#this man does not seem to realize the implications of his writing

[selkiesstories]

#lmaooooo he simply did not think any of this through!!#the dance was excruciatingly half assed#Team Green#like isn't this suppose to be rhaenyra's story but instead he has her depressed seeing her kids killed one by one and doing nothing#ppl love to use the “but the masters are misogynists” that's why rhae is so terribly written#but no grrm simply wanting to wax poetic about his favorite 50 yr old pedo anime prince waifu daemon#grrm fav characters both being rapist child molesting pedo with daddy/older brother issues.... do u need to talk to someone about that?#no amount of lying will ever convince anyone with sense daemon/tyrion are anything more than villians#maybe at least tyrion gets a redemption arc but loser daemon died trying to kill his 19yr old nephew#while the greens served cunt til the end!#forever holding onto the alys rivers + aemond = the tullys = the stark kids theory via @adelaideelliot  

"he simply did not think any of this through!" truer words were never spoken! The man literally ignored his own worldbuilding in favor of a modern values informed plot. As far as the ASoIaF universe is concerned-which again, he made up- Rhaenyra has zero legal right to the throne over any of her legimate brothers. He has characters supporting one side or another as some sort of litmus test as to how progressive they are instead of having everyone in Westeros up in arms about a king flagrantly abusing his power. And then there's the narrative bias, the people of King's Landing initially embrace Rhaenyra because "neither Aegon not Aemond had ever been much loved". Well they might not have been "much loved" but they were clearly far more competent.

"but the maesters are misogynists" well he wrote the maesters to be misogynists, and for seemingly every other woman to die in childbirth, and for an overabundance of child brides etc. etc. etc. because "realism! that's the way it was!". Except no it wasn't, and if it was who cares? There's dragons and ice zombies, I think we left realism behind some time ago. And why is it that every time this man has a favorite, complex, morally gray character that character is a snarky, egotistical man with a giant chip on his shoulder, a penchant for violence and an entitled attitude towards sex?

Love how GRRM tried with every fiber of his being to make Team Green look like losers only for them to turn out more merciful and competent than Team Black

-Team Green only had 3 dragonriders Vs Team Black 7 dragonriders and they still make it hard for the blacks, to the point Daeron is considered the biggest threat to Rhaenyra.

-Daemon and Rhaenyra had Aegon's son killed and had their sights on the other one, but despite having tbe opportunity to, Aegon refused to kill Rhaenyra and Daemon's son.

-Daemon 50 smth ass had to die to defeat his nineteen year old nephew (in an incredibly illogical battle btw)

Martin knew he wanted the Blacks to "win" (in the sense their child sits on the throne because it's the beginning of the end for the Targaryens from now on) but didn't properly edit the story and as result ended making the Green look much better than he intended to

[mindless-existence1]

Bakugo x reader fluff

Summery: You and Bakugo are just friends so why is it when the bakusquad comes by and finds you (innocently) sleeping in his bed does it make Bakugo realize something. Maybe he doesn't just want to be friends.

Authors note: This is a snippet of the longer fic I'm writing about mutual pinning between Bakugo and Reader. I just wanted to put this out there since the actual fic might will most definitely take me a while. To anyone who has sent in requests I promise I'm working one them and I love you all ♡

Words: 1008

Your soft snores paired with Bakugos near silent tapping was all that could be heard in the small dorm. Light shone through the large glass doors, giving the room a soft ambience.

Bakugo, who was sitting at his desk, glanced towards your sleeping form. A fuzzy feeling filled his chest at the veiw of you peacefully curled up in his blanket on his bed. He can't put his finger on why he feels that warm feeling whenever he sees you like this.

A forgotten manga layed next to your hand, he had put a marker in it for you once he realized you had fallen asleep. Bakugo also put the blanket on you and just so happened to notice hair in front of your face that he moved out of the way. Why was he doing all of that? Bakugo doesn't even know.

Its not uncommon for you to hang out in the young hero's dorm, or vice versa. Actually it was very common for the two of you to hang out with eachother. Somehow you had latched onto him and although Bakugo used to hate admitting it, he latched onto you to.

It had been an hour or so since you'd drifted off, the night was still young but what else did he have to do? The question answered itself when Bakugos door was nearly busted through but four very energetic teens.

The blond man jumps up at the intrusion. "Bakugo! What're doing not answering your texts man?" Kirishimas voice loudly questions his friend. Bakugo watch as Kaminari, Mina, Sero, and Kirishima barded their way into the small dorm.

Bakugo doesn't answer, instead looking towards you. Hoping your still asleep. To his horror dismay you once sleeping form pushes itself up with one hand, the other rubbing your eyes.

Confusion washes over your features as you take in your surroundings. The teens all look towards you, Kaminari and Sero's jaws seems to be on the floor. Kriishima and Mina look between you and their firey friend.

Once you realize what was going on you smile, "Oh hey guys." You yawn, covering your mouth and waving slightly. Your words are slurred with exhaustion. Mina grins, "Hey girl!" She waves while giving Bakugo a sly knowing smirk.

You plop back down onto the bed beneath you, grabbing the blanket and curling up to get comfortable. Once you lay back down Bakugo is quickly pushing his friends classmates through his rooms door.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" He practically yells after he shuts the door behind him, he is cautious to keep his voice hushed to not disturb you.

"Us? What were you and y/n doing?" Kaminari and Sero start laughing in shock of what they saw. "Yeah what was y/n doing in your bed Bakugo?" Mina's voice is sly and knowing and for some reason it makes Bakugos ears grow red at her implications.

But no. It was you. It was nothing like that. So he grits his teeth and glares at the teens in front of him. "The fuck you trying to say racoon eyes?" Mine just smirks and shrugs he shoulders innocently. Kirishima intervenes before Bakugo can blow up the whole hallway.

"We just came by because we had a study session and you and y/n didn't show up." Sero cuts his friend off. "Though we didn't expect to find both of you here." Kirishima puts a hand on his angry friends shoulder, effectively keeping him away from Sero.

"We were just hanging out and she feel asleep you perverts." Bakugo watches his friends laugh, his scowl growing bigger. "Now fuck off, you screwed up your chance to get tutoring help from me assholes." Now he watches regret wash over his friends features.

Kirishima speaks up, "Don't be like that bro it was super manly!" This doesn't have the affect he wanted, it only makes the blond man angrier. "There was nothing manly about anything because nothing happened you freaks. Now I'm going back to my dorm. Ask the ponytail girl for help."

"Oh boo you whore, say hi to y/n for us lover boy." Mina waves him scoff teasingly. Kaminski and Seros laughs are quickly cut off when Kirishima fails to stop Bakugo coming at them. The three screw teens run down the hallway, leaving Bakugo with his spiky haired friend.

When Kirishima see his friends have left he chuckles, looking towards the angry blond. "Hey Bakugo you know it's not bad to have a crush on y/n right? In fact it's quite manly." Krishimas voice is sincere, it takes Bakugo back.

For some reason he fumbles over his words. Him? You? Together? No. Absolutely not. Not when he had to become the Number One hero, he can't be in a relationship. No distractions. He knows this. So why, just why, does the thought of you and him make him so goddamn flustered.

"Oh shut up shitty hair." Is all he can push out, trying to cover up his slip up. Kirishima catches his friends new demeanor. "Just think about man. See you later." Kirishima waves his friend goodbye, heading down the hallway most likely trying to find Momo and his friends.

After cursing under his breath Bakugo quietly heads back into his dorm. When he towards his bed and see your body, slightly moving up and down with your breathing, he almost falls to his knees when his feeling hit him.

Holy fuck.

Theres no way that he had a crush on you. No way. You were his friend. Sure he thought you were gorgeous. Maybe he always thought you were the strongest in the class, second to him of course. Maybe he tried to spend the most time he could with you, going out of his way to see you.

But that didn't mean anything.

But as Bakugo plopped himself in his desk chair with a flush face facing your sleeping form. He knew it was a lie. How did he not see it before. He was in love with you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had such a strong urge to write this and it took me over. I will be tweaking this for the actual fic but yeah thanks for read and hope you enjoyed.

Main Masterlist

Mha Masterlist

[audliminal]

It's Just a Game, Right? Pt 4

Masterpost

"Okay, so like. We start with this video." Bernard says, bumping Tim's shoulder lightly. Huddling over a laptop together is a familiar experience; before they actually started dating they both regularly used laptop videos as an excuse to get close. It's a memory that Tim sort of cringes at, because now it seems so silly to be scared of Bernard not liking him back, and yet now he finds himself thinking back to those early days. The thrill of huddling together to solve a mystery is a little different from the thrill of being around your crush, but there's something there, a sort of excitement in questions yet to be answered.

"All right, hit me." And as Tim leans into Bernard a little harder, his boyfriend presses play.

The video is definitely weird. That much is immediately obvious. It seems to be a slideshow of pictures, complete with audio, but the pictures just seem off in a way that Tim can't describe and the audio is - it's a little sticky, but that is definitely Space Oddity, only it sounds kind of wrong like somebody's playing certain notes off key.

"Oh, that is definitely a Caesar cipher, huh?" Tim mutters. There's a line of text written beneath every photo in the little slideshow, but they're all garbled nonsense - it would seem entirely random, but Tim can already see a touch of pattern, some of the letters definitely appearing more common than others.

"Spy phase, huh?" Bernard teases. "I should've known you would already be on this stuff."

Tim grins and does his best to pretend he's not blushing. He's never been more grateful for his tendency to go overboard with his interests. The last thing he needs right now is Bernard asking questions about why he knows so much about code-breaking. Sure, he wants desperately to tell him all about Red Robin, but it's complicated with the rest of the family being implicated in your own identity.

The video continues in the same line for the whole duration of the song, then abruptly cuts off the second the last note of the song plays.

"Well, my first thought is that it seems kind of basic." Tim offers, at Bernard's expectant look.

"Right? Like when I first watched it I was kind of like what's the hype even about? But like, every video follows this general format, but the gradient of apparent code just keeps increasing, and it's like. What if there's more here and nobody ever realized they needed to look for it?"

"Okay well, the text has already been deciphered, right? So what does it say, and how'd they decode it."

"Here," Bernard switches tabs, to a document with screenshots of the various images. The first image was a simple photograph of a man, with the translated text reading Jonathan, January Thirteenth. The next photo, which was of an empty street, dusted with snow, read Hawthorn Way, Johnny's birthday. The rest of the photos followed in the same line. Simple labels describing who or what the photo showed and when they had been taken. None of the information seemed odd or suspicious, just the kind of photos that a family might take.

"Okay, it's a Caesar cipher, but each time the alphabet is being shifted a different amount."

"Yeah. And I already tried writing down the amounts in order to see if that meant anything but like.... No luck." Bernard gestures to his notes, where there is indeed a long number sequence.

"Okay, but how'd you solve it? Did anybody look for a clue to imply the shift or did they just brute force it?"

"I mean, there's literally websites that will run it for you, so I think people just did that." Tim hums, tapping his pen against his ear. The number sequence Bernard had shown him -

"None of the shifts are greater than eleven." Tim says. Bernard blinks, and glances back over his list.

"Huh. You're right, but what does that mean?"

"Means we need to figure out what's eleven." Tim reaches out and switches back the video and starts it again. The music still seems weird to him. He's no expert musician by any means, but he did take piano lessons for a bit when he was little, and more than that, he trusts his instincts. "There's only seven notes in a scale so it's not that..."

"A scale? Do you think there's something in the music? I mean other than it just being creepy?" Tim stares at Bernard.

"Bernard, you literally told me that you think it's all been more intentional than anyone realized. If that's true then the music definitely means something."

"Huh. Yeah, that is. Oh, we definitely needed new eyes on this, huh?" Bernard's huffs, then leans into Tim. "Okay well some the notes in the song are just straight up rank so maybe it's something to do with that?"

Tim hits play on the video again, focusing on the music. Six seconds in, a note hits, sounding very off.

"See?" Bernard says hitting pause. "It does that sometimes. Just plays a wrong note. I thought it was just to fuck with us, make us on edge, but maybe it means something?"

"We need the sheet music on this."

"Yeah? Do you know how to transcribe it?"

"Not reliably enough. But I know how to find someone who can."

"Babe, you're doing it again." Bernard laughs. "That could not have sounded more like Mafia energy if you tried."

"Oh my god, shut up."

[thesummerestsolstice]

There's this implication in Tolkien's writing that half-elves are kind-of immortal by default, and that they stop aging unless they choose mortality (though arguably they don't even really age then). See Arwen in the Lord of the Rings, who is several thousand years old and has clearly been living life as an elf, despite never having made the Peredhel choice.

I always wondered why Arwen was given that choice, actually. It seems like the Peredhel choice is mostly given to people who have a mortal parent and an immortal parent (Earendil, since Tuor was definitely mortal when he was born, and arguably Elwing depending on how you see Dior), or at least parents who are undecided (Elrond and Elros are born before Elwing and Earendil make their choices). Arwen is a fair bit more than half-elven, and has two immortal parents. And there's not really any evidence Elros's children got the choice. Why does she get to choose whether she wants to be mortal or immortal?

Now, this could just be some minor world building weirdness, but it raises another very interesting possibility. That Elrond, by the time his children were born, had not committed to being immortal, and was instead undecided. I feel like there's so much to explore in that idea. Maybe Elrond truly wasn't sure about his choice to stay immortal forever until much, much later in his life. Maybe he held off choosing specifically so his children would be able to. Maybe he didn't choose because he didn't want to have to pick between being an elf or a man, and just wanted to be a half-elf in peace.

There's also something very compelling to me about the idea of an Elrond who could have, at any point during the Second or Third Ages, decided to be mortal. Who could have left the grief and struggle of Middle-Earth behind forever, and who, nonetheless, always chose to stay; picking immortality, not once, but a thousand times over the course of his long life, no matter what difficulties he was faced with.

It would also be interesting to explore the idea that most of the people in Elrond's life assume he decided to be fully elven long ago, only to realize that that isn't actually true. I imagine it could be disconcerting, maybe even really anxiety-provoking to realize that someone you were certain would be around forever might not be. I also think it would be really hard for a lot of elves to understand why Elrond might not want to make that choice.

[selkiesstories]

Could Daeron have used the raids sanctioned by Aliandra as a pretext for a war of conquest? Yes. It’s actually a smart move politically which is probably why Martin doesn’t use it *sigh* And not for the first time a blatant breach of contract is glossed over when it comes to Dorne. (Martin needs to work on consistency: the Reach & the West fighting against the Targaryens led to a waste of lives, Dornish resistance to conquest was brave and virtuous, the Hightowers are spineless for caving to the Targaryens, Torhen Stark demonstrates wisdom and regard for his people’s living by kneeling without fighting-WHICH IS IT?????) 

I haven’t seen this anywhere but by killing Daeron under a peace banner-assassination is technically murder-which even in Westeros where the concept of war crimes is pretty shaky is absolutely taboo the Dornish cosigned the hostages in King’s Landing to death. All of them would die, but that was a sacrifice those nobles were willing to make.

I wasn't trolling, and I apologize if I caused offense. I definitively didn't mean to do that. I just don't see how Daeron's conquest is in any way morally justifiable, nor why the Dornish are in the wrong for killing their invaders.

Try to salvage anon’s Daeron ask. What about the justness of wars of conquest where continual border skirmishes and general unrest exist. Is that a war of conquest? What about the changing international customs, laws and institutions that judge these things?

No worries.

The second Anon has the right of it. Far from being an unprovoked act of naked aggression against Dorne, the relationship between the Seven Kingdoms and the independent Principality of Dorne was fraught with continual attacks, raids, and violence, and not only in one direction. Deria Martell is widely believed to have supported the Vulture King, certainly she permitted her vassals to join his campaign which suggests that she supported him as a barely-deniable asset. Morion Martell launched an invasion against the Seven Kingdoms out of a desire to avenge the Vulture King. Aliandra Martell encouraged raiding into the Dornish Marches as a means of gaining her favor, thus making aggression against Westeros an established domestic and foreign policy. 

