#maybe someday when i have new responsibilities to run from

[bbyhellfire]

what would you do

eddie munson x rick's ex!fem!reader

[series masterlist] [e.m. masterlist]

➠ summary: expanding on this post, you ask eddie a question he wasn't expecting when he's balls deep inside you: "what would you do if he walked in?"

➠ warnings: 18+ only, smut, p in v, table sex, creampie, imaginary exhibitionism, inspired by bobby and shelly in episode 5 of twin peaks, pls excuse any typos

➠ a/n: not by best work, but eddie and rick's ex!reader have taken over my mind. i have some more ideas for them, so there will be more about these two idiots-in-love!

“What would you do if he walked in right now?”

Eddie isn’t expecting that question, especially when he's balls deep inside you.

“Huh?”

He pushes up from you, peering down to see you spread out on the dining table. Your smile appears as breathless as your voice sounds. “If he walked in. Right now. What would you do?”

There’s no need to specify who “he” is, but that's not what gives him pause. He has thought of how this particular scenario could play out plenty of times before, some situations darker than others. Maybe someday one of them will come true, but for now, he would rather bathe in your attention. Smiley and bright eyed, you're looking at him as if he's some kind of prize. No one looks at him like that, except you.

Taking a deep breath, he pulls out just enough to make your smile falter before he plunges back in. “I’d tell him, ‘Rick! What a surprise, man. Welcome home!’”

The dining table rocks underneath you, his hips shoving the furniture back and forth until the wood whines from the strain.

“I’d tell him – shit, hold on, sweetheart,” He pauses, re-adjusting so he can drape your legs over his shoulder. With a quick kiss to your calf, he looks up at the front door, sporting the biggest shit-eating grin he can muster. There, an imaginary Rick is frozen in shock from the sight of Eddie fucking his girl in his home.

“Listen, this isn’t the welcome home surprise you were hoping for, but look at the bright side! I told you I’d look after your girl. And I know, I know. You doubted that a third time high school senior could do it, but I did. Keep her filled up just for you. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”

Eddie’s eyes flicker down to you, nudging his chin towards the front door. “Go on, tell Rick how well I look after you.”

You barely lift your head in the direction of the entrance, too unbothered to even acknowledge your shitty, imaginary ex. “So, so good. Keeps me so cockdumb I can’t think of anyone else. Not even you, Ric – fuck, Eddie! Faster, please go faster.”

While you were talking, Eddie dropped his arms to wrap around your upper thighs and squeezed your legs together. With this new pressure, his cock drags against something inside you that makes you writhe at every thrust. 

A wickedness falling over him as he slows down his pace, pausing when he is buried inside you for a dizzying moment. Your bottom lip juts in displeasure, but all he can do is give you a smug smile. It's the same smile he'd give you whenever Rick was around, a secret only meant for the two of you.

"I don't think he heard you. Tell him again who makes you feel this good?"

Your eyes meet when you say his name, not once do you look away. “You. Eddie, Eddie, Eddie.” 

His whole body hums, the most perfect high running through his bloodstream as his quick thrusts make the table squeak.

"That's right, sweetheart. Me, only me."

His orgasm is building up inside him again, now with more vigor, and there is nothing he can do to slow its relentless approach. No more make believe. Only fast, sharp strokes that make his hips buck helplessly. He keeps his tight hold on your legs, squeezing harder to mimic the way your pussy clenches around his cock.

But there is still one more thing he needs to know. 

“Are you mine, baby?”

Your response tumbles past your lips without a second to spare. “Yours.”

Months ago when you and Eddie first started…whatever this is…he would dismiss these declarations as the sort of sweet lie lovers tell themselves in the heat of the moment. Something that would make his cheeks burn from embarrassment as you both redressed.

But now, after spending months with you, studying your body, piecing apart your mind, learning about the very essence that makes you who you are, he’s starting to think it’s more than just horny rambles. As much as that scares him, it also makes him feel lucky, something he rarely experiences.

Eddie is lucky to have you. He is lucky enough to turn the end of your word into a loud moan and feel your body trembling against his. Lucky enough to see your back arch and experience your release splatter against his front.

“There you go. Good fucking girl. Keep going, sweetheart. Make it messy.”

He abandons rhythm and races towards his own release, pressing every last inch of himself into you so desperately that it slides you back along the table. One, two, three thrusts and he's crying your name as he spills inside you.

His orgasm stamps out any conscious thought. It's only once the post-orgasm haze starts to lift does he realize that he's let go of your legs and is not resting his weight on top of you. And maybe the post-nut clarity hasn't hit yet, or maybe its the way your nails gently rake against his scalp, but whatever it is, it makes him turn to kiss your cooling skin and mutter, "I'm yours, too."

dividers by @/strangergraphics

taglist (let me know if you'd like to be added!)

@bl00d-puppy

[johnwickb1tsch]

andar conmigo ~ epilogue

A Walk in the Clouds/Don John crossover outline/fic- Paul Sutton x fem!Reader x Don John triangle ~ You grow up at Las Nubes vineyard, and have to go home to your dying father. You take your fake new husband, Sgt Paul Sutton, with you...Your old flame don John does not like this at all. Warnings: FLUFF chapter map

Author's Note: I just want to say a quick THANK YOU to everyone who followed along and supported this story! Girl Genius @scarlettspectra who helped me with the original idea, my utterly beloved @treedaddymcpuffpuff , the SWEETEST @sweetwolfcupcake (who fried my brain with that gif of Paul, thank u! 😘 , the always RAZOR sharp @discoscoob, the hilarious @lilithlinen , the insightful @reallongwire , emoji queen @thesecretlifeofmo , 🖤 @lonelyspadez and SO many others, I wouldn't have finished this without you, it wouldn't have been as much fun, and it CERTAINLY wouldn't be the fic it is without your amazing input!

-You’re going to have to rewrite the train station scene in your story, because you take him with you at the platform, and you are smart enough not to let go. 

At first, you stay together in your tiny apartment with its fetching view of a brick wall. The arrangement was fine, if not a little cramped. You spend most of your time in bed, anyway, but you find you don’t mind sharing your space with Paul, or your cooking, or your time. Goddammit if Anjelica wasn’t right about that. 

But maybe he knows you better than you know yourself. 

Without you needing to ask, [and you’re not sure you even would have, truth be told], he eventually gets his own place. Yet, you are still inseparable, barring the hours you go to work, and he goes to school. 

You find that you are equally happy to have your own space back, yet unbearably restless for the next time you will get to see him. It is a strange medley to balance in your life, and a part of you hopes that someday maybe you really will score that apartment with enough room for the two of you, and a typewriter overlooking the Bay. 

On the odd days you do not see each other, he writes you a letter, and you always write him back. 

As it turns out, Paul Sutton likes things that go, and he enrolls to study engines at a technical college in San Francisco. 

The day he roars up to your apartment in a leather jacket on a Norton motorcycle with a big grin, you cannot help but laugh. It seems like a ridiculous machine, and yet after the first time he takes you for a ride–it becomes one of your favorite things to do with him. You tear up and down the coast in your free time, picnicking at the beach or beneath towering sequoia trees. 

You have both healed from your misadventure, withstanding the occasional cough, or the odd nightmare...on a whole, your life together is so sweet, and the irony does not escape you that on more than one occasion you have to restrain yourself from asking him to marry you. But Paul is starting to find himself, given time in which he’s not running between raindrops, enemy fire, or immediately jumping into the responsibility of supporting a wife and children. 

He does not always take you on his motorcycle trips, often going on long rides to clear his head. He says it helps ease his mind, when his memories from the war become too loud in his head.

Most of the time though, he seems content, and you are so happy for that. 

-The first time after he dropped into your office at the publishing house to bring you flowers, just because, bless that man, your boss asks, “So that’s Peter?” 

“No, that’s Paul,” you tease him, aware that your beau’s good looks have a certain effect upon both sexes, no matter their preferences. 

You’d let your superior read your manuscript of your book, after catching you working on it at your desk during a break. You decided to title it, “A Walk in the Clouds.”  You’re not getting your hopes up, as he hems and haws over it. He keeps proposing changes to the story that would be untenable to you, as well as writing under a man’s pen name, or a less Spanish-sounding surname, in the interest of appealing to a broader audience. Maybe someday, you’ll find an agent who will champion your vision, and a publisher who won’t hold it against you that you are an intelligent self-taught Hispanic woman with opinions that challenge the conformity of post-War America.  

Maybe someday, things will be better…

Until then, you’ll just have to keep writing. 

-A year later, the two of you are out to lunch at a North Beach café, when a slick-looking man in a dapper suit passes by your table, then does a double-take at Paul, who was engaged mid-bite with his open mouth over a fork full of pasta. 

“Hey kid,” he says. “Ever thought of being in movies?” 

Taken aback, Paul wipes his lips with his napkin, regarding the man quizzically. “Ah…no, never occurred to me,” he admits to the stranger with a quizzical lift of eyebrows. 

“You got the look. Call me.” The Hollywood man flips a card onto the table, then strolls off like he has somewhere important to be. 

Paul looks at you, then laughs, shaking his head as he looks at the card. He is so humble about his dashing good looks, finding it embarrassing when women slow down to ogle him on the street, (or in one amusing case–to you at least– trip over the sidewalk). 

“How silly,” he says with a little smile, tearing off a piece of bread. He’s playing it down, but you think you see a glitter of intrigue in those polished ebony eyes.

You shrug. “Who knows?” you say playfully. “You’re certainly the best-looking man I know.” 

After all this time, his cheeks still pink for you, his ears turning red at the tips. 

“Well, that’s all that matters to me,” he tells you, reaching across the table for your hand. You slide your fingers into his, so happy you could die. 

Afterwards you go for a stroll, hand in hand, looking in the windows of the shops and laughing together, your head on his shoulder.

It’s hard to imagine that life could get much sweeter than this. Deep down, a tiny, selfish part of you hopes he doesn’t call that Hollywood headhunter. How drastically would your life with him change, if he became a star on the silver screen?

