#i wasn't expecting that amount of detail and accuracy but

[cantuscorvi]

What's your life trap?

Unrelenting Standards ;

[ Your primary feeling is one of pressure. You feel as if you can never relax and enjoy life. That you must always push to get ahead. For you, life is only doing. It is having to work or achieve all the time. You feel frustrated and irritated with yourself for not meeting your own high standards.

Physical stress is common with you. You may have headaches, digestion or bowel problems, as well as high blood pressure and/or insomnia. At root, you probably feel chronically angry, but with no apparent object to direct that anger towards. Instead of staying with that anger, you channel it outwards to your surroundings. Everything has to be perfect. You need to feel in control. 

Most likely you are successful. But you rarely stop and enjoy your success. The balance between work and pleasure feels lopsided. You turn many forms of activity into work and it enslaves you. You seem to have lost touch with your basic self. You go through the motions, but no longer know what makes you happy.

One of your parents may have used shame or criticism when you failed to meet their high expectations. As an adult, you feel you cannot let go of your need for perfect order, achievement, or status. But your excessively high standards are in fact impinging on your quality of life. You are successful, but not fulfilled. You need to learn that you can lower your standards without feeling like a failure. ]

stolen from: @lured-into-wonderland tagging: @nezumivc103221 / @distopea / @tximidity / @lunarscaled / @royaletiquette / anyone else bc this one slaps imo

[aspiring-holistic-otaku]

Season 3 Ramble #8 - A is for Anime(solo reprise) ver.3

Hadn't been doing the run-up posting I usually do for my rambles due to work and such but here we are!

How this ramble is gonna go is I'm gonna list my top 3 movies watched this month then top 3 series for same, AAnd now that I actually have a semi decent number of anime under my belt I'm gonna do a quick top ten of both at the end.. after that if you wanna stick around, instead of the usual post ramble ramble, I'm gonna add a bit of the recording I did with the homies, as a sort of prelude and promise that we will have that conversation in future. I really think it's an important and potentially fruitful discussion to have.

But In any case getting into the episode now

TOP 3 MOVIES 

3) Belladonna Of Sadness (1973, 1hr33m, Mushi Production)

Crazy movie. I don't think I can accurately talk about it without it sounding too wHild… I'm still gonna, but I'm gonna open with what Google says about it.

A peasant woman is raped by the local lord on her wedding night. To take revenge, she makes a pact with the Devil himself who appears as an erotic sprite and transforms her into a black-robed vision of madness and desire.

As I said.. wHild… and that's just the summary…the details of the actual movie are like…woah.. but in any case it was great, actually something that'd been on my watch list for a good long while so I'm glad I could actually finally watch it. 

Glazing over the plot which the summary does a pretty good job of covering anyways, the visuals were absolutely stunning. They're by Yoshitaka Amano, probably most famously known for his final fantasy illustrations. For the most part the visuals are done in what looks like watercolor paint, which is just wild in my mind,, like wHy?? He definitely pulled it off though which is even more crazy cause a good amount of it was done in an almost slideshow kinda way which I usually don't like but he still pulled it off…crazy…. Should be kinda obvious from the summary but moderate tw. Still definitely strongly recommend.

Small sidenote - in making this ramble I found out that belladonna of sadness is actually part of a trilogy called animerama,, so now I have 2 more old ass movies to look forward to. Hopefully they're just as good or even better…

2) Lupin IIIrd: The Gravestone of Daisuke Jigen (2014, 51m, Telecom Animation Film)

Ever since I watched my first lupin movie 3 years ago I've been locked in. In fact it was such a good watch that I've limited myself to one a year. Thankfully the trend of awesomeness has continued up to this point but enough premature glazing. 

This movie is basically centered on Jigen, as you can probably tell from the title. Just a point of clarity for those who don't know much of anything about lupin, Jigen is basically the gunslinger of Lupin’s crew. So as this is basically his movie, he's ofc facing off against a gunslinger. The title is so named because this guy, the gunslinger they find themselves up against, makes graves for his victims before killing them. Nobody's ever gotten away from him. In fact he's so good that he uses dice to decide how many bullets he'll use to take out his target. Ice cold mf.

Pretty good action from start to finish though I’m a tad disappointed there wasn't more gun-slinging, though from what I gather Jigen’s whole thing is speed, accuracy and efficiency,, so maybe a barrage of bullets wouldn't have made sense. In any case we get to see all of the crew besides goemon, dry cry as he's my personal fav but still solid. The art direction was great from all angles as I've come to expect. Not too much to say cast wise as on Lupin gang’s side there's a cumulative effect of greatness where every time you see them it's generally a continuation of past interactions, as in there's an obviously rich history there. That being said, the dynamic is still great and from what I've seen, you can pick up any of the movies and immediately love them. But anyways, on the other hand, the main villain/organization felt a bit hollow. Which is something I've come to kind of expect with movie exclusive antagonists in general. It's just a matter of time efficiency. I think when it comes to anime movies, you're generally not watching for the antagonist unless they have to do with the main storyline. Otherwise you're kinda watching to see how the protagonist will beat them in about an hour. Though I will say as far as visuals can speak, they definitely spoke volumes in that sense. Also, given the geopolitical climate we're in, I liked the villain/organization and how they were handled... trying not to spoil too much there but if you so much as peek between the lines you probably get it.. In any case definitely highly recommend.

Side note - every lupin movie I watch further solidifies my decision to get into the series… just watching the movies first for some reason…

1) Mind game (2004, 1hr44m, Studio 4°C)

Honestly,, I don't even want to speak on it for fear of sullying its greatness. It's one of those life changing before and after watches fr. This is something I'd been really wanting to watch since ver.1 when I started getting into Studio 4°C through their awesome anthologies genius party and genius party beyond.

I'm gonna default to the anilist description here which is kinda almost decent relative to the sheer phenomenal amazingness of this movie.. but I digress.. so according to anilist..

Audiences will begin to grasp what they are in for early on, as loser Nishi, too wimpy to try to save his childhood sweetheart from gangsters, is shot in the butt by a soccer-playing psychopath, projecting Nishi into the afterlife. In this limbo, God - shown as a series of rapidly changing characters - tells him to walk toward the light. But Nishi runs like hell in the other direction and returns to Earth a changed man, driven to live each moment to the fullest.

The last bit hints at the greatness of this film. Right there that small difference in speech speaks volumes in my personal world of language. It's not just a movie. It's film. 10/10. absolute cinema.

As I said I don't even want to talk about it too much because I don't think it possible to do it justice through mere words, but I'm gonna put a bit more glaze on it before I wrap up the movie list and move on to series. This movie beat out studio ghibli’s, Miyazaki directed, howl’s moving castle in the 2004 Japan Media Arts Festival. Further, this was a debut work for the director Masaaki Yuasa, who would later go on to found science saru studio. I was so moved by this movie that I've decided I will watch everything masaaki yuasa has and will ever direct. 10/10. highly recommend. end of glaze.

hm: under the dog, Mezzo forte, blood: the last vampire, 4°c (sweat punch, short peace from last time)

Top 3 Series

3) Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (2023-2024, 28ep 24m, Madhouse) 

This is something I'd been seeing around for a bit but was intentionally ignoring because for some reason I got it in my head that it was based on this sad little one shot called The hero’s party on their way back home, and I was NOT watching an entire series based on that.

In any case, in talking with my bros recently they all insisted that it was the best anime released in the past year, one of them declaring it was in his top5 all time. So I pushed past my fears and binged it all in a day. V thankful for the bros.

The story here follows an elven mage called frieren and her life after defeating the Demon King and bringing peace to the world.

As you can tell from the summary it's largely a slice of life but it has its fair share of well placed scraps. It fills a certain fantasy gap where you get that day to day rose tinted indigenous peoples’ lifestyle feel, that I think most people would want if they actually lived in a fantasy setting,, not that constantly under threat from dragons and shit usually focused on. And as I said there are some well placed fights. The pacing also felt perfect. Like I almost felt bad binging it because I could tell that once a week watch would've been REALLY good… one of the few series I don't want to read the manga for, I'll definitely be watching weekly whenever season 2 drops..

