#meaning you have to be logged in to be able to view it

[anigst]

Hi :) do you have any male anime whump fanfic recommendations?

Hello <3

I have a few. i went thro my ao3 bookmarks and realized its been a long time since i last read a fanfic for anime (and some of the whump fics i saved dont appeal to me anymore) but!:

what is a gift? (what is a sacrifice?) by cywscross (Bleach)

Aizen burns Urahara's wings and he's dying, so Ichigo gives up his own wings to save Urahara :)

im not into wingfics but i read this one bcs i absolutely love everything Cross writes. and i was not disappointed!!. its well written and the physical and emotional whump were so good!!

"But he’s never going to need them again, after today. Urahara will, and Ichigo cares enough about him that sacrificing one more thing isn’t such a hard decision after all.

He rolls onto his feet, and with barely a thought, he’s disappeared and reappeared a foot away from Urahara. He looks even worse up close, his back nothing but raw charred flesh where his wings were once attached, and even unconscious, his colourless face is strained with agony."

and i'm nothing like you by aloneintherain (BNHA)

im a big BIG fan of being forced to hurt your friends trope

forget-me-not by quitea (Run with the Wind)

Hanahaki disease au :)

Fall by BeyondTheClouds777 (Haikyuu)

Hinata dislocates his knee

Break by BeyondTheClouds777 (Haikyuu)

bc who doesn't love a cute sickfic

That's all I have.

Anyone who sees this is obligated to tell me their favorite anime whump fic (please)

[staff]

Tumblr’s Core Product Strategy

Here at Tumblr, we’ve been working hard on reorganizing how we work in a bid to gain more users. A larger user base means a more sustainable company, and means we get to stick around and do this thing with you all a bit longer. What follows is the strategy we're using to accomplish the goal of user growth. The @labs group has published a bit already, but this is bigger. We’re publishing it publicly for the first time, in an effort to work more transparently with all of you in the Tumblr community. This strategy provides guidance amid limited resources, allowing our teams to focus on specific key areas to ensure Tumblr’s future.

The Diagnosis

In order for Tumblr to grow, we need to fix the core experience that makes Tumblr a useful place for users. The underlying problem is that Tumblr is not easy to use. Historically, we have expected users to curate their feeds and lean into curating their experience. But this expectation introduces friction to the user experience and only serves a small portion of our audience. 

Tumblr’s competitive advantage lies in its unique content and vibrant communities. As the forerunner of internet culture, Tumblr encompasses a wide range of interests, such as entertainment, art, gaming, fandom, fashion, and music. People come to Tumblr to immerse themselves in this culture, making it essential for us to ensure a seamless connection between people and content. 

To guarantee Tumblr’s continued success, we’ve got to prioritize fostering that seamless connection between people and content. This involves attracting and retaining new users and creators, nurturing their growth, and encouraging frequent engagement with the platform.

Our Guiding Principles

To enhance Tumblr’s usability, we must address these core guiding principles.

Expand the ways new users can discover and sign up for Tumblr.

Provide high-quality content with every app launch.

Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.

Retain and grow our creator base.

Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr.

Improve the platform’s performance, stability, and quality.

Below is a deep dive into each of these principles.

Principle 1: Expand the ways new users can discover and sign up for Tumblr.

Tumblr has a “top of the funnel” issue in converting non-users into engaged logged-in users. We also have not invested in industry standard SEO practices to ensure a robust top of the funnel. The referral traffic that we do get from external sources is dispersed across different pages with inconsistent user experiences, which results in a missed opportunity to convert these users into regular Tumblr users. For example, users from search engines often land on pages within the blog network and blog view—where there isn’t much of a reason to sign up. 

We need to experiment with logged-out tumblr.com to ensure we are capturing the highest potential conversion rate for visitors into sign-ups and log-ins. We might want to explore showing the potential future user the full breadth of content that Tumblr has to offer on our logged-out pages. We want people to be able to easily understand the potential behind Tumblr without having to navigate multiple tabs and pages to figure it out. Our current logged-out explore page does very little to help users understand “what is Tumblr.” which is a missed opportunity to get people excited about joining the site.

Actions & Next Steps

Improving Tumblr’s search engine optimization (SEO) practices to be in line with industry standards.

Experiment with logged out tumblr.com to achieve the highest conversion rate for sign-ups and log-ins, explore ways for visitors to “get” Tumblr and entice them to sign up.

Principle 2: Provide high-quality content with every app launch.

We need to ensure the highest quality user experience by presenting fresh and relevant content tailored to the user’s diverse interests during each session. If the user has a bad content experience, the fault lies with the product.

The default position should always be that the user does not know how to navigate the application. Additionally, we need to ensure that when people search for content related to their interests, it is easily accessible without any confusing limitations or unexpected roadblocks in their journey.

Being a 15-year-old brand is tough because the brand carries the baggage of a person’s preconceived impressions of Tumblr. On average, a user only sees 25 posts per session, so the first 25 posts have to convey the value of Tumblr: it is a vibrant community with lots of untapped potential. We never want to leave the user believing that Tumblr is a place that is stale and not relevant. 

Actions & Next Steps

Deliver great content each time the app is opened.

Make it easier for users to understand where the vibrant communities on Tumblr are. 

Improve our algorithmic ranking capabilities across all feeds. 

Principle 3: Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.

Part of Tumblr’s charm lies in its capacity to showcase the evolution of conversations and the clever remarks found within reblog chains and replies. Engaging in these discussions should be enjoyable and effortless.

Unfortunately, the current way that conversations work on Tumblr across replies and reblogs is confusing for new users. The limitations around engaging with individual reblogs, replies only applying to the original post, and the inability to easily follow threaded conversations make it difficult for users to join the conversation.

Actions & Next Steps

Address the confusion within replies and reblogs.

Improve the conversational posting features around replies and reblogs. 

Allow engagements on individual replies and reblogs.

Make it easier for users to follow the various conversation paths within a reblog thread. 

Remove clutter in the conversation by collapsing reblog threads. 

Explore the feasibility of removing duplicate reblogs within a user’s Following feed. 

Principle 4: Retain and grow our creator base.

Creators are essential to the Tumblr community. However, we haven’t always had a consistent and coordinated effort around retaining, nurturing, and growing our creator base.  

Being a new creator on Tumblr can be intimidating, with a high likelihood of leaving or disappointment upon sharing creations without receiving engagement or feedback. We need to ensure that we have the expected creator tools and foster the rewarding feedback loops that keep creators around and enable them to thrive.

The lack of feedback stems from the outdated decision to only show content from followed blogs on the main dashboard feed (“Following”), perpetuating a cycle where popular blogs continue to gain more visibility at the expense of helping new creators. To address this, we need to prioritize supporting and nurturing the growth of new creators on the platform.

It is also imperative that creators, like everyone on Tumblr, feel safe and in control of their experience. Whether it be an ask from the community or engagement on a post, being successful on Tumblr should never feel like a punishing experience.

Actions & Next Steps

Get creators’ new content in front of people who are interested in it. 

Improve the feedback loop for creators, incentivizing them to continue posting.

Build mechanisms to protect creators from being spammed by notifications when they go viral.

Expand ways to co-create content, such as by adding the capability to embed Tumblr links in posts.

Principle 5: Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr.

Push notifications and emails are essential tools to increase user engagement, improve user retention, and facilitate content discovery. Our strategy of reaching out to you, the user, should be well-coordinated across product, commercial, and marketing teams.

Our messaging strategy needs to be personalized and adapt to a user’s shifting interests. Our messages should keep users in the know on the latest activity in their community, as well as keeping Tumblr top of mind as the place to go for witty takes and remixes of the latest shows and real-life events.  

Most importantly, our messages should be thoughtful and should never come across as spammy.  

Actions & Next Steps

Conduct an audit of our messaging strategy.

Address the issue of notifications getting too noisy; throttle, collapse or mute notifications where necessary.  

Identify opportunities for personalization within our email messages. 

Test what the right daily push notification limit is. 

Send emails when a user has push notifications switched off.

Principle 6: Performance, stability and quality.

The stability and performance of our mobile apps have declined. There is a large backlog of production issues, with more bugs created than resolved over the last 300 days. If this continues, roughly one new unresolved production issue will be created every two days. Apps and backend systems that work well and don't crash are the foundation of a great Tumblr experience. Improving performance, stability, and quality will help us achieve sustainable operations for Tumblr.

Improve performance and stability: deliver crash-free, responsive, and fast-loading apps on Android, iOS, and web.

Improve quality: deliver the highest quality Tumblr experience to our users. 

Move faster: provide APIs and services to unblock core product initiatives and launch new features coming out of Labs.

Conclusion

Our mission has always been to empower the world’s creators. We are wholly committed to ensuring Tumblr evolves in a way that supports our current users while improving areas that attract new creators, artists, and users. You deserve a digital home that works for you. You deserve the best tools and features to connect with your communities on a platform that prioritizes the easy discoverability of high-quality content. This is an invigorating time for Tumblr, and we couldn’t be more excited about our current strategy.

[starcurtain]

A Look at Ratio and Aventurine... and Ratio/Aventurine

I was morally obligated to use this picture.

Anyway, I got an ask about my understanding of Ratio and Aventurine's relationship both in canon and as a ship that I have been holding on to for a while now because... phew, there's like... a lot to talk about there... But I felt I should at least give it a try, so here is my attempt to comment on the intersection of two of Star Rail's most complicated personalities. Long post is longgggg; you have been warned.

First, Aventurine's canon relationship to Ratio:

In the interest of not hitting tumblr's image limit, let's just throw out some of the information we have in one go:

It's pretty complimentary. (Yet somehow...)

The implication of the infamous "Keeping Up with Star Rail" video is that Ratio understands Aventurine better than anyone else, and Aventurine knows this. At the very least, putting all shipping aside, Ratio is the person who can explain Aventurine's behaviors best. He's the person Aventurine chooses do so. This suggests significantly more knowledge of each other's lives than the game first led us to believe.

Other people (read as: my GOAT Owlbert) perceive respect from Aventurine to Ratio, and although I read them as a bit sarcastic, the 2.1 mission logs not only repeatedly confirm that Aventurine views Ratio as smart and reliable, but that Ratio is reliable "as always," again indicating a longer and closer history of collaboration than we get to actively see in game. The devs were working hard to tell us "Penacony isn't Ratiorine's first rodeo," which is interesting--given Topaz's voiceline recommending the Trailblazer avoid working with Aventurine whenever possible, we're led to believe through 2.0 and 2.1 that not many people will willingly work with Aventurine more than once, let alone many times.

While going through psychological scrutiny from the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come his Harmony-infused self, the "Future" Aventurine suggests that Ratio and Aventurine are quite similar, and that Aventurine puts a surprising amount of trust in Ratio, to be willing to hinge such a dangerous plan on something as untested as Ratio's ability to act. At the very least, Aventurine's own psyche is pondering on Ratio and whether or not their connection has any emotional meaning.

But despite all this evidence suggesting Ratio and Aventurine spend significantly more time with each other than we get to see in game, Aventurine's own thoughts cast strong doubt on whether he and Ratio are actually close.

Aventurine's "About Dr. Ratio" voice line suggests that Aventurine believes Ratio does not particularly like him. He seems to think that Ratio would prefer to stay away from IPC operations where possible, and it's "unfortunate" for Ratio to be stuck with Aventurine as a conversation partner. He's tolerated, rather than enjoyed. His overall impression seems to be that Ratio mostly views them as distant coworkers.

When the "Future" Aventurine suggests Ratio did not betray Aventurine willingly, actual Aventurine immediately pushes back:

(Personally I'm on the fence about whether this was real doubt or just a ploy to continue sussing out Sunday; see my other post about this scene for some more thoughts.)

But if we take this statement to be played straight, it implies that Aventurine doesn't fully believe Ratio will side with him, even (maybe especially) in dire circumstances. If this statement is real doubt, then despite considering Ratio the person who best understands him, despite building an entire life or death gamble around Ratio's loyalty... Aventurine still doesn't think Ratio even likes him.

Aventurine's not stupid or blind, so theoretically he should be able to read the situation better than that. But actually, there's plenty of evidence both in the game and outside it to suggest that Aventurine is not the most accurate judge of his own relationships to others and is a down-right terrible judge of his own worth as a person.

"Future" Aventurine suggests that one of Aventurine's deep inner flaws--the truths that he rejects about himself--is a massive inferiority complex. This is backed up well by the mission text, where Aventurine's thoughts about himself spiral into self-harm, and the scene in the maze, where "Future" Aventurine taunts our Aventurine with the unforgettable fact that his entire life was only worth pennies:

There's also pretty consistent self-deprecation, with both "Future" and real Aventurine noting several times that he's a pathetic mess of a person that other people don't trust or like.

The overall impression 2.0-2.1 left me with is that Aventurine is perfectly capable of respecting and caring for others, but virtually incapable of accepting other people genuinely respecting and caring for him.

Part of this seems to stem from the directly-stated sense that he's a failure whose only worth is in transactional exchanges, using and being used by others (there's so many layers to this--internalized racism even), but I also suspect that much of his inability to accept genuine connection from others is defensive behavior.

Aventurine's true self, Kakavasha, is deeply hidden away, like the ghost of the child that manifests from his Harmony delusion in the Dreamscape. Although Aventurine clings to that person, claiming that he has "never changed," he actively coats over his beliefs, his kindness, and his authenticity with the mask of a "cavalier gambler," with glitz and glamor and showy distractions. No one gets to see Kakavasha. No one gets to know him, because being buried deep in the dirt is the only way to remain untouchable, and fiercely keeping one's distance is the only safe bet. (For both Kakavasha and any fools who would doom themselves by daring to care for him.)

So: Canon is telling us that Ratio is one of, if not the, closest people in the world to Aventurine. But canon is also telling us that that still means absolutely nothing at all, because Aventurine won't let himself be close to anyone living.

Aventurine's senses of self-worth, trust, attachment, and safety have been warped so badly by ongoing and untreated trauma and mental health issues that, at least until the end of 2.1, I just don't think he was capable of even accepting genuine friendship from Ratio, let alone anything more.

(Interesting side note here: Ratio is actually one of the people Aventurine calls "my friend" the least. He only says it directly to Ratio a single time in all of their lines of dialogue across 2.0 and 2.1, and even then, does so only when right outside Sunday's door, while almost certainly being spied upon by the Family. Anyone who knows how often "my friend" is peppered into Aventurine's dialogue otherwise should know that the absence of the phrase is actually pretty telling. It almost feels like canon Aventurine's not even sure he can call Ratio his friend, at least to Ratio's face.)

Which makes Ratio's canon relationship to Aventurine quite sad and ironic:

From start to finish, Ratio canonically esteems Aventurine more highly than almost any other character in the game. I'm not even talking about shipping when I say that there is no character Ratio is closer to in the entire game.

At present, Ratio has only four voice lines about other characters, and of those four, Aventurine's is the only one that isn't someone from the Genius Society. The only one. Ratio's voice lines are also notably, uh, not very complimentary. Herta is "talented but not helpful to others" and "sees no one as her equal" (read as: she's self-absorbed). Screwllum is a "monarch, rather than a genius" (with the vague implications of being a tyrant), and Ruan Mei is overly ambitious and "fooling everyone."

Meanwhile, Aventurine is "our man" (who is "our" Ratio? who?) whose success "can't all be chalked up to luck," implying that part of Aventurine's success must come from skill. Ratio notes that Aventurine questions his own ability... but as far as Ratio's evaluation goes, he seems to doubt that Aventurine will ever experience a downfall. For someone who thinks 99% of the people he meets are mediocre failures scrambling around in the filth of existence, to be recognized as skilled and unlikely to fail is quite obviously glowing praise.

Then, of course, there are numerous moments that echo Aventurine's hints, implying that Ratio spends significantly more time with Aventurine than we see on-screen, that he knows Aventurine extremely well, and, although he tries (vainly) to pretend he isn't, he's clearly quite concerned with what Aventurine thinks of him.

Especially this last one. "No wonder that gambler likes you so much" is pretty intentional on the devs' part, confirming that Ratio and Aventurine are having off-screen conversations we players are not privy to, which obviously would indicate a closer relationship than the in-game cutscenes could cover.

Then, Trailblazer has the option to flat out ask Ratio to "rate" Aventurine. (Star Rail ship bait is not even subtle.)

At first, this line might read as all over the place:

"The bosses say we're partners but I wouldn't say that" -> Read as: Ratio wants people to know how their relationship is classified but doesn't want to admit to being actually invested.

"I see myself as the teacher to everyone I meet" -> Read as: Ratio at least pretends that he doesn't view anyone as his equal; everyone is either above him--geniuses--or below him--students.

