#so it sucks if i get one and don't use it enough

[pompadoriangray]

I understand what you're saying here and I understand where the concern is coming from. this is of course about tv shows and while those are not the fandom circles I run in anymore, the general idea does transfer to other mediums. in one of my fandoms, not even a year and a half had passed since the game's release when people were saying "oh, it's time to shut down [thing] because the fandom is dead," when it isn't and wasn't. which baffled me at the time. people were upset about it (understandably so) because there was no need to do this whatsoever. even if the moderation team had grown tired of dealing with [thing], they could have just as easily handed the reins over to someone else. just deciding that "oh, everyone is going to move on to [new fandom]" is such a weird, short-sighted thing to say. so I know that in today's modern fandom culture this is a genuine concern! younger fandomers are being exposed to fast fashion only to see that sort of thing translated into fast fandom. we're here for a few months after release and then everyone leaves! and that's awful.

but I honestly struggle to be that negative. because I'm still in fandoms for things that came out years and years and years ago. I spent the majority of the last year writing novel-length fics for an almost dead fandom. I'm now writing an effectively novel-length fic that is going to be an even longer coding project for a game that released in early February. even if young fandomers choose to adopt fast fandom practices (and don't get me wrong, this does sucks and does affect us!), we don't have to. and the majority of people my age have not done this. there are still people writing spirk! fast fandom will only become the norm if we all decide to adopt this as the standard, and I for one am not about to do so.

I will also say that this does have a positive slant to it. those people who are ready to drop fandoms after a few months of being in them were never really in them at all. we're all concerned about the increased commercialization of fandom, and that's extremely fair, but I think it is those fast fandomers that are most concerned about that kind of thing. those of us who stick with characters and storylines for the long haul just keep on trucking as they have been, even if the chance of the creator(s) seeing our work (be that art, writing, or meta) diminishes substantially. in those terms, I would even argue that those fast fandomers leaving is a good thing! it frees the rest of us up to really commit without fear of being told that we're not commercially friendly enough.

and just on a personal level, as someone who only ever gets into fandoms after characters have marinated in my brain for a while, I'm perfectly all right with not being super popular and instead being discovered by those people who are late to the party or in it for the long haul ♥

Is it just me or has consuming media started to feel like a chore? Sonic Prime is out now and I want to watch it and join in on the hype and the discussion, but since it’s a Netflix series I can’t just watch the first episode and be caught up right away, I have to binge 8 whole episodes.

There isn’t the fun of talking about a specific episode, gifing scenes and making inside-jokes about parts of dialogue, because all of the small details are lost in the deluge of the overall story. There is no fun to be had waiting for next week, because we are conditioned to just consume and then move on to the next thing.

I’m afraid to get into streaming shows. It feels like such a massive time-investment to binge it all, and pacing yourself is hard when the rest of the fandom is already caught up. You have to exclude yourself from discussion just to be able to appreciate single episodes. And this has started turning me off on TV shows in general, not just the streaming ones, because it no longer feels personal. It feels more like a cultural obligation to watch the latest show. And I don’t think it’s fun to feel like you’re doing chores by watching a show.

I miss the little jokes. I miss talking and theorizing about incidental characters. I miss people catching and commenting on little background details. I miss inside jokes. I miss complaining about release schedules and long hiatuses. I miss looking at upcoming episode titles and incorrectly assuming what’s going to happen. I miss theory-crafting based on details that turned out to be innocuous. I miss fanfiction that becomes outdated the moment the next episode comes out.

I miss having fun.

[gorgeys]

foragers ★ jackie taylor x fem!reader

you force jackie to go foraging with you and she decides to make the most out of your alone time

warnings: SMUT - dry humping, knee thing, biting, making out word count: 1400

"so...what are we doing out here again?" jackie groans from behind you, mindlessly following you deeper into the woods.

you sigh out of frustration, your eyes still fixed to the ground, looking for plants that might be edible.  you had explained this to her about a hundred times already.

"we're foraging," you say pointedly, crouching down to take a closer look at a random plant.

"oh, we're foraging," jackie mocks, raising her hands in faux surrender though your attention isn't anywhere near her.  "my bad," she says with a teasing laugh.

"can you be serious, for like, two seconds, jackie?" you ask, peeking over your shoulder at her. your face is the picture of irritation.

"um, no," she says, reaching down and tucking your hair behind your ear.  her hand affectionately holds the back of your neck.  "what's the point of this anyway?  we've been out here for hours and barely found anything."

her thumb soothingly strokes your skin, and you can't deny that it makes you feel a little more at ease.

"it doesn't matter.  we just need to put in the effort and show that we're contributing in some way," you say.

to jackie, sounds are coming out of your mouth, but she's more focused on the way your lips seem to move in slow-motion and the precious way you look up at her through fluttering eyelashes.

"the longer we're stuck here, the crazier everyone's gonna get.  we need to make sure we have some sort of role to play so no one has a reason to..."

"to what?  get rid of us?  kill us?  i think you're starting to go a little crazy," jackie says with that carefree smile of hers.

"yeah, maybe," you say, standing up to meet jackie face-to-face.  her hand still lingers on the back of your neck.  "but foraging is easy enough."

you weakly smile at her, but she can see the stress written between your brows.  you've been on edge since the plane crash, always worrying about something.  even though you tried your best to hide it, jackie could tell.

"why don't you just relax a little, huh?" she says, both her hands now finding your neck.  they trail downward, softly tracing over your collarbone, then your shoulders, then your sides.  there's an unmistakable excitement in her eyes.

"jackie," you warn, just before she grabs your hips and pulls you into her, eliciting a soft grunt from the back of your throat.  it only motivates her more.

"lemme help you relax," she says with a lopsided grin.

her hips push into yours as she turns you slightly and guides you backwards.  after nearly stumbling over a fallen branch, your back hits a tree trunk with a thump.

without another thought, jackie's lips attack your neck.  her lips eagerly kiss and suck on your fragile skin, leaving trails of saliva in their wake.  she felt you like this in weeks, so she's more desperate and sloppy than usual.  she wants to consume as much of you as she can, as quickly as you'll let her.

"jackie, someone could see," you say, sounding whinier than you intended, your hands tangling in her bouncy hair like second nature.

"we've been walking for hours, no one's out here," she reassures you, her rapsy voice barely above a whisper.  her fingers start to creep under your shirt, a cool contrast to your warm skin.   "besides, i haven't had you like this in forever," she groans.

she suddenly bites down on the column of your throat, causing you to hiss in response.

"jackie!"  her name leaves your lips, something between a reprimand and a moan, as you throw your head back against the tree.  "marks?"  it had always been something you guys were careful of back home.

"you're so whiny," she mumbles, and you can feel her smiling into your neck.  she loves it.  "forget about everyone else.  you can tell 'em we got attacked by a deer or something."

she bites down in a different spot, and you're about to protest, but her knee finds its way in between your legs and the words die in your throat.  jackie notices and looks up from your neck.  she can see the worries starting to fall from your face, replaced by pleasure.

jackie's hands find your bare back just above your waist.  she pulls you into her while slowly grinding her knee against the crotch of your jeans.  pride immediately washes over her as your mouth falls open and each breath becomes heavier than the last.

"that feels good, doesn't it?" she says, lips ghosting over yours.  she doesn't give you time to respond before she's repeating the same motion.

"mhm, feels good," you say, voice slightly higher pitch.  usually it would take a little more friction and a lot less layers to get you panting like this, but you've been so touch-starved since the crash that you're practically moaning every time jackie even grazes you.

your hands leave jackie's hair and grab her by the jacket to pull her into a needy kiss, tugging her so hard that one of her hands leaves your back to brace herself against the tree.  seeing you with a fistful of her varsity jacket drives her absolutely insane and you know it.  she sucks on your bottom lip hard enough to bruise and pushes her tongue into your mouth.

"jackie," you moan against her lips.  your hips are now working with her knee, trying to produce as much friction as possible.  "you're doing so good," you say, knowing she's a sucker for praise.

she feels herself throb in her cargo shorts, so hard that a quiet moan sneaks past her lips.

"fuck, i missed you," she curses, hand moving up your back under your shirt.  "wanna make you cum so bad."

you whimper at her words, starting to rut yourself against her leg even faster than before.  jackie helps you by pressing her knee even harder into your clothed cunt.  she feels like she's on fire watching how desperate you are to reach your release.  how desperate you are for her to help you get there.

"shit, m'gonna," you warn her after an embarrassingly short amount of time.  your grip tightens on her jacket.

"let go for me," she says, holding your face in her hand so that you can't run from her eye contact.  "please," she begs.  "i need it."  that does it.

"oh, fuck, fuck, fuck, don't stop," you moan, hips bucking into her knee one last time before you're arching and cumming in your panties.

she keeps grinding her knee into you, face beaming with satisfaction as she watches that familiar expression find your face.  she couldn't get enough of it, no matter how many times the two of you had done this.  her ego would be unbearable for the rest of the day knowing she was the one who made you feel like this.

only when you came down from your high did jackie stop.  before she could say anything, you found her lips in a long, gentler kiss.  when you pulled away, her eyes were still squeezed shut and her lips were attempting to follow yours.  you couldn't help but smile: she was just too cute.

once her eyes opened, she looked back at you with so much adoration.

"how was that?" she asked, slightly out of breath, though she already knew the answer.

"i needed that," you say, hand coming up to cradle her face.  she leaned into your touch.  "i missed you too."

she looks absolutely giddy to hear you say that, so much so that she leans in and gives your lips a quick peck.

"wasn't that so much better than looking for berries or whatever?" she asks, hands holding your waist.

"yeah, but we need to find something before we go back so we can at least pretend that we were productive," you say, thumb caressing her cheek.

"hey!  i considered that very productive, actually," she says with that smug, suggestive smirk of hers.

"i don't know if they will, though.  especially when they see these," you say, gesturing to your neck where a few bruises are beginning to form.

"sorry, i got excited," she shrugs, though she doesn't look very sorry.  nevertheless, she leans down and places a kiss on each bruise.  "you're too cute not to eat."

"yeah, yeah," you smile, playfully pushing her off of you.  "you can apologize by finding us some berries before sundown.  preferably ones that won't kill us."

[thetadispatcher]

"It's fine, no harm done." Sure the interaction had been far more unpleasant for him, but it hadn't damaged him in anyway. It had merely left the sensitive sensors in his hand tingling and caused him to be forced to reboot, but the information he'd been forcefully given hadn't corrupted his memory or been corrupted itself.

He'd been able to make sense of and properly view the overwhelming amount of data once he'd come back online, the entire event had only taken a few seconds so Strasky didn't have the time necessary to start thinking he'd broken Dan. So, the android only had to deal with the man apologizing for not warning him sooner, and for the things he'd been forced to witness.

Dan was just glad he now had a system to keep Strasky from getting worked up over seeing the androids Brent was currently building. He only had to get someone to distract the man well Brent preformed the functions test on them as that caused the skin to activate, making it harder for Strasky to look at them and keep his composure. So he had Sixty play the distraction as Brent preformed the test on the newly completed android.

Sixty did as he'd been silently instructed to do, he began fiddling with something breakable which caused Strasky to quickly try to get the item away from him. The RK800 played keep away with the man until Brent shut the android down and set it aside with the first one, then he let Strasky snag the glass decoration from him and set it back on the shelf.

"I estimate this will take an hour to complete the entire order, now that the new computers are here." Brent responded calmly, he was clearly used to dealing with impatient humans given how well he handled the behavior. "If you wish to, you can join the military units in the dining room. I believe they are playing a card game, one where you win by lying. So it should be entertaining for you, even if you cannot join in on one of their more extreme rules." The JB300 felt Agent Bishop would likely enjoy the games the military units played, even if he couldn't use the tool they did to weaken and shut down most of their functions.

Personally, he didn't understand why they liked to play something that was a less extreme version of roulette, but as long as it kept them entertained he wouldn't judge.

Vincent glanced at his black and purple uniform as Peter giggled to himself, he wasn't as accustomed to the human's strange behavior as Dan was. So, the AP700 would find himself frequently trying to understand the odd and cryptic things the human said to him. He only stopped when Dan mentally reminded him that it was best to just brush it off, seeing as Peter likely just found noting Vincent's favorite color funny due to being under the influence of the painkillers.

The yellow and red of Vincent's LED shifted to blue as he looked up at the other android, clearly finding his presence comforting as his stress levels fell significantly. He held up the crochet wolf he'd just finished outfitting with a yellow rain coat, silently waiting for the other's opinion on it as the yellow returned to his blue LED.

"Sometimes I make notes on the more absurd things he says, they range from questionable to outlandish. Usually they're just things he blurts out well upset. Although I don't know if most would make sense as a fortune, or if people would want quotes from the guy who told Elijah Kamski to suck his dick." Dan felt androids would like Peter more due to him telling off the whole of Cyberlife, and the boy had enough humans that didn't like him supporting androids.