Great cast though kinda small, pretty brilliant visuals and sound direction. Very very very solid all round, what I'd call supremely balanced tbh. One of the bros put it really well in that he said he has synesthesia so everything has colours for him, and the colours of every aspect of this show came together to paint the perfect picture. Now I don't have synesthesia myself but I could definitely feel, not just see, how well orchestrated it all was. definitely strongly recommend.

2) Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (2007, 27ep 24m, Gainax)

Yes. It's 2024 and I’m just watching gurren lagann and you'll hear why that is if you listen in to the post ramble ramble,, but suffice to say, you can never be late to true greatness and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is definitely in that category. 

Firstly I kinda watched it as a meme seeing as last ramble I focused on the supposed relationship between sacred geometry and JoJo's bizarre adventure… if that sounds crazy then you should listen to the ramble… not that it'll sound less crazy but..yh.. anyways I was vaguely aware that gurren lagann focused a bit on spirals so I tapped in for the meme. 

To summarize the lengthy anilist summary,, In a far away future, mankind lives underground in huge caves, unknowing of a world above with a sky and stars. yada yada yada blah blah blah Simon, Kamina, Yoko, and the small yet sturdy robot, Lagann, journey to the world above and find that the surface is a harsh battlefield, and it's up to them to fight back against the rampaging Beastmen. Pierce the heavens, Gurren Lagann!

Again I'm gonna fall back on the words of another of my bros from the session, I think he had it in his top 10 or 5,, but he said he considers gurren lagann to be a perfect starter anime in that it perfectly showcases almost everything the medium of anime has to offer. Action, comedy, philosophy, slice of life, amazing cast, brilliant visual direction, solid sound direction. etc. the term “starter anime” gets thrown around a fair bit and I usually think it's a rubbish term because of how insanely diverse the medium is and how specific different individuals tastes can be,, so like to say this or that anime is a good “starter anime" never made sense.. but when he said it, that was the very first time I actually thought it made sense..

Definitely super highly recommend, a recommendation to pierce the heavens if you will.

1) Akiba Maid War (2022, 12ep 24m, P.A Works)

Gotta say it was a tough call between this and gurren lagann but it won out for 3 reasons. #1 it's shorter, and that's not a lazy pov, I just personally tend to give more ratings to shorter series in general because I think being able to do something amazing in a short amount of time deserves more props than doing so in a longer span of time. personally.. #2 it was FUNNY. AS. FUCK. I'm coming to realize that when it comes to anime specifically, comedy may be my favourite genre. I can't quite put my finger on why but I think it has to do with how far animation as a medium can push physical humor.. idk.. lastly… idek why I felt the need to justify all this…it's my list… but lastly,, and most importantly. maids. enough said..

The story here follows the dealings of different maid cafes in the town of Akihabara. I say dealings because in this show the maids basically act like Yakuza, having turf wars, extortion rackets and drug trades(just a point of clarity for those who've never heard the term, you've probably guessed but Yakuza are basically Japanese gangsters). In any case this is all under the table as they pay off the police and act the usual cutesy part in front of civilians. That may be a bit of a spoiler but a gif of it was going around a lot last year i think,, with this one maid gunning down a bunch of other maids and it was made to look like an idol rave with the glow sticks and everything + the “twist" if you can even call it that happens in episode 1 so it's not like some major turning point spoilers + "wars” is literally in the title, so with all due respect, you can bite me.. 

In any case, as I said this shit was funny ASF, mainly because of the opposing imagery of maids and yakuza they somehow pulled off perfectly.. like I can't begin to explain how crazy it is to see maids cussing each other out with the most obscene language, fighting it out in the craziest brawls, then turning around and going “welcome home master”. 

Fairly small but very strong cast, all funny in their own unique ways from the hardened criminal type to the frightened newbie. the visuals were great, sounds direction solid, I really really loved the op and ed, cause they just perfectly matched the shows energy. Kinda episodic for the most part but that fit the crazy, “you'll never guess what happens next” energy… Just great overall like wow.. a bit surprised I haven't seen it around more but I realize comedies don't tend to get that much ratings on release, if they do get attention it's further down the line as a “hidden jewel".

But in any case yes. 10/10. definitely highly recommend. please go watch this. have a good laugh, give thanks for life and go see the beauty of the world.

hm: Flying Trapeze, Goodbye Mr. despair (from s2)

Top 10 Movies (no order)

A Silent Voice, Memories (anthology directed by katsuhiro otomo), One Piece Movie 6: Flower Island, Tokyo Godfathers, Mind Game, Ocean Waves, Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind, Sword Of The Stranger, the Lupin movies (just watch all of them lol), Maquia: When The Promised Flower Blooms

hm: Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop, Animatrix, GITS Innocence, Wolf Children, Princess Mononoke

Top 10 Series (no order)

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Akiba Maid Wars, Nichijou, Hyouka, Mononoke, Sonny Boy, Tatami Galaxy(all spinoffs, movies, everything.), Steins;Gate, Dorohedoro, Angel Beats, Durarara!!(all seasons)

hm: Baccano!, Pluto, FLCL up to Progressive, Cowboy Bebop, chainsaw man

[thegrimreaperisanerd]

hii i have a maybe somewhat difficult question:

how do you go about writing all of the police/detective stuff? I have no knowledge at all about that except having played the game a few times and watching bbc sherlock back when that was a thing.

I have so many cool kimharry things in my mind that i need to get on paper but i don't know how to involve all the cop stuff in a natural way because i don't know anything about it and don't want it to be too wildly incorrect.

so yeah.. how do you even learn the things for this?

thank you so much i love your work

Quite a difficult question I won't lie...... But I've answered at length so it's going under a readmore

This isn't my favourite thing to discuss online as it can trigger my psychosis, but I have an actual dismaying amount of experience with cops. I don't want to talk about it but... Bit like Cuno I suppose. Good ending for that kid is doing public services training ages 14 - 16, and going "oh this is shit actually" once he's got an out from his abusive parent, then working at a restaurant

I quite literally cannot go into detail - so don't ask because I WILL delete this post - but an ex military police officer told us a "funny story" about a "prank" he played on some kids in an occupied location during the late 80s that I recognised as psychological torture, but made my peers laugh. So I decided to become a faggot and poet instead.

~NOW FOR THE FUN ADVICE THAT IS ACTUALLY OF USE TO YOU!

Research:

Honestly, the amount of time I spend looking up stuff for writing is probably more than the time I spend writing. The internet's being fucked by SEO but it's a start. Like... There's plenty of info out there written on the police and their role in systematic oppression, I'm pretty sure there's free PDFs floating around on Tumblr actually...

If it's more "day in the life" I honestly don't know. Maybe reddit or if there's one of those "Ex-[blank} reviews [blank] in movies" videos on Youtube for cops, but obviously take everything said with a pinch of salt.

FAYDE:

Fayde is the best tool at your disposal. We bully Kim a lot for his dedication to the RCM but that makes finding out info pretty easy. EDC too! I've never played with high EDC so just typing in key words (especially names of other officers to try and get character info) and scrolling through is helpful.

Good keywords are "precinct", "RCM", "Militicia" as they'll bring up opinions/ info from other characters.

The RCM is not a traditional police force:

I would worry less about accuracy and more about being interesting. It doesn't need to be a perfect representation of police work since the canon makes a point of there being a distinction in the powers and roles of the RCM. Go listen to the collapsing tenement cut content. You don't need to write about them filling in forms if it's not relevant. It'll show in your writing if you're unsure/ bored.

Make them worse:

If you're going to write one of the officers doing something shitty (yes, that includes Kim and Harry) but worry that you've gone too far then I promise you haven't. Dickheads are drawn to positions of power and the impunity it gives them. There's a reason I wrote one of the 57's officers as a groomer.

Make them less competent:

Don't trust the police, but also don't expect anything of them.

