#this post kinda got away from me at the end there

[mscherub]

Hello! This was, and is originally posted on my Ao3, but I’m gonna bring it over here for other ppl to read, cause why not?

Courting with Floyd (Floyd Leech x Reader)

Gender neutral reader, referred to as perfect and or Y/N, I honestly forgot :/ LOL

(Possible?) Warnings:

swearing(I have a sailors mouth and it makes its way into my writing)

Mention of a tooth

Uneducated reader on merfolk courting rituals

Probs grammatical errors and or spelling, or both, knowing me—

Word count: approximately 2.4K

How long has it been since Floyd has been acting weird? Well, I mean he always was weird to begin with, but now? Yea, totally different! He seemed more calm around you which—shockingly—is not like him. Was he ok? Where’d the sinister maniacal eel boy go? Figuring Jade would know better about his own brother, you went to him first just to ask, but, as expected, Jade was no help, simply smirking at you and basically telling you “tough luck.” I mean, Floyd, Floyd, was starting to be nice to you. Always finding a reason to be with you, always finding a reason to annoy hang out with you. Granted he did that before, but not as much. You weren’t thattt interesting. You were basic looking at best in his opinion(rude…), you caused a lot of trouble(ok, that’s fun…), and you did make everything twice as exciting when around so…ehhhh, maybe you were more interesting than he gave you credit for. But now? He’s going all out just to be closer it seems, and it’s unnerving.

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“Shrimpyyyyyyyyyyyyyy…ne ne, heyyyyyyy. Lookie lookie! Loooook!!! Shrimpy?” Floyd pouted and poked your cheek.

You were in the library, minding your business studying. Grim was off with Ace and Deuce so you got a moment alone, even just for a few minutes, but of course it was ruined already…

“Huh? I’m trying to study here…” you reply. Honestly why did trouble always find you? And more importantly why did the cause of it get blamed on you and—

“Booooringgg…hey hey, shrimpy~” he flashes you that signature toothy grin, pulling you out of your inner monologue. “I have something more fun in mind, yea? Come with me~” he doesn’t give you any time to even respond and yanks you up from your seat. You begrudgingly follow along behind him, trying to pull your arm away from his grip, but to no luck. The fuck did this guy eat to be so damn strong?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

After going about campus for who knows how long, precious study time replaced by scaring and robbing people on Azul’s special blacklist…Floyd drags you under a tree in the botanical gardens. He hums a tune softly as he kicks at rocks in the grass…he’s out of toys to play with now and I guess you’re the only option, right?

“Heyyyyyy, Shrimpy! Tell me a story from your world.” you’re pulled from your thoughts again and look over at him as he leans against the tree and slumps down to the ground. He looks up at you expectantly. You sigh and sit down next to him, backs against the trees.

“What do you wanna hear?” You hum as your eyes find their way to a group of butterflies fluttering around a small patch of flowers.

“Something cool. Hmmmm…oh! How ‘bout something about the oceans in your world? You have em, yea?” He sighs, gently bumping the back of his head against the tree

“Yea, my world has oceans, but I dunno. We have like maybe 5% explored? A lot of fish I guess…not much different from yours in a sense besides that merfolk don’t exist.” you murmur. What else was there really to say? You exactly weren’t a marine biologist before ending up here.

Floyd goes quiet and lets out a scoff of disbelief, his eyes widening

“Huh…your world sounds boring shrimpy…no other eel merfolk then?” He waits for your reply. Why did he care about that

“Uh…no. Not any merfolk at all…and I guess it is kinda boring. But hey, it’s home.” you retort. Floyd simply grins and moves his face closer to yours. You glare at him confused. You could be studying right now, you could be reading up on whatever topic Trein assigned, but no! You were bullshitting around with probably one of the top most deadliest students in the entire school, and that’s without the use of magic. But Floyd doesn’t do anything sinister, instead he pulls something from his blazer pocket and drops it in your lap…what the—a pearl?

“Uh—“

“Pretty, huh? Just like your eyes, or whatever. Anyways…I’m bored, and ‘Zul’s probably got some spiel for me when I get back…gotta beat him to the lounge.” Floyd hoists himself up and looks down at you, waving his hand. “Later, shrimpy-Chan~” he grins again. His eyes have a weird glint to them today.

He whistles as he walks off, leaving you alone to ponder, again…ok…what the fuck just happened?

Things didn’t exactly add up. Was he trying to trick you…did he just give you a gift, for free!? Uh, hello? Not Floyd like, not Octivanelle student like at all! Something was fishy, and no pun intended, but what the actual fuck? Ok, thinking logically, maybe you did something that benefited him and he payed you back for it? But what did you do? And also that’s not like Floyd, either? You’re completely and utterly stumped.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Floyd’s behavior only got weirder over the days, and he even uncharacteristically started to give more gifts to you…one being the tooth of who knows who’s. You’ve asked him about it and it’s the same reply each time:

“Just felt like it. Bye now!” —or something like that…gave you something pretty, which was always usually shiny, and then left, leaving you to look at the gift(if you even wanna consider a tooth that then sure) confused.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

One evening you’re sitting in Ramshackle dorm, doom scrolling on MagiCam, Grim curled up and passed out beside you on the couch…

Ding!

“The hell?”

A message from Azul pops up and you instinctively click on it.

Azul: “for the love of the seven, please say yes to Floyd already. It’s driving me and my business into turmoil…”

Huh…

Ok, what the hell did he mean by “say yes to Floyd?” What am I saying yes to?

You: “…uh…what?”

Azul: “…”

Azul: “come to the lounge.”

And that’s it. Azul ends the conversation. Weird.

You hoist yourself up and you pat grim on the head to wake him up.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

When you and Grim get to the lounge, it’s empty, besides for the disaster playing out…Floyd slumped directly on the floor in the middle of the lounge in his eel form, his tail flicking angrily and smacking against the floor, a pout plastered onto his face. Apparently Azul caught him trying to sneak out again to go to the sea for “presents,” and Azul got fed up. Floyd grumbles and glares over at the door, his eyes soften just a bit when he sees it’s you, but he’s in one of his moods.

“Shrimpy…come’ere…” he mutters. “Tell ‘Zul how dickish he’s being by not letting me go get you another trinket from the sea.”

“Floyd, you’ve been skipping out on working hours—“

Jade chimes in, “To be fair, when doesn’t he?”

Floyd keeps bickering with Azul, leaving you and Grim to just witness the scene unfold before you.

“Henchhuman, we could run right about…now!” Grim murmurs.

“No…” you sigh as you grab his tail before he books it. You could totally take advantage of this, maybe get Azul to make a fair deal with you if you solve whatever is wrong with Floyd…

Jade walks up next to you silently and smiles as he watches.

“You know…my brother has taken quite a liking to you I fear…he would be fairly upset if you were to keep ignoring his advances.” He hums. “Though it is enjoyable to watch him try so hard.”

“What? Jade, no offense but what the hell do you mean?” You side eye him, but Azul calls Jade over to drag Floyd to the pool until he can get him a potion to change him back…Azul is stressed and it’s evident as he takes off his glasses to rub his face. But soon his exasperated expression is replaced by a glare as he makes eye contact with you.

“Perfect, I truly thought you were smart, but in this type of situation, you’re so dense!” Azul huffs.

“Ok, ok, before accusing me of anything else, you mind telling me what’s going on?” You say as you cross your arms.

“You know exactly what’s going on…right?” He mutters.

Azul looks at you, his glare never changing until you can see something click for him. His eyes go a little wide and he looks at you surprised.

