#i've fallen for her and her aesthetic okay?!

[endlessly-cursed]

hp minor oc; doña annabel cifuentes, divination professor and runaway lady of a castilian noble house

Annabel was born in Salamanca, Castile and was a member of the noble House of Cifuentes during the 1870s. Born in 1858, she ran away when she was eighteen due to refusing to marry the Duke of Alba, who was twenty years her senior. She had grown up hearing stories from her British teacher about the magic world of Hogwarts, and found it on a casual trip to Scotland, wanting to find it.

She casually met Phineas Falcon, who had been sent to look out for a Divination professor. Striking a conversation with the beautiful and lost woman, and with a bit of help (okay, he did most of the talking) of his friend Eli Cairncross ( @cursebreakerfarrier ) they sent her to train for the position, proving to have a knack for the subject and soon, under Phineas's sponsorship, she entered the school board in 1879.

[lucidfairies]

science class [e.w]

pairing: loser!ellie x cheerleader!reader

summary: when a new cheerleader arrives at ellie's college, face all dolled up and skirt-clad hips swaying, she all but wants to die.

warnings: smut, 18+ mdni, poc friendly, smoking, bottom!ellie, dom!fem!reader, tribbing, cunnilingus, nipple play, sorta thigh riding, overstim ‼️, ellie comes like five times

wc: 3.6k

top notes: I like accidentally made ellie sort of autistic but it's not my fault okay. also when I was writing this I was thinking abt how if this was a novel the reader would be black but I'm white so idk if I can like write that without like getting something wrong but sorry anyway

sometimes ellie wished she was blind. she wished that she couldn't see pretty girls, because maybe then she wouldn't fall in love with everybody. especially you.

she was two weeks into her sophomore year of college when you showed up. immediately blinded by your beauty, she almost tripped down the hallway as you walked past, in a short little skirt, and a white shirt. your ponytail flicked as you walked by, meeting up with someone you knew already.

she knew she was fucked.

when she arrived at her class, she was astounded to see that you were sitting in the seat next to hers, chewing gum and typing on your computer with cute blue light glasses on. like it was nothing. like her world wasn't crashing down in front of her.

standing in the corner of the lecture room, she debated moving seats. there were plenty of open ones, but you chose the one next to her? how was she supposed to survive this class with a pretty girl next to her, observing everything she does?

the answer is, she wasn't going to.

she was simply going to perish from the sight of you, from being in your presence, because she certainly didn't deserve to be and-

"ellie, would you please sit down? you're creeping me out." her teacher said, and she shifted nervously, then sped to her seat with her gaze trained at the floor. "okay, let's dive in, shall we?"

and the lecture continued. like you weren't right there. she couldn't understand why everyone in the world wasn't looking at you right now, absolutely entrancing, the way you took cute aesthetic notes and reapplied your shiny clear lip gloss.

"ellie?" you said, hoping she truly answered to that. she turned, meeting your eyes with a nervous smile and rosey red cheeks. "hi. I'm y/n. I just wanted to tell you that I like your sweatshirt."

it was a ratty old thing that joel had given her years ago, with a faded queens logo and a hole in the armpit that she had to sew back together every time she washed the poor hoodie.

"it's nice to meet you," she said quietly, tucking back a piece of hair that had fallen into her face. she realized how strange she must've looked and stopped quickly, "my dad gave it to me when I was like 11. I've had it forever."

you giggled. you just fucking.. giggled. "you aren't one of those people who just wears it because it's cool though, right?" ellie shook her head violently.

"no, I love their music. I wish I was born in the eightees so I could've listened to them live and.. yeah. I really like them." she turned away from you ever so slightly, nervously over talking and terrified that she was embarrassing herself.

"hey, you're good. I wish I was too. my favorite song is probably back chat, but keep yourself alive is a close second. how about you?" and you let this loser girl next to you talk. and talk. and talk.

ellie didn't know that you were intrigued by her demeanor in every way. from the stickers on her lap top to the patches on her backpack, every detail about her you noticed. you observed the way she warmed up to people and let you strike up a conversation with her about anything once you knew her. and it was... cute. really fucking adorable.

ellie's life only got a million times harder after that. to add to her series of neverending death sentences, she now had to see you in your perfect makeup and effortless outfits everyday. instead of just showing up to class, you insisted on talking to ellie. about everything. cheer, your friends, some dude that was hitting on you.

and on top of that? she saw you in the hallways, or on campus and you smiled. waved, even. some days you even talked to her. in public. you weren't afraid to be friends with her. and though she had jesse and dina, she still had very little social experience, and you were like a breath of fresh air.

on a chilly wednesday afternoon, ellie was walking to the building that your class had been in, and caught a glance of some other lesbian couple on campus. that settled it. she was going to ask for your number today, it wasn't like she was proposing marriage. just something simple. easy.

"can I have your number?" she interrupted you mid-sentence. and you smiled. of course you fucking smiled. she prepared herself for the notorious rejection, after hearing rumors of you rejecting everyone that came up to you and asked for your socials we. she wasn't just anyone, though.

"duh, you only took forever to ask." ellie was frozen in place. had you wanted her to ask? couldn't you have asked for hers? but before she could overthink too much, you were shoving your phone in her face and ellie was putting her number in. "anyway, as I was saying.."

ellie tuned out what you were saying, purely by accident. there were too many big events going on in her life for her poor brain to handle. the love of her life just agreed to give her their number, and she was plotting her route to dina's dorm as quickly as possible to tell her everything.

"holy shit dina," she huffed, running her hands through her hair. "I asked for her number so she gave it to me, and we talked! dina, we talked. about things. I already have our life planned out. we're gonna have two kids and a dog, she'll be a stay at home mom, because I'll do everything for her. I would kill for this girl, dina." dina was unimpressed.

"you are such a loser, els. has anyone told you that before?" she wasn't a loser, she was just incredibly and obsessively in love with you. ellie rolled her eyes. "I say make a move. you never know what could come of it."

"I can't," she sighed, trying to find words. "I can't just make a move, what if she doesn't like me? what if she thinks I'm weird?" she frowned.

"you are weird. if she doesn't like you like that, then fuck her. maybe start with being friends?" ellie nodded. she thought you guys were already friends, but technically you never hung out outside of class, and you hadn't really texted that much (she got your number today, but that hardly mattered).

"should I invite her to jesse's on friday?" dina rubbed the back of her neck. jesse was in a frat, one of the largest on campus that had absolutely wild parties on the weekends, which weren't exactly the best place for first dates. but to ellie... smoking and drinking around hot people in a random basement? amazing.

"if you think she's into that, I'm not gonna stop you." ellie was up and out of dina's apartment quickly, biking back to the dorms and planning out everything that was going to happen on friday.

- - -

in ellie's defense, she overslept. she wasn't thinking much about grabbing a jacket when she was already going to be ten minutes late, so when she stopped outside and the cool air hit her like a brick, she was less than prepared. but it hardly mattered. today was the day she was going to invite you to jesse's party, so her stupid jacket was like a blip on her radar.

"ellie, you're turning blue." you said, once ellie stumbled into her seat next to you. she was in nothing but a loose fitting tee-shirt and jeans, nothing to protect her petite figure. you hadn't noticed before how toned her arms were, but you certainly did now.

"I'm fine, it-it-it's not that cold." her teeth chattered as she stealthy tried to rub her hands over her arms to create friction.

"ellie, baby, I have an extra sweatshirt," you giggled when her eyes widened, grabbing the sweatshirt and handing it to her. "wash it and return it to me whenever." it was a bland black sweatshirt, but it matched your outfit, and you were more than happy to give it to ellie.

ellie who was most definitely going to pass out. she was probably just cold. it wasn't because she could smell your perfume on your hoodie that you just handed her. like it was nothing. she was going to fall out of her chair, onto the floor, and die.

"thanks," she pulled it over her head and sunk into it. "I'll give it back next class- what are you doing on friday?" she tried to get her thoughts straight while you looked at her with an adorable smile.

"I'm actually packing up and leaving, I dropped out," ellie's face fell, "oh ellie you're face," you laughed hard, and her expression softened. "but I'm not doing anything. why? wanna ask me out?" ellie was definitely blushing hard.

"my friend jesse is having a party at his frat on friday, do you.. do you maybe wanna go?" you tilted your head and looked away, as if you actually needed to think about it.

"hm, I guess I can fit that into my schedule." ellie released the breath she was holding and looked down at her hands for a moment before meeting your eyes again.

"uh that's great. it's kappa alpha, at nine. I would pick you up but I don't have a car,"

"how about I pick you up? what's your dorm number?" ellie texted you all the details, and it was settled. you were going on a date. together. in two days, and you were driving. ellie was on cloud nine- not even, cloud fucking ten.

- - -

"hey els," you giggled as she opened her dorm door. "oh, you look so cute! I'm definitely stealing this from you." you pushed a piece of hair behind her ear and messed with the corner of her collar, attached to a red flannel.

"oh thanks... it's yours if you want it." you knew if you asked she wouldn't ever have you give it back, maybe even give it to you right now. she stepped out of her room and shut the door, then followed you down the hallway.

"so who's this jesse kid? I hear a lot about him." you asked, turning on the engine and pulling out of the parking lot. the frat was on the other side of campus and ellie planned on walking? laughable.

"I really don't know him that well, he's dating my friend dina. he's a big stoner, but he's not super into the party scene. just goes 'cause the frat does." her eyes were trained out the window, not because she didn't want to listen to you, but because she was insatiably nervous.

"nice, nice." you paused for a moment. "are we gonna dance together or what? gonna save me a slow dance?" the tips of ellie's ears turned red.

"because I have such a roster." she joked, rolling her eyes. she would save every dance for you.

"perfect. is jesse's weed good?" she shrugged.

"it's okay. not as good as mine, and his plug is kinda shitty. whatever, it works. we're here." you pulled the car to a stop against the curb, in awe at how many people were coming in and out of the house.

ellie desperately needed to get high. maybe then she could talk to you like a normal person, not like she was trying to brush you off. when she found jesse, he was talking to dina and brushed her off. with a groan, she turned to find some other seller.

you were talking to someone, pretending not to pay attention to ellie skittering around the house talking to people she knew. maybe she wasn't as much of a loser as you thought, or maybe she was just a stoner. one of them. either way, she kept disappearing, but when you finally found her again, she was sitting on a couch, joint hanging from her lips as she talked with some friends.

"els," you fell next to her, taking the joint out of her mouth and taking a hit. "we should play beer pong." you suggested, smiling at her the way she liked.

"we were just talking about that," dina cut in, "me and jesse will play with you guys, won't we jes?" he turned back towards the three of you, dazed and a little confused. "that's a yes." ellie was burning lasers into dina, who was standing.

one of the tables was empty, and the group immediately moved to occupy it. you took your place next to ellie, teaming up with dina who was smirking at the end of the table. "you go first," you handed ellie the small white ball.

ellie was skilled, that's for sure. she made almost every single point, which had jesse drinking until he couldn't see straight. she was trying so hard not to focus on the way your bicep brushed against hers, and the way you giggled whenever you made a point. it just wasn't fair. none of this was fair.

"I definitely won." ellie said, as you made your way back inside. "you had, like, two drinks, max. I had jesse drinking for miles." you could tell she was on something now, the way she grinned and made eye contact and jokes were far from her usual character.

"don't you owe me a dance?" your hand locked with hers as you gently pulled her in the direction of where most people were dancing. you lifted her arm and spun her, pulling her back against your front by her hips.

ellie surely wasn't breathing. she was sure that she had died from alcohol consumption, or maybe someone stabbed her, and she was dead, in heaven. or a fever dream in a coma. there was no way in hell -in hell- that you were swaying your hips against her ass, cunt so fucking close to where she desperately needed you.

"this is fun, don'tcha think, ellie?" you whispered, voice low as you guided her hips with yours. her head fell back against your shoulder, alcohol wearing off as you ground her hips against your front. "I asked you a question, darlin."

"so fun," she muttered, eyes closed as she let you bring her hips back and forth with yours to the beat of the music. "wanna go upstairs?"

"ellie williams inviting me upstairs on the first date? dirty." you giggled, pulling away from her body. she was flushed, her boxers were already wet, and she had no clue what going upstairs entailed. but she needed you regardless. "lead the way, confident." she ran her sweaty hands down the front of her jeans and led you upstairs, to an empty bedroom. it was jesse's, and he wouldn't ever know.. right?

you were pulling her face against yours before she even got a chance to tell you that she didn't know what to do. you were definitely taking the lead on this one - not that ellie objected in any sense.

you nicked her bottom lip, eliciting blood at how chapped they were. you pushed your tongue into her mouth, smiling when she moaned and pulled you in by your waist. your hands traveled, brushing against her tits from beneath her tee shirt. obviously she didn't wear a bra, she was too cool and masc for that.

"you're desperate els," you sneered when you pulled away, pulling your crop top up and over your head. "take off your shirt and pants and lay down." ellie had no thoughts in her head; just you. you telling her to strip. this definitely wasn't a fever dream.

she quickly lost her shirt and pants, leaving lanky limbs and embarrassing boxers. her nipples were perked up, waiting to be sucked and slapped, and her face was red with a never ending blush.

when she laid down, you got on top of her, pushing her legs up around your waist as you sucked hickey after hickey into her neck. she was writhing and whining, begging for you to touch her further than just your hands still placed on her thighs. just from making out and hickies she was pushing her hips into you, clit hitting the fabric of your skirt as you moved to push your thigh between her legs.

"need you so bad," she whimpered when you finally diverted your attention from her neck down her chest. you left soft kisses between her tits and around them, before taking her nipple in your mouth and harshly sucking. like a false sense of security.

her hips were coming down hard and fast against your knee as you continued to mess with her tits, pulling her nipples between your fingers and grazing them with your teeth. she was just so fucking sensitive, and she barely even smoked anything.

knowing she was getting close, you moved your knee and kissed down her sternum, leaving a trail of shiny gloss as you got to the waistband of her boxers. "oh, poor baby, you've been waiting for this, haven't you?" you ran your thumb over the wet patch of her underwear.

"nghh- for so long," she moaned as her hips rutted into your palm. "I think about y- fuck- think about you when I..when I come," her eyes squeezed shut in embarrassment, knowing she was sharing far more than she needed to.

"do you now?" you teased, pulling her boxers down her pale legs. you added them to the pile of clothes and admired how absolutely drenched she was, practically leaking onto the sheets. "what do you think about, princess?" you were bringing her legs over your shoulders, looking at her expectantly.

"think about you- mh- about this," she was immediately distracted by the way you kissed her clit. "about c-cuming on your- shit shit fuck," you pressed your tongue against her clit and licked, before sucking it into your mouth and painting patterns with your tongue.

after keeping your attention directly on her clit for a few minutes, you circled her entrance with your middle finger, lubing it up before pushing it in to the first knuckle and fuck, she was tight, holding onto your finger to the point you could hardly thrust.

"ellie, you gotta relax. we can stop if you want to." she shook her head violently, unclenching her eyes and trying to breathe. her body released its tension, which made everything less tense, allowing you to push your finger the rest of the way in.

and... she came. just like that, barely a finger deep her cunt, barely doing anything.