"Aventurine is not that bad of a student" -> High praise; even Ratio can't pretend Aventurine's untalented.

"Actually, Aventurine's probably in metaphysical danger" -> Read as: Ratio is aware of the "void" Aventurine is experiencing and his mental struggles.

The ultimate takeaway of Ratio's "rating" actually says more about Ratio than Aventurine. When it comes down to it, Ratio's choice to answer this question for the Trailblazer instead of dismiss it tells us that Ratio has spent time quantifying and trying to define his relationship with Aventurine, is willing to at least discuss that relationship with other people (when we have no evidence he ever discusses any other personal/non-academic matters with anyone), and that Ratio pays attention to Aventurine's mental states.

Canon Ratio is not beating the allegations, I'm afraid.

But actually, I think the biggest tell about Ratio's canon relationship to Aventurine is that Ratio's behavior completely changes the moment Aventurine appears in the game.

In every single one of Ratio's other appearances, two facts are hammered home again and again:

First, Ratio hates interacting with fools and "noisy" people. He wears his plaster bust so that he doesn't even have to see them. Canonically, we're informed by both March 7th and Argenti that Ratio brought and was wearing his headpiece in Penacony. Curiously though...

The players never see it throughout 2.X--probably because 90% of Ratio's scenes are with Aventurine, and Ratio is never shown wearing his bust on screen with Aventurine--even in their very first meeting in the Final Victor lightcone. Aventurine clearly knows of the bust, but despite Ratio verbally going on and on about how Aventurine is the most "flashy" and "devoid of logic" person Ratio knows... the devs deliberately send their message: Ratio has chosen not to cut himself off from Aventurine.

Aventurine can be more "clamorous" than a screaming peacock, but Ratio will still not put up walls against him. This isn't accidental. The devs had every opportunity in the world to go the opposite route and make jokes about Ratio refusing to take the bust off in Aventurine's obnoxious presence; instead they decided that Ratio apparently has a glaring, Aventurine-shaped exception to his "I don't want to perceive you fools or be perceived by you" life rule.

This "willing to tolerate shenanigans only if Aventurine is involved" behavior continues basically throughout all of Penacony's plot. In 2.3 for example, if you turn around and talk to Ratio again on the Radiant Feldspar, he flat out says:

But there's no actual explanation for why he's there in the first place. He mentions he was assigned to watch over "the IPC's ambassadors," which theoretically should apply to Jade and Topaz, yet we never see him interacting with them in any capacity. He's never even shown in the same room as Jade or Topaz, and he's not shown doing any other form of business for the IPC on the Feldspar either. Theoretically, he could have been on the Feldspar to meet regarding the Divergent Universe... except Screwllum wasn't there yet, and Ratio doesn't mention a single word about the Divergent Universe to the Trailblazer.

The only person Ratio talks about in his dialogue on the Feldspar is Aventurine, and the only non-Trailblazer he talks to in 2.3 at all is also Aventurine, replying to him and only him in the group chat.

He looked like he might give it a shot to try to befriend Boothill and Argenti at the end of 2.3... but immediately changes his mind and leaves without saying a word to them.

It's not really a stretch to suggest that the only reasonable excuse for Ratio to attend the party on the Feldspar was if he was there for Aventurine, a behavior that he himself notes is out of character. ("A waste of time" he says, as he stands there anyway.)

But, second and even more importantly: Ratio's single most defining character trait is that he believes people need to pick themselves up. The entire point of his debut appearance in the game was to present his philosophy that if the powerful or privileged intervene to continually "save" the mediocre, ordinary people will never learn for themselves or get the chance to grow. It is in times of desperation, he says, that fools exceed their limits and reach greatness.

This is why, in 1.6, he insisted on Asta and the Trailblazer being the ones to solve the attacks happening on the space station, without relying on Screwllum or the other geniuses. Although Ratio did actively intervene a little (using the phase flame to save the researchers from death), he did so only from behind the scenes, where his actual help would not be noticed by those affected and where it had no impact on their decision-making or their struggles to solve the mystery.

He let Asta and the Trailblazer panic. He let them flounder. He even deliberately misled them at points, claiming that Duke Inferno must have kidnapped the researchers (when it was actually Ratio himself who re-routed them).

Ultimately, Ratio let Asta and the Trailblazer grow from their experiences.

This is also why he lets the Trailblazer go blazing in to fight Ruan Mei's faux emanator of the propagation, despite knowing that Trailblazer was not actually strong enough to win. Ratio watched and was ready to intervene... but in the end he did not, because it was the Trailblazer's fight to lose.

Ratio's most defining character trait is that he believes standing back and observing is the true kindness, rather than inserting oneself and denying people their autonomy or opportunities to grow.

Buttttt... then there's Aventurine, and suddenly the story is completely different.

Suddenly, Ratio isn't an observer but becomes essential to the plan. He's even walking around making big claims about being the manager of the task, flexing all of his C+ acting ability to actively carry out their mutual ploy.

In 2.3, he claims he was just there to watch, and his Penacony sticker asserts he's only "a supporting character"--yet we have never seen Ratio take a more active role in the entire game. Unlike with the Trailblazer in 1.6, he's not primarily watching events unfold from shadowy corners. He's in Penacony as Aventurine's active partner in crime.

And, even more telling--he later jeopardizes their entire mission just to ask if Aventurine needs help.

What? Huh? The character who is famous for the voice line "You look distressed. Is something troubling you? If so, you can figure it out for yourself" is suddenly offering his assistance entirely unprompted?

The guy whose motto might as well be:

Is suddenly out here throwing his own core philosophy out the window to solve Penacony's mystery for Aventurine and save him from himself in Aventurine's hour of greatest need?

A lot of people get hung up on the second half of Ratio's letter, the part about staying alive, which of course is very sweet. But I think the second half causes people to forget that the first part of Ratio's letter is, quite literally, the answer to Penacony's mystery.

Ratio gave Aventurine the answer.

This is like if your professor just gave you and you alone the score key to the final exam and then turned around to insist he "doesn't play favorites."

Of course, Aventurine is brilliant and didn't need Ratio's answer about dormancy, which makes the fact that Ratio went out of the way to give it to him even more odd. Ratio despises unnecessary repetition. If he wasn't dead worried, he would never have given Aventurine an answer that Aventurine had the power to find on his own.

And, as far as canon tells us, Ratio has never done this for anyone else.

The difference is night and day. It's literally the Gordon Ramsay meme, with everyone else in the entire game being the "fucking donkeys" to Aventurine's "Oh dear. Gorgeous."

So: Even if we entirely put aside shipping, if we look strictly at what we're given in canon:

Ratio treats Aventurine with more respect than he treats most other characters in the game.

He involves himself in Aventurine's struggles in a way that he flat out refuses to do for anyone else.

He compromises his own beliefs purely out of concern for Aventurine.

So, at least as far as we've been shown in canon, it is accurate to state that Aventurine is the closest character to Ratio--and unlike Aventurine (king of self-gaslighting), Ratio isn't even good at acting like he doesn't care.

Frankly, the whole thing is a little sad. Ratio's behavior is so blatantly out of character that a smart person like Aventurine should easily be able to determine it is genuine, but Aventurine's personal hang-ups and ongoing trauma make it difficult for him to even see that authenticity, let alone put faith in it. Even in canon, Ratio is mostly unable to help himself when it comes to Aventurine, which is especially unfortunate given how badly skewed Aventurine's perception of himself and others is by the start of Penacony's story.

PHEW! I finally made it through canon content!

Now there's just... everything else... 🫠

Well, to be honest, I don't think I could ever manage to put all my thoughts about this ship into one post. Probably not even fifty posts.

So rather than trying to say everything there is to say about Ratiorine, what I want to focus on is how fantastically these two characters just fit together. Like puzzle pieces that need to be mirror opposites in order to link, these two characters parallel each other while also perfectly filling in each other's voids. It's some of the best character pair writing I've seen in a long time (though I'm still sort of convinced it was at least 50% sheer luck on Hoyo's part), and my perspective on their ship can really be tied to my underlying perception of Ratio and Aventurine's characters as remarkably similar individuals:

It's obvious that Aventurine is not a healthy or well-adjusted adult man, but like... neither is Ratio.

Both of these characters are "not quite right" marginalized people who, at least in my interpretation, have essentially given up on even faking normality and are now just vaguely play acting their way through being functioning members of a universe that is entirely unequipped to accept them for who they are. In a world full of cyborg cowboys and people with wings growing from their heads, the game still manages to somehow convince us that Aventurine and Ratio are odd ones out.

Kakavasha can't even exist in the dystopian capitalist hellscape of the IPC's machinations. "Aventurine" isn't even a real person, just a never-ending performance, a slick, devil-may-care persona without a single ounce of substance.

Ratio, meanwhile, is a world of one, rejected from the only place he thought he could find validation and acceptance but unable to lower himself to fit in anywhere else.

Aventurine is so bad at making genuine connections that he turns everyday conversations into gambles because he doesn't believe people will care enough to keep talking to him without tangible incentive.

Ratio's insistence on treating everyone as students, not as equals, also means he has an excuse to never emotionally engage with anyone he meets. (This is not at all a textbook method of intentional avoidance to prevent any chance of social rejection. Not at all.)

At the end of the day, Aventurine and Ratio both come across as desperately lonely, and so caught up in their own situations that they really don't have the ability to climb out of that hole on their own.

Preventing them from even being able to maintain any form of relationship is also the fact that neither one of them can even find justification. Neither one of them has a reasonable answer to the question "Why am I alive?" anymore, because Aventurine's reason died on Sigonia and Ratio's reason died with an IPC invitation instead of a Genius Society letter. Though their differing perspectives have led them on opposite paths pursuing their own answers to that ultimate question of "Why should I keep living?" (Aventurine was headed toward giving up before the end of Penacony, while Ratio has invented an immeasurable, impossible goal to distract himself from feeling purposeless), both of them are pretty much miserably unfulfilled in their current lives.

They're also both violently allergic to emotional vulnerability and to having any of their flaws or true desires actually be perceived. Both of them put up insanely high walls. Aventurine pushes boundaries with everyone he meets to provoke their hatred in advance, before they can come to disdain him for his "real" flaws. He acts out harmful racist stereotypes to use others' preconceptions for advantage, manipulating every situation he's in--incidentally affirming the stereotypes against his people by doing so.

Ratio puts a physical wall of plaster between himself and others, but the plaster bust actually doesn't have anything on the mental and emotional gymnastics he's engaged in to justify his isolation from the world, doing everything in his power to convince himself that he's isolated by choice, that it's perfectly logical for Veritas Ratio to have nowhere to truly belong, no one to truly belong with. He's so mundane after all. Of course the geniuses don't want him, that's just commonsense. But everyone else is so... different, so foolish, so illogical... It just wouldn't be reasonable of him to try to become one of them either, to be their friend instead of their distant educator. (You know, if you never try to integrate with others, then they can't reject you. Ratio has learned his lesson.)

Somehow, Aventurine and Ratio are two of the most competent and successful people in Star Rail's entire universe and simultaneously also two of the most misfit, reject, dysfunctional messes in the game. Like... Blade has a better support network than Aventurine and Ratio combined. The 7000-pound murderous mech with a disabled, genetically-modified war veteran who never got to live a normal human life hiding inside it is more capable of making friends than Aventurine and Dr. Ratio.

Which is why I love that the devs decided to make their canon backstory: "Some absolute treasures in the IPC and the Intelligentsia Guild had the galaxy-brained idea of pairing Ratio and Aventurine as strategic partners." The game's writing really said: "These two characters are so socially stunted, they have to be assigned a relationship like it's homework."

They may not have it all figured out yet, but the fans see the design: Now that Ratio and Aventurine have each other, they're not alone anymore. I have never seen two characters better fit the "Is anyone going to match my freak?" meme only for the actual answer to be "Yes."

Ratio is "plays chess with himself" levels of loner weird? No problem--Aventurine is "Wanna take bets on who's going to die today?" weirder. Ratio wears a plaster bust to ward off idiots? Aventurine transforms into a monster on command, which is pretty much guaranteed to achieve the same effect.

Ratio wasn't chosen by Nous? That's fine, Aventurine's one job as a "chosen one" was to save his people and now they're all dead. Nobody can keep up with Ratio in conversation? Watch a single comment from Aventurine turn him into a fumbling mess on live television.

Ratio's inability to relate to the experiences and development of any peers his own age have left him extremely isolated and with a permanently scarred sense of self-worth? Wow, I wonder if Aventurine knows exactly what that feels like.

They just... fit.

And, changing focus a little here at the end: While I personally think that recovery from trauma requires internal motivation and self-kindness foremost, I also think that Ratio and Aventurine's relationship should be considered from the perspective of how they help to fill each other's gaps.

Unlike any connection at the Genius Society who will always evoke unpleasant memories of Nous's rejection, Aventurine isn't going to make Ratio feel intellectually inferior. Aventurine has nothing but good things to say about Ratio's intelligence, and it's even apparent that Ratio felt comfortable enough to at least mention his Genius Society woes to Aventurine, something he explicitly does not do with anyone else.

Even when it comes to social interactions, Aventurine isn't going to make Ratio feel inadequate, because honestly? Aventurine's almost as bad at them as Ratio. Aventurine is much better at faking it socially, but when it actually counts? When he's trying to be real with others? A solid 70% of the people who meet Aventurine still end up wanting to strangle him. The guy tried to apologize for threatening to detonate the Trailblazer like a bomb by buying them a model train...

Then there's this:

Aventurine is the only character explicitly called Ratio's equal in game, and more than just treating him respectfully as an equal, Aventurine also exhibits one extreme appeal that no one else in game has ever shown to Ratio: Aventurine makes Ratio feel needed. For Aventurine, Ratio is not a forgettable after-thought as he is to Herta and most of the other geniuses. He's not just "some weird guy who scolds me about school" like he is to the Trailblazer. Ratio's intellect and skill were integral to Aventurine's plan from step one to the very end. Ratio has a place in Aventurine's plots. For a character who directly assesses worth by how beneficial a person can be to others, the fact that Aventurine can make Ratio feel wanted and valued probably produced some of the strongest personal fulfillment Ratio has had in years.

On the opposite side, Ratio's in a unique position. Out of every relevant character in Aventurine's story, Ratio is the only one who has nothing to lose by choosing Kakavasha over "Aventurine." Ratio doesn't profit off Aventurine or take any expensive gifts from him, like the Trailblazer does. He doesn't need Aventurine's luck for anything at all. He'd be able to work for the IPC even if Aventurine wasn't in it. Ratio certainly doesn't want the glitz and glamour of a shallow gambling hustler persona. His work doesn't require Aventurine's continued involvement like Topaz's and Jade's does. He'd probably prefer not to know any Stonehearts at all, thank you for asking.

Outside of deliberate-acting insults about Sigonians for Sunday's sake, we're not told that Ratio has any connections to--and therefore has no preconceived biases against--Sigonians. Being a person who values self-determination and a refusal to live in mediocrity above all else, he would have nothing but esteem for how far Aventurine has managed to come despite the harsh circumstances of his life. Ratio probably wouldn't even think Aventurine's belief in Gaiathra is that strange; one of Ratio's doctorates is actually in theology.

Unlike literally everyone else in the universe who needs "Aventurine," we have every indication that Ratio's respect and admiration will only grow when he finally gets to meet "Kakavasha."

Loneliness, rejection, betrayal, a lack of understanding from others--all of these can leave wounds that only genuine, deep bonds with others can heal.

On death's doorway, in the darkest shadow, when Aventurine had to make the choice between passing on to be with the family that loved him and choosing to return to a reality without them... Ratio's letter was there, telling Aventurine the exact thing he needed to hear to choose life: Someone is waiting for you to come home.

If the resounding rejection of Star Rail's Nihility is belief in humanity's power to make meaning in our own lives through our connections to others, then the ultimate message of Ratio and Aventurine's arc in Penacony is that no one needs to be alone. The world is not as empty as you fear.

And that is a message that Ratio and Aventurine can learn best through each other.

(I just... love them so much...)

[fablepaint]

I don’t know if I’m allowed to ask anything here, but I wanted to know something. How is it like being a director of an animation? What’s your ideology when it comes to directing?

Messages anytime all the time

caffeinecaffeinecaffeine

body exhausted, enforces its own breaks

hard to go out, ever

STRESSSSS

MAAATHHH

wheredidmybraingo?

*smashed body part* thatll heal up finnnne. i dont have time for doctor!

ohgoddontfuckitup dontbeTHATguy ohfuckohshit

i love my partner i cant believe he puts up with this

hug every pet. theyre my emotional sponges.

manic creative spurts followed by sheepish anxiety.

