#i wouldn't have nearly half as much of a problem if people didn't get so damn twisted with this

[the-rebel-archivist]

I also think that he was using her and that there was no love lost for her on his end... but that there was also a twisted admiration at some point, a thing that drew him to her. It's complicated and bound up in complete and utter disgust. I also think that once Lucanis returned Illario's disdain turned to real hatred, but that he was stuck at that point; killing her took care of multiple problems at once.

I tend to think that at the beginning, when he first started to really woo her (which I'm certain he went all out on, wined and dined the pants off of her, probably even wrote her sonnets, while he absolutely disdained her and her cause because he doesn't think any political or moral cause is worth that dedication), he did come to admire that she never took no for an answer. When she wanted something, she took it. Nothing could stand in her way. That attitude helped to embolden him for what he wanted to do, he wanted to be First Talon and he was determined to overcome any obstacle to do that.

I'm sure he even felt guilty sometimes that in of all of his disdain and disgust for her, he didn't hate her nearly as much as he probably should have. There was something at that point that he also got out of that relationship, though it wasn't love or care or any sort of soft emotion; it was mutually beneficial... toward his negative arc. I don't think that even Illario could have kept up a completely one sided relationship as manipulation for over a year unless there was something no matter how small that he was getting out of it on a personal level. He had understanding from Zara of all the dark and terrible things that he couldn't voice elsewhere, all of his envy and spite and pride. He had validation. I also do think that Zara actually cared; her pride and ego were flattered and she is deeply insecure (people happy with who they are don't blood magic away their age and imperfections) and I suspect that there aren't a lot of people who can even pretend that they truly like her so she was an easy mark.

It's made even more complicated by the fact that she is the only person he can speak to of his ambitions. That's no small thing, being able to not have to keep it contained always. During Murder of Crows, you find a half burned letter in his fireplace that reads

—patience, Amatus. More glory will come to you.

He's discussed his impatience, then, and what he feels like he's owed. But the letter is torn and burnt; this could be because he wanted to hide evidence, but I don't think it is. He thought the villa was well enough guarded to leave Caterina, he wouldn't have worried about his room. He could also have burned it to erase all trace of her because he cared about her and she was dead, but I think that's an easily dismissed idea that doesn't fit with any other details or his attitude in general. This is the guy who heard the news of the guard captain in TWJ being dead and thought great, obligation to meet her later dodged.

No, I think that it's an indication that he is at this point so completely done with Zara. It's been a whole year. He's tired of keeping up this charade. And she broke her side of the deal and left his cousin to a fate he did not want. He wanted him to die cleanly. That one benefit that he had with her, the ability to talk openly about his plans, he no longer has. He had to act the lover while absolutely despising her and he had to do it long term. It's not just that it turned out that she had not done the main thing he needed her to do - he has some family pride and what she did was an insult against not just Lucanis but him himself.

All that he was left with was hatred and disdain. Killing her was not just tying up a loose end and saving his own skin, it was freeing himself from a manipulation that had become a burden and only serving one party. It's amazing that he even managed to wait until that moment to strike. I wonder how many times and in how many ways he had thought about assassinating her. I'm sure he started before he even met her.

What are your personal headcanons about Illario's feelings towards Zara Renata? Attraction? Some care or none? Purely a tool for his ambitions? Hatred or disgust at her hunting his beloathed/beloved cousin? (Curious since Illario/Zara seems to be a talking point on the TL at the moment.)

I do think she was just a tool. I'm of the mind that she was a pawn... probably disgust because he seems SO un-fond of Venatori in the wigmaker job that turns to hatred when he realizes what she did to Lucanis--she tortured him, Othered him, made him into a Demon. Illario would've killed him quickly but couldn't bring himself to do it. Oh, he hates her, to me. She was a tool and a pawn for his ambitions.

I do think that she might have been genuinely fond of him? Based on dialogue she has. She did call him amatus. Open for debate but I'm of that mind as well.

[wispisstillverybored67]

I should be allowed to get rid of those oh-so-repetitive "I should be allowed to torture people who use gendered pronouns for (insert character here) to death and eat their corpse for fun" for...mmm. Forever, I think.

[karinab00bs]

Can i request Karina x Male Reader office sex?

Cubicle Rival

Karina x male reader

tags: nipple play, fingering

Nearly everyone in the building had left for the day by ten minutes after fifteen; the janitor had even switched off the lights on purpose to prevent anyone from working overtime. Karina and you remained in the same room where they'd been working; the woman had taken off her blazer and was draping it over the back of her chair, while the man had rolled up his long sleeves to his elbows. As long as their report received approval and they could return home, their looks held little concern.

"Mr. Ethan hasn't replied?" Karina asked you since you had been refreshing your email. Waiting for the first message in their inbox determined whether they could go home early or stay in the office longer.

"Not just yet.” Perhaps sloppily or exhausted, you respond, "It's still being checked."

Karina says, her tone unpleasant to hear: "It's half past eleven; is it crazy that Mr. Ethan still wants to check the report?"

"Why are you anyway blaming Mr. Ethan? You know he is a perfectionist. He promised to wait until today; hence, he will wait until twelve. You are the one who is wrong; why would you hand over such a critical report to an intern who is already on his way home at five? It's not going to be right," you ramble, drawing visible eyebrows furrowing on Karina.

"Why are you blaming me? Blame Ms. Je for putting the director's daughter in our division. What do you think I can do if she's nagging me to do a report? Tell her you can't do your job like that?" Karina started pounding on the table; maybe both of them were already tired, so they were more sensitive and easily ignited.

"You could try pointing the finger at other people. You brought Mr. Ethan and now Ms. Je; pointing fingers at others won't make them do anything or prevent such incidents in the future. Do you also intend to hold the intern responsible, given his obvious ignorance in preparing the report? Indeed, it is your responsibility to consider this matter. How can a child, lacking any knowledge, solve such a significant problem? You, equally irritated, began pointing at Karina as if assigning blame.

"Now you're blaming me?"

You didn't have time to reply to Karina's words because a call came into your cell phone from Mr. Ethan.

"Yes, sir? Yes, thank you very much, sir. I'll send it later. I will finish it in 15 minutes. Thank you very much, sir." You disconnected the phone and looked at Karina. The man sighed softly before saying to karina, "The report is okay; I just need to check for typos. I'll finish it first. Can you get me a coffee?"

Karina was silent for a second before responding, "Fine." 

Upon seeing Karina exit the office, you instinctively shut your eyes.

Although Karina was really terrified to visit the pantry by herself since all the lights had been turned off, she couldn't resist your demand so that everything would be finished rapidly and she could head home. Under low lighting, she began preparing two cups of coffee in paper cups, using a combination of saset coffee and sugar, to ensure you wouldn't have any complaints about the taste. She carried the black coffee paper cups with both hands, but her foot stumbled on something, and one cup of coffee spilled on her chest. "Ah." Karina turned to show a faint smile. Indeed, it appears that she has paid the price for all her mistakes over the past year. Why is this so unlucky?

She took off her shirt, which was full of spilled coffee, and then she walked back towards her office.

She gently opened the door, and she found you closing your eyes and leaning on your chair. Okay, the initial plan was for Karina to stealthily walk to her cubicle, retrieve her blazer, and put it on before you woke up. Karina then crept over, set the coffee she had produced next to your laptop, and hurried to her cubicle.

You blinked up at the scent of coffee, but your attention quickly went from the paper cup on her desk to the figure of Karina, who was unclasping her bra. Fuck.

"What on earth are you doing?" you inquired, your voice quivering with disbelief. 

"My shirt is all sticky from spilling coffee," Karina answered, her bare back now showing.

"Are you not afraid of me doing anything to you?" You asked while getting up from the chair to get a box of tissues. The man was now sitting on Karina's chair, and you could clearly see the girl's large, saggy breasts. While the woman sat at her desk.

"You and I fight every day; I doubt you have any desire to do anything to me, even though I'm naked in front of you right now," Karina replied confidently.

"Do you think if I were naked in front of you, you'd be horny?" Your question made Karina snort in annoyance.

"No, it's crazy to lust after you," Karina said, folding her arms across her chest, making her breasts pop out even more as if challenging you.

"I have submitted the report, and Mr. Ethan accepted it. You raised one eyebrow and said, "All that remains is your business with me."

"What business is it? I have nothing to do with you. Better turn back; my body is all sticky and a little blistering thanks to the hot water dispenser," Karina said, looking down at her coffee-sticky chest.

"You're sure you won't lust after me, right?" you asked again.

"No."

"I'll just clean it so it's not sticky and then go home," you said. "Shut up." You looked down and swept your tongue over every inch of Karina's breasts to clean the coffee off her skin, occasionally giving the man a light sip.

"What the hell are you doing?" Karina tried to keep your head from coming closer to her body, but then she froze as the tip of your tongue rubbed against her nipple. Damn. It was so good.

"They say it's better to use saliva or running water when it's hot." You soaked Karina's upper body, including her skirt, with the remaining water from the glass she used to drink.

"Fuck, what are you doing? I swear.. I'm wet.."

"Wet, huh?" You lowered your head and took one of Karina's nipples into your mouth, sucking gently, while your other hand wiped Karina's body with a tissue.

Karina bit her lip, both hands clutching the edge of the table she was sitting on. "You won't lust, right? There's no way you'll lust after me; after all, I'm just cleaning you."

"Hurry up and clean it.. I'm going back." Karina's words made you smile.

You took a tissue and, using both hands, rubbed Karina's nipples with it. While closing her eyes, the girl looked up. She hadn't felt a touch on her body in a long time, so a touch like this sent her into a trance. Indeed, your skill level is beyond reproach. Just observe how the tissue continues to twist both Karina's nipples, creating a more pleasurable sensation. You idly pinched Karina's nipples so hard that she couldn't help but moan.

"Don't be horny; I'm just cleaning it," you said half-mockingly.

"I'm not fucking horny." Karina's answer made you laugh. You pulled down Karina's panties and let them fall to the floor.

"It's just wet," you teased with a finger that had rubbed Karina's pussy. "I'm just cleaning it; you don't want to feel uncomfortable."

"What the hell are you doing- ahhh ..." Your tongue entered to explore Karina's pleasure hole with your finger stroking the small object on it, creating a stifled moan from Karina's lips, which made you smile because, after all, Karina's sigh had made you win. You deliberately inserted two of your fingers, then scratched Karina's pussywall rather roughly, causing her affection to shift to her clitoris. "A-ahhh.. ahhh.."

"Why mm? Is it good? You said you wouldn't lust after me, but you're so wet, Rina." Karina stared resentfully at your face as she bit her lower lip, deliberately holding back a moan so as not to feed your ego. "Why do you want to end it?" you asked, bending your two fingers precisely at Karina's weakest point, and soon her pleasure juices melted away.