That’s when you know you absolutely believe he’s got what it takes–and you beat back your ugly little fears, resolving that you won’t stand in his way, if he wants to try for it.

You realize you’re squeezing his hand too hard when he looks down at you with a question in his eyes. “Sorry,” you apologize, tilting your head for a kiss. 

He grants your request, and his soft lips on yours still curl your toes. He rests his forehead against yours with that little smile, just for you…and your fears go quiet, replaced by the soft glow this man always inspires in you. 

“Just in case you didn’t know…I would marry you in a heartbeat, if you ever change your mind about all that.” 

You blink, your heart a sparkling firework trapped in your chest. 

You have to try twice before you can find your voice. 

“I think…I would like that, Paul Sutton.” 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

He laughs out loud, that beautiful sound that fuels you as surely as food or drink or air. He picks you up right in the middle of the sidewalk, spinning you around in a circle before his lips find yours again. 

Suddenly, you’re not worried about anything.

-Paul drops you off at your apartment after a lingering kiss before rumbling off on the Norton. He has to study up for a test on Monday, and you’ve found when you try to help him with his studies more often than not you just end up in bed together. 

There are worse things, but this is an important exam. You’re sure he’ll pass with flying colors, then you can reward him properly. 

You practically skip up the stairs, still giddy from earlier. Are you and Paul actually engaged? Promised to be engaged? Merely in talks? You’re not really sure, but it doesn’t matter. You’re together, and you feel like you have all the time in the world to figure it out. The whole country is in such a hurry now that the war has ended, but the two of you have learned you don’t mind taking your time.  

You almost step on a little lump of something left before your door. Puzzled, you pick it up. It reminds you of the handmade little ragdolls you and your sisters used to play with, made of cloth and thread and horse hair.  

But this toy is burned, half her hair singed away, her blackened face pulled in a terrible grimace. 

With a frown you lay it back to rest on the floor beside your door. 

Maybe the neighbor’s girl down the hall dropped her toy. She might want it back. If it’s still there tomorrow…you’ll throw it out. 

Your earlier elation dampered by a weird feeling weighing in your gut, you let yourself into your apartment, and go about the rest of your day. 

Yet as you sit down with your notebook and a cup of tea to warm the chill inside you, you cannot stop thinking about it. 

There’s no way in Hell that terrible man survived that fire… 

Is there? 

The End…

Or is it?👀

[gojoidyll]

toji x fem!reader

Imagine being born before Satoru, but being born a girl. The Gojo clan was beyond disappointed as they wanted their firstborn to be a boy. So, with no news of another child being on the way, you were immediately dressed and raised as a boy.

10 years later however, your baby brother, Satoru was born and you were immediately cast aside.

For various reasons.

Two of those reasons being that Satoru had the six eyes and, well, you *are* a girl after all.

The Gojo clan didn't care what you did from then onward, so you left. Sure, you could of stayed and be there for your baby brother, but honestly. You were tired. And you knew that the family wouldn't let you anywhere near him anyway, so there wasn't any point.

Which was how you found yourself packing and moving away. You took odd jobs here and there while using the Gojo name with the Jujutsu world to get by. You took down curses and even made a few friends a long the way.

Though, there was one person who was your age and who seemed to never leave your mind as you both would cross paths with each other.

"Ah, Toji. Fancy meeting you here."

You plopped down onto the bench that the man was lingering on. Your eyes glancing at him as he made a small grunt to acknowledge your presence.

You were a Jujutsu Sorcerer who never stayed in one place for too long.

And Toji... well, you're sad to say that he was a Sorcerer Killer.

Hanging around him was bad news, but you did anyway.

"You should really stop stalking me."

You gave him a pointed glare and elbowed him, "I'm not a stalker, you ass! I had a job over here is all."

"Tch, you damn sorcerers. Bet you get tons of jobs."

"Damn right I do."

"Why? Because of your family name and how strong you are?"

Toji absolutely loathed you. You were basically everything he wasn't.

You gave him a tiny smirk in response, "please. Being strong isn't the reason, but I will give you the first part you said."

"What? Your name?"

"Yep, I never did tell you my last name did I? Well, whatever, not like it matters."

You turned more towards him on the bench, "it's Gojo."

His eyes seemed to widen at that as he finally looked over at you, "Gojo? The hell? Why are you taking so many damn odd jobs then if you're part of that family?"

"Cause I'm not a boy, I'm the firstborn disgrace, I wasn't born with the six eyes, my newborn brother however has them, and, well, ...do I need to list anymore? Hahhh, anyway, guess what I'm trying to say is. They're having me take so many jobs and missions because they hope that one day I'll just up and die."

You leaned back into the bench and let your head fall backwards. Your eyes staring up at the sky.

"But who knows? Maybe they'll hire you to kill me someday when it becomes obvious that I won't die by a curse anytime soon."

Toji snorted, "the day that happens, I'll be sure to run their bank dry."

You let out a laugh, "that would be great! I die and they go bankrupt! Genius!"

Ok, so maybe Toji doesn't actually loathe you.

He's just tired seeing you tired.

"Hey Toji?"

"What is it now?"

You grinned, "if you do have to kill me one day, be sure not to kill my brother too, ok?"

"...no promises."

[demonslayedher]

This is the Hashibira House--hear me out

I've mentioned this idea in a few posts here and there, but I'm putting it here with my nine reasons:

I think Tanjiro will ask Inosuke to inherit the family home and charcoal kiln.

Reason 1. Kanata and Sumihiko live in the city and show no ties to charcoal farming. This makes me very sad, but although they inherit Tanjiro's sword and the earrings, and although the two of them both perform Hinokami Kagura at a local shrine at New Years (Fanbook #2 Taisho Secret), they are is no mention of charcoal aside from the "sumi" in Sumihiko's name. Even then, he is the second son, so it's kind of like they forgot the family traditional when Kanata was born. Really goes to show how much they still value the old family trade that kept them working with fire, hmph!

Although Tanjiro knew the need for charcoal was decreasing (Fanbook #2 post-epilogue comic), and although he'd probably be happy to see his descendant free to be a parkouring zookeeper, that's still generations of the family trade that's been tossed out. Not that Hinokami Kagura is needed in their world anymore, but still, that sucks some of the meaning dry. So again, I am sad.

Reason 2. There is precedent for the house and its legacy to be passed around.

According to the Taisho Secret right before Chapter 191, the house was previously used by Yoriichi and "Uta." It only became the Kamado house once Suyako and Sumiyoshi came across it when it was abandoned.

It was temporarily abandoned again later on when Tanjiro had to take Nezuko and make a run for it, and despite all the care taken of it the house is already hundreds of years old, so it wouldn't be surprising if it gets abandoned again. Still sad, though.

Reason 3. Tanjiro already kind of expected he wouldn't live there long.

In the Fanbook #2 post-epilogue comic, Tanjiro mentions that even though he doesn't need to, he likes working, and he wants to leave money for everyone when he's gone.

He feels the effects of his injuries and everything else he's been through, and needs regular check-ups down at the Butterfly Mansion. Maybe he'll be fine for most of the years he has left, but what if it's a steady decline from the easily-tired point he's already found himself in? Take care of the house is going to take more and more out of him, and his children won't be old enough to take on many responsibilities before he's 25.

He's at peace with the understanding that he'll be gone someday and hopes the others will live peaceful lives without him.

We know that Kamaboko living arrangement couldn't had lasted long, though, because he and Kanao go on to have descendants together.

Reason 4. Kanao's not going to have Kaburamaru for long.

As much as I have faith in Kanao to live near-blind in the deep mountains, it's going to be a bit harder once she loses her seeing-eye snake, and Kaburamaru's already a somewhat old snake by the time she inherits him. If she's going to continue being a doctor, she may have an easier time of that staying in the Butterfly Mansion with all the resources there, and patients coming to her (a challenge to ask them to go up the mountain for her services).

Reason 5. There's someone who might do just fine without those extra conveniences and resources, for she is very resourceful.

Even though Kanao would insist the contrary, Aoi--who always called Shinobu by "-sama" and never "-neesan"--might feel Kanao has more claim to inherit the Butterfly Mansion, for Aoi was always a little hard on herself and insecure in her role as a failed Corp member. I stress again, none of this would make a difference to Kanao, who knows Shinobu cared about Aoi just as much. As much as Aoi has demonstrated her ability to run a clinic, I have just as much faith in her to run a mountain household, including handling its inevitable repairs, as well as to go make house calls around the village whenever needed.

Reason 6. Inosuke is more genki than anybody. And, more importantly, he's learned to make charcoal.

This takes us back to the comic in Fanbook #2, where Inosuke is so well-adjusted to life in the Kamaboko household that he's not only learned the charcoal trade well enough to say, "buy Inosuke-sama's charcoal," but he's also a shining star when it comes to doing chores. He's doing really well with growing up and taking on human responsibility!

He is also, however, the King of the Forest. That's his home, and even when spending long periods of time in the Butterfly Mansion, the forests call him.

Reason 7. You know who else loves nature? This dude.

Just because he wants to be alone in nature doesn't mean he grew up on Mt. Kumotori, but I do suspect he has spent a lot of time there, because that's where the blue spider lilies--the subjects of his failed research--had come from. Although we don't know how this research started and who got the flowers in the first place, the potential connection is strong.

If he wasn't raised in that house, then maybe he and his family still go out there regularly to take care of it. After all, even if they don't remember who and they're unmarked, there are important graves to show respect to and take care of there. Maybe it was on a trip like that when Aoba discovered where the blue spider lilies grow, which put him on the botany path.

You know who he apparently didn't run into? Any Kamados, as he and Sumihiko didn't meet until Aoba was unemployed and Sumihiko was scolded by the police and they were both hanging out and depressed in the park.

Reason 8. Tanjiro trusts Inosuke.

Entrusting Nezuko to Zenitsu is one thing--Zenitsu obviously would do anything to keep Nezuko safe, happy, and comfortable, but Zenitsu's heart isn't in the mountains. He's a city boy and doesn't like the inconveniences of mountain life, and clearly he doesn't show much initiative for the demands of keeping a mountain home. Tanjiro wouldn't expect this of Zenitsu, nor would he trust him with it, even if he'd trust Zenitsu with just about anything else.