"'I'm the video game boy, I'm the one who wins.' Is a personal favorite of mine in terms of things he's yelled at me because I was beating him. He's also tried to convince me clearly broken controllers weren't actually broken, 'the exposed wires help it breathe better' was an interesting one. I could go on, but some of my favorites are just from him forgetting I'm not a human, or just how common it is for him to crack himself up."

Dan chuckled slightly as he glanced at Peter, who'd finally passed out in his arms. He still knew better then to put him to bed as Peter would wake up the moment he couldn't hear the beating of the PL600's thirium pump and his pump regulator, it was a sound he noted calmed Peter and provided him comfort.

"It took me a bit to get used to how much he screams, but that's probably due to my own experiences with it." Daniel piped up, he had grown accustomed to Peter's rage fits and how they were harmless to him. "Now, I find it funny to watch him loose his mind over something like chess. I never knew someone raising their voice at me would be amusing."

Sixty turned to Willow once he was certain he'd no longer be need, excitedly motioning for her to follow him, so he could finally show her the room where they stored whatever Vincent made during his visits.

"Empathy is a wonderful gift." Willow said, eyeing Dan, "Perhaps I should have mentioned to be careful while handling Strasky."

It was hard to ignore the structure gel going off now that she knew what to be on the lookout for. She was glad all that information being dumped on him at once had not caused him to overload like it did with the brain scans.

Deviants were simply built different perhaps.

"In other words, we have commissioned a young genius who must be kept on a leash." Bishop mused.

"You keep yours in a jar." Rook pointed, getting a confused look from the android, "Do you even have to ask?"

"Not at all." He shot Bishop a skeptic look, before heading back to where Vincent was.

Bishop crossed his arms, "So, how much longer do we have to wait? There is work I have to get back to."

"You guys should write down what he says and put it in fortune cookies." Rook suggested, "It's so cryptic everybody would love them."

[wings-of-ink]

What time is it? Yes, another NSFW ask! 😋

First of all, 'Steel Chair Anon,' I'm dead 😭. I guess that's gonna be my nickname from now on.

Second, happy to serve your horny minds, guys (actually me too 😭 so 'our horny minds' then) and yes, thanks to Lunan for making sure we were being fed. FYI, I devoured it and left no crumbs 🤠.

Enough babbling, more questioning.

As always, I don't know if this has been asked before or not, but how would each ROs react being woken up from sleep by MC in a very NSFW way? Like maybe using some good ol' oral sex or just straight up putting their—(beep-beep)? 😀 *innocent smile*

LOL I'd say it's a nickname well-earned! 🪑

I am happy to have fed you, Nony!

Now...for your answers...I may have put another little teaser here, lol.

Oswin:

He mumbles in his sleep as you fiddle with his linen pants. Wrestling it from the waistband may be difficult if you aren't quick. You smile as you marvel at his sensitivity.

This is the morning you make good on your flirtatious threats to wake him in the best way. He's been a good boy and deserves a treat - and so do you.

His breathing is more rapid as you finally pull him free of his pants; he's hot and more than half-hard in your hands already. Oswin writhes in his sleep and you hear your name drip from his lips. You must be making him dream...

You start with one long, slow swipe of your tongue and he moans in response. His hands grip the bedding, and you fear he will already wake. You kiss about the tender flesh, licking and sucking to make him squirm until he's groaning your name over and over in his sleep.

Watching his face, you line up and sink him fully into your mouth until he hits your throat. He wakes with a gasp, mouth hanging open as he pants and stares down at you.

You feel like a fish at the end of a hook, the bait lodged in your throat.

As Oswin finally understands what's going on, he doesn't say a word. You wiggle your tongue a bit as you drool over him, trying your best to be good and hold him in. His eyes narrow as he brings his hand to the back of your head.

Zahn: The odds of both Zahn and MC having this idea at the same time are higher than you might think, lol. They'd love it and they'd love to reciprocate.

Duri: They're pretending to still be asleep while MC gets to it.

Rune: Normally they're a bit groggy in the morning, so this is a refreshing way to get the blood flowing. Since MC has started this, even after they wake, they're going to let MC have the stage so they can admire every move they make.

???: MC does this once and then after, he's always pretending to be asleep at random times...

[classic-blue]

Nature of the Arcane- Positive and Negative Energy

(For reference, Arcane = the series; arcane = the magic) Come help me figure out how the heck the magic system of Arcane works.

What is the anomaly? Why was it born? Why is it that other mages in the series don't seem to cause anomalies, but Hextech does?

I refuse to be content with a magic=good or magic=bad explanation, and Arcane loves to play with nuance. I was trying to sort out my thoughts on why some magic has bad side effects while others don't, and this is where I'm sitting now. My (spit-balled, half-baked, and probably leaking) thesis:

The arcane/using magic has 2 separate outputs: the order you placed (Hextech) and the resulting exhaust (wild runes; the anomaly). Hextech can use runes to control magic, but there's a second output of natural, wild magical energy, that Hextech doesn't account for. Both of these energies can build up, and when they're reunited, they have explosive reactions (see: Mage Viktor's world, the final blip that takes Jayce and Viktor, and possibly various smaller explosions throughout the series).

For example, when positive and negative charges meet, lightning strikes.

Justification below the cut.

Science break! Ever been shocked by static electricity? That's because of a buildup of one charge, say positive, on you, and a buildup of negative charge on another object. Nature loves balance, so when you two touch, the charges discharge in a shock that connects the positive and negative charges and allows them to balance out. Size this idea up big enough, and you get lightning- powerful, fast, and destructive.

More importantly though, you can't just charge positive energy, without also charging negative energy at the same time-  creating one by necessity creates the other, so that there's an overall balance of electricity types (hey look, a metaphor, creating one inevitably leads to the other…).

Let's carry this idea over to the arcane. What if there's a 'positive' magic and a 'negative' magic output?

(Note, I use the electricity words here intentionally- positive/negative do not mean in a cosmic/moral/ethical way, but in a scientific, 'hey we need 2 connected words to separate these concepts' sort of way.)

Positive: Hextech; runes; the intended output. Teleportation, levitation, everything we see it accomplish.

Negative: the wild rune, the anomaly; the unintended output.

And, when the two come together, lightning strikes.

Lightning 1- Viktor vs Ekko's Z-drive. Viktor spends S2 becoming a centralized conduit of 'positive' magic, via the Hexcore and top ups from the crystals under the Hexgates. As the Machine Herald, the claw is continually using runes and doing magic behind him. In short, he's been building up a lot of positive magical energy. When Ekko chucks the Z-drive at him, it's powered by an anomaly, or 'negative' magical energy. Put the two forces together, and let the fireworks happen; a part of the Machine Herald's mask gets struck off in the blast. (But the Z-drive has less negative energy than Viktor's positive, so it doesn't totally wipe him out.)

Lightning 2- Viktor and Jayce's rainbow time. Jayce's acceleration rune might be the negative magical energy in this case (since it travels with him via Mage Viktor's anomaly), paired with the anomaly that Viktor grabbed beneath the Hexgate. That works in opposition to Viktor's compiled positive magical energy via the Hexcore and similar products. With these together, the balance between positive and negative is reached, achieving net neutral magic dispersion, and of course, an implosion that sucks in (or teleports, we can be happy) Jayce and Viktor, ending the conflict.

Perhaps in Mage Viktor's timeline, a similar explosion occurs, resulting in the destruction that we see Jayce traverse in the alternate timeline. But in the main timeline, Jayce and Viktor were able to contain that explosive potential to just themselves, via Jayce's acceleration rune.

"Pass me a tome" Jayce's (quoting Viktor) explanation of the anomaly/wild rune (S2:E3)

Jayce says that Viktor theorized that wild runes are "patterns that would occur naturally where the border between our world and the Arcane is thin." By the theory, wild runes are expressions of magic not quantifiable by traditional runes- natural outputs of magic that are uncontrollable and untamable.

This still works with my positive vs negative theory- it's just that Hextech, and by extension the boys, are only viewing it from the perspective of positive energy (they accessed magic, but really only half of it). From that view, negative charge, which they can't interpret why it's building up or that it even is, might look pretty wild and untamable- however, we see mages control this negative magical energy. Mage Viktor uses the anomaly to send Jayce back to his timeline. The Machine Herald is able to transport it and start to destroy/convert the world.

Because it's still a useable product, so long as you understand what it actually is, I'm not fully content to say that the anomaly is an entirely wild thing, or an unpredictable force. It's possible that Mage Viktor intentionally manipulated it to send Jayce, Ekko, and Heimerdinger to their temporary alternate universes to set in motion events to save the main timeline. I think the anomaly definitely has somewhat volatile characteristics, a bit more chaotic perhaps, but it's still controllable.

(Additionally, Ekko breaks time using both hex shards (assuming they're still in the Z-drive, I'm not sure off the top of my head), and a tiny anomaly. The fact that he's able to control it to a degree also shows that the anomaly is not fully wild and untamable.)

I suppose my overarching feeling is that the anomaly is not necessarily better or worse, or more dangerous, than the 'positive' magic of Hextech- it's just a different, inevitable byproduct of magic use.

Then why don't mages cause anomalies and 'lightning strikes'?

Simple- they know how to account for both positive and negative energy in their spellwork. They know how to equate a balance, so nothing blows up in their faces.

Granted, the only mages we really see in Arcane are Mel, the Black Rose, and Mage Viktor, and the only real discussions we get about magic is from either the Hextech nerds or Heimerdinger, who may not be working with the full picture of how the arcane works. Our sources with regards to actual mage work in Arcane are pretty thin (and I probably need to rewatch Mel's S2 scenes).

But the Black Rose mentions as Mel leaves that (paraphrased) 'it's a dangerous world out there for a solitary mage.' This seems to imply that mages work best in collaboration- perhaps that allows for a balance between positive and negative energies, preventing 'lightning strikes.'

The real point- The Need for Collaboration

While the obvious theme to be drawn from this is the need for balance, another interesting one is the need for collaboration. If mages in Arcane indeed do work together to prevent destructive magical fallout, this again points back to a core element of Arcane's relationships:

Things (magic in particular) work best in collaboration.

That's how the boys crack Hextech

That's how Jinx and Vi start to bring Vander back and reconcile

That's how Viktor and Sky work in the commune

That's how Ekko, Powder, and Heimerdinger crack Hextech again

That's how Caitlyn and Ambessa start to work, and how the lack of honest collaboration exposes Ambessa's selfish gains and weakens Caitlyn emotionally and politically

That's how Mel literally does everything politically (and why her arc narratively suffers when she's on her own against the Black Rose for so long [I still love her tho])

That's how Piltover and Zaun fend off Ambessa's assault

That's how Viktor and Jayce end it- together.

More assorted thoughts on this topic:

This theory somewhat requires that the arcane is not conscious, not retaliating for Hextech using magic improperly, which is debatable. The Black Rose says "the arcane is waking up," which could imply a sentient force, or simply a natural force like how the world 'wakes up' to spring after winter. Ekko also claims that Jayce 'pissed off' the arcane, which Jayce is cutely embarrassed about, which is a possibility, but not one that I'm getting into here- it's entirely possible that Ekko is also wrong! Jayce and Viktor frequently are! (also, the hexcore being sentient does not necessarily mean that the arcane is sentient- Viktor describes it as a learning matrix, so it could very much be a Flubber situation. He done taught the rubix cube science before ethics.)

As Viktor brings Jayce up to the top of the Hexgate, Viktor winds the anomaly in his staff and talks about the balance between order and chaos- maybe positive magic is one and negative the other?

@avelera and @linddzz were throwing around some awesome thoughts similar to this strain, including how it looks like Mage Viktor 'cleans up' the smoke output of the spell in the snowstorm. Their theory is that what I call positive and negative energy is actually constructive vs destructive force in equal output from the Arcane, and that balance between those two types is needed (i.e. if you want magic to do what you want, you also need to let it blow up some stuff) which would also explain what I've called lightning here. Definitely worth a read!

There are so many holes in this theory, but I still wanted to organize my thoughts about the anomaly, Hextech, and how Arcane tells the audience to view magic. In S1, Hextech is all good and great, possibly dangerous, but in S2, Hextech and its byproducts are all infectious, destructive, and never productive. I found the switch a little jarring, and went searching for a deeper meaning.

Also… does this mean that Arcane is actually a big metaphor for the dangers and impacts of technological advancement on natural society and how Mother Nature will come back to bite us all in the butt? Has Arcane been a secret Ghibli film all along???

[daemon-in-my-head]

Bout that essay titled 'A study of Gortash's twisted love of humanity'- yk what fuck it here goes nothing. Back into a facists megalomaniacs mind we go. Spoiler; this is long.

