#this is not an accusation this is me puzzling shit out

[skxllz]

Hi! IDK IF YOUR TAKING REQUESTS BUT IM GONNA SEND ONE ANYWAY AND YOU DONT HAVE TO DO IT IF YOU ARENT TAKING REQUESTS

Can you do Lucifer, Alastor and whoever else you wanna add with a reader who just swallows/eats anything/weird things?

A piece of tissue? Sure! Plastic? Yippee! A pebble? Why not! Keys? Yummy! A rubber duck? Quack quack! A piece of Alastors cane? Don’t kill me!!

I'm not currently taking requests but I'll do this for you hon <3 I apologize if it doesn't live up to your expectations!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭��𝐫 & 𝐯𝐨𝐱 𝐟𝐭...

𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 ��𝐡𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬

🐤 - 𝚕𝚞𝚌𝚒𝚏𝚎𝚛

➳ when you two first started dating - scratch that, first started talking, he picked up on the fact that you had random quirks. bored? you'd make random noises. sometimes, you'd lay on the floor just to lay there. for no reason, you'd hang upside down on the couches in the foyer. —he once questioned you and you said, I quote, “ I want to feel the blood rush to my head, it's fun. ”— to say the least, you puzzled him, but he brushed it off because who wasn't an oddball in hell?

➳ now, when you actually started dating and you got more comfortable is when he noticed some of his rubber ducks missing - and not just the ducks, but rather some of the things he used on them as well. glue, for example.

➳ “ hey, um, sweetie? ” he approached you one day, quite confused from where his things were suddenly disappearing to. you hummed in reply, looking up from your phone. lucifer blinked at you slowly, trying to come up with a way to word his sentence without seeming like he was accusing you of anything. “ have you seen my glue? the kind I use for- ” — “ no. ” you had answered too quickly for his liking.

➳ as the days carried on, more of his shit would vanish. it got to the point where it'd frustrate him. it wasn't until one day, where his latest creation knocked off of his desk and rolled under it, did he find one of the ducks he had been looking for. except... it had a bite mark taken out of it...

➳ lucifer was dubbed shocked. his eyes widened, lips pulled down in a duck-lipped press. what in the seven rings of hell? he's never seen anything like this, and he doesn't own a hell hound, so who-

➳ and then his mind drifted to you.

➳ he recalled your weird behaviour; the way you were sweating nervously and avoiding eye contact. he should've known you had something to do with it.

➳ but to eat his rubber ducks? he's going to have a serious talk with you about your diet.

+++

📻 - 𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛

➳ this radio demon didn't really show interest in you at first. you seemed innocent - too innocent, but still innocent, and that just didn't catch his attention in the slightest. if anything, you seemed bothersome.

➳ I'd like to think he first took interest in you when vaggie found a corner of the end of her spear broken off. no one dared touched it before, and you were new to the hotel - it didn't take a genius to put two and two together. but I guess, in a sense, no one else suspected you since you never bothered anything else.

➳ one night, when almost everyone was asleep, you snuck off to the kitchen to find something to eat. you were starving since you hadn't had dinner and couldn't really bother to just fall asleep on an empty stomach. a certain radio demon had followed you, startling you out of your wits as you turned around only to spot him there. “ funny to see you awake, dear! ”

➳ you explained to him, nervously, that you couldn't sleep. he hummed, pretending to show he was listening, before skipping right to the point of why exactly he was there. “ I couldn't help but realize that, earlier today when our dearest vaggie was rather upset, you hadn't moved an inch from your spot on the sofa. in fact, you seemed almost... ” he paused, pretending to ponder, his smile widening. “ guilty. care to explain the reasoning for that, hm? ”

➳ at that point, you were avoiding eye contact. hands twined behind your back, thumbs twiddling out of anxiousness, you searched for an excuse through your jumbled brain, attempting to think of absolutely anything just to slip away from alastor. but knowing him, he'd probably see right through the charade - he's been around way longer than you, and is a mastermind at getting into people's heads. no doubt he'd figure out you fibbed. — “ I just felt guilty that I couldn't help at all. vaggie is a close friend, I hate to see her upset. ”

➳ instead of buying the lie, like you had predicted, the bob-wearing demon leaned down and gave you a close-lipped grin; half lidded eyes flashing dangerously beneath the light that gleamed from atop the stove. “ or is it because, perhaps, you had something to do with it? ”

➳ that's when you blurted out. “ I ate it. ” and, much too afraid to gouge alastor's reaction, you turned and took off running out of the kitchen.

➳ if you would've stayed, however, you would've seen the way alastor's eyes momentarily widened. he was.. shocked, to say the least. he didn't think he had heard you right at first, but he knew for certain his ears didn't deceive him.

➳ with his narrowed eyes now staring after your figure, he straightened his posture, folding his hands behind his back and humming to himself. “ interesting creature, they are... ”

➳ you have now caught his attention. expect more interactions with the infamous deer!

+++

📺 - 𝚟𝚘𝚡

➳ picture this; you're one of velvette's models. you're dating vox, her business partner. they're both aware of how weird you can be, and yet, they both seem to favorite you - hell, even val (but let's face it, he just wants you for your body, which isn't going to happen).

➳ you're in the middle of getting your hair prepped and straightened when you had the sudden urge to just chew. it always came on randomly, but most of the time when you were bored. sitting in a chair, with sprits blasting into your face and hair utensils tugging in your hair, and hell forbid you weren't allowed to move- it was not exactly fun. so you started to eye the new collection of makeup sponges that were just set upon your personal vanity.

➳ they looked squishy, flimsy, chewable... oh so tempting. so while rachelle, your hairstylist, was busy talking her head off, too busy to notice you stretching your arm forward, you snatched one up.

➳ velvette came strutting down the midst of the aisle with a firm hand on her hip and a ripple in the center of her brow, shouting at many of the other stylists on what to do, what not to do - what looked better on her models, what looked cheap. she could not afford to have her best women looking as if they escaped the hands of a hellhound, it just wouldn't do. but that's when she turned, pointing a demanding finger at rachelle to amp up the heat on your straightener because the ends of your hair were curling up. that's also when she noticed you not only chewing on the newly bought sponge, but eating it.

➳ “ oh for fuck sake! ” the dark-skinned demon spewed, catching your attention and making you freeze. velvette reached an arm forward, only to wrap her digits around what was left of the sponge and rip it from your grasp. your chair turned on cue, showing you sheepishly smiling at the fuming female. “ I told you not to stuff your damn mouth full of random shit! especially my new makeup equipment — �� she turned away, stomping her healed foot to the ground. “ fuck! ”

➳ it wasn't long before vox had arrived before the demoness due to her calling him and shouting profanities over the phone. you were left to sit in the chair, huffing nonsense under your breath, while rachelle finished with your hair in silence.

➳ when the overlord made his presence known, rachelle excused herself — and thankfully she had finished your hair. “ y/n, dear.. ” vox smoothly spoke, for once not sounding like an overly cocky twat. it's usually only in the presence of others, but given that not many people were around, he dialed a softer tone with you.

➳ “ I didn't do anything, ” you rolled your eyes, looking away with a puffed out frown. yes, you were spoiled, but who wouldn't be, dating the owner and inventor of voxtech?

➳ vox sharply looked down at you, eyeing you with a sense of irritance —for angering velvette— but fondness —because you're his—. “ don't be like that. how many times have we talked about eating random things, hm? ”

➳ “ ... about- fifty nine? I lost count. ”

➳ “ around there. ” the tv demon moved, placing his hands on the back of the swivel chair you sat upon, while now holding eye contact with you through the mirror to your vanity. “ and what have we talked about, sweetheart? ”

➳ you were silent at first. staring him down, eyes hooded and ghosted over with annoyance. it was irritating how he was speaking to you like a child. “ well? ” vox impatiently, patiently, questioned; his claws dragging along the back of the chair, only to glide over your nape. closing your eyes out of bliss from the movement, you sighed. “ don't eat random things because they're bad for me... ”

➳ “ exactly. ” vox mischievously smiled down to you, squeezing the back of your neck gently. “ now, don't you think you owe velvette an apology? ”

➳ as you nod your head, vox releases his grip on you, letting your hair fall back down against your skin. “ good. come now, we have to get that out of the way; I have things to discuss with you. ”

➳ your discussion ended pretty well :).

[apute11as]

Everything happens for a reason part 4

Summary: Both of your national teammates find out your little secret, you both get a little scare and Alexia has some making up to do!

