#once they've given up their boss's name

[letthestorieslive]

Derek + 11 - scenerygasm, requested by @oldefashioned

(from this ask game, you still can request one too !)

[marnanel]

The morning of the world

England, 1649: the king has been executed, the monarchy has ended at last, but it's been replaced with a dictatorship. Yet suddenly we're back in the morning of the world.

It's a mindset. In the evening of the world, life will always go on as it's gone on before. If it changes, it can only get worse. In the morning of the world, everything seems possible.

Into this churn of chaos, worry, and excitement steps a 40-year-old man named Gerard Winstanley. He has a story and a plan.

You always need both, you see. If you don't have a plan, nobody can hope. And if you don't have a story, nobody will believe the plan: they've been given too many lies before to believe the truth.

Winstanley's plan was, literally, radical. He was going to build a community which planted crops on common land. They would live together, work together, eat together.

Today, we might call it anarchism or communism. But then, people called them the Diggers.

You see, common land was a contentious topic. For centuries, ordinary people had had the right to grow food to eat.

But in the last fifty years, the lords of manors had obtained legal permission to take these rights away: to "enclose" common land.

(Modern privatisation is similar.)

So the ordinary people lost their right to plant crops on the land they and their forebears had used for centuries. You might have heard the rhyme:

The law condemns the man or woman

Who steals the goose from off the common

But lets the larger villain loose

Who steals the common off the goose

This was the first part of Winstanley's story.

The second part looked back a few centuries, to when the Norman aristocrats took over England by force— as they soon did to Wales and Ireland, too.

Winstanley said that Cromwell had had a chance to undo the damage the Normans had done to England. But instead, he had set up his own dictatorship. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

But the third part went back to the beginning: the literal morning of the world.

You know the story of Adam and Eve, and how taking the apple was the original sin. But what *was* the sin? Aquinas thought it was pride. Many people have suggested it was lust.

But Winstanley said the tree was for everyone and they wanted it for themselves; so their sin was covetousness— greed, if you like.

He punned that Adam was "a dam": he wanted to take things and hold them himself.

And the lords and the landlords were still living in Adam's sin.

That was the story: what was the plan? Occupy the land they'd lost once more, and build the new world piece by piece.

Communities of the Diggers sprang up around the country, most famously in St George's Hill in Surrey. They lived together, ate together, worked together.

They were peaceful, but the landlords saw their very existence as a threat. So they had them arrested, and destroyed their fields and their houses.

I mention all this because a Marxist-Leninist asked me "What is the anarchists' plan to change the world?"

When I said, "hope", he didn't take it for a serious answer. But it was.

What do you need, to live in the morning of the world? What story, and what plan?

Resources:

"The Law of Freedom in a Platform", Winstanley 1652:

Leon Rosselson's song "The World Turned Upside Down" (famously covered by Billy Bragg)

Elmen, P : The theological basis of Digger communism

[startrekfangirl2233-writes]

Photo Finish

Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x Reader

Description: I don't really have words for this. @desert-fern and I were chatting about Hangman thots. And this spilled out of my brain.

Warnings: This is just porn. Porn with Plot. Consume at your own risk.

Word Count: 6484

A/N: This is dedicated to @desert-fern, @dakotakazansky and @horseshoegirl! Read and enjoy the thots my darlings!

AO3: Cross-posted Here!

Wattpad: Cross-posted Here!

It is an unforgiving job, working as a photographer. You'd been all over the world taking pictures for exposes, portraits of world leaders, and scenery. You could name a print material with a portrait on the cover and say you'd taken a picture of that kind. 

It's your first time in New York after six months of working on assignment after assignment for your agency when you're called into your boss’s office and ordered to get a studio ready. You're expecting a shot with supermodels or perfumes. Hell, you've even taken photos of cans of dog food. You're not expecting to hear that the client is the U.S. Navy. Not at all.

The U.S. Navy's recruitment numbers have fallen to an all-time low. They're looking for a propaganda vehicle or five to kickstart recruitment. They've ordered a squadron of pilots to fly to New York and have professional portraits taken. It had been decided it was too risky to have civilian photographers on base, so your company had rented a colossal hangar from the airport for one day. The squadron and their jets would land tonight, and the shoot would happen tomorrow. The information has you reeling and more than a little flustered. The U.S. Navy? As a client? That’s huge. This assignment could make or break your whole career. How do you even start? This shoot is on an awfully quick turnaround for something so big.

Your mind is spinning, thinking of how you could make these spreads work. To begin your prep work, you go to your office, collecting your assistant, stylists, makeup artist, and lighting coordinators. Once everyone is clustered around your office, you fire up your computer and display pictures of each aviator. The Navy has selected six aviators for this spread; they’re all gorgeous. And per the sanitized dossiers you hand out to your team to read, each has risked their lives to serve their country. Of the five men on the dossiers, one keeps catching your attention. His name is Jake, Jake Seresin, and his eyes pierce into you even through the low-quality picture you’ve been given.

“Alright. So how do we do this? The Navy asked for shots of each aviator and their plane in flight suits and uniforms. We’ll have all four jets in the hangar with us tomorrow. Additionally, I want to explore who they are as people. So I think we’ll also do shots of them in formal wear. As a last step, we’ll tie into their sex appeal and do shots of the boys in their flight jackets and dog tags with no shirts. For Lieutenant Trace, I thought we could explore the duality she naturally poses as a highly decorated female Naval Aviator. How does that sound? Any ideas for how we can accomplish that? Start pulling pieces on racks in the bullpen. I want to do a final review of all of the options at 4 o’clock.”

Your stylists, Adam and Lea, are already huddled up and discussing pieces to pull for the formal wear shoot. You can see an unholy gleam in Lea’s eyes as she finds pieces for Lieutenant Trace to wear for the sex appeal shot on her tablet. You grin at their enthusiasm before turning to your lighting techs.

“Seb, Kris. I want you both to head out to the hangar today. I don’t know what the lighting is going to look like. Feel free to start setting up the lighting for the shoot tomorrow. But don’t lock anything down. We’re going to have to share our space with the planes.”

You turn to your assistant, Amy. 

“Ames, go with them. Get an idea of the space we have to deal with. Measurements would be useful. Start visualizing areas where we could lay out a backdrop to do a set of pics without the planes in the background. Scope out everything — the facilities, where we could set up changing booths, a refreshments table, etc. We’ll also probably need to coordinate deliveries from the usual food platters and drinks places. Get an assortment of things that would apply to any dietary restrictions you can think of.”

With that, you turn to the last member of your team, your makeup artist. 

“Hey, Katie. We will want to keep the makeup for this shoot subtle and touch up any blemishes and under-eye circles. That should be it for the boys, but we’ll want to do something eye-catching for the formal wear portion for Lieutenant Trace. So pack accordingly. Go ahead if you want, and head to the hangar with Ames so you can coordinate placement for the makeup station.”

You call your team to attention by ringing the small gong on your desk.

“We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us today. Call me for anything you need. This shoot is important for the studio, and we will have many eyes on us. Here are the credentials for the hangar. Measurements for the aviators are included in the dossier packets. For the formal wear portion of the shoot, pick coordinating colors except for Lieutenant Trace. Good luck!”

The rest of your morning is spent coordinating with the Navy Liasion. During your lunch break, you head to the hangar and help your team as they work there. You pick up sandwiches and drinks for everyone and drop some off for Adam and Lea. You reach the hangar at 1:30 and use your credentials to let yourself in. Unsurprisingly, the hangar is a hive of activity. Amy’s marking down placement points near the bathrooms with a measuring tape, and Katie’s getting a vanity plugged in and organizing her equipment.

Meanwhile, Seb and Kris are testing the lighting. A large swath of the Hangar floor is as yet empty. A clear path has been left from the hangar doors to the open area. The open area is where four F/A-18A Super Hornets are going to sit. You call your team to grab their lunches and catch up with Amy on her progress. It’s your first time delegating so much of the admin work to Amy since she’s the newest on the team, and you’re ecstatic with her progress.

She’s gotten everything organized, including the food and beverage deliveries. When a pair of workmen back in a truck containing the backdrop and the changing rooms, you supervise as they build them and place them where you want them. They’ve just started assembling the backdrop when your phone rings. You step into the afternoon sunshine to take the call. It’s the Navy Liasion. He’s calling to inform you that the squadron will be landing shortly. Sure enough, you can just hear the engines as you hang up and bolt indoors. Amy’s just sending the workmen on their way as you help your team clear the open areas of the hangar and stand near the open hangar door. 

You can feel the thrum of the engines as Four F/A-18As fly in formation and finally land in all their glory. They’re beautiful machines. You can smell the stink of the jet fuel and feel the heat from the engines as they roll into the hangar. The next moments are full of frantic activity as the flight crews help ensure the jets are safely landed. Once all the furor has died down, you finally reach where the aviators have descended from their jets. They’re examining your team's work with eagle eyes that dart to your person as you step closer, your heels echoing as you make your way to the jets. 

They’re even more gorgeous than their pictures indicated, even sweaty with helmet hair as they are. As one, they line up in front of you and salute, introducing themselves with their rank, full name, and callsign. You can hear Amy and Katie’s giggles from behind you as you introduce yourself and your team. The entire time you lay out the plan for the following day, you can feel a set of eyes boring into the side of your face. All the aviators are staring right at you, but Lieutenant Seresin makes you feel like squirming. His green eyes stay on you as you show them the different areas in the hangar and explain the order of the day. Thankfully, they leave the hangar shortly after you tell them their call time for the next morning. 