But first of all; let's do a thought experiment. Let's just assume, for shits and giggles, Gortash's position would've somehow been swapped with any other the other chosen or another Banite:

Let's start with the Banites: if we had gotten anyone except for Gortash Baldur's Gate would've been fucked. Like genuinely. Banites are cruel, vicious, unashamedly gaudy (they suck ass at infiltration missions) and they exploit loopholes perhaps even better than fiends. Any other Banite would've simply reveled in the fear caused by rampant myrkulites and bhaalists and probably stoked that fire by employing some of their own forces. And depending on whether the Zhents join the winning side or not they would've probably used and abused the black network to absolutely dominate trade and potentially choke out every non desirable in the city itself by fun activities such as grand scale slavery, starving an entire city, or simply employing enough mercenaries and some Bhaalist to get the job done. Banites fuck everyone over so hard they usually don't even stop at themselves, and prideful cruel beings who know absolutely no bounds in their desire for power commonly don't hesitate, especially not Banites who thrive in backstabbing. So the other chosen and the grand design are fucked cuz they will most certainly get removed for the sake of someone more desirable the second they somehow irk Banes favourite toy. Which in some specific cases (all of them) would be in 5 minutes flat. If you thought the local nobility was bad just wait until you see a Banite in their natural environment.

Ketheric: Yeah Baldur's Gate is fucked. Ketheric cares about one thing and one thing only; Isobel. And he employs a bunch of sadistic necromancers who have no concept of personal boundaries or consent for that matter, so chances are he'd let them roam freely in Baldur's Gate, making the streets a huting ground for his followers to find prime subjects to perform inhumane experiments on all while he turns a blind eye; either busy trying to get Isobel under his (mind-) control, reviving her or treating a brainless puppet that looks and once was his daughter like his one true solution to decades of grief and fucking up. He wouldn't care about what happens to the city, to the other chosen or even the grand design. He'd follow his gods orders but thats about it and no matter whether that's still Myrkul or Bane; everyone's fucked cuz surpringly the guy who adores lichdom more than life and the other guy who'd rather 'burn everyone's fields than loose' aren't about to give out any orders that will benefit anyone but themselves.

Orin: Another great case of 'yeah Baldur's Gate is fucked'. Orin wants one thing and one thing only: recognition. Preferably from Bhaal but she'd take anyone at this point. The problem about this whole thing is, she's been conditioned and instilled with so much self-loathing my dearest murder princess can't even begin to realise when she's getting shown any sort of adoration anymore and immediately understands it as mockery, see, for example, her butler. Is what I would say if their corpse wasn't chilling in Durges old bedroom. All Orin would do is stage ever grander and more elaborate public massacres and involuntary 'anatomy displays'. Baldur's Gate wouldn't simply be fucked; give her a week, and the majority of it would be dead. This works well for Bhaal, but for anyone else, it would kinda suck. Including the other two of the dead three. And the cult would probably still loathe her simply due to her not being a true Bhaalspawn, so cue Orin's madness reaching an absolute boiling point. She doesn't and would never care for any of the other chosen or the grand design. Unless she's reigned in, she's a utterly loose canon, even more so than she was already, with Gortash or Durge at the helm, respectively.

Now time for my favourite of the reckless murder hobos; Durge. Given the few in game notes we have Durge had a thing for obliteration. Including but not limited to every living being + themselves. So let's just assume Gortash’s cocky upstart charm and Orins assassination attempt didn't work out as planned and they are still the de facto leader but now without any leash. Baldur's Gate is probably obliterated. Alongside whatever else remains of the sword coast. Or Troil. They'd probably also have some weird ass fuck relationship with the brain cuz they already did without being the undisputed leader. And the brain would probably discard the grand design themselves cuz somehow Durge has that effect on things (might be the innate charm magic of Bhaalist priests that they use to convince people to join a literal murder cult). Either way, with Durge not giving a single damn about the other chosen, any plans but Bhaals (or their misunderstood version of it) and a dramatic love for self-obliteration, it may finally be time to remedy the elves' mistake and rip Abeir-Toril apart properly. Ao hates this trick, alongside everyone else, probably including Bhaal himself.

Which is all my longwinded way of saying; Gortash is the lesser evil. In any set of circumstances he displays enough leniency, monster fucker vibes and rationality to somehow keep this ruined, sinking ship from hitting the sea floor immediately. He has enough of a twisted love for humanity left, compared to the others, to a degree that he doesn't blindly follow orders or actively seeks the destruction of everything, let alone 'true' domination the way Bane intends to have it.

But yes, indeed, Gortash performed fucked up and cruel experiments. No doubt about that. And yet it was still on a lesser scale than a mad massive hoard of necromancers could, and his experiments, for the most part, actually yielded results, didn't they? Presumably, the Coginator and the remote control brain mechanism used for the Steelwatch. After all, there are zombies(?) in there, controlling that shit. However, the experiments on loving families were probably one of his selfish indulgences and his sorry attempt at figuring out if he was just born loathsome and his family sucks ass or if that's normal and humanity doesn't deserve a second chance. Or a 30th. FR lore is fucked up.

This is also a great transition to exhibit B of my thesis why Gortash does in fact love or is at the very very very least heavily intrigued by humanity; the sole existence of the Steelwatch. Listen, my guy serves Bane. Bane hates planning. He likes immediate results. So much so he actively pisses off his situationship Bhaal for it. Repeatedly. And he likes fear and tyranny. So what do you think the chances are that the black hand would actually enjoy the thought of a mecha army patrolling the streets of Baldur's Gate, keeping them save, and worst of all, instilling hope in the hearts of the populous, peasants and nobles alike? Yeah, absolutely fucking none. And yet Gortash did that. And he's not even just a regular banite. He's Banes chosen. He carries a part of Bane's divinity within himself. He has the de facto highest position in the local faith. He's Banes favourite toy rn. He's the centre of attention and he still goes out of his way to use things that could 1000% inspire fear and hatred to sow fucking hope and a sense of safety of all things in plain sight? I bet his adorable wrinkly ass that Bane wasn't happy and that even a thousand rituals to redeem his leniency won't save him from getting tortured extra hard for this fuck up. And considering the state of the Banites scriptures we found, and his entire character, Gortash is smart enough to know this is something Bane absolutely loathes. And yet my guy did that.

Another thing is the hive mind. Bane would probably not hate it outright, as its still 'burning the fields' by turning souls illithid, but it's wasted potential. Because there's so many great things you can do with a hivemind and the remote control over people's thoughts and emotions, for example instilling fear and terror the very things Bane loves. But that's, once again, not Gortash plan. If the notes and one of the evil endings is anything to go by the hivemind doesn't trap people in a state of torment, it does the polar opposite. People are happy, enjoying a better, simpler and nicer life. Enjoying an idea of what their life could've been like. They're smiling, happy, enjoying a casual market stroll and the bountiful rewards of the fields. Which is all things that a good Banite should hate and never inflict on someone. AND YET that's presumably Gortashs plan. Create a hivemind where everyone can dream happily and do soulless labour without noticing it while the world goes to absolute shit but the people do not. It's basically noah's arc. It's paradise in hell. The people are 'saved' while the gods continue to fight their petty games, and Gortash alone lords over this perfect dream. Protecting it answer using it to advance further.

Now, about the busts found in his office. Most of them depicted rather unsavoury, cruel people. Except for one. Which honours a self made person who took pity on those who had less. On those considered lesser by the upright and honourable citizens of the Gate. It's weird how, between all those symbols and testaments to cutlery and tyranny, there's still a sliver of empathy, renegade justice and even care for fellow humans imbued, isn't it? And what's even weirder, all of them are found in Gortash's most private place? His own little office hidden far above the grandeur of the throne room and the Fortress, where he sits at the helm, lording over his subjects and scheming his little plans? This is an excellent example of show, don't tell btw. It's hitting you over the head with the implications. But just in case, this might very well be a reflection of Gortashs mind itself and the visible expression of him being incapable of letting go of humanity as a whole, still carrying it somewhere not even that well buried between the resentment and cruelty but out in plain view for everyone curious enough to touch it because what others reason would he have tob'play the benelovent ruler' in a place where no one sees it? Where only his most trusted and fellow Banites mingle?

And, ofc, as I am a durgetash truther, another exhibit. Him fucking Bhaals gore baby and putting a leash on it prematurely. You see, I've already talked about Banes likes and dislikes plenty so it should come as no surprise that the Edgelord Surpreme wouldn't hate carnage wrought upon foolish mortals by idiots who follow lesser gods than himself, since it would still somehow contribute to people being scared and panicking. But Gortash, being the ever faithful fuck up of a Banite, reigns in the Bhaalist and even the Myrkulites enough for that to kinda never really happen. He stopped the carnage from happening altogether, in fact, by giving the others enough scraps to keep them satisfied and from acting out but not enough freedom to fuck up his plans. I mean, heck he was apparently so convincing he managed to get Durge, again, biggest fan of self-obliteration, from going on an apocalyptic rampage cuz 'daddy I like his brain and I don't mean for dinner'. Him doing that actively contributed to preventing another Bhaalspawn crisis, which could've very well happened with Bhaals resurgence and revival, 2.5 loose canons and no ward of a random old guy in sight. But also him providing a clear goal and orders for Ketheric kept the lich from giving in to the sweet release of just not caring at all whatsoever. Everyone had their designated roles and boundaries and that was perhaps the only thing keeping this group of mentally unstable creatures from unleashing an apocalyptic nightmare; which again would've worked in their gods favour and technically didn't need any prevention.

And about the Gondians... Yeah this is gonna sound fucked up, cuz it is, but Gortash is actually treating them exceptionally nice. Their families are actually still alive and its not just a lie he's telling them, we don't actually see anyone getting flayed, strung up or tortured in some other way outright, they actually get to wear clothes and presumably they're fed enough to a degree that most of them can still somewhat work and the collar and the threat of your head exploding does suck but he could've also simply chained them to their work stations but they aren't. Let alone use charms or other beguiling and fucked up magic to force them into complacency. And they're not being resold or redistributed or forced to serve some random ass guy. The Gondians are, from a Forgotten Realms and probably Bane's perspective, treated exceptionally well. As are their families. Still undoubtedly fucked up and kinda sadistic with the whole explosion collar but objectively speaking he's one of the nicer slave masters. And they do allow him to produce the Steel Watchers en mass which once again contributes to the overall safety of Baldurs Gate and its other citizens. Still the lesser evil.

Though to be fair; Gortash also did some things Bane would really celebrate. Like somehow cheating his way into obtaining the Iron Throne, fucking Bhaals favourite and most fucked up """"child"""" and of course, keeping his parents alive and in agony to eternally fuel Banes fear kink. Except, it's only Sally who's afraid. Dravo is basically a blue screen of death personified at this point. He's a hollow, numb husk, isn't he? So somehow this once again doesn't align with Banes goals and Gortash's duty as a Banite. He's fucked it up again. But Gortash could've also simply killed them if all he wanted was revenge. Why go out of your ways, program elaborate scripts into them, keep the very place that testaments his fucked up past in good condition? Because a quick death would be too merciful? But then why is he so quick to turn on Durge if they betray him in a much smaller scale than his parents did. Well, perhaps he chose not to simply kill the very people who prepared Belladonna in the kitchen when he came to visit because he himself still needs them. Because underneath all that rage and spite there's still a broken boy who wants to hear his parents, albeit empty praise, and who wants to prove to them that he can be better? That his useless playing around actually helped better humanity, that he himself helped countess people and made lives better when all they thought he'd be useful as would be a pawn?

So, is it twisted? Yes. Is it rotten? Absolutely. Is it anything you'd consider to be 'conventional'? Absolutely not. But he does hold some wildly fucked up 'love' for humanity, if only as means to a grander goal (that being himself, ofc) or perhaps cuz he's genuinely incapable of letting go. Whether it's that, to spite Raphael, Bane and his parents or someone else, who knows. Probably nobody. But the shit he does is unorthodox and oddly self-sacrificial in a way where I just can't go, 'yeah no he absolutely loathes the sheer existence of the concept'.

I still think it's a missed opportunity he's not trying to build a spelljamming port though. I feel like he would absolutely do that somewhere down the line, if only to limit the black networks influence.

[woozinhos]

...mile high club with wonwoo?

We’re in the air

You and Wonwoo were flying back to Seoul after a trip to Japan, sitting side by side in first class. The cabin was relatively empty, with only a few other passengers scattered throughout. Wonwoo looked over at you, a mischievous glint in his eye. "You know," he said, his voice low and seductive, "we're going to be up in the air for a while."

You looked at him curiously, wondering where he was going with this. "Yeah?" you said, trying to keep your tone casual. Wonwoo leaned in closer to you, his breath warm against your ear. "And this plane is pretty private," he whispered. "Just us, a few other passengers, and a lot of empty seats."

You felt a shiver run down your spine as you realized what he was suggesting. "Are you saying...?" you trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

Wonwoo smirked and nodded, his eyes locked on yours. "I'm saying we could make use of that privacy," he said, his voice low and husky. "If you're up for it."

You looked around the cabin, making sure no one was paying attention to you. The other passengers were either asleep or engrossed in their own devices, paying no attention to the two of you.

You turned back to Wonwoo, a mix of excitement and nervousness coursing through you. "What did you have in mind?" you asked, your voice barely above a whisper. Wonwoo leaned in even closer, his lips brushing against your ear. "I have a few ideas," he whispered, his voice sending shivers down your spine. "But I think we should go somewhere a bit more private first."

