge, into oncoming traffic, or for those most wicked – infront of the muzzle of Red Hood’s gun.

This post.

Ahahahaha, thank you so much!  Jason getting all flustered after being exposed (by himself, no less) is so charming.  For as much as I love maiden!Jason, he’s probably a bit of a freak ngl.  Like Jason probably kink shames himself after bringing up something he’d like to try with Dick and Dick sputters because the depravity is !!!

Just Jason basing the validity of some of his kinks on Dick’s reaction to them because Dick is the most depraved man he knows.

Of course even when Jason catches Dick off guard (surprisingly often), Dick gets on board real quick.

But yeah, without fail I think it’s always Jason that exposes his own kinks.  And he’s not casual about it at all once he realizes and that exposes himself further and it’s the most vicious of cycles, hahaha.

In reply to this ask.

Tbh, no change LOL.  Dick’s domesticity kink and how he reacts to Jason being domestic transcends time and circumstance.  So, basically:  Simp King!Dick Grayson.  Who is genuinely turned on by stupid, mundane domestic things but who also plays up his reactions because it makes Jason laugh and fluster and Dick loves to see that.

The visual of Dick being taken out at the knees or falling into the wall for support or just keeling over a bit while biting his sleeve because Jason is cooking/cleaning/doing laundry is just so silly hahaha.  Or even Dick just being all sparkly and flowery because yeah, check out his boyfriend (only don’t, thanks) being so sweet and caring and wonderful.  //U////

But also the heated moments because of course.  Where Dick:

Hooks his chin over Jason’s shoulder as Jason cooks something over the stove.  Hands on Jason’s hips and peppering kisses just below Jason’s ear (and in abo setting getting a little high off of Jason’s scent because nothing is more tantalizing than that).  And Jason tries to turn around so that they can fool around a bit, but Dick is all, ‘nope, keep cooking //W////’ and proceeds to just shower Jason in some heavy petting

Oh.  Basically the above, but Jason is washing dishes.  And Dick manages to make Jason come with only the graze of Dick’s teeth at his nape and some dirty promises

Dick pushing Jason back onto a pile of unfolded laundry and having his way with him right there.  ANd Jason loves it in the moment, caught between still hot clothes and Dick burning above him.  Up until they get off and Jason realizes he has to redo laundry.  Again.

It’s cool though.  Dick joins him and they fuck again with Jason bent over the wash, detergent spilling everwhere.

Omg they’re fooling around as the washer is going only to have it flood with suds because they accidentally spilled in too much detergent ahhhahaha

Honestly torn between Damian wholeheartedly believing possessiveness = protectiveness, or whether he's aware of the difference but was impacted by losing Jason (when Jason left the League) and that loss fucked him up in a way that makes him believe that to keep someone close, you've got to own them. 🤔

Either way, Damian rates Dick low because there's always room for improvement.  There's potential, surely, but generally Dick is too nice.

As for something that constitutes Dick being bumped up to a 10?  Ahahaha, Vampire King!Dick turning Jason and making him his vampire queen and doing so in a way where Jason can only feed on Dick to survive.  And when Jason tries a hunger strike, Dick retaliates by starving Damian somehow.  It's an inconceivable thought if only because Dick is so soft on him, but it would prove very telling.

Hello, hello~ I’m getting by alright.  Sorry that I’ve not been posting much though!  And that it took so long to reply to this ask. ;3;

But yeah, Talia and Jason.  Because I’m a sucker for Jason whump forever and always, I’m partial to a relationship where Talia only cares for Jason because of his relationship with Bruce.  So there’s no love or genuine affection there for Jason as an individual, just as a convenient means of achieving a faroff goal.  Where Jason is, once again, collateral damage.

That’s a disservice to Talia though so like, reserved mother figure or just a lady who is fond of the nanny/bodyguard she found for her son is cool, too!

Thank you for reading so many of my posts!  It makes me happy that you enjoyed enough to read more. ( ´ ∀ `)ノ～ ♡

Jason winning over the hearts of all the shop employees because despite his intimidating stature, Jason is a timid maiden as he wanders the shop.  His gaze keeps wandering to the delicate lingerie and corsets, but Jason’s convinced it’d be dumb on him because he’s not exactly dainty

Queue encouraging salespeople and clientele and Jason being so flushed that everyone falls in love with him

Also everyone being like, hot damn, because that bust to waist ratio?  Sinful.  Who’s the lucky guy that landed him?

It’s the atmosphere of the place that gets Jason sharing a picture of Dick and oh boy does Jason preen as everyone admires his boyfriend.

Just Jason having a good time despite the initial (and persisting because he’s a maiden) embarrassment lol.

And then he gets home and omgggggg Dick

Dick sneaks in and catches Jason trying to lace up the corset on his own and Dick is such a goner because hot damn hot damn he’s fainting don’t call for help though, just cushion his fall with those bolstered tits; let Dick catch himself with hands braced on that cinched waist fuuuuuuuuuu–

For real, Dick is just so delighted because Jason is so gorgeous (and cute and sweet, because of course he flusters and tries to explain everything away, but Dick isn’t a fool; he’s fully encouraging and supportive)

Then it’s just Dick pulling the corset tight for Jason

And marveling at the way he pulls Jason’s breath from him

Looking over Jason’s shoulder to watch Jason watching himself in the mirror

Then running his hands over Jason so that he can watch through the mirror

And when their eyes catch Jason is blushing red and the corset already has him short of breath, but seeing Dick’s heated gaze has him feeling faint–

Then Jason wakes up and Dick is all sheepish because he might have pulled the corset too tight, whoops; they were both a little overzealous

Dick wanting to go with Jason the next time he goes shopping.  He wants to pick something for him, too ;)

This ask.

Bahaha for comedy the baby is absolutely Clark and Jason's. Logic be damned, Bruce would be positively teeming with rage directed solely at his 'partner,' his 'better half,' his 'we're divorced now' bestie and just. One would think Superman went and impregnated Bruce's babygirl as opposed to the cloning that actually happened.

But yes, basically Bruce being mad because:

Clark 'knocked up' Bruce's darling babygirl

Clark is the father

The baby isn't Bruce's

Poor Clark can't catch a break, either, because Dick? He is his adoptive daddy's son through and through and is also teeming with rage directed solely at his 'hero,' his 'most revered mentor,' his 'i'm disowning myself now' second father figure because like. Really?? Dick just bought a ring?? ('But you haven't had your first date yet?' Clark would note, to which Dick would bristle because, 'It's serious-- ;n;').

Let's not forget Damian 'brocon' Al Ghul-Wayne, either. Because ahahaha. Even while Jon is dropping the biggest hints about being disappointed and wanting to start a family with Damian, Damian is zeroed in on Jon's dad because Clark and Jason? Absolutely not. As you might guess, Damian is teeming ahahaha. Because to him, Jason is simultaneously mother and babygirl. In that same vein, Damian's place as t h e b a b y in Jason's life has been stolen from him and he's distraught.

Meanwhile Tim is with Kon and they're just like, PHEW. Thank fuck. But then just a few seconds later they're fooling around because, 'no clones here; I'll put a baby in you myself,' and 'yeah? go ahead and try. ;)'

[kindestegg]

Analyzing all the differences in the storyboards posted by Yasmin Khudari and the final product! - Part 1: No Collector Edition

Hello everyone!! Today I bring you a different kind of meta post than usual... I'm sure some of you are already aware that Yasmin Khudari who worked on The Owl House has posted quite a lot of storyboards for episodes in season 2B and For the Future as well. I will reblog this post with the link to her site later (as if I believe correctly the issue with posts with external links on them getting shadowbanned still is not fixed).

But for now! Under the cut, I will point out every difference between the storyboards and the final cut and what this could mean! There's a lot of exciting stuff to go through, so much so in fact that I will have to cut this post in half to showcase the Collector related storyboards elsewhere because there is just! So much ground to cover! And the 30 image limit would burst!!! (I know this because I've literally tried.)

(A small side note... I have elected to sometimes to not show picture evidence of things changing because we do have a 30 images limit here and I want to hopefully talk about all the changes!)

Starting with Season 2 Episode 12, Elsewhere and Elsewhen, we have this cute little scene of Lilith cutting some branches out of the way while Luz follows her and does a little twirl. I imagine this was just cut because it wasn't very necessary, but it is cute as hell.

In the final episode, they cut directly to the scene where Lilith is looking at her book showing the Pools of Time entry.

Another subtle difference likely cut for time, Lilith originally would sniff the seaweed brought by her palisman that ended up on Luz's head. In the final episode, this little action is absent.

Something that was not cut but rather added this time! In the storyboards, Lilith only goes "Eh?" when she thinks she failed in finding the time pools, whereas in the final episode, she goes into her whole spiel about how she "triple checked all her calculations, her equipment is first rate". It's possible that while the moments seen before were cut, this was added instead.

There is also another slight divergence in dialogue. In the final episode, Lilith's monologue goes: "Maybe the blood was too dry? Is it not algae blooming season?" Whereas here Lilith wonders if the map was outdated or if the oak was a bit more of a pine before wondering if it's not algae blooming season.

And finally, there is a moment that was also cut from the finale episode where Luz is wowed by the discovery of the prehistoric Boiling Isles, but finds out she can't breathe in there. This would explain why in the final episode she is heard coughing before pulling her head back out.

I do think it's a shame this was cut as it would better explain why she was coughing and would be a neat little nod to the fact the air would have been different in that era of time.

Next, we have another set of boards for Elsewhere and Elsewhen, this time showcasing Luz and Lilith traveling with Philip to the head. I'm excited to get to this one because this has some juicy changes I want to discuss.

And our first change already shows exactly what I mean: there is no mention of The Collector in these boards. Instead, both Luz and Philip are seeking something called "The Song of Stars".

And equally, Luz doesn't refer to it as a "he" who can tell them how to clear the mist, but rather just something that can grant them power.

Is it possible that at the point in time these boards were getting done, the Collector was not yet meant to be a character? Maybe the Song of Stars was rather some kind of powerful spell, something that would grant Philip a power similar to the draining spell.

Smaller detail but just something I thought was cute: In the original boards, Luz did not say "snap snap snap" out loud, so I'm glad that was added in the final cut. It's cute!

But you know what did not make the cut? Philip being a suck up to flatter Luz and Luz being absolutely adorable about it. He calls her crab language "beautiful" and says both her and Lilith are very brave and that they're like warrior princesses, which sure makes Luz happy. Oh, if only her happiness could've lasted.

A blush and happy tears!! My god girl!! I am so sorry your idol turned out to be a douche! You deserved to have kept that happiness!!!

I do have some theories as to why this was cut. Could have been reworked for time, or could have been that they didn't think people may get the reference (this reads like a Xena Warrior Princess one to me at least), or even that it might seem odd for him to have that concept...

I do think the blush here is interesting, we have seen characters in the show blush in contexts that aren't romantic such as when they are embarrassed, looking up to someone or think something is cute. So this isn't too odd, Luz is meeting what at the current time is a big idol for her and he is saying very nice things to her, which would understandably get a strong reaction.

Minor change: Luz goes "what!" in the original storyboards before asking if Philip uses glyphs too. Again, very minor change, but! Cute!!!

Interesting change here: In the original boards, Philip does not comment that it took years for him to find the glyphs and that it was almost as if the world wanted to hide them from him.

Instead, he comments he "didn't realize there was one for light as well".

This is REALLY interesting to me, because it also makes me wonder if the subtle theme of it being ambiguous whether the Titan's consciousness lingered and somehow hid the glyphs from Philip or if he was just that disrespectful and stubborn towards the B.I culture and wildlife that the only way he could rationalize his hardship was through the world being against him... was way less present in an earlier draft of the story.

He also does not comment "a warrior and a scholar, truly impressive" at Luz after she tells him she also found a glyph in a snowflake, just being quiet instead. I think that part may have been added to make more thematic sense with Lilith having a small quiet moment of looking weirded out by Philip's flattery right after.

Another minor detail: Luz also blushes in this storyboard when gushing over teaching Philip the light glyph, but this is absent in the final cut. I wonder if this was done so people wouldn't get the wrong idea, or, rather, if "my idol is so cool" gushing would be considered to be something that wouldn't be worth blushing over.

Another instance of The Collector being replaced by The Song of Stars. I find it funny in a silly way that it's in all caps, makes me think of how RPG games will write important key items or boss characters in all caps.

And that's all for the differences in this episode! But before we move onto the next, I wanted to talk a bit more about the Song of Stars because this all just... fascinates me? Coupled with that one storyboard we have seen from The Owl Beast nightmare that showed what seemed to be three figures instead of one, I wonder if back then they were toying with the idea of the celestial magic opposing earthly magic from the titans and the collectors as a species being the reason why titans are gone, but they didn't think to actually have a collector as a character back then, only have them as some distant threat and adding to the lore. The song of stars could have been some kind of powerful spell or weapon left by then way back when, perhaps even what killed the titans.

Maybe we will know once the series ends and we can ask all about the cut storylines that ended up being discarded in favor of the current one. I certainly want to know!

For, Them's The Breaks, Kid, now, we have one minor dialogue change. Eda adds a "honestly", when she says she thought there'd be more (to her misdeeds). Maybe they took it out because she WASN'T being honest? LMAO.

This is an interesting cut line: In the storyboards, before saying she'll be separated from Lilith, Eda says her parents "will kill her". While we know this is classic Eda hyperbole, I think this is interesting because to me it may have been cut due to the fact that this could be seen as odd when her parents have been shown previously to be pretty understanding... or maybe there is more to the Clawthornes than we think of.

I'm definitely not saying Dell and Gwen would be abusive, fucking hell no, but Gwendolyn has at the very least been pretty overbearing on Eda at times, and has made Lilith feel left out, presumably even before the curse if Lilith's desperation to stand out above Eda is anything to go by. Maybe, even without meaning to, Eda and Lilith's parents were pretty strict about getting them a good enough education and nudging them to join the Emperor's Coven. I mean... where do you wonder their aspiration to it came from?

Or, again, I'm just looking too much into this and this line was cut precisely because this wouldn't reflect Dell and Gwen well.

Small detail, in the storyboards, Eda said "I'll do anything to make up for this" instead of just "I'll do anything". I think it's possible they cut this because it made more sense to imply she'd do anything to stay rather than "make up for" things she wasn't truly sorry for.

More small details! Faust doesn't say "no child is beyond redemption", but rather "no one". This is interesting to me because it would imply Bump's life philosophy extends to adults as well, and in my opinion nods to the goodness in his heart.

Also! In the storyboards Eda doesn't laugh nervously, just raises her hand at Bump.

"IFWOT" also used to not have its name be said in the storyboards when Faust explained it to Eda and Bump, instead he simply called it a "special training program for gifted students of the Isles". I think this was more of a change to let us know of the name really, and it's possible they didn't have the name when it was boarded.

And finally, Faust was I guess supposed to laugh offscreen when he walked away, but this is absent from the final episode. I guess they either thought he might not be the type or they just forgot to add it, after all it would require someone to remember to record the line and add an offscreen sound effect.

Another set of boards for the same episode also shows Lilith and Eda in their studying together.

For starters, instead of Lilith saying "Trials for the Emperor's Coven are just around the corner", she says "The Emperor's Coven will be here *any* day" in the storyboards, which to be fair isn't a big difference, specially since the storyboards afterwards continue the same way with Eda pointing out seven months isn't any day/just around the corner.

Also something interesting, when giving Eda her question, Lilith specifies a potency the Leadfoot potion would have. Does this imply that potions can be mixed with varying potency, making some purposefully weaker or purposefully stronger? Maybe as a way to create balance?

