#no shade to the ll ending i like it

[quetzalpapalotl]

I know I talk like John Barber can do not wrong, but in my defense those are my favorite comics and when I first came into the fandom, most of what I saw was extremely harsh criticism of his writing that looked to me like bad faith reading and sometimes being mad that it isn't Mtmte and a lot of people who didn't read his comics and just took it at face value that they sucked. Sometimes based on things that didn't even actually happen. So all this time I've just been trying to course-correct and explain to people why I like exRID and OP so much.

[depresssant]

Shades Of Cool

NEGLECTFUL!PLATONIC!YAN!batfam x GN!reader - part l, part ll

synopsis : growing up with a shit mom and constant step-dads and mom's boyfriends, your view on life has grown pretty bleak. you just want to die, since it doesn't seem to get better than this. things can't get any worse, can they?

so reader is very flawed ppl. i’m trying to make this as gn as possible for pls bear with me. asks and requests r open. reblogs are also much appreciated. now that i’ve gotten my e-begging out of the way, enjoy this pathetic excuse of a story

warnings : child abuse, past sexual abuse, yandere, etc

you want to die.

you always do.

staring at the wanna be thug pointing a gun at you, you sigh and roll your eyes in exasperation. perhaps pissing him off will the best way to get him to curl a finger around the trigger. or judging by his temperament, you won't have to do much.

"you? i should give my money to you?"

"who the fuck do you think you are, bitch?" the thug screams at you angrily. his grip gets tighter and clammier. he's not experienced with this. he's probably ganged up with a bunch of thugs to pull shit like this. it wouldn't take much to disarm him. "give me the fucking money before i blow your head off!"

"to a junkie like you?" you are a junkie, too, so you're not too sure about making fun of him for that. "i don't give money to hobos."

that is wrong, too. but you want to piss him off.

"that's it, you stupid bitch!" the thug's stances becomes defensive. his hateful glare is pointed at you while he musters the courage to actually press the trigger. he doesn't look like he'll do it. you've seen countless like him roaming the streets, holding you at gunpoint. he probably won't do it. then again, this is gotham. you don't expect much. either he'll shoot you dead, forcibly take your stuff, flee the scene out of fear, or be dismantled by one of the city's vigilantes. perhaps he'd shoo—

"stop right there!"

damn it.

you think too soon.

a young robin is quick to have the wanna be thug tied up and beat down. you would've questioned why a kid who seemingly looked twelve can do such a thing, but you've learned to not question most things in your life. you merely sigh in disappoint and pick up your dropped backpack before beginning the journey to hell.

"excuse me? wait! where are you headed?"

gosh, his boy-ish voice grates your nerves. makes you clench your teeth. your gaze narrows, but you know better than to react. reaction gains a reaction—one that will never be in your favor. it'll lead to a fight—one that will never be in your favor. you'll end up broken, bleeding, and bruised. now that isn't something in your favor. now you're thinking of favor too much. forcing a smile, you turn around to face the pre-teen vigilante. "yes?"

"are you alright?" he asks with practiced concern. he doesn't actually care. it's probably just protocol.

"a-okay!" the words are hollow. they lack depth. like you. "thank you for your help. i don't know what would've happened to me if you weren't there."

you do know. you wish you wouldn't.

"you're welcome," robin replies with polished words like he's not exactly convinced. "would you like for me to walk you? the city hasn't been safe for some time now."

"when is it ever safe? but that's okay. i live just around the corner, so i think i'll be fine."

"are you sure—"

"completely."

please. why won't he just leave you alone? there goes your plan spoiled by him again. every time you've been in an attempted robbing, he's been there to destroy your chances of getting shot. of escaping. he always does this. this is a repeated cycle between the two of you. he's a flying bird until you shoot him down. your name clearly wants to escape from his lips, but robin nods his head in understanding.

"this seems to happen to you all the time. my wish is for you to be safe."

"this is gotham." the grip on the straps on your backpack tighten. "everyone's gotta go through this. anyways, i gotta go, you know. thanks for savin' me."

"of course."

you don't spare him a single glance. the sky is wrapped up in black clouds heavy with the burden of rain. icy cold wind sings a melancholy tune through the stiff air. the door to your apartment looks like the gates of hell. it's all futile. no matter how many sighs you sigh, how many wishes you wish, and how many curses you curse, you'll still land up in the same fate. without escape.

that is the summary of your life.

taking a few seconds to prepare yourself for the incoming session, you open the door to be met with radio silence. silence is never good. half the time, it means something is brewing for you, and they're taking their sweet time to scare you into thinking nothing will happen. sometimes. not all the time. the other time, it just means he need to rise from his pile of misery first.

the hand of your mother's boyfriend is instantly wrapped around your neck before you can even register why the hell the apartment looks like a tornado hit it. he squeezes so tightly you feel like blood is gushing out of your ears with how loudly they ring. white spots dot along your blurry sight as you struggle to breathe. you can hear a frantic voice telling him to let you go, but you're pushed up more against the wall. this is the norm. doesn't mean it hurts any less. he'll let you go, give you some time to regain your breath, and then rain down bullets upon you.

that's exactly what happens.

your hand goes straight to your neck as your raspy and shaky coughs wreck your chest. he squeezes hard enough for it to hurt but it not show. and then the kicks and punches come. with how much your chest and ribs are struck, you're a bit surprised at how you haven't broken a bone yet. your potential step-father screams at you, but you can barely hear it over the repetition of words in your head. he grabs your bloody face and shout something incoherent before letting you go to kick you.

leaving you in your own pile of misery.

it's normal. yes, it's completely normal. you're used to this. it'll get better. it always does. but you've got the crushing idea it never will.

gotham heights high school—the school you're forced to attend.

the class division is insane to look at, because it's there even from a short and near prospective. how the richest kids got put in a school with the poorest—you'll never know. the only thing you do know is that every one of these kids are pieces of shit. even the ones that pretend to be nice.

tim drake—or shall you say tim wayne—is no different.

even as he helps up the girl who just got roughly pushed to the floor, causing all her textbooks to scatter, you can only eye him with disdain. if he really cares, then he would've beat the shit out of those athletes. but he doesn't. they're all the same—privileged and all. sympathy shouldn't be given to them. not to drake or the wealthy yet somehow bullied girl.

"but y'know what i heard?" your friend drags your attention back to him. zarian leans against a locker lazily, but excitement practically buzzes off of him. "the��bruce wayne is coming to our track meet today!"

your other friend, jaylene, rolls her eyes as she applies her eyeliner using the mirror hanging up on the inside door of her locker. she speaks exactly what you're thinking. "only because his beloved son is gonna be there."

"well, still. think about the connections we can make! all the famous people that'll be there."

"keep dreaming. asshat. i put all my money on the attention being on rich the kid. i don't even know why he joined track. varsity, at that, too. there has to be some sort of bribery going on."

an incoming argument is clearly brewing up, so you take in a deep breath to say something, but a new voice beats you to it.

"excuse me?"

you and your two friends turn to face the guy standing in front of you. charismatic, intelligent,  and optimistic—he's an enigma that shines on everyone. tim drake. his black, messy yet somehow in place hair does no justice for his good looks. he's the complete package. rich, good looking, tall, and empathetic. the mere sight of him annoys you.

zarian is the first to speak up. he quirks a brow and offers tim a grin. "what's up, man?"

"you're leaning against my locker." tim rubs the back of his neck. he smiles awkwardly in the presence of the three of you, and it takes your friend a beat to understand what he's saying before moving away.

"oh yeah. my fault," he says as he moved to stand next to you.

the school's very own bruce wayne only shakes his head and tells him it's okay while opening his locker and grabbing a few things. people flock around, waiting for him to be done with whatever the hell he's doing, so they can be back to his side like leeches sucking on blood. he surely can't be this dumb, no? these people don't want to be his friend...

well, it's not as if it's your problem. you wish it is. you and your friends turn to make way to first period, but drake clearly has other plans. he sandwiches himself between you and zarian with a grin of his own plastered on an unblemished face. one carefree of any worry or pain. "so," tim begins. "first track meet of the year, huh? aren't you guys nervous?"

jaylene merely hums in amusement and shrugs. "it gets better. when you've spent four years in track—in front of all those judging people—it wears off. hopefully, you'll get used to it soon."

that is jab, though, rich the kid doesn't seem to catch on. he laughs casually, but even you can sense the anxiety like it was radioactive. ""i hope so. i've sprinted so much i feel like i'll get shin splits again."

you zone out while he has a conversation with your friends. as if drake has ever had experience with track. it took you all of freshman year to just prove that you can actually be a part of the track team, and here tim drake is, parading around about getting on varsity without a single grain of hard work. he's a naturally talented person. good at everything. that's what makes you hate him so much. people like him get everything handed to them just because they're good at it first hand and leave behind people that actually work for it. you want to tell him to buzz off—that he can't talk about how much he's practiced and how nervous he is, but you keep your mouth shut. that is, until he directly addresses you.

tim's eyes narrow at you with comedic suspicion. "you know, you look like someone i know. a lot. the resemblance is crazy."

"eight billion people out there. you never know." your tone is flat, stoic, lacking any bit of emotion.

"gosh, you even sound like him! that's really terrifying."

"well, whoever, it is, i hope i never meet him," you murmur.

your two friends leave for their classes soon, and you and drake find your seats at the back of high school economics. exhaustingly so, you sit together in one of the many desk pairs, and drake uses this opportunity to annoy you any chance he gets. you give off the vibe that you don't want to talk to him. he doesn't get the hint. you don't tell him, though. maybe that's the problems. his shit-eating grin ticks you off when you look in his direction. "what?"

"let's be friends!"

"no."

"what? come on! don't be so cold!" he whines like a petulant child being told no.

"no."

"too bad! you're my friend now."

"tim," you sigh. it's wrong to scream. it's bad to scream. screaming leads to fights. fights lead to you laying in a pool of your own blood. laying in blood leads to missing practice. missing practice leads to less skill. less skill leads to less of a chance of getting the hell out of here. just smile. forgive and forget. know your persona. know who you are. kind. happy. funny. "fine." so you smile with gritted teeth. you smile like you played a cruel joke on him. "we can be friends... i guess."

his face brightens at your fake words like he is just given the the world.

tim drake wiggles his eyebrows playfully and nudges you with his elbow. "you know, i've been trying to get you to say that since school started?"

"really now?"

"really. i'm glad we're going to be friends. oh! should we go out to eat with zarian and jaylene after the meet?"

... there's a chance your mom's boyfriend will get pissed off. he'll probably beat the shit out of you since the track meet would have happened, and you wouldn't need to have an unblemished body for meets. he'd scream, yell, and punch... like his life depended on it... fuck it.

"yeah," you reply shortly after with a firm nod of your head. "we can go to this diner near the theater. i'm sure you'll love the food."

this doesn't mean you hate him any less. he's still rich scum⏤how you're poor scum. he's stuck up, pretentious, and sickeningly sweet. exactly what you hate. you just hope you can have a good time after the track meet. the mischievous glint in his eyes told you otherwise.

"and this is my dad, bruce wayne."

what the hell are you doing?

the sun is setting along the horizon, the air is getting cooler again, and you want to sink into the floor. the plan was to head straight to the diner after this, but rich the kid somehow roped you into meeting his dad?

nausea pools in your stomach from both hunger and the feeling of thousands of eyes staring at you. cameras are flashing at gotham's billionaire as he smiles and firmly shakes your hand. confidence drips off of him disgustingly. his high-tailored suit radiates wealth and money. his stoic demeanor gives off an aura of mystery. you want to lay on a railroad track with an incoming train speeding along the way.

"it's nice to meet you. tim has ranted about his track teammates quite a lot."

there's an eleven year old standing next to him. his eyes are on you like that of an owl's but you neither glance at him or bother to acknowledge him. you just want to eat some food before meeting your doom at that apartment for not placing first like your mom's boyfriend wanted you to. like a goat getting stuffed before slaughter. it always leads down to that. no matter how many times you try to wish it was different. no matter how many times you imagine it to be different. no matter how many times you try to make it different.

"nice to meet you too." you shake his hand as well with a polite smile on your face. polite. calm. gentle. proper. "and yeah, he seems very eager to be on the team."

"of course, of course. well, it is getting late. why don't you come over for dinner some time?"

"maybe tonight?" tim suddenly adds in. at your hesitant expression, he groans in exasperation. "who do you think we are? blood-sucking bats? come on, we can go to the diner some other time!"

you have just met him... you've just accepted being his friend... you aren't the most social person. you've never had much friends, but even you can understand that dinner with the family doesn't happen until the friend and person have come close in a long period of time. jaylene and zarian have other matters to tend to, so it's going to be just you and tim at a diner. not⏤

ding!

your phone's notification's alarm chimes, and when you check who has sent you a message, you feel like getting on the ground to pray to whatever deity for letting you have a moment of peace.

mom: ⏤he's heavily drunk. don't come home.

a part of you is hit with a strong current full of guilt. this is your mother. you're supposed to be there for her through thick and thin. you're supposed to protect her and be her wall of defense against monsters like him. family look out for each other. you have to take care of her... but she doesn't take care of you. this makes you a terrible person. you know that. she'll probably get beaten to an inch of her life and hide her heavy bruises under makeup that was terribly done in a rush. and then, she'll throw whatever object is in sight at you in a fury of anger.

telling you she made too many sacrifices for you. telling you that you're ruined her life. telling you that she should've aborted you like your father had told her to. telling you exactly what you believe yourself. a curse that should've never been born... she'll be beaten within an inch of her life. but you have already lost yours.

after pretending to text her and sliding your phone into the pocket of your sweatpants, you nod with a sigh of joking resignation. "sure. i asked my mom, and she said it's okay."

"wonderful." mr. wayne nods and gestures to the limo you can see in the parking lot. a bit of overkill, perhaps.

honestly, you're still surprised that gotham's billionaire is inviting you to dinner. this man is the topic of magazines, and you're about to take a ride in his limo. how the hell have you ended up in a situation like this? fate is still fucking with you, isn't it?

you find yourself seated next to tim while mr. wayne and his youngest son, damian, sit on the seats to your right. they're talking about something, but once again, you find yourself half listening and zoning out, staring at nothing until mr. wayne's questions pulls you back to reality.