As recently as Monday I had to call for the fire brigade because a lit (thankfully poorly made) petrol bomb had been left under a neighbour's car (I live an irritatingly interesting life for somebody who lives in the middle of fucking nowhere) nobody was harmed. Cop came to find me afterwards to get an interview from me since I'd spotted it and he told me, I kid you not, "Yeah, we're not gonna do anything unless anything else happens." Like, I expected as much but I wasn't expecting him to up and fucking say that. You're welcome for 85% of my council tax, you fucking moron.

Harry's a special case because he's, like, psychic and got "maybe if I solve *THIS* one my wife will let me sleep in the big bed" disorder, and nobody wants to read a case fic that they... don't solve (or do they..? *winks*) But if you care about realism you need dick-in-hand dipshits. Another favourite quote of mine from an officer two years back; "Is 'right wing' the good one or the bad one?" So the advice here is you're writing a cop well if you're reading it and thinking: holy shit please just go work at a TESCOs instead.

Don't worry so much:

You should write, first and foremost, for yourself. I like detective fiction, I have wasted an unfortunate amount of my life dealing with police due to my job and shit childhood. (I did originally write far more about this, but frankly it's better for myself if I don't bother. That's why it's taken me five days to answer this)

I've read/ watched a lot of detective fiction and I'm always more drawn to stuff that is less based in police work. Private investigators, investigative journalists, kid detectives like Nancy Drew, ect.

In particular my favourite book, perhaps of all time, is called Hideaway by Dean Koontz and is two fathers (one: the killer's father - a talented doctor who brought his shithead son back to life - and another, the doctor's most recent patient to be brought back from the brink who has developed a psychic link with the killer as a result) trying to stop him, but never actually meeting! It's one hell of a read if you need inspo.

Val McDermott is a good author for crime writing with less police input, too. She has a book called Killing The Shadows which is excellent. The Killer's motive is taking out crime writers who've romanticised psychological profilers after he was wrongly convicted. Fair enough! Until he starts... Killing about it? Sort of defeats the message... Anyway, what's fun about this book is that before each crime writer is killed (in the same way they wrote THEIR killers killing!! Love that) you get to read the first chapter of each writer's most famous work. So you are essentially getting six crime books in one (first chapter of at least) ...Also the main character's husband is a crime writer called Kit, which I've only remembered just double checking the book name now. Lol???

...This is just turning into me recommending books.

TLDR: write what you know, write what is fun, ACAB, don't even worry about it

[takes1]

dabi becoming obsessed with inexperienced!reader p.5

thank you so much for the support!! you wouldn't believe the things i watched to get d. piercing accuracy here :,) this picks up right where the last one left off!

warnings. nsfw, mentions of gaslighting, dabi kinda pushing some boundaries, dabi bleeds from the mouth and doesn't care lmao

details. fem!reader / lov recruit!reader / inexperienced!reader / corruption!kink dabi / healing quirk!reader / edging / praise / lots of d. piercings / oral sex (m receiving) / premature ejaculation / dumbification-ish / dabi pops a stitch / yandere!dabi / 3.4k words

🤍 scenario series. dabi p.1 + p.4 and full list here.

more links. my ao3 / dabi headcanons / requests open!!

The back of your head was buzzing from where he muttered sweet things against your hair, actively easing you down from your climax and back to the land of the living. A blanket covered only you.

"(Y/n)."

"Huh?" You were busy shimmying your arm under his back to wrap around his waist. Only after you completed this task, was when you spared a sleepy glance to his expectant face.

He pulled you in for another messy kiss, "'Asked if you're okay."

As soon as he loosened his grip, you sunk your head onto his chest with a prolonged blink.

"Mmmhm."

It was odd, but you didn't care that you weren't clothed under your modesty blanket anymore. Your chest was pressed against him, but there was no room for embarrassment or shame after you came that hard.

While he fixed the pillows behind his head, you found it more comfortable to turn your head down, towards his hips so you weren't jostled around as much.

He said something under his breath, but you couldn't hear him.

The print was so clear that it almost made his sweatpants pointless. Your breath stalled and the hand on his tummy rubbed, gently so as to not irritate his skin, across taut muscle as you tried to imagine what it felt like.

Would it be warm? Or like the rest of him? Was it scarred? Did he have stitches there?

It was big-- how would it look in your hand?

"Hey," Dabi's firm grip on the back of your neck, close to your hairline, didn't hurt, but was enough to divert your attention.

The frustration in his brow eased up when you turned your head to him. There was that precious face he just could never stay mad at. He'd repeat himself a million times if it meant he could have you.

"God, it's like talkin' to a brick wall," He joked, idle hand rested behind his head.

It wasn't your fault he had so many distractions. You gave a dumb smile, "Am I pretty brick wall?"

His laugh was subtle and scratchy, a sound you wanted to replicate over and over again. You sat up on your elbows and mustered up some courage.

While he was gearing up to tell you 'sure,' you took the opportunity to jut out your request with the least amount of unwanted, punctuating quiet possible, "Can I see it?"

It didn't work. His laugh faded with his growing smirk and you had to sit in apprehensive silence anyway.

"See what, doll?"

All that bravery dissolved to make room for the heat crawling up your neck. To combat the growing need to tell him 'Nevermind,' you rested your head once more on his chest with a look that made him crack out another chuckle.

He massaged your scalp once more, eyebrow cocked, "C'mon pretty girl, don't pout. Use your words."

A big, dramatic sigh. "You know..."

His grin only widened, eyes glinting with a mischievous sparkle, "I don't think I do."

Since the first sigh didn't work, you pushed out another and flipped around to look back at his hips, the hem of his briefs a tempting barrier to toy with, since he was so determined on making you say something vulgar.

But touching it was worse than saying it, so you were in quite a pickle.

"That," You whined.

Smooth fingers trailed from your neck, to your shoulders, to your back, kneading your skin while he waited on you to tell him what you wanted.

Maybe a kiss would convince him to let it go. You took great pride in leaning up, climbing a little more on top of him, to give him a big kiss, then another big kiss, then another, another, and another, until you were certain that was enough and parted.

Eyes low, both hands pulling you towards him, he muttered against your lips, "Ya wanna see my cock, sweetheart?"

A shudder so strong it made you jump away from him ran straight up your spine. He started laughing and sat up to pull your stiff body back in, but you made no such noises.

"God, you're so cute," He sighed, hooking his thumb into his waistband while you tried to lay back onto him, "Just, warnin' you that it's... decorated."

You flashed a confused glance to his face, but couldn't cycle through many hypotheses before his shiny, thick cock sprang free and hit his navel.

There was some light, trimmed hair. He looked like a natural blond, almost. So many silver piercings down his long shaft and a big, pointy one sticking out of the top all were scary enough to make you flinch away.

"Woah..." Escaped your lips.

Your eyes, wide and sparkly, were completely transfixed on so many things at once, you didn't know what to say, what to think, other than:

"Does that hurt?"

The nails raking lazily across your skin paused for a second. He huffed out a laugh and an eye roll, "It's not the piercings that hurt-- it's the blue balls."

You peered to get a better look and found that he did not have balls that were blue. When you looked up at his narrowed eyes again, he gave you a hard smooch to the forehead-- as if to say, 'You cute little dumbass.'

"Not literally," He grabbed his dick so casually you thought maybe he forgot you were right there, but he was admiring your face with an intensity that debunked your theory right away, "Just- fuckin' hurts when it's hard for too long."

A small, apologetic kiss set his nerves ablaze; while you were focused on his lips, he stroked his cock slowly to ease the tension in his groin. It did fuck-all, since he had to stop almost right away.

The warm palm rubbing on his toned stomach was about to be shoved off.

"Can I... touch it?"

Not only did he decide to let the hand stay, but he also let you get away with your vague wording.

He shoved your head into his upper chest and gave your temple a hard kiss that made you laugh, "If that's what ya want, baby girl."

His rough ways were starting to show through, but you didn't mind it so much. If that was how he expressed how much he liked you, then you could try to get used to it.

As you hovered a tentative hand above the thing resting on his stomach, he moved his own away, thinking that was why you hesitated.

In actuality, it was because, "Where should I...? Your, uhh, piercings..."

"Anywhere," He failed to swallow his impatience, so he chased his bitter words with a sweeter, "You're not gonna hurt me."

Your hand couldn't have been a better fit for his miserable cock.