Daeron’s war definitely had conquest elements, since it was explicitly designed to annex territory and complete Aegon’s Conquest, a mere punitive expedition ala the Pancho Villa expedition would probably limit itself to burning down outlaw camps, securing any stolen treasure, and hanging known raiders and people in possession of stolen goods. However, with Aliandra Martell explicitly endorsing raiding as a means of political advancement, Daeron’s war cannot be thought of solely as a vanity project. Daeron is within his right as king of Westeros to take measures to end border aggression and defend his people. Since Aliandra is establishing the policy in her purview as Princess of Dorne, that means it’s not merely criminal activity, but national policy, so Daeron can take action against Dorne itself, not simply against cross-border raiders. Certainly, wars of conquest were conceived of differently in the Middle Ages, the “right of conquest” and wars of aggression were criticized as crimes at Nuremberg, and further clarified by the UN in 1974, so international norms in Westeros were a lot different and that does factor into character motivation.

But the bigger concern to me is specifically the murder at the peace conference, because there’s no way that it’s justifiable. Even by ancient norms such a thing was considered to be a capital offense against law and morality both. By misusing the truce flag and the peace conference, they become degraded in function; they become ineffective means by which to end a war. When that happens, then the question becomes, how do you end a war? You can’t do it with a peace conference, those could be a plot to lure you out to murder you. How do you even communicate with the enemy to seek out a peace deal? That’s the problem, you can’t trust anything the enemy does in regards to peace. In the absolute worst case scenario, this turns wars into affairs of annihilation, but even more moderately, this hampers a wars ability to end, which results in more casualties, more losses, and greater aftereffects. That’s why the misuse of these symbols is a war crime, because it harms the belligerents’ ability to end the war.

This is illustrated most infamously in the Pacific Theater of the Second World War. Japanese soldiers would attack under white flags or with their hands up, and as a result, Allied servicemen stopped accepting requests for surrender. That jeopardizes the lives of any Japanese soldiers that wanted to surrender, because now the enemy cannot trust surrender as genuine, since accepting a surrender jeopardized their own lives.

We see this within the novel itself. When Tyrion sends false envoys to Riverrun with the intent of breaking Jaime out of prison, it means the Northmen and Riverlanders cannot trust further Iron Throne envoys. Much as with the Red Wedding, this places the Lannisters in a position where they are constantly suspect for bad faith, and we see the after-effects in the novel series. Guest right doesn’t protect anyone, and the aftermath is a false peace.

It’s logically valid to say that you don’t believe that Daeron’s war was justified but that the Martells did something heinously wrong in murdering him at a peace conference; you are not obligated to turn any event into a binary.

Thanks for the question, Anons.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

[actuallysaiyan]

Christmas Time Is Here(Satoru Gojo x Fem!Reader X Suguru Geto)

warnings: smut, unprotected sex, d/s dynamics, oral sex, threesomes, some angst, Christmas imagery, lots of just lewd content word count: 5k! pairings: Satoru Gojo x Fem!Reader x Suguru Geto summary: you find yourself between this duo, and while you feel sad to be left alone for the holiday break, they surprise you with something to make you feel so special... a/n: this was written for @cherryblossombankai for christmas about two years ago! Figured I'd post it here finally, it's very spicy! dividers by @adornedwithlight

taglist: @cherryblossombankai, @an-ever-angry-bi, @namikyento, @adharadotcom, @heyitsd1yaa,

@darkstarlight82, @melisuh123, @galactict3a, @erebus-et-eigengrau, @aomi04

, @isabelzoldyck, @cinnamon-girl-writes, @felixmr, @typicalemo,

@benkeibear, @urfavmars24, @animediplomat, @menag-etroix,

@shycoconutt,, @emmaiscool22, @ambiguouslady42, @mx-saph,

@thissaintjessi, @kiiwiipie, @thestarsystemsworld, @aervera

21 days until Christmas…

You were excited to say the least. The days seemed to drag on and you were doing your best to work hard. But your newest problem all started when you had mentioned something under your breath in front of Satoru and Suguru. It was really just a little thing you had said without much thought. But it got both of their attention so quickly. Satoru smirked at you, and he leaned a little closer so he could maybe even just get a whiff of your scent. 

“What was that, sweetheart?”

Your cheeks burned at the implication of what just happened. You hadn’t realized what you just said. Suguru does his best not to seem interested, but he won’t deny the throbbing in his pants. Oh was he ever pent up, and your little comment made it worse. He hated the fact that Satoru knew about your little problem. It should be him that takes care of your needs, not the beautiful white-haired man that seems to interject any time he can.

“I-it was nothing, ‘toru. I didn’t really say anything.”

Satoru smirked even wider and he let his hand brush some hair out of your face. Suguru frowns when he watches his rival lean in and kiss you on the lips. It wasn’t beyond Satoru to make you flustered like this, and the man would often flirt with you and kiss you. But Suguru thought they had an agreement. Neither of them would flirt with you in front of the other.

“So you didn’t say you were in the middle of a dry spell and needed to get fucked?”

Your breath hitched in your throat. How could you explain your way out of this one? You had indeed said something to that effect. Your cheeks burned even more, and you just wanted to be swallowed up by the ground right now. If it weren’t for the fact that Suguru was here, you might have given in to Satoru’s soft kisses. You broke away from his grasp to look at the darker haired man, and he frowns and looks away from the two of you. Though someone who usually doesn’t show his emotions, he was clearly angry by his rival’s show of affection.

“What’s the matter? Can’t handle our girl?”

Suguru grunted, “She’s not our girl.” 

You looked down at your hands, unsure of how to even feel about his rude words. You worked so hard to make sure you were patient with him, and that you showed him so much affection. But to hear the cruel way he thought of you, it was proving to be too much. You get up from your seat and you struggle to keep the tears back. With a sniffle, you looked back at both men.

“Maybe you two should learn not to play with someone’s feelings.”

15 days until Christmas…

You had considered leaving to go see your family for Christmas, but it’s been years since you were invited. It ate you up inside., having to stay at the school for the holiday. Usually you’d head out with some friends to stay away from the school for the few weeks you had off. But all of them seemed to be paring off with their own lovers or other friends they hadn’t seen in a long time. You really found yourself without plans or without a place to go.

Your trunk sat unpacked at the foot of the bed. Just a week prior, you had dug it out with the intention of filling it with colorful outfits to wear while on vacation. But now it was just a sad reminder that you’d be spending your days here all alone and without any company. When you weren’t out on missions or learning new skills this week, you were mostly in your room.

Curled up under blankets, you watched all kinds of Christmas movies. The kind that mostly made you miss your family. You longed for the happy and wacky folly that they went through with your own kind. You wished you had a mother that would actually invite you over for the holidays and bake you cookies and make the traditional dinner.

But you know for a fact that you’ll be alone for the vacation.

And this doesn’t sit right with neither Satoru nor Suguru. The two of them had been quite at odds with one another after the conflict that left you unsocial and locked away in your room. When the news is told to them that you’ll be staying at the school for the duration of the vacation, both of them opt out on any plans they may have had.

It’s Suguru that came to visit you first. He hated the thought of you shutting yourself away. You’re the brightest thing in his life and you make him feel so good, so for you to stop showing your face around, it just made his life that much more miserable. He longed to see your pretty smile. And to feel those plump lips on his own as he pushes you up against a wall.

And that’s what he attempted to do the day he came by. His strong hands tried to keep you against the wall, but he soon realized you were in no shape for anything like this. Your eyes; all sunken and dark. Something was giving off a very curious odor, and his cheeks burned when he realized it was coming from your body.

“What are you doing to yourself?” He pried, a frown on his lips.

You scoffed, “What do you care? You and Satoru are just enjoying using me as your personal ragdoll.”

That stung deep inside of him. You’ve said some cruel things to him yourself, but this was terrible. You looked so frustrated and defeated, and it was breaking his heart. You shooed him from your room, leaving him feeling more than just dejected. It was a gut wrenching pain to see you in such a state.

He knocked furiously on your door, but you never let him back in that day. Still, it made you pause for a while and when he was finally gone from your hallway, you made a beeline for the shower and gave yourself the proper care you deserved.

10 Days until Christmas…

The nights were long in your room. You did your best to get ready for a lonely time. Satoru visited you a few times, but it was to no avail just like his rival. You had no intention of listening to his lame excuses as well. Though he wouldn’t lie to you, you were tired of hearing him try to get back into your good graces. He was hurting you and so was Geto. You longed for them both, but you knew it was just best if you tried to get over your crushes.

Satoru was beginning to get quite impatient. He wasn’t going to just sit back and have you ignore him. You meant everything to him. You were literally his moon and stars. When Suguru told him you weren’t sleeping nor eating much, he was getting so frustrated with you.

And with you ignoring the both of them during classes and missions, it was starting to get a little old. Satoru would struggle with his feelings for you sometimes, but deep in his heart he knew he loved you more than anyone else. If that meant he had to share you with Suguru, so be it. He would do that just to have you. 

It’s a slow walk home for him one night. It was dark out that night, and his walk from the train station made him even more weary. He had Christmas presents bundled up in his arms as he made his way back to the school. All he could think about was trying to get you to open up for him maybe once again.

You were feeling a little more open to socializing tonight and you longed for your two crushes. After a warm shower, you found yourself resting on a bed made up with fresh sheets. You had some food delivered and you were just about to dig in when there was a knock at the door. Maybe it was the delivery man with something he forgot to give you. Your heart was wrenched when you saw Satoru there. There was a sadness and softness to the smile he flashed in your direction.

“I have some hot cocoa and a bottle of atsukan I’d like to share with you,”

Those words were filled with so much longing. You weren’t even sure if you had it in you to say no. So you opened your door a little wider and let him in.

You turned on the kettle and fetched two mugs from your cupboard. Both of you kneeled in front of the table and he brought the bottle out. He poured a little alcohol in each mug.

“I’m sorry about what I did that day,”

You’re a little surprised that he’s apologizing for that. Despite his somewhat playboy and arrogant behavior he has around you, Gojo knows he doesn’t want to make you feel like you’re nothing to him. Because you truly had no clue how important you were to him. And you would soon come to find out.

He pulled off his gloves, and you felt the chill from his fingers. It was snowing out there and had been cold out all day. That’s why when you had finished your own shopping, you had made it back home and took a long hot shower. Before long, you found yourself craving those hands on your body. Just to give you a slight shock from the cold.

He looked so deeply into your eyes, making you blush. You were so infatuated with him, it was crazy. Just seeing him without something covering his eyes, you knew you were privileged to see such gorgeous eyes.

“I want you to take care of yourself, okay?” He asked, and you found yourself nodding so stupidly.

“How’d you find out?” 

The kettle clicked off and you went to get it so that you could pour some hot water into the mugs. Then you busied yourself with opening the packages of hot cocoa. Satoru watched you carefully as you took the first sip.

“I have my ways of knowing. You’re our girl after all.”

Your heart had skipped a beat and you swore you were floating on clouds. That meant that Suguru had told him what he had seen five days prior to this night. Both of them cared about you. 

“I’m staying here for the holidays. So you should come over to my room and we can spend the time together.”

You swore your heart had just reset itself. Surely Satoru had plans for the holidays. He cupped your chin and tilted your head so he could press his lips to yours. You could taste the alcohol and chocolate in his kiss.

He didn’t stay long that night, but you two agreed to meet up once school let up for the holidays.

The start of Christmas vacation…

Only three days remained before Christmas and you were itching to spend time in Satoru’s room. The only thing that changed without your consent was the fact that Suguru had been invited to spend the holidays with you and Satoru. It was going to be a cramped fit, but Satoru wanted this more than anything else. He had a plan for all of this.

Not only did he finish all his shopping a few nights ago, but he had also cleaned up his room for the first time in a little while. It was getting a little more dirty than he usually preferred. 

And with the promise of spending time with his two favorite people on his planet, nothing could ruin this holiday. It’s just a little after five in the evening when you knock on his door. Suguru was already over, sitting on the small sofa that Satoru had managed to get set up.

You’re shocked to see them both in the room, but you knew this would only be a good thing. You stayed away from both of them for too long and you longed to just be as close to both your lovers as you can.

Suguru pats his lap once you enter the room and drop your bag on the ground. You walk over to him and straddle him. He’s practically purring when you kiss him. It’s just as he imagined it might be.

“Our poor little kitten,” Suguru teases as his large hands cup your breasts through the tacky Christmas sweater you had on. “She’s been so pent up, Satoru.”

Satoru comes over to the both of you and sits on the sofa. His hands feel nice and warm this time as they soothe up and down your bare thighs.

“That’s what happens when she decides to ignore us,” Satoru teases as he leans in to kiss your neck.

Suguru smirks, “I thought you understood how this works, kitten.”

As if they were going to let you slip away from them again. No way, not again. Suguru kneads your ass under your skirt and he gets you to start grinding against him. Satoru takes a moment to admire the two of you. His cock is already throbbing in his pants. This is going better than he expected to, and he has no complaints at all.

“She’s so wet already, Satoru.”

They both need you so badly now. For weeks they’ve been fucking their own fists, squeezing tight, tight to attempt to mimic your squeezing cunt. It’s so soft and warm in there, and it feels like home to both of them. 

“She needs to be taught a lesson.”

That seems to be the consensus between the two men. You know you’re in for it now. There’s no real way to escape, but it’s not like you were really planning on it anyway. You melt in Suguru’s rough touch. 

Your panties are ripped off your body, and his strong hands turn you around on his lap. Your back rests against his muscular chest, and you let out pathetic little moans just for the both of them. Your clit was aching to be touched and stimulated. You were already leaking all over his pants.

“She’s just a cute little kitten. She doesn’t know any better,” Suguru begins teasing you, and it’s not long before Satoru joins in.

“What a cockslut. She’s so fucking desperate for us, Suguru.”

Suguru’s fingers barely ghost over the most intimate parts of your body. Your cunt clenched around nothing as you huff out a soft sigh. You lean your head on Suguru’s shoulder and he chuckles. 

Satoru gets up and faces you. Your eyes widen when he unbuckles his belt and unzips his pants. Your mouth waters when you see his hardened cock. It’s leaking, throbbing and begging to be sucked.

“Let me show her how a good cocksleeve behaves, Suguru. Then maybe if she is a good girl, you can show her how much we appreciate her.”

Satoru grins as he cups your chin. You look adorable like this, just so helpless on Suguru’s lap. Your legs are spread and your glistening cunt is on display for the both of them. Satoru strokes his cock once, twice, before bringing the weeping head to your lips. You’re so eager to taste him that your tongue comes out to lap at the precum that settles in his slit. He chuckles darkly, and squeezes your cheeks to get your mouth to open. Suguru feels his own cock harden against you.

You’re left breathless as Satoru slips his cock between your lips. It’s so big, and you have to relax your throat to get him fully into your mouth. Still, even with his cockhead basically down your throat, you know there is still some of his cock left to stroke. But Suguru hasn’t let go of your hands. He knows his partner needs this release more than anything else.

“She’s so cute with her mouth full of cock.”

Satoru laughs at this statement. You truly are so adorable with your mouth full of cock. Your little holes always get so stuffed by both of them. And it doesn’t matter which hole it is, it belongs to the two of them. Satoru grunts as his hips begin thrusting. Your little mouth is so warm and wet right now.

“You got that right,” he groans. “We could never let you go, princess.”

Suguru’s hands slip under your sweater and he begins pulling on your nipples. Satoru scolds him a little for being impatient, but Suguru can’t stand this any longer. He needs to touch you and make you whine for them. He needs to hear it, just so it can be stuck in his head again. That beautiful sound of you whining around a cock.

“She’s so beautiful,” Satoru compliments you. 

Your eyes begin to tear up as you take more of him into your mouth. He’s just fucking your throat now, and loving every moment of it. You breathe through your nose, but he knows you’re struggling just a little bit right now. Suguru continues tugging on your perky nipples.

“This was a good idea,” Suguru mumbles against your skin. “So glad we have our girl with us for the holidays.”

You’re supposed to spend the two weeks with them completely here. There aren’t many people staying, so you know the three of you have the place almost to yourselves. Staying in and spending your time fucking for two weeks was definitely heaven compared to what you had in mind.