In Inosuke's case, Tanjiro understands Inosuke at an intuitive level--what he needs to hear and be told, and what Inosuke's strengths are. If ever Tanjiro got the inkling that he can no longer take care of the house, or that he must prioritize taking care of his small children and partially blind wife, then he wouldn't think of anyone else but Inosuke who would be happier having that home for his own.

Inosuke sure wouldn't be happy at first, though. That house is Kamado Tanjiro's house, and he doesn't want a house without Kamado Tanjiro in it.

But Inosuke, who has never had a traditional nuclear family, might come around to the idea of being the head of his own family, and having something normal and human like this of his own.

The Hashibira house, with Inosuke the head of the Hashibira family, providing for them with his labor.

I can imagine Tanjiro would run the idea by Aoi first, who would accept the responsibility as an honor, and maybe this would come after Tanjiro and Kanao had been a married couple on their own a while in the house first. The town where the boys sell charcoal is big enough that I can see Nezuko being pretty happy settling down there where it's close both to home and more along the lines of Zenitsu's tastes, but eventually...

Reason 9. One way or another, the Kamado and Agatsuma families are both going to wind up in the heart of urban sprawl, far away from Mt. Kumotori.

It's only a question of when and why.

[monbons]

Ten Questions for Writers

Thank you @artsyunderstudy, @roomwithanopenfire, @emeryhall, and @run-for-chamo-miles for the tags! I am a wee baby, so I wasn't sure I should answer. But I've loved all the asks going around (the Top 5 fics posts were great and my TBR is so long now!), so I figured why not?

How many works do you have on AO3? 3

What’s your total AO3 word count? 53,184 (I posted my first fic ever for EGF just this past February, so I guess that's good?)

What fandoms do you write for? Carry On always and forever

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Yes! As everyone has already stated, responding to comments is how you build community. If I hadn't gone back and forth in comments, I would never have found the Discord or made so many amazing fandom friends. BUT ALSO! I had no idea how AMAZING comments were when all I did was binge fic and kudos. Then, I posted Kill Em With Kindness, got overwhelmingly nice responses, and now I make a point of ALWAYS replying and--more importantly---commenting on fics written by others. (This is a blanket apology to all the lovely writers whose fics I read and did not comment on before. But hopefully I've gushed at you since then in my responses to YOUR comments on my fics, or in person, or on tumblr, or on Discord...I hope to someday go back and comment on a re-read to make up for it!)

Have you ever had a fic stolen? No?

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Also no, but I'd love to! My first three fics were 100% me. With "Baz in a Bubble," I've bounced ideas around with anyone who will listen, including outlining help from @hushed-chorus and plot brainstorming with @thewholelemon and @talentpiper11. Since it is a full AU not based on an existing work, the drafting has moved MUCH SLOWER than my previous three fics combined and figuring out "what's next" has been harder, so collaboration has significantly helped! The story went from one where Simon was more of a plot mechanism for Baz's growth to having a fully developed Simon with his own subplot and meaningful relationships that complement the SnowBaz of it all. That wouldn't have happened without collaboration, so I imagine co-writing is an even better experience---especially because I second guess every word I write. I'm sure having a partner would help with that!

What’s your all-time favorite ship? SnowBaz owns my soul

What are your writing strengths? I've been told my dialogue and pacing are good. Maybe also writing sweet moments? Literally the #1 word people use to describe my plots/characters in comments is "adorable." Not sure how to feel about that one... In any case, I am still so new I am only just developing strengths.

What are your writing weaknesses? I want to be able to write with a punch, if that makes sense? I think there are so many gifted writers in this fandom who have such a beautiful way with words that they can create a whole moment in a single four word sentence. I am verbose, which waters down a moment and makes me feel like my stories are narration heavy. I also have trouble describing things precisely with new or different words so I am not constantly repeating myself. Precision of language and an extensive vocabulary are sort of required to pack a linguistic punch. Finally, smut. Love to read it, physically hurts to write it. (I blame the residual Catholic guilt...) But I am committed to learning so my next EGF is not described as "adorable."

First fandom you wrote for? Carry On. Why write anything else?

Not sure who else may have already done this, but here are some no pressure tags: @hushed-chorus, @bookish-bogwitch, @thewholelemon, @cutestkilla,

@shrekgogurt, @you-remind-me-of-the-babe

[agaypanic]

Can you write for Rory where he has like a pen pal for a school project. They both talk to each other ALL the time and he's really excited that he made a new friend! One day the reader tells him she's coming to visit and he gets all excited telling the gang about her and over all just that huge buddle of joy he always is! Well..obv he doesn't know what she looks like because they talk through letters. So when this absolute buddle of cuteness and rainbows randomly runs up to asking about and just rambling on and on about how he's her pen pal he just crushes her with a hug and just can't believe she's really their! And just ends all cute maybe throw in some flustered and blushy moments too if you can!!

My Pen Pal (Rory Keaner X Reader)

Masterlist

Request Something!

Summary: Rory’s English class is assigned pen pals from the high school in a neighboring town. You and him hit it off right away, quickly realizing that this new friendship should go beyond letters.

A/N: open ending bc i didn’t really know how to end it lol

***

Rory must have been the only one in his class excited to have to do a pen pal project. He liked making new friends, especially since it came relatively easy to him. He was just the type of boy who could get along with anyone.

When you first started talking to Rory, you just viewed it as another assignment. You each had to write five letters, one letter being sent every week. But your thoughts quickly changed when he responded to your first letter. He seemed funny and nice, so easy to talk to.

Rory thought the same about you. You were so sweet in your letters, always giving thoughtful responses to what he had previously sent, and he tried to do the same in his letters. You two had so much in common: the same taste in media, opinions on different topics, how you would survive a zombie apocalypse if the day ever came.

During the last week of sending letters, you and Rory grew sad when you realized the assignment would soon end. While talking to each other, you didn’t think about the fact that your conversations would someday come to an end.

But then you remembered that Rory lived in the next town over. You could easily see him and continue talking if you really wanted to. So, in your last letter to Rory, you asked if he would ever want to meet and talk in person. If yes, he should describe what he looked like so he’d be easy to find.

Rory was absolutely ecstatic to read your letter. He said that he couldn’t wait to see you, giving you his description and telling you the best time and place to meet.

“Rory, I didn’t know you knew how to write.” Erica joked as she watched him scribble feverishly on paper.

“Who are you writing to, Rorster?” Benny asked.

“My pen pal, Y/n!” Rory took a break from writing to look up at his friends, smiling brightly as he thought about you. “We’re finally planning to meet in person! She’s so nice; I can’t wait to meet her.” Then he got back to writing, trying to decide where you should meet. “Hey, is the park a good place to meet someone for the first time?”

***

Before he knew it, the weekend had come, and Rory was sitting on a bench at the park, waiting for you. He convinced his friends to go with him, to calm his nerves while he waited and to comfort him if you never showed. But he knew you would come.

“So, what should we look out for, Rory?” Ethan asked, looking around. A few people were scattered around the park, but they probably weren’t who Rory was looking for. “What does this girl look like?”

“Well-” Rory cut himself off, trying to think. Only then did it occur to him that you hadn’t given him a description for him to look for. You knew what he looked like, but that was it. “...I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Erica asked, crossing her arms. “You didn’t think to ask?”

“It slipped my mind!

“Well, she knows what you look like, right?” Sarah asked, and Rory nodded. “Then I guess we just wait for her to find you.”

“But that could take forever!” Rory knew he was exaggerating. But he had been waiting for what felt like forever to see you; the fact that he had to wait for you to find him first made him even more impatient. 

“Don’t worry, Rory. She should be here soon.” Benny said, checking his watch. “You told her to meet you here at three, and it’s-”

“Rory?” An unfamiliar voice came from behind the boy. He whipped his head around and looked at a girl who was looking at him hopefully, playing with her fingers. He stood up from the park bench.

“Y/n?” Hearing him say your name made you squeal, and you couldn’t help but run up and hug him. Rory gripped your waist tightly, jumping around in excitement with you in his arms, making you laugh. “I can’t believe you’re actually here!” He set you down but kept his arms around you, trying to take in every detail.

“Of course, I’m here! I couldn’t wait to see you.” You caught a glimpse of Rory’s friends watching your interaction and giggled at their stunned reactions. They probably didn’t think that you were actually real, or that you’d be so excited to see Rory. “Wanna introduce me to your friends?”

As if suddenly remembering his friends were there, even though he made them come in the first place, he turned to face them. He introduced everyone to you, and you waved excitedly.

His friends could sense that the two of you should have some alone time. After all, this meeting was for the two of you to finally hang out.

“You know…” Sarah stood up and walked to you, placing a hand on your and Rory’s shoulders and turning you toward the other direction. “There’s a really good ice cream shop down the street. Perfect for hanging out and first dates and stuff.”

You and Rory lit up at the suggestion. Quickly thanking Sarah and saying goodbye to everyone else, you and Rory practically dragged each other out of the park and to the shop. You talked the whole way there, trying to plan the rest of your first day together.