PaPERWORK

hurry up and wait, times a thousand.

hope you like data sheets!

delegateDAMMIT

And thats when it's running smoothly!

otherwise my approach is to try and reflect the best examples of leadership and guidance IRL ive experienced. Mostly, from quality college professors Ive known. Tom Sito in particular exemplified a lot of what i strive to be. He was also formerly guild president and i think teaching your crew to view themselves as a collective that supports each other is vital to ensuring not just that they work together well, but also should anyone try to take advantage of them, they'll curbstomp them. I want them to be capable even in my absence, beyond the project, and able to run their own projects competently in the future.

i should be the one who guides and educates people into giving what's needed for the shot. Pain and blood are unwanted elements in that recipe. Theyre distractions and energysappers, red flags of a problem not a badge of honor.

Ideally, i barely have to do more than gently steer the work. And if ive communicated what im looking for effectively, theyre all plenty good at doing the work without me hovering over them.

if the work needs more guidance than that, then i roll up my sleeves and dive in as well. And figure out what the problem was, log it, and let that educate everyone else too (good documentation is essential).

i try to exhaust every option i have before blaming the person working on it for all the issues. Sometimes that is the problem, but even then i need to approach it neutrally and ask what human solution is required then. Do they need a break? was this not the right shot for them? is their way of processing the communication different than i expected? is there a translation problem?

in which case give people space to figure out some of that without judgement. Sometimes that means leaving for a bit, or permanently. But dont chase them. Just let them have their own life.

The only things i cant abide by are lack of communication that results in putting stress on the rest of the team. Consistent lying about availability and ball dropping despite constant outreach means someone has to pick up the slack without enough time or energy stocked up to take on the extra work. Anything that ends up exacerbating stress makes me upset.

But even then, it's still my job to spot the signs of this and make necessary adjustments before it becomes a problem. Including identifying where I made a miscalculation in hiring.

The buck always ALWAYS stops with me. I have the power to adjust the system to make it better, which means i gotta have a good grasp on that system.

[nonbinary-odo]

Captain's log, supplemental. Excitement from the newly rediscovered Earth holiday known as Pride Month has taken DS9 by storm. I only hope in all their merriment, my officers do not forget their duties.

---

"Brother! I found another one!" Rom declared.

"Let me see that," Quark snatched the PADD from his hands. "No good, it's another of those 'combo' flags."

"Annnnnd what's wrong with that?"

"What's wrong with it? It means they only need to buy one of Quark's Commemorative Pride Pins! At 3 slips I'm already practically giving them away! I'm all for these hu-mon holidays so long as they don't drive a man out of business!"

---

"Sorry Odo, the rules are very clean on this one: no cops at Pride."

Odo nodded, hands squarely behind his back. "Understandable, Major. I do not see much benefit in my attendance of a Solid holiday, regardless."

Dax looked like her heart was just crushed. "But this is Odo we're talking about, can't we make an exception? Besides, I already picked up his pins from Quark."

"Lieutenant, I hardly-"

Jadzia cut him off by pinning three different pride flags to Odo's "shirt". The backgrounds had horizontal bars of color, and the foreground featured Quark's smiling face, complete with an ad for his other holiday products. Odo sighed. Kira laughed.

---

"Oh come now, Garak..." Julian paced the length of the Tailor's shop, he looked quite at home, to pull at as many items of clothing as he did. "You won't have to do anything, we'll just be walking!'

Hands close to his chest, highly offended, Garak pointed a delicate finger to the bright pins on Bashir's chest.

"And I suppose you expect me to wear those horrendous bobbles I have been seeing all across the station?"

"Garak-"

"My dear doctor, I would no sooner be caught pairing Tholian silk with Tarkalean wool. You know, I would have quite the comments for whoever came up with these bright, clashing combinations. Constable Odo of all people has seemed to pick the most sensible of them, his all share a sense of color story-"

"We don't pick them, Garak."

"And yours, I understand wearing one color day after day may make you blind to it, but doctor, not even your blues match."

"Garak, if you don't want to join me, you are welcome to stay here."

"Stay here? My dear doctor, I wouldn't dream of missing it."

---

"Captain, your station is out of control. On Terok Nor, we would never allow for such riots to spread across the station." Dukat's voice buzzed through the view screen.

"Listen to me, Dukat. What I allow on my station is my business and mine alone. What you call a riot, I call a celebration. This holiday is a joyous expression of self even your ego should be able to get behind. Now I will NOT have your internalized homophobia twist what this parade is about!"

"Captain, my wha-"

"Computer, end transmission."

[hawkeyedflame]

y'all get this. you're gonna love this.

i went to renew my car registration online last week and was slapped with a nice juicy "NON-RENEWAL" banner when i entered my information. why, you ask? i asked the same thing!

turns out that i had an unpaid toll fee (?!) from june that i was completely unaware of. because of the way toll plazas are just stupid fucking photo booths now, i don't even remember going through this toll. but apparently i did, because they have a picture of my car going through it. whatever. it's like $1.

here's the rub, though. i never received an invoice in the mail for this, and yes my address is up-to-date. so the next month the fee went up. then it went up. then it went up. then it went to collections, where it incurred a $25 fine and barred me from renewing my registration. the total fee they wanted me to pay to clear my non-renewal was nearly $30. for a toll i never even got an invoice to pay. and for those wondering, in order to view and pay your toll online, you must have either the invoice number from the state DOT, or you must have the ticket number from the RMV after you get a non-renewal. which means that even if i had remembered i went through the toll and had attempted to pay it, i would not have been able to because i never got an invoice.

so i did what any pissed off state-hating woman does. i wrote a dispute letter to the DOT saying exactly what i said above and declaring it unjustifiable and wrong.

i did not receive any automated confirmation email that my dispute claim was successfully submitted, nor did i receive any correspondence back about it. but, magically, when i went to the DOT website to check the status of it this afternoon, as i logged in to the RMV website to grab the ticket number, it was gone. and my non-renewal was cleared.

funny, that.

anyway kids the moral of the story is to always fight back against injustice from the state. they're just bullies hoping to grift people who are too timid or too busy to deal with their bullshit. never let it slide. always fight back.

[oh-katsuki]

a little zombie apocalypse katsuki!au drabble. my twd rewatch is giving me many thoughts...

cw: apocalypse au, reader is alone, mentions of death, implications of child death, grief mentions, reader is described as a "little thing" but that's more just the way katsuki talks, katsuki is a little gruff but he means well, guns, weapons, general apocalypse thoughts, mentions of zombies but we follow the "never call them a zombie" rule, katsuki and reader meeting for the first time, etc

the light of your fire is dim, embers burning low as you sit in a foldable chair beside it. you've got a metal spatula in your hand. you're not sure why you grabbed it when things went to shit, but panic does weird things to the mind. this, along with a few other oddities, are all you managed to take from your house when the world fell to ruin. everything else are things scavenged along the way or from people you'd met, joined, and lost.

the night is near silent and trees creak and crack like the hulls of great ships under heavy pressure, but the birds don't sing and nothing in the crowded wood you're taking shelter in makes a sound. well, except for you and the gentle crackle of your fire.

your head is on a swivel. it has been for months. ever since the outbreak, ever since the dead rose and began consuming and infecting the living, you've kept watch. a paranoid, never ending cycle that you suppose—if left on your own—will burn itself out. you swallow thick and return your attention to the fire, watching the tree line just in front of you for any hint of movement or monsters.

a branch cracks just behind you. a swift sound, followed by rapid footsteps. you stand, quickly turning your head, only to see a a figure a few feet away from you. they move quickly and the dancing light of the fire obscures their features from view. their eyes, most importantly. you can always tell if someone is dead or alive based on their eyes. in this light, should this stranger have that milky white film over them, you wouldn't be able to tell.

you make a small noise, something between a whimper and a shout, as the person comes to a stop in front of you and holds a gun directly between your eyes. the living. this person is alive. you're not sure at this point if encountering one of the dead would have been worse.

"drop your weapon," he says in a hurried voice. it's aggressive and threatening. it comes from deep in his chest.

you raise your shaky hands to your head quickly at the order, screwing your eyes shut as if looking in theirs would be a cause for attack.

"i-it's not a weapon!" you shout, voice cracking. "it's- it's a sp-spatula. it's a spatula."

the words are rushed and heavy, fear seizing your chest as you look down the barrel of the gun. the firelight glints off of it and you can make out the person behind the barrel's features. he's big, blonde under the grime, you think. a man. not the best thing to encounter alone at night in times like these.

you see him hesitate for a moment, eyes darting between you and the silver kitchen item in your hand. you drop it quickly.

"do you have a weapon on you?" he questions, voice a little less urgent.

you shake your head in response and then shakily look beside the chair. there's a knife there and a pistol with no bullets. you're a poor shot and you'd run out of ammo the previous week. he glances to it, the gun still raised at you, and sidesteps to grab them. when he does, he cautiously lowers the weapon. you start to lower your trembling hands.

then, as if struck by some realization, the man stomps towards the fire and you jump as he does.

"the fuck are you doing lighting a fire?" he says angrily. "those things may be dead, but they can still fuckin' see. that's a good way to get yourself killed."

he stomps out the fire as he talks, urgently stamping out what's left of the low-burning logs.

"i- i didn't think there were many in the area," you justify, furrowing your eyebrows as you step away from him.

"and that's a risk you want to take?" he says indignantly. you wonder briefly what business he has worrying about you.

"what do you want?" you snap, "my food? weapons? life? what is it?"

the man scoffs, "jesus, none of that."

you narrow your eyes and take a step back.

"not all people who camp out in the woods are good," he says. "but i sure as shit didn't expect to find some little thing like you alone lighting a damn fire. stupid."

"there were more," you say indignantly, like somehow that makes it better. "force of habit, i guess."

the man pauses for a moment as understanding passes between the two of you. it's a relatable feeling. everyone has lost someone now. you just happened to lose everyone.

"got a name?" he asks.

you hesitate in giving it to him before deciding what it could hurt. the man nods as if he likes the sound of it.

"i'm katsuki," he furrows his eyebrows. "you're alone?"

you nod, swallowing down the grief that pushes at your throat.

"wasn't always," you respond, "but yeah. now i am."

he nods his understanding.

"come with me."

"where?" you say instinctively, a defensive edge to your voice. katsuki looks at you like your stupid, or maybe it's pity, like you're a wounded animal. probably both.

"where the fuck do you think?" he retorts. "we've got a camp a little ways from here. i saw your fire from one of the watch posts we have stationed around the place."

you look at him like he's a little crazy for even thinking to bring you there.

he scoffs and rolls his head over his shoulder. "look, we've got men and women," then he pauses, "used to have children. we're not gonna hurt you. world's gone to shit, do you really wanna keep at it alone?"

he's probably right. you've been alone for weeks now, exhausted for longer, and though your common sense tells you not to go off with a strange man in this kind of world, the promise of community is far too tempting. you nod and glance back to your camp. a measly collection of supplies.

"we'll come back for it when it's light," he says. "i don't know about you, but i'd rather not spend longer in these dark ass woods than i have to."

"okay," you say. the presence of another person both sets you on edge and makes you feel the fatigue even more. a gun's barrel on your nose followed by the promise of safety and you're going with him? you must be stupider than a horror movie protagonist. "do you take in a lot of strays?"

katsuki looks over his shoulder and you think you see him smile a little at the phrase.

"if that's what you want to call it," he says begrudgingly. "me less than the rest." then, with a softer tone of voice, barely noticeable with the quiet whisper you both have been speaking at. "i'm sure the others won't mind one more."

[maximwtf]

Hello person- I must say I love reading your lil fanfics always keeps me busy when It's in the middle of the night and I can't sleep lmao.

If I may, if you are still accepting requests- A Legolas x reader, where the reader isn't aware of a custom that elves have about braiding their hair and basically just accidentally confesses to him when they get bored one day and just start braiding his hair and only finds out when the Fellowship congratulates them for confessing or something along those lines hehehe

Legolas x reader

words: 1930

google docs pages: 3

warnings: none? fluff :D 

opening: One day while you’re bored, you begin to braid Legolas’ hair, unaware of its meaning to the elves. It’s only later, when you find out the message behind it. 

AN// Thank you so much for this request, love the idea! (this also gives me a reason to not write the other ideas I've been putting off xd) idk if this is a little ooc, but I hope it’s okay^^ It’s also lovely to hear that you enjoy my work!^^ Reader can be any gender !

         “A time for congratulations?”

It hadn’t been long since you had joined the fellowship from Rivendell, like most of the others had too. The only one you knew better than the others was Legolas. Him you had met more than a few times in the past, mostly as an accident, but you did genuinely enjoy his company. You’d never admit it to anyone in the group, but you were happy that he had been the one from Mirkwood to join. You heard it had been his father who had suggested befriending Aragorn to him, and it was when Legolas had begun to look for Aragorn that he had met you. Aragorn you had only met a few times, and back then only knew him as “strider” like most. The others you had only met when the Fellowship had been formed, but all of them had seemed okay. 

Now, trailing behind Legolas, you examined your surroundings silently. Old trees with roots going all across the forest blocked the view on your right and on the left only a few trees were growing, enjoying the sun they were able to get. The trees on the left casted dark shadows on the almost non existent road you were walking on. Gandalf had seemed to be very certain that there was a trail going here, but you weren’t so sure. But since no one else had doubted him, you had decided to just follow along. At least you weren’t going to get lost alone.

As your gaze moved from left to right, amazed by the sturdy old trees, being able to stand for such a long time, you noticed Legolas turning to look at you for a moment. It was only for a split second, but it made you humm to yourself. Perhaps he was happy to see you too. It was rarely that you could spend more time with him, mostly just short bump ins every now and then. He was a prince, and probably had a lot to do.

The group seemed to have noticed the darkened shadows of the trees, and decided to set camp for the night. The sun seemed to be setting, making the casted shadows even darker before the sky would begin to follow along. Spreading the darkness of the upcoming night all over.

You had agreed to take the first watch shift of the night before anyone could steal it from you. You’d rather stay up late and go to sleep than wake up in the middle of the night to take your turn. Boromir and Gimi seemed to have collected some bigger pieces of wood and some sticks that Aragorn had been able to set on fire to create a campfire. Legolas, you and the hobbits helped to bring some rocks and logs around the fire so everyone could sit. Sam had requested if he could make something to eat, and surprisingly enough no one had disagreed. The start of the night seemed to be going smoothly. 

As Sam had begun to cook some kind of a soup or a stew, everyone else had spread around the fire. Some were fixing up their weapons and others just talking. You swore you had seen Merry and Pippin bothering Boromir too. You on the other hand had found a spot close to the fire. Most of the ‘seats’ had been taken, but that just allowed you to sit closer to the warming flames of the campfire. Legolas had seated himself near you. You could hear him lowering his bow and the quiver against the log he was sitting on. Other than that and the quiet talking, the only noise you could hear was the mixing of the soup Sam was making. Sometimes the ladle would hit the edges of the saucepan, causing a small noise to break the silent gaps.The moon was only a half, but since there weren't a lot of clouds in the sky, it was able to shine its light all over the forest. At times it felt like time had stopped after the sun had started to go down, and was still shining some light over the fellowship. It was only the cold night air that let you know it indeed was almost time to go and rest. 

You shivered under your clothes, pulling the cloak closer to you, making sure it was properly over your shoulders. Something rustled behind you, and soon another cape was placed over you. A small ‘huh?’ left your mouth as you turned to look who it was. Legolas clipped the front clip shut so the cloack wouldn’t fall off of you. “You seemed cold.” He said, smiling slightly as he sat back down. “I- Thank you.” You said, still confused by the gesture. “Aren’t you going to be cold?” You then asked, feeling bad if he’d have to freeze because of you. The elf laughed lightly at your question and shook his head. “Elves can tolerate the cold better than humans, therefore you should keep it.” He explained to you. 

You had never really thought of how different you were to him. Sure, you were friends with him, but you had no idea that the elves could tolerate the cold better than humans. Maybe you’d find out something else about him as the fellowship continued. This had to only one from many things that made elves so different from you. 

You noticed that the faint light of the moon made his almost white hair look magical. The usually well braided strands of hair had opened up from the fighting the group had gone through with a few orcs earlier that day. You had noticed that the prince usually kept his hair well done, but maybe he hadn’t noticed yet. 

Not being sure if you’d embarrass him if you pointed it out, you got up and sat next to him. You weren’t an elf but you had gotten your hair done before and over the years learned how to braid hair in different styles. So without another word, you took a hold of one of the half opened braids and began to undo it completely. Legolas seemed to have tensed up for a moment and you felt his eyes on you, but to your surprise he soon turned his gaze away and let you continue. 

