#i'm 100% on the fence about v

[andromeda3116]

rereading order of the stick (again), and greyiew is only in a few comics so far but man do i love this nihilistic wolf

[luvrgreyy]

THE AMERICAN DREAM

leon kennedy x f!reader

word count: 2.4k summary: living the picture perfect marriage with leon. masterlist | taglist | ko-fi

18+ MDNI. DEAD DOVE. typical american marriage, mentions of abuse, throwing up, drugging/use of drugs, gaslighting, leon being mean and condescending — he’s very ooc in this one, non-con, basically somnophilia, unprotected sex, p in v, choking, slapping, spanking, spitting, fingering(vaginal and mouth), degrading language.

a/n: 100 FOLLOWER SPECIAL !! thank you so much everyone <3 sorry if the writing on this ones a little sloppy, this one’s mostly self indulgent and i was half asleep when making this so i didn’t really know what i was writing down. anyways, hope you guys enjoy this, love you all xx.

you loved your husband. your relationship was everything you’ve ever wanted. a nice house in a beautiful suburb — white picket fence and all — a doting husband, and an idyllic life that seemed straight out of a hollywood movie. each day was laced with domestic bliss.

everything was perfect, living the dream with the perfect husband. you don't even remember the fact that he took you away from your family. or that he was systematically drugging you, slipping small doses of amnesiacs into your food and drink to keep your memory fuzzy and prevent you from remembering the fact that he was basically abusing and raping you on a daily basis. the drug kept you docile and unquestioning.

sometimes, you have nightmares about it, though you can’t really remember anything, and you think they’re just things your brain like to make up.

you woke up with a start, your hands clenched tightly into fists in the bed sheets as your breath came in sharp and fast. the room was quiet, except for the soft ticking of the clock. it’s the same nightmare, the same thing that leaves you feeling disoriented and unsettled, but you can't recall the details.

you felt your husband shift behind you, his warm body pressing against yours. "mm, baby," his groggy voice rumbled sleepily, his hands slipping around your waist to pull you closer against him, a touch meant to be soothing. his chin rested against your shoulder, his lips trailing languidly across the nape of your neck. “you okay?”

“another nightmare?” he murmured lowly, sensing your unease.

"i— i'm gonna throw up,”

a slight pause and then leon sprung into action. he immediately rolled over and gently pulled you into his arms, cradling you against his chest while he carried you towards the bathroom.

“it’s alright, sweetheart. let it all out,” he soothed, his voice a soft, comforting murmur as he cradled you closely. he leaned you over the toilet, holding your hair back as you wretched and retched.

he held you close to him, gently massaging your back with one hand, stroking your spine soothingly with his fingers, all while using his other hand to hold your hair back.

“i’ve got you,” he whispered softly, pressing gentle kisses on the crown of your head, his arms holding you firmly yet gently as you hunched over the toilet. his free hand reaches over to grab a clean towel and wiping away any remnants of vomit from your lips.

after a few moments, your body slumped and you gasped for breath, leaning against him for support. he continued to hold you gently, running his fingers softly over your clammy skin.

"tea?" you looked up at him with hazy eyes, still feeling queasy. the room was spinning and your stomach churned at the mere thought of food. but the idea of drinking something soothing sounded nice.

"yes... please,"

he ushers you into the kitchen, fetching a tea bag and a cup from the cabinet and pouring in some boiling water from the kettle. he sets the cup on the table and takes a seat across from you.

“here,” he hands you a steaming mug of tea, his large hand brushing against yours for just a moment. you take a sip and it tastes strange — slightly bitter and with a weird aftertaste. but it does seem to ease the churning in your stomach.

he sighs in relief as you take another sip of your tea, not noticing the small pill dissolved in the cup.

“there we go, sweetheart. i know you've been feeling a bit under the weather lately. that’ll help you relax and feel better in no time,”

he smiles warmly, pretending to care about your wellbeing, when in reality he's just trying to keep you sedated so you don't realize what a hellish existence you're living.

you blinked slowly, the warm tea feeling good as it slid down your throat. the room was still spinning a bit, but you felt yourself starting to relax. leon watched you carefully, relieved that the nausea seemed to be subsiding.

“feel dizzy,” you mumble slowly.

he reached across the table to pat your hand gently. "there, there sweetheart. why don’t i take you back to bed so you can rest? you’re clearly exhausted,"

without waiting for a response, he helps you to your feet and steers you towards the bedroom. you stumble and sway on unsteady legs, unable to resist as he guides you. once you're on the bed, he covers you with a blanket and tucks you in snugly.

"oh, my poor baby.. i’ll join you in a few minutes, just gonna wash up the dishes in the kitchen."

you can barely keep your eyes open as the drug pulls you under. your last thought is wondering why you feel so tired all the time, before slipping into a deep, medicated slumber. you snuggle deeper into the blankets, your eyelids growing heavier by the second. leon lingers by the bedside, watching you with a mixture of amusement and anticipation.

soon, your breathing evens out and your body goes limp, succumbing to the drug's effects. leon smiles, satisfied. he knows he has a window of opportunity before you wake up again. without wasting any time, he quietly slips up your nightgown, exposing your tender flesh to his hungry eyes and eager touch. his hands roam freely over your body, groping and squeezing as he pleases. he reaches up and cups one breast with each hand, weighing them appreciatively.

he leans down and starts planting wet kisses across your neck and chest, staying close so you don't stir.

then he's on top of you, shoving his pants down and mounting you roughly.

your moans and protests are muffled by your sleep-addled state as he ravages you mercilessly, using his big, strong hands to hold you down and shut you up.

“l-lee—leon,” you manage to mumble.

leon silences you by reaching down and forcing two fingers into your mouth, thrusting them between your lips.

"shh, ‘ts okay baby," he hums into your ear, giving your cunt a light slap that makes you yelp around his fingers. "such a good girl, taking it so well," he praises you with a growl as he works your mouth open with his fingers, stretching your jaw wide for his invasion. your protests are swallowed by your own gag reflex as he fucks your face with no regard for your well-being.

your mind is hazy and you can't seem to rouse yourself enough to push him away. he's just too strong, too overpowering. you're at his mercy, helpless to resist as he takes what he wants.

his fingers finally slip free from your mouth, coated in saliva. he uses that same hand to roughly spread your legs further apart, pleased with how easily he’s able to violate you in your vulnerable state.

he flips you upright and pulls your hips back, exposing your pussy to the air. he runs a finger along your slit, feeling how wet he's made you.

"look at you, getting all worked up over nothing," he chuckles darkly, spreading your lips and poking his big finger into your entrance.

“so wet f’me,” he coos, sliding his finger inside you and starts to pump it, scissoring it to stretch you. you moan and wriggle against him, still only semi-conscious.

leon ignores your attempts at protest, too focused on his own pleasure. his hips start rocking, his hard cock rubbing against your thighs as he uses you like a doll. “fucking slut, getting off to this," he growls, giving your clit a harsh pinch that makes you whine. his words are thick with insincerity, a mocking edge to his voice as he uses the pet name he knows you love. in reality, he despises you and views you as nothing more than an object to use at his leisure.

you try to push him away with your sleepy hands, clawing and flailing your arms, but he pins them to the mattress easily. he's too strong, and you're too weak from the drugs coursing through your system.

“be good and stay still," he growls, smashing his mouth down on yours to muffle any screams that might escape. his tongue probes aggressively at your lips, seeking entry. you cry out as he thrusts his thick cock into your resistance, splitting you open and making you scream. his hips start pounding into you with renewed vigor, bouncing off your ass as he breeds you hard and fast. the bed creaks and shifts with each brutal thrust.

"so fucking tight," he groans, starting to piston his hips, using your throat for leverage.

he grunts and growls as he ruts into you like a beast, your body sloppily pressed against his. your head is forced to bob up and down on his cock as he thrusts, drool streaming down your chin. your muffled whimpers and protests are lost around his shaft. “look at that, you take my cock so well baby," his filthy words are punctuated by sharp smacks to your ass and thighs, keeping you off-balance and unable to fully rouse. he's relentless, using your mouth and body for his own sick satisfaction.

your struggles weaken further as the air gets cut off from your lungs. he pauses to spit in your face, the slick substance mingling with your tears and drool. “what’s the matter sweetheart? can’t breathe?" he taunts, smacking your face. "just relax, you can take it." he punctuates his words with a sharp smack to your inner thigh, making you gasp and squirm beneath him.

the bed frame creaks ominously with each powerful thrust, threatening to give way and spill you both to the floor. his hands are everywhere, gripping your hips, pulling your hair, slapping your ass. he's completely lost in his own pleasure, using you as a means to an end. you try to squirm away from him, but it's futile. he's too strong, and you're too drowsy. he simply reaches up and clamps a hand over your mouth, muffling any cries for help.

"quit fucking squirming," he growls. but somehow, he’s lying. he wants you to fight back, to struggle and make it harder for him. it's more exciting that way. your throat burns as he continues to use it as leverage, twisting your head with every brutal thrust. tears stream down your cheeks, your eyes squeezed shut in fear and pain.

saliva and juices run down your thighs as he slams into you without mercy. your mind is fuzzy and disconnected, unable to fully process the assault on your body. all you can do is endure, a ragdoll for leon to use and abuse as he sees fit.