Also it is barely a real difference, but I thought it'd be criminal to not let you all know Lilith is described to be "slightly envious" in the storyboards when stating that Eda is correct lol

She also had EEE on her dialogue before saying "imagine us both getting" on the storyboards which I'm sad didn't make it in!

Also there was no dialogue for Lilith pointing to the clock in the original storyboards! I'm guessing they added "look we're gonna be late" as a way to clarify what pointing anxiously at a clock meant lol

The storyboards then cut to way later in the episode, with Raine having transferred to Hexside and Eda meeting them in the cafeteria. Another slight dialogue change is Raine used to simply say their parents were surprisingly cool about it, rather than they hated the cold on the knee like they do in the final product.

It is very faint, but there is also a cut frame of Eda blushing at Raine while smiling here. Very cute!

Raine also used to take a sip while saying "give me the rundown of this place" while cutting that sentence in the middle and going "blegh" because of the taste, rather than in the final cut where they say the full sentence and then take a sip.

I think this may have been cut simply because it made the pacing of the dialogue way too awkward.

And finally, Raine used to laugh at Eda commenting on how much she liked the apple blood, which I think is just cute.

Next up, Labyrinth Runners! We have three different sets of storyboards for this one to get through!

First of all! After Bump takes a fighting stance, the coven scouts look at each other and shrug, which was cut in the final version. Guess they'd usually not think much of Bump huh...

Another set of storyboards shows us a pretty different look at the scene where Adrian has Gus held inside the gym: First of all, for some reason this set of boards is missing all of Adrian's dialogue, which makes it hard for us to infer just how much changed about that from the storyboards to the final cut, but we can see a glimpse of a different storyline with Gus' one line in all this:

"I'll never join your coven"... does that mean, originally, Adrian would try to force Gus to join the illusion coven, and Gus was resisting because he probably figured out by now getting coven sigils is bad news? But then again, I can imagine this was cut and quickly reworked into something a little less convoluted and more straightforward: Gus wouldn't know yet just how bad joining a coven is and about the draining spell, and Gus DOES specialize in illusion, so it could look odd that he is resisting this much.

There's another set of boards of when Hunter wakes up at the infirmary, and sadly this one is also missing dialogue. But we can still infer some differences!

First of all, after Skara tells him it's not an illusion and he is in the healing homeroom, Hunter opens his mouth briefly, maybe speaking words of relief or just sighing in relief really.

Also minor thing: it's a bit hard to tell with how these storyboards are with missing chunks, but it seems like Willow would have walked up to Hunter to defend him without him having to have brought up Gus' breathing exercise.

And for the last board in this, uhm, I don't... think this was meant to make it into the final cut but. LOL. LMAO.

Moving onto King's Tide!

Originally, we would've seen Luz use her safe fall spell when dodging Belos' attacks!

Also, instead of saying that it took him years to figure that (combining glyphs) out, Belos instead says it took him years to "harness their strength"... and he does NOT say anything about it being almost as if the titan was hiding it from him. Hmmm. Perhaps, more fuel to the fire of the theory that back then, there was no subtle implication of either the titan's consciousness lingering or Belos attributing his own disdain and lack of care to the titan?

This also curiously alters the next bit of dialogue: he still says "though you're still decades away from beating me", just earlier. And soon after, he says "that was almost impressiv-" getting cut out when Luz sends fire out at him. Not gonna lie, I almost wish this was kept because I like the idea of Belos getting cocky and immediately getting blasted, unable to finish his sentence. But oh well!

Speaking of dialogue differences!

Here, Philip says "And I'm giving you a chance to be saved, Luz. To go home!" instead of "And despite our differences, I want to help you, Luz. I can send you home." I consider this more or less the same, really, but it is an interesting change. He leans more on the saving aspect here.

And there is a pretty big cut scene also with how Luz responds to "I don't want to see another human life destroyed by this place".

Here, she snaps that he's the one destroying things, and wonders what it is all for, and then asks "what do you think they DID to you?"

Only after this, in the storyboards, does she go on to her "you're such a hypocrite" lines.

To me, this is a bit of a shame for having been cut out, because I feel like it brings up a good point about how Philip self justifies his wrongdoings by believing that the Boiling Isles residents are all inherently bad by the way they simply are, and that this divergence he cannot understand could somehow justify the drastic violent measures he takes.

I think it could have been this was cut for time, or maybe the crew thought this addition would be a bit confusing for some audiences to understand the implications it is trying to set up. It IS indicative of a bigger exploration of Philip's psyche after all.

Another incredibly interesting change: in the storyboards, Luz used to not have the petrification spell continue crawling up her, and is able to shake it off okay. I imagine they changed this to maybe make the situation look more dire and up the stakes a little, otherwise the scene might be too stale and anticlimactic with just Luz being able to keep talking and not having time ticking down on her life.

She also shuffles to her feet and is able to stand up while facing him, while in the final episode she can't get up due to the petrification spell still crawling up on her. Not gonna lie, I almost wish we did get this one, because the way she controls the situation with Philip here kind of feels more satisfying like this, while in the final product, you're busy going "shit shit shit LUZ OH NO".

She also used to cry a lot more on the boards when begging for the deal... I wonder if they added the petrification continuing really to just hammer home the desperation and make her crying have a "reason", though uh... hot take, I think she has reason enough to cry considering the Draining Spell threatening to kill everyone.

Also! Belos used to "chuckle" as the boards call for it when he was about to shake Luz's hand, but he doesn't do so in the final cut.

And finally for this batch: there's a small cut moment of Belos saying "you" with pained effort at Luz after she fucking booms him and gets the sigil on him, and she fucking STARES back with the most ominous badass look. I'm kind of sad that didn't make it in. Yeah it's minor but I like every time it's very clear Luz is being a thorn on his side and he is actually really fucking bothered by it actually.

Next batch of storyboards for this ep shows the fight with Belos on the bridge! First difference I can think of is that Luz was supposed to say "Philip" very quietly before getting jumpscared by him showing up behind her. It may have been cut similarly just because of them not getting audio for it or something or it not being necessary.

Bigger dialogue change: Instead of saying "we don't belong here", Belos says "I wanted to save you", which adds more fuel to the fire that they used to put a lot more emphasis on Philip's psychology of seeing himself as the one who gets to decide who is saved and seeing himself as a savior and martyr, and also someone done wrong by the demon realm.

I can't really know for sure why this was reworked and why more emphasis was put on rather Philip seeking to relate to Luz in their humanity. A lot of these boards seem to put even more emphasis on them as foils, standing up as equals against each other, and I do kind of lament we lost that? I mean, don't get me wrong, I can totally see that STILL lingers in the final product, but it feels way stronger in these.

By the way, if you're wondering, Luz does not say "I'm nothing like you" here either, it just cuts right onto Willow grabbing Belos with vines.

Also! When the gang shows up, they used to have no dialogue about how they're here to help and all, just cutting to Luz saying "you guys!!" (in the final product, she says "You guys are literally the coolest"). I do like the final product more, it's cute and adds more I think.

This one deserves to get shown: there's a cut little moment after Amity covers Luz where they look at each other and blush and it is! So cute! Why did it not make it in!! WHAT! Just because it "isn't the time to be gay"? Bullshit! Yuri time is all the time!

But for something that wasn't in the boards but made it in! Hunter protecting Willow was added in the final product!

And that is it for King's Tide... and so I ask that you tune in next time for when I analyze the For the Future boards!! I am VERY excited to get through those, specially because even between the roughs and cleans for a scene, there's so many little differences!!! And I want to talk about it ALL!!

[vargaslovinghours]

It's here! It's the big one-oh! Get ready for the 10th! (1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9)

Starting off with some Just Desserts stuff; it's not exactly against the rules to modify Pets with features they wouldn't naturally have - like a cat with wings - but it is side-eyed by other players

He might be projecting just a little bit lol

Obviously he'd support Joel wiping the floor with other Pets in the arena haha

Next one's a continuation, comic-style!

Since they've only got the one pet between them, they have to take turns directing Joel so he doesn't get confused on who to listen to haha, I'm sure it doesn't help that they have similar voices and Scriabin is constantly butting in. I think in this setting Edgar might be able to get away with pushing him around a little more haha ♪ He'll still pay for that later :)

FNF x Vargas! Quick, who wants to collab as I know Nothing about music composition lol - what might their voices/instrumentation sound like! I’ve always been a fan of strings for Edgar, piano for Scriabin personally :)

These were the two poses I had the absolute strongest mental images for, so they get the big pretties! Scriabin having a secondary feature to his Up animation (not just pointing a finger gun but also “shooting” it), only being visible when the note is held ah, I just love the animation in my mind’s eye lol

Two poses inspired by their bouncies! Edgar’s Down and Scriabin’s Right - I didn’t have them onhand for reference, but I’d definitely push them closer to the originals :D

I really like the idea of most of Edgar’s poses being smaller, more closed-in, and Scriabin’s being big and bombastic, but their Lefts are the opposite! Haha ♪

I've seen a good several songs that have a mid-level transformation which I find Very cool :D I suppose these could also be for different stages, but going from a whole Edgar to him missing an eye and actively bleeding and screaming and stumbling around to the music - I just think it's a neat concept lol

Scriabin's transformation would be with his wings of course!

More of the WOY idea! Scriabin's being so nice 😈♥

You know I had to draw Jake in this style, he's too cute not to, I had to! Fun proportions hehe

Two little balls of sunshine <3 This was the one where I really couldn't decide what art style I was most reminded of between Steven Universe and the rest haha

A rubber hose smooch! Cartoony mwah!

Don't be fooled Wander, kisses are temporary, bullying Edgar is forever

The topic drifted at one point to the idea of Scriabin and Edgar being able to turn their brain-sharing on and off which gave me a Two Yeses/One No idea

Started with them on equal footing - both of them can say no to oppose the other, and in order to link back up they have to both agree! And how that might look depending on who initiates hehe <3

I think it'd be good for them to have hard boundaries in place, not able to be coerced into giving up their privacy :)

As well as them being able to just tap in and Know again, Scriabin using it to be lazy and not try to communicate with his mouth haha

But even with those hard stops in place, how would sleep affect things! If he tried, could Scriabin break into Edgar's dreams? Even if he gave permission, would his subconscious allow that? :0 It's interesting!

Quick break for a scribbly concept of how I wanted my first Vargas Drabbles soft cover to look haha - I didn't end up using the red inlay but it's definitely an idea for next time 👀

Back to brain-sharing, but this time featuring a return to body-sharing! :00 I hadn't considered it until Zarla mentioned them physically phasing together and then became Very interested in exploring it, when isn’t Scriabin annoying tho lol. It’s because you love him, Edgar!

Falling back into old habits of emotionally degrading Edgar, but he has the power to kick you out now! Just try your smart mouth on him from out here, where it hurts less!

Get back in on good behaviour, or because he misses him too much ♥ I love his sweet face here I 💕💗💖❤️💞💝

How dare he be so inviting, Scriabin has to deal with a physical heart and you are trying to kill him, cruel mean Edgar (lol)

Inspired by the hug test haha ♪ Hug him!

This was supposed to be a sweet moment :( Scriabin can't help it, being vulnerable is icky haha

But when offered the opportunity, you take what you can get <3 They are so damn cute, gah

Hehe ♪ There needs to be Some level of awkwardness to it, it's still Vargas after all. Would it hurt? No, maybe more like an organ shifting back into its correct position :)

How's he supposed to help it when you make it so easy

They'd have to negotiate safe and opportune times to share minds if it required them to share a body! Scheduling when to be apart would probably be stressful, but so would being together haha

Edgar doesn't want to deal with this until he's more awake, and maybe not at all if he gets jealous hehe

And finally again, we've returned to the Two Yeses/One No idea - who gets to decide who's "No" counts once they're already enmeshed? :) Introducing the Lobster Trap ✨

“slrch” is such a gross sound effect haha

Really struggling with the concept of Scriabin’s autonomy! He quite literally exists outside of you now Edgar, you have to let him grow on his own!

Scriabin probably just wants out to do something Edgar morally objects to, enough to suffer his company while pissed. The idea of Scriabin having his own body and still having to take Edgar over to exert his own personhood again, ugh, it’s so fraught <3

The Lobster Trap has so many potential outcomes, even discounting one side over the other! Obviously I had to make as many as I could come up with lol; starting with Scriabin getting to decide when he hops in, and Edgar getting to decide if he lets him out - two yeses all around to show it As Intended, all going well :)

And here are Edgar's No options: his no overrides letting Scriabin out, but does nothing to deter Scriabin from coming in without his permission. I think this is one of the worst configurations for them haha ♪ It’s so easy for them to be cruel to each other!

Now the other way around! Scriabin has to get Edgar's permission to come in, so here's their Two Yeses :D Obviously he did it to annoy Edgar, he'll never get to read in peace haha. Not that he would even without this hehe

Edgar's No would shut Scriabin out, which I think would be good for them honestly; Edgar gets time to process things on his own without Scriabin manipulating him from the inside, and Scriabin gets to eat humble pie

Two Yeses again, though it was hard to imagine a situation where Scriabin would willingly hop out at Edgar's request - to make fun of him though? Yes ✨

And again, Edgar's No not overriding Scriabin's Yes - I think this would be really good for them! Edgar doesn't get to hold him against his will, and Scriabin doesn't get to burst in without his permission!

But really, it'll always be messy with them <3 Even in the best scenario, if Edgar's Yes overrides Scriabin's No of being forced inside - even if he couldn't hold him there, just the action of making him see from his point of view and all that entails... ♪

Little jailbird, just wants to fly away on clipped wings 💔

Now for something completely different lol. Scriabin wrote a resumé! I’m sure it’s full of accurate information to help him land a proper interview :)

Good, good, dates, prior experience, employers, skills, conquests-

Scriabin insists he's a sexpert but if there's a degree on his wall I haven't seen it

There is such a Massive difference between writing resumés and actually doing the work the resumé is required for, come on. I do love just how miffed Edgar looks tho haha

S: >:3c | E: Yeah alright point taken

Tiny spacefiller - he's so mad! He's gonna tell you all about it!

Oh hey wow Nny's still here, that's neat. Originally there was an Edgar next to him but only the main character turned out cute, rude

Quietly cutting potatoes <3 Domestic

I love Scriabin getting scared inside Edgar but him having to put on an outwardly placid face so he doesn't freak Nny out in turn haha. Nny's love language is knives

But that's where the nutrients are! Speaking of Ghost-

Teaching him how to flay skin, not necessarily strictly on potatoes hehe. I like the idea of Nny kinda spacing out when it comes to his favourite activities - yeah he hates touching people, but that takes a backseat to talking about murder and playing with knives

Obviously Edgar's a bit distracted himself lol. Nny just casually talking about what happens when you separate the flesh from the body and Edgar and Scriabin are over here discussing Just how gay this is haha

I went and reread one of my old drafts of One Way Mirror recently and ahh I’d forgotten how sassy they are with each other lol

I'm still crazy about them <3 They drive me absolutely mad 💕 I think it's funny too, since I started writing OWM while deeply fixated but didn't think much of the Flavour of my writing I didn't expect anything from rereading, but it does taste a bit like mainfic hehe ♪

I love when Scriabin argues how much he wants to "help" Edgar while controlling him up and down, Edgar's not about to take this sitting down if he can help it! Also emasculating insults my beloved ♥

Thinking again about Hunchback; not quite any of the already-established stuff (they're not playing the roles, nor are they separate and seen the movie! What!), about why Scriabin would side-eye Edgar so much during Out There. It's a good song for him :) And I love drawing him like this haha, proud and haughty angle <3

Edgar with slightly less floofy hair and the closed-line nose style from a few years ago lol ♪ I do like bridge/bottom of the nose style I've grown into, but it's still a fun style to return to every once in a while :)

And one last sneaky cheeky kiss for smooch practice before the very end! Just try and stop me! Why did Scriabin turn out so pretty tho ♥

So that's June through September, again-again! Well, almost - turns out I actually made too many sketches for my Blank Slate AU/fic - literally as many as are featured here! - so it needed its own post. So please look forward to that!

