#i mean i don't know for certain they are stolen but

[msfbgraves]

Fanfic authors have been getting increasingly horribly exploited in the past five years especially. Our work stolen to feed AI that is then being used to put other writers out of work. Wattpad antics. The reselling of plagiarised works published for free. And then this trend of not including an author in the gushing about the works. That is like holding a birthday party for a person to share how much you love them, only not inviting them. Because your love for that person is personal to you and your other friends and none of the celebrated person's business. You're shy! You don't know what to say!

I have been incredibly lucky on having had a lot of engagement on Tumblr in the Silverusso fandom, but I have been in other fandoms whose works are still on Ao3 and also still being clicked on, for what purpose I don't know. But with the current climate, I don't feel like adding much more to other fandoms there especially. There's a few Cherik fics I have toyed with updating, but haven't been inspired enough for, knowing that it's like a lottery nowadays. Sure, the effort could pay off, but what is more likely to happen, at least when posting on Ao3 alone, is mocking silence. Deep in my heart I know that some people will be made happier if I did do it, but knowing that others will use it only to enrich themselves is not a joyful thought at all.

Love will get your fanfic authors a long way in sharing their stories, but if they get nothing at all in return, while knowing that people may even be stealing it for their own ends; that is not an environment conducive to writing. It's an abusive relationship, and we all know that not doing anything beats being in an abusive relationship.

I mean, theoretically my works and other works are being enjoyed because there is an outcry when Ao3 is down. But there is a reason people applaud after live performances. If they didn't, people would stop doing it! Even when the reasons to start doing it are mostly altruistic on the artist's part. Everybody tells you in life to stop putting your efforts where they're not actively appreciated. I mean, did Cinderella's stepfamily enjoy the efforts of her labour? Did it enrich them? Likely yes! Would you have encouraged her to keep providing it, even if she may have started out of love for her family's home? Girl no! Even this kind hearted girl left, because that is what you do when your efforts are unappreciated and exploited, even when they're clearly of value.

If I simply posted and got zero response - no engagement even, I could say the fault was mine. Either for being in the wrong place or doing the wrong thing. But when there is engagement, but no appreciation and people are hawking it somewhere, which I now know they are through the mere existence of AI, adding more is an actively stupid thing to do.

I'm not blaming readers exactly, I'm just pointing out that when you're getting no appreciation and are being exploited, continuing to do something isn't wise and stopping an activity (in this case, writing fic) is a rational decision to make! There's more rewarding things anyone could be doing, even if the activity itself is of much value!

Maybe I will post more in some old fandoms or even new ones, but right now, the only thing that could really compel me to post anything when I am not 100% certain there already is an active audience is an obsession so strong it overrides logic. And that will get you some fic, but not multiple longfics, I assure you.

And no updates. Things that aren't nourished die.

A writer friend told me something that broke my heart a little bit today; they're going to quit publishing their fanfic.

My instant thought was that they had been trolled or attacked or that something terrible had happened in their life because this person is so passionate about their writing. It wasn't any of that. Engagement with their works has been going down, as it has for many of us. Comments are like gold dust a lot of the time, and just looking through the historical comment counts on old fics on ao3 demonstrates this trend very clearly. It was not simply the comments dropping off which caused them to decide to stop posting, however.

My friend came across a discord server for their fandom (I should point out here that their fandom interest and mine diverged a couple of years ago, we stay in touch but don't currently read each other's posts because I'm not into their fandom and they would rather gouge their eyes out with a wooden spoon than read anything Star Wars) and specifically to share fic in that fandom. They joined, because we all love a good fic rec, only to discover that their latest multichapter fic, which has almost no comments and very few kudos, is being hotly discussed in this server as one of the best stories ever. Not one of these people has bothered to say this to them on the fic. When they asked, none of participants could see the point in telling the author of the fic they apparently loved so much that they love it.

This discovery has absolutely destroyed my friend's love of sharing fic. They share because they love seeing other people's enjoyment, and fic writers do that through comments and kudos/reblogs/likes because we don't get paid. There is no literary critic writing a blog post/article about how amazing the story is for us to copy and keep/frame. There is no money from royalties. All we have are the words of the people reading our works.

Those people on that server could have taken five minutes of the time they spent gushing about how amazing my friend's story was to other people and used it to tell the one person guaranteed to want to hear that praise how much they loved it. They could have taken a moment to express their opinion to the person who spent hours upon hours plotting, writing, editing, and posting those chapters. Instead, they deprived my friend of thing that keeps them sharing their writing, and in the process have killed their love of it. My friend now feels used and unmotivated.

I won't be sharing a link to their fic, they said I could share their experience but not their identity. I know they plan to post one final chapter. I know they intend to express their hurt at being excluded from the praise for the thing they created, and I know they intend to announce that as a consequence they will not be posting for a long while, if at all.

So please, I beg you, don't hide your love of a story from the writer. It's just about the only thing we have.

[ahsoka-in-a-hood]

Wow Tumblr is straight up advertising AI drawing software to me

[harmoonix]

♦️Rubina♦️

Short Astrology Observations

Gemini placements, especially Moon/Mercury and Mars, love to make eye contact with the people they find attractive, but I can tell their eye contacts last so long

An Aquarius Lilith can talk about a rebellious nature in your community/social group, your friends can tell that you're a fiery person

Aries Saturn/Saturn in the 1H can end up overthinking over tense situations that already happened, is a like a flashback coming in your life

When Mercury transits your 7H, you can find yourself talking randomly about your past relationships or even current ones

The eyes of a sun - lilith h12 native are GORGEOUS!! These natives are widely known for having strong personalities and charisma

Neptune in the 6H/8H/12H can be drained by people mentally or even you can find your energy 'being stolen' by others in spirituality we call these people 'energetic vampires' people who are known to steal energy/mood

Neptune/Pisces in the 2H can indeed spend their finances on things they find spiritual or ancient. Also, it is very important to value your personal traits

If someone has a mix of Sag + Aries in their chart! BE SURE that person can be harsh at times even without realizing that they're being harsh on others

If you're born with Aqua placements, it is a big indicator that you have a humanitarian and peaceful energy, you love to help people in your community

Mars in the 11H or in Aqua can engage in conflicts about their friends or even with them, there is always some sort of issues, though this placement is very useful for manifesting fast

If Saturn is finding himself in the enemies like Leo or Cancer/Aries it can be a big indicator that you're meant to change something in this life time

Lilith in the 10H/Capricorn can have a provocative, sometimes problematic image, the society can find you powerful

You can always count on people with Moons in the 9H/11H/Sag Moon/Aquarius Moon to be loyal to you!! They will be so devoted to you

Moon transit in the 12H can talk about dreaming about your past or certain events that happened in the past

♦️Is very easy to tell the degrees between the tropical and sidereal charts if you learn them, the sidereal degrees will always be within 6° more in the sidereal chart than tropical for example

Having a planet at 24° in the tropical chart will result in a planet with 0° in the sidereal chart (24+6=0° in astrology because we don't have the 30°)

If you have a planet at 21° in the tropical chart will result a planet with 27° in sidereal chart

(21° + 6° = 27°)

If you have a planet at 2° in the tropical chart, it will result in 8° degrees in the sidereal chart

(2° + 6° = 8°)

And so on 🤩👏 just calculate them!♦️

Taurus Placements especially Venus/Lilith/Moon love to get spoiled!! They love luxury but won't tell and instead they will want you to observe that

Pluto in the 10H/11H in a natives chart can make energy of the chart so influential if you have aspects to pluto it will play a big role in your life

Prominent and Dominant planets are not the same!!

Prominent: lots of aspects to one planet

Dominant: lot of planets in the same sign (someone with 4 planets in Cancer is a Moon dominant)

I don't know if you guys observed, but most ppl with cap placements in a way feel restricted to tell their feelings, and it can be because people may not pay attention to those

2H/3H in Scorpio/Aquarius/Gemini/Aries can make the native talk in a more dirty way, for example, telling a curse word in each one of their questions/sentences

Venus in Aqua/Venus at 11° 23° degrees can have a chance to meet their partners online! That doesn't mean accepting all the requests on Tinder!!

The moon sign in your moon persona chart will tell more about your soul! Is a very emotional journey discovering as well! Make a combo of your tropical moon sign and moon persona's moon sign

Having 5H planets in your SR (solar return) can indicate getting into romantic relationships, especially Mars/Venus

Mercury aspecting Pluto natives may love to speak possessive words out of their mouths like 'You're mine' and things like that

Pluto in the 7H/Lilith in the 7H can talk about a dating history involving toxic partners and attracting them

When Aquarius Venus/Mercury/Moon/Rising will find love, they will mostly look for natives with a good mindset and a stable communication skill.

People who tend to be people pleasers can indicate deep father issues, especially parental trauma watch out for the sun/Saturn sign and the sign over your 4H

Capricorn/Aries in your 3H can indicate being the oldest/first kid or sibling in your family

People who have Saturn - Mercury harsh aspects find it hard to concentrate, hard to be focusing on things. Those people who have a lot on their mind

I feel like people with a water moon can be romantic, only if their partner shows romantism as well. Otherwise, it can be hard to be with one-sided romantic person

Cancer/Moon in the 9H ppl can have parents or family members who work in educational institutions, schools, high-schools etc

People with 4H like Libra, Taurus, Leo, and Pisces could've been raised by a single parent only or divorced parents later in life

In some cases, Leo/Cancer/Gemini/Aquarius/Sagittarius Lilith can talk about being the black sheep of the family and also the family with a favorite child, so favorkids in the family

Scorpio/Capricorn/Taurus Venus would rather wait for that one person to arrive in their lives than waste times with relationships

The definition of a Libra is co - relationships, so people with Libra Placements will feel like they need to have someone with them or the feeling to depend on someone

~ Have a little fun. It's the only way we know ~

[teaboot]

hey teaboot, have you ever been "canceled"/"called out" in certain tumblr circles for being a security guard?

for the record im not against you being a security guard or anything but i was just curious, cause i work in a museum but im scared to talk to people about it because i wouldn't want to anger anyone who believes in abolishing GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives, and museums) so im always curious to hear how other people feel about their professions :) thanks and i love your blog!

Oh, yeah, totally! Kind of a lot, actually.

And I sorta get it, honestly- we're living in some pretty major times of injustice and people SHOULD be suspicious of anyone operating in a position of authority- I've met some real shithead guards and cops, and I'd rather people film and question me and know that they're filming and questioning the shitheads, too, than have everyone in my community see a uniform and just assume everything is peachy.

Not so say that suspicion justifies threats and abuse, but like. Idk, I can see why it happens. I get the perspective, even if I don't agree with it.

And Im not gonna lie, there's been a few super gnarly threats, too? But like. Idk what to tell you. I figure a lot of it is just cause I've got a lot of people looking at this blog already? Bigger numbers means bigger chances, maybe?

But what the hell???? Abolishing LIBRARIES??? And GALLERIES?? ARCHIVES??? I sorta see the angle with museums seeing how a lot of shit is stolen but like. LOCAL museums with donated shit? Museums that DO get stuff with permission? Places with replicas? And who the fuck wants LIBRARIES gone???? That's some crazy shit, dude. Wild

But to answer your question, I guess it falls under the same umbrella as everything else we share online- don't divulge anything you wouldn't want used against you, right?

