#the show that was kind of the original reason i started this blog

[gingerbreadfrosting]

I really don't use this blog much anymore. So I kind of want to use this to post about a really popular set of accounts.

I have been stalked by @adequately/@islandmusic/@bonkie/@230yen/@mofufufu/@comfye (she owns many, many blogs) for four years.

She went out of her way to find my personal blog after I remade, when I had made no indication of what this blog was and only interacted with people I knew, meaning she purposefully went out of her way to find me. She also obsessively checks my blogs to find new posts and new blogs of mine, as she stole from one of my blogs that I had only posted once about on my personal blog.

Proof her stealing my posts recently. This is just recently. There is literally years of this. My URLs are going to be censored because I don't want my personal blog to be known. However, I will keep the dates visible to prove that she took them from me.

These are my uploads posted first:

And here are her blogs, reposting literally all of this in a row. Back to back. These are one after the other. Many of these are from the same day, minutes or hours after my posts. She does not even hide that she is stalking me.

This is literal years of this behavior from her, I couldn't possibly show all of it. She also steals my GIFs and claims them as hers. In 2024, she stole nearly every GIF I would post. She did not even bother to change my original captions that I made that were not in the original sources, proving that she just copied directly from my posts.

I have reached out to her multiple times begging her to please leave me alone and that I don't want anything to do with her, but she is still very obsessed with me and hostile no matter what I do to get her to leave me alone.

Here is me begging her for months to leave me alone on a sideblog, because she often turns off her DMs, tagging, replies and asks on all her blogs. Probably for this literal reason. There is also a DM she sent me where she admits to stealing from me.

Even though she apologizes for her behavior, she does not mean it because she does not stop. She lied to me. I do not steal posts from her. I don't even look at her blogs, and I blacklist her URLs to avoid her and her content. She is literally obsessed with me, and has been for four years, ever since I was a minor and she was a grown adult.

She steals from other blogs, too. I know she's done this many times, but I really only have this screenshot from ages ago. These images are from the same Instagram post, hers are just put into a different order. I don't know who the person in the first picture is but I censored their URL for their privacy.

I also have reason to believe she has sent me a lot of anonymous hate messages but I can't prove it, and I won't put them here for that reason + a lot of them are very violent and hateful e.g. encouraging me to commit suicide.

If you see this, I hope you take this as a wake up call and leave me alone. I have been begging you to leave me alone for four years, but you never do. I want nothing to do with you. You started harassing me when I was 16 years old. I want you to stop harassing and stalking me. I want you to stop being obsessed with me and everything I do. I want you to stop looking at my blogs even when I have you blocked and try to stay away from you. I want you to stop purposefully going out of your way to find me and my accounts. Please move on with your life. And if you won't do that, I at least hope that people will realize the fear you've been inflicting on me for years.

[mistymisfit]

Can you please make an AK jason a-z nsfw alphabet please. The jason one was so good ❤️🎀

Sorry this took so long 😭😭😭and tysm, i actually didn't think about writing an ak!jason version of this but really enjoyed it (once i got over my writer's block) I think all of them are GN, if not lmk and I'll edit it. Mentions of size difference in point X (i think). original version Minors and blank blogs DNI!!

Dirty A-Z headcanon game  

Btw these are all personal headcanons !!! And AK!Jason is waaaay more traumatized than comic Jason. Keep in mind that these are written thinking that reader's a civilian and there's a previous relationship to him being kidnapped as I don't see him trusting anyone new, or if he does, it takes him quite a long time to get to the point of sleeping with them.

A - Alone time (how do they get off when they’re all by themselves? do they watch porn, is it all in their imagination, do they jerk off, do they use toys?)

Let's start by saying this man has a lot of issues with intimacy and sexuality. He thinks those parts of himself are rotten, until he reunites with you. So if he does it's mostly to relieve stress or to chase the dopamine the brain releases, to feel good for at least a moment.

B - Bondage (do they like it? do they not? do they prefer to be the one being tied or the one doing the tying?)

Not to repeat myself, but there's absolutely no way in a million years he's letting himself be tied up. I don't hc him as being a "I suffered so you have to suffer too" with a romantic partner (Batman can go to hell idc) so his feelings on tying you up are pretty much the same, he went through a lot with joker so the sight would only bring back bad memories. After all, he still loves you, even if his way of showing it changed drastically when he came back.

C - Crying (is it a turn on? a turn off? do they cry during sex? have they cried during sex? what was the reason?)

There's no way he isn't crying-- and trying to hide it too. There's a lot of tears involved the first time you do it, what gets him to cry is how soft and gentle you are with him. You reassure him that you love him, you missed him, and that none of that should've happened to him. Your kindness is so foreign to him that he doesn't know what to do with himself, and when you kiss his tears away with your soft lips going over his marked cheek, he shortcuts. He equally wants you to stop and to keep being this gentle, he feels so conflicted that his quiet tears turn into full on sobbing on your shoulder. You were not surprised, in fact, you actually expected him to break down the first few times you got intimate.

D - Dominance (do they prefer to dominate, or be dominated? do they have experience as a Dom? Do they have a Dom that they trust already? What kind of things do they enjoy as/with their Dominant partner?)

He's had no control of his life for years, first following around Batman's orders, trying to be the perfect Robin. Then under Joker's torture. He's lost enough agency and control over his own body that I don't see him giving up any more of it. The most he can do is let you go on top, and even then, he's got a bruising hold on your hips.

E - Extra info (any other fetishes? feet? leather? role playing? blood? fantasies that they might want to experience not on this list?)

He gets a little jealous sometimes, not of other people looking or wanting your attention but of you. Jealous that you got to live a normal life, that your world kept spinning after he was gone. He gets rougher with you on those nights, trying to take out some of his anger.

Manhandling! He gets extra turned on to see how easily he can throw you around, and how much you trust him to not hurt you while doing it.

F - Food play (do they like using food in the bedroom? are there any foods they prefer to use during sex or foreplay? any they’d like to try?)

He's got a lot of hard nos, but I think this one is more of a soft no to him. You could ease him into it if you tried, but after being fed rotten and poisoned food, his relationship with food was severely scared as well. Mixing two things that stress him out (food and sex) is not a good combination. HOWEVER, as he gradually heals, he could let you convince him. In his mind the equation would be something like this: reader= safe so food+ reader= must be safe.

G - Group sex (would they have a threeway? four? an orgy? do they put on a show for spectators? or do they like to keep it just between them and their partner?)

Bro can't even look at himself in the mirror, and barely ever lets you look at his body (see point L). There's no way he's getting more people in the mix, he's got enough worrying about handling his intimacy issues with you. Besides, he said in the Arkham Knight genesis comic he does not share.

H - Humiliation (does degradation and insults get them hot? do they get off on humiliating someone else? what kind of humiliation is good for them?)

Insults do not get him off, for obvious reasons. He's had enough humiliation under Joker's hands to last for five lifetimes. And like I mentioned before, he's not "I suffered so you have too". Yes, you do yell at each other and argue quite often, which ends with name calling from both ends. But that's different, sex is an entirely different thing for him. It's a demonstration of his trust in you, that he loves you even if he can't say it.

I - Impact play (here’s where talking about things like spanking, paddles, canes, floggers and the like.)

I don't think he'd be into it. His relationship with you is something sacred to him, it's perhaps the only thing he got back from his old life, and that's why I think he's so against hurting you. He wants to keep you as separated from the violent aspects of his life as he can so he can at least try to hold onto some sense of normalcy.

J - Jelly (what kind of lube are they using? is it flavored? have they tasted it? do they prefer to use something other than real lube during sex?)

K - Kissing (what parts of their body do they like having kissed? what parts of their partner do they enjoy kissing? do they like leaving marks / having marks left on them?)

Likes forehead kisses, and also likes when you kiss his marked cheek, it proves him you're not scared of him or that you don't think he's a failure. Looooves kissing over your pulse points, staying a little longer to feel your heartbeat under him.

L - Lighting (are the lights on? off? do they have some kind of mood lighting set up?)

Off, he doesn't want to see his scars, doesn't want you to see them either. If the lights are on, then he's keeping most of his clothes on.

M - Masochism (do they like pain? scratching? biting? being bossed around? spoken down to? choked?)

No to all of the above, for reasons previously mentioned. But he's into putting a hand around your neck, doesn't choke you but you definitely feel the heavy weight of his hand. Does not complain if you end up scratching his back tho, I think his pain tolerance got so high that he probably wouldn't even feel it.

N - Not yet (orgasm delay? orgasm denial? do they tell their partner not to touch themselves for a certain amount of time or under certain circumstances? do they delay or deny other things like bathroom usage or food? do they need to beg first? do they like being denied / delayed?)

Would deny himself without even realizing what he's doing. I think it'd be a kind of subconscious self punishment. He'd put off his orgasm in favor of you feeling good until you're overstimulated.

O - Outdoor sex (have they ever done it in public? would they? where?)

Sorry, he's too traumatized to expose himself to situations like this, next.

P - Photography (are cameras allowed in the bedroom? do they send nudes? do they ask for nudes? would they ever record themselves having sex / being caught up in a sexual act?)

Not even with 20 years of healing would he allow this. HOWEVER, I'm a sucker for the "his helmet has a recording option" hc. I think that would be the only way of allowing himself to record these moments since it's from his pov and only gets to see you and not himself.

Q - Quiet please (what’s the volume like in the bedroom? are they quiet? do they scream? do they like a loud partner? do they prefer if their partner is more soft spoken?)

Extremely quiet, like you wouldn't know he's feeling anything if it wasn't for his occasional grunt or shaky breath. He endured torture and was forced to keep quiet in fear of it getting worse if he screamed, so it doesn't come naturally to him.

R - Routine (do they have a routine when it comes to picking up one night stands? do they have scheduled sex with their partner? are things spontaneous or planned ahead of time?)

I think it all depends on how low his self esteem is that day, and how intense his need for closeness and love is. At first, you never initiated it, too afraid to trigger him or make him uncomfortable, but he does not know how to say that he likes it when you seek him out first. He feels wanted, loved, and eventually you pick up on it.

S - Sleepy sex (do they give oral to wake their partner up? do they like receiving oral to wake up? do they like fucking their partner awake? being fucked awake? how about being fucked to sleep at night? do they have lazy morning sex?)

You know what... hell yeah...

He was already awake when you turned around in bed, he sighed a low "morning" with a raspy voice, and you responded by pressing a kiss to his lips. Neither of you knew how it turned into having a hand under each other's pants and then you giggling as he lazily thrusts into you. There's a lot of skin to skin contact, and the room is dark enough for him to feel comfortable taking all of his clothes off. He's still sleepy enough to let a little "i love you" out while you hold him in your arms.

T - Top or bottom (self explanatory…)

U - Underwear (what kind of underwear do they put on in the morning, if any at all… do they own any sexy underwear or lingerie?)

Jason truly does not care, he's got bigger problems and things to carry about lol. But you did jokingly ask him to buy you a cute set in his favorite color so you'd wear it for him, and while you didn't expect him to follow through, he did. You did hold up your part of the deal.

V - Voyeurism (do they like to watch, or are they more hands on? are they more of an exhibitionist?)

Has stalked you before reuniting with you, so he's definitely seen you take care of yourself, he probably feels ashamed of watching you like that, or watching you get dressed, but he'd never tell you about that. In terms of exhibitionism, the most he'd do is fuck you while the men he assigned to watch over you are outside the apartment you were in.

W - Water (pool sex? bath / shower sex? are they into watersports at all?)

I do think in my heart this man would benefit so much from some soft bath sex. Dim lights and a few candles lit nearby. He feels the ache in muscles fade a little, and he lets himself enjoy the intimacy of it. He'd melt at your hands washing his hair and the grime from his body, and then ofc you riding him lol.

X - X-dressing (do they crossdress as a part of teasing / foreplay? does crossdressing turn them on? turn their partner on? do they prefer to do it or watch their partner crossdress instead? do they use other costumes? cat ears, tails, etc?)

His helmet lowkey has cat ears... which could mean nothing...

Not crossdressing again but, the first few nights he took you with him and didn't give you time to bring much of your things so you had to sleep with one of his undershirts. You decided to ditch the pants since they were too big and uncomfortable. He stopped by to see you, and you stood rubbing your eyes on the door frame of your bedroom. A soft "Jay? is that you?" left your lips, and his eyes wandered over your figure. You were rubbing your eyes with one hand while the other pulled down the hem of the shirt for more coverage.

He was oddly relieved to find out he could still get hard that easily.

Y - Yes, Master (what kinds of names are used during sex? do they like being called master / mistress, daddy, etc…? what names do they call their partner?)

If you had any nicknames at all before he was kidnapped, you'd strictly call each other that during these moments. He's doing everything he can to grab onto that nostalgia from a time when it was simpler, when your relationship was simple. You didn't need to jump through hoops to understand him, and he could tell you what he felt and wanted. The familiarity helps the gears on his brain turn slower, he even feels time moves slower with you sometimes.

Z - Zones (what are their erogenous zones? what spots on their body should be touched, bitten, kissed, when someone wants to get them in the mood?)

Most of his body is covered almost all the time, so if you took one of his gloves off, or pulled his clothes to uncover some skin so you could kiss it, he'd die on the spot. What do you mean you want to see him? That you only want to kiss his skin, no matter how scarred or broken? You think he's worth kissing no matter what, and you mean that.

[quitefawnish]

just thinking about reader having an nsft tumblr acct and tf 141 being obsessed with it..

cw: sexual content, slight voyeurism?

soap is the first one to stumble on your tumblr account. he originally got tumblr because he wanted inspiration for meal planning and thought about making his own fitness blog.

of course, he eventually went down the rabbit hole of hornyposting and after a few weeks, he discovered you.

you had started this blog to feel better about yourself, or at least that’s what you told yourself, maybe you just liked the attention. either way, you started off slow, posting in a sheer shirt or just a bra but not wanting to show off too much.

it only took a bit of prodding and pleading from your followers to get you to post your whole body. that’s where johnny first saw you, in a post where you did a full body reveal (sans face for obvious reasons). it had a few thousand notes and was the top picture for some of the tags you used.

soap practically felt his eyes bulge out of his skull at the sight of you, this perfect lass posting pics like that for free??? he was quick to follow you and then look at the rest of your posts, spamming you with likes as he went through your entire blog.

he contemplated keeping you to himself but knew the others would appreciate you just as much as he did, so he saved the original post he saw of you and sent it in the group chat. their messages were immediate, something to the effect of “holy fuck.”

that’s where the obsession with you started, and soap acted as their drug dealer, sharing in the group chat when you posted a new photo. of course, the other three knew that they could coax your username from johnny and they could make their own tumblr account to follow you but they found it more exciting getting your pics this way. one thing he did share with them was your throne wishlist which was full of lingerie and cute clothes you might want.

you had posted in sets you had gotten from other followers and the guys were interested in how they could buy you things too. your eyebrows practically disappeared into your hairline as you checked your phone and saw that your entire wishlist had been bought out. even the stuff that you put on there as a faraway desire, like the pair of mary jane’s you had been eyeing or the marker set that was too expensive to justify buying with your own money.

you always tried to thank people who bought from your throne personally, dming them on tumblr and sending exclusive pics in the things they bought for you. problem was, it was all under anonymous accounts and you didn’t get any messages owning up to the shopping spree. you decided to make a post asking who just bought you all that stuff and that you’d like to thank them.

soap was quick to message you, claiming responsibility for the gifts bought. you both get to talking and he mentions how he shares your pics with his mates, and how they get so excited when he sends a new picture of you. you respond back how you’re honestly so flattered, and you’d like to talk to them as well and thank them for their contribution to your wishlist.

eventually, you find some app or website that you can use to chat with them while not giving out any personal information. of course, when the things they ordered come in the mail, you make sure to send them plenty of videos and pictures.

they are hooked.

now it’s almost like you have four sugar daddies, paying for your bikini waxes (if you want them, they don’t mind hair down there yk), sending you money for groceries, for getting your nails done, or just because. sometimes, they even compete between the four of them to see who can make you the happiest (determined by the amount of exclamation marks you use when thanking them).

a/n: this is so self indulgent and kind of based on some of my experiences when i had an nsft blog on tumblr lolll 🙈 anyway, this is kinda unedited and rambling but would any of you guys want me to write more w this concept?

[twilightofthesandwiches]

…So with ‘Raise Up Your Bat’ having the ‘Lost Girl’ Leitmotif, Tenna bringing up Dess Holiday just before the minigame starts

And the, y’know, bat motif

It’s pretty reasonable to assume that this song is about Dess on some level (well, the original lyrics, anyways)…

A song named "Raise Up Your Bat" by 'Blood Crushers the Band" does seem to exist diegetically. Noelle brings it up on her Blog during the Spamton Sweepstakes.

But with the 'Lost Girl' Leitmotif and the repeat of the Game's own arc words

It's hard to imagine this is just a random song that Dess likes... Maybe the 'Musical Prodigy' had her own little garage band at some point and "Blood Crushers the Band" is literally just Dess and a few friends so she wrote the lyrics and the melody, or... is this song a modification of the 'real' Raise Up Your Bat created from the Dark World?

Well, I don't think it was intentionally written by Tenna or his staff to evoke Dess. I don’t think Tenna was aware of the sort of inner turmoil and conflict this song implies. His thing through the entire chapter is that his fixed-in-place status as a TV and his nostalgia to the good-ol’-days has kept him ignorant of what’s really going on with the Dreemurrs and the Holidays.

I think this must work similarly to something like Chapter 2’s “December Walk”, where Noelle was reminiscing about her sister and her childhood as the puzzle she was solving just happened to spell out ‘December’ without her even noticing it

Or the Sudden Heart-Covered Ferris Wheel just as Susie came to her rescue.

I think that with the Dark Worlds already kinda working on ‘Dream Logic’, that is another aspect of them being kinda like dreams. Dark Worlds are affected by the minds and feelings of the Lightners inside of them, not just at the moment of their creation, but even at the moment, a subconscious thought from a Lightner can affect events in the Dark World around them.

So when Kris was put into a rock music show and Tenna started talking about Dess, that made them think about Dess and "Raise Up Your Bat" came into their head as a rock song she likes. But since they don't know the lyrics/melody by heart, and since they are only thinking of this song through the lens of Dess, a version of that song conjured up spontaneously to Tenna's show and it's lyrics were modified by Kris' thoughts of Dess. As symbolized by the fact that even 'Lost Girl' became part of the melody.

(I guess it's kind of a more serious subconscious version of what Ralsei was doing consciously)

So what this song would really teach us is what Kris thinks of Dess, what sort of things she told them and what sort of things they think she would’ve told them if she could. Especially when you consider this song starts out singing about a ‘Demon Heart’ and blood gushing.

Kris imagines Dess would encourage them to keep going, that she will tell them to keep fighting even against their extremely grim circumstances

That she would want them to follow her into the Dark.

That's my read of the song, anyways.

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Ladybug and Cat Noir: The Movie

Once again, I'd just like to apologize for the lack of activity the past few months. The holidays have kept me busy, especially at work, and I've officially decided to go back to school next month. Don't get me wrong, one of my new year's resolutions is to at least try getting back to consistently working on this blog, which is one of the reasons why I'm going to tackle She-Ra in the future. Either way, I'd like to thank you for supporting me this past year even though I haven't been as active as I should be.

When I heard Miraculous Ladybug was getting a movie, I didn't really pay too much attention to the news due to all of the side projects that have been canceled left and right, but then I saw the trailer. It looked decent, and while I had issues with the animation, I was willing to give it a shot since Astruc wasn't on the writing team. Then the movie came out, and while it got mixed reviews, this was how a lot of people in the fandom saw it after suffering through Season 5.

Yeah, a lot of fans hold this movie in high regard. It's nothing as groundbreaking as other animated films that came out the same year like Across the Spider-Verse and Nimona, but for a Miraculous Ladybug project, it turned out pretty well. That is, except for the brief schism it caused in the fandom. While it's mostly subsided, when the movie came out, there was a debate on which handled the story better, the movie or the show. As always, fandom arguments tend to get complicated, and things only got worse when Thomas Astruc himself decided to throw his hat in the ring by claiming that the show he worked on was better.

Yes, even though fans enjoy a movie based on his characters, because he isn't the one who made it, Astruc thinks his version is better. Just remember, he tweeted this about a month after “Derision” premiered. I feel like that speaks for itself.

Thankfully, the argument has died down for the most part, though there's still discussions on which is the better version. Before I really get into the movie, I just want to remind everyone reading this that my opinion shouldn't be taken as fact. I am not the authority on what people should like, and I don't want anyone to use my review as an excuse to bully other people online for having a different opinion on the movie. While I've made jokes about the show's decline in quality, the show and movie both have their own strengths and weaknesses, and we should be able to discuss them.

With all that out of the way, let's get into Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie

Just to be clear, I'm not going to tackle this like my usual reviews. Instead, I'm going to break this review into three sections: what I liked, what I didn't like, and what I'm mixed on.