A couple of hours later, everything is ready to go, thanks to Amy, Seb, Kris, and Katie. The corner near the bathroom has two changing rooms set up. Nearby are spaces for the racks of clothing and the makeup station. It will be perfect for the photoshoot you have in mind. The concrete floors are a little chilly, so you text Lea and ask her to add some of the rugs from storage to the truck. You send her a snap of the current layout so she and Adam know what they’re walking into the following morning. You know she and Adam will pick something that complements the gunmetal gray of the planes and the clothing they’re selecting. Before long, you and your team are packed into the back of two Ubers and heading back to the studio for the final part of your day, evaluating the clothing Adam and Lea have picked.

You’re satisfied as you head home that night. Your team has done an amazing job, and the only thing you have to do is pack your cameras and lenses. You carefully wipe and pack each lens and each camera, working as quickly as possible since you have to be at the hangar with an early 6 AM call time. Amy’s picking up the coffee and breakfast deliveries at 7, and the Squadron will show up at 8 AM sharp.

When your alarm goes off at half past four the next morning, you feel barely rested. Your hair is a bird’s nest atop your head, and your eye bags could put a raccoon to shame.  But you’ve got a busy day ahead of you, so you gulp a scalding cup of coffee and walk zombie-like into your shower. Forty-five minutes later, you’re dressed in a smart blouse and pencil skirt with heels on your feet and bleary but ready to face the day. You’ve thrown your hair into a French braid snaking down your back and left your makeup and jewelry simple to avoid causing unforeseen sparkles and shadows when Kris and Seb turn the lights on.

Your team has just reached the hangar when you step in. All the lights are on in the early morning haze, and you’re immediately swept up in the preparations. It’s like you’re needed everywhere. You only get fifteen minutes to lay out your camera equipment and hook up the cameras to your laptop before you’re pulled into last-minute adjustment after last-minute adjustment. It feels like barely any time has passed when the aviators swagger through the open hangar door. They’re dressed in khaki uniforms, each holding a hanger with a leather flight jacket.

Adam and Lea direct them to leave their garment bags on an open rack, and you’re off to the races. You start with individual shots of each aviator with their plane and then against the backdrop. You’ve cued up a playlist of Top-40 hits, and you can’t help humming along as you snap away. As expected, it takes a bit for the aviators to warm up to being photographed. Two, Lieutenants Bradshaw and Seresin, take to posing for the camera like a fish out of water. Lieutenant Fitch follows shortly after them. Then all you needed to get Fanboy to cut loose was get him talking about his favorite tv show. You don’t mind the onslaught of Star Trek facts and figures because Lieutenant Mickey Garcia is adorable once you get him smiling and dancing to the songs playing. 

That leaves you with Lieutenants Trace and Floyd. Lieutenant Floyd goes next, and the first thing he does when he sees you holding the camera is blush. The bashful look on his face makes a soft squeal slip out of Amy’s mouth, and you side-eye your assistant with your fiercest glare to get her to chill out. Thankfully, Lea drags her away to help with some of the clothing. There’s no need to make the sweetheart even more uncomfortable. Much like Lieutenant Garcia, you try to get him talking. And it works, at least until Lieutenant Seresin opens his mouth and says,

“C’mon, Baby On Board. A pretty girl’s taking your picture, and you can’t even smile? This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, at least for you. You should enjoy it while it lasts.”

You can feel your blood pressure rising at how rude he is and are about to open your mouth to tell him to get out of your field of vision when Lieutenant Floyd does it himself.

“Why, Bagman? Are you afraid that if I start posing for real, all the girls will dump you as fast as possible for me instead?”

You have to stifle your giggles as Lieutenant Seresin blinks wide-eyed at Lieutenant Floyd before walking away. 

“That’s a great idea, Bob!” Lieutenant Trace is never one to leave an opportunity to cheer on her WSO.

That’s what breaks the ice between you and Lieutenant Floyd. You feel his solo plane shots have turned out better than the others. The final aviator in uniform to photograph is Lieutenant Trace. But no matter what you do, you can’t get her to loosen up. 

“Alright, everyone. Let’s take fifteen. Adam and Lea, can you get the Lieutenants in their formal wear while I finish up with Lieutenant Trace?” 

That clears the gentlemen away and leaves you and Lieutenant Trace by the planes. That’s when you finally see a fraction of the tension she holds in her shoulders drain away. She’s still standing stiffly but no longer in full parade rest. You turn the music up, put on ABBA, and pray that the music finally gets her to unwind. It takes a bit, and Lieutenant Bradshaw, now wearing a navy blue tuxedo, wiggling his hips to the beat but unwind she does. He gives you a wink before shimmying away. You can see the rest of your team laughing as the aviators pull out their silliest dance moves. 

After finishing up Lieutenant Trace’s final uniform pictures, you leave her in Lea and Katie’s capable hands and start taking the solo shots of the men. They’re all dressed in navy blue tuxedos with white shirts and shiny black dress shoes. There isn’t a tie in sight, and the jackets are perfectly tailored to their figures. You can’t help the impressed looks you give them and mentally note to compliment Lea and Adam later. Everything is going well until you start to see slack-jawed looks where the lieutenants had been smoldering into the camera. You turn and grin satisfactorily as Lieutenant Trace steps forward. Lea had selected a gorgeous crimson and burgundy gown, and Katie had chosen to leave her hair in loose curls. You’re not surprised at the boys’ awe. She looks breathtaking and like her callsign in all its fiery glory. The contrasting color combinations as she joins the boys look fantastic in the pictures. 

The final set of pictures happens after a lunch break. The gentlemen are only too eager to slip off their shirts, though you can hear Bob pleading with Lea to spare him. You wish him luck, as you know from experience that Lea’s not one to give in easily. The only other aviator who looks discomfited is Lieutenant Trace. You pull her aside.

"Lt. Trace. How would you feel about doing a shot wearing just one of the men's jackets, some heels, and jewelry? You don’t have to wear one that one of the guys has worn today. Lea and Adam brought plenty of spares."

"Please, call me Natasha. And no. I'm not doing that."

"Natasha, I have a feeling I know why, but would you tell me?" Her shoulders surround her ears as you try to reason with her.

"I'm not going to wear that just to act as the sole piece of eye candy in this group. I got here by working just as hard, if not harder, than all of them. I won't negate all my hard work with a pin-up pose on Navy propaganda."

"Thank you for telling me that. I'm not going to pressure you into doing this. But, I would like to bring one item to your consideration. You think taking a picture like this will negate your hard work. Doesn't that negate your inherent sense of femininity? You're a fighter pilot. Yes. One of the best of the best. But you're also a woman. And to me, that's one of your biggest strengths. Girls walking into Navy recruitment offices deserve to know they can be kick-ass officers and beautiful too.”

You take a breath, cataloging the emotions flitting across her face.

“I'm not asking you to do this shot because you're beautiful. As we both know, you are. I'm asking you to do this shot to show the world that you can be one of the best and still be feminine. Be strong and delicate. Sweet and savage. I want you to show the world that serving your country doesn't mean you have to only act like men. Women can serve and do everything that a man can without compromising anything. Be it their looks, their career, or their femininity."

Your words have resonated with her. You can see the figurative light bulb go off in her head as she resolutely nods, gathers up the skirts of her gown, and walks right towards Lea like a woman possessed. You grin and proceed with taking shots of the others. But this time, it’s Lieutenant Seresin that you’re having problems with. He’s stiff like his charm has melted away. You switch to the others and finish their shots easily. Even Natasha stuns in just the oversized blazer. You take a break and review the pictures on your laptop. They’re all perfect. You’ll need a day or so to clean up any small defects, but other than that, they’re exactly what you were looking for. The Navy will be pleased with the results, you hope.

You just need this one set of pictures from Lieutenant Jake Seresin, callsign Hangman, and you can finally go home and take off your heels and bra. Your irritation grows as you attempt to take the pictures you need five times. Your groan of exhaustion and irritation is far longer and louder than it should be. That’s when you start dismissing your team and the Daggers.

“Head on out, all of you. We have to clean up the hangar by the day after tomorrow when the Daggers leave. I will finish up these photos with Lieutenant Seresin, and we should be following you shortly.”

The Daggers all scramble to change, and it's less than half an hour later when you say farewell as the Daggers and your team file out the Hangar door and close it behind them. That’s when you’re left alone with the one man who’s been driving you crazy all day. You try, futilely, to get him to pose how you want, but no matter what you say and how you move him, the pictures don't turn out like you want them to. 

Partway through the latter half of the photo shoot, you'd switched to having all of the Daggers standing against the backdrop. You're regretting that decision now. 

You're done, and the blonde idiot is just standing there and smirking at you. In the studio light, you can see every ridge of his abs and the downy hair dotting his torso. You kick your heels off and let your hair out of its braid. After so long in the tight braid, it feels great to let your scalp relax.

You stalk up to Lieutenant Seresin and grab hold of his arm.

"Right. Let's make this easy on both of us. I will position you how I want you, and you won't move. Okay?"

"Darlin', just tell me to jump, and I'll ask you how high."