He stood up and took your hand, leading you towards the back of the plane. You followed him, your heart racing with anticipation. He led you into the bathroom, locking the door behind you and turning on the light. The small space was cramped, but it was definitely private. You stood in the small bathroom, your heart pounding in your chest as you looked up at Wonwoo. He closed the distance between you, pressing you against the wall and trapping you between his body and the cool tile.

"I've been thinking about this since we got on the plane," he murmured, his hands roaming over your body. "I can't stop thinking about all the things I want to do to you."

He captured your lips in a heated kiss, his tongue slipping into your mouth and claiming you as his own. You moaned into the kiss, feeling your desire for him grow stronger with every passing moment. He broke the kiss and started trailing kisses down your neck, nipping and sucking at your sensitive skin. "You're so beautiful," he whispered, his hands roaming over your curves. "I can't get enough of you."

Wonwoo continued to kiss and nibble at your neck, his hands roaming over your body with a sense of urgency. "We have to be quick," he whispered, his breath hot against your skin. "We don't have much time."

He started to undress you, his hands deftly unbuttoning your shirt and pushing it off your shoulders. You helped him, eager to feel his touch on your bare skin. Once you were undressed, he turned his attention to himself, quickly shedding his clothes until he was standing in front of you in nothing but his boxers. He pressed himself against you, his body hot and hard against yours. "I need you," he growled, his hands gripping your hips tightly.

Wonwoo's voice was rough with desire as he whispered in your ear. "We're about to fuck in the air, baby," he said, his words sending shivers down your spine. He hoisted you up, pressing you against the wall as he wrapped your legs around his waist. You could feel his erection pressing against you, hard and insistent.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this," he murmured, his lips trailing along your jawline. "The thought of taking you right here, in the air, is driving me crazy."

You wrapped your arms around Wonwoo's neck, holding on tightly as he held you against the wall. You could feel the adrenaline pumping through your veins, the thrill of doing something so risky making your heart race. Wonwoo reached down and pulled his boxers off, freeing his erection. He pressed himself against you again, rubbing against your core and making you moan.

"You're so wet," he whispered, his voice hoarse with desire. "I can feel how much you want me."

He reached down and positioned himself at your entrance, teasing you with the tip of his cock. "Are you ready for me, baby?" he asked, his eyes locked on yours.

You nodded, your breath coming in short gasps as you waited for him to enter you. "Yes," you breathed, your nails digging into his shoulders. "I'm ready."

Wonwoo pushed into you slowly, inch by inch, savoring the feeling of your body enveloping him. You gasped as he filled you, your body stretching to accommodate his size.

He groaned, his eyes fluttering shut as he held you against the wall. "You feel so good," he whispered, his voice strained. "I've never felt anything like this before."

He began to move, thrusting into you with slow, deep strokes. The angle was perfect, hitting all the right spots and making you see stars. You moaned and clung to him, your body moving in perfect rhythm with his. The thrill of doing this in such a public place only heightened your arousal, making every touch and thrust feel even more intense.

Wonwoo's breathing grew ragged as he moved inside you, his thrusts becoming more urgent and desperate. "I'm not going to last much longer," he panted, his fingers digging into your hips. You could feel yourself getting close too, the tension building deep in your core. You buried your face in his shoulder, trying to stifle your moans as the pleasure built to an unbearable peak. Wonwoo's thrusts grew faster and harder, his movements becoming almost frantic. "Come for me," he growled, his voice low and rough. "I want to feel you come apart around me."

His words were all it took to push you over the edge. Your orgasm hit you like a tidal wave, crashing over you and sending shudders through your entire body. You cried out his name, your nails digging into his back as you clung to him. Wonwoo followed soon after, his own orgasm crashing over him like a tidal wave. He buried his face in your neck, groaning your name as he spilled himself inside you. For a few moments, the two of you stayed like that, panting and clinging to each other as you came down from your highs. Finally, Wonwoo pulled away, setting you down gently and leaning against the wall for support.

You leaned against him, your legs still shaky from the intensity of your orgasm. "That was...incredible," you whispered, looking up at him with a mixture of awe and satisfaction.

Wonwoo chuckled, a smirk playing on his lips. "Yeah, it was," he agreed, running a hand through his hair. "We definitely have to do that again sometime."

He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead, before reaching for his clothes and starting to get dressed. You did the same, feeling a little sore but completely satisfied.

Once you were both dressed, you looked at each other and grinned. "We should probably get back to our seats before anyone notices we're missing," Wonwoo said, holding out his hand to you. You took his hand, feeling a sense of giddiness wash over you as you followed him out of the bathroom and back to your seats. You both sat down, trying to act casual as if nothing had happened.

You couldn't help but glance around the cabin, half-expecting someone to notice the satisfied grins on your faces or the slightly disheveled state of your clothes. But no one seemed to pay any attention to you, everyone too absorbed in their own devices. You settled back into your seat, feeling a thrill of excitement at the memory of what had just happened. Wonwoo leaned over and whispered in your ear, "That was definitely worth the risk."

[sulfies]

"Its 5 am"

A soft heat landed on Desmond's shoulders, he pulled the corners of the blanket closer.

"I know, I know... I should be asleep" He sighs scooting the chair back and leaning to look at the ceiling. "I will... sooner or later. I just, I really rather it be "later" "

"And I rather not see you like this."

He finally looked at Altaïr with a weak smirk.

"Oh I know just how you like to see me-" "Desmond..."

Desmond sighed. He was tired, exhousted, sad and many more, all of it just wanted to explode out of him but he just didn't know how.

"I..." He mouthed the words he wanted to say. "Just..." Leaning forward he put his head on his hands. "I don't want to... I-"

"You are scared..."

Desmond blinked hard, refusing the tears that wanted to fall.

"Why?"

He sucked in a hard breath. He was not going to cry about a problem of his own making.

"Desmond... Whatever you are scared of will not ha-"

He felt like a child throwing a tantrum. "God, I sound so stupid I know, but what if it does?" He wiped his face and looked back.

"Your body will do it for you if you don't."

A deep breath and he tried to speak more calmly to control the tremble in his voice. "I realize that... but if it gives me 1 more hour here..."

"Here? Alone in your room, miserable? I get why-"

"No you don't get why..."

Desmond turned back to the table, trying to carve a hole in the desk with his gaze alone. "You don't get why, Ezio doesn't get why, Connor doesn't get why! It is, literally, impossible for you guys to get it, okay?"

"At least let us try? But you won't even talk to us about it!" Altaïr was getting frustrated.

"How can I even start? I don't even know where I can begin. I barely even know this shit works myself!"

He just didn't want to blink and for it all to be gone, he did not want to see that grey, soulless place ever again. He hated it back then, he hated it even more now.

"If I sleep I might wake up" He shook his head, what a profound sentence he came up with.

"come again?"

"I-I don't want to lose this... Whatever this is and I don't know if I will! İts a gamble each time I go to sleep"

"Why would you lose us?"

A chuckle slipped past him "Come on Altaïr, why do I even have you guys now? For fucks sake I died! You were born thousands and thousands of years ago and now you are here! Same with the others! Nothing makes sense nothing ever feels real and I am scared it actually is not!" He dug his nails into his palm, he wanted to bang his head against a wall.

"I am so scared, in one second I will be finally happy and breathe, then the next second I will be back in that place. There is nothing there Altaïr, nothing. No sounds, not even your own breathing. At least the last time they gave me an island and... And 16 was there to keep me company but now if I go back I am scared that there will be nothing."

He took a breath, then another since it was getting harder to.

"I fucking died so, so, so many times. As you, As Connor and As Ezio. From age and my own mistakes. Then I died myself and sometimes I wonder if I actually did or if this is a sick joke and I am still in that goddamn machine that is sucking me for all I am worth just to keep me going!" His fist banged on the table, he wanted to wreck something. "Or maybe Juno is playing with me, showing me a piece of heaven before she spits on my corpse"

Two cold hands wrapped around his own, taking his gaze away from the desk he saw Altaïr with his brows in a concerned burrow, which was becoming a common expression he had whenever he was with him. "I will never know Altaïr and it scares me. For all I know you guys could be programs to make me spea-"

"Okay enough" The hands on his squeezed harshly, Altaïr moved his hands to pull Desmond's chair to the side so he could speak eye to eye.

"You cannot talk about my being like I am not here Desmond." He took a breath to collect himself as well "You are right, I might never understand but you don't get to tell me what I am when I am right in front of you, you don't get to tell me I can't try to understand. I feel real to myself and you feel damn real to me" His hand holds Desmond's cheek.

"but if you keep up like this I'm not sure how long you can keep yourself from going insane to the point of no return. You can't live like this." Desmond's lips became a thin line. "I don't want you to live like this, I know me or any of us being here is not normal but nothing ever was. An orb, holding mind-controlling powers and secrets to the time itself is not normal, Ancient beings leaving a message through us to you is not normal. Do you think I, myself don't think this is too good to be real?" His other hand squeezed Desmond's knee, he sighed and continued, at least Desmond was listening for now.

"Nothing ever is normal in the life of an Assassin and if it was I would never have you. So don't take this away from me by deciding that this-" he gestured between them. "Is temporary"

He placed a small kiss on Desmond's salty cheek only to hear a sob spill out of the man. "We are all riddled with the same fear, yours is..." He could not even begin to comprehend from what little Desmond had told them.

He drew him into a hug "I wonder many nights if this is a last dream from the apple for keeping it safe, If it will end one day before I rest forever in my tomb filled with books."

Desmond was crying now, silently as he could but Altaïr could feel the damp patch on his shoulder "And if it is a last thank-you gift I rather spend every grain of that hourglass with you by my side, stop torturing yourself. If it is a limited time we have together, enjoy it with me" A shakey breath and a sob slipped from Desmond as the damp patch grew.

Altaïr held him through the shaking and pain, in a sick way he was happy to at least hold Desmond after so long and have him for just himself for a little while.

He was lucky, unlike Desmond all of them chose death on their own terms and tasted it slowly. Not with a bang and flash of lights but with a much-needed rest, in a slumber.

"Come, Ill kee-"

Oh...

He realized the hug had much more weight to it than before.

With a slight smile, he sighed in relief, Desmond's body made the choice for him it seemed.

"Ill keep guard for you Desmond, alright?"

He smiled softly and brushed the passed-out man's hair. Sometimes he forgot that while Desmond lived decades in their body he only got to see two of his own life.

He dragged Desmond more into himself and lifted him up softly to walk to his room.

If needed to be he would gladly take the burden of being awake forever to put him at ease.

[bookvvitch]

ᡣ𐭩 Kissed By The Baddest Villain ᡣ𐭩

Synopsis: At the behest of your Uncle Kagero, you agree to be a member of the League Of Villains, loaning out your quirk to aid in their cause. Everything seems to be going as planned--until the guys all start acting weird. Why do they bicker every time you're in a room? How are you going to get used to all this attention?

And who are you going to decide to give it back to?

●Mature themes ●Minors DNI ●Sexual Implications ●Suggestive Themes ●Eventual Smut

Chapter 1: Dibs

"C'mon, Yume! Couldn't you do your Uncle Kagero this one teensy little favor?" 

You bat your lashes at him, smiling, gentle as a dove when you ask him, "Do I get a cut of the finder's fee?"

Giran's eye twitches before he takes a long drag off of his cigarette. He hates that you're this well-versed in his career. It would be so much fucking easier if his kid sister didn't marry one of the most notorious villains the West could import, thus all but guaranteeing your involvement. In fact, both sides of your family have a long line of villainy, nearly each and every branch on the tree some kind of Yakuza or general criminal all the way down. You were hanging out in the back room of Uncle Kagero's office before you were out of diapers, absorbing this lifestyle since you were a zygote. Pushing back on giving you a cut this time would prove to be futile.

"Fuck--fine. You win, you get a quarter of their finder's fee," he relents, the cherry of his cigarette glowing in his dusty room as he rests his legs atop the corner of his desk, one ankle crossed over the other.

"Half or I'm not doing it,"

He nearly chokes, "What makes you think I'd give you half, you little shit!"

"Because you seem pretty desperate to bring this guy someone for his team. I'm guessing you need the money. And if you need the money bad enough, you'll settle for half of it," you say this all with the sweetest smile that you can muster. 

You've got him over a barrel. 

Giran taps his index finger on the chipped varnish of his desk, sucking at his teeth, bitter ash wafting through the air. The weather is mild now, but it's only fall. Winter is going to be thrust upon him before he knows it and then he's going to need heat this place. And he would rather freeze to death than ask your mom for cash to get the heat turned back on. Was he some high profile super villain? Of course not. But he made his money with his own two hands. Phoning his niece for a favor didn't count. 

Especially not if you were getting a cut.

This way, you're just another employee at a family business.

"Alright, I'll give you fucking half, Yumemi. Christ. Shoulda never taught you how to negotiate," Giran chuckles under his breath as he speaks, understanding the part he's played in your character, "Don't forget to tell your ma this time, yeah? She'll kill me if she finds out I'm why you didn't come home again,"

"Uncle, I'm an adult. Like, a real adult, I'm twenty four. Mom and dad need to learn to cut the cord already," you tell him with a roll of your eyes.