Things I liked

For one thing, the characterization is pulled off very well. None of the characters are really as annoying or incompetent like they were in the show's later seasons. Part of what I think makes it work is that there's more focus on character arcs that have to be completed by the end of the film. Marinette has to learn to step up as a hero, Adrien has to learn humility while dealing with the loss of his mother, and Gabriel struggles to resist the allure of villainy.

Marinette's anxiety is more pronounced in this movie, especially since in this continuity, Chloe is just starting to harass her, so she's not used to this kind of treatment. While Chloe is a minor antagonist in the civilian plotline, the biggest threat to Marinette when she's not Ladybug is her own self-doubt. Her status as an outcast is used to add to Marinette's lack of confidence in herself. The whole reason she even meets Adrien here is because she tried to hide from Chloe in the library, and she was too nervous to really speak up to Adrien. Hell, the first time she transforms into Ladybug, it's only because Tikki forced her to transform.

I like how Marinette's insecurities transition into her origin as Ladybug, where she's put in a situation where she has to take charge and be more confident. She still gets frustrated with her situation and her new partner's ego (more on that in a minute), but she struggles to really get her head in the game at first compared to how things were in “Origins”. It makes her development into the confident hero we're all familiar with feel more natural, as the climax of the movie shows her fully asserting herself as the protector of Paris and a beacon of hope for those to look up to.

Adrien is also handled very well here. As much as I liked “Origins”, I have to admit it didn't really do much with him as a character. With the exception of wasting his first Cataclysm, he just goes about the two-parter like it's another day at the office for him. That's why I'm a huge fan of the movie actually giving him stuff to do. Unlike the show, his arrogance is shown in a more negative light and is shown to be a major character flaw he needs to overcome. Nobody tries to excuse or deny his actions, and he learns how to become a better person.

This is what makes his dynamic with Ladybug so interesting. For their first battle together, he's overconfident and assumes that he's the leader, even though he's just as new at this as Ladybug is. The two trade insults and bicker while fighting their Akuma and even when they meet Master Fu afterwards. While Cat Noir does fall for Ladybug, Marinette still isn't open to it, not because she loves someone else, but more because she finds him to be unbelievably annoying. She doesn't really hate him the same way she does Chloe. It's more like that one coworker you can't stand but have to tolerate regardless.

Both Ladybug and Cat Noir help the other improve as they gain each other's respect. Ladybug gains more confidence in order to keep Cat Noir from bossing her around, while Cat Noir becomes more humble to become a better hero. Eventually, Cat Noir reverses his position and assumes he's the sidekick, only for Ladybug to deny that claim and declare that the two are partners. This statement also reflects how both of them are responsible for saving the day in the end. While Adrien ultimately reaches through to his father, Ladybug saves Adrien and repairs the damage caused by Hawkmoth. Both played a role that was instrumental in the climax, and neither one feels ignored by the narrative.

Another character who really got a much needed revamp is Chloe. Yes, she's still Marinette's primary bully, but it's more downplayed than in later seasons. She stays a challenge exclusive to Marinette's civilian life instead of trying to be a challenge to Ladybug. The closest thing she does to opposing the heroes is kick Cat Noir off a runaway Ferris wheel out of fear, and even then, she gets her comeuppance through Ladybug throwing her in a dumpster while saving her. Chloe is also much smarter than in canon, being able to read the room to mask her emotions and maintain her image or to prey on someone's insecurities if they get in her way. Don't get me wrong, she's still a source of comic relief, but the movie treats her slightly more seriously than canon does.

Speaking of comic relief, here's something that I think made this Chloe better than the one seen in the show: The jokes were actually funny. Yeah, it's not laugh out loud, but I like how rather than make jokes about how immature and stupid Chloe is, her jokes are focused more on her own ego and self-image. Well, that, and wanting to kick Marinette's ass. I'm not making this up. Chloe in this movie threatens Marinette several times, and it's honestly amazing.

She unironically put the fear of God in Marinette's eyes in her first scene alone.

I also like how they handle her role as a love rival to Marinette. Unlike the show, Chloe and Adrien never interact, and it's implied that this continuity won't use the childhood friends element introduced in Season 2. It's a good way to show the difference between her and Marinette, how for all her boasting, Chloe doesn't know Adrien the way Marinette gets to know him.

Gabriel is easily the best part of the movie. This version is more fleshed out compared to the show. Rather than flip-flop between sympathetic and pure evil, the movie leans more on the sympathetic side for Gabriel's character. His very first scene shows the grief he's going through while thinking about Emilie, and Keith Silverstein gets to show off more emotions than just over the top sociopathy. You understand why he chooses to become a supervillain, but you want to see him get better, making for a very somber character. I especially love the delivery of the line where he finally gives in and transforms for the first time.

Gabriel: If chaos is the way, I will burn the world and lose myself in the flames to do so!

That line has no right to go as hard as it does.

We see him descend more into villainy as his appearance becomes more disheveled. Despite claiming to care for his son, the Gabriel and Adrien don't interact until the 70-minute mark. By the time the two do talk, Gabriel looks like a mess compared to how he looked at the beginning.

I really like this writing decision, as it highlights the distant relationship between the two, and how being Hawkmoth has only made things worse for Gabriel. Seeing Gabriel finally realize how unhealthy his coping mechanisms have been when he learns Adrien is Cat Noir is a satisfying scene, as it feels like a natural way to put an end to his arc. Compared to canon where he wins and never really feels bad for what he did, this version of Gabriel is far more remorseful at the sight of his son battered and bruised and breaks down sobbing. Remember, this was the version Astruc said we “wanted” and not the one we “needed”.

As for the Miraculous, things were changed to better fit the story, and I like most of what they did. I like how there's more focus on the teamwork between Ladybug and Cat Noir. Their Miraculous don't just grant a wish when used together. They literally become stronger when the two work together, and it makes a lot of sense. I like how the teamwork aspect is rewarded in-universe, because it shows how the heroes can do more than create and destroy stuff. I also think the addition of a call function on their Miraculous makes perfect sense, and clears up a ton of potential communication errors.

The fight scenes are also pretty creative. There's a lot of focus on using the environment to fight the Akumas. The very first fight has Ladybug and Cat Noir defeat the Akuma by letting a train hit it, and the second major fight involves a Ferris wheel going out of control. This leads to more varied action and well choreographed fight scenes. I especially like how with the exception of the Mime (and a brief reference to the Bubbler and Guitar Villain), all of the Akumas are brand-new, so older fans don't know what to expect with these guys.

This level of action also extends to the climax. Hawkmoth uses an Akuma on himself, sending out a massive flock of butterflies. You'd think it'd be like this movie's take on “Heroes' Day”, right? Nope! Instead, the Akumas become tiny attack drones that swarm over Paris like the eight plague of Egypt. I don't know how the animators managed to make an army of purple butterflies menacing, but by God, they did it.

Speaking of animators, my thoughts on the animation have changed drastically. While I still have minor gripes with the character design, I still love how the city of Paris is brought to life, making it seem more populated than in the show. I never really held the limited amount of civilians against the animators in the show, but I'm so happy we can see this show's environment on a cinematic budget. The animation is another reason why I think the action works so well in this movie.

Things I didn't like

When it comes to the changes to the Miraculous, one thing I'm not a fan of is Ladybug not getting her Lucky Charm. It misses the point of her having the power of creation. Yeah, she still has the spotted vision thing she had in the show, but it takes away what made the way she defeats Akumas interesting. She doesn't just beat them into submission. Sometimes, she outsmarts them or reasons with them, and part of the fun with the Lucky Charm is seeing just how she'll use something like a coat hanger or an old football trophy to defeat them.

I also don't like this movie's take on the Butterfly Miraculous. The very first scene has Master Fu build it up as an evil artifact capable of turning people into monsters. Remember, “Origins” established the Butterfly as something capable of creating superheroes, a power Gabriel twisted to create villains instead. Hell, I hate this rule, but the Paris Special made it clear that Miraculous can be used for good or evil, and it all depends on how the power is used. In other words, Miraculous don't kill people, people kill people. Bottom line, I prefer the idea of the Butterfly being the same as the other Miraculous, with the user and intent making it evil.

The one character who I felt the movie absolutely misrepresented was Plagg. This version of the character has none of the heart he had in the show. Yes, Plagg was crass there too, but he had just as many scenes showing how he cared for Adrien like a little brother or a nephew. He was Adrien's primary confidant and wanted to help him however he could. Even bad Plagg-centric episodes like “Kuro Neko” or “The Kwamis' Choice” made it clear he wants what's best for Adrien and is capable of coming up with plans if they'll help him.

Here, Plagg is mostly just there to make snide comments and fart a lot. Say what you will about the show, but at least it didn't make Plagg farting into a running gag. Plagg only gets a handful of lines in the entire movie, to the point where even Tom has more lines than he does. Tikki gets plenty of scenes with Marinette and an entire song, while Plagg feels like an afterthought.

Things I'm mixed on

This might be a little controversial, but I have mixed feelings on the portrayal of the Love Square as a whole in this movie. Don't get me wrong, the Ladynoir scenes are great, but there's not as many Adrienette, Ladrien, or Marichat scenes. In fact, I don't think there were any Ladrien or Marichat scenes in this movie, which is weird. I can at least excuse those, but it's weird how little Adrienette scenes there are. Not counting the masks, they only have four major scenes together before the end, and one of those is a deleted scene that had the dialogue cut over a montage.

While I'm glad the entire movie wasn't about the Love Square drama, the romance between Marinette and Adrien specifically feels a little rushed. I think it would have benefited the movie to have ten or fifteen more minutes to flesh out this subplot a little instead of only focusing on Ladynoir.

I'm also unsure what to say about the songs. Most of them are pretty catchy and have great visuals, but the dissonance between the singing voices of Marinette and Adrien throws me off. I don't get why neither actor for the French or English dub was asked to sing. For some reason, Tikki and Gabriel's voice actors got to sing, but not Marinette and Adrien. At the very least, Drew Ryan Scott's singing voice sort of sounds like Adrien, but Lou's singing voice makes Marinette sound twice her age. Don't get me wrong, I still liked the songs, but this choice was very jarring to me.

And now, because literally nobody asked for it, here's every song in the movie ranked.

8. If I Believed in Me

A very dull “I want” song that's just Marinette wandering around Paris on the way to school. Compared to “Little Town” from Beauty and the Beast, where you can easily follow Belle and understand how she goes about her day, it's not clear what kind of route Marinette is taking. Even the lyrics are pretty bland, just talking about wanting to follow her dreams and be more confident. The issue is that her dreams of being a fashion designer barely factor into the plot, and she only becomes more confident thanks to being a superhero, something she didn't dream of. The only real dud in the soundtrack.

7. Opening Remix

Not much to say here. It's a remix of the opening theme with the new singers. It sounds nice.

6. Reaching Out

This is a much better song than “If I Believed in Me”. It does a great job expressing Marinette's doubt and how she feels pressured to be somebody she's not. Great way to follow up on her heart getting broken by Adrien.

5. My Lady

This one's a quickie, but it's still fun. I love the visuals in this one and how it gradually crescendos, reflecting the new feelings Cat Noir has for Ladybug developing.

4. Stronger Together

Surprisingly, Ladybug and Cat Noir's only duet in the movie, but it's still really good. I love the use of the set in the theater Cat Noir took Ladybug to at the beginning before they run around Paris. The lyrics do a great job showing how far the two's relationship has come, making it clear how close they are, only for reality to metaphorically kick them out of the sky.

3. You Are Ladybug

Another duet, this time between Marinette and Tikki. While I still think Cristina Vee should have gotten to sing this one song given her chemistry with Mela Lee, Lou still does a great job expressing her anxiety. The back and forth between Tikki and Marinette makes this a blast to watch, especially with it using the same music as the theme song. Even the rap part with Tikki was fun to watch. I especially love the part where Tikki excitedly tells Marinette about how dangerous the job is and how close she'll come to getting killed.

2. Chaos Will Reign Today

The villain song in this movie had no right to be as good as it is. The visuals are eerie and fit the more menacing tone of the song. Keith Silverstein gives his all to make up for his crime of singing the Hawkmoth Rap. It's also a hell of a lot better than the villain song Disney had to offer that year.

1. Courage in Me

Easily my favorite song in the movie. The visuals of Marinette struggling to hop across these black spots symbolizing her yo-yo before her transformation into Ladybug is awe-inspiring. The lyrics are a great way to solidify Marinette embracing her role as Ladybug, and it's such a triumphant song to listen to.

Other things I noticed

During the first Akuma fight, Ladybug and Cat Noir pass by some guys with stereotypical French accents while almost every other character speaks like they're in America.

Careless Whisper plays one time in Cat Noir's mind as he develops feelings for Ladybug. The fact that he listens to it after getting his heart broken has to be one of the most subtle jokes I've ever seen in this franchise. Of course, it's clear what the best superhero cover of Careless Whisper really is.

Cat Noir says he has the power of destruction in his introduction while being impressed when Master Fu says the same thing.

There's a Volkswagon tie-in that actually features the two heroes promoting some cars in-universe. This is a real shot from the movie.

I think Chloe ships Alyanette, judging from this exchange:

Marinette: Seriously, Alya, you think Adrien would say yes?

Alya: Of course! I'm gonna ask Nino.

Chloe: I think you should go together, 'cause Adrien is coming with me, not with some baker girl.

I don't think Ladybug ever learned Cat Noir could play the piano, so seeing Cat Noir try to woo her with a little piano number is a nice inclusion.

When Cat Noir's mask is destroyed in the final battle, his exposed eye is still green. Was this where the chibi shorts got the idea from?

Other people have pointed this out, but the picture of Adrien as a kid is traced from a character from The Boss Baby. That's an automatic ten point deduction for making me remember that movie exists.

The post-credits scene with Nathalie was weird.

Did Master Fu not know he lost the Peacock Miraculous too?

Why isn't Emilie in any form of suspended animation?

Is the Peacock still damaged?

Did the Peacock still kill her/send her into a coma?

Was Adrien still created by the Peacock?

Why didn't Gabriel use the Peacock or at least consider it?

Did Gabriel forget to tell anyone about the other Miraculous he has after turning himself in?

Why did Gabriel choose to tell Nathalie when she didn't seem to help him while he was still Hawkmoth?

Final Thoughts

Overall, this was a really good movie, and a fresh take on the show's universe. I had issues with it, but I still think this movie series has promise. The animation was great, the songs were catchy, and the characterization was on point for the most part. It even manages to be a better musical than the ones big names like Disney and Warner Bros have made in the past two years. It's one of the best things to come out of the franchise, no question. I wouldn't mind future installments set in this continuity over whatever Season 6 churns out.

[minijenn]

The Ultimate Universe Falls Starter Guide!

Hey, you! You, reading this post! Have you heard about a fun little Gravity Falls/Steven Universe crossover fanfiction known as Universe Falls? Well now you have! Welcome to the club! This post is meant to introduce you to all things there is to know Universe Falls in one conscise place. Keep in mind that this post assues that you already are fully familiar with the plot and characters of each show individually, and will only really cover fic-specific things.

Now those of you who are already familiar with UF may be wondering, Jen, what is this post? Well, its mostly meant to be an introductory guide to help folks who stumble across my blog and may be interested in checking UF out, but are initially indimidated by it for whatever reason. It'll broadly introduce terms and concepts and characters unique to the fic, as well as connect you with valuable rescources to get the most out of all of the UF content there is to consume. So with that intro out of the way, let's get started!

What the Heck Is a Universe Falls Anyway?

Universe Falls is a silly idea I had back in 2015 (that's right, 10 years ago!) that aimed to combine the plots of Gravity Falls and Steven Universe into one narrative. The basic gist is that instead of settling in Beach City back in the day, the Crystal Gems make their base in Gravity Falls, intruiged by all of the strange creatures that live there. Hence we have Steven and Connie, who already live there, meeting and befriending Dipper and Mabel (who are spending the summer with their Grunkle Stan) to form a group fondly referred to as the Mystery Kids. Throughout the summer, they experience plenty of adventures, perils, life-lessons, and maybe even save the world a few times. You know, normal kid stuff. Mix in all of your favorite GF and SU characters, and you have a unique blend of the stories of both shows, melded together to create something that's both a little familiar and a little new, with plenty of unexpected twists along the way.

Vibe Check Time! What Can I expect?

When it comes to UF, you can expect... pretty much anything tbh. From tooth rotting fluff to the most devestating angst you've ever read, UF kinda covers it all. It has plenty of lighthearted, fun moments towards the beginning, but as we go along, things start to gradually get darker (much like they do in the canon of both shows). I will say, this fic is rated T for a reason, and its tags on Ao3 are fairly accurate. The main ones I should point out are harm to children, blood/violence, and emotional trauma. Generally though, I do try to keep to the vibes of both of the shows UF is based on, so that's mostly what you can expect.

Wait, Didn't You Already Write This Fic?

I did, again ten years ago. I stopped working on it around 4 years ago, largely due to burnout and a variety of other factors. But with the revival of the GF fandom thanks to the Book of Bill, I was struck with the inspiration to pick the fic up again last year! Hence we have what I refer to as "New UF". New UF is a revised version of the OG fic, rewritten from the ground up with a lot of the fat trimmed from it. I'm trying to get to major plot and character points as quickly as possible, so some might feel it has something of a quick pace, but I think it's just right, really, to keep the fic from feeling like its dragging its feet the same way it used to. New UF has frequent updates, each with their own accompanying artwork, so you can not only expect new content to read, but new content to feast your eyes upon too! A win win for everyone! (BTW before you ask, the original UF is still up; you can read it if you want, but I wouldn't encourage it. It's kind of a mess writing-style wise).

UF? UF2? UFF? Why so many UFs?

If you stick around my blog for any extent of time, you may hear the terms UF2 and UFF thrown around. UF2 stands for Universe Falls 2, UF's eventual sequel covering the second summer after UF. As UF1 ends after the events of Weirdmageddon on the GF side and roughly around the beginning of season 4 on the SU side, we still actually have a lot of ground to cover, and that's where UF2 comes in. Granted, since I'll be out of GF content to adapt by then, there's going to be a lot of really interesting original content that comes into play to look forward too, along with the rest of SU. UFF stands for Universe Falls Future, a sequel series set two years after the events of UF2 which covers the events of Steven Universe Future, but again, has plenty of original content of its own to balance things out. At the time of this writing, neither UF2 or UFF have been written yet, but rest assured I have both pretty much planned out completely from beginning to end because I'm just unhinged like that.

"Seasons"? Bitch, this is a fanfic, not a TV show.

I know lol. So let me explain. I categorize chunks of UF into what I like to call "seasons", mostly to keep myself on track. They don't really mean anything outside of various bundles of chapters that are close together. For instance, Season 1 or S1 of UF is everything from the start of the fic up to Mirror Gem and Waterfall Gem. S2 is everything from Irrational Treasure to Gideon Rises. And so on and so fourth. You can check out the full season list, and a full (semi correct bc its kinda always changing) UF chapter list here on the official UF wiki (btw, we have a Wiki).

Who are all these Blorbos?

So while UF mainly focuses on actual canon characters from both shows, it does have a small handful of original characters in more minor roles to flesh things out. You'll likely hear some of their names thrown out from time to time, so here are the major ones you need to remember:

Stepper and Maven: My babies! These two are probably pretty obvious, but Stepper is the fusion of Steven and Dipper and Maven is the fusion of Steven and Mabel. They both show up a handful of times throughout UF and I love them both dearly.

Dipevebel, Convenper, and Mabonnven: The "trifusions" as I like to call them. They're vairious combo fusions of our four Mystery kids (or MK): Dipevebel is Steven, Dipper, and Mabel; Convenber is Steven, Dipper, and Connie, and Mabonnven is Steven, Connie, and Mabel. We also have Stonipbel, who is the fusion between all four of them.

Aaron and Allison Pines: Dipper and Mabel's parents. We know nothing about these characters in canon, but fuck it, this is my house and I do what I want with them, so we have Aaron, who is kind of a bit of an anxious loser and a bit emotionally absent (while still caring about his kids) and Allison, who is super strict and kind of not the nicest person in the world. They're mentioned a handful of times in UF, but they don't actually show up until towards the end of UF2.

Stonemason: OK so this one requires a bit of an explaination and a bit of UF2 spoilers, so feel free to skip if you need to. The best way I can sum him up is to quote the UF wiki: Stonemason is a cybernetically enhanced human assassin created by Yellow Diamond with assistance from Bill Cipher. The first and only successful product of the Human Bioweapon Operation, Stonemason is a separate entity that is implanted in Dipper's mind, taking control of his body to undertake his orders to shatter "Rose Quartz" (aka). Stonemason makes his debut in Universe Falls 2, where he is a major antagonist for a majority of the fic." So yeah that's a lot, and if you have any questions about that, feel free to ask. Also, all that ^^^ is why Dipper has a yellow metal arm following the halfway point of UF2 in all art I draw post that point, basically his arm was amputated and replaced with a shapeshifting metal one. Ya know, like ya do.