Sorry I can't help more, bud. But keep on trucking, yeah? Best of luck

[fwoosheye]

As long as they cannot protect artists/writers from having their labour stolen (especially smaller creators who cannot afford lawyers), and ensure there are rules in place to ensure it's used ethically (preventing creation of revenge porn, preventing big corps from using it so they don't have to pay professionals eventhough that totally can, etc) I will not even consider working alongside ai

"artists should learn to work alongside ai, not fight against it!!" absolutely not. tosses you in the labyrinth of agony.

[dollincalabasas]

𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐎 - 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐊𝐀 𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐄

𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐱 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐤𝐚 (𝐢𝐝𝐤 )

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃, 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐔𝐀𝐆𝐄,𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐏,𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐋,𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃/𝐖𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐒, 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐅𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆,𝐓𝐄𝐗𝐓 𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄!

𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐒 𝐃𝐍𝐈 𝐎𝐑 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐃!

𝐀/𝐍: 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐘𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐋 𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐓 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 (𝐘𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐀 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐘 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐃𝐀𝐘 ᥫ᭡)

it was night time in zaun—a dangerous time to be out especially with the rising crime rates. but unfortunately, you didn't care you had to go to the brothel and work.

You see—you've only stolen to be able to put food on the table but as soon as that advert for the brothel was in the news paper telling people:

"NEW FOR HIRE: GIRLS 19 AND 27 NEEDED"

you were on the job like white on rice.

begrudgingly, you walked in saying hi to the girls and getting your uniform shoved in your hand like you were some sort of prisoner.

The place looked tidy but it reeked of bodily fluids, cleaning products, and sex.

Getting to your room you knew you had about 2 hours to get ready,prepped, and clean up your makeup and clothes from the vanity.

"Alright, let's see what they want me to wear now"

Looking you gasped in shock, it was a pink corset that looked pretty tight with matching laced panties—with garters and socks that looked like your thighs would gobble them up.

Changing you looked at the time seeing you only had 30 minutes left so you rushed carefully tying the corset and placing finishing touches or your makeup that probably would be ruined later—but whatever.

the ringing of the bell signaled to get into your places so walking out you started flirting with the men, not noticing a certain regular sitting in the dark corner of the brothel.

Groping.touching.kissing

That's all that repeated here—same old stuff without a new recipe.

Noticing nobody giving this person attention you walked up to the table— you gazed up at the figure. Big, tall, and lastly very attractive and that's what had you dripping in your laced panties.

"Is this seat taken?" you said in your work voice staring at the anonymous person .

no answer but they grunted staring at you and holding eye contact until it had you flushed making you look away—you slid yourself in the booth anyway,sitting across from them staring at the table

"not much of a talker... do you want anything to drink? I can provide you with anything you need." you said emphasizing need while sliding your heeled foot on her pants leg.

"a glass of whiskey, no ice" they looked up at you, their eyes eyes sharper than knives that gave you shivers that shot down towards your cunt.

you rushed to go get the drink coming back in under five minutes.

"here you go uh-sevika." the person interrupted you, grabbing the drink taking a large swig from it.

"Yea uhm" you said nervously looking at her and standing awkwardly at the table.

"Sit." she ordered in a authoritative manner

So you did, you don't know why but you're pretty much leaking now staring down at the booth table.

" tell me about yourself, princess" she said looking at you and quirking her eyebrow

" i-i-" you stuttered

"you-you what? Spit it out." she said putting down the cup she gulped down.

" I just started working here like a week ago... I live in Zaun and that's all" you really didn't want to get into your home life so you closed your mouth in a line.

" how about you tell me more about yourself hm?" You said getting back into your flirty personality.

" I don't give out secrets of my personal life but I am a regular here." she said smirking

"mmm... A regular? What do you mean by that?" you asked and it was your turn to quirk up your eyebrow.

"I can show you better than I can tell you, princess." she said smirking as your fave dropped down in shock.

" shit!" things clatter to the floor as you're getting man handled doggy style, your back arched like a cat and you're moaning—whimpering and mewling like a bitch in heat.

"S-slo-ngh-slow down" you said wincing at her smacking your ass.

" you're cunt is squeezing the strap so tight I don't think you want me to slow down you,dirty girl." she said smacking your ass two or three times—you can't count either way.

you hissed as you gripped a pillow biting into it trying to muffle the sounds of you getting turned every which way but loose.

" you want me to make you a mommy?"

"Yes yes yes yes yes!" you repeated yes like a mantra, which caused her to stop and you pushing back onto the strap—but to no avail she didn't startoving but instead manhandled you into missionary.

putting the strap back inside you, she went painfully slow.

"More... More please vika" you pleaded whimpering and scratching at her back.

"be patient princess" she said bucking her hips into you.

To your surprise she started moving faster making you yelp and scratch down her back drawing beads of blood which made her hiss in pain.

Gasping, your eyes roll to the back of your head as you arch your back in response to how good she's pounding into you.

" please, please get me pregnant I don't care please vika" you pleaded gripping her back with your legs trying to draw her closer.

"there you go princess, go on cum f'me"

Cumming you felt your eyes roll back and a liquid bursting into you making you shake and grip at the sheets.

coming down from your high you looked down at the purple shimmering liquid spewing from your cunt.

" I know damn well that's not a-" not finishing your sentence you laid back as sevika chuckled and wiped you down with a towel.

𝐀/𝐍 : 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐏 𝐎𝐑 𝐇𝐄𝐗𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐏?

[hashtagloveloses]

this is an earnest and honest plea and call in especially to fandoms as i see it happen more - please don't use AI for your transformative works. by this i mean, making audios of actors who play the characters you love saying certain things, making deepfakes of actors or even animated characters' faces. playing with chatGPT to "talk" or RP with a character, or write funny fanfiction. using stable diffusion to make interesting "crossover" AI "art." i KNOW it's just for fun and it is seemingly harmless but it's not. since there is NO regulation and since some stuff is built off of stable diffusion (which uses stolen artwork and data), it is helping to create a huge and dangerous mess. when you use an AI to deepfake actors' voices to make your ship canon or whatever, you help train it so people can use it for deepfake revenge porn. or so companies can replace these actors with AI. when you RP with chatGPT you help train it to do LOTS of things that will be used to harm SO many people. (this doesn't even get into how governments will misuse and hurt people with these technologies) and yes that is not your fault and yes it is not the technology's fault it is the companies and governments that will and already have done things but PLEASE. when you use an AI snapchat or instagram or tiktok filter, when you use an AI image generator "just for fun", when you chat with your character's "bot," you are doing IRREPARABLE harm. please stop.

[pomefioredove]

Hiii!! I was wondering if you could “I can’t stop thinking about you” with Jade? If ur prompt things are still open of course! If not that’s totally okay too!!

o7 anon

summary: "I can’t stop thinking about you" type of post: short fic characters: jade additional info: romantic, reader is gender neutral, reader is not specified to be yuu, not proofread and maybe a little ooc a part of this event

"And don't forget to lock the doors when you leave,"

Azul sighs, hovering in the doorway of the Mostro Lounge with his hands on his hips.

"Luckily, nothing was stolen last time I let Floyd take the closing shift, but luck is fickle,"

He pauses, turning to you. "I'm sure you, at least, will be able to handle something so simple."

You salute the tired-looking merman before the soft swoosh of the kitchen door interrupts the conversation.

"My, you have such little faith in me, Azul. I'm wounded," a smoother, much less tense, presence follows it.

You'd always wondered how Jade is able to sound imposing without ever actually raising his voice.

Azul huffs. "I clearly was not addressing you. Good evening to the both of you... Don't stay up too late,"

And with that, he's gone.

As soon as the door is closed and Azul's inky silhouette has vanished, you turn to look at the gentleman behind you.

"I didn't even know you were here,"

"I'm not supposed to be," Jade smiles, offering little explanation.

By now, you're sure he does that on purpose.

You don't feel like being baited into a conversation, but when your only other option is silence with Jade...

"So?"

"I was taking stock," he says. "Both metaphorically and literally. We're short on limes."

His strangeness radiates off of him like a mist. You narrow your eyes at him; he's hiding something, you're sure. But what are you supposed to do- interrogate him?

"I'll leave a note," you mutter, turning your attention back to sweeping.

This is your very first closing shift at the lounge; no customers, no Azul, no sounds except for your own breathing.

And Jade's.

He smiles again. "Shall I help? You'll be done faster with another set of hands,"

He could just leave. He's not even on the clock... if this is him looping you into some ploy to get overtime, you swear...

"If you would like,"

"Excellent,"

Jade disappears into the kitchen, taking that strange air of tension with him, and returns with a rag and cleaning solution.

He's completely silent, perusing the lounge as if it were an art museum, admiring the specks and stains on each table before wiping them down.

"You seem nervous," he says merrily, not even looking at you. "Are you afraid of the dark?"

"No," a half-truth. "I'm just tired." a lie.

"I've read that many human children develop a fear of the dark. What's more, is that it's not considered irrational. How fascinating,"

You focus on the bristles of the broom in front of you. The Mostro Lounge does get rather dark at night... all of Octavinelle does.

"It's not irrational," you mutter.

"Perhaps for you. But in the sea, a child being afraid of the dark would be as silly to us as a child being afraid of sunlight would be to you,"

You pause to look out one of the windows in the lounge, the thick pane of glass separating you from the inky depths. It's almost pitch black at this hour.

Ugh. You're letting him get in your head.

You hum. "Is that why you're here, then? Protecting me from the dark?"

Jade smiles, watching you out of the corner of his eyes. "No. I was only making conversation. You seemed uncomfortable with my presence,"

"I just was expecting to be alone,"

"So was I,"

You pause, turning to him with a questioning glance.

As vague an answer as ever, you think, though there's a certain gleam in his eye that's daring you to find out for yourself.

He meets your gaze. "You interest me,"

Jade says it plainly, his tone soft, as if he thinks he might scare you away with any sudden movements.

"I can't stop thinking about you," he hums. "And I hope you understand my meaning... I do not seek to make you uncomfortable."

You set the broom against the wall. "You're not,"

He mimics you, setting the rag and bottle aside. If you didn't know any better, you could've sworn you caught a look of relief on him.

"Good. I have no malicious intentions... This time,"

You take that as a joke. It's not very funny.

Jade chuckles. "Ah, don't roll your eyes at me. I'm only lightening the mood... I would like to get to know you better, after all," he pauses. "As a confidante."

There's something oddly genuine about this.

He's as calm as ever, but you can tell there's a current of vulnerability hiding beneath the surface.

You can't help a smile at the thought.

"Not an informant, then?"

He smiles back. "Not with you, no,"

[ew-selfish-art]

DP x DC AU: Letters and Paper goods are easy to store, and therefore, easy to hide. Danny has drama to monger though.

Tim Drake becomes a ward of Bruce Wayne at the same time the Drake Corporation is crumbling, and his father's health is declining. Dana, his father's physical therapist turned new wife, isn't optimistic these days, and Tim can read the writing on the wall.

