#sorry but their fucking dialogue in the game is so charming

[turtletaubwrites]

Numbers Game ~ Chapter 38

I Like Those Odds

Pairings: Cross Guild Polycule x Shanks x Fem!Reader x ???

Numbers Game Masterlist

Word Count: 5.7k+

Ao3 Link

Ongoing Series Playlist: Youtube Music Link | Youtube Link

Chapter Tunes: Fly (feat. Super Cat) ~ Sugar Ray | Waves ~ Dean Lewis

Summary: Tonight is the last "First Date." The Hunters each get their moment in the spotlight, while you get to know the royal family that's been trying to win you.

Ch. 37 Recap: Detailed recap is directly below the cut!

Author's Note: Heeyyyy, look at that. Still a hermit, but fictional dialogue has to count for something 😅 I hope y'all enjoy this one, there's a lot of things in here 🥰

Dark Content Warning: I haven't marked any dark content for this chapter, but it's full of villains, and the plot is doing things. Please remember that this story has and will always contain dark content and themes.

Also, I hope everyone remembers the tag/warning: Cross Guild Boys are VILLAINS. It’s been there since day one, so 🤷‍♀️

Alternate POV Symbols:

🌲 ~ Reader | 🐊 ~ Crocodile | 🗡 ~ Mihawk | 🤡 ~ Buggy | 🔴 ~ Shanks | ⏰ ~ Flashbacks for listed POV | ⚫ ~ Scenes depicting Dark Content as listed in Author's Notes

!!! SPOILER WARNING !!! Fic contains spoilers for current OP plotlines!!! As we get further into/past Egghead Arc where our lovely boys are showing up more, there will be more spoilers as time goes on. Sorry y'all, I'm trying to keep most spoilers small or vague details, but Cross Guild is endgame, lol.

Rating/Warnings: Author May Choose to Exclude some Warnings to Avoid Spoilers for Certain Chapters, Explicit Sexual Content, 18+ ONLY, MDNI, AFAB!Reader, She/Her Pronouns for Reader, Reader-Insert, Use of Y/N, Dark Content, Blood & Violence, PTSD, Panic Attacks, Dissociation, Mental Illness, Grief, Hospitals, Doctors, Mental Health Treatment, Toxic Family, Childhood Trauma, Swearing, Alcohol, Cigars, Smut, Fluff, Angst, Guilt, Drama, Jealousy, Manipulation, Pet Names, Power Imbalance, Cross Guild boys are VILLAINS, Possessive Behavior, Teasing, Threats, Relationship Drama, Inappropriate Use of Akuma no Mi | Devil Fruit Powers, Shameless Shameless Smut, Uncle Cedrick Has Become His Own Warning, Death of an Unnamed Character, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

| masterlist | about me | rules | ao3 |

Ch. 37 Recap:

Buggy and Crocodile languished as the date with the CEO of Galley La began. Buggy imagined what he would do if reader was truly happy, while Crocodile fought not to let his rage spill onto the only lover he had left by his side.

Shanks confronted his enemy again, but no matter how villainous he tried to act under the constraints of the hunt's rules, Iceburg gave him no ground.

Reader let herself enjoy the date with Mr. Iceburg, only to discover that he came there to save her from her Uncle's wicked plans. He revealed the guilt he felt over not checking in on her after her father died, and that he looked into her previous loves when he became suspicious of why she hadn't taken over the company yet.

Reader convinced her favorite shipwright that the only safe way for him to help her would be to marry her, and she was happy to learn that it could be more than a marriage of convenience when he accepted her desire for intimacy.

Reader was not able to hold onto those feelings of hope after the date ended, crying herself to sleep. Then breakfast came, and Iceburg revealed to her family that part of his motivation to marry her would be to gain the resources needed to help save Water 7 from the storm that plagued it. She decided to face that fear later, after she survived the hunt.

I Like Those Odds

~~~🔴🔴🔴~~~

The feel of that charming smile on his own lips was starting to burn, but Shanks kept it up. He’d fucked up too many times since greed had taken him over. Since he’d stolen those stolen clues to the One Piece from the rookie that he’d forgotten about the second he imagined Buggy by his side again.

Always been a fucking villain.

“So, Emperor Shanks, how are you enjoying this hunt for true love? Are you planning to take your new bride to find the One Piece for your honeymoon?”

“What can I say,” he flirted with the reporter, hating how much he enjoyed the way her skin flushed under his attention. “I’m here to find myself a Queen.”

The courtyard seemed to shake beneath the weight of so many leeches sighing, their pleasure like sticky heat on his skin.

Sylvad had announced that there’d be no hunt today since the last, first date would take place this evening. Instead, he forced each hunter under the microscope, letting his greedy audience soak them all in.

Y/N sat between Cedrick and her sister, a soft smile never leaving her face while her lunch remained untouched before her. That wounded star just gazed at her hunters, and Shanks could feel those empty eyes stripping him bare, exposing him more than the massive screens against the manor.

Shanks’ shitty smile was blown up beside another screen that showed reels of the hunt. He had to fight not to stare at all the pathetic, desperate, and wicked moments the snails had captured.

His failures kept playing on a loop.

“Were you expecting to find such fierce competition?”

The Emperor’s smile deepened at the sight of his failure from last night. Luckily it was distant, but he could see his own useless rage while he leaned toward his enemy, and his eyes flicked toward the man in the moment.

His enemy’s face was still as cold and immovable as his stupid name.

“I enjoy a challenge,” Shanks nodded at Iceburg before winking at the reporter.

The girl shook herself after biting her lip, tugging her newsboy cap down a bit while the villain laid eyes on his prey again.

The wounded star was still smiling.

“I always win when it counts.”

~~~🔴🔴🔴~~~

~~~~~~

~~~🤡🐊🤡🐊~~~

“He’s there to help her…”

Buggy had braced himself for his star’s pleasure, held his breath through her rage and emptiness, until his voice came out soft, unbelieving, while Crocodile’s warmth never left him.

The man not known for his patience had waited so quietly, afraid his voice would break things again. Y/N’s pain was too sharp when her old lover’s betrayals were revealed, but his little clown shared her painful story, as though giving him a target to focus that rage on.

“More people to add to our list.”

“She thought I’d be like them,” Buggy stretched, removing himself from Crocodile’s lap so he could let pieces of him shake around the suite, hands flapping and tapping, but nothing could shake these feelings out of him. “Those assholes gave her up for ShitFuck’s money. She’s so…”

“We’ll find them,” his scarred lover promised, stamping out his cigar as though he could burn it into the flesh of his enemies from the comfort of this pretty loveseat that could barely hold him.

~~~🤡🐊🤡🐊~~~

~~~~~~

~~~🌲🌲🌲~~~

Numbers had gotten you through so many boring events, so many mind-numbing parties and dates.

You rarely did it on purpose, but you’d often catch yourself counting, adding, multiplying. So many random things to count, to figure out, to focus on. It was relaxing, something to do while you kept that Sylvad smile on your face. Especially since you decided to keep your locket hidden today, sitting against your skin under the fabric of the dress he’d chosen.

Uncle had looked like he might snatch it from you yesterday when you were fidgeting with it in front of the crowd, and it wouldn’t be the first time he’d taken away something that soothed you.

So, without that warm metal beneath your fingers to drag back and forth, or to flip over and under the chain like a coin over your fingertips, you gave in to numbers to keep you sane.

~~~🌲~~~

One.

“How are you feeling about your odds, Prince Ichiji,” Chinode asked, the young reporter seeming a bit too excited to be interviewing your suitors.

“It’s not a question,” the red-haired prince bragged, his fingers tapping a slow rhythm onto his knee while he gazed at you. “Y/N will be a Vinsmoke soon.”

~~~🌲~~~

Two. He should be ‘four’ though. I wonder why their ‘three’ didn’t come to woo me?

“You’re the last to have your first date,” Chinode smiled, just a hint of tease in her voice. A dangerous game. “Do you have something special planned for your potential princess tonight?”

“Of course,” Yonji boasted, “I’m gonna sweep her off her feet.”

His eyes drank you in, greedy and full of an excitement that might have made you shy if you hadn’t lived through the last few months of your wild life.

Kat cleared her throat, and you caught the smirk she failed to hide. You poked her thigh under the table before she could break your concentration, your stupid, empty smile.

I guess he’s not her favorite anymore, you thought while you caught sight of Reiju’s pink hair a few tables away.

Green’s not so bad…

~~~🌲~~~

Three. Third time’s the…

Having no favorites was an impossible feat when the man of your dreams smiled at you. Iceburg did so well under the spotlight. You hardly heard a word while you schooled your features, forcing yourself to smile at him the same way you smiled at the others.

Uncle Cedrick’s eyes were always on you, watching every emotion you let slip when he wasn’t caught on his own image on the screen.

Hope was poison. Even if you followed this dream, you’d be sailing into the storm that haunted your nightmares.

You used that fear to balance your hope, hoping that your Uncle could sense none of those dangerous truths.

~~~🌲~~~

Four. The gentle not-a-giant.

A lovely death wish.

“Charlotte Katakuri,” Chinode squeaked from that little platform you’d gotten used to, although watching it swaying in the wind from your spot on the ground made your mouth dry. “Your family is known for making matches. What are you hoping to gain from this powerful pairing?”

Just as you’d known you’d been right about his smile; you were certain that your crimson-eyed suitor was scowling at her beneath that mass of feathers.

He waited long enough to reply that he interrupted whatever words she was about to try next, ignoring her to look at you with that knowing gaze.

“Family.”

~~~🌲~~~

Five. The traitor.

How was it that everyone could adore such a monster? Shanks had everyone laughing, sighing, practically prostrating themselves before him just to get some attention from that red-haired piece of shit.

That Emperor of the Sea.

Yet through all that charm, you could see the cracks.

He’s just like Uncle. He always gets what he wants.

And when he doesn’t…

“I always win when it counts.”

His threat sent a chill over your skin, but you kept smiling. 

Even if he won, if he stole you for his own selfish goals, you had a plan.

Let the monster use you until you could kill him for your star. If you failed, he’d kill you, but you’d be free of him. If you succeeded, either his crew, or the wicked sea would end your life.

Numbers caught you again, calming your thrashing heart.

Five. He’s one out of five.

Hope was reckless, but…

I like those odds.

~~~🌲🌲🌲~~~

~~~~~~

~~~🤡🐊🤡🐊~~~

A quiet gratitude had been building for the man that was caring for his love when he couldn’t, until that peace came undone.

He knew that breathing.

“She’s okay,” Buggy choked out at his scarred lover, the man far too patient while Buggy reacted to those faraway sounds.

“I thought you said… They’re—”

“Yeah.”

The stopping and starting was making him dizzy, and soon the clown was pacing, failing to remove his body’s reaction to her need.

I’m sick. Fucking twisted.

“Little clown—”

“He’s not gonna hurt her,” Buggy snarled, tearing the plug from his ear. “I shouldn’t… She doesn’t know. I’m so fucking wrong, GODS DAMNIT!”

“Why don’t you listen to me instead?”

Sand faded, but the swell of it around Buggy had formed into that frightening man, who breathed his question along his only ear. Crocodile fisted into his hair, and the clown was surprisingly distracted for a moment when he pulled their bodies together.

“Mm, my little clown is so needy,” Crocodile rasped, dragging the lovely, desperate man toward the bed. “Didn’t I already tell you? Just tell Daddy what you want, I’ll take care of you.”

Crocodile held his breath. He had to find some way to help, something to do to keep his brave little clown from breaking, but he feared he may have pushed too far.

Buggy’s mind had gone blank except for the sweet sting of Crocodile’s grip in his hair, and the sound of his star about to come on another man’s fingers.

“I want you to take care of me,” Buggy confessed, almost laughing at those words that had started such a filthy, delicious adventure for them all.

When Buggy had said he wanted to watch, he’d already felt a taste of this, but when she said those words, when she let them have her, Buggy had learned how sick he was. Watching those villains fuck his girl dumb, tear her into little pieces while she begged for more should have filled him with rage.

Yet, that twisted clown couldn’t get enough.

This was different though. She didn’t know he was listening.

Guilt nearly dropped him again, until that very distracting Daddy shoved his tongue down his throat.

“Good boy,” Crocodile praised before lying on the bed, gently tugging his lover along with him. “You gonna let Daddy taste that ass of yours before I ruin it? You gonna sit on my—”

“Yes, Daddy,” Buggy gave a breathless laugh before dropping his pajama pants, and climbing up that frightening, welcoming face.

“Mm, come here, pretty boy,” Crocodile hummed, pulling the man down with his hand, his hook already resting on the dresser.

He’d gotten so comfortable with this little guild, but Crocodile couldn’t force himself to stress about it while those needy, crystal eyes stared down at him.

“Touch yourself for me.”

“Fuuuck,” Buggy shook while that wicked, huge tongue teased him open. He obeyed, fisting himself while he sat on that frightening face, only to realize their mistake.

Crocodile made delicious noises while he worked, but it was hard to listen to his muffled moans over the sounds of her screams.

Star, I’m sorry, I—

“Gods, Daddy,” he finally returned, that tongue taking him over the edge that guilt had barred him from.

His Daddy went wild at those delicious words, fingers digging into his hip so he could shove that tongue deeper, toying with his clown until he could feel that pulsing need.

His star had to take her pleasure quickly, her breath almost distant while she moaned.

Iceburg was fucking her so well, Buggy could almost see her beautiful face all wrecked with need.

The clown managed to grab a pillow to catch his mess, letting out a pathetic moan while that tongue kept playing.

He fell to the side in bits and pieces, amazed by the pleased look on his scarred lover’s face.

“You didn’t need to spare me,” the man laughed, pulling him against the warmth of his body. “I’d like to feel my pretty clown’s come on my skin next time.”

“Fuck,” Buggy shivered against that warmth, earning a wicked chuckle. The sudden memory of the danger that awaited him would have stolen his mind again, if not for the lack of that sacred heartbeat.

“The locket,” his clown choked, sending fear through him.

“What is it, little clown?”

Holding onto his pretty, little lover, Crocodile managed to hold onto patience. Barely.

“He gave it back to her,” the clown sighed, more guilt riding him that he’d soon hear her fulfill Iceburg’s command.

His star wanted that man so badly, it stilled his blood again, until he remembered.

“I’m sorry,” he coughed, trying to turn in Crocodile’s arms to finish their distraction, but the man held him too tight. “We can— “

“There’ll be plenty of time for that,” Crocodile soothed, breathing along Buggy’s neck until his clown shivered again. “Unless you want— What’s wrong?”

No. Baby, please.

“She’s safe, she’s just… She’s crying,” Buggy confessed, those comforting arms stiffening around him for a moment.

“Let’s get cleaned up and get some rest, little clown,” Crocodile soothed, that large hand smoothing down Buggy’s skin. “We need to stay strong for her.”

“Yeah.”

Buggy followed along, accepting comfort while a different kind of guilt trapped his heart.

He could feel the heat of her around that locket, her sobs muffled as though her fist was gripping the metal around his listening ear.

The fact that Buggy felt comforted, felt closer to Y/N while she fell to pieces, made him feel sicker than his perverted pleasure had.

It’s okay, baby. I’m right here.