Amber: Amber is a Gem who is related to the whole Stonemason arc mentioned above. She's created to basically be a nurse to humans in Yellow Diamond's human bioweapon program, and eventually ends up developing a close bond with Dipper, despite her assignment.

You mean these MK Poly? I sure do

Ok, so shipping is dumb. I think we can all agree on that right? Buuuuut it does lead to some pretty interesting character dynamics, hence why we see a little of it in UF. Namely between our starring kiddos. Before I continue let me make it extremely clear that there is no incestuous content of any kind in Universe Falls, that shit is fucking gross and I won't tolerate anyone claiming that I engage in that, cause I don't. As for the actual poly MK ship, essentially, its that all these kids (save for the twins, obviously) are in love with each other. So we get Steven x Connie, but also Steven x Dipper (Stedip), Steven x Mabel (Stebel), Connie x Mabel (Conbel), Connie x Dipper (Conper) and eventually even Pacifica joins the polycule too so there's really a lot of fun dynamics to be explored in there. Idk ya'll don't get too hung up on the shipping element here. Love is love.

AUs of AUs? That's a Bit Redundant don't ya think?

Maybe so. But Universe Falls does have a whole host of Alternate Universes to its made, some made by me, some made by fans and my friends. The main UF AUS are Reverse/Diamond, Swap AU, and Relativity/Gem Kids, but there's plenty more you can read up on here on the AU page over on the wiki.

Nice Art, you ask a fuckass AI to make it?

Absolutely not. All my art is drawn by yours truly. You can look through my past works here on my blog using the tag "Jen Draws" or check out my DeviantArt page.

How do I solve those Goddamn Codes?

Each chapter of UF has a cryptogram to accompany it, mostly just meant to carry the spirit of Gravity Falls and do some fun references and foreshadowing. Every code in new UF can be decoded using a keyword that's found somewhere in the author's notes at the start of each chapter, usually the word relates back to the chapter itself. As a bonus hint, this is the website I use to create all my codes, and you can decode them there as well: https://themysteryofgravityfalls.com/

Cool stuff. Where can I read this thing/learn more?

This is the part where I mostly just list off a bunch of helpful links and such for folks who want to read/explore UF. Starting with, where you can read it! I post all new chapters here on tumblr, but UF's main home is on Ao3 (though I do still crosspost to FanFiction.net for some goddamn reason). The links to the fic itself are listed below:

Universe Falls on Ao3

Universe Falls on FanFiction.net

You can also read up on all of the hot UF lore on the official wiki! Please note that this wiki is still very much a work in progress, and if you want to help us build it, please feel free to!

You can also check out my Discord server for more exclusive UF content and conversations! This is honestly the best place to check out all things UF, especially to get a pulse on what fans are creating surrounding the fic. I won't post the link here bc Discord links expire, but if you're interested in joining up, please PM for an invite!

Aw, we're already done? But I got even more questions!

Then feel free to hit up my inbox! It's always open and I'm always down to discuss UF with ya'll. With all that said, if you do decide to check UF out, I sincerely, wholeheartedly hope you enjoy it (and I hope it overtakes your every waking thought the same way it has mine lmao)

[dr-spectre]

Hey all, so i wanted to discuss something a little bit different compared to my usual Splatoon ramblings because i have something that's been floating in my brain for a while now and I really wanna talk about it! But don't worry, I'll tie it back to Splatoon in this blog post!

So i have been seeing a lot of criticisms towards the new "hit game" Concord and a lot of it is very VERY well deserved. And one of the MANY criticisms is aimed towards the character designs and mostly on these characters who have become punching bags for the entire gaming community.

NOW! Let me come and say it, i am NOT going to be defending these designs at all, i am NOT a professional character designer but, these designs are flat-out dogshit and it's not for the reasons you think. I am not saying these character designs are bad because "WAHH!!!! FAT PEOPLE!!! WAHH!!! I HATE BLACK PEOPLE!! WAHH!! I CAN'T GOON TO THIS CHARACTER NOOO!!! WAHHH!!! I ONLY WANT STRAIGHT WHITE BARBIE DOLLS TO JERK OFF TO!! WAHH!!" If you're someone like... ahem.... asmondgold. And whine about how you can't goon to these characters and you're scared of fat and black people. Then you need to fuck off and genuinely go outside. And like... Idk, jump into a pit of lava.

The reasons why these designs suck is because they have terrible silhouettes, poor balancing, too many random colours that have no harmony whatsoever, lack of strong shapes and a lack of any clear cut qualities to tell us who the fuck these characters are. A good character design will tell you who a character is based on looks alone.

Let's take a look at how to properly do character design in a video game, shall we?

We will first start off with an iconic tank character, Heavy from TF2.

Heavy has a strong use of squares on his body, arms and hands, showing us that he is a strong and meaty character. Squares are used in larger characters to show that they are durable and strong. Heavy also has appropriate accessories on his body to show us what kind of character he is, like his bandolier, pouch, fingerless gloves and tactical looking vest. His legs are also small compared to the rest of his body which tells us that he probably isn't the fastest runner out there.

All of these simple design decisions the characters designers chose to include add up to create an iconic character who you can gather that he is a large and in charge weapons expert from the design alone.

Tell me something, what the FUCK do you get from this character?

He's a big person... That's it. I can barely gather any sort of character traits from this character. There's nothing. THEIR GUN IS FUCKING BORING TOO! AT LEAST HEAVY HAS A BIG ASS GUN! THAT'S JUST A BASIC BITCH ASSUALT RIFILE!

Now let's look at another iconic tank character. Reinhardt from Overwatch.

Reinhardt has a VERY strong silhouette, with his iconic helmet with the 3 spikes/horns, his giant shoulder pads, the pointy tips on his boots, his... groan... flap? thingy? idfk what that is but anyways, Reinhardt is an iconic tank character because his design is super well balanced, his concept of a futuristic knight is dope, and the lion emblem on arm showcase Rein's personality and origins.

I genuinely get nothing from this design. Like... Fuck all, i get NOTHING!!!

They are a tank character with a big gun... Okay? Is there... any cool details? Uh... there's a tiny flag.... What the fuck is that supposed to tell me about the character? The silhouette is boring, the character looks like a Fallout knock off. It's just... BORING!!

I could talk about the other tanks in Overwatch and how incredibly well designed they are compared to Concord's "anchors" and other classes but i don't wanna be here all day. Just know that D.VA slaps, Doomfist slaps, Ramattra slaps, ALL OF THEM SLAP HARD AND HAVE SUPER GOOD SILHOUETTES AND COLOURS!!

Now for our final "tanky" design, let's roll it back to Splatoon and talk about a character who is bigger compared to the rest of the cast.

BIG MAN!

His silhouette is actually so well done and is a masterpiece in character design, it is so incredibly distinctive and unique from other characters. He has a unique headpiece too, he has these droopy eyes that give him a relaxed look. He has some cool patterns, he's just a really well designed character that you can gather his personality from really well.

The reason why Concord's character designs fail is because it feels like Sony brought in a novice fashion designer to make characters in an hour and call it a day. The only designs from that game i can say with my full chest are okay are these guys, and even then they have ISSUES!

Haymar is supposed to be this fire user yet nothing tells me that they use fire. It's so easy to... oh i don't know... USE MORE RED?!?!? ADD FIERY PATTERNS?!?! WHY IS SHE COVERED IN FUCKING ANAL BEADS?!??! HELLO?!?!??

Roka is just.. fine, her colours suck but... I guess i like the helmet?

When the best looking characters out of your fucking 5V5 HERO SHOOTER are just... eh? You know got a massive problem. If we take a game like TF2 you can see just how well the designs are at showing the player what kind of personality and traits they have.

Scout has rolled up pants with tight socks on, bandages on his hands and a cap on his head, showing us that Scout is a fast and somewhat reckless character who gets into trouble but can get out due to his speed and wit. Medic has a simple pallet of white and red which are common colours used in hospitals and doctors. I could go on but you get the point.

If you're going to create a new hero shooter with a large roster, for the love of god, actually have characters with better silhouettes, colour balancing, accessories, etc.

Take a page out of their books and come back with a better fucking game. Or not. Sony... You piece of shit. You ain't beating the "PS5 has no games" allegations with these wack ass games. (This is coming from someone who has a PS5.)

[terubakudan]

DIR EN GREY WHO IS THIS HELL FOR @Zepp Taipei 2025/05/10 Concert

How do I even begin xD

I'm a person who rarely goes out of the house except for working, shopping and chores that need to be done. So for me to go out for leisure, there would have to be some sort of really interesting thing/activity to convince me to get out of the house.

And this time being a damn good reason is an understatement.

I've always dreamt of seeing DIR EN GREY live, so the moment they announced last year in December that they were touring in Taiwan again (after 9 years!), I was SHOOK and thought that no way I'm going to miss this chance. An actual chance to see them is more important than any other activity for me that day (say hypothetically I had a work-related thing, I would take a leave just for that, anything for Diru _:(´ཀ`」 ∠):).

I was able to buy their A ticket, which was around the mosh pit area, A ticket included a randomized member postcard and bookmark. I originally wanted to get a S ticket (which included more goodies and a Meet&Greet) but ahhhh even when I logged in the moment ticket sales started I wasn't fast enough to snag one QQ The ticket system kind of crashed(?) due to the multiple requests for tickets. My brother says though it could have been some people using bots to snag the tickets :(

Nevertheless I'm still very happy to be even able to get to see them, it was really a dream come true.

On the day of the concert, I hopped on the HSR (High Speed Rail) to Taipei!

Believe me the thing that worried me most at that time was whether the concert would be cancelled due to the weather xD It rained super hard that morning and I wondered if this was a sign of Diru making one hell of an entrance xD

My original plan was just to see Diru and go home the next morning, but it so happens that there was a JOJO-related convention on that day! As is very obvious on this blog, I'm a Grade-S Weeb xD But I'll share that experience in a separate post.

Looking for food while listening to Child Prey hits different xD

After lunch and the convention, I went to drop off my luggage at the WonderTime2- Ladies' Inn near Taipei Main Station, and it's a quaint and cozy one! It's for girls only though and if you're looking for decent yet affordable lodging this is an option.

I then took the Metro to Zepp Taipei, and just like the time I went to see the GazettE's MASS Final concert back in July 2023, I only needed to follow the fellow Diru believers dressed in black xD

Zepp Taipei is located inside the Honhui Plaza on the 8th Floor.

Me and the fellow concertgoers went to fall in line at the elevator, and there was this awkward silence and us looking at each other and probably thinking "ah yes you here too to see Diru?? Hm hm same same" and then we quietly packed ourselves in the elevator.

Once we all got to the 8th floor, we went to Zepp Taipei (just past the cinema) and fell in line according to Ticket type (S Ticket and A Ticket holders got to go in first).

Once we got inside, I found myself around the back of the shimote side of the mosh pit in Zone A, and for the first time in my life I genuinely cursed my Hobbit height xDD I'm fun-size in a way that I could only see half the bodies of the band and Kyo fully provided he's standing/crouching on his crate.

Pre-show music included the unplugged/symphonic versions of Diru songs, like Different Sense, Agitated Screams of Maggots, Inconvenient Ideal etc.

Then the show started a little past 7PM, the lights dimmed and my heart was pumping!! I was about to see one of my favorite bands ever, it was very difficult to calm down xD

The members came on stage, starting with Shinya, then followed by Toshiya, Die, Kaoru, and lastly Kyo. By this point I thought I was dreaming, to really see them in the flesh is something else.

As mentioned in this post, the members' outfits were all on point, I swore that Toshiya's outfit looked like part of a carpet though xD He even had the fancy long sleeves that you see in Hanfu.

The setlist was as follows:

Ningen wo Kaburu

The Devil in Me

DRAIN AWAY

13

Magayasou

The Perfume of Sins

Oboro

VINUSHKA

Kasumi

audience KILLER LOOP

OBSCURE

Ochita Koto no Aru Sora

Eddie

Encore

G.D.S.

CHILD PREY

THE IIID EMPIRE

Uroko

Utafumi

I was able to name every song except for the ones from Phalaris xD I don't have an excellent memory like other people but I'll try my best to recount my experience during the songs. during the whole concert I was literally losing my shit

We started with Ningen wo Kaburu after the members came out during the "holy shit that's hype" SE, great opener to a concert if you ask me. It was then followed by their more recent song The Devil in Me.

Then DRAIN AWAY started, and the crowd was already quite warmed up by this point. DRAIN AWAY has the especially nostalgic sounding opening riff and drum beat and you could really feel how happy the crowd was.

The setlist then went heavier again with 13, Magayasou, and The Perfume of Sins. Shinya was the star during The Perfume of Sins, he made our hearts pound with his drumming! I should mention that the bass and drums during this concert was especially lovely, you could feel the bass vibrations and drumbeats against your throat and chest, maybe it's also because I was in the mosh pit this time around so it "felt" especially prominent. xD

Then Oboro followed, and my god, Kyo really sang his heart out. It was so emotional, and we were all in awe. It made us all quiet in a good way.

And then all hell broke loose in VINUSHKA. The crowd went wild and this is also when I didn't give a care and just headbanged like crazy xD Prior to that I was headbanging but in a "here and there" kind of way and just watching the show. The MVP crowd definitely goes to the Japanese fans beside me though! Their own energy was able to rival Kyo's and throughout the entire show they were headbanging and pumping fists in the air and singing like no tomorrow. At several points of the show the Japanese fans were shouting so loud that another fan gave them the look like "bruh, I'm trying to enjoy a concert here". xD

Shoutout to the guy too who went "SHINNNNYAAAAAAAAAAAAA-SAN!!!!!!!!!!" xD

As if to relax ourselves after VINUSHKA, the band played the ever lovely Kasumi. The mellowness was short-lived though since they resumed with audience KILLER LOOP, and it was during this point that I thought that Kaoru looked at me. ∑(O_O;) He could have been just looking at the people in Zone B, but wow his gaze was so piercing in person I think my heart stopped for a moment. (ノ*��▽°*)

And then all hell broke loose again with OBSCURE, now normally I don't like this song but I really enjoyed this song live! Couldn't resist headbanging like crazy again. And then Toshiya gave us all a show...

...what are you thinking not a striptease no something close to that though. He pounced to the edge of the shimote side and proceeded to make love to his bass right then and there xD

The band continued the tension with Ochita Koto no Aru Sora, and closed the main show with Eddie. At this point it was only around 8PM, and of course we all begged them to come back for an encore as they each walked off the stage!

Also Toshiya finally decided to striptease...

...his bass, get your head out of the gutter. It was funny because he went off the stage from the center and then a moment later Staff-san picked up his bass and I realized what happened. xD

We clapped and shouted "encore encore encore" for about 10 minutes before G.D.S. started and they all did the walk again. And then CHILD PREY started and all hell broke loose for the third time that night xD CHILD PREY is especially fun live. It's really good for hyping up the crowd if you ask me. :D And then the electrifying energy continued with THE IIID EMPIRE, which is also extremely fun live.

Then they fucking did Uroko (I was so happy!!), and then Kyo started egging and hyping us up and we were all like "yeah!", "yeah!", "yeah!", and then he said "Last song!" and we were like "no!" xDDD

They ended the show with Utafumi, and we all headbanged and sang our hearts out since it was the last song.

They had an instrumental version of Jealous-reverse- playing during the end of the show and I don't think I was the only one who got emotional QQ The members each gave us their farewells, Shinya left first followed by Kyo, and I was debating whether to take pictures at this point but decided not to out of respect for the band.

I should mention though that before Kyo left, he gave us the warmest smile, the kind of smile that could light up the galaxy if the sun gave out. 😭

Then Kaoru, Toshiya and Die were the ones left on stage and proceeded to baptize the crowd, they threw picks and bottles for us to catch!! Toshiya had such a good arm that three bottles made it to the second floor xD Kaoru gave us all The Look™ before throwing his bottles and picks to the crowd, and had one of his bottles been just a teensy bit farther I swore it could have been mine. ( ╥ω╥ ) Die was the last one to wave and say farewell to us, and he looked so happy! He could tell that we were able to match their energy for this concert and that Taipei gave them a very warm welcome. The concert ended around 8:45PM and believe me when I tell you none of us wanted to go home. xD

We then proceeded to exit the venue after making sure there weren't any "post-credits scenes" like new album announcement, secret encore, etc.

I went outside to bask in the post-concert afterglow and made a beeline for the merch stand xD

Afterwards I decided to head back to the hotel but not before stopping by a store on the 1st floor, I was wondering why there were a few concertgoers gathered around and then I realized the amp from the store was playing Diru songs! It was Sajou no Uta, and then it was followed by raison detre. But it was getting late, so I decided to call it a night.

To end my night I took the metro back, and saw a very cute passerby who looked like [REDACTED] from 14 Days With You xD He was tall, slender but not bone-thin, had dyed pink tips on black hair, and a lovely sense of goth fashion. I internally squeed xD Quite possibly the hottest passerby I've seen so far...

....unless I see Toshiya, Toshiya is so hot it should be illegal.

I digress. xD

To close this post, I just want to say that I truly had so much fun at the concert and this day will be one of the happiest days of my life, and eventually a memory that I will cherish dearly even when I'm doing tai chi exercises at public parks.

Thank you so much Kyo, Kaoru, Die, Toshiya, Shinya for coming to Taiwan and giving us all a wonderful performance!!! I wish you all the best and if ever you guys come to Taiwan again, we'll be more than happy to welcome you.

[assassin-artist]

Realizing I post so little Cecil/Akari on my blog (bc i am scared to draw cecil) so here's my first attempt to remedy that. Akari lore and info below the cut for those interested (:

so just as a quick rundown of Akari lore/powers for those who aren't familiar with her: she was originally a Chainsaw Man OC, in which she was a devil hunter who had a contract with the devil of time. It gave her time manipulation powers, but every time she used her abilities, she would lose some of her memories as payment for her powers. Although I've moved a few things around to make her story fit in the Invincible world, that stuff largely stayed the same - she still has some kind of time manipulation powers (but I still have yet to flesh out exactly how it works), and using her powers causes her to lose some memories of random moments in her life. Since she manipulates time, I imagine she's "stuck in time" physically, so she hasn't been aging ever since she first got her powers - or maybe she does age, but every time she uses her powers, she's turning back her own clock? Either way, she's nearly 100 years old by now but still looks like she's in her early 30s.

She was born in Denmark, then moved to Japan where she changed her name and joined a Japanese government hero agency. She worked there as an agent for roughly 20 years or so, then long-story-short she wound up killing her boss (for a good reason dw about it). She gets arrested because, while she may have saved people for ending that threat, she still turned against her agency and killed a high ranking government official. They don't wanna kill her bc how many people in the world can turn back time? c'mon that's way too OP to get rid of, but she's still a criminal. But Radcliffe is known to make use of powerful individuals even if they have a criminal background, so he's like "you did good work there, now come do good work over here" and she moves to America and starts working for the GDA 👍 works for Radcliffe for a good 25 years or so, then starts working for Cecil when he takes over for the next 20 years. so that makes her like…. roughly in her late 90s by the start of the show

She's a competent, trustworthy Agent who's been in the GDA for ~45 years now, she takes her job seriously and is very dedicated to her role, but she has a relaxed and humorous personality that brings a lot of levity to the GDA. Got with Cecil when he was a field agent, and they've been on and off ever since. Not because they have a rocky relationship, but because both of them are very dedicated to their jobs and know that, if ever there was a need for it, they would both choose to sacrifice their love for the good of the world. So they keep things unofficial in the hopes that it won't hurt as bad when that day comes.

Cecil's "I'd make a deal with the devil to save this planet" vs Akari's "I already have." By design she is a very tragic OC, I joke she's the most doomed woman in any narrative she exists in, but she has a silly fun personality where she takes everything in stride anyway :3 we cope with the trauma via humor over here

and just a handful of cekari ramblings i've tormented my discord friends with (:

[skittishandi]

whump intro :)

Hi! Long-time lurker, here finally decided to make a blog to interact with the community!

My name is andi, or ANDI (Andy with capital A and ending in Y just makes me uncomfy for some reason, can't explain why) I'm 28 years old and go by she/her pronouns.

I've always loved whump, even before I knew there was a term for it. As a teenager, I'd spend hours googling TV shows and movies where characters got beaten up or tied up (something about bondage and restraints always scratched an inch in my brain).

At first, my love for whump focused on physical whump: restraints of all kinds, pain, kidnapping and a good beat up. But over time, the psychological aspect of it grew on me too: fear, crying, manipulation, etc.

Writing has always been a passion of mine, I've always been a writer, not an exceptional one, but a writer nevertheless. I even participated in NaNoWriMo (fuck them) every year when I was younger, I think I won 5 years in a row. I stopped doing it in my early 20s to focus on fanfiction. (again fuck nanowrimo!)