Times have changed and Bruce and Dick are treating him with kid gloves. Jason Todd is alive again, been there suffered that. Young Just-Us has proven yet again to be his true family... But Bruce 'welcomes' him home the second the fake uncle is sniffed out.

So, Tim rationalizes, If Drake Corp is going down, then so shall the reason he spent his childhood abandoned. The many, many archeology digs his parents left him for over the years and their many, many stolen historical pieces. Tim is ready and able to get rid of them all.

He first returns the artifacts that have obvious origins to the people with whom they belong. Then it starts to get a little hazy as to where each item stolen is from. The paper goods are the hardest to place.

Years later, Tim has almost completely emptied his parent's old home of their stolen goods. By now, he runs a fortune 500 company and is working as Red Robin. Going through the last of the archives means going through the very last objects his parents ever preferred over his company, and he can't wait to be rid of them.

A glowing green envelope however... this one he feels compelled to keep. He hadn't known it back when he started this project- but somehow his Parents had found objects drenched in the essence of the Lazarus Pits. And it wasn't just one letter, it was dozens and dozens.

Tim Drake knew it would be risky to move them, but he needed to get these letters to an ex-league member to understand what the language of the dead was trying to proclaim.

_____

Danny hates a fetch quest but apparently Ghost Writer is having a bad day. It starts with Danny running by the guys library to have a chat when all of a sudden, the question of certain... ghost relations... came up. Danny is always more than thrilled to hear about how the various ancient-as-in-old ghosts interacted with the Ancients-as-in-yikes ghosts.

Ghost Writer finally admitted to the monarch in training that if he wanted to know so badly, that he could track down Clockworks old letters. They'd been scattered well before Ghost Writer could properly work on the ghost archives (read: was still alive), and it wasn't until he'd long worked on the library that such affairs were noted as missing.

The potential for gossip was just too good! A call home to Sam, Tuck and Jazz to let them know he was on an adventure, and then Danny flew off with little more than some hints by GW and an annoyed nod of cryptic agreement by CW.

Danny goes about wondering Gotham as himself, not yet seeing the need to be Phantom, when he runs into the very guy he was looking for.

"Hey- you don't happen to have a shit ton of letters written in the language of the dead do you?" Danny smiles as innocently as possible as he watches all seven stages of grief play out on the guy's face. Then something changes and Danny can tell that this guy is like, scary competent.

"I do, however, I was double crossed and a shit ton of assassins are on their way to try and take them."

"Uh... Bummer for them I guess? I'll just take them and go- I don't even really need to keep them if you want em back-"

"Assassins. They won't exactly leave empty handed."

"Huh. Well... Wanna come with? These are supposed to have some pretty juicy drama in them." Danny awkwardly places a hand on the back of his neck.

A knife being thrown in their direction was enough to get this guy to make a decision.

"Let's go spill some tea then."

Danny grins as he pulls the guy through a rapidly drawn portal, ignoring the wide eyes he makes. Turns out his name is Tim, and walking him through afterlife drama is the best- how does he know so many dead assassins??? One of these letters is about a guy who took Tim's spleen??

[pali-writes-atiny-bit]

Going Dumb

Pairing: mean Dom!Seungmin x brat puppy!reader (assumed AFAB)

Summary: What happens when you agree to give your boyfriend Seungmin control of your orgasm for the week and then go back on your word.

WC: 2.5k

Genre: smut

Content Warning: heavy themes of BDSM and pet play, orgasm control/denial, edging, remote controlled vibrator, collar/leash, pet names (hers: good girl, beautiful girl, Pup, Puppy; his: Minnie, Min, Master), spanking, anal play, squirting, brief mentions of aftercare (please keep in mind that extensive aftercare is very important in scenes like these), degradation

Nets: @mirohs-aurora-society @neverendingdreams-net

A/N: a few months ago @skzdust and I were obsessed with short hair Seungmin. I listened to Going Dumb ft Stray Kids and it's like...totally a sex song. I just had to write something featuring Seungmin.

Please check out their fic here!

You went through all the trouble of breaking the rules, and you still didn't even get to cum without your Master.”

You bite back a moan and let your knees fall together, squeezing your thighs together. Despite your efforts, a whimper escapes you as when you feel the slick that is beginning to coat them. Your walls rapidly clench and unclench around the intruding vibrator pulsing against your g-spot. The vibrator suddenly ramps up to the highest setting and you squeal. Pleasure coils tight low in your belly. Your hands desperately clutch fistfuls of your skirt and your thighs tense and quiver with the strain of fighting off your impending orgasm.

When the vibrations suddenly stop, you sag into the pillows behind you, letting out a huff that's simultaneously a sigh of relief and a petulant whine at yet another stolen orgasm. You pant heavily.

“That's it. That's my good girl, my beautiful girl,” Seungmin coos at you from the laptop in front of you.

“Please, Minnie,” you plead - for relief or release you do not know.

“Ah, ah, ah,” he tuts, smirking through the screen. “That's not what you should be calling me, Puppy.”

“I'm sorry, Master, please,” you say, eyes lowering.

He ponders, “I don't think so,” you pout but he continues. “Hold on until tomorrow, and I'll reward you. I need to go now, Pup. Be good. I love you.”

You respond in kind before ending the call and shutting the laptop. You flop backwards in the pillows, closing your eyes and letting the last dregs of arousal fade from your body.

You and Seungmin have been dating for a few years now. About a year ago you had started introducing elements of BDSM into your relationship to spice up the bedroom (not that your sex life really needed the help). While neither of you were necessarily into the 24/7 total power exchange, you enjoyed submitting to Seungmin now and again as much as he enjoyed dominating you.

Currently, he is gone for the week, traveling for schedules. Before he left, he had gifted you this vibrator which could be controlled from a long distance when synced over the wifi. He challenged you to give him control over all of your orgasms - he decided when, where, and how many you would get.

The first night, you both tested the waters. When he video called you and asked you to put the vibrator in, you were quick to comply. He cycled through the different vibration patterns and strength, watching your reactions carefully. Even through a camera lens he could read every single tell her body had; the way her lips curled, her eyelids fluttered, or muscles twitched. Taking his time, he gently edged you to two powerful orgasms - giving in easily when you begged him for release.

The second night, he sent you into overstimulation with 5 orgasms in quick succession. Through each of them, he kept the vibrator steadily thrumming on the lowest setting, never letting you come down completely. You were so sensitive after the third time you came that you couldn't even be certain your fourth and fifth climaxes were separate. You had begged him to turn the vibrator off. When you ended the call that night you were a shuddering puddle.

Each night since he has edged you ruthlessly, bringing you to the summit of your pleasure but denying your release. Sometimes he only brings you to the precipice once, like tonight. Other times, he has brought you to the edge two or three times. Tonight was the fourth night in a row of being denied and your body is wound so tightly.

You want so badly to relieve yourself but you refrain. Seungmin returns tomorrow. Surely he'll reward your obedience.

The next day, you come home from work in a terrible mood. The cafe you work at was short staffed through the entire lunch rush, a customer spilled hot coffee all over your uniform, and somehow your till came up almost $20 short. This isn't the first time money has been found missing, from your till specifically. You suspect one of your coworkers is stealing, but you have no definitive proof so you have been unable to pinpoint the person responsible. You let out a heavy sigh and run a hand through your hair. You know the money will come out of your next paycheck.

You don't need the money per say - Seungmin has been adamant that you should allow him to take care of all of the bills. You both know he makes more than enough to keep you both comfortable. It's just the principle of it. You don't want to have to rely on him to take care of you. Even if it is irrational, it makes you feel like you are taking advantage of his status as an idol.

You wish it didn't, but the whole situation stresses you out. Your racing thoughts begin jumbling in your brain and suddenly your uniform feels too tight. All of your focus shifts to your skin and the way it seems to prickle and itch. You pull uncomfortably at the fabric but you find no relief. Finally, you decide to just strip off the clothing and take a shower to rinse the day - and the coffee - away.

Even after the shower you still don't feel relaxed. You're just stressed. Tense. Wound tight like a watch spring.

You know exactly what would help release the tension and make you feel better. The past four nights of edging have definitely taken a toll on you. It’s been years since you went this long without an orgasm. Before you and Seungmin started dating you often masturbated to help relieve your stress. And since then you haven't had to worry about taking care of those needs yourself. Seungmin's sex drive is as high, if not higher than your own.

Stepping out of the shower, you take a look at the clock on your nightstand. It's just after 3 in the afternoon. You're not expecting Seungmin back until around 7. You bite your lip as you think - 4 hours would be plenty of time for you to take your time rubbing one out and disposing of the evidence. On the other hand, Seungming would surely punish you if he found out you gave yourself an orgasm after agreeing to hand over control to him. Still, after pondering for a few minutes you decide that you could risk chasing your release and Seungmin would be none the wiser.

You drop the towel you had wrapped around yourself, grab your favorite vibrator, and climb onto the bed. You arrange the pillows against the headboard in the center of the mattress and lean back against them. In this position you’re not quite sitting up, not quite laying down. Taking a minute to just breathe and tune into your body, you rest your feet flat on the bed before letting your knees fall open.

You set the vibrator on the bed next to you and begin caressing yourself. Starting from your thighs, you slowly drag your palms up. Feeling first the soft flesh of your hips, then your belly, and finally your breasts. You let your fingertips ghost over your nipples before repeating the sequence of motions.

By your third pass, your nipples are stiff peaks and you're beginning to feel the familiar tingling between your legs. You reach for your trusty vibrator. You switch it onto the lowest setting and a quiet hum fills the room.

With one hand you play with your breast, alternating between softly squeezing the mound and teasing the nipple with your fingers. You softly pinch the nub between your thumb and forefinger - sometimes rolling it between your fingers and other times tugging it gently. The actions send soft jolts of pleasure through your body to your pussy which begins to moisten.

Continuing to play with your breast, you begin teasing your pussy with the tip of the vibrator. Tracing first the contours of your outer lips before dragging it up through your inner lips and just barely grazing the hood of your clit. You repeat the actions, slowly working your body up until your clit protrudes from its hood and slick begins to trickle from your entrance.

You turn the vibrator up and when you touch it directly to your clit you can't help the moan that escapes you. You continue to play with yourself. You alternate between dipping the vibrator into your dripping cunt to lubricate it and circling it around your clit.

You turn the vibrator up to the highest setting and throw your other arm over your eyes. When you touch it to your clit again your whole body tenses as pleasure surges through your body. You're too engrossed in the buzzing of the vibrator and your own moans to hear the front door unlock.

Just before you're about to cum, you hear a low voice at the bedroom door, “Oh someone's been a very naughty Puppy.”

Startled, your eyes fly open and you let out a scream. Seungmin stands in the doorway - it seems he came home early and caught you red handed.

You know there is no way you can possibly talk your way out of this so when he drops his bag and points at his feet, you're quick to obey. You scramble off the bed and kneel at his feet. You sit back on your heels, spreading your legs a little wider than shoulder width, and place your hands on your thighs, palms down. You sit with your back straight but your eyes down cast.

Seungmin places a hand on your head affectionately, but you dare not look at him when he speaks. “It looks like my beautiful pet has been disobedient in my absence. I think you need to be punished.”