"so how has school been faring for you?" mr. wayne asks in a cool and collected tone.

you laugh lightly and smile as politely as ever. "pretty good. i hope to leave gotham after graduation to study somewhere else."

"who would want to stay in gotham?" tim rolled his eyes, rolling the first place medal between his fingers. "by the way, remember when i said you looked like someone i know? i was talking about my dad?"

your brows rise in both exasperation and annoyance at his claims. now he's just plain, out right trying to make fun of you in front of a billionaire. your shoulders tense, ready to refute his claims, but mr. wayne surprisingly chuckles and rubs his chin while taking a good look at your face. "well, i can see it, but there's eight billion people out there in the world. i'm bound to look like someone. though, i didn't expect for it to be someone as talented as [name] here."

you force a quiet laugh along at the sound of his tone. foreboding. you know tones like this. like he's hiding something that they all know except for you. it means you've made a mistake in even giving in to tim drake's constant begging. why the hell was he so eager to have you become his friend? why is he so eager to maintain a friendship with you? why the hell has mr. wayne invited you to dinner when he's rumored to be mysterious, secretive, and a literal brick wall that nobody can get past?

"you've achieved so much for a child your age." mr. wayne sets his gaze dead on you. "your father must be so proud."

and his eyes glimmer with that same shine you saw in tim's.

ewwww

this was not proofread so forgive me and uh, i will be turning this into a series

um also making a tag list if anyone wants to be a part of it

[tubbytarchia]

Etho doodles in which I let my inner dinosaur nerd take over 😔 and also have no idea how to shade

Get it cause he's old and washed up haha... ok but actual raptor Etho hybrid justification below cut

To be honest the main reason was because I really wanted a hybrid in the mix who wasn't some furry creature and a reptile or amphibian or smth instead. Etho still ended up feathered but whatever it's close enough! But for ACTUAL reasoning:

He does feel damn ancient, like an old deity of the mcyt space that no one can dislike. Dinosaurs are the same!! They're old but still thought of with great fascination and fondness, everyone loves dinosaurs...

Dinosaurs are ever so mysterious, as many advancements as we make there's still so much we don't know. Just as we know jackshit about mister Kakashi skin man. Also, there are so many incomplete skeletons out there. I didn't have a particular species in mind for Etho, because where's the mystery in that? He can be one of those 5% skeleton 95% speculation dinosaurs like this guy!! Missing jaw and all

"I'm a runner, not a protector" - so, a raptor, or more specifically the Dromaeosauridae family, which literally has "running/runner" in its name

But! I'm always a fan of stuff going against its nature, especially in this case! Etho states he's not a runner yet protects his allies rather fiercely even in total silence. Eg refusing to kill Cleo in SL or to give away Tango's location during the LimL manhunt, same for Grian in SL. He was a bit flaky in 3L I think? And he only started to have genuine care for allies in LL with Bdubs? Though he is still very much a runner in many cases like during the LL Wither fight. Research also strongly suggests that most if not all raptors were solitary hunters, and the way I see Etho (through my shamefully limited watchtime of his POVs...) he feels a lot like someone who ultimately only trusts himself at the start even if he's pleasant and allying with others, and doesn't seem to think he can carry his weight in groups though he doesn't voice this a lot. That's just how Etho is, very composed, but it feels like there's an insecurity there, showcased especially in SL but again I haven't seen almost any of his POVs in full so maybe I'm talking out of my ass!! Sorry ethogirls I'm only a sidegig ethogirl myself... But yeah tldr to me he gives off the vibe of an otherwise solitary animal struggling to find 100% sure footing in a pack. In whichever ways he does go against his nature, its not usually made a show of

At the mention of a raptor, a lot of people will probably think of the glamourized Jurassic Park Velociraptors. But those awesome guys from the movies are actually the size of chickens. In general though, dinosaurs tend to be a bit.. exaggerated in media, despite how inherently fascinating they already are. And I think it fits Etho because we all know how the Lifers seem to fear and mancrush on him when he's just some dork with perfect capability to become pathetic at a moment's notice. Still, he's a clearly skilled player and still respected without question Etho's not some killer machine like some people make dinosaurs out to be. He's just a fellow creature fulfilling his role in the ecosystem 👍

dinosaurs are cool

The hook-like sickle claws on the feet... something something fishing rod

I swear I'm not turning all my Lifers into hybrids I'm not!! Still plenty normal humans in the mix I swear....... But Etho is such a radical dude, I really wanted to do something more for him. The whole Kitsune thing that I often see associated with him is really cool. I don't actually know the reasoning for it but I assume something something naruto, but also, him being this ancient mythical cryptid who people know so little about, you know? It makes SO much sense. So anyway I turned him into a dinosaur instead rawr

As a herbivore advocate I also considered stuff like the triceratops (known for how they protect themselves and their own) but nah the raptor symbolism...

[theflashesoflove]

obstacle I

Larissa Weems x f!reader (nsfw) – series

part I :: part ll :: ao3

summary: Could you be more careless? Talking to a stranger online and sharing the most intimate moments of your days with her? The way you trusted her was almost ridiculous, but the way she talked to you made you sure that this grown woman wouldn’t even consider harming you in some way. One would think you were a fool who would regret her messages one day, one would even point a finger at you and say how perverse all of it was. Luckily, no one knew. Except for Lydia, your mistress, to whom you granted not just your body, but also your heart.

a/n: i always dreaded writing series, but this woman inspires me so much that i'm finally up for the challenge. i hope i will be consistent with my writing enough to bring this story where i want it to be. filthy, angsty and gentle. i think there will be two or three more chapters and it is also crossposted on ao3. btw i have a vague idea of what architects do so if you notice some factual mistakes let's pretend that in my silly imaginary world things work this way. the names of the chapters are lyrics from interpol's 'turn on the bright lights' album (it's brilliant, a huge recommend if you like male manipulator music like i do haha). proofread, and i hope it doesn't sound as broken as i think it does. (bracing myself) let's set this little bird free into the wild.

general warnings/tags: unhealthy online relationship, dom!larissa x sub!reader dynamics, sexting, nudes, masturbation + angst and all that stuff to come

chapter word count: 4k

Part I: you are linked to my innocence

Sitting on the balcony, you admired the sun slowly crawling up from its slumber, painting the sky with faint yellow and pink shades, warming up the cool earth. The view before you made you smile. Perhaps having trouble sleeping had its benefits – you could admire such a beautiful sunrise and feel at peace for at least the next hour, before the world would wake up and start swirling around you, overwhelming and demanding. 

Thinking of someone who was also so very demanding, you pulled out your phone and started recording the serene scenery. You tried to hold your phone still, though it was hard because of the chilly wind that made you shiver. Ending the video, you opened the messenger and sent it to a woman who made your heart sing just like the morning birds sang, greeting the sun.

You scrolled up your message history with her for a bit, smirking. What a sweet little relationship you had, one time you would send her a beautiful view out of your window, the next time – a picture of you touching yourself in the most sinful way.

Couldn’t sleep again? and What a lovely view, she replied an hour later. Not as lovely as you, though, she added after.

﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉

Her name was Lydia and she had just the right way with her words. She would text you, Send me a picture, and you would rush out of your meeting to the bathroom to send her a selfie. She would text you, What a beautiful shirt you are wearing, unbutton it for me, and you would spend a bit more time in the bathroom sending her picture after picture. 

You didn’t know what she looked like. She rarely sent you pictures in return, and you had only one 10 seconds long video of her touching herself. Her fingers were slender, her nails were painted a burgundy red colour, and she had those plush thighs that you wanted to squeeze with your hands. She was a woman of exquisite taste – taste in music, in foods, in lingerie.

You never asked her for more. It was entirely your choice to reveal your face on one of the first videos you sent her. She once told you, Don’t call me by my name on those videos, call me your mistress. You obliged. You always did. An impulse to ask the woman if she could reveal her face bubbled up inside your chest from time to time, but you pushed it away, never willing to make her uncomfortable. Perhaps there was something she didn’t like about herself, perhaps she wanted to be more mysterious and enticing, perhaps she just needed a bit more time – and it had been a year! Never being a selfish one, you suppressed your questions and played by her rules. 

She knew a lot about your life. You didn’t realise that you barely knew about hers. You knew that her work was stressful enough to make her speak to you in an especially dirty way in the night, urging you to send new videos for her to let off steam. You could only imagine her, spread on her bed to your sinful sound and pleas. You would tell her, i wish i could see how pleased my mistress is right now, nudging her to send you a picture in return. The woman would just answer, Don’t doubt it, I am very pleased with my darling girl, thank you and end the conversation until the next morning. You knew that she played piano and was popular in high school, though a bit overshadowed by her best friend at the time. You knew that she liked long walks in nature, ice skating and that her favourite season was autumn. She never pressed you to share any details about your life, but you did it nonetheless. 

It all started rather accidentally, and you told her millions of times how glad you were that she found you. There was an old record player that you wanted to sell online, and you even gave out a Fleetwood Mac vinyl in addition to it for free. The woman contacted you, anonymous at that time, though she contacted you too late, and the record player was already sold. It didn’t stop the two of you from continuing the conversation, talking about music and antique pieces of furniture she adored. After that, everything escalated quickly – topics changing topics and bringing you into dynamics you didn’t know you would enjoy this much. She teased you a lot, and at first you acted shy and hesitant, bending under her dominance and unravelling your own fantasies over time. She wrapped you around her finger, and on one particular evening you sent her your first video. The woman made it clear that she was hopeful to receive more of those in the future. 

Could you be more careless? Talking to a stranger online and sharing the most intimate moments of your days with her? The way you trusted her was almost ridiculous, but the way she talked to you made you sure that this grown woman wouldn’t even consider harming you in some way. One would think you were a fool who would regret her messages one day, one would even point a finger at you and say how perverse all of it was. If you told any of your friends about Lydia, they would tell you that you went nuts. They would tell you to stop texting her immediately and delete the chat to destroy the blackmail material that you’d shared with a stranger. Luckily, no one knew. Except for Lydia, your mistress, to whom you granted not just your body, but also your heart.

Back in the day, you suggested moving the conversation from reselling website direct messages to a more convenient messenger, one that the woman hadn’t heard of before. It took her two days to create an account for contacting you there. Her profile picture was a bush of red flowers, her personal information included just a lyric of a song she liked, and all of it was only for your eyes to see. Not much, but her empty profile on an app which she signed in just for you never aroused any suspicions. Well, sometimes it did, but then she would ask you how your day went and the sweetness of the texts the two of you shared washed your worries away. 

In fact, it wasn’t all about sexting. You could see that she was genuinely interested and caring, and you didn’t send her pictures and videos every day, after all. Maybe… three times a week? Five if she was desperate. She woke up earlier than you if you managed to fall asleep the night before and always brightened your day from its beginning with a sweet ‘Good morning, darling’ message. She always wished you a good night and checked in throughout the day, answering your texts and moving the conversation forward. Sometimes she would even send you flowers, and a delivery man would call you and ask for the address. The man would appear on your porch with a delicate bouquet later, a card attached to the wrapping would say, ‘To my favourite girl – L’. You could only giggle and smile to yourself for the rest of the day. No matter how hard you tried to get her number to send something in return, the woman would always brush you off. You can send me a picture in return, she would text you. That was exactly what you would do next. 

You’d always start with pictures. On days when you felt especially good about yourself, you didn’t even wait for her to ask. Undressing, you would send her several pictures, losing yet another piece of closing on every photo. Sometimes it would take her too long to reply, and you would record a video for her in advance. There wasn’t any surface in your house that wasn’t caught on camera while you would thrust your fingers inside, making it all pretty and appealing to look at. The sounds you made were an absolute turn on for her, and you always ensured that you put on a good show. It wasn’t even necessary to try hard, you would just recall all the dirty messages she sent you over the course of your relationship, you would imagine how it would feel to be held by her, how those long fingers would pound into you, how her lips would tease your flushed skin. You had a good imagination, and it was enough. The tiniest bits of her that were available to you – all of it was enough, that was what you were trying to convince yourself of. A hopeless romantic you were, blindly expecting that one day she would surprise you and reveal herself, and tell you how much she wanted to meet you in person. Still, it never came. That day never came, and you tried not to overthink it. You were supposed to be grateful for what you already had, after all.

﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉

I have a very important meeting today and I just know that it won’t go easy on me. Can you please bend over your desk for me this evening, dearest? Lydia texted you a few hours later after receiving the video. 

of course, mistress, you answered playfully. your boss doesn’t give you a break, huh? ;)

Thank you, darling girl, I’ll be waiting, she replied, ignoring the message about her boss. 

You made sure to text her during your lunch break, checking if she didn’t forget to eat in between her piles of work. She told you that she had a snack and it was very nice of you to bother. A couple of hours later she asked how were you feeling since you didn’t get any sleep last night. You told her that you were running on energy drinks and green tea and she jokingly scolded you for the energy drinks part. It made you bite your lower lip, how caring she was for you in return.

The desk in your office was never neat. Scattered papers, your laptop always on charge, heated up with architect software. You hunched over the plan with a pencil in your hand, making sure that the plumbing system of the building made sense at all. Working in a reconstruction and restoration company, you never really got a chance to do the part you studied for in the first place. Always checking other architects’ plans and fixing their mistakes for them, not having the opportunity to do something of your own. Your days were filled with somewhat ridiculous tasks yet even those managed to make you feel the struggle of workload.

The surface of your desk shuddered when your phone buzzed with a reminder about forthcoming meeting, and you straightened, feeling a familiar ache in your lower back. You threw on a jacket, took your phone and notebook and left your office, politely smiling at coworkers passing by. 

The meeting went as smoothly as always – at least you enjoyed the working atmosphere of the company. Your boss talked about the updates in the company policy and proceeded to inform the staff about upcoming projects. He announced that the Principal of Nevermore school contacted them for the reconstruction work, and your coworkers didn’t even try to hide their opinions on outcasts and how infamous the school was, especially after the causality that happened a few months ago. Not paying attention to their grumbling, you thought it would be a great opportunity to finally show your skills, and your boss thought so too.