"Damn you.." said Karina in the end, while catching her breath.

"1-0, there is no need to deny that you are also horny for me," you said with a chuckle, and you lowered your head to lick Karina's pussy, which had just reached its release.

"Watch out; I'll get you back."

"I can't wait," you replied as she helped put the blazer on Karina's body.

[eternal-evergreens]

Hello! I stumbled across your post “jjk men as yandere” and I really enjoy both your thoughts and writing style.

I would truly appreciate if you wrote any scenario involving yandere Geto with reader (sorcerer).

Thank you if you even consider writing it<3

A/N Thanks so much!!

｡⁠*ﾟ⁠+*⁠.⁠✧"Meet Cute" ｡⁠*ﾟ⁠+*⁠.⁠✧

Post format: Drabble

Pairing: Yandere!Suguru Geto x GN!Curse user!Reader

Word count: 1.3k

Warnings: Reader is morally bankrupt, mentions of eugenics/genocide, reader is a little too into WWII, minor age gap, super greedy reader

"You're like a modern-day Hitler, huh?"

"...What?" Geto looked at you with wide eyes, putting down his to-go cup to better gape at you.

"Well, you are advocating for mass genocide and literal eugenics," you say, taking an unbothered sip of your own coffee. (Geto recommended the place. Apparently, his kids like the hot chocolate there. You'll have to ask him for the name of the place later.) "So, yeah, you're like Hitler."

Geto appears to be having a crisis of some sort. Just sort of staring down at his lap with an unreadable look on his face. You watch with amusement. This kid must be a newbie, you think—not that you're much older than him, but you at least have seniority on this.

"What, are you getting cold feet? You've already killed people, you know. If you want to make it in this career, you're gonna have to get real comfortable being compared to some pretty terrible things."

"I'm used to being called terrible things, it's just—"

"Oh, what? Like monster?" Geto says nothing, and you sigh, reclining back in your chair. (Damn, this cult has some nice shit. You wonder if you can sneak the couch out without anyone noticing?) "So unoriginal. Anyway keep your chin up. It's actually a good thing. Hitler already exists, so you can steal his ideas."

"Weren't you just complaining about something being unoriginal?" You wave your hand dismissively.

"That was then, this is now. Anyway what do you think? Hitler industrialized murder. You can do the same—if you can get the right ingredients."

"You're talking about power, right?"

"Pretty much. You'll need hands and money. And a lot of both. With that in mind, this cult is actually a perfect setup. But putting that aside," you take another sip of your drink. Empty. Damn it. "You didn't call me here just so I could give you my professional opinion, did you?"

Geto smiles. "I hear you'll do anything for money."

"I don't come cheap, you know."

"That's not a problem," he snaps his fingers, and someone, a "monkey" from the looks of it, walks in, clearly struggling with the weight of whatever's in that giant briefcase. You suppress a smile as it's placed on the table and opened. Hundreds, no, thousands of ¥10,000 notes line the briefcase from top to bottom. You nearly salivate from just looking at it. Quickly, you check for any signs of deceit, of counterfeits, empty space, or otherwise. You can't find anything.

"You'll find this briefcase contains over one billion yen." Geto says, gesturing for his...indentured servant to close the case. How many bills is that? It's gotta be over a million. You're half tempted to take the money and run, but years of experience have taught you not to underestimate guys carrying this much cash. "I trust this is sufficient?"

"That depends on the job," you say, crossing your arms. "If you want me to take out Satoru Gojo, you'll need to multiply it a hundredfold before I even consider it."

"It's nothing that severe," he says, wearing the smile of a polished businessman. You sit up a little straighter. Maybe you were wrong about this guy being an amateur. Whatever he wants you to do, it's bad news. You feel excitement tingling in your veins. Will he ask you to take out a city? A country? Considering the scale of his plans, you wouldn't be surprised if he wanted you to take out a continent... you'd need a bit more to do something like that, though.

"I want you to marry me."

You snort, then laugh. You laugh for a very long time, even holding your stomach as you bend over in your seat. If this was a ploy to make you let your guard down long enough to kill you, it was smart. Still, you wouldn't go down that easily. You're more than confident enough in your ability to defend yourself, even in such a hilarious encounter.

Finally, the laughter dies down, and you wipe a tear from your eye. You look up at Geto's face, only for him to look back at you oddly serious. "No way..." you murmur, "are you for real?"

"I'm afraid I am," he says. Your smile drops. How annoying. What's this guy even want from you, huh?

"So, what, that money's a dowry?"

"More like a bribe."

"Uh-uh. No way. Not happening. I can't take a job like that."

"You're not even going to ask what's in it for me?"

"Not interested," you say, grabbing your bag and standing.

"I think I ought to tell you anyway," he says, throwing a sack onto the table. A stack of yen falls out, and you eye it with a raised eyebrow. "That's my payment for listening," he says. "¥200,000."

You inspect the fallen stack. Once again, it's real. He's either crazy or plotting something, and you have a hunch it's the latter. You sit back down. Whatever he's thinking, it's definitely bad news. Even so, you need more information to properly deal with it.

"I've heard you're the sole caretaker of four siblings." He shouldn't know that, but you decide not to derail the conversation by asking. "As you know, I've got two little girls of my own."

"So, what? You need a babysitter?"

"Precisely."

"Okay, but why marriage? Surely you could just hire me as a nanny and be done with it?"

"The girls don't trust strangers easily. I already told them that I had a Fiance out of town who'd be coming back soon. Just play along with it and you'll be compensated accordingly." "For how long?"

"Just until they turn eighteen."

"You'll have to pay me more." "What I showed you earlier was just a down payment; you'll also get an annual salary of fifteen million."

"Make it twenty."

"How's forty?" he says. You ponder over it for a moment. Judging from how you saw things earlier, it seems like he does genuinely love those kids. He's young and not afraid of spending, which would make you worry about the sustainability of the job, but cults are famous for making tons of cash.

"How old are they?"

"Six." So, twelve years. Counting the initial (over) one billion, the listening fee of two hundred thousand, and the annual salary times twelve, you'll be paid over ¥1,480,200,000. That's more than enough to send your siblings to college, as well as set them up for life.

"Deal," you say, reaching your hand out to shake. You'd ask why he doesn't just hire someone more qualified, but you think that speech on 'monkeys' he gave you answers the question.

"It's getting late," he says, shaking your hand. "How about I take you to dinner?"

"Why?"

"My girls are smart. They'll realize something's up if we don't know anything about each other," he says, standing.

"This isn't coming out of my salary, right?" Geto, or, you suppose you should be calling him Suguru, now, chuckles.

"I'm not nearly that stingy," he says. He holds out his arm to escort you, and you take it. "I'll need your ring size, too."

Of course, he already knows it. That, and so much more. After all, this may be your first time meeting him, but he's already met you plenty of times.

"Sure, but I'm not paying. Also, if you get me an ugly one I'm selling it."

"We'll go together, then." For some reason, the smile on his face seems a little too genuine to be meant for someone he's only just met, but you pay it no mind. Money is money, after all.

"Oh, what about living arrangements?"

"You and your siblings will live here," he says. "You'll have to sleep in the same bed as me, I'm afraid. Just to keep up the illusion."

"Do I get a bonus for that?"

"You're hurting my feelings," he says.

[sentinelsthiccass]

What the Actor AU Folks did for New Years

Starscream

- got white girl wasted

- tried to fight everyone

- got knocked out with one punch by Megatronus

- carried to bed by Bee

B-127

- didn't drink bc pregnant, but doesn't really drink much anyways so that's no problem

- constantly stressed by Starscream's drunk ass

- carried Starscream to bed

- went to bed with him, turned on his dampeners bc firework sounds bother him, too loud

D-16

- did a keg stand

- took a while to get drunk bc he has a high tolerance

- was giggling a ton once drunk, he is a giggly drunk

- had his New Year's kiss with Orion, which got sloppy quickly

- ended up getting in on with Orion in the bedroom

Orion

- got drunk quickly bc he has a low tolerance

- total party animal, broke a few things, swung from the chandelier

- had his New Year's kiss with D-16

- got it on with him in the bedroom later

Elita

- had a drinking contest with Airachnid and won

- got super flirty with Airachnid after

- may have kissed her

Airachnid

- had a drinking contest with Elita and lost

- was a giggly blushing mess when Elita started flirting with her

- may have kissed her

Sentinel

- got white girl wasted

- finally confessed his feelings to Aethos

- kissed her

- then proceeded to act like a giant bird until he passed out

Soundwave

- was dj for the party

- drank a little but not much

- made sure to give Ravage dampeners so the fireworks wouldn't be a problem

- scolded Rumble and Frenzy for playing with firecrackers

Shockwave

- mixed drinks for everyone, master mixologist

- gave Rumble and Frenzy the firecrackers, trusted them to not hurt themselves

- got yelled at later by Soundwave for giving Rumble and Frenzy firecrackers

Darkwing

- did a keg stand

- ended up throwing up after drinking too much

- is the kind of drunk that cries a lot, so he basically cried until he passed out

Megatronus

- drank a ton without getting drunk, just a little buzzed

- arm wrestled Zeta and won every time

- recorded as much of the party as he could

Prima

- didn't drink at all

- cheered Megatronus on when he arm wrestled Zeta

- gave him lots of kisses as a reward for winning

Zeta

- got so mad when he kept losing to Megatronus

- broke the pool table in his anger

- promptly felt bad and paid for the broken pool table

- spent the rest of the night drinking away his regrets

Alpha Trion

- didn't drink

- took like a million pictures with an old school camera

- added them to a scrapbook

- drew on Micronus's face after he passed out

Micronus

- drank way too much

- laughed his aft off until he passed out

- didn't even stir when his face was drawn on

Liege Maximo

- started causing chaos once drunk

- lit a large bonfire in the backyard

- danced around it like a maniac

Onyx

- hid in the corner until he was drunk enough to tolerate people

- ended up joining Liege Maximo in the crazy bonfire dance

- half of his dancing was basically bird mating dances

Vector

- once he got drunk, he started talking like a medieval knight

- Basically started larping with Amalgamous

- was overdramatic in his pretend death

Amalgamous

- also started talking like a medieval knight once drunk

- larped with Vector

- roared in victory after 'killing' Vector

Nexus

- 'so anyways, I started blasting'

- Basically shot several blasts into the air once the ball dropped

- Accidentally hit Solus

- Got knocked out by Solus

Solus

- kept bragging about his tolerance

- did multiple keg stands

- promptly bashed Nexus's head upon getting hit by a blast from him

Quintus

- just watched everyone from the corner

- will be using half the shit that happened as blackmail later

Alchemist

- mixed drinks with Shockwave

- nearly blew up the bar when mixing too aggressively

[too-much-tma-stuff]

Some of Them Want to be Used (18+)

Hyena!Danny AU Masterpost

tw: explicit sexual content, BDSM, gags, gangbang

I don't feel like editing this so I'm posting it on here a day before AO3, if you see any mistakes let me know.