You watch his feet disappear from your view. You hear him fetch something from the closet before he takes a seat on the edge of the bed. “Be a good Pup and fetch your collar, would you?” He asks.

“Yes, Master,” you reply easily. You move to stand up, but are quickly stopped with a click of his tongue. “Good pups don't walk on two legs, do they? Crawl.”

You crawl to the night stand where your collar and leash are kept. You retrieve the items, hesitating only a moment before putting them in your mouth and crawling back to Seungmin.

When you arrive, he takes the collar and sets the leash to the side. He fastens the collar around your neck, sliding two fingers under the leather to ensure it's not too tight before patting his lap. You stand up and lay yourself over his lap.

“Be honest Pup, did you cum?” he asks?

“No, Master,” you whimper and he hums with derision.

“You went through all the trouble of breaking the rules, and you still didn't even get to cum without your Master,” he rubs a hand over your ass.

“While you technically didn't cum, you still tried to steal an orgasm from me even after giving me control of them. That doesn't seem very fair, does it, Pup?” He accentuates the question with a sharp swat.

You whimper and whisper, “No Master, it wasn't fair.”

“Very well,” he says, “let's start with 10 spanks. I want you to count.” He traps your legs between his own and clips the leash to the collar. He wraps the leash around one hand and uses it as leverage to keep your body flush to his legs. With his other hand he begins delivering the spanks.

You dutifully count and by the time 10 is reached, tears are leaking from your eyes, and your ass is a rosy pink that radiates heat. However, there is an undeniable heat pulsing between your legs too.

Seungmin gently teases a few fingers through your folds. “You're soaked, Pup. I think you liked your punishment.” You don't respond, verbally, but you push your hips back into his hand, chasing his touch.

“My good girl,” he praises, “you did so well. Get up on the bed, I have another present for you.”

Doing as you were told, you climb onto the bed and present yourself on your hands and knees. There's a brief pause before he moves behind you. You hear the click of a bottle cap before you feel the cold sensation of lube being drizzled over your anus. You jolt a little at the temperature but he is quick to soothe you.

This is far from the first time the two of you have experimented with anal toys, but he still takes his time opening you up. First with one finger; then two as he scissors them apart. When he's satisfied you're stretched enough, you feel the familiar pressure of a plug being pressed against your opening. You slowly exhale and push out slightly, allowing the plug to slide in easier.

When it’s fully seated, you clench around it. It feels different. Heavier. You move your hips experimentally and feel it move with you. “You got me a tail, Master?”

“Sure did, Pup, and you look so good with it. You look exactly like a bitch in heat, presenting your glistening folds to me.”

You moan sinfully and arch your back more. “Please Master, fuck me! Breed me!” you plead.

Seungmin wastes no more time. You hear the clink of his belt and the swish of fabric before you feel the bed dip behind you. He sheaths himself into your warm, wet heat with a single thrust and your mouth opens in a silent scream.

“Fuck, Pup,” he grunts. “You're so warm and tight.”

He pulls back almost all the way and thrusts back in. It feels like there's a tangled knot of pleasure deep inside your walls from all your denied orgasms. The way he drives his cock into that knot with every single thrust has you seeing stars. Pleasure quickly overrides your senses. Every thought bleeding from your mind except for one. Need to cum!

“Is Puppy going dumb on Master's cock?” He teases. “Does dumb Puppy need to cum?”

His words shake something loose in your brain. “Yes- yes- yes! Please!” You chant with every thrust of his cock. “Please, Min! Please M-m-master!”

With one hand digging into your hip, he wraps the leash around the other and tugs backward just enough to pull your head up, restricting your breathing slightly. As you grow lightheaded you hear him say “cum” and you let go, a feeling of euphoria washing over you.

Your vision whites out and all you can hear is the roaring of the blood rushing through your head. It feels like all your muscles contract along with your vaginal muscles. Your pussy clamps down on Seungmin’s dick like a vice, milking every drop of his cum. A combination of his release and your own spurts out around his cock with the force of your climax.

You feel like you're floating and your arms give out beneath you. Before you can fall face first into the bed, Seungmin catches you. He gently pulls out and maneuvers you both so he's laying down with you on his chest. He gently rubs his hand up and down your back, whispering sweet nothings like “good pup, beautiful, good girl.”

It's several minutes until your wits and motor function return for the both of you to clean up.

Seungmin runs you a bath and then changes the sheets. As you soak in the bath you wonder - was that really punishment, or was it perhaps reward?

[writinginatree]

Sugared Blood

Relationship(s): Lost boys & vampire!reader (Dwayne's pov)

Summary: Forcing you to stay home on Halloween, the boys have to get creative to keep you from sulking all night.

"Sweetie, you can't live off of candy."

You glared up at Dwayne from your place in your favorite old armchair, demonstratively shoving another piece of whatever candy your hand found first into your mouth.

He sighed. "I'm not saying you can't have candy. In fact, you can have as much as you want, as long as you promise to thoroughly brush your teeth before we sleep. But human food can't sustain you anymore. You need blood."

You just stuck your chocolate-stained tongue out at him, which earned you a laugh from Paul, who was using the distraction Dwayne provided to steal some of your candy for himself. The whole bag was stolen, anyway, since David had deemed trick-or-treating too dangerous for you.

Hunters were especially vigilant on Halloween, knowing many creatures saw it as the one day in the year they could show their true faces, and after the almost-disaster that Michael had brought on, David was refusing to take any chances. You had cried, raged, sulked, and pleaded with him, all to no avail. Maybe next year, he'd told you, but Dwayne was almost certain you would be staying home next year, too. And the year after that, and the next, and every other Halloweens that would follow. As much as he wished you could have your fun, Dwayne had to agree that safety came first, and unfortunately for you, that meant laying low when people on the street whispered about things lurking in the dark.

Despite begrudgingly accepting you had to stay home — not like you really had a choice, anyway — you were still very much unhappy with David and his overprotectiveness. All night, you'd done nothing but gorge yourself on candy and insist Dwayne read you scary stories, refusing any and all suggestions of other things to do — including drinking the bottled blood the boys kept for you.

They'd stocked up on the precious liquid a few nights ago, since Dwayne had suggested you'd feel better about having to stay home if they stayed in, too. Though everyone had agreed on the sentiment, all solidarity went out the figurative window this evening, when upon waking up, David had discovered he was out of cigarettes. The huge bag of candy he'd brought back with him to bribe you hadn't earned him your forgiveness as he'd hoped, nor did the Stephen King book covered in bloodstains which made it very clear how David had gotten it.

Dwayne held the bottle of blood out to you again, but you just pulled a face and continued eating candy.

"Come on, you've got to be hungry. Going on a hunger strike won't make David change his mind either," Dwayne tried to reason with you.

"I'm not hunger striking," you argued. "I'm just only having candy today. I don't want to drink blood all the time."

"You can't live off of candy."

"Sure I can."

"No, you can't. You're not human anymore. You're a vampire, and that means you need blood to live."

The way you drew a face, scrunching up your nose, drew you curious looks from all of them, even getting the attention of David, who'd been pointedly avoiding you all night in hopes of you forgetting about your grudge until tomorrow. But this sudden dislike for blood was more than a little peculiar. You'd never had a problem with the consumption of it, even when you'd been newly turned. Usually Dwayne or David went to feed with you alone, keeping things tamer than when they went without you, but despite your youth, it hadn't taken you long until you seemed to take as much joy in killing as the rest of them. So what was the issue now?

"What's wrong with blood?" Marko voiced the question going through all of their heads.

"Well, nothing, really..."

"But?"

"I just don't like having the same thing all the time," you whined, crossing your arms and leaning back in your seat to glare at them. "I can't stand it anymore. Can't we, like, make anything from the blood? I mean, vampires have been around for ages, and you're telling me none ever came up with some nice recipes because they got bored of having plain blood every day?"

"Y'know, I think the kid's got a point," Paul said. "We could totally come up with something more fun than boring old blood."

"Blood-candy!" you insisted, a chant Paul and Marko instantly added their voices to.

Dwayne shared a sceptical look with David. While they had added a small cooking corner in the cave since you joined them, it had turned out that despite your shared love for human food, none of you had much talent for producing anything actually edible. Trying something as complex as making your own candy — with blood as a special ingredient, no less — was bound to end in chaos. Still, if it kept you from further sulking, they'd let you try.

Not that there was any stopping the feral blonds, anyway, now that you'd put the idea into their heads. They were already on their feet, merrily letting you drag them to the cave's little kitchenette.

Dwayne and David had no choice but to follow, and try to keep the three of you from setting the whole cave on fire.

Bouncing excitedly on your feet, you threw a disarray of bowls, knifes and spoons onto the counter. "I bet we could make chocolate filled with blood!"

"Hmm, I guess," Dwayne said. "But maybe we should start with something a bit simpler, don't you think?"

"Fiiine. Then let's— Let's try making, like, a bloodshake!"

"A bloodshake?"

"Yeah. Like a milkshake, but with blood. That should be easy, right?"

"Alright, let's try," Dwayne agreed.

You clapped your hands. "Okay, what should we put in there besides the blood?"

"Milk," Paul and Marko answered as one.

"Duh. What else?"

"Cinnamon?" Dwayne offered, hoping to keep it simple.

"How about a banana to make it a bit thicker?"

"Yes to both."

"And some cocoa powder," Paul said.

You nodded. "And vanilla extract."

"Do we even have a blender?" Marko interrupted.

"Uhhh..." You scratched the back of your head, looking around. Since there was no electricity in the cave, you also didn't have any electrical kitchen equipment. "No?"

"Right, that's a no to the banana then."

"Right."

"Anything else then?" Paul asked.

Dwayne quickly shook his head, and David said, "Let's not add too much stuff, or it'll just taste like a mess."

Dwayne was half expecting you to contradict them, just to spite David, if nothing else, but apparently that grudge was now finally forgotten. You emptied a bottle of blood into a big mixing bowl, then added what Dwayne estimated to be about two cups of milk. He wanted to tell you that maybe you should measure out the ingredients to get the 'shake' to taste like you wanted, but you were already throwing in seemingly random amounts of the spices you'd agreed on.

When all ingredients were swimming in the bowl, Paul handed you a whisk, and you stirred everything together, droplets of the liquid splashing onto the counter and your arms with every circle the whisk made. Dwayne sighed internally. Cleaning up the mess would probably fall to him. Paul and you couldn't be trusted to do it properly, and David was too proud to bother with housework, which left only him or Marko, who much preferred causing chaos over eliminating it.

Once you deemed everything sufficiently mixed — minutes more than would have been necessary, if you asked Dwayne, which of course you didn't — you lifted the whisk from the bowl to lick it clean, only to have Paul snatch it away and do so instead of you.

"Hey!"

Paul only grinned and stepped out of your reach.

As David placed five mismatched glasses on the counter, Dwayne snatched the ladle to take filling the glasses upon himself before you could make an even bigger mess.

Since Paul eagerly started gulping his down as soon as he was handed it, Dwayne supposed the result had to be at least sort of edible. Then again, Paul's preferences in taste could be very questionable sometimes, so the first sip Dwayne took was small, just in case.

"Hey, that actually tastes good!"