~~~🤡🐊🤡🐊~~~

~~~~~~

~~~🌲🌲🌲~~~

“I don’t know…”

“You look pretty badass,” Kat declared as she trailed her finger over the strange, slick fabric along your arm. That smooth, shiny fabric covered everything but your head, your body encased in black and green.

It barely looked like clothes. It looked like you’d been dipped into a vat of paint.

“Well, it’s more comfortable than that leather outfit,” you sighed, glad for the silly cape this time.

At least my ass is covered.

Kat raised a brow at your snort, but she couldn’t keep her face straight.

Soon you were both laughing, wheezing, still giggling when mom returned to lead you to your next date.

Your locket was a lump beneath that skintight suit, but you hoped the number “4” on your chest would distract from it.

The youngest prince could barely speak when Cedrick presented you to him, letting the leeches drool over you almost as much as Yonji seemed to be.

It was ridiculous, but the sight of pink hair making its way toward your sister made it all worth it.

“You ready, princess,” Yonji managed to beg, kneeling at your feet.

“Yes, Prince Yonji— Oh!”

Laughter spilled from you once more, fighting not to squeal while he carried you through the air.

That suit was surprisingly comfortable against the wind beneath this golden sky.

“Just wait, Princess,” Yonji threatened, “I’m gonna show you the world.”

~~~🌲~~~

The thrill of flying sank fast once he set you down.

“Relax, pretty,” the prince ordered as he trailed a thumb over your cheek. “You’re safe with me.”

A gorgeous, green couch had been bolted to a wooden platform, but the comfort of that plush seat couldn’t hide the sway or stifle the strange need that eccentric piece of furniture had stoked in you.

Yonji had brought you to a couch at the top of a redwood tree, and sitting just above the forest was mind numbing. Somehow, sitting there was more dizzying than being carried through the sky.

“I had something made for you,” the green-haired man purred, grinning from his spot on his knees before you. His eyes dragged over every shiny piece of you until he pulled a large pouch from beneath his cape to dig through. “I hope you’re not too hungry, princess. It’s not a good idea to eat before your first go.”

“My first… No, really?”

“Please, gorgeous,” he begged, puppy dog eyes doing you in. “I’ll show you how. Just let me take these off for you.”

Fuck. Anything to get me off this stupid, green couch.

Yonji wasted no time when you nodded your consent, and soon you were giggling at his frantic, creeping fingers. He undid the shiny boots you’d been stuffed into, tickling you slightly as he trailed over your knees, your shins, tracing softly over the tops of your feet.

“Is my pretty princess ticklish?”

Wicked, curly eyebrows raised at you while he kissed just below your knee, but his fingers still held your squirming feet.

“Prince Yonji, please! You’re making me dizzy,” you pouted, holding in your smirk when you saw that you’d been right.

Making this prince melt was too easy, and watching his mouth go slack with need made your toes curl where he held them trapped against his chest.

“Sorry, princess,” Yonji rasped after catching his breath, still gazing up at you like you were his favorite treat. “I got distracted. Let me show you how to fly.”

~~~🌲~~~

“Holyshitholyshit!”

“You’re a natural,” Yonji beamed while he held your quivering hands, making you spin slowly in the darkening sky, getting too dark above the deadly tops of the trees. “I knew you’d be good, already a Vinsmoke princess, aren’t you?”

“Yonji, I— Wait!”

“I’ll catch you, princess. Show me how brave you are, baby.”

Fuck. Holy fuck.

“Fuck!”

“Look at you,” Yonji praised from below your hovering body, shifting to catch you with every stuttering move you made. “You’re flying, gorgeous! Doing so well for me. I’m gonna teach you so many things, just wait.”

So dizzy. So high.

So free.

Maneuvering still didn’t make sense, but your fear started to shift into thrills while you let yourself move through the air.

Nothing holding you down.

“This is fucking awesome!”

“Told you, princess,” Yonji bragged, still floating beneath you.

“How do I go down— Oh, fuck!”

You’d plummeted toward the ground for one terrifying moment, until you were caught, but Yonji groaned along with you. Your thin, shining suit protected you from the wind, but not from the achingly hard cock you’d slammed into when you fell, straddling him above the trees.

Heated laughter spilled from you while you let your death wish out to play.

“That felt amazing, Yonji, so good,” you purred, grinding yourself against the heavy need he carried. His whimpers and his fingers digging into your thighs made you cry out.

That lovely pressure on your clit nearly had you forgetting where you were.

“D-don’t stop, princess,” the green-haired hunter begged, keeping you both afloat while he gripped your hips, dragging you over his cock again and again.

“Please, Prince Yonji,” you moaned against his neck, nibbling on the only piece of bare skin you could find. “Your cock feels so fucking good. I’m going to come if you keep— “

More whimpers now, delicious when he let you taste them with a desperate kiss.

Your eyes rolled back when you felt him pulsing, twitching, coming in that suit of his.

“Yonji— “

“Don’t stop,” he whined. This poor, desperate prince wouldn’t let you move away, grinding against you while he twitched until you joined him.

Your body spasmed against his, moaning until you lost your breath at the sight of the stars that were too close.

“Mm, my perfect, little princess,” he hummed, making you squirm all the way to the ground while he covered you with kisses. “I can’t wait to bring you home.”

~~~🌲🌲🌲~~~

~~~~~~

~~~🐈🐈🐈~~~

Luckily there didn’t seem to be snails in that golden sky, so the screens lost sight of the hovering couple soon enough.

Kat relaxed in her seat, until her mother shot her a look.

“I’m going to take a walk,” the sister of the star drawled, standing instead of straightening her spine at that shitty table.

“Kathryn, don’t you want to spend time with our guests?”

“It’s just a walk.” Kat took a slow breath instead of snapping.

I thought I’d gotten better at this.

“I could use a walk, Miss Sylvad. Mind if I join you?”

The pink-haired princess beamed at Delaine Sylvad, and the whiff of royalty was enough to quiet her nagging.

“Thanks for the save,” Kat whispered once they were beyond the courtyard, beyond the glittering lights and greedy laughter. “You don’t need to— “

“I brought something for you,” Reiju teased, leaning close while she lifted a large purse from her shoulder. “But let’s get away from all the eyes before you open it.”

How the fuck do her lips look like that?

Kat shook herself free from the pull of those plump, teasing lips long enough to realize what the princess had said.

“Sure, my, uh… My suite isn’t too far from here.”

It was far, but the princess only teased a little when Kat had to ask for directions to her own fucking room.

~~~🐈~~~

“I’m sorry I didn’t ask what your favorite color was first. I hope you don’t mind purple.”

Kat’s face went hot at the slow smile Reiju gave when she stepped out from behind the dressing screen. This shining suit, a more reserved version of the one the princess had donned, left Kat trying not to waddle like a duck.

Especially when the princess nudged her into an armchair while she sat her royal ass on the floor at her feet.

“Purple’s fine,” Kat breathed, holding in a shiver while long fingers tickled over her shins, fastening those miracle boots into place. “Yellow’s my favorite though.”

“Really,” Reiju raised a brow, earning a frown. “You’re always in black or green, and you don’t seem— “

“Catty bitches are allowed to like yellow, you know.” Kat couldn’t stop herself, earning a surprised laugh from the royal woman she’d just snapped at.

“Catty bitches, huh,” she smirked, offering her hand once she climbed to her feet. “Come along then, Kat. Why should we let our siblings hog all the fun?”

~~~🐈~~~

Ohfuckohfuck.

“Oh, fuck yeah,” Kat shouted, her eyes going wide as she scanned the ground for listening ears. “This is so fucking cool!”

“I’m impressed,” Reiju praised, floating effortlessly while Kat shifted and bobbed in the air over the beach. “Do you want to go glide over the water? It’s been a long time since I remembered how fun this could be.”

Kat’s eyes kept scanning, her true smile wilting at the edges a bit.

“Come on, gorgeous,” the princess tempted, flying close enough to share breath. “You’re not trapped on this island too, are you? We won’t go far.”

Those royal lashes batted up at her, and Kat was powerless against them.

“Okay,” Kat gave in, “but if I drown, I’m going to sue you so fucking hard.”

Pretty fingers interlaced with hers while even prettier laughter filled the darkening sky around them.

~~~🐈🐈🐈~~~

~~~~~~

~~~🌲🌲🌲~~~

A fluffy robe stole you from the breathless prince, but all you could do was laugh. You were carted past the courtyard, leeches still partying away before they cheered for you. Reels of the Hunt were still plastered against the manor, and those numbers filled your mind again.

Kat was nowhere to be seen, and you grinned at the thought of her having something for herself. Something that didn’t belong to you or your Uncle.

You wouldn’t mind being a princess now, especially if Kat might find a place in that world.

Two princes. One shipwright. One lovely, leather boy, you thought with a giggle, wondering if flying had made you high.

One out of five. Eighty percent.

Stay focused.

It was hard to scold yourself tonight. Hope would kill you, but it kept pulling at your lips while you washed your windswept hair, while you sipped on tea you’d made your mother gulp, while you laid out cards across your bed.

You knew it was never going to be your choice. Uncle Cedrick was going to pick his favorite, so you couldn’t let him see, but now there were only five suitors left.

Counting was relaxing, so you gave yourself that gift, counting cards until your eyes started to flutter closed. A pleasant exhaustion filled you, and you held that secret comfort close, the metal of the locket always warm against your skin.

No love for someone like me, but maybe… Eighty percent is nice.  

~~~🌲🌲🌲~~~

~~~~~~

~~~🔴🔴🔴~~~

So many failures, and they wouldn’t fucking stop.

The red-haired pirate was wasting his advantage, too focused on the man that had no flaws, until he’d drank enough to train his sights on another enemy.

“Your family must need a win,” Shanks gave another pathetic attempt. “I heard all about that little wedding. Linlin got you guys good, huh? I couldn’t—”

“Don’t waste your breath, Emperor,” Prince Ichiji sneered, holding his glass over his lips while he let out his next words in a whisper, barely audible in that noisy courtyard. “We’ve already won. I hope you enjoyed fucking our little princess while you could. She’s gonna be real busy when we bring her home.”

“Hey, chief,” Benn wrapped his arm around his shoulders before Shanks could crush that smug prince into dust. “Why don’t we get some rest? The Hunt starts up again tomorrow.”

“Good night, old man,” Ichiji taunted as Shanks walked away, hating himself far more than that pompous prince.

Benn guided him to his suite, crossing his arms while he offered silent support, unable to offer true advice in this slimy, snail infested shit hole.

“Don’t stress so much, chief,” Benn soothed, patting his back when he refused to leave the couch, just pulling a pillow over his tired eyes. “You’ve got this in the bag. Just be that charming asshole everybody loves, alright?”

A mix of a laugh and a groan escaped his throat, but Shanks couldn’t think of winning.

All he could see were those empty eyes, and the looks on his lover’s faces when he would fail to bring her back to them.

That selfish Emperor almost risked it all just to call them. To hear their voices. To beg for forgiveness.

There were only four suitors left to beat.

Four obstacles to tear down.

Four men that the Great Red Haired Shanks dreamed of slaughtering that night, fitful sleep leaving him a mess, once again.

~~~🔴🔴🔴~~~

~~~~~~

~~~🐈🐈🐈~~~

Kat trailed her fingertips along the calm waves, disrupting the reflection of the sky that was creeping toward night.

“You really are a natural,” the princess lifted her chin, guiding her to float higher and higher above that dangerous sea. “Kat, I have something I—”

Fuck it.

Nothing was hers.

Every time Kat tried to find something for herself, some freedom, something that didn’t belong to anyone else, it was bought, or sold, or stolen away from her so she could earn her place in the family.

The sister of the heiress had stopped trying to find her own way. Nothing would come of it, at least not until the family drama played out, but there never seemed to be an end in sight, until now.

Maybe they could be happy. Maybe sis can be safe, can take up her place.

Maybe I can have something.

Kat Sylvad pulled that beautiful princess against her, managing to stay in the air while her heart seemed to tear through her chest.

Those plump, tempting lips were sweet when Kat kissed the words out of Reiju’s mouth. Reiju was so sweet, like fruit, like candy, like that shade of that stunning, pink hair.

The princess answered Kat’s moans, and desperate hands traveled over each other’s bodies until they both yelped at the touch of the ocean at their feet.

“If I drown—”

“I’ve got you,” Reiju promised, pulling higher and higher until everything was small.

Everything but her.

“Wait, Kat, please,” she begged, breathless while she trailed her fingers down Kat’s face. “I need to tell you something.”

Kat dreaded whatever words were about to spill out, because the look in Reiju’s eyes had sent her stomach plummeting to the ocean floor.

“What is it,” she hated asking.

Those royal, violet eyes were wide, and those long, lovely fingers dug deep into Kat’s forearms while poison spilled from her lips.

“I’m so sorry, Kat,” Reiju begged, until her voice turned fierce. “I really do like you, but I’ve been trying to get you alone. I can’t get close to her, and I need you to tell your sister something for me. Please, it’s—”

“Of course,” Kat hissed, dipping toward the waves until that pretty princess dragged her back up to meet her eyes. “I’ve never been a royal errand girl before. Do I at least get a fucking tip?”

Violet eyes almost looked hurt, but they turned to steel too fast for Kat to believe it.

She didn’t want to believe this.

“Kat, you can’t let her marry a Vinsmoke,” the princess demanded, her grip painful now while her strong hands shook with what seemed to be rage. Fear. “You must convince her not to choose my brothers. Please, I can’t get close to her, you need to tell her.”

“Why,” Kat pulled away, though she could tell the princess had let her go. The strength she’d just felt made her throat dry. “Why do you care?”

Reiju flew in so fucking fast that Kat lost her hold on the air. Lovely fingers pulled her close again, and the youngest Sylvad struggled and snarled, wanting this beautiful woman to get the fuck out of her sight already.

But she was trapped, this superhuman princess clamping her arms behind her back while those poisonous lips came too close to hers.

“I care because I don’t want to have to kill your sister,” Reiju urged, her voice nearly flat, empty while she went on. “I vowed that I will never let my family create another monster. I won’t let them use Y/N like they used my mother.”

The sound of the ocean below seemed to stretch on and on, too much time in that frozen moment.

“Tell me.”

The princess let out a breath at Kat’s demand, releasing her before moving, almost pacing in the air.

“My mother killed herself trying not to birth those monsters. Dad learned from his mistake though,” Reiju spat, hatred nearly burning the air around them. “And my brothers are thrilled. They’re going to breed more monsters, and they won’t risk their brood mare fighting back this time.”

“What are you saying,” Kat hated to ask.

A wave of heavy darkness seemed to suffocate them now.

“If Y/N marries a Vinsmoke, she’ll be chained to a bed until they can tear more monsters from her belly. They’ll experiment until they make their ‘perfect’ specimen, unless she dies first.”

Kat couldn’t speak now, terror filling her throat until bile burned with it.