"jesus ellie," you laughed to yourself. you didn't wait for her to finish before you started fucking your finger into her. she whined and thrashed to get away from your hand, but you added another finger and pressed down on her hip to steady her. you curled your fingers up just enough to hit that sweet spot inside of her and she almost black out.

"fuck- s'too much.. s'too much," she slurred, drunk on your fingers. the bed shook lightly against the wall at the harshness of your thrusts.

"is it really, baby?" you grinned, before taking her clit in your mouth again. her moans were practically louder than the music downstairs, and her back was arching. she attempted to get away from you, pulling her hips away, but it was no use.

tears welled in her eyes as her stomach tightened. her pussy clenched around your fingers, sucking them in deep. you pressed against her spot as she came, making her let out a broken shriek.

ellie was definitely crying now. especially when you didn't stop... again. you just kept pounding your fingers into her, adding a third. just thinking about how hard she would cum on a strap instead of your fingers had you dizzy.

her second orgasm morphed into her third before you pulled your fingers out. they were drenched in cum, which was dripping down your arm and the sheets. ellie's cheeks were puffy from crying, hips twitching as she tried to breath.

"oh sweet girl, we're not done yet." you wiped your hand on the bed and climbed off of her, stripping yourself of your remaining clothes and coming back over her, kneeling between her legs.

you pushed her leg up, straddling her for a moment. her lips were parted, breathing heavily as she waited for you to drop against her. your lips quirked up into a smirk as you pressed your cunt against hers, head falling back as your clits met.

ellie's pussy was wet, covered in cum, ready to be fucked until she couldn't say any name but yours. you thrust your hips against hers, and she was crying again, pulling and flicking her own nipples as she listened to you moan and reveled at how phenomenal your pussy felt.

she pushed her hips into yours, so you held them down, forcing her to take whatever you gave her. you came down against her pelvis hard, almost to the point where it hurt, but ellie was living for it, sobbing out your name like it was God's.

"can't come again- I can't- fuck, nnghh," you forced two fingers into ellie's mouth and she shut up, sucking them like a slut.

"yes you can." your voice changed, something deeper and more dominant ripped out of you as you got close to your orgasm. a rock in your stomach dropped, and you could feel ellie getting close as you picked up the pace, moaning at how her cunt felt.

you came at the same time, cum mixing and smearing all over both of you. ellie was still crying, back arched as she moaned over and over. you kissed her ankle softly as you came down for your high, climbing off of her after a moment and laying next to her.

"I want you to be my girlfriend," ellie croaked, voice still hoarse for all the crying. you giggled, looking over at her with a grin.

"I think I can do that."

bottom notes: this is the longest fic I've written and I actually thought I wouldn't be able to get more than 2k words.. anyway sorry about the abrupt ending I kinda wanted to be done

[slitherpunk]

games i liked in 2023 (And Other)

I like games ! You know that ?! and I played a lot 2023! and I liked a lot :). They aren't in any specific order, it's just a little highlight of games that stood out to me this year. I've attempted to write a few thoughts on each so I hope take a look. I wrote playtimes for some also but that is very subjective.

-Ones that actually came out 2023-

Lunacid https://store.steampowered.com/app/1745510/Lunacid/ I think I mentioned enjoying this in 2022 but it officially released so I can say it was one of my favorite games in 2023 :3! I like to feel around this game's walls for secrets. I like the npcs that are full of hope and whimsy despite the bleakness of its world. Chill and occasionally spooky first person dungeon crawling around moody caverns and ruins varying from underground forests to vampire castles and blood lake. (Blood lake!!!! Lake of blood!!! Big creature there.) Lots of fun weapons and spells to find, I like the one that lets you turn blood into coffins.

~20 hours

Orbo's Odyssey https://feverdreamjohnny.itch.io/orbos-odyssey If you played the massively popular demo for "Peeb Adventures" by feverdreamjohnny then you know that Johnny makes some fun and funny games and this is certainly one of them. speedy and satisfying platforming! funny dracula moments! short and sweet.

~2 hours

A Walk in the Woods https://mooncaller.itch.io/a-walk-in-the-woods Quaint little GBStudio game :) Made by some friends of mine for a jam :) It's cute I like it. There's minigames where you catch bugs and birdwatch.

~30 minutes long

Undertale Yellow https://gamejolt.com/games/UndertaleYellow/136925 I've only completed the pacifist run and checked out a neutral run so far. as the title somewhat implies, this is a prequel to Undertale where you play as the fallen human who had the yellow colored soul. This Undertale fangame has a lot of charm!!! A lot of battles really feel like they could have been in the original, with quite a bit of extra flair in some circumstances.

~10 hours

vs really cool bird https://bobacupcake.itch.io/vs-really-cool-bird you know that really cool bird that rob bobacupcake made well you can fight it in undertale and it's really fun. yeah two undertale fangames. . . wat of it …

~30 minutes

Misericorde: Volume One https://xeecee.itch.io/misericorde I wont lie the main draw for me into this was cute anime nuns I sure didn't know a whole lot else about it when I dug into it. But it's (the first part of) a VN murder mystery! And I enjoyed it a whole lot. All the characters are memorable and I really enjoy how all of them have differentiating designs. The protagonist is so failgirl. She sucks so much and I love her. I'm very intrigued by the mechanics of the game's world, it clues you in near the beginning to expect something a bit supernatural/fantastical, which gives you (and later the protagonist) a curiosity about what's real and what isn't. The music is all very impressive too, with the ost reaching past 100 tracks varying through post-rock, folk, drum & bass, and others. (Remembering when the track "Scandal" played and my friends and I took a moment to be like- okay hang on this track pwns.) Big fan of its haunting locals and how the aesthetic of the game fits them well. Also the humor is a lot of fun, and I love all the moments getting to know the different characters. Very excited to see the eventual continuation of this.

~12 hours

Absolutely Perfect Specimen https://chambersoft.itch.io/absolutely-perfect-specimen It seems like a lot of people are craving toxic horror yuri lately. Here's a recommendation. It's a VN about the android maid "Pan" and the mad scientist girl who created her. Horrifying & gut wrenching & largely about having other people define you. The art and music is haunting & poignant and matches the ever increasing feeling of dread throughout. It's yuri with the chunks. Peak robotgirl horror for those who can stomach it.

~90 minutes

Wordhopper https://kokoscript.itch.io/wordhopper Very quaint word search type puzzle game for ms dos! I think its style is very slick and that's pretty impressive to see. Chill game with nice vibes and eyecandy visuals. also it was so cool to have played this and then ended up seeing the dev's booth at Vintage Computer Festival Midwest. I was like omg woah I just played this.

~bunny

Bossgame https://lilyv.itch.io/bossgame This game is yuriful as f*ck. Delightful humor and fun character dynamics! A simple-to-understand-difficult-to-master boss rush battle system that makes you satisfied to get it right, and enticing to get just a little farther if you get it wrong. There's a lot of detail and charm to this game's menus and dialogues and win screens, I remember noticing that once you beat a boss there would be some marquee text that would pass by with some prose on it. I love how it balances its silly moments with its heartfelt moments and its high octane moments. I like the character development and revelations had throughout the plot. & I like how good the protagonists are for each other :) It's very sweet. It's hype as hell. if you want some boss rush action paired well with that sweet sweet girl's love, you *will* play this game.

~5 hours

Elly's Adventure https://bikwins.itch.io/ellys-adventure Very cute and witchy!! You are the little witch girl "Elly" on an adventure to get your toys back!! Feels like a pretty authentic gameboy type experience, it takes a lot of design cues from Kirby's adventure and the like. I am a big fan of how playful it feels.

~1 hour

Nour https://store.steampowered.com/app/1141050/Nour_Play_with_Your_Food/ This was a treat for me, but I understand that not everybody is going to get it. It's a game where you play with food(and food accessories). And that's it. It knows what it was going for. I think a lot of people were expecting something else for some reason. It's a cute little toy game and I felt satisfied with my time with it.

~food

Hi-Fi Rush https://store.steampowered.com/app/1817230/HiFi_RUSH/ Do I have to say this game is super fun? It's a big one everybody probably already knows it. This game's dopey humor made me laugh a lot and I'm not afraid to admit it.

~12 hours

WHISKEY.ST2007S https://bonicle.itch.io/whiskey-st2007nes One of the last games I played in the year because it released super last minute. Does anybody else get a rush when running a shopping cart down the parking lot? This emulates that feeling. Short game where you collect whisky stones in the whisky stone dimension because you forgot to go christmas shopping until the very last minute. it rules. It's very short you can go play it right now & get a highscore.

~5 minutes

re:curse https://devpalmer.itch.io/re-curse Discovered this one near the very end of the year also. Fun little rpg maker horror/humor game about a weird scientist lady, her butch, and an evil clown computer virus that figured out how to warp reality. I got a kick out of it. and also enjoyed digging through the game's files, which was actively encouraged by the dev, which I thought was very fun.

~90 minutes

-Didn't technically get to until 2024 but released last year-

SWOLLEN TO BURSTING UNTIL I AM DISAPPEARING ON PURPOSE https://1207.itch.io/swollen-to-bursting-until-i-am-disappearing-on-purpose People love to dunk on a lot of indie rpgs for being "quirky Earthbound inspired and about depression" or whatever. Earthbound's great. If people can nail the kind of humor and absurdity it likes to pull off while also balancing difficult topics I think that deserves a high mark. SWOLLEN TO BURSTING was fun. Bizarre and charming places to explore & distressing secrets to find. I like how it blends meander-around-the-town gameplay with Yume Nikki sort of exploration and effects. Also I'm a big fan of the music. I like how it has the lofi sound which matches the early 3d look of the game.

~6 hours

HalOPE https://starbage.itch.io/halope Another for the fans of sweet little rpg maker games that have a lot of heart. HalOPE is about an incomplete little angel wondering through worlds. Each has a theme, usually to do with an emotion or feeling, and they do well at evoking that feeling as well as its antithesis. a lot of the music is very homey and charming at moments and unnerving at others, sometimes lonely, all doing well in their corresponding chapters to further the feeling of its specified theme. There are so many delightful characters and designs in this & I found myself feeling really attached to their tiny little stories. The narrative at the core of it all hit me. If I may be vulnerable, I cried a whole lot at various moments in this game. It was really cathartic. I feel very excited for people to experience this game.

~5 hours

-Favs I finally got around to that didn't come out 2023-

An Outcry https://quinnk.itch.io/an-outcry Kind of sad it took me so long to get to this one, but glad it meant I got to play the "definitive" updated version of it. Apartment wandering RPG maker horror. Bum smokes from your neighbors and use them to save the game. I wish I could unwrap a lot more of what I like about this game than I can without spoiling too much. But if I could, I'd probably go on for too long. Let me attempt to be succinct & not giving too much away. You can tell pretty early on that An Outcry is about taking action when necessary & not turning a blind eye. What it explores about player vs protagonist agency is very fascinating to me as well, and I enjoyed learning about the inspirations for why the game's narrative works the way it does. The character Anne is such a sweetie and I love her a whole lot. This game has a very tangible feeling, this apartment complex is dirty and crumby, it smells of smoke, and there's a surrounding desperation you can feel.

~5 hours

Pigments https://punkcake.itch.io/pigments Honestly I had gotten this game in a bundle and while I was playing it I hadn't looked at the name and I just kept calling it FRUIT. On call with my friends I'd be like "hey im gonna play more FRUIT". I straight up didn't read the title screen. But it's called Pigments. You play as a fruit and you try to paint the whole floor and not get sliced by buzzsaws. Fun little arcade type game.

~fruit

Bridge, October 3rd https://lowpolis.itch.io/bridge-october-3rd Very short vignette. I like it. It's what it says it is. I'm not going to overexplain.

~like a minute

-Other Games I Want To Mention-

Pseudoregalia https://store.steampowered.com/app/2365810/Pseudoregalia/ I think a lot of people might have already known this one but I felt like it was a pretty fun 3d platformer. There were a few issues I had with it (boss fight at the beginning was frustrating, and I got lost a lot [but it looks like there's been a map patch by now, so, perhaps for some that is a fix]). I enjoyed it but sure felt weird that the only accessibility option was to give the protagonist pants. What kind of joke is that?

~5 hours

Mushroom Musume https://mortallymoonstruckgames.itch.io/mushroom-musume (Disclaimer, this game is still early access, but I saw a lot of people talking about it last year. SO I will mention here?) Haven't played much of this yet, but I have enjoyed what I played so far!! As of writing I've gone through 6 playthroughs, I feel like I've hardly scratched the surface and I've been so impressed by its depth. It's very charming, you never know what sorts of fairytale shenanigans are going to happen, and it's very cool to see how your different stats will affect things. It very much plays out like a roguelike vn. Which is not the sort of thing you may expect to make much sense but it pulls this off well. Also all the mushroom girls are very cute and I love them very much. I hope the sad goopy one who had bugs in her skin rests in peace.

~mushroom

Knuckle Sandwich https://andybrophy.itch.io/knuckle-sandwich -_- Hm. Where do I start with this one. I was pretty excited for this one since the demo and kickstarter in 2018. I felt like the demo was a hell of a hook that got me curious & horrified. As time went on, it seemed to be shaping up into something really cool. turn based combat with action commands and wario-ware-type microgames?? with a banging soundtrack?? like, count me in!! Then it released and well, the gameplay, art, music all delivered. It was very fun and engaging in those aspects. But the story… oh it just devolves into disappointing nonsensical randomness. The whole hook at the beginning seemed to be completely thrown away for the wild goose chase plot that ensues, leaving you to wonder if it was ever going to be relevant again. It felt like it had no idea what it was trying to say or do. It disappointed me that a game that has so much good in so much else about it gets brought down so much for me by this plot.

~12 hours

Rhythm Doctor https://store.steampowered.com/app/774181/Rhythm_Doctor/ (Putting this one in mentions because it is early access.) I really enjoyed the act 5 release. When I first saw this game, I kind of shrugged it off, thinking "that base mechanic doesn't seem like it will last". I thought it was basically just that one ghost shooting game from Rhythm Heaven which I Hate. Well let's just say I am now seeking penitence for my previous transgressions. It's really fun. There's a lot more to it that I didn't know when I first took a look. Also, consistently amazed by people's custom levels, I had no idea that its level editor allows people to do so much in it, I look at some levels and think "This editor seems as complex as an industry standard video editor". I'm looking forward to what they're planning next, very curious how they could possibly one-up the last update.

~rhythm

El Paso Elsewhere https://strangescaffold.itch.io/el-paso-elsewhere This was really fun & funny so far but unfortunately I had been encountering an issue with a certain level where the game would crash. I reported the issue, got a response, and there has been an update since then so I think there's a possibility that it got fixed but I have not tried yet. I would like to return to this sometime but having to relearn controls midway through is always daunting to me.

~?

-Things that looked good but didn't get around to-

Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood https://store.steampowered.com/app/1340480/The_Cosmic_Wheel_Sisterhood/ Still don't know a whole lot about this. But there are witches, and I like witches.

Casette Beasts https://store.steampowered.com/app/1321440/Cassette_Beasts/ I haven't felt thrilled about Pokémon lately. I know a lot of people seemed to really enjoy this little monster-collecting-rpg. The style is appealing to me as a die-hard gen 5 fan. I started playing it but haven't set aside the dedicated time for it yet, but I'm excited to dig in more when I do.