And now he's trying to flirt with you. Great. You roll your eyes and position his head and arms as you want him. This close, you can smell his cologne, the cedar and plum scent wafting from his skin. It's an expensive scent that is ever so inconsistent with his personality. Thankfully he doesn't fight you as you position him. 

You could cry. You're so relieved. You are finally getting the needed pictures, and Lieutenant Seresin is cooperating. His eyes still track you as you stalk barefoot back and forth from the laptop to the lights, all with your camera in tow as you make small adjustments. But you don't feel their weight as self-consciously anymore. 

In the final pose, you press on his stomach to get him to straighten his back, and your entire world seems to freeze. His abs are taut, the light dusting of hair soft against your fingers as you glance up at his face. His lips are bitten red as his eyes peer into you. It's electric being this close to him. Something is yearning in his eyes when you step away and take the final pictures. 

Your face is hot as you walk back to the table with your laptop and examine the pictures. You're exhausted, but you've finally done it. Of all the pictures, Lieutenant Seresin's looks the best. His photos exhibit strength, passion, and raw sexuality, exposing a stripe of his taut torso and dog tags. 

"Damn, darlin'. I knew you were a good photographer when I looked up your work before we flew to New York for this, but I had no idea how good you were. These pictures. They're something else."

You startle at his voice, emanating from near your ear, and jolt out of your seat. You nearly fall, but he catches you, steadying you with an arm wrapped around your waist. You gulp as you’re pressed against his chest. He's so close that you can count the flecks of gold swimming in his green eyes. You can't keep your gaze from trailing over his face, from his eyes down to his lips, and back up again. 

"Sweetheart, tell me if I'm reading you wrong, but it looks like you want to kiss me. And I know I want to kiss you. I have since I saw you for the first time yesterday."

You can't keep yourself from nodding at his words. But he's watching you like a hawk and catches your movements. So it's hardly a surprise when he trails his other hand up your side and pinches your chin before slanting his mouth over yours. 

He kisses as he flies, you think. Precise and pointed, each brush of his tongue against your calculated to make your cunt clench and throb with need. You're wet, embarrassingly so. He doesn't pull away until your lips are swollen from the rough kiss. 

Your chest heaves as he traces his finger across your lips. He's got a smug smirk on his face. You pull away from him, carefully selecting your video camera from all your camera equipment, and return to his plane. You turn on the lights, dimming them until there is just enough light to throw the area in the jet's shadow in relief in your camera, hit record, and beckon him to come to you.

"Lieutenant, it's been a bit since I've had some fun. What would you say if I suggest we make a movie?"

His grin is salacious as he lets the leather jacket fall to the ground and tugs you back into his arms.

"Baby, it'd be my pleasure."

Your answering laugh transforms into a moan as he kisses roughly down your throat, paying special attention to your pulse point. His talented hands trail up and down your waist, nimble hands rucking your blouse up from your skirt until he can finally touch your bare skin. Your moans as he traces patterns across your ribs are muffled in his kiss.

"Jake."

Your voice is breathy and high as you try to get his mouth back on yours. But when you look at his face, something is commanding in his gaze.

"Take your shirt off, baby. Let me see what you're wearing."

You tug your shirt off, thankful there aren't any buttons or ties to impede your progress. Jake’s groan at the sight of the lace covering your breasts sends goose bumps over your skin.

His voice is reverent as he walks around you.

"God, baby. You killed me this morning. Wearing that pretty little skirt and those high heels. I wanted to bend you over and fuck you until you were leaking my cum."

He stops before you, pressing his thumb between your parted lips. He dips it in until it's wet with your pooling saliva and drags it down your throat. His finger drags over the soft flesh of your breasts, leaving a cool, damp trail as he pays special attention to the peaks of your nipples. 

He continues walking, stopping at your back and dragging you in until your back is flush against his chest. He positions you with both hands until you're centered with the camera. He keeps up a filthy litany of praise as he carefully uses his thumbs to drag your bra cups down, sending your tits spilling free. His hands immediately find their way to fondle and caress them, calloused fingers kneading and squeezing until your hips are canting unconsciously, searching for additional stimulation. 

His smile is filthy when he finally pulls you away, intertwining your fingers with his and leading you to his plane.

"Put your hands on my plane, baby. And whatever you do, don't take them off."

You can't resist your soft moan as you do exactly what he says after unfastening your bra. You can't see his face, but you can feel his lips in the hollow behind your ear as he grinds his stiff cock against your ass. 

"Stay there, baby. Gonna take these trousers off so you don't get in trouble if we make a mess."

Your nipples are pebbled in the cool air as you wait for Jake to return to you. You can hear the clink of the belt buckle and the rustle of fabric as he drags the garment off before padding back to you. His hands trail teasingly over your sensitive skin as he brackets your waist. His thumbs rub soothingly at your waist as he peppers kisses across your bare shoulders. Jake then carefully drags the zip at the back of your skirt down and eases it off your hips.

It pools to the ground at your feet, and you shudder at the feeling of his hand on your ass as he collects it and sets it on a chair in your line of sight. He's gorgeous. You can see every line of his muscles and the bulge of his erect cock in his boxers. The only thing you're wearing now is your thong. He slides the flimsy lace off, and that's when you feel his breath across your hole.

"Oh, baby. You're so wet. Wet for your Lieutenant, huh?"

He blows a stream of air over you, and you can feel your hole clench at the sensations. 

"What do you want me to do to you, baby? How do you want to cum? On my tongue? On my fingers? On my cock? You gotta tell me, sweetheart."

Your voice is breathy as you babble, "All of them, Jake! I want your tongue, your fingers, and your cock. It's been so long since I came. Please!"

He kisses your shoulder before kneeling and burying his tongue between your thighs. Each brush has you practically sobbing with pleasure. It's been so long since you came that it's only a few minutes before his tongue brings you to the brink of your orgasm. You're already chanting his name, your moans echoing through the hangar.

"Cum," he growls, his mouth still sealed to your cunt, and you're only too happy to comply, your hands scrabbling for something to squeeze on as you ride out the waves of your orgasm on his tongue.

He pulls away after a few minutes and turns you around. His mouth is on you instantly, nipping at your breasts before he kisses you hard. You can feel how hard he is against your thigh as you sink to your knees and free him from the constricting fabric.

It's only fair that you return the favor. So you start with kitten licks flicking across the head of his cock. Each tender pass of your tongue has him moaning. It's not long before his hands find their way into your hair, holding the loose strands in a ponytail at the back of your head. You use the extra leverage to begin deep-throating him in earnest. You use as much suction and saliva as possible, moaning wantonly as he fucks your mouth. His pants and grunts send heat pooling into your cunt as he approaches his orgasm. But before you can convince him to come on your tongue, he jerks himself off over your tits, spurting his release over your skin in hot thick ribbons.

There is a feral look in his eyes at the sight of you like that on your knees, and Jake lopes over to your cameras, carefully grabbing one. He drapes his dog tags around your neck and carefully snaps pictures of the pearl necklace he'd given you. He lays the camera onto the chair before coming back to you.

"Do you still want me to fuck you?"

"Yes." Your consent is less words and more a cock-drunk mewl, but Jake interprets it correctly.

"Can you get on all fours for me?"

You're only too eager to comply, positioning yourself under his eager hands as he takes his spot against your ass.

"I don't have any condoms, baby. How do you want to do this?"

"I'm on the pill, Jake. Please, fuck me. Fuck me raw."

He groans before pressing himself inside you. The slow drag of his big cock as it presses into you has your pulse racing. Jake keeps the pace purposefully slow, using his hands at your hips to hold you still as he deliberately fucks into you. It's so good that each press has you screaming, and you've long since reached the cliff of your orgasm. But what Jake's giving you just isn't enough. That's when you start wiggling your hips to meet his thrusts.

The first heavy smack of his palm against your ass has you freezing completely, caught in the pain-pleasure-pain sensation his hand is wringing out of you. The second has you moaning, your pussy fluttering around his length. His groan is near musical as he continues to smack your ass. Each smack brings you closer to your orgasm, and you're practically begging for it now. You wail when he begins to fuck you again in earnest. His balls smack against the hot skin of your ass as you finally let yourself cum. 

Your orgasm is so strong and intense that you black out. When you come to, you're cradled against Jake's chest, his hand tracing lazily over your back. You're both still under his jet. You prop yourself up on his chest with shaking arms and groan at the sensation of cum dripping out of you. It’s several long moments before you rise carefully on wobbly legs. But the sight you see when standing has your cunt clenching in need again. Jake’s torso is now covered in droplets of the mixture of both of your cum. You grab your camera and take a picture of that too.

Jake grins as he collects the bundle of your clothes and follows behind you to the bathroom. You can’t help the gasp leaving your lips as you see yourself in the mirror. He’s marked up your decolletage, and now is when you can feel the painful sting in your ass. 

“God, baby. Let me take a picture of your ass? It looks beautiful. You can see my whole hand on it.”

You groan as he presses a kiss against the sore cheek before positioning you and taking the pic. All you can see is the globe of your ass, the handprint, and the cascade of your hair down your back.

“Are you sure you didn’t pick the wrong calling, Jake?  You could’ve been a fantastic photographer if you’d chosen to.”

“Oh, I’m sure, darlin’. I love flying too much to regret my decision. And flying brought me to you.”