“They’re not going to let her escape like my mother did,” Reiju whispered now, those perfect lips quivering, the tears in her eyes seeming weak against the fury in her next words. “They’re monsters, Kat. They’ll kill me too, but I’d rather die than let more of them be born. Y/N will thank me for killing her. Please, don’t let your sister choose a Vinsmoke. Please, don’t make me kill her.”

“There’s no way in hells they’re going to take my sister,” Kat breathed, wrath sending her flying across the water to make sure that green-haired piece of shit wasn’t touching her.

“Wait,” Reiju caught up easily, joining her flight. “We need to be able to communicate, just in case. There’s too much surveillance, and my family is—”

“Yellow means things are good,” Kat panted, annoyed with the suit now that she was sweating, panic only building the closer they got. “Purple means we need to talk.”

“Got it, but what if—”

Kat rounded on her, wishing that this princess had only been a dream.

“Pink means that you grab my sister and take her somewhere safe before I tell your daddy how you plan to betray him,” Kat warned, nothing but ice in her voice. “You got that, princess?”

“Got it,” Reiju muttered, before she let Kat fly home alone.

Home.

It was never her home. Nothing about Kat’s life felt like home, except for her tragic sister that tried so hard. Her sister that didn’t mean to be the center of attention, the favorite, the star.

Kat had grown up to see things clearer than she used to. It was so very clear that Y/N was struggling, and that she’d do anything for her.

But somehow this stupid Hunt had brought out those old childhood jealousies, that shitty, selfish feeling of hating the shadow.

Fuck that bullshit.

None of that was her fault, and Kat was glad for one thing on this shitty night. Those assholes reminded her.

Nothing was hers, except for her sister, and Kat wasn’t going to let anyone hurt her again.

No matter who the fuck they were.

~~~🐈🐈🐈~~~

~~~~~~

~~~🌲🌲🌲~~~

“Sis, I need to talk to you.”

“Why,” you groaned, hissing softly when she nudged you.

You tried to move away from the light, only to find a playing card stuck to your face. A snort left you, helping you wake up to find Kat sitting beside you where you’d passed out on the covers.

“I already checked, but just in case,” Kat hushed, pulling a few tonedials out of her purse. Ignoring your question, she pressed them all until the suite filled with too many angry songs she’d been saving since high school.

If it wasn’t so fucking loud, you might have smiled.

“Sis, I need you to promise me not to marry a Vinsmoke.”

“Oh,” you yawned, still extricating yourself from the pile of cards. “I told you I can try not to marry your favorite. Just—”

“Listen,” Kat hissed, and the panic in her eyes shook you awake, your body almost thrumming with fear. “You can’t marry them. Reiju told me about their plans, about how their mother died. They’re going to strap you to a table and force you to give birth to more fucked up superhuman pieces of shit.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t fucking, ‘oh,’ me,” Kat grabbed your shoulders, trying to catch your eyes before they could droop. “Promise me that you won’t choose a Vinsmoke, okay? Promise me!”

“I won’t,” you told the truth. “I won’t choose a Vinsmoke.”

“Fuck,” Kat panted while she hugged you, giving a small, tired smile when she pulled away. “I’m glad you’re not a complete dumbass.”

Laughing the thoughts away, you let her tackle you again at your musings on dumbass fractions, until you teased her over her purple suit and windswept hair.

You let yourself be her sister, stuffing that other truth down deep until she drifted off.

I promise I won’t choose them, but I won’t get to choose.

Two out of five is…

Hope is fucking stupid.