Little Goody Two Shoes https://store.steampowered.com/app/1812370/Little_Goody_Two_Shoes/ Started watching a friend play this, and I'm certainly curious.. Some sort of horror fairytale but also there's yuri? Yum. Enjoyed the style and animation in the nightmare segments that I saw.

Venba https://store.steampowered.com/app/1491670/Venba/ I've picked this up a while ago but still haven't gotten around to it, but I'm eager to, I've heard nothing but good things.

Goodbye Volcano High https://store.steampowered.com/app/1310330/Goodbye_Volcano_High/ I think there are gay dinosaurs in a band and it's going to be the apocalypse? I have also heard nothing but good things about this.

-Things I watched friends play-

Signalis https://store.steampowered.com/app/1262350/SIGNALIS/ This was a pretty big one. You probably already know it, right? Watched a friend play this and I missed various parts but I understood a solid bit of it. hey. robotgirls are always getting put in these fucked up situations. have you noticed this? one time i got really high and cried about it. it isn't fair

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk https://store.steampowered.com/app/1353230/Bomb_Rush_Cyberfunk/ This one was also probably big enough you don't need me to sing its praises. but it looked really neat. swag.

-Various Thoughts-

Lately I've been thinking more about design and narrative. I feel like I haven't been doing as much analysis as I should be when it comes to games. I want to dissect more what games are saying and figure out meaning. Also attempt to see how the mechanics aid in that. I feel like most of my own work is pretty abstract & random. I simply make what I like. While that's fun and all, I still want to improve in a lot of ways, especially in having more of a theme or message. Figuring out how other games accomplish this is obviously a good step toward this.

If you saw games here that interest you I highly urge you to take a look, many are pretty short, and I pretty explicitly wanted to highlight some smaller titles. If you know me you know I like to uplift small games. (Save for the occasional big game, but that's rare these days) I think it's healthy for you to play and support independently developed & published works. I don't want to ramble too much this time about why that's important, but I hope that you might have found something you may enjoy here and if not then I encourage you to find small stuff that you would like. And I would like to encourage everybody to share their findings as well! Little games need our help to be seen and talked about! They don't have the budgets the big ones do for advertising, and advertising on your own is a whole ton of work. If you like something, spread the word! I'm sure the developers would very much appreciate that.

[15-lizards]

okay. here me out here, hannah. wooden jewelry in the northern houses. old fallen branches of weirwood trees being passed down through families. simple wooden bangles to elaborate rings to show status.

also wood has a way lower heat capacity and doesn't get as cold as metal jewelry. so!! practicality. also the rustic aesthetic of it all. wood is a lot more flimsy if a material so they'd be in higher demand and could show off how graceful young ladies are bc they don't bang them around on stuff and break them lmao (rip to all of the wooden bangles i've lost bc i accidentally hit them against a table or something i'm so sorry rip bangles)

i think sansa (or even jeyne poole) would rock some wooden bangles bc she still wants to be fashionable and draped in jewelry in the north but ned thinks it looks silly and is so practical so he gifts her a bunch of wooden ones. i'd like to know what you think about this idea :) 💕

Yup yup yup

Mothers pass down their weirwood hair combs to their daughters. Girls who are marrying outside of the north don’t have a complete wedding trousseau until they have a pendant made of the wood of godswood tree from their home. Sansa and Jeyne beg the woodworkers to make them matching hair clips and trade their wooden bangles as tokens of friendship :)

[imminent-danger-came]

Eldritch Abomination MK Theory

OKAY. @the-punning-ubus

I just want to say reading these tags are SO validating, because I have my little "MK was an eldritch abomination thing pre-hatching from stone" theory and seeing someone else come to pretty much the same conclusion feels good.

I've been meaning to write a proper theory post on this for a while, so now is as good of a time as any!

Obviously we have Wukong's "Not just anyone can wield my staff, but you did" from A Hero is Born and "The staff's just a big 'ol stick bud! It takes someone special to wield it" from 3x03, but there's also something in 1x09 Macaque:

Macaque: "Your staff kinda gives you away dude, not just anyone can wield that thing."

-

Macaque: "Ohohoh no, can't you hold the magic staff anymore? Well, you know what that means—there really isn't anything special about you. You're just a kid with a heavy stick."

-

-

The sweet irony of "There really isn't anything special about you. You're just a kid with a heavy stick!" followed immediately by MK lifting the staff again is not lost on me.

So, from s1 it was pretty obvious that Wukong didn't "give" MK any form of power, but we knew that already with MK being a monkey demon and all. I just think it's particularly intriguing that all of this was laid out in the same episode where MK proclaims "I am the weapon!". In all honestly, he probably was/is.

One of the main questions coming out of s4 is "why was MK created?"—Monkey King's stone was used to form another, but for what purpose? To what end? What reason was MK at the center of all these stories?

Well, here's my current theory:

MK was something in a past life, and that something needed to be contained—and so, to put a stop to past life eldritch abomination MK, he was then sealed away in the stone.

I think this scene in particular raises some alarm bells:

The stone cracks open, bursts with light, and then it closes—like something was put inside it. The scene could of course just be an aesthetic choice, or chosen to be this way for another reason we don't know yet, but it just feels so deliberate. A ball of light appearing from the stone, then another ball of light in the mystery woman's hands being revealed to hold a monkey, and then the stone reforming around the ball of light. I just can't help but feel there's something there.

Next I want to discuss the two key things that make me feel this theory has merit:

1.) MK has made a habit of breaking out of things he shouldn't be able to (the calabash in 1x05, the trigram furnace in 2x00, the scroll in 4x07, Destiny itself in 3x14) and the stone would be no exception.

2.) Every antagonist in this show has been sealed away in some form, then being released to resume their plans from before being sealed. Here's a list:

DBK was sealed under the mountain, and after being released continued his plan of world domination.

Spider Queen was metaphorically trapped in her fallen empire, and after being given the chance to rule the above world once again, immediately takes it.

The Lady Bone Demon was imprisoned in her tomb, and after being released prematurely (before learning the error of her ways), she continued her plan to destroy the world and create a new one.

Azure Lion was imprisoned in the scroll, and upon being released (by an unknown 3rd party), immediately worked to free his friends and then end the Jade Emperor's reign.

Now, I love foils, so MK breaking out of the stone he was sealed in, yet coming out an actually changed being unlike everyone else in this show, would be DELICIOUS:

Lady Bone Demon: ”No backup and no weapon? So, you’re plan is to fist fight a child?” Sun Wukong: “We both know that’s not what you are.”

(3x11 This Imperfect World)

-

Lady Bone Demon: "STOP! Have you forgotten? Destroy me and you destroy the host! Have you become so desperate to end me that you would sacrifice this blameless innocent child?" Sun Wukong: "You're giving me no choice! All the time you spent locked away, and you haven't changed a bit! I'm going to finish you, like I should have done a long time ago! I told you—you should have stayed buried."

(3x11 This Imperfect World)

-

Subodhi: "I have not brought you to your master. Although this is the stone from which Sun Wukong once sprung, it appears overtime, it was used to form another. A simple creature, with no past, no family, and no name. There is a reason you were at the center of these stories—a reason you can harness the power of the Monkey King himself!"

(4x06 Show Me the Monster)

-

(If you want extra fodder for this, please see this parallels post :3)

So, if MK were to hatch out of the stone—where *he* was sealed away—and he actually came out of it a "blameless innocent child" with "no past, no family, and no name", it would work exceedingly well. Wukong's not above giving people second chances, but if you use that second chance to try and destroy the world, you force his hand.

(Side note: it could also be the case that the stone was used to "reset" whatever MK was in his past life, and Wukong was originally meant to destroy whatever came out of the stone—which could be the reason he stayed at Flower Fruit Mountain for hundreds of years. However, when an child came out, a new being without a past or the memories of what it was before—Wukong choose to let it go. He choose to let it live a normal life—or even ensuring it could live a normal life—and it then found it's way to Pigsy. This definitely gets into real crack theory territory, but I did want to bring it up.)

Now, none of this is even mentioning the suspiciously MK shaped figure in the mural from 3x13:

Now, the figure in this mural is only shown when MK is also on screen, which is framing that drives me insane. Perhaps this is when they first caught MK's past life, then finally able to subdue him and seal him in the stone.

And so, if MK really was this terrible chaos driven abomination in his past life, what does that mean ✨thematically✨?

Well,

Sun Wukong: “Point is, mistakes happen, but so long as you leave the world in better shape than you found it, then it’s all good. Right?”

(4x01 Familiar Tales)

-

SWK: “ENOUGH! I’ve never let anyone dictate my destiny in the past, and I’m not about to start now. None of us are! We can’t change who we were yesterday or in a past life, or a hundred life times ago! We live with the choices we’ve made, for what matter is the choices we make RIGHT NOW! Only we decide who we are and what we do with the power we have.”

(4x07 Pitiful Creatures)

-

MK can't change who he was in a past life. He can't change that the roads all lead to pain. But you know what he can do? He can try. He can try and get a little bit better every day. He can try and help people. He can try and make the world better than he found it.

Maybe in a past life, MK caused just as must chaos and destruction as Wukong did in his past. Maybe he caused even more problems then he has as the Monkie Kid. But that also doesn't undo the good he's doing now.

Anyways, that's my "MK was an eldritch abomination thing pre-hatching from stone" theory. Hope you enjoyed

[maxislvt]

Send You My Love On A Wire

Summary: Music had always been a big part of Wanda's life. Her parents loved music and they had passed that love down to her. She would've never thought that loving music would mean music would give her love back

Warnings: making out, a lot of cock blocking, smut, fingering, brief oral

A/N: The first half of this was in my drafts since the beginning of summer and I completely forgot about it despite the fact I never shut up about this concept. Anyways, it's finally here!!! Hope y'all enjoy her

Wanda loved concerts. The loud music, the cheering from fans, and the adrenaline rush came with every set. It was addictive. Her first concert was fresh in her mind. She was only eight years old at the time. Armed only with her favorite stuffed animal and bright red earplugs, she entered the world of music for the very first time. She had spent ample time in her parent's studio, but the concert was an experience like no other. The bright lights, people dancing, and being safely above it all while perched on her father's shoulders. Music had become Wanda's lifeline that day. It had only taken a few more years for her to throw herself into the industry entirely.

Soon, she was the one dancing and singing on stage. It was terrifying at first. Music was the first major life choice she made without her brother. Where she had fallen in love with bass guitars and layered choruses, Pietro fell in love with scene heading and camera angles. Their support for each other never faltered, but the fear was almost unshakable. It wasn't until she stepped on stage that her wings truly spread. Soon she was selling out stadiums in mere minutes and singing her out.

Of course, she was still herself. A little kid that loved music and the people that made it. Wanda still had a few celebrity crushes she couldn't let go of. Most were much older and married, but one, in particular, stood out.

The Thunderbolts was a group that popped up about a year before Wanda had started hers. They were a lot edgier and further on the alternative spectrum than what Wanda usually listened to, but she enjoyed their music nonetheless. Loud, exciting, and aggressive — all things she loved in music. The absolute beauty that was their concept only added to the appeal. Bastardized demigods in one album and humans possessed by unforgiving demons in the next, with the aesthetics to match. All the members put their all into creation, but you just stood out more than anyone. Though you were a guitarist, you'd occasionally take the stage as the main vocalist and would help other groups create choreography as well.

Unfortunately, Wanda could never get close enough to actually to you even if it was just for an autograph or a chance to praise you for working so hard. It was until one of her first real festival performances that she got the chance to meet you. She was apprehensive at first. You were very open about how you took major performances seriously and you were busy getting makeup done or tuning your guitar. Her dear brother, almost equally infatuated with your music, was determined to get an autograph since he couldn't attend the festival.

"Come on," Pietro groaned out as much as he could with a group of women frantically doing his makeup. "I can't be there to get it myself, can you at least try?" For reasons entirely beyond his sister, Petro was convinced all musicians had some secret clique or friendships they refused to tell the world about. "Just use your super good music privileges and get them to sign my shirt! Maybe we'll get a collab out of it!"

Wanda rolled her eyes at her brother's antics. "I've told you before, there is no secret music industry cult! Just catch them at another concern or something." She huffed out. There were a few hours before the start of the show. Maybe he could see you, or at least get her and her brother some new merch from one of the tents outside. "Okay, fine. I'll try, but don't start pouting when there's no signature on it!"

"Yeah," Pietro cheered childishly and gently pumped his fists in the air, careful not to hit the people around him. "I promise I'll make it up to you!"

Wanda chuckled softly before preparing to leave her backstage room. She and her brother were used to sneaking out for the sake of fun and privacy. She coasted through the crowds and stopped by the occasional vendor for snacks or new merch she hadn't seen yet. Her adventures were quickly cut short after she caught up in a line for Thunderbolts merch. Exploring seemed much more enjoyable, but Pietro would kill her if she didn't at least get him a crappy mug with the band's name on it.

"That just doesn't make any sense," said a gruff, familiar voice. "You call my boyfriend Wilson, my best friend Rogers, and my best friend's boyfriend Stark! What sense does it make for me to be ' Buchanan'?"

Wanda brushed it off as a case of her ears being fucked because of the loud noises around her. Maybe it was just a group of friends playing make-believe and telling jokes.

"Because ‘Buchanan’ is a much sexier name than 'Barnes'! Are you happy now, Barnes?" Less gruffly than the first voice but just as passionate about the conversation. “Your boyfriend, best friend, and best friend’s boyfriend have cool last names, and you don’t!”

Okay, no. That way definitely who she thought it was. Bucky and Y/N, members of her favorite band, were standing right behind her. Now was her chance. All she had to do was turn around and say something. Instead, Wanda found herself frantically fixing her clothes and nitpicking at her outfit. After what must have been half an hour, she turned to face you and your bandmate. “Um, hey.” There was an awkward pause as you and Bucky waited for her to continue talking. Wanda had no clue what to say and opted to lift her glasses and give a small smile.

That was all Wanda needed to do before it was your turn to freak out,

“Oh my god,” You whispered in shock, “You’re the Scarlet Witch!” You excitedly bounce on your heels while using your thumb and pointer finger to mimic the shape of the iconic crown. “I am such a big fan- uh, sorry if I’m being too loud,” Your odd ramblings would’ve continued had your friend not been kind enough to elbow you in your side. There was no telling how red your face had gotten within a few minutes, but you were sure it embarrassed you. It was like your brain had short-circuited. “Um, did you need something?” Your hand nervously ran down the side of your jeans.

Wanda couldn’t help but smile at you. You looked good on stage, but your awkwardness was unexpected. Not once did she ever think she’d see the lead guitarist of Thunderbolts would be blushing and tripping over their words — especially not because of her. “Oh yeah! If you guys aren’t too busy, I’d love it if you guys could sign some stuff for my brother. I’ll pay for you guys’ food as payback or sign some stuff back.”

“Deal! On the signing stuff, too. We already borrowed our manager’s debit card.” A mischievous grin crossed your face as you flashed the shiny metal card at Wanda. The ability to play cool and smooth talk people were usually something better suited for Bucky or Yelena. Today though, it seemed it was yours. “We can meet up at our backstage room. Y’know, so we don’t get trampled.”