He felt like the virgin, eyes unfocusing while you squeezed and tugged, slow and unsure. A warm sigh brushed past your ear and he took to soft traces on your back with his sharp, painted nails.

The metal nobs between your knuckles moved with the skin. A little weird, but not surprising when you started to think about piercings in the general sense. It made you wonder about the big one, though.

"Does that feel okay?" You muttered against his chest.

A wheeze skimmed your cheek, "Babe, you could bite it and it'd feel great."

While he did have a thing for that and was trying to plant the idea of sucking him off in your head, it was a true statement.

Eight dick piercings, countless others, a body covered in scars that consistently reopened of his own accord? The guy had an impressive pain tolerance.

"Ya wanna go a little faster?" He suggested, deliberate with his polite tone, but never more restless under the surface.

Dabi didn't wait around for you to decide on an answer-- he wanted a real handjob.

A much larger, colder hand engulfed your own. Your tummy was hit with a jolt of electricity as he started to use your hand in the proper way, moving with an actual range of motion instead of just holding.

"You like that, huh?" He asked to hide the budding moan in his throat.

You smiled, guilty, and moved to lay on your back to share a few clumsy, sideways kisses. It was hard multitasking.

The blanket over you moved, exposing your form, under his hand's guidance, and you surprised yourself with a comfortable stretch to let it happen. His adoring, handsome smile made you never want to wear clothes again.

He left a string of spit to snap between your mouths in favor of watching you help pump his cock, then run a confident hand down the curves of your body, straight between your thighs.

Your free hand clawed his forearm, thighs pressing together with a nervous laugh. It didn't make him retract his hand like you thought it would.

"I'm-- still sensitive," You told him clearly.

His grip was close to crushing yours around himself, his groans audible and tangible from your head on his chest. You gave an alarmed sound at his skilled fingers breaking past your grip anyway.

Another shade of red, not from embarrassment or anything nice, covered your pained face when his fingers glided over your sore clit.

You arched away from him, hand wrapped hard around his strong wrist, "Mm, Dabi-!"

"Fuck," He retracted his hand and opted to give your hip an apologetic rub, "Sorry-- shit, you just..."

In order to be agreeable, you relaxed again and accepted his 'I'm sorry' kisses. You let him keep using your hand too, though he was slower now.

"So sorry, baby," He mumbled against your brow, tickling your face.

You smiled at the sensation and his additional worry. When he pulled away, conflicted behind the eyes, you felt the need to smooth it all over with words.

"Do I really feel that good?"

It was so quiet, spoken so saccharine, he was yanked out of his spiraling thoughts and into a hyper-focus on your mouth.

The same out-of-body experience took over and his thumb was, suddenly, brushing the shared spit off of your bottom lip. Better than your cherry chap stick, that's for sure.

His eyelids felt heavy, his stomach flexed with the thought of taking your pretty mouth-- he just couldn't get enough of you.

"Nothin' better," He sighed.

You took his lingering thumb between your teeth with a playful smile. There was a squeeze around your hand and he looked away with a restrained hum.

"Really?" A bit of a challenging tone, but he didn't catch it in his trance.

His head leaned back to relax on the pillow, pondering on how long he could get away with edging his orgasm. He sure as hell couldn't look at you for too long if he wanted to keep stalling.

"Aah, yep, yeah-- Really, really."

The distracted answer helped you make up your mind. It couldn't be that difficult. Like sucking on a popsicle or something, right? As long as he didn't get Gung-ho all of a sudden.

Your fingers pushed back on his to let go, and while he was extremely hesitant, he released your aching hand when he considered that he could've done something wrong again.

Except, as you sat up and struggled to find a graceful way to get between his legs, it was clear the action was one of necessity.

Those eyes. His thighs flexed to try to sober up his cock a little, but once you got comfortable, ankles crossed in the air, it was completely trivial. This was about to be a record-quick finish for him.

"So pretty," He chuckled at you popping your wrist, gentle fingers tracing gently over your hairline.

This angle was daunting. It looked gigantic and so complicated, you didn't know how to start or what to touch. His dick was like a big piece of machinery you were not certified to handle.

The confusion, or insecurity, must have been obvious on your face, because he stopped scanning you so thoroughly, reclined to put his hands behind his head, and said, "Just do whatever 'till white stuff comes out."

He knew that would embarrass you, judging by the shit-eating grin waiting on his face.

He wasn't wrong, just brash.

When you picked it up, the heaviness caught your attention first, then the up-close view of each piercing. One was more than enough to make you cringe, why did he get so many?

In a slow, testing motion, you followed the pattern up to the tip with a flat tongue. It thankfully tasted like the rest of him.

You spared a glance up to him, but his eyes were closed and his face was pointed to the ceiling, so you got by with entertaining yourself for the moment.

It was easier with the new angle since you had more freedom to pump him with either hand.

The pace you chose stayed slower than what he did earlier while you pressed messy kisses onto a pretty, reddish-pink head. It kinda looked like it was blushing at you.

More long licks up the sides turned into sucking, gentle kisses as you got up to the tip again.

You dipped your head a little lower, the head completely in your mouth, and tried to be careful of your teeth with his big piercing.

His abs moved and flexed every which way. His arms looked strained, too, his chest rising and falling at an irregular rate. He just wasn't making much noise and still wouldn't look at you.

What a beautiful man.

Your tongue worked in slow, circling motions while you watched and thought. Under the surface, you could tell he had the worst self-esteem by how clingy he was-- but it didn't make any sense when he looked like that.

Someone must've made him feel unwanted a long time ago.

Something salty made you pull away. You reached up to tap your tongue and look at what was on your fingers, then look at the head of his cock with a face that made him laugh.

"That's just precum, babe."

You made a suspicious face and stared hard at the bead of clear falling down his wet cock.

He laughed again but it was as breathy, uneven as his words, "What, ya don't like how it tastes?"

Considering that Dabi ran on a diet of pills, energy drinks, and Slim Jims, he understood your No-Answer-answer. He was nowhere near as sweet as you.

Now that he was watching you again, it was a little harder to keep going, but you could manage if you didn't have to look up at him for too long.

He asked, tone practically candied, "Ya wanna make me cum, baby?"

You raised your head, taking the tip out of your mouth again, and gave the area near his piercing a good lick. "Ah-huh."

His jaw twitched, eyes a little narrower with a sigh. He loved whatever that was.

"Ya trust me?"

His hands unlaced from behind his head and your eyes narrowed a little, your mouth lifting from him.

A big grin plastered across his face, palms facing you, "Damn, I'll take that as a no."

It wasn't your fault Dabi seemed like the type to push your head. His reaction made you feel bad, but there was no amount of gaslighting that would make you choke on a sharp metal thing.

He cracked his knuckles with a sigh and while one returned to its place behind his head, the other stayed on his tummy.

You stared at it, tongue darting out for another sloppy kiss.

"Was just gonna teach ya how to use your cheek, but since you think I'm gonna kill ya..."

You hesitated. Now you wanted to know. But he looked too stubborn to help himself out. You could just hear the 'No, no, you missed your chance,' and see the dumb smile.

It stumped you for a minute. Using your cheek?

So he watched, entertained, as you figured it out on your own.

It required you to open your mouth more, which felt kinda embarrassing, and press the side of his cock into the inside of your cheek. You felt like a dumb chipmunk.

There was no way this was what he meant.

"There ya go."

When you moved, his piercings caught your teeth, no matter how wide you opened your jaw. You had to wipe some drool off of your chin when it was out.

Dabi didn't care about all the messy stuff, and the more you did with him, the more you understood he was into it.

"I was gonna ask if you'd let me, ya know, help ya out," His hand motioned to you, and when you hesitated, he added in an exaggerated tone, "I'll be real gentle, don't worry."

That weird thing he did earlier crossed your mind and told you not to, but it was hard to have a spine when he was so nice, so into you.

"Promise?"

"Ya got my word."

You weren't sure how much that actually meant, but you could always bite him if he lied.

And lying didn't seem to be in the cards, this time. He guided your head to a more comfortable spot, told you where to put your tongue, and reassured you that your teeth didn't hurt -and that even if they did, he 'liked it'-.