Giran pinches at the bridge of his nose, frustration becoming palpable, "Yumemi--"

"Alright, alright. I'll text her,"

"Thank you," he sighs. 

His amnesia doesn't work on your mom since she inherited the same quirk, so it's not like he can worm his way out of this situation if something goes awry. At least you're being reasonable about this aspect. Giran relaxes his shoulders and leans back in his chair. Your quirk fetches a pretty penny. On top of that, he can all but guarantee they'll agree to take you on immediately, as cute as you are. Might as well not throw away a sure thing. Half the cut isn't so bad, he thinks. 

"So who am I working for?" You pry, "Is it that guy who has beef with Gang Orca again?"

"No, not this time. Think a little younger,"

Younger? You were one of the youngest people in established villainy. Who the hell was he talking about?

He sends out a text that you sneakily read from over his shoulder to a person named Kurogiri:

I've got someone special for the league

"Pack your suitcase," he says, "I have a feeling they're not gonna turn you away,"

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗————˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

You both step through a hazy black portal and into a bar, now face-to-face with the text recipient. He's more mist than man, though he would have to be solid under there somewhere with the way he wipes down shotglasses behind the counter, glass squeaking with every swipe. 

"Hello, Giran," a voice calls out from Kurogiri, in spite of his lacking a mouth, "Shigaraki Tomura and the others have yet to return, but they will be back momentarily," he turns his attention to you, yellow eyes flickering, "Are you our potential member?"

"I believe I am. My name is Saito Yumemi. It's very nice to meet you," the introduction you choose is quite the same as you always use, polite and pleasant. 

"I am pleased to make your acquaintance as well," Kurogiri responds in kind. 

He seems to be a mild and reasonable man. If this is who you'll be working with, you aren't worried about loaning out your quirk. 

Giran opens his mouth to speak, but as soon as he does, a portal is opened just to your left, revealing a small group of people who look to be somewhere around your age at a glance. Upon closer inspection, it appears as though you're in the median age group, though it's a bit difficult to tell with how they're dressed. Each of them gape awkwardly, caught somewhat off guard at your presence. A man with a heteromorphic quirk shuffles nervously, carding his fingers through pink hair as someone in ragged, dark clothing flecklessly stares. Another member, who looks to be dressed as a magician of sorts, dons a mask which shifts to an expression of shock. The others shift their weight from one foot to another as they wait for an explanation. A blonde girl in a school uniform is the first to approach you, fangs glinting as she flashes you a toothy grin, her demeanor much more cheerful than what you're used to. 

"I'm Toga Himiko!" She introduces herself immediately, bouncing on the balls of her feet. 

"Hold on," a man with shaggy blue hair rasps from behind a hand, "We don't even know who this is yet. Giran. Who did you bring? She doesn't look like she would.. do this,"

"Shigaraki, let me introduce you to Saito Yumemi. She was born and bred into villainy, so don't worry, she's not as soft as she looks," Giran explains as he puffs a cigarette from between his teeth. 

"Hmm. What can she do?" Shigaraki continues his questioning as the others all mill around in the liminal space behind him. 

Giran grins, "Yumemi's quirk is Parasomnia. It allows her to put people into a dreamlike state, where they become, let's just say, very impaired. She can inflict nightmarish hallucinations on whoever her quirk is affecting if she so chooses. She's just gotta know their names for it to work," 

"Do aliases work?" Shigaraki pries for more information. 

"She--"

"It needs to be the full name. However, it's mostly just villains who are unregistered. If you're trying to take down heroes, this won't be a problem since they'll all have hero licenses, or will at least be on the path to obtaining one. It can only work on one person at a time, though," you interject, preferring to speak for yourself.

"Show me," he insists, "Toga Himiko is her given name. So show me what you can do,"

The girl in question simply smiles, willingly parking herself in front of you.

"Okay, then. Come at me," Toga doesn't even flinch before she lurches in your direction with a knife she's pulled out of her skirt, giggling and giddy with bloodlust.

"Toga Himiko," you call to her, voice wispy, echoing in a dreamy haze. 

She stops dead in her tracks. 

"You look so tired. Aren't you tired?" Toga's eyes become heavy-lidded and glossy as she sinks to her knees, her smile reduced to a slight nudge at each side of her mouth, arms like lead at her sides, "What do you see?"

"I see.. UA high school," she's compliant and monotone, head bobbing before she drops onto her back entirely.

"What's your favorite color, Toga Himiko?"

"Pink. Oh, there's pink clouds. Just look at them," she looks as though she's about to float away.

"They're nice, aren't they? Now, why don't you tell me that secret you wanted to share. Remember?"

"Yeah. Of course I remember," Toga is now splayed out on the floor like a starfish, "I'm in love with Izuku and Ochaco. They're the best. I really want their blood,"

"As you can see, I'm able to get information this way. If suggestion doesn't work for them, I can put them into something similar to sleep paralysis, which usually does the trick. Works better if they tell me what they're afraid of but I can make them see anything, good or bad. It doesn't do any physical harm, but psychologically, it's quite damaging. If I don't keep talking to her, she'll wake up on her own when this wears off in about two minutes. I'll also need to rest if I use it for more than a couple of hours,"

It's quiet for a few beats, the room so still you could hear the breath of a mouse. 

"And what do you go by?" The silence is interrupted by Shigaraki. Two crimson eyes peer out from splayed, rigid fingers, haunting and vibrant. A chill runs down your spine. 

"I prefer to go by Nyx when conducting business, but I don't mind being informal when it's just us. You can call me whatever you would like in private," your uncle flinches at your words, the five male members of the league training their eyes on you--most of them flustered and blushing--all the while you're none the wiser. 

Mom and dad have always been villains, which means you didn't go to public school. Your whole life has been a slew of private tutors and playdates that were arranged by your collective parents, not by yourself or the other children. After around age ten, this was exclusively female companionship, your father becoming very cautious of his only daughter. As a result, you're polite, studious, and well-spoken... but horribly under-socialized. Namely with the opposite sex.

Shigaraki's eyes won't meet yours when he says, "Welcome to the League of Villains," he makes a vague motion with his hand, "Kurogiri, give Giran his fee. I'll show her to her room,"

"Why do you get to show her?" The man with piercing blue eyes and dark hair approaches. He smells like the smoke from a bonfire. 

"Because I'm in charge, Dabi, not you," Shigaraki bites. 

"Then shouldn't one of us take her to her new quarters so you're free to pursue other duties?" The magician interjects, offering you a gloved hand as he bows to you, "Mr. Compress, at your service. I'll be happy to show you to--"

"I should probably do it. You guys are super busy, and m-my room's on the way, so, it'd make more sense for me t'do it. Hey, I'm Spinner. It's nice to meet ya," the guy with the Stain getup says, eye contact fleeting.

"Did you do the dreamy thing? Was it neat?" Toga springs up from her spot on the floor, recovering quicker than you had expected, "Why does everyone look all red and sweaty?"

Giran rolls his eyes until you're sure they're scraping the back off his skull as Kurogiri hands him off a wad of cash, "Figured you'd fit right in here. I'll give ya your portion when things settle down. See ya, Yume," and with that, he's stepping through a portal. 

He's lucky you know he's good for it.

"No, you all have to work on your skills. Gotta fine tune those super cool skills. It's best if I walk her to her room," says a guy in a full body catsuit, a terse, "Piss off, assholes!" soon to follow.

"I said I'm walking her down there, Twice. Don't bother," Shigaraki sneers in such a way that you can tell he's becoming irritated.

"Counterpoint," says Dabi, "Fuck you, I'm doing it,"

Hubbub ensues. You're not entirely certain what you've done, but something has obviously set them off, the lot of them squabbling like elementary kids who want the same toy. Is this what younger guys are like? Seems like they'll fight over anything if walking someone to their room is such a commodity to them. How strange.

Toga doesn't speak a word when she takes you by the hand and leads you down the hall. The sharp chatter of bickering can still be heard as you two crest the doorway into a small room at the back of the bar. In it, there's a twin bed, a lamp, a nightstand, and a trunk for personal items. It's more of a prison cell than a room, but you've stayed in worse for smaller cuts of finder's fees. You'll just pretend it's a dorm or something. 

"Do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend, Yumemi?" She asks you, plopping onto your bed like it's her own. 

"No, not right now. Why?"

"Oh, just wondering," Toga kicks her legs, "I think it'll come up sooner or later is all,"

She flashes you a certain look, one you're not sure the meaning of, before she traipses back to the den of the bar, stating she'll be back later for a sleepover. You're not used to the company when on missions like this, but you're not opposed to it. In fact, what you mostly are is surprised, since you've recently put her to sleep and wrang the secrets out of her. Maybe she's used to having quirks tested on her, or maybe she genuinely doesn't care. Either way, you're grateful to have someone around to show you the ropes. Every villain organization runs a little differently and it'll make the adjustment that much easier this way. 

When Toga enters the den, the guys are still bickering, poking at one another's chests and stage whispering threats. 

"You're all so adorable," Toga coos at them, pressing her hands to her flushing cheeks. 

All of them snap their eyes to her. 

"Where's Yumemi?" Dabi asks, separating himself from the group to lean against the wall.

With a snicker, Toga explains, "I took her to her room since nobody else could decide who got to do it,"

"And that's Miss Saito to you," Mr. Compress chastises him with a shift of his mask. 

"She said we could call her whatever we wanted," is Dabi's retort.

"Wrong, fucker. She said I could call her whatever I wanted, so long as we're alone," Shigaraki corrects him as he mindlessly scratches at his neck. 

Spinner crosses his arms, "Boss, c'mon, that was the royal you, not YOU you,"

"Dibs," Dabi proclaims, flames sparking in his cerulean gaze. 

"You can't call dibs on a lady!" Compress snaps his spine ruler straight.

"Yeah, Dabi, she's a person. Don't dibs her like she's a bus seat," Spinner gives a scornful, sidelong glance as he speaks.

"Doesn't matter. I called dibs, that means I get to shoot my shot first,"

"That's not how this works!" Shigaraki grits through his teeth.

"Oh? And how would you know, virgin?" Dabi spits his words like venom.

More chatter breaks out as Toga grins wildly, content to observe the show these clowns were putting on for her in the circus of their own making. Life is good. 

"Hey, hey, wait a minute!" Dabi commands the room, all eyes focusing on him when he asks, "Where the fuck is Twice?"

There's a knock at your door, followed by a, "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, come on in," you're taken aback somewhat, having not expected anyone to need you again so soon. 

Twice breaches the door, waving his hand and smiling visibly even through his mask. 

"Just wanted to properly introduce myself. I'm Twice, but feel free to call me Jin. That's my real name. Use whichever you want," he stands with his hands on his hips, another voice countering the previous statement with, "Screw introductions, call me Daddy! Mmff.. Sorry. The other guy isn't always polite,"

Ah, so that's why he's called Twice. Makes sense. 

"That's okay, I've heard way worse. Trust me. I'll stick with Jin when we're here, and you're welcome to call me Yumemi. Unless Daddy is still on the table," you simper with your last sentence, and he jumps in his spot. 

"W-what? Okay, I, uh--" he stammers hard, poking his index fingers together. 

"Oh, I was only joking! I'm sorry if I upset you,"

"No, it's not that, just--"

"Who's upset in here? Better not be our little doll," a smoky voice rasps out before revealing Dabi through the entryway. 

"We were just introducing ourselves properly," you say, rising from the edge of the bed. You extend your hand to Dabi, "I don't think we've said hello just yet. I'm Yumemi,"

He accepts your hand into his own, his palm sweltering, "Dabi. Pleasure's all mine. If you ever need anything at all, even if it's in the middle of the night--"

"Then she'll come to me because I'm the head of this entire thing," Shigaraki cuts him off, still covered in several hands, which you're praying are plaster. 

"We're all loyal to the tenets of Stain, though, Shigaraki. Ain't gonna bother any of us to help her out. I mean.. me, personally, I know I'd come by during any hour of the day or night. 'Cause that's what we do as a team, even if we're not the boss," Spinner pushes his way into the room, shoulder-checking Dabi and Twice to fit into the close quarters. 

"I am personally and readily available for your entertainment, Miss Saito," Compress bows as he enters the room in a cloud of smoke. 

So is he actually a magician after all? 

"Please, call me Yumemi when we're off duty," you tell him, and he captures your hand in his own, the silk of his scarlet glove soft to the touch. 

"I'm flattered to have such a privilege," he says, voice taking on a plush tone.

"Ah-hah!" Spinner points at Shigaraki, "I told you it was the royal you! She meant all of us!"

"No, it's not a privilege, really. I'm just me. You're all welcome to call me by Yumemi any time. As my dad always says, formalities are for heroes,"

The room has become a blaring fortissimo of conversations, insults saturating the air, curses you've never even heard before hurled like hidden rocks in snowballs. 

What the hell have you gotten yourself into?