“Sounds great, but order fast because people are pointing, and I’m hungry,” Bucky said. He never thought being caught up in such tension could be so draining.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Wanda never expected a chance encounter to change her life so much. Having a record with your signature on it was quickly dwarfed by several things. To start, knowing you liked her music as well sent her over the moon. The only thing better than that was being your friend. You invited her to hang out at award shows and even gave her VIP seats at your concerts.

Her favorite moments were the more private between the two of you. When you would call her during late nights at your studio or just to catch up after being busy. Wanda was sure your other friends got similar treatment. That didn't make it any less special. Video calls were even better. It was a privilege to watch you effortlessly glide across the floor of the studio or be there to help you write a song lyric or two. It made Wanda feel special.

Touring made that difficult though. Moving around non-stop and constantly performing meant there was little time for the two of you to actually talk. Being the absolute sweetheart you were, you made an effort to send at least one super-long voice message about your days. Endless rants about Bucky absolutely devouring everything in sight, Ava and Yelena boldly and heated debates about abstract concepts you hadn't a clue about, and whatever else you come out of your head.

Unfortunately, one was unreasonably short. It was the last day of your tour, surely you'd have something to go on about. However, it seemed like anything noteworthy that day was somehow packed into a five-minute voice message. Despite her disappointment, she let it play.

"Hi, Wands," Your words slurred out excitedly. Shuffling and the sound of glass clinking were picked up by the speaker. "I just wanted to tell you how much I love you," The slurring continued, "and I mean really love you." Wind seemingly picked up out of nowhere as you snatched your phone and lay down on the ground. "You're so super pretty and super smart and so super nice! Like a super package!" Most of anything after that was a disjointed statement about Wanda's never-ending beauty and super cool and totally awesome music. A fit of giggles would cut through your ramblings every few minutes, but that didn't stop you. "I really want to be your partner….Wait no, I want you to be my girlfriend. I can be your girlfriend or your boyfriend, I can also be both! I'm super cool with either." You laughed at the thought. "I don't care what I am, I just wanna be it with you. Like, romantically."

Wanda was shocked. Her heart hammered in her ears and her face had gone beet red. Was this a confession she could take seriously? Probably not, but you sounded absolutely adorable and she downloaded it regardless of its validity. In the time it had taken her to formulate a response, you had already sent her another voice message.

"L is for the way you look…like my girlfriend!" The off-key and horribly unstable pitch didn't stop you from professing your love. Despite your obvious intoxication, you serenaded Wanda with the addition of a piano. "V is for very very, uh, extra pretty because that's what you are! Wait no, I missed the O…" The piano suddenly stopped and you hummed. "Oh right! O is for the only one I see- that one's an alliteration!" Your playing picked back up, this time much slower and less on the beat. "Um, E is…I don't remember what E is for — hey! Give it back I wasn't done talking to heeer!"

A struggle could be heard from the phone and for a second there was only silence. You were clearly outnumbered. The only thing that stopped Wanda from worrying was the familiar Russian accent that replaced your voice.

"Ah, sorry Wanda Maximoff. Bucky bet that they couldn't out-drink my dad and you know the both of them are sore losers. Hope you have a nice night."

With that, Wanda was left with her thoughts. It was probably best to just ignore it until you were sober enough to talk about it. You were a prideful person and would probably be very embarrassed in the morning, but there was no way she'd pass up the opportunity to confess. She took a deep breath and pressed the voice record button. "Hi sweetheart," She said in a sickeningly sweet voice knowing it would make you squirm. "I would just love for you to be my partner! I'll call you whatever you want to be called, but don't worry about that until you get home, okay? Just drink a lot of water for me and worry about everything else later. I hope you have a safe trip home, I love you!"

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

You didn't have much time to yourself the next morning or most of the evening. Packing and flying home took all of forever, unpacking seemed to take longer than packing itself, and all you wanted to do was sleep. All that meant it was around 10:30 at night when you had finally checked your phone and listened to Wanda's message. The words filled your head and you could stare at your phone. You attempted to formulate a text in response. Do you apologize for not answering first or do you address the confession first? What if she was just joking?

Your fingers frantically started typing and stopped suddenly when you noticed Wanda typing as well. Then Wanda stopped immediately after you did, only to start again. The cycle continued two more times and only stopped because Wanda got irritated and decided to call you instead.

You answered despite your nervousness. "Uh, hey!" If it weren't for the fact Wanda would reprime you for doing so, you would punch yourself in the face for being so lame. The soft giggle from the other end of the phone was sweet enough to ease the tension in your body. "Um, you're up late."

Wanda giggled again. "I could say the same for you, sweetheart." Her voice was raspy from tiredness. She glanced at the clock on her studio wall and grinned. "Doesn't sound like you took my advice either, why don't you go drink some water before we talk?" It was cruel to boss you around knowing you'd scramble to please her, but it was for your own good. She listened tentatively as you walked from your bedroom to the kitchen and made yourself a glass of water. "So, did you mean it?"

A simple question, but it still made your heart race. You were so desperate to answer that you choked on your in the process. After a brief coughing fit and a few deep breaths, you could speak again. "I really did," You whispered into the phone. You were thankful Wanda couldn't see you at the moment. Though you were sure she'd appreciate your pajama shorts with her iconic crown printed on, you'd never recover from her seeing how flustered she made you. "But I totally understand if you—"

"Then prove it."

"What?"

"Ask me out again now that you're all sobered up."

You paused for a moment, hoping she was just messing with you. When that confirmation never came, you were forced to swallow your pride and confess a second time. "I think you're really pretty and I like you a lot…I would like it if you were my girlfriend and let me take you out on a date sometime soon." Wanda was nowhere in sight but your eyes darted around as if she was.

"I don't get an encore of that lovely song you made for?"

"Now you're just being mean!"

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Being a celebrity in a secret relationship was harder than you thought it'd be. There were only so many times you could get caught alone before the public began to suspect things. Keeping it from your inner circle was even harder. Everyone knew you and Wanda were close, but close couldn't explain all those late nights spent at her studio or the increasing amount of bruises that littered your body.

As if that wasn't hard enough, Wanda seemed to have no concept of secrecy or subtlety. The initial agreement was a month before going public, but that never stopped her from slamming you against every wall she could for a "quick kiss". Of course, it was never just one and they were easily the longest kisses you'd ever had in your life. It didn't matter if you were at a bar or your best friend's party. If she wanted you, she'd take you. Even if that was five minutes before your makeup call.

"Wanda, I have to go," You whimpered before your lover pulled you into another searing kiss. The burn in your lips had already sealed your fate, but Wanda was determined to keep going. Even when your hands had begun desperately tugging at her shirt and she ruined her makeup already, Wanda wanted more from you. "I'll let you do whatever you want when we get home, just let me go for now, please?"

Wanda leaned back and admired her handy work. Her lipsticks had rubbed off on your lips and down to your neck. Your knees had gone completely weak and you were almost out of breath entirely. Even in your desperation to escape her grasp, your eyes pathetically followed her every move. It wouldn't matter if Wanda gave you the freedom you secretly didn't want, you'd fall back into her arms and beg for release anyways. "You'd let me do what I wanted regardless," She said before going back in to make even more of a mess from you. You were wrapped around her fingers and wouldn't do a thing to change that. "I'll let you go in a minute, just be good for me."

You squirmed under Wanda's touch as she began to grope you. "Someone's going to see and I don't wanna get in trouble." Nearly all the conviction in your voice had disappeared and you could barely stand. It wasn't fair at all. "I'll come right back after we perform, but if I'm late for makeup they'll send-"

"Y/n? Oh-"

Your heart nearly popped out of your chest. "Alexei, I swear this isn't what you think it is! We were just..Wanda was…" Your brain flipped through any number of excuses you could come up with to explain yourself, but there just weren't any. A defeated sigh escaped your lips and you prepared for your world to come crashing down.

"This is exactly what you think it is and they'll be back in the dressing room in 2 minutes."

Alexei blankly stared at the both of you. Then he smiled. "You know, when me and Melina first got together we were just as adventurous as you two!" He stretched his arms out for a hug. "There is no reason to be ashamed of your true love for each other! Wherever you two have done, me and Lina have probably done it twice!" His attempts at consulting you never felt to miss the mark by an inch or two, but that was easily the worst yet.

A disgusted groan escaped your mouth as you suddenly sobered up from your producer's ramblings. "Well, that certainly killed my mood. I'll um, see you after my set…if they let me." You quickly ran off before Wanda could you back into her twisted web of lust. You were thankful your bandmates were too focused on getting ready to question your absence. Alexei seemed suspiciously quiet, but anything to keep you from the grilling your friends would give you.

However, with a band as neurologically different as yours, you couldn't escape them for much longer. Even the amazing performance and the adrenaline from engaging with the crowd couldn't save you from the numerous questions and ungodly teasing that looked over your head.

"In front of her dressing room, you couldn't wait long enough to open the door?"

"How long were you gonna keep this from me? I'm your best friend!"

"Did that stupid drunk excuse of a cover really work?? I expected Maximoff to have better standards than that."

You tried your best to keep still as your makeup artist carefully removed the prosthetic horns from your forehead. "I was gonna tell you guys, honest! We just wanted to keep it secret until we were sure about it. Also, it wasn't even my idea to make out, I was tryna get back here in time for the set!" You relaxed once all your makeup was removed. "And yes, the song did work but I'm not exactly proud of that one either."

"Look on the bright side, at least we won't have to deal with their drunk ramblings anymore," Ava said with a dry chuckle. "I think we should be happy, even if Wanda uses you for her demonic witch performances."

"It was one time and she isn't a real witch!"

"Those are just the ones you were sober enough to remember," Antonia said. She was more focused on carefully putting her guitar back into its case. "There was that time you got blackout drunk at the escaping Valentina party and you spent the whole ride mumbling about how cute Wanda's freckles were. Then a month later at Bucky and Sam's engagement party, you wouldn't let anyone play songs that weren't hers and you cried because her voice was so pretty." The girl stopped talking temporarily to put her guitar pics back in the bag the way she liked. "When you two have an engagement party, you do not get to pick the DJ."

"Who says we're having an engagement party?"

"You're going to have one."

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Very early into your relationship, you learned that Wanda has a nearly insatiable libido. It was near impossible to keep up with her. She'd spend hours pushing you to your limit and far beyond. Any attempts to give her pleasure in return would land you right back underneath her and start another round. Not even the fear of being caught could curb her lust for you.

"Come on, baby, you look too good not to touch," Wanda whispered as she groped you. Her hands were always on you, but you could always tell when they were about to get adventurous. She knew how to make your knees weak. "Just one time, I promise I'll be quick!" Her fingers danced over your back and towards your belt. Locking you in some random restroom wasn't her ideal location for a quickie, but she couldn't control herself, not when you looked like they at least.

You groaned softly when Wanda licked up the side of your neck. "One is like a million with you," You whispered back as harshly as you could. It wasn't like you would be complaining. There was nothing in the world that felt better than being underneath Wanda while she used you any way she saw fit, but you'd die if you had to do that and immediately be faced with the public. "We can leave early just- fuck, you gotta work with me here, Wands."

"Oh, but if I wait any longer I might not be so nice when we get home," Wanda chuckled darkly. Her hips rolled into yours while she untucked your shirt and raised it. "And you know how whiney you get when I mean. Is that what you want? Do you want me to be mean when we get home?" The smirk on her face proved how much control she had over you. It didn't matter when she got you, she'd win regardless. "Or I can play nice, it's up to you."

Your hips desperately followed hers as she pulled away. "Fine, you can fuck me in the car or something, just not here!" The second the words left your mouth, you regretted it. Wanda pulled you out of the restroom and towards the car without much concern for the people asking where you were going or if you were okay. "Hey, wait- I think I left my jacket!"

Wanda pushed you into the backseat and raised the partition so you two would have some semblance of privacy. "Bucky will get it, just focus on me," She hummed. Her hands went right back to groping you without a care. "Do you know how hard it was to keep my hands to myself? These pants make your ass look amazing, I might not even take them off when we get home." Wanda kept her voice so only you could hear her.

You loved how verbal Wanda was. Having her to talk you through whatever delicious torture kept you grounded. It even made you more confident. "Yeah, must've been real hard because you haven't stopped touching me since we left the house." All your worries began to fade away as Wanda attacked your neck. The only thing you could focus on was the burning feeling between your legs. "I promise I'll be good."

"I know you will, but that doesn't mean I have to rush." Wanda continued to torture you until the car pulled up in your driveway. She barely gave you enough space to get out of the car and she was right back on you once the chauffeur pulled off. It was only a few seconds before she had you pinned against the door."Relax, I won't let anyone else see you," She whispered when she felt you tense up in her grasp.

You relaxed for only a few seconds. Though you had trusted Wanda, she couldn't account for everything. A car could have flown by or maybe a neighbor would suddenly remember to check their mailbox. Unfortunately, you were met with something much worse. The familiar click of a camera was enough for your heart to stop. Your eyes darted over to the perpetrator. Paparazzi. "You've got to be fucking kidding me," You whispered, words laced with venom. Red-hot anger followed through your veins.

Wanda let you push her away, but she followed you into the house. "Fuck, this is my fault. I'll fix it, I swear." She was quick to wrap you up in her arms. Guilty wasn't enough to describe how she felt. The PR and nosiness of her labelmates were the least of her concern. You were so exposed in that photo and god knows how many people were going to see it. Part of her was jealous, but most of her just wanted to go out and rip off that fucker's head. "I promise not to do stuff like that again! I'll call my manager and then my lawyer, and we'll figure out just-"

"We have to go public."

"Excuse me?"

You shrugged. "There's nothing we can do until they post, so we might as well beat them to the punch." By no means were you happy to be interrupted during such an intense moment, but you weren't going to let some rando ruin your relationship. "If you're okay with it, but it's the fastest solution I got."

Wanda thought for a moment. It wasn't fair that you two had to expose your relationship so early. Tabloids and shitty gossip blogs would throw around hundreds of rumors, but she couldn't let them get a head start on that. "Alright, let's do it."

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

It had been around a year since you and Wanda had decided to go public. Though you remained cautious, it seemed one scare was all it took for Wanda to stop caring about what the public thought about your relationship. Your most recent interview together was proof of that.

Hundreds of shows, podcasts, and magazines requested to interview the both of you after the reveal, but most were shady and definitely a waste of time. The biggest concern was people being too focused on your relationship in more inappropriate ways. You were thankful Pepper and Tony had an intense vetting process when it came to who was allowed to schedule Wanda. You were a little upset when that hard work went waste because Wanda aired out her — well your — dirty laundry the second she got the chance to.

"Oh, you wouldn't believe how submissive this one is."

The statement played in your headphones over and over again until you were sure you heard your girlfriend correctly. "Oh, no you don't! You're in the doghouse!" You wiggled away from Wanda when she came up to snuggle you in bed. "After that fiasco, you're lucky I didn't change the locks," You huffed out dramatically. "That didn't even answer their question!"

Wanda frowned, but then she got an idea. "Don't tell me you were embarrassed about that. There was so much more I could've told them." A mischievous smirk spread across her face as she climbed on top of you. Her hand gently tilted your head back and she took the liberty of reclaiming your skin as her. Sharp, hot teeth and gets your soft, cool skin. "Oh, I could've told them all about how weak you get when I kiss your neck."Her hands squeezed your thighs. "Or, how wet you get when I touch you like this."