[dykethang]

OOOKAY, so, @zyzzylva here is why people should vote for the south island kōkako specifically (and also just why they're certified Cool Birds)

in aotearoa there are two species of kōkako, the north island kōkako which is listed by doc as nationally increasing! and the south island kōkako, which is my favourite of the two. in 2004 (or 2005, or 2013, depending on who's sourcing), the south island kōkako was classified by DOC as completely extinct (like a member of its family tree, the huia). however, based on a number of sightings between then and ~2013, DOC made the decision to reclassify it as data deficient instead - basically, maybe functionally extinct, maybe not at all, we just don't have the data to make that call

as recently as early this year, there have been potential sightings of them! there are some trusts and groups and individuals devoting themselves tirelessly - like rhys buckingham of the south island kōkako trust who has been looking for them for over 40 years now - and i really think with enough attention and funding going towards them that there's a real hope of finding them again and most ideally saving them from actual extinction

sidebar with some cool facts about them and about kōkako in general really:

kōkako sound like a creaky swing or perhaps a metal fence gate swinging in the wind. 10/10, wouldn't want to hear that in the bush at night

they're known to have sorts of "regional dialects" in their song amongst birds

in māori pūrākau, the kōkako brought māui water in its wattles as he fought te ra (the sun); māui's reward to the kōkako was to lengthen its legs and allow it to hop across the forest floors

terrible horrible no good very bad at flying BUT it's okay. cause they hop

both kōkako parents will feed their babies together!

they were once referred to as the new zealand crow, although they're not closely related to crows at all, but their resemblance from far away can be pretty striking

i just think they're really neat birds, not enough people know about their plight, and i really think that winning something like BOTY would allow us to make strides in finding them again :3

[image source: buller's birds of new zealand, illustrated by keulemans; blue-wattled bird is the north island kōkako, and the orange-wattled is the south island. portal gun birds much?]

[cmyk-anaglyph-honeycomb]

Hazbin Hotel Episode 7 blind blogging.

spoilers and whatnot.

BITCH YOU WERE HARMED!!! What? Vaggie saying that she didn't know angels could be harmed is insane. Maybe the thing that harmed you was used to kill that angel, how was that not an idea that popped into their heads? I didn't have much to say until 4 and a half minutes in cuz it was mostly the clip that was already released. I was thinking about not even doing this until Charlie and Vaggie started talking about what to do about the angels. Working back a bit cuz I guess I'm doing this now. Pen petting the cat was cute. It's odd that none of the other hotel gang have questions about Vaggie being an angel. Like, she was down there killing sinners. For them to be alright with her, while Charlie, the one who is forgiving to an actual fault, is the one with the problem is odd. Yeah, they're girlfriends, but Vaggie's reasoning is 100% something Charlie would roll over and accept no questions asked.

Anyway, I’ll add it hear, cuz why not, but like why isn’t Angel more invested in the redemption plan. Earlier in the season at least. Cuz proof or not, that would be the best way for him to get away from Val.

He’s only at the hotel so he doesn’t have to live with him, but if Angel could get into heaven, then that’s it. Now, knowing that no one knows how to actually get into heaven (if the hotel gang even know that yet), it makes sense that he’s not enthusiastic. But if not, then he should be a pushy about it as Charlie.

Okay back to the episode in progress.

Alastor's image in the window was a neat shot, loved that. Very curious to see what he wants Charlie to do for him.

Charlie never being to cannibal town kinda bothers me. Like she wants to redeem sinners, but she clearly doesn’t know much about them. As the princess of hell, she should at least care enough to know something like what region is the least violent or vaguely peaceful.

More children in hell, this continues to bother me. Also, I’m not found of Rosie’s voice. It isn’t bad, it just doesn’t seem to fit her.

How does not one know what Hell’s royalty look like? Like what is the point of the Morningstar’s being referred to as royals if it means nothing? They might as well be know as the oldest family in hell, it would have the same weight.

Carmilla, my girl is back on screen. And she proves my point. Being a princess of hell is not a title with any weight or power. Also, bold of Vaggie to thing she wasn’t going to get jumped the second she stepped outside.

My girl’s point out the facts, Charlie’s actions have only made things worse. Susan is me whenever Carmilla isn’t on screen.

Lol Charlie finally snapped.

First, Carmilla with her hair down, love that. Second, ITS AN ANGELIC SPEAR!?!? No one else caught that!?!? REally?

Vaggie swings around and angelic weapon and not only did she not think someone would notice, no one fucking noticed!

How did Vaggie not know that she could be harmed? Don’t the angels go through training or something, or is it whoever wants to be on the murder squad gets to go? What is the logic in this?

(monotone) oh wow I was right angelic weapons harm angels.

These characters are so stupid i hope heaven wins.

Not to doubt my girl, but how does Carmilla know this much about angels? It’s implied that none of them have been hurt or killed before, but she’s talking like she’d been doing this for a while.

Also, what is the point of Vaggie being an angel is she knows literal nothing about them and has to be taught how to fight against them.

I’m sorry, but no. The angels leave their spears lying around and NO ONE has ever taken one and tried to use it against them in self defense and succeed, ever? I refuse to believe that. The exterminations happen every year, not one ever had the idea to fight back using the angels own spears. In an environment were killing and fighting is the norm. Bullshit.

Song #1

An overlord of hell singing about how fighting for love is the key is kind of…off.

Her wings came back? Why? Because of love…does that mean she just didn’t love Charlie enough?

The song is flat and kinda boring. Visuals are alright, a lot of jumping around. But Carmilla’s on screen and I’m a simple critter, so 4/10 i guess.

Charlie just coming out and telling someone she just met that Vaggie is an angels feels dangerous. Like these guys have been killing sinners forever, like, people finding out should put a huge target on Vaggie’s back.

(Deep inhale) the song has not started yet, BUT if Charlie’s singing explanation works this time and the only reason it hasn’t in the past is because she’s been doing it to the wrong crowd, im going to loose it.

No, the problem wasn’t that she was delusional and didn’t thing her plan all the way through, its just she wasn’t doing it to the right sinners /s

Charlies problem of singing her way through things is going to be linked with Lilith isn’t it?

Song #2

Destiny did not pick her for anything. The problem she, and the rest of hell, is facing is caused by her direct actions. That’s not destiny, that’s cleaning your own mess.

The cannibals weren’t convinced by her singing, they just want to eat the angels. A think Alastor tells them. Why is charlie even here? He could have walked up that gazebo and asked if they wanted to try angel meat, they would have agreed and he’d be like cool but you have to fight for it. Like what?

Charlie is put off by the cannibal town wanting to murder, where does she think she is? Why does she think she’s recruiting them? They angels aren’t going to go away after a bit of push back, death is going to happen.

Her naivete is leaning towards stupid, she has not idea about anything.

She singing like she’s a leader, so are rosie and alastor, but they crowd isn’t even excited about defending hell or seeing new places, or whatever charlie is trying to say. They want angel flesh, that’s it. Charlie isn’t a leader her, she’s just a messenger for an idea that isn’t her’s. The hotel and hell being defended would just be a byproduct of the cannibals killing enough angel for their own goals.

And suddenly everyone is singing together about fight heaven for no reason.

She’s not going to question the wings at all? After all that moping and complain? No one in the crowd is going to react to an angel after just singing about killing them? Cool

Charlie and Vaggie aren’t going to talk things out at all?

Ending thoughts:

This episode (season) felt rushed. Not time to sit on anything. Not Vaggie being an angel. Not charlie or anyone prepossessing that. Not charlie finally convincing a larger group of people on her side, nothing.

These episodes needed to be twice as long or have twice as many at least. Nothing has saying power.

Besides defending all of hell, there’s isn’t any reason why the hotel gang couldn’t just evacuate the building and stay somewhere else if they were that sure angels couldn’t be stopped. They could have stayed with lucifer for a day, I doubt the angel bother him.

None of the accomplishments in the episode felt earned. Alastor gave charlie all the answers. Vaggie had to learn about the weaknesses of angels despite being one. She’s only been down there for three years, so it isn’t like she forgot overtime.

Neither of the songs were that good. Overall this is probably the worst episode for me.

[queensparklekitten]

I found your web weave about last online 7 years ago and scp 1762 (And I Love It), and I noticed it said you can’t reblog unless you were from the SGE site. What is that exactly?

*looks up from my drink, in the corner of the bar*

So. You wanna know about the SGE site, huh? Well.

Once upon a time, there was an online community.

Fandom forum, though the Open Chat one (equivalent of a #general channel in a discord server) was by far the most used. You got a book you read when you were 12 that changed your life? SGE's the acronym for what was that book for me. You might've seen the movie adaptation on Netflix a couple years back. I really waited seven years for that... I'm getting off topic. Back to the website.

The userbase was in the 8-17 age range, 90% girls, many of us the kind of people who devoured books like it was nothing in our then-ongoing preteen years. The few moderators never even looked at us unless we reported a glitch, spammer, or bigot for them to deal with, so we had no adult supervision.

Open Chat was used for, among other things, the most chaotic unhinged roleplay you can imagine. We got really into it. Wild parties that lasted days, food fights that quickly escalated into the hunger games, everything to do with those living shadows, Bob the alien, the Potato Kingdom, many of us had pets or imaginary friends doing this alongside us, I'm barely scratching the surface here, if I were to try to explain it all we'd be here for weeks. Quoting the Bee Movie script or singing certain songs had a tendency to cause all hell to break loose paranormally, one time it opened a portal to the underworld. It was the most fun ever. There was a reason we'd greet newcomers with "try not to die".

Aside from the chaos, there was contests where we'd reply with images of dresses or cute animals or what else have you, lots of clubs based around various things, people would sing (post song lyrics, sometimes roleplaying whole flashy performances) and post fun questions for everyone to answer and stories and neat videos we found and really good poetry and so, so much more that we didn't archive because we just assumed it would always be there.

It's where I met a lot of my closest friends- hell, it was the only place where I regularly got invited to participate in anything. I don't think there's anyone on that site who didn't forge friendships there. It's also how I got into quite a lot of songs and books and shows, and how I learned HTML formatting. That site was my home. It was the best part of my life for years.

You know how online friends are, though. Sometimes they disappear without a trace, a warning, or an explanation. Or their parents forbid them from going on the site because they think online chat rooms are dangerous.

I joined at 12. By the time I was nearing age 15, most of my friends had disappeared without a trace, never to return. I was one of the very few users to join in 2016 who was still active. The site wasn't abandoned, there were new people everywhere, but...

I don't pretend to understand the why of it, but the magic just. Started fading, I suppose. The community was falling apart. The roleplay got more stale and repetitive and often died down before it went anywhere. It all slowly declined and decayed and became a shell of itself. A hollow mimicry of what we once had. It wasn't really fun anymore, and I found myself wondering what was left to stay for. Just got worse in this regards, up until the website's final days, even after the rest of the userbase started becoming aware of it.

Eventually one day, the Open Chat started glitching hard. It had done that before, many times, and always been fixed. That time, though, it went down for repairs and never came back up. They said they'd bring it back, and they never did. Here's the thing, though- our posts all disappeared. When other forums on that website got closed around then, we could still see the posts by going through our post histories, we just couldn't reply to them. Open Chat and every last record of what we did there just vanished entirely, like it never existed.

It never even got crawled by the Wayback Machine.

...Now that I mention it, tomorrow's actually the anniversary of when Open Chat went down... how the FUCK was that five years ago it does NOT feel like it's been anywhere near that long.

Anyways.

During this time, the very few (like, there was maybe 2 at most) moderators had begun responding to drama by banning offsite links, followed by, several months after we lost our Open Chat, banning off-topic (non-SGE-related) discussions entirely, which sparked riots and a petition and they knew what it meant to the userbase, even to newer people who'd only known the comparatively lifeless version, we told the admins as hard as we could, and they did nothing. Well, other users told them anyways. I knew the site was beyond saving and thus didn't do anything but listen to music and make "let me guess, your home?" memes.

We also lost the ability to make posts in our profiles that weren't in any forums but could be seen if you went through the user's post history.

The official end was the "revamp" of the website, that was just a shutdown. They deleted everything that was left of it and all the records of what we were, and made a completely new website that the old one's url now redirects to. Though at least this time they had the courtesy to announce it a month and a half in advance so we could load as much as we could of what remained into archive.org during those weeks. There's no forum feature on the new site, and user data wasn't transferred. I never made an account on the new site. Why would I?

You can probably guess by reading those lyrics and asofterworld screencaps that I, and at least some other users I'm still in contact with, never really got over the death of that community.

That last image in my webweave is a screenshot of the page that now comes up whenever you type in the url for a forum or an old site member's profile and hit enter.

[arcann]

43 47 diokos

Thank uuuu 💚❤💚❤

47. crave is here (2.7k words)

I made this one a sequel for the last one I wrote bc I got into the story. It was neat 43. undone (5.3k words)

The language of the Sith was a complicated and ever-changing part of their culture which had, for some mysterious reason, become very simple in the later years. Millennia might have passed and so much of it had become unrecognizable, or so Diokos had heard his entire life.

That mysterious reason had a name and was, in fact, a present player in its mutilation.  Vitiate had tried to suppress any inconveniences, and the way the Sith language was preserved had become one. It should serve the will of only one man, not the people he had subdued. He had proved his omnipotence, so his words were commands and only through his voice would those magnanimous orders be heard.

And what they heard from him was silence.

What could they do with that response?

The powerful hoarded what they could find and kept the rest in the shadows, the ideology of the Sith overshadowing any sense of community they had ever shared, if there was any. 

There should have been one, in a time no one wanted to remember.

There should have been songs that could soothe wounds or alleviate grief, his mother insisted as she cared, or struggled to care for him. Decades ago, crying after a conversation with his grandfather or when she was forced to return to the battlefield on some distant planet she didn’t want to talk about. Diokos couldn’t imagine he was good at giving her any solace, being young enough to still struggle with Basic.

She was as ignorant as he was, back then when he was a toddler and now, when he had been granted the knowledge of his own family, the one she must have known when they lived together in Ziost. That broken and half known system he could never fix on his own.

And it gnawed at him, that he had to live knowing what she really wanted, adopting those urges. He couldn’t forget these longings his mother shared with him, not as he remembers being pressed against her chest, her sobs all around him, wishing for a place where they weren’t stuck, where they wouldn’t be fated to push each other away and wither alone. He recalled wondering how she could say that, when he was using his pudgy arms to make his little body wide enough to hug her, with as much strength as he could muster. Much later, he understood what would have happened had she stayed, but back then he just wished she would calm down and smile at him.

Because stars, it felt good to make her smile again.

—

“I saw your little encounter. You didn’t even try to hide it this time.” Cipher Nine said with amusement as he let his chair twirl under his weight. One of his legs was over the armrest and he was playing with something that looks like a broken antenna. He dropped it on his desk when he heard the heavy doors of his office shut behind the Sith lord. 

“Are you here to admit your guilt?” He reached over to lean on the table and smiled at him, watching expectantly.