“Y/N, you will take over this project. I’m passing you the papers with details, I feel like the time to shine has come!” he said, approaching your seat with a folder in his hands. Some of your coworkers sighed in relief, glad that they wouldn’t be involved with Nevermore. It made you wince – you never thought badly of outcasts like the majority of others did, the idea of being hostile towards someone just because they were different made you nauseous like it would do to any decent person. “The Principal insists on cooperation, and I have to warn you – you will probably have to visit the site more times than would be necessary for a usual project. I hope it won’t be a problem,” he said with a light smirk.

You smiled and bit your cheek, anticipation tingling on your fingertips. “No, it won’t be a problem. Thank you,” you uttered, taking the folder. “When am I supposed to start?” 

“Next week. We arranged a meeting with Principal Weems, she said it was very important for the school, and I quote, ‘to thoroughly negotiate the reconstruction process’.” 

The school was enormous, but the work was connected to a relatively small part of it, a tower that was destroyed recently. You spent the rest of your evening studying the documents – an old plan of the school that included the tower. It was impressive how old this building was. Besides, you would be taking part in preserving and reconstructing the historic site, the whole prospect of reconstructing a part of Nevermore ensemble sounded like a dream coming true. The fact of such a project being granted to you to work on would be unbelievable if deep down you didn’t know the reason for it. It seemed that no one from your company wanted to work with Nevermore, but the school was about to pay generously, so they had to find someone to 'deal with the outcasts'. How foolish your coworkers were for declining such an opportunity, you thought, smiling to yourself.

﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉

Back home, you didn’t bother to change into your indoor clothes, knowing full well that you would need to be completely naked soon anyway. Having had a quick meal and relaxed on the couch, closing your eyes for a little too long than you planned, you finally entered your bedroom and started setting a scene. Sometimes the lengths you went to make a perfect video for Lydia made you embarrassed, but how could you do it any other way? The woman’s attention was worth all of your efforts. You cleaned up your desk, returning previously forgotten mugs to the kitchen, shoving papers into the desk drawer and moving the pile of laundry laying on the floor out of frame. The curtains had to be closed for the last sun rays entering your bedroom not messing with the lighting on camera, the cosy shine of a garland and the dim light of a bedside lamp would be enough to illuminate your form in the most lovely way. You checked your reflection in the mirror and wiped away a few particles of mascara from under your eyes. For a second you tensed, your insecurity taking over. Would Lydia like you as much if she saw you in person? Wouldn’t she be disappointed that a flawless image you tried to create for her wasn’t as flawless in real life? Perhaps that was why she didn’t want to meet up in the first place? Did she already know that wasting the time of her busy schedule would completely disenchant her perception of you? You took a deep breath and shook your head, backing off from the mirror. It was alright. She liked you. Still you desperately wanted to be perfect for her. 

The next thing you did was distract yourself with having fun and a bit of a struggle with setting up a phone stand out of books. After you were sure that your phone wouldn’t slide down halfway through the recording, you set a 10 seconds timer and started slowly unbuttoning your shirt to catch the process on camera. The photo turned out just the way you wanted from the first try, revealing the right amount of skin and a glimpse of your lingerie. It didn’t even matter in the end, but you were always attentive to details. Completely taking off your shirt, you grabbed your phone and took the second picture – a close up of your lacy bra, nipples visible through the fabric, collarbones calling to be showered with your mistress’ kisses. The sound of timer counting down rang across your bedroom once again, you unhooked your bra to send it down onto the floor and stepped back, already topless, unzipping your pants and craning your neck to the side with a soft smile on your lips. Oh, how much you loved spoiling Lydia even if sometimes it stressed you out to the point of worrying about your imperfections. Your pants made their way onto the floor as well, out of the frame, of course, and as the next timer started counting down, you rushed to your desk to bend over it prettily, exposing your cheeks for the last photo. Then, you returned to your phone and sent pictures to Lydia, smiling to yourself at the thought of her ending her tedious day of work and seeing your message.  

It took you a fair amount of time to warm yourself up for the video by bringing yourself to the edge with a vibrator, uncomfortably sprawled in your chair and growing hotter with every second. You barely managed to stop yourself from climaxing, removing the vibrator from your clit and standing up on wobbly legs to continue your filming session. The phone was settled into its makeshift stand again, the sun finally settled, not peeking through the curtains anymore, which made the scene look especially intimate in the dimmed lights, and you were ready to absolutely ruin yourself for Lydia. After pressing the record button, you bent over your desk once again, and massaged your cheeks, squeezing and pulling to reveal your glistening sex. Having satisfied your need to tease the woman a little more, you spread your legs wider and took a toy that rested on the desk the whole time.

Teasing your wet entrance with the toy, you pleaded into the silence of your room, “Oh, please, fuck me… fuck me, mistress, please…”

By the time you finished, you were worn out – the position was rather uncomfortable, especially when you had to work with your hand from behind. You pressed the side of your face against the surface and sighed happily, “Thank you, mistress, you are so good to me.” There was a deep red mark of the edge of the desk on your knee, the wood was digging into your skin almost the whole time you were filming after you decided to move your leg higher for better access and view. The awkward scene of you grunting as you lifted yourself from the desk and padded over to your bed to stop the recording was cropped out later. 

An hour passed by, and Lydia finally answered your messages, saying that she was done with the meeting and work for the day, ready to witness you coming undone for her. 

You look absolutely ravishing, dear. Let me see how you used that toy on your pretty pussy?

are you already in bed? You asked, trying to withhold the sweet video a little longer.

No, darling. I’m taking a bath right now, she answered, arousing the urge in you to ask her if she could give you at least a glimpse of her body basking in the warm water. You didn’t ask her. 

I need you, came a text seconds later, and you couldn’t resist her anymore. 

The video went on for about 11 minutes, you didn’t know if you should have made it shorter or longer for her liking. You wondered how long it would take her, you wondered what she would use to pleasure herself and how it would feel to be with her in that moment, spreading shower gel all over her breasts and teasing her with your thigh pressed against her core. You wondered how it would feel to just settle in her lap, wrap your hands around her shoulders and hide your face in her neck, revelling in her presence.

The waiting after sending her those kinds of videos was the most tortuous one, you didn’t yet know if she liked the video or not, you didn’t know if it met her expectations, you didn’t know if it even made her wet and eager to pleasure herself. Sometimes you were afraid that she wouldn’t even bother to watch it or to reply to you ever again. Fifteen minutes later, you got a response – 1 attachment. Your heart somersaulted against your ribcage, and you hesitated for a moment before tapping on the notification, prolonging the excitement of not knowing what she sent you.

Those beautiful thighs. Oh, how much you thought about them wrapping around your head, how many times you rewatched the only video she sent you, remembering the patterns of stretch marks along her skin. She looked especially soft and rosy, her wet pubic hair neatly covered her sex, and the foam melted around her body, glistening on camera. The water was steamy and her hand rested on the rim of the bathtub – you could only assume that she was completely spent. 

i would eat you out until those gorgeous legs are shaking, you texted after a while of staring, unable to think straight.

Not before I would be done edging you for hours, she cheekily answered. And before you could think of a suitable response in the same dirty fashion, she sent her next message, Thank you, dearest. I don’t know what I did to deserve you.

A smile spread across your features, so wide it almost started to hurt. You plumped down on the bed and nuzzled your nose into the pillow, vainly seeking her scent that was never there in the first place. Contented that the woman felt about you this way, you closed your eyes and tried to imagine her. Imagine, imagine, imagine – it was the only thing you could do. In that moment, you hopelessly wanted to press yourself into her, to cling to her body and dissolve in her warmth. How much you yearned for her to give you real proximity, to caress your sides as she would bury her face in your hair and fall asleep next to you, breathing peacefully. Or she would let you lie down on her chest and listen to her calming heartbeat, holding your hand and circling your skin with her thumb. 

A couple of red heart emojis were sent Lydia’s way and you locked your phone, turned on your back and looked at the ceiling. Fulfilled and deprived at the same time.

by the way, i was given a new project today! You texted Lydia five minutes later, remembering that you forgot to share the exciting news. i’m so happy, they finally gave me the big girl stuff to do haha

That’s amazing, dear. I’m very proud of you, Lydia answered, making you blush. 

﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉

The next Monday you were on your way to Nevermore – it felt very exciting to leave the office for once to see the site of reconstruction. To your surprise, it wasn’t that long of a ride, you expected the school to be more distant from Jericho than it was. Driving along the road that was framed by thick forest made you want to pull over for a second to take a picture of towering trees, branches tranquilly swinging in the wind, the sun peaking through the leaves. However it would be a bad idea, unless you wanted to be late for the meeting more than you already were.

The building of Nevermore astonished you from the first glance. A dark fantasy, elaborate decorations and old-fashioned high ceilings. You arrived at the brink of evening – Principal Weems didn’t have time for the meeting until 5 p.m. – and the golden hour made the school look even more otherworldly. You didn’t need a tour since you had an insight on what the building was like inside, and the location of classrooms and halls didn’t really change over decades. Approaching the Principal’s office, you adjusted the collar of your shirt and fixed your hair – this was serious, you had to make a good impression on the client. 

﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉

a/n: oh, larissa... honey, you've got a big storm coming

[chvoswxtch]

Girl I have been silently reading and praising your stuff from my sisters account. Like liking all you stuff for safekeeping. The whole thing crashed and now I am trying to do the whole interacting thing. I am so embarrassed and scared that my idea is shit so this I am anonymous. But listen - I check your blog every day for updates. I luv u.

Okay my request is a bit messy. But like an angsty/fluf fic with Frank and a woman who is like small but indestructible - you know like a super power or x-gene thing. You cant see any wounds on her body they´ll just heal or something. And all she wants to do is protect Frank and he is just not having it.

If this is shit and not duable I get it! And if I missed somebody writing something simular please share the link - I would love it! Rant over...sorry...and thank you <34567

hi nonnie!

firstly, welcome. there's no need to hide in the shadows, or to apologize or feel embarrassed or any of that. i'm happy you're here and felt comfortable sharing your idea with me! I actually got a somewhat similar request, so I ended up combining the two to get the best of both worlds :)

also if you're into frank x powered reader, I highly recommend @grippingbeskar! she has an entire completed series called salt, ice, and fire that is phenomenal that I can't gush about enough

I hope you enjoy!

warning: swearing, mentions of guns & blood word count: 1.4k

bulletproof.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“What the fuck are you doin’?”

Frank’s thick brows were angrily bunched up in the middle of his forehead, a trail of crimson slowly leaking from the cut that covered the bridge of his freshly broken nose. His jaw was harshly set and he scowled deeply at you while switching out the cartridge on his rifle by muscle memory, not even having to look down.

“I told you-“

“No, I told you to take the goddamn stairs to the roof while I took out-

“I had it under control, Frank!”

Frank scoffed and let out an exasperated puff of air through his lips while shaking his head and gesturing towards you loosely with his free hand.

“Under control my ass, look at you. If you had fuckin’ listened to me, you wouldn’t be bleedin’ right now.”

Frank’s voice had risen in volume, and the timbre of it carried through the empty space between the two of you with a subtle growl. He might have been pissed at you, but you were fucking furious with him. You’d lost count of how many times the two of you fought about the exact same fucking thing over and over, and you weren’t arguing about it with him anymore. 

The heavy sound of approaching footsteps and yells caught Frank’s attention, but as he began to march towards the open loading dock of the abandoned warehouse with purpose and a raging vendetta burning in his eyes, the metal shutter door suddenly came barreling down with a wave of your hand. It collided with the concrete floor, a loud thud echoing around the space, not only preventing Frank from getting out, but anyone else from getting in.

Frank instantly paused, snapping his head to look over his shoulder at you with an expression of pure annoyance covering his sharp features. Your eye color had shifted to an incandescent shade, glimmering like two deep red rubies caught in the sunlight. There was still a flickering scarlet glow around your right hand as you kept the door shut, and Frank could tell by the look on your face that you were incensed by his behavior, but he refused to back down anymore than you did.

Grabbing the hem of your top with your left hand, you hastily lifted it upwards just as one of the bullet holes above your right hip began to close up and heal. Frank’s narrowed gaze dropped downwards to watch, and his features softened just a sliver, only to harden once again when he looked back into your illuminated eyes. 

“I can heal, Frank. You can’t. So when I tell you I have something under control, that doesn’t mean you fucking jump in front of me guns blazing. That bulletproof vest can’t protect you from everything, and I swear to whatever God you believe in, if you pull that shit again and get yourself killed, I will find a way to raise you from the dead just to kill you myself.”

Frank didn’t visibly react to your words, even as your voice rose in a hysterical volume and filled the empty space surrounding you both. Any other person might have been fucking terrified to be alone with a woman that had glowing red eyes and could trap them somewhere with her mind. Then again, anyone else probably also would’ve been scared shitless to be alone in a room with the Punisher himself. 

But Frank wasn’t afraid of you, just like you weren’t afraid of him. You both knew what the other was, and you loved each other anyway.

That was the root cause of your recurring argument. Frank wanted to protect you, and you wanted to protect him. Despite him knowing about your abilities, he still felt responsible for you. He didn’t like seeing you get hurt, even if it did heal. He didn’t want anything to happen to you if he could prevent it.

Letting his rifle drop by his side, Frank let out a deep exhale through his broken nose, his eyes wandering over your figure slowly before meeting your gaze.

“You know how much I hate seein’ you get hurt, baby. You know what it does to me.”

The sudden change in his voice to a softer and more sincere tone had your eyes shifting back to their natural color, and your previous anger began to instantly cool. You did know. If someone so much as bumped into you on accident, Frank was ready to tear them to shreds. He had always been extremely overprotective of you, and knowing his traumatic past, you couldn’t blame him, or stay upset with him for very long.

Letting out a soft sigh of your own, you ran one of your hands through your hair before taking a few steps towards him, your heeled boots echoing along the cement floors. Despite the three inches of height they gave you, Frank still towered over you completely. The size difference between the two of you was nearly comical, especially considering he was the “big and scary” one.