Your face burned from embarrassment, but you couldn't bring yourself to stop Wanda. "That's not…you wouldn't!" Breathing was near impossible as she invaded your every sense. Her blunt nails dragging down the skin of your stomach were almost enough to send you into overdrive. Being at Wanda's mercy was a pleasure like no other. All the thoughts in your head began to fade away.

Wanda's peppered kisses over your stomach. She nipped at the sensitive skin until deep purple marks began to form. Unfortunately, conscious of the press events you'd have to do later in the week, she made sure not to go too high. "Maybe I should've told them about how much you like it when I leave all these pretty marks on your body. Does that sound better?" She giggled watching you frantically shake your head no. "Are you sure, your boxers seem awfully wet?" She pressed her thumb against the wetness leaking through your underwear. "Do you want me to help?"

"Yes, please," You rushed out. Your hips raised up allowing Wanda to quickly remove the barrier between her and your lower half. The fact you had just gotten out of the shower couldn't even stop you from giving Wanda everything. "I'll do anything, just help, please." You looked and felt pathetic when you begged, but you didn't care. Wanda was all you needed at that moment and you'd risk anything to get her.

"I bet they'd have a field day hearing about all the things I've done to this little hole of yours," Wanda teased as her fingers ran through the wetness leaking from your cunt. Her fingers lightly grazed your clit and pulled away the second your hips began to move. "Maybe I'll talk about how much of a needy whore you are for my fingers." She smiled at the way you whined. She slipped inside of you with ease. That slow, filling rhythm Wanda set was addictive. Sliding all the way in, then dragging them out just as slow.

The vulgar gushing sounds from your pussy filled your ears. "Fuck, Wanda please," You begged. It was a miracle Wanda knew you as well as she did. Her teasing words would never stop her from doing her very best to please you. Three of her fingers stretched you out so easily and assaulted your g spot without relenting. "I'm so close, just don't stop!" One of your hands snaked down to your neglected clit only to immediately be smacked away.

Wanda clicked her tongue. "I'll tell them about how disobedient and needy you are too. You know you're not supposed to touch yourself when I'm playing with you," She hissed. Her fingers pulled out and came down harshly on your clit. "Awe, does it hurt? I bet you like it." The smirk on her face never faded watching you thrash around and beg for her to keep touching you. "Shush, I'll let you cum this time but you have to promise not to touch what's mine."

"I promise, I was just- ah!" All the words in your brain disappeared when Wanda's fingers entered your cunt again. A shiver ran up your spine and you instinctively wrapped your legs around Wanda's waist. "That feels so good. Thank you, thank you so much!" It seemed your ruined orgasm had only aroused you more and you were already about to cum again. Your hips bucked up into Wanda's hand and she could only laugh at you.

"Ah, you're so needy. I don't know what you'd do without me," She giggled before leaning down to lick your clit. Her tongue expertly wrapped around your clit as she began to suck. Pleasing you was almost enough to get her off alone. Your slick dripping down her wrist, your falls clenching around her fingers, and your clit throbbing inside her mouth. It was perfect. You were perfect. "Cum for me, show me how good it feels."

A low groan escaped your lips. Everything was too much, but you still wanted more. "Right there, right there, ah!" In a few seconds, everything stopped. The only thing you could feel was the burning hot pleasure deep within yourself coming out of you and onto Wanda. A never-ending stream of bliss that you couldn't even fully process. "Thank you, thank you so much," You whimpered once your body collapsed back onto the bed.

Wanda peppered kisses over your thighs and lower stomach, those less fierce than the ones before. "You're welcome, but we gotta get you cleaned up again." She smiled at the dopey looks on your face. "I know you're tired, but you know how you get when you're sticky."

You huffed out and wrapped your arms around Wanda's shoulders. "You're doing all the hard work, my legs still feel tingly."

"I'd do anything for you, my dear."

[wandafiction]

Ex-Husband's Clothes - Just Us Chapter 13

Warnings: Fluff, lil over thinking again.

Word Count: 2392

Series List | Chapter 12 | Chapter 14

================================

"Mine or yours?" Wanda breaks the silence that has fallen over us as we walk around the small lake at the park. After we sat down and the people watching session, we decided it would be nice to take a small walk around the area asking more cliché ice breakers. 

"Using my own question against me I see." I smirk down to the older woman who hasn't let go of my hand since we left the bench. 

"Well, because this was my date idea, I should be the one to ask." She defends lightly.

"That makes sense. I think it's best we go to yours, my sister is staying at my place for a few days. Needs a break from the wife and children apparently." We stop for a moment taking in the calm movement of the water, ripples dancing across the surface as a small breeze pulses through the air. I take a deep breath in allowing the smells of the park to engulf me, turning to look down at Wanda who is doing the same thing. "Shall we head back to the car?" 

"Yes! Let's go!" I laugh as she practically drags me out of the park, down the street and back to my car, the smile never leaving her face. Or mine. 

I pulled into a spot outside of the apartment building, the same one as I parked at this morning by some chance. I made sure to lock the car, double checking by pulling the handles (you can never be too careful); and followed Wanda into the building. When we arrived at her front door, number 10 written on the front, she started to fumble with her keys. An obvious nervousness making its way into her movements and face.

"You okay princess?" I ask gently, as she stops fumbling and takes a breath to relax herself.

"Yeah I'm just not sure what state I left it in this morning. I was more worried about what I looked like than what my place looked like." She finally finds the right key, opening the door slowly. 

I will tell you the truth...her apartment was...immaculate. I don't know what she was so worried about. Wanda showed me around the small apartment. It was a small open plan design so everything was open and together. You could walk from the living room, to the dining room table and then around the kitchen counter into the kitchen. Through the living room was a small hallway where there were two bedrooms, I assume,  and a bathroom with a shower and toilet. 

The kitchen cupboards were a dark oak colour with a bark like pattern, with silver kitchen items that matched nicely with the wood look. The kitchen table was a black 8 seater with small round chairs that actually looked quite comfortable. She had two couches facing one another both white with matching cushions and a glass coffee table in the middle of the room. The room also had a gas fire place, decorated by a wooden mental and a fake stone chimney the TV hung from the wall above the mental.

"So this is it." Wanda opened up her arms and spun on her heels, trying to get rid of the last of her nerves.

"It's a really nice place you have Wanda." She smiled bashfully, a small blush growing on her cheeks.

"Yeah?" 

"Yeah! I mean I love an open plan. The aesthetic of this place is beautiful. It works really well together. I mean it feels like I'm in a cabin in the woods or something and not in the middle of New York." She beams at me.

"That's the sort of look I was going for. I've always wanted to move out into the middle of nowhere and just live my life, but with two boys it's not quite possible. Not till they leave school anyway. Please sit, get comfortable. Can I offer you a drink?" A move to sit on one of the couches, tilting my head back to look at her.

"I will have whatever you're having." 

"Wine it is." She turns on her heels, slightly bouncing as she walks to the kitchen to retrieve a bottle of wine and two glasses.

She sets them on the small coffee table in front of us, opening the wine with a pop before pouring us a small glass each, handing me mine before getting comfortable on the couch. 

"Do you want to watch some TV?" Once again she seems to have gone all shy, this is very cute.

"Of course. Anything you would recommend?" I push myself back into the corner of the couch, so I can rest my right arm on the arm of the thing and my left one on the back of the cushions. I took my shoes off at the door so I pulled my legs up bending them so they are tucked underneath my body. 

"How about some sitcoms?" 

"Who doesn't love a good sitcom?"

"That's what I'm saying." She laughs out as she grabs the remote to set up the TV show. 

I finish off my glass of wine, leaning forward to place it on the coaster on the coffee table. Wanda offers to refill it but I let her know I only plan on having one, especially if I have to drive home tonight. She goes all quiet for a second before turning to me.

"Why don't you stay tonight?" She looks down at her hands fiddling with her rings.

"Are you sure? I mean I don't have any clothes though." 

"This is going to sound awful, but I have a few of my ex's clothes that I never chucked out in the back of the closet. He is about the same height as you so they should fit. It's nothing major, just a loose shirt and some sweatpants." She shrugs dismissively, still playing with her fingers.

"Guess I can have another glass then." Her head whips up to look at me, a hopeful glint in her eyes as she smiles and nods letting out a small okay before pouring me a fresh glass. 

"I will go get myself changed, then bring out the clothes for you. You can get changed in my room or the bathroom, up to you. I won't be long." She gets up from the couch, but her movements come to a halt. She turns to look at me, then down to my lips so I pucker them up and she leans in to give me a few quick pecks. "I could get used to this." 

"Me too princess. Me too." I let out a sigh of contentment once she leaves the room. I've known her for three days. THREE DAYS! And she already has this hold on me. Now don't go thinking, you're in love with her already, because I'm not...yet. I mean I can see it. There is just this pull, I don't know how to explain it. But whatever is happening between us, I'm not going to stop it from happening. As Wanda disappears into one of the side rooms, my attention is brought down to my phone that goes off a few times. 

Carol: Hey y/n, just checking if you're coming back tonight or not?

C: Also I went to get some spare clothes from your room and saw the picture frame was missing. Did you move it?

C: Don't worry I found it in your draw. Do you want me to put it back on top of your bedside table?

Me: Hey Carol. No, no plans to come home tonight probably in the morning though as Wanda mentioned she had work. As for the picture, you can place it back on the table that would be great. Thank you 😊 

C: She doesn't know, does she?

Me: Of course not, we have known each other for 3 days. No one outside of the situation knows the situation. I mean look what happened with Loki.

C: You will have to tell her at some point.

Me: I know but right now is not that point.

C: Women have a way of finding these things out.

Me: I am a woman so I know. And I know you know I know so no lecturing Me.

C: Just looking out for you.

Me: I know. Thank you. I love you and will see you tomorrow.

C: See you tomorrow sis. LOVE YOU!

I roll my eyes as I silence my phone, turning it face down on the coffee table. Carol is too protective for her own good sometimes. On the other hand, she does bring up some great points. I will figure it out. What I didn't see when I rolled my eyes and huffed at my phone was Wanda re-entering the room. I had my head in my hands rubbing my face gently.

"You okay?" She bent down matching my height, eyes full of concern.

"Yeah sorry. Just my sister being a little too overbearing for her own good." 

"Right....So here are the clothes, don't worry they are clean. The bathrooms, the second door on the right or my room is the first on the left." She grabbed a small pile of clothes placing them in my lap before she fell back onto the couch getting herself comfortable. 

"Thank you. I won't be too long."

"Good because the TV won't watch itself." She grabs her half full glass of wine bringing it to her plump lips before taking a small sip, a smirk playing on her face as I watch every movement.

I shake my head trying to pull myself together. Right getting changed! I make my way down to the second door on the right, pushing it open with one hand the other holding the clothes. I lock the door behind me and start to get undressed. I take my bra off, sliding her ex-husband's top over my body. It should feel weird wearing her ex's clothes but I somehow feel like it gives me power over him or something. Like if I was to meet him it would be like a big 'Fuck you, I'm wearing your clothes sleeping with the woman you should have never let go'. Not that I know what happened between them. Sooo…

At least the man and some form of taste, because the shirt has a print of one of mine and Tony's favourite bands: ACDC for those wondering. I take off my pants, trying to decide whether to keep on my underwear or not; as I unfold the ex's pants a pair of boxers fall out. Okay, so she kept more than just her ex's clothes. Maybe it's in a box he never picked up. I have decided to wear the ex's boxers as well, more power to me. The fucker. The sweatpants were just simple grey ones, the whole of his wardrobe fit me nicely so we must be around the same height. Although the top may be a little tight around my biceps and the boxers, well they are snug around my leg. So he is a skinny man. Haha! I win! What's my prize. Oh right, Wanda!

Once I'm over my small celebration of the nonexistent competition, I turn the tap on running my hand under the water to check it gets to a lukewarm temperature. I bend down bringing my face close to the running water, collecting it in my hands before washing my face of makeup. However, I wince when I catch my temple and eye with my nail and then remember the reason I had make-up on. Well shit. 

Looking in the mirror it's obvious I am not going to be able to hide the black eye, I mean it's blue and purple for god sakes. The cut I was able to hide behind some hair today, but if I'm going to show off the black eye might as well show off the cut which will most definitely scar. Apparently, chick's dig scars though so all will work out in the end. 

Now just to get my story straight do I tell the truth or not. Or do I bend the truth a little. I could just say I tripped and fell because that is practically what happened, apart from the fact I would be missing out on the vital detail that I had a massive panic attack. No I can't say, oh by the way if I have a panic attack make sure I'm not by any kitchen counters, or any counters for that matter. Yeah, right! Like I can control when I have a panic attack.

Right stop over thinking it, and just go out there she is going to be questioning where you've disappeared too soon. Maybe a black hole will open up, swallow me down and I will end up in a different universe that would save a lot of my time. Right Wanda! 

I fold up my clothes, tucking my underwear and bra between my pants and shirt; and tucking the pile under my left arm. I pat down my wet face with the small face towel hanging by the sink, I take a small breath before unlocking the bathroom door. I shuffle my way down the hallway, trying my best to prolong the inevitable. I see Wanda casually laying on the couch but she sits up when she hears me making my way into the room.

The smile on her face falters, turning into a frown as her eyes scan my face. She gets up from the couch removing the clothes from under my arm placing them on the coffee table, then moves her hand to cradle my face holding each of my cheeks. Her thumbs gently rub at my cheeks making sure not to rub too close to my black eye, but her eyes never leave my face. She bites her lip nervously, moving her index finger to trace alongside the cut on my temple then down and around my eye. This is not the reaction I had expected. I expected a thousand questions to be shot my way, not this careful attentiveness. Her eyes follow the movement of her finger, which then comes to a still and her eyes flick back to mine. 

"Are you okay?"

================================

[princess-hope-selfships]

✨Chapter Three: Complicated Review ✨

Summary: Being a good manager of the hotel, Alastor gives Dazzler her performance review. However, Alastor is... struggling with some complicated feelings. He tries his best to maintain a professional attitude, despite his troubles.

Word Count: 3944

Tags: self insert x canon, oc x canon, yet another Alastor selfshipper, aroace self insert, (Farquaad point meme) the gray aro has fallen in love with the other gray aro! mutual pining, Alastor in denial, the hotel actually being run like a business lmao

A/N: okay this chapter has the romantic first hand touch cliche, don't make fun of me it's ony of my fave tropes ok 😭😭😭 I've been super shy about sharing this chapter but I'm finally posting it FFFF-

taglist: @goldenworldsabound @cj-furry-shipper if you wanna be added to my fic taglist just let me know 💖 Divider from @.cafekitsune

Alastor definitely had some sort of feeling about Dazzler, which he could not identify. 

Well. He could guess. Based on context. Based on those rare feelings he’d only felt for one or two people before.

But he didn’t want to give it acknowledgement. After much deliberation, he decided to refer to the feeling as ‘distracted’ over anything else. Dazzler ‘distracted’ him. 

She was nothing special, so he didn’t know why. 