All his hands did were keep you at a certain angle with he fucked your cheek. As long as you were still, and kept your mouth open, he was satisfied.

"Yeah-- fuck, just like that," Dabi craned his head back for a moment with a sharp groan, "Such a good girl."

You weren't even doing anything, but he made you feel good about it.

Your jaw was getting so sore so quickly, but when you went to pull away, his hold was firmer than you thought. You could breathe, so it wasn't necessarily a big deal yet.

Plus, he really liked this. It was the first time you heard him, really heard him enjoying himself, and it was even hotter than you imagined.

As pretty much the only thing you could do, you looked up at him to see a crooked, strained grin turn red.

He was bleeding.

Blood stained some of his teeth, dripped in a dark trail down his chin and onto his chest. The expression on his face wasn't one of pain, despite a stitch at the corner of his mouth being snapped open.

Maybe it was due to your profession, or just plain care for the guy, but you couldn't focus knowing that he was bleeding and you had the power to stop it. The fresher a wound was, the better you could heal it-- so you shoved his hands away from your head with a fair amount of force.

Once again, you had to wipe even more drool away and swallow first with a deep breath, before quickly climbing onto him.

"You're bleeding," You felt the need to point out, since he didn't seem to care at all.

He was so out of breath when you took his face in both of your hands, inches away from your own.

Of course, you didn't mean to sit on him, but once you did, he locked his arms down and wouldn't let you rise again.

Dabi's face hardened, a rough sound rising as you healed him, but he kept his dark eyes locked on you. That little pout on your lips, the feeling of his face in your gentle hands, your tight little pussy grinding on him were all so much.

His piercings knocked against your clit, everything wet from your spit and the excitement you accumulated while sucking him off.

The hard, locked stare shifted back into his sockets as he squeezed his eyes shut and accepted that this was the most humiliating way he would ever finish.

"A-agh, God," He gasped, nails digging into your ass so hard it jerked you forward, "Fu-ck-!"

You could only watch in astonishment, mixed with a little pride, as he came a mess all over his own stomach. His hips stalled. His hands slowly lost their strength.

An amused smile and keen eyes bouncing from his exhausted, flushed expression, to his still solid friend made him huff out a rushed explanation, "That's, uh, t-his, that's never'appenedbefore--,"

You shut him up with a charged kiss.

He was too shy to even kiss you back, too ashamed to look you in the eyes, so you let him rest a heavy head on your bare shoulder.

The whole display was such a turn-on, you didn't realize your grinding was noticed until he squeezed you to a halt.

"I loved it," You smiled against his silky hair.

taglist:

@ptv-hades @croomdoom @orenjineki @dxrkdreamer @mirayasimpinghard @whore-for-anime-men @moonlightmiya @tojicvmslut @all-in-the-fandoms @aether-crystal @starsforannie @zahra030208 @pigeons-are-rad @wack0-genius

[enasallavellan]

Chapter 186

The portrait painting commences and roadblocks began to develop - and the Duke is barely able to function.

.

Enasal felt absolutely ridiculous.

She hadn't been worried about the portrait until she saw the gown the Duke had provided. It was reminiscent of what the sisters in the chantry wore in its colors and patterns, but the sleeves looped gracefully off her shoulders and her arms were overall bare.

"Alright, dear Lady, just sit still."

Vivienne hovered behind the artist as he painted, keeping a sharp eye on each brush stroke. She had been steadfast in her reminder that if the painting removed any of her elven features or freckles, all his hard work would be promptly set on fire.

"The Duke has insisted on accuracy to this portrait." He said, "I have no intentions of doing anything of the sort."

Sitting still was the hardest part. Enasal usually fussed with her hands and hair, rocking side to side or slightly up and down her toes.  Normally, she would argue that she wasn't as fidgety and everyone teased, but she was starting to see that they were probably right.

"Relax your shoulders." The man reminded her, "Still, but not stiff." Beside him stood a woman who would gently guide Enasal back into the correct position when she wiggled or shifted. It was impressive how she adjusted Enasal's posture, limbs, and head perfectly to match the forming portrait. "Don't worry so much about your face, I'm not painting that yet."

She resisted the urge to nod.

"First, the undersketch." He said, "Then we'll worry about colors, lighting, and shading. I have the perfect angle, but we'll need to do it at a particular time."

Again, she tried not to nod.

"You're doing well, ma'ashalan." Solas said, looking up from his book. Annason sat beside him with a cup of tea and nodded emphatically.

After what felt like an eternity and a few extra years, the painter put his tools down, "Alright, let's take a break."

Enasal practically lept up from her chair, rolling her shoulders and stretching her limbs. The artist started to laugh, and Enasal went red.

"It's more of a common reaction than you might think." He assured.

She sighed in relief, rolling her wrists. One of the estate's doors opened, and the Duke came out, accompanied by another man. As he neared, he gave another sweeping bow, "Lady Inquisitor, you look well- ah, as to say - well, I had been concerned the dress wouldn't fit, it was just so small-" He cut himself off and stood straight, "Forgive me! I didn't mean to suggest that it was a bad size - a very nice size, I would say, and-"

Unable to bear the poor man's floundering any longer, Enasal interrupted him, "Thank you, my Lord. "

His eyes widened for a second before another nervous laugh shook his tense shoulders, "Oh! Yes, of course, I…" He worried his hands, "Yes, thank you- oh, I mean, you're welcome!"

From their spot, Annason hid her laughter behind her hand while Solas opted to conceal his face behind his book.

Toussaint quickly went to the painting and his brow furrowed, "This is… ah-"

"It's the sketch, my lord." The artist said patiently, "After that, I'll do the underpaint - which will look very strange to you, so try not to worry when you see it." He squinted at his sketch, then up at the sun, "Once that's done, I will begin the painting properly; shading and lighting, adding all those tiny little details."

"Oh…" He adjusted his mask, "And this will take, uh… how long?"

The artist squinted at him, "My lord, with the amount of detail you specified, it could take up to a week unless you want the poor girl to sit all day."

"A week!" Enasal burst, her face going pale, "But we need-"

“You ordered a portrait without knowing how long to expect to have the Inquisitor away from her home?” Vivienne asked, pursing her lips.

"Oh - oh dear, that's…" The Duke shrunk away from Vivienne’s gaze, "That's much too long it…" He glanced around, rubbing the back of his neck.  Seeming to steel himself, he stood straight and nodded, "I will - send someone at once with the amulet, yes one - one of my - no, a group! A group of my most trusted employees. Yes, that… that would… would that work?"

Cold dread was replaced with relief, and Enasal nodded, "Yes. I can be away from Skyhold a little longer, but that amulet needs to…" She trailed off and looked at Solas, "You'll need to be there."

Solas frowned, "Even with Madame Vivienne here, I have no intention of leaving you here alone."

"Without a male escort?" Annason teased.

"Yes, Lady Garrett." Solas sighed, "Without a male escort."

Vivivenne shook her head.

"Oh!" Toussaint took a small step back, "The Lady Inquisitor is in no - I would never allow anything! She is in good hands and… well, between her guards and my guard, I, I must emphasize that she-”

Solas stared at the man. 

“Is quite…” The Duke looked away, “Safe?”

"Solas, be nice." Enasal said with a smile, "Don't mind him, my Lord; he's very protective."

"I would imagine so." He said, "After- well, the way the Grand Duke was. It was ina- very, upsetting and - shameful. Simply shameful and… and Maker, some of the - well you heard… I mean, they said things directly to you and… ah - yes.” He adjust his jacket, “As a father should, I would say, yes, most definitely -"

Solas glanced at Enasal with a raised brow.

"One must protect daughters, I would assume - especially, well, very lovely daughters -ah!" He held up his hands, "Not that I am - I'm in no way! I'm in no manner attempting to proposition you or - I know about you and the Inquisistions's commander, and even - well, I hardly understand how anyone would; he is a powerful man and quite frankly could break me in two if-"

"Actually." Soals interrupted, "Enasal is not my daughter." He smiled a bit, "Simply my student, although I will say one I am very fond of."