You grin before beginning to clean yourself up. Jake can’t resist kissing you, and you can’t resist kissing him back, either. Before long, you’re all clean and dressed in your underwear, blouse, and skirt again. Jake even has your shoes and chivalrously kneels to slide them onto your feet. He’s back in his trousers, this time sans the leather jacket. You can’t resist trailing your fingers across his skin and wrapping your arms around his neck as you kiss him. But you have to break away from him. You only add to his current look by slinging his dog tags around his neck.

Back in the hangar, you’re packing up your cameras after ensuring your home movie is saved when the door to the hangar opens. It’s a security guard, and you’re glad he didn’t pop in earlier.

“Hello, miss. I just wanted to check in and make sure everything is alright.”

“Yes, everything is fine, officer. I just finished a photo shoot with my last client, and we’ll leave shortly.”

"Alright, miss. We have to restrict access to the hangar at 11 pm. It's about 9:30 now, so finish up and head on your way."

You can hear Jake opening the curtain to the changing room behind you and can see the Officer's position stiffen as he catches sight of the medals on his breast.

"Sir, apologies, I wasn't aware that the client she mentioned was military."

He's falling over himself, and you can see the smug smirk on Jake's face as he grins and walks the officer out. You can't help grinning as you finish packing your lenses and begin unplugging your laptop after saving all the footage you’d captured today. You know Jake is back when you feel an arm wrap around your waist. You lean easily back into his expensive-smelling embrace and can't resist sagging against him for a few moments.

"It's been a long day, huh, darlin'?" He presses a kiss against your jaw. "Let's get you packed up and home."

You smile at the new, softer side of him and kiss his jaw.

"I'm all packed up. Walk me to my car?"

"'Course, sugar. Give me your camera bag. D'you need to check on anything else before we head out?"

You pad over to all the electrical outlets, hitting the switches on power strips to ensure nothing is still on. The final place you check via phone flashlight is the area under Jake's jet. You're wearing all of your clothing. You just want to make sure you haven't made a mess with your extracurricular activities.

"I cleaned it all up already, baby. It was when you were knocked out after your orgasm." 

You startle, having grown used to his presence over the past few hours.

"Then let's head out?" 

You relinquish your camera bag to him, keeping your oversized tote on your shoulder as the two of you stride out of the hangar. You lead him to the small parking lot to the side and pop the trunk for your car, thankful you'd decided to drive to the airfield. 

"Let me give you a ride to your hotel. It's the least I can do after keeping you so late."

"Darlin', I should be thanking you. I haven't cum like that in a long time."

You've seen the man completely naked and writhed in pleasure at his touch. You shouldn't be so flustered in his presence. But you can't explain the catch in your breath as he opens the driver's side door for you before loping around to the passenger side and settling in. Everything between you and Jake doesn't feel like the aftermath of a hot frantic sexual encounter. It feels like a date.  You feel light and easy as you cruise back into the city. The silence between the two of you is comfortable. It’s not long before you drop him off in front of his hotel. He presses a kiss against your lips before swaggering in. And you head home to your small New York apartment, feeling the ghost of his presence as you go.

The next morning, you’re glad you chose to work from home because the first pictures you edit are the ones you’d taken of Jake and the ones he’d taken of you as well as your home movie. You can’t resist fingering yourself as your moans and his grunts spill out of your computer speakers. You don't have to do much editing there, but you carefully load the incriminating footage onto two flash drives — one for you and one for him. The photos for the Navy, too, are edited in no time flat. 

It's in the afternoon when you head into the studio. When you get in, you're surprised to see all the Daggers, your boss, your team, and two Admirals waiting for you. Your boss runs the show, introducing and greeting them before the floor is ceded to you. You show the assembled guests the pictures you'd taken for the Navy. 

The pictures are well received, especially the photos of Lieutenant Trace. You wink cheekily at her as Admirals Simpson and Mitchell praise the juxtaposition of those shots. As you show the last picture, you can finally breathe. Your boss is proud, especially as the Admirals turn to her and approve the pictures. But you have one final set of pictures to deliver.

"Lieutenant Seresin, apologies. I found this in my bag this morning. It was lying in the changing room when I looked through it to ensure everyone had taken their things. It must've fallen out of the pocket of your flight jacket."

His smirk is salacious as he accepts the flash drive from your hand, apologizing for leaving it there. You hand him a note, too, and leave the room. You would pay to see the look on his face when he sees what you’ve written on it.

Jake -  Thanks for last night. Call me the next time you're in New York. I'd love to do it again. It certainly was a photo finish. XXX - XXX - XXXX

I DO NOT CONSENT TO HAVE MY WORK POSTED, TRANSLATED, OR PUBLISHED ON ANY SITES OTHER THAN HERE OR ON AO3 BY ME. IF YOU SEE MY WORKS ANYWHERE OTHER THAN HERE OR AO3, THEN THEY HAVE BEEN POSTED WITHOUT MY PERMISSION AND I WILL BE WORKING TO TAKE THEM DOWN.

Taglist:

@desert-fern 🎥 @dakotakazansky 🎥 @bobby-r2d2-floyd 🎥 @roosters-girl 🎥 @sarahsmi13s 🎥 @bradleybeachbabe 🎥 @lovinglyeternal 🎥 @roosterforme 🎥 @horseshoegirl 🎥

[bonefall]

Does Wildfur (cat mentioned as having their back broken and dying of lung infection) get any expansion? They're only mentioned once but knowing how bad the family trees are im guessing they've been stuffed in somewhere (plus i love the name)

My DUDE!!!

MASSIVE expansion. GIGANTIC one. ACTUALLY shows up on screen and is an important supporting character, I actually need to re-do this character summary at some point because it leaves a LOT of the new stuff out.

Wildfur is going to show up as an important character in two side stories; Blackstar's, and a brand new novella for Cinderpelt.

Cinderpelt's is just a fun side novella about her friendship with Littlecloud. I don't even really have a message in mind for it. It's just exploring the brief but fascinating era where the Clan cats were trading with BloodClan.

Wildfur gets disabled by a car in that one, and Cinderpelt and Littlecloud put their heads together to invent that mobility device.

I want to show the "evolution" of some technologies as the series progresses, so this is the mobility device that Jessy eventually improves upon for Briarlight!

It helps him overcome a really bad state of depression, which was what was causing him to lay around and catch infection over and over.

In Blackstar's SE, Wildfur's just a friend of Blackstar's.

He's an example of the sorts of cats that TigerClan and Brokenstar would have discarded or given up on. Blackstar's SE is about him sitting with that.

I kinda want him to be the father of Ambermoon through surrogacy. Brightheart and Cloudtail are the bioparents. He just kinda feels like a dude with a punk daughter with a name like that.

He goes on the Great Journey in that mobility device, but needs to be carried at several points.

The Clans aren't going to leave behind the old and disabled like in canon jesus christ. That was super fucked up actually

"Elders are respected and cared for :)" my ASS

In terms of personality;

He's super vain and haughty, VERY proud person. Rockstar vibes.

Takes great care of his hair

Different people take their disability differently, especially when it massively alters your life. Compared to Briarlight, Wildfur actually had an easier time adjusting once his depression subsided.

Unlike Briar, he was never a very active or athletic person.

He doesn't mind being an elder, it means he gets to do whatever he wants and boss apprentices around. Pretty sweet deal tbh.

Campbound activities are more his style. He keeps an extra eye on the kits, likes to help out kitchen patrol. Has a lot to do with flax processing.

[hazel-of-sodor]

Day 11 A-Stalled

Day 11 A-Hill

Other Stories

Other Days

Thomas was sitting on a siding next to the mainline sheds at Tidmouth, resting in the sunlight pleasantly. Or he would be if not for the commotion in the sheds. Percy had taken a train of skate to Kellsthorpe Road, but had stalled on the Maron Incline, Gordin’s Hill.

James and Henry of course delighted to tease him about it, which led to Percy bringing up the times they had gotten stuck on the hill.

Soon the engines had all been fussing over who had the least stalls on the hill.

“It's named Gordon's hill!” James said triumphantly, "It can't be him.”

 Gordon cracked open an eye to fix an unimpressed look on the mogul. “I only stalled on the hill once, shortly after I arrived on the island, and there was no established banker for the hill at the time. The trucks began calling it Gordon’s hill after that, and despite everyone else's innumerable failures to climb the hill, the name stuck.”

“Gordon probably has it then.” Henry said ruefully, “I think everyone else has stalled at least twice.”

Edward tilted his head thoughtfully “I'm not certain about that Henry. I can't recall Thomas ever stalling on the hill.”

“Of course he has!” James snapped, “he's one of the smallest here.”

“Then when?” Edward asked simply.

The engines all paused, thinking before slowly turning to the tank engine.

Thomas tried to ignore the questioning looks, but eventually gave in with a sigh, “I don't remember ever stalling there. I might have, but I don't remember doing so.”

“How?!” James demanded, “there's no way you've never stalled.”

Thomas looked irritably at the mogul, “I just said it's possible I have, but I don't remember it. I've never been a mainline engine so I don't cross it that often.”

Edward nodded, “Except for the few times they've all been stuck in the shed, you had no reason to climb the hill. Well, other than when you were banker.”

James stared at Edward disbelievingly, “No. There's no way he was banker.”