It definitely did raise his brow to find out that she was an employee of that television-headed idiot, while simultaneously being employed here at the hotel. For a good amount of time he was certain it must have been another one of Vox’s half-brained attempts to keep an eye on him, like when he had sent Sir Pentious to the hotel. 

But Alastor did his investigating, making sure to “just happen” to show up in the room Dazzler was in, making sure to cross paths with her more than a few times, and making sure to talk with her at length during at least a few of those encounters. 

And she never seemed to do anything worthy of suspicion. If anything she seemed to hate Vox, so much that she would tell Angel Dust or Niffty or Husk about it. Sometimes Charlie, who would laugh awkwardly and tell her that her words weren’t very nice.

If anything, and he hated to admit it, Dazzler was actually a delight to talk to. 

A pleasant mix of witty and shy, an odd contrast, he thought, considering her other occupation of showing off her body for money on VoxTube, or whatever that godforsaken video service was called. 

Dazzler was pleasant on the eyes, with curly pink locks and bright eyes, and… admittedly, a shapely, plump body that he found quite… hm… appealing, he decided to call it. 

She had a sharp tongue to her when she got bold. She would get playful with him, but still showed him respect. It was a nice change of pace, to be spoken to so casually, even though he was not used to it from common sinners.

Aesthetically, she was pretty, and platonically, she was compatible with him. That, however, was where he forced that line of thought to stop. 

After so much surveillance, Alastor chalked up that Dazzler was just some frustrated entertainer that Vox had employed and then shoved aside in favor of someone else. She was only working here because she genuinely needed income from another source. 

It made him a bit smug, thinking yet again he was about to demonstrate how much better than Vox he was. A better overlord, a better showman, and soon enough a better boss to his employees. He even thought about raising her wages, just to earn her favor. Maybe even make her consider quitting VoxTek. 

Though, it gave him pause, to wonder why he wanted to earn that favoritism so much. Surely he didn’t want to prove he was better than Vox that badly.

That is another thing we will not be addressing, he thought to himself with an uncharacteristic frown, elbow upon the desk with the hand at his temple, fingers clawing through his hair. His eyes practically gazed through the notes he intended to review, but still had yet to properly read.

Knock knock knock. 

No more time for that nonsense. Alastor’s body bolted upright, his lips instantly curling upward, flashing his teeth as he responded to the guest at his door.

“Yes, come on in!” 

With a dainty step, Dazzler pushed open the door, peering into the office. 

“Uh, hi!” She called with a nervous smile. Alastor took in the sight of her as she made apprehensive steps into the office. She had changed out of her work uniform before coming, apparently. Now she sported a dress, the bodice red, the sleeves resting past her shoulders, and a flared black skirt. It was a good look on her. 

He quickly reminded himself that how she decided to dress outside of work and how she looked in those clothes didn’t matter to him.

“Well, darling, don’t be shy, come and take a seat.” Alastor gestured to the chair on the other side of his desk. “I don’t want to come off as an employer who’s too intimidating to approach!”

Dazzler took quick steps up to the seat now, clearly intimidated anyway.

“I thought that was your whole schtick,” she quipped. “Like uh, being too scary to everyone.” 

“Well, that is true,” Alastor chuckled, picking up his papers and straightening them. “However, that’s for out there! Not here.” 

“Hm…” Dazzler hummed, a little smile on her lips. She still seemed nervous. That was fine, Alastor thought. He preferred her nervous over something like obnoxious or pretentious. It was a bit surprising how shy she seemed actually, given her career of being… essentially a party girl who thrived on attention. 

“Now, then, Dazzler…” Alastor reached up to adjust his monocle, eyeing his sparsely written notes. He had been too distracted to write much of anything while he thought of Dazzler. She was ‘distracting,’ after all. “Well, first of all, how are you enjoying the job, my dear?” 

He glanced past his papers at her, to find her a bit surprised by the question. She fiddled with her skirt, tugging it down over her legs as she kicked them slightly. A nervous habit of hers, he’d found out from following her around.

“Oh, it’s fine! It’s not something I ever thought I’d go for, but I mean, I’m liking it so far!” Dazzler replied. Alastor’s smile and gaze at her never faltered. She continued, when Alastor said nothing. “I do really like my co-workers a lot, Niffty and Husk get along with me well, I think. And the guests are fun. Um…”

She took a moment, as if contemplating a difficult decision. She lifted her hands, pointing her index fingers towards him, with the thumbs upright, and tilted them up and down over and over. Some kind of gun motion? 

“My bosses are pretty cool too, ya know? Huh? Yeah?” Dazzler flashed him a big grin, continuing the finger gun thing. 

Eventually Alastor let out an amused snort, shaking his head slightly as his eyes fell back to his notes.

“Yes, I suppose I am rather ‘cool,’ eh? Charlie is a delight as well, of course.” Alastor let out a chuckle, before his grin grew wider, and a touch sinister. “I’m sure that I’m performing much better as a boss than the one at your other job, mm?” 

Dazzler seemed taken aback by that statement, her hands lowering as she stared up at him, clearly trying to figure out what to say.

“Oh, um…” 

“Never mind that,” Alastor was quick to say. But Dazzler was intent on responding.

“Yeah, Vox kinda sucks ass,” she said bluntly. Another snort came from Alastor, and he lifted his gaze to Dazzler.

“You and I may get along very well, my dear.” The smile on his face… could it get any wider? Dazzler started to laugh, clearly loosening up, finally. Her laugh was delightful, he thought.

“I guess that’s a good thing, since I’m probably gonna be working here for a while with how he treats me.” Dazzler leaned in, placing an elbow on Alastor’s desk. His eyes darted there for a moment, before lifting back to her face, where he saw her smiling at him with a hand on her cheek. 

“Well, with the quality of work you’re doing, you’ll definitely be welcome here for that while!” Alastor let his papers lay flat on his desk again. “You’re performing very well, Dazzler. I know we’re not quite operating at a capacity that renders us even remotely busy, but even so, you’re doing great in finding work to be done anyway.”

Dazzler’s smile grew, and he saw her eyes light up at the praises he gave her. 

“Oh,” she said softly, her gaze lowering a bit. “Thanks..! Yeah I… I’ve done this before, I’m pretty good at finding stuff to do. Oh, I mean, I haven’t done this down here, but…” She lifted a hand, gesturing vaguely. He assumed she meant down here in Hell.

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, I was a hotel housekeeper for my first job, as a teenager.” She leaned back in her seat, her hands going back to fumbling with her skirt. “And a front desk hotel clerk for my… last job. Before I… died.”

“Intriguing,” he replied, taking up a pen and taking a note about this to pass on to Charlie. Dazzler glanced nervously at his writing, suddenly reminded of the formality of this meeting. He could tell her nerves were creeping back in. Quick to bring the conversation back around, he continued with another question. “So then, how are you enjoying your time living here?” 

Dazzler seemed surprised by this, too. 

“Charlie wants me to get input from the employees,” Alastor explained. “Wants to make sure we’re providing adequate room and board. I’m quite convinced everything is top notch, really, but of course I’d like confirmation that I’m correct.”

“Oh, that makes sense…” Dazzler started to laugh again. “I’m just kinda like… who’s reviewing who here?” 

“Well, I suppose as your employer I’m just curious as to whether we’re doing well.” He met her eyes, a more cheeky smile on his face as he lifted a brow. “Better than your other job, I assume.”

“You really don’t like Vox, huh?” Dazzler snickered. 

“My dear, you have no idea.” 

“Better than Vox.” Dazzler nodded, offering him a smirk now. She leaned in again, elbows on the desk, hands on her cheeks. 

There was a change in her demeanor, her eyes now a half-lidded gaze with batting eyelashes, while the grin on her lips curled into a smug smirk. Her voice became soft, as if telling him a secret. 

“I really hope it stays that way,” she uttered, “I’d love to find out how much better than Vox, you know?” 

Alastor’s brow lifted. He could feel his heartbeat quicken, something he fought hard to reject.

His eyes darted down to her chest for a fraction of a second. She was clearly trying to accentuate her breasts, capturing them between her arms and squeezing. 

Just as quickly he glanced up to her face again, hoping she hadn’t noticed, but knowing that she definitely did, the way she was staring at him. It was confirmed when he saw that smirk on her face get bigger.

His mind clouded briefly, forgetting to respond with more playful banter. Not just with merely the sight of her chest and the cleavage she was sporting, but perhaps even more so the fact that she was clearly trying to get him to look at it.

“I’ll do my best,” Alastor eventually said, lip twitching. They shared a beat of silence.

Dazzler took in a nervous breath and looked away sheepishly, quickly sitting herself upright with her hands firmly on her lap.

“Uh- the employee rooms are great,” she said quickly. “The accommodations are awesome, it’s nice that we pretty much have free reign over the kitchen and amenities.” 

Alastor stole just a brief moment while her head was turned away to peer at her chest once again, uncertain what exactly he was thinking in wanting to do so. 

His eyes slowly ran down along her arms, onto her hands, along her fingers. She kept talking, and he couldn’t help but watch her face as she spoke. His ear twitched slightly, flicking back for a moment before straightening up.

He blinked rapidly, realizing he had fallen into some sort of daze.

“It’s nice that you guys let me do my streams here, too,” she was saying when he came to. “Vox barely pays me now, ‘cause I’ve fallen behind so much, so the little tips and stuff I get on my streams really help.” 

“Yes, yes, of course,” Alastor replied, a placeholder statement while he parsed what exactly it was that she said. Regaining composure, his smile grew wide again, though a bit strained. “Your little broadcasts are… not to my taste, but I would be remiss to deny an entertainer her tools of the trade.”

“Yeah, I know you’re not a huge fan,” Dazzler laughed. There was a blush across her cheeks that Alastor attempted to ignore. “But it’s fine, yeah, as long as I can keep doing my thing I’m really happy here.” 

She reached up to start playing with her hair, pushing some of those pretty curly locks away from her face. 

“It was so fuckin’ cool that Charlie had some guys move my stuff for me! My setup is still in top condition.”

Alastor started leaning in, not even really realizing he was doing so. Slowly he propped up his head with a hand under his chin, his smile becoming soft and tender as he listened to her. 

Dazzler wrung her hands, her eyes casting downward. Out of nervousness? He couldn’t help but watch how her eyelashes fluttered as she continued.

“So yeah, I'm really grateful and happy here at the hotel. Both that you guys gave me a job and provided me a place to live.” She paused, before letting out a little laugh, quickly adding, “and yeah, way cooler and comfier than VoxTek.”

Dazzler peered up at Alastor with a cheeky smile, seeking his approval upon praising the hotel management as “better.” His eyes fluttered as he realized just how he had been staring, and he sat up straight, responding briefly with a chuckle. Out of nerves he reached up to adjust the lapels of his jacket.

“I had to find my own shitty place to live when I was working there full time… so it's extra nice to have bosses who really seem to care and-”

She seemed to get nervous all at once again, and she turned her gaze fully towards him, showing him a big, apologetic and nervous smile. 

“Oh… Um. Sorry, I'm probably getting a little too sentimental,” she said sheepishly, clearly made to feel awkward from the silence.

Alastor expertly avoided stammering, holding himself together well as he replied. “Mm… n…o, no, you're quite fine! It's good to hear you're happy here. Actually I’d say it pleases me greatly to hear that.”

What was he saying?

She seemed as surprised as he was.

“That we’re providing such a positive work environment,” he corrected quickly, shifting into a properly authoritative and friendly voice. “You’ve become a valued member of the team and we’re grateful to have you here, Dazzler!” 

That seemed to fool her well enough. 

“Aw, thanks!” She chirped, quickly recovering from how foolish she felt, opening up to him so unexpectedly. 

“You’re very welcome,” Alastor replied, smiling widely as he moved to stand. She followed suit, rising from her seat. Alastor extended a hand to her over his desk. “And thank you, Dazzler, for attending this meeting. I would say your review is finished for now. Do keep up the good work, my dear.”

Dazzler’s ears perked upright, twitching slightly. Her ears fell back, as she glanced between his hand and his face, with a clear look of skepticism on her expression.

Alastor chuckled, his smile widening and his eyes squinting at her. He was used to this.

“Come now, dear, not every handshake is a deal with the devil.” His voice was level, though she could tell he was clearly amused by her cautiousness.

She reached out to take hold of his hand.

There was a brief pause in both of them. Alastor’s eyes fluttered open, staring down at their hands as they hovered over the desk, frozen in place. 

No handshake. No movement. Just silent contact. 

Dazzler’s smile seemed to falter, her ears slowly dropping back. 

Slowly, tentatively, their eyes drifted upward, and locked onto one another. 

Static. Soft, barely audible.

Alastor shook her hand, and swiftly retracted.

“You enjoy your evening, now!” He said finally. Dazzler stood in place, her hand slower to retreat than his. Her body loosened and she looked away.

“Th-thanks,” she uttered, turning quickly to leave. “You too, Alastor!”

“Sooo, how’d it gooo?” Angel Dust crooned, grinning as he heard Dazzler wandering into the kitchen. He stood in front of the stove, preparing a meal for the three of them. Niffty was sitting on the counter beside him, clapping excitedly as the doe demon entered. 

When Dazzler said nothing Angel looked over his shoulder at her. She stood in the doorway, wide-eyed and staring up at him. 

“...Girl, you okay?” 

“I fucked up the handshake at the end,” Dazzler groaned. Angel snorted and burst into a fit of laughter. Niffty kicked her feet with glee and laughed along with Angel.

“Oh no!” Angel cried, dramatically placing a hand to his chest, and the back of another hand to his forehead, clutching the wooden spoon he was using to stir the noodles. “Now he'll never fall for you! Not now that he knows you suck at handshakes!!!”

“B-but, he, like?? Held onto my hand?” Dazzler's voice cracked a bit. The laughter stopped in an instant. 

“Oooooooooooh!” Niffty suddenly sang out, hopping onto her feet on the countertop and bouncing in place. “Boss likes yooooooou!” 

Dazzler turned, plopping her back against the door frame, her hands over her face. Her cheeks were burning up, she was blushing so hard. She let out a strangled little scream into her hands, clearly overwhelmed.

“Dazz, quit freakin’ out, whaddaya mean he held your hand??” Angel’s voice was frantic, and his eyes were wide with a desperate curiosity.

Dazzler lowered her hands to her chest, stepping into the kitchen further.

“I mean we went in for the handshake but like. Stopped before we shook.” 

She stepped up to them, standing in front of Niffty’s spot on the counter. Her ears dropped back as her mind reeled, trying to replay that moment.

The touch of his hand. The way he looked up at her. That pause.

“I don't know why he…” She trailed off, staring at the floor.

“Uh, ‘cause he's fucking into you?” Angel snapped quickly. He turned to face her, reaching out to grab her shoulder. “Holy shit did you flirt with him?? That's how you get him literally into you.”

“Fuck- shut up!!” Dazzler whined, lifting her hands to gesture wildly as she spoke. “I did, but I felt fucking stupid!”

“Whaaat?” Angel scoffed. “You flirt all the time! With anyone! Always!”

“Yeah, when I wanna fuckin’ get laid.”

“Ain't that what you want with Al?”

“No!!! Y…yes? I don't know,” Dazzler groaned, sliding her back down the counter until she sat in a sad mess on the floor. “I… don't… feel like… this, about the people I usually fuck around with.”