[poppyandzena]

I know it’s been a hard week for all of you. Hope you can get some rest and recover. As you reflect on what happened and what will happen next, I hope one thing has become clear through this: Poppy will not stop. This is who Poppy is. Poppy ONLY cares about herself and getting more attention. As she would say “full stop”. This is who she’s always been. Notice how she moves into a whole new community every few years. She follows the same pattern every time. She speed runs some kind of experience and tries to become an authority as quickly as possible, then tries to become a popular influencer in that group (writing a book, having a YT channel), then eventually has a huge falling out with another major leader in the community and “decides” to move on.  We’re already seeing it happen with her distancing herself from “the online left” again, and with trying to discredit anyone who speaks against her. The only difference this time is how online it all is. It's harder to walk away and start fresh. She doesn’t care about victims. If she did she would have shown an ounce of compassion for her own child when they felt so unsafe they had to crawl out a window. If she did, she would have cared about Doriyamu feeling harassed. Or the people in her server who didn’t want to see explicit porn. Or the women she “flirts” with online who express discomfort. She only cares about BEING a victim because it gets her attention She doesn’t care about believing victims of SA.  If she did, once again, she’d care about how Doriyamu felt. Or she’d care, at least a little, that Noeh ALSO felt uncomfortable and assaulted. She’s said it herself: she started saying “r*pe” because she wasn’t getting the desired result (more attention) with just regular SA. She doesn’t care about her ethical responsibility as a therapist. She DOESN’T BELIEVE SHE HAS ANY ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITY AS A THERAPIST UNLESS YOU’RE HER CLIENT. She has said it over and over again that her responsibility is only to clients. If she cared about her ethics as a therapist, she wouldn’t have needed to be warned by her job to stop posting online. She wouldn’t have needed GayFesh to scramble to cover up the fact that Poppy had shared a client name with her friends! (which, she ONLY DID because she wanted attention for the letter she’d written).  If she cared about ethics as a therapist, she might even hold some space for the fact that Noeh ALSO has a valid and fair perspective on the situation, and try to reconcile that with her own experiences. If she cared, she wouldn't be so happy to store "terabytes" of private conversations that she could pull out to punish people who separate from her. She doesn’t care about who she hurts.  If she did, she wouldn’t treat Saige’s constant mental health as a joke or a burden. If she did, she wouldn’t want some like NW to be putting themselves through this at such a deep personal cost to them. If she did, she would not only disavow the doxing, but she’d stop using people’s real names every chance she gets. Instead, she’s taken to referring to every person involved as their full legal name.

She doesn’t care about other people. If she did, she’d listen to one of the dozens of her friends, including her friend of 20+ years, when they try to get through to her.

She doesn’t care about her “reputation”, even.  If she did, she’d be concerned with the TT video and maybe continue to take a break. Instead, she’s already announced two new videos that will continue the drama, plus taken to just continuing to post graphic porn on her public account for the YT channel. The ONLY THING that Poppy cares about is herself, and the attention she gets. It has stopped mattering WHY she’s like this. She just is. I know most of hope she’ll get better someday. That she’ll do real healing and reflection. Maybe she will.  If she does though it won’t be because any of the people involved in this managed to “get through to her”. 

A very apt dissection.

[joels-shitty-puns]

Pins and Needles - Chapter 3

Pairing: Post-Outbreak!Joel Miller x Reader

Series Summary: Joel has known you for several years, but it was always strictly business, which was easier and preferred. However, after you run into him in Jackson, avoiding him is more of a challenge than you'd like.

Series Warnings: 18+ only (MDNI). Alluding to sexual scenarios. Mention of masturbation. Kissing. Age gap, reader is 39/40 Joel is 56/57. Violence!!! This features outbreak day memories. Blood, stabbing, cannibalism, death, infected. An airplane crash. Spoilers from season 1 of TLOU HBO. Deaths from that season are mentioned. Nightmares. Angst/tension. Let me know if I missed anything!!

Other stuff: Reader is referred to by the nickname Needles, but other than that descriptors are avoided! Reader is fem.

This series was based on these two anon requests! Here and here

Series list: Here

Word count: 1.1k

*Joel's Perspective*

“Who’s the new girl?” Ellie asked around a mouthful of toast, two mornings after your arrival.

“Name’s Needles,” Joel replied, barely looking up from his coffee. This was not a conversation he wanted to have.

“Needles???” Ellie's eyes lit up. “Badass,” she nodded, taking another bite. “How'd she get that name?”

“How should I know?” Joel replied shortly before taking a sip.

“Tommy said you knew her. Said you guys were close,” Ellie smirked, adding air-quotes around the word close. “He told me some other things too… about when you found her the other day,” she let her face be consumed by a full, shit-eating grin.

“Damn it, Tommy,” Joel muttered under his breath, mainly to himself. “Don't believe everything my brother tells you, Ellie.”

“Mmhm,” she grinned. “So how do you know her?”

“Used to do business together. That's it,” Joel stated with finality, hoping to end the conversation, yet knowing Ellie wasn't about to drop it.

“Hmm,” she thought, stabbing a piece of fruit with her fork. “Not how it sounded, the way Tommy described it…” she teased.

Joel just gave her a warning look, trying to reinstate his former order about not listening to his brother.

“Fine, fine. I'll drop that. For now,” she laughed. “But you really don't know how she got her name even though you worked together?”

“No.”

“Does she have a lot of piercings or something?”

“No.”

“Tattoos?”

“Not that I've noticed.”

“Do they call her that because she's from someplace called Needles?”

“I don't know, Ellie,” he sighed in frustration. His thoughts circled the fact that Tess used to call him Texas, based on his old home. Sore memories now.

“Hmm…” Ellie thought. “Maybe I could ask her someday. Assuming you two reconnect,” she wiggled her brows.

“No. Don't ask her, and drop. It. Now,” Joel ordered. He was at his limit with the teenager’s teasing. “Finish your breakfast.”

Ellie just rolled her eyes in response.

“Whatever, old man.” She stood from the table, placing her dishes in the sink. “I'm going to town. Smell ya later.”

And she left the house, leaving Joel alone.

As he worked on finishing his own breakfast, his mind drifted back to you. The way you shivered, body covered in dried blood and a mixture of old and fresh wounds. Your eyes were sunken and empty of joy. He could tell you were in a dark place. He knew because he's been there. 

He'd always kept his distance from you over the years, vowing to not get close. He and Tess had some form of relationship, but she felt stronger feelings than he did. She never expected him to say it back, but she had told him she loved him once. He didn't feel the same, and it was thrown back at him as she was about to die with the infection. “I never ask you for anything. Not to feel the way I felt,” she spat. He had tried to interrupt her, but she stopped him, telling him she didn't have time left to argue. He always felt guilty that he didn't feel the same. He wouldn't allow himself to feel it. He couldn't bear to do the same to you, even though this time, he did feel it. He'd always found you attractive, both in physical beauty and personality. Not to mention the fact that you were brave as hell and one damn good fighter.

Fortunately, you made it easier by shutting him out as well. It was easier to ignore his attraction to you when you didn't seem to want anything to do with him. It was just business.

But seeing you in that clearing, battered and ready to die… his feelings took over, and he let his guard slip. It was only for a moment, but he saw it in your eyes. The realization. The confusion. The questions. Tommy saw it all too apparently, and of course, told Ellie the first chance he got.

Asshole.

This is why he avoided his feelings.

Sure, he found you attractive, but he didn't ever pursue it. He would occasionally let his mind wander at the thought of you when his hand was wrapped around himself, pretending it was you stroking him. 

Yeah, he'd occasionally sneak glances at you, his eyes quickly snaking over your body. But he ignored it as best he could, fucking his hand later until his mind cleared and he could go back to ignoring you.

Being here in Jackson, however, was proving to be more difficult than he imagined. He was worried about you. He wanted to go check on you, but you didn't have that kind of relationship. Did he want that kind of relationship? No… right? No, he told himself. No.

Relationships like that have no place in this world. It was too painful. Too dangerous to get attached. Yet he let Ellie sneak in, much to his dismay. He sought after his brother, despite the dangers. He cared about Tess and then she died. He helped Sam and Henry and watched them die a brutal death. He worked with Bill and Frank, then witnessed Frank declining in his health, before they both succumbed to the pain. A mutual agreement of poison. A deathly vow of love. If there's one thing he's learned over the years, it's that connections get you killed.

He really didn't even know much about you, truthfully. He knew you went by Needles but he didn't know why. He knew you were younger than him but he didn't know how much. He knew you were strong and great at defense, but he didn't know how you learned. Obviously you were here and you'd lived the past twenty or so years in this hell-hole, so you must have gone through some fucked up things like he had. But he didn't know what. He didn't know where you were from, what your real name was, what happened to your family or friends. He didn't know if you had been married or had children. All he knew was that you were reliable, good in a fight, and trustworthy in trade. And that you were beautiful. But he tried to ignore that detail.

But as he sat alone in his cabin, sipping the last of his coffee, he felt something he hadn't felt in years. Maybe Jackson had made him too comfortable. Maybe Ellie had made him soft. Maybe being with her and Tommy had made him feel too connected again. But for the first time in a very long time, he felt… longing.

He wanted to learn about you. He wanted to kiss you. He wanted his fantasies to come true. He wanted you. And that scared the shit out of him.

[neallo]

(girl who was supposed to write 3k of vaguely serious pining tonight, or at least some weird smut) so about the furby au...

uhhh okay im gonna TRY to come up with some additional thoughts since i am going to the trouble of making this post. i guess one question is— does mello RESPOND to the emails??? probably. he loves to be mad about stuff and he hates not being heard when he's mad about stuff. so like. initially he's just replying to the emails from matt with “i hate that stupid fucking furby” and “how much money do i have to give you to set it on fire, or at least stop emailing me” but when matt points out that mello could just auto sort the emails to spam mello pretends as if he doesn't see that one. eventually, as mello's responses become marginally less hostile, matt is like 😌 it's time to up the ante. and begins including his Fun Near Facts. these include but are not limited to:

- he took college level differential equations when he was 14! 🤓 (mello response: okay, so he's a loser??)

- he's not a loser he's REALLY cool (note: matt loves to lie. or he actually has an unrealistically kind view of near's swag levels) (mello does not dignify this with a reply)

- he loves talking about math! don't worry though it's really easy to tune it out and he doesn't really care if you're not listening (mello response: i don't know why i would need to know that.)

- one time he saved me from drowning 😳 (note: matt also loves to embellish. near “saved him from drowning” by telling matt to not try his luck at jumping over a river, which wasn't actually even deep enough for him to drown in)

uuhhhhh okay running out of matt's fun facts about near BUT. the point is that he is wingmanning so hard. i guess another question is whether or not near picks up on the fact that matt is regularly taking candid photos of him? my thought is no. i could see near being sort of a space cadet in this respect tbh; if he's absorbed enough in something he tunes everything else out)

hmm. genuinely running out of steam so lemme just jot down a few more ideas and then someday maybe i will add more when more comes to me.