Thomas glared at the red engine, “What did you think I was doing at Wellsworth your first day?”

“I thought you were just the yard pilot!”

“The Wellsworth Pilot has always acted as banker,” Henry reminded James.

Thomas sighed, “To be fair, I had been given my branchline by the time he was repaired. They finished Wellsworth’s overhaul, although she had not been named that yet, and she relieved me before James returned to service.”

Henry tilted his thoughtfully, “I forgot James never knew you as station pilot.”

Edward chuckled, “that was probably for the better. James bossing him around might have been the thing that made Thomas snap.”

[gallusrostromegalus]

What are Loly and Menoly gonna be like? In the anime&manga they didn't seem to do much besides beating Orihime up and then getting beaten in turn.

Well, until last week I did not know they had canonical names, and I cannot reliably spell "melony" so in the fic they've been renamed Cici (the black haired one with pigtails) and Vivi (the blonde with the pixie cut) , which is much cuter and fits with Aizen's weird double letter thing.

In the fic, they're aware that working for Ulquiorra is UGH, like- so lame. I mean he's kinda cute in a wet kitten sorta way but then he opens his mouth and says the dumbest shit you've ever heard in you life and you also live with Grimmjow so that's a low bar but there he goes, whining about emotions again. Like- we have, like? Prozac? Gin specifically brought you prozac from the human world boss. For you. Specifically. Complaining about being sad and then refusing to do anything about it is like, turbo-lame, you know?

(I may have also given them valley girl accents.)

But anyway, Hime-chan is like, SO COOL. She smuggled like, a ton of stuff in from the human world without Aizen noticing! ...And like half her closet but it was like? Subterfuge? Aizen got sooooo distracted by her wearing like twenty layers of clothes it totally never occurred to him that she might have stuff in the pockets so she brought all kinds of like, candy and nail polish- look how sparkly it is!! Okay, she did also bring her homework and she's kind of a dork but like? That's part of like? The charm? She's so earnest it's kinda sweet and you feel bad, you know?

Anyway, she's totes generous too! Like once she worked out that she wasn't gonna freeze to death, she said that if there was anything we liked we could like, totally have it? And she's sooo smart about like, color-matching- I'm a winter, but Vivi is totally an autumn, and there's a trick to picking out the right pinks and OH-EM-GEE! She totally knows how to tailor clothes too because uh- she's a little overburdened in the chesticular department, you know? Yeah, you know- Anyway, that's where this wicked cool outfit came from!

So like anyway, the thing I came down here for is that Hime-chan is also like, SUPER-GREAT at cooking which is really awesome because the only other person here who knows how to cook is Mr. Tousen and as you know the culinary situation is DIRE- Vivi says that yesterday, she saw Gin just like. Unhinge his jaw and swallow a raw chicken whole. He. Didn't. Even. Take. The. Feathers. Off. And worse? Last week I saw Aizen eating slices of white bread with nothing but mayonnaise.

They weren't even toasted.

So like, understandably, Mr. Tousen is like, MEGA-DEPRESSED and stopped eating which is super-sad so Hime-chan is gonna throw like, a kitchen party to see if we can get him to eat and then she was like- "we should totally invite the other girls!" Because I guess that's what humans are like, but she's really sweet and and she's so smart and she's gonna make like- what did she call them? Oh yeah! Guava-and-bleu cheese macarons! I don't know what they actually like, are? But it'll be good! C'mon it's gonna be cool and fun and there's gonna be a guava please say you'll come?

Tier Harribel, who has been doing an excellent impression of a granite cliff face this whole conversation: ...

Cici: *^*

Tier: ...okay.

Cici: OHEMGEEEEEEYYYAAAY! THIS IS GONNA BE SO MUCH FUN THANK YOU OKAY I'LL SEE YOU AT LIKE SIXISH? BYEEE!

Franceska: ...dude, what?

Tier: I have no idea, but I am extremely bored and actually borderline curious about this 'guava' thing.

[thevernofficial]

Contacting your Rep 101

Hello my dear people!

I was chatting with one of my friends recently and we were chatting about contacting a representatives office because she didn't know who to call or what to say.

So (for the Americans) here is some advice from me:

(Disclaimer while I work in politics I do not represent the beliefs of the people I work for) (also every office is a little different)

Finding your Rep

Okay, here is the thing. We can only technically take opinions from Residents of our state. So its important that you find YOUR state representatives.

Find some by zip code here:

Generally your specific state will also have a website with state and federal representatives.

2. Call vs Email

So, many places will have email options rather than call. I will let you know at least for my office calls or voicemails are kept track of more often. We have a team of people on the phone lines.

I don't know if this is the case in other offices. But in general (if your comfortable with talking with someone for 2 minutes) calling is better than emailing. On those contact my rep info sites they also have the main phone lines for your representative.

3. What do you say?

I have a bit of a script here for those who have never called or are nervous about talking with an intern on a phone line.

Intern: (THE POLITICIAN) office how can I help you?

You: Hello my name is __________ I am a constituent of (THE POLITICIAN) and a resident of (YOUR STATE). I am calling today about (YOUR OPINION HERE). My phone/email is ______________.

Intern: Thank you for your voice and opinions. I want to assure you (Script that has been given to the interns). Is there anything else I can help you with today?

You: Yes/No. (If yes state more opinions and cycle repeats).

Intern: Have a lovely day then!

I have to say how IMPORTANT it is to say your name. In our office logs we take down all the names to send to our boss to know that there are different people calling in their opinions.

4. How many times?

In general we tend to notice if the same number has popped up more than 3 times in a day. Then we can't log it as a new opinion anymore. But if you call once a day, we record a new log for politicians everyday so you can get your name on the daily list again.

5. Does this even matter?

YES. I cannot stress enough. YES

CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES!

It's our civic duty to do so. But it also gives staffers of politicians reasons to lean one way or the other (regardless of what you call in about). Every call helps.

We take down the names every day and we listen to all the stories that are sent in. Trust that someone WILL listen to what you have to say and it will be written down and sent to the politicians. That is literally our job.

6. Phone Etiquette

Politics are emotional. These times are emotional. If you need to cry, do it. If you need to cry while on the phone with an Intern, do it. If you need to break away from the script and talk about everyday stories, do it. This is your call. The intern won't judge you for crying on the phone. If you want to shout or express your anger, maybe don't shout at the intern but you can express anger.

But please be nice to the people on the phone. They've had to listen to hundreds or thousands of people in these emotional times. And we're happy to do so. This is why we do this job.

But we're still human. So saying an occasional thank you, might not help your opinion, it does help the person on the other end of the line.

That's all I can think of right now. I hope this helps...for someone at least.

[lizzardwitch]

having too many villain!fran thoughts

thinking about how fran is captured by dai shi and they pull an astronema/tenaya and turn her evil

thinking about the pent-up resentment fran has from being mistreated by the rangers at jkp, having to forsake a lot of her time and body to their effort without anything outside of a measly thank you. going from having to hold things down for them while they fight to now being one of their most dangerous foes from being brainwashed into running on pure rage

thinking about fran having an owl spirit that gets awakened when she becomes a villain, causing her to be even more formidable because she can fly and swoop in on them without warning. even rj isn't safe from this despite mastering the swoop technique

thinking about fran's villain armor being based off of a knight (something something "night owl" pun)

thinking about how fran no longer addresses the rangers by their names, she simply refers to them by their titles (it breaks rj's heart when she only refers to him as 'wolf master' or 'violet ranger')

thinking about fran forming a bond with camille; both of them adore their bosses but feel mistreated by them; however, while rj does it unintentionally, dai shi is intentionally callous, remorseless, and uncaring. the two of them have heart-to-hearts while in the woods together during patrols, and it's fran who lingers in camille's mind once she departs, since fran is the first character to come out and understand what camille's going through

thinking about how rj is absolutely restless until he gets fran back; he's very aware that his and the rangers' neglect facilitated this, and they all feel guilty and want to make it up to her, but he feels exceptionally guilty because he and fran were not only each others' first and best friends since he came to ocean bluff, but he was the boss of the team and he never put in much effort to check on her. he now realizes how terribly they've fucked up and that they can't just get her back, they have to treat her right when she actually comes back.

thinking about how dangerous of a villain fran is, not just because of her animal spirit but due to the sheer amount of intel she has about where the rangers work and live; she could easily have the rin shi swarm them and destroy them by catching them off-guard, but she chooses to put off that plan until later

thinking about fran fighting rj one on one and him absolutely refusing to hurt her; not only would using his wolf spirit be exactly what she wants, he'd rather be put through hell and die than hurt her, and he'd be willing to take a million beatings if it meant he could get her back. at first fran thinks of this as him having a terrible judge of character (no wonder lily got it into her head that she could help camille, she berates him for this), but in reality, he's determined to right his (and the other rangers') wrongs and shower his girlfriend with the affection and appreciation she deserves but was never given

thinking about how camille would feel betrayed and jealous upon seeing how forgiving fran is and how apologetic rj is; betrayed because of how she felt she & fran had bonded and understood one another so well only for her to go back to the one they called "enemy", and jealous of how much rj adored fran to the point where he was willing to acknowledge how terribly he and the team treated her and that it wouldn't happen again, knowing that dai shi would never be that considerate towards her despite having devoted her life to him

thinking about how this entire experience has fran consider the way she bottles up her emotions and doesn't feel like she's able to express herself to the extent that she wishes, especially with her tendency to simply absorb neglect like due to her shyness and low self-worth. she encourages herself to be more open about her emotions because she doesn't wish to let her negative emotions build up and eventually turn her into that same monster again with dai shi's influence

thinking about how, knowing that she has an animal spirit she can utilize in combat, fran could hone her skills and perhaps even join her friends amongst the ranger ranks. for now, they work to treat her as someone just as important to their family, with or without an animal spirit or colored spandex

thinking about fran, all the time. every day. how she deserved so much more and was given so little.