Satoru caresses your cheek lovingly as he continues to thrust. He can’t help but love the way you look with tears in your eyes as you struggle so hard to take him. You would do anything just to make him feel good, and he knows this. You’re crazy about them, and it lights up his world more than anything else could.

His balls are so heavy and he thrusts in time with Suguru’s tugging at your nipples. With a few more thrusts, Satoru is falling off the edge. It’s electric when it does happen, and he is so loud. Suguru’s cock throbs as he watches his best friend cum down your throat, and he knows he’s going to be the next in line to receive the pleasure he wants.

As Satoru comes down from his high, he slowly pulls out of you. A small dribble of cum drips down your chin, but he’s so quick to catch it with his thumb. Then he cheekily pushes that thumb into your mouth, grunting at your soft tongue lapping up the leftover cum greedily.

“Such a good little kitten,”

He sits on the couch and takes you from Suguru’s lap. You’re practically in a daze yourself and you’ve hardly been touched. Suguru pushes up your cute little skirt and he lets his fingers spread your labia.

“She was such a good girl, wasn’t she, Satoru?” Suguru is teasing you now, and he breathes softly against your aching cunt.

“Hmm,” Satoru makes a big show of considering if you were good enough to receive pleasure. “She was a good girl.”

You sigh in relief. You knew you were going to finally receive the pleasure you so desperately needed. Suguru licks his lips as he positions himself on the ground in front of you. Satoru keeps your skirt hiked up, and Suguru can’t help himself anymore.

You whine as his warm tongue pushes against your folds. It’s been way too long since either of them made you cum. You were stupid for being so stubborn earlier this month, but you were feeling like a little ragdoll without real feelings. You know now that it couldn’t be further from the truth. Though you might be their little cocksleeve, they both cared so deeply for you. You had a hunch that they might even love you.

Suguru grunts against your wet slit when you begin tugging on his long, dark hair. You know he absolutely loses his mind when you do that to him as he laps at your wet cunt. Satoru can’t help but to whisper filthy and obscene things in your ear.

“Oh, you really love having your messy pussy devoured by Suguru, don’t you?”

Your heart races, “D-don’t say it like that,”

Satoru begins tugging on your nipples, “I’ll say it however I want, princess.”

You aren’t sure how long you can hold on. Especially with the way Suguru keeps pushing his tongue deep inside your cunt. It’s like he’s lapping at a never ending flow of your nectar. It’s the best thing he’s ever had in his life. He won’t ever be able to have anything more sweet and addicting in his life.

“Such a juicy little cunt,” Suguru says between the greedy slurps of your dripping slit.

Satoru chuckles, “Yeah, our little kitten sure makes a mess. She’s just a needy little thing.”

Suguru returns to lapping at that flow of nectar. He reaches down to begin palming at his cock through his pants. He’s throbbing already and he wonders how he can even get himself to last once he fucks you.

“Oh, she’s so close, Suguru. Make our little kitten make a big mess now.”

Those are the only words of encouragement he needs. Suguru lets his tongue begin swirling and lapping at your aching clit. Just a few steady sucks on your swollen nub, and you’re done for. You feel your body shaking and your juices are drenching both men. Suguru doesn’t even bother stopping as you’re gushing those tasty juices. He’d gladly drown in them if you’d let him.

But when he does pull away, he watches as your head falls back against Satoru’s shoulder. It’s so cute how you think they’re done with you. Oh no, they are far from done with you. There are still two whole weeks before school starts up again.

“I think she’s ready for both of us, Satoru.”

Your cheeks burn at just the thought of the two of them sharing your tight hole. It wouldn’t be the first time they share you, but they rarely do it. Though, it is Christmastime after all. And if Christmastime isn’t for sharing, then what is it for? What you weren’t expecting is for Satoru to set you on the couch and both of them to kneel between your thighs.

“W-wait, what’s going on?”

Satoru grins, “We have to make sure your little hole is ready for both of our fat cocks,”

Suguru laughs, “We could easily tear you apart, kitten.”

Their words and the way that Satoru pushes your thighs apart even more, that’s what makes you get wet again. As soon as you feel both of their tongues on your sore clit, you have to tear your eyes away. The sight of their tongues rubbing together as they lap at your aching cunt, it’s just too much for you to bear.

But Satoru isn’t having this. He reaches up to cup your chin and gently guides you to watch them. Then his other hand soothes up to cup Suguru’s cheek and he pulls him in to kiss. You dribble all over their tongues that are rubbing together. Suguru can’t remember the last time he was this aroused. He feels like he could cum in his pants way too quick like this. Satoru’s tongue tastes not only of your arousal, but it’s a sweet peppermint alcohol flavor that sits there as well.

“You should be watching us, kitten.” Satoru scolds you as you try to look away again.

“N-no. I-I can’t.”

Suguru chuckles, “Why can’t you watch us, kitten?”

“S’too sexy.”

Both men chuckle darkly, and they go right back to basically making out with your sopping pussy. You reach down to run your fingers through their hair, and this makes them work your body even harder for that sweet, sweet release.

When you burst, it’s explosive. Satoru takes his chance to taste you completely this time, and Suguru gets to taste you on his tongue afterward. The two of them make out for a little while longer as they give you the chance to catch your breath. The two of them get on their feet and begin undressing each other.

You aren’t sure who to keep your eyes on. You feel like you’d get whiplash if this continues. But soon Satoru is taking the lead and he leans in to kiss you. You can taste not only yourself on his lips, but there is a faint flavor of Suguru as well. It’s driving you crazy.

“Suguru, get on the sofa.”

Suguru does as he’s told, sitting down on the sofa next to you. Satoru guides him to take you onto his lap, and he does. Suguru holds your thighs apart, and this makes you whimper as your sore cunt is exposed even more to both of them.

“Okay, you put it in first,”

Suguru grunts, “I’m surprised you don’t want the first taste,”

Satoru leans in and kisses him and then you. “Think of it as my Christmas gift to you,”

“Wow, so generous.”

But the two men don’t waste any more time. Suguru guides you to sink down onto his throbbing cock. It renders him speechless, and this is the real reason why Satoru wanted him to go first. He can’t help but find the look on Suguru’s face so arousing. It’s like Suguru goes stupid just from your tight pussy. Satoru knows exactly how it feels though, and he can’t even wait to feel that too.

“Tell me how she feels,” Satoru demands while stroking his own leaking cock.”

“Really–hnnng fuck, really good.”

Suguru’s eyes roll back as your walls flutter around him, desperately trying to milk him. He knows he won’t be able to last long, so he decides to focus mostly on his breathing.

Satoru gets into position, and he begins rubbing your clit in time with the slow and sensual thrusts that Suguru is giving you. You’re panting now, unsure of how much longer you can last with the two of them just taking their fill of you.

“You aren’t going to cum just yet, are you?” Satoru asks. “I didn’t say you could, did I?”

Suguru laughs, “Better listen to him, kitten.”

You try to squeak out how hard it is to hold on when they are both making you feel so good, but it only comes out as desperate little moans. Just as you’re about to cum for the third time that night, Satoru pushes his cock deep within you. And when he bottoms out, he’s nestled in your silky and wet walls against Suguru’s throbbing cock.

“She makes–haaaah fuck fuck fuck…she makes the dumbest little moans, doesn’t she? What a whore,” Satoru’s words go right to your clit, making you whine at the ache from being overstimulated.

“Yeah she does, ‘sounds like a little bitch in heat.” Suguru says with a smirk spread on his lips.

Neither of them are going to be taking it easy on you. Stuck between their sweaty bodies, you feel their cocks slipping against your sweet spot with the tentative and slow thrusts they start with.

But as the three of you begin moaning from the building pleasure, it’s clear to the both of them that they can go even faster and harder. Suguru’s hands slide back up your sweater and he pulls the fabric up over your tits. They jiggle in time with the rough thrusts your lovers are giving you.

“Listen to me, sweetheart,” Satoru says between grunts. “You better be ready to take a pounding like this every day while we are on vacation.”

Suguru barely grunts back his agreement to this set up you’ve got going on. If you three weren’t careful, you’d all end up falling even deeper in love with one another. But it was a chance they were willing to take. Even if you ended up being all theirs, it would be the perfect little Christmas miracle they were hoping for.

“I’m getting close, ‘toru.” Suguru moans, and you find it so incredible sexy that Suguru is getting fucked stupid along with you.

“Cum for us, Suguru. Fill her little cunt up with your seed.”

Suguru tugs on your nipples a little harder, and stars dance in your vision. Satoru reaches down to begin rubbing your swollen and sore clit in slow, teasing circles. You practically scream when your orgasm hits you so hard. Your vision is tunneled as shocks of pleasure keep thrumming through your body. It’s too much, you try to push them both out of you, but it’s impossible.

“Oh no,” Satoru scolds. He clicks his tongue in disapproval. “No, no, no. We won’t have any of that. You’re supposed to be a good and obedient cocksleeve. Let us cum first.’

You whimper so pitifully. And your walls are clinging to them, squeezing them so fucking tight. Suguru cums first, and it’s with such loud and whiny sounds. You didn’t think you’d hear him like this, but you wish to never forget that delicious sound.

“Good boy,” Satoru teases him. 

It’s a frantic pace that Satoru sets, and with the sensations of Suguru’s thick load and your walls still clamping down on him like you desperately want to get pregnant, he cums so hard. His vision turns to white as he fills you up with ropes of sticky cum. And when it’s all over, he doesn’t even bother to pull out. He just slumps on top of you.

“You did so good for us, kitten.” Suguru praises you, but you can barely make sense of anything at the moment.

“She did. She is the perfect cocksleeve.”

You whine as Satoru pulls out first, then Suguru pulls out. Satoru carries you to the bed and he lays you down. The two men crawl under the covers with you, keeping you safe and warm in their loving embrace.

“Get some rest, kitten.” Satoru coaxes.

Suguru laughs breathily, “Yeah, because when we get up, it’s round two.”

[itsnexhun]

Rush iv.

taglist: @queenmimis, @strawberrycheescake3, @dreams-writings

TW: mentions of blood, murder implications, description of nudity, very slight NSFW implications

His raspy voice tickles your ear. You can almost feel his breath on your skin. Closing your eyes shut as tightly as possible, you try to ignore him and continue pretending to be asleep. Although you know it’s futile, there’s nothing else you can do. You can hear your heart up to your mouth and as of now you could even swear that it’s even louder than the noise coming from the neighboring room. 

He hears it as well, yet he does not pursue any more conversation. You hear him scoff at your pathetic form. The sheets rustle, weight shifts on the mattress. Sighing in relief, your muscles relax slightly. Feitan got off the bed, leaving you alone despite having you completely in his grasp. 

His footsteps lead to the old loveseat laying across from the bed. You wonder if he managed to clothe himself when he exited the shower, after all you never heard him put on his clothes or even a towel. His body drops as he gets comfortable on the small weathered down couch. You know he’s still watching you, his eyes not leaving an inch of your body for even a millisecond. 

Discomfort pools over you after feeling stuck in an uncomfortable position. Your mind forbids you from moving, any suspicious movement could cost you either your life or dignity after having to admit that you did indeed just watched him shower. The image returns to your mind.

Was it really blood running down his body?

You do already realize that he is a sketchy individual, but would he really be capable of murdering someone? You’ve never met somebody like that, it feels like fantasy to you – a world that has always been too far out of reach to even seem real. Would you be even able to tell is someone was a murderer?  If he really is a ruthless killer like those you’ve been always hearing of in the media, then why are you still alive? You offer no worth to him. It seems too bizarre to you for him to be a killer. What are the chances?

“Sleep. Long drive tomorrow,” Feitan says calmly, sighing at your nervous form.

Taking the risk, you make yourself comfortable. You do not know if his words mean to mock you or comfort you.  With his voice almost having a soothing effect on you, your mind slowly drifts away as you fall asleep.

The sun, warm on your face, lines your features. Your body feels light as a feather, consciousness returning slowly back to you. A light touch of a hand tickles your cheek. It’s gentle, barely there – you yourself cannot even tell in this state, whether it’s real at all. 

Slowly stretching your body, your mind becomes clear. Whatever your dreams were, you cannot tell, nor does it matter but you’ve never slept so peacefully in your whole life. Which is a surprise in itself with your current situation.

You know you shouldn’t trust this man. Yet your mind and body, your whole existence, cannot deny that you’ve never felt this at peace in an unknown place, not even in the comfort of your own room. 

Yawning, you try to open your eyes even though it feels like your eyelids have been glued together with the remaining mascara from yesterday’s makeup. Images from the last night seem bizarre to you, almost unreal. Were they even real in the first place or just a figment of your imagination fueled by immense exhaustion? You were barely awake at that moment, it could’ve been simply your fears manifesting in a hyper-realistic dream. Yes, it most likely was only a dream formed out of your paranoia. 

Your vision sharpens as you become fully awake. You see Feitan settled down in the loveseat, watching you carefully as if waiting for the exact moment when you would wake up. Although you feel slightly weirded out about him watching you sleep, you cannot complain, judging by the sun filling the room, you have slept till the afternoon. 

You lift yourself up and lean back on your elbows getting a better look at him. Fully clothed up with his usual attire, half of his face already covered. The only thing you can see is the baggy clothes hiding his built body, freshly washed hair styled with gel and those piercing cold eyes. Though you could swear that they seem somewhat softer now. 

“You sleep long,” he simply states with no emotion whatsoever. 

“You should’ve woken me up. I slept surprisingly well after having some weird dreams,” you answered, yawning in between the sentences.

“What dreams? Elaborate.”

Blood rushes to your cheeks remembering what you’ve dreamed about. The harsh stream of water, tiny droplets lining his muscles, that pure hot animalistic rage, the strong grip in his fist, long heaving breaths. The more you thought about it, the redder your face became.

“You know what? It’s a… It’s a bit embarrassing so forget it, okay?” the panicked words escape your mouth. You cannot even look at him properly after this. 

Feitan simply lets out a small chuckle, almost unnoticeable if it weren’t for the quiet room. Quiet to the point that it threw you off for a moment, but you simply discarded that thought. Yesterday the walls seemed paper-thin, yet today you cannot hear any noise from neighboring rooms, from the hallway. No one talking, no one moving around. Almost as if the whole place has been deserted. Perhaps people only stay here for one night only and leave early in the morning?

He points at the night table next to your right.

“Breakfast for you, packed for the road too.”

You can’t discern, whether he did this gesture out of simple annoyance for you stalling him for so long or if this was supposed be purely a nice gesture out of his own goodwill. Though you have yet to find out if he has any, after all your little road trip started with several threats to your life. 

The night table to your right is filled with several simple meat sandwiches and bottled water. You can tell by the weird combination of the fillings that this is probably not something he bought but actually made himself. The thought itself warms your heart.

“…You actually made these just for me?”

“No.”

You freeze in your actions, just about to take a bite. What did he just say?

“Huh…?”

“I no eat something someone else touched.”

“Oh. Is that so,” you take a bite of the sandwich, no longer impressed or expecting something. Of course, he didn’t just make sandwiches out of scratch just for you. What were you even thinking? In what world would this cold stranger you just met, make sandwiches just to simply please you? Afterall, your encounter with him started with his nails threatening to slit your throat, continued with his katana begging to the same. You’ve started feeling too relaxed around him, forgetting that he is dangerous.

Or perhaps maybe… You just didn’t care anymore?

Is this the thrill you’ve been seeking when you ran away from home?

“Finish eating and we checkout. Leave the keys in the room and leave.”

It didn’t feel like a suggestion. It was more of a command. That was what he told you to do and you felt obligated so. Though it did feel slightly unusual to you, yet your mind assured you that he must be right. After all, he did seem to have some sort of connection with the receptionist. The more you thought about it, the more normal, the more casual it seemed to you. You could almost swear you’ve checked out of a room like this at least once before. 

Doesn’t matter that this is a small private motel. Surely, they keep extra keys for a private checkout like this, right?

Forcing yourself to finish the sandwich – even though the filling combination made the taste quite unpleasant, you packed up and prepared to leave. The inconsistency, the suspicion, the paranoia you felt before – it didn’t matter to you anymore. The sun shone brightly filling the room, freshly made bed, the small indents in the loveseat where he sat and the small crumbs you have left on the bedsheets. 