Warnings:⚠️ pregnancy?, mentions of miscarriage (doesn’t actually happen), angst

Masterlist (contains other parts)

~~~~~

You’d hung up the phone almost immediately after dropping the news onto Alexia in a fit of rage. She’d accused you of cheating for fucks sake who wouldn’t be angry. Your phone constantly lit up with notifications beside you, tears that had halted temporarily began flowing again. You were spiralling yet again, your breathing picked up but this time you managed to calm yourself down before you panicked, focusing on the baby and grounding yourself.

For once, you were quite thankful to have your own room in the hotel, it provided you the peace you needed right now. Flipping your phone over, you were met with several messages from your wife.

“Lo siento bebita, please talk to me”

“I’m an idiot I’m so sorry let me know you’re ok”

“I didn’t know amor answer me por favor”

Tear tracks stained your cheeks as you wandered out of your room, needing to clear your head. Now that your wife knew about the pregnancy, you were much less concerned with subtly (that much was clear in the way you wandered out of your room looking worse for wear). You trudged along and reached the elevator, pushing the button to take you to the hotel���s communal area.

Upon reaching it, you were met with the presence of several of your national team mates, strewn around in various places. Georgia and Leah were currently in an intense game of FIFA, Lucy and Millie were laughing at something on Lucy’s phone. Alessia was sat next to Ella and Mary on the large sofa.

As you took it all in, you met Alessia’s eyes and saw the look of pity they contained.

“ah look what the cat dragged in” jeered Mary loudly, catching the attention of your other teammates. “Wait are you alright lovey?” She asked worry clear in her tone.

“Yes sorry” you laughed wiping your eyes “just a little personal trouble” you offered

“hmm you’ve had an awful lot of that lately y/n are you sure you’re ok?” questioned Leah, trying to maintain a stern, captainly tone but failing miserable as her concern shined through the facade.

“Yes it’s just something to do with my relationship that’s all” you replied. It wasn’t a lie, especially not after the heated conversation you’d had with your wife who was still blowing up your phone with apologies and phone calls.

“Oh shit y/n I’m sorry I didn’t mean to be pushy” grimaced Leah

“It’s alright you’re captain it’s your job, plus it’s nice that you care” you answered

“Of course I care y/n we all do, you’ve been so down lately and we’ve not known what it was” she replied, a small smile gracing her lips.

“Yeah you literally turned down my secret chocolates the other day” bellowed Georgia

“What secret chocolates?” Asked Leah with a raised eyebrow

“Erm nothing” cowered Georgia

“Sorry guys I didn’t mean to make you worried it’s just…” you trailed off pondering to yourself. Telling them would run the risk of it getting out somehow, not that you didn’t trust your teammates but it was more that staff would over here and spread it to the wrong person. Although, if you swore them to secrecy what’s the worst that could happen? Rumours regularly circulated about you, specifically yours and Alexia’s relationship. Not long ago someone had started a crazy rumour that the two of you had gotten a divorce and that you were moving to Arsenal.

“Earth to y/n” said Leah as she waved a hand in your face.

“Sorry my mind wandered” you apologised

“It’s alright, what were you saying?” Leah asked, a curious expression on her face.

“I’m pregnant!” you blurted without a second thought.

“WHAT?!” Shouted Leah

“You’re pregnant???” added Lucy

“How does that even work?” Asked Ella with a puzzled look

“Yeah I’m pregnant it’s Alexia’s obviously and it’s ivf Ella that’s how that works” you stated bluntly.

“La Reina knocked you up chica” laughed Lucy, earning her a smack on the head from Leah.

“Congratulations y/n! Aren’t you happy?” Asked your captain

“Yes but it’s just causing a bit of an argument at the moment” you replied staring at the phone in your hand, thinking of your earlier phone call.

“Oh I’m sorry darling, but hey it’s something to celebrate with some good food!” Leah announced, signalling to the team that dinner was ready in the dining area.

——

You sat down at the long table amongst your teammates and staff members, Lucy having piled pasta onto your plate after seeing you put a small roll of plain bread and butter.

“You’re eating for two now chica, have to protect putellas’ precious cargo now don’t we” claimed Lucy which earned her a large sigh from you.

You were next to Keira and Leah at the table with Lucy and Mary sat opposite you. Bile had settled in your upper stomach and was threatening to enter your mouth if you attempted to eat anything more. Morning sickness had somehow become ‘every hour of the day sickness’. This realisation had you pushing the pasta around your plate aimlessly with a fork.

“you alright? you’ve barely touched your food” questioned Keira from beside you, alerting the attention of Leah.

“Yeah just feel a bit sick that’s all, the baby won’t let me keep anything down” you said with a half smile

“Try this” said Leah, offering you some plain pasta as a pose to your tomato covered portion. You accepted gratefully as she halved her portion and scraped it onto your plate.

Your stomach already settled at the lack of smell that the pasta possessed. Taking a bite you were nervous, eyes already scanning for the nearest bin.

“Better?” questioned the blonde

“Much better actually, thanks Leah” you smiled, your stomach having settled.

“You sure that the baby is Alexia’s and not Leah’s” joked Mary with a laugh

“Oh God don’t even joke about that I’m surprised Alexia didn’t accuse me of somehow getting pregnant by Alessia” you snarked back.

“So that’s why she was being all weird when she phoned me” chimed Lucy

“Oh no what did she say to you?” You sighed

“She just sounded pissed and was asking after you and then I told her about our conversation earlier and how you were being weird. Then I just mentioned Alessia coming to speak to you so she swore about it and practically hung up instantly” finished Lucy

“Yeah she’s a tad dramatic” you laughed awkwardly.

“She just loves you a lot” added Keira “but I don’t disagree, she’s pretty intense” chuckled the midfielder.

——

You hadn’t spoken to Alexia since the other day, something she hadn’t taken very well. She’d opted to call Lucy and Keira multiple times when she realised you weren’t going to pick up or answer her texts. She’d also not so subtly taken to stalking the lionesses socials, fans picking up on her recent following of them on TikTok, an app she almost never used.

She had tried to leave camp to watch you play Denmark, begging the coaches after Spain’s 5-0 win over Zambia. Unsurprisingly she was met with a hard no and a scolding that saw her spending rest day in the gym with her trainer.

Luckily, training finished just before the second half, meaning Alexia could catch it on the Tv. She practically raced to the showers, before getting ready at record speed and heading team room to the large tv to put on the game. She made it there just for the second half, checking her phone and realising that you were winning 1-0 and had played the whole match so far.

She watched intently, thankful that most of the play was in Denmark’s half and anything you had to do was little more than basic passes at the back.

It was around the 60th minute when the rest of the team joined her, Athenea and Ona moaning at her for hogging the big screen.

“Alexiaaa please can’t you watch this on your iPad?” Begged Athenea

“No” said Alexia sternly

“She’s just watching out potential future opponents” offered Irene weakly

“Nah Ale just wants to watch her girl play” insisted Aitana with a giggle

Alexia’s eyes were fixed on the screen as she stared at you anytime you were on screen. Irene and Jenni were in the corner watching her, discussing whether or not they should be worried.

“She does this often though she’s always studying games she’s obsessed” claimed Jenni

“True but she’s not even watching the game she’s just watching Y/n” replied Irene

“True maybe she’s just super in love it’s kind of cute”

“She looks stressed Jenni, like she’s going to throw up anytime y/n gets the ball I don’t understand”

Alexia’s breath hitched as Pernille harder made a break straight down the middle, heading in your direction. You ran to meet her and time seemed to slow for Alexia as she watched you extend yourself to slide tackle Pernille, the ball ending up back in possession of your team, Pernille landing in a crumpled heap on top of you.

Whilst watching this happen, Alexia let out some sort of unprecedented squeak which gained the attention of her teammates as they shifted themselves to watch the screen. You didn’t get up immediately, Jenni and Irene watching as Alexia drew blood on her hands from digging her nails so hard into her palms.

“Ay dios mio why isn’t she getting up?” Questioned Aitana which caused Alexia to somehow dig her nails even further, the vein in her forehead looked ready to burst from the stress.

They all watched intently, breathing a sigh of relief when Pernille got up and extended a hand to you as you slowly got to your feet. Your shirt had ridden up in the process, Alexia could’ve sworn she could see the early formation of a bump on your lower stomach, something that would be completely unnoticeable unless you were looking for one.

“Alexia are you ok?” asked Misa from her position next to her on the sofa.

Without realising it, Alexia had allowed some tears to roll down her cheek in relief that you and her child were likely fine.

“No I’m not” she replied much to the surprise of everyone. Normally the captain refrained from showing any sort of emotion, especially over something as simple as a risky tackle that her wife made almost every day.

“Alexia what’s going on you don’t normally react like this is everything ok with you? With y/n?” Asked Jenni

“No she’s pregnant and stubborn” stated Alexia as though that were the most mundane statement in the world.

“SORRY WHAT?!” shouted Jenni as the rest of the team jeered in surprise as well.

“Yeah she won’t talk to me either she’s mad at me” said Alexia

“Well I’d be pretty mad if you knocked me up when i was the World Cup squad for my country” stated Jenni sarcastically, earning giggles from the younger girls

“Why’s she mad at you Alexia?” Asked Irene in her mothering tone

“I accused her of cheating, shouted at her and then she said she was pregnant and I told her she shouldn’t play but she’s stubborn”

“Well I can see why she’s mad at you” added Aitana

“I’ve tried talking to her since but she just ignores me, Lucy and Keira said she’s doing fine but she’s refusing to tell their manager too. It’s like she’s pretending it’s not even real”

“She’s stressed Alexia, maybe start asking the right questions and not being angry at her, see it from her perspective” suggested Irene

“She won’t talk to me though”

“I’m going to phone Mary and ask her to put Y/n on the phone for you when the match is over” said Ona

“Ok Gracias Ona” replied alexia

——

The final whistle had gone just over 20 minutes ago, England winning, so Ona took to dialling the her ex-teammate.

“Hi Mary, can you go get y/n please. It’s for Alexia not me” scoffed Ona. “Yes I know she’s mad at her, Alexia is trying to make it better, yes she’s told me the news”

Ona could hear muttering and rustling in the background which resulted in her being met with your voice. She handed her phone to Alexia whose skin had paled significantly. Irene and Jenni took to ushering the team out of the room to give Alexia some privacy.

“Hello?” You called into the phone

“Hola bebita please don’t hang up give me a chance” pleaded Alexia

“Fine what is it Alexia”

“I’m so sorry amor for everything, for how I reacted and for jumping to stupid conclusions about Alessia. I just got jealous of how she made you so happy and I was miserable without you”

“I would never cheat on you Alexia I love you, only you!” You insisted

“I know that bebita I’m just stupid and immature and I’m sorry that I haven’t supported you properly about the pregnancy and that you felt you couldn’t tell me immediately because of what I’d say about playing”

“You would’ve forced me not to play Ale. I need to play because if I’m having the baby I’ll be out for a bit and I might not be as good when I come back so I might not make it to another whilst I’m at a good age”

“Is that what you’re worried about? You’re an amazing player y/n and you’re only 25 you’ve got so much time left”

“What I’m not good enough then Ale”

She couldn’t help but smile at the nickname, a symbol that you had began to forgive her.

“You will be I promise you will be and if not I’ll bribe fifa and you can play for Spain with me”

“Ale I’m being serious”

“So am I Bebé I have a lot of spare cash”

You laughed down the phone at the idiocy of your wife.

“I’m sorry too Alexia, I should’ve given you a chance to explain, the hormones are making me crazy at the moment”

“It’s ok amor I was stupid and I’m so sorry for that I just love you and pequeña and want to keep you safe. I watched your match and I think I had a heart attack when I saw you go down for the challenge”

“It scared me too, maybe I’m dramatic but I went to the toilet afterwards to check my underwear for any bleeding”

Alexia drew a breath at your words, fighting the urge to shout at you for being irresponsible and playing whilst pregnant. However, she withdrew and decided to offer comfort instead.

“I’m sorry y/n/n that must have been scary. I know I don’t like the fact that you’re going to play until the end but I understand why you want to and I know you’ll play without my blessing anyways but please just ask for a substitution next time you feel even a little bit scared”

“Of course I will mi amor I know you’re just protective of me and bebé and I love you for it but we’ll be ok. I promise after the World Cup finishes, I won’t play matches I’ll just train and we can tell Jona to shorten my exercise plan” you insisted

“Okay that sound good to me, I love you so much y/n and mi princesa”

“It could be a boy Ale” you laughed

“It could be but I have a feeling, call it ‘instinto maternal’”

“Ok bebita if you say so, te amo mucho”

“te quiero más, both of you” she replied

You hung up the phone with a smile, feeling instant relief wash over you as you’d made up with the mother of your child.

Placing a hand on your mostly flat stomach you whispered “I love you baby and so does Mama even if she’s a little bit overprotective sometimes”

Thank you for reading, Part 5 coming soon please leave any feedback in the comments or anything in the asks box! ❤️

[brucewaynehater101]

So there's a fic that I think you will like. It's called The Definition of Valor by Nerdpoe. Really short, spoiler free summery. Instead of loosing his Spleen, Tim looses his eyes. He makes special gadgets to help him with this, such as a device in is cowl that scans the room he is in and tells him what is where via coded sounds, like say, two low A notes followed by a chirp means there is a wooden desk to the north east of him. He also makes a special computer program for his grapple so when he points it somewhere, it will adjust his aim so he never misses and always attaches to a good spot.

This fic is giving me *so many* thoughts about the potential fall out of this being found out not as soon as Tim gets back to Gothem because he never tells anyone. Specifically it's making me think about Tim who is Bruce's dad not telling Bruce because he doesn't want to worry his son. He doesn't want to worry his grandchildren/siblings either so he puts in colored contacts and wears glasses when his cowl isn't on. The glasses and an ear piece have the same tech as his cowl to tell him where everything is.

How long would it take them to find out? Tim would never tell them, so do they find out on accident because Tim forgot the contacts that are his normal eye color, or because Ras is mad at Tim and tells them what Ras did to Tim? Maybe he got to mad and while ranting at a Rouge (either Harley or Two Face would be especially funny if he's just been hanging upside down and ranting and raving fo 30 minuets already) over one of their traps, he accidentally lets slip that he's blind, or maybe he yells at Riddler, "Nygma, this isn't fair! I've been completely blind since last July and my usual tech that tells me what's around me is getting fucked by your signal jammer! So either read the riddle to me out loud or let me go!" and then later Riddler scolds one of the other Bats for letting the blind one do the visual puzzles much to their confusion.

Hi!!! I love that fic so much! Have you seen the sequel for it as well? It's short, but a great read. I would die for more of this concept.

In that fic, Bruce turns out to be a good dad. While I may hate Bruce, the way that guy handles the situation in that fic is fantastic.

However, I would like a fic where this concept gets a delayed reveal. In the AU, Tim figures out how to function without his eyes.

He engineers technology to read people's facial expression/body language to help him out. It reads words for him, etc.

I wonder what excuse he'd give for wearing the earpiece and glasses all the time. Maybe he says it's another aspect to separate Timothy Drake from Red Robin?

Just Tim gaslighting and girlbossing his way into pretending he can still see. I kind of want him to keep up the ruse for a long while.

When he does get found it, it'd be hilarious if the others forget he's blind. Tim has engineered technology to assist him, but he still can't see. So they'll try to take him to activities they did together when he could see (like star gazing) or they'll ask him what he thinks of the color of their outfit. He also ruthlessly uses his blindness as an excuse to mess with people. If Timothy Drake-Wayne is known to be blind, he'll use it to accuse Luthor of being ableist at every chance he'll get. He also bullies the shit out of governmental agents and companies that don't provide accommodations.

I'm also a fan of Riddler finding out about it, but him just changing his puzzles to be accommodating. I'm biased towards Riddler (I love him so much) so it'd be cool to see the silent show of support like that.

Another AU idea: When Tim blows up Ra's bases, the explosions cause him to become deaf or hard-of-hearing.

Dealer's choice on how much hearing he loses, but I feel like this could be great to explore deafness and misconceptions commonly held in our society.

Tim would probably already know how to sign and lip read (might even know multiple different sign languages), but he would face a few difficulties.

He chooses not to disclose his hearing loss

People often cover their mouths or face away from someone when speaking (which makes lip reading arduous)

Ableist people suck

The world is set up for hearing people, so a lot of issues stem from a lack of accommodations rather than Tim's ability to hear