---------

One thing that Jason learned very quickly about Danny was that he liked to be used. More then that he felt like he needed to be used. He didn't trust himself and needed to be bound like a weighted blanket, he needed to be held back, held close, held down, until he couldn't think for himself anymore and he could relax into the hands around his throat holding him together and keeping him from shattering.

Jason held him plenty of course but Danny sheepishly admitted he wanted more. He didn't want anyone else to control him, Jason was the only one he trusted with that, but with Jason's human limits Danny was sometimes still left with a mounting itch under his skin to be Used. Especially now that Jason had a slightly better grip on his temper and wasn't being truly violent with Danny anymore. Even if they had both agreed that was a good thing for their relationship it left Danny with energy with nowhere to go.

So they had decided to 'share' with Jason directing the scene and getting involved when he wanted to and Danny getting fucked till he was truly used up. He would be bound and gagged with a ring gag attached to a half mask so they could do this as Hood and Hyena. Since he wouldn't be able to speak Danny would keep hold of a panic button and press it if he needed things to stop.

Now they just needed some willing participants and those were not in short supply. Jason had heard plenty of comments about his boyfriend's body that made him want to shoot someone, and Danny had been propositioned by a few people stupid enough to think they could tempt him away from Red Hood and gain power, or just humiliate him by making him a cuck or something. So willing wasn't actually the problem, it was willing, PLUS loyal, submissive, or cowardly enough that they wouldn't try to use this as some sort of stupid power play.

Danny left figuring that out to Jason because he trusted him and didn't really care about much else, with the stipulation that none be over 40 or bigger then Jason, which was easy enough. Jason had files on all his people and ruled out anyone married as well, they were no fucking home-wreckers! He decided this was going to be a reward for a few loyal and hard working folks, that way if they wanted to talk about it a little, or strive to 'earn' the privilege again it would benefit him and Danny. Instead of having to swear them to secrecy and worry about then getting drunk and blabbing, making Red Hood seem weak.

So Jason approached a few of his men and asked them if they thought Hyena was hot, and if they wanted a chance with him. The few who weren't too scared to say yes, were offered the chance. Then the fewer still who didn't seem to be agreeing because they were too scared to say no, were told where to meet them, and to bring their own condoms. There were three, Jason knew Danny could handle more but they'd decided to start with two or three and Jason would join in if he felt like Danny could handle it.

Jason and Danny had chosen the least favourite of their safe houses for this, in a nearly abandoned building with no direct neighbors so they wouldn't mind the noise. They stocked water bottles and lay down a couple mattresses on the floor so that it wouldn't be too hard on anyone's knees. They also made sure that there was a good selection of fun toys available, vibrators, nipple clamps, and one of their most basic paddles. Danny had decided he didn’t trust these people to really hurt him so if things looked like they were going overboard Jason would step in. It had been cute watching Danny blush up a storm as he chose the things he wanted to be used on him tonight.

Danny was nervous, Jason was too if he was honest but he didn't show it, he had to maintain control of the situation for Danny's sake. He knew this was going to go fine, really, no one was going to get hurt and if anyone did it would be his goons. Danny could break out of any human restraint they put on him if he really needed to, pretty easily too given that he could just phase out of them. But it was new to them, and… vulnerable, of course they were nervous. 

Once everything was set up Jason kissed Danny, and he submitted easily, letting Jason push him down to the mattress. He wrapped his arms around Jason and closed his eyes, purring softly as he relaxed into the kiss. Jason growled softly and grabbed Danny’s hands, lacing their fingers together at the same time that he pinned them to the bed, startling a soft moan from him. He didn’t struggle or break away from the kiss, and Jason only ended it when felt the slight trembling in Danny’s hands subside. 

His eyes were half lidded and slightly glassy when he opened them again, looking up at Jason with his spit slick lips pink and softly parted. Jason couldn’t resist nipping Danny’s lower lip and licking up the small drop of blood that spilled before the wound closed again. Danny gasped and arched but Jason pulled back before Danny could grind against him.

“Good boy,” Jason praised breathlessly and Danny whined softly, soaking up the praise like the parched earth. Jason chuckled softly and quickly undressed his boyfriend who was already putty in his hands. 

He obediently followed Jason’s lead as he rolled Danny over and guided his hands behind his back, allowing him to buckle Danny’s arms together with soft but sturdy leather cuffs. The collar was next, this time with a lock Jason had the key for so that their guests couldn’t take it off, the tag and the colours marked Danny as Red Hood’s without any doubt. Jason clipped a leash to it and pulled Danny up to his knees with a choked sound and then a moan when he could get it out passed the choking leather. Jason kissed Danny one more time before sliding two fingers into his mouth, pushing his mouth open almost too far so Jason could slide the ring gang into it, covering the lower half of Danny’s face with the muzzle which he locked as well. They wouldn’t want anyone getting any ideas and leaving Hyena bare faced. 

Jason slid his hand down between Danny’s legs, wrapping his gloved hand around Danny’s half hard cock, stroking slowly. Danny whined and Jason watched as Danny’s tongue worked, trying to help him swallow without being able to close his mouth. Jason gave it maybe two minutes before Danny started drooling. Danny’s blue-green eyes were fixed on Jason’s face as Jason worked him over, getting him completely hard before taking off his other glove with his teeth (a maneuver that had Danny whining hotly) and dipped his fingers in a pot of lube. He pushed two fingers into Danny without hesitation, working him open with ease of practice, making sure he was good and ready for their guests.

For the final touches Jason pushed a decently sized tail plug into Danny’s ass making him keen and arch. That would hold him open, with the bonus of looking absolutely adorable with that fluffy brown tail, a bit reminiscent of a hyena's of course. And a cock ring which Jason clasped around Danny’s dick making him whine and squirm. They had decided Jason would be the one to decide when Danny was allowed to cum, and Danny loved that but it didn’t make it comfortable at the moment. 

“You’re alright Moonlight,” Jason promised, kissing Danny’s forehead and running his fingers through Danny’s hair one more time before pulling back. He grabbed the panic button and pressed it into one of Danny’s hands. “Don’t drop it.”

He took off his shirt before he put on his helmet since it would be a pain in the ass to get on over the bulky mask. He flopped down into an armchair they’d set up just at the edge of the little mattress pile where he could observe the proceedings. He smiled a little when Danny shuffled over, kneeling with his head resting against Jason’s thigh, just seeking comfort and contact while they waited. Jason was more then willing to provide, especially when the needy little whimpers Danny couldn’t quite suppress were so fucking delicious~

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the cameras he had set up by the door so he could see who it was that entered. He didn’t feel like getting out of his chair to let them in, so when people knocked, as long as they were the right people, he’d just call for them to come in. And if anyone who wasn’t supposed to tried to enter, well, Jason had his guns on him, holstered but visible and ready in case he needed them. Or as a display of power and dominance if he didn’t.

He combed his fingers through Danny’s hair as they waited. “Oh, there they are,” He said when he saw the group awkwardly shuffle in. The first two, Justin and Marcus, waited in the lobby for the third Trevor and when he came rushing in they came up together.

The knock on the door was so timid Jason had to bite back a laugh. “Come in,” he called, his voice distorted through the modulator. They opened the door hesitantly and filed in, eyes wide as they glanced back and forth between Hyena and hood, expressions flickering back and forth between fear and desire. Jason was pleased to see that desire wasn’t just reserved for Danny and the fear wasn’t just reserved to him. 

Danny glanced over his shoulder at their guests, his eyes half lidded and dark with desire. He didn’t look all that long though before he returned to nuzzling against Jason’s thigh. 

“Well boys, he’s all ready for you,” Jason chuckled, loosening his grip on Danny’s leash and gently nudging him away from Jason’s leg. 

Danny whined dramatically and flopped back onto the mattresses, which worked well, it showed off the gag and the way his hands were tied made his back arch beautifully. All eyes in the room were now on Danny and he was watching the three men from where he was laying with ambiguous hunger. Sometimes even Jason wasn’t sure if he was entirely safe when Danny looked at him like that, first time experiencing it must be something.

“Don’t be scared, he agreed to this, and I’ve got him,” Jason chuckled, giving the leash a little yank which made Danny moan just a little. “Leave or get on with it,” Jason commanded, startling them into motion. No one left, all three men quickly started to undress and Danny watched them letting out a soft pleased sound and stretching languidly, his trapped cock twitching slightly against his stomach. All three were already hard which made Jason chuckle, the sound coming out somewhat mocking through the helmet’s modulator.

“Feel free to use any of those,” Jason said, gesturing at the things they’d set out. “Don’t forget the condoms, don’t leave any marks on him and if he drops the panic button pause and give it back to him,” Jason explained the rules easily. Danny was over letting other people see his scars, especially since the Y on his chest matched Jason’s own, but he still wasn’t okay with others knowing he was a meta if they could avoid it. If they didn’t leave any marks they couldn’t notice how quickly the marks healed. 

“Yes Boss,” They said shakily. Jason grinned under his mask, this was going to be fun.

Things were just a little slow to get going, but Jason started to direct things dictating that Justin would take Hyena’s ass first and Marcus his mouth. Joking the Trevor would have to wait unless he felt like freeing Hyena's hands, he’d promised to mind his claws if you trusted that~

As soon as pleasure took over Jason could sit back and enjoy the show. Justin grabbed Danny’s hips, his broad and calloused hands were a bit clumsier than Jason’s on Danny’s slim waist as he rolled him over and pulled him up to his knees. Danny whined and squirmed, struggling to trust his weight to a stranger but once Justin had a firm grip on Danny’s bound arms, holding him up but keeping him bent over he accepted it, letting his head hang down. Jason could see his chest rising and falling more quickly as he pushed back against their guest’s hard cock, feeling the length of him for the first time, Danny moaned softly.

Marcus moved around in front of Danny, cupping his jaw and tilting his head up so his throat was fully extended, blue green eyes locked on Marcus’ face. Danny struggled to swallow again, some saliva dripping down his chin. He took a deep breath and then stuck his tongue out slightly in invitation. 

Justin pulled the tail plug out of Danny’s ass making him arch and moan. That clear sound of pleasure seemed to be the final straw snapping everyone into motion and Marcus thrust into Danny almost at the same time. Danny’s startled sound from having his ass penetrated was choked off by the dick sliding into his throat. Jason grinned as he saw Danny’s eyes roll back just a little. 