[woodchipp]

Sunny and Mari’s argument, as well as the events leading up to it, are fun to dissect because it’s all such dogshit writing on a thousand levels.

1) The speech Sunny’s friends give in the Christmas memory as they present him with the violin almost comes across as them guilt-tripping him into accepting the gift, as they put particular emphasis on the hard work they had to do to buy it. Moreover, the reasons they give for buying the violin boil down to “well he saw this and she said that”, which implies that none of them - not even his sister, apparently - knew Sunny as a person well enough to have a solid idea of what he’d actually like as a gift. 

In a better story, this kind of thing would be used to symbolize how much a relationship sucks or how shallow it is. OMORI, however, frames this as a touching testament to the group’s friendship.

2) Mari, of all people, had to have known how huge of a commitment an instrument would be. Given that she apparently didn’t even know her brother well enough to know whether he’d appreciate a violin as a gift (and a violin isn’t something you gift as a surprise without being 100% sure it’d be appreciated), why didn’t she simply veto Basil’s idea to buy Sunny one? Is she stupid?

3) The photo album’s last three photos seem to imply Mari took part in other recitals before, hence why the one in the game is “Mari and Sunny’s first performance together”. With this in mind, an experienced perfectionist like her deciding to let a beginner like Sunny join her for no discernible reason is incredibly dumb.

4) Sunny got the violin on Christmas and started taking lessons after that. The photo album’s last three photos were taken in September. This means Sunny was practicing the violin for eight months by that point. Given that he “still made mistake after mistake” even by the time of the recital day, it’s safe to assume the lessons didn't help.

Why couldn’t he just quit like he did the first time around? He had to have noticed how much he sucked at it at any point during those eight months. Why didn't Mari just say "eh, you don't seem to be getting better" and decide to find another violinist? Wouldn’t she at least think “I don’t want my brother to embarrass himself on-stage”? If she allowed him to stay even despite seeing how much he sucks because she’s Jesus Christ so implausibly kind and patient, why would she bother insisting on a perfect performance to the point of overworking him?

5) Building off the previous point, if Sunny was so devoted to Mari that he was willing to start taking lessons just for the sake of playing at recitals with her, why would he be displeased about his inability to watch cartoons with his friends to the point of thinking the lessons are a “nuisance”?

If anything, his train of thought would be more along the lines of “well this kinda sucks but I’m doing this for my big sis so it’s worth it”

6) It’s true that Sunny rarely talks and tends to repress his feelings. He wouldn't have embarrassed his friends by telling them the violin wasn't what he wanted right after they gifted it to him. However, it’s hard to feel bad for his stress, given that it becomes relevant only in the game’s last half-hour and Sunny himself is never shown trying to deal with his frustration in less outwardly violent ways than taking it out on objects and his sister.

7) Sunny and Mari had to have practiced in the house’s piano room since Mari’s piano is located there. The room itself is on the first floor, yet the argument inexplicably has them teleport to the top of the staircase.

Wouldn’t Mari catch up with Sunny before he could ascend it? Why didn’t she just grab him right when she noticed he was about to storm out to prevent him from running away? How did Sunny have all the time to run out of the room, go up the stairs, look at the violin, and then throw it down?

8) Sunny didn’t need to ascend the staircase to break the violin. He could’ve simply smashed it against a wall in the piano room, the ground or even the staircase’s steps a few times.

9) Basil was in the house with the two of them as well. Assuming he was invited there for whatever reason (since it’d be too convenient if he happened to enter the house right as Mari was pushed and he shouldn’t have been able to enter the house by himself in the first place), why would Mari start an argument with her brother if she knew they had a guest? How come she got all anxious because someone happened to be nearby when she made a small mistake while playing the piano but felt comfortable yelling at Sunny when someone else was in their house?

10) Considering that a certain photo in the photo album hints that Basil feels compelled to “take care” of Sunny, why didn’t he intervene when he saw (and heard) Mari yelling at him? What, is he protective of Sunny enough to tamper with his sister's corpse for his sake but not enough to stand up for his best friend against the bile said sister was (allegedly) spewing at him?

11) There was nothing preventing Sunny from seeking Basil out after running out of the piano room and venting his frustrations to him. It’d only make sense, especially when the game itself hints Basil’s like a confidant to him. Instead, he chose to express it in a way more violent manner by destroying the violin.

12) A friend of mine actually calculated how much Sunny’s violin and the lessons approximately cost.

In one temper tantrum, Sunny flushed roughly $10,000 down the drain. Lovely kid, isn’t he?

13) Since there’s no conclusive evidence Mari restrained Sunny during the argument or used any sort of physical force in general - the most she’s seen and described doing is blocking his way downstairs by placing herself in front of him and yelling at him - there was nothing preventing him from escaping to his room and locking himself in there until Mari calms down. Or, at least, angrily shouting at her before becoming violent.

This implies that hurting Mari was a conscious decision, and that hurting her was a bigger priority to him than getting away from her.

[cosmopolitan-thedrink]

VAMPIRE FIC VAMPIRE FIC!!!

it’s technically CoD Ghost, but it only mentions it a few times and honestly its not very characteristic to him. i just needed a character and didn’t want to use an oc

Tags/Warnings: Vampire x human, blood sucking/feeding, friends to lovers?? maybe?? not technically smut but it certainly feels like it, soft dom x whiney bottom, fem!reader, praise and aftercare

“You know you’re hungry” Simon walks up to me, already baring his neck. I’ve learned a long, long time ago not to resist when it comes to him. I need blood, he wants to give me his, and that’s all we are. Vampire and blood bag. Nothing else. There’s no feelings whatsoever, not when he lets out the tiniest whines at the initial bite, or when he has the sweetest blood i’ve ever tasted, or when he’s just as desperate as i am. It’s purely transactional.

Growling lightly, I smirk and push him onto the nearby couch, straddling him and gently moving his hair out of the way. He gasps softly and immediately moves his hands to my hips, holding me in place.

“God, you always know exactly when I'm hungry. how do you do it?” i purr, playing with his hair more

“You- you have a specific look about you when you’re hungry. You’re paler and more irritable” He says, already a bit breathless

“Is that so?” I unbutton the first button of his shirt, giving me more room to bite. “You pay attention to me often, do you?” i raise an eyebrow and grin

“You make it hard not to” he replies a bit shakily, i just smirk and rub my thumb over his jugular, pressing lightly and giggling at the small whine he lets out.

“You ready? Need anything before I start?” I ask quietly, dragging my nail along his neck, leaving a beautiful pink line. It definitely pays off to have long nails sometimes.

“No. I’m ready.” he says quickly, it’s almost desperate, causing me to chuckle.

“Good” I purr, lowering my head to his neck and feeling his pulse on my lips. God, it drives me insane. I open my mouth and sink my fangs into his neck, just an inch away from the jugular. Close enough to give me a steady flow and make it hurt, but gentle enough to be safe and keep him from squirming too much. While it is fun when he squirms, it’s more efficient if I can keep him still. I smile at the gasp and whine he lets out. It never gets old.

“So good” I murmur against his skin, lapping up the blood seeping from the wound. The second it hits my tongue, I let out a soft moan and squeeze my eyes shut. Prepackaged blood bags are good, but nothing tops the real thing. Fresh blood is so… intoxicating. the warm, coppery flavour and feeling and God, the fucking texture, it makes it hard to stay in control.

His whining and whimpering only increases when i suck directly from the wound. He grabs my thigh and squeezes, digging his nails into the flesh, but I don't mind. I’m biting and drinking his blood, it’s only fair if he scratches me up a bit. Plus, I’d be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it.

I keep sucking until the bleeding slows enough, about two minutes. Two minutes of pure bliss. On both ends. As soon as I pull back, I press a piece of gauze to his neck and caress his cheek gently. He lets out a small breath and collapses fully onto the couch. He’s so woozy, barely lucid. God, I love when he gets like this. Delirious and dizzy, head spinning and vision blurring, all because of me. It’s one hell of a drug. He turns his head so slowly towards me with half lidded eyes and parted lips. I grin and finish bandaging his wound.

“You did so good for me” I whisper “Barley even squirmed” he smiles lightly and my heart warms up. He's so adorable when I drink his blood. No. Just friends. I’d even say predator and prey. Prey that wants to get caught because he enjoys being bit, and predator who’s gentle so as not to hurt the prey.

Shaking the thoughts away, I grab a water bottle and press it to his lips.

“Drink. Get your fluids up” I say gently, smiling when he drinks half the bottle without protest. The urge to praise him only grows.

“You feel ok? Dizzy or nauseous at all?”

When he doesn’t respond, just nods softly, i grab his chin and pull him closer to me

“You need to answer me, Simon. Words.” i say sharply and his eyes flutter open. His pupils are the size of saucers.

“i’m g..good” he whispers shakily and i smile and let go of his chin

“Dizzy? Nauseous?” I raise an eyebrow

“N..no” his voice is barely a whisper, and shaking like hell, but it’s a response

“Good..” I purr, caressing his cheek again.

When I go to stand up, he weakly grabs my arm. Even I can’t deny how warm it makes me feel.

“Yes?” I whisper, my voice admittedly shakier than I intended.

“Stay?” he whispers in that whiny, soft voice that makes my heart twist. I can’t deny him that, not when he used his words so well.

“Yeah. I’ll stay” I say a bit too quickly. The relief on his face is enough to make anyone melt and apparently, vampires are no exception.

“Let me grab you a snack, get some more protein in you” I stand up from his lap and try to ignore the pang in my heart when he whimpers at the loss of contact. Why must he make me… feel?

I return with a few granola bars and sit next to him, still draping my legs over him. He instinctively holds onto them, causing me to shake my head and close my eyes.

“Here. This has some protein and sugar. It should help with the wooziness” I open the granola bar and hold it up to him, nearly squealing at the adorable, tiny bites he takes. The fact that I did this to him. I am able to turn a usually ruthless, merciless soldier into a puddle of bliss and whimpers with just a small bite. I don’t know how much longer I can't deny it.

“You did so good” i purr before i can stop myself, petting his hair gently

“My pretty little blood bag, aren’t you?”

[nethhiri]

Chapter 63: Fate's Wraith

Warnings: Sex, violence, gore

Happy birthday, Eustass Kid! (sorry ya didn't get laid in this chapter)

Seated comfortably in Killer's lap, you were enjoying the party. You were several drinks deep and currently indulging in a rich chocolate cake, your favorite. Killer had made it special for you. Every bite was more sinful than the last. You really wanted to kiss him, but couldn't due to the mask, so you settled for his neck, which was now decorated with a few chocolate smears. He fed you the last piece by hand and you licked the frosting off his fingers, the same way you had done so long ago when you first joined the crew, or were a semi-hostage on the ship, same thing. 

"Why don't ya lick my fingers clean, doll?" Kid held his hand out to you.

You curled your lip. "No thanks. I'm not confident that you wash your hands."

Kid held out his flesh hand. "I wash this one," he said in earnest. 

Something on his finger glinted in the torchlight. You squinted at it. Is that...?  It was the little snake you had made, wrapped around his finger as a ring. Why would he keep that? And why would he turn it into a ring and wear it?! He better not think it's some symbol of being together. Heat rose to your face. That fucking asshole. 

"WHAT IS THAT?" You pointed to it accusingly. "Take that off right now!"

"Hah?! No way! I like it." Kid covered it protectively with his metal hand. "It looks badass."

"You said it looked like a turd!"

"I changed my mind!" Kid retorted. "Is that a crime?" 

"Yes! Take it off!"

"Yer gonna have to pry it from my cold, dead body." Kid sneered.

"I'm gonna kill you worse than I've ever killed anyone before!" 

You got up from Killer's lap and slammed your hands on the table before Killer tugged you back into his lap and pinned you with his arms over your stomach. 

"Do not ruin another dinner for everyone." Killer chided. "You can kill him after everyone's had dessert."

You turned and buried your face in Killer's chest. "But, Killer, he's being sentimental at me." 

"I know, sweetheart. Why don't you have another beer?" Killer waved one of the rookies over to get you one.

Killer would probably regret that suggestion. You did have another beer. And another. And another. And now, you were full on attacking his neck with your mouth. He had gently pushed you off a few times, but had given up. Next, he would have to swat your hands away from wandering. Killer grabbed your wrists and held them. You looked around. Everyone was busy in conversation or passed out already. Kid was in the middle of attempting to wrestle Heat and Wire at the same time. 

"Hey, Kil? I just realized I lost something in the forest earlier. Will you help me find it?"

"You want me to help you search the entire forest right now? At night?"

You put more emphasis on your words. "Yeah. I need you to go in the forest with me to look. It'll only take a few minutes."

"Can't we do it in the morning? We've both had a lot to drink and it's dark. I don't think we'll find it."

You rolled your eyes. "Killer, I'm trying to suck your dick."

"Oh. OH!" Killer quickly got up with you. 

You grabbed his hand and dragged him several feet into the forest. Close enough to the edge where you wouldn't get lost but no one would be able to see or hear. Shoving Killer against the nearest tree, you went straight for his pants, unbuckling them. You bit and kissed his neck while you slipped your hand into his jeans. You sighed smugly against his skin when you found that he was already hard. You stroked him a few times, feeling him grow in your hand. 