“She’s down bad,” Niffty giggled, laying on her stomach and hanging her head down to stare at Dazzler. “Down icky! Down unwell! Down atrocious!”

“Down atrocious,” Dazzler repeated, nodding softly. “I don't get down atrocious when I hook up.”

Angel placed a hand on his hip, returning to stirring the pot as he looked down at her.

“Whaddaya mean?”

Overstimulated from all this, after an already overly stimulating meeting with Alastor, Dazzler’s emotions were starting to boil over. Her filter was gone, as she wound up talking about this more seriously than she wanted.

“Fucking is just… Like, to feel something. I don’t even wanna fuck randos, I want them to fuck me, like, tell me I’m fuckable.” Dazzler tilted back her head, staring up at the ceiling. “No strings attached. With Alastor it's like… I want strings. And I’m scared of strings? Ugh… This metaphor is so fucking stupid…”

Angel took his time considering this, staring into the pot, and glancing over to the meatballs simmering in sauce on the other burner. Before he could form a response, Dazzler kept going. 

“Sorry,” she mumbled. Angel looked back down at her. “That was random. Alastor’s driving me insane. This ‘do I or don’t I’ want to date him thing is killing me. And with Vox… I don’t… I don’t even like Vox. I just like that he wants to fuck me. Or, he did…”

“Hey, calm down, Dazz,” Angel Dust replied, his voice softer now. “You’re okay. You’re spiralin’. You don’t have to explain yaself right now.”

Niffty slid off the counter to fall into Dazzler’s lap, kicking her little legs as they hung over the edge of Dazzler’s thigh. 

“You’re okay, Dazzie,” she said, her expression bright. “Boss drives everyone crazy!” 

“Yeah…” Dazzler said with a sniffle. She was trying hard to restrain her tears. A sad smile crossed her face. She realized she’d been feeling like an idiot literally all evening so far.

Angel tapped the spoon against the edge of the pot, before putting his hands on his hips and turning to face her fully. He leaned down to look at her properly. 

“Listen, don’t worry ‘bout it right now. We can talk about it sometime, okay?” He offered with a gentle smile. “I cooked some food for the three of us, some spaghetti 'n some meatballs.”

He squinted down at her with a playful frown, jabbing at her with the wooden spoon.

“And it ain’t ‘cause I’m Italian. It’s ‘cause I know it’s one-a yer faves.”

Dazzler couldn’t help but laugh, which made Angel’s smile grow wider. He grabbed up the pot with a couple oven mitts, and turned towards the sink. Dazzler held Niffty in her arms as she stood up, the little one-eyed demon giggling as she held on.

“Thanks, Angel. And thanks Niffty. You guys are too nice to me,” Dazzler said with a sniffle. 

The air in Alastor’s room crackled and hummed with a panicked audio fuzz as he sat motionless in front of his fireplace. 

Not even in one of his armchairs, just on the floor. He sat with his knees drawn upright and arms resting upon them, crossed and holding up his chin. It felt the most appropriate pathetic position for whatever the hell this feeling was. 

Yearning? No. God, no.

Moping. Surely. 

It had been hours since the review, since that handshake, and the electricity pulsing through Alastor from that moment hadn’t dissipated even a little bit.

This… this was bothersome. 

Agonizing. 

His ears were flat, pinned back and nearly flattened to his head. 

That was the first time they had ever touched hands.

So what?! Why does it matter?! Alastor groaned inwardly. 

She held onto his hand. 

Clearly she doesn’t know how to give a decent handshake, he explained to himself.

Their eyes met, there was electricity in the air.

Nothing more than a cordial glance while we shook hands.

She made static radiate from him without him even meaning to. 

I must have been trying to intimidate her, right? Why wouldn't I? She can't just hold on to my hand like that.

He hoped they would touch again.

No. No, don't you dare.

Alastor’s heart ached at the thought of his slender fingers grazing across hers, their palms meeting. He imagined just the handshake, at first, replaying that moment in his office over and over.

Until his mind wandered. 

Intertwining fingers, lacing them together, his thumb stroking along her soft skin… Him lifting his head to see her smiling face as she looked up at him so tenderly… 

Alastor placed his hand on the armrest beside him, clawing into it hard as he stood himself upright. He got to his feet, inhaled deep, and closed his eyes.

With an exhale, he peered down at the fire, finally letting the tension in his body release. 

“I have to talk to Rosie about this,” he grunted.

[sentfromwolves]

okay, gotta ask.... cannibal dream?

I AM SO GLAD SOMEONE ASKED tw for cannibalism obviously

I had this dream when I was like. sixteen. maybe??? wildest dream ever, haunted me all night, I literally cannot forget it, it was so distinct. SO ANYWAYS: cue this massive dystopian metal city. picture the most grungy futuristic dystopian fantasy-adjacent NYC aesthetic, and it's stacked. the city just keeps stacking on top of itself, building upward constantly toward this grotesque, polluted sky.

I'm somewhere in the pits of this city, but of course, I'm not me. I'm a detective, bottom of the barrel grunge guy scraping by on private practice, constantly trying not to get squashed out of business by the capitalist megacorporations running the place. overpopulation is a huge issue, so no one really cares about missing people here, and anyways, if someone does go missing, most likely you're just not going to find them again. it's a long way down to the bottom of the city, and if you get shoved off the railing of an upper level, you're joining up with plenty of corpses way down at in the abyss.

but hey, detective-me needs to make a living somehow, and someone really wants their sister found. so detective-me and my scrungly-ass partner are kicking some shit up through this gross night market, looking for leads, kinda gettin nowhere. and my partner is eating this hamburger, disgusting greasy thing, and i'm chatting with the hamburger stall guy, asking him if he's seen this girl around. and after a little while, he kinda laughs and is like, you really wanna know? and I'm like yea pls I'd like to be able to keep the lights on. And he's like: well, your partner's eating her. detective-me's partner spits out his burger, starts retching. both of us are horrified. "you don't know?" this grotesque old burger stall man tells us both. "no good meat left on the market. but the corporations give us a bargain on theirs."

turns out that to reduce overpopulation and also profit, the megacorporations that rule this city are basically devouring (literally devouring) people below the poverty line. there's a whole part of this dream where I bounced rapidly back and forth between the pov of the detective-self and the missing girl in the cannibal meat factory, trying to escape even though one of the workers had fallen in love with her but didn't want to let her go. there are some extremely grotesque details i won't include because they were just utterly horrific but anyways yeah then later on i woke up in a cold sweat like WHAT THE FUCK and that's the cannibal dream╰(*°▽°*)╯i've been haunted by it ever since

[waitingforwinterwinds]

ASOS; Steel and Snow: 01 JAIME I (pages 18-32)

Brienne and Jaime, accompanied by Ser Cleos, begin the long journey to King's Landing under Catelyn's orders.

-

An east wind blew through his tangled hair, as soft and fragrant as Cersei's fingers.

I feel like this tells us so much about Jaime, but also nothing we didn't already know. The boy is besotted.

...Jaime... stop calling Brienne 'the wench'... and also stop talking like that kind of asshole just to try and regain some of your perceived power in the situation, you're not in charge, you're just being an asshat.

"Lady Brienne?" She looked so uncomfortable that Jaime sensed a weakness. "Or would Ser Brienne be more to your taste?" He laughed.

I mean that depends on whether you consider Ser to be a man's title or a knight's title. irl the female equivalent of Sir/Ser is Dame. Dame Brienne of Tarth.

But also if he doesn't stop heckling, I'm going to bust out the steel chair and bop him.

"Let Robert do as he pleases. I'll go to war with him if I must. The War for Cersei's Cunt, the singers will call it."

'Cunt' = 🥛

Oop, Jaime confirms he did not try to have Bran killed, and doubts Cersei was the culprit either, the suspects narrow!

We know who did it. But Jaime doesn't. I like that GRRM doesn't magical-hive-mind information, with as many characters as he has, it can be so hard to keep track of who knows what, and what the audience should know at any given point in time... actually, since I know from watching the show, I remember Tyrion had some very strong suspicions on who the culprit was, but I can't remember if he's wheedled a confession yet. That is the down side to only reading a chapter a day, by the time a play pans out, I've forgotten it was in the works, or the inverse, I remember that someone set a trap and forget it was already sprung XD

... okay, I'll admit it, Jaime's idea to give himself the Walter White aesthetic was a good one. Easy disguise with no magically appearing prosthetics, flips the traits he's known for and lets them stay lowkey on the journey.

A few one-room shacks came and went, perched on tall poles that made them look like cranes. Of the folk who lived there they saw no sign. Birds flew over head, or cried out from the trees along the shore, and Jaime glimpsed silvery fish knifing through the water. Tully trout, that's a bad omen, he thought, until he saw worse-one of the floating logs they passed turned out to be a dead man, bloodless and swollen. His cloak was tangled in the root of a fallen tree, its color unmistakably Lannister crimson. He wondered if the corpse had been someone he knew.

oooh, packed a bit into that paragraph. some lowkey world-building, a reminder that Shit Has Gone Down in the area, and a brief flash of humanising for Jaime. The wondering if he's known the dead feels like the first bit of sympathetic thought I've seen from him so far that's not self-or-cersei-centered. Oh, it's not exactly empathetic, like he doesn't sound like he's mourning this poor fallen John Doe, but it matters that he cared enough to wonder, implies connection to the Lannister men besides all being team Lannister. Jaime doesn't just know them, he knows some of them.

They sailed past villages but no villagers. An empty net, slashed and torn and hanging from some trees, was the only sign of fisherfolk. A young girl watering her horse rode off as soon as she glimpsed their sail. Later they passed a dozen peasants digging in a field beneath the shell of a burnt towerhouse. The men gazed at them with dull eyes, and went back to their labors once they decided the skiff was no threat.

You know what would have been hilariously ironic, but in the most frustrating way possible?

If that young girl with the horse had been Arya. If they had been so close to recovering Arya in that moment, but she noped out, there-by saving herself from the Red Wedding. (Assuming her recovery at this point doesn't change things like getting Rob caught up on the fact Roose Bolton is absolute (competent) garbage.)

Below, Jaime made out the smouldering remains of a large building, and a live oak full of dead women.

Hanging tree.

*suddenly, a volcano erupted directly under Roose Bolton and his forces, with more wrath and speed than expected, as if an angry god was responsible, the molten stone spewed forth and swarmed over those responsible for the atrocities, burning them to a crisp.*

Actually, fun fact, because lava and magma are liquid stone, the density means that human bodies would float, or, well, bob. The Golem scene from the end of the Lord of the Rings trilogy should be reversed, the Ring sinking and Golem bobbing back to the surface and slowly burning until his buoyancy is low enough for him to sink through the superheated sludge. I mean he'd likely be dead pretty quick from breathing superheated air before the meat really got cooking, so he would suffer for long, and that's assuming he survives the fall. People die from that height falling onto unbroken water and stone. guy totally should have died.

... sorry. too morbid?

Brienne moved the tiller and the skiff sheared left, sail rippling. Jaime watched her eyes. Pretty eyes, he thought, and calm. He knew how to read a man's eyes. He knew what fear looked like. She is determined, not desperate.

yay Brienne! Go! Go! Go! (and good job finally making some good observations Jaime... and he's already back to 'wench.')

... oh, but he's covering for Brienne's lack of cover by pulling aggro! Nice, TeamWork!

I mean, let's not start the bromancing just yet, at this point he's doing it because Brienne and her plan are his best chance at getting back to Cersei.

!!!! Brienne casts Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies! (well, not the TPK version, but she drop a rock "the size of a cow"! I love her so much!

Ser Cleos turned the skiff towards her. Thankfully, Jaime still had his oar. One good swing when she comes paddling up and I'll be free of her. Instead, he found himself stretching the oar out over the water. Brienne grabbed hold, and Jaime pulled her in.

See, it's moments like this that give me such confliction with Jaime, it makes me want to say "because at heart he is a good man, who, though he struggles with it, wants to do the right thing, to be the Good guy."

And then I remember he threw an eight year old child out a window to his presumed death with zero hesitation, and I think "well clearly not, actually."

Ahhh, our first Jaime chapter, it's a little jarring to see inside his head, how he cares so little for people in general, like, his whole world is Cersei (and maybe Tyrion and their dad?) and everyone else doesn't seem to register much, but at the same time, there is some level of care, Jaime does show a goodness despite his attempted child-murder and treasoncest. Whether his care is long buried for tragic backstory reasons, or whether it's something that's never really had a chance or reason to grow... I guess we'll see.

More importantly: Jaime&Brienne BROadtrip: Commence!

We'll see how it goes in comparison to the show.

[macabrecravings]

i kinda wanna see cain rp blog... love the aesthetics and artistry of rp blogs, and it would be an interesting sister blog to fifi's. angel and devil theming ig. also!! has he reached fallen angel status?

SQUEAAALLSSS OKAY THATS ALL I NEEDED TO HEAR!!!! I NEEDED PERMISSION 🥺🥺 Just wanted an inkling that said y'all would be into it LOLGHJHGHGHG@!!!

@divinetouchdown

He exists!!!!

I've even got suggestions for y'all if you're not sure what to send in... 🤭 1) Talk about Seraphina or mention her recent tumblr post 😥😅 2) He's friendly w/ Emily. y'all can pry him for thoughts/lore about her 🙈 3) Anything about his favorite topic: Sydney <3 4) U can ask abt any of the other DOL characters too ofc! 5) Literally anything u want i love love love random silly asks AHGHHGH not everything needs to have thought or lore put into it <3 I just love yapping about them

Finally, no he hasn't!! Still as pure as ever, chastity belt or not!! :3 Honestly, he hasn't even lost his penile virginity. ever.😭 His promiscuity wasn't high enough to penetrate Sydney but it is now. Next time I play......... I have plans. /hj

Also, one thing about fucking in the temple room is that whatever happens there doesn't technically defile you. U can lose ur virginity, but once you leave, your traits are unblemished :) So they can fuck inside the room all they want & it doesn't have any repercussions. Now, if he were to fuck anyone outside of that room... yeah he'd be a fallen angel. 😭 And that would SUCCKKKK. I've had to reload my save a few times ngl.

[paodocinh]

A small analysis on 3 'Can't You See Me?' Characters: Giselle, Six, Mono.

TW: Mentions of alcohol abuse, hospitals/pills y etc, blood?, religion, traumas.

Small context: This is me elaborating a bit on my thought process in a few characters of my Little Nightmares AU. It is on Ao3, with 10 chapters, and you can find it in my pinned post!

> Giselle.

I have yet to make her character sheet — But one thing about Giselle:

She doesn't have a set nationality. The thing about nationalities in CYSM is that they don't exactly interfere on the character's plots, but they help to bring in more depth to their designs through actual real-life cultures that they'd be a part of, or are inspired by, if the countries said cultures are a part of even existed in CYSM.

In a technical level, they do, but not explicitly —A Brazillian-inspired place isn't going to be called Brazil but readers would eventually find out it is basically the in-universe Brazil equivalent ig

So, with Giselle: She doensn't have a set nationality.

Giselle's nationality is a mystery because i personally thought it'd be cool if the girl who worships a alien god from somewhere from outer space, also decided to keep her roots hidden — It makes her more similar to her god and more mysterious in a way.