When I finally discovered the term whump, I started to read fanfics that contained some sort of whump, then I discovered that people were writing their own stories, in their own world, with their own characters. I was hooked. I followed a few creators and found the whump community super welcoming and supportive. I always wanted to be part of it but let fear and my chronic shyness hold me back.

With Whumptober approaching, I've decided to step out of my comfort zone and participate. I'm giving myself a chance to get out there and share some of my original work this October.

Anyway (I'm a yapper).

My favorite whump tropes are:

Restraints/Bondage

Sensory deprivation

Sleep/Food deprivation

Hybrid whumpee

Pet whump

Whumper turned whumpee

Defiant whumpee

Kidnapping

Needless to say, I do enjoy some NSFW content and will post some of my own in the future, so heads up for that :)

[russellsppttemplates]

I never knew anybody 'til I knew you (Lando Norris)

Your new job is allowing you to have new experiences, and your heart is not too mad about it either

Note: english is not my first language. After a long time in the books, I'm finally writing for Lando! This is my first long piece and I hope I did well enough!

Thank you so much to everyone who likes and reblogs, your feedback is appreciated 🤍 and I'm taking requests so if you have any ideas or concepts you want to share, feel free to do so as I'll try to get to them the best I can!

my masterlist

Tw: curse words, mentions alcohol consumption

Tag list: @myloverjk-blog

"I'm just saying, it's closer that way. We can go and get the packages ourselves and sort out any issues with them straight away", Lando reasoned, opening his text message app so he could continue what he wanted to do. "Okay, fine by me. He's got a point, Y/N", Max raised his hands in surrender, looking at you for your opinion.

Working for Quadrant hadn't been a goal you had set out to accomplish in the strict sense of it. You didn't see yourself working for a massive company where people were stuffed in offices where the only way they could know their colleagues' names was when they had online meetings that took far too long and discussed the baseline of the issues. So, when you saw the job offer for someone in the Graphic Design area of work, you looked up the company name and saw their work, fascinated with how the guys had grown this business from streaming online gaming. Later, as you progressed in the recruitment process, you came to learn that Lando and Max also had a more public presence than you had initially figured out, despite all of your friends' insistence that "you can't be that clueless, Y/N, how did you not know that Quadrant was Lando Norris'? I thought you applied because of that", they would say as you shrugged your shoulders, "in this economy, do you think I am that picky about a job? I have my preferences, sure, but I know what I'm worth and I saw the offer was actually quite okay!", you defended yourself.

You ended up getting the spot and, so far, you couldn't complain. Most of the time you worked with Callum, Max and Tara, since your work overlapped with theirs, and every now and again, like right now, Lando would also meet up with you.

"Are you sure it's fine if I go? Your parents know Max, but they haven't met me before. Are you sure they won't find it weird?", you spoke directly to Lando, thinking that his idea, as lovely and kind as it was, didn't account for the facts you were stating.

"Max is coming because he's from the team, and you're from the team, too, so you're coming with us as well", Lando said simply, not seeing the problem.

"But he's been your friend for so long now, I'm a Quadrant Team member", you attempted again, "they don't have to provide for and give a roof to a stranger, I'll find an hotel to spend the night", you offered, wanting to be clear about it.

"You're part of the team, too! Don't worry about that, okay?", Lando said, "besides, mum loves having a full house, she's definitely the host of the family", he smiled, checking the item on his list nd carrying on the meeting.

"When we're there, we'll be able to get our hands on the embroidered Originals collection", Max began, "hopefully they're perfect and we can start working on the website", he gestured as you turned your laptop so they both could see, "this is the concept I've come up with, since this isn't as flashy or as colourful as past collections", you showed them the mood board, looking for disapproval signs but being met with looks of surprise instead, "I know it's not usually what you go for, so I also have another idea here, if you just let m-", you were about to change when Lando slapped your hand away from the mouse and holding it in his, "I really like this one, especially these posts here, I think the ideas are great!", he noted as he set your hand down on the table, "okay, then I can keep working on this", you said, closing the other tab, "do you have something better than this?", Max asked, "seems as good to me!", he offered.

"This is just a draft, I'll invest more time in this and I'll have it ready for the end of the week. That way we can have it ready when the clothes arrive. I'll text Tara to ler her know", you smiled, grabbing your phone as the boys flickered through the ideas, pointing out the different details they liked and wanted to keep.

.

"I'm way too young for my life to be just this, so please drive safely, Max", you said, buckling your seatbelt and exaggerating your hold on the door handle, "if you weren't such a crucial part of this team, I'd make you reconsider your jokes", he teased back, reversing out of the parking space and initiating the trip.

Lando was already at his parents' house since they had a family gathering the day before, so you and Max were driving up to meet him, "they're really nice people, really chilled as well", Max began, "Adam and Cisca, that is. I can hear you thinking and I'm assuming that is what's going on in your head", he stated.

"I don't want to step on anyone's toes, and I don't want to embarrass anyone or myself even. Can you imagine Lando's parents finding out their son's company has questionable employees? They'll mark me off as some sort of strategy fool or think that I want to take this company down, and I don't!", you uttered out, sharing more than you meant to.

Impostor's Syndrome was a bitch, and it often showed up the moment things got progressively harder, and while you knew you were able to deal with it, the little voice still nagged you.

"Y/N, you're one of the most valuable people we have on the team, and I don't say that lightly. This is Lando's baby, and yes, he's the face of it and that counts for most of it, but the work behind it is just as important and with the numbers we're having, it all comes down to you. Since you joined us the designing aspect of it, - obviously, you wouldn't be the one responsible for accounting, duh -, the compliments have been non stop, it has improved the interactions, too!", he said honestly, "you have nothing to worry about, truly", he comforted, "it's this exit here", he mumbled, checking the GPS and turning on the blinker, slowing down the car as they entered the city.

You didn't have to wait long before he pulled up to a big house, the gravel sound quieting down until it came to a halt when Max stopped the car, "Lando said he'd meet us at the door, I really don't fancy being mistaken by a burglar", he joked, getting out of the car as you did the same, stretching your legs and taking in the sight.

"Max, Y/N! Did you have a good trip?", Lando made himself be heard and seen, walking up to you and grabbing the bags his friend was taking out of the car boot, "I'll take these", he offered, picking up your luggage as you pulled on your backpack, "thanks", you smiled, following him as he led the way into his parents' house.

"My parents are in the kitchen", the Formula One driver said, ushering you to the roomy space after he and Max dropped the bags by the stairs, "Max, dear! We haven't seen you in so long, how are you?", a beautiful woman said. Her hair was brown and her skin was tanned as she hugged Max and Lando, "this is Y/N, she is our graphic designer", he presented you, the older man hugging you and his wife doing the same, "I'm Adam, it's so nice to finally meet you", he smiled warmly, "likewise", you smiled back.

"You can call me Cisca, darling. We've heard so much about you, it's nice to finally put a face to the name", she winked at you as you didn't miss Lando elbowing his mother as he closed his eyes, sighing at her, "thank you for having me over, I hope it's not too much trouble", you thanked again, feeling more at ease at their genuine welcoming greetings.

Lando quickly scrambled an answer, seemingly not wanting his parents to talk, "of course it's fine, no trouble here! Let's get your things upstairs so we can settle in and work!", he clapped his hands, walking to the corridor and up the stairs with Max as you excused yourself.

"This is your room, you have the bathroom on the next door", he pointed on the corridor after he placed your bag and backpack down in the small sofa, "Max is in the office, it's just across the hall and I'm at the end of the hall, if you need anything", Lando offered.

"Thanks, again. Do you guys want to begin now? I just need to put on some fluffy socks and I'm good to go", you said, "yes! Is the dining room okay with your parents? The table is big enough to layout everyhting", Max chirped in, whistling at your room as he looked around, "she got an upgrade, good move!", he tapped his friend's back.

After Lando cleared it with his parents, he was quick to remove the table runner and flower vase from the dining room table, extending it to its biggest size so you had all the space you needed, "you can sit here, Y/N, it's usually where the room heats up faster", he pointed out the radiator, pulling up the chair next to your and typing on his iPad.

"So this is the video idea? I like it, we just need to find some background music for it", Max asserted, grabbing his phone to check the time, "we should get going to pick up the order", he uttered.

"Do you need all of us to go?", you asked, saying the changes in your laptop as you did,

"You can pull your the backseats of your car down, can't you, Max? That way we can bring more boxes, and you and me go", Lando reasoned, looking over at you, "do you mind staying here while we go get them?", he asked, not wanting you to feel uncomfortable.

"I'll be fine, you go", you smiled, opening your notebook and writing down some notes.

"Oh, darling, you could've turned the lights on. Soon enough you'll be like me and need glasses", Cisca said as she stood on by the door, flickering the lights on as your eyes got used to the brightness, "I already wear them, or I should more often anyway", you blushed, suddenly getting caught with your hand in the cookie jar, grabbing your case from your backpack and putting them on.

When Lando and Max left, you decided to work on the website graphics, checking how the campaign would work with the current layout, that you lost track of time.

"May I see what you're working on?", she asked, "it's okay if I may not, I don't want to intrude", she smiled as you pulled up the chair next to you, "I don't know much about these things, but I always get quite fascinated with this part", she said, sitting down and looking at the screen.

Already driving back home, Lando and Max talked about the plans once they arrived, "and that way Y/N can also finish the social media stuff, and maybe you'll have more time to actually make a move on her", he teased.

Lando scoffed, "I'm not trying to make a move on her", he defended himself, "I'm glad to know, because if those moves were what you had, it wouldn't surprise it that it didn't go very far", Max yelped as his friend took the opportunity of the straight road ahead to hit his thigh, "so that's what you talk about? Here I am thinking about business and you're meddling in my love life?".

"I never said it was love life, but since you've admitted it, it's saving me time. So, what are you planning? I could help since this seems to be stalled", Max tried again, holding his hands in protection of his body in case Lando hit him again.

"I wouldn't know where to begin, I mean, it will make things awkward if this goes south, right? I'd never be able to look at her again, much less work with her", Lando admitted, "She's very kept to herself as well, I highly doubt that she'll want to be involved with me in that way. Whoever I date or interact with has to deal with enormous amount of public eye and I wouldn't spring that up on her", Lando mumbled, taking the road exit on his left.

"So you've given this some thought, too. Here we are thinking you're coming to the meetings to help and now you're just blushing when we talk about Y/N", Max joked back as Lando shook his head.

"We're back!", Lando announced, walking inside the dining room while pushing the boxes with Max, "don't worry, mum, we're not scratching the floors", he said, sweetly kissing the side of her head, "are you planning to work for us?", he noticed she was sitting next to you, notebooks of the projects open and sheets and fabrics all over the table in front of you.

"Y/N was kindly showing me the project you're working on, for the launch, and it looks really nice!", she complimented, placing a hand on your shoulder and the other on your arm, "she's been showing me everything, I've probably stolen some valuable time from you, darling, I'm sorry", she slumped her shoulders slightly, "not at all, it's all under way, don't worry", you smiled, easing her worries, "I'll leave you guys to it, how about I make some tea?", she suggest as the three of you nodded.

"We have the boxes here, they're sorted by colours", Lando opened the first box, "these are only for the Originals collection, right?", you checked over, peaking at the blue hoodie he pulled out.

"The sizing is right, right?", Max wondered as Lando stretched it out, "Y/N, can you try these, please? We need to check if the model is good for guys and girls".

Getting up from your spot, you grabbed the vibrant blue piece, feeling its soft texture against your fingertips, "I have wider hips that average, I'm not sure I'm the greatest test model for that", you shrugged your shoulders, "keep that in mind". Taking off your sweater so your torso was covered in a strappy top, you pulled the new garment on, adjusting the strings around the neck so you could pull it all the way down, "Oh, it's so soft", you noticed, "and warm, too. And feels quite good actually, it's not too tight", fumbling with the ribbed material on the bottom as you checked yourself out on the windows now that it was dark outside.

Lando gulped as you did so. Oh, had Lando noticed your hips. To anyone else, it would be another feature of your body, but he was enamoured by them. Your body's curvy outline enticed him and he would be lying if he said that it wasn't the first thing he noticed at first glance when you arrived for you last interview, especially with the tapered pants you had been wearing.

"Looks nice. What do you think, mate?", Max turned to Lando, hoping to get an answer but finding him looking at you, "is there something wrong? I told you I'm not the best mo-".

"It's gorgeous, looks gorgeous", he breathed out just as his mother walked inside carrying a tray with tea and some biscuits, "Here's the tea, guys", she said, setting it on the table, "wow, that's a very nice piece!", she complimented.

"It is, isn't it, Cisca?", Max said, covering up her son as he kept looking at you as you tested the front pocket, not noticing his gaze on you.

"You also have a very beautiful model, you can't ignore that factor in the equation", she complimented you while you grabbed a mug, taking a sip of the warm liquid and hoping it hid your pink cheeks, "thank you", you whispered.

While Lando helped his father with dinner, Max convinced his mother to show you both family albums, and once you had the delicious food they prepared, you excused yourself so you could use the shower, wanting to wash the day of travelling away. Max and Cisca stayed in the living room while Lando helped his father prepare dessert, checking on the apple crumble in the oven so it could get golden brown and not burnt, "so, any life updates recently?", the older man asked.

Lando wasn't around as much as they both would've liked, so often times his visits also came along with news and updates, "not much, racing has been good, it's nice to have a break now, even if it's just two weeks", he offered, looking at the oven.

"And nothing else? I mean, no one special? Your mother is usually the blunt one, but I'm going to try it myself: Y/N is just a Quadrant Team Member?", Adam questioned, noticing his son's cheeks become redder.

"Is it that noticeable? I just hope she doesn't see it as much as you do", Lando groaned, rubbing his cheeks, "maybe you should hope she notices, you know? Maybe she'll admit she likes you, too. You never know", Adam patted his son's back, grabbing the gloves so he could take the tray out of the oven, "she seems like a really nice girl, kind, good work ethic, intelligent, and she's beautiful", he finished as his son sighed, grabbing the vanilla ice cream from the freezer, "she's all of that and so much more".

.

"Kygo is doing a set tonight", you heard Max say as you walked inside the living room, taking the spot on the sofa next to Lando since his mother had taken your previous spot when you went to use the bathroom, "I've been meaning to ask you guys if you wanted to go, actually. He texted me saying to tell him if we were planning on going", Lando stated.

"Go and enjoy being young, life is not all about work if you can't enjoy yourself", Cisca shared, "dad and I won't complain if you make noise when you get back", she winked.

"Would you like to go, Y/N? You can say no, that's fine, too", Lando turned to you. He knew Max would be down on a heartbeat, but he didn't want you to feel pressured to do something you didn't want to because you were at his parents' place as a guest.

"I'm good, I like his music, too. I've been wanting to see him live for a bit, actually", you smiled, thinking about how lucky you were to be able to have these experiences because of your job and friends.

Later that night, you're getting ready in your room, sitting on the carpeted floor and applying your make-up for the occasion. The dressier outfit you had brought with you consisted of a burnt red top and some pants as it had become the outfit you had felt the most comfortable and confident in to go out. The top complimented your chest and your midsection as your pants looked really good around your hips and butt, your legs elongated by the small heeled shoes you had spent years looking for. They were comfortable, pretty and functional, ticking all the boxes for what you needed for tonight.

"Y/N, can I come in?", your heard Lando knock on the door, welcoming himself when you said he could, "we are leaving in about ten minutes, if that's okay", he said, taking a good look at you as you fiddled with your earring, "yes, fine by me", you smiled looking back in the mirror propped on the bedside table and finally clasping it, looking back at him.

You took his breath away. It was as simple as that. Your hair had your natural curls he loved so much, your makeup complimented your naturally soft beautiful features and your outfit made you look incredible.

"You guys ready?", Max patted the door, propping himself on it as you grabbed your shoes, "I'll put them on downstairs", you said, carrying them in your right hand as you had your small purse on the left.

While you did the small, dainty tie on your shoes, Lando's eyes went straight for your chest, the slightly bent down position granting him an agonisingly teasing angle as he tried his best to look away, "you might want to be less obvious, you don't need to creep her out to get her to be yours", Max whispered in Lando's ear.

As soon as you arrived, Lando and Max walked with you to the VIP area, asking you what you wanted to drink before they went up to get it.

Lando looked great on his white shirt, the light coloured shirt looking great against his tanned skin as the relaxed fit complimented his back, prompting you to make sure you weren't drooling in public. You worked for his company, it would never be a good idea to get romantically involved with him, no matter how many times your heart leaped.

"A very weak Gin and Tonic for you, as requested", Max said as he pushed the cup towards you, carrying nother drink for himself, Lando sitting next to you on the booth and empty handed, "you're not drinking?", you asked, "I'm driving us all home today, I'm want to do it safely", he stated, tapping his hands on the table when he saw Kygo, signalling him to approach you.

"Hey Lando, Max", he smiled, "I'm Y/N, I work for Quadrant", you smiled, greeting him with a half hug as he introduced himself too, "my set is in a few minutes, you got here just in time. If you want to see it up close, Y/N, let me know and I'll make it happen", he winked at you.

The wink was not missed by Lando or Max. While Max wanted to laugh at his friend's jealous expression, threatening to send the norwegian DJ to a place that was less than nice and sunny, Lando couldn't believe his eyes. Yes, it was only fair that others, too, saw your beauty and noticed you, but to put themselves out like that, that was a different story. You didn't seem to bothered by all of it, sipping on your drink as you spoke to Max, pointing out different people you remember from Silverstone earlier that year.

"Kygo's starting, I want to dance!", you said, getting up and gesturing for the boys to join you. While you were used to having a lot less space to dance in, the welcomed freedom was appreciated as you playfully placed your pointer finger on Max's head, making him do a little spin, "now, no need to be jealous, Lando, you can twirl, too!", you yelled over the music blasting from the speakers, doing the same and sinking your finger on Lando's curls.

"I'm going to get another drink, want anything?", Max asked, excusing himself when you shook your head, "you know you can drink, I'm the designated driver", Lando offered, "I know, thank you for that. I just don't want to drink more", you smiled, recognising the next song, feeling brave and pulling Lando by his hand so he could dance with you.

I never knew anybody 'til I knew you

I never knew anybody 'til I knew you

And I know when it rains, oh, it pours

And I know I was born to be yours

Lando twirled you would face him, chest flush against his as his colourful eyes looked into yours intensely, "I know this is very forward, and very unlike me to be fair, but I need to get it out", he gulped as he spoke loudly in your ear, looking for any sign of discomfort from you, "I really like you, like, a lot. And I would like to know if you feel the same. Because Max and my parents seem to think you do, but all I know they're just saying so that I shut up about how much I love you and how much it would mean to me", he spoke loudly against your ear as the song played.

You were struck by his confession, not expecting it to ever happen, much less like this and in these circumstances.

"If you consider this a hostile work environment, I didn't want that, but I had to be honest with you", he gulped, "just say you don't feel the same and I'll drop the subject, okay? I might have to pretend to go somewhere else so I can be away from you a bit until things are not awkward, but don't worry, I won't drink because I'm driving and-", Lando belted out before you interrupted him, moving your face closer to his neck this time and speaking into his ear, "It's not hostile if it's consensual, right?", you smiled, a glint in your eye as his own widened, chuckling as he sang the the words in your ear, taking the opportunity to kiss your cheek near your earlobe.

"Took you two fucking long enough!", Max yelled as he approached you, tapping Lando's back in congratulations, "you know what this means, Y/N? I won't have to listen to him mope about how he thinks he was made for you and you were made for him, and that the universe would have to be playing a very bad joke of you two didn't end up together!".

"What makes you think I'll stop that? I just got the girl of my dreams, now I'll have the confirmations of all I've said! You'll just hear how amazing all of it is!", Lando smiled, hugging you close to him and kissing the top of your head.

[maleyanderecafe]

Hi!! Hope you're having a wonderful day/night!!

I was going through your recommendation list and since I didn't see it, I'd like to recommend Reanimated heart vn to you!! It's my number one most beloved VN and it's extremely well written!! It's also partially voice acted and has a really cool character journal and inventory system!! And one of the LI Vincenzo is also a yandere!!

I feel like you may like it!!

Phew you were right this is a really well made game. It took me a bit to play it because despite it only really going over the prologue/first chapter (or from what I heard, half of it) there's a ton of content within it (that and while I was playing it, there was an update, so there's that as well.) Since there's not a guide currently and I'm kind of useless without a guide, I did my best to see as much of the content as possible. Vincenzo definitely shows signs of being a yandere (along with Black) though since this is just a prologue, not too much has gone on yet. This game has pretty extensive worldbuilding as well and can get pretty gory at times, thus the r18 rating. You can find more information @doubledeadstudio.

This game is pretty lengthy and you can actually pursue three love interests (Crux, Black and Vincenzo). Since Vincenzo is the main topic of this ask, I'll be focusing my time on him, though I'll still mention things from Black's route as well. The blog also mentions that Crux might be one as well, though at least currently in the game I don't really see too many signs of it, but I can theorize near the end.