"Good boy," you purred. 

Killer whined as you sank down, kissing down his chest and his hip bones. You tugged his jeans down slightly lower so his cock was fully exposed. Wasting no time, you took him in your mouth, bobbing as far down as you could go without gagging. Using your hand, you spread spit down the rest of his shaft so you could jerk him off in time with your mouth. Hearing him moan and his breathing get heavy urged you on. You wanted him to cum so badly, to feel him flood your throat. Your lips tightened around him and pressed your tongue to the underside of his shaft. Every time he moaned it made you suck him off with more fervor. It was so hot hearing him receive pleasure, and that you were making it happen. 

"Fuck, Y/N." Killer gripped your head in his hands, unable to resist fucking your mouth as he got close. "I'm gonna cum. Fuck, I'm gonna cum!"

Killer's hands wove into your hair and pulled on it as he came. You felt his seed, warm and salty hit the back on your throat. It was more than you were expecting and you were a little sloppier than normal. Some of his cum dripped from the corner of your mouth. You wiped it from your face, rising to your feet. Killer was still panting with his head tilted up, putting his dick away. 

Returning to the party, Killer right behind you, no one noticed you had slipped away. Kid, Wire, and Heat were finished wrestling. Kid and Heat were passing something between them, taking a drag of whatever it was each time. You grabbed someone's half-eaten cake and finished it. Wire turned in for bed early. Kid, Killer, Heat, and yourself sat around a bonfire for a while, accompanied by more drinking and joking. Kid and Heat were getting progressively more squirmy. You were deep in conversation with Killer when you were hauled off by Kid, who muttered something about needing to go to bed. Whatever they had smoked had made Kid even more horny than he already was and tasting Killer on your lips only made the situation worse. It took you and Killer both to take care of him. 

It was the middle of the night and your eyes blinked open, full of sleep. There was a soft clearing of the throat and a hand tapping your leg. You stretched and blinked a few more times. The form at the end of the bed was Heat, who, even in the dark, looked uncomfortable. You sat up and crawled closer to him, trying not to wake Killer. Kid wouldn't wake up if you dropped a rock on his head, which you had considered doing once or twice. 

"Heat? What's wrong?" You whispered. 

"Um, did you notice anything weird with Kid?"

"You woke me up to ask about Kid?"

"N-no. I just... I found this herb earlier today that we both smoked. I thought it was Dryad Breath, which gives you a very calming high. I think... it was actually Breedweed, self-explanatory." 

Heat was noticeably covering the front of his pants. As if you hadn't already seen what was underneath. Kid was horny, but Kid was always horny, so maybe you didn't notice a difference. Maybe his dick felt slightly harder and maybe he came more than usual? You weren't entirely paying attention when you were face-first in a pillow. 

"I see."

"Do you... know of an antidote? Do you have it?"

"No, but I know how Kid's problem was solved. Wire can't help you out?"

"No. He said I need to learn a lesson about smoking random stuff from the forest... again." Heat mumbled, "And you're the doctor... and sort of the only other person I like... to sleep with, I mean."

"Let me see." You prompted again when Heat was reluctant. "Do you want me to help or not? I want to go back to sleep."

Heat dropped his hands. There was the problem, alright, and it was sizable. You turned to make sure you hadn't woken Killer. You put a finger to your lips in a gesture for him to be quiet. Killer wouldn't care, however, you didn't want to interrupt his beauty sleep. That would be rude. You tugged Heat's pants down and watched his erection bounce from its confines. The tip looked engorged with blood. It had been several hours since you had gone to bed. Heat must have been trying to wait it out this entire time. 

The sight of you staring at his dick had him leaking precum. Heat couldn't decide if he liked the idea of you being impressed by it or being disgusted by it better. He had tried several times on his own to take care of his own problem, but no matter how many times he came close, he couldn't cum. He needed to be buried in someone, desperately. He had to bite his lip to keep from whining when he felt your breath ghost across the top of his cock. He couldn't stop himself from putting his hands in your hair to guide you forward. 

You snatched his hands away from you and pinned them to his sides. Standing up so you could be closer to his height, you ran a finger up his chest and cupped his throat in your hand. 

"No touching. This is purely professional." Your grip tightened on his throat and directed him onto the bed. "Lay down."

"But Killer and-" Heat protested. 

"Lay down or leave." 

He reluctantly slid where you had been sleeping between them. "What if they wake up?"

"You should have thought of that before you brought your hard cock in the room." You added, "Kid won't wake up."

Straddling him, you brought your knees to the bed. You spit into your hand and spread it over the tip of his cock, mixing it with the precum that was still dripping from him. You pulled the panties you were wearing to the side, lowering yourself onto him. Heat groaned when he was sheathed fully inside you. You tossed the shirt you were wearing to the floor. Smirking, you watched him struggle with not being allowed to touch you. His brown eyes were fixated on you perched atop him. 

"Please. Please move." Heat's voice cracked. "I need to cum so badly. Please."

You rolled your hips very slightly. "You want the doctor to make you all better?"

"Yes! Please, yes!" Heat groaned, "It's starting to hurt. I'm begging you."

You lifted yourself up and down at a painfully slow pace, teasing Heat some more. He was flushed. He was sweating. He was panting. Every time you lifted up, it was excruciatingly difficult for him to resist fucking up into you or pulling your hips roughly down on him. He knew if he did that, you would stop right there and then. When he appeared to be getting uncomfortable, you would move and offer him some relief. 

"Y/N, please," Heat pleaded, nearly in tears.

"I think Wire might have been right. I think you need to learn a lesson."

"No! I learned my lesson! I need you." Heat whined. "I need to cum in you."

"Do you think you deserve to cum in me?"

Heat looked away, his face flushed and a mix of pain and pleasure. "No." 

"Right answer." 

Heat covered his face with his hands to keep from groaning too loudly as you started to move. You lifted yourself up and let your hips drop onto his, impaling your cervix on the tip of his cock every time you came down. You watched Heat's face contort with pleasure so intense it hurt. He was biting his lip and covering his mouth and doing everything in his power to keep from crying out. You watched his eyes get teary and roll back. You watched his hands grip the sheet so hard his knuckles turned white.

Your eyes slid over to Killer's sleeping form, the one that wasn't sleeping any more. His bright, blue eyes were slits, still sleepy. There was the ghost of a grin on his face as he palmed himself at a leisurely pace. His soft cock slowly woke up, same as him, as he watched you ride Heat. Killer loved his your tits bounced and how wet your pussy sounded, but he especially loved that you were focused on him and ignoring Heat even though Heat was the one with his cock buried in you. Heat was losing the battle to keep his sounds contained. He was definitely close to cumming.

"I know you're not thinking of cumming before my darlin here." Killer said, voice gravelly from sleep.

"Kil-Killer!" Heat's eyes went wide, flitting between you and him. 

"Let me help you with that." 

Killer sat up, catching your mouth with his. You threaded your fingers through his hair and pulled him to you, devouring his kisses while you rode Heat. Killer's mouth travelled to your neck, just where he knew you liked it. His big, rough hands groped your tits before being replaced with his mouth. His hand continued down until his finger was on your clit. Your back arched at the sensation. Killer knew you well by this point. He knew everything that turned you on. He had you close to finishing in a matter of minutes, which was a godsend to Heat, who was barely holding on. 

"Go on, baby. I know you want to cum."

Killer's words had an instant effect on you. Your hips bucked against his fingers, rubbing your clit harder against him as you felt the wave of tingling heat hit you. The pleasure flowed out from your center. Killer's mouth covered yours again as you cried out. You mewled against him, sliding your tongue against his and riding your high. You wish you were cumming on his cock instead of Heat's. Killer pulled away from you for just a second, enough to tell Heat that it was okay to release, fill you up with cum.

Heat was sure that he started spurting ropes of cum into you the second you came, but Killer's words had him experiencing the most volatile orgasm of his life. He felt like he couldn't stop the cum from shooting into your cunt. There was so much. It was starting to leak from where you were both connected. Even then, he was still going. Your cunt was so warm and wet, and it was milking him of everything he had. He understood why Kid and Killer were holed up with you for the past several days. 

You were still panting from your release, breathlessly growling at Heat, "Get out." 

"Wh-?"

"Are you waiting for a lollipop? You're cured. Get out." You were already climbing off him and stroking Killer's cock, kissing him between words. 

Heat hastily got off the bed, mind still scrambled from his orgasm. He knew better than to incur your wrath, no matter how sexy it was when you yelled at him. "Yes. Ma'am. Thank you, ma'am." 

Killer was already finger fucking you, pinning you beneath him and trying to bring you to another orgasm. He was panting heavily, cock twitching after watching you bounce on Heat. He craved that tight, hot cunt for himself. Killer threw you over Kid so your ass was up in the air, hips resting on Kid's side. 

"Are we-?" There was a hopeful tone in your voice.

"Using Kid as sex furniture? Yeah."

It was impressive how much Kid could sleep through: canon fire, severe storms, monstrous waves, several rounds of sex followed by earth-shattering, bone-breaking orgasms.

It was beginning to get boring, being on the island. It had been a week. There was nothing to do but spar, eat, and fuck while you waited for this alliance meeting. At this moment, you were doing the first thing. Even though you used a gun as your primary weapon, you were skilled at hand to hand combat. It was funny how all the men, especially the bigger ones, all thought they could take you. Had they forgotten about when you had sparred with the other officers? The trick was to use their momentum against them. You flipped them onto their backs with ease. The girls fought closer to your own style, so they required a little more skill. 

"Let me go!" Quincy pouted. "I know what's been between these thighs and I don't want to get any on me!" 

You had her in a hold with your legs and rolled your eyes. "Chill out." 

Releasing her, you waited for another volunteer. Heat stepped forward. 

"Heat step back. You've already gone 4 times." 

"But I like when you catch me between your thighs."

"Everyone does." You heard Quincy protest from somewhere on deck. "Killer is thrilled at the marked increase in everyone's participation and fighting skills since I started leading sparring."

The other reason Killer wanted you to take a turn leading sparring sessions was that no one had to hold back since you could heal whatever injuries occurred. You had broken and healed numerous arms. A few jaws had been broken. But real stakes led to better reaction times and avoidance skills. 

"I'll go." Wire planted his trident in the ground. "Let's get a little more serious."

You nodded, a grin spread across your face. "Are you sure?"

"Come on, little marine girl." Wire took a fighting stance with his weapon. 

A yellow glow enveloped your bracer as it moved from your arm and molded into a spear. Wire knew better than to call you that, outside of role-play that is. You gave it a few experimental twirls before taking up a similar stance. Everybody immediately took a step back when you started fighting. There was no warm up. This was full force from the beginning. Loud metal clangs filled the air as you attacked and parried each other. The force reverberating down your arms was jarring as his trident made contact with your spear. Wire had an advantage with his height and arm span. He had more range than you did. You found yourself blocking more than attacking. 

It only took one millisecond of lag in reaction time to change for someone to land a hit. Unfortunately the someone was you. The pain didn't come right away. You were suddenly on your knees, on the ground, with the points of Wire's trident sticking through the front of your body on the right side. The pain came right after you saw the blood trickling out of your mouth and down your front. It was excruciating and it wasn't even the pain of being impaled that hurt the most. It was the choking, gasping pain of your right lung collapsing and not being able to breathe. Everything was silent except for the sound of your rasping. 

Any good warrior wouldn't go down that easily, nor would they go down alone. Your torso and Wire's trident simultaneously glowed with pale yellow light. Wire was still in shock over accidentally stabbing you. His own trident slithered up his arm and wrapped around him like a constrictor. The holes left in its wake disappeared as you healed your wounds. Your vision went black for a moment while your breath still escaped you. As your lung was repairing, it came back and the first things you saw were the blue and white stripes of Killer's mask. 

"Y/N! Are you okay?!" Killer's hand rested on your back, ready to catch you if you passed out. 

You coughed up blood. "Of course I'm okay. Who do you think I am?"

While Killer was checking on you, Kid was yelling at Wire.

"BE MORE CAREFUL! YA COULD HAVE KILLED 'ER." Kid barked in his face. "I LEAVE YA ALONE FOR AN HOUR AND I COME BACK TO MAKING A KEBAB OF MY WOMAN. YA DID THIS ON PURPOSE! YA NEVER LIKED HER!" 

Killer turned to Kid. "HEY! STOP ALL THAT, KID." 

You pushed yourself up. It was like nothing ever happened. You put yourself in front of Wire and pushed Kid back, Wire still bound by his manipulated trident. 

"Stop. We were sparring. I'm fine."

"IT'S NOT FINE WHEN I SEE YA ON THE GROUND, COVERED IN RED, MAKING A HORRIBLE GURGLING SOUND LIKE YER DROWNIN IN YER OWN BLOOD!"