Enasal beamed at the praise, then sat across from him, resting her elbow on the table and closing her eyes, "Maybe…"

Annason cleared her throat with a tiny sound before saying, "My friend, perhaps Cole could join us here?" She bowed her head to the Duke, "If his Lordship wouldn't mind the intrusion?"

He jumped at being acknowledged, "Oh! Your -another guess? Well, I don't see - what I mean to say is I have no…  well, there's plenty of room."

Enasal nodded thoughtfully, "Maybe if Varric came along? He's pretty good at keeping Cole grounded."

"Perhaps his Lordship would allow it?" Annason pressed.

He quickly looked away, "Oh, yes, one - two more guests! Plenty of room, plenty of room, even more would be no problem - that is to say-"

Before he could continue on, Enasal nodded, "Thank you. That way, we can take care of this as soon as possible."

Clapping his hands, the painter motioned them over, "Alright, let's continue on."

Enasal was somewhat surprised when she tossed and turned that night. Sitting stock still had somehow worn her out, and she found herself ready to fall asleep at an uncharacteristically early hour. But once she had gotten into bed, everything seemed a bit too small and a bit too warm. She wondered if this is how a bug felt wrapped up in a spider web - all swaddled and cozy.

Although…

Duke Toussaint really didn't seem that bad. In fact, he seemed like a relatively nice person and legitimately concerned when he realized how long the painting would take. Despite his nervousness over the idea, he didn't hesitate when asked about Cole coming there.

Granted, he was nervous about everything, but…

She rolled over and gazed out the window, spotting little green bobbles outside. It was getting awfully late in the year for her fireflies to still be out. How cold could it get before they suffered? They continued to hover outside her window as though waiting.

Enasal threw the blankets off and sifted through the clothes Annason had made for her. In Skyhold, she would have just gone out in her nightgown, but Annason might sense such a thing here and magic herself there with a more appropriate dress. She finally found one that didn't require a corset and grabbed a cloak, hurrying outside. 

There were fewer fireflies than usual, and they seemed slower. They bounced slowly as though underwater, meandering through the air in lazy paths. She sighed and looked around, "It's getting too cold for all of you." She put out her hand, and a few gathered in her palm, "I'll miss you all, but I'll see you next summer. I don't want anyone to get sick or hurt." She sat on one of the benches and laughed a bit, "Besides, this way, Solas can sleep when we camp, and he won't be so grumpy in the mornings."

They began to make small circles around her but quickly stopped at an unexpected voice. "Fascinating."

Enasal pun in her seat to see the Duke, looking at the fireflies in interest. It was a shock to hear that he had uttered a word with no studders or hesitations but instead with awe and almost childlike excitement. Then he made eye contact with her, and he looked away, hands coming up to worry his fingers. "Ah. Forgive my intrusion, I… thought…well, I saw the glow and - that is to say, I was curious and…" He shifted his weight, trailing off.

"Oh, the fireflies?" She motioned him over, "They follow me. I've never known why."

He eased toward her, "A bit late - I'm sure that they do as they please, but it… well, it seems a bit late in the year and… with the cold coming…"

"I know." She leaned back, looking up at the hazy lights above her. "I'm worried about them this year."

He started to sit down by her but seemed to think better of it and stood beside the bench - furthest from her. "Even the fireflies like you - not to say that they shouldn't or that such a thing is-" He took a step back, "That is to say, I meant it as a compliment - I mean to say that you seem very… well it's easy to see - what I mean is that typically insects do not…"

She nodded, "I'm lucky."

"Never had too many." He said, "Mother - well, she was very protective and, she - I was a bit of a sickly boy and-"

"You should try going lower down the ladder." She said, "Meet people who don't have anything to gain from you."

"Don't -ah."

She tilted her head.

"Well, you're the Herald of Andraste." He looked away, "Simply being around you-" He stiffened, and his head snapped around to look at her, "That is to say that is not why - well, it is partially, what I mean to say is you seem a very good woman and-"

"It's fine." She laughed, "I get it." She looked back to the fireflies and held her hands aloft, "With them? Friends, who are just people? It's easy. We talk and play cards and make silly bets and tell stories…" She tilted her head side to side, "It's funny, you know. Even with a group as big as ours, you would think we'd run out of stories. But we never do."

Toussaint nodded, "Yes, well… as you know - well, they say in Orlais…" He rubbed at his scalp, "That -ah. I don't know how… how to translate but, ah…" 

Enasal waited.

"Every, uh… new experience or, or day, or, or…" His voice dropped, "Something… is a new uh… story?"

Enasal looked over at him and grinned, "I guess you're right." She lightly put her hand out, but instead of gathering in her palm, the fireflies slowed to a stop. Then, one by one, they flew around her head before floating away.

"What…? They, uh…"

"Oh…" Enasal sighed, "Hopefully, they were saying goodbye."

"Oh, yes!" He agreed, "Too cold, much too chilly and… yes." He shifted his weight and looked around, "Well, I should probably retire again and… not that I'm not enjoying the conversation, you- I mean to say you're without our chaperone, and I…" His voice went quieter with each word, "He might… set me on… fire."

With a laugh, Enasal nodded, "I should probably go back to bed, too. Annason will be upset if she wakes up and I'm not there."

He barked out another nervous laugh, "Why, yes - of course. Mustn't upset the lady."

"Goodnight, Duke Toussaint." She said.

"Ah, yes." He said with a nod, pausing before adding, "I mean, that is to say have a good evening - night - morning?"

She looked up at the moon, "Morning."

"Oh, how remark - just from looking at the moon you can… stars still out and yet, well, you are Dalish after all and I - well with no clocks and…I should go."

Enasal had already stated back to her room. It seemed the longer she stayed the longer his words would loop around and get tangled up in themselves.  "Goodnight, Duke Toussaint."

Never in her life had she met such a timid man.

Read the full fic from the beginning at my A03 here!

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If you’re willing and able, feel free to donate to my ko-fi or drop a tip in the jar to help me afford my many medications to keep the crazy at bay!

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Bonus Gif

Duke Jules Toussaint every moment of every day:

[spirit-of-vengeance]

@spxcemuses @mr-mansnoozie @xxstar-bluesxx

Guess who gathered enough mind to finally write her full backstory of Western Verse. Her being a bounty hunter is set in the Wild West time period (1865-1895), there is no current year(s) to set her story in mainly because I don't want to make a mistake messing up the timeline.

Calm before the storm

Her father, Attila a lesser Hungarian noble whom supported the 1848-1849 revolutionary war but after the failure of it he escaped emigrated to America to avoid the Habsburg revenge, soon followed by his brother Gábor. He could save a small amount of his fortune along with his two most important horses: a purebred Lipizzan stallion and an extremely rare Akhal Teke mare. He had settled near a small town, due to his financial situation and education as a noble he established a school with the support and approval of the local church. To quieten his guilt for abandoning his country in its peril, he poured all of his heart into educating children; at least he is still useful in some way.

One day, a group of artists traveling artists, acrobats traveled through the town and the aristocrat fell in love at first sight. She was like the queen of fairy from the folk tales he'd heard in his childhood, she was tall, blue eyes sparkled like light sapphire, long golden brown hair floated ethereally with every twirl. The smitten lord shamelessly courted the the graceful acrobat, determined to know at least the name.

The group had stayed in the town for a few weeks, allowing Attila's and Myra's romance to blossom; after a month she ended up staying with him, just like in true fairytales.

My obsession with angst backstory strikes again

The lord was in love, deeper than poets could express it. Since the loss of his home and country he had found his place in the universe along with the perfect companion by his side. He paid less attention to the school, the church and other public affairs; it wasn't like he abandoned them but became more withdrawn to spend time with the love of his life, especially after the birth of their daughter. She was almost the perfect miniature of her mother, same beautiful hair glinting gold in the sunlight, only her eyes were the brightest emerald green he'd ever seen.

While Myra's heart and aura was as pure as a fairy's; the local church was beyond distressed. They claimed that Attila had completely abandoned helping those in need because of her wicked seduction. When they witnessed her performing for the amusement of the crowd, the 'temptress witch' brand couldn't be lifted. They gathered a few enthusiastic townsfolk whom shared their views and a few morally questionable men whom only wanted a piece of the lord's fortune.