You braided the first strand of hair, pulling it behind his ear the way you’d seen him usually have them. After starting to fix the other one, you felt another pair of eyes on the two of you. With a quick look you found out who it was. Aragorn was sitting on the other side of the campfire with an amused look on his face. Not understanding what he had found amusing, you kept on working on Legolas’ hair. The prince’s hair was smooth and easy to work with. Humming to yourself, “you have lovely hair.” You said quietly, seeing the man shiver, but saying nothing about it. You were enjoying the moment, getting to feel closer to your friend for once. The warmth of Legolas’ cloak and the fire kept you warm and protected from the gusts of wind. The smell of the soup Sam had made was good, and it felt great to know you were going to be eating something that not only would taste good but also would be warm. You felt like you had only been eating bread and apples for such a long time. 

You finished the other braid and mixed it in with the unbraided parts of his hair. “Both are fixed again.” You hummed mostly to yourself but out loud so Legolas could hear it too. You felt his eyes on you for a moment before they moved to Sam, when he handed the both of you a bowl with some steaming soup in it. You thanked the hobbit with a nod, and began to eat. From the corner of your eye, you caught Aragorn telling Gimli something and them both silently laughing. Trying not to pay no mind to the conversation, you couldn't help but to wonder if it was about what Aragorn had found so amusing earlier?

After that night, many more passed. Some worse and some just as good, but what kept everyone going was the mission and the people in the fellowship. Legolas never mentioned anything about you braiding his hair, and he even let you do it once or twice after. But after every time, it felt like more eyes were on the two of you. It was first only Aragorn, then Gimli joined and soon even Gandalf was in on it. At times it felt like even Legolas knew what was going on. 

After some time of you being oblivious of what had been going on, you decided to bring it up. You had so many theories of what they could have been up to, that you just had to find out. Making your way from the back of the group to where Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli were, you prepared yourself. “What are you hiding from me?” This got the attention of the three, all of them slowing down their walking speed a little. “Whatever do you mean?” Legolas asked, giving Aragorn a quick look, almost as if he was trying to tell the man something. “You all clearly have been sharing a rumor or something along the lines of that.” You replied, but didn’t get an answer from anyone for a moment. “You should tell them.” Gandalf’s voice rang from the front of the group, clearly also aware of what you were talking about. “It isn’t a rumor per say.” Gimli started, looking at Aragorn for a moment, hoping he’d take it from there. You saw Legolas look away, not taking part in the conversation. “We wished to congratulate you on confessing to Legolas.” Your eyes widened for a moment, and without even wanting to, a “what?” Left your mouth. “They weren’t aware, Aragorn.” Legolas finally joined in, looking at his friend. “What is this all about?” You tilted your head. “When you braid his hair. See, to elves it has a significant meaning behind it.” Aragorn tried to explain. Your hand traveled over your mouth, clearly shocked. “And you didn't think to tell me?” You blushed slightly, smacking Legolas’ arm lightly. He stopped, taking a light hold of your hand to pause you as well. “I wanted to explain it to you but I found that..” He tried to look for words for a moment, and you let him. “I found that I cared for you that way, and I wasn’t certain if you had found the meaning yourself...” His eyes met yours again, after traveling for a moment. You stayed silent, not even noticing that the rest of the fellowship had also stopped near the two of you. “But I am aware that I should have told-” Legolas broke the silence but you stopped him before he could finish. “It’s all okay. I feel similar.” You admitted, looking away for a second. “Is this a better time for congratulations?” Gimli’s voice asked from behind you as Aragorn walked closer as well. “Yes, yes it is.” You smiled and turned back to Legolas. His eyes looked at you with admiration in them. “Gi Melin.” (I love you)

[jxckchxmpi0n]

Soft! Jack champion headcannons

Recently, I've been going through a hard time, and thinking about these makes me smile, so I wanted to share ♡

did not proof read || m.list

You met Jack through filming a movie together. You were both shy but grew close.

Over time you both grew up to be beautiful young adults, and that's when it all started.

When you both have free time you play video games together, it'd be some fighting game he loved and or would be some other game you were obsessed with at that time.

You'd both eventually get tired and log off but stay on the call and talk for a few more hours.

Hanging out in person was your favorite by far.

When he would come over, he would just walk in and find you on the couch reading whatever book had your attention this week.

"How are you doing pretty girl?" he picked up that nickname for you a few years back and it has always stuck.

Climbing over your legs laying on you as you fill him in on the latest drama in the book. he would eventually fall asleep without meaning to.

You'd look down at him with such love in your eyes, his curly hair framing his face just right.

How his eyes fluttered showing he was in a dream.

This view you could never get tired of, seeing him so peaceful made your heart explode.

He would 100% get all your favorite foods and snack when you've had a bad week.

He would go to the moon and back for you just to make sure you have a good day.

"Hey lovely, how was your day? do you need anything from the store?" he would show up to your apartment with flowers and a Lego set for you and him to build.

If there was a new make-up look you wanted to try, he would let you practice on him before yourself.

Anytime you guys went out for a walk and crossed the road if you were on the outside, he would grab your waist pulling you to switch sides.

Anytime he got excited about something he would start talking with his hands more and would go down a rabbit hole of all the little details.

After he realized how much he was talking he would hide his face in his hands and would giggle but then ask you a bunch of questions, so you were able to talk more.

He memorized your coffee/tea order so when he stopped without you, he could always bring you something.

Some days you would go over to his place and sit on his bed while he played games with Mason.

Hours could go by, and you'd sit there watching him play and or watch tv.

Your heart would warm up at when he won a battle and turn to you "lovely look it we beat their asses."

After a few more rounds he would get tired and turn around in his chair to find you sound asleep.

He would try to be as quiet as he could and would crawl in bed with you.

Your hair was all in your face so he would brush it back, his face started heating up as he looked at you.

God he was so madly in love with you.

He then just lays there watching you- but not in a weird way.

He looked at the moles you have scattered around on your skin, he would watch your breathing patterns to make sure you weren't having a bad dream.

Then he'd fall asleep himself.

And halfway through the night you ended up in his arms.

[cattimeswithjellie]

Stream Recap, DocM77, 07/06/24

In which Doc is trapped in the sky and given birthday love and harassment by both his hermit friends and the Chat. He harvests a lot of cherry wood and acquires a valuable moss block after a base tour with Pearl and her llama ends in tragedy. ((I have not recapped the llama tour itself because it is admirably covered in Pearl's video and will probably feature prominently in Doc's Friday video as well.)) False stops by to tease him and Ren pays a visit to hear about Doc's new plan to darken the server with a massive cobblestone ceiling.

9:00 Doc opens his stream in studio view with one minute left on the clock, during the playing of his channel intro song. He headbangs along with the song, declares how great it is, and welcomes the Chat. Today is Doc’s birthday and he is severely emotionally compromised. Not only has everything gone wrong for him in game with losing the court case, it has been one month since his big sub jump and he was not able to stream last week, so his sub count has gone back to 900 from a high of 5000. He specially greets all the single ladies and talks about the chat he had with Ren about there being many single ladies in the stream chats. Ren turned on his facecam to appeal to the single ladies in his stream but feels moral qualms about it. Doc laugh and admit that he is making all of this up. He welcomes the DCP (Doc Collaboration Project, his artist collective) back from TwitchCon in Amsterday

12:00 Doc tells Chat that today he has set the Doccy Fund (now renamed Birthday Fund) to $7777.77 with the assumption that some millionaire will happen into the stream today and fill it up because it is his birthday. If he has learned anything from the court case where he was branded an enormous baby and banished to the sky to beg items off his friends, it is that whining can be effective to get what you want. Chat points out that TwitchCon was in Rotterdam. Doc shrugs this off, he never goes to TwitchCon anyway. A chatter sends a tongue-in-cheek birthday message, Doc admits that he doesn’t really look forward to birthdays anymore because it just means getting older. He decides that from now on he will conceal his real age (notwithstanding the “77” in his handle) and workshops the sexiest age to be with the single ladies in chat. It is now Chat’s job to spread the word that Scar is 48 years old and Doc is 33. Doc starts to tell a joke about how he was looking through the adult ads in the local paper the other day, then abruptly decides he is not going to tell that joke.

13:40 Doc thanks subs and donos. He opens the game and logs into Hermitcraft, where he is on his Skyblock island. Someone has covered his dirt blocks with lit candles and there is a cake with a sign wishing him a happy 77th birthday, with love from Cleo. Doc is initially upset, but calms down when he realizes this is a birthday gift. There is also a sympathetic and condescending message from Skizz telling him that being stuck up here is the only way Doc will reflect on his actions. Given recent events, Doc has to check every inch of his base to make sure nothing has been stolen, after which he can eat some cake. Someone has also named the sheep “Doc’s Only Friend.” Chat thinks that is very funny.

15:30 Doc rants a bit about how all of this is so unfair, then wonders if anyone is going to bring him any useful gifts. What he really needs is some moss blocks so he can make a bonemeal farm. These candles are next to useless and they are making his base too cute. Candles and cake and pink fences take away from the whole Fortress of Solitude look. Doc informs in-game chat that he is online and streaming, and thanks subs and donos. He stares longingly over at his shop, then tells Chat about how yesterday he was filming the outro for his new video and reminds everyone that the new TCG cards are coming out soon, some of them worked on by the DCP. His cards are taking longer than usual because he does not get back to the artists (especially SubToMumbo) with feedback in good time. Chat points out that Doc has already claimed SubToMumbo is his fandom alt. He is hoping for Goatfather and Docmaid as his alter ego cards.

20:00 A chatter says Doc is aging like fine wine. He says that fine wine aging means it just gets more sour, and at his age it means just rotting from the inside. But he wants to do something useful today! He wants to grow more cherry trees, for a start. He begins picking up the candles and lets out a truly headphone-demolishing “NOOOOOOOO” as he accidentally breaks one of his precious dirt blocks and sends it plummeting to earth. Chat is both deafened and bereft. Doc has now lost two dirt blocks and he cannot afford that kind of lack of concentration. He needs to make a lower floor, stat. He shows chat the boat on his hotbar and explains that if he does fall, he’s going to try and boat MLG so he doesn’t touch the ground. He also blames Chat for the loss of the dirt block.

22:20 Despite the setback, Doc has plans for today which include growing cherry trees both for wood and to collect leaves for his composter. He’s down to 15 iron blocks now and really needs an iron farm, but he still has the shears he used to cut leaves for the cobble farm. A chatter makes a large gift of subs, which makes Doc feel a lot better. He tells Chat that what he wanted for his birthday IRL was just to go out to dinner with Karin. She works for a newspaper and got an insider tip about a restaurant that is about to get a Michelin star but that is currently not overexposed and still has good prices. They went there and had a lovely meal. Doccy was there too and behaved very well, asking frequently “Papa, am I fancy?” Doccy was extremely popular and got free dessert. Chat thinks this story is adorable. Doc doesn’t typically want to bribe for good behavior with sweets, but he made an exception this once. He also got a card and little present from Doccy, who is left-handed and still writes upside-down.

27:20 A cherry tree grows, big skyblock excitement! Doc thanks subs and donos, who are being quite generous this morning. He says this birthday is great, makes him forget he’s trapped in Skyblock. Chat is much better than YouTube commenters, who can still be obnoxious after all the years Doc’s been dealing with them. One commenter on the new video went on a super-obnoxious rant about how Doc isn’t smart because he didn’t make a giant grass platform to easily spawn all the friendly mobs he could need for food and wool. Doc walks to the edge of the platform and looks out over the vast, grassy world spread out beneath him and points out that this is not actually Skyblock, he is not playing in an empty void where animals have only one place to spawn. Chat joins him in mocking the commenter.

29:20 Doc says someone told him he could plant a golden carrot for regular carrots. Chat tells him that is not a thing. Doc tries it anyway. It does not work. He thanks subs and donos, then begins harvesting his new trees. Today is Day 3 of Doc’s Skyblock exile, and the plan is mostly chill. Doc doesn’t want to build anything very big on stream because he wants to save big tech jumps for the video, but he can grind out some resources for those things. Doc tells the story of why he could not stream last week: Karin was sick and Doccy wanted to go to the swimming pool, and family always comes first. But Doc really is trying to keep his consistent streaming schedule so he can build subs and avoid having to take product endorsements. Chat is supportive of Doc’s priorities.

35:30 Doc shears leaves and talks about his Skyblock experience so far. Docs feels a lot of pressure due to his technical Minecraft skills to always be pushing forward on everything, including Skyblock. A lot of people expect him to be going full-bore even starting from nothing, and there’s some pressure there to perform. He tells Chat that the Hivemind is currently extremely busy with the jump to 1.21 and there is some very exciting and confusing stuff coming up! He can’t talk too much about it until it is ready to display on video, because the Technical Minecraft community is very competitive and even a whiff of a clue will get everyone looking in the same direction for the next new thing. He tells Chat elaborate lies about his text-to-voice mod and about the single ladies sliding into his DMs, then admits it’s all a lie and everyone knows he has a partner. But he has checked on a few of the more active “single ladies” in chat just to make sure they are actually adults.

43:00 Doc uses up his shears well before he runs out of leaves and resorts to just chopping the rest of the cherry wood. Chat suggests hitting Mumbo up for some more iron. Doc points out that even without actual checking, some people are active enough in the community over the years that you learn what they look like and their basic facts just from longevity and proximity. Some of Doc’s chatters have been around for 10+ years. “StalkM77,” jokes Chat. A chatter asks why Doc doesn’t just waterstream down and grab his gear from his chest. Doc says he could probably do that, but it would be against the spirit of the punishment and also make for less good content. Doc also doesn’t want to take Cleo’s suggestion of placing blocks to hop or bridge across the ground, but he may build a flying machine. He points out that this whole exercise is voluntary in the sense that the other Hermits can’t exactly force him into the sky, but this is a good way to ensure Cleo doesn’t have a grudge against him for the rest of the season.

48:00 The real problem with this exile is that the Ore Snatcher now has the opportunity to do their terrible deeds unopposed. Doc has seen the messages from YouTube commenters about how some of them are tired of the storyline and want it to stop, but this is a storyline Doc has no control over! It goes however long the Ore Snatcher wants it to, and Doc just has to go crazy on his Skyblock in the meantime. Doc admits he knows it is Cub. Chat is not sure, but Doc is sure. This is in Cub’s wheelhouse and only he would have the dedication. The only think Doc doesn’t know is Why? He hasn’t done anything to Cub this season. He ridicules the outlier theory that he has an evil alter ego and is doing it to himself.

51:00 The only way to stop Cub is to catch him red-handed. Doc thanks subs and donos again, he is getting quite a few but his hype train is still on cooldown. Chat is sympathetic to Doc’s exile and think maybe he should’ve had a better lawyer. Doc discusses the giant baby defense, which was funny but ultimately useless. He admits that hiring Joe was sort of an accident. He threatened Cleo in chat with hiring Joe due to Joe’s convoluted style of argument, and was surprised when Joe jumped in immediately to accept the job. Saying no at that point might have hurt Joe’s feelings, and it cannot be argued that Joe does have a very creative mind. Doc notices some lag on the server and asks Xisuma if he’s running his copper farm. Copper farms put a lot of strain on the server.

57:00 A chatter gives Doc a dono to help offset the emotional distress caused by Skyblock and suggests Doc get his husband to help him out. Doc says Ren has already helped him ((Ren provided him with nine sand blocks and a grass block in Doc’s last episode)). He plants some more saplings, saying his mid-term mission is to get enough wood to not have to worry about it for awhile. He flirts with the single ladies of Chat, then makes it clear that anyone in Chat under 30 should not count themselves as the focus of his flirtation, though men can also count themselves among the single ladies if they would like. He tells the story about the time he went to the sauna when it was Ladies Day and nobody told him and he didn’t realize why there were so many women there.

1:05:40 Doc is losing his mind stuck up on the Skyblock. He also needs to start watching his alcohol choices because yesterday he drank one glass of wine and got a nasty stomachache from it. He drinks so rarely these days he’s got no tolerance anymore. The older folks in chat sympathize. By the time you get to 40, Doc says, there’s hardly any regular casual drinking, you either drink rarely or you’re an alcoholic. He thanks subs and donos again. Doc tells a story about his dad, who had two beers every night for years and who seemed completely chill about it until they were in a situation where he couldn’t get his evening beer and it became clear that he had a real physical dependency on it. Talking to his dad about it didn’t turn out well and his dad was not a good person in general. He has not talked to his dad in about 20 years now. Doc’s grandfather was his male role model and his grandfather didn’t drink at all, which was strange in a village where all the social life revolved around alcohol.