Jason leaned back in his chair, ignoring the way his cock throbbed in his pants as he watched Danny squirm like a bitch between their guests. Jason knew the helplessness was an act but it still made his fucking mouth water. This was going to be a test of his patience, but one he absolutely relished as he enjoyed watching Danny get absolutely ravished.

Danny’s dick was already flushed a rather cute pink around the cock ring as he whined and moaned, pearlescent little drops of precum gathering on the tip as he let out a reedy little whine almost instantly cut off by another thrust. Justin and Marcus well both moaning and grunting as well, inelegant and unintentional sounds of pleasure spilling from them. 

“He feel that good boys?” Jason laughed.

“Shit he feels amazing, so fucking tight!” Justin gasped.

“He’s so good with his tongue, I’m-” And Marcus’ words cut off in a moan as he came, the condom catching his seed before he pulled out. Danny made a bereft little sound at the loss as Marcus moved away and grabbed one of the provided water bottles and chugged half of it.

“Aww don’t be sad Cub, I know Trevor is eagerly waiting his turn,” Jason crooned, nodding to the third man who nodded back stiltedly as he rolled a condom down over his dick. Danny’s glazed eyes took a moment to focus on the person in front of him as Justin continued fucking his ass with increasing desperation making Danny moan and whine softly through the gag. He looked up at Trevor and stuck his tongue out a little, inviting the new, smaller dick into his mouth. Trevor took the invitation and thrust into Danny’s mouth, muffling his moans again.

Justin froze and shuddered as he came and Danny let out a dissatisfied whine that made Jason laugh. His amusement only growing when he saw the flush of shame on Justin’s face, whether it was from cumming so quickly or the sudden return of awareness of what they were doing Jason didn’t know or care as long as he didn’t bolt or some shit.

Justin pulled out of Danny with a little hiss, letting Danny’s knees buckle and helping lower him down to kneeling before getting up and carefully took off the condom, tying it off and throwing it out. Justin wasn’t ready to go again yet so Danny was left empty, and clearly dissatisfied with this, whining and squirming, bucking his hips in aborted, needy little motions as he sought some stimulation.

“Don’t leave him empty,” Jason tutted at their guests. “That’s what we set the toys out for.”

“Oh!” Trevor sounded, his eyes lighting up at the reminder and he grabbed one of the larger dildos, going to kneel behind Danny who lifted his hips and arched his back invitingly. He moaned loudly as Trevor pushed the toy in, Danny’s thighs trembled as his hips twitched and he pushed back against the toy, fucking himself on it with surprising strength and control. 

Marcus grabbed the nipple clamps as well, it seemed whatever embarrassment he was feeling before wasn’t going to stop him from enjoying this night to the fullest. Jason was glad, he was enjoying the show~ He wrapped Danny’s leash around his wrist and unzipped his pants, starting to lazily stroke his hard cock for some relief as he leaned back in his armchair and waited for their guests to tire themselves out.

They each fucked him twice more while Danny squirmed and bucked between them. He lasted a surprisingly long time before his knees gave out on him and the other men had to follow him down to the mattress, laying him out on his back between them with his bound arms trapped behind his back. Jason called a pause to make sure that Danny still had the panic button and would be able to press it easily in this new position before sitting back and allowing them to continue. 

The second time Jason decided to let Danny cum, once he had made all their guests cum first of course~ That was just the proper thing to do as a good host! Danny nearly screamed with the pleasure of it when the ring was released, hands all over his body urging him through the high of pleasure. The scream turned into whines of overstimulated pain as no one eased up on him. Not that Danny actually minded, since he hadn’t pressed the panic button and he was still bucking his hips back against the cock in his ass in a way that made Jason swallow back drool. 

He was glad for his helmet throughout all of this because there was no way that he would have been able to control his expression. With his face covered he managed to look pretty damn calm and controlled throughout this little sex party. He stroked his hard dick slowly off and on, practically edging himself till his balls were aching, the soft moans he couldn’t quite repress coming out odd and garbled through his voice modulator. 

Finally Trevor came on Danny’s face, a frankly pathetic amount of seed after already having cum twice, and no one else seemed inclined to jump right back in. Justin was helping hold Danny down but his dick was still distinctly soft, and Marcus was just watching on in something like awe. 

“Alright, pass him over,” Jason laughed, holding out his arms for Danny, who was immediately almost poured into his lap by an exhausted Justin.

Danny was too tired and out of it to focus on being human, which was something they hadn’t really considered, but as he purred against Jason’s chest he was having a hard time worrying about it. “There’s my good boy,” Jason murmured, cupping the back of Danny’s neck, who immediately nuzzled against his throat and started giving little kitten licks since he couldn’t kiss with the ring gag in. 

“That’s right Cub,” Jason murmured, gripping Danny’s thighs, letting him lean heavily against Jason’s chest as he lifted Danny up and lined him up carefully. As he lowered Danny down his own soft moan was swallowed by Danny’s delighted keening as Jason’s cock slid easily into Danny’s already well used ass.

Jason reached around Danny and finally unbuckled his hands, not caring when Danny immediately dropped the panic button in favour of wrapping trembling arms around Jason’s shoulders. He clung with desperation devoid of strength, tired and used up and still wanting more. Perfect. 

Jason took control, lifting him up and letting him sing back down drawing breathless little keens and whines from Danny, shaking with the ever present purr whenever he was snug in Jason’s arms. Sweat and pre-cum dripped down from Danny onto Jason’s lap, leaving a subtle damp patch on his pants he could not have given less of a shit about. All he cared about in that moment was Danny’s body, his hole was unusually warm after being fucked so many times, and he was clearly making a conscious effort to tighten himself up so he could still please Jason. It was working.

Jason forced himself to go slow, enjoy his own pleasure and Danny’s desperate and exhausted little twitches, and the three sets of eyes still watching them. Jason had always been a theatrical bastard and there was something about putting on a show like this that he really enjoyed. “You want to cum baby?” Jason asked breathlessly and Danny nodded against his neck, making a few garbled sounds that were probably supposed to be pleas.

Jason cackled and reached down between them, slowly starting to stroke Danny’s overly warm cock making him whine. “I’m sorry cub, I didn’t quite catch that~” He teased, the heartbroken little sound Danny made sending a pleasant shiver up his spine and made his dick twitch.

“Alright Baby,” Jason finally relented, and when he released the ring Danny was cumming before the thing even hit the ground, arching his back and letting out a cry that had Jason’s ears ringing. He tightened like a vice around Jason’s cock and he gave a strangled curse as he came as well, pushing Danny down and holding him there as he whimpered and gasped, clinging to Jason and hiding against his neck as he was finally filled properly. 

He went limp in Jason’s arms before he was even finished cumming and Jason laughed softly when he realized Danny had passed out in his arms. Well, he’d gotten his wish to be all used up hadn’t he~ 

“Alright, you three can clean all this up. I’m going to take care of him. Leave when you’re done,” He directed his hench-people as he got up, Danny cradled in his arms.

“Yes Boss,” They chorused as Jason carried Danny over to the bathroom, locking the door behind him so they wouldn't be spied on as Jason stripped them of their personas and helped coax Danny back into himself.

[agrlsname]

Thank you @therealsaintscully for the tag! I'm soon about to post what might be my very last fic, so it's quite fitting to look back on my journey now.

How many works do you have on ao3?

38 – all Johnlock, except for one GO fic. On New Year's Eve I will post number 39!

What’s your total word count?

371,360 (will soon top it off with another 221 words ;))

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

What Friends Do (by FAR), Who I Really Am (personal fave), The General Idea, Coldness/Heat, Tomorrow's Song

Do you respond to comments? Why/why not?

At first I responded to every single one! And I still try to respond to every single person. But now, I sometimes only respond to the last one if it's a reader who's commented on every chapter and I get all the comments at once. I like staying connected to the readers, that's one of the most fun parts about fandom!

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

It has to be This Is Your Song. I mean, there's another one within a series that end in an angsty cliffhanger, but MCD surely has to take the prize?

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

Oh my, nearly all of them have happy endings – so what would count as happier than happy..? Maybe it's actually the one that isn't posted yet – stay tuned for the resolution of the New Year's Kiss series!

Do you write crossovers?

Nope. I've written a fusion though (Johnlock and Moulin Rouge!).

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Yup. Some people get really angry at John in What Friends Do and they take it out on me. It's interesting because many MANY others adore the story with all their hearts! I even wrote a sequel from John's POV just to try to get people to understand, but the haters didn't understand anyway.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Even though at the beginning I said I'd never, half of my works are now rated E or M. What kind? Um, is "emotional, gay sex" a genre?

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I hope not!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Many of them, into five different languages! Coolest thing ever.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, I think I'm too pedantic for that. I've loved working with my beta on some poem translations, though, that The Sky is Full of Fiddles is based on.

What's your all-time favourite ship?

38 fics – you all know it's Johnlock, right? There are others that I love, but nothing can ever compare.

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

I don't have WIPs! I'm too much of a control freak and perfectionist when it comes to writing – I want to be able to change the beginning when I'm writing the ending. I don't even have unpublished WIPs – I hate the idea of leaving works unfinished. If I was still in those first years of writing frenzy, when I was single and didn't have a child, I'd have expanded on This Time – but as it is, I knew that I wouldn't have the time to do it justice. So I purposely ended on a cliffhanger that would still allow it to stand on its own the way it is.

What are your writing strengths?

Emotions, according to my beta! If you ask me, I'd say describing things – often emotions, I suppose – in new, poetic ways that play on different senses and therefore make them immediate. It's something I love reading myself, anyway, so it's something I've been practicing for... well, decades now. I'd like to think I've gotten at least somewhat good at it.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I'm weirdly bad at coming up with the small details that aren't important, but needed. A recent example is I needed a character to text another with an invented problem to try to get him to come over. It wasn't at all important what the problem was, but it also couldn't be just anything; it had to be in line with his character. I could not for the life of me come up with this problem myself – eventually my husband did it for me. So those kinds of details in my stories are rarely from my own brain!

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Hmm, well, I've tried not to do that. As a reader I find it annoying to have to look things up, or scroll down to the notes. I have three fics in which characters aren't English; in This Is Your Song I added a couple of "Bonjour"s for flavour, which is about as far as my own French knowledge reaches... In the Fiddles series they're Swedes and speak my mother tongue, but I've written everything in English except for the words that English doesn't have (like for example "polska", a kind of dance), and at the very end, some song lyrics that are then translated into English in the end notes that come immediately after. I did want to add that song for flavour, but I didn't want it to be annoying.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Johnlock! I started in the aftermath of season 4 back in January 2017 and then couldn't stop.

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

I'm wondering whether I will come back to fic writing at a later point, but for another fandom. I've long wanted to write more for GO, although I already have written one fic. It would probably be a lot of fun to write for OFMD too. Doctor Who maybe? I don't know, it intimidates me to write for a new fandom where I don't yet know the characters as well as I know Sherlock and John.