10 year old Karma was awakened from her deep slumber by her frantic father; smoke and yelling blinding her senses as he carried her out of the burning house into the nearby forest so the mob won't find her. He promised her he will be back but he had to return into their home for Myra; he couldn't leave her inside. Karma watched her dad disappear into the flames, the air filled with suffocating smoke and religious shouts for god to smite the sinners. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the spot where her father was gone, waiting for her parents to stumble out of the half collapsed building; but that never had happened. She sat unmoving from her spot, struck staring into the flames then into the ashes as the sun has risen.

Birth of the marksman

Attila's brother, Gábor arrived the next day after hearing the news, he was the one whom found Karma still staring at the ruins in a catatonic state. He couldn't avenge his sibling as it meant endangering his niece and she has lost more than enough.

Gábor expected her to become a soft spoken, reserved lady once she overcame her trauma; that theory was soon abandoned when once he had awoken to his niece practicing with his rifle outside with frighteningly great accuracy. The young girl naturally had an extraordinary aim and after a few long talks, he'd seen the determination burning in her to avenge the murder of her parents. Given by her mother's dance lessons, she was also flexible and capable of many different acrobatic moves; this combined with her aim proven to be a very dangerous combination.

To not awaken suspicion he told his friends Karma was an orphan whose parents were killed by bandits and he had adopted her to give her a family and education. Karma was fascinated chasing greater heights of her skills, this involved reading every possible book about anatomy, marking, engraving the useful spots of the body. Karma knows where to shoot to disarm, to cause a slow death, to paralyze, to disable for life and when it is only a warning: an injury which will heal with time. Along with her accuracy, her drawing speed only can be compared to lightning. Although she prefers/most comfortable with her dual revolvers (model undecided yet), she is still a menace with shotguns, rifles, flintlocks and even bows due to Gàbor's 'A Hungarian is not a Hungarian if they can't use a bow' mindset.

The bounty hunter quicker than death

Karma had her first official gunfight at the age of 18 on the auction. for Vihar (Storm), the filly of her father's horses.

Detailed post about Vihar

She officially entered the bounty hunter business when she was 20 and Vihar was 2, aiming for the most dangerous criminals whom committed the worst acts possible. In her early years after the kill she slit open corpses she trying to find the bullet, surverying the damage it caused and adding filler information to her anatomy knowledge. Of course she didn’t bother burying the bodies, she knew as a woman she has to be extremely vicious above talented to be hired and mutilated dead bodies did send a great message & served as cement for building her reputation. The name Karma wasn't entirely her idea, many thankful family members claimed that karma has came for their loved ones' murderers. Her talent spread like wildfire among the men of law, glad to be rid of the dangerous scum; with careful planning, use of environment and Vihar as backup she had wiped out gangs, not solely focused on individuals.

Unfortunately her reputation summoned an unofficial grand price on her head as well in certain circles; they had tracked her back to her uncle's house. The battle claimed Gábor's life and nearly her sight as her right eye was almost slashed out. The new loss opened old wounds: her not being able to protect her loved ones. She couldn't look into a mirror, the scar a reminder how despite all years of training she wasn't untouchable; after burying her uncle plan to gain control over her psyche already formed.

She took a knife and carefully carved four half circles around her eye to form a crosshair with her pupil being the middle of it. She made sure she kept the wounds open for enough time to scar as visibly as the vertical cut; she wanted a symbol to add to her legend. Excuse my pathetic excuse of an edit, I'm not good in this, nor I can draw.

Now Karma is 25, Vihar is 6, both of them in their peak physical prime; the name Vihar is also symbolic a little, Karma is the lightning to her horse. She is dancing on the thin edge of bounty hunting and being an outlaw as she often takes...side jobs to help people who deserve it and usually that person doesn't have a bounty on their head, therefore it is technically murder.

Local antisocial feral monk & cocky gunslinger feral lady / addition of the AU with the amazing @mr-mansnoozie

Near her uncle's house, Karma had discovered a cave and a grumpy mute monk living in it along with his pet bear. The monk, Sandy eventually became a second uncle to the traumatized angry orphan, he taught her how to move & creep upon someone soundlessly, disappear without a trace, cover her stances and behavior patterns of various animals. Before and after returning from a job she always visits her uncle of choice for a chat; a silent way to prepare him to the possibility of her not coming back. But she always do. She considers Sandy as part of her tiny family, although his...copying mechanisms with his own traumas were a bit strange to get used to; she adapted quite fast, after all who is she to judge with a past like that?

I'm a dead man walking, Hell's at my door.

aka collection of small headcanons

🎯 Her dual revolvers are called Salvation and Damnation because she's dramatic

🎯 Karma has a small sketchbook filled with anatomy drawings for further practice.

🎯 She actually can sing, but rarely does, only to Vihar since she never received positive feedback on it. Her voice is gritty, rugged and deep; definitely not the usual and desired sounding from a woman.

🎯 If her target was an outstandingly cruel bastard and/or one of those whom killed her parents she uses a little psychological torture. After fatally wounding them she starts whistling (for the most terrifying experience wear headphones & close your eyes while listening) as they try to crawl away or beg for mercy. The first time the whistle gets shrill & more intense is when she lazily reloads, knowing she has both the time and the upper hand. The second pace shift is when she aims; she shoots during the last, long drawn out high note.

🎯 This is her only verse where Cindy is afraid, no terrified of fire; during her....26 AU's she's always been associated with fire despite dying in or being wounded by it. In this verse she is more tied to lightning, the scent of smoke is enough to send her into a silent panic attack and despite loathing the cold she will never sit close to the fireplace. Her other deep fears include injuring her hands & sight and losing Vihar. Her horse is the only remaining family member of hers, she can't fail her too.

🎯 Most of Karma's scars, injuries are a result of her standing between Vihar and a knife/bullet/ even a bullwhip when a criminal was smart enough to catch on their deep emotional bond.

🎯 She has recurring night terrors about the night her parents died, she always wakes up in cold sweat; she's sort of used to them. Though, sometimes she still cries but thankfully Vihar is there to comfort her.

🎯 Karma has a special morning stretch routine to keep her flexibility and warm up her hands & keep them steady and fast.

🎯 Due to her dad and uncle she received high quality education

🎯 For the untrained eye, the belt of her hat are simple crosses while in reality, they are inverted crosses to symbolize her stance with Christianity

🎯 Karma's middle name is Emerald, given by her father due to her eye color.

🎯 Karma was first inspired by League of Legends Miss Fortune because that name alone is great but unfortunately she is too pirate coded for a western so I abandoned the relation. Though when Karma is not being the 'Call me a slow reader but I only made it to the Dead part, the or Alive didn't register.' ; her personality is similar to hers.

🎯 Due to her dad, Karma is actually half aristocrat. Not like she cares about it the slightest; the only indication of noble blood is her idle stance. It is an unconscious mirror of how her father used to hold himself: back straightened to almost impossible point, left arm behind it, right hand resting on the grip of in her case, revolver instead of hilt of a sword.

🎯 If given the chance to live a normal life, she would've grown into a captivating, lively young woman, much like her mother but with the aristocrat elegance of her father; finding a suitor who lives up to her parents' and her standards would've been the challenge of the century.

🎯 Her special move is called Dance of Death. This is used as last resort when she's facing more opponents up to 12, as with her dual revolvers she has 12 bullets without reloading. She mentally marks the stances of all opponents, predicts their movement, firing order and possible way of their bullets before whirling out of her hiding place. Each pose minimizes the chance of getting shot, and with each change of movement two bullets are fired, two men drop dead.

🎯 Her accuracy isn't just 'gun goes boom >:D' but a combination of natural talent, endless practice, movement prediction, sharp, quick thinking & analytical skills and different techniques molten together to utilize them all at once

🎯 Her hair is now as long as her mother's, she always keeps it in a single tight braid to keep it out of the way; without her hat and hair down she actually loses some of her dangerous edge.