Shit…you didn’t know the courting rituals of merfolk, did you? I mean it would only make sense, you were a human, and you weren’t exactly from this world…

��Ah…Perfect. How to explain this—“

“How to explain what?” You sigh.

Azul takes a breath in and puts his glasses back on before continuing.

“I suppose there’s differences in each culture varying from land to sea, and in truth that is what makes them all unique in their own ways…uh—“ he pauses again, rubbing his temples.

“in merfolk culture, those who may be interested in another tend to give gifts as a means of courting. Do you understand that? Need I say more?”

You stare at him blankly, blink a few times, then take a breath in.

“Courting?”

“Courting.” Azul confirms.

“By that you mean Floyd is trying to…trying to get with me? Date me?” You murmur, your eyes widening.

“Precisely.” Azul sighs. “And while I have no problem with that in a sense, you ignoring his advances have caused him to be more—more in a sour mood, lately, more than he usually is, anyways. It’s truly putting a stunt into the business of the lounge due to him working less…it’s cumbersome.” Azul sighs again, longer this time.

You look at Azul, then to Grim who seems even more surprised than you. He looks over at you and looks about ready to cry.

“NOOOOO. HENCHHUMAN NO! NO, NO! YOU WILL NOT NOOOOOOO!” Grim whines, grabbing your arm and shaking you.

“Tell Floyd off, Azul! Ain’t no way my Henchhuman is gonna fall in the grips of that slimy eel!” Grim complains

Azul puts up his hand, shushing Grim.

“That’s not my decision, and you both practically know Floyd as well as I do…and to be fair I don’t exactly know why he’s courting since neither him nor Jade have ever tried in their life, not even back in the coral sea…but, Perfect,” Azul narrows his eyes at you, “don’t make a decision that will ruin my business…” and with that, he leaves you and Grim, slamming the door to the VIP lounge.

“Henchhuman you can’t be considerin’ this! There’s a lot of better guys out there…like Kalim, rich too!”

“Floyd and Jade are pretty rich, too, Grim—“

“And he lives above land, and he has Jamil who makes great food! I think if you’re going for someone go for him.” He interrupts.

“Grimmy, it ain’t just about the money for one…” you sigh.

“YOU’RE CONSIDERING THIS?!” He yells, he looks ready to faint.

Truth was, that as much as you acted like you didn’t like Floyd, you honestly kind of did. For what, though? Hard to tell. Maybe it was his laid back attitude, or maybe it was his looks, though he kinda looked like a gremlin, or maybe you just liked him for, well, him…

Grim is already walking(floating) away, but you let him this time…you’ll find him later, guarantee, probably caught up with some mess he always manages to make. Instead, you take a breath in and walk to where the pools are located.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

You push through the double doors to the pool room and you find Floyd swimming in circles, bored mumbling obscenities to himself. You get closer, your footsteps echoing on the tiled floor.

“If it’s you ‘zul, I don’t wanna hear what you have ta say, ain’t gonna change anything, and—“ he looks up and sees you. He stops talking then stops swimming. Slowly, his pout forms into a smirk and he swims over to the edge of the pool.

“Shrimpy~ I knew you’d come…” he gives you a closed eye grin. He hoists himself up out of the pool and sits on the edge, the rest of his tail in the water.

You walk over to him and sit next to him, keeping at least a few feet between you in hopes you don’t get wet.

“Sorry I didn’t notice earlier…I guess?” you murmur. You look at him. His smile doesn’t fade, he moves his face closer to yours. “About the courting or whatever, I mean. Actually, it’s more your fault cause how were you gonna do that to me when I didn’t even know what it meant? Ah, whatever. Guess it’s just good I know now, right?” you tease. Floyd giggles and boops your nose.

“Thought you knew. You seemed smart, but maybe I gave ya too much credit for that, huh?” He teases back.

You nudge him gently with your shoulder, your uniform blazer sticking slightly to his viscous skin…

He smiles and holds out a closed fist to you. You look up at him and furrow your brows, looking at his gesture confused.

He turns his fist and opens it, revealing a pearl necklaces with shiny scales that obviously didn’t belong to him. Now that you understood the implications somewhat of the gifts, you hesitate to take it, but he plops it into the palm or your hand. You clip it around your neck and let out a soft hum as the light glints of the scales.

“It’s pretty,..uh, I guess just like you, thank you?” You murmur. Floyd grins even more and practically pounces on you.

“You’re too cute shrimpy…” he hums, rubbing his cheek against yours. “You get it now, yea? Good…now you gotta do it back…I only like expensive things so—“

“Floyd, let’s just skip that, ok?” You chuckle. “I like you, too…without the gifts you’ve given me, though, they are nice…”

“Hmmm…guess I can see past it just this once…” he sighs. He pulls back a little and grins at you. You look back at him and can’t help but smile.

“Do you know how we seal a courtship?” His smiling never faltering.

“Let me guess, a ki—“

Floyd crashes his lips against yours and shuts you up. A small sound of surprise leaves you. He pulls away and giggles, watching as your face turns bright red.

“Hmmm…now I’m bored, Shrimpy…oh, I know let’s go for swim!”

Oh no.

That’s it for now my lovelies! Also this was my first work on Ao3 and ofc transferring it over here may have messed it up a lot more, so if it’s bad that’s why 💀 (I also can write rlly well some days and others I can’t, weird thing…)

Ao3 link here since I have 3 other works posted on there that aren’t on my Tumblr page quite yet—> https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ms_cherub

Please don’t steal or copy any of my work! You may, however, repost if you’d want to!

[kinsfics]

we fell in love in the middle of nowhere – steve harrington

▶︎ NOW PLAYING: middle of nowhere by frawley

⸺ summary: Hawkins, Indiana was never enough for (Y/N). She had big dreams and an even bigger future ahead of her. Everyone always said she was destined for more than the small Indiana town could ever give her. She could only hope Steve was too.

⸺ author's note: I'm gonna be editing/rewriting and posting all of my stories that were on my old account onto here since I have no inspiration to write anything new right now lol

We used to meet up at the park

We knew the shortcuts all by heart

Raced to the top of the swing set

To escape the town that we lived in

We fell in love in the middle of nowhere

“You sure took your sweet time, Harrington,” You say as soon as you see the unmistakable head of hair belonging to the one and only Steve Harrington.

“Sorry, babe. You know how long it takes to get this under control,” he says with a smirk, gesturing to his hair. He strolls over to where you’re sitting on the swing and stands in front of you. You stand up to greet him, and he takes you into his arms. Leaning in as if to kiss you, he whispers, “Race you to the top of the swing set,” before taking off.

“Cheater!” You yell, running after him. You catch up with him and watch as he stands victorious at the top of the playground. “No fair,” you pout at him. Steve laughs before reaching toward you to brush a strand of hair that had fallen into your face. He stares into your eyes as you struggle to catch your breath.

“I love you, (Y/N),” he whispers, staring into your eyes. Before you get a chance to respond, he’s leaning in and kissing you.

I always hated that small town

I couldn’t wait ‘til I got out

Couldn’t drive but I had some car keys

And you promised you would come with me

But you stayed in the middle of nowhere

You and Steve had the time of your lives that summer. But there was always the desire for something more. You had been ecstatic when the chance came for you to get out of Hawkins, Indiana.

“Your parents bought you a car?” Steve gawked, making you laugh.

“Yeah, it’s a present for graduating with straight ‘A’s,” you explained, holding up your car keys.

“You don’t even have your license,” Steve frowned, and you rolled your eyes.

“I will soon. And when I do, I’m taking this baby and getting the hell out of this town,” you said, looking longingly at your new car.