The story starts out with Moss/Player (default name, though Moss sounds better so I'm going to just use Moss) trying to escape as the world devolves into violence and chaos, riots everywhere. While leaving, they are hit by a car, but instead of actually dying, they instead get isekaied to another world with a green sky and a giant tree in the center (like yggsdril) before being jumpscared by a guy with a lot of teeth looming over them. They are eventually caught by two guys after attempting to run away, Black, the one who jumpscared Moss and is now a zombie and Crux, the mage who brought him there. Crux explains whats going on to a confused Moss and Black. Basically, Crux and Black were friends in the original world. Black died from trying to save a girl from getting shot and the Crux from the original world had set up a spell in advanced to get him revived. However, Moss ended up interfering by accident, leading to the two of them being transferred to this world with no way out and for Black to essentially become a zombie. Crux as a mage is able to be aware of his other selves in other worlds, which is why he knows about all of this, though now that they're both stuck here, they have to find places to live. Crux sets up Black in a recently deceased person's house and Moss with a friend named Greta, whose mother had just recently died. Upon going to Greta's place, we learn a little big more about the world that they have transported to: magic is something that everyone has (which is given by the giant tree), there are magical creatures here, people who come here from other worlds are called outsiders and that apparently Moss does have some sort of powers (this is more implied though). We also learn about Greta herself, as she sells weed to pay for rent (which later can become Moss's part time job), she and her mother had a close relationship (thus the reason that she wanted someone to be in the house, as it was too lonely to bare without her) and that she's generally fairly somber in nature, though takes care of Moss fairly well by providing meals and other things. After setting up, Moss heads to sleep.

The next day, Black asks to meet up with Moss downtown and upon meeting up with him, we learn that Black seems to not really eat normal food anymore nor really sleep or have a heartbeat, though he seems to have a great craving for humans (as a zombie would) and decides that eating the guy who ran Moss over is a good idea. The two end up tracking the guy into an abandoned factory. However, upon getting there we find that someone else has already gotten to him first, and quite literally, as someone is already killing and ripping this man apart into flesh and other pieces. We are met by Vincenzo, the killer and Black ends up eating the remains of the person. After going back and sleeping, the next day Crux basically gets Moss to get a job and start pulling their weight by running deliveries for Greta. Crux ends up driving them to many places to run their deliveries and chatting about what happened the day before. With this we learn a couple of things about Vincenzo: that he's a well known serial killer that has a lot of copycats, that even when killed he is able to somehow revive and continue killing people and that there's a lot of people who fangirl/find him hot. After this you can choose the route that you'll be going for.

So we'll be going for Vincenzo's route first. Moss gets curious about the fact that Vincenzo can regenerate and thus goes back to the abandoned factory to check it out. However, before even getting there and reaching downtown, they are caught by Vincenzo and brought to the factory after passing out. Upon waking up, Moss is bound to a chair with Vincenzo lying his head on their lap. He seems to have taken an interest in Moss seeing that they seem to have basically materialized out of nowhere and pretty much claims them as his. He recounts how similar the two were, that he too was captured by a military general and bound into the dark for years, eventually falling in love and killing him. After questioning him and his intentions with Black (he best responds to obedient answers and betraying Black, it seems) and eventually Moss is forced to be his toy (or killed otherwise) through a ring created by magic that binds the two together.

After heading out and hanging out with Greta more (or going to your bedroom), you are brought by Crux the next day to join a volunteer/rebellion group where we meet Asha, a person we actually delivered to previously. Hana, the leader of the organization introduces everyone to the Evergreen Volunteer Organization where they house people who are homeless, help out in soup kitchen and pick litter off the streets. Crux and Black immediately start asking a bunch of questions including pointing out the lack of members in the group, and why they aren't doing more to actually oppose the government wrongdoings (mostly because people are terrified of Vincenzo which has killed off a lot of their members), which really makes Hana think until a lady named Brandi comes out to basically kick Hana while she's down even more before Hana ultimately kicks her out. After watching Crux and Black bicker, Moss goes to comfort Hana, though Hana agrees that the questioning did help her realize that she has backpedaled in what their organization originally stood for and how far they've fallen and how she's changed since first starting the organization. Upon going back, Moss can either pass out or talk to Vincenzo about what they had done for the day. We can then go and talk with the various characters and run deliveries for Greta. Talking to Vincenzo, we can learn about his mutations and his living quarters (the mutation seems to be caused by a "deal" made with a powerful abomination so that he can have powers but also so the abomination can sort of puppet his body around.

Upon returning back, Greta asks Moss to help her get rid of a Mutie problem, basically a type of pest that is common there and is currently wrecking havoc on her lawn. She asks moss to go to the market to get something that can get rid of the mutie, and sends Moss on their way after giving them some money. After going through a strange ritual to get there, Moss encounters one of the shopkeepers, Missy and buys some things, most importantly a comic book about muties. Upon leaving, Moss runs into Crux who seems to have also wanted the comic as well. Seeing as the information is accurate, Crux proposes a trade where he'll get rid of the mutie in exchange for the comic book. Upon returning to Greta's house, we learn that muties are sort of spirits that have some sort of unfinished business, and after Crux pulls out some magical garments to allow the mutie to pass on, Moss gives him the comic book. Afterwards, Vincenzo tells Moss to meet him downtown (and ignoring this leads to something weird crawling inside of them at night). Upon meeting up with Vincenzo for this date, bringing moss to a table with a naked women tied up and basically tells Moss that they can do anything with her. You can then decide to try to let her go, rape her or kill her (Vincenzo responds best to killing her in a vicious way, which is pretty much what I did immediately because of course I did). Whether you are able to save this lady, kill her or otherwise defile her, the date eventually ends. The next day, Moss returns to the volunteer organization after seeing an email pretty much going full attack and petitioning a new law that had just came out by getting signatures. As a result, Black and Moss go out to get signatures from various places eventually finding two bodies at a construction site. After this, Moss gets a choice of where to work at, either at the same bar as Black, as a magical apprentice with Crux or continuing delivering for Grete.

After that you have freetime to visit people and buy things. We learn from Vincenzo that the two bodies are in fact not his killings but rather killings from a copycat killer, that he dated Crux before and that he has the ability to leave this world if he wants to. The next day you are presented with the opportunity to go to the protesting that Hana has organized or to skip it and end up helping Black with something. Either way, the next day, Moss heads downtown after Vincenzo summons them again, this time however, appearing as a woman. And here you can tell her your preferences for either form. Vincenzo remarks that Black has been arrested (whether you know that or not is based on the previous choice) and that Vincenzo wants to get revenge on the person who tried to impersonate her killings. After tracking down this Irving Dunham, Vincenzo gets you to become a distraction to get him out and so they can kidnap him. Vincenzo kidnapped him basically to see if there was any potential in him, though after he admits to killing his family, he ends up dying/bleeding by her hands. In the end, Vincenzo gives basically an upgraded ring to help Moss in case something happens to them.

Black's route mostly goes around the sudden transformation of being a zombie and his sense of morality as well as Moss visiting him while he's getting a tattoo. I won't go as detailed into it since other than him being overprotective over Moss (mostly because he feels guilty that he was the reason that Moss came here in the first place), we don't see to much of the yandere side of him (and the ask is more on Vincenzo rather than Black, I just thought I'd also mention him since at least stated on the tumblr page, he might also qualify as a yandere).

So yeah, anyways, this game is really well made. With just the game system alone there's an inventory and journal section and I love the way the UI is done (since I'm a sucker for cool UI in games) as the entire UI system is more reminiscent of a scrapbook. The world itself is also very cool too, with it's green skies and magic, definitely portrays a certain mood along with its themes of injustice, society, punk/rebel type of culture and others. Seriously, this world is genuinely very interesting and a lot of thought and effort was put into it. The characters too are all pretty fun to interact with, Crux is sly at times but still pretty caring, Black is more direct but has a soft side, Vincenzo has a genuine creepy feeling to him to contrast with his more charming personality, Asha has a very chill vibe, while Greta is more somber (for some reason she kind of reminds me of Elliot Reed) and then my favorite girl Hana is not only cute but commanding. I think its really nice that despite the fact that we're introduced to so many characters that they are all unique in a way that I can remember. There's a ton of concepts that get explored as well, from morality to mortality, to religion, and societal issues. It is very wild to me that this game isn't more popular than it is currently.

Considering this is just the prologue/first chapter, we don't really know the extent to how Vincenzo will evolve as a character and as a yandere. We see already that he had tendencies given his previous partners and the guard that imprisoned him, killing him out of love and we see that he has a sense of possessiveness to him, especially when Moss is claimed by him. He seems to enjoy violence over everything considering that he is a serial killer and likes obedience overall, as well as worry when Moss isn't around which is why he equips them with the ring near the end. As a yandere, I can see him more as a violent type and one that when when he grows an attachment is the type to either kill them (out of an overwhelming love, as we see with the guard) or to possibly become his partner in crime (for lack of a better word). I do see him having an obsession with the player given that at least in this route, Moss is thrown into more dire situations where they can be violent or otherwise evil and we can kind of see that corruption already taking place as the game goes on, even in just the prologue. Technically speaking I guess it wouldn't be so much as a strictly male yandere, but rather a genderfluid one since Vincenzo can be a girl, but I mean, you do in the end get to choose so given the option I'll just consider it a "male" yandere. But yeah, I see Vincenzo as a combination of a lot of types, more manipulative to a certain degree, violent for sure, unpredictable and always testing the player. Having this kind of serial killer yandere that can't be killed as well as having to experience the gore of such things in the game is pretty terrifying. Aside from that he also kidnaps and stalks people (including the player).

Black on the other hand is more overprotective if anything and we can already see that in the game so far. In a lot of places, he's worried about the player and will often defend them in many places, case in point: meeting Vincenzo for the first time. Much of his route is his struggles with his new zombie form, having not only having to eat humans to sustain himself but also to prevent himself from attacking Moss, even asking them to chain him up in the room. He always seems a bit ashamed in a sense to eat humans in front of the player and is always wanting to help. In a sense, Black is very similar to a guard dog, though at the moment it seems mostly out of guilt for dragging Moss into the world rather than having any romantic feelings for them. I think if there are any endings in the future that are yanderelike, it would probably be due to an overprotective action such as killing one of Moss's friends that might be a danger to them.

Crux is a little harder to decipher, but we do see more of his tender side in his route. While he is sly and manipulative, often stalking, hacking and reading through other people (such as Black's) history, we also see that he is very protective over his family. Crux is the type of guy who seems very does whatever he wants and goes with the flow, though he's clearly harboring another secret given that he seems to recognize Moss, but won't admit to it. Hard to say though since while Crux does take an interest in Moss during his route and we do have the option to kiss him, I just don't know enough right now to know if he's a yandere. Kind of an interesting thing to see in the future though!

Overall, really well made game/demo. I really like the atmosphere and the level of polish this game has and the characters are all fantastic. It'll be cool to see how the love interest in this story develop and hopefully show more of their yandere side as it goes.

[yandere-sins]

The Orcas' Tale - Krill's Story II

a/n: And finally! The finale of the series! It was two years in the making and still didn’t finish in time, but I’m glad I got to finish it at all. The stories didn’t all turn out as I planned but I’m glad I got to tell you about these three. I am almost certain that they’ll make an appearance on this blog sometime in the future, perhaps next year to next Mermay’s where we might have some very different kinds of mermaids showing up. But until then, I only have a few more asks to reply to and this chapter is closed. Thank you everyone who supported this story and stuck around for over a year to wait on the closure, and please enjoy the last chapter! ♥

Fandom: Original Content   Pairings: Yandere!Orca Merman x GN!AFAB!Reader Warnings: Yandere... with a twist, Sexual Content (Mostly dub-con, Jerking someone off, Kissing, Attempted deep-throating, Rubbing against each other, Copious amounts of cum, Non-human cock, Mention of non-consensual mating, Magical relaxing cum), Violence (Major Character "Death", Fighting, Gunfire/shots/wounds, Mention of blood), Description of drowning, Animalistic behavior, Mention of claws/sharp teeth, Mention of Slavery, Mention of Abuse, Very long post (7k)

You weren't sure if you felt encouraged or even more appalled as you watched Krill's face contort, pleasure and frustration mixing as blood ran from the corners of his mouth.

He was biting his lips so hard, tearing the flesh with his sharp fangs just so he could hold back from giving any audible cue about how he was feeling. It felt like he wasn't doing it for himself but rather for you, considering how reluctant and unwilling you were to actually put your hands on him. But it also made your job harder, as you did not get any feedback on whether you were on the right track. 

Even with two hands, you could barely close around his shaft, his massive cock pulsing and jerking in your grip violently, demanding more than you could give. You only had two human hands, so how were you supposed to handle all of this need in front of you? Krill watched you intently, following every movement of your gloves rubbing against his skin obsessively. The muscles in his body twitched ever so often, tensing and stretching to receive more or shy away from your attention, you weren't sure which.

"Krill," you called out, watching the crimson blood drip from his lips as he gnawed them, his gaze instantly snapping upwards to meet yours. "Don't hurt yourself."

That was enough for him to make a conscious effort to unlock his jaw and peel his teeth out of his own flesh. You were tempted to turn around and grab a towel to wipe off the blood when a guttural groan resounded from the depths of his body, unleashed through the opening of his mouth. You felt it shudder through your own body, piercing right to your core and starting a fire there, spreading the warmth from your cunt to the tips of your ears. 

A mating call.

"I tried…" He winced when your hands stopped moving, holding on to his cock for support like you would to a railing. Every cell in your body was heating up, overcome with need after being exposed to this trick that the sirens had up their sleeves. I tried shielding you from this—you wanted to believe his words even though he didn't finish the sentence, but the effect had already rattled you to the core. It would have been sweet of him if this had been any other situation, but you two didn't have that kind of relationship. You had to act with the tools you had, and he couldn't deny the parts of him that were feral; those were just the facts you had to come to terms with.

"I didn't want to come back. Didn't want you to see me like this."

"But you did," you mumbled, regaining some of your composure. His groan had caught you completely off-guard, the overwhelming influence of a siren's call not something anyone could get used to. But for some reason, it made you even more determined to get this over with. 

"And I told you I'd help you. So try not to knock me out again."

Your scolding was as light as a jest as you returned to stroking his cock. Krill let his head fall back, chortling some merman sounds and buckling his hips to help you. As the friction grew, you realized the gloves were more of a hindrance. Although you were reluctant to discard them, as the intensity was picking up, you decided to go skin-to-skin.

Every time you pulled your touch from him, Krill snapped his teeth at you, but you began to understand it was out of frustration rather than fury, forgiving it. "Watch it," you warned him once, his attitude a thorn in your side. You were trying to help, after all. 

Strangely, he took your words for more of a command rather than you trying to get him to be less intimidating. And watch he did. He watched as you spit into your dry palms, his cock jerking upwards like a spring as you did. You furrowed your brows in abash nervosity as you caught his shaft between your hands again, smoothing over the skin. Without the gloves catching on every ridge, your strokes became much more even and longer, going from his bulbous tip to the slit the cock emerged from. 

Out of purely scientific interest, you slid two fingers along the shaft into the cock slit, feeling around the hiding spot of such a massive instrument carefully while your other hand dutifully kept stroking him. A thick liquid spread over the hand that was closest to his tip alerted you to the stimulation you were causing with your inquisitive exploration of the merman, gel-like precum coating your hand. You looked up at Krill, who was back at biting his lips, unsuccessfully, as he whined through his teeth. It was hard to read him, but you thought he was in pain by his expression, so you immediately retracted your hand.

"No…" he sighed, rolling his head in the brace, a long, exasperated sigh deflating his body. "I was so close."

You could not help but feel frustrated by the lack of understanding of what you were doing. It was so hard to determine what felt good and what wasn't when you didn't really know the… man you were working with. So as you tried to build up the pleasure for him again, sinking your fingers into the slit and stroking his cock at the same time, you felt yourself discouraged by everything around you. 

It was a feeling you knew too well. Having spent days and nights crying after you realized your life was over, that you'd be caught here forever as punishment by this corporation that neither cared about their researchers nor the creatures they were trying to exploit, you started to curse yourself for the smallest things. Sure, times had been rough ever since; years of bullying and scorn laid behind you. But you found yourself blaming every little mistake on the skills you lacked. Here you were, forced to jerk off the creature that had caused all of this, and you still failed at even that simple a task.

But you had always adapted so far. And this was your time to finally shine, you just needed to utilize it properly.

"Krill," you called out to him, and he immediately reared up to pay you his undivided attention. Albeit with a strange form of adoration in his eyes as you slowed your stroking pace. "I'm not your mate," you clarified, and he let out a weary chuckle. 

"You're so cute, trying to deny it," Krill mumbled, sounding much more relaxed than before, although his cock was still jerking against your hand.

"No, I–" You felt your face flush with heat as his words registered, unintentionally gripping his cock hard and causing a blissful moan to echo through the laboratory. "I refuse," you finished your sentence, shaking your head at his horniness and softening your hold. 

"But whatever it is, I'll help you. I'll make sure you don't get treated as badly and that you can live somewhat… normal. I'll spend all my time with you, so… promise you'll help me make this all possible. Promise you'll not try to kill me or anyone."

Although you saw him bare his teeth at the last part of your speech, his answer didn't take long. "I promise," he snarled, sounding less convincing than you would have liked, but you nodded firmly, grasping at the slight chance of a mutual understanding you two had. It was hard enough to have all these enemies around you. Perhaps you could make an unlikely alley out of Krill, who needed you just as much as you needed him. 

"Okay," you whispered. The first step was made, and you went to the next one. Letting go of his cock, you stepped down the platform, Krill's brows furrowing as he tried to look after you. 

"Where are you going?" he asked and you stepped up to a panel on the wall, staying silent as you pressed an inconspicuous button. Krill was twisting in his holds when you disappeared from sight, but when the metal lock around his neck sprang apart, giving him much more freedom than you should be comfortable with, his eyes widened. You held your breath as you picked up the wet towel from before and walked up to his head.

Krill let it fall back once more, watching you with suspicion in your eyes. Communication is key, you thought as you lifted the towel in your hand, taking another step. "I will wipe the blood off your face," you explained, and his eyes narrowed, sharply watching every step. You couldn't begrudge him for also having trust issues after the dose of drugs you gave him, causing his agitation. You were unable to stop yourself from glancing up at his cock, still perked up, waiting, needy. You'd be returning to it soon, but first, you needed to know if you could trust him. 

"It won't hurt," you whispered gently, knowing he could hear you well no matter how loudly you spoke. Sacrificing your arm over your throat, you stretched it out, waiting with bated breath on his reaction before you dabbed the towel to the side of his face, clearing up some of the blood. Krill hesitated, perhaps just as tensely as you were, and you stepped even closer to properly wipe his cheeks. 

"That's a good killer whale," you teased, lips curling into a cheeky grin, when you noticed the corners of his mouth twitching as well. He was trying so hard not to laugh along with you, but you used your free hand to steady his head before going to work on his lips and cheeks, wiping off the sticky blood. It could have been fatal to be too immersed in your work, but you wanted to believe that this cooperation could work. 

"I need you to tell me if something hurts or upset you. With your words, preferable." Establishing some ground rules was your main objective as you cleaned him up. Trust would be harder to earn, but if you could show him how much better it would be to work together, that would be a big step. 

"I can't hurt you," Krill replied, and you flinched as you didn't expect him to open his mouth, these sharp teeth still as daunting as they were the first time you saw them. You knew it hurt him that you were scared just by the tense expression on his face. But to your surprise, he turned his head to the side, kissing your wrist with an unfamiliar gentleness. "I could never hurt my mate."

"Krill, we–"

"Yeah, yeah. Not mates." He let out a deep sigh, all of the tension leaving him. When he finally pried his eyes from you, you quickly wiped off the last smears of blood of him, not wasting his distraction. It made you feel better to have cleaned up the mess you caused, even though you knew there was still the biggest mess to make. Undeterred, you brought the towel back to the table so you could examine the remnants of his blood later. 

"So you need me to tell you how I feel."

You whirled around, finding him staring at you absentmindedly. You didn't even feel his watchful eyes on you this time, which was getting concerning. Were you growing comfortable?

"Yes, please," you answered, nodding encouragingly. "We need to understand each other if we want this to work."

This time, Krill gave you a small, brief nod. A human gesture that looked a little clumsy coming from him, but he tried, and you counted that as a success. You stepped up to his head again, placing yourself between his restraint arm and his free head. For most researchers, this closeness would be way too dangerous. There were so many vital organs he could bite, but you'd bring results here, even if you had to put yourself at risk. "We are… a team now. Not mates, but a team. And we'll get through this together."

"Pretty words," he mumbled, exhaustion in his smile. "You keep denying it, but you smell absolutely delightful for someone not interested in me."