1:14:00 Doc gets distracted by talking about Berliners with very large bottles of alcohol just walking around after work. He’s not a fan. A chatter asks what beer Doc likes and he says he likes the beer Methodz brews but not really anything else. He’s a cocktail guy when he drinks, he likes a gin and tonic with a bit of ice. Doc investigates the “mixed drink” golden carrots that Kerlis gave him, which is reskinned as a pina colada. Doc sings the song and advises Chat not to drink. It’s not really that great. It’s not so much a social lubricant as it just makes people obnoxious. Being a little tipsy at a party is fine, but more is not good.

1:20:00 Doc remembers he wanted to make some bonemeal. He feeds leaves into the composter and collects the bonemeal. He tells the story of a time when he’d been out with a group of couples and they’d all been with their drinks, and one of the women in the group still got roofied. They took care of her and she was safe, but it was weird and scary. Some people are just messed up. A chatter makes a big donation, Doc thanks them and makes a joke about sugar daddies and mommies. He tells a story about going to visit some very wealthy family friends and meeting weird people there. A chatter asks if Ren isn’t Doc’s only single lady on the server. Doc laughs and says Ren is great, and that’s why Ren is his husband. Or wife, or something. He just knows the fans like that sort of thing. He repeats his mini-rant about complicated flags and how the Jolly Roger is the only really good flag. Chat laughs at him and calls him an old man.

1:30:00 A chatter makes a very large donation with a text-to-voice saying “Happy birthday, also Cleo said she’s going to kill your sheep in front of you.” Doc becomes very distracted by all of this. He says this news is bittersweet, with the money and the sheep at the same time. He jokes about how he’s going to max out the donation bar and take a two week vacation to Thailand, except that Karin would kill him. Thailand is great, he assures Chat, but it’s also very expensive and his priorities have changed now that Doccy is around. He describes Doccy sitting on their bed in the morning singing a song about how life is great and it is very cute. He looks at Doccy and all he wants to do is protect them and make sure that they are never afraid ever.

1:33:50 A chatter asks if Doccy is bilingual, Doc says yes, to a certain degree, but they are not trying to teach them specifically. Kids just pick up the language that is spoken to them. A chatter asks if Doccy likes Minecraft yet, but Doccy has minimal screentime yet. Doccy did like the Perimeter and considered it “Home” on Hermitcraft 9. They also knew Decked Out and had a very cute interaction with Dungeon Master Tango. Chat remembers that moment very fondly.

1:37:00 Once you have kids, Doc explains, everything changes, and you don’t want as many things for yourself anymore. He thinks that is why so many dads end up with socks and wallets for Father’s Day, because it’s hard to think of thinks you actually want. A chatter tells Doc that Cleo has been running interference for him with the other Hermits and has stopped several pranks on his Skyblock already, including Skizz killing his sheep. She says she and Doc are friends now. Doc says that Skizz should not be interfering in this punishment, he is a lawyer and it is against his probation rules or bar exam or something like that. Another chatter suggests spreading the love of chickens across the server, Doc would like to do that but he hasn’t managed to get hold of a chicken yet. He looks over the edge, just in case there might be a chicken around.

1:40:40 Now that Doc has bonemeal, he can bonemeal grass blocks and get seed, which he does. He grabs hold of his lead and decides to go down a little ways to see if chickens will appear. He creates a water column and, after being distracted by a dono, heads down the stream. He sees a chicken! The chicken is too far away to respond to his seed, or his pleading and whistling, or him calling it a stupid-ass chicken. Chatters suggest a fishing rod, but Doc doesn’t have a fishing rod. Someone says break his carrot on a stick, but that’s not a thing. He waits through the night and goes back out to get the chicken, already deciding that this is stupid to do on stream and also that Chat is being really unhelpful. A chatter says that using up all the durability on a carrot stick will return a fishing rod, but Doc does not have a pig. If only there were a pig conveniently located just underneath the skyblock and not a pig head sitting in Doc’s base…

1:50:00 Doc drops another water stream and starts sinking. The chicken is still pretty far away. Doc explains to chat that an MLG bucket clutch from a height might save his life but it would count as touching the ground and is still bad. He watches the chicken approaching and is excited until the chicken turns and dives down a ravine. He unnleashes another headphone-killing NOOOOOOO as Chat howls with laughter. There is still another chicken though, and also an egg. He still has a chance, but he is definitely going to fall if he keeps looking at chat. Doc moves the water column and tries again. He laughs at how chat has slowed down and subs and donos paused because everyone is glued to the screen and watching to see if he falls. This time he manages to catch the chicken with the lead and drags it back up the water stream. Doc admits he is sweating. He gets back to the platform and tells everyone they can unclench as soon as he has the chicken at the base.

2:00:00 Doc scoots the chicken around the edge of the base to find a good place to pull the chicken up. After a close call with some lava, he gets the chicken safely tethered to the side of his house. Doc takes a relaxation break and mines more wood, then takes a quick bio-break.

2:06:00 Doc comes back and is momentary bamboozled by chatters claiming the chicken died, but it is fine. A little close to some lava, but far enough to be safe. Doc scolds chat for organizing so quickly to troll him. He goes back to harvesting wood, because you can’t have enough of crappy pink wood. He tells Chat that he knows they are a good audience because the Hermitcraft hermits have spent years brainwashing their audiences into behaving. A chatter asks what happened to the oak Doc was collecting before, he says he got enough apples and oak is much more annoying to grow than cherry, with fewer saplings and sticks and less wood per tree. A chatter says that Hermitcraft is honestly the best TV show on YouTube and Doc agrees. He points out that if you added up all the group views from some of the most popular seasons, they probably did better than a lot of TV shows out there. If they got those views on Netflix, they’d be rich! Netflix needs to come after Hermitcraft. Chat suggests House of Goat for a name.

2:12:00 Doc and Chat bluesky about a Netflix treatment of Hermitcraft. Chatters are torn between a documentary about Hermitcraft and a Minecraft Story Mode treatment of the storylines. Doc concedes that production companies only think in the short term and if they were going to do a show about SMPs, it would be some flash in the pan that blows up, not something that is solid for a decade. And a lot of YouTubers are very young and inexperienced and can much more easily be trapped into bad contracts. Doc is musing aloud about this phenomenon when he notices Pearl is standing on his roof. Chat is very happy to see Pearl.

2:16:50 Pearl asks Doc if he wants to go on an excursion. The events that follow have been documented well (and hilariously) by Pearl in her “Malicious Compliance” Hermitcraft episode and will almost certainly feature heavily in Doc’s next episode as well, so don’t really need to be recapped here. The episode is _very_ worth watching, but the TLDW is that Pearl drags Doc on a llama to see her finished flower shop, Doc is terrified the whole time but not too terrified to take a crack at getting into an ender chest when he has a chance, accidentally shifts while doing so and touches the ground, and then gets blown up by a creeper Pearl accidentally navigates the llama close to. (The llama is fine.) Doc respawns on the skyblock, Pearl gives him back his things and offers to keep the secret, but Chat has already snitched. Pearl feels bad and goes to get Doc a block of moss to make up for it.

2:38:30 A chatter donates for text-to-voice and tells Doc that the shop does not count as “ground,” so no extra time. Doc and Chat are excited by the possibility of a loophole. Some chatters say that blocks Pearl placed count as “ground” and only Doc-placed blocks are “not-ground,” but it’s enough of a theory to hang a possible legal defense on. He decides the best way to proceed is to pretend to still be upset so he still gets the moss block, and to build up his XP again to conceal the fact that he ever died. Pearl comes back and gives him the moss block and wishes him good luck with finding loopholes. She leaves. Doc decides it was overall a good trip because he got an apple, a horn, a moss block, some wither roses and A LOOPHOLE. ((Also some cyan dye, for those keeping score at home.)) He was a little distraught at first, but he thinks this loophole is going to work for him. Chat encourages Doc to write a message to Pearl to keep her from feeling bad about the accident, he writes to her and tells her not to worry, loophole.

2:44:00 Chat argues with itself about the definition of ground and the validity of the loophole. Doc knows that Cleo is going to find out about this eventually and wanted to not be in the position of arguing semantics and the fine points of the rules, mostly because he’s pretty sure Judge Bdubs will solve edge cases by coin toss. Doc is back to regretting his life choices. Pearl dies to a zombie and Doc tuts about it, saying things aren���t really that bad, she doesn’t need to go killing herself over it. Doc’s chest is almost full, he needs to make another one. It’s also extremely chaotic and he misses his storage system. But he has a moss block now, and that is huge. He could make a moss farm. The thrill of skyblock is that any new block he gets opens new frontiers of possibility.

2:50:00 Doc plants more trees and tries to relax as he explains how he accidentally shifted. Pearl pulled him far enough away to close the ender chest inventory just as he was shift-clicking something into his inventory. Without being in an inventory screen, the shift was a dismount command and the rest is hopefully-loopholeable history. Chat is still quibbling with itself about the loophole, but everyone is distracted when “Oh my god HI!” starts playing again and again overhead, and a Hermit arcs in for a landing. It’s Falsesymmetry! Chat is happy to see False.

2:52:30 Doc, who is a ittle on edge after his previous visitor, demands to know what False wants. False plays hurt, saying she hasn’t even been here before and she wants to know what he’s been up to! Doc explains that he can’t trust anyone right now because Pearl just threw him on the ground and it was only his masterful reflexes that allowed him to land safely on some stairs. False is baffled at how Pearl could’ve thrown him on the ground, Doc says it’s a long story. False wishes him a happy 77th birthday, like it says on the cake. Doc, who hadn’t read the sign before, is a bit shocked. False tells him sympathetically that eyesight does get bad when you get old. Doc has to agree with that and says that he’s gotten to the age now where he has to hold things away from himself to read them.

2:54:00 Doc asks False how TwitchCon was, and mentions she met some of the DCP members. She is not familiar with the name, but did meet the artists. One of the artists is in chat and pleased to be remembered, False does the OMG HI horn at them. Doc realizes now that it was a horn and laughs, saying that it didn’t really sound like False and it confused him. She responds with a barrage of OMG HI, both spoken and horn form, that soon has Doc cowering under the trees and Chat yelling along. False remarks that this is great because Doc can’t go anywhere. Doc says it’s not great, but he definitely isn’t going anywhere now after his Pearl “adventure.” He explains that Pearl took him out the way one takes a dog on a walk. False remains baffled, but Doc tells the abbreviated story of the llama walk, leaving out the stair-touch. False thinks this might require additional time added to his sentence, but Doc suddenly redirects the conversation to the possibility of False being the Ore Snatcher. He hadn’t suspected her before, but she could well be!

2:56:40 False thinks it’s Cub. Doc knows it is Cub. False demands to know why he’s blaming her, then! Doc can’t be sure, not until he catches Cub red-handed. He knows it’s not False, though. False wishes it were her, because she could use some diamond ore. Doc tells her that when he gets down, he is going to make the Ore Snatcher everyone’s problem because everyone will be so miserable that they will find the ore snatcher just to appease Doc’s wrath. False points out that this seems like a pretty good case for keeping Doc on the Skyblock and out of the way. She flies away, leaving Doc to grumble that they don’t know he has a record up here, which means MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES FOR EVERYONE! Last season Tango didn’t like the quotes at Decked Out, so Good Guy Doc restricted the range, but no more of that! He might just do an enormous loop of himself whining and play it for everyone on the server. Chat points out that Doc is not beating the giant baby allegations.

3:00:00 Doc demonstrates his most annoying whining techniques. ((The recapper has a brief traumatic flashback to her own preschooler not wanting to go to bed.)) Chat likes this idea, but it might be too evil. Another chatter mentions the gear chest below the Skyblock, but Doc reiterates that it is against the spirit of the challenge. He wouldn’t have gotten wings from the ender chest either, he was mostly fooling around. He has the epiphany that if he can record Doccy whining, that could be very easily weaponized for Hermitcraft. Chat is excited about all this vengeance.

3:03:00 Doc decides it’s time to relax a little and play some guitar. Chat grooves along. He plays some Pearl Jam, then some Alice in Chains. The guitar needs some tuning. He promises one day he will tune the guitar before stream and there will be more music. He takes a minute to tune it a little, then plays a bit more. He plays Wonderwall. Chat is amused. He plays Rocking in the Free World, then realizes he should probably play some Minecraft. He chops more wood. Doc tells Chat he used to be pretty good and know a lot of songs, but if you want to stay good, you have to play regularly.

3:10:00 Doc has been streaming three hours now and is starting to get hungry. He and Chat talk about guitars and about Doc’s plan to create ETERNAL DARKNESS with automated block-placing systems covering the village, the SD and all the bases in cobble. And then there will be the whining as well! And this time he will not be the one cleaning up the prank the way he did with the Perimeter, so there! Oh, and he will blame it all on the Ore Snatcher. He is already claiming to be a baby, this will definitely fit. He thanks subs and donos, makes a slightly off-color joke about satisfying the single ladies, then jokes about forgetting he was streaming. Doc’s hingedness level is clearly dropping the longer he streams today.

3:16:00 Doc gets a brainstorm and looks up the tabs for All the Single Ladies. He tries to play it on the guitar by sight-reading the tab sheet but can’t remember how the song goes well enough. It’s not a very good tab, either. He gets distracted realizing he’s never looked at the lyrics for the verses and is trying to parse the meaning of “Up on him, he up on me” when leaf decay strikes and drops him out of the tree he’d been harvesting. Luckily he was still over his platform, but the near miss means music time is over. Skyblock is no place for distractions! Doc blames the single ladies in the chat and says that if he’d died because he was looking up the lyrics to All The Single Ladies, he never would’ve been able to explain it to anyone.

3:20:00 Chat spots an egg and is very excited about it. Doc collects it and puts it in the chest. He realizes that False has changed the birthday sign to read “Happy 777th Birthday” and changes it to say “Happy 7th Birthday” to go with the big baby theme. A chatter says that they usually watch Ren and it is hilarious how mean Doc’s chat is to him. Chat takes umbrage but doesn’t exactly deny it, while Doc is happy to be vindicated at last! He can’t say too much though, after all these gift subs and donos. He makes a joke about one chatter, Rosie, slipping into his DMs, then realizes he shouldn’t do that because people are still harrassing SubToMumbo on MCCI and making jokes about them being Doc’s alt account.

3:25:00 Ren joins the game and Doc is pleased to see him. Chat is too, declaring Husband Time. A tree grows into the block Doc is standing on and does damage; Doc makes a joke about the tree growing up his ass. Doc sends a message saying he is lonely and asks Ren to hang out. Ren is too busy, he is working on an episode. Doc responds “ok”. Chat is very sad. Doc tells Chat he is not going to guilt trip Ren, he is proud of Ren for really grinding his way through the season so far. Ren might have more episodes done than anyone at this point! Ren also had a really hard time last season and he’s come back strong. He talks Ren’s base up and all the time and effort put in there, then rotates his view enough to take one long, pointed look at Hypno’s house and Wels’ castle, both of which are looking a bit sparse at this point in the season with their builders not around much. But Doc’s not going to point any fingers, obviously! Chat is impressed that even on a Skyblock island with no shadows, Doc can still throw shade.

3:29:00 A chatter asks Doc about getting an ender chest somehow, Doc points out that an ender chest would basically negate the challenge of skyblock entirely. He has lot of things in his ender chest, including the wings that would let him just fly away. He talks with Chat a bit about the importance of pacing oneself, not burning out at the beginning of the server and falling away once the new server energy goes away. He mentions that he’d been considering making a counter diss track for Wels’ rap battle, but had suspected that Wels wouldn’t stick around and it wouldn’t go anywhere. This is the part of the season where it is important to have a long-term plan on what to do for the season, so that even though things arise unplanned, such as court cases and skyblock exiles, Hermits know what they want to do with their episodes. Someone mentions the momentum problems that can arise when Hermits start new side series mid-season and Doc says he doesn’t like that. If it were up to him, all Hermits would work on Hermitcraft only, but honestly side series are good for the YouTube algorithm and good for bringing in new fans. And he may groan a little when a new Life Series game starts and takes attention away from Hermitcraft, but on the other hand he watches it too! In Chat, several chatters confirm that they found Hermitcraft through the Life Series or other side content.

3:35:00 Doc confirms that he would like to join the Life Series and has reached out to Grian about it, but the interest in joining that series is extremely high and it’s hard to pick new people to bring in. Doc understands that, but he does think it would be right up his alley. Chat suggests maybe not upload on Fridays if he doesn’t want to be in direct competition with the Life Series. Third Life got cooked up right when Doccy was tiny and he missed out on the game coming together, and sometimes the timing is just not right. He talks with Chat about MCC as well, he is not sure MCC is for him because he doesn’t want to have to grind to get good first. Chat has mixed opinions about MCC. Most Chatters like MCC best when Hermits are there, which is not terribly surprising.