“You know I’ll follow you anywhere,” Steve had promised, punctuating it with a kiss to your cheek. But when the time came, you drove away in your new car, leaving Steve in your rear view mirror.

Tell me how we ended up miles apart

With nothing in my bag and only half a heart

I knew that it was stupid

But I just needed a change

As you stand in a new town, unfamiliar faces all around you, you can’t help but wonder how you ended up so far away from the boy you loved. Dragging your near-empty suitcase behind you, you leave the airport, leaving more than just your old clothes behind.

Now part of me is sitting in the place we met

The front seat of your car smelled like cigarettes

I guess I kinda loved it

‘Cause it’s etched inside my brain

Sitting in the cab on the way to your new apartment, you can’t help but think back to a better time. A less lonely time.

“Those things will kill you, y’know,” you say, watching as Steve takes a drag of his cigarette. He shrugs but takes it out of his mouth and flicks it out of the window.

“Better?” He asks, one eyebrow raised in question.

“Much,” you say, leaning in to kiss him. You could still taste the cigarette smoke on his tongue.

I tried to change

To be someone new

So I went to Paris to be in a city

That’s time zones away

Now I’m up ‘til two (I’m up ‘til two)

I made it all the way, but it’s no use

My heart’s in the middle of nowhere with you

Paris was the opposite of Hawkins. Filled with bustling crowds of people, unfamiliar noises, and cars racing past, you can’t help but wonder what the hell you were thinking. You had told Steve you wanted a change. You didn’t want to be the girl with big dreams who never made it out. But now, as you lie awake in bed at two in the morning, you can’t help but wonder if it would have been all that bad to stay in the middle of nowhere with him.

[acesandocs]

A while ago Calamity told me they headcannon Joey as being of Norwegian decent and I wholeheartedly approve. So here’s Ace helping Joey get into his bunad.

Putting on a sølje is easier when someone else does it for you and its a neat way to have Åse and Joey interact. It ended up looking kinda domestic so now the discord server is down with ÅsexJoey lol, sure why not.

Heres a link to the first post i made about what a bunad and a fest drakt is. if anyone wants to read about it but all you need to know is they're for the most part different things and Ace's outfit is a festrdrak and Joey's is technically a bunad.

on Joeys outfit:

According to Calamity: ‘’I imagine his parents immigrated to the US with his grandparents when they were still young and then met in the US through community’’ which could probably put the time they emigrated around the middle of the 1800s. The modern idea of bunads didn't start appearing until the start of the 1900s and kept developing from there. So most likely his family wouldn't have any bunads to pass down, but maybe some clothes that could be put together to make a bunad.

So I based Joey's on the Oslo 1892 bunad. (Its almost the exact same except for the number of buttons) which was invented post 2010s but was based on fashion from the wealthy in 1890s. Considering the hypothetical time line of when Joey’s family emigrated the suit jacket and vest probably didn't come with them from Norway but the knit socks, søljes and pants could.

The silver jewelry on his neck is called a sølje, i gave him two different types. One is based on the sølje that usually comes with the Oslo 1892 but with a few artistic liberties. The second is a heart sølje that looked like a heart with either a crown or two birds facing each other above it. It was used all over the country but some places more than others like the more southern parts of the country. It was also often a gift given to a lover, maybe it was something one of his grandparents gave to the other.

on Ace's outfit:

I have already designed a fest drakt/bunad for Ace and in that post I mentioned I couldn't find an outfit from the area to base it one so I took some innspo from the Telmark bunad instead because of the color and embroidery that I felt matched Ace’s personality. I did eventually stumble upon a bunad from the are Ace grew up in. The Toten bunad, so I redesigned her Fest drakt based on it. Its not a one to one copy so its technically still a festdrakt.

I still got to add some embroydery but instead its svartsøm on the shirt (or whats supposed to be a simplified representation of it). The apron and band around the waist are woven in a style called tavlebragd which gives it that geometric pattern.

I also gave Ace a headband this time around since her hair is to short to braid when she’s older. So now she still has something going on with her hair. Its just a normal green hair band. Would have added embroidery to it if her design wasn't getting a bit cluttered with all the patterns.

I could explain away the difference in Åse’s festdrakt by saying her old one got lost when they emigrated but idk. I might come back to it and design a new one for her younger self at some point.

As mentioned in the first post im not a clothing historian so some of this might be wrong. I tried simplifying some of th patterns on aces outfit so theyd be easie to redraw so they might not be 100% accurate. I know I also could have just designed a new outfit for joey like I did with ace instead oif basing his on a bunad that wasn't even invented before the 2000s but it takes a lot of energy and research and I’m tired.

[p-taryn-dactyl]

One Eternal Sigh a/n: hi guys! after the results of the poll i posted, i got right to work and then my life kinda fell apart so i deeply apologize for how late this is. ik a lot of you wanted this to be ambessa x reader and dw i am planning something with goddess!ambessa but i had to honor the results of the poll for this fic. i hope everyone enjoys this!!

word count: 2.7k

warning(s): y/n might break critical archeology rules but as i am not an archeologist and this is fiction...🤷🏻‍♀️ - goddess!sevika - possessive!sevika - i know nothing of LoL lore so I have created mythology - sevika is a munch this isn't news - porn with a little plot except the plot disappears - virgin!reader, well not at the end lol - oral (r!recieving) - wall sex - mention of overstimulation - improper use of metal arm (fingering, r!recieving) - im not ashamed of what this became but if you see me at church keep it to yourself - im too dramatic, the 🌶️ (sadly) isn't that long

After years of only finding shards of ancient technology and digging in places that were less than fruitful in findings, you finally discovered something groundbreaking. You had been told by colleagues over the course of your career in archeaology to give up any hopes of finding evidence of the lost kingdom of Zaun, your own Atlantis in terms of it's ambiguity and discussion over whether or not it was real. But now, now you could finally prove you weren't just chasing ghosts.

"Incredible." You whispered under your breath as you were lowered deeper into the tomb. The intricate carvings that decorated the walls seemed to glow an inticing purple, the paint still vibrant even after all these years burried by history. Finally, your feet touched the ground, making you the first person in thousands of years to enter this tomb. But as you walked around, detachting yourself from the harness, the light from your flashlight revealed something incredible. You followed the tunnels, large enough for a person to walk through carefully, eyes wide as you took in the pillars and the paintings on the walls. A figure stole your glance, one made of metal, it's cracks glowing a strange mixture of purple and pink. As if in a trance, you walked towards it, your eyes reading the inscription below.

Sevika, protector and loyal servant of Zaun.

Your hands traced the cracks of the figurine, examining the depiction of the goddess. You couldn't believe you were actually standing here, holding a piece of history. Sevika was one of the Zaunite Pantheon that you had dedicated years of study to, trying to find evidence of her followers and dedicating countless nights into reading about the goddess with a seemingly mechanical arm. You knew she was granted eternal life and goddesshood after she selflessly defended one of the brothers who had started the great kingdom of Zaun, Silco. A conflict that took away her arm but granted her a way to further defend the land she held so much loyalty for. You held the figurine close to your chest as you further wandered around what you now understood to be a temple, a place of worship dedicated to Sevika. This was so much greater than a measley tomb. But of course, even dreams come to an end.

"Miss Y/N? Is everything okay down there?"

The voice of your sponsor broke through the comfortable silence of the temple, carried down through a megaphone through the tunnels. You jumped, dropping the figurine. It shattered onto the floor, sending a tremble through the temple as a purple smoke emitted from the now broken idol.