What's your favourite fic you've written?

This question is too cruel! There are so many of them that I love. Maybe I have to say The Sky is Full of Fiddles, after all – it holds such a special place in my heart for many reasons that go beyond the story itself (although that's true for several fics). Other faves are Your Daughter, The Zebra Sheets and of course Who I Really Am, which I'm liking enough to turn it into a novel I'm now trying to get published. See, I couldn't pick one!!

I'm on Tumblr way too sporadically to have any idea of who's already done this and who hasn't, so I don't dare tag anyone... Feel free to take it and tag me if you feel like it!

[apomaro-mellow]

By some miracle, Steve was able to carry Eddie's corpse through the gate. It was a great weight, not just physically but emotionally. Steve had never....he'd had brushes with death sure but never actually touched...it didn't matter. What did matter was that Eddie wasn't exactly dead as it turned out.

The forces that controlled the Upside Down were unexplainable and also had shit timing. Because sometime between Steve confirming that was no pulse and Eddie's funeral, a change had occurred.

Wayne made it open casket, which was pretty lucky because otherwise they wouldn't have caught it. When people were allowed the come up and view the body to say their final goodbyes, Steve went up with Dustin. Wayne looked on solemnly, knowing Dustin rather well but still being pretty much a stranger to Steve. Dustin was beside himself, tears streaming down for the entire service and blurring his vision.

It was always harder for Steve to make the tears come, no matter how distraught he was. But with his eyes clear, he was able to see just the tiniest movement of Eddie's eyes under his lids. And then the teeniest lift of a lid, as if trying to catch a peek.

Holy shit Eddie was alive.

Holy shit there was a room full of people who thought he was dead.

Holy shit there was a town outside this room who thought he was a devil worshipper.

Steve cleared his throat. "Can I have a moment alone with him?", he asked Wayne but Dustin was the one that responded in confusion.

"You?", he said through sniffles.

"I'm the one that....found him, remember? I just wanna apologize for not getting there in time."

Dustin was quick to say Steve wasn't at fault and that he should've been the quicker one but Steve hushed him, and gently pushed him away. Wayne still looked skeptical, wanting to protect his nephew even when physical harms were no danger to him anymore.

"Please?", Steve begged.

Only then did Wayne leave to sit back down. Now it was just Steve and Eddie. Steve leaned in closer, like he was whispering an apology to the deceased.

"I know you're not dead."

"Yeah, no shit", Eddie hissed in a raspy voice.

Steve had so many questions his head was spinning, least of all how Eddie got through the embalming process but the important part was figuring out how to get him out of here. And there didn't seem to be a perfect plan to put to action.

"How long can you hold your breath?"

"Not really a problem for me anymore", Eddie confessed.

"Great. See you in six hours."

Steve was sure if he could, Eddie would've launched out and reached for him not to go. So he had to mentally commend him on his restraint.

Nothing could be done in a room full of people, even if more than half of them knew of the crazy shit that went down. So the only course of action was to wait until nightfall and dig Eddie out. He could explain to the others while they were waiting for the time to pass.

----------------------------

True to his word, six hours later, Steve, Dustin, Jonathan, and Mike were out in the cemetary after hours, digging into Eddie's fresh grave. The moment the casket was free and popped open Eddie jolted from it like a livewire and latched onto the first person he saw, Steve.

"You came back for me", Eddie was panting despite not having a need for air anymore. "Twice."

Steve swallowed, having dropped his shovel to put his arms around Eddie. "Yeah. 'Course. Always." He felt Eddie's hand come up the back of his neck and felt his pulse race.

"Uhh, since when are you two this buddy-buddy?", Mike asked.

Steve rolled his eyes, moment, or whatever had been happening ruined. Eddie finally looked to the others but didn't immediately pull away from Steve.

"I see that you still have that stick up your ass Wheeler."

"HOLY SHIT!" Dustin screamed into the night before pouncing, nearly taking both grown men down in his exuberance. Steve was just barely able to pull away to let the other two embrace.

Dustin was holding onto Eddie like a life line. If it had been hard for Steve to carry Eddie's then-dead body, actually seeing the cause and cradling him as he died must've done terrible things for Dustin.

Jonathan, ever the pragmatist, had already begun refilling the grave. "You know, we probably could've figured something out at the funeral if you let us in on this, Steve."

"And deny this drama queen the honor of literally rising from the grave? How could I?", Steve pointed out as he started to help Jonathan. "That's how you would've wanted it, right Eddie?"

Eddie was still soothing Dustin by rubbing his back as he spoke. "I definitely could've done without the sitting in tight, closed, darkness for hours but it gave me some time to come up with a killer album idea." And if that idea included being saved by a chivalrous white knight, well that could be kept close to the chest until he actualized it.

[lemonhemlock]

It’s very amusing that Condal clearly wants to adapt AFFC, and how people eat it up despite it not being earned. AFFC was the fourth book of the series, after the beheading of Ned, Winterfell falling, Jaime losing his hand, the Red Wedding, the Purple Wedding. All the reasons for why the War of the Five Kings is over, all those people are either dead or scattered to the wind, and yet the war rages on. It’s a pointless war that characters we have grown to know and love undergo intense changes in, notably Jaime and Brienne as they wander through the Riverlands, Arya in Braavos, Sam on the edge of despair as he journeys south. Frankly? Considering that the Dance hasn’t even properly started yet and no one cares about the deaths that have occurs (Luke, Jaehaerys, Rhaenys) the sheer fatalism feels unearned bc no one has gone through gut wrenching tragedy yet. “War is pointless.” Great, but we got another two seasons of this and if the characters think this story is dumb and pointless and are just going through the motions, why should we watch? It’s frankly just too early for everyone to lose their shit bc they haven’t even begin to truly lose everything yet. The characters themselves thinking it’s pointless robs them of motivations bc we still got more than half the story to go! Criston’s monologue in the finale is good but that’s because it’s directly cribbed from Jaime’s “honor is mist” speech but it’s not nearly as earned bc we don’t have any idea how or why he started sleeping with Alicent or even why he became a kingsguard in the first place! Daemon’s Harrenhal arc ended with him somehow obsessed with a prophecy and connecting it back to Rhaenyra without him coming to terms with Viserys not trusting him with the prophecy which is what he was mad about in the first place!

We never actually see anyone react to anything, and the limping plodding along of character development happening off screen so we never see how or why anyone changes is not good! Episode 7 actually gave me some hope bc Rhaenyra seemed to be embracing her role as a leader of there’s dragonriders the gods have given her, but in the next episode she’s literally saying the exact same lines “what would you have me do” and “who will pay the price” which she said at the start of the season! Even Alicent’s about face is unearned bc we don’t actually see her truly fight with her children about anything, really. She just lets them talk in her face and then limps away to camp in a scene that’s “all about rebirth bc baptism and water” without ever getting to the core of anything. It’s a beautiful show full of empty symbolism without a narrative actually underpinning it, borrowing from a better story without understanding what makes that story so good.

You said it more eloquently than I could at the moment. It's not just one or two badly executed points, nothing gets built up, nothing gets resolved or even discussed, we just skip past A TON of vital characterisational changes and are expected to "fill in the gaps". No, they're just bad at writing. You wouldn't be reading a book or watching a show that is so bad at these elements - people are watching because it's ASOIAF.

Why is Alicent so mad? Aegon has barely done anything as king, he's actually tried to help the smallfolk in his audiences! Aemond dismissed her from the Council, sure, which I found a dumb political plot hole, but she hasn't done much to address it? And what exactly has Criston Cole done all season that he is the most reprehensible male character on the show? He didn't vote for Alicent and called her by her name. Does he deserve to die for that? Has Alicent ever been portrayed as the type of character who would react so disproportionately? That's Aemond-level writing. Is Alicent = Aemond now? (She isn't even shown being mad at Criston for sending Arryk after Rhaenyra!)

What Alicent is shown to have a problem with is Aemond burning Aegon. But then again why abandon Aegon to be executed by Rhaenyra? Just overdose him on milk of the poppy and let him die, ffs. Alicent also suspects Criston is not telling her about Aemond's crime, but they part on okay terms? She gives him her favour? How do you go from that to dooming him by revealing his coordinates?

I would really like to pile on-to the AFFC copycat accusations* with Succession rip-offs (my followers are probably tired of hearing me mention it, but it's truly what prestige television should be and it's what we should be comparing HotD to!). First it was teenage!Aegon wanking in the window à la Roman Roy, then Alicent suddenly gets water symbolism this season like Kendall and "I do not wish to hear it"? Do they think they're being cute here?

*not just with Criston, but with Rhaena, too, although you could at least argue there that GRRM himself is also mirroring Jaime and Sansa there

[bangtannism]

Lol speaking of other shippers being jealous of what JK and JM have and blaming the company for why their fave pair don't have it, I recently came across a reel from a Jinkooker page, showing moments from AYS and captioning it "this is what a friends vlog looks like so the company didn't mind showing it" and compared it to those pictures where JK and Jin took a trip together or something and JK was carrying his camera around, and of course they made the excuse that "the company" is gatekeeping the footage because they couldn't hide how they were a couple😅

I laughed so hard when I saw that. It's really all the same arguments from different subgroups of the fandom, they all cry "Bighit is hiding my ship/Jikook is fanservice". It looks like it's solely a Taekooker narrative simply because they are the loudest and most unhinged, but really, all non-Jikook BTS pair-that-has-JM-or-JK-as-one-half shippers are keeping their ships afloat with this narrative. Yes, including some Vminies (I've seen this lot parroting Taekooker narratives when the joint enlistment of Jikook was announced, and mind you they are the same people who were also so smug about Vmin definitely enlisting together)

I know deep down these people know that even if it was their ship spending so much time around each other and orbiting one another, it still wouldn't be the same. They'd never come across as suspicious. Jungkook was openly spending time with Taehyung and there had been an uptick in Taekook moments since 2022 compared to the few years before then and not ONCE did I see other shippers cry about "Bighit forcing Taekook down our throats" or accusing Taehyung of being a "fanservice king" (those accusations were only coming from toxic Jikookers) and "feeding his minions" the way they've always accused Jimin and still do to this day even though he doesn't mention JK nearly as much as Tae does.

Jikook as a ship was on a little bit of a "break" and Taekook had Taekookers convinced they were doing a soft launch and would become official quite soon & not once did I see Jinkookers, Vminies or Taejinners talking about "Taekook is hiding my ship". Even during that time, still, it was Jikook getting those allegations.

No, what makes the Jikook ship so polarizing was never about the quantity of their interactions but always about that special chemistry, that special tension they share between them. And everybody and their mama knows this - the only difference is that most of us hate it.