But you were the little witch that had a nasty temper.

“You think I enjoy seeing you get hurt? I’m the one who has to fix you up, remember?”

Neither one of you paid any mind to the incessant banging on the shutter door, or the sound of ricocheting bullets and yelling coming from the other side. When you brought your hands up to gently grab Frank’s face, he leaned down to nuzzle into your palms and instantly melted into your touch, his attention solely focused on you.

“I know.”

Brushing your thumb lightly along the violet bruise that began to bloom on his right cheekbone, you took in the cut along the bridge of his nose and frowned softly with a sigh.

“Your nose is broken again.”

“Ain’t the first, won’t be the last.”

“Can I try something?”

Frank arched one of his thick brows in question, glancing over his shoulder momentarily at the shutter door before looking at you again.

“Right now?”

“You have somewhere to be?”

Rolling his eyes, Frank let out a soft chuckle and gave a slight nod of his head.

“Alright. S’pose they ain’t gettin’ in no time soon.”

A proud smirk was all you offered in return to his comment. Taking a deep breath, you removed your right hand from his face and let your index finger hover over his wounded nose. Focusing intently, your hand was once again glowing, and you traced a crimson line in the air from the top to the bottom of his nose. All of a sudden, the cut on the bridge of his nose sealed up, and the indigo patches that had blossomed around it vanished.

Frank blinked a few times in dumbfoundment, wiggling his large nose and glancing down at it in a mixture of confusion and awe. Your own eyes widened in surprise, and your mouth hung open in shock before your lips parted into a wide grin. Frank looked at you, his features twisted up in wonder and puzzlement.

“Holy shit. How the hell did you do that?”

“I…I don’t know. I just…wanted to see if I could, and…focused really hard. I can’t believe it actually worked!”

Frank stared down at you incredulously when you said that.

“The hell you mean you can’t believe it actually worked? You didn’t know it would? What if you had given me a tail or somethin’? Or put my ass where my nose was?”

“Oh, well then I could never kiss you again.”

Frank actually looked offended by that, and you couldn’t help but laugh at his expression while you gently patted his shoulder and stepped around him to face the shutter door, brushing your hair off your shoulders.

“Alright big guy, let’s wrap this up. I’m starving, and there’s a Gilmore Girls marathon waiting with our name on it.”

Frank’s plush lips pursed in an adorable pout as he cocked his rifle and aimed towards the shutter door, keeping his narrowed gaze locked on you.

“You and I are gonna have a serious talk ‘bout this magic shit when we get home.”

tags: @day-dreaming-goddess @kdogreads @heimtathurs @mars-rants-a-lot @casa-boiardi @fireeyes-on-teller-dixon-grimes @hazallem @avencol @neverlandcity @charmedkim @queenofthenoobs @stilldreaming666 @mattymurdock1021 @bubuslutty @ninejlovebot @purrrfect @pennylovey @firesunflamed @oscarisaacsleftknee @ameliaswife @vane28282 @kmc1989 @messymissy @dark-academia-slut @strawberry1042 @utterlynuts

[reyla-the-black-wolf]

My Heart speaks for you (Part 3)

✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦

✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦

Pairing: Eris x f!reader

Word Count: 4k

Warnings: fluff, a bit of flirting?, slight hints of anxiety, nightmare but with happy ending

Summary: Y/n is the youngest child of the High Lord of the Night Court and lives a slightly different life than the rest of her family. But what happens, when an unexpected visitor enters the stage and decides to completely change her life?

Music:

Let it all out on me - Houses on the Hill

Codex - Joel Sunny

Snowfall - Øneheart (8D Audio)

Part 1 ⎮Part 2⎮Part 3⎮Part 4⎮

✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦

Golden rays of sunshine fell on my face, leaves casting shadows onto my features. The forest around me smelled of wet moss and fresh rain, and the bittersweet scent of resin and delicate heather wafted through the air from afar, while the birds above sang their melodies merrily. 

I stood beside a birch tree, just as Eris had described, enjoying the last beams of sunlight and waited for him. The forest around me was painted in every autumnal shade imaginable, making it seem like a whole different world, the leaves competing to see who had the richest colours. It was breathtaking.

I had seen autumn in the Night Court, but it would never compare to the view surrounding me.

I spun around, my feet dancing across the spongy moss. Captivated by the glory of it all, I didn´t notice the light footsteps coming from behind. Someone chuckled, making me turn around to see the Autumn Court heir leaning against the bark of a tree. An amused smile played across his lips as he watched me. Of course, he looked as stunning as ever in his crimson tunic and fiery hair. 

A blush spread across my cheeks and my body tensed under his gaze. Suddenly the air felt too hot. Too dry. A certain heat radiating off him. Just breathe. No need to be nervous.

„Welcome to the Autumn Court, y/n! I´m delighted you accepted my invitation.“ He spoke as he walked towards me, extending his hand. Uncertain, I placed my hand in his. Gods, it was so small compared to his. His lips brushed my knuckles as he kissed them in a deep bow, the pink blush on my cheeks increasing. 

He straightened and looked at me, another smile creeping over his lips as he noticed my cheeks. 

Completely oblivious of how to react to his actions, I just stared at him like some love-drunk maiden. 

„Come on then, I´ll show you my home.“ He waved and began to move deeper into the forest. I snapped out of my daze and quickly followed, my hands in my pockets.

✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦

We strolled through the woods for about five minutes when I remembered what was hidden in one of my pockets. Pulling it out, I showed Eris a small notebook, encouraging him to open it when he gave me a puzzled look. His fingers grazed mine as he grasped the book, sending a shiver over my skin. 

„So we can talk, even without words.“ and „Why did you invite me here? I thought you wanted nothing to do with me after what happened at the council meeting?“ - was written on the first page. He looked at me for a few seconds, hurt and confusion flashing in his eyes, before he answered. „I invited you because I want to get to know you better, otherwise I wouldn´t have written you this letter.“ Shame crawled into my gut. Of course. „And not only because you´re my mate, but back on Starfall you were the first person in a long time to listen to me without judgement.“ His answer surprised me, as I hadn´t expected him to be so honest and a tickling sensation settled in my stomach when he called me his mate. „So let me ask you, what is your life like? What should I know about you?“ he asked, stopping and staring directly at me with a challenging glint in his amber eyes, lowering his body to tower over me. His hands were crossed politely behind his back.

I pulled a pen from my pocket and quickly jotted down my answer. „You can ask me anything you like. I´ve got nothing to hide, fox.“ 

Eris laughed at the nickname and it was one of the most beautiful sounds I´ve ever heard. It was a deep and full laugh, smooth as silk and honey and with a touch of incredulity and irony, it melted right into my soul. „Careful, little dove. Foxes have sharp teeth and you certainly don´t want to meet mine.“ His intense gaze should´ve made me nervous, but instead it only spurred me on. In his presence, I didn´t have to play the shy girl or the cursed princess. I felt I could be myself. 

„Do you think you can intimidate me that easily, Eris Vanserra? So go ahead, ask me your questions.“ When I showed him what I had written down, he looked back at me with surprise in his features and something else I couldn´t quite put my finger to, so I put on my most defiant expression, raised one eyebrow and dared not look away. 

But a cheeky grin crept up my lips, causing me to break the stare and hide my smile, but Eris grabbed my shoulder and pulled me towards him, his chest almost touching mine. He was so tall, I had to lean back to look up at him. 

„Do that again.“ His breath swept over my face as I blinked at him, dumbfounded. „Smile again.“ So I did and gave him a coy smile. „You have a lovely smile, little dove.“ His other hand came up to caress my cheek, making me blush again. It felt rough and soft at the same time, and a lump formed in the back of my throat as I felt a heat building in my stomach. The tips of my pointed ears flushed. Something about that nickname made me feel... safe. The Eris everyone had told me about wasn´t the one standing in front of me, that´s for sure. 

I tried my best not to close my eyes and lean into his touch, not wanting this moment to end. 

When the silence turned to embarrassment, he cleared his throat and let go of my shoulder. „I can ask you anything I want?“ he asked, earning a look of annoyance from me in return, and chuckled. „Okay, fine. I´ll leave a couple questions behind. But hurry now, I want to show you something.“ He urged me forward, putting his hands behind my back. „Come on now. Otherwise we´ll miss it.“ I couldn´t hide another grin at his behaviour.  

We continued wandering through the woods, and he asked me any question that came to his mind. What do I like eating most? What do I do in my spare time, and what are my favourite flowers? What sights should he visit in Velaris? He was genuinely interested in me and my life, and I happily wrote down my answers to every single question. I `told´ him about my life in Velaris and what it was like to grow up in the Night Court.

At some point during our `conversation´, his questions became even more philosophical. Why are we born into this world? What do I think our purpose is, and do we even have one? I could feel myself relaxing more and more with each question he asked. With every twist and turn around the trees. With every minute the sun set deeper, until the last sunrays fell weakly through the treetops. 

Whether it was the fact that I was his mate that drew me to him, I didn´t care. I was beginning to like him. For himself. The self he probably didn´t show very often, if ever, in front of others. I liked him not because of this bond between us, but because he treated me kindly. Because he made me feel like I could be myself around him, and that meant a lot to me. Even though he would never know that.

✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦

It must have been an hour later when Eris ignited a flame in the palm of his hand to provide us with some light. It had gone pitch black now that the sun had finally bid us farewell, only for her sister to shine as brightly as ever on the sky canopy.

My fingertips tingled and a blissful warmth built up in my chest as the heat of the flame gently stroked my skin. 

„Don´t worry, we´ll be right there.“ He said, noticing my worried look. I scribbled something on a page and showed it to him. 

„Yes, there are. But don´t be afraid little dove, the terrors of the night won´t find or harm us.“ I nodded slowly and closed the journal, putting it back in my pocket.

Two minutes later, Eris suddenly came to a halt and I bumped into his side. We were standing at the edge of a forest glade. The lush grass swayed gently in the night breeze, and the faint chirping of crickets filled the air. 

„This is what I wanted to show you, y/n.“ I looked up at him, utterly confused. Even more so when he just smiled at me, the flame in his hand died and Eris started to run out into the field. 

I didn´t understand what was going on at first, but what happened then absolutely stole my breath. 

Everywhere, fireflies ascended from the grasses into the night sky like lost stars. They danced and swirled around each other, bathing the clearing in a soft green, yellowish light. The crickets acted as a perfect orchestra, playing a sensual waltz as the fireflies soared higher and higher with each note. My mouth fell open and tears formed in my eyes. It was breathtaking. Amazing. Glorious. Without realising it, laughter broke out. But not Eris´s. No, it was mine. I was laughing! Totally mesmerised by the phenomenon before my eyes. A natural spectacle of the greatest beauty. A circus of floating lights. The magnificence of it all poured into my soul, warming me from the inside out as I shivered in anticipation. 

Eris turned when he heard my laughter, not even surprised that I actually made a sound, and waved me over. „Come here!“ He called, laughing as well. I walked slowly towards him, trying not to scare the fireflies away. The grass brushed my trousers and caressed my hands as I glided through it. Every now and then a single firefly landed on my shoulder to rest.

When I stopped in front of Eris, he looked down at me with a mischievous grin on his delicate lips. We stood so close I could hear his heartbeat and feel his hot breath tickling the tip of my nose. As we stared at each other in rapt, tears began to trickle down my cheeks as I was overwhelmed by... well, by everything. His hands cupped my face, brushing away the tears in comforting circles. „I assume you like it?“ He chuckled and I nodded, looking down. More tears streamed down my cheeks as another laugh escaped my throat. If I had to describe this moment, I´d say nothing but pure joy enveloped my body. „You should laugh more often, little dove. It suits you.“ His soothing voice sank into my being as I peered up at him with big doe eyes. I realised how wild and carefree I felt in his embrace. And how trapped I felt in my own home, with my own family.

The fireflies were reflected in his own eyes. They blended with the honey in them, making them sparkle even more. He looked truly magnificent. I turned around once, gesturing wildly with my hands at the clearing around us, and when I met his gaze again, my lips parted to speak, but I faltered. Instead, I mouthed „Thank you“ and gave him a graceful smile. „I appreciate it, but there is no need to thank me.“ He gestured to the ground and a plaid blanket appeared out of nowhere. 

We lay down side by side, gazing up at the fireflies floating above our heads and the dazzling stars on the firmament. I stretched my hand and accidentally touched his. My breath caught for a second, but Eris didn´t pull away, he even brushed his fingers over mine. The gentle movement made me close my eyes and exhaled deeply.

So there we lay. Enjoying this peaceful moment of life together. Right now I didn´t care what my family or anyone else thought about him. I just longed to stay like this forever and never leave this place, even though I knew I had to. But that didn´t matter now. 

„I found this clearing when I was a child.“ I opened my eyes and shifted to look at him. „Always ran away from my mother to explore the woods, you know? My brothers tried to follow me, but they could never catch up.“ He huffed. „What can I say? I´ve got some speed.“ I couldn´t help giggling at his own comment. „It´s become a safe haven for me. And it can be a safe haven for you too.“ Interest glinted in my eyes. „I use my magic to keep this clearing out of sight of any unwelcome visitors. In other words, my family will never find you here, so you can come and go as you please.“ I gave him a coy smile. „Only if you want to, of course.“ He added quickly. To show him I understood and honoured the fact, that out of all people he showed me his safe place, I squeezed his hand lightly in mine and the tips of his ears turned a shade darker. Was the Eris Vanserra blushing? Because of me? I tried to hold back a laugh, not wanting to embarrass him. As I rolled back onto my back, I tried to pull my hand away, but Eris wrapped his fingers between mine and gripped them tightly. It caught me by surprise, but didn´t bother me at all. 

So we returned to staring at the night sky, lying in the grass and listening to the crickets for I don´t know how long. 

✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦

Cauldron, it´s late! I have to go. I shivered and rose abruptly from the ground, causing Eris to follow my movement. „Wait, y/n! I know you have to leave, but I´ve got one more little surprise for you.“ he said, still holding onto my wrist. He reached into an inside pocket of his tunic and pulled out a long, golden shimmering amulet, adorned with fine, ruby-coloured jewels that glistened under the moonlight. „If you´re ever in trouble, tap the gem in the middle and I´ll know and find you.“ I gratefully accepted the necklace and tucked it safely into my jacket. 

„Take care, little dove.“ He said farewell. „Goodbye.“ I mouthed, winnowing home. 

Little did I know what was waiting for me in my bedroom. 

I flinched, when I spotted my father´s stern face, his arms crossed. „I hope you have a good explanation for why you´re out of bed, young lady!“ His enraged tone made my hair stand on end.

That meant trouble ahead. 

✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦

„It´s the middle of the night! Where have you been?“ „We were worried about you. You can´t just disappear, darling.“ „Are you all right? Are you hurt?“ 

My parents bombarded me with questions and I couldn´t answer any of them. Of course, I didn´t want to tell them that I had gone to Autumn Court to see Eris, because they would probably become even more worried and I didn´t want to risk that. 

But apparently I didn´t have to say anything. 

My father sniffed the air and before I could cover my scent, he growled. „You were with him.“ His voice was deep and menacing. „I thought we agreed you weren´t to see that... that jerk. He´s dangerous, darling.“ The expression on my father´s face perfectly displayed his anger and disappointment. Something inside me stirred at his insult and I wanted to protect Eris, so unconsciously my hands clenched into fists. „Why did you meet him?“ My mother tried to ease the tension by speaking in a calmer manner than her husband, but I just stood there, frozen, not looking at her. 

Sharp talons scraped carefully along my mind, demanding to be let in, but the hurricane that protected my thoughts only tightened, sending my father´s claws away and causing him to flinch at the unexpected defence. I knew he wanted to know what had happened between Eris and me, but he also would never enter my thoughts without permission. 

„Do you want to know why we´re not overly fond of him?“ He sighed, his tone was kinder this time, and my mother threw him a glance as if to say, `Are you sure?´ 

Do I really want to know why they don´t like him? Do I really want to know the answer to that? I wasn´t sure, but in the end my curiosity got the better of me and I nodded. 

So they began. 

They told me everything as the moonlight streamed in through the windows, illuminating my room with an eerie light. From Mor´s escape from Hewn City to what Eris had done to her and how Uncle Az had found her on that terrible day years ago. Also that Eris had once hunted my mother. They told me every detail. 

„He left her. Eris simply left her on the ground with nothing but a note nailed to her stomach.“ My father´s darkness swirled in the corners of my room as my mother gently stroked his arm to calm him. „I will never forget the moment Azriel brought her back. How he held her in his arms. And I will never forget when he was hunting for your mother, how he…“ he hesitated. „What your father is trying to say, sweetheart, is that Eris is not a good man.“ My mother said. „He is no more a good man than his father. Which is another reason.“ 

I wanted to believe them. I wanted to believe that Eris was the awful man they told me he was, but I couldn´t forget the man I had met. The way he had laughed when we walked through the forest earlier. The way his eyes had lit up when he heard me laughing.

I couldn´t. I didn´t want to! 

„The other reason we don´t like him, to put it mildly, is his father.“ She took a deep breath. „You must understand that Beron is... he is a cruel man, honey. High Lord or not.“ „The fact that Eris,“ my father clearly struggled with his next words, „is your mate means that you would live with him at Autumn Court because he´s the heir. But only if the bond snaps for you too.“ He came closer and cupped my shoulders, caressing them gently. „Starlight, don´t get me wrong. I´m more than happy that you´ve found your mate, it´s just that I wish it was someone more trustworthy.“ Slowly he leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on my forehead. „Your mother and I just want to know that you´re safe. And the Autumn Court is anything but.“ Both my parents pulled me into a tight embrace. I let myself be surrounded by their love and warmth, but there was still that feeling. A feeling hidden deep inside my soul that tried to protest. The perfect little daughter, aren´t you? Always obedient and quiet, huh? Before my inner critic got too powerful, I shoved those thoughts away. 

„My little star, please promise us you won´t see him again? It´s only for your own safety, okay?“ They looked at me with longing in their eyes. Hoping that I would agree with them. Déjà-vu. 

I took a deep breath, silenced my thoughts and looked straight at my parents. I will not back down. Not this time! 

Fake happiness sneaked into my eyes and I nodded, making them sigh and give me each a kiss on the forehead. They just have to believe I won´t meet Eris again. But who said I´d actually do it? I wanted to know his side of the story and I would find out, even if it hurt. 

With these thoughts, my parents wished me good night and left me alone in my room. I quickly washed myself, put on my pyjamas and lay down. My pillows enveloped me like cotton candy clouds and lulled me to sleep almost immediately.

The evening might have been imperfect in the end, but I wasn´t going to let the conversation with my parents ruin the wonderful experience with Eris. And as I thought about him, I soon drifted off into a pleasant sleep.

✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦

It stared at me. The beast without eyes. The beast of many names. It stared. Devouring everything and everyone. Its waves tore at me like a rough wind on a stormy day. It tried to suffocate me. To steal my air. Help me! I need to breathe!

It circled around me and then...! A piercing pain shot through my entire being. It attacked. Again and again. Sinking its sharp claws into my flesh and knocking the air out of my lungs. I was drowning more and more in this all consuming place of nothingness. But this time... something had changed. Something inside me awakened. It growled and fought to get out. 

Another cruel pain shot through me, making this creature inside me even angrier. And then I struck back. I kicked into the darkness around me. I kicked and punched in every direction when suddenly a gut-wrenching scream escaped from the depths of my soul and the blackness around me shook. Every fibre of my being trembled and the darkness ripped itself apart until I collapsed, completely exhausted. 

My eyes were closed, waiting for the beast to strike again, but nothing happened. No sound, nor any noise could be heard. Just silence, floating like a boat on waves of crystal blue water, and my heavy breathing. 

I slowly opened my eyes and sat up. My hands met the ground beneath me. Solid ground! The darkness was still there, but it wasn´t moving. As if watching what would happen next, and just as I was thinking about that, something caught my eye. I turned my head to see a tiny spark glittering in front of me. It flickered again and continued to spread. It grew and grew until a dazzling fire crackled just a few paces out of reach. The flames flickered wildly, and glowing sparks flew in every direction. But instead of backing away, I held up a hand and reached straight into the flames. It should have burned my palm. Burned my flesh down to the bones into ashes. But out of every scenario, it diminished. It calmed down, and its blinding flames retreated, only to reveal a bright orange pelt. 

A fox. A little fox sat in front of me, staring at me with its big, black button eyes. It squeaked and sniffed in my direction. There was something familiar about it. The mischievous gleam in its eyes and the tiny, sharp-edged teeth that showed when it yawned. Cautiously he took a step forward. The tapping of his paws echoed through the brightening surroundings, and his fur shone as if it had been born of fire itself. What a beautiful little creature. He took a few more steps towards me and then lay down carefully in my lap. Completely amazed, I reached out to stroke its fluffy appearance. I was even more surprised when the little fox began to purr like a cat, interrupted now and then by a squeak. 

I didn´t know where it was coming from, but soft rays of sunlight poured in and chased the shadowy beast back to where it had come from. Something settled deep in my chest and the little creature in my lap stroked its head against my hand. The light grew brighter by the second until my vision blurred.

✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦・✴︎✦

@tele86 @circe143 @impossibelle @st4r-girl-official @cherry-cin @lilah-asteria

[skrewtiny]

Maybe it’s just me, buuuuuuuut…

Colby fits actually quite well as Seymour from Little Shop of Horrors

*i’m thinking more the Broadway(?) Musical, not the Film, but eh both really*

Behold… visualization, and then i’ll explain my thought process

Yes the Plant is not consistent in the two but i figured out how to draw the plant a bit more to my liking after the colored picture HHHHhhhhHHhhhH..anyway.

Major Spoilers for Little Shop of Horrors it’s inevitable i’m sorry—

*for those who aren’t familiar with Lsoh, it’s a ‘musical about a timid florist named Seymour who discovers a carnivorous plant called Audrey II(Which i’ve named Cassie II, for the sake of this), which brings him sudden success by attracting customers with its strange beauty, but at a terrible price as the plant demands increasingly gruesome sustenance, forcing Seymour to make dark choices to maintain his newfound fame and pursue his love interest, Audrey’, thanks Google lollll! Btw this is going to be kinda long so rip attention span-*

First off, we know Colby is a fan of Herbology, and i’d assume just plants in general, as well as i’d assume he knows quite a bit about them. So working at a Florist Shop and having Strange Plants as a hobby isn’t far off, in my opinion.

And then we get to the Plant itself. Frankly, sad as it might be, i do think Colby could be sweet-talked into feeding the plant the ‘gruesome’ things, given the correct incentive(this isn’t to say he absolutely would, but yk). In this case, it’s fame, wealth, wanting for absolutely nothing, and *cough* Cassandra to like him back *cough*.

If we think back to the ending of Playing with Dragons Fire, MC basically says/thinks ‘I’m glad Colby gets to be the center of attention for once’, or something similar. And yeah, Colby very much gets overshadowed by the company he keeps, pretty much wherever he goes. Whether it’s Fischer, Cassandra, or anyone else, really. He’s not the most eccentric, and doesn’t actively try to get the attention onto him, unlike…certain..brothers…of his..but given the offer to have that attention, to be known as a ‘Botanical Genius’ of sorts, to pretty much be a celebrity and have the love of hundreds- i think he would be tempted. Just add in the rest and it’s a done deal, really.

That, and the Plant being able to get him to do things isn’t really out of pocket or anything. Going back to the Black Lake Lullaby Q&A, it says:

"Oh, yes, definitely. Fischer's eyes are a slightly darker shade of mean. No? Okay, so maybe you can't tell the brothers apart by looking at them, but they do have different personalities. Fischer is the leader, more apt to draw his wand, and always eager to start a fight.

Colby is the sensitive soul who hesitates before casting that curse (sometimes) and would rather not get into trouble but has difficulty saying no to his brother.”

Now of course Fischer isn’t a carnivorous Plant, but the concept is the same. Colby has a bit of difficulty saying no, likely more so to those he cares about. And He’s been taking care of this Plant for quite some time, talks to the thing, affectionately calls it ‘Twoey’- and yeah i get it’s a plant and how close could he really be with it, but…still.

Not to mention, the first k!ll the Plant suggests is Audrey’s very(TW) Abusive and Toxic boyfriend, whom Seymour/Colby already very much dislikes for what he does to Audrey, and he really wants to help her out of the Relationship so she doesn’t get hurt. Using that as a manipulation tactic to get him to give in, the Plant has a good chance. After all, ‘How bad could it really be, that the jerk’s gone’(i forget the actual quote but it’s something along those lines).

And of course, Colby would eventually come to his senses and feel guilty, what with the things he did just to keep the Plant alive and thus keep his selfish fame ongoing. That would absolutely drive him crazy, and i think he would decide to quit feeding the plant, leaving it to d!e even at the cost of success. But the one cost he realizes he can’t well live with, is losing Cassandra/Audrey. He believes she only realized she liked him because of the fame and success, and is afraid to lose that. So he can’t stop, can he…? No.

That mindset ends quickly however when the Plant tries to eat the Girl, in which his resolve quickly hardens and he would indeed attempt to chop the plant to pieces.

In the Broadway(?) Musical i’m pretty sure he does not succeed, but in the Movie he does…so, yeah. That’s fun.

So yeah! Those are my thoughts, sorry i’m bad at explaining my thoughts, i hope that was coherent and made some sliver of sense!

Quite a bit of it is likely headcanon and it might not line up with yall’s view of him, but yeah this is just me :>

*P.S. Cassandra does NOT fit Audrey whatsoever, but she is Colby’s canon crush, so i can pretend……..also here’s that snipped from the Q&A(on the Wiki cuz the actual Q&A is gone), i don’t want to say things are canon without proof, which is ALSO probably just a me thing, but yeah :D*

[xxsabitoxx]

Being Sanemi’s Tsugoku

Other pillar versions (coming soon?)

A/N: it’s been a hot mother fucking minute since I’ve posted Sanemi. With Demon Slayer Sundays just a week away it’s only right that I return to my roots of posting some demon slayer content

Pink text is You — Green text is Sanemi

(Cosmo and Wanda think they slick—)

You couldn’t lie, you were initially petrified when Kagaya appointed you as Sanemi’s tsugoku

It was typical for the Hashira themselves to pick someone, usually someone they knew and trusted. Someone they could put their full faith in to fulfill their duties if it just so happen the current pillar was to lose the fight

That wasn’t the case for you. Kagaya himself appointed you for your outstanding performance and understanding of wind breathing

Needless to say, Sanemi wasn’t thrilled

“Just keep your mouth shut and maybe I won’t kill you.”

You could feel your brow twitch, you didn’t let anyone talk to you in such a tone. Wind pillar or not, you’d sooner die than be walked all over.

“Watch your tone and maybe I won’t beat your ass.”

Thus began Sanemi’s never ending torture. Torture he had to tolerate solely because Kagaya appointed you.

Hell it was likely a test at this point, put some sort of humanity in him so he wouldn’t get himself killed.

Sanemi’s training was nothing short of su!cidal, honestly by the end of the first day you were convinced he was trying to k!ll you

It consisted of training from sunrise until sunset followed by accompanying him on his patrolling. It would be a full twenty four hours until you saw your bed again.

“No wonder you look so psychotic, you don’t fucking sleep.”

He, of course, didn’t answer you. It seems he had taken his own advice to heart and decided keeping his mouth shut would save him the headache.

This intense regimen would continue for a full month, only half a day break in between so you could get some sleep.

You’d quickly learn his goal was to break you. Get you to leave the corps with your head hung low.

“Ya know, it’s kinda odd you’re so determined to get me to leave. It’s almost as if you care about me.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. The corps is no place for weaklings, nothing more than demon bait at this point.”

“Ain’t that what you’d want then? People to lure the demons to you. Makes it easier than hunting them, pretending to be the prey I mean.”

Sanemi ended that conversation with a simple glare, something in his eyes that you’d never seen before. For once you let him drop it, not willing to uncover the man’s traumas against his will.