"No, no, no!" You practically screamed as the walls and entrance to the room you stood crumbled around you, the dust mixing with the strange smoke the broken idol was emitting. You ran towards the now covered exit, hands clawing against the stones, desperate to find a loose rock to somehow help your escape. Your mind ignored the smoke and the hissing sound that accompanied it as you spiraled into a silent panic, leaning your forehead against the rough stones as your breath came out in short gasps. You just had to prove people wrong, a voice that sounded suspiciously like your mother rang in your mind, taunting you about your life decisions.

"Who are you?" A rough voice rang out, accompained by a large metal arm slamming into the rock beside your head, trapping you even more as you jumped once again, a scream escaping your lips as you spun around. What, no who, you saw made your stomach drop. Standing in front of you, arms trapping you against a rocky barrier, was the goddess Sevika, her hair loose and framing her face, silver eyes boring into you, illuminated by purple scars on her face. She leaned closer, having to bend down to meet your eyes, her height causing her to tower over you. Her metal arm moved closer to your face, the mechanics sending an almost unbareable heat searing across your skin.

"I said, who are you?" She growled out, her voice echoing throughout the chamber, sending a shiver down your spine. You swallowed, your mouth and throat dry from fear and the dust clouding the air.

"I'm Y/N," you finally were able to respond, pressing yourself against the closed entrance as Sevika got closer to you, the whirring of her arm reminding you this wasn't a dream, "I'm a researcher- an archeologist."

The name of your profession sent recognition sparking through Sevika's eyes. She cocked her head to the side in confusion, something you would've found adorable except she was an actual goddess radiating power and you were desperate to not insult her.

"Archeaologists study the dead. Why are you here?" While her tone was softer than before, she never left her position keeping you against the makeshift wall. You felt a flare of annoyance shoot through you at the generalization of your job but you held back your defiant response, not wanting to end up an enemy of the Protector. You carefully constructed your response, your words shaky as they left your lips.

"I study Zaun," you watched as realization filled Sevika's expression and you spoke hurriedly, "It's been thousands of years since you-"

Sevika cut you off, stumbling backwards slightly, her arms leaving the wall and craddling her head as she spoke.

"Zaun fell? I failed to protect-"

"No!" You interupted, causing the goddess to look at you incredulously. You laughed nervously as you wrung your hands, fiddling with your rings as you started to ramble.

"You didn't fail to do anything, all empires fall - no matter how great they are! Normally an empire falls after 250 years but Zaun lasted way longer than that, academics estimate that it didn't fall in violence, just that the power shifted and it merged into other kingdoms which also have fallen until today when people don't even agree on whether or not Zaun even existed, which now it's obvious it did and-" you felt a warm hand cover your mouth as Sevika shook her head humorously.

"You talk too much. Centuries and centuries of silence and you seem to be making up for it. I thank you for your explanation, although I request time to mourn my people."

She turned around, walking to the other side of the room, towards a beautifully painted mural of Sevika along with other gods of the pantheon, Vander, Silco, Violet, Jinx, and Ekko, surrounded by the people of Zaun. You stayed in place, standing awkwardly. After a few minutes Sevika turned back around, flinching slightly when she noticed you were still there. You answered her confused expression, smiling way too wide as if it would hide your panic.

"This," you gestured to the wall of stone behind you, "was the only entrance and exit to your temple. I guess you could count me as an offering." You joked lightly, wrapping your arms around yourself as you felt shock settle in about your current situation. As panic once again started swirling in your mind, you didn't see the shift of Sevika's expression, her eyes darkening and a smirk painting her lips as she stalked slowly closer to you. You gasped at the feeling of one of her metal fingers hooking under your chin, forcing you to look up at her. Heat exploded throughout your body as you took in her expression.

"An offering, huh? I haven't had one of you in a long time." She trailed her metal hand down your throat to trace your collar bone as she slowly pulled you away from the stone wall so she could circle around you, her metal hand tracing along your shoulders and back, sending shiver after shiver down your spine.

"Tell me again, it's been so long, what I'm the goddess of?" Her voice was teasing and low, worsening the dampness growing between your legs. You answered, your voice shaking.

"You're a protector of Zaun, the goddess of loyalty and protection, often associated with strength and the bond between blood of the covenant," She hummed, urging you to continue, even though you were sure you had covered her main titles, the only other one you could think of was- oh.

"You're also the goddess of plea-pleasure," your words broke apart as Sevika's wandering hand went lower, "often extending your protection to sex workers and encouraging your priestesses to...explore with one another."

Sevika huffed out a small laugh at your academically charged answer, silently thinking about how she could get you to ramble out words that made no sense and weren't copied from books. She once agains stood in front of you, both of her hands cradling your waist as she pulled you incredible close to her, leaning down so that she could whisper in your ear.

"As a researcher, I'm sure you've explored many places, but has anyone ever explored you?" Her question stole the breath from your lungs as you just stared at her, eyes wide as her flesh hand untucked your shirt from your pants, placing her warm palm against your skin. You silently shook your head, watching as Sevika's eyes almost glowed at your answer, her hands tightening possessively on your waist. You felt her smirk against your neck as she spoke.

"Well, as my offering, I can fix that." She leaned back enough so that her eyes could ask a silent question, one that you were very quick to answer. You barely had finished nodding before Sevika's lips were on yours, dominating and possessive as she bit down on your bottom lip, using your surprised gasp as a way to deepen the kiss, her tongue winning over yours. Your head was foggy with how intense the embrace was, you struggled to keep up with Sevika's pace. Her metal arm ripped off your shirt, using her lips to swallow your protest, and her human hand unbuttoned your pants, pushing them down before growing impatient and eventually ripping them off. You managed to pull away from the magnetic kiss, much to the dismay of Sevika.

"I needed those clothes!"

Sevika's eyes grew even darker, her hands tightening on you once again as she picked you up, reveling in your little yelp as you instinctively wrapped your legs around her as she moved to the other side of the room, towards a smooth wall. You felt her press you against the wall, a dark laugh leaving her lips.

"For what? You're mine now, remember?"

You flushed at the implication, opening your mouth to retort but Sevika used the moment to push you up higher against the wall, using her hands to place your thighs on her shoulders, her nose brushing against your most sensitive spot, making your legs tremble, something she wanted to feel again. She pressed a kiss against your clothed cunt, licking the growing wet spot lightly, enjoying your reactions.

"And you definitely don't need these." She spoke against your pussy before using her teeth to rip off your panties. You only had a minute to register her actions before her tongue was parting your folds, her hands holding onto your thighs so tightly you swore you would be bruised. Your moans were music to Sevika's ears, loving how she finally wasn't surrounded by silence. Her tongue was equally soft and rough, a combination that drove you crazy as your hands clawed at her forearms. You felt her tongue swipe up your whole pussy before her mouth, warm and wet, captured your clit, sucking as her tongue rubbed the underside of your sensitive numb. You felt like you were floating as she burried herself deeper into you, her tongue flattening against your clit as her metal arm shifted so most of your weight was on her human arm. Your brow furrowed in confusion before you felt cool metal pressing against your folds, seperating them, intensifying the pleasure her mouth was giving you. She leaned backwards, a trail of spit connecting your pussy to her lips as she licked them, watching your expression as one of her metal fingers pressed against your entrance, entering slowly.

"You're so sweet, baby, I think I'll stay down here forever."

You barely had time to respond before Sevika's finger was fully in you, pressing against your soft walls, rubbing something that sent you scrambling up the wall, Sevika's hand on your waist gripping you tightly as she licked around her finger, tracing her tongue up to your clit as she laved at it, another metal finger stretching you, your moans now growing hoarse as you felt something coil in your stomach, threatening to snap. Between her cold metal fingers thrusting into you, pressing against that intensely pleasureable spot within you and her mouth covering the rest of your pussy, suctioning slightly as her tongue licked your clit as if she was savoring desert, you felt your thighs start to shake more, your hands now burrying themselves in Sevika's hair.