[maddieandangel]

Given the new Chapter 3/4 dialogue sneak peeks we got from the latest UTDR newsletter, I wanted to bring back this snippet of an old post from one of my other blogs:

Those lines REALLY give me hope that we'll actually be getting some sort of "Rouxls and Queen show up to Cause Problems On Purpose for the Fun Gang in the name of Comedy" scenario!! Or at least Rouxls and somebody, since Queen hasn't actually been confirmed to show up outside of Castle Town. I don't know what the E's mean at the start of each line (..."expression", maybe??), but Rouxls' "We're just hereth for the Snackse" and Lancer's "Oh-ho! You want some treats of the trade?" seem like they could be connected! They've both got that food theme, at least. So maybe Rouxls and Lancer team up for a silly fight? Father-son bonding in the form of being a mostly-harmless obstacle together asgsdgf <3. Or Lancer could help you fight Rouxls in some way possibly.

I'm more inclined to assume that this scene happens sometime in Chapter 3, rather than Chapter 4? Since both Rouxls and Lancer are still in Kris' inventory at the end of Chapter 2, and Chapter 3 will most likely begin with everyone already inside the new Dark World. So the two cards are basically guaranteed to make an appearance there! And also Toby seems to imply that, when the newsletter was being written, Chapter 4's localization process hadn't quite started yet. But there's nothing to say that they won't continue to stay in Kris' pocket for further Chapters despite the dangers of being statue-ified. I sure hope they'll be in every chapter, at least!

This scene happening in Castle Town might also be an option, though! And I've seen someone else speculate that Ralsei's "get ready for another fight" line might point to some sort of boss/enemy rush, which is a thing you can do in Castle Town's Dojo! So possibly Rouxls crashes a dojo challenge?

Though as I read through the dialogue again, (while also assuming that the E's are for whatever expression sprite is shown alongside the text, and not any sort of indicator for the order or time the lines are said), I'm inclined to say that the scene does actually take place inside the new Dark World, during the main story's events and not a post-Chapter side thing. Seeing as Ralsei only mentions Kris, maybe the party gets split again and Susie's not with them at the time? And after getting through some unrelated fights (some generic enemy encounters? Or dealing with the Dark World's actual antagonist(s)?), Ralsei and Kris finally find Rouxls, perhaps after he had once again run off to do his own thing at the start of the Chapter. He's also with at least one other person; possibly Lancer, possibly Queen (highly unlikely if it's Chapter 3 but as a Queenkaard Enjoyer I can have hope lmao), possibly someone new who he just met in this Chapter. And Ralsei immediately assumes that Rouxls is gonna start another fight, since that's what he did last time. But nope! Ralsei is wrong! Rouxls is just in the area for some snacks. He's not interested in a battle. Maybe he understands now that the Fun Gang is stronger than he initially thought, and that he won't be able to defeat them in a fight. Maybe he's even on their side permanently now and has no reason to oppose them---he does seem to still be trying to serve Queen even after Chapter 3, after all, as seen in Queen's room in that Chapter 3 preview/status update back in 2022. Regardless, that Lancer line is a separate image, so it's possible that it's from an entirely different scene. But again, it's got that same food/snack theming to it, so it could also be part of the scene and just a couple lines after the Ralsei and Rouxls exchange! Lesser Dad and son bonding moments? Please? Maybe Lancer followed Rouxls out of Kris' pocket this time around and they've just been hanging out in the new Dark World together <3 dgshshf

[amemenojaku]

Hisami and Zanmu for 1 on that ask game!

When I started shipping it if I did: Since day 1 when I read Hisami's dialogues, like most people I believe lol. I mean, how can you see her and not start cheering for her to get what she wants... Since it's still pretty recent I can add that two lines in particular made me seriously consider it and think about it beyond 'this is nice/funny': when Hisami tells Zanmu that she doesn't have to hold back around her, and when Zanmu tells Hisami that she knew Hisami would mess up on purpose, and that she'll give her a reward anyway - both are about danmaku obviously, but it got my brain gears turning >:]

My thoughts: They've slowly but steadily been going up my favorite ships, especially for the past 2-3 months... They work well together. Obviously I'd love the ship in touhou where one of them has a big fat actual canon crush on the other one, I've been in this hole since 2010 or something so Hisami's kind of a gift... but also in general I think it's a good spin on the boss/henchman trope when the boss is some mega charismatic chessmaster who could probably get anyone they want on their knees and yet their subordinate is one of the only people they can't fully predict/control. The wild card aspect is really funny to me and I love seeing fanworks where Zanmu's like... fondly sighing at Hisami's antics.

Things done in fanworks that annoy me: I think there's too many fanworks where Zanmu looks generally uncomfortable around Hisami despite never doing so even once ingame, and also too many fanworks where Hisami harasses Zanmu, sometimes to make very early 2000s jokes in very poor taste... I won't name anyone but there's a few big yuri artists on twitter who do that and it makes me want to bash my head against the wall when they get praised for it just because their artstyle looks good..... On a more positive note there's a few people who've been creating constantly good content of this pair and I think given a year or two nature will be healing!!

Also I'm of the opinion that Zanmu's fairly tall herself, just a bit shorter than Hisami, so I'm not big on the crazy size difference stuff (funny coming from a seishin fan, I know......)

Things I look for in fanworks: MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING!!! Getting to know each other past the infatuation (in Hisami's case)/the curiosity (in Zanmu's case) in deeper ways. I promise this isn't about sex lol (I do think about that too but not here rn) I really want to see how their relationship can grow and I especially want to see Zanmu enjoying it (as a petty reaction to the stuff listed above...). In their case I think physical intimacy would be a good setting for that kind of scene where their emotional bond grows, so that's what I'd go with if I were to create something like it, but anything can work if it's done in good taste imo. And in general I want to see Zanmu answering Hisami's affections with a positive emotion... whatever it is... I'm desperate.......

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: It's difficult for me to imagine Hisami with anyone else, although I do think she'd have physical relationships with a bunch of women while her feelings for her boss are still unrequited. Zanmu on the other hand I can picture being interested in a few other characters like Reimu or other onis or even the sages, but ultimately not as something she'd commit to and take seriously. The only real endgame is still zanhisa haha

My prefered future/ending for them: Whenever Zanmu considers them close enough to tell Hisami to drop the honorifics and overly reverent language when they're alone, and whenever Hisami feels comfortable doing that would be the ideal "endpoint" for me because of all the things it implies :) I don't care if at that point they actually consider themselves in a relationship or if they just aknowledge there's something going on. Though if they do get in a relationship proper I imagine they'd be very discreet about it. Also I think Hisami should get a promotion so she can directly work as Zanmu's prefered right hand arm man. woman. her everything. her confidant. her silly rabbi

What is their favorite activity together: Probably drinking. I imagine with how old she is and hanging out with onis Hisami's built up a decent hold on alcohol, and Zanmu appreciates it. They reminisce about their respective pasts and talk about the inner workings of hell and Zanmu gets a huge ego boost from showing off her 4D chess plans and Hisami praising her for it

[puckish-rogue-archive-deux]

Lore Dump: The Chairmen

Note: The Chairmen is a concept that I've been playing around with in my head for some time now, and was made in order to expand on my own interpretation of the SR universe given that the original series has been done with for some time now. I would also like to clarify that while this is going to be a somewhat brief summary and work off of vague ideas, please expect this post to be expanded upon at some point in the future once I've fleshed out more ideas. Additionally, I would also like to encourage anyone reading this, who may be interested in having crossover threads with The Boss and my version of SR, to incorporate The Chairmen in one way or another if that's something that happens to interest you. All I ask is for you to talk to me about these ideas, and to just have fun with it.

Many decades ago, during what some may consider the golden age of organized crime, a handful of gang leader's—all fairly powerful in their own right—had come together inside of a bar in order to discuss growing concerns they had over the state of the criminal underworld. Not only had it become quite hard to maintain their respective businesses, what with the increased presence of law enforcement cracking down on seemingly anything they did. But the need to adapt to an ever-changing world had led to many of them questioning just how long they could keep their very young empires afloat.

So, after what seemed to be hours worth of discussions, and several rounds of drinks, these men had all come to the conclusion that if any of them were to pursue their lofty ambitions, it would be wise of them to set aside whatever differences they may have and work together. This would prove itself to be mutually beneficial not only in the sense of strength by numbers, but connections, profits, and most of all an increase in power would skyrocket as well.

The Chairmen is what they would name themselves later on in life as they began to amass more and more into their fold. To the point where, if you truly wanted to let the world know how big of a deal you were, then you'd do best to get yourself an invitation to their Board of Directors. Something which only the most noteworthy of gang leader's even have the slightest change of making it on to.