However, she's highly inspired by vampires and Rosaria from Genshin Impact.

Giselle is a character that's very in line with toxic religion — not a specific one in mind, but just the obsessive faith one might have that they think they're entitled to something just because they believe on a certain god, even if the decisions they make around their faith might harm the people surrounding them, even if they don't hold the same beliefs.

I tend to be as light as possible on topics as these, to be honest — I don't think a Little Nightmares fanfiction is the place to discuss real-life serious issues, though with brevity and creativity, I think Giselle's concept/idea as a character works balances things out quite well — it doesn't go too deep on said topics but it also goes far enough for the storyline to progress while sending a message across.

> Six:

Okay so brace yourselves — Six is kind of a doozy.

Six is... well, she's a mix. I think she encapsulates well the aesthetic appeal of games like Silent Hill — when i think of Six, I think of something like that, believe it or not.

Blood splatters on the snow, cloudy skies on a windy day, open bottle pills — Six's personality and even her concept board(Sorry i can't show it :( Has spoilers) is very intertwined with hospital imagery. It could be because she herself feels ill, even if her own body is seemingly fine. There's a lot to Six, and obviously the themes of lost childhood are very present on her entire characterization in CYSM.

She looks like the kind of girl who'd stitch up creepy teddy bears and plush bunnies, the kind of girl who'd still play with and cherish her dolls even if she's past the age of playing with toys (perhaps once everything's normal again, she could become a collector?), and the kind of girl who enjoys cute and morbid things alike.

I think, if i had to choose a description for her — I'd probably call her a fallen angel or something along these lines. She has a unreal beauty and tragedy to her, and such a specific personality I often find myself having difficulty explaining how much thought went into her characterization with just words. She's much deeper than how I've written her so far.

Here's a small look into her pinterest board:

> Mono:

Mono, or also known as Mauricio — He's brazillian! — Is an artist. He's the definition of the word; a creative young man who isn't afraid to use his talents to change the world, the boy is afraid of life, but presses fowards even if he's terrified of what the future may hold for him. I mean, after nine years of doing nothing, it was about time he'd start exploring the world around him, yes?

And as he explores, he brings messages of hope and kindness for other survivors, through his art! Mono is the kind of relaxed, laid-back artist who enjoys scribbling in his notebook while drinking something, so he can eventually bring those drawings to life by replicating them on the walls everywhere he goes, may it be cities, broken houses, forgotten towns and village or even random rocks he finds in the wilderness — The world is his canvas, his home, and he's determined to try and fix it.

So it's not a surprise, as seen though his entire personality, that Mono is the kind of artist who enjoys making critics about the world they live in — He doesn't consider himself a hero, but he feels pride in sending the messages and criticism he believes the others need to hear.

hes also kind of a drunkard lmfao

(i couldn't find any credits for the art of the wolf on the print below, please tell me if you know so i can properly credit!)

[timelessxmemories]

For the aesthetic thing, I have a few that I like you can pick from or you can do all of them

Lovecore

Cutecore

Kawaiicore

Glitchcore

Scenecore

Neoncore

Emocore

Gothcore

Okay! I decided to do a select few instead of all of them! Straying from the style I'm used to and go in the opposite direction! Please bare with me on this as most of these styles I've never done on a character! I hope these are to your liking! Thank you so much for sending these in, Benrey! I apologize, I was being very self indulgent with Zero.

Lovecore:

Name — Spira

Gender — Gender Fluid

Sexuality — Aro-Ace

Song based around — Queen Of Broken Hearts ♡ Blackbear

Species — Fallen Cupid ; Spira was once a cupid, but due to his ways and his tricks, he was cast out, he now roams among the people, firing his arrows, causing lovers to hate one another.

Personality — Sneaky, Deceiving of others, Manipulative, Tends to put on a harsh exterior in fear that he will let his guard down. Really isn't all that bad, he just puts on a facade to pretend to be worse than he actually is.

Cutecore:

Name — Jolene

Gender — Female

Sexuality — Bisexual

Song based around — Jolene ♡ Dolly Parton

Species — Spirit Elf ; Spirit Elves are very intelligent and much kinder than most. They have the ability to talk to spirits who have passed on. They live in the upper-world. They are guardians to those on earth who have yet to pass on.

Personality — Jolene is very intelligent and rather knowledgeable in the areas of personalities and mind-sets. She knows between right and wrong and she always tries to do her best to protect others.

Gothcore:

Name — Zero

Gender — Male

Sexuality — Panromantic , Asexual

Songs based around — The Haunting ♡ Set It Off & Horrible Kids ♡ Set It Off

Species — Human ; Self Explanatory

Personality — Zero is very aware of his surroundings and incredibly quick to reaction. He has major anger issues and tends to lash out at the smallest of things. He has very bad trust issues and tends to overthink things from time to time. He prefers to be alone most of the time rather than being social.

[qvnthesia]

AHSOKA Ep4: "Fallen Jedi" thoughts

(considering how i'm already losing my mind it's only by the Will of the Force™ that i'm able to type this with whatever that's left of my sanity)

the way seatos' aesthetic always slays >>>>

(god how i wanna live my shadow phase there)

THE WAY HUYANG JUST BITCHSLAPPED THAT DROID FROM AN EXTENSION BEHIND HIS HEAD LMFAO??!

love it every time when ahsoka ignites her sabers, especially when huyang powered down that ship.

shin's subtle cloak drop 👀

lightsaber duels were FERAL this episode

lmao marrok disintegrating into dust and just obliterating all other fan theories about his identity. though, the dust was green in shade, similar to the nightsisters one 👀

"anakin spoke highly of you." "funny, he never mentioned you." dead.

GODDAMN BAYLAN BOI YOU COLDBLOODED AS FUCK

the way the dialogues continue to slay >>>

CARSON TEVA YAY!

okay hera sweetie I love you but bringing a 10-year-old to a potential warzone isn't such a good idea—

CLAN WREN IS DEAD??? WEREN'T THEY ALIVE IN REBELS?? WTF HAPPENED

i'm mad at sabine for giving up the map but i understand her decision so i got mixed feelings about the outcome lol — though it goes to show how much layered she is, which is what I've always loved about her

my writer mind wants more information about peridea and the hyperspace coordinates

am i sensing something between shin and sabine? yes. am i interested? VERY MUCH 👀

here's reaction to when the hyperspace ring leaves 😭 she's just so fuckjng devastated

"i've got a bad feeling about this" 😭😭😭

and seatos, which has an ENTRANCE TO THE WORLD BETWEEN WORLDS??

live action world between worlds is beautiful 😭😭

"hello snips" WHAT THE—

"anakin" THE DEAGING LMFAO hayden's always looked like a 30-year-old anakin to me, it's, like technology, a bit off. let's see how it looks in the next ep though.

*VADER'S THEME PLAYS* FILONI I CAN'T WAIT FOR ANOTHER WEEK MY LIFE IS SHIT GODDAMMIT THAT CLIFFHANGER IS EATING AT MY SOUL JSSHHSGSHAKAVXHEBSJABDHEJSNXUEKAOWOQOQOSOEHDEVHSJANWISNWKABZBEJAJSIWJWJSNWJAHZHAAJAJA

all-rounding questions to the ahsoka show (questions are also related to the sequels; respectfully asking, this ain't a place to bash them because I love the characters but also displeased with the writing and the way disney betrayed them):

jacen is a jedi and obviously luke and hera know each other, so he's going to train, right? or does hera decide something else for him considering kylo went on to destroy the temple?

are there any more details we can get about seatos considering it was settled by an extragalactic species and that it has an entrance to the world between worlds?

i hope we get to see bits of peridea; not much, but enough.

where's leia in all this? and luke? ik appearance isn't possible but a mention would be great.

would travel to peridea possibly create a rift in the galactic barrier of the known galaxy? there was some SERIOUS void-like cronau radiation trailing behind when the ship jumped to hyperspace 👀

how did clan wren d-word? and why didn't ahsoka trust sabine? was it with regards to physical or mutual support?

(more questions will be added later on)

hands down, ep4 is a gazillion out of 10 from me. as i've indicated, I am clearly very much dead, and will be back alive next week to scream more.

live reaction to seeing anakin:

[bythenineshards]

Hello! I saw a comment of yours somewhere that talked about a story you were writing about fairies and I thought it sounded absolutely amazing! Is there anything you can say about it? (I'd love to read it when you publish it, but you know, some spoilers can't hurt if you're okay with it)

Either way, have a good day!!

So much temptation to talk about my books on here recently lol! I've said before that I don't talk about my stories much because I don't want my views on Maas to harm whatever writing career I might have. But like... do y'all know how much I want to talk about my stories? So. Damn. Much. So here are the broad strokes of my Faerie story.

The story is set in a world where the seasons in the human realms are changed by the Fae. Every year, the Fae come through archways in each town, and in the night, they change the season. Sorta like the Tinkerbell Pixie Hollow movies. However, the leader of the season gives their season an extra bit of magic. This magic makes the season full of whimsy and beauty. The season aesthetics are like Hallmark movies. However, for the last thousand years, Winters have been ugly and bleak.

The mc is the daughter of a blacksmith who finds herself (by complete  happenstance) embroiled in a prophecy that's been centuries in the waiting for the Lord of Winter. A thousand years ago, the antagonist caused the seasons to be thrown out of wack and has been postponing the prophecy that would set them to rights by killing the chosen ones. The mc isn't the chosen one. She's the chosen tenth. While she awaits the proper time to fulfill the prophecy, she marries the Winter Lord for safety. What follows is the mc getting to know the Winter Court, its people, spending time with her dad, meeting the rulers of Spring and Summer, coming to terms with the fact that her goals have begun to change and falling in love with the man she married along with the magical world who has fallen for her.

There's a lot more, but that's the most detail I can give without spoiling everything. I'd be happy for anyone to read it once it's done, but honestly, it'll be a while. I work an overbearing job, I'm married, have DnD, and most importantly, I'm working on another (very different) project currently. Sorry to disappoint.

I hope you have a wonderful day as well!

[main-et-plume]

ok I got bored of the existing questions, so making my own:

💀 skull - if you could wreck/be wrecked by someone, real (famous or from your personal life) or made up (can even be an OC or a description of a type of person), who would that person be and why?

👁️ eye - what’s one tickle-related goal you see yourself achieving in the future? could be anything, from working through shame and/or telling a friend, to engaging in a new type of roleplay, creating some kind of tickle content, recording a voice tease, or trying a new method or tool out

🧠 brain - what’s a favorite tickle memory of yours? feel free to retell in as ittle or as much detail as you’d like!

oooohhh these are spicy, i like it! definitely expect some of these (and new original ones) to be headed your way soon 😝

💀 skull - if you could wreck/be wrecked by someone, real (famous or from your personal life) or made up (can even be an OC or a description of a type of person), who would that person be and why?

definitely a tough one because there's so many directions this could go in... first (maybe needless to say) i think the assumption is that in this scenario, this person would be a lee (i.e. would enjoy being wrecked) and would be down for it - with that said, i think an easy answer would be a model from a tickle porn studios since it's easy to imagine them in this scenario, having actually seen them in action. top of that list would be brooke from tickle abuse, i think because she's such an iconic switch, and it's a fun fantasy to get to really tickle someone who knows what it's like to be on the other end of it, especially because she's so ticklish everywhere - her videos are some of my all-time favorites. (i started writing a list of other models but it was too long so for the sake of brevity i can provide that via dm if desired lol)

more in the spirit of the question, though, expanding beyond the established tickling world to fully anyone... this is surprisingly tough! i have plenty of celebrity crushes and characters from shows/movies i find attractive but i don't often think of them from a tickling lens, which is interesting to reflect on - maybe just a result of like not often fantasizing too deeply about these figures these days, whereas i feel like when i was younger i did spend time imagining dating like, jennifer lawrence (lol). i've really fallen out of character/actor fandom/fixation - how times change... anyway, i'm rambling lol, to get back on topic - the closest i've come to thinking about this casually with would be kate winslet because she's semi-known for having unusually big feet, which appeals to my foot fetish, and a slightly more in-depth answer would be maybe like megan thee stallion cause she just has such a great personality (and laugh), is so gorgeous, and is into cosplay... i think that'd be a dream

to get more abstract/silly with it, a fictional character type i can definitely see this with would be someone like noi from the manga dorohedoro (they kinda screwed up her design in the anime though) - tall and big, bright goofy personality and loves to laugh, yet also has like a bdsm aesthetic, and is physically tough so there's that appeal of the contrast of someone with a tough exterior breaking down under the tickling. oh and from a truly fantastical perspective, nico robin from one piece since her power lets her make copies of her feet, and i wonder how that would work in terms of sensations, and... okay that's probably enough haha

i'm surprised by how much i had to think about that one! will be excited to hear your answer

👁️ eye - what’s one tickle-related goal you see yourself achieving in the future? could be anything, from working through shame and/or telling a friend, to engaging in a new type of roleplay, creating some kind of tickle content, recording a voice tease, or trying a new method or tool out

hopefully many things! getting involved in the tumblr scene has really been a reawakening/eye-opening experience in terms of what's out there - i haven't really been active online in this sphere since like high school, when i was much more limited in what i was capable of engaging with, so now seeing it all as an adult it feels more vibrant with possibilities. but, to get specific, i think there's a couple things i'd highlight:

using a new tool - i actually haven't used the dreaded oil + brush combo before, so that'd be high on the list 😈

making content - i feel like there are some light teasy kind of things i could do, like voice memos or hand photos, though i still want to preserve anonymity here, but in the right context that could be fun

ultimately, i think my biggest challenging-yet-attainable goal would be doing a session with a lee - after learning about tklmap and other meetup resources it feels more and more possible, and that might enable stuff like making content

🧠 brain - what’s a favorite tickle memory of yours? feel free to retell in as little or as much detail as you’d like!

ooh, there are a lot to think of, so i'll do two - one from media and one from life:

i think anyone in this scene who's seen kiki's delivery service will instantly know what i'm talking about just from mentioning its title, but definitely one of my earliest memories of being interested in and feeling... funny... about tickling was the scene when she's in the train car. she's sleeping in hay that's suspended above some cows, and her foot slips through the hay, and a cow starts licking it, which makes her laugh really hard... ofc i still love that movie for many reasons but that scene definitely contributed to my high number of rewatches back in elementary school hahaha

in real life, i had some great experiences with my first girlfriend the summer after senior year of high school - we were both new to anything sexual/kink-related and also both full of fantasies waiting to be released, so it was quite the summer of awakenings, haha. luckily a lot of our fantasies and kinks aligned - she fantasized about getting tortured and had a hand kink, i fantasized about tickle torture using my hands, you get the idea. i've talked a bit about some of our tickling sessions before, so here's a new one, more cute than hardcore - when we were long-distance in college, we'd call each other on skype (really dating myself here lol), she'd lay on her stomach with her bare feet dangling in the air, and put her phone on one of her soles. then i'd call or text her, and the vibration would tickle her foot, simulating me tickling her. the fun part was we'd carry on conversations like this, and i'd call or text and random times so it was always a little surprise. fond memory :)

these were fun and thought-provoking - thanks for coming up with some more interesting ones! i'll return the favor ~