Tim chose not to tell anyone about the change in hearing for a few reasons: he doesn't trust anyone (especially during his adjustment period) and he doesn't want to be underestimated (wants to prove himself in the field before they try to pull him from it).

As far as technology to help him, the comms were easier to program than other auditory inputs. Since they were designed to transmit clear voices, he merely has to train a program to automatically close caption whatever is spoken (the automatic ones used today are useful, but still make too many errors for Tim's preference. Some also only do words automatically and leave out helpful information like laughing, choking, screaming, computer dings, etc.). Each Bat member has their own designated color. For those he doesn't interact with often, it says their name before every time they speak up.

Tim incorporates the visual overlay into his goggles and glasses. He can read what people contribute to the conversation based on that. It also leaves his hands free so he doesn't need to look down. His wrist computer stores records of what has been said so Tim can go back over it if he misses it. He also has the ability to change where the words appear on his field of vision.

I also hc Alfred is the first to notice that Tim is staring intently at his lips when he talks and has difficulties with the conversation when Alfred changes the way he pronounces words or isn't facing Tim (this is before Tim's tech gets perfected). From then on, Alfred makes a point of facing Tim whenever the teen is in the room. They both don't talk about it until the rest of the family finds out (however long that takes).

Feel free to add more to either AU!

[sscamanderr]

Trust

Astarion x reader. My spin on the first biting interaction at camp with our fav vampire. I’ve been having some Thoughts.

Warnings: mentions of blood, light sexual tension. written on my phone. not proof read lol

Teeth bared directly above your face, white and gleaming. Sharp. The sight had you scrambling backward, feet slipping on the bundle of blankets you slept with before your sleep-addled mind cleared and recognized the silver hair and ruby eyes.

“Shit,” whispered that purring voice.

“Astarion?” Your voice was thick with sleep still. Your mysterious companion held his hands up in an attempt to calm you as you matched his movements to stand.

His ethereal eyes remained warily on yours even as he bowed his head. “It’s not what it looks like, I swear,”

You glance at your other sleeping companions; too tired or too far away in their tents to hear. Seems you were lucky that nightmares kept you just on the verge of consciousness. A vampire was in your camp after all. “What’s going on? Were you trying to hurt me-- hurt the others too?”

Campfire flame danced in Astarion’s wide eyes. He inched away from your suspicious look. “I wasn’t trying to hurt you! I just needed, well…blood.”

“I wondered how long you’d last,”

You had your doubts at first, but the little puzzle pieces kept clicking. The boar your party had found days earlier. The coolness of the brush of his hand despite the battles and time under the sun. That was before you caught yourself staring at him a little too long at the smooth angles of his face, and the silver curls that swept around his elven ears. You were sure he saw you glance at his lips more than a healthy amount. That healthy amount helped you catch a glimpse of two pointed canines.

“You…You know?” He inclined his head slightly, rooted in place. His accusing tone held an urgency for you to continue.

“That you’re a vampire? Yes,” you stated. His searching eyes had you wishing you would sink into the ground.

“How long have you known?” He tilted his head to the side; a curious trait you found endearing if you didn’t think he appeared to be sizing up his next meal. And you very well could have been just that.

“Over a fortnight. Astarion--”

“You didn’t tell the others?”

“No. Gale thinks you have an affinity for blood magic you won’t tell him about and Shadowheart just thinks you’re odd. That’s all I know,” Your shoulders relaxed just a hair when Astarion smirked. He met your eye again and it faded.

“You have been keeping a close eye on me. Is it distrust? Or perhaps something else,”

“Nothing of the sort,” you assured him, “The signs were there, and I put two and two together. You’re not subtle,”

Astarion let out a laugh, airy and flitty. “And what do you plan on doing with your excellent sleuthing skills?”

“Depends entirely on you. How long has it been since you killed someone?”

“I haven’t killed anyone! At least, not for food, since I’m assuming that’s what you mean,” You nodded. “I feed on animals. I know you know that much. Boars, deer, kobolds—whatever I can get,”

You felt his gaze linger on your racing pulse point. He was focused so intently on it your heart raced faster at the attention.

“It’s not enough. Not if I have to fight. I feel so weak,” his tongue absently wetted his front teeth. Your lips parted a bit in realization: your sleeping self would have been all too easy for him to get to.

“You wanted to feed on me,”

“I…Well, yes, if I just had a little blood, I could think clearer. Fight better,” Astarion straightened and moved closer. “Please,”

The timbre of his voice made your flesh crawl. Not unpleasantly so.

“Why didn’t you ask me instead of trying to sneak a bite in the dark?”

“At best, I thought you’d say no. More likely you’d ram a stake through my ribs.” He eyed you up again. “No, I needed you to trust me. You can trust me,”

“I already did trust you. I thought that was clear,” you told him. His eyes flashed with something like surprise.

“Almost too trusting,”

“The least I can do is give you the benefit of the doubt,” you tried a small smile, not enough to show teeth. “The least you can do is trust me too. What do you need?”

Red eyes held you in place. Moonlight illuminated Astarion’s silver curls as he moved closer, footsteps silent on the dirt. “Let’s try to trust each other a little further, hm? I only need a taste,” he hummed, “I swear,”

You pinched your lip between your teeth, refusing to shy away from his predatory lean toward you. This moment held possibly the longest conversation with him you’d had so far. Despite your first meeting— which included a dagger to your throat and your fist thrown at his face— his actions gave you no other reason to doubt him. You did not know the man at all besides the bits and pieces he’d let slip, only on purpose you were sure. He’d kept you all alive thus far. That was enough for you.

“I…How do you want me?”

Astarion smirked. “Presumptuous, darling,”

Your cheeks burned. “Not like that—You know what I mean, asshole,”

“I’m hurt!” He placed a hand over his undead heart and feigned offense. Still, he came face to face with you. You felt your breath pick up when delicate, cool fingers moved your hair from your shoulder, baring your neck to him. Already this was feeling a touch too intimate for your comfort.

“Should I sit?”

“You should,” his words brushed against your skin; gentle, cool as the breeze. You leaned away from his touch, avoiding his eye as you sat in front of him on your bedroll. A log in the fire snapped, making you jump. “You seem nervous, darling,”

“Can’t help it. You want to take a chunk out of me,”

Another airy laugh left the man as he kneeled to your level. “That all?” he tilted his head again to make sure you met his gaze. You broke the charged contact to roll your eyes, allowing him that small win. “I’m no animal. Lie back,”

You tensed as he urged you onto your elbows. Fuck, this was like nothing you’d done before. Astarion was nearly draped over your body as he followed your own movements. His arm planted itself on the ground beside your hip and he began to bow his head toward you. “Wait, wait,” you gasped.

“What’s wrong?” There was no impatience present in his tone. Thankfully. Still, deep-set hunger swam in his ruby irises. Your cheeks flushed deeper at his closeness.

“How badly does it hurt?”

His expression hardened. He studied a spot on your neck, seeming a mile away in his own thoughts. It was emotion deeper than he’d previously allowed you to see.

“I’ll be much gentler than to you than the vampire that did this to me,”

Your curiosity was brimming when you looked at the symmetrical scars on his neck but you did not want to make him uncomfortable, so you remained quiet, and sent him a nod. Your exhale disturbed a few strands of his hair as he closed the distance between you completely.

Astarion’s nose and lips briefly skimmed the artery in your neck and you shivered at the feeling. Little warning alluded to his teeth finding purchase in your skin.

You let out a yelp of surprise, one hand digging into the dirt at your sides and the other flying to grip the front of the vampire’s shirt. Your breath did not come easily; the icy pain was almost too much. You felt your knees curl up as if your body was trying to fold into itself. The reflex nudged him closer.

The pain numbed as you felt him swallow against your throat, drawing your warm blood into his mouth. Your head fell back. His hand was there to catch it.

A fleeting moment of focus made you think the action was rather intimate. Possibly even sweet.

Another gulp. You squeaked, both in pain and in response to the foreignness of his ministrations. You tugged his collar and your eyes fluttered closed. You moaned softly as you regained your breath. His low growl, nothing more than a vibration, rumbled through your veins. Your body warmed.

Embarrassingly, you didn’t realize the rest of your body was moving until Astarion’s hand flattened over your hip. A groan left you when his teeth retracted from you swiftly. A cold hand held your own. Your neck stung when you turned your head.

Astarion’s pupils were blown wide so only a sliver of red outlined them. He’d shoved himself away, dropping your hand and stumbling into a standing position. With his fingers he wiped away your blood staining his lips. You stared, unabashed, when he licked them clean. He panted though he had no use for breath.

Lightheaded and slow, you sat up.

“Are you alright?” Concern rang in your words.

Gods above, Astarion thought, you had blood trickling from the puncture wounds in your neck that’d he’d left—fuck, he wanted to dive back in and lick up the trail leading down your chest—and you’re the one asking him if he’s alright.

His mind cleared. His hunger was satiated for now. His cock was hard. He hated how your moans affected him. He wasn’t even trying to bring them out of you, though he caught himself imagining how he could. Whatever it took to make you trust him, with no doubts. You claimed you already did, but would you go so far as to help him with his personal ambition?

The scent of your blood--gods, he was awash with pleasure of a kind he couldn’t name. He felt strong and…happy. Astarion was certain he’d said that out loud, judging by the shy smile on your lips. He’d have the blissful image and the taste of you on his mind all night.

Astarion made some excuse to get away from you, the first person he’d tasted since turning into the monster he was. He was invigorated. Ready to take on anything and anyone. Something he admitted to himself: he would --possibly, maybe-- willingly do just that for you. He would not soon forget what you had gifted him.

[three--rings]

So this whole Trump Racist Conspiracy on Immigrants Eating Pets thing...

It's the oldest smelliest Racist Uncle At Thanksgiving Shit. It doesn't matter the race or the location or the time period, people are accusing them of eating cats and dogs.

So, a personal story.

About 18 years ago I was working as a social worker and one day I was sent to a different county to help out in a public mental health clinic in a rural town that I normally didn't go to.

And lunchtime came around and the local workers were like, let's go each lunch. And there were not a lot of places to eat in this town. Like a McDonald's, a subway, and idk a few local places. They said we can go to the chinese buffet and me and my coworker were like cool let's go. And the psychiatrist there that day said he would go to lunch with us and treat us. Excellent!

So we go to this little chinese place and it's not, like, great. It's mediocre chinese all-you-can-eat buffet in a town with a dearth of asian people, yunno? But it's fine. It's edible. And we're all sitting there eating and we notice, hey, the psychiatrist doesn't have any food.

"Not eating lunch?" someone asks him.

"I don't eat Chinese food," he says.

"Oh?" Puzzled looks all around, like...this is a pretty weird statement, considering regardless of dietary concerns it's pretty easy to find something to eat, you know.

"No. You never know what that meat is," he says with confidence, with the air of someone older and wiser letting the young folks in on a secret. This man is probably late 60s, retired from normal practice. White, obviously, with a strong Texas accent (that pegs him as rural).

Silence and looks around the table. Nervous laughter. "Uh, what do you mean?"

"I mean I bet there no stray cats on the streets around here."

Longer silence as what this man is saying sinks in. Finally, my coworker, a black man who doesn't put up with much, says, "let me get this straight...you think we're eating cat right now?"

The doctor shrugs. "How do you know you're not?"

"You think it's easier for this restaurant to go catch cats and use them in the food than buying something at a store?"

More shrugging. Then he doubles down. "Hey I used to work in The Valley [the Rio Grande Valley, along the border with Mexico, an area with high poverty and like 90% hispanic] and I'll just tell you that there are no stray dogs down there."

Raised eyebrows and the looking down at your plates that happens when Racist Uncle starts going off. My coworker continues to challenge him a little, "No dogs. You looked everywhere..." etc.

You have to understand the power dynamics at play too. A psychiatrist in public mental health is the VERY TOP of the hierarchy. It's so hard to get a psychiatrist to come to the middle of nowhere and practice in shit conditions for shit (relative) pay. You don't usually get the best. So you have to treat them like royalty. What they says goes. They are treated with such deference. So we really were just in this situation of like...what the fuck do you do. Don't Piss Off The Doctor is a big rule. (I was really lucky that the clinic I usually worked at had a good young doctor out of Austin, who was bilingual and like...quirky? Always late? But provided good care.)

I did later find out this doctor had a reputation of the "don't be a female and find yourself alone with him" variety. Some people had been moved offices because they refused to work with him. But like, finding a replacement for him was virtually impossible.

Anyway, so that was the first time I had someone to my face talk about all the immigrants eating cats and dogs. And it wasn't even one of my patients! I heard a lot of shit at that job but never anything as blatantly racist as what that psychiatrist said. (Sexist? homophobic? okay yeah)

[owlbelly]

i've been playing Pentiment this week & honestly i'm obsessed with it. way more educational than expected, WAY more emotionally engaging & complex than expected - though i'm not sure what i expected? i knew almost nothing going into this game except "it's the one that looks like an illuminated manuscript! neat!" but it's consistently surprising me

not just gorgeous but incredibly well-designed, & for someone who was already super interested in old manuscripts & medieval-to-Renaissance European history (from a critical perspective!) it's a dream

also damn i keep thinking i've finished it & then my jaw hits the floor again as something massive changes & we keep going. also i would say i am...generally good?? at games? lmao as in i'm pretty decent at puzzle-solving, pulling together plot threads, figuring out where i need to be & what i need to do when. but i've "solved" two murders at this point & i think i actually did a real shit job. i was super confident in my first accusation & then it played out in a way that gave me a lot of doubts, i was not at ALL confident in my second accusation (i didn't think any of the people i was able to accuse had actually done it!) & that played out in a way that uh. fundamentally changed the game? tbh at this point i'm not sure how much better i could have done, i may actually replay this right away to see how differently it can go - unless Jey wants to play it immediately & then i'll just watch that.

i have the sneaking suspicion that there may not be a "right" way to do any of this & all of the doubts & confusion i'm having are very intentional - at the very least, nothing in this game is black-and-white & the characters keep turning out to be much more multidimensional than i thought. anyway highly recommend, i don't know how much more i have left of it but at this point my review is "fucking incredible"

[shewasverynice]

Cow *space* Boy - Part 2

((image temporary until I find some sweet Suguru cow boy art ❤️))

Enjoy Suguru! Nanami is next!

Fandom: Jujutsu Kaisen

Rating: Explicit

Content: Cosplay, Overstim, Established Relationship, Fingering, Creampie, Multiple Orgasms, Piercings, soft domming

Pairing: Suguru Geto/Fem!Oc

"Suguru," Boe whined, her arms outstretched and reaching. She grasped onto the back of his now untucked and disheveled white dress shirt, tugging at it incessantly. "Baaaabe! Carry me? Please?" She whined again, probably for the fourth time? Fifth? It was hard to say.

"You are perfectly capable of walking," Suguru grumbled, holding up her shiny purple heels in his hand, "I already gave you my shoes. At least let me keep some dignity."

It was kind of a whole thing -- when isn't it a whole thing with life as a sorcerer -- but the long and short of it was: Sarah threw a huge party at her and Satoru's home and everyone brought alcohol. Literally everyone. Even Satoru drank, which was incredibly rare, and it all degenerated pretty quickly. 

Boe and Suguru were the last two to leave, quickly making their exit as Satoru slurred his way to his wife and tried to yank her skirt down in the living room. Sarah had politely, if not a bit sloppily, ushered them to the door before Satoru could solve the puzzle box that was his belt. And off they went, too drunk to drive but sober enough to use a flying curse to get closer to their own home before walking the rest of the way.

Suguru fumbled through the pocket of his slacks, prying out the keys and struggling to focus on the lock. He couldn't miss it when his own shoes shuffled up behind him, the wearer giggling despite herself.

"Suguruuu, baby..." Boe hummed from behind, standing on her toes with her mouth up close against his ear. Suguru's fingers stumbled, tipsy, as he tried to jam the key into the lock. "You wanna put on that thing? You know... The one we borrowed? Hmm? Wanna try it, please?"

"Again with this," Suguru huffed, laughing despite it. Boe slid her palms down his chest, getting a hand beneath his shirt. It was all stuck to his body with the sweat of the hot July night, but that just made him smell even better if she was being honest. Her long manicured nails scratched hard across his pelvis and Suguru's head fell back near her shoulder.