"the company" is gatekeeping the footage

yes, yes, a very popular assertion. bh/hybe is apparently sitting on a mountain of tkk, ymn, vmn, and jnkk content. (side note, i usually do not judge peoples ships at all but jnkk .... brother eugh.)

It's really all the same arguments from different subgroups

yup. 🙃 everyone is weirdly obsessed with calling jikook fanservice because it hurts their feelings that jikook not only spend time together, not only enjoy the time they spend together, but also come across more couple like than any other duos. it MUST be fanservice that theyre acting like that! it MUST be scripted!! (the cognitive dissonance goes hard in some of these folks.)

It looks like it's solely a Taekooker narrative simply because they are the loudest

nothing to add to this, i just agree. there's more tkkrs than other sub-groups so of course we would see it more often from them.

there had been an uptick in Taekook moments since 2022 compared to the few years before then and not ONCE did I see other shippers cry about "Bighit forcing Taekook down our throats" or accusing Taehyung of being a "fanservice king" (those accusations were only coming from toxic Jikookers)

to be fair, the uptick happened during ch2, so it wouldn't make much sense to say bh was forcing them (not that some other sub-groups ever feel the need to make sense, but that's a them problem). tkk are good friends and had more time to hang out and i love that for them and i do think most jikookers readily admit that tkk love each other. fuck the ones who don't, because it makes them no better than the people they criticize.

No, what makes the Jikook ship so polarizing was never about the quantity of their interactions but always about that special chemistry

that's exactly it, anon. jikook is viewed as a "threat" to all other ships that have jm/jk in them and therefore they take the brunt of hate. they simply would not get the hate and attention they do from other sub-groups if people were not so hellbent on "disproving" them. (weirdo behavior fr.)

i saw someone asking what shippers actually have some sus proof and underneath the comment mentioning jikook, there were tkkrs trying to tell everyone that jk never wanted to be on ays, doesn't like being around jm, etc. you would never catch me behaving like that or even thinking like that, because it simply does not worry me when jm or jk hang out with other people. it reeks of jealousy and insecurity.

no matter who jm and jk spend time with, it simply will not be the same as the moments they have together. whether friends or more than friends, their bond and chemistry is just special and anyone who doesn't want to admit that is lying to themselves.

[two-sides-halved]

Continued | @erisdiamas

"Again, using the term, phobia would imply that I am afraid of her, which I'm not. I hate her not because she's a Lapis but because she is factually horrible, she's an abuser of people, and animals, she's a manipulative piece of garbage who everyone was tip toing around because we didn't wanna upset the precious scared little girl who is over 5000 fucking years old... but because we handled her with these delicate kid gloves she never really changed into a better person like other people in the Little Homeschool program did... hell she's even been shirking her fucking responsibilities as a teacher... by kinda just telling them to go with the flow and then she'd fly off to who knows where... lazy asshole."

Gem Steven squinted at her as if he heard her incorrectly, picking up Eris and placing her on the couch, to get a reasonable distance away from her so he wouldn't end up hurting her fingers when she played with his hands.

"EXCUSE YOU?? Why the fuck would you think I would enjoy watching anyone nearly loose their life in front of me? I've already failed an entire planet's worth of people once, I failed Dad." He is crossing his arms.

"And you of all people... think I'd get aroused by that fucked up shit?? Fucking hell, Eris, you must be huffing paint thinner to think that is in anyway what I would like at all." He huffed irritated, tears in his eyes, looking away from her, his fists clenched, stomping his way to the kitchen to get himself something to shove into his face before see says something he'd regret. "If the misnaming was ALL I had to deal with... I wouldn't have such a fucking problem with her... I'd just say, ah she's annoying if she doesn't remember your name but she's good people BUT SHE FUCKING ISN'T!! Any time that the tough got going, she went gone... she ran away... she didn't believe in this planet, yet had the nerve to call it home instead of LITERALLY ANY OTHER COLONY OUT THERE IN SPACE!... But no, she chose to abuse and fester here like an untreated infection... and we just dealt with her like she was a misbehaving toddler, who didn't know how the world worked cause we didn't wanna upset her... and now she thinks she can do whatever she fucking wants." Gem Steven replied shoveling some of last nights reheated left overs into his face, thankful for the subject change.

"It's Sadie Killer and the Suspects... and they broke up a few months ago." Gem Steven replied with a disgruntled huff, shoveling another spoon full of foo into his face, chewing thoroughly, before swallowing "Sadie went off and formed a new band with her new partner named Shep... Shep's a chill person... I'm happy for them." He said in a notably bittersweet tone, being the hopeless romantic with the emphasis on hopeless.

"Well that's because Peridot is genuinely nice to be around... and if you were born on Homeworld, Rose might not have known that human's sweat... plus Gems themselves don't really sweat either. Plus you're half human so you'd have a whole bunch of powers she wouldn't have access too." He replied, with a mumble through his half chewed food.

"She wouldn't have known about half of the shit you'd go through... hell if she were here she'd be so much better at this whole parent shit than I am..." He huffed taking a big drink directly out of the jug of milk that was nearly gone anyway. "Guilty... I wouldn't doubt it was yours anyway..." He huffed into his nearly empty food bowl. "Most of the plants I make just try to rip me to shreds." He replied, before he yelped as she was practically dragging him out. "Eris, slow down!"

[masonmyluv]

Part 2

A/N: Hope you guys like this story so far. I promise it will get more interesting with the 3rd part. 😊

Warnings: allusions to smut, a bit of masturbation, but that's all.

Fermin ⚽️

I know I said I will tell

you one day before but...

Is it okay if I come today?

In an hour?

Y/N

No problem ☺️

I'm at home anyway

Fermin⚽️

Okay see y'a

Sometimes, you really needed to say no to people. Your room was a mess like the whole flat. And you weren't a morning person. It just struck 11 o'clock and you woke up half an hour ago. You had to make the flat look presentable and you had to make yourself look presentable. Because Fermin was coming over. Fermin was coming over to study. Freaking Fermin López who was playing for Barça was coming over.

Panic started settling in, especially since you acknowledged your crush on the Sevilliano. You missed him when he didn't come to classes and would stalk his and Barça's Instagram account. And watching the games of course. 15 minutes had already passed while you were thinking about him, so you got to work, tidying all up.

You were nearly finished with your clothes, when your phone rang. "Hello?"

"It's me" Fermin said. "I'm about to leave training and I forgot to ask you where you live" he chuckled. Damn, how stupid you two were. "I'll share the location" you said.

15 minutes later, he was already at your door. "Hi. Sorry I hope it's okay" he said, coming in. You tensed when he looked around the place, you barely had any girl friends in here, but a boy? Not in a million years. "I brought you coffee. Figured you aren't a morning person" he smiled. You didn't even noticed the bag until he put it on the kitchen table and started getting things out. "And maybe you didn't even have breakfast, so I brought that too" he blushed. "Pumpkin spice latte? How did you know?" You asked, taking a sip from the cup. "You always buy it when it's November" he shrugged, not aware of his admission yet. "Oh... that's cute" you said, looking away so he wouldn't see your red cheeks. "Wait... is that a Barça t-shirt?" He asked, looking into the living room. "And a mini copy of the Champions League trophy? And a Messi T-shirt?" He kept asking questions like a little boy who was excited about getting a t-shirt from his idol. "Y-yeah" you shuttered. "You're a fan? I didn't know" he said, looking through all the things you had on display. "Well I don't talk much about it" you shrugged. "Why? This is amazing" he said. "I don't know... It's scaring guys off" you replied. "They're idiots. Maybe we can talk about it some time. When we're not studying" he said. "Yeah studying" you mentally face palmed yourself for forgetting why he was here in the first place.

"You okay? Maybe we should stop for today" you asked him. "Yeah I think so" he replied, finishing the last notes. "Catching up is tiring" he sighed, packing up his stuff. "But not impossible" you tried to encourage him. "Yeah, when you have a Y/N around" he joked, making you smile. "Thank for the coffee, though. I couldn't have made it without" you said. "No worries. Thank you for taking your time with me" he said. "See you tomorrow?" You asked. "Tomorrow I have an away game, so no" he said sadly. "Oh okay. Good luck then" you said, leading him to the door. "Thanks. Night" he said.

—————

You were on Instagram when a video of Fermin at the national football team camp popped up. It was his first selection and they posted a clip about him. He talked about his family, his friend and the pride of playing for his country, his voice turning you on. It was deep, but also had a sweet accent to it, but his Spanish accent was so strong, you found yourself letting out a sigh. The colours of the equipment matched his perfect styled hair that you would love to thread your fingers through. It was pathetic how turned on you were from just a clip. Two days ago he was literally here in your living room, looking deliciously handsome, but you weren't that distracted. Maybe they edited the clip and the pictures somehow because he looked so good. You saw another picture where he greeted someone, the muscles in his arm flexing. You imagined how it would look if he hugged you tightly, what would you feel then. You were sure his large hands could cup your breasts easily, playing with your nipples, turning you on. Having you against his chest, full access to doing whatever the wanted. You would touch his muscles, the nape of his neck and his jawline, that perfect sharp jawline. And you would kiss his lips, begging him to touch you.

"Fuck" you groaned, realising you were dreaming with your eyes open, one hand playing with your breast and the other close to your panties. "No. I have to focus on studying" you said, pushing away any Fermin related thoughts. "Fuck fuck no" you panicked when you accidentally liked his most recent post while attempting to erase any Fermin-the-sexy imagine from your brain. "Now he'll think I'm a stalker".

Hope you like it 🥰

Feedback is appreciated

[pianapplez]

Hello there 👋👀,

So I just found your blog and had a lot of fun scrolling through all the pjo show crit😂 I couldn't help but notice that one tag you left on a post where you said you had some beef with Annabeth's portrayal in the books 👀 Would you mind elaborating on that if you're comfortable with it🙈? Because I absolutely share that sentiment, but it's sooo veeeery rare that I see other people express anything like it... I've found that trying to be a part of the fandom can be pretty alienating most of the time, if you're not exactly the biggest most devoted Percabeth shipper...😅 And often any criticism leveled at Annabeth just gets you a smack with the "internalized-misogyny" hammer... it's even worse in the tv show now due to... obvious reasons...

Again just if you're comfortable with answering of course🙈 There is a reason I stayed on anon after all...😅😂

Really glad you asked because i finally get to ramble about this heheheh (going forward, know that i skimmed over The Last Olympian to have a clearer sense of what I meant because that's the book where Rick fumbles her character more than the others)

i'm gonna try to make as much sense as possible but short answer would be, she's underdeveloped. Long answer:

She really got on my nerves in the last two books, with the whole Rachel debacle and then the Battle of New York. I can't really remember a single moment in those books where she and Percy aren't bickering or having heated discussions, which really made me question their friendship status. Of course, it's not like friends can't fight and it obviously builds up the (romantic) tension between them, but it got unbearable at one point.