~~~🌲🌲🌲~~~

~~~~~~

Likes, comments, and reblogs bring me much ✨dopamine✨ thank you!!

Author's Note: Thank you for reading this one! I hope you enjoyed the whiplash, and our lovely sister, Kat. Always nervous to throw new POV's in, but I've been looking forward to this one. I'm also just wildly jealous. I would faint if I tried to talk to Princess Reiju, let alone hiss at her. 😍🦋🐈

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[houseofwolvess]

fuse + bloodhound are so fucking cute together it's not even funny

[retroaria]

hello! if you're not busy, then may i please request an interviewer!reader x the blue lock boys? in which they become enamored with their interviewers charm. a few specific characters i want are: sae, rin, nagi and kaiser. but feel free to add or remove characters as you'd like! you can do this in your free time, no pressure. thank you, and take care!

a/n: thank you for requesting!! i’m so sorry please don’t hate me for how long this took i am NOT a professional :x

⋆˙⟡ interviewer!reader x - rin - nagi - kaiser - ⋆˙⟡

• | BLUE LOCK M.LIST | •

nagi seishiro ᯓᡣ𐭩

*totally lovestruck*

nagi has always struck me as someone who considers himself to be “out of the league” for most people he finds attractive, so he doesn’t put himself out there and doesn’t really know how. if he was in a situation where he had to interact with someone he genuinely was enamored by, he’d be a mess.

and so he stands there, dopy, clueless, not even looking correctly in the camera and seemingly staring at…you? No, he’s definitely staring at you. his eyes are dull and dim, but they seem to be a little hazed, glossed over with a sheen of fascination. he shakes his head and nods and mumbles, unbeknownst to whatever it is you’ve actually been asking him.

this is not the look nagi ever intended to have when speaking to someone he finds this attractive, but he truly can’t help it. his minds gone blank and he isn’t sure if you’re standing perfectly under a spotlight or if you’re an angel naturally glowing in his presence. his internal dialogue is stuck between cringing at himself and taking mental note of every single feature he can gather with his eyes on you - all over you, i should say.

nagi would be way too excited to actually ask you out (also definitely not after staring you down like a creep), he’d be too afraid of losing his cool. but he would absolutely remember your name and ask around when he has the chance - would ask reo for help with this lol. through some industry path of team managers to stadium staff to news reporters, he eventually finds you again. would 100% stalk you on social media and follow you just to see where that goes .

just like rin, he’d try to be in the right place at the right time and do the right things to get you to strike some sort of non formal conversation with him in the hopes that’ll it’ll create an opening for him to ask you out :x

rin itoshi ᯓᡣ𐭩

*blushes and looks away…*

rin hates interviews. he doesn’t like open ended questions and he hates having a camera shoved in his face. most of the reporters that run up to him on the edge of the field just holler questions and statements at him that can often feel degrading and presumptuous.

when he was stopped just outside the stadium by you and your small crew, you spoke to him with a lack of crassness that he hasn’t been on the receiving end of in ages - so he agrees. his answers remain cold and striking, as they always are, but his demeanor is more loose than usual.

rin initially doesn’t feel anything for you other than respect and gratitude for treating him like a human unlike the other reporters he’s encountered. he was sure to get your name and properly thank you. he’s the type to think about you and hope that you’ll cross paths again. wouldn’t go out of his way to find you, but at every game and every event he scans the crowds in search of your smile that had welcomed him so tenderly before. not to mention your face has popped into his head almost everyday since he first met you and it’s freaking him the fuck out.

when he does see you again he accepts your interview request immediately, bullshits through all the questions, and sticks around a little longer to talk to you. he’s painfully awkward and even more painfully unaware of it, but once you notice the slight blush on his face you can steer him in the right direction lol

michael kaiser ᯓᡣ𐭩

*prince charming*

when you introduced yourself to kaiser in hopes of getting an interview you certainly did not expect the offer to be accepted so enthusiastically. kaiser isn’t necessarily bothered by interviews, but he hates having to think of answers on the spot.

he’d throw out some cheeky lines like “If I smile at the camera can I get a date?” and a classic for him, “Whatever you say, beautiful.”

you’re asking him questions he surely has been asked before, questions he’s probably been trained to answer, but his answers are boastfully and flirtatiously directed at you and you alone. your camera man leaned over and asked if he should just cut all the footage. you entertain him a little more, trying to see if you can get him to break his prince charming act and actually talk about the game he just played.

eventually he lets up and you get the interview done. as you and your crew are about to leave the stadium, he grabs your hand and lifts it up, planting a soft kiss to your knuckles (you think maybe this could be considered assault, but you’ll let it slide for him this one time).

unlike the other two, kaiser doesn’t have a bashful bone in his body in this situation. i’ve always felt that he isn’t as much of a manwhore as everyone thinks he is, which i still stand by!!! but if he sees you and is truly enamored by you he knows how to make his feeling apparent.

[fenharel-is-so-swell]

I’m very sleepy so there are probably mistakes and redundancies galore below buuuuut read on for a rant about how weirdly Trick Weekes treats Qunari characters/culture.

I said this in a comment elsewhere buuuut I just realized that Trick Weekes does something VERY odd with the Qunari they write. As a black woman it does not sit right with me.

The Qunari, racially, are the group most evocative of people of color in western society Irl. They are treated as savages, visually very different (scary by Thedas’ standards), often hypersexualized, and generally perceived as hyper aggressive.

With that in mind I’d like to dig into Taash and Iron Bull a bit.

Iron Bull and Taash have narratively similar character arcs — raised under the teachings of the Qun, enter an identity crisis, do they conform or deconstruct?

Iron Bull is a Ben Hasserath that is surprisingly cooperative and ‘worldly’, compared to all other Qunari we’ve interacted with in games past. He’s got a lovely little band of misfits, is well spoken, and generally open minded/kind. As we get to know him we come to discover that all his charming qualities are exactly what make him ill suited for Qunari society—everything GOOD about him is other. UNLESS you enter a romance with him, in which case the ‘fun’ hold overs from a sex-as-a-biological-imperative society are BDSM. So, compared to the other available romances he’s quite lewd. His character development stalls a bit if you romance him UNTIL you get to the Bulls Chargers portion of his mission where it is either—sacrifice everyone and remain with the culture and world you truly do care about, or do the ‘right thing’ and cast off everything you know to save your found family. The narrative treats the latter as the ‘right choice’ in Trespasser when a non-Tal Vashoth Bull turns on the inquisitor regardless of relationship. Affirming to the player that all those who follow the Qun are mindless dogmatic murderers without real empathy or attachments. (Obviously there is more along the way with guilt and loss of identity, but I’m painting the broad strokes)

In a vacuum, this feels…fine. It could just be a story about a guy in a culture. A tale of deconstruction. It feels uncomfortable considering the cultural allegories that are easy to make with the Qun—it feels non western religiously. An amalgamation of maligned cultures BUT it’s easy to feel like maybe we’re reading too deeply.

Then enters Taash and the Qunari we see in Veilguard.

I have not seen what happens with Taash and their choice to “be more Rivaini or more Qunari” (I’m a biracial black woman and that makes my skin fucking crawl) but the implication is damning when looking at it next to Iron Bull’s story. (I’m also still playing VG so take this with a grain of salt. Taash has also been the most overtly sexual character the earliest in the game, I haven’t gotten more than a hint from any other character (save for Davrin, but it was a subtle flirt) but Taash? They’ve sniffed my neck, growled, and asked if I wanted to fuck them. So, once again, hypersexualizing the Qunari companion.

The Qunari in Veilguard are beyond flattened and instead split into two groups—the civilized, understanding, assimilated Qunari & the near mindless, violent, occupying, murdering defected Antaam.

The Qunari NPCs I’ve over heard in game have all been quick to yell “I’m just Antivan!” Or “I’m not Antaam” or the below grossssssssss dialogue (paraphrased from a convo I head at the LOF base)

“So, you’re Qunari”

“No, I don’t follow the Qun.”

“But you have the horns”

“I was born in X city. Qunari means ‘people under the Qun’ and I wasn’t raised with that”

“Oh then, if you’re not Qunari what do I call you?”

“How about X name”

…IM SORRY WHAT?!?!?! This gives entirely “I don’t see color” and is INSANE to put in a game in 2024. We are familiar with Tal Vashoth, we’ve been able to play as Tal Vashoth Qunari (racially) characters in two games. Hell, we have a similar allegory for it in real life with Jewish folks!! There is a distinct difference between being ethnically Jewish (I.e ashkenazi, etc pls correct my terminology) and religiously Jewish but erasing either is fucking gross????

Just like yeah, I’m [my name] but I’m also visibly fucking black and pretending I’m not does nothing but provide more room for the marginalization I experience to go completely unchecked because “I’m just [name]”

The handling is especially upsetting because I was REALLY hoping we’d get a slice of normal life in this game in a perfectly average Qunari settlement/encampment or something so we could see some of this culture outside of their violent defectors and “one of the good ones” Tal Vashoth.

[revalition]

OCT 13 - SUGGESTION Charm men and women. Play the puppet-master.

snake suggestion my beloved. that will very likely not be the last of you see of him haha. making the most of my weird skill dreams

lots of great quotes under the quote! and valuable insights! (not actually valuable, but shh) would recommend looking through them more than usual though!

suggestion quotes! I had a complete disinterest in this guy tbh, I was rather distracted by the other, arguably better, purple skills in my high PSY playthrough and then I had super low PSY my second and barely heard from him. So it was a lot of fun finding these cause I hadn't seen lots of it yet!

fun suggestion facts from my spreadsheet as well

- he says 'please' to you one time and 'sorry' to you zero times! he might encourage you to do both plenty but is a reasonably unapologetic skill himself (though does resort to self-deprecation several times)

- he has a perfectly average swear score of 5 (I have everyone's swear scores! right now they're only based off of shit and fuck though. so there's room for improvement)

- Says "I" and "we" a perfectly even number of times (not counting quoting others) which I count to deduce if the skill is self centered or not lmao

- refers to kim as "kim" once and lieutenant 20 times! he is respectful of kim!

anyway!

absolutely no way these weren't going in here. confirmed the most useless, compromised skill of all!! (please fire him) also the only guy to give volition a nickname <333 but please dont ever talk about him like that again suggestion

failing this suggestion check over and over! suggestion noooo... resorting to begging at the end. *puh-leeeeeze* 😭

another gorgeous suggestion fail! what a guy

who let this stupid skill into harry's head?

not the two separated words 'bad ass' hghh. this isn't even the only time!!! he writes it as bad-ass *once*. and! he's the one who tells you not to make fun of garte for saying it as two words

suggestion's actually really observant! and has lots of insights into kim!

like he makes sure you know when you did something that lowered kim's opinion of you :) thanks buddy

this is extremely important. I can *hear* his voice cracking on the sorry cop when I read it.

I got called out for being a sorry cop *so* early into my first playthrough. and it was absolutely personal. and I was like wow, I hate this guy already, what's his problem? :)))

(the sorry cop dialogue didn't come up at all my second playthrough haha)

what better idea than to use the expression on evrart? two local idiots advising you :)

it's hilarious to me that succeeding this check against Klaasje at the beginning of the game results in suggestion just telling you not to do it. it's that bad of an idea. it could never succeed.

holding this suggestion failure very gently. I don't remember Suggestion being named Social Anxiety???

ty suggestion, you tell him

sad suggestion :( nooo sweetie you're not. well. maybe a little.

hghkj capitalist suggestion!!

that's what you get for not listening!!

not a screenshot cause I ran out of space but just shoving this in here

+2 Authority: Nothing to lose

+2 Suggestion: I always liked you the best

these are the research bonuses from finger on the eject button. who is he referring to?? :,( you as in harry? you as in authority? a more vague 'you'?

as always, I have to include the super sad dream quotes. poor guy. it's not your fault.

this is so funny. good try suggestion... good try

he's hilarious

look at my two idiots :) <3 look at them.

my delight upon getting this in my first (high PSY) playthrough! we got kim to wear the jacket!

small suggestion win

why does he talk like that??

why? why? shhhh

hating him. throwing suggestion at the wall.

this stupid skilllll

he's an idiot.

volition, with his head in his hands, every time suggestion opens his mouth

thought this was interesting. is suggestion able to infer things from shiver's visions? the way the skills interact with shivers fascinates me endlessly. especially since at one point one of them asks if you've asked the wind for advice before - can they not hear her?? I haven't dug into the shivers dialogue enough yet. next week...

he has so much insight into how to talk to people! gotta put at least one example of him being useful in here...

look at them. they are like oil and water. authority calls him a groveling sycophant so. deserved.

(also merriam webster defines a sycophant as "a servile self-seeking flatterer" and I love that.)

((and servile means "having or showing an excessive willingness to serve or please others" because I had to look that one up too))

is suggestion just a people pleaser under it all? :( why I gotta empathize with even the worst of these guys. echem too, there's *so* much good intention buried under layers and layers of bad coping mechanisms and personality issues and internalized misogyny and self doubt. And those things twist what could be really good advice on communicating and connecting with other people into something manipulative and ugly.

........

.............

(reluctantly picks him up and holds him gently) it's okay. you can heal too someday.

also! there are ZERO suggestion passive fails :( the only other skill with none is H/E coordination (who has like, a quarter the amount of passives sugg has). but it's okay, he gets lots of active fails to make up for it I guess.

that's it for suggestion. I went in here expecting to make a compilation of idiot suggestion quotes (and mostly did) and ended up being endeared by him instead. oops. that's the problem with all these guys, they're *so* strongly shaped by Harry's thoughts and feelings and experiences. Someone else's Suggestion skill might barely be slimy at all. would it still be named Suggestion then?

(mildly related but I don't have a Suggestion in my own system, at least afaik. Which isn't saying a lot because I thought there were only 6 skills in here a week and a half ago and that was. not at all right. so. but it only makes me wonder about him more!!)

[b0tsbby]

Signifying Meaning in Tristamp’s Vash and Knives S1 Designs and Visual Cues: Part 2

TLDR: How Everything but Stamp’s dialogue supports it’s characters

Trigun Stampede spoilers and potential Max/98 spoilers. TW for fucking episode 11 and 12 of this show I hate it.

I wrote this so that the order doesn’t matter and you can read part 2 or 1 first, though I ask of not reading just one part cause the two kinda work together? Sort of???

If you want a fun drinking game, take a shot everytime I mention the other twin (I’m sorry).

Vash the Stampede

Despite my overt support and gravitation to a certain twin in Stampede and Trigun as a whole, I actually started out Trigun like many, and empathised with Vash more. While not my favourite character at first, ( Wolfwood holds that title), the sadness I felt for Mr Vash after that finale was insurmountable, and now he’s like…guy no.3 I like. With that outta the way, let’s get started.

Ep.1 Ghost of the Man

It shouldn’t be a surprise that I started Trigun with Stampede, and later delved into 98 and Max, so my outrage at Stampede Vash’s design wasn’t so genuine. A google search later and I could tell that the difference however, was jarring.

We first get introduced to Vash laughing hysterically, upside down with his hair mimicking his original look and glasses obscuring his eyes (hold on to that, it’s important). Not the most charming of introductions, but a fun reference to sir Diablo nonetheless.

Meryl gets him down, and his attitude changes slightly. This mysterious man turns out to be somewhat approachable if a little looney.

This sequence already introduces a visual cue Orange loves to use in Stampede, the obstruction of eyes, the window to the soul. This is particularly significant for Vash’s character. His words and gestures suggest an open, friendlier nature, but we as an audience are kept at an arms length through this obstruction. Vash definitely makes no effort to separate himself or keep a distance, a good facade, as Vash still keeps his deepest thoughts and feelings to himself.

This changes after a bit, we see Vash’s eyes for the first time at the bar. Vash here has calculated the type of people Meryl and Roberto. This doesn’t mean he lets his guard down, but rather has decided on the best way to now approach them. Like a mask, Vash has now decided the best one to wear for this social charade.

Ep 1 is littered with moments like this. Another significant one is his encounter and our first introduction to the plants. We're shut out of Vash’s psych once again as Vash looks at both the dying and healthy plant, one lens red and the other blue, a visual of Vash’s internal conflict before we ever really get to figure him out.( And yes that is a Matrix reference, red pill, blue pill. Oh my god.)

Contextually we can link these colours to certain themes and characters, but we’ll sum that up later.

With the psychology of his glasses out the way, we can move on to his style.

Vash wears a big red coat, with a turquoise interior, a black turtleneck, black trousers and swept forward, spiky hair. He still has his signature prosthetic arm, however in this iteration, it’s made of turquoise translucent like metal. And of course, Orange kept his very important mole and left earring.

The bright red is undoubtedly pretty flashy in this drab, brown landscape. If you didn’t know he was the main character before, now you do! On its own, his look is, okay, not exactly groundbreaking but visually distinct enough for you to care.

The disappointment really lies in the comparison of this design and his 98/ Max look. It’s jarringly underwhelming, uncharacteristically new age (ew, new things!). They even swept his anti-gravity needle hair forward! This isn’t so much Vash THE Stampede as it is some shoddy pretty boy imitation of him!

Ring the bell though cause that is where the magic is.

EP 8-9, A Whole Lotta Red (and other colours)

(He’s so tiny here stooooop😭)