3:42:40 Doc finds it a little funny that there are people who actually work on honing their Minecraft movement skills to the competitive level, but he realizes he probably shouldn’t talk about who is getting obsessive about what finer points of Minecraft, given the givens. He’s about to talk more about that when he gets jumpscared by the Etho “What’s going on?” horn, followed by Cleo’s “Are you actually kidding me?” horn. He runs around looking for the source and finds Ren flying around under the base. He laughs and calls Ren a bastard. Ren still has to work on his episode but wanted to pop in and say hello. Chat is REALLY happy to see Ren! Ren has uploaded a test version of his project to check sound levels so everything is perfect, Doc laughs at the idea of being so meticulous. Back in Season 8 when they were basing together, the difference between Ren’s meticulous nature and Doc’s “get it done” attitude got pretty comical, but made for great content!

3:45:00 Ren compliments Doc on his base progress. Doc brags on his new moss block and chicken, but says he is now not sure that he needs a moss farm, because people only need wood when they’re are planning on building things. Ren doesn’t catch the ominous note to these words because he is admiring the creeper farm. He like’s Doc’s choice to use pink wood and compliments him on playing Disney Princess Skyblock. He is both impressed and terrified by the cobble farm his gift of sand helped create and decides that the best place to stand is far away from the TNT duper. Doc assures Ren that he will be spared when the big skydome comes down. Ren is also impressed by the idea for the whining torture and suggests that maybe it can morph over time into promises of revenge, five stages of grief style. The server lags a bit and Doc blames Xisuma again. Ren agrees, but shoulders a bit of the blame because he has been part of the reason that so much copper is required this week. He has made something like 500 copper trapdoors to make a giant crane machine for Skulk. Doc reminds Chat to go watch Ren’s new video the moment it comes out. He promises to check and make sure they do it. Ren thanks Doc, then says he needs to go listen to his draft episode on YouTube to check the audio levels. Doc tells him that he is literally the only person in the world who does that. They jokingly scoff together about how quality is worthless on YouTube and in life, the way to get ahead is by scamming and whining!

3:50:00 Ren ruminates how the Disney Sky Island looks so friendly and fluffy when one looks at it, but actually talking to the builder is like talking to Satan himself! Doc tries to guilt Ren into giving him some more stuff, but Ren is pretty intent on following some unspecified rules of Doc Skyblock that include mostly not outright giving him things. Doc says Pearl gave him wither roses and Ren is impressed, pointing out they can be used for several mob farms. Doc is not super interested in mob farms, he just wants to destroy things. Ren asks if Wels is going to be the first target, being so close, but Doc says it will be Cub. There will be flying machines involved, given the distance to Cub’s base. Cleo is second, and after that, who knows? Doc contemplates how Ren used to say “bastards” a lot while playing, and now he is very PG while Doc says “bastard” all the time. Ren laughs and admits he almost didn’t get added to Hermitcraft because he said “bastard” and “ass” too much. He confides that his first regular sign-off for videos was something like “If you don’t subscribe, I’m gonna shove this pick up your ass.” Chat is scandalized. Doc is laughing. He and Ren talk about swearing on camera and YouTube comments, and how commenters somehow get weirdly mad if someone’s style doesn’t stay the same for a whole decade. Doc claims that one day he and Ren will go to South Africa together for a real brai (barbecue). They will livestream it, and at the end they will tell everyone the meaning of life.

3:56:00 Doc and Ren talk a little bit about traveling in Africa, how it is best if you know someone because going as a tourist is a very different experience. You can stay in a hotel and go on safari, but that’s not really Africa. They have another conversation about the single ladies, but Ren refuses to be distracted by talk of single ladies. He has an episode to make! Doc tells Chat that they are not allowed to be Ren’s single ladies right now, this is his stream! He tells Ren to go away and stop distracting Chat. Ren laughs and flies away. Doc scolds Chat for their lack of fidelity, then goes on to decide it would be fun to go with Ren on a date, he’d probably be awkward in that shy good-guy way. Chat is not sure what’s going on, but they are here for it. Doc clarifies that he would like to be a fly on the wall watching Ren on a date with someone else.

4:01:00 A chatter makes a large sub drop, Doc thanks subs and donos. He realizes that his lava pool is full and decides not to make a second level. He flirts with the Single Ladies after reiterating the “only 30+” rule and talks about how he doesn’t believe in marriage because his parents’ marriage was very bad. He doesn’t feel the need for that kind of declaration and the sort of party where everyone is judging it compared to other peoples’ parties. He and Chat talk more about relationships and families. If Karin ever gets sick of him, he supposes he will have to go live in the basement because he could never imagine leaving his family for any reason, marriage or no.

4:09:00 A chatter talks about having pain from being abandoned by their father. Doc commiserates, the same thing happened to him and even before his dad left, his love was very performance-based and conditional. He tells the chatter to try not to worry, that sort of pain does not have to pass through generations. He is a much better father than his father was, because he is consciously trying to be. He talks with Chat about family backgrounds and the things that influence kids growing up. If it hadn’t been for Doc’s grandparents taking him in hand and modeling good behaviors, he probably would’ve ended up a criminal. He tells a story about a scary man in his apartment building growing up, and the first time he punched somebody. The place where he spent his youth was pretty rough, and it got worse after the Berlin Wall came down. Doc has some wild childhood stories that are hard to recap but worth a listen.

4:23:00 Doc moved out on his own when he was 16 to get out of his bad neighborhood, from the money he was starting to earn from basketball. It was a very small apartment but still a lot of freedom for a very young guy. It was also a lot cheaper than apartments are these days. Getting out of his bad neighborhood was good for him and he was lucky to be tall and strong, which helped him get by easier. Doc pulls out to studio view to start winding down his stream. He still visits some of his old friends from his youth and talks with them about the old days. Doc is mad about the European Football Finals but he is not going to talk about the absolute crime of Germany’s quarterfinals elimination. It’s about time to wind up this very long stream. Doc thanks all the subs and donos for being so generous for this birthday stream. He may stream midweek this week, Skyblock is very streamable! He reminds Chat to watch Ren’s new video, raids into Falsesymmetry and ends his stream.

[kalpeavaris]

MD: Echo Info Post #1 (Character Edition)

So I reblogged this image about wanting to (over) share about OCs... and then I got a mysterious message telling me to speak about my OCs... 👀(*cough* @inkyprince I said I'd tag you hehe *cough*)

So I've decided to just do it, lmao. I love sharing stuff about my OCs, stories and whatnot and this is my blog, imma do what I want!

Gotta lay out some trivia & information about my Murder Drones AU, Echo! Wether it be characters or concepts, because maybe it'll get some people interested :D All of the info is below the cut, and for the first iteration of this I've chosen Kira, aka "ZWEI", for this!

Kira - "ZWEI" - White Witch

A lot of her information can also be viewed on her ToyHouse Profile (logged in user only, sorry!)

Playlist - Pinterest - Voice Claim - Theme Song

Content Warnings: Mentions of self-harm, suicidal thoughts (non-explicit), chronic (terminal) illness (in... robot-terms?)

(older art, but it does the trick lmao)

Kira was one of the Drones that were tested and infected with the Absolute Solver code back in the 3040s and 50s in the Cabin Fever Lab Cathedral with her number being 24.

As a Communication Drone the Solver's abilities affected her in a different way than her fellow Worker Drones, causing the humans to become aware of certain powers that she exhibited which weren't displayed in other Drones.

Her "exorcism" (or, well, patch) was botched as Kira's OS wasn't capable of adapting to the patch version, causing it to corrupt and allow for a vunerability that lead to Echo (a mutated version of the AS) planting it's own code inside of Kira's, which jump-started Echo's influence on Communication Drones.

Kira's Solver is always active - that's why her eye doesn't return to normal and only ever displays the emblem. She overheats extremely easily all the time and is prone to physical pain and tinnitus due to her being unable to block out inbound signals if she picks them up.

This has her health deteriorating quickly over the course of the MD: Echo story, slowly succumbing from it, though she keeps on pushing forward to stop ECHO and it's hosts. She needs actual medication to keep the pain at bay and constantly consumes Oil at a high rate to stop overheating. If her Solver was to deactivate she'd most likely pass away within a few days.

Her secondary name, "ZWEI" means "Two" (or could also be interpreted as "the second") in German. It is a reference to her part in the story, as well as her connection to ECHO. (won't be spoilered for now 8D) She associates alot of trauma with it and doesn't like being referred by it.

Personality wise Kira seems fairly withdrawn from everyone around her except her friends and partner/family. If she's in a good headspace she's fairly open and confident, almost fierce in the way she appears to others. Kira's keen on keeping up a strong facade to not show strangers her weaknesses or true condition.

"But what are Communication Drones?"

I'm glad you asked! Communication Drones look like normal Workers, though the one thing that sets them apart are the two antennas on their head which can vary in size & style depending on their desired function (short-range, long-range, ground signals, air signals etc.)

These antennas function as ears for them, so if they're removed, their hearing is damaged (not entirely deaf, but definitely worsened). So if a "normal" CD loses their antennas they're having a harder time adapting as their intake of sound is greatly reduced.

As an AS user/host, Kira's able to pick up on stronger signals from far away or even sending out signals to stun/manipulate others around her in a short radius. This effect doesn't stay though, it'll wear off over time and actively consume energy from the Drone using it.

Disassembly Drones can also have the subtype of a Communication Drone as shown in the sketch below (left DD) - their antennas are usually shorter and made for short-range and aerial signals as they're capable of flight, too.

(I almost made them a polycule not going to lie they all hot as fuck) wish that was me-)

--

(Kira on her way to cast 'gun, prepare to meet god' in the face of a fucking angel-robot-AI that believes to be god itself)

Kira plays a big part in the MD: Echo universe next to some minor characters & canon characters. Her main motivation is to help stop Echo, as it also tries to infect her via the unstable Solver code in her OS.

--

Crucifix Symbolism

(the power of christ compels you!)

Something very important to Kira is her botched patch / "exorcism". She's obsessed with crucifix looking symbolism which continues to haunt her almost 30 years later during MD: Echo's timeline.

She's desperate to break free from this, but cannot help herself. She compulsively collects cross-shaped imagery and in the first few months after her escape from the Lab she actively built crosses from all sorts of materials.

It's mainly coming from her OS being overwhelmed by the botched patch and the crucifix imagery of the USB burning itself in her memory files as some sort of "salvation" she has yet to achieve. Luckily, this started to fade out over the years, especially after meeting T who helped her to overcome the trauma of the incident.

--

(CW: Mentions of Self-Harm)

After being infected by the Absolute Solver, Kira desperatly tried more than once to remove her antennas to keep the voices from appearing. It talked to her from the inside, but she didn't realize this yet. Like almost all other AS Users however she kept on regenerating, unable to escape the inner turmoil of the Solver's possession and Echo trying to get inside of her OS as well.

--

Effects of the AS on her psyche

(holy shit have you ever seen a centipede that big? what is this? australia?)

Haunted by visions of the Solver, it's communications with the other Drones and later on the landing pods of the Disassembly Drones Kira had a hard time to tune out these visions she got from time to time. Similar to Nori in that regard Kira wrote everything down she heard through these intercepted signals, amassing hundreds of pages of logs she was able to get.

--

Meeting her partner

("Girl I swear I have normal hands too don't be distracted by my sexy claws")

In the 3060s, she stumbled upon one of the Disassembly Drone squads outside of the colony's Outpost she was seeking shelter in. She had intercepted their landing pods signals and was "curious" to seek out whoever had arrived, trying to solve the mystery of whatever the Solver had her experience.

That's when she found Serial Designation T - the navigator of the squad, who at first attempted to kill her like he'd been tasked to do. After all, Kira was a Solver Host that couldn't be fully mind-controlled anymore. But in the middle of him attacking her T's code was halted by Cyn herself, deactivating his executive task to kill the Host he had infront of him. He himself didn't know why exactly the Solver did this, but in hindsight it was due to the fact that Kira was still able to be of use to it later on.

(POV: you deleted system32 from your PC because some random kid on roblox told you to)

Now neutral, T got curious about Kira whom he tried to speak to with her Kira (driven by curiosity on why he had stopped being aggressive all of a sudden, being able to intercept the communication he had with Cyn) staying to talk to him.

Over the following weeks the two grew acustomed with each other, slowly building a friendship that later on evolved into a more romantic nature. Kira hid him in the Outpost and brought in food for the two of them as she constantly needed oil as well.

[ash-says]

I think your page speaks volumes about the way you’ve perceived and endured life and I’m sorry you haven’t had the time or opportunity to soak up the good things that are all around you, I hope you develop skills that allow your success to be built off of things that are good and pure and not cheap manipulation tactics and lies

Devil may care: A guide on being unbothered.

Okay, and??

Sweetheart, I really appreciate your unwanted sympathies and illusionary sensitivity directed towards me. In our culture when someone is being sweet, kind and helpful (even if fake) we make sure that we pay them back with something valuable. Here's a small guide curated for you that will help you in being self secure so you won't feel threatened by other people's success and opinions.

1) Have a life:

Nothing screams idle to me more than this. Like you have time to be offended by someone's post and comments which you might just scroll by and ignore?? On top of that going above and beyond to let that person know. Okay, Sushma. Now log off and do the pending coursework.

2) Build genuine confidence:

Ladies, fake it till you make it can only go this far. You have to work on your underlying issues and address them. If you don't you are susceptible to triggering even by a mere stranger. Confident people don't need to go above and beyond to prove other people. They embody it.

3) Self awareness:

It's tiring to explain this. Just Google it at this point. This word is thrown like a football everywhere. You know it. Do the homework.

4) Practice self compassion and boundaries:

Negative feedback is part and parcel of life. Accept it, analyse and if it applies adopt or otherwise ignore. Boundaries are important to understand the difference between constructive criticism and disrespect.

If disrespected don't be afraid to put a bitch in place. Until then shut your mouth and concentrate on your goals.

5) Opinions are subjective:

Everyone has their own life experiences and opinions are formed based on those. Your Roman Empire might be different from your friends but does it mean it's invalid? No. Develop empathy and open-mindedness. Not everyone has the same views. It's okay.

6) Develop a thick skin:

You can't survive in this world if you are triggered by the tiniest of things. You have to be comfortable in being painted both as a hero and as a villain. Don't let others opinion get to your head. Owe to yourself that I will stand in my truth thou glory or disgrace.

7) Reflect a rbf stance:

When someone tries to belittle you, try to put you down, talk shit about you. Your body language should be cold and reserved with a rbf that screams intimidation but all you are going to say is Okay, and??

8) Master Sarcasm:

I have said this before and I will say it again. Revenge is a dish best served cold. Sarcasm is the ice in it. Ladies learn sarcasm. It's the one way ticket to put people in their place in a humorous way.

9) Be classy. Be polite. BE UNTOUCHABLE.

Who do you think will be named as the crazy one? The one who is screaming and belittling someone or the one who is still being polite but discreetly showing the person where they belong. Never resort to screaming and shouting. That's dumb. Second never go out of your way to prove how you are relevant. Take it or leave it mentality.

10) Seek professional help:

Even after all of this you are not able to practice being unbothered. I think a therapist is the best solution for you.

P.S. :Ladies, this is what I mean when I say leverage the fuck out of your connections and opportunities. This is how you turn a negative into a positive.

Plus I am petty enough to not let this disrespect slide but thought it would be a good content idea for my posts, isn't it??

That's all for today's show on ash-says. Stay tuned for more illegal tricks and explosive opinions.

[lopsicle]

Catching Up

Fandom: Helluva Boss

Characters: Lee! Blitzø, Ler! Fizz (Can be seen as romantic or platonic, I love BlitzFizz)

Summary: As Blitz and Fizzaroli make up for lost time, Fizz discovers something he didn’t know about his former friend.

Tickletober day 2: Accidental

Warnings: Tickle Fic, innuendos.

Life had never been the same for Blitz and Fizzaroli since their second meeting in the Greed Ring. Sure, they’d reconciled their main issues and managed to air out some of the miscommunication forced onto them in their adolescence, but it had still been a decade and a half since they even just had a regular conversation. It was going to take a lot of work and effort to maintain that friendship, but that was work Blitz was willing to do. He couldn’t lose Fizz a second time.