I understand she's a teenager in an incredibly stressful situation that didn't even get to have a normal upbringing- she grew up way too fast (run away at 7, head counselor at 12) while also not really maturing, which is not a problem for a character, if it is handled properly. Given the fact that I am writing this, Riordan did not.

On the surface, my biggest beef is that Annabeth is not exactly held accountable for her actions (ie. treating Rachel a bit like shit and going off on Percy for a bunch of stuff.) I know Percy is to blame a bit here: as far as we know, in TLO he basically cuts the greek world out of his life as much as he can as a coping mechanism. And while yes, he never apologizes either, he doesn't give her nearly half the hard time she gives him: always either giving him the cold shoulder (there must be at least one example of this in the entire series but i cant be bothered to look it up sorry) or starting an argument only to then storm off (see the "you're a coward, Percy Jackson!" scene, which is not the fairest example since she was confronting Percy about ignoring camp but also was a bit too harsh about it) (especially after finally reading the prophecy and being under the impression that he was absolutely going to die when he turned 16 lmao) or just straight up storming off (see, Annabeth reacting when Rachel shows up for the first time during the battle of new york). While most of these feel, at least to some degree, fairly justified given how the entire situation does an absolute number on her emotions, she comes off a bit brattish and like she's trying to rile Percy up, especially when it comes to Rachel, which in the context of a battle that could mean the destruction of the world.... Well, it reads as a bit childish to me, and i wouldn't exactly have that much of a problem with it if it was dealt with in some way (a two-way apology would be nice).

After that first impression, i realized that Annabeth is barely ever anything else other than a plot device (when relating to Luke) or a love interest (when relating to Percy). This might be because the books are on Percy's POV. Hell, on the third book he's even conflicted when Annabeth is considering joining the Hunters of Artemis, aka, when making a choice for herself would mean he loses her (which is fine and dandy but it feels like Percy is more upset about her choosing her own path rather than being sad about not seeing her as often); we really only get a few glimpses of her, as in, actually her when she's on her own.

Obviously it's impossible to talk about Annabeth without touching on percabeth, which also is, in my opinion, what hinders Annabeth's character the most. On paper they sound great. The guy whose fatal flaw is loyalty falls in love with a girl whose been let down by people over and over, and she decides to never give up on the boy whose always had people give up on him (can't find one of the million posts that talks about this right now but it always goes something like that) And yeah, the bickering is really well written! But that's literally as far as it ever goes: they don't ever seem to have fun together, because 8 times out of 10 the bickering ends up being passive aggressive, and mostly done by Annabeth. My biggest gripe about percabeth is that their friendship seems to be based off... shared trauma. Literally. Other than going on quests together we are given no examples of them hanging out, nor a reason why they would want to spend time together in the first place, not even a shared hobby. Yes, in the fourth book they had a movie "date" planned but of course they didn't even get to it, and surprise surprise, they had a minor discussion, and surprise surprise, Annabeth was passive aggressive again. It's hard to picture them having fun together when even the author doesn't write in any scenes in which they get along smoothly (and before you say anything, a scene in which they get along where neither of them is about to die, and they're not talking about previous adventures. Gets a bit hard then, doesn't it?) It's even harder to picture them as a couple when the moment she gets upset about something, she starts coming off as emotionally manipulative (see, again, literally any conversation with Rachel or about Rachel)

To be fair, the books are relatively short and don't allow many "filler" chapters, if you will; there's always something happening to keep the main plot or a minor plot point moving forward, but it's not like there is no room to develop the characters' relationships, especially when we're talking about the main char and what is essentially his endgame. As an example we have Percy and Clarisse, or Percy and Beckendorf. Their interactions are brief but still hold so much weight.

Worst of all, Annabeth could be one hell of a character; what's most interesting of all is how being a daughter of Athena she is still incredibly emotionally driven, which is displayed very clearly with her fatal flaw being pride: her telling the Sphynx that her questions were too easy was not smart nor strategic: it was completely impulsive. I seriously think she wasn't far from being the best character in the series had she been given more time.

I guess i have as much beef with Annabeth as i have with Rick for doing her dirty. I really could sum this up with: while her emotions are justified, she acts upon them quite poorly. And this is what i mean when i say she's underdeveloped, because it would've been nice to see her come to her senses a bit.

Would love to read anyone's opinions on her character though, feel free to comment, even (or especially) if you don't agree with me!

[emblemxeno]

This ask is going to be kind of long, but your platform is really the only platform where I feel comfortable having this conversation. You don’t have to post this if you don’t want to, I won’t feel any sort of ways about it, but I’ve got to get this feeling out of my system. The way the fandom treats Fates compared to the other games in the franchise, makes them completely unbearable. I don’t think I can forgive the fandom for it even if they did somehow start giving Fates its overdue credit. Treating its fans like shit for almost a decade is unacceptable. I don’t know how so many people can justify their behavior in regards to this game. The fans of this game have literally done nothing to the fandom other than love it unapologetically, and we still get condescended to about it. You dare offer your opinion about a take in the series and it’s like, “You’re a Corrin fan, you have no right to talk about anything.” I have never seen a group of fans that have to literally HIDE the fact that they cherish a game in order to appease its larger community, it’s so disgusting. I don’t care if I’m being harsh with this ask because I have witnessed and dealt with this condescension for years. I don’t care to spare any feelings at this point, and I think the fandom certainly doesn’t deserve any of our grace either. Calling out the elitism, cliquish behavior, and hypocrisy is the right thing to do no matter how much some people soften/normalize these issues.

Hope you don't mind me posting this anon.

It's certainly an unfortunate situation. While Fates has its problems--I say this as a diehard fan--I agree in that it's in a singular situation where it's just met with derision initially and only given praise in backhanded manners. Think "Fates sucks but it does have great X and Y" and including an obligatory compliment towards Conquest. Which, don't get me wrong, Conquest is fucking amazing in the gameplay department, but half the time I'm just like... all right, I think you're just pretending to like anything of Fates just because you feel obligated to like one of the most acclaimed gameplay centered entries in the series.

There was just the perfect storm of controversy and unmet expectations that people had towards the game: the woefully inaccurate conversion therapy accusations, the romance options, the sales model of having multiple versions, the story not being liked, Corrin not being liked, the cast being seen as tropey, the fanservice hatred, etc. Its reputation from pre-release to nearly a decade after release is just a swamp of negativity.

And, in risk of sounding defensive and deflective, Awakening did most of this first. Awakening used being gay as a constant punchline especially in DLC (but people are reclaiming that now as something to be praised cuz of course), Awakening had problematic romance options (Nowi, any of the children but especially Nah, Donnel, Ricken, and Lissa are still underage, Aversa is technically your sister and she's written in the M!Robin support to tease that aspect, Tharja in her entirety), Awakening's cast was the de facto tropey cast before Fates, its story was criticized for the same things Fates was (poorly explained lore and world, pacing issues, convenient plot devices, pandering to a previous game, and had its exclusive issue of being inconsistent with Archanea's lore), Robin was criticized for being an all loved player insert with too many powers/importance, it started the oddly designed armor designs for fanservice reasons, and while it didn't have multiple versions, it was the first game with a ton of paid DLC.

Don't get me wrong, I love Awakening to pieces. But that game started pretty much everything Fates gets shit for. Yet it gets retrospective love or at the very least a pass cuz... Fates does it worse/more and because it was gonna be the last game in the series? Wouldn't it be fair then, to give slack to Fates for following in the footsteps of the most well received and successful game in the series by replicating it while trying to improve on what some felt were lacking? But I guess at that point, people think it utterly failed in improving on the story and characters so :/

I think you have a point regarding Fates fans as well. We're pretty much the only FE fans that get unironic negative labels, at least by casual aduiences. Apparetnly we're "coomer, porn brain freaks who don't know what good games are." Though, that's about it in terms of the elitism thing, otherwise I think it's just fans of older games being out off by the direction newer games have gone, and most make no distinction and criticize all of Awakening, Fates, 3H, and Engage. Still, Fates fans are the ones getting the most accepted flak.

To end this off, let's be honest: If Fates is the example most people give of the worst game in the series, FE fans have it pretty fucking good lmao.

[ficoandleo]

Hi guys, what do you think of me Romeo headcanons ?

All the best <3

The word 'headcanon' makes Romeo look to Leo for clarification. He's not exactly a fandom person and the combination of words is foreign to him.

"Headcanon is exactly what it sounds like. 'Canon,' but only in your head. Not the biblical kind of canon."

"So it's just a bunch of ideas that somebody--who probably doesn't know you to begin with!--gets in their head about you?" Romeo's phone gives a little buzz, a message from Leo allowing him to open your post. He already looks annoyed at the thought. The last thing he wants is more people spreading stupid, awful rumors about him.

"Well they're usually about fictional characters and not real people, but. Yeah, basically!" It's so funny how they think they're real people.

As a clarification from the writer, most anything Romeo says is 'right' or 'wrong' is merely in application to himself, here. It isn't meant to be applicable to all presentations of Romeo, only my own, on this blog. And even those are subject to change. Your headcanons are always valid, and I, personally, like most of them quite a lot! But you're not here for me!

"This is quite the list. . . ." Romeo crosses his legs and sits back in his chair, making himself comfortable. This is going to take a while. Leo makes himself comfortable, fiddling with his phone.

"I'll leave most of that to you. They're about you, after all. But no worries, I'll provide some witty commentary of my own if I see fit~!"

"Saying that I started at Darkwick 'a couple of years' after I turned 17. . .I've been here almost three years now, just how old do you think I am!?"

"The correct answer is~~~ don't ask💔! It's rude to ask someone pretty their age, okay?"

"Well, I didn't come to Japan before I reached adulthood, I can say that much. I lived in Italy until. . .until it didn't seem safe to continue to do so. Around four years ago." Ha. He wished he could have just come to Tokyo peacefully. . . .

"My parents were quite busy, and I won't deny that I wasn't as close to my father as my mother or nonna. I think most people are--it seems fairly common that fathers aren't the most. . .available for their own children." He doesn't know very many people who wouldn't say they're closer to their mother than their father. Maybe that was just the company he kept, though. "Expected to act as an heir, yes, but I negotiated a bit more freedom through my own skill and efforts. Although I don't think we have the same perspective of what I was supposed to be inheriting."

He briefly recalls how Taiga called him naive shortly after they met. How even recently he said he was still as naive as that day.

". . .but maybe even you know better than I did in this case." Every day he plays mafia. Sometimes he wonders how close he was to 'playing' mafia without ever having to leave the comfort of his own home.

"I mean, your family owned that super famous fashion brand. Not sure what else you'd be inheriting." Leo chimed, half joking. As if it weren't obvious what Romeo could have been in store for in another life--possibly even in this one.