- near: lives in... actually, fuck it, NOT new york. he and matt room together in minneapolis. near is in a PhD program for math— either complex analysis or topography. idk. something. matt is a programmer of some kind bc i am not creative.

- mello: i think i already said but he lives in LA, works for the mob. probably isn't really that Into It but he got in when he was pretty young and it's not like he has a lot of other options at this point? i imagine it isn't something he spends a lot of time angsting over but he's probably kinda unfulfilled.

OH okay sorry i got an idea. these stupid emails from matt go on for a few months, with mello gradually responding in very slightly less mean ways & occasionally asking questions,,, and then one day the Daily Near Email comes through and it's a picture of near somewhere in LA. probably griffith's observatory actually. and matt (knowing full well from mello's social media that he lives in Los Angeles) captions the image something like “where did you say you lived again??? 🤔”

okay now i'm REALLY out of ideas. not sure how the fact that mello has barely Actually spoken to near would be resolved!! thanks for listening to the Morgan Being Deranged podcast, tune in next time for another incredibly niche stupid idea 🥰

[blackbutlerfandomnerddomain]

The sweltering heat was a lot.

The sun was baking in heat in any and all forms of life from above.

Night Raven Students hurry to shades or run to class to hopefully get some cool air in their systems within the stone walls.

But alas, one student stood out from the rest on this hot day, leaning by one of the stones with closed eyes as one hand held firm his leather bound bag while the other rubs his sore meaty neck as people walk by is Leona Kingscholar waiting for something to happen it seems.

Come on you sneak, I won’t ignore you ditching me. He thought to himself in a scowl, a yawn showing off his fangs erupts his form as he cracked his neck.

His feline ears twitch at a certain sound.

His beautiful gem greens of eyes open a crack and look up.

His handsome face broke in a smirk.

Walking up to the wall is Jamil Viper wearing a short sleeved button up and a sweater vest to work well with the heat on the school grounds.

Well, guess you’re worth a wait…

A few birds chirp afar, a distance ballad melody for prying ears to hear and enjoy or loath as they wander about this fine summer day.

The breeze was now just picking up and getting a bit cooler as if the Gods finally answered the pleads of many to come and settle down this blazing heat.

Tucked away in a beautiful green house of grass, hidden away with the scent of floral and soil, behind the soft shadows of large leaves and tall plants around, hushed away by the gentle flow of the stream two souls connect as two lips press against each other in sweet open mouth kisses.

The prince snakes an arm around the thin waste on top of him as the Viper’s son rubs his fingers through dense black hair.

A small growl leaves the kissing as a finger gently tugs at a hidden knot.

Jamil pulls away, cole eye staring at emeralds. “Maybe if you take better hygiene you wouldn’t be so knotted up.” He scolded lightly, ignoring the would be scolding of the lion undoing his updo but leaves the braids.

Leona rolls his eyes in response and merely leans back up to meet Jamil’s soft lips again, momentarily silencing the servant boy. Jamil hums softly in the kiss, pushing back to add pressure as their mouths open and they kiss with much more space and care for, their lips and tongue exploring and tasting this dish they’re both so familiar with already yet are trying new ways still.

It’s hard to pinpoint when this began with the two, when the barely edged line in the sand of schoolmates turned partners in kissing was crossed, but they can know when the first time their lips met in such a personal way. . .

—

“Hey, you wanna go to town sometime?”

Jamil looked up at the Savannaclaw dorm head and sigh, bag being fixed around his shoulders, he harbored his voice up to the surface in the sea of noise, “Again? Why are you so hooked on taking me to town someday?”

Leona shrugs and walks with him, “Cause I want to.”

“You ask me almost every day now…”

“I’m what some people call…persistence.”

Jamil rolls his cole eyes under his eyelids. Cole gray, like a fireplace burning down low with soft embers on a cold winter’s night, eyes that are cold to the glare yet have a deep rooted warmth hidden away.

Leona smirks, “What’s the matter, worried I might kiss ya?”

Jamil freezes as he stares up at Leona in shock that such words left those royal lips.

And there is it~

The hunger of new knowledge Leona craves for plenty.

The yearn to lick his teeth in thirst as he gets new information.

He has always been curious about his school chum in Scarabia since the first day he arrived. So isolating and cold, a perfect little snake hidden away in the grass blending in. But even small snakes can pack a mighty lethal bite, and Jamil was no exception after all as proven when the live feed of him trying to mind control Azul Ashengrotto was shown on his phone during winter break and his overblot right after.

This was the start of the journey Leona was aching for new things to learn in his boring school life and Jamil was just so beyond perfect to learn. 

Leona watches as Jamil looks away, smirking at the obvious warm glow on the younger’s cheeks. He bends his torso a touch as he gets close to the ear of his little prey, “If I were, I would gladly make your first kiss special~” 

Jamil blinks, “What?”

Leona tilts his head, “Huh?”

Jamil turns his head and stares at his upperclassman, his perfect eyebrows curved in a forever curious motion as he stares at him so intensely.

“Kalim was my first kiss.”

Leona’s ears turn down in a flat motion as he stares at Jamil in shock. Did I hear that right? He thought with eyes wide open.

He can’t possibly imagine those two faces merging together in any context or meaning of those translations!

He watches as Jamil walks ahead in the hall, away from Leona’s side, to the bright eyed little sunshine that steals all of his attention.

Images of their faces growing close and locking in broad daylight sneaks up in Leona’s mind.

Flashing imagery of Kalim’s arms wrapping around Jamil’s thin neck right there in the damn hallway burns Leona’s eyes with each blink.

Sicking sounds of their mouths moving and making gentle sounds hit his ears with his mind’s own personal record player on loop as he pictures Kalim’s face attached to Jamil’s.

Kalim’s eyes open as his tongue roams the mouth of his servant.

Kalim’s little smirk of victory as he so publicly claimed Jamil in front of him.

“Uh, Leona, you’re gonna stand there forever or–”

Leona pauses.

Leona looks to his side and sees Ruggie standing there confused.

Leona blinks for a second and looks back to the halls, seeing Jamil and Kalim walking away talking in clear imbalance.

Soon, Ruggie’s snickering takes him out of his entranced space, “Daydreaming much? That’s dangerous Leona~”

Leona frowns as his feet start walking. Stupid Viper, why did he have to spring that on me?! He growls silently as he ignores his friend’s calls out as he tries to keep up, his mind thinking back on the conversation just a few minutes ago.

How can he say something so matter-of-factly!?

Jamil glances over his shoulder as he crosses the mirror to Scarabia with Kalim, who is talking about whatever, watching as the lion prince of the Savannah walks into his mirror with a scowl on his face. His angry, handsome, face.

Jamil lets out a sigh as he accepts the different heat he’s used to in his dorm

Great, what was that all about anyways?

—

Leona watches Jamil’s face closely, watching how he breaths and how his face twitches some in emotions. Jamil’s hands dig deep into the fabric of his shirt as he cuddles close.

It was only a week since that hallway conversation when the two met up in this way, buried away in the back of an empty locker room after their club activities lips locked. 

All Leona had to do was be angry from that conversation for Jamil to be curious.

All Jamil had to do was bump into Leona for him to crack and crash their faces together in a lip bruising memory.

All they had to do was be so frustrated in their own curiosity they end up in this situation. 

Leona smirks as he hears Jamil’s voice gasp in a hitch as he rubs his ear shell as their lips meet in the kiss, keeping a mental note of the noise and what causes it.

Feeling annoyed he’s the only one shaking, Jamil shoves his tongue into Leona’s mouth without much warning. He smirks to himself as he felt and heard Leona be taken aback from the sensation and focused on this.

This is just like speaking, yes? Just focus on your Rs… He thought as he acted as if he’s taking a special conversation lacking sound but with lots of R related words to draw out.

Leona’s tongue lightly bumps onto his, the rough feeling startling Jamil some, both obviously curious and eager of the organs in their mouths. 

It takes so much of the other to not melt to the sensation of this kiss and seem weak in front of their momentary partner.

It takes so much not to grab and cling onto the body in front of them.

It takes so much not to let their vocal cords work freely at the warm feeling around them.

The two pull away, gasping for air.

Emerald greens stare deep into cole black.

Animal fangs gleaming in labored breaths matching the others’ less fanging canines.

One way of messy knots of black vines stands in comparison to the one that grew messy in the moment. 

They stare at each other, lips swollen and glittering in sweat from the intense kisses, hands on each other to keep balance but also to not let go. 

“From now on, I’m learning all your firsts, got that?”

“HUH?!”

—

True to his word, since then Leona learned new things about Jamil.

Jamil’s first move mark was made by Leona behind a pillar after the final class period.

Jamil’s first mature touch was given by Leona after a joint P.E. class.

Jamil’s first time touching someone else in such a personal way was thanks to Leona convincing him to swim in the watering hole in Savannaclaw’s lounge late on a school night. 

Despite the intense heat that oozes out of the two in their casual affair that’s what it was: 

Casual.

Jamil doesn’t know when Leona will randomly appear in front of him.

Jamil doesn’t know when Leona will randomly kiss him again.

Jamil doesn’t know when Leona will suddenly take even more firsts.

Jamil doesn’t know anything and it’s killing him!

So now here they are, in the green house, locking lips when they should be in their final classes of their day, with Jamil sitting on the dorm leader’s legs. 

Leona rubs circles on the vice’s back as Jamil’s head lays on his chest, both of their lips reddish from their nibbles and puckering sucks.

Jamil’s eyes are closed, listening to the sound of Leona’s lungs and hearts make music under the hardened flesh of his chest, his body collecting and settling his breathing carefully.

Vrrr…

Jamil’s eyebrow quirks slightly.

Vrrr…

What is that-

Jamil sat up fast, cranking his neck to look up at Leona who looked at him confused in return.

“You purr??”

Leona’s ears flatten and he looks away to the side, his expression not fitting his words, “No-”

Jamil smirks victoriously as he feels the soft vibrations of a purr in Leona’s chest still.