Sometimes, Blitz would hang out backstage at Ozzie’s, listening to the clown perform his bits to the crowd, hyping him up whenever he had the chance. Sometimes that happened at Mammon’s, but it was rare Blitz would be allowed back there, much less without freaking out about being in the same room as a rockstar he admired from before he was even an adult. Fizz would even pop around to I.M.P sometimes, just his presence there was enough to drive up business so he had a warm welcome.

Though, their favourite thing to do was to just be with each other. It didn’t matter where, they usually preferred privacy but the two were neither careful or shameful, being able to do their business wherever. The pair of scarred imps could go on for hours and hours about whatever came into their mind, it was like they had a years long back log of all the things they wanted to talk about locked up in their brain, but never had the right person to say it too. They were just two sides of the same coin, better together.

One day, the two ended up in the privacy of Blitz’s room, which he (mostly) cleaned up for his guest. They’d both made themselves comfortable, Blitz laying down on his bed, sprawled out with her legs hanging over the edge, and Fizzaroli sitting over on the window sill, switching his face between the lacklustre view of Imp city, and his host.

‘Hey, how much can you feel?’

Fizzaroli’s eyes glanced over back to Blitz at his casual question, tilting his body to face him as he did so.

‘Like, emotionally?’

The clown tilted his head almost unassumingly, to which Blitz threw a nearby pillow at him.

‘Yeah, of course I mean emotionally-of course not, dipshit, of course I meant physically! You know, metal limbs and all,’

He huffed playfully, crossing him arms to which Fizz just chuckled, amused at his frustration.

‘Well, I can feel with my nose just fine! And my insides are…rigged with sensitivity, just ask Ozzie!’

‘I am not asking that feather covered, sparkly whore about how he fucks you.’

Fizz just laughed even harder at that, kicking his legs a little as he hopped off his self made perch, standing closer to Blitz.

‘Ahand, I can new sensors in my fingertips, Ozzy developed them himself to make things more…captivating.’

Blitz rolled his eyes and made a face, maybe a little out of jealousy, but there wasn’t much ill will behind it.

‘So now I can actually feel with them again! You have no idea how much I missed petting animals! And fucking with people, that’s great too!’

He ran his fingertips over Blitz’s still stretched out torso to make his point, to which the imp fucking squealed and curled up in on himself. Fizz tilted his head, sitting by Blitz with the largest shit eating grin on his face.

‘No fuckin’ way your ticklish! How did you hide this from me?!’

He asked excitedly, to which the imp blushed a little, trying to scramble backwards on the bed on his palms but he was quickly scooped up by his friend’s mechanical limbs and pulled closer.

‘Okay, it’s not that big of a deal this I’m ticklish! You don’t have to make such a big deal out of this, you knahaahhahw!’

The demon’s protests were cut off by a couple sharp scratches to his ribs, with a very eager Fizz now positioning himself on Blitz’s hips.

‘Oh, don’t you try and weasel your way out of this one! We’ve got, what, fifteen years of laughter to catch up on, and I’ve never heard you laugh like this!’

As much as Blitz wanted to remain tough and stoic on the outside, it was hard to do that while giggling, much less from your childhood best friend/crush tickling you. He couldn’t deny that the attention felt nice, not in a dirty way, he never expected to really…feel Fizz again due to his body being broken so it was a pleasant surprise. The tickling was just a bonus, though he weakly struggled against Fizz’s body to make it look like he wasn’t enjoying it too much. Though, Fizz saw right through him.

‘Oh, come on now, Blitzy, I’ve seen what your capable of, you could push me off you with ease if you wanted but you’re enjoying this, aren’t you?’

Blitz’s blushing situation went from bad to worse as he shook his head from side to side, he’d normally try and hide his enjoyment under some snarky remark but it was hard to think of one while your sides were being squeezed and tickled. So he just resorted to this.

‘Fuhahahahack you!’

‘I’m right, aren’t I?’ Fizz chuckled to himself a little, allowing his nimble, dexterous fingers to skitter all over Blitz’s torso. ‘That’s alright, Blitz, you know I don’t just people, kinky or not, but there is no way I am not being in on this! You don’t know how fun this is me!’

Fizz gushed, pulling his hands away as he looked up at his friend excitedly. While Blitz may have rejected an offer like this from basically anyone a month or two ago, Fizz had softened him up in terms of accepting…anything really from others, plus it was a nice bonus that Fizz seemed to be enjoying it a lot.

‘…would you wanna continue right now then?’

‘Oh, with pleasure!’

[last-starry-sky]

kinktober day 8 - striptease

gaz x f!reader

[MDNI - NSFW - MIND THE WARNINGS: 1.3k, established relationship, non-con voyeurism, lying/manipulation, masturbation.]

tag list (lmk if you'd like to be added!): @slut-lmao, @mishaglass

There’s something about watching you when you don’t know. 

It itched that flaring desire in his belly to protect you in some way, even while he was an ocean and more than a handful of time zones away. At least, that’s what he would tell you if you were to find any of the small cameras he’d hidden around your shared apartment. Perhaps he would lay on the guilt, fish for sympathy, give you those famous puppy dog eyes while he went on about ‘being able to protect everyone but the one that means the most to him’. 

Price would like that.

Scrolling down the camera feeds, the lonely blue glow of his laptop screen the only light in the room, he was disappointed to see every single one empty. He scowled. The kitchen clock said it was almost 7pm. You should be home by now. Where were you?

His fingers were already itching toward his phone when you spilled in the door. He sat up, just as if he was there. Even in the tiny resolution and grayscale, you melted his heart. He wanted to be there, hoping up off the couch to catch the bags in your hands. He wanted to put away the groceries while not-so-subtly checking you out while you shivered, peeling away your winter layers. He wanted to give a silent “fuck it” to the damn lettuce and cans to cross the room to scoop you up. He would warm you up well enough on the way to the bedroom.

Kyle sighed, head falling into his palm as he, instead, sat slouched over his computer, cold and alone. He could only watch as you hung up your coat, then kicked off your uncomfortable office shoes. While watching you putter around the kitchen putting things away, he considered logging off. He had killed the itch for the day. He had checked in on you. Made sure you were safe. 

Then, you stretched your back, emphasizing the push of your breasts against your shirt. Work done, you sauntered off through the kitchen to the living room before the fixed angle of the camera lost you entirely. He was suddenly hooked again, scrambling to click through the dozen open windows to follow you. It should have embarrassed him how shallow his breathing became when he found you again. 

You were in the bathroom, leaning over the counter as you picked off your eyelashes and washed your face. “Your routine” as you called it. The angle he had placed the camera in left a lot to be desired. The only decoration he had available at the time to hide the camera in was a fake plant on top of the cabinet, so he was stuck viewing this scene from an extreme downward shot.

He leaned back, hand stroking down his thigh, with a a blush heating his face as you leaned farther over the sink. He zoomed the camera in down your unbuttoned shirt, cutting off your pretty face to fall entirely into the pillowy curves of your cleavage. A spike of adrenaline hit his brain as he realized what a fucking pervert he was acting like, debasing his smart, beautiful girlfriend just so he could ogle her tits.

It was finally time to give you a call. He dialed your number, holding his phone with his cheek and shoulder while he undid his belt and fly. There was no need to lie to himself anymore. He knew what he wanted. It allowed him to keep his full attention on you too. He liked the way you jumped as your phone lit up with his call. He could just barely see your caller ID, the background changing to a picture of the two of you with ❤️kyle❤️ at the top.

You scrambled for your phone. He heard you answer through the speaker pressed to his ear before he saw your mouth moving in the video feed.

“Kyle!” you exclaimed. He waited, watching that dumbstruck smile spread across your face as you mouthed the words on video, before he replied.

“Hi there, love,” his words sounding more tired than he intended. Really, he was just distracted, watching you step back and play with the buttons of your shirt. He hissed, hand palming down the spread of his khakis. Fuck did he need you so bad. “Miss you. It’s not too late, right? You free?”

“Oh yeah!” you responded, breasts jiggling as you nodded your head. “Just got home, actually.”

“Yeah?” he said through a smile, gripping his cock in his briefs. He couldn’t help but be a little cheeky.  “What good timing. What are you up to?” 

“Ummm, not much,” you said, distracted. He knew what you were doing. You were doing the same thing he was, trying to undress and hold a conversation. You tried to hold your phone against your silky shirt, but it just kept slipping. Frustration was plain on your face as you tried to unzip your skirt one-handed. You finally blurt out, “Can I put you on speaker? I’m in the bathroom-”

“Say no more, baby,” he said with a laugh, letting you follow the implication.

“No!” you sputtered. He watched you placed your phone on the counter before you tapped the button, speaker suddenly boosting the ambient sound available to him. He heard, and then watched, you unzip your tight pencil skirt. You let it fall to the floor before stepping out of it. “That’s not what I meant, Kyle!”

He smiled and laughed to hide the groan in the back of his throat. You backed up, kicking the skirt to the side. Even in black and white, he loved seeing you stripped down to your underwear. The few white pixels of your panties that peeked from between your thighs made him want to drool. He gave his cock a lazy pump. What he would give to be there with you now, backing you up against the wall, burying his face in your-

“Kyle?” you asked, “Can you hear me?”

“Yeah, baby,” he groaned, barely holding back as your shirt parted, revealing your heaving breasts, still cruelly contained by your bra. “Connection must be cutting out.”

The smile dimmed on your face. You let your shirt fall off of your shoulders. It fluttered to the floor. Kyle held his breath as you wordlessly reached back to unclasp your bra. 

“Miss you so much,” you mumbled. You turned your head to look at your phone as is it was him. Your honey-soft eyes on the unfeeling piece of metal as you flipped the straps off your shoulders, cups releasing your soft, sweet breasts from their prison.

“Miss- miss you too,” Kyle said, lip still caught in his teeth. He shut his eyes as he finally freed himself from his underwear. He gave himself one stroke, forcing his eyes to reopen. Even with just his dry hand, the sight of you wriggling your panties off your hips had him on the verge of losing it. That was when he hit the mute button. 

“When will you be back? Do you know?” you asked, concern creasing your brow as you reached to hold your phone in your hands again. 

Not that he really heard any of what you asked. He was laser focused on the sway of your breasts as he jerked himself off, moaning when you kneaded one in your free hand. If he had one less brain cell, he would have asked you to spread the lips of your pussy and give him a good show. 

“Kyle?” you asked, concern piping your voice. Fuck did that sound a whole lot like your breathy whines as he pistoned inside you. The smile fell from your face. “Kyle did I lose you?” you asked leaning against the wall. The camera was at the perfect angle to catch you sliding your hand down your pussy, glistening folds just visible.

He came with a shout muffled into his shoulder, sending his phone clattering to the floor. He let himself fall back against his chair, boneless, cum splattering the track-pad of his work laptop, as you continued to call his name. When he’d caught his breath, he reached for his phone and unmuted it.

“‘m here, baby. Sorry. Connection-” he huffed a fucked-out breath, tucking himself away before continuing with his lie, “connection is just terrible here.”

[citrus-moonlight]

Danger Starts the Sharp Incline

Fandom: MCU - Age of Ultron, Black Panther Pairing: Demon!Klaue x Fem Scientist Reader Chapters: 1 of 1 Word count: 4.5K Rating: Explicit

Summary: At your scientific organization the study of demon energy output has become no less mundane than it would at any other research facility. That is until you find yourself trapped with the demon who has recently shifted in your thoughts from an idle curiosity to a distraction.

Warnings: Explicit Rating!, No Age Specified, PWP, One Shot, Smut, Let Me Be Clear: This Is Absolute Filth, Monster Fucking, Demon Fucking, Could be viewed as Dubcon, Implied Mind Manipulation, But to be clear reader is Into It, Pet Names, Touch Starved Demon, Oral Sex (Fem Receiving), Vaginal Fingering, Big Hands I Know You're the One, Unprotected PIV, Size Kink, Squirting, A Lot of Demon Cum, Like A Lot, Cum Marking, Creampie, Breeding Kink, Multiple Orgasms (both), Overstimulation, Possessiveness

A/N: Once again, this was supposed to be a quick little smutty thing that ended up getting very, very away from me. This honestly could have been even longer (it was over 5.5k and counting at one point!), but I managed to reign myself in, lol. I almost feel like I have enough for a part two, so who knows, perhaps I'll revisit this AU one day in the future!

This was inspired by the first bit of this absolutely incredible demon/scientist blurb* by @biscuitdragonwithastick, which you should definitely read first (thank you for the ok to go ahead with this!). It fully dug its claws (pun intended?) into my brain and refused let me go. I couldn't stop thinking about a Demon!Klaue AU, and thanks to some lovely encouragement, this is the result!

Please, please mind the tags, my dears, and thank you for reading!

*Demon's name has been changed here to fit the AU

Dividers by the lovely @saradika-graphics ❤️

UPDATING TO ADD PLEASE GO CHECK OUT THIS DEMON!KLAUE FANART BY MY INCREDIBLE LOVELY TALENTED FRIEND, truly I have not stopped screaming! 😍🥹💕

Work title is from "All Mine" by Portishead

AO3 Link

Make no mistake You shan't escape Tethered and tied There's nowhere to hide from me All mine You have to be

Klaw’s reaction continues to be noted by the higher-ups, and eventually it’s decided that they want to conduct an experiment, using you.

The next time you’re scheduled on the cleaning rotation they want to take the opportunity to determine if there’s a measurable difference in output and chemical composition - before and after you’ve been in the room with him.

“Just consider what it might mean to the future of energy research”, they’d said. “It could lead to the discovery of a demon-sensitive pheromone additive that boosts energy output across the board.”

Although you flush at the outward acknowledgement of what’s been happening, you can’t deny that it intrigues you.

Especially since you had started dreaming about him.

Since you’d stopped being able to control how wet you got when you observed him.

Since the self-consciousness you’d felt at the sidelong glances of your colleagues had started feeling like something else. 

Something like pride.

* * * * * *

Two days later you’re scheduled for the night shift alone, with not much else to do but make the occasional note in the shift log and wait for the alarm that indicates the mare’s collection tank is full. So you wait. 

And watch.

For the first time you have a chance to really just look at him, and you’re finding it difficult to pay attention to the instruments that you should be monitoring. Your eyes instead are continually drawn back to the observation window and the thick mop of black curls that falls across his forehead where his horns emerge, sharp features are framed by the scruff of a dark beard, and an intriguing mix of tattoos, brands and scars play across the planes and curves of his body.

Although his muscles aren’t as chiseled as many of the demons you've observed in this facility his shoulders and arms are thick, and you unconsciously lick your lips as your eyes follow the dark hair that covers his broad chest and abdomen down to where it meets the wiry hair at the base of his cock.

A slick warmth has been slowly pooling between your thighs since you settled into your chair at the beginning of the shift, but as you watch the bored pumping of his hips fall into a smoother, swaying rhythm, that warmth ignites.

Widening his stance, hooved feet brace on the floor as he pulls out further before thrusting back in, letting you watch his cock slide slowly back into the machine’s opening, burying himself with a jutting roll of his hips, over and over. Almost teasing. 

Almost taunting.

This could be you.

It’s only when Klaw drags his hands along the metal “body” of the mare that you notice it: The claws of the first three fingers of his right hand seem to be…gone? 

With a flicker of concern you flip a switch on the console, using the camera to zoom in. 

Ok, no, they’re not gone per se, but they’re definitely shorter, nearly down to the quick. Was it an accident? Did they break in a fervor as he fucked the contraption? 

Frowning at the screen your mind turns over the possibilities, but before you can think to add the peculiarity to your notes your thoughts fizzle away when you glance back up to the observation window and see that he’s watching you.

As soon as your eyes meet his the tease in his movements falls away and he’s bottoming out hard against the opening in a rough, stuttered rhythm as his eyes cloud over, and you know from past observation that he’s nearing the edge.

Your inner muscles clench and the ache that’s been building since you walked in here swells and overlaps with a flaring jealousy when Klaw shudders and growls, filling the receptacle with another thick load of his seed.

You don’t even realize that you stood up until you feel the cool glass of the observation window beneath your palms, your breath fogging the surface as you press yourself against the barrier.

There’s still a slow, uneven cadence to the demon’s thrusts following his climax, but his gaze swiftly sharpens on you again when one of your hands drifts idly across your stomach, then lower, fingers brushing over the top button of your pants-

-and then you jump when a shrill sound interrupts you, nearly growling at the surge of frustration.

The alarm is piercing and incessant and won’t stop until you enter the demon’s room, so you return to the control panel to activate the sigil that will keep him contained while you clean and recalibrate the machine - tests having shown that a laser projection of the correct wavelength of light is just as effective as a physical binding.