You didn’t want to think about any of it anymore. No matter how irrational it may have seemed. You wanted to throw all of it behind. To forget those thoughts. To forget reason. Something in you just wanted you to follow him. 

And you did so. 

Through the eerily empty hallways, deserted reception with weird smell of ethanol. All the way back to your lazily parked car from yesterday. Fresh air brushed against your skin, sun warming your face and your hand on the car keys.

“Shall we go now?”

Surprised by your sudden surge of energy, he simply nodded and followed you into your car. After spending the night with him, you felt much more relaxed in his presence. You were sure of one thing. If he wanted to hurt you, he would’ve already done so, he certainly had many opportunities. 

Setting up the navigation again, you notice that you may have slightly overestimated how long your journey to Yorknew was going to be. You still have a few nights you’ll have to make a stop for, but if the road is pleasant, you can shorten the estimated duration by few hours. However, you weren’t exactly sure if you felt happy about that. It felt like you finally found what you’ve been searching for ever since you left your home, your family.

Wordlessly, you turned on the engine and backed out of the parking spot. You were confused by your own feelings. Feeling like you couldn’t think about any of it anymore, you turned your attention to the road. There was a spot you’ve been wanting to see for a while now – it was relatively on the road, well, at least you knew you could make it be on the road. All it would take is just few bad turns.

Feitan, of course, noticed the continuous change in your behavior and your stance to him. Wondering what caused the change inside you, seemed utterly useless to him. The answer in his mind was simple. You, in your core – deep down, were in fact deranged, out of your mind, just like him. Forced to not act out due to society’s standards, you were attempting to escape and set yourself free of those binds. 

But there was still something that separated the two of you. You were still so pure, so pristine. So easy for him to shape you to his standards. He found it almost entertaining to watch you, choosing to enable you to unfold, he did not budge when you clumsily lied about your sense of direction being bad while you made those wrong turns, purposely changing the route to a longer one.

You ate while you drove, determined to make the stop there tonight. Surprisingly Feitan was kind enough to pass you one of the sandwiches when you asked. You are not sure, why you thought that he would be meaner about it. He simply scoffed but listened to you. You were slightly disappointed, you found his mean side to be one of his charms.

Exiting the highway, you turned left next and were met with your destination. A small forest opening surrounded the dirt road. You were glad to find no other cars in your vicinity, though you still weren’t sure why you wanted to be alone with him. 

Along the forest road ran a quiet clean river. It led to a small natural swim pond topped with a beautiful waterfall. When you chose to drive here, you weren’t sure it was even real. It was simply something you had read of years ago. Back then the pictures made it look like it was ripped out of a fairytale. 

Your fairytale turned out to be real.

“We’ll stop here for the night, we can get cleaned in the pond. I have a tent and a sleeping bag as well, so we’ll be fine.”

Wait. Thinking back on it – you only had one sleeping bag!

[quixotical-lymbo]

howdy! hope your day is going well

if you're comfortable with it, could I please request macaque x reader general fluff headcanons?

reader is transmasc (or just male if you're not confident in writing that), chubby, very affectionate, and loves cooking.

thank you in advance. if you're unable to do this then I completely understand! 👍🏿

Warnings/Tags: Post-S2, Trust issues, tooth-rotting fluff, brief implications of self-esteem issues, Macaque being an asshole.  Word Count: 900+ words 

 How you two met: It was an accident, honestly. Macaque wasn't even supposed to be hanging around people's apartments like some weirdo–but he had a bad run-in with a few old 'friends' in the neighborhood and he happened to pick the apartment with an opened window. Before he could leave the next morning, you had already seen him. Surprisingly, you offered to patch up his wounds and shelter him until they healed enough. Reluctantly, he agreed. 

First impressions: Macaque thought you looked weak and were too naive. Given by your rounder physique and softer features he assumed you wouldn't hold up against him in a fight if it came down to it. Those are some of the reasons why he agreed to stay with you at first. You thought this stranger was pitiful and lonely. Not only was he banged up badly, but he seemed…troubled and in need of a friend or two. 

How you two acted around each other as….: 

Acquaintances? Somewhat guarded, but that was a given since the two of you only shared each other's names before retreating to your own sections of your apartment. Macaque had the living room and couch, while you had your bedroom or the kitchen to whip something up for him. Basically, you two were unspoken roommates that rarely crossed paths unless absolutely necessary.

Friends? Warmer, Macaque still doesn't fully open up to you, but him cracking a few jokes here and there makes the mood between you two lighten up. It definitely helped that you took note of his favorite dishes and showered him in baked goods. 

More than friends…? Woah, woah, woah, bucko. Hold your monkeys! Macaque couldn't…no he shouldn't…why does he want to get close to you, but at the same time want to run away? What were you doing to him, was this some sort of witchcraft or something? Macaque definitely had a realization that he was getting wayyyy too comfortable around you and would be cold/wishy-washy with you for a few weeks until you confronted him about it. 

It was then he decided to take a leap of faith for the first time in a while and spill out what he was feeling (he definitely didn't say EVERYTHING EVERYTHING, but it was enough to get his point across). 

Thankfully, you felt the same way—confused, yet weirdly comfortable around him unlike anybody else you've ever been around. It was more than a comfy feeling when you were around him, more of a need to be in his good graces and wanting to be a bit more than 'roommates.' Macaque made you feel..safe, if anything. 

What does Macaque love like about you?

He likes how compassionate you are, but also hates how generous and naive you can be at times which he admits he takes advantage of sometimes.

He likes  how he doesn't even have to ask for things when you're already one step ahead and give him what he needs/wants, whether that's a hot meal, tending to his wounds, or even just being there for him. 

Another thing he loves about you is how unapologetically courageous you are.

You aren't afraid of most things normal would be afraid of (heck, you don't even kill any bugs that crawl in your apt.), and you aren't afraid of who you are. 

Sure, sometimes he witnesses you in a few bouts of self-doubt whenever you stand in front of a mirror, but he's always there whispering nothing but praises into your ear before slowly guiding your eyes to the parts of you that he loves. 

Macaque won't admit it out loud, but the fact that his man can cook, bake, and is a good person without all the ulterior motive bullshit makes him more smug than ever.

It's not that you're a prize, object, or anything, but the fact you actually want him seriously is an ego boost for him. 

My man, my man, my man 24/7 365. 

It's time for some fun lil' tidbits!

Macaque was confused when he saw your old family photos feature two adults and what appeared to be the girl version of you. When you explained to him that it was you before fully embracing your identity, Macaque understood and hasn't treated you any differently since, you're still his boyfriend even if he doesn't understand why you like him that much. 

Whenever you pepper his face in kisses, his body freezes and he is just a statue while his tail just starts writhing before curling around your waist. When you first did this, you were a bit startled by his reaction but after being reassured that he liked it (just wasn't used to so much touch, or rather physical touch that didn't involve being punched or choked) you continued. 

He isn't a big fan of being hugged from behind, which you quickly found out after being pinned against the kitchen counter–after a few apologies, you baked his favorite desserts and cuddled him for the rest of the afternoon. 

He loves teasing you about that one incident when you walked in on him undressing. It was hilarious watching you scramble around trying not to look at him. 

🍜 - Please let me know if anything is amiss, this is my first time writing for a transmasc reader. I do not give permission for anyone to translate, copy, republish, or plagiarize any of my written works. I provide no permission for any of my literary works to be used in artificial intelligence. sparkle banner(s) by @adornedwithlight !!

[thefallenangelsgang]

Fuck it, I'm throwing my hat on the ring about the Emil announcing Nate from Fallout 4 is the bystander Soldier in the Fallout 1 opener.

First and foremost, it was a stupid thing to say. As he backtracks to later, the conceit of Fallout's protags is they are supposed to be anyone (and that issue is precisely why some people hate the extensive prewar character background given to you in Fallout 4). For the lead writer to pull a JK Rowling (why would you do that? None of those went over well) is such a major marketing misstep that it wouldn't surprise me if Emil gets reprimanded for it before we even get into the implication of what he said.

Emil your voice is as good as God when it comes to the canon. You can't just say shit like that and expect it to go well. Especially considering the implications.

Speaking of the implications, I'm not mad about Nate being a war criminal. It's a coloring I actually would welcome if the games discussed concepts like Capitalism, Racism, and War in any meaningful way anymore. And if Emil also didn't say this.

Fallout's canon is rooted in reality. That is part of its whole thing. It's fun to do goofy shit like becoming the Silver Shroud and having a make believe superhero fight with the Mechanist or write a woman obsessed with Nuka Cola so much she traverses two games to basically kidnap the CEO's cryogenically preserved head so she can talk to him for all eternity, but the setting is very much rooted in reality.

You aren't dealing with fictional countries, you aren't dealing with fictional races, you aren't dealing with fictional hypotheticals. That is The Elder Scrolls job. You are dealing with actual countries, actual racism, actual history, and actual fucking politics. You have to be mindful of what you are doing and saying. You can't just do things because it's an interesting plot device without first thinking about the implications.

Fallout's world is a heightened version of our own, a path we seem to stumble towards with ever passing year unless we do something about it. It fucking sucks. I'm sure writing it feels like prophesizing the future and eats your soul a bit. It would mine. But that doesn't mean Fallout can just take a sharp left in terms of story and reality and get away with it.

To have Nate be the bystander Soldier and then meet him when he has a very good thing going for him (an expensive house during an inflation crisis, a robot butler, he gets into a vault for free for fucks sake) very much speaks to life rewarding him for his crimes. There is no hatred in his words when he looks at the flag of the country that made him kill innocents. His speech is speaks of remorse for leaving his family and the cycle of war, it does not speak of the horrors. Of watching you comrades bleed out in the Anchorage snow. Of the scream of shells overhead. Of the fear in civilians eyes as your buddy puts a bullet between them.

You all have to see how it looks like the man is fine with what he had to do during the war, right?

Not interacting with these concepts enough paints a picture of apathy and acceptance. In this day and age where being keeping the government honest and responsible for their actions is so important, that isn't going to slide without it being EXTREMELY purposeful, which it is not. It's tone deaf and lazy.

I respect a lot of what Emil has done in the past, but I am not above keeping him culpable when he has something so delicate in his hands. I hope this situation is what he needed to get his head on straight, or is the light bulb moment where he realizes he needs to pass the torch onwards. There is no shame in subject matter becoming too much as time goes on. There is shame in letting a previously critical series become the very thing it was criticizing.

He is going to keep getting dragged until he realizes that or he manages to convince the fans to be complicit in the degradation of setting. In doing so he is going to lose Bethesda most of its biggest fans who well and truly love the series and what it stands for.

But that's just my take, and I'm just a kid who studies polisci and history and can't shield myself from the inherent horror of nuclear war no matter how much I try.

War really never changes

[wntrmelts]

Why I view/write Kaeya as living an inherently feminine experience

(reposting this essay from twitter)

This entire post will be a long string of observations and headcanons surrounding why I believe Kaeya’s story is an inherently feminine experience. It includes canon interactions but also explanations as to why I write him in a certain way in my works. Also, I would like to establish that with ‘feminine’ I am not explicitly talking about gender expression, but more so the societal expectations and gender roles that have been put on women. By this definition, a feminine experience is not exclusive to women only.

Starting in his childhood, Kaeya is described as being gentle and polite by Adelinde (1) whilst Diluc was described as more rambunctious. As they grew up, Kaeya, being the more reserved one, seemed to always stay in Diluc’s shadow (2).

The question is whether this was by choice or something that was imposed upon him. In a way, I think it’s both. To survive, he made sure not to cause trouble or speak out of turn, listening to and pleasing the authoritative figures in his life instead.

After Diluc was out of the picture and out of the KoF, Kaeya was given a completely different role. He was expected to lead now, his previous persona would not suffice in an environment like this. He had to be respected, and in order to gain the respect of his new subordinates, he had to change. He became louder and more visible, he had to learn how to stand his ground. This isn’t only reflected in his personality, but also his appearance. A big silhouette that exudes status with the gold accents and fur coat; it demands attention and communicates confidence to outsiders.

Kaeya as we know him has a very big personality. It’s hard to definitively say whether he enjoys the attention he gets from outsiders. Where does the act stop and his true self begin?

In his hangout, we can see him scurrying away with the traveler once he starts getting approached and praised for his on-stage performance in Port Ormos (3).

From the way he treats the interactions, it seems that he can humor these interactions when needed, but does not particularly enjoy them. There seems to be a dichotomy between the way he presents himself and how wishes other people to perceive him, and his true desires. I don’t think this means that he completely dislikes the way he presents himself. After having played this part for so long, it would make sense that at least part of it melds into his true self, but it does imply that his change post-fight isn’t 100% a case of ‘flourishing into his true self’ as his Vision story might suggest.

On that note, the attention Kaeya seems to get from bystanders seems to be something he does not seem /entirely/ comfortable with. Besides the fan interactions in Port Ormos, Kaeya also mentions in his hangout that he got approached by a group of mercenaries to dance (4).

The subtext suggests they were flirting with him, and whilst it is possible Kaeya genuinely did not realize this, I don’t believe someone like him would be oblivious to the implications of the interaction. He doesn’t name for what it was, plays it off lightly, and moves on. 

(To be fair, you can also take him at his word for this interaction. It really depends on how much you want to believe him. But also, my mans is not smiling in these?? At all??)

Now this goes into headcanon territory but I believe Kaeya is very aware of how people look at him. He’s been described to be eye-catching in his character story 5 (5), good-looking by multiple NPCs, even the traveler calls him handsome (6).

Point is: Kaeya looks good! He knows it, but as we’ve established before, he does not always like it. Despite his own discomfort, he still believes he can use this to his advantage. Because as we know, for him, the ends justify the means (7).

Perhaps he plays up his charm a little because he knows what it will get him, or because people will underestimate his true nature if he keeps it up. 

So for my personal interpretation: he’s ‘flirty’, not because he likes it, but because it helps him get things done. The reactions he gets out of it may or may not disgust him a little, but his sense of self-worth is not enough to stop him from using these tactics to get ahead.

Lastly, I would like to discuss how Kaeya, despite everything that has happened to him, does not outwardly express any of his anger frequently. At least, not in an obvious sense. To keep up appearances and to maintain his image, he never bursts out in anger, shouts, or yells. He is always hyperaware of how other people view him, and being angry is simply not appropriate. He remains composed in the presence of others even if he might want to shout or be angry. 

In short, the performative aspects of Kaeya’s character reflect a very specific part of the female experience to me. Always keeping in check with what other people’s expectations are, not wanting to take up too much space when he was younger but having to learn how to take up more space to gain other people’s respect when he got older, dealing with unwanted attention but not voicing complaints and dismissing them to not make a big deal out of it; these are all parts of it. 

All of this is super self-indulgent so don’t take it too seriously~ Just wanted to justify why I think he gets to sit with the girls :D

References (yes, I'm extra):

Kaeya Hangout: Taste of Home https://genshin-impact.fandom.com/wiki/Taste_of_Home 

Kaeya’s Vision Story https://genshin-impact.fandom.com/wiki/Kaeya/Lore 

Kaeya Hangout: All the World’s a Stage https://genshin-impact.fandom.com/wiki/All_the_World%27s_a_Stage#Must_It_Be_So? 

Kaeya Hangout: Poems Dedicated to the Wind https://genshin-impact.fandom.com/wiki/Poems_Dedicated_to_the_Wind 

Kaeya Character Story 5 https://genshin-impact.fandom.com/wiki/Kaeya/Lore 

Archon Quest: Prologue: When the Wind Dies Down https://genshin-impact.fandom.com/wiki/When_the_Wind_Dies_Down 

Kaeya Character Story 2 https://genshin-impact.fandom.com/wiki/Kaeya/Lore 

[cyb-by-lang]

Cascade (part 14)

Wherein friends talk.

Kei is the only one convinced that they're not friends.

“But why does your Quirk backlash look like that?” Midoriya pressed, still too curious.