🎯 The only physical memory Karma has of her parents is her dad's hussar sword she found underneath the ruins of the house, it was protected by a very thick wooden box & a lock of her mother's hair is tied to the grip. She has hidden it in the nearby forest, her thoughts often wander to it along with the wish to wield it.

[arcane-luna]

//This is a bit of a longer drabble but I’ve been thinkin about it! 

Ezreal was used to strange and vivid dreams. His constantly running mind combined with his vivid and expansive imagination made for quite the combination every time he fell asleep. He had seen everything from his day to day activities to fantastical landscapes that he failed to describe with ay sort of accuracy. But even then, none of his dreams were quite this vivid. The way the cold stone felt on his finger tips. The soft whistle of the wind through the canyon the peaks illuminated against the dark sky.. The end of the canyon featured a building unlike any he had ever seen. It glimmered as if it was made of moonlight itself, sitting perfectly among the darkened rocks. It looked stunning from afar, but up close Ezreal found it to be even more splendid. The architecture of the building he was in was incredibly unique, made of graceful circles and curved structures. It reached up into the sky, nearly blending in with the stars with its beauty. The structure had an allure to it, the same kind of allure that often drove Ezreal into the most remote of ruins, they always had a sort of life to them as if they were breathing. It’s a dream he figured, what's the absolute worst that could happen. Curiously he peeked inside, noting the delicate and smooth texture of the stone the outside seemed to be composed of. It didn’t feel like normal stone. It felt frictionless, otherworldly even. He was surprised to see that the walls just inside the massive structure were absolutely covered in designs, an incredible amount of detail even for one of his dreams. The intricate carvings swirled all around, converging in beautiful starry patterns along the ceiling creating a soft glow that bathed the mostly white inside the same peaceful light. Ezreal stepped closer to one of the distinctive massive circular doors, peering curiously at the runes all around it. Mouthing the words carefully, passing over runes he had never seen before. “These look like ancient Shuriman..Targonian maybe..” he mumbled to himself in habit, rubbing his chin with his finger. The runes were reflected in the art that covered even the massive pillars inside the structure, carved depictions of what looked like the sky and the stars illuminated by the light of the silvery moon. He smiled softly at the thought of the moon. “Phel..” he whispered as he thought of his darling partner. Maybe all his time listening to the other talk about his people had finally started to take hold in his dreams. He sighed as he reminisced, the longing tugging painfully at his chest. Usually when he dreamt Phel was there, or at least he wasn't’ alone. Peculiar he thought that this time he was all alone. He crept towards the center of the temple, trying his best to look down each of the massive dark halls that lined the center atrium. The massive alter  sat on one end, again ringed in beautiful white stone opening its mouth wide to the expanses of the heavens.

 “How big is this place..” he whispered to himself, even that soft sound echoing off the walls.

“Big enough to get lost, I have a lot in my time here.”

 he nearly jumped at the sound of another voice, a tiny yelp escaping his lips. He whipped around, his left hand instantly pointed in the direction of it, quickly realizing he had failed to dream himself with any kind of protection. The owner of the voice was a woman, her hair silvery, her dark clothes glittering as they fell around her body with a grace he had yet to see anywhere else. “Don’t worry, I’m a friend.” she smiled, her head tiling ever so slightly to the side. Her voice  was melodic, soothing even. A comfort in a place that seemed to only get stranger.

“I’m just happy that I managed to get you here.”

 “Here?” Ezreal asked, his brows raising in confusion. “Yes here, the Marus Omegnum. It’s  a mysterious place isn't it. It rarely shows itself to others. Hidden in a space between our world and the next over”. Ezreal mulled the words over in his mind, the familiarity of the name floating on the tip of his tongue, rubbing his chin with his fingers gently. “I just wanted to see if i could meet you at least once, since my brother seems to be so deeply in love with you.” His thoughts shattered like glass as the realization hit, his eyes blinking quickly in surprise. “Wait, you’re Phel’s sister??” he exclaimed. She smiled and nodded. “Yes, that would be me. I’m Alune.” she said as she made a slight bow.  “Well it’s great to meet you, I’m Ezreal but i’m assuming you knew that.” he beamed with a cheeky smile, his hands resting on his hips. She giggled “Cheeky I see, I didn't expect anything less. Forgive me for dragging you here. Maybe it’s selfish of me..iIjust wanted to see what you were like. She looked Ezreal up and down a little, her slender brows arching. “I just never imagined this was his type.” Ezreal blew his bangs from his eyes with a huff. “What’s that supposed to mean?” It got a laugh from her. It was gentle like a bell ringing, much like Phel’s. “Nothing, i just didn’t think he was into blondes. I figured from the way that you make him feel you must be quite spectacular”  

“Do you still...feel what he feels I suppose?” 

“A little, I can feel the very intense emotions. We were linked so closely for so long after all. You can imagine my surprise when i started to feel the intense passion just flow from him.” Ezreal couldn’t help but blush, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “I try, your brother can be hard to read. At least I know I'm doin somethin right.” She turned towards the moon hanging in the starry abyss in the opening of the back of the temple, leaning back against the pillar. “He didn’t used to be you know. He was always smiling when he was younger. I still remember his laugh when it used to ring through the night air.” her eyes fell as the reality came back to her, the heavy fate that they both were forced to carry. “It feels like so long since I’ve even seen him smile, since I’ve seen the light in his eyes.” Ezreal leaned against the wall near to her. They had only just met, but he felt the pain that hung in the air. The inability to help the person most dear to her.

 “Well if it makes you feel any better, he smiles a lot now.” Ezreal added softly. 

She shifted a little, sitting up a little straighter. “So I assume he’s doing well then?” 

“extremely. He’s always smiling and laughing, he has his own job now too. He’s even picked up a few hobbies and made some friends. Everyone adores him.” Her eyes glittered, rubbing them carefully with her slender fingers. “I’m glad. That’s all I ever wanted for him. I never wanted to have to put him through so much pain and suffering. He deserves so much more than that. He is such a kind and gentle soul.” “He really is.” Ezreal sighed as he thought of his partner, all the joy and light that he brought. “He’s so sweet, I’m always surprised at how kind and loving he truly is. Every day I wake up and I love him more than I did the day before.

 “I’m glad you’ve found my brother. I can tell you from the bottom of my heart you make him nothing but happy.” Her voice sounded pained, full of desperate longing. 

“Well he does the same for me, I love your brother more than anything.” Alune was quiet for a moment, lost in thought. Ezreal wasn't sure what to say to her, she had such an ethereal presence- otherworldly almost. Someone who always seemed so far by the way Phel talked about her yet sitting here she seemed so vulnerable. “Do you stay here alone?” Ezreal finally asked, shattering the silence like a sheet of thin glass. She nodded. “Isolation...it’s part of what I must do for our people.” 

“If Phel doesn’t have to live in pain, you don’t have to be here alone either.”

 “Maybe not...but if it’s my orbit then so be it at least it's something that will end in good. The light of the moon will be able to shine on our people again.”

 “I wish there was something I could do..for both of you.” 

 “Just promise me you’ll care for him, give him a life that he could never have.” her voice sounded like it was about to break, turning away from Ezreal in the process. “If you can help at least him, then it would be alright.” “Of course I would, I’d never let anything happen to him. I’d give him the world if I could.” the tears trickled down her cheek. “As i thought, my brother found someone truly amazing.” she whimpered. “Thank you Ezreal, for everything.” She whispered, the tears trickling down her cheeks like stars. Her smile  large and bright, matching the soft light that glimmered through the temple. The light fluttered and obscured his vision, quickly climaxing in his eyes opening. The white temple was gone, replaced by the glimmering lights through his window, the distant sounds of the city droning on behind him. He felt the bed shift to his side, arms still wrapped tightly around his waist. The soft sound of Phel’s breathing creating a peaceful atmosphere. Ezreal smiled, running his fingers down Phel’s cheek, gently brushing the long dark bangs aside. He grunted softly as he turned closer to the blonde, nestling deeper into comfort. “I love you Phel..” he whispered as he kissed his lover's forehead, nestling close to his chest. “I love you more than anything...and I always will.”