While The Chairmen aren't considered a group that oversees the entirety of the criminal underworld and all who operate within it. They are quite the dominant force, with connections deep within certain spaces such as politics, business, law enforcement, and so on. Most people on the board will do just about anything to expand the legacy they have built off of from decades prior. Others are simply happy to be in a comfortable position that allows them to play around with the power they wield. In any case, they are an extremely dangerous faction with the resources to back them up. And if you were to somehow interfere with their work, well, let's just say it wouldn't be the first time they've completely erased a person's existence in the world.

A Few Facts about The Chairmen:

They are structured similarly to the way a conglomerate is. At the very top are the Board of Directors, which consists of every major gang leader who has proven themselves and earned a seat on the board. Each member of the Board has their gang act as a parent company, which brings in revenue from whatever businesses are done under it. Below the parent companies are small gangs that are considered subsidiaries. They are heavily monitored and must pay a large tribute in order to remain within The Chairmen's proverbial safety net.

Subsidiaries have the potential to earn a seat on the Board in several different ways. The following are just some; impressing the Board of Directors, replacing a previous member of the Board either by their firing or total destruction, arguing for a position, and so on.

The Board of Directors are, more or less, in a neutral alliance with one another. No member will interfere with the work of another unless it is to provide assistance of some kind. However, provided assistance must be repaid at some point or another. Failure to do so will result in the member who had requested the help to be punished in some fashion.

Bi monthly "business retreats" are the main way in which The Chairmen gather together as a whole in order to discuss what may be going on in their respective ventures, and with the world at large. Outside of that, they are more than welcome to keep in contact with anyone they wish to.

The current iteration of the Board of Directors is more than 5 but less than 15.

Members of the Board reside from different parts of the world and are wildly different than what the group considers their "founding fathers".

Some have kept up with the antics of the 3rd Street Saints for far longer than The Boss currently realizes.

[fantasyinvader]

I was watching a video on why Japanese media is so focused on youth, especially high school. The TLDR is that for the Japanese, high school is romanticized as their last experience with freedom before they enter adulthood. The last time they can just hang with their friends at their own leisure, back before they enter a career and the dreaded Japanese work environment. Rather than looking back at high school as a sucky place, it's viewed as something to long for afterwards resulting in a lot of media romanticizing it in order to cash in on the appeal.

But this just ignores the fact that Japan is a meritocracy, and even during high school there's focus on studying in order to get into a good school, because getting into a good school can result in getting a good job and enjoying financial success. But that's not really the case of what's going on in Japan, as those high paying positions are already filled by people who got to them first. Likewise, in companies people are expected to work not for their own sake but the sake of the company, which can be abused in people required to work unpaid overtime, go to afterhours parties, hell people are criticized for being the first person to leave at the end of their shift while others are doing that unpaid overtime in order to look good. People are meant to follow their elders/superiors, even if those leaders have made mistakes and problems worse, because that's how Japan follows tradition. It's led to problems like Japan's missing generation, how the Japanese economy burst in the late 80's and still really hasn't recovered, and the infamous black companies.

In terms of anime and manga, people just want to escape from modern Japanese society. Not just in using stories set in a high school as a form of escapism, but isekai stories or stuff like Zom 100 where Japanese society collapses and rather than viewing it as hell the protagonists view it as a means to be free and pursue the dreams they've given up on. Or you get slow life stories about people moving from the city to a more relaxing life in the country, as well as all manner of power fantasies where you can just brute force the world into making sense.

In modern Japanese, the word hadou is used to refer to bosses who abuse their power. And at the same time, the devs of Houses believed that people would focus more on the school section of the story. And this got me thinking.

Think about it like this, Edelgard is supposed to represent hadou. She talks a lot about merit, and like a significant proportion of Japanese society doesn't believe in social safety nets. The Japanese text has her state that she's going to put the world back to the way it was, a return to tradition. Likewise, like Japanese society she also believes that change has to come from the top, namely her remaking society the way she believes it should be run. She's also an Imperialist who has been fed historical revisionism, which she never questions despite knowing her real source and their intentions.

Edelgard represents the worst aspects of Japanese society.

Now, go back to that romanticization of the high school experience and how the devs thought people would focus more on the Academy portion of the game. Time passing is a motif of the game, with the Japanese name for the game invoking the passage of the seasons. Time is always going forward (minus the odd divine pulse), it waits for no man and once passed you can't go back. Mechanically, we get the game's calendar system limiting how much grinding we can do in contrast to past FE games with grinding. The story isn't going to stop just because you want to grind EXP or supports. And with the passage of time comes maturity.

Going back to what the devs have said, Edelgard being a villain is meant to be a twist. Supporting her means cementing Fodlan as a meritocracy, a place where people are expected to look after themselves and not rely on others according to her solo ending which shows that her big speech against Rhea was just BS. She'll even admit to walking the path of hadou up until that point, and despite her words that's not longer the case her victory is still supposed to lead to hadou. All this happens because when her mask came off and she was revealed as the Flame Emperor, the player didn't see her for what she was. They saw her as the romanticized school girl she had pretended to be up until that point.

Supporting the system that is most like Japanese society leads to tyranny.

The flipside is oudou. Dimitri's ending was written in direct opposition to Edelgard's and is seen as radical in Japan. Rather than consolidating power on himself, he gives it to the masses so that societal change comes from them, all while he also works to support those in need rather than leaving them to fend for themselves. It's also present in Claude's ending, as he makes a point to bring up stopping Edelgard's hadou. His route sees him mature, realize he was wrong about things, and as a result changes his stance. He also opens up, working with others to accomplish his goals while also realizing that simply erasing lines won't bring people together. His ending sees Fodlan reset and rebuilt in contrast to Edelgard's restoration of the Empire. Finally, it's also present in SS (through the Japanese name for the Sword of the Creator invoking Heaven's Mandate) where Byleth and the Black Eagles don't side with Edelgard after all she's done. Doing the right thing is not always easy, and SS is meant to be the hardest route simply because it means fighting someone that you may been close with. But the alternative is just blindly following your house leader, whose route repeatedly makes her out to be a liar manipulating others for her own gain and again it leads to tyranny. Instead, Byleth takes over as the leader of the Church and their former students.

SS, AM and VW are all supposed to lead to better societies. Lessons that could lead to better a Japan, all tied to the idea of growing up into being a responsible adult rather than expecting the person on top to magically solve everything. If anything, it makes this obsession with the freedom of youth and high school Japan out to be an issue holding it back. Japanese society has plenty of problems and whatever your poison escapism isn't going to solve them. People stepping up and taking control of their own lives rather than just having blind faith in their leaders, supporting and empowering each other rather than believing that people only get what they earn, adopting new points of view rather than regressing to tradition, even taking in the perspective of outsiders, all of those things can help make things better. This longing for high school, conversely, only leads to how Hideaki Anno once described Japan: A nation of children.

And, really, the fact people make up elaborate headcanons in order to say Edelgard is the real hero despite what the game's creators say? That's just people revealing how childish they really are. After all, Houses had a CERO rating of B, rated ages 12 and up. This game is something that is supposed to be understood by middle-schoolers, yet some folks can't accept that their favorite is a villain who does bad things

[timelessxmemories]

Over The Treetops, Across The Seas.

(Keep in mind that this is a heavy WIP, more may be added or changed in the future, when more does get added, I will reblog with the additional stuff. The name isn't set in stone, it is only an idea.)

Protag: a random ass potato bug

Antag: fuckass monsters & the goddamn universe. Also the Evil Moth.

Plot: Random potato bug gets stranded on the shores of Lilac Cove, is taken in by the mayor of the town who so happens to be a very fancy looking butterfly with a monocle and top hat, player arrives in the town, is fed and given shelter, from there, the player realizes that the town is in absolute shambles and it's now up to them to repair the town and help feed the town and take on quests the villagers ask of them. Alongside this whole situation, the player also has to go into dungeons to defeat monsters and bosses. However, beforehand, the player will also need to obtain a certain ancient crystal after completing 15 quests which are requested by the villagers, which will send a permanent light to the Fairy fountain for the player to find. From there, the player will need to secure a key from one of the villagers after completing yet another quest, once the key is obtained and secured, the player will then finally be allowed into the first dungeon to collect parts and items to rebuild the villagers homes, shops, bridges, etc. There are about 15 dungeons in total for the very first town, this is to drag the beginning on for a while so the player can unlock more story lore without feeling rushed to do so or feeling as if it's all being pushed onto them. Adding onto this, the Fairy Fountain acts as a sort of wish fountain, after completing a whole dungeon the player will receive not only the items they have collected, but also receive 20 Petal Gems to give to the Fairy Fountain and in turn, the player will receive a completely random item. However, each item costs 5 Petal Gems so the player will need to spend wisely.

Petal Gems = Fairy Fountain Currency

Seed Gems = Shop currency.

Going back to the beginning, there is also an Evil Moth who happens to be the brother to the Butterfly mayor of the town. The Evil Moth was envious of his brother because his brother was always the favorite child of their family, this led into the Evil Moth invading his brothers town and destroying it, all the while hiding away The Fairy Fountain as some sort of “punishment” for his brother, effectively placing the town in shambles. The Evil Moth will be the final boss the player will have to face after the Evil Moth had destroyed many other towns and hid away each Fairy Fountain.