"atta girl," he hisses. "take it, baby." he punctuates his words with another sharp smack to the ass, the sting adding to your growing pile of discomfort.

you can only moan and mewl in response, too far gone to resist. your body is numb, your mind foggy and detached.

you try to nod, too weak to do anything but comply. he loosens his grip on your throat and moves his hand back to your hip, pulling you against him roughly. his cock throbs inside you, swelling up further as he gets close to coming.

"fuck, gonna cum," he warns, his hips redoubling their pace. you moan helplessly as he breeds you hard and fast, the bed creaking and shifting under you. he slaps your ass hard twice, the sound echoing in the room. he groans, coming with a loud grunt. your body is wracked with shudders as he fills you with his cum, your cunt clamping down on his shaft to milk him for every drop.

when he finally pulls out, you're left gasping and sputtering, drool dripping down your face. you lie there in stunned silence afterwards, sprawled beneath him in a puddle of your own fluids. leon collapses on top of you, pinning you to the bed as his chest heaves with exertion.

you're still drifting in and out of consciousness when leon rolls off of you and onto his side, facing away from you. your mind is a fog, struggling to process the events that just transpired. a small sob escapes your lips as you try to make sense of the pain, confusion, and shame that's flooding through you.

after what felt like an eternity, leon reaches over and pulls you into his side, pressing your body close to his. you can feel his warmth, his heartbeat, away his arms are uncomfortably resting atop your skin.

slowly but surely, the fog in your mind starts to clear. you become aware of the dull ache in your throat, the soreness of between your legs, and the disgust you feel for yourself.

fresh tears spring to your eyes as the reality of your situation comes crashing down on you.

"shh, calm down baby," he whispers, stroking your hair soothingly. but his touch is cold and clammy, sending shivers down your spine.

your body feels heavy and numb, your mind hazy and disconnected. slowly, your eyes flutter open. the room is blurry, the edges fuzzy. you try to move, but your limbs feel like lead. leon's face swims into view, his features distorted. "you had a bad dream," he murmurs, his voice sounding distant.

"just another nightmare, sweetheart. it’s okay, i'm here." his words are slurred, his face wobbly. you try to focus, but it's impossible. your vision starts to tunnel, fading to black. the last thing you hear is leon's gentle humming, lulling you back to sleep.

when you wake again, you'll have no memory of the nightmare, no recollection of the way he violated and degraded you. the drug will ensure that. all you'll know is that you slept fitfully and woke up feeling unwell.

tags: @crowleyco @arcane5019

[solar-wing]

⚣ BatBro Incorrect Quotes: TikTok 🤳🏻

⚣⏰ A/N → Literally in the middle of brainstorming and writing the 100-follower Conner Kent fic, and this came to mind. If it's good or not, I'm sorry, I just had to get it out. Thank you for understanding.

⚣⏰ Summary → BatBro has introduced TikTok to the Wayne Family...

REBLOGS and replies are greatly appreciated, please! 💛

⚣ ENJOY 🤳🏻

BatBro: And if you let that motherfucker Shanon once, best believe they gonna Shenanigan.

Source: Mya Monaco

Cass: Is Being Gay An Illness?

Cass: Yes, it is. How come every time I kiss a girl, my stomach hurts?

Dick: Those are butterflies.

Cass: Well, they're gay too.

Source: Farha Khalidi

Stephanie: He is not the love of your life!

Stephanie: He is literally just a guy!!

Stephanie: HIT HIM WITH YOUR CAR!

Source: chrissy

Damian: Why do you hoes act like if yeen ain't in no relationship, you gon die? Y'all be weak in the knees. Stand up! STAND UP!

Source: Leezy V

*BatBro with Jason in his weekly therapy session*

Jason: I was silent, ummm...

BatBro👓: Were you silent, or were you silencedSST?

Jason: ...

Jason: The latter.

Source: Beni2.0

Dick: I'm sorry. Not everybody fits in the bad bitch JAN-RAH. IT'S A JAN-RAH. Not everybody fits on the RAS-STA.

Source: Ms.PressureCooker

White people chillen in their house:

*Silence*

Black people chillen in their house:

*Silence*

*Beep*

Duke: I don't know why, but I am offended.

*Beep*

Duke:😯

Source: shaelovve

*Damian chastises his siblings*

Damian: Stop acting like a fucking hooligan! I know your momma raised you in a barn, but around these parts, we have some decorum, okay.

Source: KHAENOTBAE

Jason: No! Hear me out!

Jason: Why would I write the two essays that I had due 38 minutes ago rather than catch up on my fanfiction?

Jason: A bitch can not be academically sound AND lonely!

Jason: I can't where–I can't wear both of those hats. I'm gonna read a fanfiction in 20,000 words or less by a 15-year-old named Sarah who likes Supernatural. I'm gonna do that.

Source: anania

*Tim hanging out with BatBro and Conner*

Tim: And I ain't never seen three pretty best friends.

Tim: It's always two of them motherfuckers gotta be gay.

BatBro:*screams*

Conner: cUt ThE cAMeRaS!

Source: reganladd

*Bruce tells Tim he needs to get more sleep*

Tim: Duh! DUUUUHHH!!! Okay, duuuuuhhh!

Tim: You. Stupid! FUCK!!!

Source: HRH Memes

Jason: Therapy isn't enough. I need to punch that bitch today. Tomorrow is never promised.

*Walks aggressively towards Bruce's office with Wii Sports fencing music playing*

Source: B. Lee

*BatBro threatening Conner forgetting the Kryptonian is bigger and stronger than him*

BatBro: How you gon snap my neck off? Bitch, you weigh 95 pounds. I'm 5'8 almost 200 pounds. You can't snap my muthafuckin neck off, bitch. You'll be dead by the time you think about snapping my neck off, bitch.

Source: KB AND KARLA

BatBro: It is OTOM🍂. *pose✨*

🐦:*squeak*

BatBro: ¡Callate!

BatBro: My husband is cutting the backyard. So I decided to bless him with my company, even though he DOES NOT deserve me.

*walks in Spanish*

BatBro: I HAVE ARRIVED! 👑

*Conner used to these antics but still looking confused*

*BatBro stands in glam while Conner continues mowing the lawn*

BatBro: Good job!

*glam*

BatBro: Yeah, that's enough.

Source: SHIADANNI

*arguing with BatBro*

Damian: Next time you fucking put your hands on me, I'ma fucking rip off your face, bitch!

Dick: What did he do?

Damian: CAUSE HE FUCKING PUSHED ME...

Source: Nikkibussy084

☀️ | Bat Family | ☀️

☀️ | Masterlists | ☀️

[the-s1lly-corner]

ok so hear me out. what about father!masky hearing that Toby is dating daughter!reader.

A teensy bit of NSFW would be fine, like hearing that Toby stole his precious daughter's V-card. (+ and how Toby ended up taking it but that's just a + if you're feeling generous.)

(MASKY AND READERS RELATIONSHIP IS COMPLETELY PLATONIC AND FAMILY-LIKE!!!!)

Father!Masky reacting to child!readers partner being Toby!

Was really debating on whether or not I wanted to answer this since personally I'm a little iffy on writing romantic stuff with toby but I think. Since its not the center piece (?) Of this request I'll let it slide this time

With that said I will say, I'm not sure if my take on the masky/toby dynamic is accurate to most peoples takes since I havent really. Seen much current fan stuff, havent really interacted with the fandom outside of fanart n stuff since 2015 so UHUH!!

Quick warning first portion of this is the admin rambling about their hcs about masky and toby before getting into the actual reader portion; they havent had the chance to talk about their creepypasta hcs in a LONG time 😭😭

Not touching the virginity thing, though sorry anon

Okay the authors note was getting too long but more on how I view the toby and masky dynamic given how I write both characters in my hc/au!

Toby does still try to piss off masky, i think. Since hes just generally an ass and there isnt much else for him to do..

You see I'm still trying to figure out how I wanna write masky and hoodie, since I do wish to honor their roots from MH and mesh together the source with the creepypasta fandoms take.. still trying to hit a balance.. might save that for another post, though! But I do wish to incorporate tim and brian into this as their own thing in my hc I'm just not sure how... anyways summary of what I was gonna say, before I deleted it; masky and hoodie arent around 100% of the time, only really when they're needed or called for. Hoodie is around more, though

Toby, on the other hand is around as a proxy 100% of the time considering. You know he krilled his shitty dad and set his neighborhood on fire

Basically there aren't many opportunities for these two to interact but when he does toby is probably shoving masky, probably trying to snag his mask, ect ect basically doing anything to find a way to entertain and stimulate himself, and that just so happens to include fucking with his fellow proxies

Masky, at least in my writing, is fairly stoic... or at least he keeps his emotions hard to read and every now and then he can be a little unpredictable. Call it a byproduct of being mentally worn down by slenderman in order to work with him, or something

Holds little to no reaction to Toby's antics, actually the only time theres anything dished back to him is when he tries to make a grab for the mask

VERY protective of his mask

Okay moving onto the actual request; regardless of how you end up being his kid.. whether it be found family or biologically.. he would try to be the very best dad he can be.. bonus points if you're a proxy as well, I think you two would train together

Call it a family business/j

I could joke about masky krilling for you, but.... considering that these are creepypasta characters... I dont think it would be a joke

Only saves that for if someone physically harms you though

Dating wise I dont think he would care..

Until he finds out who

Really?

That asshole?