"C'mon now," she purred, all smug, "Won't you do it for me, SuguBoo? Please? My big handsome man. You'd like it, hmm? Yeah? Please?" 

"You must still be drunk. That's the only time you ask me so nicely," he teased, then raised an eyebrow, "You seriously want me to put on that ridiculous cow thing? I'm pretty sure that Satoru didn't realize it was made for women when he bought it. It's already stretched out after he washed it."

"You're not much smaller than him anyway," Boe pouted, "C'mon be cool. Put it on for me, please?"

Suguru sighed, turning his head to look at her, "You're going to make me do it anyway, when I clearly don't want to?"

"Yes," she nodded enthusiastically, her eyes practically sparkling.

"You're fucking awful," he mumbled, turning around. 

Boe couldn't help it. In the darkness right in front of their home she stood up on her toes once again and kissed his pretty mouth. He tasted like beer and something sweet, probably all those mixed drinks someone attempted to make with the last of the fruit punch. 

He was just as drunk as she was, real happy. All sweet and pliant for her as she walked her fingers higher under his shirt and pinched one of his nipples. She laughed, low and sultry, as it hardened in her touch and pressed herself closer to him.

"Absolutely shameless," Suguru reinforced, breathing hard. Then he hummed with a barely suppressed smile, his own hand snaking its way into her purple hair and holding the back of her head. "Mmm, the absolute worst," he murmured.

 "And yet here you are, all red and shit," she accused, "Why's that, huh? What's got you all worked up?"

"Not sure," he said. He grinned into her neck, and when she pulled back her eyes were all bright and dazed, chewing at her bottom lip. "You're being awfully sweet. Maybe it's just the alcohol, but..." his voice trailed down to a whisper right into her ear, "I think you deserve something sweet for being a good girl for me, don't you?"

"I'll make you fuck me out here if you keep talkin' like that," she warned, her nails raking down his chest just sharp enough to make him hiss. He'd ask for more later. She could already tell he was in that kind of mood.

"You think I won't," he purred. His hands were on her hips now, rubbing his thumbs into the fabric of her silky dress over the curves he loved so much. He smiled and laughed to himself, his dark eyes glinting in the porch light. "And what if I did? Would you be able to get me into that costume then? All your leverage would be gone."

"Shit," she bit out, just before she smashed her mouth back into his, pressing him hard against the outside of the door. Suguru moaned out loud, parting his legs enough for her free hand as it glided along the outline of his cock. The other rolled his nipple between her thumb and forefinger and Suguru's head fell back against the door with a dull thud. Boe took her opportunity, kissing his neck while she palmed his cock head.

"You want me to come out here?" Suguru breathed into her hair, "Mmn, Boe --"

"I'm the worst, right," Boe mumbled into his throat, stroking faster while her other hand grabbed at his ass. "I'm the worst, he says to me, I swear to God --"

But now Suguru's hands were feeling greedy too, huge and clutching hard at her hips now, holding her in place while he spread her legs and jammed his knee right up against her heat. Immediately she rolled her hips, feeling his dick hot and hard through his pant leg. She was already working herself up, just how he liked it, eyes shut and mouth gasping.

Suguru could barely keep his composure. He watched her, transfixed and pressing his thigh harder into her, flexing his muscles to give her something solid to get herself off on. Fuck, he wanted to see it. Boe always wants it, she can't help it, she's just honest with herself about it and it makes Suguru hot under his skin every time. Hot enough that he forgets about everything but holding her down and driving her crazy until she's had all that bratty attitude fucked out of her.

He sunk his teeth into her neck, pawing at her breasts through her dress, feeling the hard metal of her piercings and shivering.

“Suguru,” Boe whined.

"Yes? Go on," Suguru murmured, tugging her earlobe between his teeth. He whispered, his breath hot, "Tell me what my good girl wants. Maybe you'll get it?"

He bounced his thigh just a few times and she came, laughing and groaning into his neck, gasping through it. It sent more shivers all up and down Suguru's spine and he pulled her bottom lip between his teeth. He pushed his tongue into her mouth, making a whole slew of noises that no one would ever have expected him to make. Especially not on his front porch, still wanting more and more and more from her.

Finally he detached himself, quirking up an eyebrow in mock-sternness. "Now, are you going to let me open the door? I can't become the cow boy of your dreams unless we go inside."

Boe clapped her hands, bouncing on her toes and nodding. "Yes! Yes, let's go!" She giggled, tugging on his arm.

Sweet fucking lord, Suguru thought bleakly.

Keys in, door opened, and finally he shoved Boe's stumbling ass inside. "A headband with little ears," Suguru mused, shutting the door. "Pink too. Why'd it have to be pink? He couldn't have picked at least brown or black? This is absolutely ridiculous. I can't believe how into this you girls are. Which one of you is the pervert who thought of this first?"

"Well it was supposed to be like... Yeehaw cowboys," Boe told him, setting his shoes by the door. She reached out once the door was bolted, tugging Suguru in by the belt loops. "But he fucked it, and now here we are."

"So I assume Sarah liked it anyway?" He asked, letting her pull him along.

"Oh, yeah," Boe answered with a smirk. She planted a little kiss on his lips, then pulled away smiling softly and just a little fuzzy. "C'mon now, Buttercup. Let's get you all decked out."

Suguru groaned, "Don't you dare call me that during."

She smirked at him again and he sighed. 

Into their bedroom they went, her kicking the door behind them and sitting expectantly on the end of the bed. Her hands were folded neatly in her lap, her back straight as if a nun with a ruler was going to slap her wrist if she didn't sit properly. Her eyes followed him, wide and excited. He really couldn't let her down now. 

Suguru smiled at her as he flicked the button open on his pants. He let them fall, then reached up to unbutton his shirt while her eyes followed every movement of his hands. Silky black hair fell down in waves over his shoulders as he bared his toned chest, then folded the shirt over his arm. 

On the dresser was the accursed little white bag with the costume inside. He sighed placing his shirt down and opening the bag with a second more dramatic sigh. 

He had been at least a little hot under the collar since the party. Watching all the girls drunk and shaking their asses to the music. He was trying to hide it since he'd made the mistake of looking sideways at Boe with her face all flushed and smiling as she grinded her ass on Sarah and Rin. Only now was he truly and honestly aware of how badly he wanted her, how badly he wanted to be inside her and how pretty and bright her green eyes were.

"Close your eyes," he said, waving his hand her way, "It'll be a nice surprise, right?"

"'Kay!" She chirped, closing her eyes and smiling like a dope.

Suguru snorted, reaching into the bag. The cow bell inside clanged and he grimaced while she visibly shivered and giggled. He rolled his eyes, setting it down to keep pulling out the rest of the blasted thing.

Straps on his thighs first, then up went the little thong. He looked at himself in the mirror, the heat rising to his cheeks before he looked away with a scowl. On went the tiny top, clearly meant to be a tank top. It would have been one on a woman probably, but his broad chest stretched it into a tight little crop top. Straps next, but they didn't fit around his pecs so he chose to just put it around his waist and let the rest of it hang down.

Finally he sighed as he picked up the headband. Turning it over in his hands he narrowed his eyes at a set of tally marks made on the underside along with a crude marker drawing of Gojo and Sarah. Twenty-three? For what?

"Ugh," he cringed, realizing Satoru must have been tallying how often they orgasmed wearing it.

"What?" Boe asked, her eyes still closed but her grin widened.

"Nothing," Suguru sighed, slicking back his hair and placing the ears on his head. 

Taking one last cautious glance he saw himself in the mirror. Absolutely ridiculous. He looked away again, inhaling through his nose before he moved closer, stopping right in front. The clanging of the cow bell certainly didn't help calm his nerves, but then he cleared his throat. "Okay."

She opened her eyes and he closed his as she squealed with joy. He heard her footsteps as she walked around him on her toes, felt the fucking giddy vibrations in the air too.

"Oh my god," she barely contained her giggles, "Holy shit. Suguru this is so amazing!"

She flicked the cowbell and cackled at the loud TING!

Suguru cleared his throat, then tipped his head back. She instantly took a step back, trembling. That look in his eyes! Real dangerous. That's the one. That's the one that always straightened her out quick. 

Her hands glided up his chest, her lip caught between her teeth again and her eyes half-lidded.

"I saw you watching me dance, Buttercup. You want me to take care of all that milk you've made for me?" She purred, fiddling with the bow on his chest, trying so hard not to crack up and ruin the effect, but it was a lost cause.

"Boe," Suguru said, seriously, "Do not call me that again."

Boe's face changed. Suguru knew that look. Oh, shit. Oh fucking Christ, did he know it. He tried hard not to grin. "Oh-hoh? You mad?" She continued, egging him on further. "What are you gonna do about it, Buttercup? You won't do shit. You're just gonna sit there and let me--"

Suguru gave it just one beat, maybe two, but suddenly his hand was on her upper arm and dragging her. She yelped out, "Hey!" But he got her up and onto the bed.

"I get it," he murmured in her ear, his hand on the back of her head. He shoved right up tight against her, his cock hard and grinding against her ass, and oh fuck, he's not surprised to feel how hot she is too. "You like pissing me off. You like a little trouble, don't you?"

"I don't know what you're--" Boe started, but it's a shitty protest. Even she can't deny it, because okay, she does like it when he's mad. She fucking loves it when that composure breaks and he gets real mean. Shatter that calm persona. Bring out the real Suguru who doesn't give a shit about being dignified and just wants to tear her apart.

So of course she doesn't want him to think she'll just roll over. She struggled up onto her arms, pushing back with a devilish laugh, "Ooh! You can't deal at all, huh?"

Suguru pushed his thigh between her legs, hard, and slipped one hand up her dress and onto her hip. The other kept its grip on the back of her head, forcing her back down. "This is me dealing with it. This is exactly what it looks like when I'm dealing with it. Do you want me to show you what I'll do if you keep it up?"

She winced as the rim of the metal bell dug into her back. Then rolled her eyes with a huff, "Oh, yeah, tough guy, fine--show me what you'll do."

Suguru paused, tilting his head, shrugged-- and then grinded his knee between her legs. Hard enough to make her yelp and gasp, her ass lifting off the bed when her toes pushed her up. 

He grabbed a fistful of her hair on the back of her head and caught one of her hands, locking it behind her back. His mouth was right against her ear, panting, which was so fucking hot Boe could barely stand it. He's hard and he's panting; he's getting off on just the idea of what he's gonna do. Fuck, fuck, fuck, that's just-- Boe couldn't even see straight, it was so hot. 

"Spread further," he growled.

"Make me," Boe whispered.

Suguru groaned softly, grinding his hips forward against Boe's. "This was fun," she huffed, "But it's over now."

He blinked. She snapped her wrist out of his grasp, rolling over onto her front and pushing him back with her knee. Fuck, he's strong, but she's quick when she wants to be. Sitting up, she had him by the waist and pushed him back one step, closer to the wall until her back was the one that hit. 

Her back?

Suguru's whole solid body pushed up tight against Boe's. He had his arm not just around her waist but blocking one of his arms too, right against his side. That does leave one of her arms free and she pushes back at his chest.

God damn she loved it when he got this way! She could have just given in and just let him do anything he wanted, but sometimes the struggle was just too much fun. She's not weak by any measure, her shove pushed him back a few inches, but he locked in harder and braced. He snatched that free wrist once again, pinning it to the wall above her head. 

"Now look at you," he murmured. He nuzzled her cheek, lips skating gently along her jawline; Boe shivered hard despite all her best intentions. "You don't get to put me in this stupid costume and then tell me no. You don't get to run away from this."

She smirked, swiping her tongue across her teeth. "Oh yeah, Buttercup?"

Suguru bit down hard on the side of Boe's neck. She grunted, thrashing against him, but he had her pinned too well. "Maybe I should rephrase that since you didn't understand," he breathed, "You're not going to leave." He dragged his tongue across the shell of her ear, swirling a slow circle around it. "Not until I've gotten what I want from you. Not until we play this stupid farmer game, got it?"

Her knees buckled-- damn it! She's not ready to give in but that hot breath and his cock grinding into her thigh and that grip on her wrist, and how the fuck is she suppose to stay upright? "Suguru," she moaned.

"Come on."

Arms around her waist he guided her back to the bed and forced her to sit back down. He pointedly ignored the sound of the cowbell before he spoke again, his voice low and gravelly, pure sex and sin. "Stop playing hard to get, bitch. This is what you spent the last few days begging for."

Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes, Boe thought dizzily, but no, that's a line that should really piss her off. Bitch? Begging for? "Fuck you," Boe hissed, with a smirk, "I won't beg for you, Buttercup."

Suguru just grinned at her. "You will."

He didn't give her the satisfaction of back-sass, because he was on her. He was on her, kissing her and thrusting his tongue deep into her mouth. She moaned, clutching at him, because she can't not, but fuck! Was she really gonna give in this easy? What was the point of the cow costume if they were just gonna play their normal games? 

Suguru drew his tongue back to lick around her lips and suddenly she surged forward. Her hands slid down his body, down miles of toned muscles to the hem of that little spotted thong. His breath hitched as she fondled him, cupped his balls and tilted her head to meet his gaze with their foreheads touching. 

"I think I'm due for some vitamin D," she purred, stroking and teasing just around his shaft, "Think you got enough to satisfy me?"

He huffed, his breath growing ragged faster than he planned. She started to get up, but he spun her around and traded their positions. Sitting down, he pulled one of her legs over his and forced her to straddle his hips. She twisted on him for a moment, but his hand clapped down on her shoulder and the other grabbed her wrists and held them behind her back. So much for going anywhere. She wouldn't run now anyway, he could see it in her eyes. She always let him win in the end.

"You're gonna milk this cow completely dry," he whispered, smiling despite the darkness in his eyes, "Understand? All of this milk?" His hand lowered between them, cupping his heavy balls, "You're gonna take it. And you're gonna thank me for it."

She bit her lip, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Am I? Are you sure I can drink all of that?"

"You can and will," he insisted, his hand stoking back up her body, a hot breath escaping when his thumb caught against her clit ring through her dress.

He chuckled when she shuddered, biting at the curve of her neck and shoulder. "Every last drop," he whispered, biting down hard and sucking a deep bruise into her skin. "You won't stop until I tell you to," he continued as he drew back, "Understand?"

And oh, oh god, that blew her fucking mind. The combination of such a ridiculous outfit but her boyfriend's absolutely stellar domming was pure ecstasy.

She turned her head in time to see him conjure a curse to reach out, picking his belt up off the floor and into his hand. For one split-second he left go of her wrists, but the realization hit her a moment too late. The belt wrapped around them and cinched tight, and she was done. 

"Don't really feel like going anywhere now, do you?" Suguru murmured, "I'm guessing you'd much rather stay right where you are."

Boe squeaked, shrugging half-heartedly. She twisted her shoulders, looking up at him through her eyelashes, but didn't dare say anything. Her toes curled against his calves and she chewed at her lip again. 

And then he finally did it-- both his arms went up and  his hands grasped at her dress. He tensed and tore, the zipper snapping and ripping down with a bunch of satisfying pops. Up it went, over her head and into the floor with a Thwap! 

Wasting no time, the bra was next and his teeth were on her right nipple ring. She cried out as it clicked between them, his tongue teasing and swirling it. Then to the other, his other hand splayed out on her spine and dug his fingers in.

"You should have been the cow," he mumbled, "It would be more fun if I was the bull."

"Aah!" Boe's head tipped back, her eyes squeezing shut. His fingers joined his tongue, both of her nipple rings being tugged and teased and making her hips roll against his. He thighs bounced with impatience, his cock throbbing and already pushed out of that tiny thong. 

"You know how to milk a cow, don't you?" He whispered, pointing his tongue to flick at the ring once before he looked up at her. "Some cows need a little more help to get it done. You think you've got what it takes?" He paused for a beat, waiting for her answer. Nothing came so he smirked, tugging on a nipple ring once again and repeated, "Do you?"

"I-- I--" she panted, her eyes barely open enough to see him. 

"I'm going to use you like a milking machine," he chuckled, "I'll slide this big cock right inside you. Make you scream. And then I'll fuck you until I feel lighter."

"I want you so much," Boe whimpered. 

Suguru took a few unsteady breaths to collect himself. He growled, "The hell with it." And shoved her legs apart. He pushed his fingers into her, hard and deep, watching her arch and moan on his lap. She panted as he curled his index and middle, but when his thumb brushed her clit ring she actually cried out. 