Also the bugs of each town live in these little hobbit holes and run their shops in them too. That’s important. To me.

Game will also include farming aspects and is heavily inspired by Dark Cloud.

The player will also have the ability to save anywhere and whenever they wish so they don't have to redo things they've already done and they can come back whenever they want. When the player loads into the game if they go into their inventory, a hint at the top of the screen will tell the player what they need to do so the player doesn't forget or get too lost.

Shoutout to my grandma for randomly sending me this idea, without her I never would have thought of this silly little game idea.

Nobody in the town helps the player other than giving them required items, other than that the whole town and other things are rebuilt by the player and the player alone with small bits of guidance here and there.

When the quests are finally complete, the Fairy Fountain will grant you access to a ship to cross the seas in order to reach the final destination. Eventually, after all others towns are rebuilt and all other side quests are complete, the player will need to go on a sea voyage with enemies to fight and they will have to travel to the new land to see the princess, a praying mantis, who's a praying mantis and the king who is also a praying mantis, there is also a whole new dungeon under water where the player will have to defeat to save and rebuild the kingdom. The player will need to save the kingdom so the king will give the player the magical flute that the player will need to play in order to access the secret room where the Evil Moth is. The princess (did I mention she's a praying mantis?) will also accompany the player to heal them and grant them access to the underwater dungeon.

@satyrsystem , @residentsofeurydice

[eldritch-queern-magicat]

Dear fuck this one's complicated.

Let's see... The original shell had to be based on something to function and give the illusion of a single state of identity. It was based on the most well-behaved, psychologically sedated part. If Galaco was the tattle-tale, I'm what it tattled to. I'm the almighty brat. A level above Seer, and often responsible for final decisions. My thing is, I didn't really want to come out of hiding.

As soon as any identity was given to that shell, it split from me. But one, I didn't want to come out, and two, Seer advised that I let them try something to heal at the time. I made Carol as my new proxy, or eyes up in the front. And he was silent, acting for years without being detected.

You know how video game bosses, once their hp is reduced to a certain point, will become more wild and frenzied? Well, I've been losing control over the last few years, and it freaked me out. It's not that I don't want to heal. But I thought I was supposed to be in charge. And I thought it would be easier to move on from the past. It's like a deep clean of the mind. That scared me.

I kept expecting them to fail at some point with connecting as much as they have. Never mind reaching several of the dangerous ones and integrating them to any degree. Even with Carol around, I don't actually know much of anything about how they've been doing it.

I've also been batshit lately, in the sense of letting irrational emotions run me. Doesn't help any. Seer has been more active in the last year than me, for all that's worth. We used to work as a sort of team. I kept things suppressed, he kept things in line.

I don't know how I feel about using the original shell's last name before fusion with Rhodes. Lilu. It's not the meaning of the name. That it's a Sumerian night demon. It's more about the right to. That name was chosen long after we split. But it's Rhodes's insistence that I can. I think he's trying to make me feel more welcome.

Even though I know I'm trusted less than Seer. We both know that. But he's trying, and I honestly feel like I don't deserve it. He acts like we're old friends, despite that he's talking about the previous Lilu more than me. It's just confusing right now, because everything suddenly changed. I feel like an imposter.

-Lilu 🫐😺

[onedayanauthor]

Okay, come on a little journey with me......

what if Romero and Jackson were actually undercover FBI informants?

The were both born into crime families of some kind. They were both super smart, but when you've got family who are criminals, you will always be seen as a criminal too regardless of who you are/want to be. You get labeled immediately, so it's easier to just be who they think or say you are. Also, they had pressure from their families to commit to the family legacy and lifestyle. But somewhere along the line, the two agreed that shit sucked and that if they were given the option to get out, they would take it. Meanwhile, they are committing to the bit. Doing pretty crimes, making a name for themselves.

At some point, they get caught by the police. (Maybe when they're youngish teenagers when they can still "turn their life around") It's a one in a million chance, but somehow there's an officer who recognizes how brilliant they are and knows someone who knows someone who is an FBI agent. This agent comes in and is like "you can't be an FBI agent, but you guys are lucky because you are smart and you are in just the right circles of crime that we currently need, so I'll make you a deal. Help me bring down a crime boss and your records will be wiped, you will be given new identities and a new place to live, and you will be allowed to live your life how you please."

Jackson and Romero agree. They promised that they would take any out possible and they know this is their best option.

So they go deep cover. They get released from that county jail and immediately start building up their reputation. Romero uses his sister's connection to a man named The Butcher to build their reputation even higher. Do they have to do crimes sometimes? Yes. Do they have to kill people sometimes? Yes. They try to only kill when necessary and only when it will actually help their reputation. It's never for sadistic reasons. Not like Lola. They finally get to the top, Nathan Wesninski.

And they help get him put away... but they didn't have enough to charge him with anything longer than 2 years, so Jackson and Romero are stuck in the crime world for at least a little while longer.

Then Nathan's 2 years are up and he gets out. And suddenly Romero and Jackaon see an opportunity. Nathan's sights are set on his son, so Romero and Jackson use this tunnel vision to begin setting up a trap with the FBI. But they have to be careful and they have to go slow because this really might be the only chance and if Romero and Jackson get caught... well... they've seen firsthand what Lola can do with a knife and they know exactly what sounds a human makes when cut by the cleaver.

So the watch and wait and plan with the FBI.

Then the moment comes. Do Romero and Jackson want to hurt a kid? No. But right now, that kid is the bait for a trap that will free them. So in the grand scheme of things, hurting one last kid is worth it.

They don't have to do much anyway besides manhandle the kid. And hand Lola the dashboard lighter. (Romero ends up having to use the lighter once. But he puts it in the same spot on the kid's face as Lola already did in hopes that the nerves are already burned and it won't hurt as much... his guess was wrong.)

Everything is easy from there. They initially left the stadium in a highway patrol car and then stopped to swap to a Cadillac. At this swap, Jackson was left with the pateol car and Romero and Lola continued on. Jackson was immediately picked up by the FBI. They took the highway patrol car and crash it. One faked death down. One to go.

Romero drove Lola and the kid to the next stop: a local police cruiser. Romero helped the officers get Neil from the Cadillac to the cruiser. Then he was left with Cadillac while they drove away. The FBI pick Romero up too. They stage a "drug deal gone wrong shootout" and now no one should come looking for Jackson or Romero.

They had to wait until it was official--that the Butcher of Baltimore was dead; that his inner circle was either dead (themselves included) or captured; that the feds had gotten plenty of info from the Butcher son--and then finally, Jackson and Romero were free. They were given new names, given new IDs, and a new place to live. Then they were free.

[lilalbatross]

What are your thoughts on the latest season of Fire Country? I thought Bode would of been in jail longer than he was and not allowed back out to fires due to his failure at the test. I don't know why but I was expecting his dad and Manny to be trying to find out the truth and figure out how corrupt the system is and save Bode before he gets hurt or taken down for life never getting out or something.

oh man, okay. first off i wanna say i think the writing on FC is always a bit of a mess. i mean that with love cause this show has burrowed way deeper into my brain than it has any right to, but also it's never gonna get an emmy nom for writing, ya know?

I also thought the prison stuff would last a little longer??? not half the season or anything, but at least like...an entire episode lmao. at the same time i get it, cause Three Rock is so central to the show and we need Bode in Edgewater so the plot can turn, but it also made it feel very much like everything in the finale was for shock value in the moment, without the slightest consideration for how it would affect the plot once they had to actually deal with it

but then that's classic FC really (remember that time Eve was an alcoholic for like two episodes and then it never came up again?)

in terms of everything else:

my biases are no secret, but Vince is easily the best part of the season so far. you can feel the claw marks where he's trying so hard to hold everything together, cause someone's gotta when Bode's in prison and Sharon's fucked off doing whatever. Vince is miserable which means Billy Burke's making kicked puppy faces left and right and i'm just gobbling them up. and bitchy 2x03 Vince had shades of Miles Matheson, which is always a good time

2x01 and 2x02 Sharon didn't feel like Sharon. like at all lol. the writers were trying something and it wasn't working for me. 2x03 she's back, babyyyyy. but also why the fuck has she taken like three demotions if Jake now outranks her. and how long does it take to recover from a kidney transplant, considering the first time skip was only five months and she was at the campaign fire for three months????

loving the moments between Manny and Sharon cause they actually feel like friends, instead of last season where they kept saying they were friends but the vibe was fully just "i am sleeping on my boss' couch and this is weird for everyone"

i'm on the fence about Eve. love her to death, but the handling of her Three Rock transition feels clumsy from a writing perspective. but i'll be patient. also give my girl a love interest who doesn't vanish please i'm begging

Jake's plots feel like nothing so far. i'm hoping s2 will give him more to work with, cause in s1 he was either criminally underutilized or set in opposition to Bode when the show wanted you to root for Bode. which. sucked.

Bode and Gabi, together and as individuals, are always the least interesting part of this show to me. Gabi's engaged to a guy she just met. sure. whatever. i guess that's a thing she'd do. i'm already tired.

Genevieve. i was pissed when they teased this plot in the finale, but actually she's perfect and i love her and they've given her a very french name for some reason????? anyway i want hours and hours of her interacting with Vince cause the Scorsese moment was Everything to me. she's precious. this is my daughter now.