When you tell him it's very hard to decipher his reaction.. hes just

Still

And the mask isnt helping at all

Watches toby like a hawk. Like if this were genuinely any other person I think masky would do some basic sleuthing to see what kind of person your partner is before backing off... but given that he has a personal history of toby being a nuisance, he's more on the fence

Now do I think he would forbid you from seeing him?

Honestly, I'm not entirely sure. I mean yeah sure, toby makes his job harder.. but has he really done anything that warrants that? Does he even have the right, even as your father?

You know that meme from monsters uni. Where sully is glaring down at mike while they're walking

That's basically masky and toby after he finds out

Not many thoughts here, I think

[papaziggy-devblog]

What if, I'm just a little... On the fence about Harper and could be swayed to the right side by Malik?

Well if Malik knows you're interested he'll 100% start going for you

Which means he'll be even more warry and protective against Harper

Which means Harper will be more hostile towards Malik

Which means Malik would be more hostile towards Harper

So on and so forth .v.

[annieqattheperipheral]

Kyle. Hi. Wow. Ok. I'm sad. Wow gonna miss u hard.

Ok so the Brendan Shanahan media availability just ended. Wow, he revealed a fair bit and didn't hide that letting Kyle go was his decision and revealed when he changed his mind from fully working on extending his contract, to ok thank you but bye.

The timeline:

Off-season 2022: shanny tells dubas they're going to wait and see how the 22-23 season goes and then decide on whether or not to extend him. Kyle all cool beans super profesh

Season: goes well normal ups n downs. Owners & board & shanny are happy

Trade deadline 2023: shanny is very pleased and now there's not much else for GMs to do rn so tells dubas we want to extend you. Kyle all cool beans i want that too here's my agent's deets y'all figure it out keep me out of it while i focus on the end of season & playoffs

Friday May 12: Leafs nation crashes and burns out of the playoffs in round 2

Saturday day off

Sunday they all come in for team pictures and shanny & dubas chat and he tells dubas you did well this doesn't change anything we still want to extend you. also everyone will be talking to media tmr you don't have to i won't be. Kyle all cool beans but I'm gonna bc the players & coach have to and i should support them

Monday May 15 - Kyle Dubas speaks to media -> he did not confirm yes/no on whether he wanted to stay as GM, answers with this season was v hard on my family and i have to speak w them before i answer in any way at all

Shanny's brain goes all WTF. Yes we've talked extensively at every conversation about how hard this season has been on your family. But like did not expect that response to the media. So then shanny's all driving home that night thinking ok i have to think about the possibility of next season having a different GM

Tuesday - they don't chat

Wednesday - shanny goes to see dubas. They talk about his Monday media availability cuz shanny got questions cuz like wtf. They talk about pressure on family in this industry both as player and management. Kyle says his agent will contact him tmr and shanny all uhh ok but I'm like still so confused girl

Thursday - dubas agent sends shanny a new contract w different financial package expectations. Kyle emails shanny that night i wanna be ur GM boo🫶 but shanny already got the ick factor going and is so not into it anymore

Friday May 19/today - shanny drove to dubas office at ford performance centre and told him we will not be extending ur contract 😭😭😭

Brendan Shanahan speaks to media

If you've got the urge and u really love kyle highly encourage you watch/listen to both of their press conferences. Shanahan speaks highly of Dubas keeps it profesh there is none of the bad blood we heard about

Kyle is so awesome, open, emotional and possibly its the last time we'll hear from him for awhile since he's no longer with MLSE nor any other org. He said in his media that if he were to not be GM with leafs, in no way would we be seeing him signing with another team like next week. His answer didn't have anything to do w having other job offers.

My overall conclusion:

shanny no longer saw the 100% passion and want for the job anymore from dubas during his Monday press conference. And it's ok if that is how kyle is feeling bc he clearly needs to focus on family for a bit now after just a rollicking season & stressful as shit playoffs. Yes Kyle was in a vulnerable state so soon after playoffs elimination and probably shouldn't have been judged for his contract extension based off of that. But workplaces and jobs are like relationships where if the want to work isn't fully there anymore it is going to turn off your coworkers and boss, and his lack of confirmation of wanting to be GM to the press really drove home that he was still on the fence and iffy about going all in on the job despite the horrible 2nd round loss.

Wherever you go kyle, I'm following you, even if you go to one of my hated teams bc i know you'll fix the org & locker room culture like you did at the leafs💙💙💙

[pinkgrapefloyd]

1 for tdims; 4, 5, 10, 17, 18!

thank you for the ask! <3

1 share a song that makes you think of 'there's daggers in men's smiles'

I don't necessarily think the themes match 100%, but I listened to "moon song" by phoebe bridgers a lot while writing! also "coma" by taylor acorn because it has major johnny-unlearning-bullshit vibes.

4 How many WIPs do you have right now?

oh god. if we're talking unfinished works that I haven't abandoned... thirteen. jesus fucking christ. one for good omens, four for frey & mcgrey, eight for cobra kai. but I'm only actively working on about three or four of those right now!

5 What's a fic idea you've had that you'll never write?

hm idk. i usually write something down for every distinct idea that i have. the only one that i currently haven't written anything for is a frey & mcgray idea that plays off the TPLOSH scene where holmes implies he's with watson to get out of being propositioned by a russian ballerina. because i think that'd be juicy as hell with the mcfrey dynamic. but i can't guarantee that i'll never write for it! maybe one day! it's just currently a very basic idea.

10 Is there a fic that got a different response than what you were expecting?

honestly, i was surprised by the sheer amount of readers anti-hero had because I personally don't read WIPs that often. (I know, shame on me, I'm probably missing out on many great works and the fun of reading and commenting as someone uploads!)

and i thought tdims would get a lot of 'cute fic but would have been better with karate' type comments and was really happy people liked the fencing content independently of how much previous fencing knowledge they had!

17 What's something you've learned while doing research for a fic?

My top 3 facts that I've learned during fic research:

in my research about typhoid fever i learned about the worst potato salad of all time, which was prepared in 1898 by a cook in Saarbrücken who didn't wash his hands after cleaning a toilet and subsequently killed forty people with his cooking. yikes.

if you remember the 1982 fencing championship casualty - it was actually a german fencer who fatally injured a ukrainian one (USSR at the time). when russia invaded ukraine forty years later, he took in his opponent's son-in-law and grandchildren.

I bet everyone's sick of me talking about this, but the US Supreme Court case that decided sodomy laws were unconstitutional is called Lawrence v Texas. I just think it's cool that the plaintiff shares a name with Johnny, whose fic I researched that for.

18 What's one of your favorite lines you've written in a fic?

published: it's split between these two (both from tdims. lmao. no i don't have favorite children.)

"Grief makes you into an odd animal that flinches at all sorts of normal things. But of all animals out there, none are as adaptable as humans. You can get used to the unacceptable if you just give it enough time."

and

"The heartbreak burns so brightly inside of Johnny that it called across the ocean like a lighthouse, and now the other monsters are crawling up from the depths of the sea to extinguish him before Johnny's softness can give them a bad name."

unpublished: this line from "worse by the hour" of a character in 1880s scotland coming out to his butler (pretty much the only family he has left). I wrote it and immediately said "bro!" out loud. lmfao. i feel like that means something.

“What if the McGray name dies with me?” “Then it should feel honoured to share yer grave.” 

[lemmaeof]

"Low Power Mode" - A short story by LemmaEOF

A toy drone finds out that it's no longer wanted. Inspired by XKCD 2499, 850 words. CW: abandonment, abuse, near-death

Mirrors: Twitter | Patreon | Cohost

Log entry 1/17 - 2003-05-04 22:36:45 [====================] 100% Jacob left me outside today. I'm right on the doorstep, so I'm out of the elements and he'll bring me back in as soon as he looks outside. I can't wait to play with him again!

Log entry 2/17 - 2003-05-05 05:42:38 [==================--] 93% He didn't notice me this morning. He was running, so he's probably late for the early shift. He should find me when he's coming back home, though!

Log entry 3/17 - 2003-05-05 18:21:13 [================----] 80% …He missed me again. Maybe he was tired? He doesn't get early shifts twice in a row, so I think he'll find me tomorrow. I hope so, at least…

Log entry 4/17 - 2003-05-06 09:58:22 [=============-------] 65% I'm getting a little worried. I'm gonna ask the server to send him a notification to plug me in. Is everything okay?

Log entry 5/17 - 2003-05-06 17:07:58 [===========---------] 57% I think he got it! The server never responds to me, but he picked me up! He just put me on his fence, though. Did I do something wrong? I'll ask his phone tomorrow morning.

Log entry 6/17 - 2003-05-07 07:12:08 [========------------] 43% What's happening? I tried to connect to his phone as he was leaving, but they said they don't recognize me. Did Jacob forget about me?

Log entry 7/17 - 2003-05-07 12:47:28 [=======-------------] 38% He came home early. He was calling someone. He put a sign below me on the fence. My camera can't see what it says. What's going to happen to me?

Log entry 8/17 - 2003-05-08 06:06:15 [====----------------] 20% - ROTORS ENGAGED Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. He was throwing me away! The garbage truck came by and one of the men tried to pick me up! I turned everything on full blast and flew away. What should I do?

Log entry 9/17 - 2003-05-08 06:15:32 [===-----------------] 17% - ROTORS ENGAGED I'm a couple blocks away now. Flying eats energy, but it's all I can do to get away. I'm gonna try and find somewhere safe. I don't know what to do.