Sanemi’s behavior towards you mellowed slightly after three months of you being his tsugoku. You simply weren’t going anywhere any time soon so he didn’t think the hard ass attitude was quite necessary.

That’s not to say he started taking it easy on you… not by a long shot actually. If anything his schedule for you only got more intense. But it was different.

You could tell he was training you with the intent of keeping you alive, not scaring you out of the corps.

“I think we’ll be friends soon.” You laughed softly as you ate your lunch, sanemi was sitting a few feet away under the shade of a tree. “I don’t make friends.” It was gruff, food getting shoved into his mouth a moment later. “Okay tough guy, you’ll realize soon enough.” All you got was a nose scrunch in return.

The thing is, you were right. Sanemi should have known it would be impossible, even for him, to spend nearly every waking moment with someone and not enjoy their presence.

Around the six month mark of being his tsugoku, you found it easier to hold a conversation with him. Especially since he’d actually entertain it. Hell you’d even crack jokes with one another. It was safe to say he tolerated you now.

And not out of obligation

“I want you to leave the corps. I’m telling Master that you aren’t up to my satisfaction.” You froze, head whipping around to see if he was joking. The look on his face told you he wasn’t. “Aren’t we past this bull shit, Shinazugawa?”

Truth was, he’d gotten attached to you in some odd way. It fucking terrified him.

“You’ll do as I say, as your overseer. You have to obey my wishes.” You couldn’t quite understand why his attitude had switched, as if six months of work had suddenly never happened. “Bull shit. What the fuck happened?” He only shook his head, not able to maintain eye contact. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

It wasn’t long before it turned into a full blow yelling match.

“I’ll tell Master you’re full of shit. Chances are he’ll fucking believe me, Shinazugawa.” For the first time, he was losing a battle in more ways than one. “Oh fuck off.” Was all he could muster, brain moving a mile a minute as he tried to figure out a better way to reason with you.

What had you done to him? He wanted to reason with you? That thought terrified him even worse.

In the end, all of his logic flew out the window as he uttered the very words he didn’t want to say out loud. Not because he didn’t mean them, but because he didn’t want to make things worse. He was already struggling with these new emotions, never mind making them known to you.

“I care about you a little too much to let you throw your life away in this hellish profession.”

That got you to freeze, eyes wide as you tried to gauge what exactly he meant by that statement. Silence hung between the two of you, you weren’t sure how long you both stood there in the back yard of his estate. But by the time you had gotten the courage to even make a noise, he was turning his back to you.

“Woah hold the fuck on! Don’t run away from me after saying something like that? Hell, Shinazugawa you never run from anything never mind me!”

For a moment he really wished some divine force would come down and kill him on the spot.

Yet, he steadied himself, realizing that you were right. He’d never run away from a fight, never mind being a coward with his own feelings. So he stopped, turning around to stop you in your tracks.

“I fucking care about you, what’s there to not understand?”

“That’s not where I’m confused you moron.”

He knew what you were implying, he knew what you wanted to hear and yet he found himself struggling. Being a Hashira gave him no right to admit he had feelings for you. It would only be cruel to you, especially since you were to be his successor.

“Shina—no—Sanemi. Explain yourself.”

That was his breaking point, eyes shutting as he exhaled slowly. Hearing his first name fall from your lips, this wasn’t exactly the situation he wanted to hear it for the first time. Yet it was enough to give him courage.

“I care about you, more than a friend, more than a tsugoku. There, happy?”

The shit eating grin that crept up your face was more than enough to show him that you were.

“See… I was right. I told you we’d become friends.”

“I just said I liked you more than a friend.”

“Fair enough, I guess it’s safe to say I underestimated you, master.”

“I’m still making you leave the corps.”

“Maybe if you offer me your hand in marriage I’ll consider it.”

He was starting to question why he even grew to like you in the first place. Though, the smile on your face had him mentally reminding himself to thank Kagaya for giving you to him.

[whirlybirbs]

the variant time files make me crazy. they make me insane.

DOSSIER #201

R.V.A CASE LL-4.1 & DX-4.1 | ENGLAND, 1813

You swear he will be the death of you.

It's an unconditionally hot summer — but that doesn't stop the men from gathering on the front lawn of the manor for a good game of rugby in the late afternoon sun.

Beside Jane and Darcy under the pergola, you bury your face into your fan.

Mr. Loki has forgone his jacket — there's rivets of sweat running down the long, strong stretch of his neck and chest. His sleeves have been rolled up, and you inhale tightly as you watch him laugh at something Thor says and back peddles down the greenery. He's all legs. Tall, sharp, and handsome.

And sweating.

Good lord.

You reach for a glass of lemonade. The condensation bites at your fingertips. You feel a bead of sweat run down your back.

Even here, in the shade, it's hot.

Blame the view.

Jane and Darcy are no better. The conversation died a while ago when the jackets and shirts were tossed to the grass in favor of denoting teams.

When the match finally ends, you try your best to fan yourself and resume your reading. Jane and Darcy decide the heat isn't worth suffering any longer.

Loki has other plans.

He's still a bit out of breath when he approaches the covered tea-table. His smile is boyish — a rarity.

"I hope you enjoyed the sport."

You drag your eyes across him. "Seemed rough."

Loki squints into the sun, his hands perched on narrow hips. He perches one leg up on the second step, and leans. He looks relaxed. Truly a sight you try to remember. He must have noticed.

"I believe we're headed to the pond for a swim," he says, turning to eye Thor back over his shoulder, "Should be back in time for dinner."

His curls are sticking to the back of his neck. You can see the muscles of his back through the thin linen of his shirt.

You clear your throat. "Do enjoy."

"I'd offer another view," he says slowly and with enough coy to kill, "But, I fear that may not be entirely decent for a lady of your standing."

You nearly choke on your water.

"Must you tease?"

His laugh is gentle. "It's in my nature, Doctor."

"Yes, well," you mutter as you stand, "Enjoy the swim."

You gather your book, and turn — but before you can step down, there's a hand offered to you. Loki looks softer and less like the man whom you'd had such a dire rivalry with during the spring. Summer has brought different feelings, it seems.

You take his hand and ignore the burn of your skin on his.

He helps you down the steps, then gives a small, courteous bow.

"Perhaps... Chess, after dinner?" he calls, after you return the bow and begin down the path.

"That is a view I'd adore, Loki."

[blackblooms]

Irredeamable developpement retrospective Final part: Irredeamable Well, thats it. The one game in this series that you actually get to play, but even this project encountered quite a few changes as it went. So lets get into some of it.

Early in development, irredeamable was meant to be more of a metroidvania, where you'd explore interconnected levels with several routes, including some that would bring you back to the hub or allow you to visit later levels early.

This is especially visible with grimwood breach which was originally intended as the first level. Part of why it ended up feeling much more twisted and disjointed than other areas was that its rooms were constantly moved around in development as i tried to make a linear level out of them.

What eventually cemented the current form of the game was a change of approach as i began working on the shaded coast and focused on making a linear sequence of rooms rather than a complex maze. (you may also notice that the two levels ended up switching position in the hub)

From that point onward, i worked under the philosophy "focus on the game you have, not the one you want" I continued to make slow but steady progress, occasionally having to make concessions about my plans to make the project more achievable.

During the project, i worked with this hand little thing, a chart of all the areas i had planned (their state of progress being indicated by the saturation of the color)

Here you can see an older version of the chart, and all the side paths that were planned and ended up being cut. Originally, the postgame was meant to be much bigger than it ended up being. Each level had an extra-side route within the world's bowels, ending with a boss rematch. These included an underwater ship graveyard, a forbidden grove, A scrapyard full of undead machines leading to an abandoned factory, rotten tunnels and roots under the forest, an ancient tomb where you`d find the spirits of fallen heroes, and a secret vault where old secrets were preserved. These would all eventually lead to the watchmaker citadel/eye of the watchmaker, a final gauntlet inside of the space station that the "gods" of this land operated from. From all of this, only the foundations remain a single expensive postgame level that ends with a dedicated boss rematch zone. (there is a bit of a secret to anyone who visits this area before finishing the game, but i won't spoil what you`ll find)

Aniway, don`t mind this picture, just needed something to make a cut for this next section about miscellaneous locations and characters that were cut.

First was the original backstory of lady, where she was a giant crystal bird monster and mount evermore was what remained of her body after being slain. The final level back then would have been "house of glass" a journey through lady`s old body where she would ultimately be confronted by the lady of the lake who was once planned as the game final boss

meanwhile the original boss of Mount Evermore (known back then as worlds edge) was the silent sage. An ancient suhagins that had managed to survive all the resets by hiding from the watchmakers within the world`s foundation. He was also completely optional and would just give you lady soul piece without a fight. Much of his role in the story was given to the pilgrim, leaving him as a mere lost memory. If threathened, he would have fought by hiding and launching attacks from the shadows of the background. (there was a vague theme that each boss represented a moral flaw and he was cowardice)

This one won't be too complicated. Violet used to be from New Eden Upper District but was made into a witch to fit better into the areas she is found in.

Krogues/Uris used to fly like the forgotten due to being based on the fairies from the fountain. Their design had to be changed as they became more grounded.

There used to be an arch-witch enemy planned, but she was ultimately scrapped and her grenade-slinging moveset and general aesthetic were instead given to the Uri Chieftain.

The Steam Knight got through a lot of story changes in development. First, he was meant to be Ironwood's son, then it was made into merely a robot that the old man controlled during the first fight. There was plan that the knight would free itself and grow sentient to justify the later fight, but i eventually opted to give control of the robot to another character instead.

Originally, Kingsly was supposed to be donkeyskin father, but while his story was about accepting that his actions had irreparably destroyed his daughter's life and that he would never be forgiven, it ended up feeling a bit wrong to give him a redemption arc when his daughter got a more mixed and ambiguous conclusion. That storyline ended up being used for Faith's father instead and Kingsly was replaced by his aloof son, a much more sympathetic character. Speaking of the boy, there were originally plans for him to become a witch at the end of the questline, but those were dropped as there wast really any justification for it. I also pondered on wether to make him a transwoman since the area story has a big focus on gender and some of the witches, especially his sister and megan, do end up coming off as kind of terfy, but i eventually decided that these were not really the circumstances to explore it. I wouldn't mind if some headcanon that he did go through that character growth after the story through. Anyway, that should be all for now. It was really nice to share all the discarded ideas that couldn`t make their way into the game. So to finish thing off, here some pictures of all the enemies and areas that did end up making it into the game.

Well, i hope you all enjoyed this retrospective. Now i`ll get back to procrastinating. To be continued: whenever i actually get done with the next game.

[autumnwhistles]

New excerpt from my Last Life musical! This is from Song 12, Their Dubious Game. Leading up to this, Joel has become the first Red name and the server is ostracising him, as per the rules of the season – however, Scott finds this a little suspicious, recalling his time on 3rd Life where Red-Green alliances were prominent. For the first time he starts to doubt if the games are really what they seem.

Lyrics:

SCOTT: In spring, I dwelled, with my husband long ago We lived among the flowers, no thought for sand or snow… But then he fell to red That should have meant the end If the world truly matched the rulebook in our heads Yet still we stuck as one Our tie was not undone* And looking back, I can remember A fealty shades could not dismember Red, crimson, gold, all indifferent we stayed  The king did not turn from his kingdom, With sun and sands, the swindler remained What changed were the rules, not the game we all played…

*thank you @rurus-kadoo for helpful tweaks with this line!

Extra notes:

THIS IS NOT THE FINAL PRODUCT! I'm not sure I'm entirely happy with all of this so there will be tweaks made.

The voices at the start are a chorus of players singing the previous song, "Green, Crimson, Gold", and will have lyrics as well but they're not included here possibly because I haven't written them yet, so they will sound less messy. This is because the two songs take place at around the same time and I thought it would be a good way to show it + it sounds cool + it shows Scott's attitude to the game compared to various other players, who aren't defying anything and are completely following the rules the game has set.

There are some glitches in the audio, eg 0:42, but they're either in the voice parts which means they'll be fixed during the recording process, or in the parts, which I can fix with splicing in production.

I don't think you have to watch 3L to understand this (though it would probably enhance it and I really recommend it, it's still my favourite Life series) – it is mentioned a few times in the musical but only as "the spring", and not extensively. Everything important that happened in it in relation to this will be explained in said song, and the first song implies that there have been multiple games and that this one takes place in the autumn "red leaves to mark the colours of the first to fall", so hopefully it's not too hard to figure out what "in spring" refers to. I'm following a headcanon I saw during Last Life that 3L took place in spring and LL in autumn, which I really liked but can't remember the poster (help would be appreciated).

That being said feedback on the above point (whether it's clear to understand or not) would be appreciated!

Likewise what it means to be red, etc, will be explained earlier in the musical.

I have alluded to a slight headcanon of my own in that (especially Last Life!)Reds aren't made aggressive, untrustworthy etc just by being Red, it's because that's what everyone just perceives of them as well (I have around 100 words of a fic I started for this actually...).

And yep there's a reference to the first song here (the titles of "the king" – ren, and "the swindler" – scar, being used hehe)!

[tagapagsalaysay]

I'm literally too lazy to write a full on Article so ill just run it down in like a bulleted list

Jerry's ggg notes... VERY LONG SPOILERS. No shade

Scale — Gods to humans, many characters as a selling point for a narrative game

I think they stretched themselves thin with the number of characters they had to write.

The chapters of the game are episodic which is not bad, but a lot of the human characters' relevancy just goes away when they help the town out. Only a few make it to the ending.

A lot of my critique is just about how the human characters are either flat or lack agency. Makes sense to write followers dedicated to their Gods but I thought this was about questioning authority? Most of them are just kinda there to aid the character development of gods tbh.

The formula of a LL character having quirky, unique features that make them stand out is nice in isolation. But in this case some just become wacky caricatures that their contribution to the plot is mainly preachy stuff and wisecracks

Most recurring characters had depth. I think Razzma had depth as a character but aside from offering a few words fo kindness, her character development does not involve us directly. I was disappointed that she wasn't even involved in truth seeking especially about her closest friend. She was just there as an observer. I don't even think she was at the ending

The irony is I feel like the game is too short for the complexity it's trying to present.