"Ah. But, yes, three siblings and the languages are right. I understand little bits of other regional languages here and there--only what you pick up doing business and singing in other regions. I understand English and Japanese far better. Isn't that strange?"

Romeo frowns as he reads the part about his father, about gambling. He thinks of Taiga calling him naive and greedy. Like your old man. You gotta be more careful with your chips, Lulu! Of parroting words--he never really thought about it, but they may have been nearly the exact same ones--that his father had yelled at. . .his mother? His sister? His nonna? No, his father would never yell at her--

You're being ridiculous. He doesn't have a problem.

Even if he acknowledged it, what good would it do? His father was still in charge of everything--

He partially skips that one. "I was expected to take over for my father eventually. But our brand name was taken from me--from us. And everything went with it after that. I run the casino because that BTH won't do his own damn job and run the business he started. I don't need a reason to hate gambling--it's designed to make you keep trying and losing even when you're already at a loss. What is there to like about it if you aren't in the house position that's meant to see those profits?"

Even in the house position, he doesn't much like gambling. And he'd rather not admit that it might be more personal than that.

"And the drugs makes a profit, same as any other contraband. I wouldn't touch them if I weren't selling them. I don't smoke, either. I don't touch any of that unhealthy garbage. Do you know what that crap does to your body!?" It's a wonder Jin and Haku are in the conditions they're in with how much they smoke. Or, in Haku's case, smoked--he heard he's trying to quit. Good luck with that. "I'll admit to drinking, but I try and keep it to meals and celebrations." And moments of extreme stress. "The drinks Mickey makes are made from anomalous ingredients--all of the effects but none of the risks of actual alcohol. So it doesn't count."

But if that weren't an option he would be drinking real alcohol every night. He may not smoke, but Rui is currently, literally, the only thing keeping him from becoming a full blown alcoholic. . .no pressure or anything, Rui.

He grimaces at the mention of Catholicism or faith at all. "Is anybody back home really religious? Be honest, no one really practiced any of that BS." Well, some people did, especially older people. But it was more tradition and custom than actual belief that kept a crucifix hanging around his neck for most of his life. "I made a deal with a demon. That isn't a sin God would forgive, even if He were good. Even if I believed, what choice would I have but to put my faith elsewhere?"

The first thing he threw away himself after making that deal was the cross he'd worn around his neck. But he couldn't bring himself to blow it up. That felt. . .a little too dangerous, even for something he didn't feel like he really believed in. He'd simply thrown it as far as he could(much further than he could have thrown it a few hours prior) and left it behind.

After all, if a demon came to him and granted him great power, perhaps there was a God too? But by then it was too late to worry. If God saw fit to strike him down he would.

"I don't think most people like school, let alone Catholic school. And I assure you that any attempts to bully me wouldn't have needed my family or their connections to get involved. But they respected me and my family, so if anyone had any SAC about my middle name, they were smart enough to hold their tongues.

". . .as for keeping contact with my family, I don't know if any of my direct family--nonna included--are still alive. And they don't know that about me, either. As far as anybody back home knows the eldest son of the Lucci brand and his personal bodyguard have been missing for several years." Although he has quite the online presence, so if anybody wanted to reach out to him it's far from impossible. He still wears his name with pride.

"My indirect family, with whom I share my last name. . .I never spoke much to them, despite that they provided our security at home. I don't think they cared for me much when I pretty much had Taiga replace their men." But you really can't beat one guy who can beat up two or three guys at once and tells you how pretty he thinks you are all the time. "So I can't say I speak to any of them anymore. Even through letters. I CBA to find out if anyone's alright anyway."

It's probably paranoia. But if your family was attacked over unpaid debts that were out of your control you would probably be paranoid too. If he reached out or started some sort of investigation, someone could get hurt. What if it were him!

"It is virtually impossible to find good, authentic Italian food in Tokyo. Especially if you want something specific or regional--the available ingredients aren't the same either. We had people who cooked for us back home--anyone with money like ours would have, I'm sure--but I don't think that would stop anybody's grandmother as long as she had working hands."

He resists the urge to smile. "But she taught me how to sew more than she taught me how to cook. It's a wonder we got away with that--I had never liked my father simply having others make my designs without any input beyond sketches and notes. I wanted more involvement so that everything would be perfect. . .but that isn't what you're asking about. Nobody cooks like your mother--and even less people your grandmother."

Leo makes a contemplative noise and looks thoughtful about this. Sho is very good at replicating tastes and recipes based off of description. . .and getting good ingredients imported. And he loves making food from different cultures--'Highway To Home' was called that for a reason. For Leo, no one's made better food than Sho, even either of their mothers. It probably wouldn't be the same. . .but he likes the idea of Romeo owing him a favor and giving Sho a challenge, and files the thought away for later.

"Kurossa, which one is pansexual again?"

"Huh? Oh, it's 'where there's a hole, there's a goal,' more or less."

"I thought that was bisexual."

"These days it's pretty much the same thing depending on who you ask."

". . .Which one are you?"

"Awww, do you wanna be like me, Ro-Ro?"

Romeo smirks back at him, tilting his head. "What can I say, you have good taste."

"Honestly, I don't really care. The pan flag's colors look like printer ink, so I just say I'm bi because I don't want the ugly ass neon flag? It's so bright, those colors can look good but you've really gotta put effort in for it. The bi flag colors are a little more muted? The aro colors kinda suck too though."

Romeo appears to be looking up the flags and scrunching up his face. "They're workable colors. I think the fact that they're plain bars is part of what makes them look so unappealing. . . ." But then he realizes he's getting off track and goes back to the headcanon list. "Well, in any case, I favor men as a. . .noticeable pattern. But I've been attracted to others before, so I would say you're probably right. But my interest in fashion is from my family business, and my interest in self care is from both my desire to maintain personal perfection and an upbringing in the fashion business. Top tier clothing wouldn't be tolerated on a face and body that don't compliment it. It would be a waste."

"Like, still put the effort in obviously, even if you can't get it perfect. Some effort is a million times better than no effort." Leo adds, rolling over on the couch.

"Of course. Not everyone can afford the price of true beauty, and not everyone is patient enough for it even if they can. But that doesn't mean you don't do anything at all. They say you can't polish a turd but hikaru dorodango still manages to make some aesthetically pleasing work of simple mud.

"Speaking of brands, while I certainly favor Italian brands," especially his own family's when he can find their older pieces, "I don't shop them exclusively. Primarily, yes, but I'm not going to refuse good and aesthetically appealing products out of some sense of national pride.

"There's a bidet in my private office bathroom and my bedroom's attached bathroom. I've had both almost entirely remodeled, although fortunately, as this is a luxury cruise ship, there wasn't much to be adjusted.

"I'm not interested in sports." Which is to say you're correct in that he acts like he isn't interested, but he does follow it. He's a little too busy to be watching football games on the other side of the planet all that often, but he does keep up. "And I don't hate being called Romeo. I'm used to the mispronunciation by now, although I'm really not certain when it arose considering Japanese is a phonetic language and I've never written it ro-mi-o. Like I've said before, I don't like being called Vice-Captain because it makes me sound off-brand! So I gave myself my own title that they can use instead--there is no doubt that no one here but me is Fico! The only people who have to refer to me as such are my underlings, the casino staff, and the underlings of other houses!"

"I use 'Romi-sama' and 'Ro-Ro' for him and other people use different nicknames too. Maybe that makes it seem like he doesn't like his name since he lets us call him nicknames?"

"How is that I don't refuse friendly nicknames a sign that I dislike my name, as opposed to that the company I keep tends to be people who are much too friendly for their own good!? Most of them use 'Romi' in some way anyway!"

"I'm just speculating! You are so loud all the time."

"And, finally. Of course I have things imported for me from outside of Japan. If I can afford to do it, why wouldn't I?" Especially his fancy €12 bottles of sparkling water!? "It's annoyingly expensive but I've worked out a deal with the mail room. If I can't find something here I'll simply bring it here. I won't compromise my quality of life."

Romeo sighs in exhaustion. Why did he do all of that? He could have just said no, really! But instead you made him give a verbal essay on his own existence. You did it, not me. "There. Do you feel sufficiently validated or invalidated now?

[phoenix-and-found-family]

Context: This angsty train wreck right here

Reginald Crane knew that he was drunk. Or, if not drunk, dangerously close to it.

So many different people had sent him alcohol, all of them different varieties and quality. It was probably meant to be a consultation, but every drop just reminded him of their face. Of how happy they were whenever a new agent thought they could out-drink them.

His other selves had chewed him out, saying he shouldn't have taken their agents with him. Incredibly irresponsible, one had said. Why didn't you tell them not to come?

He tried to explain his motives, but the other him cut him off. Look, I understand you care for your agent. We know what that's like. But involving our operatives is against so many protocols that it isn't funny. And they got seriously hurt.

In retrospect, he understood their message. He would have made the same argument if he was on the other side of this. But he remembered how angry he felt, how pissed he was that these other versions were lecturing him about this situation.

What would you have done?! If your agent was the one who got taken, would you have let them go without a fight?! Would you listen to protocol over trying to save them?! Would you just write up their kidnapping as an incident report and then move on?!?

He took another sip from his wine glass before he stopped kidding himself and took a large swig from the bottle.

He didn't notice the door opening until someone walked in.

"Reginald, have you seen Phoenix lately? They aren't answering my calls-"

She stopped when she saw the three open half empty bottles.

"... something... happened to them, didn't it?"

"What makes you say that?"

He replied dryly as he put the bottle down.

"You haven't drank that much alcohol in one sitting since Rising Phoenix."

He sighed.

"They... I messed up, Roxana. They got taken by this woman named Vadas who disabled their tracker and nearly killed two agents who weren't supposed to be there but were because I didn't tell them to leave and now I have no idea where they are or if they're even still alive-"

Prism snapped in his face to get his attention.

"Hey, earth to Crane."

She had a look of fierce intensity, the same look she got whenever she was trying to solve a problem. She saw this as an equation.

"What would they say right now?"

He blinked.

"What?"

"You heard me. If they walked into this office right now, and saw you like this, worried about them, chugging wine, what would they say to you?"

He looked at his desk and smiled against his will.

"Probably ask if they could have some, too."

She smiled.

"Okay, you got me there. But you know what I mean."

He thought about it a moment before answering.

"They would ask me what was wrong. Then they would help me up, talking about something they knew I wouldn't understand just to keep me awake until they got me to the medical wing."

"Would they let you sit here, giving up?"

"...No."

She grabbed his arm with a determined look on her face.

"Then neither am I."

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@wyvchard guess wat :3

@the-one-and-only-043 it's Reggie having a depressive episode with alcohol involved because idk