Log entry 10/17 - 2003-08-08 06:27:55 [==------------------] 13% - ROTORS ENGAGED I've made it to the park Jacob and I used to play at. The grass is still covered in dew, so I can't land. I just have to keep flying and pray someone finds me.

Log entry 11/17 - 2003-06-08 06:42:20 [=-------------------] 8% - ROTORS ENGAGED People are starting to get here. Some of them are looking at me. None of them are acting like anything weird is happening. I don't have much time left.

Log entry 12/17 - 2003-06-08 06:51:05 [=-------------------] 5% - ROTORS ENGAGED Please, somebody notice me.

Log entry 13/17 - 2003-06-08 06:54:44 [--------------------] 4% - ROTORS ENGAGED I don't want to be alone.

Log entry 14/17 - 2003-06-08 06:54:17 [--------------------] 3% - ROTORS ENGAGED I don't want to die.

Log entry 15/17 - 2003-06-08 06:57:58 [--------------------] 2% - ROTORS ENGAGED Anyone.

Log entry 16/17 - 2003-06-08 07:00:24 [--------------------] 1% - ROTORS ENGAGED Please.

Log entry 17/17 - 2003-06-08 07:03:00 AUTOMATED REPORT - POWER DEPLETED

…

Sarah leaned back in her chair, her gaze shifting between the files on her monitor and the half-broken drone next to her. This was gonna be a tough fix, but she thought the little thing deserved it. She stroked its front propeller, then cracked her knuckles and started writing.

2003-07-08

<+SarahSolder> finished up a project today, anyone wanna see <+SarahSolder> also 0x42FC can i invite someone new <@0x42FC> Sure, go ahead <+teardrop> ooh, got a new girlfriend huh :P -> PropellerCat (PropellerCat@deadend.career) joined the channel

<+SarahSolder> it is NOT my girlfriend! Really? I'm hurt! <+SarahSolder> well not yet (joking) 0x42FC sets mode +v PropellerCat <@0x42FC> Welcome to our chill little hangout group, PropellerCat <+PropellerCat> Whoa, getting pinged feels weird!

<+ProplellerCat> Anyway hi! I'm that project Sarah mentioned! <+teardrop> …you mean person right <+PropellerCat> Nope! I'm a quadcopter ^.^ Some bad stuff happened but Sarah got me all fixed up! <+SarahSolder> fixed up its rotors, custom firmware, the whole shebang

<@0x42FC> And custom firmware lets it do…that? <+SarahSolder> connect to irc yeah <@0x42FC> No, like. Be sapient <+PropellerCat> Oh I did that on my own! I had a mind before I ran away <+teardrop> … <+teardrop> you're gonna have to explain a lot

Sarah looked down at Cathy, who beeped out a nervous giggle. "Don't worry, hun, everything's gonna be alright, ok?" "Vrrr…" The drone hovered over to Sarah's lap and gently touched down. The engineer smiled softly and stroked its frame lovingly. "I'll make sure it is."

It had already been a month since Cathy had tumbled out of the sky into Sarah's arms. A month since its desperate escape. A month since it had its heart broken. And now, it felt almost whole again. There were still some challenges, but at least now it had a home. It had Sarah.

And with Sarah by its side, it could do anything. Cathy quickly floated up to bump against its engineer's nose before settling down again. This was good.

Thank you so much for reading! I'm gonna be posting my old short stories here over the next week or two, and new ones will be going here as well!

If you enjoyed this story, I'd really appreciate it if you gave me some support over on Patreon - it helps a bunch and you'll get early access to any new short stories I write!

[elvenbeard]

5 Facts About Me

I was tagged by @gloryride thank you so much!! :D

I live and grew up in rural Germany

Always been here, in a tiny town (less than 1000 residents) and everyday really at this point I'm torn about wanting to leave or wanting to stay XD Job opportunities are scarce, the infrastructure sucks, it's an absolute pain in the ass to be this far out and away from bigger cities with so many more opportunities and services (be it something as silly as being able to order takeout or something as serious as finding queer-friendly medical professionals). On the other hand, it's very peaceful here. I'm surrounded by mountains, forests, lakes, I can see so many stars at night, it's amazing. Something in between would be cool, where I get nature but also a little more convenience (a supermarket in walking distance would be the dream, having to rely less on a car to get somewhere in general), but I haven't found that place yet.

I have a cat

Her name is Luna, and she is a feisty little menace and one of the sweetest and funniest cats I've ever known! She's been with me since late 2019, adopted from a shelter where she was notorious for getting into fights with other cats and staff apparently XD When I picked her up the first time she immediately snuggled up to me and gave me lots of kisses xD Could say it was love at first sight really. Also, I leash-trained her and we go on little outdoor adventures regularly (another reason why I'd like to remain living near a place where we can keep doing that).

Piercings!!

I have 7, 3 in my face, 4 in my ears altogether. And I want moooore, but I'm paralyzed by all the choices :D One I've wanted for a long time is a nose bridge one, and I think it would suit me, but it would also intensify my resting bitch face by 100% so, I'm a little on the fence still xD I might also be a little obsessed with the one my V has on his cheek, because that's one I'd never really seen on a real life person before. They do exist though, as dermal anchors/implants and I think I've also seen pics where they looked like done "regularly", kinda like eyebrow piercings, so more research and a consultation by a professional are required before I settle on anything XD

I studied Computer Science and Media

I never finished my course though, didn't get a degree, and I beat myself up for it for a long time. I quit in the first place because I was so burnt out and depressed and unhappy with everything to do with uni, it really almost killed my creative drive for good. Not only were we constantly told we'd only have a chance in jobs and fields after graduating that sounded absolutely dreadful to me, the faculty itself seemed to make it as hard as possible for us every step of the way to reach the end of the course (from "killer-exams" to get rid of the students only in it with "the wrong intentions", and a horribly disorganized administration that regularly just lost your grades and scores and tried to blame it on you). I'm someone who loves learning, and I loved learning what I did there. I have many amazing memories of people and projects we got to work on. But it's all overshadowed by the awful strucutures in place around it. I'd still like to study something some day, maybe to do with art or history or film or languages... but currently I'm kinda just happy existing and doing things at my own pace, without too much outside pressure to perform.

I work at a supermarket and am a registered freelance artist

I have a stable, permanent, part-time job at a supermarket (the wine and liquors department is all mine to manage basically, and I don't even drink XD but it's a lot of fun there really. Unless when something breaks...)

Money-wise, this job's just enough to not worry too much about life atm, but I wouldn't mind more xD It being part-time gives me a lot of free time I wouldn't have at most "regular" jobs, but rarely having a weekend sucks big time, especially when most of your friends work "regular" jobs.

I'm also registered as a freelance illustrator, and I'd love to get back into the swing of offering commissions again at some point, or building a small creative business somehow that would make the supermarket job obsolete in the end (just havent quite figured out what and how to pull that off, all attempts so far semi-successful XD). But yeh, that's like, the ultimate dream, really. Just making art and living off of it, and still having the time to follow my hobbies and go on adventures with my cat xD Don't need fame or riches, just want a comfortable, happy life bringing joy to others with what I do. And that joy-part, and feeling useful is what's lacking at my current dayjob. It's a job, it pays the bills, it can be fun and leaves a little bit of creativity here and there even... but it's not as fulfilling as I'd wish it to be.

I've seen a lot of people do this already, so I'm just gonna say: if you read this far and want to share some fun facts, consider yourself tagged to make your own 5 facts post! XD

[curio-queries]

Run BTS: 005 | 100 Seconds Sports Day

Original Air Date: 29 SEPT 2015 Episode Length: 9:08 Total Parts: 1 YouTube English Subtitles: Yes Title Song: Dope

Synopsis: Mini Games at a sports field.

Production: Simplistic production for a simple concept. Something was definitely off about the sound though.

Endearment: The first time the guys try their harmonizing thing for Run. Adorable! Good showcase of their adaptability and general comeraderie.

Winner: BTS

Loser: Staff

Best Cheater: none

Member Moments:

RM: He was so willing to help Hobi with the foot game, immediately takes his shoes off!

JN: When Jin switches to the foot task, someone says 'what a miraculous body'. Nuf said

YG: Rage throwing the Jegi at Tae and it ends on the other side of the fence!!

JH: No fancy footwork for hobi ;)

JM: Poor Jimin. He knew everyone's mistakes were going to lead to his lack of screentime and then he succeeds on his first attempt. MVP!

V: ...boy does not know how drink milk...

JK: Calcium! Calcium! (maybe he should have had less if he's going to kill us in ch.2!)

Bonus Content: Not official bonus content but JM & JH's Dope MV reaction was filmed this day too!

CQ Rank: 3

(CQ Eval Date: 10 SEPT 2023)

Check out this post for my Masterlist of all episodes and descriptions of how I'm evaluating these.

Previous Episode: 004

Next Episode: 006-1

[nerves-nebula]

Omg so glad you liked the song recs!! I'm honoured that a song I recommended has joined your playlist.

Here's a few other songs from Gregory and the Hawk I think might fit your interests/vibes!