Violence, Revolution, Making Art

I've concluded that I think the way revolution is portrayed here is just corny.

I can't deny they did a lot of work evoking a lot of fascism and authoritarianism wrt Inspekta and the bizzyboys. Looking through propaganda, using the art styles in a manner that isnt too anachronistic, the rhetoric behind why fascists hate modern art was present.

A lot of this work feels very undermined by the guerilla artists bit. Yes, the pun is funny, but it feels like they don't think art, education, and militancy can coexist.

They can't reconcile with the violence necessary to revolt. I think part of this is because of the game design. "Words are your weapons", etc. The only people seen to be violent onscreen are the Bizzyboys vs you with the Megapon, as well as Inspekta. I feel this is just a limitation of the game: some characters do threaten you and others, but the only legitimized violence that can break an autocrat is words.

Art can be political and violent. I think it was demonstrated okay in the game, but it being equated to actual warfare is a bit much. Didn't like it. Thought it was corny to omit it like that.

I compared it to Grim Fandango before, which mainly allowed itself to examine the rules of the underworld because they came to terms with the violence that came with death. Also, it was done in an artsy way (flowers blooming, relevancy to culture), so there's kinda no excuse.

The revolutionaries in GF were more entangled with Manny, the main character. They were introduced relatively soon, but he didn't work with them until late game. This is more of a nitpick, because Lulu was present early-game, but you didn't even get to talk to her until you finally enter their bunker. The problem of other human characters developing in isolation from your actions also seeps through here.

The social commentary that's prevalent in the game is clearly about art. But there are two similar but different messages I'm getting here. If they picked which to prioritize between the consequences of democratization of art and revolutionary/protest art it would have been clearer.

It was a joke but they decided not to call that one red book communist so, idrk.

I almost forgot the tidbit that they VOTE the next person to become the next god every 33 years. That's crazy.

Why are there gods?

You guys need to bear with me here. I know the damn game will not exist without the very concept of godhood. But this part troubled me the most after wrestling with the previous two points.

Yes I approached initially that the game was a cautionary tale about authority, image, and information. But even if it didn't pan out in the way I expected that's not necessarily bad. There are parts to really step back and evaluate though.

I understood that the apocalypse represented accelerationism on Inspekta's end. But when I was still speculating on why King would disrupt the order in the grove, it's not really strange to assume that she questioned godhood itself. It's literally divine right of kings stuff. If you adopt language like "the old world struggles to be born", it doesn't help the player think it's not related to the rift at all.

Which is why I was shocked by the ending in the first place. Yes, Inspekta steps away from godhood, but the structure of being a god is never questioned itself. Why should there be gods at all? Why shouldn't everyone become a god? Yes, gods are meant to guide humanity and be altruistic, but it's just so against the politics it's trying to use. From the in-game division between god and man, to something more doylist like, the narrative of humans in this game only serve for the improvement of the gods... it's just not there.

King just constantly haunted the narrative. The game makes a whole point about her not being able to defend herself from being defamed by Inspekta, about not having a voice. But the way she was treated through the entire ending was just so confusing in my head. Yes, she chooses her words wisely. But she barely speaks for herself in the end and I feel like a lot of her character development was just sucked out towards Inspekta/Hector for being insecure. Salt in the wound, but despite the point of the game being the danger of deifying someone to the point where their image is not at all similar to who they are, she leans into this role... and there lies any attempt to reevaluate why gods exist at all.

Again if they reevaluated their priority in the story in the first place they could have gone for a less muddy ending. Different from the arts context though— do they want to highlight character development and interpersonal relationships or do they want to lean into social commentary? You can have both, but I don't think this one works

Bonus: Why was this game so cagey about death when it was the main motivator for why Inspekta became a fascist? What's up with that? I don't really know.....

[kaiowut99]

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX Episodes 108-109 Subbed (Finalized)

(Previously: Episodes 106-107 Subbed [Finalized])

(Check out my Subbed!GX Stream Masterpost!)

TURN-108: Professor Cobra's Assassin

Professor Cobra announces the "Disclosure Duels," a system of publicizing one's skill and performing duels openly. He also provides all of the students with their own Dis-Belts to gauge their fighting spirit through their passion, focus, and decisiveness in those duels. Cobra then orders O'Brien to duel Judai--and to do so in a way that brings forth all of Judai's latent abilities. Putting his strategy into action, O'Brien takes Shou hostage and duels Judai.

TURN-109: Judai and the Fiery O'Brien

O'Brien aims to bring out all of Judai's latent abilities by using Shou as a hostage. As expected, Judai causes a serious battle to unfold, which he responds to using his Fire deck, activating his Firewall Permanent Trap against Judai's direct attacks to negate his attempts to attack him directly. For his part, Judai Contact-Fuses Neos with Flare Scarab, summoning Flare Neos for a counterattack, but...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sorry, didn't mean to leave these two episodes hanging for just over a month~ sorry Shou

Episodes 108 and 109 are now finalized! Professor Cobra comes in and starts up the Dis-Duels, which will play a big role in this early part of the season, and we get more time with O'Brien as he duels with Judai on Cobra's orders and ends up having a little fun with it towards the end. It's a fun duel, O'Brien makes a fiery entrance with his Blaze Cannon/Blaze Cannon Trident cards, and I love the sequence in 109 as Judai uses Flare Neos with probably my favorite use of the "Fervent Duel" OST track. Also, 109 in general is a fun episode because of all the top-notch artwork going on, with some interesting angles or some really good motion frames from the animation team (Judai ordering Featherman to swoop in against O'Brien [which gets reused once or twice] is so good). Also nice character moments with Shou about reconciling his ideal from Ryou about respecting opponents with the need to have all-out heated duels to survive, a nuance that gets lost in the dub for the most part. Though speaking of the dub, I did like Axel's (O'Brien's) dub voice for the most part, though it has a rough spot or two later on when he's cowering from the Supreme King.

Animation error-wise, we mostly have some quality-of-watching touch-ups, as there weren't any card errors I picked up on; 108 had one minor touch-up near the end, while 109 had just over a handful of mostly split-screen touch-ups. Details below the cut for the interested, as always~

Quick housekeeping: in case you missed it, I reuploaded 105-107 after noticing I didn't catch an update to one of the names under the In-Between Animation credits, along with some minor consistency fixes in the rest of the credits; these were reposted over on NAC and updated in the Masterpost linked above, and 108-109'll join them on NAC in the next day or two.

Anywho, enjoy! With these done, I'll probably go back to some fixes I've been working on for episode 1 that I missed, then I'll get a bit more looked over on Tag Force Special stuff (in case you missed that news~) before working on 110 as a quick two-parter break; stay tuned!

Fixes/Edits! (108)

Near the end of the episode, as O'Brien draws for his turn, there's a coloring error with some shading along the bottom of his left shoulder where the shading is lighter like with the lighter spots higher up; it's fixed for a few frames but then goes back to lighter. Fixed this by recoloring that shading spot in the frames during the quick zoom-out that happens using Photoshop, then masked out and held the shading in the last fixed frame for the rest of the shot.

Fixes/Edits! (109)

After the 108 recap but before the OP, we get this quick scene with Cobra watching on and saying that, even if he loses, O'Brien has to bring out all of Judai's Duel Energy (a scene cut from the dub [I wonder if this error is why]), but there's an odd animation error that happens where the line on the upper left of his mouth (his left) and the jaw shading are pixels away from where they should be--this only happens for the frames where he has this fully open lip-flap and his semi-open lip-flap going. Fixed this in Photoshop by redrawing the mouth line and filling in the jaw shading along the shading that was there.

Later, after O'Brien activates his Firewall and asks Judai if he thought weak attacks would work on him, Judai notes that O'Brien didn't summon any Monsters so it wouldn't be any fun not diving right in; a semi-surprised O'Brien slides in on a split-screen acknowledging this, but there's a quick frame as the split-screen is completed where the border flickers into its final position--fixed this in Sony Vegas by just replacing the earlier frame with the latter. Then, as they split off the screen to show Shou behind them, Judai's side takes a frame longer than O'Brien's to fully get offscreen; fixed in Vegas by using the frame after in that frame's place.

Later, Judai grunts after O'Brien uses Burial from a Different Dimension to return three Fire-Type Monsters to his Cemetery, and O'Brien slides in on a split-screen to say that he's removing one from it to activate Firewall against Flare Neos's attack--but Judai starts moving for it a couple of frames before O'Brien actually starts sliding in, and along with that, the border on their split-screen ends up being off-center. Fixed these in Vegas, first by redoing the split so it's timed with Judai moving, then ending the slide-in with the border centered, moving O'Brien's side into place so that his mouth and hand move properly for the rest of the split-screen. Then, a frame before they start splitting apart as Firewall activates, O'Brien's side moves but Judai's stays still; fixed by holding the split-screen still over that frame.

A bit after, once Judai uses Contact Out to de-fuse Flare Neos and attack to make O'Brien run out of Monsters to remove from play, O'Brien grunts as Judai slides in on a split-screen to remind him about Flare Scarab's power-up effect--but like with Judai in #3 above, O'Brien starts moving for the split-screen a couple frames before Judai starts sliding in. Then, as their split ends, there's a quick frame where they start to split apart to show Flare Scarab behind them but don't actually split; this is likely why their splits then end up sliding out unevenly. with Judai's taking an extra frame to fully slide out. Fixed these all in Vegas by first redoing it so that Judai's slide-in is timed with O'Brien moving; then, I masked in part of Flare Scarab from the next frames over them as they start to split, adding a new border to O'Brien and Judai's splits; and then finally, I redid their split-outs so that they were timed evenly.

After the eyecatch, we see more of Cobra watching the duel, and Judai and O'Brien come up on a split-screen with their current LP counts--they start to split apart a frame before their LP counts disappear to show Cobra, with this quick frame having just white behind them, along with O'Brien's split missing its border. Fixed this in Vegas by just holding the previous frame over it so that the split-out starts in the next frame, once the LP counts are gone.

[continued below because of dumb characters-per-"block" limits]

(6) A bit later, after O'Brien lets Shou go, Cobra looks on in surprise, but there are a few quick frames where the shading along his jaw is incomplete; fixed in Photoshop for the lip-flap frames where it happens, then placed them in the footage in Vegas and moved it into place as needed for the panning shot here.

(7) After O'Brien loads his Volcanic Buckshot into his Blaze Cannon Trident and deals 2000 damage to Judai, he starts to explain Trident's role in that, but Judai's betting that there was more to it; O'Brien slides in on a split-screen to say as much as he explains Buckshot's role, but his split-screen's already halfway into the screen in its first before sliding the rest of the way in, and like with #3 above, the border on the split-screen somehow ends up off-center. Fixed these in Vegas by redoing his slide-in so it slides in more fluidly. Then, because of how off-center the split-screen is, as they split apart, O'Brien's side takes longer to slide out; fixed this, after re-centering the split-screen, by redoing their slide-outs to be timed evenly.

[unkn0wnnn06]

Ok so I may have had a little hyperfixation on the song Villain and it may have sparked me to just think of a bit of evil Grian & there’s one cover of it that I absolutely love and I think it fits him pretty well so I’m gonna do a little rant.

The cover is by Umbratic forest and I definitely recommend checking it out cus it’s amazing!

So basically, my idea is Grian singing the whole song to the winners of each series, taunting them in a way, because obviously they had to kill a bunch of their friends to get to the end and they might think they’re the ‘good guys’ or that they were ‘forced’ to doing it.

I’m doing colour coding because that’s gonna be so much easier to help explain. So each colour is who Grian is talking to for that section. (also all the lyrics are in bold)

Grian (for when it’s just him and he’s not talking to anyone else)

Scott

Pearl

Martyn

Scar

We all pretend to be the Heroes on the good side

Some things are written in black

Some things are written in white

You never bother with the other colors

In last life, Scott was very much about not following rules and such (like not killing when he was the boogey), so I think he’d have a pretty ‘black and white’ point of view of what’s bad and good.

You are the protagonist

She is the antagonist

Your black and white world is Mundane and pointless…

Pearl in double life was abandoned by Scott so in her story he is the antagonist and and she is the protagonist, and she probably, maybe, only sees it that way.

So many shades of Grey

Oh how can you not understand what’s so easy?

Martyn had that whole bit where he was ‘possessed’ by the watchers at the end of limited life and so there’s a possibility he might not realise how he also wanted to murder Scott and Impulse like he did to win/get time.

Good easily fades away

Think twice before you fall in love with me

because

Scar tried to be the good guy all of secret life but kept being made out to be the villain and in the end he gave into it, his good faded away.

I’m a villain

Do you think that it isn’t true?

You don’t know a thing about me

Or the evil deeds I do

Oh no

You’re a villain

Do you think that it isn’t true?

Whenever you breathe out

The villain in you breathes out too

You know, I’m killin’ someone

Maybe you’re killin’ someone

Maybe I’m killin’ you

Maybe you’re killin’ me

Maybe

So after Grian killed Scott with commands in LL after he won, he goes and congratulates him and Scott doesn’t appreciate it and maybe lashes out a bit because Grian started the games, he won the first one, he’s the one putting them through this. And then Grian decides to taunt him a bit and make him realise everyone’s a bit of a villain and not everything’s black and white.

We all pretend to be the Heroes on the good side

But what if we’re the villains on the other?

Flashback to 3rd life sort of, with the whole debate of who were the ‘bad guys’, and who were the ‘good guys’.

Am I good?

Am I bad?

"Ay"

Are you good?

Are you bad?

"Ay"

Somebody that I love with all my heart could be somebody that another person hates

"Say"

Are we good?

Are we bad?

"Ay"

What is good?

What is bad?

"Ay"

Somebody that you hate is still somebody that a mother loves with her entire heart

"Say"

So Pearl was deemed a ‘bad guy’ by a lot of people on the server, but in her eyes, she wasn’t and Scott was (in a way, she forgave him in the end but still). And so after DL when Grian visited her she probably was more devastated by everything that happened in the game.