Ugh. “Midoriya-kun, do you know what percentage of the human body is made of water? I’m doing well if the backlash only hits me.” A lie, at least in the implications. The two facts had nothing to do with each other. The only true bloodbender among shinobi—that Kei knew of—was the Third Mizukage, and that was firmly not her problem.  

Midoriya blinked. His eyes went a little distant as he thought through the implications, muttering quietly to himself. Then there was a grimace as he didn’t like what he found. 

Hopefully that would be enough to throw him off. 

“But about the glow?” 

Or not. “Why do you?” 

“It makes more sense if you realize she’s related to Aizawa-sensei,” said Todoroki. The utter bastard. 

Kei stared directly at her two-toned classmate. Then mimed strangling him with both hands as he stared placidly back.

Worst of all, Midoriya actually looked like he believed it. 

Since the Sports Festival, Todoroki seemed to be spending less time as an ice statue and more time with Midoriya’s friends, inflicting his newly-revealed personality on other people with a surgeon’s precision. While he stayed stone-faced most of the time, there were hints here and there. The other students didn’t always notice. 

Kei did, because Todoroki’s quietly stated conspiracy theory was practically the first thing he’d ever said to her. Besides something totally inane, like “Can you pass me the worksheet?” 

Strictly speaking, Todoroki and Midoriya were being kept “for observation,” seeing as neither of them had injuries worse than some scrapes. They’d already been allowed to get dressed in street clothes again, with only Midoriya sporting so much as a new bandage. 

Kei, on the other hand? Hospital gown, at least until Manual caved and brought her backpack from his agency to her. Then she changed immediately. Only one padded bandage bulged awkwardly from under the smooth lines of her exercise shirt. All of her other injuries were superficial. Miraculously. 

And they would stay that way. Kei’s smothering embarrassment was her problem. 

Four witnesses. That was all it took to take the anticipated fight between Kei and the Hero Killer from hilariously lopsided in her favor to a complete shitshow. Native was already a problem, but he didn’t know what her “Quirk” was supposed to be and started the battle too helpless to do anything other than occasionally tell his rescuers to run away. If a half-trained killed overcompensated for fear by half-killing the actual threat, he’d be able to write it off as adrenaline and eke out some gratitude for a last-minute save from certain death. 

But Iida, Midoriya, and Todoroki—each one of them was too close. Too clever to trick if they could all corroborate their observations, both of Kei’s fighting style and the places where she skated the edges of her paperwork for the sake of efficiency. And when fighting someone like Stain, who could guarantee a kill if he so much as drew blood, that indecision cost her. 

Then there was the Nōmu, dropping out of the sky like mail-ordered sabotage. Shigaraki might’ve kept to the rooftops and let his three super-soldiers get wrecked—in two cases lethally—but the electrification Quirk on a flier indicated planning. Somebody with more foresight than Hand-Man had noticed Kei enough to target her. 

That was actually the least-disturbing part. The enemy already needed a beatdown. Adding incidents like this to the list was no more taxing than everything else already happening in Kei’s life. And with Isobu wiping away the electrical burns, it was like it never happened. 

She could nearly see the shape of Sensei’s concern outlined in bullet-pointed thin air.

And then Iida spoke up, knocking Kei’s thoughts off their current track. 

“Gekkō-san, you said I couldn’t apologize until we were in the hospital. Can I speak now?” 

It was the first time he’d said anything to her since Manual and Gran Torino left. The ambulance ride sucked all the life out of him, as did careful application of healing Quirks by hospital staff. He sounded like his voice was stuffed with cotton instead of leaving it wrapped around his injured arms. 

Kei nodded, turning her body to face him, face resting on upturned knuckles. She’d already destroyed the distribution of pillows to make herself a lounge, and now it was time to listen. 

“Then…” Iida stared down at the scratchy hospital blanket. “Then I don’t think I can express just how sorry I am to have dragged you into this. All of you. If it hadn’t been for—for my inability to control my emotions, none of us would’ve been in danger in the first place. Everything I did tonight” 

“And Native would be dead,” Todoroki pointed out. He’d been listening to Iida’s earlier, halting account of the opening minute of the fight, before Kei and Midoriya showed up to throw yet more bodies into the brawl. 

Iida shook his head. “I barely knew he was there. All I cared about was fighting the Hero Killer to avenge my brother. Even Stain realized that I was rushing into battle for entirely selfish reasons.”

“I’m not judging you for that,” Kei replied, shrugging her free shoulder. When Todoroki looked her way, one eyebrow raised, she added, “You were about fifteen seconds out. Iida-kun asked what I would’ve done if Stain went after my brother, and the honest answer is that I would’ve killed him. Hypothetically.” 

Todoroki didn’t even blink. Just nodded, slowly, like he was taking the late-night version of Kei and her rougher mannerisms and slotting these data points into a new paradigm. It was also possible that Todoroki genuinely did not give a damn and was already thinking of something else. 

“But you weren’t the one put in that position. I was. And I lost control of myself entirely and nearly died for my mistakes,” Iida insisted. His eyes were still reddened and he looked even more upset. “And you offered to let him go, if he would just leave us alone.” 

“And he didn’t take that chance, even outnumbered five-to-one. With a Quirk on a timer.” Kei waved a dismissive hand. “His fault.” 

“Gekkō-san,” Iida said, a little helplessly. A tear plopped down to the blanket. “Please.” 

It wasn’t as though Iida could ever find out Kei was always going to find some excuse to walk up to an armed serial killer and try knocking out half his teeth. She was paid for shit like this. The most important concern left went basically: “You’re forgiven. Just don’t do it again.”

They sat in silence for a while, though Midoriya moved off his cot to gently rest his hand on Iida’s arm. Iida couldn’t really lean on him, but his breathing steadied after a little while. Midoriya’s mumbling was probably more a comfort than she’d ever manage.

[vodika-vibes]

I just read your One More Moment Cody x reader fic and I absolutely ADORED IT and am here to request something similar with Fox x Fem reader please, and can the reader be a mermaid with a shark tail? You can add whatever details you think would work, but Fox is definitely quite intrested considering he's kind of an outcast in Atlantis, and reader is classified as an outcast too?

Thank you! And I absolutely adore your writing 🥰

Born This Way

Summary: Atlantian Prince, and Military Commander, Fox is an outcast among his people and his brothers. Oh, sure, people respect him. But his closest friend also happens to be his twin brother. At least, that’s the case until he’s kidnapped.

Pairing: Commander Fox x F!Reader

Word Count: 1783

Warnings: Mentions of slavery, implications of torture

A/N: So, I'm not sure if this is what you were wanting, but I had an idea and it seemed like a good one. I hope you like it!

Click HERE to be added to my taglist!

The room he’s been locked in is dark, the only light coming from the bioluminescent stones being used as lanterns down the hall. It’s almost too dark to see, even with his eyes.

Of course, it’s not so much a room as it is a cell. 

An actual cell, with bars. Rather than the more modern cells used in Atlantis that offer the people in the cell some privacy.

Fox rubs the side of his head and tries to remember how he ended up in this situation. He can feel his heartbeat in his skull though, so he’s pretty sure that he was hit over the head by someone.

What does he remember?

He was at home, he remembers that much. He had just been eliminated as a viable option for the throne after punching an arrogant Atlantean and planned to retreat to his room to hide from his brothers who were going to rage at him for having the nerve to remove himself from the running. And then…nothing.

Fox isn’t even sure he made it to his room. 

His brow furrows as he tries to force the memory to clear. He left the greeting chamber, walked through the portrait hallway, and clearly remembers opening the door to the sleeping wing. 

But after that, everything is murky. His next clear memory is waking up in this cell.

Fox huffs and kicks the cell door.

He knows that he’s no longer in Atlantis. The fact that he’s surrounded by water makes it kind of obvious. But Atlantis is a rather small city, comparatively speaking. Knowing that he’s not in Atlantis isn’t helpful in the grand scheme of things.

He kicks the bars again in frustration. 

“That is enough of that, your highness.” Fox moves away from the cell door as a door at the end of the hall opens, pouring light into the darkened hallway. The voice is familiar, and Fox scowls when he sees who stops in front of his cell.

Sheev Palpatine is an Atlantean, like him, and had been a judge for years before he was banished from Atlantis for planning the murder of King Jango. The only reason that Jango didn’t kill him was because of political pressure from the Jedi Monks.

Fox kind of wishes his father had ignored the Jedi if he’s being totally honest.

“Palpatine.” The amount of contempt dripping from Fox’s voice would have made a lesser man flinch away. But Palpatine has never seen the vod’e as actual people.

“Prince Fox,” His smile is almost slimy, “You honor me with your presence.”

“As if I had a choice.”

“True enough. I am fortunate that there are still people in Atlantis who hold me in high enough regard to help me.” Palpatine holds his hands out, “You’re probably wondering why you’re here.”

“The thought had crossed my mind,” Fox bites out sarcastically.

“I find myself in need of capable soldiers—”

“If you think that I’m going to help you, then you’ve lost the god-damn plot.” 

Palpatine pauses, “Then you will remain in your cell until you change your mind. I will return in a week.” He turns and pulls something out of his pocket. It almost looks like a bell.

He rings it and a moment later a mermaid swims into the hall. She’s a shark-based Mermaid, Fox realizes almost immediately. Her kind hasn’t been seen around Atlantis since before his Grandfather’s time.

He moves closer to the bars to get a better look at her. She’s tiny, though his memory helpfully supplies that there are over 500 different variations of sharks, so she’s probably a mer-variant of one of the smaller sharks. 

As Fox moves closer, he realizes that she’s covered in ragged-looking scars. All over her arms and tail, all across her torso…and one long scar across her eyes.

She’s blind.

She turns to face him, and Fox watches as her nostrils flare so she’s able to catch his scent. She’d be able to find him anywhere now, he knows absently. 

It’s at that moment that he sees the brand on her left shoulder. A series of numbers and letters, raised on her skin so that even he’s able to read what they say in the dim light.

And his heart sinks.

He knows why no one has seen any of her people in decades.

“She,” Palpatine gestures to her, “will ensure that you are fed and well-cared for while you are a guest. Do not try to run. She’ll catch you.” And then he’s gone, and Fox is left alone with his warden.

“What’s your name?” Fox asks after a moment when he’s sure that Palpatine is gone.

There’s a flicker of uncertainty on her face before she offers her name. “I am afraid that I am unsure as to what Atlanteans eat,” She admits, “If you could tell me—?”

Fox sighs and leans against the bars, this is going to be a long imprisonment.

It’s been several months since he was kidnapped, and Fox is no closer to agreeing to help Palpatine than he was when he was first taken. He’s pretty sure that Palpatine is starting to give up on trying to convince him.

Or, well, he hopes so at least.

The one good thing, the only good thing, is that he’s made a friend. Or, he thinks of her as a friend, she’s a little more hesitant about it.

He doesn’t blame her, in the slightest, though.

Any mistakes on her part are punished with lashes. And she’s often punished for his misbehavior. 

It’s sickening.

It’s unfair.

And he can’t do a damned thing about it.

“You seem quiet today, Fox.” Her voice is raw, and Fox can see she has burn paste coating her tail this morning. An accident, maybe. Though punishment is much more likely. 

“I’m feeling contemplative,” Fox replies as he follows her through the hall to the small, enclosed, garden he’s allowed to spend his time in. “That is still allowed, isn’t it angelfish?”

When she speaks, there’s amusement in her voice, “That is true. Lord Palpatine has yet to make thinking illegal.”

Fox grins, though he knows she won’t see it, and he swims over to settle near some coral.

The coral is almost healthy. Fox finds that totally valid. How could any living creature thrive under Palpatine’s specific brand of bullshit?

He watches her swim around a bit before she settles on the sand on her stomach, resting her chin on the palm of her hands. “Where is the illustrious Lord Palpatine, anyway?” Fox asks.

“I do not know.”

“So he’s not in?”

She shrugs as best as she can while lying on her stomach, “So it would seem. No one has seen him in weeks.”

Fox hums thoughtfully and then moves so that he’s lying on his stomach in front of her. Close enough that his arm bumps hers, and she starts in surprise, having not heard him move. 

“Fox?”

He scans her face silently for a moment, “You know, with Palpatine gone we could just leave.”

Tension shoots through her frame, “Fox, my people will be slaughtered—”

Fox stops her by pressing his hands against her cheeks, and she flinches away from him slightly. He knows that it’s not an intentional reaction, he knows that she knows that he would never hurt her. But some habits are hard to break. 

“I’ve met some of your cousins,” He reminds her, “Some of them are built like buildings.”

“...well, yes.” She agrees, “But the manacles…if we do anything they don’t like they’ll inject the poison—” She frets, “And even if we manage to get them off, where would we go?”

“Atlantis.”

She scoffs, “Atlantis,” She shakes her head, “No offense to you, Fox, but Atlantis looked the other way when my people were enslaved. Why would we ever go there.”

“I know that you and your people have no reason to trust my people,” Fox replies, “I know that you’ve all been suffering under the watch of people like Palpatine for generations.”

“You can’t fix that.”

“I want to try.” His hands move so that one cards through her hair while the other one slowly moves down her arm to grip her hand, “I’m not asking you to trust my people, cyar’ika. I’m asking you to trust me.”

“And then what? What happens if Atlantis won’t accept us?” She asks, “It’s no secret that no one missed us when we left.”

“Then we’ll find someplace new for your people to settle.” He leans in and presses his forehead against hers, “Like it or not, cyar’ika, you and your people are still Atlanteans and are deserving of my service.”

She’s quiet for a long moment, and then she sighs, soft and wistful.

“What’s wrong?” 

“I just…I wish I—” She pauses and shakes her head, “No. Nevermind.”

He smiles at her, takes her hands in his, and presses her hands against his cheeks, “It’s hard for you to tell if I’m lying because you can’t see me, isn’t it?”

She frowns, “That’s part of the problem, yes.”

“Then look with your hands,” Fox replies. He pulls his hands away from hers and waits while her hands lightly trace his face. Her hands are remarkably soft for someone who spent her whole life doing manual labor. He’s not too proud to admit that he likes the feel of her hands against him. “Ready?”

She nods.

Fox looks her in the eye, “I promise that I will help free your people and I will help you find a place to settle if you’re not welcome in Atlantis.”

“...you mean that.”

“I do.”

She’s quiet for a moment, and then she slowly pulls her hands away from his face, and Fox has to fight the urge to pull her hands back, “We’ll have to be quick.” She warns.

“I can do quick.”

And then she smiles at him, it’s small and soft, and the only thing that Fox can think when he sees it is, fuck. I’m done for.

“Can you be my eyes until we escape the palace?” She asks.

“Cyar’ika, I’ll be whatever you need me to be.” Fox blurts without thinking about it.

She looks surprised and then a startled laugh falls from her lips. It’s the first time he’s heard her make a sound of genuine joy, and Fox realizes, with a start, that he would destroy entire nations to protect her smile.

Wolffe, he decides as he gets up from the ground, is never going to let me live this down.

And then her lips press against his cheek, and Fox stops thinking about everything that isn’t her soft, warm lips. 

He’s so fucked.

@bad4amficideas

@justiceandwar98

@Mira-Loves-Star-Wars

@tiredbi-peach

@dukeoftheblackstar

@trixie2023

@Kimiheartblade

@padawancat97

@falconfeather23435

@etod

@bb8-99

@kiss-anon

@continous-mistakes

@imabeautifulbutterfly

@n0vqni

[valle-de-sombra-de-muerte]

Homestuck Reread: Act 5-1, Part 2/5 (p. 2100-2235)

Read the previous post here.

Work was really rough for me last week so I didn't get a chance to write this. But here we are with the second part of this Act readthrough. It starts with a character I've had inconsistent opinions about during my time in the fandom.

I used to really hate Tavros when I was first in the fandom. Over time, I realized that my ire was directed more toward a certain fanon breed of Tavros: The simpering pacifist with love in his heart for all living creatures, who is a victim of misfortune and needs to be coddled (preferably by Gamzee).

I like the canon Tavros better. He's more like an awkward, avoidant weenie who isn't so much kind as he is too much of a spineless dork to fight back against the abuse hurled his way. He is quite explicit whenever he doesn't like someone or if he's uncomfortable, but he never does anything about the situation beyond that.