"Oh god," she whined, "More, please... Just fuck me already! Please!"

He rocked his fingers in, good and deep, pressing and rubbing. His thumb kept brushing over her clit and she shivered. Her head was spinning. Mind going hazy. His hand brushed her hair back and he let his cheek brush hers as he leaned in to whisper, "Come."

The coil snapped and she moaned. Hips jerked against his, wrists pulling at the belt, gasping for breath and head whipping. His thumb kept flicking, dragging it on for ages and ages. Her eyes felt like they did a full 360 in her skull before she could focus on him again. 

He kissed her forehead, kissed her eyebrows-- when she closed her eyes he kissed her eyelids too. "Good girl," he breathed, "You're so beautiful when you come."

Suguru brought his mouth to hers, tongue thrusting into her mouth. It's sloppy, a hard one, and after a few seconds of his tongue filling her mouth she stopped to focus on breathing. Near as she could tell, Suguru was trying to fuck her mouth with his tongue and he wanted her to hold still and take it.

Eagerly she did, letting him in. He pulled back for a split-second to look into her eyes and whatever he saw there made him hiss out "Yes" before coming back to kiss her again. This time it was slower, easier, more seductive. Suguru licked into Boe's mouth, coaxing her tongue forward, and she shuddered and shook and finally, finally let herself give in and kissed him back. 

It set off fireworks for Suguru, or at least it felt like it. He moaned quietly against her lips, pulling her closer by her hips and squishing his cock between their bodies. One rock of his hips and his piercings clicked against hers down below, both of them moaning into each other's mouths. The cow bell jostled just enough to make a few soft clinks.

Boe could only breathe heavily through her nose, trying to stay conscious as he suffocated her with his mouth. She had to wait. Had to be good or else he'd make her wait longer. Arms under her ass, he tilted her hips into position and dropped her onto his cock. "Oh fuck, oh yes, Suguru..." She breathed, settling in as he shoved her into position and exhaled with relief.

"Move," he commanded, his voice calm and even, "Get to work. Make me come and take all my milk."

She nodded meekly, biting her lip. Then she drove her hips down, twisting and grinding for a moment. Suguru's head slowly tipped back as she went up slow and then back down, a rumble deep in his chest. "That's it," he praised, "Good girl... That's it..."

"Suguru, Mmn, oh fuck... Suguru!"

"That's it, that's it," hips steadily rising to meet hers, balls pressing against her ass again and again, "Tell me--you want it. Tell me."

"Fuck oooh fuck," she panted, head lolled back and eyes squeezing shut.

Suguru reached up, fisting her hair and pulling. "Answer me, slut. Answer me," He growled.

"Fuck you," Boe moaned, trying her damnedest to rock her hips down against his thrusts now. "Fuck--fuck you, fuck--oh, God--"

"You're gonna come," Suguru panted, dragging his lips up her neck, "You're gonna come and milk me dry. Because you--" his last three words were harsh and low, matching his heavy deep thrusts, "You--love--it." 

Boe sobbed out a breath, shaking as Suguru took over completely. Thrust after punishing thrust that wouldn't let her hide from the truth even if she wanted to. The cow bell rang at full force, clang clang clang! "Ohh fuck," she moaned, "Yes! Oh, yes, love it so fucking much, Suguru... Fuck me, fuck me .. fu-fuck me!"

All he could do was pant, losing his mind. Eyes closing, gasping, shaking. She grinded down hard, tilting forward to catch more friction, and her clit ring caught just right. Gasping, she was coming with loud broken moans. He fumbled for the belt buckle-- twisting it and throwing it off. He needed her hands free, needed her to touch him too.

Her arms wrapped around his neck, her fingers gliding through his silky hair. One hand wrapped a healthy amount around and with one hard tug he was coming too.

"Boe!" He shouted. His hips stuttered fast, knees bouncing and toes curling. Her nails dug into his scalp and he gritted his teeth as the pleasure and pain dragged it out further and further. With one more groan he dropped his head to her shoulder. His hand moved to stroke up and down her thigh, slowly and lazily, soaking in every twitching aftershock.

"Love you," he murmured into her shoulder, feeling the tremble in her chest of her soft laugh before she whispered, "Love you too."

Their breaths slowed, still heated and mixing together as they kissed in gentle pecks. Boe tensed her core, feeling him throb once again. She blinked, then glanced down at where he was still nestled inside.

"You're still hard?" She asked, "You usually need a little break in between. I'm surprised."

He was beginning to pant again, his eyes almost glazing over and a little smirk pulling at his lips. He tilted his head and whispered, "I'm not sure what's come over me, but let's not let it go to waste."

She snickered, "Well, you won't hear me complaining."

The bedframe creaked dangerously and she huffed, "If this one breaks I'll be really pissed." But already she was bouncing slowly, her hands resting on his shoulders with her long nails sinking in.

"I'll fuck you on the floor then, Miss Farmer," Suguru purred, sitting back on his palms and enjoying the view of her riding him, "It may be just the alcohol, but I feel like I could go all night..."

"It's the costume," Boe breathed, chuckling breathlessly. Sinking down on him again, moaning high on her throat, she was already feeling it as he grew to his hardest once more.

Suguru wasn't fairing much better -- she was so warm inside, so wet. His hands were gripping too hard at the comforter, he could feel his nails tearing a few loose threads, but he just couldn't find it in himself to give a shit. And then Boe moved her hips in low swirling circles. He sat up, grabbing two healthy handfuls of her ass and grinned up at her.

"Let's turn this into a rodeo, cowgirl," he rasped, "Better hold on. This cow likes to buck hard."

"Oh shit!" Boe swore, knowing her eyes were huge in her face. Shocked at that wild look in his eyes just before he's planted his feet and really fucking giving it to her. 

Loud heavy slaps of skin echoed in the room, both of them losing themselves. The cowbell clanged loud, bouncing off his chest and nearly hitting his chin. 

“It’s so fucking good, you’re so, you’re so, God, Suguru!!"

He was gone. She was glistening with sweat and the bouncing of her tits was hypnotic. Whatever was left of his mind tapped out entirely and he wrapped his strong arms around her hips with his hands spread over her ass. His mouth caught a nipple and his tongue ring clicked against her own ring, making his already unstable rhythm stutter.

"Ah! Ah! Aah!" Boe held on for dear life, wiggling and grinding around him, all the muscles in her stomach clenching up. Her hands tangled into his hair and her back arched, pushing her breast more into his mouth. "Ohh, God, more, please I --" And so Suguru did. He swirled his tongue, letting his ring catch her nipple ring as his teeth gently massaged as well. One of his palms glided up her back to drag his nails down her spine. "Suguru, yeah -- yes -- oooh!"

"That's a good girl," Suguru laughed, breathless and panting between words, "Ride this cow. Hold on tight."

"Gimme it all," she cried out, "Oh fuck yes! Oh fu-fuck yes! I want it! Come inside me again!"

Suguru was pretty sure his mind completely whited out. She was riding him just as hard as he was thrusting, making all kinds of sounds with her mouth open. The bedframe was really taking a beating, but if they broke another one he knew he'd still brag about it.

"Good girl, good girl," he chanted. He swallowed hard when she squeezed up around him just to make him feel good. She always had to have an attitude first, always wanted to piss him off, but the truth always came out. And his truth was that he fucking loved it when she was a brat. He loved putting her in her place as much as she loved being put there.

“Yeah,” Boe panted. “Ah, Suguru — yeah —” 

“Like doin’ all the work. Like getting fucked? You like getting fucked, slut?” 

“I love it, I love it, it’s so fuckin’ good, baby, it’s so, God, fuck —“

"That's right you do," Suguru managed, "Damn right you do. This pussy is mine. All fucking mine."

Boe's moans cracked and shuddered in her throat, and Suguru felt it. He knew she was about to come, but her weight felt just right and so good crashing into his bucking hips. He held her hips in his big hands, fingers bruising the top of her ass, manhandling her like a doll and forcing her down balls deep with every push. He took a moment to smack her ass hard, reveling in the yelp. She'd give him shit about it later and he couldn't fucking wait. The cow bell was so fucking loud!

"S-s-su-suguru-- m'gonna-- M'gonna-- !!" Boe gasped, coming while grinding her clit against his belly, squeezing up around him so hard inside that Suguru thought he might pass out. Her head fell back, fisting Suguru's hair in her hands, shoving her face into his flushed pecs. It's too much, all way too much. The smell of his skin, his hot satisfied love sounds; those long silky luxurious gasps and moans in that deep voice.

"Boe, fuck," Suguru grit out, and when Boe finally shuddered back down, he held her in place so he could once again fill her with his come. Hips jerking and head nodding. "Fuck-- Boe, that's it..."

It lasted for-fucking ever. All Suguru could do was let his toes curl in the carpet, sweating and groaning and riding it out. Boe made soft little noises, little sweet whimpers, and even as Suguru was coming down he still couldn't handle it.

"Keep moving, cowgirl," Suguru mumbled, delirious and happy, "Every last drop of milk. Just for you. Hold it for me. Don't let any slip out."

Obediently Boe rolled her hips again, breathing hard and scratching her nails at the base of Suguru's neck, the muscles in her legs twitching. It felt so good Suguru couldn't help the sound he makes. “Mmn, you’re good to me,” he murmured, “Milked me pretty good didn't you, cowgirl. Feel it? All of that?"

“Mm-hmm,” she hummed, dreamy. She dipped her head, hoping for a kiss, and Suguru gave her one. His mouth moved wet and soft against Boe's when she gives one of her lusty sighs. “Suguru,” she mumbled, rolling her hips slower and slower, drooping with satisfaction. 

"Darling,” Suguru whispered to her, “Baby doll. My beautiful girl.” 

She shifted, lifting off of him slowly with her nails gliding up his chin. With a sly smile she stretched, giving him a little show as he looked over her body. His eyes lingered on her breasts, then hips, ass and thighs. He chuckled, low in his throat, and sighed.

"I'm going to love you all night," he murmured, missing her already. Boe smirked at him as she tied her hair back.

“Guess I can suffer through it,” she teased, then tilted her head, "But more than twice in one night? Are you sure?"

He grinned, flicking the cowbell, "Well, maybe Satoru was onto something, mm?"

Want your own custom smut fic? Check out my Ko-fi!

[nalyra-dreaming]

Thank you for your consistently detailed analysis and speculation which have frequently calmed me down when I was concerned about the direction of the show. As long time VC fan, I'm not gonna lie, this show has often left me heartbroken- and not in a good way. I've been trying to get through it in hopes when we will finally get to see the real Lestat. But honestly, for me, if the drop is left in, than the character is done. There is no way to redeem him. And it just hurts because not only is it something that Lestat would never do to Louis, but it's something that was actually done to *him*. He suffered for years from that fall and it was one of the main reasons he went in the ground. It's important for his character development. I just don't understand the justification for leaving it as is especially since it isn't canon. I don't think I can take another 2+ years of Lestat being called an evil domestic abuser. How can audiences be expected to root for him. They won't. He will be condemned as the monster who dropped his partner from the stratosphere. Leaving it also ruins the L+L QotD flight. I just don't see the point in irrevocably damaging the main protagonist of the entire story. I'm heartbroken and furious. Please, help me understand.

*sighs* (Sending you a big hug.)

So. Emotions seem to be very high on this already, and it hasn't even aired yet. I'm just pointing that out because... what we have right now is hearsay - maybe directly, maybe over a few people in the middle... but ultimately we haven't watched it yet, right? Other people have. Other people, with their own understanding, and their own takes.

And yes, it was done to him. Exactly. And as just said in another ask, he has not told his side of the story yet. The trial, so also that part of it... will definitely be scripted. And we already know that what we were shown... cannot be trusted. Not a 100%.

Let's watch first and then judge, please.

Because so far this show has excelled at elevating the source material.

Which is not to say that they cannot make mistakes, obviously. And who knows, maybe I'll be disappointed AF after. We'll see.

But... there's a reason why they revisit all that. There's a reason. And, given that we're segueing into s3... and therefore Lestat's story?

I don't know how they re-contextualize it. I don't. But I think we need to see the bigger picture - and that won't be done by s2. (And I have a feeling like it might not even be done by s3...)

IF they follow the book IWTV here... then Lestat will testify against Louis and Claudia at the trial, seemingly out of revenge (but actually under duress), he will witness her burn, he will have the yellow dress. Louis and Armand will break up. Lestat and Louis will meet in the later contested NOLA meeting. Louis will end up alone at the end of the novel.

I don't know how the revisit fits with the trial. You probably know my feelings wrt the diary and the pages etc but it seems they are not used as heavily as anticipated.

IDK. Given the in-universe publication of the book IWTV I think they will follow the beats above - and episode 5, and the drop, are likely part of the accusation then.

Now, we know that it will be revealed later that this was done with manipulation and torture. That it was Lestat who was thrown off the tower later, and who needed decades to heal. Which fits with the "mind call" in 2x05, doesn't it.

IDK. I just want to point out that even if... EVEN IF THAT DROP STAYS FOR NOW - there is a lot more to it and they have already hinted at that.

So.

Yes, I can very well do without another 2 years of shit-show by some people, especially those unwilling to take the step back for the bigger picture. But ... I have become much, much better at blocking.

And I am not going to let them take away my joy. Especially... ESPECIALLY that we know - WE KNOW - that TVL is up in s3. They already confirmed that.

Don't let an unfinished puzzle or some asshats take your joy either, dear.

[yankstrash]

Cheating scandal blurb rn

i also love to see men cry so let's fuckin do this!!!!

gabe didn't want to believe what he was hearing, but what else are you supposed to do when someone accuses your girlfriend of cheating on you?

the team had finished practice and were changing in the locker room when one of the freshmen had come up to gabe and broke the news to him.

it went a little something like, "hey man, sorry i had to be the one to tell you this but i saw your girl making out with a brother from sigma chi this past weekend. anyways, just thought you should know. good luck."

gabes mind was racing with a million thoughts, and his heart cracked a little more the closer he got to amelias apartment. she didn't know he was coming over, he didn't want to give her anytime to make up a story if this whole thing was true, so when he waltzed into her room with tear brimmed eyes and almost unable to get his words out, amelia was not expecting it.

"gabe? baby, what's wrong? what happened? did you get hurt at practice? do we need to go to the hospital? do-"

"amelia, enough."

gabes response to her worries made her take a step back. he just walked into her bedroom unannounced with tears threatening to spill from his eyes and was silenced when she tried asking what was wrong?

gabe took a shaky breath in and blew it out while closing his eyes.

"sit down, please." he said, and amelia gave him a puzzled expression as she walked up to him instead of doing what he asked.

"baby, what's wrong? you're freaking me out." she said as she placed her hands on his waist, but gabe moved away at her touch.

"just, please, sit." gabe said again, and this time amelia obliged and took a seat on her bed.

gabe stayed standing, letting out a heavy sigh before speaking.

"i'm gonna ask you a question and i need you to be honest with me." gabe started, and amelia gave him a confused look, completely unsure what he was going to ask her.

"did you cheat on me at the frat party last weekend?"

the question hit amelia like a hard smack in the face. she actually couldn't believe her ears when she heard him. she almost had to ask him to repeat it, but as if reading her mind, gabe asked again.

"did you, amelia?" gabe asked when he was met with silence.

the silence, however, wasn't because she was guilty and didn't know what to say. the silence was because she couldn't believe gabe was asking her this question, and had no idea how to respond.

"who the fuck told you that?" she finally said, anger laced in her voice.

"it doesn't matter."

"it does matter! it matters to me! FUCK that!" amelia said as she stood up off her bed. "and NO! i absolutely did not cheat on you, how could you even think that??"

gabe ran his hands up and down his face and said, "one of my teammates told me after practice. he said he saw you making out with some sigma chi dude at their party this past weekend and i-"

"WHO? WHO told you that?" amelia said in a raised voice.

she was beyond frustrated at this accusation and wanted to know who told gabe this, now.

"why does it matter, amelia? do you need to know so you can go chew them out for ratting you out to me?" gabe said, but as soon as the words left his mouth he regretted them.

amelias mouth fell agape before she quickly closed it and shook her head.

"get out. now." she said in a tone so calm it was almost scary.

"amelia just-"

"NO! if you wanna sit here and accuse me of this shit and not even tell me who you heard it from or give me a chance to respond, then i do not want to talk to you." she started, walking over to her bedroom door and opening it.

"leave, now."

gabe stood silent for a moment before doing what she asked and leaving her room.

"don't let my unloyalness hit you on the way out." amelia said as she slammed the door behind gabe once he was out.

that all happened monday night. it was now thursday night and gabe and amelia haven't talked since the fight. at all. it's the longest they've gone without speaking or seeing each other since they started dating.