The soft side of Kid came out when you least expected. In spite of the fact he was screaming, the way he cared so deeply for you was coming through. There was a tenderness in his eyes. Killer pulled Kid away for a stern word. You reverted Wire's trident to its original shape, freeing him. He seemed both irritated and apologetic. 

"Sorry about that." He said. 

"No need to apologize. It's all part of the spar as far as I'm concerned." 

"Kid loves you," Wire stated, matter-of-factly. 

"I know." You sighed. "But if you ever say that out loud to me or anyone else again I will shove that trident so far inside you, it'll tickle your brain."

"Fair enough."

When Killer dragged Kid back, he apologized to Wire for his accusations. Wire and the rest of the crowd dispersed to go do other things, sparring clearly and firmly over. 

"What did you guys come over here for anyway? Thought you were doing something."

Killer shared a glance with Kid. "Nothing."

"Aye. Nothin." 

They were both suspect, though you didn't pry further. They walked with you along the beach, towards the ship. You meant to go back to the castle, but you were semi-herded in this direction by the two broad men. The hair on your neck raised as you noticed a second ship next to the Victoria. An enemy? No, it looked familiar. It was a marine vessel, yet not quite. It was painted like one; the shape was wrong though, slimmer, more agile in appearance. Your breath caught in your throat. No. No, they couldn't have. It couldn't be. 

You stopped dead in your tracks. "What is that?"

Kid had a proud, smug smirk on his face. Killer seemed very pleased with himself as well. 

"You tell us, darlin."

"How the fuck did you get that?"

"I got my ways, doll."

You ran ahead, wanting to confirm your suspicions with a closer inspection. It was the most beautiful ship you'd ever laid eyes on. It was your ship, Fate's Wraith. Some things had been altered of course. The bones were the same. Forgetting in the moment where and when you were in time, you ran straight into the waves. You wanted to put your hands on her and feel the wood. You wanted to be on her deck and look over the wheel again. The ocean sapped your strength and you flopped face first into the water. Killer was right behind you, swift to pick you up, out of the waves. 

You stood at the very edge of the sand when Killer put you down. It was a good thing your face was wet because there was a good chance you had tears running down your cheeks. You never thought you would see her again. You didn't think you wanted to or needed to. Your reaction was stronger than you would have thought. Nostalgia washed over you. So much of your life was dedicated to that ship. So much of your infamy was born on that ship. Only the final moments on that ship were tainted with bad memories. The rest were glorious. 

Barely noticeable to you, as you had no feeling that you were doing it, a soft, dandelion luminance moved gradually over the exterior of the vessel. The ship was evolving as you remembered her. Kid and Killer watched in awe as the ship before them was restored to its former glory. The wooden planks became pristine. The paint was bright white. The sails were unworn. Whatever marine name was inscribed on it disintegrated away and was replaced by the vibrant blue script that displayed the ship's namesake: Fate's Wraith. It was beautiful. 

You stumbled as the ship took the form of its best condition, the condition it was in during your best years. You only realized you had used your devil fruit when you got incredibly tired all of the sudden. Killer supported you with his arm when your knees sagged. 

"I was hopin to wait for this moment to ask ya to be one of my commanders, but ya forced my hand early." Kid ruffled your hair. He sounded more serious than he usually was. "I know ya said this was yer crew and Victoria was yer ship. And that makes me happy. It does. But I know deep down ya miss being a captain. Be a captain for me. I want ya to be a captain in my fleet." 

Tag list: @bbnbhm @wgwingguns @nocturnalrorobin @lycanthropemaul

[ughgoaway]

hi love u can we talk about neighbor matty first not-date date/the first time they hung out and it wasn’t hostile and she wanted to kiss him rotten

omg omg omg THIS WAS SO HARD. but I think it was a building nye party. your building manager had sent out invitations a month ago, and he'd made it pretty clear in not so many (SO MANY) words (5 emails, 2 letters, 3 doorstep chats) that attendance was mandatory.

so you get dolled up and head up to the roof, only for your eyes to be immediately magnetised to Matty's. he's across the roof from you, dressed up in a suit with a soft smile on his face, a far cry from the cheeky smirk that usually sits on his lips.

maybe it was the champagne that mellowed him, but he simply waved your way then continued chatting with your elderly neighbour, smiling and laughing with him, all whilst flirting with his wife, because he's still matty after all.

soon enough, the champagne had mellowed you too, and you had slithered off to a far corner of the roof, sitting on the edge and letting your legs dangle below. an existential crisis minutes to midnight had accidentally become a tradition for you, and this year wasn't seemingly any different. until a figure soon came from the bubbling party and sat beside you, and you didn't have to turn your head to know it was matty.

"you planning on jumping? wouldn't be a great start to the year, love." he teased, wordlessly grabbing your empty glass and pouring half the champagne from his into it.

"I always loved sitting like this, since I was young. the breeze and weightlessness of my legs always felt like freedom for me. my mum used to have a heart attack everytime she saw the door up to the roof ajar, she knew exactly where I'd be. sat letting the cold air fill my lungs, radiohead blasting in my ear because I really was that teenager. but no amount of warnings and worried glances could stop me from coming up here. it finally felt like I could breathe for the first time. its been a long time since I've just breathed, I think. longer than I thought. feels weird" you say softly, scooting closer to matty as you speak.

matty nods along silently, wrapping his arm around your shoulder when you get emotional thinking about what the past year has been, and how little time you had to feel the freedom you so often did as a teen. you don't shrink away at his touch like usual, almost settling into his grip and letting his fingers dance over your skin.

you hear the countdown coming from the other side of the roof, and when it gets to one, you simply rest your head on Matty's shoulder, sucking in a deep shaky breath, watching the fireworks from the building across the road fill up the sky. matty rests his head on yours, rubbing his hand up and down your cold bare skin, letting his touch warm you up as much as he can when it's 2° and you're sat in a breeze 20 stories up. he feels you start to suck in as many breaths as you can, a panic attack forming as you start to linger on the past year, and obsess over the inevitable future, the unknown of it all making your chest ache and your palms sweat.

"its a new year darling, plenty of time for deep breaths. no need to rush them all, breathe with me, yeah?" he grabs your hand and holds it to his chest, letting it feel the rise and fall of his steady breathing. you slow down eventually, and the wet patch on his black suit jacket stops growing.

"happy new year matty" you say simply, sniffling and gripping his hand tightly. he squeezes it 3 times, hoping you know the 3 words each grip means. 3 words, 8 letters, and he meant every one of them.

you do get it, but you can't squeeze it back. not yet.

eventually your manager comes and shouts at you both for sitting on the edge and almost making his building a crime scene. but the first 5 minutes of the year had an energy you'd not felt before, and you're not sure you've felt since.

[assassiowl]

Some Outer Wilds themed Sprites - About four months old for the hatchling and fish, the Undertale one is just under two months old.

There's also a landscape pixel scene at the end of the keep reading.

I lost my will to connect with art until I discovered the joy of making sprites. I think there was something about having something tangible very quickly that was super appealing. I think as an artist that is just starting out it can be very discouraging when you're measuring up against people who have been doing what they have been for such a long time. You don't see the years of experience that happened behind the scenes of whatever is in front of you.

But sprites, most importantly you can get something pretty decent with enough dedication, issues that are too expansive to understand all at once become much more accessible.

You don't have to have perfect anatomy to have a workable sprite.

You don't have to understand colour theory nor composition to lay out something fun to look at.

When I was learning how to make games they would always tell me pixel art was like art for non artists.

Sprites are wonderful, especially now when we're not constrained by hardware, you can do some wild stuff.

Art is so fascinating, I think different ways of working make you think about different aspects that can flow into other areas.

I use these to push my characterisation now, you have such a small canvas (I work at 96x96 and expand to 288x288) you really need to think about a hierarchy of importance. It's all about distilling the essence of what you're trying to convey.

That being said this isn't how I started, my first sprites took days, endlessly worrying about every single pixel. Learning how to sprite took a few months of really dedicated creation. I learned by creating for Pokemon fangame Infinite Fusion (Most of them can be seen here: https://www.fusiondex.org/artists/assassiowl/), there's a dedicated community of artists, with a huge list of base sprites that you can paint over.

When you're not confident in what you're doing, having access to resources like that is a wonderful thing to be grateful for. You can forget about things like anatomy and colours (to an extent) while you pick it up along the way. Even better when you meet encouraging people who teach you things you might have missed along the way.

The problem as a beginner I always had was, nothing I made looked even ok, it was beyond frustrating not being able to make anything look even passable. It's super disheartening that when you put so many hours into something and you have nothing to show for it.

It put me off art for such a long time. But the wonderful thing when you're editing something that already exists, is you can still get it too look pretty good. I mashed two pokemon together, someone else has already worried about what their key features and personalities are, all I have to do is find a way to bring out both halves.

But really, I think the most important thing for creating in general is to find what you actually enjoy doing, yeah that's vague and it sucks while you're looking, but there needs to be something that makes you want to keep showing up on the days where you don't feel like it.

I play games a lot, so this was just putting into practice everything I've been passively absorbing for such a long time.

I still make sprites and pixel art, but not nearly as regularly as I used to. I made this landscape using the familiar tools of pixel art, but I really wanted to start exploring some more complicated ideas, which aren't really possible with just a small character canvas.

Asking a friend about why they stepped away from sprites, they said something similar, that they wanted to create backgrounds for their characters, I suppose I get that sentiment now.

[pureshoney]

"that is a type of strength, but isn't this whole thing about getting rid of that nasty demon from inside of you? isn't that what you want from me, princess? we came here to rid you of your nasty filthy sins and save you from being a dirty fuckin' whore …" homme sucks his teeth as if he were genuinely disappointed by the knowledge that this isn't what she truly wanted. as if he doesn't know his girl loves being slutty and allowing him to take whatever hole he pleases. "yeah, you would," he said coldly, his voice dropping to a low growl that left no room for debate. still, there's a smirk that tugs on the end of his lips that says otherwise. "you know i'd show you a good time, baby. best time you ever had, ain't that, right? that's why you open these legs wide whenever daddy wants because nobody ever fucked you the way i do," hand reaches to squeeze her ass between his palm, so perfectly pert. "you try to be good, ainsley? don't make me fuckin' laugh …" and he chuckles anyway, fingers releasing their hold on her flesh to instead swat it. groaning at the sight of her cheek jiggling, his other hand working to tease her slit, that same digit massaging her clit briefly entering inside her. only deep enough to cover his first knuckle and then take it out and do the same thing repeatedly. "tell jesus who you're wet for, baby. tell both of us," slips his hand out to instead continue stroking that throbbing bundle of nerves. "keep doing that? you want me to make you cum already? you want to cum all over daddy's fingers? i don't think so … daddy needs to get off too, feel this tight pussy around me," the sounds of her wet cunt filled the church as he thrust his cock into her with increasingly greater force and speed. forcefully bucking his hips upwards, jamming his swollen head deep into her pussy. one hand grasps so tightly into her hips that it's sure to leave a bruise, the other reaches to press against her lower back and begins to push her closer to the cold ground. "of course you're happy right now. daddy's nasty girl, huh? bet you'd let me keep fuckin' you even if mass started right now."

but what if she didn't want to be stronger? if being strong meant easily resisting abel and the hold he had over her then she simply didn't want it, she'd take being weak and distracted over that any day. "but i can be strong in other ways, can't i daddy? i can take you fucking me over and over again, i think that's a type of strength." even if it was so easy to give in to him, to throw a single glance his way and feel her panties dampen. "i bet that apple adam ate was juicy though ... wet and tasty, dripping down his chin", femme remarks, an amused huff breaking free in the midst of her man pushing down her throat. "would i?" soft blinks, a feigned innocence as she pretends to think it over, "if you showed me a good time i'd definitely do it. i'd wait for you like a pretty little present for you to unwrap and i might even give you a discount too." couldn't deny that he consumes her thoughts, that when they're apart her mind is constantly drawn back to him — body missing his knowing touch, their playful conversation and the harshness that tempting him too far could bring. stretching out her back ainsley moans, cold flooring a sharp contrast to the way her body burns, slickness coating her thighs as her man touches her. "i just love your dick too much, daddy. that's why it's hard. i try and be good and then you just ruin it all", because of course she'd try and spin it, to point the finger of blame at abel as opposed to herself and those ever present desires to be used and destroyed. stomach tightens as he strokes her swollen bud, legs trembling at finally being pleasured. "y — yes daddy, mm ... please, keep doing that." god, she could orgasm from just a few more swirls of his finger. when he pushes himself inside her tight warmth ainsley can't comprehend the sound she makes, a high pitched moan that strangles off to a whimper. velvet walls clench around his fat cock, hues rolling as her body adjusts to him. "fuck daddy, s'good ... " knees redden from the tough flooring as ainsley grinds herself back, head tipping upward as another moan rips free. "jesus would want us to find happiness here though, wouldn't he? i'm finding god right now, baby and he can't be disappointed by that."

[mistergoddess]

my ass has gotta get a tappable debit/credit card bc the absolute dread of buying an unlimited metro card and then not meeting the 12 ride cost bc i end up not going out enough and just giving the mta money for unused rides is chilling