"I'm gonna-" You couldn't finish your sentence, Sevika's fingers going faster as her teeth scrapped against your clit.

"Come." She growled out, before pressing her fingers up against your g-spot and rubbing, sucking your clit between her lips.

Who were you to defy your goddess?

Your orgasm was just as intense as Sevika's minstrations, which didn't end even as you came. You remember looking down and seeing Sevika's look up at you, tongue out as it flicked against you. Then you blacked out, having flashes of Sevika laying you gently against the floor, her human hand brushing your hair, which was plastered against your forehead with sweat, out of your eyes.

When you blinked awake, you were in a hospital bed, surrounded by beeping machines. A nurse rushed in, followed by your sponsor who looking frantic, his chest falling in relief when he saw you were awake. You were confused, looking around as the nurse checked your vitals and your sponsor frantically explained what happened.

"After I called down, the unexpected noise caused the structure of the tomb to crumble, leaving you trapped. When we finally got a team called in to clear the way, we found you on the ground next to a statue of a Zaunite goddess, blood on your forehead where a piece of the wall had knocked you out," he ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head guiltily. You felt shame fill your body, you had made the discovery of a lifetime and when you were knocked out - you had a wet dream of an important goddess, the very goddess you had spent years studying, "When we got you out, we didn't know where to go, the service on our phones went out and our vehicles wouldn't start. Oh it was a nightmare Y/N but thankfully a local was able to give a ride to this hospital, I've never been more grateful for someone going on a grocery run. She's still here, been waiting with me for you to wake up, she's said she wants to make sure you're okay."

After he finished speaking, you merely nodded, unable to speak as you internally berated yourself, allowing your sponsor to go get the person who had practically saved you. You were looking down at your hands, imagining them burried in Sevika's hair - it had felt so real, when a familiar presence filled the room. Your head shot up, your eyes focused on who was standing next to your sponsor, who left with the nurse, mentioning something about getting you something to eat.

"Wha- How?" You questioned, your eyes following Sevika, who was dressed in mortal clothing, her shirt straining against her muscles and her hair pulled back into a small ponytail, as she came to stand next to your bed. She leaned against the railing of the hospital bed, using the button on the side to gently lift up your bed so you were sitting up.

"I told you, you're mine now. You wouldn't survive forever in the tomb and by breaking my figurine, you broke the ties binding me to that place. I'm bound to you now, Y/N."

Her hand gently held yours, bringing your hand up so she could press a gentle kiss against your knuckles.

"I'm yours. Forever."

a/n: i feel like that sucked, did it suck? actually don't tell me let me be oblivious. thank you for reading!!! im going to hide under a rock now

[fourteendaysinaweek]

Peter Parker Meets The Batfam

As seen on wattpad here and inspired by this post

A little one-shot that might have a p2 coming (ignore any inaccuracies with the batfam I had too many people I wanted to add and may have gotten confused. Oops)

Peter

I land hard on a rooftop, staring up at the gray sky in front of me. A shiver runs down my spine as I sit up, looking around. I don't recognize the skyline, the buildings are wrong, the sky is too gray for New York, not with the August sunshine we had less than two minutes ago.

"Strange?" I call out, careful not to be too loud. I know he was trying to get that cube— where did he send me? "Karen, where am I?" I'm met with silence as my heart speeds up. "Karen?" I do everything to bring her up to no avail. Did Strange figure out a way to disable her? No, he doesn't want me dead or lost— he just wanted me to stop. He knows Karen controls aspects of my suit and everything, he wouldn't disable her on purpose, right?

Okay, Peter. Think.

You're in a strange city, your AI is down, you have no idea where you are. What do you do? Go to a gas station and ask where you are. Wait no— I'm in the suit. I don't have to go to a gas station, I can just walk up to someone, everyone knows who I am. They'll assume that a bad guy got me lost.

I swing down from the rooftop and land in the street. Weird, not a lot of people out and about.

"Now what the shit is this?"

"Oh thank God I'm still in America—" I sigh and turn towards the cop. "Officer!" I walk towards him. "Excuse me, sorry, I was just in Manhattan fighting— and I seem to be lost— where am I?"

"...Gotham City."

"Fantastic— what state am I in? Is New York close to that?" He raises his eyebrow, reaching for his radio.

"Dick, you're gonna wanna see this." I smile awkwardly even though he can't see my mouth. Karen isn't working, and therefore the controls of my suit aren't either. "You don't know where Gotham is?"

"Uh— sir, you're city is very beautiful, but I attended public school, my geography isn't great, and I'm a little preoccupied trying to get back to the fight—"

"You've never even heard of Gotham?"

"Again, sir, I'm very sorry—"

"Okay, whats going on?" A very tall very muscular officer walks over. He then looks at me. "What the hell?"

"I— I'm so—"

"He says he's never heard of Gotham." The taller one raises his eyebrow.

"Never?"

"Look— I'm so sorry, but I need to get back to Manhattan, I was in the middle of a fight—"

"Who are you?" I blink.

"Who— who am I?" Suddenly I remember why exactly I was fighting Strange. "Oh. Um, I'm sorry, I'll figure it out, didn't mean to bother you, so sorry—" crap crap crap why is my first instinct Oh yay cops will help? I should know better by now—

"Just hold it—" I swing away, illiciting very loud noises of surprise from the two cops.

I end up back on a roof, another roof, and am aware of the trail I am leaving behind. I should stop swinging, so they can't track me. I take a deep breath and reach out with my senses.

"—swinging from webs?? I mean that's kinda cool, to be honest—"

"Just bring him in, be careful. We don't know what he's capable of."

"Yea, Tim. Fan boy later. Catch now."

"I don't know, even with the mask he seemed genuinely confused, like he really had never heard of Gotham."

"Oh, yea, Dick. Every single person on earth has heard of Gotham, if not for our fantastically high crime rates or Batman, then they know Mr. Genius Billionaire Playboy Philanthropist Bruce Wayne—"

"Hey, no government names on the comms."

My blood runs cold. Who the hell is Bruce Wayne and why did they call him that— that's Tony. That's Tony. This... this is wrong, nobody else should be called that— not even as a joke.

I take a breath. Calm down, Peter. You've got this. You can do this.

Orange light washes over me and I look up, seeing Dr Strange looking down at me.

"Strange!" I attempt to swing back through the portal but my web fizzles and falls.

"Enjoy your new universe, Peter. I'll be back in a year to check on you."

"Dr— STRANGE!" I yell as the portal closes. My hair stands on end as I'm surrounded by seven masked forms.

"Who are you?" One in a blue mask asks. I recognize him as both one of the cops from earlier, and the one who was saying I seemed confused. He's also the one called Dick. Full name must be Richard.

"I could ask you the same, Dick." He clearly falters, and the others tense. I think back to his uniform.

"Name calling is going to get you nowhere."

"You think I'm joking, Grayson?" That gets him to freeze. "Should I go down the line?" Please don't call my bluff please don't call my bluff please for the love of whatever do not call my bluff—

"Nightwing, you know this... thing?"

"... you really don't know who I am?"  Strange said new universe. I don't know what I was expecting. "Spider-Man? I-I'm an Avenger? America's Favorite Avenger—"

"If this is some sort of weird power trip, like you think you're the greatest supervillain ever—"

"Villain?" I turn to the voice I recognize to be the one called Tim. "I'm not a villain!"

"Exactly what a villain would say." I look around, frantic.