Tavros is also Hussie's dedicated buttmonkey, it seems. Prior to this point, all we really knew about him was that he was a bit of a try-hard who liked to rap and was really socially awkward. Now we see that he is wheelchair-bound and also really likes fairies and Pokemon. For a 30 year old man in the early 2010s, fairies and Pokemon would be patently uncool (and also "gay," to use the parlance of the time). Hussie wants us all to know right away that Tavros is lame (literally and figuratively) and gay (colloquially). Point and laugh at him!

I like the implication that Tavros actually breeds and raises all the Fiduspawn creatures he spawns.

Everything about Tavros's life is tragic. Hussie wanted to make a pathetic character who's the butt of every joke and whose existence is near-constant torment.

I suppose that building in the back could be a stable to house Horsaroni and the other Fiduspawn creatures, even though it's never stated. This is the last time his affinity for animal husbandry will ever be alluded to. You'd think Hussie would've included some crack about how being paralyzed makes it difficult to clean up their shit or something. Cue Tavros slipping and sliding face first into some manure...

Like Karkat, Tavros also wants to join the military to avoid being culled. It's surprising to see him have an actual goal to aspire to, considering how his character is mostly listless and focuses on escapism and avoidance. Perhaps he wants to be a cavalreaper not because of any higher ambition, but only because he thinks it'll save him from an early death.

Considering how it's never really mentioned at all after this point, I'm willing to believe it.

It is pretty funny how Tavros just lets Vriska prattle on. He gives her nothing to work with but she runs her mouth anyway. She's also really just ranting about Kanaya instead of anything about Tavros. He's a good captive audience for her to ramble at because he won't leave even though he stated at the start that he doesn't want to talk to her.

Couple of things to note: Kanaya giving Tavros some lame advice about anthropomorphizing his self-esteem is very on-brand for her. One thing about Kanaya that nobody seems to cotton onto is that while she loves to give advice and try to be helpful, she isn't all too good at it.

Another thing is Vriska immediately getting angry at "Rufio" for apparently attempting to stop her from talking to Tavros. That's a fun detail.

Gamzee and Kanaya are the only trolls so far to show kindness to Tavros. Which isn't saying much because Gamzee talks to Tavros in the same way he talks to everyone else. It's not like he's showing him any preferential treatment.

Note how Gamzee has slime on his face, so he had just eaten a pie and is totally stoned. It would explain why he seems much more out of it in this conversation than he was with Karkat or Terezi earlier, especially in the beginning since all he really does is laugh and honk instead of responding to Tavros in a coherent way. He then proceeds to relay all the information about the game to Tavros (pointless recap of shit we already know about), and the log ends with the two of them preparing to rap. In all this is a pretty worthless log and doesn't even offer much entertainment. And I say that as someone who generally likes pre-Murderstuck Gamzee.

I cannot believe this single conversation is what inspired so much generic slash art between these two. Homestuck fandom in 2010 was wild, man...

Aradia... exists. Her Ouija modus is a good representation of her character: a instrument of the plot/outside forces with little to no agency of her own. She spends a good chunk of the story as a deadpan plot device facilitating the whims of Sgrub and not much else.

Aradia is a frustrating character to discuss. There are at least four different versions of her depending on her status as alive or dead, and not once do we really get a chance to know the "true" Aradia. She really does serve as the "Jade" of the troll session, but Hussie doesn't even make an attempt at portraying her as endearing.

I wish that Aradia, not Terezi, was built up as Vriska's biggest rival. Aradia is the competent psychic who doesn't respond to taunts, doesn't care about winning, focuses on events yet to come, and generally has her shit in order. Compare that to Vriska, who cannot control Aradia, is hyper-competitive and escalates things constantly, always holds grudges and lives in the past, and switches emotions on a dime depending on what benefits her. They were already rivals in the past and while Aradia has long moved on, Vriska is dredging up the drama once more in a feeble attempt to try and "make amends" with her. The true motives of this are both to gain a position of power in the Blue Team, and also to soothe her own bruised ego and make her feel better about herself.

Her lame attempts to schmooze and flatter Aradia, trying to be on the same team as her, is in a subconscious way done to make sure that she isn't put against her. She knows Aradia is the stronger psychic and the better player, although she'd never admit it. If she can't beat Aradia, she'll do whatever she can to weasel into her good graces and try to steal credit for Aradia's achievements as the Blue Team leader.

Aradia of course, views the whole thing as childish and doesn't humor her at all. As she says herself, Vriska "never listens". These two are the perfect dynamic of cold and hot and I wish this was focused on more. Vriska should've been way more jealous of Aradia's abilities, seething about her and trying to one-up her. And the whole time Aradia doesn't take her seriously, which would only serve to piss her off further.

Time to talk about Nepeta, the troll that nobody seems to understand.

Nepeta is a lot of things. She's a personification of 2000s chatroom and forum-based RP culture, more specifically within the furry fandom. Not only does she roleplay as an animal on the internet, she also lives a very feral lifestyle. She lives in the woods, away from civilization, hunts and eats whatever animal she comes across, and uses their blood and pelts for arts and crafts. She's silly and naive, but also a capable hunter and quite perceptive, if socially immature.

Also, in regards to her moirallegiance with Equius, Nepeta appears to be obligated to stick with him for no real reason other than "someone has to keep him pacified." It's like a burden that she's saddled with; she's the only one that can put up with this dude that literally nobody else likes. While noble of her, it ends up being overall detrimental considering what a massive power imbalance they have. (Just read this post where I go into this in more detail. This post is long enough already).

People either want to characterize her as a ridiculous anime catgirl (which isn't even accurate to the subculture she's meant to parody; think less catgirl and more lolcats), or a bloodlusted killing machine. And both interpretations more often than not reduce her to a useless background character whose defining characteristic is her moirallegiance to Equius. I spit on all of that.

Nepeta's main trait is isolation (both physically and socially) and her difficulty expressing her desires. She leads a simple, primitive lifestyle away from civilization, which also impacts the way she is able to connect with others. Roleplay is the main way she expresses herself, and she has difficulty doing so when forced to drop the silly facade. She has a lot of wants (her crush on Karkat, her desire to be independent of Equius's control) that she is too awkward or timid to properly convey. Everyone around her almost always regards her as some kind of joke (Terezi roleplaying with her "facetiously", Karkat calling her autistic and trying to avoid her because of her feelings toward him, Equius's intensely infantilizating attitude toward her, Eridan not even remembering her name, etc.) which definitely hinders her ability to make others treat her with respect.

Oh wait, I forgot. Hussie himself calls her a joke character. Stupid me for getting invested in Nepeta, I guess.

"KARKAT THINKS ABOUT THAT A BIT AND HIS JAW DROPS OPEN AND BREAKS A HUGE COLUMN OF BRICKS LIKE A FUCKING KUNG FU MASTER" might be my favorite Karkat quote.

Equius is the one troll Karkat actively seems to dislike. This is the guy who is buddies with Eridan of all trolls, yet Equius is where he draws the line. Not even Vriska is a "bigger asshole" than Karkat. Nope, that's Equius, baby.

You know, it should be a little concerning that Karkat, the troll who lives and breathes troll romance in all its forms, is disgusted and dumbfounded by Equius and Nepeta's relationship. Especially since it's so often heralded as the "perfect" moirallegiance. Speaking of which...

This is very notable as being one of the few explicitly anti-hemospectrum statements said by a troll. A few trolls like Karkat, Aradia, and Sollux will grumble about their position in society and the way the higher castes behave, but ultimately accept the hemospectrum as an immutable facet of society.

Nepeta goes a step further than that and straight up says that caste separation shouldn't exist. Nepeta. The troll everyone writes off as being an infantile moron. Maybe it's these radical sentiments that cause Equius to keep her on such a tight leash.

As for Equius's response, am I the only one reading this!?!?!? What an incredible asshole. These two are the same age, yet he's talking to her like she's a child who needs guidance solely because she's of a lower blood caste.

Does he even like Nepeta? His supposed fondness for her is incredibly patronizing. It's like he only keeps her around because she provides him a service of calming him down and for no other reason. Other than that, she's only "ok, but not great".

Nepeta hunts and kills massive animals on a regular basis. She is not "delicate" in a physical sense. Equius is saying that she is "delicate" as in impressionable and at risk of being "corrupted" by her lower blooded friends. That's all Equius cares about: her moral standing.

Equius knows full well that Nepeta would never fight back against him, since she takes her obligation to pacify him very seriously. He exploits her goodwill to make her do whatever he wants. Why is this being paraded as the most wholesome ship in the fandom again???

I feel like it's this log that has forever damaged fandom's perception about Equius and Nepeta. Tavros suggests that Equius prohibiting Nepeta from playing FLARP was a positive because she possibly could've been maimed or killed otherwise. But it's not like Equius ever gave a shit about the danger involved at all. His biggest objection against Nepeta playing these games was because she'd be playing with lowbloods, not because he was afraid she'd get hurt. The ends don't justify the means. He's still barring her from interacting with her friends for shitty reasons.

Anyway, Tavros sucks here. He suggests Nepeta just go with the flow in her terrible relationship because he himself is so painfully passive that he'd never consider rocking the boat, even if it means standing up to someone who wrongs him regularly. Don't listen to Tavros, people.

I think I really need to have a serious talk about Vriska and Karkat's dynamic because I never see anyone talk about them. Their back and forth is hilarious just because of how similar they are to each other. Both have extreme delusions of grandeur that mask massive insecurities and paranoias (Karkat's "curse" vs. Vriska's "bad luck"). They also have aspirations of being the leader of all their friends, which leads to their egos butting heads with each other.

Vriska acts smarmy and disarming while Karkat vehemently shuts her down. Karkat sees through her manipulative tactics and doesn't want to give her any angle to work with at all. Vriska meanwhile sees right through Karkat's bravado and likes to toy with him and rile him up. (Something something... I wonder what other dynamic between a Knight and Light player is kinda similar to this where they see through the other's bullshit so transparently?)

Also jeez Karkat counting out the question marks is adorable and hilarious.

I love how Karkat boasts about what a competent opponent he'll be followed up by him telling Vriska not to use her mind powers. Right, that's kind of a major advantage she has.

Rolling my eyes at Karkat hyping up Terezi as this master tactician. "Ooh Vriska is jealous of her because Terezi is so good at manipulation." Why does the story keep talking about how cunning Terezi without ever showing us her abilities? Am I seriously supposed to think she's this Machiavellian mastermind because she tricked John Egbert of all people? Get real!

This is what I mean when I say that Aradia is the one Vriska should have seething jealousy over. Why should Vriska be jealous of Terezi at all?

Between Karkat, Tavros, and John, it's very safe to say Vriska's type is primarily soft boys.

Vriska, above all else, is an egomaniac. She, like Karkat, wants to be the best at everything. She wants to be in charge, to dictate the fates of those she views as weaker. She exercises this desire most often in FLARP, where she's essentially the most dominant player. She even likes to dabble in "dark prognostication" so she can foresee future events and stay ahead of those who wish to undermine her. This might have something to do with how her life is otherwise dominated by her needy lusus. She requires an outlet to exert control over others.

She's childish and cannot handle when she's losing or when bad things happen to her as a result of her own poor decision making. She breaks her magic 8 balls when they don't give her the result she wants, she lashes out at people when she fails to manipulate them, and she melts down when things in her life aren't going the way she wants them to. "Overdramatic" is an understatement when talking about Vriska. Everything about her is always turned up to 11.

She's also a master at avoiding responsibility for her actions. Any negative repercussions are deemed "bad luck", as if she's a victim of forces beyond her control. She'll even double down on this and claim that all her broken 8 balls are responsible for adding to this bad luck. She's a victim of a self-destructive mindset.

Also note how she's an "apocalypse buff" and Karkat dreams about programming the perfect doomsday virus. Yet another trait they share. Just saying.

Oh wait never mind all that. Uhh... "Vriska did nothing wrong!" There I said le funny meme. The only person who should honestly believe that is Vriska herself.

Vriska's such a goofball. She's so proud of her dumb little OC.

(Oh my god this was annoying to format. Fuck you Scratch and your white text.)

Very cute how she reuses Karkat's opening line against Scratch. And it turns out that she also reused the same login trick on Karkat that Scratch had done to her previously. Vriska is quick to call people out whenever she finds their actions to be unconscionable, but she'll readily excuse herself whenever she's guilty of doing the same thing. "It's okay when Vriska does it!"

She gets incredibly irritated when Scratch keeps talking about how he took advantage of her because she does not want to lose. She doesn't want anyone to have a position of power over her. It's a major way to make her uncomfortable (hence why she starts putting 8s in random letters very early on in this log).

I love it when Vriska says "can it". Also whenever she says "man" as a general expression of annoyance or amazement.

Kanaya loves dangerous women, but has no idea how to handle them. She wants to gently guide Vriska toward a more positive path, but Vriska resists any attempt at being controlled. Honestly, kind of fair considering that Kanaya is really only feigning to be Vriska's moirail so she can try and slide into her flushed quadrant. Kind of like what Eridan does with Feferi. But you're not ready for that conversation.

Uh, Vriska? Feferi's right there. And her lusus is much higher maintenance because if she doesn't get fed, everyone dies.

Not that I don't think Vriska wouldn't downplay Fef's struggles anyway.

And again, Eridan has significantly more irons in the fire since he's essentially in charge of keeping everyone on the planet alive.

Not like Vriska would care, though.

Equius might be one of the most viscerally repulsive and morally repugnant characters in the whole comic, but god dammit he just might be the most hilarious. To his credit, Hussie managed to craft the perfect buffoon by successfully capturing the essence of a specific kind of racist, perverted, online creepazoid and distilling it into a sweaty teenager who loves milk, horses, and being STRONG.

Making Equius fixated with grotesque furry art while calling it high art is a great parody of how fascists are obsessed with this grand idea of European exceptionalism when it comes to art and culture. It comes off as creepy and perverse (it also helps that many of these people are also addicted to hardcore pornography). If Homestuck was written today, Equius would probably be a very unsubtle parody of those people with a statue avatar and blabbing about how the West needs to "RETVRN" to past glories.

I'm kind of glad that's not the case because that'd be too on the nose. He's nasty enough as is.

Most trolls have to behave like "a sort of zookeeper" when interacting with their lusii, but Aurthour actually serves and cares for Equius. This does not stop Equius from referring to Aurthour as a "craven excuse for a custodian" or from mocking him when he gets injured (injuries caused by Equius himself, mind you).

I know it's a popular headcanon to depict Equius as this rippling, muscular bodybuilder, but I think it's more fitting to make him into this lanky guy who just happens to be freakishly strong. Muscular physiques are too aesthetically pleasing. It runs contrast to Equius's otherwise unappealing physical features. His widow's peak, his long unstyled hair, his broken teeth, his goofy ass legwarmers and shorts, the fact that he's constantly sweating... you get the idea.

He talks to Gamzee every day? Bro really wants to get his rocks off.

Equius won't roleplay over text with Nepeta, but he will pressure Gamzee into participating in his kinky dom/sub fantasy.

Equius structures all his social dynamics entirely around their position on the hemospectrum in relation to his own. There is no e%ception, he's incredibly infle%ible about this. From the way he browbeats Nepeta, to how he's begrudgingly civil to the similarly-classed Vriska, to the way he has to all but force Gamzee to try and dominate him, he is incapable of seeing anyone beyond what color their blood is.

Even later on, he never "overcomes his casteism." The only reason he ever acts subservient or polite to a lower blooded troll is because he view it through the lens of a power play dynamic. He gets a thrill out of "perverting" the class structure and getting "dominated" by those he views as inferior. Because despite his high social status and amazing physical strength, Equius is naturally submissive. It's this contrast that fuels a lot of his inner torment and anger issues.

Yeah he isn't a very dynamic character because at his core, he's a walking sex joke. But in Hussie's defense, it's an incredibly funny joke.

Oh Christ. And to think there was so much art of these two as a legitimate couple.