You felt your face flush from heat, realizing there must have been remnants from that mating call from before. It didn't help hiding your arousal when his head was perfectly in line with your crotch, and you immediately wished to abandon this plan of yours and go back to being hostile with him. 

"Don't be such a smartass, Mr. Having-abnormal-senses," you chided him, reaching up to pinch his nose like one would while joking around with someone you were close to. This time, Krill was the one to close his eyes in wariness before snapping them up again, clearly unamused. "Is that how you treat your subjects?" he asked. His wording felt weird, making you question the meaning of the word 'subject' for you and him. But maybe you were overthinking it. Clearly, Krill wouldn't put himself below you in the hierarchy and must have picked it up somewhere in a context more related to experiments. 

"Focus," you alerted him, forcing yourself out of your thoughts. It was easy to get lost in foolish banter—he was so fascinating, after all—and joking around with him felt more natural than with most people you knew. "I need you to tell me how to make you feel good so we can move on from this." 

Turning away from him, you missed the grimace on his face as you gestured to his cock. "What do you do for pleasure? What do you like?"

"I…" he drew out the word for as long as he could before avoiding your eyes, and you scoffed in horror as you realized he didn't know. 

"You never had sex before?"

"Of course I did," he snapped back. "It's easy with other mermaids. You catch them while they are in heat, do your thing, and it's over. We don't need to know what we like or don't like. It's just easy like that. They are… they're not like you."

You should have been relieved to hear he wasn't a virgin, but at the same time his last words made you panic. If he didn't know, you two would have to start from the basics, and there simply wasn't any time for that. His words also implied that you might not be able to satisfy him, making you worry even more. Now, it was you gnawing on your lips, unsure of how to proceed. You thought you were making progress, but alas, it was all for naught. 

No. No, you couldn't give up yet.

"I will try something," you announced, and looking into Krill's eyes, you felt a shiver run down your spine. It was either one of fear from the intensity that served as a warning or pleasure from the keen interest he was showing you—undiluted, enamored interest. "I don't know if you'll like it, but try not to hurt me."

Before he could react and diminish your feeble confidence even more, you pulled off your facemask and leaned down, awkwardly smashing your lips against his. It could barely be called a kiss, but although you felt weird initiating it so suddenly, he immediately caught on. Parting his lips in a hot breath, his tongue lapped out, demanding entrance from you. And caught off-guard as you were, you gasped, giving him what he wanted. The taste of blood lingered, but it was overtaken quickly by the intensity of the kiss. His tongue was choke-worthy, but as much as you wanted to get away, you tried to endure his inquisitiveness, allowing him a taste as he rubbed it over your tongue and blunt teeth that would never be able to hurt him. 

Only when his tongue threatened to slip down your throat did you react, jerking away faster than Krill could respond. There were signs of frustration as he rattled in his holds, hands curled into fists while his head tried to follow. "Why did you stop?" he asked as you coughed from the unwanted penetration of your throat. 

"It can't go that deep," you explained. "You have to be gentle. I am not as big as your kind is."

His frustration was expressed in a growl before Krill snapped, "Again!" at you, and you took a deep breath. 

"Gentle," you urged, and he brought his lips together thinly as if to restrain himself. It was almost comical, considering you would kiss him again, but this time, his effort paid off. Although his tongue kept lapping out, and you refused to get yours anywhere near the fangs, you two actually managed to kiss properly, the smacking of lips paired with unfiltered moans and sighs ringing out in the laboratory, making this almost intimate. 

You reached out your hand towards his chest, a muffled groan resounding against your lips as you applied feathery touches to his nipples. Krill arched his back into your touch, and you flicked the nub, causing some of his muscles to spasm.

"I like this," Krill muttered in between smooches, quickly trying to find your lips again after speaking. You felt like a bad teacher, always stopping when things got intense. Still, there was only so much you could endure, and in Krill's eagerness, he had more stamina than you. "It feels good." 

Seeing his lips curl into a cheeky grin following his words, the 'good' was nothing more than an approving purr from his lips.

"Good," you whispered as you moved away, caressing his cheeks gently. His body moved behind you, but the arm against your back remained utterly still, giving you a chance to rest against it. "That's a kiss. It's supposed to make you feel good." 

Your explanation almost made you feel stupid, but you had no time to fall into your feelings of shame and defiance. Not when you had a purring merman demanding more of your attention. "Are you going to kiss me down there, too?" Krill asked, and you looked over to his cock, not needing more guidance to figure out what he meant.

"Would you like that?"

He nodded, and you bit your lip. You should have just said no. Letting your hands fall from his face, you didn't pull them from his body, feeling the smooth, taut skin beneath your fingertips. His gills flared, and now you were much more aware of the eyes following you as you stepped away, facing your fear head-on.

After all this time, his cock should have been dry like a fish out of the water. But you found even more spilled precum all over it and Krill's stomach. You gulped, searching for reassurance as you looked back up at him. There was something core-heating about the confident smirk on his face, the knowledge that he could make you act as he wanted, all for the farce you two were trying to build. If you really were his mate, you were screwed. But you didn't want to know the amount of aggressions and defiance that letting him down would rise between you two. He was your ticket to a better life, and at heart, you were still a softy when it came to these poor creatures captured here. 

Catching his twitching cock in your hands, you led it to your mouth. Another gush of precum bubbled out of it, coating your hands and almost splashing on your face. You wiped over the tip with your thumb, hearing the soft moan coming from Krill just from this small gesture, before you brought your lips to the heated flesh, kissing the side of the tip once briefly before catching yourself and doing it properly. 

This time, the sound coming from him was anything but restraint, your kisses trailing along his shaft. You couldn't take it into your mouth for even an inch with the massive tip befitting Krill's size. Regardless, you used your lips and tongue to stimulate parts while massaging your hands, sometimes harder, sometimes gentler, into it. 

"Does it feel good?" you asked, leaving a few more pecks around the gushing hole at the tip, more and more fluids collecting there, making it hard not to have a little taste of it. 

"Yes… Yes!" Krill confirmed, somewhat impatient yet completely enamored. It was just a small win, yet it boosted your confidence more than it probably should have. Growing bold, you drew closer to the top, swiping more of his fluids away as you planned to conquer this sensation with Krill. Pressing your own legs harder together, you tried to deny the wetness you felt when you first tasted his cum, both salty yet alluring on your tongue. It had a strange relaxing effect on your body, one that made you not care so much about everything that made you hesitant. And although you cautioned yourself, you found yourself sucking on the sensitive, aggravated skin of his tip, more precum gushing onto your lips until you realized you were licking it off with your tongue.

Immediately, you recoiled, unbelieving about what you were doing. You weren't supposed to enjoy this… or were you? It would make things easier if you didn't hate it so much, although the shame was hard to conquer. A strangled whine escaped from Krill, and you looked at him, his eyes once again glazed over. But not with relaxant. With lust. 

He was holding himself back, and that wouldn't work for you anymore. "Use your words," you reminded him sternly, and he took a deep, shuddering breath. 

"Do that again," he demanded, thrusting his hips into your hands. 

"I'm sure you could ask a bit nicer than that."

You watched, stopping your stroking when he didn't react. Dominance and need fought with each other in the flaming red of his eyes, and the sight of it was mesmerizing. No matter if you denied being his mate, everything pointed to him wanting to give you the world. Even his questionable motions, the way he'd rather bite his lips bloody than to moan, it all seemed so profoundly ingrained into him to not want to put himself beneath anyone's authority. And yet, you witnessed first hand how much he wanted to give up by the way he uttered his next words—reverently. 

"Please do that again. It felt so good."

And you did. You didn't care that endless amounts of juices soon invaded your mouth as you suckled his tip. You didn't mind the way he kept bucking the soft flesh of his tip into your face every time. Your hands slid back down to the slit where you danced your fingertips around the entrance, teasingly dipping it in and out. This time, there was no holding back as Krill yelled, "Yes! Yesss!" the further you two were going. You felt him getting close, a knot building in your stomach knowing you got him to a point of release, and you moaned softly into his tip, the sound vibrating on the surface, finally pushing him over the edge. 

His hips went completely rigid as heavy strings of cum exploded out of him. You drew back just in time, moving away a bit too abruptly as you watched the eruption that was Krill's climax. It was beautiful, mesmerizing, accompanied by the sounds of the ocean breaking out from his throat. 

Watching the cum drip out of his tip and down his body, you couldn't look away, couldn't focus on anything else but Krill's relief. His face was a mesmerizing show of shame that quickly turned into pure, unfiltered joy. You realized much too late that you let the samples go to waste as they sloshed on the floor. But Krill wouldn't let you down. Virile and perhaps still under the influence of the drugs, his cock immediately sprang back to life the second it had spent itself all over him, and you felt your core clench with admiration as it stood ready, just like before. 

You should have been mad that it wasn't over. You wanted to. But in that moment, Krill being ready for another round was so much more exciting than you ever thought it would be.

There was no denying that you were aroused. Aroused by a creature other than your own kind. Aroused by the way he pleaded with you, how the strain in his body showed you all the ways he wanted more of you to make him feel good. The taste in your mouth and the memory of his mating call shuddered through you. You were lucky he was restraint, otherwise you weren't sure if either of you could have held back. And your body certainly wasn't made for being penetrated by this massive cock twitching impatiently as it waited for your return.

A new idea popped into your head. One that benefitted all. 

Honestly, it was a stupid idea, but you were hopeful you'd be able to get control of all these thoughts in your head that were growing out of control.

After stripping off the apron and lab coat, you were left in the obligatory wetsuit, which was the standard uniform for everyone since you worked with aquatic lifeforms. You were supposed to get wet, although probably not the way your own slick stuck to the inside of your thighs. 

Pushing off your shoes, you swiped one of the test tubes, sticking it safely into the chest pocket of your suit before you stepped closer. Krill's eyes were back to his sharp focus, studying every twist of your body with a burning passion. His body wrung impatiently in The Fisher, upset that you left him, but his eyes were so fierce with their adoration that you felt another gush of heat rake through you.

"I can smell you, Human. Let me out of here so I can make you feel good, too."

There was something uncanny about the way he was able to quickly catch onto things. You let out a shuddering breath before forcing your lips into a smile, shaking your head. "There's still more for you to learn. I think it's best if you stay where you are."

A growl escaped him, but you weren't scared anymore. It wasn't a threat to your life, though perhaps to your pussy as it reminded you of all the savage things he'd do to you if he could. You were feeling strangely aroused and relaxed now. You could only blame the precum that you swallowed for feeling so much more chill about what was happening, and you knew you'd have to study this thoroughly if you ever snapped out of it. You believed in yourself more now, and you had made him beg for you more than once at this point, which boosted your ego. Krill only had to sit back, and you'd take care of him—just like you promised.

Not letting him know your next move, you stepped up to his side, the movements in his body ceasing—the expectancy of your what you were going to do was high. With your hands dancing over his body, you gave his nipple one more flick, chuckling as Krill let out a strained sigh. Steading yourself on his hips, it wasn't too hard to climb on top of him. Since he was more or less situated beneath you, all you needed to do was find some hold on his slick body and climb on. Krill unintentionally did the rest.

You didn't mean to fall down onto his cock, but when he bucked his hips unexpectedly from surprise, you slipped and crashed down. It did nothing to hurt him, though, and you both ended up moaning as your weight pinned his cock down, the pulsing shaft pressing into your cunt. 

"Well, fuck," you muttered, already feeling like this could have been enough to push you over the edge. 

"You should have let me lift you up," Krill complained, a slight pout puffing his lips, and you laughed, feeling strangely cared for with this comment. 

"And let you miss this experience? I don't think so. Tell me what you feel."

There were very little words actually leaving his mouth as you rocked your hips forward, rubbing your pussy along his shaft. It was wet enough that the clothes standing between you two only added to the friction, not caused the same mess as the gloves. You felt the heat catching up to you as his cock twitched against you eagerly. A constant reminder of how much it wanted to be smothered in your walls, invade you deeply until it would spill its seed deep inside. But this was as far as you two could possibly go without destroying your body, and it had to be enough for that impatient cock of his. 

"Harder," Krill ground out, his hands flexing in their holds, endlessly frustrated with the lack of freedom. 

So, instead, you slowed down.

"I'm sure you can say that nicer," you challenged him, raising a brow as you slid your hips back and forth at a snail's pace.

"Fuck you," Krill growled, but when you gasped at his defiance, sliding your pussy up to his tip without looking, you both mewled in pleasure, immediately forgetting about his brattiness. 

"You liked that?" you asked, unable to hold back your own ragged breaths as you pressed your pussy over the curve of his bulbous tip, all the way to the top and then back again. This was the closest you'd ever get to penetration, but it was damn good, just as it was. 

Krill let his head fall back, groaning loudly as he bucked his hips. Luckily, his body was too massive to make you fall off, but you did feel like he was restraining himself more now that you were on top of him. 

"I like it," he mumbled. "I like it a lot. My mate is fucking my cock—it drives me insane. Are you feeling good, too? Is it because of me?"

Krill looked back at you pleadingly, wanting so desperately to be the reason for your horniness, and you were unsure how to react. However, unable to deny it, you nodded and he let out a groan, more precum spilling out of him, wetting your thighs thoroughly. The Fisher was aching as Krill's arms flexed, and you became painfully aware that although it felt good—the ridges on his shaft teasing your clit, his cock pushing against you eagerly as he wanted the same as you did, while his precum warmed every inch of your body—it had to end soon. Lest you risk Krill being the first mermaid to actually break free from The Fisher and hurting you in the process.

"Krill," you mewled, feeling yourself get riled up as he pushed his hips upwards, allowing his cock to be rubbed against you rather than the other way around. 

"Are you going to cum? Am I making you cum? Gods, you are so beautiful like this. I can't wait to watch you cum so prettily on my cock, Mate."

You knew better than to lose yourself in the pleasure, but to an infatuated merman, you must have looked like quite the wonder, disheveled, and horny as you rode him to the finish line. "You must cum, too," you gasped out as you were so close to your orgasm, knowing you were one mere push of his hips away from cumming from the intense friction and heat that tingled all through you.

"I am! I'm cumming with my mate, you can bet your pretty pearls on that!"

Krill was no liar. Because the moment you panted breathlessly, a single ridge flicking over your clit as Krill bucked his hips upwards, you both came fully undone. Your orgasm was overwhelming as you felt the cum travel through the long shaft, pushing its swelling into your pussy before exploding from the tip that you had worshiped before, but you were prepared this time, grabbing the test tube that you had hid in your wetsuit to hold it in front of the eruption happening before you. It filled with more ease than getting rid of the post-orgasm mind fog was for you, but even when you sacked down on top of him, you held the tube steady, not spilling a drop. 

"Fuck…" you muttered, unable to remember the last time you came this hard. Certainly not from playing with yourself, that much was clear. Tasting his precum had to be an unknown aphrodisiac that you didn't know about; testing was inevitable. But for now, you had to get off and get your act together again. 

"You good?" you asked, patting Krill's loin—the closest body part you could reach—before getting off him, classy like a cowboy but with a pussy aching and pulsing for the warmth it had experienced.

All you heard was Krill's low chuckle as a reply. He truly was awful at using his words, but you'd teach him that, you were sure now. Quickly, you stored the test tube with his sample in the fridge, jogging all the way over to keep it as fresh as possible. And from the workstation, you returned with more towels and a sense of stickiness all over your body. You hadn't noticed just how much of his cum had splashed onto your chest and stomach as well, nobody being safe from it, it seemed.

You were relieved to find his cock shrinking again. It was still massive, but it surely was going back to where it came from, and you had finally fulfilled one of the promises you had made. "You look pretty like this," Krill commented as you gave his stomach a good wipe down, semen splashing to the ground in unholy masses. 

"Covered in your cum?" you asked mockingly and he chuckled. He sounded the most peaceful ever since you encountered him that day. No wonder, after having spent his essence in copious amounts twice. 

"You look like a mate now. If I had you in my cave, I wouldn't let you wear anything but my seed ever again."

You grimaced. "Sounds mighty unhygienic."

"You'd come to like it."

The banter felt less aggressive now, although the topics were far from normal. Wringing out the third soiled towel, you sighed, announcing your defeat. "I give up." You dropped the towel, walking up towards his head again to press the buttons so Krill would be put back into the water. Once it had cleaned him, the filters could do the work of cleaning out the pool. 

"Wait," he called out, and you stopped in your tracks, raising a brow at him. 

"I want a… a kiss. I think I deserve that."

"I'm sorry who did all the work again?" you asked, faking your anger and Krill thought hard for a second.

"Then… you deserve a kiss. But I can't move, so you still have to come to me, Human."

You let out a laugh, but seeing how serious he was, you realized it wasn't a joke. You grew quiet as you thought about not wanting to but not wanting the mood to go sour after all that happened. It was all for the team building. Another trust exercise. 

Capturing his head in your hands you didn't need to lean down much as he had enough mobility now and an idea of what to do, so Krill took the initiative to kiss you. He wasn't aggressive, didn't choke you with his tongue. But you quickly realized why you felt so icky doing it, its gentleness and the added trilling that reminded you of giggling too intimate to be between teammates. But you endured it for the sake of this experiment. The sake of reclaiming your future and actually be someone again and regain your freedom little by little. You did it only for that!

The sound of the door unlocking, the metal screeching as it swung open, made you recoil violently from the kiss. Krill hissed sharply, swinging his body helplessly in the restraints—but not against you. 

A slow clap rang out through the laboratory, and you turned around, frightened, unable to hide the mess that was still everywhere and evident all over you. How were you going to explain this? Your worst nightmare had stepped into your new workspace, smiling from ear to ear, looking almost… proud? 

"Wonderful! What a wonderful demonstration of bonding between mates," the Professor exclaimed skillfully ignoring Krill's aggression towards him. "I always knew you could do it, we just had to wait for the right moment."

"Professor, I…" you wanted to explain yourself, try to talk yourself out. Ignoring Krill's whining as you stepped away from his body, which could have been a protective shield to you, Krill quickly returned to hissing and threatening your superior as you moved towards him, desperate not to leave the wrong expression. 

"No need," the Professor cut you off. "We saw everything and we are very impressed with your achievements."

He pointed towards the corner of the room, and you could have punched yourself for not realizing there was a camera with a red blinking light on the ceiling. Of course, they wouldn't have left you alone, even though they made your work out to be unimportant. "Fuck…" you muttered, defeated, knowing they had heard and seen everything. 

"We aren't mates. He's wrong about that!" you explained, frustrated at the situation, but more angry at yourself. Your supervisor was behind the Professor, grinning like a kid on Christmas Eve about the development of the situation. Behind him, guards. Soldiers who were definitely underpaid but felt overly important in their role here at the facility. And they undoubtedly weren't here to guard you.

"Surely you don't mean that. Look at the poor guy. You've been breaking his heart every time you say it."

The Professor didn't touch you, and you couldn't begrudge him. He just raised his hands to your shoulders and you turned around on your own towards Krill, your eyes meeting. However, there was no such thing as disappointment. Just pure anger and restraint. It was your fault. You made him promise not to hurt anyone. And now he had given up, too. 

"Let's put the fish back into the water and discuss your promotion. Matehood is so exciting, I can't wait to introduce you to another special mate of this one's cousin. I am sure you two will become best buds in no time!"

The cheery voice of the Professor did nothing to lift your spirit. You wanted to break free and do as he said, not wanting Krill to hear about these things and see you in this shameful moment. Tears were welling up and your supervisor went to push the buttons instead of you, feeling almost like you were betraying Krill's trust as his handler. 

However, at the sound and motions of the machine's working, something inside Krill changed. He began struggling again, thrashing in The Fisher. "Don't you dare," he hissed, but at the Professor, rather than you. He began focusing his strength on one arm, The Fisher making an aching sound as the metal was strained. 

"Stop it, Krill!" you called out, scared he'd hurt himself again, and his attention shifted to you. 

"And let you be taken from me? I'd rather die!"

His heroics were admirable, but when the soldiers cocked their guns, you jumped forward. "No! No, wait! He's just confused from the drugs, he won't hurt you! Please don't shoot him!"

"Ah," the Professor sighed, much too relaxed in this kind of situation. "Young love. It's so sweet how far you two would go for each other."

This helped nothing to calm down the soldiers or Krill who was getting increasingly agitated as he hovered above the pool, waiting for the floor to open up fully. It was then that complete chaos unfurled itself. The sound of metal snapping next to you, followed by a heavy body falling to the ground. In an instant you were surrounded by darkness as Krill completely enveloped you, and you yelped, hearing gunshots ring out violently and the pained groan of your merman. 

"No!" you screamed, thinking the worst. But as you lurched towards catching him from collapsing—a truly rash move as he'd easily bury you beneath him—Krill grabbed you by the waist. Before you knew what was happening, you were pulled into the water. You neither had the time to hold your breath nor to assess the situation as you sank to the depths, caught in Krill's hold while he was an unmoving mass weighing you down. You wanted to cry, thinking he was dead and so would you be. No one would fish you out of here, especially without knowing if the merman was still alive. And by the time they figured that out, you'd be long gone.