“If you saw what happened then I don’t need to tell you that.” Diokos snapped and said nothing else.

“Oh, well…” Rex sighed as he moved back, resting his elbow in the chair. “You know how erratic security cameras are when someone uses the force inside the same room they’re in. The image glitches and there are noises coming from all over as the packaging slowly gives up under your power.” 

His hand tightened into a fist, motioning what to a Sith can only mean one thing. 

Crush. 

“Might have been Arcann though. I can’t say for certain. Maybe he’s the one who owes me a camera.” Rex raises his brows, waiting for Diokos to answer.

“Are you going to make me pay for it?”

“I won’t, if you stop being shy and tell me what our latest recruit told you.”

Diokos sighed as he ordered his ideas one last time.

“He wants to go back to the place where he was imprisoned along with his sister. He told me he could get information from his captors, but I don’t believe it. I think he wants revenge, plain and simple.”

“There’s rarely anything plain about revenge when it comes to you Sith.” Cipher Nine can’t stop himself from commenting, “Last I heard, you formed an entire cult around it.”

Diokos ignored him and continued.

“I assume this isn’t news to you. He couldn’t hide his indignation over not being able to sway you and the others into letting him go.”

“What? Vaylin was the one who came up with that plan.” Rex crooked his head as his crimson eyes shined more than usual. “Fascinating to see so much initiative from someone who fell from grace thanks to our efforts.”

Diokos would never tell him, but he would become unnerving every time he talked like that.  In his eyes there was a chain no one but he could see, and it was always searching for the next link to ensnare someone with it.

Then again, Cipher Nine probably knew how he felt.

“She did? Really?” He felt clumsy just by uttering those words. What a terrible day.

“Really! And I, for one, am quite interested in finding out what her brother will do when he finds himself alone in the place where he was… broken. And humiliated. I can tell you it was much more miserable than what you did to him.” He described this with the tone of someone who just saw his least favorite swoop racer blow up. 

“He also said he wants to go with me.”

“You and him?” Rex replied with levity. “Another wonderful idea, not only does he want to be alone, he wants to be with you.”

“What are you saying? You’ve told me dozens of times not to start fights!” “And you always insist on making me repeat myself.” 

Diokos’ eye twitched.

“Didn’t you just imply that I should attack him?”

“Is that what you thought first? Well then, let me be clear.” His leg left the armrest, and he rearranged himself so he’s sitting correctly in his chair, as any professional would. 

“He can have his, let’s be polite, his mission. And you, as his only support, as he wishes it to be. You can take your ship and your droids.” His tone shifted, finally giving this conversation the seriousness Diokos thought it deserved, and then turning it into the direction he didn’t want it to go. 

“But I will follow, to see you two react as a team. You’ve become a problem worth attending in an operation that cannot be paused.” 

Diokos thought back to how he was told he would be getting an official mission, only to find himself with two weeks of free time at the last minute.

“We’ll see who is the issue, you and your paranoia getting out of control, or him and his delusions of indomitability. And then whoever is wrong will correct himself.”

Diokos felt an “or” incoming, and he waited for it. Instead, Cipher Nine continued.

“Don’t worry, neither of you will notice I’m close. You can treat him as you think he deserves.”

His conclusion was more disheartening than Diokos thought it would be.

“Just like that? You’re giving him free leave?” The wound in his torso ached madly, as if it was reveling in the memories that haunted him.

“No, I’m telling you I have an interest in you working together as an actual team and not two, what, old rivals with a grudge? Whatever you’d call it.” he waved carelessly, annoyed at giving their relationship a second thought, “And I’m implying that I wasn’t the one who told them no.”

“He took five years of my life from me.” Diokos grinded his teeth, trying to stop himself and yet the words kept pouring out. “When I woke up everything I had built was unrecognizable, in shambles. My efforts had all evaporated, as if I hadn’t even tried. And my body– my body–” 

Rex shivered at that comment, almost imperceptibly, and Diokos was surprised to feel his mood darken as his hand uncontrollably reached one of the many scars that adorned his face. He caught himself before he got there and exhaled loudly.

“Finally, I am asking you to think of the big picture, for once in your life. I promise it can become a nice view. Let me worry about the details instead.”

“I don’t want to take care of him.” He replied firmly, despite the knot on his throat.

“But I want to take care of you. And I will achieve that goal through you, as fast as it is possible. So cooperate with me. You’ll see results.”

Diokos swallowed his rage as if it were a burning and sticky liquid. It was somehow easier while seeing Nemore’xiel saddened, to focus on someone else's pain and distract him of his own. He could feel stronger than his brother in battle and calm himself, or at least appear calm.

He didn’t hear the footsteps approaching the office until they rang the bell at the door, asking to be let in.

“Now cooperate with me, after I have been so direct with you.”

One, ten, thirty seconds pass and the doors open, Theron Shan appearing behind them running his hands through a datapad while looking preoccupied. He’s followed by Risha Drayen, who pierced both of them with a look. 

“Huh. I’m not gonna like this, am I?”

Theron’s eyes shot out to his direction, alarmed. Rex ignored her comment.

“I want to propose that we reopen our investigation of the Black Sun Syndicate’s new foothold on Nar Shaddaa. The Lord Wrath has given me a very good plan to start with.” He glanced at Diokos and looked at him expectantly, his crimson eyes shining once more.

“Yes. My plan has several purposes, and it helps that Arcann approached me himself, seeing as he has experience with them. But what I want is to resolve the one problem in my team that I’ve been ignoring for far too long.” He didn’t miss a beat, so he supposed Rex was satisfied.

“Long enough for Team Red to be dismissed in assignments I told you beforehand I was interested in leaving in their hands.” Cipher Nine added with reproach, but not exactly towards him.

 Theron groaned and rubbed his head, not hiding his exhaustion.

“So you took it as an insult and responded immediately. With your favorite sith. How very… you.” 

He and Risha shared a look that Diokos couldn't understand.  

“Well then, let’s hear it.” 

—

He didn’t say much on their way to Nar Shaddaa. Just enough to give Arcann the news that his proposal had been accepted, and to mollify him for their travels. He was evidently surprised, paying attention to his every word but Diokos didn’t stay to take in his final reaction, excusing himself by saying he needed to clarify the final bureaucratic processes, and they would be good to go.

There weren’t any, as the conclusion was that the assignment would be kept under the table. If there were documents to fill in the future, Rex would probably take them off his hands. And if the main problem was truly his paranoia, then he should learn not to worry to an obsessive degree. To not observe Arcann like another predator in his territory.

The Wrath wondered if his travel companion saw the signs. They left along many other ships, as inconspicuously as possible to the space regulators and, once outside Odessen’s atmosphere, took a completely different direction. He detected Blessaire’s ship and thought about reaching her through the force, then rejected the idea entirely. Why? To let her know of his anxiety then fade away in the complete opposite direction? What else could he communicate? Nothing of value to her.

Once they had arrived there was no better choice than to let Arcann lead. Some force users found it overwhelming to manage their powers in places crowded by millions like Nar Shaddaa but almost immediately the fallen emperor found a foothold and his hunt began. Diokos knew he was observant and pragmatic to impressive heights but what he saw continued to awe him.

And he really was trying to stay like that, keeping a positive outlook on what Arcann could do and not following his old impulse of thinking how their skills would compare if the situation turned violent. He thought of giving him praise but quickly decided against it. They weren’t there yet. Coming from him it would sound fake or worse, condescending.

Arcann and Vaylin had been taken to a prison on the edge of the moon’s more urban areas. The destruction caused by the Alliance (or more specifically, the Voidhound’s crew and her mandalorian allies) had allowed many more prisoners to escape, leaving the place mostly abandoned: The Hutts didn’t like little operations outside their notice and the Black Suns had enough insight to know when they had to cut their losses and hide their trail.

So that’s where they started, and worked their way from there. Diokos always had difficulty with machines but Arcann was a perfectly decent slicer. In the dark, he worked with half broken monitors and neglected droids. It even felt a bit too easy for them, which made the Wrath wonder if Cipher Nine or his agents were roaming around somewhere outside their notice, dealing with security protocols to take off the brunt of their job.

Would that also count as underestimating Arcann’s abilities? It did not matter. Soon enough they had a location and the name of the person in charge of that failed operation. 

A Falleen noble that thought he could reap benefits by aiding the incipient syndicate leave the Core Worlds and granting them a stronghold in the center of the galactic underworld. He hadn’t taken his loss well and was hiding on his own pleasure barge, lamenting himself. How could he not? By mere chance he had obtained a trophy invaluable beyond anyone’s belief, the Zakuulan emperor that had tormented the galaxy for five years and his heir as prisoners. Hutts would have paid an unimaginable amount of credits to have those two in their walls. And now his luck had utterly rotten, for he had lost them and was left with an illicit burning base to cut all ties with. And that wouldn’t be the end of it.

From the smoldering fury Diokos could sense more and more clearly under Arcann’s somber facade, it was obvious the nobleman's fate was going to take a turn for the worse. He remembered how Arcann’s prosthetic had been mangled, made to hurt him instead of aiding him, how all the wounds the Wrath had caused in their fight looked much more grim when they met again. And yet he looked at him with so much fury and excitement, like he was about to convince him to restart their fight where they had left it, only to faint moments later.

That same look had been magnified now and oddly enough, Diokos found himself genuinely interested. He hadn’t seen Arcann get his hands dirty like that. His impression was that he didn’t like it, but maybe he was wrong. They hadn’t been in many fights during their own reconnaissance missions, and none of them had personal stakes. He was intrigued to see if he would give in on the violence, when he had such lofty promises of intel a few days ago.

—

There were plenty of assassin droids in that immense luxurious barge, as if the Black Suns had expected a stealth assault, not an open one. The Falleen must have thought the Hutts’ bounty hunters were his most likely enemies and he chose that type of protector specifically for them. They hid in dark corners and roofs where the wealthy guests would not pay them any mind and continue gambling and partying in peace.

There was no reason to disturb them. That’s what Arcann had decided.

The man was practically sealed in his private chambers and even if they covered the fancies of a noble with an overinflated ego, they were also prepared to stop an army, or dissuade most slicers and spies. 

They didn’t need any of that.

With one look and a word, Diokos ordered the guards away after unlocking the durasteel doors. They formed a beeline, ready to spend the night away in other places on the barge. 

Arcann didn’t waste a second and ran, much faster than the Wrath expected him too. Diokos chased after him, only to see the reason for his rush.

The Falleen approached the entrance, alarmed by the noise the door made. He didn’t have time to scream or fight. In a blink he was kneeling in the expensive carpet, clawing at his throat and letting out half formed howls of pain as Arcann extended his metallic arm towards him, force choking him. It didn’t take long before the noises that came from his throat weakened more and more until they completely stopped. Arcann relaxed, and moved his hand away and the man’s torso felt limp over the floor, no longer alive.

He had not given any announcement of who he was, no monologue before attacking, no grandstanding over his victimizer turned victim. No “delusions of indomitability”. Not a single word.

They both had passed. Diokos trusted him throughout the mission and in turn, Arcann hadn’t made a mess looking for revenge, even if he was looking for revenge. The only thing missing was the intel, but he knew Cipher Nine would deal with it even if they found nothing here. The barge was still theirs, or it would be, soon enough. And yet Diokos held his breath as Arcann turned, his eye shining golden, brighter than any of the ornaments in that room now that he was watching him.

“Tell me, what did you see in his mind as he died?” Arcann nodded in the direction of the corpse but didn’t stop looking at the Wrath.

“I didn’t pay attention.” Diokos answers shortly. He was completely concentrated on Arcann. “Let’s be done with this and search for his data.”

Arcann laughed without humor.

“Well, you should have. He was thinking of all the codes we needed to break into computers.”

And to think, he still hoped this would be easy. He covered his mouth with exasperation.

“What do you want, Arcann?”

“Nothing I can ever earn.” The fallen emperor replies as he moves away, his spite finally coming out after months of forced mildness. He steps over the Falleen’s corpse and approaches the closest piece of decor. A glittering disk, ostentatiously decorated, probably Onderonian. The base it was placed over lifted it right in front of Arcann’s face, distorting his mask in the reflection it gave.

“Do you know what they made us swear, after we arrived? And I could finally rise from bed, obviously.”

“I wasn’t there.”

They thought I would kill you if I saw you back then. And they were right. I would have done it.

He suddenly senses a force attack intruding inside his thoughts. 

Arcann was attempting to prod into his mind, trying to peer inside him, as if he was just another one of his victims and not the one who had ruined him. He was ferocious in his attempt, focusing more of his power as he felt the Wrath’s pushback, extending his metallic arm once more.

“Stop.” Diokos orders in the ancient Sith tongue. Immediately Arcann’s prosthetic arm goes limp, the lights of its mechanisms flickering along with the ones in his mask, fighting to stay on. For a second he is about to fall but he catches himself, exhaling loudly and giving him a puzzled look. 

He had caught him by surprise, but he doubted it would work again. 

Diokos swallowed his anger as fast as he could. They were so close. If Arcann wanted to vent, he would hear it. He knew how he paced himself and picked his moves. He had obsessively watched him, waiting for this moment. And now that it was here he would finally, finally get the poison out of the wound breaking his team.

“Tell me what they told you.” 

Wrinkles form around Arcann’s right eye, as if he was snarling behind his mask.

“You will not strive for more in this life. You will be given what you need. You must follow our orders and be at peace with them. It's not an offer, you must accept. Or else.” He throws those memorized words as if they had personally insulted him, then he takes it further.

He beckoned him into his mind, as only two force users could. Diokos had never done that, not with permission. The scene that unveils itself is clearer than what he is used to, not marred by pain or fighting to be hidden again. 

In it, he saw Arcann and Vaylin, surrounded by a dozen Jedi and Sith in a place he could not recognize but clearly inside Odessen’s dark wilderness. He could identify the Barsen’thor and Darth Occlus, alongside their own apprentices. Everyone had their lightsabers on and were watching attentively. The only one who couldn’t wield the force there was Cipher Nine, who guided a recording droid and held a holotransceiver, its image changing from one member of Command to another. Many words were exchanged and by the end the Barsen’thor turned off her lightsaber, her students following in perfect synchrony. She addressed Rex directly, her pose confrontative, but Rex ignored her and said those words Arcann resented him so much for. It was the only thing Arcann allowed him to actually hear. 

Soon it was over, and he was staring once more at Arcann and his fractured reflection in the disk.

“That is…” better than what you deserve. “A very restrictive deal.”

“It is.” Arcann whispers as his eye returns to the disk.

“Yet justified.”

The disk cracks. With a flash, his lightsaber is turned on.

“They have us running around doing chores. We fight pirates who do not matter and gather samples on planets that are further and further away from the Core Worlds and Imperial Space.” He began to stalk the hall, measuring him as if he was planning an attack. “Do you know why?” 

Diokos’ hand twitches, anxious to grab his own weapon, but he doesn’t want to respond like that.

“Do you wish to wage war again?”

“I do not. That was… his…” He doesn’t say the name of the man whose mere thought makes him act like he's in pain, twirling his lightsaber as if he was ready to defend himself against him. “Idea from the beginning. I lost much while I followed him, but I lost even more when I answered your rampages with war.”

“Then you should understand that alliances of convenience can be stretched for a long amount of time, as long as it gets results. What matters is that you become more powerful and rich when you part ways.”

Arcann frowns at that. “And what have you gained in this venture?”

Would he believe that most of his friends in this half empty galaxy were there? That there was nothing left for him to return? That he will loathe the day this is all over? Of course not. He doesn’t want him trying to get inside his brain again.