Marko was right. The 'milkshake' was better than Dwayne had dared to hope.

"Could have used some sugar, though," you said.

David shook his head, and Dwayne found it fine as it was, too, but neither of them wanted to argue with you. They watched in silence as you dumped one spoon of sugar into your glass, then a second. After stirring and taking another sip, you added a third, and tried again.

"Ahh, perfect."

"Are you trying to fuck up your teeth?"

"My teeth are doing just fine," you argued. "They love sugar."

"Right..."

"Anyway, can we try making blood-chocolate now? And you have to tell me another scary story while we do. Please!"

Dwayne found himself unable to do anything but nod. This was going to be a long night, but as long as you were happy, that was fine.

[kasagia]

Dancing with the devil VI

Pairing: Na-Baron Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen x fem!royal! reader Summary: Paul Atreides returns from the dead and you must once again consider whether it is really worth it to follow the path he offers you. You also analyze your feelings towards a certain Harkonnen. And you are afraid of what you might conclude from them. Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen's Masterlist ~•♤♤♤•~Main Masterlist ~•♤♤♤•~ PART V ~•♤♤♤•~ PART VII ~•♤♤♤•~

"So the Harkonnens attacked your family on Arrakis, and you... you're the only survivor? And you came here on a smuggler's ship with some Fremen who believe that you are their messiah who is to provide them with a better life, freedom and independence?" You make sure, summarising everything Paul has told you over the past few hours.

"In a nutshell." He confirms and nods at you. You watch him carefully. His complexion isn't as porcelain as it used to be. He's more tanned, has a few wrinkles, and his eyes… you can see from them that he's been through a lot.

"Amazing." You sigh, sending him an incredulous look.

"And you ended up engaged to Feyd?" He asks carefully, poking at the stones with a stick. He doesn't meet your gaze. You don't know why, for fear of reading something in your eyes, or of realizing that he's been gone so long, that things have changed so much when he was away.

"In a nutshell." You nod, swallowing as reality hits you with the words he says. You really were engaged to Feyd. And was about do become his wife. FOR REAL.

"Not so amazing... or is it?" He asks carefully and stares at you uncertainly.

"Of course not!" You snort, shaking your head at his absurd question. "I would never… not with HIM. Not after what they did to you and your family, Paul. You're… one of my oldest and dearest friends. You're all I have left." You say and garb his hand in a strong grip.

Paul lifts his eyes to meet with yours. You stare at each other for a moment, and he turns his attention to absentmindedly drawing circles on the back of your hand. He lowers his head and shifts his thoughtful gaze to the ring on your finger.

"Well... I remember times when you wished to be his wife."

"It was... a long time ago. Very long." You say, swallowing hard and unconsciously digging your nails into his palm. Paul doesn't make a sound, he just gently repositions your hand so you don't dig your nails into his anymore.

"You never told me what happened. I mean... I suspect a few things, especially since you and Irulan stopped being so friendly and start to passionately hate each other..."

"I... don't like to talk about it. I never told anyone about what happened then." You sigh, remembering what happened reluctantly. But if you were to confide in anyone, it could only be Paul.

So you start your story.

Caladan had never felt so... cold before. Once it was one of your favourite places on earth. Now as you walked the halls of the palace, you feared for the future the Bene Gesserit witches, the Atreides, your parents, the Emperor, and the Harkonnens had planned for you Caladan isn't anymore such... stunning.

You didn't want to marry Paul. Not when your heart had long since been stolen and molded by someone else entirely.

"Practicing the art of stealth?" The raspy voice right next to your ear sent shivers down your spine. Your body involuntarily tenses as Feyd wraps his arms around you from behind and drags you into one of the palace's side passages. You wonder how the hell he even knows about it, since he's barely been here in the first place. "You were avoiding me, my deadly sweetness. Why?"

"I wasn't." You answer with a sort of confidence, but Feyd knows you perfectly well. He knows you're lying. You don't even know why you bothered to tell him a lie.

"Is it because of the Atreides? I can kill them, the Baron plans to break the peace treaty between us soon anyway."

"Feyd!" You hiss at him and punch him in the arm, giving him a reproachful look. You look around, making sure no one has heard you or will, and continue without looking at him, because you feel like the moment your eyes meet his you'll break down in his arms. And then Feyd would kill hundreds, if not thousands. "No. It's not them. Partially. And I don't want to get you in more trouble than you already are. It took your uncle a long time to get over you killing one of the nobles who… wanted too much from me. And I know, I know. He deserved it, I'm not questioning that, just the way you handled it, but we've talked about this before. Back to the main topic. Yes, I've been avoiding you because I… I… I just don't want to make it harder if they decide to… marry me off to Paul."

The silience that comes after your confession is killing you. You imagined in your head a variety of scenarios. In the worst of them, you are losing him completely.

You wonder if it wouldn't be better for all of you. After all, you and he had always been from different worlds, connected only by one small event in your past that made you care about each other. Eventually, you had to grow up and face reality. You didn't belong together. You never did.

And yet, despite the odds, despite all reason… you had developed true feelings for the young Harkonnen. Your mother would kill you if she knew how vulnerable you had allowed yourself to be towards a man. Not to mention that that man was Na-Barony, heir to Giedi Prime.

You are torn from your dark thoughts by his rough hand, which gently cups your cheek. You hold your breath as he leans towards you, his nose brushing against yours, his forehead resting against yours as he inhales the same air as you. Your heart beats like crazy as you think that he might kiss you, but to your great disappointment, he doesn't. He looks into your eyes, as if he wants to convince himself that you mean anything but leaving him.

"The only prophecy that I accept is that you are supposed to be mine." A soft growl leaves his chapped lips.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see his other hand shaking uncontrollably as the thought of never again being as close to you as he wanted it to be crosses his mind. He couldn't let you go. He wouldn't let you go.

If necessary, Feyd would burn Caladan to ashes, slaughter House Atreides and Corrino, and his own, if it meant he finally got what he truly desired. Someone's willing company, closeness, affection. He was too addicted to your softness to let you go completely. He was too drunk on the sweetness of your scent and innocence to let anyone desecrate it. He was too addicted to you to let anyone rip you from his arms.

"So what are you gonna do? You can't just claim me." You say, swallowing hard. The tension between you grows, the heat from his chest somehow seeping through his black armor, his musky scent mixed with a hint of smoke and metal overwhelming you.

"Can't I?"

Your heart beats faster at his question. The fact that he was practically asking for your permission made your head spin. How easy it would be for him to just give himself over to you. How easy it would be to just let him snatch you away and claim you as his in front of the world. But you knew the consequences. You knew how much he would pay for this. And the last thing you wanted was to cause him more pain and suffering than he had already experienced.

"You know it is not that easy."

"It is that easy. All you had to do is say yes."

"They won't let us do that." You shake your head as if that would dissuade him from that stupid idea. Although… you can't say you're not tempted to just run away with him, far away from here...

"I'm not asking their permission, I'm asking yours. Respect that. I could as well take you here and now. Take you to a ship to Arrakis and make sure we don't return to court without my heir in your womb."

"Thank you for your great grace and not treating me like one of your whores." You mock him and take a step to move away from him, but Feyd grabs you tightly by the arms and presses you against the wall with his body, preventing you from any form of escape.

"Don't try to argue with me. We both know you're more than that. As well as the fact that my idea captivates you as much as it captivates me."

This effectively silences you. It was true. You wanted this. Some twisted part of you did. But you knew perfectly well that you couldn't just refuse to marry Paul and decide otherwise. No matter how much you loved your prince from Lankiveil and wanted to be with him.

"Even if... even if I want it… it doesn't matter. They'll probably marry you off to Irulan. You'll be emperor and soon you'll forget about me. Those are the facts. We should stay away from each other."

You don't give him time to respond. You shrug his hands off you and run away from him. Tears gather in your eyes, but you try with all your might to keep them at bay. You run until you find yourself in the palace gardens.

Dark, black storm clouds stretch over Caladan, a cold wind blowing against your trembling figure. You kneel on the wet grass, and, not caring about the dirt on your dress, you put your hand to your mouth and let out a silent scream. The water soaks your hair and soaks into your clothes, but you don't move an inch. All you can do is cry, fooling yourself that the water running down your cheeks is rain as you bite your fist to keep from making any sound.

Paul is the one who finds you. And bless his sweet soul, he doesn't ask you any questions. He simply scoops you up in his arms and leads you back to the palace, obediently ignoring your quiet snorting. He knows exactly which corridors to lead you through so you don't have to run into any of the servants, and he returns you to the safety of your chambers with the promise that he'll be back to you soon.

In your hopelessness, you can't move, can't force a single coherent thought from your mind that doesn't involve Feyd. And with every tear that's shed, every tremble in your chest and sniffle, you realize that you don't care about anything but him. So you stand up and practically run to the secret passage in your room that connected to his guest chambers.

You wonder what you're going to tell him, how you're going to convey that you've changed your mind, that he can really do whatever he wants with you, just so long as you're his, just so long as you don't have to be apart any longer.

You couldn't; you didn't want to live like that. Not without him. Never without him. And you were terrified at first that he had such a huge influence on you, that you couldn't see your future without him, and that he was able to bring you to a state of mind where you didn't care about anything but him. But if you had to burn in his embrace to finally feel content and happy, then so be it.

But your determination falls apart when you reach his chambers. Everything falls apart.

"You never loved her, did you?" Irulan’s question rings in your ears. You hold your breath in shock, staring through a vent in the wall as she idly plays with the material of his shoulder armor.

"Y/N was… a lovely distraction."You feel his words tearing at your heart. Part of you doesn't believe what he's saying, doesn't want to believe what he's saying. But the other…

"It's quite pathetic. How fate has turned. You know, I used to think you were… a psychopath. Reckless. Dumb. But I can say that those traits fit her a little better now than they do you."

"I have to admit that I had a lot of fun breaking her and shaping her for my pleasure." You freeze in place. Completely.

He couldn't have meant it… but what if he did? What if he was really just playing with you this whole time? What if he really saw you as entertainment, someone to keep him company until he became emperor and could enjoy all the perks that entails?

"Will you have this much fun with me too?" Irulan whispers seductively against his lips, her hand falling to the back of his neck as she pulls him closer to her.

"Even more, my princess." Feyd responds with a growl, and with that, he kisses her like he kissed you not a few hours ago.

You take a few steps back in shock until you fall through the wall behind you. You put your hand to your mouth for the umpteenth time that day, stifling a cry of despair, and close your eyes, completely blocking yourself from what is happening in the room in front of you. You take a few calming breaths and retreat back to your chambers. You lock the passage carefully, making sure several times that no one will be able to get through it and sit down on your bed.

You reach over to your nightstand and pull out a sheet of paper, an inkwell, and a pen. You write, ignoring the ink staining your fingers, not noticing when Paul arrives with tea and biscuits for you, but you gorge yourself on the food like a week-starved man when the last word finally moves from your head to the page. You let him read what you’ve written, staring at him expectantly.

"Lady Whistledown?" He just asks, raising an eyebrow at you as he reaches the signature at the bottom of the page. You nod, placing your cup of tea on the bed.