they were both a mess. amelia has barely slept in 3 days and cries almost any chance she gets, and gabe has been in a piss mood and feels awful about how he handled the situation.

was he upset about the situation? absolutely, but he knows he should've given amelia a chance to explain before taking a cheap shot at her which ultimately lead her to throwing him out and their ongoing silence.

gabe wanted to finish their discussion and know the truth, but he knew for a fact amelia did not want to talk to him. she was livid when he left her bedroom.

amelia wanted to reach out to gabe and figure out where this whole thing was coming from, because honestly she was still confused by it all.

no, she did not cheat on gabe. but why did someone say she did? and WHO? the question of who still hung over her head, as she had no clue.

gabe packed up his stuff quick, fast and in a hurry once practice ended and was ready to run out of the locker room when drew stopped him.

"let me by dude, i'm not in the mood." gabe said as he tried to move past his teammate, but he wouldn't budge.

"you haven't been in the mood all week." drew said.

"yeah and why do you think that is? i get told that my girlfriend cheated on me and now we haven't spoken in 3 days and i'm just fucking pissed off. let me by."

drew, once again stood in gabes way, and gabe was about to blow a fuse when drew spoke again.

"yeah and that's what i need to talk to you about. let me grab my stuff and we'll talk outside."

annoyed but obedient, gabe waited for drew to grab his things before the two headed out to their cars.

they walked to drews car and drew leaned up against it as gabe eagerly waited for what he had to say.

"got a nice eavesdropped earful of a conversation at practice today.." drew began. "first of all, amelia didn't cheat on you. so get that shit out of your head."

at his words, gabe visibly relaxed. he already felt a huge wave of relief wash over him, but how did drew know?

"l/n is the one who told you she did, right?" drew asked, and gabe nodded his head in response.

"yeah, so i hear him at practice today laughing with the freshmen goalie. he says 'i needed perreault to be thrown off so i could take his starting spot against harvard, so i spewed some shit that amelia cheated on him with some sigma chi guy, gave him a pat on the back and wished him good luck'."

gabes eyes nearly bugged out of his head at drews words.

drew noticed his reaction and nodded his head. "oh yeah, and it gets better. this was before a handful of guys, including you came out onto the ice, so you missed the response but it was me and ryan that overheard it and ryan wasted no time throwing his gloves off and shoving l/n right into the boards. he was pissed. told l/n he needed to tell you the truth, but his response to that was 'fuck that'. this earned the kid another hard shove into the boards before coach saw and broke it up. shit calmed down before you came out, but yeah. so basically l/n is a lying sack of shit that was just trying to distract you so he could take your starting spot in the game next weekend. so now that you know, get your shit together and go apologize to amelia. and think up the greatest apology of your life on the way over there, because she is upset. like, the most upset i've ever seen her. and i've known her for a long time, gabe."

gabes heart sunk at drews words.

"you've talked to her?" gabe asked.

"of course i have. i went to see her the day after it happened. she told me what happened and she had a total break down because of it. she loves you, gabe. a lot. she would never do this to you, but she needs to know that you believe that also."

gabe barely wasted a second turning and running to his car, but he stopped in his tracks and turned back to drew.

"you're 100% sure this is true?"

he hated asking that, but he had to.

drew gave him a death glare, saying "do not even ask me that. do not. get your ass over to amelias, now."

gabe may be amelias boyfriend, but drews known her for a long time, and he was protective over her in a friend way. when he found out about this whole situation, he was pissed at gabe for how he handled it and was the one there to comfort amelia.

he hated seeing two of his best friends so upset over some jerk, and knew he had to fix it. even if drew had never heard what he did at practice, he wouldn't have stopped until gabe believed that amelia did not cheat, because he wholeheartedly knew she would never do that.

gabe wanted to ask amelia if he could come over first to make sure she was okay with seeing him.

from: gabriel ❤️

"are you home? can we please talk?

he waited for her response that came through within a minute.

from: meels 💗

"only if you're willing to let me speak and act maturely."

from: gabriel ❤️

"i am baby. i'm on my way."

gabe had so much running through his head on the drive to amelias apartment. his hands were shaky as he let himself in and made his way to her bedroom. he knocked when he reached her door and opened it when he heard a muffled "come in" from the other side.

when he saw his girlfriend, his face fell into a visible frown and his heart ached. she was dressed in a grey crewneck with grey sweatpants. her hair was sticking out of its messy bun, she had rosy cheeks and puffy eyes from crying and she had bags under eyes as if she hadn't slept in days. cause she hadn't.

gabe just wanted to reach out and hold her in his arms, but he couldn't, not yet at least. he had a lot of grafting to do before he could do that.

"before i even say anything, i want to give you a chance to speak and tell me everything that's on your mind. and i promise, i won't say a word until you're finished."

as much as gabe wanted to open his mouth wide and spit out everything drew just told him, he knew he had to let amelia speak first.

amelia crossed her arms and took a shaky breath before speaking.

"first and foremost, if you're ready to believe it yet, i did not cheat on you. i did not fucking cheat on you, and i am extremely hurt that you would believe i would. i have never given you a reason to not trust me, i have never given you a reason to believe i would cheat on you. i have always been nothing but honest and loyal to you, so even though someone told you i did cheat, you should have approached me about it much differently than you did. you waltzed in here, threw the accusation at me, refused to let me speak then accused me of trying to cover my lies. i was astounded, honestly. you really, really hurt my heart with the way you handled that, gabe. after never treating you anything but good, i wish you had handled that with a lot more respect and matureness."

gabe felt tears slip out of his eyes at her response. he knew it was going to upset him, respectfully so, but man did it really hit him hard.

she was right about everything she said, but what hurt the most was hearing her say how he hurt her. he never meant to do that. he thought he was the one getting hurt, when in reality he hurt her.

"you may speak." amelia said, interrupting his thoughts. "but the first thing i want to hear, is who told you i cheated."

gabe let out a quick sniffle before saying, "f/n l/n, a freshmen on the hockey team."

amelia looked confused, as she had barely ever even spoken to this guy before.

"he plays my position, and apparently is trying to steal it too, which is why he lied about you cheating. drew told me he overheard him at practice talking about how he was trying to throw me off my game so he could get the starting spot by lying to me about you cheating."

amelia was stunned at his response. she was expecting some bs, but nothing like that. that was just downright insane. fucking up someones relationship just so you can play in a stupid hockey game? she had never heard something so low in her life.

while she was still beyond upset, she couldn't help but feel for gabe. being told your girlfriend cheated on you only to find out the person who told you that was just trying to steal something of importance from you out of selfishness and jealousy was a LOT.

still though, she wanted a full apology first before she made any sort of move.

"that's... fucked." amelia finally said after a moment of silence while she let the thought of what she just heard consume her head. "like, really, REALLY fucked."

gabe kept his lips in a tight line as he nodded his head in agreement.

"did you confront him?" amelia asked in a calmer tone than the one she was previously speaking in.

gabe shook his head and said, "i didn't find out until after practice. drew told me outside and i took off to come here the second he did. he said he and ryan heard l/n talking about it at practice, and that ryan shoved the kid against the boards and demanded he tell me the truth, but he refused. coach broke them up before anything else happened, and drew told me about it afterwards."

with each word gabe spoke, amelia was more and more shocked.

amelia stood there frozen and swallowed in her thoughts when gabe couldn't help himself and took a step towards her, gently saying, "baby" and holding his arms out to embrace her, but she took a step back.

she put her hand up and said, "anything else you wanna tell me, gabe?"

she was hinting at an apology, and luckily gabe picked up on it.

gabe let a few more tears slip out and closed his lips tightly before nodding his head and saying, "i'm sorry. i'm so so SO sorry, meels. you are absolutely right, you have never given me a chance to not trust you or believe you would cheat on me. i'm sure you understand how difficult it was for me to hear what i did and why i acted the way i did afterwards, but you're right, i should've handled it much differently. i should've and i wish i did because i never ever wanted to hurt you or make you think i didn't trust you because i do. i do trust you, more than anyone. i know you would never cheat on me or intentionally hurt me, i only wish i let those thoughts overtake me more than the intrusive ones that did when i heard what i did. i'm just..." gabe choked a bit, wiping some tears. "i'm just sorry, meels. i'm sorry for how i acted, i'm sorry i hurt and upset you and i'm sorry i ever doubted you."

more tears escaped gabes eyes as he spoke, and that was enough for amelia to see before breaking down herself.

as much as his words spoke to her, his emotions did so much more. the way he was being so vulnerable, showing all his emotions right now and breaking down in front of her, showed how sorry he really was and how much he regretted what happened.

"i need you so bad, meels." gabe whispered through sobs. "please."

his words crumbled amelia and made her take a huge leap towards him, embracing him.

gabes whole body shook as he held his girlfriend for the first time in days.

and it wasn't like one of those hugs they give each other after he's been gone on the road and they finally reunite after a few days. it was a hug of pure heartbreak emotion and desperation. both of their hearts that were momentarily broken this week were slowly starting to heal back up as they held each other. all emotions were let out as they both sobbed into each other and grabbed at anything possible as they were so desperate to feel each others touch after 3 horrible days.

they stayed like this for what felt like an eternity. just holding each other, crying and basking in being in each others arms.

he didn't want to, but gabe pulled away first because he couldn't wait any longer to kiss amelia.

three days without her lips on his was too much, and he needed the feeling now.

amelia smiled into the kiss, so much relief being lifted off her shoulders as her favorite lips in the world were finally back on hers, and all was okay again.

the couple moved to amelias bed and nuzzled into each other tighter than ever. they laid in silence for a bit, just enjoying being in each others presence and on good terms again.

amelia broke the silence after a few minutes to ask, "are you gonna say something to f/n?"

gabe let out a sigh and said, "i should let him know i know so he doesn't try to pull shit like this again, but maybe in a subtle way so i don't get in trouble with the team. can't defend my starting spot if i'm suspended, right?"

amelia chuckled lightly at his response.

"i can't believe someone would actually do that. that is so fucked up." amelia said.

gabe kissed her head and said, "i know," he moved his head so he was looking at her and smiled. "he probably thought you came with the starting spot and he wanted you too. jealous asshole."

amelia burst out laughing at gabes joke, and gabe grinned widely at her smile and the sound of her laugh.

"i missed that so much. your laugh." gabe said.

amelia gave him a gentle smile and leaned in to kiss his lips.

"i missed you so much."

"i missed you, and i love you."

"i love you."

[hopeymchope]

I've finished playing through Another Code Recollection!

You can see my thoughts on the "Two Memories" part in this first post on the topic. But now we've got to talk about how they handled "A Journey into Lost Memories."

A lot of North American players probably never experienced the Wii original. But as big lover of CING's games, I soft-modded my Wii and imported the European release of "Another Code R." And I loved the CRAP out of it. They really took the innovative puzzles of the DS original and took them to a new level with the Wii Remote.

So. How does the "Recollection" version of ACR fare by comparison?

As I expected after playing through Two Memories, the new puzzles in the "Recollection" version of ACR are a lot simpler than the original. These are more typical to what you find in adventure games and less, shall we say, experimental. There's not nearly as much effort put into using the Switch's unique form/functionality in unexpected ways, but I still had fun solving them. I even got momentarily stymied by two of them this time! The "Two Memories" remake only ONCE had me stuck like this, so I really think they gave "A Journey into Lost Memories" a bit of escalated challenge, and I appreciate it!

Similar to how they removed the bad ending from "Two Memories," they took out some of the possible branches/decisions in ACR for this remake. You no longer have any means by which to identify/describe your lost bag to Dan, ultimately affecting whether you get it back later in the game; the path to retrieving your bag is now different and linear. The subplot where Ashley is briefly accused of robbing the guesthouse also only has ONE solution now. In the original ACR, if you were clever enough to snap a picture of Matthew in the back room while peeking through the blinds, you could actually bypass the entire "prove your innocence" semi-puzzle by just showing that photo to Tommy. But you can't pull out your camera during that part of the story in the remake, so you have to deal with the puzzle no matter what.

3. I positively love the redesign of Janet??? What a glow-up! They added some much-needed diversity into this one with her and Ranger Dan's new look, too. You can tell that both Janet and Dan are now people of some color.

4. The biggest shock is just how much Recollection changed the story of ACR. This is most notably present in how everything wraps up and comes together at the end. Matthew's storyline is NOT left hanging for a future game to pick up this time... he gets closure, though I admit the actual "solution" to his mystery doesn't quite add up and feels a little half-assed. But I understand that the devs had their hands tied a bit here... how do you end his storyline when you don't have a whole other game to expound upon the answers and you ALSO don't want to spend a ton of time destracting further from Ashley's own plotline? It's a tough situation.

5. The biggest change is undoubtedly Ryan Gray. Without spoiling anything, I'll just say that Ryan's entire backstory is now different and MUCH more sci-fi in nature. It gets pretty wild! It does at least tie into the resolution to Matthew's storyline, although he also loses some of what made his ending so satisfying in the process. But in fairness, he also GAINS something: Ryan becomes more a sympathetic presence and far less of an emotionally detached person in this version of the story. However, unlike in the original ACR, Ryan no longer leads us to learning the ultimate mastermind behind all the tragedy in the series. Which is... a hell of a choice to make, because now it's kept very VAGUE who the actual mastermind was. I'm not sure if the game actually says who it is (one person is clearly implied to be responsible, but... ) or just leaves it vague for a possible future installment. But shit, if you were gonna do that why not just leave Matthew's storyline the same at that point... ?

6. There are other small changes throughout, of course. Most of them have no real impact on the storytelling to me, but personally, I really missed the scene where Ashley talks to Matthew about D from the first game after Matthew first witnesses a ghost. It's a great moment I wish they'd kept. Also, a funny change is that the characer of Sam Hillman - who never really did jack shit in the original game - is just straight-up removed now. Janet gets a slightly expanded role that lets her step into Sam's position instead. Sorry/not sorry, Sam. LOL.

7. It is once again impossible to overstate the value of the enhanced presentation. The voice cast does an absolutely amazing job throughout, and the more detailed facial animations give Ashley so much more SASS than she ever had before. I fucking LOVE it.

8. The ending credits had me literally choking up... just like the end credits of the original ACR did, but in a totally different way. The montage of beautiful artwork and that pencil-style animation of Ashley feeling hopeful and full of joy is just... SO beautiful. Seeing Ashley in her original outfit from ACR! Seeing Matthew with his dad! Seeing Charlotte's extended family! KYLE FUCKING HYDE cameo appearance! (So glad to see MORE confirmation of the shared CING universe.) That ENDING SONG - so beautiful and touching!!! LOOOOOOVE.

9. Ultimately, if you asked me "Is it better to play the original Trace Memory/Another Code games or just play Recollection?" I'd say "Yes." I can't honestly decide if I love this revision or the originals more, so just PLAY ASHLEY'S GAMES. The story is better presented and the dialogue is better-written here, but I prefer the puzzles and small branches/choices in the originals. But either way: They're beautiful, satisfying stories that, even when they're sometimes predictable, are still thoroughly worth experiencing and full of delightful characters and touching resolutions. I want more people to love these characters as much I do. JUST PLEASE PLAY.

10. #AshforSmash6 :D

[miracles-and-butterflies]

Good thing that Mirabel's alive. But when will we see the cold family beating the shit out of Camilo? And what others were doing? Does Dolores already know with her hearing?

Ha. What do you think everyone’s doing while Luisa does a one-woman retelling of A Christmas Carol?

Warning, potentially sensitive topics below.