"You have to believe me— I— the Avengers? Tony Stark? Nothing?" They all look to each other. I sink to my knees. "You don't have the Avengers. You don't have... anything." I hear static before a female voice begins speaking in their comms.

"I've got nothing on a Spider-Man, Tony Stark, or the Avengers."

"Of course you don't." They all stare at me as I sigh. "My name is Peter Parker. And I'm in the wrong universe."

"Okay, let's get that mask off and get you to a hospital—"

"Good luck getting my mask off, and I'm not going to a hospital. I need a computer. I have—"

"What do you mean, is your mask glued to your face?"

"No, Tim." He freezes. "It's nanotech. My AI controls it but because I'm in a different universe she doesn't work. I need a computer so I can fix her and then she can help me figure out interdimensional travel."

"How do you know our names?" The blonde girl asks.

"You should listen when your boss tells you not to use your government names on your comms."

"You hacked our comms?" I look at the one who looks like redskull but... less.

"No, I'm a superhuman. I heard you, literally."

"You... hacked our comms?" Dick says again.

"No, I— I didn't— I heard you— I have superhuman hearing?" I look around at them all. I sigh and listen closely. What can I hear... "I hear... something... or... no, someone running towards us? About... two hundred and fifty pounds? Something is flapping behind it— he's about a minute away based on his speed."

"How can you—"

"I told you, superhuman. Sort of. I—" I look at them, sizing them up. No, lifting one of them is probably going to get me attacked. I don't need that. They're not really setting off my gut, I don't feel bad about them. What can I do... I look around. "Ah!" I go over to a giant conveniently placed building air conditioning unit and lift it with one hand. "See? Superhuman. And three, two—" I point as a giant cloaked man appears. I was right, about two fifty. Mostly muscle.

"Meta." The smallest one mumbles. What the hell does that mean?

"Batman, he—"

"I heard." He narrows his eyes beneath his mask.

"Batman?" I say. "You really died on that hill?" Suddenly, my body feels heavy. Weak. "Crap—" I lean against the air conditioning unit.

"Are you alright, kid—"

"Don't call me that." I snap. "The only person who was allowed to call me that is dead— except no he isn't. He's in a different universe— god Mr. Stark, I wish you were here." I mumble that last part, it wasn't for anyone here. It was for him. "I'm fine, I'm just exhausted. I've been fighting an interdimensional sorcerer for like six hours and then I got dumped here, forgive me if I'm a bit tired." The man, Batman, nods.

"Alright, let's get you back to the cave. We can take a look and get that mask off so you can breathe better."

"My suit has a built in—" I stop. "No it doesn't, because Karen is down. Nevermind."

"Karen?"

"My AI. Do you have AI in this universe? Do you have computers—"

"Let's just... focus on you, okay?"

They all take me back to a giant tower.

"Bats, are we sure this is a good idea?" I hear Dick ask.

"He's a kid. He's scared and confused, not unlike how I met most of you. He thinks he's from a different universe, we—"

"I don't think I'm from a different universe, I am. And I'm not scared." They all stare at me again.

"When did you... gain the ability—"

"I was bit by a radioactive spider."

"Oh, metahuman." I furrow my brows.

"You call supers metahumans in this universe?"

"... you call them supers?" I nod.

"Well, sometimes. Other times they have a species."

"Like what?" I look at the blonde girl. I wish I knew all of their names.

"Well, my... kind of coworker Bruce got himself exposed to radiation and can shapeshift into a giant rage monster. I think he's got it under control now, but he accidentally exposed his cousin to it and now she can kinda do the same thing. Then there is Thor and Loki, they're just... gods, so, entirely different species there. Then there is Captain America, he is a super soldier, he was genetically modified to fight nazis. Bucky was also modified except he was modified by the soviets. And then we have uhhh Carol Danvers, she was modified by alien tech, and Natasha is just a trained assassin from... also the soviets? But yea, we're superheroes, so we're superhuman. What, are you guys metaheroes?"

"Vigilantes."

"Okay, moment of transparency, I know two of your names. I don't think it's a good idea for me to keep calling you by your government names while you're in the suit, so... what do I call you guys?"

"Nightwing."

"Redhood." Redskull looking guy.

"Red Robin." Tim.

"Spoiler." Blondie.

"Robin." Tiny one.

"Blackbat." The other girl, I can't see any of her skin or hair.

"Cat Girl." Short red hair and honestly comically large ears attached to her mask.

"And the girl on the comms?"

"... Signal." Dick, aka Nightwing, tells me. I look at Batman.

"And you're Batman. Great. I'm Spider-Man." My hair stands on end as two more figures approach from the sky. I tense before realizing that my new found... allies seem unfazed.

"Wonder Woman, Superman. This is Spider-Man. He says he's from a different universe and he can't get his suit off."

"You don't believe me, fine, I wouldn't believe it either. Is there a mind reader in this universe? Truth serum? Anything?" Everyone looks to Wonder Woman.

"I can use the Lasso of Truth."

"Perfect, hit me." She very carefully undoes the holster and a giant golden lasso unfolds. She takes my arms and ties it gently around them. It tingles.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Peter Benjamin Parker. I am a junior at Midtown School Of Science And Technology. I am Spider-Man, the vigilante hero turned Avenger after fighting Thanos in the Battle of Titan where I, along with half of the world's population, blipped. After coming back, I became a full-fledged Avenger." Everyone shares look.

"How did you get here?" She asks.

"A villain named Mysterio leaked my identity to the whole world and got me labeled as a terrorist. In my effort to fix things, I went to Doctor Strange, a sorcerer and fellow Avenger for help. He had a spell that could essentially turn back the clock and erase my identity from people's minds. I didn't want to go back to hiding things from my loved ones, so I asked for them to be excluded, but I accidentally broke the spell box and brought villains from other universes into my own. I discovered that the villains were misunderstood and hurting, and I am determined to save them from dying in their own universe. Doctor Strange did not like that and throw me here as a time-out. He said he'd back in a year." Wonder Woman nods.

"I see. Anybody else have questions?"

"How do you know our names?" I sigh.

"I told you. I have incredibly keen senses I could hear you all talking on your comms when you were chasing me."

"How did you come into your abilities?"

"Radioactive spider. Again. I already said this. Now can you please point me towards a computer?"

[xenasaur]

some of you have had your perception of mommy dommes warped by the popular advent of people simply using "mommy" as a title devoid of all context. I am not that kind of mommy domme. I am the kind that Acts Like Your Mom (or, how your mom should've acted). I am going to be so sugary-sweet and gentle and kind with you. I'm going to refer to all of your injuries as booboos and offer to kiss them better. I am going to make you little snacks and make sure you're hydrated. I am going to snuggle you so softly yet so tightly and kiss your forehead so gently and tell you that you make mommy proud every single day. that you are the best kid a gal like me could ask for. that I love you. I love you.

[formal-frog-shoes]

Twiststuck stuff i just wanna get out

Im a huge Cater multi-shipper

Normally this wouldn't be a problem

BUT I CAN'T HAVE ALMOST EVERYONE IN THIS AU HAVE A FLUSH OR PALE CRUSH ON HIM THAT'S ABSURD!!!

[sysig]

I am not immune to any cutes - including Rick and Morty cutes, unfortunately (Patreon)

[fakezircon]

sent here by max. head shoulders knees and toes???

Shit my damn ublock filters got rid of my inbox button again

"Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" is a nursery rhyme that in Canada (and other places but I am only so worldly) is often sung to the tune of "London Bridge is Falling Down" However! There is another tune it is sung to by the name of "There's a Tavern in the Town" which is the version I know it by.