Our Home and Millions Knives is littered with the use of red. We’re able to finally give meaning to the colour that defines Vash.

Starting off with his teenage design, Vash is not much different from his brother. He’s wearing scrap cloth he found on this downtrodden planet, painfully human and painfully bland. To reiterate, like his brother, he doesn’t know who he is at this point. He hasn’t decided whether to embrace his past, as his childhood plant suit is nowhere in sight, or embrace his future, whatever that may be. A blank canvas with no solid attachments or motivations yet.

We’ll start off with the psychology of blue;

At this stage, both brothers are blank canvases, barely coping with, well, still being alive. Vash is unlucky enough to be taken in by brad and Luida at first. While some sympathy is garnered from Luida, Vash is still very much othered, until he does something for the wellbeing of Ship 3. It’s here we see again that blue from Ship 5, a plant! But blue doesn’t just represent the sole plant existence, it also signifies their safety and vitality. The blue of his healthy plant sister is the marker for some decency earned from the humans on this ship.

It’s here Vash is walking a fine line to be accepted. He may be a ‘monster’, but he did good, so he’s safe, he’s welcome. It’s here Vash sees what he needs to do to stay on with them in the hopes maybe they’ll forgive him for the Big Fall and being who he is.

It’s then he’s gifted, his signature red coat that doesn’t even fit him yet (awwww). A gift from the humans that took him in despite labelling him as a monster, something other. We learn, red now signifies the love he’s received from humans. This red coat is a living symbol of their ability to change. It’s all figured out.

Then he meets his brother, who naturally, is there just to keep us on our toes. (They called the ship Seeds specifically after Knives impeccable ability to plant the seeds of doubt into almost every 20-something year old watching this show for the first time btw)

The psychology of red takes on a whole new form. Everything is red. The dying plants, the warning lights, the pools of blood on the floor, (from Vash too might I add). Red takes on this meaning of violence, corruption, sickness, pain and death. Most importantly the death of Vash’s plant sisters.

With extra trauma to spare, Vash goes home to ship 3 with a red coat and a red bleeding heart for his sisters and very ambitious brother. Both the bad and good of the psychology of red are displayed, the overarching qualities of humanity.

Ep 1-10, Where Vash Goes Back and Forth

As our main character, we have the privilege of watching Vash’s internal struggle for a sense of purpose and value in real time! In the events of Stampede, we get to pick up a few pieces.

Now that meaning has been attributed to both colours red and blue, destructing the colours of his design becomes a lot more fun.

Thank you Silversora for actually bringing this to my attention specifically.

Overall, Vash’s design communicates a want to blend in, not stand out and well, belong! He’s not an idiot. He knows just as much as his brother the dangers he could put himself in if he fully embraced his plant being. He knows the dangers he could put humans in if he just, fully embraced what he is. In that regard, he’s a little bit ashamed of it.

Vash yearns so badly to be a part of humanity, to be accepted by the same humanity his mother believed in, even if it means suppressing who he is, even if it means being humanity’s showdog.

The tragedy of Vash’s existence lies in an overtness in both sides of the plant and humanity spectrum. Vash is painfully human, and would have easliy passed for one, if he wasn’t such an immensely powerful plant. His existence is dizzying in that its constantly oscillating between two extremes, I’d like to think, too human to be a perfect plant, too plant to be a perfect human. At the end of the day, it is not humans in water tanks. At the end of the day, it is not plants that raised him.

Vash’s coat communicates this tragedy pretty clear, its red with inner blue lining. Outside, Vash is as human-presenting as he can possibly be, it’s what he wants people to see. Internally, his planthood will never leave him, it's the shame, insecurity, he keeps behind this exterior.

And no I haven’t forgotten his black turtleneck and black slacks. There’s no better way than to compare that whole setup with looking into void. Fitting, and very similar to his glasses convention, it’s too obscure his body, his build and yes his scars. A terrible indication of his ever cascading self worth and bodily shame. (If you’re wondering where he got all this shame from, he’s holding on to Knives shame too so his brother can come back one day and collect it with 45% interest.)

Ep 11, The danger of indecision

Okay so we’re at arguably the worst episode ever now, but it’s still littered with visual cues so sit down and just trust me.

Ep 11 is jarringly blue.

I hate to bring the other guy into this, (I’ve done that 5 times in this essay already) but the blue representation in this episode doesn’t fall short on me, considering this is when “The Memory World of Knives” plays from the OST. Back to character design though, this is the unfortunate moment Vash is robbed of his autonomy, and his ability to choose who he is and wants to be. This is where a new colour is brought into the mix, purple.

But this purple is not particularly bright, being more of an accent to black with only his glasses being purple, (I’m going to reiterate here how his glasses are a visual embodiment of the window to the soul). It shouldn’t be missed that the geraniums that grow out of him in this mental warp, are a drowned out purple.

While all this could genuinely mean nothing and I’m wasting your time, I believe it’s expressing the danger of Vash’s foot-in foot-out fawning response. If he doesn’t decide who he is and what he stands for, perpetually living in a state of reaction and guilt, someone else will just figure it out for him and he’ll end up being nothing at all, hence the lack of colour and subtle purple (a muddy middle point between blue and red).

Hope is not lost though, and a second meaning is given to this particularly traumatic hue in the finale.

Ep 12, Where Vash Makes a Choice for himself

Despite holding an unfair amount of empathy for Stampede’s Knives, I don’t think I’ve ever been happier than when I watched his ass get kicked. The actualisation, reclaiming of autonomy and defining moment of Vash was incredibly therapeutic.

Vash’s forming of identity was definitely met with more resistance than his twin, but characteristically Vash supersedes Knives again in the transformation of his personal identity and purpose. Vash reaches a level of self awareness, confidence and acceptance that even his brother doesn’t get to until he chooses to ultimately off himself. The exceptional defining moment of Vash the Stampede starts here.

Now that we have defined what blue and red mean in terms of theme, Vash’s purple and black final form gains so much significance. The inner lining of his coat takes on a bright purple colour. As well, red and blue mixed creates a purple hue, this design choice symbolises Vash’s acceptance of his dual identity; he’s too much of a human, he’s too much of a plant. This is just the bittersweet nature of his existence and he’s learned to embrace it.

The outer lining and main composition consisting of black is just as important. While being a very clear reference to Vash’s black coat in his last fight in Max, the black again, obscures his form in this nighttime setting. While we know much more now, Vash is still and will always be a mystery to humanity and the audience; the chameleon in a crowd.

And yes there is Yin and Yang symbolism consistently in this fight. The black passive, female principle associated with sustainability and things earthly, dark and cold (yin code for Vash) and the white aggressive male principle associated with creation and things heavenly, light and warm (yang, code for Knives).

Phew…(Don’t make it weird though, I find the imagery genuinely heartbreaking thank you.)

The more obvious references and ties to Vash finally defining himself remain in his hairstyle, being in the style we know so well. It took a whole season, but the Vash we know is finally coming to be! He’s powerful, he’s agile and he’s determined to live for an active cause, not to simply erase the steps of his own existence.

In the end, Vash doesn’t really change much goal wise, and he ironically sticks to the initial coding of the plant’s existence; to be of service to humanity. But what matters is it’s now his choice and his choice alone. No more (entirely) motivated by shame, guilt and seeking repentance, Vash is now fueled by the love and hope he holds for humanity. He is Vash the Stampede!

And that’s all folks. To end off, I wanna mention something I learnt about broadway that is somewhat related to this analysis. Never listen to the lyrics, listen to the music. I think Stamp’s dialogue is genuinely ass and there’s so much to be missed if you kinda take everything at a surface level. From the character design to visual cues to the INCREDIBLE OST, you find that a lot is not what it seems and a parallel narrative is constantly taking place. While I hope but doubt this was intentional, I fucking love meta stuff like that. With the insinuation of warped memory, an unreliable narrator and fraudulent identities, the possible number of paths this show could take for S2 are almost overwhelmingly endless.

Hopefully in the future I can write an essay solely on identity and adolescence in Stampede cause honestly this is only half of it. I might make an extra part 3 on not exclusively character design facts and things I picked up about the brothers. Otherwise thanks for reading. If you didn’t read this whole thing in Philomena Cunk’s voice though, then I take that back sorry.

Part 1 - Millions Knives

[girlboybug]

writing request for a smut fic with established relationship with javi x reader? dialogue prompt: javi: “he looked at you funny” reader: “i didn’t know you were the jealous type..”

OOO i like this muahaha >:) i hope you enjoy hehe, thank u for requesting!! <3

art deco

"shining like gunmetal, cold and unsure. baby you're so ghetto, you're lookin' to score."

or the one where jealousy happens to be a good look on javi.

what’s playing 🎧 : art deco by lana del rey

content warnings : SMUT, jealous!javi, blowjobs, face fucking, car sex, semi public sex (?), unprotected sex (extremely unwise w javi idk wtf he got goin on down there), creampie, breeding kink, dirty talk, themes of slut shaming, threats of exhibitionism, threats of restraints e.g cuffs, brat tamer!javi (been dying to write that)

trigger warnings : mentions/threats of gun usage, alcohol, both reader and javier are tipsy at best, if there is anything i missed pls lmk!

word count : 4k

a/n : im pulling SO MUCH out my ass w this bc i havent finished narcos and only rlly pay attention when pedro or boyd is on screen and even tho im half mexican my ass cannot speak spanish for the life of me teehee sorry yall

you’re a bad actor. 

you’re also bad at lying and honestly, just generally bad at the things javier happens to be especially good at. 

but that’s okay, javier likes you like that. it’s refreshing, endearing, to be with someone who hasn’t gotten good at lying or pretending to be someone they’re not. and actually, he’s currently watching you fail at that right now. 

you’re at the bar, swirling around your drink that he bought for you, pretending to not notice the way he’s eyeing you from across the club. he thinks it's cute how you keep stealing glances at him, giggling to yourself whenever he catches you.

you two do this little song and dance every now and then, it keeps things exciting and fun, and you never have complaints about it. 

you pretend to be the single, bored girl sitting alone at the bar, and javier just so happens to swoop in, introducing himself as the man who’s been ordering drinks for you all night, ready to charm you into his bed for the night. it’s stupid when you say it out loud, but the way he fucks you when you do this little act makes it seem like the best goddamn idea he’s ever come up with.

it’s harmless fun between a couple, and the tension you two create throughout the night is always a recipe for mind blowing sex. however, it seems things are going a bit off script tonight. 

a man invites himself to the empty barstool beside you that was reserved for javier, but he’s oblivious to the little game you’re playing right now. “hi there,” he says, grinning, and you try your best to hold back a long sigh while you greet him back politely. 

javier’s hand tightens around the beer he’s got, wishing the neck of the bottle belonged to the man staring you down. he decides he’ll keep watch for awhile, he trusts you, and wants to see how this’ll play out, despite his patience already wearing dangerously thin.

“can i buy you another drink?” he asks, motioning towards the dwindling liquid in your glass. its not a difficult question, but the answer isn’t coming to you like it should be. 

you are playing the role of a single woman tonight, and you won’t let anything go further with this guy than receiving a free drink. 

eh. why not? 

“yeah, sure, thank you.” you smile back, and he hurriedly calls over the bartender, asking for two glasses of whatever it is you ordered. javier shifts in his seat, his jaw coming down harder than it was just a moment ago as he watches you share a drink with someone that isn’t him. 

javier follows his wandering eyes, how they trail up and down your figure, making it obvious he’s wondering what you’ve got on underneath.

javier wants to walk up to him to tell him how he knows what you’ve got under that dress, because he picked it out. 

god, this night fuckin’ sucks so far. 

“i noticed you for awhile now, what’re you doin’ here all alone?” he asks, and you get a little nervous with the way he gets closer to you. “i’m just waiting for my boyfriend to show up.” you answer, deciding the single woman role didn’t feel as fun anymore. 

“ahh, i see.” he replies, and you expect him to scoot farther from you, or better yet, leave. but much to your dismay, he stays. 

“it’s just,” he starts, and you glance down at your shoes, saying a silent prayer for him to get on with what he’s got to say before he leaves you alone for good. 

“you’ve been here for awhile now, you sure he’s comin’ honey?” he questions you, faux concern in his voice and you close your eyes for a moment to hide the way they roll at him.

“yeah, i’m sure.” you reply curtly. “how about i keep you some company while you wait for him then, how’s that sound?” he gets closer than you would’ve liked, boldly resting his arm around your shoulders, and yep, that’ll do it. 

javier’s beer clatters down onto his table as he shoots up from his seat, stalking over to you. he’s quick to join you, standing tall behind your seated figure, his strong chest a familiar surface against your back. 

“uh who’re you–” 

“her boyfriend.” he answers, eyes lowered testingly, practically itching for him to give him a reason to swing. “hi baby,” you beam, turning around and craning your neck up to give him a kiss. he leans down, holding your chin while he kisses you. 

with your lips still connected, he stares at the scoffing man that just sits and watches. 

“yeah well i wasn’t the one who kept her waiting all night so why don’t you get lost? we were havin’ a conversation, weren’t we sweetheart?” he looks at you as if you’d actually agree, and you open your mouth to defend javier, but he doesn’t need you to, he’s more than eager to put this guy back in his place. 

he steps away from behind your back, moving right in front of you now, leaning in close to the man. he reaches around to his lower back, sliding his gun to the side of his waist before he’s got it in his clutch, pressing it to the man’s ribs.

“you have 3 seconds to get the fuck out my face before i stop being so polite.” he whispers in his ear, and the man stiffens with immediate fear once he registers what’s being pointed at him. 

he swivels out of the stool, hastily hopping out to make his way out the club all together. javier turns back to you once he’s out of his field of vision, expecting a profuse thank you javi, but he gets quite the opposite. 

“what the hell was that?” you question, sounding angry, and uh oh, you saw that. 

“baby,” he starts off but you just huff, climbing off the stool. “that was way too far,” you point at him and he sighs, holding your arms, rubbing them up and down, trying to settle your irritation down. 

“but he was making you uncomfortable, and you didn’t see the way he was looking at you–” 

“and what way was he looking at me for you to pull a gun out on him?” you whisper yell and he starts to join you in your frustration. 

“he looked at you…funny, like he was just thinking about fucking you the entire time.” he sounds upset that he even has to explain himself to you about this, and you catch it, deciding to throw it back at him when you turn on your heel to leave. 

he growls with annoyance as he follows you out the club, grabbing your arm and forcing you to turn back and look at him.

you exhale sharply, looking up at him, switching your weight onto your left foot. “i knew you could be a little…impulsive sometimes but jesus jav, i didn’t realize you were the jealous type that would do something so…stupid.”

his annoyance is fast to turn into a hard glare, and you see the sudden shift, instantly feeling regretful. he purses his lips to the side, laughing dryly. “stupid huh?” he clicks his tongue and you shake your head, walking closer to him now.

“javi, i’m sorry,” you try to remedy the mess of this situation, but unlucky for you, what little patience he was holding onto is now gone. 

he grabs the hand of yours that’s reaching towards his jaw, he isn’t in the mood for it. he pulls you along by your wrist to the parking lot. 

“yeah, you’re about to be baby,” he mutters, and your heart picks up, your heel clad feet in turn picking up speed to keep up with him. 

he ushers you into his backseat, slamming the door behind you once you’re both in. he tugs you into his lap, your legs on either side of him, your knees making contact with the cold vinyl. his hands find their way to your ass, squeezing it hard.

you gasp a little, arching into his chest. the second you move in closer, his lips are on your’s. it’s not gentle, it’s not slow paced, and it’s not soft, no, that’s for when you’re good. and you’ve been anything but. 

you’re grinding in his lap, his growing bulge feels perfect right up against your dampening panty clad cunt, too perfect that you can’t stop yourself. you’re moaning in his mouth, struggling to keep up the pace and intensity in the way his lips are moving with your’s.��

he tastes like beer and cigarettes, smells like it too, with traces of his cologne that you love. he’s like paradise incarnate and you want to live in him forever. 

when he pulls away you're left panting in his hold, lips parted, brushing against each other, stealing the other person’s breaths. “you know,” he sighs lowly, his words trailing up your spine, leaving shivers in their wake. 

“just because i let you pretend you’re single for the night doesn’t mean you actually are,” he says, and he sounds serious, but there’s something hidden in his air, something challenging, like he wants you to argue just so he can put you right back where you belong. 

you nod heavily like he speaks words of righteousness, cupping his jaw in your hands. “i know javi, i know,” you pepper his face in kisses, but he remains still, outwardly unphased.

“guess you just got too excited at the thought of bein’ a slut huh?” he breathes out flicking a brow at you, keeping you in close when you try to inch away from him at his accusations. 

“i’m not a slut–” he unfolds your offended arms, hands leaving your wrists to hold your thighs that rest on either side of his lap. “no baby it’s alright, s’not a totally bad thing. i like sluts. they let you do whatever you want to ‘em,” he grips your thighs, forcefully sliding you off his lap and letting you land down on your knees before him. you gasp, holding onto his legs for steadiness. 

“and they let you all while tryin’ to convince you they aren’t sluts. isn’t that funny? he chuckles, caressing your cheek, peering down at you while he does so. 