~~~~~~

“Don’t talk to me.” Isabela snaps when Camilo opens his mouth. “Same for you,” she added, turning to an equally puzzled Dolores. “I’m trying really hard to keep myself under control.”

“What are you talking about, Isa? Are you okay?” Dolores asked.

“Dolores, I’m serious, if you want your boyfriend’s nose to remain unbroken, shut the fuck up.”

Isabela stalked off, after that.

“What’s up with her?” Bruno questioned.

“No idea. I’ve not been listening,” Dolores responded. “I was trying to keep an ear on Antonio. And our parents. They are on their way back.”

“That’s good. I’m sure they’ll sort this out.” Said Camilo.

“No need, Julieta and Agustín are already here.” Bruno pointed out, standing up.

Dolores and Camilo turned, watching their Tío and Tía slowly make their way into Casita. They both were walking backwards, seemingly guiding in a blood stained and half-dressed Luisa, who was cradling an unconscious Mirabel.

“Careful, Luisa. You don’t want to be too rough with her.” Julieta chided.

“I’m not being rough with her!” Luisa snapped.

She never took well to being accused of forgetting her strength, especially around Mirabel.

“No, but you are holding her quite protectively,” Agustín intervened. “Loosen your grip a bit, mija - gently. Yes. That’ll do.”

“Um,” Bruno announced walking over, he swallowed nervously. “I know this is a really stupid question, but I feel like it has to be asked, so I’ll just get it out of the way: is Mirabel okay?”

Julieta didn’t look amused; Luisa was ready to strangle him.

“No?” Agustín answered, unsurely.

“What happened?” Dolores asked next.

Agustín stepped aside to explain to Bruno and Dolores, while Julieta ushered Luisa along.

“Take Mirabel upstairs, Luisa, and clean yourself up. Your Abuela won’t want blood through the house.”

“You might want to clean the patio then.” Luisa advised before leaving.