“I got my revenge for your betrayal.” Diokos says, with the most neutral tone he can muster. “That was enough for me.”

“My betrayal?” Arcann crooks his head, bewildered. “Tell me, when did I betray you?”

“We were going to strike him down. Not B–, not the Battlemaster or me, us. You weren’t supposed to stab us in the back when you thought we had dealt with your problem.” The anger that tainted his words was directed at himself for being foolish enough to trust. “I imagine if you hadn’t done that, you would still be ruling Zakuul with a fleet powerful enough to make the Empire and the Republic think twice.”

That wasn’t diplomatic at all, but it sends a message that appears to captivate Arcann. He stops glaring at him, his right eye widening.

“I… hadn’t thought about that day in a long time. I didn’t want to.” For just a second, the amber color of his eye abates, turning into something closer to green. “You’re right, I should have joined you instead. I’m glad you see it that way.”

Glad?

“Then put your lightsaber down. We don’t have to fight. Not anymore.”

The scarring in Diokos’ torso itched again, his memories working as a catalyst to dig up his pain as he let himself be observed the only way Arcann had watched him in what seemed like a lifetime ago. Like a threat.

Don’t do it. Don’t.

“But I want to fight you again.”

Arcann is tremendously fast, but Diokos can extract what he’s going to do by sensing his dejection and how it will guide him to choose his next moves. He picks the Makashi form, assuming Diokos will turn on his lightsaber and doesn’t expect him to rush at him unarmed, seizing his wrist and twisting it while punching him in the side of his face that is protected with the mask. Not hard enough to break it, but enough to stun him, and make it hurt.

The fallen emperor starts groaning as Diokos keeps bending his arm so he cannot point the lightsaber in his direction. He feels the thrashing of his telekinetic powers against his, trying to escape, but the Wrath meets his efforts with the same momentum, making every piece of paraphernalia break around them as they clash, neither letting the other overpower him.

“Let. It. Go.” Diokos snarls through his clenched teeth. 

“Why? You’ll never forgive me.”

His lightsaber drops from his hand and he grips the Sith’s arm like a vice, keeping him in place. They’re stuck like this, neither of them being able to move even an inch without ceding the other something. The adrenaline rushes through Diokos’ entire body at the fierce proximity of danger. Arcann is much worse. His pupil is blown, more orange than yellow, just as he looked in his falling flagship, when he thought he could still win.

“You haven’t asked for my forgiveness yet.”

That miniscule effort is an opportunity for Arcann to break out, his metallic arm shooting for his face, not to hit him but to grab his jaw and pull him so they end up eye to eye.

“Can you forgive? I cannot imagine your temper leaving any survivors. None but me.”

Still, he wonders if there are any others. Diokos can see it in his face, his thoughts bare enough to be visible through the force. And it’s also an opening for the Wrath to clasp the metal protecting his neck and pulling him even closer, until the jewels on his lips crash against his mask.

“I have. Long ago, I did.” The vapor of his breath leaves an imprint over the polished metal that disappears when he pauses. 

Arcann doesn’t pull back, his prosthetic arm still holding him close, making small circles with his thumb against his cheek. It’s too warm for a human, becoming sticky with his sweat, and yet he doesn’t move to bruise or hurt him in some other way. His telekinetic assault slowly wanes, letting Diokos guide the pace. Little by little, both of them let their power fade.

“Now, stop being so craven and find out if I can do so again.”

Diokos removes his hand from his neck but Arcann holds him still.

His right arm relaxes itself, leaving it hanging unnervingly close to the wound he left on Diokos’ body, as if he wanted to touch it, despite the armor between them.

“Ask.” Diokos demands, using the Sith language once more. Its effects don’t work on Arcann this time, just as he had assumed. He still presses against his face, brushing himself as if he was an adoring pet. The metal pulls on his skin, uncomfortably so. He looks at Arcann directly in his right eye only to find it closed, as if he was enjoying himself.

Reticently, his hand leaves the Sith’s face, and he slowly moves away, opening his eye and bringing his hand to where his mouth should be behind the mask. Diokos is mortified to notice that he spat there while they were pressed together, but Arcann wipes it off nonchalantly. 

And then, to the Sith’s added chagrin, he kneels, clearing his throat while staring downwards.

“Lord Wra–” Arcann hums and corrects himself. “Diokos Erkserai, I have wronged you, I have taken much from you, I have gravely injured you.” He speaks with a severe tone, the mockery gone from his voice.

“I acknowledge everything. What I have taken from you is irreplaceable. So from now on I will work to help you in your endeavors, protect you as you reach them and revel in your success. No matter how odd or unlikely it is, what you wish to accomplish will be done.” 

Diokos doesn’t remember the last time someone had apologized to him so effusively. Something inside him becomes undone at the novelty of this. 

Maybe it never had happened.

“This is so that one day, if you feel my efforts have been enough, you can forgive me, as it has been my desire for a long time.” He exhales and his body tenses.  “And if that is not possible, then to appease your suffering and make your pains easier to bear moving forward.”

Diokos looks at him in awe, long enough for Arcann to turn his face sideways and peer at him, expecting an answer.

“Stand, please. I don’t want you to kneel.” Arcann laughs at that.

“Oh, I know. But I really wanted to do that too.”

“You just want to… disobey me.” He laughs again as he rises from the floor but does not answer him.

“Was I clear with my intentions? Or do you wish something else from me?”

“No, no. It’s a start, a good start.” He blurts out, trying to keep his astonishment in control. “Thank you.”

The fallen emperor can’t hide his contentment even with his face mostly covered, his right eye softening, finally returning to the pale yellow that was usual of him. And oddly, Diokos feels something similar. He becomes more aware of his body as he calms down. His scars protest with all the tension in his body but no more than usual. He was content with what he had achieved. Maybe thinking back to his past wouldn’t hurt the next time it happened.

Arcann’s words meant something, like a balm for his rancor.

He also notices the mess they left as they fought, most of the decoration turned to pieces and in the middle of the room the corpse of the kingpin still laid on the floor not too far from where they stood, an uncomfortable reminder of why they had gone there.

As if he had sensed Diokos’ mild disgust, Arcann frowned and waved his hand to push the body away with the force, until it was hidden among some fallen curtains, less visible and much farther away from them.

“You promised he had intel worth recovering.” Diokos asked, looking for a new voice to speak with, now that they were back to working. More casual and less stiff. “Was that true?” 

“It is. I will bring it right away.” He rushed deeper into the chambers and Diokos took his time to smile and enjoy the relief that his answer gave him before slowly walking in the same direction.

He didn’t lie.

[snarky-art]

Alrighty I’ve finally finished season 5

I hate how obvious it is they’re trying to tone the show down completely to even lower audience demographic. The first 3 seasons were for kids but there was actual peril and darker concepts and stuff that were much more interesting damn you Nickelodeon and your desperate attempt to keep the most squeaky clean image ever not only does it not work it’s costing stories and plot

I REFUSE to believe Stella would be a bad fashion designer with how much she loves fashion (I know it was a joke in s1 too but I still refuse). Plus, avant-garde is a thing and she would serve

That boat that was sent from Andros was def made exclusively for the winx there is NO WAY that style exists anywhere else on that planet for land related peoples with all of its hard lines and industrial style architecture with its limited color palettes

The nautical themed outfits are cute but Bloom’s looks SO overdone to me and Stella,, my sweet babygorl,, wtf did you do to your own fit?? Aisha’s poodle puff braid ftw also

Harmonix was totally useless BUT I still like the flower petal aesthetic vibe (even tho only Flora is a nature floral lady) and some of the color combos. Bloom in pink is still a no tho, which is something I mainly hate because of how obvious it is they started integrating it into her more to make her more marketable for toy lines and shit

Where did the gems that were already on the starfish thing for sirenix come from?

The amount of times the girls all gasp or ooo or ahh and go like “wow!” “so cool!” “amazing!”,, I will kill I feel like I’m watching a 1990s or early 2000s anime dub I hate it I hate it I hate it

Icy would NOT simp like this (shoutout to her leaving Valtor when he got ugly and telling him that’s why she’s leaving him)

The relationship drama was just as stupid and hamfisted as I thought it was from an outside skim of the season based off of secondhand knowledge ie posts and gifs. Also, Krystal did nothing wrong, she’s just autistic and Helia would NOT introduce Flora as anything other than the love of his life.

Timmy and Tecna also have one of the healthiest relationships why tf is everyone trying to give them advice like this they’ve all been dating for YEARS why are all of y’all so insecure like this? The writers really said fuck everyone’s character development even more than they already had

I continue to not give a shit about skoom also this was just exhausting I can’t do it

Also that is NOT Luna and Radius. That “he wouldn’t say that!” meme is ME SOOOO MUCH during this season at so many people but I actually started YELLING about Luna being some sort of soft gorl while Radius is this prideful ignoramus

Sirenix giving Aisha that blonde hair while knowing about the insane white washing to come in the future is something I Think About

The sirenix song does bop also, although I’m so sorry to say I don’t think I’m as big of a fan of it as a lot of people are but maybe that’ll change as I hear it more please forgive me

Also, Musa’s little coffee grinder move during her sirenix transformation? So cute, wish we actually got to see it more than like 2 times. Damn you shortened sirenix transformarion sequence

Im convinced Tecna doesn’t actually know karate, she just thinks it looks cool so she mimics it. Same with Flora and her ballet/lyrical looking poses she does during her sirenix transformation sequence. She doesn’t actually know those styles of dance, she just thinks they looks neat and tries to copy it.

Dark sirenix, you’re slaying thank you for your service

Bloom, you can’t insult Diaspro and remind her you’re a princess in that fucking dress while she’s serving cunt like that

The combat is soooo slow compared to previous seasons I hate it

The rigging throughout this season was a MESS

They should go after the handful of companies that are actually responsible for the majority of pollution and destroy them and their ceos a la Flora season 1 core

Where did they put all of that trash they got out of the ocean? They went to the pacific trash island and cleaned it up. Where did it go? I’m so curious

All of the kings are so STUPID too the whole meetup thing was so dumb like just fucking,, help each other you know it makes more sense

AND PUT SOME MF RESPECT ON THE WINX’S NAMES, ALL OF THEM. They are GUARDIAN FARIES who have saved the magical world HOW MANY TIMES NOW??? Bites the writers bites the writers bites the writers

Their little dance workout outfits? Hatred. I miss the old ones so much. All of these outfits from this season,, it’s so clear cishet people were the main ones designing the clothes I hate it so much it’s not the same kind of tacky and camp that the first 3 seasons had. The only good things I can say about the dance outfits is that Flora’s purple leg warmers were cute, Aisha’s color palette was nice, and Bloom’s was very Bloom core

Icy: you guys are helping me??

Darcy and Stormy: I mean, yeah, we aren’t talking to you rn, but you’re still out sister

Me: OUGH🥺🥺🥺😭😭😭

I forgot Roy existed🥲

Daphne being brought back like this still seems so bleh to me knowing how they don’t really do shit with it and about how it was done only because they retconned all the og stuff from canon and to continue to milk the franchise until it’s teats are dry and chapped BUT I’m glad she does a little spinny at the end of the season with Bloom so at least I got that

that’s all I got for now

Shout out to @charmixpower for suffering through this all with me.

We watched the first half of the series in like 2 or 3 sittings that took place months apart, and then did the last half in one 8 hour sitting

I couldn’t have gotten through it without yelling at each other and making shitty jokes.

The psychic damage you inflicted on me throughout this was awful but I would do it all again in a heartbeat (but not really because good lird this was EXCRUCIATING sorry bestie💕💕💕)

Anyway onto season 6 now I GUESS

[labrxnth]

Misery Loves Company pt 4 (Leon Kennedy x Reader series)

Part 3: Ticking Clocks and Revelation

Parts: 1 2 3

CW: body image issues, SMUT, insecurity

WC: 7338 (oops my hand slipped)

Summary: (Y/n) and Leon's dinner date is finally here

Tag list: @makimakimi

A/N: Hey all, I just wanted to say thank you for your patience over my health crisis the past week. I told you you'd get fed after it settled and I keep my promises.

The clock on the wall couldn’t have gone any slower. It felt like the ticking of it was mocking her, the face sticking its tongue out, chiding her. (Y/n) had gone over everything multiple times, so naturally she was pacing around her apartment. The heat in her apartment was suffocating when it was usually welcoming. Her carpet scraped her feet instead of feeling plush. The candles felt like they were going to catch fire, like her throat was, enveloping her being in terrifying flames. 

It had been too long since she had gone on a date. Unlike most of her coworkers, she wasn’t a fan of the drunken hook-ups that sparked rumors around the office. (Y/n)’s approach to dating was a little traditional, she would admit, but she was a poet when it came to love. She wanted a partner who she could sing songs of for years to come. Someone that she could easily see nature reflected in and vice versa. Someone she would find in paintings that artists slaved over, crafting the definition of beauty. 

She had stomped on the hope that anyone would see her that way.   

She stared at herself in the mirror, picking apart her appearance. Maybe her hair was too messy or too neat, her (h/c) hair was down and fell on her shoulders. Was it weird that she was wearing her hair differently than normal? Should she put it up in the normal ponytail that she had at work? 

Her eyes trailed out to the outfit she was wearing. It was much different than anyone had seen her in. Usually, Leon caught her in her work attire, no matter if it was at a bar or not. The clay coloured tank top showed a little bit much of her (s/c) cleavage, but again, these were her usual clothes outside of the office. The cream colored shrug that she had on was crocheted and sit high on her arms. She had necklaces upon necklaces making sure that they matched the earthy colors that she already had on. Her dusty rose colored patchwork skirt was probably going to be the biggest shock. 

Over the past few years, (y/n) had started to embrace her femininity. She realized that she didn’t have to act like a stereotypical man to be respected or to kick their asses. While that didn’t just mean that she started wearing skirts, it presented itself in that way sometimes. She was returning to the girl who loved to run in fields barefoot, picking flowers for her family. Her femininity made her happy, she just felt like she had to strip it away to be taken seriously. 

Now she was a badass STRATCOM agent that also picked flowers and wore skirts. 

Speaking of, she had spent some time after work at the flower shop. A while ago, (y/n) read an article that talked about how the first flowers some men receive were at their funeral. The rest of that day was spent in tears over how awful she thought that was. She couldn’t help but think of her partner. Had anyone ever given him flowers? Had anyone ever told him he was pretty? Maybe he was used to the rough side of love: passion, hunger, and desire. Maybe he was used to being seen as masculine, forced to fit in the box that men were often put in. She wondered if Leon ever had someone to just hold him through his emotions, a safe space for him. 

Her thoughts moved to a woman in a red dress, one that he had talked about many times. The way he talked about her made (y/n) think she was “the one that got away”. Was she ever there for him in the ways (y/n) was thinking about? 

Maybe in the back of her mind, she thought that he had just made a move on her because he knew Ada was unattainable. 

First she was thinking of the bouquet she bought for Leon, now she was spiraling, thinking that she wasn’t good enough. Her self-sabotaging nature didn’t just stop at work, it reared its ugly ass head every corner that she turned. It was seen in every significant other eventually breaking up with her, it was seen in not being allowed to go with Leon to Spain. 

Major Sierra was being a bitch earlier today, but his words still cut deep like the training knives he had them use. Her fingers ghosted the spot Leon punched, where a brutal maroon bruise was forming under her tank top. It reminded her of her failures, whether on the field or in her mind. 

This inadequacy was a plague that she couldn’t heal, even with leeches. 

The clock on the wall couldn’t have gone any slower. It felt like the ticking of it was mocking her, the face sticking its tongue out, chiding her.  