I have yet to find anyone else who sings it exactly the same way I do. Essentially this concerns the second to last line of the song which everyone else has told me goes: "eyes and ears and mouth and nose" (or "eyes, ears, mouth and nose" in the LBFD version). This is at odds with the way I have always remembered it: "eyes, ears, nose, mouth, ankles and elbows"

At this point I have been at a loss for corroborating evidence for my version for so long that I am tempted to say I just made it up myself as a kid? (the "eyes and ears and mouth and nose" line does not fit the structure of the song as well as "my" version, something that would've deeply incensed me as a child) The reason I hesitate to just say that and be done with this whole mystery is that I can vividly remember getting annoyed with the motions to the song, specifically around that line, because it involved a lot of movement to reach from your mouth to your ankles then back up again.

There's no conclusion to this, maybe somewhere out there a music teacher was teaching this to my kindergarten class only or maybe I just got mad at the song structure and sought to better it myself.

[alectoperdita]

Put That Guy in a Situation Ask Meme/Prompt

41. Panic Attacks

54. Kidnapping

58. Crying

I cannot decide which of these to pick so do whichever you're feeling, if any, (or combine if you want) but I think something with Jou and Hirutani could be cool. And Kaiba or Yugi is of course welcome to show up. Idk I just feel like there's a lot of missed angst potential between Jou and Hirutani

From Put That Guy in a Situation(TM) Ask Game

54. Kidnapping

Sorry, this took me so long.

That manga chapter lives rent-free in my head forever. There's established joukai in the background of this one, but Kaiba is only mentioned and doesn't appear. The main focus of the fic is on Jounouchi and Hirutani's interactions as requested. I hope I was able to do them justice in your mind. It's pretty ambiguous overall but feel free to imagine their past relationship as more than a wannabe gang boss and his lieutenant.

content warning: beating, non-graphic blunt force trauma, homophobic language, implied torture, open/ambiguous ending

---

Clink. Clink CLANG.

It was no use. There was zero give when he tugged, virtually swinging in the breeze like a fish hooked on a line. It accomplished nothing other than straining his already numb arms.

The chains were thick and heavy. They were the industrial kind used on construction sites and heavy machinery; not the sort that Katsuya could break with his bare hands, not unless he developed some new superpower in the next ten seconds. It'd simply tire him out and leave him even more vulnerable than he already was.

Shirtless, barefooted, arms extended over his head, wrists bound in metal and winched on a hook hanging from an exposed steel beam, hoisted until his shoulders pulled at their sockets and his tiptoes treading the concrete floor. This already seemed like it was as bad as this could get.

Or so he thought, until a door creaked open and someone stepped into the cavernous space. He came alone, and while the cheeks were more sunken than before, little else about the face had changed since they rancorously parted ways as young teenagers.

"You," he growled.

Hirutani meandered toward him slowly. His clothing still marked him as a thug, low rent despite the gaudy gold chains and piercings. He didn't stop when he finally reached Katsuya, instead circling around as if to inspect him like a piece of meat. Katsuya stiffened as soon as he left his line of sight, and try as he might, he couldn't twist enough to keep an eye on his captor.

After an interminable length of time, Hirutani stopped in front of him. "Howya doin', Joujou?" he greeted as if they were old friends.

Katsuya saw the move coming from miles away. Hirutani made no attempts to hide his intention. But there wasn't much Katsuya could do except slacken his jaw and neck and roll with the punch.

Copper exploded on his tongue. The sickening crunch echoed. His head snapped backward, and he was left rearing and swinging from the force. It knocked him off his toes, which meant his shoulders screamed as they threatened to dislocate under his own body weight.

Even as his feet scrambled to regain their footing, Katsuya made no sound, though. He wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

His breath wheezed out of him. Warm droplets splattered his chilly chest. His nose was definitely broken. Lips were probably busted, too. At least he managed to keep his teeth.

"You just had to go for the face first, you sonuvabitch," he spat, expelling a mix of saliva and blood on the concrete just centimeters shy of Hirutani's shoes. 

"It was pissing me off. You always looked better with a bit of blood on ya."

Katsuya bared his teeth. The lower half of his face ran slick, and a long-dormant sensation stirred within his ribcage. Its claws raked his insides. "Yeah? I could say the same about you. Lemme go and I'll show ya."

Hirutani merely hummed. After a beat, he pressed his scorching palm against Katsuya's sternum and pushed. Once again, he was knocked off his feet, flailing wildly as he tried not to rip his arms from their sockets.

Hirutani's laughter echoed through the abandoned warehouse. "Still putting on the tough guy act when I gotcha like this. It's good to know some things don't change."

"Yeah, neither has your ugly ass mug."

In a burst of strength, he clasped the chain overhead and hoisted himself upward, leveraging the momentum to take a swinging kick. His right foot connected with Hirutani's stomach, a solid hit that sent him wheeling back several steps.

It also left Katsuya wide open.

With a shout, Hirutani lunged forward and caught his ankle in his meaty hands. Panic surged through Katsuya's system, but he couldn't free himself in time. Hirutani gave a cruel twist, and an agonized cry clawed out of Katsuya's throat. Abruptly, Hirutani dropped him. Katsuya's foot barely twitched, and white-hot pain seared his leg.

Fuck, he couldn't put weight on his right leg anymore.

Hirutani wasn't done with him either. Blows pelted him. Each knocked the air from his lungs and sent him helplessly swinging in the wind. His shoulders creaked with the chains.

He became a human punching bag.

(Or a yo-yo. He would've laughed if someone was trying to beat the shit out of him.)

By the time Hirutani let up, the other man was breathing harshly. Sweat dripped from his furrowed brows and landed on Katsuya's neck when he wrenched his head back. "This would go a lot easier if you learned your place."

"Fuck you," he gasped, ears ringing.

The world spun. Faster than a tilt-a-whirl. God, he wanted to puke.

The rough hand fell away from his hair. He lolled his head forward, jutting his bloodied chin out. Their eyes locked. Katsuya refused to look away, though his eyes watered from the pain.

A sleazy grin wormed across Hirutani's face. "I'll give you some time to calm down and consider your situation. When I come back, we can have a nice, friendly chat. Like old times."

Katsuya could only fume while Hirutani exited. The sound of clicking heels retreated into the distance until there was only silence and his own labored breathing.

****

The worst thing about being kidnapped—and Katsuya had been captured enough times to say this with relative confidence—was the boredom. Because eventually, his mind numbed like his arms. Just like the rest of his body when the cold settled into his bones. Then, he was left with nothing to do except stare at the same four walls.

Should he be plotting his escape? Absolutely.

For all the good that'd do for him, because he wouldn't get far on that ankle...

Every time he forgot to support himself and leaned too heavily on his right ankle, a searing pain reminded him how momentously he'd screwed up. He was not only a sitting duck. He was a lame one, too.

More uncontrolled shivers wracked his body. The warehouse was neither well-insulated nor heated. Maybe if he was lucky, he'd succumb to hypothermia before whatever sick plans Hirutani had in mind.

There was another reason mind-numbing boredom was preferable. The only other options were his racing thoughts.

How long had he been here? How long had he been knocked out cold beforehand? Would anyone notice him missing? Maybe his co-workers would. Shit, what about Scapegoat? Who was going to feed him? His poor cat didn't deserve to suffer because he was stuck here. And Seto—

A slamming door reverberated off the walls with the volume of thunder. It yanked Jounouchi from the miasma of his dangerous spiraling.

As promised, Hirutani returned.

Katsuya stared long and hard as he approached.

"What's wrong? Didja miss me?" the thug arched his eyebrow.

"Yeah, like foot fungus," Katsuya deadpanned.