All you could do was wait out the inevitable drowning, and you commiserated this fateful meeting with the creature that destroyed your life in the first place. No… no, that wasn't fair. It wasn't Krill's fault. It wasn't even your own. You kept blaming yourself all this time, but in reality, it was the fault of greedy people and this facility that catered to them. Neither Krill nor you deserved what they were doing to you two. Had the circumstances been different, you might have come to an understanding and built a genuine, scientific relationship on trust. Although he was a handful, you had to admit.

Your thoughts flashed by like many others in your last moment, and it brought a smile to your face, remembering the stupid banter and even his insults and calling you 'human' desperately. You two were definitely even with you calling him creature and the like. Krill was a boisterous idiot and too cocky for his own good, but he could be sweet and caring. He listened, and he even protected you in the end. Reaching up, you found his neck, the air getting thin in your lungs as you hugged him tightly. He didn't deserve this. He really didn't. 

The splashing of water was the last thing you heard before you lost your conscience, only for it to be immediately beaten into you as someone slapped your back over and over hard enough until you coughed up all the water in your lungs. 

"And that's why we don't give them any freedom," the Professor's voice rang out, murrs of agreement echoing after. You felt his presence as he kneeled before you, the old man grunting from the strain. His finger dipped underneath your chin, raising your head to face him even if you vision was blurry still. 

"Have you learned your lesson, [Name]? You'll never escape from here. I've made you into the amazing researcher you are, you are a product of my teachings. And you will provide me with the results we need. Only you can find the eternal life hidden in these creatures. I don't care what you have to do to get it. Mate him, fuck him, get your needs met by a monster, but afterwards you'll come to me with a product that will give you back your freedom, alright?"

"Krill…" you coughed. "What about him?"

"Oh, he'll be fine. A few doses of adrenaline and his body will regenerate."

Letting go of you, your head fell forward to cough out some more water that burned in your nose alongside the tears in your eyes, but you couldn't grasp the situation in front of you properly. 

"I am so glad we fished you out there before it was too late," the Professor exclaimed, always thick on the dramatics. "What would we have done if we lost you two, huh? It would have been such a shame to lose our best researcher and their mate to such a little mishap, right, [Name]?"

This time, when you looked up, you couldn't help but glare at the person you had so admired when you were still studying under him. He was nothing but an insane maniac who would do anything to get an end to his means. Sacrificing merfolk, sacrificing humans. It didn't matter, but he made it clear that there would be no escaping him. No escaping at all… hm.

How did you set the orcas free in the past?

"Right," you mumbled, your lungs still hurting from the water. 

"I'm glad we are on the same page," the Professor laughed, but all you could do was try to remember how you escaped before. The memories eluded you, but there had been a way for sure. For now, you had to admit your defeat as you watched Krill's barely alive body being transported away and out of sight. The door to the laboratory remained open as everyone left you behind, but you didn't feel like going at all. 

You had to.

Getting to your feet, you had to follow wherever they were bringing Krill. And you had to remember how you managed to let them escape before. And when the time came, you'd go with them. But you needed access to the mermaids until then, perhaps some more companions. You lost your freedom, your new position as 'mate' hanging over your head like the blade of a guillotine. But even so, you had to push on, fight for what you wanted.

You lost the fight but not the war.

And when the time came, you'd make sure that this time, no one would stand in the way of your freedom.

[fangirlwriting-stories]

Stanley Pines’ Quick and Easy Guide for how to Avert an Apocalypse

Summary: Stanley Pines is the last person to label himself as the guy to save the world. Especially because the world is so fucked at this point, no one can do it. He stopped believing it possible about half an hour after he witnessed a giant yellow triangle take a bite out of the planet— yeah, he has no idea either, thanks.

He plans for the maybe-week the world has left to stick to feasible goals, like “eat one last meal,” and “don’t die until you get to do it yourself.” But just as the second of those is about to fall through, he’s grabbed by a man with a weird tape measure, whisked off to another time, and told that none of this is supposed to have happened. And that they’re apparently trusting the fate of the world to… him?

They insist that he’s the guy for the job, apparently based on exactly how the triangle got the chance to end the world in the first place. It was, according to them, one idiotic schmuck who let himself get conned. They just need Stan to kill the guy before that happens.

And, sure. It’s not like Stan’s life could get any more insane than it already has. Who do they need him to kill exactly?

…Who do they need him to kill, exactly?

Author's Note: This is the story I tried so hard to avoid writing, but it would. not. stop. bugging me. So here you all go. I'm very glad to have written it and I had a ton of fun with it, which always ends up being the case. It's fully completed at this point, so I will post an update every other Saturday.

Additionally, all the credit to Rayish, who helped beta parts of this story and rubber duck with me when I was really stuck. Find her blog here!

Masterlist

...

The thing about the end of the world, is that it takes its time.

Stan’s known this for ages.  Getting dumped by Carla wasn’t the end of the world.  Watching her fall for some hippie loser was the end of the world.  Damaging Ford’s perpetual motion machine wasn’t the end of the world.  Him showing up the next night, furious and hating Stan, was the end of the world.  Even getting kicked out wasn’t the end of the world.  The slow spiraling realization that he wasn’t worth anything and would never get to go back was the end of the world.

And a giant triangle appearing out of nowhere to draw a smiley face across the North American continent and then taking a bite out of half the planet wasn’t the end of the world— although admittedly, it is a little more flashy than all of Stan’s previous examples.

No, the end of the world came in the days after.

The resulting natural disasters, from volcanic eruptions and horrendous earthquakes to the mantle of the earth starting to spill out onto the crust.  The ensuing panic and desperation of all of the people unlucky enough to survive the original attack.  Stan was one, because of course he was.  The universe could never be so kind as to give him an easy death.

Ma and Pa might be alive too.  He isn’t sure.  New Jersey is far enough away from the original “bite zone” that they might have made it out, if they weren’t in the area crushed by the smiley face.

God, this is a weird apocalypse.

It’s also possible, however, that both of them are gone, because if they were visiting either of Stan’s brothers, they would be.

Shermie, in California.

Ford, in Oregon.

Neither of them stood a chance.

Not that it matters either way.  Stan wouldn’t be able to get to New Jersey, for numerous reasons.

First of all, he’d starve to death before he’d get there, as all available resources vanished before most people could think about them, whether from natural causes or looting and hoarding.  Any kind of official communication died around the same time, not that Stan would have listened to it anyway.  The streets turned into a hellscape that matched up to the canyons left from whatever part of the smiley face hadn’t been bitten off.  There were even more thugs and shady figures about than Stan was used to having to deal with.

And of course, there’s the fact that Filbrick Pines is absolutely stubborn enough to not have “the end of the world” on his list of reasons to let Stan back into the house.

No, Stan is on his own for however long his life lasts.  Or, well, almost on his own.  Because the apocalypse couldn’t seem to throw Stan a bone after killing almost every person he still gave a shit about.

Nope, the thing hadn’t even managed to take Rico off his plate.  Despite the fact that most of his goons split as soon as they all watched the end of the world go down together, Stan is still running from the man himself.  What on the half-earth that’s left Rico could possibly hope to get from Stan now is anyone’s guess.  Before the apocalypse, he got it.  He wanted the money Stan owed him.  But there’s no use for money now, and there’ll be even less of one as time continues to run out.  Any sensible person would lie down and die.

Except Rico isn’t a sensible person, and when it comes down to it, Stan isn’t either.  He still ran, after all.  He’s not sure he knows how to do anything else but try to survive.  It’s all he’s known these past ten years.  He can’t shut it off just because— god, what the hell had happened?  No one had been able to explain it, and no one ever would at this rate.  Because while Stan may not be a scientist like Ford, he sure does know how to bet on long odds, and given the current ones they’ve got, he gives the world a week and a half, tops.

So, with the long life expectancy of next Thursday to look forward to, everything else he could possibly value now meaning nothing, and zero chance to get past the smile-canyons and back to whatever might have been left of his family, Stan is doing the only thing he can think of to prolong his life.  And that’s head right for the end of the earth.

Maybe if he gets close enough to the point where the planet drops off into the mantle, Rico will leave him alone.  And then he’ll… fuck if he knows.  Sit back and watch everything crumble until it takes him with it, probably.

The part of this plan that really sucks, however, is that Stan can’t drive a car all the way to the edge of the world.  He’s known for a couple hundred miles now that his time with the Stanleymobile is limited, and when the sky catches fire, he’s finally forced to leave it at the side of the road.

Well, it’s not the sky’s fault, exactly, though the smoke doesn’t help with visibility.  The main problem is the potholes.  They’d been getting worse and worse for a while, and now he’s stopped just before a stretch of road with too many large holes and broken and crumbled sections that he can’t see a way to get through.

Stan lets the car shudder to a stop just in front of the first hole he can’t force his car over, then sighs and shuts off the ignition.  He slips the keys in his pocket as a memento.

He starts to push open the car door, and immediately pauses to cough his way through the terrible quality of the air outside.  It’s about the same as the air around Pa when he could afford cigars, except about a hundred times worse.  Long-term, it’s probably not great to breathe in, but Stan isn’t too worried about lung cancer these days.

After he manages to adjust to the smoke, he pushes the car door the rest of the way open and steps out onto what’s left of the highway he’s been traveling down.  He can see the ruined remains of a city ahead of him.  Given how much of New Mexico was bitten off, and how close he’s actually able to get to the part that was, it’s probably Roswell.  There are worse places to reach the end of the line.

California, for instance.

Or Oregon.

Stan turns back to the Stanleymobile, and pats her a couple of times on the steering wheel.  “You did good,” he says, because he has to say something.  It’s too monumentous of a moment to leave to silence.  The Stanleymobile has been all he’s had for the past decade, he can’t just leave her without thanking her for all she’s done for him.

He reaches out to close the door, then hesitates for another moment.  There’s not much in the car worth taking.  He’s got his knuckle dusters in his pocket, and has had them there for long before the world ended.  He stopped and grabbed that squirrel that had fallen on the windshield a couple dozen miles back, dead from either smoke inhalation or starvation.  It’ll make for a good— well, it’ll make for a last meal.  There’s bound to be a fire somewhere in the city for him to cook it with, even if it’s just an already-lit pile of rubble.

But that’s about it.  Pretty much everything else in the car is trash that came from before the world ended, or products that are now even more useless.  Everything except…

Stan pulls the driver’s side visor down.  The photo of him and Ford boxing isn’t in very good shape.  Not that it was in great shape before, but it was in “hasn’t been through an apocalypse” shape.  If he takes it with him, it’ll probably get crushed or burnt or otherwise lost.  It definitely won’t stay in this “good” of shape.

But the other option is to leave it in the Stanleymobile, to not carry it with him.  Abandon Ford’s memory to a car on the side of the road.

Both of his brothers are dead, and he doesn’t have any photos of Shermie.  This is the best he can do.

Stan reaches out and pulls the photo gently off the visor.  He tucks the strips of tape that held it there around to the back of the photo rather than risk tearing it pulling them off.  He puts the photo in his jacket next to his knuckle dusters, takes a deep breath, pauses to cough through the smoke, and then starts picking his way through the remains of the road in front of him.

Now that he’s not trying to peer through both smoke and a filthy windshield, it’s slightly easier to see.  There’s a couple other cars abandoned on the crumbling road, but none of them are worth trying to hotwire.  Either the car itself is too destroyed, or the road around it is.  The city in front of him is a mess of crumbling and collapsing buildings.  It doesn’t look like there were a ton of skyscrapers in the first place, but what is still there would hardly count anymore.  The air smells strongly of smoke and fire, and the sky is bright red to match.  There looks to be some burnt-out shells of trees just inside the city limits, to contrast with the desert Stan’s been driving through.  The state of them ruins any hope of finding water here, but he had some yesterday, and this is going to be his final stop one way or another.

Stan picks his way around the cars as he tries to plan out his next move.  He doesn’t expect to find many people alive in the city, except for Rico, if he doesn’t give up and finally leave Stan to his own devices.  Stan doesn’t know how likely that is.  Rico might not be a sensible person, but he’s always had goons to do most of his work for him.  Stan’s not sure if he’s enough of a risk taker to keep following him here.

It’s probably safer to keep acting as If he is, though.  And that means the first thing Stan needs to do is get rid of this squirrel.

The building rubble doesn’t seem too bad as Stan reaches the edge of the city, though he’d wager a bet it’s worse in the center of downtown.  That’s also probably where he’s going to have to go to find a fire secluded enough that Rico won’t find it, though, so he starts to make his way around the rubble that’s there, which is easy enough for now.  There’s some pieces he has to climb over, but most of the concrete he can walk around, and the holes aren’t deep enough that he has to climb down into them, just step.

It doesn’t take long for him to realize the real problem, however, that being that very quickly once he starts into the city he has to hold his sleeve over his mouth to prevent coughing from all of the smoke.  There’s not a chance he’s going to be able to make it to the center of the city.  He’ll have to find something on fire around here or find one of the tree husks and start one.  And given that most of the smoke seems to be coming from closer to the center of the city, the second option is probably his best.

Lighting a fire might as well be lighting up a giant neon sign that says to Rico “Here I am!”, but if he does it fast enough he might be able to eat the squirrel and find a space to hide.  And he really needs to eat the squirrel.  He ran out of food in his car almost three days ago, he has to eat something soon.

Stan casts his gaze around until he finds a decently large tree sitting on the side of the road.  It’s hollowed out and looks very dry, so he’ll have to be careful enough when starting the fire to leave himself an easy escape route, but it’ll serve his purposes just fine.

Stan pulls out his knuckle dusters as he walks over towards the tree, but then pauses for a second and sets them back in his pocket.  He reaches up and yanks one of the still-intact branches down, long enough that he can cook the squirrel at a distance.  He sets it down behind him, then grabs another to use as a piece of kindling.  He pulls his knuckle dusters back out, then flicks one of them against the concrete below him a couple times until he gets sparks, aiming them for the second branch.  After a couple tries, it catches, and he picks it up and sets it inside the tree husk.  It doesn’t take long for the whole thing to catch, but it looks like it’s going to burn bright and fast, so Stan steps back just far enough to stick the squirrel onto the first branch he grabbed, then holds it out over the fire like he’s roasting a marshmallow.

He has no idea what a properly cooked squirrel looks like, but it’s not like he has to worry too much about long term effects.  It just has to be edible.

The fire is burning up fast, however, so after a minute or so, Stan decides to cook the squirrel the way Ma likes to do marshmallows— catch it on fire.

The smell of cooking meat hits his nose as soon as the squirrel catches, and Stan takes as deep a breath as he dares with all the smoke around, savouring it for just a moment.  It’s not going to take too before the squirrel will be tough and black if he doesn’t get rid of the fire.  But he doubts blowing on it like a marshmallow is going to work in this case, so instead he waves the stick back and forth harshly until the fire goes out, then blows the final remaining embers onto the ground below him.

Alright then, food acquired.  He should probably pick a new location to eat it, though.

He picks his knuckle dusters up from the ground and slips them back into his pocket, then walks past the fire, aiming for a good hiding spot that isn’t too close to the center of the city.

Finally, he finds a spot where he can lean against a building that looks stable enough to not fall down, and sits back against it.  He pulls one of the legs of the squirrel and takes a bite.  It’s small enough that his teeth hit the bone, and it certainly doesn’t taste like it was cooked at a five star restaurant, but it’s the first food he’s had in days, and the first cooked food he’s had in who knows how long.  Stan can’t quite help a pleased groan at the taste, closing his eyes to savor it.

He should really know better than to do things like that.

“There you are, Hal.”

Stan’s eyes snap open, and he’s on his feet before he even knows where Rico is.  A second later he spots him, standing at the entrance to the street, knife in hand.  Honestly, come on.  He can’t bring a knife to a knuckle dusters fight.

Stan’s not doubting his chances too much, however, because Rico has definitely looked better.  The hand gripping the knife isn’t exactly holding it steady, and his legs look like they’re about to collapse out from under him.  While the idea of seeing Rico like this would have made him laugh a couple weeks ago, Stan isn’t too surprised to see it now.  He doubts Rico has had as much experience as him dealing with hunger, being the head of a formly-very-scary drug empire.  Prison probably helped, but it’s been a while since then, and going three days without food isn’t a skill you can pick right back up.  Stan’s been working on his skillset in that regard for over a decade, thank you very much.

The thought strikes him, a little incredible— he could beat Rico.  He might be able to kill him, right here and now, and then enjoy his squirrel in peace.  And man, is the idea tempting.  Rico has put him through a lot.   If the apocalypse hadn’t happened, he’d probably still be trying to run from him, panicking about a debt he has no hope of paying back, a debt that could not matter less now.  Rico would still have hoards of goons at his disposal, most of whom Stan doesn’t know by name, all of whom would kill him without a second thought, either to impress Rico or to pay down debts of their own.  Stan has a literal knife scar in his back from Rico.  He has a set of poorly made dentures that work just as well as he needs them to and not any better.  He has a slew of bad memories and nightmares that he doubts are ever going away.  The idea of getting to pay Rico back for all of that is… well, shit.

It’s strangely disappointing.

What the hell would he get for it now?  A week and a half of struggling through hell trying to find another malnourished squirrel to cook?  Dammit, Rico.  How do you manage to take the fun out of killing you?

“Rico, come on,” Stan says anyway, because if he’s not going to kill him he really doesn’t want to fight him.  “What are you even going to get out of this?”

“How about that food you’re hoarding for yourself,” Rico growls, taking a shaky step forward.

Stan pulls off another leg and the tail and then leans the stick the rest of the squirrel is sitting on against the building next to him.

“Come share it with me,” he says, which feels patently insane, but he says it anyway.

Rico seems to think it’s insane too, judging by the slight hysteria that takes over his face.  Stan takes a couple steps back away from the squirrel, so Rico knows he won’t try to jump him when he gets close.  He puts his hands up, holding nothing but the parts of the squirrel he took for himself.  He even left Rico the majority of the meat, which is just unfair, but Rico would definitely try to argue for more if he didn’t.

For a long moment, the two of them just look at each other.  Rico’s always been good with evaluating people just like Stan is.  Stan can’t help but wonder what’s going through his head.  Not much is going through his, except for how tired he is and how much he just wants to sit and eat the squirrel and how little he wants to fight about it.

“Come on,” Stan says.  “You can stay over there, I’ll stay over here.  Just— just sit with me.”

Rico watches him for another long pause.  Finally, though he doesn’t lower the knife, he takes a small step towards the stick on the building.  Stan doesn’t move or lower his hands until he reaches it, and picks it up.  He peers at Stan suspiciously, then looks back at the squirrel.

“How did you guess,” Stan deadpans, because he knows what Rico is thinking.  “I poisoned just the top of it in the seconds after I sat down, with my giant supply of poison that I’ve acquired during the apocalypse.”  As if to prove his point, he takes another bite of the squirrel leg he’d been eating before.

Rico huffs, like he doesn’t want to acknowledge the good point Stan’s made.  But finally, after another second, he sits down with the stick.

Stan feels the tension in his shoulders rush out of them, more than a little amazed that worked.  He sits down right where he’s standing, and goes back to eating the squirrel leg, though he doesn’t close his eyes again this time.

It doesn’t take long before he realizes the other problem with this plan, however, that being that sitting across from Rico and trying to calmly eat a meal isn’t really something he can just do.   Rico seems to all but attack the part of the squirrel he was given, not really seeming to want to savor it like Stan is with his, and watching him do that is both bizarre and unsettling.  In the end, Stan keeps the majority of his gaze on his own meat and his peripheral view on Rico, and works his way through one squirrel leg, then the second.

Rico doesn’t say much, which is probably good, because Stan can’t think of much the two of them would have to talk about.  What is he supposed to say to the guy who’s wanted him dead for ages?  “Hey, how are you handling the apocalypse?”  The answer is written in his shaking legs and the desperation in his eyes that Stan hasn’t seen since they were escaping prison together.

Maybe this is where Rico’s at too, though, because as Stan continues eating, the tension slowly seems to drain out of the air around them.  When he casts a glance back up at Rico, he finds him eating his meat and not paying Stan much attention at all.

For a moment, the hysteria of the situation gets to him.  He’s sitting surrounded by burning rubble, eating meat from a malnourished squirrel, with Rico of all people.  A laugh bubbles up in Stan’s throat, and he just barely manages to swallow it down.

It’s after Stan finishes the second leg, however, that his luck takes another turn, one he probably should have seen coming.  Rico stands up, and Stan does too before he even really processes what’s happening, gaze flicking to him.  Rico’s got his knife back out.

“Give me the tail,” he says.

Yeah.  Figures.

Stan looks down at the tail, trying to debate how little he wants to fight versus how hungry he still is.  Apparently his second of debate is a second too long however, because Rico starts for him with the knife.

“Oh, come on, man,” Stan says, stepping backwards.  But it doesn’t matter at this point.  Rico’s either going to kill him and take the tail, or take the tail when Stan gives it to him, then go right back to killing him afterwards.