Two important words from today—the day a completely new version of you was born. Whistle—from the whistle of the wind heard in the mysterious passage, which you still had in your ears when you saw Irulan and Feyd. And down. Complete collapse, the bottom you reached today and from which you promised to bounce back. If they... if he thought you were a pathetic little doll... what worse could happen to you? You couldn't make a bigger fool of yourself than you already had, wasting so much time on him.

"I want to make a difference. Something new. Something no one expects."

"Certainly no one would expect this… and especially not from Irulan. Who is this mysterious lover?" Paul asks curiously, to which you only smile mysteriously.

You take the notes you wrote in the heat of the moment from him and put on your coat to… seek advice on distributing them around the palace before dawn.

"Nobody important." You state, gathering all the confidence you could muster. You lean in and kiss him with the exact same intensity and desire Feyd had kissed Irulan with moments ago.

And though the guilt grows inside you, forming a lump in your throat, you don't break the kiss. You had to adapt to the new circumstances.

Even if the memory of Feyd's lips will always stick in the back of your mind.

"You were together then?!" Paul asks in shock, and you just nod, playing with a stick in the dying fire. "And you told him you didn't want him, and then he and Irulan…"

"You sound like you're about to start defending him."

"No. No. I… I want to understand. If you loved him… why did you run away from him and... start this Lady Whistledown thing?"

"I… I don't know why I ran. I just did. It's not like your parents and mine, the Emperor and the Baron, would let us change anything about how they arranged our futures." Paul nods. He places his hand on yours, making you look up at him.

"You know… he always seemed more human when he was around you." You barely hold back the tears, but you manage it. You nod in thanks and pull him into a hug. He tenses, but after a moment he manages to relax in your arms and hugs you back.

"Maybe it's better that we didn't get married. I guess we're better friends anyway."

"Maybe." He agrees, tightening his grip around you. You sit there for a moment, holding each other, when suddenly the stone doors of the bunker slide open.

You pull away from Paul as if burned, glancing back the way you came. You shove the torch and weapon into his hands and push him deeper into the cave.

"You need to get out of it. Use the emergency exit. We'll contact each other somehow when I get back to the palace. For now, wait in your hideout. I... I promise you they'll pay for what they did to you."

Paul looks at you with gratitude in his eyes and disappears before you can say anything. You sigh and run your hand through your hair nervously, grabbing the small dagger you carried with you everywhere. You hide in the shadows, listening carefully for the intruder's footsteps.

When you see movement in the darkness, you attack. You push the intruder against the wall and put your dagger to his neck. You freeze as your gaze meet a Feyd's blue eyes.

"What are you doing here?" You hiss at him angrily and step away from him, making sure that no part of your body is touching his.

He presses some buttom on his armour, causing a small ball of light to fly out to illuminate the room. He looks around, not giving you an answer yet, as he carefully and suspiciously examines the area around him.

"I should ask you this question." He mumbles and finally turns his accusing gaze to you. You sigh and roll your eyes at him.

"Irulan?" You ask, knowing full well that only she could tell him the location of your secret hideout. "Of course. It is alwasy about her, isn't it?" You mutter to yourself and walk over to the extinguished campfire, ignoring the Harkonnen following you.

"We should come back before they notice that we disappaired." He suggests, but you completely ignore him in favour of building a fire.

He doesn't like it. That's why he suddenly rips the kindling out of your hands and kneels in front of you, putting him at your height. You pull away from him, feeling awkward having his face so close to yours.

"What for? My reputation is already ruined."

"Just because someone wrote..."

"Lady Whistledown is not someone!" You shout, turning your furious gaze back at him. The small glow of the light ball highlights the sharp lines of his jaw even more. You curse him for how disgustingly distracting he is and take a deep breath before continuing. "We both know how... society react to her paper. They will believe everything she wrote."

"Or he." He corrects you thoughtfully, to which you just snort, even more furious.

"Please. It can't be man."

There's a deep silence between you, broken only by your breathing. You try your best to keep a poker face and not give him away in any way how close you are to Lady Whistledown's true identity. But, luckily for you, he seems to be interested in something completely different.

"Why did you run away?" The question is as uncomfortable for you as if he were pestering you about Whistledown.

You swallow and look away from him, mentally reminding yourself like a mantra that it was he—his kin—who killed the Atreides. And he almost killed Paul. Paul, who, despite everything, had been a great support to you when Feyd was gone.

"Maybe that's my thing?" You say, trying with all your might to maintain your hostile attitude.

He didn't deserve anything more; hell, he didn't deserve anything you gave him. You should be thinking about how best to get rid of him, how to kill him, and how to get out of this unwanted marriage to a monster who was once the most precious person on earth to you. But all you can do is be furious at him for not being able to just love him—exactly the way you want to.

"What happened to you?" He asks, furrowing his hairless brows, accusing you of suddenly returning your hostility towards him with redoubled force.

"You! It's always you, damn it!" You scream at him angrily and punch his chest. Feyd stares at you in shock as your dam breaks and you unleash all your pent-up emotions from years past on him. "For 5 fucking years I've pined for you while you fucked your three pets! And probably a ton of other women! You're a disgusting monster who's only good at killing and destroying other people's lives! I hate the influence you have over me and my life! I hate that after everything you've done to me, Paul, and hundreds of others, you have the nerve to stand in front of me and beg for my love, for any feeling other than the disgust I should have for you and your house! I hate you! I hate you with every fiber of my being as much as I love you and it's killing me! So stop it! Stop your sick games and tell me that all of this, all of we went throught is just one of your sick plans to ruin my life! Say fucking something!!"

You are perfectly aware that you are behaving hysterically, that with every cry and hitting at him you are only sinking deeper in your pitifulness and coming off as pathetic, but you can't take it anymore. You can't stand that you love him and hate him at the same time, that you want to burn him to ashes and at the same time immerse yourself in the feeling of his strong arms around you. You are simply tired of fighting with the whole world and with yourself at the same time.

And Feyd, surprisingly, holds you through it all as you fall apart against his chest.

He gently tangles his hand in your hair and pulls you close. You rub your nose against his neck, inhaling his scent and crying quietly as he whispers soft, sweet nothings to you.

Your heart swells with love as you hate him even more for being so sweet and protective towards you.

But you don't want softness. No. Softness won't throw out all the thoughts you have, it won't make you finally feel the blog's emptiness.

So you stand on your tiptoes, digging your nails into his bald head as you pull him in for a kiss.

Feyd groans in shock at your actions. At first, he responds to your kiss instinctively, digging his fingers into your waist and pulling you close to him. Your tongues fight for dominance, and you feel your lungs burn from lack of breath. But you need more. So much more.

Your fingers themselves find their way to the buckles of his armour.

You undress him with a strange skill, and he's too focused on the feeling of your eager mouth on him to realise what you're doing. But when the pads of your soft, delicate fingers touch his skin, he wakes from the frenzy you've put him in.

He pushes you away from him. He breathes deeply, heavily, standing with his chest exposed to your hungry eyes.

"Y/N... wait..." He blurted out, not believing that the words were really leaving his mouth as much as you were. He hadn't imagined that he would be… reluctant and resistant when you initiated anything between you, but if anything, he didn't want to use you in such a state…

"I don't want to." You growl at him furious and move closer to him. Feyd groans when your mouth falls on him again and you loosen the ties of your dress.

You guide his much larger hand to your breast and knead it, making him harden in his pants at the mere touch of you. And fuck he wants more. He wants more so desperately. But he shouldn't. He shouldn't be using you like this.

“Fuck the hate for you out of me.” You demand, not beg or ask, against his mouth and slide your hands along his chest and abdomen to the button of his pants, which do nothing to hide the bulge that grows with every touch and gasp you make. "Make me forget about everything."

And Feyd is just a man, after all. A man who has given in to his desires for years and has never fought them. So after making sure that you want it too, he grabs you hard by the hips and lifts you, forcing your legs to wrap around his hips.

Feyd groans, laying you down by the fire, on stones that are still a little warm from the fire that died down. He tears the remnants of your dress from you, running his tongue along the column of your neck and to your bare breasts.

He sucks on one of your nipples, nibbling on it every now and then out of pure desire to see you howl and scream under his touch or to feel your fingers dig a little harder into his back. He needed to feel you close. He needed to know you weren't going anywhere. He could give you a reason to stay. Like he should have all those years ago.

"Feyd…" You moan softly as his fingers travel to your other breast and play with your nipple. Feyd hardens at the thought that one day, maybe, his children will be the ones to receive your beautiful breasts. And fuck, he's going to make sure of that.

He moves his mouth lower, tracing colors, a red-purple trail of hickeys across your breasts, the valley between them, your stomach, your hips, your thighs, to the place that interests him the most. He growls, nuzzling your wet core and inhaling your scent. He licks once, kittenishly, gently, just enough to get you impatient and savor you before he lunges to devour everything your sweet pussy has to offer.

Your moans and chants of pleasure make Feyd work you even harder, wanting to bring you to a sweet, blissful climax at least twice before he obediently fucks anything other than him out of you.

Feyd exactly feels the moment you're about to come. You dig your heels deeper into his back, your thighs gripping his head as if in some kind of trap, you shake under the thrill he's giving you. He looks at you and can't help but smirk possessively as he watches you, eyes closed, fall apart under his tongue, crying out of pure pleasure and relief.

He wastes no time. Feyd climbs over you, encouraged by your hands as you pull him down on top of you. He rests his forehead against yours and kisses you lazily before, with your help, he gently enters you. He stops when he sees you close your eyes and clench your teeth to keep from hissing in pain. He holds you protectively in his arms and slows your hasty movements. Ironically, he's the one who wants to slow down. He takes no pleasure in your pain and doesn't want to see you suffer. He wants to see the same look of blissful pleasure on your face from moments ago. So, to your protests, he slows down and presses his lips to your neck, sucking little raspberries as his fingers return to your swollen cunt, playing with it as he slowly conquers the deepest parts of you.

And it feels so fucking right and good. For both of you. You hold him tight, your nails digging into his abalaster skin as you draw his black blood, as he pushes himself inside you up to his balls.

You bite your lip, and he growls when he sees you trying to make the sound he has rightly earned sound. He kisses you with such fervour that you barely notice he has begun to thrust into you. His pace gradually increases until it is so fast that you don't register when he leaves you empty and when he completely fills every space in you. All you know is that you are one in this moment. You and him. And it feels so damn good. His lips mark every inch of your skin he can get to, just as your nails leave scratches on his back. You mark each other completely, as if either of you will forget what is happening between you now.

The moment you feel like you're going to fall apart you try to hold back, to come with him, but Feyd won't let you. He thrusts into you like it's the last thing he'll ever do, forcing you over the edge.

The force of his thrusts increases, stimulating your orgasm as he drinks in the sight of you beneath him, overwhelmed with pleasure. Your eyes squeeze shut, the scream of his name, and the way you dig your wonderful nails deep into the skin of his neck make him come. Your wet walls clench around his aching length as he kisses you one last time with everything he has, wanting to make sure your swollen lips, the hickeys on your body, and the pleasant ache between your legs remind you of how perfectly you both fit together. Hoping you won't run away from him the moment you get the chance.