Julieta signed, walking off to grab some supplies from the cupboard. She might as well get to cleaning. There’s nothing else she can do until Mirabel wakes up.

~~~~~~

While she’s scrubbing, she hears the sound of awkward footsteps and she assumes it’s Agustín and he’s injured himself. Or maybe Bruno and his rats are peckish.

But when she looks up, she sees her nephew.

She has to assume Isabela got at him. He’s got a severe rash over half his face and he keeps scratching at his arm through his ruana. And there’s a hand print on the other side of his face too; almost bruising his skin.

Maybe it was Isabela too. But she doesn’t think Isabela would have risked getting the rash herself.

Maybe it was Dolores who hit him.

Or maybe it was both of them.

He does look very rough and his clothes are more disbelieved than they usually are.

She doesn’t say anything to him.

It’s not her job to discipline him for his actions. It’ll be more devastating to have his parents do it.

Or better yet, it’ll be more devastating to rob him of the attention he so desperately wants and is so accustomed to. They should just ignore him entirely.

“I’m sorry,” he says, eventually. “It was just a prank.”

Julieta doesn’t have anything to say.

She just looks down at the ground. Soap, white and red mixing into pink, and the yellow tags.

Mirabel’s blood.

“She wasn’t meant to get hurt— I didn’t know about the trap, that wasn't part of it. I’d left by then.” Camilo continued.

“I’m not the one you should be apologising to.”

“I-I know that, but—”

“You want me to heal you?” She guessed. “I’ll leave that decision to Mirabel.”

Camilo choked.

“But she won’t— she won’t help me! She’ll say it’s a ‘waste of resources’ because it’s not a ‘serious’ injury.”

Julieta hummed in acknowledgment.

“Isabela has covered my room - all my clothes, my things - in poison ivy! And, like, a hundred other itchy plants! I can’t live like that.”

That explains why Isabela was keen to get home before them.

Sneak into Camilo’s room before he realises everyone knows and should be on guard, covering it in plants that won’t directly injure him but make him uncomfortable; she’s definitely inherited Pepa’s evil genius.

“Tía? Are you listening to me?”

No.

She doesn’t know how long it takes, but Camilo slowly sulks off.

[felonytaxevasion]

Arc 1 - Bonds

My assorted commentary on the first chapter of Pact for my mutuals who were interested in my thoughts. Testing out formatting this might be mess thank you for your patience.

As always no spoilers please thank you <333

This is technically my second time reading this but I wasn't paying attention the first time so I wanted to start over

1.1

“My children are useless,” she said. She was so dismissive and casual about it.

First of all. Icon. I absolutely love wretched old women and I love having the foresight of knowing practitioners cant lie meaning that this is presumably an objective evaluation of her children's capabilities. I'm also gonna watch out for Blake's mom and Aunt Stephanie though. They aren't included in that statement so maybe we can have an evil magic milf era. Like in Umineko. I love Umineko.

If anything I’d said had an impact, it was that. I could see the faint amusement drop away from her. “Are you accusing me of being a liar, Master Blake?”

aHA BECAUSE PRACTITIONER RULES

It was well after dark when someone stepped outside to talk to me. I closed out of the puzzle game I was playing on my phone. The brightness of the screen made for a dark patch that lingered in my vision as I looked up. Eleven-fifty at night.

This is an interesting writing choice because it's clear that a lot of time has passed but not exactly how much. Which adds mystery to the question of "was Rose planned all along or did Rose Sr. make an impulse choice after talking with Blake.

Also I really wanna know. When Rose met Ivy did her parents bring her in and talk or did they just set the baby on the bed and leave.

“Molly! Don’t be rash!” Aunt Irene admonished her. “I don’t want it,” Molly said, again. She grabbed the footboard of the bed. “No.“ “Molly, don’t be silly.”

Molly is one of the biggest reasons I don't want spoilers. Everything about her is so interesting. She was the first choice but she died very quickly. But not THAT quickly. Was Rose 2 always the plan and Molly was the sacrificial lamb to pave the way or was Molly just genuinely the best choice to become heiress. She survived for four months which is, if Pact is paced similarly to Worm, long enough to survive Leviathan, The Slaughterhouse Nine, Coil, and Echidna or whatever their equivalent in Pact land is. And that is no small feat. Like obviously I'm assuming here but I can't imagine the combined forces of Jacobs Bell were just letting her chill. I have so many questions about her and I want answers to none of them.

The blonde woman opposite him folded her hands in front of her. “That was… noteworthy in scale. Kind of her to point the way, but she was never crude. We’ll need to know what she did before we move on.”

THIS SHIT RIGHT HERE. Noteworthy in scale. Rose is not a small feat. Why are she and Blake positioned as the backup plan. Thinking so hard

“Funny thing, Maggie,” Padraic said, and when he smiled, the expression extended further than it should have. The smile too wide, the eyes too long and narrow. “When something momentous occurs, it can be the equivalent of lighting up the night sky, scattering fog and clouds to the horizons. You can see more clearly… but when you look, they can look back, too.”

Maggie and Padraic are some of my favorite characters based on vibes alone. I just know they're going to die so horribly so early on. At least Maggie.

“Mm,” the man in the throne said. “‘Lo, stranger. Listen, I don’t think you should believe what any of them say about me. If you need help, I can offer it.” “For a price,” the dog added.

Now see Johannes I would love to give you the benefit of the doubt however I know for a fact (a pact fact!) I have not seen any fanart of you making out sloppy style with Blake Thorburn and as such I find it hard to believe you are his ally. The wildbow ecosystem is too yaoi deprived to not jump on that pairing unless you're some type of fucked up.

“Run,” she said. “Get to the house, now.” “Which house? Who-” “Molly’s dead,” she said. “You’re next.”

HAI ROSE

1.2

I actually don't have much commentary on this chapter other than RIP to BlakeRose but I would happily take the deal to become a creepy bird monster. That's the ideal living situation actually.

1.3

The first sheet had only a simple message, penned in a curling script I almost envied. ‘Birth date’. I tried the year I’d been born. It didn’t work. Day, month? One-eight-oh-one.

...

“Molly!” I hollered, loud enough I should have been audible throughout the house. “Anyone!?” No response. Somewhere, in my general confusion and the mess of stuff I didn’t know or understand, I’d hoped that Molly being alive would be one of those things that caught me off guard.

Not to needle at his grieving process but I'm pretty sure the fact that it was His Birthday Not Molly's that opened the door was a pretty clear sign

I shook my head. “No clue. Something to keep in mind. After stipulations, there’s a section on stipend, with a regular allowance, notes on how often the lawyers can be called without incurring a debt. Oh, right here. A mention of the bird-skull monsters.” “What?” I could see Rose move, standing from her seat. “I’m joking,” I said, with zero humor in my voice.

I think Wildbow should do what visual novels franchises do and make a non canon crossover beach themed spinoff episode with all his characters. I want to see Blake and Lisa be cunty together

My friends were artists and artistic types. I had the unfortunate distinction of being a less than stellar artist. But I’d owed them for the help and support they’d given me, and in helping them with their jobs, I’d stumbled onto a bit of work. Setting up their work, installations, as well as all the other grunt jobs. Sure, they could go to a carpenter to get something put together in the way of a display stand, but that carpenter wouldn’t necessarily know what was at play with the art. Along the way, I’d settled into being a go-to handyman and delivery guy in the local art community. I knew the gallery owners, I knew who was who, and if I couldn’t do a job myself, I knew who to call. Not so glamorous or fancy, not exactly stellar pay, but I had stupid little skills that I could use here. In a pinch, I could use my stride or my arm length to help me figure out measurements, thirty three and a half and thirty-two and a half inches, respectively.

So fun fact I was a gallery tech assistant for about three or four years in high school and I would just like the record to state. A. Wildbow you captured the gallery tech mentality exactly. Tired, sassy, and overall filled with peculiar useful skills. 100% accuracy rate.

Also Blake please call your friends sooner rather than later. The blond gallery tech who works for cheap going suddenly missing is going to DEVASTATE that community. Blake you are a protected species under the wildlife conservation act and the human equivalent of catnip for bisexuals with an art history degree you are the foundation of that community and they are going to be CONCERNED

1.4

She looked a little agitated, nervous. “I think we can go this route. Avoid getting into the ugliest stuff, the books on demons and whatever else. If witch hunters and inquisitors can survive this sort of thing, maybe we can too.” “Borrowing power instead of using it?”

I'm trying to figure out if Rose II is in on it. Because like. She should be right? But then she says things like this that make it sound like she really is just as lost as Blake

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m kind of attached to you, metaphysically. You die, I’m going to be a goner too.” “You think. Either way, I’m the one who got injured,” I said. “I’m the one who has stitches in my hand and a cut on my face.” “At least you’re alive,” she retorted.

They've so immediately become siblings.

Which by the way. If Blake and Rose are fucked up twins of a sort. I have questions about Paige and Peter. Especially seeing as Paige is considered a non starter for Rose Senior

“In this scenario, we’ve got a situation involving a number of countries. If you will, there’s America. I’m rather interested in America for the purpose of this discussion, but that’s just me. Powerful, perhaps overly proud, large, keepers of the peace.” I glanced at his uniform. “Sure.”

Close enough. Welcome Back Victoria Dallon!!

1.5

“It smells like a rose,” a man announced, “It’s as beautiful as a rose. I dare say it’s as fragile as a rose, once you get past the thorns. But is it really our Rose?” I turned. Three twenty-somethings, if I went by appearances, were approaching me from behind. I might have been off. Each had alcohol in brown bags.

I want to be one of them so bad. I want to join the fucked up Fairie gang.

“No,” I said. I grabbed one of the books from the coffee table. “Anger is good.” “Good?” “It keeps us moving. You read the book on implements, I’ll read up on familiars when I’m done Essentials.”

True gallery tech mindset <3

1.6

“Blake!” Rose’s voice, from the living room. “You have to help him!”

This is one of those passages that makes me think Rosie is in on it. You've read more than Blake how has this being an other trap not occurred to you

1.7

Should another practitioner need to bait him again, know that this author used: a pile of festering boar carcasses, six feet high, each carved with his name when well into their state of decay, the decay timed using refrigeration to be roughly parallel; seven jars of burning hair, resupplied keep the flames perpetually alight

Yea who hasn't been here at one point

“To everyone and everything that’s listening,” I said. I heard Rose start speaking behind me, but my words drowned hers out. “To me, and to nobody in particular, I’ve gotta say, I didn’t choose this. I’m doing this for family, to respect them as they were in the past, when my cousins were also my friends, so the others don’t face what Molly did. I’m doing it to respect stuff in the present, because even if I dislike my cousins, I don’t want them to have to face this situation and get killed off. I’m doing this for the family that comes in the future, so my kids and all our descendants don’t have this debt hanging over our heads. Above all, I think I’m doing this for my real family. For the friends I made who gave me support when I needed it most, so I can demonstrate what they taught me. Past, present, future, and… more abstract.”

Guy who can only hate his family this much because of how much he loves them Augh Augh

I could hear Rose behind me, still talking, as if she were very distant. “-than a vestige.”

SUSPICIOUS

“It doesn’t matter,” she said, quiet, “because it’s not blood. I’m not offering anything worth taking, and there aren’t any spirits here to listen and obey, are there?” “There are other options, maybe?” “It doesn’t matter,” she said, again. “I don’t care anymore.”

But then this is the opposite of suspicious because she can't lie but she's saying it didn't work and she wants to give up hhhhhhh Rose you are so slippery to understand

Gathered Pages

I didn't highlight any particular passages but Rose Senior I love youuuuuuuu

[trickscourse]

My hot take the fucking week this week is that giving someone their own medicine is almost never worth it and if you see someone actively mentally spiraling and their mental health becoming worse, instead of broadcasting their suffering for the world to see maybe offer them help instead of treating them like a personal circus act.

Armchair diagnosis of someone you don't fucking know isn't okay and does absolutely nothing and slamming the term narcissist on someone doesn't do anything except create a worst stigma around for other people.

The exact same goes for mocking someone's abuse, especially something they couldn't control or lying about little fucking things that don't matter at the end of the day. Randomly throwing accusations that someone that don't make sense ends up making you look worse in the long run.

When I end up dealing with people who are "victims" on this website I try to use cognitive dissonance to understand certain shit. I realized how bad the shit I was doing and people enabling were getting when a friend of mine from high school reached out saying that they were sorry for being fucked up to me but I was just as bad back and took a second to step back and realize that even though I was upset, angry, and hurt that gave me no right or reason to take that on other people.

Even with the mods I still talk to, I asked them to delete things once the blog is done being archived so we can save stuff like the swatting incident. Doing the shit to me that I've done the others does absolutely nothing in the long run except make everyone worse.

Calling someone the r slur, low iq, a 'transtrender' or calling then a narcissist or assuming they have a disorder they don't have because you don't like them is loser behavior, stalking them and frequenting their job and getting upset when anyone calls you out on it and throwing a hissy fit doesn't make you the better person.

It took me longer than it should to learn that, but I learned that. Holding blackmail over someone's head or harassing them with the threat of doxing them and their friends to the point where they have to move locations more than once is fucking insane and you are fucking insane for endorsing any sort of harassment like that.

Go outside and count the clouds or something, rent a puzzle from the library, I don't care what you fucking do as long as it's far away from me. Erase virtually anything related to me from your goddamn vocabulary and search history, or whatever files you have. You are insane.

[new-kit-on-the-block]

Miraculous may have perfected the Sherlock Holmes trick, by not hiding the fact that it's a trick

After all the posts of me shitting on Miraculous, I figured I'd cover something that I really like and respect about it. Just to prove that I am, in fact, being critical of this show and not just pointlessly mean.

Now, a majority of you might be wondering "What the hell is the Sherlock Holmes trick?"

The Sherlock Holmes trick is the name that I like to use to refer to Arthur Conan Doyle's secret to making Sherlock Holmes seem so smart.

It's worth noting that Arthur absolutely hated how popular Sherlock Holmes became, because of just how simple of a trick it was.

In essence, here's what the trick was: He would hand Sherlock the cards under the table.

Did you ever consider how weird it is that Sherlock can piece together the right puzzle simply by viewing all the necessary clues? Probably not. Because it doesn't seem weird when you phrase it like that.

Of course Sherlock can quickly piece together the puzzle by looking at all the clues, that's what a detective does!

But the overwhelming majority of real-world detectives can't put the pieces in the correct order nearly as quickly as Sherlock does. The main conflict in the original stories isn't "Can Sherlock figure it out using all the clues available?", it's "How will Sherlock find the clues that lead him to the correct conclusion?"

As soon as Sherlock has all the necessary clues, he's already figured it out. He pretty much always jumps to some big accusation using all the previous clues as evidence, and he's correct.

But as Arthur Conan Doyle himself went on record to point out, there are any number of conclusions that Sherlock could jump to using the clues alone. So how can Sherlock always land on the correct one, and so quickly too?

Simple. Because he has to. Because that's what the story is. Most importantly, because it makes him look smart.

This is a really great trick for writing a character that's smarter than yourself. Give them what they need in order to figure it out, and then have them jump to the correct assumption super quickly as though it were obvious. Put them in a situation that most people would never be able to figure out, and have them figure it out.

It's an extremely simple, but extremely effective trick.

Now, how does Miraculous come into play here? How can I claim that Miraculous "perfected" a trick that needed no perfecting?

Writing this sentence right now, I don't know if 'perfected' was the right word to use.

It's more like Miraculous destroyed the trick. It perfectly deconstructed the trick, exposing it as a trick, through its excellent use of said trick.

Two words. Lucky. Charm.

The Lucky Charm is every writer's wet dream. It literally gives Marinette exactly what she needs in any scenario.

It's the Sherlock Holmes trick, but instead of handing her the cards under the table, it just gives her the cards right out in the open.

It's such a simple use of such a simple trick, but it manages to show the audience exactly what the trick is by acting as a sort of hand of god.

I really have to applaud the creators of Miraculous for the idea of the Lucky Charm, because they've effectively made it so that they can make Marinette seem like a genius, all without needing to hide what writing trick they're using.

[virtualcarrot]

[KKIR] Modern AU - Teaching Pains Pt3

Part 2

Prompt 3: Crushes

.

Not one to forget his manners, Iruka takes the time to thank Izumo for his update on the latest developments before stomping up the hallway with a resounding scream.

"Kakashi-sensei !”

The door damper at the teachers’ lounge is a familiar enemy to him. He still gives it the good old college try, but as usual there’s only frustration to be found instead of any actual thudding.

Still, his entrance is impactful enough that Suzume takes one look at him, adjusts her glasses, and makes herself scarce.

At the desk he’s claimed for himself, behind a small succulent and a figurine of a brown pug with a vest and headband, Kakashi perks up.

“Iruka-sensei!” he all but chirps in greeting.

“Do not ‘Iruka-sensei’ me, you know what you did. Setting fire to your classroom!” He hears his throat strangle the words in horror even as he says them. “What were you thinking?!”

“That it was an excellent teaching opportunity.’’

“A fire?!”

“In my defense, it was a controlled one.’’

“You had to put it out with a fire extinguisher!”

“Yes? that's what those are for, Iruka-sensei, it's right there in the name.”

For a brief moment, Iruka contemplates committing unspeakable acts of violence.

In the end, he pulls a chair to sag into. The backrest is low, and he sinks down with his legs spread until it meets the back of his neck. With his head thrown back, the sight of the ceiling proves to be a blessedly neutral balm to his frayed nerves.

A bit bright, though.

He throws an arm across his eyes with a groan. “Please tell me you at least cleared it with Hiruzen-sensei.”

A huff of laughter makes him fear the worst.

“I did,” Kakashi says, with the sort of casual mirth which drives Iruka to understand that Hiruzen, distracted by the study of one or another item of his personal collection of ancient books and shodō scrolls, gave some form of blanket approval.

He heaves a long sigh at the thought, slowly unwinding from his outburst. Kakashi lets him be, humming to himself as he jots down something likely unrelated to the grading he’s supposed to be doing, perhaps the answer to a crossword or the solution to one of the outlandish logic puzzles he’s fond of tearing out of magazines. Some fights aren’t worth the bother, Iruka has learned over the months since they started working together. He can let the man have some hobbies. So long as Kakashi’s writing then he’s not busy reading tawdry erotica out in the open.

Iruka lifts his arm tiredly to shoot an accusing look.

“You're going to give me so many gray hairs,” he complains.

Going by the creases of his visible eye, the idea seems to amuse Kakashi greatly. “Can’t say I see what's so wrong about that.”

And, saying that, he tilts his head in a way that makes his own hair flutter.

The sight is almost entrancing, gravity defying spikes catching the light in thin threads of silver. Of course Kakashi doesn't mind having gray hair. It suits him, in a roguish way, gives him an air of distinction that is far too appealing.

Shit.

Iruka’s been getting far too comfortable.

He pulls himself into a more conventional sitting form. Kakashi seems to take that as a sign he’s open to communicate with.

“Admit it,” he taunts, crow’s feet tight at the corner of his eye, “you wish you’d seen it.”

Iruka gives him a flat look to make up for the smile he can't hold back in response and he takes possession of the #1 Dog pencil-holder mug on the desk in retaliation. “I still might. By tonight, someone will have uploaded it, if it hasn’t already been, boasting about having the coolest teacher ever.”

Kakashi’s eye loses all playfulness. “Jealous?” he asks, but it doesn’t sound like a dig at Iruka. If anything, in the sudden weight of his gaze, Iruka could almost see a form of concern.

“No,” Iruka lies, watching the pencils tilt as he turns the mug in his hands. “You’ve been doing good work with the kids, you know,” he adds, because that at least is true. “Naruto’s improved by leaps and bounds thanks to you. I’m glad you’re here.”

When he looks up, Kakashi’s smiling at him again. His expression looks softer, almost fond.

“They do look up to you,” Kakashi says, reaching to pick the mug and replacing it with another, which has been steaming by his elbow. “It’s just easier to work with them in small groups. I leave the wrangling of full classrooms of teens to the professionals. Couldn’t pay me to do it.”

 Iruka brings the mug to his lips, only to pull a face and away. It’s the blasted brew of their terrible coffee maker. “I don’t know how you drink this stuff without any sugar, honestly.”

“It builds strength of character,” Kakashi quips instantly, tugging down his mask as he retrieves his drink. “Which you’ve got more than enough of already,” he adds as if to reassure Iruka, barely hiding a smirk as he drinks.

Iruka can’t help the upturn of his own lips at the words.

“I wouldn’t say you’re lacking,” he says with a huff.

“Clearly you'd be wrong. Haven’t been granted my school trip yet.”

It’s a tired argument but Iruka can’t help the need to make his case yet again. It’s unclear that all parents could pay for it, for starters, and that's not taking into account the students without. While Sasuke’s grades have earned him an additional scholarship, Naruto would be absolutely devastated to be left behind.

“You know we don’t--”

“--have the funds, the school’s open to orphans, the state doesn’t cover that, yes, yes, I know,” Kakashi finishes. There’s mild frustration in his voice but he doesn’t sound argumentative. More like he gets Iruka’s point, for all that he’s not fond of what makes it true.

For that, Iruka can’t help but give him a grateful smile.

“We’re waiting for a grant. Maybe next semester,” he says.

If he’s honest, he’d quite like to go on that school trip to the observatory himself. Kakashi has pretty much sold him on its merits and, well, he’d be a very foolish man indeed to miss the opportunity of listening to a lecture by professor Hatake himself.

He shakes the thought clear from his head, and meets Kakashi’s eye.

“Did you at least re-enable the fire alarm?” he asks and watches Kakashi go very, very still.

“I wouldn't forget something like that,” Kakashi retorts, but already Iruka can see the seed of doubt taking root.

As someone known to triple check the lock on his bike, he sympathizes.

Kakashi pushes up, readjusting his mask. “And on an entirely unrelated note, I must leave you.”

“Do wipe the whiteboard clean while you’re at it,” Iruka says mercilessly, chuckling at the half-hearted wave Kakashi sends over his shoulder.

Then he’s alone.

On the desk, the coffee mug has stopped steaming. Soon, it’ll reach a wasteful point of lukewarm. And while it’s shit coffee, it’s also free energy.

Iruka pulls a few packets of sugar from the unused stash accumulating in Kakashi’s drawer, dumps them into the mug, and resigns himself to his fate.

-

Part 4

@kakairu-rocks

[chibigaia-art]

btw thanks to a friend that was so kind to lend me her rain code copy (tysm arisa if you see this) I've been able to play it - im currently on the mystery labyrinth of ch2, so here's some impressions of the game under the cut (mind the spoilers) (and also dont send spoilers ty)

Love the visuals of the game! I think the 3d is implemented really well and the setting of Kanai Ward is really fun - I just wish there was a pc port because the switch hardware is just. man. I wish I could see everything in HD instead of 380p but it might just be the switch lite lmao

I like shinigami's magical esque's sequences I just hate that they reduced the utena reference to another sex joke. cant have shit in kanai ward

speaking of references, I do like the danganronpa easter eggs but I liked the ace attorney stepladder one even more

I also really like shinigami I just wish she would shut up sometimes

same with desuhiko lmao

prologue was the strongest part of the game so far, MAYBE because it is reminescent of the 'locked place' murders in dr, maybe because everyone gets wasted, i dunno, it was just really fun

ch1 completely lacked what I'd call the emotional component that usually makes games like AA and DR stand out to me - ie I don't have any strong attachment to the victim or the accused, so I feel like I'm just solving puzzles. the puzzle part was still fun tho, and Halara is a great character

ch2 kinda fixed that emotional component with the girl-I-cant-remember-her-name-sorry that you spend time with before the second murder happens

ch2 also felt really fun from a campy perspective, with the disguise stuff going on!! (I do wish shinigami would stop calling yuma a pervert for trying to investigate a murder while dressed as a girl tho)

I do like chief yakou, he's cool in that very pathetic sad man kinda way

I really really love the sprite work, it's SO fun to look at the character's expressions,,, I also love desuhiko's goofy design, it's so fun

you can really feel the budget behind this one, unlike WEC that was just,,, a pain both gameplay wise and story wise, unfortunately 😔 I'm still sad it didnt turn out as good as I wanted it to be

anyway ive been having fun so far so I look forward to keep playing it