“javi,” you say, you don’t know what to say next, the only certainty that remains is that his name never sounds wrong coming from you. 

“if you wanna be a slut so bad then go ahead, i won’t stop you.” he shrugs, leaning back into the seat, arms stretched out beside him. you swallow away your stuttering, running your hands up and down your thighs. “what do you want me to do?” you ask smally, looking up at him from under your lashes. 

he readjusts, lifting his hips in the air, settling back down closer to you. he tilts his head, eyes flickering from his crotch back to your gaze, “what sluts do best baby.” he says under a gravelly breath. your thighs close just a little tighter at that, feeling eager to oblige to his insinuations. 

you unzip his levi’s, unbuttoning them before you’re pulling him from out his boxers, throat getting tight at the way he pulses in your hands. precum is already beading at his tip, and you lean forward, flicking your tongue over it. he hisses quietly, a hand coming behind your neck. 

your lips envelope the tip, shutting your eyes when you trail down until you can’t take any more of him down your throat. he groans, throwing his head back, bucking his hips into your mouth. you gag around him, hand trembling while you try to jerk off what you can’t fit into your mouth. 

he rolls his head forward, holding you by the back of your head, starting to thrust further in, chuckling to himself at the way you gag. he lets you slide off him, jerking his slick cock off while you catch your breath. 

you’re staring at each other in the thick air, the night breeze sneaking in from the cracked windows, making your nipples perk from behind your lacy bra. 

the moon glimmers through the side window facing javier, and it panels his cheekbone, across his jaw and down his chin, trickling over the curve of his collarbones. 

he looks so beautiful like this, sitting tall in front of you, looking at you like he could tear you apart with one hand, jaw clenching when your thumb slides over the head of his cock. 

the way he’s looking at you elicits a reaction from your body before your mind can reach it. you lean back down, taking him deeper into your mouth. 

you don’t mind the way he keeps your head still, using your mouth the way he likes. 

he fucks your mouth like he wants to prove a point, and at this moment he doesn’t even know what the point is, he hardly even remembers where he’s currently at, the only thing that makes sense is how fucking good you’re taking him down your throat. 

you’re being so good, so perfectly compliant for him, and what’s fueling you is the tingles exploding between your thighs at the way he’s using you. 

the grunting utterances of your name in his spewing breaths adds propellent to the roaring fire building in your lower tummy. 

his groans get a little airier, picking up in quantity, coming out one after the other, fucking your mouth so deep your nose brushes against the brown curls sitting just above his cock. “look at me,” he instructs through gritted teeth, and you listen, blinking away your teary eyes to look up at him. 

he sends one, two, three, hard thrusts into your mouth before he pulls out, resting the tip over your lips. he pants to himself, shutting his eyes closed while you take this time to do the same and catch your own breath. “what’s wrong?” you sound a little rasped, and he can’t fight the smug look on his face at your voice. 

“as much as i’d like to let you continue, i got better things planned baby,” he chuckles breathlessly, pulling you back up into his lap. 

he pushes your dress up, exhaling when he sees how wet you are in the panties he picked out for you. “javi, i didn’t bring any condoms, do you have one?” you press your hands to his chest, momentarily halting him, and he looks at you, scoffing quietly. 

“huh. sluts don’t usually care about that kinda thing.” he rubs the head of his cock over your clothed clit, watching your lowered eyes fully shut, a moan slipping out at his ministrations, proving him right. “s’not gonna fit like this,” your whimper when he moves your panties to the side, flicking himself up and down your folds. “it will baby, i’ll make it fit.” he promises, pressing a kiss to your lips.

you rarely ever got on top, he was always very adamant about taking care of you, whether that means you’re on your back, legs thrown over his shoulders or you with your wrists being hoisted by his tight grip while he fucks you senseless.

the constant is, he’s always on top. 

he’s big, no matter the position he’s got you in, it’s always a stretch he has to ease you into. which is why you’re typically reluctant to get on top, but right now he isn’t asking, he’s telling. 

“javi, s’not gonna go in like this,” you whimper nervously, curling into his chest. head on his shoulder. he rolls his eyes, fingers gliding right over your clit to shut you up. and it works, naturally, he chuckles. 

your breath gets faster when he swirls over your clit with his fingers, squirming around in his lap. he holds himself from the base of his cock, circling over your fluttering hole. your arms wrap around his broad shoulders, fingers playing with the back of his hair. 

he starts crowning into you, pushing in the fat head of his cock, pausing the breath in the middle of your throat. it rumbles out as a pained moan when he continues pushing in. “god javi,” you whine, legs on either side of him flexing with nerves at the intrusion. 

“doin’ all the work for you baby, jus’ take it for me,” he mutters in your ear, his mustache tickling your jaw while he rubs your clit to ease you into it.

“actin’ like i haven’t fucked this pussy before, know you can handle it, sè una niña grande para mí,” he murmurs, kissing your cheek, and you melt, nodding desperately. “i am,” you mumble, bracing yourself for when he bottoms out inside you. he thrusts upward, holding you by the fat your ass, pulling you down onto him. 

the air is knocked out your lungs, and all you can do is hold on to his leather clad shoulders for dear life. your hips start moving in sync, rolling into each other, and you feel insane, it feels so good, you start thinking maybe you’ll do this more often.

the sting from the stretch subsides soon, but the feeling of being full stays, and you keep it, loving how good it feels. the head of his cock nudges deep inside you, bobbing up into your throat and you fall apart, fucking yourself on him, addicted to the way he hits every little spot inside you that you need. 

you’re moaning, panting loudly in his ear, and he eats every single one of them up, gripping your hips when he guides you down onto him. kisses lay wetly across the side of his neck, teeth graze over his ear, praises of how fucking big he is, and how good he feels inside you, relay to him over and over, making his cock twitch when he picks up the pace in his thrusts. 

“you’re so nice while i fuck you baby, maybe this is how i should shut you up more often huh?” he teases, but you don’t care, you’d start arguments with him if it meant he’d always feel this good in you. 

“in so deep,” you whimper more to yourself but he hears you, he hears it all. he hears how fucking soaked you are around him, hears every little breath, every little moan that comes out of you. 

he smacks over your ass, chuckling to himself when you whine and clamp down around him. “maybe i should go find that guy huh?” he leans forward, lips on your shoulder when he ruts up into you deeper, right there to hold you closer when you keen into him at the hard thrust.

“ ‘should find him and fuck you in front of him, show him how its done, what do you think of that baby?” he grunts, hands tightening over your hips. 

you just moan, babbling something incoherent when you grind down onto him, his words acting as a lighter underneath the growing flame while you bounce on him. you squeeze around him, your body unashamed of how much you like the idea of such a dirty act. 

he feels the way you clamp down around him, chuckling breathlessly, his hand traveling behind your neck to force you to look at him. “or maybe it’s you who’d like that,” he taunts, expecting a shy shake of your head, but you just nod, trying to meet his thrusts. "i'll do whatever you want javi," you whimper pathetically, and god, that does something to him. 

"know you will, so sweet baby," he groans, leaning back to watch where you both meet, loving the sight of his cock entering and disappearing into your cunt. 

you tug at the hair from the back of his head, messily kissing all over his jaw and cheek, and he takes it all, adoring how clingy you are with him right now. he pulls the front of your dress down, hooking his fingers under the cups of your bra and groaning to himself when he sees your tits, pretty and pert under the bra, he of course, picked out for you. 

black see-through lace, his favorite. 

"gonna be the death of me, mi vida," he murmurs to himself, latching his hot eager mouth over them. he assaults the soft skin with his tongue, teeth grazing over your sensitive nipples, a smirk forming around the flesh when he teases the ghost of a bite, wanting to laugh when you squirm and arch your back at his actions. 

his fingers find their place back to your clit, rubbing over the nerves like clockwork, syncing the way you bounce on him with harder thrusts, making the pleasure surrounding you inescapable. 

breathing is getting harder, but it feels unimportant, everything does when it comes to javi. in this moment if he told you to stop breathing altogether you honestly just might listen to him. 

but it's so much so soon, and you want to hold onto the moment for as long as you can, enjoy each stroke of his cock deep inside you longer, and if he keeps touching you like this, you know you won't last. you paw at his hand, trying to push the relentless wrist away. "no more javi, m'gonna cum too fast please," you whimper, but he doesn't agree. you're finished when he's finished. 

"do i need to cuff you to the headrest or are you gonna keep those hands to yourself?" he spits, sounding harsh, sounding serious. you whine like a wounded puppy, shaking that empty little head of yours. 

"but javi," he grabs your chin, guiding your gaze downward when he moves his jacket to the side, revealing the cuffs that hang from his belt loops. "think i'm kiddin'? hands to yourself or around me. otherwise you get these. your choice," he's still inside you, and you can't take it, you throw your arms around him, hugging him close while trying to get him to move again. 

"gonna be good, gonna listen, m'sorry, please move javi, please?" 

he senses your desperation, and gives in, continuing his thrusts. you sigh in relief, following the way his hips piston up into you with your own. 

"can i touch you?" you whisper, unsure if you're allowed to, but javier relents, nodding with a kiss to your neck. you slide his jacket off eagerly, quickly unbuttoning his shirt before your hands are running along the warm skin of his shoulders, squeezing them when he thrusts right there. 

your hands drag down his chest, nails lightly digging into his tanned skin when your head falls back, rising and falling up and down on his cock. his mouth is on you again, tongue swirling over the curve of your chest, gripping them roughly in his wide palms. 

he watches you from this view, how you lose yourself when he's got his cock in you, and he thinks maybe he should have encouraged you to ride him earlier. 

he's getting close, watching you has only pulled him closer to the end, his cock twitching the more he imagines how good you'd look dripping in his cum. he imagines your trembling thighs being parted by his hands, your abused hole just leaking and leaking from his cum. 

"m'close, gonna let me finish inside mi vida?" he grunts, and you nod heavily, clamping harder down around him when he asks. "please, please javi," you beg, and who is he to deny you? 

his fingers run around your clit once more, those tight circles from the pads of his fingers bring you right there alongside with him, moaning his name in an incomprehensible voice while his face rests in the crook of your neck, bouncing you on top of him. 

"always wanted to cum in you baby, always wanted to fill you up nice an' good —fuck—, make you fuckin' full of me, just know you'd look so fuckin' good just drippin– shit," you're squeezing him like you never have before, his confessions, the ferver in the way he fucks you is just too much, your body acts before you can even process what’s happening. 

you cum all around his cock, and the pulsing of your walls, the whimpers of his name from your pretty lips is all he needs to join you in your blinding orgasm. he's cumming inside you, grunting your name and how fuckin' good you are for him, his mouth hot on your neck while he fucks you through your shared orgasms. 

he doesn't let up on your clit until the pleasure bleeds into pain, and you can't take it. with heavy breaths you collapse in his arms, panting like you've just ran a marathon, sweaty forehead resting on the cool leather of the seat. 

he gently shifts your hips backward, looking down at his cum that pours out of you. he likes the mess, likes how your cunt looks when he rubs his cum across your throbbing clit, you jump at the stimulation, begging him in a tired voice, no more javi. 

he listens, taking sympathy on your spent body. he puts your panties back over you, tucking himself away before he repositions you so you're properly sitting in his lap, letting your legs stretch across the rest of the backseat. 

"you okay mi bebita?" he murmurs softly, and you hum a sleepy yes, still buzzing from your orgasm. "still mad?" he asks jokingly, pulling a hazy giggle from you.

“i think you just fucked any anger i had left out of me." he laughs proudly at that, rubbing your back. "yeah? maybe that's how we should settle all our fights then." 

[ladytauria]

ohohoho... In a hoarse whisper, “Fuck, you’re killing me here.” jaydick yeaaaaboiiii

iiii went a little overboard on this 😂it ended up over 7k, so i won't b posting the whole thing here, but have a preview ;)

(editing to add as a warning/heads up: jason is trans here, and i use both male (cock/dick for clit) and female (cunt) terms for his genitals <3)

>> six little deaths <<

“Fuck, little wing, you’re killing me here.” Dick’s hoarse whisper makes Jason smirk. He settles back against Dick’s chest, popping another kernel of popcorn in his mouth, making sure to wiggle his hips a little as he does.

The hot, hard length of Dick’s cock presses into Jason’s ass through his thin, cotton shorts. It makes a thrill rise in Jason’s belly, knowing he has such an effect on Dick.

Cook, suave, charming Dick. Everyone wants him. But—right now at least—he wants Jason.

The thrill is sweeter knowing Dick won’t do anything. Can’t, not with Bruce sitting in a recliner half a couch away.

He feels Dick’s slow, hissing breath. Smirks to himself, and then raises his fingers, sticking them in his mouth to clean the butter and salt from them.

Dick grips his hips tight enough to bruise.

Jason chances looking at him, fingers still in his mouth, and finds those normally electric blue eyes dark and stormy. His thighs clench.

Dick grabs his wrist. Jason doesn’t resist as Dick pulls his fingers from his mouth. The look on his face— Jason half expects him to kiss him, Bruce be damned. His pulse is a staccato beat in his chest.

Dick doesn’t kiss him. Instead, his lips brush Jason’s ear, and in a voice thick with promise, he whispers, “You’re going to pay for this later.”

Jason shudders, head to toe, skin going tight and prickly. Fuck, yes, please. Dick is always the perfect amount of mean—that’s half of why Jason likes working him up so much.

The other half is being at the center of his attention.

Jason rocks his hips, relishing in the shocked, almost pained gasp he gets. “I’m counting on it.”

Dick growls. Under the blanket, he grinds the heel of his palm over Jason’s groin, and Jason gasps before he can help himself, bucking up into that hand as sparks light up his veins.

“Boys.” Bruce’s deep, commanding voice makes Jason shudder again; red staining his cheeks. For half a moment, he thinks they’ve gotten caught, but then Bruce just says, “Don’t make me separate you. You can get through a movie without fighting.”

“Sorry, Bruce,” Dick says. He doesn’t sound very sorry at all. “We’ll be good.”

He splays his hand over Jason’s belly—a possessive, proprietary move that already has Jason trembling—and presses, a steady, even pressure that makes him want to squirm.

Conscious of Bruce’s attention though, he doesn’t. Instead, he just takes it; breaths getting faster, deeper, until he’s nearly panting. Dick’s hot length against his ass is starting to feel less funny and more taunting.

How much longer is left in the movie? Jason stopped paying attention somewhere around the first fifteen minutes. He tries to focus on it now, ignoring the way his underwear has grown sticky with his arousal. It’s hard to focus, but—based on the music, the snippets of dialogue… they’ve got to be getting close to the end, right?

Dick rubs his belly a little—Jason bites his lip to trap his moan. A little of it sneaks it out anyway, a soft, “Nnn,” that makes Dick shiver under him, and press a smile against Jason’s shoulder.

It would be an asshole move to excuse himself to the bathroom, wouldn’t it? He wouldn’t like, touch himself or anything—it’s tempting, but. Dick can be kind of a sadist, and that’s fun, but he’s already in enough trouble for starting this shit in the first place. Getting himself off without Dick’s permission is just asking for worse, and Jason’s got stuff to do tomorrow.

But he would like to step away for a second. Just a second, so he can catch his breath and not give up the game before they’ve even gotten started. If he leaves, though, then all Dick will have is a blanket to protect his bulge from Bruce’s eye…

‘Course, that’ll be a problem either way, won’t it? They’ll have to get up and go to bed eventually, so. That would at least give Dick a chance to figure something out. So really Jason would be doing him a favor, right?

Right.

Jason squirms a little, and then says, “I gotta pee.”

“Do you want me to pause the movie?” Bruce asks.

“Um. No, I won’t be gone that long, and uh. I’ve seen this one before.” He hasn’t. Dick lets him go, although the brief look they exchange before Jason scampers out of the room tells him Dick is more than aware of Jason’s fib.

Jason’s little wink probably didn’t help matters, but. Oh well.

In the bathroom, Jason washes his face with cool water before sitting on the closed toilet and getting his phone out. He checks his email—some review bloggers he follows have posted new reviews, there’s an author newsletter, and oh! One of his favorite fic authors posted something new. He opens that to read later—tomorrow, probably, although it’s short enough…

No.

He’s already pushing. Don’t borrow trouble, Mama used to say, and while Jason may not follow her advice to the letter… he at least tries not to borrow more than he’s prepared to handle.

Jason clears the spam from his email, unsubscribes from some things he’s been meaning to for a while, and then stands, stretching. He splashes a little more water on his face—and turns, ready to go back, only to bump into a hard, warm chest.

It startled a squeak from him, all that color flooding back into his face.

“Hello, little wing,” Dick purrs, crowding him against the sink. “That was a neat little escape you made.”

Jason’s heart beats rabbit quick in his chest. “I don’t know what you mean,” he says. “I had to piss. Didn’t figure you’d appreciate me going all over your lap, is all.”

Dick snorts. “You had to go get yourself off, you mean.”

“I didn’t get off!” Jason scowls. “I know better.”

Jason has to tilt his head back in order to meet his eyes. He can feel his knees trembling. The ache in his groin pulses, slow and steady like a heartbeat, the crotch of his underwear uncomfortably damp.

“Like you knew better than to start something in front of B?” Dick raises an eyebrow. “Y’know he lectured me about making you uncomfortable?”

Jason’s face burns. “I…” He draws up his chin. “Maybe you shouldn’t be such an asshole all the time, then.”

Dick scoffs. “See, and that’s why I don’t believe you.” He pats Jason’s cheek—the condescension in it makes Jason shudder. “That’s alright, little wing. I’ll just have to check.” He pinches Jason’s cheek, then, making him whimper, hole clenching both at the promise and the way Dick’s voice drops when he says it. It’s not quite Nightwing register, but it’s close, and—