And, well.  Stan’s hungry.

So he shoves the entire tail in his mouth, trying to chew past the less pleasant texture of the tail fur, and slips his hands into his pockets for his knuckle dusters.

Rico gives a cry of desperate rage, and sprints right at him.

Stan dives to the side just in time to avoid the knife and swallows the last bit of the squirrel.  Running back the way he came isn’t going to do any good.  At this point, it’s pretty clear Rico isn’t going to be outrun.  Stan’s going to have to fight him, and see what happens.

He turns to face Rico as he runs back at him again, and ducks under the knife before bringing his left hook up against Rico’s jaw.  The knuckle dusters clang against bone, and Rico cries out and stumbles back.

Stan aims another fist for the side of his head, but Rico manages to take a couple extra steps back with his stumble, leaving Stan’s fist to hit empty air.

Rico takes another swing with his knife, and Stan takes another step to the side.  He aims again for Rico’s head, but Rico sees him coming this time.

He steps far enough away to leave Stan stumbling for a minute, which gives Rico time to make it behind him.

Stan feels a rough grab at his arm, and aims a blind elbow back behind him.  He hits something, though he hears more of a muffled grunt instead of a cry of pain, and the arm doesn’t let go.

So instead, he switches gears and spins himself around, twisting his arm but allowing him to see where Rico is at least.  Just in time, it seems, because Rico’s knife is coming straight for Stan’s head.

Stan manages to duck just far enough to avoid it, though his wrist starts to protest.

Stan aims his free hand upwards as the knife passes over his head, but Rico’s grip on it is too tight for his knuckle dusters to knock it away.

Rico’s arm now hovers unnaturally over Stan’s, which gives Stan just long enough to aim a right kick at Rico’s arm.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t hit as hard as he’d like, and Rico has too much time to tighten his grip again.

Stan spins back around before Rico can yank him closer, which gets rid of his visual but untwists his arm, and aims another elbow behind him, this one higher and towards where he remembers the face.

He hits what feels like a nose with a loud crack, and Rico cries out in pain.  But instead of letting go, he brings the knife back around from his other side, and Stan feels a large slice across the back of his elbow.

He bites down on his own cry and dodges the knife’s return blow for his face.  It whistles as it passes over his nose.

He can all but see Rico swinging the knife back around towards his neck, but his attempt to knock it out of his hand didn’t go well, and his elbows to the face haven’t lessened the grip on his arm.

Stan throws his head back against Rico’s face, a final attempt to get him to let go if he hits his nose again.  But Rico must lean his head back just far enough to avoid it, because all that happens is Stan’s neck snaps painfully.

Rico’s other hand grabs his hair and he’s yanked back into Rico’s chest, where he does not want to be, he’s not going to make it out of here like this.

He leans forward, preparing to try and snap his head back again, but the knife is coming too fast towards his throat, and Stan has just enough time to process that this might be it, he might be ducking out of the apocalypse a week and a half early, but instead something far more strange happens.

Out of nowhere, a muscular man in ugly black and gray armor with bright green gloves appears in front of both him and Rico.

Clearly neither of them were expecting it, because they both give twin noises of surprise, and Rico changes the direction of his knife.  The man, however, does not seem at all interested in Rico, and instead reaches out and grabs Stan by his free arm.

Before Stan can even attempt to figure out how the hell to fight two guys when he was barely handling one, the man grabs something attached to his belt.  It looks sort of like a gun, but far more futuristic looking than Stan’s ever seen.

He aims it at Rico’s arm and fires, and to Stan’s horror, the entire arm disintegrates and the knife clatters to the ground.

Rico shrieks, animalistic and pained, and doesn’t stop.

The man, however, doesn’t react except to grab Stan and yank him forward, away from Rico.  All of Stan’s instincts start screaming run, despite how little that will likely matter in a couple seconds, but before he can even try, the man grabs something else from his belt.  Is that a tape measure?

The man lets go of Stan momentarily, pulls the tape measure out almost as far as it seems to go, and then reaches forward to grab Stan’s arm again.

He hits something on top of the tape measure, and everything around them vanishes all at once.

…

Stan immediately tries to wrench his arm away, and is surprised to find no resistance as he does so.  In fact, the man from before, still there, just lets him pull free and take a couple steps back, not seeming to object in the slightest.

“What— what the hell,” Stan snaps, hands going up in front of his face, as if they’re going to do anything against the futuristic laser gun whatever thing that just disintegrated Rico’s arm.  “Who are you?  Where am I?  What’s—”

“Stanley, please, calm down,” comes a new voice.  “We can explain everything.”

Stanley.

“No one’s supposed to know that name,” Stan snaps, though he doesn’t take his gaze off the first guy with the laser gun.  “Rico doesn’t know that name.  Who are you?”

“I’m happy to explain everything,” says the new voice.  “Just please, lower your hands and talk with us for a bit.”

“Not until that gun gets put away,” Stan snaps, keeping his gaze firmly on the first guy.  Now that he’s not running from a knife, he notices he’s wearing what looks like a name tag that says “Lolph,” which, what kind of name is that?

Either way, Lolph sighs, lowers his gun, and straps it back to his belt.  Stan narrows his eyes slightly.  He wasn’t expecting him to actually do that.

“Alright, there,” the new voice says, a note of attempted soothing in his voice that Stan isn’t particularly a fan of.  “Guns are away.  Can we talk now?”

Stan glares at Lolph for another couple seconds before finally casting his gaze around at the rest of where he’s ended up.

There’s not a ton of fun aspects to the room.  It looks more like a holding cell, which, to be fair, could very well be where he is.  The room is featureless and dark, with the only things there being three chairs to his right, himself and the two men in ugly armor, and a square table in between the chairs.  Lolph stands opposing Stan, with his gun and tape measure both clipped to his belt, and some weird green eye piece that looks like suspiciously like a gun scope.  He doesn’t look particularly happy to be there.  On the other side of the chairs stands the other agent.  His name tag reads “Dundgren.”  He’s got dark skin, as opposed to Lolph’s pale variety.  He’s got a green eye piece too, and a scar on his other eye.  He’s got the same gun, tape measure, and muscles as Lolph, but he’s done all the talking so far, and he’s holding a third of those tape measure things, so Stan’s willing to bet he’s the one in charge.

Stan levels his gaze back at him, trying to gauge what his intentions are.  “Where are we, and why did you bring me here?” he asks.

“Well, I would hope that latter answer would be fairly obvious,” Dundgren says, raising an eyebrow.  “You were about to die.”

Stan scoffs and crosses his arms.  “No I wasn’t,” he says, aiming for an “overconfident idiot” tone.

A lot of people have been about to die lately.  Stan hasn’t heard of a sudden rise in guardian angels with teleporting tape measures.

Dundgren gives Stan an unamused look.  “The man was aiming a knife at your neck.  An injury like that in your time period is a death sentence.”

“Please, I almost had him.”  In his time period?

Dundgren rolls his eyes, and a little bit of the tension in his shoulders vanishes.  Good.  Let your guard down.

“As for the first question,” Dundgren continues.  “That’s a little more complicated.”

“Great,” Stan says, walking over towards one of the chairs— the one alone on its side of the square table, clearly meant for him.  He plops down in it, then kicks his feet up on the table and folds his hands behind his head.  “You don’t mind if I sit then, do you?  I haven’t gotten a chance to relax in a while.”

“No, please,” Dundgren says, though Stan can hear the subtle disgust in his voice.  Likely at the dirt Stan is now getting all over the table.  On the other side of the room, Lolph makes less of an effort to hide his disapproval, and lets out an exasperated sigh.

After a second, however, both of them walk forward and take the two chairs on the opposite side of the table.

“Alright,” Dundgren says.  “There isn’t really a way to ease into this.  You’re not in your own time anymore.”

Stan raises an eyebrow.  “You’re telling me Lolphy here came and grabbed me and we time traveled, yeah?”

Both of them seem surprised.

“Well, yes,” Dundgren  says.  “Usually people are more shocked.”

“Don’t call me Lolphy,” Lolph mutters.

“Buddy, not too long ago a giant nacho chip took a bite out of the planet,” Stan says, ignoring Lolph’s comment.  “At this point I’m leaving everything on the table.”

Both of them at least have the decency to look a little sheepish.

“Well, yes,” Dundgren says again.  “You’re in what we call a time pocket, it’s a place time agents can go outside of the normal time stream if the period they’re trying to reach is unavailable for some reason.  But to get back to the Bill Cipher incident—”

“Who?”

Dundgren grimaces.  “The giant nacho chip,” he says, with some difficulty.

Stan snorts.  “Yeah, I figured, I just wanted to hear you say it.”

Dundgren gives him an unamused look.

“Come on, man, go easy on me,” Stan says.  “I’ve been dealing with an apocalypse.  What about the nacho chip?”

“None of that was supposed to happen,” Lolph says, sounding frustrated.  “Can we get on with this explanation?”

Dundgren shoots him a look, and Stan pulls his hands out from behind his head, attention officially piqued.

“What do you mean ‘none of that was supposed to happen?’” he asks.

Dundgren sighs.  “Well, suffice to say Lolph and I are from more than nine days into the future, which is how long your current timeline has left.”

Stan tries very hard not to show anything on his face.  “Huh,” he says, “neat.”

Lolph does not seem particularly fond of that response.  Stan does not particularly care.  He doesn’t want to know how long he has left.  He’d wanted to live in blissful ignorance while he tried to gather up the courage to take care of himself first.  Thanks a lot, asshole future guys.

“How does that not bother you?” Lolph snaps.  “Do you have any idea how much is riding on you?”

Stan plans to shoot back some kind of comment that he stopped being bothered after he’d finished hyperventilating the first time, the day after the apocalypse started.  Instead, his attention is immediately drawn to Dundgren, who’s giving Lolph an extremely frustrated look.

So something important is riding on him, then.

Well, he could think of a couple better options they should have picked first.

“Why would I?” he says, putting his hands carelessly behind his head again.  “Neither of you have actually bothered to explain anything.”

“We’re getting there,” Dundgren says, sounding significantly more tense.  “The point is no, the apocalypse that you’ve been living through was not supposed to have happened.  We were in a time pocket like this when the anomaly occurred, so we have a chance to fix it, even though the future we came from is technically gone.  We are reaching out to you in an attempt to stop the apocalypse from occurring.”

Stan coughs out a surprised laugh.  “Me?” he asks.  “Interesting choice.”

“Are you saying you won’t do it?” Lolph snaps.

“Yeesh, calm down, Lolphy.  Didn’t say anything of the sort.”  Stan glances over at Dundgren and rolls his eyes, as if to say, “This guy, right?”

Dundgren does not seem amused.

“Look, I’m not saying I wouldn’t be willing to help, necessarily,” Stan says.  “I get it.  End of the world and all that.  Generally bad.  But what makes you think I can do anything?  That Bill guy was so huge that I doubt he could even, you know, see me trying to stop him.”

“The apocalypse was not caused by Bill Cipher,” Dundgren says.

Stan blinks at him.  “Uh.  Did you guys, like, read the timeline screwup wrong?  ‘Cause he’s the one who ate everything.”

Dundgren sighs, and looks back at Stan.  The calculating he’s doing is obvious on his face.

“If left to his own devices,” he says slowly.  “Bill would not have been able to invade this dimension at all.”

This dimension?   Implying other dimensions?  Stan would ask for a second to wrap his head around that one, but Dundgren is already continuing to talk.  So, other dimensions.  Sure, why not.

“The fact that he was able to was due entirely to the help of one man, who he tricked into building a gateway into this dimension.”

“That— wait,” Stan says.  “Let me see if I’ve got this right.  You’re telling me the entire apocalypse was caused by one idiot who let himself get conned?”

“Yes,” Dundgren says plainly.

Stan opens his mouth to reply, but nothing comes out.  And this time, at least, Dundgren seems willing to let him process, which is good, because Stan needs to.

One person.  A single individual ended the entire world.  That’s… well, that’s just unfair on a number of levels.

It’s not like Stan doesn’t know how cons work.  You can convince people to do some pretty stupid things.  Hell, he’s convinced people to do some pretty stupid things before.  But there’s usually a point, a line you have to be careful not to cross, or you give it all away.  You have to learn how to walk that line of not coming off to a victim as too good to be true, or too obviously trying to screw them over.  You have to make sure you sound believable.

And hey, call Stan crazy, but he would have thought most people’s lines stopped before “the end of the fucking world.”

Or at least, he would have thought that before now.

Stan pulls his feet off the table, and drops them onto the floor in front of him.  He lowers his hands to his lap, and runs them along his legs.

“Well,” he says.  “I guess a conveniently timed bus would have saved everyone a lot of grief, huh.”

“Funny you bring that up,” Lolph says, only to earn another ‘shut up’ look from Dundgren.

Stan narrows his eyes slightly.  “What do you mean?”

Dundgren looks back at him, clearly searching for very specific words.

“We were hoping,” he says finally.  “That you could help us create a conveniently timed bus situation.”

“You want me to kill the guy?” Stan asks, raising an eyebrow.

“In a manner of speaking.”

Stan narrows his eyes again.  “What other manner of speaking is there?  You want me to kill the guy.”

Dundgren sighs.  “Yes.  It is the easiest and most reliable way to prevent all of this.”

Stan looks from Dundgren to Lolph and back, but doesn’t find any more answers on either of their faces.  “Why me?” he asks.

“Our options are… limited,” Dundgren says.  Stan looks at him for a minute, but he doesn’t say anything else.  He could easily be talking about the “end of the world” thing, but if that was the case, why not just say that?  On that matter, why not grab Rico instead of him?  He’d be much more willing to kill someone, especially if it benefitted him.

“You won’t even vanish from existence, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Lolph says, drawing Stan’s gaze.  “Not with the individualized merger in the time tape.”

“The who what now?”

“We’ve built an individualized timeline merger into the time tape,” Dundgren says, tone very clipped and irritable at this point.

Stan raises an eyebrow.  “Okay…?”

Lolph sighs, as if Stan’s a particularly slow child.  “When you go back, there would be two versions of you.  But with the merger, you’ll both combine into one form as soon as you land in the set time.  So that way you’ll be able to continue living after you’ve saved the world, even though your timeline technically doesn’t exist.  It’ll even bring your car to you, just for ease of travel.  So if you—”

All of the alarm bells that Stan’s been counting up quietly in his head start shrieking, and he holds up a hand.  “Wait.  Stop.”

Lolph stops.

“Why would you do that?” Stan asks.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Stan says, talking like they’re particularly slow children, “that I am going to be dead in a week, when the rest of the world finishes going up in flames.  What do I care if I go back to save everything and then someone else lives on in my place?  I won’t be around to see it either way.  At this point, saving the world is just practical.”

Dundgren and Lolph exchange a glance.  Dundgren’s face has an air of “I told you so” to it.

Stan raises himself as tall as he can, and crosses his arms.  “Okay, that’s it.  Why do you need me to do this so bad, what are you asking me to do, and why are you trying so hard to sweeten the deal?”

Both of them look back at Stan, and Dundgren sighs.  “The person who caused the apocalypse,” he says.

“What about ‘em.”

The agent takes a breath, and Stan recognizes the look of a man who’s really not going to like what he has to say next.

“It’s your brother.”

[ingravinoveritas]

It's days like today that make me want to leave this fandom. Policing others to make yourselves look good is in complete opposition to the message GO tries to convey, IMO.

Thank you for your level headedness and patience on dealing with the people who piled on you with their negativity.

Here's hoping we can make it to the s3 release without anymore of this BS.

(Grouping together for ease of answering.)

Anon #1: Thank you very much for your kind words! I truly do appreciate it, though I don't feel like I did anything extraordinary or special. I was just appalled at the chaos that was unfolding in the fandom and how some people seemed to be encouraging it or even using it for their own self-serving purposes.

The interesting thing about a situation like today is how quickly it caused some people to show their true colors. You mentioned a pile-on, and that is exactly what happened--starting in the comments on my post where I had originally shared the concept art, with people attacking me and calling me a "disgrace" when all I was trying to do was make sense of the insanity and misinformation that was flying around. More than that, it was a comment that was completely out of order and unnecessary given the context of the situation.

Not long after this, I was told that someone had actually made a whole callout post about me. The post was made by someone who is part of a group of people who run a blog dedicated to harassing and sending abuse to me and others for the better part of a year now, and while I will not link to it (though it is in the tags and can be found if you search for my blog name), the content of this post involved telling people to harass me into taking down my post.

But the thing is, dozens (if not more) blogs posted the same photo that I did. Other blogs posted every single one of the concept art photos. I posted exactly one photo...and yet it was my blog that was singled out, by name. If this callout post was purely about defending the artist or GO, that would be an entirely different matter. But to single someone out like that is to put the focus on them and make them a target. So it seems to me that in this case, defending the artist/GO was nothing more than a convenient excuse for this person to show what a "good" fan they are by attacking a "bad" fan who they knew they could get others to easily go after.

And as you said, Anon #1, that is very much the opposite of the message that GO espouses, so it is ironic and unfortunate that so many people seem to have missed it.

As to your comments, Anon #2, the first thing you said is exactly what several other folks have said to me today. That if the person who contacted GON is a colleague of the artist whose work was "leaked," why would that person not just directly contact the artist (or a supervisor, a producer...hell, literally anyone other than a fan account)? There is no logical reason why someone who works on the show would reach out to a fan account (and as you said, one with a significantly smaller reach than FYGO) if the goal and intention was to get the pictures taken down.

And again, regarding the fever pitch to which discourse rose around the possibility of GO 3 being cancelled, I will echo a sentiment that I read on Twitter earlier, which is that it is frankly ridiculous to think that Amazon would cancel the show over concept images...but not over the SA allegations related to NG. In no way is this meant to diminish the seriousness of those allegations, either, but only to illustrate that if Amazon was dead-set on cancelling GO 3, they had more than ample reason to do so long before now.

None of this even remotely passes the smell test. It just doesn't. And the fact that so many people have been afraid to ask questions or discuss this openly is deeply concerning, because there is nothing wrong with asking questions. If you are genuinely worried that your friends or other fans will go off or get upset with you just for disagreeing with them or for saying "Hey, this seems weird to me, I'm not sure what to think"...are those really the people you want to be talking to? Just something to think about. So yes, I'm with you, Anon #1, as I also hope we can make it to the GO 3 release without any more of this drama. I know how easy it is to get caught up in everything, but if people would’ve just stopped and thought critically about these things for five minutes today, maybe a lot of this could have been avoided...

[twinroomies]

Im new here, is there tag/people that can explain icarus meme? Who anonymous icarus that getting warned? Masterpost maybe?

There are explanations, but let's do you one better, I'll write a summary here and we can put a specific tag on it! "Icarus Anon" was a user who sent me about 20 anonymous asks in the span of about a half hour. This was early on in the blog's run, I think maybe even the SECOND DAY of it's existence, and I decided the best way to cut that kind of behavior out of the equation was to be light-hearted about it and address it head on. So I said:

"Careful, Icarus." Now, this isn't my bit, this actually comes from an anecdote that became a recurring gag on the "Craig Fergurson Late Night Show" (which honestly if you have not seen clips from it might be some of my favorite comedy material out there, this show frequently just became live-action Space Ghost Coast to Coast, it was great), after someone responded to the character Geoff Peterson, who's that skeleton gentleman over there, with the iconic two word phrase our joke here stems from as well over on Twitter. Now, this is all well and good, but what I wasn't expecting was that the general audience of Twin Roomies would LOVE this bit as well. Icarus Anon has had asks submitted about them, fan-art most prominently created by the insanely talented @givemenoname, and even requests for me to put them in the main comic*. The problem is, dear anon*, that Icarus was created as a warning, right? While I've begrudgingly accepted this as a bit that my audience enjoys and have even come to embrace it myself, the last thing I want is for more people to start doing things like that in order to create a legacy. The way I handled that situation was, though with good intent, kind of a mistake. This is why Icarus Anon isn't actively discussed, hadn't been given a tag up to now, or wasn't given an explanation in the masterpost. He's not supposed to exist, and he was originally a specific poster that was causing a ruckus. Now, however, the character has become a representation of my audience getting rowdy / people who ask questions who accidentally go a bit far. Questions like: "Can I see more thicc Asriel"? Careful, Icarus. Not to be confused with questions that ACTUALLY go too far, those questions are either ignored or dragged into the streets to made into an example. Like Icarus in the original folktale, an Icarus Anon is someone who, with the best intentions, flies too close to the sun in the joy of their freedom. Not with hate, malice, or spite, but out of passion. But, still... lest the wax melt in the heat of the sun?

Careful, Icarus.

*I personally see the character of Icarus Anon as a 'he' as Icarus himself was a boy, though I have no idea of the gender of the original anon and for reasons I discuss in the main text I firmly separate this character from them now. *For the record, everyone is anon around here even if you ask a question with your name attached.