Equius's obsession with Aradia kind of reads like an openly racist/transphobic guy who secretly likes watching interracial/trans porn. Or perhaps in this specific passage, a guy who thinks he can "fix" a lesbian woman by turning her straight. No matter how you slice it, this just sucks.

Stay tuned for more yapping about trolls in the next post!

Read the next post here.

[skatingbi]

WELCOME TO PART 3 OF MY SANJI WITH HETEROCHROMIA SERIES!!!!

Oh my god. Yall are insane. 700+ Notes for part one of this series alone is crazy (Crazy? I was- *gets shot*). So heres part 3. I'll probably have to publish all this onto AO3 soon bc shits getting outta hand, but I like posting on this silly little site so I'll still be posting on here.

Uhhh this was posted WAY later than I anticipated bc i had a gnarly depressive episode and had to enroll into uni, but there aint no way id abandon this series, its too fun and i love experimenting with my baby writing style as i call it.

Okay thats it, just thank u all sm for enjoying my silly little series :) u guys are so sweet!!

P.S. Constructive criticism is OKAY! I havent written fanfic in like...10 years so since middle school. Im a baby at this and I understand if I may have several errors so pls lemme know if theres grammar mistakes!

Sanji With Heterochromia Series Part 3 below 🔻

Sanji lied. He does like the idiot. More than he's willing to admit. A few days after their conversation, Zoro distances himself. It leaves a nasty feeling in his gut similar to nausea but different from actually wanting to throw up. It feels apprehensive. He's waiting for something, but he doesn't know what yet. Sanji hates it. He hates how confused he is and how much he actually wants Zoro to touch him again. He hates the burning linger of scarred knuckles on his cheekbone that follows him wherever he goes.

He hates these feelings because he never learned how to really process them. He doesn't know if he has to blame himself, his shitty excuse of a father, or Zeff. Well, maybe not Zeff. The old man had enough on his plate while raising him as it was. Sanji decides to blame it on Judge because honestly, the root of most of his issues stems from that shitty old man anyway. Placing the blame on someone does little to actually help, but it's a distraction from his growing realization of how much he cares for Zoro.

He cares for Zoro. No, he holds an unreasonable amount of affection for the scarred swordsman that haunts his thoughts now more than ever. Fuck questioning sexuality when it's undeniable that he's absolutely whipped for the big idiot. Theres no room for denial anymore, not when his touch had become branded across Sanji's skin for the foreseeable future.

Stress cooking does little to soothe him and it's the same with smoking. At least Luffy gets to enjoy snacks to his hearts content. Its the little things, he tries to tell himself. He also reflects on his conversation with Zoro. How he honestly felt afraid of what he felt when the swordsman confronted him. He felt afraid of someone genuinely caring for his emotional wellbeing. He's anxious over what that means, what it would do to him if Zoro truely meant what he said. All the things voiced about him and the implications that he's...handsome in the eyes of Zoro.

Sanji is emotional. It comes with him being sentimental as well. He's the black sheep of his biological family in every way. He loved too hard, and got hurt too fast. He loved even when it ended in betrayal. Secretly, he loves unconditionally. What would happen if he loved Zoro like that, and what if it already happened and he's too late to stop it? Would Zoro hurt him just like everyone else has? Would he be pushed away eventually after the thrill of their theoretical short lived relationship?

It keeps him up at night, that conversation replaying in his head as he stares at Zoro's sleeping silhouette. He falls asleep to his breathing, echoing throughout the room over everyone else's breath and snores. He wakes up every morning before the sun greets him and pretends nothing happened in his dreams where Zoro's gentle touch and admiration lingers softly over his mind.

Zoro knows. Well, not exactly. He's not a mind reader like how Luffy seems to be, but he knows that distancing himself from Sanji is actually doing the opposite of what he thought it would do. At this point, the swordsman isnt sure where to go from here.

Sanji's actions contradict his words. Sanji stares at Zoro. Not so much that it's s uncomfortable but it's enough to be noticeable. Sometimes he swears he can see Sanji's eyes dart across his face and down to his lips before looking away. It's confusing. Didnt Sanji hate Zoro's advances towards him? Because thats what they were in hindsight.

Zoro was unconciously flirting with the cook in his own weird way. And yeah, he's a little stupid for not realizing the implications behind his actions at first, but it all started as genuine curiosity. He didnt mean for it to affect their rivalry. Now, he's not sure where to go from here.

It's driven him between a rock and a hard place and unforfunately for him, Nami decides to intervene again. This time, Nami drags Zoro to her and Robin's shared room on the Sunny for privacy and possibly interrogation. He's certain that this time he wont be able to escape. Unfortunate.

"Okay, so heres how this is gonna go," Zoro and Nami are now seated across from each other, where theres two beds and enough room for decent sized dressers on each side. Zoro sits on what he assums is Robin's bed with his arms crossed, "You will tell me everything- And i mean it! I will know if youre lying -and I will help you. Im sick and tired of you both being miserable and gay! It's giving everyone second hand embaressment." She demands, narrowing her eyes with a challenge for Zoro to protest or say no.

Zoro is smart enough to know what is and isn't a losing battle. This is one of those. Nami can be terrifyingly persistent once she sets her mind on something, and today it seems to be resolving the weird and awkward tension between him and Sanji. The swordsman resigns himself to his fate quickly and prepares himself to be trapped here on Robin's bed for the foreseeable future.

"Fine witch," Zoro sighs, "But if you tell anyone I will not be responsible for my actions." He huffs out in acceptance for his inevitable interrogation.

"Oh please like that'll actually scare me. Plus besties never snitch." Nami rolls her eyes. She gets comfortable on her bed and look at zoro expectantly. He rolls his eyes and relaxes his posture a bit.

Zoro starts talking, beginning with the first instance of his realization of Sanji having dual colored eyes, leaving out a lot of "unimportant" details. He mentions the second, and the third instance, and their conversation from a few days ago and how he tried to respect Sanji's establishment of a boundary and how he's confused now that Sanji stares at him. Nami listens with her chin resting on her fist and nodding along the way, surprisingly not interrupting once. He finishes speaking and he knows his face is red with embaressment, but he feigns nonchalance and waits for Nami's input.

"Zoro," Nami sighs, "Youre the dumbest bitch I know." She says while giving the man a look of sympathy, but not one that actually means it. More like the look of someone who is so incredibly done with your shit that they have no choice but to tell you so.

"What the fuck, Nami!? Im not dumb!" The swordsman retorts loudly.

"Anyways," his best friend ignores his arguing in favor of getting to the task at hand, "Luckily, this is fixable. For making the entire crew feel awkward for two weeks, I'm adding a 200 percent tax increase to your debt." She smiles mischeviously, and thats when Zoro realizes that one, he's never getting out of debt, and two, he's been forced to accept Nami's help in unfucking up his unconcious attempts to flirt with Sanji.

"First order of business is that you have absolutely no game." Nami begins with a shit eating grin to match the absolutely insulting statement. Zoro briefly reconsiders their friendship.

"Shut the fuck up I obviously do." He rolls his eyes. Nami gives him the look. The one where her eyebrows are raised and her chin is tilted down slightly, matching the frown. It's that look she makes when she's trying to say 'Are you sure?' or 'Reconsider what you just said.' and it grates at Zoro's already increasing agitation.

He decides not to entertain her with a reply.

"Anyway," Nami sighs, massaging the space between her eyes with her thumb and forefinger to stave off a growing headache, "Im teaching you how to flirt. No, you cannot work out in front of Sanji- dont give me that look you muscle brained idiot!" She says while looking at Zoro's ever increasing looks of annoyance and audacity, because first of all, no he definitely was not going to do that, and second of all, it could hypothetically work. Probably.

"Fine," He huffs. He'll let the witch do whatever. It's not like theres anyone else he can talk to on the ship about this anyway, "No promises that I'll actually do what you tell me."

"Fucking- oh my god why am I friends with you?!" Nami complains before flopping down on her bed, groaning loudly at Zoro's malicious cooperation. Zoro basks in the momentary power he has in this situation.

For the next few hours, Nami allows Zoro to stay in the womens quarters for the sole purpose of learning how to actually flirt. He's not sure if shes a reliable source, being a lesbian and also having a girlfriend already, but if he voiced this opinion out loud the redhead would probably kick him out. He only restrains himself because this room is the only one so far where he feels the least amount of awkwardness regarding his situation with Sanji.

Robin stops by every now and then and gives him a smile. It doesnt make him feel very comfortable but it's the thought that counts. She doesnt say anything about him being there, anyway. He makes an effort to at least not lay on the bed he's sitting on, though. He may be lazy but he does hold enough respect for the women in the crew to not fuck with their shared safe space.

Suddenly, it's the evening and dinner is around the corner. Nami shoves a barely enlightened mossy swordsman out of the womens bedroom to finally be free of that headache. Also known as a crash course to flirting with your rival/friend/whatever the fuck else they got going on.

Zoro makes his way to the gallery, taking his time to look out and observe the oncoming sunset that bathes the sky in shades of pink, orange, blue, and yellow. It would be a pretty sight to fall asleep to, he thinks, but the cook would kick his ass off the ship if he decides to sleep through dinner again.

Entering the gallery, everyone except Nami is already there. She's right behind him a second later and taking her seat at the kitchen table.

Numerous conversations are heard as food is served. Franky and Usopp are wildly talking about different types of projectiles the sunny could use, Nami and robin are talking amongst each other in low voices, giggling in between sentences. Chopper and luffy are laughing together, and Zoro goes to sit next to luffy like he usually does. Just as he sits down, the cook lands a kick to his mid back, making Zoro scowl.

"The fucks that for!?"

Sanji rolls his eyes while placing plates of food down for the crew, "For being late, dumbass."

"Nami is late too!"

"And? She'd never be late on purpose, Marimo." as Sanji speaks, he dodges the hilt of Zoro's sword to his side instinctively and has the audacity to give a cheeky grin.

Dinner passes by normally. Everyone's loud conversations meld together gradually and soon everyone except Sanji and Zoro leave. Zoro takes his usual spot beside the cook, drying dishes and leaving them on a towel afterwards so they can both put them away.

Zoro has half the mind to bring up Sanji's staring, but decides against it. It leaves the air silent, neither him nor Sanji speaking up as they finish their side work for the night. Even then, Zoro's unable to speak when Sanji immediately leaves afterwards without a word.

The kitchen feels empty without their bickering, and Zoro is determined to bring that life back into it. He just needs to figure out how.

Despite Nami's advice, Zoro has an idea. If the idiot cook doesnt see what he sees (His pretty face first of all, but Zoro thinks of his strength too. How Sanji easiely brushes off conflict like it's nothing despite the injuries that'll heal far faster than his own), then he'll make him see it. Frilly words never were Zoro's style, anyways.

One night before they all go to sleep and Zoro takes night watch, he corners the blond in the bathroom. Nami would probably be kicking his ass because of his timing, but a mirror is needed for his plan to work and the bathroom is the only place with one other than the women's bedroom.

When Zoro enters, Sanji turns to look at him before going back to washing his hair, his back towards Zoro. "Leave me alone, Moss, I'm im not in the fuckin mood," He grumbles to Zoro, who stands there waiting for Sanji to stop talking.

"Nope, I need a mirror for this and for you to listen for five minutes." Zoro replies, and when Sanji turns to argue his protests are gone from his lips when he sees a look of determination. Confused, annoyed, and also curious, Sanji doesn't reply.

Zoro walks up to Sanji until he's standing right behind him. The swordsman moves to kneel so they're relatively at the same height, but the stool makes Sanji slightly taller as he sits there and eyes Zoro warily.

"Whats going on with you, Moss? I'm trying to wash my hair." Sanji says, and Zoro can tell an insult dies on his tongue when he places his hands on Sanji's shoulders.

Zoro turns Sanji in front of the mirrior in the bathroom, the stool Sanji is seated on creaking lightly and scratching against the tile. Sanji remains speechless, still unable to brush off Zoro's palms on his bare shoulders like how he'd usually do.

"Tell me what you see, cook" He says, uncharacteristically soft underneath the edge his voice always seems to have. Sanji flinches when the swordsman's calloused hands tuck his frings behind his ear, displaying his face to them both.

"What the hell is up with you? Did Luffy hit your head too hard?" Sanji furrows his eyebrows at the mirror and looks at Zoro. Zoro huffs and rolls his eyes.

"Just tell me what you see about yourself, shit cook, I'll leave ya alone after or whatever." He grumbles back, the baritone of his voice vibrates against Sanji's back. It reminds him of Zoro's compliment, his face too close to his while they stand on the deck of the Sunny just days ago. He chooses to ignore how it makes him shiver.

He looks at himself in the mirror, and his first instinct is to look away. Zoro, being the perceptive bastard that he is, notices and squeezes his shoulders in a way thats strangely reassuring.

"It doesnt have to be fancy, cook, I know you like to use big words 'n shit so don't make your brain fuckin explode." Sanji bristles a bit at that but bites back a nasty insult so he can entertain Zoro's weird exercise on his own self reflection.

In the mirror he always sees his mom at first, but with both eyes uncovered and his hair pushed back for once, he sees himself. The first thing he sees is his eyebrows and eyes. He decides not to bring up his eyebrows.

"Well, for your information I see my eyes, but you already know that."

Zoro stays silent, and Sanji shuffles in his seat. He's suddenly aware he was literally in the middle of rinsing his hair of shampoo a few minutes ago and the entire situation is both awkward and uncharacteristic of Zoro in multiple ways. It's out of character, and he should have kicked out the moss ball when he had the chance, but now in the too small bathroom of the Sunny he feels like it's only him and Zoro. It leaves a weightless feeling in his chest, settling in with the creeping anxiety of looking at his own reflection. The contrasting feelings make him hesitate before he speaks.

"I see.." He hesitates, not knowing exactly what Zoro is getting from this or what he wants to hear, "My eyebrows, I guess. Wait, you've never seen both at once." Sanji chuckles at that, because his eyebrows are certainly something. The curl points in the same direction, but it's unnoticeable with how he wears his hair.

"Yeah, they're weird as fuck." Zoro mumbles, and the blond has to laugh or else the swordsman's voice would get to his head.

"Okay, I also see freckles. Those are new. Only started showing up when I joined you all." And Sanji now notices how the freckles cluster on the bridge of his nose, his cheekbones, and his shoulders. They're scattered everywhere else on his body.

Sanji starts to realize the point of Zoro's questioning now. He looks at the fogged mirror, just visible enough to notice how his blush not only spreads across his cheeks but also down his neck. Embarrassing. This whole situation is embarrassing not only because of where they are but also because he's realizing that Zoro is trying to make a point that is too close to unearthing his insecurities. He would have expected this from Luffy, but sometimes he forgets how Zoro's intelligence is masked behind his swordsmanship and how much he sleeps during the day.

And he's naked, but honestly thats the least of his problems at the moment.

"I see my hair, I guess?" Sanji tries to only focus on his face. Its not easier, but it also sets up a mental boundary. Zoro hums, looking at Sanji through the mirror. Sanji hesitates before speaking again, "My hair is actually wavy," He thinks about his mom's wavy blonde hair, and how he always thought it looked pretty even before she passed, "Its damaged, though. Straightened to hell and back with one of those hot combs."

Sanji thinks back to the hot combs. They were old as shit, the kind that needed to be heated up with a flame. The memories make him chuckle a bit, and Zoro smiles back. The same smile he wore when they sparred on the deck, with his dimples visible yet again to confirm to Sanji that he does have them.

His smile makes his heart skip a beat, like drums he'd hear in one of those old instrumental CDs he kept in his room as a kid. Before he has the chance to back away, to push Zoro out the door and forget this ever happened, Zoro straightens his back again.

He turns in his stool to look up at Zoro and he's not sure what the swordsman sees right now, but he's afraid to ask as his gaze is soft. So damn soft as he looks at him and his hand reaches again to pull his hair hair back over his eye like it was before. Stringy strands of heat damaged locks fall back into place.

Then he leaves. He just...leaves. The damn idiot just turns around and walks out the door like nothing even happened.

Thats the second time this has happened yet the first where Sanji is the one on the receiving end of it, and it makes him grab his towel to bunch it up in his fists and let out a scream into it as he processes everything. He processes how he was forced to notice how Zoro looked at him, and it was Zoro's own weird fucking way of saying "You're beautiful".