Jason shudders again.

He wants.

“Take your shorts off, Jason,” Dick murmurs, and Jason hooks his thumbs in them without hesitation, letting them slip off of his hips and fall to his ankles.

“Good.” Dick pats his cheek again. “Turn around. Hands on the sink.”

Jason feels like he’s on fire. He turns slowly, spreading his legs until his thighs no longer touch. Dick guides him backwards, Jason shuffling his feet to keep from getting caught in his shorts. His crotch is soaked.

Dick traces the hem of his panties. “Would you look at these,” he purrs, snapping the band.

The back of Jason’s neck burns.

When he bought them, he’d thought it would be funny. Oh, ha-ha, a pair of panties designed to look like the bottom half of the Robin uniform. It’s less funny now.

Jason’s grip tightens on the edge of the sink as Dick pulls them down to bunch around his mid thigh. The bathroom air is cool against his slit, and he swears he can feel every droplet of slick gathered there. He bites his lip.

Mistake.

Dick spreads his folds—Jason bites so hard he tastes blood, feels it bead on his lip. Can’t help but look at himself in the mirror; the way his curls halo around in his head in perfect dishevelment, his face blotchy red, bottom lip fat and swollen.

He looks like a fucking slut.

“You’re so wet, little wing.” Dick’s tone is almost scolding.

Jason wants to cry. Jason wants to raise his hips in offering, rise onto his tip-toes and beg for Dick’s cock.

Stop being so fucking easy, he scolds himself. Can’t play too hard to get, either, but he also needs to stop damn-near creaming his pants any time Dick gets a little intense. Dick’s attention is heady. Addictive. Jason doesn’t want to give it up if he can help it, and that means keeping a careful balance.

Luckily, Jason is used to giving men people what they want.

He swallows down the urge. “Whose fucking fault is that?” he grits out, letting his eyes drop again; staring at the marbled sink instead.

Jason yelps when Dick swats him. It’s not hard, he’s taken worse, but the unexpectedness of it…  The threat of it… It makes him swallow.

“You know damn well whose fault it is,” Dick says, voice low and vaguely threatening. It makes Jason shiver, cunt fluttering. “But we’ll be talking about your behavior later. For now…” Dick probes a finger inside of him. Jason’s cunt welcomes it, swallowing him greedily. His middle finger finds Jason’s t-dick, stroking small circles around it.

Jason whines helplessly, legs quivering as he fights to stay still. He’s so— He’s so sensitive.

Dick teases him, giving him only the barest stimulation, moving so fucking slowly it’s almost agonizing. Jason is panting by the time he’s done, sweat beading at his temples. His fingers ache, knuckles white.

“Hm. Looks like you were telling the truth,” Dick says. He takes his hand away, and Jason can’t help the way he whimpers, meeting Dick’s eyes in the mirror.

There’s a thin sheen of tears in his own now; the sclera red. Dick looks unaffected—save for his eyes, crackling electric blue that cut Jason to the core.

“Clean yourself up, little wing,” he says, wiping his fingers on Jason’s thigh before patting Jason’s ass. “I told Bruce I’d check on you and apologize before going to bed. You should go say goodnight to him.”

>> continue reading <<

[synapticjive]

"Mask Off" Initial Thoughts

Okay, after marinating on all of this...

For context, I'm playing as a ruthless evil Durge, and it made sense in my RP to ascend Astarion. At some point well into Act 2, I was unable to persuade Astarion out of ascending. His choice to ascend locked in fairly early for me. Every time I challenged him, it defaulted to him making excuses and insisting that ascending was worthwhile, that I was worrying for nothing. He's naturally eager that I'm Bhaalspawn, and the "don't let him" dialogue felt very out-of-place considering how cold and detached we were becoming (don't ask me why, I'm still wrapping my head around this.)

The ascension was a welcomed change of pace, as was Durge's baptism. But regarding the mask...

Spawn Astarion does clearly read as someone who is deeply wounded and using performance/charm/sexuality as a way to manipulate others- for vengeance, for control, for power, for safety, and eventually with Tav/Durge, for intimacy. I do think he's always had a bloodlust and intense hatred for others that a) cross him and b) that he perceives as lesser than him- this is especially true if you think that his history as a magistrate and slaver (controversial) is canon. His past mistakes and/or problematic viewpoints are no way a justification for his experience of sexual abuse and trafficking, it just intensifies and complicates his recovery and relationship building. It explains why he uses Tav/Durge, but then when his sudden feelings are reciprocated, he can't let go.

I've had limited access to clips of spawn Astarion throughout Act 3, and I have no idea how he reacts to Tav/Durge. I saw some epilogue clips, just barely, and I can't conceive of how we even get to that point, considering how much pain he's in, how much ground we'd need to cover in getting him to that place of near acceptance and peace(-ish). I guess a lot goes down in those 6 months, huh?

I always thought A!A (granted, I love him, I love dark romances and awful villains) was just all of his growth locked in time and space, just completely coming to a grinding halt. I don't think that his progress with Tav/Durge is undone (if that was the case, he wouldn't love you anymore or even understand the purpose of you in his life). He's just raw in his anger, vitriol, using his power(s) to protect him from all of the pain and fear that he experienced. Power, wealth, and violence are what protect him now, not Tav/Durge. He doesn't "need" you, but he still wants to "own" you because he... loves you, sort-of. You're under his skin, and he can't let go, I think. Or maybe he still wants something from you, maybe subjugating you somehow amplifies his power fantasy, especially with someone he seems to control and can tolerate ("you're degrading yourself/he can do that.")

He's always had a power fantasy, he's always loved dom/sub dynamics (hinted at in the game,) and so far, as evil Durge, he's been treating my character well (she also doesn't want to leave, not yet anyway.)

I'm still waiting to finish this first playthrough before I have more conclusive thoughts. Preliminary: he's not masking his anger/his dark triad (lol) as AA, whereas he was desperately trying to as a spawn. He doesn't give a single fuck about how people feel about it once he ascends, it's just him and you and everyone beneath you both as far as he's concerned.

Sorry, lots of thoughts, y'all. I need to play an origin run & a spawn Astarion romance to get the full picture.

[lonesomedreamer]

The Rings of Power Liveblog: “Shadow of the Past” (Episode 1)

Two years late, curiosity got the better of me, and I decided I had to see this thing for myself ahead of the second season premiere…spoiler: I didn’t hate it.

I’m not going to gripe about these children looking decidedly human (or at least not Elvish), because I understand the limitations of using, you know—actual human children as actors. But I will question the notion of Elvish children being smug bullies.

But baby Galadriel definitely looks the part.

“It’s not going to float, it’s going to sail.” Not off to a strong start with the dialogue…

Oh, the Elf children are…throwing rocks at her paper boat? All of them? Why?? I know the behavior of Elves in the First and Second Ages tended to be less detached/noble and whatnot, but little Galadriel is literally about to punch this Elf boy…

I have so many questions about this hairstyle choice.

“We have no word for death.” Somehow, I doubt that. This is the Second Age, right? Elves had definitely already experienced death.

Why does this seem like a slightly retooled Minas Tirith design? Is this supposed to be VALINOR??? (Actually, this would be a decent Amber design…)

A very underwhelming depiction of the destruction of the Two Trees…this is what Amazon spent amlost a billion dollars on? I know they can’t accurately depict what happened because, you know, no rights to The Silmarillion, but it still underwhelmed me.

This sequence is just all so obviously CGI. While I’m no fan of the original Jackson films (sorry, I know—boo, hiss), a lot of it looks real.

“See, it’s just like that Game of Thrones spinoff you like, but with terrible CG!”

It would be so helpful if Galadriel’s voiceover told viewers that Orcs were created as a mockery of the Elves, or hinted at why Morgoth created them/why he hated the Elves. Unfortunately, this is what happens when you try to adapt a work to which you don’t have all the rights.

She is very, very pretty.

“What devilry is this?” Is that a word in Middle-earth?

Lots of Galadriel confidently assuming she knows things she can’t possibly know (for the sake of hurrying the story/journey along, I guess)…if only the streaming services didn’t limit themselves to eight or ten episodes and gave their stories room to breathe!

Anyone watching who’s never read The Silmarillion (or even the trilogy): who the fuck is Morgoth? What are the Trees?? What year is it??? What’s going on here??!? Again, the huge problem of adapting a larger story/universe when you only have partial rights…

Insert obligatory video game-esque troll battle that’s also a callback to the Moria scenes of the FOTR film. You can use the bathroom here and miss nothing.

Some proto-Hobbits, because why not? I did like the “hidden village” reveal thing, though!

I kind of love them?

There’s a lot to be said for the charm and appeal of the Shire from an audience perspective, the comfort of it (which is why the Scourging of the Shire is so thematically important and excising it was an irredeemable sin…but I digress), so I actually 100% understand why they included these guys. TTT is by far the bleakest book of the trilogy, my least-favorite, and the lack of the Shire is a huge reason why.

23 years later and I’m still not over the utter miscasting of Hugo Weaving. Visually, this Elrond isn’t really better. Why is Elrond so damn hard to get right??? And his hair is described as black!

The best costumes a billion-dollar budget could buy?

“Elf-lords only.” Such a dignified, Elvish thing to say…

Yes, Elves could be haughty and unkind; just ask Bilbo! But Elrond is an Elf-lord. Hmm.

Also…Elrond and Galadriel appear to be approximately the same age. It doesn’t matter that Galadriel is actually much older (and his eventual mother-in-law!), because TV is such a visual medium.

This is actually a larger overall problem. Because most of The Lord of the Rings takes place over the course of one year, an adaptation doesn’t need to hold the audience’s hand regarding the passage of time. But in this case, as Galadriel’s narration too-briefly mentions, events are taking place across hundreds and even thousands of years. Elves like Galadriel are significantly older than others, like Elrond, but unless you tell the audience that, they won’t know, and the story loses something as a result.

Even though this design is clearly based on Rivendell in the Jackson films, it is quite lovely.

Pretty!!!

How do Galadriel and Elrond know each other? They seem close. Inquiring minds want to know!

The content and context of this scene is meaningless, but I don’t care—it’s just so pretty!

Even though I know they get worse, for now I don’t really mind the proto-Hobbits. They’re obviously not Tolkien, but they’re an homage, and they’re fun/visually appealing.

The casting director gets a D+ for the male Elves. (Then again, they were poorly-cast in the Jackson films too.)

“And as a reward, you will all be exiled!” lmfao. Being shipped off to Valinor doesn’t seem like much of a punishment, though. Where do I volunteer?

Still, it makes sense that Galadriel, who (correctly!) believes Sauron to still be alive and a threat and who wishes to avenge her brother, would be upset about this. They’ve changed her backstory/motivations—which I hate—but her attitude does track with those changes.

Nuns??

This set design is magical, no notes.

Luthien??

She really is perfectly cast.

Elrond, one of the wisest and kindest of all the Elves, is being written as some smug royal enforcer. Just like the Jackson films wrote him as a grumpy, condescending overprotective dad. Sigh.

“[Evil] waits. And at the moment of our complacency, it blinds us.” I mean…yeah, that’s basically how it goes down in Middle-earth. Repeatedly.

Not Elrond mansplaining about Valinor to someone who was literally born there…

None of these people look like Elves.

“I’m going with you!” But why?!? This lady is a healer with a youngish son still dependent on her at home!!!

I really hate them saying “mum” instead of “ma” or “mama” or something similar. (I’d also hate it if they were saying “mom,” to be clear. It’s just so modern-sounding and breaks any immersion they’ve built so far.)

Wow, the hilt of a broken sword with Sauron’s symbol on it… Generic “halfling” characters I can enjoy as a homage. This is lazy writing. And see? I knew her son needed adult supervision. (It’s also a ripoff of Pippin and the Palantir.)

(muttering) None of these people look—oh, forget it.

Elves don’t age as Men do (or age extremely slowly/imperceptibly), so what’s going on with this dude?

Gorgeous, all.

Ents???

Galadriel jumping off of the ship and just…floating there in the middle of the sea is as silly as the naysayers said it would be. However, I thought the scene leading up to it was fairly well-executed, though I wish they’d done a better job animating the rain of silver glass that leads into Valinor…that image has always resonated with me.

The Good:

Many absolutely stunning visuals thanks to great set design (with Valinor of all places somehow being the least-impressive!) and, apart from some cheap/underwhelming looks, costume design that varies from good to great

A solid score that seems to be trying a little bit too hard to mimic Howard Shore’s from the films

Morfydd Clark, in her entirety; the writing for Galadriel might be awful in upcoming episodes, but her casting was inspired

I find the Harfoots whimsically charming, at least so far, especially Nori.

The use of Tolkienesque maps to indicate location changes

An attempt was clearly made, in this episode if nowhere else, to pay homage to the source material, even the source material they don’t have the rights to use outright (the Two Trees, Morgoth, perhaps Luthien)…it’s better than nothing.

The Bad

Every single male Elf is miscast; yes, I said every single one, from Galadriel’s brother to Elrond to the OC Arondir. Gil-galad and Celebrimbor look like they’re in their late 40s/50s, at best, and idk…there’s nothing “Elvish” or “ageless” about any of the male actors playing Elves. (Full disclosure: I don’t remember being impressed by the male Elves in the Jackson films, either.) I also saw someone say that Gil-galad looks like Liam Neeson in a mullet, and now I can’t unsee that.

Some really clunky dialogue

Lack of adequate backstory/exposition…but exposition in an adaptation like this is hard, because most of it is contained in The Silmarillion, for which they don’t own the rights.

Building on that theme, I appreciate the idea of “showing not telling,” however…did they ever tell us Galadriel’s brother name (Finrod)? Or that “the king” is Gil-galad? Or even suggest that there are a variety of different Elves in Middle-earth? A lot of people know these things, because we know Tolkien. But I’ve got to assume that a lot of others don’t. Heck, it took them until almost the end of the episode to name one of their OCs (Bronwyn).

Some worthless scenes, like Galadriel’s company fighting the “ice troll” in the mountains. Actually, the entire sequence in the mountain lair was badly-written.

I don’t care about the “forbidden romance” subplot between the OCs Arondir and Bronwyn…if they’d spent longer than a few minutes in the first episode establishing their relationship/characters, maybe I’d be more invested. (See my earlier complaint about unnecessarily short seasons—some stories need room to grow!)

Even though my criticism outweighs my praise, even though I’m a self-identified Tolkien purist, I thought this was…fine. It’s an absolute feast for the eyes, truly gorgeous to watch (even with all those woefully miscast male Elves)—visually, apart from a few moments of obvious CGI, it’s what I would expect/want from a Tolkien adaptation! My expectations aren’t high for the rest of the series. There are upcoming plot points that I know will disappoint, infuriate, and disgust me. But considering that I went into this episode expecting to loathe it, I was pleasantly surprised.

Besides, I’m going to keep watching no matter what to see more of Nori and Morfydd’s face. This also makes me want to finish The Silmarillion, which I have been starting and then “saving for later” since I was a small child.

[aftonfamilyvalues]

Do you think the game is somewhat engaging if you push aside all the identity stuff? I mean, are the storyline, pacing, combat and characters decent? Is it fun? I disagree with the gender stuff, but I wasn't ever all that interested in the characters related to that, so if I just roll my eyes at the stupidity is there anything redeeming about the gameplay?

i like it so far.

the reviews about the dialogue options were right though, theres no real evil options and its kind of hard to even get disapproval most of the time. like i havent gotten even one disapproval from emmrich so far. another thing i dislike is the tracking isnt like in inquisition. you used to be able to track a quest and then put a specific marker on a the map which helped a lot with quests with multiple objectives marked. now its just the quest is tracked and you cant mark specific objectives which has led me to go to something i didnt want to.

i also loooove being a mage. i failed miserably at it in inquisition but because the combat is so different in this one, im kicking ass. i love being able to laser beam everything and its also cool to be able to switch to a dagger for close quarters combat too. ive been playing as a death caller and its so fun.

the characters arent as disappointing as some of the negative reviews led me to believe. ive finished most of the personal quests and i have to say their big ending decisions dont really make a difference to me (emmrich was the only one who conflicted me but, you know, hes MINE)

harding is the harding you know and her new abilities are cool. bellara reminds me of a pixar character (in a good way, shes adorable). neve got fucked over a lot in my playthrough (sorryyyyy) but i love a detective character who loves her home. lucanis is charming and spite is interesting. i love davrins protective nature and how that turns fatherly towards assan and assan is fun (emmrich and him have dad talk, including a dad off "assan can fly" "manfred can open a door"). taash is really blunt which leads to some great interactions but her personal story did not go in a way that i would have liked. and i dont think anyone cares about how much i fucking love emmrich.

but yeah, overall ive had fun so far even if ive been impatient and rushing through things just for the romance. that being said, i would have liked a little more from the romance. emmrichs is beautifully written but theres just not enough and i would have loved to see more. but maybe i just for spoiled by how baldurs gate handled romance (i really want to kiss emmrich whenever i want and i wish there was more details with the SEX LET ME SEE HIM NAKED YOU BASTARDS WHY WAS HE STILL FULLY CLOTHED WHEN THE CAMERA PULLED AWAY) (sorry for talking about enmrich too much) (not sorry)

[meanbossart]

I've been really enjoying your fic and it got me curious about how your campaign went??? I got the important parts (your Durge denied Bhaal, Shadowheart spared nightsong I think, Astarion obviously didn't ascend) but what else happened? Will we ever see any of the other companions?

Thanks for enjoying the story! I can say with pretty much certainty we won't be seeing any other canonical characters from the game, Jaheira, Minsc and Halsin would have stayed behind in Baldur's Gate, as well as Wyll. My Durge killed Lae'zel early in the game and Karlach also died at the end of my campaign.