Once you’re through the airlock you quickly set to working through the checklist, unhooking the mechanism that feeds into tanks in the floor and connecting it to a fresh one. You move on to cleaning the unfeeling hole that the demon fucks into day in and day out, your breath going shallow at the jealousy that continues to singe your nerves. 

His gaze stays entirely focused on you as you move around, cock swaying heavily in front of  broad thighs - still hard, always hard - the still leaking head so dark it’s nearly purple. 

The slick between your thighs has only increased since you started to work, fairly certain that you’ve soaked through your panties at this point, and when you have to pass closer to his “cage” he leans forward, nearly pressing himself against the barrier as he follows your path.

Inhaling deeply his cock twitches, more cum dripping from the tip as he ruts at the air, and you can't help but wonder if he’s picking up your frustrated arousal.

“Hurry up.” you chide yourself. “Stop getting distracted. Just finish your shit and get out.”

Kneeling down behind the machine you open the access panel and flip through the menus until you find the one that will complete the calibration, and while you’re focused on watching it cycle you don’t notice the outer door open from the hall into the observation room. 

The intern who enters must not see you where you’re kneeling on the floor, and evidently thinking that the trap has been left on in error he flips the switch to deactivate it.

When the light from the beaming sigil goes dark you pop up in alarm, the face of the intern frozen in an almost comedic grimace of horror when he finally registers that you’re staring back at him from the wrong side of the glass. 

The man reaches for the switch again but Klaw’s reflexes are faster, and before the trap can be reactivated the demon rushes the door. Slamming his shoulder against it he jams it so thoroughly they'll need to bring in special equipment to get it open again, but at this time of night it'll be hours, if you’re lucky, before a crew gets here.

Then he rounds on you.

With an oddly warm sense of detachment you think that you should feel fear as you watch the slow grin spread across his face, but the only thing you feel is a surge of hot, aching desire. 

He rumbles something you don’t understand, though the rough texture of his words is still intoxicating, and before you realize what you’re doing you’re walking towards him, pulling your shirt over your head as you move. 

Because right now you find that you want - need - to bare yourself for him, the sensation of it intense that your skin feels like it’s going to scald if you don’t get your clothes off now, and your shoes, pants and underwear quickly join the discarded pile on the floor.

Stopping in front of him you reach back to unclasp your bra, but your arms pause mid-way when Klaw’s hand reaches out, your breath hitching when he hooks a large, clawed finger beneath your chin, tilting your head up so that your eyes meet his.

You’d always assumed that his eyes were black, but this close you realize that they’re actually an impossibly deep blue, a blue that only resides along the penumbra of light and shadow where the last rays of sun reach into the depths of the ocean

You stand mesmerized as his hand dips lower, leaving behind a trail of gooseflesh as a claw trails gently down the delicate skin of your neck and chest, and then with a flick of his wrist the last scrap of fabric covering you gives way, exposing your breasts to the cool air.  

You’ve barely shrugged off the ruined garment when suddenly you’re being picked up - so, so easily - and placed on a table, swiftly reminded of how much larger and stronger he is than you, and once again dimly aware that you should feel fear, or dread, or some instinct telling you to run.

Not of the shiver of anticipation that leaves your breath hitching in your chest. 

Definitely not the wild need blooming in your core as sharp teeth ghost along the place where your blood thrums, his breath hot and his skin hotter.

His mouth continues its path downward, pausing to lick at the soft swell of your breasts, taking a moment to pull and pluck at your nipples with his lips. A pleased growl vibrates against your skin when you lean back onto your hands with a moan, arching into the swirl of his tongue around your pebbled flesh. 

It’s not long, though, before he can no longer ignore the way this increases the heated musk between your thighs, leaving behind a wet trail of saliva as his mouth travels down, seeking the place where you’re already dripping for him.

The demon's hands nearly wrap entirely around your thighs yet his touch is almost cautious as he presses you open, mesmerized by the way you unfold for him like the petals of a flower, slick and shining.

HIs eyes are heavy lidded as thick fingers begin to tease through your folds, toying with your clit, surprising you with how softly he rolls it between thumb and forefinger, a grin curving the corner of his mouth when your hips buck into his touch.

Noting your reaction he repeats the motion, gently pinching and rolling the sensitive bud until your mouth drops open and your breath is coming in sharp gasps, his dark eyes staying fixed between your legs as thick fingers coax a warm, honeyed orgasm from you, leaving you keening and startled by the slow intensity of it.

You’ve barely caught your breath when you feel his mouth suddenly envelop your mound, lapping eagerly at your release as you whine and writhe beneath his tongue, overwhelmed at the stimulation.

It’s too much, all of this is too much, but as he continues licking and suckling at your sensitive flesh you find that you’re no longer fighting it, the hum of bliss that hadn’t yet faded already building to a fresh swell, and when his lips capture your clit with a sudden fluttering pressure your body stiffens as your second orgasm flares through you, sharper and brighter than the first. 

When he finally releases you he speaks again, but through the haze of afterglow it takes a moment for it to register that this time you think that you understand him, the word seeming to appear within your mind at the same time that you hear it from his glistening lips.

“Sweet.” 

With a start you look down at him and he pauses, head tilting, curiosity knitting his heavy brows. 

Not moving his eyes from yours, his voice is a low, tentative purr when he speaks again.

“Would your sweet cunt like..more?”

Holy fuck. You can understand him.

Your thoughts spin as the shock works its way through you, the analytical part of your mind attempting to parse what the fuck is happening. Is it the increased time in his proximity? The physical contact? Whatever the mechanism, you can suddenly hear- or perhaps more accurately feel - his words, somewhere deep in your conscience.

A firm nod, then, in answer to his question, a responding pull of his lips into a slow, pleased grin.

Dipping his head Klaw licks a broad, wet stripe up your cleft, and then he’s devouring you, slavering hungrily against your sex, drool mixing with your arousal as his lips and tongue work your aching bundle of nerves until you’re gasping shallow breaths, every muscle strung taught as you hover on the edge once more.

Seeking for an anchor your hands find his curved horns, warm and leathery beneath your scrabbling fingers, and then with a rasping cry you’re coming in long, surging waves, your entire body trembling as your hips chase every flutter of pleasure on the tip of his tongue. 

Dimly you think that he must be satisfied now, that you must be satisfied, yet it seems as though with every climax you only hunger more intensely for the next. 

Once your hands release his horns and fall limp at your sides Klaw straightens up, and then wrapping his hand around his cock he starts roughly stroking himself. 

Almost without thinking your legs fall open, shaky arms pulling your knees back to expose yourself to him, knowing he can see how your soaked cunt still clenches through the last waves of your orgasm, and it’s only a few more strokes before he’s coming with a rough jerk of his hips and you gasp at the heat, thick ropes of cum streaking across your slick folds and the insides of your thighs.  

Still breathing hard, the pumping of his fist gradually slows, a hand drifting along the curve of your inner thigh as his focus comes back to you. Gathering some of the sticky mess he left between your legs he drags it through your folds, and then suddenly a thick finger is sliding into you.

Even as you gasp at the intrusion you begin to understand that he had actually done it on purpose: Biting down those claws himself because, it seems, he had been thinking about this.

The realization that it was for you leaves your entire body humming, and as your hips cant up to meet the slow, almost teasing thrusts, there’s only one word that swells and ripens in your mind, uncertain whether it’s your word or his even as it falls from your lips.

“More.”

A knowing glint flashes in his eyes at your soft plea, and almost immediately you feel a second finger slipping against you. Just teasing his fingertips at your entrance at first he lets your juices slick them before pressing into you, both fingers together nearly as thick as a human cock.

You moan as he continues to slide them in and out of you, and just as you begin to sink into the ache of it, you moan low in your throat when suddenly he’s adding a third.

The heady pressure of him working three fingers into your already stretched hole is overwhelming, and you’re unsure whether you want to throw yourself towards the sensation or resist it, your body arching into him, yet tensing and pulling away at the same time.

But then he’s pressing you down onto the table, his hand nearly spanning the width of your chest to hold you in place as his fingers continue nudging deeper.

“Where are you going, little one? Going to have to take it if you want my cock." 

As if to emphasize his words he drags his erection against the inside of your thigh with a grunted sigh, a fresh streak of precum adding to the mess that he’s already left on you.

Because of course you do, and he knows it, has known it since you stopped being able to look away from his hunched form as he fucked into his mechanical mate, a warm curiosity growing into a distracting need.

And you know that he could have taken you at any time, could have forced himself into you as soon as your clothes were a forgotten pile on the floor. But instead, he’s been preparing you to take him properly, making you come until the only thing you know is his mouth and his fingers and you’re soft and trembling and ravenous.

“God yes.” You spread your legs wide again, giving him an obscene view of where his fingers are sinking into you, slick sounds filling the room as they pump faster now.

“There you go.” He croons above you. “Made for this, hmm?" 

Any attempt at a response trails into a choked cry when he finds that soft, needy spot deep inside you, a fresh, pulsing heat spreading through your already exhausted body as he takes you apart once more. Still pinned beneath his hand you’re unable to do anything but allow it to wash through you, shaking and whimpering as he continues to drag firm, curling strokes against your clenching walls.

Leaning down Klaw presses his face into your heaving chest, and your nipples tighten and ache as he licks languorously between your breasts, his huffed breath is hot against your skin.

As your senses filter back in your hands slowly begin to move, exploring the corded muscles of his neck and shoulders, trembling fingers tugging and sliding through his hair, and then up and over his horns again.

Letting your eyes slip closed you take in the ridged curve of them, a velvety pleasure blooming in your chest when he inhales sharply, cock throbbing against your thigh when your fingers wrap around the base of them.

Finally pulling his fingers out of you he tugs you up, turning around and repositioning you so that you’re straddling his broad hips as best you can. Strong hands support you, encouraging you to slide your slick folds along his shaft, a giddy sort of panic stuttering in your chest at the sudden awareness of the size of him where he twitches between your thighs.

Desperate whines that may as well be prayers slide from your throat when he lifts you higher and you feel the thick, bulbous head of his cock nudging against your entrance, the only words falling from your lips a whispered litany of “Oh my god oh my god oh my god."

“I’m not your God, little one,” he growls softly, words distorted as if you're hearing them through a sediment of granite and blood. "But you will worship me."

“Yes. Yes..Oh fuck, please.” 

Beneath your lilting plea you dimly hear gritted curses and words of encouragement as you circle your hips, your arousal making a slick mess of his cock.

You can't help how eagerly your hips rock down, seeking more, so lost in the sensations that you're unprepared when a hard press of your hips matches his upward thrust, and the thick head of his cock suddenly ruts up into you, and when he slips past the tight ring of muscle the feral sound from deep in your chest nearly matches his.

Panting open mouthed you hold him there before rising up, slowly, slowly, letting him slip out of you before sinking down to take him back in. You feel weightless beneath the obsidian glint in his eyes as he watches you repeat the motion again, and again, his arms helping you move as you start to shake from the effort of riding just the head of his cock.

Even now there’s something warm and urgent drawing your hand lower, and you’re unable to help feeling pleased when his eyes go heavy as his gaze follows your fingers down to where they press against your clit.

“So..needy.” he rumbles. “Better than I imagined.”

“You..imagined?” You pant, attempting to sound coy, but your words are thick with lust as you continue to roll your hips, forcing yourself down further down his length. 

Your movements are becoming less controlled now, and when your fingers slip and brush against his shaft you whimper at how fucking big he feels where he's stretching you open, and how much of him is still outside of you.

You can feel every slick ridge and vein beneath your hand, and as you slide it along his length the muscles of his thighs tense and flex beneath you, his breathing going rough as your messy strokes continue.

“Look at you taking my cock,” Klaw grits, the demon’s hips beginning to stutter up in short, sharp thrusts. “Such a good little pet.” 

His words trail into a low growl that vibrates through your body as you feel a hard throb beneath your hand, and then heat.

You gasp, continuing to writhe as he spills into you, coating your inner walls with his thick seed, and almost you feel as though you could come again just from the heat of it.

Fuck, you need more of that.

Need it deeper.

Even as the pulsing beneath your fingers slows he doesn't stop moving, finally coming inside of you seeming only to have tipped his need to fevered desire. Holding you in place he thrusts up harder, dislodging your hand, and you can feel his spend leaking out of you, dripping down the insides of your thighs and slicking his still hard cock as he continues to drive deeper, no longer letting you set the pace. 

“This is what you wanted, wasn’t it?” He taunts, voice still a rough half-whisper after his orgasm. “Could feel it when you watched me. Wanted me to fill your little cunt, hmm?”

“Yes.” You let out a growled sob, jealous anger surging through you. ”That..thing, doesn’t fucking deserve it.”

A flame crackles in Klaw’s eyes at your heated words, and you wonder with a jolt of awareness whether he hasn’t been just as desperate for this as you have, longing for you as he remained trapped in the torment of a cold, unfeeling machine. Driven purely by instinct, chasing his release over and over again but never being truly satisfied.

The sudden realization that you could give that to him floods you with almost as much pleasure as the agony of being filled with his cock.

You’ve barely processed the thought when you suddenly find yourself with your back once again pressed against the cool metal of the table, Klaw only pulling out of you briefly before thrusting back in, harder.

He continues a slow, controlled rhythm, both of you panting hard as you feel yourself softening around him, becoming more pliant as your body relents to every stroke until with a final arching rock of his hips your cunt is completely stretched and full, everything so impossibly tight that you can’t even clench around him.

He's never felt anything quite like you, the achingly tight grip of your pussy leaving him nearly breathless as he holds himself as deep as he can, huffing and grunting like a bull while he watches you writhe and spasm beneath him.

Then he starts to fuck you.

He tries to keep his strokes firm and measured at first, but he can’t hold back anymore and it's not long before his chest is heaving, lips curled in a snarl, and it feels as though you're being split open as he pulls you back onto his cock in time to meet every thrust. 

A scarlet thread runs through every cell of your soft animal body, stringing tighter and tighter as pleasure builds to the edge of breaking but then surging higher, a fresh ecstasy building on every peak. 

The tightening grip around your waist signals the absolute loss of his control and when you hiss at the sudden piercing bite of his claws he moves his hands to brace on the table instead, his broad body forcing your legs back towards your shoulders as he leans down over you, driving his cock as deep as he can get into your willing heat until he’s grunting and drooling above you. 

A divine bliss slides through your veins as you lie beneath him, caught between the trammel of his arms, and as you watch his base instinct take over you begin to understand that only fools could believe that lust is a sin. 

And even if it was, even if you were offered perfect grace in this moment, you know with absolute certainty that you would refuse.

An infernal dam is finally swelling to breaking as you surrender to every relentless thrust of his cock, your wailed sobs the only sounds you can make as an impossible pressure ripples through your core, and with a deep throb you suddenly feel a drenching heat as your release washes over his cock and your thighs. 

“There you go.” Klaw growls. “Make a mess for me, little one.” 

This seems to be his final undoing, and as you continue to soak his cock his thrusting goes ragged until with rough groan he’s coming deep inside you, stilling himself to keep the head of his cock pressed against the deepest part of you, making sure that you feel every hot, throbbing pulse of his cum as it fills you.

Keeping himself seated deep he rocks slow grinding thrusts into the slippery mess he’s made of his you, the lust that’s had no real outlet finally finding satisfaction in the way your clenching cunt is milking his cock, in the gentle swell of your belly as he pumps you full of his seed.

You’re a sweaty, twitching mess beneath him, and as much as you wish you could you’re unable to take all of it, can’t help how it spills out around his cock where you’re stretched and sore, how his cum and yours drips down your swollen sex to pool beneath you on the table.

His hands don't stop moving over your body, cupping your breasts, grasping at you hips, sliding over the ripe swell of you where he can feel you filled with his cock and his cum. Vaguely aware of soft grunts mixed with mumbled praise, you don’t register what he’s saying at first through the haze of euphoria.

“Going to be mine.” he rumbles, between languorous strokes. ”My little queen.” 

“Mine.”

* * * * * * *

The room is warm and flickering, silken sheets decadent beneath your fingers, your body thrumming with a heated anticipation that never seems to fade, now.

Rough hands lift your hips as your demon mounts you from behind, a hand placed firmly between your shoulder blades, pressing you down into the mattress.

A panting whine slides from your throat as he spreads you open, the thick head of his cock prodding your entrance, pleased to see you’re still dripping with his seed from the last time he filled you. And he doesn’t like leaving you empty for very long.

“Say it again, little one.” Klaw growls softly, holding himself still. Waiting.

“Yours.” 

You sigh, a smile curling around the word as he pushes into you.

“I’m yours.”

A/N: As ever, thank you for reading! This was definitely a bit outside my comfort zone, but I hope you enjoyed this filthy little foray into monster fuckery. 😊

[avaantares]

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