"Joujou,"—the old nickname alone made Katsuya want to hurl—"is that any way to talk to an old friend?"

"You got the old part right. Yeesh, ya ever heard of moisturizer? But I guess nothing ages ya like being a useless piece of sh—"

The blow to his stomach left him reeling and dry-heaving.

Shut up, shut up. He could hear Seto's voice hissing in his head.

He was doing everything wrong. He knew he was.

Years ago, when his "boyfriend" status was freshly minted in the public eye, Seto made him sit through a lecture from the head of corporate security about how to act if he was ever kidnapped. The hour-long lecture could be distilled down to three main points: don't make eye contact with the captor and give them the impression you could be a threat; try to foster a personal connection and appeal to their humanity; and make them want to help you.

It was safe to say Katsuya had done the exact opposite.

But this was no random kidnapper. This was Hirutani, and they had a "personal connection" and history neither could erase.

"There you go running that mouth of yours again. I admit it used to be cute when we were kids. Like a yapping dog. At least you had the bite to go with the bark."

Choosing to focus on the floor, Katsuya took several fortifying breaths before he replied, "Cut the crap. Whaddya want with me? If it's money, I ain't got much. You'd get more knocking over a liquor store."

Dirt-splattered shoes edged forward. "I dunno. There's probably someone willing to pay out the nose for ya."

Goosebumps erupted across Katsuya's clammy skin, but he refused to react. Did Hirutani intend to use him to blackmail Seto? Or sell him to a third party for one purpose or another?

"But first, you and I are gonna catch up. Reminisce about the good old days."

Katsuya's breath hitched, but he raised his head to meet Hirutani's gaze dead-on. "There was nothing 'good' 'bout it. The lying, the bullying, the thieving, the fights—it was all a shitshow."

"Doesn't change the fact that you owe me. I took care of ya and ya betrayed me."

"I don't owe ya jack shit! The only one you ever cared about was yourself!" A barking laugh tore out of him. "That's what this is about, ain't it? You're in some kinda trouble and in over your head, so you've decided to use me as an ATM/punching bag combo?"

Hirutani's expression darkened. He had no immediate retort.

Something jagged as shrapnel rattled in Katsuya's chest. "Shit, Hiru, don't tell me I gotcha number there. That's lame, dude."

"Do you think you'd be here today if it wasn't for me? You'd be nothing without me."

"I outgrew you," spat Katsuya. "Moved onto bigger and better things instead of rolling around in the mud you're clearly still stuck in."

Hirutani narrowed his eyes, invaded the scant bubble of personal space Katsuya had in such a situation, and grabbed his jaw in a bruising iron grip. His tar-ridden breath washed over Katsuya's face as he laughed, "Bigger and better, huh? Is that what ya call taking that rich boy's limp dick up your ass? Being Kaiba's pampered little bitch gotta have its perks somewhere."

He bristled. He couldn't say what raised his rankles more: the insinuations about his sex life, which wasn't Hirutani's and anyone else's business, or the casual denigration of his almost decade-long relationship.

"Keep his name out of your mouth," he snarled and bared his teeth.

"Tell me I'm wrong, Jounouchi, cuz it looks to me like you've gone soft."

Hirutani released his chin, only to pinch his midsection. Katsuya resisted squeaking, but he felt the skin distend. His body was different from what it used to be, from what Hirutani remembered from their youth. He was now flabbier and his belly carried a soft curve. Security, stability, and love furnished him with more than skin, bone, and the scrappy muscle needed for survival in between.

Which was not an easy notion for Katsuya to accept, but he had been trying to in recent times. It was not a bad thing. It was not a failing, as Hirutani seemed to suggest with his venomous tone.

Katsuya was more than the beaten dog others had treated him as. He deserved more than scraps.

Hirutani continued, hissing with a seething rage, "You used to be a fighter. You used crack jaws and skulls like peanuts. Now look at you."

If only Hirutani came a tad closer, he could bite the bastard's nose right off.

Instead, Hirutani reeled back, followed by a hocking sound emanating from his throat. Something warm and slimy landed on Katsuya's cheek. It left a gooey trail as it dripped down his chin. He froze, caught between disgust and rage. His fingers curled into fists around the chain he couldn't break.

The sonuvabitch spat on him.

"Pathetic." Hirutani sneered and flashed his yellow-stained teeth. "What? You think your fag boyfriend's coming to your rescue?"

Not anytime soon, unfortunately. Seto was abroad for another week, swamped with business. It might be a day or two before he noticed anything awry. For the first time, he regretted not taking Seto on his offer to accompany him to the tech conference. Las Vegas must be heaven compared to this.

Not that he'd tell Hirutani any of that.

"That's up to you. Y'know Kaiba's a scorched earth kinda guy, right?" He stared down the length of his broken nose at the other man. "If you let me go now, he might kill ya fast. Not me, though. I'd make it last."

Threatening his kidnapper probably topped the list of things he shouldn't do. But Katsuya was too angry to care.

"You act like you and your boy toy are the only ones that can hold a grudge. I got one, too, y'know. And it's with you. You'll be begging me to put you down like a dog before I'm done." Hirutani's eyes gleamed with malice as he peeled something from his waistband.

At first, Katsuya thought it was a gun. But then he recognized it as something that made the pit of his stomach drop. He broke into a cold sweat when he saw the electricity that arced between two metal prongs. Air whooshed out of his lungs, and it didn't come back.

His mind blanked before the taser ever touched his skin. The screams, however, arose loudly and involuntarily.

Read other prompt fill ficlets here

If you wanna read another fic where Hirutani kidnaps both Kaiba and Jounouchi, I highly recommend @chesacakeripper's About to Break. Please let them know how awesome and amazing their fic is.

[siphisket]

It’s been a little while since I’ve posted about Banesbrook, so I wanna provide a brief update for the lovely folks who have shown interest in our little game.

First of all, Banesbrook is still happening! Since it’s an un-funded hobby project, timelines are a bit tricky to nail down, but all of the art, music, dialogue, and everything are prepped and ready for the Level 1 Demo, and even quite a bit beyond that!

The only thing that’s kept us from publishing the demo for nearly a year now is coding. We’ve hit a ton of road bumps along the way, ranging from irl scheduling conflicts to full-scale data loss, and even a legal scare when a former team member's age came to light. That last obstacle is the latest, and unfortunately, it means that for the second time, we’ll to have to start over the coding from scratch. While this will put us significantly behind schedule, it's important to us that we do not violate child labor law (especially while working on a game containing themes of childhood mistreatment).

Due to irl complications from before this issue came to light, I’ve had to indefinitely step away from the administrative duties involved in running a dev team, but despite everything, our coders have remained dedicated to rebuilding the demo so it doesn’t get fully shelved. It will be very slow going, but it’s going!

And some other good news! Since before we started working together, one of our coders has been working on his own game called Roswell’s Journey, and while I’ve wanted to keep Banesbrook in hobby territory, he went and started his own indie game studio called BitRate Games! Roswell’s Journey is currently in pre-alpha, and folks, this game looks so cool, I seriously can’t wait!

If you’re looking for an upcoming indie game to sink your teeth into, check it out here! (Or wishlist it on Steam!)

TL;DR — Banesbrook will be on the back burner for a while, but one of our amazing coders has an upcoming indie game coming soon, so keep an eye out for Roswell’s Journey!

[deviousdiesel]

.

[fuckmeyer]

(Jacobsbadwig) with all due respect, when the fuck did you get back! I missed you!

never left, only reincarnated :)

[boygirlctommy]

ok i have like. the very rough outline for this animatic.

[niuxita21]

My life will never be the same again hbu