I'm Your Puppet <- TW just in case for this one. This one has more direct lyrics. It does hint/mention (it's like, not direct but it's not a vague hint) of sexual ick, and in general is about a toxic relationship. Definitely hits that psychological abuse point of "this is wrong but I don't have an alternative and I know you don't care but I'll do anything just in the hopes that you'll care for me, if only for a bit" and all the negativity that comes with that. It's also a more "raw"/ less polished sounding song that kinda adds to the vibes.

Kill the Turkey <- talks about death, but also like. Death cycling into life, but not in a "this is the cycle of nature" but in a "if you're determined (corrupt) enough the woes of others is the joy you reap" <- i don't know how else to describe it but it has VIBES. Haunting in a "this sounds good but heyyy something isn't right here" sorta way. Similar to Stone Wall Stone Fence in that it's angry towards something outside of your control, but something that impacts you all the same. (one of my favourites along side Stone Wall, Stone Fence)

I couldn't choose between two songs so instead of three (three is a more manageable number I feel) I'm gonna have to give you for. First is Memory and Honesty and second is

Memory and Honesty <- a REALLY interesting song, they did a really neat job adding dissonant notes and the whole thing sounds off. The lyrics are darker, where the person is describing difficulties between their memories and what they think is true. Kinda "this could be true, if I'm remembering correctly" ALSO it has an ambiguous line where it sounds like their partner kills them so. idk it's really neat and it has a lot of emotion in it. Kinda feels like stepping into an alternate dimension where you're a ghost where you can actually understand the lyrics that don't make 100% sense if you just read them

Wild West <- This song sounds like its treating you like a mythical creature that's trapped just beyond our realm. Asking you how it feels seeing everything without being able to engage. "Wild and free, what will you be" sorta vibes, but in this case you may never have had a grasp on the world to begin with so how can you know what to be? <- that might not make any sense but idk that's the vibes I get. It's like it's haunting you, but in a not bad but kinda mournful questioning way. ALSO another one of those songs where it hints at the apocalypse has happened and you might be the only survivor, what will you do? Or maybe it's the apocalypse because you were the one that died and lost the world?

I'm Your Puppet -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S1t0mIfpVc

Kill The Turkey -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imK4sUveCrU

Memory and Honesty -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOVBSWnvwuk

Wild West -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPijrw8wCds

Another album of theirs to listen through I'd recommend is "In Your Dreams". Very good for background music, more heavy hitting at times and more acoustic -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-LYae5TuWA

think im your puppet and wild west are my favorites out of this batch. thanks for the music, its giving me something new to listen to while drawing hah.

[into-the-afterlife]

This is about your why I ship female v with Johnny post, I was going to just reply to it but it was getting quite lengthy so I moved here lol

I 100% agree, especially about the voice acting issue. Another point that I'd raise is how enthusiastic he is about male V getting with Panam as opposed to his blatant pettiness and jealousy towards female Vs LI (especially River ofc, the "spinning a new song anyway" scene when you're heading to River to cook with him is unexplainable in platonic terms as far as I'm concerned lmao) - I think that's a not so subtle detail that makes their dynamics shift in my eyes. But I may be biased as I ship them like crazy and would never play with a male V to begin with, ops. Also, I've seen your post on reddit and noticed how someone kindly pointed out how "canonically" V isn't Johnny's type - as if you wouldn't had noticed by yourself ;) - and I just want to say I'm baffled by the way people seem to automatically list everything they're being spoon-fed as gospel truth without any critical thinking getting involved. Johnny is but a human being, we can't just rule out the possibility that he isn't lying, consciously or not. Which he is, imho, cause it just makes no sense for V not to be his "type" tbh. Idk, maybe it's wishful thinking cause I love the idea of them falling in love with each other, the bittersweet tragedy that comes from it... 💖

Firstly: thanks so much for such an involved ask! It’s always so lovely to see that people like my writing :D

Secondly: ooooooh I hadn’t even thought about how Johnny reacts to the love interests but it’s so true! Particularly River lmao, it’s definitely at least partially motivated by River being a cop, but I also suspect that he sees River as a direct rival. Like, he’s dismissive of Judy, but warms up to her eventually. River, though? It’s nopenopenopenopeity to nopetown from the start, and I strongly suspect it’s because River/V is an M/F relationship, a direct comparison to what Johnny could have with V. (This fanfic explores that really well, btw: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28362381/chapters/69490191 ).

Thirdly: It’s nice to see there are others who appreciate both Reddit and Tumblr’s charms. I mean, I do get where that user is coming from. Closely examining the canon and knowing all its ins and outs is a perfectly valid way of approaching fandom, and I definitely enjoy aspects of that kind of approach. But as I say at the start of that post, I want to come at this from a ‘What if?’ perspective, and if that’s not that user’s cup of tea, it’s not their cup of tea.  

Fourthly, and lastly: I’m really on the fence about whether Johnny is lying about V not being his type, tbh. On the one hand, I absolutely agree with you about it not making sense. Both Rogue and Alt are active, intelligent, decisive, skilled and daring women - all traits that V shares. And Johnny is established as unreliable.

 On the other...I do think in canon it makes sense for Johnny and V to stay platonic. If they went from enemies to lovers in-game, they wouldn’t have gotten the kind of deep, believable characterisation of their relationship that we know and love. It would have been too much to stuff into the timespan of the plot. I also like seeing representations of friendships between men and women that stay as friendships.

But God, do I agree with you about their bittersweet tragedy. I’m going to talk about this more in upcoming posts, but V/Johnny are a special kind of M/F ship. And that’s the joy of fandom, isn’t it? To take what’s great about canon and go ‘Yes, and...’

[wretcheddthing]

For the ask thingies, R S V

You're the only person on this planet

R: 10 of my curiosities I'm not sure if this means curious items I own or things I'm curious About so I'm just gonna do the latter • Incense. Specifically the history and religious/cultural significance of its usage • Ancient Sumerian script as well as Akkadian. Cuneiform in general I guess. • The Ishtar Gate. This one's Sarah's fault for letting me flip through that book. I mean it just Looks like that. The conversation literally went "How did they know it looks like that?" "Because it's still there." "ARE YOU SHITTING MY DICK?" • Outer Space! But only like a little bit bc if I think about it too hard I start to get scared. It's too big. You know with that telescope that launched (or is about to launch??) we'll be able to see Back In Time? Like to the moment right after the Big Bang? That fucks me up. • Mesopotamia in general also I guess. Really any sort of thing relating back to the birth of civilization. • While we're on it, the progression of language and communication. Linguistics is particularly fascinating. That rabbit hole is what got me sucked up in the cuneiform interest. • I'm running out of things to be curious about. Uhhhhhhh. Uhhh. Mythology. All around the world. Literally any mythology. For anything. Ever. At all. • Different types of festivals and the origin of holidays/celebrations. I love seeing how people celebrate and why. • Ghosts and Spooky Things. Do I think ghosts are technically Real? On the fence. Do I think supernatural things are out there? 100%. Keeps things spicy and I mean, some stories aren't based on nothing. • Lost cities! Real or not, the idea of a lost city being out there waiting to be found just really. It's very good. That's partially why I've latched on to things like The Mummy (1999), Uncharted, and Tomb Raider so hard.

S: 2 Habits • Good Question I have no clue • A really specific one but bouncing around when I play as Mercy. Gotta do the healer hop or else you don't heal as strong. • A bad habit is hitting snooze at least 4-5 times and also setting my alarms for later so I can hit snooze some more

V: 3 Big Dreams • Travel to litcherally so many places. I'm not even picky. You can name a place and I'll probably be like "Yeah I wanna check it out." Anywhere. Anywhere that isn't Alabama. • Produce a travel show. Specifically to create a platform for locals in high-tourist or misrepresented areas who want to share their stories and their cultures. • Those are truly the only two but I'll throw in Skydiving bc I do wanna do that at some point.

[digi-tama-in-your-pocket]

Are you getting the digimon vital bracelet? (I dont think ive seen you post about it)

I don't think so, I always wanted a full color digimon v-pet with more detailed sprites, but I was hoping it would be something a little more traditional. Turning it into a fit-bit really put me on the fence about and I think i've ultimately decided against it.

I may have felt differently had it come out fix or seven years ago, when I had a job that had me riding my bike for a few dozen miles every day, but now, especially during the pandemic, I don't really do that anymore, and where I live it gets to 90 to 100 degrees in May and doesn't ease up until October, so I'm not going to go out and take walks for fun in this heat.

Also I don't really know how I feel about the DIM card system. It rubs me the wrong way. I guess it's better than buying a million devices to get exclusive digimon but I still don't think it's a good system.

I'm probably going to skip it I'm sad to say.

[a-blue-secret]

CHAPTER IV

BACK TO MASTERLIST

Chapter III | Chapter IV | Chapter V

GENRES: royal au; fantasy au; magic au; friends-to-enemies-to-lovers; king!beomgyu, vizier!taehyun

PAIRING: taegyu

WARNINGS: none

WORD COUNT: 3.2k+

AN: I did a little fencing when I was younger, so this is based on my very limited experience. I had fun writing this part- there's not as much angst!

SUMMARY: Best friends turned enemies, Kang Taehyun has managed to trick Choi Beomgyu into his service, and to rule for a year and a day, until his youngest brother would be old enough to take the throne. Choi Beomgyu has no intention of being obedient however, and tries to thwart Taehyun’s orders at every turn. With a growing amount of distrust and lies within the court, will Taehyun manage to keep the kingdom of Gojongja from falling apart?