I just think this verse fits Pearl a lot because she was seen as a villain so in the “Are you good? Are you bad?” lines, it’s sort of reflecting her ‘insanity’ and ‘bad guy’ behaviour contrasts with how she was also a victim and ‘good’.

When Grian says “Somebody that I love with all my heart could be somebody that another person hates” he’s referring to BigB and Scar because of secret soulmates.

And with “Somebody that you hate is still somebody that a mother loves with her entire heart” it’s about Scott and Cleo (either way and obviously not like a mother, like soulmates/chosen soulmates).

So many shades of Grey

Oh how can you not understand what’s so easy?

Good easily fades away

Think twice before you fall in love with me

because

One, two

I’m a villain

Do you think that it isn’t true?

You don’t know a thing about me

Or the evil deeds I do

Oh no

You’re a villain

Do you think that it isn’t true?

Whenever you breathe out

The villain in you breathes out too

I feel like the chorus fits Martyn the best no matter what, he very much is still a bit of a ‘villain’ in more or less every season, he’s at least a menace. And in LiL at least, he was a lot more unhinged and in the end ‘snapped’ and just killed Scott and Impulse and got a bit of a rush off the time he gained.

And with him seeing Grian after the game, he would probably lash out at him since Grian’s a watcher and would blame him.

Grian saying when “When you breathe out, the villain in you breathes out too” is like saying even though he despises the watchers and would refuse to be ‘evil’ like them, he is still in a way.

You know,

All villains

Do you think that it isn’t true?

You don’t know a thing about

the feeble, evil deeds we do

Oh no

We’re all villains

Do you think that it isn’t true?

Just take a look and

See the evil harbored in our hearts

Scar is the last of all the winners (so far) so by the time he wins, the others have accepted that they’re not all good. He didn’t want to be the villain in SL but he kept getting tasks that forced him to be a menace and he just gave into it and went on a rampage during the finale, playing each team and killing a bunch of people. He may not see himself as ‘good’ at that point, but he may not want to believe all his friends are also not good.

And since Scar didn’t end at the end of secret life, Grian visits him while he’s hitting the button trying to get the game to end (Martyn’s lore stream idea).

I’m killin’ someone

Maybe you’re killin’ someone

Maybe I’m killin’ you

Maybe you’re killin’ me

Maybe

We all pretend to be the heroes on the good side

But what if we’re the villains on the other?

We all pretend to be the heroes on the good side

But what if we’re the villains on the other?

We all pretend to be the heroes on the good side

At this point, everyone ‘singing’ each part they’re colour coded with, mainly because I feel like in an animatic or something it would look cool, all of them just sort of realising they’re not all good.

This may have been a shit explanation but it makes sense in my head. And also this probably isn’t really ‘evil’ Grian but at least with this idea, he’s a bit more menacing and more on a badder side than in canon. 👍

[chyirly]

The end has come for @somerandomdudelmao Cass Apocalyptic series. It's been one h*ll of a ride, you get the reference, but the series has come to a close.

So what better way to celebrate a wonderful series than fanart?

The boy’s, they angry and looking for a fight.

As you can tell the shading was done with Cass’s drawing style in mind, it was so fun to do, there are still hints of my style as seen in the line art and the border.

Name - Donatello

Status - alive dead?

Info - you don't know how much pain I went through trying to draw him. I almost gave up on drawing this entire piece. His body was originally supposed to be sideways, but I don't draw that type of perspective so I had to scrape that idea and change his pose to the current one. I like this one more.

Name - Michelangelo

Status - alive

Info - if you haven't noticed, he is literally the smallest in the picture. He is so small that I had to change my brush size. Fun fact, the sketch I made on paper has him upside down. His previous hair used to look like Mikey from Tokyo Rev. I like his cloak. It was fun to draw.

Name - Leonardo

Status - alive not without my twin!

Info - he was the easiest. The easiest to sketch, the easiest to draw, the easiest to color. The only thing that messed me up was his design. Enough said.

Name - Raphael

Status - alive dead? robot?

Info - I made him more ‘robotic’ with a lot more lines separating his parts. Overall he was the hardest to draw, as per usual, but his shell/spike brought me the most pain. If you haven't realized yet, I copied and pasted one spike and just traced it. I'm not even that proud of it, it is ugly.

Despite all the complications, I loved doing this piece. It was fun and allowed me to test a monochrome color scheme. I love this au.

But, sometimes things have to come to a stopping point.

Oh who am I kidding, we all know this is not the

TRUE END

The story still has so much to left to show.

[larakb117]

LONDON ADVENTURE

Joseph Quinn & female y/n

Summary: You pack your things for the New York trip with Joseph while he desperately waits for you in his apartment…

Content Warning: implied smut (18+), making out, fluff, rpf

Part 8

“Are you hungry now?”, he asked. “Yes.”, you still trembled a bit and tried to collect your thoughts.

“I´ll get you something.” You sat up and covered your naked body with the blanket. Joe placed a glass of water on the living room table in front of you. He went back to the open kitchen counter and prepared something for you. “Is garlic bread okay for you? I don´t have a lot of stuff here, because of next week. I made the bread earlier this morning.”, Joe asked with his back turned to you. “Yes, thank you!” Joe came back with a wooden tray and set it right next to the glass you had already emptied. You instantly grabbed some grapes from the plate and shoved them, one after the other, in your mouth. You were so hungry now. The garlic bread tasted amazing.

You both ended up under the blanket, your bodies intertwined, still no clothes on. “What is your biggest secret?”, you gazed at his face. “I don’t know.”, he pushed his lower lip forward and put on a serious face. “Oh, come on!” “I don’t know, don’t know!”, he repeated cheekily: “What´s yours?” “Ehm, probably my huge collection of sex toys.”, you answered quickly. Joe looked at you in surprise: “Really?” You nodded. “But it seems like I don´t need them anymore.”, you smiled widely at Joe. “Babe, who knows! Maybe they get in handy at some point.” The new pet name sent goosebumps down your spine. Joe touched your cheeks, the other hand went around your waist and pulled you on top of his lap. His bulge pressed into your ass cheeks. You started to sensually kiss. He caressed every accessible part of your body. After a few minutes of making out and moaning into each other mouths you both slowly fell asleep. All the sex made you really tired.

You woke up before Joe, you took the opportunity and intensely looked at Joes face. His head laid on top of your cleavage, you could not see his whole profile, but you inspected every facial feature. Joe had some winkles around the eyes and on his forehead, they surely were there because he laughed a lot, not just simply laughing, it was full of joy. You recognized a little scar on his forehead as well and wondered why he might had got that. Joes lips were just perfect, you closed your eyes and it was like they were touching yours. His eyes had a wonderful shade of chocolate brown, his mother was totally right. Even though you just thought about him looking at you, you could feel his gaze which made the butterflies in your stomach flutter wildly. Maybe this was all a dream. This could not be real. Impossible that you went from “no men are interested in you” to “one unbelievable orgasm and compliment and touch and pet name after another” in just three days, you grinned to yourself. Your eyes opened again and you began to gently stroke his curled hair, down his cheek and over his facial hair, which was kind of messy. He had it on cheeks, above the upper lip, on the chin and down his jaw.

Joes eyes slightly opened as well, while you moved your fingers down his face slowly. “Oh, sorry.”, you whispered. “What time is it?”, Joe blinked into the sunlight streaming through the big window. “I don’t know. But I think I need to leave soon.” Joe hugged you tight and dramatically cried: “Please!!Don´t leave me!” You could not resist a chuckle: “I need to pack, remember?” “Oh you´re right.” You got up from the sofa and started to collect all of your clothes which were distributed all over his apartment. Fully dressed the last thing you needed was your phone and your small bag from last night. Joe handed you both of them. Some missed calls from Jen were shown on your lock screen. You would call her as soon as you got home. Joe hugged you from behind, his arms nestled around your waist. “As soon as you finish packing you´ll come here with all your stuff, okay?” “Yes, Joe.”, you loosened his grip and turned around to face him. His lips met yours before you even finished the rotation. “I´ll miss you.” He genuinely meant it, you could see it in his gaze. And you´ll miss him too, very much, so you told him: “I´m going to miss you too, babe.” You liked that pet name so you imported it to your vocabulary as well. “Don´t forget to send me your passport details so Maddie can take of your esta for the trip.” “I promise. I really need to go now.” It dawned outside and you had about 60 minutes of underground travelling to get home ahead of you. You kissed Joe for the las time today and left his apartment. A weird feeling to be honest.

As soon as you got home you started the first round of laundry. You took your phone out of your bag and dialled Jens number. “OH MY GOD!!!!WHY DO YOU NOT ANSWER ME?!” Jen yelled into the phone. WHAT HAPPENED?!I THOUGHT SOMETHING HAPPENED TO-“ “Can you please stop shouting at me!!!”, you yelled back at her. A quiet “sorry” came from the other side of the line. She sounded kind of abashed. “It´s fine.”, you tried to soothe her: “I´m totally fine.” “You don’t feel sick anymore?”, Jen asked you curiously. “To be honest…I didn’t feel sick at all. I actually never felt happier.” “Y/n? What happened?”, you could basically see Jens face with the wide eyes and lips formed to an o right in front of your inner eyes. “To make it short: I think I´m in love and I finally had sex…multiple times.” You had to remove the phone from your ear, due to the loud squeaky screams coming out of the speaker. Jen was 34 years old but she behaved like a teenager when it came to these kind of topics. “YOU.HAVE.TO.TELL.ME.EVERYTHING.” You began to tell Jen about the dinner yesterday, but stopped with the details as soon as you told her about his apartment. “Girl, you need to give me more information.” You wanted to keep it to yourself, the only thing you revealed was the following: “He is such an awesome person. I could have not wished for somebody better to have my first sex with.” But Jen did not let go: “ You can get more in to detail when we meet next week!” You remembered, you had plans with Jen, but she would forgive you: “Oh Jen, I am so sorry! I need to cancel our dinner.” You could hear the disappointed in her voice: “Why?” You smiled into yourself because you could not believe what you were about to say: “I´m going to New York with Joe.” A gasp came from the other side of the phone. “You don´t!” “Oh yes I do!” You both squeaked together now. Jen interrupted the noises: “Damn, I woke up Cameron.” Her son was crying in the background. You could not supress a laugh. “Need to go y/n! We´ll text later?” She didn’t hear your yes because she already hung up. You looked around the bedroom, your suitcase was on top of the wardrobe. You teared it down from there and started to throw clothing in it.

About half an hour after you had started the packing you realised that you did have enough clothing for 6 days: enough underwear, dresses, socks, pants and shirts. You checked for the New York weather, it would be pretty changing. Most of your clothing were still in Germany with your father, you did not have a lot of stuff here, so you did not need to think about different outfit options. Basically, 90 percent of your wardrobe was in your suitcase, the rest was in the laundry machine. In the bathroom you began to pack all of your makeup and skin care, toothbrush and paste and some shampoo. That’s it, you thought to yourself. Just the passport, and some more paperwork you needed to take with you went straight into one of your tote bags. You had a huge collection, you had a stranger things one as well. You teared the one out of the pile and realised that Joe was on it. It was a stranger things 4 tote bag with Eddie Munson on it. Unbelievable, you walked around with his face on your bag for several months about two years ago, without realising it. You definitely fancied Steve more than Eddie. And now you were packing for a trip to New York with Joe.

You took a quick shower and got into a comfy lounge two piece. Again you looked around the apartment and threw every possible thing into your bag and suitcase that could become in handy. A book you had not touched for a lot of weeks now, your headphones and a charger. And now? You did not know what to do. It was 9 pm, your laundry machine had just finished. Well, Joe told you, you should come with your stuff as soon as you were done packing. You checked for all the electronic devices in your apartment to be turned off, closed the window in your bedroom and left the building with a suitcase and a tote bag over your shoulder.

The way to Clapham took a little longer, you´re suitcase was pretty heavy but somehow you managed to get to his house without looking at your phone once. You ringed the doorbell which did not have a name on it, and his voice came out of the speaker: “Yeah?” “It´s me.”, you said. The door automatically opened right away. Joe already came down the stairs and kissed you before he took all of your bags. “I missed you so, love.”, he mumbled while kissing you. With the bags in his hands, he easily climbed up the stairs to his apartment. He placed them right next to the entrance door and pulled you into the living room. Right on the other side of the entrance door where your suitcase was standing, Joe pushed you against the wall. He hungrily kissed you, you slightly opened your mouth so his tongue could slip in your mouth a little. He grabbed your thighs and brought them up into a right angle. You did not have any control now, everything that kept you in that position were your back at the wall and his arms holding you up. Your legs twined around his ass, your arms did so around his neck. Joe pressed his lips onto yours passionately.

Then it hit you: “Oh babe! The passport details” You jumped back to the floor, grabbed the passport and handed it to Joe. He took his phone out and sent a photo to his assistant. “You want to drink something?”, he turned to you. “Some water please.” He went to the kitchen counter right after winking at you saying: “Some water coming up.” You sat down on the sofa and tried to calm down from the hot but short make out session at the wall. Joe came to the sofa too and sat next to you. He laid back and pulled you into his arm. His jeans from earlier had changed into some sleeping trousers. Joe gently wiped away some strands of hair out of your face, your fingers intertwined. You both played with each other’s fingers. “So you were fast with packing.”, Joe mumbled into your hair, his chin rested on top of your head. “I just wanted to get back to you.” “Same love, same.” He kissed your hair. “I´m kind of overwhelmed about all of this, to be honest with you.”, you confessed. “Me too, probably not the way like you, but I would have never thought that I would be crazy in love with somebody just within a few days.” You startled: “What did you just say?”, you gazed at him. His brown eyes sparkled, you could not understand why, but you felt tears building up in yours. He nervously chuckled and ran his hand through his curls: “I think I´m in love with you.” There was nothing else to do than caressing his lips with yours. A tear ran down your face, Joe wiped it away. You could not say it, but he totally understood that you felt the same way. You moved closer together, cuddled, kissed, talked and laughed for hours. Until you both fell asleep.

To be continued…