Gale's character decided to go after the crown, and while he was the staple fourth member of my party the relationship had always been uh... Tense. This was before they apparently patched out how needy he was, but frankly it made for a really interesting story since i just kind of assumed his character was kind of a creep wearing a nice-guy's face. Also, to be fair, I DID fall for his "wanna see a magic trick" line but that just kindled the fire to my theory that he's actually a fairly manipulative person (and perhaps he's unaware of it). MIND YOU PLEASE that this doesn't mean i don't like his character - honestly i feel like I got a REALLY interesting side of him in my campaign and i wouldnt have it any other way - this was a party composed of the dark urge, Astarion, Shadowheart and GALE and to have us all turn down power and glory only for the goody-two-shoes wizard of the camp to turn kinda evil and power-hungry made for a really satisfying narrative.

... Sorry i ended up rambling about Gale LOL to actually answer the rest of your question, my campaign went like this:

I made a Fighter, champion sub-class, BIG hulking drow because i thought it would be funny. Because i went in blind I started off as a confused homicidal murderer who is a liiiittle weirded out about his urges but he doesnt stress TOO much about it. Is fairly standoffish and distrusting toward all of his companions which made for a weird start. Motivated by gold, killing things, getting this worm out his head and making off-color jokes. Ends up siding with the Tieflings because i also decided that, as a very hedonistic character who thinks we should be lunatics because we want to rather than because a cult is telling us to be, my durge would profoundly hate the absolute. As a male drow he also really hated Minthara so yeah, easy choice there. As mentioned above, I also killed Lae'zel when she tried to murder-suicide everybody.

I wasn't going to fuck anyone, believe it or not, so during the tiefling party i went with Gale because it SEEMED like he just wanted to show me something neat (it ended early because i failed his checks and i guess he can't get hard unless i can cast fireball). Also, at this point even though i made mostly "good" moral choices i *was* still a dick the whole time - despite this, everyone in camp wanted to fuck me BESIDES Astarion, which was so fucking funny and devastating that I decided my Durge would, from that moment on, turn on the charm and the flattery and make it his mission to bang him. So yes, they were manipulating each other. I don't have to explain why that made for a really really fun little dynamic. Also Astarion had to tell me he was a vampire through dialogue instead of biting me and i got to say "yeah duh" which was hysterical.

I finally banged him sometime during the underdark (didn't go to the creche at all) and during Act 2 I followed the same pattern of doing mostly the Good Thing while being arrogant the whole time, I fell into a kind of chaotic-neutral/true-neutral aligment and watched my little homicidal maniac cluelessly stumble his way into a hero's journey. I had also really grown to like Shadowheart at that point after having a really negative first impression of her character and she basically became my durge's best friend. Astarion also grew on me for all the reasons we know and love and he did his confession to me sometime in late act 2. I Never met Araj (though i think i mention her in the fan story only because her interaction is interesting) so I got the dialogue that isn't prompted by her encounter. I also had to "break up" with Gale at this point which boy that sure came as a surprise to me! I also didnt break the shadow curse.

Because I didnt kill isobel (Again, my guy didnt like people telling him what to do or not to do), my little butler guy made me wanna kill Astarion. I SWEAR this happened pretty late in game, maybe even in the first night in baldur's gate which i realize is unusual. Naturally I didnt and I decided that would be the turning point where my Durge decides to not just Go With The Flow of things but actively fight his urge and pursue its root cause. He tried to be more of a good person from that point on which was kind of a clumsy effort lol

He completely antagonized the emperor immediately upon him revealing his true identity, stole the orphic hammer from Raphael's house, betrayed Gortash after setting an "alliance" with him, killed Orin (she kidnapped the orphan and killed her in front of me because i failed the check :| ) stopped Astarion from ascending and helped Shadowheart kill everyone in the house of grief, i let her make her own choice regarding her parents and she decided to kill them. I also encouraged her to not immediately align with the Selunites just because of her past.

I got Astarion the thing that helps him read the necromancy book and i cannot tell you how satifyins it was that, after giving up unspeakable power by killing Cazador, that dude and his little ghoul army basically mauled Orin and her grandad for me practically by themselves while I was down on the floor with 1 health. PROUD OF YOU BUDDY.

Gale spoke to Mystra as well at some point and i swear I NEVER encouraged that guy to take the crown for himself. It was always either "do whatever you want" or "i think thats a shitty idea." At this point my Durge was super sick of him so they had a bit of a crappy relationship which may have something to do with how things turned out.

I betrayed the emperor, released Orpheus and when he asked if any of us wanted to be a mindflayer i went "Fuck No" big time and luckily the guy just did it for me. Chaos ensues, I kill the emperor and the absolute in an epic battle that took me like a whole day. I also killed Orpheus when he asked me to. Karlach died ( :c ) and Gale told me he was gonna fuck off to get the crown. In the final Astarion dialogue I told him we would find a way to get him to walk under the sun again.... AAAAAnd thats it i think? Man this game is huge lmao i swear i wasnt trying to be long-winded.

[sionisjaune]

I know I should care about the reason why you're naked in my bed, but for now I'll just enjoy it - for any lewis ship?

For the smut dialogue prompt game. Urban fantasy wizards sex curse lewis/mick???

Mick writhed under the thin sheet, the cuff around his wrist biting into the thin skin of his wrist. He tried to slip his hand out—he would have broken the hand if he could—and stretch towards Lewis, but his efforts were useless. Perched primly on the foot of the bed, Lewis’s mouth twisted, his brows drawn tight together. 

“Please, Lewis,” said Mick, not even completely sure what he was begging for. He just knew, in his lust-addled brain, that he needed to be near Lewis. He needed to wrap all of his limbs around him, suck on his neck, slide down his throat. Skin to skin contact wouldn’t be enough, he knew. He needed to wear Lewis, become him, slough him off like a coat and put him on again.

Lewis shook his head. “I’m sorry, Mick,” he said. His nose stud sparkled in the light that made it through the slats in the blinds. The air was dusty and thick like Lewis didn’t really live in his apartment. Mick knew he spent most of the year jetting around the globe fixing wealthy people’s problems with the magic his clients mistook for clever illusion, sleight of hand and exceptional luck. 

“I’m sorry you got caught in the crossfire,” said Lewis, still frowning. “I shouldn’t have taken you along. That curse was a nasty piece of work.” 

Mick moaned. He heard it come out of him, high and urgent like air leaving a balloon, but was unable to do anything about it. “Please,” he said thoughtlessly. 

“Sebastian is coming with the antidote,” said Lewis, evenly. He reached a hand towards Mick’s knee and then seemed to think better of it and withdrew it. Mick felt the phantom touch of his fingertips on his skin regardless—five hot points that he would have felt if Lewis would just fucking touch him already. He yanked at the cuff again, heard the other side rattle around the bars of the headboard. He didn’t even care about the curse. It probably wasn’t even related to the curse, his brain told him, this itching, burning need to have Lewis in any way he could. He vaguely remembered watching Lewis pick delicately at the charmed latch on the old woman’s jewelry box, remembered a bright turquoise light nearly blinding him and then a stinging sensation in his chest—the next thing he remembered was waking up cuffed to Lewis’s bed, his clothing missing and a bottomless ache in the pit of his stomach.

“I’m going to die,” said Mick, very seriously. He swallowed, his throat dry. He felt like it was true. “If you don’t touch me.” Lewis frowned again, pursing his lips. “Lewis,” Mick said again, so that Lewis knew he meant it. 

“I can’t touch you,” said Lewis. 

“Why not,” said Mick, squeezing his eyes shut. A wave of discomfort like he was holding onto a livewire shivered through his body. When it passed, it left all his muscles twitching towards Lewis and a searing pain behind his eyes. “Why not, if I’m going to die if you don’t.” 

“You’re not going to die,” said Lewis. “It’s not that kind of curse.” 

“Please,” said Mick again. He managed to say the word in a controlled manner once before another painful tremor passed over him and his mouth started making sounds he hadn’t okayed. “Please please please please please please,” he heard himself say. 

“Seb will be here soon,” said Lewis. 

Mick moaned again, thrashing underneath the sheet. The corner slipped off his shoulder and down his torso, a gust of tepid air wicking away the sweat beading on his abdomen. In the corner of Mick’s vision, Lewis’s gaze flicked towards Mick’s uncovered stomach before he flinched away. “I can’t hold on that long,” said Mick. He attempted to sit up, and only managed to curl in on himself like a pillbug. 

“You can,” said Lewis, a tension in his voice. He was very carefully refusing to look at Mick, which made the heat in Mick’s stomach flare again. He needed Lewis or he would die. That was certain. 

“You’re going to let me die, Lewis,” said Mick, unable to think. He writhed on the bed, the sheets spilling off of his body and slipping off the bed. He didn’t know when he had lost his clothes or why, or if it was related to the curse that his frantic hindbrain tried to tell him he shouldn’t worry overmuch about. “Touch me, Lewis. Or you’re going to kill me.” 

By the time the sheet had slipped off of Mick’s hips, Lewis seemed unable to ignore Mick any longer. The fire in Mick’s belly crackled triumphantly. It seemed like the intensity of Lewis’s gaze alone was enough to quiet the need eating Mick from the inside. 

“If I…” said Lewis, voice thin. “If I touched you, you wouldn’t be able to stop me.”

“I wouldn’t stop you,” said Mick, eagerly. He was getting what he needed, finally. “I wouldn’t want to.” 

“Mick, I,” said Lewis, swallowing. “You wouldn’t even know if you wanted to. You don’t even know what you want now.” He looked away, the motion obviously effortful. “Seb is coming with the antidote.” 

[timothylawrence]

Finished AAI1……. 🫡 you know the drill….

Okay… I don’t even remember half this game which isn’t necessarily the games fault but the episodes were kinda disjointed which i know was probably to do the like. before and after effect.... so forgive me if I forget anything!!!!

-okay to start, Kay Faraday was sooooo cute... i really enjoyed her and i thought she was fun. There were times where she felt a bit more... one dimensional or staticy? but i think her interactions with miles and gumshoe made her so fun. i also loved seeing her as a babyyy shes a queen for kicking miles' ass sorry that was funny as fuck.

-DAMMMMMNNNN!!!!! DAMMMMMNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!! DAMNNN!!!!!

-okay im done... in all seriousness shout out to this being my second favorite reveal of the series so far... tying in the callisto yew being shih-na. that shit was so fucking good. i LOVEDDDD CALLISTO!!!! she was so good and her personality actually might be one of my favs of the game so far... i stand by my cancelled wife. and Badd..... he was great too i loved his mannerisms and the way he spoke... he was your stereotypical old detective and i loved the whole 'uncle badd' sorry faraday you died so soon but at least you were hot right i mean what. . . also sorry ill forever love the way Badd showed up here it was so good.

-okay sorry this is literally one of my top five scenes. idk. idk. something about it made me feel so.... AUGHHHH!!!!!!!! I fucking loved lang and callisto (??) so the betrayal he must of felt when he was such a guy that was big on trusting those around you... like damn. damn. sorry i wont let this go on for too long but i think lang is my fav character out of the game. he was funny and charming and i fucking loved when he came back to 'accuse' Franziska and the fact he calls her sis... like OOOH its good. AND LANG MY GUY YOU GOT SHOT... the franzy and lang parallels are parallelling in my head idk.

-the next person to make franziska scared like this is getting shot you CANT DO THIS TO MEEEE FRANZZZYYYYYY!!!!!!! THEY WERE so cute. i fucking loved little miles and franzy together i was genuinely obsessed with this whole episode... i loved loved seeing them as babies... the way franzy followed him around in this one vs the way he protected/stood up for her in the following episode when she got accused... like idk. i fucking loved it. i love them. im so excited for this next game to see more of them.....!!!! i can only hope we get a little more emotional depth with the two of them....

-okay uhhh oh yeah. miles thinking abt phoenix in his most desperate moments and what he would do... yeah you're tied by the red string of fate... also fuck this game for not saying his name out loud COME ON!!!! LMFAO. sorry i just miss him and maya so bad...

-oh! i loved seeing all the old cast come back, esp. meekins and LARRYYYYY!!! theyre funny.

-oh my god how could i forget miles special interest steel samurai and seeing it was larry beneath the mask thats so fucking funny sorry... also the fact that when he loses the samurai baby miles' first question was who would ever have a child with you LMFAOOO

oh yes... by far my favorite thing in this game.... i love miles' internal dialogue and little moments. it definitely gave him some depth and made him so much more enjoyable (not that he wasn't beforehand!!!) he was a lot of fun to look into and see how his mind worked. i grew a lot fonder of him and it was funny that nearly everyone had a chance to call him out or make fun of him at some point... hes a very emotional character (whether he admits that or not....) and i really enjoyed seeing that side of him from his own perspective :,)

-overall id give this game between a 7-8/10!!! i had fun for sure, but the pacing was a little rough esp towards the end... i think the first three episodes were like 7 hours and then the last two were like 18 combined!! it got a little tedious but it also had the best moments so idk how else they could've changed things LOL. definitely fun though.

-agent lang i love you

[goatwithaplan]

something something ask game but it’s just roland

Roland is this one character me and my roomate keep joking about, and now he is Catalan, lives in my walls, amaizing at skating, and every time someone's says karma like at 20 km around me a " YOU KNOW THE FUNNY THING ABOUT KARMA..." is echoed. My point is absolutly none i just wanted to say that. Anyways roland ask game shit

favorite thing about them: the fucking memes, i dont think there is a singular character that has made me laugh so many times, its beyond insane how a dedicated person and my roomate have shaped this guy into my conciousness.

Least favorite thing about them: I wish he had some more screentime, and i just know it literally is worse in qds somehow poor guy tbh he deserved better. Favorite line: "....IS THAT IT GOES ROUND AND ROUND" hehehehe No for real i think thats like his only relevant line, and im sorry i tend to forget dialogue.

brOTP: Gale 10/10 this is probably comedic duo material, i need a side novel of these 2 doing stupid shit and having a polycule with Lupa. OTP: Argilla and while i am a very strong arginana shipper, I think they would make a good couple none the less. Like i think they have a lot of mutual growth they could give to each other and is a pairing that to me would be more interesting to see on screen. nOTP: Nyeh i dont think roland has bad pairings just more boring ones random headcanon: I'm not explaining the macho catalan thing.... Roland actually reached nirvana he just popped himself out of the samsara. Oh and also he is probably really greatful to the embryon for the chance to redeem himself and for the chance to join them like a group. The embryon is probably like a big family to him. unpopular opinion: Idk if its unpopular but i think his desing is fucking fire specially the demon one. song i associate with them: Listen i want to say a black sabbath song like a cool one, but i fucking can't, its 24 hours cinderalla because thats what i was listening when i drew the skating thing. favorite picture of them: Honestly this fucking thing, i carry it everywhere on my phone like a fucking charm, i even taped it so it doesn't get lost. And i dont even think its that good like to keep it around even tho i made it myself

[swallowtail-ageha]

🖤🤍 and 💛 for Elden Ring!

🖤 Which character is not as morally good as everyone else seems to think?

Ooooh getting crucified with this one because of how Stans Act but. Mohg. Mohg so fucking badly. The whole charm plot twist has made it so that people just loooove to now portray him as actually an underground byronic hero who never did anything wrong and all the dynasty and blood sex cult thing is just miquella's fault. Removing all this shit from him is just making him an empty doll. I also personally believe he did kidnap miquella pre-charm (because otherwise the whole. Creating the haligtree and using it to ascend plotline wouldnt make sense at all), and he did Very Much SA him. Miquella violating his body is still awful but also He Wasn't An Angel He Was Awful and thats alright its literally the war imperialism genocide game we're talking about (and well. A certain fringe of stans will call me a rape/fascist apologist for this opinion but fuck it we ball)

🤍 Which character is not as morally bad as everyone else seems to think?

RANNI. Like i am sure 99% of her hate comes from misogyny bcs. Like even if we look at other (male) soulsborne characters who did admitedly do fucked up shit a la gwyndolin enabling generations of humans self immolating or ludwig being the head of the fascist xenophobic theocracy's street police you'll see people be like oh they were so honorable/good :'(. I have even see people justify pontiff sulyvahn's actions for fucks sake, but when ranni does something that in the grand scale of the universe isn't even That Bad she is a psycho spoiled entitled bitch that should have just accepted her fate.

And like. Yeah. Obviously killing your half brother is Bad. But its insane to think that ranni is the sole cause of the shattering because the point of it is that EVERY demigod is culpable.

Ive also seen people claim that she doesnt care about iji and blaidd and left them to die and. Sorry. You just had the misogyny goggles on so thick that you didnt even see the lines of dialogue that outright disprove that

Overall its insane how fandom ppl will go apeshit whenever a female character expresses even a modicum of agency and a personality that isnt "i glaze male character :)"

💛 What is a popular ship you just can't get behind, and why?

Unironically a very Specific type of male tarnished x female elden ring character like. I am sure there are some well written male oc tarnished but for many cases its just. The barely disguised players self insert who is kind and honorable and a gigachad that fucks every girl. Same thing goes for any male!hunter/chosen undead in bloodborne or dark souls saga fics

(Its also not popular but i dont like ranni x godwyn not because its a bad ship per se but because like. Some fanworks severely chickify ranni and make godwyn an himbo/fuckboy and i just. Do Not Like these characterizations LMAO)

Ask game here

https://www.tumblr.com/fintan-pyren/747123238736429056/ask-game-unpopular-opinion-edition?source=share