He clings to you like a frightened little boy, afraid that when the fog of lust lifts you will come to your senses and pull away, push him away, to declare once again your great hatred for him.

But you don't. True, you gently push him off of you and snuggle into his side, completely exhausted, both emotionally and mentally, but you don't walk away completely; you don't throw insults.

Feyd believes that it's only and exclusively because you're too tired to do so.

Without a word, he pulls you closer to him and wraps his arms tightly around you, making sure to cover you with his black paladin first. You fall asleep quite quickly in his arms, allowing him to relax a little too. Feyd places his lips on the top of your head and presses a long kiss there.

"I've never played with you, little swan. It's always been… real. The realest thing I've ever experienced." He mumbles, his heart pounding faster than ever before with his confession. Even though you’re too deeply asleep to hear him, Feyd still finds it nerve-racking to admit it out loud.

For now, he falls asleep with you in his arms, enjoying the small truce between you. He just wonders how long it will last before you decide you hate him too much to even consider touching him.

Taglist for Feyd: @avidreader73 @aleemendoza2425-blog @peggyao3

Taglist for DWTD: @iloved1lfs0 @heartarianagran @hueanhdang @barnes70stark @forgedfromthestars

@toertche

@emzzlyy

[softringing]

There's always been a question that bugs me about sampo. Obviously, there are several, but this one specifically, has to do with his ideologies involving elation.

If sampo cares about people so much and desires to make everyone happy, why did he not take direct action in those 8 years he remained in belebog?

We all know sparkle said sampo has a line that he won't cross, and that line is very clearly not hurting people, well at least the ones who have already been hurt enough.

We see this from sampo's actions in the underworld vs overworld. For some reason, even tho sampo is a scammer and values money, he has never attempted to scam underworlders. In Hook's companion mission, hook's father had a rare mining item that was stolen by an npc named Skipper(?) I believe.

While Skipper was trying to sell this item to sampo, sampo kept insisting that he was selling it at such a low price. His direct words were "Are you sure you want to sell this at this price to me?"

And he kept hesitating until hook and tb found skipper and took the item back. We can see cleary that sampo means no harm to those who are weak but when he's in the overworld, he's known for scamming ppl like Chavez from Anti-Blue Scam Society without much remorse.

From all this, it's clear sampo has never done something to hurt anyone seriously, and to add to this, shields is the name for the belebog currency. Yet, in sampo's idle, we see him holding a different currency.

This pretty much implies that to sampo, belebogian currency would be useless. Although we know he's a scammer, we don't really know why he cares about money so much other than this text we got in game from him

Sampo seems personally tired of doing this :( but says that he has to to feed few mouths which we can take as him trying to help the ppl in the underworld with the money he 'earns'.

So, here we return to my initial question, why didn't sampo directly help ppl of belebog with their disaster if he has so much power?

He is hiding from a certain someone-- as mentioned by @/samposillies, in sampo's LC, the exact same currency he's holding is shown & his eidolon

(money model from @/kittykattz)

If u look really closely into his LC, you can see not only that it's from a POV of a sniper, but also another assasin behind sampo, holding a gun and wearing a foreign attire to belebog. The description also matches that someone's obviously trying to kill him, as told by the sniper himself.

At first, I assumed it was the ipc but their outfits lean towards red rather than plain black. Plus, although it looks like sampo isn't in belebog, there are two posters in the lc on the brick background and you can find these coffee posters in belebog at the location "Backwater pass".

But the thing is, sampo uses the non-belebogian currency (assumed to be Kalevalan currency) to convince the sniper to talk to him.

The lc's name is Eye of the Prey-- and although it's from sniper's POV, Sampo is clearly the Hunter, while the sniper is the prey.

This led me to think that someone from Kalevala is perhaps trying to kill sampo while he was in belebog, which is strange bc the world believed Jarilo-IV did not exist before the astral express saved them. Meaning that whoever is trying to kill sampo probably always knew about his whereabouts hence sampo decided to keep a low profile and decided to help underworlders in such a silent approach.

Not to mention, the currency sampo's holding doesn't have the usual hsr language on it (pointed out by @/samposillies)

(maybe it needs horizontal flipping ill check it later)

Therefore, we can assume sampo didn't help belebogians directly by bringing an end to the stelleron bc he's being chased by someone. and even tho sampo appears non-chalant or calm about it in his lc, maybe he just doesn't want that person to come and specifically show up in belebog.

We don't know why that person's trying to kill sampo but there are lots of reasons, just like the fact that sampo is LITERALLY the 'device' from Kalevala as referenced in his event. He CAN legit create ancient relics,

he laughs it off as a typo BUT HE CAN CLEARLY MAKE THESE RELICS!! GEPARD ALSO MENTIONS IN HIS LINES ABT HIM THAT HE SELLS A NUMBER OF ANCIENT RELICS!!

"ancient" MEANS OLDDD, like really old!! How can a normal person make such things?? Not to mention sampo can make his bombs and is immune to their poison and a MEMORY bubble (in autheirum wars), which had the description of being "abnormal or unusual"!! Only memokeepers can make memory bubbles, and herta has several of them in her space station. So he either stole one or knows how to make one himself!! Sampo also made those items in his pop-up shop event with some materials the tb brought so there's no doubt he's the object that's supposed to 'bring wealth'.

Or could it be that sampo is like Giovanni? He prefers natural endings rather than artificial ones? he's still a masked fool no matter how different his aesthetics are after all... LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU ALL THINK!!

Edit: Here's the flipped image of his money but I still can't read what it's supposed to mean and tried to google translate in Finnish but didn't. Work

[imnameimswrld]

╰┈➤ ❝ [𝐂𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐁𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐧 || 𝗢𝗣𝟴𝟭 ꒱꒱

━━ ❪ . . . oscar x verstappen!surfer!reader ❫

━━ ❪ . . . description : freshly surfing world champ, yn goes to take some much needed time off, and starts her vacay off by attending the miami grand prix. her intention was to support her big bro, but it appears a certain papaya driver had other plans; ❫

━━❪ . . . smau ! ❫

━━❪ . . . warnings : none ❫

━━❪ . . . fc : caroline marks ❫

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

ynverstappen

liked by maxverstappen1, oscarpiastri, and 767 224 others

ynverstappen world champion, blessed, thank you to the beautiful cali waves 🌊🏆

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user so well deserved, congrats yn !

bestfriend you were WICKED on the waves girl !!

maxverstappen1 let's gooo, congrats sissy ♡

⤿ ynusername couldn't have you being the only world champ in the fam, now could I ? 😋

⤿ maxverstappen1 no, no you just couldn't 😤

user the verstappen siblings are just legendary

user so with the break coming up, will we see yn at the next grand prix 👀 ?

⤿ user plus the next ones in miami, super close to cali, so 🤞 !!

oscarpiastri congratulations yn, coolest world champion ever 👏🥇

[ liked by ynverstappen ]

user and if I said yn and oscar would be SO cute together ?

Boeta 🏎

hey sissy

where r u ?

Sissy 🌊

chillin'

what's up ?

Boeta 🏎

no, I mean where r u

you said you were gonna be the paddocks when I got back from my meeting ?

Sissy 🌊

oohhhh

well, I am in the paddock

just not yours

Boeta 🏎

what ?

yn, are u hiding in dani's closet again to scare him ?

Sissy 🌊

ahhh, good times

but nope, I'm in the mclaren paddocks

Boeta 🏎

oh

is lando talking your ear off again ?

Sissy 🌊

nah, lol

I'm uh, actually with chilling with oscar

Boeta 🏎

piastri ?

since when are you guys on chilling level

Sissy 🌊

since he asked me out to dinner later

[read]

Boeta ?

uhhhh, boet ?

[read]

ynverstappen

liked by redbullracing, schecoperez, and 977 335 others

ynverstappen soooo good being back in the paddocks, thanks so much for having me redbullracing – and ofc, congrats boeta on p1 ! 💙

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user soooo, did anyone else see the video of oscar and yn walking around together ??? dude had the dopiest smile on his face too 😭

redbullracing you're practically family yn ! 💙

[ liked by ynverstappen ]

user 2 champs 🏆

danielricciardo thanks for not scaring the crap out of me this time yn :)

⤿ ynverstappen ah, there's always next time dan 😄

⤿ danielricciardo no no, pls don't.

mclaren hope you had a wonderful time at the race yn ! 🧡

⤿ redbullracing are you going to apologize for stealing her from out paddocks ?

⤿ mclaren are we supposed to ?

⤿ oscarpiastri of course not.

⤿ maxverstappen1 thin ice piastri, watch it.

user uhhh, not redbull and mclaren battling it out over yn 😭

user my yncar ship is HERE BDJEHZIS

oscarpiastri just added to their story !

[ caption 1: stolen forever maxverstappen1 🤚 ; caption 2: 🧡 ]

Boeta 🏎

oscar is really bold

Sissy 🌊

oh, I know 😁

it's one of the many reasons why I like him

Boeta 🏎

so you like him then ?

like, really like him ?

Sissy 🌊

yeah, I do boeta

Boeta 🏎

okay then...

invite him to the lunch tomorrow

Kelly has been dying to see the two of you together

Sissy 🌊

she's so prescious I love her

and thanks boeta, for being cool with all this

Boeta 🏎

hey, i may be protective, but who am I to tell you who you can and can't date sissy

Sissy 🌊

🥺🥺 , houd van je 💙

Boeta 🏎

mhm, hou ook van jou 💙

ynverstappen

liked by oscarpiastri, kellypiquet, and 878 301 others

[ tagged: oscarpiastri ]

ynverstappen had some cake by the ocean with my papaya boy... p.s yes, the cake he bought me brought me to tears 🍰 🧡 🌊

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user BYE I'M GONNA GO CRY IN A DITCH SOMEWHERE

user stop that cake is so cute 😭😭

oscarpiastri I'm just happy to call you mine, liefie :)

⤿ ynverstappen and I'm just as happy to be your liefie ❤

⤿ maxverstappen1 not the dutch- ya'll gonna make me puke.

⤿ kellypiquet max, stop bullying your sister and oscar and go clean the litter boxes dammit

⤿ ynverstappen oohhh, mother is mad now boet, better get to it then 😄

⤿ maxverstappen1 you're staying in my house.

⤿ ynverstappen says who ? I'm staying at oscar's – plus, you know how I love the aussie waves

[ liked by oscarpiastri ]

⤿ maxverstappen1 yn verstappen istg... girl gets a bf and thinks she's the shit.

⤿ kellypiquet MAX.

⤿ maxverstappen1 I'M GOING.

user can I make this comment section my roman empire ?

user I'm laughing and crying rn, this is too funny

[the-badger-mole]

She knows

She knows

She knows

Zuko had thought his feelings for Katara were his secret. He'd never spoken to anyone about them, and he hadn't been treating her any differently since he'd figured himself out. His feelings were his burden alone, and he intended to keep it that way. Still, she knows ricocheted through his mind. His heart seemed to beat in time to words in his brain as he tried to process everything. The clamoring of the soldiers rushing up the stone stairs; the sound of the stolen air ship coming up behind him; the feel of Katara's lips on his.