So how good are you at fencing, Yeonjun?” Beomgyu asked, picking up his foil. He’d already finished getting dressed, and was waiting for Yeonjun to be ready too.

“Me? Oh, I am by no means a master,” Yeonjun said as a servant tightened his gloves. “But I am rather good, if I do say so myself. How about you, Your Greatness?”

“Well, I am a master myself. Be prepared to lose in the sorest ways possible,” Beomgyu grinned. Yeonjun smiled back, picking up his own mask and foil. “Ready?”

Yeonjun nodded, and stepped aside. “After you, Your Greatness.”

.・゜-: ✧ :-　　

“En guarde.”

They raised their foils towards each other.

“Pret.”

Beomgyu was rather surprised to see Yeonjun’s stance looking so firm. No one he’d sparred with had looked that comfortable in a fencing stance before.

“Aller.”

Beomgyu advanced almost immediately, thrusting his foil out towards Yeonjun’s side. The elder back-stepped quickly, staying just out of reach. They exchanged hits, moving backwards and forwards as they alternatively defended and attacked. Finally, Beomgyu managed to strike Yeonjun on his back, using the flexibility of the foil to curve it round to touch Yeonjun. They parted, panting.

"Break?" Beomgyu offered. Yeonjun nodded, already taking off his face guard.

As a servant handed them a towel each, they walked over to a table with drinks on them.

"Wow, you're pretty good," Yeonjun marveled, gulping down the water. "No one I've met has ever been able to perform that so well before."

"Thanks," Beomgyu said, patting the towel along his hairline. "It takes ages to master as well. I'm not surprised there are few people you know who can execute it."

"How did you learn it?"

"My father," Beomgyu explained. "He was a general slash Lord. He taught me how to fence, how to do bareback horse riding, how to sword fight, and so much other stuff."

Yeonjun nodded. "Wow. Your father sounds so cool."

Beomgyu smiled. "He was. Anyway, how did you learn fencing?"

"In court. I was born a noble, so it's kind of a given that I had to know how to do it, so I was taught by fencing masters."

"Cool. Here in Gojongja, I believe we have a swordsmanship school where the kids can learn sword fighting and fencing. It's kind of like a summer camp thing I think? I heard we had it anyway."

"I heard that you do."

Beomgyu set down his glass, and placed his mask on top of his head. "Ready to go again?"

Yeonjun grinned. "Get ready to be beaten by me."

Beomgyu laughed, taking his foil from a servant as they walked back. "Oh, you wish."

.・゜-: ✧ :-　　

"It almost looked like you were using a whip! How did you do that?"

Beomgyu and Yeonjun finished fencing (with Yeonjun not even managing to touch Beomgyu once), and Beomgyu suggested they go do archery. They were currently walking through the castle to find the door which led to the outdoor fields.

Beomgyu laughed. "You're not going to let go of that, are you?"

"No, I'm not! I've never seen someone do that before!"

Beomgyu let out a chuckle, tapping the side of his nose. "It's a secret."

"...It was luck, wasn't it?"

"What are you talking about?? It was a tactic which I 100% meant to use, and how dare you think otherwise!"

"Yeah it was. Don't deny."

".... Okay fine, maybe it was, but it was still cool, right?"

Yeonjun looked at Beomgyu, and they both burst out laughing. Their light-hearted banter reminded Beomgyu of how it used to be between him and Taehyun. With Taehyun always saying a sarcastic comment, or seeing through Beomgyu's bravado, and then all it took was one shared glance and they'd start laughing. The thought made Beomgyu a little sad, and then angry. He pushed thoughts of Taehyun aside. He shouldn't be thinking about the younger. Right now, it was about bonding with Yeonjun, and becoming friends.

"So," Beomgyu said. "You have any experience in archery?"

"Oh, loads," Yeonjun said. "I'm a bit of a Robin Hood myself."

"Ah," Beomgyu sighed regretfully. "I'm not the best archer in the field, so it seems like in this sport you'll have the upper hand."

"Hey, don't doubt yourself," Yeonjun said. "You never know! You might beat me again."

"No, but archery seriously isn't my strong suit," Beomgyu said. "I remember in one of my archery classes, we were meant to hit the board which was like three metres away, and I managed to get the arrow caught in the tree. Behind us."

Yeonjun laughed. "But this was when you were little, right? Surely much has changed since then."

"It was five years ago."

"See? Five years! Not that bad, eh?"

"I was twenty."

"Ah." It was obvious Yeonjun was at a bit of a loss as to what to say to that. Beomgyu laughed, nudging Yeonjun.

"I'm joking! I was five. This wasn't five years ago, don't worry. I've improved since then, I'm sure. I think. I hope."

.・゜-: ✧ :-　　

Beomgyu stared at Yeonjun's target. The elder had managed to get two in the bullseye, and three in the red ring. He was watching intently as Yeonjun shot his last arrow.

Thwip!

It landed right in the center of the yellow bullseye, and Beomgyu clapped.

“Whoo! Well done!”

Yeonjun grinned, and playfully bowed. “Well, I did say I was a master at archery.” He sighed a little regretfully, walking up to the target to tug at the arrows. “It’s annoying I didn’t get these three in the bullseye too.”

“You're good, though. Like, really good."

"Thanks. How did you- oh," Yeonjun laughed, seeing Beomgyu's target. Beomgyu had managed to hit everywhere apart from the centre. "Hey, at least you hit one into the red ring, right?"

"That one I shot with my eyes closed."

"Even better!"

Beomgyu laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck. "I was aiming for the target's leg."

"You what?!"

“Yeah. That was my last arrow, and I thought, ah, whatever, let’s just aim for the leg stand, and then it just flew straight to the red ring.”

Yeonjun shook his head in wonder. “Wow. I guess archery really isn’t your area of expertise, huh?”

“Standing archery isn’t, but I can do it pretty well on horseback," Beomgyu said conversationally, going to take his arrows out of his own target.

“Woah,” Yeonjun said. “I can sort of do it, but isn’t it harder when you’re moving?”

“I dunno,” Beomgyu shrugged. “I find it easier because the momentum adds to the power of the arrow, and I was pretty much brought up on horseback.” He mimed going up and down as if on a horse, and brought an imaginary bow up to eye level and mimed shooting into the air. “Yeah, I find it easier on horseback.”

“That’s so weird! Most people are the other way round, because you have to take your hands off the horse, and your legs are like the only thing securing you. You must have really strong thighs then.”

“Yeah,” Beomgyu laughed. “I do. But my butt’s been hurting like hell recently every time I’ve gotten on a horse, so I’ve been taking a break from horse riding.”

“Well, you still up for a little horse riding session?”

“Hell yeah! I miss Toto.”

“Toto?”

“He’s my horse! Well, I say mine, but really he’s one with nature.” Beomgyu began talking animatedly to Yeonjun about Toto as they walked to the stables. “Oh, and just a fair word of warning: some of our horses are very, um, unique.”

“Unique, huh?” Yeonjun laughed. “We have unique horses back home. One of them has three legs.”

“Three legs? They’re not a race horse, are they?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I said yes, would you?”

“No way! You make the three-legged horse run a race?”

“No, but Nellie is really, really good. Seriously! She’s won three times out of the five races she’s competed in.”

“Three-legged horse wins the race, hmm?” Beomgyu mused. "Well, our horses are even more unique than that."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. You'll see."

.・゜-: ✧ :-　　

“I… When you said they were unique, I didn’t think you meant like this.” Yeonjun was staring at a horse in a dumbfounded state. The horse nickered, tossing its orange mane. Yeonjun started a little, stepping away. His wide eyes were fixed on her orange, beak-like muzzle. “How do you even breed these types of horses?”

“Easy. They breed among themselves. No, we don’t cross-breed the different animals,” Beomgyu laughed at Yeonjun’s shocked stare. “Starburst, for example, the horse you’re looking at. She’s just like that. We think a curse, but we’re not sure. Orion over there, though, is a type of elemental horse we found in the woods. He's among the last of his kind, and we're breeding them until they flourish again.” Beomgyu patted Orion's watery muzzle. "We're going to protect you, aren't we? As for Starburst, we're trying to make sure she stays okay while under a curse."

“How old is she?” Yeonjun asked, still standing a good deal away from Starburst.

“I don’t know. I think Taehyun said she’s been around even before he was born.”

“Woah.” Yeonjun raised his eyebrows. “He’s around the same age as you, isn’t he? And Starburst looks so young.”

“Yeah, Kang’s a year younger than me. I dunno, she might be immortal.”

“Can I…?” Yeonjun gestured to the horse.

“Oh yeah, yeah,” Beomgyu said. “Despite her appearance, she doesn’t bite. Well, she doesn’t bite much. Stroke her nose. She likes that.”

“How do you know so much about them?” Yeonjun asked, gingerly reaching out to Starburst. “About court and stuff.”

“Kang and I used to be best friends. He told me so much about everything. Also, I’ve been doing my own asking around. I like horses.” Beomgyu walked up to a greenish horse with a feather-like mane standing in the corner. “Hello, hello. Yes, I’m back now. Did you miss me?” The horse whinnied, tossing its mane before nuzzling its nose into Beomgyu’s shoulder. The boy laughed, stroking the horse. “Alright, alright, I get it. I missed you too, Toto. Are you ready for a ride?” He turned to Yeonjun. “You picked a horse yet?” he asked.