“Oh hush up!”

The snake lets out a mighty laugh as Leona growls, cheeks flushed in exposed embarrassment. 

The two calmed down and stayed still after a moment, bodies close.

“So,” Leona started, “How was your first time ditching class?”

Jamil pressed his cheek against the bicep under him, so relaxed with the warm solid body holding him with the purrs. “Honestly, nerve wrecking…” He admitted, his eyes slowly fluttering to a close. “But at the same time, it’s calming…”

“Well obviously, you’ve been overworking so much you deserve to step back for a while.”

“Mm…”

“. . . Are you falling asleep on me?”

Leona looks down and pauses.

He watches Jamil’s steady breathing.

He admires how the light through the glass and plants form lovely light beams and shadows across Jamil’s smooth dark olive skin and flowing silky black hair.

He looks peaceful…

Slowly, he raises a hand and places the palm against the younger man’s head.

Jamil hums softly and seems to openly accept the touch.

Leona smiles to himself, leaning his head back into the grass as his own tired eyes close and accept the warmth as well.

Maybe this heat isn’t so bad?

[darklordazalin]

Azalin Reviews: Mother Lorinda

Domain: Tepest Domain Formation:  Not specified (691 BC older sources) Power Level:💀💀💀 ⚫⚫ Sources: Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft (5e)

The background for the Three Hags of Tepest in 5e is almost exactly the same as previous editions, except they also killed and ate their brothers and father after disposing of the gentlemen they all wanted for themselves. For the complete story, see The Three Hags.

Not only has the latest changes in Ravenloft resulted in a single Darklord for Tepest, but also reduced the land to contain a single village. Though, it seems that the Shadow Rift and Prince Loht and Queen Mab now dwell beneath Tepest instead of within their own realm. These fey are said to be responsible for much mischief and misery that occurs within the wild regions of Tepest. 

Once they were established in Tepest as Hags, the three sisters worked, for the most part, reluctantly together. Lorinda, the green hag, longed for a child. And when she asked her sisters, Laveeda and Leticia, to use their combined magics to make her one, they refused. If you think about it, it is a rather strange request to make of your siblings...AND Hags are known for seeing other Hag’s children as delicious treats...

Lorinda retaliated by secretly creating a construct and ambushing her sisters with it. Once subdued, she trapped them in their magical cauldron. Now, shep taps into their powers to continue her endless pursuit of having a child of her own. I will assume that traditional means or the clone spell are not an option for Lorinda…Not that the clone spell is without its faults.

Lorinda rules over Tepest as “Mother”, a guise she weaves over her true Hag form. She creates “daughters” from parts of animals and twigs woven with her magic and the magic she steals from her trapped sisters. She names every single one of these short-lasting constructs as “Laoirse”. I suppose after the 100th or so coming up with a new name would get difficult.

Mother moves about in a Gurgyl and “protects” the people (or her children as she likes to think of them) of Viktal - granting them bountiful harvests and protection from the fey and goblins that overrun the wild areas of her realm. In return, she asks for absolute devotion and adoration and some are apparently so devoted to their “Mother” they pluck out their own eyes for her...She can see through their empty eye sockets as if they were Hag Eyes. I find the need to collect my servant's eyes not necessary to be able to do this, but the idea of it intrigues me.

Mother also asks for a sacrifice during seasonal tithes to feed her precious Laoirse...so said “daughter” can live a little longer than normal. Four sacrifices a year seems a little low for a Darklord, but I cannot deny the power that accompanies a seasonal shift. Seems like a waste to use such energy to ensure your fake twig daughter lives for a few more days but...well, I...cannot be sure if I would not do the same for Irik.

Though Lorinda was clever enough to trap her own more powerful sisters, she still only rules over a single town. Nor would I enlist her to create the Crystal Orb I had the three sisters make for me as a single Hag will never have the same level of power as a complete coven. Lorinda will not be able to hide her true nature forever. Eventually her mask will fall and her sisters will escape. 

OOC: Someday I'll run a one shot set in this version of Tepest. Maybe this Halloween...

[tdstoryarchive]

Book 1

Chapter 1:

We're All Running From Something

Quite the read. :)

A cool gentle breeze rustling through his short spiky hair as Flash runs around the track.

As his competitors approach from behind he speeds up to keep his lead. The wind picked up, people were cheering Flash in from the stands...

And....

"DARRIN WILLIAMS COMES IN FIRST!"

The announcer called out from his box within the stands. Thr crowd goes wild and starts chanting "Flash! Flash Flash!"

He made his way out of the track area, only to be halted by reporters.

"Another victory in the continued winning streak of Track Star, Darrin "Flash" Williams," a Channel 6 News anchor, Brie Walters commented as her cameraman filmed.

"Darrin may only be in college, but he has great potential to someday be in competitions such as The Olympics!"

When Brie noticed Flash, she ran to him with her microphone, "Flash! Flash! A second if you wouldn't mind!"

He stopped and looked at her. "Alright, but only for a few minutes."

Brie nodded. "How does it feel to win yet another State Track Meet?"

"Same as it always does, it feels nice to win." He stopped for a second. "But I don't run for thr medals or the trophies. It's simply just...a passion of mine."

"Besides Passion, is there anyone who motivates you to keep going with this running career?"

"Uh.." Flash had hesitated.

At this point, Brie was smiling wide, " A girl maybe.. someone like Beauty Pagent Winner, Heather Granville? You've been hanging out around her recently yeah??"

"Uh.." Flash shook his head. "No she's just a friend. But, I gotta go now."

Something was always followed Flash, something...not good, and the dread of it was sinking in so, he had to go. He ran away from the reporter, who was left suddenly confused.

Flash had run straight into Heather upon pure coincidence. Knocked them both right over.

Heather rubbed her head as Flash offered out his hand to her, he'd gotten up fast, and was very apologetic.

She accepted his hand and rubbed herself off. Today had already been a bit weird for her. She also had a splitting headache because of it.

"Its alright.. it's not the worst thing that's happened to me today...." Heather seemed kind of down, she let go if Flash's hand when she was back on her feet.

"Sorry to hear that..anything I can do to help?" Flash asked.

"Probably not unless you have 4,500 Dollars." Heather sighed.

"I most definitely do not." He was taken aback slightly. "But..what's it for? If you don't mind me asking."

She was quiet for a moment, before speaking low, "A nose job."

Flash put his head down low. "Heather, you don't need a nose job. Your nose looks fine."

"Just fine?" She asked her eyes pleading.

"More than fine, amazing flawless. You don't need to change your appearance like that to be pretty Heather." Flash said kindly, "You've got natural beauty. Not a lot of girls can say that."

"Aww," She found herself blushing at parts of Flash's words, "Thanks Flash. Means a lot."

Flash nodded in response. Half the time Heather did this sort of stuff so she could get compliments, so it's hard to tell if she was lying or being sincere.

But that's the first impression you'd normally get being acquainted with her. Flash sincerely liked her despite everything.

Maybe it's because they were both popular. Regardless the two friends hugged and went on their way.

Her heels clicked as she walked away from The Track Star. An important mission for a young adult in college.. asking her parents for money.

She'd already told Flash what she needed and he had helped her out a little, but all the other girls have been talking about Heather behind her back..

"Your nose is crooked!"

"Off Center"

"Beauty Queen isn't so pretty now huh?"

Maybe Flash was right, she is pretty and nothings wrong. Maybe these are just petty rumors spread by those who are Jealous of Heather. It's not worth the risk.

She arrived at the Café, she had asked her dad to meet her there. He was a successful businessman. Luckily she'd caught him on his lunch hour.

"Daddy," Heather looked at him with slight puppy eyes. "The other girls at my college say that my nose is crooked."

"And let me guess, you want thousands of dollars for...what? A nose job?"

"If...you would?" Heather asked nicely.

"Absolutely not." He said. "You don't need a nose job, you are a beautiful young woman okay?"

"Those other girls, well, they're just jealous."

Of course, Of course. What was Heather thinking. The world was in her grasp. Born into Beauty it seemed to even revolve around her. Truthfully, a fault of hers, conceded due to those around her. Perfectly Perfect as some would say.

Not all lives are as perfect as Heather though. Take Zoe Ingstrom for example.

She is an 8 year old girl who is the child of a broken couple. No further details needed. But it is rubbing off on her. She often makes her dolls hit each other...

That as you know is not healthy. It shouldn't be a thing a kid has to head let alone watch.

Distant yelling could be heard echoing in the halls of her house.

"WE'LL MAYBE IF YOU WEREN'T SUCH A DEADBEAT, ZOE COULD HAVE A REAL FATHER AND A GOOD LIFE."

"DEADBEAT?" A male voice countered the female voice, booming louder. "I'M NOT THE ONE GOING AROUND WITH OTHER GUYS HUH?!"

Both parents had their faults. Honestly, weren't even fit or ready to have a child.

Zoe drowned it all out with the dolls. This time she was playing house. A mommy and a daddy doll were taking their baby doll out for a picnic in a nice park.

They had sandwiches, juice, chips and everything you can think of that would be at a picnic!

Zoe used her imagination to run away from her troubles, but it only got worse outside her room.

She decided to take her favorite dolly and climb out of her window. Luckily her room was on the first.

We are all running away from something.

[charlesjosephwrites]

Get To Know My OC Tag

Thanks for the tag @gummybugg! Check out Bug's post here.

This one looks like a lot of fun! I'll do this for April from The Magician and Ms. Psychic.

When the news cuts back from commercial, the regular news anchor is nowhere to be seen. In his place, a woman in a neatly pressed black suit and a white domino mask sits with her feet propped up on the desk and her gaze trained down on the phone in her hand.

Someone clears their throat from off screen. Her attention snaps up towards them.

"We're live already?" She tucks her phone inside her suit jacket and jumps to her feet. "Why didn't you fuckwads warn me?" She brushes a rogue strand of red hair away from her face, shooting dirty looks all around the room.

A faint pop echoes through the room as she teleports to the other side of the desk to grin into the camera.