She sat down on her purple velvet couch, head in her hands. Maybe this was a mistake, she felt like mentally she was so far behind Leon. It was a win when she would go an hour without thinking something negative about herself, he exuded confidence. She pushed herself to the point of coughing up blood for recognition without it, he naturally turned heads when he walked in the door. 

Of course, (y/n) knew that Leon had his problems, but confidence seemed like it wasn’t one of them. The clock on the wall couldn’t have gone any slower. It felt like the ticking of it was mocking her, the face sticking its tongue out, chiding her.

A familiar meowing brought her back to reality. In front of her stood her long, fuzzy friend, knowing she needed a nonhuman buddy. 

“Hey, Ginge,” (Y/n) said to her calico cat, taking solace in her big yellow-green eyes. Ginger jumped up to join her on the couch, curling into her side. (Y/n) ran her fingers lightly through Ginger’s fur, using every stroke to pace her breathing. Eventually the thoughts died as easily as any plant she tried to mother. “Leon’s coming over again, this time behave,” She said to the cat. 

The slow clock on the wall instead of chiding her this time, welcomed a memory. 

“You becoming a crazy cat lady now?” Leon’s lips tugged into a smirk. 

“So what? I’m lonely,” (Y/n) said, looking at cat toys in the supermarket. Her fingers grazed against a bunch of colorful labels, trying to find the best toy for her new buddy. “And you haven't even met Ginger yet. Don’t speak ill of someone you haven’t met.”

“You haven’t even met Ginger yet,” Leon emphasized. 

“Which is why my best friend is here to meet my new best friend,” (Y/n) said simply. 

Leon chuckled, his laughter sounding like honey to her ears. “If I’m your best friend, you are lonely.” He teased. 

“Exactly! I thought you’d be all for this,” She replied defensively. 

“I’d rather go looking for people at bars with you. My experience with women could help you,” He said. 

“Hell no, keep your trash opinions to yourself, Kennedy.” 

“Suit yourself.” He said and went back to watching her eye the toys. 

The memory flashed to later that night of Ginger biting Leon’s hand and him whining about it the entire car ride home. 

Her attention got pulled back to reality when she heard a few knocks on her door. 

“Coming!” She said, almost jumping off the couch. Ginger’s eyes followed her like a shadow. The ticking of the clock echoed her heartbeat, it roaring in her ears. 

She opened the door to see Leon with two pizza boxes and a shopping bag full of beer and liquor. Seeing how he cleaned up a little bit took her off edge. He was wearing a beige leather jacket with fur on the collar and sleeve ends and a faded dad rock band t-shirt tucked into dark pants with a clean belt. 

(Y/n) noticed after looking at his outfit, seemingly running her eyes up and down him, that he was doing the same to her. 

“Uh, come in,” She said and opened the door more. Leon stepped in quickly, closing the door with his foot as soon as he walked in. He placed the pizza boxes down on the counter and opened the bag, placing the alcohol and liquor on the counter as well. 

“One freaky pizza for one freaky woman,” He said and tossed the bag in her hallway closet. 

“Thanks,” (Y/n) said and looked around the room. She was forgetting something…. She knew she was forgetting something. Ah! The flowers! 

She quickly walked over to the bouquet of dried flowers and hid it behind her back. Walking up to him, grinning almost evilly, she locked eyes with him. 

“I don’t like that look,” Leon said, removing his shoes at the door.

“Do you trust me?” She asked.

“Jesus, not this again,” He grumbled. “I hate it when you do this.”

“Just close your eyes and stick your hands out,” (Y/n) said. 

“Fine….” Leon sighed. He closed his eyes and held his hands out. She placed the bouquet in his hands and watched as he slowly opened his eyes. His face was confused as he looked at the flowers. “Flowers.” He said matter of factly. 

“I read an article that a lot of men get their first flowers at their funeral. I didn’t want one of them to be you,” She said, studying his reaction. 

His gaze softened as he processed what she said. “Yeah, I think these are the first flowers I’ve ever gotten,” He said in understanding. 

“They’re dried too, so you can’t kill them,” (Y/n) said and stuck her tongue out at him.

“Where should I put them until I leave?” Leon asked. She took them from him and put them in a flower pot. 

“Don’t make me remind you later tonight,” She said. 

“Later tonight?” Leon asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Her eyes cluelessly met his. 

“Yeah, when you leave,” She said flatly. 

“Oh,” He replied, seeming a little saddened. 

“Actually, with the alcohol you brought, you should probably stay the night. Lord knows with your record that you don’t need to add alcohol to your driving.” She said, inspecting the bottles of Fireball and Vodka. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Leon’s eyes light up a bit. She also swore that she could’ve seen him staring her up and down. Her brain told her to not focus on that and just read the label on the whiskey for the 10th time. 

Ginger jumped up on the counter and started sniffing the pizza boxes. (Y/n) stared at her, expecting her to tear up the box. 

“If you try to eat that, I’m giving you to the actual crazy cat lady one floor down,” She said to the cat. Ginger stared her her, seemingly understanding her, and made her way over to Leon. She sat down on the counter in front of him, tail flicking. 

“Hey, Ginge,” Leon said and started scratching her behind the ears. Her eyes slowly closed and opened, staring at him. 

“You two have come a long way,” (Y/n) said teasingly and pulled out two glasses. 

“Not my fault she bit me,”

“Yes it absolutely was,” She replied, recalling the night. 

The two of them chuckled together for a minute and stood in silence. 

“So…. that’s a nice jacket,” (Y/n) said looking at the leather. 

“Yeah, I made the mistake of bringing my own jacket with me to Spain. One of the Ganados bastards stole it and wore it as they attacked me. I made STRATCOM reimburse me.” Leon said. 

“The bastard,” She echoed. 

“Don’t worry, I shot him,” Leon said, accepting the glass she held out for him. 

“He had it coming,” (Y/n) said. She poured a couple of Fireball shots into her glass and heard Leon whistle. Her eyes snapped up to him. 

“Drinking shots out of a dinner glass? Without measuring them? Maybe Hunnigan was right, I need to check in on you more.” He said, a slight bit of concern for her in his voice. 

“I don’t have shot glasses, what do you want from me?” She replied. She reached under the counter and grabbed two plastic plates, putting them on the counter. After a few seconds of them locking eyes, she sighed. “What? Leon S. Kennedy can afford real plates?” She asked. 

“Yes I can, and I know that you can too. We pretty much have the same paycheck,” He replied simply, his eyes flickering between her eyes and the plates. 

“Pizza is pizza no matter what it arrives on,” She said. 

“That’s the god given truth,” Leon said and opened the boxes. He gently put Ginger on the ground and started dealing out the slices. 

(Y/n) grabbed the box of her pizza and brought it over to the couch. Leon raised his eyebrow and followed suit. 

“What?” She could feel his eyes peering into the back of her head, almost searching for something. 

“You know, they say that orphanage kids don’t have manners because we aren’t taught them. I thought that was true until I met you,” He said teasingly. 

“Don’t tell me you always have dinner at the table,” 

“It gets everywhere if you don’t,”

“Maybe if you eat like a pig, oh wait, weren’t you going to be one? No wonder why.” She gave him intense side eye with a grin tugging on her lips. 

“Yeah well, you also work for the government now,” Leon started. “That means, you’re a poser. God forbid the punk community you like so much finds out you work for the privatized American government’s military.”

(Y/n) stared at him in horror, almost dropping the slice of pizza she had in her hand. “Take it back,” She said. He gave her a shit eating grin back. “Take it back or I’ll wring your neck.”

“Is that a threat?”

“A promise,” (Y/n) said. 

“If you can get to me, I’ll gladly let you,” Leon said smugly. 

“I can down you on the mats, don’t forget it, Kennedy,” She replied and stuffed the slice of pizza in her mouth. 

After about 20 minutes of the back and forth banter, (Y/n) stood up to put her pizza box in the fridge; she gestured for Leon to hand her his and he did. Walking over to the fridge she could tell he was still staring at her. 

“Working for STRATCOM pretty much means you have eyes in the back of your head, I can feel you staring at me,” She said and closed the fridge door. 

“I’m just lost in thought,” He replied. 

“About what?” She grabbed the glasses on the counter filled with alcohol and brought them over to the couch. 

“About how this feels like every other time I’ve come here,” He said, staring into her eyes and taking the glass from her.

“What’s so bad about that?” (Y/n) asked him, keeping her eyes locked on his. 

“This is a date, (y/n),” Leon said. “Did I not make that clear?” 

She broke the gaze, looking at the whiskey in her glass. “Oh,” She said. In her peripheral, she could see Leon still staring at her. He put his drink down on the side table and quickly did the same with hers.

He lifted her chin up so that she was looking in his eyes again. The distance between them closed, until he was inches away from her face. So close, yet so far. (Y/n) was ready for him to kiss her, why did he stop? He looked like he was fighting with himself, asking the same question in his own mind. 

His blue eyes tore into hers, searching for an answer to a question unasked. “What’s going on with you?” He finally asked. “You’ve always been striving to be the best at work, but it’s gotten worse the past three weeks.” 

“It’s nothing,”

“It’s nothing?” The two of them said together, (y/n) stating and Leon asking. Even by partner standards, Leon was always able to read her like a book and make her feel like she couldn’t hide anything from him. 

She sighed and felt his hand move away from her chin. Maybe the person that she thought was building walls wasn’t the person staring back at her. But like he did, she was willing to take a hammer to the wall she built up, trying to keep herself safe. “I just…. I feel like I’m not good enough for anything,” She said and looked around the room. 

“Why?” He asked.

“What happened three weeks ago?” (Y/n) asked redundantly, staring back at him. Her eyes drifted down to his jacket as a hint. 

Leon ran his hands through his hair and sighed, his brows furrowing together. “I tried to bring you with me, I begged them,” Leon said. 

“I’m not mad at you, I’m mad at myself,” She replied. “Obviously I wasn’t good enough for them to think of sending me.” She stared at the cushion below her through her glass that she had picked back up. 

“Uh-uh. You are not going to spiral into self doubt again. I thought we worked on this,” He put his hand on her cheek, caressing it. 

She melted into his touch. Most people thought that his demeanor is cold, unsuspecting, but she knew that he was like a blue flame; an intense warmth, desperate to help others. (Y/n) was Icarus’s wings, longing to succeed; Leon was the sun, melting her down until she was vulnerable. 

“(Y/n), talk to me. I thought that you were doing better. You told me that you were doing better.” He said, making her look into his eyes. The same eyes where his blue flame of a soul was kept. Those eyes could make the hairs on the back of her neck stand up whether it was on an assignment, on the training mats, or in a bar. Now, they were a gentle kind of heat, the one that you crave after being in the cold for so long. 

Searching in his eyes, she could tell that she had been wrong about her partner all these years. Yes, there was hesitation and mixed feelings towards her, but he was always him with her. She was truly the one that had built the brick wall between them that she so pictured him placing brick by brick. Even the act of picking back up the glass had been to put a safety in between them. Just like he had torn down his side, she needed to tear down hers.

“I just want to be seen,” She said, trying to hold back tears. “My whole life has felt like I’ve been trying to prove that I deserve to exist.” She was clinging onto the glass in her hands like it was an anchor in an oncoming tsunami. “It’s been bad lately because I’ve built this wall between us since you got the call for the assignment. And I just feel worse and worse about it because you just had, like, the shittiest thing happen to you since Raccoon City, but I’m here spiraling in my self-doubt and pity.” 

Leon leaned forward on the couch, his eyes still trying to unpack the verbal dam that she just opened up. He took her glass and put it down again, almost asking her if she was going to keep putting things between them. Just like in her office, (Y/n) could feel the energy sparking between them, like flint and steel trying to light a fuel line that wasn’t producing any fuel.  

He took his jacket off, placing it on the back of the sofa, moving slowly like she would bolt anytime he made too sudden of a movement. As opposed to that, his arms quickly wrapped around her, bringing her close to him. 

Not only did he pull her into an embrace, he took his jacket off to make it skin to skin. To make it personal and intimate. To make it human. 

Once her brain processed the information, the tears she was holding back fell. He held her, comfortably yet securely, for a couple minutes, letting her silently cry into him. 

After the tears stopped, he pulled (y/n) back slightly so they could see each others’ faces. His next three words shocked her to her very being, feeling like a shock to her body and mind. 

“I see you,” He said. 

And just like that, any semblance of the wall between them was beaten down. She sat there, her brain once again trying to do mental gymnastics to pick up on what he said. 

“You’re good enough for me,” His voice cut through to her heart again.

(Y/n) sat there for a good second, still reeling from what he was saying to her. She was too spaced out to realize his expression change from concern to something she couldn’t track. No, it wasn’t that she couldn’t track it, it was just that no one had looked at her like this before. 

No one had truly looked at her with sadness, empathy, and love all at once.  

His calloused fingers wiped the tears away and her mind shot to other thoughts feeling them against her skin- 

Her eyes widened and she mentally kicked herself as her brain was trying to get her to indulge on how she thought those same long strong fingers would feel in other places. 

“(Y/n)?” Leon asked, calling her back to reality. She thanked whatever higher power was watching right now. 

Her eyelids dropped back down to normal, but it was too long for Leon not to notice her change. He noticed her pupils dilating, her eyes widening. How her breathing hitched just slightly, being too quiet for a normal person to pick up on. How in his peripheral the tank top she was wearing was tighter around hardening nipples- 

Leon swallowed hard, trying to not make the situation awkward. Suddenly, his jeans felt a little more cramped than he would’ve liked them to; he was hoping that the night would go like this, but he wasn’t about to make a move on her until she was in a good mental space. 

Without second thought, (y/n) draped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss. Instead of the tender, questioning kiss, from her office, this kiss knew what it wanted. It clawed at each of them, demanding more, the heat between them building up instantly. 

She went to pull off her sweater, Leon’s hands grabbing hers. They pulled away from the kiss and his eyes stared into his, hungrier than he was standing across from her on the training mats; the look gave her a shiver down her spine. 

“Do you want this?” He asked clearly, his voice low and dark. 

“Yes,” (Y/n) said, still breathless from the kiss. 

“Tell me what you want,” He said slowly, his eyes changing from staring at her through his eyebrows to looking down at her, towards his cheeks. 

“God, I want you to fuck me, Leon Kennedy.” She replied, her eyes dripping with want, no need for the man in front of her. 

He swiftly put one hand on the back of the couch and one on the arm rest, caging her between his arms. His lips her on hers again, this kiss even more ferocious than the one before. 

Leon’s teeth were biting at her lower lip, asking her to open wide. (Y/n) opened her mouth slightly and felt his tongue force his way in, opening her mouth more. His tongue devoured the inside of her mouth, discontent with the speed and intensity wanting more. 

(Y/n) had to pull away for a breath, a string of spit connecting him until it was broken by distance. Leon’s lips were suddenly on her neck, wanting contact at all times. His kisses felt like they were ravenging her; stripping away her very being, not satisfied until her skin was peeled back, revealing her insides. 

(Y/n)’s breath hitched and she moaned, her eyes suddenly widening and the back of her hand covering her mouth. A blush devoured her face like Leon’s lips were her neck. His eyes darted up to hers when he heard the slight sound and he grabbed her wrist. 

“Fuck, you’re not hiding that from me,” He growled against her neck, pulling her hand away from her mouth. 