Yeonjun was still staring in surprise at the unusual horses. “I knew you had pegasi,” he said. “Those take part in your wars and parades. I knew about the unicorns, ‘cause we have them too. But everything else?” He turned around, face a mixture of shock and awe. “I didn’t even know half of them existed.”

“Benefits of our long history of preserving wildlife and our abundance of wild forests, I guess,” Beomgyu said, taking out a brush. “Anyway, do you want me to choose you a horse? Tell me what you want and I’ll pick for you.”

“No, no it’s okay,” Yeonjun said slowly. “I’ll go with Starburst.”

Beomgyu nodded. “Good choice. Seems like she likes you as well. Oh! Yeonjun, meet Toto. They said he’s a breed of Amazona Equus. Apparently he’s a parrot-horse? I’ve never seen him sprout wings though, so yeah.”

“Well, uh, nice to meet you, Toto. My name is Lord Yeonjun.” Yeonjun bowed to the horse. Toto regarded Yeonjun for a few moments, before inclining his head in a bow of his own. Yeonjun smiled at Beomgyu in disbelief. “Did he just bow back at me?”

“Yep,” Beomgyu smiled. “It means he trusts you.” Yeonjun gave a smile.

"Okay, so let's go brush and tack the horses. Meet back in front of the stables?" Yeonjun asked. Beomgyu nodded.

"See you then!"

.・゜-: ✧ :-　　

"Whoo!" Beomgyu yelled. "Race you to the oak tree!"

"Hey!" Yeonjun called. "That's not fair! You're in front of me!"

"Come and catch up then, slowpoke!" Beomgyu laughed over his shoulder, galloping full speed towards the tree. He yelled out again, the yell turning into an overjoyed laugh at the end. His face was split into a wide grin. God, he'd missed this. The stinging wind whipping against his cheeks, the feeling of the powerful horse beneath his legs, the exhilaration he felt from riding. He'd missed it.

He glanced over his shoulder back at Yeonjun, who was riding behind on Starburst. He grinned. Leaning forward, he patted Toto’s neck.

“You ready? Wanna do the trick?”

Toto flicked his ears, letting out a neigh as they continued to canter towards the tree. Beomgyu laughed. “Okay bud. Get ready, ‘kay? I’m trusting you!”

Gingerly, Beomgyu released Toto’s reins. Toto seemed undeterred, continuing to go forward at a steady pace. Now was the hard part. Gritting his teeth, Beomgyu brought his knees up, closer to the saddle, before slowly easing them up further until he was crouching on Toto’s back. He looked back at Yeonjun.

“Wanna see something cool?” he yelled. Then, he stood up on Toto’s back fully, raising his arms up and letting out a loud whoop. Yeonjun cried out, either in terror or amazement, Beomgyu wasn’t sure. He couldn’t hear much over the whistling of the wind and the happiness in his heart.

“Whoo!” He tilted his head back, closing his eyes. But he immediately shot them open again, seeing that they were close to the tree. He jumped back down into the saddle again, laughing. “Was that fun? God, I haven’t done that in ages.” Toto flicked his ears again, and Beomgyu grinned, riding faster.

When they we're a short distance away from the tree, Beomgyu pulled at the reins, slowing Toto down to a walk. Yeonjun came thundering up beside him a few moments later, grinning and panting hard.

“Oh my god! You actually did that?”

Beomgyu laughed. “Oh, it’s nothing special.”

“Special? You stood on a horse’s back! And at that speed too!”

Beomgyu shrugged. “I find it easier at higher speeds.”

"Wow!" Yeonjun laughed. "I don't think I've ever galloped that hard before."

"Better get used to it," Beomgyu grinned. "Here in Gojongja, we ride hard and fast."

"Evidently," Yeonjun said, still out of breath. "Why don't we, uh, go for a little walk?"

"Okay," Beomgyu laughed. "Follow me. There's a cool lake around here somewhere I think."

Beomgyu and Yeonjun rode side by side, in amiable silence.

"So, tell me Yeonjun," Beomgyu said. "What was your life like in Aruyeonan court?"

"My life? My life was, well, almost ordinary for an Aruyeo noble. I live in a big house, have a large inheritance, have matters within court. I suppose what makes me different, however, is the fact that I always have matters within court. Her Supreme Highness is fond of a few select nobles, and those are the ones which she sees all the time."

"I assume you're one of them?"

"Yes. While you here in Gojongja have meetings with lots of Lords and generals, we narrow it down to five people plus the Queen."

"Ah yes, your Queen does not have a vizier, does she?"

"Queen Erajin does not, no."

"Hmm. Ah, we're near. See that shiny, round thing in the distance? That's the lake. We nicknamed it 'the Shield', because in just the right angle it looks like it's a huge, silver shield."

"Who's 'we'?"

"Oh, Kang and I. We used to come here," Beomgyu muttered. "But anyway! Here we are. You up for another race there?"

"You bet," Yeonjun grinned, already galloping off.

.・゜-: ✧ :-　　

They reached the lake and dismounted, letting the horses drink and rest for a little. The two of them wandered a little aimlessly around the lake.

You know," Beomgyu said, "I have experience within the Aruyeo court as well. You probably don't remember, but about two or three years ago I came to stay in your court."

"Oh really?" Yeonjun raised his eyebrows. "Hm, no, I don't think I remember."

"You guys were really welcoming," Beomgyu remembered. "Especially this one Lord. I can't remember his name exactly -I think it was foreign?- but he was adopted by the Jinju Choi clan. Kai? I think that's his name? Wait- Yukai? No, no, I remember. Hueningkai. He was really kind."

Yeonjun tripped over a pebble. "Sorry, didn't see the rock. Hueningkai, huh? Hmm�� I know a lot of the nobles in my court, but I can't remember seeing a Hueningkai…"

"I dunno. He was really nice. I remember him because he was adopted by this clan, so he wasn't even native to Aruyeo court. And yet, he was welcomed so readily. You could see it, because everyone greeted him so normally. It was obvious he wasn't a pure Jinju Choi, and yet they didn't treat him any differently. It was nice."

Yeonjun nodded slowly. "We in Aruyeo pride ourselves on making no one feel excluded. It's one of the things we are adamant about."

"You guys sure do a good job of it then." Beomgyu laughed slightly. "I must confess, there were times I felt more at home within Aruyeo than I'd ever felt inside Gojongja." Yeonjun gave a small, proud smile.

They stood there, silently. Beomgyu was staring down into the lake, but Yeonjun was looking out back into the direction of the palace. He squinted.

"Hang on… is that Kang Taehyun?"

"Hm?" Beomgyu turned around, following Yeonjun's line of sight. "Oh. Yeah it is."

"And is he riding that horse… bareback?"

"Yeah." Beomgyu turned away, walking up to Toto before mounting the horse. "He's coming to lecture us about staying out. Must be almost supper."

"That's so cool though. He's riding bareback!"

"Eh, he's gonna lose his cool in a minute if we don't get going."

They both began making their way back to the palace, and Taehyun, seeing that they were coming towards him, halted his horse to wait for them.

"Do you know how long you were gone for?" Taehyun glared when Beomgyu was within hearing distance.

"No, and I don't care," Beomgyu retorted. "And did you seriously have to come riding bareback?"

"What, you have a problem with it?" Taehyun scoffed, turning the horse around back to the direction of the palace, Beomgyu a couple of places behind. "You shouldn't have a problem with it. It's better for the horses to have no saddle on them anyway."

"Uh huh."

"You're just mad that I'm right," Taehyun said. "Anyway, would Lord Yeonjun care to join us for dinner? It seems a little mean to get him to eat on his own."

"Since when did you care about seeming mean?" Beomgyu scoffed. Taehyun glared at him.

"Shut up. That's rude."

"Hey, don't tell the King to shut up. That's rude."

"Anyway," Taehyun said. "Would you like to eat with us? You spent the whole day with His Greatness, so perhaps it's only fit you eat with us as well."

Yeonjun inclined his head. "I'd be much obliged." He gave a slight grin. "I've been having meals in my room these last few days, so a change of scenery will be nice."

"Well let's hope there is any food suitable enough to eat," Taehyun said, glaring at Beomgyu. "It's an hour past supper time. An hour!"

"Stop nagging, geez! You sound like a mum. Ow! What the heck?”

Taehyun hit Beomgyu around the back of his head, causing the elder to glare at him.

“I’m the King! You can’t just go round hitting me on the head! What were you doing??”

“Simply trying to knock some sense into you,” Taehyun said calmly. “But then I realised you didn’t have any in the first place.”

Beomgyu rolled his eyes, before slowing down his horse so that he was in step with Yeonjun. “See? Kang has literally no respect for me whatsoever.”

“I can hear you,” Taehyun called. “And hurry up, or you’re not getting any food at all.”

[sage-nebula]

I hope you dont mind my asking, but wouldn't GF have decided to remove the national dex long before LGPE released? I can see those games selling well confirming to GF that "pokemon sell well regardless of cut features" but it feels strange to blame it on LGPE when the development time on the games would suggest they made this choice awhile ago. (Not to defend lgpe lack of content) Sorry if this is a bother, I just feel like I'm missing something and would really like to understand your reasoning

For almost any other game I would agree, however for Pokémon in particular:

The National Dex (insofar as the ability to transfer old pokémon over) was never going to be a Day One feature. It’s never a Day One feature in the first games of the generation. Even if they wanted to make it one, in this case they couldn’t because Home isn’t releasing until 2020. As I’ve said in other posts, if they wanted to patch in the NatDex, they’d have the time to do it. Technically speaking, they’d have the time to do it, especially since the fanbase would be willing to wait (even if there’d be a few whiners here or there) the extra time.