"Heyya everyone!" She punctuates her greeting with a double finger-guns gesture. "It's the Magician here! Um... obviously."

She pauses to straighten her bowtie.

"Listen, if I'm gonna be taking over this city soon, it's only fair that you know a little bit about me, so I've got some-" a piece of paper appears in her hand with a flick of her wrist - "questions printed out right here. You guys better be paying attention, or I'm gonna replace all of your bones with glowsticks."

She hums thoughtfully, casting her gaze down towards the paper for the first question.

1. Are you named after anyone?

"Not as far as I know."

2. When was the last time you cried?

"Don't be ridiculous. Supervillains don't cry." She stares down at the paper for a few seconds before looking back up to the camera. "Okay, apparently last week I was crying because my girlfriend is too pretty. In my defense, my brain was all scrambled with a concussion, and she is ridiculously pretty."

3. Do you have kids?

"It feels a little too early for me to be thinking about kids just yet. Maybe someday, though."

4. Do you use sarcasm?

"Doesn't everybody?"

5. What's the first thing you notice about people?

"The way they're dressed. Maybe that's low hanging fruit or whatever, but some people around here have no idea how to dress themselves. Seriously, the next person I see in horribly clashing colors is getting their feet chopped off and tossed in a blender."

6. What's your eye color?

"Why don't you see for yourself?" She leans forward to give the camera a close up of her bright green eyes.

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

"I love those stupid cheesy rom-coms, especially when I watch them with my girlfriend." Her gaze flickers down back to the paper for a brief moment before snapping back up to the camera. "Wait. Shit. I'm supposed to sound intimidating, aren't I?" She clears her throat. "Scary movies are the best. I like the... violence."

8. Any special talents?

"I mean, obviously." A knife appears in her hand with a flick of her wrist. "I'm the Magician. Magic is my whole thing." She makes the knife disappear and reappear a couple more times for emphasis.

9. Where were you born?

"I was born right here in the city of Metrovale. It's the super capital of the world! At least, it will be once I'm through with it."

10. What are your hobbies?

"Oh you know. Kidnapping. Bank robbery. Magic. All that fun stuff."

11. Have you any pets?

"Nah. I don't really have time to take care of a pet right now. I think it might be cool to have a little rabbit buddy someday, though."

12. What sports do you play/have played?

"I don't like running in general. Do you really think that's gonna change when there's a ball involved?"

13. How tall are you?

"I'm five foot ten, but these boots get me up to about six two." She lifts her foot to show off her black platform boots.

14. Favorite subject in school?

"Uh... does lunch count? I'm counting lunch. School was shit, but at least I got some food while I was there."

15. Dream job?

"Supreme empress of the world." She pauses. "Actually, the whole world seems like way too much responsibility. Just ruling Metrovale would be enough. And maybe after that-"

"Magician." A voice interrupts from off screen.

All at once, the Magician's grin fades. "Ms. Psychic." She doesn't even turn around to address her. "What the fu-"

The camera clicks off.

I'll tag (softly) @oh-no-another-idea, @winterandwords, @ahordeofwasps, @enchanted-lightning-aes, @acertainmoshke, and anyone else who sees this and wants to jump in on the tag! Seriously, I love hearing about people's characters, so don't be shy. As always, no pressure though! (Also, feel free to tag me right back. I've got a lot of other characters I could do this for.)

[thefandom-casserole]

My thoughts on the new episode :>

- THE INTRO CALLBACK TO THE BETH MAY WEALTH AHHHHH

- The change in voice for npc Beth I love this

- “Oh.” “Ron” “what are we” DYING. The qpr ever <3

- Beth doing the Ron thing at the end of the “ad” reminded me so much of Beth’s voice during the beginning of Snarl Back Someday 💔

- “Maybe got married to the doodler…?” “No we definitely didn’t get married to the doodler” “awww”

- TIEFLING ROGUE TAYLOR IS RON TAYLOR IS RON TALOR IS RON

- Freddie really out there stealing Ron from Beth lol

- Taylor out here getting Paeden’s power which was given to the Daddies for free 💔 (the ability to see whether something is higher, equal, or lower than them)

- The spirit of Paeden lives on !!!!!

- Hehehe Taylor didn’t get a Teen Fact

- Linc Fact: Parent Teacher Days/Essentially SFW Date Nights are Linc’s fave days of school because he can go do whatever he wants

- Normal Mustache Fact: Essential oils for his mustache, it’s doubled in strand count 8>>16, plus smells like lavender

- Scary Fact: She doesn’t run errands, she walks them. Bitch

- Anthony Fact: He knows he can fix a person I don’t even know :> He’d make her a trans rights activist

- Daddy magic collection jar folk music!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- Ron and Darryl got sent to the timeout room 😭 bet Paeden’s there

- MEATBALL SCARY

- Oooh do we think Taylor’s lost his interest in survivalist stuff?? That makes me unreasonably sad :c

- Freddie’s song!!!!!!!!!!! I’d unironically listen to that tbh

- AUTISTIC NORMAL AND HIS SCHOOL SPECIAL INTEREST IS BACK WHOOOO TONY PEPPERONI

- Oh boy is this bouta get angsty

- Oh boy they’re getting upset with normal oh dear oh dear

- I’m nervous for the rest o’ this

- Oooh right Normal’s a cheerleader!!!! He should be pretty decently in shape!!!!!

- Henry and Normal parallels (the pyramid deaths, and the Tony Pepperoni)

- “I was myself” she takes responsibility she takes responsibility Beth plays Scary so well this is amazing omg this is so well done I’m crying good god

- SCARY ASKING HOW IT FELT TO DIE FOR TERRY JR. IM SOBBING IM SOBBING

- “I eat mop” hahaha very funny

- “You seem nice” “no. I’m a bad girl” something something the symbolism of Dood adoring the Bad Girl thing and Scary only wanting to do what’s right now and wanting to redeem herself, but Dood still caring and loving being a Bad Girl

- “Terry kept saying he was proud of me, but he never met me when I was someone to be proud of” 💔 you don’t need to be something special to be proud of that’s why Terry loved you (sobbing sobbing sobbing screaming throwing up good god)

- Hell cops eyyyyy Jodie Foster

- I can’t believe Linc wants to steal the ambulance

- Remember when Linc wrote letters to the firefighter’s families? So do I.

- THEY’RE FIGHTING GOOD GOD

- “I AM JELOUS I DON’T HAVE ANY COOL DYNAMICS WITH ANYBODY” Normal oh god oh dear oh boy

- Teeny The Teen Normal

- “OH THAT’S FUN!!”

- “It’s impossible not to look in a mirror…” LINC ANGST OH GOD

- The teens trying to cheer Normal up <3333333

- Ron’s back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whoooo

- That metaphor is really really good for Scary I really like that

- WHY ARE TERRY AND GLENN FIGHTING OMG WTF JESUS

- OH WAKT MAYBE BECAUSE TERRY WAS PART OF THE REASON NICKY LOST HIS LIMBS!?!!??

- All in all this is one of my favorites this season. There was so much angst I adored this :> I cannot wait to see what happens with Normal and Scary

[tankgotstuckinthecircusgate]

Crazy but I saw you said Henry used to be your favorite so do you have some headcanons to share with us?

i'm glad you asked, actually! i've been writing a fic about him for 2 months (someday i'll finish it) so i have some thoughts on his character. but i haven't shared them because well, let's just say that mafia 2 is super valuable to me for honestly revealing not the best human traits (and i'm trying to make these mf even worse) and henry is like. fandom's fav boy so i just didn't really want to get burned at the stake like some kind of a witch

anyway  1) about henry’s family i've seen a lot of hc about him being the youngest + spoiled child. but for some reason it seemed to me from the beginning that he was the middle child and clearly not spoiled. and it's not about an abusive childhood full of deprivation, no. i think inside his family was quite cold (maybe not from the beginning, but if you take henry as the middle child - it had time to become so by the time he was raised). i think henry's mom wasn’t exactly tough, but strict (have you ever talked to mothers who raised multiple sons practically alone? i have and they’re some of the strongest and toughest women i know). and I think she took on the main responsibilities of parenting because her husband just didn't have time for it.

and then there's the whole Sicilian conformity thing (this reminds me of a story of an acquaintance of mine whose mother wouldn’t let him go to the store to buy bread as a child until he put on a suit and tie. he was seven or so btw)

especially since henry's mother had to organize the emigration of the family and the Empire Bay settlement all by herself (i.e. i'm sure there was help from clemente, but the point here is to create a home(!) in a new place in a new country. emigration is often a heartbreaking situation in general, and when you flee to another country to survive, it's hard. you also have to stay strong because you’re responsible for an entire family). i based this whole story of coldness within the family on one (1) documentary about mafia families (it’s called mafia women i think??women of mafia??? i dont remember) and my hair just stood on end at how far from normal relations within the families are. i.e. if his family found out he was a rat, they wouldn't come to his funeral, and if he survived, they would consider him dead. it's wild, but interesting. the fact that even in the families slides mafia traditions  back to henry and how his upbringing affected him.

arrogance - memories of how his family was treated in sicily.

coldness - his parents' prohibition of weakness/emotionality. this is where his outbursts of aggression come from - repressed emotions always lead to a breakdown.

critical of others - rare praise from his parents.

wounded pride - he lives in the shadow of his father and perhaps more successful brothers. a sense of competition, to which he reacts not by wanting to grab his rival by the throat, but by trying to hide and run away from it, just so that these feelings don't torment him. an attempt to change his mind and pretend that he is really cool and successful (instead of actually doing something. fake it till u make it only without making it). he's trying to be lana del rey but really he's just an aggressive wounded dog. maybe a flea-bitten one

mistrust of people is probably a consequence of the fact that mafia families are closed and live in a very detached space (?)

 anyway. it's absolutely 100% henry to me:

+ henry in relation to vito and joe (at least at first? can't say i thought much about their relationship to each other)

+ closure because of the trauma of death. because of the deep understanding that in this business it’s useless to have close ties, friends, love, anything. in the end you will lose everything. and for what?