Her fingers were clenched tight around the collar of his shirt. Zuko had just come to his senses enough to reach for her waist, intent on pulling her closer, when suddenly Katara shoved him backwards off of the ledge of the broken balcony. An airbender would've caught themselves and vaulted back onto the stone legdge. Zuko was no airbender, though. Their airbender was...someplace else. Zuko wasn't entirely sure of where. So when Zuko landed on the deck of the airship with a bone rattling thump, shock kept him there for the time it took him to refill his lungs. By the time he scrambled to his feet, the ship was already pulling away. Zuko had just enough time to see Katara turn from him to face his father's soldiers. She was outnumbered by at least a dozen, but she stood tall and firm, and even from behind, Zuko could see the determination in her stance. She would fight and die to make sure that he got away safely.

"No!" Zuko shouted. He threw himself at the railing, intent on getting back to her by any means necessary. He would leap from the deck and figure out the rest on his way back. Two sets of strong hands kept him from enacting his plan.

"Let me go!" he demanded pulling against the hold on him. "I'm not leaving her!"

"Zuko!" Sokka shouted. He and Suki pulled hard throwing him against the wall of the ship. "Stop!"

"Turn back!" Zuko half demanded, half pleaded. "We have to go back for her!" He was met with Sokka and Suki's twin grimaces.

"We can't," Suki said, grimly. "We have to get you to safety."

"I don't care about my safety!" Zuko insisted. "I can't leave her behind! Sokka, she's your sister! How can you just-oof!" Sokka's punch didn't hurt so much as it caught Zuko off guard.

"Don't you dare!" Sokka growled. He stood over Zuko, rage radiating from him almost tangibly. "Don't you dare imply I'm not just as worried about Katara as you are. If it wasn't for the fact that we need you to survive the war, I would've thrown you back to them to save her in a heartbeat. But the next best thing I can do is make sure my sister's sacrifice isn't in vain. That mean's getting you to safety and making sure you don't do anything stupid like trying to take on a whole troop of firebending soldiers.

A thousand arguments flew through Zuko's mind. They were superimposed over the image of Katara facing those same solders in his mind. Everything in him was demanding they turn around that instant and rescue Katara. His gambit for the throne was meaningless in comparison to Katara's safety. So what if she had willingly sacrificed herself? So what if he were summarily executed by his father, or even his sister? His own life meant nothing if Katara weren't in it.

Sokka was right, though. Zuko was loathe to admit it, but he was right. Katara knew what she was doing, even if Zuko was certain she didn't understand the full consequence. She'd saved his life. Again. Impotent and helpless as he felt watching her do it, she'd done it willingly. She'd done it strategically. His heart railed against it, but his mind knew why she'd done it. He had the best claim to the throne, after all. They'd talked about it to exhaustion. He'd told Katara all his worries, and she'd calmed them with her certainty that he was the Fire Lord his nation deserved. He'd never gotten the chance to tell her that he though she was the Fire Lady his nation needed, though they didn't deserve her by a long shot. He'd never told her that though he didn't deserve her, he needed her. Like he needed water.

She knew, though. She knew his weakness, and she'd used it. Zuko could still feel the pressure of her lips on his. Could still feel the way her hand tightened on his collar as she prepared to shove him away even while she was pulling him closer. She knew what she could do to him even in the midst of battle.

"They probably won't kill her," Suki said quietly. Both Sokka and Zuko looked up sharply.

"What?" Sokka gasped.

"They probably won't kill her," Suki repeated. "She's too valuable a prisoner. The daughter of the Southern Water Tribe chief? The... the friend of Prince Zuko? She's useful. If she surrenders, she will have a fighting chance." Suki's mouth was pressed into a thin, grim line. She was upset, too, Zuko realized. Maybe almost as upset as Sokka and Zuko were. Only almost, though. Zuko couldn't imagine his future without Katara in it, and Sokka had always been his sister's protector. As Zuko met Sokka's eye across the deck, he knew the Water Tribe warrior had made the same decision he had. If Katara was alive, neither would rest until she was safe again. The details of their rescue mission would have to wait until they could discuss them in private, but they would be going after her.

Part 2

[aethesfaelibrarae]

Mouthwashing has given me a lot of brain worms and we've got thoughts—time to share them with the hungry void that is Tumblr. One of the last places I'm 90% certain my words won't show up stolen or regurgitated by machine.

Warning for spoilers about the game and rambling!

I believe that Mouthwashing is a modern-day Lolita. The storytelling is similar, in that, almost against their own better judgement and will, the audience finds themselves thinking like our unreliable narrator(s).

Most people.. Sorry, some people have cottoned on to the fact that Anya's personality is not that of a scared, timid and ultimately, useless nurse and she's been in fight or flight response for months now with no other choice but to fawn. As someone who has been in a similar situation for only one day a week for months, the fear only got worse, the longer I went without support. And the things that she does in the background.. No doubt similar to the way that Daisuke kept track of their food supply was brushed over and unsung.. So is the fact that Anya has been keeping a severe burn victim—with 4th degree burns so severe, any treatment we currently have is experimental and expensive.. If the pain does not kill you first—she's been keeping Curly alive for months with no help and incredibly minimal supplies. (I personally think that Anya probably was on the side of giving him an easier death or maybe even suggested a gentler way of giving him medicine—but (sterile) syringes in space? Limited water? An especially dismissive Swansea and go with the flow Daisuke?.. Easier to try and give Jimmy what he wants.)

But. I believe that people overlook the ways in which Catastrophe Jim's perspective on Curly twists our own. Pre-Crash Curly exists upon a pedestal—a good man, better than Jimmy could ever hope to be; a good, well-liked captain. Well-off, better looking (I say this because of the similarities in how Jimmy mentally views himself in similar shape and age as Curly) and still reaching for more. For better. People catch the underlying jealous and resentment for the life that Jimmy wants at all cost but.. They miss the pedestal. The miss the fact that if Jimmy says that Curly's better than he is, a good and better Captain.. That means that Curly is doing the bare fucking minimum: keeping them all alive year after year. Curly is a nice captain with the capacity to soothe over minor issues and keep a cool head and keep the crew on schedule.. But he is not a good one. He's not even a good person. Not really. Jimmy thinks of him as a good person, puts him on this pedestal that he's foaming at the mouth with excitement to pull him off of. Dirty the golden boy and spit on his silver-threaded bootstraps once and for all.

Except.. What evidence do we have that Curly is especially liked or respected? Where is this cheering crew? Where is Curly good?

Curly is a human, at the end of the day.

And.. Which comes to my more complicated and no doubt contriversal take... Curly is also a victim of Jimmy stuck in fawn response. This doesn't absolve him of the ways in which he failed the crew but Anya especially by letting Jimmy run amok and failing to take any action while he still had the chance. He stood by when Anya begins to hint at something beneath the shiny veneer of a happy tight-knit crew and most damningly, he stood by as Jimothy entered the cockpit immediately after suggesting a plan to kill everyone aboard.

I genuinely.. Genuinely.. Don't know what he thought would happen.

But he does take action.. And his last action is what makes he and Anya swap places. Except.. Not truly.

Yes, they are in similar situations—vulnerable to the whims of a psychotic madman with an inferiority complex and their plight largely ignored by the crew; a necessary sacrifice to keep the peace.. Just until safe harbor—but where Anya begins to gain autonomy and some relief from Jimmy no longer having a need for her.. Curly finds himself the center of Jimmy's world.

And that is not a great place to be in.

Curly is systemically isolated (bad-mouthed to the crew over and over again, berated publicly, blamed for an awful accident that Jimmy caused) and his torture and abuse mirrors the continuous, silent medical, emotional and physical abuse that many disabled people face. And almost in a worse way, his voice is stolen from him and used in such insidious inspiration porn.. A lot of people think that he actually said those things.

But we won't know. And if he did say these things.. Why does Jimmy only seem to (mis)understand them in the final acts? Recalling them in Curly's voice but not as the Captain but as a savior, his last charitable act to wipe the ledger of blood clean.

Jimmy doesn't want to see Curly better. He likes feeling useful. He enjoys having Curly watch him and in the same breath, he loathes it. He wants Curly's judgement. He wants Curly's praise. He wants.. Everything that makes Curly Curly.

Curly as a silent observer isn't remarked on often.. Nor is the fact that more than likely, the others heard Curly's sobs of pain from the medbay. But Curly is very conscious, very aware and very alone in his thoughts.

There's a point in which the perspective changes during Swansea's mercy killing—a gift that no one offers Curly—and once again, Curly is stuck watching all of his mistakes play out, one after the other. Unable to do anything but laugh.

But is it a laugh or a sob? Jimmy doesn't care and neither does the player—what's important is the objective: the gun. 739. Click. He steps over Anya's body like it's not even there and runs away.

We don't find out what set Swansea off—maybe Jimmy couldn't help himself and said something about Daisuke or Anya that blamed them. Maybe it was something else. Curly watches on. Helplessly.

There's something to be said about the black screens and the static that occurs when Jimmy hurts Curly or kills Swansea—like he's cutting the memory off before the guilt can get to him. And it's the same thing I'd like to bring up about Curly's voice. Yes, it takes a lot to speak without lips.. Or from what it looks like a tongue.. But there are more noises Curly can make. Noises that can refute Jimmy.

And in the same way that he's at the precipice of something so terrifying he keeps returning to the same spot that's slowly killing him, he's learned that fighting is useless.

It's 2 months after the crash when see Jimmy's perspective again, after all. And while Anya's requests for help seem to be new.. Who's to say that the beatings are?

The worse type of abuse is the type that leaves no bruises. After all, Curly cries all the time in pain.. What's the difference here?

To cycle back to my original point in this.. I don't see a lot of people consider Post-Crash Curly's living hell as another facet of Jimmy's abuse going unchecked by the people around him as anything other than comeuppance. As Karma. And it's the coldest take I've seen from the fandom so far. Allow me to reheat it up for you: disability so severe that you must rely on others is not divine punishment. It's not just desserts. Just as disabled people are your infantilazed, idealized, inspirational iron woobie that can take pain and push through it.. They are also not being punished by the divine. They are humans and sometimes shit just happens and it sucks.

The way that Jimmy views Post-Crash Curly as a saving prop.. Proof that he can indeed fix it.. is so normalized that as the audience, it can be something that you aim to achieve–one of the earliest and easiest achievements you can get is opening and closing Curly's mouth like a mannequin.

There's a relief that we share when Curly shuts up. There's a shutdown in empathy when Jimmy brutalizes him. Up until we can no longer look away.

Because Jimmy can no longer look away. And that is the chilling part of all this. Jimmy gets away with it—all of it—because of the crew's inability to overcome their own apathetic acceptance of the monster in their midst.

Just like most people accept the main character from Lolita as a gentleman, the crew accepts Jimmy as a guy. A little rough and short-tempered but what do you expect from blue collar work? Hold your nose, it'll be over in a year. In 8 months. In 10. Soon. It'll be over soon.

I can't help but worry if Jimmy weren't so bad at being likable and if he were even a smidgen of the charismatic mastermind, he so clearly wants to be..

We'd have another Valentino on our hands.

Mouthwashing is a horror that I can't help but devour. FEAST, indeed.