He focused on the spot that brought her sound, going harsher on it, pleading her body to make the same sound. To his excitement, a moan came from the back of her throat, Leon being able to feel it through her neck. The vibrations seemed to travel down his own body and straight to his dick. Earlier when his pants were slightly uncomfortable and cramped was nothing compared to now. It took all of his self restraint to not rip both of their clothes off and fuck her until she was howling; the thought of it didn’t help his quickly growing erection. 

He pulled her sweater off of her shoulders, the action creating goosebumps on (y/n)’s skin. Her own hands were trying to get his shirt off, but his lips refused to leave her neck. Leon’s lips dug deeper in her, teeth biting marks and his tongue calming them down immediately. 

He pulled away after making a few bruises and straddled her, reaching down to cross both his arms and lift his shirt off. 

The small act of him doing this made (y/n)’s brain restart. The way his hands roughly grasped the fabric, his forearms and biceps flexing as they crossed each other was like seeing a statue carved out of pure marble. His ashy blonde hair fell with gravity, looking like how it did when he reached down to pick up his knife. His eyes that were usually bright blue, calculating yet kind, were dark; his pupils were blown with lust and desire. If he looked like a statue taking off his shirt then he looked like a replica of a greek god when it was off. And (y/n) was more than ready to be his worshiper. 

“You really do have a staring problem,” He said smugly, a smirk pulling at his puffy pink lips, his usual demeanor coming back for a second. 

“Can’t help it when I have such a good subject to look at,” She replied. 

His face shifted back to the hungry and desperate stare. Starting at her earlobe, Leon traced two fingers along her jawline, stopping under her chin, pulling it up to meet his eyes again. (Y/n) thought her heart was going to give out at the action. She felt herself throb around nothing, a slight wetness starting to pool in her underwear.

“Be a good girl and tell me what you want again,” He said grinning, his eyes undressing her.   

She couldn’t stop a “Holy shit,” from leaving her mouth. Her breathing picked up, feeling like she was a goner. 

Leon chuckled. “Someone likes praise,” He mused and sprawled his hand around her neck, lightly ghosting it. “Use your words, Baby,” His voice sounded full, dark, like she had never heard it before. The wetness pooling in her underwear felt like it was dripping down her thigh now. She had equated Leon to the sun and herself to Icarus’ wings, now she was feeling that reality; her body was turning into putty in his hands and he had only touched her face and neck. 

She knew she would’ve folded if he asked her to, but this was going faster than she thought. 

“I want you to fuck me,” (Y/n) said again, truly being lost in her words and the situation. 

“Alright, I’m gonna tell you the plan,” He kept his light grip on her neck and the steel look of hunger. (Y/n) could have sworn he was looking at her like a man who hadn’t eaten in weeks was looking at a buffet. “First, I’m going to make you cum on my fingers, then my mouth, then a couple times on my dick.” He ran his other hand through his hair, looking down at her through his eyelashes. 

(Y/n) thought her heart was going to stop before, she could’ve sworn it did for about 5 seconds when those words dripped out of Leon’s mouth. She felt a pang in her chest, her blood ran cold. 

She knew she was fucked, and she couldn’t have been happier. 

“I’ve never came more than once,” She said sheepishly, her breath still hitching. 

“God damn, I should’ve done this earlier then,” He huffed. He moved off of her to kneel in between her knees; his arms pulled her so she was completely flat on the couch. The sudden movement made her wince and yelp from the injury on her stomach. His eyes met hers, recognizing the sounds as pain and not pleasure. “You okay?” He asked sternly. 

(Y/n) nodded, but he didn’t take it as an answer. He pulled her tank top up to reveal the maroon and yellow bruise, hissing when he saw it. 

“I was going to fuck you until you became part of the couch,” He said, his voice having a hint of disappointment. 

“I’m fine, it doesn't hurt too much,” She lied. 

His eyes met hers in a cold stare. “I know how much power I put into that, it definitely does hurt,” he replied coldly. 

“I can ignore it,” (y/n) replied, not wanting to get rid of the feeling in the room that had sprouted from the kiss. 

He watched her for a second, like a predator watches their prey right before they pounce. “Fine,” He sighed. “If it gets too much, make sure you tell me to stop.”

“I’d be crazy to miss an opportunity to get fucked into oblivion by you,”

“God, the things that you do to me,” He said before sliding her skirt down to reveal her very soaked underwear. “My point,” he added, looking at how wet she was already, his dick twitching in his jeans. His fingers flung her skirt completely off of her legs, immediately going to the fabric she was still wearing. She bit her bottom lip as he teased her folds, thumb lightly pushing on her clit, just enough that she could feel the pressure. Her eyes squeezed shut and eyebrows furrowed, trying to not cum on him from just that. 

His eyes trailed up her body to her face and his blood froze. Seeing her all flustered with her eyes squeezed shut, eyebrows knit, and lips slightly apart to breathe was driving him fucking insane. “Fuck this,” He said and ripped her underwear off her legs. 

His middle finger slid into her pussy, quickly making sure she was ready, then slipping in his ring finger. 

(Y/n) moaned at the sudden friction in her. Her back arched as he curled his fingers, hitting spots that she didn't know existed. He licked his thumb and swiped at her clit, finding it almost immediately and sending her nerves into overdrive. His fingers slid in and out of her at a fairly moderate pace, Leon being scared of going too hard at first. 

He wanted so bad to kiss her again, but he couldn’t stop looking at how even just his fingers affected her. The hand around (y/n)’s neck lightly pressed in, him searching her eyes for any sign of dislike. Instead, he felt her pussy start to clench around him and saw her lip starting to tremble. He sped his fingers up, wanting her to be shaking as she came all over his fingers. Her back arched more and he sped up, thumb abusing her clit. (Y/n) felt her body start to shake and involuntarily grabbed the wrist that was almost in her. Leon was too strong and kept going, pushing an orgasm out of her. The pleasure that hit her was like a wave smacking a flood wall.  

She moaned loudly and felt her pussy throb around his fingers, heat following it.

Once she came down from it, her eyes opened to meet Leon’s. He brought his fingers up to his mouth, sucking on them, keeping eye contact. 

“Taste so good,” He said lowly. He took the time to unbuckle his pants, throwing them to the floor. (Y/n)’s eyes widened at the side of his outline in his boxers. She had heard him complaining about having to wear athletic cups during training before, but now she knew why. Her eyes went back to him licking his fingers. After he was done, he pushed her towards the arm rest to give himself room. Letting go of her neck, he dropped onto his stomach and looked at her. 

“Keep your eyes on me,” He said. (Y/n) nodded and looked at him as he wrapped his arms around her thighs. He pulled her into his mouth, tongue lapping at her clit. His calculating eyes never left hers. She grabbed onto the couch to ground herself, but it wasn’t sufficing, her hands grabbed onto his hair, lightly pulling at it. 

He whimpered, sending shivers down her spine and felt her pussy start to clench again from the vibration. His whimper sounded like heaven to her; the blush on his face making (y/n) move her hips to ride his face. 

Leon pulled her even closer to his face, tongue fucking her while his nose hit her clit. 

“Fuck, Leon,” she moaned his name and that was the breaking point for him. 

He pulled away suddenly and looked at her, heavily breathing. “You’re making me break my promise,” He growled. 

“What?” (Y/n) asked, dazed. 

“I can’t wait, guess you’ll just have to cum on my dick three times instead of two,” He said, pulling down his boxers and throwing them on the ground. (Y/n) watched as his dick sprung out of them; if she didn’t have self control, she’d be drooling. Earlier she had equated him to a Greek god, the more she saw of him only further proved her point. His tip was red and leaking pre-cum already, his breath hitched when he noticed her staring. 

Leon grabbed (y/n), flipping her over so that she was stomach down on the couch; how fast and seamless he did it took her breath away. He pulled her up so that her back was to his chest and she was sitting on his thighs. All she could feel was the warmth of his body spreading to her.

“Sorry, got a little too excited,” His breath was low and hot in her ear. His fingers ghosted the bruise on her stomach. 

“Don’t stop,” (y/n) pleaded.

“Fuck,” Leon replied, his voice desperate for her. He slightly lifted her up, easing her onto his dick. They both moaned, sounding like a choir of pleasure. (Y/n) leaned her head back on his shoulder and bit her lip as he bottomed out. They stayed melted in this moment for a few seconds, both not wanting to let go of it. Slowly Leon started pulling himself out, his eyes squeezing shut at the feeling and hip lips ghosting words that he couldn’t form; he didn’t have to say anything for (y/n) to know what he wanted to. 

Like a cord being snapped, Leon set an excruciating pace. He put two of his fingers in her mouth, nonverbally telling her to lick them; she did so and he pulled them out, circling them around her clit. His other hand took her tank top off and cupped her breast, to physically support her and to emotionally support himself. At her neck, he went to leaving kisses and bitemarks, wanting everyone to know that she was his.

(Y/n)’s thighs involuntarily tightened, feeling another climax. Leon felt her tighten around his dick and he moaned; he detached his mouth from her neck and the hand that was on her breast moved under her chin. He pulled her chin up so she was looking behind herself and into his eyes. 

“Cum for me,” He commanded. 

As if on cue, her body sent her through another orgasm. Her pussy convulsed around Leon’s dick and her fingers dug into his hips behind her. (Y/n) moaned as her back arched, screaming his name like it was a song made for a lover. And in a way, it was. Her eyes started to close as she was riding out her climax, but Leon’s hand wrapped around her neck, slightly pushing in. 

“Keep your eyes on me (y/n),” He demanded. She was expecting to open her eyes to see him stoic, staring down at her like he always did when he downed her on the training mats. Instead, when she opened them, she saw that he was as much of a mess as she was. His bangs were sticking to his forehead from sweat, his eyes were fixed on her and his pupils were blown wide from desire. His cheeks had blush all over them, his eyebrows were raised, and his lip was starting to quiver. 

The sight of him looking at her like she meant as much as he meant to her was enough to send her into another orgasm. As her body convulsed again, moans escaped her lips like every orgasm was the first one She saw a vein popping out of Leon’s neck and his jaw set, something 

that she knew meant he was trying his fucking best to focus. 

His pace became quicker, hungrier, as his dick slammed into her almost stretching out her cervix. (Y/n)’s thighs shook as overstimulation washed over her; she could hear and feel everything five times more than she had before. She felt the muscles on his thighs tighten and relax with each violent thrust, she felt his arms hot around her as the hand that was abusing her clit moved to above her bruise. She could feel every sweat drop on either of their bodies, and she could feel her insides getting shredded, she could hear her guts getting rearranged; (y/n) was pretty sure she died and went to heaven. 

Leon moved desperately as he could feel his own climax coming. It was taking all of his strength he built up over the past 6 years to not cum as soon as she first pulsed around his dick; she felt better than anything he could have imagined, and better than he had imagined her being. 

(Y/n) heard him starting to moan and whimper as he was getting close. His thrusts were trying to swallow her very being, One of her hands moved to the hair on the back of his neck and he pulled her closer, flush against his chest. Leon moaned her name in her ear like it was a word only he knew. His dick twitching in her while hitting spots that she thought were impossible, his moans that were music to her ears, and her overstimulation were sending her into another high. The only sounds that came out of her mouth were yelps, moans, and whimpers as her whole body became hot. 

“Fuck, (y/n) I’m gonna-” His voice broke. 

With one final thrust, she could feel him twitching inside of her; spilling his cum and painting her pussy walls white. He rode out his climax and it sent her into another screaming one. Their moans filled the room together, a harmony of pleasure and love. Leon slowed his thrusting down, stopping once they were both down from their climax. 

The hand that was on her neck moved to be with the other one, wrapped around her waist. He kissed her shoulder and gently pulled her off of him. (Y/n) fell into the couch, turning over so her back would be on the cushions. Leon rubbed her thighs and smiled gently down at her. Getting up, he went to get a towel from the hallway closet.

He sat down on the couch and gingerly wiped her off. “You okay?” He asked, his eyes floating to hers that were still dazed. 

“Mmmh, yeah,” She said slowly and lazily. Her body felt like it was done sprinting a marathon. 

“I’ll go get you some water,” Leon chuckled, cleaning himself off. He went to the fridge and grabbed a water bottle, bringing it back to (y/n). “Your bruise still okay?”

“At this point I wouldn’t care if it hurt,” She said, voice hoarse. Sitting up, she grabbed the water that Leon was holding out to her and drank. His hand gently went to her neck as she drank and his eyes never let hers. 

(Y/n) never had someone look at her like how Leon had this entire night or even just in this moment. For some reason, this felt more intimate than the back breaking sex they just had. She wished that she could bottle up this moment and keep it to look at because she recognized the look in his eyes. He could sing songs of her for years to come. He could easily see nature reflected in her and vice versa. He could find her in paintings that artists slaved over, crafting the definition of beauty. 

She finally found someone that reflected the love she gave out. 

“I’m guessing I’m not sleeping on the couch?” Leon asked, still looking at her like she was the love that musicians wrote about. 

“Absolutely not,” She replied, handing him the bottle that had half of its water still in it. He took a few sips and put it on the side table. They sat together in silence, looking at each other, taking in each other’s beauty. Yes, they were sweaty and yes their hair was everywhere, but they were each others’ works of art and that’s what made them the most beautiful people in the world. 

“I’m going to carry you to bed, okay?” He asked. 

“‘Kay,” (Y/n) replied. 

Leon stood up and picked her up, carrying her bridal style to her cushiony bed. “Sorry it was on the couch,” He mumbled under his breath. 

“We’ll just have to save it for another time then,” She replied and chuckled. Her back gently hit the mattress and she wanted to instantly fall asleep. 

“Do you want to sleep with clothes on or off?” Leon asked. “I’ll grab our clothes from the living room.”

“I’m too tired to put my clothes on, you’re fine,” (Y/n) said, pulling the covers down. Leon got in and instantly wrapped his arms around her waist, careful to not touch her bruise. She pulled the covers over them and nestled into his chest, smiling up at him. They stayed wrapped in each other, without talking for a couple of minutes.

“If Ginger didn’t hate me before, she does now,” Leon said and chuckled. 

“Huh?” (Y/n) looked up at him. “What do you mean?” 

“I think we just traumatized her,” 

“Don’t worry, she tries to fuck the neighborhood stray every weekend, it’s payback.” (Y/n) said.

“I guess you and her have that in common,” Leon smirked. 

“I can still set up the pull out couch,” 

“I take it back,” He replied. 

(Y/n) didn’t know when they stopped talking. The night was peaceful and sleep lulled her to accept it, the clock that usually chided her following suit. (Y/n) also didn’t know when she fell asleep to the sound of Leon’s heartbeat and his rhythmic breathing. 

[miikarin]

These are the games I played this year and a rough ranking on them. I say rough ranking because even with my cobbled-together categories, it's hard to sometimes rank games against each other because they have different parts that I like and some of these are effectively tied or close rather than a clear higher ranking.

I tried to include in this list just the games that I have either finished or put in a significant amount of time for the more casual ones so that I felt that I had a fair idea in my head of what the game had on offer. Most of these I played and finished on stream though a few, most notably all of the Hidden Object category, were played purely offline. Some games I started on stream with the intent of showcasing them to then take offline and play.

Okay so starting at the top! No, I will not be taking any comments about my category choices, thank you 🙃

Metroidvania/Roguelike/Soulslike

Ranking on image (with links to game page): Grime, Afterimage, Vernal Edge, Pronty, Lone Fungus, Going Under, The Last Case of Benedict Fox, Ghost Song, Faerie Afterlight

Read more under the cut

So as someone with very specific aesthetics, I would definitely choose Afterimage over Grime but yet here we are, with slightly creepy, very toothy game ranked highest in this category. Even in terms of having multiple areas to explore and backtracking, Afterimage would be my pick. However, Grime's parry system made me fall in love with the combat in the game and it was so satisfying that I actually speedran the game for a bit and then devoted time to making resources for the any% run. I still need to play the dlcs but even on base game alone this game gets my vote.