"He's so fucking ridiculous oh my god.." Sanji mumbles into the towel. His hair routine is officially long forgotten.

[woooyeahbaby]

not even the laundry is safe

in which the obey me brothers are caught sniffing mc’s underwear?! also idk if i’d say this idea is necessarily stolen but i think about this like daily.

warnings: panty sniffing.. obviously, which obviously leads into the boys being pervs, maybe ooc for some of them, i’m unable to sleep and it’s 5am so there may be errors, belphie is definitely ooc okay yeah wow i can’t write for him i’m so sorry, leviathan’s part is a little longer than the others’ because of favouritism, reader is heavily implied to be fem, i’m extremely embarrassed about this especially now that i realize i did really badly on belphie’s part, TO MY FRIENDS PLEASE DON’T READ PLEASE THAT INCLUDES MY BF I’M SORRY!!!, no smut but still sexual implications so like 16+, okay my eyes hurt goodnight

Lucifer

it was lucifer’s day to do laundry, and you needed to talk to him. mammon had been stealing some valuables, and you knew he wouldn’t listen you directly, so lucifer was the next best thing. when you couldn’t find the eldest anywhere else, you knew he’d probably be doing the laundry.

of course you expected to see him doing laundry, what else would he be doing in the laundry room? well, you certainly didn’t expect to see him with your underwear pressed against his nose. it took you a moment to even realize what he was doing.

“hey lucifer, can i—” before you could get the rest of your sentence out, you processed what he was up to.

lucifer had been caught off guard as well, not expecting you to catch him in the act. but, being the avatar of pride, he can’t exactly show embarrassment here, no matter how bad it may seem.

“ah, mc.” lucifer puts the piece of clothing into the washing machine, clearing his throat. “i was just curious.”

“well then. um…” you can’t help but wonder how he can be so calm about this. “that was a sight to see.”

“my apologies. i will say, i have never done that before. i enjoyed it. now, did you have something to discuss with me?” he questions, casually tossing more items of clothing into the washing machine.

you want to ask if he’s serious, you want to show how baffled you are, but you realize he just wants to change the topic. not wanting to anger him or embarrass him any further, you decide to tell him what you truly came to talk to him about.

Mammon

your wallet had gone missing, and after searching your room, you thought the next best place to check was mammon. where else could it have gone, anyway? when you remembered what day it was, you knew it’d be useless checking his room and made a beeline for the laundry room.

you’re just about to speak when you see mammon with a pair of your panties shoved in his face. not only that, but a few others were shoved in his pockets.

“mammon?!” you blurt in surprise.

“wah! oh, hah! mc!” mammon tosses the underwear aside, looking at you with wide eyes. “i was, ah, tryin’ to tell who’s they were.”

“mammon… not only were they in my basket, but i don’t think anybody else in this house wears those.” you argue. “i’m not exactly mad, but.. what are you doing?”

“i was just seein’ if they.. okay, i got no excuse. what’re you gonna do, arrest me? what are ya doin’ here anyway?!” he’s getting very defensive. it’s almost cute, if not for the context.

“i’ll give you 1,000 grimm if you apologize. and if you give the rest back, i see them hanging out of your pockets.” you cross your arms.

“i’m so so so sorry! i’ll never do it again!” he exclaims, tugging the others out of his pockets and tossing them away.

“okay, first you have to give my wallet back.”

Leviathan

(sorry side note, this man is the biggest fucking panty sniffing perv, alr alr i’ll let you get on with it now)

you thought i’d say it was leviathan’s laundry day? not only does this man not do laundry, but it doesn’t even have to be his laundry day for him to get a hold of your panties.

you were out for the day, shopping with asmo. you just happened to come back at the worst time. you were parting ways with asmo in the hall, about to enter your room so you could find a spot to put all of your new items. you heard movement in your room, and at first, you thought it was mammon stealing things.

“mammon!” you shout through the door as you twist the handle, swinging the door open. “i told you this yester— oh. oh.”

the realization sets in as you and levi stare at each other, both having the same surprised expression. except he still had your underwear pressed against his nose.

“um. levi, buddy?” you say in a soft, yet shocked tone. “what uh.. what’re you doing?”

he needs a few seconds to collect his words, but he still has to reply. of course, still keeping your panties against his face.

“i-it’s my laundry day, i was seeing if these were clean.” his voice is quiet and muffled, but you can still make out the words.

“levi, honey.. we both know you don’t do laundry. and that isn’t even true, it’s belphie’s day…” you shut the door behind you, approaching the poor, terrified demon.

“i-i’m really sorry, okay?! i’m j-just a gross otaku! i’m sorry! please forgive me!” he nearly shouts, his self deprecating talk continuing on and on until you can’t take it anymore.

“leviathan! hey!” you yell to interrupt him, your voice being raised finally catching his attention. “it’s.. it’s okay. i mean, not really, but.. i’m not really mad. you’re not gross, you’re just.. having fun, let’s say.”

leviathan stares at you blankly, his eyes just as wide as they were when you first stepped in. he seemed so upset and embarrassed, yet he still had your damn underwear up to his face!

“levi, can you put those down and then we can talk about this a little more?”

Satan

your d.d.d wasn’t allowing you to send images, and you scrolled upon the cutest picture of a cat. and who loves cats? satan! you remembered he decided to do his laundry duties, so you knew where to look. you were so excited to see his reaction, knowing his soft spot for cats.

after passing a couple of the brothers in the hall, you reached the laundry room. you open the door, a wide smile on your face. until you saw what he was doing.

“sa—! ..tan?”

“mc! what are you doing in here? it’s not your day, silly!” satan swiftly throws the underwear into the washing machine, acting like he wasn’t doing anything in the first place.

“i was gonna show you this cat.. but…” you’re unable to word what you just saw.

“ah, you caught me being interested in another form of pussy, i see.” he clasps his hands together, smiling. you can’t help but choke on air as he says this.

“satan, what?” you find yourself laughing instead of being angry or upset about his actions.

of course, he takes this chance to avoid the awkward conversation about what you just caught him doing. that was his intention with the joke in the first place. why is he so sly…

“anyway, a cat photo?” he raises an eyebrow, eager to see what you found on your d.d.d.

once your laughter dies down, you take a deep breath.

“i’ll show you after you explain what the hell you were just doing.” you smile.

“i told you. and i’m sure you know what i was doing. i.. read it in a book once and thought i should try it. i apologize.” he seems disappointed in himself, his head hanging low.

“it’s alright, kinda.. i’m not mad. just very, very confused.”

Asmodeus

see, asmo is kind of like levi. however.. he isn’t ashamed of it, and in fact.. does it right in front of you.

you invited asmo to your room in hopes he could help with your fashion choice of the day. as soon as he stepped in, it was like he made a beeline for your laundry basket.

“ooh, mc’s laundry?” asmo has a devilish smirk on his face as he roots through it, as if he was searching for something specific.

“hey! asmo, what are you doing?!” you shout, clearly embarrassed. especially because you knew what he’d find in there.

“these are cute, mc!” he holds up a pair of your underwear, giggling.

you thought he was only teasing and making a joke until he brought them to his face, taking a deep, loud inhale. your jaw dropped as you watched him do this. what else were you to do?

“very sweet! i’m glad you’re eating well!” he places them back into the basket as if he didn’t just.. do that.

“wh.. asmo?!” you can’t help but laugh slightly. “what was that?”

“hm? oh, when you eat well—”

“no, not that, why did you smell them?” you interrupt the demon, baffled by his action.

“sorry, it’s just instinct, i guess!” asmo merely giggles and takes a seat on your bed. “now, you had outfits to ask me about?”

Beelzebub

you and beel decided to have a little sleepover in your room, but made sure to only text about it so none of the others knew. it would’ve been a pain if they barged in on you and beel’s bonding time.

of course, you two shared the bed, and beel was being the big spoon. his strong arms were wrapped around your waist, until he suddenly woke up in a need for a little midnight snack.

in his defense.. he thought it was food. he really did. beel was half asleep, too tired to go to the kitchen, and smelled something he deemed delicious. i guess it didn’t cross his mind that he was going through your dirty clothes. it also didn’t cross his mind that he may have woken you up with all the movement.

“beel?” you mumble, turning the bedside lamp on to have better sight of what he was doing. “hey, get those out of your mouth!”

“mm?” beel hums, seeming to finally wake up properly. once he realizes, he spits them out. “i’m sorry! i didn’t know!”

“what does that even mean— y’know what, it’s fine. i’m not mad, i’m just tired.” you groan, placing a hand over your eyes. you turn off the lamp.

“it’s fine? okay.” there’s a second that passes where you don’t process what he meant, but you notice the sound of him picking something up.

you don’t fully understand until you hear his lips smacking.

“beel! that isn’t what i meant by it’s fine!”

Belphegor

it was breakfast time, and you noticed belphie was going to miss out on all the food if he didn’t wake up soon. so, you excuse yourself from the table, heading up to get him.

you knock before entering, but since it’s belphie, you hear nothing. you don’t bother to knock again and instead just enter. you move closer and closer, about to wake him up gently until you recognize a fabric belphie fell asleep with in his hand, close to his face.

“is that my underwear?!” you only meant to think that, but it came out as a shout. your voice managed to wake him up.

“hmm?” belphie hums groggily. “oh, yes. your scent helps me sleep. if you want them back, you can’t have them.”

“i can’t have them back?! belphegor, they’re mine!” you were somewhat okay with the previous words, until he said you couldn’t have them back.

“mine now. anyway, why did you wake me up? did you want to cuddle?” he raises the blanket, making room for you.

“no, i came to tell you breakfast is getting cold.” you sigh, rolling your eyes.

“well now you’re here to cuddle. come on.”

[nshi-ao3]

Hello! I originally wrote this as a comment, and then the hypers fixated and it ended up being so comedically long that it didn’t come close to fitting tumblr’s comment character limit XD. So I’m sending it as an ask instead!

Also!! Spoilers for A Realm Reborn, the Stormblood patches, the Werlyt questline, and extremely vague spoilers for a region in Endwalker! Massive Writing Ramble (™️) ahead. You have been warned. >:D

Regarding your Wyvern AU: AGAHDBDJEDHWKDHWJFB?!???!!?!?!?

As both a whump-hurt/comfort enjoyer and a Maxima fan (I LOVE HIM. I LOVE HIM. I HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS ABOUT MAXIMA AS A CHARACTER OKAY) this au is incomprehensible shrieking noises.

I’m so interested in Ren and Gaius. From a storytelling perspective, I honestly really like Gaius, (liking a character and agreeing with their actions are two Very Different Things!!!!!!!) and I think his arc in the STB patches is SO good. He’s such an interesting character!! Our first intro to him is in ARR, as the pretty generic villain of the pretty generic Bad Empire™️ who wants to invade Eorzea (there are a host of reasons for that genericity, and the game absolutely adds complexity to Garlemald and Gaius later, but in ARR at least, they’re both pretty flat). He gives an iconic yet also very generic elevator pitch (literally), and then we don’t hear from him until STB. In that time, we hear much about him — namely that he treats his soldiers fairly, that he does genuinely seem to believe this is the best course of action for Eorzea, that he’s a guy with a lot of privilege and a lot of power and some Extremely misguided yet well-intentioned beliefs. He shut down Black Rose! He doesn’t want to destroy every Eorzean after he subjugates them! Big Yikes, but that in itself provides the opportunity for some REALLY interesting character growth. And we see that in the STB patches and Werlyt! That he’s dedicated his life to trying to atone. That he fucked up big-time, and he wants to try and put some good back in the world. That he survived Prae for a reason, and he’s going to hunt down Ascians so no others can follow the path he followed. Now, throwing Ren into the mix? Ren, who may have lost his memories and been badly tortured, but whose entire purpose before getting yeeted to Hydaelyn was destroying the concept of authority and fighting against oppression? Whose literal heart and soul are a conceptualization of rebellion?? Throwing THAT Ren, even without most of his memories, into Gaius’s path????? Knowing where Gaius eventually ends up (regarding both his goals for Prae and his later arc in the Burn) and that his current path is formed from some Very Very poor choices with at least not evil intentions??? ohohohohoho. OHOHOHOHO. Cackles in storyteller. That is FASCINATING. That’s SUCH an intriguing dynamic. Does something in Ren realize what it is he and Gaius are doing? Does something in Gaius? How do they interact? How do they read each others’ actions? How do they affect each other??? What could go differently if someone (Ren) were to step in before Gaius led the charge on Eorzea?????

SCREECHES. AWGRJWGDJG IT’S SO SO INTERESTING AND I LOVE THIS SO MUCH AND AGAGAGFJFEHFJGK coughs. haha

ANYWAYS. This AU is so damn good. I think that the intersection of Ren and Maxima as characters in this context is so interesting, and I love Ren having at least one little bright light in the form of that relationship in the midst of a Very Bad experience. I love that dynamic between him and Zenos?? It’s hilarious and so in character for both of them. And also like… man. The IMPLICATIONS!!!! Ren and Hydaelyn!!!! Ren and the Scions!!!! How would they feel about each other?? The dramatic irony too is SO *chef’s kiss.* We as the audience presumably are familiar with either or both FFXIV and P5, and also, considering we’re reading the post on your tumblr, with Stars in the Dark. So we know what could have happened, and seeing the characters and the differences in their relationships and the differences in particular with how Ren interacts with them is ough agh big feelings /pos. And even an eventual healing arc (if that’s in the cards for him) in this AU would be so. agh /pos. whump-hurt/comfort beloved fr fr

Obligatory disclaimer that all of the questions here are rhetorical and meant not as actual questions/demands directed at you, but more as conceptualizations of the different ways one could explore this dynamic and these changes!!

This au is so so cool!!!!!! :D

Haha! That's fine! I'm glad you had so much to say about it!

Maxima! Yeah Maxima's a great guy. Good to see some Maxima love. :) I love the idea of him being utterly horrified by what they're doing to this poor kid, but he hasn't had a chance to defect yet or anything so he's just... trying to sneakily make Amnesiac!Ren's life as comfortable as he can by dropping by the lab and doing nice things when no-one's looking. And Ren would be pretty fucking feral by this point, so I just imagine it'd be a bit like trying to look after an abused wild animal. "Okay, I'll just sneak him some nice food-- aaaaand he just tried to bite off my fingers. Swell!" At least Ren would come to appreciate it more once the experiments stop and he gets his head on a bit straighter and acts more human haha. :P

And Gaius! Yes, he's an extremely complicated and fascinating character, once the game finally gives him a chance to step outside his initial role. I agree, there is a lot of intriguing potential for the concept of him and Ren working as... psuedo-allies, kind of. Or at least forced on the same side, from the start. As I mentioned in a reply to a comment-- Wyvern would actually have 0 loyalty to the empire, since he'd just think of them as the fucks that tortured him. But he doesn't know what else to do (no memories at all! where's he gonna go??) and also he's obsessed with Zenos and being what Zenos wants and staying beside him in general, soooo... Imperialism it is, I guess??? (Not that Zenos is actually loyal to the empire either lol) But it would be very interesting if Wyvern prompts Gaius to start doubting everything he thought he knew... >:3 Add Zenos into the mix and we have the potential for... something, I dunno! But it's certainly exciting and probably very chaotic!

I wish I had more I could say about all that and the Wyvern AU in general, especially since you're so intrigued by it, but it's very half-baked at the moment since it was just an "OOH WHAT IF..." thought that got a bit out of hand lol. I still have, y'know... (gestures to the monolithic mountain of canon content) ALL OF THAT to get through first in the regular ol' timeline haha! But I really appreciate hearing your thoughts, since it does give me some very interesting ideas if I ever do plan on writing anything about it... >:3

I recently had to buy myself a new drawing tablet, so maybe I should break it in by drawing some stuff for this AU... hmmm!

EDIT: Oh! But I can say that Wyvern would probably make an initial impression among the Eorzeans (and the Scions) as being the Empire's scary new human weapon. THEIR ULTIMA WEAPON, IF YOU WILL. HAW HAW. (it even eats Primals!)