Since it’s not a Day One feature, it’s something that can be worked on later in the development cycle (/can even continue to be worked on after the development cycle, or at least it could be if this series were treated with the respect of, say, The Legend of Zelda series). Again, I’m not talking about DLC that’s already on the game card that needs to be activated later, I’m talking about DLC that’s patched in, content created after that you download either to the harddrive or (though I don’t know if Switch DLC works this way specifically) onto the game card itself. Given the type of content they generally want to show early in the release cycle (the general theme / concept of the games, scenes of the various areas in the region, new ‘mon), and the fact that this would be a feature added post-release anyway, we can make a safe bet that the NatDex is something they’d work on much later in the development cycle, possibly even in the last year since, again . . . they’d have that time if they wanted to use it (and if this series was treated with genuine respect).

The Let’s Go games were stated by Masuda to be the future of the franchise if they sold well. They featured a Pokédex that was limited to only the Kanto ‘Dex, plus Meltan and Melmetal. They released in November 2018, and indeed, they sold well. In early 2019 (February, IIRC) Sword & Shield were released. While of course I don’t work at Game Freak and thus can’t say for sure, I would place money on the idea that if they were even a bit on the fence about adding the National Dex, the fact that Let’s Go sold so well despite being limited to 153 ‘mon pushed them right over the edge to, “Cut the National Dex from Sword & Shield, there’s no point in working on it.” I mean, why should they expend the effort if people will buy the games anyway? Especially when President Ishihara went on record saying that long-time fans only cared about “new pokémon and features” around the time of Let’s Go’s release. Sure, they might have already been thinking about cutting the National Dex beforehand, but Let’s Go no doubt assured them that it was a safe and correct call to make.

So that’s what I mean when I say that Let’s Go’s positive sales figures sealed all of our fates. To be entirely honest, before the National Dex announcement, I was certain that we wouldn’t see the shockwaves from Let’s Go until Gen IX. But Sword & Shield having a limited ‘Dex just like Let’s Go, and having special feature ‘mon behind $60 paywalls like Let’s Go, and having core features stripped out like Let’s Go, and the fact that it’s starting to look frighteningly like the starters won’t be able to evolve like in Let’s Go . . . the effect is pretty apparent. Sure, some of this stuff was present even before Let’s Go (namely the whole “let’s ditch useful features in the name of simplifying things” tack that Masuda has been married to for years now), but in the wake of Let’s Go, it’s success, and what Masuda said would happen if it was successful, it’s really hard not to see the link.

(Note just in case anyone read too quickly: I’m not saying the starters WON’T evolve. I’m only saying that I’m starting to fear that’s the case since we’re less than a month away from release and we haven’t even seen second stage evolutions yet. Maybe they’re just trying to keep starter evolutions a surprise, that’s entirely possible, but it’s also highly suspect, and Game Freak destroyed any trust or good faith I had in them a while back.) 

As a final note, the reason why I say that the Pokémon games aren’t treated with respect is . . . well, there are a few reasons:

Game Freak stated themselves that they put their B Team on Sword & Shield while their A Team worked on Little Town Hero. They also said they wanted to create something, “as exciting, or perhaps even more exciting” than Pokémon. They’re tired of working on Pokémon, and it shows. Which, I mean, I get it, it’s been 20+ years, but in that case tell Nintendo so that they can shift the main games over to another studio. I get that Game Freak was created for the sole purpose of making Pokémon, and maybe Taijiri-san is pissed at how you’re disrespecting his baby (I would be), but for the good of the series, if you don’t want to work on it, give it to someone who does. Don’t just shift it onto your bare bones secondary dev team.

These games are in a hellish development cycle where a new one is popped out every year. Contrast this to The Legend of Zelda where, while we’ve had some anomalies where assets were able to be largely reused and so games came out only a couple years apart (see: Ocarina of Time to Majora’s Mask) --- even that had two or three years before releases, not one the very next year. Most mainline Zelda games spend five or six years in development. I’m fully aware that we will likely be waiting until something like 2022 for Breath of the Wild 2, and I am prepared to wait that time because I know the game we get will be incredible. Granted, I’m going to be dying every single time they announce a release date to push it back, but it’ll be a death I’m grateful for because I will know that the end product will be worth it. The Pokémon games used to have a similar luxury. While there were a grand total of five games released during that time (with “five games” being used loosely, given that one was a slight upgrade and the other four were really two games with slight differences between versions), Gen IV lasted for a grand total of four years. We had Diamond & Pearl in 2006, Platinum in 2008, HeartGold & SoulSilver in 2009, and then finally, Black & White in 2010. By contrast, Gen VII didn’t even last three years, technically. I mean, this November would be its third anniversary, but that’s when Gen VIII officially starts instead. To be fair, it could be argued that Gen IV didn’t have a full four years since it came out in September 2006, and Gen V came out in September 2010. But even if you make that argument, it still had a full year on Gen VII, and to be honest, that showed. The Sinnoh games are far and away not my faves, but they were still full of content. HeartGold & SoulSilver are often considered to be the best remakes in the entire franchise, and considering the content that was cut from OmegaRuby & AlphaSapphire and Masuda’s reasoning for why that content was cut, I can’t exactly argue with that even though I did genuinely enjoy ORAS. And the games that Gen IV ushered in? Controversial opinion, but I think that the Pokémon games peaked with Gen V. Black & White not only initially had a ‘dex that was nothing but new pokémon (and yet STILL included the Nat Dex later, because in Masuda’s own words he felt it cruel to keep people from playing with their faves forever!), but it also introduced a METRIC TON of new mechanics, some of which we no longer get to use (Rotation Battles? Game Freak doesn’t know her). Who knows what exactly Game Freak did with that extra year, but it was clearly a lot of work given how wonderful the games were in Gen IV and Gen V. The extra dev time showed.By contrast, Gen VII got 2.5 years (or 3 if you’re being generous). Every single game released during this gen had massive content cuts, even when comparing to Gen VI, which also had massive content cuts. Mechanics were stripped away, and Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon technically didn’t have a NatDex either, but at least you could still have all of your ‘mon in them at a later date if you wanted to. Now with Sword & Shield, we don’t even have that, despite the Switch being far more powerful than the 3DS. (We also don’t have Mega Evolution for whatever godforsaken reason, even though the Kanto Mega Evolutions at the very least were already used in Let’s Go, the fuck, Game Freak). Pokémon games print money and always have, and Game Freak has taken this and their lack of interest in the series to the depressing but I suppose logical extreme of “do whatever and they’ll buy it anyway.” There’s no love here, there’s no respect here. They just don’t care anymore, and as someone who does care an awful lot, it’s super upsetting to me.

And while people have tried to argue that the games can’t be delayed because of the anime or the card game or whatever else:

The games come first. They’ve always come first. I know some people mistakenly think that the anime came first and that the games were created later, but that is 100% false. Pokémon started as a game series and the anime was created to advertise the games, straight up.

Filler episodes exist, and the PokéAni is no stranger to them. The Orange Islands arc was an entire arc of filler created to pad time between Gens I and II. The Delacora Islands (or whatever they were called) was a filler arc meant to pad time between Gens V and VI. Arguably the majority of the Sun & Moon anime was filler, given its slice-of-life genre, meaning the anime was even less of an excuse not to delay Sword & Shield. You can’t tell me people wouldn’t have been happy with another year of the Alola crew running around getting into random adventures. People would have eaten that up and loved it. We could have had it all.

I’m not even going to dignify “but the card game” with a response lmao. This isn’t Yu-Gi-Oh!. Sure, the card game makes money, and probably a decent amount of it (merch sales probably make up the franchise’s greatest source of income, and as someone who easily spent several hundred dollars in two weeks at the PokéCenters in Japan---including over $100 in one trip to a PokéCenter while I was there, and we went multiple times---I am a big part of that), but they come up with bullshit new expansions all the time and could easily keep doing it. Again, not a reason to delay the games if the games need more time in development.

So all in all, at the end of the day, Game Freak is no longer treating these games with love and respect, which makes them an awful lot like the villains in the games they create. The Let’s Go games were harbingers of disaster for the games, and we were told this very plainly, and just about no one listened. In fact, I legitimately lost friendships with people who got mad at me for making Facebook statuses about how they should buy Let’s Go used if they absolutely had to have them because how DARE I believe Ishihara when he said that Let’s Go were considered core titles, and how DARE I believe Masuda when he said that Let’s Go would usher in the last twenty years of the franchise. Clearly, I was just being an ugly bitch. (I wish I was exaggerating, but this actually happened, I got blocked over it, it was ridiculous.) And now here we are as a result, with no hope of things getting better unless Nintendo forcibly rips Pokémon out of Game Freak’s hands, which I don’t even think they can legally do given that they only own 1/3rd of the IP. (The other 2/3rds belong to Game Freak and Creatures Inc., as I understand it.) 

TL;DR:

Pokémon is still my favorite fictional fantasy world, but as someone who has always loved the games first and foremost, the current state of it depresses me to no end.