Afterimage was quite a lot of fun and the vibrant and bright art was such a treat and feast for my eyes. I also really liked the different weapons and how they changed the combat. I think the story could have been a little tighter but I just fully enjoyed the time I had in the game and getting to see the areas. I wish more games had this type of colour palette and I know the whole 'grim, and dark, and moody' bit sells but I'm slightly tired of it. The Afterimage world was post-apocalyptic (or in-game analogous) but it was presented in a different manner and there were still areas that weren't all lush, vibrant scenery.

Vernal Edge is a game that I remember feeling frustration in certain areas while playing it but also it lives in my mind and I still think about it so it's next on the list. The fighting is different than what I usually experience - it's a spectacle fighter style, and there is an interesting mechanic by which you cast 'spells' and also heal. I think the character was a bit slippery at times which led to some of the frustration in the platforming as mentioned earlier. The game has some good writing underpinning it though and travelling to different islands in the sky and exploring them was a neat way to put together the world.

Pronty is interesting that it is underwater and the art is beautiful; combat is a bit removed since you do not do the fighting but instead direct your javelin fish to do it.

Lone Fungus I wish I could like more but it was a lot more platforming and very precise platforming at that, which is not where my interests lie.

Going Under is doing the heavy lifting for including Roguelike into this category mashup and the reason for that is that it is a genre that I also do not tend to play for various reasons that I may go into in the future but not here. Still, if I had to pick a game from that genre, I'd say Going Under is a good one - there's some seriously great writing here from dev Aggro Crab and it's a quite hilarious commentary on startup culture in our current times.

Not really going to go through the rest of the games since I only want to type so much and there are a few other categories to go. However, those categories will be in a later reblog.

[herrlindemann]

Rock Hard - April 1996, Interview with Flake

Thanks to Ramjohn for the scans!

It's been a long time since a national newcomer in such a short space of time as Rammstein. In addition to the excellent debut work 'Herzeleid' and the charismatic charisma of the musicians, this is mainly due to the literally hot gigs, which their reputation as a spectacular modern version of Alice Cooper and (masked) Kiss shows already precedes. It was not for nothing that the club tour that just ended was sold out almost everywhere.

"We don't want to be a bloated hype, we want to earn our fans in order to win them over for the long term," says keyboardist Flake. « That's why we withdrew our already shot video of ‘Du riechst so gut’. It just came too soon, the timing wasn't right. When people talk about Rammstein, they should have the band in mind and not the band with the 'great' clip that's always on MTV or Viva. »

Especially in the five expensive federal states, the influx was enormous with well over 1,000 visitors per show. However, Flake doesn't want to know anything about the East-West divide: « For example, we also had over 800 paying guests in Bochum. »

On the other hand, there were only 300 in Duisburg due to capacity and not more in Cologne shortly before. In my opinion it cannot be denied that the Ossis are more open to the Electro-Metal genre; the drastic differences in popularity of bands like Oomph! or Think About Mutation in West and East make this abundantly clear. For Flake, however, the reunion seems to be complete in every respect. In view of the different culture that has developed over the decades (USSR-oriented instead of USA-oriented), this assumption is quite naive. Just like Flake outright. Incomprehension for the assumption expressed by some sides that Rammstein could be a right-wing group. Of course, there is no solid basis for this rumor after a thorough examination of the band and their songs - but anyone who lets themselves be photographed for record covers as a 'gentlemen' with a neat short hairstyle and a naked, oiled upper body, sings in German with a rolling 'R' and titles like ‘Weißes Fleisch’ — it could just as easily be black, red, yellow or just naked meat — shouldn't be surprised if hypersensitive leftists quickly miscategorize it.

However, Flake finds the accusation so absurd that he doesn't even consider it necessary to take it seriously. Laconically, he only remarks: "I think we look like golden-brown broilers (East German word for 'grilled chicken') on the cover. On the one hand it was summer at the time — that's why the tops were bare — and on the other hand we didn't want to look like bums — that's why the neat hairstyles. »

Art needs inner tension as a driving force. These have Rammstein in abundance, even if they present themselves as a unit. Six musicians, six opinions - that promotes the creative process, but makes it almost impossible for the individual to realize themselves one hundred percent. Nevertheless, Flake and guitarist Paul in particular, who both used to play in the punk band Feeling B, try to live out their generally cheerful disposition on stage instead of subordinating themselves to the pathos that is embodied above all by singer Till.

« We both don't take the image that seriously, and that's why we don't bow to Till either. If he takes it seriously, that's his business. »

But the front man doesn't seem to take his theatrics that seriously, because during the show in Duisburg he had to skip a whole verse of 'Das alte lied' because he got a fit of laughter after a dildo blow job . Personally, I would find Rammstein much more intense if all six members would also implement the brutal music and rough poetry on stage visually, but the at least partially possible self-realization of the individual musicians is of course an understandable argument for the supposedly contradictory performance.

« We don't want to create a specific image. Although we have a defined framework, each of us can move freely within it. »

As much as I believe the musicians are best friends, I believe they have countless internal battles over the band. After all, they wear a stage outfit specially designed for them and invest several thousand marks in pyro effects at every gig.

In view of this financial expense, which only serves the optics (and thus the image), the scope for the individual is inevitably smaller.

"Not necessarily," counters Flake, "because we just want to entertain and offer the audience a colorful evening - whether with flamethrowers or funny gimmicks.”

That's all well and good, but in view of the specific reference to the tragic Rammstein plane crash, I don't think there's any room for humorous aspects. After all, it would be extremely tasteless to use such a catastrophe with umpteen deaths as a cheap shock effect. However, it is precisely these permanent contradictions that are fascinating about the Rammstein phenomenon, which can never be fathomed in detail because every band member represents a different point of view and there is therefore no ultimate overall statement at all. Curious about the extreme plurality of opinions: Rammstein never give interviews together, because otherwise they would constantly contradict each other.

In the "Wa(h)re Liebe" program (VOX) from 29.02. a certain Yvonne was a guest, who had already unpacked her Sado/Maso preferences under the pseudonym Marlene as the cover model in "Stern". This self-assured woman, who initially said that she was thoughtful and well survived, suddenly freaked out and yelled like a teenager that she really wanted to get to know Rammstein and would do anything (!!!) for the boys. When the band elicits such extreme reactions even from relatively mature personalities, the image obviously cannot fail to have an effect. Not to mention the drooling hordes of wench folk who routinely rule the front rows at the shows. What do Rammstein have that others don't? Is it the musicians' looks? Is it the pumping mid-tempo grooves? Is it the current show gimmicks like dildo and S/M gear (mask, whip, harness and leash)? Or is it lyrics like 'Wollt ihr das Bett in Flammen sehen?' ('Sex is a battle, love is war.'), 'Weißes Fleisch' ('Red welts on white skin, I hurt it and you whine loudly .') or 'Du riechst so gut' ('I can't see you, I can feel you.')?

Yvonne or.

Unfortunately, Marlene or whatever-her-name didn't reveal it during her TV appearance, and Flake doesn't have an answer either. Till, who is said to have broken countless hearts and is already a father of several, certainly knows one, but at Rammstein there is - as I said - only one interviewee per journalist.

This also makes it difficult to look ahead, which Rammstein gave us during the tour in the form of the three new songs 'Sehnsucht' (in the 'Herzeleid' style), 'Spiel mit mir' (the keyboard and guitar theme is strongly reminiscent of the Krupps ) and 'Feuerräder' (groovy Techno/House instrumental at around 140 bpm).

Flake doesn't really want to let the cat out of the bag and mainly limits himself to general statements like: «We are not limited in any way and just compose as it develops. Maybe we'll go more in the Techno direction soon, maybe not. »

I tend to bet on the former, because with the commitment of the really good Berlin scene DJ Komm, who played the pre- and post-program of the club gigs and even jammed with the band in the middle part of 'Weißes Fleisch', the boys have a clear sign set. In addition, it can be heard between the lines that Till will possibly sing more than speak on the second work, in order to ensure a certain degree of variety.

The only concrete statement from Flake: «On the next album there will be a song called 'Der wilde Wein', which we actually wanted to record for 'Herzeleid': without guitar and drums, only with vocals and keyboard. »

But before we completely digress into the future, it is not necessary to work through the current disc. Director David Lynch took a liking to it and chose Self Destruction, Final ('Rammstein' and an instrumental version of 'Heirate mich') alongside Nine Inch Nails' for his new film 'Lost Highway'.

« We sent him and some other interesting directors like Stephen Kind our disc to get a statement for a possible video shoot. However, due to lack of time, David was not able to deal with 'Herzeleid' at first - his cameramen and assistants even more so. Eventually he asked the film crew what they were listening to all the time, and that's how he came up with us. Maybe working together on a clip will work out in the future. »

However, the iconic filmmaker is far from the only prominent Rammstein fan. Clawfinger, whose producer Jacob Hellner is responsible for the controls for 'Herzeleid', and the Ramones, who engaged the promising newcomers as the opener for their farewell tour, are also among them. With an understandable touch of pride, which he is almost embarrassed about, Flake reports that Joey & Co. even wore Rammstein T-shirts at their Berlin gig.

A certain modesty is also evident in other areas. For example, there is no cast list with the names of the musicians printed in the booklet. That means: What counts is the band collective and not the individual. This attitude is even reflected in the autographs that the keyboard player gives during our interview. Instead of strikingly brushed line structures, as known from doctors and rock stars, Mr. Lorenz paints his pseudonym neatly in meaningless block letters.

« If it gets too much for me, I just put a stamp on it. It also counts as a real autograph, because after all I only have the one. »

You certainly can't accuse him of being a fan fool. As one of very few bands, Rammstein allow their fans free backstage access ten minutes after the show.

Whether this nice gesture can be granted for a long time is questionable in view of the daily increase in the number of visitors on the tour...

[talesfromsorienth]

Children

Okie so my dear wife pointed out some design similarities between Coatls and Auraboas and I got inspired to write this as a result. This is my own personal story and by no means represents anything like offical lore just a story I felt was a neat idea.

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

The Flamecaller sat in her domain sorrow still even now weighing heavy in her heart.  The silence was almost unbearable.  Long ago and yet seemingly not at all the air had rang with melodious songs from her beloved children.  But, in her hubris she had not realized until too late what she had created.  Her children had been as she had once been in ages past, eager and proud desiring the world to be covered in the fire that they and she had burning within.   So they set forth attempting to burn all of Sorienth until they were halted by the Icewarden’s children and their song silenced.

The Icewarden himself had come to her domain offering apologies for the extreme actions of his children which had been truly heartfelt but the rest of his words had stung for they had been absolutely correct the Banescales had brought their destruction upon themselves due to their pride and arrogance.  

That truth had been painful but necessary to hear for she now realized how much of her younger self she had instilled in them. Now she sat in the silence desiring once again to have her domain filled with the songs of her children but this time she had to do it differently, they could not share the same fate as the Banescales that would be her end, snuffing her inner fire with grief if she made more that wrought their own destruction again due to her hubris.

Unsure where to start she took to the air flying aimlessly across the length and breadth of Sorienth until finding herself in her younger sister's domain, the Gladekeeper.  As she passed over it she could see the once fully lush and vibrant land now charred and damaged, growth returning but still showing the scars of the Bane’s attacks.  It was a poignant reminder of what she had wrought with their creation and cemented her desire to do it differently.  

Movement within those areas caught her eye and she swooped closer to see several serpentine shapes weaving in and out of the damaged growth using their innate powers to revive the charred land.  They were beautiful graceful creatures with vibrant plumage swirling and flying about in graceful movements.  They looked so gentle, so soft and yet capable of so much.  So distracted by them she didn't realize her sister's presence until they scattered and she found herself facing the Gladekeeper, the nature goddess’s countenance wary.

She immediately landed making sure that she alighted in one of the spots that was still charred with no growth so as not to undue the work the dragons had wrought with her heated form and said softly, “Fear not, Gladekeeper I was merely observing them I have no intentions of harm.  I deeply regret the damage my children wrought on all of the domains.  I was a fool and made them too much in my image.  Your children, they are beautiful you should be proud,”

The Gladekeeper watched her for a moment before rumbling, “I am though truth be told I fear for their safety you childrens attack made me very aware how vulnerable they could be.”

“As the destruction they wrought makes me aware that I was a fool.  Sister…I confess I desire to make more children but this time will be different, this time they will be  gentle, kind not beings desiring destruction but the warmth and comfort…and I think I have an idea as to how.  And I say this, if you fear for their safety perhaps you should make some that will protect their siblings, just be careful not to repeat my mistakes.”

With that she took to the wing leaving the Gladekeeper and her children to their work she could see that her words had an effect and she suspected that ere long a new breed of dragon would grace the Viridian Labyrinth. 

She also knew now after seeing the Gladekeeper's children what she would aim for with her new children.  This time would be different; they would be creators not destroyers.  They would be kind, not fierce.  Her new children would sing with a different song one of beauty and life.

[gretakatharinaa]

"i need a hug" - about the mirror neutron system

I was walking down the street, listening to music and as i walked past stores, restaurants and trees i saw two girls, about sixteen years old. The were hugging.

It seemed to me like they just met up and their hug was their way of greeting one another. But there was something about their hug that led me to believe there was a deeper level. One girl was wearing a backpack, not the one you take to school kind.

It looked like she just came back home from a long journey which confused me since there was no train station or any sort of public transportation around which indicated her arrival.

Anyway, they both hugged for a few seconds and let out a breath of release.

It was only a few seconds of me seeing them and then i walked past, falling back into my headspace and looking at the buildings glowing from the sunset.

In only about three seconds i was almost sure that those girls a) have been best friends for quite some time, b) have been separated at least a few weeks and c) are each others comfort person.

Three seconds. And I'm sure i would not have been the only one that would have come to the conclusion if equally observant.

So how is that, sometimes, we don't know anything about people in the first second and manage to see on a deeper level in the next?

Mirror neurons were first discovered in the 1990s by Giacomo Rizzolatti and his research team.

The mirror neuron system is a network of neurons in the brain that is believed to play a role in social cognition, empathy and imitation.

Mirror neurons are specialized cells that fire both when an individual performs a specific action and when they observe someone else performing the same action.

For example, a mirror neuron might fire when a person reaches for an object and also when they see another person reaching for the same object. This mechanism allows individuals to understand and imitate the actions of others, leading to social learning and empathy.

The mirror neuron system is thought to be involved in various aspects of social cognition, including:

Action understanding: Mirror neurons help individuals understand the intentions and goals behind others' actions by simulating those actions in their own minds.

Empathy: Mirror neurons are believed to play a role in empathy, allowing individuals to emotionally resonate with others' experiences. When we observe someone experiencing an emotion, mirror neurons may activate to create a shared emotional experience.

Imitation and learning: Mirror neurons are thought to facilitate imitation and observational learning. They enable individuals to imitate actions they see, which can contribute to the acquisition of new skills and cultural transmission.

So as much as i would like to say that I am super intelligent and observant for noticing those two girls and understanding their actions, it is really just my brain playing memory.

I know the feeling of hugging someone and feeling relief.

I know what it's like to finally get your comfort person back after you've been away.

So my brain took the scene that i saw and tried to find something comparable in my memory to understand the images it was perceiving.

Pretty neat, don't ya think?

By the way, the song was called Call U Tomorrow by Montell Fish.