2) henry and religion i've been wanting to write about this for so long, but i thought (still think) i'd get kicked to death for it

anyway, i'm sure henry's religiosity is totally hypocritical and selfish

hypocrisy - "if they wanna kill themselves so badly i'll gladly help them out. especially for twenty grand". excuse me. suicide is considered one of the worst sins in christianity (at least in orthodox christianity). that phrase couldn’t be uttered by a man who truly believes in god. not to mention what he does for a living.

religiosity is his way of asserting himself, his way of standing above others. the way he (not directly?) chides vito and joe for not going to church. it's actually an attempt to humiliate the other person and show that "i'm better than you".

and!!!! it's funny!!!! he believes in superstition!!!!! as far as i remember it's against christianity. booo poser 🙄

it's funny that he tries to appear to be a religious man and yet he's in the most abusive family in the city

nevertheless i think he donates money to the church but it's all some kind of payoff attempt too! not sincere!!!

3) random analysis - to me he is a fatalist! hence the lack of ambition. fate is inexorable and cannot be changed. maybe it's the trauma of emigration and upbringing, reinforced by the fact that he never succeeded. the idea of henry being a fatalist is based on his "it's the 13th contract, it’s a jinx" etc. lack of ambition due to fatalism - you blame external circumstances/fate for your own failure. maybe he broke his bones a lot as a kid and stuff, maybe he's got a reputation for failure? i don't know. not because he's bad, but because all sorts of bad things keep happening to him for some inexplicable reason (maybe if he prays especially hard it will go away?)

- the further he goes, the more he moves towards a crisis and a fractured personality. frustration, big losses that he couldn't deal with and that just weren't worth it (betty's death probably had something to do with criminality; i think almost all of his brothers were criminals and some died). and i have a hc about clemente who was going to make henry a capo after luca died. but then chapter 10 happened and everything was ruined. such a crisis could be a reason to work for the feds, or it could be an attempt to make a big score with objectively very little chance of success (............. or to become a don, which is the plot of my fic). either way, all of these actions to me lie in deep despair and entrapment

 - hypocrite hypocrite hypocrite hypocrite 

 - funny how he positions himself as a professional even though in the game he fails every time (character = actions, not words). i don't know, maybe he was once good, maybe it's wounded pride and he never admits to himself that he's not good at "the one thing he's good at" and considering this dialogue:

the situation is again quite tragic. it's like "im no artist i've wasted my life". i can totally understand that feeling and it's very hard. to me he's a man trapped in a world he can't get out of. he's trapped in a cage of a life he didn't choose (i think that may be one of the reasons he started working for the feds).

4) henry and betty i think they had a lot of genuine love for each other (..... unlike falcone and lauretta who are much more complicated) and for some reason i like to think that he and betty met because they lived next door to each other in neighboring apartments (the first scene with them in my head was betty looking out of the window and seeing henry in the next window taking dried clothes off the ropes that run between the houses. idk i like to think that he was helping with the household). and it does somehow seem very natural and right that betty was more proactive and that their relationship started because of her (he probably pushed her away at first btw?)

 if betty was killed by one of the families, henry never had a vendetta (probably clemente didn't allow it? one of the first reasons henry has a growing disgust for alberto)

5) random hcs - he knows francesca. very fucked up story because to francesca, henry is just a low-key polite christian (which evokes simple human sympathy), but he is actually the person who put her brother in jail. a person who commits the most heinous sins on an almost daily basis. henry doesn't know francesca is vito's sister either - if henry had spent more time with vito and joe: henry projects his traumas onto joe and vito: "you're so fucking naive." but then at some point he gets a brotherly instinct toward them - when eddie came to collect some of the profits from the drug deal he greeted henry with a punch in the face 🙂 personal grudge among other things (and since henry has many addresses, eddie went to each one and only the last one was correct. man was on the verge of a mental breakdown) - vinci and henry really are distant relatives - in the short time that henry and eddie have been working together (i want to believe that they’ve been working together), they have grown attached to each other. they’re opposite personalities, but they share a deep sense of loss and loneliness (in that don henry fic, there's a gunfight scene where henry and eddie are on opposite sides of the conflict and neither of them dares to shoot the other. eddie resigns and bows his head first. in this version, he also realized that he secretly wanted carlo to fail (still canon thing to me), he was incredibly tired of him and carlo's potential death seemed like a release) - one of henry's brothers took up boxing upon arriving in empire bay and was very successful at it. i have a random hc about this random brother having a fight with eddie. one of the reasons henry vaguely remembers eddie - i haven't written about luca and clemente here but my main point is that over time he developed an aversion and the family as a whole. this is the reason henry says he doesn't care about clemente family's destruction

6) vibesssss (there was supposed to be more here, but i forgot what i wanted to add while i was writing the main text) - about emigration. very painful and realistic topic for me. these screenshots aren't mine anyway it makes me think about henry and his attitude to emigration (which in my understanding is most often a tragedy for a person, because it is the destruction of the old familiar world and loss of emotional ties):

henry after betty's death. to me (esp the last one):

sorry henry it's you:

- it's also him. to be completely honest:

7) track list"Sinnerman" by Nina Simone: makes me thing about his death & character as a whole. his main song to me "Oh, sinnerman, where you gonna run to? Sinnerman where you gonna run to? Where you gonna run to? *** So I run to the Lord Please hide me, Lord Don't you see me prayin'? Don't you see me down here prayin'? But the Lord said Go to the Devil, the Lord said Go to the Devil He said go to the Devil All on that day So I ran to the Devil He was waitin', I ran to the Devil He was waitin', all on that day *** So I ran to the Lord I said Lord, hide me Please hide me Please help me, all on that day He said, hide? Where were you? When you oughta have been prayin' I said Lord, Lord Hear me prayin', Lord, Lord Hear me prayin', all on that day Sinnerman, you oughta be prayin' Oughta be prayin', sinnerman"

"Cold Cold Cold" by Cage The Elephant "I've been breathing air, but there's no sign of life Doctor, the problem's in my chest My heart feels cold as ice, but it's anybody's guess *** Well, it's cold, cold, cold, cold inside Darker in the day than the dead of night Cold, cold, cold, cold inside Doctor, can you help me 'cause something don't feel right? *** Counselor, give me some advice Tell me how hard will I fall if I live a double life *** And as the darkness falls, it fills up both my eyes My life before me like a flash in the night With my arms open wide"

"Snakes" by Pixies about the disaster he caused "Snakes Are coming to your town In tunnels underground Some travelling overground A plague for our mistakes They'll be right next to you Snakes up against me too There'll be nothing to do When the rattle shakes"

"Christmas Kids" by Roar about him trapped in a cage of a life he didn't choose "The Christmas kids were nothing but a gift And love is a tower where all of us can live *** I'm going to escape, but you won't know how Or where to find me when I'm gone I'll drink myself to death inside this prison cell This prison cell So get me out of here Get me out of here *** You'll change your name or change your mind And leave this fucked up place behind But I'll know, I'll know"

"Little Green Bag" by George Baker Selection (not really about his character. it's about a drug deal)

i apologize for a lot of text (i could write more tbg but a) i'm too lazy for it b) i need more time for this (which i just don't have) ) all this is probably ooc but idk idk. this is the version of his character that has settled in my head (and i honestly!!!!! rewrote him a lot in october-november because at some point i realized that i was actually giving him falcone's traits. just because falcone is 100% my type of character) anyway i hope you'll have a nice day/night/etc and all this mess will be interesting to read💓

[wardencommanderrodimiss]

Sandwiched somewhere in my Pokeverse between my 37 disparate Scarlett Origin Stories is a subplot I’ve considered - probably while Scarlett is at Kitakami, which I will play someday - where Zoe goes to Clavell and is like "hey. Scarlett told me what happened in Area Zero with Sada and the time machine. Scarlett told me that you were told what happened in Area Zero with Sada and the time machine" and she basically proposes hey, Sada's research is still probably down there, and someone should probably assess the conditions of the ancient pokemon running loose in the crater and make sure they're in no danger of escaping the crater - especially the other Koraidon.

"Am I to assume," Clavell says, "that you intend to go into the crater for this purpose, regardless of my response?"

"Yeah," Zoe says. "But I do think it would help to have you along. You knew Sada - and her research - much better than I did."

And - a bit reluctantly, mind - Clavell agrees to go with Zoe (and N) to Area Zero to retrieve Sada's notes, and make their own ecological and behavioral assessment of the paradoxes now running loose.

And, as a potential plot complication, I've considered Arven somehow getting wind of this - maybe he just eavesdrops, like hey why is Scarlett's mom talking to the director, why did I just hear my mom's name? - and, being afraid that his best friend is gonna lose her parents in Area Zero the way he lost his mom, insists on coming along as backup. Refuses to hear no as an answer. Camps in the Zero Gate for a week to make sure that no one sneaks in past him.

So, even more reluctantly, the four of them begin a tense and awkward expedition into the crater. Clavell is urging Arven to go back to the surface and study and work on improving his grades the whole time. Arven is keeping a mental log trying to determine whether or not Scarlett's parents are good parents or whether he should kidnap his little buddy away from them or whatever. N is trying to talk to a Slither Wing. "She built a fucking time machine and only used it to teleport dinosaurs," Zoe gripes.

"What would you do with a time machine?" Arven asks, with the tone and expression of a guy who will use the answer to this question as further data for his analysis of are Scarlett's parents good parents? and are Scarlett's parents crazy?, which are two separate questions with potentially two separate answers, because Arven already knows that Scarlett is crazy.

And Zoe, whose answer to that question is go back to before Ghetsis created Team Plasma, take him hostage, and use him as bait to find out whether the old Lacunosa Town tales of Kyurem eating humans are true, is just like "...not teleport dinosaurs, that's for sure."

N gives everyone else a heart attack when he decides that the best way to determine if the other Koraidon is a continuing threat is walk right up to it and talk to it. Arven adds another tally mark under yes for his chart to answer are Scarlett's parents crazy?

Scarlett is in Kitakami making new friends and catching new pokemon and learning new myths and legends. She has no idea any of this is going on.